The Newtown bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-current, 1898-09-02

GFlEUe WIFI Aaron buTT, was bueA pan
ming with Burr to overthrow the United
States government and stablish mighty
western empire over which Burr was to
be dictator. The reader may take this
for what it is worth or, if so inclined,
may be able somewhere to find testimony
to retute or confirm the statement.
However this may be it Ia a matter Of
history that Pike in November, 1906,
crossed into what is now the state of Col
orado and gave three cheers for the Mex
lean mountains, as he then called them.
Continuing his way into Colorado and
pitching his camp night after night, he
finally encamped on the site where
Pueblo row stands, so miles due south
from Colorado Springs. The morning
after they arrived at Pueblo, Lieut. Pike
ana his company of a dozen men set out
to stroll up the peak which has immOr-
ralized his name. They were deceived by
the distance, as tourists in this western
country are every day deceived, even to
the point of starting out to walk before
breakfast to asplace which seems close at
hand, but which is in reality many miles
away.
Pike and his party made II miles the
first day and epcamped for the night on
the prairie, not having reached even the
foothills. The next day they made %
miles and climbed up ne mountain. But
it was not Pixies Peak. In his journal
Zebulon Pike says: 1.-The summit of the
grand peak, which was entirely bare of
vegetation and covered with snow, now
appeared at a distance Of Is
or 1G miles from US. 1t was
as high again as what we had assembled
and would have taken a whole days
march to arrive at its base, whence [
believe no human being could have
assembled to its pinnacle" This, accord
ing to bis own journal, is as near as Pike
ever came to Gin bjug the lofty peak.
What he did climb vas probably Chey-
anDe mountain, great mass which
stards out boldly from it's fello vs and
buttresses Colorado Springs on the south
weat. There is no evidence that Pike
had any idea that he immortslizod him
self when he looked upon the mountain
which perpetuates his name. The prob
able fact is that the first ascent Of the
peak was made by some members of
party sent out by Secretary of War John
@. Calhoun in 1919, on an expedition from
Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains.
The ascent which was then accomplish
ed after two or three days of exhaustive
effort is now made with ease and COM
parative luxury, in about two hours, by
the cars of the Pixies Peak Cog Wheel
Route. l had the delightful experience
Of making the trip few DAYS since. 1t
Is no easy task to put on paper what may
be seen along the ascent Of Pixies Peak.
Nor is camera entirely satisfactory,
though it has caught some marvellously
pretty pictures Of massive rock, quiet
glen and crystal waterfall, which | hope
| may sometime show some of my read
ers when l shall be coming cast. | can
tell you but little of the beauties and
wonders of the route. Brush and camera
an do more, but after all picture for
The mind of the varied tints and colors
and constantly charging panorama can
reach it only through the human eye.
The start is made from the mouth of
canon, whose sides are form
I'd by the thicklY timbered slopes of
Manitou and Hiawatha mountains. With
5he first puff Of the Ell CINE the climbing
begins. For three miles we follow the
RuXt0n creek, stream of sweetest
sparkling water, drained from the snow
capped submits, which comes rushing
down through the narrow canon, now
Witty flowing be side the roadbed, again
hundreds of feet below us, madly plupg-
ing over huge boulders or leapipg in
pretty cascades and waterfalls in whose
deep pools the speckled trout disport
themselves until some lettering sports
man puts an end to their playful exist
ence and bears them home to make
sqvory meal. AS we thread the canon
rocks and stones of grotef que shapes rise
IN either hand. Among these is the
Lone Fisherman, brought down perhapa
On some glacier in the long ago and de-
posted there on bold crag to fab in
silence till the elements shall grind him
20 dust, or some movement similar to
hat which placed him there shall carry
MIN away to lower level. Hanging
Rock, Frog Rock, Plum Pudding, Turtle
and Punch are names suggested by the
curious forms which some rocks have
as sumed, and there are others in great
variety of shapes and bearing appropri-
ate names. Passing out of the canon by
bursts upon our sight, and its laughing
waters fill our ears with refreshing mu-
sic. Here little group Of cottages, in
which pleasure seekers are making a
temporary summer home, nestle like
Swiss chalets among the cool, tall pines.
Pushing little further up the hill we
halt few moments at the Halfway
House, then pass on through tract of
several acres covered with aspen, poplar.
some birches and pines. Before leaving
this sort of mountain park, we stop for
the engine to take water, as the longest
and steepest incline of the road lies
directly before US. The passengers take
advantage of this opportunity to get out
and look about, and they, too, take wa
ter, some in cups or rubber siphons
which they have brought for that pur-
pose, some by dipping it up in the palm
of the hand. AS had neither cup nor
tube and the hand-dipping process was
too slow and the water too tempting, I
showed my bringing up by stretching at
full length on the rocks and pebbles and
drinking from the sparkling creek. /
can never fall vau how daIicious that