Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-08-11
A DAY AT THE GAP.
A Brief Epistle From the Eagles Editor
WAGON WHEEL GAP. Col, Aug. 8.

whispering leaves of the Quaking Asp,
one sinks into slumber profound as
restful. The deep shadows of the mighty
mountains heighten the solitude of the
dusky night, whose mysterious weird
ness could only be enhanced, possibly,
by perching solemn yisaged owl on the
new crescent of pale Luna as she mod
estiy hides her face behind a frowning
peak whose lofty crest seems striving to
invade her exalted realm. And the
stars, too, are wonderfully bright and
| lovingly near in this limped atmosphere
of loneliness and solitude. The spirit of
mystery broods ever over these vast
rocky regions, mystery not unlike that
which envelopes the unknown that lies
beyond this world and its life.
And in that, maybe, can be found
no little of the fascination of
soiourn in these remote and quiet alti-
tudes. The imagination and fancy are
ever busy with the proposition: What
lies over beyond this range or the next
unsurmountab!e barrier; what mines of
wealth, what stores of precious things,
may this unexplored canon or that dark
gorge contain? The next peak and then
the next beckons you on ard on promis-
ing with each step new revelations and
richer rewards.
But before the ending of the day, and
the refreshing sleep mentioned, come
other incidents. AS the shadows of the
snow-tipped peaks fall across the deep,
narrow valleys and have climbed well
up the rugged sleeps of the opposite
slopes, and the sinking sun is transform
ing the bald, holder peaks into great
domes of FURNISHED gold, the lady occu-
pants of the cottages, scattered about
the hotel and the springs, the girls who
have been Willing away the hours in
hammocks, swung from the trees on the
hillsides, or who have been target shoot
ing or flower gathering, with one &C
cord go trooping into the wide veranda
which surrounds the hotel. Each
lady is looking her happiest, and with
warm wrappings about their shoulders
and their hands full of the most delight
full wild flowers, the animated converse
ton and laughter increases until the
echoes of the valley are all awakened.
The result of the days catch and hunt
are soon to be determined. The hour for
the return of the "boys" has arrived.
The teams that carried fathers, husbands,
brothers, and lovers out to the fishing
grounds in the early morning will soon
be rounding the point below the bath
house, and down the canons the mounted
huntsmen will be coming. The "catches"
will be then spread out on the floor of
the great porch-the creels and bags
emptied. Whose "speckled beauty" is
the greatest? Whose catch the heaviest?
Whose game bag the most tempting?
Amid a recital of claims and feats and
adventures will then be decided. After
the last party has arrived and every
point of contest and glory has been
duly decided by the fair, if not
impartial judges, the supper bell
rings and tired hungry men
and happy women make up about the live
Hest dining room scene to be found at any
summer resort on the continent. The
supper of trout and game, and of all that
the Del Norte market-thirty miles dis
tant-atfords. The piano is opened and
then an informal dance, a candy pull, |
and groups with repartee and strange
stories fill up the time until late hour,
when the fun and frolic are transferred
to the bathing houses and their great
deep pools OF hot water. The gentle
men battle to rid themselves of their
soreness, but truth compels the state
ment that, judging from the hilarious
doings and accompanying screams and
plunges and general din for which the
other establishment is notorious, the
women indulge in it not so much for
health or pastime as for the pure fun of
the thing.
There is another part of the
day which has not been mentioned. !
Before the sun of the new dav has dis |
PEELED the frost with the indiscribable |
briliancy of his light, before a Wichita
baby has been heard from, while yet the |
mists, like an impenetrable robe of fleece
is still clinging to the crags and peaks |
above the timber belt, the "boys" are all |
astir. Creels and reels, lunches. waders. |
and guns and rods is the cry from every
quarter as the teams are rushed out and /
an early breakfast swallowed. Before /
the danes and lassies and babes have /
gotten their eyes open The hottest crews !
of the hardest looking lot of tramps, in
appearance, go rafting off in wagon |
loads for the hunting and fishing grounds |
along The Grand River of the North" |
the men of each locality generally con-
stitutIng party. There is the Denver |
party" the Little Rock party" etc..
but the Wichita party is neither the |
smallest nor the quietest. There are |
number of fishing streams, but
the deep, clear impetuously rushing
Rio Grande, with its unknown depths |
and numerous chances of cold duck |
ing, to say nothing of its superior sized |
trout, is the favorite.
Thus "a day at the Gap" has been
briefly delineated. Although the de-
scription commenced with the ending
and closed with the beginning, it is no
less day, and all days are alike here
except Sundays and days off, The
altitude is about nine thousand feet.
About midday volumes of mist roll up
around the crests of the giant sentinels. /
centuries old, and from their depths
flash out the vivid electric chain, the