les an hour, the little
train, with the locomotive pushing instead of pulling it, can be stopped
instantly. When the speed reaches eight or nine miles an hour, stoppage
can be effected in less than one revolution of a wheel.

Not only is the ride up Pike's Peak a wonderful sensation and a constant
reminder of the triumphs of engineering, but it is also a source of
continual delight to the lover of the beautiful and awful in nature.
About half way up the mountain is a most delightful little hillside
retreat, aptly named "The Half-Way House." It is a very comfortable
establishment within rustic walls. The pines and firs which surround it
add a great charm to the outlook, and the cool mountain breeze is
charged with very pleasing odors. Tourists frequently spend a night here
and consider the sensation one of the most unique of a long trip.

A tourist describing a ride up Pike's Peak by this singular railroad,
says:

"We are now far above timber line. On all sides can be seen strange
flowers, of lovely forms and varied hues. Plants which attain
considerable proportions on the plains are here reduced to their lowest
forms. It is not an unusual thing to find a sunflower stalk in the
prairies rising from a height of eight to ten feet; here they grow like
dandelions in the grass, yet retaining all their characteristics of form
and color. Beyond this mountain meadow are great fields of disintegrated
granite, broken cubes of pink rock, so vast in extent that they might
well be the ruins of all the ancient cities in the world. Far below
flash the waters of Lake Morain, and beyond, to the southward, lie the
Seven Lakes. Another turn of the track to the northward, and the shining
rails stretch almost straight up what appears to be an inaccessible wall
of almost peerless granite. But no physical obstruction is formidable
enough to stop the progress of this marvelous railway; and passing the
yawning abyss of the 'Crater,' the line proceeds direct to the summit.
The grade here is one of 25 per cent., and timid passengers will not
escape a thrill of fear as they gaze over the brink of this precipice,
although the danger is absolutely nothing. At last the summit is
reached, and, disembarking, the tourists can seek refreshments in the
hotel, which will cater to their wants, and then spend the time before
the train returns in enjoying the view, and in rambling over the seventy
acres of broken granite which form the summit.

"The view f