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 |
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