Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1859-06-11
WARlEirWa
Pixies Peak Gold Mines

John Smith went to Pixies Peak. to dig
gold, and wrote n letter to his brother George
telling him of his wonderful success. Hear
him:
Pixies PEAK, NJ rch l, 1859.
My Dear Brother: We had all the hard
ships in tho world before we got here. Our
horses were stolen from us at Dubuque. We
got some extra oxen, and lost them one hun
dred miles from Omaha. We then tried
whecl-barrows, my wife and | Wheeling by
turns, till the Indians stole them Then we
walked, till the Indians stole our provisions,
and my family got sick, so had to carry
them all on my back. Our money gave out
long before, and for two weeks we travelled
through wilderness where tie foot of hu
man being had never trod ; IN this condition,
seeing no living being, and without money
TO purchase even cracker at any of the gro
ccries along the line, we lived on roots till
my children all looked like pigs, from root
ing so long.
have carried my family on my back till
am so round-shouldercd that can only see
the blue sky and the bright sun by looking
between my legs, and up to heavens canopy
that way. | lost two hundred pounds of
1icsh--horSc meat-when startled from Du-
bugnc or we should have got along better.
There is gold here-lots oft The gophcrs
dig it out Of the ground by tho bushel, and
III the moonlight the whole earth for miles
round looks like heaven with its myriad stars,
,m, or like pretty, girl with yellow frecklcs.-
The wood-chucks peck out bushels and bush
els OF it, and the snakes in this country look
like solid gold ones, from crawling among
gold chunks. 1t is found in all sized picces,
from the size of hens egg up to the bgncss
of large stone, and of the finest quality.
We have rakcd together what lay loose on
an acre OF ground and have twenty-five piles
about as big as n large sized hay stack.
Last night two hundred Indians came
to rob us of set of silver spoons, and Il
fine comb that my wife had to use on the
children, and we barricadcd our house with
rocks of gold until they could not gain adj
mittancc, and were forced to beg to make
friends with us. The chief laid down his
weapons and came into our camp, whcnmy
wife used the fine comb on his head till his
gratitude was as lively as his head was,
and he was so tickled that he offered to
marry my wife, and show me where gold
was in plenty. [ love my wife-you know
that, George; but thinking that might
die before L got fich, and feeling that
must make some property to leave my chill
dren, consented to the match, and she
has gone off with the Indian, who is great
chief, and taken the fine comb with her
Come out with your wife and bring fine
comb brother George
am going to leave these digsins for a
better one. 1t is too much trouble to tug
and pry up the great big chunks of gold
that weigh half ton or so and are so thick
you cannot get them out without danger of
breaking your legs, and [ am going up to
ravinc, where all / have to do is to dig to
the top of high mountain and roll it down
to the river.
The country here is fine, but the winds
arc awful. My boys got 50 light with eat.
Ing roots, that [ can only keep them by
me, or together by piling humps of gold
about as big as mallets, on their shirt tails,
as the little innoccnts sit down ON the
grass to play. Everything grows here
| can raise twenty bushels of wheat to the
acre. Oranges, lemons and all such col
ored fruits grow wild here, while melons,
pears, apples, peaches and apple dumplings
are SO plenty that they find no market.
Sell off what stuff you have in Wiscon-
sin and come out here. You can get rich
10 little while, and go back in such style
that it will astonish the natives.
Give my love to all the folks arovna
the corners, and put notice on the
school house that they oan get an outfit in
Chicago for 5000 Come out here, dear
brother, by all means.
Yours affectionatoly,
JoMN SMITm-