The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1898-08-12
PICTURESQUE AMERICA.
The Overland Route and the Grand
Scenic Beauty Encountered.

Inc STORY VI tuc OfciiSuu AsouSS
has been told in prose and poem by
those who have right to claim the
best knowledge of it; 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 the
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 on their ad-
ventures and depict their hair-breadth
escapes, and tell of their hopes and
their disappointments. In one sense
theirs is the story Of the lives OF many
who read, and a 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 tray
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
splendid roadbed, and allows his eyes
to feast on the magnificent scenery af-
forded.
The highest point on this Overland
Route" across the continent is S,24I
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, sis superb defile. 1t moves along
like some majestic poem in series OF
incompatible stanzas. There Is moth
ing like it 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 it. But
taken for all in all-its length (some
thirty miles,, its astonishing diversity
of contour, its beauty as we'll 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 it is equally
emphatic: so 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 stream Of water, the cliffs
on either sides being nearly perpendic-
ular or even inclining towards each
other. Echo Canon has every feature
of mpressiveness-stro determinate
color, majestic forms and a novel
Mcirdness. 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
20 n tho hiOhpSr
enjoyment.
At Castle Rock may be said to be
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 one
side so smooth that it might have been
cut with saw, the lofty hills on the
other side, and the glimpse of noun
tains whose SHOWS never melt, are in
spring and interesting. But they are
not the only things that make jour
ney through Echo Canon memorable
for lifetime"
The Castle is one of the most perfect
Of all those striking objects whose vast
proportions show them to be the worA
Of nature alone, and yet whose sym
metrical forms and adherence to ar
chitectural rules seem to stamp them
as the works of man.
At first the cliffs are neither very
lofty nor precipitous, though always
picturesque. The slender stream
creeping along beneath them is fringed'
with the hardy willow. and on every
shelf, and up to the SUBMITS Of the
rocks, the dwarf cedars have obtained
a footing, their russell foliage and DARK
spots of shadow giving notified ap-
pearance to the landscape. 1t is all
most incredible, the tenacity which
these cedars have on life; give them
the narrowest ledge on the smallest
Granny in the parched rock. and they
go on growing, making up in hardfhood
and fantastic curve in trunk and limb
what they lack in size. Soon the
cliffs grow higher, more barren. more
savage in form. In color, also, they
change. At the canon head they are
of a yellowish gray, in some places
even ashen; now they stand up, stalk
and bare, and Of almost blood-red