Hoosier Pass

Hoosier Pass. . , The Utes , For many centuries, Hoosier Pass served as a link between two important Ute hunting grounds , South Park and Middle Park , the heart of the tribe's mountain domain. By the 1400s or 1500s these hunter-gatherers occupied territory from Utah's desert to the Front Range of present-day Colorado. Their mastery of the horse, introduced by Spaniards in the 1600s and their superior topographical knowledge made the Utes powerful warriors, and they routinely dispatched other tribes who challenged them for control of South Park. Although early non-Indian visitors generally went unchallenged, permanent settlers were not welcome. But in the late nineteenth century, the tide of pioneers finally forced the Utes out of their mountain strongholds. By the 1880s they had been confined to reservations in Colorado and Utah. , Immediately below us was a green valley, through which ran a stream; and a short distance opposite rose snowy mountains, whose summits were formed into peaks of naked rock. , , John C. Frémont, Hoosier Pass, June 23, 1844, John C. Frémont , Returning home from California on the second of his five western expeditions, John C. Frémont detoured into Colorado to find the sources of three great rivers: the Platte, Grand (now Colorado), and Arkansas. He charted the vicinity of each, aided by famous guides such as Kit Carson, and stalwart cartographer Charles Preuss (who despite an abiding hatred of the outdoors drew outstanding maps), then crossed over Hoosier Pass, reaching the summit on June 23, 1844. The route was already well known among trappers, but “The Pathfinder” (as Frémont was known) usually followed trails someone else had blazed. His major talent lay in publicity: Frémont's widely read journals , ghostwritten by his wife, Jessie, and touted by his father-in-law, Sen. Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri , captured the nation's imagination and helped spur migration West. , [photo captions] , . Map drawn by Charles Preuss during Frémont’s 1842 exploration of the Rocky Mountains , . John and Jessie Frémont, late 1880s. John Frémont was a presidential candidate in 1856, served as General of the West during the Civil War, and, for a time, as governor of Arizona. During their later years, having lost their fortune, the Frémonts lived off the income from Jessie’s writings.