Year: 1862

Is frozen except what the mills are using.


:" The quartz is very rich in this gulch


but does not quite pay as we'll as some OF
the leads IN other gulehes. The quartz


here pays from seventy five to FIVE hundred
dollars to the cord, that is, what they call
a cord IS the same as cord of wood, pile
feet long, 4 feet high, feet wide; they


have boxes made that size to measure it.


The gulch claims pay from $5 to SIS per
day to the hand, and then there are some
that will not pay to work them This gulch
is the central part of the mines, and there
is more business going on here than in any
part OF the mountains. Next is Spring
| gulch; there are no mills in this, but it is
noted Tor It's productive mining, the average
pay to the hand per day last season having
been about $40. At the junction of Spring
and Nevada gulches is situated Central
City, now the county seat of Gilpin county


1t has about 1900 inhabitants, and is quite
a lively town to be situate in the Rocky


Mountains Next is RusselPs gulch: there
are five or six mills in this and but one or
two In operation, as the quartz does not
! pay for crushing except from one or two
claims on the lead, The great trouble is
IN saving the gold after the quartz is crush
ed Next is the Gregory gulch; this is the
most noted 70: quartz mining (that is for
big pay.) The quartz in this gulch runs
from three hundred to thousand dollars
per cord. | have never known it to be less
than three hundred dollars. There are five
or six mills in it, and are all doing very
well The largest run that has been made
In the mountains was in one of these mills
te" days ago, yielding thousand dol
lars to the cord q would like to have few
cords OF that stuf) l have not time to
give . description of all the gulches at
present. A new discovery was made in
Missouri gulch short time ago, where the
great excitement is at present In the last
month three mills moved there, and are
making it pay very we'll "A man took ten
cords of quartz out of the new discovery
called the Stewart lead, and had them crush
ed. After paying all expenses, he had four
teen hundred and sixty dollars clear profit,
which is paying pretty well for lead just
opened, for as general thing the deeper
they 60 the better it pays. The trouble is
1t takes man with capital to carry on
quartz mining as it ought, and that does
not suit poor people like me. | have seen
chances where if [ would have had the
needful [ could have made money. The
last claim spoke of could have been bought
sometime ago for FIVE hundred dollars, but
1t could not be had now for less than five
thousand. That same claim is paying from
fifteen hundred to two thousand dollars per
week. Now this is not the only chance /
have seen, but | can count dozen or more
within the last six months then again, a
person might buy claim and it would not
be worth anything, but he has to look out
for that. No doubt there is plenty of gold
IN the leads if the mills could save it, but
as l said before the trouble is in saving it
all If man could get up a process to
save all the gold, he could make fortune
in short time with his patent. There is
man here who has been experimenting on
the smelling process, but he has not quite
accomplished it; he thought he would, but
unfortunately the fire in Nevada DESTROYED
his furnace. | believe it is his intention to
try it again. 5 .aa s..


Some people say that Pixies Peak is
humbug, | will acknowledge it is in some
respects, but there is gold here and great
deal has been taken out of the ground. If
person expects to come here and pick it
up by the handful off the ground, he will
be hunbugged, for if they want to get it,
they must not be afraid of the pick and
shovel, or to get their nice hands soiled. A
professional man has no business here
There are more lawyers and doctors here
than OF any other profession. Seeing
lawyer and doctor walking up and down
the gulch, arm in arm, puts me in mind of
a highway robber-it is either your life or
your money, but it is generally the latter,
as they all know how to charge. There is
one class, however, that exceeds all the rest
and they are the gamblers Then there is
a class that is just as scarce as the others
are plenty, and they are the preachers.
know of but one or two; there was one liv- |
ed In the guleh that am now in; he start
ed home in the fall, but before he got away
from Denver City he unfortunately lost all |
his money playing monta. Gle was good |
one D-1


l will stop at this for fear of wearying |
your patience, if have not already, and
bid you goodbye until you hear from me
again. [ send my respects to all the gen
tlsmen, and my love to all the lady readers
OF the Gazette. G. W. A.


.+f j.. = Z. 1 D