Rensselaer Republican, Volume 13, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 July 1881 — On The Wing. [ARTICLE]

On The Wing.

ttAxrrav Bmaea, Cel., Joly 18; 1878. Bax* Bamuioaa:—From Canoa City we took paaaage on the narrow gauge up Grape Cnek Cano* to Weat Cliffs. The route is vary crooked aad the trade of aoeeat averages nearly 100 fiset to iIS mile. The scenery along Grape eraek is, to a man trained only in the words of tkoee living on the plain, indescribable. Tbo erook is Smallsr at its mouth than thirty miles nearer its source. This is seeonntsd for by reason of no rainfall and ths work of ths irrigators. There is a marked absence sf the *’speckled beauties” promised to tho disciples of Isaac Walton. We are force 1 to believe that trout-ftaliing ia a ‘ 'snare and delusion,” Those brooks are not patterned after Tennyson** affusion I “Here and there a Insty trotak Ahfl here and these a giajlma .• Ths are very high and ragged and therailiyswi track is dugsoems inito eswii hires. The fear of accident and tho noeantahi scenery relieved the monotony of travel. When we reached the wet mountain valley the hill and mountain sides became dotted with prospect holes. To our right we saw for the first time, snow-clad mountains in the Sangro de Christo Range. Wo reached Silver Cliff, a city of $3,000 inhabitants, just at sunset. We noticed the air was clear and purer, and as the curtain of night fell, tho stars seemed more brilliant, the sky bluer, and every aspect ot KtfltiH exoiting wonder more than we -ffiWd ever seen. The level rsys of the sun bathed tho mountain tops in glorious colors. We, for the first time, appreciated tho meaning of the name of the State of Colorado.

Here we caught the first cool breeze and slept sweetly under its soothing influence. In the morning we arose strong and refreshed. Walked to the principal mine and watched the men blasting and selecting the coin bearing rocks. One hundred men were at work mining. The product is of low'grade, yielding from SSO to S2OO per ton. The quantity, however, Is immense, and said to be sufficient to last for centuries. We went to the mill and noticed the processes of crushing, pulverizing, washing and treating into quicksilver. The mill is one of the largest in the Slate and uses 120 tons of rock every day. The silver comes out combined with quicksilver, and is then separated by heat and made into bricks. While the quicksilver, redneed by he*t to a vapor, is again condensed in aj-etort aad made to de its work ever again. This mill sends out from two te three tons of pure silver each month and runs day and night. In the afternoon we rode over te Roeita, the connty-seat of Caster county. Here we found some old aoqusdntantHih and had a home-like visit of a few hours and returned by moonlight. The next morning we took the cars for the flatetogn of the West The White top of Pike s Peak is not in full view, but the somber brown and gray of the lower hUls apt pear all about as wo nestle in this pretty glen. If a section of El Vase county—including Manikin, Cave of the Winds, the mineral springs, Williams and Cheyenne Canons, monument Park and Gardea of the Gods, the whispering pines, leaping and sparkling waterfalls, pure atmosphere and mountain heights—could be transported to some central location in our country, neat: productive and fertile lands, it would secure each a fashionable and populous assemblage as no seasido resort could ever attract. The cost of living is the prime objection. AU the delicacies of the table are imported aad are necessarily not strictly first-class. The cave lately discovered ap Williams Canon will ne doubt prove a prime attraction to those who like to see the beauties of alabaster fllowers and other cavernous ornament*, Wo wore in the cave an hour aad h half, and it excelled all either of ns had ever seen in that line. The dome is a room fißy foot long and forty feet high, presenter the apex a figure of a fish and hand-mir-ror. “Muric Hall’* is a pretty fair counterpart of the Swns-bells can be heard by a judicious pounding of the stalactites and stalagmites in the gallery. The canopy is a series of over-hang-ing rocks, which, under magnesia light, present a picture well-named “Canopy Hall.” In “Agricultural Hall” are presented pictures resembling ears of corn, beets, turnips, &c., and in one end myriads of miniature forms. The journey is at least a half mile under ground—up and down ladders, and through tunnels so lew and narrow as to be rightly named "tall and fat man’s misery.’’ Te-day we procured a span of ponies and started early to see the wonders of Cheyenne Canon, Monument Park, and the Garden of the Gods. We rode east to the summit of a plateau and from tbonce took a survey of Pike’s Peak. The summer of 1881 has been too much for the snow and only the shaded ere vices are snow-clad. , We took the road leading to the left and were sodn rambling ia the Garden of the Gods. Wo plucked a catena to send to mother. The vegetation io net varied nor attractive. The Gods Are not of wood but of stone. The figures are unique and by applying t£e neededJhncy a heathen would naturally bow the icnea. The material is mostly red sand-stone. Some columns are of gray limestone and others of different east. We gathered some small specimens, and w&xe soon on our way to Monument Park. Hire, by the action of fire aad water, the hills afe lined with grotesque figures of anvils, houses and men. Wo asked one man the way aad ho said: “I ought to khow ; I own about one-half of the darned thing.” We stopped to lunch with a ranchman; nine miles north es Colorado Springs. In'bha afternoon we drove to the city; found a well laid Otrt town, with very wide streets, nieeiy shaded by irrigated cottonwood trees. i-Wo then rode ap Cheyenne Canon to see aee the Seven Falls. The waters of Cheyenne creek deectad by a ouoooecion of cascades a distance of one thousand foot. The stream being almost dry nothing was oeea worth mentioning. The bight beateNiagara, bat in else infinfteSlmally smaller. We then started for this team of the rich and wo could see the modffitain summits ia the near approach. We met the Hon. W. H. Calkins aad wife the major is looking first- fate.’ We leave to-morrow for Denver.

Colorado tea been moot goifoodaly kdkertisod and many • trflgribi Ims come hither expecting to find a peer ma's Meet*. The State has bee* very mush oVOtdenO ea a place for ordinary living. The to*ns ate tar ahead of 'the country in compart* live population and impfoffimlnts. For several seasens cattle aad sheep have coffered disaster aad crops have failed. People ia all lines of business are in that watching aad waiting state that portends a break The railroads are being extended to new aad promising mines, giving an air of stirring business. The general impression is, however, that Colorado has sown promises aad aad will al no tflitint day reap tho fruits of inflation. People cthhol live .on the beauties of mountain and cavern, finises God sees fit to send his rail) in dub season upon Colorado’s fair fields this State must soon be regarded as a mere mining camp, and a part of the nation's play ground. The prospector is one type of Colorado’s ftVorite people. He chases away tho Indian and wild gam. The capitalist,| with improved machinery, builds up . mini ng towns, as at Silver Cliff and Leadville. The railroads come steaming along aad towns grow to cities. The tourists are free picking for all. All eatables and clothing are imported from the Eastern States. Lot it be remembered, .however, that for those who love a wild make-or-break sort of fsfamaelite life, in Colorado their taste can bo accommodated. Paun.

Honored and Blest. —When a board of eminent physicians and chemists announced the discovery that by combining some well known valuable remedies, the IrloSt wonderful taedieipe. trai produeed, which would elifii sucK,a, wide range of diseases that most all other remedies could be dispensed with, many were skeptical, but proof of its merits by actual trial has dispelled all doubt, and to-day the discoverers of that great medicine, Hop Bitters, are honored and blest by all as benefactors.— Democratic Sentinel, Forgiveness and a smile are the best revenge. Good health makes happiness and Dr. Marshall’s Bromoline makes good health. Only fifty cents and Big Bottles. Sold by druggists. A full stock of ready made clothing, of all styles and prices, at Fendig’s store. You can’t get better goods for the same money, no matter where you look. Lost.—On J uly 18,1881, a calfskin pocket-book, containing $6 in bills and some papers of no value to any one but myself. The finder will please return to me or The Republican office.

CHAS. H. THOMPSON.