Pueblo, Hardscrabble, and Greenhorn were among the very first
white settlements in Colorado. In their time they were the most
westerly settlements in American territory, and they attracted a
lively and varied population of mavericks from more civilized parts
of the world-from what became New Mexico to the south and from as
far east as England.
The inhabitants of these little walled towns thrived on the
rigor and freedom of frontier life. Many were ex-trappers full
already of frontier expertise. Others were enthusiastic neophytes
happy to escape problems back home. They sought Mexican wives in
Taos or Santa Fe or allied themselves with the native Indian
tribes, or both. The fur trade and the illegal liquor trade with
the Indians were at first the mainstays of their economy. As time
went on they extended their activities to farming illegally on the
land owned by the Indians and trading their crops and other trade
articles. They enjoyed themselves hunting, gambling, trading, and
with their women, freely mixing Spanish, Indian, and Anglo-American
cultures in a community without laws or bigotry.
This idyll was brought to a close by the Mexican War and the
lure of the California Gold Rush of 1849. The expectation of a
railroad on the Arkansas brought many of the settlers back, only to
be scared away again by the massacre of Pueblo by the Utes in 1854
of which Mrs. Lecompte has reconstructed a very complete record.
When the gold seekers rushed to Pikes Peak in 1858 and stayed to
establish farms and towns, some of the pioneers of the early days
returned with them, and shared their skills and knowledge to make
possible the permanent settlements that resulted.
Mrs. Lecompte has documented the history of the region from
diaries, letters, and the reports of such distinguished passers-by
as J. C. Fremont and Francis Parkman. The result is a complete and
compelling account of a neglected part of American frontier life.
It is illustrated with more than fifty photographs and contemporary
drawings.
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