Company “C” of the 3rd Regiment of Colorado Volunteers was mustered in at Denver, under Captain Morgan and Lieutenants Weld and Wyman. They were then marched down the Platte river, a mile and a half below Denver, where they camped about two weeks. Their next move was down the Platte about thirty-five or forty miles to Lathrum.
While camped here they had some Indian excitements. Old Friday, a chief of a band of peaceful Indians, whose village was near Fort Collins, was a friend of the white people and always warned them and kept them posted on the moves of the roving bands of warriors.
At this time Old Friday was at State’s Station, about a mile from the soldiers’ camp. Late one evening he came into camp and told the officers that he thought the Indians were near, for when he was standing on the river bank, the Indians took a shot at him and he jumped in the brush and ran to the soldiers.
The officers ordered out twenty men and horses, also a horse for Old Friday. They went to the State Station and from there Old Friday led them to where he supposed the Indians were.
He guided them down the Platte six or seven miles until they came to Geary’s ranch, which was on the north side of the river near the mouth of Crow Creek. When Geary was asked if he had seen any Indians around his place he said, “No, I haven’t noticed any but believe there are some around here.”
The soldiers scoured the country, but did not find any trace of the raiding foe, so returned to camp about daylight.
The government had about three hundred tons of hay near the present site of Evans, on the opposite side of the river and about three miles from the soldiers’ camp. A few nights after Old Friday’s excitement, the hay was set afire. The soldiers could see it burning but could not get over to it in time to save it. Next morning they were sent out to look for the Indians that were supposed to have burned the hay. Being unable to find any they went back to Lathrum.
Company “C” was ordered back to Denver and made camp at Fort Weld, a mile out of town, for about a week, awaiting orders to start for Fort Lyons.
When the orders came Company “C” broke camp and started south over the divide near a place called Kit Carson. It was an old camp ground where Kit Carson had his little band of men. The soldiers came down off the divide to Monument Creek, where the town of Monument now stands.
This being late in the fall the snow was so deep that the cavalry had to go ahead and break trail for the wagons and artillery to follow. When they made camp that night it was so cold that a Mexican roustabout froze to death.
From Monument Creek they marched down the Fountain to the present site of Pueblo. The regiment was camped at the foot of a knoll right across the Fountain River from Ooten’s. Judge Bradford later had a ranch on the old camping ground of the 3rd Regiment of Colorado Volunteers.
Some of the Pioneers of Colorado
Source: True History of some of the Pioneers of Colorado, by Miss Luella Shaw, Press of Carson Harper Co, Denver, Colorado, 1909