John Hay's Cabin in 1902 - Photo Newly Found
This photo was recently discovered, mislabeled as the cabin of Elmer and Jennie Wetherald, who were in fact residents of Manitou in 1902, when the photo was taken. This is by far the best quality photo of John Hay's cabin found to date, and was obviously taken with a very good camera, probably by a professional photographer....circumstances unknown.
September 22, 1910, Routt County Courier.
September 29, 1910, The Weekly Courier
LION CUBS CAPTURED BY COLORADO SPRINGS MAN
Colorado Springs, September 23 – Jack Gillespie, a barber of Colorado City, literally snatched two lion cubs from their lair in Crystal park today and now proposes to use them as a decoy to capture the mother.
Armed with a Bowie knife and two guns, Gillespie crawled into the den of the lions and captured the beasts without being scratched.
The mother lion, it is supposed, was some distance away, probably feeding. Gillespie has brought the cubs here. They are about the size of large cats and he proposes to make pets of them.
October 1, 1910, The Indicator
MOTHER LION STEALS CUBS
Breaks Into Chicken Coop and Takes Her Babies Back Home
When Jack Gillespie went with the usual pan of milk this morning to feed the baby mountain lions which he captured Wednesday in a remote corner of Crystal Park, he found the chicken coop where they were kept broken open and the cubs gone.
Fresh lion tracks bout the coop and in the sands of Bear creek near which his house is located, showed that the mother lion had made two trips during the night and carried away her young as a cat does her kittens.
Mr. Gillespie thinks that the mother lion tracked him to his home and lay for two days in the brush watching the movement about the house and awaiting her opportunity to steal away the young from captivity.
Mr. Gillespie deeply regrets the loss of his pets after his perilous adventure in capturing them, but says that after this exhibition of motherly love on the part of the lioness, he will make no further effort to recapture them. – Colorado Springs Telegraph.
Below are additional Auto Road Tour Group photos. Two of them are a little different than the "normal" group photos taken along the road as it approaches the Upper Park. One is an actual post card and the other is a rare photo of a tour car in the snow. It appears that there is another car to the left and that both groups are squeezed into one car for the photo. Dated March 15, 1913.
As always click on the photos to enlarge.
These photos were recently purchased from a dealer in historical photos and documents. It's unknown if they were taken by a professional photographer or by a participant in a burro trip, but they seem to be the latter, based on size (approx. 3" X 3 3/4"). They are pasted on 4" X 5" heavy cards, with handwritten captions. Circa 1900 to 1905.
This photo shows a burro trip party "going to Crystal Park" as the caption says, most likely on the Pawnee Trail from Manitou.
This photo shows a number of burro trip participants at John Hay's cabin near the current entrance to the Upper Park. This may be the best photo of Hay's cabin that currently exists. The cabin appears to be in much better condition than in other photos. There is what appears to be a table or work surface built against the wall of the cabin with a framework for a roof or sunshade over it.
The last photo shows a very tall man and a very small (young) burro, with the caption "The long and short of it". The old toll building and a gatepost of the old gate are visible in the background.
