, 1864-04-29
Boise Correspondence.
IpAHo date Bannockl C1rY.l

business season for the miner, the artisan
the merchant, and the man in every other
avocation, has within few short days com
pletely metamorphosed the appearance of
things in and around t5is city, and through
out this mining camp. We no longer live
here within the confines of the empire Of
dullness, riut, again. as in the summer of
1868, bus commoton, excitement and ac-
tivity in all industrial pursuits reign su-
preme Day after day. may be seen long
trains of heavily laden pack animals arrive
and large freights Of goods, wares, merchan-
disc, groceries, provisions, mining imple-
ments, liquors, ETC., etc., enough in all con-
science to make some Of our mercantile gen
try having stocks arrive at the high rates of
freighting last winter look somewhat dis
couraged at the idea of the quantity Of such
tstOck still on hand to be disposed of at pri-
ces competing with articles now coming in
by the wholesale The prospect is that the
market will be speedily overstocked, and that
the enormousl ly high rents asked and paid,
will among other things, have to succumb to
the stern and inexorable logic established
by the standard of paying business.
The people coming in by thousands, for
the most part, so far, have been Of that nu-
merous and fashionable class facetiously
termed 'fat brokers'" by some wag, and as
a natural consequence of the condition Of
their finances, many of them have to suffer,
temporarily at least, very serious inconven-
fences from the prevalent and chronic dis
ease called in generic sense the "outs,'
and not few 6nd themselves most cursedly
out-Out of money-out Of credit-out of
friends-out Of grub-out Of employment
out Of luck-and out of humor with them
selves and everybody else. Some it is to be
hoped, for their own dear sakes, are at least
on their way, after brief survey Of the re-
gion in which they found themselves all but
monarchs of anything-well out Of the
country by this time. Really, the great
multitude literally pouring in from various
quarters, seem to have reduced their mode
Of approach to something like scientific mil
itary tactics, for they come in single fle
come by platoous, by squads, companies,
battalions, regiments, brigades and divis
ions, daily, nightly, semi weekly, tri-week-
ly and almost hourly. Among the new
corners are men OF all callings and pursuits
miners, laborers, packers, merchants, car
penters, black smiths, shoe-makers, tailors,
farmers, ranchmen, doctors, preachers, law
yers, sports, aud in the feminine line, cour-
tesans by the dozen With the great ma
jority, as Jaques found in Arden "motley's
the only wear" and often deucedly, if not
indecently torn at that. Falstaff's ragged
regiment Of tatterdemalians were Beau
Brummels in personal appearance, compared
to them. 1t verify seems as though the very
men of all others most lily prepared for such
a trip were always among the first to rush
in where older, ADLER, and wiser ones are al
most afraid to tread Yet SO strange are the
changes and chances in the lottery Of luck,
in mining camp, that some such men are
invariably among the most fortunate, while
the many must necessarily be subject to bit
ter disappointment; not unfrequently to
much actual bodily suffering.
From careful estimate of the number Of
mining claims already located and workable
from the watershed dividing the Payette
River from the tributaries of the Boise,
forming the so-called Boise Basin, there
cannot be profitable employment any consid-
cradle portion of the present season for over
twenty-five thousand persons This compu-
tation excludes the new counties of Alturas
(South Boise region) and Owyhee where not
exceeding five thousand more can be profit
ably employed, and includes the Boise River
valley. 1t is true, new diggings may and
are quite likely to be struck, still there is no
certainty of such discoveries being made
The rich and extensive quartz leads existing
all through this section Of country require
time, and capital, and skill, to be developed
and will not afford employment to one-tenth
part Of the pennyess men coming in, who
will and must Of necessity depend upon i'm
mediate and steady employment to live here.
1t is neither my object to discourage nor to
encourage men in coming here "Let every
man be persuaded in his own mind" says
Paul, ,-and act accordingly, may not inap-
propriately be added.
Idaho Territory will be found to be no
modern El Dorado, where the favors Of dame
Fortune are scattered with lavish hand up
on the promiscuous multitude Gin copious
confusion" without regard to the ordinary
laws which everywhere else in the world
regulate and measurably govern the accu-
mutation of wealth. Here, as elsewhere,
may be found the lucky few, the successful
many, and the unfortunate most. Here, as
elsewhere, given amount of attention to
business, with given standard Of qualiGca-
tiens, will almost to a moral certainty, en-
sure success; and here, as elsewhere, i'm
providence, sloth, dissipation, licentiOusness,
and kindred vices produce their immediate
result, and are attended with the same in
separable train Of concomitant evils.
The placer claims being worked at this
time, in this vicinity, yield SO far, equally as
well, if not better than last season. Those
upon the bar upon which this city is built
for the most part pay even better. Not
less than SIS 900 has been taken out from a
few of these bar claims within the last fort
night; one company "cleaned up" $24OO at
one time after a two days run with three
sets of sluices Water is beginning to run
very plentifully, and many miners have
commenced running day and night. The