Rock Island Argus., 1906-02-17
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as q pleasant health resort, and the wa
ters Of Its springs were being bottled
and shipped to the eastern cities. Each
year a larger number of stricken ones
came to find respite, If not recovery, In
its gloriously bright sunlight and pure
air. B'or years 1t remained a village
and its business men merely shopkeep-
erS and resident ranch owners, but as
its fame spread families of wealth and
social position in the east began to set
tie along the bank OF the Bear and to
build homes into which the sunlight
streamed with healing magic, and the
men of these families began to look
about for business and for investment
and not u few of them were in the
mood TO listen when rough bearded
men began to plod down the trail from
Bozle Greek bringing sacks of promis-
ing ore.
Returns from these samples. sent
away to be assayed, started n flight Of
golden eagles east and west. Again the
adventurous youth, the skilled pros
pectOr, the gambler and all the uneasy
and shifting elements that follow such
lures poured into the valley and toiled
over the trail To the grassy hills OF
Bozle
At first though short of breath by
reason of the altitude. two full miles
above the sea. some Of these incomers
laughed and some were angry. "Gold!
In these grassy hills? Impossiblew And
they went away again with bitter
words. 1t was Mount Horeb repeated
on a large scale.
But the assayers, the men of learn
ing, persisted and I'm their little NOR
tars brayed the ore and In tiny porta-
bic furnaces smelted for many n stur-
dy miner minute buttons OF shining
metal The gold was there. and at
last even the most skeptical believed.
Then the inflow began in earnest
The trail was beaten smooth by
swarming feet. 1t became a stage
road. A great railroad sent survey
ors toiling up each OF the deep and
winding canyons IN the attempt TO
reach the mighty camp whose fame
was beginning to shine throughout
the world. The beautiful grassy hills
were blotched with eruptions Of red
earth. Paths appeared leading from
burrow TO burrow like runways in a
town of prairie dogs.
The main street of BoZle was 10000
feet above the sea, but at last, on the
top of Pine mountain, u vein of ore
running $1,000 to the ton was discov-
cred, and another town arose-full H.
900 feet above sea level-the highest
town in all America, and this became
at once celebrated above all others
and was called Skytown.
In the end Skytown dominated the
whole camp and gave name to ii. Bo-
Zle, Grass Mountain, Pin Gulch, Hoff-
man, all were subordinate In fame as
they We're geographically, and the
press alluded to the region as the Sky
town mining district.
In those days the barroom of the
Mountain House in Bozle was the CEN
tral stock exchange of the whole camp.
1t swarmed of an evening with busi-
ness men from Denver Kansas City,
Chicago, Salt Lake City, San Francis
co and New York Every great news
paper had its representative there,
alert and indefatigable. seeking the
latest word of strikes and sales.
At the time when Raymond entered
it Skytown was the busiest, most vital
and in some ways the most pictur-
esque mining district in the world. Ii
was at its height as a poor mans
camp. New territory was being open
ed up each day. Each evening brought
Stories of strikes-scores of them.
The streets OF BoZle were graceless
and grassless. but Valley Springs was
a bower OF trees and growing vines.
The houses of the peak were tents. slab
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so. while splendid stone pal
aces had already appeared in the val
ley, and every comfort and nearly ev-
cry luxury Of the east was obtainable.
almost common.
Skytown was the cupola of Sky
camp. 1t surveyed the whole field,
dominated only by the glittering crest
of MOgalyOn, which rose nearly 1000
feet higher into the thin and feckless
air. Bozle and Hoffman and Indian
Creek and Eureka and a half dozen
other villages lay below.
This was the town, the camp, toward
which Raymond had been gazing in
longing and irresolution for two years
and to which he directed his steps as
soon as he was able to walk with
OF his old time vigor
For n week he did nothing but stroll
slowly up and down the streets OF Bo-
zle. studying his surroundings. listen
ing to all that was said and asking
questions Of every man who
seemed to know anything OF mining
matters. The altitude at first troubled
him greatly, but he ate well and slept
well, and day by day his strength and
native resolution exnandad within him
and he began to definitely seek place
whereon to try his hands at labor.
One night as he sat toasting his shins
before the big fire in the hotel he be-
came immensely interested in the grand
physical proportions and easy. unstud-
ed grace of q middle aged miner who
stood with his back to the fire replying
to the rapid questions Of young re-
porter whose head was bent absorbedly
above his notebook and pencil. The