USA > Colorado > History of the State of Colorado, Volume II > Part 39
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As previously stated, the Little Pittsburgh was stocked for twenty millions, and one-fourth of that amount was soon disposed of in New York for a million dollars, so eager were the brokers in Wall street for an opportunity to operate in the famous Leadville mines. Both J. C. Wilson, the manager, and H. B. Bearce, the Superintendent of underground operations, informed me in September, 1879, when I had made a casual inspection of the property, that the enormous dividends called for, were depleting the ore reserves faster than they could be opened, and while
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there was no present sign of a limit to their capacity for production, there was a limit to their power for development, and it was a question of only a short time when a halt must be called, to afford them opportunity for further exploitation. They entertained extravagant notions of the extent of the ore body, and felt that under ordinary circumstances they would be able to meet all demands. Mr. Moffat, before going to New York in the fall of 1879, to look after the interests of his company there, made a personal visit to the mine and examined it thoroughly. The deposit was very large, and there were no evidences anywhere that it would be exhausted within the limits of the territory covered by the several locations. Hence, on arriving in New York, his report to the directors and stockholders was extremely sanguine. During September, Tabor sold his interest to the company, and from the proceeds thereof pur- chased a large amount of stock in the First National Bank of Denver.
Sales of the stock upon the exchange in New York were large and rapid. Of all the mining securities dealt in, these were in greatest demand, and brought the highest prices. While there were greater mines than the Little Pittsburgh proved to be in the ultimating issue, not one had the conspicuous place it held in public estimation and in the speculative markets. Chaffee and Moffat, basing their opinions upon frequent personal examinations of the property, and supported by the reports of the best mining experts of the time, entertained and freely · expressed unbounded confidence in the perpetuity of the resources and yields. Both were appalled, therefore, when, early in February, 1880, they being in New York, intelligence came to them from, the manager that its available resources were well nigh worked out and that the pay- ment of dividends must be suspended until new explorations could be made and further ore bodies opened. The stock had risen to $35 and $40 per share and was selling freely at those figures, and the demand for it was incessant. Mr. Moffat ordered the manager to New York post haste, to render a personal account. Finding that the secret could not long be preserved, and yet hoping that new supplies would be fo ind, orders were given to push the exploitations as rapidly as possible.
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Meanwhile, the market was flooded with the stock. Then came the exposure and sudden collapse. The stock fell from $35 to $6 per share. Said the brokers to Moffat when the crash came, " If you had not been so rapid in your deals we intended to catch you on the turn, but your movement caught us instead. It's all right, however. You are the first Western man who has escaped a squeeze." Instead of feeling out- raged by the decline, they simply congratulated him on his superior shrewdness in standing from under. A few of the class termed innocent investors, who had purchased the shares in confidence and upon honor for the gains derivable from a well established, legitimate enterprise, suffered as a natural consequence, and from such, maledictions loud and deep, coupled with charges of chicanery and fraud, spread over the land, to the detriment of this and all other enterprises formed in Leadville. But the projectors themselves were the victims of a too sanguine estimate of the reserves in store. While there were not wanting men of superior perspicacity who asserted their ability to read the pages of nature like an open book, who predicted an early collapse, it was wholly impossible for any person to accurately forecast the issue. The mine contained many great blocks of ore, held in reserve for the continuation of dividends, which, when penetrated, taken down and tested, proved to be too barren of silver for the most part, to pay the cost of extraction and treatment, yet they had been counted as valuable parts of the great bonanzas, and it was this disappointment more than anything else which induced the suspension. In the wild excitement of the time, when all minds were intoxicated and all opinions governed by the extraordinary developments, the bewildering rapidity with which immense fortunes were made, without an accepted sign of limitation, every one was imbued with the feeling that the region contained illimitable quantities of ore, which had only to be punctured to send forth continuous streams of wealth.
Says Dill, speaking of the effect of the Little Pittsburgh col- lapse, " The immediate results of the misfortune, were to cause a sudden decline in all Leadville stocks, to chill the advances of capital,
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and to check the spirit of enterprise which had taken possession of the people who lived and believed in Leadville as a profitable field for legitimate investment. It was evident that the boom was over, and the prudent began to realize as closely as possible upon all interests not necessary to their legitimate business. Of course this disposition caused a decline in every direction, and on every side was heard the despairing cry that Leadville was gone." Under the unwarranted effort to pay dividends, nearly eleven hundred thousand dollars above the cost of mining, transportation and smelting, had been distributed among the stockholders in the course of ten months. There was no time to make proper exploration for new ore bodies, had they existed. But it was found that the principal resources of the property lay in a small part of the Pittsburgh and in greater masses in the New Discovery. To exag- gerate their misfortunes, uncontrollable volumes of water poured into the lower levels from countless seams in the rocks, which necessitated the erection of powerful machinery for its extraction. Meanwhile the workmen were driven out and important developments ceased. But with all their striving no further great reserves have been found, though considerable quantities of ore have been produced from that time to the present. When the crash came, the property was little more than a shell, without promise of dividends in the future.
The ultimate issue, though hard to bear by people whose hopes had been exalted to the lofty pitch that prevailed from 1878 to the early spring of 18So, brought with it further humiliation through the loss of confidence, and the widespread belief that their cherished Leadville was broken and wholly ruined, and that in its fall had perished the prestige of Colorado as a mining region. For years afterward our State was contemptuously rated with Nevada as a rotten borough by the inhab- itants of the Atlantic States. Nevertheless, instead of proving .a total shipwreck of the district and the State, well defined advantages to both eventuated. It swept away the unhealthy excitement, scattered the horde of speculators and non-producers, caused the mines to be more carefully managed, gave time for necessary exploitation, instituted better
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methods of economic operation, fixed the boundaries of profitable ground, and led to the establishment of legitimate procedure in every channel of business and industry. It adjusted innumerable questions impossible of settlement under former conditions. Under more rational auspices the managers were enabled to exemplify beyond the power of contradiction, that Leadville, instead of being prostrated by the cessation of speculative excitement, was really at the beginning of its greatest power for production. Instead of stocking, selling, bonding and manip- ulating through a horde of sharpers, whose occupation had been destroyed by the upheaval, individuals and companies owning claims either developed them, or leased their holdings to experienced miners who restored the output, by bringing scores of new sources of supply to the ore markets. All the later appliances for mining and smelting were added. It took time of course to bring about these beneficent changes, but it was done, and from that time to the present, the district has abundantly demonstrated its original claim of being the greatest mining region of the world.
The marvelous boom is one of the traditions of the camp which no man who has an abiding interest in its future desires to see rein- stated. Like its predecessors and successors, it gave rise to a vast pro- cession of fictitious values that were maintained for a few months, only to be followed by an era of depression. Denver gained more sub- stantial benefit than any other locality from the unprecedented devel- opment, for it brought thousands of fixed residents, built the city, gave it high standing abroad, furnished boundless resources of capital, and other forces for expansion that were not transitory, but permanent. From this regenerative influence it derived the means to fortify it impregnably as the chief city of the State for all time. From the later results of that era, she has profited even more, for though the sub- sidence of the speculative frenzy stranded hundreds and thousands of unfortunate investors in stocks and mines, the constant inpouring of capital for investment in real estate, buildings, manufactures and com-
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merce, has kept our machinery in motion and supplied funds to maintain an uninterrupted course of prosperity.
A season of great dullness supervened at the mines on the Upper Arkansas. A series of disasters followed the fall of Little Pittsburgh. The Crysolite, Little Chief and others equally celebrated, went down under the storm. It seemed as if the floodgates of omnipotent wrath had all at once been opened upon the people for excessive indulgence, and abuse of the great gifts the gods had bestowed. On the 26th of May, 1880, the miners in the Crysolite struck for higher wages,-four dollars per day and eight hour shifts. The movement was led from first to last by a bold, intelligent and vigorous Irish leader named Mooney, who, with the characteristic daring of his race, had obtained the mastery of the elements which made the strike one of gigantic dimensions. Negotiations between the malcontents and managers fol- lowed, but both being obstinate, nothing good came out of them. As a consequence the strike spread to all the principal mines, the workmen walked out and crowded into the town ; organized a procession with a brass band at the head and marched to the various shafts where such as were at work were called out and joined them. While no acts of vio- lence occurred, the demonstration was powerful and alarming, the less prudent uttering threats against life and property. Mooney held his forces well in hand, however, exercising a strong and, under the circum- stances, judicious control. Great excitement ensued. The marching miners, the stoppage of the mines, the indiscreet brawlers in the ranks, all conspired to produce a sense of coming danger. No man could fore- tell what the result would be, but everything indicated serious disorder and bloodshed. The miners held meetings and defined their course of action. The business men and law-abiding citizens met also and gravely discussed the situation, devising ways and means to meet the emergency. After the daily scenes of confusion and dread had pro- ceeded for about two weeks, threats to kill, burn and destroy became more and more pronounced. The citizens organized with a view to bringing the matter to a crisis. There were many in the ranks of the
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strikers, and others who had not joined them, who desired to return to work under former regulations, but were prevented by the majority. The citizens' committee asked the business men to close their houses, take arms in their hands, and, by force if necessary, disperse the mob, and at the same time protect such as were desirous of resuming work. Several cases of State rifles, with ammunition, had been sent up by the Governor in response to representations made to him. They formed an imposing semi-military procession, marched through the streets and displayed their strength and determination to the best advantage, but instead of quelling the rioters it only increased the hostility and turbulence. The miners, instead of being overawed, were irritated to the fighting point by the evident attempt to force them to an acceptance of the manager's terms. Though well intended, the parade proved a lamentable fiasco, for it aggravated, intensified and spread the discontent irreconcilably, coming dangerously near precipitating the awful consequences it was designed to check. Says Dill: "The moment came at last, and only the most determined efforts of the officers prevented a riot that would have caused great loss of life." During the parade, "One of the rioters, incensed at something said or done by the commander of the horsemen, fired a pistol at him. The shot caused the wildest alarm, and three or four of the horsemen charged upon the throng with drawn pistols, causing it to scatter in terror." These sadly misguided proceedings, born of the hot passions of the hour, produced universal inflammation. Then every one realized that the crisis so long delayed was about to burst forth in the red flames of war. Luckily the police appeared upon the scene in force, arrested the too impetuous riders who had provoked the startling breeze, and bore them away. Soon afterward a well organized and disciplined com- pany of militia marched to the center of disturbance, and charging, soon cleared the streets.
This narrow escape from deadly peril inspired the better citizens to call upon Governor Pitkin for military aid. Telegrams poured in upon him all through the Saturday following. They advised him that the
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sheriff of the county and the police of the city had exhausted their power to restore order, and that nothing less potential than a decla- ration of martial law and the presence of a regiment of troops, would preserve the peace. These demands continued by mail and wire until late Saturday night, and were renewed with even more emphatic in- sistence Sunday morning. The Governor, while fully alive to the gravity of the situation, was extremely averse to putting the city and county under military law. He resorted to every device to avoid com- pliance with the demand, realizing its consequences. He telegraphed and wrote to his staunch personal friends upon whose wisdom and discretion he relied, for private and strictly accurate accounts of the state of affairs, among them to Judge J. D. Ward, as to the necessity and advisability of declaring martial law. It was upon their answers he acted rather than those of the more excited leaders of the citizens' movement. Having been with him throughout this trying period of his administration, I speak from personal knowledge. Some of his more intimate friends and counsellors gathered about him to offer what advice and aid might be required. Suffering from an incurable disease, racked with physical pain, his mind tortured with anxiety, weak from loss of sleep, nervous and exhausted from the excitement of the tre- mendous strain of conflicting reports, impelled to do what was right, and only that in the performance of a solemn duty, yet unable to pierce the clouds of differing statements that came in endless profusion, he was at a loss to discover the wisest and most prudent course. He was constantly beset by the apprehension that in the heated condition of the public mind at Leadville, undue advantage would be taken of a resort to military force. If the order must be issued, who should be placed in command ? It must be a man whose position with all classes was cal- culated to inspire respect, whose judgment, courage and skill would be exercised to the attainment of the aim in view, of abating violence and restoring peace and the orderly resumption of work in the great mines. Several were named, but rejected on the ground of unfitness for so great a responsibility. At length the name of Hon. William H. James
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was suggested, and instantly adopted. The Governor asked me to tek- egraph for his acceptance. I did so, and, a favorable answer being returned, his commission as Brigadier General was immediately pre- pared and forwarded, with instructions to organize a regiment of troops and employ them to the best possible advantage. Simultaneously went the order declaring martial law in Lake County, and placing the com- mand of all the forces in his charge. Notification having preceded the act by wire, the good effect was immediate. The troops were organized, armed, equipped and judiciously placed where the objects sought might be most speedily and effectively attained. Governor Pitkin recognized in its fullest meaning the possible and probable bearing of his warrant to suspend the civil law, and that it should not be granted except upon the most positive assurances from sources he felt bound to trust, that nothing less arbitrary would save the city. This assurance having been given by the sheriff, by the citizens' com- mittee, and by his confidential friends, he sat down to his table, thickly strewn with letters and telegrams and nervously wrote out his procla- mation. At times he would pause in the writing to say to those about him, "Gentlemen, please bear witness that I do this with extreme reluc- tance, but it seems to be the only solution of the difficulty, and I feel that it must be done."
Says Dill, writing from the scene of action, "The effect was magical. On Sunday night the streets were as quiet as those of any city of its size." A regiment of volunteers was quickly raised and as quickly equipped for the field. General James issued his orders and they were obeyed. All classes, none more deeply than the more intel- ligent of the striking miners, respected and aided him in restoring a peaceful status. It was his influence, perhaps more than the display of arms which reduced the city from rioting and rebellion to peace and order.
No further incidents of importance occurred. The long strike ended on the 18th of June, the organization dissolved, the men resumed work, and on the 26th the Governor revoked his proclamation and dis-
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banded the troops. This was the first and last social crisis of that nature in the history of Leadville. The strike was without adequate cause. Its effect was aggravated and prolonged by lack of wise dis- cretion on both sides. Properly handled, there would have been no excuse for martial law, and that it was not properly handled was directly attributable to the acts of certain men on horseback with an inordinate passion for display. There is little in the history of the case to induce the conclusion that the strikers really intended a resort to violence, and there is much to show that true valor and sound common sense on the part of the city and county authorities, had they not yielded to exterior clamor, might have dispersed the malcontents, saved great alarm and a large bill of expense to the State.
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CHAPTER XXII.
HARD TIMES OF 1876-'77-DAWN OF A NEW ERA IN 1878-FIRST GREAT IMMIGRATION TO LEADVILLE-EFFECT UPON THE STATE-BUILDING OF THE CLARENDON HOTEL -DISCOVERY OF ROBINSON MINES IN SUMMIT COUNTY-TRAGIC DEATH OF LIEU- TENANT GOVERNOR ROBINSON-COMPLETION OF THE RIO GRANDE RAILROAD- DISCOVERIES IN CHAFFEE, GUNNISON AND PITKIN COUNTIES-INFLUENCE OF LEAD- VILLE ON STATE POLITICS-FOUNDING OF NEWSPAPERS-BANKS AND BANKERS- LEADVILLE AS A SMELTING POINT.
The winter of 1876-'77 was one of great severity in the mountains, and along the plains. The agricultural sections had suffered grievous losses by the ravages of grasshoppers. The worst effects of the panic of 1873, came about the same time and, combined with a general destruc- tion of crops, caused universal depression. The masses were poor, and many were reduced to absolute destitution.
Times were never harder or more distressing to the majority than during that season. Wages and salaries had been attenuated to the last degree ; hundreds were working for their board, and other hundreds vainly seeking places at any price. While the reports from over the range gave some hope of a brighter future, they excited no deeper feeling than the wish that the discoveries made might prove equal to the anticipations of those who made them, for there was no accepted recognition ; at best only a faint promise of the great flood- time of prosperity that was to issue out of them, was visible. Period- ically, all through the years, from 1859 forward, similar hopes had been raised only to be dashed to pieces on the rocks of disappointment. Camps sprang up in a day, only to die of inanition the next. Denver itself was scarcely more than an overgrown village. It had
30 II
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made some advances for a year or two after the arrival of railways, but in 1876-'77 its population was not more than 10,000. The Denver & South Park road, handicapped by poverty and by an exceedingly difficult and expensive route through Platte Cañon, was struggling against man- ifold adversities and making little progress. All about the horizon the prospect was indescribably dark and forbidding. The State had been admitted, a new and more costly government instituted, but the legis- lature and State officers were continually admonished to observe the closest practicable economy. It was a time which imperatively demanded the restriction of all expenditures, public and private.
The ensuing summer of 1878 brought a wonderful new epoch, filled with peace and plenty. The locusts had taken flight, the tillers of the soil were inspired with renewed courage to "plant, and sow, and reap ;" the area of cultivation widened, crops were abundant, and all trains from the eastward came crowded with people ; millions of fresh capital poured in, and the premonitory signs of a grand revolution dispelled the clouds, quickened the energies of men, set a thousand propelling influences at work, and turned all eyes with eager interest to the delvers beneath the porphyritic hills above the new metropolis that had arisen and already become great, from whence came glad tidings of regeneration and salvation.
The South Park, the Rio Grande and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fé railways were pushing into the new Eldorado, as fast as men and money could drive them, each eager to secure the rich traffic created along the Upper Arkansas, then monopolized by mule and cattle trains. Lines of stages put on from Denver and Colorado Springs, were crowded to their utmost capacity with passengers and express matter, while hundreds, unable to procure any sort of conveyance, were tramping on foot over the rugged and dusty highways. For the first time since their construction, the trunk lines from the Missouri River to Colorado found their accommodations inadequate to the constantly increasing demands upon them for cars and faster trains.
The chief city of the State, stagnant and inert before, now began to
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assume the appearance of an active, bustling community. Real estate, for which there had been neither inquiry nor sale of consequence during the preceding four years, suddenly rose into unwonted prominence for safe and profitable investment. The increase of population became so great it was impossible to provide shelter for the multitudes, notwithstanding the enormous and wholly unprecedented advance of building that followed. Business locations, dwellings and lodgings, which had long stood unoccupied and unsought were filled, and hundreds added, only to be taken as soon as completed. Commerce and manu- factures were strained to their utmost to meet the volume of orders that poured in upon them. Thousands seemed to be moved by a new born impulse to move westward. Hundreds of mining companies were formed; the old craze of 1863-'64 when all the discovered, and many undiscoverable mines of Gilpin County passed into the possession of eastern holders, was renewed with tenfold vigor. Not Denver alone, but all the settled divisions of the State were incalculably ben- efited by the new blood thus forcibly injected into their veins. Mul- tiform new industries were inaugurated, the channels of enterprise filled to overflowing ; the field of discovery and development extended from center to circumference, and its available resources were brought under fashioning hands. Therefore, when we say that Leadville was the base and moving power, which in its on-rushing force made Colorado what it is to-day, it is but the proclamation of strict historical truth. From this mighty movement sprang the prestige and the greater prominence which we have since enjoyed, and which has enlarged and strengthened our position in the center of the great West. We behold it to-day with unmistakable clearness of vision, in the concentration of influences that are gradually, but surely, making this commonwealth the most potential that has been erected between the Missouri and the Pacific Sea. It is now compelling the principal railway companies to so shorten and bend their lines, as to make it the chief center of their transcontinental traffic.
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