The weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1858-1860, 1859-07-09
1face Greelcy's Letter frena pixies
Peak.

4ace Greelcy's Letter frsna Pike,
Peak.
The New York Tribune is at length IN re
ceipt Of Mr. Greeley's letters from the Pike
Peak gold region. The description Of III
Journey is most graphic.
He left Denver City on the 9th, and asriyin,
.. Clear Creek
I'VE lett our wagons, saddled the mules an,
forded the river and it was all our mules eoul,
do 70 stem its impetuous current-ascended
gentle grassy slope to th1efoos Of the Rock,
Mountains, which bad for an hour seemed al
most within stone throw on our left. Nov
they were to be faced directly, and the pros
pect Was really serious. The hill on which =,
were 70 make onr 6rst essay in climbing rose Il
. height of 1900 feet in . little more than
mile, the accent for most Of the distance bein.
more than one foot in three. / never befors
saw teams forced up such precipice; yet ther,
we're wagons with ten or twelve hundred weigh
OF mining toole, provisions, &C., being dragged
by four to eight yoke o. oxen up that giddy
precipice, with four or Eve men lifting at The
wheels Of each. The average time consumed
in the ascent 10 d hour and half Our mules
unused to such work, were visibly appalled, by
| IT; at FIRST they resisted every effort to force
them up even by zig-zags. Ny companions all
walked, but was lame and had to ride, to nv
mules intense disgust. He was stubborn but
| strong and in time bore me safely to the sud-
nit" p.
After toiling through the day and being
baptized in . thunder shower, our traveller
says:
Night fell upon US, while yet six or seven
miles from the diggings, and we camped in the
enge OF the pines on the brow OF . gentle ac-
ciiyisy, with&a prospect of grass as we'll as
water for our weary, hungry beasts down the
slope south of US. Mine had fallen to his knees
in the last water-course we had passed, very
near throwing me over her head; had she done
It, am sure had not the strength left to rise
and remount, and hardly to walk the remaining
haif mile. As it was, ] had to be lifted tendery
from my saddle and laid on q blanket, with two
more above me, where lsy while the fire was
built, supper prepared, and lodge of dry
poles and green pine boughs hastily put up.
was too tired to eat, but the bright Ieapipe
flame from the dry pines heaped ON our fire
gradually overcame the shvering, which was
about the only sign Of vitality showed when
hrst laid down, and l at length resumed the
perpendicular by an effort, and took my place
ia our booth, where sleep but ftfully visited ma.
during that bright short Summer night" &@
A. 6 O'Clock the next morning, the parties
were in their saddles, and soon reached "Greg~
ory's Diggings," which sare the chief hope Of
mining in the Rocky Mountains" They are To-
Gated on little brock about four miles in
length, which empties into Clear Greek.
''Gregory's lead is very near its mouth; half
mile above seems the heart of the present
mining region, though there are already sluices
in operation at intervals above them Three or
four miles southwest from the mouth are Rus
EIil rharn =.
bas was unable to visit them. Prospecting is
actively going forward in every direction, and
va que reports Of lucky hits or brilliant pros
poets. are started On this side or ON that, but l
have not been able to verify them.
n
Il presume less than half the four or Eve
thousand people now in Us ravine have been
here week; be who has been here three weeks
is regarded as quite an old settler. The influx
cans fall short of five hundred per day, bal
anced bv an effiux of about one hundred
Many Of the latter go away convinced that
Rocky Mountain gold mining is one grand hum
bug. Some OF them. have prospected two or
three weeks, eating up their provisions, wearing
out their boots-and finding nothing. Others
have worked for the more fortunate at 81 per
day and their board and lodging-cer.ainly not
high wages when the quality of the living 10
eohsiueieo' AHu Ieel certain t0et Wnlle some
perhaps many-will realize their dreams Of
wealth here, far greater number will expend
their scanty means, tax their powers of endu-
rance, and then leave, soured, heart.sick, spirit.
broken. Twenty thousand people will have
rushed into this rsvine before the lst Of Sep
tember, while do not see how half OF the mare
to find profitable employment" here. Unless,
therefore, the area of the digsings shall mean
time be greatly enlarged--ot which there is no
cannot imagine how halt the num-
Der are to subsiss hsse even u to that early
setting in of winter which must cause general
paralysis OF mining, and consequently OF all
other Rocky Mountain industry. With the gold
just wrested from the earth still glitering in my
eye-and one company has taken out to-day, at
, cost OF not more than S25, q lump condensed
bJs4he use OF quicksilver) which looks like
steelyard poise, and is estimated as worth
s5i0-l adhere to my long settled conviction
that, next to outright and indisputable gam
bling, the hardest Qhough sometimes the quick
ssD way to obtain gold is to mine for it-that
good farmer. or mechanic will usually make
money faster by sticking to his own business
han by deserting it for goldGdigging, and that
he man who, having failed in some other pur-
'uit, calculates on retrieving his fortune by gold
mining, makes a mistake which he viii be likely
20 rue to the end OF his days.