The Topeka state journal., 1905-12-31
By Franklin H. Wentworth.


N these days OF enormous enterprise It
has come to be the common assump-
ton that man no longer wrestles with
nature at short range While on every hand
one reads the published offers of the real
estate companies which promise to build
your house, improve your land. equip you
with stock and give you all the time you
desire 10 which to pay for them. it is DIFF
dcult to conceive OF men resoiutely re-
fuslng all such helps and going out al
most empty handed, on free land, to
deIve and build for themselves. Indeed
it Is the general belief that such a thing
may not be done today in America owing
TO the fact that there IS no longer any
free land In view OF the recent expo
Bures brought ont by the Department OF
the Interior showing the shameless and
defiant appropriation OF even the reserve
lands Of the government by the cattle
counuanies In which United States sena-
tors and others are interested. one IS not
TO be blamed for thinking that there is
no more land to be lawfully appropriated
in this country.
And yet in one OF the most beautiful
and fertile valleys OF Colorado home
steads may today be lawfully preempted,
and owing to the herolsm aud fortitude
and indomitable pluck Of a few devoted
men and women not only may the land
be had but something equally essential
may be had aiso-water. In the Land
OF Little Rain" water Is the prime requi-
site which the ingenuity of man must
supply. The wonderful climate IS there.
the marvellous days Of sunshine are there,
and so, given the third factor, water ma
ture lies Mt the mercy OF man. She eau
be harnessed and driven as docilely as q
Hgt4o, Crrre cannot foF1 For ono 10
like another. The sun shines always. and
you put the water on. yourself. There is
no staring up into the pitilesa sky while
the corn shrivels for moisture. when yon
can open a dyke gate with the turn OF
q crank. and there are no days OF agony
when it seems as II It would rain for
ever IN the land where It does not rain
at all.
If you we're to travel the old route OF
the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad
from the city OF Pueblo to Great Salt
Lake your train. which would be sure to
be an hour or two late would undoubted-
~ stop and back and switch at an unin-
feresting little town named Moutrose. II
your gaze were to be directed toward the
south It would be intercepted by a range
Of mountains 10 or IS miles away. Il is
these mountains that enclose a valley IN
WAA-A AAGA@ las 4Gsu a 4LH4~UullQt1E
worthy Of relating. Here for 10 years
little band Of men and women have been
conquering the desert and preparing it to
blossom with a devotion and singleaess
Of purpose worthy OF the Pilgrim Fathers.
It was in 1894 that several families IN
the city OF Denver found themselves
homeless and made up their minds to go
somewhere together and get their feet
upon an acre OF earth from which they
could not be driven by landlords. with
such resources as they could muster they
sent one OF their number to search for
suitable location out IN the state after
an examination Of various localities he
came back with the report that In Mont
rose county, on the western slope Of the
Rockies. near the Utah boundary, there
was beautiful valley 10 a district known
as Tabeguache Park. It was open from
east to west, so as to receive the long,
slauting rays OF the sun, morning and
evening. an Ideal place for truit-raising,
for which Colorado is famous. Here there
was virgin land-30, 900 acres of (which
civilization had been going past for more
than half q century. II was just as the
savage Utes had left It when they folded
their tepees and moved on toward their
hnal grave In the Pacific. completing the
chapter OF Anglo-saxon dominance.
10 must nave grieved the nearC OF the red
men to leave this valley OF their fathers;
this valley with a climate all its own.
gained from altitude. from the warm
winds which make their way from the
vast south western deserts through the
canons OF the Colorado. and from the pro
lection IL enjoys from the mountains on
every hand. The scenery Is tndescribadly
grand. Il presents not merely pictures.
but pictures that are painted and tinted
and wrought into fantastic shapes. To
the eveF-ehanging aspect which the monn-
tains. buttes and mesns gain from light
and shadow. from sun and cloud. new and
strange beauties are added by the reds,
pinks, yellows and grays OF soil and rock.
The dry. tonic air. the warm. friendly
soil. the wild majesty Of nature. the
newaess and viFginity OF II ail-these are
conditions to inspire men to their best ef-
forts and lit them 70 lofty ideals.
Clancing casually at the map OF this
region one gets the impression that the
locality. consists exclusively OF mountains.
The mountains are there, indeed. and It
% these which make the wealth OF the
country. They furnish the large and per
aanial streams, make the character Of the