History of the Arkansas Valley, Colorado, Part 30

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

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Then came the location of the New Discovery and the Little Pittsburg as already related, and men went fairly crazy with excitement. Every- thing was at high pressure, and every man with money enough to buy a pick and shovel, or who could "grub-stake" a prospector, was en- gaged in mining. Nothing was talked of or thought of but mines, and any prospect hole showing the slightest indication of mineral was held at the most extravagant figure. A mine that was worth less than a million was not con- sidered of any great importance, and few men had the courage or good sense to accept less than $10,000 for claims with nothing more than a ten-foot hole of development.

The latter part of the year witnessed the de- velopment of a number of the properties discov- ered the previous year. The principal proper- ties had uncovered enormous blocks of ore and were shipping thousands of dollars daily, for which ready cash was received at the mills. The sale of the Camp Bird had attracted hun- dreds of capitalists and speculators who were willing to pay almost anything for property in good locations.

Early in the summer, Mr. Hook, one of the discoverers of the Little Pittburg sold his inter- est to his partners, Messrs. Tabor and Rische, for $140,000, and returned to his old home in the East to enjoy the fruits of his good fortune. This stroke of good luck by which in a few months Mr. Hook became lifted up from poverty into the possession of $200,000, was followed

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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.

by the transactions in the Vulture claim on Fryer Hill, which in the course of a few weeks passed from a value of $450 to a purchasing price of over $60,000, meantime passing through the hands of several parties until it became a part of the Chrysolite Mining Com- pany's property, and produced in a short time $250,000, at a net cost including machinery, operation and purchase money, of but a trifle over $100,000. These transactions only served to intensify the excitement and increase the daily immigration, and, as a result, before the summer ended, the town as then constituted was packed in every part and a new street had been located to the north of Chestnut, and, al- most as soon as located, filled up with houses crammed with humanity.

With the extraordinary transactions in min- ing property increasing daily, the establishment of banking facilities became necessary, and accordingly in May, the Bank of Lake County was established and immediately commenced doing an enormous business. In October, the Bank of Leadville came into the field, and signalized its advent by the erection of a two- story brick building, the first erected in the city. The Miners' Exchange Bank came into existence the same year.

Real estate, that certain indicator of the prosperity of a town, took an unprecedented ad- vance. In the spring of the year, lots could have been secured in some localities for the taking, and in the best places for the nominal price of $25. The rush had hardly commenced however, before they began to rise in value, sometimes jumping at the rate of a hundred dollars a day under the stimulus of competi- tive bids. A gentleman made a bargain by letter for a lot on Chestnut street for $1,000, but before he could reach Leadville from Den- ver to complete the purchase, the holder de- manded an advance of $200 and was not par- ticular whether he sold or not. The would-be purchaser declined indignantly, but before a week had passed acceded to the demand, but was coolly informed that the price had been ad- vanced to $1,500. Disgusted with what he considered rapaciousness, the gentlemen re- turned to Denver. In less tlian a month the lot was sold for $1,800, and the following spring the gentleman returned and purchased a lot for $600 at a point which the year before had been half a mile from the business center, and

which turned out to be one of the best business localities in the city.

As a natural consequence of the sudden gathering of thousands of human beings of all grades of society and every habit of life, crime was rampant. The streets were thronged with confidence men of every grade-from the sleek, oily-tongued operator in mining proper- ties having an existence only in the imagina- tion, to the degraded robber whose only hope of a livelihood lay in the skill with which he could gull an unsuspecting innocent to invest in three-card monte, the " top and bottom" game and the " envelope racket. " The streets and alleys, which had come into being with the growth of the town, were the hiding-places of desperadoes, who waited patiently for the coming of their victims, whom a hlow from a bludgeon would put in a condition to be quietly robbed. Murders were of frequent occurrence, though, as a rule, they were the result of quar- rels and sudden passion rather than of deliber- ate intent. The foot-pad plied his dangerous calling at all points outside of the principal throughfares, and dance-halls and low variety shows held out the allurements of vice and crime, and had their enterprise rewarded with throngs of the thoughtless, the vicious, or the willfully criminal on the look-out for victims.

The extraordinary influx of population during 1877, and the certainty of an enormous increase during the year, induced the principal citizens of the camp to consider the propriety of a town incorporation, and, accordingly, on the 18th of January, a mass-meeting of eight- een citizens met at the common rendezvous- the store of Charles Mater, Esq .- and, after an animated debate, selected the name of ",Lead- ville, " and petitioned the Governor for the in- corporation of the town. The proclamation of the Governor ordering an election was issued on the 26th of the same month, and, on the sec- ond Tuesday of February, the town was formally inaugurated by the election of its first Mayor and Town Board, to hold office until the regu- lar election in April.

The most striking incident of the year was the murder of the Town Marshal, George O'Connor, by a police officer. The murder was the result of a feud between the two men, but was deliberate and cold-blooded. The Marshal was in a saloon filled with men, and his assail- ant (Bloodsworth) made his way through the

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throng to within a short distance of the Mar- shal, shot him dead, immediately turned, passed through the crowd to the door, and, mounting his horse, rode away, and was never again seen.

Early in May, a number of far-seeing busi- ness men, satisfied that the growth of the city would far exceed its then limits, petitioned the Council for the opening of Harrison avenue, and laid the foundation for the main avenue of the city.

The difficulty of procuring water for domes- tic purposes was so great, that in the early part of June, the business men along Chestnut street united in laying a two-inch pipe from the Starr Ditch along the line of the sidewalk of Chestnut street, a stand-pipe supplying each subscriber

The rapidity with which the town increased in size, and the character of the buildings, many of which were frames, constructed of native lumber, and perfect tinder-boxes, led, in the summer, to the consideration of the pro- priety of organization of a fire department. The first meeting on the subject was held on the 20th of June, and. it is characteristic of the energy which characterized all movements in the bustling camp, that on the 25th of June the Harrison Hook and Ladder Co., named out of compliment to Mr. Edwin Harrison, who had ordered the truck, was fully organized and ready for duty.

In October, the still farther extension of the town limits, and the great danger liable to re- sult from fire, suggested the propriety of a system of water-works, and, accordingly, on the 26th of that month, at an election called for the purpose, it was decided to issue bonds in aid of such an enterprise. The work was commenced at once, and, before the opening of

the spring, work had progressed very far to- ward the accomplishment of the design.

On December 24, by resolution of the Town Board, a census was ordered. The result of the census was to show a population of 5,040 souls, comprising nearly every nationality of the Caucasian race.

The first smelter in the district was that at Malta, which was erected in 1875, for the pur- pose of treating the ores from the Homestake Mine, and from some small deposits of car- bonates found in Iowa Gulch. The lack of ore, however, proved a serious drawback to their successful operation, and, therefore, it is to 1878 that we must look for the establish- ment of adequate smelting facilities in the city. In 1877, the Harrison Reduction Works com- menced operations, but it was not until the spring of 1878 that they were in full blast. Another furnace was added during the year, the total capacity of the works being thirty tons daily. In October, 1878, J. B. Grant & Co. started up their works, with one furnace. Besides these, the sampling works of August R. Meyer commenced in 1877, and those of Eddy & James, commenced in 1878, added to the business of the camp during the year.

From this brief resume of the business of the year, it will be seen that, from a mere ag- gregation of a thousand men, without homes, local laws or organization, in the beginning of the year, the close of 1878 saw a town of more than five thousand people-an organized gov- ernment, with police force, fire department, water-works, two more smelting furnaces, and a rapidly-extending town, in place of the strag- gling dwellings clinging close to the banks of the gulch. Everything was in order for the coming boom of the following year.

a.R. Emerson ,

HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.

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CHAPTER VI.

THE RECORD OF 1879-THE YEAR OF THE BOOM.

T THERE was but little cessation in the tide of travel during the winter of 1878, and therefore it was that with a view to the perfec- tion of the powers of government, and the enlargement of their sphere of authority, the Town Board, on the 25th of February, 1879, petitioned the Governor to issue his proclama- tion declaring Leadville a city of the first class. This was done, and at an election on the first day of April the first Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the city were elected.

The first work done by the new City Council was to put the city in a good condition. Since the acceptance of Harrison avenue by the city that thoroughfare had grown rapidly, and early in the spring a number of preten- tious structures were in course of erection for two blocks north of Chestnut street. The sage-brush had been cleared off during the fall, and the owners of lots had, with few excep- tions, commenced their improvement. The handsome avenue of to-day bears a very slight resemblance to the new street of 1879. Then the two blocks mentioned were built up, but at almost every other lot there was a tent or an unsightly frame shanty. Several log shauties owned and occupied by men who had erected them before Harrison avenue had been con- ceived of stood in the middle of the street. Beyond the present site of the Tabor Opera House, but one house stood on the east side, and but two or three on the west side of the street. The Clarendon Hotel, constructed during the winter, and opened for business on the 10th of April, was built so far away from the main street (Chestnut) that there were not wanting those who predicted the utter failure of the enterprise. But before the middle of the year the results proved the wisdom of the location. Recognizing the expansion of the town that was certain to take place, the Coun- cil found its hands full in making preparations therefor. It went to work with energy, how- ever, and during the year streets were graded, three of the most important paved with flag, alleys and streets opened, and an amount of

work done by an inexperienced Board of Aldermen that would have been marvelous in . any other city in the country.

The boom had fairly commenced now, and, notwithstanding the increased accommodations, hotels having multiplied wonderfully, it was al- most impossible to secure decent sleeping apartments, and every saloon, private house, office and even stable was drawn upon to fur- nish shelter for the throngs which poured into the city daily. Four lines of Concord coaches, each coach capable of bringing from eighteen to twenty passengers, and each line having from two to four coaches going each way daily, ran between the cars and the city. The railroad on the 1st of May had reached Webster, at the foot of Kenosha Hill, and was making preparations for that magnificent piece of railroad engineering which was to transfer the track over the divide between the Platte and the South Park. Another line of coaches ran between Canon City and Leadville, and in- numerable private hacks solicited successfully among the passengers who left the cars on either line. By May 1, not fewer than 8,000 people were located in the city. By the 1st of July the number had swelled to 10,000, and by the 1st of October to 12,000, while at the close of the year it was estimated by the most care- ful observers that the population had increased to from 15,000 to 18,000. The streets in the evening, when the army of miners, speculators and capitalists had returned from the hills, were crowded from curb to curb. Pedestrians desiring to reach any given point expeditiously chose the middle of the street in preference to the sidewalk, taking their chances of being run over by the dashing horsemen and coaches which whirled over the smooth tracks at any hour of the day or night.

The real estate fever was at its height. Lots which but a few months or weeks before had been sold for a few hundred dollars now com- manded as many thousands. Substantial brick structures were going up in every direction, and the whole city seemed to be thoroughly imbued

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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.

with the spirit of improvement. For a mile north of Chestnut street the land was staked off into building lots by speculators who were anxious to make what they could by claiming proprietary interests in Government land. Large buildings were erected from the timber which had been cut from the lots upon which they stood, and there seemed to be no limit to the expansion of the city in certain directions. With the era of the real estate boom came the evils of lot jumping and the consequent loss of life in several instances, which will be treated of under a separate heading. The lobbies of the principal hotels in the evenings presented a most animated appearance. Men stood packed to discomfort discussing the events of the day, the latest strike, or the latest mill run, and speculating upon the probabilities of the properties in which they were interested. The land office had been removed from Fairplay in the previous year, and found all it could do with a large force of clerks to attend to the demands of the people. No one seemed to have a moment to rest, all being actuated by the overpowering desire for suddenly acquired wealth.

In the mines the greatest activity prevailed. All of the mines discovered in the previous year were shipping to their fullest capacity, and new strikes and the discovery of new loca- tions were of daily occurrence. In the early part of the year the Highland Chief on Breece Hill and the Little Ella in the same locality opened up large bodies of ore. The Morning Star struck an immense body of ore, and was speedily followed by the Evening Star. Ore was also found in large bodies in the Amie, Dunkin, Matchless and Iron Mines, though these did not commence shipping in large quantities until the following year. In June, the question of a second contact which had been sconted by many old miners was definitely settled by the strike in the Pendery Mine. Located at the foot of Carbonate, actually in the edge of the city, and 150 feet below the mines then operating on the first contact, the shaft reached at the depth of 190 feet a rich deposit of carbonates, pitching into the hill at an angle which would bring it :1,000 feet below the workings of the mines on the brow of the hill. This strike was of the greater importance in that it practically doubled the resources of the camp, and when Judge Pendery, the fortunate

discoverer, in pardonable pride rode down the hill to the smelter on his first load of ore, he was the recipient of the heartiest congratula- tions.

The most important strike of the year, how- ever, was of the Robert E. Lee. The ore body was uncovered late in the year, but the ore was of such wonderful richness that it took the front rank as a producer from the start, a posi- tion that it still maintains. This mine during the first months of its location, was actually hawked abont without being able to find a pur- chaser. At one time it was offered for $1,500. Soon afterward, when it began to look a little better, a third interest was offered for the same price and refused. Shortly afterward it was again offered at a somewhat larger figure, and then it dropped out of sight until the camp was astonished by the report that the mine had reached the most remarkable body of chlorides ever struck in the camp. The mine paid large- ly from the start though it was not until the following year that it began to show its full capacity as a bonanza of the first water. What gave the mine a peculiar value was the fact as developed by further workings, that the mass of ore was no mere pocket but a continuous crevice or fissure showing the same character- istics throughout. Very soon after the ore body was uncovered, in January, 1880, more than $118,000 was taken out within twenty- four hours at an expense of less than $300, and had it not been for the breaking of the machin- ery, causing a stoppage of nearly seven liours, it is probable that not less than $150,000 would have been the result of a single day's opera- tions. The receipts for the month of January, 1880, were more than $300,000, and during the year over $1,000,000 were divided among the stockholders.

The most remarkable fact of the year, aside from the one absorbing topic, were the constant and rapid increase of crime. The camp was literally flowing with money. It is doubtful if there ever was so much aggregated capital rep- resented by the same number of people. Men came to the camp with a few hundreds or a few thousands, for the purpose of turning it over rapidly, "making their pile," and returning to their homes in the East. Many succeeded; more failed. Many ofthese were young men, with their habits of life not yet fixed. These, captivated by the novel allurements of open, undisguised vice,

HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.

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fell by the wayside, and formed associations and habits which led them to ruin. Gambling, wine and women proved the ruin of many a worthy character. Following in the wake of the wealth which daily poured into the camp, were men whose trades were theft and robbery. To drug a victim, cooly rifle his pockets of every article of value, and throw him into the streets to be arrested for drunkenness, was among the most common methods of the thugs who infested the saloons and variety theaters. The dance-houses, from which floated alluring strains of music, were thronged, and, attracted by the glare of lights and the novelty of the scene, many a novice with more money than brains wandered in. If, in a moment of reckless abandon in- spired by the miserable liquor sold at such pla- ces, he exhibited a roll of bills, he was almost sure to be spotted, and followed by one or more of the desperadoes who infested the place; and the chances were that in the morning he would wake up in the hospital, or in some back alley, with bleeding head, and minus everything upon his person that could by any possibility be turned into money. Foot-pads were to be found lurking in every corner, lying in wait for belated business men or wealthy debauchees on their way home: The ominous command, " Hold up your hands," accompanied by the click of a pistol, was heard almost nightly, and the newspaper reporter who failed to secure one or more " hold-ups" dur- ing his daily rounds, felt that he had failed in one of the duties of his position. Men were robbed within the shadows of their own doors; stripped of their valuables in their own bed-cham- bers, whither they had been followed by daring criminals ; and no part of the city was so well guarded as to be safe from the attempts of the rogues whom success had emboldened. Men whose dnties compelled them to be out late at night, walked with naked pistols in their hands, and not infrequently with a second in reserve, taking the middle of the streets to avoid being ambushed from dark corners. Every object, the exact nature of whichi was unknown, was critically scrutinized, and when two men chanced to meet, a wide berth was given by each. No man who could help it went out after dark alone. When men connected with the mines were canght in town at night, they either stopped at a hotel or went to their quarters in squads for mutual protection. One young man, a confidential employe of a prominent company,

in a fit of drunken bravado, exhibited a large roll of bills in one of the variety theaters. A few minutes afterward he started for his room ; on turning the first corner, in a crowded thor- oughfare, with the light from saloons making the locality as light as day, he received a blow from a bludgeon, and two hours later awoke to consciousness, lying in the gutter in which he had fallen, and discovered that his gold watch and a thousand dollars of his own and the company's money had been taken from him. The next day he was sent to his Eastern home in disgrace. A gentleman who had been visit- ing a sick friend in a locality within a short distance of Harrison avenue, left the house, only to return in a few minutes with the as- tounding intelligence that he had been held up and robbed within ten yards of the door. An- other gentleman left a well-known saloon to go to his room but a short distance away, and was robbed before half the distance had been ac- complished, though he was armed at the time. It seemed as if the city was given up to the criminal classes, and the authorities were pow- erless to prevent it. The charge was frequently made that the police were in league with the robbers, and many circumstances seemed to give the charge color.

Another form of lawlessness was " lot-jump- ing." Taking advantage of the disputes be- tween the holders of the placer patents and those claiming title under squatter rights, reck- less men would take every opportunity to seize and hold property in defiance of both titles. Collisions between these desperadoes and the owners of property were frequent, but though sometimes defeated in their schemes, they were frequently successful, being backed by un- scrupulons real estate dealers, and having at hand men ready to swear to anything in cases of arrest. In some instances, houses in process of erection were deliberately torn down by gangs of armed men, the workmen being driven off, the Inmber pitched into the streets, other lumber brought to the ground and a building erected in which the thieves, armed to the teeth held possession of the stolen lot. In one in- stance, a gang of lot-jumpers broke open a door in the middle of the night, drove the owner in- to the streets and held possession of the house and all its contents. In another instance a house was surrounded at midnight and a volley of pistol and rifle bullets ponred into it. The

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next morning one of the inmates of the house brought a rifle bullet to the Herald office which had passed through the walls of the house and within a few inches of his head as he lay in bed. The bullet was afterward left . with the Mayor as a souvenir of the days of law- lessness.

Mine-jumping was also of frequent occur- rence, but usually there was a shadow of a con- flicting claim on the side of the jumpers, and though some lives were lost in these contests over mines, the title were finally settled in the courts or by compromise. The miners were not the class of men that offered any special in- ducements to desperadoes without some claim to back them, and the men who would not hesi- tate to drive an unarmed man from a town lot at the muzzle of a pistol, would as soon have put their necks in a halter as to attempt the taking of a mine in the same way, for the association of miners and prospectors was composed of men who knew their rights and were not to be trifled with.

These acts of lawlessness and crime aroused the citizens to a pitch of desperation, and for months threats were freely indulged by law- abiding citizens, that the first foot-pad canght would be summarily dealt with, law or no law, and that lot-jumping would be an unhealthy proceeding if persisted in. The newspapers knowing the temper of the community, began to warn the foot-pads, bunko-steerers and lot- jumpers that they were stretching the public patience to the limit of endurance, and that an outraged public sentiment was on the point of avenging itself. Grown insolent by success, however, the crimes continued, some of the bolder spirits snapping their fingers in the face of public opinion. At last, however, in Novem- ber, the blow came, and the hanging of a foot. pad and a lot-jumper, which will be fully treat- ed in another chapter, gave the first check to the era of crime. From that moment Leadville

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History of the Arkansas Valley, Colorado, Part 30

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