New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-07-30
INNING TOWNS OF COLORADO


FRY STAGE DRivrR BRAVE AND S' NtN Us
MAS-vlEws OF ENCHANTING BEAUTY DIVIDE
AND CANON
-, , sr,FF CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBUNE.l
S,,vrR CLIFF Col, July 16-Canon City is one
~ thos, Western towns which has seen ITS best DAYS
AID although It will ALWAYS b. place OF some I'M
oortanre its growth hereafter will be slow unless
;h mines Of gold silver discovered In ia iin-
.aadio,e vicinity. wear ago when ! visited IT II
was ore If the principal shpping points Tor goous
60, 70 Leadville. and two of Barlow & Sander
sn,s Concord coaches departed for and arrived from
.be great carbonate camp every day. hen the
io street of the town beyond the perm anent
,r,ldines WAS lined almOs, 20 the Arkansas RIVER
;,b booths and tents in which an extensive ana
...etoh'e trad, was carried on. The camps oil the
to,cbtcrs alone. Just outside the village. made a
email town Of themselves. and hundreds OF mule
ski,,ners and " bull whackers patronlzed the sd
Ioons and fandangoes and variety theatres AT night
N,r Canon City is only wnv-statlon between
r,,nver or Pueblo and the great mining camp TO the
9Th Only one or two of the temporary struc-
.r-es IN (which supplies of provisions and whskey,
a.. Goods and groceries were formerly sold to
f,a,,b,ers now remain and there are no treiGhters
..,Ds N the bottom waiting for loads to Leadville
few new buildings have been erected daring the
los. wear among them an attractive looking llttie
.burcb ard there are Touring mill and some nice
earns IN the vicinity of the town which VIII always
Give II n good local trade Just now Silver Cliff and
Rosita new and fourshmg mining camps about
thirty miles souta from here, furnish Canon CITY
copsi3 erable business especially in the freghting
hns bu taa5 wal be lost in the fall. when the
Denver and Rio Grande Railroad completes its line
20 silver Cliff, and the Pueblo aud Silver GIN Koao
builds from the former place TO ROslta.
n
The Mineral Springs OF Canon City might pos
silly make it popular place of resort for lnyalids
and Measure seekers if the owners of the springs
would improve them properly and the Summer eli
mate was not so oppresslvely bot and dry. The
Warm Springs Just at the entrance of the ROYAL
Gorge through which the Arkansas River forces
its way from the mountains to the plains furnish as
agreeable and nvigoratIng baths as any | have
ever seen. The water is pumped from the springs
In which ii rises within thirteen feet OF the surface
and has a temperature of go when IL reaches the
bathiug-tub. 1t is clear crystal. and not I'M
pleasant 10 drink. An analysis shows Its mineral
constituents to be very sim ar 10 those OF the NIcuy
waters and they are believed 10 possess import
ant medicinal virtues. The Warm springs have
been leased for several years past by an Old scotch
man and bis wife. who came 10 Canon CITY hoping
that rbe formers health might be improved The
mans. They bult a small house for themselves, a
bath-house with five or SIX TIM :, and have put ID
simple machinery tor pumping the water up They
have 10 accommodations tor persons who NAV wish
TO remain and Jake the baths daily. The Soda
Springs are almost in the town, and are said TO
have valuable curative properties.
The scenery about Canon CItY Is not eXccled IN
grandeur and beauty by any IN Colorado. Besides
The R,val Gorae which is at its very door, Grape
Crreh Canon begins within mile Of city and is
well worth visit The first may now be reached
b. railroad and the line through the other TO Silver
Cliff VIII be completed this year. Grape Creek Is
remarkab BILE for Is good fishing, and from It's head
waters ID the Canon it flows through one OF the
most o, auliful valleys in the STATE. MoJada or Wet
Mountain. and ut the foot Of the most imposing
range of mountains. the SangTe de Crlsto. Canon
CITY might Re made a very popular place of Winter
resort and probably viii be WREN the night man
goes there with little capital.
The stage ride from Canon City 10 Silver Cliff OF
Rosita i, a delightful one The road leads over
high mountains and through wild canon which
there is plenty Of time to study and admire from
tie ton Of the coach, and the journey IS not long
enough 10 be fatiguing, while the distance IS suti-
eiept I'd give one who is accustomed to being
vbirl.d over the country and even into what were
a few years or perhaps months ago the most oui-of-
the-way and almost inaccessible regions in a rail
WAY car taste of this good old fashion of travel
hug.
THE WESTERN sTAGE-DRIYER.
1t IS worth days journey to get acquainted with
The average Western stage-driver, TO listen TO bis
stories and observe his ways He IS only passeD-
ger" Is a slang expression which sometimes hear
used in the East TO describe person who thinks he
manages some important enterprise which Is really
controlled by other and more important men; but
never appreciated how forcible it was until took
my seat on the box by the side OF Western stage
driver. The conductor of a railway train Is the man
who comes along through the car az intervals and
punches n peculiarly shaped hole your ticket. or
tears of coupon you approach the end OF a dlv-
sion lie waves his hand or SWINGS his lantern for
the tram to start, but the fact that he is the man
into ose hands we commit our lives, the autocrat
d the tram never occurs 10 me unless some acct
dent happens through his negligence.
Tie stage driver Is the conductor. engineer, fire.
man and brakeman; he is the captain OF the ship,
It's complement Of officers and the crew, and when
be gathers up his lines, unwlnds his whlp-lash from
its stock and pulls ont" he is the boss until
he reaches the end of his route. His coach is not
run by telegraph: be does not wait at stations for
orders TO go ahead; he goes fast or slow rs he
pleases. And the stage-drlver generally knows his
own Importance and makes his passengers feel II.
II Won get on the right side of him he will crowd the
Journey full of interest and pleasure but If he con-
ceiyes dislike or contempt for YOU. the sooner you
get seat inside the coach the better il will be for
you.
majority of the Western stage drivers are mid
dle.aped men less than fifty, but they have lived
a hundred wears if time was only measured by the
experience they have had. 1t is rare to meet one
nowadays who did not drive on the old overland
route. and many OF them served their apprentice
ships in the States east Of the Missouri River be-
fore that route was established To hear
whose hair has not yet begun to turn gray tell Of
bis adventures on the plans and in the mountains
before there was Pacific railroad Is to me almost
like listening to a soldier of the Revolution descrb-
ing the bate of Bunker Hill One period seems