Year: 1879

palace sieepinc-cars for night travel find an all
night ride in narrow gauge car with low, backed,
cusbioness seats not little fatigulne and hardly
good preparation for fifteen hours of stage-coachng
over the toughest of mountain roads


THE RAILROAD TERMINUS.


The scenes at the end OF the track. even at or
9 o'clock in the morning, extremely interest
Ing and suggestive of our destination. The end of
the track of an unfinished railway is always busy
place; but at Summit besides the shantics Of the
workmen, the heaps of construction material and
the temporary station. there piles of base
bullion. looking like pig lead and carloads of high
class silver ore in small sacks waiting for transpor
tation TO Denver. besides groceries and merchan-
disc of every description, machinery, household
goods. hay. grain and almost every other con-
comitant OF necessity of modern civilization, all
ready to start through the Park and the range
to LeadyiIle on the wagon-trains. short dis
tance from the station were the camps and cor
rails OF the wagon-trains. A few were loaded
ready for start and the tesmsteTs were hitching
up their mules Each team consisted of six or eight
animals which draw two wagons, one chained be-
hind the other. Some OF the drivers ride the nlgh
wheel horse mule, but the most OF them Ide In
the forward wagon IN order that they nav manage
the brake in steep places. Most OF the teamsters
about Summit, when we arrived there. were JuSt
crawling out of their wagons or frying their bacon
for breakfast little fire. Inc horses and
mules were turned out to pasture, fettered, on the
short dry grass which, at the time, was covered
with white frost.


on THE STAGE ROUTE.


-Four or five Concord stage-coaches, each drawn by
four six horses, and few mountain wagons,
stood near the station ready to take the
train passengers to Leadvlle, and these were soon
loaded and off. 1t is but mile or two from the
present terminus OF the railroad to the South Park
and this great natural curiosity has been so often
and so we'll described that l shall say very little
about our drive of about thirty miles side
~ IL olO oil chqrQ Qpfn a
istc of a great thoroughfare between a mining
camp containing 10000 people and civilization.
The highway which was terribly dusty. was
thronged with wagon trains going to or returning
from Leadve, while interspersed among them
were the one or twO-hOrse wagons of prOspectors
who were either on their way to the diggiDgs" or
returning disgusted. Occasionally man had his
whole family with him and all his worldly possess
sions in one wagon, but more frequently two part
ners in prospecting travelled in company,
carrying their bedding, tools, a few cook
ing utensils, and perhaps tent III
single wagon OF packed on horse or mule. Many
of the empty wagons which were returning to Den
yer for freight were filled with men who had spent
nearly all their money in Leadvlie and were going
home The fare on these wagons is 50, and the
length Of the journey five days. The fare by rail
and stage-coach is S17 and the time twenty hours.



ties built of logs or boards about ten twelve feet
square, and across one end Is generally stretched
piece of white cloth upon which sign Is painted.
Most of these shantles are Saloons" where the
thirsty traveller NAV obtain zone beer" - cents :
1.-TWO drinks for a quarter" and pies, biscuits"
etc, at prices not glyeu Trade seemed to be good
: had read a great deal in the newspapers Of
freight slrewn along the road between the end OF
the railroad and Leadvlle but there is nothing of
bud
freight from Denver to this camp and the price IS
not eXOrbitant when the distance 1t has to be
hauled 10y wagon Is taken into cOnsderauon.
Heavy or unwieldy articles ike machinery, cost
about 80 per cent more delivered IN Leadylie than
purchased in Chicago the 90 per cent beng the
cost of transportation. Lighter articles cost less
for freight There are many evidences along the
road of the severe strain which the Winter teamiug
across the South Park and over the range brought
upon animals. The carc5sses of hundreds of dead
horses and mules line the highway. Some OF them
died of exhaustion, and fell off from the road
into the snow, from which they could not be res
cued.


The point at which the Leadville road crosses
The Mosquito Range at Weston Pass is about $4,000
feet above the sea level, and nearly 1000 feet
above the timber line. Near the summit Of this
pass there is twenty feet deep III the ravnes.
and at one point picked some bright yellow flow
ers the botanical name of which l do not know,
within three four feet OF the edge OF the snow.
Approaching the pass from the North, the stage
road skirts the Mosquito Range Tor several miles,
and as il is upon the western slope of this range
that the rich carbonate ores have been discovered
in the vicinity OF Leadvile, scores of miners have
gone out there TO prospect ana IKE gOphers
are digging holes all over the hillside.
One man thought he had "Struck mineral.
the day before we passed and there mine at the
very summit of the pass, on the bald mountain top,
which is said TO have yielded some very good ore.


PRosPECrORs AND THEIR LIFE.


"Prospechng" rs about as near like gambling as
any downright honest hard work can be. 1t re-
quires genuine pluck to go out upon the mountains
at or near timber line where the nights are always
cold and snow falls nine or ten months IN the year
to live alone IN rude cabin without even the ne
cessaries of life, to say nothing of its comforts and
to dig day after day and sometimes month after
month without even indication of 4" pay Dirt
And yet this is the life of the prospector" year
after year. One man in a hundred, or a thousand
perhaps. makes "a strike and obtains wealth which
he rarely knows how to use. The remainder
are always poor, their best luck being when they
can induce some one TO give them grub stake
that is TO furnish them food for share III their
mines if they find any.


From the western declivity of the Musquito
Range aud the valley of the Arkansas River at its
base is one Of the best views from the main range
of the Rocky Mountains, the Continental Divide,
that is anywhere to be obtained. Mounts Ebert
and Massive the two highest peaks, are each higher
than Pixies Peak, and the whole range, at a dis
tance of about fifteen miles, covered with snow, is
mpresSively grand. Ihe last lew miles OF the llde
TO Leadvlle, up the valley of the Arkansas
and then up California Gulch, are not par
ticularly interesting especially as part of
the distance Is made after dark, and
after the fatigues of nearly twenty-four hours Of
rongh travel. The stage generally reaches Lead
VILE between s and 8 O'clock in the evening, and
the stranger he ghts at his hotel Is surprised
10 find himself IN the midst of a busy city, with
wide streets, respectable buildings and attractive
stores instead of among the log cabins OF mining
camp.


The party of capitalists and others. whose visit
has been of great Importance to Leadyille, COM
prised the following named gentlemen, besides two
or three newspaper correspondents: BraytOn Ives,
presdent NeW-York Stock Exchange; the