s the natural highway to southeastern
Colorado and northeastern New Mexico, but the overland coaches could not
get to Trinidad by the shortest route, and as the caravans also desired
to make the same line, it occurred to Uncle Dick that he would undertake
to hew out a road through the pass, which, barring grades, should be as
good as the average turnpike. He could see money in it for him, as he
expected to charge toll, keeping the road in repair at his own expense,
and he succeeded in procuring from the legislatures of Colorado and New
Mexico charters covering the rights and privileges which he demanded for
his project.

In the spring of 1866, Uncle Dick took up his abode on the top of the
mountains, built his home, and lived there until two years ago, when he
died at a very ripe old age.

The old trapper had imposed on himself anything but an easy task in
constructing his toll-road. There were great hillsides to cut out,
immense ledges of rocks to blast, bridges to build by the dozen, and
huge trees to fell, besides long lines of difficult grading to engineer.

Eventually Uncle Dick's road was a fact, but when it was completed, how
to make it pay was a question that seriously disturbed his mind. The
method he employed to solve the problem I will quote in his own words:
"Such a thing as a toll-road was unknown in the country at that time.
People who had come from the States understood, of course, that the
object of building a turnpike was to enable the owner to collect toll
from those who travelled over it, but I had to deal with a great many
people who seemed to think that they should be as free to travel over my
well-graded and bridged roadway as they were to follow an ordinary cow
path.

"I may say that I had five classes of patrons to do business with. There
was the stage company and its employees, the freighters, the military
authorities, who marched troops and transported supplies over the road,
the Mexicans, and the Indians.

"With the stage company, the military authorities, and the American
freighters I had no trouble. With the Indians, when a band came through
now and then, I didn't care to have any controversy about so small a
matter as a few dollars toll! Whenever they came along, the toll-gate
went up, and any other little thing I could do to hurry them on was done
promptly and cheerfully. While the Indians didn't understand anything
about the system of collecting tolls, they seemed to recognize the fa