The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1891-01-09
COM MUNlCATED.
DENVER, COL, Jan. 5.

Editor Free Press.
Home was viyidly brought to mine
last evening by stray copy of your val
ued Journal. LastAugust decided win
ter spentin the climate ofSouthern Cali.
fornia better than one spent on the Allan
tic coast. Reaching Colorado in early Sep
TENDER, the temperature has since been
so delightful that it has not been necess-
airy to further pursue my journey toward
the Pacific. My time has been spent in
the Rocky Mountains, crossing and re-
crossing the "Great Divide,' climbing
passes, trayersing picturesque valleys,
visiting Indian reservations, pre~1ect-
ing gorges with walls soaring thousands
of feet abovethe beaten trail, pausing at
rich mining camps of gold and silver, in
short, famIliarzing myself with peaks,
plains, lakes, rivers, canons and mesa's.
Yesterday was spent at Julesburg, Col,
ing to the recent opening of the Sedg-
wick reservation by the president, II
is a growing town, the last census show
ing an increase Of over eight hundred
per cent. in population. tits the head
quarters of the National Cooperative
Building and Land Association, who are
the owners and managers of Washing
ton Park addition adjacent to the GEN.
ter and to the depot of the main line of
the U. P. railway. The company has
men Of ideas in charge. They have
contracted for the erection of a large
number of cottages for their agent, and
frankly acknowledge that they are deed
ing every fourth resident lot, while
they last, for twenty-five cents, a SUM
handy sufficient to pay the preparation
of the deed, relying for their profit on.
the increased value of intervening land
and of neighboring real estate, in which
they are interested. They anticipate a
rapid increase of population in view of q.
large amount of projected building and
in view of the early removal to the town
of the extensive railroad shops now To-
Gated at Sydney, Neb., and at Sterling,
Col. That the men of the Association
are square honorable men is sufficiently
guaranteed by the fact that their war.
ranty deeds and their characters are
fully endorsed by the County Judge, the,
Town and County officials, the Postmas-
ter and the merchants all residents
of Julesburg. Last nightI had ride to,
Pixies Peak on the "cog wheel" rail.
way recently opened to tourists. It is
the most novel railroad in existence
compared with it those of Mt. Washing
ton, N. H., and the Rhigl Switzerland,
are insignificant. The winding and
curving necessary to attain three miles
of altitude make the road ten miles in
length. Its cost was half million of
dollars. The road bed is twenty feet
wide the culverts are of solid masonry
and the bridges and rails are of the hea~
West steel with double cograil in the
center. The track is substantially an
chored at short intervals to the soli6
rock. The cars without being tilted.
are hung within fifteen inches of the
rail and two pInion brakes are SO arran-
ged that, when necessary, the train can
be stopped in ten inches either ascend
ing or descending. The engine was cou-
pied at the rear and pushed the train,
desirable Innovation, relieving ones
eyes from the constant annoyance of
cinders. Stops were frequent at all
slightly points. The round trip, costing
five dollars, occupied three hours, and
was the best investment of time and
money made in ten years of home and
foreign travel. A brief chat with Ser
geant O'Keeffee in charge of the signal
station on the summit elected the fol-
lowing interesting facts. The gentle
man having made the rude cabin in the
peak has residence for FIVE years, and
being the only person eyer detailed
twice to the station his information may
be considered reliable. The lowest
temperature was 81 below zero, the
highest 81 above. The mean highest
winter temperature, was IA below. The
winter zephyrs are often of considerable
strength. In one instance one hundred
and thirty-fve miles per hour was indi-
Gated, at which point the wind blew the
balls out of the socket, and the roof from
the cabin, followed bya markedincrease
in velocity continuing several hours,
during which he estimates the speed at
tanned at hundred and fifty miles per
hour 'Gee Whiz" Sergeant O'Keeffee
pronounces the story of the death of an
associate while on duty at the station,
recently published in the N. Y. Sun and
extensively copied throughout the coun-
try, as pure fiction, no person of the
name given ever having been employed
there and no death eyer having occur
red. He attributes the thrilling narra-
tive to the efervescent but fertile brain
of some Eastern scribbler, too far re-
moved from the ''seat of war" to be able
to invent reasonable yarn. The pros
pective silver bill, of which the main
feature is free coinage, is giving Colora-
do prominence never before attained.
Mining is prosecuted with renewed vig-
or. and vast fortunes are being rapidly
accumulated. This stimulates real es-
tate, the prices for which have advanc-
ed, not only in Denver, the 80 called