The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-07-25
GREELEY AT PIXIES PEAK.

The rival cities of Denver and Auraria front on
each other from either bank Of Cherry Greek, just
before it is lost in the South Platte The Platte
has its sources in the South Park of the Rocky
Mountains, hundred miles S. w. of this point,
but Cherry Creek is headed of from them by that
river, and, winding its northward course of forty
or fifty miles the Plains, with its sources barely
touching the Mountains, is capricous stream,
quite smartly when we came here, but whose broad
and thirsty sands have since drank it all up at this
point, leaving the log foOt-bridges which connect
the two cities useless ice-house in Novem-
Der. The Platte, aided by the melting of the SHOWS
on the higher mountains, runs nearly full-banked,
though the constant succession of hot suns and and
dry winds begins to tell upon it, while Clear Creek,
/ iprnperly Nasquer's Fork which issues directly
/ from the mountains just above its crossing on the
way to the Gregory Diggings, is nearly at its high
est and will remain till the inner mountains are
mainly denuded of their snowy mantles But,
within few days. foot bridge has been complet-
| ed over the Platte virtually abolishng the ferry
and saving considerable time and money to gold
| seekers and travellers, while another Clear
! Creek precludes not only delay but danger-sever-
/ al wagons having been wrecked and two or three
men all but drowned in attempts to ford its rapid,
rocky current. Thus the ways of the adventurous
grow daily smoother, and they who visit this re-
gion ten years hence will regard idle tales the
stories of privaton, impeachment and chair breadth
'scapes' which are told or might be, by the gold
seekers of 1859. ..
Of these rival cities, Auraria is by far the more
venerable-some of its structures being, think,
| fully year old if not more. Denver, the other
hand, can boast of no antiquity beyond Sc TENDER
| or October last In the architecture of the two
cities there is notwithstanding, striking similar-
| ty-cottonwood logs, cut from the adjacent bottom
| of the Platte, and roughly hewed on the two per-
pendcular sides, and chinked with billets of split
cottonwood on the inner and with mud on the outer
side forming the walls OF nearly quite every
edifce which adorns either city. Across the centre
of the interior, from shorter wall to WALL stretches
sturdy ridge-pole, usually in state of nature,
from which ''shOoks" split saplings of cotton
wood, their split sides down, incline gently to the
transverse or longer side;; on these tin the more
finished structures) coating of earth is laid, and,
with chimney of mud-daubed sticks in one corner,
door nearly opposite, and hole beside it repre-
senling or prehguring window, the edihce is com
plete. Of course, many have earth on their
covering of Shocks and so are liable to gentle mum
dation in the rainy season; but though We have
bad thunder and lightning almost daily, with
brisk gale IN most instances they have had no rain
worth naming such here for weeks, and the
chnked, barely shook-covered houses, through
whose sides and roofs you may the stars as you
lie awake nights, decidedly the cooler and arier
There is a new hotel nearly finished in Auraria,
which has q second story floor; beside this, mine
eyes have yet been blessed with the sight of
any floor whatever in either Denver or Auraria.-
The last time slept or ate with floor under me
(our wagon-box and mother earth excepted) was
at Junction City, nearly four weeks ago. The
"Denyer House. which is the Aston House of the
gold region, has walls of logs, a floor of earth,
with windows and roof of rather fmsy cotton
sheeting, while every guest is allowed as good a
bed his blankets will make. The charges are no
higher than at the Aston and other irstclass hotels,
except for liquors. cents a drink for dubious
whiskey, colored and nicknamed to suit the taste of
customers, being the regular rate throughout this
region.
had the honor to be shaved there by a nephew
$50 as he assured meg of Murat, Bonapartes King
of Napes-the honor and the shave together cost
ing but paltry dollar. STILL few days Of such
luxury surfeited me, mainly because the drinking
room was also occupied by several blacklegs as a
gambling hell, and the ncessant clamor of "Who'll
go me Xxx? ''The ace of hearts is the winning
. card Whoever turns the of hearts wins the
S20, &c. &c, persisted in at all hours up to mid
night, became at length nuisance, from which
craved deliverance at any price. Then the visitors
of that drinking and gambling room had a careless
way, when drunk, of firing revolvers, sometimes at
each other, at other times quite mscellaneously,
which struck me as inconvenient for quiet guest
with only leg and half, hence in poor condition
for lodging bullets So left
Chow do you live in Denver? ?" | inquired of a
New York friend some weeks domiciled here in
whose company | visited the mines. 80, Eve
jumped cabin" was his cool, matterof-course re-
ply. As jumping cabin was rather beyond my ex-
perience inquired further, and learned that find
ing cabin deserted and teuantess that suited him,
he had quietly entered and spread his blankets eat
, ing at home or abroad as opportunity might sug
gest. found, on further inquiry, that at lie st
third OF the in habitants in Denver and Auraria
were desolate when came here (they have been
gradually filling up since); some OF the owners
having gone into the mountains, digging or pros
goods along with them, while others, discouraged
) by the poor show of mining six weeks ago, wheI
even the nearer mountains still covered with
and ice rushed pell-mell down the Platte with
the wild retuX OF the spring emi grafton, abandon
ing all but what they could carry away. 1t is said
that lots and cabins together sold for $3.50 long
as there purchasers; but, these soon failing
they left behind like camp-fires in the morn
ing, and have since been at the service of al
Corners.
} &c. in company with a journalizing friend,
too, have g jumped a cabin and have kept to i
quite closely, under a doctors care, for the las
week ten days. 1t is about ten feet square anG
eight feet high, rather too well chinked for sum
mer, considering that it lacks window, but must
house for this country in winter | board with
the nearest neighbOr, and it is not my andlady':
fault that the edible resources of Denver de-
cidrdly limited But these are improving
To the bread bacon and beans, which formed the
staple of every meal short time ago, there have
t been served recent additions. Milk, VIII oh wa!
last week twenty-five cents per quart, is now dowI
to ten, and hear rumor that eggs, owing to a
recent increase in the number of hens, within five
hundred miles, from or five to twelve or fifteen
, are about to fall from dollar a dozen to fifty
cents. On every side note signs of progress
8 mprovement-manitest destiny-there was mar
about the city yesterday with lettuce to sel-anC
l am credibly assured that there will be green peas
next month-actually green peas provided i
should rain soakingly meantime, whereof hay
lowering sky would seem just now to afford some
4 hope. Up. S.-The hope has vanshed.) But !
t already sadly behind and nearly able to trave
again, must turn my back on this promise of lux
, uries, and take the road to Laramie to-day or a
, furthest, tomorrow. Fl. G.
MATRJMONIAI CRIMES