The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1920-09-23

controversy occurred on April 21,
1879, when the United States supreme
court, in spite of the evidence that
Morley and his Santa Fe party were
on the ground first, rendered a deci-
sion giving the Rio Grande the prior
right through the canon, but not the
exclusive right. The Rio Grande was
at last victorious, but the Royal
Gorge was still in the hands of the
Santa Fe forces who began increasing
their armies and enlarging the, forts
which had been built there to hold
the canon at all costs. They imported
from Dodge City. Kan, the cowboy
capital of the country" the redoubt-
able Bat Masterson, former marshal
of that town; man who had long
string of notches on his guns, acquired
in the performance of his duty, and
made him chief of their forces.
Some time before this the D &
r. G. had run short of funds, and as
the only means of effecting a compro-
misc in the railroad war, President
William ]. Palmer of the d. & r. G.,
leased to the Santa Fe all of the Rio
Grande lines in Colorado, so that the
Santa Ee held not only the Royal
Gorge, but also the road itself under
the terms of the lease. After the su-
preme court decision the Rio Grande
officers sought to have the lease can
celed. A decision by Judge Bowen in
the court at Alamosa returned the
road to its original owners and di-
rected the sheriffs in the various coun-
ties to take possession of the Rio
Grande property.
Immediately Gen. Palmer set
about the carrying out of Judge Bow
ems order before it could be re-
versed by q higher court. On she
morning Of June IL, 1879, sheriffs
posse marched upon the station al
East Denver and captured H.. At
West Denver the station was .odnd
locked, but the door was forced and
a D. & R. G. operator was IL tailed
in the office.
Meanwhile the Santa Fe people
were preparing to resist these meas
ures. They concentrated their forces
at Pueblo, an important poins wLsch
they determined to hold. 3al Master
son, and imported gunfghter, took
possession of a stone roundhouse in
that city ans all Rio Grande men
steered clear of it. Frantic appeals
were senI 10 Gov Pitkin by the Santa
Ee to call out state troops, but the
governor said he could not do SO un-
less there s-as some demonstrate of
unlawful force and the sheritfa we're
unable TO handle the sitestion.
1.-The h,5ht was taken up by en-
2ioycs 6f both roads and conflicts
were frequent. Santa F. employees
Ss:e pulled from heir cabs and beat
en- into a gate of obedience to Rio
Grande Officers. They retaliated with
similar treatment of Rio Grande en-
ployes whenever possible. Trains
run by the no Grsnde out of Denver
carried armed men, and it is said that
every train stopped at Colorado
Springs, then Rio Grapde headquar-
ters, for the purpose of taking OF ad-
ditional arn,ar.Slt BY this time the
men and it needed only a single
spark to Sc; off statewide confagra-
ton.
'' AT Pueblo, the Santa Fe forces.
headed by Bat Masterso-, held abos-
lutte control from behind the stone
walls of the round house. Some Of the
Rio Grande men conceived the idea
of stealing cannon from the militia
with whicc 20 batter down the round
house ana csi,tdre Nastefson's forces.
but they found that the cannon was
already in possession of the Santa Fe
forces in the rolndhouse. The
round-house was not caI.ettfed until
force of 200 Rio Grande nsa, Jed by
Ex-Gov Hunt, appeared from me
south, where he had captured all the
small stations along the way, and
even then it did not surrender until
a number of men were wounded in
the fighting that followed. Next
Gov. Hunt cleared the Arkansas val.
ley to the and of the track at Canon
City, and when he had finished there
the D. & R. G. was in the hands of
the original owners.
but the Rio Grande triumph was
short lived. Immediately afterwards.
Judge Bowne's decision was over
ruled by Judge Hallet Judge Bowen
replied with an order placing the road
in the hands Of receiver. Again the
Santa Fe went TO the Federal court
Meanwhile there were rumors of more
hioting and bloodshed at Pueblo and
IN the Royal Gorge where the oppos-
ing forces were still holding their
forts and preventing each other from
doing any work. More litigation. or
ders. wfits, decisions and injunctions
followed. Finally Jay Gould. who had
iried number OF times to settle the
war, secured a controlling interest in