The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-08-24

| and following down the Grand on it's way
to Salt Lake City In fact several surveying
| parties are already in the field. All of these
| places just across the continental divide or
| the Snowy Range as it is generally called,
| which is the range bounding the Arkansas valley
on the west, up which valley the ID. q h. u
railroad runs from Pueblo to Leadviile. The
latter city lies on the western slope Of the Park
| range, which bounds the valley on the east IN
| this portion OF its course.
Leadviile commands magnificent view OF the
''Sn owy Range" the grandest on the continent.
| being on the other side of the valley but a few
miles distant Mount Massive" rechristened
! Mount Garfield" a few years back, IS directly
opposite the town, with its three lovely Ever
| green lakes" nestled in its side near the base,
one below another, with little cascades between,
the upper one being fed by similar cascade that
| comes tumbling down the mountain side.
Mount Elbertis prominent obiec to the south
west near whose base are the celebrated Twin
| Lakes, two lakes of larger size, similarly stu
ated, on whose waters a small steamer plies,
| rendering it the highest pavigated water in
| America, the altitude being in the neighbor-
hood of lO, COO feet The stage road to Aspen
passes by Twin Lakes The scenery about
| Leadvile is grand and inspiring in the
extreme. 1t is still the most interest
| ing town in the State. and, although the
wonderful boom Of the early days ended with the
| collapse of 1880, it has largely recovered from
that catastrophe, and its mining output is greater
| to-day than ever BEFORE and although wild
| speculation is at an end and outside capital has
to a large extent lost faith in the place and its
| mines, DEVELOPMENT goes apace and properties
considered worthless four five years ago are
| now good paying mines The leasing system has
| had much to do in restoring confidence and
| placing the camp on frmer basis of prosperity.
the leasers being for the most part Leadville
| men, who have put home capital into many
| mines, whose owners lacked either the pluck
the means to work them, and proven that ''the
| bottom hasn't fallen out of Leadviile," by any
| manner of means, many of them having made
| independent fortunes for themselves. as well
as for the owners of the properties in the way of
royalties.
| On the way to Leadville passes through
| the "Grand Canyon of the Arkansas, which
begins little above Canyon City and extends
| for distance of twentymiles, If one count both
| the canyon proper and the gorge beyond which
is almost as narrow. For. six or seven miles the
train seems to be sweeping through rift in the
| surface of the earth. a very tortuous,
! narrow rift at that from which one
| looks up at the ribbon of the blue sky above.
between bare and rugged rocks rising abruptly
| for distance of over two thousand feet on
either side, with less abrupt mountain walls be-
yond, towering to height OF three or four
| thousand feet. A narrow shelf beside the rush
ing torrent, blasted for almost the entire dis
lance from the rocky walls, sometimes forming
| a corridor as it were. with the rocks overhang-
| ing as road bed. Men had to be let
down by ropes from above, in many places, to
| drill the holes for the blasting powder, during
the construction of the road. their being foot
| hold at all, and no possible way of descending
! W here no human being had ever trod, but few
| years back, the adventurous railroad now bears
| its hundreds daily. In one spot the wall is so
| preclpitous that the whole mountain side would
| have had to be blasted away in order to make a
| passage. Here, instead a longitudinal iron
| bridge is swung from iron trusses anchored In
| the rocks above on either side OF the stream. 1t
is difficult to imagine person so stolid that his
| heart would not be stirred with awe In travers-
ing this mighty chasm.
| The Salt Lake division of the railroad branches
| to the westward at SaliGa, in the Arkanas valley,
| crossing the Snowy Range over Marshall
| Pass where the scenery is especially fine. and
passing through Gunnlson City, with branch to
| Crested Butte, where there are extensive
anthracite coal fields, and beyond, through Delta,
Montrose, Fruita and Grand junction, centers
| of fine agricultural region, to Salt Lake City
| and Ogden. connecting at the latter place with
the Central Pacific railroad, for California. The
| line down the Grand river will probably connect
| with this one at Grand Junction, which is on the
| same stream. and may, when completed, be used
| the through line from Denver to Utah, instead
| of the more southern route as it will be coESld
| erabv shorter.
| But it is the San Juan country that pleased
me The best of any part of the State, perhaps
| because it is the most beautiful. TO come over
| here one takes the San Juan branch of the
| Baby Road" as the ID. q r. e. was dubbed for
many years, because it is narrow gauge. the first
narrow gauge road ever constructed in this
country. so built in the first instance because of
|
| sary in mountainous country; but on account
| of its greater cheapness of construction, we'll
as OF running expenses, now preferred on gen
eral principles by many railroad companies, even
on level ground. This branch DIVORCES at
| Pueblo, or. to be literally correct rather at Gu
chara. a few miles south Of Pueblo but Pueblo is
the starting point, nevertheless. The scenery on
| this branch is the grandest of any the line.
with the one exception of the Grand Canyon"
We cross two ranges route to this valley.
Enct fIn do hr,Cf,N
cross over ANeta Pass, in ascending which
traverse the famous mule shoe curve around
| Dump mountain whence we look back upon the
track we have already covered, hundreds of
! feet below, and from which get the finest
view of the Spanish peaks, off to the southeast,
twin mountains of peculiar beauty of form near
| the New Mexico line. On descending the range
into the lovely San Luis Park, the most south
ern of the four great parks of Colorado-North,
| Middle, South and San Luis-we pass along the
| flank almost of Sierra Blanca. the highest mount
| ain in Colorado, which boasts forty different
| peaks Of II 900 feet altitude and over. Blanca
! exceeds them all, however, by few feet. Pixies
| Peak is one of the forty but is over-topped by
several beside Blanca.
| The view of the last-naned mountain is much
| finer, however; from the further side of the
park, which is here about FORTY miles wide by
| Seventy-fve in length In looking back at 1t the
eye takes in all of its grand proportions. and
| when its cap of perpetual snow, which gives it
| its name of white mountain" is lighted by the
setting sum- it is indescribably glorious in its
varying tints of pearl, and amethyst and pink,
deepening into crimson and purple the
shadows lengthen. On the west side of
the park begin climbing the Comejos
range, making Roadway slowly in our ascent for
many miles. as would seem from our zigzag
course. We look back from slight elevation at
| the route just traversed and 1t looks like whip
lash just after it has been cracked. Indeed it is
| called the whiplash." A little further
pass the same station-house three times once
on lower level and twice higher, circling
around it from the first to the second Level AT
ter few miles of mountain climbing we reach
the brink of Bear creek, which we to follow
to the top Of the range. We look down into the
| gorge below dizzy headed, but this is nothing to
what is to come. Railroads must follow streams,
| as rule. through the mountains. 1t was found
! imnossihle TO get the renniste grade hv follow