Morning journal and courier., 1883-09-22
IS, GROCERIES. DRY GOODS.
SOUR MASH,

l inspecting the famous Tabor Opera House
 the model court house, the mining exhibition
 nov open, which challenges all previous min l eral exhibitions in this country in extensive | ness, and the many other attractions in Colo rados capital. 1 examined the artesian well l which the county is now sinking as an exper- | iment for the benefit of citizens. At depth 1 of 700 feet good stream of water has been | tapped, but it is the intention to go down 800 feet at least in order to make the most 1 thorough test. Ground has just been broken for the new State House.
 But your readers have heard much of this l city that has sprung into being like Aladdin's palace. It shall be my object to steer clear | of guide books and cyclopNdias, and simply | gossip with your readers in an informal way about some things which interested me, but which are seldom referred to by correspond 1 ents. A four hours ride over the Denver | and Rio Grande narrow gauge three rail road 1 landed me at Colorado Springs A good l many things along the route proved that the country traversed is waking up and will be | has gone out of the beaten path to help bring l this about Railroad men have staked out l towns, constructed hotels, and created parks and artificial lakes. The depots are many of | them stone or granite, and are supplied with stained glass windo oWs,-think of that. I had
 g chat with one railroad man who said: "On- | ly little over ten years ago helped to stake I out Colorado Springs. I was hopeful, of | course; and had great faith in the country i; but cannot deny that had serious misgiv- | ings at times. You see that row Of shapely | cottonwoods? I planted them there with my l own hands, so thoroughly in earnest did be- come. Oh yes, we are reaping eur reward l now. That short decade has worked mira cles, but the next is going to work greater. Yes, indeed it is."
 As look upon the four long trains of pas- | senger cars that pass through this region each way daily, am amazed at the accomplish ments of these past few years. I suppose 90 or 95 per cent. of the travellers are tourists :; certainly no western road could begin to pay 1 expenses if it depended entirely upon local transportation. No wonder then that the East is flooded with time-cards, guide books 1 and pamphlets sent out by these Rocky Mountain roads.
 cannot reconcile myself to the incongrui- ties in the names given to some of these Col orado towns. Many of them are pretty, but again very many are commonplace, if not ri diculously inappropriate. Think of romantic mountain hamlets weighted down by such names as Spike Buck, Small Oak, Greenhorn, Mule Shoe, Jacks Cabin, Knobknoster, etc But this unnecessary poverty of names is not so bad as the gross inconsistency with which they are conferred. When you come upon town named Fountain, you have no assurance whatever thab there is water in the vicinity. The names of Manitou and Colorado Springs
 
 are at Manitou. Manitou-as we are obliged still to refer to it-is called the Saratoga of the West, which is 8 manifest libel Has the New York Saratoga Pike's Peak. or Gar den of the Gods, or Williams Canon, or Crystal Park, or Cave of the Winds? But
 the greatest injustice is in referring to the State of Colorado as the Switzerland of America. The time is coming when the or der will be reversed, and we shall hear the expression, 'fSwitzerland, the Colorado of Europe" Said travelled English gentleman
 to me to-day as we were seated together upon the hotel balcony: 1T have been all through Switzerland, and it is only an approach to what you have here. It makes me wonder that Americans should thus underrate their home wonders. Is it because they are unap : preciatiye or modest ?''
 I enjoyed the rare privilege yesterday of forming the acquaintance of two college boys
 here in Colorado Springs who are not so
 widely knoNn as their exploits would war.
 rant. They were the original discoyersrs of the Gave of the Winds John and George Pickett. The elder related the story to me briefly as follows: 'tWe were of at Manitou for picnic one beautiful spring day three years ago last June, my brother and and our Sunday school class. Being denied ad- mission to cave which we had hoped to visit, we two wandered of by ourselves,
 and began climbing the precipitous southern side of Williams Canon. We found small hole, and after eniarging it little, found
 that it opened into chambers of rare beau ty within. (We only got as far as Cascade Hall We displayed our little find to Rev. Mir. Cross of this place, our Sunday school teacher, and he with some other ministers of Colorado Springs attempted to make of t place of resort. They only had thirty visitors during the summer, and then the present energetic proprietors, Msssrs Rhine hart & Snider, bought up the mountain They only wanted the lime in it. and did
 not make 1t a public resort until the fol-
 lowing February, when they discovered 8 great many new avenues and chambers" ]" visited this cave, and came away so over Whelmed with it's wonders that I shall not
 attempt to portray them at all This win