Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1859-07-30
oREELEY,s LETTERS.
AN OVERLAND JOURNEY.
XI. THE KANSAS GOLD DIGGINs.
In THE Rocky MOUNTAINS.
Gregorv's Diupinps. June Q 80

In THE Rocky MOUNTAINS, ,
Gregory's Diggings June 8, SO.
We left Denver at 6 yesterday morning.
in wagon drawn by four mules, crossing
by a rope ferry the south fork of the Platte
directly. This fork is swift, clear, cold
stream, some thirty rods wide, fordable ex-
cept when SHOWS are melting in the noun
tains. Many gold-Seekers' wagons we're
waiting to cross, and more were momenty
Iarriving, so that the ferryman at least must
be making his pile out of the diggings.
Henceforward, our way lay northwest for
fifteen miles across rolling and we'll grass
cd prairie, on which one or two farms had
been commenced, while two or three per-
sons have Just established "ranches"-that
is, have built each his corral, in which cat
tie are herded at night, while allowed to
run at large on the prairie during the day:
81 80 per month is the usual price per head
for herding in this way, and the cattle are
said to do very we'll The miners leave or
send back their cattle to herd on these pra-
ries, while they prosecute their operations
in the mountains, where feed is generally
scarce.
Reaching Clear Creek, a cold, swift,
rocky bottomed stream, which energies Just
above deep narrow canon from the Rocky
Mountains-we left our wagons, saddled
the mules and forded the creek-and it was
all our mules could do to stem its impetu-
ous current - assembled a gentle, grassy
slope to the foot of Rocky Mountains
which had for an hour seemed almost with
in stone throw. Now they were to be
faced directly, and the prospect was really
serious. The<hill on which we were to make
our first essay in climbing rose to height
of 1,600 feet in little more than q mile,
the ascent for most of the distance being
more than one foot in three. | never be-
fore sew teams forced up such precipice !;
yet there were wagons with ten or twelve
hundred weight of mining tools, provisions,
&c, being dragged by four to eight yoke
of oxen up that giddy precipice, with four
or five men lifting at the wheels of each.-
The average time consumed in the ascent
is an hour and half Our mules, unused
to such work, were visihly appalled, by it;
at first, they resisted every effort to force
them up, even by zigzags. My companions
all walked, but | was lame and had to ride,
to my mules intense disgust. He was stub
born but strong, and in time bore me safe
ly to the summit. New as this rugged road
is-it was first traversed Eve weeks ago to-
day.
We travelled some two miles along the
crest of this mountain, then descended, by
q pitch equally sharp with the ascent but
shorter, to a raviue, in which we rested our
weary animals and dined. That dinner
of cold ham, bread and cheese-was one
of the best ever relshed Of any ever shar.
ed. Resaddling, we climbed another pre-
cipice little less steep-and so up and
down for ten miles, when we descended in
to the narrow valley of little branch of
Clear Creek, and thenceforward had ten
miles of relatively smooth going, crossing
from one valley to another over hills of
moderate elevation and easy ascent
A wilderness of mountains rose all around
us, some higher, some lower, but generally
very steep, with sharp, narrow ridges for
their SUBMITS. Some of them are thinly
grassed between widely scattered trees up
their sides and on their tops, but they are
generally timbered, and mainly with Vel
low Pine, some of it quite large. but more
VI ~ oulhii ohh uppolOubiJ 9OuuSs lllSu
on the mountains this pine is short and
scraggy, while in the ravines it grows tall
and sharply, but averages not more than
foot in diameter. Hurricanes have fire.
quently swept these mountains, prostrating
the pines 10y scores; fires have ravaged &
decimated them; still, pines on the SUBMITS,
pines on the hillsides, pines even in the ra-
vines, are all but universal The Balsam
Fir grows sparngly in the rayines; Hem
lock, also, is reported, though / have not
seen it; but the Quaking Asp or Aspen
which seems but a more delicate species of
Cotton woods thick set in the raVines,
and sometimes appears on the more moder-
ate activities, as do gooseberry bushes in
the ravines Brooks of the purest water
murmur and sing in every ravine; springs
abound the air is singularly pure aud brac-
ing; the Elk, black k-taied Deer and Noun
tain Sheep are plentiful, except where dis
turbed by the thrush of emigration; Grouse
are common and bold: the solitude was syl-
van aud perfect until few weeks ago.
All is now being rapidly changed, and not
entirely for the better.
Night fell upon US, while yet six OF seven
miles from the diggings, and we camped 10
the edge Of the pines on the brow of O
gentle accivity, with a prospect of grass
as well as water for our weary, hungry
beasts down the slope south Of us. Mine
had fallen to his knees in the last water
course we had passed, very nearly throwing
me over her head; had she done it, am
sure had not the strength left to rise and
remount and hardly TO walk tbe remaining
half mile, As it was, | had to be lifted
tenderly from my saddle, aud laid on
blanket, with two more above me, where
lay while the FIRE was built, supper prepar'
ed, and lodge Of dry poles aud green pine
boughs hastily put up. was too tired TO
eat, but the bright, leaping fame from th'
dry pines heaped on our fire gradually over
came the shiyering, which was about th'
only sign of vitality | showed when frs
laid down, and at length resumed th
perpendicular by an effort, aud took NJ