112 



GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. 



near the railroad, where the trees have been cut for use in building 

 the railroad and in working the mines. It is now a part of the Holy 

 Cross National Forest, which is described by Smith Eiley in the foot- 

 note.^* 



Like most mountain valleys that stand at a high altitude the valley 

 of Piney Creek is broad and has gentle slopes. The old roadbed 

 of the narrow-gage line, which crossed the summit of the pass, may 

 be seen on the left of the present road, several hundred feet above it. 

 The old line made a great detour to the west into the main valley, 

 and its bed joins that of the present line at the station of MitcheU. 

 Few rocks can be seen in place, but the tunnel at the pass was driven 

 in granite, which is exposed also from place to place in cuts on the 

 railroad. Just below Mitchell the stream has cut a 

 rugged trench in the granite on the east side of its 

 valley, upon which it had been crowded by a great 

 mass of boulders and clay pushed out by a glacier 

 that came down from the west. This glacier came 

 at least as far as the creek, and at times the ice probably turned north- 

 ward and followed the creek for several hundred yards. The condi- 

 tions here resembled those that prevailed in Wildhorse Canyon, 

 already described. 



Below this point the stream has cut a deep gorge in its rocky floor, 

 and its descent is so rapid that the railroad can not follow it, but 

 climbs down more gradually along the west wall of the canyon. The 



Mitchell. 



Elevation 9,925 feet. 

 Population 55.* 

 Denver 284 miles. 



"After passing through the tunnel 

 at Tennessee Pass the traveler enters 

 the Holy Cross National Forest. This 

 forest, which covers 577,634 acres and 

 includes part of the drainage basin of 

 Eagle River, takes its name from the 

 famous Mount of the Holy Cross, 

 which lies within sight of the railroad 

 but some distance to the west. 



"West of Minturn the boundary of 

 the forest follows the lower line of 

 timber growth back some distance 

 from Eagle River valley. The min- 

 ing camps of Redcliff and Gilman are 

 furnished with timber from the dead 

 trees on the large tracts that were 

 swept by fires before the national for- 

 est was created. Some dimension lum- 

 ber is cut from the green Englemann 

 spruce in the vicinity of Redcliff, but 

 most of it is shipped to the mines at 

 Leadville and in the surrounding 

 country, and some is shipped westward 



and made into crates for the fruit that 

 is raised in the vicinity of Grand 

 Junction. 



The trout fishing in the waters of 

 the Holy Cross Forest is excellent, and 

 the Bureau of Fisheries and the Forest 

 Service keep the streams and lakes 

 well stocked by yearly " plants " of 

 young fish. (See PI. LI, B.) Game 

 animals and birds of all kinds are con- 

 sidered a big asset to the national 

 forest, and efforts are made to protect 

 and develop them, but predatory ani- 

 mals are eagerly hunted and destroyed. 

 During the winter, when the weather 

 is severe and food is scarce, the wild 

 animals are closely watched by the 

 forest officers, and if found suffering 

 for want of food the State game au- 

 thorities are informed and steps are 

 taken to feed them. Wild deer and 

 mountain sheep (see PI. LVII, A, 

 p. 132) feed each winter in Glenwood 



