DENVER & RIO GRANDE WESTERN ROUTE. 35 
ONE-DAY TRIPS FROM COLORADO SPRINGS. 
As most travelers on the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad 
stop here to sample the mineral waters of Manitou and to explore the 
peaks and canyons of the near-by mountains, the more interesting 
side trips that may be made in a single day will be described. 
MANITOU AND THE GARDEN OF THE GODS. 
The place that is first visited by most travelers stopping at Colo- 
rado Springs is Manitou, 6 miles to the west, at the foot of Pikes 
Peak. In order to reach Manitou from Colorado Springs the 
traveler must pass through the historic town of Colorado City, which 
sprang into existence as a result of the rush of gold seekers to the 
Pikes Peak region in 1859. A cluster of log cabins was built at 
the base of the peak, but no gold was found. In 1862 Colorado City 
again came into prominence, when the second legislative assembly 
of the Territory convened there, but after a four-day session it 
adjourned to Denver, the real capital of the State. It‘is said that 
the building in which the meeting was held is still standing but in 
a much dilapidated condition. In 1910 Colorado City had a popula- 
tion of 4,333; since then it has been. consolidated with Colorado 
Springs. In the palmy days of the Cripple Creek camp it had 
four cyanide plants* in operation treating the ores, but with the 
decline of that camp the mills have been allowed to fall into decay. 
At the present time only one of them is in operation. : 
The town of Manitou has a permanent population (1920) of 1,357, 
but during the summer it has many times that number. It was 
originally called Villa La Font, but this name was later changed to 
Manitou, which is the Indian name for the Great Spirit. It is said 
that the Indians were familiar with the springs before the advent 
of the white man, and that they believed that the bubbling was 
caused by the breath of the Great Spirit. In Manitou there are 
16 springs whose waters differ widely in the composition and quan- 
tity of the mineral matter they contain. Some of the waters are 
strongly impregnated with soda, others with iron and ee) 
and some contain, it is said, lithia, lime, sulphur, potash, and other 
“The cyanide process of treating | of potassium. After standing for 
gold ores was discovered in 1890 and | several days the solution containing 
is now used all over the world. It | the gold is passed over zinc Oh ie 
is best adapted to free-milling ores, | which precipitate the gold with other 
especially after the bulk of the gold | metals as a black slime. Similar re- 
has been removed by amalgamation. 
The ore is first broken and ground as 
fine as flour. It is then carried to 
great vats, where the gold is dis- 
Solved by a weak solution of cyanide 
except that the gold is obtained in a 
purer form on lead plates. The slime 
or lead plates are then treated to sep- 
arate the gold from the baser metals. 
