Rush to the Rockies! The 1859 Pikes Peak or Bust Gold Rush

Rush to the Rockies!

The 1859

Pikes Peak or Bust

Gold Rush

Edited by

Tim Blevins, Dennis Daily, Sydne Dean, Chris Nicholl,

Michael L. Olsen, & Katherine Scott Sturdevant

Published by

Pikes Peak Library District

with the

Western Museum of Mining & Industry

Rush to the Rockies! The 1859 Pikes Peak or Bust Gold Rush

Copyright 2013 Pikes Peak Library District.

All rights reserved. Smashwords edition.

This publication was made possible by private funds. Interpretation of events and conclusions are those of the authors, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD), PPLD Board of Trustees, or PPLD employees and editors.

Smashwords e-book ISBN 978-1-56735-334-1

paperback ISBN 978-1-56735-283-2

Library of Congress Control Number 2013946338

How to Get to Pike’s Peak Gold Mines previously appeared in Harper’s Weekly 3, no. 118 (April 2, 1859): 220.

Song for the Times previously appeared in the Cherry Creek Pioneer, April 23, 1859.

Ye Pictorial Historie of Honest Abner Howe’s Journey to Pike’s Peak in Search of a Rapid Fortune previously appeared in Harper’s Weekly, 3, no. 123 (May 7, 1859): 292.

A Jingling Pick at Pike’s Peak by C. H. Webb previously appeared in Harper’s Weekly 3, no. 125 (May 21, 1859): 324.

Plain Tales of the Plains by Julia S. Lambert previously appeared in The Trail 8, no. 8 (January 1916): 5–11, and The Trail 8, no. 9 (February 1916): 5–12.

A Gold Hunter’s Experience by Chalkley J. Hambleton was previously privately published (Chicago, 1898).

The Rocky Mountains & Their Gold Mines by Samuel Bowles previously appeared in Across the Continent: A Summer’s Journey to the Rocky Mountains, the Mormons, and the Pacific States, with Speaker Colfax (Springfield, MA: Samuel Bowles & Company, 1865), 30–42.

Colorado: Resources & Attractions of the State previously appeared in The Bankers’ Magazine 57, no. 2 (August 1898): 177–208.

Colorado’s Mineral Yield and Language of the Miner previously appeared in The Gold Fields of Colorado: A Brief Description of the Various Gold Districts Located on and Contiguous to the Line of the Denver & Rio Grande R.R. (S. K. Hooper, 1896).

The Pikes Peak Library District’s Regional History Series chronicles the unique and often undocumented history of Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West.

Regional History Series

Currently In Print

The Colorado Labor Wars: Cripple Creek 1903–1904, A Centennial Commemoration

"To Spare No Pains": Zebulon Montgomery Pike & His 1806–1807 Southwest Expedition

Doctor at Timberline: True Tales, Travails, & Triumphs of a Pioneer Colorado Physician

Legends, Labors & Loves: William Jackson Palmer, 1836–1909

Extraordinary Women of the Rocky Mountain West

Lightning in His Hand: The Life Story of Nikola Tesla

Enterprise & Innovation in the Pikes Peak Region

The Pioneer Photographer: Rocky Mountain Adventures with a Camera

A City Beautiful Dream: The 1912 Vision for Colorado Springs

Film & Photography on the Front Range

Doctors, Disease, and Dying in the Pikes Peak Region

For purchasing information, contact:

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Acknowledgments

Rush to the Rockies! The 1859 Pikes Peak or Bust Gold Rush, is the result of many individuals’ efforts. We are grateful for the exceptional chapter contributions, the skilled editorial assistance, and the proficient proofreading necessary to produce this volume.

Many of the chapters were written by the presenters at the 2009 Pikes Peak Regional History Symposium. Our thanks go to Edwin A. Bathke, Joanne West Dodds, Gayle Gresham, John M. Hutchins, Ginny Kilander, and Nancy K. Prince for writing papers for this text based on their excellent presentations. Occasionally we include chapters by additional authors who have expertise that contributes to the better understanding of a book’s topic. Such is the case with historian Carol Kennis Lopez whose knowledge of regional agriculture during the gold rush years resulted in a superior chapter on the subject, for which we are grateful. Maps also add valuable details and context. Thank you to Dave Wolverton for providing his marvelous map of the Lawrence Party Expedition for this book.

Some chapters provide first-hand insights into the thoughts and lives of people of the time. The text from previously published sources was retyped by Erinn Barnes and Marta Norton and we thank them for bringing us these words from the past. We are also grateful to Nina Kuberski for her expert photograph scanning skills.

We are thankful to Michael L. Olsen and Katherine Scott Sturdevant—academic authorities on our region’s history who have researched and written numerous articles, chapters, and books between them. In addition to assisting with the editing for the Regional History Series books, Mike and Kathy have been steadfast cornerstones for the Pikes Peak Regional History Symposia events. The books and events are better because of their participation and we cannot thank them enough for the contributions of their talents towards these efforts.

Typographical errors in our publications are avoided to the best of our ability, but proofreaders always find something that the editors have missed. Proofreaders undertook the reading of each page in this book to ensure 99 percent of the mistakes were caught before it was committed to print. Thank you to Emily Anderson, Erinn Barnes, Toni Miller, Heather Norris, and Bill Thomas for finding most of the blunders before it was too late. We are also grateful to Mary Ellen White for her assistance in preparing this book for e-book formats.

Though the Regional History Series books can be considered local publications, we bring the unique history of the Pikes Peak region to a world-wide readership in print and e-book formats. Thank you for rewarding our efforts by reading our books.

The Editorial Committee

Foreword

The 1859 gold fever emboldened many adventurous souls to head west to the mineral-rich regions of the Kansas and Nebraska territories. Their destination, commonly called Pike’s Peak, was the area known today as Colorado’s Front Range. The prospector’s dream was of an easy life of wealth and the never-ending happiness that gold could buy.

Some naysayers in the East ridiculed the gold seekers for their desire to leave behind civilized society and the virtues of an agrarian lifestyle for the uncertainty of riches in the West. Still, the lure of gold tempted many from their homes. Some lost hope when, en route, they encountered the go backs returning home, disappointed from their unsuccessful mining efforts. Those not disillusioned by revelations of the exaggerated claims of easy money continued the difficult journey.

After arriving, the hardships of travel overcome, gold fever returned and the prospectors set-out to find their fortunes. Hard work broke many. The sturdy, smart, and well-prepared lasted the longest. The fortunate ones who enjoyed good luck fared the best. Those who remained in the region, whether or not they prospered in mining, business, or some other endeavor, are the true pioneer Pike’s Peakers.

Rush to the Rockies! The 1859 Pikes Peak or Bust Gold Rush, the 12th book in the Regional History Series, provides a glimpse into the excitement of Colorado’s formative years, into the development of industrialized mining, and into the lives of people who thrived (or just survived) to establish the Centennial State of Colorado in 1876. A few maps included in this book identify Colorado by earlier or proposed names: Kansas, Colona, and Jefferson, among them. Reprinted contemporaneous documents illuminate the experiences and opinions of people during the time. Essays discuss the impacts of gold mining on business, politics, and the environment. Photographs illustrate the natural beauty and the booming settlements. All told, Rush to the Rockies! covers a lot of ground in its pages.

As you read the chapters in Rush to the Rockies!, imagine yourself 150 years ago, provisioning for a long wagon trip across the plains, prodding your stubborn oxen westward, fearing the unknown, and maybe even striking it rich. Succumb to the fever and enjoy the adventure!

Paula J. Miller, Executive Director, PPLD

Tim Blevins, Special Collections Manager, PPLD

About Pikes Peak Library District

Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD) is the second largest library district in the State of Colorado and regularly places in the top tier of national library rankings. It serves more than half a million residents in El Paso County providing 730 hours of library service a week throughout the 2,000 square miles of its service area. PPLD’s fourteen facilities, online resources, and mobile library service provide access to materials, technology, spaces, and programs that are critical to the public, making it a vital force for individual and community transformation.

PPLD is recognized for its commitment to diversity and community collaboration, its quality programming, and its excellent customer service. It is committed to providing 21st Century library service focusing on civic collaboration, virtual access, and the creation of content. Statistically speaking:

• More than 387,000 individuals attended PPLD programs in 2012. Public meeting rooms were used nearly 10,000 times by community groups.

• On average, Pikes Peak Library District checks out 24,800 items each day. With annual circulation of 8.8 million, PPLD ranks among the highest circulating systems in the country.

• The number of individuals who walk into our libraries over the course of a year exceeds 3,800,000, an average of 10,400 per day.

Board of Trustees 2013

Kathleen Owings, President

John Wilson, Vice President

Katherine Spicer, Secretary/Treasurer

Kenneth Beach

John Bornschein

Jill Gaebler

Cathy Grossman

Executive Director

Paula J. Miller

Regional History Series

Editorial Committee

Tim Blevins

Dennis Daily

Sydne Dean

Chris Nicholl

Principal Series Consultant

Calvin P. Otto

Cover image: John T. Fiala, General Map of the United States & Their Territory Between the Mississippi & the Pacific Ocean. 1. Showing the Different Surveyed Routes from the Mississippi Valley to the Coast of Pacific Ocean, 2. the New Established & Proposed Post Routes, 3. the Recently Discovered Gold, Silver, and Copper Region in Kansas, Nebraska and Arizona, 1859. The region of what is currently Colorado was prematurely identified as Colona. Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington, D.C. (98688437).

Table of Contents

Title page

Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgements

About Pikes Peak Library District

The Lawrence Party Trailblazer, Julia Archibald Holmes: Colorado’s Sassy Suffragist

How to Get to Pike’s Peak Gold Mines

Song for the Times

Ye Pictorial Historie of Honest Abner Howe’s Journey to Pike’s Peak in Search of a Rapid Fortune

A Jingling Pick at Pike’s Peak

They Were All Fifty-Niners: The Colorado, British Columbia, and New Zealand Gold Rushes

Plain Tales of the Plains

A Gold Hunter’s Experience

The Rocky Mountains and Their Gold Mines

We Can’t Eat Gold: Agriculture in Early Colorado City 1858–1867

The Cash Creek Miners and the Lake County War

The Anthony Brothers’ 1868 Stereograph Set: The Gold Regions

Golden Paper: Early Papermaking in the Pikes Peak Region

Colorado: Resources and Attractions of the State

Freighter, Baker, Music Maker—Soldiers, Farmers, Entrepreneurs: An Immigrant Family in the Colorado Gold Rush

Southern Colorado Women in the Gold Rush Era

The Mystery of the Mountains

Colorado’s Mineral Yield

Language of the Miner

Selected Bibliography

Using pencil, crayon, ink, and watercolors, Daniel A. Jenks (1827–1869) recorded scenes of his party’s journey to the gold regions during 1859. This scene, identified as Sunday April 3d 1859, depicts the deep snow on the Great Plains of Kansas Territory. According to his diary, Jenks was at Camp No. 5—110 Creek, on Sunday, April 3, 1859, and wrote, I pushed on ahead of the teams [in the snow] reached a log cabin which prov[ed] to be a mail station. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. (LC-DIG-ppmsc-04806).

Back to Contents

Julia Archibald Holmes came to the Pikes Peak region with the first gold-seeking expedition that left Lawrence, Kansas Territory, in May 1858. She is commonly recognized as the first white woman to climb to the summit of Pikes Peak, however she also did important work as an activist for women’s rights. F. F. Mettner photograph, Denver Public Library, Western History Collection (F-7348).

The Lawrence Party Trailblazer,

Julia Archibald Holmes:

Colorado’s Sassy Suffragist

Chris Nicholl

I rejoiced that I was independent of such little views of propriety.

Julia Archibald Holmes, 1858

Julia Anna Archibald Holmes spent little time in the area of present-day Colorado, but she is famous in the state’s history as its first known female mountain climber and for her unconventional climbing attire, a Bloomer costume—the outward symbol of woman’s rights. Along with her husband James Holmes, on August 5, 1858, the 20-year-old suffragist reached the summit of the 14,115 foot Pikes Peak. En route, she experienced firsthand the sublime beauty of the mountain and proved that a woman was as capable of the grueling ascent as a man. She capped her climb by composing a letter to her mother, boasting,

I have accomplished the task which I marked out for myself . . . Nearly everyone tried to discourage me from attempting it, but I believed I should succeed; and now, here I am, and I feel that I would not have missed this glorious sight for anything at all. In all probability I am the first woman who has ever stood upon the summit of this mountain and gazed upon this wondrous scene which my eyes now behold.¹

Remembered for her climb and her clothes, Julia’s legacy is far greater. In June 1858, Julia and James set out on the adventure of a lifetime. They joined the Lawrence Party, the first company of gold-seekers to the Pikes Peak country from eastern Kansas. Described as young, handsome and intelligent as well as a Bloomer-wearing regular woman’s righter, Julia possessed a powerful sense of history and a self-conscious awareness of the momentous undertaking upon which she had embarked. In letters published in The Sibyl, a woman’s rights journal that strongly advocated clothing reform for women, she documented her journey to the Pikes Peak country. Nearly a century later, her correspondence, along with additional biographical materials, was published as A Bloomer Girl on Pike’s Peak 1858.²

Julia’s descriptions of the plains and mountains she traversed depict an awe-inspiring world witnessed by those early gold seekers. She detailed the dangers and delights of one of the first parties of gold-seekers in the 1859 Pikes Peak Gold Rush. Of greater unique significance, was her scrupulous record of the ways in which mid-19th century females were constrained by convention and nonsensical rules and mores. At a time when society trivialized women’s demands for equality and autonomy, hers was an articulate voice for equal rights and freedoms unheard of in her time, including choice of clothing. A proud suffragist who outraged her fellow travelers, Julia Archibald Holmes blazed a trail not only on Pikes Peak; she forged new and expanded trails for others to follow.

Julia Archibald Holmes lived to only 48 years, from 1838 until 1887, but those years were extraordinarily fertile in American history, churning with currents of political and social reform that profoundly shaped the nation as well as Julia’s approach to life. Most significant was the growing pressure to end slavery and, arising from and concurrent with that impulse, the woman’s equality movement. Born in Nova Scotia in 1838, Julia Anna Archibald was the second of eight children of Jane and John Christie Archibald, whose concerns with abolishing slavery and women’s oppression would shape their daughter’s destiny. In 1848, the family settled in Massachusetts, where John, a carpenter and house builder, was associated with a group of abolitionists. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 provided that the popular vote would determine whether Kansas would enter the Union as a free or slave state. This act spawned violence between determined free-state and slave-state factions—both of whom arrived to determine Kansas’s fate—so severe that the territory would be known as Bleeding Kansas, a dress rehearsal for the American Civil War. Proslavery advocates flocked to Kansas, especially from the bordering slave state of Missouri. Meanwhile, Boston abolitionists founded the New England Immigrant Aid Society to subsidize immigration to Kansas in order to counter the votes of slavery interests. The Archibald family joined the first wave of settlers; John Archibald was among the founders of Lawrence, Kansas, a stronghold of abolitionists or Free Soil advocates.³

From its establishment in 1854 until the Civil War ended, Lawrence was a dangerous place to live. The territory was ruled by the slavery men, who were unceasingly vigilant, bitter and merciless in harassing the recently arrived ‘Yankees.’ There were frequent reports of murders, arrests and disorders and towns were sacked, citizens were killed, and their property taken away. In spite of the danger, the Archibalds’ farm was a meeting place for anti-slavery sympathizers. Even though legislation threatened those who harbored escaped slaves with imprisonment and five years of hard labor, their home was a station on the Underground Railroad from 1855 to 1863. Thus Julia had the opportunity to learn firsthand the dreadful effects of slavery.⁴

Raised in an environment of courageous human rights activism, Julia fell in love with another fiery abolitionist, James Henry Holmes, whom she married in October 1857. Born in 1833 to a New York merchant’s family, James, a colorful historical figure in his own right, immigrated to Kansas in 1856.⁵ Well versed in the emerging field of agricultural chemistry, which promoted scientific methods of food production, Holmes thought he could obtain cheap, virgin land that would support a man with very little labor. Along with a company of 15 settlers, James took up land near Lawrence, intending to establish a town, an industrial & literary rather than a commercial center, with an agricultural school, a high school and ultimately an observatory.⁶

Once in Kansas, James allied with the Free Soil men, joining violent abolitionist John Brown’s Free State Rangers who waged war on pro-slavers. Described as an erratic man, very moody, of an artistic temperament, Holmes was a trusted lieutenant of Brown, who called him my little hornet.⁷ Holmes achieved national fame through his association with Brown’s Rangers, firing the first shot at a famous battle between free- and slave-state factions in August 1856.⁸ Reportedly, Holmes, upon finding the enemy close at hand, fired, striking one in the mouth or chin and causing him ‘to bleed like a pig’ . . . He then retreated to the woods, the enemy following him closely.⁹ Then elected first officer of Brown’s men, in the first armed raid into a slave state, James led a guerilla party of seven free-state men into Missouri, plundering and harassing his victims along the way and shooting a man. Exhibiting a dashing and reckless flair, Holmes’s foray, however, created more trouble than not. According to critics of the event, bands such as his were not generally beneficial to [the] cause.¹⁰

In October 1857, Julia Archibald and James Holmes purchased adjoining quarter sections in the Neosho river valley of Kansas, occupying a cabin on James’s land.¹¹ James had described the valley’s fertile farm and timber lands, its rich mineral and mining potential and its proximity to the lucrative Santa Fe Trail trade, suggesting he anticipated permanent residence. According to Julia, they learned that a company was fitting out in Lawrence for a gold adventure to Pike’s Peak. Intrigued by that news, more by a desire to cross the plains and behold the great mountain chain of North America, than by any expectation of realizing the floating gold stories, they hurriedly packed a wagon and, two days later, on June 2, 1858, they set out to catch the Lawrence Company, joining it on the Santa Fe Trail.¹²

Throughout the two months’ journey from her Kansas farm to the summit of Pikes Peak, Julia exhibited independence and self-determination, counter to mid-19th century mores. With little regard for tradition or public censure, she challenged established social and political structures and cultural institutions. She defiantly wore comfortable and safe clothing, she persisted in a regime of strenuous physical exercise, and she wished to assume the traditionally masculine military role of defending the community. She argued that women should have the right to vote. Although some of the 41-strong party approved her behavior, most, including the only other female, were scandalized by Julia’s assertive individuality along the way.

In a letter recounting the Pikes Peak adventure, Julia announced, I am, perhaps, the first woman who has worn the ’American Costume’ across that prairie sea which divides the great frontier of the states from the Rocky Mountains. Her adoption of the radical clothing, also known as the reform dress, and more generally as the Bloomer costume, which she donned en route to Pikes Peak, created turmoil. Named for Amelia Bloomer, who popularized it in early 1850, the costume was accepted by some factory and farm women for its practicality and safety. For over a decade, it became a symbol for woman’s rights activists, almost all of whom were suffragists. In contrast to the 12 pounds of tight corsets, multiple layers, and full, sweeping skirts worn by her conservative contemporaries, Julia described her clothing as a calico dress, reaching a little below the knee, pants of the same, Indian moccasins, and a hat.¹³

The curious men crowded around, marveling at a unique cooking stove Julia had brought along, but more often at her dress, which did not entirely surprise her. She presumed, some of them had never seen just such a costume before. Elated to meet the other woman of the party, Mrs. Robert Middleton, Julia’s hopes of enjoying female companionship were quickly dashed: I soon found that there could be no congeniality between us. She proved to be a woman unable to appreciate freedom or reform, affected that her sphere denied her the liberty to rove at pleasure, and confined herself the long days to feminine impotence in the hot covered wagon. Reflecting the era’s conventions and her own concern for men’s approval, the woman appealed to Julia to put on a long dress, for the rest of the trip, the men talk so much about you. . . . you look so queer with that dress on. Undeterred, Julia defended her clothing: However much it lacked in taste, I found it to be beyond value in comfort and convenience, as it gave me freedom to roam at pleasure in search of flowers and other curiosities, while the cattle continued their slow and measured pace. . . . I cannot afford to dress to please their taste.¹⁴

Woman’s rights activist and clothing reformer Amelia Jenks Bloomer was an advocate for the comfortable, yet controversial, pants-like fashion dubbed Bloomers. The costume was considered a radical departure from the uncomfortable women’s attire of the time. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. (LC-USZC4-4586).

Based on her account, females of Julia’s time avoided public displays in the company of men, including engaging in healthy physical exercise. From journey’s start, however, Julia shunned the wagon, walking and wandering about at will. Initially she managed three or four miles in a day, but by pushing her endurance, within a few weeks she could walk ten miles in the most sultry weather without being exhausted. Offering insight into the constraints usually imposed on females’ autonomy, Julia’s companion argued that she had never found her dress to be the least inconvenient . . . she could walk as much in her dress as she wanted to, or as was proper for a woman among so many men. In contrast, Julia relished the freedom her costume and her physicality offered, recognizing that they represented her equality with males.

I could not positively enjoy a moment’s happiness with long skirts on to confine me to the wagon. . . . I rejoiced that I was independent of such little views of propriety, and felt that I possessed an ownership in all that was good or beautiful in nature, and an interest in any curiosities we might find on the journey just as if I had been one of the favored lords of creation.¹⁵

Perhaps most challenging to her mostly male companions’ sensibilities was Julia’s insistence that she perform guard duty. She argued that women and men should have equality of rights and responsibilities and that females could promote independence by sharing the hardships commonly born by men. Accordingly, she wrote, I signified to the Guardmaster that I desired to take my turn with the others in the duty of guarding the camp, and requested to have my watch assigned with my husband. A self-confessed conservative and Virginia gentleman who prided himself much upon his chivalry, the captain argued that it would be a disgrace to the gentlemen of the company for them to permit a woman to stand on guard. Linking military service to the vote, the guardsman said he would refuse to vote for the universal franchise, despite having witnessed [in Kansas] the heroic exertions of many …women . . . to secure for their brothers the boon of freedom. The gentleman asserted woman is an angel, (without any sense,) needing the legislation of her brothers to keep her in her place; that restraint removed, she would immediately usurp his position, and then not only be no longer an angel but unwomanly. Another of the party documented Julia’s appeal for equality, claiming she was quite indignant when informed that she was not allowed to stand on guard. This event seems to have particularly upset Julia. She signed this letter with her birth name, J. Annie Archibald.¹⁶

Despite her irritating confrontations with fellow travelers, Julia savored her road trip, mentioning that there were about 47 men in the company, the most of them very pleasant [and] all of them very respectful. She was pleased that James had received several flattering offers for her, from Native American men, recalling that, One Indian wanted to trade two squaws, who could probably perform four times the physical labor that I could. Others not quite so timid, approaching the wagon made signs for me to jump behind them on their ponies, but I declined the honor.¹⁷

On July 12, 1858, Julia wrote to her family from a camp near the site of present-day Colorado Springs, Colorado: About 3 days ago we arrived at Pike’s Peak, or as near there as the wagons can go. The mountains are very beautiful. Pike’s Peak looks sublime. To their disappointment, the party had yet to discover much gold. If further searching proved futile, she and James would likely return home. Although many westward moving pioneer women resisted and resented the dislocation, others such as Julia relished the journey and adventure. She told her family,

We have been very well indeed on the road . . . I have seen a great deal of beautiful scenery, have not been lonesome and the journey has not seemed very tedious. We may start for home in the course of two weeks . . . I wish we were not obliged to go at all, this fall, I would like to travel through to the Pacific.¹⁸

The company remained at the base of Pikes Peak for a month. A restless spirit, Julia bewailed the days of disgusting inactivity, and monotony of camp life, filled with little but the mundane diversions of eating, sleeping, games of chance punctuated with short expeditions for game and gold hunting.¹⁹ On August 1, however, a new adventure began. Julia and James set out to climb Pikes Peak. Packing survival essentials for a strenuous six-day excursion, Julia hauled a 17-pound pack stuffed with 9 pounds of bread, a quilt, and clothing, while James took along an additional 35 pounds of bread, hog meat, coffee, sugar, cooking and eating utensils, 5 quilts, and clothing. Rounding out their equipment were writing materials and "a volume of Emerson’s Essays. While some of the company had demeaned her Bloomers, one praised her practicality: Mrs. Holmes wore bloomers in order to travel over the rocks and brush to better advantage and showed her good sense in doing so, as there was no trail and the way was rough."²⁰

Julia’s descriptive account of their ascent draws her audience along with her into the wilderness of the nearly untouched west as she recorded the sheer terror and the pure pleasure of the adventure. She recalled the difficulties of climbing over rough, uncharted territory, two days of very hard climbing has brought me here—if you could only know how hard you would be surprised . . . My strength and capacity for enduring fatigue have been very much increased by constant exercise in the open air . . . I was . . . often obliged to use my hands. But offsetting those trials, the couple created a temporary home in a nook protected by mossy boulders that they called Snowdell, and which she described as, the most romantic of places.²¹

On August 5, the Holmeses departed Snowdell for the summit, taking with them only writing materials and the volume of Emerson. Atop the peak it was cold and rather cloudy, with squalls of snow, consequently our view was not so expansive as we had anticipated . . . we could not spend long in contemplating the grandeur of the scene for it was exceedingly cold, and leaving their names on a large rock, they commenced letters to some of our friends, using a broad flat rock for a writing desk. When we were ready to return I read aloud from Emerson.²²

Upon receiving her daughter’s letter from atop Pikes Peak, Jane O’Brien Archibald ensured that Julia’s achievement would be preserved for the historical record. In the fall of 1858, it appeared in newspapers headlined, The First Woman on Pike’s Peak.²³ Surely it was her mother who had informed Julia’s ideas of independence and equality. As did many mid-19th century social critics, Jane advocated for the emancipation of slaves and of women. Along with her friend, Susan B. Anthony, whose brothers were also Kansas abolitionists in Lawrence, Jane was a leading advocate for woman’s suffrage. In a satirical editorial published in 1858, Jane lampooned a cleric who had asserted that the advances in Bloomerism and of woman’s right has a tendency to infidelity. Jane defended the clothing’s efficacy which she described as the most comfortable, healthful, modest, and graceful form of apparel the wearing of which made woman’s onerous labors far less difficult. Noting that women’s rights advocates had advanced females’ educational and economic opportunities and legal status, she panned the very idea that Bloomerism, woman’s rights, abolitionism, all or any of these issues created a tendency to infidelity. Instead, she maintained infidelity was sustained by the ruffianism of clerics who tolerated the sin and crime of slavery and perpetuated woman’s oppression.²⁴ With her family’s courageous efforts to end slavery and her mother’s strongly feminist thinking, it is no wonder that Julia risked challenging her travel companions en route to Pikes Peak.

While camped near Pikes Peak, Julia mentioned the company’s limited success at discovering gold. But she remained optimistic, stating that they had not much looked. Still, if no gold were found, the company would disperse. Some would go to Oregon, others to California and still others would return to Lawrence. Ultimately finding little gold around Pikes Peak or elsewhere in the south, the party headed to Fort Garland for supplies. There the company split. Some did return to Kansas. Others went to the Sangre de Cristo range. Determined to find gold in the Rocky Mountains, others turned back north to prospect along the Platte River and Cherry Creek. There in September 1858, some of the men built a few cabins at a place they named Montana City, the first settlement by whites on the present site of Denver.

Following their Pikes Peak adventure, the Holmeses settled in New Mexico, where Julia, described as, well educated and talented, a fine Latin scholar and fluent in Spanish, was employed as a tutor for the children of the region’s prosperous merchants and traders. She also was a correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune. James engaged in trucking and agriculture, writing with satisfaction, We are very much occupied with business now, and as our crops are now so far advanced, so that we know them to be a certain thing, we can say that we have succeeded this season beyond our most sanguine expectation in our determination to make money.²⁵

James, retaining his interest in politics and particularly in the expansion of Free Soil into the west, accompanied by Julia, visited Washington D.C., in April 1861. He sought political appointments for himself and his allies. Once again, James and Julia found themselves at a key spot during a critical turning point in American history, far greater than their journey two years previous. Sojourning in Washington at the Civil War’s onset, James joined a volunteer brigade, the Frontier Guards, comprised primarily of Kansas Free-Soil men, organized to provide protection for President Lincoln and the White House until northern troops could reach the capital."²⁶

Notoriety surely worked in James’s favor. Lincoln appointed him secretary of the Territory of New Mexico on July 25, 1861. Seen as a rabid abolitionist, Holmes’s tenure was marked by political intrigue from both unionists and secessionists. Enemies charged him with personal misconduct and official corruption. Holmes launched a pro-union, anti-slavery newspaper, the Santa Fe Republican, so his supporters claimed that the opposition … was a politically motivated response to his effort to build a Republican press and Republican Party in New Mexico, and thus to resist New Mexico’s loss into Democratic and implicitly disloyal ranks.²⁷ In July 1862, James was imprisoned on charge of publishing an article which gave aid and comfort to the enemy. . . . The article referred to