History of the Arkansas Valley, Colorado, Part 35

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

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informed, upon application for muster, that the condition of the military fund was such that the State could not arm or equip them, they determined to arm and equip themselves, and carried out the resolution. The first mounted drill was ordered for the 11th of June. The great strike was then in progress, and on the morning of that day a meeting of citizens de- termined on arming the citizens and making the parade described in another chapter. Arms were purchased by telegraph in Denver, but it was feared that if they were brought into town by the usual routes and unprotected, they would be liable to seizure by the strikers. Capt. Carpenter, who was present, at once tendered the services of his company to bring the arms into camp, and that afternoon the Pitkin Cavalry made the toilsome march over the mountains to Alma, where the arms were met, and immediately commenced the return march, arriving in Leadville late in the after- noon, just in time to take part in the threaten- ing proceedings, and to assist materially in stopping the riotous disposition of the mob and in clearing the streets. The company comprises some fifty men, well armed and equipped, with a showy uniform, and is justly considered one of the crack companies of the State.

During the winter of 1879-80, an effort was made to organize the Tabor Miners' Guards, but for various reasons the effort was a failure, though it was still in active contemplation at the time of the strike. The occurrence of this event brought matters to a head, and during those troublous times the company effected a permanent organization as the Tabor Cavalry. The company was uniformed at the expense of Lieut. Gov. Tabor, and has gained an excellent reputation for drill and discipline.

The Union Veterans, organized originally for charitable purposes, have a complete military organization within the order, which, though neither uniformed nor equipped, is ready at any time to respond to the call of duty.

The organizations of the several companies on the 1st of January, 1880, were as follows :

Wolfe Tone Guards-Captain, Chris. Caffery ; First Lieutenant, Jeremiah O'Neill ; Second Lieutenant, John Shehan.

Carbonate Rifles - Captain, William P. Miner ; First Lieutenant, C. E. Paddock ; Second Lieutenant, Benjamin F. Gardner.

Pitkin Light Cavalry-Captain, Randolph

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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.

Carpenter ; First Lieutenant, J. C. F. Chris- tian ; Second Lieutenant, Frank W. Owers.

Tabor Cavalry-Captain, J. D. McCarthy ; First Lieutenant, J. D. Lyles ; Second Lieu- tenant, Peyton R. Hull.

In addition to the above, Company E, Third C. N. G., also formed during the strike, but not yet uniformed or equipped, is officered with Francis Rose as Captain ; J. M. Wood, First Lieutenant ; and J. D. Bristol, Second Lieutenant. The company has about sixty active members.

It will thus be seen that Leadville, upon de- mand, can supply not fewer than 300 men to the military service of the State, without taking into consideration the Union Veterans, who, if necessity requires, can furnish 150 more. At the present writing, owing to the threatening aspect of affairs in the Indian country, it seems not at all improbable that they may be called on.

STREET RAILWAY.

Several attempts have been made during the past two years to organize a street railway company, the necessity for constant travel be- tween distant points by a large portion of the population rendering the success of such an enterprise absolutely certain. All, however, have failed to come to a definite conclusion ex- cept the last, which is now at work making preparations to lay track, the ties being already on the ground, and the iron and rolling stock being on its way from the East. It is antici- pated that the road will be in operation by early fall, probably by the time this reaches the eye of the public.

HERDIC COACHES.

On the 23d of May, 1881, an organization was effected of a Herdic Coach Company. The company is composed of the best business men of the city, under the supervision of old Peter Herdic himself, and orders have been sent for the construction of the coaches. This com- pany is also expected to be in actual operation early in the fall.

THE MINING CLUB.

In May, 1881, the first steps were taken to- ward securing the organization of a club com- posed of our leading business men, miners, professional men and capitalists, for the pur- pose of providing a place for mutual social in- tercourse, and interchange of opinions on mat- ters of public and local import. The project met with favor, and the amount necessary to inaugurate the enterprise speedily subscribed. The plan proposed embraces a reading-room and library, billiard room, smoking room, pri- vate reception rooms, and a restaurant. The name selected is the " Leadville Mining Club," and the membership includes all the leading miners, mill operators, smelters, professional men and merchants in the city. There is no place in the United States, of the size, which embraces so many men of scientific attain- ments and professional learning as Leadville, and the club, when once in operation, will form an arena for the interchange of thought and experience unexcelled by any institution of its character in the United States. As an institu- tion of Leadville, it will attain especial prom- inence.

Mr. Mr. Fishback.

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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE RAILROADS.

T TO the visitor to Leadville for the first time, nothing is more wonderful than the rail- road approaches to the city in the clouds, nor is there anything that can more justly ex- cite surprise and admiration. When it is taken into consideration that, in coming from Denver, the route is almost entirely through a mountain region, and in gaining a distance in an air line of but a trifle over a hundred miles, an eleva- tion of five thousand feet is attained, requiring an average grade of about fifty feet to the mile, and the topography of the route fre- quently requiring a grade many times as steep, the wonder is-not that the railroads should have been built, but that they should even have been conceived. But. the enterprise and courage of Colorado railroad men is proverbial, and what was by many looked upon as an in- superable objection to the construction of a railroad, was regarded as a matter of slight 'moment to the men in charge of the construc- tion, and the railroads leading to Leadville now stand monuments to the engineering skill of their promoters.

The first road to commence stretching out toward Leadville was the Denver, South Park & Pacific. This road had been projected sev- eral years before the advent of the Carbonate camp, the original intention being to traverse the South Park, tap the rich mineral sections of Southern Utah, and eventually reach the Pacific coast. But the scheme was too vast for the comprehension of the Colorado of that day, and it is, therefore, not surprising that the project was allowed to slumber for years, and almost until it had passed from the minds of men. When it was revived, in the summer of 1877, people were still incredulous, and Gov. Evans, the projector, had need of all the perti- nacity in working out an idea for which he is distinguished, to enable him to convince the doubters that the way to accomplish an object is to go to work. The primary object at that time was to build the road up the Platte Canon to the timber region, which, it was hoped, would furnish business enough to pay the expenses of

construction further on, until the mines of Utah should be reached. The mines that would be discovered as the road progressed were also counted on for business, but no such discovery as that of Leadville was even dreamed of. The camp was just commencing to be heard from as a new locality of some promise, but that it would become a bullion producer of any mag- nitude was not considered within the range of possibilities. Work on the road progressed, however, and, in the early spring of 1878, the road had penetrated a short distance into the canon. Then it began to be learned that Lead- ville was to be a factor in the progress of the State, and the most strenuous efforts were made to push the road on. By the middle of the summer, it had reached a point sufficiently dis- tant from Denver to make it an object to ship goods destined for Leadville by rail, and from that moment the success of the enterprise was ensured. The road had more business than it could handle, notwithstanding the constant purchase of rolling-stock. The construction was paid for out of the earnings, and still there was enough left to pay handsome divi- dends to the stockholders, and, when the road was finally sold to the Union Pacific, in 1880, every man who had had the courage to invest in the enterprise, received his reward in the shape of a magnificent return.

In the route up the cañon the greatest en- gineering difficulties ever encountered were over- come. Whole faces of cliffs were torn away in order to make a road-bed by the side of the river ; in some places the course of the river itself was changed, and the rushing torrent turned into new channels, and when the divide between the cañon and the South Park was reached, instead of seeking a feasible route through the ravines, a bold rush was made for the hill itself, the track doubling back upon itself at such a sharp curve that it is difficult to make passengers passing over the road for the first time believe that the track which they see far below them on the mountain side, is the one over which they have just passed.

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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.

The scenery along the route is one continual panorama of beautiful prospects. First, the fertile valley of the Platte, dotted with farm- houses and well cultivated fields, and smiling with plenty. Then the rugged walls of the Platte Canon, with giant mountains towering up on either side. Then the sharp ascent of Kenosha Hill ; then the broad expanse of the South Park bursting upon the vision so sud- denly that the observer for the first time is rarely able to repress an exclamation of delight. From first to last there is always something to charm the eye.

The road reached Buena Vista early in the spring of 1880, and here its mission so far as Leadville was concerned, was at an end, as the right of way up the Arkansas River had already been secured by the Rio Grande, which road had for more than a year been engaged in a bitter contest with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, which also claimed the route under an agreement with the Rio Grande, and had actually graded the road bed a great part of the way between the Grand Canon of the Arkansas and Leadville.

The history of the Rio Grande extension to Leadville is not nearly so eventful as that of the South Park, but it also has been charac- terized by an energy deserving of credit. With the Rio Grande road the most difficult portion of the route was in the Grand Canon of the Arkansas. Had this been open to them, there is no doubt in the world that it would have been the first to reach Leadville. But accord- ing to the terms of a contract with the Atchi- son, Topeka & Santa Fe road, that company had certain rights in the canon which they pro- ceeded to enforce, taking possession of portions of the canon, and constructing the grade be- tween the western mouth of the canon and Leadville. The grade reached to a point with- in a few miles of Leadville, during the summer of 1879, and the people were looking forward to a speedy connection with the East by rail, when they were enjoined from proceeding any farther. During the previous year, the canon itself had been the bone of contention, and both companies had held possession of portions of the line by armed force. During the winter of 1879-80, however, a legal decision was ren- dered which gave the Rio Grande the right to build, upon the payment to its broad-gauge rival of the money expended in making the

grade. A board of commissioners appointed by the court made the award, and upon its ap- proval by the court, the sum agreed upon was promptly paid, and the Rio Grande, called when first constructed " the baby railroad," but which has now grown to gigantic dimensions, com- menced work in earnest. Track-laying pro- gressed at the rate of between one and two miles per day. Two shifts of men worked night and day ; material was brought in with the utmost rapidity, the construction and ma- terial trains having the right of the road over all others, and early in July, the first passenger train ran into Leadville. Owing to an arrange- ment between the two roads, the South Park trains use the Rio Grande track from Buena Vista to Leadville.

The Rio Grande Company had no sooner reached Leadville than they commenced look- ing ahead for further extensions. The towns of Kokomo and Robinson had come into prom- inence as the centers of a valuable mining sec- tion, and without stopping the road was pushed right on over an exceedingly difficult route, reaching Robinson during the winter of 1880-81, and a still further extension to Breckenridge is now in contemplation.

The new and valuable developments of the Eagle River country next attracted the attention of the company, and steps were immediately taken to occupy the line leading thereto. This line was graded to within a short distance of the Tennessee Pass during the summer and fall of 1880, but the deep snows of this elevated re- gion made it impossible to progress very far during the winter. The grade down the Eagle on the western slope of the great continental divide is also very difficult, and the work neces- sarily progresses very slowly. It is being steadi- ly pushed forward, however, and if not complet- ed during the present year, will reach the Eagle River mining district early in 1882. From thence it is the intention of the company to push right on down the Eagle, across the In- dian reservation, into Southern Utah, connect- ing with the Southern Utah Railroad, of which it now owns the controlling interest, making the grandest mountain system of railroads in the world. The importance of these mountain extensions of the Rio Grande Railroad can scarcely be overestimated. They will develop a section of country equal in extent to all of the present thickly settled portion of Colorado

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and rich beyond computation not only in min- eral but in agricultural resources. The fact that they have secured an absolute control of the rich mining districts of Southern Utah will also be of immense benefit to Colorado as, without doubt, a large amount of the ore pro- duced in that section will be brought to this State for treatment.

The roads leading to Leadville have both been singularly free from accident. The pre- diction has frequently been made that an acci- dent of serious proportions would occur upon Kenosha Hill, but 30,000 passengers have passed over the hill and not a life has been lost. The only serious accident on the Rio Grande occurred'in the month of May, 1881-a collision between a freight and a construction train, caused by the carelessness of a conductor.

The hardships, and frequently perils, at- tending the construction of railroads in the mountains cannot be better illustrated than by an incident of recent occurrence. The Rio Grande has large numbers of surveyors constantly employed in running the lines for its extensions. One of these parties, while engaged in running the line for the Utah ex- tension across the Indian reservation, were surprised by a party of Utes, who sur- rounded them, took away their wagons and instruments and turned them back, threatening them with death if they ventured to return in that direction. The men started back, subsist- ing upon deer meat, the Indians having been merciful enough to permit them to retain their rifles. Upon arriving at the Roaring Forks Creek they found the torrent so swollen with the melting snows that it was impossible to cross, and their only hope lay in waiting until assistance should reach them from the other side. For several days they waited in vain, and could see the gradual approaches of the warlike savages, by whom they undoubtedly

would have been killed. In the mean time they began to suffer the pangs of hunger, for the deer meat which had been their sole means of sub- sistence had palled upon their stomachs, and nanseated them to such a degree that they were utterly unable to retain it. Days passed on and still they were unable to find any means of crossing the river, and the alternatives of starva- tion or throwing themselves upon the mercies of the Utes began to stare them in the face, when they were discovered by a solitary hunt- er on the other side of the river. Their condi- tion was made known to him, and he at once made his way to Leadville and informed the company. A party was organized for their re- lief, and started out with tools and lumber for making a boat. They were found where they had been discovered, and after two weeks of hor- rible suffering, emaciated to shadows, having barely kept life in their frames through the smallest quantities possible of the nauseating deer meat.

This is but a single instance. Others might be cited in which surveyors have wandered off the trail and been lost, only to be found when suffering had reduced them to skeletons, and they had abandoned all hope and resigned themselves to their fate. The traveler passing over these wonderful roads admires the daring feats accomplished and the ingenuity of their construction, but he cannot know what fearful risks have been encountered by the pioneers who, with axe and compass and transit, have selected a path for the locomotive through the trackless wilderness. To the engineer belongs a credit which is rarely accorded him. None but brave men can encounter the difficulties of their profession in the mountain regions of Col- orado. Modest and unassuming, they have yet achieved as much for the new State as many of the so-called pioneers.

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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.

CHAPTER

X V.

THE CHURCHES.

THOSE who consider Leadville the caldron in which wickedness of every description seeths and boils, without a single redeeming circumstance, have not taken into account the efforts of those noble men, ever to be found in the van of civilization, struggling with wicked- ness and earnest in their endeavors to ameli- orate the condition of mankind. Too often but scantily rewarded for labor of the most exhausting description, they work on, over- coming difficulties that to less zealons minds appear almost insuperable. Not a mining camp springs into existence that the preacher does not soon make his appearance, and in which his influence is not speedily felt. And there is no class which is more liberal. in contributing to the support of the preacher according to their means than the miners. The churches of Leadville have grown with the city itself. There has never been a time in its history when there has not been a preacher to minister to the last moments of the dying, or to labor with those who, having forgotten the lessons of their youth, have given themselves to the vicious temptations of their surroundings. There is little of what the world calls piety in a mining camp. The hardy miner, whose years of labor have been spent among the wildest and most inspiring of nature's solitude, in his familiarity with the broadest manifestations of God's power, has learned to look with something like contempt upon the narrow limitations of creeds, for he sees clearly in them the handiwork of men, but he recognizes in the self-sacrifice which brings men and women of delicate train- ing and fine culture into the abode of lawless- ness and crime for the sole purpose of laboring for the good of their fellow-men and of society, something akin to that godliness which he has learned to love and honor, and the clergyman is therefore always welcome, and always re- ceives a helping hand in his time of need.

The story of the churches of Leadville is full of interest, as it marks the era when the city commenced to put on stability, and number- less pleasing incidents have been recorded

showing the interest felt in all movements look- ing to the establishment in the midst of the Rocky Mountains of the temples of God. It is impossible to give all of these, for they alone. would fill a volume, but a brief history is given of each organization.

CATHOLIC CHURCH.

The first religious ceremonies or services ever held in the Rockies, in this vicinity, or, in fact, in any portion of the vast West, were held, through the zeal of its missionaries (some of whom have become famous in history), by rep- resentatives of the Catholic Church, who, before other white men thought of coming here, were sowing the seed of Christianity in the soul of the Indian. This probably explains the fact that the Catholics were the first to hold divine wor- ship in this vicinity. When the California Gulch gold fever broke out, and brought throngs of men from the East, in 1860, a Catholic priest -Rev. Father Machebœuf-appeared on the field, and reminding the miners that gold was not the only object they should thirst for, pro- ceeded to celebrate the first mass in this sec- tion of the Rocky chain. He labored assidu- ously and did much good, paying yearly visits to the camp, remaining several weeks each time. In the year 1875, nearly six years ago, Father Robinson, of Denver, then only thirty years of age, was sent to Fairplay, just across the range, and one of the duties assigned him was a monthly visit to California Gulch and Oro, his services being held at the latter place. His first mass in this vicinity was celebrated in the house of Mr. Thomas Starr. A chapel was erected at Oro, which was used until the discov- ery of carbonates turned the eye of the public to Leadville, which then (1878) consisted of a few log cabins. In the month of February, 1878, Father Robinson was sent to this city. where he found about twenty-five members, but so rapidly did his congregation increase that in the course of a few weeks a church was erected on the corner of East Third and Spruce streets -the first place of public worship in the city.

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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.

Although it was then thought the church had been made sufficiently large to accommodate all Catholics of the vicinity for several years, it was soon found to be inadequate, and steps were immediately taken to build another and a larger edifice. The subscriptions proving to be larger than anticipated, the present " Church of the Annunciation"-the finest edifice in the State-was commenced in October, 1879, and is now completed. Next to the church is the residence of the pastor, which, like the church, is of brick. Both buildings-the honse 'and church, and furnishings - have cost about $40,000, and, a fact creditable to the mem- bers of the church, are entirely paid for. The church, with the gallery, will seat about one thousand persons comfortably, and, in a case of emergency, twelve hundred persons can be accommodated.

In November, 1879, the many duties devolv- ing upon Father Robinson became so onerous that the services of an assistant was rendered necessary, and Rev. Father Walsh was sent here, he remaining until the arrival of Rev. Father Lawrence Keating, who, as well as his principal, is beloved by the twelve hundred parishioners.

St. Vincent's Hospital, in this city, was started by Father Robinson, for which fact the public owe him a debt of gratitude.

Father Robinson was born in Lake County, III., and is now thirty-six years of age. He commenced his education for the priesthod at Milwaukee, graduating at Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

BAPTIST CHURCH.

The first services held by any members of this denomination in Leadville occurred in the fall of 1877, Miss Ida Cole being the leading spirit, and to her and a few other ladies belongs the credit of being the first actively engaged in this good work-they forming the nucleus of the church which was soon afterward established. In the spring of 1878, Rev. A. L. Vail, of Colo- rado Springs, preached a sermon in the Carbon- ate Camp-the first one in the history of the camp from a Baptist divine. This reverend gentleman remained in Leadville during the summer following, and during his stay a church was organized, in the month of Angust, 1878, with about fourteen members. In the spring of 1879 occurred the rush to Leadville, which . brought among others, Messrs. Bowker, Stone,

Raymond, Hersley, Haynor, O'Brien, De Mat- tos, Dimock and others, all former members of the Baptist Church, who . immediately set to work to strengthen the association.

The first regular pastor of the church was Rev. C. F. Reed, who held services in the high school building, on the corner of West Second and Spruce streets. Mr. Reed's stay was a short one, and npon his departure Dr. Bowker, who had displayed excellent qualities as a worker and a leader, was, in April, 1879, chosen acting pastor, and in that position he officiated until August, 1879, when Rev. L. B. Plummer, of Massachusetts, was called as regular pastor. In the month of May of the past year, Rev. W. T. Fleenor accepted the position of pastor, and served most acceptably until December 12, when Rev. C. C. Marston, of Clinton, Wis., ar- rived in the city.

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History of the Arkansas Valley, Colorado, Part 35

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