The National tribune., 1883-08-09
Lifts At LEADvILLE.

Prom moral standpoint, Le2dylIls Is IN
doubtediy the toughest PLACE IN the mountains.
The gambling dens are ful ali night, and the
proprietOrs exercise their love Of the unique by
a trayesty on sacred things that IS IS shocking
- original For instance. the lowest den IN
town is surmOunted outside by tower and re-
joices in the name of =" The Little Church.
In another-a princely gambling resort, with
tapestry aud tine walnut upholstery there lies
an open Bible on the table, while over the
clock is the admonition Please do not
swear" The signs OF the town are as rule
unique, as for instance, = The Stray Horse Meat
Market" embeIlshed with horses head.
From Buena Vista to Gunnison one passes
through a sublime and awful country. Nothing
but the inspired figures of the old Hebrew
PSalmists and prophets can give any idea of the
majesty Of all the oyeF-mastering hills From
the entire South Park, beginning with Buena
Vista, are glimpses Of transporting beauty
mountain ranges after mountain ranges stretch
away into the ilIi.nitable blue with the 1ceey
1ecks floating over each uplited summit like
q halo of sgpernal glory. Approaching the con-
tinental divide, where the streams from their
snow-bed sources and the limpid lakes of the
regions of electric blue separate, these TO pur-
sure their long journey to the Atlantic via the
great Gulf, and those to the far-away Pacific
slopes, the piled-up masses slowly and solemnly
unfold. There they are, foothu upon foot
hill, mount upon mount, summit upon sum
nit, dome5 and towers, peaks and pyramids;
up and up, and up TO the right of you, Co the
left of You, behind yon crags aud boGldeFs,
penetrated by swift-p pouring mountain torrents !;
studies in black and white in cool grays aud
neutrals, tinted in dark blues and violets aud
vivid greens; surely here IS a land beyond al
lands most inspiring, and inyOlantarily we ex-
claim with the divine PSalmist:
Lift up your heads, o We gates
And be ye lifted up We everlasting hills
And the king Of glory shall come in
Who is this king OF glory?
The Lord, the Lord mighty Ia battles,
He Is this king of glory!
The great poet of the Republic VIII come
from California!
ABOVE THE SNOW LINE.
From Hayward up through the Chalk Creek
Valley to the Alpine Pass, there is . succession
Of lofty eregs, oyercapped by castled rec6s and
soaring d0mes and pinnacles before which hui
man language sinks into silence, oyeraWed and
ashamed. Only the pen OF inspiration or the
fre-tipped plume of an angels record could
give any idea OF the over-shadowing awfulness
of the stupendous formation. Up we so, mp and
up, past Alpine village at an elevation of 10000
feet past St Elmo, and its surrounding ruins
past Hancock, where the scattering SHOWS be-
gin to settle fake by flake; past the scenes made
memorable by Jack Crawford, the reformed
miner and Methodist reviyalist, who to the
original tune of
"Whoop 'em up for Jesus
Whoop 'em UP for Christ's eorraIl"
is still prosecuting his missionary work, with
the Bible in Que hand and a six-shooter, to keep
down Interruptions. IN the other; upand up into
that long line of snow-skeds, where the unset
tied SHOWS descend TO the very irons ON the
track and then through that stupendous tunnel,
extending 200 feet across the backbone of the
continent; and where laden with the affiuent
glow of Alpine lowers we begin our descent to
the table lands below. Before we enter the
tunnel halt is made ae the snow banks, whore,