New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-09-15
PIXIES PEAK.
,,o,nr,1v rIIupING IN COLORADO.

-, - oc,, SION Al CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIDCNEJ
M,<1ror. Col, Aug. 20-The transition
,Ou, Kansas into Colorado as commonly in"uo 'S emo
,ore,er presents striking change Al nlgn' iro" '.o
ear windows you watch the sun scattering ihotcs VI e
,brouch the clear quvering air as ne SINS 'o"'
- c~,eo swell OF the Kansas praries You wake III
a.. morning ana raising the curtain OF your ruliman
rb welcome the signs of his Temperatures Ill INC huSn
an the horizon which deepens and bursts into 'he pa%
oe and gold 81 the glorious sunrise Of the plains
Dsrkly outlined. sihOuette-llkc. against the go"iuH
,.dance OF the sky, you see sombreroed herdsman
,,rbtlv ,alopng around his long horned beeves Iheh
talking further you see q range OF Scared, stormVen
,nnuntains-yOu catch sight of tall forest trees 10 "0
vour eve has been stranger and you see tn8l inc pi
,ies have given place TO plains, almost "ni'e uo'eu
with sage-brush and carved into deep guhes anu "oI
rayues This is first glimpse OF Colorado anu 'o
och, of tho mountains comes like BENSON atter the
monotony Of the endless plains Through deep Gus i'o
tbe cavey soil the train rolls into PueoO' giving '
eav eimpses OF the low adobe nuts OF the MeAcahs "
,d nort Of the town, where olive-skinned children
With ewes like anteopes and scarlet hanoKerchleIS
.ts,od about their heads. like tropical flowers
oins the cold gray OF the adobe walls. This Is the
gateway of Colorado. and here you may decide TO plunge
~ ee into the mountains, which you may enter 10 inc
westward through the Grand Canon of the Arkansas
the southwark through the VetG Pass or whether
CON ri,l first 90 northward and visit the states metrop
,s nenver II You are wise you will first 20 north
ward and improve the opportunity to skirt the east psc
NJ the Rocky Mountains for -seventy-hve miles.
ssinc ont of Pueblo the takes on different as
rect The flavor age and romance disappears before
tb shelters and steel There are long streets cut
fr tine banks of white clay and rejecting the burning
am, with dazzling glare which lined with busy
stor,. and Offices. Then rows OF pretty queen
Anne villas scattered along the higher streets Wch are
lined with shade trees and give the new Pueblo the sem
bance of New England town Indeed II Is so IN arge
rort. for the many New-Englandcrs and NewYorkers
l,., Fo1uf hp
Of tue society in The train puis on ep tue
parched cayey plain tenanted only by the sage;pru'h
md tie prairie-dog; passing Cheyenne Peak anna 'he
mountain range on the left and paUsing Tor moment
at Colorado Springs, where you are l'5oo rect ""oNc
pueblo Then progress becomes slower and it ia only
gradual that the strainng engine leaves Plkes Feak
behind, willie you catch occasional gmpses OF ianl"S
tc pillars md masses Of c00rcd limestone along te
nearer bas Of foothills At last there Is pause
Nst on ank of little lake whch lies in the summit
OF the DivC between the watersheds OF the Fdlte anu
the Arkansa you bits of wood into the opposite
ends OF hs axe at nigh water, Will float northward
into the soub Platte and thence to the Missouri while
the other wufnd its way southwark through the Ar
kansas into tie Mississippi.
Leaving theOvlde. 1907 feet above the sea- higher
than Mount Washington the train leaps and rattes on
as av dawn e incline into the Valley of the Platte
The strange rock shapes along the way become more ire
Quent OF 20 tac left under the shadow of the noun
tain- is shown n corner of Monument Park, with its
eccentric pillars and groesque sculptures while on inc
right the hills are crowned with Gothic cathedrais'
crumbng block houses, and urreted castles all OF inc
light yellow limestone. One OF these masses almost
ovcrhanng the track has given its name 10 the station
Castle Rock and scores Of others show their sha tered
battlements amid the pines of the barren hills Then
comes Denver luxurious and given to speculation, now
all agog with her exposition, where you remain uhui
ready to turn from The works of man to natures
mightier temples. When this chasened mood comes
atp fO q
pretty little resort Astounding in pleasant houses ana
charming people and taking the train six miles across
10 Mesa breathe the pure air of Manitou seep soundy,
and next me .ng rise early and climb Pixies Peak
TiE GARDEN OF THE GODS
This little collection Of hotels, curiosity shops, and
stables straggng along the road from the Ute Pass
md guarded on either side by barren rocky hills, SUI
hold, IT'S u az the fashionable summer resort OF Colo
,ado but unless visitor has so far fallen from grace
as to become addicted to the use OF mineral waters
Manitous attraction will be found 10 lie IN us con
venience a. a point Of departure Within walking dis-
tenc ia the famous Garden of the Gods, with ITS won
oerful gateway a glowing mountain Of coored sand
stone $50 feet high, crowned with white oattlenen's
while within gigantic portals the genn OF the ouu
tain. have wrought all manner of freakish and cyclic
uean sculptures from the Of gypsum, limestone anu
sandstone and colored them with fantastic hues Ike
Melrose Abbey these strange turreted towers ana mp
ish statues should he seen by moonlight inc o-r~t
brilliant moonlight OF Colorado, when the Vahey see'
the home OF ghosts and the deep black shauo"' '0 W
1ne-places Of mountain gnomes
But the visitor of the groesque ana coioSFal
IN sculpture he can turn the sivery radiance OF the
Rainbow Falls only q short ride away, while the Ohey-
enne Canons Monument Park Glen Evrie, ana " Ny
Garden" held sacred to II. H." are pleasant uesu
nations for the riders who daily start from the hotels
UP A MOUNTAIN TRAIL.
R,t the desoate summit OF Pixies Peak with its air OF
hanghty defiance proved irresistible temptation W
conquest and 1t that sunrise found me nouneu
on broncho and following the guide UP the new tran
mast the TIE Springs where tradition says the red man
came 70 heal his physical That carly morning
ride was worth remembering The valley narrower lh'o
Ru1ton Canon. The trail became a mere pain aionR
which the snre-footed bronchos picked ther way i'll
single he now underneath great Douiaers tna, nuhs
above while below the cmbing soil sloped straight 10
The rinnl,nr brook az the bottom again crowdlng
throny narrow gateways In the rock ITSELF and pest OF
ALL descending. FLASHING through clear poor au ''Ai's
up trait Ugh the pine forest where the c'cur c
air was fragrant with the breath of the woohs' oh!
poet botans could tell the glories OF the VIII ho"er9 i"
the little valleys where paused to rest There were the
"ladies' bueben" its tall stalk crowded WIN iIeSn'
deeply azure Aowers the glowing wild honeysucke now
erng grasses almost feathery the Panpas grass
asers geutans and beds of yellow and PINK on every
side sheltered by The dark pinccad walls OF the canon
and their loneliness marked by the desoate stony pc"A
that rose above the timber line.
But there was little time fer lingering among the nov"
ers for although occasional glimpses as the trail wound
along the PERCEPTIONS sides Of the canon showed Manou
far below the summit seemed further removed than at
The start There every element OF variety 10 lend
relief 10 aching limbs Al moment the tran crossed
the brook boulder were Veled III the Snowy
lace OF a foaming cascade; and again emerging from
the woods. " Cog" and MaSog," the crags GROWING
the mountains Oh the left into sight TO disappear
aga, as the path wound through a clearing WIN It's
rough cabin and climbed stairway OF rocks ana rooiS'
Then came a grove Of aspens the GROUND "ithh ""u
Nh inpassahle Jungle by fallen trees. The summit began
n look nearer Below Bear Creek Canon came INTO
sight broad partly wooded valley with Lake Mon9ne
e. ,s centre along which pas sed FremOnts old trail