The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1886-07-22

which iox sh0rt tine i geneRnIly prooOonced
sncreA Long shady sve.oe e maple and
elm. green lawns md shrubbay, the constant
xurx;e and sparkle Of fountains and streams,
aed the sight Of distant snowy peaks-an these
serye 70 kxhfen the inAic1ioo, bot remembering
the antumnal coolpe1 Of the mountain valleys
packed my little gripsack ons morning reoenaly.
and leaving the Cnioa depot II eight O'Clock
found myself before sunset among the green
meadows which line the springs q the upper
Arkansas, jast . mile higher than Denver The
first fct Of importance / discovered after BE-
coming comfortably established and adjusting
myself 70 the delightful change Of temperature
xas that the fishing season bad juss begun. and
tia, mos, OF my friends were giving themselves
up to the seductive sport The ONCE Of Pish
Commissioner Is q very important one in Colo
rado, and several hundred thousand young trout
are plAced in the vario0s streams Of the State
every year, thus keeping up the supply and in
| saring good sport The game law is quite
strictly enforced, however. and before the frs,
| day OF July no uo0t can be caught except for
strictly personal use, and even this IS irowned
upon
| II would be difficult to imagine spot better
| adapted FOX brook fishing than this upland vAl-
| ley Ten miles apart the Saguache and Park
| ranges lifi their snowy SUBMITS fourteen thons-
and fee, in air. and down every canon and
| glen leaps q clear, swift stream which flashes
through the grassy slopes to throw itself into
| the infant Arkansas here some forty feet wide.
Wandering up these streams, casting your flies
| in below each little cascade and finding your
creel grow steadily heavier, you can uncon-
sciously mount upwards until the pale blue water
meets you leaping from the breast of q snow
bank, resting under whose shadow it becomes
hard to realize that the lower world is lying Ian
| guild in the heat OF July.
Twas invited by friend one morning 10 go
with him to Redclid, some thirty miles away on
the Pacific slope, and as The plan agreed with
my wishes more completely than is generally the
case-for reasons which will presently appear
We found ourselves on the cars one morning roll
ing westward
Seven years ago, while in Leadvile, was in
duced 70 advance few dollars TO prospector
who had beard that there was a river of to the
| northwest called the Eagle, where some mineral
deposits might be found. This worthy returned
shortly and reported having found the river but
nothing else Within few days, however l
became one of a company of six, half of whom,
urged westward by an impulse which every pio-
neer well knows. once more found the Eagle
river and iron cropping out all along its enclos-
ing mountains Quick TO recognize the fact that
| a settlement of some sort would soon be made
they took measures accordingly, and on return
| ing TO Leadville to report announced that the
only spot OF ground within five miles level
enough to build town on had been taken up
under the placer laws. and that prospectors were
going in fast The Indian trail which then at
forded the only means Of reaching the country
led down 10 Eagle river directly underneath a
Tremendous precpice Of bright red, iron stained
rock, and from this the young city-then con-
sis,ing of partly finished cabin and two tents
received its name of Redclif.
Ny first visit 10 Redcif was made on horse
back with q companion, and with our outfit On a
couple of patient jacks Five miles out from
Leadvie the rude road we followed faded out
into an Indian trail, which lead us through such
rough places that we camped for the night with
the day We passed or were passed by other adj
venturers straining on towards Eagle river, some
in rags and some in tags but all confident Of
winning the modern equivalent for q stock of
velvet gowns.
Redclif was reached early the next day, but
we only stopped long enough to add TO our gro
ceries and pressed on over Battle mountain in
search Of mineral, urged westward by that Gu
rious feeling already mentioned, and which has
been felt by every prospector who ever started
out The mountain was steep and the trail mar
| row, and remember that one of our Jacks while
surging upwards was gently forced outward by
the projecting load he bore striking against the
inner cliff so that he tOttered and fell about forty
feet Fortunately he was only loaded with
blankets and a tent, and as the jack is hardy
animal he recovered himself and overlook US
| within an hour
For few miles then we occasionally met
other prospectors who regarded US jealousy
and as it was our wish to get entirely be-
yond civilization and have the country to our
selves we did not stop. Winding slowly over
the declivities of Battle mountain we found our
selves early in the afternoon passing through q
deep craggy defle, dark with overhanging frs
and pines and cool with rushing water. Then
there opened before Us a valley in which We
camped, and where during ten days We found
not a vestige of humanity.
Here our life became almost idyllic The
winding course of the river could be traced for
miles across the scene by its fringe of frs, and
all around rose vast green mountains whose
wealth of woodland stretched far up into the
blue, and down whose giant sides tumbing wa
tiers sprang in lines OF fOamy white The
Jacks, turned out in meadows where the grass
nearly hid them from view, became so fat as TO
be almost unmanageable, and our supply of ba-
can was soon neglected in favor Of the game
and trout with which we stocked the camp.
l remember as though it was yesterday how
we repaired to an adjacent beaver dam and
watched during an entire afternoon with our III
aes for one of the sagacious animals no doubt
being watched by them during the whole time
much more successfully. Then, finding beaver
tail soup beyond reach, we lived for two days on
young porcupines for change from venson, be-
ing surprised TO find the food palatable and
wholesome. Nor do l forget that a. silver tip
bear came into camp one night and ate most Of
our game. besides frightening the jacks so badly
that we did not see them for two days after
wards. But finally the serpent entered our Eden
in the shape Of dusty unkempt pilgrim drv-
ing his jack, and accepting the situation we
turned eastward regretfully. These were the
recOlleciions that Overcame ME at hearing of
Redcliff, and hence my wish TO note the changes
since that happy summer.
The cars bore swiftly and easily onw ard
but from the moment of starting could notice
changes. Tennessee Park, a lovely cup. like
valley, which had never an inhabitant in 70, was
now fenced in, and all its grassy levels covered
with herds OF cattle. Tennessee Pass, over
which had crossed to the Pacific slope through
forrest fresh and green, and untouched by the
axe, was now q naked ire-scarred hill ON whose
very crest dozen great kins were smoking La
ter, as we wound down into Eagle Park, we
passed along the edge of a cliff looking over
which saw the little nook, tar below, where l
once camped, and the tiny stream flashing down
the hillside in which caught the trout for sup
per- But the park was changed. From end to
end were cabins and fences, and cattle and farm
ers and rafting wagons and to me its charm
had vanished.
/ had often thought of Redcliff as il was
when first saw il. Then few white tents