Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1859-08-13
eREELEY's LETTERs--xv.
AN OVERLAND JOURNEY.
WESTERN CHARACTERS.
DENVER, June 81,

DENVER, June 81, 1859.
know it is not quite correct to speak
of this region as Western" seeing that it
is in fact the center of North America and
very close to its backbone. Still, as the
terms Eastern" and western" are con-
ventional relative-Castine being "West-
ern" TO Bluenose Carson Valley east
ern" to Californian take the RESPONSE
bility of grouping certain characters I have
noted on the Plains and in or about the
Mountains as Western" begging that
most respectable region which lies east OF
the Buffalo range-also that portion which
lies west of the Colorado-to excuse the
liberty.
The first circumstance that strikes a
stranger traversing this wild country is the
vagrant instincts and habits of the great
majority Of its denizens-perhaps I should
say, of the American people generally as
exhibited here. Among any ten who you
successively meet. there will be natives OF
New England, New York, Pennsylvania,
Virginia or Georgia, Ohio or Indiana, Ken
lucky or Missouri, France, Germany, and
perhaps ireland. But worse than this /:
you cannot enter a circle of dozen per-
sons of whom at least three will not have
spent some years in California, two or three
have made claims and built cabins in Kan
sas or Nebraska, and at least one spent a
year or so in Texas. Boston, New York,
Philadelphia, st. Louis, Newt Orleans, Gin
cinoati, have all contributed their quota
toward peopling the new Gold Region
The next man You meet driving an OK team,
and white as a miller with dust, is probab-
| ly an ex-bapker or doctor, broken mer-
chant or manufacturer from the old States,
who has scraped together the candle-ends
charitably or contemptuously allowed him
by his creditors on settlement, and risked
them on last desperate cast of the dice by
coming hitber. Executors, ex-printers, ex-
clerks, ex-steamboat men, are here in abun-
dance-all on the keen hunt for the gold
which only few will secure. One of the
stations at which we slept on our way up
the rough tent with cheering hope
(since blasted) of log house in the rear
future--Was kept by an ex-lawyer Of Gin
cinnati and his wife, au ex-actress from
our New York Bowery-she being cook
Omnibus drivers from Broadway repeated.
ly handled the ribbons; ex-Border Ruffians
| from civilized Kansas-some of them OF
unblessed memory-were encountered on
our way, at intervals none too long. All
these blended with veteran Mountain men.
Indians OF all grades from the tamest to
the widest, HalfBreeds, French trappers
and coyagears lwho have generally two or
three Indian wives apiece) and an occasion
al nigger, compose medley such as hardly
another region can parallel Honolulu, OF
some other part of the South Sea Islands
could probably match 1t most nearly.
The old Mountaineers form a caste by
themselves, and they prize the distinction
Some Of them are Frenchmen, OF Franco
| Americans, who have been trapping OF
trading 10 and around these mountains for
a quarter Of century, have wives and
children here, and here expect to live and
die Some Of these have accumulated pro
perty aud cash TO the value of $500, 600,
which amount will not easily be reduced,
as they are frugal in everything (liquoE
sometimes excepted, spend but a pittanct
on the clothing Of their families, trust little
keep small stocks Of goods, and sell al
large profits. Others came years ago from
the States, some Of them on account each
of difficulty" wherein they several,
killed OF savagely MANNED their respective
antagonists under circumstances on whlol
the law refuses 10 look leniently; whencl
their pilgrimage 10 and prolonged scjourI