Sheriff Lucien J. Morgan

Lucien J. Morgan

Sheriff Lucien Morgan died after becoming ill while attempting to evict claim jumpers at a mine in the mountains west of Buena Vista.

During the rigorous hike, Sheriff Morgan became ill, and after deputizing two men, he stayed behind at a miner's cabin. The deputized citizens caught the claim jumpers, but when they returned, Sheriff' Morgan's health had worsened. The next day, after a night with fits of delirium, Sheriff Morgan left the cabin to walk to Buena Vista on his own. Eleven days later, his body was found buried in five feet of snow near the South Cottonwood Creek.

Sheriff Morgan was a Confederate Army veteran who had served with the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office for over a year and previously served as an Assistant Marshal and Sheriff in Mississippi. He was survived by his brothers and sisters.