General Note: Part of the CWA Pioneer Interviews Collection. Consists of a brief biographical sketch of Hollis D. Spencer, an early-day resident of Salida, Colorado. Born in Minnesota in 1860, Spencer's family moved to Wisconsin in 1863, shortly after the end of the Dakota War in Minnesota. When he was 14, Spencer traveled to California to Stockton, but did not stay, and on his return trip his train stopped in Salida, Colorado. While waiting to switch trains to continue to Kansas City, Spencer took a walk and within the hour had found employment at the Salida Lumber Company. By 1890 he had married and had been appointed the night marshall for Salida. Later he established a ranch south of town, and operated an express and transfer business for a time. Most of this document consists of recollections of the lynching in Salida of a youth named "Briley" sometime around 1890.
Web Location: https://www.historycolorado.org/oral-histories