History of the State of Colorado, Volume IV, Part 13

Author: Hall, Frank, 1836-1917. cn; Rocky Mountain Historical Company
Publication date: 1889-95
Publisher: Chicago, Blakely print. Co.
Number of Pages: 791

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They settled on the north side of the Conejos river: organized a community and called it Guadalupe, in honor of " Our Lady of Guadalupe. " They built adobe houses and engaged in cultivating the soil, stock raising and so forth. Some of the original band grew faint-hearted and turned back, but their places were filled by others. At one time, however, the colony became reduced to twelve families. They were frequently threatened by Indians, but held firmly to their post. On the 13th of March, 1854, the U'tes and Apaches surrounded the town and a lively fight en- sued, lasting from just before sunrise until noon, when the savages were driven away. Several of Mr. Head's party were wounded but none killed. The Indians carried off their dead and wounded.

In 1856, Mr. Head was elected to the senate of the New Mexican legislature. to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Don Juan Benito Vaklez. In 1858. he was re-elected and made president of that body. There were only two American members. In 1850 he was appointed agent for the Tabeguache U'tes, which office he retained until 1868. In 1873 he was elected to the council. or senate, of the tenth territorial legislature of Colorado, representing Costilla and Conejos counties. In 1875 he was elected a member of the convention which framed our state constitution. He was appointed on the committees on executive department. on the bill of rights. and to the chairmanship of that on miscellaneous provisions. When the Republican

HISTORY OF COLORADO.

state convention met in Pueblo to nominate its ticket, he was brought forward as a leading candidate for the governorship, but yielded the place to John L. Routt, and took the office of lieutenant-governor. In the first General Assembly he presided over the Senate. In 1880 he was elected a delegate to the Republican national con- vention at Chicago, which nominated James A. Garfield, though he voted steadily with the 306 which stood for General Grant, and, in recognition of his steadfast ad- herence, wears one of the bronze medals issued in commemoration of that event.

Returning to the original subject, it may be stated that the little colony on the Conejos multiplied and prospered during all these years. The men took up farms along the streams, tilled them and soon acquired a comfortable position. Major Head was their leader, counselor and guide, and is so at the present dlate. Though the region is not thiekly populated, it is very fertile and productive.

Since they form a part of the annals of the county, the reader will pardon the intrusion here of certain interesting reminiscences in the Major's experiences with the Indians under his charge.

In 1866 Kaneatche, a war chief of the Utes, upon some trivial pretext, took the war-path with his braves and began depredating upon the property of the dwellers in Las Animas county, killing the people, stealing their stock and subjecting them to all manner of harassments. At length a company of cavalry under Col. Alexander was sent to keep them in check. In the course of operations, Kaneatche challenged Alexander to an open fight, feeling confident that he could whip the soldiers. Alex- ander replied that he was not there to accept challenges, but to prevent the Indians from molesting the settlers. But the chief, bent upon trying conclusions with the cavalry, finally managed to bring on a conflict, in which, after a sharp battle, he was thoroughly punished for his temerity. After his defeat he passed over into the San Luis valley via Mosca Pass, killing two settlers en route. Things looked ominous of further trouble; therefore, General Kit Carson, then in command at Fort Gar- land, sent for Major Head to come there and have an understanding with Kaneat- che. He obeyed the order, and after many councils succeeded in patching up a peace.

The Tabegnaches, like all other races of people, have a tradition of the Deluge, and, while not in accord with the Scriptural account, is nevertheless quite unique. They believe that the Ark or boat which contained all the people and all the animals to be saved from the universal inundation landed, not on Mount Ararat, but on top of a spur of mountains just back of Palmer lake, 52 miles south of Den- ver, and that when the waters subsided and the dry land appeared, they departed from the boat and went down upon the plain. There they pitched their tepees, and the animals went with them. In the course of time the warriors went out to ex- plore the country to great distances, leaving an old woman in charge of the settle- ment. She was extremely cross, high-tempered and irritable, this old woman. One day, while clearing up the camp, preparatory to the return of the warriors, the animals getting in her way and hindering her work, flying into a rage, she brandished her willow broom about so violently and scokled so furiously, the animals be- came frightened and fled, and that is the reason the Indians have ever since been obliged to hunt them.

Major Head's colony was the only one that succeeded in maintaining a perma- nent foothold in the San Luis valley. His influence over this people has been al- most supreme, and always exerted for whatever he believed to be their best welfare. In the many years he has resided there he has acquired large landed estates. Ile lives in a large and fine adobe house, which is a veritable palace in its interior fur- nishings and adornment, the seat of a boundless and refined hospitality. In 1865 he moved from Guadalupe to more elevated ground on the south side of the Conejos river and there built his present home. Others followed and it soon became a center of trade. When in 1862 it was decided to establish a post office in that section.

HISTORY OF COLORADO.

Major Ilead was asked what name should be designated, and he answered "Guada- lupe." but the post office department, in view of the many places of that name, re- solved to call it Conejos, hence the name of the new settlement where the office was permanently located. The original town of Guadalupe remains, and is well in- habited.

In 1851 the Major was united in marriage to Senorita Martina Martinez, with whom he lived in great domestic happiness until her death, November 21st, 1886. Twenty-five years ago, being childless, he adopted a little Mexican girl, then three years old, cared for and educated her at the Sisters' convent in Conejos. Iler name was Piedad ( piety ) Sisneros. She is now 28 years old, and maintains the Major's fine establishment with exalted grace. She has been twice married; the last time to Alfred Nelson, of Swedish birth, the inventor of the famous Nelson knitting machine, from which he acquired a large fortune. He died in Conejos, December 14th, 1888.

Those who have followed the carly explorations of the Rocky Mountains, as set forth in our first volume, will remember that toward the close of 1806, Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike, in the course of his wanderings in search of the sources of certain rivers, passed into the San Luis valley and built a log fort on the Conejos river just above its junction with the Rio Grande, and that he was there captured by Spanish troops and carried off to Santa Fe. Major Head pointed out the exact locality of this fort to the author, at a point east and opposite the recently settled Mormon town of Manassa.# When the Major came into the valley in 1854, he discovered the remains of the fort. The logs were still there but so decayed that they crumbled at the touch. The house, or stockade, was about twenty-five feet square, built close up against a hillside. It was in the usual form of the ordinary log cabin, crowned with a dirt roof. The children of two of the soldiers who were members of the command that captured Lieutenant Pike are still alive. One was Julian Sanchez, of Taos, who moved over to the Culebra and died there: the other. Antonio Domingo Lucero, a drummer boy, whose children now live in the valley.

Among the pioneer hunters and trappers who once made their rendezvous in the Mexican settlements were Bill Williams, Kit Carson, Antoine Lerroux. Charley Autobees, Tom Toben, Uncle Dick Wootten, Col. John M. Francisco, Thomas Boggs and others.

Failing to secure a confirmation of the old Mexican grant, many of the settlers obtained titles to their lands under the laws of the United States. No stirring events transpired in the valley until the arrival at Alamosa of the Denver & Rio Grande railway, July 6th, 1878. Then much activity prevailed, and out of it grew the present wonderful transformation.

Conejos. - This town has been the county seat from the beginning of organiza- tion under the statutes of Colorado. There is but one established church, the Catho- lic, and but one school in the place which is conducted by the Sisters of Loretto. In 1856, at Guadalupe, a small picket house, plastered with adobe, was built for a place of worship. Subsequently, in 1865, a more pretentious structure was erected at Conejos, and a wing of one room attached for school purposes. The Sisters now have a commodions independent academy near the church. Both places have been made attractive by shade trees, lawns and flowers. On nearly all the affluents of the Rio Grande there are several groups of Mexican settlers, engaged in farming and stock raising. There are two or three stores in Conejos, a saloon or two, a flouring mill belonging to Major Head, a blacksmith shop, numerous adobe houses, and the court house, built of a beautiful white sandstone in cubes, a stately and imposing edifice. 42 × 88 feet, the interior finished in polished Texas pine. Its

* On the ranch owned by Judge A. W. McIntire, now governor of Colorado, elected in November, 1594

HISTORY OF COLORADO.

cost was $35,000. It was completed and occupied March 17th, 1891. The archi- tecture of this temple of justice, and interior arrangement and finish, are not surpassed by any similar structure in southwestern Colorado. It is impossible to collect much information of value relating to the foundation of government from the county records, as they were crudely kept in Spanish. But few of the residents were competent to open and keep proper records. They were a simple-minded. mainly uneducated community, isolated from the world and requiring but little government. The officers complied with the laws so far as they comprehended them. By the assistance of the county clerk, Mr. David Frank, two or three old books were fished out of their forgotten hiding places, from which it was discovered that Jesus Maria Velasquez was the probate judge in 1862, but none of the other officers, if they had any, were given. In 1863 the following appears of record : County clerk, Manuel Lucero; sheriff, Miguel Antonio Martinez; treasurer, Jose Gabriel Martinez: chairman of the board of commissioners, Pedro Antonio Lobato.

The officers for 1890-91 were, commissioners, Hipolito Romero, chairman, Joseph F. Thomas, and Benardo Romero; clerk, David Frank: treasurer, Charles Brickenstein; sheriff, J. A. Garcia; county judge, L. M. Peterson: superintendent of schools, L. A. Norland; assessor, S. O. Fletcher ; coroner, A. B. Wright.

Guadalupe became an incorporated town by action of the county commission- ers, taken July 26th, 1869, upon a memorial from the requisite number of tax-pay- ers. The petition being granted, the following trustees were appointed to serve until the next ensuing election in April, 1870, viz: Lafayette Head, Jose Francisco Martinez, Nemecio Lucero, Diego Martinez and Jose de la Luz Martinez. The limits were embraced within the S. E. { of section 18, township 33 north, range 9 east, New Mexico meridian. The town of Servietta just north of Guadalupe, once the largest in the county, is now but a little hamlet of two or three families. Cone- jos is not incorporated.

What is known as the San Luis valley or park is now covered by the four counties of Saguache, Rio Grande, Costilla and Conejos. It is of eliptical shape and of great dimensions, lying between, as Governor Gilpin states it, "the Cordillera and the Sierra Mimbres." All the others having been given appropriate consider- ation and description, it only remains to state that the park was, in remote ages. the bed of a great primeval sea or lake. The plain, as we find it to-day, appears to be almost as level as the surface of still water; and, in looking it over, we wonder how it is possible for water to flow through the great irrigating canals that thread this re- markable valley. Many streams plunge into it from the mountains on all sides, empty- ing at last into the Rio Grande river, which is the parent stream. The average ele- vation of the park is 7,500 feet above the sea. It is entirely surrounded by lofty serrated mountain chains, that are crowned by peaks from 13,000 to 14,000 feet in height. These, capped with snow most of the year, present an aspect of sublimity and grandeur which no pen can adequately describe. The Del Norte river takes its rise in the San Juan mountains, near Mineral City, flowing eastward to the base of the mountains and debouching into the plain near the town of Del Norte, pursuing a serpentine course to about the longitudinal center, when it turns to the south, passes into New Mexico and Texas and empties finally into the Gulf of Mexico. Adopting Governor Gilpin's description: "All the streams descending from the enveloping Sierras other than the Alamosa converge into it their tributary waters. On the west come in successively the Pintada, the Rio Gata, the Rio La Jara, the Conejos, the San Antonio, and the Piedras. These streams, six or eight miles apart, parallel, equi-distant, fed by the snows of the Sierra Mimbres. l:ave abundant waters, very fertile areas of land, and all are of the very highest order of beauty. In the immediate vicinity of Fort Garland, the Yuba. the Sangre de Cristo and the Trinchera descend from the mountains, converge, unite a few miles west and, blending with the Trinchera, flow west 24 miles into the Rio

HISTORY OF COLORADO.

Del Norte. In the serrated rim of the park, as seen from the plain projected against the sky, are discernible seventeen peaks at very equal distance from one another. Each one differs from all the rest in some peculiarity of shape and position. Each one identifies itself by some striking beauty."

The valley we are considering is about 125 miles north by south, and has an average width of about 50 miles. Its loftiest peak, Sierra Blanca, one of the grandest on the continent, standing alone, incomparable, snow-crowned, rises to a height of 14,464 feet. The climate of this region may well be termed salubrious. the air pure and health-giving. The seasons are much like those of Denver and Colorado Springs: warm days in summer, and cool, refreshing nights, while in winter it is somewhat milder than in the places named, notwithstanding the prox- imity of the snow ranges. The soil is a deep, sandy loam. Prior to the demon- stration of its value by the settlers, and the construction of large irrigating canals, the Illinois and lowa farmer would have regarded it as wholly unfit for cultivation. Yet it has been proven to be as fertile and productive as can be found on the continent. It is the proper application of water, and knowledge of how to till this ground, that have made it so fruitful in crops. It is especially adapted to grasses, wheat, barley, oats, peas, hops and all the hardy vegetables. Much atten- tion has been given to raising potatoes, which return large yields and are of superior quality. Vegetables attain great size; small fruits are prolific and very fine. But little corn is grown. Instead, many tracts are sown broadcast to peas which yield 30 to 60 bushels an acre, the crop used for fattening hogs and found to be an excel- lent substitute for corn. Hops grow wild in great profusion among the mountain cañons, and a few fields have been cultivated. Immense tracts are devoted to the cereals, others to native and foreign grasses. The success of farming here, as else- where in the state, is dependent upon irrigation. Several very extensive canals have been constructed. These are supplemented by about 3,000 flowing artesian wells. In the center and southern part, this underflow is found at about 100 feet; in the northern part at 200 feet. The pressure is sufficient to carry it into dwellings. The first artesian well was sunk by S. P. Hoine, on Empire farm, six miles south of Ala- mosa, in the winter of 1887. and a fine How obtained at a depth of 72 feet. It proved a discovery of great importance to all the people of that section, and the example thus set was followed by many others during the winter and all through the year 1888. They range in depth from 55 to 500 feet. "One of the wells, six miles north of Alamosa, in the summer of 1888, tapped a discharge of natural gas which created some excitement." The water is pure and of varying degrees of temperature. Alamosa is furnished with water from several large, freely flowing wells.

Farming .- There are several immense farms in this region, the largest, under the management of Mr. T. C. Henry of Denver, whose local office is directed by Mr. M. B. Colt, at Alamosa. These are the Empire, the San Luis, Excelsior and Mosca farm companies; the Empire Land and Canal Co., and the San Luis Land and Water Co. Something over $1,500,000 has been invested in these enterprises. The chief influence brought to bear for the reclamation of these arid lands and their conversion into fruitful farms and gardens, now among the most productive in the commonwealth, was the action taken by Mr. Henry of the Colorado Loan and Trust company of Denver, who, realizing the opportunity, began operations there in the fall of 1883, very soon after he became a citizen of Colorado. He had long been a very extensive farmer. in Kansas, and had also made a study of irrigation in this state. Knowing that little could be accomplished without large canals, and that the mountain streams afforded an ample supply of water, he first built the Empire canal, next the Del Norte, next the Citizens', all begum in the fall of 1883. and all practically completed during 1884. In the spring of 1884 he opened up what was known as the north side farm of 7.000 acres, under the Del Norte canal

RESIDENCE OF J. W. FASSETT, NEAR DENVER.

L' Columbian Fner,

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View Looking West New Residence

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(for description of which see history of Rio Grande county), and 3,000 acres of the south side under the Citizens' canal. These were the first farming operations on a large scale undertaken in the valley. There were a number of farmers here and there along the water courses, chiefly Mexicans, however, but no extended efforts had been entered upon. In 1888 he and his associates purchased the San Luis canal system, widened and extended it, and made it one of the four large canals. This covers the territory immediately north of Alamosa. The cost of these several water ways was about $1,500,000. During 1891, there were 150,000 acres of land under cultivation in the San Luis valley.

The Empire canal penetrates a rich tract of land on the south side of the Rio Grande. Beginning at a point two and a half miles south of Monte Vista in Rio Grande county, it runs 35 miles southeasterly, passing Alamosa 12 miles to the west, supplying nearly 100 miles of laterals. It is estimated that 150,000 acres of land have been thus reclaimed.

Its present capacity is 2,500 cubic feet of water per second. In 1890, 18,000 acres were cultivated under this canal, which returned an average yield of 25 bushels of wheat per acre. Of the larger tracts fructified are the Empire farm of 6,000 acres, and the Loveland farm of 3,000 acres.

Quoting from the Alamosa Independent "Journal."-"The San Luis canal sys- tem was first organized in 1883. The canal commences 4 miles northeast of Ala- mosa and, flowing through Costilla county, empties ultimately into the San Luis lakes, making irrigable, in its course, 80,000 acres of fine farm lands, 16,000 of which were farmed, in 1890, with good results. The main canal is 16 miles in length, with five long laterals stretching out their feeding arms for 60 miles. It was completed in 1890.

"The Excelsior farm has 17,000 acres all under fence. The Empire farm near Alamosa, along the line of the Denver & Rio Grande railway, has 5,000 acres under fence. There is an artesian well in each quarter section. This farm was organized in 1884, and is operated by Mr. T. C. Henry. The Lyden farm, organized in 1895. has 3,000 acres under cultivation; the San Luis farm some 3,000 acres. The Mosca Land & Canal Co.'s farm is under a large lateral from the San Luis canal, covering 5,000 acres partitioned off to tenants."

We take local authority for the yields, since there are no official data. (f wheat, 30 to 40 bushels per acre; oats, 60 to 95 bushels ; barley, 35 to 50; peas, 30 to 40; potatoes, 200 to 300, and other crops in proportion.

It is conceded on all sides that the Mormon colonists, many of whom are located on the eastern side of the park, are the most thorough and productive cul- tivators. They are industrious, frugal, work upon perfected systems, and possess a thorough knowledge of irrigation acquired of experienced settlers from U'tah. The history of their immigration is contained in the following abstract from a letter written by Elder J. F. Thomas, and published in the Alamosa "Journal" of January Ist, 1891. In 1877 John Morgan, a missionary, brought a company of Mormon immigrants from the Southern States to Colorado, with the intention of locating them in the San Luis valley, but the D. & R. G. R. R. not being completed across the mountains, they remained a year at Pueblo, obtaining various employments there. There were about 50 persons all told, and as houses were scarce, nearly all spent the winter in the old barracks, formerly occupied by U. S. troops. In the spring of 1878 a few were sent to the San Luis valley to select a place for settle- ment, to which the others who remained behind were to come in the fall. While here they were joined by a small company who had come from Utah in wagons, and having selected a site for a town near the north branch of Conejos river, they laid out a town on the east half of section 24 in township 34, north range 9 east. New Mexico Meridian, the survey comprising the entire half section, and named the place Manassa. The streets are 100 feet wide, crossing at right angles. The

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blocks are about 450 feet square, and contain about 6 acres cach. Each block is divided into four lots. The town having been surveyed, the party built several log houses. Next came the selection of lands and application for purchase. When the D. & R. G. road had been completed to Fort Garland, the remainder came over from Pueblo, and also another company from the Southern States, when they were met by those of Manassa with teams and wagons and all taken to the new settlement. Arriving at their destination, it was decided to rent some houses from Mexicans living at and near the village of Los Cerritos, and here the entire party spent the winter. The next spring another small party came from Utah, and in the fall another, chiefly from Georgia. Up to this time no considerable amount of farm- ing had been done. Those who undertook it, even in a small way, were unfortunate, for the reason that they were ignorant of the conditions required to prepare the ground for crops. Consequently they did not prosper. Obliged to maintain their families, they sought employment elsewhere, many going to Leadville, where they worked at whatever they could get to do. In the spring of 1880 they returned to Manassa and prepared to farm on a large scale. They took out ditches from the Conejos river and built fences; ploughed and seeded the land. After the grain was up. many took employment on the D. & R. G. R. R., and in cutting ties for the extension from Alamosa to Durango. It will thus be seen that they endured many reverses and hardships in the first years. The crops that year were poor, as they were for two years afterward. During 1880 seventy more came from the Southern States, arriving in March, and in April still another company of about 30, to which II4 more were added in November. Since that time the numbers have been in- creasing by the coming of such companies about twice a year. Some have deserted and returned to their old homes, but the majority have remained, and. learning how to farm the land, and how and when to apply the water, have achieved success.

These people are quiet, orderly, peaceful, law abiding, intruding upon no man's rights, permitting no infractions of their own. They have their schools and churches, and a just form of local government. The capabilities of each man are measured, and he is treated according to his merits and worth. At first no farmer is allowed to cultivate more than 20 acres of land until he shall have demonstrated that he has the ability for larger undertakings. If he shows himself unfit for manage- ment, by failing to do his work thoroughly, too ignorant or incompetent for in- dividual enterprise, he becomes a common laborer for others. The church authori- ties keep strict watch over all, and direct all proceedings. Through the large crops realized, these communities have become comparatively wealthy and inde- pendent in the last ten years. They are adding much to the material resources of the county. In the spring of 1882, the town of Manassa was extended to cover the west half of the section previously mentioned, and is now a mile square. The district school was established at the beginning of 1870. and has been steadily maintained. The people have built an extensive system of irrigating canals, and. during 1890, had about 5,000 acres under fine cultivation. There are no liquor saloons in the settlement.

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History of the State of Colorado, Volume IV, Part 13

Author: Hall, Frank, 1836-1917. cn; Rocky Mountain Historical Company Publication date: 1889-95 Publisher: Chicago, Blakely print. Co. Number of Pages: 791

Author: Hall, Frank, 1836-1917. cn; Rocky Mountain Historical Company
Publication date: 1889-95
Publisher: Chicago, Blakely print. Co.
Number of Pages: 791