History of the State of Colorado, Volume IV, Part 43

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

USA > Colorado > History of the State of Colorado, Volume IV > Part 43

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* See Chapter XXIV. Volume II, also History of Weld county, this volume.

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purest and best motives, and among his own people an estimable citizen, put too much nervous force and methodical, exacting energy into his proceedings. In attempting to establish the same order and enforce the same discipline which had governed the organization of Union Colony, he soon discovered that the Indians would not have it so. They were sullen, suspicious and wholly unwilling to change their old habits and customs for the new. While it is true that he did induce some of them to plow and seed certain patches of ground, after the crops began to appear they expected him to care for and bring them to harvest for their benefit, while they went off to hunt and fish among the mountains according to immemorial custom. They believed the country belonged to them; that the agent and his followers were hired by the government and paid to work for them, and when in his sharp, brusque and uncompromising manner he notified them that they must plant and cultivate and reap for themselves or starve, they broke out in a tempest of opposition. There was a total lack of harmony and good fellowship almost from the beginning. They did not understand his ways, nor he their natures. After the spring of 1879 Mr. Meeker realized that his mis- sion would fail. During the summer he came back to Greeley, and in a visit to Denver had a conference with General John Pope, then commanding this depart- ment, but with headquarters in Leavenworth, Kansas, to whom he related his trials, saying it would be impossible to enforce his project for the reclamation of the U'tes without the presence of Federal troops, and if these could not be furnished he was ready to resign. Pope encouraged him to retain his position, and by perseverance in the good cause he would in time succeed. It was then that two or three companies of soldiers should have been ordered to White river, but it was not done.

When Mr. Meeker returned to his post he found the Indians ready for revolt. They had come to hate him and all his plans for their redemption. Although there were many causes of discontent, that which precipitated the crisis is thus related by Mr. David Boyd in his history of Union Colony:

"A tract of some 200 acres near the agency buildings and under the ditch was about to be fenced and plowed, but Jane# and sub-chief Antelope objected, claiming the land as pasture for their horses, Jane's husband, contrary to orders, having lately put a corral on part of it. The claim that Jane and Antelope made was that this was the Utes' country, that they had fixed themselves and didn't want to move, for the grass was good and they desired it all the while for their horses. Besides, they averred, the Utes wanted no more land plowed; there was enough now, and they wished to live as they had always lived, that is to say, without work or effort. Mr. Meeker endeavored to convince her that he knew best, but she would listen to nothing. That piece of land was to be theirs and they would not have it plowed. The agent, however, was inexorable. The plows were ordered to proceed in spite of the objections, but before a single round had been plowed there came two Indians with guns and forbade the plowing. The man reported to Mr. Meeker, who ordered him to go ahead with the work. He did so, but was shot at from a bunch of sage brush, where two Indians were lying, and the bullet came very near his person. Then the work was stopped and the team turned out. A conference was held with the malcontents, but it came to naught. The excitement, instead of being allayed, increased. 'One day,' as stated by Mrs. Meeker, 'Chief Johnson came into the house, looking angry, and asked for the agent. She told him he was out doors somewhere. Johnson went out but did not find him. In a short time he came back, and finding Mr. Meeker there he seized him by the shouklers, dragged him violently out of the house and crowded him up against a fence near by.' None of the Indians who observed

* A very intelligent squaw who spoke English and took a leading part in farming operations.

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the scene offered to interfere, but rather enjoyed his discomfiture. However, the white employés soon came to the rescue and delivered the agent out of his hands. Mr. Meeker was only a fragile man, of slight physique and well advanced in years; moreover, he had recently been quite severely injured by an accident, whereas his assailant was young and powerful. Thenceforward affairs grew constantly worse. After the encounter Meeker addressed a statement of facts to Governor Pitkin and General Pope, and insisted upon having troops sent to repress a threatened uprising. As a result, Major Thomas T. Thornburg was ordered there from Fort Steele, Wyoming." The remainder of the story, the ambuscade prepared for Thorn- burg's command, the slaughter of many men, the death of their commander, the butchery of Meeker and his employés, the captivity of the women, the burning of the agency buildings, the arrival of reinforcements and the final rescue of the captives, has been related in Chapter XXIV, Volume II.

The remains of the murdered agent were exhumed and conveyed to Greeley about a year after the events just narrated.

By an act of Congress approved June 15th, 1880, the chiefs and head men of the Utes went to Washington, and there entered into an agreement whereby their lands on White river were surrendered, and themselves removed from Colorado to the Uintah Reservation in Utah, the Uncompahgres being settled on Grand river in what is now Mesa county.

Mecker .- The town of Meeker is situated on the north side of White river, some four miles above the ruined agency, and upon higher ground. Instead of being approached from Rawlins, it is connected by a wagon road with Rifle and Newcastle, on the Colorado Midland and the D. & R. G. railroads, forty miles to the southward, in Garfield county. It may be stated in passing that the meadow land, over the plowing of which Mr. Meeker lost his life, is now owned by a man named Bernstein. It was much injured by seepage from the original ditch, which has since been enlarged and irrigates lands below.

After the massacre, General Wesley Merritt established a military camp, or cantonment, on the site of the present town, and later enlarged it to a ten-company post known as "The Camp on White River." The government expended $200,000 to $300,000 in building quarters for these troops. The buildings were of adobe, brick and logs, around a square, the center used as a parade ground. The post was abandoned in August, 1883, when the houses and other property were sold for insignificant sums. The few residents of the valley at the time purchased every- thing, consequently acquired a town already built, with nothing to do but take possession as soon as the headquarters flag should be hauled down. They named the place to perpetuate the name and the melancholy fate of Mr. N. C. Meeker. Some of the log and adobe buildings still remain, but the old fort is being rapidly displaced by modern brick and frame structures.

After the reservation was opened to settlers, cattle owners and ranchmen began to come in and occupy the lands. Among them were N. Major, G. C. Wagner, who located the ranch where stood the agency buildings; Duncan Blair, a "squaw man;" J. T. Burris, a ranchman; Wesley Tomlinson, J. L. McHatton (who came in 1883), H. J. Hay (afterward county treasurer), Louis Johnson, E. P. Wilder (town marshal in 1801), Charley Smith, a noted hunter, trapper and guide; J. H. LaKamp, W. H. Card, G. D. Thayer, Sam Fairfield (pioneer freighter), and Eugene Taylor (who came in 1875, afterward game warden for Rio Blanco, Routt and Garfield counties).

The town was incorporated October 12th, 1885. The first officers were: Mayor, W. H. Clark; trustees, J. L. McHatton, G. S. Allsebrook, James Lyttle, Charles S. Attix and T. J. Little. The site is an excellent one. It is the trading center for all the region round about, many residents of Routt county resorting to it for supplies. It has a large flouring mill, a number of strong business

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houses that carry very large and well-assorted stocks of merchandise suited to the needs of the country; two well-conducted newspapers, the "Herald" and the "News;" a two-story brick school house, built at a cost of $10,000; churches, Masonic and Odd Fellows lodges, etc. In 1891 the population was estimated at 450. The altitude of the place is 6,000 feet above sea level, with a mild and healthful climate.

The prominent mercantile firms are Hugus & Co., whose headquarters are in Rawlins, Wyoming. They carry a very large stock of general goods and occupy the largest and best business block in the town. T. B. Watson is also an extensive general merchant.

Until after the Ute outbreak in August, 1887, when Colorow and his trouble- some followers were finally expelled from the country, there were no houses of worship in Meeker and but little attention was given to religious affairs. Then the citizens began to feel the need of a minister of the gospel." Their children were growing up without proper religious instruction; there was no one to marry the living or bury the dead according to the rites of any church, and so they naturally felt the necessity of immediate action to secure the services of a clergyman who wouldl devote himself to the work of leading them up to a higher moral and spiritual life. As a result of this feeling a public meeting was held, when it was resolved that the Protestant Episcopal church would meet their requirements, and a peti- tion was sent to the bishop for a rector. Within sixty days after the call the first permanent religious services in the White river valley were established, since which date the ministrations of the church have not only been acceptable to the people, but wonderfully successful.

The next step was to collect funds for a church edifice. In due time, owing to the unanimity of sentiment and the energy displayed, in 1890 plans were adopted and a beautiful church of gray stone in Gothic design erected, at a cost of $5,000. This, together with the interest manifested in educational matters and the building of a superb school house, testifies to the intelligence and morality of the people.

According to the census of 1890 the total school population of the county was 244, with an enrollment of 153 and an average daily attendance of 109. There were six school houses and the value of the property was $13,100.

The first county officers were: Clerk and recorder, Harry Evans; treasurer, HI. J. Hay; county judge, G. D. Thayer; sheriff, Capt. M. Coon; assessor, O. P. Y. Burch; surveyor, W. H. Clark: superintendent of schools, G. S. Allsebrook; cor- oner, Fred Gregory; commissioners, Charles S. Attix, George Welty and A. B. Critchlow.

During the melting season White river is a swiftly-flowing stream of clear. cold water. It is formed by numerous small branches among the gorges of the White river plateau, the North, or main fork, taking its rise in Trapper's lake, situate in the platean just mentioned, in the northeast corner of Garfield county. This stream flows westerly and northwesterly entirely through Rio Blanco and unites with Green river in Utah. The bed is strewn with drift pebbles. As we learn from Hayden's report for 1876, about fifty miles from the original Ute Agency the river opens into a broad barren valley, and soon after enters a deep cañon with vertical walls 2,000 to 3,000 feet in height, and continues to increase in depth until the river flows into the Colorado of the west. Vertical walls enclose the narrow river bottoms, and the slopes of the higher portions are ornamented by thousands of curiously eroded rocks, monuments of all kinds, and figures that can readily be compared to those of animated beings, enliven the scenery. Four large streams flow into the White, heading in the Roan mountains or Book Cliffs, and following a course of about south to north. Of these, the first one (going

* From a pamphlet published by the Meeker Board of Trade in 1890.

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from east to west) enters the White some thirty miles below the old agency. It is called the Pi-ce-ance by the Indians, and is forty-five miles in length. The next is Douglas creek, named for the chief of the White River Utes, a good-sized stream, which, flowing west of north, empties into the White some sixty miles below the old agency. Evacuation creek joins the White twenty-five miles below Douglas. Between the old agency and the Pi-ce-ance is Cattle creek.

There are numerous fine valleys along the water-courses, the Marvine, Big Beaver, North Elk, Miller, Curtis, Sulphur, Flag, Strawberry, the Pi-ce-ance, Yellow and others, and the basins or parks of Coal creek, Josephine and Coyote. The eastern portion of the county * consists principally of high table-lands, while in the central and western parts the ranges of mountains both north and south of the river are smooth, covered with grass and clusters of piñons. Groves of cottonwood are found at intervals along the banks of White river. The Great Hogback Cañon cut by the White crosses from Garfield into Rio Blanco, and it is here that a part of the coal measures are found underlying much of the western portion of the county. A large number of veins have been discovered, some of them located and opened. They are from three to thirty feet thick.

Mr. R. C. Hills, in his terse and well-digested account of the coal fields of Colorado,; speaks of these coals as the best adapted of all soft coals for domestic uses, and says they possess the same character as those of the great and extensively worked mines of Garfield county adjoining. He assumes a minimum thickness of twelve feet for the veins north and west from Meeker. These measures have only been opened to a very limited extent to supply local consumption, as, how- ever valuable, they can not be marketed outside until the county shall have been penetrated by railways. Prof. Hayden's geological corps, in exploring this region, discovered in the far western portion of the county one large vein of asphaltum with several small veins, and also running springs of the same material, which they wisely concluded would be of great commercial value when reached by rail- roads. Some of these deposits are twenty feet thick and some are entirely pure. Natural gas has also been found, at a depth of 400 feet, a few miles west of Meeker.

Prospectors have discovered, but not yet developed, veins of silver-lead ores at the head of White river. Very large deposits of iron ore, hematite and magnetite have been found, but, like the coal and other resources, can not be utilized until de- manded in connection with rapid transit. There are great beds of fine gypsum, building stones of various colors and textures, white and variegated marbles, lime- stone, fire clays, etc., and about the town of Meeker abundant red brick clays.

In 1890, according to local authority, some 60,000 acres of agricultural land had been located, and to water them about 880 miles of canals and ditches constructed. Much of the higher land can not be reached without costly improvements of the same character. The general character of the soil is a rich gravelly loam on the mesas, and a sandy loam on the lowlands. Abundant crops are produced, the usual average per acre being, wheat. 40 bushels, oats, 60 bushels, and potatoes, 240 bush- els. There is a large flouring mill at Meeker fitted with all modern improvements. Small fruits have been raised during the last six or seven years, and some apple orchards set out. Heavy crops of alfalfa and other grasses are produced. Back in the hills are extensive forests of white and yellow pine. Rio Blanco is one of the few great hunting and fishing sections of the state which has not yet been ex- hausted by multitudes of sportsmen. It is also a splendid grazing region for horses and cattle.

Among its major attractions are its beautiful lakes. Trapper's lake, the source of the North Fork of White river, is a lovely sheet of water two miles in

* Meeker Board of Trade Report, 1890.

+ See pages 46 to 48 Volume II.

VICTORIA TUNNEL AND MENDOTA MINE SILVER PLUME , COLORADO.

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length by nearly a mile in width, long famed in song and story, a veritable paradise for the old trappers for whom it was named, and for scores of modern disciples of Isaak Walton. The finest description we have seen appears in " Mountain Trails and Parks," by L. B. France, of Denver, who pours out his admiration of the won- derful pictures in these words: "I climbed over the foot of the mountain below our camp to a place where I could see the outlet and the beginning of White river. Opposite are a few acres of level ground and a couple of deer are feeding on the tall grass, and back of them grow the aspens and then the pines, tall and symmetrical, clothing the mountain side like emerald spires, towering mass upon mass, one above the other, reaching up to a terrace ; then a wall of rock and then a terrace, and so to the upper verge of the timber growth. To the left is another mountain, and still further a third, the largest of them all. They stand apart, each content with his own magnificence, clothed all alike and with terraces overtopped by stupendous cliffs of brownish red. There is nothing monotonous about them; they are grand enough to defy even uniformity; in their general formation only do they resemble each other; their individuality is unmistakable. And thus surrounded, locked in from intrusion by these giants, reposes the beautiful lake, ever kissing with its crystal lips the rugged feet of its noble guardians; there is not a ripple on its surface now, and it mirrors its protectors in their garbs of green from base to dizzy summit ; the sun just going down lights up the wonderful cliffs high above on the left, and that same light is set almost in the center of the lake as if to caress the darker shade of its neighbors from the other side. A glorious loving company it is, dwelling in perfect harmony, but born through travail; the beach is of lava, ground to pebbles and specks of sand in the mill of the centuries."

Near enough to Meeker for a delightful summer resort are the Marvine lakes, twins, named for Mr. A. R. Marvine of Hayden's geological survey, which, though smaller than Trapper's, are even more beautiful. "In the center of a park inclosed on all sides by a wall which rises perpendicularly thousands of feet, terminat- ing in the highest part of the great plateau, lic these lakes, one silvery terrace some thirty feet above the other, their waters so clear that you can see hundreds of trout from almost any point along their borders. The intense blue of the mountain skies, the transparency of the lakes, the beauty of the aspen groves that dot the park, the wonderful brilliancy of color in the layers of red and black lava which form the walls, and, looking eastward through the entrance to this basin, the long ridges running from the plateau to the river lined alternately with the cheerful light green of the aspens and the heavy black green of the firs-Marvine Peak towering above our head to the height of more than 12,000 feet above sea level-together with the wild- ness of the place, all unite to make this the eternal dwelling place of the sublime."

The last conflict between the white and red races occurred in August, 1887, which has been set forth in Volume II, beginning at page 54, and need not be re- peated here. Thenceforward the settlers have enjoyed almost entire immunity from molestation, save the annoyance they are occasioned by incursions of Indian hunters, who are fast destroying the wild game.

The total assessed valuation of taxable property in Rio Blanco county for 1800 was $888,528. There were in the assessment returns 31, 166 acres of agricultural land and 3,988 acres of coal land. Of live stock there were 4,800 horses, 34.727 cattle and 3,642 sheep.

In closing this chapter I desire to acknowledge valuable assistance rendered me, in obtaining data, by Mr. James Lyttle, editor of the Meeker " Herald." and also to Mr. Andrew Sagendorf and Win. M. Crull, who established the first White River Indian Agency.

19-iv

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RIO GRANDE COUNTY.

FIRST SETTLERS-DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN SUMMIT DISTRICT-FOUNDING OF DEL NORTE -WAGON WHEEL GAP-AN OLD ROMANCE DISSIPATED-MONTE VISTA-GREAT IRRIGATING CANALS-BIOGRAPHY OF THOMAS M. BOWEN.

This county takes its name from the Rio Grande del Norte-"Grand River of the North" -- which flows through its entire length from the northwest to about the center of its eastern boundary line. It was established, together with Hins- dale and La Plata, by an act of the territorial legislature approved February 10th, IS74, and taken from Costilla and Conejos counties. The river was the boundary line until 1877, when Saguache county ceded to Rio Grande the territory lying between the river and the present line. It is now (1890) bounded on the north by Saguache, west by Hinsdale, south by Conejos and partly by Archuleta, and east by Costilla and Conejos. It has an area of 1,260 square miles, and by the census of 1890 a population of 3,451, an increase of 1,507 during the previous decade. The first county officers were: Commissioners, Henry M. Dyer. D. S. Fish and Miguel Rivera; sheriff, I. E. Grout; clerk and recorder. MI. Breen; probate judge, N. H. Love: treasurer, O. P. Posey; assessor, S. C. Townsend; surveyor, W. C. Lewman ; coroner, J. N. Dunham; superintendent of schools, John Dillon. S. H. Baker was appointed county attorney. March 11th, 1874, the county was divided into election precincts and judges appointed. On the 21st Daniel E. Newcomb was appointed superintendent of schools, vice John Dillon, who declined that office. An clection for county officers was held April 13th, which resulted as follows: Commissioners, D. S. Fish, J. Q. Adams and C. F. Stollstcimer; sheriff, I. E. Grout; clerk and recorder, M. Breen; probate judge, C. W. Blackmer; treasurer, O. P. Posey: surveyor, W. C. Lewman; coroner. A. H. Kallmberg; assessor, Sam C. Townsend: superintendent of schools, D. E. Newcomb. At the first regular election held thereafter the following were chosen:

Commissioners: Tim O'Connell, S. W. Horner and H. T. Benson; sheriff, S. C. Townsend: clerk and recorder, F. C. Sherwin; probate judge, N. H. Love; treasurer. O. P. Posey; assessor, J. Holt Rice. Adair Wilson was appointed county attorney.

At the legislative clection held in September, 1875, the Council district of which Rio Grande formed a part elected Adair Wilson to the Council, R. J. McNutt and Thomas M. Trippe to the House. In November, 1876, Alva Adams (after- ward governor of the state) was sent to the House, and Henry Henson of Hinsdale to the Senate. Charles H. Toll succeeded Adams, followed by S. W. Horner, and he by Thomas M. Bowen, who was elected to the United States Senate for a full term of six years, while representing this district in the House of the General Assembly. Fred C. Peck succeeded Henry Henson, and was followed by James P. Galloway.

HISTORY OF COLORADO.

The first term of the district court was held at Del Norte, August 3rd, 1874, Judge Moses Hallett presiding. John W. Henry was the district attorney at this term and George A. Bute, clerk of the court. By an act of Congress in 1878 it was provided that one term a year of the U. S. district court should be held in Del Norte, which has been continued to the present time.

The United States land office was opened at Del Norte, March 5th, 1875, with John Cleghorn, Sr., as register, and Charles A. Brastow receiver. Since that time the registers have been John Cleghorn, Jr., Samuel C. Williams, Charles F. Broyles and W. P. Alexander (the latter the present incumbent); and the receivers, Charles A. Coryell and Francis T. Anderson.

Del Norte ("The North"), the county seat, was, at the time of its founding, a sort of postern gate or gateway to the San Juan mining region used by the carly emigrants. Considerable numbers of Mexican farmers were settled in this part of the Rio Grande valley and living according to their custom in adobe houses, plowing the land with crooked sticks after the fashion of their forefathers, and raising sufficient for their wants. How long they had resided there it is difficult to state, but their first irrigating ditch was taken out in 1865. Mexicans, like Indians, have many traditions, but few dates or historical facts. From a file of the Rocky Mountain "News," published in 1877, I have transcribed the following account of the first discovery of gold in what is now Summit district, and which led to the founding of Del Norte. This account has been verified by residents, and is so complete and interesting I have no liesitancy in adopting it as a serap of history worthy of being preserved :

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History of the State of Colorado, Volume IV, Part 43

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