Conflicting rumors

By "The Cowboy" Jim Gray

When gold was discovered in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, the western border of Kansas Territory was at the continental divide that separates the great watersheds that drain to the Pacific in the west and those that drain east, in this case eventually finding the sea at the Gulf of Mexico. The discovery of gold in 1858 stirred thousands of people to cross the plains in search of a better life in the Kansas gold fields.

Pikes Peak looming on the western horizon was the first sign of the mountains and spawned the slogan “Pikes Peak or Bust!”. It was painted on wagon covers and pledged in staging camps as wagon trains prepared to cross the sea of grass west of Missouri.

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