Idaho semi-weekly world. (Idaho City, Boise County, Idaho Territory) 1867-1868, 1867-08-03
CITY COUNTY SATURDAY AUGUST 1857
SOMEWHAT nIIsTAKEN.

furnished that paper by +" friend just returned
from Idaho" !" He says: go1a!sl ga
Idaho City has not recovered from the effects of the
two fires and will never be rebuilt as it once was
The ruins of the different houses, the rough and un
finished stores hastily put up, present sagreeable
sight to stranger, which is not much relieved by the
fact that mining is carried very actively in the
main business streets, and even under the houses
Most of the mining for miles around is carried on by
the Cinnamon, who seem to monopolize the creeks
entirely. and although the amount of gold taken out
viii be fully up opreviOus years. yet the merchants
derive but little benefit from them comparatively
This is pretty much the case in Placervie, Center
vile, and Pioneer CITY, and many miners have left
for Lenhi and Montana, and the season has been
very backward times are very dull, and merchants
complain bitterly ,atfa y4,s bt.s#Ea ~ sir s..ry
The /" friend Just returned from IdahO," who
communicated, the above information to our
Portland cotemporary must have judged our
city somewhat as the Cockney traveller, ,carica-
tured in the play, judged all America, by what
he first saw on landing in New York City. He
sat by a baggage house on one of the piers
looked up, saw the low, frame building [the
only one to be seen in any direction land
wrote in his ! note book:' The houses in
America are, all built of wood, and are but one
story high" Just as he put this in his book, a
shadow obscured his paper; he looked up,
saw Q negro g baggage smasher," who address
ed him with the usual q " take. your baggage,
sar ?"-and instantly Mr.. Cockney added to-
his notes, -" and the people are all black"
The friend says that " Idaho City has not
yet recovered from the effects of two fires, and
wiAnevcr be rebuilt as itonce was The last
fire here occurred May 18th. Say the Heralds
friend was here early in July, or at period
less than two, months after that fire, There
were over 400 buildings Of all kinds destroyed
in that fire. Did the gentleman expect to find
all the burnt district .rebuiltf Fully three
fourths of it is this day built over, and among
the new buildings several are Of much finer
appearances and of more substantial order than.
were the buildings burnt down. We have
lived on this coast since 1849. In this time we.
have personally witnessed the ivegreat conAa-
gratiOns in San Francisco, and visited the Cal.
ifornia cities of Sacramento, Stockton, Nevada,
Placeryilr, Sonora, and Columbia, at times,
varying. from one to six months after the great
fires which in early years laid them in ashes; !;
and we assert that, not in San Francisco, not
in any of the interior cities above named. did
we ever witness a more active spirit displayed
among the sufferers and che public generally,
to rebuild, and to restore the business import
ance Of the place, aud to do this Immediately,
than we witnessed OH the part of the sufferers
and the public here on the day of and the days
immediately following the late great fire. Dur
ing our residence in Oregon we saw in the two
largest, most important interior toWns--Salem
and Albany g burnt distrctsp-in the very
heart of the business portion of these towns
too, which continued to be waste, idle, untouch-
ed areas for years, and we are not aware that
either of these burnt districts are built upon
yet, unless in part. But wo do not pretend
70 say that either Salem or Albany has retro
graded in business, in wealth,in population,
or in general Importance, because otthese fail
ures to rebuild their respective burnt dis
tricts ts''-each happily very much smaller, and
of far, very far less value, than the late great
!" burnt district" of Idaho City. SIS 4as1saaa
We have never known an instance wherein
so very disastrous and sweeping a confagration
as that lately sustained by our citizens was so
speedily recovered FROM in the matter of spirit
| by the sufferers, and certainly no community
ever applied to the work of rebuilding q de-
stroyed city with greater alacrity, with more
determined energy, and more cheerful unity
| of purpose than the citizensof Idaho City have
done ALI things considered, they have ac-
Ecamplished prodigies, and the highest measure
of hearty praise is honestly due to them for
what they have accomplished in the face of the
many disheartening contingencies which were
presented at the critical moment. 3 +
As to the statement that finest of the mining
for miles around. is carried on by Chinamen,"
the Herald 5 informanti is again greatly in error.
That there are a good many Chinamel en-
ployed in the mines in this Basin, generally, is
true there are by far too many for the good
Of our citizens and for the future prosperity of
the county. But it is not true that the China
men do most of the mining and the chances
are that, next year, they viii not be permitted
to do as much as they are doing now. In some
camps they are, not permitted; in others,
where Cinnamon have been employed, their
places will next year be filed by white men,
and, since the Lemhi failure, many OF our
,,,o,o ,,at aafia6ad with their six