The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1859-07-07
The Kansas Gold Mines.
From the Rocky Nountain Ne,os Extra, June II.
GREGoRY's DIGGINGs, near Clear Greek,
In the Rocky Mountains, June 8, 1859.


GREGoRY's DIGGINGs, near Clear Greek,
In the Rocky Mountains, June s, 1859.
The undersigned, none of them miners
nor directly interested in mining, but now
here for the express purpose of ascerainine
and setting forth the truth with regard to &
subject of deep and general interest, as t.
which the widest and widest diversity ofas
sertion and opinion is known to exist, unite
! in the following statement
We have this day personally visited nearly
all the mines or claims already opened in
this valley (that of little stream running in
to Clear Creek at this point; have witnessed
the operation of digging, transporting, and
washing the vein-stone "a partially decom
posed, or rotten quartz, running in regular
veins from southwest to north east, between
shattered walls of impure granite), have seen
the gold plainly visible in the rifles of nearly
every sluice, and in nearly every pan of the
rotten quartz washed in our presence; have
seen gold, (but rarely) visible to the naked
we, in pieces Of the quartz not yet fully de.
composed, and bave obtained from the few
who have already sluices in operation ac-
counts of their several products, as follows:
Zeieler. Spain, & Co., from South Bend,
Ind, have run sluice, with some interim
tions, for the last three weeks; they are 4 in
company, with one hired man. They have
taken out little over 5000 pennvweights OF
cold. estimated bv them as worth at least
$4,000: their first davis work produced sol :
their highest was s495.
Sopris, Henderson, & Co., from Farming.
ton, Ind, have run their sluice six DAYS in
all, with men-1 to dig, to carry and to
wash. Four days last week produced s607;
Monday of this week $3.50 no further repor.
ted. They have just put in second sluice,
which only began to run this morning.
Foote & Simmons. from Chicago: One
sluice, run four days; two former days pro-
duced $40; two latter promised US, but not
received.
Duffrees & Co., from South Bend, Ind,
have run small sluice 8 davs, with the fol.
lowing results 1st day, s66; Cd dav. $50
Sd day, S95; 4th dav, 1905; the 4 70 lowing
davs were promised us. but, by accident,
failed to be received. Have Just sold half
their claim, "a full claim is so feet by 1907,
for 2,500
Shears G. Co. from Fort Calhoun. Nebras-
ka, have run one si,lice two hours the first
part of a) day; produced $50: Cd first full
day, s343; Sd to-day, S510; all taken
from within three feet Of the surface-vein a
foot wide on the surface; widened to 1S in
ches at depth of three feet.
Brown & Co, from De Kalb Co, Ind.
have been one week on their claim: carry
their dirt halfa mile; have worked their
sluice dav and half; produced $3.50;
from so cents to Sl3 each in gold-vein
from s to 10 feet wide.
Casio, Kendall. & Co.. from Butler Co.,
Iowa, reached Denver, March 25; drove the
first wagon to these diggings; have been
here five weeks; worked first on a claim,
on which they ran sluice but one dav; pro-
duced 1925; sold their claim for s2.50O; are
now working a claim on the Hunter lead
have only sluiced one fthis) day three men
employed produced sS5.
Bates & Co.. one sluice, run half day,
p oduced sl35.
Shorts & Collier. bought claims seven days
since of Casio. Kendall & Co., for 50, 800
$500 down, and the balance as fast rs taken
out. Have not got our sluices in operation
Mr. Dean, from Iowa, On the 9Th inst,
washed from single pan of dirt taken from
the claim, $3.50. Have been offered SO,
900 for the claim.
S. G. Jones & Co.. from Eastern Kansas,
have run our sluices two DAYS, with three
men; yield 1925 per day. Think the quartz
generally in this vicinity is gold-bearing.
A. P. Wright & Co., from Elkhart Co..
Ind. Sluice but Just in operation have not
yet ascer.ained its products. Our claim
prospects from 25 cents to l.25 to pan.
John II. Gregory, from Gordon County,
Georgia. Left home last season, en- route
for Frazer River; was detained by success
sion of accidents at Fort Laramie. and win
tered there. Meanwhile heard Of the discov-
cries of gold on the South Platte, and start
ed on prospecting tour on the Eastern
slope of the Rocky Mountains early in .Ianu-
ary. Prospected in almost every valley
from the Cache Ia Poudre Greek to Pixies
Peak, tracing manv creeks to their sources
Early in May arrived on Clear Creek. at the
foot Of the mountains. 80 miles south east o.
this place; there fell in with the Defrees &
Zeigler Indiana Companies. and VIM. Fouts
of Missouri. We all started up Clear Creek
prospecting; arrived in this vicinity May 6
the ice and snow prevented us from prospect
ing far below the surface. but the first pan o
surface dirt on the original Gregory claim
Welded S4. Encouraged bv this success, we
all staked our claims, found the lead. consist
ing Of burnt quartz, resembling the Georgis
mines, in which had previously worked
Snow and ice prevented the reg, lar working
of the lie ID till Mav6 From then until the
23d worked it five davs with two hands
result 1912. Soon after, | sold my TIVE
claims for sal 900. the parties buying to nay
me, after deducting their expenses. all the,
take from the claims to the amount of $500
per week. until the whole is paid. Sire,
that time have heen prospecting for othel
parties at about 5000 per dav. Have strucl
another lead on the opposite side of the val
ley, from which washed Sl4 out of singl,
pan.
Some forty or fifty sluices commenced, ART
not yet in operation, but the owners inform
us that their prospecting" shows from Ii
cents to S. to the pan. As the ''leads' ar
all found oc the hills, many Of the miners
are constructing trenches to carry water (,