The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1881-08-31
CANT WHtTTEKIN, CoLo., !
August "a 1881.

thinking Of Old Forest aud the many
hospitalities ! have enjoyed at the
hands of my Forest friends, and not
being able TO write them separately /
write you, knowing that it will reach
them nearly, if not all.
We are now located on the Bear
River, which the Indians call cyan.
pa" about twenty miles north of the
Ute Reservation in Colorado. Ny
Leveller has just completed his eleva.
tion and finds we are here at station
6479, 10,271.41 feet above ocean level.
Mountains rear their snow. capped
peaks on every side of us. Back of us
is terrible canon nearly two thousand
feet deep with sides almost perpendic.
ular. l wish could represent to you
my party going through the canon.
The Transitman could find room sfor
only one leg of the tripod on the
narrow ledge on which he stood, and
succeeded in getting second into
friendly seam of the rocks; for the
third he made use of piece of rope
with which he tied his transmit to
jutting craig, and succeeded in getting
in the line. Your humble servant had
to go around distance of one-fourth
mile in order to take back sight for
the transitman. We were three DAYS
running 2175 feet of line, most of
which we did by triangulation. If the
Tionesta +. r. Company could see
some of the places in which the Den
YER & Rio Grande build roads they
would have a double track line from
Tionesta to Sheffield in less than three
months. On the Denver & Rio
Grande r. r. there are grades of 2S9
feet per mile when equated for curva.
ture. Thirty.fve degree curves, forty
feet rock through cuts, and bridges
hung in canons which are almost 1000
feet deep.
They are now operating 957 miles of
railway, crossing the Continental Di-
vide by turn back curve using up
2740 30 of direction. At Leadville1
they are half way up Mt. Lincoln, and
at the summit they are nearly 10000
feet above ocean level, the highest
railway in the world. Some of our
eastern people will scarcely believe
me when | say that portions of this
wonderful railroad are above the
clouds. The day came out here
noticed violent rain storm in the
Arkansas Valley, while, where we
were, in the same vally three thousand
feet higher--nearer the top Of the
range-the sun was shining brightly
as bright as it was ever seen in any
part of the East. The rainy season is
about over and we may now expect
Egyptian skies ofthe clearest, grandest
unchangirg blue. Where / am sitting
can lock out of my tent toward the
east and see, clearly defined, the huge
masses of upheaved matter, with their
tilted strata, constituting what we call
mountains, sloping away into ETHEREAL
space-almost, ii seems, eternity.
am unable to describe the grand
eur of the western scenery--it sur
passes all that imaginative man can
picture. At our feet flows the turbu.
lent water Of the "Yampa;" back of
US gloomy canon before US a most
beautiful valley OH the side of us
majestic mountains, their bases GOV.
cred with timber, a species of pine,
rear their huge forms; half way up we
reach the timber tine, and above that
there is nothing but bare rock clear to
the summit, except in four which
can see that are snow-capped. To this
the setting sun lent his most gorgeous
dies, making it truly indescribable. All
the beauties Of nature seem to be
thrown into the western part of this
glorious land in which we live. Two
hundred miles east of US nothing greets
the eye but an unbouuded plain here
we are in "bunohed.up gorgeous
mountains" d" One hundred miles
farther west we are in a high arid
basin, whose waters have no outlet to
the ocean, but are hemmed in on all