The weekly mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1861-1862, 1861-12-14
Affairs im Nevada Territory.

Affairs la Nevada Territory.
The following gloomy picture of affairs
lin Nevada Territory comes to US from a
responsible and reliable source-from n
gentleman who has been engaged in mi.
ming, for the last two years, near Virginia
City.
VIRGINIA CRY, Nov 90, 1861.
ErToEs DEMOCRAT: Are you so welded
to printers life that you care nothing
about anything besides, as means Of
comforting your weary souls? Send me
a gentleman Il mean what say) who can
furnish capital Of five thousand dollars,
and | will enrich him. 1t is now in my
power to DO it, aud not half try. Perhaps
Yor might wish to be the "lucky man
II so, let types so to the devil for while
and come a,ong. am in company Of
miners who have, hcyond doubt. struck
one Of the richest lodcs in this rich Ter
ritory
The suicidal policy Of California toward
the Wa>hocitcS, is too apparent to admit
Of doubt. She is freezing us nll out. "
Work must stop, and our best miners be
driven To Ncz Peic,s or some place else,
hy the opening Of Spring. Hundreds are
preparing to so as soon as they can ven
turc to make the start
Our merchants here are composed of n
different class Of men from the old mining
merchants uf California. With but very
few exceptions they refuse the accommo'
,lation necessary to enable miners to 20 on
with their work of prospecting. If they
venture 10 credit them at all, it is for too
short time to benefit them much, and in
a great majority Of instances only serves
to introduce their customers TO our money
>laver<, whose tender conScicnccS keep
them from demanding any more than from
ten to thirty per cent. for the use Of their
money, and such security as bnt the few
est number can give They first demand
Ophir, .Spani~h, Central, California,
GouM d Curry, or G0W MN claims for
collatcralS. Next to these they will take
a brick house!
The result of this policy must be the
aLandoniny of claims by miners, although
many are positively known to be extreme
" valuable, or the sacrifice of them for
less, in many cases, than it cost to pros
pect them.
But as if not content to fleece the labor
ing classes in that way, they have employ
ed band of unprinciplcd men, who loai
about the cities and towns in the mining
districts and watch the result Of our labor.
ing mems efforts to develope claims. II
anything good is found, these graceleSs
scamps Immediately set up some sort oI
pretention to ownership over it. Thus
the title becomes couded, and the robbers
who inauguratcd the policy, get Other
scamps to buy up the ground at n mere
trihe, and the poor miner falls victim tc
the cupidity Of ShyiOcks and genteel rob
bers.
An accommodation is at this moment
withheld, and our mining population are
at zero in spirits. An Address is in pro
gress of preparation that soon will be
placed before the miners in all the mining
districts, inviting them into convention tC
devise some means of self.support, indie
pendent of California aid. Our people
need and must have home currency
They need and will have merchants and
bankers whose policy will be different al
together from that Of our present mer
chants and bankers. They may find il
most conducive to their interests to suS
pend work for six or eight months, ant
seek elsewhere for means to enable then
to develop their claims.
The little experience we have had Of ;h'
working of interpretations, has not tended
to render such organizations very popular
Private enterprise alone has succeeded
interpretations have never in q single in
stance.
Mill owners, too, unblushingly boast o
their acts of bad faith; and so notoriousy
true is it that they hnbitually rob thei'
customers, that miners are demanding ant
devising means to get honest men to worl
their ore.
We have the richest mineral country
yet discovered which, IL properly fOstered
would speedily enrich California.
| MINER.