The Holbrook news., 1912-05-17
HELD HILL FIVE WEEKS
MEMoRIAL CONTEMPORARIES
 BRAVE ACT OF PIONEER.
Early Colorado Settler, With He Fam Fly, Held War Party of Indians at Bay on Spot Now Known as
 HSImpson's Rest"

Prominent among the rocky, mesa like hills that surround Denver, is a rugged, gray point, within the out skirts of the town, known as "Simp- sons Rest" Recently there was erect ed on this hill a monument commemo- rating the brave fight put up at this spot by John Simpson, one of the ear Hest settlers of Colorado, against g war party of Utes and Cheyennes in 1855. The Indian fighter and his wife are buried on top of the hill.
 The Utes and Cheyennes made the foothills and the plains adjoining the Rockies their hunting ground, but they rarely gave trouble to settlers. Consequently, one May morning in 1855, when Simpsons children, Bob and Nora, aged 15 and 13, were mak- ing their way to a small stream near their home, they were surprised to see large party of Indians riding toward them at terrific pace, shaking their lances and uttering blood-thirsty cries. At the same time they heard a cry from the direction of the cabin, and saw their father running toward them with his rife in his hand.
 Simpson had just returned from an expedition. He had heard that the Cheyennes and Utes had gone on the warpath, and he had hastened home just in time to rescue his family. See Ing the trapper, the Indians hesitated, for Simpsons fame as a shot had spread throughout the frontier, and the redskins knew that several among them would meet death if they per sisted in their attempt to capture the children.
 Two burros were packed with provi- sions, a keg of water and all the ann intuition the trapper possessed. Driv. ing the burros ahead of them the members of the little family set out from the house. Simpson covered the Indians with his rifle when they ap- preached too near, and the family was unmolested. The hill which appealed to the trapper as a good place for de- fense was accessible only by a single narrow. rocky path, up which one must climb today in reaching the sum- init of Simpsons Rest" The sum- init of the hill is fat, about half an dCA0 III OAlCAS dA4 6uA4O0A0O0 " - high rocky wall. It would be impos- sible to storm such a natural fortress except by over-powering the defenders at the narrow defile which served aS an entrance.
 The Indians saw that 1t was hope less to attempt to storm the natural fortress, so they surrounded the hill and began a siege in the endeavor to "starve out" the defenders. The siege has no parallel in the history of the west For i've weeks the plucky pio- neer and his family held their fortresH. They killed their burrors when pro visions ran low. Fortunately, there had been heavy rains, and depressions in the rocks at the top of the hill were filled with water, giving an ann pie supply At the end of the fifth week, when hope was nearly aban- doned, the Indians suddenly brought in their ponies and rode away with shrill cries. A troop of cavalry from Fort Lyon, 15o miles distant, which had been sent out to render aid to any set tiers who might have escaped the ma rauding Indians, soon came in view. and Simpson and his family were res cued-