Nebraska advertiser., 1859-06-16


On or about the 4th ult., Mr.. j. II.
Gregory, from Gordon county, Georgia,
started with a party Of sevens with a view
to a thorough exploration Of the Northern
tributaries of Vasquer or Clear Greek.
On the 9Th ult3 they struck shat has slnce
been called Quariz Creek, 81 2 polntabcpt
thirty miles due West Of tbs pcin and
proceeded to handle their pans apd bowels.
At a point about three hundret fee ab0rs
The right bank Of said creek, on the North
side of an extremely steep hill, Mr.. Greg
DRY gathered a pan of surface dirt took
t down to the wafer, and was rewarded
or the washing Of it by four dollars worth
.0f fine dust. This, Of course stimulated
him and company to Vi gorons and extern
sTve prospecting which resulted ~ strlk-
ing a bed Of sand, amidst a bed Of part
ly burnt quartz that was found q yield
from SIS 10 S10t To the pam The lead was
traced over the mountain, dy dint of lay
ers Of burnr quartz, which were found on
the Northeastern and South-westeTly de
r~ection, and every member of the party at
once took up claims. AT that time snow
and ice were yet plentiful il 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.. Gregory-frOm whom
the diggings at once took their 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, soonreached this and adjoining towns
and various prospecting parties set out,
which succeeded in discovering a number
Of additional leads-the yielding Of which
I also give below.
During the last ten daysa perfect stam-
pede has taken place from this locality, in
the direction of the Gregory diggings,
and five thousand men are, undoubtedly,
examining at the present moment the
bowels of mother earth, in that vicinity.
New leads are.struck almost every day,
but on account of the local obstacles in the
way Of rocks, rich growth of timber and
steepness of the mountain-sides along
which the leads run, etc. it will take some
time before they will be in fact, working
order. All that has been done is COM
prised in the following:
]. III. Gregory worked bis claim five
days and took out $l,l00.
Wm. S. Day John w. Zeigler, iChas.
M, Zeigler, David P. Spain, Archibald.
Defrees, Wilkinson Defrees and VIM.
Chess; all formerly of South Bend, Ind,
formed the party that accompanied Greg
DRY, and had all taken claims on the lat
ter's lead. The four first mentioned COM
menced working their claims on the 25th
ult., and took out on Wednesday, 25th,
1896; Thursday, 26th, $3.50; Friday,
9th, 1895; Saturday, 28th, $40, which
shows an aggregate result of four days
work, amounting to $3.50. The three
last mentioned worked their claims jointly
five days, during which they realized
$1,150.
w. II. Bates, formerly Of Dubuque,
Iowa, w. S.. Foster, of Council Bluffs, and
Chas. flasher, of Wisconsin, p~rospected
together and struck a lead on the side of
a mountain. rightopposite to that on which
the Gregory lead is located, which yields
them on the average SIS to- the pan.
Marshall Cox and brothers work lead
on the same side Of the creek, not far
from the last described, with about the
same results.
DIR. D. b. Castro and w. T. Kendall,
both from Butler county, Ind, and James
Hunter, from Illinois, have worked a lead
not far from the Gregory claim, with an
average result of 500 per day.
In the above the frstand most favorable
stratas are enumerated. In considering
the yield Of these leads, however, it must
not be forgotten that but one Of the In
diana parties has had sluices to work with
while all others worked simply with ordi-
nary pans, In consequence of the impossi-
bility of lumber; which want, of course,
caused a great waste of the extremely
small particles of which the gold found
along Cherry Creek consists. And again
it must be remembered that all the owners
of the different leads were thus far
obliged to pack their dirt in sacks on their
own shoulders from a height of several
hundred feet to the water, which incon-
venience naturally impedes their working
and greatly reduces the daily yields.
Most of the gold mentioned in the
above as having been taken out, / have
seen with my own eyes and held with nv
own hand. Altogether ! know Of about
$1,000 worth to be in the possession Of
different individuals, all of which was
taken out within a week. AS soon as the
required sluices can be had, the daily Weld
of the leads thus far struck will certainly
exceed Sc, 900.
The gold is Of the species known by
the name Of quartz gold. The leads Of
sand are, as already stated, surrounded
BY beds Of rotten and bursted quartz, from
which the gold settled in the sand by vir-
tue Of its specific gravity. 1t is so fine
that it is difficult TO perceive with the
naked eve when mixed with the dirt. Il
has to be gathered with quicksilver.
Mr.. Martin Field, the head of the
mail department of the Express Company,
the diggings simultaneously with
me. AT the Jackson diggings he bought
small lump Of gold Of d miner, that is
at 81, and at the Gregory's he
out a pan Of dirt taken from The
49, N