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margin-bottom:2em; } -.fndef, p.fn { text-align:justify; margin-top:1.5em; margin-left:1.5em; text-indent:-1.5em; } -.fndef p.fncont, .fndef dl { margin-left:0em; text-indent:0em; } -.fnblock div.fncont { margin-left:1.5em; text-indent:0em; margin-top:1em; text-align:justify; } -.fnblock dl { margin-top:0; margin-left:4em; text-indent:-2em; } -.fnblock dt { text-align:justify; } -dl.catalog dd { font-style:italic; } -dl.catalog dt { margin-top:1em; } -.author { text-align:right; margin-top:0em; margin-bottom:0em; display:block; } - -dl.biblio dt { margin-top:.6em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:justify; clear:both; } -dl.biblio dt div { display:block; float:left; margin-left:-6em; width:6em; clear:both; } -dl.biblio dt.center { margin-left:0em; text-align:center; text-indent:0; } -dl.biblio dd { margin-top:.3em; margin-left:3em; text-align:justify; font-size:90%; } -p.biblio { margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; } -.clear { clear:both; } -p.book { margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; } -p.review { margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; font-size:80%; } -p.pcap { margin-left:0em; text-indent:0; text-align:center; margin-top:0; } -p.pcapc { margin-left:4.7em; text-indent:0em; text-align:justify; } -span.attr { font-size:80%; font-family:sans-serif; } -span.pn { display:inline-block; width:4.7em; text-align:left; margin-left:0; text-indent:0; } -</style> -</head> -<body> - -<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of A History of the Comstock Silver Lode & Mines, by Dan De Quille</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<table style='min-width:0; padding:0; margin-left:0; border-collapse:collapse'> - <tr><td>Title:</td><td>A History of the Comstock Silver Lode & Mines</td></tr> - <tr><td></td><td>Nevada and the Great Basin Region; Lake Tahoe and the High Sierras</td></tr> -</table> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Dan De Quille</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: March 05, 2021 [eBook #64699]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Stephen Hutcheson and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A HISTORY OF THE COMSTOCK SILVER LODE & MINES ***</div> -<div id="cover" class="img"> -<img id="coverpage" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="A History of the Comstock Silver Lode & Mines" width="500" height="742" /> -</div> -<div class="box"> -<h1><span class="smaller">A HISTORY OF</span> -<br /><span class="smallest">THE</span> -<br /><span class="small">COMSTOCK SILVER LODE & MINES</span></h1> -<p class="center">DAN DE QUILLE -<br />[WILLIAM WRIGHT]</p> -<p class="tbcenter"><span class="ss"><span class="larger">PROMONTORY PRESS</span> -<br />New York • 1974</span></p> -</div> -<div class="verse"> -<p class="t0">Published by Promontory Press, New York, N.Y. 10016</p> -</div> -<div class="verse"> -<p class="t0">Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 73-92646</p> -<p class="t0">ISBN: 0-88394-024-8</p> -</div> -<div class="verse"> -<p class="t0">Printed in the United States of America</p> -</div> -<hr /> -<div class="verse"> -<p class="t0"><b>Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data</b></p> -</div> -<div class="verse"> -<p class="t0">Wright, William, 1829-1898.</p> -<p class="t">A history of the Comstock silver lode & mines, Nevada and the great basin region.</p> -</div> -<div class="verse"> -<p class="t">Reprint of the 1889 ed.</p> -<p class="t">1. Comstock Lode, Nev.</p> -<p class="t">2. Nevada—Description and travel. I. Title. II. Series.</p> -<p class="t0">TN413.N25W9 <span class="hst">1973</span> <span class="hst">338.2′74210979356</span></p> -</div> -<div class="box"> -<p class="center"><span class="larger">A HISTORY OF</span> -<br /><span class="smaller">THE</span> -<br /><span class="xxlarge">COMSTOCK SILVER LODE & MINES</span></p> -<hr /> -<p class="center"><span class="large">NEVADA AND THE GREAT BASIN REGION;</span></p> -<hr /> -<p class="center"><span class="larger">LAKE TAHOE AND THE HIGH SIERRAS.</span></p> -<hr /> -<p class="center"><span class="smaller">THE MOUNTAINS, VALLEYS, LAKES, RIVERS, HOT SPRINGS, DESERTS, AND OTHER WONDERS OF THE “EASTERN SLOPE” OF THE SIERRAS.</span></p> -<hr /> -<p class="center"><span class="smallest">THE</span> -<br /><span class="smaller"><b>MINERAL AND AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES</b></span> -<br /><span class="smallest">OF</span> -<br /><span class="larger">“SILVERLAND.”</span></p> -<hr /> -<p class="center smaller">TOWNS, SETTLEMENTS, MINING AND REDUCTION WORKS, RAILWAYS, LUMBER FLUMES, PINE FORESTS, SYSTEMS OF WATER SUPPLY, GREAT SHAFTS AND TUNNELS, AND THE MANY IMPROVEMENTS AND INDUSTRIES OF NEVADA.</p> -<hr /> -<p class="center smaller"><b>BY DAN DE QUILLE,</b> -<br /><span class="small">author of -<br />“The Big Bonanza,” -<br />The Wealth and Wonders of Washoe, -<br />The Arid Zone and Irrigation, Etc.</span></p> -<hr /> -<p class="center small">PUBLISHED BY F. BOEGLE, -<br /><b>BOOKSELLER & STATIONER,</b> -<br />VIRGINIA, NEVADA.</p> -</div> -<hr /> -<p class="center">Entered According to Act of Congress, in the Year 1889, by -<br />F. BOEGLE, -<br />in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.</p> -<hr /> -<p class="center"><i>NEW YORK AND SAN FRANCISCO, -<br /><span class="sc">Pacific Press Publishing Company, -<br />Oakland, Cal., -<br />Printers, Stationers, and Binders</span>.</i></p> -<hr /> -<div class="pb" id="Page_iii">iii</div> -<h2><span class="small">INTRODUCTORY.</span></h2> -<p>The central idea in the preparation of this little book -has been to give, as concisely as possible, such information -in regard to the silver mines of the Comstock -as the visiting tourist is likely to require. In doing -this it was thought best to begin by briefly introducing -the whole State of Nevada. When shown a portion -of a thing we generally have some curiosity in -regard to the appearance of the whole. Though -much more space has been given to the mines, mining -works, towns, and industries of the Comstock -Lode than to anything else, yet it has been found -necessary to the plan of the work to include much of -surrounding regions, both in Nevada and California. -However, we have endeavored to keep on the “Eastern -slope” of the Sierras—have poached very little -on the California side. The Sierra Nevada Mountains -are a towering, rocky range, which constitutes a -natural dividing line between the regions of country -on either side. All on the east side of the Sierras -partakes more of the general character of Nevada -<span class="pb" id="Page_iv">iv</span> -than of California—is characteristic of the Great -Basin region. Although Owens River, Independence -and Owens Valleys, Owens Lake and Mono Lake, -are within the boundaries of California, yet they are -essentially parts of that region the whole of which is -known as the Great Basin.</p> -<p>In speaking of the Comstock Lode, after giving an -account of its discovery and something of its early -history, it has been necessary in noting the progress -of our towns and the improvements made in mining -and milling operations and methods to go up into -the Sierras to trace our water supply to its sources. -It is also from the great pine forests of the Sierras -that we derive our supply of lumber and timbers, and -the Sierras are our natural sanitarium—it is to the -lakes, valleys, and wilds of the “High Sierras” that -our summer pleasure trips are made. For this reason -mention has been made of lakes, valleys, mountains, -and creeks not strictly our own—though a large slice -of Lake Tahoe lies within our boundaries.</p> -<p>In mentioning rivers, lakes, and railroads it has -also been thought best to say something of all in the -State. In the case of the railroads it became necessary -to speak briefly of the towns they connect and -pass through, with a passing glance at the country -traversed.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_v">v</div> -<p>Although the Comstock Lode, and mining and -milling in Western Nevada, are the principal subjects -of this book, yet it is not wholly a book on Nevada. -“No pent-up Utica” has for a moment been permitted -to “contract our powers.” We have been -guided more by the natural than the political divisions -of the country, therefore our little book takes in the -western edge of the Great Basin, climbing up to the -top of the Sierras, and peeping over in a few places.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_vii">vii</div> -<h2 id="toc" class="center">CONTENTS.</h2> -<dl class="toc"> -<dt class="small">PAGE.</dt> -<dt><a href="#c1"><span class="sc">The State of Nevada</span></a> 11</dt> -<dt><a href="#c2"><span class="sc">Boundaries and Areas</span></a> 11</dt> -<dt><a href="#c3"><span class="sc">Physical Aspect of the State</span></a> 13</dt> -<dt><a href="#c4">THE RIVERS OF NEVADA</a> 17</dt> -<dd><a href="#c5">Humboldt River</a> 17</dd> -<dd><a href="#c6">Truckee River</a> 19</dd> -<dd><a href="#c7">Carson River</a> 21</dd> -<dd><a href="#c8">Walker River</a> 23</dd> -<dd><a href="#c9">Owyhee River</a> 23</dd> -<dd><a href="#c10">Reese River</a> 24</dd> -<dd><a href="#c11">Other Nevada Rivers</a> 24</dd> -<dt><a href="#c12"><span class="sc">Mineral Treasures of Nevada</span></a> 26</dt> -<dt><a href="#c13"><span class="sc">Agricultural Resources</span></a> 28</dt> -<dt><a href="#c14"><span class="sc">The Comstock Mines</span></a> 31</dt> -<dt><a href="#c15"><span class="sc">The Discovery of Silver</span></a> 32</dt> -<dt><a href="#c16"><span class="sc">Placer Mining on Gold Canyon</span></a> 32</dt> -<dt><a href="#c17"><span class="sc">The Grand Rush over the Sierras</span></a> 38</dt> -<dt><a href="#c18"><span class="sc">The Discoverers and Their Fate</span></a> 39</dt> -<dt><a href="#c19"><span class="sc">Early Mining and Milling</span></a> 40</dt> -<dt><a href="#c20"><span class="sc">Mining Difficulties and Inventions</span></a> 42</dt> -<dt><a href="#c21"><span class="sc">Various Mining and Milling Appliances</span></a> 44</dt> -<dt><a href="#c22"><span class="sc">The Comstock as a School for Miners</span></a> 45</dt> -<dt><a href="#c23">VIRGINIA CITY AND SURROUNDINGS</a> 45</dt> -<dt><a href="#c24"><span class="sc">City Improvements</span></a> 50</dt> -<dt><a href="#c25"><span class="sc">The Great Fire</span></a> 52</dt> -<dt><a href="#c26"><span class="sc">Virginia City at Present</span></a> 55</dt> -<dt><a href="#c27"><span class="sc">Views from the City and Vicinity</span></a> 58</dt> -<dt><a href="#c28"><span class="sc">The View from the Summit of Mount Davidson</span></a> 59</dt> -<dt><a href="#c29"><span class="sc">The Virginia and Truckee Railroad</span></a> 59</dt> -<dt><a href="#c30"><span class="sc">The Days of Bull Teams</span></a> 61</dt> -<dt><a href="#c31"><span class="sc">The Comstock System of Water Supply</span></a> 63</dt> -<dt><a href="#c32"><span class="sc">The Virginia City and Gold Hill Water Works</span></a> 63</dt> -<dt><a href="#c33"><span class="sc">The Big Water Pipes</span></a> 65</dt> -<dt><a href="#c34"><span class="sc">Additional Great Pipes</span></a> 66</dt> -<dt><a href="#c35"><span class="sc">The Sutro Tunnel</span></a> 68</dt> -<dt><a href="#c36"><span class="sc">The Reduction Works of Early Days</span></a> 70</dt> -<dt><a href="#c37"><span class="sc">The First Silver Mill</span></a> 70</dt> -<dt><a href="#c38"><span class="sc">The Many Mills of the Early Days</span></a> 72</dt> -<dt><a href="#c39"><span class="sc">Reduction Works of the Present Day</span></a> 74</dt> -<dt><a href="#c40"><span class="sc">Description of the Process of Working Comstock Silver Ores</span></a> 74</dt> -<dt><a href="#c41"><span class="sc">The Two California Mills</span></a> 80</dt> -<dt><a href="#c42"><span class="sc">The River and Canyon Mills</span></a> 81</dt> -<dt><a href="#c43">THE COMSTOCK LODE</a> 82</dt> -<dd><a href="#c44">Hoisting Works, Shafts and Mining, Past and Present</a> 82</dd> -<dd><a href="#c45">The Three Lines of Hoisting Works</a> 84</dd> -<dt><a href="#c46"><span class="sc">The Combination Shaft</span></a> 86</dt> -<dd><a href="#c47">The Deepest Workings on the Lode</a> 88</dd> -<dd><a href="#c48">A Return to the Second Line of Works</a> 89</dd> -<dd><a href="#c49">The Old First Bonanzas</a> 91</dd> -<dd><a href="#c50">The New Departure</a> 92</dd> -<dd><a href="#c51">Present Yield of the Comstock Mines</a> 93</dd> -<dd><a href="#c52">Vicissitudes of Fortune in Mining</a> 96</dd> -<dt><a href="#c53">TOWNS OF WESTERN NEVADA</a> 98</dt> -<dd><a href="#c54">Virginia City</a> 98</dd> -<dd><a href="#c55">Gold Hill</a> 99</dd> -<dd><a href="#c56">Silver City</a> 101</dd> -<dd><a href="#c57">Dayton</a> 102</dd> -<dd><a href="#c58">Sutro</a> 104</dd> -<dd><a href="#c59">Carson City</a> 105</dd> -<dd><a href="#c60">Empire City</a> 109</dd> -<dd><a href="#c61">Genoa</a> 110</dd> -<dd><a href="#c62">Reno</a> 111</dd> -<dt><a href="#c63"><span class="sc">Other Towns in Washoe County</span></a> 113</dt> -<dd><a href="#c64">Washoe City</a> 113</dd> -<dd><a href="#c65">Ophir</a> 114</dd> -<dd><a href="#c66">Franktown</a> 114</dd> -<dd><a href="#c67">Wadsworth</a> 114</dd> -<dd><a href="#c68">Verdi</a> 115</dd> -<dt><a href="#c69">LAKE TAHOE AND SURROUNDINGS</a> 115</dt> -<dd><a href="#c70">Emerald Bay</a> 121</dd> -<dd><a href="#c71">Fallen Leaf Lake</a> 123</dd> -<dd><a href="#c72">Silver Lake</a> 123</dd> -<dd><a href="#c73">Cornelian Bay</a> 123</dd> -<dd><a href="#c74">Agate Bay</a> 123</dd> -<dd><a href="#c75">Crystal Bay</a> 123</dd> -<dd><a href="#c76">Shakespeare Rock</a> 123</dd> -<dd><a href="#c77">Cave Rock</a> 124</dd> -<dd><a href="#c78">Glenbrook</a> 124</dd> -<dd><a href="#c79">Cascade Mountain</a> 124</dd> -<dd><a href="#c80">Rubicon Springs</a> 124</dd> -<dt><a href="#c81"><span class="sc">Routes to Lake Tahoe</span></a> 125</dt> -<dt><a href="#c82"><span class="sc">The Route from Truckee</span></a> 125</dt> -<dt><a href="#c83"><span class="sc">Distances from Tahoe City to Points on the Lake</span></a> 126</dt> -<dt><a href="#c84"><span class="sc">The Route from Reno</span></a> 127</dt> -<dt><a href="#c85">THE TOWN OF TRUCKEE</a> 128</dt> -<dt><a href="#c86"><span class="sc">Donner Lake</span></a> 129</dt> -<dt><a href="#c87"><span class="sc">The Donner Disaster</span></a> 130</dt> -<dt><a href="#c88"><span class="sc">Surrounding Points of Interest</span></a> 131</dt> -<dt><a href="#c89"><span class="sc">Independence Lake and Surroundings</span></a> 132</dt> -<dt><a href="#c90"><span class="sc">Webber Lake Wonders</span></a> 133</dt> -<dt><a href="#c91"><span class="sc">Pyramid Lake</span></a> 134</dt> -<dt><a href="#c92"><span class="sc">Winnemucca Lake</span></a> 136</dt> -<dt><a href="#c93"><span class="sc">Washoe Lake</span></a> 138</dt> -<dt><a href="#c94">THERMAL AND MEDICINAL SPRINGS</a> 138</dt> -<dd><a href="#c95">Steamboat Springs</a> 139</dd> -<dd><a href="#c96">Shaw’s Springs</a> 141</dd> -<dd><a href="#c97">State Prison Warm Springs</a> 141</dd> -<dd><a href="#c98">Walley’s Springs</a> 142</dd> -<dd><a href="#c99">Other Nevada Springs</a> 143</dd> -<dt><a href="#c100">RAILROADS IN NEVADA</a> 144</dt> -<dt><a href="#c101"><span class="sc">The Central Pacific</span></a> 145</dt> -<dt><a href="#c102"><span class="sc">Virginia and Truckee Distances</span></a> 146</dt> -<dt><a href="#c103"><span class="sc">The Carson and Colorado</span></a> 146</dt> -<dd><a href="#c104">Wabuska</a> 147</dd> -<dd><a href="#c105">Hawthorne</a> 148</dd> -<dd><a href="#c106">Luning</a> 148</dd> -<dd><a href="#c107">Bellville</a> 148</dd> -<dd><a href="#c108">Candelaria</a> 148</dd> -<dd><a href="#c109">Benton</a> 149</dd> -<dd><a href="#c110">Bishop Creek</a> 149</dd> -<dd><a href="#c111">Independence</a> 149</dd> -<dd><a href="#c112">Keeler</a> 150</dd> -<dt><a href="#c113"><span class="sc">Owens Lake</span></a> 150</dt> -<dt><a href="#c114"><span class="sc">Mono Lake</span></a> 151</dt> -<dt><a href="#c115"><span class="sc">Eureka and Palisade Railroad</span></a> 151</dt> -<dd><a href="#c116">Town of Palisade</a> 151</dd> -<dd><a href="#c117">Eureka</a> 151</dd> -<dt><a href="#c118"><span class="sc">Nevada Central Railroad</span></a> 152</dt> -<dd><a href="#c119">Town of Battle Mountain</a> 152</dd> -<dd><a href="#c120">Austin</a> 153</dd> -<dt><a href="#c121"><span class="sc">Nevada and California Railroad</span></a> 154</dt> -<dt><a href="#c122"><span class="sc">Proposed Railroads</span></a> 154</dt> -<dt><a href="#c123"><span class="sc">Salt Lake and Los Angeles</span></a> 155</dt> -<dt><a href="#c124"><span class="sc">Nevada, Central, and Idaho</span></a> 155</dt> -<dt><a href="#c125">NEVADA A LAND OF GREAT POSSIBILITIES</a> 155</dt> -<dt class="pb" id="Page_11">11</dt> -</dl> -<h2 id="c1"><span class="small"><span class="large">The State of Nevada.</span></span></h2> -<h3 id="c2">Boundaries and Area.</h3> -<p>Nevada is formed of the region of country formerly -known as Western Utah. The whole of Utah, prior -to its acquisition by the United States, was a portion -of the Mexican Department of Alta California. All -this vast region was acquired from Mexico under the -treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which was consummated -in 1848, and which treaty also gave to the -United States, California, Arizona, New Mexico, and -a part of Colorado. Nevada was constituted a Territory -in March, 1861, and was admitted into the Union -as a State in October, 1864. The State extends from -the 35th to the 42d degree of north latitude, and -from the 114th to the 120th degree west longitude -from Greenwich. The State in its greatest dimensions -is 420 miles long by 360 miles wide. Nevada is -bounded on the north by Idaho and Oregon, east -by Utah and Arizona, and south and west by California. -Previous to its acquisition by the United -States, the region now constituting the State of Nevada -<span class="pb" id="Page_12">12</span> -was wholly occupied by tribes of wild Indians. -The country was then known only to a few white -men, trappers and Indian traders, whose business at -certain seasons led them into what was then almost a -<i>terra incognito</i>, and which was marked upon the maps -of that day as the “Great American Desert,” or the -“Unexplored Region.”</p> -<p>The area of the State is, by the most reliable estimate, -112,190 square miles, or 71,801,819 acres. -This includes what is known as the “Colorado -Basin,” in Lincoln County, on the southern boundary -of the State, and which embraces an area of -about 12,000 square miles lying north of the Colorado -River. This basin region was taken from Arizona -and given to Nevada by an Act of Congress in 1866. -Assuming the water surface of the numerous lakes in -Nevada to cover an area of 1,690 square miles, or 1,081,819 -acres, there remain 110,500 square miles, or 70,720,000 -acres as the land area of the State. The -vastness of this region is not at once grasped by the -mind of the reader. It may be more readily realized -by comparison with some of the well-known Eastern -States. The area of Nevada is 2,578 square miles -greater than the combined areas of Maine, New -Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, -Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, New Jersey, and -Rhode Island. Indeed, after giving to each of the -States named its full measure of acres, there would be -left enough land to make two additional Rhode Islands. -<span class="pb" id="Page_13">13</span> -In all this great territory, however, there are -only about 62,000 souls. Belgium, with an area of -11,373 square miles, has a population of 5,253,821, -or about 462 persons to the square mile, and there -the rural population is to that of the towns as three -to one. Were Nevada as densely peopled as Belgium -it would contain 51,749,780 souls, a number -almost equal to the present population of the whole -United States. It will therefore be seen that before -becoming as thickly settled as is Belgium, Nevada -still has room for 51,687,780 persons within her -boundaries.</p> -<p>The Sierra Nevada Mountains from the western -boundary of Nevada for a distance of over 300 miles, -constitute a stupendous snow-capped granite wall -between the State and California. The mean height -of this part of the Sierra Nevada Range is about 7,000 -feet. This towering range has a marked effect on the -climate of Nevada. But for its intervention the climate -of the whole State would be much the same as -that of California.</p> -<h3 id="c3">The Physical Aspect of Nevada.</h3> -<p>Though the western edge laps up onto the Sierra -Nevada Range, the greater part of the State of Nevada -lies to the eastward and is embraced in that -Great Basin region which extends to the western base -of the Rocky Mountains. This interior region forms -an immense plateau which has a mean elevation of -<span class="pb" id="Page_14">14</span> -four thousand feet above the level of the sea. In -Nevada, however, the average altitude of the plateau -may safely be set down at five thousand feet. The -altitude of White Plains Station, west of the sink of -the Humboldt, is 3,894 feet, and it is the lowest point -on the overland railroad between the Sierra Nevada -and the Rocky Mountains. Owing to this great -elevation there is in all parts of Nevada an atmosphere -pure, dry, and free from even the slightest -malarial taint. It is such an atmosphere as in many -other lands can only be found by going to the mountain -tops. The average level of the State is higher -than many of the noted mountain resorts in the Atlantic -States. It is owing to this altitude that the -nights in summer are always cool and pleasant, however -warm the weather during the hours of daylight. -The extremes of heat and cold are not great.</p> -<p>Running north and south through the elevated -plateau which forms the general base or floor of the -State are numerous parallel ranges of mountains. -These interior ranges are quite regular in course and -recurrence, and rise to a height of from one thousand -to seven thousand feet above the general level of the -country. Among these interior mountains are a few -peaks that attain an elevation of from 9,000 to -12,000 feet above the level of the sea. Between -these mountain ranges lie valleys ranging in width -from one mile to thirty miles. As these valleys are -hidden by the high, rocky ranges, and are not to be -<span class="pb" id="Page_15">15</span> -seen in a general survey of the country, even from -an elevated position, the aspect of the country is -sterile and austere, all being apparently a succession -of barren, rocky hills.</p> -<p>The majority of the valleys lying between these -rugged, parallel ranges are susceptible of cultivation, -and many are wonderfully productive. The bench -lands bordering the valleys are also exceedingly fertile -and yield large crops wherever water for irrigation -is led upon them. For all uses, those of the horticulturist -as well as the agriculturist, these bench lands -will yet be found the best in the State. The benches -possess a warm and willing soil.</p> -<p>The interior mountains, rugged and timberless as -they are, have their uses. From the summits of -many of the ranges flow springs and small streams -that afford a supply of water for the irrigation of the -valley and bench lands below. They are also conservators -of a supply of moisture. On the summits -of the higher ranges snow falls in winter to a great -depth, and from the melting of this in spring and -summer is derived a considerable supply of water for -use on the arable lands on either side. These reserves -of snow are also of great benefit to the mountain -pastures, causing grass to spring up along the -courses of a thousand ravines and little valleys, or -laps of land, on the slopes and tops of the hills. This -water supply may be made infinitely more valuable -than it is at present by the construction of suitable -<span class="pb" id="Page_16">16</span> -reservoirs at proper points in the large canyons for -storing it up till needed in summer.</p> -<p>The construction of such reservoirs has already -been commenced among the interior ranges, as well as -in places along the main Sierra Nevada Range, and -year by year more and still more such improvements -will be made. Already Nevada holds a high place as -an agricultural and stock-growing State, though for -nearly the whole term of her existence mining for the -precious metals has been the all-absorbing business of -the majority of her people, and has been the business -which has attracted the attention of nearly all the -wealthy men of the country. The State annually produces -immense quantities of hay, and the beef cattle -of Nevada are the finest and fattest to be found on -the Pacific Coast. A great part of the beef supply of -California is obtained from Nevada. The horses of -Nevada are also very fine and noted for their “staying” -qualities, as they have much broader chests and -larger lungs than the animals reared in valley regions -near the level of the sea. The State is also beginning -to make its mark in the business of wool-growing, not -only on account of the quantity but also the quality -produced. In price Nevada wool leads the wools of -all the new regions of the West. Fine wheat and -good grain of all kinds will everywhere be found in -Nevada, and the apples, peaches, pears, plums, and -all other kinds of fruit have a piquancy of flavor not -to be found in that grown in the sweltering valleys of -<span class="pb" id="Page_17">17</span> -California. The same may be said of all kinds of -kitchen vegetables, strawberries, and other small fruits. -In the way of potatoes the State produces such as -have no superiors in any part of the world. This -elevated region seems as much the natural home of -the potato as were those high valleys in the Andes -where it was first found growing wild, and where it -is said the wild tuber is still to be seen.</p> -<h3 id="c4">The Rivers of Nevada.</h3> -<p>Nevada has within her borders no large rivers. In -the Middle and Western States, her so-called rivers -would be rated as large brooks or creeks. In England -and some other European countries her streams -might pass for rivers. The largest river we have is -but a rill in comparison with the rivers of the West -and South. Our Nevada rivers, too, are peculiar in -that they nearly all remain in the State. But one -goes outside of our boundaries to wander away in -search of the great ocean. Most of our streams stay -at home. Rather than run away to be tossed about -and lost in the sea, they go down into the ground or -up into the air.</p> -<h3 id="c5"><span class="smaller">HUMBOLDT RIVER.</span></h3> -<p>The Humboldt River rises in the northwestern corner -of Utah, passes into the northeastern corner of -Nevada, in Elko County, and thence through Eureka, -Lander, and Humboldt Counties, to its terminus in its -lake and sink, just across the line in Churchill County. -<span class="pb" id="Page_18">18</span> -The total length of the river is nearly 350 miles, while -its width is only about thirty or forty feet, and its -average depth less than eighteen inches. The line -of the Central Pacific Railroad follows the course of -the stream a distance of about 320 miles, its channel -forming a natural depression through the country -which greatly facilitated the construction of the road. -Down its course also lay the route followed by the -emigrants who flocked across the “Plains” to California -after the discovery of the gold mines. The water -of the Humboldt is very bright and sweet toward the -head, but near the “sink” the stream becomes rather -sluggish and is somewhat tainted by the alkali absorbed -in the lower part of its course. Owing to the increased -use of water for the irrigation of bordering -lands above, the quantity flowing into the lake each -year grows smaller. The water carried out of the -river by means of ditches to the valley ranches is dissipated -by absorption and evaporation and never -reaches the terminal lake. Thus it is seen as a result -that the lake is gradually drying up. It will probably -eventually become extinct, or survive as a mud marsh. -In the spring, when the snow is melting about the -head-waters of the river, Humboldt Lake has a length -of about fifteen miles and a width of nine or ten miles. -In summer and toward fall it becomes much smaller. -At the south end of this lake is an outlet into a sink, -or shallow lake, twenty-five or thirty miles long by -about fifteen wide. This sink at times of high water -<span class="pb" id="Page_19">19</span> -connects with a similar sink formed by the overflow -from Carson Lake, the terminal basin of the Carson -River. In these sinks are found in the alkaline waters -myriads of small fish. These attract immense flocks -of pelicans, gulls, cranes, and other fish-eating water -fowl. At certain seasons the lakes, sinks, and surrounding -tule marshes are filled with ducks and geese. -Large flocks of swan are also often seen out in the -middle of the lakes. There is much fine agricultural -and grazing land along down the Humboldt River, and -about the lake and sink.</p> -<h3 id="c6"><span class="smaller">TRUCKEE RIVER.</span></h3> -<p>Truckee River is one of the most beautiful of the -streams of Nevada. It takes its rise in California -and its head is an outlet from Lake Tahoe. This -outlet is on the northwest side of the lake and is -about fifty feet in width. It has an average depth of -five feet and a velocity of six feet a second, which -gives a flow of about 123,120,000 cubic feet in twenty-four -hours. The head of the river is in Placer -County, California, it runs nearly north into Nevada -County, in the same State, to the town of Truckee, -when it turns and flows northeast till it enters the -State of Nevada at Verdi, in Washoe County. Its -course from Verdi to Reno, the county seat of -Washoe County, is nearly east, thence it is northeast -to the town of Wadsworth, on the Central Pacific, -when it suddenly turns to the north, and, after a course -of about twenty-five miles, enters Pyramid Lake. -<span class="pb" id="Page_20">20</span> -From the outlet of Lake Tahoe to Pyramid Lake the -distance is about 100 miles.</p> -<p>After leaving Tahoe the Truckee receives the -waters of many mountain streams. Below Verdi it -passes through many beautiful and fertile valleys and -meadows. Pyramid Lake has an elevation of 4,000 -feet above the level of the sea; Lake Tahoe is 6,247 -feet above sea-level, therefore between the two points -the river has a fall of 2,247 feet, an average of a little -over twenty-two feet to the mile. Along the river -from end to end there is almost unlimited water -power, there being a great volume of water, during -several months, and an abundance of fall. This -water-power is utilized at Reno to some extent, but -what has been done there is merely a commencement -toward what should be done. Large areas of land -are irrigated by ditches leading out of the Truckee at -several points. The stream is filled with beautiful -trout of two or three species, and also contains other -smaller fishes of several kinds. A kind sometimes -seen in its waters at the spawning seasons is a large -fish of the sucker tribe, which runs up from Pyramid -Lake, and is called “koo-ee-wa” by the Piutes. It is -half head, and in every respect is a very ugly fish. It -is said that the “koo-ee-wa” is found nowhere else in -the world. It is a palatable and wholesome fish, but -its appearance is against it. The Piutes spear and -cure (by drying in the sun) great quantities of this -fish. Several kinds of Eastern fish have been planted -<span class="pb" id="Page_21">21</span> -in the waters of the Truckee and have been found to -flourish. Fish ladders have been placed at all the -dams in the rivers to permit of the trout and other -fish ascending toward the head-waters to spawn in the -various tributary creeks.</p> -<p>The Truckee River is named after “Captain -Truckee,” a Piute chief who in the early days guided -a party of emigrants from the Humboldt to the beautiful -stream and thence through Henness Pass across -the Sierras to California. Captain Truckee also acted -as a guide for Colonel Fremont when he passed -through the country in 1846. He died in the Como -Mountains in 1860, from the bite of some poisonous -insect, and was there buried by members of his tribe, -and whites, with much sorrow. A description of -Pyramid Lake will be given further along, as it deserves -a separate notice, being the largest lake wholly -owned by Nevada, and almost as large as the Great -Salt Lake, in Utah, which is seventy miles in length -by about thirty in width.</p> -<h3 id="c7"><span class="smaller">CARSON RIVER.</span></h3> -<p>The Carson River rises in the Sierras and has several -tributaries across the line in California, in Alpine -County. The river is about 220 miles in length and -ends in Carson Lake. It enters Nevada in Douglas -County. It has two branches, known as the East -Fork and the West Fork. These unite near the town -of Genoa, the county seat of Douglas County. The -river then plows through the center of Douglas County -<span class="pb" id="Page_22">22</span> -into Ormsby, passing near Carson City, the capital of -the State, thence into Lyon County, and finally finds -its terminal “sink” in Carson Lake, in Churchill -County. This lake has an outlet several miles in -length into a second lake, or sink, which at times of -great freshets is united with the lower sink of the -Humboldt, as has already been mentioned. Carson -Lake is circular in form and is about twelve miles long -and eight or nine in width. It has a depth of forty or -fifty feet, and its waters are quite sweet. The lower -sink is about twenty miles long and from four to eight -miles wide. Its waters, particularly toward the north -end, where it is very shallow, are strongly alkaline. -These lakes are at times resorted to by great flocks of -all kinds of water fowl. It is a poor place for fish. -Trout are not plentiful, and the other kinds—suckers -and chubs—are soft and insipid.</p> -<p>The Carson River affords water for the irrigation -of immense tracts of land in Douglas County, in Carson -Valley, and other valleys below, and power for -running many large quartz mills that work the ores -of the Comstock Lode. The first of these mills are -at Empire City, and they are thence found all along -down the river to, and a short distance below, the town -of Dayton.</p> -<p>Owing to the great quantities of water taken from -it for the irrigation of ranches above in Carson Valley, -the river becomes almost dry in the lower part of its -course during the latter part of each summer. To -<span class="pb" id="Page_23">23</span> -remedy this evil large storage reservoirs should be -constructed in the mountains and higher foot-hill regions.</p> -<h3 id="c8"><span class="smaller">WALKER RIVER.</span></h3> -<p>Walker River rises in Mono and Alpine Counties, -California, and flows through Douglas and Lyon -Counties, Nevada. Walker Lake, Esmeralda County, -forms its terminal sink. The river is about 150 miles -in length. Its waters are bright and sweet, and are -filled with trout and good food fishes of other varieties. -The river has two large branches, known as the East -and the West Walker, which unite below Mason’s Valley. -The waters of Walker River serve to irrigate -immense tracts of as fine land as is to be found on the -Pacific Coast, lying in Antelope, Smith’s, and Mason’s -Valleys. For the first half of its course the river flows -northward, then it suddenly turns south and forms -Walker Lake. This lake is a very bright, beautiful, -and picturesque sheet of water. It is very irregular in -form, being frequently widened and contracted between -its rocky shores. It is about thirty miles long -and has a width of from five to eight miles.</p> -<h3 id="c9"><span class="smaller">THE OWYHEE.</span></h3> -<p>The Owyhee is the only Nevada river that finds its -way to the ocean. It rises in Elko County, in the -northwestern corner of the State, and, flowing north -into Idaho, becomes a tributary of the Snake River. -Through the Snake its waters find their way north into -the Columbia River, and thence into the Pacific Ocean. -<span class="pb" id="Page_24">24</span> -Every spring salmon ascend the Owyhee and afford -the anglers of Tuscarora and other mining towns and -camps in that part of the State excellent and profitable -sport. The Owyhee irrigates many beautiful valleys. -In this region prairie-chickens and sage-hens are abundant, -and a few deer are also found. In the vicinity -of the river are fine and extensive cattle ranges.</p> -<h3 id="c10"><span class="smaller">REESE RIVER.</span></h3> -<p>Reese River takes its rise in the Toyabee Range of -mountains, in Nye County, near the center of the -State. It runs through Lander County, near Austin, -and continues its course northward (under-ground and -on the surface) to near the Humboldt River, where it -disappears in the tule marsh. Strictly speaking, it -“empties” nowhere in particular. It has a channel -that leads into the Humboldt a short distance below -Argenta, but in summer its waters fall short of reaching -that stream by twenty miles. Although Reese -River is a narrow and shallow stream, it has a length -of about 150 miles. There are many fine valleys and -much excellent grazing land on the bordering benches -and hills.</p> -<h3 id="c11"><span class="smaller">OTHER RIVERS.</span></h3> -<p>Other so-called rivers in Nevada are Quin River, -a large creek which rises in Idaho and runs south in -Humboldt County to a small terminal “sink” situated -at the north end of a great range of mud flats and -marshes that lie to the northward of Pyramid Lake. -There are good stock ranges in the Quin River -<span class="pb" id="Page_25">25</span> -country. The Rio Virgin is a small stream about -eighty miles in length situated in Lincoln County, in -the extreme southeastern part of the State. It takes -its rise in Utah and empties into the Colorado River. -It has a tributary of considerable rise called Muddy -Creek, or the “Big Muddy,” on and about which is -much excellent land and several deserted Mormon -villages. At one time there were 500 Mormon families -settled in this part of Nevada, but they were called -back to Salt Lake by Brigham Young, and abandoned -their comfortable homes and fine and fertile farms. -The mouth of the Rio Virgin is but 800 feet above -the level of the sea, all this region being in what is -known as the “Colorado Basin.” The climate is -much the same as that of Los Angeles, California. -Oranges, figs, lemons, almonds, olives, pomegranates, -and all other semi-tropical fruits grow to perfection; -also cotton and tobacco. All the grains, vegetables, -and fruits of the temperate zone flourish finely. This -spot is the Eden of the great basin region.</p> -<p>The Colorado River forms the southeastern boundary -of Nevada. Although it is not one of the rivers of -the State system, yet it is one to which Nevada has -some claim. Where it sweeps along the southern -border of the State the stream is half a mile wide and -has a depth of from ten to twenty feet. The river is -navigable for steamboats from Callville, a short distance -between the mouth of the Rio Virgin, to Port -Isabel, on the Gulf of California, a distance of 600 -<span class="pb" id="Page_26">26</span> -miles. Callville is one of the towns (now almost -deserted) founded by the Mormons during their occupation -of that region of the country. The proposed -railroad from Salt Lake City would cause this region -to again become populous and prosperous.</p> -<h3 id="c12">Mineral Treasures of Nevada.</h3> -<p>There are mines of the precious metals in every -county in the State. There are mines of gold, silver, -lead, copper, and other valuable metals in all the -rugged, parallel ranges of mountains running through -the great central plateau. Mining and agriculture are -thus pursued side by side. Lying between the mountain -ranges and running in the same direction are -valleys containing arable land, while on the benches -and lower hills are excellent grazing lands, on which -grow nutritious bunch-grass and other valuable native -grasses. In all parts of the State mining is being -profitably pursued, and almost weekly new and valuable -discoveries of the precious metals are somewhere -being made. Although the country has been -walked and ridden over in various directions for the -past twenty-five years, there are still hundreds of sections -where no real prospecting has ever been done. -Even in the oldest and best-known mining camps, -many discoveries yet remain to be made. Although -explorations were made in the southern half of the -State in the early days, and thousands of mining locations -made, little real mining has been done on any -of the hundreds of large and promising veins discovered. -<span class="pb" id="Page_27">27</span> -The work done has been mere surface -scratching, and the majority of the claims have long -since been abandoned by their locators. Lack of -facilities for the transportation of ores and supplies -made it impracticable to work mines situated at a -great distance from lines of railroad. The men who -prospected and made locations in wild and distant regions -were men of little means, and when their small -stocks of money and provisions were exhausted, they -were obliged to abandon their claims and return to -the settlements, as men of capital could not be induced -to invest their money in mines out in the wilderness -far from any means of transportation. Thus -it happens that there are many sections of the country -the mines of which are the same as unprospected—mines -which will produce millions when lines of -railroad shall furnish facilities for the transportation of -ore, machinery, and supplies. In Lincoln, Nye, -White Pine, Lander, Elko, and Humboldt Counties, -there are hundreds of mining districts in which this is -the case, and in these hundreds of districts are lying -unworked thousands of quartz veins, all showing -more or less of the precious metals at the very surface, -and even in the croppings above the surface.</p> -<p>A thousand years of mining will not exhaust the -mineral treasures of the mountains of Nevada. -Cheaper and cheaper means of mining and reducing -ores will continue to be found, and presently it will -be possible to work the mines of common metals -<span class="pb" id="Page_28">28</span> -which cannot now be touched. Besides gold and -silver the mountains of Nevada contain veins of copper, -lead, iron, antimony, nickel, zinc, and many others, -as cobalt, graphite, and the like. Not only are -the mountains of the State rich in all kinds of metals, -but the lower lands are also filled with valuable mineral -treasures. In the basins of extinct lakes in all -parts of the State, and aggregating hundreds of square -miles, are inexhaustible deposits of borax, soda, salt, -gypsum, glaubers, alum, sulphur, and many other -mineral products of a similar character, which are only -now beginning to be utilized at points near lines of -railway.</p> -<h3 id="c13">Agricultural Resources.</h3> -<p>In the limited space at command in a small book -such as this it is not possible to more than give to -the agricultural and horticultural resources of the -State a passing glance, as has been done in the case -of the mining and mineral products and resources. -Although until within a very few years past Nevada -has never been thought of outside of the State as -being anything else than a region of mines, of metals, -and beds of minerals, it is now evident that she has -agricultural advantages and resources long unsuspected. -Nevada is well calculated to become a great -stock-growing State. Already she has her “cattle -kings,” and they are not as the roving cattle kings of -other lands. They have struck their roots deep in -the soil and are permanent residents. While the -<span class="pb" id="Page_29">29</span> -tillage of the soil alone will be found as profitable -here as elsewhere for the small farmer whose ranch is -within reach of a ready market, the real and great -business of the Nevada land owner must be stock-growing. -This is not a matter of choice or taste, but -is a thing demanded by the configuration of the -country, the climate, and the nature of the soil. In -order that the natural resources of the country may -be properly utilized the greater part of the valley -regions (nearly all at a distance from towns) must be -given up to the stock-grower. He must have valley -lands on which to raise sufficient hay and other feed -to tide his live-stock through any severe spells of -cold weather or big snow-storms that may occur during -the winter months. In order to utilize the vast -surrounding grazing ranges the cattle king must have -a “center stake” driven in some good, productive -valley. This is required as a magazine of supplies -for the winter season. While cattle, horses, and -sheep will find a living on the ranges during the -greater part of the winter, still the stock-grower who -would not suffer occasional disaster must be provided -against the accident of possible cold “snaps” and -unusually heavy snow-falls. A glance over the physical -features of the country shows that the proportion -of arable to grazing land is very well balanced. When -proper attention shall be given to the storage of water -for irrigation it will be found that each valley will -have sufficient capacity to produce hay, grain, and -<span class="pb" id="Page_30">30</span> -root crops adequate to the requirements of the flocks -and herds that can find pasturage on the surrounding -range.</p> -<p>On the ranges are found several valuable native -grasses, some of which are cut for hay. Those most -valuable for hay are the blue-joint, red-top, one variety -of bunch-grass, and several varieties of clover. -All these grasses grow in the moist lands of the valleys -and natural meadows, but some varieties of -bunch-grass flourish on the hills and elevated benches. -Among the native grasses of the country could no -doubt be found one valuable variety at least that -would grow without irrigation and that could be -greatly improved by cultivation. Such a grass is probably -that called “sand-grass,” of which large fields are -frequently seen in dry, sandy, and apparently utterly -barren plains. It grows to a height of about fifteen -inches and has many spreading branches on each -stalk, which branches are loaded with a large black -seed, that is very fattening, and of which all kinds of -grazing animals are very fond. It would be well to -sow the seed of this grass, which is a species of -bunch-grass, on properly plowed and prepared ground -in order to ascertain its capability of cultivation. -There are not fewer than forty varieties of native -grasses found in Nevada and eight or ten kinds of -clover. Alfalfa is the forage plant most cultivated for -hay, and on a suitable soil has no superior. Timothy, -red and white clover, and other tame grasses, do well. -<span class="pb" id="Page_31">31</span> -A very valuable native forage plant, for the reason -that it flourishes in even the most arid and sterile -localities, is that commonly called “white sage.” It -is a plant of a whitish-ash color and does not belong -to the “artemesia,” or sagebrush, family. This hardy -plant furnishes good winter feed for cattle. It is -resinous and bitter until after the heavy frosts of early -winter. Freezing renders it tender, sweet, and nutritious. -Even human beings may support life on the -white sage. In hard winters, before the whites came -into the country, at times when no game could be -found, the Piutes were occasionally obliged to subsist -for weeks at a time wholly on white sage cooked -by boiling it in baskets by means of hot stones.</p> -<h3 id="c14">The Comstock Mines.</h3> -<p>Having now given the reader some idea of the topography -and physical aspect of the State, with a hasty -general view of its mineral and agricultural productions -and resources, we shall give a more particular -account of the Comstock Lode, in which the first -discovery of silver was made; where the deepest -shafts have been sunk, and where mining for the -precious metals is to be seen on a grander scale than -anywhere else in the United States, or anywhere in -the New World, taking into consideration the power -of the machinery used and the examples of scientific -mining engineering to be seen. A description of the -mines and mining methods of the Comstock will -answer for those of all other parts of the State, except -<span class="pb" id="Page_32">32</span> -that in places where the ores are argentiferous galena, -or otherwise very base, smelting furnaces take the -place of the ordinary stamp and pan mills.</p> -<h3 id="c15">The Discovery of Silver.</h3> -<p>The discovery of silver in Nevada in 1859 (then -Western Utah), caused an immense excitement in -California, and indeed throughout the United States. -The excitement was one such as had not been before -seen since the discovery of the gold mines of California. -Permanency and ultimate value being considered, -the discovery of silver undoubtedly deserves to -rank in merit above the discovery of the gold mines of -California, as it gives value to a much greater area of -territory and furnishes employment to a much larger -number of persons. It has given wealth and population -to all the vast region lying between the Sierra -Nevada and the Rocky Mountain Ranges.</p> -<h3 id="c16">Placer Mining on Gold Canyon</h3> -<p>Gold was first discovered in this region in the -spring of 1850. It was found in what is now known -as Gold Canyon, by a company of Mormon emigrants -<i>en route</i> to California. Having arrived too early to -cross the Sierras, they encamped on the Carson River, -where the town of Dayton now stands, to await the -melting away of the snow on the mountains. To -while away the time some of the men of the party tried -prospecting in a large canyon that put into the river -near their camp. They found gold in the first pan of -gravel they washed. Looking further they soon found -that certain bars and gravel banks afforded much -<span class="pb" id="Page_33">33</span> -richer pay dirt than that first tried. They were able -to make from $5.00 to $8.00 a day, but left as soon as the -mountains were passable, as they anticipated taking -out gold by the pound on reaching California. Other -emigrants who followed the Mormons did some mining -in the canyon while camped on the river. All -made good wages, and one or two families stopped -and went regularly to work at mining. However, when -the supply of water in the canyon gave out toward the -end of summer, they “pulled up stakes” and crossed -the mountains to California.</p> -<p>What was told of the mines on Gold Canyon by -these emigrants induced parties of miners working in -and about Placerville to visit them. During the winter -and spring months, while there was water, these -men were able to make from half an ounce to an -ounce a day. The camp had no permanent population, -however, until the winter and spring of 1852-53, -when there were over 200 men at work on the bars -and gravel banks along the canyon, with rockers, toms, -and sluices.</p> -<p>As the gold found in the canyon came from quartz -veins toward its head, about Silver City and Gold -Hill, these early miners were even then on the track -of the great Comstock Lode, but without once even -suspecting the existence of such a large and rich vein. -The trading-post, or little hamlet near the junction of -the canyon and the Carson River, which at first served -as a base of supplies, was presently left far behind as -<span class="pb" id="Page_34">34</span> -the miners worked their way up the stream from bar -to bar, and they founded a town of their own, on a -plateau near the canyon, called Johntown. This town -was situated a short distance below where Silver City -now stands, and was then the “mining metropolis” -of Western Utah. One dilapidated stone chimney -yet stands as a monument to mark the site of this -now ruined mining town.</p> -<p>Johntown constituted a center from which prospectors -occasionally scouted forth. These prospectors -had no thought of anything except placer mines—native -gold in gravel deposits. In 1857 some of these -Johntown miners struck paying gravel in Six-mile -Canyon. This canyon is about five miles north of -Gold Canyon, for the greater part of its course, but -the heads of the two canyons are only about a mile -apart, and both are on what is now known as the -Comstock Lode. The pay found on Six-mile Canyon -began only about a mile below the massive croppings -that tower above the Comstock; still these early miners -never once thought of going up to the head of the -ravine to look for and prospect the quartz veins; all -they thought of was free gold in deposits of earth and -gravel.</p> -<p>In January, 1859, James Finney, or Fennimore, -better known by his popular <i>soubriquet</i> of “Old Virginia” -(he being a native of the State of Virginia), -John Bishop, and a few others of the Johntown miners, -struck a rich deposit of free gold in placer diggings -<span class="pb" id="Page_35">35</span> -in a little hill at the head of Gold Canyon. -From this hill the town of Gold Hill derives its name. -These mines were so rich that most of the Johntown -people moved to them. The gold was in a deposit of -decomposed quartz mingled with soil, and the miners -were really delving in a part of the Comstock Lode -without at first knowing that they were at work on any -quartz vein. These diggings yielded gold by the -pound, at times.</p> -<p>In the spring of 1859 several Johntowners returned -to the diggings they had discovered on Six-mile Canyon -two years before. With these men went Peter -O’Riley and Patrick McLaughlin, but finding all the -paying ground already claimed they went to the head -of the canyon and began prospecting on the slope of -the mountain with a rocker, leading in a small stream -of water from a neighboring spring. They found but -poor pay in the light top dirt they were working (for -there was no washed gravel), and they had about concluded -to abandon their claim when they made the -grand discovery of the age. They had sunk a small -pit in which to collect water for use in their rockers. -It was deeper than they had yet dug. Seeing in the -bottom of this hole material of a different appearance -from any they had yet worked, they were tempted to -try some of it in their rocker. When a bucket of this -dirt was rocked out, to their great delight the two men -saw that they had made a “strike.” The whole -apron of their rocker was covered with a layer of -bright and glittering gold.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_36">36</div> -<p>In that little prospect hole, silver mining in America, -as now known, was born. At that moment the -eyes of these two men, standing alone among the sagebrush -of the rugged mountain slope, rested upon the -first of many hundreds of millions in the two precious -metals that have since been taken out of the -Comstock Lode; for in the rocker along with the gold -was a quantity of rich black sulphuret of silver. This -“heavy black stuff,” which not a little puzzled the two -uneducated miners, was almost pure silver. They -thought it was some worthless base metal, and were -very sorry to see it, as it clogged their rocker and interfered -with the washing out of the fine gold-dust.</p> -<p><span class="sc">Henry Comstock.</span>—Henry Thomas Paige Comstock, -as he gave his name—has by many persons -been credited with the discovery of the Comstock, -but it is an honor to which he was not entitled. The -credit of discovering silver in Nevada belongs to Peter -O’Riley and Patrick McLaughlin. The grand discovery -had been made several hours before Comstock -knew of it. Toward evening on the day the “find” -was made, Comstock, who had been out hunting his -mustang, came to where the two men were at work. -They were taking out gold by the pound and decomposed -silver ore by hundreds of pounds. Comstock -saw the gold and realized that a great strike had been -made. He instantly determined to have a share. -He at once declared that he had a claim upon the -ground. He said he had located it some time before, -<span class="pb" id="Page_37">37</span> -also the water of the spring. He so blustered about -his rights and so swaggered about what he could and -would do that rather than have any trouble the two -quiet miners agreed to take him in and give him a -share of the mine.</p> -<p>No sooner had Comstock been made a partner in -the mine than he placed himself at the front in everything -about it. He constituted himself superintendent, -did all the talking and none of the working, and -was always ready to tell strangers about the mine. -When visitors came it was always <i>my</i> mine and <i>my</i> -everything. Thus people came to talk of Comstock’s -mine and Comstock’s vein; then it was the Comstock -vein—as persons making locations asserted -that they were on the same vein as Comstock, <i>i. e.</i>, -the Comstock vein—and in that way the name of -Comstock became fastened upon the whole lode. As -the first claim was called the Ophir, that would have -been a more fitting name for the whole vein than the -one it now bears. For a long time Comstock no -more appreciated the heavy black material that accompanied -the gold, and in lumps of which much of -the gold was embedded, than did O’Riley and McLaughlin. -It was not until returns had been received -from samples of it sent to California for assay -that anyone in Nevada knew that the “heavy black -stuff” was almost pure silver.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_38">38</div> -<h3 id="c17">The Grand Rush over the Sierras</h3> -<p>With the returns of -the assays came a rush from California. The assays -were made at Nevada City, California, and the result -so astonished the assayer that he could hardly believe -his figures or his eyes. But other assays verified those -first made, and the immense richness of the ore in -both gold and silver could no longer be doubted. A -few men were let into the secret, they let in a few -more, and at once the great news spread far and wide. -Soon miners, speculators, and adventurers of all kinds -came over the Sierras to the silver mines in swarms. -A town of tents, brush shanties, and canvas houses began -to appear on the side of Mount Davidson—then -known as “Sunrise Peak,” as it caught the first rays of -the morning sun. It was about the 1st of June when -the silver was first struck, and, the weather being warm, -many persons camped in the open air—cared for -neither tent nor brush shanty.</p> -<p>There were about 1,000 persons in Western Utah -at the time silver was discovered, and all were living -under Mormon rule. Most of those in the country at -that time were engaged in farming and cattle growing, -in trade with the emigrants, or in gambling and running -off stock; only about 200 were engaged in mining, -and all these were working gold placers. A number -of ranchers from surrounding valleys took up -claims on the line of the lode when they heard that -it was a silver vein, but neither the placer miners, the -ranchers, nor any one else that was in the country at the -time the great discovery was made, ever got more than -a few hundreds or thousands of dollars out of it.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_39">39</div> -<h3 id="c18">The Fate of the Discoverers.</h3> -<p>Although Comstock was not a discoverer, he was one -of the original locators on the lode. He sold his interest -for $10,000. With this he opened a store in -Carson City for the sale of such goods as the trade of -the country demanded; also a similar store, but with -a smaller stock, at Silver City. Knowing nothing of -business, having no education, and being unable to -keep books, he was soon “flat broke.” After losing -all the property he possessed in Nevada, Comstock -struck out into Idaho and Montana, where he prospected -for some years without success. In September, -1870, while encamped near Bozeman, Montana, <i>en -route</i> to prospect in the Big Horn country, he committed -suicide, blowing out his brains with his six-shooter.</p> -<p><span class="sc">Patrick McLaughlin</span> sold his interest in the -Ophir (the discovery claim) for $3,500, which sum he -soon lost, and he then worked as a cook at the Green -mine, in the southern part of California, for a time. He -finally died while wandering from place to place and -working at odd jobs, generally as a cook.</p> -<p><span class="sc">Peter O’Riley</span> held his interest until it brought -him about $50,000, a part of which he received in the -shape of dividends. He erected a stone hotel on B -Street, Virginia City, called the Virginia House. He -then began dealing in mining stocks and soon lost -everything. Under the guidance of spirits—he was a -<span class="pb" id="Page_40">40</span> -Spiritualist—he finally began running a tunnel into a -bald and barren granite spur of the Sierras, near Genoa, -in Douglas County, expecting to strike a richer vein -than the Comstock. However, the spirits talked so -much to him about caverns of gold and silver that he -became insane and was sent to a private asylum at -Woodbridge, California, where he soon died.</p> -<p>The men who made millions were those who came -after the mines had been pretty well prospected, as -Mackay, Fair, Sharon, Jones, and others.</p> -<h3 id="c19">Early Mining and Milling.</h3> -<p>Once people became convinced of the richness, -extent, and permanency of the ore deposits on the -Comstock, towns were built up on the lode and at -points in the valleys as if by enchantment. Machinery -was brought over the Sierras under all manner -of difficulties by teams, and soon mills for working -the ores were built by scores. In 1859 the Americans, -as a people, knew nothing about silver mining. -At that time there were probably not a dozen American -miners on the Pacific Coast who had ever even seen a -sample of silver ore. In the California placer mines, -however, were quite a number of Mexicans who had -worked in silver mines in their own country. These -men at once deserted their gold placers in California -and came flocking over to the Sierras when the cry of -“Plata! mucha plata!” was raised among them. “A -gold placer,” said they, “is soon worked out, but a -silver mine lasts for generations and generations.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_41">41</div> -<p>At first the word of the Mexicans was law in the -new silver mines, both as regarded ore and the methods -of mining and working it. Every American miner -endeavored to secure a Mexican partner, or at least -a Mexican foreman to take charge of his mine. Mexican -methods, however, soon proved to be too slow -for the Americans. Their arastras, patios, and little -adobe smelting furnaces were the primitive contrivances -of a non-mechanical people, and of a race of -miners working as individuals, and on a very small -scale at that.</p> -<p>The Americans at once introduced stamp mills for -crushing the ore, and next introduced pans to hasten -the process of amalgamation. The operation of amalgamating -the crushed ore, which required days by the -patio process, was reduced to hours by the use of -steam-heated iron pans.</p> -<p>The Mexican miners were no better underground at -working in the vein than they were on the surface, at -extracting the precious metals after the ore was mined. -In the Mexican mine, where everything was managed -according to their own notions—the owner being a -Mexican named Gabriel Maldanado—they carried the -ore out of the mine in rawhide sacks, the miners -climbing to the surface by means of a series of notched -poles. Their timbering was also very defective. In -ore bodies so large as those of the Comstock, they -did not know how to support the ground.</p> -<p>Among the miners working in the gold placers of -<span class="pb" id="Page_42">42</span> -California at the time of the discovery of silver on -this side of the Sierras, were a few Germans who had -worked in the silver mines of their “Vaterland,” and -among these were some half dozen who had been educated -in the mining academy of Freyberg, and had -received regular scientific and practical training in the -art of mining. The mining and metallurgical knowledge -of these men was the best then existing in any -part of the world, as regarded the working of argentiferous -ores. The Germans introduced the barrel -process of amalgamation and the roasting of ores. -While the barrel process was a great improvement on -the patio, it was found not so well adapted to the -rapid working of the Comstock ores as the newly invented -pan process. It has also been found that the -free milling ores of the lode do not require to be -roasted.</p> -<p>Philip Deidesheimer, a German who had been appointed -superintendent of the Ophir Mine, however, -invented a method of timbering in “square sets,” -which is perfect in every respect, and which is still in -use in all Comstock mines. By this method of building -up squares of framed timbers an ore vein of any -width may be safely worked to any height or depth; a -vein 300 feet in width may as rapidly be worked as -one only 10 or 20 feet wide.</p> -<h3 id="c20">Mining Difficulties and Inventions.</h3> -<p>Early in the mining history of the Comstock there -began to be heavy flows of water with which to contend. -<span class="pb" id="Page_43">43</span> -This called for pumping machinery and apparatus; -and as greater and greater depth was attained, -larger and larger pumps were demanded. The best -and heaviest machinery in use in Europe was examined, -and upon this improvements were from time to -time made as increased flows of water required increased -capacity. All the inventive genius of the Pacific -Coast was called into play, and the result has -been the construction of some of the most powerful -and effective steam and hydraulic pumping apparatus -to be found in any part of the world.</p> -<p>At first the water with which the Comstock miners -had to contend was cold, but it was not long before -the deeper workings cut into parts of the vein where -were tapped heavy flows of hot water—water actually -hot enough to cook an egg, or to scald a man to -death almost instantly. Several miners have lost their -lives by falling into large tanks, or sumps, of this water, -hot from the vein. The hot water called for fans, -blowers, and all kinds of ventilating apparatus, as men -working in heated drifts had to have a supply of cool -and fresh air sent in to them. Great improvements -have also been made in hoisting cages, though the first -idea of these came from Europe.</p> -<p>In California at the time of the discovery of the -Comstock, were many men who had worked in the -mines of Cornwall, England. These men thoroughly -understood all manner of under-ground work, and were -able to successfully carry through many undertakings in -<span class="pb" id="Page_44">44</span> -the way of sinking shafts, inclines, and winzes, and in -making raises and running drifts in ground where the -difficulties at first sight seemed almost insurmountable.</p> -<h3 id="c21">Various Mining and Milling Appliances.</h3> -<p>Compressed air for running power drills, and for -driving fans and small hoisting engines at depths varying -from 1,000 to 3,000 feet below the surface, was -early adopted in the Comstock mines, as also were -the several new explosives for blasting. Diamond -drills for drilling long distances through solid rock -were also at one time in general use, but have been -discarded for prospecting purposes, being found unreliable. -The existence of ore may be ascertained by -means of the diamond drill, but the amount found is -a matter of uncertainty in all cases.</p> -<p>By the pan processes in the early days there were -immense losses in the precious metals and in quicksilver. -While the pans might be much alike in construction -almost every millman was making experiments -with some secret process of his own for the -amalgamation of the ore. It now seems ridiculous, -but some millmen were actually using sagebrush tea -in their pans, and others a decoction of cedar bark. -They tried all manner of trash, both mineral and vegetable. -It was at that time that untold millions in -gold, silver, and quicksilver were swept away into the -Carson River with the tailings; for the ore on which -all these experiments were tried was almost pure silver. -<span class="pb" id="Page_45">45</span> -Although scores of amalgamating pans of various -patterns have been invented and patented, there -is still room for improvement. The improvements -made from time to time have resulted in saving a large -per cent of the precious metals contained in the ores -operated upon, and also in a smaller loss of quicksilver, -yet none of the apparatus in use is perfect. Experiments -having in view further savings are still constantly -being made.</p> -<h3 id="c22">The Comstock as a School for Miners.</h3> -<p>The Comstock is the mother of silver mining in -America. In this lode hundreds of men have obtained -a thorough practical knowledge of mining in all its -forms and departments. Men who were graduated on -the Comstock are now to be found in all parts of the -world. They early went to Idaho, Montana, Utah, -Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, and British -Columbia. Old Comstock foremen and superintendents -are to-day in charge of mines in Mexico, Central -America, South America, Australia, Africa, China, -Japan, and all other regions where there is mining for -the precious metals. Already they are in the gold -fields of the Amoor River—having pushed their way -across from Alaska—and they are ready to push their -way to the ends of the earth in search of the precious -metals.</p> -<h3 id="c23">Virginia City and its Surroundings.</h3> -<p>Virginia City, the county seat of Storey County, is -situated on the eastern face of Mount Davidson, the -<span class="pb" id="Page_46">46</span> -culminating peak of a range of rocky hills running -northeast and southwest, and having a length of about -thirty-two miles. Mount Davidson rises to a height of -7,775 feet above the level of the sea, and is a rocky, -treeless peak. On the slope of this mountain, about -1,775 feet below its summit, lies Virginia City. It -may be said that the city occupies a position about -midway between the base and the apex of the mountain, -as the Carson River, which flows along near the -eastern foot of the range, is 1,700 feet below the town. -It is literally “a city set on a hill.”</p> -<p>From the tents and brush shanties set up near the -Ophir Mine immediately after the discovery of silver -was made, the growth of the town was rapid. The -first structure worthy of the name of “house” was -erected in the summer of 1859, by Lyman Jones, a -pioneer miner of Gold Canyon. It was of canvass -and was 18x40 feet in size. Soon several frame structures -were removed from Johntown and from Dayton -(then called “Chinatown”) to the “new diggings” of -“Ophir.” Lumber from saw-mills in the foot-hills of -the Sierras was then procured and a few small houses -and offices erected. As there was then no wagon -road up the mountain to where the city now stands it -was necessary to carry lumber up to the new diggings -on horses, half packing and half dragging it from the -valley, where it was delivered by wagons. Very soon, -however, a wagon track was made up the mountain, -and building then progressed more rapidly.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_47">47</div> -<p>At first the new mining camp had no fixed or acknowledged -name. It was variously spoken of as -“Ophir,” “Ophir Diggings,” “Pleasant Hill,” and -“Mount Pleasant Point,” though at that time there -could have been nothing very “pleasant” about the -place, except the sight of the gold and silver then being -dug out by the pound and by the ton almost at -the surface of the ground—less than a yard below the -roots of the sage-brush. Even as late as October, -1859, the place was called Ophir Diggings. About -that time James Fennimore, known among the miners -as “Old Virginia,” was in the camp one night, having -a “little run with the boys,” when he fell and broke -his whisky bottle against a rock. Old Virginia picked -up the bottom part of the bottle, in which still remained -a small quantity of the precious liquid, and, -solemnly pouring it upon the ground, said, “I christen -this camp Virginia!” He called upon those present -to bear witness to the fact that he had duly named -and christened the town in honor of himself and his -native State.</p> -<p>Old Virginia was a favorite among the miners, and -one and all declared that Virginia should be the name -of the town. At first the place was called “Virginia -Town,” but soon the word city was tacked on to Virginia, -the name by which it was christened, and -Virginia City it has remained. Old Virginia had some -right to name the town. He was one of the first to -mine on Six-mile Canyon, working at a point now included -<span class="pb" id="Page_48">48</span> -in the eastern suburbs of the city, and he was -the first man in the country to locate a quartz vein in -the vicinity. This vein was a large one lying west of -the Ophir, and known as the “Virginia Vein,” or -“Virginia Croppings.” This back lead contained a -vast deal of “base metal,” but very little paying ore. -The location was made February 22, 1858, more than -a year before the discovery of silver. In July, 1861, -“Old Virginia” was thrown from a “bucking” mustang, -in the town of Dayton, and killed. At the time -of his death he was possessed of about $3,000 in gold -coin.</p> -<p>The first buildings were erected pretty much at -random in the new town, but soon streets were laid -out. Those nearest the Ophir Mine were first built -on—A and B Streets. In the spring of 1860, B Street -was the principal business street of the town, and -there were several places of business on A Street, -while many new buildings were going up on C Street—the -principal business street at present.</p> -<p>The first winter (1859-60) many persons lived in -holes excavated in the side of the mountain and -roofed with sagebrush and earth. There were then -no hotel accommodations worthy of the name. Peter -O’Riley’s stone hotel, on B Street, was not yet completed, -and the International Hotel, owned by Bateman -& Paul, was a little frame structure, capable of -accommodating only a small number of persons, and -those in the roughest style imaginable. In May, 1860, -<span class="pb" id="Page_49">49</span> -a war broke out with the Piute Indians that lasted a -month. This trouble caused a grand stampede of -the white settlers, and gave the new town a temporary -backset, but the people soon recovered from their -fright, and in another month building was as lively as -before the war broke out.</p> -<p>During the years 1860-61 the town built up very -rapidly, and in 1862-63 brick and stone “fire-proof” -buildings were erected in all directions, as already -fires began to be of frequent occurrence. Year by -year the city grew in area, population, and wealth. -Building went on both summer and winter, and at -times was pushed almost day and night. As the -mines were opened and worked their immense richness -attracted hundreds and thousands of persons -from California, and all parts of the Atlantic States -and Canada. Money was more plentiful and the -prices paid for skilled and all other kinds of labor -were far higher than anywhere else on the American -continent; all articles of merchandise also brought -greater prices than could anywhere else be obtained. -Gold coin jingled in the pockets of all in the city—those -of the drones as well as those of the workers.</p> -<p>With the honest, industrious, and peaceable came -the sharper, the idler, and the desperado. Adventurers -of every class and every grade of wickedness, -both male and female, swarmed in the town. There -were many desperate affrays, robberies, and murders. -“Cutting and shooting scrapes” were of almost daily -<span class="pb" id="Page_50">50</span> -and nightly occurrence in the streets and in the saloons. -At one time the nightly killings were so frequent -that residents expected each morning to hear -that there was “a man for breakfast.”</p> -<p>Finally murders, robberies, and incendiary fires became -so frequent that a “Vigilance Committee,” -known as “601,” was organized and became active in -the spring of 1871. It was the object of the organization -to rid the town of all manner of evil-doers, and -particularly of such desperate characters as almost without -provocation killed peaceable citizens. After there -had been two or three hangings by “601,” and after -many bad characters had received “notices” to leave -(which all at once obeyed), the city again became -quiet and orderly.</p> -<h3 id="c24"><span class="smaller">CITY IMPROVEMENTS.</span></h3> -<p>Owing to the steep slope of the mountain, the site -of the town was by no means favorable, but, at great -cost for grading, many fine, level streets were constructed. -The principal streets were then filled in to -the depth of a yard with waste quartz and other hard, -flinty rock from the mines. This work was so well -done that to this day the streets are hard, smooth, and -dry. The Virginia Gas Company was early organized, -and the streets and business houses lighted with gas. -As early as 1862 a water company organized and -brought a supply of water from several tunnels run -into the Virginia Range west of the city. This -water was conveyed to the town by means of wooden -<span class="pb" id="Page_51">51</span> -flumes and iron pipes, and distributed to customers -throughout the place. The supply of water, however, -at that time was not adequate to the requirements of -the town, and the quality was poor, being much impaired -by the deleterious minerals it held in solution. -Mention of the present system of water works will be -made in another place.</p> -<p>Meantime, while the town was building up, good -wagon roads had been constructed in various directions -at great cost. A number of fire companies had -been organized (provided at first with hand engines, -but afterwards with steamers), and Virginia City began -to take on the appearance of a real “city,” not only -in the number and substantial character of the buildings, -and swarms of people it contained, but also in -the number of conveniences it afforded, its many societies, -churches, schools, theaters, clubs, orders, and -organizations, usually considered the necessary adjuncts -and requirements of civilized and intelligent -communities. There were also several daily and -weekly newspapers, telegraph, express, and all other -similar offices required by business and mining men, -and by the people at large. Indeed, in 1875 the area -of the city was as great as at present, and much more -populous, as at that time it was estimated to contain -20,000 people. Hundreds and thousands of these, -however, were mere birds of passage, being neither -business men nor owners of property. At and about -Gold Hill at that time it was estimated that there -<span class="pb" id="Page_52">52</span> -were about 10,000 souls. The two towns, originally -a mile apart, were connected by buildings—had grown -together. Both towns were filled with mills and mining -works, that gave employment to many thousands -of miners, mechanics, and workingmen of all grades -and classes.</p> -<h3 id="c25">The Great Fire.</h3> -<p>Everything was thus flourishing and prosperous—the -“Big Bonanza” was yielding its millions, and several -other mines were working great and rich bodies -of ore—when Virginia City was overwhelmed by a -great calamity.</p> -<p>On the morning of October 26, 1875, a fire broke -out in a frame lodging-house on A Street, in the -western part of the town, just above all the great business -blocks, and in a few hours all in an area of half -a mile square was laid in ashes. Before the fire was -subdued no fewer than 2,000 buildings—including -mills, hoisting works, churches, business houses, and -structures of all kinds—were swept away. Hundreds -of families were left homeless and destitute. Owing -to the early hour at which the fire started (six o’clock), -and the fearful rapidity with which it spread in all -directions, few persons were able to save any of their -goods or valuables. In all, property to the value of over -$10,000,000 was destroyed. Many great and destructive -fires had before swept through and devastated the -city, but this was the greatest ever experienced in the -place. Scores of buildings that had always been -<span class="pb" id="Page_53">53</span> -rated as fire-proof melted away in the fervent heat -like frost in the rays of the morning sun.</p> -<p>Almost in the start the court-house, the building -of the Washoe Club, the International Hotel, and several -other large buildings, were ignited and began vomiting -pillars of flame that scattered sparks and cinders -far and wide. As the fire progressed the millions of -feet of lumber and timbers and the thousands of cords -of wood about the mining works made fires that could -not be successfully combated, and which nothing -could withstand. At the Consolidated Virginia Hoisting -Works and Mill alone there were on fire at the -same moment, and in one mass, 1,250,000 feet of lumber -and timbers, and 800 cords of pine wood, not to -speak of the two great buildings, and all the stores -they contained; also the adjoining assay office, and -contents. Across the street the freight and passenger -depots of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad Company -were sending up immense pillars of flame, while -just south Piper’s Opera House, an immense frame -structure filled with all manner of very inflammable -material, was a volcano, vomiting destruction on all -sides. Between and about these large structures a -score or more of smaller buildings were belching -flames. This was the scene at but one spot. A few -rods to the southward three tall churches (Catholic, -Methodist, and Episcopal) were sending tongues of -flame into the very clouds, amid whole acres of smaller -buildings that formed a tumultuous sea of fire. At -<span class="pb" id="Page_54">54</span> -the same time to the northward the Ophir works, with -fifty smaller structures, were wrapped in flame. In the -same fierce way the fire was raging over half a -mile square of the very heart of the town. Although -there were scores of narrow escapes, only two persons -lost their lives in the fire, and two or three were afterwards -killed by falling walls.</p> -<p>To rebuild the town at once was the universal -determination. The insurance on the property destroyed -amounted to $2,500,000 (the loss at the -Bonanza Mines alone was $1,461,000), which was -something to begin with; besides many persons whose -property was destroyed had plenty of money left with -which to rebuild. There was not a moment’s delay. -The next morning the work of clearing away ruins -preparatory to putting up new buildings was begun in -all parts of the city, water being thrown upon the -red-hot bricks to so cool them that they could be -handled. Rebuilding began the morning after the -fire, and hardly ceased day or night until all the -ground of the burnt district had been again covered. -The big mining companies were especially active. -Although engaged in rebuilding the mills and works -destroyed, the Consolidated Virginia Mining Company -paid its regular dividends of $10 a share in -November and December, the two amounting to -$2,160,000. In less than thirty days from the time -of the fire new works replaced those destroyed by -fire, and the machinery was in place and ore hoisted -<span class="pb" id="Page_55">55</span> -on Thanksgiving-day. In sixty days after the fire -the business streets of the city were rebuilt, and with -larger and finer structures than those that had been -destroyed. The whole burnt district was so soon -covered with new buildings that strangers arriving in -the city looked about them in surprise and asked, -“Where was your big fire?” That was a busy time -on the Virginia and Truckee Railroad, no fewer than -forty-five trains a day passing over the road during -the great building rush. But for the railroad the city -and mining works could not have been rebuilt that -year.</p> -<h3 id="c26">Virginia City at Present.</h3> -<p>Although Virginia City covers as much ground and -contains larger and finer buildings than before the -great fire, it is not so populous as in the old flush -times of the “Big Bonanza.” In those days every -hotel and lodging-house was filled to overflowing; -now most of those in the city are permanent inhabitants -and property owners—those who formerly composed -the grand army of “sports,” adventurers, and -idlers have gone to other fields. At present the city -contains a population of only about 9,000 persons, -but nearly all those now in the place have permanent -homes and some legitimate and remunerative employment. -As about one-fourth of the male population -is constantly at work under-ground in the lower levels -of the various mines, the streets do not present so -<span class="pb" id="Page_56">56</span> -thronged an appearance as those of a non-mining -town containing the same number of inhabitants. -The place, however, presents a very different appearance -on a holiday when all the mining works are shut -down and the miners are on the surface.</p> -<p>The first care of the people of the city after rebuilding -the place was to guard against the recurrence of -such a sweeping conflagration. A number of huge -water tanks were constructed high above the town on -the side of the mountain, with a proper system of -mains and hydrants extending through all parts of the -city. The pressure is so great at these hydrants that -the firemen are able to throw a stream over the flag-staff -of the tallest building in the city through a nozzle -of the largest size. A few paid firemen now fight -all the fires that occur in the city. As the hydrants -are always ready the firemen have only to get to them, -attach their hose, and at once they have powerful -streams steadily playing on the fire. “Promptness of -action” is their motto. They seldom allow a fire to -get out of the building in which it originates. Usually -they have a fire out before a steam fire-engine could -get up steam.</p> -<p>The fire mains are distinct from those which supply -water for domestic purposes, and those again from -such as furnish water for use at the mills and hoisting -works of the mines. There is a system of gates -whereby the water may be shut off from the hydrants -of any block in the city and turned to any other block -<span class="pb" id="Page_57">57</span> -or blocks of buildings. This system is so perfect that -employes of the water company working in conjunction -with the firemen are able to at once turn the water -to any part of the city in which it may be required, -at the same time shutting it off from all other parts.</p> -<p>All the churches, halls, district court-house, theater, -and other public buildings are finer than those destroyed -in the big fire, and again are seen trees and -grounds of handsome appearance in various parts of -the city. In the city are several school-houses that -cost from $20,000 to $60,000, besides which there are -a number of private schools, and the fine school of -the Sisters of Charity. There is also a hospital—St. -Mary’s, a commodious brick structure—under the -charge of the Sisters, as well as a large and well-conducted -county hospital. Both are located beyond -the eastern suburbs in quiet and pleasant places. The -halls belonging to the many societies and secret orders -are elegant and costly. The city now has electric -lights, two daily newspapers, and one weekly.</p> -<p>The mills and hoisting works are a striking and -characteristic feature of the place. The immense -waste dumps, high trestle-work car tracks, trains of -ore cars on the railroad, clouds of black smoke belched -from many tall stacks, trains loaded with wood and -timber, all tell that mining is the great industry of the -city; then much of the street talk heard is of mines -and mining stocks.</p> -<p>The International Hotel is the oldest in the city. -<span class="pb" id="Page_58">58</span> -It was founded in 1860, when it was a mere frame -shanty fronting on B Street. The hotel destroyed by -the big fire was a commodious brick structure, but the -present building is far finer. It now extends from B -to C Street, is constructed of brick, stone, and iron, -and is six stories in height. It is capable of accommodating -in excellent style a large number of guests.</p> -<h3 id="c27">Views from the City and Vicinity.</h3> -<p>Though the landscape visible from the city cannot -be called beautiful, yet it is grand and picturesque. -On all sides except the east, the town is shut in by -near ranges of high, rocky, and barren mountains. -To the eastward the eye reaches over a vast area composed -of tracts of sandy desert, valley lands, dark and -rocky hills, and rugged and towering mountain ranges. -The chief of these is the Humboldt Range, seen blue -or purple in the distance, from 150 to 190 miles away. -These mountains and their snow-clad peaks stand out -against the dark-blue of the sky far beyond the green -cottonwood groves that follow the meanderings of the -Carson River, far beyond the Forty-mile Desert and -the lake and sink of the Carson, and beyond Humboldt -Lake and Sink.</p> -<p>To the northeast are seen several sharp and splintered -peaks, while to the southeast, from twenty to -fifty miles away, rise the huge and grand peaks of the -Como Mountains. From the Divide (the dividing -ridge between Virginia and Gold Hill) may be obtained -a magnificent view of the main Sierra Nevada -<span class="pb" id="Page_59">59</span> -Range and its many mighty snow-capped peaks as -they trail and circle away from west to south till they -are lost to view behind lower interior ranges at a point -over 150 miles away.</p> -<h3 id="c28">The View from the Summit of Mt. Davidson.</h3> -<p>From the peak of Mount Davidson may be obtained -a grand and extensive view of the country in -all directions. To the westward is seen Washoe Lake -and the green meadows and fields by which it is surrounded. -Although Washoe Valley and its lake seem -to be just at the foot of the mountain they are from -eight to ten miles distant. Beyond and high above -the valley tower the pine-clad Sierras, with, along their -line, several giant granite peaks, snow-capped the -greater part of the year. Prominent among these -stands out Bald Mountain, just north of Lake Tahoe, -and within plain view Mount Lincoln, Job’s Peak, -Silver Mountain, and many other peaks that have -names. Twenty miles to the northward are to be seen -the green pastures and alfalfa fields of the Truckee -Meadows, while to the southward we have the Sierra -Range and Eagle and Carson Valleys. Carson City -is hid by intervening low hills. To the eastward are -the same deserts and mountains that compose the landscape -viewed from the city, but from the top of the -mountain the eye ranges over a vastly wider field.</p> -<h3 id="c29">The Virginia and Truckee Railroad.</h3> -<p>From our elevated position on the peak of Mount -<span class="pb" id="Page_60">60</span> -Davidson we may trace nearly the whole course of -the Virginia and Truckee Railroad. This road runs -from Reno to Virginia City <i>via</i> Carson City, and is -fifty-two miles in length. Besides being in one part -the most crooked railroad in the world, its whole -course is a great curve. The distance from Virginia -City to Reno as the crow flies is only about seventeen -miles, and but twenty-two by wagon road, yet to connect -the two points by rail required a road fifty-two -miles in length.</p> -<p>From Reno, where the road connects with the -Central Pacific, its course is southward through -Truckee, Meadows, and Steamboat, Washoe and -Eagle Valleys, to Carson City, a distance of thirty-one -miles. From Carson City the road runs east -down the Carson River about nine miles, when it -leaves the river and, turning to the north, begins to -climb the mountains to Virginia. From the river to -Virginia the distance is thirteen miles and the maximum -grade is 116 feet. In climbing the mountain -there are many very short curves. The maximum -radius of curves is 300 feet. By adding together all -these curves it is found that a passenger on the road -actually travels seventeen times round a circle between -Virginia and Carson City. On the road are -six tunnels, whose united length is 2,400 feet, and -there are numerous deep cuts in very hard rock. -The only high bridge is the trestlework on which the -road crosses Crown Point Ravine, at Gold Hill. -This bridge is eighty feet in height.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_61">61</div> -<p>Ground was broken on the road February 19, 1869, -and eight months thereafter the most difficult part of -it was finished and trains were running to Carson—twenty-one -miles. The construction of this twenty-one -miles of road cost $1,750,000, the greater part of -which sum was expended on the first thirteen miles. -In round numbers the whole fifty-two miles cost -$3,000,000. The road does an immense business in -the transportation of Comstock ores to quartz mills -on the Carson River, and in carrying back from the -valley wood, lumber, and timbers for the mines; it -also carries from Reno to Virginia great quantities of -all kinds of goods and merchandise—coal, ice, provisions, -fruit, and machinery—with mails, express, and -many passengers daily. The road connects with the -Carson and Colorado Road at Mound House, eleven -miles below Virginia City. The road and its many -side-tracks and switches constitute a lasting monument -to the engineering skill of the late I. E. James.</p> -<h3 id="c30">The Days of “Bull Teams.”</h3> -<p>Before the Virginia and Truckee Railroad was -built all freight was transported by teams. Ore was -hauled to the mills by teams, and teams brought to -the mines all the wood, lumber, and timber required. -Teams also hauled over the Sierras all the mining -machinery and supplies required by the mines and -mills, and all the goods and merchandise needed by -various kinds of stores, shops, and business houses. -<span class="pb" id="Page_62">62</span> -When the Central Pacific was completed this hauling -of merchandise was from Reno, <i>via</i> the Geiger grade -wagon-road. Hundreds of teams of all kinds were -required to handle the goods and merchandise, other -hundreds the ore, wood, lumber, and timbers, and -still others to do the miscellaneous hauling of the -country. When the big reduction works of the Ophir -Mining Company were in operation near Franktown, -in Washoe Valley, lines of teams from one to three -miles in length were to be seen moving along the -Ophir grade. On all other roads it was much the -same. Teams of from ten to sixteen horses or mules -hauled trains of from two to four loaded wagons. -At times so many teams thronged Virginia City that -blockades occurred which could not be broken for -hours. Stages, omnibuses, delivery wagons, drays, -carts, buggies, carriages, and all kinds of vehicles were -inextricably mingled in a jam that filled the principal -streets for blocks. With all the cursing of “mule-punchers,” -“swampers,” and “bull-teamsters,” it -would often be two or three hours before the wheels -of traffic again began to revolve. When these blockades -occurred about noon, teamsters would often get -out their dinner pails, spread their meal on their -load of wood, brick, or lumber, bring out from the -nearest saloon a measure of beer, and in a leisurely -way partake of the midday repast. Then all passengers -and all mail and express matter were carried by -stages, and so great was the rush of travel and business -<span class="pb" id="Page_63">63</span> -that the coaches went out and returned in droves, -five and six in a string. In 1859, 1860, and 1861, -great quantities of goods were transported across the -Sierras from California on the backs of mules. Some -of the pack-trains were composed of fifty, eighty, and -even as many as one hundred mules. They brought -over all kinds of freight, even huge casks of liquor -and large pieces of mill machinery. On the return -trip they often carried passengers. In those days the -“hurricane deck” of a mule was not to be despised.</p> -<h3 id="c31">THE COMSTOCK SYSTEM OF WATER SUPPLY.</h3> -<h3 id="c32">The Virginia City and Gold Hill Water Works.</h3> -<p>When silver was first discovered on the Comstock, -the flow of water from natural springs was sufficient -to supply all the wants of the small communities then -constituting the towns of Gold Hill and Virginia City. -As the population increased, wells were dug in many -places (distant from springs), and the domestic needs -of many families were for a long time supplied by -water-carts that peddled the water of both wells and -springs. Presently the water of several tunnels added -to the available stock, but as mills and hoisting works -multiplied, the demand for water for use in steam boilers -became so great that it was impossible to supply it without -creating a water famine among the people of the -two towns, now thousands in number, with hundreds -<span class="pb" id="Page_64">64</span> -of new arrivals every week. In this emergency the -Virginia City and Gold Hill Water Company was -formed. Outside of mining companies it is the oldest -incorporation on the Comstock Lode. The only -available supply of water at that time was that flowing -from a few tunnels that had been run into the mountain -above the city for mining purposes. This was -collected by means of ditches and wooden flumes, and -stored in large wooden tanks, whence it was distributed -about the city through iron pipes. When this -supply became insufficient, as it soon did, tunnels -were run for the express purpose of tapping water. -As these drained out the hills and failed, new ones -were run in the range both north and south of the -city for a distance of several miles.</p> -<p>Finally every device was exhausted, and the hills -above the level of the city were thoroughly drained. -It then became necessary to look to the main range -of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In those mountains -was an inexhaustible supply of the purest and best -water to be found in the whole world, but between -the lakes, creeks, and sparkling fountains of the Sierras -and the range on which stood Virginia City, lay -Washoe Valley, an immense trough nearly 2,000 feet -in depth. How to get water over such a depression -was the question. Mr. H. Schussler, an engineer of -great repute, and who had planned the Spring Valley -Water Works of San Francisco, was brought to Nevada -to view the situation. He said the deep valley -<span class="pb" id="Page_65">65</span> -could be crossed, and in the spring of 1872 surveys -were made and an order given Eastern manufacturers -for the construction of a large wrought-iron pipe. -The first section of the big pipe was laid June 11, -1873, and the last on the twenty-fifth day of July of -the same year.</p> -<h3 id="c33">The Big Water Pipe.</h3> -<p>The total length of the pipe is 7 miles and 134 -feet. The pipe has an interior diameter of 12 -inches, and is capable of delivering 2,200,000 gallons -of water in twenty-four hours. The inlet of the pipe -is on a spur from the main Sierra Nevada Range, and -the outlet is on the crest of the Virginia Range of -mountains. The pipe lies across the valley in the -form of an inverted siphon. At the lowest point, the -perpendicular pressure on the pipe is 1,720 feet, or -about 800 pounds to the square inch. The inlet being -465 feet higher than the outlet, the water is forced -through the pipe under tremendous pressure. The -water is brought to the inlet from the sources of supply -in two large covered flumes, and at the outlet end -of the pipe is delivered into two large flumes, which -carry it to Virginia City, a distance of twelve miles.</p> -<p>This pipe was constructed of sheets of wrought -iron riveted together. Each section was fastened with -three rows of rivets. At the point of greatest pressure -the iron was five-sixteenths of an inch in thickness, -but near the ends, upon the sides of the two opposite -<span class="pb" id="Page_66">66</span> -mountains, it tapered down to one-sixteenth of an -inch. In the construction of the pipe there were -used 1,150,000 pounds of rolled iron and 1,000,000 -rivets, while 52,000 pounds of lead were used in securing -the joints of the sections. At each joint the -sections were inserted into cast iron sleeves, and it -was within these sleeves that the lead was used. The -total weight of the sleeves was 442,500 pounds.</p> -<p>The first flow of water through this pipe reached -Gold Hill and Virginia City on the evening of August -1, 1873, amid the greatest rejoicings of the people -of both towns. Cannons were fired, rockets sent -up, and bands of music paraded the streets. Never -before in any part of the world had water been conveyed -under a pressure so great; and it still remains -the greatest. Previous to this, 910 feet was the greatest -perpendicular pressure under which water had -ever been carried through an iron pipe. This had -been accomplished by Mr. Schussler, at Cherokee -Flat, California.</p> -<h3 id="c34">Additional Great Pipes.</h3> -<p>In 1875 the water company laid alongside the -first pipe a second having an inside diameter of ten -inches. This pipe is lap-welded, and, there being no -friction of rivet heads upon the water, the flow through -it is equal to that through the twelve-inch pipe,—2,200,000 -gallons every twenty-four hours.</p> -<p>Before 1875 the supply of water was obtained from -creeks on the eastern slope of the mountains lying -<span class="pb" id="Page_67">67</span> -east of Lake Tahoe, but in the year named, the water -company pushed their main supply flumes through to -Marlette Lake, which lies inside of the Tahoe basin. -To do this it was necessary to run a tunnel 3,000 feet -in length through the dividing ridge, or rim, of the -Tahoe basin. The sheet of water known as Marlette -Lake is almost entirely artificial, and owes its existence -to a big dam—is in reality a large reservoir. The -water covers an area of over 300 acres, and in the -middle is about 40 feet deep. The reservoir holds -16,000,000,000 gallons of water.</p> -<p>The second pipe was laid under the supervision of -Capt. J. B. Overton, Superintendent of the works -of the water company, who also extended the flumes, -constructed the tunnel through the mountain ridge, -and made all the other improvements. In 1887 a -third iron pipe of twelve inches inside diameter was -laid across the valley alongside the first two. It was -also a welded pipe and delivers much more water than -either of the others. The inlet pressure has been -raised on all three pipes, and they now deliver a total -flow of about 10,000,000 gallons in twenty-four hours. -In 1887, also, a branch flume was run to the northward -(Marlette Lake lying to the southward) a distance -of nine miles, which taps a number of creeks tributary -to Lake Tahoe on the east and northeast sides. -In the same year a reservoir capable of holding 20,000,000 -gallons was constructed on Hobart Creek, on -the east side of the dividing ridge. In and near the -<span class="pb" id="Page_68">68</span> -city are reservoirs holding from 3,000,000 to 10,000,000 -gallons, and a number of tanks along the side of -Mount Davidson of from 60,000 to 80,000 gallons, -capacity. The water is brought a distance of from -twenty-five to thirty-seven miles, and the supply -(aided by the several storage reservoirs) is ample for -all present uses. The total cost of the works of the -company has been about $2,500,000. Each of the -three pipes has its separate inlet and outlet, from two -flumes and into two flumes. Between the outlet and -the city the water passes through a large storage reservoir.</p> -<h3 id="c35">The Sutro Tunnel.</h3> -<p>While there was a scarcity of water on the surface -at Virginia City, there was a superabundance of it, -both hot and cold, under-ground in all the mines. -Levels were flooded so suddenly that oftentimes the -miners narrowly escaped being drowned by the vast -subterranean reservoirs that were unexpectedly tapped. -Great delays in mining were caused by these floods, -and to pump out the water that filled the lower levels -cost immense amounts of money. Several tunnels from -1,000 to 5,000 feet in length were run into the mountain, -but they were of only temporary utility, as the -shafts of the mines were soon below their level. In -order to overcome these water troubles, Adolph -Sutro early conceived the idea of running an immense -drain tunnel under the Comstock Lode from the lowest -possible point. A survey was made by Mr. H. -<span class="pb" id="Page_69">69</span> -Schussler, and work was commenced on the great -drain tunnel (since known as the Sutro Tunnel) October -19, 1869. It starts at the edge of the valley of -the Carson River, at a point nearly east of Virginia -City, and has a length of 20,145 feet—nearly 4 miles. -It taps the central parts of the Comstock Lode at a -depth of about 1,650 feet. The tunnel is 16 feet -wide and 12 feet high. Drain flumes are sunk in -the floor and over these are two tracks for horse-cars. -It required nearly eight years to construct the tunnel, -and the total cost was about $4,500,000. Although -the leading mines had their shafts down nearly 3,000 -feet before the tunnel was finished, yet it was of great -use, as it saved 1,600 feet of pumping.</p> -<p>From the main tunnel branches were run north and -south along the east side of the vein for a distance of -over two miles, with which the several companies connected -by drain drifts from their mines. The flow of -water through the tunnel has at times been over 10,000,000 -gallons in twenty-four hours. Between the -mouth of the tunnel and the Carson River there are -155 feet of fall, but it has never been utilized for -driving reduction works. New connections are still -being made with the tunnel for drainage. Though it -never paid anything near what was anticipated by -Mr. Sutro, the tunnel still brings in a snug sum annually. -Last year (the fiscal year that ended February -29, 1888) the receipts for royalties amounted to -$237,258.33. It costs a considerable amount annually -<span class="pb" id="Page_70">70</span> -to keep the main tunnel and branches in repair. -This great drain at a depth of 1,600 feet below -the surface allows of Pelton water wheels being -set up in the shafts of the several mines and worked -under immense pressure, there being a free discharge -from the wheels. At the C and C shaft of the Consolidated -California and Virginia, such wheels have -been put in every 500 feet from the surface down to -the Sutro Tunnel level. The water used on the first -wheel on the surface, in the stamp-mill, is caught up, -led to the shaft, and used on the second 500 feet below, -and so on down to the tunnel level, the power -being brought from wheel to wheel to the surface by -means of a system of steel wire cables. Thus is -transmitted to the surface the power developed by the -whole series of wheels.</p> -<h3 id="c36">The Reduction Works of the Early Days.</h3> -<p>In the early days the building of quartz-mills kept -pace with the building up of the towns. As early as -October, 1859, Logan & Holmes had a four-stamp -horse-power mill in operation at Dayton, and Hastings -& Woodworth had two water-power arastras at -work, which reduced six tons of ore a day. This ore -was not worked as silver ore. It was from the surface -of the Comstock Lode, at Gold Hill, and was -worked for gold only. In the spring of 1860 many -mills for working silver ore began to be erected.</p> -<h3 id="c37">The First Silver Mill.</h3> -<p>The first silver-mill that went into operation was -<span class="pb" id="Page_71">71</span> -the “Pioneer,” erected by Almarin B. Paul, on Gold -Canyon, at the north end of Silver City, just below -the Devil’s Gate. It was a steam mill and contained -twenty-four Howland rotary stamps and twenty-four -amalgamating pans. The work of erecting the mill -was commenced May 24, 1860, and it began work -August 13, the same year. Some others have claimed -the honor of starting the first quartz-mill in Nevada, -but this was undoubtedly the first silver-mill. In it -were operated the first silver amalgamating pans ever -seen anywhere. The iron amalgamating pans were -the result of experiments made by Almarin B. Paul -before he began the erection of his mill. He thought -the German barrel process and Mexican patio too -slow, and began to make experiments with some small -iron pans that had been in use at some of the quartz-mills -in California for grinding and working the sulphurets -saved by concentrating machines in working -the quartz of the gold mines. The best of these was -found to be the “Knox Improved Pan,” in which was -a false bottom that formed beneath the pan a steam-tight -heating chamber. By the use of this kind of -pan, and by treating the heated pulp with certain -quantities of salt, sulphate of copper, and some other -chemicals, before adding quicksilver, it was found that -a charge (whatever amount of crushed silver ore the -pan would hold) could be amalgamated in about three -hours. The results obtained with Knox’s Improved -Pan were so satisfactory that Mr. Paul placed pans of -<span class="pb" id="Page_72">72</span> -that pattern in his new mill. Soon after a score of -pans of different styles were invented, and to this day -pans of new patterns are still being invented and patented.</p> -<p>The Coover & Harris Mill, Gold Hill, was the first -mill in the country to start up with steam. It blew -its steam whistle a day before that of Paul’s “Pioneer” -was heard, but it could not then be called a silver-mill -as it was working gold quartz, the same as was -worked, in October the year before, at Dayton, by -Logan & Holmes and Hastings & Woodworth. The -mill had a fifteen horse-power engine that drove an -eight-stamp Howland rotary battery and crushed six -tons of ore a day. At first it was a dry crusher, but -soon Paul’s Concentrators and Knox’ pans were used. -The Harris of the firm was Dr. E. B. Harris, now a -resident of Virginia City.</p> -<h3 id="c38">The Many Mills of the Early Days.</h3> -<p>Very soon after these first mills went into operation -several others started up. By the spring of 1862 no -fewer than eighty-one quartz-mills were at work, the -majority of them on ore from mines situated on the -Comstock Lode. These mills were located in Virginia -City, on Six and Seven-mile Canyons, at Gold -Hill, Silver City, Dayton, at Empire City, and all -along the Carson River below that town; two or three -near Carson City (on Clear Creek and Mill Creek), -and a dozen or more about Washoe Valley and down -toward Steamboat Valley. Many of these mills were -<span class="pb" id="Page_73">73</span> -of small capacity, having only from two to ten stamps, -but there were already a few first-class reduction works, -as regards capacity, though their methods and processes -were defective. The reduction works of the -Ophir Company, in Washoe Valley, cost $500,000, -contained thirty-six stamps, were driven by an engine of -100 horse-power, and was capable of working 100 -tons of ore a day. The Gould & Curry Mill then -building on Six-mile Canyon was of still greater capacity, -and the Land, Bassett, Winfield, Empire State, -Central, Marysville, Trench, Swansea, Phœnix, Succor, -Rock Point, Merrimac, Vivian, and several other -mills, contained from fifteen to twenty-five stamps -each. After the completion of the Virginia and -Truckee Railroad the majority of the outside mills -(mills to which it was necessary to transport ore, wood, -and other supplies by wagon) were pulled down and -removed to new mining camps in various parts of the -State. The greater part of the ores of the Comstock -were then reduced in steam mills near the mines or -in water mills on the Carson River on the line of the -railroad; and this is still the case.</p> -<p>We now have fewer mills than in the early days, -but they are of greater average capacity, and are in every -respect more effective than were those first erected. -More ore is crushed to the stamp, and the time -required for the amalgamation of the pulp has been -very materially reduced. All the present mills are so -constructed that there is very little handling of the -<span class="pb" id="Page_74">74</span> -ores operated upon, and labor-saving apparatus has -been introduced into nearly every department. Even -the old oil lamps are being thrown out of the mills and -the electric light introduced.</p> -<h3 id="c39">REDUCTION WORKS OF THE PRESENT DAY.</h3> -<h3 id="c40">Description of the Process of Working Comstock Silver Ore.</h3> -<p>In speaking of the works at present in use for the -reduction of silver ore, it will only be necessary to -describe the process in use in one mill, as all work -after the same system. Being the most recently -erected, and quite perfect in all its arrangements, the -new mill of the Nevada Mill and Mining Company, -commonly called the Chollar Mill (as it stands near -the Chollar old shaft), shall furnish the illustration -necessary to an understanding of the method of working -Comstock ores now generally in use. The mill -covers nearly an acre of ground, and the machinery is -at present (March, 1889) driven in part by a Pelton -water wheel 11 feet in diameter, and in part by power -electrically transmitted from the Sutro Tunnel level. -The mill building stands in a depression near the -head of a small ravine. Such a site was selected in -order that from the time the ore enters the mill its -course at each stage necessary to its complete reduction, -shall be downward—that there shall be no lifting -or hoisting of ore or pulp.</p> -<p>The mill stands a little over one hundred yards -<span class="pb" id="Page_75">75</span> -south of the Chollar shaft. From the shaft the ore is -run in the same cars in which it is hoisted from the -mine directly into the upper story of the mill. It is -there dumped through openings in the floor into the -ore bins. Over these ore bins are placed in a slanting -position iron bars three inches apart, forming -screens called “grizzlies.” Through these screens -the fine ore falls into the bins, while the large lumps -of rock roll down upon a floor in front of the rock-breaker, -an apparatus that works much on the same -principle as a lemon-squeezer. Between the jaws of -this powerful machine the largest and hardest piece -of quartz rock is at once chewed into fragments sufficiently -small to be fed into the batteries, where -the heavy stamps reduce it to pulp. The ore is delivered -into the batteries by self-feeders, which are so -regulated as to keep constantly under the stamps the -proper quantity of rock to do well the most work. -At the Chollar (or Nevada) Mill there are sixty stamps,—twelve -batteries of five stamps each. Each stamp -weighs about eight hundred pounds. On the end of -each stamp is a heavy head or block of iron or steel -called a “shoe,” and in the bottom of the mortar (a -long iron box in which the stamps of each battery -work) is a similar block of iron called a “die,” upon -which the shoe of the stamp strikes when it pulls. It -is between these two blocks of steel that the quartz is -crushed.</p> -<p>A small stream of water flows into each battery, and -<span class="pb" id="Page_76">76</span> -as the ore is reduced to a powder the water floats it -out through the fine screens that are fitted into the -face of each mortar. The pulverized ore and water, -on passing through the screens, falls into a small -trough, or sluice, which carries the muddy mixture -down to the settling tanks, on a floor below, in the -amalgamating room. In the tanks the crushed ore -settles and the water runs off. From the tanks the -pulverized ore, which resembles thin mortar, is shoveled -out upon the floor alongside the amalgamating -pans, into which it is shoveled whenever they are to -receive a fresh charge of ore.</p> -<p>The pans are of iron and each holds a “charge” of -about 3,000 pounds of the mortar-like pulp. In the -bottom of each pan are thick plates of chilled iron or -steel called “dies,” while revolving upon these are -other heavy pieces of steel, called “shoes” or mullers. -In the pans the pulverized ore is ground till it is -much finer than when it passed through the screens -of the battery.</p> -<p>When a pan has received its charge of pulverized -ore (“pulp”) a small amount of water is added to -render it sufficiently thin to be readily stirred by the -mullers. The pans have tight covers and double bottoms. -The double bottoms are steam chambers by -means of which the pulp in the pan is kept hot -while it is ground and agitated. After a charge has -been ground about two hours, some 300 pounds of -quicksilver are added (for 3,000 pounds of pulp), -<span class="pb" id="Page_77">77</span> -also a certain quantity of salt and sulphate of copper; -and sometimes soda or caustic potash and other -chemicals, if thought necessary, when the agitation in -the pan is continued two hours longer. The time of -working in the pan varies from three to five hours.</p> -<p>The Chollar Mill has thirty of these pans. On a -platform below that on which stand the pans are fifteen -settlers. These are about twice the size of the -pans. At the end of three or five hours each settler -has drawn off into it the contents of two pans. In -the settler the pulp, quicksilver, and amalgam are kept -in motion for about two hours. During this time -water is let in and the pulp made very thin. The -quicksilver and amalgam settle to the bottom of the -“settler,” and are drawn off through a pipe and pass -into a strainer—a strong canvas bag. There is an -iron box around each strainer, and this is kept locked.</p> -<p>It is in the pan that amalgamation takes place. -There the sulphuret and chloride of silver is changed -to the metallic form by the chemical action of the sulphate -of copper (bluestone) and salt, and when it takes -the metallic form it at once unites with quicksilver. -The gold contained in the ore (generally one-third of -its whole value) being always in the metallic form, is -amalgamated as soon as it is ground out of its inclosing -shell of quartz, or pyrites of iron.</p> -<p>The thinned pulp—mere muddy water in appearance—on -leaving the settlers passes into large wooden -tubs called “agitators,” in which are revolving rakes. -<span class="pb" id="Page_78">78</span> -In these tubs is caught some valuable material—principally -amalgam and quicksilver. From the “agitators” -the pulp flows out of the reduction works -through a small flume which conducts it to the blanket -sluices, fifty yards away in the open air. The blanket -sluices are broad, shallow flumes in the bottom of -which are placed strips of coarse woolen blanketing. -In passing over these blankets the pulp deposits pulverized -iron pyrites containing gold, some fine particles -of amalgam, and quicksilver; also such silver -sulphurets as escaped being amalgamated in the pans. -From time to time the blankets are taken out of the -sluices and rinsed in a large tank, in which operation is -saved whatever of value they may have caught.</p> -<p>The amalgam collected in the strainers standing -below the settlers is placed in a press and as much -quicksilver as possible pressed out, when it is placed -in retorts, which are heated till all the mercury is -driven off. There then remains behind the silver and -gold, in a dull, rough-looking mass. This “crude -bullion” is then broken up and placed in the melting -pots, to be made into “bricks” and assayed. The -bars or bricks made weigh about 100 pounds each. -From the top and bottom of each pot or crucible of -molten gold and silver is taken a small quantity of -the fluid metals from which assays are made to determine -the value of the bars. About thirty per cent -of the value of the Comstock bullion bars is in gold, -though it has at times run up to fifty per cent in some -mines, and as low as ten per cent in others.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_79">79</div> -<p>Though the Nevada Mill is in part driven by water, -half the power used is electrically transmitted from -six forty-inch Pelton water wheels set up in a large -chamber excavated on the Sutro Tunnel level of the -Chollar Mine, 1,630 feet below the surface. These -small Pelton wheels drive six Brush dynamos, which -generate the current that passes over the copper wires -to the electric motors in the mill. The electric apparatus -transmits to the main driving shaft of the mill -about sixty-five per cent of the power developed by -the Pelton wheels. Each Pelton wheel drives a dynamo, -and one, two, four or all the dynamos may be -run at the same time, just as may be required, each -Pelton and dynamo being independent of the others.</p> -<p>After the water is used on the large-surface Pelton -wheel in the mill it is caught up and by means of a -small flume is conducted to the shaft of the Chollar -Mine, near at hand, down which two large iron pipes -carry it to the six small Peltons below. By thus -twice using the same water a saving of one-half is -made. The pressure on the lower Pelton wheels is -immense. Never before has any water wheel been -operated under a vertical pressure of 1,630 feet.</p> -<p>The Nevada Mill was built to work the ores of the -Hale and Norcross, Chollar and Potosi Mines. It is -one of the most substantial mills in the country, and -no mill in the State is better arranged. It is lighted -with electricity, and the grounds in front are illuminated -by means of an arc light on a tall mast.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_80">80</div> -<h3 id="c41">The Two California Mills.</h3> -<p>The California stamp and pan-mills in Virginia City -reduce the ores of the Consolidated California and -Virginia Mine. The stamp-mill is situated immediately -east of the C and C shaft of the mine. It contains -eighty stamps. The ore crushed in this mill -is amalgamated in the pan-mill, which stands about -1,500 feet further east. The crushed ore is conducted -from the stamp-mill to the pan-mill through an -iron pipe four inches in diameter. The process of -amalgamation is much the same as at the Chollar -Mill, except that the pulp goes directly into the amalgamating -pans instead of being first received in settling -tanks. It flows from pan to pan—the outflow of the -first pan passing into the second through a pipe, thence -into a third, and so on and from settler to settler, -being in all about three hours in passing through the -series. This is called the Boss Continuous Process. -It is in use in no other mill on the Comstock, as yet. -In connection with the Rae electrical process of -amalgamation (in which a current of electricity is -passed through the settlers) it is found to work satisfactorily. -The electric current prevents loss of -“floured” quicksilver. Both mills are driven by Pelton -water wheels. A single Pelton wheel eleven feet -in diameter, placed on the surface, drives the eighty -stamps of the battery-mill, and also twelve Boss grinding -pans. The water used on the surface Pelton is -caught up and conducted to the C and C shaft, where -<span class="pb" id="Page_81">81</span> -it is used on a series of Pelton wheels of the same -size. These wheels are placed in chambers made for -their reception 500 feet apart from the top of the shaft -down to the Sutro Tunnel level (there 1,500 feet), and -by means of steel wire cables, used as belts, the power -of all the lower wheels is brought to a main driving -shaft on the surface. The whole power is then transmitted -to the pan-mill (about 1,600 feet) by means of -steel wire cables passing over pulleys placed on a -series of tall wooden towers. The cables pass over a -considerable depression between the top of the C and -C shaft and the pan-mill; three high towers are required -in the middle portion.</p> -<h3 id="c42">River and Canyon Mills.</h3> -<p>The Mexican Mill, on the Carson River, contains -forty-four stamps and a corresponding number of pans, -settlers, and other amalgamating machinery. The -Morgan Mill has forty stamps. It works ore from the -Consolidated California and Virginia Mine. The -Brunswick Mill contains seventy-six stamps, the Vivian -sixteen, Santiago thirty-eight, and Eureka sixty. -All these mills are about and below Empire City, and -all work Comstock ores. The Eureka Mill is run on -ore from the Consolidated California and Virginia. -The Rock Point Mill (thirty stamps), at Dayton, and -the Douglas Mill (ten stamps), in Lower Gold Hill, -also work Comstock ores.</p> -<p>At and about Silver City are two or three small -<span class="pb" id="Page_82">82</span> -mills that work the ores of mines in that neighborhood, -and on the Carson River are the Douglas and Woodworth -Mills, which work tailings.</p> -<p>On Six-mile Canyon, below Virginia City to the east, -are several small water mills having an aggregate of -about thirty stamps. These work ores from the mines -on the canyon and in Flowery District. On the canyon -are also one or two small mills that work tailings -and the concentrations from blanket sluices.</p> -<p>The Alta Mining Company has a ten-stamp mill, -with concentrators, immediately adjoining the hoisting -works at their mine. The Justice Company have a -new ten-stamp mill near their mine.</p> -<p>Owing to the fact that many mines are now at the -same time producing large quantities of ore, a lack of -milling facilities is being felt. To meet this demand -the Nevada Mill has been enlarged one-third, and the -capacity of other mills will be increased, and perhaps -some new mills will be erected. Processes by means -of which low-grade ores may be profitably worked will -no doubt yet be invented or discovered, which will -cause many new works to be erected either on the -Carson River or in the neighborhood of the mines -producing large quantities of such ores.</p> -<h3 id="c43">THE COMSTOCK LODE.</h3> -<h3 id="c44">Hoisting Works, Shafts, and Mining, Past and Present.</h3> -<p>The Comstock Lode crops out along the eastern -<span class="pb" id="Page_83">83</span> -face of Mount Davidson about 1,200 feet below the -summit, and just above the western suburbs of Virginia -City. To the northward and southward the -vein runs along the east side of other and smaller -mountains of the same range. The face of Mount -Davidson slopes to the east at an angle of about -twenty-five degrees, and the vein dips in the same direction -at an average inclination of forty-five degrees. -It was at first supposed that the vein dipped to the -west (into Mount Davidson), and the first hoisting -works were erected on or near the croppings, where -shafts were sunk and inclines sent down. For the -first 400 to 500 feet the vein did pitch to the west into -the mountain. Mount Davidson was then supposed -to be the great central magazine, or nucleus, of all the -silver found near the surface, and claims located on -the slope of the mountain below to the eastward found -but little favor in the eyes of mining men and would-be -purchasers. Suddenly all this was changed, and -there was a general “right-about-face.” It was discovered -in the Gould & Curry and the Ophir Mines -that at a certain depth the lode became perpendicular, -then turned and took a regular dip to the east, of -about forty-five degrees, following as a footwall the -syenite slope of Mount Davidson. It was then seen -that the false dip above was caused by the top of the -vein being bent over under the pressure of sliding material -on the slope of the mountain at and near the -surface.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_84">84</div> -<h3 id="c45"><span class="smaller">THE THREE LINES OF HOISTING WORKS.</span></h3> -<p>However, much ore was mined at the first line of -works, particularly at the Ophir, Mexican, California, -Gould & Curry, Savage, and Hale & Norcross Mines. -But, as the dip of the vein was away from these first -works, it presently became necessary to move to the -eastward about 1,000 feet. As very deep shafts -would there be required in order to intersect the lode, -larger and much more powerful hoisting works and -pumping machinery must be erected. Indeed, the -new works required to be first-class in every respect, -as the shafts would be far deeper than any yet put -down on the lode, and it was by this time known -that there would be immense quantities of water to -handle.</p> -<p>Accordingly, the second line of fine and powerful -first-class works, seen at present, and again in active -use, was constructed. The shafts of the new line of -works all cut into the heart of the vein, and in several -the “bonanzas” found were so large and so rich as -to astonish the whole mining world and create a -much greater and far more widespread excitement -than was seen when silver was first discovered in the -croppings of the vein at the Ophir Mine. All the -leading mines were soon taking out their tens of millions, -but when the “big bonanza” was struck in the -Consolidated Virginia and California the yield of gold -and silver bullion soon became a matter of scores of -millions. It was then that the fame of the Comstock -<span class="pb" id="Page_85">85</span> -spread to every corner of the world, and the rush of -speculators, fortune-seekers, and adventurers of all -ages, sexes, and classes was greater than ever before. -Though what is called the “Big Bonanza” was struck -in the Consolidated Virginia in October, 1873, at a -point on the 1,167-foot level, it was not until October, -1874, that the excitement in regard to it reached -fever-heat. The main shaft had then reached the -1,500-foot level, and the ore disclosed by drifts and -chambers was of such extraordinary and astonishing -richness that experts could hardly believe their eyes -or assayers their figures.</p> -<p>The Comstock Lode had a width (between the -syenite wall on the west and the propylite on the east) -of from 1,000 to 1,200 feet at the point where the -“Big Bonanza” was struck. The space between the -two walls was filled with what is locally termed “vein -material” (gangue), and in this was found the ore -body or “bonanza,” which was in one place over 300 -feet in width. This mass of ore yielded from $100 -to $700 per ton, but in places were found masses of -pure native silver and spots of ore so rich in black -sulphuret and gold that to make assays of it was much -like making assays of the pure metals. From the -“Bonanza Mines” alone from 1873 up to 1882 were -taken $111,975,761.39; but in 1879 the yield began -to fall off as the vein was followed downward, and -in 1882 the amount of bullion taken out was small, -not paying expenses.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_86">86</div> -<p>In the meantime (while the big bonanza of the -Consolidated Virginia and California companies was -being worked out) most of the leading companies had -exhausted their second bonanzas. Instead of prospecting -further in their immediate neighborhood, -they all determined to go still farther east, sink a new -line of shafts, and tap the vein at a still greater depth. -This time they went out about 2,000 feet beyond their -second line of hoisting works, or 3,000 feet east of -the croppings of the lode. As it would be necessary -to sink shafts to a depth of about 3,000 feet to intersect -the vein, the hoisting works, hoisting machinery, -and all else was made much larger, more powerful, -and on a grander scale in every respect, than the second -line. The principal works on this third line are -those of the Combination shaft, New Yellow Jacket -shaft, Osbiston and Union shafts, and the Forman -shaft. In sinking these several companies united, the -work was prosecuted with the greatest energy, and no -expense was spared as regarded machinery and appliances.</p> -<h3 id="c46"><span class="smaller">THE COMBINATION SHAFT.</span></h3> -<p>Of these shafts, that which attained the greatest -vertical depth was the Combination—the joint shaft -of the Chollar, Hale & Norcross, and Savage Companies. -Before work on it was discontinued it had -reached the great depth of 3,250 feet. There is but -one deeper vertical shaft in the world. This is the -<span class="pb" id="Page_87">87</span> -Adalbert Shaft, in the silver mines of Bohemia, which -is 3,280 feet deep. There is no record of the time -when work on this mine in Bohemia was commenced, -though its written history extends back to 1527. The -Combination Shaft was sunk at the rate of three feet a -day, even in rock as hard as flint. The whole shaft -is sunk in very hard rock (andesite), every foot of -which had to be blasted. It is thirty feet by ten feet -in size and is divided into four compartments for the -accommodation of the hoisting and pumping apparatus.</p> -<p>The shaft was sunk to the depth of 2,200 feet before -more water was encountered than could be hoisted -out in the “skips” with the dirt. Down to the 2,400 -level two Cornish pumps were used, each with columns -fifteen inches in diameter. A drift run west -into the vein tapped more water than the Cornish -pumps could handle, when the management introduced -hydraulic pumps. These pumps are run by the -pressure of water from the surface through a pipe running -down from the top of the shaft, whereas the -Cornish pumps were run by huge steam engines. -The shaft is connected with the Sutro drain tunnel at -the depth of 1,600 feet, and to that point it was necessary -to pump all the water. At the 3,000 level were -placed a pair of hydraulic pumps, the deepest in the -world. In Europe the deepest point at which a hydraulic -pump has ever been worked is 2,700 feet. -This is in the Hartz Mountains, in Germany.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_88">88</div> -<p>When one stood at the 3,000 level and looked up -a compartment of the shaft (five feet by six feet in -size) the little spot of daylight seen at the top appeared -to be about four inches square. At this great -depth even the smallest bit of rock falling from the -top whistles like a rifle-ball before reaching the bottom, -and, striking a man on the head, would instantly -kill him. Should a man fall that distance little would -remain on which to hold an inquest—his body would -be quite “dissipated.” The Cornish and the hydraulic -pumps working together had a daily capacity of -5,200,000 gallons—a small river! Hydraulic pumps -were placed at the 2,400-foot level, the 2,600 and the -3,000 levels. Some idea of the great size of these engines -and pumps may be formed when it is stated -that the stations excavated for them were eighty-five -feet long, twenty-eight feet wide, and twelve feet high. -All this space was so filled with machinery that there -was only room left to move about among it. Drifts -were run to the west to the lode at the 2,400, 2,800 -and 3,000-foot levels. On the 3,000 level the distance -from the shaft to the east wall of the vein was -found to be only 250 feet. The lode at this depth -(3,000 feet) was found to be of great width and well -mineralized—indeed the Hale & Norcross folks had a -good showing of ore.</p> -<h3 id="c47">The Deepest Workings.</h3> -<p>Although the Combination Shaft is the deepest vertical -opening on the lode, it is not the point of deepest -<span class="pb" id="Page_89">89</span> -mining. The deepest workings are in the mine of the -Union Consolidated Company, toward the north end -of the lode. There long drifts were run and much -prospecting done at the great depth of 3,350 feet. -This depth was obtained by running a drift from the -bottom of the vertical shaft and then sinking a winze -from the drift.</p> -<p>The Yellow Jacket (new) shaft has a vertical depth -of 3,050 feet, and much prospecting was done in the -mine at a depth of 3,000 feet; also in the Belcher -and Crown Point. In the Belcher excellent prospects -were being obtained when the company were obliged -to discontinue work. By connecting adjacent shafts -by means of drifts and otherwise maintaining a proper -system of ventilation miners experience no difficulty -in working at any depth yet attained on the Comstock -Lode.</p> -<h3 id="c48">A Return to the Second Line of Works.</h3> -<p>February 13, 1882, a flow of water was tapped on -the 2,700 level of the Exchequer Mine, that flooded -not only that mine, but also the Alpha, Imperial, -Yellow Jacket, Kentuck, Crown Point, Belcher, Overman, -Segregated Belcher, and Caledonia. The water -rushed to the Yellow Jacket Shaft, where the pumping -was done which drained the advanced workings (most -eastern) of all the mines named. The Yellow Jacket -folks pumped and bailed an average flow of 110 miners -inches a day for seven days. Though they were raising -1,320 gallons every minute the water gained on -<span class="pb" id="Page_90">90</span> -them and raised to the level (2,700) on which it was -tapped by the Exchequer. The water had then filled -all the drifts, cross-cuts, and winzes of the whole group -of mines from the Bullion south to the Caledonia. -Pumping was still continued, for the purpose of exhausting -the subterranean reservoir in the Exchequer, -till March 28, when the water had been so far reduced -that there was a depth of only 950 feet above -the 3,000 level of the Yellow Jacket Shaft. Then, as -no combined arrangement could be made among the -several companies interested to continue the work -and drain all the mines, the Yellow Jacket Company -stopped pumping and shut down their works. This -stopped all work below the level of the Sutro drain tunnel, -and the works have never since been started up. -Had all the companies “stood in” for a time longer all -the flooded mines would have been thoroughly drained.</p> -<p>The cost of the new works on the advanced line -had been so much, and the expense incurred in hoisting -and pumping from such great depths was so heavy, -that stockholders in all the mines along the lode now -became discouraged. They declared that what had -happened in the case of the Gold Hill group of mines -was liable to happen in the other deep workings, and -began to clamor for a general return to the works at -the second line of shafts, where it was known that -pay ore had been left behind in the race after depth. -When stockholders found that the deep shafts did -not at once cut into pay ore, when they tapped the -<span class="pb" id="Page_91">91</span> -vein, they had no patience to wait for much prospecting -to be done. They demanded that paying deposits -be sought for at once in the old levels above -the Sutro Tunnel, where there could be no trouble from -water. Thus it happens that along the whole lode all -the mining now being done is at the works situated -over the second line of shafts, and above the level of -the Sutro Tunnel. These shafts are by no means -shallow, as they range in depth from 2,000 to 2,900 -feet. The return has been fortunate. The vein being -from 400 to 1,000 and even in places 1,400 feet -in width between walls, it was very little explored in -the neighborhood of the works of the second line of -shafts. When the bonanzas in sight were exhausted, -the universal cry was: “Get away to the east! Strike -the lode at greater depths! Another 1,000 feet of -depth will give us a third fertile zone—a third line of -bonanzas!” Now it is being discovered that large and -rich deposits of ore had been left behind—that they -are scattered in all directions in the great breadth of -vein material like plums in a pudding. Again dividends -are the order of the day along the famous old -lode.</p> -<h3 id="c49">The Old First Bonanzas.</h3> -<p>Out of the first “bonanzas” great fortunes were -taken. The bonanza of the Ophir, into which the -first discoverers of silver—O’Riley and McLaughlin—accidentally -dug, yielded about $20,000,000 before it -was exhausted; the Savage, $16,500,000; Hale & -<span class="pb" id="Page_92">92</span> -Norcross, $11,000,000; Chollar and Potosi, $16,000,000; -Gould & Curry, $15,500,000; Yellow Jacket, -$16,500,000; Crown Point, $22,000,000; Belcher, -$26,000,000; Overman, $3,250,000; Imperial, $2,750,000, -and the Kentuck, Sierra Nevada, Justice, and -many other mines sums running from hundreds of thousands -up into millions. In all, the yield of the mines -on the Comstock Lode from the discovery down to the -present time has been between $350,000,000 and -$400,000,000. Of much of the silver and gold at -first taken from the lode, both at Gold Hill and Virginia -City, there is no record; and in many instances -since that time much gold and silver bullion has been -obtained from ores, tailings, slimes, and sulphurets -that was never fully accounted for.</p> -<h3 id="c50">The New Departure.</h3> -<p>In the new departure, of which a return to the second -line of hoisting works was the leading feature, the -two bonanza mines—the California and the Consolidated -Virginia—were consolidated and incorporated -as one mine under the name of the Consolidated California -and Virginia. Work was resumed in the old -upper levels and soon small streaks of low-grade ore, -that had formerly been passed by, led to deposits of -fair milling ore. In working these deposits other -bodies were found, and finally many new and valuable -ore bodies were developed. A fire which had been -smouldering for about ten years in a section of the old -workings was extinguished by the use of carbonic acid -<span class="pb" id="Page_93">93</span> -gas, and this gave access to large deposits of milling -ore that had not before been available. This and the -new discoveries soon gave the company large bodies -of ore in a number of places above the Sutro Tunnel -level. Again many miners were employed, and the -output of ore became sufficient to keep many stamps -in constant operation.</p> -<p>The total yield of the “Big Bonanza,” in the California -and Consolidated Virginia, was as follows: -Consolidated Virginia, $65,116,822.69: California, -$46,858,938.70, making a total of $111,975,761.39. -Out of this the Consolidated Virginia paid dividends -amounting to $42,930,000, and the California a total -of $31,320,000 in dividends.</p> -<h3 id="c51">Present Yield of Leading Mines.</h3> -<p>Since the consolidation of the two mines, the Consolidated -California and Virginia has yielded $8,001,856.95, -and has paid dividends amounting to $2,440,800, -up to and including December, 1888. The total -yield of the great ore deposit known as the “Big -Bonanza,” from the time of its discovery to the end of -December, 1888 (under both incorporations), was -$119,977,618.34, and the total amount of dividends to -the same date was $76,690,800. To give an idea of -the rate of the present yield of the mine the following -details are furnished: For the quarter that ended -March 31, 1888, the mine produced 39,552 tons of -ore, yielding $921,903.77 in bullion, an average of -<span class="pb" id="Page_94">94</span> -$23 30 a ton. In April (1888) there was worked a -total of 13,893 tons of ore, yielding bullion to the value -of $418,729.43. The average assay value a ton was -$36.83, and the average yield a ton was $30.13. -In May the yield was $411,173.13; in June, -$405,834.08; July, $206,672.26; August, $352,554.97; -September, $267,386.18; October, $339,814.45; -November, $220,373.74; and in December, $260,320.56. -The falling off in the month of July and thereafter -throughout the year was due to the dry season in -the summer and a phenomenally dry fall and winter. -In January, 1889, there was a fair milling stage of -water in the Carson River the greater part of the time, -and the yield of bullion rose to $267,847.51.</p> -<p>The mine has kept the Morgan and Eureka Mills -going to their full capacity whenever there was sufficient -water to run them at all. Owing to a scarcity of -water at the sources of supply in the Sierra Nevada -Mountains, the Virginia and Gold Hill Water Company -have for some months been unable to furnish -water for the two California Mills in this city; to furnish -water to the Nevada Mill has been a heavy draft -on the reservoirs. With proper storage reservoirs in -the Sierras the mills on the Carson River might be -run the year round. At present eighty per cent of all -the water flows into the “sinks” and is lost.</p> -<p>More mines on the Comstock are at the present -time producing paying ore than ever before in the history -<span class="pb" id="Page_95">95</span> -of the lode. The following mines are now ore -producing: Consolidated California and Virginia, -Gould & Curry, Occidental, Ophir, Andes, Savage, -Hale & Norcross, Chollar, Potosi, Confidence, Challenge, -Yellow Jacket, Belcher, Crown Point, Alta, -Justice, Overman, Baltimore, and Kentuck. Several -other companies who own mines on the lode have -quartz that yields promising assays in the precious -metals, and are liable at any time to find paying deposits.</p> -<p>To show the rate at which some of the mines have -been paying during the past year, though handicapped -by an unusually dry season and a lack of milling facilities, -I give a few statistics, as follows: During the -quarter that ended March 31, 1888, the Chollar -Company milled 1,415 tons of ore that yielded $21,795.70 -in bullion; the Confidence 1,722 tons, yielding -$42,541.72; Hale & Norcross, 7,958 tons, yielding -$236,047.32; Kentuck, 1,027 tons, yielding $13,055.50; -Potosi, 3,050 tons, yielding $56,461.16, and the -Yellow Jacket, 16,780 tons, yielding $121,027.82.</p> -<p>For the quarter ending June 30, 1888, the Hale & -Norcross yielded 18,075 tons of ore, that produced -$451,740 in bullion; the Chollar, 4,750 tons, yielding -$74,507; Confidence, 17,285 tons, yielding $401,293; -Yellow Jacket, 7,080 tons, yielding $55,022.</p> -<p>For the quarter that ended September 30, the Hale -& Norcross yielded 6,365 tons of ore, that produced -$173,941.80 in bullion; Confidence, 9,207 tons, yielding -<span class="pb" id="Page_96">96</span> -$176,064.93; Yellow Jacket, 1,370 tons, yielding -$9,932.</p> -<p>For the quarter that ended December 30, 1888, the -Chollar milled 2,835 tons that yielded $38,130.81: -Challenge, 1,875 tons, yielding $31,096.16; Confidence, -6,195 tons, yielding $105,970.59; Yellow -Jacket, 3,388 tons, yielding $25,856; Savage, 5,292 -tons, yielding $66,422.75; Hale & Norcross, 4,820 -tons, yielding $90,015.59, and the Alta, 946 tons, -yielding $23,330.</p> -<p>The Consolidated California and Virginia has steadily -paid $108,000 monthly in dividends. The Confidence -and Hale & Norcross also paid dividends during -1888 at the rate of from $49,000 to $50,000 a -month. And during the year the pay rolls of the several -companies have aggregated from $250,000 to over -$300,000 a month.</p> -<p>During 1888, new bodies of ore were found in the -Consolidated California and Virginia, Hale & Norcross, -Confidence, Yellow Jacket, Crown Point, Gould -& Curry, Savage, Chollar, Potosi, Best & Belcher, and -some others. Crown Point and Belcher have made -connection with the Sutro drain tunnel, and are again -working below that level. Eventually the leading -companies will get back into the deep workings now -deserted.</p> -<h3 id="c52">Vicissitudes of Fortune in Mining.</h3> -<p>The vicissitudes of fortune are probably more striking -in mining for silver than in any other kind of -<span class="pb" id="Page_97">97</span> -mining. In all silver-producing countries we are -told of mines being again and again abandoned because -it was thought their rich “bonanzas” had been -exhausted, but they have again and again been reopened -and new and rich bodies of ore discovered. -The Valenciana Mine, on the Veta Macbee (mother -vein), of Guanaguato, Mexico, was reopened in 1760, -on a part of the vein where work had been done in -the sixteenth century, and which had afterwards lain -as worthless for 200 years, and in 1768 a bonanza was -struck at a depth of only 240 feet, from which $1,500,000 -was extracted annually. And from 1788 to 1810 -the annual average was still $1,383,195. At a depth -of 1,200 feet the ore was considered too poor for extracting, -and the mine was allowed to fill with water. -Afterwards it was again opened and again paid immensely -by working the almost inexhaustible quantities -of low-grade ore.</p> -<p>The Veta Grande, at Zacatecas, which from 1548 -to 1832 yielded $660,000,000, occurs in propalite, as -does the Comstock, and has a similar structure, the -vein branching out toward the surface, and dipping at -an angle of forty-five degrees. It is, however, much -smaller than the Comstock. It averages only about -thirty-three feet, and eighty feet is its greatest width. -In the upper part the ore was found concentrated in -chimneys, but at depth it was found to be distributed -through nearly the whole width of the vein. At first -this low grade material could not be made to pay, but -<span class="pb" id="Page_98">98</span> -since it has been profitably worked and the bullion -product has reached a high figure. Scores of such examples -may be found in all silver-producing countries, -as chronicled by Humboldt, Ward, Von Cotta, and -others.</p> -<p>Even when no more large deposits of rich ore are to -be found on the Comstock, there are immense and -almost inexhaustible areas of low-grade ore upon -which to fall back. In working these small bonanzas -are sure to be encountered—scattered plums in the -pudding—which will assist in sending up the average. -New processes for working and concentrating ores are -constantly being discovered, new methods in mining -are being introduced, and new labor-saving -machinery is almost daily being invented. Water-power, -steam, compressed air, and electricity are fast -taking the place of muscle. Each year machinery -guided by mind is lessening the work to be done by -mere power of muscle. Already the cost of milling -has been greatly reduced, as has the cost of transporting -ores and the cost of wood, lumber, and mining -timbers. Present expenses will shortly be still further -reduced.</p> -<h3 id="c53">TOWNS OF WESTERN NEVADA.</h3> -<h3 id="c54">Virginia City.</h3> -<p>Virginia City having been sufficiently well described -in connection with the Comstock Lode, it now remains -to briefly mention the other towns of Western Nevada. -These all lie near the Sierras within a space of territory -<span class="pb" id="Page_99">99</span> -forty-four miles long and twenty-five miles wide—under -the “eaves” of the mountains.</p> -<h3 id="c55">Gold Hill.</h3> -<p>The town of Gold Hill was originally about one -mile south of Virginia City—a mile south of where -silver was first struck in the Ophir Mine. Buildings -now unite the two towns. The boundary line between -the two places is on the ridge called the “Divide,” -but at that point there is no break in the rows -of buildings on the streets. Gold Hill is built along -the deep and narrow gorge that forms the head of Gold -Canyon. From the north line on the Divide it straggles -down the hill and along down the canyon for a -distance of about two miles—almost down to Silver -City indeed, the main business street following what -was formerly the channel of the ravine.</p> -<p>There were houses and settlers in Gold Hill before -there were either in Virginia City, therefore it is the -older town. Here it was that the Comstock Lode was -first struck—though not the silver ore—by “Old Virginia” -(John Bishop) and others, who were prospecting -for placer mines. The town is 6,000 feet above the -level of the sea, and, being shut in on the east and -west sides by hills, it is always two or three degrees -warmer than Virginia, 1,000 feet above on the mountain-side.</p> -<p>The first miners at Gold Hill were really at work in -a “chimney” of the Comstock, a little hill sometimes -called “Gold Hill proper,” to distinguish the hill from -<span class="pb" id="Page_100">100</span> -the town. Much gold was taken out of the top of -this chimney, and at depth it yielded many millions in -silver. Although scores of millions have been taken -out of the vein beneath the foundations of the town, it -is still yielding its millions, and still new ore bodies -are being developed in the great vein.</p> -<p>Under the town are situated the world-famous Crown -Point, Belcher, Yellow Jacket, Imperial, Kentuck, -Confidence, and other mines, while farther down the -canyon (under Lower Gold Hill) are the Overman, -Alta, Benton, Justice, and several other well-known -mines. The mining works in the town are in every -respect first-class and are lighted with electric lamps. -In the town are many fine buildings, both public and -private. There is a handsome Catholic Church, and -the High School building is one of the best buildings -of the kind in the State. The Miners’ Union have a -commodious hall on Main Street, and the other -societies and orders have fine halls. Conspicuous -among the private residences of the town is that of -U. S. Senator J. P. Jones—the “Jones mansion,” as -it is familiarly called. The town has an abundant -supply of water (from the Virginia and Gold Hill -Water Company’s works), and is well supplied with -fire hydrants; it also has electrical lights. In 1878 -the population was about 8,000, but it is now less than -half that number. About the town are many handsome -private grounds. Shade and ornamental trees -begin to abound, and to the north, towering hundreds -<span class="pb" id="Page_101">101</span> -of feet above the town, are picturesque castellated piles -of bare granite rocks. The Virginia and Truckee -Railroad passes through the town.</p> -<h3 id="c56">Silver City.</h3> -<p>Silver City is situated on Gold Canyon, a short distance -below Lower Gold Hill. The two towns are -separated by a rugged ridge of porphyritic rock, -through which is a pass only three or four rods wide, -known as the Devil’s Gate. About and below Silver -City much gravel mining was done by the Johntowners -in the early days. It was at Silver City that -the first silver mill (Paul’s Pioneer) was built. It -had a newspaper—the <i>Washoe Times</i>—before a newspaper -was published in Virginia, the <i>Territorial Enterprise</i> -being then (1860) published in Carson City. -At one time it had many big silver mills and promised -to be the big town of the State; but the tide -turned and all crowded in about the big mines at Virginia -City. The town contains at present a population -of only about 600. There is a fine public-school -building, church, Miners’ Union Hall, and many -handsome and comfortable dwellings, with an adequate -supply of saloons, stores, and shops.</p> -<p>About the town are an immense number of small -veins of gold-bearing quartz that pay from the surface -down. Nearly every head of a family in the town -has his own mine, and when he wants money he -shoulders his pick, goes out to his mine, and digs it, -<span class="pb" id="Page_102">102</span> -as a farmer in the East digs a “mess” of potatoes. -Of late some large veins have been opened up in and -about the town—as the Oest, Hawood, and others—and -Silver City bids fair soon to become a busy mining -center. The people have lived off their home -mines for thirty years, and constitute the most thoroughly -independent mining community to be found -in Nevada.</p> -<h3 id="c57">Dayton.</h3> -<p>Dayton, the county seat of Lyon County, lies five -miles below Silver City, on the Carson River, at the -mouth of Gold Canyon. The beginning of this town -was a log building, erected as a dwelling and trading-post -by John McMarlin, in the fall of 1849. Being on -the overland wagon road passing over the Sierras by the -Placerville route, there was a good deal of trade with -incoming immigrants, as well as with the miners, who -soon began to earn from $8.00 to $12 a day in the -gravel bank and bars of Gold Canyon. In 1856, -about fifty Chinamen came over the mountains and -began mining on the lower part of the canyon, working -over the banks and bars left by the white miners. -In 1858, nearly 200 Chinamen were at work in the -canyon from its mouth up toward Johntown. These -had their shanties about McMarlin’s store, and the -place took the name of “Chinatown,” by which name -it was known at the time of the discovery of silver.</p> -<p>In 1861 an attempt was made (many whites having -then settled there) to give the place the name of “Nevada -<span class="pb" id="Page_103">103</span> -City.” This did not take, as there was already -a Nevada City in California, and for a time the town -was called “Mineral Rapids,” but this finally gave -way to the present name of Dayton. The place grew -apace, it being then expected that nearly all the ore -of the Comstock would be worked at and near the -town in mills driven by water-power. This hope was -not realized, though several fine mills were built near -the town. It had in 1878 a population of about -1,200, and has since held its own very well. Though -not a very large town, it has always been a very pleasant -and flourishing one.</p> -<p>The Carson and Colorado Railroad passes through -the town, and from this a branch built in 1888 extends -down the river to the Rock Point Mill. Here (at -Dayton) is to be the scene of the operations of the -Carson River Dredging Company, an Eastern incorporation -headed by Dr. J. H. Rae. The object is to -pump up from the bottom of the Carson River the -millions in gold and silver, amalgam, and quicksilver, -washed into the river and lost with the tailings running -from the many mills. No doubt the “millions” -found their way into the river, but whether they can -be brought out of its bottom by means of a big suction -pump remains to be seen. It is the universal wish -that the dredger may prove a success. All will be in -readiness to try it this season on a large scale.</p> -<p>Dayton contains good public buildings of all kinds -required, both county and town, has several mills, and -<span class="pb" id="Page_104">104</span> -many handsome private residences, surrounded with -gardens and fruit and shade trees. In summer the -place is completely embowered.</p> -<p>The acid works of J. M. Douglass & Co. manufacture -daily two tons of sulphuric acid. The -sulphur used is a native product of Nevada, and is -brought from the mine in Humboldt County at a cost -of $40 a ton. Dayton is surrounded with a fine -agricultural and grazing region. A narrow-gauge -railroad five miles long runs down the river from the -Douglass Mill to a large tailings reservoir.</p> -<h3 id="c58">Sutro.</h3> -<p>Sutro is a town laid off at the mouth of the Sutro -Tunnel by Adolph Sutro. Mr. Sutro claimed that -his town would kill Virginia City, as all the reduction -works would be located there, and all the miners would -reside there, passing to and from their work through -the tunnel. As there would no longer be any need of -anyone remaining in Virginia, the place would be -given up to bats and owls—coyotes would sit upon -the peak of Mount Davidson and “bay the moon.” -Believing Mr. Sutro to have got hold of the mantle of -some ancient financial prophet, many persons were -induced to flee the “wrath to come” (bats, owls and -coyotes), and settle down at the mouth of the tunnel. -There was quite a brisk little town there for a few -years, but when the tunnel was completed and the -miners discharged Sutro’s “bats and owls” came home -to roost—they found no rest for the soles of their feet -<span class="pb" id="Page_105">105</span> -at Virginia. Once the men who had been engaged in -driving the tunnel went away, there was nothing more -to make or keep up a town than at any other point -along the edge of the valley; for the big reduction -works promised by Mr. Sutro were never built.</p> -<h3 id="c59">Carson City.</h3> -<p>Carson City is the county seat of Ormsby County -and the capital of Nevada. It is situated in Eagle -Valley, immediately east of the high-timbered hills -forming the eastern base of the main range of the -Sierra Nevada Mountains. Unlike the majority of -Nevada towns, it has a dry, level plain for its site. -The city was laid out in 1858 by Major Ormsby and -others. The streets conform to the cardinal points of -the compass. There being no lack of level land, the -streets were made sixty-six and eighty feet wide. Previous -to 1858 there was no town where Carson now -stands, and only one house, which was at Eagle Ranch, -which ranch gave its name to the valley in which it -was situated. Afterwards this ranch became better -known as King’s Ranch.</p> -<p>Carson City grew rapidly from the start, for it was -not only pleasantly situated, but also occupied an advantageous -position as a center of trade. For several -years in its infancy it derived a good deal of benefit -from its trade with the great immigrant trains that -yearly rattled in across the “plains;” besides, it was a -halting-place for people rushing to the silver mines -<span class="pb" id="Page_106">106</span> -from the California side of the mountains. In nearly -all directions it is surrounded by excellent agricultural -and grazing lands. With the regular and scientific -opening of the mines Carson became the headquarters -of an enormous trade in wood, lumber, and mining -timbers, a business it still retains. The city has at -present a population of about 4,100.</p> -<p>Carson contains many fine and costly buildings, -both public and private. The pride of the city is the -State Capitol. It is the most striking structure in the -place. The building is handsome architecturally, being -well proportioned in all its parts. It also has a -very substantial appearance, as it is constructed of -stone throughout. This stone is a beautiful, fine-grained -sandstone obtained from a quarry at the State -prison, about a mile and a half east of the town. The -building was erected in 1870. The Capitol occupies -the center of a square several acres in extent. This -square is surrounded with a handsome and substantial -iron fence. The grounds are handsomely laid out -and well kept. They are well swarded and contain a -great variety of shade and ornamental trees, shrubbery, -and flowering plants. The whole is a credit to the -State.</p> -<p>The U. S. Branch Mint building is a large, substantial, -and imposing structure. It is also of stone, from -the State Prison quarry. The building was completed -in July, 1869. It has done and is still doing a great -deal of work.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_107">107</div> -<p>The State Orphans’ Home is a large and well-arranged -building with a small farm in connection therewith. -In this institution a great number of orphan -children from all sections of the State are cared for. -The home is governed in a paternal way, and the children -are well clothed, well fed, and well educated both -morally and intellectually.</p> -<p>The town contains several churches of leading denominations, -excellent school-houses, and a number of -halls of various societies, orders, and lodges. There -are half a dozen fine hotels, many large fire-proof -stores and business houses, with the usual proportion -of neat and attractive retail shops of all kinds, saloons, -and the like.</p> -<p>The buildings of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad -Company are a noticeable feature of the town. The -depot buildings are commodious and conveniently -arranged, and are always kept neatly painted and in -good repair. In the town they have an immense car -shop. The building is in large part constructed of -iron. In it are a foundry, machine shop, roundhouse, -and car manufactory.</p> -<p>Carson has a large box factory and other manufacturing -establishments of several kinds. The -place has both electrical lights and gas. It is -well supplied with pure mountain water, which is led -through all the streets under a heavy pressure. The -town site has sufficient slope to the eastward to afford -good drainage. The city supports two daily newspapers, -<span class="pb" id="Page_108">108</span> -the <i>Appeal</i> and <i>Tribune</i>, and has a good -theater.</p> -<p>A fine large brick building has this year (1889) -been erected in the town by the United States Government. -It will contain several public offices. It -fills a gap in the center of the town that long -stood as a staring vacancy—supplies a “long-felt -want.”</p> -<p>There are pleasant drives in all directions from -Carson, with smooth and level roads. A mile west -of town are Shaw’s Hot Springs, with every convenience -for either bathing or swimming. The swimming -bath is 60 by 24 feet, 4½ feet deep at one end -and 5½ at the other.</p> -<p>All visitors to the town of a scientific turn of mind -will wish to visit the State prison and grounds, situated -a mile and a half east of the place. A portion of -the building now occupied as a State prison was built -for a hotel by Col. Abe Curry (of whom the State -purchased the property), and was of stone, two stories -high, 32 feet wide, and 100 feet long. Colonel Curry -also excavated and walled up the magnificent swimming -bath now connected with the prison and fed by -warm springs.</p> -<p>In the floor of the quarry, beneath from fifteen to -twenty feet of strata of sandstone, is a stratum of fine-grained -stone that is filled with the tracks of all manner -of animals and birds, and even one set of tracks supposed -to have been made by some prehistoric giant of -<span class="pb" id="Page_109">109</span> -the human species. There are tracks of elephants, -horses, deer, lions, tigers, panthers, giant cranes, and -all manner of creatures. The tracks supposed to be -human present the appearance of having been made -by a large man wearing moccasins of the undressed -hide of some animal. All the tracks tend toward a -common point, which must have been a spring or -small lake.</p> -<p>Omnibuses run to the Hot Springs and the State -prison, and stages leave for Lake Tahoe and Genoa -on the arrival of trains.</p> -<p>There are several lumber flumes near Carson that -are worthy of inspection.</p> -<h3 id="c60">Empire City.</h3> -<p>This town is situated on the banks of the Carson -River, three and a half miles east of Carson, and on the -line of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad. Empire is -pre-eminently a milling town. Here are located the -Mexican, Morgan, Brunswick, and Merrimac Mills, -all first-class silver reduction works. The town is in -Ormsby County, and contains about 700 inhabitants. -Each year thousands of cords of wood floated down -the Carson River from Alpine County, California, are -taken out here. Formerly no fewer than 150,000 -cords of wood came down to this town in the drives -of a single season. On account of these wood -drives Empire was jockularly termed the “seaport” -of Nevada. The wood “drives” and the landing of -them for a time each year gave employment to a great -number of men and teams.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_110">110</div> -<p>The town contains a number of handsome residences -and a few good public buildings.</p> -<h3 id="c61">Genoa.</h3> -<p>Genoa is the oldest town in Nevada, and is the -place where the first white settlement was made. -These settlers were Mormons, and they established a -station there as early as 1848. For this reason the -place was long known as “Mormon Station.” For -several years most of the settlers in the valley and -about the town were Mormons. Genoa is the county -seat of Douglas County, and is situated in Carson -Valley, at a point about 13 miles south of Carson -City. Although in a beautiful valley it lies close in -against the Sierras, at an altitude of 4,335 feet above -the level of the sea. To the westward the main -timbered Sierra Nevada Mountain Range rises to a -great height, while above its ridge tower many bald, -granite peaks. Among these (to the southward) -Job’s Peak rises to the height of 10,639 feet.</p> -<p>The town contains a fine court-house, and other -handsome public buildings, as school-houses, churches, -and halls. There are in the place several good, substantial -stores, and business houses and shops. There -are many neat dwellings and cottages surrounded -with fine gardens and grounds. In the town is published -the Genoa <i>Courier</i>, a sprightly weekly paper -devoted to the interests of the people of the town -and county. In this town was first published (in -1859) the <i>Territorial Enterprise</i>, the pioneer newspaper -<span class="pb" id="Page_111">111</span> -of Nevada. The paper was moved to Carson -in 1860, and thence in a short time to Virginia City, -where it was soon made a daily, and where it has ever -since been published as such.</p> -<p>Fine ranches lie up and down the valley. A mile -and a half south of the town are Walley’s famous hot -springs, of which more particular mention will be -found in another place. Lake Tahoe forms part of -the western boundary of Douglas, and both Glenbrook -and Cave Rock are in the county. The Carson -River passes near Genoa and through the heart of -the county. Genoa contains about 1,000 inhabitants.</p> -<h3 id="c62">Reno.</h3> -<p>Reno, on the line of the Central Pacific Railroad, -and pleasantly situated on the banks of the beautiful -Truckee River, is the county seat of Washoe County. -Reno began to be a town in 1868, and under the influence -of the Central Pacific Railroad, it grew very -rapidly. The town at once became the shipping-point -of all goods, machinery, and supplies destined -for the Comstock Mines, and for all parts of Storey, -Lyon, Ormsby, and Douglas Counties; also for Susanville, -Honey Lake Valley, and a great scope of -country to the northward. In the days before the -completion of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad, -Reno was filled with teams and stage coaches. The -place was a sort of teamsters’ paradise. This was -good for the town, but it could not be expected to -last forever. The present ambition of the place is to -<span class="pb" id="Page_112">112</span> -become a railroad and manufacturing center. It has -the Virginia and Truckee Road leading southward, -while to the northward the Nevada and California is -fast advancing to completion.</p> -<p>Reno is the center of one of the finest agricultural -and grazing sections in the State, and is a point for -the shipment to California of immense numbers of -beef cattle. Although there are in the town large and -fine reduction works for smelting refractory ores, and -two flouring mills, it may be said that hardly a commencement -has been made toward the utilization of -the immense water-power afforded by the Truckee -River at and near the town.</p> -<p>Here is located the Nevada Insane Asylum, the -building and grounds of which do credit to the town -and State. The State University is also now located -at Reno (having been removed from Elko), and is in -a more flourishing condition than ever before. The -buildings, and grounds, and teachers are all that -could be desired. This institution has recently been -made an Agricultural Experiment Station. Here is -located Bishop Whitakers’ excellent school for young -ladies, and also a similar school, first-class, in charge -of the Sisters of Charity. There are, besides, five -public schools. The town is well supplied with -churches and public buildings of all kinds adequate -to present requirements.</p> -<p>The town contains many first-class fire-proof business -houses, five depots and railroad buildings, many -<span class="pb" id="Page_113">113</span> -attractive retail stores and shops, excellent and commodious -hotels, “palatial” saloons, and handsome -and comfortable private residences. It is lighted with -electrical lamps, has good water works, and almost -everything else that its public-spirited citizens have -thought it necessary to provide. It has two excellent -daily newspapers, the <i>Gazette</i> and <i>Journal</i>, and a -first-class theater. This spring (1889) there has been -in the place a boom in town property, and much -building is in progress. Not only is the town -on the highway of the nations of the world leading -East and West, but is on the highway of the Pacific -Coast leading North and South, along the great range -of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, from Oregon to Arizona. -The present population is estimated at 5,000 -souls.</p> -<h3 id="c63">OTHER TOWNS IN WASHOE COUNTY.</h3> -<p>It may be worth while for the satisfaction of persons -traveling southward from Reno on the Virginia -and Truckee, to mention some once promising towns -in Washoe County that now only exist as sleepy -hamlets:—</p> -<h4 id="c64"><span class="sc">Washoe City.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Washoe City.</span>—This place is situated at the North -end of Washoe Valley, sixteen miles south of Reno. -It was formerly the county seat of Washoe County, -and contained about seven hundred inhabitants. -There was in the town a substantial brick courthouse, -Masonic and Odd Fellows’ Hall, Methodist -Church, public school building, good hotels, and -many stores, shops, and saloons.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_114">114</div> -<h4 id="c65"><span class="sc">Ophir.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Ophir.</span>—This town, three miles south of Washoe -City, on the west side of Washoe Lake, at one time -contained two or three hundred inhabitants. Here -was situated a big seventy-stamp mill erected by the -Ophir Mining Company at a cost of over $500,000. -To reach this mill with ores from the Ophir Mine a -bridge a mile in length was built across the north end -of Washoe Lake, at a cost of $75,000. The ores -were amalgamated by the barrel or Freyburg process, -and everything was on a grand scale, the buildings -covering over an acre of ground.</p> -<h4 id="c66"><span class="sc">Franktown.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Franktown.</span>—This town, one mile south of Ophir, -was originally settled by Mormons (about the same -time of the settlement at Genoa). Mormon fashion, -it was laid off in four-acre lots, and small streams of -water ran through all the streets. Here John Dall -had a thirty-stamp water mill, and there were several -other mills on Franktown Creek. The town had over -two hundred inhabitants in 1869.</p> -<p>At one time there were in operation in Washoe -County ten mills (four or five near Washoe City), -having an aggregate of 281 stamps, but the completion -of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad to the -Carson River was sudden death to all the mills, and -killed all the towns. All the ore went to the river.</p> -<h4 id="c67"><span class="sc">Wadsworth.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Wadsworth</span>, on the Central Pacific, thirty-four -miles east of Reno, is a bright and growing little -town. It is situated at the “Big Bend” of the -Truckee River, a place well known to those who -<span class="pb" id="Page_115">115</span> -toiled across the plains in the early days. The place -contains about 600 inhabitants. In it are the machine -shops, round-house, and freight depot of the Central -Pacific, and many good and substantial buildings, -both public and private. Before the Carson and -Colorado Railroad was built, Wadsworth was a shipping-point -for many mining towns and camps to the -southward. It still has a very fair trade.</p> -<h4 id="c68"><span class="sc">Verdi.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Verdi</span>, eleven miles west of Reno, on the Central -Pacific, is a pleasant little lumbering town on the -Truckee River, at the eastern base of the Sierras. -It is a town of saw-mills and of manufactories of -articles made of wood. In the way of mills and -machinery Verdi contains a large amount of valuable -property.</p> -<h3 id="c69">LAKE TAHOE.</h3> -<h3>Surrounding Objects of Interest.</h3> -<p>All visitors to the Pacific Coast who are lovers of -the beautiful and picturesque in natural scenery, will -endeavor to spend some time at Lake Tahoe. Taking -into consideration the surroundings, there is -nowhere in the world a more grandly beautiful mountain -lake. The lake lies between the eastern and -western summit ridges of the main ridge of the Sierra -Nevada Mountains, at an elevation of 6,247 feet -above the level of the sea. Its length is a little over -twenty-one miles, and its width about twelve miles. -Roughly it has the form of a parallelogram, lying -nearly north and south, about one-third in Nevada -<span class="pb" id="Page_116">116</span> -and the remainder in California. It has an area of -204 square miles, as is shown by measurements made -in four places across its width, and longitudinally -(north and south) in three places. Its greatest depth -is 1,800 feet.</p> -<p>It is shut in and surrounded on all sides by mountains -that rise to a height of from 2,000 to 5,000 feet -above its surface. The lake evidently occupies an -extinct volcanic crater of great size. Soundings show -in the bottom a deep channel or crevice which extends -nearly the whole length of the lake in a north -and south direction. In this the depth is everywhere -from 1,500 to 1,700 feet. The deepest spot (1,800 -feet) is toward the south end of the lake, in front of -Mount Tallac. The water is of great purity and -crystal clearness, and never freezes.</p> -<p>The lake receives the waters of fifty-one creeks and -brooks, the largest of which is the Upper Truckee, -which falls in at the south end. It also receives the -aqueous contributions of almost innumerable ravines, -gorges, and canyons. It drains an area of over 500 -square miles, composed largely of lofty mountains on -which the snow falls to a depth of many feet, and by -the melting of which the numerous streams are fed. -There are also many living springs on the sides of -the surrounding mountains, with a great number -(both hot and cold) along the shores of the lake, and -doubtless a much larger number deep beneath its -surface. The only outlet of the lake is the Truckee -<span class="pb" id="Page_117">117</span> -River, at its northwest corner. This outlet, which -forms the head of the Truckee River, is fifty feet in -width, has an average depth of five feet, and a velocity -of six feet a second, making the discharge 123,120,000 -cubic feet in twenty-four hours, in early spring -when the snow in the mountains is rapidly melting.</p> -<p>Since it was first seen by white men the lake has -been given several different names. Tahoe is popularly -supposed to be a Washoe Indian word, that -means “big water.” Some say the word means -“deep water,” “clear water,” “elevated water,” or -“bright water.” The Washoe Indians themselves -say they know nothing about the word. Fremont -saw it in 1844, and simply called it “Mountain -Lake.” It was once mapped as “Lake Bonpland,” -and in 1859 was mapped by Dr. Henry De Groot as -“Lake De Groot.” It was also once known as “Lake -Bigler,” being so named by some in honor of a Democratic -Governor of California, and the name is still -used by some of the strait-laced among the Democracy. -Tahoe, whatever it may mean, is a name now -so universally acknowledged and so firmly fixed that -it is not likely that it will ever be supplanted by any -other.</p> -<p>Lake Tahoe is surrounded on all sides by mountains -that have an elevation of from 3,000 to 5,000 -feet above its surface. Mount Tallac towers to a -height of 11,000 feet above the level of the sea; -Pyramid Peak, 10,000; Monument Peak, 10,000; -<span class="pb" id="Page_118">118</span> -Rubicon Peaks, fifteen miles west of the lake, 9,284; -Job’s Peak, 10,637; Sand Mountain, back of Rowland’s, -8,747 feet; and Bald Mountain, Mount Pluto, -Mount Anderson, Old Hat, Mount Ellis, Barker’s -Peak, Table Mountain, the Cliffs, the Needles, and -many other peaks, rise to a height of over 8,000 feet. -On all sides great old peaks stand about gazing down -forever upon their reflected images in the lake below. -It is a grand convocation of mountains, a convention -of granite peaks, gray and ancient. In a circle about -the lake stand pine-clad mountains, snow-clad mountains, -and unclad mountains that are merely stupendous -piles of granite—granite cathedrals piled up by -nature for the delectation of those of her votaries that -ever gladly worship at her shrine.</p> -<p>In places towering rocks stand quite near the water, -and around the shores are so many bays and inlets, -so many jutting points and tongues of land, that -there is a constant change of views—an endless succession -of either grand or picturesque effects. A -single cliff—as Shakespeare Rock—seen from different -points and distances, takes a dozen different shapes, -and so of all prominent capes and caves. The distance -round the shores of the lake is 144 miles, and -may be said to represent that many miles of landscape -panorama of unrivaled beauty and grandeur. -Volumes have already been written descriptive of the -wonders and the beauties of Lake Tahoe, and innumerable -volumes will still be written as the ages pass, -<span class="pb" id="Page_119">119</span> -yet to comprehend the place it must be seen and -<i>felt</i>.</p> -<p>It speaks well for Lake Tahoe that its beauties are -appreciated and prized by persons living near by in -California and Nevada, and that it is a favorite place -of summer resort with the people everywhere on the -Pacific Coast. In the Bible it is said: “A prophet is -not without honor, save in his own country and in his -own house,” and the same may generally be said of -celebrated natural objects, but it is different in the -case of Tahoe—the grand and picturesque scenery of -the lake is admired and esteemed at home. It is not -only looked upon as being a great sanitarium of the -Pacific Coast, but also as a grand store-house of all -the delights of mountain scenery. In Tahoe the -careworn and debilitated find a cure for both mind -and body.</p> -<p>The water of the lake is as cold and pure as that -of the best living springs, and it possesses wonderful -charms—almost the transparency of the atmosphere. -Near the shore, when shallow, it is of an emerald -green here; in deep water, in the sunshine, it is of -an ultramarine tinge, and in the shade an indigo blue. -Tossing, distant, deep water in certain lights assumes -tints of purple and violet, with beautiful flashes of -ruby. Seated in a boat on the lake in a calm, one -may see the stones and pebbles at the bottom, with -trout cruising about, where the sounding line shows -seventy-five feet of water. The whole dome of the -sky, with every fleecy cloud, is there perfectly reflected. -<span class="pb" id="Page_120">120</span> -We are midway between the heavens above and the -heavens below, gently rocking upon the waving veil of -blue that separates the two firmaments.</p> -<p>It is difficult to swim in the lake. Some have supposed -this to be on account of the great elevation -and reduced atmospheric pressure on the water, rendering -the lake less buoyant than bodies of fresh -water at sea level. This, however, is a mistake. -Water is only very slightly compressible. The great -purity of the water of course renders it less dense than -that of lakes holding minerals in solution, but it is the -coldness of the water and the variety of the atmosphere -that render swimming difficult and laborious.</p> -<p>The bodies of persons drowned in the lake (unless -very near shore) are never again seen. The bodies of -no fewer than ten or twelve white men are known to -lie at the bottom of the lake; and no doubt among -them lie the skeletons of not a few Indians. The -lake is in some respects treacherous and dangerous. -It is subject to sudden and heavy squalls. Fierce -gusts of wind at times rush down the big canyons, -and, striking the water, cause it to boil like a pot. -These squalls are liable to capsize a sail-boat. Unless -an experienced boatman be of the party, it is best -to have the sail in hand, that it may be let go in a -moment. The squalls generally plunge down the -canyons and gorges on the west side of the lake.</p> -<p>The route of the passenger steamers round the lake -is near the shores. These are in some places rocky -<span class="pb" id="Page_121">121</span> -and in others level. In the mountain gorges and on -the ridges are pines and various other evergreen trees, -but down near the edge of the water are small groves -of quaking asp, willow, and other trees of deciduous -foliage.</p> -<p>At the Hot Springs is a good hotel, bathing houses, -and other accommodations. At Tahoe City will also -be found good hotels, boats, fishing tackle, and all -such little sporting supplies as the visitor is likely to -require. McKinney’s, at Sugar Pine Point, on the -west side of the lake, is a popular place of resort and -possesses many attractions. At Glenbrook, on the -east side of the lake, are good hotel accommodations, -and there may also be had boats, fishing tackle, and -all ordinary supplies. In many charming nooks and -valleys around the shores are hotels and cottages for -the accommodation of visitors.</p> -<h4 id="c70"><span class="sc">Emerald Bay.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Emerald Bay.</span>—One of the most beautiful spots -about Lake Tahoe is Emerald Bay. It is the gem of -the place. The bay is situated at the south end of the -lake. It is 2½ miles long and 1¼ wide, nearly as -large as Donner Lake. The entrance to it is through -a channel less than 200 yards in width, but containing -a depth of water sufficient to float a man-of-war. -Emerald Bay is surrounded by grand and picturesque -mountains, the peaks of which are 9,000 feet above -the level of the sea, and some of which rise precipitously -to a height of 4,000 feet above the surface of -the bay. The water is nearly always of a beautiful -<span class="pb" id="Page_122">122</span> -emerald green. In the bay is a rocky and romantic -little island of about three acres, on which is a handsome -little cottage. On the island is a tomb excavated -in the rock by an old boatman known as “Captain -Dick.” Captain Dick fondly hoped that this -tomb would be his last resting-place, but his body -lies at the bottom of the lake. In October, 1873, -his boat was capsized in a furious squall, and Captain -Dick was never seen again.</p> -<p>Emerald Bay, with 519 acres of surrounding land, -belongs to the estate of the late Dr. P. T. Kirby, of -Virginia City, who at the time of his death was -about to build a fine and commodious hotel. Before -his death, however, he had built over a dozen neat -cottages. Heretofore, owing to lack of accommodations -there, many tourists have failed to visit this bay, -the most beautiful nook about the lake, but it will -now at once become a favorite haunt of all lovers of -the grand, picturesque, and beautiful. The island is -a little gem, and has about it a style that gives it almost -the appearance of being a toy constructed by a -landscape gardener. It has been very appropriately -named “Coquette Island.” It rises to a height of -about 200 feet above the surface of the bay. At the -south end of the bay are the “Lovers’ Falls.” These -falls are high up on the side of a steep and rocky -mountain. They are on a small creek which makes -many leaps down perpendicular terraces of rock. -The falls are supposed to have been the favorite tryst -of a Digger chief and his Washoe lady-love.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_123">123</div> -<h4 id="c71"><span class="sc">Fallen Leaf Lake.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Fallen Leaf Lake.</span>—This lake lies one mile south -of Lake Tahoe, and about three miles south of Emerald -Bay. It is a beautiful sheet of water two miles in -length and a mile in width. It has an outlet into -Lake Tahoe.</p> -<h4 id="c72"><span class="sc">Silver Lake.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Silver Lake.</span>—Silver Lake is a perfect little beauty -in its way, but is seldom visited; as it lies high on the -side of a mountain which is covered with chaparral. -It is about half as large as Fallen Leaf Lake, from -which it is distant two miles in a northwest direction.</p> -<h4 id="c73"><span class="sc">Cornelian Bay.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Cornelian Bay.</span>—This bay lies north of Tahoe -City, and has a smooth, pebbly beach, where are found -agates, cornelians, and jasper of several colors. To -sail along the shore the distance from Tahoe City -is seven miles.</p> -<h4 id="c74"><span class="sc">Agate Bay.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Agate Bay.</span>—Agate Bay is a place similar to that -just described. It lies a short distance west of the -Hot Springs.</p> -<h4 id="c75"><span class="sc">Crystal Bay.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Crystal Bay.</span>—This beautiful cove forms the extreme -north end of Lake Tahoe. It lies northeast of -Hot Springs.</p> -<h4 id="c76"><span class="sc">Shakespeare Rock.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Shakespeare Rock.</span>—In sailing round the lake -from Tahoe City to Glenbrook several picturesque -rocky points, studded with stately pines, will be seen, -also Shakespeare Rock, which is a cliff towering high -above the level of the lake. On the face of this cliff -are seen ridges, fissures, and patches of color which at -a distance resolve themselves into the likeness of the -face of the immortal dramatist.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_124">124</div> -<h4 id="c77"><span class="sc">Cave Rock.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Cave Rock</span> is passed before reaching Glenbrook. -It is about 300 feet in height and seen from the deck -of the steamer, towers upward like the castle of some -“Blue Beard” giant of the Sierras. It has in its face -a yawning cavern some 80 feet in depth. In this -dark cave one might suppose the giant to live.</p> -<h4 id="c78"><span class="sc">Glenbrook.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Glenbrook</span> is on the east side of the lake near a -large cave. Here are several large saw-mills, owned -by Yerington, Bliss & Co., which manufacture an -immense quantity of all kinds of lumber. The mills -are furnished with electrical lights. The mill company -have here a narrow-gauge railroad nine miles -in length, which carries their lumber and timber to -the flumes at the top of the mountain (Eastern Summit), -whence it is floated down to the valley near -Carson City.</p> -<h4 id="c79"><span class="sc">Cascade Mountain.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Cascade Mountain</span>, at the south end of the lake, -is 9,500 feet in height. Near it are beautiful cascades, -and from the top are to be seen a number of small -lakes, and much wild and grand mountain scenery.</p> -<h4 id="c80"><span class="sc">Rubicon Springs.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Rubicon Springs</span>, which lie just over the Western -Summit of the Sierras, are easily reached by a good -stage road from McKinneys’. Here, on the headwaters -of the Rubicon River, is some of the most -charming scenery to be found anywhere in the -mountains. There are innumerable nooks, in which -the disposition and proportions of water, foliage, and -rugged granite rocks is such that all would seem to -have been arranged for the special delectation of the -<span class="pb" id="Page_125">125</span> -artist and the lover of nature. The water of the -springs at this place possesses wonderful curative powers. -No invalid ever left them with a feeling of disappointment, -however highly they might have been -recommended to him.</p> -<p>Besides the places named there are scores of nooks -and corners, cliffs, streams, fountains, canyons, and -gorges that are not even honored with a name, which -in almost any other part of the world would be lauded -to the skies, and which would attract swarms of visitors -from great distances. There is not a spot about the -lake that would not astound the dweller in the prairies -of the West were he placed before it.</p> -<h3 id="c81">Routes to Lake Tahoe.</h3> -<h3 class="inline" id="c82"><span class="smaller">THE ROUTE FROM TRUCKEE.</span></h3> -<p>Persons in California, or tourists bound East, who -wish to visit Tahoe will leave the Central Pacific at -Truckee. The distance to the lake is but fourteen -miles, over a good stage-road, which passes along up -the Truckee River, amid grand and beautiful scenery. -High, rocky, and picturesque mountains wall in the -gorge through which winds the river and the road, -and on all sides are groves of stately pines. In places -where the walls recede from the stream are charming -little nooks, valleys, and meadows. Indeed, at every -turn in road and river new beauties are disclosed.</p> -<p>There are fresh surprises on every furlong of the -road from Truckee to Tahoe City, which town is -situated at the outlet of the lake which forms the -<span class="pb" id="Page_126">126</span> -Truckee River. At Tahoe City will be found good -hotels and accommodations of all kinds. Here, too, -will be found in waiting a steamer to carry the visitor -round the lake to Glenbrook, passing near the principal -points of interest on the way, or to make the -circuit of the lake. While to follow every projection -and indentation of the shore-line would require a sail -of 144 miles, a circuit of about 75 miles carries the -visitor sufficiently near for a satisfactory view of the -more charming and picturesque points.</p> -<p>Below are given the distances from Tahoe City to -the principal points around the lake on the route -usually taken by the steamers:—</p> -<h3 id="c83"><span class="ss">Distances from Tahoe City.</span></h3> -<table class="center"> -<tr class="th"><th> </th><th><span class="sc smaller">Miles.</span></th></tr> -<tr><td class="l">Tahoe City to McKinney’s </td><td class="r">7</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">Sugar-Pine Point </td><td class="r">9</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">Emerald Bay </td><td class="r">16</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">Tallac Mountain and Hotel </td><td class="r">20</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">Rowlands </td><td class="r">24</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">Glenbrook <i>via</i> Rowlands </td><td class="r">34</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">Glenbrook, direct </td><td class="r">14</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">Cornelian Bay </td><td class="r">7½</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">Observatory </td><td class="r">2½</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">Hot Springs </td><td class="r">10</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">Round the lake </td><td class="r">75</td></tr> -</table> -<p>On his arrival at Glenbrook, the tourist that came -<i>via</i> Truckee will find stages in waiting to carry him -to Carson City, where he will take the Virginia and -Truckee Railroad to the Central Pacific at Reno.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_127">127</div> -<h3 id="c84">The Route from Reno.</h3> -<p>The traveler from the East who wishes to view the -wonders of Tahoe in passing across the continent, or -to see the Comstock Silver Mines, will leave the -Central Pacific at Reno, allowing his baggage to go -on to his point of destination in California. The -Virginia and Truckee will then take him to Carson -City, a distance of thirty-one miles to the southward, -passing through an interesting region all the way.</p> -<p>At Carson stages for Lake Tahoe will be found in -waiting. The distance from Carson to Tahoe is -fourteen miles. The road is fine, and the mountain -scenery wild and beautiful. In passing up Clear -Creek Canyon, the tourist will travel for a considerable -distance alongside the big lumber flume of the -Carson and Tahoe Lumber Company. This flume -is in the shape of the letter V. It has a length of -twenty-one miles. Through it runs a small stream -of water, and a stick of timber, billet of wood, or -piece of lumber dropped into the V-shaped trough -at the summit at once darts away at race-horse speed, -and very shortly thereafter is dumped at the wood -and lumber yard at Carson. In one day may thus -be sent down the flume 700 cords of wood, or 500,000 -feet of mining timbers. Hank Monk, the famous -stage-driver who for a long time drove over this piece -of road, and who once “hurled” Horace Greeley -from the summit of the Sierras down into Placerville, -is now dead, and lies buried at Carson City.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_128">128</div> -<p>On arriving at Glenbrook, the traveler will find -ready a steamer which will take him round Lake -Tahoe to Tahoe City, whence he will take a stagecoach -fourteen miles down the Truckee River to the -Central Pacific, at the town of Truckee.</p> -<h3 id="c85">The Town of Truckee.</h3> -<p>Truckee is situated in a heavily-timbered basin, -lying between the two ridges, or summits, of the -Sierras. In this basin is contained an area of over -250 square miles of as fine pine forest as is to be -found in the mountains. The town is the center of -a great and flourishing lumbering industry, and immense -quantities of ice are each winter harvested and -stored in the immediate vicinity. In 1883 it was -estimated that the forests of Truckee Basin contained -5,000,000,000 feet of lumber, and that 50,000,000 -feet might be cut every year for 100 years. The -town has an elevation of 5,866 feet, or over a mile -above the level of the sea, yet for eight months of -the year the climate is pleasant. Where the town -now stands was formerly “Coburn’s Station,” on the -old Dutch Flat wagon-road. The place was named -Truckee, and began to build up in 1865, with the -construction of the Central Pacific Railroad at that -point. It is a brisk and thriving place, and, besides -its lumber and ice industries, has a good trade with -an extensive farming and grazing region. It is wonderful -that so large a town exists as is now seen, in -view of the fact that since 1868 it has seven times -<span class="pb" id="Page_129">129</span> -been swept by terrible fires, and by two or three of -these it was, in different years, almost wiped out of -existence.</p> -<h3 id="c86">Donner Lake.</h3> -<p>This beautiful little sheet of water is but three miles -from the town of Truckee, and is reached by a delightful -drive over a smooth and level road. Donner -Lake is about three miles long and from a mile to a -mile and a half wide. It is about 200 feet in depth -in the deepest place, and lies at an elevation of 5,938 -feet above the level of the sea. It has for feeders -several sparkling trout-brooks, and has an outlet called -Donner Creek, which is an affluent of the Truckee -River. The lake is full of trout of the same species -as are found in Lake Tahoe, with minnows of several -kinds, known as “chubs” and “white fish.” It is a -safe and beautiful lake on which to row or sail. As -regards the matter of safety it may be set down as the -“family lake” of the mountains—is as reliable and -devoid of tantrums as the old “family mare.” The -lake is surrounded with grand old mountains. Lake -Ridge, to the southward, rises to the height of 8,234 -feet, and its lower part is covered with pine and other -evergreen trees. To the west rise huge, bare granite -mountains. The track of the Central Pacific Railroad -runs along the side of the ridge to the southward, -and presently disappears in a tunnel under the bald -mountains in the west. Owing to the track being -covered with snow-sheds, passengers get only occasional -glimpses of the lake.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_130">130</div> -<p>At the upper and lower ends of the lake are patches -of meadow land, groves of pine and tamarack, and -handsome clumps of willow and quaking asp. Donner -is a favorite place of resort for camping parties -from Nevada and California. There are grand -views in all directions. Artists here find constant -use for their sketching tools. A fine picture of the -lake was painted by Bierstadt in 1872. He chose -the month of August for his picture.</p> -<h4 id="c87"><span class="sc">The Donner Disaster.</span></h4> -<p>At the foot of the lake -is the scene of the sufferings of the Donner party. -The spot is marked by a tall wooden cross. At this -little mountain-begirt lake, in October, 1846, arrived -a party of emigrants (mostly from Illinois), under the -leadership of George Donner. There were with the -train seventy-six men, women, and children. That -winter the snow fell a month earlier than usual, and in a -single night the party found themselves overwhelmed, -caught in a <i>cul-de-sac</i>. It was impossible to attempt -the mountains when the snow in the lower ground -about the lake was so deep that the wagons could not -be moved; besides, it snowed without ceasing. In -one night, when their cattle were scattered about, -snow fell to such a depth as to completely cover and -hide them from sight. It was then decided to build -cabins and winter on the spot. Being short of provisions, -they at once killed all the cattle they could -find, using the hides to roof the cabins. In December -all provisions were exhausted, and parties were -<span class="pb" id="Page_131">131</span> -sent out one after another to reach California and -there make known the condition of those left in the -camp. Most of those thus sent out perished, but -finally one or two persons reached Sutter’s Fort, at -Sacramento. The first relief parties failed, and it was -not until February that a party reached the starving -people of the camp. These, meantime, had been reduced -to such extremity as to cook and eat the raw -hides covering their cabins and the bones thrown away -earlier in the season. Toward the last there was at least -one instance of cannibalism. Of the seventy-six persons -but forty survived, some perishing in the mountains -(where the snow was thirty feet deep) in trying -to get through to California, and others dying in the -cabins. Those found in the cabins were mere skeletons. -A thick volume would be required to give a full -account of all the sufferings and trials of the ill-fated -Donner party. It was a disaster that shocked all California -for years, and which created a profound sensation -of horror and pity throughout the whole United -States. The history of what occurred at Donner -Lake that winter has never been fully written, and -never will be, as there were happenings that the survivors -were never willing to talk about.</p> -<h4 id="c88"><span class="sc">Surrounding Points of Interest.</span></h4> -<p>Donner Peak, -to the west of the lake, a towering pile of granite, -rises to a height of 8,154 feet above the level of the -sea, and Glacial Point, in the same direction, is 7,708 -feet in height. Fremont’s Peak—sometimes called -<span class="pb" id="Page_132">132</span> -Castle Peak, or Mount Stanford—towers in the northwest -to the height of 9,237 feet above sea level. It is -seen about four miles north of Summit Station. At -this peak heads Pioneer Creek. From its granite -pinnacle, on a clear day may be seen the Downieville -Buttes, Marysville Buttes, the Coast Range, and many -mountains and valleys in California; and looking -eastward, Mount Davidson, the sinks of the Carson -and Humboldt, are seen, with many other mountains -and deserts. Near Summit are about a dozen small -lakes, some of them charming both in themselves and -in their surroundings of rocks and trees.</p> -<h3 id="c89">Independence Lake.</h3> -<p>This beautiful lake is nineteen miles distant from -Truckee, and is reached by stage or carriage. It is -three miles long and three-quarters of a mile wide. -The lake was named by Lola Montez (when a resident -of Grass Valley, California) on the occasion of -a visit to it on a picnic excursion, July 4, 1853. It -is held up toward the heavens to a height of 7,000 -feet by a circle of grand old peaks. It is very deep, -and in places has never been fathomed. Owing to -its great depth, the lake is supposed to occupy an -extinct volcanic crater, whereas Donner Lake was -formed by a moraine deposited across the valley by a -glacier. The lake is alive with trout of a peculiar -species, a good deal resembling brook trout, and for -which they are often sold. The surrounding scenery -is as wildly beautiful as the imagination can picture. -<span class="pb" id="Page_133">133</span> -From the peak of Mount Lola, 4 miles north of the -lake and 11,000 feet high, can be seen Mount Shasta, -distant 180 miles to the northward; Mount Diablo, -140 miles distant; all Sacramento Valley, and scores -of peaks of note in all directions. There is a hotel -at the lake and good accommodations of all kinds. -Bear, deer, and grouse are to be found in the chaparral, -mountain glades, and pine forests. The lake -has an outlet which is the head of one of the principal -branches of the Little Truckee.</p> -<h3 id="c90">Webber Lake.</h3> -<p>This lake lies twenty-five miles north of Truckee, -and is reached by stage over a road bordered with -charming scenery. The lake is circular in form and -about a mile in diameter. It is 6,925 feet above sea-level. -It is surrounded with mountains of graceful -outline, nearly all of which are wooded to their tops. -The deepest spot to be found measures only 80 feet. -The lake is of glacial origin. It abounds in trout—a -very game variety, introduced nearly thirty years -ago. About the lake are numerous attractions. -About a mile south from the lake, on a tributary -creek, are falls over 100 feet in height; a mile north -is a little gem of a lake, with an area of 50 acres, -which is called the Lake of the Woods, and which is -7,500 feet (nearly a mile and a half) above the level -of the sea; near at hand is Prospect Peak, from the -top of which, in a clear day, mountain peaks distant -300 miles may be made out, while all about are other -<span class="pb" id="Page_134">134</span> -tall peaks and objects of interest. Small mountain -game is plentiful near the lake. Bear may be found -by those anxious to see them by taking a tramp in the -chaparral thickets of the higher peaks. There is a -good hotel at the lake, yet it is a great place of resort -for campers. Where the greatest depth of water is -only 80 feet, no one is afraid of drowning. The lake -has an outlet, which is one of the affluents of the -Little Truckee.</p> -<h3 id="c91">Pyramid Lake.</h3> -<p>We have now to speak of a few Nevada lakes not -mentioned in connection with the rivers of the State. -The greatest of these, and the largest lake between -the Sierra Nevada Range and the Rocky Mountains, -except Great Salt Lake, Utah, is Pyramid Lake. It -is fed by the Truckee, the course of which river has -already been traced, and the head of which has been -particularly described as the outlet of Lake Tahoe. -Pyramid Lake lies in Washoe County, on the west -line of Humboldt County. The lake is nearly 40 -miles long by from 15 to 20 miles in width, and has -an elevation of 4,000 feet above the level of the sea. -It has no outlet. It is the most picturesque sheet of -water in all the Great Basin region, owing to its numerous -rocky islands. As it lies off the usual lines -of travel and traffic it is seldom visited, yet it is well -worthy of the attention of the tourist. Pyramid Lake -lies about 25 miles north of Wadsworth, a brisk and -thriving town on the Central Pacific Railroad. It is -<span class="pb" id="Page_135">135</span> -at Wadsworth that the traveler by rail from the East -first reaches the Truckee River, and is where the -traveler from California takes his leave of the stream. -At Wadsworth the river turns abruptly to the north, -which course it holds to the lake.</p> -<p>A vehicle for a trip to the lake can always be found -at Wadsworth. The road lies down along the timbered -banks of the river, and here and there will be -seen the cabins of the Indians of the Pyramid Reservation. -Most of the groves seen are of cottonwood -and willow trees. The Truckee River has two -mouths, one of which empties into Pyramid Lake -and the other into Winnemucca Lake. The branch -which feeds Pyramid Lake is only about one mile in -length, whereas the more meandering branch, which -is the feeder of Winnemucca Lake, has a length of -six miles.</p> -<p>Pyramid Lake contains several islands. Some of -these, near the middle of the lake, are pyramidal in -shape, and gray in color. They rise to a height of -several hundred feet above the surface of the water, -and it is from these natural pyramids that the lake -takes its name. Far away toward the north end of -the lake is seen a tall, slender pyramid that is perfectly -white. Some of the isolated rocks seen are -egg-shaped, and 300 to 400 feet high. Fremont’s -Pyramid is the name borne by one of the taller of -the pyramidal rocks near the head of the lake. One -of the largest islands contains large flocks of goats, -<span class="pb" id="Page_136">136</span> -the progeny of a few pairs of the animals turned loose -there many years ago. The island has an area of -about five square miles, and is well covered with -vegetation, being less precipitous and rocky than the -others. The only picturesque addition needed to -this island is a “Crusoe” and his hut.</p> -<p>One small, rocky island is wholly given up to rattlesnakes. -It is the home of thousands of the venomous -reptiles. They have their dens in the rocks, and live -upon the eggs and young of water-fowl, and such -small fish as are cast ashore.</p> -<p>Pyramid Lake is of immense depth. No one -knows its depth in the deepest part. At the last -attempt to sound it, 600 fathoms (3,600 feet) of line -were run out without finding bottom. Where it -enters the lake the water of the Truckee River is as -pure and sweet as where it leaves Lake Tahoe, yet -the water of Pyramid Lake is slightly brackish. -However, myriads of trout are found in Pyramid -Lake. The Piute Indians of the Reservation every -year catch and sell thousands of tons of trout, deriving -a snug sum from this source. The lake never -freezes, and is generally very rough. The Indian -fishermen, however, navigate its waters at all times -quite fearlessly, even when seated astride of a bundle -of tules.</p> -<h3 id="c92">Winnemucca Lake.</h3> -<p>This lake lies to the east of, and parallel with, Pyramid -Lake, from which it is separated by only a single -<span class="pb" id="Page_137">137</span> -ridge of gray rock and sand. It lies principally in -Humboldt County, though a part reaches south into -Churchill County. The lake is now about sixty miles -long, with an average width of twelve miles. Of late -years it has been rapidly increasing in size, as more -water has been flowing through its feeder than formerly. -It has on the east side a high rocky ridge, -like that which separates it from Pyramid, therefore -it lies in a trough between two ranges of hills. -Though so near to each other, the surface of the -water in Winnemucca Lake is forty feet lower than -that in Pyramid. The Piutes remember a time when -all was one lake. Were the waters of these twin lakes -now united they would make a lake quite as large as -the great Salt Lake of Utah. The inlet to Winnemucca -Lake contains several old rafts of drift-wood, -which prevent a free flow of water through it. Some -years ago a freshet lifted these rafts from the bed of -the stream, and the water found a channel beneath -them. Since that occurred Winnemucca Lake has -been steadily increasing in size. There are many -Indian traditions connected with these lakes, one of -which is in regard to immense animals that once -herded in the neighborhood. This seems to be a -tradition of the elephant or mastodon. All this -region was once covered by an inland sea of fresh -water, over 200 miles in length, and 80 or 90 miles in -width.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_138">138</div> -<h3 id="c93">Washoe Lake.</h3> -<p>Washoe Lake is situated in Washoe Valley, and is -seen in going by rail from Reno to Carson. The -lake proper is about four miles long, and from a mile -to a mile and a half wide. On the west and north -extend large tule marshes, which at times contain a -considerable depth of water. The lake is fed by -small streams from the Sierras, and it has an outlet -into Steamboat Creek. The lake is filled with perch -and catfish, planted a few years ago; also contains -swarms of native fish of the “chub” species. It is -a favorite resort for anglers from Carson and the -towns of the Comstock. At certain seasons the lake -is visited by great numbers of ducks, geese, and other -water-fowl. It is shallow, and having a muddy bottom, -it is not a suitable sheet of water for either brook -or lake trout. Carp, however, would flourish in its -muddy depths and tule shallows.</p> -<h3 id="c94">Thermal and Medicinal Springs.</h3> -<p>The hot springs of Nevada are numbered by thousands -and tens of thousands, and scores of them in all -parts of the State possess more or less medicinal value. -Hot springs are found from the Oregon and Idaho -lines southward to the Colorado River, and from the -eastern base of the Sierras across the whole breadth -of the State. No one has ever attempted to number -the many warm and hot springs, and they are literally -innumerable. Springs which would attract great attention -in the Atlantic States, and which would be -<span class="pb" id="Page_139">139</span> -worth fortunes, here pass unknown, unnamed, “unhonored -and unsung.” All the hot springs possess -curative properties in the case of rheumatic and various -skin diseases. Not one in a thousand of the -springs on this side of the Sierras has been analyzed, -for which reason the waters of only a few are used internally.</p> -<h3 id="c95">Steamboat Springs.</h3> -<p>The most noted hot springs in the western part of -Nevada are those known as the Steamboat Springs. -They were so named by the first white men who visited -them, on account of the puffing sound some of -them then emitted, and because of the tall columns -of steam they sent up. These springs are in Steamboat -Valley, ten miles south of Reno. The Virginia -and Truckee Railroad passes close alongside the -springs. They are situated at the eastern base of a low -range of basaltic hills, and occupy the top of a flat ridge -that is over a mile in length and has a north and south -course. This ridge is about half a mile in width and -is composed of a whitish silicious material evidently -deposited by the waters of the many springs.</p> -<p>The temperature of the principal springs is 204 degrees, -which is as hot as water can be made at that altitude -(5,000 feet above the level of the sea). Some -of the springs rise through circular openings from a -foot to three feet in diameter and are surrounded by -conical mounds of silicious matters deposited by the -waters, whereas others flow from fissures, which are -<span class="pb" id="Page_140">140</span> -evidently rents formed by earthquakes. Out of some -of these fissures rush great volumes of hot gases that -have a strong odor of sulphur. These fissures are -perfectly dry, and the jets of hot air are invisible. -From other dry crevices issue great clouds of very -hot steam. Steam rises in great volumes from all the -boiling springs, and of mornings when the air is cool -and calm from 60 to 80 tall pillars of steam may be -counted, rising to a height of 100 feet or more above -the low, bare ridge. The air everywhere about the -springs is strongly charged with sulphurous vapors -in gases. The crevices have the same course as the -great quartz veins of the country, <i>i. e.</i>, northeast and -southwest. Here is no doubt a huge metallic vein in -process of formation; indeed, various minerals are -deposited by the gases, notably cinnabar. Some of -the fissures may be traced from 1,000 to 3,000 feet, -and have a width of from 16 inches to 3 feet. In -places where nothing is seen to issue from these -fissures at the surface, indications of tremendous subterranean -activity are distinctly audible. Far down -in under-ground regions are heard thunderous surgings -and lashings as of huge volumes of water dashed -to and fro in vast hollow, resounding caverns. In -other places are heard fearful (dry) thumpings and -poundings, as though at some flaming forge below a -band of sweating Cyclops were at work at hammering -out thunder-bolts for old Jove.</p> -<p>Small springs in places send jets of hot water into -<span class="pb" id="Page_141">141</span> -the air to the height of two or three feet, with a hissing -and sputtering sound, but for some years past -none of them have thrown water to any great distance -above the surface. In 1860, and for a few years -thereafter, two or three of the springs rivaled the -geysers of Yellowstone Park, sending columns of water -a yard in diameter to a height of sixty or eighty feet -once in from six to eight hours. Some springs sent -columns of water from three to six inches in diameter -to a still greater height. Even now the water is seen -to rise and fall in some of the fissures in a threatening -manner. At the springs is a fine and commodious -hotel, bathing-houses for vapor baths, and every desirable -accommodation. The springs are very beneficial -to persons afflicted with rheumatic complaints, -and are also useful in some cases of cutaneous diseases.</p> -<h3 id="c96">Shaw’s Springs.</h3> -<p>These springs are situated about a mile west of -Carson City. They are also much frequented by -persons afflicted with rheumatism and kindred complaints, -though more well than sick persons use -the baths, as connected with them is a large swimming -pool, 60 by 24 feet and from 4½ to 5½ feet -deep. One of these springs is what is called a -“chicken-soup” spring. By adding pepper and salt -to the water it acquires the taste of thin chicken soup.</p> -<h3 id="c97">State Prison Warm Springs.</h3> -<p>About a mile east of Carson City, at the Nevada -State prison, is a warm spring of great volume. -<span class="pb" id="Page_142">142</span> -Here Col. Abe Curry, who owned the property before -it was acquired by the State, constructed the first -swimming bath to be found on the Pacific Coast. -It is 160 feet long by 38 feet wide, and is walled up -with stone, and over it is erected a building, also of -stone, of which there is a fine quarry on the spot. -The water in the pool is from three to five feet deep, -and is of about blood heat. This bath is not now -open to the “world at large,” but is kept for a little -world that is “not at large.”</p> -<h3 id="c98">Walley’s Springs.</h3> -<p>There are in hundreds of places along the eastern -base of the Sierras groups of hot springs of more or less -celebrity, but none of which are more highly esteemed -for their curative properties, or as a more popular -place of resort for the afflicted, than Walley’s Springs, -a mile and a half south of Genoa. Persons who are -troubled with rheumatism, or are afflicted with scrofula -and like disorders, are much benefited by the baths at -these springs. Here are also excellent mud baths, the -hot, mineral-impregnated mud being found very efficacious -in many cases of chronic rheumatic complaints. -In the vicinity are many objects of interest, and near -at hand may be found good hunting and fishing. -There is a fine hotel, and the best of accommodations -of every kind for both sound and sick, at the springs. -The springs are fourteen and a half miles south of Carson -and may be reached either by stage or private -conveyance. The road lies through Carson Valley, -and is fine and smooth.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_143">143</div> -<h3 id="c99">Other Springs.</h3> -<p>Near Elko are several hot springs, with fine springs -of cold water in their immediate vicinity. Here, too, -is a “chicken-soup” spring. The springs are situated -to the northwest of the town, and a bathing-house -has been erected for the accommodation of the rheumatic -public.</p> -<p>At Golconda are some very large hot springs, near -which are others of ordinary temperature. Some of -the hot springs are occasionally utilized for scalding -hogs. In the cool pools connected with the flow from -the hot springs, carp and some other kinds of fish -have been planted. It is said that the carp grown in -the ponds often venture upon darting through places -where water almost boiling hot is bubbling up. -These springs are near the Central Pacific Railroad -station. Also half a mile south of the track of the -Central Pacific road there are, at Hot Springs Station, -near the sink of the Humboldt, several springs that -send up columns of steam.</p> -<p>There are only a few of the hot springs that are situated -near main lines of travel. In Thousand Spring Valley, -on the Upper Humboldt, there are literally thousands -of springs, some of which send out whole brooks -of water. The majority of these, however, are cold. -In Churchill County, north of the Sand Springs salt -marsh, are hot springs which are 50, 80, and even 100 -feet in diameter. They are on the edge of a desert at -the foot of a range of rocky hills burnt to a brick-red -<span class="pb" id="Page_144">144</span> -by volcanic fires. Here, too, are seen thick veins of -pure native sulphur. There are hot springs and -scalding pools and brooks in every county in the State. -In Nye County there are many hot springs in Hot -Creek Valley, in Big Smoky Valley, and Lone Valley. -There is also in this county the Cabezon Valley Hot -Spring, which is medicinal. On the Rio Virgin, in -Lincoln County, is one of the finest purgative springs -on the Pacific Coast. With other ingredients amounting -to 311 grains of solid matter to the gallon, it contains -67 grains of sulphate of soda, 54 grains of sulphate -of magnesia, and 3 grains of sulphate of -potassa.</p> -<h3 id="c100">Railroads in Nevada.</h3> -<p>Although Nevada would appear at a first glance a -difficult region in which to construct railroads, the -fact is that it is quite the contrary. Between the parallel -ranges of mountains running north and south, there -are long level valleys, tracts of desert land, requiring very -little grading. These valleys and deserts are linked together -and connected by plains from the northern to -the southern boundary of the State. As these valleys -and deserts once formed the beds and connecting -channels of chains of lakes now extinct, it is evident -that in following their course a line of railroad might -be very cheaply constructed. In many places for -miles on miles there would be little to do but put -down the ties and rails. In many places, too, there -are remarkable passages leading east and west from -<span class="pb" id="Page_145">145</span> -valley to valley, called “gates.” There are clean level -east and west cuts through ranges of mountains running -north and south. The only difficulty to be encountered -in railroad building in Nevada is in running -roads to special points (as to mines) high above the -general level of the country, as in the case of the -Virginia to Truckee when it leaves the valley region -to climb the Mount Davidson Range to the Comstock -Lode. The whole plateau through which was upheaved -the north and south ranges of mountains has -a mean elevation of 5,000 feet above the level of the -sea in all central Nevada; to the southward it gradually -slopes downward, until at the south line of the -State, on the Colorado River, the altitude above sea-level -is only 800 feet.</p> -<h3 id="c101">The Central Pacific.</h3> -<p>The largest stretch of railroad in Nevada is the -Central Pacific. Its length within the boundaries of -the State, from where it enters, near Verdi, to where -it passes out, near Tecoma, is a little over 450 miles. -Though this is an east and west road (the course -across the interior parallel mountain ranges), yet no -great difficulties were encountered in crossing the -State. The road enters Nevada from California along -the course of the Truckee River, which stream it follows -as far east as Wadsworth. Leaving Wadsworth -the road traverses a level, sandy plain till the Humboldt -River is reached. The road then follows the -course of the Humboldt to Cedar Pass, not far from -the Utah line.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_146">146</div> -<h3 id="c102">The Virginia and Truckee.</h3> -<p>Having already given a description of this road, it -will not be necessary in this place to do more than to -mention the distance from point to point between -Reno and Virginia City. Soon after leaving Reno -the dumps of the flumes that bring wood and lumber -down from the pine forests of the Sierras will be seen -to the right of the road. The first of these is four -miles from Reno; three miles farther on, near Huffaker’s -Station, is another, and at Brown’s is a third. -Others will be seen about Washoe Valley and Franktown. -They are from ten to twenty miles in length, -and of the same <span class="ssn">V</span>-shape as that at Carson City. -Steamboat Springs Station is eleven miles from Reno; -Washoe, sixteen miles; Franktown, twenty-one miles; -Carson City, thirty-one miles; Carson to Empire, three -miles; Mexican Mill, three and one-fourth; Morgan -Mill, four; Brunswick, five; Merrimac, five and one-half; -Vivian, six; Santiago Mill, seven miles; Mound -House, ten; Silver Switch, twelve and three-fourths; -Scales, sixteen and one-half; Baltic Switch, seventeen -and one-half; Crown Point, eighteen; Gold Hill, -nineteen; Virginia City, twenty-one miles from Carson -and fifty-two from Reno.</p> -<h3 id="c103">Carson and Colorado.</h3> -<p>At Mound House, ten miles from Carson City, the -Carson and Colorado Narrow Gauge Railroad connects -with the Virginia and Truckee. This road runs -<span class="pb" id="Page_147">147</span> -southeasterly through Lyon and Esmeralda Counties, -in Nevada, then, turning more south, passes through a -corner of Mono County, California, and enters Inyo -County in the same State. It has a total length of -293 miles, and its present southern terminus is at -Keeler, at the south end of Owen’s Lake, Inyo -County. The road passes through regions of very -diverse products and industries. Agricultural and -grazing sections alternate with those in which the -ruling pursuit is mining for the precious metals, and -these with others where are immense salt, soda, and -borax marshes.</p> -<p>Six miles from Mound House is Dayton, on the -Carson River. It is a milling town with agricultural -surroundings. The road runs eastward near the -course of the Carson River through a fine agricultural -and grazing country, then turns southward through -Churchill Canyon to the town of Wabuska, thirty-eight -miles.</p> -<h4 id="c104"><span class="sc">Wabuska.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Wabuska</span> is a thriving little place at the edge of -Mason Valley, one of the finest agricultural and -grazing regions in the State, the Walker River affording -excellent facilities for irrigation. After leaving -Wabuska, Walker Lake is soon reached. The road -passes along the eastern shore of the lake nearly its -whole length, affording many fine and picturesque -views. It is a beautiful sheet of water, but lacks trees -and vegetation, hardly a green thing being seen on -its shores, except at the upper end, at and about the -mouth of the Walker River.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_148">148</div> -<h4 id="c105"><span class="sc">Hawthorne.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Hawthorne</span>, 100 miles from Mound House, is -situated about 3½ miles beyond the foot of the lake. -Although only a little more than eight years old, the -town is beginning to present a comfortable appearance. -It stands on a plain the soil of which at the -time the town was laid out seemed to be nothing -better than pure sand, yet on such a foundation has -been conjured an oasis of shady groves, blooming -grounds, and productive gardens. The town has a -population of about 600. There are many small -veins of gold and silver-bearing quartz in the surrounding -mountains that are rich and easily worked. -Here stages leave for Aurora, 26, and Bodie, 37 -miles to the southward. Much freight is taken by -team from Hawthorne to the two mining towns -named. The Walker Lake <i>Bulletin</i>, a good local -paper, is published weekly in the town.</p> -<h4 id="c106"><span class="sc">Luning.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Luning</span>, 125 miles from Mound House, is in the -midst of a mining region the veins of which have -about the same characteristics as those about Hawthorne. -Stages and teams leave the town for Downieville, -Grantsville, and Belmont.</p> -<h4 id="c107"><span class="sc">Belleville.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Belleville</span>, 150 miles from Mound House, is a -thriving mining and milling town.</p> -<h4 id="c108"><span class="sc">Candelaria.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Candelaria</span>, 158 miles from Mound House, is a -brisk mining town of about 600 inhabitants. It contains -several mines of note, and has yielded great -quantities of bullion. The Mt. Diablo Mine is at the -present time the leading bullion producer. The town -<span class="pb" id="Page_149">149</span> -has several mills, some good buildings, and a good -system of water works. Stages leave the town for -Columbus, Silver Peak, Montezuma, Alida Valley, -and Gold Mountain.</p> -<p>Leaving Candelaria, the road soon passes into California, -striking down into Independence Valley near -the White Mountains, the highest peak of which -stands 12,000 feet above the level of the sea. The -line runs through a rich agricultural and grazing -region, with high mountain ranges on either hand, in -which are found many veins rich in the precious -metals.</p> -<h4 id="c109"><span class="sc">Benton.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Benton</span>, in Mono County, California, is 193 miles -from Mound House. It is situated in a rich section -of Independence Valley and is a fine fruit-growing -region. In the neighborhood of the town, which -contains about 200 inhabitants, are many good farms, -orchards, and vineyards.</p> -<h4 id="c110"><span class="sc">Bishop Creek.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Bishop Creek</span> is a flourishing agricultural settlement, -224 miles from Mound House. It is in Inyo -County. The lands and surroundings are much the -same as those of Benton. The hamlet constituting -the trading-post at the railroad, and the farms in the -neighborhood, have a population of about 250.</p> -<h4 id="c111"><span class="sc">Independence.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Independence</span>, 267 miles from Mound House, -with the farms in its immediate neighborhood, has a -population of about 400. The town stands in the -midst of a fine farming, grazing, and fruit-growing region. -Bordering the valley are mountains in which -<span class="pb" id="Page_150">150</span> -are many good mines of the precious metals, though -these have been but little worked and many have not -been opened at all, the settlers in the valleys who discovered -them being devoted to agricultural pursuits. -Here is published weekly the <i>Inyo Independent</i>, an -excellent local paper.</p> -<h4 id="c112"><span class="sc">Keeler.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Keeler</span>, the present terminus of the Carson and -Colorado Railroad, is 293 miles from Mound House. -The town is situated on the east side of Owens Lake -and near its south end. It is a new place and contains -only about 200 inhabitants. Stages leave the -town for Cerro Gordo, Darwin, and Panamint.</p> -<h3 id="c113">Owens Lake.</h3> -<p>Owens Lake, which is the “sink” of Owens River, -has an area of about 110 square miles. Its waters -are heavily charged with salt and alkaline minerals. -One United States standard gallon (8⅓ pounds, or -231 cubic inches) of the lake water contains 4,422.25 -grains of solid matter, sodium carbonate and sodium -chloride predominating and aggregating 2,561.83 -grains.</p> -<p>The water of the lake contains only a trace of -borax. It is evaporated on a large scale near Keeler, -for the valuable alkaline minerals it holds in solution. -The water of Owens Lake contains a much greater -quantity of mineral matter than that of the Dead Sea. -In Dead Sea water there is only 1,680 grains of solid -matter to the United States gallon. Dead Sea water -is evidently less salt than that of many of the lakes of -the Great Basin region, as fish are found in it at and -<span class="pb" id="Page_151">151</span> -near the mouths of tributary streams, and in places -along its shores shell-fish are to be seen.</p> -<h3 id="c114">Mono Lake.</h3> -<p>Mono Lake, -about 100 miles north of Owens Lake, in Mono -County, has an area of 85 square miles. Its water is -almost precisely similar in every respect to that of -Owens Lake.</p> -<p>Owens River, over 100 miles in length, flows -through the valley nearly its whole course, and, with its -many tributary creeks, affords water sufficient to irrigate -a great area of land. The whole region is rapidly -being taken by settlers. The soil is exceedingly -fertile and the climate very fine. To the west of the -chain of valleys the snow-clad Sierras tower to a vast -height. Above all surrounding peaks Mount Whitney -rises to a height of 15,000 feet. The Carson -and Colorado road will eventually be extended southward -to a connection with the railroad system of -Southern California.</p> -<h3 id="c115">Eureka and Palisade.</h3> -<p>This railroad is ninety miles in length. It is a -narrow gauge and connects Eureka with the Central -Pacific at Palisade. It was constructed to transport -machinery and supplies to the mines and town of -Eureka, and to carry out the products of the smelting -furnaces.</p> -<h4 id="c116"><span class="sc">Palisade.</span></h4> -<p>Palisade contains about 250 inhabitants.</p> -<h4 id="c117"><span class="sc">Eureka.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Eureka</span> is a town of smelting furnaces. It is situated -in the midst of a region in which very rich -smelting ores are mined. The mines at Eureka were -discovered in 1864, but not much was done with -<span class="pb" id="Page_152">152</span> -them until, two years later, and in 1869 the place began -to boom and the yield of the mines soon became -from one to three millions of dollars annually. Like -other mining towns, Eureka has its ebbs and flows of -fortune. For a year or two it was in “barrasca,” but -since the beginning of 1888 it has been again getting -into “bonanza.” It is the county seat of Eureka -County, and has a population of about 2,500. In -1880 it had a population of 4,207, but in 1886-87 it -lost inhabitants. Now it is once more gaining. It is -the point from which many interior mining towns and -camps receive their supplies. There are many fine -and substantial public and private buildings in the -town, and a good system of water works. In the -<i>Sentinel</i>, published weekly, the place has a good local -paper. Eureka is the Pittsburg of Nevada. In all -directions its furnace chimneys vomit volumes of -black, sulphurous smoke—when Government officials -do not “pester” the people on account of their cutting -scrub timber.</p> -<h3 id="c118">Nevada Central.</h3> -<p>This road is a narrow gauge, 93 miles in length, -and connects Austin with the Central Pacific at Battle -Mountain. From Battle Mountain the road runs -nearly south up the valley of the Reese River. There -are many good farms in Reese River Valley, and good -grazing ranges on the higher ground.</p> -<h4 id="c119"><span class="sc">Battle Mountain.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Battle Mountain</span> is a town of about 500 inhabitants, -situated very pleasantly, and cheaply supplied with -<span class="pb" id="Page_153">153</span> -water by means of artesian wells of trifling depth. Its -business is derived from the surrounding farming and -grazing regions, from the Central Pacific Railroad, and -from the several mining sections with which it has -communication. It contains many good public and -private buildings, and handsome cottages are numerous. -<i>The Central Nevadan</i>, a sprightly weekly paper, -is published in the town.</p> -<h4 id="c120"><span class="sc">Austin.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">Austin</span> is the oldest town in Eastern Nevada, and -the mother of mining in that part of the State. It is -the county seat of Lander County. Austin was laid -out in February, 1863. It is situated nearly upon the -summit of the Toyabee Range of mountains, about -six miles from Reese River, and is nearly in the geographical -center of the State. It contains many good, -substantial public and private buildings of brick and -stone. Before the completion of the Central Pacific -the overland stages passed through the town, when it -had about 5,000 inhabitants, as it was also then the -center of a rich mining region. The mines at and -about Austin have produced many millions in gold -and silver bullion. Like all other mining towns, Austin -has had her periods of elevation and depression—her -“streaks of fat and streaks of lean”—and this -year (1889) seems to be getting out of a lean streak -into a streak that shows a considerable amount of -“fatty” matter. August 18, 1874, the town was -nearly ruined by a cloud-burst which tore up the -roadway and sidewalks of the main street, flooded -<span class="pb" id="Page_154">154</span> -buildings, and filled them with mud and sand to the -depth of several feet. The damage done was estimated -at $100,000. As the people had warning of -what was coming, no lives were lost. In this the -Austinites were more fortunate than were the people -of Eureka in the month of July, in the same year, -as there a cloud-burst not only did immense damage -to the town, but also drowned fifteen persons. An -excellent daily paper, the <i>Reese River Reveille</i>, is published -at Austin.</p> -<h3 id="c121">Nevada and California.</h3> -<p>This narrow-gauge railroad starts at Reno and runs -northward into Lassen County, California. It has now -attained a length of about eighty miles, and is still in -process of construction. It is penetrating a region of -country containing vast forests of pine timber, good -mines, and many fine mountain valleys. Eventually -it will be run northward into the interior of Oregon. -It will presently bring to Reno great quantities of -lumber and timber to be shipped eastward into the -timberless regions of the Great Basin country.</p> -<h3 id="c122">Proposed Railroads.</h3> -<p>A section of railroad of narrow gauge has been constructed -through the Beckworth Pass westward. It -connects with the Nevada and California road at -Moran, and is called the Sierra Valley and Mohawk -Railroad. After rails had been laid through the pass -and a short distance down the western slope of the -<span class="pb" id="Page_155">155</span> -Sierras, work was discontinued. It is supposed that -the section of road was laid in the interest of some -one of the great Eastern roads now heading toward -the Pacific Ocean in order to hold the pass. The -Beckworth Pass is nearly 2,000 feet lower than that -through which the Central Pacific Railroad is laid.</p> -<h4 id="c123"><span class="sc">The Salt Lake and Los Angeles.</span></h4> -<p><span class="sc">The Salt Lake and Los Angeles</span> is a proposed -railroad on which surveying parties have been engaged -for nearly a year. It is intended to start at Milford, -on the Utah Central, pass through Lincoln County, -Nevada, and connect with the railroad system of -Southern California at Barstow. This road would -tap a rich mining and a fine agricultural and grazing -region in Southern Nevada. It would give life to an -immense region of country that has long lain as -dead.</p> -<h4 id="c124"><span class="sc">Nevada, Central, and Idaho</span></h4> -<p>Another proposed road is an extension of the Nevada -Central from Battle Mountain northward into -Idaho.</p> -<h3 id="c125">Nevada a Land of Great Possibilities.</h3> -<p>Notwithstanding its sterile and forbidding appearance, -Nevada is capable of supporting an immense -population. The soil, which to the eyes of strangers -appears so poor and barren, is one of the strongest -and richest in America. It is formed of decomposed -lava and various kinds of volcanic rocks, and contains -large quantities of all the various mineral constituents -necessary to a strong and healthy growth of every kind -of farm produce known to the temperate zone. All -<span class="pb" id="Page_156">156</span> -that is required to produce a rank growth of vegetation -of every kind is a supply of water; all other life-giving -agents are contained in the soil. On the -mountain slopes and the bench-lands, which look so -arid and worthless, the soil is even stronger and more -kindly than in the valleys. With water all the mountain-sides -may be made veritable hanging gardens. -Until within the past year agriculture (as regards irrigation) -has been left to take care of itself. It has -been left to individuals, each working after a plan of -his own. There has been no established system of -irrigation, and, save in one or two instances, no attempt -at storing water in order to maintain a large -and regular supply. The water used is taken as it -flows from the mountains, as the snow banks deposited -in winter melt away in the early spring and first -summer months. Then, in average seasons, there are -for a month or two floods of water pouring down all -the rivers, creeks, and canyons. This great rush of -water passes down into the interior lakes and “sinks” -without being utilized for any purpose, and is lost. -Were this water caught up in storage reservoirs ten -times the area of land at present irrigated could be -brought under cultivation.</p> -<p>At last a movement has been made toward the systematic -reclamation of the arid lands of Nevada, and -the proper storage and utilization of all the available -water in the State. In November, 1888, a corps of -U. S. Engineers began a hydrographic survey on the -<span class="pb" id="Page_157">157</span> -headwaters of the Truckee, Carson and Walker Rivers. -This survey—interrupted by the cold weather of winter—will -be completed this year. Already a survey -of 800 square miles has been completed. Major -Powell says Lake Tahoe constitutes an immense natural -storage reservoir of almost incalculable value. -He estimates that in it may be stored sufficient water -(with a four-foot dam) to irrigate 500,000 acres of -land. If this be true, then Donner Lake may be made -to contain water sufficient to irrigate from 150,000 to -200,000 acres. On the headwaters of the Carson and -Walker Rivers are many lakes and basins of extinct -lakes that may be turned into vast storage reservoirs -at small cost.</p> -<p>Among the mountain ranges of the interior of the -State many reservoirs may be profitably constructed. -Also in the interior valleys and basins artesian wells -will be of great value. Already there are in the State -110 flowing wells. Though the flow from some of -these is strong it is trifling to what might be obtained -at greater depth, the present wells being only from 100 -to 300 feet deep. Artesian water has been found to -exist everywhere in the valleys lying between the -mountain ranges of the interior.</p> -<p>Last winter the State government for the first time -took hold of the irrigation question and made a move -toward the establishment of a system of reservoirs and -other works, appropriating $100,000 therefor.</p> -<p>To the southward of the line of the Central Pacific -<span class="pb" id="Page_158">158</span> -lies a region of country large enough to make half a -dozen New England States, that is almost unoccupied. -There tens of thousands of families might find homes. -Lack of transportation facilities at present prevents -settlers from going into that portion of the State, but -the building of the Salt Lake and Los Angeles, or any -other of the proposed railroads, would cause a rush to -its semi-tropical valleys.</p> -<p>A beginning having been made, the time is not distant -when Nevada will no longer be branded as a land -whose soil is only capable of supporting the jackrabbit, -the lizard, and the horned-toad.</p> -<hr class="dwide" /> -<h2 id="c126"><span class="small">A HISTORY OF THE COMSTOCK SILVER LODE & MINES</span> -<br />By Dan De Quille</h2> -<p>At a time when most mining companies -and maverick prospectors had fanned out -from California in pursuit of richer gold -claims, three uneducated miners accidentally -stumbled upon the world’s richest -silver deposit in Nevada. The year was -1859 and it marked the beginning of the -West’s most exciting era in mining history. -De Quille’s account of this startling discovery -(on what was subsequently to be -called the Comstock Lode) and his eyewitness -report on Virginia City in the -heydays of the 1880’s is one of the most -fascinating and detailed to be found on -the subject.</p> -<p>After describing the events surrounding -the initial discovery, the author traces the -rapid development of the earliest makeshift -towns and mills that were erected on -the site. Most notable during this period -are the years between 1860 and 1863 when -Virginia City emerged and grew uncontrollably -in wealth and population as -thousands of miners from California, the -Atlantic seaboard and Canada converged -on the city to labor for the highest wages -paid on the American continent. Other key -events, such as The Great Fire of 1875 -which wiped out a large section of the city, -and its miraculous rebuilding in 60 days -are covered as well.</p> -<p>The major portion of the book, however, -is devoted to the author’s first-hand experience -in Virginia City during its biggest -boom period of the 1880’s. The vivid -composite he creates of the manners and -habits of this society is surpassed only by -the astounding wealth of facts and figures -<span class="pb" id="Page_160">160</span> -he provides on the mining companies’ -record-breaking profits, the lengths and -depths of the Comstock veins, and the -multitude of methods utilized for extracting -and refining crude silver. Reliable information -such as this, and in such bulk, -was even scarce in its day.</p> -<p>A general description of the major towns -of Nevada, the physical characteristics of -the State and its mineral and agricultural -resources rounds out the text.</p> -<h3 id="c127">ABOUT THE SERIES</h3> -<p>No other nation has ever expanded as -rapidly as the United States between the -years 1820 and 1860. Marching onto immense -stretches of territory belonging to -Mexico, the Indians and foreign powers, -America’s pioneers brought with them a -new language, new religions and new concepts -of society. Within the brief span of -40 years they had spread political unity -and cultural uniformity over this vast new -land.</p> -<p>Few will deny that the pioneers who subdued -that last, great West between the -Rockies and the Pacific braved a more hostile -country, endured more gruelling hardships -and faced greater dangers than did -any other settlers in the three-century-long -conquest of the continent.</p> -<p><i>America’s Pioneer Heritage</i> is comprised -of scarce and long out-of-print books that -detail our western saga. Among the works -included in the series are eyewitness -accounts, journals, letters and other primary -source materials which are so crucial -to an understanding of the American -character.</p> -<p class="tbcenter"><span class="larger ss">PROMONTORY PRESS</span></p> -<h2>Transcriber’s Notes</h2> -<ul> -<li>Silently corrected a few typos.</li> -<li>Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook is public-domain in the country of publication.</li> -<li>In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by _underscores_.</li> -<li>Collated Table of Contents against chapter headings; added chapter headings or TOC entries to correspond.</li> -</ul> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A HISTORY OF THE COMSTOCK SILVER LODE & MINES ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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