The Rock Island Argus., 1880-10-20

COLORADO.
Another Letter From a Rock Island
Tourist.

COLORADO SPRINGS. Co.., Oct. Id, 1SoO.
Colorado is everywhere known as q
land of sunshine aud balmy air. as the
the invalids' refuge and the tourists para
disc. 1t deserves we'll its reputation; but
as faithful chronicle, feel it my duty to
tell the wEole truth and say that there are
occasionally some intermissions in its
splendid weather l write you in the
midst of one which is now in its third day,
On Sunday morning Manitoba wave.
after refreshing itself in gamboling over
several hundred miles of snowy peaks and
mountain ranges, suddenly swooped down
upon US from a cloudleSs sky, and through
out the day blew blizzard in tho face of
every ybody who ventured out. The w0rsh
ippers at the churches of this piousIy
inclined city could oe almost counted on
ones fingers. Before night the mountains
and the sun and our wealth of blue sky
were all in eclipse. All through the nigh,
the moaning winds seemed an echo of the
weird music which in the long ago and in
the far away, was the winter lullaby of my
La the morning the mercury indicated 25,
the heavens were still overcast and the air
filled with falling snow, which has contin>
ued with very brief interruptions to the
present writing. The whole face OF nature
| is buried in snow, aud the branches of the
| trees
"Fringed with leaves of sammer greenuess'
N l.. xzik III t6 arl. ksN~
dcns. ln this case wiGtcr has rather sat
down in the lap of summer than fingered
| in the lap of spring. But few days, We
are confidently assured by those who are
weather wise in this country. will restore
| to US our bright sun, blue sky end grand
| mountains. now arrayed in all the varied
colors with which three weeks of frost has
painted their trees and shrubs and grasses
and from this restoration il is expected
the elements will be propilious and Youch
safe to the dwellers in these plains for two
months to come, al! tho giories and beau
ties of the most gracious October weather
10 the states, with the mountain scenery
and dry, electrical atmosphere peculiar &c
this region added A popularity OF tbese
Colora ado storms is that they generally
open their attack from clondless sky By
a severe and protracted fusilade of wind
w hile camping upon the plains an
antelope hunt a party of us were thus
attacked about 4 O'Clock in the morning
when there was not heck of cloud any
where 10 sight Our tent was blown dowr
before we could get our eyes open, and oui
stove aud cooking utensils aud other
housekeeping articles were scattered over
the plains. Finding We could not h0ld
our position, we abandoned the 63li and
turned our face houIt ward. But through
out the bright, clear day the wind blew sc
hard ~e could not put up our wagon cover
and it was all some OF US could Go TO keep
our places in the vehicle. | would moi
undertak close estimate. but it seemed
to rne that in all NY life had not SO nearly
swallowed Il cyolone as duri1g that day s
ride. But there is popularity about the
winds which saves the people and thel
property from being swept away; Will,
there IS an appearance of great force il
them, the air is SO pure that they do bu
itsle damage.
Since writing you last [ have made
visit of a week to Denver, but was TOT
busy while there to write you Sine,
visiting it two years ago the city has EaC
a marvellous growth, and is still GROWN,
rapidly. Several new hotels and hand
| some business blocks have been built, SONS
of both comparing favorably with the bes
Of Chicago and ST. Louis. a $500, ,00(
opera house is in process of erection, and
very many paatial residences adorn ii
streets. There is an air OF business sc,v
, ity everywhere apparent which remind
one of Chicago and New York. The
hotels all seemed to be crowded. theil
united daily arrivals averaging, while
was there. between 700 and 500. | viii
not undertake to guess what all those
people could be doing there: but many
and probably the most of them were
Interested. IL soge measure. in mines,
Mining Interests and prospects seemed
everywhere to be the absorbing topic oi
conversation. There was occasionally a
|, vein of politics cropping out, bu: not oI
sufficient richness to pay for working, at
least about the hotels snd busiaesa eea~
teTs. Meetings, ! believe, were held BY
one party or the other almost nightly, bul
as Denver was in its eouinootlal strain
while / was there did not attend any oi
them, 1 suppose the state may be fairly
called doubtful politically, not because
both parties claim it, but because since
the last general election very large addi
t'on has been made TO its voting popula-
lion. This addition nss been made prin-
Icipaiy in the mining towns. and the
ballots alone will probably indicate reliably
the political complexion of these new
factors in Colorado politics.
III hoek Islanders residing OF so,ourn
IDs in Denver L met Dr. Westwood, vino
Is pastor of the Centra! Presbyterian
church, and Dave Van Meter who is
iocaIizirg on the Republican newspaper,
! Or. Westwoud is looking we'll and seems
! 10 bo ss oantented as eia1, and tie
same may be said of Dave Van Meter,
who has added largely TO his avoidupois,
with several precincts to hear from. He
| has dug some prospect holes in the San
j uaa country, and like nearly everybody
else in Colorado he don't know what
morning be will get up millionaire, but
he seems to be WORKING Just as If be were
poor. REFUGEE