USA > Colorado > Colorado pioneers in picture and story > Part 6
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To George Steele, who was full of drunken bravery. was entrusted the honor of reconnoitering the enemy's camp. He advanced to the steps of the building and peered long and earnestly. but could see nothing-all was
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as still as the heart of the dead, yet at that very moment he was covered with a dozen rifles from within. Stand- ing awhile, as if debating in his own mind the course to pursue, he returned to the log house, but soon appeared with a pair of heavy revolvers strapped around him. When in front of the building, he whipped out a pistol and fired into the office, but no one was wounded, nor was there any response. He then put spurs to his horse and sped like the wind over the foot-bridge that reeled and rocked under the clattering hoofs of his horse. Gain- ing the opposite bank, he rose in his stirrups and. turn- ing, fired again, but the bullet passed through the build- ing without harm.
A signal was then given to the News men, when they opened fire upon him from their windows. His coat was completely riddled with buckshot, and he reeled in his saddle, but did not fall. He rode rapidly to a brothel where his mistress lived, informed her of his wounded condition. and then dashed away to the Highland sub- urbs. A man by the name of Tom Pollock followed in his wake and shot him from his horse, but not fatally.
There were flying rumors that Byers had been killed. and in a few minutes the streets of Denver were filled with armed men. Search being instituted for Carl Wood. he was apprehended. just as he reached the door of his cabin, and compelled to throw down his arms and sur- render.
The trial which ensued occupied three days. All business was suspended. and Judge H. P. Bennet, always a faithful and earnest advocate of the people's cause. did great credit to himself on this occasion.
It was decided that Carl Wood should be banished from the country on pain of death if he returned. He was provided with a fleet horse, led out on the prairie and given the word "go." which he obeyed without any unnecessary delay.
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THE HANGING OF GORDON
The damp morning newspaper so often brought tales of blood that a "man for breakfast" became a common expression.
The killing of Jacob Gantz by James Gordon in July, 1860, created the most intense excitement that had ever agitated the public mind.
Gordon was subject to periodical sprees. On this occasion, it is said, he was crazy drunk. He entered a saloon, and, seeing Jacob Gantz seated on a keg in a cor- ner, politely and pressingly urged him to take a drink. While standing at the bar, Gordon lifted his glass, sneer- ingly viewed Gantz from head to foot, threw the whisky in his face, struck him with his pistol and shot him dead. In the darkness, he made his escape to Fort Lupton. The fort was surrounded by his pursuers for twenty-four hours before he came out. At sundown the gate was thrown open and Gordon, mounted on a fleet-footed horse and a pistol in each hand, plunged through the crowd and disappeared in the gathering darkness.
Weeks passed before he was heard of again. He wrote a friend to sell some property and send the money to him at Kansas City. The letter fell into the hands of W. H. Middaugh, acting as the people's sheriff, and who undertook the dangerous mission of capturing him.
Taking the coach to Leavenworth, he intercepted Gordon on the high prairies, within sight of the line of the Indian Territory, when he was lying on the grass by the side of the trail, holding his horse by the bridle and allowing it to feed. When Middaugh read the warrant for his arrest. a deathlike paleness covered his face and every nerve seemed to tremble.
He was taken to Leavenworth, where a single half- hour's trial was held. and. in mockery of justice, he was acquitted. on the plea that the deed was committed out-
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side the jurisdiction of that place, notwithstanding the long-asserted authority of Kansas to the contrary. A violent mob gathered around the house, however, with the avowed intention of hanging him. He placed him- self under the protection of the mayor.
The wildest excitement prevailed. The seething, angry crowd surged to and fro, and, as night came on, bonfires were built, which threw their lurid light far out over a scene at once weird and fearful.
Infuriated men, armed with muskets, revolvers and knives, were sending up the fierce demand : "Hang him! Hang him !"
Mayor McDowell expostulated with the rioters and made several speeches, urging obedience to the law.
The ruling spirits at last agreed that Gordon should be delivered to Middaugh. The scene that ensued was indescribable. The brave officers gathered around the prisoner. They were forced by the frenzied crowd into a narrow rocky glen. Several times a halter was thrown around the neck of Gordon, and, as quickly, cut by an officer. Darkness closed about them, and the howls and oaths of the mob made a din that was fearful.
The prisoner begged to be hung. shot-anything to put him out of his misery.
He was bruised and lacerated; every shred of cloth- ing torn from him; nothing left upon his body but clank- ing chains. Middaugh, at length, carried his prisoner away through the mob, and on the twenty-eighth of Sep- tember they reached Denver.
Intense feeling began to manifest itself. The crowd which met them soon adjourned to a grove to organize a court, for they intended Gordon's trial to be in accord- ance with law and justice. Judge H. P .. Bennet, who sat far off with his back to the crowd, was nominated as prosecutor for the people, but he declined. saying the judges appointed would control the jury. If they would
Colorado Pioneers in Picture and Story
appoint a new set of judges, he would prosecute. The request was acceded to. and the judge was chosen for the prosecution with a deafening yell. He arose and stated that it would require some time to collect his evidence. and requested the trial to be adjourned until the next morning at nine o'clock. He urged the people to let right be done, though the heavens fall. He said: "The trifling of one of the highest tribunals in the land with the life that is now in our hands has turned the eyes of tens of thousands in the States towards Denver, where no law of the great American Union claims jurisdiction. Let us temper justice with mercy. and let no mob or un- lawful attempt interfere with the 'People's Court."" Even after this ardent address. an attempt was made during the night to rescue Gordon.
The next morning they entered upon the trial. Gor- don was allowed every advantage that could have been accorded him by the highest and best regulated court in the land. He was supported by able lawyers, who la- bored faithfully in his behalf. The verdict. "Guilty." was rendered by twelve of the most respectable and re- sponsible citizens of the community. and the sentence of death passed by the court and endorsed by the assem- bled hundreds. He was given time to make temporal and spiritual preparation for his unhappy end. Peti- tions were circulated for a reprieve, but without success. If to be hanged was inevitable. he wished for no delay. for there was no reprieve from his conscience. From the depths of his misery thoughts came thick and fast of his misspent life. of the alluring woman who placed the red wine to his lips and led him to ruin: of the life he had taken: of the horrible death before him: of the hopes, prayers and tears of his gray-haired mother.
On the following Saturday-October 6th-as the sun was sinking behind mountains shrouded with mystic light. Gordon was led to the gallows. Rev. Dr. Rankin.
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Sheriff Middaugh and a few others mounted the scaffold with him. Prayer for the doomed was offered, during which Gordon knelt and the vast assemblage stood with uncovered heads. At the close, he said in a faltering voice :
"Gentlemen, you who have been my friends and en- deavored to obtain a reprieve for me in the hope of se- curing my banishment from the Territory. I thank you from the bottom of my heart; I thank the ladies and gentlemen who have visited me during my confinement and been so good to me. Speak of me kindly to my mother. Oh, if some good friend here would shoot me! But it is all well-good-by. Mr: Middaugh, remember to fix the knot so it will break my neck instantly. Oh. God have mercy !"
And thus ended the career of one who had many friends-but the people were inflexible in administering justice. Truly, the "way of the transgressor" is hard and his sins will find him out.
The foregoing stories illustrate the condition of af- fairs in the new settlement. The People's Court had a powerful influence in checking those inclined to deeds of violence.
THE FOURTH OF JULY
The great holiday event of 1860 was the celebration of the Fourth of July. The festivities opened with fir- ing salutes and a grand procession. The crowd assembled in the cottonwood grove and listened to speeches by local orators that flashed with patriotism and expanded with predictions of the future greatness of this western coun- try. A brass band was brought from Omaha, which en- livened the proceedings with the inspiring strains of the "Star Spangled Banner." "Yankee Doodle," "Hail Colum- bia" and other appropriate melodies. The pioneer women took an active part in the entertainment. They made a
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handsome silk flag, which they presented to the city, with the request that it be kept until Colorado should be ad- mitted into the Union and then to be delivered to the Governor of the new State. Nineteen years later Mayor Sopris passed the flag to Governor Routt. It is now one of the State's historical banners in the capitol building.
A curious jumble of conflicting jurisdictions grew out of the ambition of the pioneers to have an independ- ent State. In the history of the United States there is no parallel to the complicated political and legal condi- tions of 1859 and 1860. The Kansas Territorial govern- ment was asserting its jurisdiction. The Jefferson Ter- ritorial government was doing the best it could, but it was practically inoperative because it was without a source of revenue, and many of the settlers who adhered to the authority of the Governor of Kansas regarded it as illegal. The Miners' Courts and People's Courts scat- tered over the Territory, together with the Arapahoe County Claim Club, were recognized only by the local settlers who had established them.
The proceedings of the several governments became a "fearfully confused tangle." Many who desired to be law-abiding did not know where to bestow allegiance. These confused jurisdictions inevitably gave rise to novel complications. The following is an illustration :
DIVORCE-JUDGE HOWARD'S QUIT-CLAIM DEED TO HIS
WIFE
MARY E. HOWARD,
Plaintiff,
vs.
JOHN HOWARD,
Defendant.
In Court of Chancery. Denver City, Jefferson Territory.
PETITION FOR DIVORCE
To the Plaintiff in the above entitled action:
WHEREAS, having been cited through the press at Denver, to appear before one Judge Downing, of the above entitled Court, to show cause why your prayer to be divorced from me should not be granted;
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I, the defendant, hereby state (waiving my own oath in the premises) that I don't know any such cause whatever, and, there- fore, confess the corn. And said defendant, as Judge of the Canon City District Court, enters a decree in your favor accordingly; and in order to relieve you of any embarrassment in the matter, I have executed and send you herewith attached as part of this answer, a quit-claim deed of all my right, title and interest what- ever in you. leaving a blank to be filled up by the name of the party grantee, by whom you may in future be claimed under squatter title. Hoping you will fully appreciate my good feeling in the premises, I hereby attach the said deed, as follows, to wit:
Know all men (and one woman) by these presents, That I, John Howard, of Canon City, of the first part, do hereby give, grant, bargain, convey, and quit-claim, all my right, title and in- terest in and to the following (un) real estate, to wit: The un- divided whole of that ancient estate known as Mary Howard, (the title to which I acquired by discovery, occupancy, possession and use,) situated at present in the town of Denver, Jefferson Terri- tory, together with all the improvements made and erected by me thereon, with all the rents, profits, easements, enjoyments, long suffering and appurtenances thereto in anywise appertaining, unto of the second part, to have and to hold unto the said ยท so long as he can keep her, without recourse upon the grantor or endorser.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this, the 24th day of Jan., 1861.
[ SEAL ] Signed, JOHN HOWARD.
Signed in the presence of A. Rudd, clerk of District Court.
Per WILBUR F. STONE, Deputy.
THE UNWRITTEN LAW
Mr. Hugh Steele is a son of R. W. Steele, who was at the head of the Provisional government. He is now Secretary of the Colorado Pioneer Society and likes to talk about the old times.
"My father and his family arrived in Denver on the twenty-fourth day of May, 1860," said Mr. Steele, "and we pitched our tent in a grove of cottonwood trees where the Colorado & Southern machine shops now stand. Many people were living in tents. I stepped out of our
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Colorado Pioneers in Picture and Story
tent the next morning and the first thing that greeted my gaze was the body of a man swinging from the limb of a cottonwood tree. I was in- deed shocked. I did not know but what it was a regular thing. If I remember correctly, the man was a murderer. The vigilance committee had been organized and had started out to show the peo- ple that law was going to be en- forced, and one of the particular points was that indiscriminate killing must cease."
In response to my request for a story of the early days, Mr. Steele told me the following :
The heroic spirit of the pio- Hugh Steele neers was never more strongly ex- emplified than in their endeavor to rescue those lost and wandering in the mountains. Indeed. it was an unwrit- ten law among them that one should imperil his own life in the defense or rescue of a pioneer in danger.
Mr. John W. Irion of Thomasville. Colorado, was one of a party that risked their lives to save others. This is the story. said Mr. Steele: In March. 1860, a party of men left Gregory Diggings for the purpose of pros- pecting the Middle Park country. They crossed the main range near James Peak. Thoughtless of the fact that they were going into a widely unsettled section. they car- ried a very slim allowance of provisions.
After crossing the range and going down the valley of Grand river, they camped at Hot Sulphur Springs, and prospected the surrounding country until their sup- ply of provisions was gone. It became necessary to re- trace their trail to Gregory Diggings.
In the meantime the weather had turned very cold:
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and one of the party, Nathan Rowley, had his feet frozen and was unable to travel. After some discussion. it was decided to start at once and leave Rowley at the Hot Sul- phur Springs, until assistance could be sent to him.
They had gone only a few miles on the return trail when Charles Tupper halted, with the remark that he had never abandoned a man in such a desperate condi- tion and he never would. Taking with him his old- fashioned muzzle-loading rifle and blankets, he went back to Rowley, determined to stay with him to the bitter end.
The other men made their way to Gregory and scat- tered to other sections, leaving the rescue of Rowley and Tupper to a man by the name of Dorsey, who had been the leader of the expedition.
Dorsey was taken with a fever and lay for a month unable to do anything, yet he had not forgotten his com- panions and made strenuous efforts to get someone to go to the rescue.
Finally he induced two men, Heath and King, to make the effort. They went as far as James Peak, where a storm overtook them, and, worn out and discouraged. they returned to Gregory diggings. They said that no human being could get across the range at that season of the year.
Dorsey, undaunted by the failure of the first party sent out, went to Russell Gulch, where James F. Pierce. Harrison Dennis. Lyman G. Crippen and John W. Irion were engaged in whip-sawing lumber. Pierce and Row- ley had camped together the previous winter and Dorsey thought he might be induced to assist in finding his for- mer partner. Pierce said it would be absolutely impos- sible for him to leave, but he would pay wages to anyone who would volunteer to go.
Crippen at once declared himself ready to go. and Trion, with an emphatic exclamation, said he would ac- company him. They started the following morning. Dor-
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sey acted as guide, being too feeble from sickness to pack anything. From the pass of James Peak, Dorsey pointed out to them the route which his party had traversed to Hot Sulphur Springs. If Rowley and Tupper are still living, said he, they will be there waiting for the prom- ised relief.
Crippen and Irion bade Dorsey farewell. From James Peak they proceeded north along the summit of the range about three miles, doubtless crossing the ground where the Moffat Road now runs. At one point they were confronted by an unsurmountable cliff of rock and were obliged to make a detour to the west slope and pick their way along the rough mountain side. Irion was in the lead, when suddenly he found himself being carried rapidly down the slope, accompanied by all the snow above and around him. Fortunately, he lodged against a ledge of rock, while the avalanche of snow deepened and widened until it looked to him about a quarter of a mile wide.
This was his first experience in snow slides. He had to climb one hundred and fifty feet to get back from where he started. Then they hurried along the ridge to the north, until they found a place where they could de- scend in safety to timber line. They built a fire, cooked supper and rolled up in their blankets for the night. An early start was made next morning and they expected to make a good advance in their search, but the snow was soft and treacherous and their snow-shoes were but makeshifts, being pieces of board about eight inches wide and thirty inches long, lashed on with pieces of cord. Threatened with snow blindness, they hastily melted snow, bathed their eyes, and were overjoyed to find it produced relief. The next morning they were up early and started on their journey. During the night the weather had changed, snow had fallen and it had soft- ened the crust of the old snow, so that travel became ex-
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tremely laborious. The crust would give way and down they would go to their arm-pits.
They became exhausted and went into camp. Irion climbed a tall tree, and from the top he could look down upon the country a few miles distant. This renewed their courage, and the next morning they started with the intention of reaching the open country that day. But their labors were to be brought to a conclusion much quicker than they dared to hope. They had proceeded about a mile when they heard a voice calling. Both of the men made answer to the call and fired their pistols several times, running as rapidly as possible towards the place whence the sound came. Irion called out, "Who are you ?" A voice answered, "My name is Tupper." "Where is Rowley ?" he asked. "He is only a short dis- tance away," was the reply.
Tupper then stepped out from some thick under- growth of timber which had concealed him, and in a few seconds he was joined by Rowley. Irion said they were two of the most unsightly human beings he had ever looked upon; they were unwashed, black with smoke, and veritable walking skeletons. It can be but faintly imagined with what intense emotions the rescuers grasped the hands of these poor fellows.
To each of them was given a small piece of bread. which was the first they had tasted in six weeks. Tupper, who had spent his time hunting and caring for Rowley, occasionally killed a duck, and was fortunate enough to kill one wild goose. They had been reduced to such straits that for nearly three weeks they subsisted on the carcass and skin of a ground hog. Feasting like this brought Tupper to a sick bed, and for a week he was unable to get up.
Together they went to where the rescuers had spent the previous night. They made a fire and prepared sup- per. To each of the poor, starving men was given tea, a
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piece of bread and a small piece of fried bacon. In their emaciated condition, had they been allowed to eat what they desired it might have proved fatal.
Around the camp fire the four men sat and talked. Tupper and Rowley asked what had brought two stran- gers on this fearful trip seeking for them. When the cause of the long delay was explained, the poor fellows broke down and cried like children, pledging, between sobs. everlasting friendship for Crippen and Irion.
After a rest of several hours they took up the march for Gregory Diggings. The unwritten law was obeyed. and when the boys were turned over to their friends. Crippen and Trion were given a real pioneer reception.
CHAPTER VIII CLOSE OF PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT
PERMANENT POPULATION IN 1860
When the grandeur of the scenery, the charm of the climate, and the resources of the country became fixed in the minds and hearts of the pioneers, they claimed this as their own land, and, in 1860, the permanent popula- tion of Denver rapidly increased.
The country was literally swarming with people: they crawled over the mountains. through the canyons and up the gulches, searching for gold. The yieldings of Gilpin, Boulder: the diggings in the South Park, on the Blue and the Arkansas. were immense. Fortunes were dug out in a dav. California Gulch. the present site of Leadville, was producing astonishing wealth. Den- ver was the busy, surging headquarters for all the activ- ity of the Pike's Peak region.
Real estate advanced: there were many new and im- portant enterprises; a building boom was on-the saw- mills could not meet the demand and carpenters com- manded fabulous prices. Log cabins were pulled away to make room for frame buildings. and Denver com- menced to assume city airs.
The fertility of the soil when properly irrigated had been demonstrated. and men turned their attention to agriculture. The grocery stores were supplied with home- grown vegetables. It was not unusual to see cabbages weighing twenty-eight pounds, beets thirteen pounds. and turnips fourteen pounds.
Women and children arrived in considerable num- bers. and their presence meant the forming of homes and better social conditions.
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FIRST PHILANTHROPIC SOCIETY
In January of 1860, Mrs. William N. Byers organ- ized a Ladies' Union Aid Society, which had for its pur- pose the aiding and assisting of the sick and unfortunate. The society held its meetings semi-monthly, and each person in attendance paid a mite of ten cents. This was the beginning of Mrs. Byers' charity, which has wound like a thread of gold through the development of Denver. until it culminated in the E. M. Bvers Home for Boys.
THE E.M. BYERS HOME FOR BOYS.
MRS. BYERS
To this institution she gave the land and the build- ing, and today contributes largely to its support. The cause is a worthy one and places Mrs. Byers among the noted philanthropists of Denver. She came here in 1859, when there was scarcely half a dozen white women in the Rocky Mountain region-before Colorado was on the map.
"Someone always has to start things," she said, "and I am proud of being a pioneer; inexpressably proud of the city that the pioneers founded.
"Yet. being one of the first to enter a new country to
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stay is an experience which I certainly would not care to undergo again. No one, without going through it. can understand the feeling of having to go without things, of knowing that even the necessities of life must be brought by wagon across the Great American Desert. During the years of the Indian uprisings, from 1864 to 1870, we were often not sure that our supplies would reach us, and many times I have seen flour sell for a dol- lar a pound. It was the constant anxiety of not knowing what would happen next, rather than any terrible things that actually did happen, that made life on the frontier so hard.
"We had many pleasures, too. My husband had a way of bringing people home to dinner unexpectedly. One day he came in with Judson Dudley, Dick Whitsitt and Lewis Tappan. I immediately set them to work- one ground the coffee, one went to the spring for a bucket of water, and one set the table. They enjoyed that meal, and so did I.
"Entertainments of various kinds were given," Mrs. Byers went on, "and, though in primitive style, were thoroughly enjoyed. Mr. Fred Salomon's dinners 'took the shine off of everything.' He was considered the most punctiliously polite man in the settlement, a reputation fairly won and well preserved, as the following story will attest :
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