The Greeley tribune., 1905-08-24
IOHN F. ROCHO RETURNED
HOME LAST FRIDAY
Found Many Things to Dislike
in Grand County, But All
Because of Comparison
With Home
Editor Tribune :


exploring some Of the remains OF old
Camp Lulu and viewing the star
Line ditch which is considered the
greatest irrigating scheme known,
being over twelve thousand feet high
and about twenty miles long, fol-
lowing the top Of the high snow
capepd mountains. being fed by the
numerous springs and rivulets along
the line which are formed by the
snow above it, empties into the big
South and then into the Poudre.
we started to pack our belongings,
scraping the frost off our cooking
utensils and taking the icicleS OIL
our water pail which formed the
night before we started on our Jour
ney down the north fork to Grand
Lake which we reached about B p.
m. Here We made the acquaintance
OF Mr. Cairns who is the proprietor
of general store, postmaster, tele-
phone operator, etc. From him we
gained some valuable information
in regard to the lake and country
surrounding. 1t seems, owing to
the high altitude, they have there
about nine months winter and four
months of spring. The snow fall
is very heavy. Four to five feet on
the level being very common, which
lays on the ground until May and
June. Grand Lake is natural
reservoir three miles long, one mile
wide and about eight miles around,
lying six hundred feet higher than
Estes Park. The depth of this lake
has never been sounded. 1t has no
outlets. This great body Of water
is not appropriated and not used for
irrigation and its capacity could be
increased by tapping the North Fork,
Willow Creek and other streams, the
waters of which are more than the
Poudre and Thompson combined.
All this water is going to waste,
doing nobody any good. Here is the
greatest irrigation scheme that is
known in Colorado, by making a
ditch and tunnel of about twenty
miles this water could be brought
to the Thompson in Estes Park and
furnish abundance Of water for the
fertile valley below. Why not take
! up this matter with the government,
1.-THE lake being in the reserve?) 1t
), would be grand investment.
Land and water could be sold by
the government at low rate Of in
. terest and make homes for thousands,
utilizing our desert lands which are
now practically worthless.
Grand Lake is beautiful little
village. Three large hotels furnish
ample accommodations for tourists
e and Is bound to make the leading re-
3 sort in Colorado. Next day we
. started for the famous Hot Sulphur
Springs. At present this is head
quarters for the railroad camps of
the Moffat road and probably by this
e time the cars are running into the
? town. The town itself was dis
. appointment, being built on boggy
ground. 1t did not strike us very
favorably and did not look as if the
] town had progressed much in the
e past twenty-five years. We took a
3 plunge in the sulphur springs baths.
3 The water being supplied by large
e spring flowing out of the rocks. The
bath tub or tank was a wooden
structure open at the top and sides
r and the odor put US in mind of a
large sheep dipping vat. The place
, is sadly neglected; no attendants
or accommodations and had we not
been posted before hand to take
: towels and soap we would have been
obliged to stand in the sun to dry,
but one thing the proprietors do not
forget and that is to "charge. :"
Everything seems to be graft, :"
The town has three tlourishing
saloons and gambling houses which
are run in full blast and seem to do
, more business than all the rest Of
the business houses combined. Plenty
Of ''drunks'' could be seen on all
corners. There seems to be at pres
ent quite strife between Hot
Sulphur Springs and the new town
seven miles south Of Grapd Lake
called CRANKY. The railroad COM
pany owns eleven hundred acres of
ground and the town is plotted and
incorporated. The first sale of lots
lat auction) was held two or three
weeks ago and good many lots were
sold at good prices. The state made
a handsome appropriation for new
wagon road into North Park from
at or near this point. Besides this
there are rich copper and placer
mines in this vicinity.