CanÌƒon City record. [volume] (CanÌƒon City, Colo.) 1883-192?, 1901-07-04
To THE EDITOR OF THE RECORD:

10 THE EDITOR OF THE hECOkD.
The valley of the Great Salt Lake
is renowned, but the traveller from
the East passing through hundreds
of miles of the grand, rugged noun
tain scenery of Colorado is hardly pre-
pared to see valley so wonderfully
fertile. Its peacefulness and quiet
beauty seem to contrast sharply with
the sterner views of nature still fresh
in his memory.
Approaching the city over the Rio
Grande railroad We see distant lakes
shining in the sunlight or darkened
by passing clouds; rural homes sur
rounded by vines and orchards, miles
of farms fenced by stately poplars
and cbeckered by irrigation canals
half hidden by the rich foliage.
To one like myself whose travelling
horizon has been limited, and whose
measure for all things architectural
is the Record Block Of Canon City
and whose natural wonder is the Royal
Gorge Of the Arkansas, this visit to
the City of the Saints" is wonder.
an inspiration and disappoin ment
"a disappointment in the fact that !
had believed that we possessed in and
about Canon City the ne plus ultra
Of all things natural and artificial.
In a trip from Canon City to Salt
Lake City via the narrow guage, lead
ing over Marshall Pass and through
the Black Canon OF the Gunnison one
one beholds the grandest scenery in
the world, q am now quoting the
words OF man who was with me.
He had been in every known part of
the world. so write as one with
authority, so to speak,
The trip over Marshall Pass Is ia
miliar to most RECORD readers, but
It was not 10 me, and was surprised
to see how free the pass Is from
rocks and trees. and to see with what
wonderful ease the little engine could
handle our train on the descent
We stopped few minutes on the
summit and most OF the travellers left
the coaches and went to the lookout
tower and stood in speechless wonder
viewing the mighty panorama lying
beneath them The country down
the Tomichi and Gunnison to the
Black Canon passing through Gunni-
son City, Montrose and Delta is an
open rolling country with mountains
in the distance. The soil is adobe
and the part under irrigation appears
to be very productive, and much of 1t
is well set to fruit trees.
The Black Canon of the Gunnison
is admired greatly by all tourists,
and a great many "Uh'sT and "Ah'sF
have been expended upon it by the
lady travellers. One stri ing feature
of the Canon is its great length; the
Royal Gorge is as great for a short
distance, but that is all. A beautiful
waterfall is to be seen in the canon.
The Gunnison river has greater fall
than the Arkansas and tumbles and
dashes with tremendous fury.
The next point Of interest is Grand
Junction. famous as center of
peach culture. 1t is quite respec-
table city, somewhat like an Indians
beard scattered, but prosperity is
apparent everywhere, and, no doubt,
in time 1t will be city of consider
able proportions. At this point the
traveller gets aboard the Rio Grande
Western train. After passing through
some farming country one enters the
sandy, barren region lying between
Fruita and the valley of the Great
Salt Lake and for over hundred
miles there lies mighty expanse of
treeless, grassless, weedless waste.
Out of this region Of shifting sand we
suddenly burst into the promised land
of tho Saints-a land foretold by
their prophet, Joseph Smith. to which
his immediate successor, Brigham
Young, led a band Of the faithful in