Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-04-20

board made of the polished shoulder
blade of buffalo-in those days ia
vorite bulletin board for the overland
ers-on which had been written this
epitaph:
Here lies the body Of d. G. oakes
Killed for aiding the Pixies Peak hoax.
Notwithstanding the fine presswork
Of the frontier newspapers there still
fingered much doubt in the east as to
the true state Of affairs at Pixies Peak.
In an effort to discover the actual con-
ditions Horace Greeley set out for q
tour Of the gold fields and other west
ern points in 1859.
Denver City was busy place at that
time, gambling and drinking being
not the least of its industries Mr..
Greeley made his first speech in the
great gambling and drinking saloon Of
the Denver House, during the course
of which, in Difference to the eastern
visitor, it is said the tipplers at the bar
silently slipped their grog, while on the
other side the gamblers respectfully
suspended the shutting Of cards and
the counting Of money.
Mr.. Greeley, standing in the midst
of this assemblage, made a vigorous
and characteristic address, in which
he said many things against gambling
and drinking, but his remarks were
received by the Pixies Peakers with
the utmost good humor.
It is a tradition that the boomers
resolved that there should be no mis-
take about the first mine to be shown
to Mr.. Greeley. They told the boys up
in Gregory Gulch that Mr.. Greeley
was on the way, so the boys took an
old gun and fired gold dust into part
ly worked mine favorably located in
the gulch until It had the richness Of
a Golconda.
Upon the arrival Of Mr.. Greeley they
showed him some gold that had just
been panned out Of this mine. Mr..
Greeley called for shovel and pan.
rolled up his sleeves, and went down
into the pit. He was instructed as to
the process of panning, and followed
this coaching with such good results
that In the bottom Of the pan was soon
developed paying color. He was en-
couraged to try again, which he did
with equally gratifying results. Then
he gathered the dust in a bag and
said:
Gentlemen, I have worked with my
own hands and seen with my own
eyes, and the news Of your rich dis
covery shall go all over the world as
far as my paper can carry It,"
The earnestness of Mr.. Greeley's
recommendation that the Pacific rail-
road be built was no doubt developed
in part by the personal hardships and
discomforts experienced by him on his
tour Of observation. Just before
reaching Denver the mules attached
to his coach ran away, upsetting the
vehicle on steep bank. From the
mass Of wreckage Mr.. Greeley finally
emerged, with blood flowing from cuts
in cheek, arm and leg, 'but his face
was serene and benlgnant as a May
morning."
It was some time before he fully re-
covered from this accident, and he was
compelled to stop in bare and cheer
less cabin n-Denver for several days
in order to recuperate, the single lux
ury of the establishment being mat
tress" resting upon stats laid across
from one log to another"
Living was pretty costly In the
Pixies Peak days. Eggs cost $3.50 a
dozen; flour sold at $40 hundred
pounds and milk at SO cents quart.
In the summer Of 1859 the chief cur
rency of Denver and vicinity was reg
ular United States money. There was
no uncoined gold in circulation. Soon
all this form of money disappeared
and its place was taken by gold dust.
Every counter bore pair of scales
and payment was made in gold dust.
This was carried in buckskin bags, and
after an article had been bought the
customer handed over his bag Of dust,
and the storekeeper weighed out the
required amount. The regular charge
for a drink of whisky was eight grains
Of dust.
While the great stampede OF gold
seekers headed for Pixies Peak, and
the fields everywhere were known un-
der that name, still as matter of fact
gold for some time was not founo
within a good many miles of the fam
Gus mountain. The first discoveries on
Cherry Creek were fully seventy-fve
miles from the peak; those in Gregor'
Gulch and along Clear Creek were
still further away Then the placer
mines were found in the South Park
and in Georgia Gulch, somewhat closer
to the peak.
The rosiest anticipations Of the ear
ly boomers of the Pixies Peak gold
field were vindicated in time. The
gold was there, but 1t required more
strenuous efforts to get at the bulk or
II than the mere scratching Of the beds
of the creeks or the manipulation OF
pan. On December %, 1859, the re-
port Of the Director Of the Mint at
Philadelphia showed that there had
been received at the establishment
from the fields Of Pixies Peak gold
dust to the value Of $202,25O.7s, and
the total production Of gold in Colo
RADIO up to January 29, 1863, was esti-
mated at $10,OO0,O00. But this amount
is small in comparison with the pro-
duction of the quartz mines of later
years, which now yield yearly In the
neighborhood Of $25,O00.000.
Skilled as were the California and
Georgia miners who first discovered
and developed the Pixies Peak dis
trict, vet evidently they did not recog.
nize the indications Of any other metal
than gold. 1t was clearly shown az
terward that certain Of the quartz
that they worked contained as much
as rs per cent of silver, and yet this
was ali swept away, the miners being
on the lookout only for gold.
r. 1ocn tho fop,o,,a California GulCh