Pueblo County CO Archives History - Books .....Chapter 10 Around The Camp-Fire 1917 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/co/cofiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 December 26, 2008, 11:50 pm Book Title: Pathbreakers And Pioneers Of The Pueblo Region CHAPTER X. AROUND THE CAMP-FIRE. One who chronicles the leading events of a people, a state, or a nation, is said to have written their history. Those who have read the chronicle of these events believe that they are acquainted with the people whose history they have read. This is far from the truth. To know a people it is necessary to brush elbows with them off the stage—behind scenes—between the acts. The real life of a people is composed not of events, but of incidents. An attempt is made in this chapter to record a few of the many incidents which gave color to a life that would have been dreary and colorless without them. The most interesting-and1 important of these incidents occurred in the struggle of those orderly and peace-loving pioneers to establish good government. The West had more than its share of "undesirable citizens" —especially of that class who were obliged to seek a change of climate "for their health." It was the presence of this class of refugees that made the problem of government a serious one. Those organizations known as "peoples' courts" and "miners' courts," which sprang up in every frontier settlement, administered justice with a strong arm, and being unhampered by any legal technicalities, made the miscarriage of justice almost impossible. The only escape of the wrong-doer lay either in flight or fight, for if he was once apprehended his fate was sealed. It sometimes occurred that a desperado of the Charley Dodge type, whom we shall describe presently, would be successful in holding the entire forces of law and order at bay for quite an extended period. The penalties of these "courts" were few in number but were inflicted without mercy. For serious crimes, such as horse stealing or highway robbery, the penalty was death, while for crimes of a less serious nature the culprit was often banished from the settlement and forbidden to return on pain of death. These "courts" administered justice in their crude way in our frontier towns for quite an extended period in many sections before the regular governmental machinery could be put into operation. There were no "palatial halls of justice," in those days, the court more often convening on a street corner or in a saloon. One of the most serious cases ever handled by a "people's court" had its hearing in the back yard of a hotel, with the chief actors sitting upon the wood-pile. One feature of these "courts" which distinguished them from regular tribunals of justice was that men were permitted in a great measure to settle their own disputes and difficulties with their fellows. If in the course of settling a controversy it became necessary for one person to shoot the other, no action was taken by the "court," provided public opinion justified the act, hence every man was in a large measure the defender of his own rights. A BATTLE WITH "MISSOURIANS." One of the first incidents in this region that resulted in bloodshed occurred in the fall of 1859. The settlers of Fountain City had raised their first crop of corn and were in high spirits over the prospects of its sale at a price ranging from $6 to $8 a bushel, when one evening there appeared in the town a group of Missourians on their return journey from the Cherry creek region. Being disappointed because of their failure to make a stake in the gold region, they were in just the proper mood for trouble. Noticing the fine corn field nearby they immediately unyoked their twelve hungry oxen and turned them into the corn field, refusing to give any heed to the remonstrances of the owners. The settlers, being unable to prevail upon the ruffians to desist, gave fair warning to them and then opened fire. A lively battle ensued in which several of the Missourians were killed. The oxen were finally rounded up and driven into a corral by the irate citizens, where they were held until ample damages were paid for destruction to their crop. The defeated Missourians were allowed to remain over night, being kept under heavy guard and the next morning were piloted out around the base of old "Sugar Loaf" hill and sent down the trail, a wiser but sadder group of men. THE DOINGS OF CHARLIE DODGE. One of the most noted desperados of the Pueblo region was Charlie Dodge. Charlie "was small of stature—touch as gentle as a woman's, of pleasing address, an eye which seemed to penetrate in all directions at once. He could never be caught off his guard. True to his friends, he observed his word with a sacred regard, but when he made up his mind to kill, the deed was performed without compunction of conscience. He killed no less than three men in Pueblo." His first exploit occurred while returning from California Gulch. Charlie and his "pal," on their way to Pueblo, overtook a miner who was returning to the states with a fortune in gold dust which he had made in the mines. Although the man was well armed, he was captured and hanged and his fortune confiscated by the two desperadoes. His dead body was then cut down and dragged by a lariat a quarter of a mile down the river, where it was thrown into a ditch and covered with a small amount of dirt, the toes of his boots being visible to passers-by throughout the winter. Charlie soon arrived in Pueblo, where he shot the Mexican marshal named Taos on account of a fancied insult. He soon jumped a claim at the old Goldsmith ranch just east of Pueblo, then owned by a man named Fred Lentz. Dodge sold the claim to a third party, whereupon Lentz laid the matter before the People's Court at Pueblo. Returning from town on this day, Lentz was met by Dodge and Bercaw, his associate. Dodge immediately opened fire upon Lentz, shooting him five times in the back, although Lentz had thrown up his hands and surrendered. As Lentz's friends raised his head from the pool of blood in which he was lying, he looked at Dodge and said, "Charlie I call this taking advantage of a man." Dodge merely replied, "Oh well, never mind. Die like a man." In a few moments Lentz was dead. Dodge and Bercaw gave themselves up, but in this instance the People's Court was unable to measure up to the occasion. The two men stood trial with their six-shooters on their laps. When a vote on the fate of the prisoners was called for not one person was found willing to risk his life by voting "guilty." Thus, "six-shooter logic" dominated over justice. The grand jury later indicted Dodge for this crime, but no one could be found who would attempt to arrest him. Dodge moved westward to escape the advance of civilization. He finally died of smallpox at Fort Hall, Washington. "TEX AND COE." A settler living up the Fountain river had three fine horses stolen. He secured the services of Templeton, the noted trailer and thief hunter, and these two after trailing the thieves almost to Pueblo, lost the trail. Coming on into town they learned that during the night two men had attempted to force their way across the Toll Bridge over the Arkansas. They were halted, however, and compelled by the vigilant owner to pay the usual toll before being allowed to proceed. Templeton feeling sure that these were the men for whom they were searching, immediately took up the trail and after riding for several hours in a southerly direction overtook the two men with the stolen horses. The men begged piteously to be allowed to go on their way by surrendering the horses, but in spite of their plea they were handcuffed and compelled to return with their captors. On account of the lateness of the hour when they arrived in Pueblo, they secured permission to lodge their prisoners in the town jail. About eleven o'clock that night the two men appeared and asked possession of their prisoners, saying that they had decided to continue their journey during the night as it would be cooler. The prisoners were turned over to them as requested and the quartet disappeared. The next morning the inhabitants of Pueblo were horrified to discover the bodies of the two thieves hanging to a telegraph pole not far from the jail. It was learned that these two men were the noted desperadoes "Tex" and "Coe," who had been operating in Southern Colorado for an extended period prior to this time. "JUAN CHIQUITO." One of the interesting characters of the Pueblo region in early times was Juan Trujillo, who, because of his diminutive stature, was called Chiquito, meaning "small." Juan was a Mexican of unsavory reputation and had lived in the vicinity of Fountain City long before any Americans had taken up their abode in that place. He was described to the writer by an old freighter, who first knew Chiquito in the fall of 1859. The old Mexican was at this time in temporary retirement, because of a wound which he had received in an encounter over some horses which he had stolen. He was dark of skin and of sullen disposition and was looked upon as an outlaw by those who knew him. Juan Chiquito gained fame and the everlasting admiration of the more gallant of the populace of Fountain City by an incident in which he was the chief actor. It seems that he had been attracted by a young damsel living at the Mexican settlement at Doyle's ranch on the Huerfano, and not being received kindly by her parents, had been in the habit of meeting her in a clandestine manner. It was finally agreed by these two lovers that Juan should meet her at a certain time at an appointed spot and would bear her away on his pony to his adobe hut on the Fountain. Their plans were consummated according to schedule, but the eloping lovers were no sooner on their way than their purpose was discovered and the irate father, with a group of his Mexican friends, was soon in hot pursuit. In spite of the determined pursuit by the father, this young Lochinvar succeeded in eluding him and in a few hours arrived safely at Fountain City with his bride. But his troubles had just begun. The determined parent, with a large band of armed Mexicans, soon arrived and demanded the surrender of his stolen daughter. Juan, in true knightly style, refused to give up his treasure and barricading his door, prepared to give battle. His enemies immediately opened fire upon his adobe hut, but they might as well have aimed their guns in the air or against the side of "Old Sugar Loaf hill nearby. The party soon learned that it required much heavier artillery than they possessed to have any effect on the adobe walls which surrounded the object of their attack. But the valiant Chiquito, using the one small window as a loophole, struck terror in the ranks of his enemy. All day long the battle raged, but the wary Juan did not give his enemies any opportunity to do effective work with their bullets and finally, being wearied with the uselessness of continuing the battle, they withdrew, deeply chagrined at their failure. THE ESPINOSA BROTHERS. In the spring of 1863 there occurred a series of cold blooded murders, so shrouded in mystery that the entire populace of the upper Arkansas was terror stricken. In the brief space of a few weeks more than twenty of these mysterious murders were committed, and in no case could any clue as to the whereabouts of the murderers or reasons for their actions be discovered. The first murder that occurred was of a soldier at Conejos, the next on the Hardscrabble, just above Pueblo, when an old man was murdered and robbed. They next appeared in Park County, where they murdered two persons, Brinkley and Shoup. In quick succession the bodies of murdered men were found in various parts of the region extending from Canon City to the Little Fountain near Colorado City. Upon the finding of the dead bodies of two prominent citizens of California Gulch, a call was made for volunteers, and a determined campaign was inaugurated for the purpose of running down the murderers. After forced marches, night and day, in which the volunteers scoured every nook and corner of the entire region in the vicinity of California Gulch, they came suddenly upon two horses tied in a secluded spot. Being sure that they had followed a continuous trail from the place where the murdered men had been found they immediately surrounded the spot and orders were given to shoot the murderers on sight. Soon a man appeared, moving cautiously towards the horses. Just as he stooped to remove the hobbles from one of the horses the posse opened fire upon him. Although wounded at the first fire, the murderer dropped upon his knee and prepared to give battle, but before he could fire he was struck squarely between the eyes and instantly killed. The other murderer appeared, but, before a shot could be fired, threw himself over a precipitous bank into a ravine and was lost to sight. In their camp were found articles belonging to twelve of the men whom they had murdered, and also a diary which showed that the total number of murders up to that time was twenty-three. This diary also indicated that the two men, Espinosa by name, were fanatics bent on revenge for some fancied wrong. The Espinosa that escaped made his way into the San Luis valley, where he engaged a relative to assist him in the continuance of his murderous career. Their lives were brought to a sudden end, however by Tom Tobin and a squad of soldiers, who tracked them into a canon and killed them both. STOCK THIEVES OF SOUTHERN COLORADO. During the sixties the southern part of the state was infested by a gang of stock thieves who for a long while defied capture. Very few of the stolen animals were ever recovered, such an efficient organization being maintained, extending from California Gulch through Canon City, Pueblo and Trinidad and on to Taos, that the thieves and their booty were safe from detection. One of these had its headquarters on the Dry Cimmaron and operated in Southern Colorado and New Mexico under the leadership of William Coe. In the spring of 1868 a flock of 3,000 sheep was found in their possession—stolen from New Mexico. The gang was arrested by a sheriff from Trinidad and sent to Fort Lyon for safe keeping. Within two weeks they had all escaped, but five of them with their leader were subsequently recaptured and turned over to the authorities at Pueblo. Shortly after being incarcerated in the Pueblo jail a squad of "soldiers" forcibly took the leader of the gang from the jail and hanged him. This drastic action effectually broke up the gang. THE KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. At the beginning of the war for the Union there was grave doubt upon which side the influence of Colorado would be thrown. In the Arkansas valley region fully one-half of the population sympathized with the South. Arms, ammunition and other supplies were gathered from various sections of this region and secretly passed on to the South for use in the Secessionist army. The Knights of the Golden Circle maintained an organization near Pueblo, where considerable activity was shown during the early part of the war. On July 4, 1862, an armed clash between the two factions in Pueblo was barely averted. The circumstances were as follows: A grand barbeque was being held, the settlers from the entire Pueblo region being in attendance. An arbor of boughs, nearly two hundred feet long, had been built on the bluff facing Santa Fe avenue. Under this arbor the tables, groaning with luxuries, had been spread for the feast. All went well until it was suggested that, as this was the Nation's birthday, the Stars and Stripes should be displayed. The Southern sympathizers objected to this and declared that if any flag was to be displayed it should be the Stars and Bars. The noted Jack Allen had been busy throughout the morning dispensing his famous "Taos lightning," until a great number of both factions were ready for trouble—in fact were anxious for it. Every man, who had a gun or could procure one stood ready to participate in the impending conflict This strained situation lasted for several hours, without any shots being fired, however. Finally saner council prevailed and the conflict was averted—but not until the Stars and Stripes had been raised. "ZAN" HICKLIN AND MACE'S HOLE. Lying some thirty miles southwest of Pueblo is the beautiful valley in which the town of Beulah is situated. The early trappers of this region designated it by the somewhat ferocious title of Mace's Hole, so-called because of its having once been the rendezvous of a desperado by the name of Mace. During the year 1860-61 Mace's Hole became famous as the headquarters of Col. John Heffiner, who was attempting to raise a Confederate regiment. His purpose was first to capture Fort Garland and then join the Conferedate forces in New Mexico. At one time there were some six hundred Confederates secreted in this locality, some of whom were fairly well equipped with uniforms and arms. "Zan" Hicklin, who, according to legend, was living on the Greenhorn when the coyotes and prairie dogs came to Colorado, succeeded, during the time Heffiner was carrying on his operations in Mace's Hole, in successfully "carrying water on both shoulders," by guiding Federal troops by day and driving beef cattle to the rebels in Mace's Hole by night. Hicklin continued to act in this dual capacity until the rebel regiment at Mace's Hole was dispersed by Federal troops. Upon one occasion he was arrested on the charge of being disloyal, but so clever was his defense that he was released upon his taking the oath to support the constitution. Hicklin was famous for his practical jokes. One evening, as he and his man were returning from the prairie, where they had been hunting, they noticed that two men had arrived at the cabin to stay over night. One was a man whom Hicklin did not like, so he planned a huge joke upon him. Before permitting themselves to be seen, Hicklin contrived to procure a white sheet from the cabin and with this wrapped the carcass of an antelope, which they had shot. With feigned secrecy they stole into the cabin with their mysterious burden, all the time being viewed by the two guests. That evening as supper was being prepared Hicklin was heard to remark in a loud voice, "Why did you shoot this tough old Arapahoe? Don't you know that they take more lard than they are worth? Why didn't you shoot one of those nice young Utes?" His guests were speechless with amazement when they beheld their host bring in from the kitchen and place before them a hind quarter of this, "tough old Arapahoe." In a way which their host could not understand, their appetites fled, neither being able to eat a bite, but sat silently by while Zan and his man gorged themselves with nice juicy antelope. The travelers remained until morning, but departed before breakfast, declaring that they wished "to get an early start and couldn't stay to eat." Upon another occasion two well-dressed young men were at the Hicklin ranch, expecting to stay over night. After they had retired for the night, Hicklin remarked in a voice easily audible to his guests, "I don't believe we had better kill them. These well-dressed fellows never have any money anyway." Hicklin chuckled with delight when a few minutes later the two strangers were seen to steal quietly out of the house, mount their horses and ride swiftly away. My quill is worn blunt and the oil in my lamp is running low; these are unmistakable omens that it is time to cease writing, but I am loath to close this volume without a special tribute to those bold and fearless pioneers, the makers of Pueblo. I might have dedicated this book to them, but that in itself would be but empty praise. The present generation has little conception of the hardships, the privations and the sacrifices of these pioneers who first entered this barren region for the purpose of establishing their homes. When I think upon these things—when the scenes of olden times flit by me one by one, I am constrained to ask, "Could men, mere men, achieve these things in the face of such difficulties and hardships?" Then I am reminded that, "there were giants in those days," and had it not been for those "giants" in brains and brawn, in heroism and courage, Pueblo could not have been. It is, therefore, in a spirit of reverence, almost akin to worship, that, as a representative of a younger generation, I record this tribute to those brave men and women who "planted the trees in this valley of delight." Especially do the names of our noble pioneer women deserve a place in the Western hall of fame, because the hardships and dangers of pioneer life fell most heavily upon them. Without their patient and true-hearted co-operation, the very frame work of our Western civilization would have fallen to the ground. All honor to the pioneers, who wrought out the beginnings of this great commonwealth, in sacrifice and blood; who made possible our presence in this great green valley, teeming with its abundant harvests, its happy homes and its loyal men and women. Additional Comments: Extracted from: Pathbreakers and Pioneers of the Pueblo Region Comprising A History of Pueblo from the Earliest Times By MILO LEE WHITTAKER THE FRANKLIN PRESS COMPANY 1917 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/co/pueblo/history/1917/pathbrea/chapter136nms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/cofiles/ File size: 21.7 Kb