The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1892-04-09

puDllSneU y II
the west side of the continental divide
in Colorado was called the Lake City
Silver World, and although the Office
OF publication was eighty-five miles
distant from the nearest post Office,
and it was printed in log cabin with
dirt floor and mud roof, for several
years it was power in southwest Col
orado and left its indelible imprint up
on the entire social fabric of the San
Juan country.
To-day it's bones lie upon the big
newspaper dump of that great mining
camp, but the days when it's weekly
edition appeared are still bright in
the memories of the pioneers of rs,
when the rugged slopes and crests of
the Sierras San Juan and San Miguel
were wrested from the Utes. The men
who started it are scattered far and
wide. Some of them lie in unmarked
graves; other have achieved fame; none
of them are forgotten.
The Silver World was natural
product of a mining camp that had
millions in sight at the grass roots. !"
Its founders and editors were prospec-
tive millionaires and it's patrons were
silver kings. It's advent on June Is,
1875, at Lake City was celebrated by
the firing ofanvils and the explosion
OF vast quantity of giant powder.
The day was also marked by thriv-
ing business at each of the three sa-
looms in the future queen city of Bo-
nanza Land. Lake City was Eldorado
and the Silver World was it's prophet.
In 1874 Hindsdale county was organ
lied and little park at the junction
of the lake fork of the Gunnison and
Henson creek was preempted by a
town company and laid off as Lake
City. 1t was made the county seat.
The only means of access to the town
was burro trail over the Saguache
range from San Luis valley, distance
OF one hundred and twenty miles. An
old Ute trail across the range from
Antelope park gave access by foot to
Del Norte, eighty five miles southeast.
The founders of Lake City cared
nothing for these inconveniences, for
We're not the mountains around Lake
City glistening with argentiferous
wealth? And did not the Gunnison
furnish enough water power to turn all
the wheels in Colorado? 1t was to be
the future Virginia City, the coming
Golconda; the Gunnison was the Occi-
dental Pacto lus, whose sands were
golden grains and whose banks were
riprapped with silver nuggets. Before
the snow fell three log cabins had
been erected by the company. One of
them was hotel, the second was the
courthouse, while the third was the
newspaper Office. Over five hundred
mining claims had been located and a
site for sawmill established. Then
the town builders went down to Del
Norte, and Saguache in the valley to
spend the five months of winter that
must intervene before active work
could be, resumed.
BY the first of May. 1875, over two
hundred miners and prospectors had
crossed the range to the Lake Fork,
and as many more were making a
wagon trail into Lake City. The sa-
loon had been started, and so had the
county seat for the whisky and the
UA SAtiNSo VI were carried
across the range on the backs of Mexi-
can jackasses. It was not until June
l that two wagons, each drawn by
four stout little Mexican mules, left
Canyon City laden with Washington
hand press, imposing stones, cases and
type for Lake City, distant two hun
dred and fifty miles across the snowy
ranges of mountains They were
twelve days in making the trip. The
plant arrived in Lake City on Sunday,
and over five hundred miners and pros
pectors helped unload the press and
set it up. The three saloonkeepers
We'd with each other in furnishing re-
freshments during the arduous task,
and in the evening the hotel proprietor
set out free lunch and gave dance.
1t was a red dieter day for Lake City,
and every body subscribed for the Sill
yer World.