Rensselaer Republican, Volume 22, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 October 1889 — PIKE’S PEAK. [ARTICLE]

PIKE’S PEAK.

Viewed From the Plains It is a Sight inspiring and Grand. Viewed from the prairies that lie to the east of its rocky slopes, Pike’s Peak stands like some grim sentinel watching over the vast extent of country from its base to the Kansas line, stoic-like, indifferent to the shifting panorama that has passed before it Could it speak, what a history it might unfold! What tragedies have been enacted in sight of its lofty summit! Over 14.0 W feet high, I it is, from its situ tion, standing'in the first range of hills, the first peak in Southern Colorado that greets the traveler coming from the east, and its sight has invigorated m nv a weary party in the d iys of overland travel, for at the giant’s feet were found, if not riches, at least sweet waters and The writer cannot better describe its appearance from the plains than by relating his experience when first seeing it. One morning as we reached the summit of one of those elevations, high but not abrupt, common to parts of eastern Colorado, we came suddenly in view of the range, many miles away at their nearest point; edoud-like but distinct they appeared through the intervening distance. Pike’s Pe <k, more than 'dlstanVTts summit crowned withUAnow. stood out againsfc-ffieekyTh-a grayish tint in the morning; in the evening it assumes a purplish hue apparently outlined in silver. The impression it gives one after crossing the dreary plains is inexpressibly grand. It»is only on a nearer approach that it presents that craggy and rugged aspect so characteristic of the Rockies. From its position Pike’s Peak is one of the most interesting as well as one of the most noted landmarks in the United States.