Connecticut western news., 1873-06-13

Salt Luke City. us there is no growth avail
 ape Tor thIs purpose except on the (noun talns. and the number of saw mills at wort
 indicate an abunnant supply for the pres
 ent We reached Summit, the top of tho
 olerras, uttle after sunrise, and were sur.
 rounued with snow in some places man, feet deep, We passed Bonner Lake, tht
 scene of that awful tragedy where the
 man for whom the lake is named. an emi
 grant from Illinois, with his family and
 companions, was caught by dreadful
 snow storm, ana after enduring terrible
 suffering all the party perished, save one, a
 German, who saved his life by cannlbalism.
 Shortly after leaving Summit we passed
 lne great American canon, terrific
 chasm many thousand feet deep, along the
 edge of which the road runs in apparently
 trighlful proximity. The view from the
 railroad Is magnificent across the canon,
 peak on peak, covered with snow, seem
 piled Tn Intricable confusion, their heads
 sometimes in cloud of their own crea.
 tion. Away us far as the eye can reach
 stretches the same line of whitened crests.
 uhliI one becomes wearled in trying to
 comprehend the scene. These mountains
 are giants, five or six times the size of your
 own -ht. washington or the Dome, and we
 are Whlrling away in a railroad car upon I
 into the tremendously deep gorge below.
 and speculating upon our fate should any
 thing go wrong. Far down at the bottom
 or this grand ravlne runs the American l rlVer, lOoklng like narrow brook, although
 Tn reality large stream. The view here
 impressed me as being much finer than that
 at Cape Horn some distance farther. al.
 though at that place tue precipice is much
 nearer the track and sharp curve on the very orlnk causes one to shudder as he pass | es around 1t. Alter passin.. Lake Donner
 and before reaching Cape Horn. inc road
 plunges into snow shed forty mllas long
 and during that whole distance the.,r,veler
 Is as much shut out from any sight of the
 world as II he were in a tunnel under the earth. You may imagine what d tremep- uouS fall of snow is known here. wben it IS found necessary to eXpend such labor to prevent the obstructing of the track. At Alta we had breakfast All along the road now were to be seen hooms, which carried water with great rapidity, to be used in hy- drauilc mining, and at Gold Hill I saw the miners at work with their gigantic hose and pipes, washing down hill which vanished fast under the power stream. The entire country about here is scarreA and torn by the work of mining. Bare white and red patches, denuded of trees and bushes. snow where the search for gold has been conducted. After the miner has worked the soil nothing will grow. '. It IS barren forever. We left snow and ice in abund- ance at the summit, and here We are. fOur hours later, amid flowers, and in a vernal atmosphere. The change from winter to summer Is rot the least of the wonders of California, SO rapid indeed that one seems transported by magic. The California wild flowers are very bright, and spring up ip luxuriant profusion. Prominent among them is the yellow escholtgia, more richly golden claret on it's native soil than when Tansplanted to our climate. We rapidly descended to Sacramento, where we Occu- 1 pied half hour in seeing what we could ot the capital of the state. Leaving, thia town and passing through country plant. 1 ed with wheat, barley and oats, and appa. rentiy thrifty. we reached Lathrop to SUD- per, where we saw grizzly bear, very me specimen, whose demeanor was very amlable, but whose temper, when aroused. | would not care to trust. From Lathron | to the foot of the Coast Range of hills inc | land seems devoted to wheat raising. I | noticed that no cattle were allowed to run | ut large, and that there were no fences. Each man is compelled to fence his own i stock, and there were thousands of acres planted with wheat without enclosure. It IS very good law if in every state the farmer was required to fence his own cattle ln' instead of fencing other peoples out, it would be fine economy. The flocks or herds are in charge of Mexican or Indian vaquero, and the cattle and sheep, when slngle, are tied to stake by lariat forty feet long, which allows the cattle to graze without tresspassing. The coast range of hills, as they are called here, although they would be mountains elsewhere, now ap. oeared in front of us. Monte Diable. with Us double peak, standing far away to the 1ght They seemed to stretch right across our path, their grass covered domes Ihuttlng us off from our destination. The joast Range just here is as soft and smooth IS the Sierras are ragged, it's peaks instead 'f being sharp and serrated, are regular md rounded. The vivid grass unbroken y tree or rock, covers them to the very summit, while small golden flower grow ng In boundless profusion gives a yellow inge to these hills, very pleasant in its eff ect. Ado to these surroundings a delight ui climate and clear sky and you may i'm 'glne we are not ill pleased with our first experience of California 1t was night when we reached Altamont, at the top of he Coast Range, and running 40 miles urther we saw very dimly the suburbs of San Francisco. So tired were we when the ( ars rolled over the long wharf at Oakland, nd we crossed the bay to the Grand Ho- ei' as 10 be right glad to stop, and SO I uppose are you. But if you protest gainst the length of this letter can only pologize as did the sage of Marshfeld for n extended speech. had no time to make shorter. .. V i4tTI- - |,