USA > Colorado > Arapahoe County > History of the city of Denver, Arapahoe County, and Colorado > Part 4
USA > Colorado > Denver County > Denver > History of the city of Denver, Arapahoe County, and Colorado > Part 4
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IIon. N. C. Meeker, the well-known Superin- tendent of the White River Agency, was formerly a fast friend and ardent admirer of the Indians. He went to the agency firm in the belief that he
could manage the Indians successfully by kind treatment, patient precept and good example. With rare fidelity, he labored long and hard to make "good Indians" ont of his wards, but utter failure marked his efforts, and at last he reluctantly accepted and acknowledged the truth of the border truism that the only truly good Indians are dead ones. To those who know Mr. Meeker's kindness of heart and gentle disposition, his conversion to the doctrine of gunpowder treatment will be suf- ficient testimony to the utter worthlessness of the pestiferous tribe which inhabits the best portion of Colorado, to the exclusion of enterprising white settlers, in whose hands the wilderness would soon blossom as the rose, while richer mines than the richest previous discoveries might soon be devel- oped in Colorado's Utopia "over the range."*
The history of the San Juan silver country, which will be found set forth in detail elsewhere, shows the long and hard struggle of our people to have that wonder-land thrown open to settlement and development. Very early in the history of Colorado, the San Juan mountains were found to be rich in mineral, but whoever penetrated them took his life in his hands, and generally laid it down before he eame back. So many went and so few returned, that even the boldest pioneers pres- ently abandoned the idea of prospecting south of the Arkansas River. As time went on, however, and as the country became more settled and better protected, the advance in that direction was renewed, and rewarded by the discovery of some of the richest mines in the whole range of mount- ains. Tempted by cupidity, the Utes finally con- sented to sell a slice of their abundant territory. It was long ere the transfer was made, and, when completed, it included only a narrow strip project- ing into the heart of the Indian country, a por- tion of which could only be reached by crossing a corner of the reservation.
Happily, no had effects have yet resulted from this arrangement; but it is easy to see that in the
*Since the above was written, Mr. Meeker has been cruelly murdered by the Indians.
John Shoutt.
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HISTORY OF COLORADO.
event of an Indian war or any trouble whatever with the tribe, this road would be blockaded and the settlers beyond cut off, unless they could escape across an almost impassable mountain range. While there is little or no danger to be apprehended from this source, the fact remains that no such advantage should have been conceded to the Indians against the white settlers of the new country.
The same perplexing questions which attended and obstructed the acquisition of the San Juan country are again presented in connection with the Gunnison region. This new mining center, lying southwest and not very distant from Leadville, has been opened to the 107th Meridian, the eastern limit of the Indian reservation; and the pros- pectors are clamoring for the right to follow their fortunes across the line.
Some rich discoveries of both mineral and coal have been made within the reservation. Of course, no title to property can be acquired there until the Indian title is extinguished. The new district has been named after Gov. Frederick W. Pitkin, and that gentleman, as well as the Colorado delegation in Congress, is besieged with applications to have the Indians removed out of the way of ever- advancing civilization.
The Utes must go. Uncle Sam can feed them as well and much cheaper elsewhere, and the income he would derive from their Colorado estate would support them in affluence. Indeed, it is asserted even now that the Utes could be boarded at a first-class hotel in Chicago or New York, cheaper than at the present cost of their subsist- ence.
Ouray, Chief of the Colorado Utes, resides at the Los Pinos Agency. He is a man possessed of some ability and native shrewdness, but his power over the tribe is far from omnipotent. Few of his followers dispute his authority, but his rule is tol- erant rather than vigilant, and, when out of his sight, his people are prone and pretty apt to do as they please. Occasionally, he goes a-gunning for some recalcitrant member of his tribe, and shoots the offender on sight, but this is of rare occur-
rence. Generally, he remains at home, where he lives in good style on an alleged farm, consisting of a few acres of arable land and an immense pony- pasture, well stocked. The farm is mostly tilled by Mexican cheap labor. Ouray is said to be rich, having absorbed the lion's share of Uncle Sam's liberal contributions to the Ute treasury from time to time. This seems all the more probable from the fact that Ute despotism vests the administra- tion of government entirely in his hands, and dis- penses with both single and double entry book- keeping in the matter of public finances. The " central despotism " and " one-man power " about which we hear so much of late years, is here beau- tifully exemplified.
Let it not be understood, however, that the Col- orado Utes, useless as they are, are without their uses. They educate Eastern people who come West to a fine abhorrence of Indian character, which must soon put a quietus on, sentimental mourning over the decay of the ill-fated race. They also tan buffalo hides in better style than the utmost ingenuity of white men can compass. An Indian-tanned robe is the ne plus ultra of the furrier's art. The secret of their process, if there be a secret, is well kept from the eyes and ears of rival operators, but it is generally believed on the border that there is no secret worth knowing, and that the superiority of their robes is due almost entirely to the patient labor of the gentle but unlovely squaw. She it is who bends her uncom- plaining back over the buffalo skins, day after day for weeks, scrubbing and rubbing them into that soft and pliable condition which is their peculiar char- acteristic, and which appertains to them through all exposure to the elements.
Another of their uses is to afford entertainment to strangers from afar, to whom the sight of a lousy Indian is an interesting study. Wandering bands of Utes may be seen, at or near Denver, very frequently during the latter part of each sum- mer, "swapping" surplus ponies or the proceeds of their hunt, for supplies, such as they " hanker " after, generally provisions or clothing, the sale of firearms
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HISTORY OF COLORADO.
and fire-water to Indians being prohibited. An Indian family out shopping is a disgusting picture of connubial infelicity. The poor squaw earries every- thing that is bought, and is usually burdened with two or three children besides. She rides the sor- riest sore-backed pony of the pair that earries the outfit, and, when the purchases are deftly packed upon the pony's back, she climbs up to her giddy perch atop of the pyramid, pulls up her offspring and distributes them around to balance the cargo, gathers up the reins and sets sail after her lord
and master, who rides gaily ahead, carrying naught except it be his gun or a plug of tobacco.
Even this poor show is seen less frequently of late years than of yore, and will soon disappear forever from the streets of Colorado's capital. The buffalo have almost deserted the plains between the South Platte and the Arkansas, with all other kinds of game, and the Indians will prob- ably hunt no more in this direction, even if they should remain longer in the State, which is doubtful.
CHAPTER VI.
THE MOUNTAINS OF COLORADO.
THE chief charm of Colorado being her magni- ficent mountain scenery, it seems proper to describe, with more particularity, the prominent features of this American Switzerland, though language would fail to give any definite idea of its sublime grandeur.
We have already traced the general course of the Sierra Madre Range, through Colorado, from north to south. Its total length is nearly five hundred miles within the limits of the State, and diverging ranges reach a grand total almost as large, making nearly 1,000 miles of " Snowy Range," so called in Colorado. In point of fact, however, there is no snowy range proper in the State, and all the magniloquent utterances touch- ing "eternal snow " on our mountains is figurative, except that patches of snow are visible here and there throughout the year. These, however, occur only in sheltered spots where neither sun nor wind attack them vigorously, else they, too, would disappear during the summer months, as does the snow from any exposed position.
The snow line, in this latitude, would probably be six or seven thousand feet above the line of timber, which averages about 11,800 feet above the sea. The highest peaks in Colorado are less than 3,000 feet above timber line, and none of
their summits are enveloped in eternal snow, though often enough "snowed under" in midsum- mer. In the whole course of his considerable ex- perience in peak-climbing, the writer has never yet aseended an Alpine peak in Colorado, without en- countering a snow-storm of greater or less violence, even in July and August. But the snow which falls in summer is quite ephemeral, often disap- pearing in a day, and never lingering long in exposed positions. The wind, more than the sun, is the author of its destruction. At this great distance from the sea, or any considerable bodies of water, the air is almost destitute of moisture, and every wind that blows seems as thirsty as a caravan crossing the Desert of Sahara.
Snow that has successfully defied the direct rays of the sun, often disappears, as if by magic, when a gentle wind blows over it for a few hours, leaving the ground beneath perfectly dry.
The Rocky Mountains, as their name implies, are extremely rugged and broken. From the very verge of the spreading plains, where centuries or, perhaps, eons ago, the waves of a mighty sea broke in eeascless rise and fall, up to the very dome and crown of the mighty peaks which mark the height of our continent, gigantie and fantastie rocks rise higher and higher, wilder and more wild, in every
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HISTORY OF COLORADO.
direction, save here and there where they sud- denly give place to peaceful parks, whose car- pet of velvet grass is unbroken by the tiniest pebble.
Let us imagine ourselves entering the moun- tains for the first time from the eastward-lying plains. As we approach the rocky walls which, at a distance, appear smooth to the eye as the plain itself, we find the foot-hills, for the most part, covered with disintegrated rock, through which a scanty vegetation rises. The grasses have a lean and hungry look, strangely belying their nutritious qualities, and the dwarfed piñon pines grow scrag- gily here and there, or cease entirely, leaving the hillsides bleak and bare. We follow the windings and turnings of some stream, for mountain roads must accommodate themselves to the cañons through which mountain streams seek the valley, as affording about the only means of ingress and egress to and from the heights before us.
If the stream be a small one and the road little developed, they cross and recross each other every few rods-indeed, the road often lies in the bed of the stream itself, where the latter rounds some rocky point in a narrow gorge, where bolder and more precipitous rocks rise on either hand. As we go on, the rocks and hills greaten rapidly; new and grander scenes are revealed at every turning; the timber itself, sheltered from sun and storm, stands out more boldly in pristine beauty, and soon we think ourselves at least fairly within the far-famed Rocky Mountains. It is an idle thought, for these are the foot-hills still. Beyond each rocky ridge rises a higher, nobler elevation. " Alps on Alps arise," and we go onward and upward still.
Ever and anon the hills open to the right and left, and we pass through a pleasant valley, where the grass grows green and tall, and a cabin stands beside the stream, which here glides gently along, in striking contrast to its wild, impatient haste, where it roars and rattles over its rocky bed above and below. Again we climb up a steep aseent, and, looking backward down the valley, see the
spreading plains opening out behind us, like a summer sea, all smooth and placid. But for the murmuring waters, the silence would be oppress- ive. Animal life in the mountains is the excep- tion rather than the rule. Some chattering mag- pies herald our approach with characteristic gar- rulity, and pretty little chipmunks scurry away over the rocks, uttering their shrill but feeble cries, and that is all, except on rare occasions, or in remoter regions "over the range," where beasts and birds abound in many localities.
Still ascending, the quiet beauty of the seene changes to wilder grandeur, and the view widens and greatens in every sense. The mountains rise higher and still higher on each hand. and the val- leys open right and left like great grooves wrought out of the mountain sides by centuries of slow attrition. Vegetation, which had attained its greatest luxuriance at an elevation of eight or nine thousand feet above the sea, shrinks again; the stately pines, with trunks "fit for the mast of some great admiral," give way to dwarfed and stunted trunks, strangely resembling an old fruit orchard in the decline of life. Only the flowers in- crease and multiply-the Alpine flowers which lend to Colorado peaks their wildest, sweetest charm.
No language can express the beauty of the flowers which bloom all along the way, lifting their bright faces to the foot of the traveler at almost every step, nestling among the rocks wherever a handful of soil is found, and uplifting their tender petals beside the snow itself. Prim- roses, buttercups, violets, anemones, daisies, eolum- bines and many other rare and beautiful flowers are found in the mountains, and the lakes are often almost entirely covered with pond-lilies of regal splendor. One lake on the Long's Peak trail above Estes Park, is (or was a few years ago) completely hidden under a mass of lily-pads and blossoms, and is known far and wide as Lily Lake.
Above timber line, these flowers begin to dwarf and shrink closer to the earth, until they
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HISTORY OF COLORADO.
barely lift themselves above the stunted grass which carpets the patches of earth like a close- shaven lawn. But their beauty is enhanced thereby, and no sense of their insignificance is felt.
Another peculiarity of the mountains is that everywhere away from the streams or springs the peculiar aridity of the plains manifests itself. The same stunted grass grows high up the mount- ain-side, and, after brief exposure to the summer sun, it loses its freshness and assumes the gray, cold color of the rocks themselves. When the gnarled and twisted trees have left off clinging to the rocks, and the bare, bald mountains rise around you on every hand, the wide sweep of vision seems to take in nothing but desolation itself. All is one color, and that color is almost colorless. While the sun illuminates the scene, there is some warmth of light and shade about it, but when the cold gray of the mountains is sup- plemented by the cold gray of the sky, no scene can be less inspiriting, especially to those unaccus- tomed to the overpowering solitude.
Few ever forget their advent into such a scene. As if it were yesterday, the writer remembers his first experience in peak-climbing. It was mid- summer, but the air was intensely cold at timber line, and above that point it was almost arctic winter. The solitude was so intense that like cer- tain degrees of darkness, of which we read, it could be felt. Nay, it was felt by at least one of the party, who could hardly dismiss the distressing idea that he was out of the world, and likely to meet another class of mortals at any moment. The very light was unlike anything he had seen before, unless it might have been the wild weird twilight of a total eclipse of the sun, a light that was neither that of day or night, but a curious commingling of both. It seemed impossible to say whether the peak before us was near or far-it might have been both for aught we could say to the contrary. Looking downward, into the awful chasms that yawned below, brought to mind nothing but the " abomination of desolation " mentioned in Holy
Writ, and it was hard to wrest out of the somber surroundings a thought of the sublime beauty which marks most mountain scenery for those who first look upon its grandeur. In later days and under different circumstances the same scenes were revisited and enjoyed, but the memory of that first impression remains unchanged.
Perhaps the grandest of all mountain scenery is a near view of the snowy range in winter, when the sun shines fair and bright over the unsullied snow, whose dazzling whiteness challenges the bril- liancy of the diamond itself. A million sparkles meet the eye at every turn, and above timber line there is no relief from the oppressive glare, which often produces "snow blindness," unless the eyes are in some way protected.
The mountain view from Denver has been pro- nounced unequaled by many travelers, but to the older residents of Colorado it presents no special attraction above many other views to be had from other points. So much sentiment has been expended in describing it that description has grown a trifle stale. The thousand and one news- paper correspondents who "do" Denver every scason, always speak of the range extending “ from Long's Peak on the north to Pike's Peak on the south," after which one always knows what is coming-the story of the Englishman who started to walk from Denver to the mountains before breakfast.
There is a particularly fine view of the mount- ains from Longmont, another from Colorado Springs, still another from Walsenburg in the south, and any number of them from interior points, the finest of which, perhaps, is that from the gateway to Estes Park. The view from Lead- ville is scarcely surpassed. It seems very appro- priate that the finest mining camp in the world should have also one of the finest mountain views, though no doubt men would flock there from everywhere regardless of the view.
Following is a list of the principal Alpine peaks in the State, with their approximate altitudes and their elevation above sea level. Average summit
RESIDENCE OF HON. JOHN L. ROUTT. DENVER.
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of range, 11,000 feet; average timber line, 11,800 feet :
MOUNTAIN PEAKS OF COLORADO.
Feet,
Feet.
Blanca 14,464
Red Cloud 14,092
Harvard. 14,383
Wetterhorn 14,069
Massive 14,368
Simpson. 14,055
Gray's 14,841
.Eolus 14,054
ALTITUDES OF PROMINENT TOWNS IN COLORADO
Feet.
Feet.
Torrey 14,346
Stewart. 14,032
Alamosa 7,000
Green Lake .10,000
Elbert. 14,326
Maroon. 14,000
Alma .. 11,044
Hot Sulphur Spr'gs 7,715
La Plata 14,302
Cameron 14,000
Black Hawk 7,975
Idaho Springs 7,500
Lincoln 14,297
Handie, 13,997
Boulder .. 5,536
Lake City 8,550
Buckskin. 14,296
Capitol. 13,992
Breckenridge
9,674
Leadville. 10,205
Wilson
14,280
Horseshoe 13,988
Canion City.
5,260
Magnolia 6,500
Long's
14,271
Snowmass 13,961 Caribou.
9,905
Manitou .. 6,297
Quandary
14,279
Grizzly
13,956
Central
8,300
Montezuma 10,295
Antero 14,245
Pigeon. 13,928
Cheyenne.
6,041
Morrison. 5,922
Shavano. 14,239
Blaine. 13,905
Chicago Lakes ..
11,500
Nederland. 8,263
Uncompahgre 14,235
Frustrum 13,893
Colorado Springs.
5,023
Oro City .10,247
Crestones.
14,233
Pyrami
13,885
Del Norte 7,750
Ouray. Pueblo 4,679
Mt. Bross
14,185
Hague. 13,832
Divide .. 7,210
Rosita. 8,500
Holy Cross.
14,176
R. G. Pyramid 13,773
Estes Park 8,000
Saguache 7,745
Baldy.
14,176
Silver Heels. 13,766
Fairplay 9,964
Silverton. 9,405
Sneffles 14,158
Hunchback 13,755
Garland 8,146
Sunshine 7,000
Pike's. 14,147
Rowter. 13,750
Georgetown.
8,400
Trinidad. 6,005
Castle. 14,106
Homestake. 13,687
Golden. 5,729
Twin Lakes 9,357
Yale ..
Ojo 14,101
13,640
Gold Hill 8,468
Veta Pass.
9,339
San Luis.
14,100
Spanish
13,620-12,720
Greeley
4,776
CHAPTER VII.
COLORADO DURING THE REBELLION-TERRITORIAL OFFICIALS
THE early history of Colorado was probably com- pletely changed by the war of the rebellion, which broke out very soon after the new Territory was organized, and, indeed, before Gov. Gilpin had taken hold of the helm of government. This dis- tracted the attention of the East so much that Colorado, though not forgotten, was comparatively
ignored during the first years of the war. More- over, the people of the Territory were divided on the issues of the war themselves, and a considera- ble secession clement manifested itself in the utter- ance of disloyal sentiments and by the hoisting of a secession flag on Larimer street, almost directly opposite the present executive offices. The flag, however, was soon hauled down, by order of a com- mittee of very determined citizens, who said that
either the flag or the house must come down, and they didn't care which.
Joined to these difficulties were the discourage- ment of miners arising out of refractory ores and failing plaeers, for already the flush days of placer mining in Colorado scemed, at least, to have passed by. The Clear Creek placers were abandoned or worked casually, as any claims are worked which yield only bare wages without promise of a richer harvest. It must be borne in mind, too, that not only during these years, but until several years later, no scarch was made for silver-bearing ores, by which means the scope of mining development was greatly limited, for Colorado stands pre-emi- nent as a silver-producing State, and her output of gold is light indeed compared to that of silver.
Buffalo. 13,541
Trinchara. 13,546
Arapahoe 13,520
Kendall 13,542
Dunn .. .13,502
Seventy-five peaks, between 13,500 and 14,300 feet in height, are unnamed, and not in this list.
Rosalie 14,340
Ouray. 14,043
Feet.
Feet.
Guyot ... 13,565
White Rock
.13.847 Denver 5,224
7,640
Princeton.
14,199
HISTORY OF COLORADO.
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HISTORY OF COLORADO.
Thousands came and thousands left during 1861-62-63, California Gulch, over which almost if not quite the greatest furor of these years was raised, was soon deserted by all save a few faithful souls like Lient. Gov. Tabor, the fame of whose riches has gone abroad far and wide, but who labored long and hard before reaping the reward he so richly merited. It is a curious fact, noted elsewhere but worth duplicating, that the very same sand carbonates which have made so many poor men rich in these latter days, were formerly one of the chief obstaeles to sueeess in gulch-mining. They were so heavy that they blocked the sluiceways, and had to be shoveled out with painful care, that the gold might be gathered.
The Indians, too, were troublesome during the early years of the war. Taking advantage of the withdrawal of the troops from most of the frontier posts, they raided the Plains, and were a continual terror to travelers between the mountains and the Missouri River. Many lives were lost, men, women and children sharing the same fate at the hands of the murderous crew. Then came the celebrated Sand Creek fight between the Colorado Cavalry and a large force of hostile Cheyenne Indians-an event which has evoked a great deal of hostile eriticism, but which Coloradoans have no cause to blush for. It is undoubtedly true that Indian women and even children were killed upon that occasion, but the former were bearing arms and fighting with the utmost ferocity, leaving their offspring to chance the fortunes of war as best they might,
Sand Creek has been called a massacre. If so, it was a massacre of assassins, for fresh sealps of white men, women and children were found in the Indian camp after the battle. In fact, however, Sand Creek was not a massacre, but simply a fight after the most approved Indian fashion, and the Indians themselves never complained of the drub- bing they got on that memorable occasion. It exemplified very clearly the oft-repeated assertion of frontiersmen that, if left alone, they could " set-
tle the Indian question " very soon, and " without costing the Government a cent."
The Sand Creek fight occurred November 29, 1864, the Coloradoans being commanded by Col. J. M. Chivington, a Methodist minister and first Presiding Elder of the Colorado Conference. Chivington was essentially a Western man, equally ready to pray or fight, and at home everywhere. even in the most incongruous associations. Prof. O. J. Goldrick, the well-known pioneer teacher and editor, relates that Chivington attended a grand banquet given by Ford & McClintock on the occasion of the opening of their gambling- rooms, up-stairs over the corner of F and McGaa streets, now known as Fifteenth and Holladay. The writer knows nothing of Chivington's sport- ing proclivities, but that he was a good and suc- eessful fighter the Sand Creek business can attest. He was then military commander of the district, but the troops at his eommand were only a hand- ful, when word came from Fort Lyon, on the Arkansas River, that the Cheyennes were encamped near there in force, and were inter- cepting every train and every wagon that passed in either direction, so that travel was virtually stopped. Chivington ealled for volunteers, and led them himself, by forced marches, to the Arkansas, where he and his men fell upon the Indian camp on Sand Creek, before the red devils knew that danger was near. For this, Chivington was severely censured by his superior officers, though warmly applauded by the people.
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