Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1882-08-19
FROM COLORADO.

& /.
the vicinity of Colorado Springs, To
the health seeker The air here is
probably more exhilarating and
bracing than that of the higher al
titudes, or Of any other place in the
sta te, except, possibly, Idaho
Springs, about one hundred miles
further north. And then the vari-
GUS points Of interest near here,
some Of which / mentioned in my
last letter, furnish ample sources of
amusement to the explorer. Then,
too, from whatever point you view
them it is impossible to avoid an
ever recurring feeling of admiration
for the grandeur Of the two lofty
mountains always before you-the
majestic appearance of Pixies Peak,
towering above the line Of noun
tains around it, and the beautiful
Cheyenne, whose massive contour is
SO striking as to make you overlook
the fact that its height is several
hundred feet less than Pixies There
is unity Of conception in it unsur-
passed by any mountain l have ever
seen, and you feel that it is full Of
living power. pixies Peak or bust"
is as much the cry now as it was in
the early days, and all who feel
equal to the task invariably climb
its rugged ascent and then lay by a
few days for repairs.
In 1910 Coronado was sent into
this region by those old fellow
Spaniard5 who were consumed with
that fierce hunger for gold which in
duced them to scour the earth in
search of it; and eighty years before
the Pilgrim Fathers landed upon
Plymouth Rock he was perilously
traversing the San Luis Park and.
perhaps, seeing tile Wet Mountain
Valley lying,as it does to-day, green
and fertile between the two ranges.
But be went away disappointed af-
ter all Then in 1906, when Mr..
Jefferson was President, and Aaron
Burr was engaged III his reasonable
conspiracy to found new empire
west of the Alleghanies, Lieutenant
ZebulOn Pike, an adventurous and
persevering officer Of the army, was
ordered to proceed westward and
explore the region between the Mis-
souri, River and the frontier of Mex.
leo, which then included considera-
BILE territory now belonging to the
United States. He left st. Louis
on the oath Of June and camped in
the foothills near this point on the
25th of November. To-day the
same journey may be made in less
than sixty hours, and the traveller
need not go into camp upon arrival
here either, but may be assigned q
comfortable room by q hotel clerk
with eye glasses Pike saw the
great peak on the 18th of November
just as travellers by rail now sce it
when at least $50 miles distant. It
appeared, he said, like a small blue
cloud" and on the l7Jh be march
ed at the usual hour, pushed with
the idea of arriving at iAe noun
taius that night; bu, found when
night came no visible differences in
their appearance from Yesterday. "
And on the 25th he again "marcued
early with the expectation of ascend
ing the mountain, but Was only able
to camp at its base - This recalls
the old stories we have so often
heard about the deceptive distances
in this clear atmosphere. 1t IS ab.
sOlutely true that mountains twenty
miles distant appear to be near
enough for a morning walk before
breakfast, Probably the reader has
heard about the Eugllshman who
wOu'd't jump a thrce-tUOt irTlg1tiug
ditch because he "couldn't tell, by
Joye, you know, that the blasted
thing wasn't three quarters of
mile wide" But to return TO Pike.
lie called his discovered peak Mexi-
can Mountain, and LETT others to
give it his name Upon the very
top Of it., where cold winds blow and
snow squalls occur mt nearly an sea-
sons Of the year. a Government sig
nal station is now maintained, the
officers in charge living there "a pOr-
tion of the time.
1t was the "old, old story which
turned the tide of emigration in this
People probably never
wanted gold more Than alter the
panic Of 1857, and the report of it's
finding here the following year caus.
ed such stampede across the plains
MS has never been fQualed, except JIM