The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-07-28
A COLORADO ROMANCE.


Names.
"Some queer kinks in nomenclature
are discoverable in this country of
ours" said Col William Stapleton, of
Trinidad, Col. Running right through
the town of Trinidad, in which l live,
is little river, which Familiarity and
sndiscriminately does its muddy, flow
ing business under three names. 1t is
called, variously. the Las Animas, the
Purgatoria and the Picket Wire. The
names came about in this way:
Santa Fe claims to be, and is, about
the same age as ST. Augustine, Fla.
Both towns are considerably over
three hundred years old, although
forget the exact date of their settle
ment.
Back in the middle of the sixteenth
century the Spaniards at Santa Fe
made up a military detachment to go
overland to ST Augustine The old
dons didn't know anything of the
country which lay between. All they
were posted on was the distance and
the general direction. as they knew
the latitude and longitude of both
seven hundred of them, steel-clad SOL
diers, camp followers, baggage train
and women, pushed in through the
Ration pass over the trail now followed
by the Santa Fe railroad, and at the
beginning of winter made a camp at
what is now the site OF Trinidad.
which sits fairly in the mouth of the
Ration canyon, looking out on the
plains.
There they were on the very thresh-
old of the Rockies. To the east OF
them, over which their course must
trend, lay an utter waste Of plains. APP
parently without limit. All that win
ter the Spaniards camped in the mouth
of the Ration canyon. With wine. wom-
an aad song, they put in hilarious
time, and probably had as much fun as
they ever had before or since. Winters
are not rigorous and spring comes early
in the vicinity of Trinidad.
with the first coming of the early
grass the adventures FURNISHED their
armor, fitted up their houses and got
ready to move. The camp followers,
the women and the extra baggage they
sent back to Santa Fe. When last seen
the party bound for St Augustine.
mum boring several hundreds, were
marching down the valley of the little
river by which they had canped.
THAT was the last ever heard Of
them. Not feather ever floated back
TO tell the story of their fate. With
the last flap of the last banner. and
the latest sun-glint on the rearmost
steel cap. they disappeared from the
earth. To this day no one is able 10
make suggestion even as TO what be-
came Of them. except that it is sup
posed they were butchered 10y the In
Gians.
Fifty years ago there was an cid
Comanche chief named Iron Shirt. be-
cause of the rusty old shirt OF chain
mail which he wore. but neither he nor
npy OF the other Comanches knew any
thing of the origin Of the garment nor
wher, il came from 1t had been in
the tribe further back than the snort
Comanche memory could reach. Many
have supposed that il was a relic Of
this Spanish expedition of three CEN
turtles ago. which had apparently
marched OFF the earth that far-awav
spring day in the mouth OF the Ration
canyon.
But now for the kink in nomen-
elature / was thinking Of The disap-
pearance of these Spanish soldiers
seemed so eerie and witchlilze that it
made a profound impression on the
superstitious people they had left be-
hind. They named the little riyer Rio