The Brookhaven ledger. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1881-02-17
Winter Travelling IN Colorado

his heart.
Winter Travelling IN Colorado.
The train discharges its freigh
into a dozen coaches, which set o
for the mountain pass that lies be
tween Norton and Lealvillc, the,
rattle off through the whirling snow
toward the range Of mountains
which is already thick with storms
Our own way lies across the Soutl
Park toward lower part of thc
Arkansas Valley; for ten miles tn,
four horses hurry the light opcl
wagon over the snow covered plain
through the binding snow that file.
before the blasts rushing down
from the mountain ravines. Ther
we find our way upon the regular
freighting road that leads IN a de
vious course through the mountain
gorges to Lcadville. 1t is way fol
which little has been done except by
the wheels Of the endless trains o
wagons; but nature ment this lane
for roads; the scant foliage anC
slight rainfall leave each of the
rayines q natural road and the frOs
has now bound mud and stones to
gethcr. Every mile Of this trail is
occupied by long caravan of tho
treighting teams that carry in pro
visions and take out bullion. Tho
ordinary train consists Of many
teams, each composed Of two wag
ons, the hinder one being without a
tongue, and the two coupled togeth
er as closely as two railway cars
Sometimes there are three wagons
in the string. Eight or ten mules
and a single driver supply the mo-
tive power. ''With this "outfit'
one deXterous driver will drag about
ten thousand pounds of freight at
the rate Of twenty five miles a day.
Some Of these trains are individual
ventures, but commonly a dozen
teams are under one wagon master,
who fixes the marches and deter
mines the places where the train
shall halt to pass the tides of wag-
ons that set the other way. These
caravans give us the most pictur
csque aspect of this mountain life:
the drivers are strangd selection
from the vigorous fronticrsmen.
The labor is extremely arduous and
the life of the rudest, but the profits
are very large; many of these teams
earning from thirty to fifty dollars
per day net for halfa year at a time.
The men live and generally sleep
with their animals, even in this
fierce cold. They are silent, indie
fatigable fellows, brutal in every
outward aspect, yet withal singular
ly patient with their difficulties and
helpful of each other, unless the 9TH
er is "greaSer.' A courteous word
or two will always get their aid in
passing through the perpleXing
blockade, where trains going in op-
posite directions meet on a narrow
defile. Thei:' life is one Of trials.
We are farely out of sight of dead
horses or mules which have broken
their legs or died Of Overwork, and
every precipice along the road shows
the wrecks of wagons that have
slipped over the edge into the gorge
below. In two hundred miles tray
el with them | did not hear a brutal
word from one man to another, and
I was indebted to them for many
considerate acts. They are u mar
velously profane lot, but their swear
ing has Il curiously smpcrsOnal
character. In his difficulties with
the teams man will lift up his
voice and address the Infinite in
diabolic homily that would belit
Milton's Satan, and then, subsiding
like a geyscr, remain silent for the
rest of the day, At night, when
they gather around the fire, in the
low-wailed, turf-covered ranches
they are perfectly mute; they sit on
the benches as still as mummics,
until they slip down upon the floor
and snore until morning. They
seem wrapped up in their own
thoughts, orin the place where th'ir
thoughts ought to be. They often
camp alone by the roadside; indeed
many Of them seem to prefer the
absolute isolation that they find in
! bivouacking in the scrub woods ten
miles from ne ghbors. One night
sought directions from one Of these
solitary men. He was huge, griz-
zle bearded fellow, whom surpriS
ed cooking his supper by 4 little
fire in 4 niche in the rocks near his
cam. His ugly visage stood ont in
the blaze Of his own bacon, which
he was toasting on stick. H(
gave me sufficient answers without
looking up to see who it was shout
ing at him out of the darkness,
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