Choose one of the following: MOLLIE BROWN , CHIEF OURAY
, BABY DOE
OR MOUNTAIN MEN
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Mollie Brown came to Leadville, Colorado in 1883,
where she met Jimmy J. Brown (J.J.), who struck it rich in the Little Johnny
Mine. The Little Johnny did not produce silver as expected but was rich
in gold. With their new found wealth, Mollie persuaded JJ to move to Denver
and purchase a fine mansion. The House of Lions as it became known (4 stone
lions guarded the entrance) still stands today. Mollie was determined to
crash the sacred 36 of Denver society. She spent most of her adult life trying
to be accepted by them. Denver's elite only laughed at her pretensions and
generally ignored her. Mollie swore that Denver society (sacred 36) would
accept her. She left JJ, went to New York and later Europe, where she hobnobbed
with royalty. Along with several other socialites, Mollie booked passage
back to New York on the maiden voyage of the Titanic. Around midnight on
April 14, 1912 the Titanic hit an iceberg. Women and children were rushed
to the lifeboats, and 1500 men went down with the ship. Mollie took charge
of her lifeboat and brought the freezing, terrified passengers to rescue
the next day. Upon reaching New York, reporters asked, "Mrs. Brown, how did
it happen that you didn't sink?" She replied, "Hell, I'm unsinkable!"
High above the valley floor stands the flat tableland. The Spaniards called this tableland Mesa Verde. The Indians of Mesa Verde were farming people with a complex civilization and were the first to use the Kiva (ceremonial chamber). A Kiva is a circular structure with the only door being a small opening in the roof, which serves as a smoke hole. The Sipapu (small hole in the ground) was a symbolic entrance to the underworld or Mother Earth. The Kiva is still used for religious purposed by the Pueblo Indians today. Around the 13th century, the Indians of the Mesa disappeared. Experts cannot agree on why the prehistoric Indians left the Mesa. There were 10 great Indian Nations that roamed the mountains and plains of Colorado: Apache, Arapaho, Navajo, Ute, Kiowa, Pawnee, Cheyenne, Comanche, Sioux, and Cherokee.
Ouray the arrow was born in 1833, his father was an Uncomprahgre Ute and his mother a Jicarilla Apache. However, Ouray was raised by a Spanish family in Taos and learned both Spanish and English. At the age of 17, Ouray came into his inheritance, several ponies and the leadership of the Uncomprahgre Utes. Ouray's upbringing made him an invaluable negotiator between the Utes and the Great White Father in Washington. However, one Chief could not represent the entire Ute Nation.
Chief Ouray was instrumental in keeping his Uncomprahgre Utes quiet. Lesser Chiefs struck terror in the hearts of miners and their families. After several broken treaties, OURAY wondered, "Is not the United States government strong enough to keep its treaties?" Strong enough not to, both mountain and plain's Indians soon found out. In 1881, the entire Ute Nation was soon forced to move to Utah. Chief OURAY died the year before the move and stayed in the shining mountains as he said he would. The Utes have a legend: The land is the body, the people are the spirit. When the land and people are cut apart, this is DEATH!
The Tabor's of Leadville, Colorado is an interesting tale. The cast of characters includes Augusta Tabor, H.A.W. Tabor and Baby Doe. Augusta was the loyal devoted wife who went west with her husband to find gold in the Rockies. Theirs was the first wagon through to Idaho Springs, Colorado and she the first woman. By 1878 Horace Tabor gave up his dream of finding gold and became a prosperous storekeeper and Mayor of Leadville. Horace grub staked two miners giving them $54 in provisions for a third interest in any strikes. The miners discovered the Little Pittsburgh mine and Horace bought them out six months later. The mine netted Tabor half a million dollars. The Little Pittsburgh, Chrysolite, Matchless and many other mines poured untold riches on the Tabors. Horace was generous with his new found wealth and built the Tabor Block and Tabor Opera House. Augusta was left out of Tabor's social life. The $100,000 a month income and her fine mansion did not bring Augusta any happiness.
Enter 17 year old Elizabeth Doe married to Harvey Doe, who came west to strike it rich. Elizabeth was so pretty that the miners called her Baby Doe. The Doe household was not a happy one, Harvey and Baby Doe soon separated. Baby Doe had heard the legend of Tabor of Leadville. Baby Doe wanted to see this great man for herself. She saw a tall well dressed man with piercing black eyes and a flaring mustache, who despite his 50 years still walked with a spring in his step. When Horace saw Baby Doe it was love at first sight, he demanded a divorce from Augusta and she reluctantly gave it. Tabor married Baby Doe in Washington, D.C., and theirs was one of the most flamboyant weddings of all time. Ten years of marital bliss followed, though the Tabors were scorned by Denver Society.
The silver collapse of 1893 brought financial disaster to the Tabors. In the years that followed Tabor could scarcely support his family. He died at the age of 69, but not before he gave one final charge to Baby Doe, "hang on the Matchless." Hang on she did! Baby Doe lived as a recluse in a cabin next to the entrance of the Matchless for 39 years. In March 1935 her frozen body was found in her cabin. The irony, Augusta the rejected wife died wealthy and respected, though a lonely woman.
Zebulon Pike (the Lost Pathfinder) was the first official explorer in Colorado. He was called the Lost Pathfinder because most of the time he did not know where he was. Remember, there were no guide books, he was writing the first one himself.
Many young men came to the Colorado Rockies to trap beaver. The mountain men were a hardy, versatile breed in Colorado history. Many of them later became famous as guides and scouts for explorers, immigrant parties and military campaigns. The summer rendevous was the most romantic feature of the fur trade. This "Fair in the Wilderness" convened in a different location each year for five years. The rendevous was a combination bazaar, carnival and reckless spree for the trappers. It provided the traders with a central gathering place for pelts. Mountain Man Jim Bridger was a trapper, upon first coming to Colorado. He became a trader when he joined the Rocky Mountain Fur Company in 1822.
In March 1861, Congress offered a million-dollar subsidy to the company that would undertake daily transcontinental mail service between Denver and Salt Lake City. What was needed to accomplish this was a usable pass through the mountains, west of Denver. Jim Bridger distinguished himself as a guide with Captain Edward Berthoud when they found the crossing know today as Berthoud Pass. However, despite the discoverer's enthusiasm, the grade up Clear Creek Canyon would be difficult. Another decade would pass before the first wagon road would be built over Berthoud Pass.