b"Jews in the Old West Some sources, including the internet Jewishup another railroad war like the one Palmer fought Museum of the American West claim that Mears,with Bat Masterson and the Santa Fe 13 years earlier arguing forcefully but without success, did manage- to reward and please his sponsors and supporters to get the Utes a reasonable piece of property thatMears offered free passes made of soft buckskin, for they would never be driven from again, but Mearshis closest friends he offered them passes made out of himself felt he had let his friends down. Like manysilver and gold plate.other well-meaning whites who tried to champion the Indian cause but could never overcome theThen the same Panic of 1893, the same silver collapse hate and the bitterness between the white and red,that put paid to Horace Tabor's immense fortune, the Mears never dabbled nor wanted to dabble in Indiansame burst bubble that had consumed and destroyed affairs for the rest of his life, feeling he had betrayedthe Silver King sent the receivers to Otto Mears' door, a people who had put their trust in him (Lavender,and he lost his beloved Rio Grande and Southern.The Big Divide, p. 198). A lesser man might have given up at this point, and for a time Mears went back East to lick his wounds. Having done what he could for the Ute, includingBut at heart he was a fighter who could never give insuring that the government kept the tribe supplied,up, and, still possessing a bit of rail line between Mears returned to doing what he knew best - theSilverton and Durango, he returned to the West ten building of toll roads, including the ones the years later, kept that small line in business, but also in wagons bringing the food and other essentials the meantime, and for most of the following decade to the Ute on their new Utah Reservation, over he and his workers patched up the broken lines of the the San Juan mountains. railroads that had overcome his railroad ventures, first his old Rio Grande and Southern, whose current HIS LIFE'S WORK managers were all ready to totally abandon the route He would now turn back to his true life's work - theafter several mishaps - until Mears and his men came development of roads throughout Colorado. But thein and fixed the problem; and in one big dramatic - icing on the cake was that Otto Mears wanted to be aand in a sense final gesture - it was Otto Mears who, railroad magnate - and to run a railroad of his own. with his workers saved the day for Silverton - and Chief Ouray for Silverton itself when a terrible 1911 winter flood And for a time he did, the Rio Grande and Southernwashed out all the tracks leading into a Silverton Railroad, an upstart somewhat rival of Union Cavalryhis old Uncompahgre River digs from Ouray, hemining community that had not yet prepared, stocked hero William J. Palmer's (Palmer was the cavalry chiefand his workers carved out through the mountainsup, for the winter. Silverton was doomed, destined who chased Jefferson Davis at war's end all the waya line that went south to Ridgway, from Silverton heto be a ghost town, to be forever abandoned until from North Carolina to Northern Georgia, almosthacked out another route stretching from SilvertonMears and 250 of his faithful Silverton line employees cornered him, but in the end another Union Cavalryto Durango, establishing a new parallel line for thisstepped in, cleared the debris even with the snow and force ended up capturing the Confederate President)route had already been covered by Palmer's Denverthe howling cold winds at their backs, restored the Denver and Rio Grande Railway. Stretching fromand Rio Grande, and he had no interest in stirringtracks, and when the now-white haired bewhiskered continued on page 21Can you answer the following questions?What is Medicare? What does it cover?How much does it cost? When is it available to me?Is traditional Medicare all I need?Does Medicare cover my prescriptions?What options are available to me with Medicare?These are only a few of the questions you may be asking as you become eligible for Medicare. Call us! TRB Insurance Service, my Please dont get caught in the Medicare Maze! team and I have served the Medicare community in AZ for 23 years. Well help you through the enrollment process, share the many healthcare options available to you and answer all your questions accurately and honestly.Our services are always provided at no cost and Well explain the A, B, C & DS of Medicare. with no obligation.Tina BorgesTRB Insurance Service(602) 758-8998tinab@trbinsurance.com trbinsurance.comArizonaRealCountry.com November 2023 19"