Daily Iowa State Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1859, 1859-06-17

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II IL with great pleasure that " srs en-
abled = Isy the following auth~n.ic asd
promising letters OF our specisl correspond-
emf, before the Leavenvorth public. The
vexsd problem 10 now settled. and the gold
since Of Kapsss are proven to be al thai
\ the most sanguine have anticipated.
| Prom mr. own Correspondent
| From the tesor Of my former letters your
| readers must have learned that the sub
stance Of my Communications consist Of
iacss, which to state correctly, without the
least regard % to their favorable or uBfA
vosabis character, make my sole aim -
In accordance With this. my determination
the Statements contained In the subs~q uent
iinss ere based upon reality. and represent
the result Of observations and inquiries
made on the spot, and in person. Ia order
to sati-fy the most sesupulous, suijuin .
seiies Of dat .. names Of persons and local
titles. 20 that the truth may yet be more
thoroughly tested by such a. entertain some
doubts 40 to the correctness and reliability
| Of my accounts.
closed my last letter With the remark
that reports Of rich discoveries in the val
lev Of the North Fork Of VasQuex's Fork of
the South Platte had reached this city, and
that l contemplated TRIP to the alleged
gold field for the purpose Of investig .ting
the matter. have just returned from this
mountain tour, and the following embraces
| its fruits:
On or about the 4th ult.. Mr.. J. II. Greg
ory. frlm Gordon county, Georgia, started
With patty Of seven. with . view to
thorough exploration Of the northern tribu-
tsries Of Vsequex or Clear Greek. On the
8 ult, they struck what has since been
called Quartz Creek. ct point about thirty
miles due vest Of this point, and proceeded
to handle their pans aud shovels. At .
point about three hundred feet above the
right bank Of said creek. on the north side
of an extremely steep hill, Mr.. Gregory
gathered pan Of surfsee dirt, took il down
to the water. and was rewarded for the
washing Of it by four dollars worth Of fine
dust. This, Of course, stimulated him and
the company to vigorous and extensive
prospecting. which resulted in the striking
Of bed Of sand, amidst bed Of partly
rotten and partly burnt quartz. that was
found to yield from IS to $40 to the pan.
The lead was traced over the mountains,
by dint of layers Of burnt quartz. which
were found on the surface in ortheasterly
and southwesterly direction. and every
member Of the party at once took up
elaine. At that time snow and ice was yet
plentiful in the valley. and for several days
the working Of the leads had to be delayed
in consequence of the continued blockade
of the creek by ice. None of the claims
made on the lead discovered by Mr.. Gregg
ry-from whom the diggings at once took
the name-had been worked more than six
days, and yet the yields enumerated below
have been obtained
| The news of the striking of this rich lead
soon reached this and adjoining towns, and
various prospecting parties set out, which
succeeded in discovering . number Of addi-
tional leads-the yielding Of which, / also
| give below.
During the last ten days perfect STAN
| pede has taken place from this locality, in
the direction Of the Gregory diggings. and
| FIVE thousand men are, undoubtedly, ex-
aiming at the present moment the bowels
of mother earth, in that vicinity New
leads are struck almost every day, but on
account of the locs. obstacles in the way Of
rocks, rich growth of timber and ste, pness
OF the mountain aides along which the lead
runs, etc, it will take some time, in fact,
before they will be in working order All
that has been done is comp, ised in the fol-
lowing
III. Gregory worked his claim five DAYS
and took out 81 100.
William 8. Day. John W. Zeigler, Charles
N. Zeigler. David P. Spain, Archibald De.
frees. Wilkinson Defrees and William Chess;
all formerly Of South Bend, Indiana, formed
the party that accompanied Gregory. and
had all taken claims on the lstter's lead
| The four first mentioned commenced work
ing their claims on the 25th ult, and took
out on Wednesday. 25,h, 1898; Thursday,
| 26'b, $3.50; FRIDAY, 9th. $49,; Saturday,
! 2sth. $34O, which shows an aggregate re
, suit Of four days work. amounting to ST.
| 500 The three first mentioned worked
their claim jointly five days, during which
| they realized 81 $50.
W. H. Bates, formerly Of Dubuque, Iowa;
W. $ Foster. of Council Biuffs, and Charles
flasher Of Wisconsin, prospected together
and struck lead ON the side Of . mountain,
right opposite to that on which the Gregg.
ry lead is located. which yields them on the
average. s. to the pan.
Marshal Cox and brothers work lead on
the same side Of the creek, not far from Il .
the last described, with about the same re.
enlts.
DIR. n. Is. Cas'ro and w. T. Kendall. both
from Butler County Ind.. and James Hunter
from Illinois, have worked lead not far
from the Gregory claim, with an average
result of 500 per day.
In the above the first and most favorable
strstas are enumerated. In considering the
yield Of these leads. howe. ef, it must not be
forgotten that but one Of the Indiana par
ties has had sluices to work with, while al
others worked simply with ordinary pans,
in consequences Of the impossib'lity Of pro
c ring lumber; which want. Of course, cans-
ed great waste Of the extremely small par
ticles of which the gold found along Cherry
Creek consists. And, again, it must be re-
membered that oil the owners of the ffer.
ent leads were thus far obliged to pack their
dirt in sacks on their own shoulders from
height Of several hundred feet to the water.
which Inconvenience naturally impedss
their working, and greatly reduces the dali
ly yield.
Most of the gold mentioned in the above
% having been taken out. have seen with
my own eyes and held in my own hands.
Altogether know Of abort 5000 worth
to be in the possession of different individ-
uals, all Of which was taken ont within
week. As soon - the required sluices can
be had, the daily yield Of the leads thus far
struck will certainly exceed 5000.
The gold is of the species knsvn by the
name Of quartz gold. The leads of sand are
- already stated surrounded by beds OF rot
ten and bursted quartz from the gold set
tied in the sand BY virtue Of its specific
gravity. 1t Is 20 fins that it is difficult to
perceive with the naked eye, when mixed
with the dirt 1t has to be collected with
quicksilver.
Mr.. Martin Field, the head of mail depart