, 1884-02-02
THE RUSH COMING.
Hundreds OF Men HeR ling Toward
the Mines,

- HeNA 80 VIZ hAAN NAANNN AA'AAA AesAnAN
City, the inhabited centre of the
Ceur d'Alene mines, with the in
tention of rusticating for month at
least. Mr.. Child has a store in the
mines, and during his absence the
establishment is managed by his son.
lie naturally supposed, considering
the difficulties to be surmOuntcd in
order to get into the mines, that
common sense would teach the ma
jOrity Of fortune hunters the absurdi-
ty Of rushing into a snow bound camp
where there was no hope of work
ing the ground, and thought that the
business Of his mercantile establish
ment would move along under the
supervision Of his son without any
great tax on that gentleman. I'm
ugine his surprise when he received
q letter Sunday from his representa-
tive in the mines requesting his i'm
mediate presence, and stating the
fact that prospectOrs were crowiing
in at such a rate that one man was
unable to meet the demands Of the
rapidly increasing business. The
letter conveyed the information that
the head and front Of the anticipa-
ted rush was being felt. From every
point on the line of the rail road
from whence the mines could be
reached continual stream of fortune
hunters were making their way to
the camp. Scores Of men were COM
ing in every day, the number in
creasing with the approach of spring,
slow as that approach might seem.
Mr.. Child had his visit here cut
short of. He Immediately secured
six pack animals and departed Mon
day for the camp. He carried such
goods as tents, sheet iron stoves,
lamps and those articles mostly in
demand in the diggings. We met
him just before he started on
the trip. He informed us that there
was many things he might take in
that would pay him for the expense
VI freighting, some 40 cents per
pound, but no line Of articles so
much in demand as those enumera-
ted. While he admitted that other
routes might attract that class of
men willing to travel on foot and
undergo the tribulations accompa-
nying march of that kind he was
still of the opinion that any man who
lad any desire to pack in provisions
or other wares would rely entirely
on the route from Spokane Falls, not
only on account of its accessibility to
the new FL Dorado, but from the in
'contrOvertible fact that purchases
can be made cheaper at this place
and That the route is devoid of the
drawbacks that confront the traveller
ON other routes. 1t Is evident from
all we can learn and see that the
grand whirl Of excitement, the gloss
and glamOr that surrounds gold hun
ting, is to burst upon us a month at
least earlier than was expected. In
spite of all the warnings published
far and near, pointing out the imposs-
f5ility Of performing any labor until
late in the spring, men are determin-
ed to be on the ground and await,
with what patience they may COM
mand, the breaking up Of winter, in
order not TO lose a moment in their
search for gold. There is an indes-
infltuatiOn in all new dis
Of precious metals to draw
men to the scene of the find. 1t is
the hope Of sudden riches, or the
love of the excitement that lures
them on. From the very best au-
thOrities we are Informed that placer
is impracticable in the noun
taIns as lateSas May, and very often
the ground is not free from snow
until June. At the Apresent time
there is five feet OF white covering
on the ground at Eagle City. Some
prospecting is carried on even now,
but it is easy to imagine that the la
Dor is accompanied with much trOub-
loand very little satisfaction. Snow
fifty feet deep would not deter peo-
pie from going into the mines, how
ever, and it is safe to say the spring
travel has fairly commenced, If in
deed it has ever stopped during the
winter, as the coming and going has
been kept up steadily, and the trail
has not really been closed for pedes
trians for twenty-four hours at
stretch. II men will go into the
camp at this season they cannot be
prevented. Common sense ought to
teach them that any gain to be made
by actual mining is entirely vision
ary and they will soon realize that
living in the mines is much more
expensive than they dreamed of.
Men commanding any means can
take advantage of the surroundings,
however, and manage to exist at less
expense II they will only come to
Spokane Falls, secure complete
outfit here, and with them go INTO
the camp ria the Post. They will
find the route from the Falls practi-
cable, and will be surprised at the
low price of goods. Anything and
everything necessary for use can be
procured here. The bulk of travel
is coming this way now and as it
becomes known that the Falls holds
out inducements not presented By
other places on the line Of the road
this will be the most popular route
among all who do not desire to tramp