History of the city of Denver, Arapahoe County, and Colorado, Part 6

Author: O.L. Baskin & Co. cn; Vickers, W. B. (William B.), 1838-
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 844

USA > Colorado > Arapahoe County > History of the city of Denver, Arapahoe County, and Colorado > Part 6
USA > Colorado > Denver County > Denver > History of the city of Denver, Arapahoe County, and Colorado > Part 6

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In the fall of 1873, two well-known gentlemen of Denver-Mr. F. J. B. Crane and Mr. B. F. Woodward-both of whom had been great suffer- ers from asthma in the East, were discussing the best means of making known to their suffering fellow-mortals of other States the wonderfully curative effects of the Colorado climate upon this disorder. The question of giving information through the newspapers and magazines was dis- cussed, but while, by such means, a large number of readers might be reached, it was thought that the message would not have such a convincing and authoritative influence as an authentic statement from a large number of persons. The result of this incidental discussion was the calling of a meet- ing of asthmatics at Denver in October, 1873.

The meeting was held. A large number of gentlemen and ladies attended, all of whom reported themselves either entirely cured or vastly benefited by their residence in Colorado. It was then decided to extend the scope of inquiry to the whole State, and, in accordance with that purpose, the newspapers of the State circulated a call for an asthmatic convention, and also for statements from persons unable to attend the meeting.

This novel convention assembled at Denver December 18, 1873. The chairman, Mr. Crane, presented over one hundred reports from persons residing in all parts of Colorado, many of them lengthy and quite interesting, giving individual experiences, means of cure and experiments, which had been previously tried without effect, and gen- erally stating that a complete and permanent cure had only been found upon the parties removing to Colorado.

A large number of these statements were from gentlemen of means, who had traveled in nearly all parts of the world without deriving material benefit elsewhere than in Colorado.

In the spring of 1874. a pamphlet was printed for gratuitous distribution, containing a condensed record of over two hundred and fifty cases cured by Colorado air alone, no other remedy being used. All the walks of life were represented in this list ; merchants, physicians, lawyers, clergymen, mechan- ics, laboring men, ete., clearly establishing the important fact that " Colorado cures asthma." Five years of additional experienec and observa- tion have only confirmed and strengthened the tes- timony that in the relief or cure of asthma and kindred diseases, the climate of Colorado is un- equaled by any portion of the known world; also, that there is no recurrence of the disease while the person remains in this climate, though no guaran- tee ean be given that a return to a lower altitude will not be followed by a return of the old trouble.

So much for asthma. As for other diseases of like character, the same is substantially true. In all cases where the physical and mental systems are worn down by overwork or general debility, the

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recovery is marked and rapid. The marked excep- tions to this rule are rheumatism and all purely nervous ailments, none of which are benefited by the climate of Colorado, but are rather aggravated instead. In the mountains of Colorado, pneumonia and kindred diseases are common at certain sea- sons, and often fatal. A form of pneumonia known as mountain fever, is well known throughout the State, but happily it is less dangerous than pneu- monia proper.

Taken all in all, with all the other drawbacks properly belonging to it, the climate of Colorado can claim the highest rank as a restorer of health to poor, suffering humanity. The number of in- valids who annually seek relief in the State is con- stantly increasing, and so are the resorts which invite their patronage. Formerly, the mineral springs at Manitou were the only attraction of the kind in the State. Only a few years ago, a rnde cabin, on the banks of the famous Fountain qui Boille, close by the great soda spring, was all there was of Manitou. The writer well remembers a visit there, in the fall of 1871, when the solitude of the spot was overpowering. To-day, there are half-a-dozen hotels there, three of them maguifi- cent structures, and yet, during the season, it is almost impossible to secure quarters in any of them. Idaho Springs, with its fine hotels and famous swimming baths, is scarcely less popular or less crowded. The Hot Sulphur Springs, in Middle Park, are also well patronized, though less access- ible. The hunting and fishing thereaway draws many who would scorn the luxuries of more preten- tious watering-places. Beside these three principal points of attraction, are at least a dozen mineral springs, of greater or less renown, scattered broad- cast over the State, no section being without one or more. The Pagosa Hot Springs, in Southwest- ern Colorado, are pronounced among the finest in the world. The Steamboat Springs, in the North- west, are truly wonderful as a natural curiosity, as well as valuable for their medicinal qualities. They take their name from a peculiar noise emit- ted from one of the largest springs of the group.

which gives forth a steady, songhing sound, like a steamboat just starting upon its voyage.

The inquisitive may want to know what are the medical properties of these numerous springs. It would take a small volume to describe them. They range over the whole gamut of medical lexi- cography, and include, as the miners say, about all the known "stinks." There is something less than a thousand of them in the State, and the invalid who cannot be suited somewhere in Colo- rado need not look anywhere else for what he wants. With very few exceptions, the surround- ings of these mineral springs are delightfully romantic. The charms of Manitou cannot be enumerated-a whole season is short enough to study its surroundings. It must be confessed, however, that Coloradoans themselves seldom pay much attention to the " healing waters " of these fountains of health, but visit them indiscriminately for pleasure, and often go away withont tasting the water more than once, or perhaps twice. The ready excuse of the "native" is that he does not need the water, and does not wish to cultivate a taste for the fluid. Now and then a rheumatic miner tries bathing in a hot sulphur spring to take the stiff- ness out of his joints, and since Leadville was unearthed, an occasional vietim of lead poisoning puts in at Cottonwood Springs, on the Arkansas River, below the carbonate metropolis, to get the lead out of his system, but, generally, the Colora- doau looks upon mineral springs merely as a good advertisement of the country, and is proud of them merely because they confirm his strong belief that his is the most wonderful country in the world.

The chance mention of lead-poisoning above brings to mind this new disease-new to Colorado, at least, though common enough in lead mines all over the world. The mineral deposits af Leadville, as the name of the camp indicates, carry a large propor- tion of lead, and workmen in the mines and smelters are alike subject to lead-poisoning. It would seem that nature had provided a remedy for the disease near at hand, in the mineral springs of Cottonwood Cañon, which are a specific in almost

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any stage of the complaint. All the patient has to do is to " lay off" a few days or weeks, at Cot- tonwood, bathe and drink freely of the waters, and go back to his work rejuvenated.

Much has been said about the unhealthiness of Leadville, because a good many people have died there from intemperance, exposure, etc., as well as from natural causes. Under right conditions,

Leadville would be a healthy city, but the verdict of the Coroner's jury-"too much whisky and too little blanket"-tells the story of many a death. The altitude is too great for over-indulgence and reckless neglect. Care and cleanliness have been too much neglected in this magie city, and she pays the penalty by an undeserved reputation for unhealthiness.

CHAPTER X.

AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE.

A GRICULTURE, although of secondary importance among the industries of Colo- rado, has always been more or less prominent. This fact is first due to the magnificent yield aud excellent quality of both cereals and vegetables, and, finally, to the high prices usually received by the farmers, or "ranchmen," as they are invariably designated, for every product of the soil.

In the early years of the country, when scarcely anybody expected to stay here more than the few weeks or months necessary to obtain a fortune from the mines, agriculture was something not dreamt of in their philosophy, and no attempt was made to cultivate the soil. As time went on, and one or two "hard winters" came, bringing exorbi- tant prices for produee or cutting off the supply entirely, the idea of raising corn for horse-feed, after the Mexican fashion, was originated by some one, and soon put into practical operation.

A few rude and imperfect irrigating ditches were constructed, under which a few acres were planted, corn being the principal crop, alternating with an occasional potato patch. The potatoes were truly a happy thought, for, while the eorn hardly paid for its cultivation, the potatoes yielded largely, and proved to be of superior quality. Such was the small beginning of agriculture in Colorado, and it has advanced wonderfully since that time, especially in view of the difficulties it has had to meet and overcome.

A great point had been gained, however, by the discovery that vegetables flourished in the soil of the plains and mountains. The first potato crop paid an enormous profit, and next year many per- sons engaged in the business, some of them only to meet with failure, though others succeeded be- youd their wildest hope. Experiments were made with other vegetables, and the era of big pump- kins and giant squashes dates from that day. Another year established the fact that Colorado was within the limits of the great wheat-belt of the continent, and, from that time till now, wheat has been and is the staple crop of Colorado farmers.

It must not be understood, though, that because Colorado raises the finest wheat, the best potatoes and the biggest squashes and pumpkins in the world, that her agriculturists are clothed in pur- ple and fine linen, and fare sumptuously every day. On the contrary, they work harder and are less repaid proportionately than farmers anywhere else iu the country.

In the first place, the acquisition of agricultural land in Colorado has for many years involved a considerable outlay of money, and a poor man has had small show to engage in farming. While there are millions of acres of arable land in the State, or land that would be arable if irrigated, there is not an unlimited supply of water for irri- gation, and it is not a question of land, but of

HISTORY OF COLORADO.

water, with the farmer. To secure the latter, he must expend more or less money, either in build- ing a ditch, or buying a water-right from a ditch already constructed. In either case, his water costs him what would be considered in the East a fair rental for the land.

Having secured both land and water. he pro- ceeds to make a crop. Wheat is sown very early in the spring, often in February, which is usually a pleasant month in the Colorado climate; if not, March rarely fails to bring planting weather. In April, there is always more or less light and warm snow, which melts rapidly and "wets down" the new-sown wheat, so that irrigation is unnecessary at that season. May brings spring rains in greater or less abundance, with warm, sunny days, that start the young wheat and early vegetables fairly on their way, and also begin to melt the snow on the mountains, by which the streams are fed, the latter being low or entirely dry during the winter and early spring. By the time the streams are run- ning full of water, the work of irrigation must begin, and be kept up till the crops are harvested. The amount of irrigation required depends largely upon the fall of rain for the summer season, and somewhat also upon the character of the soil, but it is safe to say that during the irrigation season the farmer will be called upon to work at least all day, and perhaps far into the night.

Added to all this toil is a tolerable certainty that, at the height of the season, when everybody wants water, the supply will fall short of the demand. To see one's crops perishing for want of water involves a mental anxiety scarcely less terri- ble than the most intense physical struggle, and this but one of the many drawbacks incidental to the farming operations in Colorado, as developed from year to year in the history of the country.

Another serious matter is the plague of grass- hoppers, or locusts, which has several times en- tirely devastated the agricultural sections of the State, and to which the attention of the world has been directed. Experience seems to demonstrate that these visitations oceur every tenth year, but

this may be a coincidence merely, the only proof substantiating the theory being the fact that the latest visitations followed the first in about that order, the beginning and ending having been marked by a curious correspondence of dates, as well as of characteristics.

The grasshopper problem has perplexed the wisest savans of two continents, and the Colorado ranchman only knows that they come in countless numbers and depart, leaving his fields as brown and bare as though they had never been planted. Nothing could well be more disheartening, or pro- vocative of profanity in the man of sin. Never- theless, the accounts of their ravages, and the description of their insatiate appetites, are often overdrawn. It is not true that they eat fences, wagons and agricultural implements, if the latter are left out of doors. They chew tobacco, appar- ently, judging from the exudations of their mas- ticatory organs, but proof is wanting that they either smoke or swear. Jesting aside, they are a dreaded scourge, but, under certain conditions, the Colorado farmers can and do successfully contend against them, and of late years, with their im- proved appliances of defense, the ranchmen laugh the young 'hoppers to scorn, no matter how numer- ously they are hatched out in and around their fields. It is only when swarms of hungry 'hop- pers alight in the midst of the growing crops for a hasty lunch that the heart of the ranchman sinks within his bosom, for then he knows that nothing he can do will save his fields from destruc- tion.

It is now four years, however, since the locusts last invaded Colorado, to the damage of the hus- bandmen, and strong hopes are entertained that their visitations have ceased. No particular rea- son can be assigned for this belief, but it is strong in the minds of those most deeply inter- ested and those most naturally inclined to appre- hend further danger from this source. Perhaps prudence would suggest that allowance should be made for grasshopper visitations at least onee in ten years, but it is certain that the farmers of Colorado

N. P. Aile

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have lost much of their former fears that they would be driven into other pursuits, and are plowing and planting more vigorously than ever before.

Said one of the most experienced husbandmen of the State to the writer, recently :

"Nobody can tell anything about the grasshop- pers in Colorado or anywhere else. They have been here and may be here again, savans to the contrary notwithstanding. I may lose my crop by them next year, but while I am sure of water for irriga- tion, I can stand the grasshoppers and raise bushel for bushel with the Eastern farmers. They have to contend with drouth on the one hand and exces- sive rains on the other, each alike disastrous, while I can regulate my supply of moisture regardless of the rainfall, and with a positive certainty that the latter will never be excessive, even during harvest, when the most damage is usually done. Irrigation is an expense, but it is likewise a protection. It is a heavy insurance, but it saves my crops and insures a uniform yield of which Eastern farmers are entirely ignorant. They may have half a dozen poor crops in succession, and then almost a total fail- ure, while I have half a dozen good crops and then a grasshopper year, for which I ought to be pre- pared."

The best farming lands of the State are found to lie along the eastern base of the mountains from north to south, and the best of these, perhaps, as far as development has gone, lie between the Platte and the Cache la Poudre Rivers. Superi- ority of soil is not claimed for this belt, though its proximity to the mountains may have developed certain characteristics not possessed by localities more remote. Abundance of water has given it prominence and importance as a center of agricul- tural industry.

The valley of the Platte River is, of course, the largest single body of agricultural land in the State, extending from Platte Cañon, twenty miles southwest of Denver, to Julesburg, in the extreme northeastern corner of the State. Thousands of acres of fertile lands line both sides of the river for

this entire distance. Above Denver, and below that city for a distance of fifty or sixty miles, there are fine farms; below the junction of the Platte and the Poudre and the State line, there are occasional farms and frequent meadows, but no considerable agricultural settlements. Two causes operate to retard agricultural progress in the lower Platte Valley: first, the absence of railroad facili- ties, and, finally, the character of the river itself, which runs for its entire length, across the plains, over a bed of treacherous, shifting sand, in and through which the channel winds and turns and divides and changes so continually, that it is almost impossible to utilize the waters of the stream for irrigation at certain points, and extremely difficult anywhere. If the current sets into the "head" of an irrigating canal, it carries with it enough sand to soon choke up the canal, but oftener a more serious trouble results from the channel changing to the opposite side of the stream, leaving the mouth of the irrigating canal as dry as the plains themselves.

The smaller streams, particularly those which run over rocky or pebbly beds, are the best reli- ance of the farmers of Colorado, even though their volume of water may be restricted. Of this class, the Cache la Poudre is the principal, and its valley is perhaps the best illustration of what may be accomplished by irrigation in Colorado.

From La Porte, where it leaves the mountains, to its confluence with the Platte, four miles below Evans and Greeley, the "Poudre," as it is univer- sally called in Colorado, is lined with improved farms, many of which are models of successful enterprise.

At Fort Collins, near the head of this rich val- ley, is located the Agricultural College of the State, a fitting location for such an institution, surrounded, as it is, by some of the finest farms and best farming land in the State.

The early history of this part of the State, apart from its agricultural features, is full of inter- est. The overland route to California led this way, and La Porte, which is now one of the most

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peaceful hamlets in all Colorado, was then a min- iature Julesburg, full of life and activity. Fort Collins, near by, was then a military post, though no fort was ever built there, and few soldiers guarded the post. There were Indians in those days, and some of the pioneer ranchmen met with many startling adventures in guarding against or resisting their depredations. To-day, however, and for many years, the valley has been singularly peaceful, bearing, in many respects, the aspect of an Eastern community. It is entirely agricultural, and the handsome towns of Fort Collins and Gree- ley, which nestle at either extremity, are as orderly as any New England village.

Both of these towns, as well as Longmont, which lies a little south and west of them, the three constituting apexes of a triangle, are notable instances of the success of "colony " enterprises in Colorado. The Greeley colony was the best adver- tised, and has been most successful, but in less degree the others show the benefits of co-opera- tion.

The history of the Greeley colony, although it deserves a separate chapter, has been written so well and so often by the leading newspapers of the whole country, East and West, that a brief review will be sufficient for the purpose of this volume. Established in 1870, at the suggestion of the lamented Horace Greeley, whose honored name it bears, and whose principles it largely per- petuates, it started with a fund of $150,000, which it invested in lands, irrigating canals, a mill power and a "colony fence" inclosing the entire tract covered by the purchase, thus providing against the necessity of interior fences. A town was laid off at the point where the Denver Pacific Railroad crosses the "Poudre," and the land was appropriately subdivided, so that each colonist received a tract of land and a town lot, if desired, or an equivalent in either lands or lots, at his option.

All this property has advanced in value very largely, and farm property is particularly valuable under the Greeley canals. Some of the farmers

were seriously embarrassed at first by the consider- able expense of "making a start " in a new coun- try under new conditions, and even with all the advantages of co-operation, a few failures resulted. It is not the purpose of the writer to conceal the truth in regard to farming operations in Colorado, and it must be admitted that not every Eastern farmer can and will succeed in this State, espe- cially if he is hampered by lack of means to enable him to prosecute his work to the best advantage. But the failures at Greeley were generally ac- counted for by some radical defect in the system pursued, and experience, even when dearly bought, was turned to good advantage by all concerned.

Wheat, of course, has been the great staple, and its yield has often been enormous. Thirty, forty, or even fifty bushels per acre have been harvested from large fields, and sold at from 90 cents to $1.50 per bushel. Potatoes and all kinds of veg- etables came next in importance. Corn has not been a prolific crop, though profitable. The soil is well adapted to corn, but the uights are too cold for its rapid growth and full development.

Of late years, the Greeley colonists have turned their attention to raising small fruits, with very gratifying success. Their strawberries are simply magnificent, and the yield equal to that of any part of the country, California not excepted. The crop never fails, and, despite the large production, prices have been maintained at high figures throughout the entire season. Berries are shipped to Denver and Cheyenne by rail, and these mar- kets, within fifty miles of Greeley, take the entire crop, and almost quarrel over it.

The social features of Greeley life are still char- acterized by temperance and intellectual develop- ment. There is not now, and never has been, a saloon in the town of 2,000 inhabitants, and its schools are the best in the land. The schoolhouse is by far the best building iu town, though the churches are numerous and uot inconspicuous architecturally. More newspapers are taken and read at Greeley than at any place of its size in the country. The town itself supports two weekly

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papers, and a third, published at Evans, a few miles distant, is liherally patronized.

Magnificent as has been the development of the Poudre Valley since 1870, the next few years promises to eclipse the last decade. An immense irrigating canal, capable of watering 100,000 acres of land, is being built north of the already com- pleted canals on the north side, and thousands of acres of good farming land will soon be brought under cultivation thereby. This canal heads in the mountains, and the country it waters is tribu- tary to Fort Collins as well as Greeley-indeed, the former place, from its proximity to the moun- tains, where the water-supply is more abundant and stable, probably will reap a larger benefit from the new enterprise . than its rival down the valley.

This important enterprise demands special men- tion as the first effort to water a vast body of land with a single canal, and because its promoters are. for the most part, non-residents instead of Colo- rado citizens. The Colorado Mortgage and Invest- ment Company, of London, of which Mr. James Duff, of Denver, is resident manager, owns most of the stock in this canal, and much of the land to be watered thereby. The English Company, as it is commonly called, has done and is still doing much for the development of Colorado and Denver, first by loaning capital at lower rates of interest than formerly prevailed, and finally, by its own judicious investments, like the new hotel in Denver, which the Company is building at a cost of nearly half a million, and which will be by far the finest hotel in the West when completed. Another enterprise of great pith and moment to Denver is the pro- posed high-line canal, to water an immense area above the city, which the English Company is about to undertake as a sure and profitahle invest- ment. Colorado has derived great benefit already from this influx of English capital, and Mr. Duff seems determined to show his faith in the Centen- nial State by further investments of like character.

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History of the city of Denver, Arapahoe County, and Colorado, Part 6

Author: O.L. Baskin & Co. cn; Vickers, W. B. (William B.), 1838- Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago : O.L. Baskin & Co. Number of Pages: 844

Author: O.L. Baskin & Co. cn; Vickers, W. B. (William B.), 1838-
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 844