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Pagosa SpringsNamed for the nearby hot mineral springs (Pagosa is Ute for "Healing Waters"), which average 153-degrees, Pagosa Springs was the focus of a centuries-long dispute between Navajo and Ute Indians. In 1866 the two tribes agreed to a final one-on-one duel over the springs' rightful ownership. The Utes chose as their representative Albert Henry Pfieffer, a Scotsman who had worked alongside Kit Carson and who had served as a U.S. Indian agent in New Mexico, where Pheiffer's Spanish wife had been killed by Indians. Pfieffer chose Bowie knives for the duel. Apparently the two men rushed at each other, and Pfieffer flung his knife at his Navajo rival, killing him, and the Utes took undisputed possession of the springs. |
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