Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1859-06-25
rur prrr,s rrAK MINES.

Leavenworth on Sunday evening last, brissing
s2,5OO in gold and the following Report from
Messrs Greeley, Richardson and Willard
GREeoRYs DIeerNes,
Near Clear Creek in the Rocky Mountains,
June eth, 1859.
The undersigned, none Of them miners, nor
directly interested in mining, but now here for
the express purpose of ascortaining and setting
forth the truth with regard to a subject OF deep
and general interest, as to which the widest ana |
widest diversity of assertion and opinion is
known TO exist, unite in the following state
ment
We have this day personally visited nearly
all the mines or claims already opened m TINS
valley, Chat Of o little stream running into
Clear Greek at this point) have witnessed the
operation Of digging, transporting and washing
the vein stone, "a partially decomposed OF rot
ten quartz, running in regular veins from south
west TO north east, between shattered walls OF
an impure granite) have seen the gold plainly
visible in the rifles of nearly every sluice' and
i'm nearly every pan Of the rotten quartz washed
in our presence, have seen gold (but rarely) vls
ibe to the naked eye, in pieces of the quartz
not vet fully decomposed, and have obtained
from the few who have already sluices IN ope-
ration, accounts Of their several products as
follows:
Zeigler Spain & Co from South Bend, Ind,
, have run a sluce, with some interruption, for
+ the last three weeks they are four in company
and one hired man They have out little over
three thousands pennyweights OF gold, estima
, ted by them as worth at least S3,OuO their
fret DAVIS work produced S2l; their highest
> was S495.
Sopris, Henderson & Co., from Pennington,
/. Ind have run their sluioe days in all, with
four men-one to Dig one to carry, and two to
4 wash, four days last week produced s6O7i Mon
= day of this week $3.50; no further reported
!, They have Just put in second sluice, which
Z only began to run this morning.
i Foot & Simmons, from Ohicago-one slulee,
: run four days-tw6 former days produced 500
4 two latter promised us, but not received.
II Defrees q Co. from South Bend, Ind have
, run a small sluice eight days, with the follow
y ing result: First day, SGT; second day, SSOi
third day, S95; fourth day, S305; 1.-THE four fol
lowing days were promised us, but by accident
A, failed to be received Have just sold half their
claim IA full claim is so feet by l0O) for $4,000
5. Shears & Co, from Fort Calhoun, Nebras.
ka, have run one sluice the first (part of a) day;
= produced $50; second (frst full day, S343;
third, (to-day,) $50, all taken from within
Al three feet of the surfaee vein foot wide on the
n surface; wiIened to eighteen inches at depth
ir of three feet
= - Brown Il Co, from DeKalb county, Ind
n have been one week on their claim; carry then
and half produced $780, they have taken out
. quartz specimens containing from so cents tC
4 $I3 each in gold; vein from to 10 feet wide.
~ Casto Keddall d Co from Butler county
Iowa, reached Denver March 25th; drove the
- first wagon to these diggngs; have been here
- five weeks; worked first on a claim ON which
they ran sluice but one day; produced 1928
~, sold their claim for $4,000; are now working
= claim on the Hunter lead have only suceC
4, mar
ss5.
of Bates d Co., one sluice, run half day; pro
n. duced Sl25.
Il CoIman, King d Co., one sluice, ran half
day; produced S75.
Shorts d Collier bought our claims sever
m days since, of Casio, Kendall d Co, for S25OO
on $500 down. and the balance as fast as taken out
he have not yet got our slulces INTO operation
Mr. Dean from Iowa, on the 9th instant washe
from a single pan of dirt taken from the claim
SI7 80; have been offered $4,000 for th
claim.
u s. G. Jones d Co., from Eastern Kansas
8 have run our sluices two days with three men
rs WELD 1925 per day; think the quartz general
in this vicinity is gold bearing have never see
IS. a piece crushed that did not yield gold.
g A. P. Wright & Co, from Elkhart county
' Ind sluice but Just in operations; have not ye
81 ascertaiued its products; our claim prospect
It from 25 cents to 81 25 to the pan.
MS left home last season reg' rtfG9dRn fqgptY, Ne
III was detained by succession Of accidents q
eu' Fort Laramie, and wintered therei meanwhile
heard of the discoveries of gold on the SOut
a Platte, and started on a prospecting tour o.
me- the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, earl
= in January prospeeted in almost every vallel
we from the Cache Ia POudre creek to Pixies Peak
M tracing many streams to their sources early il
mt Nav arrived on Clear Creek, at the foot of th
mountains, thirty miles south east of this place
there fell in with the Defrees d Zeigler lndianj
.R Companies, and VIM. Fouts, of Missouri; WI
~ all started up Clear Creek, prospecting; arrived
= in this vicinity May s the ice and snow pre-
ou vented us from prospecting far below the sur
ed face, but the first pan of surface dirt ON thu
er original Gregory claim yielded four dollars. En-
nj cOuraged by this success, we all staked out
'u claims, found the "lead, f." consisting of burn
OK quartz, resembling the Georgia mines, in which
Ie, | had previously worked. Snow and ice pre-
ed vented the regular working Of the lead till MAJ
- 10Th from then until the 23d, worked it five
- days with two hands, result, S972 soon afte
ne l sold my two claims for $2l 900, the parties
buying to pay me, after deducting their expen
ses, ali they take from the claims to the amoun
e. of $500 per week, until the whole is paid -
60 Since that time have been prospecting fol
!, other parties, at about $500 per day. Have
~ struck another lead on the opposite side of the
ry valley from which | washed S IA out of sin
is gle pan.
Some forty or fifty sluices commenced are
not yet in operation, but the owners inform NJ
III that their prospecting" shows from 10 cents
We to So TO the pan. As the 'leads" are all founC
e. on the hills, many of the miners construct
ing trenches TO carry water to them, instead o
building their sluices in the ravines and carry
b. ing the dirt thither in wagons or sacks. Many
e, persons who have come here without provisions
or money, are compelled to work as common
sborers at from 81 to SO per day and board
ed until they can procure means of sustenance fo
- the time necessary to prospecting, building
80 sluices, &c. Others not finding gold the thir,
w day, OF dsliking the work necessary to Obtain
w it, leave the mines in disgust after very shor
ia trial, declaring there is no gold here in payini
80 quantities. II should be remembered that tn
discoveries made thus far are the result of bu
ee five weeks labor.
In nearly every instance, the gold is estima
ted by the miners as worth $40 per ounce
which, for gold collected by quicksilver is Ger
al tainly high valuation, though this Is undOubt
ice edy of very great purity. The reader can re
IL duce the estimate if he sees at We have n
data on which to act in the premises.
q. The wall-rock is generally shattered, 80 tina
d. IT, like the vein. stone, is readily taken out wit
To- the pisk and shovel. In a single instance onl
,,s did we hear Of wall-rock too hard for this.
J, Of the ein.stone probably not more tina
iu- one-half is so decompOsed that the gold can
washed from it. The residue of the quartz
Il Ia O. fI,a eiuieaa and VUpd IN Il