Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1881-02-24
LETTER FROM wooD RIVER.
What "a Eureka Man Has seen and
Thinks of the Countrywide Eure-
kans He Found There.
BELLEVUE. Feb. 16. 1881.

Ikans He Found There.
BELLEVUE, Feb. 16, 1881.
Ed. SENTINEL: l have been in this burg
a few days, and freely say that for life and
hustle it is ahead Of Eureka, even after
"pay days" There are upwards of 200
frame and log houses in Bellevue, and
nearly all are occupied. Mines and pros
pect holes are in sight upon every point of
the mountains on either side Of Wood
River as far as the eye can look up the val
ley. What they amount to l do not know,
only by samples Of ore and what all agree
in saying of them. There few men here
sampling ore and putting a few dollars in
town property, which OF present can be
purchased very cheap. For sixteen years
l have been in many mining camps be-
tween Denver, Colorado, and Virginia
City, Nevada. Never before did l visit a
camp but that l found GROWERS therein.
OF the Wood River country I have never
heard a disparaging remark. The people
here are generally old-time residents and
prospectors on this coast, and with one &C.
cord they pronounce the mines on either
'sA0 - ~ AlNCI " q uAobdliCG " W uiilGB,
richer, more Of them and easier of access
and treatment, than in any district which
has heretofore come under their observa-
ton. The altitude Of Bellevue is 5000
feet above the sea level. On the flats be-
low town and along the river bottoms the
finest wild grasses grow in abundance, and,
in fact, anything in the garden-truck line
can. be raised in abundance. Out on q
sampling expedition this morning I found
the snow to be between 90 and % inches
in depth about this place. Those who
have spent two winters or more in this
section pronounce this an exceptionally
hard season. 1t seems very pleasant to me,
there being no winds and q very-even tenn
perature.
The first smelter to be erected here is to
be put in place very soo~n-about six miles
above Bellevue. There the town of Mar
shall has been laid out, and men of means
have already let several contracts for house.
building in the new burg-the business ri
val of Bellevue. OF the mines and pros
poets of Wood River / will write you as
soon as I have satisfied myself.
Timber, water, beautiful scenery, fish
and game are in abundance upon every
hand, and the people wintering here are all
happy.
The material for the Wood River News
is now on the road from Kelton to Belle
vue, and the people have Joined in, with
purse and encouraging words, to aid the
projectors Of this newspaper enterprise.
OF all the old-time Eurekans your cor
respondent here met in Bellevue, with a
two days acquaintanceship in this section,
we notice the following John L. Walker,
who in 1878 was the choice OF the Demo-
cratic County Convention for one of Eu-
reka's Assemblymen. By a small major
ity the Democrats were told to stay at
home, and John served on the police force
in Eureka for a while, to be superseded by
Dan. Patterson. Early in the Spring Of
1880 Mr.. Walker ~emigrated to the Wood
River country, and with a cash capital Of
81 so he set his sticks in Bellevue about
the first Of May last. East and West John
had friends. Fortunately he ran across
Tom Hart, whom everybody knows in
White Pine, Cherry Greek, etc., and to-
gether they ordered goods, built the first
store in town, and to-day they are doing
an extensive trade in groceries, hardware
and c~lothing-in fact, call for what you
want in Walker 4 Harris store and you
will get it. One thing is noticeable about
this house-they have sold goods at reason
able rates, have charged no exorbitant
prices for the necessaries of life Though
there was no outside communication, and
the people knowing it appreciate the same.
Hugh Corbett and John Quantrell are
idling around just now. They put up a
saw-miI as soon as possible last Spring,
locating the same at Ketchum, 10 miles
north Of this place, and with plenty of logs
on the ground, they started in and sawed
every foot of lumber it was possible for
them to do up to the holidays. Very soon
they will resume operations, and will do
their best to supply the demand for lum-
Der.
Quantrell, it will be remembered, was
connected with Boone in the building
business in Eureka, Immediately after the
first fire. Boone is now living at Ketchum.
Dave Weisenberger, the shoemaker,
struck this camp last Summer. Walker &
Hart ordered him a stock TO operate on,
and he is now doing a thriving business
in making and repairing boots, shoes, etc.
Every bootmaker in Eureka knows Dave.
Hermann. the bloody butcher, is here.
He still hangs to his old trade.
Uncle Billy Eaton shows up in Bellevue,
and is as frisky as ever. He has several
good mines in this immediate vicinity.
Trav. johnson don't look q day older
than he did ten years ago. He is Deputy
Sheriff in this section of Alturas county,
and will deal gently with Eurekans if they
should happen to fall into his clutches
during the Spring rush through this burg.
Tray. plays every game Of life with a high
hand.
In the days Of old L. A. York was known
to the Austinites; later he dwelt in Eureka;
now he is doing a thriving business in
the &c Miners Delight" in Bellevue, Idaho.
Brother Gibbins (Old Kaintuck) looks
cold in this climate, but he made money
enough last Summer, in prospecting, to
drive dull care away for one season, and
he has good claims of rich galena yet to
sell or develop.
Morrison, who labored so long and dis
~astrously Ito his healthy at the Eureka
recovered his vitality; Is now the possessor
Of good property here. an excellent ranch,
etc.
The boss OF all Eurekans, for luck, is
Owen Riley. Everybody knows how he
hit the Ell Dorado mine on Prospect Noun
tain, and now is Tor was) a third owner in
the North Star mine, just above town. l
say "was," because the mine has been
sold for $50, 900, the coin to be paid over
on March LIST. A round sum was put up
for a forfeit. There is an enormou pile
Of ore on the North Star dump.
Francis jeffrey, formerly with Under
taker Schwamb, and in the Eureka County
Hospital, owns several valuable mines be-
tween this place and the Saw Tooth range
In this town he has a fine building known
as the Palace Hotel Lodging House.
Charley Collins. brother-in-law OF the
late VIM. H. Clark, is wintering in this
place. He has some valuable prospects
close TO town IN which he works as the
weather permits, but thinks his best prop
erty is on the Smoky Fork of Salmon
River. He has a mine close by Jack Hoods
bonded property, OIL Cottonwood Greek,
which shows ore assaying away up in the
hundreds.