History of the Arkansas Valley, Colorado, Part 65

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

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from the west afford abundant water for irri- gation, but early in the spring of 1874 a difficulty arose in regard to water and certain ditches from Brown Creek, that resulted in the killing of George Harrington, a ranch- man, and a neighbor, Elijah Gibbs with whom he had had a dispute the day before, was arrested and tried for the murder but acquit- ted, there being no evidence against him, the trial taking place at Denver. After he had returned to his ranch in the fall of 1874, an attempt was made to arrest and lynch him, which resulted in his killing three of the party making the attempt. A safety com- mittee, so-called, was soon after organized, and several parties were ordered to leave the county. Judge E. F. Dyer, then County and Probate Judge, but acting as a Justice of the Peace, upon complaint being made before him, issued warrants for the arrest of certain of this committee. In obedience to the sum- mons, they with associates appeared at Gran- ite for trial, heavily armed, the Sheriff claim- ing his inability to disarm them, and after the dismissal of the case on the morning of July 3, 1875, Judge Dyer was brutally assas- sinated, shot dead in the court room. The assassins escaped and but little effort was made to discover or arrest them. In the set- tlement of a new, and particularly a mining country, there has always been more or less killing in disputes over real or fancied wrongs for which some excuse may be found or offered, but none has ever been offered for this cow- ardly murder of Judge Dyer, and it remains the foulest blot upon the early history of the county.

Numerous murders have been committed and but few convictions have been had, one cause for which may be in this, that until the present year, there has been only one session each year in this county of the District Court, which alone has jurisdiction in capital cases, and the difficulty of keeping prisoners if arrested, having no jail, or of transporting them to some other county for safe keeping and of securing witnesses, added to the unwillingness of juries to convict in such cases as have been tried, has given courage to the assassin, in the belief that he could read- ily escape, to kill whenever there was the

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HISTORY OF CHAFFEE COUNTY.

slightest provocation; but with the growth of the county since the advent of the railroad, and the rapid increase in population of more cultivated and law-abiding citizens, the intro- duction of churches, and it was not until 1879, that any building, erected for or devoted to religious purposes was built in the county; schoolhouses had been built and the appro- priation of money, both from taxes assessed and private subscriptions, had been liberal, and in these schoolhouses occasionally relig- ious services had been held-this rough ele- ment that had so long held sway in the county fast disappeared, and one may now feel as secure here in the possession and enjoyment of life and property as anywhere in the older States. Game was abundant in the early days, elk, deer, mountain sheep, antelope and bison. The bison had almost entirely disap- peared when the first settlers came in. Elk soon retired beyond the range to the west, and the mountain sheep have been found of late years only on the most rugged and least accessible mountain ranges. The "mule- eared" or " black-tail" deer and antelope are still found more plentiful, but are fast disap- pearing. Wild turkeys were common in the southern part of the county, now seldom seen. The streams, clear and cold from the melting snows, were literally full of trout, and even now the disciple of the gentle Isaac goes out in the early morning and returns with a more than "fisherman's luck," his basket filled with the speckled beauties. It was a paradise for the Indians who had made this their sum- mer hunting-grounds for years, and which they gave up with reluctance and retired to the reservation west of the Main Range. Colo- row and his band were here every summer, until the Government compelled them to remain on the Reservation, and whenever refused in the demands he would make for provisions, or whatever else he happened to want, would order the settlers to leave. Mr. John D. Coon, an early settler near Brown's Creek, was frequently ordered to leave, as were others, but no violence was com- mitted, nor do we know that the Indians ever committed any murders in the county. They were friendly to the whites, and the settlers never felt under any apprehensions

of danger from them, until the White River massacre in September, 1879, when a rumor that they had crossed the range and were determined to drive the whites out of the val- ley of the Arkansas, caused the greatest con- sternation all along the river, and many pre- pared to leave, but it was soon found that there was no danger of any raid being made by them on this side of the range, and quiet was soon restored.

It is impossible to speak in detail of the many personal experiences in the settlement and development of the country, the depriva- tion and hardships endured and suffered by these hardy men and women through the first years, when communication with the outer world, for the larger number of them, was had only at long intervals, the bio- graphical sketches, included in this volume, of the older and more prominent settlers in the county affording a clearer and better his- tory of early days in the county than it would be possible for me to give. The first election in the county was held in October, 1879, and Josiah T. Bray Chairman, T. I. Briscoe and W. H. Champ were elected Board of County Commissioners; James H. Johnston, Clerk and Recorder; L. J. Morgan, Sheriff; E. R. Emerson, Treasurer; Dr. A. E. Wright, Cor- oner; George L. Smith, Superintendent of Schools; Daniel De Vroey, Assessor; W. R. Whipple, Surveyor. The present officers of the county, 1881, are: W. H. Champ, Chair- man, T. I. Briscoe and C. A. Montross, mem- bers of Board of County Commissioners; James H. Johnston, Clerk and Recorder; T. M. S. Rhett, County Attorney; E. H. Stafford, Sheriff; S. S. Sindlinger, County Judge; E. R. Emerson, Treasurer; Dr. A. E. Wright, Coroner; George L. Smith, Superintendent of Schools; E. Shaul, Assessor; W. R. Whip- ple, Surveyor.

The county has been well and ably repre- sented in the councils of the State. Before the admission of the State into the Union, and while under Territorial organization, it was represented by Hon. Julius C. Hughes, who was a member of the Assembly and afterward of the Council. J. G. Ehrhart, one of the early settlers on Brown Creek, was also a member of the Assembly. Joseph Hutchin-

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HISTORY OF CHAFFEE COUNTY.

son was a member of the Assembly before the. admission of the State, and elected at the first election after, as Representative for two years.

RED MOUNTAIN DISTRICT.

Red Mountain District, located in the northwestern part of the county, on the head waters of Lake Creek. Discoveries of min- eral made here in 1864, created an excitement that pervaded nearly the whole State. Min- ing companies were organized in which the more prominent men of the State were inter- ested. The mineral was found in immense quantities, the belt being some three miles in length and deposits varying from one-half mile to one mile in width, generally sulphur- ets of iron and copper, carrying from $2 to $10, gold and silver, per ton, though assays of a much higher grade were obtained. The decomposition of the iron had given to the quartz the red color of oxydized iron, and this was so general that the whole surface of the mountain appeared to be of this one color, and gave to the district its name. Difficul- ties of transportation, the low grade of ores and the want of facilities for treatment led to the abandonment of the camp, and but little interest has been manifested in the district since the first years.

CACHE CREEK.

Cache Creek, a small stream that joins the Arkansas River at a point nearly opposite Granite, and has its source in the gulches of Lost Canon Mountains. Gold was discovered here early in the spring of 1860, and a town was started, that at one time had a popula- tion of over 300. The first post office in the county being established here, and prior to the settlement at Granite on the river, the town was located about two miles from the mouth of the creek. Placer or gulch mining was carried on at this time by the old process of Toms and sluices, the yield being from $2 to $20 per day to each man. The mining claims were 100 feet each along the creek and running back to the bank, the depth not being definitely fixed, and each claim had the right to a certain amount of water furnished from the ditch which had been dug by the miners in common. In 1863, Cache Creek was

declared an election precinct, including all the territory on the Arkansas River extending from Young America Gulch above Lake Creek on the north to Brown Creek south, a distance, of some thirty-three miles; at this time, min- ers were at work all along the river, and Cache Creek was the settlement to which they resorted for supplies, letters and news from the . outside world. "Richie's Patch," on Cache Creek Park, discovered and worked by Richie, was opened in 1864, and was famous for the amount of coarse gold taken out, nug- gets weighing several ounces being frequently found. It is now owned by the Gaff Mining Company, but is not worked at the present time.

In 1865, the Gaff Mining Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, purchased the claims in Cache Creek and have since added Bertschy Gulch, Gold Run, West Banks, Richie's Patch, Oregon Gulch, Long Gulch and Lake Creek Claims, with other properties, and dumping ground on the Arkansas River; some of these properties are in the new county of Lake, the line dividing the county of Lake passing through Cache Creek Park, which lies between Lake Creek and Cache Creek.

The company are now working, principally, the Cache Creek Mines; they have constructed a bed rock flume nearly two miles in length, and the ground sluice has taken the place of the old Long Tom and sluices used in early days. The gold is known as " fine-shot gold," readily saved, and is disseminated through all the ground which is free from bowlders or large rocks, and is easily washed. The yield varies from 60 cents to $1 per cupic yard of dirt from surface to bed-rock, the depth varying from twelve to twenty feet.

This property is held under under patents from the United States Government, and com- prises altogether about 1,100 acres of the best placer ground in the State. Want of suffi- cient water, which could be furnished by ditches from Clear Creek, has limited the production of gold, which is estimated to date at $800,000. Mr. Walter H. Jones one of the owners and a pioneer of May, 1860, is Man- ager and Superintendent, and to his thorough knowledge and skillful management the suc- cess attained is largely due.

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HISTORY OF CHAFFEE COUNTY.

LOST CAÑON.

These placer mines are located in a high gulch on Lost Canon Mountain, at and above timber line, an elevation of from 11,000 feet to 12,000 feet above sea level, and were dis- covered in 1860. The claims as first taken were each 100 feet along the gulch, and yielded to the first owners from $5,000 to $7,000 each claim. The gold was coarse, much of it in nuggets of from one to two pennyweights each to two and three ounces, readily saved, quicksilver being used only in the boxes in the final clean up. The claims were bought up and consolidated by Judge J. C. Hughes, in 1865, and are still owned and worked by him.

Want of sufficient water, and the short- ness of the season during which work can be prosecuted, are the great difficulties experienced in working this placer claim. The only water comes from the melting of the snow in the head of the gulch above, and is not in sufficient quantity to afford a con- tinuous stream for ground sluicing, but is caught in a large reservoir, through the dam of which a water-way is built, having a self- acting head-gate, that, when the water has reached a certain height is suddenly thrown open allowing the water collected to escape. and rushing out with great force it carries earth, rock and bowlders before it. The gate works automatically and continuously day and night, discharging every hour or as often as the reservoir is filled. The season for working usually lasts from the first of June until in September. An instance, related by Mr. Walter H. Jones, illustrates the pecu- liarities of the climate at this elevation. "One day, in company with others, he had found a small field of ripe strawberries which they were enjoying greatly when a snow storm came up so thick and heavy that in a few minutes the strawberries were buried several inches and they were forced to strike out for camp." Water freezes every night, and yet the sides of the Gulch abound in the most beautiful and delicate flowers, that freeze solid every night and may early in the morning be broken as an icicle, and yet when the sun comes out appear not to have suffered the slightest injury.

GRANITE.

Granite, a station on the Denver & Rio Grande Railway, eighteen miles north of Buena Vista, and the former county seat, was the second settlement of note in the county-Cache Creek being the first-is pleas- antly located just above the mouth of Cache Creek, on the opposite side of the river, and at a point where the valley of the Arkansas widens out sufficiently to give room for one street and houses on either side between the river and the bluffs. It was made an election precinct of Lake County in August, 1867 and in September, 1868, declared the county seat, the citizens contributing $500 to defray the expenses of removing the county buildings from Dayton. It remained the county seat of Lake County until the division of the county in February, 1879, when it became the county seat of Chaffee County at the election in November, 1880, a majority of the voters having declared for Buena Vista the county records and offices were removed to that place. The discovery of the "Yankee Blade " lode, and the " Amizette" in August, 1867, by W. L. Millard and S. B. Kellogg, created an excitement that resulted in the building of two stamp-mills at Granite. The first with nine stamps, by Mr. Lewis Hayden on the east side of the river, he having become the owner of the Amizette and other lodes. The ore from the Am.zette proved very rich and free milling when first opened, and in one month's run after the stamp mill was started netted some over $5,000. The following season, 1869, a company having been farmed upon the "Yankee Blade," a stamp mill was built just above town, and the work of developing the mine vigorously pros- ecuted; the ore taken out proved to be free milling and quite as rich as that of the Ami- zette, and during the first season is said to have produced over $40,000, some of the ore running as high as $2,250 per cord in the stamp-mill, meanwhile numerous veins had been discovered and located, and a town called Hawkinsville had grown up about the mines, about one mile east of Granite. Two stamp-mills and two arastras had been built in Low Pass, a small creek in a deep gulch just north of the new town. The first aras-

yours truly Sco, Leonhardy

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HISTORY OF CHAFFEE COUNTY.

tra was built by S. B. Kellogg and John Royal in the fall of 1867, soon after the dis- covery of the Yankee Blade and Amizette, from which they took their ores for treatment. But it was found that as depth was gained in the mines the ores became refractory and amalgamation in the stamp mill became a failure. This proved to be the case with all the mines worked, the shaft on the Yankee Blade had reached a depth of 235 feet, the deepest shaft on the hill. The stamp-mills ing no longer able to treat the ores success- fully, work was suspended, and the town of Hawkinsville abandoned. In, the spring of 1874, Mr. George Leonhardy, one of the early prospectors in the district, and who owned a .large amount of mining property, gave one- half of all his claims to a Cincinnati com- pany, who, in consideration therefor, agreed to put up works that would successfully treat the ores. They sent out machinery and a superintendent to put up the works, and, after expending over $30,000 and failing to make their process a success, suspended operations. Improper machinery, bad management in the working of the veins and treatment of the ores brought discredit upon the camp, and all the work upon the mines was again suspended. Granite still maintained a precarious exist- ence, depending upon the placer mines of Cache Creek, Lost Cañon and the river, and some little patronage as the county seat, until the discovery of silver at Leadville, in 1878, led to an examination of the old claims about Granite, many of which had in the early days been found to contain considerable quanti- ties of galena, which had proved a serious difficulty in the treatment of the ores in the stamp-mills, and to the relocation of such claims as had been abandoned, while those who had maintained a possessory right during the years of inactivity resumed work. The "O. K.," formerly the "Dowley," the Alta, the Georgia and three other claims were sold to the Granite Consolidated Gold Mining Company of New York, together with the old Yankee Blade mill and mill site above Gran- ite. This company after spending nearly a year in developing their claims and making certain that there was an abundance of ore and that it was valuable, remodeled the old

stamp-mill on the west side of the river at Granite, at a cost of several thousand dollars; but were not successful in treating the ores; they then rebuilt the old Yankee Blade mill, adapting it to the machinery and requirements of the Robinson process, which it was believed from tests made would successfully treat the ores; another failure has to be recorded. Mr. Walter Harris, a gentleman of large exper- ience and unquestionable integrity is in charge of the mines, and to his thorough knowledge of mining, his honesty and fidelity to the interests of his employers, the success attained in opening up the mines is largely due. He has a plan for the treatment of the ores based upon the methods pursued in the Old World, where he had had long experience and where similar ores are found and success- fully treated, that may be adopted here. The gentlemen owning the property are not satis- fied that the ores cannot be treated success- fully, and having abundance of capital are still experimenting, and it is believed will succeed. The Yankee Blade lode and others are owned by a company in Chicago. Nothing has been done as yet on this lode, but the owners contemplate putting up hoisting works, clearing out the shaft, which is 235 feet in depth, and further developing the property this season. The Granite Mountain Consol- idated Mining Company, organized in 1879, own several claims here, the best known of which is the Massachusetts, formerly the Webber, which they have developed quite extensively and have a large quantity of ore on the dump, awaiting the results of experi- ments made by the Granite Consolidated Gold Mining Company before building works for the reduction of the ores. Mr. A. M. Sperry is Manager and Superintendent at the mines. These mines are located within two miles of the railroad station at Granite, and have the advantage of the enormous water-power of the Arkanass for mill and other purposes.

LA PLATA MINING DISTRICT.

La Plata Mining District embraces all of the territory lying between the Arkansas River and the high ridges on either side of Clear Creek, to its source in the gulches on the eastern slope of the Continental

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HISTORY OF CHAFFEE COUNTY.

Divide. During the season of 1867, and while the excitement at Granite was high, prospectors made discoveries of lode veins about the head of Clear Creek and on the divide between Clear and Pine Creeks, and organized this district, but the ores proving to be more of lead and pyritous iron than free gold, which at that time was considered the only ore worth seeking for; silver ores were not looked for, and, if seen, not recog- nized, or discarded as of little value; the dis- trict, which had for a time promised to become a flourishing camp was abandoned, and the La Plata Mining District became only a name. The discovery that silver existed in the ores about Granite in sufficient quantity to pay, revived the interest in the La Plata District, which it was remembered had ores of lead in quantity, and prospecting during the season of 1880 became active, a number of promis- ing lodes were discovered, a town site located just above the mouth of the canon, called Vicksburg, which has already a good hotel, several saloons, stores and post office. Clear Creek, on the banks of which the town is located, is one of the most beautiful mountain streams in Colorado, having its source in the main range of the Continental Divide, and fed from the melting snows and from springs; the water, clear as crystal and cold as ice, abounding in trout, flows through rough and rocky valley for six or seven miles when the valley opens out and continues to widen, a level broad plain nearly to the river. Several ranches have been taken up and improved, the most extensive of which belongs to Chris Kirsch, who with true German thrift and industry has made for himself and family a beautiful home, and though at too high an elevation to be considered good farming land, it produces hay of the best quality. The claims discovered and located during the sea- son of 1880 are very promising, though the ores, rich generally, are refractory, containing zinc-blende, iron pyrites, galena and gray cop- per. Small quantities only have as yet been shipped away for treatment, but enough work has been done to prove the existence of true fissure veins and give to the camp a promise of adding largely to the bullion product of the county.

THE COTTONWOOD DISTRICT.

The Cottonwood District includes all of the territory drained by the waters of the Cotton- wood Creek, and has already developed a number of valuable properties, though but little ore has been shipped away for treat- ment. The best known claim is the "Butler Dandy," which has been recently sold for $20,000, though only assessment work had been done in developing it. It has been vig- orously worked since and has now on the dump quite a large amount of ore, containing sulphurets, brittle and native silver and galena, from which mill runs have been obtained of over 1,000 ounces of silver per ton. This claim is on the northeastern slope of Mount Princeton, above timber line. and adjoining this are a number of claims, not yet developed, that are equally promising, and that, when developed, are certain to add to the rep- utation of this district as among the most promising in the county. At the head of the South Fork of the Cottonwood is Jones' Mountain, which from the discoveries made may be considered a hill of mineral; numer- ous veins have been opened that furnish ore running high in lead and from forty to fifty ounces of silver per ton. On Fox Mountain are a number of prominent lodes, considered among the best in the district, discovered and owned by the Fox Brothers, for whom the mountain was named. The developments made in this district have all been done within the last two years, and the prospectors have not been able to do more than the assess- ment work required, but now that capitalists have recognized the possibilities of the camp and made investments in the mines, and for reduction and sampling works to be located at Buena Vista, the district will undoubtedly take a high rank for the quantity and rich- ness of ore produced. The Gunnison toll road passes up the valley of the North Branch of the Cottonwood and crosses the main range at a low elevation, being the most direct route to the eastern and northern por- tions of Gunnison County. The placer mines of this district are located on the river east of and below the town of Buena Vista; in early days considerable gold was taken out, but the difficulty of saving the gold, known as

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HISTORY OF CHAFFEE COUNTY.

" scale and flour gold" in the ordinary sluice boxes has prevented much progress being made in their development.

BUENA VISTA.

Buena Vista was incorporated in October, 1879; is 135 miles southwest from Denver and is the present county seat. Situated on the Cottonwood Creek, on a broad plain that extends westward six miles to the foot of Mount Princeton, and eastward about one mile to the Arkansas River. No more beau- tiful view can be found than that from this place. In plain view of the town to the north are the Buffalo Peaks; to the north and west, Harvard and Yale; to the west Mount Princeton; to the south and west Mount Antero and Mount Shavano, while due south the lofty peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Range are plainly seen, and on the east are the Arkansas Hills, along the foot of which the Arkansas River flows. The climate is delightful, the winters mild and the summer's heat tempered by the cooling breezes from the surrounding snow-capped mountains. Being at the junc- tion of two lines of railway-the Denver & Rio Grande and the Denver & South Park- and situated practically at the foot of the Cottonwood Pass, the nearest and most access- ible point for the northern portion of Gun- nison County, even after the completion of the railway to Gunnison City, it is evident that it will continue as it is now, an impor- tant commercial point. It is also the center of an extensive mining country. Clear Creek, Cottonwood, Mount Princeton and Trout Creek mining camps are all tributary to the growth and permanency of the town, and the erection of a smelter and sampling works, on which work has already been commenced, will give an additional impetus to the growing town, and insure a substantial prosperity. The Buena Vista Land Company, in August, 1879, by Maj. W. M. Kasson, to whose clear foresight and keen business qualities, the success achieved after many and serious diffi- culties, the land company and the town are indebted. The land company have spent a large portion of the money arising from the sales of lots in public improvements, the building of streets, digging of ditches, so that

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History of the Arkansas Valley, Colorado, Part 65

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