Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1891-07-02
From the Land of Flowers.
(COlliihned.l

| (Contisued)
The great frowning cliffs OF rock almost meet
ing overhead, the rushing torrent OF the Rio
Grande, on one side the road bed, tumbling and
roaring along In its hcadong course, until 1t
| lashcs itself at places, into "A perfect biow of
| foam, while on the other side we're cliffs of solid
rock whose perpendicular sides reared up,
| till seemed they reached heavens dome OF blue
| On either side they lowered, the distance be-
| tween them in one place being so narrow that
the R'y, Is built right over the bed Of the river
Marshall Pass presents one OF the greatest
fcats of Civil Engineering, and It also is incapa
BILE OF description. At Salida Col. we arrived at
4 o'clock a. M, and waited until O'Clock that
we might 90 over the Pass in daylight. When
the train of six cars and two engines left Salida
and began to ascend the Pass, every car window
was raised and from each window protruded at
least one head.
Up we went, winding and winding, up the
mountain side, passing one place three times,
and each time nearly one hundred feet above the
latter until the last time the depot ut that place
seemed onlya speck In the valley below At
that place we could see three times the road di-
rcctly below us and a little farther on we could
see three times our road above, when We reached
the summit the train stopped ut the Summit
Station to rest, and went out pickd up snow,
washed my hands in 1t and played snow ball with
the brakeman, all on the summit of the Rocky
Mountains, at Marshall Pass. At the Summit
we discarded our engines, and our engineer set
all the brakes and We started down the moun-
tain, maintaining the same low rate Of speed as
that used In coming up. 1t took about four
hours, to get over the mountains. In the after
noon of the same day we came through Black
Canon, so called because Of the gloom which al
ways pervades it. This Is much the same as the
Canon Of the Grande, except 1t Is larger and
more magnificent, the Colorado river, which
PUSHES down it, being much larger than the
Grande. At the prettiest place, where on the
right side, from distance Of 800 feet Is prccipi-
tatcd the Chppetaw Falls, aud across the river
bed, on the left side, stands Curcanis Needle
peak looming clear and erect to height of 1000
feet, on the very tip of which is placed the staff
OF what was once an American flag, the adventure
some railroad worker who placed it there being
killed in the descent, there, where the loveliest
scenery in all the journey met our eyes, the train
stopped for few minutes to allow us all to get
a full view Of the magnifcence, and to make the
pleasant pleasanter, we were all out in an obser-
walton ear, where all the wonderful details could
unObStr6cted meet the eye.
lntl tNtIllllS 1T We ulIiNtu az
Junction where we spent Thursday night.
This is such Il nice pleasant place, every day
the same, bright and sunshiny. In the sun, dur
ing the middle of the day it gets quite warm, but
the ocean breeze moderates the heat, and when
in the shade one is always cool. The most disa-
grecable feature us far as have perceived is the
winds, which spring up all in a minute, and
blow dust and sand So thick, as sometimes to be
| Ia 20, In has
been only one such since we have been here and
that was the first Sunday, but since have been
writing the wind has begun to blow and the
dust flies considerably, though even now it is be-
ginning to abate. And the oldest thing about
1t is, there is not anywhere cloud visible. At
this season there are no clouds. One morning,
we had light fog such as We often have there,
but about ten in the morning it arose, and the
sun shOne brightly the remainder Of the day,
thougc the fog stayed on the water all day. In
winter of course they have cloudy, rainy days.
liable to rain any time, but does not every day.
In winter, say, that is during our winter sea
son, which is really their summer season.
When the rains begin, which is usually in
November, they begin to pillow, and plant their
crops, and now their harvesting is all done and
they are feeding their stock hay, you see during
the rains the grass is growing and the cattle live
on it, but now the rains have long since ceased,
the grass is dry and dead and the stock are fed
until the rains begin again. The feeding season
lasts from May until October or November. usuI-
ally But of course, though the grass is gone,
the trees and shrubs are always green, and cat
tie are assured the year round, and they do not
require but little feed aside from that gained in
the pastures even at this season OF the y0ar.
| What mean 10y Crops Row harvested" is bar
ley which, fed heads and all, constitutes their
"hay,' wheat which is raised quite extensively,
| and oats, not very successfully cultivated. But
corn (which by the way is not much of Il sue
cess. Owing to the constant dry weather the
worms cat it very badly. Sometimes ont of a
whole ear there will not he piece two inches
| long that Is not wOrm-eaten Why an ear of
| corn without its worm, is as uncommon as a rose
without its thorn, though the worms bOhter
the sweet corn much more than the common
field corn There Is not much field corn raised
as very, very little OF it is used for ieed.) Green
corn, fresh strawberries, radishes, cabbage, let
| tuce, carrots, beans, peas, oranges and lemons,
can he had the year around, with lines, olives,
pears, apricOts, peaches, l0guats, cherries,
| grapes, plums and English walnuts, In their sea-
son which opens up in July. There is also rails
ell gooscberries, currants, apples, blackberries,
raSpberries and bananas, but the last named
fruits do not thrive so well as in other countries.
In fact Danl there Is scarcely fruit which can
not be- and Is not raised here.
| forgot to mention, dates, figs, and prunes,
| onions, asparagus, cucumbers squashes, beets,
turnpS and pumpkins--oh my, such pumpkins.
whole families live in them, and IL one OF them
should by accident fall into the ocean, it would
cause IA tidal wave so large that the highest peak
| Gf the Rockies would DO submerged, there that
Is a California yarn for you.) The constant sup.
ply of vegetables, lemons and oranges, is gained
by irrigating the lands during the dry season.
The soil is a gray brown color, and to look at 1t
one would not think 1t would raise beans, but it
does. In fact the cultivation Of Lima beans is
quite an industry. One man living not far from
| here has thirteen hundred acres. Though the
soil looks barren, yet when well watered it will
the state the products vary, and when speak
Of "this country" / mean only that portion OF
II around here, with which am acquainted.
And the peaple-well nearly all nationalties are
represented, Tho AmeriGans Chinese and
Spanish predominant, though there are English,
French, Italians, Norwegians. Swedcs, but very
few Negroes, Germans and Irish
Low Rates via c. & N. w. R'y.
On July and the Chicago & Northwestern
Railway Co. will sell round trip tickets between
all stations on Its lines at very low rates. tickets