The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1864-06-03
Another Letter from Idaho.
A True Statement Of Affairs.
BANNocK CRY, April z, 1864.

p. tt ..1 HAMMOCK CTTf, APEA q, AcO4.
Hon. j. +. Hoyt: I a rae d,
DEAR SIR-Times here are about the
same as when you left last fall. There
have been no new discoveries made as yet
since you went away. There are num-
Der of prospecting parties out, and the peo-
pie expect to hear of some new discoveries
soon. The Desota lode is opening up well.
They have taken out of the discovery sixty
thousand seven hundred dollars up to the
first day of March, at an expense Of eight
thousand dollars. There have been some
other lodes discovered here, one of which,
the st. Paul, is said to be equally as rich
as the Desota. There is no doubt but
that quartz mining is going to be carried on
extensively here another year. There has
been one lode discovered in Virginia City
which is said to be very rich.
What to say with regard to the future
prospects of this country, is something that
would take wiser head than mine to de-
termine. 1t depends altogether to what
extent gold is going to be found in paying
quantities, and that is something that no
man, no matter how well skilled in min
ing, can form any idea of. There is not
much of an opening in the present mining
districts to encourage parties to come here,
and if there are not some new discoveries
made during this season, you will hear of
some hard times and of considerable suf-
fering in the Idaho gold mines. You
know as much about what mining is here
as me or any one else can tell you. You
know about what the average has been
while you were here as well as it can be
known, as you have had some actual ex-
perience in mining, and I hope you will
give the people true statement of what
they have to expect # they come here be-
fore they leave their homes. A great
many Of your acquaintance here have ex-
pressed themselves to me that it was a
good thing that you was at home to con-
tradict the erroneous statements made by
Captain Fisk, and gave the people true
statement of the prospects here. I see
the Captain gives a glowing account of
the Yellowstone country as a great gold
region. That is simply a supposition.
There is nobody that knows whether gold
exists there to any extent, or at all. The
old discoveries of the Virginia mines, who
had been out there before they discovered
that place, say it did not look to them like
a gold country, and that they could not
get any prospects there. A party of about
three hundred left this place and Virginia
City on the 25th Of March, to prospect
that country. We look for some of them
back by the LIST of June.
There are few Minnesotians who came
here by the Northern route that have
done well while they have been here, but
take them all on an average, and how have
they done? why, sir, instead of making
from thirty to one hundred dollars per day
to the hand, they have not made more
than three dollars to the hand, and ma
jority, if not every one, of them will say
that this is very near true statement of
what it would average. The people who
are at home can take this as a criterion
and judge for themselves whether they
think it would be advisable for them to take
their chances to come here or not.
Mr.. N. O. Langfold was not elected to
the Idaho Legislature, neither was he sent
to Washington to work for division of
the territory, as stated. The Hon.
Judge Edgerton was sent to Washington
by the people of Eastern Idaho as dele
gate for that purpose. Messrs. Reem and
Miller have got back from Lewiston, after
attending the first session of the Idaho
Legislature. Mr.. Amos W. Hall got the
appointment of Recorder and Auditor of
this (Beaverhead) county. There are
some emoluments to it, as it now costs three
dollars to put anything on record, and the
county is very large one. Messrs. Knox,
Hall, Reem, and WILDER, all your numer-
GUS friends here, were glad to hear from
you, and to know that you were well.
Write soon. Yours truly,
CORNELIUS BRAY.