Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1865-04-27
Letter from Montana Territory.
VIRGINIA CRY, Montana Ter.
March 9th, 1865.


|. ii Gentlemen-I take the present oppcrtu
nifty of writing you, thinking that fey
lines from this part Of the country would
not be unacceptable. do not desire you
to publish this letter, unless it contains in
formation which you think would be ac-
4 ceptable to the readers Of the 'Chronicle."
might have written some months ago, but
thought it best to defer the matter until
had become more fully acquainted with
the mines. Had written you three months
ago should not haye given very datter
i ing account but since that time discoveries
have been made which clearly prove that
the mines in this Territory are by no means
SO limited in extent as was generally sup
posed last summer.
You are doubtless aware that there was a
large emigration to this place last season.
4 great many made large calculations, sup
posing that new andCextensiye discoveries
would be made on the Yellowstone River
and various other places by the time they
reached the mines, and that there would be
no difficulty in finding claims where they
would be well rewarded for all the expense,
and for all the privations and hardships
which they had encountered; but they
found on their arrival here very different
s.ate Of things to what they anticipated.
No new disegEeries had been made, and this
gulch was the only one excepting the Ban
mock mines, some 70 miles from here) which
amounted to anything. Wages at the time
were pretty high--six dollars for surface
hands, and eight to ten dollars per day for
drifters, but there was no demand fer the
labor of SO many men, and consequently
very many could obtain no work. Some
prospecting was done, which resulted in no
discovery Of importance. Many hundreds,
after sojourning here for brief period,
turned round and went back to their homes
in the States, with longer faces and less
money than when they started out. Thor
oughl5 disgustcd with the aspect Of affairs
here, it is net probable that they gave
very Aattoring account Of the mines.
This eulch is some is miles in length,
| and ranging from one to three or four hun
dred feet ia width. Twelve miles Of its
length has been proGtably worked, giving
employment to several thousand men
Without doubt this gulch has been, and still
is in many places, iich; but hundreds Of
Claims do not pay above wages, and some
not even that. As may be supposed, every
one who comes here does not make for
! tune. So far from this being, the case, I
think never saw so many men completely
strapped" in one place before. Very many
would be glad to work for their board at
this time and cannot find employment even
at that low rate. The reason Of it is, that
the cold weather we have experienced has
almost entirely stopped mining operations
in the gulch, and consequently there is 10
demand for labor, and [ do not look for
much improvement until spring opens.
The discoveries referred to in the begin
ming of this letter are situated about 120
| miles from here in northeast direction.
| Several gulches have been prospectcd and
proved to be good. Altogether, some forty
miles in length Of gulchcs have been found
| in that section. / will mention the names
of some Of them Prckly Pear, Last Chance,
Orc Fenio, Nugget Grizzly, and some 9TH
ers. | think that the mines in that section
of country will prove to be more extensive,
if not richer, than any yet found in the Ter
ritory. Quite number have returned, out
Of the hundreds who went there from this
place, and SO -ar as / can ascertain, all of
them concur in the opinion that It will make
good mining camp the coming summer.
The great number Of auriferous quartz ledg-
cs which have been discovered causes me to
think that this will be a permanent mining
country. Quartz mining is as yet in its in
fancy in this Territory. 1t will take some
time to develope the mineral wealth Of Mon
tana. Machinery must be obtained and set
in operation before the value Of the gold and
silver bearing ledges can be known. One
or two years will probably pass before many
mills will be erected, as great many who
possess good lodges arc too poor to purchase
machinery, and are waiting for capitalists
to buy them out Perhaps have said suf-
fcient in regard to the mincg I viii say
howeyel, that mining is by no means the
only profitable occupation in the Territory
Many Of the valleys are well adapted 70
farming, while the hills are covered with
rich bunch grass, upon which cattle fatten
very rapidly. In Deer Lodge, Gallatin and
other valleys, almost any kind Of grain o.
vegetable can be raised, for which there is a
ready market in the mining towns at very
high prices. Those valleys are unsurpassed