History of the Arkansas Valley, Colorado, Part 16

Author: O.L. Baskin & Co
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago : O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 1080

USA > Colorado > History of the Arkansas Valley, Colorado > Part 16

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

It would be simply impossible to make any- thing like a close estimate of the wealth that lies imbedded in these mountains, where constant de- velopments show that only the beginning of it has been found. When the time comes that trans- portation can be offered, these mountains will again tempt the hopeful prospector and the hardy miner, and they will go to stay. The production from these districts is considerable, and is grad- ually growing. A few years from now will show as remarkable a change from the present status of affairs in the San Juan Valley as the year 1876 showed in comparison with that of 1870. The inhabitants of this section of Colorado need have no fears. Those whose faith in the future of the San Juan mining country has led them to invest

their all there will yet see their most sanguine ex- pectations realized. Messrs. Keyes and Roberts, two celebrated mining experts from California, visited the San Juan country last summer with Gov. Pitkin, and stated publicly that it was the richest mining country they ever saw. Said Mr. Keyes: "If this country was located anywhere in California, $100,000,000 would be invested in it immediately by our capitalists."

Rich and extensive as the early discoveries in this country have proven to be, it is possible that a recent development there will eventually out- strip all former ones. Reference is had, of course, to the late carbonate find on the Dolores River, in the western part of Ouray County. These car- bonates are pronounced identical with the Lead- ville deposits, possessing every peculiarity of the latter, even down to the facility with which they yield to treatment by smelting.

The rush to the Dolores country has continued pretty much all summer, and a new town, named Rico, has been organized in the wilderness, with a newspaper and other adjuncts of civilized life. Rico means " rich," and undoubtedly the town is rightly named, for the camp is far in advance of what Leadville was at the same age. Of course, nobody knows what an undeveloped mining town will amount to one, two or three years hence ; but at present the Dolores country is looking up, and its promise is all that could be desired. It is still comparatively inaccessible except by the rough mountain roads of the southwest; but there will eventually be a railroad in that direction, and carbonate ores, especially the higher grades, can be treated on the ground.

Among the mining experts who visited Rico last summer was Senator Jones, and the fact that he invested in several claims during his sojourn shows that his faith in the future of the Dolores mines amounted to a tolerable certainty.

The new mines are reached via Ouray, Silver- ton or Animas City ; but neither route is over a prairie road, by any means. Better roads will be among the first results of development in the

Hol Buckwalter

119

HISTORY OF COLORADO.

mines, and by next summer it may be confidently expected that arrangements will be made not only to accommodate the large travel which will set toward the mines, but also to take in supplies and smelting machinery. That there are genuine lead

carbonates there is not doubted, and it is thought they are rich enough to pay for working them even at that distance from a railroad. If so, this country has justly earned its title of "The Silver San Juan."

CHAPTER XIX.

THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO.

A FTER two years of hard work, the Univer- sity of Colorado, at Boulder, has been placed on a footing with the largest and best educational institutions in the country. When Prof. Joseph A. Sewall, M. D., LL. D., first took the Presi- dent's chair, the University existed merely in name. To be sure, the building was there, but there was little else. Nothing had been done to improve the grounds, and the interior of the building was barren and desolate. Many pre- dicted that the undertaking would be a failure, and spoke disparagingly of it. But, notwith- standing these discouraging surroundings, Prof. Sewall started in earnest, and the beautiful grounds and the standing of the school are the result of his energetic labors. For two years he and his accomplished wife have labored assidu- ously, and their efforts have been bountifully rewarded.

The University is beautifully situated upon the high grounds on the south side of Boulder Creek, and overlooks the city of Boulder. Standing, as it does, alone, a view of the scenery of the sur- rounding country can be obtained from either side of the building. To the west are the boldest and highest foot-hills of the range, and, far away, the ever snow-capped summit of Arapahoe Peak. On the north and east, as far as the eye can reach, extend the fertile plains, dotted with lakes, while on the south rise the beautiful mesas or table- lands. Two years ago, the grounds immediately surrounding the institution were entirely barren and covered almost completely with rocks, of all

sizes. Now these rocks have been removed, and, in their place, has been cultivated a beautiful lawn on the west side, irrigated by two small paved ditches; while in front of the building is a beau- tifully arranged flower-garden, handsomely orna- mented, with stone walls surrounding the different plats. This spot alone is the result of much toil and perseverance, for every stone in the winding walks had to be laid by hand. Last spring there were just 219 plants set out, and, owing to the watchful care of the President's wife, only one of that number has succumbed to the enervating influence of the weather, while the remaining 218 are in a flourishing condition. Among these plants, which at present are in full bloom, is a cinnamon geranium nearly five feet high, having grown to its present dimensions in two years, from a slip of but a few inches. Verbenas, lobelias, geraniums and hosts of other choice plants have been beautifully arranged in plats, and the com- binations of their rich colors tend to greatly enhance the beautiful scenery around, while the air is redolent with their sweet perfume. A sprig of clematis has been planted, and is now entwin- ing its branches around the jagged edges of the stone walls of the foundation, and next summer will cover the wall of the building. The water used to irrigate the ground is supplied by a ditch company, in which the University is interested to the extent of ten shares of stock.

The building is a large square structure, three stories in height, built of brick and surmounted by a tower and observatory. There are over

120

HISTORY OF COLORADO.

seventy windows in the house, and thus all the apartments are well lighted and are always cheer- ful. There are two entrances, one from the north and the other from the south side, by means of double doors, reached by eight steps of stone. Exclusive of the basement, there are twenty-four rooms, and a large hall to the upper story.

On the first floor there are seven spacious rooms, four of which are occupied by the Presi- dent and his family. The left-hand side of the hall, entering from the north side, is devoted to school purposes. Immediately in front is the teachers' dressing-room, in which are neatly arranged a stationary wash-stand, clothes-racks and everything necessary to the comfort of the instructors upon arriving at the institution on a wet or disagreeable day. Adjoining this is the Normal school room, seating forty pupils. Next comes the chapel, which is also to be used as a general assembly room, where the scholars will congregate every morning to attend devotional exercises, prior to entering upon the duties of the day. It is a large room, its measurement being 40x60 feet and 32 feet in height. At present, the room does not present a very prepossessing appearance, but when the alterations are com- pleted it will be one of the most attractive depart- ments in the institution. A new floor of ash-wood is to replace the old one, the walls and ceiling are to be frescoed and there are to be inside blinds to the windows. Chairs will be used, and ample accommodations will be provided for all the schol- ars. The building is all piped, and it is expected before long there will be a small gas generator put in operation, for lighting purposes.

From the first floor there are two broad stair- ways, heavily balustraded, one of which leads to the third floor and the other terminates at the second. The former is used exclusively by the male scholars, while the girls hold possession of the latter one. The members of the Sophomore Class have a classroom in the northeast corner of the second story. This is furnished somewhat

differently from the regular style of schoolrooms ; in the place of the ordinary desks are four walnut tables, covered with fine billiard cloth, around which sixteen students can sit with ease.

Comfortable chairs are provided and a neat car- pet covers the floor, while around the walls are arranged blackboards, for illustrating purposes. This is one of the most cheerful and bright rooms in the establishment, and from the windows one can look down on the beautiful garden, and also view the surrounding country for miles.

Next to this is the classroom of the pupils in the third year of the preparatory course, which will accommodate thirty scholars at its desks. On the opposite side of the hall an apartment has been provided for the girls, to be used by them as a dressing and bath room. This is a large, com- modious place, and has been supplied with all the modern conveniences.

Next comes the classroom for pupils in the sec- ond year of the preparatory department, furnished with a Centennial desk, which is considered the finest and best manufactured. From this room a door leads out into a side hall, in which is another flight of stairs, in the middle of the building on the west side. Opposite the stairs is the room occupied by the first year preparatory scholars, with thirty desks in it and cheerfully lighted by two large windows. A ten-foot room separates it from the library, in the southwest corner of the building.

Too high praise cannot be bestowed upon the library department of the University, for, without exception, it is the finest and best-selected west of the Mississippi River. There are about fifteen hundred books, neatly arranged in three cases, and among their number there cannot be found a sin- gle volume which does not tend to cultivate the mind and impart instruction. Among the works of history are twelve volumes of "Grote's History of Greece," Mommsen's, Gibbon's and Merivale's Histories of Rome, "Knight's History of England," "Guizot's History of France," "Bancroft's History of the United States," the Netherlands and Dutch

HISTORY OF COLORADO.

121

- V

Republic by Motley, as well as all of his other works. Among others are Johnson's, the Brit- ish, and the new American Encyclopedias. There is also a complete line of reference and classical works, and the poets are represented by Shaks- peare, Scott, Byron, Shelley, Tennyson and Long- fellow, with Schiller and Goethe in the original, in six volumes each. The entire International series also occupies a place. Scientific works abound in large numbers, and among others are " Mitchell's Manual of Practical Assaying," " Crooke's and Bohrig's Practical Treatise on Metallurgy," and the two volumes of " Musprat's Chemistry as Applied to Art." The library is a regular subscriber to all the leading magazines, both of this country and Europe, and includes works printed in English, French and German.

This department is elegantly furnished through the kindness and interest of the scholars. The girls provided the lambrequins and curtains for the four large windows; a fine bordered Brussels car- pet was presented by a gentleman of Boulder. There are three walnut writing-tables, and a number of substantial walnut chairs; also, a com- fortable, large easy-chair. The library hall is fitted up for a reading-room, and is open through- out the day for study, reading and consultation of authorities. One of the attractive features is the elegant style in which all the books are bound, and this adds greatly to the richness of the room.

Ascending another flight of stairs, the third story is reached, and here is the chemical labora- tory. In the northwest corner is a small but remarkably bright room, in which the scales are to be placed and used as a weighing-room, and adjoining it will be the chemical storeroom. The laboratory is forty by fifty-two feet, in the center

of which is placed the working-table, so arranged as to accommodate twenty-four students at once. There is a rack running the entire length and in the middle of the table, placed in position to hold the re-agents. Each scholar will also have a drawer and closets for the apparatus. Standing off by itself is an assaying and cupelling furnace, designed by and built under the personal super- vision of Prof. Sewall. He considers it a furnace of very superior order. As there are always obnoxious gases arising from a department of this character, provision has been made by which they will be. immediately carried off, and thus be pre- vented from generating through the building .. A double trap-door has been ingeniously constructed, to open in the ceiling. This creates a draft, and the fumes are drawn into the north tower of the building, which is only protected from the outside elements by means of open blinds, and through these the gases will readily find an exit. This is one of the great advantages of having the labora- tory in the top of the house. About $5,000 worth of apparatus has been ordered from New York and Germany for this department, and some of it is expected to arrive by the first of next month, and, by the first of the year, everything will be in working order. This includes a complete outfit of a working laboratory ; also, an Urtling assay balance and Backer's analytical balance.

Several of the rooms have had to be changed in order to meet the requirements of the Univer- sity, and, to forward the business of the institution, the Legislature at its last session appropriated the sum of $7,000. Of this amount, the State Board retained $3,000, and allowed the remainder to be used for the purposes above specified. Nearly all of that amount has been well invested, for now the school is in excellent working order.

122

HISTORY OF COLORADO.

POSTSCRIPT.

CHAPTER I.

THE UTE REBELLION.

SINCE the preceding pages were written, Col- orado has been convulsed by a sudden, unexpected and causeless uprising of the Utes. Strictly speaking, only a portion of the tribe par- ticipated in the outbreak ; but the confederated bands of Colorado are so intermingled by marriage and bound together by so many ties of consan- guinity and interest that it would be hard to dis- sociate the innocent from the guilty, and a war upon the White River Utes, the band directly responsible for the outbreak, would almost inev- itably result in drawing the whole tribe into the conflict, sooner or later.

The story of the outbreak has been so graphic- ally told in the journals of the day throughout the country that there seems to be no present demand for an authentie history ; but, on the other hand, now is the time to summarize the whole wretched business for the enlightenment of future genera- tions. The bloody incidents of the campaign aud the fatal blunders of the "powers that be" in dealing with the red-handed murderers are all fresh in the minds of our people, and it is not im- possible that a calm review of the matter may aid the public in arriving at some correet conclusions on the vexed question of Indian management, at least as far as the Colorado Utes are concerned.

It was stated at the outset that the rebellion was causeless. In some sense, the accusation is well founded; but away back in the past history of the Utes may be found some shadowy excuses for their ingratitude and treachery to Agent Meeker and the Ageney employes, to say nothing of the Thornburg massaere, which, no doubt, seemed a proper thing for Captain Jack and his

warriors. As between the Utes and the Indian Bureau, the people of Colorado think there is not much room to choose.

A few years ago, the writer was conducting a daily newspaper in Denver, the policy of which was by no means friendly to the Utes; but, for a time, its columns were devoted to the unpleasant task of showing how Indian affairs were misman- aged in Colorado. It was no secret then that our people feared the worst results from the state of affairs at the Northern Ageney. They could not have been much worse. All the supplies for the White River Indians were at Rawlings, ware- housed at Government expense, awaiting trans- portation. Nothing had been done toward getting the supplies from the railway to the Agency, and nothing was done for many months. The Indians were simply destitute. They had neither pro- visions nor elothing. In their despair, they went to Rawlings, where a train load of clothing, pro- visions and annuity goods were stored, and which should have been distributed long before ; but the meshes of "red tape" entangled them, and not a pound of flour nor an article of clothing could be issued at that point.

Rev. B. F. Crary, Presiding Elder of the Methodist Conference for Northern Colorado and Wyoming, made a thorough investigation of the matter, and wrote some stinging articles upon the subject, which were printed in the newspapers of the day; but the goods still rotted in the ware- house, and the Indians went hungry and naked. For a wonder, however, they did not murder the Agent and go upon the war path. Indian nature is an anomaly.

Auch Burdick

HISTORY OF COLORADO.

123

While the White River Utes were suffering from the neglect and general incompeteney of the Indian Bureau, the Southern or Uncompahgre Indians were being treated to a mild manifestation of financial repudiation on the part of the parental Government at Washington. By the Brunot Treaty, the Southern Utes surrendered the San Juan country for a valuable consideration, the money to be invested for their benefit and the interest to be paid for their use. There was never any reason why this interest should not have been paid. There was every reason why it ought to have been paid. Nevertheless, it was not paid. The Indians grumbled a good deal, of course, as they had a right to do; but Chief Ouray's clear head and guiding hand prevented serious trouble. Colorado owes so much to this Indian statesman that the debt bids fair to remain uneaneeled.

But an Indian never forgets or forgives an injury, and all these slights and injustices were treasured up against a day of reckoning with the whites. All whites are the same to all Indians. If a horse-thief steals an Indian pony, the Indian gets even with the first white man whose stoek is attainable. If the Indian Bureau fails to furnish supplies, the Indian forages on the white settlers, begging what he can and stealing the rest. An Indian with a grievance is worse than a bear with a sore head. He is never quite satisfied with any atonement, vicarious or direct. Indeed, his griev- ance grows by what it feeds on of that character, and the more he is placated the more implacable he becomes. That was Father Meeker's error, perhaps.

Still, in the main, the Government was good to the Utes. They got cattle and sheep and ponies, and these multiplied amazingly, until now the tribe is rich in flocks and herds, and their princi- pal occupation, as well as their favorite amuse- ment, is horse-racing. As befits the "true lords of the soil," they toil not, neither do they spin, nor labor with aught but their jaws. Latterly, too, they have been well fed and well clothed. Their Agents have been scrupulously careful to

give them no just cause for complaint, having good reason to fear an outbreak if they did so, for the Utes have been growing more and more dissatisfied of late, and more imperious and unjust in their demands. Yet, while they were well- treated no one looked for a rebellion, and the massacre at Milk Creek and White River was as great a surprise to the people of Colorado as it was to the Indian Bureau itself.

Mr. Meeker had been in charge of White River Ageney sinee early in 1878. He found matters in bad shape when he reached his post of duty ; but, by determined effort and untiring industry, he soon brought order out of chaos, and made the Indians more comfortable than they had been for years. Mr. Meeker was eminently a man of affairs, highly educated, intelligent, thoroughly honest and conscientious withal, so that his treat- ment of the savages would have been strictly just, even if he had not been a lifelong devoted friend of the Indian. As it was, he was enthusiastic in his devotion to the Indians, and did everything in his power to promote their interests. Bred in the humanitarian school of Horace Greeley, whose colleague he had been on the New York Tribune, and in the Greeley Colony, of Colorado, Mr. Meeker-or Father Meeker, as he was almost uni- versally known-was the last man who would or could have been suspected of imposing upon the wards of the Government, in any particular. Yet it appeared during the spring of 1879 that Father Meeker was making poor headway with his Indi- ans, and, later on, it became evident that he had lost all control over them. They wandered away from the Ageney, making mischief as they went ; and on being remonstrated with and threatened with the Agent's displeasure, they paid no atten- tion to threats or remonstrances.

During the summer months, numerous depreda- tions were reported as having been committed by the White River Utes, while off their reservation. Forest fires were started by them in every direc- tion, burning away millions of acres of timber and frightening the game out of the country.

124

HISTORY OF COLORADO.

Property was stolen or destroyed, and at least two houses, on Bear River, were burned by rene- gade Utes from Mr. Meeker's Agency. Mr. Meeker did what he could to keep his Indians at home, and appealed to the Government and mili- tary to restrain the depredating Indians. Noth- ing came of his appeals. When a white man accidentally crosses the line of an Indian reserva- tion, he may expect to find a cordon of United States bayonets surrounding him and soldiery enough to escort him back; but marauding Indi- ans, off their reservation, burning hay and houses and forests, find nothing in the way of their enjoy- ment, unless the long-suffering settlers rise to pro- tect their rights.

Immediately following the outbreak at White River, came the customary cry in the Eastern humanitarian press that the Utes were fighting to protect themselves against the aggressions of white settlers; that the latter were overrunning the reservation against the will of the Indians, and the latter were forced to fight or fly. No baser calumny was ever printed against any people. The reverse was true. The white settlers were forced to flee from Routt and Grand Counties because they could not live near the reservation. The insolent Utes were master of the whole northwest- ern country, far outside of their reservation.

In the mean time, a curious thing happened, or, at least, a thing that would have seemed curious had it related to any other people than the noble red men of the mountains. At the very moment when these Utes were almost in open rebellion, they began to find fault with Agent Meeker and to ask his removal, not because he was incompe- tent or dishonest; not because he was trying to make them behave themselves; not for any of the many stock reasons the Indians have for becoming dissatisfied with their agents, but only because he was carrying out the humanitarian idea of treating the Indians well and instructing them in letters and the arts of peace.

Ou this point, there can be no doubt, whatever, for the testimony of the Utes themselves is

conclusive upon the question. About two months before the massacre, Gov. Pitkin was visited at Denver by four chiefs from White River-Capt. Jack, Sahwitz, Musisco and Unkumgood-who came on a mission in behalf of the tribe, said mission being to secure the removal of Agent Meeker through the influence of .Gov. Pitkin. The Governor gave them two audienees, each lasting two or three hours, and listened to all their complaints. Press reporters were also present and noted earefully what was said on both sides. Capt. Jack, who afterward led the attack on Maj. Thorn- burg, was the spokesman of the Utes, his command of the English language being sufficient to make him easily understood. He talked a good deal about one thing and another, but at no time did he ever intimate that the Indians were not well clothed, well fed and well cared for, or that the whites were making encroachments on the rescr- vation. Neither did he complain about the non- payment of interest due, or any other negleet to deal justly with the Indians. The burden of his complaint was humanitarianism. He had a holy Indian horror of hard work, and the strongest possible prejudice against education. The Agent was teaching school and plowing land-two unpardona- ble sins, according to Jack's decalogue. Jack also had some fault to find with minor details of man- agement at the Ageney, none of which in the least affected the condition of his tribe; and he was also very severe on Chief Ouray, whose authority he openly denied and defied. When asked if he and his associates would consent to let the white men dig gold on the reservation, his refusal was prompt and vigorous, and gave un- doubted evidence that the prospector who set foot across the line would almost certainly find it a veritable dead-line. At that time, however, no one supposed that the hostility of the Indians to Agent Meeker would lead them to murder him and his associates, and little attention was paid to the trivial complaints of the White River delega- tion, though their visit was duly reported to the proper authorities at Washington and elsewhere.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of the Arkansas Valley, Colorado, Part 16

Author: O.L. Baskin & Co Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago : O.L. Baskin & Co. Number of Pages: 1080

Author: O.L. Baskin & Co
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago : O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 1080