The Council Bluffs nonpareil. [volume] (Council Bluffs [Iowa]) 1857-1867, 1859-07-09


bility Of cavil, that diggings have been dis
covered on the Eastern Slope Of the Rocky
Mountains, that will pay largely for the
working of them, there remains but one
mooted point, and that is, as to the ertent
of the gold-bearing country. As in days
past, there were not wanting those who
hne,o Pixies Peak to be grand humbug,
so now there are not wanting those who
kno7o that the nuriferous reg on aforesaid
i, not sufficiently large to afford profitable
employment even to the number already on
the spot. Of course, the croakers must
give vent to their dolorous imaginings, and,
if silenced on one tack, it is but in keeping
with their characteristics, that we should
Immediately find them ''giying tongue Oh
another
"B-eak one cobwet through,
They spin the sllsnt, sett-peaslng thread anew -
Of course, the mos. Of these croakers
know nothing about the mines, from per-
sonal knowledge, yet, on that account, they
are not backward in the premuIgat'on OF
their opinions. But these are men who Will
motor cannot-reason, Therefore we are
not surprised at the doggel perverseness
and tenacty with which they cling to their
often expressed, though never definitely un-
lerstood, opinions. We leave the croakers
and <ccptics, to batten on theirown illusions,
while we turn to more hopeful class.
JoHS GRAVES, well known n this city, is
a representative man of the energetic, work
ing and hopeful class. He is a practical
man in every sense of the word. What he
knows, he knous, and what he writes will
be believed in this community, without the
least discount whichever. lie says in the
letter published day, that he is " perfect
" satisfied that this is the greatest gold
country now known, There is more
gold in these mountains, and will be more
taken out in the next few years, than ever
was in California; AH who ,oiN
,cork can find claims that tciH pay! and my
opinion is, that there is room for ten hund,
: red thousand men,"
! Mr.. GRAVES is enthusiastic, and sets his
stakes at pretty high figure, but, neverthe-
! less, we believe the prospects, at present,
Justify his conclusions. To our mi d it is
svlf-eyiuvnt, that if the " Gregory dig
gings" are paying as ars j. a represented,
and really, We have every reason to believe
they are, the extcut Of country that will am
NV rrn.unerate the miner, is comparatively
! .!lnit.rss.
Tha; our readers may judge for them
selves. Of the merits of the mooted qnes-
! ton. we will here mike some extracts
rrom a very candid and we'll authrn-
ticatcl statement contained in the St.
Joseph Hes. of the 9Th inst, giving not
very Ga,teriug account of the Western
/ Gold fields. The INFORMANT of the Vest,
Mr.. Mccoy, WAS III the mines about lou:
monlhs-''savs there are only eight or ten
claims that pay for working at all that
these are in the Gregory digg;nSs; that all
+ the reports abou. he richness Of other mines
arc absolutely false, and that these eight Or
! ten leads or Ella ms pay, on an average about
So per day to the man. Thinks that there
wera when he left II manyas twenty Eve or
thirty ousaud people in and about the
mines, most Of whom were not, of course,
making anything. The whole face Of tn
country had teen torn up by pro>n. c;.",
parties, IT st Of whom had become d.>-
Outraged and quit. All the dIggings except
G~egory's, viz: Jefferson, Jackson, Bou!-
der, South Platte, Cherry, &C., had been
deserted, and the miners were leaving
or 8. 900 wagons, Mr.McCoy thinks, nre on
the road homo at this time most Ct them
making for St. Joseph. Very many, however,
have gone in other directions, some to Cali
fornia aul Oregon, and not afcw to Sonora.
Many Of those who remained a: the mines
we're working for what thee could get
generally for the their boa7I-:vo meals
day.
In regard to tho character Of tie leads
which have been found tc Tar, Mr. Mccoy
says that they arc quartz leads, running ;.
Z. md y. W., and have Lccn traced as far
ns nine miles. They ca0 be traced b. i
blossom Of u chocolate colo,. and in the
form Of h0u'Irrs. Thu gold , formed m
mcdatcly on the l>al-outsi e Of the lea!
it is impossible to find even the c'I)r Of
gold. The dirt and quartz is the color Of
yellow clnv, %nl when it has Teen found TO
ply, pays handsomely; but rs a general
thing few are successfu!-nOt more than
one out of five hundred. There is a grca,
scarcity Of water, which makes mining very
dIcu.t III expensive.
Mr.. Mccoy thinks tha: tic mines tha:
hav" been found TO pay VIII Support SET
tIemcn; Of about ) 900 persons-not more
ana he advises everybody to stay at home.
Mr. Mccoy left the mines On the 9th Of
June, which is the latest dates We have from
that region. We await further news with
considerable anxiety.