Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1879-06-05

Astonishing Facts About ths New silver
NeEfon--What Has Been, What is. and
What IL 10 Come.

Il
EUeniitg Post writes from Leadville, Col.
to the following effect II was about
the middle Of last summer that the value
oi Leadvillc ms carbonate camp was
discovered. California Gulch, on which
the present town stands was nm old
mining camp, having been worked for
gold from 1859 to 1867, the Weld run
ming down from $4,000 In 1850 10
about Si50,O00 in 1866, when the dig
gings were abandoned. In those days
1t is said the gold miners caulked their
log cabins with what they supposed
was mud, but was really carbonate
worth Si00 IA ton. Who discovered the
carbonatcs is a disputed question, but
there is no doubt that w. II. Stevens.
OF Lake Superior mining fame, n resi-
dent of Detroit, was one of the first, If
not the first, TO undertake systematic
mining operations for silver in this
camp. Old California and Nevada
miners sc0ifed the idea Of finding any
thing of value in the carbonates. They
were soft, not hard. They were pan
cake deposits not veins. The oldest
and wiscst among them had never seen
any metal extracted from such stuff.
Still, Stevens had his adhercnts. too
Numbers of men swarmed upon the
nils and began to sink shafts. They
were speedily rewarded. The Little
Pittsburgh. which has enriched all its
owners, was struck at thirty-cight feet
below the surface, and other discoveries
speedily followed. Romantic stories are
told of the Vicissitudcs Of fortune which
bcfcll the early discoycrcrs-how the
Gallagher brothers wandered from store
TO store yainly begging for sack of
flour 10 enable them 10 go on with
their work, and next week struck min
cral, and sold out for | know not how
many hundred Thousands, on which
they are living in -plcndOr in the Champs
Elysccs; how Long and Derry were lust
about 10 give up in despair. when old
Long struck his pick into the ground
in his rage. and uncovered the wall Of
"a iissuTc vein, one of the very best in
camp at this present time; how a small
grocer grub-stakcd " hungry MINER
who struck mineral within "A couple of
weeks: how the small grocer bought
out the miner, sold n small interest in
his mine for fortune, bought other
mines, made money out Of all of them,
and is now iicutonant-Goycrnor W 4.
Tabor. president Of the Bank Of Lead
vile, and a man whose income i
rcckoncd in millions. Whatever o truth
there may be- in these attractive tales.
there l. 40 doubt Of the fact that by
August Of last year layers Of carbonate.
carrying silver var. ing in quantity from
300 10 10 ounces per ton. began to b.
discovered throughout the range Of hills
/ which cncirCic the town of Ieadvillp
on the east, and that great fortuues-
solid foTtuncs--segan to be- realized bv
the lucky discoycTors. The carbonate.
were in every ease save one nearly
horizontal deposits. lying NJ depths
varying from thirty-iiyc tn one hundred
and thirty-iive feet below the surface.
In scarcely any case was blasting re-
quircd in the shafts. Two dollars a
ton was a common estimate for the
cost nf extracting the ore.
Such astonishing honanzas created AN
excitement far and vida furorc far
exceeding the Black Hills fever. and
which can only be compared to the Cali
, fornia rage of ISIS. Ten thousand peo-
pie poured into Toadvilic during the last
three months of IS7S. and huge ma
chincry for smelling works aud zawmiils
was hauled over thc mountains at m on
oTmous expense. You must remember
that these fnTtune-huntcrs were going
not to pleasant region like California
or Nevada. but to q barren wilderness
ten thousand feet above the sea. whore
the soil will not even grow potatoes.
where snow falls every month in tho
year, and q man had his hands and feet
frozen one night last August Still. no
haTdships deferred the adventures.
Trade and business were dull through
out the world. and during the three
months ending March 3lst 1879. at least
iiitecn thousand men found their way to
l%adville.. large proportion Of them
toiling painfully on foot ono hundred
Fxn-a
miles through the snow from Denver or
Canon. When first visited Lcadyilla
in March last il was full Of men who bad
no home, who slept on the sawdust on
harroom floors, who all seemed tn have
money enough to get food without work
ing. and who spent their days in bar
rooms. gambling houses. dancc-houscs.
or on the sidewalk in Chestnut street.
discussing the last great strike. Halfa
bed in n miserable attic was worth from
: 10 - night. Stores rented for LOO
per ccntum of their cost Mechanics
wages were 81 or - day. To force
ones way into the postoflice through the
throng which bcsft it from morning till
night required no small eXertion Of
strength. business was booming
Small storekcepers turned over their en-
tire stock in two days, and then vainly
NANtF anu Ifttttt iiA HUSH NhIlVilts~
Town lots worth $50 in October, 1878.
readily commanded $1,000 in March.
1879.
returned to the camp" U.eavillc.
though an organized city. with mayor,
aldermen and all other civic function
aries, Is still called camp by all but
tcnderfeet y week ago. and marked
change was evident. Prospecting on
snowshocs in snow from four to eight
feet deep had exhausted the patience Of
many, and the three stage lines reported
that they carried nearly as many passcn-
gers 10 rs from Denver and Canon. Both
in Chestnut street and at the postoflice
the crowd had diminished. Lodgings
were easily to be obtained. OF the | 800
houses (merc board huts) that were un-
der way on the 20th of March, many
were finished and many were unoccu.
pied. Storckeepers complained of the
dullness of business. Real estate had
ceased to move. and the unfortunate
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