The River Falls journal. (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1857-1861, 1859-01-19

bofhood of Pixies Peak a few weeks,
part of the company, including Messrs.
French and Dickson, took a trip down
into New Mexico-going as far as Fort
Massachusetts, distance of about TWEEN
ty-five miles. In this region they pros
pected for time, and then returned
nerth-arriving at the gold diggings near
the mouth of Cherry Greek, about 60
or 10 miles north of Pixies Peak, on the
Sd of September. Here Messrs. French
and Dickson remained till the lst of Oc
tober, when, with twelve others, they
turned eastward. On the home trip they
did not take the same road travelled in
going out, but came by what is known
as the Northern route-down the South
Fork of Platte River. They arrived at
Lawrence on the 21st of November,-
being 80 days in making the trip. In
coming home as in going out, they met
MANY Indians, but received no trouble
from them. They found sufficient wood,
water, and feed for their teams, most of
the way on both routes. The same team
with which they started in May, served
them for the out trip, the trip down south
and the homo trip-a distance of not less
tnan / 500 or 1000 miles. They report
that oxen are better for the purposes of
those desiring to go out; for while their
oxen came back in good condition, the
mules, which had done no more work,
were pretty much used up.
When Messrs. French and Dickson
left, there were between sixty and seventy
persons in the Cherry Greek diggings,
among whom were the two ladies of the
Lawrence Company. One of these la
dies is the Mrs. Holmes, whose glowing
and beautiful account fan ascent of Pixies
Peak our readers may have seen, and
which has been so extensively copied by
the press throughout the country. The
little company of sixty or seventy expec-
ted to remain alone through the entire
winter; but the story of the golden noun
tains spread far and wide, and the return
company met between four and six hun
dred teams. On the southern route, also,
several hundred persons were journeying
on; and Messrs. French and Dickson
think that there cannot be less than two
thousand or twenty-five hundred in the
immediate ne; ghborhood of Pixies Peak.
In extent the gold region is very
lengthy and of unknown width. For at
least two hundred and fifty or three hun
bred miles along the eastern side of the
mountain range, indications of gold are
abundant; and at many poiats through
this territory it has already been found.
Messrs. French and Dickson, however
confirm the reports heretofore made, that
tho principal paying diggings yet devel
oped are to the north of Pixies Peak a
bout sixty or seventy miles, in the vicinity
of Cherry Creek aud South Platte riv-
er. They also confirm the reports that
in the immediate vicinity of the Peak the
yield of gold is not large and say indeed
that it is less than at Fort Massachusetts,,
two hundred and twenty five miles south.
The Cherry Greek diggings are about
forty to fifty miles in length north and
south, and extend westward into the
mountains an unknown distance. The
gold thus far taken out consists of the
scale or drift variety, and is said to be
about twenty-five carrots fine. 1t is GIN
orally fonnd at depth varying from six
inches to as many feet below the surface,
in formation composed of quartz and
granite cobble-stone, black slate, etc., va
Tying in thickness from three or four to
twelve inches. This drift yields from ten
and twenty cents up to one dollar per pan,
and even in some instances as high as
three dollars; and hardly pan full can
be taken up which will not yield some
thing. Itrests upon a strata of hard clay,
or upon formation resembling sandstone.
Whether deposits of gold exist beneath
this is question as yet unsolved. Messrs.
French and Dickson are of the opinion
that extensive developments of quartz
gold will yet be found in the mountains,
and tell us that they observed many led
gcs of this rock cropping out They say,
and in this they also but confirm otler re-
ports, that persons may realize from one
10 fifteen dollars per day with but the or
diuary pan for washing-depend,n NJ in
great measure upon the industry and taste
of tho miner, and upon the proximity of
the diggings to water; and declare it their
firm conviction that with the modern i'm
provoments of loug-to toms. rockers, etc, at
least from thirty to forty dollars per day
may be obtained.
They give it as their opinion that, in the
extent of country which they examined,
about one-third of the gold region is COW
fred with timber. This is, to great ex-
tent, pine. both white and yellow, but
hut principally of the so-called Norway
variety. There arc also groves of cotton
wood, and some spruce, box, elder, ETC.
In some sections the timber is confined
to the banks of many streams which find
their way down from the mountains, while
IN other parts the grand forests of pines,
shooting up one hundred feet clear of
limbs, spread out for scores of miles upon
the plains. They report finding but little
hard proper, the spruce being mostly not
more than five or six inches through.
There is, however, no lack of timber such
as it is, and the pine attains very large
size
Water courses are abundant; and, in
the spring and early summer months, are
mostly full of soft water. As autumn
approaches many of the streams become
considerably reduced in volume, and some
of them entirely disappear, leaving their
beds dry. These, however, evidently
but take an underground channel; for,
by digging down from one to five or six