The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1872-09-06

lake supp with water from the
mountains j running from one
end into the Arkansas and from the
other into the Platte. The road
runs most of the way between the
mountains, giving a magnificent
view.
At II O'Clock we arrived at Colo
RADIO Springs station, and took Mr..
Holmes coach for the Holmes
House, about two and a half miles
from the ion, where we found a
pleasant e to stop. In the after
noon we tied the springs about
two and If miles further west,
and at foot of Pixies Peak.
These art of natures wonders.
L cannot ;cribe them. They are
lot of 'ir@s, boiling and bub-
ling up om the bowels of the
earth, ln ;e,nated with soda, sui
phur and r. :. (said to bel ssfor the
healing III nations" There are
lnValids a.. rom all parts of the
world, IA of whom are ''com-
planning ceiling better" The
wafer is 81. pouring frantically
down the "a, of the mountain as
though ii A., running from the
thousands -ntruders. The springs
are being q y much improved, for
the benet. of invalids (and the
owners) and 1 predict the day is
not far distant W hen they will not
be even second to Saratoga Springs
as resort. The next day we visit
ed the Garden of the Gods, the
most picturesque of which is three
large rocks apparently standing on
edge. The tallest one of these DIR.
Warren and myself undertook to
climb. 1t was long and rough
journey for new beginners in that
kind of sport. 1 finally reached
the top and was perfectly willing to
come down when looked over the
edge and found the rock to be about
three feet thick at the top and al
most perpendicular on the other
side.
We returned to Denver that eve
ming and OH the Goth we visited
Erie, % miles northwest of Denver,
$50 called ON account of its coal
beds,) in the Boil uder valley. Saw
nothing of note but the coal mines,
but had pleasant ride on the Den
yer and Boulder Valley railroad.
On the 9th 1 got aboard the Col.
orado Central railroad for Golden
City, place of from fifteen hun
dred to two thousand inhabitants,
in the mountains and foot hills OF
Clear creek valley. There they
have the famous England steam
road wagon working (they say) to
perfection. l waited about an hour
to see it, but having gone about
seven miles out to the coal bank my
curiosity was not gratified, SO
started a foot with one of the en-
gineers of the Colorado Central up
the noted Clear creek canon.
must say that it surpassed anything
had ever seen, being different in
scenery. 1 walked up the canon
seven miles, hedged in on either
side by mountains ranging in
height from three to ten thousand
feet. Seven miles up the canon
came across a family living in a lit
tie hut in the side of the mountain,
with whom 1 stopped for an hour.
Mr.. Young (John Young was his
nome) asked me to go in the house
with him, which 1 was anxious to
do, on account of the outward ap-
pearance. Imagine my surprise
when l tell you that 1 found the
floor of that apparent howell carpet
ed with nice three-ply carpet and
everything else in accordance with
it. The house was presided over by
as pleasing and intelligent looking
lady as 1 met in my visit to the
mountains. 1 asked her how long
she had been in the mountains, and
her answer was, "about twelve
years." 1 then asked her if she
was not tired of that way living,
and if she would not like to go
back to the States and live. She
said there was nothing l could men,
ton that would induce her to re-
turn to the States; that they had
plenty to live on and never knew,
since they had been in the noun
tains, anything about sickness.
They had two beautiful children,
and they appeared to have had
proper training, so far. Mr.. Young
is mining for a living, by panning
and sluicing, and said he made from
two to fifteen dollars per day when
he worked. He showed me q small
bottle of gold dust and let me have
some to bring home.
A company is building a narrow
gauge railroad up the canon from
Golden to Black Hawk, a distance
of sixteen miles. They are now
running construction trains nine
miles up the canon and will put on
a passenger train next Monday.
The route was pronounced imprac-
ticable by most railroad men, as the
average grade is two and a half
feet to the one hundred feet, and
part of the way four and almost
one half TO the hundred feet. 1t is
too crooked for cow path in Kan
sas. They can't haul much at q time
it is true, but can carry as much as
a hundred mules could pack. AS
the train came down 1 Gagged" it
and got on and rode down. 1t was
rather dangerous looking ride, as
the road bed is partly blasted into
the side of the mountain and partly
built up with stones against the
side of it. They had three little
short cars on for the train and q
brakeman to every car, so we reach
ed Golden in safety. 1 returned
home the same evening; 1 mean by
home to our former fellow-towns-
mans, w. j. Evans, for if he and
his family cannot make their house
a home for any one its no use of
trying to find home.
Colorado cannot be said to be an
country, as there is but
a small proportion of it that is aus
ceptible of cultivation, and that, to
s,,e,,~a . crorN r,usf ha iF~inyo tod a @ q |