The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1903-10-09

PIXIES PEAK AND BUST

what from the original version.
Fixes Peak or bust.'' In the days
OF the forty-niners it was 10 to i
shot that a man would "bust'' before
he got there. Now you bust after you
get there. If you try to climb the
hlstorlal mountain afoot you'll ssbust''
your wind and if you step up to the
ticket office and buy transportation
1or self and wife" up the cog-wheel
railway you'll go broke for thirty
daYs-and there you are. They make
you buv round trip ticket, SIS per,
because If by any chance you had
any change left after reaching the
summit, the sharks up there would
getitall-and the cog wheel promoters
don't take any risks Of pushing folks
up Pixies Peak and leaving them to
freeze to death. Like going to the
races, it's always we'll enough to have
return ticket from Pixies Peak
But it's worth every cent of it,.
staggers man to put up $40 for a
couple OF tickets, but what's the diff.
only equals two days hotel bill-and
after you have gone to the expense of
500 or more to get out to Colorado
you're chump if you don't see it. To
miss the summit OF Pixies Peak be-
cause OF the price would be like paw
Ing your way into a theatre and Sit
ting on the floor Of the lobby because
1T didn't cost anything. [ mention
this in passing because so many
tourists spass up" Pixies Peak be-
cause OF the expense. | skipped it
once myself-not on account Of the
price, but because there were so many
other attractions close by to see with
ina limited amount of time. After
ascending the mountain this summer
I concluded was an oyster in not see.
ing that first.
Pixies altitude 4,1Os feet-is
more widely known than any noun
tain on the American continent. There
are other monarchs of the hills whose
bleak tops rise hundred feet higher
into the upper silences, but they gen.
orally rise only short distance above
surrounding elevations, and views from
their SUBMITS are circumscribed.
Other peaks may be as majestic in
outline-they are mainly situated in
inaccessible regions. Pixies Peak has
a more prominent place in the history
of exploration and occupation of the
great west than any other name. Be-
fore the country west Of the Missouri
was mapped; before the territories
were bounded and named, Pixies
Peak was adopted as the unofficial
designation OF that section of country.
and thousands of eager pioneers, NOV
ing out to the mysterious west, choose
this mountain as their goal. "Pike's
Peak or bust" and it's kindred story
lives in the simple annals Of western
life, linked with the sturdy romance
Of that period.
Not only does Pixies Peak face the
plains without near rival-being
visible one hundred miles away-but
it is the nearest to the great plains of
any Of the front range. Colorado
Springs is laid out on broad, level
plain, touching the foot hills of the
eastern range Of the Rockies. To the
east, stretching away for hundreds of
miles, unbroken, to the Missouri, are
the great plains. To the west, but five
miles away, is Pixies Peak-sltting at
its feet, lovely Manitou. More or less
romance hoyers about the great
mountain from its discovery by Major
Zebulon Pike, a brave soldier and ad-
venturous traveller, in 1906. His graph
ic recital OF his discovery faclnated
the English speaking world. After
sighting the mountain Major Pike and
his men Travelled ten days before reach
ing it's base. In his report he gave it
as his opinion that no human being
could ascend it's pinnacle. Today
thousands OF tourists go there in
luxury.
There are five ways Of reaching the
summit: On foot, on horseback, BY
burro, by carriage OF rail, the last way
of course being the easiest and most
expeditions. One may travel on several
hundred Thousand miles fsteel raiIsin
this country, but if he went over every
rod of them he would find nothing
like the eight and three-fourths miles
of cog railroad which, at the cost of
nearly a million dollars to construct,
connects Manitou with the top Of
Pixies Peak, and which to traverse is
one Of the sensations, as it isa privi-.
lege, of a lifetime. 1t stands alone as
the most remarkable railroad in the
world. Think Of it! To be steadily,
|irresistibly and safely pushed up an.
average grade of s46 feet to the mile
until you alight among the clouds
three miles above the level of the sea.
You have come up into the air from
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