The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1880-12-10
A Railway in the Rocky Mountains.


A writer, describing the Denver and
Rio Grande railway from Conejos west
word toward the San Juan country, gives
these picturesque bits
For miles the railway curved among
the hills, keeping sight of the plains
and catching frequent glimpses OF the
village. Its innumerable winnings
along the brows of the hills seemed, III
mere wantonness, rs 10th to abandon so
beautiful n region. Almost impercepti-
bly,, the foothills changed into mount
aims and the valleys deepened INTO
canons, and winding around the point
of one of the mountains it found itself
overlooking the picturesque valley or
canon of Los Pinos creek. Eastward
was the rounded summit OF the great
mountain of San Antonio; over the
nearest height could be seen the top OF
Sierra Blanca, canopied with perpetual
clouds in front were castellated crags,
art-like monuments and stupendous
precipices. Having allured the railway
into their awful Businesses, the mount
aims seemed determined to battle its
further progress. But it was a strong
hearted railway, and, although a little
giddy 1000 feet above the stream, it
cuts its way through the crags and
among the monuments and bears on
ward for miles up the valley. A pro-
jecting point, too high for cut and too
abrupt for curve, was overcome by
tunnel. The track layers are now busy
Mt work laying down the steel rail at
point few miles beyond this tunnel.
The grade is nearly completed for many
miles further. From the present end OF
the track, for the next four or tive miles
along the grade, the scenery is unsur-
passed by any railroad scenery In North
America. . Engineers, who have trav-
ersed every mile OF mountain railroad III
the Union, assert that it Is the finest
they have seen. Perched on the dizzy
mountain side, at an altitude of $500
feet above the sea--greater than that OF
Veta pass-1 900 feet above the valley,
with battlemented crags, rising 800 or
600 feet above, the beholder Is enrapt-
ured with the view. At one point the
canon narrows into an awful gorge, APP
parently but few yards wide, and near
~ 1000 feet in depth, between almost
perpendicular walls of granite. Here q
nlpu pOlut u STiulut uuo W pS euihOASu,
and in this tunnel the rock men are at
work drilling and blasting to complete
the passage, which is now open to pedes-
trians. The frequent explosions OF the
blasts echo and re-echo among the
mountains until they die away IN the
distance. Looking down the valley from
the tunnel, the scene is one never to be
forgotten. The lofty precipices, the dis
tant heights, the fantastic monuments,
the contrast CT the rugged crags and the
graceful curves of the silvery stream be-
meath them, the dark green pines inter
spersed with poplar groves, bright yell
low in their autumn foliage, that crown
the neighboring summits-height, depth,
distance and color-combine to cOnstl-
tute landscape that is destined to be
painted by thousands of artists, repre-
duced again and again by photographers,
and to adorn the walls of innumerable
parlors and galleries of art. Beyond the
tunnel for mile or more the scene is
even more picturesque, though Of less
extent. The traveller looks down into
the gorge and sees the stream plunging
in a succession of snow-white cascades
through narrow cuts between the per-
pendicular rocks.