Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-02-05
pecial correspondence TO the Argu. !:

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo, Jan. S-Leav>
ing Colorado Springs, we again step
aboard the little narrow gauge which We
first timidly boarded at Denver with mis-
giving and doubt s to our uncertain flu
ture. feeling. however, which by the
time we had traversed the Royal Gorge
was changed into one of assured trust,
confidence and safety. 1t penetrates
the deepest recesses and traverses the
short curves of those immense, dark
canons at fearful speed. but runs as
| smoothly as if it were running on a
| straight line, having none Of that sensa
ton as IL you we're on a tangent for
kingdom come" sometimes experienced
on the wide track while rounding sharp
curve. We tip our hat in sublime def
| erence and admira ton to the iron horse
| of the narrow gauge as he roams the val
leys of the Arkansas. the Gunnison. the
Cimarron and the Jordan; now descend
ing their gulches, or plunging through
their awful canors; but the climax is
| reached. and we gain reverently tip our
hat to him. when finally, after winding
about the mountain crests he proudly
plants himself on Jop of the Rocky noun
| tains when the summit is reached at Mar
shall pass at an altitude of 10. $50 feet
| above the level of the sea. When you
get married make your bridal tour over
the Denver s. Rio Grande to Salt Lake,
but keep sharp look out for the Nor
| man elders when YOU arrive In the valley
| OF the Jordan.
Resuming our journey, forty five miles
from Colorado Springs, 100 miles south
from Denver. with the low green wooded
foot hills of the blue tinted range of the
Rocky mountains to the west and the
Colorado plains to the east of us, we ar
rive at Pueblo, now about to boom.
city of no mean proportions boasting of
It's 20 600 population, and here our to-
Biography changes. Turning westward
we take a parting look at Pixies Peak,
and glide smoothly along the valley of the
Arkansas. passing villages with school
houses and churches, improved farms,
| oil wells, cattle ranches, meadows and
| orchards on the way before reaching
Canon City. Now the guide book says:
from Canon City to Salt Lake is the
Switzerland Of America" and the descrip-
ton may he q good one, but what do the
readers Of the ARG Us know about Switz
erlands When A. ID. Richardson pub
| lished his book West of the Mississ p
| pi," was eager to read his description of
| the Yosemite. Imagine my dIsappoint-
| ment on reading the hook TO find that all
he said about it was "see the Yosemite
and die" If you visit the Yosemite and
from GLACIER point look down 4 900 feet
| into that perpendicular, grand chssm,
and its mountain scenery you are after,
don't cash in your Oh ps just yet, but wait
| until you have taken your bridal tour
over the Denver & Rio Grande. The
fact of it is language is inadequate
to describe and give one fair conception
that will not be disappointing OF the won
drous beauties of this grand scenic line.
have before me pen picture of the
| route, elegantly, e aborately and cunning
ly touched by a master hand. Here il is:
"Just beyond Canon City We reach
| THE GRAND CANON OF THE ARKANSAS,
| the narrowest portion of which is known
| as the Royal Gorge. After entering its
| depths. the train moves along the side of
| the Arkansas and around projecting
shoulders of dark bued granite deeper,
| deeper and deeper into the heart of the
range. The crested crags grow higher,
the river madly foams along its rocky
bed. and anon the way becomes q mere
fssure through tie heights. Far above
the road the sky forns a deep blue arch
Of light; but in the gorge hang dark and
sombre shades Which the suns rays have
never penetrated. The place is a meas,
ureless gulf of air with solid walls on
either side. Now the granite cliffs are
thousand feet high, smooth and uubroken
by tree or shrub; and there Is q pinnacle
h tr,h retrr g.
| lance. No flowers grow, and the birds
care not TO penetrate the solitudes. The
river, sombre and swift, breaks the awful
stillness with its roar Soon the cleft
| becomes still more narrow, the treeless
| cliffs higher, the river closer confined, and
| where long iron bridge hangs suspend
| ed from the smooth walls, the graadest
| portion of the canon Is reached. Man
becomes dwarfed and dumb in the sub
| lime scene and nature exhibits the power
| she possesses. The crsgs men acingly
rear their heads ABOVE the daring intrud>
ers, and the place Is like the entrance to
some internal region"
Leaving the Gorge we rapidly descend
| the narrow valley of the Upper Arkansas
| until Salida IS reached. Here we leave
| the train and stay over night. From
Salida a branch runs to Leadville and
| other mining points in the mountains
| The main line CT osses the Arkansas and
over the Mule Shoe curves around the
mountain crests and IN an hours time we
are on the summit at Marshall Pass.
Another pen picture: Looking back
over the way we have come. Mount
Ouray stands, bare. solitary and high
above its mates, at our left. Around it
lies a sea of grasite pillows, tumoled
wildly together, and holding within their
giant embrace green valleys and sparkling
streams. Away n the distance rise the
long continued heights of the Sangre de
Christie Range. white with everlasting
SHOWS on their orests. but lower down
covered with dark forests. At their base
is the great San Luis park, sloping away
in an unseen distance. The wind is cold;
all nature hardened; and a silence, deep.
unfathomable. reigns about US y
Bnt turning to the westward, the scene
changes. At our feet and
doubling back and forth down the noun
tain side. are the loops leading to the
valley. 1t disappears with the forests,
but is seen again far down the narrow
vale. There runs Tomichi creek, through
sylvan shades, and beyond. hazy, OBJ
secured in the distance, is the broad
plateau on which Gunnison City stands.
We are above all neighboring peaks and
the country is exposed beneath Us, with
| its every beauty shown.
The descent begins, and the road winds
around projecting headlands on the verge
of vast precipices, treads dark recesses
where patches of light fall through leafy
canopies upon the green slopes, follows
the windings of the Tomichi." Now the
train rolls into the valley and on to the
Gunnison, the channel soon narrows. the
| cliffs are high, and suddenly the broken