The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1885-12-31

washed 6o2 ths gravel, ssd ths feet thai had
entered mining region was further emphasized
| By the dfiA of the C0uvossatiea around the hntel
nre .fssr suppsr /" Ca.tsc.s !" /. dseosits" psy
| only subjects discussed and had several invi
taiions from hearty. frank hammered miners "a
| engage with them In speculstions which would
| enrich % Ill beibes spring. Thsee tsgnptssiooa
| were resisted By . strenuoua exercise - will
power, and Il sn early hour I slept the sleep oil
Daylight found ms aionguids Of the driv-
| e. on top Of an old-fashi01ed Concord coach,
| grinding through the deep damp gravel beds
which line the river q this p,acs. Miles away
in front Of us . silvery glimmer shone through
the lining gloom, and before We had gone .
ofthe Park range, far behind ~, and tipped a
dozen snowy peaks Of the Divide with rosy
light, while the valley through which We rode
was still in obscurity. There had been q fall OF
snow during the night on the mountains, aod
the dark purple range Of she evening before now
showed ragged outline Of dazzling unbroken
white Tor my miles 10 north and south. Ny ad-
miration OF this change was not shared by nay
friend, the driver, whose road led across the
range and through the snow fields which excit-
Cd my peaise, but whiuh % him were merely an
is4sess!es 81 Or ~ di9c.liy:
rounding the base Of . range Of low hills, the
Twin Lakes opened to our view. The lower
lake along whose gravelly shore We rode stretch
ed away before NJ for about three miles, lying
in ito basin still and without . ripple, and with
the early morning mists curling slowly along its
surface. More than Q mile away. on the farther
shore, the mountains came down TO the waters
edge, thickly wooded with dark green frs and
golden aspen along the banks. while the snowy
peaks of the range lifted their untroddcn cliffs
three or four thousand feet above. On the nearer
side Of the lake the pale blue water tapped only
the grassy slopes of the valley. and at the upper
end, three miles away. could be seen a tiny
group of buildings with hosptable smoke iss,i-
ing from the chImneys. On reaching this ham
let found the Twin Lakes Hotel ready to well
come me, and as | sat down to q breakfast OF
venisOn and mountain trout, the coach con-
tinued its way across the mountains 10 Aspen,
Carrying half dozen fortune seekers to The
newly discovered silver fields of that camp.
was fortunate enough 10 meet party IF
Leadville gentlemen at The breakfast iatle and
falling into conversation, was asked To join them
and take seat in their carriage back To that
city. They were at the lakes some mining
business and iavited me 70 visit their property
with them during the morning, but on being
told that would have better Oppor' uni'ies iF
examining silver mines al Leadville, excused
myself, promising to meet them ut the hotel at
noon, and while they prepared to climb Mount
Ebert, walked over TO the upper lake. This is
smaller than its sO-called twin, being about
but presenting the same general features of beau
titul clearness and tranquility. A strip of land
some hundred yards in width divides the lakes,
which are, however, connected by rapid stream
which coming down from the noun, ains, snow
fed, flows through both lakes, and from the lower
one down across the valley To Granite. Above
the upper lake stand Grizzly Peak and Mount
Ebert. the perpendicular precpices OF the
former contrasting strongly with the grassy AMI
wooded slopes OF the latter, up which mile
away could.se my Leadville friends slowly
making their way.
The absence OF bath houses is explained by
the fact that the intense cOldness of the water,
even in midsummer, renders their use impracti
cable, but there are boat houses attached 10
handsome cottages which are the property and
summer resort of wealthy Leadville men, whose
families have now gone to town for the winter
months.
The ride to Leadville, seventeen miles I'D the
valley, during which we assembled thousand
feet, occupied the afternoon, and was surprised
to find at this great alttude-nine thousand feet
"A cnnsfant succession OF hay ranches mead
ows and pastures occupying the whole valley.
The two mountain ranges which had panAllelled
each other for so many miles, were now evident
ly approaching and seemed to meet come miles
in front in confused group of crags and peaks,
whose snowy desolation rendered more enjoy
able the grassy slopes of the valley over which
We rode.
Several miles before reaching Leadville we
couM infer our approach to q city by thel usual
sign Of gradual accumulation of buildings
Chief among these we're the smelters whose i'm
mense smokestacks had been visible for some
distance back. There are three of these estab-
lishments passed within mile OF LeadviIle, and
they turn ont many tons Of bars Of base bull
lion" dead and silver combined) every twenty
four hours, some Of which we could see stacked
up like cord wood near at hand. The weight of
these bars is about a hundred pounds, and as the
value is only about ten dollars, they are thrown
about with apparent carelessness, their weight
protecting them from thieves The hills, mile
in front, were dotted all over with huge piles of
earth, presenting the appearance Of /" salaman-
der field" and these / learned were the dumps
Of the mines. Soon we turned into Harrison
avenue, handsome street Of about mile in
length, lined with brick and stone buildings.
and teeming with life and activity, and through
this was carried to the Tabor Grand Hotel.
From what / had heard of Leadville in Den
yer, had expected to find decayed town
where the mines were exhausted and the citizens
leaving as rapidly as possible. But in this was
deceived a. was soon apparent. Every few min
utes great four and six horse teams would pass
down the street drawing loads of five or six tons
OF silver ore to the smelters and many others
passed by streets which did not see. Day by
day twelve hundred tons of ore are delivered in
this way TO the smelters, and the expectation of
the years production is fourteen million dollars,
or about thousand dollars for every man, wO
man and child in the city, larger addition to
the worlds wealth, was told, than any other
city in the world could show fact which fully
explains the general air of prosperity 80 notice
able on the streets.
The suburbs Of Leadville cannot, however
limited our ideas, be considered attractive The
mountains close in to the east, north and west,
and the foot hills among which rhe town is
placed, present q succession of rugged rocky un-
dulations, marred with an army OF stumps, the
timber which once covered them having been
cut OF for mining purposes. Two narrow de-
files open through the ranges TO the north and
northwest. and these lead respectively to the
towns Of Ten Mile and Red Glib. mining oamps
OF note which produce several million dollars
yearly. There b q theory extant In Leadville
that these hills are all underlaid with silver ORE
and the frequency with which new discoveries
are made lends color to this supposition. The
same stories Of sudden wealth which we all
heard 20 many OF i've or six years ago, are re-
newed almost daily now. The Forest City
claim lay idle for three years. the owners think
ing 1t waste OF money to work il. A discov-
cry In Al adjoining mine encouraged explora-
tons, and for nearly two yean 1t has paid divi.
dends Of about hundred thousand dollars
month. twsa shown "A trishman who in 1850
money he procured . lease on q mining claim,
succeeded In finding ore In paying quantities,
bought the property. and to day b 10 receipt OF
an income OF twenty thousand dollars q month.
Another man who not very long ago actually
suffered for the necessaries Of life through inabil
ity TO obtain work, now draws three thousand
dollars monthly from q mine In which he was
fortunate enough TO own Z sixteenth interest
Another great recent discovery has been In the