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PIONEERING IN
THE SAN JUAN
GEORGE M. DARLEY
ECOND COPY, 1899.
# LIVERED T
2nd CC+ JUL 281899
Ogress.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS,
Chap
178 Copyright No.
Shelf .518D
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
PIONEERING IN THE SAN JUAN
Sincerely How. Bio. In Sarly .
1
PIONEERING IN THE SAN JUAN
PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF WORK DONE IN SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO DURING THE "GREAT SAN JUAN EXCITEMENT"
BY THE REV. GEORGE M. DARLEY, D.D.
"Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for the gold where they find it."-Job xxviii. I.
"What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ?"-St. Mark viii. 36.
"Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" -St. Mark viii. 37.
HER
Fleming H. Revell Company Chicago : New York : Toronto I899
38718
Copyright, 1899, By Fleming H. Revell Company
LIBRARY
CONGR
OFFIC.
JUL 2 2 1899
Register
of
Copyrights.
1
25519 Apr. 12.99.
To my Wife, EMMA JEAN DARLEY,
WHO HAS THE HONOR OF BEING
THE FIRST MINISTER'S WIFE TO CROSS THE SIERRA MADRE RANGE OF MOUNTAINS IN COLORADO, THESE PAGES
Are Affectionately Dedicated.
PREFACE
This book is an attempt to present, in simple words, the reminiscences of work performed by a Presbyterian missionary, in Southwestern Col- orado, during the "Great San Juan Excitement;" with the sincere desire to awaken a deeper interest in Home Missions. "Content to fill a little place, if God be glorified."
G. M. D.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. Pioneering in Preaching 15
II. Magg Hartman's Funeral 26
III. A Wild Ride 31
IV. Church Bells 36
V. Lost on the Range . 40
VI. A Dead Faro Dealer . 46
VII. Gospel Temperance Meetings in a "Live Mining Camp" . 53
VIII.
" Burro Punching"
59
IX. My First Trip to the Animas Country 63
X. "Hell's Acre" . 69
XI. Killed by a Snow Slide . .
76
XII.
An Old Lady's Prayer
79
XIII. An Irrepressible Boy 83
XIV.
Good Impression Made by Walking Through
Deep Snow
87
XV. Rough Experience of a Missionary's Wife
and Children 90
XVI.
Poem by Rev. Philip Bevan, D.D. .
95
XVII. Comical Scenes in Church
98
XVIII. Crossing Swollen Mountain Streams I02
XIX.
A Home Mission Problem
107
XX. Miners and Prospectors 113
XXI. Buckskin Leggings II7
XXII,
Grand Scenery .
122
XXIII.
Terrible Honesty in the Face of Death
.
I28
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
XXIV. Experience with Indians .
I3I
XXV. A Presbyterian Elder's Pluck 137
XXVI. A Barrel Half Full of Rotten Onions for a Pulpit . 140
XXVII. The Kind of Men Needed at the Front
·
143
XXVIII. The "What I Used to Do in the East " Kind of a Christian . 149
XXIX. The Board of Church Erection
I52
XXX.
Amusing
155
XXXI.
A Few Thoughts While on the Trail
159
XXXII.
Lame Home Mission Churches
164
XXXIII.
Farewell to San Juan
I67
XXXIV.
Historical
170
XXXV.
A Queer Way of Looking at Death
178
XXXVI. Picking Bullets from the Pulpit the Sabbath Following Mob Violence 180
XXXVII. A Burro Takes Part in Church Service
184
XXXVIII. Two Men Lynched 187
XXXIX. A Wise Walk 190
XL.
No Waste in the Ministry of Love
204
XLI. A San Juan Justice of the Peace, in 1878
22I
XLII. Perfection
224
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Portrait of George M. Darley Frontispiece
PAGE
First Parsonage built on the Pacific Slope in Colorado I6
First Church built on the Pacific Slope in Colorado I6
Lake City, Colo., in 1877
38
Del Norte, Colo., in 1882 . 38
Dealing Faro in a San Juan Gambling Hall 48
Prospector at Home 54
Wheel of Fortune-Miners at Home in 1877 54
Bringing into Camp the Bodies of Two Men who were Killed by a Snow Slide 76
River Side Snow Tunnel, near Ouray, Colo. 76
Dr. Darley carrying the Gospel to the Regions Beyond 88
Prospector on His Way to a New Gold Field
II4
Prospector Returning " Busted "
II4
Four Ute Chiefs, Agent and Interpreter
II8
The Famous Rose's Cabin, on Road to Summit of Uncom- pahgre Range II8
Celebrated Mears' Toll Road, Promontory Point
I22
Elder James K. Herring and Rev. Geo. M. Darley, D.D. ready for a Swift Run . I38
Ouray, Colo., Looking East in 1898
I68
Celebrated Box Cañon, One-fourth of a Mile from Ouray 222 First Grand Jury in Ouray . 222
BEGINNING OF THE GREAT SAN JUAN EXCITEMENT
" The Great San Juan Gold Excitement" dates back to 1874, when Enos T. Hotchkiss discovered the mine which bore his name for a number of years. Immediately upon the opening of this prop- erty, a rush was made into Lake City. This now famous mine, which lies three miles to the south of Lake City, was practically abandoned when, in 1879, Samuel Wendell relocated the property as the "Golden Fleece," and through Mr. Wendell it found its way into the hands of the present owners.
Pioneering in the San Juan
CHAPTER I
PIONEERING IN PREACHING
"As we stand and listen to a low and increasing hum, We hear the tramp of thousands that here in the future will come.
They will come for the air and sunshine, They will come for scenery grand,
They will come for the gold and silver, From every civilized land." -Prospector.
In this age of electricity, when men think quick, live fast and die young as a general rule, reminis- cences are below par. Men prefer to look forward rather than backward. And yet we believe that it is well, at times, to take a look at the past, that we may see what progress Christianity has made in Colorado.
More than twenty-two years have passed since I began preaching the Gospel in this State; and I can truthfully say that the churches have kept pace with the material growth and the increase in popu- lation. History teaches that Christianity generally
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PIONEERING IN THE SAN JUAN
prospers in mountainous regions. The length, height, breadth and grandeur of our great mountain ranges are in perfect harmony with the rugged, grand and sublime evangelical doctrines presented by ministers of the Gospel. The great peaks remind me of many of the precious truths presented in the Bible-Pike's Peak, of comforting, strengthening, soul-cheering atonement; Sierra Blanca, of God's precious promises. At times this mountain is enveloped in dark clouds; yet they are always lifted and never mar her grandeur and beauty. So it is with God's children-dark clouds at times sur- round them; but these clouds are lifted by His almighty hand, and joyfully we "press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
In the spring of 1876 there was not a church building on the Pacific slope in Colorado. The first church was erected by the Presbyterians in Lake City and dedicated November 19, 1876-just five months, to a day, from the time of organization. Lake City was a "live mining-camp," largely made up of young men of that class who were willing to prospect and take all kinds of chances in order to make money; but they had no desire to work underneath the ground. Miners were scarce, while
I6
FIRST PARSONAGE BUILT ON THE PACIFIC SLOPE IN COLORADO.
FIRST CHURCH BUILT ON THE PACIFIC SLOPE IN COLORADO.
PIONEERING IN PREACHING
prospectors were numerous. No class of men knew better how to treat a minister they liked in a royal manner than the men who went into southwestern Colorado during the great San Juan "excitement" of '75, '76 and '77. Nor could a more intelligent, plucky, warm-hearted set of men be found; men who knew what was right.
Among them were many who had been taught in Eastern homes, by pious parents, that "man's chief and highest end is to glorify God and fully enjoy him forever." Yet strange as it now seems- when looking back to those exciting times-many of these men, from the best of homes, found their way into the large gambling-halls that were in all the camps; claiming they only wished to see what was going on and not for the purpose of taking part in the games. Yet, notwithstanding these claims, many, after getting, as they thought, "the run of the game," did "fight the tiger." Some did so successfully ; others did not.
When entering camps where no religious services had been held I invariably went to the right place to find an audience; and in every case was cour- teously and kindly received and generally told: "Just wait, Brother Darley, until the games can be stopped, and we will give you a chance at the
17
PIONEERING IN THE SAN JUAN
boys." It was not always an easy matter to stop the games; winners were usually willing, while the losers were not. But so soon as the games closed then "roulette," "keno," "poker," and "faro" would give place for a time to the Gospel.
A more convenient pulpit than a "faro-table" could not be found; nor a more respectful and intelligent audience. In what occasional singing we did have, men with trained voices, rich and sweet, would sing without books those grand old hymns: "Jesus, Lover of My Soul" and "Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me." With bowed heads they listened to the prayer; often with tears in their eyes to the "old, old story," being told as they had heard it "back East," while sitting in a pew beside father, mother, or fond wife and dear children.
The contrast was as great between the Eastern pew and beer kegs, whisky barrels and chairs, as it was between the Eastern pulpit and a Western faro-table, behind which the minister stood; but the Christ presented was the same-and those men's souls were as dear to the Savior. In one camp I became acquainted with a "faro-dealer" who had a decidedly clerical look. His beautiful gray beard and ministerial dress added much to his elegant manners. He always called me "Brother Darley."
I8
PIONEERING IN PREACHING
I said to a young man fresh from the East, as I met him at the door of a large gambling-hall: "Were you in the habit of entering such houses in the East?" He answered: "I was never in a saloon or gambling-house in my life until I came to this camp. My folks would be ashamed of me if they knew I frequented such places." Having hold of his hand, and the light shining in our faces, I said: "Should you be any less of a man out West than you were back East?" By the flash of his eye and the color in his face I saw that he was offended; but I held his hand and kept looking him in the eye. Finally he dropped his head and said: "I ought not to be."
One Sabbath night, after service, it became necessary for me to visit a large dance-hall located in "Hell's Acre." I there talked with young men who less than an hour before were sitting in God's house. Even amid the thunders of the coming storm, the cry was heard: "On with the dance! Let joy be unconfined!" During those years of toil, joy, sadness and rejoicing, I was often reminded of the words of the weeping Prophet : "Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him; but weep sore for him that goeth away." Several times I was asked if I could afford to know so many sporting-
19
PIONEERING IN THE SAN JUAN
men, and fast women. "Associations," said one sanctimonious man, "have a great deal to do with a minister's character." I replied that I believed with the old blacksmith, who said, when told that if he would associate with so and so it would give him character: "I can hammer out a better character on my anvil than any set of men can give me." If I could not know and, so far as necessary, "associate" with all classes, I was not the man for the place.
In '76 La Veta was the terminal of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. It was a long, hard stage ride from La Veta into the San Juan country. During the day the grandeur of the scenery would interest passengers; but through the long nights even "old timers" grew tired and, so soon as the stage struck the "Slumgullion Road," which was far from being "freighters' paradise," the driver would join with the freighters in swearing at the Mexicans to "pull out of the road." On this road there was a fall of several thousand feet in about twelve miles; and a few miles of that was corduroy. Where there was none, the freighters claimed that "every ten feet there was a stone projecting from six to eighteen inches and frequently on the oppo- site side a hole from six to eighteen inches deep, with a stump in the middle."
20
PIONEERING IN PREACHING
The Rev. Sheldon Jackson, D. D. (ex-Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church), once said to me, while trying to get the crooks out of his legs and rub down the lumps that had risen on different parts of his body: "Brother Darley, I have staged it all over this Western country; I have staged it through the tamarack swamps of Wisconsin; but I never staged it over such a road before." Dr. Jackson was always welcome at my mountain home, for he never growled, no matter how hard the trip. He has the pluck that I admire.
In the seventies many difficulties had to be faced in the San Juan that were more than the average minister cared to face then, or would care to face now. To go beyond Lake City meant to go where there were no bridges across streams and, in some directions, no wagon roads-only trails throughout the greater part of the San Juan, and often they were very rough, while the distance between cabins was so great that frequently the missionary had to sleep on the ground.
My walk of one hundred and twenty-five miles (more than half the distance through deep snow), in five days and four nights, is often spoken of by "old timers." All the streams had to be waded; and
2I
PIONEERING IN THE SAN JUAN
when I reached Ouray, with swollen limbs, nearly used up, and suffering terribly, Messrs. George A. Scott and James McDonald invited me to their cabin and, after procuring a bottle of arnica, both went to work and did all they could to limber me up. On Sabbath I was hardly able to walk, so did not preach until Thursday of the following week. The sermon was the first preached in Ouray or in the Uncompahgre region.
The first church built in Ouray, and the second on the western slope in Colorado, was a Presbyterian church, dedicated October 14, 1877. I say it, with- out fear of contradiction, that in no other frontier town in Colorado (Ouray is no longer a frontier town) could the same amount of money be raised more easily than that so cheerfully given by the citizens of the camp for the erection of their first house of worship.
When preparing to start home "Cap" Cline (who, with General Adams, afterwards rescued Mrs. Meeker and daughter from the White River Ute Indians) and others pled with me not to attempt to cross Engineer Mountain that day, for it was snow- ing hard in Ouray. But, like some other young men who lived in the San Juan at that time, my bump of caution was not very well developed, so started, and found nearly four feet of fresh snow above
22
PIONEERING IN PREACHING
"timber line." Thus, walking was difficult going into Ouray to preach the first sermon-and getting out of Ouray after the first church was dedicated. It was on this trip that I lost an elegant pair of buckskin leggings.
We often speak of the rough experiences of frontier work, and of the roughness of the work itself, when compared with the smooth and more refined labor in our cities or in the old-established churches of the Eastern villages. Yet, after all, there is a sameness about the work that can be illustrated in this way. During my varied experi- ence in Colorado I have often officiated at funerals very different in appearance. A rough box holds the body and an old wagon is the hearse; the mourners and minister follow on foot. When the place of burial is reached, the hole in the ground is uneven in width, and boulders project on the sides. When we attempt to let down the box, the grave is too small; so we lift it out and enlarge the grave. Finally the body is laid to rest, as the wind sighs among the tree tops and the mountains receive to their arms another body dear to someone.
Again, I have been called to officiate at a funeral where the casket was a rare piece of workmanship, beautiful and costly; and the floral offerings from
23
PIONEERING IN THE SAN JUAN
friends expensive and appropriate; and with the Rev. John N. Freeman, D. D., to offer one of his characteristic prayers, which for the moment helped lift the dark clouds. The lovely hearse and nodding plumes, followed by a long line of carriages, were in striking contrast to the rickety old wagons behind which I have often walked. At the cemetery, the sides of the grave looked as though they had been planed; and the body of a dear friend (Arthur S. Adams) was laid to rest. Yet in both cases it was death. On rugged mountain side or in a beautiful cemetery, it is death. And so the Gospel is the same, whether preached in a gambling-hall, or in a fine church building. The Gospel is the same in all places. I believe in the depravity of the human race and I believe in the almighty power of the blood of Jesus Christ. "There is life for a look at the Crucified One," no matter by whom given or the place the penitent soul is in as he looks.
I was pastor of our church at Del Norte when the first meeting of the present Synod of Colorado was held at that place and the "Presbyterian College of the Southwest" was located. Having been president of the college as well as pastor of the church, my warmest sympathies go out toward that institution.
24
PIONEERING IN PREACHING
To-day our college at Del Norte is doing noble work for the Master. Rev. M. D. J. Sanchez, of whom ex-Senator Thomas M. Bowen said, while a trustee of the college, "There is a young man who is the peer of any young man of his age in Colorado," is among the first fruits of the college. Then there is Rev. A. J. Rodriguez, missionary to the Ute Indians, and many more who have graduated from the institution.
When the last day dawns and the stars fall and the heavens roll together as a scroll, it will not be the Methodists only that will be before the throne of God clothed in white, nor the Baptists nor the Presbyterians only. It will be the redeemed out of every nation and kindred and tongue and people, whose souls have been washed clean in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, ministers of the Gospel should love all classes-the high, the lowly, the rich, the poor-keeping constantly in mind that the Lord Jesus Christ goes before us. His spirit accompanies our words and convinces men of sin, of righteous- ness and judgment. If we are faithful in our work we shall be richly blessed here and hereafter; for the harder we toil in the Master's vineyard now, the sweeter will be the rest in His house, by and by.
25
CHAPTER II
MAGG HARTMAN'S FUNERAL
"One more unfortunate, Weary of breath, Rashly importunate, Gone to her death."
"Who was her father? Who was her mother? Had she a sister? Had she a brother?"
-Thomas Hood.
If all the tears shed by parents whose daughters have gone astray were bottled, they would not be greater in quantity or more bitter than the tears shed by the erring ones. The first burst of passion and excitement of a fast life soon recoil and strike the wandering one a terrible blow, bringing to the sporting-woman's heart a deep sense of the distance there is between her and what women prize most.
When asked, "Will you come to Magg Hartman's house and preach her funeral sermon?" I con- sented, because I believed it my duty to go wherever I was asked for the purpose of conducting funeral services. By so doing I had become acquainted with all classes.
Magg Hartman lived in "Hell's Acre," a part of
26
MAGG HARTMAN'S FUNERAL
the new mining-camp largely given up to the sport- ing class. As I entered the house a very tall, well- known character, who was sitting on the floor, rose and said as he took my hand: "Well, Parson, this is the way we all go." I replied: "Yes, we all must die, but it depends on how we have lived, and in whom we have believed, as to the place we go when we die." "I guess that is so," said my tall friend; for the man was a friend in the way of "backing the Parson" financially and by being accommodating in various ways.
I then stepped to the side of the coffin and looked at Magg Hartman's more than ordinary face; for few faces were more remarkable looking and few lives had been stranger than that of this many-sided woman. As the "girls" came in from the "dance- halls" I took each one by the hand and spoke a kind word. When all was ready for the funeral service I noticed a strained attempt on their faces to "take it," which plainly said: "You hold a full hand now, so just wade in." Before the first eleven verses of the eighth chapter of St. John had been read, arms were unfolded and the strained look began to leave their faces; and as words void of severity were spoken tears began filling their eyes. Soon every head was bowed and, had I not
27
PIONEERING IN THE SAN JUAN
witnessed such scenes before, I might have believed every one would leave the paths of sin and seek a better life.
After the pall-bearers had fastened the top on the coffin one of the "girls" asked if I would go with them to the cemetery. Her request was granted. Who can tell what impressions the reading of God's Word, and the funeral sermon, made upon the minds and hearts of those outcasts of society, many of them mere girls? Men who have seen much of life know that there are thousands of bleeding, aching and sorrowing hearts that are struggling against the terrible current of prejudice and cold- heartedness that is so prevalent; battling hard against the sense of shame in their own hearts and against the powers of a cold world; traveling in the most lonely of life's paths without one kind word to cheer, without one glimmer of light to guide their lonely footsteps until, discouraged, disheartened and crushed, these words of deepest gloom fall from their lips:
"Go to the raging sea and say be still; Bid the wild tempest obey thy will; Preach to the storm, and reason with despair: But tell not Misery's child to beware."
Many are ready to cry: "It is their own fault.
28
MAGG HARTMAN'S FUNERAL
The young girl or young man ought to have remained at home and been good." Friends, how do you know that it is all their own fault? Who told you so? What means have you of knowing so much? Be honest, and acknowledge that you are ignorant regarding their temptations, surroundings, educa- tion and peculiar temperaments; the promises made them and broken-made by those you are pleased to take by the hand. Then try to have enough Christian charity and hard common sense to keep you from kicking the fallen.
If the whole human race were constituted alike -all of the same temperament, all having equal advantages-then we might be able to judge all correctly; but, since there are such differences, we should be very slow in passing harsh judgment on anyone. It is well for the fallen that there are those on earth, as well as in Heaven, who can be "touched with the feeling of" their "infirmities."
I trust that all Christians, while they cannot reasonably be expected to feel as kindly toward the fallen as some do, will remember that-
"There's no life so lone and low But strength may yet be given, From narrowest lot on earth to grow The straighter up to Heaven."
29
PIONEERING IN THE SAN JUAN
When Jericho was destroyed, not Rahab alone, but "all that were with her in the house" were saved, because "she did hide the messengers that were sent."
It is a blessed thing when all in the house are saved-but how often it is otherwise! This solemn and awful truth may cause some to have charity who at the present time are as devoid of it as the stones beneath our feet. The day may come when those who are rejoicing because no wanderer belongs to their family, may say, alas !-
"From the same father's side, From the same mother's knee, One to lone darkness and frozen tide, One to the crystal sea."
30
CHAPTER III
A WILD RIDE
"Chill airs and wintry winds, my ear Has grown familiar with your song," -Longfellow.
Some years ago, while reading the "Denver Republican," I saw an article taken from the "Hinsdale Phonograph": "San Juan Weather Com- parisons." In it I found the following: "While congratulating ourselves for the splendid weather San Juan is experiencing at present, we may remember that every season is not this way. In 1879 the snow was eight feet deep on the Con- tinental Divide the last of December, and the mail from Del Norte to Lake City was carried the entire distance on sleds from November 25 to April 8, a period of almost four months and a half."
The reading of this brought to my mind, with a freshness not altogether pleasant, one of the wildest rides I ever had-and I had many a wild one during the seventies. For a month that winter no mail could be carried from Clear Creek to Powder Horn, except on a "snow-shoer's" back. One of the drivers
3I
PIONEERING IN THE SAN JUAN
nearly lost his life while trying to get through with a sled. A large number of men went from our camp and tried to "pack" the snow so that the mail could be brought in on sleds, but the storms were severe and the snow deep; so the plan was abandoned.
We decided that it was impossible to get papers or circulars, but letters we must have. A Swede by the name of Fjelley, one of the best "snow-shoers" in the San Juan, was employed to carry letters. He used the narrow, eleven-feet snow-shoes. I loaned him part of my "outfit," and, not being willing to accept pay for the use of it, he gave my little girl a silver dollar, which she has kept and calls her "snow-shoe dollar."
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