Colorado as an agricultural state

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

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Author's Preface

In preparing this volume I have aimed to keep strictly "withm the border line of facts. Twelve years of careful observation, a personal acquaintance with nearly all the valleys described herein, an earnest desire to make public the agricultural resources of a State whose remarkable growth has no parallel in American history, — these have been impelling motives in the preparation of this truthful account of the valleys, plains, and parks of Colorado.

William E. Paboe.

Shady Side, Argyle Park, near Denver, Dec, 1883.

Introduction

" Far in the West there lies a desert land, where the mountains Lift, through perpetual snows, their lofty and luminous summits. * * *.* * * * * *

And to the South, from the Fontaine-qui-bouille and the Spanish Sierras, Fretted with sands and rocks, and swept by the wind of the desert, Numberless torrents, with ceaseless sound, descend to the ocean. Like the great chords of a harp, in loud and solemn vibrations. Spreading between the streams are wondrous, beautiful prairies, Billowy bays of grass are rolling in shadow and sunshine; Bright with the luxurious clusters of roses and purple amorphas. Over them wander the buffalo herds, and the elk, and the roebuck; Over them wander the wolves and herds of riderless horses; Fires that blast and blight, and winds that are weary with travel. Over them wander the scattered tribes of Ishmael's children, Staining the desert with blood, and above their terrible war-trail Circles and sails afloat, on pinions majestic, the Vulture, Like the implacable soul of a chieftain slaughtered in battle, By invisible stairs ascending and scaling the heavens. Here and there rise smokes from the caaps of these savage marauders; Here and there rise groves from the margins of swift-running rivers, And the grim, taciturn bear, the anchorite monk of the desert. Climbs down their dark ravines to dig for roots by the brookside; While over all is the sky, the clear and crystalline heaven, Like the protecting hand o2 God inverted above them."

So wrote Henry "W. Longfellow in years gone by. Then, no doubt, the picture was as truthful as the poem is still beautiful. The genius of the poet depicted in wild and weird verse the desert as it was. But now — now, '^ the clear and crystalline heaven" remains, but all else is (9)

10 COLORADO AS AN AGEICULTURAL STATE.

changed, as by the hand of magic. Between Long's Peak, sentinelling the northern border of Colorado, and the Spanish Peaks, marking its southern boundary, the changes have been wondrous. *^ Billowy bays of grass " are still to be seen, but the buffalo and the elk have disappeared; wolves in countless multitudes, and riderless horses in mighty droves no longer wander over untenanted prairies. The Indian, ^^ staining the desert with blood," has been driven further and further to the westward, until now he no longer hides in the foot-hills, or even in the rock palaces of the cliff dwellers in deep and dark mountain gorges far away in the Toltec ranges of the Sierras. A nation whose motto is civilization inhabits the land. The valleys that once were desolate are now alive with humanity, and each recurring summer sees them robed in verdure, fresh from the hand of Ceres. In the hills, where the bear, the lion, and the wolf once roamed, there are cities, towns, and innumerable mining camps, w^here thousands dig, and delve, and toil for gold that glitters, and silver that shines. In the valleys, where streams with limpid currents once ran unfettered to the plains on their journey to the sea, there are towns, where industries flourish, and hamlets, wherein center all the elements of social existence. The water, won by skill and enterprise from its accustomed channel, runs over fields and farms, and becomes, in the divine alchemy of Nature, as precious as were the words that dropped from the mouth of the princess in the fairy tale, changing, m the dropping, to priceless pearls. Seed-time and harvest, once suggested as a possibility, have become a certainty in Colorado. The system of soil-culture, old, almost, as the history of civilization, common in the ancient lands of Asia and Africa, where art has been brought to the aid of nature, and the economies of earth-culture advanced to the highest perfection, is here revived on soil older, perhaps, than the soil of Egypt. Mother Earth yields a bountiful return to

INTRODUCTION". 11

all who approach her with open hands. These she fills, indue season, out of her abundant store, and promises still greater abundance, when wider experience and sounder wisdom are brought to the aid of the soil-tiller, who is also the bread-winner and the world-feeder.

The first question that will be asked by those who think of settling in Colorado is this: *^Is Colorado a farming country ? " Supplementary to this comes the query, ^^Does it pay to farm in Colorado ?" I propose to consider these questions, and answer them from an experience of twelve years in the State, as well as to consider other points that present themselves to the minds of the dwellers by the rivers, lakes, and the sea, in the Eastern States, to whom agriculture has been a life-long pursuit, and who, having become weary of its routine in the East think of, and seek for, a new home in the broad and boundless West, with their eyes more especially turned toward Colorado.

As compared with Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, or Kansas, Colorado is not a farming country. The breadth of land suitable for cultivation is limited, and the conditions of the climate peculiar. As, in the days when the Boys in Blue met the Boys in Gray upon the battle-field, there was a ^' dead line," passing which meant danger and death, so in the agricultural field of Colorado, there is a *^ water line," to go beyond which means disappointment and destruction to the stalwart sons of the soil who seek to gain a livelihood from the bosom of Mother Earth. Inside the line, certain conditions bemg complied with, success is certain.

As a late writer upon the subject has tersely put it, " Agriculture in Colorado is an entirely different pursuit from what it is in the Eastern States, and the farmer who comes to the State and enters upon the cultivation of the soil in the style he has been accustomed to, will find that failure is more likely to result from his labors than success. He has so much to unlearn. It is better to abandon all notions and begin anew. Dependent upon irrigation for the growth of his crops, he must study the methods and meet the requirements of the climate. AVith a fixed purpose in his mind to overcome all the obstacles that will daily present themselves to him, it will not be long before the new order of things will be familiar to him. Once understanding the method, he may rely upon Nature for the rest. Bountiful harvests will crown his efforts, and excellent prices will cheer his heart and fill his pocket. Irrigation is dreaded, because it is nob understood; yet the records of ancient history are full of it, and to day, in India, China, Italy, Spain, France, and other countries, long and expensively-maintained canals are the reliance of millions, to whom a failure of the water would literally mean starvation."

Colorado, then, is not a farming country, in the sense that Kansas is. But farming can be done in Colorado, and money made at it. The danger of lin over-supply of production, so far as the cereals, fruits, and vegetables are concerned, is not among the possibilities of the future. Yearly over ten million dollars' worth of agricultural products are shipped into the State. The land that lies where water can overrun it and permeate it, is valuable land, and will at no far-distant day bring prices that would now seem wild and extravagant to name.

But those who come must not expect more from Colorado than she can give. No doubt, hundreds of those who enter its borders, return to the States disappointed in their expectations, and lay heavy blame upon those who have written about its agricultural resources, and invited them to come. Those who reach Colorado with certain ideas of society, soil, climate, and country, based upon what they have left behind them, are likely to be disappointed, as they would be were they to go to Alaska. Those who come expecting to find fenced farms and

IKTKODUCTIOK. 13

plowed lands with fruit-bearing trees thereon, and irrigating canals intersecting every other rod of snch lands, upon which they have only to file a ''preemption," or "homestead" claim, and then settle down and enjoy all the comforts of life, consequent upon an old social civilization, will have only themselves to blame for their disappointment. Such "soft spots" may be found, it is true; but they must be bought and paid for at a price a little higher, at least, than the Government asks for wild lands. Just as those who now purchase in the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania, or the Genesee Valley in New York, buy and pay for land that was once an unbroken forest, but from which hardy pioneers felled the trees, dragged the stumps, and braved peril from wild beasts, and from still wilder savages. It took one man many years to clear a farm in Indiana, and in Colorado the conditions of success yary only in peculiarity. One man alone cannot build an irrigating canal many miles in length, and so redeem broad prairie land from the curse of sterility. Seldom can ten men do it, save where the land lies close to the water's edge. It takes combined energy, skill, and capital to construct them. Once built, however, and the land cultivated, the harvest is sure for the farmer who sows his seed, and, without watching the clouds, provides his land with the moisture it needs during the season of crop-growing.

Agriculture in Colorado and the yalley lands being inseparable, they must betaken together in considering the amount of land available for cultivation, and locations where land can yet be obtained. Later, in this volume, I will describe these valleys in detail. In the present chapter the principal ones will be briefly mentioned, in order that the reader may haye a general idea of the State as a whole, before descending to particular localities.

Beginning, therefore, in the northern part of the State, the first yalley below the State line is the Cache-la-Poudre, one of the earliest settled and best farming valleys in the State. Here was located the Union Colony at Greeley, and the Agricultural Colony at Fort Collins. A number of large canals traverse a stretch of land about thirty-five miles long, having an average width of five miles. These are mainly on the north side of the stream. As this valley has had the benefit of new settlers for many years, homestead locations are very scarce. Parties having means, however, will find it easy to secure pleasant farms, either in the neighborhood of Greeley, Eaton, Wheatlands, or Fort Collins. About one- third of the wheat at present raised in the State comes from this valley.

Lying seventeen miles south is the Big Thompson Valley, noted for its beauty and the fertility of its soil; though, indeed, it may be said that this last feature is peculiar to all the valleys of Colorado. An occasional homestead may be secured here, but as a rule, all the available land has long been filed upon, occupied, and patented. The Little Thompson, a tributary stream, has a small valley with choice arable land on either side fully occupied by settlers.

The St. Vrain Valley is thickly settled. It is one of the oldest districts in the State, dating back to the time when the country was only inhabited by trappers. If a new comer desires a home among a community as prosperous as any in the State, he can find it here. It has been said that there are more fenced, and consequently properly improved farms here, than elsewhere. Probably fifty thousand acres are under fence; improvements are of a good, permanent character. On both sides of the stream, look where you will, you find evidence of an intention to stay and make homes as well as farms. It will be readily understood, from this fact, that Government lands are not to be looked for here. But improved farms can be had at prices running from fifteen dollars to

INTRODUCTION". 15

fifty dollars per acre. Owing to the fact that the supply of water from this stream is used to its utmost capacity, not many new farms, if indeed any, can be opened up, and these only under canals now in operation.

Boulder Valley is a famous wheat-growing section. The stream affords a fair supply of water, which at present is not all used for irrigating purposes. All the arable land, however, is held by private parties. About twenty thousand acres are under fence. Considerable hay is raised.

In Ralston, Bear, and Clear Creek Valleys, in the near vicinity of the City of Denver, there is but little vacant land. The supply of water, unless it may be from the last named stream, is used to its utmost limit, and the opportunities, therefore, are few, where vacant land invites the new comer to establish a home upon it.

The South Platte Valley, for fifty miles from where it debouches from the foot-hills, is occupied by farmers on the lands lying contiguous to the stream. Until lately the canals from it were small and suited, save in the neighborhood of the towns of Littleton, Brighton, Platteville and Evans, to the needs of individual farmers along its banks. But there is nov/ in course of construction, a canal whose proposed dimensions make it the largest enterprise of the kind in the State, which will bring many thousand acres of land under cultivation within ten miles of the largest city — Denver — in the State; and furnish homes for thousands of farmers. An area, of probably one hundred thousand acres can be put into cultivation, and the next few years will demonstrate the value of every foot of land under this canal, of which a fuller account will be given in the chapter devoted to the South Platte Valley.

On the Divide, as it is called, irrigation is not always required to raise crops. Here is a section of country eminently adapted to dairying. The altitude is from

16 COLOIIADO AS AX AGRICULTURAL STATE.

six thousand to seven thousand five hundred feet above the level of the sea. Timber abounds. Springs give clear, pure, cold water in abundance, while rain enough falls, in ordinary seasons, to insure crops of grain and potatoes. This belt of country in Central Colorado is not so well known as some other sections, save for its timber. It has been somewhat inaccessible, but a railroad crosses it on its western limit, and a second is now traversing it on its eastern line. It has no large streams. Its climate may be called peculiar. It is famous for the sharpest lightning known in the State. But it has advantages that may well attract the attention of new comers.

On the Fontaine-qui-Bouille but little unoccupied land can be found. The supply of water available for irrigation is not large ; j^robably ten thousand acres can be cultivated. There are a good many farms between Colorado Springs and Pueblo that lie idle, but should be in the hands of enterprising men. There is no doubt that lands can be purchased at reasonable figures and on easy terms, and it will not be time lost for intending settlers, as they journey southward, to look over these neglected places.

In the Arkansas Valley lie vast stretches of arable land, reaching from the foot-hills to the easternmost limit of the State. Not one twentieth part has as yet been put under cultivation. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad runs through nearly the entire belt, thus making Eastern and Western markets convenient of access. The soil is somewhat more sandy than the soil in the northern part of the State, and does not, therefore, hold the water as well, requiring more for the season's use. There are a number of streams tributary to the Arkansas, whose valleys are more or less suitable for irrigation. In fact, taking this stream and the tributaries, and calculating the irrigable area, upon the assumption that twelve cubic feet

INTEODUCTIOK. 17

of water per second will irrigate one square mile, or six hundred and forty acres, there is in this valley and its feeders at least half a million acres of land adapted to cultivation, the greatest portion of which lies open to settlement or purchase. In the early days of Colorado's history, the stream of emigration flowed up the valley of the South Platte, and for many years Northern Colorado received the benefit of settlement and Southern Colorado was overlooked. A milder climate, a sandier soil, a longer growing season, these are points in favor of this section of Colorado that may well invite the scrutiny of those who expect to settle in the State.

Lying "west of these tributaries of the Arkansas, and beyond the Sangre de Christo range of mountains, is San Luis Park, watered by the Eio Grande del Norte and its feeders, the Alamosa, Conejos, Trinchara, La Jara, Culebra, Costilla, and other streams. Here there is an immense body of land, nearly all susceptible of cultivation, and very little of it occupied. There are entire townships of vacant agricultural lands open to homestead or preemption, to lease or purchase from State, College and School authorities. Here is a section of country — of which I shall write more fully in a later chapter — fifty miles wide and two hundred long, in close proximity to mining regions where towns are rapidly springing up and whose inhabitants all require to be fed. A market that can never be overstocked here awaits the fortunate farmers who seek from the soil the abundant harvest that awaits those who sow the seed and who do not seek in vain. '' Heretofore," says a late writer, "the agricultural resources of San Luis Park have been overlooked or neglected, but its producing capacities are practically inexhaustible. The arable lands are capable of supporting an immense population." I feel confident that the day is not far distant when the San Luis Park will be as closely settled as is the St. Vrain Valley now, with farmers as forehanded,

18 COLORADO AS AIT AGTIICULTURAL STATE.

with farms as well improved, with homes as firmly established. The Denver and Eio Grande railway system has touched the heart of the Park ; moving southward, it traverses Conejos Valley ; and, westward, the heart of the great San Juan country. Hence transportation to this desirable section of Colorado is easy and rapid.

Beyond, the main range of mountains, and upon the western slope, there are points where areas of arable land, of varying size, are to be found. Especially in the section until lately known as the Indian Reservation, in Southwestern Colorado, there are magnificent belts of land suitable for cultivation, lately opened for settlement. Especially is this true of the Uncompahgre, Gunnison and Grand Valleys. On Bear, White, and Yampah rivers are localities yet to be occupied by thrifty farmers.

To the farmer who can reach Colorado with some capital, and is therefore in a position to select his home, there are abundant opportunities in Northern Colorado for so doing. The days of pioneering are over in the valleys of the Cache-la- Poudre, the St. Vrain and the Boulder. Improved farms, cultivated homes abound. The man who comes with money can easily find the man who is willing to sell his farm for money. To the farmer who comes with but little money, there are occasional opportunities in Northern Colorado, and abundant ones in the southern and western part of the State, to secure farms partly improved. Time, patience, and earnest labor are sure to bring about a state of affairs satisfactory to those engaged in a profession as honorable as it is ancient.

The valley lands of Colorado are as valuable and as exhaustless in treasure as are its hills. In each sleeps the princess awaiting the coming of the one whose touch shall waken her to life and activity. In the hills, the pick ; in the valleys, the plow. Whether in glittering gold or in shimmering, shining grain, what matters it, so that happiness waits upon her w^aking ?

Chapter II. Historical And Geographical

As early as 1530, Spanish adventurers in Mexico were interested in the accounts occasionally received from the north, of a land full of gold and precious stones. Their cupidity being naturally excited, led to various partial but unsatisfactory explorations, with a view to the establishment of the Catholic religion, and securing the untold wealth su^^posed to be hidden in what was termed the Buffalo country, or what is now known as Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado.

In the year 1540, Vasques Coronada, a Spanish adventurer, fitted out, under the direction of the Viceroy of the Spanish Crown at Sinaloa, in New Spain, an expedition whose passage along the base of the Eocky Mountains is the first upon record. He passed up the canons leading to the source of the Gila River, crossed the mountains, and reaching the Rio Grande del Norte, followed up this stream until he entered San Luis Park. Finding his way out of this magnificent valley through the pass called Sangre de Christo, he turned his steps northward and skirted the base of the mountains until he reached Long's Peak, in the northern part of the State.

Coronada sought for gold, but found it not. The country of the Seven Cities of Cibola, of which so much had been heard, was a disappointment to him wherever he went, inasmuch as he found no evidence of wealth, and only a few scattered settlements of Indians, where he supjDosed were populous cities. But the ruins he met with were remarkable, and to this day, the archaeologists (19)

are puzzled over the story they conceal. But Coronada made no settlement, though he traversed the base of the mountains, pierced the deep canons, and heard the wind whistle among the trees on the mountain tops. He sought for gold and found it not; yet probably passed over the richest deposits of gold and silver in the world. The wand of witch-hazel had lost its power, or, perchance, the hour had not yet struck when the veins of the heart of the Continent were to be opened, yielding such wonderful treasures to the world. Long years passed before anything more was known of the hidden land.

In the seventeenth century, various bold explorers visited the vast region of country lying north of the Eio Grand del Norte. Col. Wood in 1654, Capt. Bolt in 1670, and M. de la Salle in 1682. During this period the country was supposed to be under French rule, but in 1769 it was ceded to Spain, under whose control it remained thirty years, when it again passed into the hands of the French. Three years later, the United States, by purchase and by treaty, came into possession, and from the opening of the nineteenth century, the story of this vast region is part and parcel of American history.

Major Zebulon N. Pike's is the first expedition in date, having been fitted out under the direction of the War Department as early as 1805. His main object of search was the source of the Arkansas. On the 15th of November, of that year, he came in sight of what had before been called Mexican Mountain, now known as Pike's Peak; on the 25th he camped at its base. One or two efforts w€re made to ascend it, but failure ensued on account of the immense fields of snow upon its rugged sides. Returning to the plains, he crossed the Divide between the Arkansas and the South Platte, and traversed the country until he came to what was supposed to be the Red River; but it is the opinion of Fremont and others

HISTOEICAL A:N"D GEOGRAPHICAL. 21

that the stream he reached was the Grand, in the western part of Colorado.

In 1819, Coh Long's expedition set out from Pittsburgh, and, striking the mountains near Fort St. Vrain, on the stream of that name, he caught his first view of the peak named in his honor. He traversed the base of the mountains through the entire length of the territory, and it was during this expedition that Dr. James ascended the Mexican Mountain, or Grand Peak, first seen by Major Pike. Col. Long named it after the bold explorer who first scaled its rock-ribbed sides, but later it was found that Pike's name had been fastened to it by the settlers in a way that could not be shaken off.

Bonneville followed Long in 1832, and ten years later Col. Fremont's expedition was sent out. Two years later it returned, having passed up the South Platte, crossed the Big Thompson, Cache-la- Poudre and Crow creeks, thence along the base of the foot-hills to Fort Laramie (then a part of the American Fur Company), and so across the range to the Pacific Coast. After exploring north and south, he recrossed the range and made his way through what is now known as South Park, to the Arkansas River.

The printed results of these three expeditions gave to the American people but a faint conception of the magnificent heritage they had fallen heir to. Up to this time there were but few white settlers in the country. The Pawnee and the Cheyenne, the Ute and the Arapahoe roamed over the country and made war upon each other for the possession of the valuable hunting grounds, and the wings of the Eagle of Civilization were dipped, at their western tips, in the sluggish waters of the Missouri River. All beyond, east of the Rocky range, was given over to a few adventurous trappers in the employ of fur companies and to the inhospitable savage.

In 1857, a party of Cherokee Indians on their way to

California, discovered gold in the sands of Ealston creek, an affluent of the South Platte River, and from this date the history of Colorado may fairly commence. The news spread like wild-fire and thousands rushed to the new El Dorado. By the year 1859, Pike's Peak was the objective point of the multitude of gold seekers, and the territory soon became a bee-hive. Colorado City, Denver, Black Hawk, Golden, and Georgetown were founded, and a Convention was called to form a State Constitution and to apply for admission into the Union. Submitted to the people, the proposition was rejected by a vote of two thousand one hundred to six hundred and fifty. In 1861, Congress organized the Territory of Colorado with its present boundaries. The population at this time was about thirty thousand — one-sixth of whom were females. In 1863, a second Convention met in Denver, formed a Constitution and submitted it to the people. This was also rejected, but the following year another attempt was made, which succeeded. A State organization was effected, a Governor, Legislature, Judicial Officers, Senators, and a Eepresentative elected. The bill for admission as a State passed Congress with but little opposition, but President Johnson vetoed it. For ten years thereafter but little agitation of the State question occurred ; but in 1875, an enabling act was again brought before Congress, and the people were called upon to choose members of a convention which was to draft a Constitution to be submitted to the people for adoption. This Convention met in December, 1875, closed its labors in March, 1876, having perfected a Constitution which was submitted to and adopted by the people, and the Centennial Year witnessed the entrance into the family of the Union, of Colorado, the Centennial State.

The geographical position of Colorado can be briefly stated. It comprises all that j)ortion of the National domain within the thirty-seventh and forty-first parallels

HISTORICAL Al^D GEOGRAPHICAL. 23

of north latitude, and the one hundred and second and one hundred and ninth meridian of west longitude. It is nearly square, and contains one hundred and six thousand four hundred and seyenty-five square miles, or nearly sixtyeight millions of acres. Two- thirds of this yast region is one continuous system of mountain ranges, within whose gigantic arms lie enfolded valleys of unrivalled beauty and parks of magnificent extent. Here is to be found the most elevated region on the North American Continent. Mount Lincoln — like Saul of old among his brethren — towers three thousand feet above a score of fellow peaks lying north and south of its eternal snowcapped summit, and yet whose lowest altitude is twelve thousand feet above the level of the sea. From its summit can be seen twenty-five peaks over fourteen thousand feet high, and two hundred over twelve thousand, with lesser peaks, ranging from eight to ten thousand, almost innumerable. Professor Hayden fixed the position of every leading peak within thirty thousand square miles, in his survey, completed in 1873, and he characterized the ground as *^one of the most interesting areas on the Continent, both in a geological and geographical point of view, forming, as it does, the center of the greatest elevation in the Rocky Mountain chain." In Central Colorado this chain proper is about one hundred and twenty miles broad, made up of three lofty parallel ranges, flanked on the western slope by great plateaus and groups of peaks. The front, or Colorado range, rises abruptly from the plains and can be seen in one grand panorama one hundred and forty miles long. Between these ranges lie the parks of Colorado, one of the most magnificent as well as most interesting features within the borders of the State. These parks are numerous, but there are four worthy of distinct mention. IS^rth Park, thirty miles in diameter, near the northern boundary, out of which flows the North Platte river, whose waters.