Curse of the Boulder Valley
Encyclopedia
The Curse of Boulder Valley is reported to be a sentiment expressed as certainty by Chief Niwot
, leader of the Southern Arapaho, to Caucsian prospectors come to the Boulder Valley in search of gold. Encamped at what they considered to be a sacred site, Valmont Butte, some 4 miles to the north east of what is now central Boulder, Colorado, Niwot and his closest elder braves, Bear Head and Many Whips, rode out to the site where the new arrivals had decided to camp, near the place where Boulder Creek releases from the Front Range
onto the Great Plains
, that place where the City of Boulder, Colorado now shines forth. Momentous and ephemeral as the actual event was, it cannot be disputed that the sentiment behind Chief Niwot's ominous proclamation of the Curse was a portentous aspect of the settling of not only the Boulder Valley, but of the entire West itself.
who had invaded California
and were now seeking similar fortune in the Rockies, came from Fort St. Vrain, 30 miles east. As they made camp at the site where now Boulder Creek rushes down from Nederland to meet Sunshine Creek and flow onto the Great Plains
, Niwot and his braves met them.
They had ridden from Valmont Butte to greet them in peace... and to admonish them to leave.
Chief Niwot, it is said, as eloquent and capable as he was with the English language learned from his brother-in-law, his sister's husband, the trapper John Poisal, told the European erstwhile settlers the area was cursed. He is said to have told them the Curse of Boulder Valley is: “People seeing the beauty of this valley will want to stay, and their staying will be the undoing of the beauty.” And as the conversation heightened, he proceeded to threaten them with a visitation by War Party if they did not leave.
While they were away, Aikins and his group took steps to avoid hostilities by focusing personal attention on Chief Niwot, plying him with canned beans and salt pork, and getting him drunk. As a result, when Bear Head and Many Whips and the War Party returned, Niwot was advocating peace with the gold seeking Caucasians, yet tension reigned.
After three tense days, the threat of battle remained in the air. Then, abruptly, Niwot rode into Aikins’ camp once more. He had come to tell them one of his Arapaho shamans had received a dream from the Great Spirit the night before. In the dream, a flood covered the earth and swallowed the Arapaho people, while the whites survived. Niwot interpreted this to mean that gold seekers would flood his homeland, and he could do nothing to stop it. Peace with the whites, Niwot realized, was the only way his people would avoid being swept away by the flood.
Starting then, Niwot and his fellow chief Little Raven, who had recently welcomed white settlers to the Denver gold camps, maintained their stance of peaceful coexistence with the newly arrived Europeans... at least for the time being.
Chief Niwot
Chief Niwot or Left Hand was a tribal leader of the Southern Arapaho people and played an important part in the history of Colorado. Chief Niwot and his people lived along the Front Range often wintering in Boulder Valley, site of the future Boulder, Colorado...
, leader of the Southern Arapaho, to Caucsian prospectors come to the Boulder Valley in search of gold. Encamped at what they considered to be a sacred site, Valmont Butte, some 4 miles to the north east of what is now central Boulder, Colorado, Niwot and his closest elder braves, Bear Head and Many Whips, rode out to the site where the new arrivals had decided to camp, near the place where Boulder Creek releases from the Front Range
Front Range
The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the north-central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encountered moving west along the 40th parallel north across...
onto the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
, that place where the City of Boulder, Colorado now shines forth. Momentous and ephemeral as the actual event was, it cannot be disputed that the sentiment behind Chief Niwot's ominous proclamation of the Curse was a portentous aspect of the settling of not only the Boulder Valley, but of the entire West itself.
Europeans come to Boulder Valley
In Fall of 1858, led by Captain Thomas Aikins, a group of gold prospectors, part of the hordes who for years followed the 49ersCalifornia Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
who had invaded California
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
and were now seeking similar fortune in the Rockies, came from Fort St. Vrain, 30 miles east. As they made camp at the site where now Boulder Creek rushes down from Nederland to meet Sunshine Creek and flow onto the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
, Niwot and his braves met them.
They had ridden from Valmont Butte to greet them in peace... and to admonish them to leave.
Chief Niwot, it is said, as eloquent and capable as he was with the English language learned from his brother-in-law, his sister's husband, the trapper John Poisal, told the European erstwhile settlers the area was cursed. He is said to have told them the Curse of Boulder Valley is: “People seeing the beauty of this valley will want to stay, and their staying will be the undoing of the beauty.” And as the conversation heightened, he proceeded to threaten them with a visitation by War Party if they did not leave.
Battle Looms and a Dream brings initial peace
Aikins and his men refused to leave and prepared to do battle against the Arapaho. At some point, Bear Head and Many Whips headed back to the Arapaho encampment to raise a War Party while the Chief lingered.While they were away, Aikins and his group took steps to avoid hostilities by focusing personal attention on Chief Niwot, plying him with canned beans and salt pork, and getting him drunk. As a result, when Bear Head and Many Whips and the War Party returned, Niwot was advocating peace with the gold seeking Caucasians, yet tension reigned.
After three tense days, the threat of battle remained in the air. Then, abruptly, Niwot rode into Aikins’ camp once more. He had come to tell them one of his Arapaho shamans had received a dream from the Great Spirit the night before. In the dream, a flood covered the earth and swallowed the Arapaho people, while the whites survived. Niwot interpreted this to mean that gold seekers would flood his homeland, and he could do nothing to stop it. Peace with the whites, Niwot realized, was the only way his people would avoid being swept away by the flood.
Starting then, Niwot and his fellow chief Little Raven, who had recently welcomed white settlers to the Denver gold camps, maintained their stance of peaceful coexistence with the newly arrived Europeans... at least for the time being.