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Show RISE AND FALL OF MINE TOWNS Bubble of Popularity Frequently I Quickly Punctured In Many Gold Camps. Vancouver, D. C "It don't take long to puncture the bubble , of a town's popularity," remarked Paul C. Stephensformcrly of Washington, at the New iCbbltt. Mr. Stephens has been In nearly every mining camp which has aprung up in recent yeara In the west, Alaska and British Columbia. Co-lumbia. "The average penyn In the eaet," he continued, "does not comprehend com-prehend what great gold mines there are in the small places of the west about which one hears but little. Take Nevada, for instance. I think the largest gold producing mine in the world is located there, near Ooldfleld, which yields more than 11,000,000 a month. In Colorado there are scores of mines that are yielding fortunes, but they are rarely heard of. Gold field, Nev., at the time of tho boom, grew into a city of nearly 30,000 popu-latlon. popu-latlon. Today, with the fever gone, it has scarcely 3,000. Rawhide, which waa another of the great gold 'finds,' had at one time more than 20,000 people, peo-ple, but there are not more than 300 or 400 resldenta there today. "The realty rallies of Ooldfleld bare depreciated so much that property la worth comparatively little. Lola that were selling during the boom for a high as 1 50.000 are offered now tor II.oi'O, and there are no buyers. It Is almost sad f alk the streets of Ooldfleld and see the vacant buflncs blocks that were erected by investors who were carried away for the moment mo-ment by the gold craze. In I!rltl.h Columbia, on the Frazlei river, is a little place cailel ISaikers-ville. ISaikers-ville. which is popu'.ated by perbapf 75 or 100 persons, mostly minanen. There was a time when Harkcrtville bad 30.000 people In It and was a thriving mining camp." |