E31 - No Tomorrow: Deadman Gulch Gunnison

Deadman’s Gulch, Gunnison / Almont Colorado Ute Massacre, Gunnison, Taylor Reservoir, Cement Creek, Spring Creek, East River, Continental Divide, Lost Dead are Found This episode we revisit the Ute ambush and murder of 7 men, as well as their animals - in August of 1859 - But why? New evidence suggests the location of the fateful battle AND the resting place of the miners.   The location was discovered immediately (in 1859), but bad communication and labeling of various water courses kept the bodies of seven men hidden, decomposing quietly in the sunny gulch -  In 1860, a prospecting party buried the remains, but again misidentified the location, naming the headwaters of the Rio Grande (another time, the location is printed as being at the headwaters of the Colorado - wrong again). Nobody knew the strangers, they were deep in Ute country, and for whatever reason, their journey ended in what is now known as Deadman's Gulch, in the Gunnison National Forest, just northeast of Almont - between the Cement Mountains.   I hike the trail and explain what happened here in 1859, and what I saw last week on the trail. Also, we look at how the legend changed, and was eventually adopted by the Leadville Miners of the 1870s and 1880s. Full show Love, JB