The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-04-23
HOW IT WAS DONE
BRUCE KEENAN, TELLS HOW GRIP
PIE CREEK GOLD WAS MADE


BE Climbs a Mountain and After Taking
the Surrounding Country Figures it A
out-A Gigantic CONFUSION of natur
Beiched From the Earth the Element
Which Evolved into Gold, Which A
Humanity Now Covets-The Scene O
the Cripple Creek District and its Mum
erous Camps-sone Reflections.
Cripple Greek, Colo, April 22-(Spec
ial)EMount Pisga, the highest am
most picturesque mountain in the Vicin
fty of Cripple Greek, lies directly west
the city. 1t had been frequent!
among my resolutions to climb thi
mountain, but the resolution was neve
carried out till Sunday, the 18th o
(Aprf. The mountain is high and par
Of the ascent is rough and very steep
being over an immense pile of broker
granite of variable size, the smalle
I rocks predominating. As one reaches
the higher altitude he finds that the as
cent becomes more laborious. TIL,
TO meet the requirements of his lungs
and the unaccustomed climber finds hi.
task very difficult. Long and deer
breathing helps but does not overcom,
the difficulty. Mount Pisga stand:
practically alone and one can take ar
unobstructed view for miles in any di
rectiop. The the southwest the Santa
de ChoiSto mountains, with snow crown
ed SUBMITS, trend across the view, and
at their foot hills, thirty miles away
nestles Canon City, while High Park
intervenes, a stretch Of valley or table
land thousands of feet below Mount
Pisga's summit. Away off to the north
west mountains are scattered at irregu-
lar intervals as far as human eye can
see. To the northeast is the famous
Pixies Peak. Winding in and out among
the mountains are pasture lands and oc
casionally farm house and patch of
plowed land. From Pisga one can see
the greater part Of the Cripple Creek
mining district, detect many of the
mines and shaft houses, see the out
skirts of Visitor look beyond High Park
TO the Bare Hills and to the west to
Fresh Water.
The view is grand one Individual
mountains relieve the scene rising like
sentinels til their submits almost touch
the clouds, the vale shows here and
there lowing kline like moving specks
upon the landscape. Grand as this
may be in some respects it has its
drawbacks. However, one may be
struck with the huge granite mountain
and the great throes through which the
earth's surface went when these condi-
tions were brought into existence there
IS a something lacking. These noun
tains, stupendOus in size, testify to the
ages of their existence, but these ages
have been ages of barrenness so far as
living forms and those things that are
inviting to life are concerned. No for
ests Of majestic oaks, walnut of popular
relieve the monotonous barrenness Of
the view. Instead, we find little stunt
ed pine trees scattered here and there
and some quacken asp. Vegetation at
this season Of the year here is unknown
mo buds, no flowers, no grass. Nature
seems TO say No living here For me,
] would prefer the deep tangled wild
wood, the flowers beside the grassy
brooks, where nature is animate; there
one has company, feels at home and
does not experience the chilling, I'M
friendly loneliness OF the majestic Colo
rado mountains.
One thing mistakes the new visitor
here, and that is his inability to guess
at distance. Everything is reckoned
by comparison with some mountain.
intermediate comparisons are not pos
sible or at least not made. What
seems to be a few hundred yards away
may prove to be miles. While on Mt
Pisga 1 asked companion TO point out
Pixies Peak. l prepared TO test the
strength of vision to see the famous
Peak. My companion pointed. I said:
''Where?' Right there This noun
tain right here?" 1 said. Yes" he
said, that big mountain over there"
'Pshaw," I replied, 81 have seen that
mountain many times and never knew
had seen Pixies Peak. How far is it,
anyway" about sixteen miles," he
replied 1 confess 1 was a little dis
appointed. I had been looking away
into the distance and for something
different. It's very name had deceived
me. A peak! 1 saw none. I expected
TO see piercing the very heavens a gi-
gantic natural spire but instead I saw
Tound-topped elevation towering above
its surroundings but so gradual, truth
to confess, that Pixies Peak had failed
TO impress me with its grandeur. So
little was I awed by this Peak" that
once, when standing on oGld Hill, east
of here) and having in mind to go to
Gillett, a distance of some three or more
miles, I actually looked upon Pixies
Peak without knowing it and debated
in my mind whether 1 would have to
cross that mountain to go to Gillett
did not cress the mountain, nor did
know it was Pixies Peak
/ have said that Mount Pisga Is a
mass of broken rock. The northeast
slope for a Thousand fete or more is
like a great dump where rocks are
poured. Without being a geolOgist
ina CINE the conditions under which
such a mountain-such a rock pile was
produced. Take a drill hole, say 30
feet deep. and charge with an immense
amount of giant powder, which, when
exploded bulges the earth and leaves
miniature condition resembling Mt.
Pisga. Go back ages. Conceive a
condition Of the interior of the earth.
when the great fires within converted
gases into explosives. Instead of haV-
ing 90 fet like the giant powder, they
had 1900 feet or more 10 escape. The
earth tremhled. The great solid crust
OF the earth. under this force incalucu-
liable, beloved like the ocean and gave
way. There We're explosions such as
the era Of man never heard. and chaos
was come again. Gases and vapor and
steam and fire and darkness was upon
the face Of the earth. for the suns
light was obscured. When the smoke"
had cleared away il was found the
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