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Show 280 TALES OF THE COLORADO PIONEERS. We paused for a moment over the grave of Pueblo's first love, " The Old Monarch," a venerable Cottonwood of huge dimensions, and read from a card the following: " The tree that grew here was 380 years old; circumference, 28 ft.; height, 79 ft.; was cut down June 25th, 1883, at the cost of $250." It was known throughout Colorado as one of the oldest land-marks in the State. During the Pike's Peak excitement " the old tree " sheltered many a weary traveler. In 1850 thirty-six persons were massacred by the Indians while camping near this spot. Kit Carson, Wild Bill, Buffalo Bill and other noted Indian scouts, have built their camp-fires under its wide-spreading and sheltering branches. It is claimed that fourteen men were hanged on one of the limbs at different times. Among the traditions we learn that the first woman who died in Colorado was buried here. This statement may be taken cum grano salis. No wonder the citizens of Pueblo "mourned and refused to be comforted" when it was hewn down. To us there was something hard, cruel and unfeeling in the act of a city council that would rob nature of one of its noblest veterans. The place where the old fort once stood was pointed out to us. We drew upon our imagination in the effort to see a trace of it, for these old forts are interesting inasmuch as they mark a period in the history of Colorado before its permanent settlement. Fort Pueblo was built in 1842, on the site where the city of Pueblo now stands, and was a rendezvous for traders and trappers for a number of years. |
