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I soon grew weary of the exciting scene and made for the open air for relief from the wretched sight of that abode of crime. we walked around the streets for I did not wish to risk going in to see another of those dens of infamy we passed severel of them and saw crowds pouring in at the doors it seemed as if in this place men were careless of money they got it so easy, it seemed to burn in their pockets till it was all gone and then they cheerfully go to work for more. The next day our friend William Clancy? arrived in town he was just from the gold regions of Gregory and gave us a very gloomy picture indeed of gold mining and our prospects he advised us to sell our goods (we could then get an eneromous price for them) realize all the money we could, and start back to the States. We would not consider such a proposition for a moment he then said if we were bound to go to the mountains that the best place for us was to go the Arkansas Diggings, about one hundred and eighty miles from Denver. He said it was a new discovery reported very rich and the immigration towards that place was not very numerous as yet so that day we made up our minds to start on the next morning for the Arkansas. We made all necessary preparations and started at daylight for the mountains about fifteen miles distant. the gigantic mass of earth seemed to be raising out of the earth every step we took towards it by noon we had made only eight miles and when we camped it seemed as far off as it was in the morning its tremendous peaks covered with eternal snow hung threathiningly over our heads and were in sight hundreds of miles north and south. We stopped only a short time for dinner and took another start the country here was slighting undulating but not enough to be called hilly and preserved the same aspect to the very base of the mountains. I think that this is very remarkable for in the neighborhood of most mountains the country for fifty miles from their base is very rough and hilly but here it was nice meadow land to the very mountain itself.