New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-06-28

ard rock -bottcned 40 where we c'ossed il the day
before thirty miles below, bnt Nth only one-third
the volume Of water. SO tba. we crossed it easily
without wet fsot. l'tle runnel coming n
from The west directly st the ford, with It's n,turil
tr4n.locepcy changed - milky wilderness by tire
running of is waters through sluces in which tie
process Of sold-~a5 ing ~ss going forward, s've
VA assurance tat we were in immediate proximity
70 the new but already famous workings called,
after their di'c' ,yerer, " Gregorys diggioss.'
shall not here speak Of their pecunsry success
OF promise, though have vi,iied during tie day,
a majority Of those which have slaices already IN
operation and received reports fro-; my fellow
visitors from nearly all the others. Having united
with .bsm 10 s,atemeDt-to De herewith io''
wsrSed-of " hat We saw and Learned, | refer Those
VIE feel any interest in the matter - thu, state
rncpt. What propose here TO d. is TO give tae
reader some idea of tie place ard its general as
.pects.
The little brook which here joins Clear Creek
from the west starts at the foct Of mJul,1ns three
or four miles distant, aud Ilgs in usa1ly mario"
rayne between generally steep hills from 800 to
I,5OO feet high. 1t is hardly worth name, but
that Of Rol.tOns Fork has been bestowed on It
Gregory's lead is very near It's mouth; half mile
above seems the heart Of the present mining region,
though there are already sIuces in operation at IN
tervols for at least 80 mile, up the FORK and ON
ers are soon ~ b. Started at intervals above them.
Three or foar miles south west from the mouth, are
Rnsselrs digengs where coarse god Is procured,
but ] was unable 10 visit them. Prospecting Is
actively going forward in every direction, and
sgue reports Of lucky hits or brilliant prospects are
started OF this side or on that but have not been
able 10 verify them II is no dspara cement TO the
otfers to say tbst though mining is carried on at
various points within radius Of thirty miles from
this spot "Gregory's 6iegings" are to-day the
chief hope Of gold mining in the ROCKY Mountains.
Six weeks ago, this rsviDe was a solitude, the
fay )rie haunt OF The Elk, the Deer and other shy
denjzeDs of the profouDdest wildefnesses, seldom
invaded by the footsteps of man. l believe this
strip of country has long been debltable land be-
tween the Utes and the Arapaboes which circum-
stance combined with it's rarely accessible situation
70 secure lis wild tenants against human Intrusion
snd per.ecution. j bear that the Arapahoes say
tina. q good lodge pole trail that is, one which
Ii pony may traverse with one end OF the ledge
pole on his bacb, the other trailing behind him
exists from this point to the open prairie near
Clear Creek-a trail which dOub less winds along
the steep sides of the raynes and avoids the rugged
nights nee, ssariy traversed by the miners wagon
road Should these diggiDgs justify their present
PROMISE doubt not road viii in time be made,
reducing by one Raif-say 5000 feet-the present
aggregate of ascent and descent between this and
Denver But an unwOrked wagon-road must
avoid the sides Of these steepbanked ravines, run
ming square up the faces and along the crests OF the
mountains, SO that this spot is destined to renain
barely accessible for 1T least another year
This narrow valley is densely wooded, mainly
with the inevitable Yellow Pine, which, sheltered
from the fierce winds which sweep the mountain
tops, here grows to hight of sixty or eighty feet
though usually bot foot to eighteen inches in d.
ameter OF these pines, log cabins are constructed
with extreme facility, and probably one hundred
are now being built, while three or four
hundred more are in immediate contemplation
They are covered with the green boughs of the
pines, then with earth, and bid fair to be commo-
dious and comfortable. As yet, the entire popula
four thousand, including five white women and
seven squaws living with white men-seep in tents,
or under booths of pine bOughs, cooking
and eating in the open air. doubt
that there is as yet a table chair
il these diggiDgs, eating being done around cloth
spread on the ground, while each one sits or re-
clines On mother earth 10 enjoy The food, like
that of the Plains is restri,ted TO few staples
Pok, Hot Bread, BeaDs and Coffee forming the
almost exclusive diet Of the mountiins; bu' meat
shop has just been established, on whose altar are
of. red up the ifed and well.whpped oxen who are
Just in from fifty days journey across the Plains,
and ore or tao cows have been driven in, as more
would be if they could here been subssted. But
these III, untans mainly wooded, while the open
hil-sdes are SO dry during Summer that their grass
is very scanty. 1t is melancholy 10 see many over
worked and balfstaryed cattle as one meets or
passes in this rovne and on the way hitler
Corn is 50 per bushel in Denver, and scarce
at that; Oats are not TO be had; there is
not tun of Hay within two hundred mles, and
ncle can ever be brought hither over the present
Iosd at cost below $40 per tun. The present
shift of humane owners is TO herd their oxen or
mules The rich grass of the nearest prairies for
a week or so letting them subsst on browse and a
very little grass, and then send them down the
mountain again. This bad as il IT, seems the best
that can be done. Living Of all kinds will always
be dear at these mines, where Americas Flour Is
now selling at the rate of Sii per barrel and Bacon
is worth soc. per pound; Sugar ditto.