, 1864-09-23
Kootenai Correspondence.


called, l suppose, from the fact that there
are so many men here fishing for claims and
getting none. The town is, as usual, of one
street, with log houses, built for use and not
for ornament, although one edifce, the hotel, is
an elegant house for this part of the country
The dozen-or-so-stores which are here are toll
erably well supplied with assortments of miners
necessities Gum boots, and picks and shovels
abound, while of other articles there is a sufi-
cheney. Prices are very reasonable; for, as the
place is full of goods, there is not much buying
at wholesale by the merchants, and packers
who come in sell out at a moderate freight and
leave. Meals at the hotels are ST so. Bacon
is worth 75c., flour 35c., sugar 55O65c Pota-
toes, Is to 35., onions 3O@45c., butter 81 SOC,
beef 2593Oc. per pound.
THE MINES
The mining ground extends for about FIVE
miles along Wild Horse creek, commencing
about two miles above its mouth The gold is
very evenly distributed for this distance and the
diggings are undoubtedly rich. Last week one
company cleaned up 100 ounces one day, and
so ounces the next. On the 37th ult one lump
was picked up weighing 81 ounces 1t meas
ures four inches long, about two inches wide
and from a quarter to half inch thick Value,
S666. l judge that the claims now being
worked, average about $25 per day to the hand
with 500 men. at work. Some claims. paving
much over this estimate and some, of course,
under. The mining is now confined to the riYeT
bars, which are being worked out as fasis possi-
BILE and pay well. The first berch about sew
enty feet above the river on the ri @sBank. is
also very rich. This bench l5o feet
wide anG. is claimed throughout itg whole
--hgth. Back of this bench rises hill about
ninety feet high which prospects well; but as
there is no water on it, it is not yet worked al
though there are several claims located on it,
The first bench is now worked by ditch, about
three miles long, carrying about 400 inches of
water. This is owned by a company, who use
nearly all the water themselves and ''outsiders" ="
get water from it on Sundays and nights, and
at odd hours, whenever they can They have
surveyed ditch, to bring in water some so or
70 feet above the present one. This ditch will
be about four miles long and will enable the
men to work the hill claims. 1t will not be fin
ished this fall, think, for they only offer seven
dollars a rod for making it, and men think that
is too cheap.
Wages are from six to seven dollars day
but the "outsders' stand not much show at
that, unless they are acquainted with the miners
at work. The camp seems though every one
is at work to get all that he can and keep all he
gets. Men are coming and going all the time
and the goers curse the country "for all that is
out" saying they cannot get work, SC When
the floating population gets settled and every
thing gets quiet here, then there will be good
times in the camp.
PRosPEcTERs
have been running around the country in this
vicinity all summer and as yet have found moth
ing outside The St. Mary s river, Finlay creek
the Upper Columbia and the other Streams have
received a visit but do not think they have
been thoroughly prospected. An excitement
has been raised here about the Occur 'Alene
mountains, but nothing has yet been found
there, so far as heard from. l think that region,
however, is better looking country for gold
than this. Here the formation is slate, with
granite, and some feldspar and few quartz
ledges striking out; and there, limestone, slate
and quartz are abundant. Ledge8 of feldspar
crop out on the mountain sides, granite boul-
ders are scattered around ''loose p and in addi-
ton to all that, gold is found there, and the
mountain valleys have never yet been visited,
unless prospectors have strayed into them this
summer.
.. THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT
has, as usual, sent up Commissioner to meas
ure out the mining ground tax everybody and
snow tne authority of Her Majesty in latitude
50o l5/ w Before the functionary came every
body who did not have ground expected to get
some slices off of the rich claims already at
work, and waited in anxious expectation his ar
rival, He came, and law suits became the or
der of the day. In "America" it is usual to
hear both sides of case, but here the law is
satisfied with one side, and judgments were rem
dered with celerity that astOnished those who
had only lived in ''benighted America The
Commissioner was Judge and jury: lawyers were
nc where and arguments useless against
evidence where the testimony was limited to the
extent of the conscience of the witness, without
regard to truth. The big claim holders PLAYED
the outsiders out, selling out part of the rich
land to their friends, with understan ndinos he
tween themselves, so they say; and after the
lawsuits were settled and the claims surveyed
OIL then the outsiders left in disgust to hunt up
diggings in the country where the American
eagle reigns supreme. The next thing was tax
es, which, as customs, rather exceed the inter-
nal revenue of the U. S. A., and several who
were rather on the rebel side of the fence
thought them rougher than the taxes imposed
by the milder government south of the 49th par
allel. Another thing they did was to take the
six shooters away from the boys, which caused
some considerable growing but to no effect
The luxury of pistol fighting, so necessary to an
American frontier, is tabooed and fists and
knives are the only things allowed in British
Columbia This is salutary, for if those imple-
ments had been on hand Sunday last would
have been lively. We had a few rows and sew
eral arrests were made, but the parties were let
go again on condition of good behavior
HOW CUDDY WAS ROBBED. -r
Lastnight was the time of greatest excitement,