Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1877-07-25
LYON COUNTY TIMES
ALetter from the Black Hills.

A correspondent Of the Eureka
Sentinel, under date of July 9Th,
writes from Deadwood as follows: /
have no prejudice against the Hills
having been one of the few fortunate
ones In finding good paying claim
"a cause for congratulation, from
the fact that there is scarcity of such
locations. There is gold here, and
IN paying quantities, but not enough
to serve the purposes of the immense
emigration that has poured in here
this season. And now a word to
those who think of coming here and
taking up mining claim. Stop;
the turkey Is carved and the pieces
won't GU around, II you intend to
buy a claim, the seller knows its full
value, and not beng Christmas you
will not get any part of it thrown in
as present. The Pilgrims and Ten
derfeet can buy quartz claim cheap
in which the gold veins they show
them have been put by drawing the
edge of a twenty-dollar gold piece
over the rock, or placer claim that
has been sailed with load out of an
old shotgun. In the mechanical
trades there is great surplus
thousands here and no work for them.
A few carpenters received four dol
lars day early In the season, when
builders we're pushed, but they are
now down to two dollars and no work
for vast majority of those who ap-
ply. Laborers can be had in any
number for one dollar, and many beg
work, asking only food and place
to sleep. There are more merchants,
saloon and restaurant men here now
than the country will support, and
as soon as the thousands who are now
ON the way back spread the news of
their disappointment and the utter
hopelessness of new corners getting
claims or employment the rush will
stop and business will fall off. Those
who want to take homesteads and
farm had better go where there is
less winter and more water, for no
crop is sure here without expensive
irrigating bitches, and on our pros
pecting trip we saw millions of young
grasshoppers.
The cry now is "On to the Big
Horn" and many will be allured by
it. When we were on the Big Horn
plains we saw many hunters who
thoroughly knew the country; none
of them had ever seen gold there,
and many hal prospected for it, but
the idea is abroad that there is gold
there, and that is enough to draw the
crowd. There is no section of the
country outside of Deadwood and
Bear Butte hills that will pay. Dead
wood gulch, which is less than five
miles long, and part of Whitewood,
will pay to sluice, and nothing out
side of those two and their tribu-
taries. Bear Buttes is rich in quartz
and there is a small section of quartz
country, all deposits-there is not
regularly defined vein in the Hills
every inch OF which is taken up. l
saw a statement in the New York
Tribune that section of country,
300 miles square, is rich in gold, sill
yer, lead, copper and iron. The
small region that I have mentioned
carries precious metals, and the bal
ance simply red sandstone, limestone
and clay, and for the truth of the
above refer to the thousands of pros
pect holes that have been dug all
over the country. The absence Of
any new discoveries, notwithstanding
the enormous amount of exploring
that has been done, proves that this
is not a second California, and as a
gold producing region it is away be-
low any of the States and Territories
west of the Rocky Mountains. 1t has
been fair country tor surveyors and
town lot spectators, and few lucky
ones have found paying claims with
ia circumscribed space, but the
region Is overdope, and advise every
body to stay away from here, for the
present at least.