70 



RECREATION. 



A COLORADO PARADISE. 



L. D. GILMORE. 



In October last, I first visited Sweet 

 Water lake, Garfield county, in the Western 

 part of Colorado, near one of the finest 

 game and fish preserves in the State. 



Sweet Water lake lies about 15 miles 

 due North of Dotsero, and is easily reached 

 by a good wagon road. When half the 

 distance to the lake has been covered, the 

 altitude is nearly 2,000 feet above that of 

 the village, and perhaps 8,000 feet above 

 sea level. Directly ahead are the Flat Tops, 

 whose summits, 9,000 to 10,000 feet above 

 the st2i L are crowned with a dense growth 

 of spruce timber, in which the snow lingers 

 till midsummer. At their base, lies , the 

 lake. At our backs mountains are piled 

 on mountains, stretching away for miles, 

 until the glistening, snow-capped peaks 

 seem to pierce the sky, and vision is shut 

 off. Far below, on the right, the Grand 

 river winds, and in the distance are the 

 rugged outlines of the Holy Cross. To the 

 left, Deep creek, a typical mountain stream, 

 abounding in trout, rushes along, bathing 

 the feet of the Needles, 2 lofty spires on op- 

 posite sides of the stream. Above the bed 

 of the creek rises the turret of an imagin- 

 ary castle which guards the entrance to 

 the canyon, a wonderful example of nature's 

 handiwork, 3,000 feet in depth. 



At the upper end of Sweet Water lake 

 is the home of Mr. John Root. From all' 

 appearances the lake is of volcanic origin.. 

 It is a crescent, with the concave side', 

 toward the North and the upper end to 

 the West, is about a mile in extreme length 

 and a quarter to a half mile in width. Near 

 the upper end the waters are confined be- 

 tween perpendicular walls of solid lime- 

 stone, those on the North . side being 5 to 

 20 feet in height, while those .on the op- 

 posite side rise to the dignity of clifrs 500 

 feet above the surface of the lake. The 

 waters are clear as crystal, enabling one 

 to see the bottom distinctly at a depth of 

 12 to 15 feet, though viewed as a whole 

 the lake is of a beautiful greenish blue 

 color. By moonlight, the scene is one to 

 thrill the most prosaic. The lake teems 

 with salmon trout, and Sweet Water creek, 

 either above or below the lake, offers the 

 more exciting sport of stream fishing. 



Among points of interest about the lake 

 the Sweet Water canyon, Lake creek and 

 its beautiful cascades, and the cave with 

 its Indian paintings, are worthy of men- 

 tion. 



Grouse arc plentiful about the lake, and 

 good shooting may be had in the neigh- 

 boring hills. Added to Garfield, the neigh- 

 boring counties of Rio Blanco and Routt 

 give a region in which exists every species 

 of game to be found in the State. Two 

 miles West of Dotsero begins the remark- 

 able canyon of the Grand river, rivalling 

 in beauty the famous Royal Gorge, and 

 extending nearly to Glenwood Springs, 17 

 miles distant. 



Within a radius of 20 miles from Sweet 



Water lake as a center, and easy of access 

 from, it are numerous other lakes varying 

 in size and beauty. Among these are, Derby 

 lake, about 10 miles from Sweet Water 

 and at an elevation of nearly 9.000 feet; 

 Deep lake, 11 miles distant and between 

 9,gco and io.cco feet above sea level. In 

 the vicinity of this lake are bear, elk, deer, 

 and grouse. Upper and lower Marvine 

 lakes are 18 miles distant and perhaps 8.000 

 feet in altitude. Trapper's lake, which is 

 much larger than Sweet Water, and one of 

 the finest lakes in this part of the State, 

 is also 18 miles distant ; elevation about 

 9 coo feet. The fish in Trapper's are large 

 as a rule, but are thin and not delicately 

 flavored. The smaller ones are preferable 

 for the Table. Hunting in this vicinity is 

 good. Near Trapper's" is a small body of 

 water called Big Fish lake, on account of 

 the size of the fish taken from it. 



About 25 miles from Sweet Water, in 

 Lost park, an excellent hunting ground, 

 is Lost lake, at an elevation of 9,000 or 

 10,000 feet. 



HOW THE COLONEL KILLED THE 

 EAGLE. 



GEO. E. BLACKFORD. 



'Twas Colonel Arthur Smithby- Jones, 

 For quails once hunting went, 



His Syracuse upon his arm, 



By Recreation sent. 

 His pockets full of Robin Hood, 

 Llis dog. keen on the scent. 



And as he ranged the meadows o'er, 



He saw a monstrous bird, 

 Above in graceful circles soar; 

 "An eagle ! on my word." 



No shot had he but No. 8, 



Which was of no avail ; 

 So with his bold and fearless eye, 



He made the eagle quail. 



And then, as that was what he had come 

 out for, Colonel Arthur Smithby-Jones pro- 

 ceeded to shoot the quail. 



Two Irishmen had been captured by vigil- 

 antes in the West and were about to be 

 hanged for horse stealing. 



The lynchers took them to a bridge over 

 a river; the rope was tied around the first 

 man's neck and he was dropped overboard. 

 When he struck the water the noose loos- 

 ened and he swam away. 



As the second man was led forward and 

 asked if he had any last request to make, 

 he said : 



"For the love av heaven, tie that rope 

 light. 1 can't swim, and I don't want to be 

 drowuded." 



"There are some songs that will never 

 die." said the musical enthusiast. 



"I guess that's right." answered Mr. Cum- 

 rox. "My daughter sits down at the piano 

 and tries to kill a few of 'em every morn- 

 ing. But it's no use."— Washington Star. 



