Micro located at Smith Place. Bring your own pen &
tweezers. Do NOT disturb or deface any ruins.
Please make sure container is closed
securely and re-hidden as well or better than you found it.
Maintaining the difficulty rating depends on
you.
History:
John R. (J.R.) Smith was an early settler of the Cebolla
(pronounced suh-VOY-ah) valley establishing his ranch in 1874. On
June 27, 1882, the editor of the Gunnison Daily-Review wrote: "J.R.
Smith's ranch … has 80 acres of meadow land, all under
fence, and will cut this season from 40 to 50 tons of hay. He has a
good comfortable log house and stable with 250 head of stock, with
40 milch [sic] cows."
John R. Smith was apparently also an early prankster. Sometime
between 1880 and 1882, there was a duel on the bridge near Cebolla
Hot Springs instigated by Smith. John Cogan worked for Smith. Smith
told Cogan that he should get married and that a certain young lady
could be "had for the asking". Cogan liked the idea and began
telling other people that he and the young lady were getting
married. Seeing an opportunity for some amusement, Smith got John
McIntyre to get a warrant for Cogan's arrest on the grounds
that he had brought disgrace on and ruined the lady's
reputation.
Smith convinced Cogan that he was his friend and would stand by
him. Smith told Cogan that Andy Stone was jealous and responsible
for the young lady turning against him. Assuring Cogan that Stone
was a coward and would refuse to fight, Smith convinced Cogan to
challenge Stone to a duel to win back the lady's affection
and become the hero of the valley. Smith even took Cogan to the
Justice of Peace to officially write out the challenge with the
date and place. Stone reluctantly accepted the challenge.
At the appointed time, almost everyone in the valley assembled on
the bridge to witness the duel. With each man standing at an end of
the bridge, guns were placed 3 feet in front of them. Upon yelling
"Go", both men grabbed their guns. Stone stood firm and pretended
to be taking aim. Cogan was shooting and dodging at the same time.
When one of Cogan's shots hit the bridge a few feet in front
of Stone, Stone tried to fire, but a faulty cap prevented the shot.
Cogan then offered to withdraw the challenge if Stone would pay him
$500.00. Stone told Cogan he could not afford to pay that much.
Negotiations continued with Cogan reducing the amount each time
until Cogan finally offered to pay Stone $25.00. Stone was quite
insulted and replied that the duel would continue until one of them
fell dead. The guns were reloaded and the shooting began again with
Cogan again shooting and dodging at the same time. When Cogan shot
into the bridge again, he realized his poor marksmanship was not
helping. Cogan threw down his gun and ran. Stone followed Cogan
holding his gun on him. Cogan threw a rock at Stone nearly felling
him which ended the duel.
Following the duel, a mock trial was held for several nights which
was said to be as interesting as the duel. Finally, someone took
pity on Cogan and told him the true situation regarding J.R.
Smith's prank. Completely embarrassed, Cogan left the Cebolla
valley.
In 1885 or 1886, the John R. Smith family left the area and the
ranch was purchased by Frank Andrews. Sometime prior to the Smith
family leaving, the Smith ranch was documented on a map as Smith
Place. Even though Smith left in the mid-1880s, Smith Place can
ironically still be found on a current map today.
Information primarily taken from
"They Came To Powderhorn" by Loline Sammons (1981).
| MapQuest 2011 |
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USGS Topo Rudolph Hill Quad |
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Smith Place ruins:
Please take some time to reflect back
on the lives of these pioneers and the effort it took to make
Colorado such a great state!!
Back In Time
Series:
Back In Time is a series of caches placed near historic sites to
remind us to remember our
past. We can learn so much from studying the past.
This series will provide a history tour of Colorado.
Their days are gone but not
forgotten!!
Back In Time - Smith Place
| Difficulty: 
| Terrain: 
5 