The Meeker herald., 1900-09-29

nsed Z fttie excitement among the
l. he Just enough to Ok 1t In Captain
rcy's memory but not enough to de-
T. his march.
gAe frontier always contains an intel
i gnt, reatless. loose footed, speculative
K ~ gro<esquely designated "sooners,"
pcause they are always ready to pull
~ and rush of to any new field Of
K 8Ance 10 get on the scene sooner"
IN others.
These frontier people all understand
y federal land laws and the process of
lpsting townsites on the public do
44in az we'll as lawyers. Eastern Kan
~ contributed several Of the earliest
arties to the Pixies Peak Immigration
md they located more "cities" than any
| (Spers. They were very good people
- always ready ITO get out and howl
kfnf Colorado" but they were not gold
fkers or gold miners; they were well
Sey were just sooners and boomers.
xAey looked up the sweetest spots along
4 yfoothills and stsked them for cities.
They staked the "gOod medicine
ters" (now Manitou) at the foot OF
Hke's Peak and all the beautiful scenes
atound the eastern base of the noun
t41p, including the Garden Of the Gods.
x3hey assembled the Peak with their
tyate historian, a Mrs. Holmes, the
led wife OF one Of the party, herself
Dooner, she wrote a beautiful and
wing description Of the sublime
Mene back to the Kansas papers.
But these people didn't find any gold.
They were not seriously looking for 1t.
Tkey were looking for speculation
: place to lay out cities. Gold was
merely incidental to their motives
~ incidentally they found q few
elsrs. They found what they were
making for, as people usually do In this
world. They were quick to know d
god thing when they saw It, and they
appreciated the priceless value OF the
sp4nery but were finally unable to profit
b3sit because they could not wait
hadn't the means. In the expressive
language Of the period, "they had hog,
esd more than they could hold" or, IL
otAer words, had "bit of more'n- they
could swaller."
Ihey had come from Lawrence In
IL spring Of 1858. There we're 80 In
| u party sand most OF them went home
poreer in purse but with an inestimable
Weaith of beautiful memories and great
|e4pactations. They thought 1t impos-
! sthle that . railroad could be built to
~ Racifs vifhosse striking at least one
(of tho. .s.se0nd Chlcssus'' thsy had
located.
Ah, well II they could have waited
opportunity is often only a question
Of ability to wait. Everything those
people located around Pixies Peak is
very valuable now. In view OF their
early and ardent appreciation, we Of
the present must entertain some kindly
regret that they lost 1t all.
The year 1858 was not to be Colorado's
golden year, but 1t was the year of
PREPARATION.
Another party had preceded this Kan
sas party BY few davs. This was
party OF genuine gold hunters, some of
whom had been in California and had
gained experience in placer mining.
Vim. Green Russell, one of the leaGers,
was from Dahlonega, Georgia, where
he had gained experience in gold min
ing. He appears to have been q man
of intelligence, f0rtitude and energy.
lie came to look for gold and he found
it t-though not 30 quickly as he had
perhaps expected, 1t Is gratifying to
record that he made a handsome for
tune within two years-and being
southerner, not q westerner, he didn't
lay out q single city. This will perhaps
distinguish his name In the pages of
history more than his being the first
genuine gold hunter in Colorado.
There were IL white men in Russell's
party and 80 Cherokee Indians. They
assembled In Missouri in the winter of
1878 and arrived In the Pixies Peak
region early in the spring, passing
through Lawrence, Kansas, from which
point they were shortly followed by
1.-The Lawrence party"
Kussell's party during the summer Of
1858 prospected ION the plains not in the
lnouptains) every stream from the
Arkansas to the region in front Of
Longs Peak. 80 miles or more north Of
Denver, without finding "pay dirt"
Thsy we're discouraged. Most Of
them-ail but six, 1t is recorded-quit,
and left the country.
Up to January 18th. 1859, there could
have been no pixies Peak gold excite
meut" because no gold had been dis
covered-hardly more than can be
washed from the mud of the kaw river |