The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1896-10-14
Portion of a Private Letter Written by
lanes 3. Arnold to His Wife.

lanes b. Arnold to His Wife
The brakeman's clear call of Denver"
tells me that once again | am in the
metropolis of Colorado. Here, as In
other places on our route, notice
great improvement. Splendid business
structures greet us on every side. One
thing | noticed in particular, none of
the buildings are over nine stories high,
but what they lack in height as com
pared to the sky-scrapers of Chicago,
they make up in modern architecture,
and their outside ornamentation is
pleasing to the eye. Take some of the
very tall buildings in Chicago that seem
to want to kiss the very clouds, and
their outside appearance, as general
thing, in the way OF pleasing architec-
ture, is not very attractive to the eye.
Denver now has population of 165, 900,
having made wonderful gain in the
last few years. AS city to live in
it certainly should please any one, with
its clean streets, shady avenues and all
the advantages OF our larger cities
One great drawback to- the city is that
it has not as yet a Sunday law, and on
the Sabbath everything seems to 60
Theatres are open and picnic parties
parade the streets, headed by brass
band. They tell me that three hundred
days out of 365 are clear. AT least to
me the atmosphere is very bracing.
On the streets you see great many
invalids, especially those afflicted with
lung trouble, and seeing so many Of
them can't help but fill one with sad
ness and make you feel as though you
were in great hospital. They are of
all ages, from the young girl just bud
ding into womanhood 20 the aged man.
The hacking cough, the palid check
and sunken eyes only tell too plainly
that their pilgrimage on earth is short.
We leave tomorrow morning for
Cripple Creek, stopping at Colorado
Springs for day or so.
Colorado Springs is beautiful
place. Many handsome buildings
ittNC Dttu 'iNti'u SihNt was
here last. Towering l4,147 feet
above sea level is Pixies Peak, clad in
its mantle of snow. We arrived at the
Springs at ll.25 a. NJ, and after dinner
started for Manitou. 1t is ride of six
miles on the street cars. To our left
are Pixies Peak and the Cheyenne
mountains. In thirty minutes we reach
Manitou, beautiful place. Many fine
residences and large hotels, and the
formation of the ground and mountains
make it very picturesque.
! am now standing at the foot of Pixies
Peak waiting for the car to take me to
the top of this wonderful mountain.
The distance is seven miles, but it takes
one hour and three-quarters to make
the ascent. The conductor calls "all
aboard" and at last am or my way to
the top of the mountain. Fifteen per-
sons are in the car, the engine pushing
it. The scenery is simply beyond de-
scription, changing constantly. Spread
out before me is a mighty panorama Of
10000 square miles. Slowly our engine
pushes us along, and at times | look
down thousands Of feet into the valley
below and can't help but think, what
If something should break! fifteen souls
would be hurled into eternity almost in
the twinkling Of an eye. The cOnduc-
tor calls out, Timber Line,c and look
ing little ahead OF us we see where
the timber stops. We are now ll,57S
feet above the sea level. Overcoats and
Jackets are being put on, as the air is
very chilly. Some of the party are
finding it difficult to breathe, and one
lsdy is fairly gasping for breath. Our
engine still pushes us along, unmindful
of our suffering, and we have yet over
twenty-five hundred feet to go. AT last
we reach the top, in the midst of a snow
storm, and we welcome red hot stove
TO warm ourselves. The lady spoke OF
having such difficulty to breathe has
almost tainted away and restoratives
are given her. She can't walk, but sits
in chair, gasping for air. One gen.
tleman In the crowd said his head felt
as though it was full of wheels and he
thought 1t would bust. tried to whis-
tie, but it was dead failure, only now
and then being able to strike a note.
After warming myself, l started out
to take look, and what sight! To
my right in the valley is Colorado
Springs. Not single house is visible,
but you can zee the sandy streets and
the trees, making it look like garden
patch. was SO taken up with the
view that / stumbled over a mound of
earth and stone, and in looking down
saw it was a grave. / was somewhat
startled, not thinking Of finding any
thing OF the kind. Kneeling down, !
noticed the following on wooden head