History of the State of Colorado, Volume IV, Part 35

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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thence onward to Delta and Grand Junction. At Cimarron, which is a pretty little settlement, resides Capt. M. W. Cline, one of the oldest white settlers on the Indian reservation, also one of the founders of Ouray, and who achieved much distinction as a member of the General Charles Adams party that recaptured the white women carried into captivity by the Utes after the awful massacre at the White River agency in 1879. Montrose, Uncompahgre, Fort Crawford, Brown, Naturita, Cameville, Paradox and Bedrock are among the towns of the county, though all except the county seat are small but improving settlements. The county is well timbered along the valleys and streams; beds of lignite coals have been located to the southeast of Montrose, but they are comparatively undeveloped. Large deposits of gypsum, limestone, fine building stone, and fine brick clays lie in the near vicinity. The tim- ber of the mountain sides is chiefly yellow pine, cedar and piñon. There are vast areas of fine grazing lands, watered by small lakes and springs, where herds of cattle and flocks of sheep find pasturage the year round, owing to the mildness of the winters, the purity of the climate, and the luxuriance of the native grasses. Accord- ing to the assessment roll for 1890 there were 34,846 head of cattle, and 10, 784 sheep. Here, as elsewhere in the well-watered agricultural sections, the rich alluvial bottom- lands were first taken up and improved, for the reason that little or no irrigation is required ; next, the uplands, where a different but equally valuable soil is found, but requiring artificial canals to render them tillable. It is estimated that there are fully 200,000 acres of irrigable land in the county. The Uncompahgre river and other streams afford an abundant and never-failing supply of water for irrigation. The largest canal is the Uncompahgre, taken out seven miles above Montrose, which irri- gates about 65,000 acres .* It is 24 feet wide at the head-gate, and approximates 725 cubic feet per second; has an average slope of 1 in 1,560; length of main channel 32 miles, and length of lateral channel 19 miles. The entire valley has a consider- able fall to the north of about 50 feet to the mile, which gives the canal the appearance of having an ascending grade, and necessitates the frequent use of drops or overfalls. Fourteen miles from its head it reaches the edge of an inclined mesa, and the water drops 230 feet over a precipitous rocky cliff into the bed of a dry wash. Following the channel of this wash some six miles, it is again taken out and carried to the top of a second mesa. There are about six and a half miles of rock excavation. Eighteen flumes or aqueducts are required, most of them long and high, aggregating more than one mile in length. Nearly 850,000 feet of lumber was used in these flumes and the entire cost of the canal was $210,000. The lands under this waterway are on the west side of the river. The Loutsenhizer canal, taken from the river three miles above Montrose, is capable of irrigating 8,000 to 10,000 acres, and supplies the farmers on the east side. It is 10 feet wide at the bottom, carries about 4,000 statu- tory inches per second, and when fully completed will water some 40,000 acres of fertile land in Montrose and Delta counties. The Selig ditch, located by Joseph Selig, October 5th, 1883, is taken from the river three miles below Montrose. Its capacity is 3,000 statutory inches, and covers some 8,000 acres. In addition to these principal sources, there are numerous other smaller ditches, constructed by individuals and by communities of farmers. The existence of an artesian underflow is relied upon as a final resort, after the streams shall have been fully utilized. Two wells were bored by the city of Montrose in 1886, and water found in each at a depth of 800 feet. The flow from the casing was 1,320 gallons an hour, and the hydro- static pressure sufficient to cast it six to eight feet above the surface. But, instead of being pure, it is heavily charged with sodium carbonate, calcium sulphate and other mineral ingredients which give it great value for its medicinal propertics.

Still another natural resource. that must ultimately contribute much to the wealth of the country, is the extensive placer mines, located on the Dolores river

* Report of the American Society Civil Engineers, 1886.

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four miles below its junction with the San Miguel. The operative plant of the Mont- rose Placer Mining company, formed of St. Louis capitalists, and managed by Col. N. P. Turner, an experienced California miner, is one of the remarkable triumphs of engineering in our state. The nearest railway point is Placerville, sixty- eight miles distant, on the Rio Grande Southern en route to Telluride. The com- pany owns six and a half miles of mining ground on the Dolores river. To success- fully work them by hydraulic process it was found necessary to tap the stream thir- teen miles above, and carry the water by ditch and flume the entire distance. For more than six miles this flume is supported on brackets from an overhanging cliff, ranging from 100 to 150 feet above the river and from 250 to 500 feet below the summit of the gorge. "In places the cliff hangs over at an angle of fifteen degrees, and such water as escapes the flume strikes on the opposite side of the river 100 yards from its base." A wagon road was constructed along the cliff at the apex, from which workmen were let down by ropes for the purpose of drilling into the face of the cliff, inserting the iron brackets and setting the flume thereon. The sur- veyors ran their line by triangulation, the only feasible way. The flume is six feet wide and four feet high, and 1,800,000 feet of lumber was consumed in its construc- tion. Col. Turner was engaged more than two years in perfecting this wonderful enterprise. It carries 80,000,000 gallons of water each twenty-four hours. Its grade is 6 feet 10 inches to the mile, and its cost was something over $100,000. At the placers the latest improved hydraulic machinery is employed, and the work of cutting and sluicing began in the early summer of 1891. Col. Turner's lowest es- timate of the gold contents of the ground is 25 to 30 cents per cubic yard, and he washes down into the great main sluice from 4,000 to 5,000 cubic yards daily. The gold is extremely fine, and can only be saved by the liberal use of quicksilver. At the time of my interview with him at Ouray, and afterward at Montrose in Septem- ber, 1891, he had made no general "clean up" of the sluices, but had taken from the head four or five balls of amalgam about the size of hen's eggs, as a partial indica- tion of the precious metal being saved. It was, of course, wholly impossible to de- termine the results of the season until the final investigation to occur at the close of operations for the year, but he was very confident that large profits would accrue to the company for many years to come. Shoukl their expectations be realized, in even a moderate degree, it will undoubtedly lead to the engagement of others in similar enterprises and thereby largely increase the gold production of the state.

The valley of the Uncompahgre is about 60 miles in length from the head of the park to the Gunnison. From the narrows below the park it is about 40 iniles long. The bottom-lands proper are of varying widthi, but the average is about three miles. It is a fine rich soil, tinged with red.

The town of Montrose stands at an altitude of 5,780 feet above the sea, less than 500 feet higher than the Platte valley about Denver. Water for street irrigation is supplied by the Montrose and Uncompalgre Ditch company, organized in Decem- ber, 1881, and incorporated under state laws. The company was composed of A. Pumphrey, O. D. Loutsenhizer, Joseph Selig, John Baird and T. H. Culbertson. The site is broad and smooth, regularly laid out, with streets running at right angles, and partially lined with shade trees. A plat of the town was filed for record Feb- ruary 25th, 1882. It was surveyed by H. C. Cornwall. It has a commanding position in the valley, and is the ontfitting and distributing point for the mining regions of Ouray and Telluride. To the south are the mighty ranges of the San Juan, Mount Sneffels and the Uncompahgre Peaks, snow capped and treasure filled, with populous towns distributed over a great extent of country, producing nothing but silver and gokl, and dependent upon the lower valleys for breadstuffs. vegetables, hay, fruits and other products of husbandry. To the west is the Uncompahgre plateau; to the northwest the great valley, and to the northeast are the rugged mountains of the Gunnison river. Beside numerous business houses carrying well-

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assorted stocks of merchandise, there are many pretty residences, an opera house, a beautiful school building, three churches, two banks, two hotels, and two well- conducted newspapers. The Methodist, Catholic and Congregational societies have large memberships and good churches. The Episcopalians hold their serv- ices in the opera house. The school building, a two-story brick, was erected in 1884, and in 1889 two wings were added to accommodate increasing demands. The Farmer's and Merchant's and the Montrose flouring mills furnish home markets for grain. The opera house was erected in 1887 by A. E. Buddecke and R. C. Diehl at a cost of $20,000.

Dr. W. H. Cummings was the first mayor of Montrose, after its organization. Joseph Selig and his partner, W. A. Eckerly, were among the founders and active influences in promoting its higher interests. Mr. Selig died December 5th, 1886, and Mr. Eckerly became his executor, carrying on the work which they had jointly begun.

The Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Ancient Order of United Workmen, G. A. R. and Knights of Labor have flourishing organizations. The place is illuminated by electric incandescent lamps. There is an excellent system of water works for fire and domestic uses, the supply taken from a large reservoir fed by the Uncompahgre. Its cost was about $25,000. The business men have a Chamber of Commerce for the promotion of the general public interest, the collect- ing and publishing of statistical data relating to the resources and advantages of the county. There is both room and necessity for a considerable number of manu- factories to fashion into merchantable forms the many varieties of raw material found there.

The Press .- The Montrose "Messenger" was established in 1882 by Abe Roberts. In 1886 it passed into the hands of F. J. Land and W. A. Cassell. The "Republican," started by C. Sum Nichols, was absorbed by the "Messenger." In 1889 Mr. Land purchased Cassell's interest, and in 1890 Mr. Roberts again be- came the owner. In January, 1891, he leased the paper to W. A. Cassell and T. W. Monell. It was quite recently succeeded by the "Industrial Union," a Farmer's Alliance paper by J. G. Barry and J. W. Calloway. The "Enterprise" was founded by Matt L. Koppin in January, 1889. The "Register," established by J. F. Downey on a plant formerly owned by Mark W. Atkins, was purchased by M. L. Koppin, and later merged into the "Enterprise." The "Champion," founded by Dr. Johnson, Rev. E. B. Read and Prof. Condit, was published only a few months. The "Farmer and Fruit Grower" by F. J. Land, in 1890, suspended.

Banks .- The Bank of Montrose was opened August 1st, 1882, by C. E. McCon- nell & Co. P. A. Burgess bought out E. P. Shove and M. Coppinger, and the name was changed to the Uncompahgre Valley Bank. J. E. McClure bought Bur- gess's interest in 1884, and in 1889 it was incorporated as the Bank of Montrose. 1ts officers are: J. E. McClure, president; R. C. Diehl, vice-president, and C. E. McConnell, cashier. Its capital is $100,000 and surplus $10,000. The First National Bank, with a capital of $50,000, was started as the Montrose County Bank in 1888, and in April, 1889, it was nationalized. The officers were T. B. Townsend, president; E. L. Osborn, vice-president, and A. L. Bonney, cashier. Mr. Townsend is still president, C. B. Akard is vice-president and E. L. Osborn, cashier.

Land Office .- This office was transferred from Lake City, Hinsdale county, in September, 1888. W. H. Steele is the register, and H. C. Fink receiver.

The U. S. Signal Station was established at Montrose February 6th, 1885, T. S. Collins, observer, who was succeeded, in July, 1887, by R. H. Paxton. The pres- ent officer in charge is E. H. Thompson.

The fire department is composed of Montrose Ilose company No. I. The town has suffered from several conflagrations, but in each rebuilding great improve- ment was shown in the more substantial character of its structures.

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Eight miles above Montrose, near the Uncompahgre river, is the abandoned military post known as Fort Crawford, built in 1880 and garrisoned by Federal troops commanded by the famous cavalry leader, General Mckenzie, to keep the Indians in check. The first troops arrived in the valley May 25th, 1880, consisting of four companies of the 4th cavalry, five companies of the Igth infantry, and two of the 23rd infantry, when a cantonment was established. It was known as the "Military Cantonment" until March 12th, 1884, when it became Fort Crawford by a presidential order of that date. It was named for Capt. Crawford, who was killed by the Apache Indians in Arizona. A part of its reservation was vacated by order of the secretary of the interior, on a report by the secretary of war, July 22nd, 1884. In the neighborhood was the historic site of the Uncompahgre Indian Res- ervation, opened to settlement in 1881, and now mainly occupied by farmers.

Colorow, named for the stormy U'te chief of that name, was located by George Roberts, and a plat thereof filed December 26th, 1890. It lies north of Montrose, near the county line, but is merely a post-office station. Cedar, Cerro, and Cimar- ron are small points on the D. & R. G. R. R. Paradox is in the valley of that name in the western part of the county. Bedrock on the Rio Dolores is in the same valley. Cameville and Naturita are on the San Miguel river.

The fertile valleys of the Uncompangre, San Miguel. Dolores, Paradox and Cimarron, with the irrigated table-lands, are among the better lands of western Colo- rado. The settlers on Spring Creek Mesa, at Colorow, in California and North Mesa, the Montrose river bottoms at Riverside and other points have been success- ful in raising fruits. From Montrose through Delta, and on to Grand Junction, the center of Mesa county, these western valleys are being rapidly settled and ren- dered very productive.

Schools. - By the census of 1890 Montrose county had 921 persons of school age. There were seventeen districts, and nineteen school houses, with 1, 160 sittings. The valuation of these buildings was $36,318. Four were enrolled in the high school department, 400 in the graded and 15 in the ungraded schools.

The county officers for 1890-91 were: Commissioners, C. E. Church, J. D. Gage and William McMillen : sheriff, M. H. Payne; clerk, J. B. Killian; treasurer, H. W. Christopher : county judge, A. L. Thompson; assessor, George H. Rawson; coroner, Dr. W. W. Ashley; superintendent of schools, John J. Tobin ; surveyor, J. H. Ander- son; elerk of the district court, James F. Kyle.

The assessed valuation of taxable property in the county in 1884, the first year after its organization, was $757,878. The next year it amounted to $1, 112.710. There has been a steady increase of value to 1800, when the total was $1,885, 187.50. The county at this writing is only seven years old. When organized in 1883, it was simply a wilderness, sort of a primitive desolation, an Indian hunting ground. Vast labor and expense were requisite to prepare the ground for tillage. Towns had to be built, shelter provided, great irrigating canals constructed, all the multi- farious accessories to settlement furnished. Most of the people were very poor when they went there, but now many, if not rich, are in comfortable circumstances with bright prospects for the future. A few years hence that section will be thickly peopled, and made one of the richer agricultural and horticultural gardens of the state.

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MORGAN COUNTY.

LIFE AND CHARACTER OF COLONEL CHRISTOPHER A. MORGAN-THE FORT COMMANDED BY HIM-OLD FORT WICKED-REMINISCENCES OF THE WAR-FREMONT'S ORCHARD -FIRST SETTLERS IN THE COUNTY -TOWNS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF IN- DUSTRIES.

This county was named for Colonel Christopher A. Morgan, one of the vol- unteer heroes in the Union army during the war of the Rebellion, of whom further mention will be made in the course of our narrative. It was established by an act of the General Assembly, approved February 19th, 1889. It was the last of the series to be shorn from the broad dimensions of Weld county, and was taken from the southeastern part of what remained after instituting the counties of Logan and Washington in 1887. It is bounded on the north by Weld and Logan, east by Logan and Washington, south by Arapahoe, and west by Weld. Fort Morgan was designated as the county seat. Its area is 1,290 square miles, and by the census of 1890 its population was 1,601.

The South Platte river, with Wild Cat and Antelope creeks from the north, and the Kiowa, Bijou, Badger, Little Badger and Beaver creeks from the south, furnish more water than is found in the contemporary counties on the eastern border. Irri- gating canals have been taken out of some of these streams and along them fine crops have been raised. Here, as in those adjoining, agriculture and stock rais- ing are the main industries. It is traversed by two lines of railway, the Omaha Short Line of the Union Pacific north of the Platte, and the Burlington & Missouri south of the stream.

By the courtesy of Mr. L. C. Baker, editor of the Fort Morgan "Times," we are able to present the material facts in the life and death of Col. Morgan, he hav- ing obtained them from E. Morgan Wood, of Dayton, Ohio, a nephew of that gallant officer. As they form a part of the history of the county, they have rightful place in these annals.

Colonel Morgan was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was there liberally educa- ted. Upon attaining his majority he became a partner with his father and two brothers in the business of book publishing and printing, under the firm name of F. Morgan & Sons. At the beginning of our civil war in 1861, the subject of this sketch relinquished his business and enlisted as a private in the 39th Ohio volunteers, but soon afterward was promoted to a captaincy in that regiment. Major-General John Pope, recognizing in young Morgan a man of unusual merit, attached him to his staff. His courage and good judgment were conspicuous in the numerous campaigns and battles in which he was engaged, and in his continuous service throughout the war, therefore he was promoted to the rank of colonel. When peace was at last proclaimed, his ability was so fully recognized he was induced to remain in the military service, continuing on the staff of General Pope, who had

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been assigned to the Department of the Missouri, with headquarters at St. Louis. Here Colonel Morgan was made inspector-general of the department. Ile oc- cupied rooms in General Pope's residence on Chotean avenue. It was in midwinter and his sleeping apartment was warmed by a gas stove. By some accident, during the night of January 20th, 1866, while he slept, the fire was extinguished, and the gas escaping into the room asphyxiated him. His character is thus defined in General Pope's orders announcing the death of his aid:

"His personal character was without a blemish and beyond reproach. To his admirable qualities as an officer were added a high sense of honor, unswerving moral rectitude, and constant respect for the rights and feelings of others. A true and gallant soldier, a high-minded and gallant gentleman, a firm and unwavering friend, he was an ornament to the service and to the society in which he moved."

With these facts in mind, the pride of the people in the name of their county is easily understood.

The original old sod fort, built in the summer of 1865. in what is now Morgan county, was the work (as we learn from a letter written by Capt. M. H. Slater, a member of the First Colorado cavalry, and who was stationed in that region for a time, to the Fort Morgan "Times," published December 13th, 1889) of a detachment of "galvanized rebels" under command of Lieut. Col. W. Willard Smith. "The nick- name given these troops arose from the fact that they had been Confederate prisoners of war who assented to enlistment in the Federal army as the easiest way out of the difficulty that had befallen them. They were sent to the plains for duty against the hostile Indians. Two miles below, and probably half to three-quarters of a mile to the northeast of where the real fort was afterward built, stood the trading station of Sam Ashcraft, who located there about 1861. Sam was a noted frontiersman, and rendered our territory efficient service during the Indian troubles of 1864-65-66. His wife was a Sioux squaw and his mother-in-law was as wretched a specimen of facial ugliness as her tribe could produce. Being a Sioux, she kept her son-in-law advised of the approach of Cheyennes and Arap- ahoes, with whom she had no sympathy or kindred, although during these wars the Sioux not infrequently took part with the tribes named, and were the actual in- stigators of the wars."

The first military post in this region was named Camp Tyler; later it was changed to Camp Wardell, and June 23, 1866, was named in honor of Col. C. A. Morgan. It was garrisoned by troops whose principal duty it was to guard the overland stage line, and protect, so far as they were able, isolated ranchmen. From this point was established the "Denver cut off," that is, from the main Salt Lake line to Denver. Emigrants to Utah, Oregon and California followed up the Platte, while those destined to Pike's Peak took a southwesterly course across the country via Living Springs to the present capital of Colorado. One of the old-time scouts of the plains, and who lived in this section many years, is Mr. O. P. Wiggins, now a policeman of Denver. He was employed by the government and made an excellent record in a very useful and dangerous calling. The site of old Fort Morgan is about one mile north of the Burlington depot of that name, and is now a part of L. C. Baker's ranch. Parts of the adobe walls are still to be scen there. Although the Pike's Peak and California trails separated at Fort Morgan, some of the emigrants, preferring to follow the water-course, united with those bound for the west, and continued with them as far as Latham (the old seat of Weld county). where the trails again diverged.

HJ. S. Tracy, who was a sutler at Fort Morgan during its occupation by the military, now resides on a ranch some five miles northeast of that point. The Murray ranch was a stage station, about nine miles northeast of the Fort. Jack Summer's ranch was located near the month of Big Beaver, or the present town of Brush. The old Perkins ranch was near Murray's. Fort Wicked stood near what

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is now the corner of Logan, Washington and Morgan counties, also on the original Platte river trail. L. F. More located a claim across the river nearly opposite Fort Morgan in 1874-75. J. W. Iliff, known all over the border as the "Colorado cattle king," also owned an extensive cattle ranch on Wild Cat creek, a few miles east of More's. Chris Liehe. Henry Kruger and C. R. Roberts owned claims near More's.

Tyler D. Heiskell, the present clerk of Morgan county, located in 1871 near the mouth of Lost ereek, in the vicinity of Green City, Weld county. The latter place was named for Mr. D.S. Green, who established the Corona colony about twenty- five miles west of Fort Morgan. The old Lyman Cole ranch in Fremont's Orchard, which had previously been owned by J. L. Brush and others, became the property of B. B. Putnam. Fremont's Orchard was once a noted point on the immigrant road, some three miles above Deuell station and on the south side of the Platte from the present Orchard, and five miles distant. It was the camping ground of Colonel Tolin C. Fremont on one of his exploring expeditions, probably the first up the South Platte, while en route to St. Vrain's Fort. It was simply a small forest of cottonwoods and undergrowth, which presented a very inviting shelter after a long journey on the treeless plains. The author himself camped there in the latter part of May, 1860. It is now a part of Mr. Putnam's ranch, and at one time was known as Bilderback Bottom.

\V. G. Warner located near the existing town site of Fort Morgan in 1882. James H. Jones, present county judge, settled in 1875, on the Platte, fifteen miles below, and near Snyder. Among his neighbors were John R. Holland, W. E. Tetsell, M. L. Stevens, John H. McGinnis, James R. Chambers, Peter Hughes, R. R. Kendall, Samuel Raugh and James Wright.

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History of the State of Colorado, Volume IV, Part 35

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