This letter was penned by DeForest Hedges (1831-1921), the son of Christopher E. Hedges (1801-1883) and Mary Newell (1806-1881) of Waverly, Tioga county, New York. DeForest attended the Charlottesville Seminary in Schoharie county and then in 1859 he drove a freight wagon for Clark & McCormick from Omaha to Denver so that he could get the gold fields of Colorado. He did some placer mining in 1860 but then returned to freighting to make a living, driving the route from Denver to Virginia City, Montana. He eventually got into ranching in Montana.

Transcription

Denver [Colorado Territory]
October 9th 1861

Friend Samuel,

I now take the opportunity to write a few lines to you again hoping that I will after a while receive a letter from you. This is the second that I have written to you without receiving a solitary line in return and now this is the last that I shall write to you until I receive one from you. I really think judging from the letters that I receive that I have but few friends in the vicinity of home if I have not received a letter, excepting from Father’s family, from anyone in the neighborhood since H. P. Crane left. Well, if the folks don’t feel disposed to write to me, they can do the other thing—they can let it alone. But Sam, I hope that you are not one of the number that feel disposed to write.

This has been a cold and stormy day—a harbinger of approaching winter. It has snowed all day and the consequence is that the ground wears a snow mantle. There has at least a foot of snow fallen today & the air this evening is quite cold. I tell you, Sam, that I have seen some rough times in this country but still I have not yet seen enough of the country yet. I shall not come home until a year from this fall.

There is nothing of importance transpiring here excepting the military movements. They have received orders here to raise two regiments of soldiers. One regiment is already full and the second is in progress. They have been building barracks near the town for the soldiers’ winter quarters. It is expected that the Rebels & Indians will attack this town this fall. They will meet with a warm reception if they do. We will give them the best that our guns afford. We have got a secession Captain by the name of McKey ¹ in prison here charged with treason. He was raising a company of secession Rebels but his plans did not work & he may get his cotton neck stretched if he don’t look out.

Times are better than they were last spring. Write soon and tell me all the news. This in friendship from your friend, — DeForest Hedges

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¹ It was Captain Joel McKee that was arrested by order of William Gilpin, Governor of Colorado Territory and placed in jail by Copeland Townsend, US Marshal. Gilpin’s executive order read: “Information having reached me that a Texan named McKee is raising troops within this Territory for an unlawful purpose, I deem it incompatible with the public safety for him to be suffered longer to be at large. You are, therefore, directed to arrest and detain him until further orders.” When McKee petitioned for a Writ of Habeas Corpus, it was denied with the argument by the court that it does not apply to persons who engage in open rebellion or invasion of public safety. According to one source, Joel McKee was born in 1824 in Indiana, father was born in Kentucky, and his mother was born in Pennsylvania. “He was in CO in 1861, described as a “frontiersman” or ” old Indian fighter,” probably mining gold, who was a leader of the pro-South forces around Denver according to the (Yankee dominated) newspapers. They had a secret camp at the ghost town of Russellville in 1861. He led a group of about 45 men toward TX in Oct. 1861. They were captured near Ft Wise, held in Denver, charged with treason. They busted out 28 Feb 1862 and made their way South.” (Civil War Message Board)