The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1860-08-11
11oCxrArH CrxY, Js1efson Territory,
I'll JulY 22d. 1860.

Il
chs cd the dilasent nembers of ~ B. g. CO. 70 y
eat then shout uAatssrs and things in general. :,
iar f;sne being sasher ..srs,re,rI have eoocladed
OF answer al Inquiries % far = am able throaC
lys the colanus Of the Hawk-Eyc. We had ! "a
10 but yaatrr pleasant journey of eight weeks fro
he Bnrlingtos V beaver, without the jarting y
iie quarrelli1g that some men seem to consider =
er- cessafy ~hcn they depart from civilization.
he Crossisg the plains BY the South Platas roat
IN many Of your readers are familiar with; fos q
on the bendit Of those who have no personal exp
he rence, Iwould aay that they WIN have 70 trav,
lst throughthe most God and aan-fossakcn counts
le, this side of the desert Of Sahafs.i For eight
miles west Of Plattsmouth there Il tract Of 6n
be agricalaral land, bat striking the Platte abou
ht Elm ceek, you CONS into region which 81
be tends % the Rocky mountains consisting of hin
no and plains Of sand almost destitute Of vegetato,
and Only allowing the cactus to thrive in the lii
n tie hoaows and depressioas between the hillss-
= Along the Platte to O'Fallons Bluffs, there is
is rich bottom from half mile to four miles broad
n with ienty Of timber. even 70 supply The grea,
It emigration which has been crossing the pas,
'e season; from the Bluffs 70 Fremont's Orchard Z
'e 6stsnce u two hundred miles, the traveller haa
70 carry his wood, and drive his team across the
river or on to IN island for grass; such coun-
try can never be inhabited, and my ideas Of the
completion Of the Pacific Railroad have been in
definitely prolonged into the future Il will Be
long indeed before any company will be enter
pnsing or rich enough to build road over 500
= miles Of country that will never give them way
!, freight Of ten dollars : mile per year.
This barren, sandy waste extends to Denver
City and in part to the mountains, 50 that this
cssn.ry viii forever be dependent on other coun-
tIes for its supplies. Denver City has about
l,Ooo-not inhabitants but people, staying
) @ound in tents, shanties, wagons, &C. There
sre q few respectable looking houses, but nine.
teen-twentieths Of their edi6ces would disgrace
Shokoquon think it is the best example Of .
dsad-lost city I ever saw. think about eight
thousand Of .the peoples" were loa6ng around
the streets Or gambling bells, which are large
sheds boarded in and kept open night and day
4 to attract the unwary-as an old Californian re-
marked to me, they were burlcsqucs on the Cali
fornia houses dimes and quarters seemed to be
the principal currency, and but little 'dust' was
visible
| Golden City at the base Of the mountains is
fourishing place, and really seems as if it might
be in the right position TO make town. Through
(iOld,n Gate We md the mountains To this
place, which adjoins ''Grcgory's' as it is called,
on the west Here every thing is astir; within
circle Of five miles dozen gnI,les are found. in
| each Of which il located G;tq, a. Nevada, Eu-
rcka, Missouri, &C. In this FIVE miles 10000 peo-
pie are congregated living staying as they best
can in huts and novels, tents and wagons, Or even
under the boughs Of pine, or an oycrslelving
ledge Of rock. Here is the great mining centre,
and more than half million Of dollars is invest
ed in machinery in tins circle There are at least
one hundred quartz mills and fifty saw and shin
gle mills. But hear some one say, why does
he not tell US about de go1d Well, ere this, you
have heard two very different, and in part. en-
tirely contradictory reports about these mines
both gross exaggerations. There is gold here
without doubt. but Pilgrim remarked,
''there is darned sight Of dirt on the top Of it,
The fact il, about three-fourths Of the people
come here TO pick up fortune in a week or
month, they can not do it Of course, and they |
60 home and report pixies Peak humbug,"-
some few have made fortunes herc-the large
majority have not, some hope yet to do so, while
many have already caved," and predict . lar
ger stampede this fall than ever from here.
The gulch and surface diggings are as gene
ro1t Gas, ol-o -
The quartz leads are the only sources from which |
gold can be obtained, how permanent these are,
and how rich the large majority are, is yet to lie
decided, some have already run out, while com
paratively few have been tested sufficiently to
tell what they are. But few mills are running
yet, nearly all having been brought out this sum
mer, and are not yet in operation. The B. G. G.
mil! will be running in week and we think she
will earn enough to grease her.
Wages are high. but the price Of living higher,
SO that most men, unless they get streak, can
do as well in the States. Laborcrs receive $3.50
per day and board, or $3.50 without; Doctors
and Lawyers are thick as thieves, charge high,
but collect but few bills. Flour is now $ls per
hundred, sugar 30 cts. pound, coffee 60; hay
(meanest kind Of prairie at that) 5000 per ton;
it is worth $40 at Denver, but hauling through :
the mountains, it generally gets split half do
zen times, and wagon will not stand more than
two trips, SO that it is really not 50 much out Of
the way.
There is no grass or pasturage on the most Of
the mountains, nothing but rocks (and gold COW
cred with dense growth Of pine and spruce
trees, and yet lumber is worth 500 TO 20 per ",
and shingles from IS to 10 per hundred. 1t costs
something to live here, and unless man has
good constitution, lots Of grit, the determination
to hold on, and plenty Of grub" to hold on with,
he had better stay at home, and as to bringing .
woman here, should doubt any mans sanity,
who knowing the country, should talk Of bring
expense Of divorcc-but yet there are good
many here, poor forlorn looking creatures, they
have neither yard nor garden, nothing but mud
hovel stuck in the side OF the hill. great ma
nv people are sick, but the wonder is that they
are not all 10. We have had frost this month,
and guess every month in the year, the val
leys-'.the rich grassy vallcys"-are not here. In
their place, are gulches, varying from 80 70 100
yards in breadth, with steep rocky sides, but .
beautiful mountain rivulet at their base.
There are plenty Of mountains, plenty Of wa
ter, plenty Of rocks and / hope plenty Of gold
and beyond that the deponent sayeth not-for
country could not well be more destitute Of all
the convcnienccs and comforts Of life I hope
that California fortunes will be made here, but
people will never stay here to spend them, the
only thought seems to be to make "thc pile and
| get out Of this No one need bring summer
clothing here, it will never be worn, and have
found several blankets indispensable every night
| l have been here b. G. G.
TnE DANGER OF TUE UMox.-Judge Orr, who
stumping Missouri as an opposition candidate
for governor ridicules the idea Of danger 70 the
Union from the success Of the Republicans, and
tells the following story to illustrate the ASST