USA > Colorado > History of the State of Colorado, Volume IV > Part 23
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The first newspaper published there wasthe Silver "World." by Harry Woods and Clark L. Peyton in 1875. The office material was hauled in from Saguache and they began with three subscribers. The mail edition of the first issue was taken over the old circuitous route 110 miles to Saguache, then the nearest post office. September 7th, 1876, Henry C. Olney purchased the half interest of Mr. Woods when the new firm became Olney & Peyton. In 1878 Mr.Olney became sole proprietor. In August, 1885. he leased the paper to A. R. Pelton. Subsequently it met with numerous changes incident to altered conditions. Among its editors were Gideon R. Propper, Walter Mendenhall and F. E. Dacon. Dacon changed the name to "Sentinel." which, after a brief career, suspended. The second venture of this class was the San Juan "Crescent." started in 1877 by Harry Woods, but it was short lived. The Lake City Mining "Register" endured several years under the management of J. F. Downey. The "Phonograph" was established by Walter
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Mendenhall. The Lake City "Times" was founded January 15th, 1891, by the Lake City Printing & Publishing Co., D. S. Hoffman, president, and A. R. Arbuckle, editor and manager.
The U. S. Land Office was opened in February, 1877. Olney and Hickman were succeeded by D. S. Hoffman, register, and C. D. Peck, receiver, in 1883; W. H. Steele and H. C. Fink were their successors, when the office was removed to Montrose.
Lake City has a fine brick school house, built at a cost of $30,000. Mrs. Gage taught school here in the carly days and is said to have been the first teacher. The Presbyterians, Episcopalians and Catholics have church buildings, and the Baptists and Christians church organizations.
Water works were built in 1890 at a cost of $20,000. The supply is obtained from the Lake Fork, a mile or so above the town. Armory Hall, the largest in the place, was the headquarters of a military organization formed many years ago, known as the "Pitkin Guard," then a strong, well drilled and efficient company which rendered good service in the many Indian disturbances that threatened that part of the country.
The Miners' and Merchants' bank was founded in 1876 by the Thatcher Bros. of Pueblo, with J. H. Maugham, cashier. He was succeeded by H. J. Alexander, and he, in October, 1885, by Henry Derst. The old First National was established as the Hinsdale County Bank, but was changed to the First National by H. A. McIntire and others, and finally wrecked.
Among the tragic incidents of early times may be mentioned the fact that in 1882 George Betts and James Browning, two dance hall men, were lynched by the people on a bridge near the town for killing the sheriff, Mr. E. N. Campbell. Happily the good name of the county has been stained by only a few acts of violence.
Retrospective. - After a few years of marked prosperity, continuing until about the close of 1879, the lack of markets for ores, inexperience of the miners, the great cost of supplies, its distance from the great centers and general inaccessibility began to undermine the courage and endurance of the people. One after another the principal enterprises closed, citizens began to depart for more promising fields, chiefly to Leadville, Summit and Gunnison counties, where great excitement pre- vailed; the main sources of revenue ceased, and stagnation set in. To crown the disasters, on the 8th of November, 1879, a destructive fire occurred which swept away the better part of the business center of Lake City. From that time the decadence became general, until only a small remnant of force remained to preserve its existence. Though confident of the value of its resources, the people dis- covered that no material headway could be made until the Rio Grande or some other railway should come to their relief, and of this there was no immediate promise. The paralysis continued, therefore, with scarcely a ray of hope tintil mid- summer of 1889 when, by strenuous efforts, Mr. D. H. Moffat, president of the Den- ver & Rio Grande company, against the general sentiment of the directors, succeeded in gaining his point, and built the branch from Sapinero (on the main narrow gauge line to Grand Junction), up the Lake Fork to Lake City, 35 to 38 miles. Then many of the former residents who had interests there returned, the old works were resumed and the mines reopened. At this time that section bids fair to become one of the more prosperous and productive of the San Juan region.
For a healthful, quiet summer retreat, few points in the mountains possess greater charm than Lake City. It is now a well-built and substantial town, the streets adorned with shade trees, irrigated by little rivulets on either side. The atmosphere from June to October is delightfully cool and bracing, without ex- tremes of either heat or cold. The water is pure and delicious, and in the near vicinity are curative mineral springs. Eight miles distant stands the stupendous
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Uncompaligre Peak, 14,500 feet above the sea, crowned with eternal snows. The tourist to this giant of the Rockies passes up Henson creek between vast mountain ranges, whose summits pierce the clouds, through marvelous craggy canons. If one has the strength of lungs and the courage to mount to the apex of Uncompaligre, he will behold one of the sublimest spectacles ever witnessed. To the eastward are the great plains of Colorado, to the westward the valleys of Utah, with the splendid chaos of the Wasatch Range. Stanley Wood, one of the most charming of our descriptive writers, says: "A trip to Lake San Christoval* is delightful in summer; it would be hard to find a lovelier spot in the Rocky Mountains. A mile from town you pass the beautiful Granite falls; another mile brings you to Argenta falls, whose waters come down in sheets of foam and fall with a noise like thunder into the seething chasm beneath; half a mile further and San Christoval is seen in all its beauty. This lake is a beautiful sheet of water, clear and transparent, two and a hali miles long and one mile wide; it is studded with fairy like isles, where boating parties go to enjoy a picnic. The variety of scenery along its borders is the wonder and delight of the artist."
Descending from this entrancing picture to the practical affairs which are shap- ing the destiny of Hinsdale county and its pretty capital, we present the following as the administration of municipal government in Lake City for 1890-91: Mayor, C. D. Peck; clerk and recorder, A. M. Wilson; trustees, F. A. Thompson, P. P. Kennedy, Wmn. Patterson, F. A. Ralph and H. Youmans; treasurer, John Maurer; fire chief, Carl Forberg; marshal, Jos. Michaels.
In speaking of the grand transformation effected by the advent of their first railway which raised the long siege and reopened the floodgates, the editor of the Lake City "Times" says: "The town has awakened from its long sleep; new people and new enterprises are coming in at a rapid rate; outside capital is coming to the resete, and Lake City is on the eve of a prosperity such as it has never seen before. Mines that have been practically untouched for years are now being profitably worked under the impetus given by ample shipping facilities and cheaper rates; the stores and residences that have been so long vacant are rapidly filling up, and the patient people who have endured the horrors and the hardships of business in- activity for years now wear the smile of gladness and joy." There is no doubt of the revival, and substantial evidence of its permanence is found in the productive- ness of its mines, of which a great number are in operation. Instead of relying wholly upon reduction works on the ground as formerly, the greater part of the ores are shipped by rail to Pueblo and Denver, and there sold to the great smelters at the highest market prices. Beyond an occasional garden and small ranch, Hinsdale produces few crops from the soil, but the grazing lands are very exten- sive. The area of agricultural lands as per the assessment roll is only 1,402 acres, valued at $2,355.
Capitol City is a small mining camp about ten miles up Henson creek from Lake City. A town plat was adopted by the trustees, Alex Messler, John Pentle- ton, G. B. Gregory, J. B. Search and Mathews Dwyer, March 15th, 1879, and the
* This title as given in current literature is incorrect. It was named "lake Chrystobal" by Mr. II. G. Prout, assistant in charge of the "Reconnaissance in the Ute Country," in 1873. from one of Tennyson's poems. The engineer corps of the U. S. while encamped at this lake resolved to christen it, and in the course of the debate "Chrystobal" was suggested by Mr. Samuel Anstey, one of the engineers, a Cornish- man, who was a devoted admirer of Tennyson. A year later Prout went to Egypt, and afterward became major and lieut .- colonel in the army of the Khedive and was second in command to Gordon in the Soudan for a time. Ile is now publisher and secretary of the Amalgamated societies of engineers in New York. He was succeeded in the Colorado survey by Mr. Donald W. Campbell, now a resident of Denver, who wrote the report and used the name given above. I.ake Mary, which lies at the base of Bristol Ilead, was named for the wife of Lieut. E. H. Ruffner, now Captain of U. S. Engineers. This has been changed to the Spanish "Santa Maria." Engineer mountain was first named "Mount Ruffner" by II. G Prout, who ascended it, but, Lieut. Kuffner objecting, Mr. Campbell, in rendering his report, changed it to the name it now bears, in honor of the Engineer Corps.
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same was filed April 15th following. A little beyond, on the same stream, is Rose's Cabin, a famous landmark on the old trail. Henson is between Capitol City and Lake City. San Juan, the original county seat, is situated some 25 miles southeast of Lake City, on the Rio Grande river. It is now known simply as the San Juan post office. Antelope Springs is a little below San Juan, and about 35 miles from Lake City. White Cross and Sherman are small points southwest of the present county seat, and Lost Trail west of San Juan. Sunnyside lies near the eastern boundary where Saguache and Rio Grande counties corner. Belford is some ten miles west of Sunnyside. Carson is on the Continental Divide south of Lake City. It was named for J. E. Carson, who discovered some mines at that point. Burrows Park is near Shernian.
In the early epoch, before the advent of rail transportation, besides the Crooke Bros.' works, already mentioned, were the Ocean Wave, the Lee Mining & Smelt- ing company at Capitol City; the Henson Creek reduction works and Van Gieson's Lixiviation works at Lake City. The mineral territory tributary to Lake City is divided into four districts, viz .: Lake, Galena, Park and Carson.
According to the report of Mr. Kislingbury, assistant state inspector of mines for 1890, the number of mines worked in Hinsdale county during that year was 56; producing mines, 18: miners employed, 229; hoisting plants, 4; mills, I; steam drills, 1; samplers, I; smelters, I. During that season 15 cars of bullion were shipped out. The Ute and Ule mill on Henson creek has a capacity for reducing 60 tons of ore daily.
Schools. - The school census of 1890 shows the presence within the county of 145 persons of school age; 4 districts; 3 school houses, with 192 sittings; valuation, $32,000. There were 115 enrolled in the graded schools, but none in the ungraded. The average attendance was 80. The assessed valuation of taxable property in the county (1890) was $518,761. The highest valuation of any year was that of 1882, when the aggregate was $830,460.
The county officers for 1890-91 were: Commissioners, M. J. Carrall, chair- man, George Maxwell, Charles H. Woodruff; clerk and recorder, Geo. F. Fry; county judge, T. J. McKenna; sheriff, George F. Gardner; treasurer, D. S. Hoff- man; superintendent of schools, W. S. Elmendorf; coroner, Sylvester McFarland; surveyor, J. J. Abbott; assessor, T. P. Bell; clerk of the district court, H. A. Avery.
In 1879 the principal outlet from Lake City to Antelope Springs and Del Norte was the Slumgullion wagon road, via Belford station, crossing the Con- tinental Divide at an altitude of about 11,000 feet. By this long and rugged thoroughfare, Barlow & Sanderson's stages conveyed passengers, express matter and mails, and all freight wagons passed that way until after the completion of the Denver & Rio Grande R. R. to Gunnison, when the road thence up the Lake Fork of Gunnison river was used instead of the Slumgullion route. On the latter, May 18th, 1881, about 8:15 p. m., Barlow & Sanderson's stage was halted by three highwaymen, led by the notorious desperado, Billy Le Roy, when the mail, express and some of the passengers were robbed. The chief of this band had long been known as a desperate and dangerous outlaw. Some time prior to the event, he had been captured for a similar offense, tried in the U. S. court, convicted and sentenced to a term of ten years in the Detroit penitentiary, but had made his escape from Deputy Marshal Sim Cantril by jumping from the train. After wandering about for some weeks he returned to Colorado, and with his brother and a confederate, who took the name of Frank Clark, planned the robbery of the Lake City coach. The first attempt was made on the night of May 13th, 1881, near Franklin's ranch, but in halting it they frightened the horses, which ran away and thereby foiled the scheme. On the night of the 18th, while the stage was cross- ing the Divide between Mirror lake and Antelope Springs, the robbers, who lay in wait, suddenly sprang into the road and fired a volley into it. One shot took
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effect in the leg of engineer Bartlett, of the D. &. R. G. R. R., who sat in the boot by the driver, causing a painful flesh wound. After rifling the mail and express, and relieving the outside passengers of their money and watches, they ordered the driver to proceed, while they quickly disappeared in the mountains. Bartlett was left at the next station, where his wound was dressed. Intelligence of the robbery found its way to Del Norte and Denver, where it created a profound sensation. At the former place the citizens held a mass meeting and resolved to pursue the robbers; circulated a subscription paper and in a short time raised $1,200 to $1,400 as a reward for the apprehension of the fugitives. A scouting party of brave, resolute men was speedily organized by Sheriff L. M. Armstrong and James P. Galloway, and they were soon on the trail. Omitting minor details, it is sufficient to state that Armstrong and Galloway found both Billy Le Roy and his brother in the mountains, but in order to secure the chief, who started to run away, they were compelled to shoot him in the leg. Clark, who had gone to Lake City for pro- visions, managed to effect his escape. News of the capture reached Del Norte late Saturday night, and on Sunday morning scores of people went up the stage road, some with the avowed determination of taking the prisoners from the sheriff and lynching them. But some of the law-abiding citizens conveyed a message to Armstrong and Galloway, warning them of the danger, which induced them to halt until after dark. About midnight they very quietly entered the town, and after lodging the Le Roys in jail, the posse dispersed. Armstrong went to his home, and being worn out by the fatigue of the chase was soon sound asleep. An hour or two later he was awakened by a noise at his door. Jumping out of bed to ascer- tain the cause, he found the house surrounded by armed men, most of whom were masked. On opening the door he was immediately seized, and in spite of his struggles and remonstrances the keys of the jail were taken from him. Putting him under guard, the leaders assembled their forces, marched to the prison, and taking the Le Roys from their cells proceeded to a cluster of tall cottonwoods on the bank of the Rio Grande river just below the town and there hanged then. Half an hour later the lifeless bodies were cut down, taken back to the prison and replaced in the cells, when all who had been engaged in the execution passed noiselessly to their homes.
Revolting as all such summary and unlawful proceedings are to right-minded men, there are occasions when a resort to lynching seems justifiable, and this was one in which the passions of the community were aroused to the highest pitch, more by the shooting of engineer Bartlett, perhaps, than by the mere act of robbing the coach. Again, the Le Roys had depredated upon the public until forbearance ceased to be a virtue. The chief had been arrested and convicted, but had evaded punishment. Their exeention put an end to their robberies, and also served as a foreible warning to all others of the same class to avoid the Slum- gullion stage road and the people of Del Norte. Personally, we can see no reason to condemn the action taken.
II-iv
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KIOWA COUNTY.
ORIGIN OF ITS NAME-ORGANIZATION -RESOURCES -SCHOOLS - PRINCIPAL INDUS- TRIES, ETC.
Kiowa county takes its name from the Kiowa Indians, a tribe which, together with Cheyennes and Arapahoes, once occupied the eastern border of Colorado. It was taken from the northern part of Bent county by an act of the General Assembly, approved April 11th, 1889, and its capital located at the town of Sheridan Lake, situated near its eastern boundary. It is bounded on the north by Chey- enne and Lincoln, south by Bent and Prowers, east by the state of Kansas and west by Otero and Lincoln. Its area is 1,800 square miles, and by the census of 1890 its population was 1,243. Its entire length from about the center on the east to the extreme southwestern corner is traversed by the Missouri Pacific railroad, which lias its western terminal at Pueblo. Its watercourses are the Big Sandy, Rush and Adobe ereeks; the principal industries are farming and stock growing. It has neither coal nor mineral lands.
The officers of the county for 1890-91 were: Clerk, W. A. Lafferty; treasurer, Raymond Miller; county judge, R. W. Hutchcraft; assessor, J. S. Booher; sheriff, WV. S. Harvey; coroner, J. A. Venable; superintendent of schools, F. E. Torbit; surveyor, D. E. Jones; clerk of the district court, W. K. Dudley; commissioners, O. A. Rusk, H. J. Beal and J. Sherman.
Large tracts of land have been successfully cultivated without artificial irriga- tion, the natural rainfalls usually being sufficient for maturing crops, though there are several irrigating canals and a number of farms irrigated thereby. Kiowa is a part of what is termed the "rainbelt region," which comprises most of the coun- ties along the eastern border of the state where there are no large watercourses, 10 storage reservoirs as yet, consequently the settlers have been obliged to take the risk of being favored by the elements. That part of the great Divide formed by an offshoot or spur of the main Rocky Mountain range which extends eastward until lost in the plains has generally been favored with abundant showers in the spring and summer, but there is an occasional failure to precipitate the amount of moisture required for grain and other erops. The notable exceptions were in 1889-90, when many of the crops were destroyed by drouth. Kiowa, unlike its immediate neighbors, Lincoln and Cheyenne, on the north, has based its pros- perity on grain and other produce of the soil, supplemented by dairying, rather than upon cattle and sheep. There is no timber except that whichi fringes the streams, and this is mainly cottonwood. To reinforce the limited amount of water carried by the creeks available for irrigating purposes, the Colorado Land and Water company has projected a large reservoir for the storage of this all important aid to agriculture that may come from rainfalls, melting snows, springs, etc., which will supply a large number of farms and still further diminish the hazards
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of failure. The intelligent and industrious people of this county have laid the basis of a large and productive farming region. The experience of the past two years has taught them what is required to attain that end, and they are applying every known remedy to the improvement of the situation. The season of 1891 being especially favorable-the precipitation from the clouds being the heaviest known in many years-fine harvests were realized.
We discover by an examination of the assessment roll for 1890 that in Kiowa county there were listed 257,250 acres of agricultural land, valued at $514,500.76. While no grazing lands were returned, it is well known that there are vast areas of that character. The largest item in the schedule is 87.50 miles of the Missouri Pacific railroad. valued at $685,610. There were 944 horses, 105 mules, 4,388 cattle, 378 sheep and 285 hogs. The total assessed valuation of taxable property was $1,383,899.26. Nearly all the land in the northern part is covered by con- gressional grants to the Union Pacific railroad. The major part of the newer popu- lation came from Kansas and the eastern states.
That they are fully alive to the benefits of education for their children is evi- denced by the report of their superintendent of schools, Mr. F. E. Torbit, who states that in the spring of 1889, when the county of Kiowa was created, it had thir- teen school districts within its boundaries, "yet there were only one or two school houses, and a county superintendent had never been seen within its limits, although some of the districts had been organized two or three years. Within a year from the time the county was organized the number of districts had increased to twenty- three, and as many teachers were employed. During the past year school houses have sprung up all over the county." Sheridan Lake has the finest, a large two- story frame building of modern design, and very nicely finished within and with- out, at a cost of $2,000. The Arlington school, in the southwestern part, has quite a large one-story frame, costing $1,400. District No. 8, at Chivington, has a $1,500 building. District No. 18, at Haswell, has just completed a frame building at a cost of $1,200. District No. 23, at North Arlington, has a substantial frame which cost $900. District No. 1, at Eads, has just completed a two-story brick at a cost of $5,000. District No. 5, in Fine Flat, has a good one-story brick built at a cost of $1,000.
By the census of 1890 the total school population was 436, with an enroll- ment of 411, and an average daily attendance of 224. The churches are thus enumerated: The M. E. South at Towner, Stewart, Sheridan Lake, Galatia, Ar- lington, Eads and Chivington, and the United Presbyterian at Towner.
The state owns 150,000 acres of land in the county, and there are about 600,000 acres of unoccupied lands available for agriculture. There are deposits of gypsum and limestone in the Kiowa valley, together with mineral springs of cura- tive value. Dairying is quite extensively carried on, and there are three sorghum mills which produce syrup and sugar from the native cane. The sugar product for 1890 was 30,000 pounds. The climate is mild and salubrious, much like that of all northern and eastern Colorado. The population is increasing, and as the facilities for irrigation are expanded it will become one of the more populous and progressive of our agricultural subdivisions. The entered lands as listed for 1891 are 12,018 acres of agricultural, and 250,303.74 grazing.
The town of Arlington was founded in May and June, 1887, by W. W. Patton, John and Henry Wolfinger, George Hunt, N. J. Foot, J. S. Booher, H. K. Luiger, J. B. Ware and W. S. Wintermute.
Chivington, located on the Big Sandy creek near the Chivington battle ground of 1864, was founded in the summer of 1887. It was the freight division station of the Missouri Pacific railroad until recently. The company erected a $10,000 hotel there.
Sheridan Lake was founded in April, 1887, by the Sheridan Town company,
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Messrs. Marfer, Burnett, Osgood, Brown, Rusk, Blakey, Keeps, et al., being the in- corporators. It is situated in the middle of a beautiful agricultural and grazing sec- tion and is the largest of the list. The county has built here a good court house and jail costing $7,000. There are a number of business houses, consisting of groceries, dry goods and hardware stores, a bank, real estate and loan office, good hotels, a newspaper, etc. The town with a population of 300 and the community round about are settled by people who came to make permanent homes. The town of Stewart was founded in the summer of 1887 and has a population of about 100.
Eads was established in the same year. Its population is 125. Galatia was also started in 1887, and has about 100 inhabitants. All the towns are situated along the line of the Missouri Pacific railroad.
I am indebted to Mr. W. A. Lafferty, county clerk, and to his deputy, Mr. T. G. Lyder, for some of the material facts embraced in the foregoing account.
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