New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-08-16

sands of people OF every calnng uduo, e -.
ton from the blackleg to the man-mnllneI' io I1
inc their homes in California, Nevada ldaro' Dion,
tano Utah and Arizona, flocked hther treasure
% y,.-. tLa center of the White Pine Mineral
district is situated in longitude lis deg ~ mih $40
oc latitude 80 deg IA min. SS8 sec, ana though noU
more than $500 feet higher than the surrounding
,o,Ievs has an elevation of 9,163 feet ABOVE the
ocean. From October until May the weather Is eA-
tremely variable, few days of beautiful sunshine
and warmth being followed by terrible snow and
Lo;I-storrDs Nth degree of cold almost inconceiv-
ILL 60 d,vaIlara in moro favored chimes Much OF
the time Treasure City, which is situated near tho
summit of Treasure Peak, and in the midst OF inc
mines is above the clouds at other times for uaSS
together the clouds rest on the town, making IL I'M
possible to see across street. And this Is HUI all
The cloud freezes and the fine sharp particles oi Ce
penetrate the lungs as you face the storni, WIN
every breath you inhale. The atmosphere Is uehSeS
charged with electricity and the altitude is so great
a. 20 cause MANY people TO bleed at the lungs or
nose. and make it terrible task to climb up NIL
which would only afford exhilaratng exercise LOT
few minutes in the lower country.
HOW THE PIONEERS LIVED.
Tho noonle vvho rusbed here were lodged in tents
or crovded together by hundreds in hastily con-
s+rnctad and III ventilated lOdging-hOuses Ill fed
and clothed and drank water, or were poisoned
nv fiery liouOrs They of course were attacked Win
nnermonia mountain fevers, and rheumatism, ana
N tbis smaN.pox was added as tho long Winter ad-
vanced The mortality was great. Ii costs % cents
per Mound to lay down every article required mere
for anv purpose from San Francisco. The country
around produced nothing to support life. There was
a small supply of barley raised IN Rocky Vaey anu
other ranching localities 60 to $50 miles away ana
some good potatoes came from the same source
Reef mutton land pork were driven here on foot and
therefore sold at cOmparatvely moderate rates say
RI IN 65 centa per pound in COIN Eggs from Salt
Lake 400 miles away sold at 81 so to 81 per dozen,
COIN and butter, etc, at proportOnate rates Doaru
was Al DER meal, and bunk in a provided lodging
house al per ght Lumber was $500 to 500 per lVo
feet, and not to be had in any quantity hay OF IN
foror quality 10 to 20 cents per pound, cOln-t Is
worth but cents now-barley, 25GSO cents WOOD,
$lSaS2O per cord water, made from snow, melted
in boxes over fires in the open air, the only
source of supply on Treasure Hill, s5 to
S7{ cents per paifull -four, $lS3$SO per
100 pounds, and everything else in proportion
The stage stock between Hamilton and Elko, on
the Pacific Railroad became worn out from hard
labor and poor fare, and the stage-owners In self
defense raised the fare to $50 in gold Most OF the
time no work could be done out of doors, and even
the richest mines would hardly pay for working as
the mills charged $500 to 5000 coin per tun for work
ing the ore and only agreed to return ~ per cent Oh
the amount realized even then, With all these
drawbacks the excitement continued and building
went on increasingly. BY June |, 1863, eight thou-
sand claims had been located and recorded in the
ofice of the District Recorder Meantime real estate
merely possessory title-had been up to fabulous
prices lots costing t25 in September 1863, selling in
MANY cases as high as 5000. Gamblers prostitutes
and bogus or wildcat stock operators crowded
here by thousands and held high carnival Fortunes
were made in day by lucky strikes in the mines
and sales to new comers and lost at the gambling
tables which were found in every saloon such
saturnalia the world has seldom seen. Summer came
and work was resumed with vigOr on great number
of mines the cost Of the necessares of life was re-
duced 50 to IS per cent, and miners wages which
had been s. to s. per day. were reduced TO 81 and g.
The wildcat stock excitement had already culmi-
| mated in San Francisco, producing momentary
| crisis and almost panic and claims which had
been selling at fabulous figures became utterly UNI
salable unless well developed, and demonstrated
TO be of real value. Building won't on, how
! ever and the three towns Hamilton at the
entrance of the district at the upper end OF long
| canon terminating at the foot of Treasure Hill,
| Treasure City on its summit and Shermantown or
Silver Springs in canon on tho southern slope Of
into populous cities each with separate municipal
organization Of the most expensive character
Licenses and taxes we're enormous but the merchants
and property-holders grinned and bore it, wagon
roads were laid out and graded at immense expense,
streets graded public buildings banks, and express
Offices erected and mills put up and set TO w0rk.
| The bullion product steadily increased but the
depression in real estate increased at the time,
trade fell off, and in July things began TO look gloomy
| REACTION.
The value of the mines of the district is becOm-
ing every day more and apparent but the first
fash Of excitement being over stocks in the best
Incorporated companies dropped lower and lower,
day by day. in the San Francisco Stock Exchange,
and to crown ALL and bring things down to the bed
rock D-as they say in Californa-the miners or a
portion of them, mostly Irish and Cornish men,
formed Union" or " League" and struck against
the wages, in the latter part of July They de-
manded s. per day. con and eight hours work. The
mine offered 81 for eight hours and so cents
per hour for a longer time. The worst of the
Leaguers, though only numbering 100 to
200 active men, by banding together, and
resortng to intimidation and personal viO-
lence compelled nearly all the rest to
suspend work. The mine owners were united and
determined not to yield and the merchants refused to
trust the idle miners for the necessares of life to
the extent Of dollar in spite of threats of violence
and hints that they did not intend to go hungry
whether they had money or not
THK LATEST NEWS FROM THE STRIKE.
This brings us down to the date at the head of my
letter Matters are now in transition state, and
the prospect is fair that the strike will fail gno-
miniously Some of the strikers under arrest for
acts of violence threats against life attempts to MUIR
der etc. ETC.. others have away, others still are
leaving, fearing punishment at the hands of a
Vigilance Committee or the officers of the law. A