Cobweb Express

Our Mountain

I talk a lot about Pikes Peak, but here in the Fountain Valley the peak is not that visible. Our scenery includes Cheyenne Mountain and Camerons Cone. I have done articles about both many times. I get questions about Cheyenne Mountain all the time. The average tourist is surprised to hear that the location is not at all a big secret!
From the top of Pikes Peak, looking down at the mountains, Cheyenne is quite small, but its shape is distinctive. Behind it Fort Carson is quite visible with its "banana" road layout. Beyond there Security, Widefield and Fountain are easy to see. When conditions are right the power plant at Nixon can be seen. Pueblo is visible, and in the morning Pueblo Reservoir shines. The plains east of us can be quite interesting this time of year, with snow or no snow, all the way to Kansas. I am often asked about seeing the Air Force Academy. It is hidden by the mountains, like the west edge of the fort and Highway 115.
The mountains northwest of Cheyenne are hidden from our view, but their names are interesting too. Saint Peters Dome is cone shaped when seen from the common point of view. Mount Rosa is behind it to the south. Mount Buckhorn and Mays Peak are just south of the ridge with Mount Garfield and Mount Arthur with Camerons Cone. One of my favorite names is Stove Mountain, as it looks a bit like an old fashioned stove. Above and behind these is Bald Mountain or Mount Baldy. Both of those names are in common use for part of Mount Almagre, which was a Spanish name used for Pikes Peak. I am told it means brown dirt. This set of peaks raises above timber line, which here is about 11,500 feet above sea level. I often chuckle when I hear it explained that this is caused by lack of oxygen. Somebody did not pay enough attention in science class. Trees make oxygen, but the reason is the shorter growing season and other reasons too, like the lack of good soil.
We get really used to the mountains being to our west. When I lived in northeast Wyoming, the mountains, the Black Hills, were to the east! Or in Hawaii where the mountain, or mountains are generally in the middle of the island. It is also fun to get up in the morning and see NO Pikes Peak, as the clouds often hide it this time of year. You could have one of the famous Tom Dooley paintings of Pikes Peak to look at. He painted hundreds of them, usually with some wonderfully imaginative foregrounds, with no hint of people.

Another Terrible Summer

In the Summer of 1868 the Cheyenne Indians traveled up the Fountain toward the Garden of the Gods. The party of over 300 camped about where downtown Colorado Springs is today. The folks in Colorado City were uneasy about the situation, but they had come past Fountain with no problems. A telegraph message from Denver identified them as Little Raven’s band, generally a friendly group. Rumors were going around that they were here planning on raiding an encampment of Utes in upper Ute Pass.
A party of braves slipped away, and up the pass without much activity to be noticed in Colorado City A few days later the men returned, again avoiding Colorado City. Within the day the camp was picked up and they headed north along Monument Creek. Things remained calm until they raided a ranch in Black Forrest, taking several dozen head of horses.
It seemed that the Indians were gone, headed north and east. Three days later the whole idea came to a tragic end.

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That Terrible Summer

I told the story of the summer of 1864. Flood waters on the Fountain stripped away the spring crops planted along it. Later, what had escaped was eaten to the ground by grasshoppers. Another event was about to scare everyone from Fountain to Denver.
The Utes, our mountain Indians usually came down onto the plains to hunt. The area known as Black Forrest was a favorite. Some do not realize how big the area is, extending about a hundred miles east from the Front Range. Out on the plains other Indians to be found were the Cheyennes, Arapahoes, Sioux and others who traveled hundreds of miles every year. The plains Indians rarely traveled into the mountains, but some would visit the area of the boiling springs that we know as Manitou. The two groups generally did not like each other, and occasionally fought for the right to hunt in this area. In fact the plains Indians and the Utes spoke different languages.
At the time, generally, the settlers in the area and all of the Indians seemed to get along fairly well. Occasionally, the plains Indians would camp on area ranches, where they had traditionally stayed. In 1864 things were a bit more unsettled. In addition to disrupting the life of ranchers along the Front Range, the Utes had done something to upset the plains tribes and conflicts found raids up into the area north of Pike’s Peak. Most of the raids, however, were along the Platte, northeast of Denver.
The trouble was in the area, as a band of raiders traveled up the Fountain, through the Garden of the Gods. Men from Colorado City gathered and watched the area north of town. A few days later the party came down out of the mountains and headed east, probably about where Garden of the Gods Road is today. The men from Colorado City quickly surrounded the Indians and relieved them of their weapons. The plan was to escort them out of the area, but the Indians failed to cooperate. The Indians headed away on their ponies, leaving the Colorado City men far behind. Several shots were fired and they killed three of the Indians. The men returned to Colorado City, where plans were made for protection if the Indians returned.
No real raid was ever brought down on Colorado City or Fountain, but the State of Colorado organized a militia called the Third Colorado to help protect the citizens living along the Front Range. The problems with Indians were not over, and the unit would see some action.

Old Pictures

I have talked about this in the past, but I think it is time to say more about my "thing" about old pictures. I enjoy sitting and going through old pictures. As a kid I even liked to do it. It did not even bother me not to know who some of the people were, or where they were taken. As I got older this is what interested me. It definitely has stayed with me. As I do these columns often a picture gives me the inspiration for a story. Years ago I saw a picture of students dancing outside the school on Main Street and I was able to tell the story of what it was.
I hate to find an album in an antique shop where all of the pictures are removed. What happened? Were they just pitched into the trash? There are tons of questions. Ever hear that a picture is worth a thousand words? I believe it. It was looking for pictures that got me fired up about writing my first book. One of the amazing things is the amount of information that can be seen in some of them, that no one realizes is there. What shows up in some of these is what can be most interesting. Pictures often show old cars, trucks, even trains passing by.
So what is the point of all this? One thing is, there is a book being put together about our history. Perhaps you have responded to the story here a few weeks ago. Maybe you can help! Maybe you have some pictures but you do not have the time, or even the interest to go looking. The folks at the historical society can find someone who wants to help. The most important thing is, DO NOT THROW THEM AWAY! And this goes for the negatives too! Three, if you know you have old pictures keep them cool and dry. The attic is the worst place, other than a damp basement. If you do not want them, either put them where they will not get in your way, or find someone who will take care of them. The historical society regularly gets requests for pictures, and they are happy to talk to you about saving yours, and even show you some of the old ones they have.
Then, that comes to the current search, looking for old pictures of the Fountain area. I know there must be some more out there. I bet some are of Granddad’s favorite cow. Some may have unrecorded information about some of the buildings around town! As we have gone now to digital cameras I wonder if some of them will ever get printed. It is so easy to erase those unwanted pictures.

Bad Day on the Railroad!

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In my search for the stories of the early weather problems, I ran across another series of wind related railroad accidents. It seems in February, 1887 the wind caused considerable problems in the area. Several buildings in Colorado Springs, Colorado City and even Fountain were damaged by a wind storm. It seems that early 1887 was consistently seeing wind storms. In the evening hours of the 17th a breeze of over 50 miles an hour caused at least one railroad accident.
A northbound passenger train had left Pueblo at mid-day. It soon slowed to a crawl as it encountered stronger and stronger winds. Right behind the engine was an express car which was bringing mail and valuables from along the line from as far as Silverton to Denver. The train made a stop at Fountain before reaching Colorado Springs several hours late. In the stop at Colorado Springs a couple other cars of express were added, and two more strong engines to get them up over the divide to Denver.

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