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Ghost Town
In NorthernColorado
LongsPeak 
PioneerClimbers
Outlaws
In EarlyColorado
Skiing
SteamboatSprings
 
IndianPeaks
MountainWilderness
Stone AgePeople
NorthColoradoand Wyoming
FirstCars
In GreeleyLate 1800s
CoverPicture:
See page 3
 V 
O
I
C
E
The Senior
 June 2009
Local Attractions • Scenic Places • History • Money • Health • News
 
2• June 2009 • The Senior Voice
 By Peggy Hunt 
I
f you like local history, you’ll enjoya small book that might still beavailable at the Fort Collins Museum,titled “Northern Colorado’s FirstSettlers,” by Roy Coffin.It’s about one of the most importantearly archaeological finds in the UnitedStates. The discovery of theLindenmeier Site in 1924 proved thatstone-age people had inhabited northernColorado and Wyoming 10,000 to15,000 years ago, after the last Ice Age.Before that discovery, archaeolo-gists had found evidence of stone-agepeople mainly in Europe. TheLindenmeier Site (named for a localrancher) proved that those people hadalso lived in North America.The book’s author, Roy Coffin,was an early geology professor atwhat’s now Colorado StateUniversity. He and his brother, JudgeClaude Coffin, hunted artifacts as ahobby much their lives.In 1924, Claude Coffin, his sonLynn and a friend, discovered theLindenmeier Site in the foothills nearthe Wyoming border at the northernend of Larimer County, a few mileswest of what is now Interstate 25. RoyCoffin became involved and notifiedthe Smithsonian Institution of their find.The Coffin brothers realized thatspear points they uncovered at the sitewere different from those they hadfound at other Indian sites. The pointswere larger, made differently andappeared to be much older.The men became excited at thepossibility that they had made a majordiscovery—and they had.Smithsonian archaeologists spentthree summers excavating the site inthe 1930s and confirmed that it hadbeen the home of ancient FolsomMan—not just a temporary huntingcamp, but a permanent home.In his 1937 book, Roy Coffin saidthe discovery formed the “basis forspeculation that Northern Coloradomight have been the ‘Garden of Eden’of the Western Hemisphere.”That was important. It meant thathere in our back yard lived some of the first humans on the NorthAmerican Continent.They probably came across theBering Strait when land connectedAlaska and Russia, migrated southalong the Rocky Mountains, andsome of them settled here. Our terrainand climate were much different then.Folsom Man hunted mammothand some other creatures that nolonger exist in North America. Hisstone spear points found by theCoffins were up to two-and-one-half inches long and nearly an inch wide.His weapons required him to getdangerously close to large animals.He probably stampeded them overcliffs and speared the wounded invital organs.These ancient people lived inseveral northern Colorado andWyoming locations. Their spearpoints have been found in the highmountains at the top of RockyMountain National Park and else-where. They hunted Big ThompsonCanyon, Poudre Canyon, the PlatteRiver areas and other places.We are in their homeland. If you’relucky, you might someday stumbleonto one of their ancient spear points,as the Coffin brothers did.
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First People inNorth Colorado
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Early digging at the Lindenmeier site. Photo from Roy Coffin’s book.
 
The Senior Voice • June 2009 • 3
 Published Locally Since 1980
 VOL. 29, NO. 7
970-229-9204Lambdin@frii.comtheseniorvoice.net
PUBLICATION INFORMATION
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© Copyright 2009
The Senior Voice 
EDITORIAL OFFICE:
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No material may be reproduced by any means without permission of the publisher.
Dr. William Lambdin, Publisher 
By Bill Lambdin
I
f you drive or hike around theIndian Peaks Wilderness west of Longmont and Boulder, you’ll seeplaces with interesting stories associ-ated with them.Arapaho Glacier was located highin the mountains there, discovered in1897 by two men, Darwin Andrewsand H.N. Wheeler. The discoverycaused much excitement amongscientists because no one knew thatglaciers existed this far south in theUnited States. The glacier was laternamed for the Arapaho Indians, whoprobably knew of its existence longbefore the white men found it.The city of Boulder used thediscovery to attract early tourists andresidents, saying it was the only townin America that drank pure glacialwater. Boulder did, in fact, get itsdrinking water supply from meltingglaciers for some time.Several other glaciers were foundin the same area. Boulder judgeJunius Henderson found HendersonGlacier in the early 1900s, and hehelped discover Fair Glacier andIsabella Glacier.Lone Eagle Peak in the area wasnamed for famous aviator CharlesLindbergh, who was nicknamed theLone Eagle after he flew alone acrossthe Atlantic in 1927. Before that, in1923, Boulder city promoters offered$1,000 to any aviator who could landa plane on one of the glaciers in theIndian Peaks. Lindbergh was a youngbarnstormer then and the only flyerwho wanted to try the stunt.But officials looked at Lindbergh’srickety plane, held together by bailingwire, and decided they didn’t wantbad publicity if the plane crashed orcouldn’t return. Lindbergh said hedidn’t plan to return it. He’d leave theplane on the glacier, figuring he couldget another plane for $1,000.Officials turned him down anddropped the idea. Four years later,Lindbergh made his famous flight andofficials decided to name Lone EaglePeak after him.Mount Audubon was named forfamous wildlife expert and artistJames Audubon. He was never inColorado, but two of his admirerswere. In 1864 botanist C.C. Parry andzoologist J.W. Velie climbed this13,223-foot mountain and named itfor Audubon.Mount Achonee was probablynamed for a Cheyenne chief whosename was sometimes spelled Ochaneeor Ochinee. Well known to whitesettlers, he was among the Indians killedby Col. Chivington’s troops at the infa-mous Sand Creek Massacre in 1864 insoutheastern Colorado.Ochinee’s granddaughter laterwrote: “Grandfather Ochinee escapedfrom the camp. But seeing that all his
Early climbers on Arapaho Glacier in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. Boulder got its city waterfrom the glacier for several years. Colorado Historical Society.
people were to be slaughtered, hedeliberately chose to go back into theone-sided battle and die with them.”She added, “Mother (Ochinee’sdaughter) was always bitter about theSand Creek massacre. A number of years later, while she was wasattending a meeting of the EasternStar in Denver, a friend broughtChivington over to introduce him tomother, saying, “Mrs. Prowers, doyou know Colonel Chivington?”“My mother drew herself up withthat stately dignity peculiar to herpeople and, ignoring the outstretchedhand, remarked in perfect Englishaudible to all in the room, ‘KnowColonel Chivington? I should. He wasmy father’s murderer!’”________________
COVER PICTURE: Mountains on thenorth end of the Indian PeaksWilderness. Taken by Fort Collins professional photographer Gregory Mayse, who has published two, newcoffee-table books of photos:“Colorado: Rocky Mountain Magic”and “Rocky Mountain Wild.” His photos have been featured on manySenior Voice covers, on television, and in magazines such as BBC Wildlife. He has received numerous awards,and his pictures have been sold to private collectors around the world.See his gallery at gregorymayse.com. Email info@gregorymayse.com; phone 970-412-3600.
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Indian Peaks Wilderness
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