The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-04-23
ON THE RIO GRANDR
Beauties Of the Route on the
Other Side.
GAY GUNNIsoNs RAPID DECAY
Grand Junction the Town of Many Railroads
on Paper-A Plethora of Cham
bers of Commerce.

On THE Rio GRANDE, April Is. 1S90.-[Special
correspondence of THE HERAID.1-The ride
over the Utah part OF the "scenic line of the
world in the wise dispensation of the train
dispatcher, occurs mostly in the night time.
True, there are here and there some stray
chunks OF straJiied scenery lying around loose
like huge slices of jelly cake but there is not
that rich, italian splendor about the Utah side
TO cause the wild-eyed tourist to hang half out
of the car window feasting his soul upon it.
This is not discounting the glories of Utah
scenery either. Far be it from me to suggest
any such detraction. The Rio Grande does not
find our Utah scenery that's all; it doesn't en-
counter the picturesque peaks of American
Fork or the colossal Snow-covered rocks of the
Cottonwoods, though its branch line to Wasatch
does give US a half taste of the grandeur of the
mountain gorges about Salt Lake
over on the Colorado side, however, it is diff
1erent There the scene changes, the plot thick
ems and the interest of the tourist becomes
fastened to the panoramic marvels of landscape
which greet and crafty his vision.
Grand Junction is q town of / 500 inhabitants,
situated at the point where the Grand and the
GunniSon rivers meet and marry and go off on
wedding tour to the coast. 1t has fine fruit,
coal asphalt. potter's clay, ice. down hill haul
from the mining camps and a fiourishing cham
Der OF commerce. Nearly all the western Col
orado towns, am told, have fourishing cham
bers OF commerce, and few Of them have some
thing besides. The railway guide book says
that charters for eleven railways have been filed
with the county clerk at Grand Junction, and
that some of them will actually be built.
lave often heard that the Rio Grande people
were preSumptueus in advertising theirs the
great deal about II, was rather inclined to
that view myself. My feet have not as yet
pressed the soil of every cline so that am
incompetent TO Judge whether or not in some
remote corner of the earth there is not a line of
railway where grander views of nature may be
witnessed but after a trip through the Black
canon in an observation car kindly added to the
train Tor the accommodation OF passengers at
Cinnamon and taken off at Sapinero. am ready
to acknowledge that the Rio Grande advertise
ments are modest and non-c olnmtal.
Hills, rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun, y
rearing heir white heads like naughty sphinxes
so high towards heaven it kinks ones neck 10
see the top Of them, while at their feet the Gun
nison. roaring like hoarse demon. turns wild
somersaults over rocks and precipices and goes
laundering down the giant gorge, dancing the
Colorado reel with great root-torn trees strug
CLING in its mad embrace The scenic line oil
The world? Yes and the engineering marvel OF
the age How in the world the first surveying
party ever got through the canon alive would tie
our comprehension into a double and twist il
the train gave us time to contemplate the sub
1ect but the canon is short and too kaleido
scope TO allow. for rever1e, but what is the use
of botherfng about it anyway After seeing the
flag pole on the top of Curecanti Needle, al
things are possiblei The scriptural task set for
the camel Is as easy as lying, and the rlcf
man goes into the kingdom of heaven on the
keen jump.
Giunn1Son Tor Glnner- Poor GunnlSonl AnC
poor dinner. Gunnison is an object lesson tC
the boomers II is the Los Angeles Of Western
Colorado. Eight years ago, the eastern partie:
who went in there and built the grand hotel anC
the great smelters. thought they had the worlC
by the tail They supposed it only question o
time till the remainder of the earth's inhabi
tants would flock to Gunnison and pay Mint
prices for town lots. A portion of the eartht
inhabitants did flock. They paid unearthl!
prices for Gunnison realty East Gunnisol
and West Gunnison entered into spirited
rivalry in building The population reaches
about ten thousand, and everybody was pros
porous unhappy. One day some one happened
TO ask what there was there to support so man,
people, and none happened TO answer it and VI
went Hannah. The crash came. Now TIL
doors of east and west and north and south ant
central GunniSon tenements swing to and FRI
with a lonesome creak: the population is les
than a thousand souls and the wind blow
through their whiskers. Personally, l am re
joiced that Salt Lake never bit off more thai
she could masticate. am proud of her for il
hope she never will. But the cases in refer
ence are in now1se analogous. Heaven forbid
Salt Lake is backed by resources sufficient
sustain a population of ten times her presen
number. What she needs is capital and me
with nerve at the back of it and good judgmen
back of that.
l see by the time table Marshall Pass and th
Grand canon VIII be enveloped in outer darl
ness when our train reaches them respect1vel!
50 that we shall not speak as we pass by.
YORrCk