Page "Colorado Territory" Paragraph 8

A group of Cherokee crossed the South Platte and Cache la Poudre River valleys on their way to California in 1848 during the California Gold Rush.

They reported finding trace amounts of gold in the South Platte and its tributaries as they passed along the mountains.

In the south, in the San Luis Valley, early Mexican families established themselves in large land grants ( later contested by the U. S .) from the Mexican government.