Pueblo County, Colorado
Pueblo News 1874

Page contributed by Karen Mitchell, news items contributed by Jean Griesan and Karen Mitchell. Our utmost thanks and appreciation to Jean for typing these up.
These news items are being extracted from the local newspapers. They are in chronological order. To search for any given name use your browers "Find" button.

Colorado Daily Chieftain, February 22, 1874      
   Being about to close up my business in Pueblo, I will sell from this date, until the end of the present month, my entire stock of jewelry &c., at cost, for cash.      
                   HENRY KETTERER.      

   NOTICE. - The copartnership heretofore existing under the firm of Day & Kerr, proprietors of the National House, is this day, by mutual consent, dissolved, T. A. Kerr retiring from the firm.      
                   ALEX DAY, T. A. KERR      

   The Pueblo and San Juan Wagon Road Company has been re-organized and has filed amended articles of incorporation, locating a route through the main range via Music Pass.  The incorporators are O. H. R. Baxter, Wm. Moore, H. C. Thatcher, Lewis Conley and Jas. Rice.  The trustees are Chas. Goodnight, William Moore, Chas. H. Blake, G. H. Hobson, G. M. Chilcott, J. S. Thompson, W. P. Martin, E. S. Nettleton and I. W. Hill.  A petition will be presented to the county commissioners, asking them to order an election to be held in order to submit to the people of the county the question of voting a subscription of fifty thousand dollars in bonds to the capital stock of the company.     

    A case of attempted swindling was reported yesterday.  It appears that a man whose name we did not learn, took a contract to plant a large number of posts on the ranch of G. A. Bate, Esq., and engaged several men to help him, promising to pay them when the work was finished.  After the job was done, the contractor took all the money and departed without paying his help.  He was arrested at Colorado Springs.    

     The attention of our readers is called to the advertisement of James Rice, in our issue this morning.  He has at present on hand, the largest and best stock of cigars, tobaccos, stationery, pistols, knives, books, music, fishing tackle, musical instruments, legal blanks, periodicals, fancy articles, &c., ever brought to Southern Colorado.  Captain Rice is one of our oldest and most reliable business men, and we can heartily recommend him to our friends with the assurance that he will sell them goods in his line at the lowest market prices.  His example in advertising is a good one for our business men to follow.  If you want the benefits of a daily paper, you should help by every means in your power to give it all the support possible.    

     Our whisky is due - No! that ain't it.  Our Henry is due to whisky - hold on!  Our bottle is due to whisky Henry - oh! lemme shee!  Now!  We have it!  Our thanks are due to our friend Henry, the gentlemanly clerk at M. Eppstein's liquor establishment, on Santa Fe avenue, for a bottle of first class whisky.  We know it's a good article for we took some before we commenced to write this local.  If you don't believe it's good, go and buy some for yourself.  He has good liquors of all kinds.  

       Gov. Elbert has appointed the following named gentlemen trustees of the deaf and dumb asylum to be established at Colorado Springs: Dr. Meyer Marix and Dr. R. G. Buckingham, Denver; Hon. J. E. Maxwell, Boulder, Hon. J. C. Wilson, Colorado Springs; A. Z. Sheldon, Esq., Colorado City; Hon. Wilbur F. Stone, Pueblo.     

    A number of ladies and gentlemen assembled at the rooms of G. Q. Richmond Esq., on Thursday night last, to attend a whist party given by that gentlemen.  A very pleasant reunion, say those who were there.     

    John Warner, our chief of police, has a boil on his face about as big as his own fist.  It doesn't improve John's good looks nor sweeten his temper.

Colorado Daily Chieftain, February 22, 1874        
        FROM LOMA.  The Mosca Pass Road.  LOMA, COL., Feb. 20.        
EDITOR CHIEFTAIN: - In an article relative to roads to the San Juan mines, we notice that the Canon City Times in commenting upon the Mosca Pass road, makes the following statements: That Pueblo evinces a determination of constructing the road, if it can consistently be called a road after it shall have been finished, and further says that it never can be made a good road on account of the high altitude of the pass, as well as because of the miles of heavy sand and deep marshes bordering the lakes beyond.  It occurs to us here, that the Times man must certainly be talking about some thing that he knows nothing about, when he says that on account of the high altitude of the pass, as well as the heavy sand and deep marshes bordering the lakes beyond, a good road cannot be made.  The altitude of the Mosca Pass is 1,950 feet lower than that of the Sangre de Christo.  There is not a lower and better pass over the Sangre de Christo range, between the Abetya and Poncho Pass, than the Mosca, the opinion of the Times to the contrary notwithstanding.  Now as regards the miles of heavy sand, would say there is some sand near the base of the mountain, near the mouth of the pass, but not to exceed three and one half miles, which is not as bad as twelve or fifteen miles of the road now traveled between Fort Garland, Loma and Del Norte, and there is plenty of material close to the road, such as brush, hay, and shell rock with which to make that portion of the road good, and as to the marshes bordering the lakes, it will not require to exceed one half to three-fourths of a mile of turn pike and ditching to make that part of the road good at all times in the year, and then we have the nearest and best road from Pueblo to the San Juan mines via Del Norte and Loma that can be built.  Certainly no better road can be found in the territory than the one from Pueblo via St. Charles creek, the Muddy, Huerfano, Badito and Gardner to the pass.  A new and expensive bridge has just been finished across the St. Charles.  A good bridge across the Muddy and the Huerfano, at Badito, also across the stream at Gardner, making the road complete from Pueblo to the pass with no bad hills or streams to cross.  The road is now two thirds finished through the pass, and with the increased force just put on to the work, the road will be ready for travel by the first day of March next.  There has already four loaded wagons gone over the pass.  Mr. White, a gentleman living near Gardener, took over the pass on one wagon twenty-five hundred pounds.  The mail from Retalarego to Badito passes over the road regularly twice a week.   

      The distance from Pueblo to Del Norte and Loma via the Mosca pass, is much shorter than by any other route that a road can be built, the distance will not exceed one hundred and twenty miles - there is no use of misrepresenting the facts as regard the distance - when any person talks of a route from Pueblo to Loma in one hundred and five miles, we have only to state positively that no such route can be found, and to convince any person of the fact, it will only be necessary to refer to a sectional map of the territory.  We have passed over this route repeatedly and have given the subject special attention, and know whereof we speak.  We have heard much of late of a route called the Wet Mountain valley route, to cross the range at Musics or Arena pass, and as near as we can learn from parties familiar with that route, the distance from Pueblo to Loma is one hundred and fifty one miles, fifty-six miles from Pueblo to Rosita, from Rosita to and through the Arena pass forty miles, from the Arena pass to Loma fifty-five miles; total, one hundred and fifty-one miles, and over a much rougher country than by the Mosca route.  Should a road be built over the Arena pass, the travel would necessarily be obliged to follow down the base of the mountain to the mouth of the Mosca pass, and then take the road across the San Luis valley over the Mosca road.  The large sand hills are directly in front of the Arena pass, and don't extend down as far as the Mosca.  We are not slow to acknowledge that we are interested in the building and making of the Mosca pass road, and we intend to make it a good road.  Our interests at Loma and Del Norte are more or less identified with Pueblo, and we are not a little surprised at the fact that Pueblo has been, and is now figuring in the interests of other routes, which seems to us must be detrimental to their interests, for certainly a road from the terminus of the railroad to intersect any road running in the direction of the San Juan mines, would induce travel and freight to pass through Pueblo, instead of making that the starting point.  Our road is nearly completed - and as yet, without asking for aid, and why it is not favored by our Pueblo friends, we are as yet, unable to comprehend.    
             MOSCA.

Colorado Daily Chieftain 3-17-1874 The contract for carrying the mails from Butte Valley to Santa Fe, via Fort Garland, has again been awarded to Mr. A.T. Seabring of Badito.

Colorado Daily Chieftain 8-25-1874 A terrible accident befell a little child of Sheriff Ellis', while camping out with the rest of his family in the mountains. During the temporary absence of it's father and mother the little fellow walked barefooted into the hot coals and ashes remaining from a large camp fire. His feet are terribly burned but it is thought he will recover without permanent lameness.

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