USA > Colorado > Colorado pioneers in picture and story > Part 17
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Since the time of Mr. Iliff and Mr. Cranmer great reservoirs and miles of irrigating ditches have been built : town after town has been founded; the farmers have come with their fences and have converted the range lands into small tracts of highly productive farm lands: they are growing hay and grain and sugar beets where wild grass once grew. And to these same cultivated acres is largely due to the revival of the cattle business in Colo- rado. Irrigation has solved the drought problem, and there is feed for the live stock all over the country.
The National Live Stock Association was organized at Denver January, 1895, when its first annual conven- tion was held in this city.
Denver was made the permanent headquarters of the association, with John W. Springer as president, and Charles F. Martin secretary, both being retained in office by the several successive conventions.
Cattle and sheep thrive in a wonderful way on the residuum beet pulp and residuum syrup obtained from the sugar factories. Many beet growers are engaged in the profitable business of stock raising.
The Denver stock show now ranks next to the great international show at Chicago. $450.000 have been spent in the construction of a plant to house the show. and
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once a year the finest cattle and horses in the world can be seen in this magnificent stock pavilion.
Fred P. Johnson. secretary of the Colorado Stock Growers' Association, says: "All indications point to a profit close to $5,000,000 on the cattle feeding operations of the State for the season of 1915.
"The packing industry has been taking enormous strides for several years past. Improvements and ex- tensions are constantly being made at the Denver Union Stockvards. Ninety per cent of the stock sold in the Denver market is slaughtered in Denver. The future in this industry is bright because of Denver's undisputed pre-eminence as the leading 'feeder' market of the country."
AGRICULTURE
The first attempt at agriculture by irrigation north of the Arkansas river valley was made by D. K. Wall. who came to Colorado in the spring of 1859. He brought with him some garden seed, and on Clear creek, near the present site of Golden, cleared and fenced a few acres of ground. He plowed, planted and dug ditches to, con- vey the water. His garden soon became a delight to everyone passing that way. It was on the trail to the Gregory diggings. and everyone did pass that way, for the throng from the East made directly for the famous diggings. Mr. Wall realized $2.000 on his first crop. and convinced the pioneers that vegetables and grain could be grown in this region. He became famous as Colorado's first farmer.
While many of the sturdy pioneers hearkened to the lure of the golden quest in the mountains. others felt the harvest call of the valleys. dropped the pick and shovel for the plowshare, and with the indomitable spirit of the pioneer went forth to bring the desert places into service.
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They made irrigating canals from the mountain streams and turned the water down upon the dry places. In 1866 one hundred and thirty-six miles of irrigating ditches were constructed. at a cost of $1,000 per mile. Where there had been only cactus and sage brush, the pioneers grew wheat, melons and potatoes.
RUFUS CLARK
Rufus Clark came to Denver in the fall of 1859. He was convinced by the numerous failures of hundreds of those who delved after riches hidden in the mountains that mining was a precarious means of livelihood. He filed a homestead entry on land along the Platte and devoted his energies to gardening. He sold vegetables to miners who came through Denver on their way to the mountains, and in one year he made $30.000 from the sale of potatoes alone, which laid the foundation for the fortune he afterwards amassed. and made him known to fame as "Potato Clark."
He was a member of the Territorial Legislature. when the capital was located at Golden. and refused to run for re-election.
Mr. Clark always took great interest in the Salva- tion Army. He. with another, gave the building for the Salvation Army headquarters. He afterwards built a college in Africa, known as Rufus Clark and Wife Theo- logical Training School. He gave the site for the Uni- versity of Denver. and many thousands for charitable institutions.
GRASSHOPPERS
The Colorado crops fell short in 1865, owing to the ravages of the grasshoppers: they came in clouds and shoals and almost ruined those engaged in agriculture. The invasion of these insects made business dull and food prices very high.
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They disappeared and did not return until 1875, when they came again in swarms, took possession of the country, passed from field to field, and vegetation van- ished before them: even the railroad trains were stopped by their crushed bodies, which made the rails so slip- pery that forward movement was impossible. Farmers were reduced to bankruptcy.
DANIEL POLK
Mr. Daniel Polk. one of Colorado's successful farm- ers. had planted a large vegetable garden on the ground now known as Overland Race Course Park, from which he expected to re- alize $20,000. The celery alone was worth several thousand, and the melons were the finest that had vet been grown in the Platte valley. The beau- tiful garden was one of the "show places"; people drove out from Denver to see the luxurious growth of vegetation.
Daniel Polk
The grasshoppers lit upon that garden of one hundred and twenty acres. and in twenty-four hours every green thing was de- voured.
Mr. Polk had lost a fortune during the Civil War. and this was another great loss, but he was a captain of industry and continued to plant until success crowned his efforts. He was one of the builders of South Broad-
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way, and was a strong type of the energetic men who made Colorado the marvel and wonder of the world.
The pioneers of South Broadway were Judge George W. Allen, Mr. Avery Gallup, E. B. Field, Mr. Wm. N. Byers, John L. Dailey. J. O. Patterson. who built the first brick house south of Cherry creek: Mr. Daniel Polk. Mrs. Alice Polk Hill and the Fleming brothers.
Judge George W. Al- len still lives in his old home on Broadway ; there are memories around the old place that hold him there; his children have been brought up there. and the greater number of his days have been spent there in a pleasant home life, with his cul- tured and interesting wife as a companion.
Judge Allen's many fine characteristics have endeared him to a host of friends and acquaintances. He is an able jurist, has been on the bench twenty- two years, and has won the confidence and good will of the people by his just decisions. In his home and at the bar he is an honest, scholarly and lofty figure. As a citizen Geo. W. Allen he is generous, patriotic and progressive. Many local en- terprises receive his active assistance.
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IRRIGATION
Abundant flow in irrigation ditches, with glorious golden sunshine send thrills of prosperity throughout the State and make the pioneer's dream come true. Colorado products of the farm and orchard are in all the great markets of the world.
A gentleman, in speaking of Colorado, said: "In New York I saw Greeley potatoes on the menu; on the steamship, Colorado apples and peaches on the card, and in Rio de Janeiro, Colorado cantaloupes and Rocky Ford melons occupied positions of honor on the menu card of my hotel."
Agriculture took such gigantic strides in progress that a Colorado State Agricultural Association was or- ganized in 1865, and the first agricultural fair was held. The Association offered a prize to the best lady rider. Society united in the effort to make the fair a success, and there were twenty entries in the contest. Miss Baker, who rode horseback, took the first prize, Miss Sumner the second, and Mrs. Avery Gallup the third. They refused to let Mollie Estabrook ride; she was such a famous horsewoman it was thought the rest of them would stand no chance: so Miss Estabrook, afterwards Mrs. Charles Kountze. drove Isadore Deitsch's fast horse around the track. This was considered a great social event.
The development of agriculture in Colorado carries with it the history of irrigation. The first irrigating ditch in Northern Colorado was known in pioneer days as the Yaeger ditch. It was constructed in 1859 by A. E. Lytton. He took the water out of the Cache la Poudre river in Larimer county to irrigate his garden. Later J. L. Brush took the water out of Big Thompson creek for irrigation. Mr. Hal Savre made the survey in both instances.
In 1865 the Hon. B. H. Eaton made a large canal
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and took the water from the Cache la Poudre to water 1,500 acres. After the settlement of Greeley in 1870 the Union Colony constructed four large ditches from Big Thompson and three from the Cache la Poudre, at a cost of $435,000.
*The first large ditch or canal in Colorado to furnish water for irrigating purposes was constructed by a com- pany of Scotch and English capitalists known as the "English Company," and the example and success of this enterprising company gave the first impetus to land irri- gation on a large scale that brought to agriculture in the State a wealth far surpassing that of all its gold and silver mines.
The agents of the English Company came here in the latter part of the '70's and established the Colorado Loan and Mortgage Company.
These men soon perceived the profitable character of agriculture in irrigated lands, and the need of money for proper development. They loaned broadcast from the Platte to the Arkansas valleys to enable the farmers to extend ditches, purchase agricultural implements, teams and live stock-thus farming grew apace.
The company next conceived the plan of construct- ing a large ditch. In the early '80's they built what came to be popularly known as the "High Line Ditch." which brought water down from the Platte canyon. con- veying it across Plum creek by a high flume aquaduct. crossing in like manner Cherry creek and on over the highlands to the south and east of Denver beyond Mont- clair and Aurora. This was the first large irrigating ditch constructed for the purpose of conveying water for sale of the water right to land owners having no ownership title to the ditch itself.
The stimulus which this first successful enterprise gave to like undertakings has since caused the building of
*From Judge Stone's article on the English Company.
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great canals by companies for the sale of water through- out all the great basins of the rivers of the State. The largest of these canals, in carrying capacities and length. are in the Arkansas valley, some of which are from twenty to thirty feet in width and from forty to one hundred miles in length.
The English Company also built the Windsor hotel. the Barclay block and the Mansions building, costing altogether about one million dollars.
From this condensed sketch it will be seen that the English Company was one of the first great builders of the city of Denver and the State.
The Antero irrigation system is one of the most im- portant enterprises of the kind that has vet been under- taken.
Henry L. Doherty made the new irrigation system possible, and the completion of the Antero reservoir on the 20th of June. 1914. was the occasion of a general celebration in Denver. A half holiday was declared by both the governor and the mayor, and after a dinner in honor of Mr. Doherty. which was attended by 1,000 busi- ness men. a great number motored or took trains to the opening of the head gates. a few miles east of Denver.
Irrigation is not a new process in the growing of crops. In Egypt. India and other countries its value in agriculture was recognized many centuries before the dis- covery of America. and its development in Colorado shows the remarkable energy and intelligence of the men of the new West.
The success of farming by irrigation is demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt. and agriculture is today a matter of expert practice based upon scientific knowl- edge, the most fascinating work of development and State building ever opened to the effort of man.
The magnificent water power electric car service, tele- phones. daily mail service and good roads create a de-
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WOLHURST
MRSJEROME RICHE
JEROME RICHE
MRS. HORACE BENNETT
mand for permanent homes and summer homes in Colorado.
WOLHURST
The famous Wolhurst leads in country estates. It was once the home of the late Senator Wolcott. and was originally planned and partly built by him. After his death it became the property of
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the late Thomas F. Walsh, who enlarged and improved the place.
Several years ago Wolhurst was purchased by Hor- ace W. Bennett and Jerome S. Riche, who have carried out the plans of the previous owners. The property now stands as a model for vast country estates of wealthy American gentlemen who seek the leisure and comfort of the English nobility.
Scientific farming and stock breeding are Horace Bennett's hobbies, and at this great 1,000-acre farm he gratifies these tastes to the fullest extent. The expansion of Wolhurst to a successful stock growing and crop rais- ing farm adds greatly to its interest and attractiveness. and accentuates Colorado's wonderful development along these lines. By this work Mr. Jerome Riche and Mr. Horace Bennett have made themselves prominent as State builders.
Distinguished tourists through Colorado, presidents of the United States. titled personages from abroad, ar- tists and authors, have been guests at this lovely country place. which is presided over by Mrs. Jerome Riche and her daughter, the beautiful and intellectual wife of Horace Bennett. In this elegant home the sweet influ- ence of these gracious women radiate and make their names synonymous with culture, refinement and social grace.
NATHANIEL P. HILL
The miners were moving away from Black Hawk and Central because the surface ores, which yielded their gold quite freely to the stamp mill process, had been nearly all worked out.
The mills and machinery for working refractory ores had cost millions of dollars, but all had failed. At this psychological moment Nathaniel P. Hill, professor of chemistry in Brown University, Providence, R. I.,
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appeared upon the scene. He was impressed with the waste which the methods then used for the reduction of ore involved, and devoted his scientific skill to solving the problem.
Nathaniel P. Hill
He conceived the idea of establishing works which could successfully treat these ores. To carry out his scheme he made two trips to Europe and spent several months in Swansea, Wales, and Freiburg, Germany, exam- ining the methods employed in those places for treating ores of gold and silver.
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After satisfying himself fully of the feasibility of smelting the ores of Colorado, he returned to Boston and organized the Boston and Colorado Smelting Company.
In January. 1868, the smelter started operation in Black Hawk.
Professor Hill was the first to treat successfully the refractory ores of Colorado, and by his scientific knowl- edge, energy and business sagacity placed mining on a sure and sound basis. The miners finding there would be a ready market for their ores, returned by the hundreds to their abandoned claims, and in less than five years the people of Central and Black Hawk, who had talked about moving away, were busy getting rich.
Professor Hill's solution of the then most grave and menacing problem of successfully dealing with our ores marked an epoch in the affairs of Colorado and made him conspicuous in the history of our City and State.
His fine judgment and probity of character sug- gested Mr. Hill to the people for various offices. He was elected mayor of Black Hawk in 1871. and was made a member of the Territorial Legislature in 1872.
In order to command the ore products of all parts of Colorado and also New Mexico. Arizona. Montana and Utah, it was thought necessary that the smelter should be at some railroad center. Accordingly he built a larger smelter in Denver. known as the Boston and Colorado Smelter, at Argo.
In 1879 he was elected to the United States Senate to succeed Senator Chaffee. As senator he was true to his State and true to the interest of the people he repre- sented. He introduced and carried to a successful issue many important measures.
After he retired to private life he gave his attention exclusively to business affairs. While he determined never again to be a candidate for any public office, he took a keen interest in public affairs and found pleasure
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in the discussion of National or State political questions in the columns of his own paper, the Denver "Repub- lican," which journal he became the owner of, and re- tained it to his death.
Senator Hill had a happy faculty of telling a story, and enjoyed relating anecdotes of his early life in the West. I heard him tell one experience when crossing the plains in 1864, the year of the Indian outbreak :
"The coach looked like an arsenal on wheels," said Mr. Hill: "there were nine men on the top and nine inside. all heavily armed. As was the custom in that time. we organized for battle, and elected as captain of the coach a man who claimed to have had numerous fights with the Indians, and in every encounter he swept them all from the face of the earth.
"This hero had a seat just opposite mine in the coach, and he talked about his Indian fights until there seemed to be enough danger floating around loose on the plains to make a volume of blood-and-thunder stories of unwieldy size.
One day as we neared the station where we were to change horses, the men on the top of the coach, just to break the monotony, fired off their guns. The brave In- dian fighter ducked his head between my legs with such force that he went through the seat under me. and it was with difficulty that I extricated him. He was as white as death and trembled like a leaf-the worst scared man that I ever saw. Hardly able to articulate. he asked : 'Where are the Indians ?' "
Senator Hill was a man of integrity and ability, and - in his varied and successful career proved himself worthy of his long line of distinguished ancestors. He married Miss Alice Hale of Providence. R. I., who was a woman of quick perception, tact and kindness of heart. In Gil- pin county, where her husband's smelter was located. her home was the center of hospitality. When they moved
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Alice Hale Hill
to Denver she became a force in every charitable and social enterprise. She was the founder and presi- dent for nine years of the Denver Free Kinder- garten Association, and through her untiring en- ergy and liberal donations the building for the Y. W. C. A. was constructed. She was its president for eight years. While her husband was senator she made their home one of the social attractions in Washington by her gener-
ous and elegant entertainments.
She represented Colorado as vice-regent of Mt. Ver- non Association from 1889 until her death in 1908. and ranks among the notable women of her day.
Senator and Mrs. Hill had three children : Mrs. Franklin Price Knott. ele- gant and accomplished : Mrs. Lucius M. Cuthbert. who is a woman with strong personality and fine executive ability. She is deeply interested in the problems of today. Since early womanhood Mrs. Cuthbert has been identi- fied with numerous chari- ties and philanthropies.
Mrs. L. M. Cuthbert
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Her sympathies and practical aid have been especially devoted to the cause of women and children. In June, 1915, Mrs. Cuthbert was chairman of a campaign com- mittee to raise funds with which to build a hospital for sick and crippled chil- dren. This was the most interesting and. lucrative campaign ever conducted in Denver, which resulted in the splendid sum of $210,000 being subscribed during a period of twelve days.
Mrs. Cuthbert has al- ways been a zealous advo- cate of political freedom for women. In the au- tumn of 1911 she served as vice-chairman of the "Republican State Cen- tral Committee." As a member of the advisory council of the Congres- sional Union and a na- tional vice-chairman of the Woman Voters' con- vention, held in San Francisco in September. Mrs. Crawford Hill 1915. Mrs. Cuthbert's attitude toward "Woman Suffrage" is clearly defined.
Senator and Mrs. Hill's only son. Crawford Hill. was associated with his father in business. and inherited many of his fine qualities. He married Miss Sneed of Tennessee, who possesses that indefinable something called charm, which makes her the leader of Denver society.
CHAPTER XVIII RAILROADS
HOW THE PIONEERS KEPT DENVER FROM BEING SIDE- TRACKED
While the great industry of mining brought about the founding of Denver, the railroads have rendered a mighty work in the development and upbuilding of the city and State.
In 1862 Congress passed the first Pacific railroad bill. and the sanguine, enthusiastic pioneers could see Denver's railroad communication in the near future a positive assurance.
They argued, with the pride of the pioneer, that Denver was the only town of importance in the Rocky Mountain region. It did not seem possible to them that a railroad to the Pacific could be built anywhere except by way of Denver.
In 1865 the scheme of W. A. H. Loveland to make Golden a railroad center caused a great disturbance in Denver. Golden was then the Territorial capital, and was boastful and arrogant in regard to its supremacy over the town at Cherry creek. The competition between the two places became fierce.
In 1865-66 the construction work on the Union Pa- cific and the Kansas Pacific was pushed with great ac- tivity. John Evans and other enterprising men began laboring with the Union Pacific directors to bring their road this way.
They mapped out a route through Denver, up Clear Creek canyon, and thence by way of Berthoud Pass, across Western Colorado to Utah. In the mid-summer
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of 1866 the news came that the Union Pacific would pass one hundred and twenty miles north of Denver.
In looking about for a pioneer to tell of the building of the first railroad, I called upon Mr. John Sidney Brown, a man whose strict attention to business and clear commercial insight had made him a multi-millionaire. Mr. Brown threw himself back in his chair, and his eyes seemed to be looking into the history-making past.
"That road had to be built," he said, with a quick toss of his head that was characteristic of him. "Only those who lived at that time can appreciate the danger that threatened the city. People were leaving, going to Cheyenne or some other place along the line of the Union Pacific, which was being thrown across the continent. linking the East and the West. Business was brisk in Cheyenne and deadly dull in Denver. We were at the fag end. Transportation facilities retarded the develop- ment of mines and of agriculture.
We sat here during the middle of the '60's content- edly confident that the Union Pacific would build its main line through Denver. But it did not : stage coaches dropped down from Cheyenne: we were side-tracked. No one felt certain of remaining here. While the rail- road question was in doubt, I was among the many who visited Cheyenne, with a view of locating there. The First National Bank of Denver had a branch in Chey- enne: the Kountze Brothers had a branch there: George Tritch opened a store there. It looked for a time as if Cheyenne would be the one great distributing point of the Rocky Mountain region.
In the evenings the men collected around the door- way and in the halls of the old Broadwell house to dis- ciss the situation, and they decided to create a Board of Trade for unity of action. It was organized November 13, 1866.
W. A. H. Loveland. always enterprising and vigor-
-
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ons, was pushing forward his railroad project to make Golden the chief city of Colorado. Colonel James Archer of the Kansas Pacific had come to Denver in the interest of that road. The condition of Denver was nearing a crisis. Colonel D. C. Dodge, representing at that time the Chicago and Northwestern, realizing that something must be done immediately, telegraphed General Grenville M. Dodge to send someone here to discuss the railroad question on some basis within the reach of the people of Denver. Promptly in reply to the telegram came George Francis Train. He was known to be erratic, and the peo- ple were disposed to be indignant that he was sent to counsel and guide in this dark hour.
The new Board of Trade called a meeting. and the house was packed with serious. thoughtful people. Gen- eral Bela M. Hughes addressed the audience in his force- ful manner, urging the importance of standing loyally by the organization of business men. and the imperative necessity for immediate action upon the railroad ques- tion in order to maintain the supremacy of Denver in Colorado.
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