American Indians of the Pikes Peak Region (Images of America)

Introduction

Nearly two-thirds of its residents live in Colorado Springs; surrounding communities include Fountain population 25, , Cimarron Hills 16, Black Forest 13, , Gleneagle 6, , Monument 5, , and Manitou Springs 4, The county was created in as one of the original seventeen counties of the Colorado Territory.

The Pikes Peak area has a long history of human habitation that began almost 12, years ago. On the eastern slope, evidence of human occupation dating to 5, years ago has been found near Fort Carson, and some etchings in the rocks at Garden of the Gods date back at least 1, years. They followed deer, elk, and other game into higher elevations such as South Park during the summer, and then backtracked down through Ute Pass to their winter camp near the site of present-day Colorado Springs. Utes were also proficient gatherers, taking a variety of roots, nuts, and berries from the landscape.

By the middle of the seventeenth century the Utes had obtained horses from the Spanish, and some Tabeguache began hunting buffalo on the plains. The Utes generally aligned themselves with the Spanish against the Comanche, who often raided Ute camps for horses. In an expedition led by Lieutenant Zebulon Pike explored the southwestern part of the vast new territory.

But they severely underestimated its size and did not bring enough provisions to finish the ascent. Fooled and bested by the broad, towering peak, Pike and his men trekked back to their base camp near the site of present-day Pueblo, carrying on with their expedition. For instance, in the spring of the trapper George Frederick Ruxton plied Fountain Creek and sampled water from the nearby mineral springs, which he learned were sacred to the Arapaho.

Mountain man Kit Carson also trapped in the area. The discovery of gold near present-day Denver in and subsequent strikes in the mountains to the west set off the Colorado Gold Rush of — Anglo-American emigrants arrived by the thousands, using the prominent silhouette of Pikes Peak to guide them to the Rockies. The gold rush prompted the US government to organize the Colorado Territory in The reservation was created for the two tribes in as part of the Treaty of Fort Wise. By that time, the rapid growth of the Anglo-American population in Colorado increased tensions between whites and Native Americans.

Both tribes were subsequently removed to a reservation in present-day Oklahoma.

In the Tabeguache Utes relinquished all of their lands east of the Continental Divide to the US government in exchange for the provision of food and supplies, which were to be distributed by government-appointed Indian agents. They are believed to be one of the first aboriginal groups in North America to use horses in great numbers, and they were the last tribe in the West to be confined to reservations. The acquisition of horses from the Spanish in the early s dramatically changed the Ute lifestyle from a small family hunting-and-gathering economy, often on the edge of starvation, to an organized tribal society blessed with abundance.

They became skilled horsemen, developing their raiding and fighting abilities as the Comanche, Arapaho, and Cheyenne tribes began migrating into Ute country in the s. Although war honors were not part of their culture, the Utes fiercely defended their homelands from trespassers. Mounted hunting parties were able to travel long distances seeking buffalo, elk, deer, antelope, and mountain sheep.

These animals served as sources of food, clothing, teepee or tipi hides, and bone implements. Further contact with Euro-Americans enabled the Utes to trade their finely-tanned hides for guns, knives, axes, iron kettles, wool cloth, and beads.

The Ute tribes followed a distinct seasonal pattern of hunting and gathering, interspersed with ceremonies designed to insure success in these activities as well as to maintain harmony with the natural world. Spring would find groups coming together to participate in the oldest of all their celebrations, the bear dance. Summers were spent in the mountains gathering fruits and grain. In autumn several bands would join together to wind their way down the Ute Pass Trail to Manitou, where they made offerings to the spirits of the springs for good health and good hunting before continuing east in search of buffalo.

The history, habits, and customs of the American Indian have always been interesting subjects to me. From early childhood, I read everything within my reach dealing with the various tribes of the United States and Mexico. In , when I was fourteen years of age, I crossed the plains between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains twice, and again in , , and ; each time by ox- or horse-team, there being no other means of conveyance. At that time there were few railroads west of the Mississippi River and none west of the Missouri.

On each of these trips I came more or less into contact with the Indians, and during my residence in Colorado from to the present time, by observation and by study, I have become more or less familiar with all the tribes of this Western country.

I then lived in Colorado City, in El Paso County, and took an active part in the defense of the settlements during all the Indian troubles in that section. I mention these facts merely to show that I am not unfamiliar with the subject about which I am writing.

My main object in publishing this book is to make a permanent record of the principal events of that time. So far as I know, the public has never been given a detailed account of the Indian troubles in El Paso County during the years and At that time there was no newspaper published in the county and the few newspapers of the Territory were small affairs, in which little attention was given to anything outside of their immediate localities.

The result was that news of tragic happenings in our part of the Territory seldom passed beyond the borders of our own county. All these facts will no doubt be of interest to the inhabitant of the present day, as well as of value to the future historian. I took part in the battle of Sand Creek, and in many of the other events which I mention. Where I have no personal knowledge of any particular event, I have taken great pains to obtain the actual facts by a comparison of the statements of persons who I knew lived in the locality at the time.

Consequently, I feel assured of the substantial accuracy of every account I have given. In giving so much space to a defense of the battle of Sand Creek, I am impelled by an earnest desire to correct the false impression that has gone forth concerning that much maligned affair. Statements of prejudiced and unreliable witnesses concerning the battle were sent broadcast at the time, but except through government reports, that only few read, never before, to my knowledge, has publicity been given to the statement of the Governor of the Territory, telling of the conditions leading up to the battle, or to the sworn testimony of the colonel in command at the engagement, or of the officer in command of the fort near which it was fought.

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That the battle of Sand Creek was not the reprehensible affair which vindictive persons have represented it to be, I believe is conclusively proven by the evidence which I present. Henry Box, in front of tent. Steve Burch, the tall Indian by the tent. A full blood Navajo and grandfather of Dorothy Burch Box.

Bob Richards, late a judge at Ignacio, Colo. Indian above blanket on ground is unknown. Henry Johnson, also called Myole. A full blood Comanche captured by the Utes. He wears the otter skin over his shoulder. Alice Grove, a Northern Ute.