Gold in Colorado

It is possible I have made it appear as if there was no gold to be found in the country of Colorado, and that all who went among the mountains were disappointed in their quest.

This, however, is not the fact, although it is true that the majority of the gold seekers failed of success. Here and there wonderful finds were made, and it was these occasional discoveries which caused the fever to continue.

Word would come to us in Auraria that a gold-bearing quartz vein had been discovered, and while this brought luck to possibly four or five men out of two hundred thousand, the story sped eastward until rumor had it that every man had made a lucky strike.

Now and then, at intervals of perhaps a week or ten days, we would get definite word that rich lodes had been found, and then those people who had come back from the mines disappointed, but who still had sufficient money for the necessary expenses, would turn their faces once more toward Pikes Peak, perhaps only to be did appointed again, or, in very few cases, to succeed finally.

It was the good fortune of the few which kept the general excitement up to fever pitch, while the failure of the many caused one town and another to spring suddenly up, for the wiser ones realized that wealth was to be gained in this land of Colorado, even though it could be better won by raising crops than by delving in the earth.

I knew of perhaps half a dozen men who were making themselves wondrously rich through fortunate discoveries of gold, and I saw thousands upon thousands, who, having spent every dollar they had brought with them from the east, were returning home disappointed and hopeless, declaring that all the tales told about this country were untrue, and that they had been persuaded by false reports to risk their all in a fruitless venture.