To the Pike’s Peak Country in 1859 – Part 2
By Maggie Magoffin
My expectations as to the outward appearance of these two towns (Denver City and Auraria), which as it is undoubtedly well known to your readers, are situated immediately opposite each other, on both banks and right at the mouth of Cherry Creek and the South Platte, not being very high flung, I felt no disappointment when the clusters of log cabins, intermixed at intervals with frame structures and Indian lodges, rose upon my vision. Were it not for the beauty of the location and the surrounding country, these two much talked of towns would, indeed, be sorry places. Each of them numbers from 100 to 150 structures of the already described kind, at least one-half of which are, however, at the present moment either half-finished or vacated. They are, almost without exception, floor, ceiling, windowless. Lumber is so very high ($100 per 1,000 feet) that but few can afford the luxury of a regular floor. The absence of the ceiling is explained by the same reason, and the window glass has reached this quarter of the world in but insignificant quantities. In its stead canvas is used, which renders it necessary to keep the doors open during daytime in order to procure a sufficiency of light. Canvas and dirt are generally used for roofing purposes.
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