Morning journal and courier., 1889-12-03

white-Clad Peaks of C0lOrado-The
 Beautiful Little Village of Ouray-
 Dangers of the Passes Encountered
 byTravelers-Sn0W Slides-The SWitz.
 erland of America.
 IRoNToN, Col, Nov. 25.
 To tho Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
 Snow bound in the Rocky Mountains; ten thousand feet above the level of the sea and three thousand miles from home. Every thing is covered deeply with snow; the ever- green trees which would make Santa Claus laugh in the East, and which would be a mine of wealth to land owners there, are thiekly covered, and the snow is still falling fast. Nothing is to be seen but the blind ing. whirling, driving snow, which is heap ing up great mounds of white, forming mins iature mountains and valleys, and oblitera- ting many familiar landmarks; and no sound breaks the silence except the occa- sional booming of snow slide in some dis tant pass, making roaring sound like thunder. All is still and as quiet as the grave. The birds with their brilliant plu- mage and sweet music have long since taken their flight, and the burros or "mountain ca naries," as they are called here, have ceased to make night hideous with their cries. 4 Rocky Mountain snow storm is very differ ent from the storms we have in the East. There, after the storm is over, the streets are quickly cleared, sleighs filled with happy people fly swiftly by, while rosy-cheeked children with their sleds enjoy themselves to their hearts, content. Everything is bright and joyous; gay laughter miugling with the chime of bells. Here in the moun- tains to venture out in storm, or too soon after 1t has ceased, is extremely hazardous on account of the heavy snow slides, which have already commenced to run, and which are greatly dreaded. Many lives were lost in the winter of '83 and 'S4 in these terrible slides, and nearly every winter many casual- ties are reported. On the S0th of October two feet of snow fell in Ouray, which was very unusual. Ouray is a beautiful little village cradled in the bosom of the Rockies. It is entirely surrounded by high mountain peaks, which are of dull red color, ter- raced to the very top and thickly dotted with evergreen trees, the only outlet being through a narrow, winding canyon on the north, and the only outlook heavenward. On the east of the village, about half way up the noun tain peak, are the Bridal Veil Falls, a beau tiful sheet of water flowing down the noun tain side, and on the west the Uncompahgre river, which never freezes, rushes noisily by. There are numerous hot springs which are medicinal, and which are said to cure rheu- matism, dyspepsia and many other ills. Ouray has population of about two thou- sand inhabitants and covers an area of about half mile square. It was named after old Ouray, an Indian chief belonging to the Ute tribe, who was friendly to the whites, and who lived and was buried in the valley be- low the village. It has four churches, three hotels, 6 large birch school house and hospi- tai, and 8 fine now court house that would do credit to any town. Ouray, with its charm ing mountain scenery, its natural falls, it's numerous hot springs, it's noisy, rushing riv. CT, its wonderful moonlight nights like vi eions of fairy land, has been rightly called the Gem of the Rockies, and will doubtless become noted health and pleasure resort in the near future. A toll road has been built up the mountain to Ironton, distance oi nine miles, at cost of one hundred and if ty thousand dollars, which h a marvel of en. gineering, pluck and perseverance. It is cut l into the solid rock of the mountain side fol l long distances, being only wide enough for { single wagon, with deep prscipices on ont side and dizzy looking ovsrhanging cliffs or | the other, which are now covered with ici cles of the purest white and amber colo formed Into fantastic shapes, some ot then weighing tons, which become loosened by the sun and fall down, filling the marrow road with largo broken pieces of ice. These with the snow slides and the occasional fall l ing of huge rock, makes travel over thi road peculiarly dangerous. A large slid which came down in '87 filled the road for distance of three hundred feet, and was near l ly one hundred feet in height, which entirel, ] obstructed travel until q tunnel was cu ska ,~tx e, \, ] purpose. This snow tunnel was the wonder of the summer tourists and lasted until Au' gust. A poor fellow who had been imbibinl too freely walked off the presipice at itI highest point, in the darkness of night { short time since, and was found few day. after, a shapeless, indistinguishable mass or the rocks below, tho only means of identi6' clothing. But happily such accidents ars rare. At the base of Mount Abraham
 through an opening in the mountain ranges
 a glorious view of the Grand Mesa Is dis
 closed, lying blus and cloud-nke on the horizon, one hundred miles distant. Thil
 road, after following the many windings and curves of the mountain to the summit, runi through narrow canyon three miles, then
 with a sudden bend Ironton is reached This is typical mining town. On it's one wide, short street are three hotels, two gro cery btoIes, sHe LeW uWoAAnk AVu.oo oAao WIN usual number of saloons. The houses are
 mostly built of logs, having the square
 broad fronts which is characteristic ol these western towns. One mile from Iron
 ton, up the mountain and overlooking the
 village and valley below, is the P--
 mine, where we are located. It is situated
 on the western slope of Red Mount peah
 No. 9. There are three of these red peaks No. 1, 3 and 8, so-called from their color
 which varies from dark bright red to tht | palest shades of yellow, and which are sin cularly beautiful. The variegated color
 are caused by the oxide of iron. A mar
 row canyon separates this range from thu
 one opposite, which rises abruptly, it's lof 1 ty peaks outlined against the sky. Having
 strong desire to climb to the top of on of these highest peaks, we started earl. l one morning in September to make the as cent. Going by wagon road to Sheridan