COLOEADO. 487 



structure, and contents, with a view to learn the causes that have produced 

 their different characteristics have been but httle studied and offer an inviting 

 and interesting field for investigation. 



It is now about eleven years since the first discovery of a gold-bearing 

 lode in Colorado. The history of the finding of the precious metal, by pio- 

 neers, first in the streams emerging from the foot-hills of the mountains, then 

 in the beds of creeks higher up in the range, and finally tracing it to one of 

 the chief sources and revealing the place of the famous Gregory lode, has 

 been sketched by Mr. O. J. Holhster, in his "Mines of Colorado." 



As early as 1852 gold was discovered, by small traveling parties, in one 

 of the streams which is a tributary of Clear Creek, near its junction vdth the 

 South Platte, a few miles east of the base of the range. In 1857, gold, in 

 considerable quantities, was obtained by prospectors in the neighborhood of 

 Cherry Creek, and near the present site of the city of Denver. During the 

 two succeeding years of 1858 and 1859, the streams of the foot-hills and, to 

 some extent, the more elevated portion of the range, were visited by miners, 

 who discovered some rich gold placers, and worked them with considerable 

 success. On the 6th of May, 1859, after long and patient search, the dis- 

 covery of what is now known as the Gregory lode was made by John H. 

 Gregory; and this important event brought hundreds and thousands of 

 men to engage in the search for the precious metal. The country was 

 prospected far and wide. New and rich placers were opened and worked, 

 lodes were discovered, mining districts were organized, and a great degree 

 of activity in mining enterprise was developed, which prevailed during sev- 

 eral years. 



The history of the progress of these operations, during the ten years 

 that followed the discovery of the Gregory lode, has become generally famil- 

 iar, through books and public journals. It has been one of varied success 

 and disappointment. During the earlier years, while the alluvial deposits of 

 gold, along the bars and in the beds of streams, were yielding their rich 

 stores without hinderance to the miner, and while the soft, decomposed sur- 

 face ore of the mineral veins demanded but httle skill and scarcely any ma- 

 chinery for the extraction of its valuable contents, the country was prosper- 

 ous, and everything went well. When, however, the placers commenced to 



