"Louis L'amour - sackett13 - Treasure Mountain" - читать интересную книгу автора (L'Amour Louis)

Indians? Furs? To trap furs a man had to remain the winter through. A mine?
Perhaps. He might wish to ascertain if the mine was worth development. Yet ...
wasn't it more likely that he knew of gold already mined? Or thought he did?
When Orrin added up all the information he had, he was looking for a Frenchman,
probably from Louisiana, who had some previous connection, direct or indirect,
with someone who had been to the western mountains. Flimsy as that was, it did
much to clear the field, for not many Frenchmen had gone west from Louisiana.
From Canada ... yes. Of course, France had controlled all of Louisiana for a
time, and, during the period of the Mississippi Bubble and John Law, great
efforts had been made to find gold and silver. Law had promised his investors
wealth and he made every effort to discover it—or indications of it.
This Frenchman had not wanted a large party. Yet, it was unlikely that they had
actually gone alone. Hence one of the party might have returned, or there might
be a relative who knew something about the affair. The trouble was he had no
starting point. Yet, the simplest way was often the best, and that meant
checking the obvious sources—in this case, government records of mines, claims,
and exploring expeditions in the back country.
Another way, equally simple, was to meet some of the older citizens and start
them recalling their youth. It sometimes required patience, but he had an
interest in such things and could afford a few days. Or he could get some
discussion started of the John Law period—the most likely time for any mineral
exploration.
Bienville, during his governorship, had waited little time searching for
nonexistent minerals. His had been a more practical, down-to-earth approach,
and, had he been let alone to proceed as he wished, the colony might have been
successful long before it was.
At dinner Orrin sat quietly and alone, listening to the idle talk around him and
enjoying the lights and music. He had always enjoyed dining alone, for it gave
him time to think as well as to absorb the atmosphere around him. And tonight
the dining room was filled with attractive, beautifully gowned women and
handsomely dressed men.
The two tables closest to his were occupied: one of them by a group of people of
his own age or younger, the other by a very handsome older couple, a
distinguished-looking man with a beautiful woman, her hair almost white, her
eyes remarkably youthful.
He ordered his meal when the waiter appeared. "And the wine, sir?"
"Chateauneuf-du-Pape," he said quietly. The older gentleman turned his head and
glanced at him. Their eyes met, and Orrin smiled. "An excellent wine, sir," the
man said.
"Thank you. Anything less would not fit the surroundings."
"You are a stranger here?"
"I have been here more than once. But this is the first opportunity I have had
to relax in a long while." Orrin watched the waiter open his wine, tasted it,
then said to the old man, "I am interested in some mining claims in the San Juan
Mountains in Colorado. I have heard rumors to the effect that people from New
Orleans located mines in that area."
The old man smiled, "I doubt that, sir. There was much talk of gold, of course,
and stories of discoveries in the Far West, but nothing came of it, nothing at
all."
"Men did go out there, however?"