, 1866-08-10

Ep. SfAfRBhAM s@Aftef the manner OF W. oio
formula, 81 take my pen in hand 10 lhFerm you
that 1 am we'll, and hope these fsw lines may
6nd you enjoying the same blessing.
Many rsports have reached you Of the mines
and mining In the Elk creek region, As sVi-
depeea by the statements made in print concern
| inc tbi, diItrict and now viii give you my |
ideas of the country, founded upon observation,
mp to date. For while this spring everything
was lively on Elk Greek and Dry Guleh. some
of the ground on Elk proved to be rich, that is
to say, twenty dollars per day to the hand be-
ing the yield, and from the manner OF the early
prospecting, claims rated very hgh-$l, 300 to
50 900 being offered and refused for claims on
the creek. After the snow passed away and par
ties began to open their ground they found that
" man is apt 70 be deceived, and likewise,
sucked in" As usual, some ground proved to
be valuable and other not-the mot" being de-
cidedly in the majority. Much Of the ground
has not paid expenses in working. Tools and
supplies were Very dear, and it was not until
the e:eek mad been well proSpected that articles
descended to reasonable rates., On Dry Gulch,
discovery claim paid from $3.50 to $500 per day
and few claims below were also good, but
above month 8 labor did not succeed in ind
ing even wages diggings. The towns, Reynolds
City, above, and Yreka, below, Vegetated upon
the brilliant anticipations of the future yields,
and after the creek proved to be not 10 rich as
was expected the prospects of holders of real
estate began to wane, stampsdes took away the
floating population, and now Reynolds City is
as quiet as Walla Walla on the forenoon Of q hot
day in July.
Deep Gulch next. The claims on this Guleh
turned out better than on Elk. Six claims about
discovery yielded about $500 each, as near as
can be estimated. From to. l3 above the
claims were not more than wages diggings.
There were but two or three paying claims
above discovery. Below discovery the paying
ground is irregular in its locality, but when is
did pay the yield was very gOod-frOm $loo to
$3.50 per day, with force of from eight to ten
men. In the lower portion of the gulch the
ground 10 deep, from thirty-hve to fifty feet and
they have found some very good pay in it, as
, high as $46 to the pan being obtained. At this
writing nearly all the shallow claims have been
worked out and the deep ground is being slow
ly prospected. At Bear Gulch, into which Deep
emptes, the miners entertain high hopes of
much gold on bed rock, although as yet not
much has been certainly established. The town
there erected for the "emporium" was built in
expectation Of the future, and now it has reached
its standpoint and is waiting for something to
turn up, either pro con but the ones who
| a.; i'll . Lno ;nL urilI oh tain
the ascendency.
As usual law suits rage and reign, and called
US up to Cottonwood, the embryo capital.of Mon
tana. This place is known as Deer Lodge City
and is situated in the Deer Lodge valley, ten
miles above the confluence Of the Deer Lodge
and little Blackfoot streams. 1t rejoices in one
street, about twelve hundred and fifty feet long,
and built up in desultory manner on either
side. Most the houses are now closed, await
ing the time when the legislators in their wis
dom shall see the point" and remove the cap
ital from its cite and place it on the centre of
the Territory. In June the weather was villain
Gus. Rain and snow descended alternately and
bade defiance to that "wind river of heat"
which, according to Capt. John Mullan, passes
. OfeE LNO NOT bpIluRb anu Vi lSS SOlu
, rivulets, which SO temper the atmosphere as
to render the winters mild lat 46o below zeio)
} and the summers like those Of Italy. Now the
! sun in its solstcal heat p0urs down upon the
valley and the breathing zephyrs gently stiS the
air which otherwise would be oppressive. The
rains of this spring, although SO cold, have wa
tered the ground effeetualy, and the crops Of
| he far ant abundant har
( vest. The graSShoppers do not molsst the grain
as they did last season, and the Bitter Root val
ley He'll Gate Ronde and Deer Lodge will be
the favored regions this year,
The last report from the GallAtin and Misssu-
: ri valleys says that the pOtatO-bugS have dss-
= troysd the crop entirely, which will, if true,
a make these sseulents rate high in the market
r Prospecting has been carried on as usual out.
q side of the mining camps already struck, but AZ
s yet no new diggings have been found. Early in
a the spring a stampede occurred to a place
i known as Harvey's creek. No paying ground
q has as yet been found there outside of a few
- claims around discovery.
!, Henderson, a tributary of Flint creek, which
J. was found last fall, does not pay for working,
although bar on the lower part of the creek i.
: Of sufficient richness to warrant the bringing in
n Of large ditch about Eve miles, for the purpose
o Of supplying water to work it out with q by
a drAulic.
Upon Stevens map Of this region It will be
noticed thst between the Deer Lodge and Bitter
n Root valleys there is noted "prairis valley as
II large as the Deer Lodge, unsurveyed." This
has also been surveyed, being loes.sd on the
: head of flint creek. DiggingS were reported
l found in that region. Three or four hundred
men rushed in there and as yet no new paying
. diggiugs have been reached This will lead to
!. the thorough exploration Of that region, but
Il with what success no one knows.