The Shasta courier., 1858-03-13
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AS IA COURIER
PER nIrSER's SHASTA 4 SALMON RIVER EXPRESS.
Salmon River Correspondence.

Salmon River Correspondence.
FORKS OF SALMON, March s. 1853
EDITORS CoURTER:-I had thought that |
never would attempt again to write and trouble
you with my badly got up scraps, hoping that
by nay silence some abler pen would be called
into the service; but after years silence | find
that no feels inclined to undertake the task
do not know why it is; It's not that your val
nable paper does not find its way to our little
town. We are supplied with it by our untiring
and gentiemaniy expressman, j. B. Ritner, semi
monthly, as regular as clock, and it being the
| advocate of northern interests and the miners
FRIEND it is among the first called for and al
ways most welcome.
The Forks of Salmon is the most attractive of
all the mining districts the river. 1t is located
at the junction of the North and South Forks,
| and surrounded by high and lofty mountains,
whose snow capped SUBMITS are visible the year
| round, giving it picturesque aspect The bars
| are of considerable width, while high up on the
hill side several bitches course their way car
rying goodly supply of water for the diggings
above around and below the town. supplying
all the miners with plenty of water at reason
able rate. The price charged is twelve and
half cents per inch. Now that winter, or the
most dreary part of it, is passed, all who have
claims that are in working condition are bus
| lily engaged sluicing out the shining dust that
is found in no small quantities by the ndustri-
Gus. But be assured that none others reap
harvest in these parts, az our bars are Deep
| rocky, and very hard to work, and nothing but
good will, strong nerves, and untiring perseve-
| rance, will make these or any other mining
| claims yield up their hidden treasures.
! At present there are Il great many idle miners
here, thrown out of work by the late frcshet,
which took away their water crossings, or
washed the low bars full of sand and drift wood
But they are again preparing to repair these
damages, and "try, try again" Those who are
at work are all doing well-making from four to
twelve dollars per diem. will not attempt to
enumerate the names of claim owners that are
doing well, as it would not interest your readers
I-they being strangers-but will say that there
are hundreds of acres of ground unoccupied
and unprospected, that will doubtless pay well
for working, if fairly tried by experienced mi
ners Such men as are now working in the
southern and middle mines for from $50 to $50
per month, if they were to come up this way
ccu.d do far better. Wages are good here. You
nnot get man to work at any kind of work
for less than S75 per month, and day laborers
are very scarce and hard to get, as men can do
better for themselves
i The cost OF living is 10 more in this locality
| than in any other mining district in the State.
Flour is worth 10 cents per h.; beef Is and %
cents: potatoes cents; sugar 20 cents, and all
| other eatables in proportion. We have couple
of fine gardens here, that supply US with all
binds of vegetables in their season ut reasonable
rates Lumber is manufactured by Lead's Wa
ter Company, and sold at $50 per NJ delivered
You see by the foregoing prices that it does not
take fortune to fit out miner here, even if it
is "away up in the mountains" and you can
also see that we can have at least the necessa-
ries, if not the necessaries of life at fair price
| Our amusements are limited, but still we now
and then have one-horse theatre, professor
of legerdemain, a company of negro minstrels,
or an organ grinder, estray off here, and enter.
tain us with what you may see every day. And
besides these, We have enough of ladies to get
up very nice ball on occasion. The polite and
agreeable Mr. and Mrs. Rolfe, got up ball on
the 22d Of February, that proved most credit
able affair, notwithstanding the inclemencv of
the weather Mr.. and Mrs. R. keep the Inde-
pendence HOTEL, the finest house in these parts
We have two large stores at this place, one
kept by Messrs F. A. Rector Co., the other by
Messrs. Harteorn Il Walker. The first is an old
establishment, does large business and has the
| confidence of the community. The latter firm
is the successor of J. c. Condor, who lately left,
and more deserving and perseyerng men never
| lived.
We have one boiling saloon, one bakery. one
| hlacksmiths shop, one rum shop, one billiard
saloon, one butcher shop, one livery stable, and
two Indifferent kinds of shops. This sums up
the business part of this place.
Times have been dull, but are now looking up.
They will still further improve when the noun
| tdlnS are pdsSdUle-anu tuat VIII De muc0 sOOn-
er than usual, as the late warm rains have taken
the greater part of the snow off already.
Our quiet little village was thrown into quite
| an excitement this morning by an attempt to
assassinate. The quarrel originated, ,as majority
of such difficulties do, after nights card play
ing aud dissipation One of the parties went to
bed and was fast asleep The other, thinking
thasho was badly treated or cheated, called upon