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Show Many Loafers and Few Minors. A D.'adwood correspondent of the New York Times writes as follows: But very few of the pilgrims who are docking in here seem lo have any noUou of netting right down, with pick and pan, to hard work. 'There are uot more than 300 men ptittiri); in regular day's work at .mining in this whole country, while there are. now, within an area f two mil about Dead wood, from 6,000 to 8,100 people. Count out the shop krrpsrs and clerks, freighters, a ad those in various employments in the tttwoi, and miners de not form one fifth the : entire population. The great mass are speculators, prospectors, idlers, with a very large and increaaitig nam ber of aimless wandcrem, who curst the day tbat they were uvrr tempted to come lo Ibis country, and tbe height of whse ambition now is to get back to the states. There is a sprinkling ol born highwaymen here who are making lile and property more and more unsafe. Th most alarming developments have been in lot jumping and claim jumping. There are a great many skilled miners who would br glad ot the chance to work at fair wages, or even for board ' 'grub Htrkes," as they call it; but the mina owners prefer to hold off. The faetfl are simply these : Their mines are on the market. They fear, if worked, they will not turn out as well aa expected. Men in all the uiiuing camps act as "ropers in" al a ccrtaiu per cent, in case of sale. Their business busi-ness is to "spot" the pilgrims as they alight from the stage, and as soon as one is found who has money, bis acquaintance ac-quaintance is secured; and while uro- aud cautioning new-comers to be on their guard against "salted" mines, ! they incidentally speak ol the "Grand 1 Consolidated," or the "Great West-' ern," aa a wonderfully rich claim,' but not in the market. Then, after the Btranger's appetite for getting hold of it is well whetted, it will ba discovered that tbe owner can be prevailed pre-vailed upon to sell a "working interest" inter-est" at tho ridiculously low price ol say 110,000. The result is that theae sharks unload a worthless hole iu tbe ground at a good figure, and "nkip ihe country." It may be a good thing that so few who come here hava money to invest, f jr tre majority ma-jority would no doubt get badiy sold. |