Jan Murphy - Colorado Myths and Legends: The True Stories behind Historys Mysteries

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To Jani McCarty

For helping me to remember who I am and empowering me to thrive.

Thank you to the following:

The Jefferson County Public Library, Lakewood, Coloradoalways very helpful.

Mother Cabrini Shrine, Golden, Colorado.

History Colorado, the Colorado Historical Society.

Western History Collection, Denver Public Library.

Stephanie Hester, my first book editor, for making it such a joy.

Courtney Oppel, for being my editor twice, and continuing the joy.

And for my dear cousin and friend, Ann Wilson, who saw me through the most difficult times.

For my other dear friends, for their constant love, support, and encouragement:

Darilyn Woodaman

Kathy Zornes Samsel

Jan Pond

Andrea Vining Huggins

Diane Fuchs

Pat Jurgens

Maro Lorimer

Glenna Bissegger

Marilyn Parris Garcia

Jan Wheeler Hadley

Hilarie Anderson Byrnes

Julie Armour

Laura Figuli

Sheralyn Austin-Gagne

Barb DeCaro

Maryanne Bach Andrle

Arlene Fitterer

Catherine Scott

Dawn Browne

Janet Redford

Jill Long

Sara C. E. Lang

Ann Bolson

Anita Martin

Colorado is full of myths and legends. With some of the highest peaks on the continent, deepest canyons, one-of-a-kind geological features, and broadest open prairies, the stage has been set for a fascinating array of dramas. Strange, sometimes unbelievable occurrences have unfolded across the state.

The tallest sand dunes on the North American continent are located in Colorado. Some of them reach as high as 700 feet from base to summit. But why are these uncommon formations here, in the middle of the Rocky Mountains?

The abandonment, by those ancient Native Americans called the Anasazi, of their cliff homes in southwestern Colorado will always make us wonder what happened there. The distinctive arid canyons, containing the deeply set alcoves and caves where their dwellings were ensconced, are part of the mystery. Why did these people leave the area forever? And why did they build and then abandon hundreds of towers in the area of Hovenweep?

The geology of Colorado lured gold and silver miners in the 1800s. The Reynolds Gang, fortune hunter Baby Doe Tabor, and wanderer Louis Dupuy all had hopes of securing their financial futures in mining. But where did the Reynoldses bury their treasure? Why did the rags to riches to rags Baby Doe Tabor die in poverty when she didnt have to? And what secret was Louis Dupuy hiding?

Wide-open spaces and unexplored lands beckoned legendary figures such as Mother Cabrini, P. T. Barnum, and Buffalo Bill. How did Mother Cabrini perform her miracle in the foothills? What Colorado events surrounded the life of the great circus man, P. T. Barnum? Was Buffalo Bill buried on Lookout Mountain by choice?

Further mysteries make one ask: Why do people think that aliens visited a ranch in southern Colorado? And did a professor at the University of Colorado disappear because he was a spy? Bridey Murphy made national headlines when, under hypnosis, she revealed facts about having lived a past life in Ireland, although she had never been there in her present life. Is this possible? How do you explain the Granby Idol, a 1,000-year-old stone artifact unearthed on the Western Slope?

And even a street in Denver holds its own secret that will always remain a mystery. It was named Colfax for an obscure and uninspiring US Speaker of the House. Why?

Ute Chief Colorow and Antoinette Perry became legends in their own time, yet their lives were mostly unknown. How could this happen? Read on!

R ising 700 feet in the air and stretching for 10 miles, the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado are one of the most striking and mysterious geological features in America. For many who visit there, little thought is given to how these dunes got there. It is just considered one giant sandbox!

On any nice spring day in late May, and especially on the Memorial Day weekend, a crowd of visitors fills the campgrounds and parking lots around the Great Sand Dunes National Park near Alamosa, Colorado. Most are in swimsuits or shorts, and some are carrying beach balls, large beach umbrellas, chaise lounges, and beach towels. Some have colorful kid-sized plastic shovels and buckets. But wheres the beach?

Just ahead, sand dunes reach into the sky. Behind the tall dunes, mountain peaks rise up to 10,000 feet, with snow still clinging to the highest points. It certainly doesnt look like a desert. But if you look back down to the sand dunes, visions of camels with robed Arabs on their backs do not seem out of place.

Then theres an even odder scene. Gushing out of the mountains, Medano Creek winds around the flat base of the dunes and runs across the sand. Its a small creek, granted, and when it spreads out over the sand, much of it gets soaked up, but small rivulets manage to survive the crossing. An odd characteristic of this water flowing across the sand is that it changes course back and forth across the wide expanse.

Visitors pitch their umbrellas in the sand along the bank. The water never gets deeper than a few inches, and while its seldom more than several yards across, the area of wet sand can be more than 50 feet wide. Its like one big beach, but with a very low tide and no ocean.

Memorial Day weekend is so popular at the Great Sand Dunes because this small creek comes only from spring snowmelt. Most of the year, the sandy beach scene is dry. And if there has been a particularly dry year with little snow in the higher mountains, the precious beach days when the water runs across the sands may be short in number.

Why does the water shift and change directions as it moves over the sand? The rivulets displace patterns of sand, digging down and creating small dams that then block the water flow and redirect it. The process is repeated time and time again. And while the water is moving along the bases of the dunes, the wind is blowing over the tops, constantly changing their shapes.

And how did the dunes form originally? Most believe that the secret lies in the flat and semiarid plain of the San Luis Valley. Grains of sand are picked up by the wind from the valley and carried toward the high peaks to the east. But because the sand is too heavy for the wind to lift it over the mountains, it falls to the earth again and creates the dunes.