Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1877-09-22
THE DEADwOOD COUNTRY.
An Old stage Drivers Experience

An Ol0 SSoSe Drivers experience
We extract the following from a pri-
vate letter of an old stage driver, who
writes to his friend In Eureka some
very amusing incidents Of life in the
Black Hills:
DEADwooD, Aug. 25, 1877.
FRIEND HANK: Received your last,
and also package Of SENTINEL's, for
which I am much obliged. Times are
kind of shading off out here just at
present, and / think the chances are
that it will be duller before long. The
fact Is the country has been overrated,
all those fellows that came rushing here
in the spring, expecting to find an
other California lying around loose,
have got mighty badly fooled. Why,
all the gold taken out since the first
discovery wouldn't equal one old creek,
such as we used to pan around in over
in the Golden State, along in so. The
big rush here early in the season, has
been followed by another just as big a
one, but the last Is going out instead Of
coming in, and the boys mostly prefer
to walk; its cheaper and good healthy
exercise you see, and besides it don't
make such a draft on the pocket. I've
been following the old business for the
last three months, driving stage be-
tween Deadwood and Custer City, but
/ quit suddenly = week ago. 1t put me
in mind Of old times on the Geiger
grade in Virginia City. along from go
to '65. The road agents are just about
as thick and twice as sassy. The rob
bling OF the stages has got to be q regular
business, and the boys have got it
right down to q system. They know
Just as we'll when reasure is going out
as the express agents. l meet a dozen
men on the street every day. walking
around as easy as you please, who
probably were out the night before taxi
ing in u box aud sliding back MIDTOWN,
flush in consequence. They play faro
mighty high for u day or two. 1 could
name over half a dozen sports whom
you used TO know in Nevada, who are
out on the road and make bigger hauls
Of a night bucking at hat game than
they ever did bucking at the tiger. OF
course, I amt any detective, and as the
boys are pretty liberal, / don't give
them away. I've been stopped seven
times since I've been on the route. and
almost every time in one place, about
Is miles from the city, where the road
runs through some underbrush, IN a
small canyon. My cam got so used
to it that they would pull up and stop
Just as regular rs IL IL WAS at the sta
ton. The Express Company don't
run any shotgun messengers, and the
drivers amt hired to fight, so the high
have an easy trick. There
amt so much Of the business going on
a. there was q month or two ago, but
that is owing to the fact hat treasure
shipments are running rather light.
| am thinking of going over in the San
Juan country next week. This town
will be too dead TO kill in another
month. There is a big talk about
quartz, but / don't think the lodges are
permanent. / have talked with lots of
old Nevada miners, and they agree
with me. Some OF the claims were
rich on top, but there are no indica-
tons of their holding out very long.
II don't look like a mineral country TO
me, but / may be mistaken. There
have been no new discoveries for some
time. Some Of the placer claims on
Deadwood, wildwood and Castle
creeks are paving well, but even ten
miles of the richest kind OF diggings
Amt going TO grub 30, 900 people.
Big Horn is a failure; at least, there
has been no news of any big finds
having been discovered yet. There
was u big rush to that region a month
ago, but very few people are starting
now; and those who have come back
bring discouragiDg reports from that
section.
Most of the boys from Nevada are
intending to 90 back to the Silver
State this winter. 1t will be fearful
rough here, and all kinds of mining
will cease AS soon as snow falls. Grub
is pretty cheap, but it takes good rust
ling to get hold of the necessary coin
to put up for IL.
Remember me to all the boys.