The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1905-07-13
Trip to the Colorado Mountains.

EDITOR REpoRTER:-Not having the
pleasure of meeting you in Oklahoma as
l expected, and as you perhaps travelled
in the same parts of the territory that
| did, it will be unnecessary for me to
describe that fine country to you, as !
have already done for the Garden
Grove Express, but l will give you a
continuation of my trip west.
After my return from Oklahoma to
Kansas City and resting couple of
days, Will and took a sleeper on the
Rock Island r. r. and started again
through Kansas to Colorado Springs, |
Col. l had never been in that country
and having been born and brought up |
among the mountains of Scotland /
thought had seen all the mountains
that were worth seeing but the Rocky
mountains of Colorado took me down
some.
stayed in Colorado City with my
brother-in-law and family whom / had
not seen for more than twenty years.
They gave'me hearty welcome and
were pleased to take me around and
show me all the principal sights of that
wonderful country.
My first trip was to Manitou to get a
drink of the healing waters that spring
l from the mountains surrounding Pixies
) peak. My next trip was to Cheyenne
4 canon that seemed to be about a mile
or a little MORE but we rode on two
lines of street cars and travelled just
seven miles before we got to the en-
, trance of that canon. We then hired
, carriage at so cents an hour for each of
: us and took drive up through the
gorge for several miles until we reached
the end of the driveway at the Seven
!, Falls. The falls were not so grand as
: Niagara Falls, but there were seven of
:. them and they were beautiful. The
> drive through the canon was grand be-
You'd description. 1t was only wide
: enough for a driveway and stream of
!" water running along the side. The
. mountains on each side rising perpin-
dicular for several hundred feet. In
fact when you looked up it seemed .as if
they were overhanging the driveway
!" and liable to fall down at any time and
crush the parties beneath. But they
- had stood for ages and were likely to
- remain so.
- When coming down the canon we met
- several young peoples parties mounted
- on Buros, and ! thought of Maude
- METERS report of her ride on a Burro
~ when it went so fast that "she could
hardly stick on and couldn't get Off
n. and was in terrible fix.
k. At the entrance of the canon is fine
- park with fine old trees, shrubbery
flowers, lawns and fountains, seats tina
would accommodate at least 5000 PEG
pie and band Of music that played
every evening when the weather is
good. Tho owner of the park was {
millionaire, Of Colorado Springs, bu
died last year and his heirs carries ou
f his wishes of having everything con
= nected with the park free.
e Our next move was to get a carriage
and take drive through the Garden o
Ill the Gods. There wonderful sights cal
be seen of great slabs of red sand ston'
u standing up on end seemingly about
feet thick, so feet wide and over 10
feet high. They stand singly and il
pairs and sometimes in punches of tel
or twelve. Pictures of men and al
kinds Of animals seems to be imbede
or chisled high up in these rocks an
represent George Washington and fami
ly, Adam and Eve, the heads of lions
tigers, camels or dromedarys with tn
haunch on their backs and some tEgyI
tion Sphinks all pictured plainly
III Again there were some rocks nearly 2
feet high and looked about feet squar
and had a large stone on top whic
looked like a mans head. Anothe
freak of nature was the Balance Rocl
where large oval stone stood on top {
another rock in kind of a groove an
looked as if a good strong wind woul
blow it over. 1t has stood there fe
ages, and no one is allowed to hurt {
deface anything in the Garden of til
Gods.
l have said but little of Manitou, an
yet went up there every day an
drank water from the soda, sulphur I
iron springs. liked the soda sprir
water better than the iron or any of tt
half dozen other mineral waters, a
= though all of them are supposed to
- very healthy. All these waters al
> free.
I Manitou is composed of a conglome
{ alton of large and small houses stuck
- every place where house could
} built near the foot of Pixies Peak. II
{ people live off one another and all Ii
off the tourists who flock there eve
summer either for health or pleasul