Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1864-07-22
4 Letter from Nevada.

i -
The Journey from Salt Lake Westward
| Character of the C0untry--Hard Mon
ey Currency Virginia City-Carson--
| Territorial Convention, &c.
| CARSON CITY, N. r., June 90.
| A month ago l wrote you from Salt
Lake City, and now from this lively
little city Of the plain, l again essay to
speak to the readers Of the JOURNAL,
amongst whom | may claim some
| friends. 4-t " f'ff e
Leaving the city Of the Saints on the
evening of May 23d, we soon crossed
| after which, until we entered Reese riv-
er valley, we were done with trees, YER
dure, or any manner of vegetation, save
an occasional grease-bush and the ever
,asting sage. The country between
those two points is if possible more
lreary and desOlate looking than any
we had previously passed over; being IL
succession of low ranges of bare, bleak
and rocky mountains, separated by
broad, parched alkali plains. In many
places there would be miles of territory
| 50 thoroughly impregnated with alkali,
chat we could see the potash lying OH
the surface of the ground, taste it in the
water we drank and the dust that float
| ID into the stage, and feel it on our
coughened skin and in our smarting
| eyes.
| On the morning Of the fourth day out
from Salt Lake We began to see signs OF
| the proximity of white people, and soon
after sunrise, in descending canon in
the mountains, we made short turn in
the road and suddenly found ourselves
IN the streets of the beautiful and -four
lshing little city of Austin, the princi-
pal place in the Reese river mining dis
Grict. , -... ....
| Here we found steam quartz mills,
! lry-gOods and grocery stores, hotels ana
boarding houses, and saloons without
number. Here too we got an excellent
preak fast-the first good meal for some
| lays-and found that it must be paid
:or in specie-the people Of the territory
having never accepted government eur
rency Us the basis on which to do bust
| ness.
We arrived in Virginia City on Satur-
day evening" May 18th, and were not
long in finding Dan. DeQuille, an old
acquaintance, ''lOcal' of the Ieiritori0
some celebrity Oh this coast. We re-
manned in Virginia over night and then
resumed our journey to this place, SO
that | scarcely SAW enough of it to make
a minute of. However, the first impress
sion is that for city it's location is "a re-
markable one-being built on the steep
mountain side-and to traveller who
| mad Just passed over such vast eXten,
of wild and apparently worthless coun-
try, the sensation of being in the midst
of fashionable and populous city is
both singular and refreshing. Virginia
ID emphatically fast place, and its in
habitants are fast people. The city has
| grown up fast, in IA wilderness, and the
people make money fast, spend it as fast
md live fast generally; having appar-
emily scarcely a feeling or aspiration in
J common with those that actuate their
slower brethren of the States, unless it
be the desire to acquire riches.
| Carson, the Territorial Capital, is a
village of perhaps three thousand in
habitants, including amongst the num-
Der, one would think, some Of all nations,
kindreds, tongues and peoples, from the
| burly John Bull down to the slender
and efIeminate John Chinaman. 1t is
situated in the valley of the same name
ut the eastern foot of the Sierra Nevada
mountains, and is surrounded by gar
dens and ranches of considerable fertili-
| ty. The business Of gardening, however,
must be rather precariOus, as there are
mountains near by whose tops are con-
| tinually covered with snow, and there
nave been numerous heavy frosts here
during the present month. There APP
pears to be no particular mining interest
here or in this immediate vicinity, so
| that apart from its being the capital o.
| the territory and the farming and wood
| interest, | can see nothing to build up a
| rOwn, or to sustain il when built
However, there is a good deal of business
here in the corral" line, for the accom-
mediation of the vast number of team
sters who make a business of freighting
from Sacramento and other points III
California to Virginia. Reese River,
! Washoe and other mining points i'll the
| Territory.
| Some portions of the mountains near
by are heavily wooded with pine TIM
Der, amongst which there are numerous
saw-mills and wOod-mens claims, ma
king a considerable trade in wood, lum
Der and hewed timber to Virginia and
the mines-vast quantities of the latter
being used to support the sides and
archways of tunnels and drifts.
| Our daily paper yesterday made the
startling announcement that Il gold mine
had been discovered and was now being
worked to advantage within three miles
of here, which, if true, Will have the
effect to enliven business here very ma
terially.
| A convention to frame a constitution
! for Nevada, or Washoe, or whatever
| they may elect to call it, preparatory to
application for admission into the
| Union, will meet here the fourth ofJuly.
O. f.