St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1860-07-26

Pixies Peak Letter.
UREKA GULCH, Kansas Territory
lt.i.

CREhA bCLCIl, Kansas territory,
June 2ith, 1860.
FRIEND IIUNrLEY-Dcdr Sir Il am
we'll, and | think have q tolcrably
fair prospect Of making money,
though it is extremely hard to tell
with any degree Of certainty. We
have been at work in lead, or quartz
claim, one week, and old miners say
we are doing we'll There are three
quartz mills going up within so rods
of our lead, and they will all be in
operation within ten days and when
we get few cords crushed, we shall
know what we are making. There
are nine men in our company, which
leaves me and my two hands one
third Of all we make there are four
of us here and five at the Boulder
Diggings," near Harrington Il Cos,
about 20 miles from this place.
| understand that our company
have succeeded in securing two good
water powers, at Boulder, which will
be very valuable myself and the
three hands here will, in ten or twelve
days more, complete the work for the
claim we are working at here, and we
are to have choice Of ends Of the
the claim, which think we can sell
readily for $500. found and secured
claim yesterday that can have
800 for today, but shall hold on for
$500. We are at no expense of any
consequence, and as we have plenty
of provisions, we can stand it all
summer, if we make nothing. We
have good weather, good water and
good hcalth. We are only about II
miles from snow in the mountains :;
one mile from the Gregory Diggins, or
Mountain City "a miles from Golden
City, and 40 miles from Denver
| meet acquaintances here daily
from various parts Of the States, who
are generally ready and willing to
impart any information they have,
though it is not so, generally, with
strangers. 1t is astonishing to see
the amount of labor that has been
performed here, in the short space of
time since the opening Of these mines.
There arc building mills and quartz
crushcrs crowded along these small
streams for several miles, and people
are passing like crowded city. Pro-
visions and merchandise are very high.
Flour is from $l5 to SIS per 100 lbs.;
bacon, 25 cts; beans, l5 cts. per h.;
potatoes, 10 cts. per h.; beef from 10
to l5 cts. per lb.; common coarse
boots from 800 to $500; common
calicocs, % cts. per yard iron and
nails % cents per lb.: blasting pow
der from 60 to rs cts. per b.; com
mon labor from $3.50 to $3.50 per
day mechanics labor, if they have a
good set Of tools, from $500 to $500
per day and every thing is brisk
and lively.
We are told here that men can mine
here in winter as we'll as summer :;
that the winters are mild, and mon
can work in the quartz leads comfort
ably, and | am inclined to believe the
tales. There is probably at least
800 or 600 quartz crushing machines
within three miles Of this place, whilst
the mountains are filled with them for
many miles further. Feed for stock
is very short in this region Of the
mountains, though in the valleys
about % miles from here it is eX-
tremely good ; consequently we have
plenty of good beef in market con-
stantly. Stock of all kinds sells for
about Floyd county prices. Any man
that comes here, thinking TO make
money easy, must have capital and
be q good trader. But men that can
stand hard work and hard fare, and