This road is not, however, built for pleasure purposes merely. It traverses

GRAY'S PEAK.

a rich mining district.

MR. GOLDUST: The streets of Central City are paved with the refuse from the gold-mines, and as the ore has been only imperfectly worked they may be said to be literally paved with gold.

KATE: Is not Leadville somewhere in this region?

MR. GOLDUST: Leadville is on the Southern Colorado Railroad, 279 miles from Denver, and the center of the Colorado silver-mining district.

It has sprung up into prominence and wealth within less than five years. Only the most recent editions of the encyclopædias contain any reference whatever to it, and yet to-day it is a stalwart young city of some twenty thousand inhabitants. It is in the heart of a rich silver-mining district, and

of course has attracted to itself not only enterprise and capital, but a vast amount

of the ruffianism and lawlessness of the nation.

Rocky Mountain Scenery-South.

73

BERTRAM: Here is a pretty view of Gray's Peak from Middle Park. The

snow-capped mountain in

the far distance is Gray's

Peak, and the stream running through the center of the picture is the Grand River. Gray's Peak is 14,251 feet above the sea level.

MRS. GOLDUST: Is not the "Garden of the Gods" somewhere in Colorado?

BERTRAM: Yes. I have not any pictures of it but it is the name given to a little park or valley near Colorado Springs. It is about five hundred acres in extent, and is shut in by mountains on the north, west, and east. The entrance to it is through a narrow defile called the Beautiful Gate, and it contains some curious rocks of red and white sandstone, of great height and of singular appearance. These, I imagine, "The Gods" which

are

BOULDER CAÑON.

suggested to some fanciful tourist this strange name. The surroundings are romantic. We are not far from the famous Manitou Springs, situated near the base of

Pike's Peak, and much frequented by invalids, especially asthmatics and consump

tives. It is about five miles from Colorado Springs. It is the correct thing to ascend Pike's Peak from this town, and from the summit of this mountain, nearly 15,000 feet above the sea, the views are among the grandest in the world. And now, if you please, we will find our way to Boulder, a small mining town. Near this place is a mountain gorge called Boulder Cañon, which we must visit. We must go in carriages, as the cañon is seventeen miles long, and the walls rise precipitously in some places to a height of 3,000 feet. A stream rushes down the cañon, crossed in many places by the wagon road. This cañon differs from many others in that, while preserving almost unrivaled features of grandeur, there is an

entire absence of gloom. The roadside is decked with flowers in the summer season, and the eye is refreshed by the infinite variety of rock and dell and ver