Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1884-03-14
HE TERRIBLE IN IAOSAS.

TERRIBLE EIsP IAOSAS.
Memory OF Early Days Il colorado. !.
n The 1Gystsr5ouz Murders which Ca1sed
S g Reign OF Terror IN The 1<ining calapi
AZ Yeats Ago. ss eF8
d From the Now York Times. I'D
.lsts Red Rock Ridge, Col, Feb. 17...--As
Z sat, last night in q miners cabin,
about 4 half-mile below here, in the
gulclth cabin Of miner who has
trudged and climbed and prospected
these ancient hills for more than &c
years, and, like many others, has fairly
less Of this world goods than he began
with 1.-The conversation, quite natural
", drifted to the events Of sold times
in the mountains. Ny friend has . vast
fund Of entertaining incidents relating
to his section, and so, after the usual
pipe-flling and cheering cup, he in
4uired If / had ever heard Of the Espin-
osas. Being comparative tenderfoot,
Chat is, q new conner, } and quite unfa-
miliar with the stirring occurrences for
which Colorado was in its earlier years
noted, / had to confess my utter igno-
rance Of the subject he had preached.
As it proved to be an interesting and
tragic tale, I will attempt to reproduce
ut here; but I cannot hope to give it in
the uncouth yet forcible words OF the
bronzed old man who related it. 2 .2&.
b In 1868 the settlement of Colorado
was but years old. The gold excite
nent had brought into the territory,
however, a large, hardy, and peculiar
population. Denver (Auraria as it was
originally called from the discovery OF
auriferous deposits in that neighbor-
hood was but small cluster of shanties
and tents set up for temporary occupan-
cy. Aside from this there were few
towns, save in Southern Colorado,
where the Mexican element had drifted
and established insignificant settlements
which could boast of little besides a
name. Fresh discoveries of gold We're
being made, however, and Russell
dllch was fast developing what subse-
quently became an important mining
centre at Central, Black Hawk,
and adjacent points. A few hardy
pioneers had pushed out be-
yond and settled Breckenridge,
Fairplay, ORC City, while down by the
foothills, Like sentinels to the Businesses
above, we're Colorado City, once the
capital, before it was removed to Col
den; Canon City, Badito, and other
mere specks upon the then almost un-
broken region. These were all, at best,
mere handfuls of people, but all were
earnest, determined, hopeful men. The
search for gold had led them out from
the overcrowded east, and they came to
found future great state. IN 4
There was much excitement here
then, both from local and outside causes.
Rebellion in the southern states, and
che development of that spirit here had
caused feeling of great unrest and
trouble lurked everywhere. Confeder-
ate plans for acquiring this territory
were fortunately checked by the vigi-
liant Gilpin at Pigeon Ranch. Indians
threatened the borders likewise, and
their depredations finally led to Chiv-
ington's awful punishment of this enemy
at Sand Creek. Desperadoes scourged
the mining camps and larger
towns until vigilance COM
mittees took hold and admin
istered the justice that the law could
not. During these troublous days in
1868 an unknown danger came, So
lnysteriously did it work that for the
time it fairly paralyzed the mountain
communities. In March nine men had
been found dead along the trails near
Canon City. Each man had bullet in
his head. So nearly similar were the
death wounds that these mysterious as
.sassinations naturally gave rise to much
speculation And this was increased
when it was learned that three weeks
before two men had been similarly
killed in Santa Fe, and also a soldier in
tConejos. Thus as far as could be dis
covered a bloody trail had it's origin in
the City Of the Saints, in New Mexico,
and reached now as far as Canon City.
The news Of the terrible crimes, of
course, spread rapidly, but it could
scarcely keep up with their commission.
Along the mountain roads dead bodies
were found, each with the fatal bullet
in his skull No victim attacked ever
told the tale. The rife that sighted
him carried certain death with its
missile. Miners trudging their
weary way up the noun
tain trails, transfers with horses and
vehicles, met their fate alike. One
singular fact appeared to be this, that
all were killed in the wagon roads or on
the trails; none were ever found off the
beaten paths. Of course, the people
became appalled,. and hardly dared to
v&ssre beyond the reach Of immediate
cid. No one could tell from what con-
cealment the messenger Of death that
had never missed the mark might in its
turn reach him. Dread despair pre-
vailed the fear of an unknown foe pre-
vaded the hearts OF those pioneers who
dared face any danger openly In fact,
% reign Of terror prevailed. The assas-
.sinations became more frequent. Men
would leave their cabins, camps, or the
mountain cities for remote sections on
" to be found, perhaps, few days la
ter by more fortuna travellers dead, and
in their skulls the small hole through
which their lives went out.
Finally . company Of 30 volunteers
was raised in Park County. Their lead
.er was q man Of great bravery, and every
::1nlan II the party was ready to lay down
his life to solve the mystery. The first
work this company did was to punish a
hand Of notorious thieves that had been
engaged robbing miners cabins and
,1y,,e &c and " wa 10 yxra1 = nrv, t 13f1t