The Red Cloud chief., 1892-04-29
Selma, California.

In compliance with your request and
for the benefit Of inquiring friends, l
write you relative to my trip and the
country in this part of the heritage:
1 arrived here Sunday morning at
2 o'clock some the worse for the trip,
having been fur days and FIVE nights
on the way. My family have been
here four months. 1 will say to be-
gin with that 1 never felt before that
l had beat the rail road company but
l think I got more than the Worth OF
my money in what I-saw on this secs
ond trip.
I went wei the road from Denver
to Leadville in the night. Here ever.J-
thing is four feet under snow and still
showing. Smallpox is OF a rage in
the place and times are dull on &C.
count of the low price of silver. Some
mines have shut down ond hundreds
Of men are idle. Here we begin to 30
down hill and one can readily see why
these mountains are called the Rock
les. W. soon start down q canyon
and follow a fine mountain stream
that has cut its way through solid
stone and at Red Cliff We are walled
in by rocks hundreds of feet high and
in some places they project and seem
just ready to fall down on us, it looks
as if a person could pull them down
ifthey only had a string tied to them.
On these mountains is lumber of
pine and cedar which is mostly small.
There are many interesting things on
the way to Ogden, but will not weary
you.
We stayed at Ogden IL hours and
l must tell you how badly l was de-
ceived. The mountains there reach
above the clouds and the city lies be-
tween the mountains and the railroad.
1t seemed to me that the mountains
could not be more than three blocks
distance from the depot, but after L
had travelled about two miles they
we're farther away than when l start
ed and l gave it up as a bad job. On
our way from here we 60 through a
lovely valley with spleodid mountains
for a background.
Do you know, Hosmer, that l have
always thought Brigam Young IN old
fool, but l am forced to change my
opinion of him. Just think! a man
being located in this valley with forty
nine ~goodlookipg wives for company,
but this is too immense to dwell up
on. In the afternoon after leaving
Ogden We have the lake in view n
til nearly dark and then for about a
days ride we 60 through about the
most desolate country l ever Jaw. l
will pass this over and draw rein at
Fort Reno. This is like a good, live
Nebraska town. We soon get into
California, and begin to climb the
Sierra Nevadas. We follow along a
mountain stream that comes tumbliDg
over the rocks and makes a roar that
can be heard above the roar of the
train. We have eleven cars and pull
ed by two of those powerful noun
tain engines and you may believe
they make the mountains tremble as
they follow the meanderings of the
stream. Along the stream We see
fine timber, saw mills, ice houses,
they say California gets its supply of
ice from here, there are dozens of
these ice houses each five times as large
as my barn. Well l will make a big
jump and get to the top of the noun
tains. Here we haye snow two feet
deep and everything has the appear
ance Of dismal winter. A little far
Their down are the hydraulic gold min
ing regions. They are very rich. The
mining is done by bringing the water
in pipes so or GO miles and turned
loose onto the hills and it is said chat
great stones weighing tons are dash
ed ahead like mere pebbles. Here it
seems as if the engineers who planned
this roao tried to see how close they
could run the trains to these fearful
chasms and not 60 over, l know those
in our car drew a sigh of relief when
We had passed over safely. After this
We pass through about so miles of
.,ov sheds and tunnels from Lead