others were
inspired with renewed hopes and many visited the gulch to see the rich
mine they had heard of. There was a small army of miners marching
through the mountains constantly, going in all directions, leaving one
place for some other where rich strikes were reported.

I concluded to make one more trial in the Keystone, dig a little deeper
and see if the ore was any richer there. The result was a pleasant
surprise, and gold enough to more than pay expenses. I hired a gang of
men to work the mine night and day, and thus kept the mill going till
the water gave out in the fall. As I had no skilled assistant I had to
work at least sixteen hours a day in running the mill, procurring
supplies and superintending everything. Some runs proved the quartz to
be quite rich, though it varied greatly. We still believed in the theory
that it would grow richer as we went deeper. I arranged to mine all
winter and pile up the quartz for spring crushing.

In April, 1862, when provisions were nearly used up in the mountains and
the early spring supply trains from the East were about due, there came
an unusual fall of snow, eighteen inches deep, extending far eastward
over the plains, completely blockading teams and transportation. A
famine was threatened and people became panic-stricken. Flour rose as
high as $50 a sack, and one day a small quantity sold for eighty cents a
pound. Coffee and other things also advanced in price. We were on our
last sack of flour, and I decided that when that was gone the men must
all quit work and start eastward to meet the supplies on the plains. But
the incoming trains soon began to arrive in Denver, and provisions were
plentiful at usual prices.

When the mill was started up in the spring our hopes were dashed by
finding that the quartz taken out during the winter did not pay as well
as that of the previous season. The mine was down about a hundred feet,
and the last taken out did not pay expenses, so I discharged the miners
again. I was getting tired and disgusted with the whole business, and
realized that it was about time to return East if I were going back
there to settle down.

About the first of June, Mr. Ayres came out to spend the summer. He was
so delighted with the beauty of the scenery and novelty of the business
that he talked of sending for his family. The mountain sides were gay
with wild flowers in full bloom in gorgeous colors. The shining gold
that he could see taken out by sev