Year: 1875

why 1t Ia called the halfway house, when
its situation Is at point more than two
thirds Of the way TO the summit, is more
than | can tell. only know that some
portions of the trail to the lake are dan
gerous in the extreme. Sometimes the
trail is midway along a mountain thousands
of feet high. To the left are perpendicu-
lar banks, with oyerhanging rocks and
disintegrating particles Of stone that con
stanty roll down under your horses feet.
Looking up you can scarcely see the top
of the mountain. The trail is from foot
to two or three feet wide, although it is
rarely three or even two feet. To the
Eght is an abyss thousands of feet in depth,
its bottom scarcely to be seen through the
mists and fogs Of the water in the gulch.
A false step of your horse, or an unusual
amount Of the disintegrating stone coming
down at the instant you approach the most
dangerous place, and you and your horse
would find romantic death place in the
chasm beneath. The grandeur of the
scenery no doubt made one think less Of
danger. | was astonished at the scenery
in this canon, for in all the descriptions of
the beautiful scenery in Colorado do not
remember TO have seen Bear Creek canon
mentioned. We reached the lake little
after 6 o'clock. The shadows were gath
ering on the mountains very fast and
lengthening toward the east. The surface
of the lake was beat about by the wind
that seems.ever to blow on the mountains,
and yet the scene was very peaceful one.
The lake itself is a phenomenon. It has
neither outlet nor inlet, and covers about
twelve acres of land II is thirteen miles
from the Valley or Colorado Springs aud
four miles from the summit of Pixies Peak
II is said to be about 40 feet deep. Its
waters unquestionably come from the melt.
ed snow in the higher peaks, the evapo-
ration and the supply being about equal.
A log house and log stable furnish the
most miserable accommodations for man
and beast that it has ever been my mis-
fortune 10 encounter. In the San Juan
country, overrun by miners where it is
almost impossible to transport goods, the
fare is infinitely better and cheaper. Six
dollars aud half bought us scanty sup
per, the privilege Of lying awake on a
broken lounge, horrible breakfast, us bad
dinner, and two quarts of oats for the
horse. twenty-five cents, or fifty at furth-
est, would have paid for everything eaten
by each of the persons, with the horse
feed thrown in.


We got away at an early hour in the
morning. A harder trip than We had had
awaited US. Heavy Of body but light of
heart, we again began the ascent. 1t was
our hope that we might reach the summit
before sunrise, but tired nature held us
until after the dawn of day. Half an hour
or an hour after our departure from the
lake we beheld scene, the only one, that
repaid us for the terrible fatigue which tho
trip had cost. We had reached the sum
NIT Of chain of mountains that bound
one side Of the Peak, and were high
above the foat hills, and the nnge of
mountains above them. Naturally, the
position of observation was a good one.
The valley was spread out before US for
miles and miles. Villages dotted the plain,
and away beyond, other mountains arose
to greet the morning sun. This scene We
saw as we descended later in the day, on
our return. But in the early morning, as
we ascend, the whole landscape was cut of
from our sight We we're FIVE thousand
feet above the clouds. There was spread
between us and the landscape a lake Of
clouds, as level as the oceans surface, and
impenetrable. At times this lake was i'm
movable, but now and again gust ofwind
would sweep across the plain, carrying with
it body of Aeecy clouds that rolled over
and over across the surface. On every
side the scene was the same. The land
scape, which later in the day looked SO
beautiful, was out of sight, and in its place
this lake, this ocean, Of feecy clouds, which
hung over the earth below us Ike vapory
ceiling. We watched the clouds until
they began to break asunder. Some went
up, some went down, and others sesmed to
evaporate, and by the time we had climbed
nearly to the top of the Peak there was
little to be seen but the peaks Of noun
tains. We reached the summit at about
10 o'clock. | need not refer to the long
hours it required to make the last two
miles of the ascent. Yet | cannot but re.
call the hardships Of that trip. 1t was so
early in the season that the snow lay al
most as il fell during the winter. The
narrow trail was covered with snow in
some places as deep as ten feet. Occa-
sionally telegraph pole was in sight, and
thus we groped our way. The horses, we
soon discovered, were rapidly giving way
If they mounted the crust, they either
broke through or slipped down on their
knees, and Sides Riding was impossible,
and the cold was intense. The keepers of
the trail had endeayored to keep it open,
but the snow was SO deep and the weather
SO cold that they were not equal to the
task. The horses, when half way up the
last hight, gave way, and could go no fur
ther. We had all dismounted long before
and leaving the horses in the trail, 50 deep
in the snow that their heads could not be