Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1882-03-03
Interesting Letter from Colorado.

interesting Letter from Colorado.
WHAT LIFE is THERE SOME FACTS OF
PRACTICAL IMPoRTANcE- LABoR,
RANKING AND MERCHN DIsINa-A
.orAuNToN TEACHER IN THE SCHOOLS.
&C.. &C., sc.
RosITA, COLORADO, !
Feb'y 10th, 1852.
Edilors Vindicator:
have intended for long time to write
a latter to my Staunton friends, through
the medium of your paper, but have hest
tated thus far from a lack of confidence
in my ability to pen anything worthy of
nubication. Hoping this may prove &C
centable, and be allowed place in your
columns, I will proceed. My object is
neither to encourage or discourage emf
grafton to this country, bat to state my
views impartially, and hope explicitly
The reader may then judge for himself,
whether he would prefer the 'new West"
or the sold Dominion.
Rosita is mining camp and market
town. and contains population of about
| Q 700. 1t is the County seat of Custer,
and most of the county officials reside
hero. Its altitude above the sea level is
nearly 5000 feet. and it is surrounded on
all sides by high peaks, upon the summits
of which snow is to be seen the year round.
! The principal range near here is the 'San-
ora do Cristo." The entire business por-
ton Of Rosita. was destroyed by fire last
Spring. but now the ruins are covered
with substantial fire-proof buildings of
concrete and stone.
| AS an instance of western enterprise,
the evening after the fire all the principal
| merchants had erected ''shanties" and had
sent TO the neighboring camps for goods.
and even before the flames were well out.
had resumed business. We have three
| churches here, Episcopal. Methodist, and
| Catholic, all Of which are well attended.
| The Public School is one of the finest in
the State, and by the way, one OF the
teachers is Stauntonian, Mrs. Brooke
Eskridge, formerly Miss Nellie CARRIER. J
During her short stay in Rosita,, she has
gained the admiration and respect OF the
whole community, and MRS. Eskridge''
and tour Teacher" are ''household words. y
The chief enterprise outside of the mines
is the ''Rosita Brewing Company" which
does large business. Every inch of
ground around the town is claimed by
prospectors. Many rich mines have been
discovered, but no doubt the best are still
hidden. The principal paying mines are,
the Leavenworth, Humboldt, Victory,
Twenty-six, Polonla, Pocahontas, East
Leviathan. Lucille, Silver Horn, Brittle
Silver, Game Ridge, Consolidated, &C.,
all of which are working aud showing rich
ore; rich strikes are reported every *few
days. The celebrated Bassick mine of
which every one has heard, is situated two
miles north of here. Quite town has
sprung up around it, which is supported
by the ,Bassick mine and mill employees.
Ali the mines here are working and ''big
boom'' is looming up. I think a laboring
man or man with little means can do well
here. There is also a large field for the
capitalist and speculator; work is not hard
to obtain in the spring and wages are
good.
Miners get $500 per day; some mines
work two shifts of men, each being on du-
ty ten hours, and other mines work three
shifts, each serving eight hours. Freight.
ing pays we'll, man can make from ,0(
to $500 per day with a span Of horses, and
further west it may be still better. Pro
visions in proportion to wages are not as
high as in the East. Carpenters are in
demand and get good wages; building is
going on all the time.
In regard to the climate, this has beer
very mild winter. The winters are usa
ally very cold and much snow falls. Or
account of the dry atmosphere cold is moi
so penetrating here as it is in the East; II
the summer the sun is very warm, but
there is always a breeze, and blanket i:
necessary every night. One great draw
. back to the country is that so many people
have catarrh. Invaids suffering from
pulmonary and throat diseases find thi:
climate of great benefit. If a man witt
weak lungs comes here in time and throws
off his coat and pitches into a little healthy
physical work, will warrant him gool
health, but of course he must not 60 it too
strong at first.
!, Everything is conducted here on casl
basis; 80 days time is all merchant al
lows on accounts, at the end of that time
the debtor must pay. The Banks pay one
per cent. month on deposits, and charge
three per cent, month tor loan. Bank:
never fail here. for the simple reason, tina
the responsible parties know they would bt
run up a tree with their boots on" before
they could get out of the State. Hoping
these lines may prove of some interest tt
my Stanton friends, bid you adlos.
N. K. Trout, JR.