Chipmunks And The Mountain-Rats Disturbed Our Slumbers At Night,
Running About The Cabin, And I Do Not At All
Think we should like
our dormitory were we not watched over during our slumbers by a
cat, the most sociable
Of beasts, who as a rule sleeps between us,
and protests loudly if we either of us move or wake him.
* * * * *
September 7th.
By degrees we are learning something of the mines and miners; also
are beginning to know all the packers who daily go up and down the
trails, each with a train of ten donkeys carrying the ore from the
mines. The men's appearance is of the roughest, but they, one and
all, are most civil, both of speech and manner. Women are rare in
these districts, the wife of the manager of the Wheel of Fortune
Mine being the only one living up here. She has been here two
years, and is quite idolized by the miners and trappers, as she
has never been known to refuse hospitality to any. We were much
amused, whilst going through the Wheel of Fortune tunnels last
Saturday, to hear one of the miners ask who we were, and when told
with the ready answer, natural to this country, that "we were
Duchesses," he wished much to know if that was not something like
the Prince of Wales.
We went into a lower shaft whilst two fuses were fired in an
upper. The anticipation of the shock was worse than the
realisation. Each of us carried a candle, and the concussion blew
them all out; but beyond that, the smell of gunpowder, and smoke,
we experienced no harm, and as we had matches and the candles were
soon relit, we had not to grope our way back in darkness.
We have been into several of the tunnels on the eight well-defined
lodes in this basin, also into some in Sneffels; these veins may
be all traced through into Red Mountain Valley, which seems to be
the volcanic centre of this neighbourhood. The porphyry vein
matter or ore-bearing quartz, having decomposed more readily than
the trachyte of the mountains which they intersect, in some
instances, as in the peak just above our cabin, they have cut deep
notches in the summit of the ridges, making the outline very
jagged and rugged looking.
The mineral wealth around us is astounding, hundreds of rich mines
have been discovered in all the surrounding mountains, and are
being discovered now. Three men, whilst at dinner a month ago in
Red Mountain Valley, in picking round with a small axe where they
were sitting, knocked off a piece of rock which, when analysed,
proved to be so valuable a lode, that they have since then sold
their claim for 125,000 dollars.
Any man can stake a claim of 1,500 feet on a vein if not previously
done; but he has to expend 100 pounds on it in the first five years to
enable him to obtain a patent from Government, which secures the
property to him for ever.
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