|
British Mensa Travel Special Interest Group |
|
Home Copyright
© |
A
final glass of whisky We walked through the swing doors of the Silver Dollar Saloon. “Whisky,” I said, getting the feel of the place and imagining the brawls and gunfights that had taken place there when Leadville was the centre of a gold rush. Perched on a stool I expected my glass to slide down the polished bar but was given my whisky with a straw. I felt a little breathless and light-headed as I walked down the high street later and discovered that Leadville, at 3094 metres, is the highest city in the U.S., the county seat of Lake County, Colorado and nicknamed The Two Mile High City. It is now a centre for altitude training. We found ourselves in Leadville on our way back to Denver after touring Montana and Wyoming. Although it was sunny, there was a chill in the air and there were storm clouds over the Rockies. Leadville’s story began in 1859 when gold was discovered up the California Gulch. The thousands of prospectors who flocked to the area exhausted all the gold reserves and the gold mining was hampered by heavy brown sand in the sluice boxes. Then miners discovered that the heavy sand that impeded their gold recovery was the lead mineral cerussite, which carried a high content of silver. Following the cerussite to its source, prospectors discovered several silver deposits and, in 1877 mine owners Horace Tabor and August Meyer founded Leadville nearby. By 1880, Leadville was one of the world’s largest silver camps with a population of over 40,000. In contrast, the population in 2005 was only 2688 (United States Census Bureau). Walking down the high street, it is easy to see the influence Tabor’s wealth had on the town with the Tabor Hotel, Tabor House and the Tabor Opera House which hosted Oscar Wilde on his lecture tour of the West. Wilde was invited to tour the Matchless Silver Mine and open their new lode, ‘Oscar’. He later recounted a visit to a local saloon, where a notice printed over the piano said “Please do not shoot the pianist. He is doing his best”. Now there are several eating houses in Leadville and we stopped at Quincy’s, which served a Filet Mignon Dinner (Sunday to Thursday) or a Prime Rib Dinner (Friday and Saturday), which included baked potato, salad, bread and garnish. The bar, at which I had a 7-Up this time, was a solid piece of wood shipped over from Europe and transported overland to Leadville by bullock cart. The town is proud of its fascinating history and details of famous visitors can be found in the shops, hotels and bars. But it does not have much to offer and the only motel was up for sale. Outlaw Doc Holliday moved to Leadville shortly after the gun fight at the OK Corral and Wyatt Earp is remembered for having shot a policeman, but being let off by the terrified jury. Millionaires had been made overnight with the discovery of silver but the silver crash of ‘93 brought countless to their knees including Horace Tabor, who lost a $9 million fortune. The history of Leadville is aptly depicted by the famous story of Horace and Elizabeth McCourt, known as Baby Doe. Twenty five years her senior, Horace fell in love with, and married, Baby Doe. Their wedding invitations were fashioned from solid silver and they lived a flamboyant lifestyle on the proceeds of the silver mines. He died penniless in 1899, leaving Baby and their two daughters destitute. Even after losing everything, Baby Doe fought to regain possession of, and restore production in, the Matchless Mine. She moved into the old supply cabin next to the shaft house of the mine and in that cabin, after 35 years of hunger and isolation, she froze to death. The Matchless Mine and the restored cabin are open to tours today and the Leadville Historic District has been designated a National Historic Landmark District. Leadville is not exactly a tourist destination and is rather shabby and run down, but fascinating nevertheless, especially if you have an interest in mining. Strolling round the town, I sensed that the people who lived there felt as if they had lost the winning lottery ticket, living very much in the stories of wealth and grandeur of the past. Doc Holliday moved from Leadville to Denver, then on to Glenwood Springs, hoping to relieve his consumption at the hot springs. His health deteriorated and he died in 1887, after allegedly asking for a final glass of whisky. The closest airports to provide scheduled services are Eagle County and Aspen-Pitkin, both located 62 miles away. State Highway 91 connects Leadville to the intersection with Interstate 70 near Copper Mountain and is the best route to get from Leadville to Denver. First published in VISA 81 (Oct 2008) |