Morse Coffin - Early Pioneer History

A day or so later a larger party of us took heavy packs and walked to Gold Hill and Gold Run Gulch, the latter just south of the present town of Gold Hill. Gold Run Gulch was then a very lively little placer mining camp where gold was being separated from sand, gravel, and dirt by means of hand rockers, as there was only a limited supply of water.

At this time Boulder City was composed of, as I recall it, some forty-odd log cabins or partial cabins, in various stages of completion, from foundations to a roof of shakes - split shingles some three feet long and fastened with poles or small house logs laid on them and fastened in place. Most any pioneer in any portion of the U.S. knows what shakes are.

I understood at the time that the Town Company was composed of some 46 shares and that each owner of a share had to build a house on his portion within a given time. This accounts for so many being started so early in its history. Changes occurred in town company and I am sure a majority of these cabins were never completed on townsite. Many of them - that is the logs - were hauled out on land claims around the country. A year or so later there were fewer houses in town than when we first saw it, though far better ones were in the meantime being built and completed. If any mistakes are made by me as to the early history of Boulder, M. L. McCaslin or John Rothroch can make connection, as they were here in 1858, and more than likely the latter was a member of the original town company. Among the very oldest Boulderites were Captain Thomas Akins and A. A. Brookfield, (I think Mrs. Brookfield is still living in Boulder) as they came here in 1858 and wintered here.

There was so much dividing up of companies and selling off of teams, wagons, and supplies, and so little money in circulation that everything was ruinously cheap, even though all realized the fact that grub would be at a premium before fresh pilgrims arrived the next spring.

When the division of our own company was made I found myself in debt to Mr. Low some $75 or $80, as I had only about $40 in cash besides my gun, revolver, and clothes, when we started and I stood my one-third of losses. C. J. Goss, Wm G. Pell, and R. S. Low of our plains crowd formed a partnership at Boulder and bought out some party or parties in the town company. To repay Mr. Low I hired to him, or the firm, also engaged two others of the boys, Tracey and Robinson, all to work until next spring at $30 a month. But after a month or two the firm discovered they had gapped too wide and it developed as being quite impossible for them to keep us all employed in remunerative work, even for summer and fall, saying nothing about winter. So we made other terms and let them off from their hard bargain.

While working for this firm I had learned to whip-saw lumber by working with a French-Canadian named Fields. Our first job was for some French boys on Four Mile Creek, above Boulder. They used the lumber for sluice mining and paid the company 14 cents per foot for it and boarded us while we were doing the job. As I recall it these boys made fine raised bread and delicious soup. While at that work I slept in the open air with a single blanket and my boots for a pillow. But the weather was warm.

Our next job was high up on the road to Gold Hill, and as the old Frenchman's bellows did not work very well in the light air (he having a touch of asthma) we broke in Jim Robinson and Jim and I ran the business thereafter.

After we ceased work for the firm Jim Robinson and I bought the whip-saw of Mr. Fields and sawed lumber for him to pay for same. We did work in many localities near by and at such prices as we could get, with the idea of making grub for winter.

In October of this year came the little raid of the Ute Indians in Gold Run Gulch and as I was up there just then I was one of the 35 men who took the trail to catch them. But the "Lo" fellows made their "getaway" all right and we never saw an Indian, just their work. But as I detailed this trip a year or so ago, I will merely add that so far as I know Alf. and Wash. Cushman are the only others now living who were in that "tenderfoot" jaunt. There may be others living who were with us, but as we were mostly strangers, met in a hurry and had no means of acquaintance.

In November we moved our quarters to a vacant cabin out a couple miles south of town, in a little valley close under the hills, where we found good saw timber not far away. While in this place, in November or December, we had quite a deep snow and some bitter cold weather, and as we had to carry our wood on our backs quite a distance in order to keep warm, had no soft snap by any means.

M. H. Coffin