One Of My Fellow
Travellers Was Mr. H.C. Jacobs, Of Chicago, Whose Father-In-Law Was One
Of The Pioneers, And Who Gave Me Much Information.
The next day
(December 4th), we traverse the great rolling prairies of Nebraska, and
see many herds of horses and cattle, and here and there ranch homes and
cowboys.
Having run through Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska, we commence the State
of Wyoming as we pull up at the City of Cheyenne, where, in the far
distance, we see, with its peaks well clothed in snow, the grand range
of the Rocky Mountains. Soon after leaving Cheyenne, we commence the
ascent of the Rockies - not, of course, the actual summit range itself,
but the foot hills and high lands stretching away from, and forming part
of it - and as we climb the ascent terminating at Sherman, where we have
gained an elevation of 8,247 feet, we pass through very wild, grand
scenery. At this altitude we look down upon floating clouds, and see in
the distance Long's Peak, 14,000 feet high, towering above them. All
along, at intervals, are portable fences, placed to catch the snow as it
drifts, to prevent it blocking the line; and also what are called snow
sheds, which are rough timber tunnels built up to protect the rails from
the great drifts arising out of heavy snowstorms. At the highest point
is a pyramid, commemorating a certain Mr. Oakes Ames, which looked 20
feet high and very near the line; it is however, 75 feet high and
half-a-mile off.
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