Cañon City record., 1903-10-29
PIONEER DAYS IN
THE FAR WEST
RecolIectlons Of The Frontier Dur
ing The Civil War Period.

ixssj,s q Tbs .Stsess'' Asl rhs Sesagwy
q tn lslisas Perty Year age
Those Of u. that In the intervals OF
idleness In our school days read
Richardson's Beyond The Mississippi"
were thrilled with admiration by the
valor Of those adventurous souls that
crossed the Father of Waters" in
those romantic days which began with
the discovery If gold in California in
I84g and ended with the completion OF
the Onion Pacific railroad. twenty
years later 1t made but little dif-
ference to US whether their migration
was for the purpose Of finding riches in
the piacers OF the Sacramento. enlist
ing under the banner OF "0sawatiomie
Brown" In the free soil warfare in
Kansas. or was prompted by that love
OF adventure which has at all times
actuated the Angio-Saxon race TO 20
out into the unknown. like a modern
Ulysses, to rid the land Of giants.
To our minds they were heroes sll !;
they were the knights-errant OF civil
fsation, and. ~ such. they are entitled
to our gratitude and our admiration.
The heritage OF their conqoests has
been transmitted to humanity. enabling
their posterity and their kin beyond
the seas to enjoy one Of the fairest
portions of the earths surface with
- ~
Although rapidly disappearing from
the stage of human action men are yet
living that were participants In the
winning Of Colorado, and the recital Of
their experiences on the border during
that dramatic epoch cannot fail TO en-
list our interest. for 1t IL contribution
10 the chronicles Of the time which
the muse OF history has too long
neglected Canon City 10 REX in men
possessing r-minircence of the olden
days; pioneers who followed in the
wake Of pike and Fremont and 6unni-
con. Men that crossed the plains whom
the bu~alo was to be found on a
/. thousand thills and the Indian, like
Robinson Crusoe, Was monarch of all
he surveyed. Gov. Rudd is by popular
consent regarded ns one of the Nestors
OF Colorado. and no history of the Ar
kansas valley would be complete which
eliminated him from its pages. There
are others. however. among our citizens
who preceded him 10 Colorado. among
them being Dan Mehsn. who came
here in the sp ing Of 1859, one year
previous to the advent of Gov. Ru'id.
Mr.. Nehsn, who lives with his son on
Smelter hill, South Canon, was born
II Ireland In 1880. but left the Emerald
isie for America when nine'een years
Of age on account Of the famine two
Year, before. In the course OF . con-
veruatfon with the writer . few days
ago Mr.. Mehan said; "The industrial
condition Of Affairs in the old country
for several years following the anime
of Js47 was so bad that l decided tn 60
to America and make fortune. which
was believed IN Ireland to be easily &C.
complished on this side OF the Atlantic.
In due time arrived in Portland,
Maine, and made my home in that
state Z r several years, hut there WAS .
large emigration to California from
New England on account of the dis
covery Of gold At Suffers mill and
made up my mind to join the Argonauts
whose motto was, pixies Peak or
Bust"
The train came out with from the
Missouri river consisted of twenty
wagons and we arrived at what 10 now
the city Of Denver on the 18th o; June
1855, :After n trip without special Incl
dent. Denver was q struggling village
at that time, containing one two story
frame house and the cabins of several
hunters. There was some mining 90
ing on at that time. but IL was unim-
portant and It wss pretty hard to make
. living, at least money was not TO be
piucked from the trees. nor gold mug
gets panned out Of the sand. Like the
rest Of the "tenderfeet" selected q
partner and with very primitive out
ft and q small supply Of grub We
started out in the mountains after
dust" but wandered about for years
without finding any great amount Of
IL.
The Indians were source Of much
solicitude on our part, although they
did not give US any very serious
trouble. We were in constant fear OF
them and for year, we slept with our
ri,es under our heads and our revolvers
within convenient reach. A. an Irish
man IL was impossible 70 fAmiliarise
--~ll .rlfh Asaa rr,ns In Aha old x,<,s,s n 4.,.