The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1871-06-02
LETTER FROM COLORADO

We make the following extracts from pri-
vate letter written by our townsman, c. M.
Dillon, who is now absent on a tour for his
health:
Having stopped in Denver a few days to
rest and recruit 1 will give you a few of the
impressions received and the facts collected
while there. The city contains about 5000
inhabitants, made up of Americans, Indians.
Mexlcans and 'Chinese-the two latter thor
oughly hated for working for low wages The
best buildings here are of brick, which are so
soft that they have not ventured to build a
house Of four stories, but my nephew is put
ting up a brick machine, from Chicago, that is
warranted to make seventy brick per minute
as smooth and solid as pressed brick, and worth
from $40 to SD thousand. Lumber is worth
from S35 to SO per II, and is drawn on wag-
ons forty miles. The population has been
foating-made up of fortune seekers-untiI
within &sTee or four years. Since immigra-
ton is accomplished they are building fne
houses, laying out nice yards, planting trees
and this year many dwellings costing from
$4,000 to $4,000 Will be erected Hotels,
saloons, billiard rooms and gambling houses
are amply sufficient to meet the wants of the
people. The city is lighted with gas, they are
putting in the Holy water works, digging an
artesian well, building a narrow guage rail
road three and half feet wide) to the coal
beds, ninety miles distant, in the mountains,
with many other Improvements designed to
make this metropolis worthy of Colorado.
Two cemeteries zone belonging to the Ma
sons) lie at the outskirts of the city, aud are
covered with graves, many of which are occu-
pied by those who came here for their health
and made this final resting place.
A nice fair ground and race course, Ia grotto
fence around each), the latter literally patron
lied by the sporting fraternity, and even the
business men keep a good supply of fancy
stock, and nearly every citizen has Mexican
pony. The roads are fine, but so dry and
hard as to produce corns in the horses feet.
The manufactures are small, but thev have
considerable machinery for getting out the
metal from the ores. The soil is easily culti-
Vdted and produces good crops of all the small
grains when irrigated. Wheat grown here is
claimed to be the best in the world, but, like
California wheat, has to be dampened before
grinding. Corn does not succeed; the worms
destroy it. All garden truck grows nicely,
and strawberries and grapes equal to any on
the continent
The other side of the picture is not so nleas-
ant and interesting Peaches are a fdiInra
and the apples look forlorn The water and
soil are lmpregnated with alkai, and have a
tendency to produce dyspepsia. II acts ynfa-
so strong that they cannot drink #. The
Platte River water, on which they chiefly de-
pend, is poor drinking water, and produces a
disease Of the kidneys which the doctors cali
rheumatism the doctors differ about it, Peo-
pie, when at work, take cold very easv. and
old people from the States die suddenly from
congestion Of the brain. Catarrh affects whole
families in winter. Rocky Mountain fever.
and diseases similar to those in Ohio. are
prevalent. Consumption and asthma, if moi
hopeless before they come, are freGuentIv
cured, 1t is bad country for people Subject
to headache. Taxes are heavy, and within
crease faster than the population, for much of
the country Is destitute of water for irrigation,
though it IS belief here that occupation and
much travel causes water to spring up where
none had before existed. OF the truth of this,
or its philosophy I gives no opinion. What
gives, perhaps, the greatest promise to this
country is Merlno sheep. They increase fas-
ter and produce one-third more wool than in
the States