146 Reminiscences of 



would be driven into the hands of their enemies. They 

 could sustain themselves in their mountain regions 

 against other tribes, and though they annually de- 

 scended to the plains in the buffalo season, and had 

 frequent conflicts with Cheyennes and Arapahoes, they 

 could retreat to the foothills and hold them off. 

 They were as superior in the hills, as the Cheyennes 

 were on the plains. Frequent conflicts of this kind 

 were witnessed in the early days by the white settlers, 

 and one off the town of Denver was witnessed by the 

 people there the year I arrived in Colorado. 



In 1879, when I arrived at Leadville — ^which then 

 was the scene of a most remarkable excitement, arising 

 from the discovery of the rich carbonate silver ores 

 two years before — I was struck with the resemblance 

 of the locality to that where we found our strayed 

 horses fourteen years before, and upon mentioning it 

 to Governor Tabor, he confirmed my impression that 

 it was the identical tract, as he was a near resident at 

 the time and noted the incident of our finding our 

 horses on the burnt tract, and this my hunter-guide. 

 Utter, whom I found at Leadville, also affirmed. The 

 town was crowded beyond its capacity , and many were 

 occupying tents and temporary shelters ; not very com- 

 fortable, the latter, as it was midwinter, and at an 

 altitude of nearly ten thousand feet above sea-level. 

 Large sums were being taken from the mines quite 

 near the surface, and the struggle for wealth reminded 

 me of the old times at Oil Creek in 1865. I naturally 

 thought of my early visit there, when such untold 

 wealth lay beneath my feet, and when an acquired 

 title of one hundred and sixty acres of land from the 

 government would have had more than a value of 



