The Elk Mountain pilot. [volume], June 24, 1880, Image 2

About The Elk Mountain pilot. [volume] (Irwin, (Ruby Camp), Gunnison County, Colo.) 1880-19??

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TNE ELK MOUNTAIN PILOT.
Irwin, Gunnison Co., Colorado. ;
THURSDAY, JUNE 24, iB3o.
Jno. L. Lacey. Jxo. E. Phillips. !
Ziacoy ds Phillips. j
EDITORS AND PROPRIETORS.'
THE UTE BILL.
The Ute bill, as amended, has pass
ed both houses of Congress, received ;
the signature of the president, and I
commissioners have been appointed to
treat with the Utes for iU| ratification.
The rush through here fOT the reserva
tion is simply immense.
THE TOLL ROAD.
We understand that the toll road
company from Gunnison to this place
are charging toll at the rate of ten
cents per mile from Carbon creek to
this place, fjr teams of two animals
and a ujig-on; and have a movable!
toll gate and tent, now-some five miles
above Wamsley's ranch. It seems
strange that our County Commissioners
should allow any toll to be collected i
on this road, which the owners agreed j
to finish last September, until it shall!
be completed to this place. For two
miles this side of the grade at the head
of Ohio creek, the road is almost im
passable. Messrs. Markley, Drake &
King have expended SSOO on the road
below their place, and freighters com
ing in have done three fourths of the
rest of the work that has been done on
the road ; and have made it over the
hills from Wamsley’s ranch, instead of
following the road laid out by the toll
road company ; and now it see®s to
be the policy of the toll road compa
ny to keep an occasional cheap man at
work on it, and as fast as nature dries
the mud up, keep moving up their
tent and gate, and collecting their 10
cents per mile. The amount of travel
is becoming so large, and the revenue j
from toll rates certainly warrants the j
owners to keep the road in a passable 1
condition, and if it is not done, the
proper authorities should take the mat
ter in hand at once. Where are our
County Commissioners ?
While on this subject we would also
suggest that ten cents toll for every
fctotman crossing the bridge over the
Gunnison river seems out of propor
tion, and altogether unnecessary. We ,
notice an item in the Gunnison News,
that the receipts on this bridge aver- 1
aged from S4O to £75 per day. A
horseman is charged fifteen cents toll, 1
or twenty-five cents for crossing twice;
and we see no justice in discriminating :
against the more unfortunate fellow
being who can’t afford to ride. The :
wear of bridge material by a footman
crossing it, must be immense. But
then, perhaps our toll roads and 1
bridges are not intended to be con
ducted on any principle of justice, or :
regard for the public good, and then
again, the Pilot boys have an eye to
business, in case they have to walk out ;
of the country next fall themselves.
—■■■ # •
Last week we had the pleasure of ,
an interview with W. A. Eckerly, Esq., .
proprietor of the saw mill now in op- (
eration at the lower part of town. We .
found him to be a pleasant, liberal and
thorough business man. Speaking rel
ative to the rumer, current on our
streets the past ten days, that he had .
gone into contract with parties in the
lower part of town to discriminate
against us in the matter of furnishing
lumber, he said it was false. He has i
no real estate in either perilous ofßuby |
Camp, and of course is not interested i
I
in the success or failure of any par-!
ticlar part of the camp. By a misun- j
dersianding, wlTile on the road here,!
he was led to believe there were al-;
ready four or five saw *iills in the.
camp. Under this impression he was 1
induced to make a contract for fur-1
nishing certain parties below a large ;
bill of lumber at once. This contract
will be finished hi about twenty days, ■
after which time orders will be taken
from any one ior lumber.
We understand that Mr. J. M.
Blakey, who purchased the first copy
of the Pilot last week, intends to auc-1
ticn it off at some convenient day. the
proceeds to go toward building a school
house. A more worthy object it could
not be given for than the above, and ,
every citizen should be interested in
the cause, for when you stop the wheels
of education you stop civilization.
Although our juvenile population is '
small now, yet the time will come
when the question will be asked,
“ How are your schools at Irwin. I
would like to bring my wife and chil-:
drenjiere to live?”
THE RESERVATION.
There has been nothing rich
; found, on the late reservation west'of j
this place, but prospects are very en- j
couraging for some rich strikes before j
■ long, as that whole region is being j
j thoroughly examined by a competent j
j array of prospectors. The passage of j
j the Ute agreement bill, and the ap
pointment of the Commissioners to 1
accept the ratification of the treaty {
with the Indians, and to establish the j
boundaries of the new reservation,
! gives us assurance that the President’s
j proclamation will soerf be issued, when
! titles to the land may be secured.
The whole region extending from the
Gunnison river
West to the Utah line is now practi
cally opened to settlement and.civili
zation, and we hope soon to be called 1
upon to chronicle the location of sev
eral bonanzas.
There is considerable fine scale gold ;
on th.e North Fork of the Gunnison, j
fifty miles northw*t from here. Some 1
! four miles in length on the creek below j
the mouth of the Muddy branch, have!
been located some very fine placers j
and leads, and a party of about thirty j
( men are engaged in sinking for bed- j
j rock, which is a difficult undertaking, j
| as the water is high and the stream i
fiat, with numerous large boulders in it. j
The formation in this section isxrlay,!
sandstqne and black lava, without any
indication of ledges, and where the
gold conies from is a mystery, only
time and perseverance will tell the tale.
Where the country descends
rapidly to the Man Mountains, near
Grand river, is a very fine stock range, 1
both for summer and winter, and also
on the lower Plateau creek. There 1
are some fine farming lands on Grand :
river, but as there is no indication of
mineral or paying mines known at
present within seventy-five miles of :
there, it is not likely that roads will be
opened into this section for some time, 1
nor a market for any produce that '
might be raised for many years to !
come. “ San Juan” and “ Henry’s” 1
bands of Utes have occupied this sec- '
tion as a permanent camp for several 1
years, keeping a herd of cattle at the ’
west foot of the Man mountains until
last fall, when after the masacre at the -
White River Agency, which is only 1
forty miles from the Grand river cross- 1
ing, they left for more secure quarters 1
farther south. There is apparently j ;
not an Indian in the country for one ■
hundred miles west of Irwin, and north ]
of here to Roaring Fork at least.
Three Indians were seen by a party 1
of men the second day out from here, -
west of Ragged mountain, moving !
south out of the country, with a small :
band of horses. There were no other
signs of Indians in the portion of the
reservation west of here, as reported by ;
Hon. Richard Irwin and party, who ;
came into camp a few days ago from
the North Fork. They say that there is ;
game in abundance, and not very
wild. ;
It is presumed tlffi Indians have been
south all winter and will not return
this summer. There are two small
sections of the late reservation that ,
are now attracting a good deal of at- ,
tention from experienced prospectors; ]
one is the high point in the Elk moun- 1
tains, some fifteen to twenty miles j
north from here, and the other place J
is on the west side of Owens peak and !
j '
on the most easterly branches of An- j
thracitc, opposite O-Be-Joyful and j ]
Yule creeks. Some low grade galena!.
lias been found in there, but the snow j.
lies so long and so deep on these steep I.
mountain sides that it may be weeks j,
yet before that promising portion of J,
our newly acquired territory can be j (
thoroughly prospected. '
Another inviting section is the high
range lying from fifteen to forty miles i'
southwest from this place. Mr. Tames \
Pringle, of Rosita, with a party of,
I . *\. J :
about a dozen friends, well equipped
1 for a month’s trip, left here for that;
i section, and will prospect the country j
, thoroughly before returning.
: 0 . . • ,
A vein of semi-anthracite coal-three ,
and a half feet thick, has been located ;
| at the north end of Ragged mountain,
i some twenty-five miles northwest' from
here, and it is known that some of the
i largest and best veins of coal on the
North Fork are still open to location.
There is money in them in the near
future.
Geo. B. Spa’nr is contemplating the j
erection of a two story building in j
• front of his restaurant on Ninth street.
The second story of which will be
fitted up for offices, while the first i
floor he will convert into a Targe;
: dining hall to accommodate his largely j
| increased patronage.
MURDERED IN MOUNTAINS!
j James auud William Edaley Lest tlleir Lives
' And are Rebbcd While Prospecting
| . oo Anthracite Creek,
i
; The Murderer, Chester fiihs, is Pillowed Ee
; yood Gunnison and Caught
Chas. Baker, Ed. Cummings, Geo.
A. Beebe and Geo. Feller, left Irwin
Wednesday, the 15th inst.,*for a pros
pecting trip on the north fork of An
thracite Creek, southwest of here.
When out only two days they discov
ered the bodies of two victims of a
foul and horrible murder.
The bodies were found under the
following circumstances : While out
hunting, from eamn, on the morning
of the third day, Messrs. Feller and
Cummings saw in the distance what
they supposed the red lining of a sheep
skin coat. They were then about 500
yards from camp. As they approached
nearer they discovered the red ma
terial to be the shirt of man who was
lying among some brush on the moun
tain side. The tracks of a large bear 1
were near, and the hunters supposed
the poor man had been killed by the
beast. Closer examination, however, 1
revealed the fact that he had been shot. :
The two men, without touching the
body, returned to camp and informed
their companions of the horrible dis
covery. Immediately after breakfast
the entire party repaired to the scene !
of the murder and proceeded to make !
an examination for evidence as to the
mrtiner and cause of the crime. A
bullet hole was found under the left
shoulder blade, evidently made by a
ball from a 44-caliber Winchester
rifle. The ball had passed through the j
heart and body, coming out about one ;
inch below the left nipple. The backs
of the vest and shirt were badly powder
burnt, showing conclusively that the
murderer had placed the muzzle of his!
rifle within four inches of the back of,
his victim when the fatal shot was fired.
A loaded shell was found about ten
feet above the dead body, and is sup
posed to have fell from the dead man’s
pocket as he sprang in the air when
shot, as it corresponded with a snellj
afterwards found in his pocket. The
pockets of the clothing of the deceased
were found to contain a double-case
(silver) Swiss watch, a tortoise-shell
knife, and some minor articles. The
party then buried the corpse where
found and put a marked stake at the !
head of the grave.
Tire party then returned to camp, j
packed their animals and had traveled
about a mile, when they met some
prospectors, to whom they related the
above story. The prospectors -said
they had seen three men with a pony
and three burros heavily packed, go
ing in the direction where the bedy
was found, a few days previous, and
later one of the three men had return
ed without his companions, but was j
riding the pony and driving the bur-1
ros. Suspicion was at once directed
to this man as the murderer.
Two of the party of prospectors,
Messrs. Overholt and Bennett, and
two of the party discovering the body,
Messrs. Baker and Feller, returned to j
the grave of the murdered man, for ’
the discovery of further evidence of i
the crime. Arriving at the scene they j
found the trail of two men, supposed j
to be that of the murderer and his,
victim, which they “back-tracked,”!
seeking where they had camped, sup- j
posing there further evidence could be i
gained. This trail was followed for j
two miles in a circuitous route, when ;
Overholt turned to the right among
some timber, thinking the camp might;
be there. The remainder of the party j
proceeded to follow the trail down the I
mountain towards a creek, when they j
discovered on the’ bank a lot of clothes, 1
consisting of a canvas ulster, a miner’s j
coat, two oil blankets and two wollen !
blankets saturated with blood. Two !
gunny sacks were also found, one:
empty and the other contained giant
powder, cartridges, fuse, caps, under- i
clothing, matches and pocket book
containing papers of two parties,
JAMES AND WILLIAM EDGLEV.
! The papers were: bill of sale for
j three burros from St. Louis auction
. house, Leadville, Colo. Sum paid for
; burros, $105; receipt for groceries
! bought atCleora; receipt for dues of
; Cresent lodge of Good Templars, No.
! 27, Tekamah, Neb., of recent date ; a
i •
promissory note and receipt for rent
paid to Mrs. Edgley.
Mr. Overholt, who was in the tim-
I her,called to the party,that he had dis
| covered the camp. A general alarm
j was made and all the boys, sixteen in
| number, proceeded to investigate the
! premises. There were found camping j
i utensils and miners’ tools scattered ;
I . i
'about promiscuously. After making'
a thorough search for more evidence,
the party adjourned to dinner. After
eating, the search was renewed with
the assistance of a dog, who after hunt
ing around considerably, finally laid
! down, and on the party going to where
j the dog was, discovered a newly made
• grave. Digging down about a foot
they found the clothes and remains of j
a second murdered man. He was in
a cramped position and lying on his
face, dressed in shirt and drawers simi
; lar to those found on the first person.
■ He had been shot in the back of the
head, the ball passing out over the
right eye. The hair was scorched off
! the back of his head, and he had evi
-1 dently been shot while asleep. The
clothes which were found in the grave
on top of the body, were examined j
and the pockets found to contain a
! double case American silver watch,
j one nickel, two knives, a linen draper’s
j glass and other small articles; also
j postal card directed to the postmaster
jat Irwin requesting mail to be j
• sent to King’s ranch, signed James
| Edgley.
j No further evidence being found
| the body was returned to the grave and
J a stake placed at the head giving the
j name and directing where the other
J grave could he found. The first body
found was supposed to be that of Wm.
Edgley. He was six feet tall, light
complected, light sandy whiskers arid
moustaches, and hair same color. He
looked to he about 23 years old.
The second man found was about
j
45 years of age, five feet tall, and wore |
beard of light sandy color. This is
supposed to be James Edgley, a broth
er of the former.
In one of the gunny sacks was found
a pair of knit drawers, upon the waist j
j band of which was the name of Ches
ter Gibbs, evidently the property of
the man who committed the crime.
It is supposed from information
obtained that the two murdered men
lost their lives from the hands of a
' companion whom they were prospect
ing with, and that the murderer killed |
his victims for the money and property
to be gained by the crime.
When the news of the murder
reached Irwin a large sum of money
was raised and offered as a reward for [
! the capture of the murderer and his
! delivery to the authorities here. A
! number of our citizens at once started
lin pursuit of the fiend, who™, it was
| understood, had been seen a few days
j previous on his way to Gunnison with
the loaded burros.
In the excitement of the moment
the parties in pursuit failed to get out
j a warrant for hisarrest. This they did,
| however, when they arrived at Gunni
| son, where they ivere reinforced by an
1 officer of that place.
I When 25 miles out of Gunnison, on |
the road to Cleora; they bagged their j
man. He made no resistance to ar- 1
rest. Admitted going in the moun- J
tains with the men who were murder- j
ed; said the burros and luggage were
I formerly their property, but that he:
1 had bought their entire outfit, and they!
left him in the mountains, saying they
were going on the reservation. It is
absurd to think two men would sell
1 their tent, grub and animals and start
on a week’s journey afoot.
The prisoner was taken to Gunni-|
son, and we understand had a prelimi
nary examination, and was placed in
jail to await the action of the grand
jury. Although the prisoner gave in
a ficticious name to the court, he was
recognized* as Chester Gibs.
The failure to bring the murderer
*
here loses the captors the reward, and
in all probability will cheat justice and j
the hangman’s rope.
_ ♦ J
We are in receipt of the Elk
Mountain Bonanza, 'published by the
Bonanza Printing Co., of Gothic. It j
,is a fine specimen of typographic art j
1 and brilliant journalism. Our friend, j
I Willis Sweet, Esq., the editor, is too !
i well known to the press and people of ;
; Colorado for us to enlighten them re-:
! garding his ability as a writer. His i
; reputation as a politician as well as a
i journalist, is an enviable one, and the
; citizens of Gothic and republicans of
. the Elk Mountains may well feel
!. proud of such an advocate and de-
I I fender of their interests. Stand by 1
j him, gentlemen, and you’ll find him
1 j true as steel.
• r
Big Boom on Tenth Street!
CULLOM& CO.
I re receiving and opening the largest stock of
GENERAL MERCHANDISE
Ever brought to Irwin, consisting of
G-roceiues, Notions, A.munition,
MINERS’ SUPPLIES,
AND A COMPLETE ASSORTMENT OF
Builders' Ha-rdware ?
A. E. BARTLETT & CO.,
|
j
EEZLIjEIIS I3J
%
GROCERIES,
CLOTHING, BOOTS & SHOES,
Furnishing Goods,
QUEENSWARE, CUTLERY, ETC.
reriiitlx 231., 33c-1. and E Avon.,
IBWIN, _ - - COLOBADO.
FIELD&KELSEY,
WHOLESALE AXI) 3KTAIL DEALKBB IS
Groceries, Dry Goods,
CLOTHING, BOOTS AND SHOES,
HATS -A.TTID CAPS,
GRAIN & PROVISIONS,
MINING IMPLEMENTS.
(Eilolo Ai-sceio.!® for
HAZARD, DUPONT & GIANT
Powder.
CSV., 231003 i Postoffloe.
gtjstTv'Teyi & CO.,
Wholesale and Retail Dealers in
GENERAL MERCHANDISE,
Mlaizi St., KTortli of 33nnlx,
Grunnison. and Irwin, Colorado.
WE GUARANTEE COURTEOUS TREATMENT AND STRICTLY
HONORABLE DEALING.
Depository for Valuables,
Piro nncl Surglar Proof Safo.
T4IE ICWZJu
MINING & SMELTING CO.,
Crested Britt©, .
ARE NOW PREPARED TO
Buy at highest market price
ALL KINDS OF ORES
AND TO DO
SAMPLING AND ASSAYING.
!
ALSO HAVE FOR SALE
CCXzVL COKE.
* /