The Brigham Young Center

Gt Salt Lake City Mar. 5th 1866
L. R. McDonough Sec of Silver and Gold Bureau
400 Library St., Philadelphia.

Dear Sir:-

Your letter of Jan. 19th, with enclosed card came duly to hand, but has been overlooked.

The mines of gold and Silver in this country are realy not worth working. We doubtless have silver but it does not pay for digging, and men can make more at other business than they can at mining; this is our experience, and on this account we do not speculate in them nor offer them for sale, and we cannot conscientiously do so. We have as good mines as there are in the country; but we could not offer them for sale as money would be badly invested in purchasing them.

The mines we cultivate are the fenced fields that we have reclaimed from their native wildness. We find that we can make money more <satisfactorily> by raising grains vegetables and fruits than we can by mining or speculating in mines. These labors and the importation and erection of machinery for manufacturing purposes occupy all our attention.

I remain Respectfully