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The destruction of these animals commenced with the fur companies. Long before the founding of Denver they shipped to the East buffalo hides by tens of thou- sands every year; the California emigrants destroyed many thousands, and when the hide hunters appeared on the scene the fate of the buffalo was sealed. These pitiless butchers would attack a herd and never leave one alive. Then it became a fashionable sport to hunt buf- falo; hundreds of would-be sportsmen, who killed for the wicked love of killing, came from distant parts of our country, from England and other foreign lands to engage in the brutal sport of killing inoffensive, non- combative buffalo. In the history of the world, there is no record of such slaughter of harmless, useful animals.
At the present time there can be found a small bunch in Northwestern Colorado, and another on the head- waters of the South Platte River; in the Yellowstone Park there is a small number, a small herd in our City Park, and a few can be seen in zoological collections.
The Indian and buffalo disappeared from this broad land at the coming of the white man, and their passing marks a closing era.
When and from where came the buffalo?
The Indians believed that God gave them the buffalo for a constant and unfailing supply. Their flesh fed
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and nourished them and their hides served them for clothing, beds and covering for teepees.
William F. Cody ("Buffalo Bill") says: "Every plains Indian firmly believed that the buffalo were pro- duced in countless numbers in a country underground ; that every spring the surplus swarmed like bees from a hive out of the immense cave-like openings in the region of the Llano Estacado, or Staked Plains of Texas. In 1869, Stone Calf, a celebrated chief, assured me that he knew exactly where the caves were, though he had never seen them; that the good God had provided this means for the constant supply of food for the Indians, and, however recklessly the white man might slaughter, they could never exterminate them."
CHAPTER II ENTERING THE GREAT AMERICAN DESERT
CORONADO'S EXPEDITION
The romantic, gold-seeking Spaniards were pioneer- ing in the Great West, near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, almost a century before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. They circulated stories embellished with verbal art of the vast wealth of the region, dwelling particularly upon the Seven Cities of Cibola, which they reported to be situated in a peaceful, luxurious valley enclosed by huge mountains of solid gold.
Francisco Vasquez De Coronado, a young man of fine character and great courage, was inspired by these stories to organize an expedition to go in search of the cities of fabulous splendor. His plans met with the ap- proval of Mendoza, the Viceroy of Mexico, who was anxious to extend the domain of New Spain, as Mexico was then called. and, to that end, heartily encouraged northern explorations.
Coronado's company was composed of eight hundred Indians, drawn from the adjacent country, and three hundred and fifty Spaniards; among them were a num- ber of Franciscan Friars. This period of the world's history was one of intense religious belief, and so we find mingled with the Spaniard's thirst for gold a fervent missionary zeal. The Franciscan Friars were eager to carry their faith to the benighted and plant the cross whenever and wherever the opportunity was given.
Coronado was full of the spirit of adventure and had high hopes of winning fame and wealth. With his
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band of enthusiastic explorers he moved off on Easter Monday, 1540, amid the shouting of people and the sound- ing of trumpets.
After reaching the Gila River, they proceeded north- ward over the great desert, lured by the gold of the Seven Cities of Cibola. He was bitterly disappointed to find that the anticipated magnificent Seven Cities were only pueblos of hostile natives living in barbarism. The Span- iards heaped maledictions on the heads of those who had so grossly deceived them with their fanciful stories of the cities of splendor.
They heard from the natives of a place far away to the north which was called Quivera. At this time an Indian united himself with the Spaniards whom they called El Turco (The Turk), from his resemblance in dress and manner to the subjects of the Sultan. He told Coronado that he was a native of that region, a thousand miles to the northeast, in which Quivera, roofed and paved with gold and silver, was situated. It was easy for El Turco to find other Indians to corroborate his story. Only one had the boldness to contradict him. But El Turco's story appealed to the romantic Spaniards and they scorned the man who made the contradictory statement.
It then became the further object of Coronado to find Quivera. His company divided, the main part re- turned to New Spain, and Coronado, with a few chosen followers, proceeded on the long march in search of Qui- vera.
Quivera, which afterwards was called Kansas, proved to be a village of Indian wigwams, thought by some writers to have been a Pawnee town.
This deception threw the Spaniards into a furious rage and they seized El Turco. In shivering alarm he confessed that the people of his tribe feared the mailed invaders. and, to save his people, he was leading the army
:
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away in hope that they would never return. After his confession he was condemned to be strangled. They did not stop to consider the heroism and unselfishness of El Turco in risking his life to save his people, and his death was the quick work of the infuriated Spaniards.
Coronado had chased the golden mirage of the west- ern desert until he was broken in spirit; he had found savages and buffalo. but the cities of gold he had not found. Discouraged and disillusioned, he took up the long march back to the Mexican towns. On the journey he was thrown from his horse and received injuries from which he died a year later. He. with his little army, were the first white men to tread the soil of Colorado. He went and returned through Colorado when he was wandering around on his get-rich-quick scheme more than three hundred years ago, but did not leave in this country - a trace of his expedition. The Spaniards were not col- onizers: they were gold seekers, yet they failed to find gold in the rich lands through which they had so pain- fully toiled. If Coronado could ride into Denver today and stop long enough to see the gold in the Denver mint. what would he think of himself as an explorer ?
THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA
This portion of our continent was a sealed book for nearly three centuries after Coronado, and was generally designated the Great American Desert.
France, by a treaty with Spain in 1800, came into possession of all Louisiana west of the Mississippi.
President Jefferson, with remarkable foresight, real- ized the necessity of the United States owning and con- trolling the Mississippi. He sent James Monroe to Paris to aid Livingston-our minister in Paris-in negotiating the purchase of Louisiana. At first Napoleon rejected any offer. but owing to the strong naval power of Eng-
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land and the threatening clouds of war that hung over England and France, he became impressed with the idea that if he did not at once sell the country he would lose it to Great Britain. For this reason he authorized his foreign minister, Tal- leyrand, to take the offer of the American commis- sioners. And, April 30th, 1803, the United States purchased from France the immense territory known as Louisiana, the price being fifteen million dollars-one of the larg- est real estate deals on record.
When Napoleon was informed that the treaty had been concluded, he Thomas Jefferson said: "This accession of territory strengthens forever the power of the United States, and I have given to England a maritime rival that will sooner or later humble her pride." Upon signing the ratification of the treaty he threw down his pen with the exclamation : "I have signed away an empire !"
The boundary lines of the Territory were not clearly defined in the ideas of either party; Jefferson's one pur- pose was to get possession of the Mississippi and give the citizens of the United States the navigation of the river from its source to the ocean.
The most important event of American history in the first half of the nineteenth century was this purchase of Louisiana. The negotiations were initiated, carried for- ward and consummated under the direction of President Thomas Jefferson, for which abuse was heaped upon him
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by the New England Federalists. From the standpoint of today no act of any executive of our nation has been followed by such wonderful results.
THE EXPLORERS Captain Zebulon M. Pike
In 1806 Captain Zebulon Montgomery Pike was sent with a party of government explorers to ascertain the resources of this new acquisition. He was chosen for this difficult and daring enterprise because he possessed the superior qualities of courage and bravery which would enable him to endure hardships and privations in the service of his country.
O
Captain Zebulon M. Pike
The little band trav- eled along near the line of what is now the Santa Fe Railway, and they built a fort on the present site of Pueblo. Pike ran up his flag. and this was the first Star Spangled Banner that waved in the limits of what is now Colorado.
He had gazed with admiration on the "Grand Peak." as he called it. and one morning he, with a few of his company, started out with the idea of climbing it and return- ing the same day. When night closed around them they found themselves, as they supposed, at the foot
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of the "Grand Peak." and the next day they climbed to the top of it. On reaching the summit the "Grand Peak" appeared to be as far away as when they first began. They had climbed Chevenne Mountain.
Their mistake in the distance. caused by the rarefied atmosphere, probably originated the story of the two men who started to walk to the mountains from Denver be- fore breakfast. After tramping what seemed to them an unconscionable distance, one suggested to the other to proceed slowly, while he returned to Denver for a car- riage. When overtaken by the friend in the carriage the pedestrian was sitting on the bank of a clear running brook, scarcely more than a step in breadth, deliberately taking off his clothes. On being asked why he did not step across, he replied : "I've got the deadwood on this thing now : you don't catch me making a fool of myself by trying to straddle this stream. It looks but a step. but it might be a mile for all I know, so I shall just take off my clothes and prepare for swimming."
When Pike and his company returned to their camp they were almost famished, the snow was deep and their feet were frozen, thereby possibly adding to the vernacu- lar of the West the term "tenderfoot."
Pike subsequently indulged in a kind of appropria- tion peculiar to the West called "land grabbing." He crossed the Sangre de Cristo Range into the San Luis valley and built a fort on the Rio Grande del Norte. He ran up his flag, claiming the land in the name of the United States. The Spaniards heard of Pike's expedi- tion and sent a squad of cavalry to arrest him. Suddenly the Spanish force appeared at the fort. Pike was on their ground, so they claimed; he was taken prisoner and politely escorted to Santa Fe, where he was treated with kindness and consideration until his release.
He did not take to himself the credit of being the first explorer of Western Louisiana, but gave the honor
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to one James Pursley of Bardstown, Ky. Pursley, with amazing generosity, credited it to Pike. The politeness of these gentlemen is without a parallel in history. Had they known the importance the country was destined to assume half a century later, it would, no doubt, have taken coffee and pistols to decide the question of prece- dence.
There were other white men in this country before Pike, but Pike had a passion for the pen. He left a full account of his expedition, and, for that reason, we may say that Colorado history begins with Pike's expedition.
The great monarch of the mountains was named for him and Pike's Peak and Colorado became synonymous terms in the vocabulary of travel.
Stephen H. Long
Stephen H. Long was sent out with another explor- ing party June 6th, 1820. This party was larger than Pike's and better equipped in every way. They were in- structed to learn more of the vegetable and animal life: the agricultural possibilities of the plains, and ascertain the number and character of the savage tribes.
On the fifth of July they camped near the present site of Denver and were the first to leave any record of their rovings near the place where the city now stands.
Dr. James, the historian of the party, in company with three men. climbed to the summit of Pike's Peak. In honor of this achievement Major Long named the peak for him, but the trap- pers and traders of 1840 fastened Pike's name upon it.
Stephen H. Long
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These explorers gathered columbine on the Divide, which has since become the State flower. They passed ,over the present site of Colorado Springs and camped near the boiling springs of Manitou.
Long's geographical and scientific report delayed for years the settlement and development of this country. The mountains were represented as being grand and beautiful, but without any desirable qualities, and the Arkansas Valley, now famous for farming and fruit- growing, they reported as arid and sterile and must for- ever remain desolate.
A magnificent mountain bearing the name of Long looks down over the region which he said was worthless. Another mountain in the front range bears the name of James.
The supply of biscuits ran out and Major Long thought it was necessary for the expedition to return. That was about the middle of summer, when the plains were swarming with animals that were good to eat. What a striking contrast to Pike and his freezing, starving men. pushing bravely forward amid the blasts of winter.
John C. Fremont
John Charles Fremont led five expeditions through this western country and made known routes of travel across the plains to the Pacific coast. For this reason he was called the "Pathfinder." Kit Carson, a noted fron- tiersman, was his guide on two expeditions.
Fremont's expeditions were in the interest of expan- sion. Long's report had given such a false impression of the character and resources of the country that the expenditure of public funds to find out whether a rail- road could be built through such a country was consid- ered reckless extravagance by many sincere and patriotic citizens.
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When a bill providing for a mail route from Inde- pendence, Missouri, to the mouth of the Columbia River came before the United States Senate in 1838, Daniel Webster voiced the general beliefs of the time when he said :
"What do we want with this vast worthless area ? This region of savages and wild beasts, of des- erts. shifting sands and whirl- winds, of dust, of cactus and prai- rie dogs? To what use could we ever hope to put the western John C. Fremont coast. a coast of three thousand miles. rock-bound, cheerless, unin- viting, and not a harbor on it? What use have we for such a country ? Mr. President, I will never vote one cent from the public treasury to place the Pacific coast one inch nearer to Boston than it now is."
The character of the country was practically settled in the minds of the people, and Fremont's first expedition was considered a useless and daring undertaking. At this time he was Lieutenant of Engineers in the United States army. The vast plains, the majestic mountains and the grand canyons fired him with enthusiasm and colored the reports of his explorations which gave to the people an enlarged knowledge of the western world. He was a care- ful observer: he noticed that the soil was good, and the barrenness of the country. he rightly concluded, was due almost entirely to the extreme dryness of the climate.
In 1845, the Pathfinder, whose name had become known in two continents through his services to geogra- phy, was promoted to a captaincy.
He married Jessie Benton. the daughter of Senator Thomas H. Benton of Missouri, whose pet scheme was a highway across the continent to the Pacific coast.
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Fremont's fourth expedition. in 1848, was financed by himself and his father-in-law, Benton. On this expe- dition he entered the Sacramento valley. After his ar- rival in California he became identified with political affairs. Two years after the discovery of gold. California was admitted to the Union as a State without going through the form of a Territory, and Fremont was chosen United States Senator.
In 1853 he led an organization in the interest of a Pacific railway and succeeded in finding passes where he believed steel tracks could be laid. He met with numer- ous disasters during his five expeditions, but he had been cast in a Spartan mold and his spirit was never crushed. He threw wide open the gates of our Pacific empire and became one of the most picturesque characters in the an- nals of Rocky Mountain exploration.
John W. Gunnison
In the spring of 1853, Captain John W. Gunnison was sent by the Secretary of War at the head of an ex- pedition for the purpose of finding a route for a railroad from St. Louis to the Pacific coast. In the exploring party, besides Captain Gunnison, were Lieutenant E. G. Beckwith and several scientists and topographers. They left St. Louis in June and traveled by stage to the Kansas frontier, where they were joined by Captain Norris with a detachment of thirty soldiers from Fort Leavenworth. They followed the Kansas river and Smoky Hill route until they came to Bent's Fort in Eastern Colorado. Gun- nison passed through the Sangre de Cristo pass on the old Spanish military wagon road, near where the Denver and Rio Grande Railway is constructed. known as La Veta Pass.
The explorers worked their way through the country that has been named Gunnison County in honor of the
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explorer. It was anything but easy to drive over some of the steep mountains, where never a white man had been before, yet they continually found great pelasure in the wild beauty of the Rockies. They traveled for some dis- tance through the valley of the river that has been named for Gunnison, but they did not enter the "Black Canyon" which the Indians said was inaccessible to man. It is now considered the grandest canyon in Colorado. The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad runs through it.
Gunnison followed the Spanish trail westward as far as the Sevier River in Utah. where he was murdered by the Indians. No braver man than Captain Gunnison ever gave up his life in exploring the western country.
With these explorers commenced the forward move- ment that has girdled the earth.
CHAPTER III TRAPPERS, TRADERS AND HUNTERS
THE BENT BROTHERS
In the world's drama, the scenes are continually shift- ing. The curtain goes up now on the American frontiers- man-rough, daring, fearless-without a parallel in his- tory.
In the early part of the nineteenth century the Mis- souri Fur Company. Astor's Northwest Fur Company, and the American Fur Company were organized, and, in the service of these companies, a large number of trappers. traders and frontiersmen wandered over the West.
They were the pioneers of the great plains and moun- tains. Most of them were illiterate, reckless and improvi- dent, often squandered the earnings of a season in a night, but they were true to each other in times of hard- ship and danger.
Several hundred of them were in this western coun- try, but I will mention only those who were in some de- gree identified with the making of Colorado.
The Bent brothers and Ceran St. Vrain were the first traders who established themselves within the limits of what is now Colorado. They built a trading post in 1826 on the Arkansas river, about half way between the pres- ent cities of Pueblo and Canon City, and, owing to their large trade with the Mexicans and Indians, they soon became men of distinction and influence. This region was the common ground of several of the most warlike tribes of Indians, and Bent's Fort was a place of safety. Travelers of every distinction and rank were entertained there.
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Colonel William Bent abandoned the old fort in 1829 and built a new one on the north bank of the Ar- kansas River, near the location of the present United States Fort Lyon. This was a pretentious building of adobe walls five or six feet thick, enclosing an open area large enough in which to corral an entire wagon train driven in through an enormous portal, made secure with double doors. The fort had a high tower on one
FORT BENT
CHARLES BENT
corner as a lookout. sur - FORT ST GRAIN mounted by a flagpole on which floated the Stars and Stripes for more than a quar- CFRAN ST VPAIN ter of a century. It became a stage station in 1865 and continued as such until the Santa Fe Railroad was built to Pueblo.
For more than twenty years this trading post was the most active and historic place between the Missouri River and the Pacific coast. Here. all the "free trappers" sold their furs. and the surrounding Indian tribes bar- tered their buffalo robes and deer pelts for blankets. am-
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munition and food. Explorers and travelers stopped and bought supplies, the stranded were employed, the poor . fed. Long wagon trains of merchandise from the Missouri River came and went in a ceaseless stream, while pack-trains made their rounds to and from the mountains, supplying trappers, camps and small trading posts hun- dreds of miles north and west. In fact, Bent's Fort was then the center of the romance and adventure of the "trapper age" of America. A motley crowd of divers races and languages made this spot the emporium and babel of the plains and mountains.
The Bent brothers were gentlemen of family and education. One of them, Charles, was the first American Governor of New Mexico after its acquisition by the United States. His dramatic life was ended during his governorship by his murder in the Mexican revolt at Taos. These men, with Colonel Ceran St. Vrain, George Simpson. Dick Wooton, Jim Bridger and their associates. were the earliest pioneers when the rude foundations were laid for this prosperous and happy home land of ours.
In 1838 the Bent brothers and Ceran St. Vrain built a fort on the Platte, about forty miles north of the site of Denver. It was named St. Vrain, and soon became famous as the favorite resort of hunters and trappers who roamed in this part of the country. Within the high adobe walls surrounding the fort were storehouses and dwellings and a corral to protect horses and mules from theft at night. The people assembled there formed the connecting link between Indian savagery and the pioneer settlements of 1858-59.
A weekly express was established between Fort St. Vrain and Fort Bent, and R. L. Wooton was the courier on this line for several years. This probably originated the idea of the pony express in the Rocky Mountain re- gion.
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CHRISTOPHER CARSON
Christopher ("Kit") Carson was a conspicuous fig- ure in the frontier days. He was a native of Kentucky, and, at the age of seventeen, left his home and entered upon his career of adventure in the far West. His serv- ice to Fremont as guide on two exploring expeditions first brought him prominently before the public and made him famous. Upon the breaking out of the Civil War he joined the Union army and rose to the rank of Briga- dier-General. He served as Indian agent and won re- nown for his honest dealings with the government and the Indians.
He was small in stature, with a fair complexion and quiet, intelligent features. Though his education was limited, he possessed fine natural ability ; was quick and shrewd in business, and acquired orally French, Spanish and several Indian tongues. His wonderful escapes from what appeared to be impending death led his associates and many Indian tribes to believe that he bore a charmed life, and made him the hero of numerous stories of ad- venture.
He married a handsome Mexican woman of varied accomplishments and made his home at Taos, New Mex- ico. His devotion to his wife was very beautiful, and shortly after her death he passed away with an affection of the heart. His last public service was rendered in the winter of 1867-68. He, with Hiram P. Bennet, D. C. Oakes and Lafayette Head, escorted Ouray and several other Ute chieftains to Washington on a visit to the President.
Kit Carson was one of nature's noblemen. When the western end of civilization was fringed with drunk- ards. horse thieves and cut-throats, Kit Carson, the little mild-mannered, blue-eyed scout, Indian fighter and trail- blazer. was honest. sober, kind and courageous. This hero
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