Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1883-05-08
COLORADO SMALL TALK-III.
GREELEY. Mar. lSS


Grounds, where efforts are making for
more successful exhibition than last year,
we pass through the small town Of Little
ton, and further on, crossing Plum Creek,
enter Douglass County, and make our
first acquaintance with the Great Platte
River Canal, the largest in Colorado,
but small beside some in British India
and northern Italy | have forgotten
the exact dimensions, but would think
it was forty feet on the bottom and capa-
bic Of carrying enough water to float
quite large river steamer. 1t was car
rying good stream Of water in Novem-
Der, but was empty when | returned in
March. 1t comes out Of the Platte near
the Canon and crosses Plum Creek in an
immense Aume which is nearly quarter
of a mile long. would guess the fiume
cost from $50, 900 to 500, 900.
My intention was to visit some Maine
boys, with whom | had climbed the
mountains brow" so to speak, in Old
Oxford. to pick blueberries. Lam sorry
to say that we have no such fruit on our
mountains. Crossing the canal and OPEN
ing farm gate, soon drove TO a SUBJ
stsntial dwelling within a mile Of the
Canon The house was on one side of
the canal and the stables on the other,
and the ditch company had built broad
bridge between the two. Here | met
Llewellyn, Rinaldo and Ralph Bean, and
their mother, all well known in Bethel.
The land under ditch looked as if it were
in good condition. The wife Of the sec
ond gentleman was on visit 70 Maine,
but his son. the Nimrod Of the Platte
Canon country, had goodly number of
water fowls and other birds stuffed and
mounted. Mr.. Ralph looked as if he
ought 10 be a Governor-or, better still,
Judge Of something. He and his wife
and children are all well and healthy.
Mrs. Ralph is a daughter Of Hon. +. G.
Wheeler Of No. Bethel. The view Of
the mountains must remind them Of Ok
ford County. The brothers, in addition
10 their farming and stock raising, do a
good deal Of building at some seasons Of
the year. Next morning, Ralph showed
me a near way across the country to the
proper road.
had not gone many miles along the
Denver * Rio Grande Railroad, before
we came upon the frs; large mountain
pines. Noon brought US to the county
seat Of Douglass County-,he village Of
Castle Rock-which takes it. name from
a peculiar rock on an eminence near by.
While dinner was preparing, two of us
assembled TO the base Of the immense rock.
Rocks that look ike castles are quite
common farther on and some looking
Ike pale strawberries on the mountain
sides and some ike great cathedrals,
hundreds Of feet high.
AL the afternoon we kept going up
and up, circlng over billy roads, and at
shutdown came TO a small lake, and
station known as Divide This is
the place where Sunday school teachers
get points for their addresses to their
schools. Raindrops split on the highest
stones Of Divide. and one half runs down
into the Platte River and the other into
the Arkansas; bu; since they unite, pos
sibly, in the distant Ocean-what does It
matter: These drops are the creatures
Of circumstance. AL Of US are more or
less creatures Of circumstance. Some Of
Us 20 roaring and tearing down our path
ways 70 the ocean and call ourselves or
thodox. Others Of US 20 singing and
prsttling along and are called heterodoH.
But possibly when we reach the Great
Bosom Of Eternal Love-the Ocean Of
Truth-we will not be asked what route
We came by, if we have only made proper
use of our faculties by the way. This is
the commencement of short sermon on
charity, which | will omit.
The scenery from Divide to Monument
Is the most varied and beautiful on the
way. At the latter place, the hotel
keeper proved 10 be Maine man, and
later he was one Of the gallant sixteen
who stood for Gov. Pitkin in the Legis-
la,ure against the glamour of gold.
Next day we reached Colorado Springs,
beautiful temperance city Of about A.
600 inhabitants Fourteen miles farther
down the river Fountain, is the anti
quated, decsyed town of Fountain, which
in the days of bull teams was Of a good
deal Of importance. When the Denver
& Rio Grande Railroad asked for right Of
way through the principal street, the in
dependent residents objected, and so the
rich corporation swung around the town,
hardly making station there, and laid