Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1878-01-02
WHOLE NO. 1916
A Great Enterprise.

Ever since men began to dig for
silver and goldin Colorado, one OF the
many hard things they have had 10
do. baa been the journeying into the
rich silver regions Of the San Juan
country The great Sangre di Christie
range, with It's uucounied peaks, all
from twelve to fifteen thousand feet
high, II barrier which only seekers
after gold or after liberty would have
courage TO cross, One Of the most
picturesque sights which the traveller
in southern Colorado, during the past
two or three year, has seen has been
the groups OF wbile.toppcd wagons
creeping westward toward hepasses
OF tins range; sometimes thirty or
forty together, each wagon drawn by
ten, fifteen or even twenty mules the
slow'moving professions look like
caravan lines in desert two, three,
four weeks on tho road carrying in
people by households carrying in
food, and bringing out silver by the
ton back and forth, back aud forth,
patient men and patien, beasts have
been toiling every summer from June
10 October.
This sort OF thing does not 60 on
for many years before railroad comes
TO the rescue, Engineering triumphs
where brute force merely evades the
steam'engine has stronger lungs than
mules or men and the journey which
was counted by weeks is made in
hours. Such a feat as this, the Den.
yer and Rio Grande Railroad (nar.
row gauge) is now performing in
Colorado. a little more than a year
ago saw the plowshare cut the first
.urrow for its track through the Gu.
,huras meadows at the foot Of the
Spanish Peaks. One day last week !
ooked out from car windows as we
Hlirled past the same spot little
own stood where then was wilder
less, aud on either side Of our road
vore acres OF suntioWurs whose brown
entered disks of yellow looked like
rembling faces still astonished at the
oise. Past the Spanish Peaks (; past
he new town OF Veta; into the Veta
'ass; up, up, nine thousand feet up.
cross neck of the Sangre di Crlsto
ange itself; down the other side, and
Ut among the foothills to the vast
an Luis valley, the plucky little rail
Dad has alrec1y pushed. 1t is a no.
'ble feat of engineering. As the road
iuds among the mountains its curves
re so sharp that the inexperienced
I'D tilnid hold their breath. From
ne track, running along the edge OF a
recipice, you look up to another
hich you are presently to reach it
as high on the mountain-side, four
lndred feet above your head, yet it
oks hardly more than a stones
row across the ravine between.-
be curve by which you are to climb
, this hill is thirty degree curve
o the non-professional mind it will
'rhaps give clearer idea of the
rye TO say that it is shaped like
ule shoe-a much narrower shoe
an horse shoe. The famous horse
oe curve on the Pennsylvania Rail.
ad is broad and easy In comparison
til this. There are three of these
irty- degree curves within a short
stance of each other; the road
ubles on itself, like the path of a ship
king in adverse winds. The grade
very steep-two hundred and eleven
t to the mile the engines pant and
ain, and the wheels make strange
Ind, at once sbilant and ringing on
steel rails. You 60 but six miles
hour it seems like not more than
If, the leisurely pace is so unwont-
a one tor steam engines. With
h mile Of ascent the view back.
rd aud downward becomes finer:
Spanish Peaks and the plains 10
distance, the dark raviues full OF
e.trees in the foreground, and Veta
untair on the left hand--a giant
wark furrowed and bare. There
so many seams on the sides of this
untain that they have given rise to
name, Teta, which in the Spanish
que means "vein > FL. H.; Serb.
for January.