The Red Cloud chief., 1898-08-12
PICTURESQUE AMERICA.
The Overland Route and the Grand
Scenic Bsauty Encountered

The story Of the Overland Route
has been told in prose nj poem by
those who have a right TO claim tho
best knowledge Of 1t: those who toiled
over the plains driving oxen in spans,
which pulled great caravans OF freight;
those who hopefully bore the heat and
burden of the day, buoyed up and en-
couraged by the hope Of an Ell Dorado
In the mountains of the west-great,
noble hearted men who sought in tho
glorious west the reward which seemed
never to come near their doors In the
populous east. They were brave and
kind hearted. bold and gentle, and the
story writer loves to dwell OF their adj
ventures and depict their hair-breadth
escapes, and tell Of their hopes and
their disappointments. In one sens
theirs is the story of the lives Of many
who read. and n chord of sympathy Is
touched by the skillful telling Of the
story. Everyone who has read these
tales OF the west has felt an instructive
desire to see the spots, hallowed at
least in memory by some story, which
has served to pass an hour away; and
each one has longed for an opportu-
nifty. Those Of the present day have
the best of the earlier members OF this
mutual admiration society. for they can
now make the trip in comfort, free
from peril, and surrounded by all the
luxuries incident to modern travel. In
stead of toiling over the calcined track
of those who preceded them, the trav-
eler Of the day simply selects THE
Overland Route" the Union Pacific
system, and, as much at home as
though in the quiet of some New Eng
land village, glides swiftly over a
splendid roadbed, and allows his eyes
to feast on the magnificent scenery az
fCrded.
The highest point on this Overland
Route" across the continent Is S,21I
feet, at Sherman; hence those who fear
the results of great attitudes are re-
lieved Of that apprehension, as very
little difficulty is experienced.
echo Canon" says an English trav-
eler, us a superb defle. 1t moves along
like some majestic poem in a series OF
incompatible stanzas. There Is moth
ing M 1t in the Himalayas. nor In the
Sullivan Range, In the Bolan Pass,
on the Afghan frontier, there are in
tervals OF equal sublimity; and even as
a whole it may compare with 1t. But
taken for all in all-its length (some
thirty miles), its astonishing diversity
Of contour, its beauty as well as gran
deur-I confess that Echo Canon Is
one Of the masterpieces Of nature"
Such Is the verdict OF one observer,
and another in describing 1t is equally
emphatic: $50 far In our overland
journey we have met with no striking
instance Of that most frequently occur
ring feature Of these regions-the can
on. What in the far west Is so termed
Is sometimes a narrow chasm in the
mountains, the bottom of which Is often
the bed Of a stream OF water, the cliffs
on either sides being nearly %perpendic-
ular or ever inclining towards each
other. Echo Canon has every feature
Of impressiveness-strong, dcterminate
color. majestic forms and a novel
w%eirdness. Usually the descent into
the canon begins soon after leaving
Evanston: the air coming from the
mountains is inspiring; the afternoon
light is growing mellower, and all the
conditions are favorable to the highes'
enjoyment.
At Castle Rock may be said to bt
the true beginning of the exciting ride
He must be a very close observer, In
deed, who can comprehend all the va
ried beauties and curiosities that fol
low. The high abrupt wall on on
, side, so smooth that it might have bee!
i, cut with a saw, the lofty hills on IN
other side, and the glimpse OF noun
/, tains whose SHOWS never melt, are In
, spring and interesting. But they ar
, not the only things that make a jour
, ney through Echo Canon memorafl
' for a lifetime"
The Castle is one of the most perfcc
a of all those striking objects whose vas
S proportions show them to be the wor.
!, of nature alone, and yet whose sym
4 metrical forms and adherence to al
D chitectural rules seem to stamp ther
as the works of man.
$ At first the cliffs are neither yer
4 lofty nor PERCEPTIONS, though Away
+, picturesque. The slender streai
creeping along beneath them Is fringe
with the hardy willow, and on ever
shelf, and UP to the SUBMITS OF tn
rocks, the dwarf cedars have obtaine
Z n footing, their russell foliage and dar
. spots of shadow giving a notified al
. pearance to the landscape. 1t Is a
u most incredible, the tenacity whic
I these cedars have on life: give the'
the narrowest ledge on the smalle'
= Granny liz the parched rock, and the
go on growing, making up In hardihoc
, and fantastic curve in trunk and lin
a what they lack in size. Soon Il
- cliffs grow higher, more barren, mo-
savage In form. In color, also, thu
"a change. At the canon head they a
Of a yellowish gray. in some plac'
even ashen; now they stand up, sta
o-a Lora apd ~ almost "a blOOd-r,