Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1894-10-08

pldC0S, even IOT TOuS do d tlIuO, UHo
ground is as soft and smooth as a par
Tor carpet. Although the trees stand
quite scattering compared with our
forests, yet to such hight do they
reach, and to such distance do their
massive branches reach out, that the
tops, interlock with each other there
by forming a canopy through which
the sunlight seldom penetrates. Great
mills stand among the loot hills, and
one by one those mountain giants are
yielding to the saw.
To the west of Truckee is a long
wide canyon quite thlckly studded
with trees, and in one part of which
is small body Of water. High noun
tains rise up on either side. The train
crepU along the sides of the mountains
on the left, high above the woods and
water below, and by looking across
the canyon we could perceive rail
road track still higher up on the sides
of the opposite range. 1t passed
through snowsheds crept around dir
zy ledge and was finally lost sight Of
by pIunging into dark tunnel in the
side of the mountain. That railroad as
we learned at last was only a contin-
uation of our own. We made COM
plete circle Of the upper end of the
canyon, returned on the opposite side,
and at last looked far down and across
the intervening space upon the rail-
road we had traversed some hours be-
fore Then followed a succession Of
tunnels and long snowsheds that were
aggravating in the extreme. Finally
we plunged into the famous forty
mile snowshed, and the ride became
more aggravating than ever. If we
caught glimpse of the outer world
it had to be through cracks in the
boards, or where the boards were
knocked off, Or when the train would
| come to an occasional halt at some
little mountain station. Then we
would rush from the cars, pass to the
outer platform, and look out upon a
scene of beauty such as only the Ser
ra Nevada mountains can produce.
When we left Reno the sky was clear
and the sun was shining brightly; at
Truckee cloudy weather was reached,
and further on we encountered rain;
at Summit we were in the midst of
| snowstorm; beyond the Summit we
rose above the clouds and rode in the
bright sunlight again; then, as we
plunged down the western slopes, it
| ole - ,,ofx
and then cloudless sky again down
Id The Sacramento valley. The con-
trasth was wonderful. The ride above
the clouds after the snowsheds had
been disposed Of was an interesting
one. Masses of thick clouds bridged
over the great canyons and out of
them rose the tall peaks of the Sier-
ras like pyramids out of the desert.
The sun rejecting upon the great
cloud banks was the source of many
beautiful colors besides giving to them
mary dark and white edgings with
black cliasms Beneath So dense1y
were the clouds packed that they re-
sembled a great wall Of rocks over
which you could easily pass on foot.
No portion of the journey from the
East to San Francisco is more inter
esting than the ride over the Sierra
Nevada mountains; and to think it
can be done in the ease and comforts
OF ptrlor car is only to appreciate a
fraction Of the enormous cost and the
wonderful piece of engineering it
took to accomplish that feat.
The moment you tip over the crest
of the mountains and begin to de-
scend on the western side you notice
an entirely different change in the as
pect of the country. The baroness
that has greeted the eye for three
thousand miles has entirely disap-
peared. Warm sea breezes sweeping
up from the coast have covered the
earth with vegetation, and the noun
tains and valleys are covered with
beautiful trees of different kinds and
sizes. The leaves upon those trees do
not turn golden and fall off as do the
leaves upon our trees, but dry and
wither up and are forced off by re-
turning foliage. You see acres of red
wood on the mountain sides, and
down in the valley as far as the eye
can reach are groves of ive-oa ks,
which makes the country look like a
great park. The foothills on the east
ern side Of the mountains were the
| scenes of the earliest gold diggings: