Secrets of the deep: Beneath waters of Blue Mesa/Soap Creek swirl tales of the Old West

Nary a bar of soap could be found in the historic railroad camp of Soap Creek. As a tributary of the Gunnison River and entrance to the upper end of the Black Canyon Gorge, the area was once home to some of the rowdiest roughnecks in the West, matched only by its stark and barren landscape, reminiscent of some distant prehistoric period.

On July 5, 1882, a newspaper reporter from Gunnison hitched a ride on a rail car to the new "terminal" site of the narrow gauge known as Soap Creek. An employee of the Gunnison News-Democrat, the man, identified only as Mr. Jones, had been following the progress of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad (D&RG) as it headed west from Salida to Gunnison the previous year. In 1881, toll-road builder Otto Mears sold his Marshall Pass Toll Road (which parallels the road over Monarch Pass) to the D&RG for a sizeable profit. T The D&RG was in a fierce race with the Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad (DSP&P) to reach the Western Slope and the mineral rich San Juan Mountains. The D&RG route over Marshall Pass won the race, arriving in Gunnison a full year ahead of DSP&P's Alpine Tunnel route.

While the scenery over the Marshall Pass route unfolded into breathtaking vistas, the new front line of the railroad west of Gunnison caused correspondent Jones to write:

"I found out a fact which would go far to upset the theories of the prohibitionists--that the people of Soap Creek live on whiskey. There is no other visible means of living, as among eight or nine saloons, only one combines the business of a restaurant."

And contrary to the origin of the name "Soap Creek," the reporter didn't find a speck of soap anywhere and had to take a "dry wash" before leaving. The reporter ended up spending the night at Soap Creek in a  tent, which was two feet short of meeting the ground, with only a piece of tent canvas for a blanket. While  temperatures had sizzled during the day, night brought shivering cold.

As the grading crews approached the upper end of the Black Canyon Gorge, they encountered a particularly rough section of large boulders. A crew under the direction of a foreman named Sweeney tackled the boulders with a new weapon from their arsenal--nitroglycerine. Unskilled in how to use the

explosive yellow liquid safely, several laborers had their arms and legs blown off,while the foreman was tossed violently into nearby Soap Creek, his body disappearing under an out-cropping of rock.

Despite the hazards and hardships, the D&RG kept a brisk pace westward. An aerial viewof the day would have revealed an impressive sight with railroad grading camps located every few miles along the route, from Soap Creek to the Utah border.

Once the rails were laid through the upper end of the Black Canyon Gorge and spiked down at the townsite of Cimarron, the grading camp of Soap Creek slowly began to fade into the landscape. It didn't disappear entirely,however, and was later renamed "Sapinero," for a sub-chief and brother-in-law of famed Ute Chief Ouray.

Before the construction of Blue Mesa Dam and Reservoir in the early 1960s, the slow meanderings of the Gunnison River and its tributaries attracted fishermen from around the country. A rancher by the name of J.J. Carpenter had relocated to the Gunnison area from North Carolina in 1882, but soon discovered that the railroad offered a more lucrative means of making a living. In 1888, Carpenter built one of the first sportsman's lodges (along with rental cabins) in the region, attracting tourists who could easily reach the

area via the railroad.

For over half a century, Sapinero served as a crossroads of traffic--cattle, railroaders, freighters, and resort-goers. The town controlled the entrance to the Black Canyon and two surrounding mesas--Blue Mesa to the south and east and Black Mesa to the north and west. After being inundated by the waters

behind Blue Mesa Dam, the community of Sapinero moved uphill on the south side of the reservoir.

Today, the Soap Creek inlet is a popular fishing and boating destination on Blue Mesa Reservoir. In recent years, water sports, such as wake boarding, water skiing and tubing, have become familiar sights on the lake. The upper reaches of Soap Creek also provide access to hikers and horseback riders heading into the West Elk Wilderness Area. Underneath the tranquil blue waters, however, there are still the spirits of men who risked their lives to follow the railroad West.