The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1881-07-14
EN- ROUTE TO LEADvILLE.
Tho Fat Contributor to the News
Tests the Possibilities of Mar
row Gauge Railway.
LEApytL1E, Col, July 2, 1881

LfAlJNIlI4E, OOlsI 81 uIJ =, 1901.
EDIToRs NEWS: We came to Lead
vile via the Denver, South Park s. Pa
cific II. r. Leaving Denver we chassee
up the Platte river to Platte canon,
twenty miles distant There are a num-
Der of farms along the Platte river grow
ing fine wheat and oats by irrigation.
Platte canon is over twenty miles long,
narrow and precipitous; great perpcn-
dicular bare walls, frequently fifteen
hundred feet high, form the sides of the
canon, sometimes nearly reaching to-
gether at the top, the river (twice the
size of the CottOnwood) taking up about
all of the canon. The road-bed is made
by building a wall In the river or blast
ing a shelf in the rocky wall for the
little narrow gauge. The track is so
crooked that the friction of the flange
wheel on the rail keeps up n con-
slant howl. The river is one grand rap
id or waterfall, and the seething, falling,
boiling, dashing waters make cOntin-
ued roar above the clatter of the cars.
The grade is frequently $50 feet to the
mile A person would think the water
would wear itself out. 1t docs look
tired. 1t sinks by Denver as though 1t
really was ashamed of having come
through such a dismal canon. Forty
five miles from Denver the canon wi
dens out to respectable width and at
fifly-one miles there arc several small
parks covered partly with Cottonwood
and pine.
At Webster, sixty more miles out, the
road leaves the river and undertakes the
difficult feat of climbing the mountain,
which it accomplishes at Kenoshe,
seventy-six miles out. Here we are
higher than at Leadville, being 10,500
feet high, almost to timber line. As we
cling to the side of the mountain the
scenery was terilically grand. Here was
the first time 1 said prayers (for the
LODGE since we left Pueblo. The bald
heads of the mountains, only few thous-
and feet above, were covered with huge
snow drifts. Here we encountered a
hail storm that lasted nearly an
hour. Winter clothes are in demand.
We now begin the descent of the noun
tain and in four miles We descend 500
feet and enter South Park, the most
beautiful scenery on the route. The Park
is said to be 90 by 60 miles. We run 36
miles in crossing it. 1t is plateau of
prairie land, surrounded by snOw-capped
mountains, interspersed with low hills
and ridges which are covered with beau
tiful young pines and cedars. Frequent
ly there are deep but wide hOllows. The
whole is covered with grass. Probably
one-third of the Park has natural irri-
cation, producing fine pastures and
meadows. Numerous silver lakes filled
with ducks and other game, eniiven the
scene. Here the Platte river takes its rise
11S miles from Denver. Thousands OF
acres are fenced with pine poles and a
number of pretty houses put in an ap-
pearance. The Park is dotted with ma
tive cattle, and hundreds, getting tired of
waiting for spring grass, have passed in
their checks and turned up their heels.
They are in remarkable state of pres
ervation.
At Como. near the centre of the park,
we took dinner-the dinner was about
as high as the altitude, but not as rare
as the atmosphere The coal thas warm
ed the dining room was dug few hum
dred yards distant. Como is but "a miles
from Lcadyille but the distance by rail
is 81 miles. Leaving the park we climb
another mountain and making a descent
of 1000 feet IN ID miles, strike the Ar
kansas at Beuna Vista In our descent
we saw hundreds of deserted miners
huts. Sometimes there were so or 20 in
a village. At McGec's station we saw a
woman prospecting. Nature seems to
have fitted her for the business. With
one eye she scanned tie mountain above
and with the other she looked over her
shoulder into the gulch below She
was not red headed. From Beuna
Vista to Leadville it is Sc miles. Rising
another 2,OOO feet, the country is rough
and rocky and to most any one but a
miner il is forbidding. For several
miles below Leadville We run
through placer mines worked 20 years
ago a number arc now engaged washing
gold NJ the same places. Enough
CHAPLAIN,