Of course, that is not what the Moffat people call this, and the fact of the matter is it is only one of the many sights to be seen on most any summer day within a little more than two hours' ride from Denver. The banks of snow on either side of the track are a sure and almost instantaneous relief for the torments of hay fever, and as many of the profession are afflicted thus and make long journeys to different resorts for the purpose of finding even temporary relief from this terrible affliction, we are printing this bit of information in the belief it will induce many thus afflicted to try Colorado in preference to any other place.

All along this line is one continuous surprise even for those familiar with mountain scenery in this and other lands; old residents of the state, accustomed as they are to startling revelations, which are being uncovered in the rapid development of new localities, marvel at the magnitude and magnificence of the many new show places to be found on the "Moffat Line."

"Yankee Doodle" Lake, on Moffat Line.

This road runs out of Denver, Colo., toward the west, climbing the great range of the Continental Divide, sixty miles west of the Colorado metropolis, and passing through

some of the most marvelous scenery, upon which the traveler's eye has ever rested. The line has been surveyed from Denver to Salt Lake City, over a route which is almost exactly 500 miles in length. This is 200 miles shorter than any of the other roads between Denver and Salt Lake City, for the reason that these roads must go to the north, cross the plains of Wyoming and then turn southward again to reach the Mormon capital, or wind through the mountains by a southern route and turn northward into Utah's chief city. The "Moffat Road" scorns the expedient practiced by the early railroad engineers of crossing the mountain ranges at some of the infrequent passes, which make gaps in the huge ridge of the Continental Divide. This new line begins to climb the long slopes of the mountains almost immediately upon leaving Denver and winds on and up the rugged slopes of the great divide, crossing it at an elevation of 11,660 feet, and winding down its western slope by the easy grade secured by a series of loops and curves.

The "Moffat Road" is 214 miles long, and on its route there are fifty-five tunnels, some of them being but mere reaches of rock above the tracks, while others are several

hundred feet long. The novelty of winding in and out of these tunnels and climbing by loops and curves up the side of the mountains, high above the lakes and streams, which appear like flecks of silver below, lends a charm to this trip which hitherto no other scenic line has been able to provide. On the crest of the Continental Divide, at an elevation so high that trees do not grow, the snows of winter endure until winter comes again, and the snow banks of one frigid season, partially melted in the rays of the summer sun, are covered by the pearly precipitation that heralds the coming of another winter. This region of perpetual snow is only a three hours' ride from Denver and tourists marvel at this feature of the trip, which gives them an opportunity to engage in snowballing in mid summer a few hours distant. by rail from a city of more than 200,000 people.

The first forty-seven miles of the "Moffat Road" has a grade of 2 per cent. The next fifteen miles is a 4 per cent grade, which brings the train to the crest of the Continental Divide, and from this point on the course of the track is downward on the western slope of the mountains, passing through deep canons on its way to the west.

These canons were apparently formed as outlets to an inland sea. An old ocean was receding from the heights of land ages ago. Geologists who have prospected the Rocky Mountain region for evidences which would prove the existence of these bodies of water, say that the shore line of immense lakes may be traced by the rock formations which show vegetation and bugs imbedded in the stone in practically the same form as that in which they existed before the water receded through the great canons and left the dry beds of these lakes to be known as immensely fertile valleys.

Gore Canon, in the ancient days, was the outlet for what is now Middle Park. The action of the water passing through this narrow defile in the mountains wore a great gap in the range, along the bed of which the Grand River now passes on its way to the sea. This is the only natural outlet for the immense water shed of Middle Park. During the early spring when the abundance of snow upon the mountains feeds with a thousand tributaries this peculiar river, Gore Canon roars a thunderous chorus as the muddy waters of the Grand tear through the five miles of its stoney bed.

To build a railroad through this canon a shelf had to be blasted from the rocky wall to provide a pathway for the trains. This task followed that of surveying the line, which was in itself one of peculiar danger and extreme difficulty. In order to establish the grade through the canon man and instruments had to be lowered by ropes for hundreds of feet on the face of the beetling cliffs. The walls of the canon rise sheer 3,000 feet in places and the engineers worked in constant danger, for a misstep on the precarious foothold they were able to obtain in the crevice in the rocks would dash them to death in the torrent below.

The "Moffat Road" derives its name from its builder, D. H. Moffat, the banker philanthropist of Colorado, who came to the state in the early days and amassed a fortune of many millions. A glance at the map of the State of Colorado will show that its northwestern section contains a vast area of agricultural land into which none of the transcontinental lines penetrate. It has been the ambition of Mr. Moffat to build his road through this vast undeveloped territory that this rich region might provide homes for thousands of families who, in after years would speak his name to praise him. It has cost an immense 'sum of money to construct a railway over the rocky path marked out for it in crossing the great Continental Divide, traversing the deep.

canons on this route to the new land of opportunity. Those who are familiar with railway operations say that vast as have been the sums expended, they are not nearly as vast as will be the profit gained by the daring builder, who contrary to the advice and tradition of railway construction, undertook and achieved this notable feat of building a railway across a mountain range in such a manner that it can be successfully operated as if its rails were laid on level ground.

OR MANY YEARS PAST the Denver & Rio Grande rail

FOR

road has furnished transportation facilities to seekers after the beautiful in nature, with some of the most sublime and awe-inspiring mountain scenery found any where in this wide world. So accustomed is one of associating this line with "scenery" that much which is of a more practical purpose has been overlooked.

Black Canon of the Gunnison Where Water is Diverted from the Gunnison River.

On Line of D. & R. G.