Transcriber Note

Text emphasis denoted as _Italics_ and =Bold=. Table of Contents added
to assist the reader.




                           Around the Circle

             A Thousand Miles Through The Rocky Mountains.


                          "AROUND THE CIRCLE"

                 Will be sent free upon application to

  J. W. SLOSSON,                       T. W. BECKER,
    Acting General Agent,                Acting General Agent,
      236 Clark Street, Chicago.           379 Broadway, New York.

  W. M. RANK,                          H. V. LUYSTER,
    General Agent,                       T. P. A., D. & R. G. R. R.,
      No. 219 Front St., San Francisco.    1008 Broadway, Kansas City, Mo.

  W. F. TIBBITS,                       W. R. PECK,
    T. P. A., D. & R. G. R. R.,          City Pass. Agt., D. & R. G. R. R.,
      Denver, Colo.                        1662 Larimer St., Denver, Colo.

  W. J. SHOTWELL,                      F. A. WADLEIGH,
    General Agent,                       Asst. Gen. Passenger Agent,
      Salt Lake City, Utah.                Denver, Colo.

  E. T. JEFFERY,                       OTTO MEARS,
    Pres. & Gen. Mgr. D. &. R. G. R. R.  Pres. &. Gen. Mgr. R. G. S. R. R.
      Denver, Colo.                        Denver, Colo.

  A S. HUGHES,                         S. K. HOOPER,
    Traffic Manager,                     Gen. Pass. Agent,
      Denver, Colo.                        Denver, Colo.


                          "Around the Circle"

            One Thousand Miles Through The Rocky mountains

                     Being a Descriptive of a Trip
                       Among Peaks, Over Passes
                         and Through Cañons of
                               Colorado.

   +--------------------------------------------------------------+
   | A Journey which comprises more Noted and Magnificent Scenery |
   |       Than is compassed in any other one Thousand Miles      |
   |                 of Travel in The known World                 |
   +--------------------------------------------------------------+


                           Presented by the
        Passenger · Department of the Denver & Rio·Grande R·R·

                                 1892


[Illustration: Rainbow Route--Silverton Railroad]

[Illustration: Denver & Rio Grande R·R·--Scenic Line of the World]

[Illustration: Rio Grande Southern R·R·--Silver San Juan Scenic Line]

  Copyright, 1892,
  By S. K. Hooper, General Passenger Agent, Denver, Colo.
  Denver & Rio Grande R. R.

  Knight, Leonard & Co., Printers
  Chicago.



                               CONTENTS


                    Topic                         Page
                    INTRODUCTION                     3
                    "AROUND THE CIRCLE"              5
                    RIO GRANDE SOUTHERN ROUTE       17
                    THE RAINBOW ROUTE               25
                    THE BLACK CAÑON                 35
                    MARSHALL PASS                   37
                    TOLTEC GORGE                    37
                    ANIMAS CAÑON                    39
                    THE ROYAL GORGE                 41
                    HEALTH AND PLEASURE RESORTS     54
                    MOUNTAIN PEAKS AND PASSES       55
                    ELEVATION OF LAKES              55
                    ALTITUDE OF TOWNS AND CITIES    56
                    INFORMATION FOR TOURISTS        56
                    SEVENTY POINTS OF INTEREST      57




INTRODUCTION.


The tourist in search of grand and beautiful scenery finds an
embarrassment of riches in Colorado. Among so many attractions he is
at a loss which to choose, and having made a choice, he is frequently
troubled with doubts as to the wisdom of his selection. Recognizing
this fact, the Passenger Department of the Denver & Rio Grande
Railroad, after a careful and thoughtful discussion of the situation,
has decided to make a selection of a tour that shall embrace the most
varied and picturesque scenery to be found on the line of any railroad
in the world, included in a single trip, at a moderate cost. The
excursion "Around the Circle" presents all these advantages. It can be
made comfortably in four days, and no portion of the journey has to be
retraced, thus affording constant variety and keeping the interest of
the tourist pleasurably excited to the end. It is a remarkable fact
that this journey, if pursued in the line laid down in the following
pages, is cumulative in its character. Like a well-constructed
drama, the interest grows stronger and stronger with each stage of
its progress, until the final scene, which is an overpowering climax
of grandeur and majesty. The points of interest on the trip "Around
the Circle" are practically innumerable. The observing tourist will
discover many beauties and attractions which are not described by the
writer. No attempt has been made to include all that is worthy of
mention. Only those scenes which are of transcendent interest have
been touched upon, and in the pages which follow, the reader will
only obtain a bird's-eye view of the tour. This being the case, the
tourist can readily imagine what pleasure lies before him. In this
instance distance does not lend enchantment to the view. To penetrate
the heart of the majestic mountains, to cross and re-cross the great
Rocky Range, to gaze with breathless awe into the defiles of abysmal
chasms, and to behold with reverent, upturned eyes the ancient summits
of heaven-defying snow-crowned peaks, are privileges that familiarity
can never make commonplace nor belittle. Such privileges are granted
to the tourists "Around the Circle," and with full confidence that he
who takes the journey: will find his brightest anticipations more than
realised, this little book is placed before him.

[Illustration: SEVEN FALLS--CHEYENNE CAÑON.]




"AROUND THE CIRCLE."


The journey "Around the Circle" on the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad,
from Denver to Silverton, Silverton to Ouray, and return to Denver,
or via the Denver & Rio Grande to Durango, thence over the Rio Grande
Southern R. R. to Ridgway and return to Denver, briefly described in
the following pages, comprises more noted and magnificent scenery
than any other trip of similar length in the known world. Piercing
the heart of the Rocky Mountains, crossing and recrossing the "Great
Divide" between the Atlantic and Pacific slopes; penetrating five
cañons, each of which is a world's wonder, and no two having the
same characteristics; climbing four mountain passes by rail and one
by stage; achieving grades of 211 feet to the mile; reaching heights
11,000 feet above the sea; penetrating gorges whose walls soar a half
mile in perpendicular cliffs above the track; traversing fertile and
picturesque valleys, watered by historic rivers; passing through Indian
reservations and in sight of frontier cantonments of National troops;
pausing in the midst of mining camps, where gold and silver and coal
and copper are being taken from subterranean recesses; in a word,
making the traveler familiar with peaks and plains, lakes and rivers,
cañons and passes, mountains and mesas; with strange scenes in nature,
aboriginal types of men, wonders of science and novel forms of art;
surely no other journey of a thousand miles can so instruct, entertain,
entrance and thrill the traveler as this trip "Around the Circle."

Every mile of the journey has its especial attraction. A thousand
objects of interest present themselves to view in rapid succession.
A thousand novel impressions photograph themselves upon the mind, a
thousand landscapes of wonderful and bewitching beauty beyond the
power of pen or pencil, or brush or camera to depict, can be seen
from the windows of the car. Colorado is a land of wonders, a land of
surprises, a land of sharp and wonderful contrasts. Take Toltec Gorge
as a central point, and with a radius of two hundred miles describe
a circle. Within the confines of that magic ring will be found more
grand and wonderful scenery accessible by rail than within any similar
circle swept anywhere on the surface of the world! Pilgrimages are made
across the seas to behold the beauties of some one famed object The Via
Mala attracts one, Mount Blanc another, the Colosseum a third, and the
tourist, after all his great expenditure of time and money, comes away
with one impression.

[Illustration: PALMER LAKE.]

It ought to be the fashion for Americans to see something of their
own country before they rush across the ocean to gaze at the wonders
of the Old World. It is a good omen that many Americans appreciate
this fact and are turning their attention to the unsurpassed scenery
of their native land. The "Via Mala" is dwarfed into insignificance
when compared with the "Royal Gorge." The hundreds of peaks among the
Rockies, reaching an altitude of over fourteen thousand feet, should
compensate one for the solitary grandeur of "Mount Blanc," while the
ruins of the "Cliff Dwellings" tell of a race older than that which
built the "Colosseum."

It would be impossible within the pages allotted for this book to give
an adequate description of even half the noteworthy things to be seen
in a journey "Around the Circle." All that can be attempted is briefly
to characterize a few of the most remarkable objects of interest,
objects which deserve to rank with the greatest natural attractions of
the world, and most of which have already become known as marvels, to
behold which would amply repay a journey across the continent.

The trip naturally begins at Denver, the great railroad center of
Colorado, and a city of more than ordinary attractiveness.

For a hundred and twenty miles the railroad extending to the south
follows the front range of the Rocky Mountains, which is in plain
view on the right and to the west. After Denver has been left behind,
the tourist can see from the car window the snow-covered pinnacles of
Long's, James', Gray's and Pike's Peaks standing in a wilderness of
lesser mountains. Soon a remarkable promontory rising from the summit
of a conical hill and presenting the appearance of an ancient round
tower, attracts the tourist's attention. This is Castle Rock, under
whose battlements nestles a picturesque village of the same name.
Beyond Castle Rock the country becomes more broken, the ascent being
now begun at what is known as the Divide, a range of hills extending
eastward into the plains and rising to an elevation of 7,500 feet.
Curious formations of sandstone frequently occur, the most notable
of which is called Casa Blanca, and can be seen on the right between
Greenland station and Palmer Lake. This enormous monolith is a thousand
feet in length and two hundred feet high, and on account of its size,
its snow-white walls and its castellated appearance, can hardly fail to
attract attention. On the summit of the Divide is Palmer Lake, a lovely
little sheet of water, so equally poised that its waters flow through
outlets northward into the Platte and southward into the Arkansas. Here
has been established a pleasant summer resort, and here also is Glen
Park, where assemblies are held each summer, modeled on those of the
well-known Chautauqua.

[Illustration: CENTRE OF PIKE'S PEAK.]

Beyond Palmer Lake, on both sides of the track, may be seen wonderful
formations of brilliant red sandstone, taking the form of castles,
fortifications and towers. One of the most striking of these has been
named Phœbe's Arch, being a great castle-like upthrust of glowing red
rock, through which there is a perfect natural archway. The descent of
the Divide to Colorado Springs is through an interesting country, the
mountains to the west and plains extending to the east. As Colorado
Springs are approached, the great gateway to the Garden of the Gods can
be seen to the right, and Pike's Peak, rising to an altitude of 14,147
feet, its summit white with snow, attracts instant attention. A side
trip can here be taken, at nominal expense, to Manitou Springs, five
miles distant, the famous watering place of the west, a pleasure resort
possessing wonderful effervescent and medicinal springs, and surrounded
by more objects of scenic interest than any resort of a like character
in the old or new world, including "Garden of the Gods," "Glen Eyre,"
"Red Rock Cañon," "Crystal Park," "Ruxton's Glen," "William's Cañon,"
"Manitou Grand Caverns," "Cave of the Winds," "Ute Pass," "Rainbow
Falls," "Bear Creek Cañon," "Cheyenne Mountain," "Pike's Peak," and
hundreds of others, to name which space is lacking.

The cog-wheel railroad to the summit of Pike's Peak is now completed
and in operation, and is the most novel railway in the world. When it
reaches its objective point above the clouds, at a height of 14,147
feet above sea level, it renders almost insignificant by comparison the
famous cog-way up Mount Washington, and the inclined railway up the
Rhigi in Switzerland.

The route is the most direct possible, and about nine miles in length.
The track is the same as that of the Mount Washington line, standard
gauge, with an eight-inch cast-steel cog-rail. The cars are set on low
trucks to prevent them from becoming top-heavy on curves or in a high
wind. This is almost an unnecessary precaution, as it is not expected
to make the ascent in less than two hours. On the ascent the cars are
pushed by the engine, but on the descent the locomotive is placed
in front. The engine achieves the tremendous grades by means of a
cog-wheel, which fits into the cog-rail. This mountain road is a great
attraction, added to the many which already render Manitou the greatest
summer resort of the mid-continental region.

The run from Colorado Springs to Pueblo is down the valley of a
pretty little stream, the Fountaine qui Bouille, along whose banks
are situated rich farms, or as they are universally termed in the
west, "ranches," on which large crops are grown through the medium of
irrigation. A hundred miles to the westward may be seen the faint blue
outlines of the Greenhorn range of mountains, while to the eastward
stretch the plains, the view of which is limited only by the horizon.
Pueblo is the great manufacturing city of central Colorado. It has
one of the largest steel manufactories in the world, and a number of
extensive smelters. Its close proximity to coal and iron mines, and the
fact that it has become a railroad center of much importance, makes the
future of the city exceedingly bright in promise. With a population of
over 20,000, constantly increasing, and with the energy and push of its
citizens, it cannot fail of achieving the greatest prosperity.

[Illustration: VETA PASS.]

From Pueblo, 120 miles distant from Denver, the journey is continued to
the south, still across a level country, and to the left the Spanish
peaks soon rise to view. These mountains possess a peculiar attraction,
rising, as they do, directly from the plain in symmetrical, conical
outlines, and reaching an altitude respectively of 13,620 and 12,720
feet. The Indians, with a touch of instinctive poetry, named these
mountains "Wahatoya," or Twin Breasts.

Shortly after sighting the Spanish Peaks, the ascent of Veta Pass is
begun The ascent of this famous pass is one of the great engineering
achievements of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. The line follows the
ravine formed by a little stream. La Veta Mountain rising to the right.
At the head of this gulch is the wonderful "Mule-Shoe Curve," the
sharpest curve of the kind known in railroad engineering. In the center
of the bend is a bridge, and the sparkling waters of the mountain
stream can be seen flashing and foaming in their rocky bed below.
Standing on the rear platform of the Pullman car as the train rounds
the curve, the tourist can see the fireman and engineer attending to
their duties. From this point the ascent of Dump Mountain begins,
rocks and precipitous escarpments of shaley soil to the right and
perpendicular cliffs and chasms to the left. The ascent is slowly made,
two great Mogul engines urging their iron sinews to the giant task.
The view to the eastward is one of great extent and magnificence. The
plains stretch onward to the dim horizon line like a gently undulating
ocean, from which rise the twin cones of "Wahatoya," strangely
fascinating in their symmetrical beauty. At the summit of the pass the
railroad reaches an elevation of 9,393 feet above the sea.

Veta Mountain is to the right as the ascent of the pass is made, and
rises with smooth sides and splintered pinnacles to a height of 11,176
feet above the sea level. The stupendous proportions of this mountain,
the illimitable expanse of planes, the symmetrical cones of the Spanish
Peaks, present a picture upon which it is a never-ceasing delight for
the eye to dwell. The train rolls steadily forward on its winding
course, at last reaching the apex, glides into the timber and halts
at the handsome stone station over 9,000 feet above the level of the
distant sea. The downward journey is past Sierra Blanca and old Fort
Garland, and through that pastoral and picturesque valley known, as San
Luis Park.

[Illustration: WAGON-WHEEL GAP.]

At Placer one can say that the descent of Veta Pass has been
accomplished, though it is still all down grade to Alamosa. This little
town is situated on the eastern border of the San Luis Valley and at
the western extremity of La Veta Pass.

From Alamosa station a magnificent view of Blanca is obtained, and
this majestic mountain, with its triple peaks capped with snow, and
two-thirds of its height above timber line, presents a noble and
impressive spectacle. To the north and south, silhouetted against a sky
of perfect azure, are the serrated pinnacles of the Sangre de Christo
range. It would be difficult to find, even in this land of peaks, a
more impressive mountain view than that obtained during the traversing
of the San Luis Valley, on the eastern rim of which Garland Station,
the site of old Fort Garland, rests. Here is a park 7,500 feet above
sea level, surrounded on all sides by ranges of rugged mountains whose
summits are whitened with perpetual snow. San Luis Park has an area
larger than Connecticut, watered plentifully by mountain streams and
traversed by the historic and beautiful Rio Grande del Norte. The soil
of this valley is fertile, and through the medium of irrigation the
park is rapidly becoming a great agricultural region.

From Pueblo the line diverges and the tourist may go via Veta Pass as
described above, or to Salida, and thence through the Poncha Pass to
Villa Grove and down through the beautiful San Luis Valley to Alamosa,
noted for its fine farms and phenomenal yield of agricultural products.
From the point named above there is a tangent of fifty-two miles and
the San Luis Valley portion is a straight line through one of the most
fruitful and beautiful sections of the State.

From Alamosa a delightful side trip can be taken to the Hot Springs at
Wagon Wheel Gap, and to the new and already famous mining camp, Creede,
for which a reduced rate will be given. A word about this wonderful
health and pleasure resort will not be out of place here. As the Gap
is approached the valley narrows until the river is hemmed in between
massive walls of solid rock which rise to such a height on either side
as to throw the passage into twilight shadow. The river rushes roaring
down over gleaming gravel or precipitous ledges. Progressing, the scene
becomes wilder and more romantic, until at last the waters of the Rio
Grande pour through a cleft in the rocks just wide enough to allow
the construction of a road along the river's edge. On the right, as
one enters, tower cliffs to a tremendous height, suggestive in their
appearance of the Palisades of the Hudson. On the left rises the round
shoulder of a massive mountain. The vast wall is unbroken for more than
half a mile, its crest presenting an almost unserrated sky line. Once
through the Gap, the traveler, looking toward the south, sees a valley
encroached upon and surrounded by hills

    "Bathed in the tenderest purple of distance,
     Tinted and shadowed by pencils of air."

[Illustration: SOUTH WILLOW CAÑON, CREEDE, COLO.]

Here is an old stage station, a primitive and picturesque structure
of hewn logs, made cool and inviting by wide-roofed verandahs. Not a
hundred feet away rolls the Rio Grande river, swarming with trout.
A drive of a mile along a winding road, each turn in which reveals
new scenic beauties, brings the tourist to the famous springs. The
medicinal qualities of the waters, both of the cold and hot springs,
have been thoroughly tested and proved equal, if not superior, to the
Hot Springs of Arkansas.

Ten miles beyond Wagon Wheel Gap is Creede; nothing yesterday, a city
of seven thousand people to-day. Here is Colorado's newest and richest
mining camp, bustling with all the activity of an older eastern city.
Situated in the heart of a cañon and extending through it and widening
out on to the less precipitous hills below, composed of buildings of
all kinds, from the temporary "shack" of the prospector to the more
pretentious brick store. The mountain side dotted with innumerable
prospect holes, with an occasional large building of unpainted pine,
rising from which is a volume of steam and smoke giving ocular evidence
of the presence of a mine of more than ordinary interest and value. To
the tourist desiring to combine business with pleasure, here is the
opportunity to buy what at present seems only "a hole in the ground,"
but which may some day develop into a mint within Itself.

Leaving Alamosa and continuing the circle tour, after crossing San Luis
Park, and just before reaching Toltec Tunnel, a sharp curve takes the
train into a nook among the hills. To the left are great monumental
and fantastic forms of rock, while to the right are cliffs rising to
a height of five or six hundred feet above the track. From the quaint
and curious formations which rise to the left as this bend is rounded,
it has been named Phantom Curve. In half an hour Toltec Tunnel is
reached, the great peculiarity of which is that it pierces the top of a
mountain instead of its base. For six hundred feet it has been blasted
through the living rock, and such is its solidity that no masonry is
needed to support the superincumbent rock masses above. When the train
emerges from the tunnel it rolls out upon a bridge of trestle-work
set like a balcony against the wall of stone. Beneath, to the left,
is Toltec Gorge. The traveler looks down fifteen hundred feet and,
glancing upward, sees the opposite wall of the gorge rising a thousand
feet above him. The scene is one of the most thrilling and unique in
the whole journey "Around the Circle." Below, at the bottom of the
gorge, swirls and dashes a little stream, whose waters are churned into
snow-white foam, and the noise of whose progress comes faintly to the
ear, borne upward from those tremendous depths.

[Illustration: RIO LAS ANIMAS CAÑON.]

An object of interest to all visitors to Toltec Gorge is the Garfield
Memorial, a beautiful monument of granite, raised by the National
Association of General Passenger Agents, who held service at this spot
on the 26th day of September, 1881, at the time President Garfield was
being buried at Cleveland, Ohio.

At Cumbres, the summit of the Cumbres range of mountains, is reached an
elevation of 10,115 feet, the journey of the descent is a trip fraught
with great variety of scenery and abounding in interest. Here may be
seen mountain meadows lush with vegetation, the surrounding hills being
heavily timbered and abounding in game.

At Ignacio the Indian reservation is entered, and the rude tepees of
the Southern Utes can be seen pitched along the banks of the Rio de
las Florida. Occasionally a glimpse can be caught of a stolid brave,
tricked out in all his savage finery, gazing fixedly at the train as it
speeds by. Frequently there is quite a little group of these aborigines
at the station, and they are always ready to exchange bows and arrows,
trophies of the chase, or specimens of their rude handiwork in return
for very hard cash.

From Durango the tourist has the choice of two routes to complete the
"Circle" tour; either via the Rio Grande Southern Railroad, through
the Mancos Valley, the Lost Cañon, the Valley of the Dolores and the
Dolores Cañon to Rico, over the Lizard Head Pass by Trout Lake and
Telluride, down the San Miguel and Leopard Creek to Ridgway; or via
the Denver & Rio Grande, through the Animas Cañon to Silverton, over
the Rainbow Route (Silverton Railroad) to Ironton, and thence over the
famous Ironton and Ouray Stage Road to Ouray.




RIO GRANDE SOUTHERN ROUTE.


Leaving Durango via the Rio Grande Southern line, the tourist is
whisked across the Rio de Las Animas up Lightner Creek, past the
silver and gold smelters with their seething furnaces and smoke and
dust-begrimed workmen, and shortly past the famous coal banks where the
black diamond is dug from the bowels of Mother Earth, and from there
hauled to the smelters where it is used for the reduction and refining
of its more exalted, but not more useful brethren.

Up through the valley the train speeds along among huge pines which
thus far have escaped the woodman's axe, and which will be free from
such invasion as long as Uncle Sam claims this particular spot as the
especial reservation for the military post at old Fort Lewis.

From Fort Lewis the line passes through seemingly endless forests of
pine trees, and after the reservation is passed an occasional saw-mill
is sighted from its emitting unearthly screeches, which the knowing
ones say is merely the head sawyer sharpening up.

[Illustration: CLIFF DWELLERS.]

Descending the mountain into the valley, the beholder looks out on a
broad expanse of fertile, well-watered country, surrounded on all sides
by snow-capped mountains, and dotted with the rancheros of the hardy
pioneer, who has been well repaid for his daring in locating in this
far-away but beautiful valley, by its productiveness, and now that the
railroad, that greatest of all civilizers, has come, he has abundant
opportunities for the disposition of his produce.

In the center of this valley lies Mancos station, which is the junction
with the main line of the proposed extension of this road into Arizona.

To the south of Mancos station within a day's drive, and easily
accessible, are the ruins of the strange habitations of an extinct
and mysterious race known as the Cliff Dwellers. To those seeking
curiosities and wonders, the great Cañon of the Mancos, the great
Montezuma Valley, the McElmo Cañon, the Lower Animas Valley and the
Chaco Cañon are the wonderlands of the world. They contain thousands
of homes, and a town of the ancient race of Mound Builders and "Cliff
Dwellers," that has attracted the curious ever since the discovery of
America. The great Mancos Cañon contains hundreds of these homes which
were built and occupied hundreds of years ago. Yet many of them are in
a good state of preservation, and in them have been found hundreds of
specimens of pottery, and implements of husbandry and warfare. This
cañon is twenty miles south of Mancos, over a good wagon road. The
cañon is cut through Mesa Verda, a distance of thirty miles, and the
walls on either side rise to a perpendicular height of two thousand
feet. These cliff dwellings are built in the sides of this cañon,
as shown in the illustration. Fifteen miles farther west from the
Mancos is situated the great Montezuma Valley, where thousands of fine
specimens of pottery have been found among the ruins of that ancient
people. On the west side of this valley is the great McElmo Cañon, also
full of the ancient homes of the "Cliff Dwellers." Thirty-five miles
south of Durango, in the valley of the Animas, are some extensive ruins
of the Aztecs, and fifty miles further south are the wonderful ruins
in the Chaco Cañon. These ancient Pueblos are, without doubt, the most
extensive and the best preserved of any in the United States. Of these
Prof. Hayden, in his report of the Geological Survey of the United
States for the year 1866, says: "The great ruins in the Chaco Cañon are
pre-eminently the finest examples of the works of the unknown builders
to be found north of the seat of ancient Aztec Empire in Mexico." There
are eleven extensive Pueblos in this cañon, nearly all in a good state
of preservation, and their appearance indicates that they were once the
home of fifteen hundred to three thousand people each. They are the
most accessible from Mancos of any point on the line of railroads. From
the thousands of ruins of cities, towns and families found throughout
this great San Juan Valley, it is evident that once this great valley
was the home of hundreds of thousands of this extinct race. That they
were a peaceful and agricultural race of people is evidenced by the
large number of their implements of husbandry and specimens of corn and
beans found in these ruins, besides irrigating ditches and reservoirs
for the storage of water.

[Illustration: SULTAN MOUNTAINS.]

Leaving Mancos, the road winds up the sloping sides of a flat-topped
mountain, and there on its summit, among huge pines centuries old,
bubbles up a clear, cold spring of sparkling water, forming the stream
that flows down through the beautiful Lost Cañon, and is called by the
unpoetic name of "Lost Cañon Creek."

Lost Cañon is a novelty in itself, as its sides are densely wooded
and softly carpeted with a thick bed of moss and leaves, beautifully
colored by millions of Colorado wild flowers whose delicate beauty is
unrivaled.

Emerging from Lost Cañon the traveler is whirled up to the beautiful
valley of the Dolores River, with its many ranches and farms, past
the town of the same name. Off to the left, flowing to the eastward,
comes bubbling down the mountain side into the larger river, the West
Dolores, and no more famous or prolific trout stream exists than this.

Continuing on up the main river, the valley begins to narrow down,
until we are once more within the walls of a cañon which takes its
name from the stream flowing through it. While this cañon is not
particularly deep, its natural beauties are manifold and are sure to
make a lasting and delightful impression on the beholder.

Rushing out of the cañon the tourist is now landed at Rico. Rico is one
of the most important mining towns of the State, whose mines dot the
mountain sides, and whose product is packed in the cars on the backs of
the ever-patient and faithful burro, without which no mining camp can
be complete. The town is located in what was at one time the crater of
a large volcano. Precipitous mountains with poetic names arise upon all
sides of it, gradually widening, until by describing a circle of their
summits they appear as the top of a huge funnel. Among them is the
famous Telescope Mountain, a freak of nature only to be seen to form a
proper realization of the aptness of its name. The place has much of
historic interest, as evidences of early Spanish discoveries are found
on many sides.

Leaving Rico, the line continues up the Dolores, which grows smaller
and smaller, until it becomes a mere silver thread winding in and out
among huge rocks and boulders. Thirteen miles north of Rico, and after
climbing many miles of three and four per cent, grades, the summit
of the Lizard Head Pass is reached at an elevation of nearly 11,000
feet. From the summit and to the left will be seen the Lizard Head,
a peculiar rock formation capping a tall, bare mountain. This rock
derives its name from its resemblance to the head of a mountain lizard,
though at the same time it may be said to resemble the shaft of some
large monument.

[Illustration: OPHIR LOOP.]

Descending the pass through the mountain gorges over rushing mountain
streams, one finds one's self at Trout Lake. No more graphic
description of this sheet of beautiful blue water can be given than a
verse from a poem by "H. H."

    "The mountain's wall in the water;
     It looks like a great blue cup;
    And the sky looks like another
     Turned over, bottom side up."

Here the sport-inclined tourist may spend a few days, for the lake is
inhabited by thousands and thousands of mountain trout.

Shortly after leaving Trout Lake, the famous Ophir Loop is passed. Here
the skill of the engineer was taxed to its utmost, for the track winds
in zig-zags down the mountain side, rushing through a deep cut here,
over a mountain torrent and a high bridge there, darting around sharp
curves, in and out of snowsheds, until on the opposite mountain and
high above us is to be seen a line of freshly-turned earth, which the
knowing ones say is the track over which we have just passed.

From Vance Junction, a side trip of ten miles, which will well repay
the tourist, can be made to Telluride, a mining town of some 2,500
inhabitants, nestling among snow-capped mountains, rising to stupendous
heights and rich in gold and silver.

From Vance Junction the journey is continued down the San Miguel
River, past Placerville, until the river leaves the rail, and again
we commence to go up; this time over the Dallas Divide. This pass
resembles Marshall Pass, though not quite so long. After reaching the
summit, the line runs down the eastern slope along Leopard Creek, high
above it on the mountain side, giving a most magnificent view of the
Uncompahgre Range to the south with its gentle slopes softly colored by
the deep, dark foliage of dense pine and fir forests, gradually rising
until the mountains develop into a huge mass of shattered pinnacles,
their topmost points covered with the everlasting snow.

Arriving at Ridgway, a city of some 1,500 inhabitants, the journey is
again resumed on the original route via the Denver & Rio Grande.

[Illustration: ILIUM CURVE.]




THE RAINBOW ROUTE.


From Durango, the metropolis of the San Juan, to Silverton the scenery
is of surpassing grandeur and beauty. The railroad follows up the
course of the Animas River (to which the Spaniards gave the musical
but melancholy title of "Rio de las Animas Perdidas," or River of Lost
Souls), until the picturesque mining town of Silverton is reached. The
valley of the Animas is traversed before the cañon is reached, and the
traveler's eyes are delighted with succeeding scenes of sylvan beauty.
To the right is the river, beyond which rise the hills; to the left are
mountains, increasing in rugged contour as the advance is made; between
the track and the river are cultivated fields and cosy farmhouses,
while evidences of peace, prosperity and plenty are to be seen on every
hand. Nine miles above Durango, Trimble Hot Springs are reached. The
spacious hotel stands within a hundred yards of the road to the left
of the track. Here are medicinal hot springs of great curative value,
and here, in the season, gather invalids and pleasure seekers to drink
the waters and enjoy the delights of this charming resort. Leaving the
springs behind, the train speeds up the valley, which gradually narrows
as the advance is made; the ascending grade becomes steeper, the hills
close in, and soon the view is restricted to the rocky gorge within
whose depths the raging waters of the Animas sway and swirl.

Animas Cañon has characteristics peculiarly its own. The railroad does
not follow the bed of the stream, but clings to the cliffs midway of
their height; and a glance from the car window gives one the impression
of a view from a balloon. Below, a thousand feet, are the waters of the
river--in places, white with foam; in quiet coves, green as ocean's
depths. Above, five hundred feet, climb the combing cliffs, to which
cling pines and hemlocks. The cañon here is a mere fissure in the
mountain's heart, so narrow that one can easily toss a stone across and
send it bounding down the side of the opposing rock wall until it falls
into the waters of the river coursing through the abyss below. Emerging
from this wonderful chasm, the bed of the gorge rises until the roadway
is but a few feet above the level of the stream. The close, confining
and towering walls of rock are replaced by mountains of supreme height.
The Needles, which are among the most peculiar and striking of the
Rockies, thrust their sharp and splintered peaks into the regions of
eternal frost.

Elk Park is a quiet little nook in the midst of the range, with vistas
of meadows and groves of pines, a spot which would furnish the artist
many a subject for his canvass.

At the end of Elk Park stands Garfield Peak, lifting its summit a
mile above the track. Beyond are marshaled the everlasting mountains,
and through them for miles extends, in varying beauty and grandeur,
the cañon of the Animas. Frequent waterfalls glitter in the sunlight,
leaping from crag to crag, only to lose themselves at last in the
outflowing river. Emerging finally from this environment of crowding
cliffs, the train sweeps into Baker's Park and arrives at Silverton in
the heart of the San Juan.

Silverton is interesting, both from its picturesque position and
from the fact that it is a mining town. The mountains by which it is
surrounded on all sides are honeycombed with the shafts and tunnels
of innumerable mines. Sultan Mountain, which overlooks the town, is a
noble and impressive elevation, and adds to the grandeur of the scene
by its regal presence.

[Illustration: MOUNT BEATLE.]

From Silverton the journey "Around the Circle" is continued by taking
the Silverton Railway, a road constructed up the difficult grades
of Red Mountain, and doing an immense business in the handling of
ores which are taken from these rich deposits; also employed in the
transportation of passengers. This wonderful road owes its construction
to the genius, daring and wealth of one man, Mr. Otto Mears, who has
for years been the "pathfinder" of the San Juan region, building toll
roads and opening the gates of prosperity to the many mining towns of
this mountainous country. He is the sole owner of the road, and has
conquered engineering difficulties of the most astounding character.
The line does not as yet bridge the gap between Silverton and Ouray,
and from Ironton, its terminus, stages carry tourists over the
mountains to the latter point, where the trip is resumed by the Denver
& Rio Grande Railroad.

The stage ride forms one of the most attractive features of this
most attractive journey. Lasting only two hours, passing over the
summits of ranges and through the depths of cañons, the tourist will
find this a welcome variation to his method of travel and a great
relief and recreation. The old fashioned stage, with all its romantic
associations, is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. A year or
two more and it will have disappeared, except in rare instances,
from Colorado. Here, in the midst of some of the grandest scenery on
the continent, the blue sky above and the fresh, pure, exhilarating
mountain air sending the blood bounding through one's veins, to clamber
into a Concord coach and be whirled along a splendidly-constructed
road, costing in some instances $40,000 a mile in its construction,
to behold the grandest of Nature's handiwork, and to be in such close
communion with the everlasting hills, is surely a novel and delightful
experience.

The scenery on this journey between Silverton and Ouray is of the
greatest magnificence. This is especially true of that portion of the
route traversed by stage. The Silverton and Ouray toll road has long
been noted for its attractions in the way of scenery, the triangular
mass of Mount Abraham's towers to the left, while the road winds around
the curves of the hills with the sinuosity of a mountain brook. The
scene from the bridge over Bear Creek is one which once beheld can
never be forgotten. Directly under the bridge plunges a cataract to
a depth of 253 feet, forming a most noteworthy and impressive scene.
The toll road passes through one of the greatest mining regions in the
world, and the fame of Red Mountain is well deserved both from the
number and richness of its mines. Before Ouray is reached, the road
passes through Uncompahgre Cañon. Here the roadbed has been blasted
from the solid rock wall of the gorge, and a scene similar in nature
and rivaling in grandeur that of Animas Cañon is beheld.

[Illustration: MOUNT ABRAM, OURAY TOLL ROAD.]

Ouray is one of the most beautifully situated towns to be found
anywhere. Its scenery is idyllic. The village is cradled in a lovely
valley surrounded by rugged mountains. The situation of the town
is thus vividly described by Ernest Ingersoll in the "Crest of the
Continent": "The valley in which the town is built is at an elevation
of about 7,500 feet above the sea, and is pear-shaped, its greatest
width being not more than half a mile, while its length is about twice
that, down to the mouth of the cañon. Southward--that is, toward the
heart of the main range--stand the two great peaks, Hardin and Hayden.
Between is the deep gorge down which the Uncompahgre finds its way;
but this is hidden from view by a ridge which walls in the town and
cuts off all farther view from it in that direction, save where the
triangular top of Mount Abram peers over. Westward are grouped a series
of broken ledges, surmounted by greater and more rugged heights. Down
between these and the western foot of Mt. Hayden struggles Cañon Creek
to join the Uncompahgre, while Oak Creek leaps down a line of cataracts
from a notch in the terraced heights through which the quadrangular
head of White House Mountain becomes grandly discernible--the
easternmost buttress of the wintry Sierra San Miguel.

"At the lower side of the basin, where the path of the river is beset
with close cañon walls, the cliffs rise vertically from the level of
the village, and bear their forest growth many hundreds of feet above.
These mighty walls, two thousand feet high in some places, are of
metamorphic rock, and their even stratification simulates courses of
well-ordered masonry. Stained by iron, and probably also by manganese,
they are a deep red maroon. This color does not lie uniformly, however,
but is stronger in some layers than in others, so that the whole
face of the cliff is banded horizontally in pale rust color, or dull
crimson, or deep and opaque maroon. The western cliff is bare, but on
the more frequent ledges of the eastern wall scattered spruces grow,
and add to its attractiveness. Yet, as though Nature meant to teach
that a bit of motion--a suggestion of glee was needed to relieve the
somberness of utter immobility and grandeur, however shapely--she has
led to the sunlight, by a crevice in the upper part of the eastern wall
that we cannot see, a brisk torrent draining the snowfields of some
distant plateau. This little stream, thus beguiled by the fair channel
that led it through the spruce woods above, has no time to think of
its fate, but is flung out over the sheer precipice eighty feet into
the valley below. We see the white ghost of its descending, and always
to our ears is murmured the voice of the Naiads who are taking the
breathless plunge. Yet by what means the stream reaches that point from
above cannot be seen, and the picture is that of a strong jet of water
bursting from an orifice through the crimson wall, and falling into
rainbow-arched mist and a tangle of grateful foliage that hides its
further flowing."

[Illustration: CURRECANTI NEEDLE.]

Resuming the railroad journey at Ouray, the traveler will find much to
interest him in the run past Ridgway, where the Rio Grande Southern
connects with the Denver & Rio Grande, to Montrose, where the main
line is again reached, and, with faces turned once more to the
eastward, the homeward segment of the "circle" is entered upon, and
the greatest wonders of all this wonderful journey lie before. From
Cerro Summit a fine view can be had of the Uncompahgre Valley, its
river, and the distant peaks of the San Juan and Uncompahgre ranges
of mountains. Cimarron Cañon is entered shortly after leaving Cerro
Summit, the road following this cañon down Cimarron Creek to where it
empties into the Gunnison river. Here begins the tourist's experience
in the world-renowned Black Cañon of the Gunnison. The name is a
misnomer. There is nothing black about the cañon except the shadows
of the towering granite walls. The cliffs themselves show bright and
happy colors. Gay contrasts of pink and blue, bright complements of
red and maroon, all shades blended and differentiated, dashed on here
and there as with the broad, free-handed sweep of some master scenic
painter. The scene is varied, kaleidoscopic, constantly changing.
Here the train rolls along between frowning and exalted walls: there
a stream of water, Chippeta Falls, white as wool, pitches from the
brow of a precipice two thousand feet above; yonder a side cañon yawns
with capacious mouth as if to engulf us. Now we are in a spacious
amphitheater, in the center of which stands a tremendous monument
of solid stone, a spire graceful as if hewn by the hand of a Gothic
builder, and terminating in a sky-piercing pinnacle. This is the famed
"Currecanti Needle." Thus for twenty miles the ever-changing variety of
the Black Cañon holds the awe-stricken attention of the traveler. At
last the train rolls out into the valley of the Gunnison, and pastoral
scenes take the place of the tumultuous grandeur just beheld.

But soon a new marvel demands attention. The ascent of Marshall Pass
is just begun. We have just gone through the mountains, now we are to
go over them. The Pacific slope is now to be achieved. Two powerful
engines puff vigorously and take us spinning up the ringing grooves of
this marvelous road, climbing grades of 211 feet to the mile with as
much apparent ease as though we were traversing the level plain. What a
varied panorama of mountain views meets the gaze, and when the summit
is reached. 10,852 feet above the distant sea, the train pauses and
the eye sweeps the prospect as far as vision reaches. To the right,
fading away into the blue distance, can be seen the serrated range of
the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, snow-covered pyramids of transcendent
beauty. To the left towers fire-scarred Mount Ouray, a volcano whose
fires died out ages ago, while opposite stands its companion peak,
Mount Shaveno. Beneath is the pathway of our ascent, four lines in
view, each one an ascending circle of our tortuous upward journey.

[Illustration: CATHEDRAL SPIRE.]

Half a dozen revolutions of the wheels and we are on the Atlantic
slope. The waters all run to the eastward now. One engine holds the
train in check. There are no smoke and cinders. Pneumatic breaks
skillfully applied by the engineer control the power of gravitation,
which is the sole force needed to carry the long train down its winding
way. The sinuosity of the descent is something indescribable. A glance
at the illustration of the alignment of the road over Marshall Pass
will convey a better idea than anything that could be said. The descent
is ended at Poncha Springs, and the train enters the valley of the
Arkansas.

At Poncha are some of the most remarkable hot springs to be found
anywhere in the West. There are over one hundred of these springs; the
water varies in temperature from 90 to 185 degrees Fahrenheit. The
analysis of the Poncha Springs corresponds almost exactly with that of
the waters of the Hot Springs in Arkansas.

From the Arkansas Valley can be obtained a fine view of the Collegiate
range of mountains, including the peaks of Harvard, Yale and Princeton,
all of which reach an altitude greater than fourteen thousand feet.

The crowning attraction, the wonder of wonders, the marvel of marvels,
yet remains to be seen. The Grand Cañon of the Arkansas lies before
us. There are no words in the language which can describe this cañon.
There are no pigments on the artist's palette that can paint it; it is
indescribable and entirely beyond the reach of mimetic art. The Grand
Cañon is seven miles in length--seven miles of wonders, seven miles
of the grandest, most awful scenery in the world. To the right boils
and surges the Arkansas River, above which tower the red rocks of the
cañon. To the left are cliffs, jutting in places above the track, and
rising to tremendous and awe-inspiring heights. The progress down the
cañon is by means of many intricate curves, and it seems as though the
engine would dash itself to atoms against the cliffs, but each time
a slight turn is made and the train rounds the promontory in safety.
Soon the tourist finds himself in the heart of the mountain. Peak
upon peak rises above him, until the splintered summits seem to touch
the sky. Darker and darker grow the shadows, narrower and still more
narrow grows the gorge, deeper and deeper grows the gloom, the river
ceases its roaring, the noise of the train is hardly perceptible, for
the engineer has "slowed up," and the Royal Gorge is at hand. Here the
cañon is not wide enough for road and river, and here is one of the
most remarkable feats of engineering. Right across the gorge, fifty
feet wide at the base and perhaps seventy at the summit, which soars
above to a height of nearly three thousand feet, a series of great iron
braces has been thrown, from which huge iron bars depend, holding a
long iron bridge in suspension, that clings to the face of the cliff,
and runs, not across, but parallel with the course of the river. The
eye can scarcely comprehend the stupendous height of the perpendicular
cliffs whose summits pierce the heavens half a mile above our heads.

[Illustration: APPROACH TO THE BLACK CAÑON.]

After beholding the Royal Gorge the traveler has a superlative
comparison for all that is wonderful and grand in nature. He has seen
something which he can never forget, and of the many marvels of this
marvelous journey "Around the Circle," the greatest of them all, the
crowning glory, is the Royal Gorge.

It will not be inappropriate to make some special mention of several of
the more important points of interest on the circle tour, and we add
below a short description of the "Royal Gorge," "Toltec Gorge," "Animas
Cañon," "Black Cañon of the Gunnison," and the "Marshall Pass."




THE BLACK CAÑON.


In all the world there is no place so beautiful, imposing, sublime
and awful, that may be so easy and comfortably visited, as the Black
Cañon, for the iron horse of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad has a
pathway through the cañon, and he draws after him coaches as handsome
and pleasant as those which he draws on the level plain. Along many
miles of this grand gorge the railroad lies upon a shelf that has been
blasted in the solid walls of God's masonry; walls that stand sheer two
thousand feet in height, and so close together that for most of the
distance through the cañon only a streak of sky, sometimes in broad
daylight, spangled with stars, is seen above.

               "I'll look no more;
    Lest my brain turn, and the deficient sight
    Topple down headlong."

Unlike many of the Colorado cañons, the scenery in this one is
kaleidoscopic, ever changing. Here the train glides along between the
close, regular and exalted walls then suddenly it passes the mouth of
another mighty cañon which looks as if it were a great gateway to an
unroofed arcade leading from the pathway of some monstrous giant. Now,
at a sharp turn, Chippeta Falls, a stream of liquid crystal, pitches
from the top of the dizzy cliffs to the bosom of the sparkling river
which dashes beside the road. Then a spacious amphitheater is passed,
in the centre of which stands Currecanti Needle, solitary and alone, a
towering monument of solid stone, which reaches to where it flaunts the
clouds, like some great cathedral spire. Truly there is no gorge in all
the Rocky range that presents such variety and grandeur as the Black
Cañon of the Gunnison.

[Illustration: TOLTEC GORGE.]




MARSHALL PASS.


Marshall Pass is entered almost imperceptibly from Poncha Pass, and
the whole wonderful ascent might very readily be imagined as one and
the same. The summit is almost eleven thousand feet above the sea, and
the tortuous method by which the daring engineers of the Denver & Rio
Grande Railroad have achieved this summit can best be understood by a
glance at the cut illustrating the alignment of the track, shown on
another page. As the train progresses up the steep the view becomes
less obstructed by mountain sides and the eye roams over miles of
cone-shaped summits. The timberless tops of towering ranges show him
that he is among the heights and in a region familiar with the clouds.
Then he beholds, stretching away to the left, the most perfect of all,
the Sierras. The sunlight falls with a white, transfiguring radiance
upon the snow-crowned spires of the Sangre de Cristo range. Their sharp
and dazzling pyramids, which near at hand are clearly defined, extend
to the southward until cloud and sky and snowy peak commingle and form
a vague and bewildering vision. To the right towers the fire-scarred
front of old Ouray, grand, solitary and forbidding. Ouray holds the
pass, standing sentinel at the rocky gateway to the fertile Gunnison.
Slowly the steeps are conquered, until at last the train halts upon
the summit of the continental divide which separates the waters of the
Atlantic and Pacific. The traveler looks down upon four lines of road,
terrace beyond terrace, the last so far below as to be quite indistinct
to view. Wonder at the triumphs of engineering skill is strangely
mingled with the feelings of awe and admiration at the stupendous
grandeur of the scene.

[Illustration: ANIMAS CAÑON AND NEEDLE MOUNTAIN.]




TOLTEC GORGE.


The approach to this great scenic wonder prepares the traveler for
something extraordinary and spectacular. A black speck in the distance
against the precipitous surface of a frowning cliff is beheld long
before Toltec is reached, and is pointed out as the entrance to the
tunnel, which is the gateway to the Gorge. As the advance is made
around mountain spurs and deep ravines, glimpses are caught of profound
depths and towering heights, the black speck widens into a yawning
portcullis, and then the train, making a detour of four miles around
a side cañon, plunges into the blackness of Toltec tunnel, which is
remarkable in that it pierces the summit of the mountain instead of its
base. Fifteen hundred feet of perpendicular descent would take one to
the bottom of the gorge, while the seared and wrinkled expanse of the
opposite wall confronts us, lifting its massive bulwarks high above us,

    "Fronting heaven's splendor,
     Strong and full and clear."

When the train emerges from the tunnel it is upon the brink of a
precipice. A solid bridge of trestle-work, set in the rock after the
manner of a balcony, supports the track, and from this coigne of
vantage the traveler beholds a most thrilling spectacle. The tremendous
gorge, whose sides are splintered rocks and monumental crags, and whose
depths are filled with the snow-white waters of a foaming torrent, lies
beneath him, the blue sky above him, and all around the majesty and
mystery of the mountains.




ANIMAS CAÑON.


Animas Cañon is one of the wildest and most picturesque gorges in the
Rocky Mountains. Through it the Rio de las Animas Perdidas, or "River
of Lost Souls," finds its way to the valley below. For a dozen miles
north of Durango the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad traverses the fertile
and cultivated valley of the Animas in its approach to the cañon. Soon
the valley becomes more broken and contracted, the approaching walls
grow more precipitous and the smooth meadows give place to stately
pines and sighing sycamores. The silvery Animas frets in its narrowing
bed and breaks into foam against the opposing boulders. The road climbs
and clings to the rising cliffs, and presently the earth and stately
pines have receded and the train rolls along a mere granite shelf
in mid-air. Above, the vertical wall rises a thousand feet; below,
hundreds of feet of perpendicular depth and a fathomless river. The
cañon is here a mere rent in the mountain, so narrow one may toss a
pebble across, and the cramped stream has assumed the deep emerald hue
of the ocean. In the shadows of the rocks, all is solitary, and weird,
and awful. The startled traveler quickly loses all apprehension in the
wondrous beauty and grandeur of the scene, and, as successive curves
repeat and enhance the enchantment, nature asserts herself in ecstasy.
Emerging from the marvelous gorge, the bed of the cañon rapidly rises,
until the roadway is but a few feet above the stream. Dark walls of
rock are replaced with clustering mountains of supreme height, whose
abruptness defies the foot of man, and The Needles, the most peculiar
and striking of the Rockies, thrust their splintered pinnacles into the
region of perpetual snow.

[Illustration: ROYAL GORGE.]




THE ROYAL GORGE.


The crowning wonder of this wonderful Denver & Rio Grande Railroad is
the Royal Gorge. Situated between Cañon City and Salida, it is easy
of access either from Denver or Pueblo. After the entrance to the
cañon has been made, surprise and almost terror comes. The train rolls
round a long curve close under a wall of black and banded granite,
beside which the ponderous locomotive shrinks to a mere dot, as if
swinging on some pivot in the heart of the mountain, or captured by a
centripetal force that would never resign its grasp. Almost a whole
circle is accomplished, and the grand amphitheatrical sweep of the
wall shows no break in its zenith-cutting facade. Will the journey end
here? Is it a mistake that this crevice goes through the range? Does
not all this mad water gush from some powerful spring, or boil out of
a subterranean channel impenetrable to us? No, it opens. Resisting
centripetal, centrifugal force claims the train, and it breaks away
at a tangent past the edge or around the corner of the great black
wall which compelled its detour and that of the river before it. Now
what glories of rock piling confront the wide-distended eye! How those
sharp-edged cliffs, standing with upright heads that play a handball
with the clouds, alternate with one another, so that first the right,
then the left, then the right one beyond strike our view, each one half
obscured by its fellow in front, each showing itself level browed with
its comrades as we come even with it, each a score of hundreds of dizzy
feet in height, rising perpendicularly from the water and the track,
splintered atop into airy pinnacles, braced behind against the almost
continental mass through which the chasm has been cleft. This is the
Royal Gorge.

       *       *       *       *       *

The following is a description of the points of interest in the exact
order on the Trip Around the Circle, starting from Denver:

=Castle Rock.=--32 miles from Denver, east side of track. A bold and
remarkable promontory rising from the plain.

=Casa Blanca.=--50 miles from Denver, between Greenland station and
Palmer Lake, west side of track. An enormous white rock, 1,000 feet
long and 200 feet high, presenting the appearance of a castle.

=Palmer Lake.=--52 miles from Denver. A beautiful sheet of water on the
exact summit of the Divide, altitude 7,238 feet.

[Illustration: PIKE'S PEAK FROM THE GARDEN OF THE GODS.]

=Glen Park.=--Half mile south of Palmer Lake, west side of track.
Colorado's Chautauqua.

=Phœbe's Arch.=--One mile south of Palmer Lake, east side of track. A
natural archway through a massive, castled rock of red sandstone.

=Monument Park.=--65 miles from Denver, distant view, west side of
track, from Edgerton station. A natural park filled with fantastic and
imitative rock formations.

=Pike's Peak.=--75 miles from Denver, 5 miles from Colorado Springs.
The most famous peak of the Rockies, altitude 14,147 feet. Easy of
ascent from Manitou.

=Manitou Springs.=--Manitou branch, 80 miles from Denver, 5 miles
from Colorado Springs. The Saratoga of the West. Popular summer
resort, wonderful effervescent and medicinal springs. Surrounded by
more objects of interest than any other pleasure resort in the world,
including "Garden of the Gods," "Glen Eyrie," "Red Rock Cañon,"
"Crystal Park," "Engleman's Cañon," "William's Cañon," "Manitou Grand
Caverns," "Cave of the Winds," "Ute Pass," "Rainbow Falls," and "Bear
Creek Cañon."

=Garden of the Gods.=--Manitou branch. One and one-half miles from
Manitou. Famous the world over as a most interesting and wonderful
park, abounding in strange and majestic rock forms.

=Cheyenne Mountain.=--Two miles south of Colorado Springs. One of the
most beautiful of the Rocky Mountains, in which are the Cheyenne Cañons
and the Seven Falls. Near the summit of this mountain is the burial
place of the author and poet, "H. H."

=Spanish Peaks.=--Two twin peaks rising from the plains, without any
foothills, forming a most striking picture. Visible all the way, to the
eastward, from Pueblo until the descent of Veta Pass into the San Luis
Valley is begun. Height of peaks respectively, 13,620 and 12,720 feet.

=Sierra Blanca.=--This monarch of all the Rocky Mountains, and the
loftiest in the United States with but one exception, can be seen from
Garland station, and remains in full view until the San Luis Park is
left behind. Elevation, 14,464 feet.

=Wagon Wheel Gap.=--Del Norte branch. The hot springs of the Wagon
Wheel Gap are famous for their curative qualities. The place is
exceedingly picturesque and has become a favorite health and pleasure
resort. The best trout fishing in the West. Distance from Denver, 310
miles. Elevation, 8448 feet.

[Illustration: ALIGNMENT OF TOLTEC GORGE DISTRICT.]

=Creede.=--Del Norte branch. New mining camp of great promise.
Population 8,000. The latest and greatest mineral discovery.

=Entrance to the Gap.=--Del Norte branch. The gap proper is a cleft
through a great hill with walls suggesting the palisades of the Hudson
and of about the same height. Through this gap flows the waters of the
Rio Grande del Norte, bright and sparkling, fresh from their mountain
sources.

=San Luis Park.=--This park or valley is one hundred miles long by
sixty broad, altitude 7,000 feet, surrounded by mountains from 4,000
to 7,000 feet higher than the plain. The soil is fertile, and by
irrigation is being developed into a fine agricultural region. Distance
from Denver, 250 miles.

=Phantom Curve.=--After Sublette, 305 miles from Denver, has been
passed, the road makes a great bend around the side of a mountain; on
the left rise tall monuments of sandstone cut by the elements into the
form of weird and fantastic figures; this has been appropriately named
"Phantom Curve."

=Toltec Gorge.=--From Big Horn, distant 298 miles from Denver, to
Cumbres, there is a succession of magnificent and awe-inspiring views.
About midway between the two, at Toltec station, 309 miles from Denver,
is Toltec Gorge. The road traverses the verge of this great chasm, the
bottom of which is 1,500 feet below. The best view is on the bridge
immediately after passing through Toltec Tunnel.

=Garfield Memorial.=--Just beyond the bridge at Toltec Gorge stands a
monument of granite in memory of President Garfield. On the 26th day of
September, 1881, the National Association of General Passenger Agents,
at the time President Garfield was being buried in Cleveland, held
memorial services at the mouth of Toltec Tunnel, and since have erected
this beautiful monument in memory of the event.

=Cumbres Summit.=--Distant from Denver, 329 miles. Summit of the
Conejos range. Elevation, 10,014 feet.

=Trimble Hot Springs.=--Health and pleasure resort, 459 miles from
Denver, 9 miles from Durango and 36 miles from Silverton. The springs
are noted for their strong remedial character. Elevation, 6,644 feet.

=Animas Cañon.=--Just beyond Rockwood, 469 miles from Denver, the
Animas Cañon begins. This gorge is formed by the breaking through the
range of the Rio de las Animas Perdidas. The road is built along a
shelf cut in the solid rock-wall of the cañon, which towers 500 feet
above and drops 1,000 feet below the track. In this it differs from all
other scenes on the line.

[Illustration: ALIGNMENT OF MARSHALL PASS DISTRICT.]

=The Needles.=--After emerging from the western extremity of Animas
Cañon, the traveler can see The Needle Mountains, the most peculiar and
striking of the Rockies, thrusting their splintered pinnacles into the
regions of perpetual snow.

=Elk Park.=--Animas Cañon having been passed, the road enters Elk Park,
a beautiful little valley in the midst of the range, a spot rich in
material for the artist in search of new impressions.

=Garfield Peak.=--At the western extremity of Elk Park rises Garfield
Peak, a grand and impressive mountain towering to a height of a mile
above the track.

=Sultan Mountain.=--Silverton, the terminus of this branch of the
line, is 495 miles from Denver. It is surrounded by mountains rich in
mineral-bearing mines. One of the most picturesque of these is Sultan
Mountain, which reaches an elevation of 14,115 feet.

=Ouray.=--Picturesque mountain town. Hot springs of medicinal
properties make this a resort for health and pleasure. The mines
surrounding Ouray are among the richest in Colorado. Population, 3,000.
Distance from Denver, 388 miles. Elevation, 7,640 feet.

=Los Pinos Agency.=--The ruins of the old Los Pinos Agency can be seen
13 miles from Montrose. The old store house and council chamber are
still standing.

=Cantonment of the Uncompahgre.=--Nine miles from Montrose the road
passes the Government post, where soldiers are still stationed.

=Chippeta's Home.=--Four miles from Montrose can still be seen the late
residence of Chippeta, the widow of Ouray, the dead Ute chief, who was
always the friend of the white man.

=Uncompahgre Mountains.=--After passing Montrose, 353 miles from
Denver, a fine view of the Uncompahgre Mountains, extending to the
southwest, can be obtained. Uncompahgre Peak, the monarch of the range,
rises to an altitude of 14,235 feet.

=Cerro Summit.=--The ascent is commenced directly after leaving
Cimarron station on the westward journey. From here the Uncompahgre
Valley, its river and the distant, picturesque peaks of the San Juan
are within full sight of the traveler.

=Cimarron Cañon.=--Western entrance to Black Cañon, the road passing
up Cimarron Creek, where it debouches in the Gunnison. The Cimarron
abounds in trout and the country round about swarms with large game.

[Illustration: MANITOU.]

=Currecanti Needle.=--Situated in a spacious amphitheater, midway of
the Black Cañon, this curious monolith towers upward like a great
cathedral spire.

=Chippeta Falls.=--A beautiful waterfall near the east end of Black
Cañon, that plunges from the summit of the cañon wall, descending in a
sheet of snowy spray to the Gunnison River below.

=Black Cañon.=--Twenty-five miles west from Gunnison. Along many miles
of this grand gorge the railroad lies upon a shelf hewn from the living
rock, which rises frequently to an altitude of over two thousand feet.
The cañon is sixteen miles in length, and abounds in many striking
features.

=Gunnison River and Valley.=--Just after passing Gunnison City, 290
miles from Denver, the valley of the Gunnison is entered, and upon the
right, as one journeys westward, flows the beautiful Gunnison river.

=Mount Shavano.=--Shavano is a companion to Mount Ouray, and rises on
the opposite side of the track to an altitude of 14,238 feet.

=Mount Ouray.=--At the summit of Marshall Pass, 242 miles from Denver.
An extinct volcano whose crater can be plainly seen. Altitude 14,043
feet.

=Marshall Pass.=--Begins six miles from Poncha Junction, at Mears
Junction. The summit of the Pass has an altitude of 10,852 feet. From
this point a magnificent view can be had of the Sangre de Cristo range
extending to the southeast. The pass is a scenic and a scientific
wonder, grades of 211 feet to the mile are frequent, and the ascent and
descent are made by a series of most remarkable curves. The streams
from the summit flow eastward into the Atlantic and westward into the
Pacific.

=Poncha Pass.=--Two miles from Poncha Junction; leads up to Marshall
Pass.

=Poncha Springs.=--Five miles from Salida. Noted hot springs.
Temperature of the water varies in the different springs, 100 in
number, from 90° to 185° Fahrenheit. A great health resort. Altitude,
7,480 feet.

=Arkansas River and Valley.=--The railroad crosses the Arkansas River
at Salida, and from the bridge, and until the town of Poncha Springs
has been passed, a fine view can be had of the river and its fertile
valley.

=Collegiate Peaks.=--Harvard, Yale and Princeton peaks, plainly seen
from the vicinity of Salida to the northwest. Altitude, respectively,
14,383 feet, 14,101 feet, 14,199 feet.

[Illustration: BEAR CREEK FALLS.]

=Sangre de Cristo Range.=--On approaching Salida, near the western end
of the Grand Cañon, there is a break in the walls through which fine
pictures of the Sangre de Cristo peaks present themselves.

=The Royal Gorge.=--The climax of all the grandeur of the Grand Cañon
of the Arkansas lies midway in this wonderful chasm. The best view can
be obtained from the famous hanging bridge. Here the walls of the cañon
rise to a perpendicular height of 2,600 feet above the track.

=Grand Cañon of the Arkansas.=--165 miles from Denver, between Cañon
City and Parkdale, eight miles long. The world-famed chasm through
which the river makes its way to the plains.

       *       *       *       *       *

The following points of interest are located on the line of the Rio
Grande Southern Railroad between Durango and Ridgway:

=Cliff Dwellings.=--Those interesting ruins are located in the Mancos
Cañon and the Montezuma Valley, some twenty miles to the south of
Mancos station, and easily accessible from that point by a delightful
drive over a mountain road. A journey to this historic spot will well
repay the time and trouble it would involve. Teams with guides and
drivers can be engaged at Mancos.

=Lost Cañon.=--This small cañon is between Mancos and Dolores, and
hough not so long or high as numbers of others in the Circle tour, is
nonetheless interesting, as it possesses many novelties in the way of
mountain scenery.

=Dolores Cañon.=--While this cañon is not particularly deep, its
natural beauties are manifold, and are sure to make a lasting
impression on the beholder. This cañon is passed just before arriving
at Rico.

=Rico.=--An important mining town of some 2,000 inhabitants,
beautifully situated in the center of a huge amphitheater of high,
snow-capped mountains.

=Lizard Head Pass.=--A mountain pass similar to Marshall Pass, crossing
the Uncompahgre Range at an elevation of 10,248 feet. The serpentine
windings of the railroad up the mountain sides are full of interest.

=Lizard Head.=--A peculiar rock formation at the summit of the pass of
the same name resembling the head of a mountain lizard.

=Trout Lake.=--A beautiful little lake of clear, cold mountain water,
filled with thousands of trout. Good accommodations for the sportsman
are near at hand, and a few days can be pleasantly spent here.

[Illustration: MOUNT OURAY, EAST SLOPE OF MARSHALL PASS.]

=The Ophir Loop.=--The descent down the mountain side after leaving
Trout Lake is called as above, and is one of the most daring and
intricate pieces of railroad engineering that exists in the world.

=Telluride.=--Telluride is located on a branch from the main line some
ten miles away. It is surrounded on all sides by high mountains whose
faces are potted with innumerable mines, whose product is the chief
source of revenue to the 2,500 inhabitants of this beautiful mountain
town.

=San Miguel River.=--Leaving Vance Junction, the line follows the
course of the San Miguel River through the beautiful Shenandoah Valley.

=The Dallas Divide.=--This divide is over a spur of the Uncompahgre
Range on grades of three and tour per cent. Leaving the summit, going
eastward toward Ridgway and to the right of the train, is the main
range of the Uncompahgre with its soft shaded sides towering into
splintered pinnacles above.

=Ridgway.=--The northern terminus of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad
and the junction of that road and the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad; a
city of some 1,500 inhabitants. Here are located the round-houses and
the shops of the Rio Grande Southern, giving employment to hundreds of
machinists and laborers.

[Illustration]




          HEALTH AND PLEASURE RESORTS OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.


      =Located on the Line of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad.=

       =On or Easily Reached from the "Around the Circle" Trip.=


                           MINERAL SPRINGS.

                 Manitou Springs      Soda and iron.
                 Pueblo               Magnetic well.
                 Parnassus            Alkaline.
                 Carlile              Soda.
                 Cañon City           Soda.
                 Royal Gorge          Hot springs.
                 Wellsville           Hot springs.
                 Poncha               Hot springs.
                 Waunita              Hot springs.
                 Ouray                Hot springs.
                 Salt Lake City       Hot sulphur.
                 Buena Vista          Cottonwood hot springs.
                 Heywood              Hot springs.
                 Leadville            Soda springs.
                 Siloam Springs       Hot springs.
                 Steamboat Springs    Hot sulphur, iron and soda.
                 Glenwood Springs     Hot sulphur.
                 Wagon Wheel Gap      Hot springs.
                 Antelope Springs     Hot and cold.
                 Pagosa               Hot springs.
                 Ojo Caliente         Hot springs.
                 Trimble              Hot springs.


                           PLEASURE RESORTS.

          Perry Park       Buena Vista        Ouray
          Glen Park        Twin Lakes         Provo
          Diana Park       Glenwood Springs   Lake Park
          Manitou          La Veta            Cottonwood Lake
          Beula            Palmer Lake        Evergreen Lakes
          Salida           Monument Park      Steamboat Springs
          Lake City        Colorado Springs   Wagon Wheel Gap
          Cimarron         Cañon City         Trimble Springs
          Salt Lake City   Poncha Springs     Antelope Springs
          Trout Lake       Rico               Telluride


                MOUNTAIN PEAKS AND PASSES OF COLORADO.


                =With Their Elevation Above Sea-Level.=

                             FEET.                           FEET.
      Blanca                14,464    Grizzly               13,956
      Harvard               14,383    Pigeon                13,928
      Massive               14,368    Blane                 13,905
      Gray's                14,341    Frustum               13,883
      Rosalie               14,340    Pyramid               13,895
      Torrey                14,336    White Rock            13,847
      Elbert                14,326    Hague                 13,832
      La Plata              14,302    R. G. Pyramid         13,773
      Lincoln               14,297    Silver Heels          13,766
      Buckskin              14,296    Hunchback             13,755
      Wilson                14,280    Rowter                13,750
      Long's                14,271    Homestake             13,687
      Quandary              14,269    Ojo                   13,640
      Antero                14,245    Spanish       13,620, 12,720
      James                 14,242    Guyot                 13,566
      Shavano               14,238    Trinchara             13,546
      Uncompahgre           14,235    Kendall               13,542
      Crestones             14,233    Buffalo               13,541
      Princeton             14,199    Arapahoe              13,520
      Mount Bross           14,185    Dunn                  13,502
      Holy Cross            14,176    Bellevue              11,000
      Baldy                 14,176    Alpine Pass           13,550
      Sneffles              14,158    Argentine Pass        13,100
      Pike's                14,147    Cochetopa Pass        10,032
      Castle                14,106    Hayden Pass           10,780
      Yale                  14,101    Trout Creek Pass       9,346
      San Luis              14,100    Berthoud Pass         11,349
      Red Cloud             14,092    Marshall Pass         10,852
      Wetterhorn            14,069    Veta Pass              9,392
      Simpson               14,055    Poncha Pass            8,945
      Æolus                 14,054    Tennessee Pass        10,418
      Ouray                 14,043    Tarryall Pass         12,176
      Stewart               14,032    Breckenridge Pass      9,490
      Maroon                14,000    Cottonwood Pass       13,500
      Cameron               14,000    Fremont Pass           1,540
      Handie                13,997    Mosquito Pass         13,700
      Capitol               13,992    Ute Pass              11,200
      Horseshoe             13,988    Lizzro Head Pass      10,248
      Snowmass              13,961

Seventy-two peaks between 13,500 and 14,300 feet in height are unnamed
and not in this list.


                          ELEVATION OF LAKES.

                                             FEET.
                      Twin Lakes             9,367
                      Grand Lake             8,153
                      Green Lakes           10,000
                      Chicago Lakes         11,500
                      Evergreen Lakes       10,500
                      Seven Lakes           11,806
                      Palmer Lake            7,238
                      Cottonwood Lake        7,700
                      Trout Lake             9,800


                     ALTITUDE OF TOWNS AND CITIES.

            Revised Since First Edition From Engineers' Measurements.

                             FEET.                           FEET.
      Alamosa                7,546    La Veta                7,024
      Animas City            6,554    Leadville             10,200
      Animas Forks          11,200    Las Pinos              9,637
      Antonito               7,888    Montrose               5,793
      Aspen                  7,775    Malta                  9,580
      Buena Vista            7,970    Manitou                6,324
      Cation City            5,344    Ojo Caliente           7,324
      Castle Rock            6,220    Ouray                  7,640
      Colorado Springs       5,992    Ogden, Utah            4,286
      Crested Butte          8,875    Pogosa Springs         7,108
      Conejos                7,880    Pinos, Chama Summit    9,902
      Cottonwood Springs     7,950    Poncha Springs         7,480
      Cuchara                5,943    Palmer Lake            7,238
      Cumbres               10,015    Pueblo                 4,669
      Delta                  4,963    Red Cliff              8,671
      Del Norte              7,880    Rico                   8,735
      Denver                 5,196    Robinson              10,871
      Durango                6,520    Rosita                 8,500
      El Moro                5,879    Ruby Camp             10,500
      Ft. Garland            7,936    Saguache               7,723
      Granite                8,945    Salt Lake City         4,228
      Grand Junction         4,583    Silver Cliff           7,816
      Gunnison               7,680    Silverton              9,224
      Glenwood Springs       5,200    Salida                 7,050
      Howardsville           9,700    Telluride              8,758
      Irwin                 10,500    Trimble Springs        6,644
      Kokomo                10,631    Westcliffe             7,864
      Lake City              8,550    Wagon Wheel Gap.       8,448


                       INFORMATION FOR TOURISTS.

  Tickets will be placed on sale May 1, and continued until October
      31.

  Tickets for the journey "Around the Circle" will be sold for $28.00
      from Denver, Colorado Springs, Manitou and Pueblo.

  Tickets will be good thirty days from date of sale.

  Stop-overs will be allowed at any point or points on the trip for
      any length of time within the life of the ticket.

  Side trips can be taken to any point on the line, not covered by
      the round trip, at one-half the regular rates.

  The purchaser can have choice of route, going either via Silverton
      and Ouray or Montrose and Ouray, or via the Rio Grande Southern
      R. R.

  The journey "Around the Circle" can be comfortably made in four
      days, with rests at Durango, Silverton and Ouray. Or the entire
      thirty days can be profitably and pleasantly spent in viewing
      the wonderful scenery of the trip.


                 SEVENTY POINTS OF INTEREST "AROUND THE CIRCLE"

                                FOR ONLY

                                 $ 28 $

                                ALL SEEN
                             FROM THE TRAIN

              A THOUSAND MILES THROUGH THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS

              DENVER                     U.S. CANTONMENT
              ROYAL GORGE                OURAY
              THE GRAND CAÑON            UNCOMPAHGRE CAÑON
              Arkansas River             BEAR CREEK FALLS
              COLLEGIATE RANGE           MOUNT ABRAHAMS
              PONCHA HOT SPRINGS         Ouray & Silverton Road
              Poncha Pass                Red Mountain
              SANGRE DE CRISTO           SULTAN MTN.
              Atlantic Slope             SILVERTON
              MT. SHAVENO                ELK PARK
              MT. OURAY                  NEEDLE MTNS.
              Marshall Pass              Garfield Peak
              Pacific Slope              Animas Cañon
              Chippeta Falls             TRIMBLE HOT SPRINGS
              CURRECANTI NEEDLE          RIO LAS ANIMAS
              GUNNISON RIVER             DURANGO
              Black Cañon                Fort Lewis
              CIMARRON CAÑON             Mancos Valley
              Cerro Summit               Lost Cañon
              UNCOMPAHGRE MTNS.          DOLORES RIVER

              DALLCE DIVIDE              Sierra Blanca
              RICO                       LA VETA PASS
              TELLURIDE                  Mule Shoe Curve
              TROUT LAKE                 SPANISH PEAKS
              LIZARD HEAD                PUEBLO
              OPHIR LOOP                 CHEYENNE MT.
              INDIAN RESERVATION         PIKE'S PEAK
              CUMBRE'S RANCE             MANITOU
              LAS PIONS VALLEY           COLORADO SPGS.
              GARFIELD MEMORIAL          GARDEN OF THE GODS
              TOLTEC TUNNEL              PHŒBE'S ARCH
              TOLTEC GORGE               PALMER LAKE
              Phantom Curve              CASA BLANCA
              Rio Grande Riv.            CASTLE ROCK
              San Luis Valley

                   *       *       *       *       *



Transcriber Note


Minor typos corrected. All references to Canon were changed to Cañon.

Several paragraphs were split to accommodate the placement of
illustrations. The "Seventy Points of Interest" reproduced above only
has 69 names shown!