The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1885-11-12

euxxnox. Cor., OcI 81 1854

00nOW0o Through 80 s0Oums1n -
climbed ovw anothss, I and nyssd n tAb haals
weiasgn town, on he Fsciac saops. and WIN
ny TO give soms imprss11ans ot my trip and o.
The country have found.
The 1rst place IN Colombo reached by nearly
every one b Denvsr, = Il b he railroad censrs
Of al that vast section lying between Omaha
and 1ak Laks City. A description Of Dsassr,
IL wealth, ih lovelines. the enerU and public
spirit Of In people. and the success Of their ef
forts in building up city against nearly every
obstacle that nature coald throw In their way,
would furnish material for q long and suggestive.
letser. But viii wait until I return there, and
Tor the present describe my ride through tho
mountains 70 this point.
lett Denver TWO days ago. just AFTER break
FAST. Ten miles to the west the purple outline
Of tho mountains filled the sky - far 70 north
and south % the eye could reach, while eastward
the plains stretched away gray and sealike TO
the horizon. Our route led southwark, parallel
70 the mountain range, and through succession
of farms, ranches, orchards, vineyards and gar
dene. now yielding In abundance the kindly
fruits Of the earth"
And now this is the proper place TO say few
Ap .rt from the great trunk lines which connect
the State with the Missouri river the rail service
of Colorado 10 done principally by two roads
the Denver and Rio Grande, and the Denver,
South Park and Pacific The gauge of these roads
10 only three ieet, which Is made necessary by
the steep grades and sharp curves by which the
mountain heights are gained. With this aid
scaling snowy heights, crawling along fightfnl
precipices, spanning chasms Of gloomy depth.
winding through green mountain valleys aud
ramifying 70 nearly every point Of interest for
hundreds OF miles. The engines, though at first
sight appearing ludicrously small, are powerful
little fellows add attain degree Of speed which
is entirely satisfactory. Seated In the cars Of
these roads the tourist sees the finest scenery of
the continent unfold around him, an ever chang
ing picture of stream, valley, mountain, forest,
canon and hillside.
Colorado Springs lies seventy-fve miles south
of Denver, and we reached it in about three
hours. l did not stop at this town, but it de-
unity to Manitou. the most celebrated water
ing place west Of the Missouri river, and patron
lied every summer by hundreds OF visitors from
all parts of the Union. Manitou lies Eve miles
west Of Colorado Springs, and near the base of
Pixies Peak, whose snowy crest, more than IA,
600 feet high, Can be seen one hundred and
twenty miles away. The accommodations at
resort in the country, and the curative qualities
Of the mineral springs were known to the In
dams, whose nomenclature still distinguishes the
place, many years, possibly centuries, before the
coming OF the while man. Near here are many
points OF interest, among others being the Gar
den Of the Gods Monument Park, Ute Pass,
Glen Eyre and the Cave of the Winds. / am
going 10 spend a few days at Manitou before
leaving Colorado and will write You from there.
AT Pueblo, 100 miles from Denver. we turned
westward for the first time, and headed for the
mountains, now only q pale blue line against the
sky They seemed about twenty miles away but
10 this atmosphere it requires practiced eve 10
gauge distances correctly, and it was nearly two
hours before we were near enough TO note the
lights and shades. the ridges and canons, the
swells and knobs, which made up the color and
shape of the great pile before U.s. was impa.
tient OF our stop at Canon City, though it was
only for mon ent, because I was eager to in.
epect the marvel of engineering by which pas
sage Tor our train could he won through the op-
posing range in our front
We had passed the town but q mile or two
when we glided into the shadow of the noun
tains, and in another moment had passed be
tween the lips of the Grand Canon. An instan,
before We had moved through a pastoral scene
surrounded by meadows and fields the course oil
the river indicated by fringe of trees I'd farm
houses dotting the plain. Now the red granite
walls rose overhead for two thousand feet and
more, approaching 30 closely at the top as 10
show only narrow strip of blue sky, while
down below there was scarcely room for the
swift yellow stream and the road bed. The
track followed the windings of the river, and
curved like a snake, huggng the overhanging
walls and climbing ever upwards though the
gathering gloom and chill and the increasing
height OF the cliffs. as we rushed along, created
the impression that we were ,urrowng into
he 0ft n~kt. O..
course that at times the lain made grand sweeps
of neArly q complete circle as If ii despaired oil
finding passage through the mountain and was
trying TO retrace its path then the road would
twist in an opposite direction, and looking ahead
could see the cars move one by one around
some rocky point by curve so sharp that when
my own car reached it would be bent across
the seat by the sudden change of direction.
This wonderful passage continues for some
miles, but IL is impossible to realize fully the
vastpess and magnifcence OF the scene 10 the
half hour which is occupied. The surroundings
must be absorbed, 50 to speak the impression
received on the brain and eye and treasured up
for future contemplation and study. 1t Is like
Niagara In being more satisfying on every sue
cessive visit.
Presently the air became warmer, the gloom
lightened, the gorge increased in width, the en-.
closing walls gradually lessened in height, and
the train emerged into a comparatively level
country, where bills and valleys alternated pleas
antly, and prosperous little farms came into sight
once more. A fellow passenger at this poin,
produced pocket barometer which showed an
elevation of nearly seven thousand feet, but we
still mounted upwards swiftly and steadily. But
soon the enclosing hills sank away and before us
lay q broad and fertile valley and miles beyond
. chain Of purple peaks, whose immense size
could belong only 10 the Continental Divide.
To think that any railroad could scale such
heights seemed absurd, yet was shown slight
depression 10 the great range and told that it was
Marshall Pass over which our train would glide
before night
1t WAS but few minutes before we came to
Salida, the business centre of the valley and the
point at which the Leadville branch oil the rail-
road joins the main STEM A train was 10 wait
ing and many of cur number transferred them.
selves and started for the Silver City which lies
sixty miles up the valley and three thousand feet
nearer Heaven. An additional engine was placed
in front of our train, the wheels and couplings
underwent rigid scrutiny, and wheeling west
ward over the infant Arkansas we started across
the valley.
During the run to Poncho Springs, eight miles
away ct the beginning of the ascent, began TO
notice the wonderful clearness Of the air In this
upland valley and the extent of the view. To
the south the two mountain ranges-the one we
had come through and the one we were about to
20 eer-stretched away In blue and silver shades
for many miles and far away seemed to converge
Ia group Of sunlit snowy peaks. Around us
lay the valley thick with farms and ranches, with
the afternoon shadows Of the peaks of the range
stealing slowly across them. To the north the
general ascent Of the country could be plainly
noticed, for though 81 Salida this valley Is i've
hundred feet higher than the top OF Mount WASH
ington, at Leadville, near its head, It 10 more
sher hal f. vsslo hsUhap nd all rpeoav 81 e..