Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-03-21
Leadville, Colorado.

Since am in daily receipt of letters
from all parts of Michigan making
many inquiries about Leaalville and its
surroundings, especially from my
brethren of the bar, won't you do my
self and all my friends there the favor
to publish these statistics of this coun-
try?
Leadville lies on the very head waters
of the Arkansas River, on the seth par.
allel of latitude, Isl miles south and
west of Denver City. The county is
Lake, and the county seat, Granite, is
eighteen miles south of here, on the
Arkansas River. We have no records
or courts here, save Justices Courts,
and they have jurisdiction up to $500
only. A bill is now before the Legis.
lature to make new county-Carbon-
ate-here and make this the county seat.
That done. there will be much litiga-
ton here, but at present, as we are
eighteen miles from the county seat and
the District Court sits only once a
year, law business in the State courts
here is "nii." Leadville is 10, 406 feet
above the sea, situated in Old Califor-
mia Gulch. Between $4,000, 900 and
SO 900, 900 of gold was taken out in
1861-'62-'63, and the Arkansas River,
taken from its bed by w. Fl. Stevens,
cuts the town in twain. Although thus
high the winter has been heavenly.
During the last two months the Their
mometer all day ascends from forty to
sixty degrees and at night has never
fallen lower than ten degrees below
zero, and only twice at that for single
day. The fearful cold is unknown
here, because we are mountsin-lOcked;
on the east the Mosquito Range cutting
off the cold winds, they being 500
feet, and on the west the Rocky Noun
tains doing the same. Every Sunday
for two months have our preachers ex-
pressed thanks to God for giving us
such heavenly beautiful days and
nights too. This town was born J July l,
1877, and row has more than 5000 peo-
pie, 1900 dwellings and business
houses, all of logs, of green lumber,
save half dozen of brick, and the
daily addition to the population is at
least 100. We have three banks, five
churches, two schools. three daily news
papers, seventy.five drinking saloons,
fifty gaming-houses, etc., fifty restau-
rants or eating-houses, which each
feed over $50 persons daily, six fur
mace smelters, and six more in process
of erection, two ore samplers, mercan-
tile houses of all kinds, over thirty
lawyers, as many physicians, and all
who work here, wear the blue ribbon,
avoid gaming, drinking. reveling and
loafing, are doing we'll. Over 1 200 six
and eight-horse teams haul the supplies
here and draw away silver bullion and
silver ore, leaving all the low-grade ore
piled up mountains high. Leadville
now sends away $25, 600 worth Of ore
and bullion each day, and with cheap
transportation they would quadruple
that sum. Rents are high. I pay $40
per month for log cabin for my law
and business office, and all strangers
have to pay 81 for bed, and very many |
can find none. The route here from
Detroit is via the Atchison. Topeka Il
Santa Fe Railroad to Canon City, thence
per stage about 100 miles. Avoid Den
yer and the South Park Railroad.
The cost of transportation from De-
troit to Leadville will be about $50, ex-
elusive of Pullman cars and food. Liv-
ing here is as cheap as in Detroit, save
rents. And will say that You can get
as good meals here as at the Michigan
Exchange, Biddle or Russell House for
about 81 80 each day. Green lumber
brings $50 per thousand. Wood saw
yers earn So per cord for saving lum-
Der. Carpenters, joiners, 81 per diem,
and in good demand, for there are at
least 500 buildings now in process OF
erection. Good cooks earn from $50 TO
$3.50 per month female servants earn
from $40 to $50 per month black.
smiths at least SIS every day; miners
mostly work for themselves, but smelt-
ers, furnace men. teamsters, all get at
least SO 30 to $5 so per day. The
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad
is graded to within thirty miles from
here, and will be finished here by Au-
gust /, 1879 and then we shall have
coke at 80 per ton, instead OF S32 coal
at "a, instead of $40 and by that time
there will be at least 10000 people
here, and we shall send off 500, 900 in
silver bullion every single day. All
these carbonates of silver are strongly
impregnated with gold, and this last
summer 100000 in gold dust was
washed out here by VIM. FL. Stevens
and other pioneer miners.
Although Sunday is the greatest day
for business and pleasure, too, this is q
most quiet, peaceful camp. But one
man killed since came here, and he
was shot by a constable for resisting
process. This, I think, is the real
bonanza of the United States, and will
ship more gold and silver this year
than any other of the same number OF
people in this Union. have written
this letter with the door of my log
cabin wide open, and the heat of the
sun being in the open air sixty-two de-
grees at noon.-Geo. G. Bates, Cores
pendent of the Detroit Free Press.