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HISTORY OF THP] LIFE 
 
 WILLIAM GILPIN 
 
 A CHARACTER STUDY 
 
 BY 
 
 HUBERT HOWE BANXROFT 
 
 [From Chronicles of the Kings] 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO 
 THE HISTORY COMPANY, PCTBLISHERS 
 
 1889 
 

 
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HISTORY OF THE LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 WILLIAM GILPIJ^ 
 
 A Modern Plato and a Modern Athens — Ancestry — Environment Ex- 
 traordinary — West Point — Visit to England — Army os" the West 
 — Florida War — Expedition to Oregon — Exploration in Colorado 
 —In the Mexican War — Indian Wars — Governor of Colorado- 
 Vicissitudes OF Later Life — Visit to California — Land Operations 
 — Character. 
 
 Plato, ill the universality of his genius, appears to 
 every age and every individual as of his own time and 
 place. He had so absorbed all knowledge that in the 
 annals of men one epoch was the same to him as an- 
 other. All that the world before him had known he 
 knew. He went to Italy to hear Pythagoras, but left 
 more than he broiiglit away ; and but for the prema- 
 ture hemlock he would have been teaching his master 
 Socrates. Nor was the past alone open to him ; he 
 made the present and the future his own. His genius 
 swept over all the earth, penetrated the eternal hills, 
 and pla^^ed with the stars. All science, all philosophy, 
 all history were his. 
 
 We have as yet no American Athens, though there 
 have been pretensions advanced in that direction; if 
 located in the heart of the continent, Denver might 
 present strong claims to the distinction. 
 
 High in the heavens she stands, with many an 
 Olympus near; there are men of taste and learning 
 within her borders, and her temples and schools are 
 surpassed by none. Moreover she has her Plato, the 
 fiist of philosophers and the first of men; him whose 
 thoughts fly in air, preferring symbol to syllogism; 
 (I) 
 
2 GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 who if he needs a religion makes one, or if a govern- 
 ment, formulates one; who if he lacks incident, falls 
 back on inspiration, having always at hand that phil- 
 osophy of philosophies which makes men and nature 
 its own. 
 
 Few of those whose forefathers came to America 
 can boast of a more worshipful ancestry than William 
 Gilpin, scholar, soldier, and sometime governor of 
 Colorado. 
 
 For his devotion to Richard Coeur de Leon, whom 
 at Austria on returning from his first crusade King- 
 John would have caused to be murdered, and for slay- 
 ing a wild boar which infested the forests of West- 
 moreland and Cumberland, the baron of Kendal, in 
 1206, gave the manor of Kentmere to Richard de 
 Guylpyn, a substantial commoner, whose original had 
 come in with William the Conquerer. The earl of 
 Kendal, who commanded at this most highly devel- 
 oped part of the old Roman colony, could not read or 
 write; wherefore, on attending tlie convention which 
 on the little island of Runymede in the Thames wrung 
 from Kino- John the maof-na charta, he took with him 
 Guylpyn as his scholar, for which service, as well as 
 for his other achievements, he was knighted. 
 
 Several Richards follow; and to the grandson of 
 Sir Richard de Guylpyn, in 1268, in the time of 
 Henry III., Peter de Bruys, who married a co-heiress 
 of William de Lancaster, gave the manor of Ulwith- 
 waite, so that the family had indeed vast possessions. 
 Many have taken the grandson of Richard de Guylpyn 
 of 1268, who was owner of the manors of Kentmere 
 and Ulwithwaite, to be the first of the name. In the 
 reign of Richard III. comes another Richard Gilpin, 
 whose son William was slain in the battle of Bos- 
 worthfield, in 1485, during the civil wars of the houses 
 of York and Lancaster, his brother Edwin thus becom- 
 ing heir. George, the son of Edwin, was minister 
 plenipotentiary for Queen Elizabeth at the Hague, 
 
WILLIAM GILPIN. 3 
 
 and was also eminent in letters. Another son of Eel- 
 win, Bernard Gilpin, called the Apostle of the North, 
 was a very distinguished man. He was born at Kent- 
 uiere in 1517, and died in 1583. Brought up a Roman 
 catholic, he was made rector of Houghton ; but before 
 the death of Queen Mary he became satisfied with 
 the doctrines of the Reformation. 
 
 Armored in the faith, midst the incessant strife of 
 the time, he passed scathless. Once on entering 
 Rothbury church, in Northumberland, he observed 
 a glove suspended in a conspicuous place as a chal- 
 lenge from some horse-trooper of the district. Taking- 
 it down he entered the pulpit and began to preach. 
 During the course of his sermon he paused, and, lift- 
 ing the glove in his fingers, said : "I hear there is one 
 among you who has even in this sacred place hung up 
 a glove in defiance." Then flinging it to the floor, he 
 continued, " I challenge him to compete with me in 
 acts of Christian charity." 
 
 A charge of thirteen articles was drawn up against 
 him, and complaint laid before the bishop of London, 
 whereupon he prepared for martyrdom. One doctrine 
 which he preached was that whatever happened was 
 for the best. On his way to London he fell from his 
 horse and broke his leg. The guard sneeringly in- 
 quired of him, "Call you this' for the best'^' "I 
 doubt not it will so turn out," was the reply. He 
 was taken to the Tower, there to await recovery from 
 the accident. Mary meanwhile died, and he was set 
 at liberty, whereupon he returned to Houghton. He 
 was then offered by Elizabeth the See of Carlisle, which 
 he declined, preferring to preach the Reformation and 
 endow schools. Whenever he met a poor boy on the 
 road he would put questions to him to test his natural 
 ability, and if pleased therewith would provide for his 
 education. A life of Bernard Gilpin, by William Gil- 
 pin, prebendary of Salisbury, was published, first in 
 1753, and again at Glasgow in 1824, in which are 
 delineated his virtues and persecutions. 
 
4 GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 The Gilpin family had frequently to suffer on ac- 
 count of their religion. 
 
 "The race that once went bravely forth 
 To slay the wild boar in his den, 
 Now meets the bigots in their wrath, 
 And boldly claims the rights of men." 
 
 Next we have a William Gilpin who married Eliza 
 Washington, sister to our American Washington's 
 great grandmother. They had a son George who 
 inherited the manor of Kentmere, two generations 
 after whom the estate was lost during the parliamen- 
 tary civil wars. Sawry Gilpin was a celebrated 
 painter of horses, giving them a very fierce expression; 
 he was born in 1733. 
 
 When Cromwell established the commonwealth of 
 England and became the protector, Thomas Gilpin 
 commanded the first resfiment of Ironsides at the 
 crowning victory at Worcester, which battle van- 
 quished all opposition to Cromw^ell. The Gilpins 
 were amongst the first to enlist with Cromwell, and 
 they remained faithful to him until he died. During 
 a visit to England our present William Gilpin found 
 Charles Gilpin, a representative of Northampton in 
 parliament for eighteen years, a member of the board 
 of trade, and a commissioner of the public works in 
 London. 
 
 Thomas Gilpin of Warborough, born in 1620, mar- 
 ried Joan Bartholomew and had three sons, Joseph, 
 Isaac, and Thomas. He was an ofiicer in the army, 
 and after the battle of Worcester in 1651, joined the 
 society of friends. Persecutions followed. Meetings 
 were held at his house, for which offence he was 
 stripped of his household effects and thrown into 
 prison. Joseph Gilpin, born in 1664, married Han- 
 nah Glover in 1691. They were quakers; and seeing 
 how badly their people were treated by the govern 
 ment, emigrated with their two small children, in 
 1696, to America, having for their companions de voy- 
 age the ancestors of the Coats and Morris families. 
 
WILLIAM GILPIN. 5 
 
 and settling at Birmingham meeting-house on the 
 Brandywine, in what is now Delaware county, Penn- 
 sylvania. 
 
 It was a frontier settlement, and the forest yet 
 waved over the spot which was to be his future home. 
 Each settler had his own work to do; wherefore for 
 the shelter of his family Joseph Gilpin hollowed out a 
 cave by the side of a rock, in some dry white clay, 
 which for warmth and healthfulness was superior to 
 many of the houses of his neighbors built above 
 ground; and there he lived and reared his family of 
 fifteen children. From Joseph Gilpin's second son, 
 Samuel, sprang Thomas, born in 1728, whose first son, 
 Joshua, born in Philadelphia in 1765, was father of 
 our William Gilpin, who was the eighth and youngest 
 child. 
 
 Before coming to America the Gilpins and others 
 had built the little meeting-house in which William 
 Penn preached, and their families intermarried after- 
 ward. When the Mason and Dixon line was later 
 marked off, three states cornered in the Gilpin or- 
 chard. In generations following the first in Amer- 
 ica, log, frame, and brick houses were respectively 
 built for the occupation of the Gilpins, and a residence 
 in Philadelphia established. 
 
 Thomas Gilpin, the grandfather of our William 
 Gilpin, engaged in farming and manufacturing; he 
 was interested in science, and was one of the founders 
 of the American philosophical society. 
 
 Joshua Gilpin, the father of William, was a man of 
 no ordinary culture and ability, inheriting all the 
 finish possessed by the quakers of Philadelphia during 
 the era of their prosperity, when the whole power 
 of the American people was centred there. Asso- 
 ciating on equal terms with the most polished and 
 learned men on both sides of the Atlantic, his society 
 was sought by every one. It was his house that w^as 
 Lafayette's headquarters at the battle of Branywine. 
 Between the vears 1795 and 1801 he lived in Eno-- 
 
6 GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 land and married an Englishwoman. Under many 
 discouragements he urged to completion the canal 
 which his father had projected. He was very fond 
 of historical investigations, and of poetry, publishing 
 in 1799, Verses Written at the Fountain of Vaucluse; 
 in 1821, Memoir on a Canal from the Chesapeake to the 
 Delaware; and in 1839, Farm of Virgil and other Poems. 
 He died in Philadelphia in 1840. 
 
 His wife, Mary Dil worth, and William's mother, 
 was the fit consort of such a man, beautiful, amiable, 
 and accomplished. She was of quaker stock, her 
 father, John Dilworth, being a banker at Lancaster. 
 She was a conspicuous figure in the best society, in 
 which were many charming men and women of good 
 breeding, polish, and education; the Jeffersons, the 
 Randolphs, the Franklins, the Washingtons, and 
 others. Within their immediate neighborhood were 
 nine signers of the Declaration of Independence. 
 
 The sympathies of the Gilpins were of course all 
 with Washington, but being quakers they were, 
 non-combatants during the Revolutionary war. A 
 flouring mill built by Thomas Gilpin, William's grand- 
 father, is now called the Washington mill, having 
 supplied Washington with flour while at Valley 
 Forge. Of the large landed interest, consisting of 
 several hundred thousands of acres, which the family 
 possessed, five thousand acres finally fell to William, 
 which he sold at five dollars an acre, investimg the 
 money in western Missouri, the rest having been cut 
 up and scattered by sales and intermarriages. 
 
 It was into such an atmosphere as this that William 
 Gilpin was born, on the 4th of October, 1822. Among 
 his earliest recollections was the visit of Lafayette to 
 his father's house on the anniversary of the battle of 
 Brandy wine, he being at that time just old enough 
 to be carried on a horse behind his father. During 
 his earlier childhood he was not sent to school, but 
 was the pupil of his father. Among those from whom 
 
WILLIAM GILPIN. 7 
 
 he learned much was Lawrence Washington, whose 
 home was at Mt Vernon. There was quite a French 
 settlement on the Brandy wine, among them the Du- 
 pont family, the famous powder manufacturers, Ad- 
 miral Dupont being one. 
 
 William was very fond of history, poetry, and 
 physical gecjgraphy ; he spoke French fluently at an 
 early age. He was indeed a favored child of fortune, 
 with his elegant surroundings and happy home, which 
 overlooked the Delaware and the Brandywine, where 
 the boats were constantly passing, and having Penn- 
 sylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey in 
 sight. Being the youngest he was made much of b}^ 
 all. It was the custom of the Gilpin s to make occa- 
 sional visits among the prominent people, travelling 
 in the family carriage, and on these trips they would 
 always take William. And around their table all 
 these friends would meet to eat Christmas dinner 
 with Joshua Gilpin. 
 
 To complete their education and see more of the 
 world, the Gilpin children were sent to Europe on 
 arriving at proper age. So when he was twelve 
 years old William's father took him over to Newcastle, 
 and put him on boaid the ship Montezuma, bound for 
 Liverpool, whose captain Joshua Gilpin well knew, 
 the boy being consigned to the care of an elder 
 brother, wdio was clerk in the quaker American 
 house of Cropper and Benson. At Settle, in York- 
 shire, was a foundation school, like Rugby, where but 
 sixty pupils were admitted, and there William was 
 placed, and remained two years. He studied mathe- 
 matics and the languages, and had additional masters 
 in Liverpool. 
 
 His purpose here being accomplished, after a visit 
 to a brother who had been appointed by President 
 Jackson American consul at Belfast, he returned to 
 Philadelphia, where his father and brother Henry 
 had a house and spent much of their time. He at 
 once applied for admission to the junior class of the 
 
8 GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 university of Pennsylvania, among whose founders was 
 his grandfather, and where three of his brothers had 
 graduated. It was against the rules of the institu- 
 tion to admit advanced students without their taking 
 the usual course, and the faculty at first refused him. 
 "If they will not admit you tell them you shall go to 
 Princeton," his father said. The faculty yielded ; but 
 the boy had to undergo his examination ; and to this 
 end he employed a tutor, who was the author Haw- 
 thorne, and studied night and day through the inter- 
 vening ten weeks of vacation. At the beginning of 
 the term he presented himself, was examined for three 
 days, was admitted, and in two years graduated. 
 
 President Jackson, who was on intimate terms with 
 the Gilpin family, had always taken a paternal inter- 
 est in Joshua's boys, following them in their studies, 
 and securing them places after their education was fin- 
 ished. On one occasion, in making a journey into 
 New England, Jackson came to Newcastle in a 
 steamer, and Joshua Gilpin went over to receive him 
 there. When he entered the cabin Old Hickory im- 
 mediately stepped forward, threw his arms around 
 him, and said: "Here is a face I am delighted to 
 see. Where is your son?" referrino- to William's 
 eldest brother, Henry. "You should have brought 
 him along; he is my son too." Henry was United 
 States district attorney at Philadelphia, and was af- 
 terward appointed United States attorney general. 
 
 They were having much trouble about that time 
 with the affairs of the United States bank, to which 
 Henrj^ had to give attention, and William was fre- 
 quently sent to Washington with messages from the 
 directors to General Jackson, who always greeted the 
 youth most kindly with the endearing epithet "my 
 son." Thus William had almost free access to the 
 president's apartments, and when the youth mg.de 
 bold to ask a favor it was usually granted. There- 
 fore when he expressed a desire to go to West Point, 
 his wish being backed by the influence of his father 
 
WILLIAM UlLPIN. 9 
 
 and brother, he had no difficulty in having his name 
 placed in advance of the hundreds of other applicants. 
 
 At West Point William studied very hard, Meade 
 and Montgomery Blair were his tutors. He spent 
 much of his time in the library, and gave special 
 attention to French and mathematics. On complet- 
 ing his course at West Point he went to Philadelphia. 
 He was now eao^er for action. He had been educated 
 almost to death by the brightest intellects in the world, 
 and now he would try the metal of his own mind. For 
 some time past he had read and thought much regard- 
 ing the great unoccupied West, never loosing an oppor- 
 tunity to converse with those familiar with the subject. 
 Already military forces were on the frontier, stationed 
 at various forts, at once to restrain and protect the 
 Indians and prevent white men from illegall}^ enter- 
 ing their territory. All this was thrilling romance 
 to the young cadet. Some clay he would go there; 
 some day he would mingle with those scenes, and 
 would stir up events which in their turn should yet 
 more stir him up, and help him on to high emprise. 
 
 As there was no fighting at present to be done at 
 home, it occurred to William to try his fortune 
 abroad, and he accordingly slipped over to London. 
 At that time a legion of ten thousand was forming in 
 England for service in Spain, to fight against Don 
 Carlos and in favor of Isabella, and it was his idea to 
 join this army, learn something of the Spanish lan- 
 guage, and the mode of warfare practised there. His 
 third brother was in London at the time, learning- 
 engineering, but was about ready to return home. 
 He made application to Colonel Witherell, the re- 
 cruiting agent for the arinj^ in London, and was told 
 he could not got a commission; that the young nobil- 
 ity were applying for positions constantly, and that 
 a mere youth, especially an American, had no chance. 
 His father sustained agreeable personal relations with 
 Lord Brougham, and he was making arrangements 
 
10 GOVERNMENT-COLORADO. 
 
 to secure his indorsement and that of other friends in 
 London, when the ship Toronto came into Southamp- 
 ton port from New York, after a thirteen days' voy- 
 age, the quickest saiHng that had yet been made. 
 This vessel brought news of the great fire in New 
 York, and what was of greater importance, the out- 
 break of the Seminoles in Florida, and the massacre 
 of Dade's command at Withlachooche, Plantations 
 were being robbed right and left, and the negroes 
 driven into the everglades in the interior. Here, in- 
 deed, was opportunity; the lad might now have some 
 fighting. In company with his brother Richard he 
 at once returned home, arriving in New York on the 
 4tli of March, 1836. Without stopping to visit his 
 parents in Philadelphia, lest they should endeavor to 
 prevent his purposes, young .Gilpin started for Wash- 
 ington. Having to remain over one night at Balti- 
 more, he went on the railroad, which had just been 
 opened, to see the president. On board the train was 
 Blackhawk, the Indian chief who had been captured 
 a short time previous, and was being taken as a pres- 
 ent to Jackson. In riding over the bleak and sterile 
 country between Baltimore and Washington, some 
 one asked Blackhawk how he liked railroads. He 
 had come from the Rock River country, a fertile and 
 beautiful section, and the contrast was appalling to 
 him. He replied, with an Indian grunt, "The Great 
 Spirit give machine to these people to get 'um over 
 this country quick." 
 
 Jackson had raised one reofiment of drao-oons, 
 which was stationed at Leavenworth, and employed 
 to protect the frontier, particularly to keep the whites 
 out of the Indian country along the line of the Mis- 
 souri and Arkansas rivers, and down to the gulf. 
 The Oregon question and other matters began to be 
 agitated, and the president was getting well through 
 his struggle with the United States bank, and saw 
 victory near at hand; so he raised a second regiment 
 to go out into the Indian country where the first 
 
WILLIAM GILPIN. II 
 
 regiment was stationed. The third regiment, organ- 
 ized later, took the name of the Oregon regiment, and 
 these three regiments of cavalry, and two others, 
 formed the government corps of our army. Another 
 regiment of negroes has been added to it. The cur- 
 rent of matters was so intense and impetuous then 
 that it got the American people to thinking, and 
 broke down the line of despotism. It was while this 
 regiment was being formed by Harney in the west, 
 that the Florida war commenced. Harney was at 
 St Louis as paymaster, and Wharton Rector was in 
 the army, and as each .so desired, they exchanged, 
 and Harney was put mto William's regiment as 
 major. Young Gilpin without difficulty obtained 
 from the president a commission as 2d lieutenant in 
 the 2d Dragoons, and was sent among the miners of 
 Missouri to gather recruits. 
 
 This was in July 1836. The stalwart sons of 
 Missouri regarded it as a joke that a boy like this 
 should be sent to enlist them to fight the battles of 
 their country. Nevertheless he continued his course, 
 and after reporting himself at St Louis, he went up 
 the Mississippi under Harney's direction. He was 
 full of fire and life, and had dashed recklessly into the 
 west. He liked Harney, and Harney was pleased with 
 him. He remained recruiting until autumn of this 
 year, when he received a letter at Louisville from 
 Harney, containing an order from the president to 
 collect all the recruits obtainable in the valley of the 
 Mississippi, take them down to New Orleans, and get 
 ready to join Jessup in Florida. This he did, remain- 
 ing at New Orleans all winter in command of recruits, 
 drilling and preparing them for service. The men 
 were part of the force originally intended for the 
 frontier, but while recruiting they were ordered to 
 Florida, and thus all came together at New Orleans. 
 
 Albert Sidney Johnston was there on his way to 
 join Sam Houston in Texas as his adjutant-general, 
 and he afterward became general of the standing army 
 
12 GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 of Texas when Houston was made president. Twiggs 
 came on from Washington and took Gilpin to St 
 Louis, all in preparation for the Florida campaign. 
 He was now assigned the position of first lieutenant 
 in the company, and he asked General Gaines and 
 General Atchison, who were there, to be sent to Flor- 
 ida to join his company, which had been sent forward 
 from New York. This was done early in the summer 
 of 1838. 
 
 There was a post within twelve miles of St Augus- 
 tine, in the woods, and General Hernandez, a Mexican, 
 under whom Gilpin found himself, kept him constantly 
 scouting. During these scouts Osceola, Coacooche, 
 Blue Snake, and other prominent Seminole chiefs 
 were captured. They had been scattered about with 
 their families, and had swept a vast number of negroes 
 down into their country, and these black men were 
 constantly escaping and giving information as to where 
 a certain notorious family or band of savages could be 
 found. Presently General Jessup came up with the 
 main army; likewise Belknap, tiie general of artillery; 
 and Twiggs came down by land through Nashville. 
 In the mean time Gilpin had become master of the 
 situation, owing to the scouting expeditions he had 
 made, and during which he had studied the country 
 very carefully. There were skirmishes every week, 
 and sometimes every day. It was in the region of cy- 
 press swamps, grass lakes, alligators, and all kinds of 
 things curious to the young northerner. When Jes- 
 sup arrived and took command of the army, and the 
 weather became cold enough to open the winter cam- 
 paign, he placed Gilpin and his men near him, and the 
 result was that during all the rest of the war the young 
 man was in active service day and night under Jessup's 
 orders. Finally Taylor appeared on the gulf side, and 
 fought the Indians below the Okechobee, while Jessup 
 pressed them from the north and scattered them into 
 the everglades. The few that could not get out were 
 allowed to remain on condition that they would never 
 
WILLIAM GILPIN. 13 
 
 cross a line drawn from Charlotte's harbor to Indian 
 river. 
 
 Steamers then came for the troops, and Gilpin was 
 sent with five or six hundred horses over to Fort 
 Melon, where supplies had accumulated. Meanwhile 
 Van Buren had come into power and Mr Calhoun now 
 looked after these matters; and his object had been 
 accomplished when money enough had been spent to 
 secure a southern state to counteract the admission of 
 Michigan, a non-slaveholding state. And even now, 
 instead of being sent to renew exploration in the west, 
 the whole force was dismounted and turned into a 
 rifle regiment, and sent to Jessup to watch negroes 
 for Calhoun. Not caring for such occupation, and 
 unwilling to have his hopes thus blasted, Gilpin pro- 
 ceeded to Washington and requested Mr Van Buren 
 to either give him a company of explorers, that he 
 might undertake investigations throughout the conti- 
 nent to the Columbia river, which region the United 
 States laid claim to, or to give him leave of absence 
 for two or three years that he might make a journey 
 on his own responsibility. Moreover he did not like 
 Twiggs. But Van Buren refused, saying it was 
 against the policy of his administration to have any 
 outbreak or agitation toward the central west. There 
 was filibustering in Cuba and in Central America; 
 there had been trouble in Florida, and he wanted no 
 excitement among the savages in the direction of the 
 Pacific. He informed Gilpin that if he did not like 
 the officers of his regiment, there was forming the 8th 
 regiment of infantry, to which he could be transferred 
 and promoted. Gilpin had brought with him his 
 commission in his breast pocket, knowing beforehand 
 that nothing could be done with Van Buren, and he 
 now asked the president to accept his resignation, 
 which was done. Nevertheless he was greatly dis- 
 appointed, and said : " This breaks my life in two ; what 
 is left of it I will take into my own hands." 
 
14 GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 He returned to Missouri and resumed civil life, 
 locating himself at St Louis, where he took charge 
 of the Missouri Arg^is, conducting it for twelve months 
 during an election campaign. The reelection of Ben- 
 ton and Lynn to the senate was the issue of the hour, 
 and their interests were regarded as in jeopardy. 
 Under its former management the Argus had broken 
 down, and as Gilpin was a young man, and mentally 
 and physically vigorous, he was deemed a proper per- 
 son to place in charge of the paper. The opposition 
 brought Webster to St Louis, and he made a telling 
 speech, saying that in his opinion the vote of the 
 coming presidential campaign turned on the election 
 in Missouri, and that it was essential to get Benton 
 out of the way. It was a desperate fight. St Louis 
 was the focal point where all the political rabble from 
 New Orleans and elsewhere gathered themselves, and 
 they were now holding here violent conventions.' 
 This inflammable element went up the river to Keokuk, 
 Bocheport, Cincinnati, and Nashville, lighting the 
 fires of spurious patriotism. But the party fought 
 its way through, and carried the state legislature by 
 139 votes for the reelection of Benton and Lynn. 
 
 Gilpin was thereupon made secretary of the general 
 assembl}^ of the state of Missouri. Sterling Price 
 was speaker. In their measures they put a saving 
 clause which prevented any effort toward reconstruct- 
 ing the United States bank, and the independent 
 treasury system was brougiit forward and established 
 by Van Buren. Yet Gilpin saw that nothing could 
 be done in the direction he desired, in view of the 
 change of politics; so that after his duties as secretary 
 of the general assembly were over he determined to 
 give his time to exploration, as there existed every- 
 where a lamentable ignorance of the western country. 
 What shall we say when so astute a statesman as 
 Daniel Webster, at the close of a speech on the floor 
 of the United States senate, denouncing a proposition 
 to establish a mail route from Independence, Mis- 
 
WILLIAM GILPIN. 15 
 
 souri, to the mouth of the Columbia, breaks forth: 
 "What do we want with this vest, worthless area? 
 This region of savages and wild beasts, of deserts, of 
 shifting sands and whirlwinds of dust, of cactus and 
 prairie dogs? To what use could we ever hope to 
 put these great deserts, or those endless mountain 
 ranges, impenetrable and covered to their ver}^ base 
 with eternal snow? What can we ever hope to do 
 with the western coast, a coast of 3,000 miles, rock- 
 bound, cheerless, uninviting, and not a harbor on it? 
 What use have we for such a country? Mr Presi- 
 dent, I will never vote one cent from the public 
 treasury to place the Pacific coast one inch nearer to 
 Boston than it now is." 
 
 Gilpin knew better than this, and he would know 
 more. But first he would settle himself somewhere 
 and declare his profession. He had entered his name 
 as student of law, with his brother, in Philadelphia, 
 and on determining^ to make his home in the west he 
 had gone before Strong, judge of the eastern district 
 of Pennsylvania, where he was examined and ad- 
 mitted to practice, and he had brought with him his 
 commission. 
 
 During his editorship of the Missouri Argus Gilpin 
 made many hearty enemies in St Louis and elsewhere, 
 owing to the political bitterness which prevailed dur- 
 ing the campaign which resulted in the election of 
 Benton and Lynn; and while holding the office of 
 secretary of the general assembly he went constantly 
 armed and always on the lookout for an assault. Two 
 indictments were found against him in St Louis, but 
 Governor Reynolds said, "Give yourself no uneasiness 
 on that score, for whatever they do I have always 
 your pardon written out." Gilpin read one morning, 
 at Jefferson Cit}^ a copy of a notice which had been 
 posted up on the steps of the court-house at St Louis, 
 to the effect that if he returned to St Louis he would 
 be killed at sight. It was signed by a man named 
 Grimsey, a well-known political boss and a bully. 
 
16 GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 The session having closed, it became Gilpin's duty to 
 take the manuscript of the laws, which had been 
 revised, to the state printer at Cape Girardo. He at 
 once started for that point via St Louis. He arrived 
 in the latter city at midnight, and on the following- 
 morning, while passing along the street, he was ap- 
 proached by the man Grimsey, a large, powerful fellow, 
 who was carrying a heavy club. Gilpin at that time 
 weighed 145 pounds, but he was lithe and active, and 
 his physical training had been excellent. He carried in 
 his hand a stout hickory stick which he used to good 
 advantage; for before the bully could strike, Gilpin 
 had, with a blow of his stick, disarmed his antagonist, 
 and was raining down blows upon his head. The 
 stick split, but Gilpin kept on, each blow cutting to 
 the bone, until the bully was dripping in his own 
 blood. The combat occupied not more than two 
 minutes, and resulted in Grimsey being completely 
 vanquished. After this Gilpin proceeded to Cape 
 Girardo and transacted his business with the state 
 printer. Grimsey 's chastisement effected a total 
 reformation in his character, and he lived an exem- 
 plary life for the rest of his days. 
 
 Jackson and Clay counties were directly opposite 
 one another, and abutting against the Indian territory; 
 they had been named at the time of the memorable 
 battle between Clay and Jackson for the presidency. 
 Clay county on the north had been settled principally 
 by Kentuckians, while Jackson county on the south 
 was populated by Tennesseans. Lieutenant Gilpin 
 finally located himself at Independence, the county 
 seat of Jackson county, a few miles below where Kan- 
 sas City now is, where he entered into the practice of 
 the law. His brother had presented him with a set 
 of United States supreme court reports upon his de- 
 parture for the west, and these formed the nucleus of 
 his hbrary. The land between the town-site and the 
 river he secured, and built thereon a cabin, in which 
 he at times lived. The spot was isolated, the onh^ 
 
WILLIAM UILPIN. I7 
 
 commerce being that conducted by means of wagon- 
 trams which passed over the mountains into Mexican 
 territory, but its remoteness from the civihzed east 
 was counterbalanced by its proximity to that vast un- 
 explored region of which he had so long dreamed, and 
 he was content to remain there that he might associ- 
 ate with those adventurous men who were tradino-, 
 hunting, or trapping in the territory he was dete?- 
 mmed to explore, and from them derive information as 
 to climate and topography which would be of benefit to 
 him on his projected journey. He talked with Kit 
 Carson and others from the wilderness who came in 
 and passed through Independence almost every sum- 
 mer. 
 
 Neither his law practice nor his agricultural pur- 
 suits proved remunerative. He managed however to 
 earn enough to live upon, but that was all. In 1842 
 a party of New Mexican traders having in their pos- 
 session $60,000 in silver coin, with which they intended 
 to purchase goods, was expected to arrive in Inde- 
 pendence. A few of their number, who came into 
 town in advance of the main party, brought the news 
 that a band of robbers had gone out to get this money, 
 and requested that assistance should be sent. Ten 
 men under Lieutenant Gilpin were furnished provis- 
 ions and transportation, and they started off. Un- 
 fortunately the robbers were succe'ssful in their desion. 
 Only the hair of Manuel Chaves, the chief trad'er, 
 who had charge of the money, was found, the body 
 having been devoured by wolves. The robbers re- 
 turned to Independence and thence to Kansas City 
 where they were arrested, taken to St Louis, and four 
 ot them hanged. Independence remained Lieutenant 
 Orilpin s nominal residence for twenty years, from 1841 
 to 1861, though he was at various times absent upon 
 exploring expeditions. 
 
 His next expedition, in which he made his way to 
 the Pacific Ocean, near Astoria, was begun in June 
 
18 GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 1843. By selling liis library, and in various other 
 ways, he secured a little money with which to purchase 
 an outfit. His first purchase was a saddle-horse for 
 $95. He then bought a yaager rifle, blankets, and 
 the various paraphernalia requisite to an extended jour- 
 ney through the wilderness. Yet he needed more 
 money, and an acquaintance, who was soon to be mar- 
 ried to an intimate friend of his, loaned him a hundred 
 dollars. He was now ready to start, having as an 
 outfit, and in addition to his saddle-horse, rifle, and 
 small-arms, a pack-mule that carried his camping 
 utensils. The people evinced very decided opposition 
 to his going thus alone far into the Indian country, 
 and used every argument to dissuade him from his 
 purpose, but without avail. After mounting and 
 starting out the pack-mule broke away from him, 
 lost the pack, and returned to town. Again he had 
 to pass through the ordeal of his friends, but he re- 
 mained firm of purpose, and the second start proved 
 successful. 
 
 Fremont had been ordered, about this time, to make 
 a summer expedition to the mountains and return; and 
 a party of Scotchmen were also intending to make a 
 hunting trip to the South pass and return ; but Gilpin's 
 objective point was the mouth of the Columbia. He 
 went into camp the first evening, out about thirty 
 miles, at a spot called the Lone Elm, David Waldo, 
 the man who had loaned him the money, accompany- 
 ing him thus far. He found encamped in this vicin- 
 ity a few men whom he did not at first recognize, 
 but to his surprise they proved to be the party 
 of Fremont. The immortal pathfinder asked Gilpin 
 where he was going, and was told. He expressed 
 astonishment, and said: "Why, even with my whole 
 force I do not consider myself safe from massacre 
 to-morrow; now if you are determined to go on, throw 
 your pack into one of my chareftes, turn your mule 
 into my band, and let me have the reenforcement of 
 your horse and rifle." This arrangement was highly 
 
WILLIAM GILPIN. 19 
 
 satisfactory to Gilpin, as it afforded him companion- 
 ship and protection for a long distance. 
 
 The party proceeded up the Kansas river, from the 
 head of the Kansas over to the Platte, and followed 
 up the Platte to the St Vrain fork. That being the 
 boundary line and all beyond hostile, they remained 
 there for some time, sending to Bent's fort for some 
 hunters and fresh horses. Fremont's orders from the 
 secretary of war were to make a line of survey to 
 Walla Walla; and this he did, reaching there about 
 the middle of October. Durmg the journey Fremont 
 would occasionally leave the party and make little 
 detours for the purpose of investigation, and Lieuten- 
 ant Gilpin also followed this practice, thereby adding 
 much to his knowledge of the topography of the coun- 
 try. In one of these excursions Fremont arrived at 
 Walla Walla some days before the rest of the party, 
 and at once proceeded to Vancouver for supplies for 
 his return journey. 
 
 When Gilpin arrived at Walla Walla, he learned of 
 Fremont's departure for Vancouver, and also that he 
 had left his men in camp at the upper Dalles. From 
 Walla Walla he proceeded to the upper Dalles, where 
 he met an Irishman named Dougherty, a Welshman 
 named Owen, and an American named Campbell, the 
 latter a 3^oung man of good parts and [)leasant bear- 
 ing. Archibald McKinley had charge of the fort at 
 that point, and of him Gilpin procured some horse 
 meat, potatoes, and some green tea which had once 
 been used; also exchanging his pack-mule, Kitt}^, for 
 a log canoe, and leaving his horse with McKinley. 
 They embarked in the canoe, which was guided by an 
 Indian pilot, and had an enjoyable trip down the 
 river, thouo-h at times beino- in dano-er from the sav- 
 ages who were fishing along the bank, until they 
 arrived safely at the lower Dalles, where Fremont 
 had left his camp in charge of Kit Carson. Three 
 days later Fremont returned with five canoes loaded 
 with supplies for bis homeward journey. During the 
 
20 GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 following night Gilpin's canoe was stolen by the 
 Indians. Fremont had previously exhausted all his 
 eloquence in endeavoring to induce Grilpin to remain 
 with the party, but without avail. Fremont now 
 turned over to Gilpin the five canoes to take back to 
 McLaughlin at Vancouver. 
 
 Arriving at that point he was welcomed with great 
 hospitality by McLaughlin and the factors of the 
 Hudson's Bay Company, and here he remained some 
 two months, one of a congenial party that gathered 
 at Vancouver, consisting of McLaughlin, Douglas, 
 Ogden, McTavish, and the traders who happened to 
 come in. It was customary for them to dine to- 
 gether, either with McLaughlin or Douglas, and 
 during his stay there Lieutenant Gilpin was very 
 assiduous in acquiring as much knowledge as he could 
 regarding the country, its resources, and the condition 
 of affairs, and from his unrestrained intercourse with 
 these people he learned much that was desirable to 
 know. Often he would sit at dinner until ten o'clock 
 at night, in conversation with some intelligent trav- 
 eller. 
 
 Finally the fur magnates decided that Gilpin knew 
 too much for the interests of the great game preserve, 
 and they endeavored to get him out of the country by 
 one of their ships then lying in the river, and bound 
 for the Sandwich islands. Of this earthly paradise 
 they gave Gilpin the most glowing accounts, putting 
 before him the advantage such a voyage would be to 
 him, and offering him letters of introduction to Sir 
 Hugh Pelley, and transportation to London, all at 
 the expense of the Hudson's Bay Company. Finally 
 the captain of this vessel, a shrewd Scotchman, in- 
 vited Gilpin, and his most agreeable young friend 
 Campbell, on board his vessel to dine with him. He 
 introduced to them his best cabin, and told them that 
 this should be their home as long as they desired. 
 They sat down to dinner and enjoyed the appetizing 
 efforts of an excellent cook, and also drank freely of 
 
WILLIAM GILPIN. 21 
 
 wine which the captain generously set forth, with 
 occasional potations of brandy. During the evening 
 the captain and young Campbell succumbed to the 
 influences of good cheer, and made themselves com- 
 fortable in corners of the cabin. Gilpin, but little 
 inconvenienced by the fiery potations, after breakfast- 
 ing on a tender, well-cooked duck, went ashore just 
 after daylight and was met by Douglas, who seemed 
 surprised at his quick return from the ship. The 
 idea of these whole- soul and hospitable men had been 
 to detain him on board the vessel until she could get 
 to sea, and then rid themselves of one whose pro- 
 nounced views and aggressive nature presaged dis- 
 astrous antagonism. But in this they signally failed. 
 From Vancouver Gilpin proceeded up the Willa- 
 mette river to Oregon City. Scarcely had he arrived 
 there when three Indians came into town and shot 
 and killed three young Americans with poisoned 
 arrows. Excitement ran high, and a few of the peo- 
 ple gathered to see what measures could be taken to 
 insure self-protection. There were various matters 
 needing attention, everything political being at loose 
 ends. It was decided to hold a convention on the 
 succeeding 4th of March, for the purpose of organiz- 
 ing some sort of a provisional government, and secur- 
 inar recoo-nition from the United States. Doctor 
 White was appointed to represent the Americans, 
 Douglas to represent the English, and Lieutenant 
 Gilpin to represent the western and Rocky mountain 
 population, and these men were to bring about this 
 convention. Douglas refused to serve, as it would 
 interfere with his position with the English govern- 
 ment. White refused for the same reason, that it 
 would compromise him; and it was concluded that 
 Gilpin should do what he could. He procured a 
 guide, Joe Meek, and together they proceeded up the 
 Willamette to the chief settlement, within about 
 twelve miles of Salem, where there was a catholic 
 mission. 
 
22 GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 The object was to notify the settlers of the pro- 
 posed convention, and to induce every one to be 
 present. Gilpin then went to Vancouver, and again 
 endeavored to enlist McLaughlin and Douglas in the 
 movement; after much discussion it was agreed that 
 the attendants at this convention should unite as peo- 
 ple of the Pacific coast, and without reference to any 
 existing government. In the mean time a brief 
 schedule of a provisional government was drawn up, 
 which provided for an executive committee of three, 
 for magistrates who should hold courts, and for con- 
 stables; and finally for a committee in charge of this 
 executive committee, to be finally chosen by them, to 
 be ready to afford any assistance that they might be 
 able to give, should any difliculty occur. Blubber 
 Smith was made chairman, and two Canadians were 
 vice-presidents. The schedule was adopted, and served 
 its purpose until the territory became stronger. Lieu- 
 tenant Gilpin drew up with great care a petition to 
 the government of the United States, requesting, in 
 the same vigorous language used by our grandfathers 
 in the declaration of independence, that notice should 
 be taken of the exposed condition of the people, flanked 
 by the open sea where the fleets of the world could 
 come in, surrounded by savages, with nothing to live 
 upon, and harassed in many ways by reason of Brit- 
 ish authority. 
 
 When the meeting was about to adjourn sine die, 
 Doctor White presented the petition for the consid- 
 eration of the assemblage. The chairman at first ob- 
 jected to have anything to do with foreign affairs, but 
 consented that it should be read, and after hearing its 
 contents, he unhesitatingly put his name to it; the two 
 vice-presidents, who could not read or write, then made 
 their marks, which were duly witnessed, and then the 
 others signed. Thus was Lieutenant Gilpin appointed 
 an agent of the people to lay the petition before the 
 president of the United States. The petition further 
 stated that though Oregon thus far had produced 
 
WILLIAM GILPIN. 23 
 
 nothing of value to the United States, yet with a 
 little help, it would become an important factor in 
 the government. 
 
 Up to this time Gilpin had not been able to proceed 
 west farther than the mouth of the Willamette, and 
 he now determined that he would see the Pacific 
 ocean without further delay. He procured a yawl 
 with a single mast and a sheet for a sail, and then as 
 a crew he took in a sprightly young sailor boy, a 
 Missouri man named Chappel, and one Doc Newell. 
 They rowed down the Willamette and out into the 
 Columbia. After proceeding a short distance down 
 the Columbia, it v/as noticed that they were not 
 making much headway, and Gilpin suggested that 
 they should go ashore and wait until the tide changed 
 in their favor. At this Newell turned pale, and asked 
 if the sea was really strong enough to take anything 
 up stream. To prove it to him, Gilpin threw out 
 some hay, which floated up past a snag, and caught 
 thereon, much to the discomfiture of Newell. "When 
 I find myself in a country where water runs up 
 stream," he said, "I want to get out of it; it is no 
 place for an Ohio man." 
 
 "I am going to the ocean," said Gilpin, "and you 
 must help me get there," at the same time guiding 
 the boat out into the middle of the stream to prevent 
 Newell from jumping ashore. The country was a sav- 
 age wilderness, and should he be put ashore, he 
 would probably starve to death or be killed by In- 
 dians. But Newell said that he had a wife and chil- 
 dren at home ; and so strong was his belief that sure 
 destruction awaited a man who was rash enough to 
 venture nearer to any such terrible body of water, 
 that after about an hour spent in trying to convince 
 him of his folly, they finally placed him "on shore and 
 rowed away. At a saw-mill, a few miles farther 
 down, they procured a Nez Perces Indian to take 
 the place of Newell. 
 
 When they reached the wide bay inside of Tongue 
 
24 GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 point, the waves were running high, and the wind blow- 
 ing furiously. The remainder of the passage promised 
 to be extremely hazardous. In rounding the point, 
 Gilpin had the men lie down flat in the boat, while 
 he took the sail and rudder and picked his way 
 along shore, sometimes barely grazing the rocks; but 
 after getting into the open channel, he had a fair wind 
 down to Astoria, or Fort George, where the party 
 was warmly greeted by the commander, who with his 
 people had been watching the dangerous course of 
 the boat, and wondering who its occupants could be. 
 The following day Gilpin set out to make the last 
 stage of his westward journey to the shores of the 
 Pacific. Dense forests and almost impenetrable 
 swamps had to be traversed, and the only guide 
 procurable was a young Indian girl. They landed 
 in the afternoon, and started into the woods to cross 
 over to the beach. Soon darkness set in, and the 
 situation became more depressing when their guide 
 made the announcement, in her own terse manner, 
 that she had lost the trail. Nothing further could 
 be done until morning. Gilpin, after some difficulty, 
 succeeded in starting a small fire, with the aid of a 
 flint, and they remained there until daylight, though 
 none of them slept. When morning came the trail 
 was found, and in a short time they emerged upon 
 Clatsop beach. Thus the great object of the journey 
 from Jackson county had been accomplished. 
 
 Gilpin took a plunge in the sea, and was then ready 
 to retrace his steps. Among other curiosities on the 
 beach, they found the skeleton of a whale, some forty- 
 five feet long. The return journey to Astoria, and 
 thence to Vancouver, was soon made, without special 
 adventure. Arriving there, Gilpin applied to Mc- 
 Laughlin for assistance to return home. The fur 
 magnate placed at his service a canoe and five In- 
 dians, with provisions, consisting of cured pork, which 
 was scarce and expensive, and other articles of food, 
 and on the 10th of April. 1844, he left Vancouver. 
 
WILLIAM GILPIN. 25 
 
 Arriving at the upper Dalles he exchanged his five 
 Indians and one canoe for one Indian and five horses, 
 swam the river below the Dalles, proceeded 250 miles 
 through Washington territory, and recrossed at Walla 
 Walla, where he was left alone. There he was obliged 
 to wait for the annual brigade of supplies for Fort 
 Hall, 900 miles distant, as it was not safe to make 
 the journey alone. He found his horse safe; and 
 when the brigade arrived under the command of 
 Major Grant, he accompanied it as far as Fort Hall. 
 Fort Bridger was the next objective point, and that 
 was 300 miles farther on. At Fort Hall he met Peg- 
 leg Smith, a powerful man, turbulent and tough, rude 
 in manner, but of wonderful nerve and courage. 
 
 While out on the plains with a wagon-train of sup- 
 plies intended for Bent's fort, he was accidentally 
 thrown from his wagon, and the heavy vehicle passed 
 over his leg, crushing the bone below the knee, ren- 
 dering amputation necessary. There was no physician 
 within hundreds of miles, and he feared mortification 
 would set in and consequent loss of life. Whereupon 
 he made a saw from his butcher-knife, built a fire and 
 heated a bolt from a wagon, and then cut the flesh to 
 the bone, sawed the leg off, and drawing the flesh down 
 over the wound he took the heated bolt and seared it 
 over to prevent bleeding. This is not the only in- 
 stance of similar heroism under the pressure of inex- 
 orable necessity. 
 
 This man had come to Fort Hall for powder, and 
 Gilpin proposed to him that they should make the 
 trip to Fort Bridger in company, to which Smith 
 agreed. They could get no meat at Fort Hall, and 
 the first night out they spent at Ross fork, with noth- 
 ing to eat, and as a consequence were nearly famished. 
 They accidentally killed a ground-hog and tried to eat 
 it, but could not. The next day, the 3d of July, they 
 started down the Point Neuf river, and were fortu- 
 nate enough to shoot an antelope. They celebrated 
 the 4th of July at Soda springs by eating antelope 
 
20 GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 and drinking soda-water, and were then ready to re- 
 sume their journey to Fort Bridger. Arriving there, 
 Gilpin engaged a young Mexican boy as his guide, and 
 together they proceeded over the Uintah mountains, 
 and down to the Grand river of the west, which they 
 crossed, coming out upon the old Spanish trail used 
 by Californians to drive their cattle from Los Angeles 
 to San Antonio, Texas. Turning to the left as they 
 entered this trail they soon parted from the Grand 
 river. Once they camped on the banks of a small 
 muddy stream, and had hardly unpacked when their 
 horses galloped off, and joined others which soon 
 appeared in sight. Investigation showed that there 
 was an Indian camp close by. By this time Gilpin 
 had learned to be a better Indian than the Indians 
 themselves ; yet it was only by his coolness and brav- 
 ery under the most trying circumstances that he 
 escaped with his life on this occasion. He held a 
 long conference with the Indians that evening, and 
 another in the morning, during which he distributed 
 a few trifimg presents among them, and on the latter 
 occasion extreme measures were advocated by one of 
 the chiefs; but by his very audacity Gilpin and his 
 guide were permitted to depart unharmed. He rode 
 thirty-eight miles that day, crossing the Bio Grande 
 toward evening. After that he encountered no more 
 savages, although he was obliged to be constantly on 
 his guard. Sometimes a week would elapse without 
 a gun being discharged, and at other times he would 
 not dare to light a fire. Passing through San Luis 
 park he reached Bent's fort, and from that point took 
 the wagon -road to Independence. 
 
 Arrivmg at the state line he found that the presi- 
 dential election of 1844 was being held. On learning 
 who were the candidates he at once voted for Polk. 
 Although his vote was at first challenged, it was 
 afterwards taken, Gilpin claiming that if he had not 
 been residing in Missouri for some time past, he had 
 not resided anywhere else. Arrived at Jefferson 
 
WILLIAM GILPIN. 27 
 
 City he was immediately tendered his old appoint- 
 ment, that of secretary of the general assembly of 
 Missouri, then in session, and which he accepted. 
 The fame of his travels spread abroad, and he at- 
 tracted much attention, letters pouring in upon him 
 from all parts of the United States. The Oregon 
 and Texas platforms had brought into existence the 
 fundamental elements of the great army of pioneers, 
 and they naturally turned to this young man who had 
 traversed so much of the western territory. 
 
 In the spring of 1845, after the legislature had 
 adjourned and about the time Polk was inaugurated, 
 he made a visit to his mother, on the Brandywine, 
 and renewed his earlier associations in that quarter, 
 his father being now dead. He went to Washington 
 shortly after the inauguration of Polk. Among the 
 new cabinet officers were many intimate family friends, 
 among them Buchanan, Walker, Marcy, George Ban- 
 croft, and others. He found himself heartily re- 
 ceived at the capital. In the eyes of the people he 
 was a hero. Washington was a large Virginia vil- 
 lage at that time, and the kindness of so many dis- 
 tinguished persons was gratifying after the hardships 
 of his frontier life. Through all the flattering atten- 
 tions he received he bore himself with that true 
 quaker modesty which had been bred in him from 
 boyhood. He called on James Buchanan, secretary 
 of state, who recognized him at once, greeted him 
 kindly, and requested him to recite the incidents of 
 of his expedition to Oregon. This was done, and so 
 interesting was it that Buchanan said, when Gilpin 
 had finished: "You must come with me at once to the 
 president and give him word for word, as near as you 
 can, what you have told me. It is bewitching, and 
 will be invaluable to us just at this time." He at 
 once went to the president, and introducing Gilpin, 
 said: "Here is my young friend William Gilpin, 
 known to me from a boy. He is the greatest trav- 
 
'2S GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 eller of his age, and has given me such a clear, con- 
 cise, and valuable account of his journey ings that I 
 wish you to hear the same; and further, Mr Presi- 
 dent, he does not desire an office." The president 
 greeted him kindly, spoke of his friendship with his 
 brother, Henry Gilpin, and seconded Mr Buchanan's 
 request for an interview. This had been Gilpin's 
 object from the beginning, and his dream of establish- 
 ing an empire in the wilderness now seemed in a fair 
 way to be realized. He repeated the account of his 
 travels to the president, with his impressions of the 
 country through which he had passed, a description 
 of the climate and soil, the few settlers he had met, 
 and their condition and necessities. His recital proved 
 very gratifying to Mr Polk, who expressed his as- 
 tonishment no less at the courage and enterprise of 
 the young man than at what he heard regarding the 
 condition of affairs in the west. Gilpin saw that an 
 attempt would be made to overthrow Polk on the 
 extension of territory question, as had been the case 
 with Jackson on the currency question. His policy 
 was that of Jefferson's, to push on to the Pacific and 
 make safe all that vast country. 
 
 As has been said. Lieutenant Gilpin desired no 
 office. The idea of western dominion was with him 
 greater than any position within the gift of the ad- 
 ministration, or of the people, which would trammel 
 his independence. He would have entertained no pro- 
 position, he would have entered upon no road to honor 
 or emolument, which would not have led in the direc- 
 tion of his grand and animating conception. In the 
 discussion of Oregon affairs, he was preeminently a 
 most important personage. In speaking to bim, Sen- 
 ator Benton said: "We are delighted to see you, and 
 we are delighted with your conversations ; you are in 
 a position to give us facts that we cannot find in any 
 books; and you will find it universally satisfactory 
 and to the pleasure of all our friends if you will return 
 when congress opens." Of course Benton favored 
 
WILLIAM GILPIN. 29 
 
 Fremont, the husband of Jessie, but he was still 
 friendly and cordial to Gilpin. So the Oregon trav- 
 eller went away, and returned at the convening of 
 congress, and was admitted to all the debates, with 
 the freedom of the floors of both houses, which were 
 then in the old rooms ; and often when a member was 
 in the midst of a speech, he would turn to Gilpin and 
 inquire as to some point with which he himself was 
 not familiar. 
 
 Senator Niles. of Connecticut and Senator Atchi- 
 son of Missouri, who belonged to the committee on 
 post-offices and post-roads, were both greatly inter- 
 ested in Lieutenant Gilpin. Said the former: "All 
 that you have stated not only surprises me exceed- 
 ingly, but harmonizes with my sentiments; but it is 
 all too new and I am too old to study it out in all its 
 vast magnitude; if you will address a letter to Senator 
 Atchison covering the subject, I will introduce a bill 
 and lay it before congress, making my report intro- 
 ductory to the same." 
 
 The report was submitted March 2, 1846, and 
 ordered to be printed, 3,000 copies more being ordered 
 two days thereafter. The committee recomended the 
 opening of a mail route from the western line of the 
 state of Missouri to the mouth of the Columbia river. 
 
 In this letter Mr Gilpin gave a full description of 
 the condition of affairs in Oregon. He speaks of the 
 population, the industries and products of the coun- 
 try, also its position in relation to Japan and China, 
 and the attitude of the Hudson's Bay Company. He 
 then pointed out the advantages, or rather, the abso- 
 lute necessity, of a transcontinental mail route. It is 
 worthy of remark that Mr Gilpin was among the 
 first to suggest and urge this measure, as well as 
 those of steam communication via Panamd, and the 
 overland railway. 
 
 This much having been disclosed, congress and 
 the people desired to know more. On the 16th of 
 March Senator Semple addressed a letter to Mr Gilpin 
 
30 GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 requesting further information. Accompanying his 
 answer was a full exposition of the natural resources 
 and condition of the farthest west. He gave the geo- 
 graphy and position of Oregon, showed the growth of 
 America and the folly of restricting progress. He 
 explained the possibilities of Pacific coast traffic, the 
 geographical proportions of our national territory, the 
 productive strength of America, the old and the new 
 routes of commerce, the natural commercial affinity 
 of the Americans and Asiatics, the dignity of the 
 American position, and the necessity for further topo- 
 graphic knowledge. Then he gave a fine dissertation 
 upon climates, and on the physical character of the 
 Pacific slope of the American continent. Next he 
 speaks of the settlement of Oregon, the necessity of 
 American sovereignty on this continent, the Euro- 
 pean jealousy of America, concluding with some perti- 
 nent comparisons. Altogether the report made a 
 book of forty-seven pages, and coming just at this 
 time, on the eve of the settlement of the Oregon 
 question, the Mexican war, and the acquisition of 
 California, its influence and importance cannot be 
 estimated. 
 
 Gilpin remained in Washington until the declara- 
 tion of war against Mexico. Immediately after the 
 battle of Palo Alto, a bill was passed entitled "An 
 act to appropriate money for the existing hostilities 
 between the United States and Mexico." Gilpin's 
 petition from Oregon had been introduced in the sen- 
 ate by Atchison, and was document No. 1 in both 
 houses. After the declaration of war he had notified 
 persons in Jackson county to raise a company, and 
 they had saved a place for him, but this he did not 
 want. From President Polk he obtained permission 
 to call out one regiment of Missouri cavalry, and to 
 call it the Army of the West. Upon reaching Inde- 
 pendence he found that a company of 105 men had 
 been raised, and had proceeded to Fort Leavenworth 
 to be mustered in. 
 
WILLIAM GILPLV. 31 
 
 He at once proceeded to Fort Leavenworth, and 
 there found six companies of the 1st regiment Mis- 
 souri volunteers. Company A of this regiment was 
 composed of his friends who were anxiously awaiting 
 his arrival. Kearney was present, and as he did not 
 feel kindly toward Gilpin he determined that he 
 should have no command. Gilpin felt that he would 
 be elected an officer if he could once oain admission to 
 the company. He found in the company from Jack- 
 son county a boy, sixteen years old, whose widowed 
 mother had claimed his discharge on account of his 
 youth, and Gilpin paid this boy eighty-five dollars for his 
 place in the ranks. - Otherwise he could not have se- 
 cured a place, as the company already numbered 105; 
 but as they were strong, hardy, and desirable soldiers, 
 they had been permitted to remain. Gilpin was a 
 trained soldier from the school, and had also had ex- 
 perience on the field, and he drilled the companies up 
 to the time of the election of officers. Among the 
 men was an old class-mate named Ruff. Some of the 
 men were pleased to think they could prevent Gilpin 
 from holding any office in the company, as he previ- 
 ously had worked his way up to a 1st lieutenancy, 
 and then despising that rank, had resigned. 
 
 Well, the election proceeded. A man named Doni- 
 phan was chosen colonel, and the election for lieu- 
 tenant-colonel then came up. Doniphan desired 
 Gilpin to have the place, but RufF was the candidate 
 of the West Pointers. Ruff was elected by two votes. 
 The office of major was still open. After the election 
 had proceeded thus far, the regiment broke into confu- 
 sion and declared that Gilpin should be major. Gilpin 
 thereupon made them a speech of about twenty minutes' 
 duration, after which he was informed that Kearney 
 wished to see him in his office. He obeyed the sum- 
 mons, and Kearney said: "I have received from the 
 president an appointment for you as lieutenant-colonel 
 of the 3d regiment, and I suppose this is followed by 
 a life service if you choose. Had you not better with- 
 
32 GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 draw now and avail yourself of this appointment?" 
 Said Gilpin, "I will not accept it." He felt it was a 
 measure which would turn him from the west. He 
 returned to the parade ground and was unanimously 
 declared elected major, without the formality of ballot- 
 ing. It spite of his age Gilpin had at that time more 
 frontier experience than any of the officers ; his train- 
 ing had been thorough and varied, and he was virtually 
 master of the situation. The army entered Santa Fe 
 in triumph on the 14th of August, 1846. Kearney 
 had become homesick and desired to turn back. 
 
 The army of the west at that time consisted of the 
 1st regiment Missouri volunteers, of which Gilpin 
 was major, three companies of dragoons, a battery of 
 volunteer artillery, a small battalion of infantry from 
 Cole county, Missouri, and a small cavalry company 
 from St Louis. Attached to the army were three 
 hundred merchant wagons with their owners. They 
 had laid in a stock of goods especiall}^ adapted to the 
 Mexican country, and they now desired to keep on to 
 Chihuahua, their destination. These teamsters were 
 as good soldiers as any in the army, and assisted 
 materially at the battle of Sacramento, which pre- 
 ceded the taking of the city of Chihuahua. This 
 battle, at which the Americans had less than 1,200 
 men in rank, was fought on the 28 th of February, 
 1847, beginning at 3 a. m., and ending at twenty 
 minutes past ten in the evening. The Mexican army, 
 according to Gilpin's estimate, had 5,250 soldiers, 
 with five generals and 26 pieces of artillery. The 
 Americans had about eight hundred men, including 
 the teamsters, who guarded the corral; but not all 
 reported for duty; there were four field-pieces and 
 two mountain howitzers. The Mexicans were drawn 
 up in line and the Americans began to manoeuvre. 
 
 They marched past the Mexicans, who, not antici- 
 pating such a measure, waited too long and were then 
 forced to move suddenly and disorderly to prevent 
 the American army from marching around them to 
 
WILLIAM GILPIN. 33 
 
 the city. As they turned to rectify their mistake the 
 Americans charged them upon the tiank, captured 
 their artillery, cut them in two, and defeated the two 
 wings. The army then marched to Chihuahua, where 
 it remained some three months. A dispute here 
 arose between Gilpin and Doniphan, which involved 
 the integrity of the expedition. 
 
 The average age of the army was 22 years, and 
 there was a difference of sentiment among the men, 
 the younger ones wishing to push on into the Mexican 
 country, and the others desiring to return. Gilpin's 
 idea was this: that as they had possession of that 
 magnificent city, and as the mint contained about 
 $800,000, they should confiscate that money, as they 
 had a right to do, as spoils of A\ar. Up to this time 
 the army had not received any pay or recognition of 
 their valor from home. Finally Doniphan agreed to 
 call a court-martial and submit the question as to 
 whether the army should retrace its steps, or push on 
 to conquer the whole Mexican country. Thus far, 
 besides doing their own work, they had done that 
 which had been allotted to General Wool. Doniphan 
 picked the members of the court-martial, such as 
 would favor his views, as nearly as he was able ; but 
 Gilpin had all the young men on his side. The ques- 
 tion was put, and it was decided to push on to the 
 city of Mexico. They then made a three days' march 
 in that direction, Doniphan accompanying them, al- 
 though protesting at every step, and oflfering to re- 
 sign his command to Gilpin and return home. The 
 third day they halted at San Felipe. Doniphan had 
 left two companies at Chihuahua to guard the city ; 
 also a number of the merchants who wished to sell 
 out their goods. At San Felipe, on the following 
 morning, when they were expecting to pursue their 
 way, and while Gilpin was waiting for the order of 
 march from Doniphan, to his surprise no such order 
 came. What still more astonished him was to see 
 Doniphan and several of his friends mount and take 
 
34 GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 the back trail to Cliiliualiua. One of Doniphan's 
 men came up presently and said that the orders were 
 that the whole army should return to Chihuahua, 
 that the country was full of hostile bands, that the 
 soldiers left at Chihuahua would be massacred, and 
 that he would not expose them in such a manner; so 
 the whole army turned back. Arriving at Chihuahua 
 there was another discussion as to whether the army 
 should return home or not, and Gilpin succeeded in 
 preventing this. Doniphan finally agreed to compro- 
 mise the matter, the Gilpin party agreeing not to 
 resume the march to Mexico, and Doniphan not to 
 return to Missouri. 
 
 Doniphan wrote a letter to General Taylor, then 
 at Monterey, stating the position and condition of 
 the army of the west, and requesting orders where to 
 go. This was forwarded by special messenger. Tay- 
 lor's answer was, ''Come to me." So the}^ started. 
 From Chihuahua they marched through the state of 
 Durango to Buena Vista, where Wool's army was en- 
 camped, and thence made a two days' march to Mon- 
 terey. Over a year had passed away, and the fighting- 
 was at an end. They had now but to return home, 
 so after spending one day with Taylor, they proceeded 
 to Mier on the Del Norte, which stream was too low 
 for navigation; whereupon they kept on down the 
 river for thirty miles, until they found transports. 
 From there they went down to the mouth of the 
 river, landing at Bagdad. The nearest harbor into 
 which transports for New Orleans could come was 
 Brazos Santiago. Here arrangements were made for 
 the transportation of the army to New Orleans. 
 
 Major Gilpin proceeded in advance with a personal 
 guard of twelve men, taking the steamer Telegraiph to 
 New Orleans, where he arranged for the reception 
 and paying of the army. He was three days in New 
 Orleans before the first of the force arrived, during 
 which time he and his companions were guests of the 
 city. The gallant young major had seen service in 
 
WILLIAM GILPIN. 35 
 
 the everglades of Florida, had been three years on 
 the coast of Oregon, and eighteen months in the 
 Mexican war, and his name was in every one's mouth. 
 July and August the army spent in St Louis, where 
 the twelve companies were discharged, and the people 
 of Missouri were profuse in their attentions to the 
 returned veterans. Major Gilpin was at this time 
 suffering from the effects of malaria and touches of 
 typhoid fever, and he concluded to go home to Inde- 
 pendence to rest and recuperate. But for ten years 
 the seeds of disease remained in his system. 
 
 At a reunion of Doniphan's command, on the ninth 
 anniversary of the battle of Sacramento, held at Sac- 
 ramento City, California, the third toast was as fol- 
 lows: "Major William Gilpin, the essence of chivalry, 
 the disciplinarian of tlie regiment." To wliich senti- 
 ment Senator Crenshaw replied: "I suppose I am 
 chosen to respond to this toast on account of my 
 intimate acquaintance with Major Gilpin. We were 
 both in the same regiment, and from the position that 
 I held, I had many opportunities of knowing that he 
 possessed all the attributes expressed in the sentiment 
 just read. It was to him the regiment was indebted 
 for the military training it received. Colonel Doni- 
 phan was in reality a citizen soldier. All his move- 
 ments were characterized by a cool determination. 
 The regiment was composed of the best men in the 
 state of Missouri, young but courageous. During 
 the whole of their adventurous^ march, traits of hero- 
 ism were constantl}^ exhibited. But the crowning act 
 was the battle of Sacramento. Upon the rolls that 
 morning there were less than eight hundred men re- 
 ported for duty, all told. By the books which after- 
 ward fell into our hands, and which I have yet in my 
 possession, the Mexican force that morning reported 
 for duty over four thousand men The "Mexicans, 
 besides, occupied a position protected by redoubts and 
 ditches, and had a much superior artillery force. Be- 
 hind Doniphan's men was a desert of two thousand 
 
36 GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 miles; they were three hundred miles distant from 
 another American soldier; they were almost entirely 
 bereft of food, and clothed in rags. The Mexicans 
 were certain of an easy victory. They had already 
 provided the thongs with which to pinion the Mis- 
 souri Yankees. But the motto of the American was 
 victory or death. I remember well seeing some of 
 the thoughtful clip locks of hair from their heads, and 
 give them to their comrades, to be sent to loved ones 
 at home in ease they fell in battle. The Mexican 
 cavalry charged, full of confidence. Not a shot was 
 fired from our ranks until they had approached near 
 enough to insure a dead aim. Then was heard the 
 dreadful crack of the western rifle. The enemy 
 melted before the murderous discharo;;e like grass 
 before the scythe. Confusion took possession of 
 their ranks, and they fled, leaving over two hundred 
 dead upon the field. Many of the dead had received 
 rifle-balls in their foreheads. But one American was 
 killed, the lamented Owens, who was shot while 
 charging upon the redoubt." 
 
 During that summer the Indians broke out along 
 the trail from Fort Leavenworth to Sante Fe, mur- 
 dering the teamsters, robbing and burning the trains; 
 and then came the news that the Indians had consoli- 
 dated and were to unite seven tribes in an onslauo-ht 
 upon the American people along the Arkansas. The 
 vhite men, they said, should not have all the fighting, 
 robbery, and pillage. The news created much excite- 
 ment all through Missouri, and Polk became alarmed. 
 He called a meeting of two or three of his cabinet 
 oflficers, among them being Benton, and related what 
 he had heard, expressing the fear that war would 
 become universal, and that he would be severely 
 criticised for allowing such a thing to occur. Benton 
 then suggested a plan which was afterward carried 
 out. 
 
 It was probably about the end of August 1847, 
 
WILLIAM GILPIN. 37 
 
 when one day while Major Gilpin was lying in bed, 
 with a physician in attendance, at his home in Inde- 
 pendence, he received a visit from Governor Edwards 
 of Missouri, who said: ''I come at the request of the 
 president of the United States, to tell you of the 
 anxiety he is in, and of his opinion that the war will 
 spread and involve the whole of the southwest, and 
 that these things would bring censure upon him," 
 He went on to say that the president wished to know 
 if Major Gilpin would raise an army of volunteers, 
 take care of the Indians, and reopen communication 
 with our army in northern Mexico. Major Gilpin 
 replied: " I have gone through the Mexican war, and 
 other labors such as I should not suppose were within 
 the bounds of human endurance, and I have not a 
 dollar left for my trouble ; what I have received does 
 not amount to one third of what I have spent; I have 
 seen no notice of my services, and I must decline this 
 offer." Said the governor : "If you do not accept this 
 mission, some inexperienced person will be put in, 
 with no knowledge of what it has taken you twenty 
 years to learn, and as a result, Missouri will be lost." 
 "Very well, I will accept the mission on three con- 
 ditions," replied the major: "first, if my health per- 
 mits, and I think I shall soon recover; secondly, that 
 I must sign my own orders as to where I shall go 
 and what I shall do and how I shall do it, and that I 
 shall recruit my men here in Missouri, where I can 
 select such as are suited to the desperate service in 
 which I am to be engaged and to be held accountable 
 for ; and thirdly, that the president will be pleased to 
 instruct all the generals who are now commanding 
 points of supplies that whatever requisitions I shall 
 make upon them must be filled without delay, either 
 for supplies or for money." His intention, at once 
 formed, was to make a winter campaign against the 
 Indians, knowing that if they should unite in the 
 spring they would sweep the whole of Missouri. 
 Edwards communicated with Mr Polk, and reported 
 
38 GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 that the conditions made were satisfactory to him, 
 and that instructions would be issued to that effect. 
 
 As soon as Major Gilpin could leave his bed he 
 raised eight companies, though he was obliged to take 
 new men, as those who had participated in the 
 Mexican war were not yet sufficiently recuperated for 
 fresh service. He had a splendid battery of six guns 
 from St Louis, two companies of infantry and two 
 companies of cavalry, with additional men, attendants, 
 wagoners, etc., in all about eight hundred and fifty 
 strong. The arms were all shipped to Fort Leaven- 
 worth, whither the force was sent, and were the best 
 that could be procured. This was called Gilpin's 
 battalion, of which he was lieutenant-colonel, there 
 being no other field-officer. There was in com- 
 mand at Fort Leavenworth Lieutenant-colonel Clif- 
 ton Wharton, a distant relative of Colonel Gilpin, 
 though the two were not upon the best of terms. 
 
 The supplies had all arrived, provisions in abun- 
 dance, wagons and arms, and nothing remained but 
 to muster in the force, equip them, and start. Whar- 
 ton at first refused to deliver to Colonel Gilpin the 
 supplies or arms, saying it was an indiscreet thing to 
 send a young boy out on the plains at the beginning 
 of winter, into an Indian country. After several dis- 
 putes, and being once placed under arrest by Wharton, 
 Gilpin wound the matter up by preparing a challenge 
 to fight Wharton, who, learning of it, was immediately 
 taken ill. Calling Gilpin to him at his room, he turned 
 over the supplies and arms to him, and in three days 
 the force was equipped, and armed, ready to start; it 
 moved forward on the 4th day of October. The sup- 
 plies consisted of 200 wagons of provisions, 500 head 
 of beef cattle, and fifteen wagons of ammunition. 
 When but a short distance out from Fort Leaven- 
 worth, a portion of the command mutinied ; but they 
 were threatened with instant death, and finally sub- 
 mitted. Without further incident the march was 
 made to a spot just below the present site of Pueblo, 
 
WILLIAM GILPIN. 39 
 
 where they went into camp on the Arkansas bottoms, 
 reaching there about the middle of November. At- 
 tached to the force were two hunters, John H. 
 Thatcher, who afterward located himself in California 
 and became a prosperous fruit-grower, and a character 
 called Big Bill Fallon. 
 
 These men kept the force supplied with fresh meat 
 all through the winter, so that it was not necessar}^ to 
 kill the beef cattle which had been brought. During 
 all this winter Colonel Gilpin was in miserable health, 
 owing to a severe cold which he had contracted at 
 the beginning of the march; nevertheless he showed 
 himself among the men every day. Delegations of 
 Indians came frequently to visit the camp, and Gilpin 
 sent for the chiefs of the Cheyennes and Arapahoes, 
 who were the owners of the country, saying to them : 
 " I will send a commissioner with you, and you must 
 go up between the forks of the Platte and never leave 
 there until I tell you to come." 
 
 Similar warning was sent to the Utes in the moun- 
 tains. The winter was passed comfortably, and owdng 
 to the abundance of supplies the men were all in good 
 humor. The time was occupied in drilling the soldiers, 
 which was done thoroughly, and after methods par- 
 ticularly adapted to Indian warfare, and all preparatory 
 for the spring campaign. The soldiers were expert 
 rifle-men, who had been accustomed to barking squir- 
 rels in the woods of Missouri, and they were soon 
 masters of the necessary tactics. When the time for 
 action came they moved along down the foot of the 
 mountains, and down into the summer country of the 
 Indians. Stopping at a small town in New Mexico, 
 called Moro, where he procured a supply of flour, 
 Colonel Gilpin pushed on, his object being to ascertain 
 the lines by which the Indians were coming to their 
 fighting-ground. 
 
 The battle-ground where most of the fighting was 
 done was about eighty miles from Foi't Mann, now 
 Dodge City, along the southern bank of the Arkansas, 
 
40 GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 which had afforded the savages traps for ambuscades, 
 and where white men had been killed for fifty years 
 past. For a distance of five or six hundred miles, 
 scattered all along the way, trains of twenty and thirty 
 wagons were found deserted where the Indians had 
 left them on previous raids, the occupants having all 
 been massacred. This spot was selected for a depot 
 for supplies, for the reason that the formation of the 
 sand-hills rendered it difficult to discover any one in 
 them. Running south into the Arkansas through 
 these hills was a little stream called Crooked creek, 
 and up this stream the Indians would come in the 
 summer, where they could have water and be sheltered 
 from observation. 
 
 During the winter he camped all along the bottoms 
 of the Arkansas, where the sweet cottonwoods grew, 
 affording plenty of firewood, a space in which to drill, 
 and some protection from the elements. He had In- 
 dian lodges for the soldiers and corrals for the animals. 
 At night they would strew the bottoms of the corrals 
 with branches of the sweet cottonwoods, and from 
 these branches the horses would strip every vestige 
 of the bark. In this way the horses were kept in 
 good condition, and the force was enabled to take the 
 war-path two months before the Indians, with their 
 emaciated animals, could move. During two months 
 leisure he had the scouts locate all the various trails 
 by which the Indians would come in ; the force was 
 then divided into four fighting parties under good 
 officers. These four companies were stationed at dif- 
 ferent localities, and caught, in detail, the advancing 
 tribes as they came in from every direction to join their 
 confederates. On one occasion he learned that a party 
 of Comanche warriors had left their camp on the 
 Cimaron, and were on their way to the fighting-ground 
 on the Arkansas. One of the divisions was sent down 
 and destroyed the camp, and on the same day another 
 division on the Arkansas attacked the party of war- 
 riors and drove them off down to their home. This 
 
WILLIAM GILPIN. 41 
 
 party returned to camp without pursuing the Co- 
 raanches, and Colonel Gilpin immediately detailed 
 another division to carry out their work. In the in- 
 terval, a party of sixty-three Pawnee warriors had 
 come upon the trail of the retreating Comanches, 
 and had followed it to see what it meant. The white 
 men followed on down after the Comanches, and 
 soon came up with the Pawnees, who were encamped 
 in a grove. A short and sharp battle ensued, and only 
 two Indians escaped. 
 
 Nine battles were fought from the middle of July 
 to the end of August, and 253 scalps of warriors were 
 taken from first to last. 
 
 On the 1st of November, 1848, the force arrived 
 at Leavenworth, after a campaign of a little over a 
 year. Meanwhile Colonel Gilpin's health instead of 
 improving was almost destroyed. He remained at his 
 home in Independence until May 1849, when it be- 
 came evident to him that he must either die or secure 
 the services of a physician who could cure him. 
 Thereupon he proceeded to St Louis, where he placed 
 himself under the care of Doctor Pope, an eminent 
 physician of that city. He arrived there in the midst 
 of the cholera season. The day previous to his ar- 
 rival 361 deaths had occurred, and wherever he went 
 he either saw crape on the door or the occupants of 
 the house were attending the funeral of some friend. 
 These melancholy surroundings were not conducive to 
 his recovery; and learning that the disease was not 
 so prevalent elsewhere, he went to Lexington, Ken- 
 tucky, where he secured the services of Doctor 
 Benjamin Dudley, the founder and head of the Tran- 
 sylvania University. Dudley said : " You are the worst 
 diseased man but one that I have seen in forty-five 
 years of practice. Still, if you will follow my advice 
 for a week, I will let you know whether I can cure 
 you, or will have to let you die." 
 
 At the end of the week Dudley said he would do 
 
42 GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 the best he could to keep him aUve. His vital func- 
 tions had been sadly depleted during his years of 
 frontier exposure, and only his iron constitution could 
 have carried him through. Under such heroic treat- 
 ment as raw calomel three times a week, mixed with 
 ipecac and rhubarb, he began slowly to regain his 
 health. While at Lexington his residence was in the 
 old Phoenix hotel. The sentiment of secession was 
 beginning to germinate, and many of the representa- 
 tive southern men would consult with him regarding 
 the situation. These individuals were very communi- 
 cative, and he learned much of their half- formed plans, 
 always taking care to get as much as he gave. After 
 a hundred days or so had elapsed, he returned to St 
 Louis, weighing 100 pounds, but on the road to re- 
 covery. St Louis was the wintering point for the 
 wealthy planters in that section, and in the winter of 
 1849-50 Colonel Gilpin participated as actively as his 
 reduced physical condition would permit in the brilliant 
 social events of the city. After a time, as he did not 
 improve in health materially, lie bethought himself of 
 an eminent physician of Philadelphia, Doctor Samuel 
 Jackson, a man whom he had known in his younger 
 days. His mother was living in Philadelphia -with 
 her two daughters, and thither he proceeded and 
 placed himself under treatment. He remained in 
 Philadelphia during one summer, and then returned 
 to his home in Independence. Living on his planta- 
 tion was inexpensive, and a portion of his land he laid 
 off as an addition to the town, from which he realized 
 a small sum of money. In company with five others 
 he also laid off Kansas City, which was first called 
 Centropolis; but the name which the city now bears 
 was determined by the voice of the people, who fell 
 into the habit of calling it Kansas Cit}^ He remained 
 in that locality until 1861, making occasional trips to 
 Washington, Philadelphia,, New York, and St Louis, 
 practising his profession at times, and leading rather 
 a quiet life. 
 
WILLIAM GILPIN. 43 
 
 About the first of February of the year last named, 
 he made a trip to St Louis, where he met General 
 Hunter and General Sumner, who informed him that 
 President-elect Lincoln was to start from Springfield 
 for Washington upon the third morning thereafter, 
 and as the party was small he was anxious to have in 
 it some southern man who had voted for him in a slave 
 state. Gilpin had cast the only republican vote in 
 Jackson county, though he had been unable to pro- 
 cure a printed ticket. Accordingly it was agreed that 
 he should make one of the company. They joined 
 the party at Springfield, which was transported to 
 Washington in a small car holding but thirteen per- 
 sons. On arriving at Washington he was one of a 
 hundred men who slept in the White house as a per- 
 sonal guard to the president. Inuiiediately after the 
 inauguration he was asked if he would accept an 
 appointment as governor of Colorado, as he was con- 
 sidered the one indispensable man for the position. 
 He immediately signified his willingness to do so. 
 
 At the first cabinet meeting the matter was brought 
 up, and Colonel Gilpin was nominated by Blair for the 
 position. Cameron being present seconded the motion, 
 whereupon the appointment was filled out, and unani- 
 mously confirmed by both houses. He immediately 
 received his commission from Secretary Seward. The 
 time was indeed critical ; the nation was on the ragged 
 edge of dissolution, and every member of the adminis- 
 tration was worn out with anxiety. Cameron had 
 agreed to furnish Governor Gilpin with instructions, 
 but finally told him to write them out himself, and 
 he, Cameron, would sign them. The day previous to 
 his departure from Washington, Governor Gilpin was 
 unable to see any cabinet member, and at 12 o'clock 
 at night he took up his post in front of the White 
 house, where he rightly surmised they were holding a 
 consultation. Shortly afterward three persons came 
 out and stood" on the porch conversing. Governor 
 Gilpin recognized and spoke to them. They were 
 
44 GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 Cameron, Scott, and Lincoln. He informed Mr 
 Lincoln that he had his commission in his pocket, 
 and was ready to leave for Colorado. He further 
 went on to say that it would be necessary for him to 
 have money with which to pay expenses that must 
 necessarily be incurred at the beginning. Said Mr 
 Lincoln: "We have not a cent. I have just nego- 
 tiated a loan of fifty millions of dollars from the banks 
 of New York, and have called a special session of con- 
 gress to meet on the 4th of July, to know if they will 
 hang me for treason for this unconstitutional act. If 
 you are driven to extremities you must do as I have 
 done, issue drafts on your own responsibility." 
 
 ''What shall I do for soldiers?" asked Gilpin. 
 
 "If you need them, call them out as we have done, 
 command them yourself, send your pay-rolls to me, 
 and I will see that they are paid," said Cameron. 
 "We will give you the rank of command of briga- 
 dier-general." Both Lincoln and Scott acquiesced 
 in this arrangement. He then bade them farewell 
 and left them. Early in April he arrived in Denver. 
 The only other member of the government then in the 
 place was Secretary Weld, who had been residing 
 here for some time. On alighting from the coach 
 he was greeted by a dozen or so of his old acquaint- 
 ances, the first comers to Colorado, who welcomed 
 him heartily. Waiting upon him later in his room, 
 they presented commissions from Medeira and Den- 
 ver, governors of Kansas, expressed their faith in Gil- 
 pin's ability and firmness, and requested him to renew 
 their commissions. Said their spokesman: "If you 
 want a legislature, call it and we will fill it for you, 
 and we expect to have you on our side." But theirs 
 was not the side of loyalty and integrity ; it was not 
 Governor Gilpin's side; neverthless, it was deemed 
 better to make propositions to neutralize their influ- 
 ence than to provoke open hostilities. Therefore he 
 said to them: "Gentlemen, I am much obliged for 
 your kindness, but there is ample time to consider 
 
WILLIAM GILPIN. 45 
 
 this matter after I look around a little." The seces- 
 sion flag was at the time flying from the Criterion, a 
 theatre and gambling-house on Larimer street, be- 
 tween 15th and 16th streets. The bill creating 
 Colorado had been introduced by Green, a strong 
 secessionist in congress, and this was done for the 
 purpose of establishing slavery in Colorado, and the 
 powers granted were pure despotism. Gilpin was 
 present at the time the bill was passed, and it origi- 
 nally was to establish Jeflerson Territory, but at Gil- 
 pin's suggestion the name was changed to Colorado. 
 
 The newly appointed governor found the secession 
 element in full blast; he found also a provincial gov- 
 ernment, and a regiment of mounted riflemen, sixty- 
 nine strong, organized and furnished with arms. 
 Governor Gilpin found the situation a trying one; 
 and just how to use the power which had been con- 
 ferred upon him could only be determined by careful 
 consideration ; but his plans were ultimately formed 
 with methodical exactness. x^ 
 
 He despatched a man who was secretary to Russell, 
 one of the owners of the stage Une, to Central City, 
 where were the most of the men he had to deal with, 
 a nest of secessionists, to say that on Thursday, at 
 three o'clock, he would be there to address the people. 
 This was on Tuesday. Promptly at the hour appointed 
 he was on the spot, and delivered a lengthy address 
 upon the political and social condition. An Irishman 
 named Kavanaugh attempted to reply to the gov- 
 ernor's speech, but he had proceeded only a few mo- 
 ments when the assemblage took offence at his remarks 
 and prevented his continuing. 
 
 Subsequently Governor Gilpin made a tour to the 
 principal settlements and mining camps throughout 
 the territory, speaking in them, and advocating the 
 cause of the union. On this trip the marshal of the 
 territory accompanied him for the purpose of taking a 
 census. In summing up results after his tour of 
 speech-making, he. found that he could rely on the 
 
46 GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 people to stand by the union cause by eight hundred 
 and fifty majority. Then he had the secessionists to 
 deal with, and he prosecuted this work with vigor and 
 ^promptitude. He mustered in a tew soldiers, but they 
 were without arms, while the secessionists were well 
 armed. He managed to gather from the loyal people 
 a number of old rifles and muskets, many of them broken 
 and useless, and pistols without locks; and with these 
 he made a fair showing for a time. The mails had 
 been stopped, and provisions were very scarce. The 
 secessionists were recruiting constantly, and many en- 
 listed with them merely because they were starving. 
 All eyes were upon the chief executive, and by a judi- 
 cious display of the useless arms he succeeded in keep- 
 ing matters quiet for the time. 
 
 The second regiment of United States dragoons had 
 been stationed at Fort Crittenden in Utah during the 
 Utah war. That being over, the troops started east. 
 When they arrived at Laramie, Governor Gilpin made 
 known" his situation to Pleasanton, who was in com- 
 mand, and he at once placed at the governor's disposal 
 eighteen wagons containing 1,800 new Mississippi ri- 
 fles, with a large supply of fixed ammunition. By this 
 means Colorado was saved. A man named Slough, 
 who had been mayor of Denver, was appointed captain 
 of the forces, and Logan was appointed first lieutenant. 
 Camp Weld was constructed near the city, and here 
 the troops were drilled daily. The government was 
 thus fully established. The governor made a code of 
 laws, which was received by the people with satisfac- 
 tion. This was early in December 1861. In procur- 
 ing supplies for the one company of infantry, and two 
 companies of cavalry which were now mustered in. 
 Governor Gilpin was obliged to follow Lincoln's plan of 
 raising money for the United States. He drew what 
 was necessary from tlie merchants of Denver, giving 
 them therefor drafts upon the United States govern- 
 ment. At the end of every thirty days a special mes- 
 
^^'1LLIAM GILPIN. 47 
 
 senger took them to Washington, where payment was.at 
 first refused; but finally a government agent was sent 
 to Colorado, and all the indebtedness paid. The total 
 amount of drafts drawn and paid during the campaign 
 was $227,500, which covered all the expenses of the 
 government. 
 
 The Texan army under Sibley marched up and took 
 possession of Santa Fe, and friends of Governor Gil- 
 pin immediately brought the news to Denver, The 
 forces here at once pushed on to Fort Union, march- 
 ing over Raton pass in the dead of winter. General 
 Rene Paul, a first cousin to Governor Gilpin's wife, 
 was in command there, and received the Colorado 
 troops, re-armed and re-clothed them, all in a single 
 da}^ The Texan army, having captured Canby and 
 his forces, were at Santa Fe resting and preparing to 
 move upon Fort Union, where there were thirty 
 thousand stand of arms. In SIouqIi's command was 
 a man named Collins, who had guided the American 
 troops into Chihuahua, and who was familiar with all 
 the mountain trails around Apache canon. With a 
 portion of Slough's men he went over a trail, got in 
 behind the Texans, and at daylight camped whore 
 they had left their wagons, they in the mean time 
 having advanced through the caiion. They were at- 
 tacked at the mouth of the canon by Slough with 
 such vigor that they were forced to retreat. Arriving 
 at their camp they found it destroyed, all their sup- 
 plies and provisions having been found by Collins, 
 whereupon they broke up and scattered. This was 
 the battle of Glorietta, 
 
 Toward the latter part of 1862, Governor Gilpin 
 received a request from President Lincoln to come to 
 Washington, if he could be spared, which was com- 
 plied with. Notwithstanding all that Governor Gil- 
 pin had done for Colorado, essentially saving the 
 country to the union, his enemies were ever actively 
 at work circulating false statements and stirring up 
 strife, and it was deemed advisable to make a change. 
 
48 GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 Governor Gilpin set out for home on the 8th of Janu- 
 ary, 18(52. Soon after his return to Colorado, he re- 
 ceived a letter from Seward, saying that the territory 
 was in a very dangerous condition, that they did not 
 know what would become of it, and requesting him 
 to remain as governor until his successor should 
 arrive at Denver. He was succeeded by John 
 Evans, of Illinois. 
 
 On his return from the Pacific coast in 1844, Gov- 
 ernor Gilpin had stopped for rest at Bent's fort, and 
 while there he had familiarized himself with the Mexi- 
 can system of grants, and especially with the location 
 of four large tracts, among them being the Sangre de 
 Cristo rancho consisting of a million acres granted to 
 Don Carlos Beaubien, and located in San Luis park. 
 Returning to this country after the Mexican war, he 
 had secured a floating; g^rant of one hundred thousand 
 acres, which he succeeded in locating in December 
 1862, along the northern boundary of New Mexico 
 and the southern boundary of Colorado. While en- 
 gaged in perfecting this title, he received a message 
 from Don Carlos Beaubien, whom he had met some 
 time before, requesting that he might see him at 
 Taos on a matter of importance. He immediately 
 proceeded to Taos, accompanying the messenger on 
 his return. He found Ber.ubien, and held a long con- 
 ference with him. Ijeaubien stated that he was now 
 sixty-three years of age, had liv--^ nj^on the frontier 
 the greater part of his life, and desired t > return with 
 his wife to his birthplace, a few miles below Quebec, 
 Canada. He stated further that he had n perfect tiole 
 to the Sangre de Cristo grant of a million acres, and 
 that he desired to dispose of the same. Governor 
 Gilpin was familiar with the location and character of 
 tlie land, and was desirous of securing possession of it. 
 They fixed the price, and he was given the refusal of 
 the land until the 4th of March, 1863, while in the 
 mean time he would endeavor to raise the requisite 
 money from his friends. 
 
WILLIAM GILPIN. 49 
 
 He returned to Santa Fe, where he concluded 
 arrangements which perfected the title to his float, 
 which he had located, and then proceeded to Denver' 
 arriving here on the 21st day of February. While 
 engaged in writing letters to his friends for the pur- 
 pose of raising money, Bela M. Hughes arrived and 
 proposed to him that he should accompany him to 
 Salt Lake City, whither he was going to defend' a 
 brother of Ben HoUaday, who was in prison on a 
 charge of murder. 
 
 Th Hiking he could return in time to receive answers 
 to his correspondence, which would be in about thirty 
 days. Governor Gilpifi consented to this proposition 
 But mstead of returning direct from Salt Lake City 
 he was persuaded to accompany Frank Clark, treas- 
 urer of Wells, Fargo & Co.'s Express between ^alt 
 Lake City and San Francisco, to Sacramento. While 
 drivmg m the latter place with Clark one day, they 
 were thrown from their carriage, and Clark was 
 killed, Governor Gilpin being so seriously injured 
 that his recovery was despaired of. For forty-seven 
 days he lay in bed in Sacramento, requiring assistance 
 even to turn over. As he convalesced, he remem- 
 bered friends of his in San Francisco, the Donahues. 
 When Donahue and a friend of his were on their wav 
 to California in an early day, they were both taken ill 
 at Independence, and Governor Gilpin had there ren- 
 dered them valuable assistance. He now wrote to 
 Donahue, stating his position, and requesting a loan 
 ot a thousand dollars. The money came by return 
 mail, as did also an invitation from Donahue to 
 visit him at his home in San Francisco. As soon 
 as he was able to be up he accepted the invitation, 
 and was elegantly entertained. On leaving San 
 -b rancisco by steamer via Panama for New York 
 Governor Gilpin received from Donahue a letter to a 
 friend m New York, and through his influence he 
 secured a loan of thirty thousand dollars from the 
 banking house of Duncan Sherman & Co., with which 
 
50 UOVERNMKNT— COLOEADO. 
 
 to make the payment on the Sangre de Cristo grant. 
 Early in March he left for Colorado, bearing with 
 him thirty certificates of deposit for a thousand dol- 
 lars each. Arriving in Denver he at once started for 
 Beaubien's home, accompanied by an acquaintance 
 from Denver, and on arriving at the entrance to 
 Sangre de Cristo pass, he met an old friend, who in- 
 formed him that Beaubien was dead. He inquired 
 of his friend if he thought there would be any use of 
 l^roceeding farther, and was informed that Beaubien, 
 just before his death, had called his wife and children 
 around him, and instructed them that the grant be- 
 longed to Governor Gilpin, and that it must be trc^ns- 
 ferred to him in case he paid the money. Encouraged 
 by this report, the governor hurried on and met the 
 family. The deeds were drawn up, the money paid 
 over and divided among the wife and children of 
 Beaubien, and the transaction was complete. The 
 summer of 1863 Governor Gilpin spent upon his 
 million-acre tract, w^ith five surveyors and seventeen 
 prospectors, running out the lines and prospecting for 
 minerals. They found thereon a great many gold 
 mines. The next winter he went to New York and 
 there endeavored to negotiate a sale of the land; but 
 while New York capitalists favorably entertained the 
 proposition, they did not have sufficient confidence in 
 the resources of the country to invest their money in 
 the wild lands of the Bocky mountains. He then 
 consulted with Morton Fisher, a friend of his who 
 had assisted him in securing the loan of thirty thou- 
 sand dollars, and they decided that it would be best 
 to place the land upon the London market. Finally 
 it was decided that Fisher should go to London, while 
 Governor Gilpin should return to Colorado and look 
 after the property there. 
 
 Fisher put forth every effort to find a sale for the 
 property in London, but was unsuccessful. He then 
 determined to go to Holland, at the suggestion of an 
 American who was practising law in London, and 
 
WILLIAM GILPIN. 51 
 
 who had been very successful in placing along the 
 Rhine the bonds of the eastern division of the Union 
 Pacific railway, and see what could be done there. 
 They went to Amsterdam and were successful in sell- 
 ing 500,000 acres at a dollar an acre. Governor Gilpin 
 was at once telegraphed for, and immediately proceeded 
 to Amsterdam. Some little delay was caused by the 
 breaking out along the Rhine of the war between 
 Bismarck and Napoleon, but this was terminated by 
 the battle of Sedan, and by the 17th of January, 1871, 
 the money was deposited in the bank of England, 
 and the sale consummated. The novelty of this 
 transaction went abroad among the brokers, and at- 
 tracted wide-spread attention. General Palmer ar- 
 rived in Amsterdam just after the completion of the 
 sale, and succeeded, through the influence of Governor 
 Gilpin, in raising $60,000 to assist in constructing the 
 Denver and Rio Grande railway, which was to run 
 near the grant. 
 
 Thus we have presented before us the varied ex- 
 periences of an active and useful man, of one who 
 through a long period of public service performed 
 many acts of the highest importance to the common- 
 wealth, saving the country from bloody wars and 
 revolution, and preserving it for a glorious reign of 
 peace; and small was his reward. 
 
 The true patriot, instead of enriching himself at 
 the cost of his country, too often brings down upon 
 his devoted head the enmity of all. But it is the 
 province of history to vindicate the just. There were 
 times after the expiration of his term of office in Colo- 
 rado when the former governor of the territory, he 
 who had saved to the nation millions of dollars, had 
 not twenty-five cents with which to buy his breakfast ; 
 nevertheless, when once his talents were directed 
 toward himself, and for the provision of his family, he 
 found no great difficulty in making a million or two of 
 dollars. 
 
52 GOVERNMENT- COLORADO. 
 
 Governor Gilpin married on the 12th of February, 
 1874, Mrs Juha Pratt Dickerson, of St Louis, widow 
 of Captain Dickerson of that city. Mrs Gilpin had 
 four children as the result of her first marriage, and 
 of the second marriage there were born William 
 and Mary, twins, May 12, 1875, and Louis, July 10, 
 1877. William and Mary are delightful children in 
 every way, filled with the ethereal atmosphere in 
 which they were born and have always lived. Mary 
 has undoubted musical talent, and possesses a fine 
 physique, graceful as Diana or Minerva. She has all 
 the ideas, judgment, and caution of a woman of mature 
 years; she is gentle, wholly without guile, affectionate, 
 and a patient student. She commands every one who 
 surrounds her, but in a gentle and sweet manner. 
 She is an enigma of goodness. William is very bright 
 and studious. He has a fine mechanical mind, full of 
 couragfe and vio^or. His father selects for him inter- 
 estinpf and instructive books, such as Plutarch's Lives, 
 and in studying, he is required to give particular at- 
 tention to arithmetic. 
 
 Louis, the youngest child, has all these tastes. He 
 is very graceful of movement, impetuous and full of 
 energy and self-reliance, gentle, affectionate, and at- 
 tentive to words of advice. 
 
 Governor Gilpin has strong domestic tastes, is 
 warm-hearted and kind in his family, and exceed- 
 ingly devoted to his children, who are his pride and 
 joy. His studious habits he continues, delighting in 
 generalizations from the immense store of knowledge 
 treasured up in his mind. He is specially partial to 
 biography, the Life of Agricola by Tacitus, the Life of 
 Gromwell by Carlyle, PhttarcJis Lives, Count WalleJistein 
 by Shiller, SoutJiey's Nelson, Shakspeares Hamlet, Na- 
 poleon's Julius Caesar, Voltaire's Peter the Great, and 
 Tliierss Napoleon being among his favorites. 
 
 In 1860 Governor Gilpin published a work entitled 
 The Central Gold Region. Three hundred copies were 
 printed and distributed to the leading statesmen and 
 
WILLIAM GILPIN. 53 
 
 scholars of the day. In 1874, when slavery had been 
 for some time abolished, and peace restored had began 
 to perfect itself, he wrote a kind of peroration as to 
 how these and kindred powers of evolution should 
 result, in the form of a book entitled 3Iissio')i of the 
 North American People, Geographical, Social, and Poli- 
 tical; Illustrated by six charts, delineating the Physical 
 Architecture and Thermal Laws of all the Continents. 
 In it the mountain formation of North America is 
 first given'; then the cordillera of the Sierra Madre; 
 the plateau of North America ; the Sierra San Juan ; 
 the South pass of America ; the great basin of the 
 Mississippi; pastoral America; the system of the 
 parks; thermal America; a chapter on power; con- 
 cluding with three chapters on the North American 
 mission. In an appendix are given a few of the more 
 conspicuous speeches of Mr Gilpin, on such subjects 
 as the Mexican War; the Pacific Railway; and the 
 geographical features of the Rocky mountains. The 
 maps delineate the mountain system, the thermal 
 belts, and the system of parks of North America, and 
 a map of the world delineating the contrasted longi- 
 tudinal and latitudinal forms of the continents, the iso- 
 thermal zodiac and axis of intensit}'- round the world, 
 and the line of the Cosmopolitan railway and its longi- 
 tudinal feeders. 
 
 The theories which we find elucidated in this work 
 may be epitomized as follows: We represent English 
 stock that runs back to the time of Alfred, and to the 
 time of the formation of the Roman provinces in the 
 reign of Claudius. We belong to a people who early 
 accepted Christianity. Our ancestors were devotees 
 and followers of Cromwell, and held by him until he 
 established the commonwealth of England. There 
 was reconstructed a Roman empire with christainity, 
 education, and science, as bases of progress, an empire 
 of 350,000,000 of people with Queen Victoria at the 
 head. 
 
 The American people are here on a fallow conti- 
 
54 (GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 iient, and all their institutions are based upon the 
 development of the people: First, democrary, rightly 
 understood, reduced to practice — the sovereign power 
 placed in the people. We have this continent which 
 is able to feed mankind; we have no occasion, like the 
 Romans, Greeks, or Spaniards, to make conquests or 
 massacres, but we move on, and here are the Euro- 
 peans swarming on one side and the Chinese on the 
 other; but we shall take care of ourselves, and de- 
 velop upon this intermediate and sublime continent a 
 master nation, and do our work, and if the outside 
 world pleases to attack us, uniting as they did against 
 Napoleon, they could not even land on our continent; 
 and in the mean time we are giving a successful ex- 
 ample to Ireland and France, and to the socialists 
 and nihilists. We are now by progressive experi- 
 ments in possession of all the elements of political and 
 social science. 
 
 Under the leadership of Washington and Franklin, 
 of Jefferson, Jackson, and like men, the American 
 people have brought democracy to be rightly under- 
 stood and reduced to practice. First they have abso- 
 lute sovereignty; the people decide everything; we 
 have 11,500,000 votes cast in one day, where each 
 man expresses his opinion of tlie government. The 
 first thing the people did, the first use they made of 
 this relegation of sovereignty which it took three 
 generations standing under fire to protect, has been 
 to establish universal, perpetual, and compulsory edu- 
 cation ; and we are now becoming matured in our 
 declaration of independence, the federal constitution, 
 and the constitutions of the states. We have a 
 peculiar system of balance in choosing the presiden- 
 tial electors, which was the best that could be in- 
 vented by the men who did it; and the people, 
 understanding this, are adapting themselves to the 
 enlargement and extension of society and its wants. 
 Every thirty years a new generation comes in, and if 
 there is anything not suited to the times, they elimi- 
 
WILLIAM GILPIN. 
 
 nate it; and if there is anything newly invented, they 
 put it into their constitution as a discovery, whether 
 it be of political or social science. 
 
 We have all kinds of population, the pioneer popu- 
 lation making farms, the manufacturing population 
 producing for us, and the laboring population. We 
 have a broad belt of temperate zone extending from 
 sea to sea. In Europe there are monarchies and bar- 
 barisms which are perpetually fighting and slaughter- 
 ing one another. Here our genius takes another turn. 
 We are a complete nation, living in harmony; we 
 have tried a great many things that never were tried 
 before. Our mission is to plant empire in the wilder- 
 ness. When we cross the Atlantic and come here 
 our world opens to the way, our arena of effort 
 widens. We have this great concave continent, with 
 the modifications of the temperate zone, the seini- 
 tropical zone, and the arctic zone. In the semi-tropics 
 we can cultivate the semi-tropical fruits, oranges, ba- 
 nanas, etc., and rice and sugar, and cotton for our sum- 
 mer wear and for the summer clothing of the world ; 
 and then above that comes the region of Indian corn and 
 pork; the broader belt of wheat, cattle, and horses; 
 and wool for the winter clothing of the world; hides 
 for the leather of the world; also wine, liquors, and 
 tobacco; and above that the belt of oats and hay; and 
 then we have barley. These belts are all united by the 
 longitudal rivers ; and now we are putting railroads on 
 all their banks. Then belts of temperate warmth are 
 thus echeloned across our continent, from east to west 
 like the streaks of the rainbow. Various atmospheres 
 envelope us, the cloudy, or aqueous, covering about 
 four fifths of the earth's surface; then at a height of 
 four or five thousand feet, the aerial atmosphere, to 
 which the heavier clouds cannot attain. Here is the 
 only ethereal or continental climate that the human 
 race can profitably enter. The Cosmopolitan railway 
 across Bering strait will connect the systems of 
 America with the systems of Asia and Europe; that 
 
56 GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 this is possible you have only to ascertain the facts 
 regarding the physical features of that region. In- 
 deed, we are now in the very midst of this new de- 
 parture, we are now upon the plane of this higher 
 civilization, and yet all the while advancing and 
 expanding. 
 
 We have abolished aristocrats and plebeians, and 
 have established patrician democracy, and this has 
 been done by universal suffrage and perpetual educa- 
 tion, which are the elements that expand and preserve 
 it, until we find what is wrong and weed it out, and 
 what is right and congeal it. Literature preserves 
 and creates lives; while the bad dies out of all we 
 have from antiquity, the good only has lived. Evo- 
 lution proves this. 
 
 America is now getting her continental dimen- 
 sions, and the people who control the North Amer- 
 ican island are forming themselves into a pioneer 
 army which plants empire in the wilderness, not by 
 slaughter, as did Csesar and Alexander and the Span- 
 iards; it takes the nations of the world which they 
 slaughtered and peoples the wilderness under a policy 
 of peace and industry. 
 
 In regard to the plateau of North America, the 
 author says that it is little understood, even by those 
 who travel over it, extending from Tehuantepec to 
 the polar sea, with a genial altitude of 6,000 feet, the 
 mountains on either side being 12,000 feet high; it 
 has an area of 11,000,000 square miles, and is almost 
 everywhere easy of access. It has seven great basins, 
 namely, the valley of Mexico, the Bolsom de Mapimi, 
 the Rio Bravo del Norte, Colorado, Great Salt Lake, 
 the Columbia, and the basin of Fraser river. The 
 climates are dry, altitude and aridity tempering the 
 heat toward the south, and the cold toward the north. 
 The soils are fertile, both for agricultural and pasto- 
 ral purposes. 
 
 Governor Gilpin did much to advance the idea of a 
 Pacific railway, and at a time when the prospect was 
 
,0 to ZQ 30 40 50 60 70 flu 90 100 110 liC liO \f- 
 
 
 ^-^ 
 
 40 r.O 6 
 
 -.0 90 10 iici I.":!:' 130 
 
leo i7o lao 150 1*0 no ; 
 
 ^0 no iOO 90 90 T' 
 
 ISC 1'tO i?ri 120 no 100 
 
WILLIAM GILPIN. 57 
 
 thought by many to be chimerical, giving it the aid 
 of both tongue and pen. In a speech dehvered at 
 Wakerusa, now Lawrence, Kansas, and again at In- 
 dependence, he says: ''We perceive in the formation 
 of the American continent a subhme simpHcity, an 
 economy of arrangement singular to itself, and the 
 reverse of what distinguishes the rest of the world. 
 The continents of the old world resemble a bowl 
 placed bottom upward, which scatters everything 
 poured upon it, whilst northern America, right side 
 up, receives and gathers toward its center whatever 
 falls within its rim. In geography the antithesis of 
 the old world, in society it will be the reverse. North 
 America will rapidly attain to a population equalling 
 that of the rest of the world combined, forming a 
 single people identical in manners, language, and im- 
 pulse, preserving the same civihzation, imbued with 
 the same opinions, and having the same political lib- 
 erties." 
 
 In a speech delivered at St Louis on the 8th of 
 January, 1850, on the then existing Indian policy. 
 Colonel Gilpin said: "There is observable an ar- 
 rangement of our people, in general, in these propor- 
 tions : Agriculturists in the middle, southern, and 
 central states, producers of articles for foreign ex- 
 port, are seventy per cent of the whole population of 
 the union; agriculturists of the commercial states, 
 producing food for the immediate consumption of 
 their commercial cities, twenty per cent; commerce 
 proper, which also includes manufactures, ten per 
 cent." After the lecture a number of resolutions 
 were offered and passed. 
 
 In London, in 1870, was pubHshed Notes on Col- 
 orado; And its inscription in the Physical Geography 
 of the North American Continent, by William Gilpin, 
 Governor of the Territory of Colorado. It is a 16 mo 
 brochure of 52 pages, and its contents were spoken 
 before a laroe audience, under the auspices of the 
 
58 GOVERNMENT— COLOHADO. 
 
 British Association of Science, at Liverpool, on the 
 26th of September of that year. 
 
 It was one of Mr Gilpin's ablest eftbrts. It opens 
 in this wise: '* A glance of the eye thrown across the 
 North American continent, accompanying the course 
 of the sun from ocean to ocean, reveals an extraordi- 
 nary landscape. It displays immense forces character- 
 ized by order, activity, and progress. The structure 
 of nature, the marching of a vast population, the 
 creations of the people, individually and combined, 
 are seen in infinite varieties of form and gigantic di- 
 mensions. Farms, cities, states, public works, define 
 themselves, flash into form, accumulate, combine, and 
 harmonize. The pioneer army perpetually advances, 
 reconnoitres, strikes to the front. Empire plants itself 
 upon the trails. Agitation, creative energy, industry, 
 throb throuofhout and animate this crowdino- delusfe. 
 Conclusive occupation, solidity, permanence, and a 
 stern discipline attend every movement and illustrate 
 every camp. The American realizes that progress is 
 God. He clearly recognizes and accepts the conti- 
 nental mission of his country and his people. His 
 faith is impregnably fortified by this vision of power, 
 unity, and forward motion." 
 
 In another place it says: "It fell to my lot, during 
 the years from 1840 to 1845, alone and in extreme 
 youth, to seek and chalk out, in the immense solitudes 
 filling the space from Missouri to China, the lines of 
 this dazzling empire of which we now hold the oracular 
 crown, to have stood by its cradle, to be the witness 
 of its miraculous growth." 
 
 Thus in perusing the life of William Gilpin, the 
 philosophic reader cannot fail to have noticed under- 
 lying principles governing all ; strong currents of 
 original and practical thought sweeping before them 
 old-time dogmas and superstitions. His grea+ mind, 
 like Humboldt's, absorbing and retaining all knowl- 
 edge, in his elucidations thereof he seems like one 
 
WILLIAM GILPIN. 59 
 
 perched above the world, and taking in at one glance 
 all lands and all times. 
 
 He sees the several continents surrounded by the 
 several oceans, the continents of Europe and Asia 
 being convex in their configurati<Hi, thus isolating 
 peoples and products, and engendering diversity of 
 interests and general distraction, while the continent 
 of America is concave in its structure, tending to 
 homogeneity and harmonious unity. 
 
 He sees the mountain and river systems of the old 
 world running with the latitudinal lines, thus restrict- 
 ing animals and plants each to their climatic zone, and 
 preventing that free social and commercial intercourse 
 which tends to the highest development; while in the 
 new world the mountain and river systems run longi- 
 tudinally across isothermal lines, thus breaking the 
 barriers of configurations and climates, and throwing 
 together the various productions of earth and man. 
 
 He sees extending along the summit of the great 
 American Andes a system of plateaux and jmrks, 
 high in ethereal air, where men or gods may dwell and 
 achieve their ultimate endeavor. Along this line ex= 
 tends the natural course for a continental railway con- 
 necting the railway systems of America with those of 
 Europe, thus bringing the whole world together by 
 continuous iron track with only the ferriage of the 
 strait of Bering. 
 
 He sees the power of population trailing in from the 
 old world, and overspreading the new, whose elevation 
 of intellect and extension of capabilities with all the 
 collateral comforts and blessings attendant thereunto 
 it is the mission of the American people to accomplish. 
 The pioneer army are already here at work, absorbing 
 and assimilating to our advanced ideas and institutions 
 the effete civilizations of Asia and Europe. 
 
 He sees the great heart of American society palpi- 
 tating with new fires impelled by a universal instinct, 
 inspiring discipline in action and rectitude of purpose. 
 
 He sees a divine light issuing from the obscurity 
 
CO GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 of the past, shining upon our country and our people, 
 illuminating alike the recesses of nature and the in- 
 tellect of man. 
 
 He sees that in the first three centuries now rolling 
 over our race upon this continent, from nothing we 
 have become one hundred millions of people. From 
 nothing we have grown to be in agriculture, commerce, 
 and native ability the first among existing nations; and 
 this is but the beginning. We have yet vast areas of 
 the continent to subdue, and to perfect the industries 
 and institutions of the parts whose occupation is 
 begun. 
 
 Such is the mission of the North American people, 
 to animate their own future millions and cheer them 
 upward, to establish new order in human affairs, and 
 regenerate superannuated nations, to confirm the des- 
 tiny of the human race, to perfect science, to emblazon 
 history with the conquest of peace, and shed a new 
 and resplendent glory on mankind. 
 
 Physically and intellectually Governor Gilpin pre- 
 sents a striking figure. Full six feet in height, weigh- 
 ing IGO pounds, graceful in his movement, courteous 
 in manner, fine Greek head well set on good square 
 shoulders, big brain pan, dark brown hair turned 
 grayish, dark hazel eyes still bright and penetrating, 
 nervous-sanguine temperament, and a decided military 
 bearing, he carries us back to the old school of thor- 
 ough-bred soldiers and statesmen of continental times. 
 And if ancestry, birth, and breeding, if ability, activ- 
 ity, and integrity throughout the course of a long and 
 checkered life, count for aught, then shall the name of 
 William Gilpin forever be entitled to proud distinction. 
 
 He has a strong and retentive memory, a brilliant 
 imagination, and an invigorating and elastic mind 
 replete with learning. Both manners and intellect 
 are redundant, even perhaps in some respects to 
 eccentricity; but clear, and for the most part cool, 
 collected, and sensible and practical. He has ever 
 
WILLIAM GILPIN. 61 
 
 been a great student, no less of nature than of books. 
 It was during his travels in the mountains, with such 
 books in his knapsack as the Cosmos of Humboldt, the 
 Vegetable Chemisiry of Liebig, Tacitus, Shakspeare, and 
 De Tocqueville's Democracy in America, that the facts 
 re^-arding their anatomy came to his mind, configura- 
 tions, soils, climates, and the evolution of the race 
 being almost continually in his thoughts. 
 
 ^ In reading the published life of Governor Gilpin's 
 ancestor, of three hundred years ago, Bernard, the 
 Apostle of the North, I was struck by the similarity 
 of many of their salient characteristics. " His person 
 was tall and slender," the book goes on to say, " in 
 the ornament of which he was at no pains. He had 
 a peculiar aversion to the fopperies of dress. In his 
 diet he was very temperate, ratlier abstemious. His 
 parts were very 'good. His imagination, memory, 
 and judgment were lively, retentive, and solid. His 
 acquirements were as considerable. By an unwearied 
 application he had amassed a great store of knowl- 
 edge, and was ignorant of no part of learning at that 
 time in esteem. His temper was actively warm; and 
 in his youth we meet with instances of his giving way 
 to passion ; but he soon got more command of him- 
 self, and at length entirely corrected that infirmity. 
 His disposition was serious, yet among his particular 
 friends he was commonly cheerful, sometimes facetious. 
 His general behavior was very affable. Never did 
 virtue sit with greater ease on any one, had less 
 moroseness, or could mix more agreeably with what- 
 ever was innocent in common life. He had a most 
 extraordinary skill in the art of managing a fortune. 
 Extravagance with him was another name for injustice. 
 Amidst all his business he found leisure to look into his 
 affairs, well knowing that frugality is the support of 
 charity. His intimacies were but few. His sincerity 
 was such as became his other virtues." Thus are the 
 traits of a good man who lived three centuries back 
 found so vividly reproduced in a descendant of to-day. 
 
62 GOVERNMENT— COLORADO. 
 
 Governor Gilpin is a good scholar; his learning is 
 broad and deep, his fund of information limitless. He 
 is a striking speaker; with nervous energy and ges- 
 ticulation he drives home his arguments, while his 
 generalizations are most brilliant. Like Montaigne, 
 knowing himself, the world, and books, he talks with 
 much shrewdness, dealing throughout in the positive 
 degree, and uses liberally sarcasm and invective. 
 
 " Intellect," says Plato, " is king of heaven and 
 earth." The world of nature is at the disposition of 
 mind ; philosophy penetrates all surfaces, while in- 
 spiration sweeps them. Theories may be defective, 
 but mountains and oceans remain. Nature gives the 
 law ; intellect perceives it. 
 
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