Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1921-03-24

capacity. In order to insure abso-
solute safety these cars are never
loaded beyond five tons capacity
and, to render them still safer,
each car is fitted with an extra
stationary cable and a clutch so
that if the moving cable should
break, the Car would grab the other
cable and hold fast until relief
came. However, l was mighty
/ glad we had no occasion to use
this safety arrangement, for when
you are at the top of a steep in
cline over holt a mile long and a
canyon at its bottom, you have no
desire to test it out. 1t may be
said to the credit of this wonderful
piece of mechanism that since its
construction In 1893 there has
never been an accident. At the
top of this incline is the largest
searchlight in the world. At this
place you again enter the electric
car and, during the 6ve-mile trolley
ride, you round one hundred and
tWenty-seven curves, cross eighteen
bridges, and at many places you
look down into the chasm below
on one side and up to the noun
tain top on the other, for practic-
ally the entire distance is made
over torturous line along the side
of the mountain. At the end of
this road is fine tavern. At this
place you are still eleven hundred
feet from the summit, and to make
this elevation, you must travel
about two and one-half miles either
on foot or by pony train. We
wanted to walk up for the novelty
OF the thing so started out, but,
taking the wrong trail, lost one
mile and, in order to reach the top,
were compelled to walk six miles
by the time we had returned to the
tavern. One of the incest features
of the entire trip was this: when
we left Los Angeles it happened to
be an exceedingly cloudy and foggy
morning. When we reached Pas
adena, which is considerably high
er, we passed out Of the fog and
clouds and within FIVE minutes
time we were where it was as clear
as could be. Passing on to the
summit Of Mt. Lowe, we were
probably quarter or possibly half
a mile above the clouds and / could
look across above the clouds to
Catalina island about sixty miles
away and see it plainly. Gettin
higher than the clouds and looking
down on them would be somewhat
the same as an airplane view |
presume. Several times during
the day | thought of the battle of
Lookout Mountain of the Civil
War days which was said to have
been fought above the clouds, &C
cording to page 24S of Barnes
U. S. History. The reality of be-
ing above the clouds and still be-
ing on earth is glorious thought
and fine sight. We ate dinner
on the very summit, left our names
on a tree up there, and as l went
to sleep that night in Long Beach
only forty feet above the sea,
said was far below the folks in
Iowa, but my name was waving ir
the wind three-quarters of mile
above the town of Audubon, An
other place Of special interest OF
the mountain side was Echo can
yon. Here by talking or calling
through horn your words seemed
to strike the mountains some dis
lance away and came back perfect
ly plain. 1t seemed like someon
mocking you back in those lionel,
mountains. Inspiration Rock wa
anotheripoint Of interest, for her
since 1916 they have held Easte
services at sunrise. How beauti
full, | said, up there among thos
mountain peaks at sunrise on a
early spring morning. All natur
would indicate the Resurrection