The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1916-05-04


over some of the nearby paths, which
revealed mcny beautiful vistas of noun
tain and valley, until it became time for
the cable car to make its next descent.
which was accomplished as successfully
and safely as the ascent had been.
At the foot of Mt. Manitou an automo.
bile awaited US, and we drove back
through Colorado Springs and beyond,
over the fine roads bordered with splen-
did estates, and past inviting looking
paths, into the open country. A short
drive brought US to the entrance of beau
:iful South Cheyenne Canyon, where
true to the commercial spirit of Colorado
Springs were not privileged to enter
until an admission fee had been paid at
the toll-gate. That Formally over, we
drove on through the Pillars of Hercules,
gigantic cliffs which lowered on either
side of the road, dwarfing US and our
pigmy automobile into insgnificance
From this point on to the beautiful Seven
Falls, the road was lined with immense
rocky crags, and justified its title of the
"Grandest One Mile in Colorado
A turn in the road brought US into the
heart of the canyon, to the Seven Falls,
whose picturesque beauty was worth
coming far to see. The official photo
grapher lurked at the foot of the seventh
fall with docile little burro or two in
his outfit, and it seemed to be quite
the thing to mount a burro and be photo
graphed in a picturesque attitude with
the fall as background We success
fully resisted the temptation and labor
iously climbed the stairway ladders lead
ing up by the side of the falls to the top
of the first one. There was not a great
volume of water flowing over the sue
cession of terraces that give the place
its name, but the spot was undeniably
one of the most beautiful we had seen in
Colorado, as our very successful kodak
views bear witness.
From the head of the falls enc might
take burro for trip through the can
yon, over the various trails as desired.
This was Helen Hunt Jackson's favorite
spot, and her grave can be reached by
trail from the head of the falls. The
ever present souvenir shop was much in
evidence at the entrance of the canyon
and proved to be very interesting
place, though we did not linger, as dark
ness was already closing in around us,
and we were in haste to return to the
Springs.
After dinner at the hotel that night we
listened to a fine band concert in the
Park as we stroled about, seeing bit
of the city at night, and making plans
for the next day.
The trip to Cripple Creek and the gold
fields over the Cripple Creek Short Line
had been one of the most highly antici-
pated portions of our trip, and next
morning found us at the station waiting
for the morning excursion train. DR..
and Mrs. Bowers had narrow escape
from being left behind, but a friendly
brakeman held the train for fraction of
a second which enabled them to jump
aboard just as it started. In very
short time we were climbing dizzy
heights, on the very brink oe precipices,
looking down upon canyons and falls and
loops of track below us. We should
have been far more impressed with the
grandeur of the scenery had not our
previous experience in the Canadian
Rockies given us very exalted idea of
mountain Businesses.
At indicator junction we left the
train to board trolley car for a trip
through the gold fields over the highest
electric railway in the world, at an alti-
tude of 10000 feet. The hillsides on
ev~ry hand were literally honeycombed
with prospect holes,'' and the gaunt
framework of the mine shafts rose in
every direction. some of the mines
were in operation, but by far the greater
majority of them had been abandoned,
and were mute testimonials Of the gre at
gold strike of few years past.
We reached Cripple Creek about noon,
and succeeded in finding restaurant,
where a palatable dinner was served,
albeit the street was block AIDED by small
boys trying to sell US choice specimens
of gold and other ore, as we'll as tickets
of admission to a real" gold mine.
Cripple Creek is surely ''has-been"
town, as the long rows of deserted
houses and stores indicated. From a
population of 10000 in the days of the
big strike, a scant 5000 are left, and
there seems little inducement for those
5000 to remain much longer.
The "Abe Lincoln" mine trip present
ed little attraction for me, and together
with DIR. and Mrs. Bowers, returned to
Colorado Springs by the early afternoon
train. Will, however, preferred to wait
for later train, visiting the mine in the
meantime. He reported later an inter-
esting and novel trip, five hundred feet
down in the bowels of the earth, into a
mine whose owners were evidently max
ing more money from personally con-
Quoting tourists at dollar a head, than
from its Outnut of gold The few LARGE