The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1890-07-23
MARRIAGE LICENSES ISSUED.
Letter From pixies peak.

iihE : IkAk- toL, July ~ Golb-
EpIroR HERALp -
Ks "a writer Of items for your paper claim
more elevated position at this time than
have before, as indicated by the heading
Occupy the summit Of the Peak. while the
clouds are floating below. Beautiful pros
pecti Away across the eastern plains the
orb Of day is slowly rising in It's majestic
rranduer. now a siIyer-lined cloud obs,ruc,s
its brilliancy Cor moment and is dispersed
OF to the west the scene is quite different.
The shades Of night are fieeting westward
and about sixty mile away can be seen the
outline Of the snowy range, rearing It's snow
capped heights heavenward- The country
between here and the main range Of the
Rockies is Wild aud romantic. Il IS a sue
oession Of rocks, canons and riffs, with here
and there a rushing torrent Of sparkling
water, led by the melting SHOWS far above
The timberiine. But ! am getting too far
away from the Peak-the subject Of my
description
This noted peak stands out in bold relief
from its surroundings. It is q landmark
disoernible al a long distance The Peak Is
accessible by q wagon-road through the U;e
Pas. and a foot path known as the Pixies
Peak trail The latter being iraversei only
bv pedestrians and burros. No doubt some
Of your readers are not informed Of the
Pixies Peak railroad enterprise. leading d.
rect from the base 10 the Summit. Here IS
grand display Of engineering skill. The
road in many places assumes a > per cent.
grade. OF in other words, the ascending grade
is one foo; in four. Imagine, II you en-,
train carrying passengers over an incline
equal to that Of a house roof, for distance
Of eight or ten miles. The track is con-
strucied On the ordinary. plan with many
additional anchors and braces inbedded
underneath the track. There are two lines
OF oograils firmly bolted together and fast
ened 70 the ties in the center Of the track.
The engines for this road were built by the
Baldwin Company in Philadelphia. The
propelling power les in three cogwheels at
tach-d is the engine underneath, and, run
ming independent Of each other, are lowered
till the oogs reach the center rails. thus car
rying the engine back and forth, each wheel
alone having the capacity to hold the engine
in place on the steep grade in case Of acci-
dent. The coaches viii also be provided
With automatic air brakes having power
% stop and hold the coaches AZ any point.
The roaibed is graded 10 within one mile Of
the top. The eomplly ind it difficult 10
procure laborers AZ his altitude. which Is
about l400o feet. The least eIertion is
faiiguing and men are constantly shifting.
A few days ago they employed q squad Of
thirty colored laborers. Al the close OF the
first day there was but one left Of the party.
We had lively game Of snow ball to-day.
on the frs, of July the snowfall was sufs
Gent to coyer the summit Hail and thun-
der storms are Of almost daily occurrence,
while the country below IS baked in the sun
rays of IA clear sky. The object Of this road
is to carry passengers from Maniiou to the
peak and hack Manitou, the great health
resort, i also headquarters FOR tourists and
pleasure seekers. It Is here that the far
famed mineral springs are located. OF which
there are three distinct varieiies-sulphur,
soda, and iron.
The town possesses many char ms 1t !:
made up chiefly Of grand hotels, resorts
tor invaliis, places Of amusement, ART gal
leries. etc The springs are owned by com
panies who have expended millions Of dol
lars to make the place attractive. The
springs are covered with pavilions erected
with seats and accommodations for the
weary. The water Is free to ali while here
YOU are allowed to take with you one quart
bv paving one dime for the same The
Peak Of itself has no attractions. 1t repre-
sents an immense pyramid Of rock and stone
thrown promiscuously together. Its bleak
summit contains one solitary building, for
merly used as [. S Signal station, but
discontinued few years ago.
/ will stop here by advising those wao
have not been abroad TO do as many have
done-make trip westward. take in the
scenery, and you viii never regret the time
and money thus employed
Respectfully,