Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1859-06-30
THE PIXIES PEAK MINES.
Report Of Horace Greeley and Others.


columns, the gold express from Pixies Peak
arrived at Leavensorth on Sunday evening
last, bringing $4,000 in gold and the fol-
lowing Report from Messrs. Greeley, Rich.
ardson and Willard:
GREGoRY's DIGGINGs,
Near Clear Greek in the Rocky Mountains,
e-i :~9srsT June 9th, 1859.
The undersigned none of them miners,
nor directly interested in mining, but now
here for the purpose of ascertaining and
setting forth the truth with regard to sub
ject of deep and general interest, as to
which the widest and widest diversity of
assertion 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 into Clear Creek at this
point) have witnessed the operation of
digging, transporting and washing the vein
stone. Ia partially decomposed or rotten
quartz, running in regular veins from south
west to southeast, between shattered walls
of an impure granite have seen the gold
plainly visible in the rifles of nearly every
sluice, and in nearly every pan of the rot.
ten quartz washed in our presence, have
seen gold (but rarely) visible to the naked
eye, in pieces of the quartz not fully de-
composed, and have obtained from the few
who have already sluices in operation, ac-
counts of their several products as follows:
Zeigler, Spain q Co., from South Bend,
Ind, have run sluice with some Interrupt
tion for the last three weeks; they are
four in company and one hired man. They
have out little over three thousand PEN
nyweights of gold, estimated by them as
worth. at least $4,000; their first days
work produced s21; their highest was
S495. s.l - l..g
Sopris, Henderson & Co., from Farm
ington, Ind, have run their sluice 6 days
in all, with four men-one 10 dig, one to
carry, and two to wash; four days last week
produced S607 Monday of this week $3.50;
no further reported. They have just put
in second sluice, which only began to
run this morning.
Foot d. Simmons, from Cbicago-one
sluice, run four days-two former days
produced s50-two latter promised us, but
not received. ~ ..=.f b. o.. . ...s'.
Defrees d Co., from South Bend, Ind,
have run small sluice eight days, with
the following result: First day, s66; sec
ond day, $50; third day, sos; fourth day,
1905; Tthe four following days were prom
ised us, but, by accident failed be received.
Have just sold have their claim "a full
claim is SO feet by 1907 for $4,000.
Shears d. Co., from Fort Calhoun, Ne
braska, have run one sluice the first (part
of a) day; produced $50; second (irst
fulD day, s343; third, (to-day,) $50, all
taken from within three feet of the surface;
vein foot wide on the surface, widened
to eighteen inches at depth of three feet.
Brown d Co., from DeKalb county,
Ind, have been one week on their claim
carry their dirt half mile; have worked
their sluice day and half; produced
$500; they have taken out quartz speci-
mems, containing from SO cents to SlS
each in gold; vein from 8 to 10 feet wide.
Casio, Keddall g. Co., from Butler Co.,
Iowa, reached Dover March 25th; drove
the first wagon to these diggings; have
been here FIVE weeks: worked first on
claim on which they ran a suice but one
day produced 1924, sold their claim for
S2,5OO; are now working claim on the
Hunter lead; have only sluiced one (this)
day; three employed; produced ss5. 1
y, Bates d Co.. one sluice, run half day;
produced 1925.
Coleman, King d Co., one sluice ran
hal day; produced s75.
Shorts & Collier bought our claims sew
en- days since, of Casio, Kendall & Co.,
for $4,000; $500. down, and the balance
as fast as taken out; have not yet got our
sluices into operation. Mr.. Dean, from
Iowa, on the 9th instant washed from a
single pan Of dirt taken from the claim,
ST 80; have been offered $4,000 for the
claim.
S. G. Jones & Co., from Eastern Kan
sas, have run our sluices two days with
three men; yield 1925 per day; think the
quartz generally in this vicinity is gold bear
ing, have never seen a piece crushed that
did not yield gold. .....5 .
: A. P. Wright & Co., from Elkhart co.,
Indiana; sluice but just in operation; have
not not yet ascertained its products; our
claim prospects from 25 cents to 81 25 to
the pan.
John Gregory, from Gordon County,
Ga, left home last season en- route for Fra
ger river, was detained by succession of
accidents at Fort Laramie, and wintered
there; meanwhile, heard of the discoveries
of gold on the South Platte, and started
on a prospecting tour on the eastern slope
of the Rocky Mountains early in January;
prospected in almost every valley from
the Cache la Poudre creek to Pixies Peak,
tracing many streams to their sources; ear
ly in May arrived on Clear Creek, at the
foot of the mountains, thirty miles south
east of this place; there fell in with the
Defrees q 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 prevent
ed us from prospecting far below the sur
face, but the first pan of surface dirt on
the original Gregory claim yield four dol
lars. Encouraged by this success, we all
staked out claims, found the "lead," con-
sisting of burnt quartz, resembling the
Georgia mines, in which had previously
worked. Snow and ice prevented the reg
ular working the lead till May 10th; from
then until the 23d, I worked it five days
with two hands; result, 1912; soon after |