Chief Niwot and Boulder Valley
Up through the mid-19th century Southern Arapaho hunting parties had ventured as far north as Boulder Creek. The tribe considers Valmont Butte, east of present day Boulder, a sacred site where rituals and ceremonies were performed. It was one of these hunting parties, led by Chief Niwot, that encountered the first gold seekers to enter Boulder Valley in the fall of 1858.
Led by Captain Thomas Aikins, the gold seekers came from Fort St. Vrain, 30 mi (48 km) east. Chief Niwot and his deputies, including Bear Head and Many Whips, who were camped near Valmont Butte, immediately rode to meet them, greeted them peacefully, and promptly told him and his party to go away.
Read more about this topic: Chief Niwot
Famous quotes containing the words chief and/or valley:
“It is one of the chief skills of the philosopher not to occupy himself with questions which do not concern him.”
—Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951)
“To be seventy years old is like climbing the Alps. You reach a snow-crowned summit, and see behind you the deep valley stretching miles and miles away, and before you other summits higher and whiter, which you may have strength to climb, or may not. Then you sit down and meditate and wonder which it will be.”
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882)