The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1886-06-23
THE SNOW-CAPPED "ROCKlES."
IMPRESSIONS or A "TRIP THROUGH THE
STATE or COLORADO.

Scenes Along the Route by Rnil--Thc Wonder
ful City of Denrer--rhc Future of n Great
Commonwealth.
(Denver Letter in Poneroy's Democracy
Those who ride in sleeping cars III the
East are quite apt to remain in their
bench to turn, snooze, think, plan and
rest as on they roll. Not so here. sun
rise, and oil were up. Tho cars of the
Burlington Route were SO we'll laden
with passengers that every berth was
occupied, the great majority of pnssen-
gers in the slecpers being persons from
the East who had never been to Denver,
never seen its rocky mountains. Near
ing their destination, they were like the
early bird.
1t is now six o'clock. In two hours
we will be in Denver. The bcrths havo
all been made up for the day. the cars
busted out and people are on tho qui
vive We are running southwest. Be
hind us is the head of the Republican
valley and the millions of acres of choice
Nebraska corn land. We are on top of
the divide, as fly would he on top of
barrel that lay upon the ground. Miles
OF unfenced country are to be seen, with
here and there little houso, home Of n
homesteader or headquarters of ranch
man or cattle raiser whose cattle are to
be seen grazing on the wide cXpansc of
plains here being run over.
The depot buildings are small, painted
red and snug. Dcpots arc so far apart
that several others can he built between
them in timc The appearance is that
of very new country, yet it is older in
fact than is the East, as first of all from
the vastly deep rose the backbone of the
continent, still to the west Of us.
A lady screams: 80! See"
She points to the west and there sure
enough, are to be seen the snow-ca capped
mountain peaks Of the grand old noun
tains. In little while the cars have
sped on SO that we see the main range,
extending. south from Cheyenne or near
there, for hundreds of miles. They rise
as great wall might rise along the sea
shore, tho plains to the cast being under
the evening shadows of the mountains
that rise i'll the west.
Now we sec down into the VALLEY of
the South Platte. Many school teachers
insist that Denver is a city on the North
Platte. Such is not the case. Denver is
on the waters of the South Platte, about
14O miles from where it heads. The
river is not large, except after II freshet
1t runs through n pleasant, wide valley
that at Denver is fourteen miles cast
from the foot hills and that mt Grccly is
about forty miles cast. Along here is the
choice agricultural lands Of the State,
taking in the county west from Denver
to Golden in gorge of the mountains,
Boulder, Longmont, Fort Collins and
Greedy, in the respective co':ntics of
jefferson, Boulder, Larimer md Weld.
Longmont being in Boulder county, one
of the finest in the State.
West of these counties, west from
Denver, the county-scat of Anpahoe
county, arc the Rocky Mountains, rising
as an abrupt granite wall to the height of
II mile, or 5000 feet above the plains.
From north to south we see them from
nhe cars, range of fully two hundred
mile. Denver is about 5000 feet above
sen h,yei. We arc full mile near the
stars than gre those who live III New
York. The mountains rise up into the
clouds that rest upon their snowy peaks.
from 5000 to 5000 feet above the plains.
The air is light, 50 clear, so raritied
that no new conner can Judge distance.
TO the northwest we see very high
peak, standing like n whitc-hcaded Long
John Wentworth, of Chicago, higher
than his fellows. That is Longs Peak.
1t is named in honor of Lieut. Long, an
explorer who was long time in getting
TO the top of it, there to Hoat the Ameri-
an flag.
WHITE ABOVE TIE GRAY AND GREEN.
g, oow is white and deep on the tops
and 9, 'des of the mountains, while the
Mains below are green with growing
grains n, vi grasses. Away along to the
sonth rise tiie snow-capped Rockies, like
n great Gro, vent saw, its teeth in air. IL
is seventy m. 'tes from where we are this
morning in TIN, ears, west to the top OF
Longs Peak, yot people III the cars esti-
mate the distance Mt fifteen to twenty
miles. r,u
mountains all stuck in together IKE
clothes pins in n snow hcap, Npon'
seyentylfiye miles south FROM Longs
Peak, and sixty miles dine west from
Denver, it's snow-white top piercing n
gray. snow-made cloud that is beating
1p to fall and to whiten anew, rises
Gray's Peak, the top of which is In, Al
feet above the level OF the sea. 1t Is the
mountain under which the company OF
which the editor and writer hereof is
president is driving tunnel Mt the altl.
tude of 10, 900 feet above sea level, and
which tunnel will be five miles long.
Welcome, old fellow! We have seen
you before, as from your summit range
we have looked east toward the Atlantic
and westward toward the Pacific, miles
upon miles. Some of these days we will
walk through you and ride through you,
and walk into your hundreds of fissure
veins laden with gold, silver, copper and
lead, and get as much fatness out OF you
as a rat gets out of cheese it has bur.
rowed into beyond the reach of o cat.
To tho south from Gray's Peak, about
scyenty-fiye miles distant. with many
snow-covered peak between us is
Pixies PEAK,
distant about ninety miles from Denver
but it's top not so high by fourteen fee
aa - Gra.,n ponL uhioh M. shoots Mes