We found Mrs. Lechner a friendly person, like her sisters.  She told us that before her marriage her father kept this tavern.  In 1864, most of the men being away in the Union army, they found the house one morning surrounded by a band of mounted rebels, who had come up from Texas through New Mexico to make a raid on the mines.  They were a savage-looking band, about fifty in number, and were led by a man who had formerly worked for her father, and whom she recognized.  They took what money and gold-dust was in the house, and seized all the best horses about the place; but when she saw them taking away her saddle-pony, she cried out, “Oh, Tom Smith!  I didn’t think you was that mean, to rob me of my pony!  Wasn’t you always well treated here?” He seemed to relent at this appeal, and not only restored her horse, but two of her father’s also.  The people collected and pursued the robbers, most of whom were captured or killed, but the leader escaped.  Mrs. Lechner said she was glad he got away.  “Tom must have had some good in him or he wouldn’t have given me back my pony.”

Aug. 24.  Rose this morning at daybreak, and enjoyed the sight of a sunrise among these snowy peaks.  Nothing can surpass the delicate tints of rose-color, silver gray, gold and purple which suffuse these summits in early morning.  I called Sepia to sketch them, but what human colors can reproduce such glories?  We left at seven, and drove to Bailey’s, thirty-five miles, before sunset, stopping an hour at noon.  On the top of a mountain, about 4 P.M., we were caught in a furious squall, attended with rain, snow and hail, with terrific thunder and lightning, which struck a tree close by.  And here I must pay my tribute to the admirable qualities of our horses—­steady, prompt and courageous; no mountain too steep for them to climb, no precipice too abrupt to descend; and they stood the pelting of that pitiless storm like four-legged philosophers.  We found Bailey’s house apparently full, but 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.