Johnstown weekly Democrat. (Johnstown, Cambria County, Pa.) 1889-1916, 1890-03-07
LETTER FROM TIE IRISH SCHOLAR
He Writes as Follows to Former Fellow
Workman:


of pleasure and with thanks to you for
your kind remembrance that | received
your favor If the Sd inst am happy
to hear that some of my old friends in
dear old and ever-to-be-forgotten Johns.
town are not oblivious of me to one and
all of these you will convey my kind re-
CARDS.
will now endeavor to give you syn
opsis of my journey and location in these
wild regions of the far west left Johns
town on Friday, December 2lst at $50 p.
NJ, my first objective point being Pitts.
turgh, whence l booked for st. Louis /;
my half-exhausted funds being INSULT
cient to bear me any farther. Here l was
detained for two days, when ] was fortu,
nate enough to hear that an emigrant
board was established there forwarding
emigrants westward but not east.
made application and succeeded in get
ting pass to Denver and So in cash TO
boot. a daughter of mine resides in that
city, whose husband is employed on the
cable cars. | stayed there couple of
days to recruit myself after a tedious
and uninteresting journey of four days
and as many nj 'hts Of actual travel. This
daughter, who has no family, presented
me silver watch that cost $37.
I once more resumed my journey, hav-
ing yet $50 miles ahead of me; and after
a stay of day or two in Leadville, final.
ly reached my destination here on the I'd
ult. My son-in-law and son, who are in
partnership ranching, reside five miles
from the town of New Castle in noun
tain gorge, surrounded by lofty and Lre-
cipitous offshoots of the Rocky Mountain
chain, whose SUBMITS are buried in
clouds, attaining an elevation of $4,000
feet.
We led romantic life of perfect seclu-
sion from the outer world, an excellent
abode for hermit, isolated from civiliza-
ton or the consolation of religion-an-
other picture of Robinson Crusoe in his
desert island. These mountains abound
in vast herds of deer, elk and antelope.
II is nothing to meet 1000 in herd.
Beasts of prey are numerous, mountain
lions, bears, and coyotes, species of
wolf which go in flocks, whose ravages
among the ranks of calves and foals are
most terrible in winter. Hunters are en-
gagged in shooting them. These hunters
get bounty of $40 for lion and So fora
coyote. We have a regular armament
here, consisting of two repeating rifles,
capable of discharging $50 shots per
minute, two seven shooters (revolvers)
and double barrel shot gun of which |
make use.
Though ranching is uomadic and dis
agreeable occupation in the winter, the
whole life of the cowboy being spent in
the saddle, yetit is a lucrative employ
ment, as stock increases with surprising
fecundity, my people having got over
150 calves for the last six months. My
sun-n law, VINO is engaged in this busi-
ness for the last seven years, has realized
$50 600, and states that he will not quit
till he accumulates 800, 600, when he will
get into business aud rs he is now fully
stocked, it will not Ia e him many years
to attain the result. Exclusive of his
cattle lie has about 100 horses his con
joined stock and that of my son is very
little short of 800 head of cattle. Here
IS where Mosby could make fortune by
dealing in horses, and he could locate a
ranch at very little expense.
Though at such an altitude it is mys-
terious what & salubrity is in the atmos-
phere. have not yet seen morning
since my advent here Tat ] could not 90
out in my shirt sleeves and remain for
Lours in the free air without feeling cold.
Invalids are sent here under medical ad
vice for the recuperatiUn of their health.
The Colorado boiling springs are only
fifteen miles from here, emitting Jets of
hot water at a temperature of 2l2 degrees
Fahrenheit, like the geysers of Iceland.
believe the internal regions are not far
from here, and have to correct an error,
so prevalent IN the East, that the cowboys
are pack of demons. No such thing. |
have come in contact with several, this
house of my son-in-law being a kind of
headquarters of theirs, where they claim
nights lodging without formalIty as a
matter of course after their tedious
journeys of several days in the mountains.
find them Jolly, agreeable fellows, devil
may-care like, and generous to a fault,
sharing their last dollar and the remnants
of their food with their brethren. They
are most grotesque in their appearance,
their apparel consisting OF broad-leafed
white hat, a tight fitting short body coat,
with moccasins or red leather leggings
reaching above the hips. Thus attired,
with a repeating rifle and pair of
blankets slung across the shoulders and
seven shooter in a scabbard slung to the
side, they are formidable enemies to en-
counter, if provoked; otherwise they are
peaceable and unoffending. They ride
their horses without shoes and climb
nOuntains soarcpIv accaaeihIn to roote