History of the Arkansas Valley, Colorado, Part 41

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 41

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THE POLICE.

A regularly organized police force was first established in 1878, when the thronging pop- ulation began to attract lawless roughs and thieves to the city, and when a regularly or- ganized city government became a necessity. As a rule, except when under the control of a man who did not hesitate to use his posi- tion as Marshal as a means of securing plun- der, with very little care as to the means em- ployed in securing it, the force has been remarkable for its intelligence and courage. The first Marshal of the city, George O'Con- nor, was shot very shortly after his appoint- ment, by one of his own officers, who suc- ceeded in making his escape. The force has had some difficult duties to perform on various occasions, but has always been ready. No less than five of its members have been shot while in the performance of their duties, and sacrificed their lives to their ideas of duty. The present force consists of the Marshal, one Captain, three Sergeants and twenty-one patrolmen.

THE HOSPITALS.

Prominent among the institutions of Lead- ville are its hospitals, which have done, so much toward alleviating the sufferings of those overtaken by disease in the city. The first hospital to be erected was that of St. Vincent's, by the Sisters of Mary. The build- ing was erected in the fall of 1878, and was so quickly filled with patients that early in the spring of 1879, it was found necessary to build an addition. The entire building was built entirely by subscription, nobody refusing

assistance to the Sisters in their work of char- ity. In the spring of 1879, the hospital nar- rowly escaped destruction by fire, owing to the forest fires which nearly surrounded the building, which was then on the extreme verge of the city limits. The growth of the city since that time is illustrated by the fact that the hospital is now almost in the center of the city. In the fall of 1879, the formation of an association of Union veterans led to the erection of a hospital under their aus- pices, and with the assistance of the Ladies' Auxiliary Aid Society, organized especially for that purpose. The hospital is now well established, and has proved a great relief to the burden placed on the Sisters. The county also has, in its connection with the almshouse, a well-appointed hospital.

THE HOTELS.

The rush to Leadville taxed the ingenuity of travelers to the utmost to get suitable, or even passable, accommodations. In 1878, the man was lucky who could secure a lot of clean blankets and a pile of fresh hay, on which to make his couch, and the advice given to all those contemplating a visit to Leadville, was, " Bring your bedding with you." In the sum- mer of that year, the Grand Hotel was com- pleted, and, for a time, was accepted as the general exchange and headquarters for the city. It was filled to overflowing immediately upon its completion, and the rush still contin- uing, the Clarendon was completed early in 1879, and at once took the lead as a promi- nent hostelry. The Hotel Windsor was also erected in 1879. All three are still in exist- ence and are well patronized. Besides these there are from forty to fifty small hotels of every grade.

SUMMER RESORTS.

Leadville is certainly well favored in regard to pleasant places as summer resorts. Sixteen miles south are Twin Lakes, where good hotels,

G. L. Having

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fine fishing and the finest scenery on the con- tinent, conspire to divide the attention of the tourist. Six miles to the west are the Soda Springs, so called, though but one is impreg- nated with soda, the others being iron and sul- phur. Here also is a good hotel, with all the modern conveniences, and enough mountain climbing if one chooses to ascend the rugged sides of Mount Massive, which rises from the yard of the hotel, to satisfy any moderate demand for this class of exercise. To the northwest is one of the most charming spots in all the mountain region-the vicinity of Ten- nessee Pass, where trout-fishing and indul- gence in the contemplation of delightful land- scapes form the principal attractions.

PUBLIC BUILDINGS.

It must not be imagined, because of the mushroom growth of Leadville, that its build- ings are all mere shells. The old shells and log cabins are fast disappearing from the principal streets, and are being replaced by handsome structures, which would do credit to any city. Three-story brick buildings are by no means uncommon, and all of the later improvements are substantially constructed and ornamental as well as useful. The court house, recently erected, and the new school buildings are handsome structures, and the more substantial business firms have erected houses which are a source of pride no less than of profit.

THE SMELTERS.

The smelters of the city deserve more than a passing mention, as it is through them, more than any one agency, that the city itself owes its present size and importance. The most prominent works are those of the Grant Smelt- ing Company, which has been wonderfully successful during the three years of its ope- ration. The company now operates seven large stacks, and produced in 1880 more than $4,000,000 worth of bullion. In June, 1878, the La Plata Smelting Works were started with one furnace. Before the close of 1879 they had four in operation, and during the year 1880 turned out $2,000,316 worth of bullion. The works are among the best arranged and regulated in the city. The American Smelter was erected in 1879, and has been, until re-

cently, in continuous operation. It has two excellent furnaces, and in 1880 produced sev- eral hundred thousand dollars' worth of bull- ion. Billing & Eiler's smelting establishment is also one of the most successful in the city. The works were erected in 1879, with two fur- naces, which were found insufficient, and in October, 1880, a third furnace was erected. The production of bullion for 1879 was over $1,000,000; in 1880 the production was almost doubled. The California Smelter was erected in the summer of 1879, with two furnaces. It was operated with indifferent success at first, but is now running in full blast. The Malta Smelter was the first erected in the district, having been started in 1875, for the purpose. of treating the ore from the Homestake and Printer Boy Mines. They failed in securing enough, however, and were idle most of the time until the discovery of carbonates. They were too far away from the mines, however, to compete with the smelters nearer at hand, and as a result are now closed. Another smelter, at Malta, with two furnaces, was built by J. B. Dickson, in 1879, but it has also been com- pelled to shut down. The Ohio and Missouri Smelter was built in Big Evans Gulch, one furnace, in July, 1879, and one in the summer of the following year. These works, under efficient management, have been uniformly successful. The Cummings & Finn Smelter, started in July, 1879, with two furnaces; a third was added in the fall of the same year, and a fourth in the following spring. In 1880, the bullion produced was valued at $1,300,000. The Harrison Reduction Works commenced business in 1877, with one fur- nace; another was added in 1878. The pro- duction for 1880 was $917,000, mostly from the mines owned by the company. The Elgin Smelter was first put in operation in July, 1879, with one furnace, to which another has since been added. The bullion product for 1880 was nearly half a million. The com- bined product of these smelters for 1880 was $15,040,715. During 1881, it is estimated that the production will be about $12,000,000.

THE BUSINESS OUTLOOK.

The results of the business for 1880 were exceedingly gratifying, more than fifteen and

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a quarter million dollars' worth of goods hav- ing been sold at a profit of over two millions. The houses engaged in business are all finan- cially substantial, and are pushing and ener- getic. A large amount of trade will undoubt- edly come from the outlying mining regions, a fact of which the merchants are well aware, and which has stimulated efforts looking to the securing of that trade. The volume of business will be as great during the year 1881 as during that preceding, though the sales will represent a smaller profit and be distributed more evenly through the year.

THE HEALTH OF LEADVILLE.

During the first year of Leadville's exist- ence, it was almost universally regarded as an absolute death trap, where pneumonia was the certain result of the slightest exposure, and always resulted in death. Those living in the East could not understand how a climate, which had eight months in which the frost always formed at night, and six months of snow, could possibly be anything but fatal. A large number died from exposure, resulting from dissolute habits, and these were multi- plied until the impression prevailed that a holocaust of victims of pneumonia were in- terred daily. In the absence of statistics, it was impossible to deny the statement, though it was well understood by the residents that a man who took care of himself, and avoided exposure and excessive use of intoxicants, was in no greater danger than in the healthiest localities of the East, and that, to a man in good health and of good habits, the climate was absolutely invigorating. The mortality tables for 1880 show the number of deaths to have been 824. Of this number sixty resulted

from accidents in the mines, thirty-seven from gun-shot wounds and fifteen from suicide. This leaves 712 from natural causes; pneu- monia caused the death of 300, and in nine cases out of ten pneumonia was caused by drunkenness and the consequent exposure. The man, who, in Leadville, becomes drunk, and throws himself down on the floor, or in a gutter, to sleep off his debauch, is exceedingly likely to be frozen to death, or receive a fatal attack of pneumonia. On the other hand, there is not on record, in the practice of any physician, of a single instance of an attack of pneumonia, upon men who clothe themselves and sleep warmly, and take ordinary precau- tions against exposure. The deaths from nat- ural causes, in 1880, amounted twenty-four to the thousand of population. This is not a heavy death rate in any case, and when the fact is considered that the population was made up of 30,000 people (for the deaths in- cluded all that occurred within a radius of twenty miles from the city), taken from an entirely different condition of life and totally ignorant of the proper methods of caring for their health under the conditions of life, in Leadville, many of them giving way to temp- tations, or exposing themselves, the death rate cannot but be regarded as exceedingly light. There is no healthier place in the world than Leadville, if the fact of its location, 10,000 feet above sea level, is constantly kept in mind.

There have been no legal executions of criminals during the existence of Leadville, but there are, at this writing, two murderers in the county jail under sentence of death, the sentence to be carried into effect on the 18th of June.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

THOMAS R. AGNEW.

Thomas R. Agnew was born in the city of New York in 1832, where he remained until his seventeenth year. The California gold excitement of 1849 numbered him among the many who rushed to the land of gold. Six years of his life were spent in that country, where he was very successful in mining, and amassed quite a fortune. In 1855, he re- turned to New York, and, together with George Francis Train and Bayard Taylor, made a trip of the world, which cost him $20,000 in gold. On his return to New York, in 1856, he engaged in the grocery business on the corner of Greenwich and Murray streets. It was here that Mr. Agnew acquired wealth which, in amount, was second to few in that city. Everything he handled turned to gold, as it were. He was known as the shrewdest business man of that day. His integrity was unquestionable, and he became known as "Honest Tom " throughout the city; his chari- table acts were fully equal to the favors for- tune showered upon him; he gave liberally to all who were in need, and religious edifices to-day bear witness to his benevolence. His country residence cost $300,000, and was a place of most elegant finish; his business houses in those days covered 5,000 people every night. In 1877, the subject of this sketch arrived in Leadville, where he has ever since been engaged in real estate and mining business, success attending his undertakings; to-day, he is classed among Leadville's rep- resentative men, and possessing a reputation and character which are unblemished. A gen- tleman of the most exemplary habits, Leadville owes a great portion of her success to Mr. Agnew, who, after his arrival here, was untir- ing in his efforts to induce Eastern capitalists to invest their money in mines. At present, Mr. Agnew is largely interested in mining property, as well as real estate throughout the city.

JOHN ALFRED. .

This active, energetic business man was born in Liverpool, England, February 11, 1843. He received a common-school education, and at the early age of eight years commenced work for his father, heating rivets and work- ing in a foundry and boiler-yard. At an early age, he ran away from home and visited the Crimea on a transport vessel, and was there for a period of thirteen months. He came home and worked with his father until the spring of 1861, and then emigrated to America, secreting himself on a vessel, not having enough money to pay his passage over, and landed in the city of New York without a cent -- a stranger in a strange land; procuring work, he remained there for four years; he then came West to Clinton, Iowa, and went into the foundry and machine-shop business at that point; selling out, he came to Leadville in February, 1879, and started the foundry business with but a few dollars' capital, but, having an indomitable will, with an abun- dant supply of that pluck and energy necessary to success, Mr. Alfred has succeeded in build- ing up a large and lucrative business, doing a large amount of work for the smelting works and mines. Mr. Alfred was married in New York, in April, 1864. He is a very prominent member of the Masonic order, having attained all the degrees but the thirty-third. He is now in comfortable circumstances, and, hav- ing struggled manfully through his reverses of fortune, is enjoying the fruits of his well- earned competence.

CHARLES G. ARNOLD.

The subject of this sketch was born in Nor- ton, Bristol Co., Mass., September 19, 1824. He received a common-school education in his native town; he spent his early life on a farm with his parents. In his twenty-first year, he went to Providence, R. I., and engaged as a clerk in the stove and hardware business for

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eleven years; he then removed to Boston and embarked in the foundry business, the firm name being Arnold & Butts, in which business he remained until 1861. His failing health prompted him to seek a more healthful clime, and, on the 26th of April, 1862, he emigrated to Colorado, crossing the plains from St. Jo- seph, Mo., to Denver, in a wagon, walking and riding, being twenty-five days on the route; from Denver, he came to California Gulch, and engaged in placer mining; he worked all sum- mer as a tender-foot, and came out without a dollar. In April, 1863, he went to Frying Pan Gulch and worked the tailings, and made $50 a day for two months, and in the fall of 1863 he returned to California Gulch and commenced prospecting and mining, in which business he has been quite successful, and now owns some valuable mining property.

ALEXANDER BENGLEY.

Mr. Bengley was born in Canada in 1828; when fourteen years of age, he moved to Troy, N. Y., where he lived until 1850; he was en- gaged there as an architect and builder, re- moving to Chicago, Ill., where he engaged in the same business until 1875, part of the time being in the mercantile business. Although Chicago was then his home, he gave a portion of his time and attention to mining in the Lake Superior region, where he still owns mining property. He came to Colorado in the spring of 1878 and located at Leadville, where he has since resided, engaged in mining and architectural works. Mr. Bengley was elected a Commissioner of Lake County in 1880; he is an active member of that board, and works diligently for the best interests of the tax payers of the county he represents.

ISAAC H. BATCHELLOR.

Mr. Batchellor is a native of Maine; he was born in the town of Bowdoin, near the Atlantic coast, where he resided only a few years before removing to Worcester Co., Mass., to make his home with an uncle; while he resided with his relative, he worked on a farm and attended school, a portion of the time at an academy located in Winchendon, in Worcester County. At the age of seventeen, Mr. Batchellor had a desire to see other parts of the world than

New England; he enlisted for three years in a man-of-war; during eighteen months of his enlistment, he was off the coast of Africa, watching parties who were engaged in the slave trade; the remainder of the time, his vessel was in the Mediterranean Sea; it was lying off Toulon at the time Louis Phillippe abdicated his throne in favor of his grandson, February 24, 1848, and it was near the coast of Italy when Charles Albert went out to fight the Austrians. Mr. Batchellor witnessed much of the exciting period in the history of Europe the three years he was absent from America. After his return, he resided in several of the New England States, engaged in various occu- pations, before he came West; for six years, he lived in Chicago, where he filled the posi- tion of hotel clerk at the Foster House, which was destroyed in the great fire of 1871. For more than twenty years prior to 1881, Mr. Batchellor has been a resident of Colorado; a greater portion of that time, Arapahoe County has been his home, where he bought a farm four miles distant from the city of Denver, and was engaged in stock-raising in connection with his ranch. In 1872, he was a member of the Territorial Legislature, and in 1876 served his county as one of its Com- missioners. In 1879, he sold out his farming and stock-raising interests and moved to Leadville, where he is engaged in the livery business; is a member of the firm of Chatfield & Batchellor, livery, feed and sale stable, 126 East Sixth street. Mr. Batchellor was mar- ried in 1872, and has two children.

ROBERT BERRY.

Mr. Berry has been intimately connected with the history of Lake County since 1860, when he made California Gulch his home. Mr. Berry was born in Wyandot Co., Ohio, September 25, 1830; be was raised on a farm, and, during his boyhood, attended the com- mon schools; he assisted in constructing the Pittsburgh & Fort Wayne Railroad, and after- ward kept the station at Forest, in Hardin Co., Ohio; the year of 1856 he spent in Rock Island, Ill., and the two following years he resided in Glenwood, Mills Co., Iowa. At this time, Pike's Peak excitement broke out, and the gold fever caught Mr. Berry, with

Horace. W. Haveno

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thousands of other young men, and, in March, 1859, he came to the Rocky Mountains. He made his first stop on Plumb Creek, twenty miles above Denver, where he put up the sec- ond steam saw-mill ever constructed in Colo- rado, for Maj. D. C. Oakes & Co. From this point he went to the Gold Dirt Diggings, on South Boulder Creek, but remained only a short time before proceeding to Russell Gulch, where he spent the winter of 1859-60. In May of 1860, he went to California Gulch; during the same year, gold was discovered at the base of Mt. Massive, in Frying Pan Gulch; this place takes its name from the fact that parties who found the gold had no regular pan with which to wash it, and so brought into requisition one of their cooking utensils, and hence the name. It was not until July 4, 1863, that the precious metal was found in paying quantities at this point, when the name of the gulch was changed to Colorado Gulch, and the district was called Independ- ence Mining District, in honor of the day. The discovery was made by Mr. C. F. Wil- son, who gave the locality its name. It is in this gulch that Mr. Berry has been engaged in placer mining for eighteen years, where, in company with his partner, Mr. Walters, they own 140 acres in placer diggings, having pur- chased several claims adjoining his original location. During a portion of the decade be- tween 1860 and 1870, Mr. Berry was inti- mately connected with the history of the Ter- ritory, having been appointed United States Marshal and Internal Revenue Collector, which offices he resigned when elected to the Territorial Council in 1863; the Council (Legislature) met in Golden City, but imme- diately adjourned to Denver; he served dur- ing two sessions. In 1865, Mr. Berry was elected Secretary of the Council-the highest office in the gift of that body. He held the office of County Clerk and Recorder iu 1862, which he resigned to serve in the Legislature. At an early period, he was appointed County Judge, to fill an unexpired term, but would not allow his name to be used at the follow- ing election. Mr. Berry is well acquainted with the prominent men who have made the history of Colorado, and takes a lively interest in all State questions.

CHARLES BRUCKMAN.

The proprietor of the Franklin Printing House is the subject of this sketch. He was born in New York City in 1852, where he re- ceived a collegiate education, graduating at the New York College in 1871. He was en- gaged in the banking business in that city until September, 1879, when he came to Colo- rado and located at Leadville, where he en- gaged in his present business, which is that of general advertising and job printing. The house has established a reputation that is fully commensurate with its efforts.

CHARLES C. BALDWIN.

This gentleman was born in Ann Arbor, Mich., March 10, 1858; he received a colle- giate education, graduating in 1875 from the Michigan University; in 1877, he came West and settled in California Gulch, engaging in the business of civil mining engineering; was employed as engineer by the Iron Silver, Robert E. Lee, Little Giant, and other mines; he made the first map of Leadville and vicinity, showing about eight hundred of the mines, and also made the first survey and laid out many of the principal streets in Leadville. He was married in 1878, and has one child. Mr. Baldwin is well known as a competent civil and mining engineer.

WILLIAM H.BRIGHT.

The above-named gentleman has been con- spicuously identified with Leadville and its police department ever since his advent here. He was born in Fairfax County, Va., in 1820. When sixteen years old, he went to Washing- ton, D. C., where he lived for six years; he is a brick-layer by trade; he built the Govern- ment armories at Harper's Ferry and also erected some of the Government buildings at Washington; he afterward lived at Memphis, Tenn., and then at Louisville, Ky., where he superintended the erection of the Custom House; at Cincinnati, he erected the court house; he then went to Louisiana; he built the State Seminary of Learning at Alexandria; he was afterward employed by the United States Treasury Department as a detective, and then as a Lieutenant on the police force of the city of Washington. When the war

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broke out, he enlisted in the First Regiment District of Columbia Volunteer Infantry, and was afterward in the Quartermaster's Depart- ment of the Army of the Potomac. After the war, he held the position, under the United States Government, of United Sates Mail Agent for Utah and Montana and adjoining Territories; he established a number of mail routes in Washington Territory; he lived three years in the Sweet Water country of Wyoming; he then moved to Denver, where he lived five years, and erected some of the most elegant buildings in that city; he was City Jailer of Denver for three years. On the 1st of April, 1878, he came to Leadville; was appointed successively Under Sheriff and County Jailer: he now devotes all his time to mining, and has interests in valuable mining property.

WILSON WATSON BREDIN, M. D.

Dr. Bredin was born in 1844, county of Lanark, Canada; attended grammar school until the age of seventeen; he removed to Toronto, Canada, and took a course of study for four years at the Normal University, after which he began the study of medicine at Trinity University, Toronto, and graduated in 1873. He came to Bay City, Mich., and practiced medicine until the fall of 1880, at which time he removed to Leadville, Colo., and in a very short time was appointed County Physician for Lake County Hospital, which position he still holds.

WILLIE T. BROCKMAN.

Among the pioneer business men of Lead- ville, and one who has, by fair dealing and close attention to business, established him- self as one of the prominent merchants, is W. T. Brockman. He was born in Virginia July 8, 1851, and at an early age removed with his parents to Springfield, Ill., where he re- ceived an academic education, and studied pharmacy at Rutledge College. In 1865, he engaged in the drug business in Springfield, where he remained for about six years. In 1871, he moved to St. Louis, where he was employed as foreman in a large wholesale drug store for a period of two years; from St. Louis he went to Joplin, Mo., where he lo- cated and started in the drug business

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History of the Arkansas Valley, Colorado, Part 41

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