and orchards are very numerous, and again at Colfax, at which latter
place we got some very fine grapes grown at an elevation of 2,400 feet
above the sea. In the afternoon we passed the mining country, where the
whole features of the country have been changed by the use of the
'Monitor' for hydraulic mining, by means of which the sides of the
mountains have been washed down to the valleys, filling them and the
streams up, and doing much damage to the flats below: this system of
directing a stream of water through a six-inch nozzle against the cliff
to wash out the gold has now been discontinued, and is illegal, owing
to the damage caused by it. The snow sheds commence at Blue Canon,
4,693 feet above the sea, and 170 miles from San Francisco. They are
simply rough wooden sheds to protect the line from drifting and falling
snow, there being no avalanches to contend with on this route.

"Some of the views on the Sierra Nevada are very fine, notably that at
'Cape Horn.' There is very little timber until Blue Canon is reached,
but from there to Truckee and beyond the timber is good, and about
equal to that on the Rocky Mountains of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
There are several saw mills in this vicinity. After leaving Emigrant
Gap we ran through a continuous snow shed for 39 miles, which was very
unpleasant, both by reason of the smoke in the cars, and the noise, as
well as the loss of the view. We reached Reno about 10 p.m., an hour
and a half late. The schedule time over the mountain, up grade, is 17
miles an hour, and from Oakland to Reno, 246 miles, 20 miles an hour.
Reno is 4,497 feet above the sea. The summit of the Sierras, which is
196 miles from San Francisco, is 7,017 feet above the sea. We remained
all night at Reno. While there we saw in the morning a locomotive
engine, with cylinders 22 x 30 and eight driving wheels coupled, said
by the driver to weigh 165,000 lbs., start for the ascent of the
mountain, up grades of 116 feet to the mile, with 22 cars and a van.