Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1859-08-06
GREELEY's LETTERS.
AN OVERLAND JOURNEY.
No. xnI.-GoLD IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.

NO. XIH.-GoLD IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.
DENVER, June 20, 1859.
1t is my strong belief that Gold is scarce
ly less abundant in the Rocky Mountains
than in California, though it seems, for ma
ny reasons, far less accessible. 1t is,
Much further from the seaboard, or from
any navigable water or means of easy ap.
proach 2. Belted by deserts and by re.
gions on which little or no rain falls in sum.
mer so that food, and almost every neces-
sary Of life, will here be permanently dear
er than in California; g. So elevated $4,000
feet and over above tidewateI) that little
can be done at mining for full half oil
each year; and 4. So muc.l of the gold as
has been broken down and washed out OF
the veins by water-courseS has been so
swept along and dispersed by the fierce
mountain torrents that very little of it can
be proftably washed out; hence mining
must here be mainly confined to the veins,
and will thus involve blasting, raising by
wndlass, &c, &C., and so require large
investments of capital for its energetic and
successful prosecution. While, therefore,
believe that these Mountains will soon be
yielding gold at the rate of many Millions
per annum, / say most emphatically to the
poor men who want gold and are willing to
work for it, This is not the country for you'll
Far better seek wealth further East thro'
growing Wheat, or Corn, or Cattle, or by
any kind of manual labor, than come here
to dig gold One man may possibly acquire
wealth faster in this gold lottery than in
New England or Kansas; but let one thou
sand poor men come hither to mine, while
the same number resolve to win compe-
tence by eminent industry and frugality in
the East, aud the latter will assuredly have
more wealth at five years end than the
former-and will have acquired it with far
less sacrifice of comfort, health and life
And here let me say, in closing up the
subject, that 1 think the Report made by
Messrs. Richardson, Willard and myself, Of
what we saw and learned of Gregory's Dig
gings, is fully justified by more recent re.
suits. For example: we gave the first four
days product of w. Defrees q. Co., from
Indiana (running one sluice, at $66, $50,
$95, and $305 respectlvely-the four fol
lowing days not returned / have since
obtained them; and they range as follows +:
$257, 1881, $2O2, $lgS-or 1888 more
than those of the four days for which we
gave the returns. This Company then sold
out their claim for $1,000, aud on the 9Th
of June opened sluice on another; which
in four days produced as follows $31
$2O5, $l5I, $2I3. Another Indian Com
pauy miscalled Sopris, Henderson a. Co.
Ia our report, ran two slnices on the 9Th
10th, realizing about $3.50 per day, and on
the 18th had three sluices 10 operation for
the first, and cleaned up 81, 900 (really
worth about $9O0) from the product Of
that days labor Of twelve men. Some
scores are doing well, though few as well
as this; but of the thousands who are do
ing-at least, realizing nothing-who shall
reportg Some of these issue daily from
the mountains, out of provisions, out ol
means, out of heart; and, between this and
snowfall, thousands like them win come
ont, still more hungry, weary, iorlorn, anc
take their way down the Platte as gauni
and disconsolate as men ever need be, But
this, and much more, win not dissuade new