USA > Colorado > San Juan County > Pioneering in the San Juan; personal reminiscences of work done in southwestern Colorado during the "great San Juan excitement," > Part 2
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It was necessary for me to go to the railroad, which by that time was one hundred and fifteen miles from Lake City, having been built as far as Alamosa. But, before the headwaters of the Rio Grande could be reached, the great Sierra Madre range of mountains and the Continental Divide had to be crossed. I asked the stage agent when he thought an attempt would be made to cross the range with horses and sleighs. He said he would let me know as soon as it was decided to make the attempt. Soon after he told me: "You can keep
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A WILD RIDE
it to yourself, for several want to go, and we cannot take them, for the chances are we won't get through; the drivers say 'Darley can go.' We are going to try it with two light sleighs; one span of horses to each. Be ready at midnight, when the crust on the snow will be hard."
At midnight we started-John King and myself in the front sleigh and Charlie Swift in the other. We had traveled less than two miles when the sleigh we were in upset and spilled us out. King clung to the lines, while I rolled down the side of the mountain and landed against a tree. In the upset our glass stage lamps were broken and we were left in the dark. Charlie Swift had the laugh on us. By daylight we were at Powder Horn Station, near which, in after years, proved to be a favorite place for "road agents" to collect toll from travelers. After a good breakfast and considerable conjectur- ing about our ever reaching Clear Creek Station, we started on the wildest ride I ever had. We fairly flew. The gulches were filled with snow and the rocks were covered; in many places the trees were snowed under. We had plenty of room and down- grade most of the way. "Talk about horses!" the driver said, "those grays would be human if they could talk." It did seem to me that they under-
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PIONEERING IN THE SAN JUAN
stood every word King said to them while they were being "hooked up"; for evidently they realized just what they were to do. No whip was needed to urge them to their best. "Barlow and Sanderson" never had finer horses on any of their great west- ern stage lines. Whenever the horses' feet broke through the crust they would gather themselves for a fresh spring and, quick as a flash, dart ahead. The driver understood the horses, the horses understood the driver, and all knew the danger. I had many a wild ride in the mountains of the San Juan, but never anything to equal that one. By taking my chances that night with the drivers, I was "billed" through to Del Norte free.
Traveling in the San Juan, during the years of stag- ing, was not considered a great pleasure by many, partly on account of the roughness of the roads and partly on account of the peculiarities of the Mexican freighters. They invariably camped in the road, and it was amusing, whenever one of their wagons would get "stuck," to see a driver running around it to turn his cattle one way, then in front of the "leaders" to turn them the other way. A Mexican does not drive cattle like an American-by keeping on one side and using a long whip. In addition to corduroy, holes, stones, stumps, steep
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A WILD RIDE
grades and mud, many of the roads were "sidling" and the curves very sharp, so that four horses were all that could be handled by a stage-driver. One night I was in a stage-coach with thirteen other victims. The lower part of the "boot" and the back part of the coach were filled with mail. With such a heavy load the driver and express-messenger claimed that the brakes could not hold. If there was a big dance in the camp, the brakes would not work, or else were not sufficient to hold the coach. Some were uncharitable enough to say that Charlie Swift wished to get in ahead of time to attend the ball. On the night to which I refer, Charlie declared that it would be unsafe to try to hold the horses. So they went down-grade on a swinging lope, while the passengers held on and "let her go."
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CHAPTER IV
CHURCH BELLS
"I've heard bells chiming Full many a clime in, Falling sublime in Cathedral shrine, While at a glib rate
Brass tongues would vibrate; But all this music Spoke not like thine."
-Father Prout (Francis Mahony).
For aught we know to the contrary, everything that leads men to God's house may be a part of His plan for the winning of souls to himself; although it be nothing more than a church bell. Anything that helps a man's thoughts to turn toward home and good influences, when he is far from home, proves a blessing. All that leads man to call to mind hal- lowed associations does him good. Man is said to be a "religious animal." Apart from the influences of religion and home he would soon become a wild animal; for it is under the teachings, and by the power of the religion of Jesus Christ, and the hal- lowed surroundings of Christian homes that we are lifted up and our affections purified. Without these
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CHURCH BELLS
things an individual, family, community or nation would sink. Many who appear to appreciate home ties claim that none are benefited by Christianity; but I question if they believe it.
The mountain towns in Colorado are not free from this class, but have a large number of men profess- ing to hold views contrary to what the Christian religion teaches. What we call "bold infidelity" shows itself plainly where it is not policy to remain covered; and in no region can we find men who are so indifferent to religious influence as in new min- ing-camps. Yet this class like to see "improve- ments in the camp," and often lend a helping hand.
After our church was built in Lake City, it being the first one on the Pacific slope in Colorado, saint and sinner expressed themselves as being very proud of it; and showed their appreciation by attending services and "paying for their preach- ing." Still, one important thing was lacking. Nowhere in Colorado, west of the Sierra Madre range of mountains, was there a bell of any kind for public use larger than a dinner bell. One day, to my great joy, Mr. Theodore Little, Jr., informed me that his father, Mr. Theodore Little, Sr., of Morristown, New Jersey, had bought a bell for our church-and would "pay the freight." When a
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PIONEERING IN THE SAN JUAN
man said "pay the freight,"* in those days, it often meant a great deal more than the first cost. The bell was freighted in a wagon across two great mountain ranges-the Sangre de Cristo and the Sierra Madre-also over the Continental Divide.
The bell was presented to our church in 1877. Often, during the early days of that camp, men have said after church services: "As we came toward the camp we heard the sound of a church bell and were surprised; for we had no idea that there was a church in Lake City." It no doubt reminded many of home and loved ones far away, when they heard the peals of that bell ringing out an invitation to enter God's house. It could be heard for miles and the grand old mountains seemed to take up the sound and pass it on. Since then that bell has called many to the house of prayer, who without it would never have known that there were church services in the camp-and not until the last day shall we know how great its influence for good may have been.
Years after the Lake City church was built, I was busy erecting the one at Del Norte, when United States Senator Thomas M. Bowen said to me:
* Some very amusing stories were told about merchants claiming that the high price of everything in which they dealt was on account of "freight being so high." Even needles cost. ten times what they did "back East," because "freight was so high."
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LAKE CITY, COLO., IN 1877.
DEL NORTE, COLO., IN 1882.
CHURCH BELLS
"Brother Darley, order any kind of a bell you desire for your beautiful new church and bring me the bill." We appreciated his generosity, for he had already contributed liberally toward the building. The bell, without any fixtures, weighed 734 pounds and was the finest bell in southwestern Colorado. It was cast in Troy, New York. Without the Sen- ator's knowledge, I had his name and date of presentation cast on the bell. The Presbyterian College of the Southwest used it as well as the church. I regret to say that when the building burned, November 25, 1893, the bell was destroyed.
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CHAPTER V
LOST ON THE RANGE
"I am not a little sunburnt by the glare of life, but weather- beaten by its storms." -Stephen A. Douglas.
After sending an account of my experience on the range to the Rev. Sheldon Jackson, D. D., he wrote the following, which appeared in the "Rocky Mountain Presbyterian" and was copied by many American and European papers :
"The esprit de corps of the Presbytery of Colo- rado is very great. [We had but one Presbytery at that time.] With a laudable ambition to carry the Gospel to the most distant centers of coming influ- ence, it stops at no undertaking, however difficult or dangerous, whenever the interests of the church are concerned. And by indomitable energy, endur- ance and courage seeming impossibilities have been overcome.
"During the meeting of the spring Presbytery it was deemed expedient that the services at Silverton, which were suspended last fall, should be resumed at an early day. Rev. George M. Darley, of Lake City, was requested to take the matter in charge.
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LOST ON THE RANGE
"Two hundred and twenty miles by rail and one hundred and seventy miles by stage brought him from the Presbytery to his mountain home. Secur- ing a horse he started on the 17th of May, 1877, to cross the summit of the great Sierra Madre range. Slowly toiling up the valley of the Lake Fork of the Gunnison, with the wind hourly increasing in strength, he reached Lake San Christoval, 9,000 feet above the sea, to encounter a driving snow- storm.
"On and upward through the storm until, with frozen face and benumbed limbs, he reached a miner's cabin and, going in to warm, found a Pres- byterian family who insisted on his remaining all night. At four o'clock the next morning he was again in the saddle, facing the great snow-crest of the continent which loomed far above him. Before accomplishing a mile the storm, which had subsided in the night, was upon him again with double fury.
"After an hour's climbing a welcome cabin afforded him breakfast. While there Gus Talbot, who carries the mail over the mountains on snow- shoes and has seen a hundred avalanches thunder and crash across his trail, came along with the mail, having traveled sixteen miles since one o'clock that
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PIONEERING IN THE SAN JUAN
morning. By seven a. m. they had reached Bur- rows Park, ten thousand five hundred feet above the sea. This was as far as they could ride. From there on they must walk on snow-shoes. At the park were a number of miners waiting to cross the range, but, as the storm was still raging, none of them dared make the attempt. A consultation was had. It seemed madness to venture. But the mail-carrier was determined to make the attempt, and Mr. Darley caught the spirit. Said he:
'Darley, I have carried the mail across here for years. Again and again have I crossed when I could not see as far as the point of my snow-shoe. You have faced the storm twenty-two miles yester- day, dare you face it twenty-three miles farther with me?'
"With the great calmness of men who understood the perils before them, they started-Gus Talbot with forty pounds of mail on his back and Mr. Darley with his blankets.
"Three miles brought them above timber-line. The snow-clouds drifted and surged around them. Every landmark was hidden. It seemed as if they were off in space with nothing in sight except the snow at their feet. On they plunged into that space, every few minutes stopping to gain breath.
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LOST ON THE RANGE
"At length they knew that they were descending, and supposed that they had turned the summit. But soon their hopes were dashed by coming to an ascent again. Knowing that something was wrong, they turned to the left, and soon crossed their own track, and the horrible suspicion began to dawn upon them that they were lost. For three hours they had been plunging forward, unable to see any- thing before or around them. Fifteen minutes (it seemed hours) later and they again crossed their track, and the dread suspicion became a certainty. They were lost! Oh that the clouds would open one half second so that they could catch a glimpse of some landmark! But impenetrable clouds still enveloped them. Knowing that their only hope was to descend, they turned in their tracks and started downward. Soon they were conscious of a rapid descent, when all at once the mail-carrier dropped from view-gone over a precipice! With horror Mr. Darley sprang to one side as a great cake of snow gave way under his feet and followed the mail- carrier below. For a moment he seemed paralyzed; his heart seemed to cease to beat. Gathering up his consciousness, he at once started to the rescue. Groping his way around to the base of the cliff he found Mr. Talbot crawling out of the snow with the
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PIONEERING IN THE SAN JUAN
mail bags still on his back. The snow had broken the fall and saved his life. With great thankfulness they started on again. Soon a dim, dark line was seen below them, and the glad cry burst forth-'The timber! The timber!'
"With new energy they pressed forward and were soon sheltered from the storm in the pines, under which they lunched on a couple of biscuits. Half an hour later they are at the mining-town of Animas Forks-saved! The storm was still severe in their faces. Silverton was still fourteen miles away, and their trail led across the track of many an avalanche. But so much greater were the dangers through which they had passed, that the rest of the way seemed easy. After a good meal they started down the Animas and made Silverton that night.
"The next day Gus Talbot, the plucky mail- carrier, told the people that they could 'tie to George M. Darley, for, out of more than one hun- dred men he had piloted across the range, the Presbyterian preacher was the only one that had the grit to keep with him all the way.'
"But I hear one and another of my readers say- ing, 'want of judgment,' 'foolish,' 'mistaken zeal,' etc. It is very easy, in a comfortable home or under other circumstances, to criticise and judge
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LOST ON THE RANGE
what you would or would not do, but we who are on the frontier know that if the Church would do her duty and give the Gospel to the 'regions beyond' now, as in the days of the apostles and martyrs, some of her ministers must needs face physical hardships and sufferings and dangers like the ship- wreck and stonings and beatings and perils of Paul. The men that observe the wind and regard the clouds and consult their comfort are not the men for the front. We need sterner material. We need men that can endure hardness, face dangers, take the chances, attempting seeming impossibilities, not counting even their lives dear unto them, if thereby the Church can be advanced. And the Church should thank God that she has a ministry willing to do this work. All honor to the pioneers of the Church."
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CHAPTER VI
A DEAD FARO-DEALER
"The saint who enjoyed the communion of heaven, The sinner who dared to remain unforgiven; The wise and the foolish, the guilty and just, Have quietly mingled their bones in the dust." -Thomas Hood.
'To live uprightly is sure the best, To save ourselves, and not to damn the rest." -Dryden.
An out-and-out manly Christian-one who believed that Christianity is the backbone of the highest type of manhood; one whose only fear was to do wrong; one who was always ready to render assistance to the needy, or to those in danger-had the respect of every man in the camp, whether he was a Christian or a faro-dealer; while those who were continually offering the Pharisee's prayer, holding on to the almighty dollar and making excuses for not step- ping to the front when either distress or danger called, were heartily despised. Whenever one of these Pharisaical creatures came to me bemoaning the wickedness of our camp, and saying, "It is
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A DEAD FARO-DEALER
unwise to spend time trying to reach the sporting fraternity, they are so bad," these words of Robert Burns would come to my mind:
"My son, these maxims make a rule And lump them aye thegither; The rigid righteous is a fool, The rigid wise anither;
The cleanest corn that e'er was dight May have some pyles o' chaff in; So ne'er a fellow creature slight For random fits o' daffin."
No good citizen has any defense to make or apologies to offer for wrong-doing. Yet every. Christian, while hating sin, should love the sinner. Association with all classes during the San Juan excitement taught me that many of the reckless class, notwithstanding their faults, were neither narrow-minded nor selfish. Though they gave from impulse, rather than principle, they were often very generous; not to their friends only, but also to a fallen foe.
I know that good people consider a "faro-dealer" "a very bad man." This is true in part. It depends on what we mean by "a very bad man." If we look at a faro-dealer from a Christian stand- point he is certainly "a very bad man." If we
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PIONEERING IN THE SAN JUAN
consider him from a good citizen's standpoint he is just as bad. But, looking at him from the stand- point of fair-dealing, "outside his faro-dealing," and the way a faro-dealer may treat a man when he is down, or the way such men often respond when asked to aid the poor whom they have never met-then, for the time being, they are not "very bad men."
When it was known that "Ben" House had died at the "San Juan Central," a large adobe dance- hall, many said: "Ben was one of the best-hearted boys in the camp." Among those generally called the "boys" a feeling existed peculiar to that class and soon manifested itself. They decided that "Ben" having been engaged in a public business- although the kind of place in which he died was not in keeping with a great display at his funeral- the stores ought to be closed during the funeral services, and that "just as good a send off ought to be given Ben as possible."
After most of the preliminaries had been arranged, "Big Hank," one of Ben's intimate friends, came and stood by the remains, and as tears coursed down his cheeks he gave me a very glowing description of the departed. What "nerve," what "generosity," how no man could "ever get Ben to
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DEALING FARO IN A SAN JUAN GAMBLING HALL.
BẢN
A DEAD FARO-DEALER
go back on a friend, no matter how tight a place that friend was in." This eulogy was interspersed with all the oaths "Big Hank" could call to mind, when so filled with grief. He swore just to be emphatic. If one man in that camp "swore by note," "Big Hank" was the man. As he finished eulogizing his dead friend, I noticed two "girls" from one of the dance-halls coming into the build- ing. (The remains had been carried to a hall on the main street.) I knew they were coming to pay their respects to "Ben." One was a tall woman, known as "Sorrel Top," on account of the color of her hair; the other a short, thick-set Mexican. To my sur- prise "Big Hank" was angry, and would not permit either of the "girls" to look at "Ben." Turning to me, he said: "I tell you, Mr. Darley, we are going to have a decent funeral out of this, and none of that crowd can come near Ben now." But I differed with him about who should come "near Ben now," so sent him to get something that was needed, and while he was away invited both "girls" to look at "Ben." They were not devoid of feeling or tenderness. The woman's heart was not entirely gone; and a few kind words were appreciated. Having seen much of life, my heart often warms with sympathy for the fallen.
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PIONEERING IN THE SAN JUAN
Robert Burns was a good judge of human nature, and no doubt was conscious that his prayer in the prospect of death would strike a responsive chord in many hearts:
"O Thou unknown Almighty, cause Of all my hope and fear, In whose dread presence, ere an hour, Perhaps, I must appear ;
"If I have wandered in those paths Of life I ought to shun; As something, loudly, in my breast, Remonstrates I have done;
"Thou know'st that Thou hast form'd me With passions wild and strong; And listening to their witching voice Has often led me wrong.
"Where human weakness has come short, Or frailty stept aside, Do Thou, All Good, for such thou art In shades of darkness hide.
"Where with intention I have err'd, No other plea I have, But, Thou art good, and goodness still Delighteth to forgive."
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A DEAD FARO-DEALER
I have frequently thought how little we know of what goes on between the soul of a wandering one and their God, when they are brought face to face with death; what cries for mercy may ascend to God, who sent his only Son into this sin-cursed world to seek after and "to save that which was lost." How, in such an hour, memory's pages may be revealing again to the wanderer what was written thereon in childhood's happy days by pious parents; and although covered many years by the rubbish of sin, it is not impossible for God's Spirit to touch the heart and turn the prodigal one to genuine repentance, thus leading him to seek sal- vation through the merits of a crucified and risen Redeemer. We have the immutable Word of the living God for it that even the brands plucked from the burning shall be saved. "Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." God forbid that anyone should be able to truthfully say, "No man cares for my soul."
"Then gently scan your brother man, Still gentler sister woman; Though they may gang a kenning wrang, To step aside is human;
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One point must still be greatly dark, The reason why they do it; And just as lamely can we mark How far perhaps they rue it.
"Who made the heart, 'tis he alone Decidedly can try us; He knows each chord-its various bias;
Then at the balance let's be mute, We never can adjust it ; What's done we partly may compute, But know not what's resisted."
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CHAPTER VII
GOSPEL TEMPERANCE MEETINGS IN A "LIVE" MINING- CAMP
"There is in every human being, however ignoble, some hint of perfection, some one place where, as we may fancy, the veil is thin which hides the divinity behind it."
-Confucian Classics.
Intemperance is the greatest curse in our beloved land. Whenever "a temperance wave" strikes us it seems to strike all over. What is known as the "Murphy Movement" struck our camp soon after the movement was started. "The boys" being hard-up for cash that winter, we knew that many would most likely be willing to "swear off" for a time, possibly until the snow began to melt in the spring.
When that time came and another "boom" began, we felt confident that a goodly number, if many should sign the pledge, would "swear on again." Still, a few months' respite from drink would do them good. Therefore we decided to try, with God's help and the assistance of all who were willing to engage in the good work, to do what we could in the interest of temperance.
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PIONEERING IN THE SAN JUAN
To do this work in a "live" mining-camp, where so many were engaged in the devil's own business, needed wisdom as well as courage, that the work might be pushed vigorously without creating a feel- ing of hatred toward those who favored temperance.
When first mentioned I met opposition where I least expected it-from Christian men, officers in the church. Not that they opposed temperance work, but saloons, gambling-halls and dance-houses were so numerous that it was considered unwise to attempt reform work.
Having but one motto-the same I afterwards placed at the head of my religious newspaper, "If God be for us, who can be against us?"-I said to the church officers: "If I cannot deliver my lectures in the church I will deliver them some other place." No objections were made to my using the church building.
The first lecture was given December 18, 1877,- subject: "Come, Take a Drink." That all might know what to expect, I had posters printed with "Come, Take a Drink" in large letters, and the rest of the poster in small type. The posters were placed everywhere, not forgetting to put a liberal supply in the saloons. The subject struck the saloon-men's "funny bump," and all made some
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WHEEL OF FORTUNE. MINERS AT HOME IN 1877.
PROSPECTOR AT HOME.
GOSPEL TEMPERANCE MEETINGS
good-natured remark about "being on hand that night to take a drink with the Parson."
Every night while the meetings were held our church was packed, men standing in the broad aisle, and all the vim and vinegar the Parson possessed were put into those lectures.
By referring to my Pastor's Register I find written, "Grand success! God with us in the move- ment ! Eighty-four signed the pledge the first night!" The good work went on for thirty-one nights. Over six hundred signed the pledge. Night after night men came forward and signed who had the manhood to keep the pledge. Among the number was one who is now an honored minister of the Gospel, doing a grand work for the Master. At the time I believed him to be an unpolished dia- mond; and it has been so proven, for a more suc- cessful worker cannot be found.
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