Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1904-01-18

gaole In 'front.' was carved In fanclful
forms with circular hole or window.
/ Strong buttresses extended from it's
sides and if there was anything lack
ing fancy could supply it; and 1 won
der If IN the bygone years spirit bells
have not sent out their soft chimes
echoiug down the valley. calling the
faith full to prayer.
The cross valleys abounded IN like
| formations as far as we could see.
The soil on the mountains and valleys
is red in color, composed of the
eroded rock. We came through some
cuts whose sides showed all the shades
from white through the yellows to
golden brown and reds from pink to
wine, with a touch of green green
shale), that were nearly as bright as
the hues of the rainbow. After pass
ing the DEVILS slide and through a
tunnel we came into Weber Canyon,
but it was not as grand as Echo, and
an hour brought US to Ogden. The
Rockies were not as high as I sup
posed; the highest peaks through
where we passed did not seem more
than one third higher than Pisgah at
Willoughby. They were bare ofvege-
tation except now and then few low
evergreens on the western slopes, and
were not rocky only where the rocks
had eroded and dropped away, leav-
ing the red or yellow rock exposed.
The stations marked upon the maps
were some of them only the huts of
the men employed by the railroad.
and some were small villages. Ogden
is not large place, lying at the foot
of Wasatch range. The mountains
looked to be about one-fourth of
mile away but was told they were
seven miles, which was hard to be-
lieve. From the Rockies to the
Sierras was one of the most barren
and desolate regions that can well be
imagined, nothing but white sand and
dust coIored sage brush with now
and then a tuft of orange colored
grass to relieve the monotony; not
tree nor green thing except once in
a while tree in door yard; the first
grass seen was in a yard at Wards
worth near the Sierras. A little later
we came to the Humboldt river,
where a few bushes grew upon the
banks.
After leaving Ogden Thursday at
800 p. m. we skirted the northern
shore of the Great Salt Lake and rode
fifty miles on dead level of white
sand, too barren to support even
sagebrush, then climbed range of
lowlying mountains on to another
plain to Promontory, where the last
spike "a gold one) was driven con-
Meeting the two roads, the Union and
Central Pacific. It was a place of
about fifty houses, watering and
coalipg station; it looked like vast
plain with isolated mountains like
haystacks on a meadow. Night soon
closed down again, but full moon
shone brightly and lay awake in my
berth most of the time looking from
my window. Rocks, some of ITEM
looking 100 feet high, rose W straight
out of the plain like ot,elisks, as we
glided swiftly by Them they looked
like ghosts ID the white moonlight
Inc nrst Station We came to in the
morning was =. lboldt. There we
caught glimpse of the river, but die
J not see it again for fifty miles, wher
it had diminished one-half. 1t is lost
in the sand a few miles further on
Sagebrush and sand was still in evil
dence, but we began to see herds O
cattle and sheep; what they lived OF
I am unable to say. A stack o
!, alfalfa was occasionally to be seen
, At Reno some farms were irrigated
} and looked green in spots. At REM
: we reached the foothills of thu
, Sierras. At Truckee we began t.
Climb. We passed through tn
Y Rockies, but went over the Sierras
Soon after beginning to climb W
came to the snowsheds. Most of tn
. sheds are open opposite the window
+ on the chasm side and some of tb
n way were dark. I think we mus
O have passed through some tunnels
e but could not tell certainly. Some
n the passengers after taking one loo
q from the windows shut their eyea ar
il did not look again but Inc gTandel
"a of the situation had fascination fl
n nae and I did not lose anything in Il
10 range of my vision. AS we pass'
le Bonner Lake, where an emigra
,e train got showed in and so many
s. them starved to death, we seemed
"a be suspended over it; we could n
r see the shore, many feet below on t
Ill side we were passing. We cot
w often laa& hack over the track