New-York daily tribune., 1865-12-25
Our COL D.u1NEs.

The organization OF COLORADO As o State,
and tho expected appearance of her Senators
and Representative st tL. bar Of the respective
Houses to claim admission 10 seats, with The
CONSEQUENT recognition of their State, are calcu'
lated to attract moro general attention to The
Rocky Mountain Gold region. whereof Colorado
embosoIns the earliest discoveries, though bel
northern neghbors, Montana and Idaho
are equally rich in the precious metals
and have probably more extensive and
richer piqcus wherein Gold, liberated from
the inclosing ro,k by the action Of watei
and of frost most readily yields itself to the
rude processes of the prospecting pioneer. In
the abundance of her gold.bearing quartz. Colo
rado is probably unsurpassed; but for mining
with pick aud pan, or even with spade and
rocker, the States still in embryo have decidedly
excclled her. But no one who has obseryingly
trayersed her steep sides and narrow valleys
and noted the profusion Of their mineral veins
can doubt that they contain more Gold than II
to-day in the possession OF the civilized portion
Of mankind; and the progress of discovery ant
invention in machinery, aided by that OF th'
Pacific Railroad. must very soon render the re
duction and separation of the rock and minera
abundantly and extensively profitable.
Meantime, let us endeavor to give some idei
of the extent to which Mining in the Rock!
Mountains is already prosecuted by settinl
forth the principal facilities whereby they ar
now attained:
The great Overland Stage Line, whereof Mr.
Ben. Holiday is proprietor, starts coaches daily
from Omaha, Nebraska City and Atchison re
spectively, to their point of junction, Fort kear
ney, 256 miles West, on the Platte, on the IO0tl
parallel Of w. longitude, where the brsnche
from Missouri and from Iowa are 10 unite e
form the one Pacific Railroad beyond. Hence
the Overland stages run nearly Oh the 4Ou
parallel Of North latitude to Dcnver-now quit,
city-and to Idaho City Colorado o)-450 mile
from the Fort. Thence the line 10 Utah, Nevada
and California, runs through Bridger's Pass e
Great Salt Lake City-650 miles From Sal
Lake a branch line 500 miles long turns sharply
to the northeast, trayersing Northern Utah
Idaho and Montana Territories, reaching Ban
mock and Virginia cities; while another, S5'
miles long, runs nOrth-west by Boise City
Idaho, TO the Dalles (Fslls) of the Columbia
which /, the head of navigation from the oceaI
on that great river. On these routes, there arr
now employed e25 men, 15G coaches and ex
press wagons, and $3.50 horses and mules
400 of these being required TO haul the sup
plies required by the 2Gi stations where change
are made and passengers as well as employe
fed and Jared for. Tie number Cf stations Ol
the several routes respectively are as follows
From Atchison by Denver 10 Salt Lake.
From Nebraska City TO Fort kearney --.......... !
From Denver 10 Central City. y.-......--....-......
From Salt Lake 10 the Dnes ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
From Salt Lake to Virginia City, Montana .-...-..
Such is the principal provision yet made 70
maintaining postal and business intercourse be
tween the States this side and the Rocky Mount
ain Mines, which have barely begun to be dc
veloped. With the Pacific Railroad even hal
built. those mines will soon attract and proflt
ably employ population of millions, and will
be recognized as one of the most healthy, mos
thrifty. most inviting regions Of the globe.