The states-graphic. (Brownsville, Tenn.) 1???-1984, 1917-03-23
CHAPTER X.
The New Rodman.

There are no more beautiful valleys
anywhere than those cut by the waters
of primeval floods through the foothills
of the great snow-covered Rocky noun
tains. The erosions and washingS of
untold centuries have flung out IN front
of the granite ramparts Of succession
of lower elevations like the basti0ns Of
a fortress. At first scarcely to be dis
tinguished from the main range in
height and ruggedness these rayelins
and escarpments gradually decrease in
altitude and size until they turn into
a series of more or less disconnected,
softly rounded hills, like outtlung
earthworks, finally merging themselves
by gradual slopes into the distant
plains overlooked by the great peaks
of the mountains.
The monotony of these pine-clad,
wind-swept slopes is broken even In
the low hills by out-thrustings of stone,
sometimes the hard igneous rock, the
granite of the mountains, more fire.
quently the softer red sandstone OF a
! period later, yet ineffably old. These
cliffs, buttes, hills and mesas have
been weathered into strange and fan
tastic shapes which diversity the land
Escape and add charm to the country.
The narrow eanons In which the
snow-bed streams take their rise grad
i ually widen as the water follows its
tortuous course down the mountains
through the subsidlng ranges and out
among the foothills to the sandy, arid,
windy plains beyond. AT the entrance
of one of the loveliest of these broad
and verdant valleys, short distance
above It's confluence with narrower,
more rugged ravine through the hills,
lay the thriving little town of Coro-
nado.
Some twenty miles back from the
town at a place where the valley was
narrowed to a quarter IF mile, and
separating it from the paralleling ra-
vine, rose a huge sandstone rock called
Spanish Mesa. Its top, some hundreds
of feet higher than the tree-clad base
of the hills, was mainly level. From
its high elevation the country could be
seen for many miles, mountains on one
hand, plains on the other. 1t stood
like an island in a sea of verdure. Lit
tie spurs and ridges rar from t. To
ward the range it descended and con
tracted into a narrow saddle, vulgarly
known as "hog-back," where thu
granite of the mountains was bidder
under deep covering of grass-growr
earth, which formed the onls division
between the valley and the gorge oil
rayine, before the land, widening, rost
into the next hill.
J The people came from miles away
to see that interesting and curious
mesa, much more striking in its ap
pearance than Baldwin's knob, the las
foOthill below 1t. TranscOntinenta
travellers even broke journey to visi
it. The town prospered accordingly
especially as 1t was admirably situated
as place of departure for hunters, ex
plorers, prospectors and adventures
who sought what they craved In thu
Wild hills. There were one or two goot
hotels for tourists, unusually extensive
general stores of the better class
where hunting and prospecting parties
could be QUILTED, and the high-livlng
extravagant cattle ranchers could ge
what they demanded. Besides al
these there were the modest homes o
the lovers of the rough but exhilaratini
and health-giving life of the Rock
mountains. OF course there were nu
merous saloons and gambling halls
and the town was the haunt of COW
boys, hunters, miners, Indians-the oil
frontier with few touches of civiliza
ton added X
What was left of the river, whicl
had made the valley-and during tn
infrequent periods of rain too brief t
be known as the rainy season, 1t reall
lived up to the name Of rlver-aowe
merrily through the town, when
flowed at all, under the name Of pickle
Wire. When the railroad came tn
Picket Wire had been first studied i
the hope of finding practicable wa
over the mountains, but the rayine O
the other side of the mesa had bee
found to offer shorter and more praC
ticable route. And, by the way, thi
ravine, taking its name from the llttl