The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1882-09-15

almost to overhang the stream. Some
times the road lies down near the
Arkansas, whose bright, clear waters
dash over the boulders on its bottom
or curl in graceful eddies around
some curve. Again the road ascends
the bank, the six strong horses strain
ing every muscle to haul the heavy
coach up the rocky steep, and then
you look down 500 feet to see the
river surging and raging, leaping
from ledge to ledge, and dashing
against the sides of the rocky canon.
Occasionally the road brought up up
on a broad level plateau, bounded on
the east by the canon Of the river,
which flows hundreds of feet below at
the very foot of the mountains, and
extending away for miles to the west
and south. This was once the bed of
the Arkansas, which, in olden times,
spread out here into broad lake be-
fore it cut its present channel through
the rocks. At places the river flows
up close to the foothills of the main
range, and then The road which fol-
lows is extremely billy and winding.
But now the iron horse has found
his way up this valley and all this
scenery is as accessible as that of the
Hudson River or the White Noun
tains, though l sometimes think the
old stage furnishes the most exciting
and enjoyable means of getting over
these mountains and up and down
the valleys. never enjoyed any
railway ride and never expect to en-
JOY one as much as I did the stage
ride from Black Hawk to Central
City in 1875, passing over the noun.
tain down which Nellie Grant made
her famous drive shortly before and
over the hair-raising road which start
ed poor old Horace Greeley in 1869.
But no regular stage runs over this
route now, because the railway has
crept up here, too. There is no more
striking evidence Of the prosperity
and enterprise of Colorado than the
rapidity with which narrow gauge rail-
roads are built into the Rocky Noun
'tains. The Denver, South Park and
Pacific road zig-zags up the South
Platte canon and over the pass into
the South Park on grades that no
engineer would have dared to suggest
ten years ago. Scarcely less daring
has been the engineering of the Den
yer and Rio Grande road over the
La Veta pass of the Sangre de Christie
range into the valley of the Rio
Grande River. More wonderful than
either in its conception and execu.
ton has been the construction of the
Arkansas Valley Railroad from this
place through the Royal George, a
canon almost as grand in its proper
tons and more inaccessible than that
of the Colorado. This Royal George,
through which the Arkansas River
cuts its way to the plains, is indeed a
seven-days wonder. The fantastic
forms which the red granite assumes,
the overhanging crags, the almost
perpendicular walls, the sudden turns
in the stream which shut out the dis
tant view in all directions and leave
the traveller in a great well--all these
might be described, but must be seen
to be appreciated.
On the road from Leadville we pass
the Twin Lakes, always popular re-
sort but now fast becoming city of
summer residences. They are two
pretty little water bodies and the
place is very inviting. This reminds
me of one of the wonders of Colorado
of which l have heard but have not
seen. 1t lies over the range from
Twin Lakes and is, if the truth be
told, ten-acre field which is no more
nor less than a subterranean lake COW
cred with soil about eighteen inches
deep. On the soil is, or was last
year they say. cultivated a field OF
corn, which produced thirty or forty
bushels to the acre. If any one will
take the trouble to dig hole in the
depth of spade handle he will find it