The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1880-05-21

- .SvER, Col, May IA, 1888.
sm. ,R MDpLEBURY REGISTER, DEAR
Knowing that some Of your many
.ders are. contemplating a owe for
Colorado this spring, l thought l would
write you q short letter, showing forth
some of the advantages and disadvanta-
ges Of this great and glorious country.
Truly II is q lovely country. There Is
a certain evenness In the climate; not
too warm, very dry, and invigorsting.
This condition calls q great many inva-
lids out here, and q certain proportion
Of them receive benefit from the change;
others find more trouble here than In
the East. The city Is built on the prai-
rie, about fifteen miles east of the Rocky
Mountains. The streets are wide and
very regularly laid out. On the west
you can see the everlasting SHOWS of
Pixies Peak, Gray's Peak, and Longs
Peak while on the east is nothing but
sun-burned prairie. This Is all very
beautiful, but let us look into the city
and see how it is. We find over three
thousand rum holes, and In each and
every one are men drinking, gambling
and swearing from early morn till ear
ly morn again. Walking through the
streets you can look In upon the tables
where the game is going on, no effort
whatever being made TO keep out Of
sight.
Tho streets are crowded with as
motley q crowd as You can imagine, be.
tween five and six thousand men walk
ing to and fro all day long looking fol
work, and what is worse than all, eighI
hundred men OH an average are arriv'
ing from all parts of the United States
every twenty-fOur hours. There 10 one
class who are hopeful and smiling, hur
rying around, getting ready for a triT
prospecting, or are starting for the
camps. They have some money anG
are looking ahead and can see lin ttieil
mind) the gold, tho nuggets, they will
soon be gathering in. Tho other elias,
are very different. They have gotter
thus far and can't raise the wherewith
al to go any further, or are just bach
from the mines "busted" and are trying
to get enough together to get bach
East. Truly they are a sad looking
crowd, sitting around on street corners
or in second class hotels call broke up
i'm every sense of the word.
"In God they trusted,
In Colorado they busted"
Business Is good, very good, bu
every thing is overdone. II one will
capital comes out here he can do well
but to come out with the hope of strik
ing a job is the height of foolishness
You must live while here, and $12 Il
e2S per week at q first class hotel will
soon eat you up. So will ~ per weel
.,I ho.1 ehollaJ hoJ huoo of a oacon.
class house. Stone and brick mason
and carpenters get all the work the.
can do, with wages from $3.50 to $4.5
per diem, according to their proficiency
But for all common work there are Al
hundred men where one IL needed, TIL
city is not only overrun with common
laborers but also with professional men
Lawyers are very numerous; and ply
%sicians, quacks of all kinds, hom9Opa
thists, female, Indian, herb, corn, spec
ialists, cclectics, etc., etc., and not
few regulars. The city is posted wit
asttering reports from the mimi,
camps. The papers are full Of them
they all say, "GO to Leadville," $50 Il
the Gunnison," "Go to the Breckin
BRIDGE" yes 10 to the devil and yOl
will have less snow, much better com
pany, and won't have to pay $50 pc
barrel for -four. ! tell you, stay wher,
you are if you can make q living AM
pay your taxes, rather han to come out
here; it is a railroad scheme to get yol
out here; it costs almost fifty per cen
more to return than 1t does to com
out and on all railroads west of the cit
the fare IL ten cents per mile. Tai
about the lovely farms of Kansas an
Colorado, yes, very lovely indeed
They have not had a drop of rain sine
last October. Every thing is as dry a
a bone. l stopped at several place
coming over the X. p. r. II. and foun'
that their only means Of livelihood wer'
hunting buffalo and antelope, and gath
ering buffalo bones on the ranges an
shipping them east for superphosphate
Stay where you are, boys, and don
get caught in this trap into which 8
many have fallen. Stand by old Vel
mont. She is a good old state. d. v
[ shall soon shake the Denver dus
from off my shoes and once % turl
my face towards the dear old state.
Yours as ever,
VERMONTER.