Colorado Territory an episode of Frontier Fighters

Please enjoy Colorado Territory a great episode of the legendaryFrontier Fighters - A Classic Old Time radio Show.

Episode Transcript

(00:02):
Untear fighters, frontier fighters, theamazing adventures of fearless pioneer men and women

(01:36):
who fought and conquered the West.To those whose senses still throbbed to the
memory of Pike's Peak, Rush,Colorado is indeed a homeland won from the
Red men and nature. In eighteenfifty seven, some Cherokee Indians brought the
word six hundred miles across desert wastedmountains to Iowa, that a little gold
and silver had been found near Pike'sPeak. Among those who immediately went in

(01:57):
search of an easy portion and didn'tfind it were decent the oaks, Jack
Jones and William Green Russell of Iowa. These leaders, together with a handful
of people, decided that this landsix hundred miles from nowhere must have a
name. It should be a state, and admitted to Congress the letter good
day. There ain't five hundred peoplein the whole six hundred miles, counting

(02:17):
the braves and squaw. You're forgettingthe patpooted tom. They sure swell the
populations they had. This beats geta little out of hand, all right,
then let this new while now totrade it dead too. It's prove
I reckon that we're six hundred milesfrom nowhere on the Pike's Peak country.
But let's forget him. The pillarover our area on the west side of

(02:40):
Cherry Creek, they got two hundredsettlers, five women, bless them.
On the east side of Cherry Creek, they're Saint Charles. That ain't Saint
Charles anymore. Jack wants that,Oaks. We went in there this morning
and found just some keeepees and Indiantraders. So we took it over and
named it Denver, in honor ofGovernor Denver of can guess he's pretty fast

(03:01):
out here at Pike's Peak. Well, anyway, I'm forgiven this whole country
a name, getting it organized intoa territory, and sending a representative to
Congress. We'll go there on theman, and they've got to administering to
the use. I've on a namefor this. Characterize him for naming it
in honor of a man who putover the Louisiana purchase. A strip of

(03:22):
land six hundred miles from nowhere willnow be the territory of Jefferson Jones.
Month on your mind, Oaks.Just to be on the safe side,
I'm for creating the County of aRappa Hole, which will include the whole
of western Kansas, and send arepresentative to the Kansas Legislature. Then we've
got representation one place or the other. Anyway, how are we going to

(03:46):
get more people to come out hereto Denver in the territory of Jefferson.
I'm leaving for home next week.I'll get out of pamphlet and spread it
all over the country from the MissouriRiver to the Atlantic. Cook if anybody
can put that over, if theman's standing right there, dcal well,
show what I can put over thisgold rush which is dying on its feet,
and a land boom too. Ican make Denver real city and the

(04:11):
territory of Jefferson estate. In sucha fantastic manner was the Territory of Jefferson
later to become Colorado organized, andthus did Denver come into being as a
city. D. C. Oakswas as good as his word. Immediately
upon his return to Iowa, heissued a pamphlet entitled it Pike's Peak Journal.

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Oaks, with that highly colored pamphlet, unwittingly set off a keg of
dynamite that was already and primed thepeople of the States fairly ate up the
news to be found in the Pike'sPeak Journal. For those who got in
too late on the California gold rush, it looked like the promised land.
In different parts of the country,people called such exaggerated rumors as these from
the press man's sake, Henry,look at these ridges of gold circle Pike's

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Peace, like the stripes on Farber. Look here, Dardy, it's a
miracle. The minus slid down pipesteak in boats, and the blades in
the bottom braces plane notes the goldwhich curled up in shavings inside the boat
for labor. Louis, let mesee quick, and by the time the
foot of the peak has been reachedand boat might gather a ton of the

(05:24):
gold shaves, they have arrived inLawrence and Levenworth, and Council Bluffs and
Saint Joe pearls of gold from Pipe'sPeak, mine d s Oaks. With
a little fact and much fancy haddone his work well. Forty thousand made

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the track in forty nine to California, but in fifty nine one hundred and
fifty thousand set out for the Pike'sPeak goldfields. The jumping off points of
Leavenworth, Kansas, Saint Joseph,Assouri, and Council Bluff, Iowa were
jammed with wagons and carts bearing signslike these, I've sure got a good
name for my wagon. It's Pike'sPeak or bus I'm going you want fair

(06:10):
Barger? Who father Dan Waiting name? Mind? What do you call it?
One? Hear the water from aNaples to America for a tony.
No, he's to go from Piketo country to pipe the peak. In
March, the wagon trails across theplains were lined with optimistic, eager goal

(06:30):
seekers, whose numbers daily swelled intomany thousands. Shortly after May, first
wagons going west met wagon's returning east. People were leaving the mines. Some
said it was a trick to getpeople out there to buy goods and worthless
land. Others a pamphlet of dcOaks was filled with lies, had been
cheated and swindled. Suddenly the wagonstopped in mid trails. A scout had

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sighted Oaks with a train of prairieschooners coming west. In a moment,
peaceful, law abiding citizens became areckless and furior good mom, I'm for
hanging them. One went hastam.Hanging's too good for a voment like that.
You can't take along to your handslike this. If you stringing up,
it'll be murdered the sure like lettershome done. Here lies the buddy
of gates. He oh killed oreating a pipe? Fake? Hold,

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there comes his wagons. Now therecomes a fake. Come on, pourt
your horses. Ope, your gameis up? Yeah, where's the ball
that can just peel off of pipe'sfeet? You're gone off of that wagon,
oak, You're going to hands alot of queens. See, you
got me confused. I don't understandwhat you're all turning back. But I've

(07:41):
got a sawmill here in my wagon. I'm gonna put money in pipe speak
country. I'm staking everything i've got. I'm still of an ocean to string
them up and investigate after what theygotta have faith in a new country.
I never said you'd find gold inthe streets. If the papers lie,
it's not my fault. It's sureenough. Got his sawmill in here,
I ain't gone. If it's bad, it'll be bad for him to come

(08:03):
on with me. I'll show youwhere the gold is. The territory of
Jefferson's got a future. I tellyou, Denver be a great city.
Better get along oaks before it changesour minds this time, get on your
faker, you and when you're righthome, don't you dare tell the folks
you found gold growing on trees.Oh well, that's serious, you know,

(08:24):
I speak a bust. I guesswe can put that motto in Mothball
for many a day to come.Some of the one hundred and fifty thousands

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turned back, Some stayed a fewfarms, some became storekeepers. Others mind
enough gold and silver to eat outa bare living. But thousands waited,
still clean to the last straw ofhope that somebody somewhere discover a mother load.
But Denver, that new miracle cityof the West, continued to thrive.
On May sixth, eighteen fifty nine, eight thousand feet high in the

(09:09):
Rocky Mountains, John Gregory accidentally discoveredat Gulch with the richest quartz seen by
any miner of his day. Thefirst pen yielded half an ounce of pure
gold. Hooray, this is thestuff this mountains. Follow it another run
of it, just to make sureI hain't no need to try to ask
for the mesa happy head loss Hey, another hate dollar pan, Well,

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we're rich. The news spread likewildfire. Denver and Araria were emptied,
and the short span from sundown tosunrise. But who this time would take
the news east that people would believefaith sent nonel than Horace Greeley, famous
roving correspondent for the New York Tribune, who addressed the first mass meeting in
the Rocky Mountains. Ladies and gentlemen, partner, I give you the man

(10:01):
who's going east and tell them thetruth. That's great and wonderful editor and
writer and our friend, mister HoraceGreeley, I can go back east and
tell him the truth about this goldrush. I've seen in my own eyes

(10:22):
gold and oyster cans and watched insectscoming out of the mountains. These needs
your gold. The West needs supplies. Gold is a fine slogan, but
I'll give them one better, especiallyfor the youth of the nation. I'll
tell them, if they want afuture, I want to grow up with
a new country. The girl West, young man, go West. The

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West, young Man was more thanjust advice. It became a battle cry
taken up by youths all over theland. It was more late in eighteen
fifty nine, the gold production wasfive hundred thousand. By eighteen hundred and
sixty it jumped to three million,two hundred and fifty thousand. Denver and
our area united to become Denver City, the queens City of the Plains.

(11:07):
Then came one of the most eventfulyears in the history of Denver. Eighteen
sixty three. Missus Middleton, whosehusband was a half owner and the lumber
firm of Middleton of Wagner, onenight awakened. Her husband says, says,
wake up, wake I say Indians. Henry mcgunsaid, it's not Indians.
I think there's a fire somewhere about. I'm proud to you. I

(11:28):
can hear the crackle like mother.It's an our Lumbia poet. And look
the flames were spread like wildfire ofother building. I'll get into this stairs.
Oh there's the barl in the square. Hurry, mama, train a
minute to be lost. Mother willlift. We couldn't do a thing against

(12:05):
that fire with buckets and pails.The whole side of the town's gone.
Liarham mercy, honest. All thehouses and stores were wooden and dry.
Is tinder turned to the ground.Everything we owned, go on up and
smoke everything except our hope. Whenthey build Denver and noosday we'll build wisdom,

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build with them on what says Dear, on faith. Not alone did
the Middletons build on faith, butevery soul in East Denver. But no

(12:48):
sooner had they rebuilt from the disastrousfire. When a flood completely destroyed the
city, many believed the last daywas at hand and that they were being
called to judgment. But such dirtystock, as a generally found at Denver,
survived fire, flood. Feminine Indianattack then came the proudest day in
Denver's life. On August first,eighteen seventy six, Colorado was saluted as

(13:11):
a state of the Union in Denver, a famous historical city, And so
another thrilling chapter is enacted in thelives of famous frontier fighters of the Rugged West.