The Council Bluffs nonpareil. [volume] (Council Bluffs [Iowa]) 1857-1867, 1859-06-25
TRUTH INDICATED. JUSTICE TRIUMPHANT


Letter from W. ii. kinsmah'
We print below the first letter received
from our correspondent, MIR. kINsNAN since
his arrival in the mining regions. He left
here, our renders will remember, in April,
and made the entire journey to the mines
on foot. After arriving at Cherry Greek,
no INN .diately set out on an expedition into
the mountain mining regions and in this let
ter he tells us what he there saw and heard.
To the many who know Mr.. klssAAS while
| resident of this city, not a single word need
bc said to convince them of his entire truth
fitness. To those who DO not know him.
we would simply say, that we believe he
would sooner cut his arm off, than write
anything that he did not fully believe to be
! true. In this letter he has s,a'e ed onl y what
he saw and heard, and those who read 1t
NAV put entire confidence in its statements.
Hero it is:
AuRARIA, X. T., June 4th, 1859.
Dear Editor-You are doubtless, ere this,
beginning to wonder what has happened to
your gold region correspondent, and don't
know but owe you and your readers an
apology for my long silence. Well, here 1t
is II heard so many conflicting reports al
ter nv arrival that concluded to 60 into the
mountains and see for myself before writing,
and now nm glad that did Sc. In COM
many with seven othcrs.l left Aurarla for the
mountain diggngs last Saturday morning,
and 20, back safe and sound last night. just
! in time for baked beans and vcnison. Our
company consisted Of ROBERT LOGAN, and
his brother FRANKLIN, of Marion County,
Iowa FRANK SrEDNAS and FRANK Arm
STRONG, of Carroll County, Illinois; l.. D..
BRAND, of Silver Creek, New York; MlSoR
RIcu,Rps, of pleasantville, Iowa JOHN
Posi-. of Cincinnati Ohio, and your ram
bling correspondent, and jolly crowd We
! vere-bound TO have q good time, "whcther
school kept or not," and with our eyes and
ears open to hear all we could. Well, MIR.
! Editor, your little, sb ,rt legs may have done
! some tall climbing in their time, but they
! arc novices in the art, and you must come
| out here and take ramble among these
young mountains before you pretend to talk
about getting up in the world; but enough
Of this at present. We had glorious time,
and saw the elephant, in all his mammoth
proportions, and of course You are all eager
/
! to know what he looked like. Now don't
start when tell you bigger stories than any
that have yet reached your ears. Don't say
! that KlxsMAN is bought to lie also, but talk a
! little to your stampeding emigration, who
went back to their homes panic-struck, -
many of them uihout seeing the mountains
at ell, and nearly all others, with hasty
glance at the country and as hasty retreat.
Mr.. Editor, am satisfied that great many
! lies were published about the gold diggings,
| in the frontier papers, during the winter,
but believe that the returning emigrants
told ten times rs many lies as were erer
published. The papers exaggerated in one
direction, the emigration in the other
Hundreds Of doeful yarns were told me on
nv way here, which have since asccrtained
to he pure fabrications. don't mean to
say that all the hard stories were lies, or
that all the returning emigrants were liars,
fur from it. But hundreds of men were lied
to go earnestly, and with so much apparent
sincerity, that they believed the stories they
heard, and in good faith told them again,
aud so kept the ball rolling. have not
time now to give you the cause of the stam-
pede; but, unless am much deceived, nine
tcnths of all those who were on their way
here, and had enough to eat for two months,
will rue the day they caught the panic, and
! turned their faces toward the Missouri.
am satisfied that there is an abundance Of
gold in the mountains, and that some men
are already making fortunes there very
rapidly, although the diggings have been
opened only few days. The "Gregory
dggings" on kcnialls fork Of Clear Creek :,
are paying best at present; but have no
doubt that other diggings will be discoyere
in very short time, that will pay as well
as them. Remember. Mr.. Editor, that am
writing my own impressions, from what |
saw and heard, and as human nature is
falIible, it is possible that the result will
not confirm these statements, but /
beliere ii wiN. 1t is possible that men
are carrying on gigantic swindle, by means
Of {" sailing" their claims in order to catch
greenhorns. 1t is possible that hundreds Of
i" iron men, who have braved the sncers
and taunts>of the returning emigration, and
gone up into the mountains, are all being
fooled on sailed" claims, but Sir, it is
not probable. l honestly believe, and l
think hundreds of other men believe with
me, that more than four dollars to the sin
rle pan, has been taken out ut the Gregory
d;nninos-that more than POUR HUNDRED
no1I,Rs has been taken from one sluice.
the product of one days labor by four men,
and that t,ro hundred and twenty fire DOL
lars were taken from another slulce, last
Wednesday, at noon, the product OF one
half days labor by four men. These are
large figures, but believe that these claims