TOLTEC GORGE.
The approach to this great scenic wonder prepares the traveler for something extraordinary and spectacular. A black speck in the distance against the precipitous surface of a frowning cliff is beheld long before Toltec is reached, and is pointed out as the entrance to the tunnel, which is the gateway to the Gorge. As the advance is made around mountain spurs and deep ravines, glimpses are caught of profound depths and towering heights, the black speck widens into a yawning portcullis, and then the train, making a detour of four miles around a side cañon, plunges into the blackness of Toltec tunnel, which is remarkable in that it pierces the summit of the mountain instead of its base. Fifteen hundred feet of perpendicular descent would take one to the bottom of the gorge, while the seared and wrinkled expanse of the opposite wall confronts us, lifting its massive bulwarks high above us,
"Fronting heaven's splendor,Strong and full and clear."
"Fronting heaven's splendor,Strong and full and clear."
"Fronting heaven's splendor,Strong and full and clear."
"Fronting heaven's splendor,
Strong and full and clear."
When the train emerges from the tunnel it is upon the brink of a precipice. A solid bridge of trestle-work, set in the rock after the manner of a balcony, supports the track, and from this coigne of vantage the traveler beholds a most thrilling spectacle. The tremendous gorge, whose sides are splintered rocks and monumental crags, and whose depths are filled with the snow-white waters of a foaming torrent, lies beneath him, the blue sky above him, and all around the majesty and mystery of the mountains.