, 1865-06-13
IN OVERLAND JOURNEY,
n1r. Conax's Party in Colo
RADIO,
a Tour Of the Gold Mines.
Editorial Corrcspondence.I
DENVER. COLORADO TERRITORY,
FA1pAT, June 2, 1865.

4n4uA + ~4Ac - ASoSt
TIE GOLD MINES.
Our party returned last evening from rather
an exhaustive tour among the Gregory gold
1n:ncs, some thirty to forty-dve miles west oi
Denver. AL were greatly delighted with
their trip. and the writer was specially SO, aa
the Chicago TRIBUNE first gave any credence
to the reports that gold existed on the cast
e1n slopes of the Rocky Mountains IN the II
cin:ty Ct Pixies Peak. and though denounced
and ridiculed for 60 doing, continued to pub
lish the facts till all cavl was forever set at
rest. Some Of our party visited Empire, tiE
teen miles west Of Central City, aRd were
most Hospitality received by our former fellow
citizen, James Peck, Esq. On Wednesday af-
ternoon We had IN extensive tour among the
mines and gulches IN the vicinity OF Central
City, Black Hawk and Nevada, places about
mile apart, nesting In deep raw inc, and
Of the different leads and claims arc per-
money taken from the mines must be i'm
mense. All over the mountains and In the
gu1ches you see the unmistakable evidences
Of the miners toll. Here We are upon Rus.
scll's Gulch. 8 long, wide, deep ravine, out OF
which Russell, one Of the original discovercrs
Of the country, Georgian, for two years
took out each year more than his own weight
in gold. There seems to be very little gulch
mining Eow. New leads, however, are con-
stant1y being discovered. Mr.. Perrin has just
found one little south Of Russell's Gul h.
t is be leycd 1t will prove rich and valuable.
From the disentegrated quartz lying on the
top OF It, IN single painful of dirt he found
ten dollars or more, which he presented to
Mr.. Colfa1, and In three Iansfu1l some fifteen
dollars, which le divided between Mr.. Bowles
atd the writer. To Mr.. Perrin, success aud
thanks.
The miners now depend almost entirely
upcu the quartz rock. 1t is found In nearly
perpendicular veins, from few inches to five
feet thick, generally one to three, tncascd In
tho granite rock, and In no instance, we be-
lIeye. has its lowest depth been reached. The
Briggs and Bob Tail lodes are now worked
son!e three hundred feeb deep and as success
fully as ever. The gold bearing strata Of the
mountains run In northeast and southwest
direction th,oush the granltc, and are in
most cases parallel to each other. Their ex-
tent It will probably take many years to de-
teimine. In one case lode was discovered
and succe ssfully worltd right At the base OF
the snow line, for the owner dug down one
Luudrtd and slxty-two feet before he got
through the frost. The color Of the rock VA
Hes somewhat, but 1t is mostly pale gray and
has large quantities. Of snlphutet Of iron and
| 1t looks precisely like what Is com
monty called "F5ols' Goldn; but there
is no fool1ng about this. for in not ve ;
lstee pile Of the rock at the mine Of our eI-
cellent host, Gen. Teller, he told us there
were at hast SIS. 600 Of gold. In the ordsna.
r st4mp-mills this rock Is reduced to powder.
Il is then mixed with water aud poured in
one end Of d long, shallow trough, the bot
tom OF which e corrugated copper.p plate,
made very much Hike common washboard,
only the cavities arc very much larger. This
copper plate Is coated with quicksilver, to
passing oyer 1t, as 1t Is shaken backward nol
forward. When the quicksilver has become
saturatsd with gold, the pun for It IA ready,
that Is, slcped. the quicksilver is eyaporatcd
in 1etotts, the gold is obtaincd, md the
quicksilver Is again used for the same pus-
amount Of sulpher mingled with the gold
lTa'il e quartz. This has chemical affinity
for the Particles Of gold, and when they are
united, the quicksilver Will not amalgamate
with The gold. It has long lern believed,
and is now proved, that the T. tailings" or re.
gold than By the common process was Oh
tained frum the orc. We wetc kindly shown
by the proprietor all through tho desulphuilz
Ing mill Of Dr.. Keith, Of New York. The fnc
powder thrown out By the stamp mills IL
dried by ve.y simple process. It Is then
BY p hich 1t Is thrown In q cloud into fur
nace, where the viltasnous sulphur takes fire
and passes Of, while the gold and and other
materials fall TO the bottom Of the furnace,
and bling aeain passed over the quicksilver
plates, more gold Is obtained than IVES secus-
ed by the frat process We were assured by
Nr. Lee, Superintendent Of the Black Hawk
Company, that rock which By the ordinary
stamp Mill process had yielded only one hun
dsed and twenty-five dollars per cord, when
Iosen from tbe stamps and put through the
dollars. The I1 saving | % Is cpoTmous. t and tie he
discovery most important and valuable cue.
As to ghat Is GOING on here In the wnv of
anosauga 1 hR; 4h R;.es eaAf eag '9iioM;ns n;n par
scitf 20, tae otnen 0a"A -"1a'os S'@''sa'
!. tcn1a n,-. TIN r,o,. ,,a ps,,oo .,r,,.,,.s
hare been o1,ersttnc for 1esr or moe. md sach
have their mines 10 e1cellelt snaps, with new and
e1te1slEe nlachiuery in the country. The Esg,e
new being PIT. #, n 10 Hsaek HaEx ne New York,
~. siasnr aug ,nst oGcs, 9Gs.is.
It fs true. siuce they Sere orcsnizsd. The Ken.
ven, Fiekc aud Fisher have nrEy mills in an i'd
vsnced stats: Tae Empire ts 1nn9ing It's Old mill
snd ,hc contjneaai Is buiidina ons IN ~ cha.e; cna;
GuIch, The machinery for both these outdts ID
on The ground. The :. Eight Assocl1tesN have
tne siGe1 u 1ne oio % poaee ht aoa y snkns on
Hi. thc Centr,l t;nune1( H. Ssrrars1oeti oss-
are in condition to pay, rlsht along. Among
those which have been earnestly at work on the
6e1t of ~ stem and economy are ne A Ab.asfow, ihs
~. 'ae pcapn, = ns taloH; ~ ~ nat ~ sis ~
RoshS,ie Ke,.tonc Mnntrose Tin,fsd gf,tas aa1
LeaVeuxorth md : lev others which do not now
oecnr to us. Several Of these have large mills
nesEly ready 70 Enn. The Briggs and Smith &
Pasma!ee Companies haye haHays @ eeen N opera. =
9e3. niEnt ann ~! tne 20 Goot az ~ oa!, ID
!
nCs o5 nj st hIFog 81
s{rce prcnrtxfnc have shown them to be m y