C H A P T E R VIII.

MINES AND l a N T N e N E V A D k
~ V A X T A Q
OF~ AXD Q u ~ R T z - D I S C O ~ Y
&IIS~--OBOQF~PBY-PLACERS
OF THE COMSTOCK ~ D E - D E S C R I P I ? O N - F O B ~ ~ O S OB CO~~PAYIES-
STUPES DOCS WORKS ASD MACHISERY-THE S mTUK.W~~LIAJIFC-
LATIOS, S ~ m a n o s AXD , STOCK BOARDS-CLA~S AND LITIGATION
-LABOR LEA~ES-ASS~MENTS ASD Yma-Omm D-TS-
Bousn~wsUISERAL WEALTH.

NEVADA owes her rise and prosperity chiefly t o the

disclosure of silver and gold bearing veins, centring
especially in the Comstock lode. Nowhere else in
the annals of the world do we find a large community
springing up in .the desert, through the discovery of
a ~nountaiuof metal, and so dependent on the vaga-
ries attending its development, though finally attain-
ing to the condition of a prosperous commonwealth.
It is the fa&ion to descant on the evils and s~nall
aterial benefits flowing from mining; but no one can
Seny its value in attracting population to perhaps
otherwise unattractive regions, and transforining a
wilderness into flourishing states, with all the ameni-
ties of an advanced culture, higher in many respects
than could be expected from a farming comnlunity of
equal numbers. Add to this the stimulus i~npartccl
to trade and industries, throughout the world, by t l ~ e
demands and contributions of the mines, and the
greater energy and enterprise infused among all
engaged in their exploitation.
Without mines Nevada would still have but a scanty
population distributed among a few of the more prom-
ising valleys, and dependent mainly on the pasturing
(1%)
 DISTRIBUTION. . 189

of stock and on a slight and transient traffic. As i t

is we behold her seamed with highways and railroads,
connecting towns, hamlets, and farms sufficient to
zvarrant'the existence of fifteen counties, nearly all
sustained by the roduct of mines, as distributed b
f
miners' wages, 111' 1 work and attendant labor. Thus
do they serve as nucleii for ever-spreading settlements
with more varied resources.
I have elsewhere alluded to the omgraphy of
Nevada, and need here describe merely the range en-
closing her great mineral vein. It is of irregular out-
line and height, extending with several breaks from
the boundary of Oregon, nearly parallel to the Sierra
Nevada, from which it is separated by a depression,
consisting of several basins and valleys. Two granite
ridges connect it with the Sierra, along the north and
south lines of Wmhoe valley. Beyond Carson river "
it merges in the Pine Nut range. The culminating
point of elevation is Sun peak, also called Mount
Pleasant, latterly renamed Davidson, in fitting tribute
to Professor George Davidson of the coast. survey.
From the south side of this peak runs a ravine to
Carson river, called Cold cafion, from the digging
carried on there since the first settlement of the val-
ley. Four miles fiom its inouth it breaks into three
branches, the central one, American Flat ravine,
heading in a mound, named Gold hill, somewhat over
a mile from Mount Davidson.
Indications of placers and quartz were found in dif-
ferent parts of Nevada as early as 1849, when, for
instance, Hardin discovered silver in the Black Rock
range, in the Humboldt country, the rediscovery and
working of which were delayed by Indian hostilities
until the middle of the sixties. Gold caiion was the
only mining ground in actual exploitation during the
first part of the fifties. Abner Blackburn, associated
with the first trader, Beatie, prospected and discovered
gold in the lateral ravines of Carson valley, in July
1819, but in quantities so small as not to encourage
mining. I n the following year, however, a few emi-
grants stopped a while to dig.. The gold was poor,
valued at only fourteen dollars an ounce, yet fair
wages were made, and settlements increased in conse-
quence, although the miners fiever exceeded two hun-
dred -in number a t any time prior to 1859. In 1855
a mining ditch was projected, and constructed soon
afterward with the aid of Chinese. The-presence of
Asiatics gave for a time the name Chinatown to the
small settlelnent of Dayton. Four miles above, in
the d o n , lay. Johntown, composed like the other -
chiefly of tents, owing to the scarcity of timber and
the migratory habits of the miners.
The first to .discover the hidden wealth of the
Co~nstockare supposed to have been the brothers X.
Allen and Hosea B. Grosch of Reading, Pennsylvania,
sons of a universalist preacher, who came to California
in 1849. Hearing of Gold caiion, they crossed eyer
to it in 1853, after a preliminary visit two years ear-
lier. While prospecting they found, at tlie forks of
the caiion, what was termed carbonate of silver, re-
sembling sheet lead broken very fine, and obtained
froni a large quartz vein. I n their letters on the
subject they allude to an abundance of blark rock
believed to contain silver.. An experienced Mexican
miner-Old Frank, he was called-confirmed their
suppositions, and after him they named a n~ineon this,
&<our monster vein." Th6 famous Ophir nine is be-
lieved to have been a part of their claim.
The development 'of silver mines required capital,
and in order to obtain it they induced their friends in
the east to form a company, but money mas slow in
coming forward, and meanwhile, in 1857, both broth-
ers died from the effect of accidents. Their books
and plans disappeared, presumably through the ma-
chinations of Henry T. S. Cornstock, a man from
Cleveland, Ohio, born in Canada 1820, and reared as
a trapper, who had resided in this region since 1856,
 /
DISCOVERIES AND DEVELOPMENT. 191

and waa married to a Mormon. H e had bgen engaged

by A. Grosch to guard the claim, in which he was to
receive a share, and is also believed to have covered
up the furnaces erected by the brothers, and to have
removed other traces of their operations. This done,
.,he remained quietly watching an opportunity to profit
by his trickery.
During 1857 placers were discovered in Six-mile
caiion, a mile below the present site of Virginia City,
with gold imbedded in tough, blue clay, hard to dis-
solve, yet paying fair wages. Later comers had to
select their claims higher up the ravine, near the
head of Gold d o n , and among them was a Virginian
of intemperate habits and of doubtful antecedents,
James Fennimore by name, though known as Old
Virginia. H e and Comstock, with others, staked off
a claim on the mound, Gold hill, which included a
spring of water. Here rose several log cabins, which
became the centre for the district. Near-by, while
excavating for a reservoir, McLaughlin and O'Riley
struck the veritable lead to the great lode, exhibiting
itself a t first partly in a black, decomposed quartz.
Cornstock recognized the value of the find, bought up
the Gold hill spring, and, provided with this indis-
pensable resource, he, with E. Penrod and J. D.
Winters, procured for hims8lf a share in their claim.
A week later, on June 11, 1859, they penetrated the
decomposed ore, and reached the solid quartz ledge,
four feet wide, upon which the partners staked off the
Ophir mine. Aspecial portion, set aside for Comstock
and Penrod, formed the afterward famous Mexican.
Others took the hint; and made locations around
them, and the reports on specimens sent to California
created there such excitement as to bring hordes of
fortune-hunters to Washoe, as the mining district was
at first wrongly called. The leading position of Com-
stock in these transactions, and his boastful volubility
based on information abstracted from the Grosch
papers, served to connect his name with the lode.
192 MINES AND MIh'ING-NEVADA.

The general aim was to dig for gold in the decom-

posed ore, although quartz locations were made for
greater security. It was not until all the ground had
been taken up that the preponderance of silver was
announced. The lode was not one regular vein of
hard quartz, but was swollen with ore bodies of great
richness, a t irregular intervals, strung with smaller
branches, and mixed with masses of percolating clay
and crumbling feldspar. I n the northern part it is in
the shape of a chimney, dipping t o the south; in the
south it forms continuous narrow sheets. The western
branches of the vein are poor, the deposits presenting -
themselves in the eastern and nliddle portions, being
the richest and largest where outcrops were the most
prominent. The lode lies in a mountain of volcanic
rocks, through which older rocks protrude, geolog-iste
recognizing the vein as a fissure caused by rending,
and subsequently filled with quartz and ore. Unlike
silver in other parts of the world, its only gangue is
quartz, mostly fractured or decomposed.
Before the close of 1859, 4,000 people had gathered
in Carson and adjacent villages, where in June pre-
vious not so many hundreds could have been found.
A town sprang up a t the Ophir mine, first called by
this name, then Silver City. Soon afterward Fenni-
more, during a drunken bout, dubbed it Virginia, after
his own nickname, and this was generally adopted.
A s the lode was developed, and mills began to turn
out metal, the number of residents increased rapidly,
and within a short time an imposing town had risen
upon the rocky slope of Mount Davidson.
The Ophir company was the first to put to a test
the nature of the ore, with two arastras or Mexican
crushers moved by horse-power. The result induced -
James Walsh and Joseph Woodworth, experienced
California quartz miners who had been attracted by
the excitement, to buy for $1,100 Conistock's one-
sixth interest in the mine, together with some other
claima His partners also sold their shares for
 METHODS AND MACHINERY. 193

smsller'sums, save O'Riley, who obtained $40,000 by

keeping back awhile. H e soon lost his fortune in
stock-gambling, and died in an insane asylum a t
Woodbridge, California, in 1874. Comstock left in
1862 for Oregon, where he constructed a road from
Auburn to Baker City, and then drifted into Idaho
and M o n h . His mind had lost its balance, and on
returning from the Bighorn expedition in 1872, he
committed suicide with a pistol. The other four part-
ners sank into overty.
i'
Penrod dec ares that he was obliged to sell under
theehreat of the new associates to "freeze" him out
by heavy assessments for machinery. This has been
a colnmon practice in gaining possession of rich mines,
and is but a form of stealing. I t was even worse
than the later manipulations of the "bears" on the
stock-boards, with a view to frighten timid holders
into selling valuable stock, and so obtain their property
almost for nothing. When the ore-body gave signs of
exhaustion, as the managers could secretly ascertain
by means of diamond drills and other appliances, they
would raise the price of shares to a fictitious value,
thus transforming on paper a t least a " borrasca," or
unproductive mine, into a " bonanza."
The example set by the Ophir was followed by
others, and within a few months fifteen arastras were
at work, besides half a score a t Gold hill. Two nlore
were erected at Dayton, which were moved by river
power; and here, also, an improvement was intro-
duced in the form of a four-stamp battery. In the
following year, 3 860, two steam quartz-mills were
erected. Thus was saved the cost of sending the ore
"
to California for reduction, as had thus far been done
for the most part. The first process of dry-crushing
was found to be slow and expensive; but in October
the Pioneer mills introduced the wet process, by
which tenfold more work was done, and a larger
amount of gold was saved. The expense of crushing
and working fell to $6 per ton, and millii 4, in time,
C. B.-IV. W
 194 MINES- AND MINING-NEVADA.
, .
from $100 l%'$50 per ton. The retorted bullion was
worth only from $10 to $14 per ounce ; yet even at
this rate the lode yielded $2,000 per ton in gold.
The real work was done in .the Ophir, Mexican,
and California. . The middle mine was worked in
Mexican fashion, that is, carried up the inclined
shaft in baskets, suspended from the forehead over
- the back of the laborer. Drifts were cut along the
vein, supported by pillars of ore, the California com-
pany opening the first tunnel to the ore,deposit. The
Ophir applied steam hoisting and pump5ng machinery
in 1860. A t a depth of 180 feet the ore-body was
found to be of the unexampled breadth of 45 feet.
This width rendered of little value the post and cap
support used in California, and it was feared that the
roof of the mines would collapse. In this dilemma
the owners appeared to Philip Deidesheimer, a Ger-
man miner of scientific attainments, who invented the
crib system of timbering, without which the lode
would have been sealed below a certain depth. The
plan was to frame timbers in square sets, or cribs,
from faur to six feet in size. which could be piled one
upon the other to any height, sustaining lateral as
well as downward pressure, and by filling them with
waste rock they served as pillars. Caves with at-
tendant accidents in adjoining mines, compelled a '
general adoption of this system.
Improved machinery became necessary with in-
creasing depth. Engines of five hundred horse-power
and more were finally to be introduced to raise to the
surface the augmenting flow of*water, and to supply
the necessary power for hoisting large quantities of
ore from the deeper levels. The main shaft of the
Consolidated Virginia engine weighed 15,000 pounds,
and the fly-wheel, 18 feet in diameter, weighed 164
tons. The total weight .of the engine was 50 tons,
planted on a masonry foundation of 600 tons. The
mill consumed 28 cords of wood daily. A carload of
ore was fed to the batteries e v e q five minutes, first
 DRAINAGE. I95

to be broken, then stamped into powder, and 6nally

submittmi to'the amalgamating process. The cost of
the reduction works for this mine alone was $350,000.
At first some of the richest ore was shipped to
England for reduction, the remainder, the second and
third classes, being allowed to accumulate. During
/

the experimental period with silver ores, baffling to

the merely practical miner, millions of dollars went
to waste in the tailings, or pulverized quartz, owing
to defective processes. A few Mexicans who knew
their value made thousands of dollars by saving a
portion, but a greater pa& was allowed to flow into -
the sink of the Carson. As methods improved, every.
mining superintendent claimed a secret process of his
own, and a number of inventors were hawking about
more or less peculiar ideas. Machinery and enter-
prise found a wide field, also, in supplying material
for mining operations. Of firewood a t least 120,000
cords were required annually on the Comstock, and
for building and timbering 25,000,000 feet, valued a t
- $800,000.
It was found best to extract the ore with all possi-
ble despatch, for the percolating clay masses along the
lode were constantly swelling, shifting, and breaking,
and the decay of the timber was hastened by the heat
. as well as the moisture. Rapidity of operations was
also prompted by the fear of fire, which on several
occasions caused great damage. I n such cases the
drifts had to be bulkheaded in order to quench the
flames by cutting off the supply of oxygen. Aside
from the danger of caves and explosions, the miners
were exposed to defective ventilation, to poisonous
gases, and a heat which even strong men could with-.
stand only for a few minutes a t a time.
The great remedy for many of these obstmctions to
mining has been found in the' Sutro tunnel, a most
stupendous engineering task, and undertaken princi-
pally with a view to better the drainage and increase
the output of ore. Excess of water from springs,
water-pockets, and drains had frequently suspend.d
work in the mines, and caused trouble and accidents,
besides an immense expenditure for pumping. Sev-
eral minor tunnels had been undertaken, but the
proved of little avail, owing to the mines bein
to a depth of 2,000 feet and more. The tunne com-
pany was organized by Adolph Sutro, banker, and
7" f
owner of a quartz-mill on Carson river, associated with
W. M. Stewart and others. It was incorporated by
a Nevada legislative a d of February 4, 1865, ap-
proved by congress, with exclu~iver'aht for 50 years
b
to construct an adit intersecting the omstock lode a t
a depth of 1,600 feet, near the Savage shaft, from a
oint three miles distant, sufficiently wide for a double
i n e of railway. It would crosseut several veins,
and afford means for transporting ores to the Carson
river, where water-power and wood were more acces-
sible.
Contracts were secured from 23 of the principal
&ning companies on the lode, biding them to pay
the tunnel company $2 for every ton of'ore extracted
from their mines after the extension of the tunnel and
its drifts to points within their boundaries, the com-
panies to pay toll for all transporkation. After sev- "

era1 disappointments in securing funds, partly from

recalcitrant minsowners, purchases of stock enabled
ground to be broken in 1869. Progress was slow, but
with the application of Burleigh drills since 1874, the
tunnel was completed three years later, at a cost of
$2,097,000, a sum much less than had been estimated.
It measured 20,480 feet, with a height of 9 feet 5
inches, and a width of 13 feet. B y 1880 the north
branch, estended about 4,400 feet, and the south
branch nearly as far, both being 8 by 7 feet in width
and height. Through it were discharged in 1880,
3,500,000 gallons of water daily. The owners of the
mines a t first refused to abide by their agreement, on
the ground that it had not been completed within the
time specified, and that as the Cornstock workings ,
 LITIGATION. 197

were now below its level it was of little benefit. Soon,

however, they were compelled to compromise, agree-
ing to assist in completing the branches, and to pay
$1 per ton on all ore which assayed $40 br less, and
$2 on richer ore.
The dip of the Comstock lode appeared at first un-
certain, and a number of men were watching develop-
ments so as to secure a claim beyond the limits of .
known or assumed limes. A t one time it seemed to
run beneath Mount Davidson, and a rush was made
for the east side of the range. When a depth of 300
feet had been gained the true dip pointed away from
the mountain, and the Flowery district-, five miles
eastward, rose in estimation. The one next in favor
was the Devil's gate, south of Gold hill. -. .
Every fresh development was attended by specula-
tion, frequently of the wildest description. Foremost
in the turmoil were men from San Francisoo and Sac-
ramento, who hastened to get possession of all the
ground possible,.a\qd to hold it at fabulous prices. The
struggle caused eridless litigation. During the win-
ter of 1859-60 Ophir was selling for $1,000 a foot
and more, rising soon afterward to $3,000. TheBurn-
ing Moscow company then stepped forward, and lo-
cated a portion of the ground first claimed by the
Ophir, declaring that the ledge at this point, called
Virginia after Fennimore, the original locator, was
distinct from the Ophir's, and that it was equally rich.
Its shares rose rapidly to nearly $300. A lawsuit
followed, which involved the consideration whether
there was one great lode or many small ones, the lat-
ter idea favoring the Moscow. Decisions and'revers-
als were pronounced, in accordance with which the
value of the two mines fluctuated, amidst riotous
encounters on the disputed border.
I n 1863 the Moscow consolidated with other rival
claimants, and increasing its capital from $500,000 to
$3,000,000, renewed the suit with the aid of the best,
198 MINES AND MINING-NEVADA.

legal talent. I n the following year, however, explora

ations showed that its ledge was almost worthless,
and its stock fell to a .nominal figure, The contest
had cost over $1,000,000.
Against the Ophm many other -suits were brought,
37 in all, and nearly every other valuable mine had a
dozen or more, the total numbei. being over 250. Dur-
ing 1863-5 fully $9,000,000 were expended in litiga-
tion. I n 1863 property to the value of $50,000,000
was involved. One of the most protracted contests
was between the Chollar and Potosi companies in
1861-5. After $1,300,000 had been wasted, the two
companies were consolidated. The heirs of Grosch
figured among the plaintiffs. W. M. Stewart, the
principal attorney of several companies, received as
much as $200,000 in fees annually.
The chief cause of the frequent disputes lay in the
looseness of the laws prevailing when quartz was dis-
covered. The first locations were taken up as placer
claims, with vertical boundaries. When ledges mere
found complications arose, with claim to dips, spurs,
angles, and variations, the exploitation of which
brought about collisions. The Nevada legislature
enacted laws to aid in settlin titles, but they were
8
evaded by bringing suits in alifornia, where most
companies were organized. Thdregulations of the
severaldistricts were, moreover, sustained by the courts.
The speculative traits of the incipient Comstock
period were distinguished by every species of extrav-
agance. Everything was costly, for goods brought
across the Sierra sold a t extravagant rates, and the
richness of the mines encouraged prodigality. In
1864 the tide began to turn. The surface deposits
were becoming exhausted, and the cost of working
the deeper levels was increasing in proportion to
depth, while litigation absorbed the profits of many
a company.
During the first four years the Ophir had yielded
$15,000,000 in gold and silver, of which less than
 STOCK BOARDS. 199

one tenth was disbursed in dividends. Other mines .

had also taken out their millions, most of which were
,expended in the same manner. This unprofitable
result, together with the cost of litigation and the
shrinkage of ore-bodies, alarmed stockholders. A
panic ensued; and the price of shares fell from thou-
sands to liundreds, from dollars to cents.
The miners,themselves were the greatest sufferers,
partly from the decline in the value of shares largely
owned by them, and partly &-n> e decrease of opera-
tions, and a contemplated reduction in wages. The
existing rate of $4 a day they. considered only a rea- .
sonable return for their severe- and dangerous labor,
and in 1863 organized a Miners' Protective Union,
presenting so formidable a combination as to intimi-
date the superintendents. Other leagues were formed,
but non-union men interfered with their machinations
and in time the league dissolved. The Chinese .
assisted to reduce wages, for although excluded from
the Comstock, they acquired a footing in many other.
places.
The Comstock excitement was fostered and spread
by the San Francisco Stock and Exchange Board,
the first institution of this kind on'the coast,' organ-
ized in September 1862 with thirty-seven brokers with
a view to facilitate the purchase and sale of shares on
the Comstock and other mines. Morning and after-
noon sessions were held, most of the members being
in direct communication with Virginia City. It
opened a long-desired vent for the gambling spirit of
the community, latterly held in check by salutary
laws. Frequently the large attendance was smelled
by crowds, drawn thither by rising prices to buy, or
frightened. by a decline to assist in swam ing the
f
market. I n the latter case those with smal means,
who gambled on a margin, were ruthlessly sacrificed
by the broker. I n 1872 and 1875 two other boards
appeared to add to the unpa4leled excitement roused
by the great Comstock developments.
!200 MINES AND MINING-NEVADA.

South of the Ophir lay a oup of six mines, the

Central, California, Central s o . 2, Kinney, White,
and Murphy, their ground including in all 1,300
linear feet. Shafts and tunnels had failed to disclose
any ore deposits of value; but, nothing discouraged,
the last four mines combined in 1867 under the title
Virginia Consolidated, with a view to united action.
Continued disappointment so reduced the value of the
property that it was soon afterward sold for $80,000
to the firm of John W. Mackay, James G. Fair,
James G. Flood, and William S. O'Brien, who also
acquired control over the California. Nearly $250,-
000 wasexpended by them in exploration and improve-
ments, but with little result. Finally, in March 1873,
a 15-foot ledge of ore was reached, which later
expanded to a width of 300 and 400 feet, and of
exceeding richness. Early in the following year the ,

company was shipping monthly $250,000 in bullion.

The number of shares was then increased to 108,000
and the California mas reorganized on a similar basis.
In the first weeks of 1874 shares of the Consolidated
Virginia were selling a t from $7fLto $85 and of the
California a t from $30 to $35; but fresh disclosures
and exaggerated estimates of their richness and
extent, some of which placed the value of the two
mines a t $1,500,000,000, raised the price of their
stock to $780 and $700 respectively, representing a
total valuation of $159,000,000, for what not long
previously was offered for $10,000,000 or $1 1,000,000.
Adjoiniag mines of little or no value rose in sym-
pathy during the whirl .of excitement.
Then came the inevitable reaction, culminating in
a panic. Early in 1885 the shares of Consolidated
Virginia fell to $250 within a few days, and others
shrank in proportion. The doubts expressed when
the fever of speculation had subsided were fully justi-
fied, for the actual yield of the two bonanzas in 1873-8
amounting only to $104,000,000, and for the next
five years was barely $8,000,000, dividends ceasing
 DISTRICTS. '201

in 1880, and assessments being levied afterward.

. The host of ruined gamesters eyed suspiciously the
wealthy bonanza firm, whom they accused of fraud-
ulent manipulations, and that though they had dis-
bursed over two-thirds of the yield in dividends to
qhareholders, after paying for the costliest of work.
- and machinery,
The aggregate yield of the lode to the end of 1885
was $306,000,000 from 7,000,000 tons of ore, of which
$11,600,000 came from the Crown Point, of 540 feet
in extent, almost all within two years, against a total
of $670,000 in assessments. From the Belcher, of
1,040 feet, came $15,000,000 ; assessments, $660,000.
The Savage, of 800 feet, yielded $4,460,000 ; assess-
ments, $2,200,000 ; Gould and Curry, 921 feet, pro-
duced $3,800,000; assessments, $1,640,000; the
Chollar-Potosi, 1,400 feet, gave $3,080,000; assess-
ments, $1,020,000; the Yellow Jacket, 957 feet,
yielded $2,180,000; ass'essments, $2,360,000; Hale
and N o r c r w 400 feet, $1,600,000; assessments,
$1,770,000 ; ImperialEmpire,$1,070,000; assessments,
$1,670,000. A nuqber of others ha\-e been conspic-
uous chiefly for assessing their shareholders, although
selling at times for millions. The assessments ex-
ceeded $62,000,000, while the returns to the share-
holders amounted to $118,000,000, leaving a balance
in their favor of $56,000,000 during a period of twenty
. years. I n 1890 the total yield of the Comstock had
fallen to $3,545,000, and for the time being, if not for
all time, dividends had entirely ceased, though assess-
ments continued to be levied with unfailing regu-'
larity.
The development of the Comstock increased pros-
: pecting in other directions, and the result was the
opening of several valuable, even if comparatively
. minor, districts. I n 1857 quartz veins were discovered
in the Reese river country. Soon afterward the
" Amargosa mine was opened, and sold to a San Fran-
cisco company, which, after incurring heavy expease
'202 MINES AND MINING-NEVADA.

in erecting a mill and machinery, lost its entire prop

ert through Indian raids. I n May 1862 W. M.
~ d o t tdiscovered
, quarts veins, the reports on which
were so flattering as to start a rush of miners. The
Reese river mining district was orga~ized,and Lander
county created the same year. Two other districts,
Amador and Yankee Blade, were formed on the Toi-
yabe range, since consolidated with the first named.
The locations exceed e$ht thousand feet, the pioneer
mine being the Pony, m commemoration of Talcott's
experience as a pony express rider. A t Battle moun-
tain galena ores assas $400 per ton in silver, with
seventy per cent- in lead. I n some combinations it
rises to $4,000 in silver, but the averaae yield is $150
in silver and fifty per cent of lead. fiemoteness and
the cost of supplies hampered operations to such an
extent that ore yielding less than $100 per ton was
considered worthless. The completion of the Nevada
Central railway to Austin, in 1880, effected a marked
change, bnd opened new prospects. The total pro-
duction to 1884 was almost 520,000,000, which raises
the district to the third rank in Nevada. Several
English companies own interests. The deepest shaft
in 1884 was on the Oregon, one of the Manhattan
company's mines.
A contemporary field is that of Elko, where F.
O'Neil, in 1862, opened the Kingsley district, in the
Antelope range. Four years later the Beard brothers
opened the Tuscarora district, on the headwaters of
Uwyhee ri-i-er, which then had five hundred miners.
It was first worked as a placer. The Island mountain
district was discovered in 1873, by E. Penrod, one of
the original owliers of the Ophir. It was chiefly a
placer, supplied by a ten-mile canal of Penrod's con-
struction. I n all there are twenty-six districts in the
county. with argentiferous galena and other deposits,
with nine quartz mills, two furnaces, and twenty-one
miles of mining ditches.
 RISE AND FALL OF TOWNS. 203

I n 1863 was found the largest lode in the date, a

dyke of quartzite four hundred feet in width, on Mount
Tenabo, a detached peak 11,500 feet high. It
stretched diagonally down the mountain for 18,000
feet, and roused great expectations, for the whole lode
was productive, and seamed with rich though narrow
veins. The ores required roasting, and yielded both
gold and silver. The Cort6s district was the first
one organized, with numerous locations and a sixteen-
stamp mill. I n 1885 the deepest shaft was three
hundred feet. Other districts were formed, including
that of Eureka, where the ore contained from fifteen
to sixty per cent of lead, and sufficient iron and silica
to obviate the importation of foreign flux. The com-
bination proved troublesome a t first, and operations
decreased, but in 1869 the difficulty was overcome.
A revival followed; attended by so large an influx of
miners as to permit the creation of the separate county
of Eureka. The county seat of that name, and the
centre for the mines, had sixteen furnaces. The Pali-
sade railway, completed in 1875, raised its importance
as an entrepbt, and by 1880 it had five thousand
inhabitants. The yield of the district for seven years,
ending 1879, amounted to $20,000,000, but in 1885
had fallen to about $1,600,000.
Information obtained from an Indian in 1863-4 by
W. Hamlin led to the organization of the Meadow
Valley mining district, with Panaca as the first ledge;
but the Mormons managed to get possession, and .
thereupon the gentiles departed. Meanwhile was
formed the Pahranagat district, in 1865, whose
importance gave existence to Lincoln county. It
flourished for a time, and though now almost deserted
formed the centre of departure for many other ex-
plorations. One result was the reor anization, in
1869, by the gentiles of the Meadow $alley district,
under the name of Ely, in honor of J. H. Ely, who,
with W. H. Raymond, erected a mill on the site of
!?04 MINES AND MINING--NEVADA.

Bullionville, the nearest point for water. The same

year was laid out a eval town, named after F. L. A..
Pioche of San Francisco, in the midst of deposits
which within two years made the settlement the most
active in the state. I n 1871 a fire'destroyed $500,-
000 worth of property, but substantial rebuilding fol-
lowed, and in 1873 the town claimed a population of
six thousand. There were then 110 stamps in the
district, chiefly a t Bullionville, to which ore was con-
veyed over a narrow-gauge line. Shortly afterward
water was brought to Pioche, and the mills were
transferred to this point, but the mines became ex-
hausted, and after producing $20,000,000 in bullion,
the Ely district was almost deserted, Pioche contain-
ing in 1880 less than eight hundred inhabitants.
There are several other districts which may yet be
developed.
I n 1865 R. Morrill, T. J. Murphy, and other pros-
pectors fro111Austin, which had sent out many a suc-
cessful party, found near the present town of Hamilton
mines of silver, lead, and copper, and organized the
White Pine district. For sonle time work prwressed
slowly in the ground of the Monte Cristo an2 other
companies. Two years later several important dis-
coveries were made on the adjacent Treasure hill,
revealed largely as strata of chloride ores, separated
by others of limestone, and with well-defined walls.
The first mine,here recorded was the Hidden Tress-
ure, disclosed by an Indian, and which was sold
within a year for $200,000. Then the main chloride
deposit was found by T. E. Eberhardt, whose name
was given to what proved to be the richest mine in
the district. Assays here and in adjoining claims rose '

as high as $27,000 per ton.

The news of these discoveries created, during the
winter of 1868-9, an excitement unequalled sirice the
early Comstock days. Thousands hastened thither,
and Treasure hill swarmed with miners and cabin-
builders. The bank of California hastened to buy
 RISE LVD FALL OF TOWNS.. 205

several claims, in the vain hope of securing control, as

a t Virginia city. In 1869 White Pine was producing
$500,000 a month. Several towns sprang up, among
them Treasure city, which was built near the top of
the hill, and in that year claimed six thousand inhab-
itants. Shermantown, five miles off, on the strength
of two sawmills, five quartz-mills, and four furnaces,
with one thousand inhabitants, assumed iacorporated
diinity.
A t the northeast foot of the hill rose Cave city,
incorporated in 1869 under the name of Hamiltoh,
and which became the county-seat of White Pine.
The founders were W. H. Hamilton, H. Kelly, and E.
Goben. A fine court house was erected, and water
brought from springs three miles off, a t a cost of
$380,000. I n 1873 came a fire which destroyed
property to the value of $600,000.
The prosperity of the district was not of long dura-
tion. The chloride deposits proved to be shallow,
and, after producing several millions, the mines became
uncertain in their yield, and population declined.
Hamilton was disincorporated in 1875 ; Treasure city
sank in due time to a hamlet; Shermantpwn was
deserted by all save one family, as were Swansea and
other camps. S u c k was the most remarkable rise
ar?d fall among all the mining districts in eastern
Nevada. Cherry creek now assumed the leading
rank in the county, sustained by mines on the eastern
slope of the Egan range, disclosed in 1872. Ward is
another mining centre, southeast of the county-seat,
dating since 1876. Both of these newer towns s u p
port journals. The mining districts of the county
number two dozen, many of them with a promising
future.
Lyon county shared in the prosperity of the Com-
stock by nieans of its mills, a t Dayton and other
pints. Silver city, settled before Virginia city and
mcorporated. in 1877, had in 1885 one furnace, two
arastras, six tailing and four quartz-mills, and seven
206 MINES H D MINING-NEVADA.

miles of ditches. It could also point to faded glories.

Como, once the county-seat, is now utterly deserted.
In Esmeralda county, Aurora rose in 1860 as the
centre of the Esnleralda mining district, and counted
in titne seventeen quartz-mills, valued a t over $1,000,-
000. from which has issued $16,000,000 in bullion;
but it has since declined, and the county-seat was
captured in 1883 by Hawthorne, a railway town.
Candelaria and Gold mountain are promising camps.
I n Churchill county considerable mining was done in
the mountains near the eastern boundary, but richer
deposits elsewhere carried off the miners, and L a
Plats, the county seat, was deserted in 1866. Nye
county was called into existence in 1864, thro ah the
discovery of minesin the Shoshone range, ax> Ione
became the seat, though it was removed in the follow-
ing year to Belmont, founded by A. Bosquez on the
Toiyabe range. This and other districts have pro-
duced $8,000,000, but for the year ending June 1881
they yielded less than $500,000, and in 1885 only
$30,400. The increasing depth, which required costlier
machinery, led to the abandonment of many claims.
Humboldt, though regarded rather as a farming
county, cbntains several good mining districts, one of
which, the Buena Vista, has yielded millions. Har-
din discovered silver ledges as early as 1849, in Black
Rock range, which were relocated on the cessation of
Indian troubles, and after him was named the town
of Hardinville. Unionrille, a mining camp of 1861,
was the county-seat up to 1873. I n 1885 the county
had two furnaces and ten quartz-mills the bullion
output for that year being estimated a t $330,000.
In 1890 Nevada ranked only fifth among our
bullion-producing states and territories, her yield
being exceeded, and in the order named, by those of
Colorado, Montana, Idaho, and California. After
producing in all inore than $325,000,000 of the pre-
cious metals, and more than $40,000,000 in a single
year, the Comstock yielded only $5,150,000 in 1889,
 BULLION PRODUCED. 20;

and $3,545,000 in 1890, while for several years prior

to 1886 even layer figures were recorded. During
the latter year bodies of fair grade ore were disclesed
in the upper levels, and especially in the Consolidated
Virginia and California, reorganized as a single cor-
poration, permitting, for a time, the resumption of
moderate dividends. But in 1891 the ore that would
pay to extract with existing rates for transportation
and milling was almost exhausted, although there
were vast deposits of low-grade ore that could be
utilized whenever those rates shall be reduced to a
reasonable figure. Meanwhile, as soon as the lower
levels could be drained, deep mining was to be re-
sumed. There was also a project on foot to extend
the Sutro tunnel, with a view to explore the ground
west of-. the.lode,
. on the surface of which were strongly
mineralized veins.
A s a result of the falling off in bullion yield, the
population decreased to about 45,000 in 1890, as
against 60,000 in 1880, and with a property valuation
of less than $30,000,000. Nevertheless, the outlook
was far from unpromising, for while more attention
was being given to farming and stock-raising, there
were scores of mining districts awaiting capital for
their development, assuring a degree of prominence for
that industry- for an almost indefinite period. Though
a large proportion of the mining output of Nevada
has passed into the hands of managers and manipula-
tors, it cannot be denied that the mines have furnished
the means for unfolding the resources of the st+.
With the decreasing product of precious metals
more attention will no doubt be given to other miner-
als, which are found in great variety and abundance
in different parts of the state. Iron was discovered
early in the sixties on the Carson and Reese rivers,
and in the Yeavine district of Nye county, but has
been utterly neglected. Copper was first found in
Carson valley in 1856, but only a few blocks were
taken out. It exists in several places, as near Soda
 a.i

/-

208 MINES AND MINING-NEVADA.

springs in Esmeralds county, and on Walker river in
Elko, where the first development - was attempted a t
Battle mountain is a promising mine owned by Eng-
-1ishmen. The production of lead in connection with
silver has become so abundant in E m k a as to place
her first among the lead d i i c t s of the United States. . .
Cinnabar exists in crystallized aa well as .amorphous -
masses in Washoe and Nye counties ; the deposits at
Steamboat. springs have attracted attention. The
nickel deposits disclosed in Humboldt county in 1882
were extensively worked The value of the tin de-
posits has not yet been ascertained. The extraction
of antimony began only .in 1882. I n the Ruby range
'

are mica beds. Precious stones of inferior quality have

been found occasionally in various portions of the state.
The railways have been fortunate in finding coal-
beds at different points, as near Tuscarora and Argenta
in Elko, in El D o d o caiion, and in Carson valley; yet
littleattention has so far been accorded to them. The -
Humboldt region has found compensation for lack of
timber in peat tracts, one covering 15,000 acres.
Sulphur is extreme1 plentiful, and the extent of
salt, soda, and b o r q %rids waa reputed a t 52,000
acres, when in the early seventies the legislature asked
that the state be permitted to select salee lands under
her granta. The value of such land was subsequently
fixed at $5 per acre. I n 1872 the Pacific Borax com-
pany began operations on the Columbus marsh in Es-
meralda; and three years later in Fish lake valley, but
suspended soon afterward. The Tee1 and Rhoades
@ marshea continued to be worked by others. I n 1884
there were eight factories reducing 1,460 tons. East
of Rio Vfrgen are salt bluffs, and fields exist else- ,
where which have been partly utilized for silver min-
ing. The waters of north Soda lake, which corer 400
acres to a depth of 270 feet, contain 33 per cent of
soda. Mineral map p ~ wax, d alum, gypsum, manga-
nese, and other minerals sweU the list of resources
open to future enterprise.