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




Deciding a Weighty Problem

As a matter of course I was greatly flattered at his offer to make a partner of me; but I was too young and inexperienced to grasp fully the advantages of his scheme.

It seemed to me wellnigh impossible that we could get goods so far out in the wilderness, having them hauled by ox teams such a distance as would be necessary, and sell them at any great profit, because of the heavy cost of bringing them over the trail.

As he went on with the details of his plan, however, and proved that there was small likelihood of my losing the little horde which I was depending upon for my start in life, the scheme began to look more attractive, and when he ended I glanced at Mrs. Middleton.

She, reading the question in my eyes, said quickly:—

"I do not believe, Seth, that it would be well for you to remain here alone. Even though Fountain City has grown rapidly, those who know best are not inclined to believe that it will continue to prosper. My firm opinion is, it would be better for you to cast in your lot with us, for I have come to look upon you as one of the family."

I trembled at the thought of venturing my small store of money, for if it should be lost, I would be penniless, and even worse off, because in that new town of Auraria there was little chance I could stake out such a claim as I already had at Fountain City.

Yet because of their friendly urging I agreed to the plan readily, and thus, instead of continuing as a farmer, as I had always hoped to be, I came to be as feverishly eager to adventure in the new business as I had ever been to search for gold when that fever was upon me, and repeatedly begged Mr. Middleton to make no delay in setting off to buy goods.