AND PACIFIC COAST GUIDE. Ly ae

 

loftier, and were—at the time the railroad
was built—covered with dense pine for-
ests; now, only stumps and rocks appear,
with very little undergrowth. As we enter
the Truckee Canyon, we seem to have en-
tered a cooler, pleasanter, and more invig-
orating atmosphere. The aroma of the
spruce and pine, which comes with the
mountain breeze, is pleasant when com-
pared with that of the alkali plains.

WVerdi—is the first station from Reno,
| 10.48 miles. Passing on, up, 1.23 miles
| brings us to a new side-track station called
Essex — which we pass; continuing
| along the river, with its foaming current

now on our left, first on one side, then on
the other, runs this beautiful stream until
| we lose sight of it altogether. The road
crosses and re-crosses it on fine Howe truss
bridges, running as straight as the course
of the mountains will permit. The moun-
tains tower up on either hand, in places
sloping and covered in places with timber
from base to summit, in others precipitous,
and covered with masses of black, broken
rock. *Tis a rough country, the canyon of
the Truckee, possessing many grand and
imposing features.

On the road up we pass a new station
called

Miystic—5.11 miles from Essex, and
four miles further

Bronco — another side-track. Occa-
sional strips of meadow land are seen
close to the river’s edge, but too small and
rocky to be of any use, only as grazing

| land. Now we cross the fividing line, and
| shout

 

 

as we enter California, a few miles east of
Oca—a small station 5.7 miles from
Bronco. The lumber interest is well rep-

| resented here, huge piles of ties, boards
and timber lining the roadside. The river
seems to be the means of transportation for

the saw logs, immense numbers of them
| being oe up and down the stream,

ee

 

with here and there a party of lumbermen
working them down to the mills. A great
quantity of ice is cut and housed here,
and an extensive beer brewery erected.

The Truckee River, from Reno to its
mountain source, is a very rapid stream,
and affords dam-sites and mill-sites innu-
merable; yet, itis related that some years
ago, before the completion of the Pacific
railroad, a certain Indian agent, who is
now an Ex-U. 8. Senator, charged up to
the Government an “item” of $40,000, as
being the purchase-money for a mill-site
on the Truckee, near a dam-:site.

Some hungry aspirant for official posi-
tion, who had a hankering after the “loaves
and fishes,” exposed the “item,” and a
committee was sent out from Washington
to investigate the matter. This committee,
went out by “Overland Stage,” had a good
time, traversed the country in every direc-
tion, explored the river thoroughly, from
the Desert to Lake Tahoe, and reported
that they could find numberless dam-sites
by_mill-sites, but could not find a mill by
a dam-site.

From Boca it is 1.57 miles to

Prosser Creek—Here is a long “VY”
flume for the accommodation of the lum-

| bermen, and where large quantities of ice

is cut and stored for market. Another run
of 4.1 miles and the train passes

Proctors—and 2.76 miles more and
our train comes to the end of the Truckee
division, at Truckee City.

Truckee City—This place is situ-
ated on the north bank of the Truckee
River, in the midst of what was once a |
heavily timbered region, much of which
has been cut off. The principal business
of the place is lumbering, though an ex- |
tensive freighting business is carried on
with other points in the mountains. One |
can hardly get around the town for the
piles of lumber, ties and wood, which
cover the ground in every direction. Some
fine stores and a good hotel are the only
buildings which can lay claim to size and
finish corresponding with the growth and
business of the place. The town is com-
posed of wooden buildings, mostly on the
north side of the railroad.

The very sharp roofs of the buildings
point out the fact that the snow falls deep
and moist here, sufficiently so to crush in
the roofs—unless they are very sh and
strong. The town contains about 2,000 in-
habitants, nearly all of whom are directly