The daily gazette., 1882-07-03
mid WESTERN PEAKS.
ANOTHER INTERESTING LET
TER FROM MMR.BERToLETTE M
THE GREATEST MINING STATE.
Colorado and Her Railroad wonders
Mines q Great source of Wealth--The
Coming Exposition.
especial correspondence of the Gazette.

Railroads are a necessity to rapid growth,
and q progressive record such as has been
laid before you for Denver could not have
been made without good feeders, and they
are here. First, your mind will naturally
advert to the Union Pacific, which has had
so much to do with conveying passengers to
this point, and yet 1t does not touch the
State of Colorado, the nearest point being
Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory. From here,
however, its business is sent in by the Denver
Pacific, short road whose termini are Den
yer and Cheyenne. This is one of the oldest
routes for railroad communication with the
East.
The next is the Kansas Pacific, the eastern
terminus of which is Kansas City, Mo. 1t
follows the Kow or Kansas river for many
miles and then takes 1t course along the
Smoky Hill Fork for quite distance. 1t
makes an almost due east and west line
through Kansas, running along the "divide"
until it reaches Colorado, when it strikes
northwest to Denver. These with the Atchi-
son, Topeka & Santa Fe made, until re-
Gently, the three great arteries to the East,
and even the latter road has not been send
ing passengers direct to Denver until COM
paratively recent date, 1t having no exclu-
sive track to the city even now. The A. T.
II s. +. takes through passengers from the
East to Kansas City, carries them southwest
until 1t strikes the Arkansas river, which 1t
follows almost due west to Pueblo, whence
its cars run north to Denver over the Denver
& Rio Grande tracks There is close
rivalry between the X. p. and the A., T. q
8. f., which has been productive of more
rapid trainsit, a fact hailed with delight by
the travelling public of Colorado and Kansas.
Up to May the flrst-class passenger trains
did not move faster than from Is to 20 miles
| an hour. After many complaints the A, :.
q s. f. put on what 1t called the Thunder
bolt Express and advertised 1t extensively.
| In order to prevent a divergence of travel
| to the southern route the X. P. hastened to
| put on its Lightning Express, since which
the time between Denver and Kansas City
has been greatly reduced
But another rival has appeared upon the
scene in the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy.
| This road, until quite recently carried
passengers no further than Kansas City, but
| concluding to make itself complete 1t COM
| menced laying tracks through to Denver.
4 This was completed about three weeks ago,
and freight is running, while 1t expected to
commence carrying passengers direct from
Chicago to Denver a1out the Fourth of
July. One good effect anticipated from this
is q good reduction ? rates which are
| higher from here TO Kansas City than ff0m
the latter point to New York, Philadelphia
| or Baltimore. The entrance of the @. B. e.
| Q. was greeted with satisfaction by those in
| terested in the welfare and progress of Colo
radios capital.
| The pet railroad of the State, and the one
that enjoys the greatest monopoly, is the
/ Denver and Rio Grande, running from
/ Denver to Pueblo, thence by divers branches
to Leadville, Durango and Trinidad, and
continuing from the latter point to within a
| few miles of Santa Fe, New Mexico It is a
narrow guage and does some exciting
mountain climbing in it's windings through
| the State Retween Pueblo and Denver 1t
has added an extra rail for the accommoda-
ton of the A., T. IL S. F. broad guage cars.
| The Denver q New Orleans is one of the
very latest of these spokes to the hub. 1t is
a broad gauge road already running pas
sengers and freight between Denver and
Pueblo, and from the latter point it is pro-
posed to construct on southeasterly until it
| becomes all that its name implies. 1t is
said to be part of Jay Gould's system
Then comes the Denver Il Northwestern, in
operation to Longmont, and designed to
reach Fort Laramie, Wyoming. Again, the
Colorado Central, running to Georgetown !;
the Boulder Valley, whose objective is
Boulder; and the Denver, South Park &
Pacific, which runs through the famous
South Park of Colorado, touches Leadville
and purposes continuing on to Gunnison.
| Here are ten, to which must be added the
| Denver, Longmont Il Western, which is to
| run deep into the mountains but has not
gotten further than Longmont as yet.
Thus, you see, Denver is already hub
and you can understand that it is truthful
| to call it the distributing point of the Great
| West. Moreover it is tolerably well sup
| piled with street cars and has, in addition,
circular steam railroad running around the
city somewhat similar to that operated in
the Centennial grounds during the great
| exposition. All the railroads running to
Denver enter at one railroad depot, which is
one of the finest structures erected for that
purpose in the country. One further fact
| while on this subject The first ride ] took
out of the city was on car built by Bowers,
| Dure II Co., on the Denver Il South Park
road. There are many of this firms trade
marks to be found in this country, as well
as that of the jackson & Sharp Co., which
shipped ten cars to the Denver & Rio Grande
about the middle of last April The fares
here ON local roads are nothing like those in
the East. A dollar for 10 miles is not con-
sidered exorbitant by the railroad companies,
and from the time you strike the mountains
you pay at the rate OF ten cents a mile.
Colorado is
THE GREATEST MINING STATE
in the Union. Its mines are its foremost
and greatest source of wealth. 1t is
natural therefore that the industry should
occupy the minds of the people and that
they should feel a pride in showing to the
world what is being accomplished and how.
Awork is now going on that is destined to
draw an army of sight-seers and seekers
after knowledge to Colorado this summer
and fall, and this is the national mining and
industrial exposition to be held in Denver,
beginning in August and continuing indefin-
ltely. The buildings are now being erected
on a beautiful site and will be finished In
good time. Great preparations are being
made by every mining camp in the State to
be represented by a full display of ore from
its locality. Every industry in the State
will be represented and nearly every State
and Territory in the West has signified its
intention to make displays of its wares and
products 1t is said the mining interests of
Georgia are moving in the matter and busi-
ness-like inquiries have come from Missis-
sippi from those who wish to see that State
represented. What the cotton exposition at
Atlanta was to the South the mining exposi-
tion at Denver is expected to be to the great
mineral West. 1t will be an exhibition diff
fering from all others of its kind in this
country, from the numerless varieties of ore,
rock, iron, &C., that abound within the con-
fines of Colorado and of all the Rocky
Mountain region, and which have never
before been shown as they will be here.
The opening will mark an epoch in the
history of the State. 1t Ia expected that