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storic Period <br />Three tribes of Lndians occupied northwestern Colorado: the Ute, Arapaho, and <br />Shoshoni. The Ute and Arapaho were frequently in conflict over Arapaho utili~iition of <br />traditionally Ute land (Athearn 1977). The Uinta Ute were the primary occupants of <br />north•.vest Colorado. Subsistence was based on a nomadic hunting and gathering <br />economy, with summering in mountain parks and wintering in the Yampa or 1Vhite P.iver <br />valleys (Athearn 1977). A site of probable Ute affiliation was excavated by the Colorado <br />;Iighvray Department just outside of Steamboat Springs.* <br />The first known European entrance into northwestern Colorado was the Dominouez- <br />Escalante expedition in 1776. This expedition moved up the Douglas Creel: drainage to <br />the 1Vhite River Valley and west to Utali, never approaching the study area. Little <br />European presence was felt until after 1780, with the advent of fur trapping i~t <br />northwestern Colorado. 1Villiam Ashley organized a major expedition in 1822, and the fur <br />trade boomed for 20 years. <br />Several explorers, including John Fremont and John 11'esley Powell, passed through the <br />• area just before and after the collapse of the fur trade in 1843. They hag lithe good to <br />say about the worth of the area (Athearn 1977). <br />Gold was discovered at Hahns Peak by 1861, and by 1870 t',~is tivas a booming town, though <br />most other areas were not settled until after 1881, when the Utes were moved to Utah. <br />Then cattle ranching expanded and towns sprang up. By 1900 most towns in northwestern <br />Colorado, such as Steamboat Springs, Craig, and Meeker were settled. <br />Since 1900 cattle, sheep, energy, and tourism have been the economic basis of <br />exploitation of northwestern Colorado (Athearn 1977). Historic sites in the Yampa Basin <br />are ~~enerally architectural (McNamara 1978). <br />"Personal communication, John Gooding, May 1980. <br />18 <br />