The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1878-04-06
THE FAR WEST.
Cheyenne to Salt Lake.--The Rock
ies."-Laramie City.--Echo Can
Won and The Devils Slide!
Special Correspondence.

-
From Cheyenne west, and till the shores Of the
Pacific are almost reached, the scene is one Of
y cyer-changing grandeur. Barren plains and sandy
deserts are quickly gone over lofty hills and deep
gorges appear and disappear in quick succession,
c while the snow-clad peaks and lofty submits Of
the Rockies =" and "Scrras " are continually IN
; view
After leaving Cheyenne the best view on the
line is had of the Rockies. With solemn ana
rugged grandeur they loom up in grand proper
ton their glistcning sides and snowclad peaks
! appearing like monuments in n city Of the dead
In this region the country for many miles pre-
scnts a wild and grand appearance, On either
side as the train dashcs onward the scenery Is pc
cullarly interesting, As mile after mile is gone
over we behold nothing but high MASSES Of gran
tie rock, which rear their gray old sides and are
piled one above the other in grand confusion.
Far beyond is seen the mountain range, with
thick, floating masses of yapor in tlcccy shape,
o'ertOppcd by glstcnng peaks of snow. Ninety
five miles to the south, though it does not appear
more than twenty, Longs Peak rcars its stately
form: and one hundred and cighty-scycn miles
south Of this point the snow-clad top of Pixies
Peak comes boldly into view. This will give an
idea Of how clear the atmosphere is in Colorado.
The first place Of any note after leaving Chcy
cnnc is Sherman the highest point of elevation
reached by the L. p This place is named in
honor of General Sherman, (the talcst general
in the army There is but little here to indicate
a town; "A round house, water tank and telegraph
shed, with few dug outs, constitute the entire
business cdifccs and residences Of this lofty
"city." But it is in keeping with the rest of the
socallcd cities Of the far west.
The hills in this vicinity, and in fact in this en-
tire region, are barren Of all vegetation; nothing
whatever grows here, except few stuntcd pine
trees and heather But this /. at an elevation Of
nearly ten thousand feet above the level Of the
sea. This section is good ng.tester, and
while crossing here many suffer for breath. The
man woman that can breathe freely while
crossing this point or region may consider their
lungs in good condition.
There is something more than usual in the OK
IRENE grandeur Of this mountain rcgion-somc-
thing wonderful and sublime in its barren dcsoll-
ton; and though there may be and have seen
places where the rocks rose higher and were more
massive where rivers and gens seemed deeper
ana mountain peaks loftier, nothing up to this
appeared more captivating to the eye. Here, IN
deed, is picture that is wild, dcsolatc and sol
cmn, and no place that have yet seen appeared
more isolated from the outer world.
SUNSET on THE GROCERIES"
| ! have seen many sunsets in all sections Of this
country ours, sunsets that were perfectly charm
II Ing and glorious in the extreme, sunsets that
were the very essence of brancy in their pro
e. Of, a pttt thn al, nt
that | ever witnessed was on these grand old
mountains while crossing the summit. All! but
it was charming! As we slowly moved along the
sun seemed To approach the horizon, and the
clouds and sky seemed to assume columns Of
strange and wonderful beauty. The mountain
range and towering peaks, which in odd places
doomed up above the plains and glistcned in their
covering of snow, were surrounded with clouds
in such shapes that the rays Of the setting sun
showed each side of them at the same time. On
one side the nccCy clouds were lighted up with
the grandcst and most brilliant colors, and IN
their midst great open spaces like doors or win
dows, which seemed to let light to their tops.
At intervals and almost instantly the clouds
would change their position, and new colors and
rays appear and disappear At last, when the
sun began to drop behind the mountains and dis
lappcar from our view, it looked like q heavenly
vision.
After we are out Of the bcau.cous region of
=. Sherman and down the summit, our course is
over wild and barren section of country, where
there is nothing Of importance to bc seen until
that portion of country known rs Red Buttcs is
reached and passed; after which II most peculiar
formation of sandstone rocks looms up before us
Many of these rocks rear their peaks a thousand
feet above the track apparently worn and washed
by the elements into wild, fantastic shapes and
grotcsquc figures. Rocks which are shaped like
castles rise in beautiful proportion; churches
rear their roofs almost shading Lowry cottages
by their side; columns, monuments and pyra-
mids are mixed up with Themselves and all ap-
pear Us though some malignant power had car
rcd of some mighty city Of the oldcn time, and,
wcarying of his booty had thrown ii down on
these plains without regard t. order.
After several hours ride We find ourselves on
the great
LARAMIE PLAINS,
an immense bel. Of country, good for nothing but
stock Something over a hundred miles away to
the southwest We observe the Snowy Range,
which am told are pcrpctually robcd with snow.
1t is u cold cherries sight, and would give fcl.
low the shakes to look at them in the roasting
heat of summer.
LARAMIE CITY,
or the Gem City OF The Mountains seems To he
Iqui,e place. 1t is here the first jury Of women
was cmpanclcd and gave verdict. They did
the business in style, it is said, and settled the
hash of q western desperate. After which the
nurses used To- calm the rising generation NY
singing
Nice little baby. don't get iu fury.
Cuus" uaua's gone 10 ~ ON jury
The early days Of Laramie are only rcpctituns
of other western cities, such as Cheyenne. At
present It does not bear that reputation which
cling, to Cheyenne, butucycrthclcss tits not what
La first class community would desire The most
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