ANITOU T T ▼ .. ^ T T \ T T T ^. ^ \ ^ V ' V: T ^ ^> I IT ABOVE THE CLO UDS. X^ ^1^1^ TlTv!m!LrvTc!i::^!.AlT"sUNRISE FROM PIKE'S PEAK. K^I^ I. ^ I^ ^ ^^ ^I^M^ J ^^ SUAND RocK Route LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. Cliap.E5-1ir Copyright ^'o.. Shelf._£51.. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. '^^ OF Co;vq '^ RECEIVED " JUN 6 1«»8 ''- ':>i-PA-B'T^ ::,^ MoiiDtain; PUBLISHED BY THE PASSENGER DEPARTMENT V OF THE CHICAGO, ROCK ISLAND & PACIFIC RAILWAY. 1696. h-Lf 7988 -y^^ fs^ GREAT ROCK ISLAND ROUTE, COPYRIGHT, 1898, BY JOHN SEBASTIAN, CHICAGO. POOLE BROS., PRINTERS AND ENGRAVERS CHICAGO. ,al/'' and the Vlodotaips Introbiictorg, Summer is not far away, and with its periodical advent will come an almost universal consideration of that important question: "Whither shall we go to avoid torrid weather and to seek needed rest and recreation?" Already it is an impending problem in many households, and each succeeding season only adds to the number of those who are on the lookout for the vacation period — the year's idle day, when care, and toil and responsibility do not stare them in the face, and the per- plexities of business may be lost in rational enjoyment. To all such pleasure seekers the resorts of Colorado extend an invitation that may be accepted with profit and advantage, and the Great Rock Island Route offers unsurpassed means of transporta- tion all the way. From the most central point of travel in the United States, it is now an easy journey by this well-known road to the choicest spots and shrines that nature ever provided in her fairest moods, and the entire trip may be made without a moment of fatigue and under the most favorable surroundings. Beginning at Chicago this modern overland line passes through most of the states of the middle west, with branches extending to the north and south, and convenient connections with the principal railroads from the leading cities of the east; so that tourists from all parts of the country are really placed in almost direct communicatioi with the unending variety of natural beauty so prodigally displayed in Colorado, each place of interest being read- ily accessible every day in the year, at limited cost, and the minimum of time and trouble. The benefits and per- sonal delights of a season in the Rocky Mountain district IN THE GARDEN OF THE GODS, need not be enlarged upon to those who are already familiar with the subject, but to the summer traveler who may this year desire to enjoy his first experience in that direction, no words are too strong to convey a true idea of the pleasure in store ' for him. It can only be realized by intimate ac- quaintance, but once real- ized it is sure to be re- peated as often as the opportunity may be pre- sented. No attempt will be made in this publica- tion to portray in language the charms of the numerous sum- mer resorts in and about [anitou. The only pur- ■^ i^ pose this brief and glan- cing account can serve will be to furnish the reader a mere hint of their extent and variety. Colorado offers something entirely ■*'--. new, much that is sublime, and nothing that is not agreeable to the visitor. Many tourists spend years in wandering over European scenes of travel, not half so rich in historical associations, and immeasurably beneath in picturesque novelty, the vigorous young state that stands as a dividing ridge between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Its moun- tains, springs, gorges, rivers, peaks, canons, falls, lakes, and groves contrast magnificently with the greatest attractions the world can show. And such is the enterprise and commercial spirit of the NEAR HALF-WAY HOUSE. people, that beautiful cities have been founded, excellent roads constructed, costly improvements completed, and numerous resorts established, which . , .■ ; are as comfortable, well appointed icl;^Jfi^l:MH;it.ifi1JHl;{infra >^ and luxurious as any of the famous watering places in New England or the south, or in the Old World. Better than all else, the Colorado resorts possess features not to be found in any other locality. They afford a fresh field, a constantly changing picture, a health-giving experience, a different adventure. The Rock Island Route goes all the way, with the best facilities and conveniences for observation, and the highest standard of railway comfort. Without presenting the arguments and technicalities of a tedious scientific discussion, it is sufficient to state that all the conditions of health, rest and recreation are found in Colorado. To the invalid there is a diversity of altitude, coupled with a dry, exhilarating mountain air. To the convalescent there is the tonic effect of a bracing climate, without its rigors. To the depressed business or professional man, the tired-out housewife or teacher, there is an atmosphere filled with ozone; cool nights all summer long, and the cheeriest of sunshine day after day. It natu- rally follows from these favorable con- ditions that both body and mind arc constantly stimula- ted, and the health and spirits of the visitor revived even upon a brief trial of their curative pro]) erties. To the sight-seer, no other locality can boast a tithe of the attractions to be ^_^__^ MOONLIGHT. BROADMOOR CASINO AND CHEYENNE LAKE. COZY COTTAGES SKIRTING MANITOU. found in Colorado. The scientist and student will find many mar- vels to engage their attention. The hunter and sportsman need look no further. Game is plentiful in the parks and forests, trout and other fish are abundant in the mountain streams. Camping parties may be formed at Manitou or any of the resorts, thus giving tourists a closer communion with nature and a closer devotion to rod and gun. fiDanttou, The learned Webster has neither given this word a place in the language, nor defined its meaning; yet we know that it is generally accepted as the name given by the aborigines to the Great Spirit; and that it is also applied to things which pass the comprehension of the savage, or by some unusual trait or mystery excite his wonder. Natural objects may be thus designated, rather perhaps as the abid- ing place or locality of the spirit than as being the spirit itself; and hence the phenomenon of a thermal sprmg ifotl surprising by its heated waters, or a foun- ^] and the tain agitated by escaping gas, may, to the loiJOtaiQS barbarian of other days have had the character of Manitou, as a thing to be approached with reverence and to be held sacred. So for many generations these springs were Manitou to the Indians; and among the trap- pers and other fair-skinned wanderers in this romantic region they have been held in equal esteem, if not in equal awe and reverence. In presenting the attractions of Manitou the springs require no extensive mention, for though of more value than any of the elements which make up this charming resort, they are already by far the best known. The most important springs are the soda group, comprising the Manitou (doubtless the largest soda spring in the world), the Navajo and the Shoshone; and the iron group, composed of the Ute and Little Chief. The former lie in a large and beautiful park in the center of the town, and the latter in Engleman's Glen. Alto- gether there are fourteen springs, and no two of them are alike in chemical analysis. Concerning the vague ideas of reverence associated with these fountains of mystery by the savages who first knew them, it may be of interest to repeat the legend as related by Capt. George Ruxton, an officer of the British army, who, in 1846-7, made a tour of the district, and spent many days in the valley of Fontaine qui Bouille, or, as we vernacularize it. Fountain Creek. Capt. Ruxton says: " The Indians regard with awe the 'medicine' waters of these foun- tains, as being the abode of a spirit who breathes through the trans- parent waters, and thus, by his exhalations, causes the perturbation of its surface. The Arapahoes especially attribute to this water-god the power of ordaining the success or failure of their expeditions, and as their braves pass by the mysterious springs, when in search of their hereditary enemies, the Utes, they never fail to bestow their votive offering upon the water-spirit, in order to propitiate the Mani- tou of the fountain, and insure a fortunate issue to their path of war. Thus, at the time of my visit, the basin of the springs was filled with beads, wampum, and pieces of red cloth and knives, while the sur- rounding trees were hung with strips of deerskin cloth and moccasins. The 'signs,' too, around the spring, showed that a war dance had been executed by the braves." Of the scene of his most ecstatic enjoyment Captain Ruxton thus discourses: "Never was there such a paradise for the hunter as this lone and solitary spot. The shelving prairie, at the bottom of which the springs are situated, is entirely surrounded by rugged mountains, and affords a safe pasture to animals, which would hardly care to wander from such feeding and the salitrose rocks they love so well ta lick. Immediately overhead. Pike's Peak, at an elevation of four- teen thousand feet above the sea, towers high intothe clouds; while from the fountains, like a gigantic amphitheater, ridge after ridge, clothed in pine and cedar, rises and meets the stu- pendous mass of mountains, well called ' Rocky,' which stretch far away north and southward, their gigantic peaks being visible above the strata of clouds." Our adventurer, game as a true Briton, passing the night in solitary camp at the foun- tain, slept soundly until the chattering of a magpie over- head awoke him, just as Pike's Peak was being tinged with the first gray streak of dawn. Day- break in this wild spot, he says, was beautiful in the extreme. " While the deep gorge in which I lay was still buried in perfect gloom, the mountain- tops loomed gray and indis- tinct from out the morning ALoNq THE (d:W.^i:Mii:iMn?l.l:Mlh^_ >w r mist. A faint glow of light broke over the ridge, which shut out the valley from the east, and spreading over the sky first displayed the snow-covered peak, a wreath of vapory mist encir- cling it, which gradually rose and dis- appeared. Suddenly the dull white on its summit glowed with light like burnished silver; and at the same moment the whole eastern sky blazed 'as it were in gold, and ridge and peak, catching the effulgence, glittered with the beams of the rising sun, which at length, peeping over the crest, flooded at once the valley with its dazzling light." These passages were written in 1847; t)ut, except the beads and wampum, and other Indian "signs," the valley of the fountains re- mains in much the same condition as then, save the intrusion of the bath house and the inn, the rustic bridge, the cozy arbor, and other tokens of civilization. The glories of the dawn are the same; the sun, as of yore, peeps over the crest of the eastern ridge and floods the vale with his glory; but the monotonous chant of the war dance no longer mingles with the song of the laughing water. The chant is ended — but sweeter echoes float on the voluptuous air, for now the pleasing symphonies of the modern orchestra are responded to by beauty, culture and chivalry, in the stately quadrille or the enchant- ing waltz, and lofty halls open their portals to the gay and joyous. The vale of Manitou, where the gallant Ruxton enjoyed his lone rambles, is the vale of Manitou still; and Pike's Peak looks down into the gorge, or out over the plain, not on bands of roving marauders, but on the toilers of civilization; and the whoop of the savage, silent forever, no longer taints the breeze. The anthem of industry brings means and facilities of enjoyment, and makes provision, not only for subsistence and comfort, but for the restoration to health, and the refined pleasures of an advanced citizenship. The springs of Manitou possess the added charm of a masterly setting. Pike's Peak, the unfailing land^ mark and beacon to the Argonauts who crossed the Great American Desert in quest LAST CLIMB ON THT COG WHEEL ROUTE of the Golden Fleece, the peer of all the giant gems which stud the mountain rosary, grandly and fitly presides over the mountain land- scape, defying the thunders, battling the storms, or smiling through an atmosphere the purest and most pellucid onearth, the reflected rays of the genial sun. A subjacent roterie of inferior peaks, \Ionta Rosa, Rhyolite, (Cameron's Cone, Garfield .md Cheyenne, rugged and L,M-and, each stupendous and imposing if alone, but dwarfed and humili- ated in the presence of the superior, am- plify and complete a F- picture which is without a parallel in na- ture. Mr. F. P. Stevens, the well- known 'f artist, has pre- pared and elabo- rated a double- negative view of "Sunrise from Pike's Peak," which by per- mission adorns the title cover of this publication. The picture has been ex- tensively commented upon by artists and critics not thoroughly familiar with the locality, their judgment being that it is overdrawn and not entirely true to nature. Mr. Stevens insists that the scene has been faithfully WAGON TRAIL, UTE PASS and the treated and that the coloring is not extrava- gant. The discussion on this point has induced many persons to spend a night on the Peak in order to enjoy the charm and glory of the sunrise, and the unfailing opinion prompted by this experience has been ' that the reproduction by Mr. Stevens is faultless in detail and true in color. Of Manitou proper it is only necessary to add that it is a city of 2,000 inhabitants, the number being greatly augmented during the summer. It is an airy, fairy municipality, almost hidden in the spirit-guarded hills. There are winding driveways, beautiful lawns, rustic bridges, delightful groves, picturesque pavilions and handsome cottages. The hotels are numerous and admirable and guests are well cared for at reasonable rates. Some of them would be credit- able to the largest cities, others are less pretentious, so that all desires in this respect may be suited without extortion in any case. The social' features of the resort are in no way neglected and the usual amusements and gayeties are amply and hospitably provided, around riDanttou* Within and immediately surrounding Manitou the beauties of scenery cluster and crowd each other. A lovely mountain stream meanders with erratic symmetry through spacious parks, beneath overhanging boughs and rustic bridges, while the foothills, ever green with pine and spruce foliage, roll gently backward or tower in pinnacles all around. Engleman's Glen, into whose ponderous jaws the little city is fast encroaching, is a poem of loveliness, the ideal of the most inspired painter's desires. Through it rushes Rux- ton Creek in most riotous fash- ion, as if in haste to join the waters of the Fontaine qui Bouille below. To the north of east opens the Ute Pass, the ancient route of the savage from the THE GOOD OLD WAY. mountains to Manitou and the plains, and the defile which swarmed with freighters during the early mining days. In the pass — which is a narrow and pre- cipitous canon — and close to the borders of Manitou, is Rainbow Falls, the water of the Fontaine qui Bouille rushing straight down- ward into a dark and yawning chasm, and churning itself to foam and spray, upon which the first ray of the morning sun spreads the token of peace. A stairway leads from the road to the basin of the falls, by which visitors may descend and bask in the outer Balanced rock, spray which the rays of the forenoon sun GARDEN OF THE GODS, couvcrt luto 3. brilliant and perfect rainbow. Williams' Canon, one of the most remarkable and interesting features of the entire region, opens to the north of Manitou. It is not only very narrow, steep and deep, but its walls show a strange com- mingling of totally heterogeneous varieties of stone, which puzzle the scientist and evoke wonder and admiration from all. This canon also leads to the entrance to the Cave of the Winds, a curiously wrought product of some strange interior force working with cascades and crystal. The Manitou Grand Cavern is reached via Ute Pass at a distance of two miles from the city. Its dimensions are almost appalling in extent and sublimity, including rooms hundreds of feet in length and height, of the most bewildering natural architecture. Here are found innumerable stalactites and stalagmites, and delicate and fantastic garniture, formed by the action of water upon lime and calcite. One of the principal wonders is the Grand Organ of Musical Stalactites. It is formed of broad, thin and highly reverberative stalactites, tuned by nature to an almost perfect gamut, and being played upon after the manner of a zylophone, gives forth rich, clear and thrilling 12 GREAT ROCK ISLAND ROUTE '/^' tones. Adjacent to Manitou, and not to be missed in justice by any visitor to Colorado, is that strange formation, the Garden of the Gods. Perhaps no American writer of recent times has pictured Colorado scenery so lovingly, so truthfully, and with such finished taste, as Ernest Ingersoll. He owns quite frankly that an accurate description of this "ruinous perfec- almost hopeless. In "The Crest of the Continent" he says: "There is the Garden of the Gods, hidden behind those garish walls of red and yellow sandstone, so dark and out of place in the soberly toned landscape that they travesty Nature, convert- ing the whole picture into a theatrical scene, and a highly spectac- ular one at that. " Passing behind the sensational walls, one is not surprised to find a sort of gigantic peep-show in pantomine. The solid rocks have gone masquerading in every sort of absurd costume and character. The colors of the make-up, too, are varied from black through all the browns and drabs to pure white, and then again through yellows and buffs and pinks up to staring red. Who can portray adequately these odd forms of chiseled stone? "The impression is of something mighty, unreal, and supernatural; of the Gods, surely, but the Gods of the Norse Walhalla, in some of their strange outbursts of wild rage or uncouth playfulness. The beauty-loving divinities of Greece and Rome could have nothing in common with such sublime awkwardness. Jove's ambrosial curls must shake in another Olympia than this. Weird and grotesque, but solemn and awful at the same time, as if one stood on the con- fines of another world and soon the veil would be rent which divided them. Words are worse than useless to attempt such a picture. Perhaps, if one could live in the shadow of its savage grandeur for months until his soul was permeated, language would begin to find itself flowing in proper channels, but in the first stupor of astonish- ment one must only hold his breath. The garden itself, the holy of holies, as most fancy, is not so overpowering to me as the vast out- lying wildness. "To pass in between massive portals of rock, of brilliant terra- cotta red, and enter on a plain, miles in extent, covered in all direc- tions with magnificent isolated masses of the same striking color, each lifting itself against the wonderful blue of a Colorado sky with a sharpness of outline that would shame the fine cutting of an etch- ing; to find the ground under your feet, over the whole immense sur- face, carpeted with the same rich tint, underlying arabesques of green and gray, where grass and mosses have crept; to come upon masses of pale, velvety gypsum, set now and again as if to make more effec- tive by contrast the deep red which strikes the dominant chord of the picture; and always, as you look through or above, to catch the FIRST VIEW OF PIKE'S PEAK FROM ROCK ISLAND ROUTE. stormy billows of the giant mountain range, tossed against the sky, with the regal, snow-crowned massiveness of Pike's Peak rising over all, is something, once seen, never to be forgotten. "Strange, grotesque shapes, mammoth caricatures of animals clamber, crouch or spring from vantage points hundreds of feet in air. Here a battlemented wall is pierced by a round window; there a cluster of slender spires lift themselves; beyond, a leaning tower slants through the blue air, or a cube as large as a dwelling house is balanced on a pivot-like point at the base, as if a child's strength could upset it. Imagine all this, scintillant with color, set under a dazzling sapphire dome, with the silver stems and delicate frondage of young cottonwoods in one space, or a strong young hemlock lifting green symmetrical arms from some \\olX ^^'^h rocky cliff in another. This can be Sil/' and the told; but the massiveness of sky-piled ^rf^O^OtaipS masonry, the almost infernal mixture of grandeur and grotesqueness, are beyond expression. After the first few moments of wild exclamation one sinks into an awed silence. The reader must see for himself these grotesque monu- ments, these relics of ruined strata, these sportive, wind-cut ghosts of the old regime, these fanciful images of things seen and unseen, which stand thickly over hundreds of acres like the mouldering ruins of some half-buried city of the desert, if he would fully understand." Ten miles from Manitou, or about four miles southwest of Colo- rado Springs, and reached either by carriage or electric railway, are the Cheyenne Canons, known respectively as the North and South Canons. These are stupendous gorges which untold ages have cut in the solid granite, whose stately walls rise perpendicularly from 1,000 to 1,500 feet. Between these walls, which in places are only a pebble-toss apart, dash sparkling mountain streams. The main por- tion of the South Canon is about three-quarters of a mile long, at the end of which the visitor encounters a frowning rock wall down which the stream plunges in a series of beautiful cascades, known as the Seven Falls. The level of the topmost of the falls can be reached by a stairway constructed on the rock wall of the canon, from which point superb views are gained of the canon itself and of the plains beyond. North Cheyenne Canon, the entrance to which is found about a quarter of a mile further north, may be traversed by carriage for a distance of two miles or more. This canon abounds in waterfalls and cascades, and while its walls are not quite as lofty as those of the South Canon, they are more varied in form and coloring. Beautiful, pictur- esque, and altogether novel, are these mighty gorges, inspiring the most enthusiastic admiration of all beholders. In the summer they are a mass of leafy bloom, odorous with the mingled scent of the pines and the blossom-laden trees. A carriage road climbs the slopes of Cheyenne Mountain on its way to the Seven Lakes and Pike's Peak, affording magnificent views of the plains and the city and of the mountain fastnesses which it 15 afterward penetrates. The distance to the summit of the peak by the Cheyenne Mountain road is twenty-two miles, the Seven Lakes, five miles from the summit, affording a most interesting and com- fortable place to spend the night. Many prefer this route to the peak because of its varied and magnificent scenery. Manitou and Colorado Springs are connected by railroads, carriage drives, and an electric line, the latter system extending also to Chey- enne Canon. Another line of well-equipped electric railroad winds through the principal thoroughfare of Manitou, and transports passen- gers to and from the cog-wheel railroad station at Engleman's Canon. Other admirable resorts within a short journey from Manitou are Cascade, Ute Park, Green Mountain Falls, Woodland Park and Mani- tou Park, and a summer's trip may be extended at will to such inter- esting places as Buena Vista, Leadville, Florence, Cripple Creek, Aspen, Glenwood Springs, Palmer Lake, Idaho Springs, Georgetown and dozens more. An incidental trip to Denver, the capital and largest city of the state, ought not to be omitted by the tourist, and the same may be said of Pueblo, an important mining and commercial center. (^olora^o Springe* At the foot of Pike's Peak, still 6,000 feet above the sea, lies Colo- rado Springs, one of the largest and certainly one of the most beauti- ful cities in Colorado. It is not only popular as a resort for tourists, but is an attractive business and residence point. The city is noted for its elegant homes, fine business blocks and clean, shady streets, with spacious public squares and parks, all kept in excellent con- dition. Its educational facilities are of the highest character, as attested by its numerous and costly public school buildings and the Colorado College. Two of the principal state institu- tions are located here, also the Childs-Drexel home for veteran printers. All the attractions of plains and hills are to be readily attained at Colo- rado Springs. Tourists in carriages, on horseback, or 16 MANITOU TERMINAL -COG ROAD. sometimes mounted on the meek and innocent burro, may each morning be seen starting out for one of the many points of exploration, returning later in the day laden with the floral and mineral trophies of the canon and mountain side. The city has twenty-five miles of electric railway, a natural water supply, ^. , electric light plants and all the advantages of the most '^progressive eastern community. The tourist who makes his head- quarters at Colorado Springs can spend many weeks in sight-seeing, visiting each day a new locality, without any diminution of interest and pleasure. On the route to the Cheyenne Canon the electric line and carriage drive pass the grounds of Broadmoor Casino, a noted pleasure retreat, where the surfeit of mountain experiences may be agreeably overcome by a sail on the lake or the more vigorous diver- sions of court and field. lPike'0 peak. Pike's Peak is, par excellence, the historic mountain of the great Sierra Madre System — the first of the family to which the "speech of England," as Bryant phrases it, hath given a name. Zebulon Montgomery Pike, the skillful and daring explorer, the first to carry the flag to that region, caught sight of the mountain top the 15th of November, 1806, when, as noted in his journal, it "appeared like a small, blue cloud." On the 17th, he "marched at the usual hour, pushed with the idea of arriving at the mountains, but found at night no visible difference in their appearance from yesterday." And again, the 25th, he " marched early with expectation of ascending the mountain, but was only able to camp at its base." Major Pike and his men no doubt wondered that the march was so long to what seemed to be so near; and many a toiling pilgrim in the subsequent days of golden dreams, heartsick, perhaps, with hope deferred, ex- perienced the same wonder. But we now understand the remarkable transparency of the 17 CLIMBING SON-OFA-GUN HILL. atmosphere, so high above the level of tidewater; and we are no longer surprised that the old peak, so near to the vision, is yet so distant to the footstep. As we look at it, even from an approach- ing car, it seems to be just beyond that swell on the plain, and that if we had a smart pony we could almost canter over to it and back while the engine takes water; but it is in realty many miles away. It is well known that Pike's narrative covers two expeditions; one, by the authority of the president, from St. Louis to the head- waters of the Mississippi, in 1805-6; the other, under orders from General Wilkinson, the commander-in-chief, through Louisiana Terri- tory to Mexico, in 1 806-7. The first of these expeditions, as well as the contemporaneous Lewis and Clark expedition, was part of a general plan of President Jefferson, to take stock of his new purchase of half a continent; and the second, although not ordered by the president, was approved by him, and had, in the main, the same object. The newly extended boundaries were to be brought out of the realm of conjecture into that of fact, and the Indian tribes were to be attached more closely to the national government. On the northern adventure, the British traders of the Northwest Fur Company, who had entered into trade relations with our Indians and encroached somewhat upon our political prerogatives, were to be met; in the southwest, the Spaniards who were intriguing from Santa F6 were to be checkmated. Pike performed both missions with much intrepidity and tact, although the personal outcome of the first was more fortunate than of the second. In both cases, launching forth with a handful of soldiers into a practically unknown wilder- ness, he endured physical ills as great ?s fall to the lot of most Arctic explorers. From the first journey he returned with laurels after eight months; from the second he was sent back as a prisoner at the hands of the Governor of New Spain. The indomitable Fremont was at the base of Pike's Peak in July, 1843, on his outward trip across the continent; and on his return from the Pacific, in 1844, was again in view of the mountain. Me visited the springs in 1843, ^"d gives a glowing account of the vege- tation in the Valley of Fountain Creek, where ipomea leptophylla and other charming flowers were in full bloom, and " currants, nearly ripe, were abundant." f' Captain Ruxton, in his narrative already fo.ii referred to, says he had " meditated an aod the expedition to the summit of Pike's Peak, lodOtaipS where mortal foot has never yet trod." But he was in error as to the mortal foot. Dr. James, attached to the exploring party of Col. S. H. Long, in 1820, ascended the peak, and he and his two men were no doubt "the first Americans, if not the first human beings, who ever stood upon the summit of this famous mountain." Col. Long named the mountain James' Peak, in honor of the first ascender; but Fremont restored the name given it in honor of the first official explorer, and it will be Pike's Peak forever. During the past dozen or more years the number of adventurous tourists who have braved the hardships of a journey to Pike's Peak has reached many thousands, and the trip forms a well-defined notch in the events of a lifetime. From that ethereal summit a view of such unapproached magnificence is obtained that the brain is dazed by the vastness of vision, and the eye can there convey to the soul a suggestion of the infinite. For a long time the principal route was a horse trail through Engleman's Glen and Ruxton Canon, and hug- ged closely the rollicking, rushing Ruxton, through scenery of unsur- passed wildness and beauty. The trail is still there, but a new epoch is on in the history of travel to the peak. The Manitou & Pike's Peak Railway is completed, and is a success. It took brains and courage to conceive of so unusual and enormous an enterprise, and it took energy and indomitable pluck and unlimited capital to con- summate it. The road has no counterpart on the western hemis- phere, and, in point of elevation overcome and maximum of elevation attained, is the most remarkable in the world. Mrs. Catherine Cole gives the following graphic description of the view from the summit of the peak: " It is not very comfortable walking about on the top of the peak. It is bitter cold — the peak one mass of stones — but the view is unrivaled. Manitou looks like a lady's lace handkerchief tossed down below the mountains. And out on the plains, Colorado Springs, with its wide, even streets, looked like a chess-board, and the fine Queen Anne Hotel and other aesthetic buildings seen through a powerful glass, might not inaptly N THE BRECKENRIDGE RANGE. be termed the castles and pawns. The Spanish Peaks, in New Mexico, full 200 miles away, stood out in great hazy blue shadows against the dazzling sky and the western horizon was marked by the Snowy Range, one of the most beautiful and picturesque chains of the Rocky Mountains, lying like a tumbled mass of purple clouds, dappled and flecked with snow-white. Here and there little towns could be easily distinguished by the steam-like smoke hovering over them, and Denver, to the north, nearly lOO miles, was also visible." The physical features of the mountains, both at Manitou and beyond, are of great interest and furnish a delightful change from the ordinary attractions of a summer outing. The Continental Range crosses the state nearly north and south, near its center. Here the Rocky Mountains attain their greatest elevation — 200 peaks nearly 13,000 feet high, and about twenty-five peaks from 14,000 to 14,400 feet high, being visible from eligible points. The chain is about 120 miles broad, consisting of three parallel ranges, running nearly north northwest. The east one, called the Front, as the visitor approaches appears to rise abruptly from the plains, stretching with snow-clad summits from Pike's Peak on the south, to a group twenty miles 20 north of Long's Peak, a distance of 120 miles. Six of its peaks— Long's Peak, Mount Torrey, Gray's Peak, Mount Rosalie, Mount Evans and Pike's Peak, arc from 14,000 to 14,340 feet high — the latter altitude belonging to Mount Rosalie. Sierra Blanca, in the Sangre de Cristo range, is the highest peak in the state, having an altitude of 14,464 feet. Some of the most ■productive gold and silver mines of the state are easily reached from Manitou or Colorado Springs, and a glimpse of the great Cripple Creek district may be had from the summit of Pike's Peak, on the southwest slope, or at convenient points along the mountain road. fiDanttou a pike's peak 1Ratlwa\>- The first cogwheel railroad ever invented was in operation in 1812 from Leeds, England, to the Middleton coal pits, on a maximum ascent of one foot in fifteen. The first attempt to adopt the cog- wheel system in the United States was made on the Madison & Indi- anapolis Railroad in 1847, ^or a maximum gradient of one foot in seven, but the plan was only partially successful. In 1866 Sylvester Marsh broke ground for the construction of the Mount Washington Road, which was completed in 1869 and has been operated steadily ever since. Following Mr. Marsh's experiment it was decided in 1868 to adopt the rack and pinion system over the Alps, on a grade of one foot in every twenty feet of track. To Mr. Roman Abt, of Switzerland, is due the honor of having invented the perfect rack-rail system. It consists of two rack bars or rails, instead of one, bolted together and operated simultaneously as one rail, the bars being so arranged that, while no two cogs enter the notches sim- ultaneously, several cogs have a bearing at the same time, thus insuring a con- tinuous, easy motion, without jar or noise; and, as each cog-rail is independ- ent, the breaking of one would not inter- fere in the least with the operation of the others, and thus safety is assured. >'W 21 PIKF'S PEAK PINNACLE. The traveler who now makes the ascent of Pike's Peak in comfort by its wonderful railway, does not appreciate the amount of study devoted to the difficult problem by the best engineers and mechan- ics, or the perils or hardships attending the survey and construction of the road. Camping out, climbing over mountains covered with fallen timber and jagged rocks, the occasional intense cold, terrible snowstorms, fearful winds and the difificulty of getting provisions, made this undertaking hazardous almost beyond conception. The first project for building a railroad to Pike's Peak's summit took form in 1884, when work was commenced and nearly eight miles graded for a line which was intended to reach that point by a circuitous route thirty miles in length, with a 5 per cent, maximum gradient; but ow- ing to insufficient financial support, occasioned by adverse opinions as to the ultimate success of the scheme, the work was abandoned. The feasibility of the Manitou & Pike's Peak Railway, as now con- structed, was decided upon in 1888, and some preliminary surveys were made that year. Grading was commenced in 1889, and the golden spike driven October 20, 1890. This railway differs in two respects from ordinary railroads; first, in the very heavy gradient, which, in a few feet less than nine miles, overcomes an elevation of 7,518 feet; second, the system of Abt rack and rail used, which forms a continuous double ladder, into which the toothed wheels of the locomotive work. The roadbed, which is from fifteen to twenty-two feet in width, is most substantial, being cut from or built upon solid rock in many places. There is no trestle work whatever; the four short bridges on the line are of iron resting on solid masonry. To prevent the moving or sliding of the track, which is within the dim shade of possibility, owing to its enormous weight and the effect of varying temperature upon iron and steel, 146 anchors are imbedded into this solid rock or masonry at distances of from 200 to 1,400 feet apart, according to the grade. The common "T" are the ordinary rails used, and they are laid to standard gauge. The office of the rails is to carry the weight and guide the train, all the pushing force being exerted upon the rack rails. These rack rails are made from the best adapted Bessemer steel, the teeth having been cut from the solid piece by machines especially constructed for the purpose. They are 80 inches long, and vary in weight from 21 to 31}^ pounds per foot, the heaviest 22 one being used on the steepest grades. So particular were the constructors that the Q^"^ and the contract for making these rails required lo^OtaipS that each tooth be within the fiftieth i of an inch of the specified size. This necessity of detail characterized the work throughout. In the center of the track is the rack ladder, which is formed by two rack rails set 15/^ inches apart, which are firmly held by four bolts (two in the center and one at either end), to three die-forged chairs, which in turn are securely fastened to the extra long and heavy ties. The rack rails are laid so as to break joints, and the teeth are also staggered, thus giving the two double wheels of the locomotive practically an even bearing at all times. The exact length of the road is 47,992 feet, and the average grade is 16 per cent., or 844.8 feet to the mile. The maximum grade is 25 per cent., and the sharpest curves are 16 degrees, or a curve with a radius of 359 feet. The present equipment of the road consists of four locomotives and six passenger coaches. The locomotives, built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, of Philadelphia, are of the four-cylinder Vau- clain compound pattern; the high and low-pressure cylinders are 9 and 15 inches in diameter, respectively, and 22-inch stroke. The steam pressure carried in the boiler is 200 pounds. Each engine is provided with two double steel cogwheels, through which the power is applied; extending from the side of these wheels are four corru- gated surfaces, upon which the powerful steam and hand brakes do their work. Either of these brakes is sufficiently powerful to stop the locomotive and train. The steam cylinders are also fitted with the Le Chatlier water brake, and are utilized on the downward jour- ney as air compressors to regulate the speed of the train. The coaches are luxurious and largely of glass to facilitate observation; each has seating capacity for 50 persons, and the seats are so arranged that passengers will at all times have a level sitting. The cars are fitted with two separate pinion brakes, which can be operated from either end, and each is sufficiently powerful to hold the car. The locomotive pushes the car in ascending and pre- cedes it when descending, thus giving perfect control over the car. 23 which, not being coupled to the locomotive, can be let down inde- pendently. Everything has been done to guarantee the absolute safety of passengers. Having achieved the summit, the whole world, apparently, is now before us; and rare, indeed, would be the art that could picture to the soul, unaided by the sense of sight, the unapproachable mag- nitude of the view that greets the bewildered eye. Spread out before us is a mighty panorama of 40,000 square miles. To the east is a gay confusion of buffalo plains, streams, and flowering fields, dotted over with villages and cities. Colorado Springs, Manitou and the Garden of the Gods are at our feet, and look like flower beds. To the south are Seven Lakes, the Raton Mountains of New Mexico and the famous Spanish Peaks; the cities of Pueblo, Florence, Cailon City, Altman, the highest mining town in Colorado, and the highest railroad point in the world; Cripple Creek and Bull Hill appear to be but a stone's throw dis- tant, and the various mines, settlements,cabins and busy railways are plainly seen. To the west, protruding its glistening crest above the clouds, is the Sangre de Cristo Range, spreading out its sheet of perpetual snow and freshening the air that you greet with the vigor it stimulates; Buffalo, Blan- ca, Ouray, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Holy Cross, and Elbert peaks are in this direction, at distances vary- ing from 60 to 150 miles. To the north are the abyss; Gray's and Long's peaks, the farthest north of any we see in the Continental Divide, and Denver, Castle Rock and Manitou Park. RAINBOW FALLS. GREAT ROCK ISLAND ROUTE kV Few men, comparatively, know the sensa- tion of looking from a mountain top over thousands of miles of the earth's surface. To those who have realized this sensation it affords an indelible recollection; one of the cherished ex- periences of a lifetime. The Cogwheel Route affords to many thousands an opportunity to gain this experience, an opportunity which otherwise 'they would never enjoy, if only those physical aristocrats who have superior development in limbs and lungs were permitted to mount above the clouds and stand "close to the sun in lonely lands." The Pike's Peak Railroad reduces all men to a level in ability to enjoy this pleasure. Without any physical exertion, without risk of any kind, anyone able to travel in a railway car can be lifted up to the strange region of clouds and storms, and for a few hours exist in the heart of eternal desolation. To the commonplace man this trip is like living a chapter from one of Jules Vernes' romances. He meets no antediluvian monsters, to be sure, but he visits scenes where these can be easily imagined. Whatever susceptibility to grand impressions, whatever poetic fan- cies the dullest mind may have, are sure to be aroused and promoted by this experience. The barometer on the summit of Pike's Peak stands at about 17 inches, and water boils at 184 degrees Fahrenheit. Is it wonderful that the human body and the human mind, in these new conditions, should manifest new feelings? The United States Signal Station buildings (the highest observa- tory in the country), are of interest. The first building, erected in 1876, the scene of the late Sergeant O'Keefe's sorrow, and which afforded the first signal officers shelter, is quite small, and was aban- doned in 1882 for the more commodious stone house built in that year under the direction of Chief Signal Officer, Gen. Wm. R. Hazen. We may all go up, possibly, some day; for expeditions to the peak are now on the regular programme at Manitou, for the amusement and edification of visitors. The height above the sea is nearly three times that of Mount Washington ; and the view, over the mountains on three sides, and over vast plains on the fourth, is beyond description. 25 At last, sur- mounting all ob- stacles, the loco- motive is in front of the peak; but as serenely as in the longago.the old mountain lifts his snowy cope against the infinite blue. The towns, the farms, SUMMIT HOUSE. even the railway itself — they seem but toys scattered at his feet. Man has invaded the wilderness and erected his temples; but he and his works are dwarfed by the majestic surroundings; and he cannot, if he would, impair the grand- eur and sublimity of the scene. These will remain for his kind to enjoy through all time. a Sample Stbe ^rtp. From the Manitou standpoint it is possible to embrace within an hour many of the glories of the Rocky Mountain region, but not all of them. Several days of rapid riding will be required for a compre- hensive view and an adequate study, and this chance is daily afforded by the several railroads concentrating at Denver, Pueblo, Colorado Springs and Manitou. From either of these points a journey may be undertaken which, in its progress, will comprise more noted and magnificent scenery than any other trip of similar length in the known world. A fair sample of these side trips is that to the Grand Canon of the Arkansas, which, in its narrowest portion, is known as the Royal Gorge. When first examined it seemed impossible that a railroad could ever be built through this stupendous hollow. In time, how- ever, the existing obstructions were blasted away, a roadbed closely following the contour of the cliffs was made, and to-day the canon is a well-used thoroughfare. But its grandeur still remains. After entering its depths, the train moves along the side of the Arkansas, 26 v^^^i Ix and around projecting shoulders of dark- hued granite, deeper and deeper into the Mn/JntalnS ^^^'^^ °^ ^^^ range. The crested crags J grow higher, the river madly foams along its rocky bed, and anon the way becomes a mere fissure through the heights. Far above the road the sky forms a deep blue arch of light, but in the gorge hang dark and sombre shades which the sun's rays have never illuminated. The place is a meas- ureless gulf of air, with solid walls on either side. Escaping from the gorge, the narrow valley of the upper Arkan- sas is traversed, with the striking serrated peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Range close at hand. Leaving Poncha Springs on the left, the line climbs into a narrowing but verdant valley running down between low-browed hills, and begins to scale the heights of Marshall Pass, the wonderful pathway over the Continental Divide. The grades at first are only moderately steep. Soon, however, the hills merge in- to mountains and press more closely together. Looking up at the distant summit, there is seen a nar- row rim of earth which marks the onward course of the road. The prospect broadens, and soon the valley lies far below. Now the as- cent begins in earnest. Two sturdy engines toil and pant, the curves are sharp and frequent, banks of snow and tangled masses of half- dead forests, with fallen trees and others bent by the fierce winds, are on every side. The summit is more than 10,000 feet above sea level. Looking ahead, Mount Ouray is seen, bare, eternal and high above its mates. Away in the distance rise the long-continued heights of the great range, white with everlasting snow crests. Below, an( doubling back and forth, are the looj 27 PS^'t? THE NARROWS— WILLIAMS CANON. of the road leading to the valley. They disappear within the forest but are seen again far down the narrow vale. The descent begins, and the road winds around projecting headlands, on the verge of vast precipices, treads dark recesses, follows the windings of Tomichi Creek, and later courses through cultivated meadows dotted with haystacks and small ranch houses. As the train rolls swiftly on, a backward glance gives the traveler a comprehensive idea of the vast heights overcome in the passage. Still following the river, the grayish cliffs suddenly grow higher and steeper, the vegetation is legs abundant, and almost without warning the sunlight is cut off by broken summits, and the Black Cailon of the Gunnison is seen, longer, deeper and darker than the other. The Black Canon never becomes tiresome or commonplace. Here a waterfall starts from a dizzy height, is dashed into fragments by lower terraces, and tossed by the winds, until it reaches the river in fine white spray; yonder another cataract leaps clear of the walls, and thunders unbroken upon the ground. In the cliffs are smaller streams, which trickle down and are lost in the river below. At times the cafion narrows, and is full of sharp curves, but again has long, wide stretches, which enable one to study the steep crags that tower heavenward two or three thousand feet. Currecanti Needle, the most abrupt and isolated of these pinnacles, has all the grace and symmetry of a Cleopatra obelisk. It is red hued from point to base, and stands like a grim sentinel, ever watchful of the canon's solitudes. Sombre shades prevail; the streams fill the place with heavy roars, and the sunlight falls upon the topmost pines, but never reaches down the dark red walls. Huge boulders lie scattered about; fitful winds sweep down the deep clefts; nature has created everything on a grand scale; detail is supplanted by magnificence, and the place is one appealing to the deepest emotions of the thoughtful observer. With all the skill and discrimination of an artist that distinguished traveler. Bayard Taylor, has contributed a faithful and vivid descrip- tion of another of the incomparable scenes of the mountain terri- tory, in which he writes: "The view of the Rocky Mountains from the divide near Kiowa Creek is considered one of the finest in Colorado. From the breezy ridge, between scattered groups of pine, you look upon one hundred 28 GREAT ROCK ISLAND ROUTE k... and fifty miles of snowy range from the Sangre de Cristo to the spurs away toward Laramie. In variety and har- mony of form, in effect against the dark blue sky, in breadth and grand- eur, I know of no external picture of the Alps which can be placed beside it. p If you could take away the Valley of the Rhone, and unite the Alps of Savoy with the Bernese Oberland, you might attain a tolerable idea of the Rocky Mountains. Pike's Peak would then represent the Jungfrau; a nameless snowy giant in front of you, Monte Rosa; and Long's Peak, Mont Blanc. The alti- tudes very nearly correspond, and there is a certain similarity in the forms. The average height of the Rocky Mountains, however, surpasses that of the Alps. "Nowhere distorted or grotesque in outline, never monotonous, lovely in color and atmospheric effect, I may recall some mountain chains which equal but none which surpass them. There appear to be three totally distinct ranges. The first rises from two to three thousand feet above the level of the plains. It is cloven by the canons of the streams, streaked with dark lines of pine which feather its summit, and sunny with steep slopes of pasture. Some distance behind it appears a second range of nearly double the height, more irregular in its masses, and of a dark velvety-violet hue. Beyond, leaning against the sky, are the snowy peaks, nearly all of which are from thirteen thousand to fifteen thousand feet above the sea. These three chains, with their varying but never discordant undulations, are as inspiring to the imagination as they are enchanting to the eye." A ride by rail up Clear Creek Canon is thus described by another gifted writer: "As we pass on, the rocks rise higher and yet higher above us. We curve around one projecting cliff, in terribly close proximity to the slope wall, only to come squarely against another mountain of rocks that seems to jut from the other side across our way. We make devious windings, we twist, we zigzag, we turn horseshoes, forge them nearly into circles; and still rising, are inducted into a gallery where rock is piled on rock, a thousand feet at a time, far up, projecting over, reaching all about us once more. We have traversed 29 six or seven miles of the canon from its moutli, and reached tlie climax of its impos- ing grandeur. There arise on each side of the stream precipices, vertical, even overhang- ing, 2,000 feet high. Looking down the caiion we see that rocks are piled on rocks in equal magnificence. They lap by, hiding the place of our in- gress, while, look- ing up the stream, we see no place whence its waters have come, nor crevice through which we are to pursue our way. Half way up the rocky walls that surround us, yes, and here and there along their sides, we note in succession, sev- '"^ eral miniature pastures, yellow, pink and blue with flowers; and scattered all along the cliffs, majestic pines and cedars stand, measuring the height and perpendicularity of neighboring rocks. Here and there the show- ers, tapped by peaks above, have poured their waters down and worn smooth ways along the precipitous ledges. The ever-present detritus lies along the stream, formed of masses washed and fallen from above. One huge boulder has lodged in the center of the creek, where its bed is compressed into exceedingly narrow limits. SEVEN FALLS— UTE CANON. 30 A stream of terrible impetuosity — generally twenty or thirty yards in width — is forced and the through two natural sluices, across either IO^0i2lil}S of which a non-professional jumper could easily leap, were he bold enough to dare the rushing current. The result of this con- traction is that the waters are ejected from their ■narrow gorges for five or six yards several feet above their natural bed. The savage sublimity of naked rocks, the green spots of floral beauty, shut up in unattainable recesses, the roar of the rushing waters, the echoes from the cliffs, the cool breeze and shadow, the presence of the pines and cedars, all contribute to make this particular point one of rare attractiveness." Another link in the grand chain of an outing in Colorado, is the indispensable daylight trip from Denver over the "Bowknot Loop" to Silver Plume and Graymont, an excursion that can be made in a few hours. On this ascent the railroad crosses and recrosses itself at different altitudes until the terminus has been reached, well up into the clouds. It is one of the most wonderful examples of engineering skill in the world, and the loop journey is greatly favored by all tourists. The novelty of a railroad track thrown against the mountain side in a succession of loops like those of a lariat, is one not to be left out of account in mak- ing up an itinerary of a season's sojourn in the silver state. Of equal interest and varying wonder is the railroad through Hagerman Pass, and the great ele- vated tunnel. By means of this daring piece of railroad construc- tion, the passenger can look from the car window upon three tracks. YUCCA PLANT. 31 one above the other on the shelves of the mountain, over which his train is about to pass, or he may look from above upon the route already pursued. The altitude of the pass is 11,500 feet. From Denver, Pueblo, Colorado Springs or Manitou, a trip of con- tinuous interest may be made to Glenwood Springs, in the western part of the state — a model all-year-round resort, and one that pos- sesses attractions peculiarly its own. The city has a population of 1,500, and is situated about 5,200 feet above sea level. It has fine hotels and a sanitarium and bathing establishment unequaled in the United States. More than fifty hot mineral springs boil out of the ground, the largest flowing 4,000 gallons of water per minute, filling the largest bathing pool in the world, of several hundred feet in length, and in which the temperature at different points varies from hot to tepid, providing a great range of choice for bathers. A fine agricultural and stock country surrounds the city, and in close prox- imity are forests of timber, beds of coal, and extensive quarries of marble and stone. Nearly all of the hunting parties for the White River Plateau and Trapper's Lake country start from this point in search of game, big and little; and fish in size and quantity to justify any honest fisherman's highest anticipations. Colorado iparks* One of the principal features of Colorado is her system of natural parks. They are distributed all through the mountain fast- nesses of the interior. One is delierhted in a mountain COG-ROAD TRAIN IN RUXTON CANON. GREAT ROCK ISLAND ROUTE ^-^v- ramble to suddenly come upon a bit of green, waving meadow, where a rivulet slips quietly along between grassy banks waving with willows and alder. Occasionally a grove of tall, quivering aspens rustle their polished leaves to the faintest breath, and catch and toss the sunlight coquettishly. But the four large that constitute "the parks of Colorado" are the ,£^.-- parks . . ...v^.^ «> North, Middle, South, and San Luis North Park extends to the northern limit of the territory. elevation is too great for an exuberant vegetation, but game is plenty and the streams are full of trout. Middle Park, lying below, is separated from the North by a range of mountains. It is just across the great backbone of the continent, although the snov/y range divides itself here, and branching off around the charming valley, encircles it with a crown of ice and snow. But the grand summit, where start the rivers of the Atlantic and Pacific from the same bleak nurseries,. lies east of the Middle Park. Three lofty pealrs are sentineled near — . Long's Peak, at the northeast, 14,050 - feet; Gray's Peak, at the southeast, 14,251 feet; and Lincoln's Peak Its THE THREE GRACES. at the southwest, 14,000 feet high. The chief attractions here are the famous hot mineral springs on Grand River. South Park com- municates with North Park; Pike's Peak is stationed at its south, and Lincoln's Peak at its northern extremity, while the Snowy Range is left on the west. Its streams are tributary to the Arkansas and South Platte rivers. The scenery is diversified and the soil adapted to agriculture. Nature has here been prodigal of her wealth. Everywhere the eye is delighted with the smoothness of the valleys and hills, and the picturesque grouping of lakes and groves. It may well be said that the parks of Colorado constitute one of her chief glories. They are not, as might be supposed, small areas of level ground closely hemmed in by neighboring hills, and beautiful with evergreens and flowers and meandering brooks; on the contrary, they are vast territories of country, large enough for a principality or a county — even exceeding in dimensions some of the most populous states of the Union — and filled from boundary to boundary with all that is rugged and grand in nature and nature's mysterious work. DOUBLE TRACK ERIDGF ACROSS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 34 f5^ ^be 1RocF^^ flDountatn Ximtteb, ar)d the [odntdiOS ^^' ^^ '^ said, "the apparel doth oft' pro- claim the man," so the equipment of a modern railway may be said to voice its desire to please the traveler, and by well- adapted catering to the wants of the public in the essentials of luxurious accommodations and fast train service, to prove its title to the high benefits of popularity. The Rocky Mountain Limited, just added to the regular Colorado service of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway, embodies to the fullest extent these essential features. In no field of mechanical endeavor has there been a greater ad- vancement within the past twenty years than in that relating to the prompt and careful transportation of passengers. The modern roadbed resembles that of earlier times, but is not the same. Stone and gravel have taken the place of dirt as ballast, and steel rails have supplanted those of iron. Even the coaches that were thought to be magnificent ten years ago bear no comparison with those now in common use, and the difference is still more marked in the gen- eral features of train equipment and a,l that pertains to the prudent and systematic operation of an important line of railroad. At the time of the great Columbian Exposition in Chicago it was thought that the highest point of excellence had been touched, and the World's Fair trains were pointed to as being marvels in this respect. And so they were. But now the Great Rock Island Route takes another forward step, by providing for its patrons a fast train from Chicago to Colorado Springs and Denver that faithfully repre- sents the century's progress in railroad development, combined with the skill and judgment of the intelligent American laborer, and the best forms of decorative art. The Rocky Mountain Limited is intended to fully accommodate the increasing travel from interior points to the mountain resorts of the west. To meet this demand it is scheduled to make the fastest time ever attempted in this field with regularity, ease and security. The several trains comprising this new service were built to order with this particular purpose in view, and e" crything that knowledge and expe- rience can suggest has been utilized in securing both speed and safety. 35 Each of the Limited trains is composed of massive, mod- ern cars, of the very latest pat- tern, and the best in material and workmanship that the Pullman factory can con- struct. The compos- ite car has, in addi- tion to a commodious baggage room, a libra- ry and smoking apart- ment for the conveni- ence and pleasure of passengers, and to re- lieve the tedium and monotony of a long ride in the regular car. The smoking room is in reality a delightful club parlor, fur- nished with wicker chairs, bookcase, secretary, and tables for magazines and newspapers. The library cars are supplied with a select list of the latest and best books. There are the usual lavatories, toilet rooms, buffet and other utilities, all the needs of the traveler being looked after with the same care he would receive in the best hotel, and the same cheer and hospitality extended with which he would be welcomed at his own fireside. Two sections, suitable for social table games, are adjuncts to the smoking room, fitted with stationary seats and hand- some furnishings. The wide windows are of plate glass, affording fine facilities for a passing observation of the country. The interior finish of the car is of mahogany and rosewood, in elaborate panels and artistic ornamentation. In dimensions the new composite cars are seventy feet long by nine fee^ eight inches wide over car body. RECLINING CHAIR CAR, ROCKY MOUNTAIN LIMITED 36 GREAT ROCK ISLAND ROUTE r-^' Standard Pullman Palace Sleeping Cars of new design and the most elegant finish are a part of the equipment of the Rocky Mountain Limited, and are < fitted up with direct reference to the f/^ requirements of an agreeable and ex- peditious journey to Colorado. The ^ ' interiors are spacious, luxurious and homelike, ^... insuring the highest degree of comfort by day and perfect rest at night. In their construction every facility was employed to render them cool, well ventilated, and thoroughly protected against dust and smoke. Each section is a miniature parlor, richly fur- nished, artistically draped, and possessing every feature that can delight the eye or gratify the most refined taste. The inside finish is of highly polished mahogany, with bands of rosewood, handsome line decorations and inlaid work of exquisite design. All the hangings, carpets, upholstery and ornamentation are of the finest fabrics and workmanship, and a general harmony of pat- tern and color is preserved with as much effect as is obtained by the masters of painting in the production of a beautiful picture. The new cars are of twelve sections each, with large and well- appointed staterooms, drawing rooms, toilet rooms, and other acces- sories of the most convenient arrangement and expensive fitting. The cars are built with the new Empire decks, and that style is follov/ed in the general treatment of the interior. Chair cars of the same general style as the other equipment are also given their regular place in the new service, and form one of its best and most attractive features. In order that the accommodations and service of this train shall be complete in every particular, new dining cars have been built for its use by the Pullman Company, corresponding in style and finish to the sleepers and composite cars which they supplement. The dining cars were made according to designs prepared and approved by the Rock Island management, and the specifications embodied important changes from the ordinary plan so long in vogue, and 37 many additional improvements warranted by years of experience, so that the new creation is as near perfection as the ingenuity and skill of the best designers and builders can devise. The cars are sixty-three feet and eight inches long by ten feet wide over car body. A large space is devoted to the kitchen, pantry and supply departments, which are as compact and desirable in arrangement as domestic science can hope for. A wide hallway extends along the side to the dining room proper, and here the art of the builder was most successfully tested in combining beauty with utility. The dining room is commodious and decorated in the highest type of art. The entrance to the car is by a side door opening from the vestibule, thus avoiding the customary passage by way of the open kitchen. Electric fans are provided for the further comfort of guests, and to augment the system of ventilation. The tables are wide and made attractive by the finest of linens, silver, glassware and china. Everything is neat and orderly, the chairs are mahogany, upholstered in blue leather, and of a pattern that gives easy rest to the traveler. The workmanship and aecoration thoroughout are in harmony with the composite cars and sleepers, thus giving the whole train a uniform appearance, and suggesting the idea of a suc- cession of beautiful inter- communicating rooms, with a cheerful company of travel- ers enjoying the pleasant jour- ney across the great rivers | and over the plains through the heart of the Nation. In offering to the public a train of such splendid propor- tions and magnificent appear- ance it is hardly necessary 38 A COZY CORNER IN THE LIBRARY-BUFFET CAR, ROCKY MOUNTAIN LIMITED. ,jt&.a to add that its practical purpose and sub- ^^ stantial character have not been neglected. oy and the The cars are of the standard wide vesti- lo^OtaipS bule pattern, the vestibules being enclosed with plate glass, the sides projecting over the steps, thus converting the space between the cars into an inviting reception hall, and giving free communication throughout the train. The double vestibules are joined by strong steel frames, a new device that con- tributes not only to the safety but the easy motion of the train. The cars are built on six-wheel trucks of the McKee-Fuller steel-tired patent, Westinghouse brakes on every wheel, together with National hollow brake-beams and National-Miller coupler heads. The train throughout is brilliantly lighted. Electric bells and steam heat are provided. The Rocky Mountain Limited is the handsomest, safest and will prove the most popular train ever operated in any part of the west. It is scheduled to make the run from Chicago to Denver and Colo- rado Springs in twenty- eight hours and thirty minutes. The train leaves Chicago at 4.30 o'clock in the afternoon, enabling passengers who arrive on the late trains from the east to make close connection, and also giving those who reach Chicago in the morning the benefit of nearly an entire business day in the city. Leaving Chicago the train passes to the southward through some of the city's loveliest suburbs, and travers- ing the beautiful and scenic valley of the Illinois River, the Mississippi is reached by nightfall. Then through the great State of Iowa to Council Bluffs, across the Missouri 44 SLEEPERS ON THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN LIMITED. River to Omaha, and onward to the mountains. A day- light trip through Nebraska and Kansas brings into view the wonderful corn and wheat belts of that section, and the vast grazing tract that inter- venes before the foothills are sighted. The whole journey is full of interest and instruc- tion — an outdoor school of DINING CAR— ROCKY MOUNTAIN LIMITED. boundlcss rcsourccs, and an object lesson of comprehensive scope. The train arrives at Denver or Colorado Springs at 8.00 p. m. The trip has practically been accomplished in a day and night, which is really the most economical arrangement of time that can possibly be made between Chicago and Colorado, as most schedules require two nights and a full day on the road. The time card of the Rocky Mountain Limited provides for prompt connections at important points on the Rock Island System, by means of the many auxiliary lines which cover the greater part of the territory between Chicago and the mountains. These include a line from Peoria, another from Keokuk, the Albert Lea Route from the north, and numerous branches on the route of this train. The same attention to speed and the comfort and convenience of the passenger is maintained in the cast-bomid run of the Rocky Mountain Limited, and the time scheduled meets the wants for con- nections at prominent cities. Those who will patronize this train from Chicago to Colorado will need no incentive to make the return trip by the Rock Island, while for passengers whose starting point is in Colorado the service cannot but commend itself. 40 The Rock Island is foremost in adopting any advantage calculated to improve speed and give the luxury, safety and comfort that popular patronage TjTjr , , ijiju i m ■ f I I IJ^ '^ demands. Its equipment is thor- ylilT l l l ii'nJHT i lJJIi' l ' IJUPA-^ oughly complete with vestibuled - V^ trains, magnificent dining cars, sleep- ers and chair cars, all of the most elegant and latest improved patterns. The ever popular train on the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway, known as " Tke Big- Five," still leaves Chicago daily at 10.00 p. m. It is scheduled as No. 5, and but one business day is used, as the train arrives at Denver, Pueblo or Colorado Springs early the second morning. The "Rock Island" has become a popular Colorado line and the train above referred to is broad vestibuled and carries the "Rock Island's" dining-car service. To meet the increasing travel in the great trans-Mississippi region, the "Rock Island" has established a new train between Missouri River points and the mountains, called the ''Colorado Flyer" which includes in its equipment Pullman Sleeping Cars and free Reclining Chair Cars Kansas City to Colorado Springs, connec- tions with which from St. Joseph are made at Topeka, and from Omaha at Belleville. This train is scheduled to leave Omaha, St. Joseph and Kansas City after business hours, and Denver and Colorado Springs arc reached before noon. The east-bound run of this train is of kindred speed, and, leaving Denver and Colorado Springs at 2.15 p.m., it arrives at Missouri River cities early next morning. "The Rocky Mc j||-^;- nmm:^m^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^g rfj:f.'tf:\rr\ firiff-fW^Fr'T. =^~i^<^agijpg(yr4, P' -TlLl" ijoonnnnn Jin SjTj^f laaau up ^ ^cncoooQ aooocsac KLOO Broad Vestilmlcil rullm;iii Ruffpt l.ibr.iry anrt Smoking Tar. liroad Vestilniled Reclining Chair Car. MANITOU PUEBLO ^Oa 'f\t %, Sp '^//VG! '%, ^^. Thk route of "Thk R LJNTAiN Limited. ?? PLAN. lU'iij'an'm'iU'ixi'GE^rLjMr^ Broad Vestihulpri Pullman Sleeping Ca Broad Vestiliuled Pullman Slopping Car. Broad Vestibuled Pullman Dining Car. PPCY IMOUNTAIN LIMITKD.' LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 001 244 634 2 TTTTTT^TTTTTTt^T'TTT T - T T - ▼ T T T - T T T ▼ ^ T T T T T T T - T T T T T ^ A> X.^ -<>■* A'^ A> ^^ ^* >k' ■&> ^^ ^" 3Tv I^ T^T^ I MANiTou. COLORADO, i^. T. Z.l L I. !< T. Tv Iv L :^ L ^ '+'K^ Great .ql-and RocK Route