USA > Colorado > Sketches of Colorado: being an analytical summary and biographical history of the State of Colorado as portrayed in the lives of the pioneers, the founders, the builders, the statesmen, and the prominent and progressive citizens Vol. 1 > Part 3
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dition up the Missouri river and then far west on the plains in 1724 for the same purpose, trying to break up the Spanish trade and in- fluence with the Indians. In 1739, the Mal- let brothers, two French explorers are credited with following the South Platte and probably visiting the present site of Denver. In 1762, France by secret treaty transferred all of Louisiana in the Trans-Mississippi, together with the Island of New Orleans, east of the
river, to Spain. This lessened the friction in the hunting and trapping region, but before finally yielding to the change, some of the malcontents among the French leaders, at New Orleans were tried and hung. Later, a re-deeding of Louisiana by Spain, to France, and the sale of this great province to the United States in 1803, opened the American period of exploration, in which Colorado be- comes especially prominent.
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CHAPTER IV. American Explorers-Hunters and Trappers.
ITH the cession of the Pro- vince of Louisiana by France to the United States in 1803, there was opened a new field for the explorer. The cen- tennial of that purchase has been celebrated by a World's Fair at St. Louis, and Ameri- can heroism has added its century link to the historical chain of Spanish and French ex- ploration. Lewis and Clark in 1804-6, ex- plored the northwest and the Oregon country, and Lieutenant Zebulon Montgomery Pike, the headwaters of the Mississippi, in 1805-6. A third expedition was then planned in con- tinuing the investigation of the resources of this new acquisition, and Lieut. Pike was de- tailed to explore the plains and the Rocky Mountains. As with the Spanish and French, there was the wandering gold seeker, hunter and trapper. Even before the purchase, Americans were beginning to find their way into this western land, and especially, soon thereafter. About 1804, William Morrison, a merchant of Kaskaskia, sent Le Lande, a French Creole, with a quantity of goods, with instructions to proceed west and up the Platte river, and thence across to Santa Fe, with the intention of establishing trade in that direction. He may have been the first American to traverse Colorado. He is said to have disposed of his merchandise, appro- priated the proceeds to his own use, and be- come a resident of Santa Fe. It may be that the credit should be given to James Pursley (or Purcell) who was exploring the plains and foothills, if not the mountains of Colorado, about 1805. Some have placed the date at 1802-4. Pike found Pursley at Santa Fe. The latter had gold which had been obtained by him on the Platte, but he had re- fused to disclose the locality of his discovery to the Spanish. Pursley has been heralded as a patriot for this act, as the development of his discovery, might have encouraged such an influx of Spaniards, that it would have changed the civilization of a considerable part of this region, for the southern and west- ern parts of Colorado were then still Spanish territory. James Pursley was from Bards-
town, Kentucky, but some recent investi- gation is leading to the belief that Pike, in recording the adventures of the former, made a mistake in writing the name "Pursley" and that the correct spelling is "Purcell."
Lieut. Pike, the most illustrious of Colo- rado explorers, and son of an officer in the American Revolution, was born near Trenton, New Jersey, January 5, 1779. He became a brigadier general in the War of 1812, and lost his life in the battle of York (Toronto), Canada. The Centennial of his discovery of the peak that bears his name, was celebrated at Colorado Springs, with imposing cere- monies. Pike's sword, the one he was wear- ing, when he received his death wounds at the battle of York, is now in the State Museum, at the Capitol Building, Denver.
Lieut. Pike left St. Louis, on this, his sec- ond expedition, July 15, 1806. Under in- structions from the War Department, he was to explore the headwaters of the Arkan- sas and Red rivers, and establish the author- ity of the national government over the Indian tribes of this region. A surgeon, an interpreter, and twenty-one soldiers accompanied him. He was also instructed while en route, to conduct about fifty Osage captives to their people. The expedition ascended the Mis- souri river, and later, after returning the cap- tive Indians, Pike started overland for the Pawnee country in Kansas. Thence con- tinuing their journey, the Arkansas river was reached. Lieut. Wilkinson, with five men, on October 28, separated from the command, descending that stream, the remainder under Pike, resuming their journey into the wilderness beyond them, in the west. On November 15, Pike discovered the peak that was later named in his honor, making the following entry in his journal:
"After passing large herds of buffalo, at about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, I thought I could distinguish a mountain to our right, which appeared like a blue cloud; viewed it with a spy glass, and was still more confirmed in my conjecture, yet only communicated it to Dr. Robinson, who was in front of me, but in half an hour, they appeared in full view be- fore us. When our small party arrived on
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the hill, they with one accord, gave three cheers for the Mexican Mountains."
Continuing their journey for several days, they encamped on November 23, at the mouth of a small tributary of the Arkansas, and the day following, at this place, constructed a crude fortification. This picket post or stock- ade was the first erected by an American in Colorado. On the 24th, leaving a part of his command to guard the fort and supplies, Pike started to explore the peak. He as- cended what is supposed to have been Chey- enne Mountain, only to discover that the "grand peak" was still beyond. After buf- feting with deep snows, they descended to their camp. Pike never was on the peak that was later given his name. On the 29th they rejoined those at the fort, on the Arkansas. Resuming their journey up this stream, they finally encamped near the entrance of the Royal Gorge and the site of Canon City, from which point, Pike explored a part of South Park. Constructing another fort at Canon City, and leaving a small guard there with his supplies, he resumed his journey over the mountains. After passing up what is supposed to have been Grape Creek Canon, thence through the Wet Mountain Valley, he crossed the Sangre de Cristo range, probably through Mosca Pass, into the San Luis Park, or Valley. Continuing, and cross- ing the Rio Grande, he established his camp lower down, and some little distance up the Conejos, on what is now considered to have been the ranch of Gov. MeIntire of Colorado, where he constructed another fort. Here he raised his flag, being the first record of an American flag raising in this state. He was now in Spanish territory, for he thought the Rio Grande was Red River. Here he was arrested by the Spaniards and taken to Santa Fe, in the meantime, collecting his scattered command. Pike and his men suffered in- tensely from cold and hunger, and under- went many hardships and privations, which were patiently and heroically borne. Pike reached Natchitoches in Louisiana, July 1, 1807, on his return.
In 1807, Ezekiel Williams, a noted trapper and hunter, was placed in command of twenty frontiersmen, to conduct Big White, who had accompanied Lewis and Clark on their re- turn in 1806, to the home of his people in the Mandan country. That year, the same in which Pike returned, Williams left St. Louis, traveling overland, for the Rocky Mountains. Delivering Big White in safety to the Mandans, Ezekiel Williams and his men, who had come equipped for that pur- pose, intended hunting and trapping in the northwest and along the Columbia. But meeting with reverses and losses of men in
battles with the Blackfeet, the remnant of the party drifted south along the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains. There was almost continuous warfare with the Indians, gradually reducing the party to a few sur- vivors. Rose, one of the expedition, became a renegade among the Crows. In 1808, Wil- liams reached the South Platte with about eight men. They were finally killed off by Indians, (their last fight probably being in the vicinity of what is now Pueblo,) except Wil- liams, James Workman, and Samuel Spencer. This was the first Indian struggle between Americans and Indians in Colorado. They separated, Workman and Spencer, crossing the mountains to California and after en- during the greatest hardships, returned later to Santa Fe, where for a number of years they engaged in merchandising. Williams descended the Arkansas in a canoe, thence overland among friendly Indians, and reached the Boone's Lick settlements, now Howard county, Missouri. In 1809, he returned and obtained the furs which he had cached in Colorado. Ezekiel Williams was one of the defenders of old Fort Cooper, in the Boone's Lick region, one of several forts there erected by the pioneers, to protect themselves from the Indians during the War of 1812. Later he became prominent on the Santa Fe Trail.
August Pierre Choteau and twenty-one others made an expedition from St. Louis to the South Platte region in Colorado in 1817. Later captured by the Spanish on the tributaries of the Arkansas, they were taken to Santa Fe, where they were held as prison- ers several weeks, some of them being in chains.
In 1819, under the direction of John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War, Major Stephen H. Long was sent to the Rocky Mountains with an exploring party, leaving Pittsburg, May 5, that year. He spent the winter of 1819-20 at Council Bluffs, resuming his jour- ney in the spring, and in June and July ex- plored the headwaters of the South Platte, which he followed from the plains. Continu- ing south over the Divide, he reached the site of Colorado Springs, encamping on the Fontaine qui Bouille. The boiling spring at Manitou was discovered, and Dr. James with a small party ascended the great peak on July 14, having started to climb the same on the afternoon of the 13th. Major Long named it James Peak, in honor of Dr. James, the first to ascend this historic mountain. This name was retained for a number of years, until it was changed to Pike's Peak, for the gallant American who first discovered it. This distinction should be made, for this peak had long been known to the Spaniards in their northern journeys. Another peak
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now bears the name of James, for this bold explorer, and Long's peak abides as the name for a lasting monument of the leader of this expedition. Still continuing to the south and west they reached the Arkansas, discovered the mineral springs at Canon City, and the entrance to the Royal Gorge, but no mention is made as to any ruins they may have seen of Pike's old fort. Returning, the expedition was divided, Captain Bell with eleven men going down the Arkansas, while Major Long, with nine others started southward to explore the Red River, and after traveling in New Mexico and to the eastward, reached Fort Smith, September 13, 1820. The unfavorable report that Long made concerning this region as to its future in agriculture, caused the words "Great American Desert " to be placed on the map, a misfortune that for decades impeded the growth and development of this section.
About 1821, Hugh Glenn, an Indian trader, trailed up the Arkansas to the mountains, and remained through the winter, in what is now Colorado. A general activity now per- vaded the western country, more especially in trapping, hunting, and trading with In- dians. While William H. Ashley, Manuel Lisa, Jim Bridger, Capt. Bonneville, and others were occupied more in the northwest, yet, important events were taking place along the South Platte and Arkansas, and more especially the latter. Although some earlier but unsatisfactory attempts had been made to open up from the east, a trade with Santa Fe, yet new conditions offered an outlook auspicious for the future. The Spaniards had opposed commercial relations with others in the interior, and had ever been jealous of the French, and later of the Americans, in their approaches to the west. But in 1821, Old Mexico had thrown off the yoke of Spain, and soon thereafter was opened with Santa Fe what has long been known as the "Commerce of the Prairies." Captain Beck- nell from the town of old Franklin, now the bottom of the Missouri river, Howard county, Missouri, in 1821-2, started expeditions that led to establishing the Santa Fe Trail. In crossing from the Arkansas river to the Cim- arron, Becknell and his men came near per- ishing of hunger and thirst. In its earlier history in Colorado, this trail had two routes, one along the Cimarron, which included a few miles in what is Baca county, in the ex- treme southeastern part of the state, and the other continuing further up the Arkansas river, through Bent's Fort, and later cutting off for Santa Fe. This trail has recently been marked in Colorado by the Daughters of the American Revolution, assisted by the state, the general assembly appropriating
$2,000 for that purpose. The old official survey of the trail in what is now Colorado, by the government, continued it up the Ar- kansas. The question arose as to which trail should be marked. It was learned that in Kansas, markers were being placed on both the Arkansas river and the Cimarron routes, and when the D. A. R. of Colorado prepared a bill to be introduced in the legisla- ture it was made broad enough to cover both routes in its provisions. The Arkansas river route has been marked, but none have yet been placed on the few miles of the Cimarron in Baca county. This trail in New Mexico has also been marked, and the same plan is to be carried out in Missouri, to the vicinity of Old Franklin, and probably the old Boone's Lick road to the east, its forerunner in the wilderness from St. Charles, and from thence to St. Louis.
The opening of the Santa Fe trail en- couraged the trapping and trading interests in this region, in which the Bent family, con- sisting of several brothers, Kit Carson and others were prominently identified. These four brothers, William, George, Charles, and Robert Bent, together with Ceran St. Vrain, in 1826, constructed a stockade on the north side of the Arkansas about mid-way between what is now Canon City and Pueblo, but in 1828, moved it down the river some distance below Pueblo. This new and larger fort was named Fort William Bent, in honor of Wil- liam Bent, but it was more commonly known as "Bent's Fort." It was blown up by Wil- liam Bent in 1852, and in 1853, near the site of the more recent town of Robinson, he erected a "New" Bent's Fort, which was conducted as a trading post, until leased to the U. S. government in 1859. Col. William Bent then established himself in a new loca- tion near the mouth of the Purgatory. The name of the Fort Bent leased to the govern- ment, was changed in 1860, to Fort Wise, and later, in 1861, to Fort Lyon, to honor Gen. Nathaniel Lyon, who was killed at the battle of Wilson Creek, in the civil war. Owing to washouts, the fort was removed about 20 miles down the river in 1866.
In 1832, Louis Vasquez, a trader, built a fort at the mouth of Clear Creek, then known as the Vasquez Fork of the South Platte. Five miles below Fort Vasquez, there was soon after established Fort Sarpy, near what is now the town of Henderson. About twenty miles further down, Lupton construct- ed Fort Lancaster, later the name being changed to "Lupton," in honor of its builder. Near the present town of Platteville, was built Fort St. Vrain, and the old site of the town of Brighton, was also used for a pioneer fort. El Pueblo, a post on the Ar-
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kansas, a few miles above Fort William, was more in the nature of a permanent settlement, its few inhabitants being occupied in agri- culture, and some stock raising, affording something of a market for the hunters and trappers, whose numbers were rapidly in- creasing. Some Mormon families commonly referred to as the "Mormon Battalion" spent the winter of 1846-7 at Pueblo, leaving in the summer for Salt Lake. Several chil- dren were born to them that winter in Pueblo, and a baby daughter in the Kelly family, it has been claimed, was the first child born in Colorado, not of either Indian or Spanish blood. About 1850, Fort Massachusetts, was built near the Sangre de Cristo pass, its location being on Ute Creek, on the west side of the main divide. There has recently been some dispute as to the exact site of this old fort, which was removed to Fort Garland in 1857. Lafayette Head, an American, ex- tablished a Mexican colony at Conejos in 1854. Thus the ingress of frontiersmen, and the opening of the Santa Fe Trail, led to the establishment of forts by traders, and later there followed feeble efforts at permanent settlement, not to be fully realized until later, for the period of American exploration was not yet ended, and much was yet to be accomplished in that line, and in the making of treaties with the Indians.
Captain Bonneville has been credited with touching what is now Colorado on his return from the northwest in 1833, but if so, he was never a prominent figure in the history of this section. Although an officer in the army, Bonneville had fitted out his expedition at his own expense, and his name was dropped from the army, but afterwards restored. The next military expedition after Pike and Long, that was of special importance to this region, was that of Col. Henry Dodge in 1835. His mission was not so much in the character of an explorer, as to effect treaties with the In- dians, and investigate the condition of affairs along the then Mexican border. He was accompanied by a well equipped body of dragoons, consisting of forty men under Cap- tain Lupton, thirty seven under Captain Ford, and forty under Captain Duncan, two swivels with which to over-awe the Indians, and a train of wagons with a large quantity of supplies. Col. Dodge left Fort Leaven- worth, May 29, 1835, with Gaptain Gantt as guide, and also having with his command, Major Daugherty, the Pawnee Indian agent. After holding councils with the several tribes while en route, they came within sight of the Rocky Mountains, July 15, while following up the South Platte. Passing the mouth of the Cache de la Poudre on the 18th, they ar- rived on the 24th, at a point where the South
Platte emerges from the mountains. Con- tinuing, they passed the vicinity of Manitou and Colorado Springs, reaching Fort Bent on August 6. In this locality he held councils with the Arapahoes, Cheyennes, and other tribes, and further down the Arkansas, with the Comanches, and Kiowas, etc., reaching Choteau's Island, the 24th; thence to Fort Leavenworth, where he arrived September 16. Col. Dodge accomplished an import- ant work quieting the Indians of the plains, at the same time investigating their condition, and obtaining valuable information for the government.
The explorations of John C. Fremont, which were begun under act of Congress, have important features, linked with the history of Colorado. In 1842, he started west with a little more than twenty men. At the forks of the Platte, he continued up the South Fork, to Fort St. Vrain, while the main party fol- lowed the North Fork en route to Fort Laramie. There was nothing especially eventful in this trip made by Fremont in Colorado, and he soon after joined the remain- der of the expedition at Fort Laramie, and after exploring the South Pass, returned to St. Louis. Kit Carson, the celebrated seout and guide, and Lucien Maxwell, for whom the Maxwell Land Grant is named, were com- panions of Fremont on this expedition. It was but the forerunner of others, for back of it all was the scheme to establish an overland route to the Pacific. Fremont came west with his second party, numbering about forty men, in 1843, and was accompanied during a part of the journey, and into Colo- rado, by William Gilpin, who in 1861, was appointed governor of this territory. After reaching Fort St. Vrain, Fremont made sev- eral detours, exploring the plains, extending his investigation to the vicinity of Colorado Springs, and the small settlement at Pueblo on the Arkansas. Collecting his scattered detachments, after exploring the sources of the South Platte and the Arkansas, he re- sumed his journey to the Pacific coast. Re- turning from California, he entered Colorado from Utah, continuing up Grand river, which region then abounded with vast herds of buffalo. He crossed the mountains at a point later known as Fremont Pass. Emerg- ing from the mountains, they followed the Arkansas river, visiting Pueblo and Bent's Fort, the latter on July 1, 1844, thence to St. Louis which ended their journey, on August 6.
In 1845, Fremont with nearly an hundred men started on his third exploring tour. Kit Carson, who had accompanied him on his former expeditions, and others of well known and tried frontiersmen, were again his com-
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panions. Departing from Bent's Fort, soon after reaching that point early in August, they journeyed up the Arkansas and over the mountains, through Grand Valley, into Utah, thence to the great Salt Lake, and on to California, where Fremont, the following year, participated in the struggle California made for independence. In the Mexican war that ensued, several detachments of the American army rendezvoused in the Arkansas valley near Bent's Fort, and some returned from that war by the same route. In 1847 Gilpin conducted an expedition against the Indians in southwestern Colorado and contiguous re- gion.
Fremont, now becoming known as the "Pathfinder," left St. Louis Oct. 14, 1848 on his fourth expedition for the west, this time, it being a private enterprise. He started for Bent's Fort with thirty-three men and 120 mules, and later, passing by Wagon Wheel Gap in mid-winter, attempted to cross the San Juan Mountains in Colorado. Here, en- countering blizzards and intensely cold weather, and wandering in the deep and blinding snow storms, Fremont lost eleven of his men and all his mules. He tried to place the blame on old "Parson" Bill Williams, the guide, who was one of the most experienced in the west. However that may be, the expe- dition here ended in disaster. The scattered survivors of this party, finally arrived at Taos, where Kit Carson rendered them hearty and much needed assistance, together with the army officers in that section. Through their aid, Fremont was enabled to resume his journey to California, where a little later he was elected U. S. Senator. Fremont's fifth expedition to explore the west was organized in 1853, in the interest of a Pacific Railway. Starting in September and traversing the plains, thence up the Arkansas, he crossed the Sangre de Cristo into the San Juan country. The Utes were hostile, and their supply of provisions ran low. They became so re- duced, that they were compelled to kill their horses for food, and also ate the pulp of cactus. They each took an oath that they would not eat human flesh. Probably this oath was imposed because of the rumor, that when eleven of Fremont's men perished in the San Juan blizzards in his fourth expedition, it was reported that some of the starving survivors had feasted on the bodies of their dead com- rades. After almost starving, and intense suffering, wandering westward from Grand river, they finally reached a point, where they were succored by the Mormons.
About this time another historic explorer entered the boundary of what is now Colorado. He came not from the east, but from the west. He was Marcus Whitman, the bold and
intrepid missionary of the northwest. The Ashburton-Webster treaty was under con- sideration, and many questions involving the interests of the Oregon country, were agi- tating the public mind. Knowing the value of the now great northwest, and the fear that it might be lost, or at least American interests there endangered, Marcus Whitman made his historical continental ride in the winter of 1842-3. England wanted Oregon, and it was to save Oregon that Whitman made his ride of over 4,000 miles, the most famous in American history. It was then October, and winter had set in on the mountain ranges, but this did not deter Whitman. With Amos Lawrence Lovejoy, who ac- companied him as far as eastern Colorado, and a guide, and two or three pack animals, he started on this perilous journey. From Fort Hall to Fort Uintah, they encoun- tered terrible weather, and lost much time owing to the deep snows. At the latter fort a new guide was employed, and a fresh start made "for Fort Uncompahgre on Grand river in Spanish territory," (western Colorado then being a part of Mexico). The storms in the mountains compelled them to seek shelter in a dark defile, and here ten day's time was lost. Their guide now admitted that he could not find his way, and would go no fur- ther. Whitman returned to the fort for a new guide, leaving Lovejoy with the remain- ing horses, which he fed on cottonwood bark. Whitman came back in seven days with another guide and the journey was resumed. Grand river was reached and described as being 600 yards wide and frozen about a third the distance on each bank. The guide said it was too dangerous to cross, but Whit- man nothing daunted, made the first attempt. Mounting his horse, Lovejoy and the guide pushed them off the ice, into the foaming, boiling stream. Whitman and his horse went under, but after buffeting the waves and current, started for the other bank, and far below, leaping on the ice, he pulled up his horse by his side. Lovejoy and the guide then successfully followed. Traversing south- western Colorado, they arrived at Taos, thence went to Bent's Fort, which was reached Jan. 3, 1843. It was after a four month's journey that he arrived in Washington where he informed President Tyler and other offi- cials of the true condition in Oregon.
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