The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1878-09-07
slLYEg CITY.

1 Mr.. J. H. Beadls, in . long letter t.
! the Cincinnati Gasette from Southern
Kansas thus punctures the Silver City
humbug. We do mot have the room fol
the entire article:
At midnight We found . bed at the
house Of another stock dealer, slept the
sleep Of the just and weary till Z. NJ,
and were Of again ct the first light, driv-
ing six miles " the ranch of the noted
Uncle Billy Williams. once Q Union
scout from Missouri, now . dealer in
plugs" and "scrubs'-i. g., native stock.
Uncle Billy retains fond memories Of
the time when everything was rising in
price, when he could sell Q "plug" horse
for $50, or scrub" COW for $50; and
be is exceedingly anxious for the bonds
to be paid in greenbacks just a. fast Us
the government can print them. He
struck the subject just as we sat down to
breakfast, and never let up on it for two
hours. After demonstrating, with o
fearful display of lefthanded theological
terms, that "the id bondholders is Jest
. squeezin' the life out of the country"
he mounted his mule and piloted us
through the rocky hollows to the new
colorado, in the extreme southwest cor.
ner of Woodson county. In the way of
Kansas delusions this beats anything l
have come across. Here are Q score of
men firmly persuaded that they have
found rich mines of gold and silver, and
this on gravelly point, where the rock
on one side is rotten sandstone, and on
the other weathered limestone sedimen.
tary limestone at that. and without de-
fined strata, order, true levels, or regular
dip! ] should IS soon look for true
vein in an Ohio River sandbar. About
six months ago specimens" were found |
there in abundance some returned Cal
ifornians pronounced them good, and
for while 100 men were prospecting or
on the point. Now the number
has run down to few of the most per.
sistent. Uncle Billy rode ahead, and in
3 spirit of malicious humor told them
here comes man who has mined all
over the Rocky Mountains" and when l
entered the little grocery at Silver City,
bushels Of specimens were brought out,
! magnifer was produced. and l was
buzzed on all sides.
"What do you think of that o.. said
The owner of shaft thrusting out some
'polygamous lime rock" on which was
! fine shoe of peacock ore, gloriously
'pecked with that provoking substance
which all miners call "fooPs gold."
Think? Why, think it is fine spec.
me OF iron pyrites."
The answer was net satisfactory, and
cores OF specimens were produced-all
he kinds of rock i had ever seen in
Kansas, and ut least dozen kinds had
lever seen anywhere. There were nod.
lies with iron stain, others with actual
races of iron ore, some with lead, others
With indications Of coal and copper, and
'thers with minute points of what GER
ainly looked like lead and silver. The
,rOspectOrs were enthusiastic | was
'bliged to admit that much Of this rock
vas entirely new to me. and they were
uite convinced that was mistaken, and
hat they had rich vein almost devel.
red. |,
And here may remark that gold and !
liver, in minute quantities, are indeed i,
cry widely distributed. Silver has {
Oeeu louHu III COZen ulI'
erent hollows in Indiana; gold can be
from the banks of the Schuyl i
ill, and both metals have been taken 4
rom the bottom of the sea. But it is c
ne thing to find detached specimens of t
ither metal, loosely scattered in brok
n formation, and quite another to find a
beds Of rich oar, in homogen.
us rock and in true assure veins. But q
espite my arguments the diggers re- !
urned to their work in high spirits.
Silver City now contains four houses,
nd the deepest shaft is down thirty feet. :
Jncle Billy swore roundly that it was )
II foolishness to dig. even if the whole +
i'll was full of gold. when the United Il
tates could print all the money the b
attic business required; and, after
out our way. departed with a {,
fred hack like a Parthian n
ROW, on "the id bondholders." But a
is safe to say the currency will not be o
lddenly inflated from this hill. B