122 Reminiscences of 



city of Denver, twelve miles from the mountains, first 

 drew attention toward Colorado as a mining region. 

 At that time there were no white residents in the Terri- 

 tory, excepting a colony of Mexicans, who were located 

 in San Luis Park, in the extreme southern part, en- 

 gaged in sheep raising, ctiltivating the soil to a limited 

 extent, and depending upon the trading settlement of 

 Santa F^ South for their supplies. With this excep- 

 tion the whole region was wild and unbroken, inhab- 

 ited in sections by tribes of Indians living in a primitive 

 state, who, drawing from the soil a very scanty propor- 

 tion of the food required by them, depended almost 

 entirel}^ upon the wild animals abounding in the region. 

 These tribes were constantly in strife with each other 

 and by their hostile manners prevented peaceful settle- 

 ments in the region, claiming it as their hereditary 

 hunting-ground . 



The discovery of gold, however, stimulated an emi- 

 gration of hardy pioneers from the eastern section of 

 Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri, who, going in bodies, 

 were sufficiently strong to defend themselves from any 

 attacks which the Indians could make. These emi- 

 grants followed up the different tributaries of the 

 Platte into the mountains, where they discovered a 

 large number of rich mineral veins. 



During the years of i860, 1861, and 1862 there was 

 a continuous stream of emigration to Colorado, but 

 during the years of 1863, 1864, and 1865 it received 

 a material check; this owing to a variety of causes, 

 some of which we will briefly review. First, the war 

 unhappily existing in the United States distracted pub- 

 lic attention to a great extent from the region; also 

 reports — having their foundation in reality — of the 



