The daily gazette., 1882-06-21
COLORAD0'S CAPITAL.
"vIEWs AFooT" BY A Will.
MisGToNtAN.
CHARACTERISTICS OF DENVER.
A Rushing. Restless, Progressive Cfty--Its
Marvellous GrOwth-Delaware Boys
Forging to the Front.
[special cogrespondence of the Gazette.

the country's population are stay y-at-h homes,
who enjoy reading about the great Western
country to moving through 1t perhaps at
the expense of almost every comfort in the
calendar. II the latter can find in these
sketches anything that will interest them or
give them information, the writer will con-
slider that he has 'struck paying lead" !"
Wilmington's city campaign being now over
the warm months intervening between it
and the great fight during the coming fall
Will be devoted to more miscellaneous topics
of which let this be one. A start In April
and run of four days and four nights
brought the writer from Wilmington to
Denver, through Delaware, Maryland, West
Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri,
Kansas and Colorado
After leaving Western Maryland and
West Virginia we bade farewell to noun
tains; Ohio exhausted hills, and left In
diana and Illinois only fiat and dreary
prairies, large expanses ofwhich were under
water during what proved very wet season.
Through Missouri more hills presented
themselves OF about the calibre of Ohio, but
Kansas opened out wider range of prairie
than ever which continued to the base of
the Rocky Mountains. The eastern half of
Kansas is paradise for the agriculturist,
grain growing in the greatest plenty, the
wheat about the 2ith Of April being two
assumes the appearance OF a barren desert,
and this continues until the river bottoms
near the mountains are reached. Western
Kansas and Eastern Colorado answer to the
same description. The
METROPOLIS OF THE GREAT WEST
is Denver. 1t is the distributing point of
the great mountain mining region extend
ing from Wyoming to New Mexico and
including parts of Utah and Arizona. A
city with almost undisputed sway in so vast
| a region can hardly fail to move forward
faster than the more limited cities farther
East Its nearest rival is Kansas City, Mis-
souri,, growing and important place, but
| not located near enough to enter into strong
| competition with Denver. The latter city
was named after General Denver, who was
Governor OF Kansas in 80, when the pioneers
crossed the plains in mule teams, 10 mules
to wagon, and made the first settlement on
| the South Platte river, near the foothills.
There is nothing Indian in the name, you
see. The settlement grew, sometimes rap
| idly and again very slowly, until, as shown
by the census of 1880. 1t had permanent
population of 30 $3.50, not so large as Will
mington by several thousands. But an era
OF great prosperity had struck it like a whirl-
wind, and stream of people poured into it
of such volume that the residents in this
| y
Making due allowance for exuberance
of enthusiasm, the city must have
a bona iide total of $4,000 permanent
residents, and the other 10000 is made uu
OF floating mass, composed In the winter
season of men who come in from the mines
| to pass the cold months, and in the summer
Isof a mixed company of travellers, sight
seers and people who choose this season OF
the year to come out and try their luck,
with view to staying should they make a
| strike. Building operations are brisker than
in any town the writer ever saw, so brisk in
| fact that it becomes an annoyance to the
| pedestrian who has many laps to make on
the pavements. A great feature of this
movement is the tearing down of the unsub-
stantial buildings which were reared in the
earlier days and the "inserting in lieu
thereof of larger, stronger and more
beautiful edifices, which compare favorably
with the substantial piles of other metro
politan cities. The Windsor, St. James,
Glenarin and other hotels are evidences OF
this the Tabor, Moffat, Kassler and other
business blocks, together with the single
business blocks, while the resident portions
of the city have been SO carefully looked
after that it can be truthfully called one Of
the most beautiful cities In the country
| Denver is =
/
and the county seat of Arapaho county
The capital was formerly at Colorado City,
but the characteristics developed by time
pointed to the propriety of making Denver
the capital, and on putting the question to
"a vote of the people it was so decided. This
has been of so recent occurrence, however,
that the capital buildings have not been
erected and the legislature still hires a hall
| to conduct its meetings. An imposing
| Court House Is approaching completion, as
well as fine city building, and the capital
buildings will follow ON the completion of
these necessary improvements. All the most
attractive features Of the city are of but
recent development-for instance, the
Grand Opera House, put up by money out
of the individual pocket of Lieut.. Gov. II.
A. w. Tabor It was formally opened last
| September by Emma Abbott, who sang an
engagement of two weeks, and went away
| delighted with thousands of buZZard dollars
in her pocket. Emma in her enthusiasm,
announced from the stage that it was the
most beautiful auditorium this side of Paris,
and every Denyerte was Immediately seized
with violent desire to try the "Abbott
kiss" 1t is not recorded however, that
| Emma took the contract. | have not had
the theatrical, or rather operate expert
ence which Miss Abbott has enjoyed, but FL
have seen Philadelphia crack Chestnut
street Opera House and humbly accord the
palm to to the Tabor.
THE WILMINGTON COLONY.
/ had hardly got dry (nOt thirsty in the
CITY. for it was raining when reached it,
before | learned that George w. Bush,
Henry Mendenhall and George s. Capelle,
with their families, had arrived the day be-
fore. They were with an excursion party
making tour of the West, and remained
only a couple of days, by which time J..
Newlin Gawthrop and sister arrived with
another party on the same mission of sight
seeing and pleasure. They remained also
only few DAYS, but if they stayed long in
| Colorado and are at all addicted to profanity,
they must certainly have vigorously used it.,
for the weather up to June was execrable,
| so far as the convenience and comfort of
pleasure seekers was concerned, although
| the farmers or ranehemen were throwing up
their hats and yoicing their delight at the
dampness.
dropped into the Times office and met
INV old friend George B. Cole, son of
'SgIIire Cole, who has been here engaged on
| the Times a year in May. He likes his
berth. is radiant. healthy and happy, and
was rendered still more SO at meeting u
speeimen of the genus homo of the metropo-
lis of the old Peninsula.
Then | stepped around on Wazee street,
to the Western Foundry, of which Thomas
Walker is proprietor, Mr., Walker is a
WiIminptonian who came out here about
two years ago, more especially to obtain
relief from a severe and weakening case of
asthma. He obtained place with the