Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1884-06-12

Continual

At Dodge City the Western bound
tourist gets his first view Of the Arkansas
river, which for the mos, part resembles .
vas; strip Of .and through which shallow
streams wander. though at certain seasons
OF the year the river is said to present an
imposing appearance. Fort Dodge. from
which the place derives its name. has been
abandoned rs a military post.
Beyond this point the Atchison, Topeka
& Santa Fe X. X. passes through vast roll.
ing prairies which can only be employed for
grazing purposes, and one is continually
passing in sight Of large herds Of cattle,
horses and sheep, each herd usually attend
ed BY two mounted herders who look de.
cidedy lonesome as they watch the rapidly
passing train, filed with passengers, some
Of whom may be from their own far away
homes, in the East.
Coolidge, small railroad town, 4si
miles vest from Kansas City. Is the last
stopping place on the Road befor, crossing
the line. two miles beyond. into the Centen-
nial State.
Stations have been built by the Railroad
Company at distances Of from twenty TO
forty miles, around most Of which few
first settlers" have begun to gather, the "a
loon man being always the first and most
prosperous. The bottom lands in Colorado,
where irrigation alone is possible, are rich
sandy loan that would yield good harvests
under cultivation. but, away from the river.
always the Arkansas. for the Road follows
along its banks, the country can only be
used for grazing. The short. dry looking
grass does no, strike the new conner as offer
ing much attraction to the wandering herds.
but those who ought TO know. say that il
possesses nutritive qualities in a remarkable
degree and that Young cattle grow fin-l, on
il.
At La Junta. pronounced la Hoonta. }
ST. miles from Kansas City. the Road
branches, one line running to Pueblo, and
the other, or main line, extending down INTO
New Mexico, along the odd Santa Fe
Trail" For the present We, also. viii fol-
low the Gold Trail" with something more
Of ease and comfort. than the thousands
who have toiled over its burning sands dur
ing the pas, fifty years.
Trinidad. formerly typical Mexica
town, but now claiming population of over
5000, was one Of the mos, importan, point.
49, l.l-
Here the West bound traveller first makes
the acquaintance of the genuine adobe, or
mud. house, though he may have seen &c.
easiona.ly. on his way acros. the plains a
miserable imitation built Of sod. laid one
above another. Trinidad lies al the foot Of
the Ration mountains and il the county seat
Of Las Animas county. COLORADO 1, i
fast becoming modern city and is the cen
Ter OF large mining and cattle trade The
whole country appears 10 be pndrTiaid with
vast beds Of coal and the sigh, presented ID
the Traveller who passes through IN the night
and sees the flames from the tlumbcr.ess
coke ovens. IS strongly suggrsilve Of the
. =
the city, has been named. 1t j. called Par
gatoiIe. Besides coal. there are large de-
posts Of fire-ca,. pottery clay ochres.
building stone. lime stone. Portland cement
and gypsum.
Ten miles beyond the train comes to
halt, another powerful engine Is attached to
the rear and the train begins to climb up
/ the mountain on one Of the hest pieces If
railroad track in the couu,r1. The grade
! is Isl feet to the mile. up the pass called
The Devils Canon" Many magnificent
OF the Spanish Peaks they rise across the
plains nearly 100 mile. distant.
The "Old Trail" run, close beside the
track. while jus, below. 10 the right. j. the
great square house of Uncle Dick Moo
ton" formerly the old stage station. TN
Gle Dick, was the intimate and firm friend
Of HI, Carson. and many are the storic,
told Of hardship and danger in which these
two brave men took an equal share. Mr..
Woot,on i now over so wears old but
neither TO Others nor himself will he admit
that he is less sprigh,lv than IN former
years.
Five miles up the mountain the train
plunges into tunnel under the summit 81
the Ration range. As one leaves the Git
he mAy look hack ON Colorado. but half
mile further on; As he comes into the light
at the other end. he i, in New Mexico, hav-
ing crossed the line while in the tunnel. at
an elevation of .,6Ss fee; above sea level.
But what can We "a, that vii! give our
readers any idea Of New Mexico Nearly a
hundred year, before the landing Of the
Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock. the country Of
New Mexico had been explored hs partir,
Of Spaniards and ia 1888 the settlement of
Santa Fe was made. The Spaniard> found
the native Indians possessing many Of tile
arts IN high degree attested hy
their cities and temples. some Of the RUNS
Of which still remain.
Gold aud silver were found in abundance,
aad the large deposits Of OF there valuable
metals we're alone sufficient 10 attract TO the
country large numbers Of the adventurous
Spaniards, while the rich deposits Of copper.
and lead, and the discovery Of many valu-
able stones, added their charms to the new
country. About twenty miles from Santa
Fe are some old turquoise mines from which,
it is said, the magnificent stones among the
crown jewels OF Spain we're taken. Twice
the Spaniards were driven out before a per
manent foot-hold was gained. Although
the methods of mining were primitive in
those days. yet the ruins of shafts, from
which vast quantities of rich ores were tax
en-, are still found on the mountain sides in
many portions of the territory. One misses
here the rolling prairies Of Kansas and Col
orado. The country is mountainous. with
dry beds Of streams which occasionally
pour down, in wild torrents. from "cloud
burst" on the mountain sides. The climate
is dry. The mountain peaks are usually
covered with snow while in the valleys the
rays of the sun pour down an almost ,ropi-
cal heat at times. The air is usually clear
and so rariied as TO bring distant objects to
the eve with distinctness almost equal to