Litchfield enquirer., 1873-02-20
From Blackwood's Magazine.l THE LOST SECRET OF THE
 CoCoS GROUP.
INTRODUCTORY

Away across the Atlantic-past the busy eastern states-past the great lakes and fertile plains of Indiana and Ohio-past the great rivers, the Mississippi and Mis- souri-past the boundless prairies of Kan sas and Nebraska,-the giant chain of the Rocky Mountains stretches before us. Stupendous 'snow-capped" peaks that human foot has never defled-deep val leys and gorges as yet explored-whole districts larger than many European kingdom, where, save some wretched cap tive or solitary trapper, no white mans face has ever yet been seen-where but lately the Red man, savage though he IS, maintained his unquestiOned sovereignty, and lived as his fathers had done before him, as yet undegraded from his nomad freedom, and his worst qualities brought out by his first contact with civilization in the enticing guise of whisky, smallpox, and rihe-bullets. Had his native noun tains possessed no further attraction than was to be found in magnificent scenery and unrivaled climate, he might have re- mained in undisturbed enjoyment of his woods and fountains for ages, to come, or at all events till the hundreds of thOus- ands of square miles of rich farming land still unoccupied, and extending through the central states, had been brought un- der the plough but the discovery of gold in California, the settlement of Utah by the Mormons, the consequent construc- tion of the Union Pacific Railway, and finally, the discovery of the enormous mineral resources of Colorado, Utah, and New Mexco, have put an end to his em- pire. The Cockney tourist he could af- ford to despise, and possibly eat-the Western trapper he was accustomed to, and scalped, or was shot by, as chance ordained, quite in the natural course of events. He and his ancestors, the Utes of old, had been at war with their neigh bors the Arapahoes of the plains ever since the nation had a history. They rather liked it, and there was every reason to hope that they might continue"at war for ages to come-till one unhappy day some wandering hunters found yellow dirt" in little branch of the Platte River. Following the river up to it's source they found other great beds of ore, and towns sprang up, and works were erected, and pits sunk; and after few one-sided bat ties on the one hand, and equally one- sided butcheries on the other, the Indians "moved on" and now are only occasion ally seen where but few years ago they roamed the undisputed masters. But the process of "moving on" once commenced cannot be stayed. Ere many years have passed this hitherto terra incognita will be brought close to us by the agency of railroads and telegraphs. Already, when I write, the iron horse has reached the foot of the snowy range.' Mining camps have risen to the dignity of clowns, and new camps are each season being formed 1; whilst singly or in parties, prospectors are busiiy engaged in exploring new districts, and registering their ''claims" to any of the precious metal-bearing lodes they may discover. These men, gathered from every nationality under the sun, possess ing the same utter disregard of conse- quences and reckless love of freedom and of adventure, which helped the founders of Rome to ''make a success" form al- most clan by themselves-a clan bound together by community of feeling and taste many members stained by crime most, characterized by the same rough virtues all possessing an individuality g only met with Con the frontier"-the border-land between civilization and na- ture.
 Fate, chance, or whatever you will, has thrown the writer of these lines into com panionship, and often friendship. with many of this clan. By the blazing camp fire on the distant shores of Nicaragua. or in the lonely glens of the Rocky Noun tains, he has listened to their tales of pri- vation and adventure. None know better than himself how futile the attempt must be to depict scenes that can never be de picted, or to give an idea of the wild, strenuous language in which a tale is told
 by an actor, when unconsciously he has nature Cat her grandest" to form back. ground for the picture his imperfect words would paint. . s-s -5e- .ss: ..ls Those of my readers who some years back were fortunate enough to see Bier. stadt's s'StOrm in the Rocky. Mountains will remember the lake-or rathsr lakes, for there are two of them-which form SC prominent feature in the middle dis tanee." They are called the Chicago lakes, and for certain wild grandeur oi surrounding scenery, are perhaps unrival ed in the world H' s-st
 On the northwestern shore of the up per of these lakes is narrow bay or inlet
 almost entirely shut in by vast s'dykes" o1
 rock. half hidden by thick growth ol
 stately but storm-worn pines, which find
 root-hold in the interstices of the crags
 and grow thickly above on the shoulder o
 the gulch. Enclosed in this natural am
 phitheatre, and sloping slightly upward,
 from the lake shore, is small open space
 covered with thick and yelvety turf. Her,
 during the fall of '65, on the evening O
 which write. were camped party of ex piorers. seven in nunlber-feur beins
 white men. whilst the remainder were In
 dians, of the Ute tribe, who had been en
 gagged as guides and hunters to the expe dition. Of the white men two yer,