The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1881-01-04
A Railway In tho Rocky Mountains.

For miles the extension of the Dcnvo
and Rio Grandc Railroad from Concios
westward to the San Juan County curves
among the hills, keeping sight of the plains
and catching frequent glimpses Of the vii
lagc. Its innumerable windings along tho
brows Of the hills seemed, III mere wan
tonness, as 10th to abandon SO beautiful o
region. Almost impcrccptibly the foot
hills changed into mountains 1nd the val
leys dcepencd into canOns, and winding
around the point of one of the mountains
1t found itself overlooking the picturesque
valley m canon of Los Pinos creek. East
ward was the rounded summit of the great
mountain of San Antonio; over the near
est height could be seen the top of Sierra
Blanca, oanopicd with perpetual Clouds
in front were castcllatcd crags, art.like
monuments, and stupcndous prccipiccs.
Having allured the railroad INTO their
awful Businesses, the mountains seemed de-
tcrmincd to battle it's further progress But
it was strong hearted railway, and,
although little giddy, 1000 feet above
the stream, it cuts Its way through the
crags and among the monuments and bears
onward fol miles up the valley. A pro-
jecting point, too high for cut and too
abrupt for curve, was overcome by tun-
mel. The track layers are now busy at
work laying down tho steel rail at a point
few miles below this tunnel. The grade
ls nearly completed for many miles fur.
ther. From the present end of the track
for the next four or five miles along the
grade, the scenery is unsurpassed by any
rulroad scenery in North America. En-
gineers who have travcrscd every mile of
mountain railroad in the Union, assert that
it Is the finest they have seen. Pcrched
on the dizzy mountain side, at an altitude
of $500 feet above the sea-grcater than
that of Veta pass-1, 900 feet above the
valley, with battlemented crags rising 300
or 6OO feet above, the beholder is enrap-
tured with the view. AT one point the
canon narrows into ali awful gorge, appa-
rently but few yards wide and nearly
l, 600 feet in depth, between almost per-
pendicuar walls of granite. Here high
point Of granite has to be tunneled, aud III
this tunnel the rock men are aJ work drill
Ing and blasting 20 complete the passage,
which is now open to pedestrians. The
frequent explosions of the blasts echo and
rc-ccho among the mountains until they
die away in the distance. Looking down
the valley from the tunnel, the scene
one never to be forgotten. The lofts
precipiccs, the distant heights, the fantas-
tic monuments, the contrast of the rugged
crags and the graceful curves of the sllvery
stream beneath them, the dark green pines
intcrspersed with poplar groves, bright
yellow In their autumnal foliage, that
crown the neighboring summits-hcigh,,
depth, distance, and color-combine to
constitute landscape that is destined
to DC painted by thousands of artists,
reproduced again and again by photograph
ors, aud 10 adorn the wallis OF innunlerable
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 perpendicular rocks.