USA Colorado - The People : USA  

USA Colorado - The People - Travel guide

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USA Colorado - The People

The People

Fur trappers and traders began working their trade in the Rocky Mountains. Beaver fur was considered on of the most precious commodities on the continent. The beaver pelt, small and light in weight, provide d a high-priced product in a small package. A single pelt sold in eastern markets for six to eight dollars. During the decade of the 1830's both the supply and price of beaver skins declined, forcing traders to turn to hunting buffalo. In addition, trading ding posts were established for barter with the Indians. Fort Pueblo (1842), Fort Vesquez (1835), and Bent Fort (1834) were the most important posts.

Many Indian tribes roamed Colorado and contributed to the state's history. The Cheyenne, Arapaho, Comanche, and Kiowa were the most important plains tribes. They were nomadic, hunting and making clothes from the skins of buffalo and deer, living in teepees, and depending on berries and roots for vegetables. The Spanish found Navajo in southwestern Colorado. The Apache frequently came into the state from New Mexico and Arizona. The Utes inhabited the state' s mountains and appear to have been the only indigenous tribe of Colorado. Utes remaining in Colorado today live in the southwestern corner of the state. The Cheyenne and Arapaho roamed the state's eastern plains.

The discovery of gold in California in 1849 touched off a search for gold in other regions including the Rocky Mountains and accounted for the first extensive settlement of Colorado. In July of 1858, William Green Russell, a Georgia miner, discovered several hundred dollars worth of gold at the mouth of Dry Creek in the present-day Denver suburb of Englewood. Russell's find started the "Pike's Peak or Bust" gold rush of 1858-59. Historians estimate that approximately 50,000 people came to Colorado in search of gold in 1858-59.

The 1998 census put Colorado's population at 3,971,000. The State Capital is Denver other major cities or towns include Colorado Springs, Aurora, Lakewood, Fort Collins, Pueblo, Arvada, Westminster, Boulder, Greeley.