Contents ▼▲
Front Matter How I Came to Write my Story Who I am My Great Loss My Worldly Wealth Plans for the Future The Gold Fever My Great Disappointment Cured of the Gold Fever My Opportunity How I Might Work My Way Keeping My Bargain At Pueblo A Welcome Time of Rest Outbreak of Gold Fever Opportunity for Money Middleton Agrees With Me Middleton's Proposition Gold Seekers Land Claims Our Ranch Building a Dwelling Corn and Gold Dreams of a Harvest Disappointed Prospectors Returning Evil for Good Striving to Save Our Corn Defending Our Own A Council of War Interview With The Enemy Missouri Miners Make Sport How to Collect The Debt Possession of Cattle Night Before the Battle A War of Words The Prospectors Try to Kill Us A Real Battle A Truce Terms of Peace The Enemy Surrenders The Prospectors Depart The Growth of Our City Farming Or Mining My Share of the Harvest Middleton Goes on a Journey Auraria and Denver Middleton Turns Trader Middleton's Plan A Weighty Problem Middleton's Partner A Change of Homes Arrival At Auraria The Town of Denver We Hire a Shop I Regret Turning Merchant How We Transported Goods Middleton's Advice The Tide of Emigration Finding Goods By the Roadside Gold in Colorado How the Cities Grew A Post Office in Auraria Letters From Home Our Business Flourishes Denver Outstripping Auraria Claim Jumping The Claim Club The Turkey War The Need of Government Union of Denver and Auraria What Others Thought of Us Territory of Colorado Good Citizenship Civil War Breaks Out Need of a Jail Denver in Flames Our Loss By Fire Mrs. Middleton Consoles Us Good Resulting From Evil Middleton's Honesty Rebuilding Denver The Flood Destruction of the Town In Great Peril The City Destroyed Our Lives Are Spared Fears Regarding the Future Uprising of the Indians Begging for Help A Famine Threatens Horrors of an Indian War My Duty at Home Beginning Over Again My Story is Done

Seth of Colorado - James Otis




A Council of War

Every moment was precious, for those hungry cattle were making short work of our corn. Breathless with excitement and haste, I ran from claim to claim until I had repeated to each farmer Mr. Middleton's message.

[Illustration] from Seth of Colorado by James Otis

It was a full hour before I could bring all the men to realize that it was folly to oppose the miners until we had formed some plan for defense. Finally the task was accomplished, but when our people had assembled in front of Mr. Middleton's shanty, it was exceedingly difficult for a speaker to hold their attention, so great was the rage which possessed them.

I was not near enough to hear what plan was first determined upon, for I had been sent to drive our horses farther up into the timber, lest the Missourians seize them; but when I got back, Mr. Middleton was on the point of setting out for the river bank, where the men from Missouri had gathered.

[Illustration] from Seth of Colorado by James Otis

I followed him, curious to know why he was going out alone and unarmed to confront those who had so plainly shown themselves to be our enemies.