The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-05-13
THE PHENOMENAL CITY,
4 Cincinnntinn's Gi:mpses of Iifo IN
LcRdvillc.

THE EPHENOJrEN-tL CITY.
\ Cincinnntlnn's Gi:mpses of Lifo IN
Lcadvillc.
8 (Cincinnatl COlnmcrcial.1
John III. rutherford, who returned
recently from Il business trip to Lead
vile, Colorado, gives, in ton min
utcs' talk. better idea Of the place
than could be had out of dozen Or
dinary letters. lie went there to sell
pipes for water works and gas works.
From Webster, tho railroad terminus,
seventy miles from Denver, the travel
CT must stage it one hundred miles to
Lcadvillc. And rough staging it is
over the mountains, including 800
feet rise of the timber line. Lead
vile is IL 900 feet above the sea. On
first rcachiug that altitude one has
great difficulty in filling the lungs. 1t
takes day or two to get over the
feeling OF suilocutiOn. "A snow storm
brought great relief, the atmosphere
becoming denscr.
~ few months ago Lcadvillc had
eight hundred Inhabitants; now it has
eighteen thousand, the large majority
miners. There arc four hundred and
iitly Cyprians in tho place, and
fifty decent women.
LcadviIlc has three thousand houses
ami shantics ard two streets. There
arc only two brick houses in the place.
at II. Yht when work is done for the
day, these streets are packed with
people. Long lines Of mru form at
the post Office when the mails arc dis
tribuicd. The principal and iirst-class
accommodations arc ut the "Gruntl
Central Hotel" and the the "Tontinc"
restaurant, board four dollars Der day,
with good food ana plenty of vcrmin.
Although tho supcrinlondcnts Of
mines arc constantly calling for mcu
ut three dollars and three dollars and
Il half per day, there arc three thousand
idle men in the place. n mine calls
Tor fifty men at three dollars and mlf
per day, and Il halfdozcn only respond.
The superintendent appeals to the
authorities, and Immediately fifty men
arc picked up as VagruntS aud put to
work on the streets. They cannot be
forced to work in !hc mi,icS; but they
can be made to tlo the city some ser
vice. The result is that under the in
lucncc Of this warnings, q lot of them
arc induced to go to the mines and
commence work. And SO with the
next call.
While Mr.. Rutherford was in Lead
vile he saw an offer Of $3 ,50O, 900 for
property that cost its owners about ST.
00a090. Senator Jones and associates Of
tcrcd that amount for three mines, one
OF which cost 100000, and the third
Slo,ooO. The owners held of, de-
manding S5,0O0,0Q0.
The first Chinaman arrived while
MI. Rutherford was there. No sooner
hau he nlightcd from the top OF the
Stage than he was surrounded by q
lotof mon and marched off to the
graveyard, where he was told he could
remain i'll Lcadville save rs "stitf."
| l1c Immediately and chccrtully start
cd for "Fair Play" The I.cadvillc
people have sworn that they will not
tolerate John.
The fact tlnt this wandcrcr from the
Orient is willing to work, while three
thousand white men refuse to work
does not operate in his favor in The
least. The trouble is, he is toe
willing.
Whiskcy, some very good and some
very bad, sells ut twenty-five cents per
drink; cider at twenty-five cents pc,
St"ss, nSvr uC oIic tiUlIul pei ..t,I
bottle. Water works and gas works
are progressing.
l.cadvillc is we'll governed. In the
midst Of all thcsc rough men and bad
elements order prevails. The police
arc efficient, and there arc two wei
organized vigilance committees. Is
bunko man had robbed miner 'ot
Sl3S. He was pointed ont. With
half dozen pistols at his head he
threw up both hands and quietly took /;
sitting. His gold watch and chain
pistol. keys, ctc., aud $3.50 were takcl
from him. The $l3S having been re-
tnrncd 10 the miner, the balance was
handed over TO the chairman Of the
vigilance committee. The bunko man
was then given start Of fifty yards
through the principal streets and the
go was given him. Then he started
with a dozen pistol bullets tearing M
the ground behind him. It is sup
posed he is still running. This was
called stern justice.
The mines are rich both in lead and
silver, and arc said to be more promis-
ing than even the tar-tamed Comstock
lode IN Nevada.