Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1864-12-22
Notes Of Travel by a GOLD Seeker.
A Trip Through Idaho and Oregon

liant on arriving there, he pushed on to Ore
gon. He gives some interesting particulars
in regard to his adventures, as well as re-
specting Part of our country of which com
paratively little is known:
FROM WEST OF THE MoUNTAINs,l
OLD's FERRY, SNAKE RIVER, Sept. 20, '64.
| have now reached the Oregon line,
and having passed the "gold region,
propose taking a brief look back at it.
| wrote YOU from West Bannock, at which
place our party were prospecting, but finding
after a couple of weeks labor that the ex-
penses exceeded the collections, we were not
long in arriving at the conclusion that the
thing didn't pay After few days further
examination of the grounds about that place,
in company with one Of our late party, Wis
tied CentrevilJe, where found the ground rich
in gold dust, but 80 destitute of water for
washing as to render mining on the high
lands an impOssiblity There are a few
mines at this point, having water, that pay
well, but they are few at this season of the
year. From Centreville we crossed over to
Hogan, where there are a few very rich dig
gings, but the country had been all prospect
ed in advance of our visit. This settlement
takes its name from the hoggish manner in
which the first settlers appropriated to them
selves the mining lands.) From this point
we went to PlacaVille, the Oldest mining town
in the Territory. 1t is quite a lively and
rather pleasant appearing town, having fine
Plaza, in the centre of which is liberty pole,
a stand for public speakers, and "town
pump" The gold fields here are quite ex-
tensiVe, but have been pretty well dug over ;
and the want of water is here felt, as in most
of 10 Ot Of bo
tains. Still the mines afford work for great
many men, and make a rich return to the
claim owners, Judging from the amount they
spend in drinking and gambling These two
vices are here practiced, as A. Ward would
say, to an :" alarming extent" We spent
several days in and about these diggings, and
had fine opportunity of witnessing the mo-
dats Opera1sdl of gold digging, washing, &c. 1t
is hard work, and the miners as a body are
far from being healthy looking class. They
are compelled to work in the water, or damp
positions, and being careless Of themselves,
soon bend beneath the diseases incident to
such labor and exposure.
Placerville is peculiarly mining town
gambling houses, saloons, dance houses, and
other places of dissipation and amusement
make up the town. Here, for the first time,
| saw women betting, or rather buckiDg the
tiger" At one OF the many tables at the
principal gambling house sat two richly dress
cd women-one an American, the other evil
IDENTITY Mexican or Spanish. The first was all
notwithstanding her soul and
eyes at every unfavorable throw of the cards,
and shouting "bully" as she raked in the
chips" The other was stoically Indifferent
taking her losses quietly, and making no
demonstration over success, except, perhaps,
TO smile and say 'wano," which | understood
to mean good" There were other women
betting in the room, but watched these two
with particular interest, as being fair types Of
the two nationalities. The MeXcans are ac-
oustomed to such excitements, and take the
chances as they come; the Americans are
not-and understand the faro dealers say
their chances of success are much greater
when playing against Americans than when
playing against Mexicans The chances are
great enough in either case.
From PlacergWe we struck back into the
mountains, giving prospecting" another trial.
We travelled for a couple of weeks over the
toughest country | ever Saw--therc was not
, place for another hill Our trip was fail,
ufe, of course, so far as finding gold was
concerned; and firing of it, we made for this
point, which is the principal crossing into
OREGON. We saw no game, and very little Of
anything else worth remembering For two
or three DAVIS we were on the ridges or peaks,
and without water-fnding it necessary to
have some, not only for ourselves, but for
our pack animal, we undertook to get down
into canon or deep rayiue, hoping to find
water but the resolve was more easily made
than executed Finding place at last, where
we thought our pony could get down, we com
menced the descent. Finding it very steep,
end our animal tOp-heavy from our load OF
blankets, camp utensils &c, our genius led
us TO try to assist the animal down, by placing
the middle of the lariat-(a rope about 81
feet long, used in plcketing the pony nights,
that it might not stray off and tall into the
hands of the Indians )-around the neck and
across the breast, leaving the ends in our
hands, that we might hold the animal back
If the hill should prove too steep. We had
not gone far before we found ourselves going
faster than the pony, who seeing our progress
stopped and looked at us as We went head
long by him, rolling and tumbling to the very
foot of the hill. The first evidence of life
recognized in myself, was loud laugh, com
ing from somewhere in the vicinity of my
mouth, and looking around l saw legs anC
arms, which | afterwards found belonged to
myself, and were actually attached to my
body. Finding myself all right, | halloed tC
my companion, asking his condition, to which
he replied-" ouldn't the fool killer have
business if he were to come here about this
time" Two subjects, sure. The pony haC
no difficulty in getting down and it is as
tonishing to see what steep hills they viii
work up and down. They will go almost any
where a man can 60.
In travelling to this point, we crossed the
Pagette river, which we found so full O
Salmon. that we had TO stop few days fol
the purpose of fishing. We had rare sport
The river above named is a small stream
perhaps three times the width of the Catfish
at Madison, and quite rapid. The stream was
almost blocked with fsh--you would hardly
credit the number, but SO great was it thai
we killed them with clubs. | killed one il
this manner that would weigh nearly if no
quite thirty pounds-a fine, rich ''salmoI
colored" fellow that would have liked mucl
TO divide up into "fat takes" among N,
printer frienls of Madison.
The sport of fishing was for a time quit,
exciting, but we soon grew tired of it, no
however, without contracting strong likin;
for the meat of this singular fish. There i
this popularity about the salmon; it is sal
water fish, and twice year it runs up tn
fresh water streams in large numbers, for tn
purpose of spawning, and never returns t
the sea. From the time they leave salt water
until they spawn, they eat nothing, an
growing poor and weak after long strugglin
against the rapid mountain streams, die fror
exhaustion and injuries. The banks of tn
river were lined with dead fish, over Whic
the crows, ravens and buzzal DIS were holdin
a carnival We opened great many, bu
found their stomachs entirely destitute Q
food of any kind.
For the last so miles before reaching thi