Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1891-08-28
From the Centennial State.

To redeem my promise to write to
several of my old neighbors in re-
gard to my views of Colorado, ad-
dress this communication to you
thinking perhaps you will give it an
insertion in you valuable paper.
came to Leavenworth City in
1853 soon after the struggle for
slavery or freedom in that then new
territory. In 1859 l crossed the
plains to the present city of Denver,
then a place of perhaps a dozen
stores and as many saloons, and the
most strong minded of those early
emigrants had but little faith in the
future of Colorado. After the visit
of Horace Greeley which was in May
80 there seemed to be a growing
confidence and business and specula-
ton began to boom. The land lying
Joining the little city of tents and
log cabins was vacant until 1861
and could haye been had for the TAX
ing of it which l thought of doing.
They are now building the Capitol
on this ground and electric
street railroads extend two miles
farther south and | presume there is
no city in the world that has any
better buildings as whole, than
Denver can justly boast of.
When l crossed the plains in 80
there was nothing l could see but a
barren desert that produced nothing
but sage bush and cactus but 1t is
now one of the largest wheat grow
ing countries | have ever seen. !
stopped off one day at Junction City
which, years ago was the extreme
out post on the Great American
desert but now center of an i'm
mense farming country. My friend
John Davidson who / called to see
was engaged in the hardware bust
ness and the day l was with him he
sold seven reapers and binders and
had sold forty-eight this year.
Itook the train at 4 P. m. which
would carry me west out of tae state
at ten o'clock and the last two hours
before dark we passed through al
most one continuous wheat field
which seemed 10 mature before the
dry weather reached it.
This letter would be to lengthy
should I detail ali my surprise in
witnessing the growth and advance
ment in the past thirty-two years. /
could detail a thousand wonders,
such IS the Mineral Palace at Pueblo
where on my first visit in 1861 it
boosted of one single cabin and
town site covering $50 acres which
the proprietor offered to sell me for
q barrel Of whiskey, but circumstances
induced me to refuse the offer as |
had previously become a town pre-.
prietor at Canon City that then had
a population of three or four hundred
at the entrance of the Grand Canon
aud on a good mountain road to the
mines of Leadville then called Buck
skin Jo and long before the discovery
of galena that has given it its present
prominence and source Of wealth.
My route TO this place was up this
grand Canon when years ago it was
dangerous for a footman TO venture
to make the pass around the point
of rocks, but now an iron bridge
suspended in the air and supported
by iron rafters from one side of the
Canon to the other puts us over The
surging, roaring torrent below and
we wind our way along up the
mountains for three hundred miles
over road that seemed TO me would
be dangerous for red squirrel to
climb. The road runs along the
Lakefork branch of the Gunneson
river, an ideal mountain stream.
Clear, snow born, ever hurrying, full
of cascades, falls, swift currents and
edying pools, miles of canon
scenery; our attention equally d.
yided between the cliff above and
the river below until we reach an
elevation of eleven thousand eight
hundred feet above the sea winding
around the cliff like the letter S one
engine in front and another behind,