White Cloud Kansas chief. [volume] (White Cloud, Kan.) 1857-1872, 1859-05-26
THE GREAT KxpLOsToN.


exploded. and the rush back is immense.
Our town is full of returned miners, as
are all the other towns along the river. A
majority of them are destitute Of money.
and they arc so numerous, that there is
no work for them. Many Of them are
perfectly desperate, and we daily hear OF
threats made against the principal outfit
ting points. An immense amount Of
suffering prevails among the returning
miners and the same melancholy report
reaches us from beyond Fort Kearney,
and all along the route. Some of the
papers that published the biggest stories
to get up an excitement, are now filled
with discouraging reports, since they find
that peoples eyes are open. and that they
can no longer be duped. But they can
never remedy the mischief they avedone.
Men have have left their business, deserted
their families, mortgaged their farms to
procure outfits, and risked their health
and lives, all in consequence Of the rep
reservations made by these papers. Can
any one wonder that they arc incensed,
when they discover that they have been
humbugged ?
Tho disappointed gold-hunters have
commenced hanging and shooting the
persons at the mines, who have sent forth
false reports. A number have been hung
and shot, and all is uproar in the direc-
ton Of the mines. Wagons pass through
here daily, on their way from the mines,
and all the roads are lined with them.
Hundreds have been turned back before
reaching Fort Kearney. These are SELL
ing off their groceries, provisions and
outfits, at st. Louis wholesale prices
Excellent -four has boon sold for $3.50
per sack. Sugar, coffee. bacon. dried
fruit, beans. &c, are being sold extremely
low. The boats from above are crowded
with returning miners. The steamers
q. w. Sombart, VIM. Campbell, Hes
perian and John Warner, during the past
and present week, were literally alive
with them. Perhaps the merchants o
some Of the towns along the river car
make another speculation off of theil
dupes, by purchasing back. at less thar
, half cost, the outfits they sold them al
high prices.
Several papers, we see, are abusing
those who return thinking. perhaps
they ought to stay there and starve, il
!, order not to Brighten others from going
They are also reporting the arrival of mel
from the mines, bringing from $500 t.
81 500 in dust. But most of these sto
ries, we see, are being fatty contradictet
by persons who knoD them to be false.
! While so much suffering and disap
, pointment are being experienced, it i
with feelings of qualification we remembe
3 that we have not been instrumental il
, causing them, and that our town has KEEP
5 out of the business of humbugging per
sons into going to the mines. We hav,
never advised any one to go to the mines
, and our merchants have never advertised
0 Quitting goods for sale. OF all the pa
t pers published west Of the Missouri River
| ours is the only one that pronounced tn,
r mines humbug and of all the paper
published in towns on the eastern banl
of the river, the Forest City Monitor, W,
believe, is the only one that did not joir
in the humbug. For the course we took
we were sneered at by the press, and b,
portion Of the public. We were toll
that perhaps we were right, and everybod,
else wrong. notwithstanding the evidenc,
: of reliable men, who had been to tn
: mines ; that we were wiser than the bal
ance of the people; that We ought Il
keep still, or we would stop the emigra
; ton; and similar haunting stuff. Will
e we do not rejoice at the disappointment
: Of the thousands who have been duped
yet we can indulge our qualification at tn
explosion of the humbug. Numerou
letters were sent us, asking what we mean
: by attempting to throw cold water upo
o the gold fever-that we would iniure th
prosperity Of our town, and so on. w
a preferred to go slowly and honorably
J, rather than create a brief rush, by mean
: Of humbug. We opine a number o
i towns will be sick of the notoriety whic
J. the gold excitement gave them.
e When the gold discovery was first an
It nounced, we thought it might be true
' and therefore said nothing to the contrary
t But things soon began to look suspicious
Q and any person disposed to examine int
g the thing honestly. could not fail to per
4 ceive something lame in the stories sen
forth to the world. From that time on
we have not ceased to pronounce it q hum
q bug of the mcanest kind; and it is
{ matter of pride to learn that we hav
{ been the means Of keeping scores at home
q r.. u II l. Al 4