The herald., 1896-01-19
CRIPPLE CREEK WHERE THE FEVER IS

of whom work for a goodly wage and
not merely for grub stake" So.rough-
ly, there are 1000 or 5000 actual wage
earners in the district. But as these
are for the most part single men, it is
impossible to compare the legitimate
population here with what would be
the case in an eastern factory town
with a similar number of operatives.
AT guess l should say that fully
one-third of the population of the dis
trict are saloon keepers, or gamblers,
or stock brokers, or real estate men,
and still larger class who are holding
on with an indefinite hope that they
will by and by find something to do.
For men who understand mining,and
especially for those who are willing to
undertake the arduous life of a pros
pector, there are good chances of en-
ployment in Cripple Creek. But be-
yond this it is not easy to say. When
the cyanide mills are completed and
the great bodies of low grade ore
which are now thrown on the dumps
come to be treated, doubtless a great
many more men will be employed, and
1T Is even possible that the great in
rush into Cripple Greek during the
past year may be- vastly exceeded in
the months to come. Predictions are,
of course, idle. But in general way
it may be said that the field is we'll oc-
cupied, and every thing is held at
boom prices. The man who buys a
mine, or prospect, or anything else
in the district, at this stage of the
game-I mean an eastern men-will be
apt to do 80 at fancy prices. And he
will pay $500 to 5000 for a front foot,
if he invest in real estate. 1t does not
seem to me that there is any kind of
business or occupation which you or
dinarily find in western town which
is not represented here, and very fairly
represented at that.
BY ell this [ am Simplifying trying to
point out that the man who goes to
Cripple Greek in the hope that by so
doing he will be relieved somewhat of
the keen stress and the fierce rivalry
i'll the struggle for existence is singu-
larly deluded. The stress and rivalry
are here also | have the last wish in
the world to Cry down the marvellous
discoveries of gold which have been
made in this new camp, and in my first
letter | endeavored to do full justice
to the sufficiently wonderful facts
What am attempting to do here is to
set before the Herald readers the stu
alton in Cripple Creek as it actually
exists. SO far the mining fever he's
apparently not taken a deep hold upon
the people of the farther east, but few
have any conception of the extent to
which this fever has taken hold upon
some portions Of the middle vest
1t SHOWS itself either in a rage for
speculation in Cripple Greek stocks or
in an Irresistible mania to become pos
SCISSORS of a patch of ground, gold
bearing or otherwise, IN this new Ell
Dorado. At Colorado Springs broker
showed me letter from correspond
ent from little town in Missouri, |
think it was, asking what would be the
chances for employment and invest
ment il the whole town were to pick
itself up and move out. You may
fancy that this is an exaggeration, but
a perusal of the letter itself would
quickly dispel this idea. It's writer
was deeply in earnest.
The excitement which, up to within
few months ago, was mainly confined
to Colorado, has far outflown the
boundaries of that state, and from
Chicago westward the chief topic OF
conversation is of the gold finds in
Cripple Creek. Nor does the mania
for speculation seem on the wane in
Colorado itself. The young woman