whom we at once began a talk. Said he, ' Haven't you
heard my name mentioned in these parts ? ' We assured
him that we had not been long in the mountains ; he
quickly caught at this, and said, ' Ah ! I see. Looking for
claims. Now, I tell ye I have got some of the richest leads
you ever saw, and I will sell. 'em cheap.' We assured him
that we were not in search of mining properties — a fact
which seemed to little suit him. Here lives this old man
alone, protecting his various claims, and patiently waiting
for some one to come and buy his property — a possessory
right — for this is all he has to sell. All through these
mountains you see many such characters, who are eking
out their lives in dreams of wealth.
Idaho Springs, which we now reached, were known to
the early miners, and were a favourite place of resort long
after all the gold had been dug from the bed of the creek
which flows near. There is still standing the great pine,
its branches still offering refreshing shade, under which,
for many months, was the great tent, the popular saloon
of the section, and over the entrance to which was painted
in large letters, ' Saints' Rest' By all means go to
Idaho Springs, and at the Beebe House you will find
pleasant accommodation. Many Eastern people find
their way up into these mountains during the summer.
232 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC
A few miles from this point the enterprising community
of Georgetown finds a home, sheltered on all sides by
high mountain peaks. Here are extensive smelting-
works. And a pleasant and profitable excursion is made
to the town, over a mountain-road.
Our ride back lay along the creek for many miles,
the bed and banks of which have been dug over
and over for the gold. After leaving the creek we
struck into the mountain-meadows, and through rich
farms and pastures. Fresh and green were the fields,
luxuriant the trees, pure and crystal-like the streams.
As we enter Golden from this side, we pass by the
great coal-deposits, from some of which they are now
digging fuel ; also great beds of fire-clay, from which
bricks are made, and sent as far away as Utah ; and high
ledges of a peculiar limestone, which makes a good
building-material. Truly Nature has favoured this spot.
It seems that here must be erected the great reduction-
works which shall receive the ore from the hills above,
and separate the pure gold from foreign substances.
We were much pleased with a visit to the pioneer paper-
mill of the Territory, where various kinds of wrapping-
paper are produced, and where have been made exten-
sive experiments with the soap-weed ( Yucca angustifolia),
which covers the hill-sides. This plant resembles the
threaded yucca ( Yucca filamentosa) of our gardens. So
far, the manufacture has not proved a success ; although
we brought away with us a specimen of fair paper, which
was made wholly from this weed.
MINERS' SPEECH 233
It was arranged that a large party should go up Clear
Creek Canon to examine the grading which had been
already done for the road-bed. The canon is narrow,
and the river is a raging torrent, pouring over a steep
and rocky bed. The walls are high, and the rocks often
fantastic in appearance. The formation is volcanic, the
strata being thrown into confusion. The trees are tall
and thrifty, the June flowers magnificent. The road
seems taken from the river-bed by walling its waters into
a narrower channel. In some places a great amount of
heavy blasting has been done ; and to get around the
mountains, and up the tortuous canon, the road is, of
course, very crooked. The work so far has been a
success ; the road-bed has stood the spring freshet, and
the iron will be laid at once. Before we left Golden, the
iron began to arrive ; and, since our return East, the
track has been pushed forward, until now you can take
the cars at Golden, and be landed at Central City. By
another season Idaho Springs and Georgetown will be
accessible by rail.
During one of our walks about Golden, passing a little
church, we inquired the denomination. The answer was,
' Hydraulic Presbyterian.' It was some time before we
could make out that it was a Baptist chapel. There
are other peculiar expressions current here. You often
hear a man say, ' I'll put a caribou head on you,' which is
equivalent to saying that you will give a man a beating.
' Plumb ' is a word which is always used to intensify, as
234 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC
' plumb sure,' ' plumb good,' &c. If a man fails in busi-
ness, ' he has gone up the flume,' or ' he has petered out.'
When they catch a thief, they 'corral' him. When a
person dies, ' he passes in his checks.' I was shown the
tree to which, in earlier days, they used to hang the
offenders ; and my friend said : ' You see that tree yonder?
well, I have seen many a rascal pass in his checks there.'
If while a man is absent from his land or his mine,
another comes in and takes possession, he 'jumps the
claim,' as they say. ' You bet,' is on everyone's tongue ;
and it seems to take the place, to some extent, of the too
common oaths. I might go on, but these specimens may
suffice, of the peculiar speech of the people living in these
mining-camps.
There is a narrow-gauge road called ' The Denver and
Rio Grande Railway,' which runs south, and is now com-
pleted as far as Pueblo on the Arkansas River.
It opens up a magnificent region of the Rocky Moun-
tains. Fertile plains and productive valleys are opened
by this road, which, before many years, will reach Santa
Fe in New Mexico, and thence on to the city of Mexico.
The project of its construction was first started in the
autumn of 1870, and in November of the same year a
company was formed. The parties interested went to
their work with much vigour. The President of the
Company, General W. J. Palmer, had by frequent and
extensive surveys of the mountains become thoroughly
acquainted with the routes, and comprehended the diffi-
RAILROADS FROM DENVER 235
culties which must be met and surmounted in the con-
struction of a road upon the proposed route. He was
led to examine the system of narrow-gauge roads, and, in
company with others visited England, and made exami-
nation into the working of such roads, as well as the cost
of their construction and equipment. Becoming fully
convinced of the advantages of this narrow-gauge system
for mountain regions, they decided on a three-foot gauge.
The next autumn witnessed the completion of 76 miles,
and now more than 100 miles are finished, and the work
is going on. The wisdom of the decision has been amply
proved in the diminished cost of the work and economy
in running. It is found that just as the disadvantages
for the construction of a broad-gauge road increase, in
a like proportion do the advantages of this system become
manifest. This line of road crosses a summit or ' divide,'
which is exceeded in elevation only by Sherman on the
Union Pacific Railroad.
An excursion from Denver over this road, making
stops along at the points of interest, especially Colorado
Springs, will amply repay the time required. This road
goes by the title of ' Baby Railroad ' in Denver and along
the line. From Denver there is also a line east (the
Kansas Pacific) to Kansas City, and thence across Mis-
souri to St. Louis. This route is a favourite with tourists
from St. Louis and the south-east. It passes through a
country famed as the home of the buffalo ; and in the
spring and early summer large herds are seen from the cars
— a sight which compensates for a journey of many miles.
236 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC
From what I have thus stated, it will be seen that
Denver is an important railroad centre, and before many-
years, Golden also will be a city from which will diverge
many important lines.
The climate of Colorado is proverbial for its mildness
and remarkable healthfulness. There is no steady and
intense cold. Almost every day in winter, in the
middle of the day, the most delicate can be out of doors.
On many days you may sit by an open window, and look
upon the mountains to the West covered in snow far
down their sides.
Parks. — A peculiar feature in the topography of
Colorado is its great mountain-locked parks. They are
wide basins, or depressions, with surface and soil more
or less similar to that of the plains, but entirely sur-
rounded by lofty mountains. Their elevation is from
7,000 to 8,000 feet above the sea. They are well watered
and abundantly timbered, have a delightful climate
throughout most of the year, and are exceptionally
healthful. All abound in mineral springs and minerals
in great variety. Owing to their great altitude, they are
adapted to the culture of the hardier agricultural products
only.
Beginning in the south, the first is San Luis Park,
drained by the Rio Grande del Norte, which flows south,
and then south-east, into the Gulf of Mexico. The San
Luis is the lowest and the largest of the parks. It has
THE PARKS OF COLORADO 237
been settled for many years by Mexicans, and has a
population of 8,000 or 10,000 people.
South Park (Valla Salada of the Spaniards) comes next.
It gives rise to the South or main Platte, which flows into
the Missouri. The park is crescent-shaped, with the
outer curve to the west. It is 20 to 40 miles wide,
and 60 or 70 miles long — a vast meadow, which
supports thousands upon thousands of cattle. Its rim
abounds in gold and silver mines, and rich gold placers
are worked in many parts of it.
Middle Park is the next, equally divided by the
fortieth degree of latitude. It is drained to the west by
Grand River, and thence, by the Great Colorado, to the
Gulf of California. The exit of the Grand is by a canon
of sublime depth and awful grandeur. The outline of the
park is irregular, but nearly circular; and it is about 50
miles in diameter. Projecting spurs of the lofty moun-
tains enclosing it shoot far out toward its centre. It
is yet unsettled, and the most delightful summer resort
imaginable for those who want to go beyond the restraints
of civilisation.
North Park is near the north boundary of the Terri-
tory, and gives rise to the North Platte, which flows first
towards the north, and then east to the Missouri. It is
a little circular basin, 20 or 30 miles in diameter, the
most timbered and loftiest of them. It has no settle-
ments, and but few visitors ; but its natural attractions
are not excelled.
The parks are separated from one another by narrow
238 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC
but lofty ranges of mountains. The entire chain can be
easily traversed from north to south, or from south to
north, and presents the most varied, romantic, and
beautiful scenery.
Society in Colorado. — It was an agreeable surprise to
find a highly cultivated society in these remote communi-
ties. The mining-towns have a mixed population — a set
of hardy fellows, whose mission seems to be to level the
great mountains. They all hold ' claims,' or ' leads,' and
to hear them talk, you would think them rich beyond the
dreams of Croesus. Indeed, in these communities, I
would like to see a resident who did not own a ' claim.'
He would indeed be a man uncontaminated with gold.
In the larger communities — like Denver, Golden, and a
few others — there is an air of New-England cultivation
and thrift, rarely found in Western cities. In Denver
there is a class of retired miners who have become rich,
and sought the capital to enjoy their well-earned repose.
They are apt to be somewhat rough in their ways,
clumsily striving, however, to adapt themselves to the
customs of the civilised life to which they were so long
disused. The reply said to have been made by one of
them to a Presbyterian minister, who applied for patron-
age for a private school which he had opened, was : ' I
don't know much about religion anyhow ; but I tell you
I'm orthodox to the backbone, and my children must go
to an orthodox school. I can't buy your claim to-day.
Good morning, sir ! ;
QUARTZ MINING 239
Quartz Mining in California and Colorado. — In
Colorado quartz mining has almost entirely superseded
placer and hydraulic mining. In California however, hy-
draulic-mining is still carried on upon a gigantic scale in
some sections, where vast sums of money have been ex-
pended in bringing a supply of water to the claim. Placer-
mining was the earliest mode in which the loose gold was
removed from the surface-soil by means of the inexpensive
rocker, pan, &c. Hydraulic-mining is placer-mining on
a gigantic scale ; and, while the first mode is but little
practised now, the latter is carried on, in many localities,
at a profit. On the road to the Yo-Semite, you will find
Chinamen at work with those early inplements, rocker,
pan, &c. ; and from the Central Pacific Railroad, at Gold
Run, you can see an example of hydraulic-mining in the
valley below the road. Quartz-mining is now, however,
the general mode of obtaining gold. Many veins or
leads where former owners have lost vast sums of money
are now, under new and more economical management,
paying largely. All through the mountains of California,
and in Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Montana, &c, are great
stamp-mills pounding out the gold from the rock. The
rock, in these States— pure quartz, through which is
mingled gold and silver — is blasted out, and is run
through a crusher, which reduces it to small pieces.
Then it goes to the ' stamps.' For these water must be
had in abundance, and is generally brought in a flume
into the mill, where it empties into the ore-trough, and is
conducted out through a race. There is a heavy frame-
240 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC
work of timber, and long, upright sticks, to the end of
which a heavy iron face is attached ; which sticks are
made to work up and down in guides. A shaft — upon
which are cam-pulleys, or, generally, merely a bar inserted
through the shaft — is made to revolve by means of steam
or water power, and, by the cam-motion, raises the
stamps ; and, letting go, the stamp falls with force to the
bottom of the box. The box extends the whole width of
the framework, and into it is shovelled the crushed ore :
and the stamps pound away upon the stone and dirt in
the water, which is made thick and muddy. On the side
of the box towards the race are holes along the whole
length, out of which the muddy water flows into a gutter,
which carries it to a spout in the middle, from which it
runs into the race. There are large copper plates which
cover the bottom of the race. Upon them is spread a
thin coating of quicksilver, which takes up the gold as
the water flows over it. There are several of these plates,
which are placed one after the other down the race; and
at the end of the last is a blanket, made of wool, and
through which the water flows. When it is thought that the
quicksilver has absorbed all the gold that it will take, the
plate is removed, and the amalgam is scraped off, and a
fresh coating of quicksilver is put on. Occasionally the
blanket is rinsed out in a tub of water, which is poured
back again into the box. The gold is taken from the
amalgam by subliming the quicksilver, as before de-
scribed.
There are some stamps where the quicksilver is
QUARTZ MINING 241
placed in the box in liquid form, and the whole mass of
ore, water, and quicksilver, is agitated until an amalgam
is formed. By this process water is saved — a deside-
ratum in some localities.
I saw a stamp-mill just like the one above described
at Black Hawk, in operation upon ore composed of
quartz and gold and silver. But a majority of the Colo-
rado ores cannot be worked in this manner at all ; for if
the sulphides of iron or copper are present, then a very
different process must be resorted to. Here lay the
cause of failure of so many mining enterprises in Colo-
rado. In California, they say that professors and students
have always failed as miners, and that only practical
miners have been successful. But here it was a profes-
sor, trained in a college laboratory, who found out by
patient toil and study just what was required, and
brought success out of a seeming ruin. At the Boston
and Colorado Smelting Works, at the head of which is
Professor Hill, you can see the ores of Colorado success-
fully reduced. The ores from the mines are purchased by
samples, which are nicely assayed, and the value per ton
thus determined. The ores are then placed in large
heaps, in form of a pyramid, over a loose pile of fire-
wood. A match is applied ; and, as the mass becomes
heated, the sulphur is set free and burns out. This
process is called roasting ; and the sulphur supplies fuel
for some three months in piles of the usual size. In
making up a pile, the coarse is packed first, and over the
outside the fine ore is covered. When the ore is freed
R
242 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC
from the sulphur, it is crushed, and is smelted in a
furnace in a similar manner to iron ore. The product is
a matte, which is composed of iron, copper, gold, and
silver. In this form it is transported to Swansea, Wales,
where the final reduction takes place.
Large works are being built at Georgetown, and others
projected at Golden, to deal with these ores ; and if they
succeed, the mining-interests of Colorado will brighten,
and those Eastern people, who now have only a stock-
certificate to show, may not, after all, have made so poor
an investment when they invested in a gold-mine.
Here ends the story of my journeyings. I trust my
writing has not been amiss ; for I have had before me
continually one aim — to give only correct information
that would aid my readers in planning a trip from the
Atlantic to the Pacific, that they might know what to
see, and how to see it.
APPENDIX.
THE ROUTES TO THE YO-SEMITE.
I. — VIA MARIPOSA.
From San Fransisco, by rail, over the Central Pacific Rail-
road, to Merced City.
Thence by stage or carriage to Mariposa, forty-two miles,
to White and Hatch's, eleven miles, to Clark's fourteen
miles.
Thence on horseback, to Alder Creek, six miles and a
half; to Empire Camp, three miles; to Inspiration
Point, five miles, or to GlacierPoint, seven miles ; from
Inspiration Point to the Hotels, seven miles and a half
to eight miles, or from Glacier Point, six miles and a
half to seven miles and a half.
Note. — A carriage road having this Spring been completed into
the Valley, this part of the journey by a longer route can be made
on wheels.
II. — VIA BIG OAK FLAT.
By rail to Stockton, and on to Copperopolis,. thence by
stage or carriage, via Chinese Camp and Big Oak Flat,
to Gentry's ; thence by horseback down a steep trail to
the Valley, seven miles and a half.
III. — VIA COULTERVILLE.
By rail to Merced City; thence by carriage, via Snel-
ling's to Coulterville; thence vid Crane Flat to Gen-
try's, and by horseback into the Valley, seven miles and a
half.
R 2
244 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC
Notes. — From Clark's, the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees is
reached on horseback by a journey, in going and returning, of four-
teen miles.
The whole distance from San Francisco is not far from 250
miles.
Deal only with principals, or their authorised agents. Do not
let the drivers carry you out of the way to serve hotel-keepers. A
private carriage is generally more agreeable than the mail-stages.
Go into the Valley by way of Mariposa, and out by one of the other
routes.
TABLE OF THE ELEVATION OF PEAKS AND
PASSES IN SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS.
Feet
Mono Pass ......... 10,765
Sonora Pass . . . . . . . . .10,115
Silver Mountain Pass ....... 8,793
Carson Pass ......... 8,759
Johnson Pass ........ 7,339
Georgetown Pass . . . . . . . .7,119
Donner Pass ........ 7,056
Henness 6,996
Yuba Gap ......... 6,642
Mount Whitney ........ 15,000
Red State Peak ........ 13,400
Mount Pass ......... 13,227
Castle Peak ........ 12,500
Silver Mountain ........ 10,934
Wood's Peak ........ 10,552
Pyramid Peak ........ 10,120
Downieville Buttes ....... 8,400
Onjumi 8,378
Note. — These elevations are taken from the Reports of the
Geological Survey of the State of California.
The Central Pacific Railroad crosses the Sierras by Donner Pass,
and the road-bed at the summit is 7,042 feet. ; so that the original
level of the pass was lowered only 14 feel, and the actual cutting-
away was probably even less than that.
APPENDIX
245
MOUNTAINS AROUND THE YO-SEMITE.
Height,
Popular Name Indian Name Signification feet
â– n, ,^ -r t 1 1 f The Cry of the
El Capitan • . Tu-tock-a-mu-la, • „
I Crane . . 3,300
_, , , , „ , f Poo-see-nah ~i A large Acorn
Cathedral Rocks < _, , , _ . & , ,
L Chuck-ka . J Cache . . 2,660
â„¢ ,, , â„¢ f Mountains playing
Three Brothers . Pom-pom-pa-sus, < o
I Leap-Frog . 3,830
Sentinel Rock . Lo-ya . . A Signal Station 3>°43
r, 1 a 1 t- / An Indian Baby-
Royal Arches . To-coy-oe . < _ . „
3 3 I Basket . . 1,800
Washington ~1 Hunto ; The Watching Eye 1,875
Column . J
„ , _ _ . . f The Goddess of the
bouth Dome . Te-sai-yak . <
L \ alley . . 4,737
Rocks near YoO Um . mo . The Lost Arrow 3,000
Semite Fall J
Glacier Point, Pa-til-li-ma 3. 2 °°
Mount Watkins 3,9°o
Cloud's Rest 6,034
Cap of Liberty, 4,°oo
Mount Starr King 5, 6o °
Note.— The Valley level is 4,000 feet above the ocean, which
add to elevations given of the mountains to find their altitude.
THE WATERFALLS.
The Bridal Veil
Yo-Semite
Vernal
Nevada .
South Fork Fall
Po-ho-no
Yo-ham-e-ta
Pi-wy-ack .
Yo-wy-ye
Il-lil-ou-ette
Spirit of Night- Wind 630
Great Grizzly Bear . 2,634
Sparkling Water . 350
Twisting Water . 7°°
The Beautiful . . 600
Note. — For comparison— Niagara Falls are 164 feet on the
American side and 150 on the Canadian side. Mount Washington,
6, 224 feet. A mile, 5, 280 feet.
246 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIP1C
THE YO-SEMITE DECLARED A NATIONAL
PARK.
In 1864 Congress enacted, that the 'cleft, or gorge,' in the
Granite Peak of the Sierras — estimated in length fifteen
miles, with its various spurs and canons, and one mile back
from the edge of the precipice on all sides — be granted to
the State of California ; ' that the said State shall accept
this grant upon express conditions that the premises shall be
held for public use, resort, and recreation ; shall be inalienable
for all time ; but leases not exceeding ten years may be
granted for portions of said premises.' Under this act, and
that of California confirming and accepting the trust,
commissioners were appointed, who took possession of the
valley.
Mr. J. M. Hutchings has resisted their right to take
possession, and resorted to the law courts, as well as to
legislature and Congress. Upon a final hearing of this
cause before the Supreme Court of the United States, and
after full consideration, the Court has made its decision,
confirming the grant to California, and declaring the title of
Hutchings void. They lay down the following law, which,
applied to the facts relative to all the settlements now made
there, settles the matter beyond all question, and thus makes
this Valley a national park.
SUPREME COURT, U.S.
No. 435. December Term, 1872.
J. M. Hutchings, Plaintiff in Error \ In Error to the Supreme
v. > Court of the State of
F. F. Low and others, Commissioners, &c. J California.
1. A party, by settlement upon lands of the United States with a
declared intention to obtain a title to the same under the pre-emp-
tion laws, does not thereby acquire such a vested interest in the
APPENDIX 247
premises as to deprive Congress of the power to divest it, by a grant,
to another party.
2. The power of regulation and disposition over the lands of the
United States, conferred upon Congress by the Constitution, only
ceases, under the pre-emption laws, when all the preliminary acts
prescribed by those laws for the acquisition of the title, including
the payment of the price of the land, have been performed by the
settler. When these prerequisites have been complied with, the
settler, for the first time, acquires a vested interest in the premises
occupied by him, of which he cannot be subsequently deprived.
He then is entitled to a certificate of entry from the local land-
officers, and ultimately to a patent for the land from the United
States. Until such payment and entry, the pre-emption laws give
to the settler only a privilege of pre-emption in case the lands are
offered for sale in the usual manner ; that is, the privilege to purchase
them, in that event, in preference to others.