ut they made room for us. A handsome buggy and pair
arrived soon after, from which descended a well-dressed gentleman
and lady, whom we found to be the superintendent of a silver-mine
at Hamilton and his wife. They told us that there was a very good
boarding-house at that place, with fine scenery all around, which we
ought to have seen. But in truth we had as much fine scenery as we
could contain: we were saturated with it, and a few mountains more
would have been wasted.

_Aug_. 25. A fine clear morning, and we started early, hoping to drive
through to Denver, forty-five miles, but in about fifteen miles one of
the horses lost a shoe, which it was thought necessary to replace,
the road being rocky; so we went slowly to the junction, where was
a blacksmith. He proved to be a mixture of tavern-keeper, farmer and
blacksmith, and it was considered a favor to be shod by a man of such
various talents. Deliberately he searched for a shoe: that found, he
looked for the hammer. Who had seen the hammer? It was remembered that
little Johnny had been playing with it. Johnny was looked for, and
finally brought, but was unable or unwilling to find the tool so
essential to our progress. "Look for it, Johnny," said the blacksmith;
and he looked, but to no purpose. After waiting an hour for reason to
dawn upon the mind of this infant, the blacksmith put on the shoe with
the help of a hatchet, and we proceeded; but so much time had been
lost night overtook us twelve miles from Denver. We tried at two
taverns, which were full of teamsters, and we were obliged to diverge
three miles down Bear's Creek Canon to the house of Strauss. The
good woman, after a mild protest, admitted us and gave us a supper
of venison, with good beds. Strauss has a fine ranch along the creek,
where he raises forty bushels of wheat to the acre, and his wife milks
thirty-six cows and makes two hundred pounds of butter at a churning.
Besides this, she cultivates a flower-garden, with many varieties of
bloom, irrigated by a ditch from the creek.

Arrived at Denver at noon of the 26th, and found the mercury at 90 deg.,
and were glad to leave the crowded hotel next morning for Chicago.

I have only described what we actually saw, which was but a small part
of the wonders and delights of Colorado. We were humble travelers,
unattached to any party of Congressmen or of railroad potentates: we
were not ushered into the Garden of the Gods, assisted up Gray's Park,
or in