Year: 1862

their shoulders to the wheel in right good earnest
to make it advance. the many are afraid " the ice
is too thin" While am a believer in the old
democratic doctrine that the ma ority should rule
l will only say in respect to this latter PROPOSE
tion that there possibility that the fast skaters
may glide safely over, and probability that those
who do not venture on will not get ducking.


Coming from Lewiston to Florence. found
the road lined with returning miners, many of
whom were ready to affirm that the mines were
played out; ;" and this of course because they,
either from incapacity or misfortune, had not been
among the lucky ones. Arriving here, l found
an entirely different state of things-from three
to five thousand men at work, and making good
wages; some of them still counting their days
work by the pound. However, there is no. the
" loose population here that there was one and
two months ago, and great many of the claims
have been worked out, vet the country is not in
less prosperous condition now than then. Miners
are beginning to contract their notions somewhat
and men who spent the most of the summer look
ing for a Weiser claim" are now contentedly at
work for moderate wages. | do not hear of so
many big strikes as were made last fall and
early this spring, and am informed that the best
pay has been taken from most of the claims
Serious apprehensions are felt by some of the
claim owners that they will have to abandon their
claims soon on account of scarcity of water. In
fact, mining operations on some of the gulches
have already been greatly impeded from this
cause. Ditch companies are now at work to
bring in water to supply these gulches, and it is
thought they will be able to meet the demands
of miners in this respect and complete their work
in two or three weeks.


Rumors of new diggings having been discov-
cred are constantly afoat, and to-day one says
that good paying diggings have been found on
stream somewhere down Salmon. A great many
men are now commencing to work on the bars
of Salmon river, viii prospects.


Florence is quite aplace, and property has been
held and sold during The summer at fabulous
prices. Some fine looking buildings have been
put up. How any man can expend so much
money in building upon the top of this noun
tain, and in a place depending solely upon the
mines round about it, is more than l can compre-
hend. The mines are unmistakably rich yet
they are mostly surface diggings, and two or
three years at most must work them out


The belief has generally obtained here that
rich quartz vein has been struck somewhere be-
tween here and the Bitter Root country have
seen several specimens said to have come from
there, and they are unmistakably rich. Public
report, either from conviction of some one that
1t can be no nearer, or from positive information
on the subject, locates this quartz lode about one
hundred and fifty miles east of Florence. think
this matter will be placed beyond all doubt in
few days, and the fact established that regular
jackson county qnartz lode has been found


great many persons talk of going from here
to the Bitter Root country this fall The reports
from those mines are encouraging, and it should
be no matter of surprise if the Bitter Root coun-
try becomes an important mining point next
season.


The election last Monday passed off quietly,
considering" Nothing definite is known as to
the result, though it is the general impression
that the Union Democratic ticket is elected More
anon. SEER.