North Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1867-current, 1867-06-12
McGREGOR, IOWA, WEDNESDAY, JUNE l2, 1867

keep up appearances, he can increase it to
a million by adding few more stamps.
Whew! and here am, writing with a
common steel pen and wooden holder, in
a community where man is laying up his
weight in gold every three weeks Lets
have another pint of peanuts, if you please:
who cares for expense?
have remained on trinity all winter.
working most of the time, but the weather
has been so severe we have made but little
Roadway in developing the gulch. We
are satisfied there is some good ground in
it. The streak" so far as prospected.
we find to be very rich, but not very wide,
being only from II to lS feet in width
Having great confidence in the gulch, we
got possession of all the ground we could,
and what few of us are here believe we
can make our fortunes. There have been
but about dozen of us working on the
gulch this winter, and to use the express
ion of the boys, we think we have
dead thing" on "big raise" But
Solomon says "riches take to themselves
wings and fly away and 1 believe the
same writer (who must have mined some
in his day. also says that "gold is where
you find it," but the expression has be-
come changed in modern days, and these
/" dead things that the prospector finds
so often, sometimes take legs (instead of
wings) and crawl off, 1t is not an un-
common thing in mining town to meet an
old friend who will slap you on the back,
grasp your hand as though he intended to
smash it to shivers, and exclaim in the
height of his Joy, "rve struck It'll" you
burst out with bully for you glad to
hear it; what have you struck?" "Big
prospects, got dead thing on all the mon
ey want-let's 90 and take a drink. -
OF course you go and "smile" with him
at his good luck. In all probability a
month or two afterwards in passing along
the street you recognize your lucky friend
standing in front OF restaurant window
with his duds looking the worse for wear,
his arms in his pockets up to the elbows,
his mouth gaping open, and his eyes riv-
tied on the many good things within,
which are arranged so as to attract empty
stomachs. You step up to him and ask
show about that dead thing; is it all
right ycty' Ten chances to one if he don't
say "d-n the dead thing-it took legs
and crawled away from met" If you are
generous you take him in and buy him
pie; if not, you 60 on your way thinking
" such is mining life-now you see it and
now you DON'T
So it may be with us Trinity fellows
our good prospects may vanish with the
snow; but the present indications are that
we have got one of the "fattest takes' in
this part of the mines. If such is the
case, shall not fail to send you nugget,
for the gold is coarse.
Confederate Gulch, 1.-THE bars of which
have yielded so extensively the last two
summers, bids fair to eclipse everything
in the shape of gulches. A drain ditch
has lately touched bedrock, and $4,000
rocked out in one day, and as high as $3.50
has been washed from four pans of dirt.
We still hear of the Indians making
great preparations for the coming cam
paign. A number of the most savage
tribes have united, and expect to annihi-
late every pilgrim and soldier that shows
himself in their country. Through friend
ly Indians we learn the particulars of the
Phil. kearney massacre. Some two thous-
and warriors came up on purpose to take
the Fort and sent word beforehand to that
effect. Six hundred picked, young braves,
were secreted few hundred yards from
the Fort with orders to rush in and take it
as soon as sufficient number of the SOL
diers had left it. The remainder were hid
in the two long ravines mile from the
Fort, with an open space between them,
after having sixty to drive off the stock,
which they did. Ninety men and three
officers were sent ont to retake the stock,
and they followed the Indians until they
were fairly between the ravines, when at
the first fire from the ambush all the men
fell but seventeen, and they succeeded in
killing twenty Indians before they were
dispatched. Col. CARR gan did not rein
force his men, and consequently the hum
dred savages did not come out, and thus
the Fort and remainder of the garrison
was saved. Carrigan has been removed.
The Helena folks have been gay this
winter. Social parties, sleighing, dancing
clubs, lectures, debating clubs, &C., have
been numerous. The Methodists held a
protracted meeting in the midst Of all this
gayety, and gained quite an addition to
their already prosperous church. For three
months the jingle of the sleigh bells has
been uninterrupted. Fast horses, nice
sleighs, and good looking girls have been
the height of the ambition of many of the
young men Of the city, and ditto with the
opposite sex of course. A common team
and sleigh costs only ten dollars an hour:
an extra sleigh, fast team, and heap oil
robes to cover up in, comes at the neat
little sum of $50 an hour. A girl who
can't appreciate such luxuries as these has
no business to be girl. 1t is said that
a young lady Airted with a gallant young
admirer few nights ago, and kept him
driving her around hour after hour urtil
ten hours had flown away, evading all the
while his question as to whether she would
be his happy bride or not, until finally,
when he did have to reluctantly leave her
at her door, she only consoled him by say
ing that "a hundred dollars wasn't much
to pay for good sleigh-ridc in this coun-
try, and that any time he wished to go
again she would be on hand" When the
people here pretend to put on ''style,'
there is no limit to the jewelry and fincry.
At the Masonic ball on the 22d of Febru-
ary, there were number Of ladies present
who wore jewelry and diamonds valued al
from SIC, 900 to $4,000. Quite display
for a backwoods town. The stages run
regularly between here and Salt Lake, and
we get mail from the States every other
day. Brigham Young and the Gentiles
have not agreed very well this winter, and
many Of the Mormons have stopped trad
ing with the Gentle merchants. There ii
some talk Of Brigham retiring from tht
throne, and his son reigning in his stead
Poor fellow he has had such hard time
of it in the world, that presume he wants
to take little comfort in his old age. L
that son falls heir to all those wives with
the throne, he will certainly have a grea
many responsibilities for new ruler
What demand for calico! Seventy-ivt
wives with new dress every month
calico two-bits yard-l2 yards to dress
then comes all those little dresses, and
all other rigging for seXenty-fve ''new ar
rivals a year; and the blowing of all th'
little tin whistles, and rattling of the rat