The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1908-09-10

ZIi,2 feet to the mile, which is pretty
stlff one, and just before reaching
sharp curve the engine jumped the track
out as we were going up grade and
moving very slow the engineer stopped
the train in few feet. A delay of an
hour while section men were sent for
and finally the engine was back on the
track and we started again but had not
gone thirty feet until in was off again.
1t was then decided to try and back the
train down to Mears Junction and send
for another engine, and when the en-
glne was again on the track, this was
tried, but it was a case of ION again, off
again" and we could get neither for
ward nor backward and keep the engine
on the track. The engineer refused to
try and handle the train attached to
the old tub as he called the engine, SO
with trainmen at every brake the train
OF six cars was backed down the steep
grade for six miles without an engine
attached. 1t was rather scaley trip
and the platform of each car was
crowded with male passengers ready to
help twist the brakes little tighter if
necessary, but finally we reached the
station in safety and then had to wait
for two hours more while two new en-
glnes came from Salida to pull us over
Marshall Pass. it was pleasant ride
and soon we were up in the snow
crowned spires of the Sangre de Cristo
range. To the right towers the fire
Scared front of old Ouray, gloomy,
grand, solitary and forbidding, and
slowly we creep up until finally the
summit of Marshall Pass is reached and
we are up at an elevation of 1886 feet,
or 296 feet more than two miles above
sea level. The train halts at the sum-
nit for few minutes and most of the
passengers alight and walk outside the
snowshed for view. This is the water
shed OF the continent, the Atlantic
slope behind and the Pacific slope be-
fore US. From the summit we glide down
the other side pretty rapidly, the train
being propelled by gravitation alone,
and the fireman has all easy time of it
compared with the work coming up,
and after beautiful run through fine
country we stop at Gunnison for dinner,
although it is after o'clock, our train
being seven hours late. Gunnison is
now town OF 1900, but fifteen years
ago 1T had ten or twelve thousand 'peo-
pie, three daily papers and everything
on the boom. That was when they
thought they had discoved mineral de-
posits near, but they did not amount to
anything. A hotel which cost over
S225,O0O is used partly as depot, and
looked like deserted place in little
town of 1900 people.
From Gunnison the train follows the
Gunnison river, one Of the finest trout
streams in the world and we saw MANY
fisherman wading the river, and wished
c0nld inin
Sapinero river and railroad enter to-
gether the Black Canon Of the Gunni-
son, and after viewing the Royal Gorge
we thought it could not be surpassed,
but we changed our mind, for in our
estimation the Black Cannon is by far
the most gorgeous scenery. The canon
walls are pleasingly colored and there
are constant openings in them, display
ing riffs and parks. Chipeta Falls,
memorializing the wife of Chief Ouray
of the Utes, comes rolling and leaping
in white course down a lofty wall on
the right and farther along on the left
is the tremendous sharp spire of Cure
can't Needle, rising perpendicularly to
the heighth of 1000 feet above the track.
The track twists and turns, now on one
side of the river and now on the other,
new scenery appearing at every turn
of the track. Where Cimmarron Creek
empties into the Gunnison through
short canon the road leaves Black Canon
which continues on with the widening
stream heightening in awfulness. From
here the fall of the river increases so
rapidly that the railroad cannot follow
it down to the valley below and the
road traverses for some time country
which is about as barren desert as
can be found. Before reaching Mont
rose we pass by the entrance to the
great Gunnison tunnel being con-
structed by the government, which cuts
through mountain six miles to bring
in the waters of the Gunnison river for
irrigating purposes. When completed
this project will reclaim 100000 acres
of extremely fertile land, and when
there is water on the land almost every
thing can be raised. Near Montrose we
passed by many fine orchards and green
fields, but all had to be irrigated. At
Montrose we left without regret the
narrow gauge train and took standard
gauge train for Grand Junction, passing
through Delta, a good town and sur
rounded by fine country, and then on
to Grand Junction, reaching there many
hours late, rather tired, but we'll
pleased that we took the narrow gauge
trip. Leaving Grand junction the next
morning we headed east, after having
travelled within a few miles of the
Utah state line, and for miles and miles
passed through magnificent orchards,
this being one Of the finest fruit sec
tions of Colorado, but this year the
apple crop was almost total failure on
account Of the late freezes, although
some of the owners saved a part of
their crop by keeping smudge fires
burning in their orchards for several
days. Sugar beets are also. raised on
an extensive scale here and there is a
big sugar factory at Grand Junction.
Ninety miles east of Grand junction is
Glenwood Springs, one of the famous
health resorts, town of about fifteen
hundred people, but this is greatly in-
creased during the tourist season. A
number of hot sulphur springs with
medicinal properties, and splendid
hotel built at cost of $350,000, where
it costs man ten dollars every time
| hA furna around on1 email fort,,o