Year: 1860

QUINCY, Plumas Co., Dec. 80, 1859.


EDITOR DEMoURAT 81 believe when | saw


you last, you requested ME to send you


word occasionally from this frontier. l had


strong suspicious of your sincerity when you


made the request, but this evening conclu-


ded to send you line, for though we feel q


good deal above you, at least as far as ulti.


tude is concerned, still we are not proud up


here; and are willing sometimes even to con-


descend enough to chat with you poor bar.


barians who still remain in that wicked val.
ley below. have little to write except to
exult over you forlorn creatures, who are
obliged to go numbering about on wheels, or
trundling on foot by telling you that on
Christmas Eve this valley hung up its stock
ing and Santa Claus filed it foot and half
deep with the whitest and purest snow that
ever came as a Christmas gift; and next
morning the appearance of sleighs and cut
ters, and furs, and fOaming, frosted streets,
and jnG ling bells, and bellies that did not
Jingle, showed how glad and happy every
body was with the gift There was a grand
Ball here on Monday night. l saw some
sIeig gh-loads of the dancers as they came and
VIII tell you confidentially, such rosy
cheeks and sparkling eyes l have not seen
since left the land where apples are not
worth four bits each, where the best of cider
can be had for the asking and where beauty
is so abundant it is scarcely appreciated. |
did not attend the ball but remained at home
watching the stars-which look here. shin.
ing above the snow, as though they were
compound of silver and ice.-and sineino
very dolefully Sweet Home" partly to
soothe myselfand partly to frighten away any
thieves or wild animals that might be prowl.
ing around. Christmas passed by very pleas.
antly here see but one unusually black
eye about town. There is Division of the
Sons of Temperance here which | think was
one great cause of the good order maintained.
believe not single member of the Order for
got his oath, though fancied q few of them
looked exceedingly thirsty. Next morning
l heard one man say "this is the first Christ
mas for twenty-one years that have passed
without getting tight, and the first for nine
years that have not had a ~**& roaring
drunk" He looked all the better for his self
denial


There is some talk of keeping the road
open after this winter from this place to Bid
wells Bar. think it will hardly be done,
however, though It's clear to a demonstration
that the expense would be much less than the
amoun t each year expended by consumers
who have to pay the merchants their ad-
vance on the prices of goods. Still, if the
road was to be kept open some of your dis
contents might come here to trouble us. Duns
would also come oftener. You might learn
that we do not keep the Sabbath as strictly
as we might beside we would have to read
your papers oftener than once in two or three
weeks, and thereby be the oftener reminded
what discontented and quarrelsome set of
wretches you are; and many other things
might happen to make it disagreeable


The Washoe fever is still intermittent here.
Parties are going and coming to and from
there every week. Col. R., of Quincy, de-
clares he is going to improve the road from
here to Washoe, early next Spring, so much
that he feels sure that every person of discre-
tion from the lower valley will go to Washoe
by Quincy. know you are tired, so will
close by telling you if you ever get "over-
come by the cares of the world and the de-
ctitfulness of-not having-riches," just get
you some snow shoes and come here and you
will be sure of finding as warm hearts, as bad
whiskey, as cold weather and water as you
can any where this side of Labrador.


In haste, Don CARLOS.