Durango semi-weekly herald., 1907-08-29
When we read the facts of bIstor

numDer engaged, the slaughter, the
brilliant charges, etc.
II remains for a man like DR.. Thorn
TO show us in way that we have
failed to discover for ourselves, the
Significance OF some of the small bat
ties of the frontier. And especially
those that we're instrumental in CIV
ing us the state in which we live.
DR.. Thomas has been identified with
the state OF Colorado for forty-one
years and probably no man in the
state knows so much OF its history or
can more clearly tell Its story.
A few of the points he brought out
will. | am sure. interest the people
of Durango, generally
History is narrative of war. Gen
est but the best definition OF war ever
made when he says, War is hell"
But ont of this hell of war comes
hll our freedom, all our progress, all
our glory.
Greasy wrote of fifteen decisive bat
ties of the world beginning with Mar
athon and ending with Waterloo.
In the history of the United States
during the revolution the battle OF
Saratoga gave us the help Of France
| and Yorktown gave us our independ-
ence.
During the Civil war the battle o,
| Gettysburg was not only decisive but
| one of the most brilliant engagements
| the world has ever seen. In Picketts
| charge II 900 men fell and with them
| fell the hopes of the Confederacy. As
an exhibition of courage this was the
greatest charge in history.
During the war northern lady in
a London drawing room was asked
| ''Why hasn't the north conquered long
ago?' and she replied, because the
southerners are Americans"
| On the frontier, however, was fought
the four obscure battles that historians
haven't yet given their proper signif
| canoe. Not yet do we see clearli
the bravery of the frontiersman
| George Rogers Clark and his 40 meI
after wading for four days in the icy
water they made their way to Vim
cennes and routed Hamilton, the hail
merchant, the bloody man who bough
! 1000 scalps of men, women and chill
dren from the red men. Clark thus
gained for us the country west of th'
Alleghenys to the Mississippi
In the war of 1912 tn frontiersman
| William Henry Harrison, afterwart
president, in the battle of the Thames
won back the territory that Hull haC
surrendered and again saved the ives
to the nation.
In the Mexican war, Col. Donovan
and Maj. .Gilpin came into our Sal
Juan country. on Christmas day, 1916
near El Paso was fought the battle o
Sacramento Pass, 1,065 of the brave
cowboys met the Mexicans under Or
tez 4,200 strong, and again the hard,
frontiersmen overcame the enemy
When Ortez was asked to explain how
it happened, he, said: "If they hat
fought like men we could have whip
ped them but they fought like devils
1t is told by boy in that fight tina
he had been told to hold the horses
AS Col. Donovan came along he said
Col, must hold these horses?" ThC
colonel answered. "Is that what yol
were told to do?" "Yes, but colonel
I can hold horses in Missouri" "Al
right" said the colonel, then fight!
After this battle came what Prof
Thomas says is the greatset march il
history; that of 1000 men 1000 mile.
through an enemys country.
The hearts of all who call Colorado
home, warmed to the next account o.
brave deeds.
In '61 Colorado. then territory
sent 5000 men to the war The larg
est proportion of any state in tn,
north. During the war was fought
the obscure battle of Apache pass
where our brave Coloradoans were
outnumbered two to one. Colone
Gilpin there met Sibley and beat him
Sibley afterward said, Had it no.
been for the devils from Pixies peak
Fort Union would have been ours.
And be ii remembered that Fort Union
was the depot of supplies for all the
| gold from the placers of Colorado and
Montana. Brigham Young was in sym
pathy with the south and again the
bravery Of a few men on the frontier
turned the tide of war
History does not dwell on these
small battles. not as many men were
| killed in all rs fell at Gettysburg.
Historians are only now beginning
to see their true place in history.
| When Clark was old, poor and in
distress Virginia presented him with
| a sword: he ran the point into the
| grpunl and brplxp IL off thrnuit,e, un a