The Palette & Chisel, Vol. V, No. 4, April 1928, Tom Moses’ Trips, Breckenridge, Col.Continued
“Having nothing to do towards evening, we looked up the assayer, Mr. Whipple, to whom I had a letter of introduction. He took us over to the Penn-Breckenridge Gold Mine. Only a tunnel – we could see nothing. He then took us over to the “Hunter Carter” Museum, in a large building, built of rough timber and hemlock slabs.
Carter was a very successful hunter and trapper, and, in his early life, started out with the ambition it collect a specimen of every bird, reptile, fish and egg that existed in Colorado, and I think he did it. The cases he had to hold these specimens he built himself. The manner in which the animals were grouped and mounted proved that Carter was not only an artist in composition but also the art of taxidermy. This whole collection was since bought by the state – $50,000.00 was the price paid and it is certainly worth twice the sum. It is now stored in the basement of the Capitol building.
Mr. Whipple, in showing us about, was very considerate in our ability to climb in this very ratified air. He warned us that we should rest for a few moments every quarter of a mile. We all started together, and the artists from Chicago never stopped until we reached the top. Mr. Whipple had to rest three times. We “jollied” him good and hard, informing him that we had good muscular exercises twice a day. He had to acknowledge that we were good walkers, and he didn’t understand how we stood the high altitude. Especially when coming from Chicago. We were now up nearly 9000 feet above sea level.
We had considerable fun on our way to the mines, the best feature of which is that they are paying dividends, and good big ones.
The night life of a frontier town is rather interesting, especially when miners and cattle men are earning good wages. The town was strictly a mining town. While there was some gambling going on, t was not as wide open as I had seen it in some other towns. We visited one or two saloons, had a glass or two of beer, but then we did not get a good old Chicago glass full. We enjoyed watching a game of pool. The miners were very pleasant, and we were getting into their confidence, now that they really believed we were painters and not prospectors.
The only protection we had against wild animals or hold-up men was a Colt’s revolver, a forty-five caliber, as big as a gun, and it made some noise when fired. Young was delegated to carry it. We got well acquainted at the big general store, including the Post office. At this store we bought our daily supplies. Several evenings were spent here, enjoying the stories spun by the miners, many of which were manufactured for our especial benefit. We came pretty near matching them with some of our stories direct from Chicago.
Among the miners was a Frenchman, who insisted upon being of some use to us. He wanted to haul our traps across the mountains to Dillon. At first he wanted fifteen dollars, ten, and finally he got down to five dollars. He looked too much like one of Howard Pyle’s villains that have graced the pages of Harper’s Magazine for the past few years. Not that we were afraid of him and his gang, but we simply preferred to go by rail, which we did a few days later. In the meantime, we were getting some good sketches, but found it very hard to work water color, the air being too dry. We were also worried by insects of all descriptions; and the penny-royal we could put on did no good.
We all went down to the Blue River to sketch. We saw a big rock formation called “Eagle Rock” and we were anxious to get to it. We had to climb some distance, possibly three hundred feet above the valley. After making the sketch, we started down the road. We ground a soft “wash-down”, great for sliding. Young, with his long legs, started ahead, and being the most daring and athletic of the bunch, we allowed him to set the pace! I can see the soft dirt flying, and the small stones that he started going. We followed, yelling like a band of Indians. It is a wonder we were not hurt. By the time we struck the road we were all in from excitement and lack of breath.
Just as we hit the road a miner was approaching. As soon as he saw us he turned around and started to run. We called to him and convinced him that we were not hold-up men. He then recognized us, having seen us at the store. We afterwards found out that, during a quarrel over the division of their earnings with his partner, he was compelled to shoot in self-defense and killed his man. He was exonerated, but had a fear that some of his partner’s friends were trying to “get him.” He was rather a congenial sort of fellow, unlike the majority of miners we had met.”
To be continued…
Historical note about the “Hunter Carter” Museum:
Edwin Carter came to Breckenridge in 1868 seeking gold and fortune, but his goals changes when he saw the devastating effect mining had on the environment and local wildlife. Carter became a taxidermist and collected thousands of Rocky Mountain animal specimens in his museum, which doubled as his home. Carter worked and lived in his museum for 25 years. When he passed away, Carter’s collection of almost 3,300 Colorado wildlife specimens formed the nucleus of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Today, the Edwin Carter Museum honors the life and legacy of Edwin Carter. For more information about the Edwin Carter Museum, call the Breckenridge Heritage Alliance at 1-970-453-9767. Here is the link to historic Breckenridge: http://www.grandlodgeonpeak7.com/breckenridge/the-town/history/ Early images of Carter’s Museum in Breckenridge are available at www.common-place.org Vol 12, No. 2, January 2012. Here is the link: http://www.common-place-archives.org/vol-12/no-02/cain/
