Born with a love of adventure, whether by inheritance from his ancestors or from the harmonious union of his own individual characteristics, Charles E. Baker, a prominent and successful ranch man of Routt county, and proprietor of the Baker House at Craig, one of the best known and most appreciated hosteleries of the Western slope of this state, has through life followed his bent, and in doing so has found abundant gratification for is taste in rambling in many parts of our country and meeting various phases of frontier life, with its attendant dangers and privations, and at the same time has used the opportunities thus afforded him to his own advantage and greatly to the benefit of the sections where he has lived. He was born on September 10, 1862, at Lancaster, Erie county, New York, twelve miles east of the city of Buffalo, on a farm which became the home of his parents, Horace S. and Susan E. Baker, when but five acres of it were cleared for cultivation, and on which the father died in 1894, and the mother is still living. His father grew to maturity and on reaching his legal majority he could have bought land which is now well within the city limits of Buffalo and covered with buildings of great value at two dollars and a half an acre, but he did not invest, because it was all swampy and the chance of its growing into value was remote, and at that time seemed highly improbable in his lifetime. Mr. Baker received a good academic education at Clarence Academy near his home, and followed it with a special course of thorough training in penmanship in Michigan, having mastered in his academic career the ordinary English branches, science and bookkeeping, as far as they were then taught in the school he attended. His mind is eminently practical and combines good business faculties with the power of scholastic attainments, and the imagination that has impelled him to seek adventures and a wide knowledge of the country, and the qualities of self-reliance and resourcefulness which make him equal to any emergency and ready to get the most out of any opportunity that presents itself in the way of business or enjoyment. At an early age he developed a great fondness for hunting and when he was but fifteen years of age he bought a shot gun for two dollars and a half, without the knowledge of his parents and much to the alarm of is mother, who said when she found out about his purchase, that it would be the cause of his death. He was in that period of his life a very venturesome youth, and after visiting Forpaugh's circus on one occasion he tried some of the trick riding he witnessed in the show, succeeding in standing on a horse's back and riding it for a distance of two hundred or three hundred yards, to a point where the animal jumped from the grassy roadside to the middle of the road and threw the rider on his head. From boyhood he had a burning desire to come west to follow his favorite occupation of hunting and trapping, believing he could make a fortune at the business. His parents opposed his desire vigorously, and at the age of sixteen he determined to run away from home to gratify it; and by way of preparation he rolled up a bundle of clothes and supplies for is journey. But when night approached, and he realized the difficulty of finding a safe and suitable place at which to pass the night, and impelled also by filial regard for his parents and their wishes, he quietly unrolled his bundle and determined to remain at home a while longer. Lest fear should be accounted his chief cause for giving up his design, it should be recorded that he was a very conscientious youth, with a sense of obedience to the commands of his parents as his ruling impulse. One evening at this period of his life at home, he told his mother an untruth which so worried him that he was unable to sleep the greater part of the night, and hung like a pall on his spirits all next morning. At dinner he burst out crying and confessed his error, and then his sky cleared and became bright with sunshine once more. After leaving school he became a clerk in a large store; but not liking the business, at the end of six months he took charge of a school of eighty-six pupils, which he taught to the end of the term for that year. He then put in two summers gardening for the Buffalo markets, but finding one of the seasons too dry and the other too wet for profitable gardening, he determined to seek a more certain and remunerative employment, and went to Tuscola county, Michigan, and in less than a month was again clerking in a store, and soon afterward was teaching school in his new location. He had as a pupil in his school a young lady named Miss Cora A. Miller, with whom he fell in love, and at the end of the second term they were engaged to be married. Being troubled with catarrh and learning of the beneficial effects of the climate of Colorado to sufferers from that and kindred complaints, he came to this state, promising to return for his bride in five years. His first winter in Colorado, that of 1884-5, he passes as principal of the public school of Castle Rock, and at the close of the school year located in Routt county, where he took up a body of ranch land. A number of subsequent winters were spent in teaching school and the summers in improving and developing his ranch. In the spring of 1889 he returned to Michigan, and on March 14th of that year he was married at Kintner, that state, to Miss Miller, who came with him to Colorado soon afterward and has ever since been a resident of the land of incalculable mineral wealth, boundless plains, varied industries, unprofitable sage brush and almost perennial sunshine. There was only one white woman besides Mrs. Baker within a radius of ten miles of her home when she came hither and the nearest doctor was twenty miles distant. But she was inured to frontier life and met its hazards and hardships with a resolute and cheerful spirit. Her grandfather cut a trail fourteen miles through the forest to his Michigan land when he located on it, and there she was reared amid the scenes and experiences of the wilderness, acquiring therefrom the courage and self dependence characteristic of and requisite of the frontier. Since the marriage she has in all respects done her part faithfully and diligently to advance the common interests of herself and her husband, proving herself a helpmeet in worked and deed in his every trial and difficulty. They have one daughter, Maud S., who was born at Hahn's Peak on April 25, 1890, twenty-five miles from a doctor and snow shoeing being necessary for fifteen miles of that distance. In the fall of 1889 Mr. Baker was elected county clerk and recorder, and at the end of his term in 1891 declined a second nomination because the last preceding legislature had passed a salary and fee law of which he did not approve. He has always adhered to the republican party, but it has been his invariable custom to vote for the men he considered best for the offices for which they were nominated without regard to party claims. While not a believer in fraternal societies, regarding them as more detrimental than beneficial to men in the main, he belongs to the Woodmen of the World because of the beneficial features of the organization. He was reared in the faith of the Church of the Disciples, but has broadened his views to the belief that men should be judged by their daily walk and conversation rather than by their church affiliations and professions. After leaving the office of county clerk and recorder, Mr. Baker settled on his ranch on Fortification creek, and found he had an expensive property to develop, as a long ditch and large reservoir were required to irrigate the land to productiveness. These he built at considerable expense of labor and money, but his enterprise has been rewarded by securing to him one of the best range properties in the county. In addition to this ranch and the extensive horse business which it supports, Mr. Baker operates two mail lines, and conducts the Baker House at Craig. This hotel has an excellent reputation and is especially favored by those modern knights errant, the commercial tourists, who find in it a comfortable home for such time as they can spend there, with a table unsurpassed in range and excellence of provision, good rooms well furnished and a genial and obliging landlord and landlady, who are always solicitous for the substantial comfort and best interests of their guests. Their own experience in privation and danger, in toil and perseverance, have given them an impressive knowledge of the wants of the traveling public, and they lay all tier resources under tribute to provide for those wants in ample measure and the best style attainable under the circumstances. In working out the past progress of Routt county they have done well their utmost in several lines of active usefulness, and in the new day of increased railroad facilities and other advantages now opening of this region it is not to be doubted that they will reap the reward of their fidelity.

From the time when he was but fifteen years old Hiram H. Barnard, now a resident of Craig, Routt county, has been actively, closely and continuously connected with the cattle industry, and in his long and varied experience in this connection he has visited every part of the West, northern, central and southern, and has encountered many dangers, suffered many hardships and endured many privations. He has met all classes of people, white, black and red, has had numerous thrilling adventures and some very narrow escapes, and has been through every phase of life incident to his enticing but hazardous occupation. Mr. Barnard was born in Lavaca county, Texas, at the town of Hallettsville, on November 1, 1857. His educational advantages were few and of short duration. He lived in a country where work was essential from every capable hand to provide the necessaries of life, and at the age of fifteen he began making his own living by riding the range in the cattle industry in his native state. He remained there so occupied until 1878, when he journeyed over the trail to Cheyenne, Wyoming. During that year and a part of the next he was associated with the Swann Land and Cattle Company. On March 4, 1879, he began an engagement with G. A. Searight and in his interests he went from Cheyenne to Kelton, Utah, over the stage to Umatilla Landing. There he received sixteen thousand cattle for Wyoming, which he brought safely to their destination. He remained with this outfit until May 1, 1882, when he became associated with the Powder River Cattle Company on Powder river. In the spring of 1883 he entered the employ of Tomson & E. C. Johnson, of Sweetwater, at a point called Devil's Gate, and in the spring of 1888, leaving that firm, he became connected with the Ora Haley Cattle Company. During 1889 and 1890 he furnished timber for the mines owned by the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company at Newcastle under contract, and in 1891, again turning to the cattle industry, he entered the employ of the White River Cattle company, with which he remained until 1894. He then once more became associated with Ora Haley and passed that year and the next buying cattle in Utah, Idaho and Oregon for eastern markets. Since then he has continued in the employ of Mr. Haley, with headquarters at Craig. He is manager for the company and is considered on all sides one of the best qualified and most capable cattle men in the West. Politically Mr. Barnard is a Democrat and fraternally an Odd Fellow. He was married on April 13, 1904, to Miss Anna Bassett, a native of Colorado, the first white girl born in Routt county. Mr. Barnard is the son of Alexander and Amanda (Cathevins) Barnard, natives of Tennessee who made Oregon their final home. The father followed ranching and raising cattle with success. He died in 1893 and the mother in 1895. Four children survive them, William M., Benjamin P., May, wife of Jesse Smotherman, and Hiram H.

A self made an very successful and prosperous man, George W. Boone, of near Craig, Routt county, furnishes in his career a stirring tribute to the value of self-reliance and persevering industry, and illustrates forcibly what it is possible for these qualities to accomplish in such a fruitful field for effort as Colorado. He is a native of McMinn county, Tennessee, born on July 10, 1861. The Civil war, which was then already in progress, left that portion of the country with all its industries paralyzed, its commercial forces stagnant and its people without the means to resuscitate and revitalize its creative and productive energies at once. It was not possible therefore for him to secure much of an education, as family necessities demanded the utmost work on every able hand, and he had therefore only a few terms of short duration at the district schools, and these were irregular. Until he reached his nineteenth year he remained at home and assisted his father on the farm. Then, seeking a better outlook for himself, he made several trips to different parts of the west, in the hope of finding a suitable location for the employment of his energies to his own advantage. In 1885 he took up his residence near Rawlings, Wyoming, where he found employment as stock tender for the Overland Stage Company. The next year he came to Colorado and homesteaded a portion of his present ranch, purchasing since one hundred and eighty acres additional, so that his ranch now comprises three hundred and forty acres. While the land at the time was wholly wild and unimproved, he was not deterred from the expectations of securing good results from continued effort, and he went to work with a will to make his property habitable by erecting a dwelling and other necessary buildings, and by reducing the land to productiveness and increasing fertility. He has so far succeeded that a considerable acreage brings him good annual crops of hay, grain, vegetables and small fruits, and he has a main reliance in a large cattle industry which thrives on the place. While taking an active and helpful interest in public local affairs, and withholding no effort on his needed to promote good enterprises for the welfare of his community, he is independent in politics. On June 6, 1889, he united in marriage with Miss Margaret Walker, a native of Georgia. Mr. Boone's parents were Allen and Anna (Hardy) Boone, natives of North Carolina, who became early residents of Tennessee and passed the remainder of their lives there, the father dying in that state in 1885, and the mother being still a resident thereof. Fourteen children were born to them, five of whom died. The nine living are Thomas, James, John, Robert, George W., Susan, Martha, Mary and Julia. The father was an extensive farmer and stood well in his community.

Lemuel L. Breeze, scholar, school teacher, lawyer, and now a progressive and successful ranch and cattle man of Routt county, living near Craig, who has tried his hand at several vocations and won success in greater or less degree in all, was born in Jefferson county, Illinois, on June 18, 1852. He received a good scholastic and professional education, attending the public schools, the Southern Illinois Agricultural College. Butler University in Indiana. Hanover College in the same state, and the State University of Iowa, being graduated from the law department of the last named. In order to get this full measure of collegiate education he taught school in Illinois and the state of Washington, and after completing the law course at the Iowa University he practiced his profession in Illinois. In 1881 he became a resident of Colorado, and here he practiced law in Summit county three years. In 1883 he located his present ranch, three miles southeast of Craig. The water supply is sufficient to make a large acreage tillable, and he raises good crops of the usual farm products in the neighborhood. He takes an active interest in the fraternal life of the country as a Freemason and an Odd Fellow, and in its political life as an earnest working Republican. On May 18, 1891, he untied in marriage with Miss Rosella Teagarden. They have one child, Willard L.. Mr. Breeze is the son of Robert and Martha J. (Downs) Breeze, who were born in Indiana and were among the earliest settlers in Jefferson county, Illinois, locating there when almost the whole county was wilderness. There the mother died on April 14, 1882, and soon afterward the father moved to Colorado, taking up his residence in the vicinity of Craig, Routt county. He was an ardent Democrat until the beginning of the Civil war. He then became a Republican and followed the fortunes of that party to the end of his life, which came on February 19, 1897. He was a man of prominence and influence in Illinois and also in this state. Both parents were members of the Christian church. They had nine children of whom Charles, Nancy, Robert and Mrs. W. W. Wayman are dead, and Lemuel L., John M., Lewis H., Mrs. Henry Lucas and Mrs. Sallie C. Jackson are living.

Robert V. Bryan, now a valued public official of Routt county, where he has also been connected with the ranching and stock industries and worked at his trade as a carpenter, has had a varied and interesting career, having been engaged in a number of occupations at many different places. He is not one of the men who abandon one plan and go earnestly to work on another, which is fresh from the forge of his imagination, or had at some former time been cast aside half finished, but one who has clearness of vision to see and alertness of energy to seize his opportunities and made the most of them, and so has never been long without profitable employment, and has made a substantial success of his chances. He was born on February 8, 1855, near Hillsboro, Montgomery county, Illinois, and is the son of Daries and Elizabeth (Hamilton) Bryan, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Illinois. The father moved to the Prairie state in early life, and there he was married and carried on farming successfully until 1867, when the family moved to Arkansas, where the parents passed the remainder of their lives. The father was a faithful Republican in political life and fraternally belonged to the Masonic order. The children in the family numbered ten, eight of whom are living, Roxie, Lorenzo Dow, Amputus, Algeernon, Alonzo N., Robert V., Belle Z. and William E. Robert received a common high school education and also attended a commercial college as preparation for business. In 1867, when he was twelve years old, he accompanied his parents to Arkansas, and there finished his scholastic education and took the commercial course already mentioned, the college being located at Little Rock, that state. He also assisted his father on the farm here until 1877 and in the hotel at Russellville, which was also owned by his father. He then returned to Illinois and began to learn his trade as a carpenter. In this he made such progress that at the end of a year he came to Colorado to prepare to do journey work. Settling at Silver Cliff, he helped to build some of the first houses erected in the town. In 1879 and 1880 he freighted between Colorado Springs, Canon City and Leadville. This occupation was beset with hardships but was profitable. Moving to Pueblo in 1881, he there became agent for Pueblo & Silver Cliff Stage Line Company, and after a time changed his residence to Wetmore, where he engaged in getting out props and ties under contract for the coal mines at Coal Creek. In 1882 he rented a ranch near Wetmore, on which he passed two years, then rented one on Doby creek which he farmed for a year. In July, 1885, he became a resident of Routt county. After wintering at Maybell he moved in the spring of 1886 to Newcastle, Garfield county, and there he worked at his trade for some time, helping to build the first house in the town and many other structures. Returning to Routt county, he took a contract to build the fence around Lily park, being engaged in the work two years. The next two were passed in freighting between various points, and at the end of that period he moved to Boise, Idaho, and in the spring of 1891 he located his home at Craig, where he has since resided. He has been much occupied in range riding and is considered a typical cowboy. He has also done considerable contracting and building at Craig. In 1900 and 1901 he was deputy county assessor, having been elected to the office on the Republican ticket. Fraternally he is connected with the Freemasons, the Odd Fellows, the Daughters of Rebekah and the Woodmen of the World. On November 27, 1882, he united in marriage with Miss Lucy A. Goodwin, who was born in Iowa, and who died on August 26, 1886, leaving two daughters, Nellie M. and Maud E. These are living and have been carefully reared by their father.

The Subject of this brief review who is one of the successful and progressive ranchers and cattle men of Routt county, was born at Des Moines, Iowa, on April 14, 1857, and is the son of Peter and Amanda Cooper, the former a native of Delaware and the latter of Ohio. They lived for awhile in Indiana, then moved to Iowa when it was still a territory. Here the father was engaged in running a stage line for a time and afterward devoted his attention to farming. He was a member of the Masonic order and belonged to the Democratic party. He died in 1858, leaving two children to be reared and supported by his widow. The children are Eugene E. and Byron B.. At the time of his father's death the latter was but one year old. The circumstances of the family and the struggle of the mother in rearing her young family made it impossible for the son to receive educational advantages of any magnitude or duration. When he was twelve years old he began to work in his mother's interest and he is still doing so. He left Iowa in 1880 and came to Leadville, this state, where he prospected without success until the fall of 1885. He then moved to the Bear river country, in Routt county, and took up a homestead which is part of his present ranch. To this he has added forty acres by purchase and now has two hundred acres. In connection with working this he farms his mother's ranch of one hundred and sixty acres, which adjoins his. They have one hundred acres under cultivation and use the rest for grazing purposes, carrying on an extensive cattle business. Mr. Cooper is very enterprising and progressive, and manages his affairs with vigor and close attention, seeking by all means that are proper to secure the best returns for his labor. To the affairs of the community in which the welfare of its citizens is involved he gives the same energetic and broad-minded attention. He is a Democrat in politics and for four years served as deputy under Sheriff Dug Lee. On September 25, 1902, he was united in marriage with Miss Ossa L. Haughey, who was born in Iowa. They have one child, Maud R.

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