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 OAKLAND, CAL.: 
 
 THOMPSON & WEST. 
 
 1881 
 
 111 
 
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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1881, by 
 
 THOMPSON &. WEST, 
 
 In the ofiSce of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C. 
 
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 PACinC FRESS, 
 PRDiTKU, KTKRBOTVrKllS ASD BIXDIRt, 
 
 Oakland cAUfiiRMA 
 
Publisher's Introductory. 
 
 The publishers herewith present to their patrons and the public the Illustrated 
 History of Nevada, with the satisfaction of a great labor completed, with pride in 
 its appearance and with confidence in its approval. The publication has been delayed 
 throuo-h the great difficulty of obtaining, compiling, writing and revu^ing the matter 
 requisite for an authentic and complete History. For this purpose every source of in- 
 formation has been sought — the archives of the State, counties and towns; the newspapere 
 of Nevada and California; directories, diaries, lettei-s and scrap-books, wherever obtain- 
 able, have been searched; the old pioneers have been interviewed and their stories re- 
 corded ; the Indians have been visited and their version of incidents related ; the historic 
 oTounds have been examined with great care in order that statements might be made to 
 accord with physical features; extensive conespondence has been carried on in pui-suit of 
 historical events and corrections of data, and the skill and memory of the best writers 
 convei-sant with the history of the State and the various subjects connected therewith 
 have been employed to perfect the work. All of this has taken much more time and 
 labor than was contemplated at the outset, and the gieat mass of material gathered has 
 swelled the book beyond the dimensions designed when the work was undertaken. 
 
 Nevada, the " Battle Bom," young as she L*;, has made more hi.-.tory than usual for 
 States of many times her age, and for communities many times her numbei-, and, bulky 
 as our book has giown, much of interest and instruction could be added. The period 
 since the discovery of silver in the Territory has been tilled with most stining events, 
 crowdin"- within the short space of time the occuiTences of a century in the older and 
 quieter countries of the East. Revolutions in finance, society and jwhtics have followed 
 her development and connect her intimately with the great progress of the age. Her 
 second decade has passed; her pioneei-s are rapidly passing away; many records are 
 fadin" and in danger of destruction; old landmarks are becoming obliterated; great 
 changes are constantly going on, and no longer should be delayed tlie writing of the tirst 
 installment of her history. This labor we have undertaken, and although imperfections, 
 undoubtedly many, exist, we are confident, with the unwearying care taken, that the 
 main facts related aie substantial and incontrovertable, that we have herein pi-eserved 
 from obUviou nmch important and essential matter, and that for all time our History of 
 Nevada will be the stanilard and basis of all succeeding works. 
 
 We have attempted, in addition to the History, to give a review of the resources of tiie 
 State, which appear far grander to the careful investigator than seems possible to be 
 entertained by the reader of newspaper reports, or from the ob-servation of the country 
 in rapidly and carelessly passing over it. The broad desert plains are often found rich 
 in many of the most valuable elements of commerce, arts, manufactures and the neces- 
 saries of life; and the bare and sombre hills are veined with precious and useful ores to 
 
iv INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 a degree that in the densely peopled countries of the old world would make nearly every 
 mountain range now neglected another Comwa!! or Devonshire. The reviews of the 
 mining districts are necessaril}' brief, but the information given has been obtained in most 
 cases from actual visits, close insynction and careful inquir}-. The aggregate and con- 
 clusion shows a very substantial basis for future prosperity. The agricultural resources, 
 so generally condemned as ml, are shown by statements of existing facts, from which 
 corapaiTSons may be drawn for possibilities. 
 
 Of the railroad monopolies, their operations, avoidance of public duties and disregard 
 of public interests, their corruption of public officers and oppression and ruin of those 
 who dLsobey their mandates, we have written for what we deemed the public good, be- 
 lieving in the justice of our course and having faith in the appro\'al of the public. 
 
 We have endeavored in all things to be just, and while recording the past as fully and 
 accurately as possible, to report upon the present condition and to advance the interests of 
 the future as far as lay in our power. 
 
 The design of the work has been to group events and subjects under appropriate head- 
 ings, thereby abbreviating the matter as much as possible, and by index and full table of 
 contents enable the reader to at once find the subject desired. In this we have followed 
 the chronological sociuence of events as far as their prop;r treatment would permit, be- 
 ginning with the eailiest known history, when the trappers, voyageurs and explorers fiist 
 penetrated the "Great Ba.sin;" following with the trials of the early emigi-ants who 
 cro.«sed it on their way to the Pacific Coast ; the early efforts to organize governments 
 and the administration thereof; the discovery of silver and its eflects ; the Indians and 
 their wars; the creation of the Territory and the establishing of a substantial govern- 
 ment ; the contests with corporations and moneyed powei-s ; the rise and progress of society 
 as exemplifii.'d in its churches and schools, and events of interest, all of which are com- 
 prised in a general history anto'ior to, or independent of, the organization of the counties. 
 In the histories of counties we have, in addition to the record of events, given succinct 
 description^ of their geography and topogi'aphA^ with a slight reference to their geological 
 formation, though without pretense to scientific accuracy; and such an account of the 
 mining districts and valleys as will give an insight into theu- resources and capabili- 
 ties to such as wish to invest in or study them. 
 
 Our illustrations, which number arc from photographs and sketches by compe- 
 tent artists, approved by those intrusted and convei'sant with the subject, and engraved 
 in the most skillful manner known to the art, constituting a valuable and most interest- 
 ing feature of the book. With the portraits and biographical sketches we have preserved 
 the features and the histories of many of the principal citizens and worthy persons and 
 business men of the State who have labored for its advancement, maintained its honor 
 and stability, and have taken a laudable pride in the preservation and publication of its 
 history. 
 
 Much encouragement and assistance have been rendered us, for which we are ex- 
 tremely grateful ; but on the other hand some capitalists and monopolists, having only 
 their selfish ends in view, have either placed obstacles in our way or expressed disapproba- 
 tion of our enterprise. To the latter class we are indifferent. 
 
 While engaged in compilation and gathering together of the material for this work we 
 have employed many assistants. Some have proved themselves true to the trust reposed 
 in them. Such, we, as publishers, and thegeni.'ral public, as readei's, will hold in kindiy 
 remembrance. Of those of our employees who proved themselves incompetent or recre- 
 ant to the trust, and whose work required entire revision and rewriting, the less said 
 the better. The arduous task of revision, compiling and writing the History 
 has been under the editorial charge of Mr. Myron Angel, assisted by Mr. J. D. Mason, 
 Mr. M. D. Fairchild, Mr. C. K. Robin.son and other writers. Special articles have been 
 furnislied by William Wright (" Dan De Quille"), on Early Journalism in Virginia City; 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 Col. H. G. Shaw, on the Churches; Hon. D. R. Sessions, on the Schools, and Judge C. N. 
 Harris on the Bar of Nevada. We cannot at this time mention all who have kindly 
 furnished information and rendered assistance in this work. Tlie State onicei-s liave 
 shown a deep interest in our enterprise, and kindly placed at our disposal the public doc- 
 uments in their possession and rendered such assistance as was in their power; the Stat« 
 Library has furnished much from its valuable stores; the county otticei-s and mining re- 
 cordei-s have responded with alacrity and great poiitene.ss to every request, and the 
 journalists of the State have universally given their aid; and to all we express 
 our unqualifieil thanks. Of the many citizens of the State we desire to thank 
 for information given, we may mention Jackson Ferguson, of Churchill; S. A. 
 Kinsey, Judge J. S. Child and Walter Cosser, of Douglas; Hon. John S. Mayhugh, 
 Leonard Wines and Col. J. B. Moore, of Elko; T. B. Smith, of Esmeralda; W. W. 
 Hobart, E. U Dodge and Lambert Molinelli, of Eureka; S. B. P. Pierce andE. D. Kelly, 
 of Humboldt ; Hon. M. J. Farrell, Joseph F. Triplett and A. A. Curtis, of Lander; Judge 
 Mortimer Fuller and D. Bonelli, of Lincoln; S. S. Buckland, John Lothrop and C. W. 
 Davis, of Lyon; Hon. J. T. Williams, of Nye; Col. Warren Wasson, Judge William M. 
 Cary and C. N. Noteware, of Ormsby; Dr. E. B. Harris and Mi-s. C. M. Ditten- 
 rider, of Storey; Hon. H. A. Comins, of White Pine; and to Capt. Robert 
 Lyon, of San Buenaventura, Capt. R. G. Watkins, of Humboldt, and Mr. J. 
 M. Hunter, of Montecito, California. The publishers of Nevada have extended 
 many courtesies, furnishing files of their papers and promptly responding to our 
 inquiries, and we hope they will approve the sketches we have given of their papers and 
 themselves. The files of the Territorial Enterprise, Virginia Union, Car.-<on Ajypeal, 
 Tiihune and Index, Reno State Journal, Reno Gazette, Esmeralda Star, Jieese River 
 Reveille, Silver Bend Repwter, and Recjiater, have aided us in our history, and particularly 
 are we under obligations to Daniel W, Gelwicks, Esq., of Oakland, for tiles of the Mount- 
 ain Democrat, of Placerville, through many years of the publication of that journal, 
 when Placerville was the entrepot of the overland immigration, and his paper and the 
 Semi-Weeldy Observer, of which Myron Angel was editor, and has preserved files, 
 recorded all the events tran.spiring on the route, and of the early settlement of the Terri- 
 tory. The.se old papers are a diary of events, recording them as they occur, and remain 
 uncolored by changes of sentiments, politics, interests, or opinions to which the memory 
 is subject, and by which men are often influenced. 
 
 Of the authorities consulted we may mention the " Life of Kit Ca:"son," by De Witt 
 C. Peters; the " Rivers of the West," by Mi-s. F. F. Victor; " Bonneville in the Rocky 
 Mountains," by Washington Irving; " p]xplorations," by Fremont, in various yeai-s; J. 
 Wells Kelly's Directories of Nevada; J. Ross Browne; R. W. Raymond's "Mineral Re- 
 sources " ; John A. Church, on the Corastock Lode ; the various statutes, and Reports of 
 State ofHrers, directories, gazeteers, and other publications, many of which are referred to 
 when used in the book. 
 
 With these authorities and the assistance given u.s, and from the memoi-y and study of 
 our writers, we have made the HiSTOUY OF Nevada, and submit it to the world. There 
 is in it much to instruct, and something, we hope much, to please. We have related 
 facts as we ha\ e obtained them ; animadverted on men and measures as conscience dic- 
 tated, and extolled where merit approved. 
 
 To our patrons we owe a double acknowledgment, as without their aid no such history 
 could have been written, and without their patronage no such book could have been 
 p\iblished. Their liberality and their desire to advance and perfect so important a 
 publication, is an evidence of tlieir enlightenment and refined taste. Nevada, c]as.sed as 
 she is among the frontier States, where the rough and semi-civilized elements are supposed 
 most to congregate, contains comparatively few of the characteristic features imputed, 
 but instead is noted for the high civilization ami refinement of the inhabitants. Beinix a 
 mining State, the nature of her business necessitates an intimate relationship with the 
 world, introducing the purest culture into the most secluded and remote places, forming 
 
INTRODUCTORY 
 
 a metropolitan and cosmopolitan society of the highest order. Instead of being settled 
 by a rabble it was men of enterprise, energy, education, honor, law and order, who first oc- 
 cupied her mines and farms; who created a State in the wilderness; established substan- 
 tial and just govei-nment, and carried on the work of development as never before 
 witnessed f)r equaled on the globe. Such a people rank among the foremost in the social 
 fabric of the Union. The many illustrations given, the portraits of her prominent citi- 
 zens, the elegant homes and tasteful sun-oundings, the public buildings and pubUc works, 
 substantiate the claim we have made. 
 
 In conclusion we wish to refer with gi-atitude to the excellent artistic and mechanical 
 work displayed in this publication, and which has been contributed to by the business firms 
 of Louis Evarts, of Philadelphia; Pacific Press, of Oakland, and D. Hicks & Co., of 
 San Francisco. Among the many di.stingui.shed engravers whose skill is shown in these 
 pages, will be found the names of Samuel Sartain, of Philadelphia; A. H. Ritchie and 
 R. B. Hall & Sons, of New York, and Britton & Rey, of San Francisco. 
 
 Without further comment, we leave it in your hands. 
 
 Thompson & West, Publishers. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 APPEARANCE OF THE GREAT BASIN. 
 
 Its Condition — Strange Freaka of Nature — Valley of Death — 
 Gnome Lake — A Mountain Lake — Bottomless Fountains — 
 A Fish Story — Caves — Rivers — Hot Springs — Salt Mount- 
 ain and Plains — Foot-prints of a Pre-Historic Kace — Evi- 
 dence of Ancient Inhabitants 17-20 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 THE TRAPPERS AND EARLY EMIGRATION. 
 
 Wm. H. Ashley — Jcdediah S. Smith's Expedition in 18-5-2G-27 — 
 Peter S. Ogden's Expedition in 1831 — Milton Sublette's Ex- 
 pedition in 183'2 — Bonneville and Walker's Expedition in 
 183.T — Kit Carson's First Visit to Nevada, 1833 — Emigra- 
 tion under Captain .1. B. Bartleson in 1841 — ,1. C. Fremont's 
 Expedition in 1844 — The Emigrants of 18-t4 — Fremont's 
 Expedition in 1845 — Edwin Bryant and other Emigrants in 
 1846— Stephen Cooper in 184G — The Conner Party Tragedy. 
 20-29 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 CHANGE OF FLAG IN 1846. 
 
 The Great Basin Ceded by Mexico to the United States in 1848 
 — State of Deseret Organized — Utah Territory Organized — 
 Discovery of Gold and Early Settlement of Western 
 Utah— Transient Settlement— Letter of Robert Lyoa. .29-30 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 SETTLEMENT OF CARSON VALLEY 
 
 1 851. 
 
 rhe First Settlement — Reese and Kinsey — Stockade Built — 
 Garden Planted — Eagle Ranch Located — The Squatter Gov- 
 ernment of 1851 — First Meeting of Citizens — Second Meet- 
 ing of Citizens — Third Meeting of Citizens — Civil Govern- 
 ment — A Clerk and Constable— Fourth Meeting of Citizens — 
 The Present of Some of Those— The Fate of Others 31-33 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 COUNTY ORGANIZATION AND RECORDS. 
 
 1S52--54. 
 
 First County Organization — First Land Claim — First Toll-Road 
 Grant — Deep Snow and P'loods in Carson Valley — 1853 — 
 A Mail Route Established — First Lawsuit — Fifth Meeting of 
 Citizens — What Mrs. Dittenrieder Remembers of 1853 — 
 First Marriage and Divorce — The First Dance — IS54 — Per- 
 manent Overland Stations on the Carson River — An Indian 
 Killed by a Boy — Sundry Events — Marriage Contract — 
 Sixth Meeting of Citizens — Land Claims Recorded in 1854 
 — Carson County Created 33-37 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 CARSON COUNTY ORGANIZED. 
 
 1855 
 
 Entries Closing Pioneer Record Book - Carson County Organ- 
 ized — First Officers of Carson County — First County Court 
 Records — Mrs. Sandy Bowers, the Washoe Sccrcss — 1850 — 
 Naming of Genoa — Division of the County into School 
 Districts — Orson Hyde's Curse 38-41 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 ■WITHOUT GOVERNMENT. 
 
 1867. 
 
 Exodus of the Monnons — Second Attempt at Territorial Organ- 
 ization — Public Meeting in Carson Valley — Resolutions — 
 Memorial — Exaggerated Statements — A Letter from -Judge 
 
 Crane to his tJonstituents — Mountain Meadow Massacre, 
 September 15, 1857 — Western Utah at the close of 1857. 
 42-49 
 
 CBAPTER VII 1. 
 
 ELECTION AND DISCOVERY OF SILVER. 
 
 Carson County Election October 30, ISoS — Hanging of "Lucky 
 Bill" June 19, 1858 — Preludes to the Silver Discovery — 
 Searchings in Nevada for Silver — The Grosh Brothers — 
 The Father's Account of Their Discoveries — The Lost Shaft 
 Explained by J. M. Hunter — The Black Rock Prospectors. 
 49-55 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 1859 -GOLD HILL DISCOVERED- 
 
 The Comstock Lode Discovered, .June, '59 — An Article of Agree- 
 ment — Sierra Nevada Mine Located — First Notice — Ijould ft 
 Curry Located — Bill of Sale — California Mine — Union Con- 
 solidated Mine — Names of First Ijocatorson the Comstock — 
 Virginia City Laid off in Lots — Carson \'alley Quartz — Rich 
 Discovery — The First Quartz Mill— Silver Found in the Com- 
 stock Ores — Rush from California 55-(51 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 EFFORTS AT GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Resume of Political History — Rules and Regulations — A 
 Conviction and Ear-Cropping — The Third Unsuc- 
 cessful Attempt at Territori;il Organization — Declara- 
 tion of Cause for Separation — Election and Adoption 
 of Constitution, September 7, 1859 — Musser certifies to 
 Results of the Election — Another Attempt to Re-organize 
 Carson County by Judge J. S. Child — Carson County Elec- 
 tion Uctums of October, 1859 — Attempt at Provisional 
 Government — Provisional Legislature Meet and Adjourn — 
 Governor Roop's Message — After the Adjournment . . .Gl-«)6 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 PROGRESS OF SETTLEMENT. 
 
 1860. 
 
 Passenger Communication with California — Stock-raising in 
 Carson Valley — The Weather — Building — General Appear- 
 ance — Business, Etc. — The Mines — First Efforts to Reduce 
 the Ores — A Facsimile of '■ Territorial Enterprise,'' July 
 30, 1859 — Political History C<mtinued — Carson County 
 Oliicera in 18(i0 — County Court and Repudiation of Debts — 
 Rates of Licenses— Stock Brokers — Toll-road and Bridge 
 Rates — First Railroad Franchise — First Court House — Ne- 
 vada Invoiced in 1860 — -Business Statistics for 1860 — Popu- 
 lation of Nevada, 1860 — Nativity of Population 66-75 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION. 
 1861. 
 
 Political Events— Stock and Agriculture in 1860 — Deaths in 
 1860 — Appointments by Governor Nye — Organization and 
 Elections — Executive Proclamation — .ludicial Organiza- 
 tion — Legislative Organization — Census and Election Dis- 
 tricts — First Territorial Election — Meml>crs of the Ter 
 ritorial Council — Members of Hounc of liepre.ientatives — 
 Territory Divided into Counties — Special Election of Janu 
 ary 14, 1862 — Election of September 3, 1862 — Election of 
 September 2, 1 863 — Efforts to Become a State — \'otc For 
 and Aiiainst a State Government — Homographic (.'hart — 
 Third House — The Constitution IXjfeateil — Vote for Oflicer* 
 Under the Constitiiti m — Second Attempt to Beeonie a 
 State— Constitutional Convention Elected June 6th, ami 
 Assembled .luly 14, 1861 — Votes for Congressional D>;lc.;ato 
 — Constitutional Vote 75-86 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 Vll 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 STATE ORGANIZATION. 
 
 State Politics and Elections— I'rcsidenti.il Election of November 
 8, 18(>t — Contest for United States Senate in 18G1 — Removal 
 of Capital Attempted— Reply of Mr. Waitz— Congressional 
 Election of I8l>5 — State Election, November 6. 1866 — Elec- 
 tions in lSli8-6'J — Presidential Election of 1868 — State Elec- 
 tion of November 3, 1870— Politics of the Legisl.iture — 
 Presidential Election of 1872- Contest for Uniteil States 
 Senate — State Election of 1874 — Contest for United States 
 Senate — Presidential Election of 1876— Result of the Elec- 
 tion — Politics of the Legislature of 1876 — State Election of 
 1S7S — Choice of Senator — Republican Ticket — Democratic 
 Ticket — Politics of Legislature of 1S7S — Vote for United 
 States Senator — Presidential Election of November 2, 1880 — 
 Politics of the Legislature of 1880 — Election Returns — 
 Amendment J to Constitution — Chinese Immigration — Sutro's 
 Net for Fair- ColonelJumes (i. Fair — Salary Reduction by 
 Hob-irt'sBill— ludioiary Elections, 1861 to 1878— The S_tate 
 Re-districted — Districts as they are 87-99 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 BOUNDARIES OF NEVADA. 
 
 The Boundary Line War— Pe.ice Meeting— Message of Governor 
 
 V Clemens — Line .\greed Upon — Square Miles in Nevada — 
 
 A County of Two States lOft-102 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 MAILS. STAGES AND EXPRESS. 
 
 Miiil and Passenger Transportation — Snow-shoe Thompson — 
 Pioneer Stage Line— Overland Mail— Pony Express — Over- 
 land Mail Stage Company— Overland Stage Farm— Tele- 
 graph Lines — Present Mail Routes — Wells, Fargo 
 Express 
 
 ife Co. 's 
 102-108 
 
 (UIAPTER XVI. 
 
 RIVERS AND LAKES- 
 
 The Humboblt River— The South Fork— The Truckee River- 
 Walker River— Carson River— The .■\margosa— The Vegas— 
 The Rio Virgen — Quiii Kiver — The Lakes of Nev.-ida — 
 Humboldt— Carson— Walker— Pyi'.imid —Washoe— Tahoe 
 —Rubv— Franklin— Donner—Hoiley— Mono— Owens— Mar- 
 
 lettc... 109-113 
 
 CHAPTER XV 11. 
 GEOLOGY OF NEVADA. 
 
 Baron Ricbthofen on the Comstock— General Structure of Corn- 
 stock Veins— Inclosing Rock— Outeroppings— Vein Matter— 
 Cl.iy .ind Clayey Matters— Quartz, Character of— Variety of 
 Ores— Remarks on General Geology, taken ffrom Oarence 
 King's Ueport-s— The Glacial Epoch— Living Glaciers— Local 
 Characteristics- The Mountain System — Origin of Mineral 
 Veins — Future Mining Prospects 1 13-122 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 MINING AND POLITICS. 
 
 Mining Influence Upon Politics— Why and How the Law Was 
 Changctl- Why the Law W.as Changed in 1871 — Bullion 
 Increase in 1871 Over 1870— Table Showing Change in 
 Assessments and Taxation, etc.— The Law of 187o. Its 
 Pecuniary and Political Eli'eels — The Members Ignore Their 
 Pledges— An Outside Pressure Brought to Bear— The Two 
 Horns of the Dilemma— The Result— .Senators Voting For 
 and Against— The Veto and Its Effects— Bonanza Move 
 Number Three- Attempt to Conii)r(nni8e — Compromise Ef- 
 fflcted- Efforts to Avoid Paying the Penalties 122-I.30 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 AGRICULTURE. 
 E^arly Cultiv.ation of Carson Valley— Cultivation in Humboldt 
 —Reports of Large Crops— The Climate of Nevada— Monthly 
 and Annual .McteoroloLjieal Record for 1880— Table Showing 
 Number of Trees and Vines in the State— Rain-fall— Cloud 
 BursU— Irrigating Ditches and Acres Irrigated— WaU'r 
 Catchment— Agricultural Products in 187.1 -74— Progress of 
 Fruit Culture-Stock- Washoe Valley— Prospects in 1S81 
 —Tabulated Statement of the Increase of Stock from 1866 
 
 to 1881— Tabulated Statement Showing Area Cultivated 
 and Grain Raised From 1865 to 1881— Table of Leading 
 ProducU for 1880— Cattle Raising- The Rodeo— The Stam- 
 peJe — The Cricket — Rocky Mountain Locust — Washoe Val- 
 ley-Prospects in 18S1 130-145 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 INDIANS, AND THEIR WARS IN NEVADA. 
 
 First Expedition of Whites— Washoe Raids— Murder of Peter 
 Lassen — Gov. Roup and the Indians — The War of 1860 — 
 Num.aga's Effort for Peace — Burning of Williams St.-ition — 
 Demand for Vengeance — Volunteers for the Expedition — 
 The Battle Field— .\n Aimless Charge and Wild Retreat — 
 Death of Major Ormsby — A Nameless Hero — Closing Scenes 
 —Effects of the Defeat 145-158 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 INDIANS AND THEIR WARS IN NEVADA. 
 
 Washoe Regiment Organization— The March to Pyramid L.ake— 
 Just Before the Battle— The Battle-Ground— The Battle- 
 After the Battle— Other Events About Pyramiil Lake- 
 End of the Campaign— Death of Win. Allen— Expeditiiui of 
 Colonel Lander — Indians alter the War — Indian War 
 Threatcne<l 158-165 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE OWENS RIVER WAR. 
 Conference with the r.ab-Utes- Indian Scaiv at Como in 1863 — 
 A Chief Murdered— Troubles in 1864 in Huinlwldt County 
 —Indian Troubles in 1865- Hostilities in Paradise Val- 
 ley—A Ride for Life— Fate of Collins and Fearbournt — 
 Eighteen Indiiins Scalped- Events iu Other Parts in 1865— 
 Hostilities in Paradise Valley in 1865— Death of Col. Charles 
 McDeimitt— Events in Humboldt County— Black Rock Tom 
 —Closing Action and Act of the Year- Paradise V^alley 
 Trouble in 1S()7 — Hon. James A. Banks Killed — The Winter 
 of 1867 and Spring of 1868 166-177 
 
 CHAPTER \X111. 
 
 HOSTILITIES IN EASTERN NEVADA. 
 1860. 
 The Dry Creek Fight— Gravelly Ford Massacre in 1861— Eastern 
 Nevada Troubles in 1862 — GoshUte War in 1863 — Attack on 
 Cailon St.ition in 1863— ilassacre at CafMn Station— End of 
 the Gosh-Ute War— Eastern Nevada War Panic in 1875— 
 Anecdotes and Incidents 177-188 
 
 CHAPTER .XXIV. 
 TRANSPORTATION OF LUMBER BY WATER. 
 
 E.arly Methods in Californi.i — Uitlioulties of Inventors — The 
 V Flume— Capacity of the V Flume- Flume Companies iu 
 Nevada 188-191 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 THE CHURCHES OF NEVADA. 
 
 [by col. henry G. SHAW.] 
 
 Mormonism in the Advance— The First .M .arriage- Early Chris- 
 tian Missionary Work— The Pioneer Pre.athers— Lontempt 
 for the Fourth Commandment— Tribulations of a Young 
 Scotch Divine at Elko— A Funeral Sermon Over the Wrong 
 Man— An Anecdote of the Lightning Express— Practical 
 Praying in the Legislature — Floating Deuomiuations in 
 Nevada 191-136 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 
 
 First Service— Value of Church Property— Defection of a Min 
 iatfr- Work Amoim the Chinese— The Diocesan School- 
 Gift of Miss C. L. Wolfe— Bishi>p Whitaker's School- 
 Damage by Fire— Church at Gold Hill— Silver City— Car- 
 son City— Dayton— Austin— Hamilton— Pioche— Eureka— 
 Reno-Belmont 196-204 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 XI 
 
 Panal Scheme — Disenvery of Mineral — Principal Mining 
 Districts— rriiicipal Towns and Cities— Hon. .M. S. Tlionip- 
 son— Hon. T. J. BraiUliaw — Joel Bradahaw — .lames Byrnes 
 —Charles Kemler— C. A. Nichols— W. A. Sperry— William 
 Stock— E. Blcnnerhassett 443-4tK) 
 
 CHAPTER XLVU. 
 HISTORY OF LANDER COUNTY. 
 
 Discovery of and Kush to the .Mines— Organization and Bound- 
 aries—County Seat and Court House— County Debt and 
 Court House^Iudicial District and .Schools- Oliieers Ap- 
 uoinUiland Klected— The Leading Industries— Bonds, Prop- 
 erty and Population- I'rincipal Towns— Austin the County 
 Seat— Incorporated as a City— \S'ater Company and Stock 
 H„;,r,l— Iteaction and Varying Fortunes- Destructive Uain 
 .Storms -Changes and Present Appearance— Allen A. Curtis 
 —Andrew Nichols— Hon. M. .J. Farrell— The Man with the 
 Axe— Battle Mountain— J. A. Blossom— Desertfitl Towns 
 anil Cities--Prineipal Mining Districts 4G1-17G 
 
 CHAPTER XLVlll. 
 HISTORY OF LINCOLN COUNTY. 
 
 Earliest Explorations— First Discovery of Mines— Organization 
 and BoHiidaries— Appointments and Elections— Payment of 
 Taxes Kef used— Court House and County Jail— Collector's 
 Fees Swindle— Sundry Itailroad Subsidies— Meetings to Op 
 pose the Schemes— The Govenior \etoo3 the Bill— Proinot- 
 ersof the .Scheme— Causes of Pro.stration— I'rincipal .Mount- 
 ain Itanges— Valleys ot the County— Most Kemarkal)le 
 e'ave- Pniicip.al Mining Districts— Pioehe, the County Seat 
 -Destructive Fires and Floods— Rapid Decline after KS70— 
 Other Towns and Cities— The Salt Mountain 470-492 
 
 CHAPTER XLIX. 
 HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 
 
 Characterof the Surface- S.amuel S. Bucklaiul— (!. W. Burrier— 
 John Carling— Org.anization and Boundaries— Appointments 
 and Elections— Creation of a County Debt— Internal Im- 
 prov.jinents- Court House and County Jail— Investigation 
 anil Economy- Prospecting for Coal— Principal Mining 
 Districts— Principal Towns and Cities — Kimber Cleaver— 
 J. L. CamplwU— John L .throp— G.P. Kaudall — J. D.Sims— 
 Princip.al Quartz Mdls— History of theSutro Tunnel- Col. 
 C.C.Thomas 492-512 
 
 C H A P T E R L. 
 HISTORY OF NYE COUNTY. 
 
 Early Explorations— Petition and Kemonstrance— Organization 
 and Boundaries — Appointments and Elections — Economy 
 ami Healthy ( irowth- Debt and County Buildings— Grazing 
 and Agriculture— Valleys of the County— Principal Mining 
 Districts— Principal Towns and Cities— Hon. Benj. Curler 
 Hon. George Ernst— Hon. J. T. Williams 512-527 
 
 CHAPTER LI. 
 HISTORY OF ORMSBY COUNTY. 
 
 Emigrants and Early Settlers— Organization of Ormsby County 
 —Appointments and Elections— Topography of County- 
 Early .Settlers- Advent of .\brain Curry— Samuel A. Nevers 
 Aaron D. Treadway — Warren W.isson — Uesources- Wil- 
 liam D. Torreyson- H. H. Benee— .Mines and Mining — 
 Quartz Mills— Saw mills — Toll-roads — I'ourt House — M. A. 
 Dricsbach — Hon. Trenmor Coffin- -County Divided into 
 Townships— State Prison— I iame -Carson City— Carson Mint 
 — Hon. Cha.s. F. BicUnell— George C. Tliaxter— Hon- W. M. 
 e.,ry— J. H. Marshall— J. M. Benton— M. D. Hatch— 
 Mathias Itinckel — Duncan McRae — Harrison Shrievcs — Em- 
 pire City 527-563 
 
 CHAPTEJl Lll. 
 HISTORY OF ROOP COUNTY. 
 
 Creation and Boundaries— Appointments and Elections— At- 
 tempted Organization— Topographical Features— The Prin- 
 cipal Valleys 563-565 
 
 CHAPTER LIU. 
 
 HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY. 
 
 Commingling of .Ml Classes — Discovery of the Coinstock Lode- 
 Supplies from t'alifornia — Teamsters Association — Uaa<i 
 Agents — Organization of the County — Capt. Edward F 
 Storey — James F. Lewis — Mark Strouse — M. N. Stone- 
 Scenery of Virginia City — First Buildings in (iold Hill- 
 First Events Keeounted — 1-Jirly Legislatiie Acts — The Char 
 ter .Anieiiiled — Philipp Deidesheimer — Pliilo Kiiiipp— Willian. 
 (iarhart — Ch.as. Willi im. son — Charter of Virginia City- 
 Events of the year ISO.'i — lUval and Ambitiims Towns — 
 Col. H. H. Taylor— .loseph E. .McDonald- Political Excit. 
 meut — Private and Public Extravagance — Thos. Moses — 
 Charles Fonnan — Amusements in Early Days — How gi 
 Arastra is Made — Kichard Rising — Henry Uolfe — BcncliceM 
 Institutiims — First Quartz Mills — Col. A. M. Edgington- 
 W. E. F. Deal — Greater Prosperity Imlicated — I. E. .lain 
 — Virginia City when Five Years Old — Military Coinpani 
 — Leading Industrial Enterprises — The Fire Dej)artment 
 The Newsp.aper Department — tJold Hill in the 'i ear 1865 
 The Bonanza Period — The .Sutro Tunnel — James (i. Fair 
 John W. Mack.ay — The Virginia & Truekee Railroad — Jam - 
 C. Flood — William C. Ralston — William Sharon — John )" 
 Jones — Depression of Mining — Ralston to the Front — Opf ■- 
 sition to .Sutro Tunnel — The New King of the Comstock 
 (ireat Panic of 1875 — What the Mines have Accomplished 
 D.Crosby — R. V. Dey — Finances During the Bonanza Peri- 
 — Taxing the X'irginia and Truekee Railroad — Princiiml 
 Fires in Virginia City — Fires at GoUl Hill — Virginia City 
 Fire Department — The Water Supply — .Substantial Im- 
 provements — The Foundries of Virginia City — lohn Mc 
 Cone — The Manufacture of Ice — The(;ener.il Outlook Hojw 
 ful—L. T. Fox— Joseph B. .Mallon— William Woodburn — 
 Fiu.anee and Resources — .\ppointments and Elections — W . 
 N. Mercer Otey— John F. Egan — F- H. Packer — Method of 
 Working the Mines — Compressor Drills — Temperature ul 
 the Mines — J. .Minor T.aylor— W. H. Patton — Some of ilii 
 Leading Mines — The Comstock (Jroupof Mines — Statisti.9 
 of Proceeds — List of Bonanzas — The Utah Mine — .Sierra 
 Nevada — Union Consolidated — The Mexican Mine — 1 i- 
 California — Ccmsolidated Virginia — Best k Belcher— Go iM 
 & Curry — The Savage Mine — The Hale & Norcross — T!;. 
 Chollar-Norcross-Savagc Sluifts — Cholhir-Pntosi — Bull. on 
 Mine — The Exchequer — The Alpha Mine — Consolidated li.i 
 perial— Gold Hill Group — The Challenge — Confidence— T :<■.■ 
 Yellow Jiicket — Kentuek — Crown Point and Belcher — .Sej 
 gated Belcher — Overman — Caledonia — American Flat (Jn 
 — Outside Mines — Mining Bo.im — Fluctuatii>n of .Stock 
 Wm. Mooney — Accidents in the Mines — The Yellow lac 
 Disaster — Charles Zeigler — "Sandy " Bowers 507- 
 
 CHAPTER LIV. 
 
 HISTORY OF WASHOE COUNTY. 
 Explorations and Settlements — Petition to the County Conii- 
 John Twaddle — Aiulrew .S.auer — Abandoned by the Mt.r 
 mons — Miners Take Possession — Organization and Cou"' 
 Seat— Court House, .lail and Hospital — l.umber and t,tu. 
 Mills — Removal of the C.mnty .Seat — Location and Eiee 
 of Buildings — Poor Farm ami Hospital — Free Bridge ( ■■ 
 structed — Financial and Political Condition — Granvdle W 
 Huflfakcr — Appointmentsand Elections- W. A. Walker- ! 
 S. Osburn — Death Penalty Inllieted — Agrieultur.il Lt 
 and Products — Ervin Crane — W. I). Harden — A. A. Iv 
 ley — George .Smith, Sr. — George .S. .Smith — Is.iiie H. 
 — Principal Irrigating Canals — Reno in its Early Da; 
 W. R. ChamlxTlain — Henry Lyman Fish — Protec' 
 against Fire— Property Destroye<l by Fire — Infested by • 
 Characters — The Association of "(iOl " — Efforts to Iiico 
 rate— L. W. Lee — Episcojul Seminary — .Mount St. Ma 
 Academy — Hebrew Benev.ilent Society — Principal To 
 and Cities — .Steamboat Springs — .loseph Frey — James .Si 
 van — T. (i. Heruiiin '>-- 
 
 CHAPTER LV. 
 HISTORY OF V7HITE PINE COUNTY. 
 The Mountains and Valleys— Timber, Mills and Lumber — ^' 
 Game and Fish — The Indian Tribes — Discovery of and 1 
 to the .Mines — Organization and B lumlaries— First Coi 
 Commissioners — Court House and Defalcation — Appi 
 meiits and Elections — Resonroas of the County — .^l !■ 
 Hopeful Prospects — Principal Mining Districts — Pan. 
 Coal Mines — Principal Towns and Cities — O. H- Gray — ' ■■ ■. 
 F. Parker— He. ry A. Comins— (Jeo. G. Blair 648 <H)4 
 
Xll 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 Adams. Juliii Q. 
 Allen, J. W 
 
 Alle7i, Lciii 
 Angel. Alvioii 
 
 Babcock, Jasper 
 Baker, (i. W 
 Ball. I. H 
 Barrett, A. .( 
 Hence. H.ll 
 Beulon. J. M 
 
 Faeirii 
 
 PAOB. 
 
 .382 
 :«iC 
 .360 
 305 
 
 r. 80 
 
 228 
 ..628 
 ..407 
 
 .530 
 ..501 
 
 Bicknell, Chas. F . 558 
 
 Blair. Geo. G 6G2 
 
 Blcnnerhas-sett, E 460 
 
 BIo.s3om. .I..\ . . 471 
 
 Bond. .T. \V 307 
 
 Bradshaw. Joel .456 
 
 Bradshaw, T. J 456 
 
 Brown. .lohn P 367 
 
 Huckland. ."^anniel S 493 
 
 Burriir. Cieorge W 493 
 
 Bvriies. Jaine-i 4.50 
 
 .500 
 300 
 494 
 559 
 .299 
 
 Campbell, J. L 
 
 Canfield, Fred, i: 
 Carling. .loliM 
 C'ary, W. :\I 
 
 Cassidy. Geo. W 
 
 Child, John y 382 
 
 Chamberlin. W. IX 636 
 
 Cleaver, Kinibcr 499 
 
 Cleveland. .V.C Facing. 184 
 
 Coflin. T 544 
 
 059 
 
 420 
 
 632 
 
 391 
 
 Facing. 76 
 
 597 
 
 521 
 
 Coniins, H. A 
 
 Craig; J. S. . 
 Crane. Krviu 
 Crane. W. T 
 Croikett. L. L 
 Cro.'^by, U... 
 
 Curler, Benj 
 
 Curtis, Allen A Facing. 468 
 
 Cusliiiian. .1. .1 . -308 
 
 Daggett. Holliu M , 
 
 Daniel, ,Ia!-pcr 
 
 Davis, Sam. 1' 
 
 Day, .Sylvester H 
 
 Deal, W. E. V 
 
 Dian. W. K Facing 
 
 Deidesheinier, I'hilipp 
 
 Dennis, Maj. ,Iolin II 
 
 Dey. H. V 
 
 Dodge, Krlmund U 
 Donald, .Samuel . 
 Dormer, J. M . . . 
 Doten. AlC. . 
 Dre.H.sler, A. !•' 
 Driesbaeli. M. ,\ 
 
 Kdgingtou, .V. M . . 
 
 Kgan J. F 
 
 Ellis, A. C. Facing 
 
 Ernst, Geo 
 
 Krwav, .\. II 
 
 .321 
 
 .421 
 
 314 
 
 224 
 
 .585 
 
 .124 
 
 573 
 
 .295 
 
 .597 
 
 441 
 
 312 
 
 298 
 
 324 
 
 .383 
 
 544 
 
 .584 
 
 608 
 
 . 88 
 
 .522 
 
 408 
 
 Faireliild. .1. D 
 
 Fuircbild, .M. D... 
 Fairchild. <). L. C 
 
 Fair. .lames G 
 
 Farrell, M. J 
 
 Fergu.son, Jackson. 
 
 Fish. H. L 
 
 Flood. James C .. . 
 Forbes, William J 
 Forman, Chas . 
 Fo.v, J.J. 
 Fo.x, L. T. 
 Fulton Foundry . . 
 Frey, Joseph 
 
 FAOR 
 
 305 
 
 311 
 
 295 
 
 Facing. 48 
 
 469 
 
 .370 
 .030 
 
 .591 
 
 302 
 
 582 
 
 408 
 
 604 
 
 .602 
 
 642 
 
 Gallaglier, J. B. 
 Garhart, \Vm 
 Glenn, M. M 
 Grant, H. Jf . 
 Grant, John . . . 
 Goodwin, CO.. 
 Gray, O. H 
 
 Hagcrmau, J. C. . . . 
 
 Haines, J. \V 
 
 Hall, Warren .S 
 Halloek, .1. F . 
 Harden. W. D. . . 
 
 Harri.s. E. B 
 
 Harris, C. N 
 
 Harmon. A. K. P . . 
 
 Hatch, A. J 
 
 Hatch, jr. D 
 
 Hawley, Thomas P 
 Herbold, Adam. 
 Herman, T. G . 
 Hernleben, C. 
 Hinds, J. C. 
 Hobart. W. W 
 Honeyman, F. 
 Huffiiker. G.W 
 
 409 
 -575 
 297 
 397 
 - 92 
 .321 
 .658 
 
 Facing. 212 
 
 383 
 
 413 
 
 Facing. 64 
 
 633 
 
 Facing- 100 
 
 . •• 340 
 
 . . ■• 110 
 
 • 220 
 
 .501 
 
 Facing. 3.32 
 .409 
 040 
 410 
 .418 
 300 
 .. 387 
 .028 
 
 .lames, I. E. 
 Joues, John 1' 
 Jones, David H . 
 
 .587 
 .591 
 .383 
 
 Kaiser, Chas. . 
 Kelley, E.D... 
 
 Kemler, Chas 
 
 Kenyon, A. L . 
 
 Kenyon. Frank .V 
 Kiiikcad. .loliii II 
 Knapp. I'lilld 
 
 Lee, L. W . 
 Lee, S. Lent 
 
 Lec,W. K 
 
 Leete,B.F 
 
 Leonard, O. R 
 
 Lewis, J. F 
 
 Littletield, K. A 
 
 308 
 
 303 
 
 4,57 
 
 369 
 
 308 
 
 . P''acing. 24 
 
 .574 
 
 . (>40 
 Facing. 284 
 
 421 
 
 .Facing. 276 
 . . •• 336 
 
 569 
 
 . 294 
 
 lionglcy. .V. .\ 
 Lorigley, Sani'l 
 Lothrop. John 
 
 I'AUB. 
 
 03^ 
 433 
 .501 
 
 llackay, John W - - Facing. 56 
 
 Mallett, Chas 408 
 
 Mallon. J. B 605 
 
 Manogue. Kev. P 207 
 
 Marshall. J. H 560 
 
 .Marye, Geo. T . Facing- 108 
 
 Masin. X. H. A •■ 148 
 
 Maute. .\ndre\v 312 
 
 Mayhugh, John 8 223 
 
 McCarthy. D. E 326 
 
 McCone. John 603 
 
 .McDonald, Joseph E 579 
 
 McEwcn, Arthur B 327 
 
 MiLeod, .Vngus. . . . 
 
 410 
 
 McHae.D 
 
 502 
 
 Merrill, Geo. W 
 
 442 
 
 Mighels, Henry It 
 
 Facing. 312 
 
 Mooney, Wm 
 
 020 
 
 Moore, Col. J. B. . . . 
 
 390 
 
 ,Moses, Thos . 
 
 581 
 
 Jlurphy, M. A 
 
 . . Facing. 84 
 
 Murphy, AVilliaiii . _ 
 
 369 
 
 Myers, Wni 
 
 390 
 
 Xevers, Samuel A 533 
 
 Nicholls, Andrew 469 
 
 Nichols, Charles A 467 
 
 Niles, Edward 315 
 
 O-sburn, R. S 
 Otev. W. N. M,rf. r 
 
 (i30 
 .608 
 
 Packer, F. H 009 
 
 Parker, George F 658 
 
 Parkinson, il. R 315 
 
 Patton. W. H 611 
 
 Pieott. T. E 308 
 
 I'ike. W. H. A .371 
 
 Powning, C. C 329 
 
 Ralston, W. C 591 
 
 Randall, G. P 501 
 
 Rising, Richard 583 
 
 Reymcrs. B. H 411 
 
 Richardson. Abner S 411 
 
 Richards. J. W 370 
 
 Rinckel, Mathias 561 
 
 Rives, Henry 443 
 
 Rolfe. Henry 584 
 
 Sanders, W. B 411 
 
 Sanford, J. M 371 
 
 San Pedro. M Facing. 140 
 
 Sauer. A 624 
 
 School for Girls at Reno 198 
 
 Se.s.sions, D. R — 226 
 
 Sharon, William 691 
 
 Shepherd, G.H.... -.399 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 xni 
 
 TAUB. 
 
 Shrieves, Harrison ... 5t>2 
 
 Simpson, U. C. . . .41.3 
 
 Simpson, K. W 331 
 
 Sims, J. I) 501 
 
 Skillman, Abraham 299 
 
 Smitii. G. S C33 
 
 Smith, (i., Sr ^ 633 
 
 Smith, T. B 413 
 
 Sperry, W. A 457 
 
 Sprag!?, \V. H 418 
 
 Steamboat Springs 644 
 
 Stfxk, Win 458 
 
 Stone, M. N 670 
 
 Adam.s, Jdhn Q 
 
 Allen, J. \V 
 
 Allen, C. and Lem 
 
 Ball. I. H 
 
 Banta, A 
 
 Barrett, A. J 
 
 Bennett, E. W 
 
 Benton. .J. M 
 
 Best ami Belcher Office.. 
 
 Bickm'Il. t'ha.s. F 
 
 noii.I. .1. W 
 
 Brad.shaw. .loel 
 
 Bradshaw, T.J 
 
 Brown, .John P 
 
 Biickland. .S. S 
 
 Burrier. G. W 
 
 Bvrnes. .Jamc^ 
 
 t'dlilurnia .Shaft 
 
 Campbell, J. L 
 
 Capitol Building 
 
 Carling. .rohii 
 
 C.&C. Shaft 
 
 Carroll, (feo. H 
 
 Chamberlain, \V. R. 
 
 Chollar.*<haft 
 
 Church at Austin. . . 
 Comji.stoii, .lame.-*... 
 Com. Virginia Shaft 
 
 Craig, .John S 
 
 Crane, Krvin 
 
 Cushman, .1. .T....'., 
 
 . Facing -2G»f 
 
 lotj- 
 
 - •• 152- 
 
 •• G28 
 
 •• 648- 
 
 •• 208+ 
 
 ■ 388- 
 
 104- 
 
 190+ 
 
 550t 
 
 252- 
 
 448- 
 
 444- 
 
 364- 
 
 .500-1- 
 
 4!lG - 
 
 456 f 
 
 5^ 
 308 + 
 
 174 
 
 504- 
 52 - 
 440- 
 112+ 
 120- 
 460+ 
 18<»+ 
 52-. 
 1644 
 6:52 - 
 3(i8- 
 
 Daniel, .la.sper 
 
 HeidcslicinuT. I'liilipp. 
 
 J )epot Hotel, Keno 
 
 Dillard, U. H • 
 
 Itormitory to State University ' 
 DrcAsler, A. F 
 
 E.\change Hotel 
 
 Fair. .lames (i 
 
 424 -(- 
 572 f 
 112- 
 244- 
 46()+ 
 380 f 
 
 172- 
 
 48. 
 
 Adam.-<..Iolin Q.and wife. Facing. 268- 
 
 Allen. Lem. and wife " 152 1 
 
 Angel, Myron 304 
 
 Stone, Thos. X 224 
 
 Storey, Edward F 569 
 
 Strause, Mark 570 
 
 Sullivan, .Tames 642 
 
 Torreyson, W. 1) . 
 
 Taylor, J. Minor . . . 
 
 Taylor, Robt. H 
 
 Tha.\ter, Geo. C 
 
 Theelen, Henry 
 
 Thomas, CoI.C. C 
 
 Thompson, M. S-- 
 
 Tollev, .T. B . 
 
 535 
 
 .611 
 
 679 
 
 569 
 
 371 
 
 611 
 
 455 
 
 .398 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS, 
 
 Ferguson, .Jackson 
 
 Fitch, A. B 
 
 Forgnone, .Vngelc. 
 Foreman Shaft .. . 
 
 Fo.x, J. J 
 
 Frey, Joseph 
 
 Fulton Foundry... 
 
 (Jazette Building, Reno. 
 Gould & Curry Office. . . 
 
 Haines, J.W 
 
 Hale ct Xorcross Shaft . 
 
 Hall and Simpson 
 
 Harden, W. 1) 
 
 Herbold, Adam 
 
 Herman, T. G 
 
 Hernleben, C 
 
 Hinds, J. C 
 
 Hinds" Hot Springs 
 
 Joint Shaft 
 
 Jones. David R. 
 
 Kemler, Chas 
 
 Kenyon. Afrs. C 
 
 Knapj). I'liilo & Co. 
 
 Lake Tahoc Stage (Jffice 
 Lee, L. W 
 
 Lee, W. U 
 
 Leete,B.F 
 
 r.,ongley, A. A 
 
 Mallet. Chas 
 
 .Manhattan S. M. Co 
 
 Mexican Shaft. . 
 
 McLeod, Angus. 
 
 McRae. D 
 
 Moeller and Schoeneman. 
 Mooney, \Vm 
 
 " New Shaft " 
 
 Nichols, C. A 
 
 Noel. Sol 
 
 PORTRAITS. 
 
 Babcock. Jasper Facing. 80- 
 
 Baker. (i. \V. (steel) . •• 228- 
 
 Harutl. .\. J. and wife 208- 
 
 . Facing. 360- 
 
 ■ 392 - 
 
 •• 344-f 
 
 20- 
 
 • 292- 
 
 • 644- 
 
 28- 
 
 • 330+ 
 
 • 196+ 
 
 18lf- 
 
 uo-*- 
 
 • 384+ 
 
 • 652- 
 •• 168f 
 •' 640- 
 
 • 416f 
 
 • 176 ' 
 ■ 176 
 
 ■• 120 
 •' 376^ 
 
 •• 4.52 - 
 
 • 240-f 
 576- 
 
 '• 104 J 
 
 .556- 
 
 •• 420-1- 
 
 " 576 •<- 
 
 (•)-2() 
 
 •• 208 
 472- 
 (K)f 
 172+ 
 
 • 316^ 
 160 • 
 196 
 
 44- 
 352- 
 476+. 
 
 PAOI. 
 
 Treadway, X. I) 633 
 
 Twaddle, John 624 
 
 Walk.r. W. A . ..6»1 
 
 WiUison. Warren .533 
 
 Wightinan, I). M 371 
 
 Will iamson, Chas 675 
 
 Woodburn. Wil liain 605 
 
 Wood. .1. C 387 
 
 Williams. J. T 524 
 
 Wren. Thos Facing. 236 
 
 Wright, \Vm 31.8 
 
 Ziegler, Chas ...621 
 
 Pierce, Saml. B. P 
 
 Pike. W. H. A 
 
 Potosi Shaft . . . 
 
 Ragtown Station . . 
 Recanzone, Battisti. 
 
 Reymers, B. H 
 
 Rinckel. Mrs. .M. Iv 
 
 -Facing. 40- 
 244 ' 
 
 ■ 120 
 
 ■ 240 _- 
 344- 
 
 ■• 400- 
 96- 
 
 St. George's Episcopal Church " 
 
 Sanders, W. B 
 
 Sandford, J. M 
 
 Saner, A 
 
 Savage Shaft •• 
 
 School for Girls at Reno. . 
 Shrieves, Mrs. Harry 
 Sierra Xevada Shaft ... 
 
 Simpson. D. C 
 
 Smith. Geo. S 
 
 Smith, G. Sr 
 
 Smith, T. B 
 
 Snyder, Chas 
 
 Sperry, W. A 
 
 Spragg, W. H 
 
 State Capitol Building. 
 
 State University. 
 
 Steamboat Springs . 
 
 Stock, Wra 
 
 Sullivan, James 
 
 Thaxter, Geo. C 
 
 Tlieelen. Henry 
 
 Timbering .Mines 
 
 Treadway, .\. 1). . . . 
 
 "Union Shaft" 
 
 Whittaker's ( ). W. School 
 
 Wightman. 1). M 
 
 Wood Camp. 
 
 Yellow Jacket Mine . 
 
 Ziegler. Cha.s 
 
 460- 
 
 432 — 
 
 356- 
 
 476- 
 
 120r 
 
 198 + 
 
 548- 
 
 60+ 
 384- 
 624- 
 636- 
 392 1 
 412 -^ 
 456- 
 428 -f 
 
 17- 
 224- 
 160- 
 440 + 
 170 
 
 556+- 
 248 
 572- 
 136- 
 
 tiO - 
 
 198- 
 260 
 316 -\ 
 
 44 
 
 280 
 
 Bence. H.H 
 
 Bicknell, Chas. F 
 Blair Geo. G 
 
 .536^ 
 .569 -t- 
 .662 -f 
 
XIV 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PORTR A ITS— Conti n ued 
 
 Blennerhassett, E 46O4 
 
 Blossom, J. A 471-* 
 
 Bradshaw, Joel and wife. Facing. 448 Ij. 
 Bradshaw. T. J. and wife. " 444-;^ 
 Bufkland. 8. S. and wife. . " 500— 
 Burrier. G. W. and dauirhter " 496+ 
 
 Campbell, J. L. and wife 
 
 Cary, W. M... 
 
 Child. John S. and wife. 
 Cleveland, A. C. (steel). 
 
 Cleaver, Kimber. 
 
 Coffin, T - 
 
 Cooper, James B. (steel). 
 
 Collins, Daniel R 
 
 Comins, H. A 
 
 Craig. John S. and wife.. 
 
 Crane, Ervin 
 
 Crane, W.T.. 
 Crockett, L. L . 
 
 Crosby, D 
 
 Curler, Benj ... 
 
 Curtis. Allen A 
 
 Cushman. J. J. and wife. 
 
 • 308- 
 
 560+ 
 
 Facing. 372- 
 
 •■ 18^- 
 
 ■ 404+ 
 
 544+ 
 
 Facing. 132- 
 .300^ 
 
 659f 
 
 Facing. 164- 
 
 •• 6324 
 
 391+ 
 
 Facing. 76- 
 
 597 + 
 
 521 + 
 
 Facing. 46&~ 
 
 '• 368t 
 
 Hagerman, J. C. (steel). Facing. 
 
 Hallock, J. F. (steel) 
 
 Harris, E. B. (steel) 
 
 Harris. C. N. (steel) 
 
 Harmon. A. K. V. (steel) 
 Hatch. -Vndrew J. (steel). 
 
 Hatch. M. 1) 
 
 Hawley. Thos. P. (steel). Facing 
 Herbold. Adam and wife. 
 Heruleben. C. and wife. . . 
 
 Hobart. \V. W 
 
 Hogle. L. I 
 
 Honeyman, F 
 
 Hutfaker, G. W Facing 
 
 Daniel. Jasper and wife. " 424~- 
 
 Davis. Sam. P 3144 
 
 Deal. \V. E.F 585+ 
 
 Dean. W. E. (steel). Facing. 124>- 
 
 Deidesheimer, Philipp. 573-t 
 
 Dey, R.V .5974 
 
 Dodge, E. R .442^ 
 
 Dormer, J. M Facing. 330~- 
 
 Doten, Alf 324t 
 
 Dressier, A. F. and wife .Facing. 380 — 
 Driesbach, M. A .544+- 
 
 Edgington. A. M .585f 
 
 Egan. J. F 608t 
 
 Ellis. A. C. (steel) Facing. 88- 
 
 Ernst. Geo 522f 
 
 Erway, A. H Facing. 408- 
 
 Faircliild, M. 1) - 304 >^ 
 
 Fair, James G. (steel) " 48- 
 
 Farrell, M.J 470 <- 
 
 Fish, H. L 6364 
 
 Eorgnone. Angelo& wife. Facing-344+ 
 
 Forman, Chas. . .582i: 
 
 Fox,J.J Facing. 292- 
 
 Fox, L. T 604 '\ 
 
 Frey, Joseph and wife. . . Facing. 644 --w 
 
 Gallagher, J. B 409-/ 
 
 Garhart, Wm 575^ 
 
 Grant, H. M 397t^ 
 
 Grant, John (steel) Facing. 92^ 
 
 Gray. O.H 658 + 
 
 Indians. 
 
 James, I. E. 
 Ja^jua. J. H . 
 
 212^ 
 
 64- 
 
 100-. 
 
 .•MO^ 
 
 IHi^ 
 
 220^ 
 
 561+ 
 
 332— 
 
 168- 
 
 410- 
 
 300^ 
 
 .300- 
 
 .387* 
 
 .532- 
 
 144+ 
 
 587 J- 
 
 .Facing.300-r 
 
 Kaiser. C'li.is. 368 f 
 
 Kinkead, John H. (steel) Facing. 24- 
 
 Lee, S. Lem. (steel). . . 
 Lee. W. R. and wife 
 Leete, B. F. (steel ) . . . 
 Leonard. O. R. (steel) 
 
 284- 
 420- 
 276- 
 336- 
 
 Lewis, James F 56i)-t 
 
 Longley, 8am'l 433*- 
 
 Lothrop, John Facing. 492 f 
 
 Mackay, John W. (steel). Facing. 56- 
 
 .Mallon, J. B 605^ 
 
 Manogue, Uev. P . . . 207 * 
 
 JIarshall, J. H 56(H- 
 
 Marye. Geo. T. (steel) Facing. 108— 
 
 jra.son, N. H. A. (steel) 148-- 
 
 Mayhugh, John S .223*- 
 
 McCarthy, D. E 326 + 
 
 McCone. John . 603 Y I 
 
 McDonald, J. E .")80^ 
 
 McKae, 1 > Facing. 316— 
 
 Merrill. Geo. W 44^ 
 
 Mighels. Henry R. (steel). Facing. 312-^ 
 
 Mooney, William 330< 
 
 Moore. Col. J. B 390* 
 
 Moses, Thos 581 r 
 
 .Murphy, >L A Facing. 84- 
 
 Murphy, William 365K. 
 
 Myers, Wm 390"^ 
 
 Xa-Ma-CJa ( Young Winncmucca; . 
 
 Facing. 144 ■* 
 
 Nevers. 8am'l .\. and wife. " 532 ♦■ 
 
 Nicholls, Andrew 469*- 
 
 Nichols, C. A. and wife.. Facing. 352f- 
 Nu-Ma-Na (Captain Dave) " 144 -^ 
 
 PAOE 
 
 Otey, W. X. .Mercer 608-- 
 
 Osburu. R. S. . 630-t^ 
 
 Packer, F.H 609-^ 
 
 Parker, Geo. F 608^ 
 
 Patton, W. H 6lW 
 
 Pfeirtcr. Birdie Facing. 416 + 
 
 Pierce, fcjam'l B. P. and wife 40^ 
 
 Po-i-To (Old Winnemucca) Fac'g.l44— 
 Powning. C. C. (steeli " 328 — 
 
 Randall. G. P • 408 + 
 
 Recanzone, Battisti " 344f- 
 
 Rising. Richard. 583+ 
 
 Reymers. B. H. and wife. Facing. 400 — 
 
 Richardson. Abner S 404— 
 
 Richards. J. W 370-t 
 
 Rives. Henry 443 t 
 
 Rolfe, Henry 584+ 
 
 Sanders, W. B. and wife. .Facing. 432 — 
 
 Sanford, J. M. and wife " 356 ^ 
 
 San Pedro, M. (steel) " 140^- 
 
 Sessions, D. R 226 
 
 Shepherd. G.H 39»r 
 
 Simpson. R. W . 331-+ 
 
 Sims. J. D Facing. 492— 
 
 ijmith, W. H 566 - 
 
 Snyder, Chas. and wife. . Facing. 412- 
 Spragg, W. H. and wife . . " 428— 
 
 Stone. M.N... 570 
 
 Stone, Thos. N 224, 
 
 Strause, Mark 570-^ 
 
 Torreyson, Wm. D. 535+ 
 
 Taylor. J. Minor 611 1 
 
 Taylor, Robt. H 579+ 
 
 Tha.\ter, Geo. C 559- 
 
 Thomas, Col. C. C 5124- 
 
 Thouipson, M. S . . .455t— 
 
 Tolley. J. B .398^ 
 
 Treadway, A. D Facing. 136+ 
 
 Twaddle, .John " 532 + 
 
 Walker. W. A 630^ 
 
 Wasson, Warren ... . . .534 / 
 
 Wightmaii. D.M. and wife Facing. 260 
 
 William.-on. (.'has 576+ 
 
 Woo<lburn, William 605 V 
 
 Wood, J. C 387 
 
 Williams. J. T 524> 
 
 Wren, Thos. (steel) Facing. 236 
 
 Wright, Wm. ("Dan De Quille")-318 
 
 Ziegler, Chas 621" 
 
Editor's Introductory. 
 
 By the courteous invitation of the publishers, I address the readers as editor of the 
 Illustrated History of Nevada. The duties of an editor comprise those of an author 
 as well as compiler, reviser and critic, all of which, in this vfork, have been brought into 
 service. A mass of material had been gathered by different parties from many sources, 
 often conflicting, contradictory and irrelevant, and to mould this into authentic and 
 consistent history has been ni}' conscientious aim and purpose. In this work I had re- 
 course to many documents, books, manuscripts and papers in my possession, and to my 
 own intimate acquaintance with the subject. Long anterior to the di.scovery of silver, 
 and while Nevada was a part of Utah, I had visited the Eastern Slope and written of 
 its people and its physical features for the California press, and upon the development of 
 its mineral wealth })ecame a citizen of the embryo Ten-itory. For many years, as editor 
 and newspaper writer, and as author of several publications and reports, I have labored 
 as.siduously in making known her resources to the world, and thus have grown familiar 
 with her history, while her fame and prosperity have become dear to mo. Thus, in pre- 
 paring this work, I have enjoyed a ph-asure where most other writers would have en- 
 countered painful toil. 
 
 Those who have rendered assistance have received the acknowledgments of the pub- 
 lishers, and 1 also add my thanks. To Mes.si-s. Thompson & West, I express my 
 obligations for their generous courtesy and kind indulgence. Through their enlightened 
 enterprise this great work has been accomplished, and to them the people of Nevada should 
 be ever grateful. The elegant appearance of this volume, the completeness and arrangement 
 of the matter, and the able and liberal business management which has earrieil the work 
 to a triumphal conclu-sion, is due to their excellent taste and sound judgment. 
 
 With pride in the work and apologies fur all imperfections, I submit the History of 
 Nevada to its readers. Myron Angel, Editor. 
 
e^ 
 
 
 OF 
 
 THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Compiled and Written by a Corps of Experienced Writers under tlie Direction of 
 THOMPSON & WEST. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 APPEARANCE OF THE GREAT BASIN. 
 
 Its Condition — Strange Freaks of Nature — Valley of Poath — 
 Clnonie Laki: — A Monnt:'iii I,ako — Hi>ttiiinUss F 'Uiitaina — 
 A Kiali Mory — Cavca— Rivers — llwt .S|iriiis;s — Salt M'Unt- 
 aiii anil Plains — Footpiints of a rre-llistorio Itace — Evi- 
 dcucc of Aneient lnlial>iCant3. 
 
 In Iho convulsions tli:it caused nature to thrust 
 from beneath the oeean tlie Koeky and Sierra 
 Nevada .Mountains, there was left between them an 
 immense basin, hundreds of miles in width from east 
 to west, and of mui-h jjreater lenj^lli U'l^ixw north to 
 south. This ba>-in was elevated at the same lime a 
 little at the south, liareiy comin-^ out of the ocean at 
 the mouth of the t'olorado {{iver, while at the mouth. 
 of the J{io Viri;en it has reached 800 feet above the 
 sea, at St.Thiimas 1,115, at Iliko 8,7li0. at Dayton 
 3,850; the elevation increai-inf; as the north is 
 approached, the averaj^e altitude bein<i; about 4.000 
 feet. The section is not, however, an unliroken 
 plateau; but on the contrary-, over one-half of ils 
 surface is covered by rock-rilibed mountains whose 
 lofty p(;aks, j;rand slo])es, and immense dimension of 
 fool- hills seem, to the casual observer, to occiijiy 
 most of the face of the couiilr}-. The general trend 
 of the mountains is from north to south. 
 
 ITS (■(I.MHTION. 
 
 Ill our time — it may not have l)een always thus — 
 nature deals out with a sparino; hand her cloud t;ifts 
 of water over this vast country, and the little that 
 comes, gathered into streams, flows towartls the 
 interior where it forms lakes and then evaporates 
 or sinks away into the earth. The surface of the 
 
 valleys is largely corn]iosed of sand, some of them 
 having an alluvial deposit and all rcipiiring a largo 
 quantity of water to make them produce vegetation. 
 The loftj- Sierra Nevada, bordering the biisin on the 
 west, intercepts and exhausts the moisture of the air 
 currents ever flowing eastward, consequently they 
 ])as8 comparalivelj- rainless over this broad region, 
 notwithstanding manj' of ils mountain ranges and 
 lofty peaks attain an altitude of 10.000 and 12,000 
 feet above the sea. Hecausc of this, mountains are 
 generall}' treeless and the valleys barren and deso- 
 late to look u|)on. It is not a natural home for the 
 husbandman or a grazier's ])ara(liso, but the miner 
 who seeks an Kl Dorado will fnni it here. Yet there 
 arc manj' valleys and mountain nooks rendered 
 exceedingly fei'lile by iriigalion, and large herds of 
 cattle i-ange over the hills and ]ilains of ihe north 
 and east. 
 
 STRANGE FRE.\KS OF N.VTUIIE. 
 
 Nature was in her eccentric mood when forming 
 this region, and turned out some strange results 
 from the, store bouse of time. There is one valley 
 thirty miles long, just without its borders, lying near 
 the line se])araling C.difornia from Nevada north of 
 the ;iGth° of latitude, ihal is 175 feet below the level 
 of the sea. The Amargosa River, rising in Nevada, 
 flows uselessly into it, where the burning rays of the 
 sun licks its volume up in vapors until it becomes a 
 creek and then loses itself upon the parched sands of 
 a waterless river bed. It is a vast, treeless, water- 
 less, alkaline field of Tartarus, where heat, and 
 drought, an<l desolation have combine*! to di'ive the 
 traveler mad with thirst and despair. Over its 
 
18 
 
 fflSTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 white, crested, inhoepiuble boiom &re now bleach- 
 ing the bones of animals and men on wittingly loivd 
 there to perish with the horrors of tantalos. and the 
 place is known as the - Valley of Death." 
 
 There is a subterranean lake in Baby Mountain 
 that is the soar -vhich fl-' - " v 
 
 of that name, tc. -:reamki. i. 
 
 The entrance to this hidden sea of the Mountain 
 Gnome, b ' a natural tonnel about mx feet 
 
 long, that :- oogh to admit onlv one person 
 
 at a time. The entrance leads to the margin of a 
 beaatifal >heet of clear, c-old water one hundred feet 
 long by &t\j feet wide At its ftirther extremity fe 
 a sand-bar fifty feet acmes, beyond which is a rock 
 partition that comes down within two feet of the 
 waters surface. Beyond this partition lies another, 
 smaller lake, from the farther side of which lea<ls off 
 a narrow cave with perpendicular sides, through 
 which the water flows into the lake. This cave has 
 been explored for ?ome ; ntil an abrupt turn 
 
 was reached, when the _ _ , . ... - fearing to proceed 
 fiother, returned, and lett the mysteries of what lay 
 beyond a secret still. The tor -"-g 
 
 over these subterranean waters - a 
 
 scene of w^rd and enchanting beauty. From the 
 caremons. over-hanging wa'"- 
 white, gem-decked, stalac: 
 
 towards the unrevealed depths of that beantifuL 
 sUent. sQvery sheet of water t'r ' " ' . 
 visitor the remains of one who - 
 
 while seeking to learn these hidden mysteries. 
 Should it not be called - Gnome Lake " ? 
 
 On the summit of a high mountain in this Ruby 
 range is another beautiful lake, higher than Lake 
 Tahoe. probably the highest in the world, th-- - ' 
 " up in the region of storms," ofltimes ren. 
 froxen over until July. An outlet fieoax it towaris 
 the east feeds a stream that, leaping down from the 
 rocky heights, flows oat into Ruby Valley, and is 
 known as ' Creek. 
 
 Of the c. . , ..y of this lake, and the dread in 
 whi'^h it is held by the Indians. Charles Stebbins, of 
 Austin, relates that in 1><2 he :'a 
 
 pool of water that the Indiac- . ^ ae 
 
 summit of a high, bald mountain in the Ruby range 
 aboat thirty-five miles north from tf 
 station. To the red men it was a ni_ 
 which an evil spirit ruled, whose home was in tho«e 
 water*. This dread spirit was i. * 
 
 the form of a large fish, and wL 
 went away to linger for a time and die. Hlko-kub, a 
 
 pf.: . .,- .L ,cL..u . '^d of con- ■ - •' •^- 
 
 { J po*t kt: 
 a: -:e to the latter con- 
 Ct-Liii vu..~ i^-,. ./I •A-.,.L.i .11 i.^v r'.'->nn'ain« Sho- 
 kub warned his white friend n.- ■ - ing the 
 spot, claiming that be K -h that no per- 
 son had ever looked a (.•... - The cari<><>ity 
 
 of Stebbins having been excited by the strange 
 atoriM coDceming the locality related to him by the 
 
 chief, determined to see the spot so dreaded by the 
 aborigines. Accordingly, in company with the 
 famous pioneer and frontieranan, Wm. IL Rogeis, 
 '• Uncle Billy," he went in search of it; — 
 
 As we approached the spot — said Stebbins — 
 
 the rocks began to give out a strange, hollow 
 
 «.iir ,i Si though we were passing over a cavern, and 
 
 I .re would break through, we got down upon 
 
 ! uui Li^ii-is and knees and crawled along. At length 
 
 I we came to the mouth of a yawning chasm, and 
 
 I ' rim saw about twenty feet beneath 
 
 -f of eiistenine water. The open- 
 
 -- - alar 
 
 _ into 
 
 ! the SfifcjUi cii*i vi :& liiiiEici. AilcT la&iUx ^ ;^*>LMi look 
 
 I we went f^i-^rr: to where oar horses were, and 
 
 [ camped : zht. The next day we went back 
 
 ■stA to''r; ;■ look, but we saw no fish. In the 
 
 :e vicinity we found large numbers of final 
 
 "I csBMt tell Vnr &e tntk muj be; 
 I aj the tafe a* 'twas aaad to me." 
 
 At the northea-n end of this same range o€ mount- 
 aiii!», in the valley near the railroad town of Wells, 
 are app. miess fountains of water miles 
 
 &om any - : ^.im. It is but a few fe«t across 
 
 the largest of them, the smaller could be croesed at 
 
 '■". swarms of little 
 
 ~ in length. One 
 
 hundred and seventy miles to the southwest are 
 
 "ar qteomens 
 .ere else upoa 
 the continent. From what age, and condition of the 
 past are they the relics ? 
 
 In the northwestern part of Nevada is a mill- 
 stream of water, in which are numeroas fish. A hot 
 ---'.- -ear its banks boils out of the rocks and flows 
 : . the two eventually mingle together. The 
 angler standing where the water from the hot spring 
 first reaches the stream and flows out over it, has 
 but to drop his bated hook down through the hot 
 into the cold current, catch a fish, raise it into the 
 upper stratum, and eventually 'Iraw it forth ready 
 cooked for eating. 
 
 <' ~±rioas places; action^ the 
 
 mo-- , . peculiar and ac-cessible. is 
 
 one in the Star range of mountains, east, a few miles 
 from Humboldt Station on the Central Pacific Rail- 
 road. In those mountains, on the summit between 
 Star and Santa Clara Cafions, stands a high. b<>ld, 
 limestone diff. Its south front presc-r ' - rpen- 
 
 dieolar face 200 feet high, and fift- :'rom 
 
 Its base is the entrance to the cave, through an 
 opening six f • *- ■ .-h and six feet wide. This cave 
 has been c . for a distance of 2.5*)0 feet 
 
 in a northeriy direction, but the end has never been 
 reached. It is represented, by those who have 
 visited it, as being of strange and wondrous 
 form, of numerous galleries and chambers, where 
 one could easily imagine that he had entered the 
 realms of the Olympian kings, whose castle walls 
 were decked with amethyst and crystal spar. There 
 
APPEAHANOE OF THE GREAT RASIN. 
 
 19 
 
 are numerous :;!illcricR carpelod wiili iIku »\i..iiui oi 
 salt, of soda, of borax and alkaliiio subslaneos, so 
 often mot with in this re{;ion. 
 
 The streams partake of the iieneral eliaracteristies 
 of the region. The Humboldt, risiiiji iti the mount- 
 ains of the northeast, winds its way amonj^ the 
 mountains in a tjeneral eourse to the southwest, 
 over 300 miles, and pours its waters into an inland 
 lake, where they sink away in the sands, or evapo- 
 rate under the sun's hot ra3-s. The Truckee, 
 made from the overflow of Lake Tahoe up in the 
 Sierra Nevada in California, rushes awaj' down the 
 mountain to the northeast and beeomes feeder to 
 Pyramid Lake. The Car.son River, also risinj; in Cal- 
 ifornia, coui-ses down in a rushing, turbulent stream 
 through the canons in the eastern slope of that chain 
 of mountains, and stretching away through the 
 vallej-s and foot-hills to the northwest, forms a lake 
 and disajijiears near the llunibohlt. The Walker 
 River, also starting from California, flows b}' a cir- 
 cuitous route into Nevada, and forms a lake bearing 
 the name of the river. Reese River — that should 
 have been called a creek — flows north, begins and 
 ends in the interior. The Great Salt Lake of Utah 
 is fed by many streams flowing from the mountains in 
 the east; and all those lakes, taken in connection 
 with the numerous other reservoirs, are but the 
 inland depositories for the groat water-shed of this 
 immense basin, among which are Utah, Sevier. Mono, 
 Owens, Hone}', Kagle, Lower, Middle, U]>per, Abort, 
 Summer, and Silver Lakes. But one stream rising in 
 all this region north of the Colorado Basin, seeks 
 the ocean as an outlet, and that is theOwj-hoe, which, 
 flowing through the channels of Snake River, even- 
 tually mingles its waters with the Pacific. 
 
 Hot springs arc found in many ])arts of the State, 
 some of which are very singular in their character, 
 and many exceedingly valuable as resorts for invalids. 
 Of the best known of these, are the Steamboat 
 Springs, eleven miles south of JJeno, in Washoe 
 County, on the road leading from Reno to Virginia 
 City. These cover a space of a mile or more in 
 length, and a third of a mile in bi-oadth. This area 
 is alwa^'s covered with a cloud of steam, s])ringing in 
 jet« from apertujes in the rock, resembling the 
 escape from a liigh-jiressure engine — he!ice the name. 
 
 In the valley of Walker ]{iver, ten miles from 
 Wellington Station, are the singular and valuable 
 Hind's ]lot Springs, discovered by the present ])ro- 
 prielor in IStid, and bearing his name. Tlieso have 
 become a popular resort for invalids and tourists, 
 who enjoy the luxury as well as the medicinal ipial- 
 ities of the baths. 
 
 The great hot si)ririg of Smoky Valley, in Nye 
 County, is wonderful for the high tem|)erature and 
 abundant flow of its waters, more than from any 
 medicinal quality they contain. The spring is 
 situated in the midst of a broad ])lain, its column of 
 steam giving to the passing traveler the only inti- 
 mation of its presence. A great shaft in the earth. 
 
 tifty feet in diameter at the surface, out of which 
 rises a stream of boiling water, bubbling at the 
 center like a cauldron over a furnace, and flowing 
 but a few hundred yards in the jjlain, at first a con- 
 siderable stream, then disappearing — ever a mysterj'. 
 The water is fresh and jiotable when cooled, or is 
 used in tea or coff'ee, which beverages are readily 
 prepared bj' it use. Here is a favorite camping 
 place for travelers and jjrospectors, the boiling ])0t 
 being perpetually in readine.ss for culinary purposes, 
 cooking potatoes, or other comestibles immersed or 
 sus]iendcd in the water. i'laslward, in the same 
 county, is Hot Creek, flowing, as its name implies, a 
 stream of hot water from several springs of that 
 character. Near Iiliko are a number of hot s])rings, 
 which are regarded as great curiosities, and much 
 resorted to by invalids. Near the line of the Central 
 Pacific Railroad, about twent}- miles east of Wads- 
 worth, is a group of hot springs that have attracted 
 the attention of many travelers, and were the 
 wonder of the early emigrants crossing the desert 
 to California. Others, throughout the State, are too 
 numerous to name in detail. 
 
 The evidences left of nature's strangest freak in 
 this singular land, consists of a mountain of salt 
 that is found twenty-five miles north of the C'olo- 
 rado River, and a little w-est from the Rio Virgen, 
 much of it is chemically pure, transparent as water, 
 and so hard, that to remove it re<[uires blasting. 
 The mountain is nearly two miles long, a half mile 
 wide, and its summit reaching about five hundred 
 feet above the level of the surrounding country. 
 The surface is covered by a coating of earth, the 
 salt lying in a vast stratum, nearlj- one hundred feet 
 in thickness through the entire mass. Blocks of 
 this salt have been used as windows by the Mormon 
 settlers in the neighborhood. 
 
 Extensive beds of the same material are found in 
 every <|Harter of the State, sometimes the salt form- 
 ing as an efllorescence on the surface of the ground, 
 and at others, found in large crystallized blocks by 
 excavation. Beds of bi-carbonate of soda, boracie 
 acid, sulphur, alum, and kindred substances, best 
 known to the chemist and druggist, are found in 
 many localities. 
 
 FOOT-PRINTS OF A niE-niSTORIO K.\CE. 
 
 Evidences of the existence of a race of people, not 
 there now, is found in various jilaces between the 
 Ilocky and Sierra Nevada Mountains. A few obser- 
 vations will be given, leaving the future archieolog- 
 ist to explain their occurrence. There is a place on 
 the Carson River where that stream cuts oil' the 
 |)oint of a fool-hill around which it sweej)« at the 
 lower terminus of what is known as the Big Bend, 
 possibly one mile up the river from where once 
 stood the Williams, or Hoiiey Lake Smith's, Station. 
 The ]>lace where the hill is cut by the stream gives 
 a facing to the west that overlooks the dosort and 
 the country to the south. Up along the face of that 
 
20 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 cut, there are figures, or cbaraciers, chiseled into the 
 hard rocks, that can be seen by the hundreds. 
 Spiral forms, rings, and snakes, are the predominat- 
 ing characters; several triangles, one well-lbrmed 
 square and compass, and the I'orm of a woman with 
 out-stretched arms holding in one band a branch, 
 was noted among the number. Similar characters 
 are found in Arizona, New Mexico, Old Mexico, and 
 Central America. The Indians of the vicinity have 
 no kiiowlcdire concernin;' them, not even a leicend. 
 
 Since seeing this art gallery, that speaks from 
 a time unknown and of a lost race, futher inquiry 
 has disclosed the fact, that the same class of rock 
 imagcrj' was to be seen by the earl^- prospectors, in 
 Star Canon on a bluff below the Shcba Mine, in what 
 is now Humboldt County. 
 
 Dr. S. L. Lee of Carson City reports that in Con- 
 dor Canon, ten miles a little east of south from 
 Pioche, there are about fifiy figures cut in the i-ocks. 
 many of them designed to represent the wild mount- 
 ain sheep. Still farther south, possibly eighty miles 
 from Pioche, in the Meadow Vailej' wash near Kane 
 Sj)rings, this class of pre-historic art is most numer- 
 ous and perfect in design. Men on horseback en- 
 gaged in the pursuit of animals are among the most 
 perfect and probably modern of the designs at that 
 place. The Indians in that part of the country hav- 
 ing some superstitious belief concerning them, or 
 having no theory of their meaning, refuse to talk 
 upon that subject with the whites. The following is 
 an extract from the KurcUa Leader of February 14, 
 1879:— 
 
 EVIDENCE OF .\NCIE.NT INH.MUT.VNTS. 
 
 Mr. Walker who has been working in the newly- 
 opened stone quarry, near the mouth of New York 
 Canon, brought a singular and interesting specimen 
 to the Lender office this morning, the same being a 
 slab of sandstone about twenty inches long, fourteen 
 wide, and some three inches thick. The ])eculiarity 
 of the rock is in the imjirint upon its surface of a 
 gigantic foot, perfect in shape and contour with the 
 exception of one toe, the little one. which is missing. 
 By measurement it is fourteen and one-half inches 
 from the outer rim of the heel to the end of the great 
 toe, and six inches wide on the ball of the foot. The 
 print is sunk into the rock one-half inch. Mr. 
 Walker claims to have taken it from the top of the 
 sandstone formation at a ])oint where about two feet 
 of sand rested upon it. The rock is firm and hard 
 in texture and forbids the idea of its being artificial 
 work. 
 
 The reader's attention has already been called to 
 the existence of a salt mountain in southern Nevada. 
 The following concerning the pre-historic evidence 
 of that locality is from the pen of Daniel Bonelli: — 
 
 The salt mines are solid ledges of rock salt of 
 great extent, and containing salt enough to run one 
 liutiilred rpiartz mills for one thousand veai"s. Some 
 of the ledges on which I have had work performed 
 for m^'self and the Southwestern Mining Company 
 of Philadelphia, who are part owners, have an open- 
 ing showing below the cap rock, some ton to twenty 
 feet below the surface, charcoal, corncobs, bones, 
 
 arrows and ced:ir-bark matting woven into blankets, 
 giving un<lis|iutable evidence that long ages ago 
 tlie pre-historic man dwelt in the caves here, which 
 the dust of lime has since covered and indurated. 
 
 Large trees, petrified and scattered over the face 
 of the country, show that more moi-ture existed 
 upon this land long ago than there is now, and what 
 may once have been a fertile country is now desert 
 and an ap])ailin;^ desolation. A few small margins 
 of fertile 8(jil alon:^ creeks or springs are all that 
 even now makes human or animal life po-ssible, and 
 even the great Colorado of the We^t, which sweeps 
 along the line of the Slate, bringing its waters tVotn 
 the snowy summits of the conlinent to the world's 
 greatest ocean, d(}es not redeem the desert character 
 of the land, for it has carved its pathway through 
 huije mountain chains in miiiht}- gorges, and shows 
 so few margins of arable land that no settlements of 
 importance are sustained at present on its banks. 
 
 Evidences of a less remote occu))ation of this 
 country is found in the pottery discovered, and ru le 
 fortifications yet traceable in the region l^'ing north 
 of the Colorado River, and along the streams empty- 
 ing into it. The potter}' is of a dull white ground, 
 with black stripes running up and di>wn, the Moqui 
 Tribe of Arizona having in use at the present lime 
 the same kind of earthern jars. Another exists in 
 the remains of an old irrigating dilch along the 
 Virgen River that shows an advanced knowledge of 
 husbandry'. The ruins of adobe houses still exist at 
 a spring on the cast side of Ash Crei-k, in the same 
 section of country. The remnants of an old well, 
 and blocks of hewn granite at Pah-Tuck Springs 
 also speak of a civilization there that has ceased to 
 exist. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE TRAPPERS AND EARLY EMIGRATION. 
 
 \Vm. H. Ashley — .IcJeili.ih .S. .Smitli's Kxpeilitioii iu l>S'J,j-iG-27 — 
 I'eter S. O^jiluii's Expeilitioa in \Ki\ — .Milton .'sublcttc's Ex- 
 pinlitiou ill 183:2 — Boiiiieville an<l Walker's Expedition in 
 IS;J,'J — Kit Carson's First Visit to Nevada, 1S3;1 — Emijjra- 
 tion under Captain J. B. Bartleson in 1841 — .T. C. Kreniont's 
 Expedition in 1S44 — The Emi^'ranta of 1844 — Fremont's 
 Expedition in 1S45 — Edwin Bryant and other Emigrants in 
 1S4G — Tlie Donner Party Tragedy. 
 
 W.M. H. Ashley, of St. Louis, Missouri, a celebrated 
 mountaineer, discovered the Great Salt Lake of 
 Utah in 1824, and a smaller lake near by that 
 received his name, where he erected a fort, and 
 established his headijnarters for the remaining years 
 of his adventurous career as a' Rocky Mountain 
 trapper. Mr. Ashley had a partner named Jedediah 
 S. Smith, a native of New York, whose m<nintain 
 life was a chapter of thrilling adventure, until it was 
 ended in 1831, by the arrow of an ambushed Indian 
 assassin on the Cimarron River. 
 
 jEnEDi.\n s. smith's expedition in 1825-26. 
 
 The first white man to see any portion of what is 
 now Nevada was a comj)any of some forty trappers 
 under the charge, or leadership, of this noted mount 
 aineer Smith, who crossed the country to California 
 from his rendezvous on the Yellowstone River in 
 
THE TRAPPERS AND EARLY EJUGRATION. 
 
 21 
 
 1825. His route was through a portion of what is 
 now westurn \V3"oiniiiii. down the Iliiinboldl, that 
 was named Mary's Kivur b}- iiiin, at'lor his Indian wife; 
 thence to the Walker River coiintrj-, and out ihrouijii 
 what lias been since known as Walkei 's Pass into 
 Tulare Valley, California, where he arrived in Jul}- 
 with two companions. In October he recrossed the 
 country', leavinij his party trappini; in the Sacra- 
 mento Vaiky. The only infonniition in our posses- 
 sion in regard to the direction taken by Stnilh on his 
 return tri|) across the ciiuntry is contained in the 
 followinic extract from a Idler to us M])on that sub- 
 ject from Captain R.jbert Lyon, of San Hueuaven- 
 tura, California: — 
 
 * * * His, Smith's, notes mention the discover}- 
 of Jlono Lake (or dead sea) on his return trip in 182.'). 
 The upper end of Mono Gulch was very rich and 
 shallow; and when the ijuich was first jiro-ipected 
 by Cord (the di-coverei) in 1S.")1), i!;ol<i could be seen 
 l^ini^ on the irranite rock. where it bad been wa-'hc<l in 
 siij;lil by the rains; an^l there is not a placer between 
 Sacramento and Salt Lake wIum-c gobl-dust could be 
 80 easily obtained by inexperienced miners, with 
 only a pan anil knife, as in the up]ier end of Mono 
 Gulch. iJock}- .Mountain .J:ick, or Uncle Jack, as he 
 was called, ami Hill lieed both spent the summer of 
 18G0 in Mono, and were well known at iliat lime, 
 and both of tliesc old trappers declared they were 
 with Smith in 1825, and that they spent a week 
 prosiiecting and ))icking U]) gold in those foot-hills in 
 1825. The gold in Mono was not coarse, but 1 have 
 often found ])ieces that would weigh from Iwentj'- 
 five cents to two dollars. (.See Cross of N'irginia 
 City, he was our ditch collector in ISttO); and he- 
 sides there were old stumps which had been 
 cut long years before 1858, for the s])routs had 
 grown to be large trees in 1859. JJill Byrnes, 
 well known in Carson Cit}', always claimed that 
 Jed Smith discovered the Mono mines in 1825, 
 although he (Byrnes) was not of thepartj*. * * * 
 
 Upon Mr. Smith's return to the companj-'s head- 
 quarters, on Green River, near Salt Lake, Mr. Ashley 
 withdrew from the firm, and the business fell into 
 the hands of Smith, M. Sublette, and David Jackson, 
 who were known as the Rocky Mountain Fur Com- 
 pany. This firm was so well jileascd with the suc- 
 cess of the California expedition that it was thought 
 best for Smith to lead another trapping party to the 
 Pacific Coast, lie accordingly set out with a larger 
 party than had accompanied him before, but passed 
 south to the Colorado River, where his party were 
 all killed, but two, in a battle with the Indians. 
 Smith and two companions, named Turner and Gal- 
 braith, made their escape, and reaching the missions 
 of California, were arrested. 
 
 Among the legacies inherited from the old Spanish 
 authorities, and now preserved in the archives of 
 California are the following relating to Captain 
 Smith, his detention and release. lie first a])pears to 
 have arrived in the inhabited regions of California, 
 in 1820, and to have been recpiired Ijy the (Joverii- 
 ment, always suspicious of strangers, particularly 
 Americans, to give an account of himself, his actions. 
 
 and purpose. Fortunately he found vouchers whom 
 those in power felt their interest to respect. 
 
 We, the undersigned, having been requested by 
 Ca|)tain Jedediah S. Smith, to state our opinion 
 regarding his entering the province of California, do 
 not lioilate tc) say that we have no doubt in our 
 minds but that he was compelled to for want of pro- 
 visions and water, having entered so far into the 
 barren country that lies between the latitudes of 
 torty-two and forij-'three west that he found it 
 im])ossible to return by the route he came, as his 
 horses hail most of them jierished for want of food 
 and Wilier, lie was, therefore, under the necessity 
 of push in tr forward to C.difornia, it being the nearest 
 ])lace where he could procure supplies to enable him 
 to return. 
 
 We further state as our oi)inions that the account 
 given by bitii is circumstantially correct, and that 
 his sole object was the hunting and trapping of 
 beaver and other furs. 
 
 We have also examined the ]>assporls prtiduced 
 by him from the Superintendent of Indian Affairs for 
 the Government of the United States of America, and 
 do not hesitate to say we believe them to be perfectly 
 correct. 
 
 We also state, that in our opinion, his motive for 
 wishin^c to pass by a different route to the head of 
 the Columbia River on his return, is solely because 
 he feels convinced that he and his companions run 
 great risk of perishing if they return by the route 
 they came. 
 
 In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our 
 hands and seals this twentieth daj- of December, 182(!. 
 W.M. G. Dana, [i-. s.] 
 
 Citpldin of Sihooiier Wacei/;/. 
 
 Wm. II. CUN.\INIiIlA.M, [l. S.] 
 
 C'lipfiim of Shi}) Courier. 
 
 W.M. IIe.ndeiison, [i-. s.] 
 
 Ctipfiiin of Bri(j Olive Branch. 
 
 James Scott, [l. s.] 
 
 Tiios. M. PoiiHiNs, [i.. 8.] 
 
 Mate of ScliooJier Wnverly. 
 Tiios. Shaw, [i-. s.] 
 
 Sui>ercarijo of Ship Courier. 
 
 The following refers to his second expedition. The 
 locality of his camp is not given but it must have 
 been somewhere near the Mission of San Jose, as 
 there was the residence of Father Duran, to whom 
 
 the letter is addressed. 
 
 LETTER FllO.M CAPTAIN JEnEDI.\U S. S.MITIl TO FATHER 
 DLllAN. 
 
 Reverend Father: 1 understand, through the 
 meilium of one of your Christian Indians, that you 
 are anxious to know who we are, as some of the 
 Indians have been at the .Mission and informed j'ou 
 that there were certain white ])eo))le in the country. 
 We are Americans, on our journey to the river Colum- 
 bia; we were in at the .Slission San Gabriel in Jan- 
 uary last. I went to San |)iego and saw theCieneral, 
 and got a passport from him to i)ass on to that 
 place. I have made several efforts to cross the 
 mountains, but the snows being so deep 1 could not 
 succeed in getting over. I returned to this place (it 
 being the only point to kill meat) to wait a few weeks 
 until the snow melts, so that I can go on; the Indians 
 here also being friendly, 1 consider it the most safe 
 point for me to remain until such time as 1 can cross 
 the mountains with my horses, having lost a great 
 
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 many 
 
 - ten ort:* 
 
 ->. and at: 
 ..? I ho i.j,;ure ot" the 
 - 'IMite uvv'.easant. l> 
 
 oi 
 
 v-5 Since. 
 
 ~ to set 
 
 admit. 
 
 - I ate of 
 
 lite, wild 
 
 1 am. reverend I'ather. vour strange, but real 
 friend and Christian bn>ther. J. S. Ssiith. 
 
 May 19. 1S27. 
 
 This pioneer wanderer through what is now 
 Nevada, had taken his last look upon her mountains 
 and villages. He was released by the Spanish 
 authorities, and reaching his Sacramento rendexvous. 
 fitted out an expedition for the purpose of visiting 
 the C'olumbia River in Oregon. Arriving with his 
 ivirty at the Umpqua River, it was surprised by the ; 
 Indians, and he again saw his companions all mur- 
 dered but two. who escaped with him and made their 
 way to Fort Vancouver. From then.\ Smith crossed 
 to the Rocky Mountains by a more northern route, 
 accompanied by Peter Ogvlen. a native of New York, 
 at the head of a brigade of the Hudson Bar Com- j 
 pany s trappers. 
 
 PETEK S. 0GI>EN'S EXPEDITION IX 1S31. 
 
 The Hudson Bay Company claimed the region 
 Iviween the E " Sierra Nevada Mountains as 
 
 their exclusive _ - for trapping. Their right, ; 
 
 however, was not conceded by the Rocky Mountain 
 
 Far C but. because of the friendly manner 
 
 in w. - :h in his adversity had been treated 
 
 at Fort Vancouver, he decided to abandon the dis- | 
 puted territory, and sejxarated from Ogden's party ' 
 at the head-waters of Lewis River, in 1S2V>. for the 
 purpose of finding his associate partners, and carry- , 
 ing out the design. Ogden commenced his trapping ' 
 through the region lying west of the Rocky Mount- i 
 ains. and gradually moved to the south, eventually 
 arriving at what had been known as Mary"s River, 
 probably in the spring of 1S31; traveled down it, 
 taking the same rx>ute to " that Smith had 
 
 followed in lS:i5. From '. - . forward until 
 
 Fr«mont foisted the name of Humboldt upon that 
 stream, it was called by some Mary's, and others 
 Ogden's River. 
 
 MILTOX SrBLErTKS KXPKDmOX IX 1S32. 
 
 The nest expedition into the i-ountry was led by 
 Milton Sublette, accompanied by Nathan Wyeth, 
 who let\ Peerass Hole in the Ro«.-fcy Mountains, on 
 the twenty-third of July. Its!:?, t'or the purpose of 
 trapping the waters of the Mary's River* This party 
 reached the head-waters of that stream in August. 
 " ' - en. 
 
 „ 1 . : ~, _- , - jav- 
 
 infr the latter with about thirty men. Sublette con- 
 i' " " '- " - " ' r. until 
 
 1 - - _ _ y were 
 
 forced to eat the flesh of the beavers they caught. 
 "' - for these little ani- 
 
 r hunger to subsist 
 
 'Mowtaia and Froatier," bj Mza. F. F. Vietar, page 119l 
 
 upon wild parsi - ' ' ' - i-d their flesh and 
 
 made them un for the trappers, 
 
 many of whom were made ill from eating them. 
 Because of this it became necessarj- to at once aban- 
 don the river, anvl strike across the I'ountry towards 
 the north, where. at\er being four days with almost 
 no food, and several weeks in a state of famine, they 
 reached the Snake River abont fitly miles above the 
 fishing falls. They were forced, as they passed over 
 the country, to subsist upon ants, crickets, parched 
 moccasins, and puddings made t'rom blood, taking 
 a pint at a time t'rom their almost famished animals, 
 
 BOXXKVILLE .VXD WALKERS EXPEDITIOX IX 1S33. 
 
 Capt. B. L. E. Bonneville, who died June 12, 1S7S, 
 at the advanced age of eighty-fiveyears, in FortSmith, 
 Arkansas, and who was so fortuiu.' - ■ have his 
 Rocky Mountain adventures imni . ty Wash- 
 
 ington Irving — being an oflicer of the I'nited States 
 army on furiough — fitted out an exploring expedi- 
 tion of forty men. in 1S33, under the guidance of the 
 since celebrated Joseph Walker, for the purpose of 
 seeking beaver regions between the Great Salt 
 Lake and the Pacific Ocean. This party, leaving 
 the general rendezvous in the Green River Valley, 
 reached the head-waters of Mary's River ^^Irving calls 
 it Ogden's River>. and trapped slowly down its course 
 until they rvached its sink, from where they crossed 
 the country west to Pyramid Lake, thence up Truckee 
 River into the Sierra Nevada, and across those 
 mountains into Calit'ornia. 
 
 These were the first explorers, the ommipresent 
 Smith family in the lead, to open the way across the 
 continent, and t ' - .ins. and lakes. 
 
 as lasting memu: - us lives. Trap- 
 
 pers and hunters continued to traverse the basin, 
 and these were followed by " _ ts who sought 
 the western coast as their h- . who have lett 
 
 a greater impress upon the country. 
 
 KIT CARSOX S FIRST VISIT TO XEVADA. 
 
 In 1S33, Thomas McCoy, who was in the employ 
 of the Hudson Bay Company, organized a trapping 
 party, and Chri>topher i Kit'i Carson with five com- 
 panions became members of it. Reports havinj 
 become generally circulated that Mary's River was 
 'sed with beaver. McCoy's party 
 - - ;^ht its waters in search of them. 
 They must have arrived upon the river after it had 
 been tr. ''"■'" - •• they 
 
 met wi: -- _ -- _ V II iho 
 
 stream to its sink returned without going farther 
 and crossed the country- to the Snake River in the 
 north. After this date Kit Carson did not visit any 
 portion of what is now Nevada until with Fremont 
 in 1S44. 
 
 EHIGRJLTIOX rXDER CAPT. J. B. BARTLESOX IX 1S41. 
 
 The Great Basin of Nevada has been the field of but 
 the Indian and the trapper until the summer of 1S4I 
 The first explorers have reptorted of its lakes, its 
 
THE trapp?:rs and early emigration. 
 
 2 3 
 
 rivers, " sinks," and deserts, and of the ffreat snowy 
 rid^e that separates them I'nmi the sunny valleys ol' 
 the I'aeific Coast. People seekinu; that lair land had 
 made the toilsome journey by Orejjon, or the storm}- 
 voj-ajje by Cape Horn. At Independence, Missouri, 
 a party of younji;, educated, and enerj^etic adven- 
 turers had feathered from different parts of the 
 United States, destined fi>r that land of the far West, 
 and on the eiiflith of .May, IHH, started on their 
 lonii journey-. .Many of these pioneers have become 
 eons])icuou8 in the history of the West, and their 
 names arc here a]ipe!i<led: — 
 
 Col. J. B. Harlleson, Ca|)tain of the jiarty, re- 
 turned to Missouri; is now dead. 
 
 John Bidwell. resides in Chico. 
 
 Col. Joseph H. Chiles, resides in Xapa Countj'. 
 
 Josiah Beldcn, resides at San Jose and San Fran- 
 cisco. 
 
 Charles M. Weber, founder of Stockton, now dead. 
 
 Charles Hopper, resides in Napa County. 
 
 Henry Huber, resides in San Francisco. 
 
 Michael C. Nj'e, resides in Oregon. 
 
 Green Mc.Muhon, resides in Solano County. 
 
 Nelson Mc.Mahon, returned to Missouri. 
 
 Talbot H. Green, resides in Pennsylvania. 
 
 Ambrose Walton, returned to Missouri. 
 
 John McDowell, returned to Missouri and died. 
 
 George Henshaw, returned to Missouri. 
 
 Col. Robert Ryckman, returned to Missouri ami 
 died. 
 
 William Belty. 
 
 Charles Fliitrge. returned to Missouri. 
 
 Crwinii Patlon, returned to Missouri and died. 
 
 Benjamin Kclsey, wife and child, resided within a 
 few years in Santa Barbara County. 
 
 Andrew Kelsey, killed by Indians at Clear Lake. 
 
 James John, went to Oregon. 
 
 Henry Brolaski, went to Callao, and thence to 
 Missouri. 
 
 James Dawson, drowned in Columbia Hiver. 
 
 Major Walton, drowned in Sacramento I{iver. 
 
 George Shortwell.accidentallj- shot on the journey. 
 
 John Swartz, died in Ciilifornia. 
 
 Grove C. Cook, died at San Jose, California. 
 
 1). W. Chandler, died at San Francisco. 
 
 Nicholas Dawson. <lcad. 
 
 Thomas Jones, (lead. 
 
 Robert II. T homes, died March 2(;, 1S78, at 
 Tehama. 
 
 JOlias Barnelt, live<l in Napa County. 
 
 J. P. Springer, died at or near Santa Cruz. 
 
 This was the first ]»arty of emigrants to cross the 
 basin of Nevada en mufti to California Their jour- 
 ney was made on horseback and with pack-animals. 
 They followed the then known trail rin the South 
 Pass to Salt Lake, thence to the Humboldt and to 
 the Carson and Walker Rivers, following the latter to 
 near its source, when they crossed the Sierra, 
 descending its western slojje between the Stiiiiislaus 
 and Tuolumne Rivers, to the San Joaquin Valley, end- 
 
 ing their journey at the ranch of Dr. Marsh, near 
 the base of Mount Diablo, on the fourth of Novem- 
 ber, 184L At this point the company disbanded, 
 making their future homes in different part- nf tin- 
 country. 
 
 FRE.MO.NT'8 E.XPEDITION IN 184:i-44. 
 
 Fremont, in his second e.\|>edition of explorations, 
 visited the (ireat Basin for the object of ascer- 
 taining certain geographical features respecting 
 which there was a <liscrepaiic3' between the maps of 
 the country and the reports of the trajjpers. The 
 first was the position of the Tlavialh, which he says 
 is often called Klamel — now written Klamath. He 
 writes: — 
 
 From this lake our course was intended to be 
 about southeast, to a re])orled lake called Mary's, at 
 some days' journey in the Great Basin, and thence 
 still on southeast, to the reputed Buenaventura River, 
 which has a place on so man}- maps, and counte- 
 nanced the belief of the existence of a great river 
 flowing from the Rocky Mountains to the Bay of San 
 Francisco. 
 
 Thence he would go eastward and home. The 
 land was a terru incoijiuta, as he says: — 
 
 A great part of it absolutely new to geographi- 
 cal, botanical, and geological science, and the subject 
 of reports in relation to lakes, rivers, deserts and 
 savages hardly above the condition of mere wild 
 animals. 
 
 He enters the Great Basin December IG, 1843, 
 passing and naming Lake Abert, in honor of the 
 chief of Topographical Engineers to which F'remont 
 belonged. On the third of January, 1844, he 
 
 Reached and run over the position where, accord- 
 ing to the best maps in my po.s,session, we should 
 have found ilary's Lake o r River. We were evidently 
 on the verge of the desert which had been reported 
 to us; and the a])]>earance of the country was so for- 
 bidding, that I was afraid to enter it, and determined 
 to bear away to the sc>utbward, keejiing close along 
 the mountains, in the full expectation of reaching 
 Buenaventura Hiver. Latitude, by observation, 40° 
 48' 1.-,'. 
 
 From a high mountain he espied a column of steam 
 sixteen miles distant, indicating the presence of hot 
 springs, and ho determined to go to them. Of these 
 he writes as follows: — 
 
 This is the most extraordinary locality of hot 
 springs wo had met on our journey. The basin of 
 the largest one lias a circumference of several hun- 
 dred feet; but there is at one extremity a circular 
 space of about tittcen feet in diameter, entirely occu- 
 pied by the boiling water. It boils up at irregular 
 intervals, and with much noise. The water is clear, 
 and the spring deep; a pole about sixteen feet long 
 was easily imnierseil in the center, but we had no 
 means of forming a good idea of the depth. It was 
 surrounded on the margin with a border of ynin 
 grass, and near the shore the temperature of the 
 water was 2(lii'^. We bail no means of ascerl. •lining 
 that r>f till' crnler, win lo liie In at \v;is gre;it« .-t ; but 
 by disper.-ing the water with a pole, the tempera- 
 
24 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 ture at the margin was increased to 20S°. and in the 
 center it was doubtless higher. Bj- driving the pole 
 towards the bottom, the water was made to boil up 
 with increased force and noise. There are several 
 Other interesting jilaces. where water and smoke, or 
 gas escape, but tiiey would require a long description. 
 The water is impregnated with common salt, but not 
 so much as to render it unfit lor general cooking; 
 and a mi.xlure of snow made it pleasant to drink. 
 The latitude of the springs is 40° 39' 46". 
 
 On the tenth of the month he first came in sight 
 of Pyramid Lake, lie writes: — 
 
 Beyond, a defile between the mountains de- 
 scended rapidly about 2,000 feet; and filling up all 
 the lower space, was a sheet of green water, some 
 twenty miles broad. It broke upon our eyes like 
 the ocean. 
 
 Continuing his narrative, Fremont writes, Janu- 
 arj- 14th:— 
 
 Part of the morning was occupied in bringing up 
 the gun; and making only nine miles, \ve cam])ed on 
 the shore, o))posite a very remarkable rock in the 
 lake, which had attracted our attention for many 
 miles. It rose, according to our estimate about 600 
 feet above the water, and from the jjoint we 
 viewed it, presented a pretty exact outline of the 
 great pyramid of Uheops. Like other rocks along 
 the shore, it seemed to be incrusted with calcareous 
 cement. This striking feature suggested a name for 
 the lake, and I called it I'yramid Luke. 
 
 On the night of the ISih, the whites camped at 
 the point where the Truckce flows into Pyramid 
 Lake, and the next day pursued their way up that 
 stream, which Fremont named " Salmon Trout 
 River," having obtained many trout of the Indians 
 who caught them in the river. At the point where 
 Wadsworlh now stands, on the Central Pacific Rail- 
 road, they left the river, still looking for the Buena- 
 ventura, and followed an Indian trail to the south- 
 cast, until what is now called Car.son River was 
 reached, at the point where it comes out from the 
 foot-hills near Rtigtown into the great plains where 
 it sinks, in Churchill County. The expedition moved 
 down the stream about three hours and camped. Jan- 
 uary ISth, because of the apparent impossibility of 
 reaching the Rocky Mountains by continuing in that 
 direction, in the worn and exhausted condition to 
 which the journey thus far had reduced them. 
 Fremont determined to give up the attempt and push 
 across the Sierra west to California. The next day 
 they moved up Carson ]{iver, in ])ursuance of this 
 design, and in two more the place where now stands 
 the ruins of Fort Churchill was reached. Here he 
 ascended a mountain, took a look at the Carson 
 Valley to the southeast, and along its western 
 limits, then at the white snowcapped Sierra beyond, 
 and descending the mountain, again concluded to go 
 farther south, before attempting to cross this for- 
 midable border of storm, of snow, and of ice. 
 January 21st. the expedition left the Carson at the 
 point designated, and moved south to the stream 
 
 now known as Walker River, and moving along the 
 east fork of that stream left it on the 23rd, to pass 
 to the west. The thirty days of struggle for life 
 in the passage over the Nevada Mountains is more 
 properlj- a part of California history, and we leave 
 the "man of destiny" moving toward the north- 
 west with Indian guides, to attempt and succeed in 
 making the perilous crossing. The mountain how- 
 itzer that now is in the possession of Captain A. W. 
 Prey, at Glenbrook, on the eastern shore of Lake 
 Tahoc, was abandoned by Fremont on the twenty- 
 ninth of January. It was afterwards found by Wm. 
 Wright, known to the literary world as '■ Dan De 
 Quille." He gave the point of its locality to a party 
 who was to'get the gun and bring it to Virginia City. 
 It had become a question of some importance, at the 
 time, as to whether it should pass into the possession 
 of the Union or secession element in Nevada, and 
 upon its arrival, in June, 1861. at the Nevada min- 
 ing metropolis, Captain A. W. Prey paid for it, to 
 the party who packed it in, 8200, and thus secured 
 its influence on the side of the maintenance of the 
 Union. The gun was of the kind invented for the 
 mountain part of the French campaign against 
 Algiers. 
 
 THE EMIORANTS OF 1844. 
 
 [From Thompson & West's History o( Nevada County, California, ISSO.] 
 
 The next winter after Fremont made his perilous 
 crossing of the Sierra, another party, a band of- 
 hard}- ))ionecrs, worked their laborious waj- through 
 the drifting snow of the mountains, and entered the 
 beautiful valley, one of them remaining in his snow- 
 bound camp at ])onncr Lake until returning spring 
 made his rescue possible. The party consisted of 
 twenty-three men, John Flomboj-, Captain Stevens, 
 now a resident of Kern County, California, Joseph 
 Foster, Dr. Townsend, Allen Montgomery, Moses 
 Schallenberger, now living in San Jose, California; 
 G. (ireenwood, and his two sons, John and Briit; 
 James Miller, now of San Kafael, ('alifornia; Mr. 
 Calvin, William Martin, Patrick Martin, Dennis 
 Martin. Martin Murphj- and his five sons; Mr. Hitch- 
 cock and son. They left Council Blurt's May 2'!, 
 18-14, en route to Calil'ornia, of the fertilil}' of whoso 
 soil and the mildness of whose climate glowing 
 accounts had been given. The dangers of the j>lains 
 and mountains were passed, and the parlj- reiiched 
 the Humboldt River, when an Indian named Truckeo 
 presented himself and ottered to guide them to Cali- 
 fornia. After <iuestioiiing him closely ihej' einp|i«yed 
 him as their guide, and as they progressed, found 
 that the statements he had made about the route 
 were fully verified. He soon became a great favorite 
 among tiiem, and when they reached the lower 
 crossing of the Truckee River, now Wadsworlh, 
 they gave his name to the beautiful stream, so 
 pleased where they by the pure water and abundance 
 of fish to which he had directed them. The stream 
 will ever live in history as the Truckee Piver, and 
 
. ^^^^^t-^^-^y 
 
Gov. John Henry Kinkead 
 
 Was born at Smithfield, Fayette County, Pennsyl- 
 vania, on the tenth of December, 182ti. Three years 
 after his parents removeii to Zaiiesvillo, Muskingum 
 County, Ohio. Some years later the family made 
 their home at Lancaster, Fairfield County, in the 
 same State, where the eldest living member of the 
 family now resides. 
 
 The Governor's fiither, J. Kinkead, was a native of 
 Chester ("ountj-, Pennsylvania, of Scotch ])arenlage; 
 was married in Baltimore, JIarj-land, to a lady of 
 German descent, where the elder members of the fam- 
 ily were born. He was also an enlisted soldier and 
 officer in the army of 1S12, though not called into 
 active service. Among the public works of those 
 early da3'8 was the construction of a highway by the 
 Government, known as the National Turnpike Eoad, 
 that extended from Baltimore, Maryland, west, 
 through the populous portions of the country, to 
 Columbus, Ohio. It was projected to terminate at 
 St. Louis, but never reached that point. The Gov- 
 ernor's father was a contractor in the building of 
 that road, and moved along its line froni Baltimore 
 westward, first to Smithfield, then to Zanesville, 
 as before mentioned, where his connection with 
 that enterprise ceased. The scholastic training 
 to fit the subject of this sketch for the pur- 
 suits of life was not pursued into fields higher 
 than were attainable in the Lancaster High School, 
 an in.stitute in that day under charge of the brothers 
 Mark and John Howe, bearing a deservedly high 
 reputation. His graduating educational degrees 
 have been obtained under that ])ractical and finished 
 instructor onlj- found in aciiuiring a knowledge of 
 business and of men. At eighteen years of age he 
 entered a wholesale dry goods establishment in St. 
 Louis as a clerk, whore ho remained until his 
 twenty-third j'car, when he crossed the plains in 
 1849, and established, in connection with J. M. Liv- 
 ingston, the pioneer mercantile house at Salt Lake 
 City, known as fjivingston & Kinkead. 
 
 In 1854 he removed to California, where, with his 
 partners, a business was continued that consisted 
 chiefly of buying, selling, and gra/.ing stock. On 
 the first of January,, 185(5, ho was married at Marys- 
 ville, California, to Miss Ijiz/.ie Fall, a daughter of 
 John C. Fall, who now resides at Wilcox, Arizona. 
 After his marriage, with the exception of one year 
 spent in New York City in commercial business, he 
 was interested in a mercantile establishment at 
 Marysville, in connection with Mr. Fall, until 18(11. 
 
 In the fall of 1859 his firm established a branch 
 house at Carson City, Nevada; and in February of 
 18G0, moved there to take charge of the new enter- 
 prisCf since when he has considered the Silver State 
 his home, though occasionallj' absent, and at one 
 time for over three yeai's. His absence, just men- 
 tioned, was from 1,S(!7 to 1871, when he visited 
 Alaska, and was one of the ])arties who went there 
 to witness the act of transfer by the liussian (iovern- 
 ment of the home of the Esquimaux, the icebergs, 
 and seals, to our Government. He was the first 
 ofHcial appointed by the I'nited States to any (lov- 
 ernmental position in that country. It was ten- 
 dered him, with a commission not <iuitc as large as a 
 bedspread, dulj' stamped with the national seal, on 
 which could have been, but was not, written the ten 
 commandments; his pay was to be twelve dollars 
 per year; his occupation and title that of "P. M." 
 (which is Postmaster). 
 
 As a business man. Governor Kinkead has been 
 one of the most active in the country. In con- 
 nection with his associates he built, in early times, 
 the widely-known Mexican (Quartz Mill, located at 
 Empire City; located the pioneer town of Washoe 
 City, and improved the water-power there; was one 
 of the original projectors of the now Virginia and 
 Truckee Railroad; built smelting works at Pleasant 
 Vallej', a mill in the canon below Washoe City, and 
 another at Austin; has been engaged in milling or 
 mining in Ormsbj-, Washoe, Storey, Lander, Hum- 
 boldt, and Esmeralda counties, in this State, in addi- 
 tion to his mercantile pursuits. 
 
 The Governor was Territorial Treasurer under 
 Governor Nye, during the existence of the Terri- 
 torial (Tovcrnment; was a member of both Constitu- 
 tional Conventions convened for the pur])ose of 
 creating a State Organization. Declining any fur- 
 ther political advancement, he devoted himself to 
 business ])ursuits, only emerging therefrom upon his 
 nomination and election as (iovernor of his State in 
 1878. He is agontleman in many respects of superior 
 attainments, with a fair scholastic education: has 
 read law, and traveled extensively in the United 
 States and Territories. Officially he has shown him- 
 self to be industrious, honest, and capable. Socially 
 he is suave and aft'able in his manner. He would 
 address a prince with dignity, or treat a tramp 
 courteously, and greets all with a kind word and 
 gonial pleasant smile, making every one whom he 
 meets glad that Nevada's (iovernor is a gentleman. 
 
THE TRAPPERS AND EARLY EMIGRATION. 
 
 9.-. 
 
 tho fish, tbo famous Tniekee trout, will continue to 
 d(.-lii;iit the palate of tiiu epicure for years to come. 
 
 Fri)m this point the iiurly puslieil on lo the beautiful 
 mountain lake, whose shores but two 3-ears later 
 witnessed a scene of suftoring and death unequaled 
 in the annals of Americ'a's ]>ioneers. Here, at Don- 
 ner Lake, it was decided to build a cab n and store 
 their jjoods until spring, as tho cattle were too 
 exhausted to drag them further. The cabin was 
 built by Allen Jlonlgomery, Joseph Foster, and Moses 
 Schallenberger, all young men used to pioneer life, 
 and who felt I'ully able to maintain themselves b}' 
 their rifles upon the bears and deer that seemed so 
 plentiful in the mountains. The cabin was built of 
 pino sapMngs, with a roof of brush and rawhides; 
 was twelve by fourteen feet and about eii^ht feet 
 high, with a rule chimney and but one aperture for 
 both a window and door. It was about a quarter of 
 a mile below the foot of the lake, and is of peculiar 
 interest, as it was the first habitation built by white 
 men within tho limits of Nevada County, California. 
 
 The cabin was completed in two days, and the 
 parl3' moved on across the summit, leaving but a 
 few provisions and a half-starved and emaciated cow 
 for the support of tho young men, who had under- 
 taken a task, the magnitude of which they little 
 dreamed. It was about the middle of November 
 when tho party left Conner l^ake. and they arrived 
 at Sutter's Fort on the fifteenth of Decembei-, 1844, 
 the journej- down the mountains consumini; a month 
 of toil and privation. The day after the cabin was 
 comjileted a heavy fall of snow commenced and con- 
 tinued for several days, and while the journeying 
 party were plunging and toiling through the storm 
 and drifts, the three young men found themselves 
 surrounded bj- a bed of snow from ten to fifteen feet 
 deep. Tho game had fled down the mountains to 
 escape the storm, and when tho poor cow was half 
 consumed the three snow-bound prisoners began to 
 realize the danger of their situation. Alarmed by 
 the prospect of starvation they determined to force 
 thoir way across the barrier of snow. In one day's 
 journey thej- reached the summit, but poor Schallen- 
 berger was here taken with severe cramps, and was 
 unable to proceed tho following day. Every few 
 feet that ho advanced in his atteni]it to struggle 
 along, he fell to the ground. What could they do? 
 To remain was death, and yet they could not aban- 
 don their sick comrade among the drifting snows on 
 the summit of the Sierra. Foster and Montgomery 
 were )ilaccd in a trying situation. Schallenberger 
 told them that he would remain alone if Ihey would 
 conduct him back to tho cabin. They did so, and 
 providing everything they could for his comfort, 
 took their di^parture, leaving him, sick and feeble, in 
 the heart of the snow-locked mountains. 
 
 A strong will can accom]ilish wonders, and a 
 determination to live is sometimes stronger than 
 death, and young Schallenberger by an exertion of 
 theso was soon able lo rise from his bed and seek for 
 
 food. Among the goods stored in tbo cabin he found 
 some steel traps, with which he caught enough foxes 
 to sustain himsulf in liis little mountain cabin, until 
 tho doors of his prison were unlocked by the melting 
 rays of the vernal sun, and a party of friends came 
 to his relief On the first of March, 1845, he, too, 
 arrived at Sutter's Tort, having spent three months 
 in the drifting snows of tbo "Snowy Mountains," 
 the Sierra Nevada. 
 
 FUE.MONT's EXI'EDITIOS OP 1843. 
 
 In October, 1845, tho " Path-Finder" started from 
 Salt Lake m ilh his i)arty, among whom were Kit Car- 
 son and Joseph Walker, to cross tho country to the 
 west. Alter passing over tho desert lying immedi- 
 ately be^-ond that lake, the party was divided, a 
 portion under Theodore Talbot who had accom- 
 panied General Fremont from Washington, with 
 Walker as a guide, going to Maiy's liiver <lown which 
 it was to pass to the rendezvous near where now is 
 liagtown, in Churchill Count}'. The balance, under 
 Fremont, consisting of fifteen men, among wnom 
 was Kit Carson, passed to the west lliroiigh the coun- 
 try' to tho south of that river, and all finall}- met in 
 November at the point designated, liemaining but 
 one night in comiiaii}' at ihe rendezvous the}- sepa- 
 rated, Talbot going lo tho south by way of Walker's 
 River and Lake, theso waters having been named by 
 Fremont in honor of the famed mounlaineer who 
 accompanied Talbot as a guide. Fremont moved up 
 the stream to which he had given the name of his 
 favorite scout, Carson, and passing through the val- 
 ley anil canon that have since received their name 
 from the river, reached the shores of Lake Tahoe and 
 from thenco passed over into the Sacramento Valle3\ 
 In this connection the following letters are of impor- 
 tance; — 
 
 PuEscOTT, Arizona Terrilorj-, ) 
 February 2!t, 1S81. | 
 
 Mv Deaii Sirs: What is now called Tahoe Lake 1 
 n:inuMl Lake Bonpland upon my first crossing of tho 
 Sierra in 1843-44. 1 gave to the basin river its 
 name of Humboldt and to the mountain lake the 
 name of liis companion traveler, Bonpland, and so 
 put it in the map of that expedition. Tahoe 1 sup- 
 pose is the Indian name and the lake the same 
 though 1 have not visited the head of tho American 
 since I first crossed tho Nevada in '44. . 
 
 Yours truly, J. C. Fue.mont. 
 
 [Aniadc Bonpland, referred to by (Jeneral Fremont, 
 was a native of France, was born at Hochelle, in 
 177;:{, graduated as a |)hysician, and became an emi- 
 nent botanist. lie accompanied Humboldt to Amer- 
 ica, and subse(iuently became a joint author with 
 that celebrated traveler and scientist, of several 
 volumes of valuable works on botany, natural his- 
 tory, and monuments oj' the New World. He was 
 I'or nearly ten years tlelained in Paraguay as u 
 prisoner by the Dictator, I)r. l-'rancia, lo prevent 
 him fi-oni, or to punish him for, allemi)ting to cuiti- 
 
26 
 
 HISTOEY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 vato the iliite, or raragu:iy, tea in that country. In 
 1858, he died at Montevideo, the capital of Uraguay, 
 in South America.] 
 
 Prescott, Arizona Territory, 
 March 8, 
 
 Fcrritory, ) 
 
 8, 1881. ) 
 
 Dear Siks: Yours of the 3d reached me this 
 morning. Carson iJivcr. as well as the others in that 
 region, Humboldt, Walker, and Owens, with the 
 P3ramid and other lakes, were named by me in the 
 winter journey of 1843-44, to which you refer. The 
 only volume which I have had the time to publish 
 since this one, is a "Geographical Memoir and Map," 
 ])ublished under an order of the United States 
 Senate, in 1848. I would send j'ou a co])y if I had 
 one at hand. Thanking you for the interest you 
 show in the subject, and for your disposition to 
 arrive at facts, T am j'ours trul}-, 
 
 J. C. Fremont. 
 
 EDWIN BRV.\NT, AND OTHER E.MKiRANTS OF 1846. 
 
 Among the overland emigrants of 1841), was 
 Edwin Bryant, who later jiubii^hcd a book entitled 
 "What I Saw in California." ile traveled a portion 
 of the way, from Independence, Missouri, in com- 
 pany with the ill-fated "Doniier party;" and he 
 states that — 
 
 The number of emigrants on the road for Oregon 
 and California, I estimate at 3,000. 
 
 lie further records, under date of June l.")lh, that 
 eighteen persons returning to the Slates were met, | 
 who reported that in advance thej- had met on tl.e 
 road 430 teams. Add to this those acconijianying 
 Brj'ant, and it makes 470 vehicles bound for the 
 Pacific Coast, one-half of which he states were 
 destined for California. 
 
 July 15th Brj-ant arrived at Fort Bridger, where 
 he found L. W. Hastings, and Hudspeth of Cali- 
 fornia, awaiting emigrants for that country, to pilot 
 them by a new route just survej-ed, that since has 
 become known as Hastings Cut oft'. On the 20th 
 Brj'ant and nine companions left that fort on horse- 
 back, with jiack-animals, as the first to pass over the 
 new route. He left letters to his friends advising 
 them not to follow him with wagons, but to keep 
 the old way by Fort Hall. The same daj- that 
 Brj-ant's party left Fort Bridger, to reach the Hum- 
 boldt by Hastings Cut-off, that passed to the south 
 of Salt Lake, thej- were followed by some fortj- 
 wagons, guided by Hastings, to bi'cak tlio new i-oad. 
 TheBO reached California throiigii i lie Great Basin, 
 safe as did Bryant, his comjianions, and all who went 
 by the way of Fort Hall, but such was not the case, 
 however, with the last California emigrants of tli.il 
 season who followed, contrary to advice, the trail of 
 Bryant. 
 
 JIAJOR STEPHEN COOI'ER's PARTY. 
 
 In the spring of 184C, Maj. Stephen Coo]ier, who 
 now lives in Colusa County, California, started from 
 Missouri for the Pacific Coast accom])anii'd by Ins 
 
 family. The Major was a frontiersman of note, hav- 
 ing been an associate of Daniel Boone, and had, the 
 year before, accompanied Fremont as far as the Rocky 
 Mountains on his way to California, i'rom where he 
 had returned through Texas to his home in Missouri. 
 Besides his familj- the Major was also accompanied 
 by a train, of which he had charge, consisting of 
 twenty-eight ox-teams transporting emigrants to 
 California. Thej- also passed down the Humboldt 
 Eiver and over the mountains by the Donner Ijake 
 route to their destination, arriving in October of that 
 year in the Sacramento 'N'alley. 
 
 THE DONNER LAKE TRAdEDY IN 1846. 
 
 In April of the above year an emigrant party set 
 out from S])ringfield, Sangamon County, Illinois, for 
 California, among whom were two brothers George, 
 and Jacob Donner, and families numbering sixteen, 
 James F. Reed and family of seven persons, and 
 Franklin W. Graves with a family of twelve. At 
 Indei)endence, Jlissouri, they were joined by Patrick 
 Breen and familj- of nine. Later Mrs. Lavina 
 Murphy, a widow lady with whom was her familj-, 
 joined them one hundred miles west of Fort Bridger, 
 and these were the jirincipal members of the Donner 
 party proper that numbered ninety souls. Inde- 
 pendence was reached in the first week of May, and 
 the train finallj- was increased to between two and 
 three hundred wagons. At this ])oint jirovisions 
 were purchased and the overland journey commenced. 
 On the si.xtcenlli of June Mrs. tieorge Donner in 
 a letter re])orted very favorablj' of the expedition 
 u]) to that time and jdace, 450 miles fi-(mi Inde- 
 ))entlence. At Fort Laramie some of them joined in 
 celebrating the Fonrtli of July, and on the 20th of 
 that month at Little Sandy River, George Donner 
 was elected Ca])tain of the train. At Fort Bridger a 
 portion of the emigrants decided to try a new route 
 to California by the waj- of Salt Lake, known as the 
 Hastings Cut-otf; the remaining members of the 
 l)arty jjreferring to take the longer, but belter known 
 route by wiiich thej- eventually reached in safety- the 
 point of their destination. Those choosing the Salt 
 Lake route were the ones whose tragic fate, leading _ 
 them to Starvation Camj), has handed their history 
 down to ])Osterity as the darkest page shadowing 
 the history of Pacific Coast pioneer life. With the 
 change of route their trials began. Salt l>ake being 
 reached in over thirty instead of seven days as antic- 
 ipated. Then the great desert beyond that lake was 
 to be crossed, trackless, barren, anil desolate and 
 foreboding. From that time forward misfortune's 
 hand lay heavy upon them, hope's outlines fading 
 grew less distinct in the shadows of each departing 
 day, while in every succeeding event seemed lurking 
 some dark tragedy. At the western margin of the 
 desert it was determined that some one must go for- 
 ward to Sutter's Fort, 700 miles, and come back to 
 meet them on the way with jirovisions. Volunteers 
 were called for to do this when Wm. McCutchcn of 
 Missouri, and C. T. Stanton of Chicago, Illinois, 
 
TPIK TI;AIM'KI!S .\M» KAULY KMltlKATlUN. 
 
 27 
 
 rcs]ioiuli'(l. and started on hoi-sol)at'l< alone iipon the 
 forlorn Lopo mission ol' lil'o or deatli to all wlio wore 
 left behind. 
 
 (travellj- Kord. on the Ilumliolilt. was reaelied, with 
 wornoiit cattle, by the eniacialed travelers, who 
 were subsisting upon short rations. At this jilace 
 oeeurred the saddest event that misfortune east h}' 
 the wayside for those vietims Irailini^ their course 
 from haiipy homes in the East to the court of death 
 bj- the hank of liake l)onner. There was a youni^ 
 man some twenty-three years of aj^e, named Joim 
 Snyder, who was driving one of the teams for Mr. 
 Graves. lie was a person of unusually fine apjicar- 
 ance. rather tall, well develo])ed, jireposscssitij;, and 
 lookeil a kinjj amonj; men. In disposition liappy, 
 mirthful, jubilant, with a smile and kind word for 
 every one; he had become the favorite of the party. 
 He had one misfortune, that of a fierce, uni;overn- 
 able tenijier when the lion of anger W'as stirred 
 within him. Jlary Graves, a tall, graceful, ilark- 
 e^-ed beauty, also one of the emigrants, was to 
 become his bride upon tlieir arrival in California. At 
 this fatal ford an altercation occui'red between him 
 and James F. I?eed. Mrs. J?eed, in rushing be- 
 tween tlie combatants, received a cruel blow from 
 the butt .end of a whip intended for her lH^^band, 
 dealt by Sn}'der, who the next instant staggered 
 back with his life blood flowing from a mortal wound 
 received in the side from a knife in the hand of the 
 enraged husband. Mr. Reed was banished from the 
 traiTi without food, or gun to get it witli, to make 
 his way as best he could to California; but after" he 
 had gone affection overtook him. A friend stole out of 
 camp with his gun. accom]ianied by Mr. Heed's little 
 twelve-j-ear-old girl Virginia, who had secreted 
 some crackers about her ]ierson, and following the 
 wretched traveler, came up with him. But for this 
 he must have perished on the desert, from which 
 cruel fate he was saved through the constancj' of a 
 friend and the affections of his child. The remains 
 of young Snyder were buried near tlie jilace where 
 he had fallen. The next day the train moved on 
 with the heart-broken girl, who li;iil looked for the 
 last time u]ion the one that she had loved, and tlie 
 little mound that forever covered his form from her 
 sight. 
 
 On the ninth of October while moving down the 
 Humboldt, an old man named llardcoo]) in comjiany 
 with Keseberg, fell behind the train. That night 
 Keseberg came into camp but the old man did not; 
 he had traveled until his feet hurst 0|)en, and then 
 laid down and died. At Humboldt sink twenty- 
 eight of their cattle were run otf by Indians, and the 
 party was near the verge of des))air. They continued 
 however to struggle on, all of them on foot now 
 except the children and disabled. They were liter- 
 ally starving, some of them being forced to go with- 
 out food for a daj^ or more at a time. On the four- 
 teenth of October, between Humboldt sink and 
 Wadswortb, Keseberg and a wealthy member of the 
 
 party named Wolfinger. fell l)ehin<l and the latter was 
 never seen afterwards; Keseberg came into camp 
 without his companion, and later on^ Joseph Hein- 
 hart, when dying, confesse<l to having had something 
 to do with the murder of the missing man. The 
 further trials and terrible horrors that beset the 
 ])ath of this ill-starre<l jiart}- is taken from the his- 
 tory before mentioned of Nevada ('ounty, California, 
 by Thompson & West, and wo quote the following 
 from that work: — 
 
 On the nineteenth of October, near the present 
 site of Wadswortb, Nevada, the destitute company 
 was happily reprovisioned by C. T. Stanton; fur- 
 nished with food and mules, together with two 
 Indian vaqueros, by Captain Sutter, without com- 
 pensation. ' 
 
 At the present site of Iteno it was concluded to 
 rest. Three or four daj's' time was lost. This was 
 the fatal act. The storm-clouds were already brew- 
 ing upon the mountains, only a few miles distant. 
 The ascent was ominous. Thick and thicker grew 
 the clouds, outsvri))ping in threatening battalions the 
 now eagar feet of the alarmed emigrants, until, at 
 Prosser Creek, three miles below Truckee, October 
 28, IS-tG, a month earlier than usual, the storm set 
 in. and they found themselves in six inches of ncwly- 
 fallcn snow. On the summit it was already from 
 two to five feet deep. The party, in much confusion, 
 finally reached DonnerLakein disordered fragments. 
 Fre(jucnt and desperate attempts were made to cross 
 the mountain tops, but at last, liaHied and des])airing, 
 they returned to camp at the lake. The storm now 
 descended in all its ])itiles8 furj- upon the ill-fated 
 emigrants. Its dreadful import was well undei-stood, 
 as laden with omens of suffering and death. With 
 slight interru))tions, the storm continued for several 
 days. The animals were litorallj* buried alive and 
 frozen in the drifts. Meat was hastilj' ]irepared 
 from their frozen carcasses, and cabins rudely built. 
 One, the Schalleni>ergor cabin, erected November, 
 1844, was already standing, about a quarter of a mile 
 below the lake. This the Hreen family appro])riated. 
 The Murphys erected one three hundred j^ards from 
 the lake, marked by a largo stone twelve feet high. 
 The tiraves family built theirs near Donner Creek, 
 three-quarters of a mile farther down the stream, 
 the three forming the apexes of a triangle; the Rreen 
 and .Murphj' cabins were distant from each other 
 about one hundred and fifty yards. The Donner 
 brothers, with their families, hastily constructed a 
 brush shed in Alder Creek Valley, six or seven miles 
 from the lake. Their jirovisions were speedily con- 
 sumed, and starvation, with all its grim attendant 
 horrors, stared the poor emigrants in the face. Day 
 by day, with aching hearts and paralyzed energies, 
 they awaited, amid the beating storms of the Sierra, 
 the dread revelation of the morrow, " hoping against 
 hope " for some welcome sign. 
 
 On the sixteenth day of December, 184(5, a party 
 of seventeen were enrolled to attempt the hazardous 
 
28 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 journey over the mountains, to press into the valley 
 beyond for relief. Two returned, and the remaining 
 fifteen pressed on, including Mary Graves and her 
 sister, Mrs. Sarah l''osdick, and several other women, 
 the heoric C. T. Stanton and the noble K. W. Graves 
 (who left his wife and seven children at the lake to 
 await in vain his relurn) being the leader.s. This 
 was the " Forlon Hope Party," over whose dreadful 
 sufferings and disaster we must throw a veil. A 
 detailed account of this party is given from the 
 graphic i)en of C. F. .McGlashan, and lately published 
 in book form from the press of MctJIashan, proprietor 
 of the Tiurkee Republican, to which we take pleasure 
 in referring the reader. Death in its most awful 
 form reduced the wretched company to seven — two 
 men and five women — when suddenly tracks were 
 discovered im|>rinted in the snow. "Can any one 
 imagine," says Mary Graves in her recital, '^ the 
 joy these foot-])rints gave us ?" We ran as fast as our 
 strength would "carry us." Turning a sharj) point 
 the)- suddenlj- came upon an Indian ranclicria. The 
 acorn-bread offered them by the kind and awe- 
 stricken savages was eager!}' devoured. Bui on thiy 
 pressed with their Indian guides, only to rejicat their 
 dreadful sutlerings, until at last, one evening about 
 the last of January, Mr. Eddj-. with his Indian guide, 
 precediiig the ]iarly fifteen miles, reached Johnson's 
 IJanch, on Bear IJiver, the firstscttlement on the west- 
 ern slope of the Sierra, when relief was sent back as 
 soon as possible, and the remaining si.x survivors 
 were brought in next daj'. It had been thirty-two 
 daj^s since they left Donncr Lake. No tongue can 
 tell, no pen portray, the awful suft'ering, the terrible 
 and appalling straits, as well as the noble deeds of 
 heroism that characterized this march of death. The 
 eternal mountains, whose granite faces bore witness 
 to their sufferings, are fit monuments to mark the 
 last resting i)lace of Charles T. Stanton, that cultured, 
 heroic soul, who groped his way through the blind- 
 ing snow of the Sierra to immortality. The divinest 
 encomium — "lie gave his life as a ransom for 
 many" — is his epita)ih, foreshadowed in his own 
 noble words, " I will bring aid to these famishing 
 people f)r l(iy tlomt my life." 
 
 Nothing could be done, in tlii^ meantime, for the 
 relief of the suftercrs at Donncr Lake, without secur- 
 ing hel]i from Fort Sutter, which was s])eedily accom- 
 plished by John lihodcs. In a week, si.\ men, fully 
 provisioned, with ('aptain Reasin P. Tucker at their 
 head, reached Johnson's Eanch, and in ten or twelve 
 days' time, with jirovisions, mules, eic, the first 
 relief ])arty started for the scene of Donncr Lake. It 
 was a fearful undertaking, but on the morning of the 
 nineteenth of Februarj-, 1847, the above parly began 
 the descent of the gorge leading to Donncr Lake. 
 
 We have iiurposel^' ihi-own a veil over the dread- 
 ful sufferings ol' the stricken band left in their 
 wretched hovels at Donner Lake. Iie<Iuced to the 
 verge of starvation, many died (inchnling numerous 
 children, seven of whom were nursing babes) who, 
 
 in this dreadful state of necessity-, were summarily 
 disposed of. Rawhides, moccasins, strings, etc., 
 were eaten. IJut relief was now close at hand for 
 the poor stricken sufferers. On the evening of the 
 nineteenth of February, 1847, the stillness of death 
 that had settled upon the scene was broken by pro- 
 longed shouts. In an instant the ])ainfnllj- sensitive 
 ears of the despairing watchers caught the welcome 
 sound. Captain Tucker, with his relief party, had 
 at last arrived upon the scene. Every face was 
 bathed in tears, and the strongest men of the relief 
 party, melted at the appalling sight, sat down and 
 wept with the rest. But time was precious, as 
 storms were imminent. The return party was 
 quickly gathered. Twenty-three members started, 
 among them several women and children. Of 
 this number two were compelled to return, and three 
 perished on the journej-. Many iiardships and pri- 
 vations were exjjerienced, and their provisions were 
 soon entirely exhausted. Death once more stared 
 them in the face, and despair settled u])on them. 
 But assistance was near at hand, .lames F. Reed, 
 who had precLMled the Donner parly bj' some months, 
 suildcnly apj>eared with the second relief ]>arty, on 
 the twenly-firih of Febi'uary, 1847. The joy of the 
 meeting was indescribable, especially between the 
 family and the long-absent father. Rejirovisioned, 
 the jiarty pressed on, and gained their destination 
 after severe suffering, with eighteen members, only 
 three having ])erished. Reed continued his journey 
 to the c.ibins at Donner Lake. There the scoiie was 
 simi)ly indescribable, starvation and disease wore fast 
 claiming their victims. JLirch 1st (according to 
 Breen's diary), Reed and his parly arrived at the 
 camp. Priiceeding dii'eculy to his cabin, he was 
 espied by his liule daughter (who, with her sister 
 was carried back by the previous parly), and imme- 
 diately recognized with a cry of joy. Provisions 
 were carefully deal I out to the famishing [leoijle, and 
 immediate steps were talien for the i-eturn. Seven- 
 teen comprised this ]iarly. Half starved and com- 
 pletely exhausted, they were compelled to cam)) in 
 the midsl of a furious storm, m which Mr. Reed 
 barely escaiied with his life. This was "Starved 
 Camp," and from this ))oint Mr. Ri-ed, with his two 
 little children and another person, struggled ahead 
 to obtain hasty relief if possible. 
 
 On the second daj' alter leaving Starved Camp, 
 Mr. Reed and the three companions were overtaken 
 by Cady and Stone, and on the night of the third 
 day reached Woodwoiths Camp, at Bear Valley, in 
 safet}-. The horrors of Starved Camp beggar all 
 description, indeed, require none. The third relief 
 parly, composed of John Stark, Howard Oakley, 
 and Charles Stone, were nearing the rescue, while 
 W, n. Foster and W. 11. Kddy (rescued by a former 
 party) were bent on the same mission. These, with 
 Iliiam .Miller set out from Woodworth's Camp in the 
 following morning after Reed's arrival. The eleven 
 were tluly reached, but were in a starving condition, 
 
CHANGE OF FLAG IN 184G. 
 
 29 
 
 anil nine of the eleven were un:il>lo to walk. ]?}• the 
 noble resolution and herculean etlbrtH of John Stark, 
 a j)art of the number were borne and urjijcd onward 
 to their destination, while the other ))ortion \s'as 
 com])elled to remain and await another relief part}-. 
 When the third relief parly, under Foster and Eddy, 
 arrived at Donner I.iake, the sole survivors at Alder 
 Creek were (ieorije Donner, the Cai)tain of the com- 
 ]iany. and his heroic and faithful wife, whose devo- 
 tion to her dyin<; husband caused her own death 
 dui'ini; the last and fearful days of waiting i'or the 
 fourth relief (Jeorgo Donner knew he was dying, 
 and urged his wife to save her lil'e, and go with her 
 little ones, with the third relief, but she refused. 
 Nothing was more heart-rending than her sad part- 
 ing with her beloved little ones, who wound their 
 childish arms lovingly around her neck, and besought 
 her with mingled tears and kisses to join them. But 
 duly prevailed over affection, and she retraced the 
 weary distance to die with him whom she had prom- 
 ised to love and honor to the end. Such scenes of 
 anguish arc seldom witnessed on this sorrowing 
 earth, and such acts of triumjjhant devotion are 
 among her most golden deeds. The snowy cere- 
 ments of Donner i>ake enshrouded in its stilly white- 
 ness no purer life, no nobler heart than Mrs. (Jcorge 
 Onnner's. The terrible recitals that close this awlul 
 tragedy we williiiglj' omit. 
 
 The tliiiil relief party rescued four of the five last 
 survivors; the fourth anil last relief Jiarty rescued 
 the last survivor, Lewis Keseberg, on the seventh of 
 April, 1847. Ninety names are given as members of 
 the Dormer part}'. Of these, fort3'-two perished, 
 six did not live to reach the mountains, and foi-tj-- 
 eight survived. Tvvent^'-six, and possib.y twent}-- 
 eight, out of the fortj'-eight survivors, are living to- 
 day, several residing in San Jose, Calistoga, Los 
 Galos, JIarysville. and in Oregon. 
 
 Thus ends this narrative of horrors, without a ]iar- 
 allel in the annals of American hisiory, of appallinir 
 disasters, fearful sufferings. Iieruic fortituile, self- 
 denial and heroism. 
 
 The emigration increased in ISIT, and then the 
 gold discovered in 1848 induced a steady stream of 
 treasure-seekers to come from the States, over the 
 ])lains, and down the IluinlmUll liiver in 1S40, en 
 route for California. Their number precludes the 
 possibility of a furthiM- detail of ihe aiivent of those 
 who were but passing through Nevada. 
 
 CU A I'T HI! 111. 
 CHANGE OF FLAG IN 1846. 
 
 Tliefire.it Risiii Ceded by Mexieo ti) the United States in lS4i> 
 — St.ite of J)e.ser<t Organized— Utah Titrritiiry Or^^anized — 
 Diacovery of (Jiild anil Karly SettUineiit of Western 
 Utali — Transient Settlement — Letter of Itobert Lyon. 
 
 TiiF. ]5ear Flag War in California was inaugtirated 
 at Sonoma on the fourteenth of June, in 184(1, and 
 while the Donuor party was striving to roach that 
 
 coutitrj-, unbeknown to them a struggle was going 
 on there between tlie Mexican authorities and the 
 foreign or American ])o])ulation tor ])osscssion of 
 that country, which terminated in favor of the 
 Americans. At the same time war was r.aging 
 between the United States and Alexico, that finally 
 resulted in the trium]di of our armies, and a treaty 
 which was signed February '1. 1848, ceded to our 
 Government a large tract of countr}', dating the ces- 
 sion from the seventh of July, 1840, when Commodore 
 Sloat raised the American Hag at Monterey. The 
 territory thus obtained included all of Mexieo lying 
 between the Pacific Ocean and the Jtocky Mount- 
 ain.s that was bounded on the north by the 42° 
 of north latitude, which is the line between Oregon 
 and California; and on the south by the Uila IJiver, 
 and what is the present south lino of California. 
 Conseiiuently. what now is known as Nevada, Utah, 
 and Arizona, was, until the conquest in 184(i, a part 
 of Mexico and of the Mexican Territory of Alta 
 California. 
 
 STATE OF DESERET ORllANIZEl). 
 
 On the eighteenth of March, 18 lit, the Mormons 
 assenililed in convention at Salt Jjake and organized 
 a Territorial (iovernment over what the}' designated 
 as the "Slate of Desoret." The boundaries named 
 for this new Territory included what is now Utah, 
 Nevada, Arizona, a ])ortion of Colorado, a slice from 
 Uregon, and thai portion of Wyoming lying south of 
 the Wind liiver Mountains. It also included of what 
 is now California. San Diego and Los Angeles Coun- 
 ties, as far up the coast as Santa Monica. From 
 there the line ran directly north to the ridge of the 
 Sierra Nevada, and took in half of Kern C'ounty, a 
 ])art of Tulare, all of ln\o and Mono, u part of 
 Alpine, all of Lassen, a |)art of Shasta and Siskiyou 
 
 Counties. 
 
 UTAH TEllKITOllY OIKiANl/.EU. ^ 
 
 On the nitith of September, IS.'jO, the da}* on 
 which California was admitted as a State, Congress, 
 by Act, established the Territory of Utah with the 
 following boundaries: '■ Bounded on the west by the 
 Slate of California; on the north by the Territory of 
 Oregon; on the east by the summit of the Rocky 
 Mountains; and on the south by the thirty-seventh 
 parallel of north latitude." 
 
 EAKI.V SErri.EJIENT l.N WESTERN I'TAII. 
 
 In the earlj' spring of 1850, a number of parties 
 set out from Salt Lake District for California. Tliey 
 reached the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada in the 
 Carson Valley before the melting of snow had ren- 
 dered those mountains traversable, and were forced 
 to pass the consequent tedious houi-s and daj's of 
 waiting as they best could. Some members of the 
 train having mined before, a prosjiecting party was 
 suggested, that started for this juirpose to soarcli for 
 gold along the various streams flowing into the 
 Carson Kiver. They finally reached, by ])assing 
 down that stream, the present site of Dayton, where 
 
30 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 a little creek was found flowinij out from a canon, 
 where they tried for gold and found it. The dis- 
 covery \VM made, but failed to develop suflScient 
 richness to warrant those finding it in changing their 
 original design ol' going over the mountains, and 
 thus the news of placers found in the Great Basin, 
 was carried to California early in 1850. 
 
 DISCOVERY OP GOLD. 
 
 lion. C. N. Noteware, of Carson City, late Secre- 
 tary of State for iS'evada, in mentioning this sub- 
 ject, saj^s: "The writer passed the mouth of Gold 
 Canon on the third daj- of July, 1850, and on the 
 divide between there and Empire, met a party of 
 miners from California on their way with a mining 
 outfit to work in the canon, where thej- said gold 
 had been discovered the year before by a party of 
 emigrants." 
 
 Capt. Robert L}'on, who passed the same ])lace 
 about fifteen days later, writes from San Buena- 
 ventura, California, that, "In July. lsr)0, there was 
 some placer mining carried on in the canon at the 
 mouth of whicli Dayton now stands; and during that 
 year, the canons leading into the mountains from the 
 Carson, Washoe, and Steamboat Valleys, were 
 thoroughly explored and prospected for gold. I 
 camped at the old Mormon Station (Genoa) about the 
 twentieth of July that year, (I know I arrived at 
 Placerville the twenty-seventh of Jul}-), and at that 
 time there was a party of Mormon miners from Cali- 
 fornia prosj)ecting in Gold Canon. They brought 
 some gold-dust to the station while 1 was there, but 
 said there was richer diggings near ilanglown, 
 (Placerville), and unless they Ibund better pay in a 
 few days, they would return to California." 
 
 The writer conversed upon this subject with manj', 
 and the evidence of all the belter informed corrob- 
 orated the fact of the discovery of gold in 1850; but 
 additional fact was obtained from Walter Cosser, 
 who first came to Nevada in 1852, and has remained 
 here since. Said ho: " In the fall of 1852 I was 
 mining in Gold Canon, when two young men came to 
 the gulch IVom California, on their way to visit their 
 
 parents at Salt Lake. Their names were" he 
 
 hesitated here, and it was sevi'ral hours before the 
 names were remembci'cd as being that of Cole and 
 EobinsoD. " They remained in tlie cafion until 'the 
 spring of 1853, and then continued their journej*. 
 While there, in the mines, Ilobinson told me that he 
 was one of a party from Salt Lake in the spring of 
 1850, who came to Carson Valley on their way to Cal- 
 ifornia, arriving lietbre the snow had'melted from the 
 road over the mountains, Ac." Mr. Cosser ])roceeded to 
 relate substantially the same account alreadj- given of 
 the gold discovery, and his language is repeated here 
 only because it rescues from oblivion a portion of 
 the name of one of the gold discoverers in Nevada. 
 
 TRANSIENT SETTLEMENT. 
 
 The ipicstion of who were the first settlers in 
 Nevada is a disputed one, and because of this fact 
 the following letter is inserte<i; — 
 
 San Buenaventura, Cal., ) 
 November 10, 1880. | 
 Dear Sirs : Yours of the sixth in regard to first 
 settlement of whites in Nevada, is at hand. The 
 following facts 1 know to be true. I crossed the 
 plains in 1850, in what was known as the Wilmington 
 train, from Illniois, that was well fitted up for the 
 trip with good horses and mules that outtraveled 
 most of the trains. We did not lead the emigration 
 of that 3'ear, but were in the foremost ranks of it. 
 After passing Salt Lake wo frequentlj' met saddle 
 and pack-trains from California on their way to 
 meet friends on the plains. We were alwa^'s anxious 
 to see these Californians, to learn the news from 
 California, inquire the best road to travel, and tho 
 best place to purchase such provisions as we were in 
 need of. And all of these Californians spoke of the Mor- 
 mon Station as the principal trading-post east of tho 
 Sierra. There were several ])laces on the Humboldt 
 and Carson Kivors where whisky and flour were 
 sold from a canvas tent or cloth house, but these 
 traders packed their house on a mule and left when 
 the emigration for that season was over. The Mor- 
 mon Station (the present Genoa) was founded in 
 June, 1850, by Salt Lake Mormons. I arrived at 
 that station about July 20, 1850. and sta3-e<l there to 
 rest one day. I sold a good American horse to tho 
 man who kept tho trading-post for thirty pounds of 
 flour and fifteen dollars. Flour wa-* SI. 50 per pound, 
 and he allowed me sixty dollars for niy horse. There 
 were two or three women and some children at the 
 |(laee, and I understood that they had settled there 
 with the intention of remaining permanently. They 
 claimed a section of land, including the grass plat 
 where S. A. Kinsey's orchard and house now stand. 
 We had to go a distance above to picket our horses. 
 They had quite a band of fat cattle and cows which 
 they brought from Salt Lake; some of the fattest 
 beef 1 ever saw hung su^^pended from the limbs of 
 a big pino tree. Beneath the tree was a butchers' 
 block, cleaver, and steak knife. They retailed the 
 meat to hungry emigrants at six bits ])er pound. I 
 have never since eaten beef that tasted so sweet as did 
 that. In regard to improvements there was one 
 store where they kept for sale flour, boans, tea, 
 coffee, sugar, dried peaches, sardines, tobacco, miners' 
 clothing, overalls, shirts, etc., etc. There was also a 
 grocery whore they sold whiskj*, broad, cigars and 
 tobacco. Thej- had a good-sized log-house com- 
 pleted all but the roof. I was inlbrmed that it was 
 intended for a family dwelling and eating-house. So 
 j-oii seethe Morinoii Station was well established and 
 widely known in July, 1S50, and the traders at that 
 post were getting rich trading with the emigrants. 
 * * * * Respectfully yours, 
 
 Robert Lvon. 
 
SETTLEMENT OF CARSON VALLEY. 
 
 31 
 
 CHAPTER lY. 
 
 SETTLEMENT OF CARSON VALLEY 
 
 1851. 
 
 riic First Settlemeat — The .Squatter Government of 1851 — 
 First Meeting o{ Citizens— Seeonil .Meeting of Citizens^ 
 Tliirtl Meeting of Citizens — Civil (iovernnient — A Clerk and 
 ConstaWe — Fourth Meeting of Citizens — The Present of .Some 
 of Those — The Fate of Others— Iteese ami Kiusey— Stock.iile 
 Built — (Jarilen Planted — hjigle Uaiieh Located. 
 
 From Sto])lioii A. Kiii.<ey, now liviii<; at Genoa, 
 and tlie records of the Mormon Church at Salt Lake, j 
 obtained throui^h the courteny of Orson I'ralt and i 
 J. Jaqucs, the fact is ascertained that in tlie sjirini^ 
 of 1851, John Reese, with ten wajjons loaded with 
 flour, butter, egfjs, etc., etc., left Salt Lake for the 
 ])ur|)oso of establishint; a tradiiiiijiost somewhere 
 on the overland road east of the Sierra. lie was 
 accompanied by Stephen A. Kinsey, some teamster.s, j 
 and a few passensjers for California, makint; sixteen 
 pei-sons in all. The train arrived at IJagtown, on 
 the Carson River, in .May, where it stopped for a 
 while, until heariiiic of a more favorable locality in 
 Carson Valley, through j»arties arrivini; from Cali- 
 fornia to meet friends or trade with emigrants, Mr. 
 Kinsej- started on horseback to "s]))' out the land" 
 in advance of the Reese expedition. He visited the 
 head of that vallcj-, and then returned along the 
 base of the Sierra, until arriving at the place known 
 in 1850 as "Mormon Station," ho concluded that it 
 was the most favorable point for a trading-post in 
 that section of country; and campiiig, remained 
 there until Mr. Reese arrived with the train. At 
 this time there was no one living there, no house, 
 no ruins of a house, or the vestige of one to be 
 found. Those who had occupied the place in 1849-50, 
 had folded their tents like the Arab, in the fall of the 
 last year, and silently stolen awaj-, leaving the 
 torch of the Indian to efface any indication of their 
 ever having been there. On the fourth of Julj-, 
 1851, Mr. Kinsey selected and took possession of the 
 ground known as Mormon Station, that name being 
 retained until 1855, when the site being surveyed, 
 "Genoa" was substituted. When the Reese parly 
 reached western Utah, not over six miners were at 
 work in Gold Caiion; but some twelve of those 
 accom])anj-ing him joined the six, among whom 
 were two of the teamsters, named Joseph Webb 
 and James Kenimore, the latter known as "Old 
 Virginia." During that Summer, the Gold Canon 
 settlement was increased to about one hundred 
 miners. 
 
 Immediately upon their arrival at .Mormon Station 
 the building of a log caljiri was commenced that, 
 when completed, was the only house in what is now 
 Nevada. That pioneer of the numberless structures 
 erected through the Silver State in the years that 
 followed still stands where it was built in Genoa, the 
 one relic left of the almost forgotten past. A stock- 
 ade corral was also jiut uji at a cost of two thousand 
 dollars, that enclosed something over an acre of 
 ground. It was made strong as a prote<-lion against 
 
 Indians in case of need, being built of fifteen-foot 
 logs, set on end three feel in the ground, touching 
 each other so as to make a solid wall. Thus was 
 commenced in 1851 the first permanent settlement 
 in western Utah. 
 
 That season (1851) a garden was fenced in bj- Mr. 
 Reese, which was plowed and sowed to turnips, and 
 a generous crop demonstrated the productiveness of 
 the soil. 
 
 Late that year emigrants arrived en route to Cal- 
 ifornia, and, I'earing to attempt the mountain roads, 
 wintered in Carson Valley. A few .Mormons arrived 
 at different times iluring the year in that section of 
 country and joined the increasing number of popu- 
 lation, among whom were three persons named J^ee, 
 one named Condie, and another named Gibson, all 
 of whom are at i)resent residents of Utah. 
 
 Early in November of that year a party, consist- 
 ing of Joe and Frank Barnard, George Follensbee, 
 A. J. Rollins, Frank Hall, and VV.L. Hall, came from 
 Bents Bar, I'lacer County. California, for the purpose 
 of mining in western Utah, but finding the jiay was 
 not sufficient to warrant them in doing so, they took 
 up, in December, the celebrated Eagle Ranch, where 
 now stands the State (!a|iitol. They built a log 
 house there for a station close to what is now the 
 Clayton residence, and, after completing it, rented 
 the same to a couple of emigrants, named Doctor 
 
 Daggett and Gay. An eagle soaring over the 
 
 heads of the builders was shot and killed by K'rank 
 Hall, and the skin stripped from the bird was stuffed 
 and nailed upon the station. This incident furnished 
 a name for the station that was transferred to the 
 ranch, and eventually to the valley that surrounded 
 it. 
 
 There had so many people concentrated in the 
 fall of 1851 along the eastern base of the Sierra that 
 it became neeessar}' for them to have some recog- 
 nized rules governing their rights to acfjuire and 
 hold property, that could b}' common consent bo 
 enforced. In response to this ])revailing sentiment, 
 meetings were called, the' records of which were 
 kept in a little book of sixty leaves, in size six inches 
 by seven inches, that has fortunately been |>reserved 
 by Mart <>aige, of Carson (."il^-, and the following 
 details of the first eflbrts at government in what is 
 now Nevada, is obtained from it. 
 
 THE syf.VTTEU (lOVEHN.MKNT OF 1851. 
 Klli.sr MKtTISlI OK enizKNs. 
 
 The citi/.ens of western Utah assembled on the 
 twelfth of November, 1851, at Mormon Station fur 
 the purpose of organizing a Squatter Government. 
 At the time, they were largely subject to the laws of 
 Utah Territor}-, but jirobably wen' not aware of that 
 fact, and if so, considered them iTiadefpiale to the 
 necessities of their surroundings. Iti their declara- 
 tion of intentif)ns it was laid down that the object 
 was to adopt a system by which the settlers could 
 subdivide " the valley so as to secure each individual 
 
32 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 in their rights to land taken up and impi-oved by 
 them." — •' To agree upon a pelilion to Coiijjreiis for 
 a distinct Territorial Government: the creation of 
 public offices for the valley, and the adoption of 
 by-laws and fixed roifuhitions to govern the com- 
 munity." At this meeting Col. A. Woodward 
 acted as Chairman and T. G. Barnard as Secretary. 
 Six resolutions were adopted. 
 
 No. 1. provided for the survey of land claims and 
 the employment of a competent Surveyor for that 
 purpose, and James H. Haynes was the party who 
 seems to have received the appointment, as his name 
 appears later in that capacity. 
 
 No. 2, created the' offices of Recorder and Treas- 
 urer, both to be held by the same party, who was to 
 record and issue certificates of claims, receive a fee 
 of twenty-five dollars for doing it. and account to the 
 committee for the use of the same. 
 
 No. 3. limited claims to quarter-sections. 
 
 No. 4, made the Recorder and Treasurer acc-ount- 
 able for his acts to the committee who had the 
 power of appointing to that office or making 
 removals in case of dereliction of doty. 
 
 No. 5. required the Recorder to collect fees before 
 performing duties. 
 
 No. ti. provided for the election at that meeting of 
 seven persons to act as the head of the organization, 
 who were to have " the arrangement of all business 
 touching claims." also the power to appoint a 
 Recorder and to be responsible for his acts. In 
 other words, this committee was to be the executive 
 or governing department, the following persons 
 being chosen for that position: Wm. Byrnes. John 
 Reese, E. L. Barnard, A. Woodward, H. II. Jameson, 
 T. A. Ilylton. and N. R. Haskill. A committee of 
 five was then selecte,! to prepare and present at the 
 next meeting other resolutions to perfect this system 
 of government, the following gentlemen being 
 named: — 
 
 Committee on Resolutions, John Reese, J. P. Bar- 
 nard. Wm. Byrnes, Wash. Loomis, H. H. Jameson. 
 
 " A petition to Congress " was then read and 
 approved, after which the meeting adjourned until 
 the nineteenth of the same month. 
 
 SECO.ND MEETING OK CITIZENS. 
 
 November 19, 18.>1, the meeting a.ssembled in 
 accord with adjournment, this lime with John Reed 
 acting a.s Chairman, and T. A. Ilylton as Secretary. | 
 Five additional resolutions were adopted and added I 
 to the six passed at the former meeting: — ! 
 
 No. 7, gave parties a right to take up a new claim 
 after they disposed of one in possession. i 
 
 No. 8, required prepayment of the twenty-five- 
 dollar fees to Recorder. 
 
 No. !>. required claimants to put five dollars in ] 
 improvL-ments on their land within one hundred and 
 eighty daj's after receiving certificate. 
 
 No. 10, permitted a companj- to take claims for 
 eal-h individual of the company, and improve one 
 location enough to cover expense on all. 
 
 No. 11, timber to be common property, except 
 that parties who would erect saw-mills were to have 
 number of acres. 
 
 The petition to Congress was then read, and then 
 another committee of five were appointed to draft 
 by-laws for the civil government of the community, 
 when they adjourned until the twentieth instant. 
 
 THiaD MEETING OP CITIZENS. 
 
 November 2u. IS.jl. the settlers assembled as per 
 adjournment, with the same otficers pre-iding as at 
 the .last meeting, when T. A. Ilylton, U. U. Jame- 
 son, J. P. Barnard. Wash. Loomis, and W. Byrnes, 
 the committee appointed at that time, reported a 
 preamble and resolutions as follows, that were 
 adopted: — 
 
 CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 
 Fre tiiibU. 
 
 WiiEaEAS, it has been deemed neces«arj- to the 
 welfare and advancement of our community, that 
 there should be some fixed rules of right agreed 
 upon and established for its government and the pro- 
 tection of citizens in all their privileges, which each 
 and all justly regard as their allodial due; and 
 whereas, it is always requisite to ap])'>int officers 
 whose duty it is to enforce law and maintain order, 
 it is agreed that there be certain officers elected fnmi 
 among our comnninity, to- wit: A Justice of the 
 Peace, a Clerk of the Cnurt, and a Sheritt": and 
 these functionaries shall be required to exercise and 
 enforce law according to the acknowledged rules of 
 equity which govern all civilize! communities. 
 
 There shall be four individuals associated with 
 the Justice — himself making the fif\h — in forming a 
 court, and he shall be empowered to summon any 
 four whenever occa.sion shall require it, to take cog- 
 nizance and wlju'licate suminari/i/ in all cases of 
 controversy, debts or offenses against the public 
 weal; and to enforce fines or other sufficient penal- 
 ties upon offenders; to issue warrants and authorize 
 arrests. But to provide against the abuse of these 
 powers, citizens and others shall have the riij/i/ of 
 uppealtoa court o/tireU-e citizen.i. summoned promiscu- 
 ously, who shall constitute a court of inquirj- from 
 whose decision there shall be no appenl; scrutinize 
 and reverse if necessarj* the decrees of the Magis- 
 trate's Court; and who shall have power to remove 
 the magistrate or impose upon him any other Just 
 penalty, in the event of the abusive exercise of his 
 authority. To strengthen them and provide for the 
 execution of their verdicts, etc., there shall be a Clerk 
 and Con.'table appointed to aid and execute the 
 decrees of these courts. 
 
 After these resolutions had been adopted 
 the following-named parties were elected to the 
 offices thus created: E. L. Barnard. Magistrate; Wm. 
 Byrnes, SheriflT; Dr. T. A. Ilylton. Clerk. A com- 
 mittee was then appointed to bring further matters 
 upon the same subject before a meeting ordered to 
 a.s-semble on the twenty-ninth instant, when they 
 adjourned; but the meeting never convened as 
 ordered. 
 
 KOCRTII MEETI.Mi "K i ill/.EXS M.VY 22, 18.l2. 
 
 Another meeting assembled with J. C. F'ain in the 
 chair, ami that authorized any one who would build 
 a saw-mill to take up a section of timber land. 
 
 (Signed) E. L. Babn.vrd, Recorder. 
 
COUNTY ORGANIZATION AND RECORDS. 
 
 .'};{ 
 
 THE PRESENT OP SOME — THE FATK OK OTHERS. 
 
 Ol'thosc already menlioiieil as sottlors, John Reoso 
 is now a comparatively poor man in Salt Lake City. 
 Frank Hall in a resilient of Carson City and his 
 brother, W. L. Hall, lives at Wellington, Esmeralda 
 County; S. A. Kinsey at Genoa, tho last three men- 
 tioned all in Nevaila. Frank Harnard was killed bj- 
 an emigrant in the winter ol' 1S.')2, at a station on 
 Clear Creek, that divides Douglas from Ormsby 
 County. A. J. Rollins is now living at Antioch, Cali- 
 fornia. Col. A. Woodward was killed at Rocky 
 Point on the Humboldt in the latter part of Novem- 
 ber, 18.")1, bj- Indians. E. L. Barnard, one of the 
 firm of Reese & Co., lotl Nevada in the fall of 1852 
 with a largo drove of cattle, purchased mainlj- on the 
 compan}-",s credit, and up to date has not returned. 
 Barnard ))ocketed the jiroeeeds from tho sale of that 
 stock; the com]):in_v were under tho necessity of pay- 
 ing for so much of it as was purchased on credit, 
 which bankrupted them. Wash. Loomis was hung 
 in Los Angeles for stealing. N. R. ILiskill, one day 
 in tho 8|>ring of 1852. while Wash. Loomis was his 
 partner in keeping the tr.iding-post at the mouth of 
 Gold Caiion, invited Wiili.im Hyniesout to shoot with 
 a revolver at a ni:irk, and alter Byrnes had emptied 
 his weapon, tho treacherous llaskill made a target 
 of him and left tho Te.\as R mgi-r perfor.iled with ball 
 holes, as ho supposed to ilio. The miners took the 
 matter in hand, and both tho station keepers had to 
 flee tho country to avoid being hung. Byrnes hav- 
 ing an iron coii-*titation recovered, and made several 
 lengthy trip-i in search of the man who had 
 attetnptod his assassination. After one of these, he 
 remarked to Frank Il.iil that ho was even now, and 
 should hunt no more for llaskill, which jiroved noth- 
 ing, but left the impression that tho latter had met 
 his death at tho hands of tho Te.Kan. Byrnos is 
 now an inmate of tho insane asylum at Stockton, 
 California, lie was a mm that a desperado could 
 got into a combat with on slight provocation; but an 
 ordinary ])erson. who did not travel on his figiiting 
 c|iialities or parade them osientatiousl}', might insult 
 with little fear of getting harmed. 
 
 C II A P T E R V. 
 
 COUNTY OR3ANIZATION AND RECORDS. 
 
 1852-54. 
 
 First County Orisaniz.ition — First Laml Claim — First Tull-Ho.id 
 (Jraiit— Deep Simw .iii.l Fl<i<>il.i in Carson Valloy — I8.");t — 
 First Lawsuit— Fifth Mt-etini; .'f Citizi-ii> — \Vli..t Mrs. Uit- 
 teiiriudfr ItiinfiiilR-rs of l,S."):t — First .Marriage ami hivorcc- — 
 Tile First D.iiice — l.S."i4 — IVrniaiieiit ••verhiiul .Stations on 
 the Carson Itiver — An Imlian Killeil liy a Boj — Sunday 
 Kvcnts — Marriage Contract — .Sixth .Meetinj; of Citizens — 
 LamKCIaiins Hecordeil in l.S.")4 — Carson County Create<l — A 
 Mail Koute Estalilishe*! . 
 
 FIRST COrNTV (MKLVNIZATION. 
 
 On the third of March, lS.-)2, Utah, by an Act of 
 the Legislature, created several new counties and 
 defined their boundaries. In what is now Nevada 
 5 
 
 there wore seven in number, their wost lino being 
 California, thoir oast limits all terminating in what 
 Still remains Utah, while their north and south 
 boundaries were parallel lines running oast and west. 
 The farthermost division north was named Weber 
 County, then came Deseret, next to which, on tho 
 south, lay Tooele, the three including about luli miles 
 of tho north end of Nevada. The south lino of 
 Tooele was not far from the present north line of 
 Washoe County. The next division was about thirty- 
 six miles wide, and included the mo.stof what is now 
 Washoe, all of Storey- Count}', and was given tho 
 name of Juab. Tho next strip south was named 
 Millard. It was about fifty milos wide, and included 
 most of Walker's Lake and the ])resont counties of 
 Orm-i'iiy and 1) mglas. 
 
 Tho balance of the Torritorj* was divided into 
 abiut two opial parts, and named Iron and Wash- 
 ington Ciiunties, tho latter bounded on the south by 
 tho thirt^'-seventh parallel of north latitude, which 
 was also tho south line of Utah at that time.* 
 
 On the seventh of February of that year tho Terri- 
 torial Li'gislature elected for counties as above, the 
 following-named persons as Judges for a four years' 
 term : — 
 
 For U^cbor and Doscrct Counties, Isaac Clark. 
 
 For Tooele County, Alfred Loo. 
 
 For Juab County, George Bradley. 
 
 For Millard County, Anson Call. 
 
 For Iron and Washington Counties, Chapman 
 Duncon. 
 
 This early book of records, alrcadj- mentioned, was 
 not only used to preserve the annals of that which 
 was done during tho several mootings of tho settlers, 
 but was also utilized for the entry of land claims, 
 court proceedings. Sheriffs minutes, in fact, for the 
 noting of all transactions of a public nature. In it 
 is found the 
 
 THE FIRST LAND CLAIM. 
 
 On the first of December. 1852, John Rcoso 
 rjcorde I a one-fourth section claim extending from 
 Murmon Station south to a lone tree, including all 
 between the mountain base and Carson Rivor — 
 and on the same day E. L. Barnard, S. A. Kinsey, 
 James C. Fain, J. Brown, and W. B^Tncs recorded 
 locations, claiming in succession as their names 
 appear, a one-fourth section each, to tho north of 
 Reese, J. II. Scott & Bro. recording on tho same day 
 a one-half ticclion on the south of Reese, and no other 
 claims Wen' entered upon tho records in 1852. 
 
 FIRST TOLL-ROAD ORANT. 
 
 The same day, however, John IJecse and Israel 
 Mott applied for the ])rivilege of putting a toll- 
 bridge on the Carson Kiver, and to repair the road 
 u]i tho mountain as a part of the enterprise, and to 
 have the franchise for Jice i/i'arM, which was gi-anted 
 on condition that they cx|)end 81,(1(111 on the same 
 before tho first of July, and collect tho following tolls: 
 
 *.Soc compilatiun nf 185,5, pages S'Jd, 2'J(i, of Utah laws. 
 
34 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Waj^jon, one dollar; liurncd cattk- j)er head, ten cents; 
 Bheep per head, two and one- half cents; horses or 
 mules per head, twenty-five cents. In May, 1852, 
 Israel Mott, the founder of Mottsville, with his wife, 
 left Salt Lake for Mormon Station with a train that 
 was bound for California. Upon their first arrival in 
 Carson Vallej-, Mr. Mott located four miles up from 
 the station, and later in the fall built a house out of 
 wa>;on-bcds one-half mile farther up the overland 
 road. He made a window-sash with a jack-knife, 
 and paid seventy-five cents a light for seven-by-nine 
 inch glass to jnit into it. Mrs. Mott was the first 
 pemianent ladj- settler in Carson Valley, and as the 
 wife of Mr. A. M. TajHor, is still living there. 
 
 On the tweiily-fourth of December, 1852, it com- 
 menced to snow in Carson Valley; in tw^o days three 
 feet of it was lying over the whole face of the coun- 
 try, and six daj-s later the ground was bare. The 
 sudden melting of this va.st field of snow caused a 
 greater flood in the Carson River to usher in the 
 year 1853 than has since occurred. 
 
 In 1852, the Halls and partners ran the Eagle 
 Station, mined a little, and became, to a limited 
 extent, packers of goods from California, traders 
 with overland emigrants, and helped to grade a road 
 up Kings Canon, with a view of inducing the over- 
 land travel to pass that way. During that year 
 a number of emigrants went that way, but it was 
 a bad road, and was soon abandoned, except by 
 pack-trains. At the place where James Woods now 
 lives in Eagle Valley, a family located that summer, 
 named Boweii, w4io raised a crop and lelt in the 
 fall. Jacob H. Rose located near where Samuel 
 Nevers now resides, and Dr. 15. L. King at the 
 mouth of the canon, which received his name, 
 both of these parties came in 1852, and were the 
 only residents remaining in Eagle Valley in 1854. 
 In the south end of Washoe Vallej-, a ranch was 
 taken up that year by one Clark, who was forced 
 to abandon it because of the killing of a Washoe 
 Indian near there by Gaines, in the following win- 
 ter. 
 
 A MAIL ROUTE ESTABLISHED. 
 
 In 1852, a mail route was established bj' the Gov- 
 ernment between Salt Lake City, Utah, and San 
 Bernardino, in southern California. The contract 
 for carrj'ing the mail over it was awarded to the 
 Mormons, for whose benefit it had been called into 
 existence. For the purpose of facilitating the carry- 
 ing upon this route and to gain a supply station 
 near the Potosi lead mine, that they proposed to 
 work, a post was established by Rrigliam Young 
 at the Los Vegas S])riiig, in the south end of what 
 is now Nevada, on what vvas known as the Old 
 Spanish trail between San 15ernardino and the Rocky 
 Mountain country. The .Mormons continued to 
 occupy this post until after the Mountain Meadow 
 massacre, in September, 1857, when it was aban- 
 doned. 
 
 THE FIRST LAWSLIT. 
 
 From the events making up the history of 1853 
 but little has been saved from the wreck of forget- 
 fulness, which at best presents but here and there a 
 foot-print that the drifting sands of time have left 
 uncovered. Uf these the earliest — as appears from 
 that ancient little book of records — was the first law- 
 suit in western Utah, which was commenced at 
 Mormon Station on the fourteenth of March that 
 year. John Reese was plaintiff; George Chorpenning, 
 the surviving partner of the firm of Woodward & Co., 
 was defendant. The claim was for SG75, for sup- 
 plies furnished Woodward & Co., while carrying the 
 mails from Salt Lake to California, and E. L. Bar- 
 nard was the Magistrate before whom the suit was 
 brought. Ree.se filed his bonds, an attachment issued, 
 and J. P. Barnard as Constable made the following 
 entry upon the returns: " I have levied upon four 
 mules, one anvil, two pair of tongs, one broken vise, 
 two hammers, one cold chisel, one bellows, one 
 sledge, one compass, chain and surveyor's instru- 
 ments, ft/no all their claim to the ohl Mormon •Station, 
 and one revolver." From the entiy it appears that 
 Woodward & Co. had become part owners in Mor- 
 mon Station. On the sixteenth of the same month 
 Judgment was entered against defendant for the 
 amount claimed, and twenty-five dollars in costs 
 being added, made the demand an even $700. 
 Eleven daj-s later the Constable sold the defendant's 
 effects, and made the following entry in regard 
 thereto: — 
 
 One mule to J. IJecse - 8 91 
 
 One mule to J . Reese 61 
 
 One mule to J . Reese - 61 
 
 One mule to J. Reese 86 
 
 Compass and chain to J. Reese 40 
 
 Blacksmith tools to J . Reese 30 
 
 Mormon Station to J. Reese 130 
 
 Total S499 
 
 FIFTH MEETING OF CITIZENS. 
 
 On March 21st occurred another meeting of the 
 citizens, on wliiili occasion J. H. Scott presided, and 
 F. (i. Barnard acted as Secretary, when the laws or 
 rules previously published were amended in the fol- 
 lowing particulars: "No one to have a right to hold 
 land unless they first file a notice of claim with the 
 Recorder; and then put, within sixty da^-s, 810(1 in 
 improvements on the same. Occupancy by principal 
 or agent necessary to title. Absence of thirtj- days 
 vitiated it. A man of family might claim 640 
 acres, and a single person one-half that amount. 
 All differences regarding land to be settled by arbi- 
 tration or a jury of actual settlers. Fees to Recorder 
 reduced to five dollars. 
 
 The following land entries wore made in 18.53: — 
 April 11th— J. H. Scott and Charles Ferguson; 
 J. n. Haynes and David Barry; Thomas and K. II. 
 Knott. 
 
COUNTY ORGANIZATION AND RKCOllDS. 
 
 35 
 
 Mi»y 12tli— Chiirles A. l)a>;.<rett. 
 
 Muy 17th— R. T. Hawkins, in Jack's Valloy. 
 
 July 22d — li. M. Young and James Greono. 
 
 September 30(h — L. Olds and John Olds. 
 
 October atli — John L. Car}- and Thos. Knott sell a 
 farm to W. H. Thorrington for SOOO. 
 
 October (ith — Foiir-sixtlis of the F'^agle Ranch 
 sold by F. and W. L. Hall to E. L. Barnard; two- 
 sixths having been ])urchased by them from A. J. 
 Rollins and George Follensbee. 
 
 October 2Sth— J. W. Murphy and \V. Smith. 
 
 WHAT MRS. DlTTEiNIUEUEK UKMEMliKItS OF 1S53. 
 
 On the ninth oT .hiue James B. Kills ami his wile, 
 Laura AL, arrived at the mouth of Gold C'anon. 
 The)- took up a ranch that fall about one and ono- 
 half miles below where Daj'ton now stands, and 
 built a substantial log-hotise. On the fourth of Octo- 
 ber, lSr)4, .Mr. HIlis was killed b}' the accidental dis- 
 charge of his gun; and his wife, later married to 
 George Dittenrieder, now lives a widow at Virginia 
 City. She ke]>t a journal during all those early 
 years, and to her the historian is under obligations 
 for many important facts. When she arrived at 
 Gold Caiion, Spaft'ord Hall, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, 
 was keeping the station and trading-post, being 
 assisted by James McMarlin and wife as employees, 
 the latter receiving sixty dollars per month as house- 
 keeper. The station was standing on what is now 
 Mine Street, and across the road opposite to it was a 
 blacksmith sho]). built from wagon-bods. The only 
 women in western Utah at the time out of Car.son 
 Valley were Mrs. McMarlin, Mrs. Cosser, her little 
 twelve-j'ear old girl, and the wife of the blacksmith 
 who worked in the shop just mentioned until fall, 
 and then returned to California. There were a 
 number of miners in the cation, none of them work- 
 ing at the time as far up as whore Johiitown was 
 afterwards stalled. Later that fall another family 
 moved in there, among whom were several ladies. 
 One of them was eventually mai-ried to liUte Olds, 
 another to Al. Sijuires, and both of those gentlemen 
 now live in Car.son Valley. 
 
 Heesc & Co., who raised ten acres of turnips and 
 about seven of small grain in lSr)2, at Mormon Sta- 
 tion, had increased the quantity in 1853, and were 
 making their effort at farming a financial success, 
 because of the ready sale of produfts to emigrants, 
 who would pay a dollar for a small bunch of turnips. 
 In the fall, i{eese & Co. purchased Eagle Ranch from 
 the Halls, October (ith, who returned to California; 
 and Frederick Bishop took charge of the station for 
 the company-. 
 
 In the fall or winter of 1853 Walter Cosser started 
 in the mercantile lino at the place which later be- 
 came known as Johnlown, and it was the first estab- 
 lishment of any kind at that point. Thomas Knott 
 commenced, on the twenty-seventh of March, to 
 build for John Cary a saw-mill at the head of t!arson 
 Valley; that was completed, and the first ]ilank 
 
 sawed by it on the twenlj-sixth of July. The lum- 
 ber from this, the first saw-mill in western Utah, 
 sold for 8100 per thousand. 
 
 FIRST .MARRIAUE AND DIVORCE. 
 
 That summer, an emigrant stopped for a time at 
 Gold Canon whose name was I'owell. Ho was 
 seeking a homo for his motherless family, among 
 whom was a girl about fourteen years of age named 
 Mary. Mr. I'owell left his children at the diggings, 
 and went up the valleys in search of a favorable 
 point to locate, and, while he was gone, a young 
 man named Benjaiiiin Cole, a native of Missouri, 
 induced this child to marry him. Captain Parker, 
 now living on the Humboldt, being a Justice of the 
 Peace, performed the ceremony. The bride imme- 
 diately thereafter was taken to the cabin of Mother 
 Cosser, to remain until a habitation could be built 
 by the husband. The kir.d heart of this Scottish 
 lady warmed towards the child-wife, and she advised 
 her not to go with the husband until the father's 
 return, and the advice was accepted. A consider- 
 able feeling was awakened because of this, and the 
 miners took sides, some declaring for Cole, while the 
 more sober-minded and reflective sustained the 
 Cossor's and the girl, whom the husband would have 
 taken possession of by force, but for the certainty 
 of swift vengeance from the hands of the sturdy son 
 of this mother in Israel. 
 
 Mr. Powell soon returned, and finding what had 
 transpired in his absence, with tearful eyes thanked 
 this pioneer mother for her watchful care of his 
 little brood, and immediately started with them for 
 California. The husband soon followed in pursuit, 
 with the avowed purpose of abduction, accompanied 
 by a number of friends, and hot upon their trail, 
 Walter Cosser rode, with several others, on such 
 horses as could be hastily gathered, to prevent, by a 
 jiitched battle if necessary, the declared object of 
 the hnshand. Mr. Powell was overtaken, and the 
 matter was finally compromised by all parties agree- 
 ing to lei the girl decide whether to go on or return 
 with Cole, and she concluded to remain with her 
 father. iMr. Powell moved on towards California, 
 and the husband returned to Gold Cafion, while 
 Walter Cosser and friends lingered on the road to jjre- 
 vcnt the consummation of an ulterior design, if any 
 was contemplated by Cole. They met no more, that 
 bride and groom of an hour, and thus was accom- 
 ])lished the first ceremony of marriage in Nevada, 
 followed by a swift-wingod and effectual divorce. 
 
 THE HRST DANCE. 
 
 On the night of the last day of the year 1853, 
 there was a dance in the log building over Spafford 
 Hall's store, at the mouth of (iold Canon. There 
 were nine females, including little girls, that attemled 
 the party, and this number constituted throe-fourths 
 of all the fair sex in western Utah at the time, 
 Mrs. Cosser, old Mrs. Mott, now deceased, and 
 a lady in Gold Cafion, remaining at home. The 
 
36 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 miners, ranchers, aiul stiition-kccpers, from all over 
 the country, numbering possibly one liundred and 
 fifty men, were there, in or about the station; and 
 while everybody was enjoying themselves, the 
 Washoe Indians came and drove off their horses. 
 The next day the stolen stock was all recovered by 
 the owners e.xcejit two, that had been killed by the 
 Indians for eating, at a general barbecue at Chalk 
 Hill, near where now is located Mound Station, on 
 the Virginia and Truckee Railroad. 
 
 OVERLAND STATIONS ON TQE CARSON. 
 
 Early in 1854, Spafford Hall, while hunting, was 
 severely wounded by the accidental discharge of 
 his gun. which caused him to sell the station to 
 James .Mc.Marlin. who up to this time had been in 
 his employ, and he started for his Indiana home as 
 soon as the mountains could be crossed in the spring. 
 Mc.Marlin sent for his brother John to join in the 
 enterprise, who did so, and was killed by Indians 
 at Slipperj' Ford, in the mountains, a few years later. 
 
 Asa Kenyon permanently located at Ragtown that 
 year, where the overland I'oad lirst reached the Car- 
 son River, and started a station there. Previous to 
 this, traders had been in the habit of going to that 
 point, ))utting up a tent, trafficking with emigrants 
 through the summer, and then leaving in the fall for 
 California. 
 
 About four miles up the stream from Ragtown, 
 at the place known as The Willows, Thomas Pitt, 
 who had been the blacksmith at Hall's Station in 
 1853, started a station. 
 
 Two brothers, named James and Harvey Hughes, 
 from Missouri, established one on the river about 
 four miles up from where the massacre by Indians 
 occurred in 1 Still, at the place known as Williams, 
 or Honey Lake Smith's, Station. 
 
 In the fall of the year, John Smith purchased the 
 post on the Carson at the western terminus of the 
 twenty-six-mile desert, from a California trader. 
 The ])laco is now known as Coonie's Ranch. 
 
 The same year (ieorge Brown established a station 
 on the river about three miles u]i from where now 
 stands the ruins of Fort Churchill. All of 
 these parties were considered and became settlers of 
 the country. Other stations along the route were 
 mere summer ones, being abandoned as the fall 
 approacheil by their California keejiei's. S. A. 
 Kinsey recollects that the famous Ren. llolliday, 
 joined by one Warner, opened a store and station on 
 the road about three miles down the river from 
 Mormon Station in 1854, and Cosser, who was the 
 jiioncer merchant at Johnlown, remembei's that in 
 1854 opposition was established there bj- J. S. Child 
 and by Moses Job. The latter started a store in 
 1854 at the ]ilace now known as Sheridan, in Carson 
 Vallej', near the base of the mountain named in honor 
 of him. Mr. Child afterwards became one of the 
 most prominent characters in the early history of 
 Nevada. 
 
 SUNDRY EVENTS. 
 
 It has been previouj^l^- noted that CUvrk, who had 
 taken up a ranch in the south end of W^ashoe Valley 
 in 1852, had been I'orced to leave it because an Indian 
 had been killed there. In the latter ))art of 1853 a 
 young man coming from over the plains, where his 
 moihir had been buried, settled upon the deserted 
 ranch, wiih a liule sister and brother, but three of 
 them in all. The little boj- was about thirteen 3-ear8 
 of age, and the sister still j-oungcr. One daj- in the 
 absence of the elder brother a Washoe Indian came 
 to the cabin and demanded food, and finding them 
 alone told the children that unless thcj* turned over 
 to him whatever he wanted about the place he would 
 kill both of them. The scared little ones ran into 
 the house, the hny seized his brother's rifle and as 
 the pursuing Washoe was crossing the threshold a 
 ball through the heart from that trusty weapon 
 stretched him lifeless in the door, where the return- 
 ing brother found him several hours later, stiff and 
 cold. Again that ranch became tenantless, for the 
 young man sold the claim to J. II. Rose, of Eagle 
 Valley, and started without delay to place his brother 
 and sister beyond the possibility of another such 
 thi'illing peril. 
 
 In 1854, on the first of May, the fir.st white child 
 was born in western Utah of ])arcnts living in the 
 Territorv. It was named James Riimmel Ellis, and 
 died in Virginia City in January. 1SG9. 
 
 On the first of July, 1854, Charles II. Albrecht 
 and family, of St. Louis, 'Missouri, en route for Cali- 
 f(jrnia, was camped at the Ellis Ranch below Gold 
 Canon, and his unmarried sister. Rachel F., was a 
 member of his household. One of the miners named 
 James Dover became fascinated by the namesake of 
 that ancient gleaner, and desired to marrj' her. 
 Rachel was willing, but there was neither magis- 
 trate nor minister in that country to tie the Gordian 
 knot, atid the lovers-at-sight were in a sad dilemma. 
 It was finallj' decided to call u]ion Mrs. Laura M. 
 KIlis — now J)ittenriedcr — for advice, and she solved 
 the ])roblem by drawing up a triplicate contract of 
 marriage on the fourth of July, which each signed, 
 the ])ai)ers being duly witnessed, the two were pro- 
 nounced to have to all intents and purposes con- 
 summated a matrimonial alliance, and they were 
 declared man and wife without further ceremony. 
 The following is a copy of that 
 
 MARRIAGE CONTRACT. 
 
 Carson Hivkr. July 4, 1854. 
 
 Bj- these jircsents wo hereby certify, in the ])res- 
 ence of witnesses, that we will from this time hence- 
 forth, to the end of our lives, live together as man and 
 wife, obeying all the laws of the United States as 
 married persons. In witness, we set our hands and 
 seals, this fourth daj- of July, in the year of our Lord 
 one thousand eight hundred and til'ty-four. 
 
 (Signed) Jamks "Dover, 
 
 Kaciiei. F. Al.BRECnT. 
 
 Witnesses: James B. Ellis, Charles H. Albrecht, 
 Augustus C. Albrecht. 
 
COUNTY ORGANIZATION AND RECORDS. 
 
 37 
 
 Ftiblishod ill the Afounfuln Denion-at July 20, 1854. 
 
 For eight years they lived together, wlien .she left 
 him :md joined her brother at Placervillc, California. 
 Hventualij-, Mr.s. Bowers, the •' Washoe Seeress," 
 gave her the money to ilel'ray the expense of gelling 
 a divorce, which she procured in the courts of Cali- 
 fornia, and has since marrie<l again. 
 
 Thomas Knott built at Mormrin Station, for the 
 Reese Compan}-, a grist and saw-mill in IS,") t, that was 
 not paid for because of the failure of IJarnard to 
 return with the money received from the sale of the 
 comjiany's cattle in California. A stationary thresh- 
 ing-machine was added lo the mill, that was run with 
 little salisfaclion that fall, and then di>niantled. 
 Henry Van Sickle, now living in Carson Valley, made 
 the cjMinder. To have warranled them in building 
 that mill, there niu>l have been considerable grain 
 raised bv ihe various fii-mers along the ea^lern base 
 of the Sierra Nevaila .Mmintains. A number of new 
 farm locations were made during that jear, as 
 exhibited b}' the following transcript from the 
 Pioneer Record Book. 
 
 L.\XD CI,.\I.MS KECORDED IN 185-1. 
 
 February 2Sth— J. C. Fain. 
 
 February 2Sth— E. L. Baniard. 
 
 March 28lh Post and the II. Van Sickle 
 
 place. 
 
 April 2d— R. De Frost. 
 
 April 2d — Fred. Bishop. 
 
 A]>ril (ith^John Stephens. 
 
 A|iril 21st — Suit b}' llenr}' McL'alla cs. Thus. 
 Knott. Judgment SI 13.4:$. 
 
 Maj' 18th — Jose])h Williams. 
 
 Way 27th— A. C. Stewart k, A. Clurk. 
 
 May 27lh— C. D. Daggett. 
 
 SIXTH MEETING OF CITIZENS. 
 
 May 27, 1S54, the residents had another meeting 
 with J. L. Carj- as Chairman, and M. G. Lewis, Sec- 
 retary, when thej' resolved that in the use of water 
 no settler should be deprived of sufficient for house- 
 hold purposes; that it should not be diverted from 
 its original channels, and when two or more lived on 
 the same stream they should share water according 
 lo the number of acres cultivated, each using for 
 alternate days when it vvas scarce. 
 
 LAND CI,.\IMS CONTINUED. 
 
 October 30th — George Lambe. 
 
 November 29th — Julius Peltier soils one-half of 
 ranch in Jack's Valley to George Fogle for 8300, 
 same formerly owned b}' Sam. Hlackford. 
 
 December 4th — Nicholas Johnson. 
 
 December 13th — Sale of Brown's farm bj' Con- 
 stable for 8787.32 to plaintiff, S. Blackford. 
 
 December 7th — G. B. Parker sells to !{. Sides and 
 Rolland Abernathey the Clear Creek Hanch, first 
 taken up by George Mires and C. Phillip|)s, who 
 kept the trading-i)ost where iiarnard was killed. 
 
 December 2Uth — R. Sides, B. Abernathey, and J. 
 M. Baldwin. 
 
 December 2<)th — Josejih Brown records deed of 
 land sale to IJufus Adams made in 1853. 
 
 In the winter of 1854, Walter Cossor paid George 
 Pierce one dollar jier pound for packing over from 
 Placervillc to Gold ('anon on snow-shoes some rubber 
 goods. Rubber boots sold at the time for twenty- 
 fivo dollars per pair. Prices for merchandise that 
 winter in western L'lah were — 
 
 For Satinet Pants $5 00 to S (J 00 
 
 Cassimere Pants 7 00 " 10 00 
 
 Woolen Shirts 3 00 " 4 00 
 
 Boots 5 00 " 14 00 
 
 Bacon (per pound) 40 " 50 
 
 Tea " " 1 25 " 1 50 
 
 Tobacco " " 1 50 
 
 Coffee " '• 45 
 
 Sugar " " 45 
 
 A Panama hat 5 00 
 
 The first school in western Utah was kept by 
 Mrs. Allen, at the residence of Israel Mott, during 
 the winter of 1854-55. 
 
 C.\KS(JN COUNTY CUE.VTED. 
 
 The following Act was passed by the Territorial 
 Legislature of Utah, on the seventeenth of January, 
 1854:— 
 
 Section 1. ]}e it enacted by the Governor and 
 Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Utah; That 
 all that portion of country bounded north b^* Deseret 
 County; east by the parallel of longitude 1 18''; south 
 by the boundary line of the Territoiy; and west by 
 California, is hereby included within the limits of 
 Carson County, and until organized is attached to 
 Millard County for Election, Revenue and Judicial 
 purposes. 
 
 Sec. 2. The Governor is hereby authorized to 
 ap|joint a Probate Judge for said county, when he 
 shall deem it ex))edient; and said Probate Judge, 
 when appointed, shall proceed to organize said 
 county, by dividing the county into ])recincts, and 
 causing an election to be held according to law, to 
 fill the various county and precinct offices, and locate 
 the county seat thereof. 
 
 Occasionally citizens from Carson Valley visited 
 Placerville, in California, in those early j'cars, for the 
 purpose of trade, and the editor ol' the .Uoiin/nin 
 Democrat, Daniel W. Gelwicks, would interview them 
 and publish the results. From the files of that paper 
 it ajipoars that in 1854 Colonel Reese, accompanied 
 by a Sergeant and three men, pioneered a new, 
 farther south, and shorter route, from Salt Lake to 
 Carson Valley, than had heretofore been traveled, 
 ami the Sergeant proposed to recommend the passage 
 of the United States troops over it that proposed to 
 pass through under Colonel Ste|iloe. 
 
 In April the mail carrier. Drift, reported that some 
 one had fuund a jwuml gold nugget at Gold Canon, 
 and that nuggets were not unfrequently met with 
 there valued at from ten to twenty dollai-s; also, that 
 George Smith was keeping a station at Lake Vallej-. 
 
 James B. Ellis, of Gold Canon, took notes in 
 1854, up to Jul}- 1st, of the arrivals at that point 
 of California-bound emigrants, with the following 
 results: 213 wagons, 300 horses and mules, 7,528 cat- 
 tle, and 7,150 sheep. 
 
38 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 CARSON COUNTY ORGANIZED. 
 
 1855. 
 
 Entries Closing Pioneer Kecorcl Book— Carson County Organ- 
 ized — First Officers of Carson County — >I'"irst County Court 
 Records — Mrs. Samly liowers, tlic Washoe Seeress — 1856 — 
 Namin<! of (ieuoa — Division of the County into School 
 Districts — Orson Hyde's Curse. 
 
 In the little book of pioneer records appears the 
 following entries of land claims and other transac- 
 tions, the last in the book, which was superseded by 
 the organization of Carson County. 
 
 LAND CLAIMS AND OTHER ENTRIES — CLOSING THE I'lONEER 
 RECORD BOOK IN 1855. 
 
 January 3d — W. P. Cozard — should be Cosser. 
 
 January 12th — A. L. Kenyon. 
 
 January 20th -I. N. Hix. 
 
 January 23d — Reese & Co., turn over to Thomas 
 Knott a large amount of property to pay him 84,000, 
 for services in making lor the firm a saw-mill, i/risi- 
 mill, threnlihiy-machine, etc. 
 
 January 23d — J. and E. ReeseA Co., sold to William 
 B. Thorrington S23,0U0 worth of property to |iay 
 him for that amount of money previous!}- loaned to 
 them. The Eagle Ranch in Eagle Vallej^ was 
 included in this property sold to him. 
 
 February 10th — J. and E. Reese convey balance of 
 pro])orty to pay their creditors. 
 
 March 12th— W. P. Allen and E. A. Parkeivson. 
 
 March 24th — Nicholas Ambrosia. 
 
 August oOth — Julius I'oltier, sells to R. D. Sides, J. 
 M. Baldwin and L. B. Abernathej'. 
 
 [This 18 the last entry in the book]. 
 
 C.\RSON COUNTY ORGANIZED. 
 
 The territory embraced within Carson County 
 according to the Act of Januaiy 17, 1854, inciuilcd all 
 of what is now Washoe, Douglas, Ormsbj-, Storey, 
 and Lyon Counties; over half of Esmeralda, three- 
 fourths of Ctuirehill and a little of southwestern Hum- 
 boldt. The Legislature, on the second daj' after cre- 
 ating the county, divided Utah into three Judicial 
 Districts, Carson being the third, and lion. George 
 P. Styles, United States Judge for Utah Territory, 
 was named to preside over it. The new county was 
 also declared to be entitled to a representation in the 
 Legislature, in consciincnce of which Weber County 
 lost a member in that body. *The Act creating the 
 county having authorized the Governor to appoint a 
 Probate Judge, whose duty would be to organize it, 
 Orson Ilyde, a Mormon Elder, was selected for that 
 position, who left Salt Lake with such design on the 
 seventeenth of Maj-, 1855. Judge Styles, Joseph L. 
 Haywood, llnitod States Marshal for Utah Territory, 
 and Enoch Reese, of the firm of J. and E. Reese & Co., 
 with an escort of thirty-five men, accompanied Orson 
 Hyde. They arrived at Mormon Station on the 
 fifteenth of June, and were followed by other Mor- 
 mons who moved into Carson County during the 
 summer. 
 
 •See compilation of Utah Statutes 1855, pa^cs 258 and 31)8. 
 
 The first move by Judge Hyde towards an organi- 
 zation of the county was to call an election for Sep- 
 tember 20, 1855, to fill the various county offices, 
 that resulted in the choice of the following parties : — 
 
 FIRST OFFICERS OF CAR.SON COUNTY. 
 
 (1) James C. Fain, Sheriff. 
 
 (2) Heniy W. Nilcs, Surveyor. 
 
 (3) Chas. D. Daggett, Prosecuting Attorney. 
 
 (4) Chas. D. Daggett, Assessor and Collector. 
 Richard D. Sides, Treasurer. 
 
 (5) Henry W. Nilcs was appointed Clerk, Oct. 2d. 
 
 (6) H. M. Hodges, Constable. 
 
 (7) James A. Williams, Constable. Bonds, SCOO. 
 Nicholas Ambrosia, Justice of the Peace. Not 
 
 being able to write, signed his bonds with his mark. 
 
 HL^nry Van Sickle, Justice of the Peace. Bonds, 
 81,11(11). 
 
 James McMarlin, Justice of the Peace. Appointed 
 December 3, 1855, for Gold Canon. 
 
 (8) Henry D. Sears, Wm. P. Allen, James McMar- 
 lin, Selectmen ; §1,000 bonds given by each. 
 
 FIRST LOUNTY COURT RECORDS. 
 
 The fir.st entry upon any of the old Carson court 
 books, was upon the County Court Records, which 
 bears date October 2, 1855, and states that Orson 
 Hyde had apiK)inted II. W. Niles Clerk of the Pro- 
 bate Court and e.r oj/icio of the County Court. 
 This is followed by a note to the effect that J. C. 
 Fain had purchased in California the county books 
 of record at a cost of thirty-five dollars, and was 
 allowed three ]ier cent, a month for use of the 
 money advanced for them. His bill of ten dollars 
 charged for packing them over the mountains was 
 audited after deducting four dollars for taxes. This 
 is the only case on record of the recei]it of any county 
 revenue in those days ; but legend hath it, that some 
 one paid a bushel of potatoes into the treasury-, and 
 then re])enting him for so doing demanded their 
 return. October 3d, is entered the proceedings in the 
 first lawsuit, in which James McLit3-re sued Asa A. 
 Knouse in an action '■ of debit and damages " for 
 8187.75, that resulted in a judgment against the 
 plaintiff for 838.50. On the twenty-seventh of the 
 same month, at a special term of the court hold for 
 that purpose at the house of John iJecse, there was 
 granted, " The sole and exclusive right to take out 
 any portion of the waters of Carson River which 
 
 (1) May 12, 1856, Russell KcUey appointed in place of Fain, 
 resigned. 
 
 (2) May 12, 1850, Orson Hyde appointed in place of Niles, 
 resif^ncd. 
 
 (:<) Novemlwr 24. 1855, likd his bonds for §1,000. 
 
 (4) December 3, 1855, appointed. 
 
 (5) March:), 1850,.**. A. Kinsey appointed, in place of Niles, 
 resigned. l)cccnil>cr 27, 1855, .ludge Hyde having acted .is his 
 own clerk during the interval. 
 
 (6) May 12, l8o(>, Daniel Woudfiird aiipointed in his pUice. 
 
 (7) — Woodf.ird killed at .Slippery Ford by Indians in the 
 summer of 1857. 
 
 (8) Selectmen duties were, to act iw Associate with the Probate 
 J udge, moke provisiou for the poor, orphans and iusaua 
 
CARSON COUNTY ORGANIZED. 
 
 :{!) 
 
 they ninj' desiro, in a. ditch or caiiul, lur mining iiiid 
 other |)ur|iose8, in tho vicinity of Gold Canon," to J. 
 C. Fain, John Roose, Stejiiion A. Kinsc}', John .\Ie- 
 Marlin, James MeMarlin, ChrLstojiher Merjjley, Mor- 
 ris Fitzf^ibbon, and Orson Ilydo. 
 
 November 2d, occurred a criminal i)roscciition. 
 more parlicularly noted in the chapter on the l?ar of 
 Nevada, and on the same day was admitted to prac- 
 tice before the courts of Utah as attorney and coun- 
 selor at law, l)r. Charles I). l)aj^!j;ett, and Sol. C. 
 Perren. At that time the laws of Utah ]iri>vided 
 that the onlj- <|ualitication necessary to enable per- 
 sons to ju'aclice law, was the possession of a '■ j.;ood 
 moral character," but the client could not be I'orced 
 to pay for such services officially. The only trans- 
 actions that followed within 18o") was the establish- 
 ment of five dollars per day as the amount that the 
 Judge and each Selectman was to be entitled to for 
 their services. 
 
 With a glance at po])ulation and condition of the 
 county at the close of 1855, we will pass on to the 
 more important events of the ensuing year. With 
 Orson Hyde had come Alexander Cowan, his wife? 
 Mrs. Ellery, and a ne|)hew named IJoberl Henderson, 
 a lad about eleven j-ears of age. It is believed that 
 Mrs. Hannah Reese and the fourth wife of Judge 
 Hyde, came to Carson Valley at the same time. The 
 advent of a female in 1855, was an event of impor- 
 tance, because of the few of them that had settled in 
 the country. There were but two at Mormon Sta- 
 tion, where a population of .about 200 resided. There 
 were but two at Gold Canon, where about the same 
 number of people were engaged in mining and trade, 
 and ])robably but fifteen females in all who lived in 
 what is now Nevada in the fall of 1855, and five of 
 them are still residing in the county. The lives of 
 some of those women would make a thrilling page in 
 history, which would prove that truth is stranger 
 than fiction, and we regret the necessity of passing 
 them all with a mere mention, excejit one at which 
 onl}- a glance is taken. The one at present is known 
 as tho " Washoe Seeross;" a woman now fifty-two 
 years of age, down whose cheeks a tribute in sadness 
 trickled as the writer's (juestions uncovei'cd tho 
 memorial ashes of jjast hopes dead, revealing the 
 wreck of a long and eventful life, verging njion its 
 close. Her maiden name was Killc3- Orrum; she was 
 born in the Scottish Highlands, and was married at 
 fifteen to Stephen Hunter, who took her to Salt Lake, 
 Utah, in 1850, where he became a polygamist, and 
 she left him. Three years later she was married to 
 Alexander Cowan, with whom she moved, as before 
 stated, in 1855, to Carson County. The first winter 
 after her arrival was spent by her in (iold Canon, 
 keejiing a boarding-house; the next summer in 
 Washoe Valley, where a ranch was taken up, and in 
 1857, when the Mormons were recalle<l, she refused 
 to return to Salt Lake and ])olygamy with her hus- 
 band. She continued to reside in summer at Washoe 
 Valley, and kept boarders in winter at Gold (^afion, 
 
 until in 1858, when she married Lemuel S. Bowers, bet- 
 ter known as "Sandy IJowers." At the time of her 
 last marriage she was the owner of ten feet on tho 
 Comslock lode, adjoining ten feet owned b^- Bowers, 
 that later developed such wealth, and was known as 
 the "Sandy Bowers claim." This rich development 
 was in IHiiO, an<l in the following season they visited 
 Euro])e, remaining away for three years, traveling 
 through the Old World, from where they returned to 
 live in the Bowers mansion, in Washoe \'alley. that 
 had been nearly completed during their absence, at a 
 cost when furnished, of 8407.000. In 1808 Mr. Bow- 
 ers died, and bis estate was ap]iraised at 8ti;!8,00O. 
 Tho full charge of her mine and mill was lefl to a 
 superintendent after the death of Mr. Howei-s, and in a 
 short time that pro])erly had run her SoO.OOO in debt, 
 and the balance of her possessions soon faded away 
 -before the onslaught of dishonesty, and now she is 
 an old lady and de])endent upon her earnings as 
 Seeress, for a living. This is a brief outline, reader, 
 let your imagination fill up the intervals. 
 
 Tho following entries appear in Book A of Deeds, 
 pages 7 and 96: — 
 
 S<piire Mott, son of Iliram Mott. was married at 
 his father's house b}' Hon. Orson Hv'le, on Siindaj', 
 the tweiityeighth day of October, 1855, to Mrs. 
 Mary W. Wheeler, at li o'clock p. .m., on that daj-. 
 
 Henry Van Sickle, Ksq., was married h^- Hon. 
 Orson llj'de at the house of Niles and Sears, on 
 Tuesdaj' evening, November 6, 1855, to Miss Mary 
 Gibson. 
 
 In Wassaw Vallej- (Washoe), on the second day 
 of October, 1856, at tho house of Judge Oi-son Hj-de, 
 Stephen A. Kinsej- to Miss Sarah Jane Thompson, 
 by the Hon. Orson Hyde. 
 
 185 6. 
 In tho spring of 1856, Orson Ilydo turveyed Mor- 
 mon Station, making a town plat, and named the 
 place (ienoa. Tho countj- having been organiy.ed, 
 a general move was inaugurated in 1856. with tho 
 design, evidentlj', to settle upon the agricultural ])art 
 of tho county by Jlormons. A companj- lei't Salt 
 Lake for Carson County, ..May 7th, of that year, and 
 others came from time to time, until thej' were in 
 a majority before election, that occurred on the 
 fourth of August, resulting in a choice of the lollow- 
 irig county officers: — 
 
 Richard Bentley (a Mormon). Recorder. 
 Russell Kelly (became a Mormon), Sheriff. 
 
 (1) Chas. D. Daggett, Assessor, Collector, and 
 Treasurer. 
 
 (2) Richard Bentley ( .Mormon), Surveyor. 
 
 (1) 'I'lio ]n)8iti(>n of Assessor ami CoUootor was received l>y 
 .niiiioiiitiMirit, IKremlKT I, lS.">(i, iiiiil on the tliiril of tlie eiisiilii)^ 
 Maicli, tliu rate of taxation fc.r l.S.'i? wius t.st.ilili.'tlied at one- 
 foiirtli of one per cent, for eonnty purposes, and one-half of one 
 per cent, for Territorial purpose-s, tile same as it had l)een in 
 IS.jO. If any tax was collected the records do not show it; and 
 the old settlers say there was none. 
 
 (■J) Kieliard Hentley uppi'inteil Surveyor on tho eighteenth of 
 Novemlier, IhoG, to serve during the absence of Orson Hyde, who 
 retnrneil to 8alt Luke. 
 
40 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 (1) William Nixson and Permens Jackman (Mor- 
 mons), Sek'ftnu-ii. 
 
 (2) Chester Loveland (Mormon) Justice of the 
 Peace. 
 
 Nelson Mcrkley (Mormon). Constable. 
 
 Seth I>ustiti (Mormon), Constable. 
 
 With the Mormon train that left Suit Lake in 1850, 
 Justice DrummonfJ came as United States J ud<^e of 
 the Tiiird District of Utah, and held a court in Mr. 
 Motts barn, four miles up Carson Valley from Mor- 
 mon Station. A Grand Jury was summoned that 
 received his charge instructing them to bring in bills 
 of indictment for misdemeanors, against all citizens 
 of the county who had been guiltj- of gambling, 
 concubinage, or other minor frontier offenses. The 
 jury, after being left to themselves, took a good look 
 at each other and becoming satisfied that lo follow 
 instructions would necessitate a wholesale commit- 
 ment of those present, forthwith notified Judge 
 J)rummond that they had adjourned without date. 
 
 Practically nothing was accomplished at this first 
 session of the United Stat<;s District Court in Carson 
 County. A couple of men convicted of grand larceny 
 were sentenced to imprisonment, but both of them 
 escaped, and the Judge, disgusted, left the Territorj-, 
 went to San Francisco, from where he returned to 
 Washington with a report in regard to western 
 Utah that was more expressive than complimentar}-. 
 
 The Probate Court, on the first of Februarj-, tried 
 one Charles Kensler for stealing twelve dollars in 
 gold-dust from Mark Stebbins. The jury found him 
 guilty and pronounced the sentence to be "six 
 months hard labor with ball and chain." "The 
 Court ordered the officer to procure a ball and chain 
 and attach it to the prisoner, and hire him out to 
 hard labor to the best advantage to the county for 
 the term of six calendar months." It cost the county 
 8110 to convict this man for stealing twelve dollars, 
 and as none of the old citizens remember anj-tliing 
 in regard to tlie niattei-. it is safe to presume that 
 he also escaped. 
 
 At this regular term of the County Court, held 
 December 1st, at the residence of P. A. Jackman, it 
 was "Ordered that the county bo divided into four 
 school districts as follows: — 
 
 1st School District — To commence at the line of 
 California and ending at the Warm Springs below 
 Van Sickles. 
 
 2d District — Commencing at the Warm Springs 
 and running below as far as Clear Creek (present 
 north line of Douglas County), including Jack's 
 Valley. 
 
 3d l)i8trict — Embracing Eagle Vallej' (Ormsby 
 County). 
 
 (I) H. 1). Sears liuld over, and nn the eighteciitli of Novem- 
 ber, IS.')!;, A. H. C'liceny was appointe*! to serve iluriii}; tlie 
 temporary altfteiice *»f .Sears. 
 
 (•J) Cliititer l.ovelaiiil was ajiixiiiitcd I'mliate Judge of Carson 
 County, liy tlie Coveriior of Utali, on the first of Septenibi-r, 
 lK,")(i. in anticipation of tlie withdrawal of Orson Hyde from 
 Wi'Htern Utah. In siuning his name, he indicated his official 
 title by adding the initials I', ti. 
 
 4th District— Wassaw Valley (Washoe Valley)." 
 
 On the third of the following March, Jack's 
 Vallej- w:is named as District Xo. Five. In 1857. a 
 school house was erected at Franktown, in Wassaw 
 Valley, that was sold in the fall to " Lucky Bill," 
 who moved it to Genoa (Mormon Station), where it 
 became a horse stable, and thus ended the first 
 effort to organize a school sj-stem in western Utah. 
 
 On the fifth of Julj', 1850, appears another entry 
 upon the record books of the Probate Court, after 
 which is an interval of three yeai-s and two months 
 before another session is held, which convened Sep- 
 tember 12, 1850. with J.S. Child forjudge. That 
 gentleman is still a resident of Carson Valley. 
 
 On the sixth of November, 1856, Orson Hj-dc 
 started on his return to Salt Lake. He traveled by 
 a more southern route than the Humboldt, and 
 reached his destination December 9th. His com- 
 ]>anions in the journej- were Simon Baker, James 
 Kalhall, John Vance, Wm. Price. Dui-ft'e, Carter, 
 Harsee, Woodland, and Butcher, tiie latter with a 
 wife and two children. This ))ioneer organizer of 
 Carson County died at Spring City, San Pete Count}', 
 Utah, November 28, 1878, leaving behind him the 
 following strange evidence of his peculiar character, 
 feelings, beliefs, and ex])erience, wbile operating in 
 what is now Nevada: — 
 
 ORSON IIVDE's curse. 
 
 G. S. L. CiTV, Ja.makv 27. 1S02. 
 
 To THE People of Causon and Washoe Vai.levs — 
 Ladien dial Genlkiiien : Not quite seven j-i-ars ai^o 1 
 was sent to your district as I'robate Judge of Car- 
 son County, with )>owers and instructions from the 
 executive of this Territory to oriianize your district 
 into a county undor the laws of Utah — those valleys 
 being then the lawful and rightful field ot Utah's 
 jurisdiction; but o|i|>osiiion on your ))art to the 
 me;isure was uncea>iiit;ly m:i<le in almost every form, 
 both trivial and iniiiorlant, o|)en and secret. Your 
 allies in California were ever ready to second your 
 op])osition of whatever character or in whatever 
 shape. 
 
 In the 3-ear following (1850, I think,; Mr. Price 
 and myself budt a valuable saw-mill in Washoe Val- 
 ley, made and purchased several land claims there 
 for ourselves and our friends — made considerable 
 im]irovenients thereon; but being called away on 
 short notice, this |property, then worth SUl.tKIO, was 
 renteil to Jacob IJose for a limited term, at a stip- 
 ulated jM'ice. On this rent he advanced one span of 
 small, indifferent mules, an old worn-out harness, 
 two yokes of oxen, and an old wagon. This is all 
 that wo have ever received for the use of our ])ro|i- 
 erty in that valley-, though we have sent bills for 
 goods or merchandise; but no res])onse, exce|)t on 
 l)a])or, and even that not of the most encouraging 
 kind. 
 
 We have been patient, and have not murmured. 
 We have made little or no effort to sell our property 
 there, becau.se we considered that those who had it 
 tiiouglit they were df>ing God and themselves a serv- 
 ice by wronging the Mormons; and for me, 1 felt 
 backwani to do anything in the premises until the 
 Lord should tell me what to do (it being on his 
 account, or on account of his religion, that we were 
 
RESERVOIR IN MARTIN CREi 
 
 PROPERTIES, 
 
 PAHAOlSE VaI 
 
f, 
 
 •\ 
 
 ^' 
 
 ?vM!;::t?s^» 
 
 ^S5t.-T, , 
 
 w. .. -- ■:«. -^-. 
 
 RESlDFflCr 
 
 .F- 
 
 V«<P 
 
 1^%^ 
 
 ^ L4, 
 
 1 CAHON, PAKADISE VALLEY, NEV. 
 
 i'TW ff*/Tr#s 
 
 S.B.P. PIERCE, 
 
 HUMBOLOTCO Ktv. 
 
CARSON COUNTY ORGANIZED. 
 
 41 
 
 deprived of any benefit from it.) That time has 
 now come, an<l the Lord has siijnitied to me, hi.s un- 
 worthj- servant, tiial as we have been under eiroHm- 
 stanees liiat e()m|)elie(r us to submit to your terms, 
 that lie will ]>hu'e you under eircuinstanees that will 
 compel you lo submit lo (Uirs. (tr do worse. 
 
 That mill and those land claims were worth SKI, (1(10 
 when we left them; the use of that proiierty, or its 
 increased value since, is S10,0(Jtl more, making our 
 present demand Sl-M.dllil. 
 
 Now if llie above sum he sent to me in Great Salt 
 Lake City, in cash, j'ou shall have a clean receipt 
 therefor, in the shape of honorable quit claim deeds 
 to all the propert}- that Orson Hyde, William Price 
 and Richaril Bentlej- owneil in Washoe Valley. The 
 mill, 1 understand, is now in the hands of R. I). Sides, 
 and has been for a lon-j time. Hut ifyoii shall think 
 best to rejii'diate our demand or any ]iart of it. all 
 riitht. We shall not make it up again in this world 
 in any shapeof any ofyou ; but the said I{. I). Sides and 
 Jacob Rose shall be living and dying advertisements 
 of tiod'sdisjileasure. in their persons, in their families, 
 and in their subst.ances; and this demand of ours, 
 remaining uncanceled, shall be to the ])eo])le of Car- 
 son and Washoe Valleys as was the ;irk of (xod 
 among the Philistines. (Sec l.st Sam. fifth chapter.) 
 You shall be visited ol'ttie Lord of Ifosts with thun- 
 der and with eartlupiakes and with floods, with 
 pestilence and with famine until your names are not 
 known amongst men. for you have rejected the 
 authorit}- of (tod, tram])led u|ion his laws and his 
 ordinances, and given yourselves up to serve the god 
 of this world; to rioting in ileltauchery, in abomina- 
 tions, drunkenness and cori'U])tion. You have chuck- 
 led and gloiaed in taking the property of the Mor- 
 mons, and withhohling from them the benefits thereof 
 You have despised rule and authority, and ]nit tiod 
 and man at defiance. If perchance, however, there 
 should be an honest man amongst you, I would 
 advise him to leave; but let him not go to California 
 for safetj-, for he will not find it there. 
 
 On hearing the contents of this letter, you maj' 
 send forth volleys of your wrath with your taunts, 
 jeers, and scurrilous indignation; but j'ou will oidy 
 prove the more cons])icuously that you are dealing 
 with an A])ostle of (Jod, or that an Apostle of tiod is 
 dealing with J'ou, whom you have rejected. The 
 hand ol'tiod is alreaily beginning to be upon j-ou for 
 evil anil not for good. The golden treasures of the 
 earth are there to call together the worshi|)ers of 
 the god of this world, that j'ou may there receive a 
 common fate. 
 
 I have no sordid desire for gobi, and have mani- 
 fested it by mj- long silence ami manifest indifl'ereneo; 
 and should not say anything now had not the visions 
 of the .Mmighty stirred u|i my mind. 
 
 We warned and forewarned the peo])le of Missouri, 
 more than twentj- ye;irs ago, of what should befall 
 them for treating the .Mormons in the way they did; 
 but did they believe us then? Do they believe us 
 now? No! Yet what is their ]>resent condition? 
 Blood and fire ma3- tell. We likewise warned the 
 peo])le of the United Slates from .Maine to Missis- 
 sipjii, and from Boston to San Francisco, of the wars 
 and troubles that were coming upon them for allow- 
 ing the .Saints and Pro|)hets to be driven, scattered 
 and slain, their property- confiscated and destroyed, 
 and they never raise a hand lo protect the Saints, to 
 ](Uiiish the crimes of our ]ierseculors, or to redress 
 our wrongs in an^' way. \S'e tobl the President and 
 his Cabinet, ])roclaimed it lo the Congress of the 
 United Slates, and told them that desolating wars 
 G 
 
 which should end in the death and misery of manj' 
 souls should begin in South Carolina. Did they 
 believe us then? Do they believe us now? No I 
 Yet what is their present condition? They have 
 e)-es, but theyj;ee not — ears, but they hear not. and 
 hearts, but they understand not. Their l)lood (b)ws 
 like water, ancl their rage like the ocean. 3-et the)' 
 have not read the half of the preface of their national 
 troubles. 
 
 We now tell the people of Carson and Washoe 
 Valleys some things that will befall them, and the 
 ' reason why they will befall them. But will j-ou 
 believe us? "Behold ye despisers, and wonder ami 
 perish! I will work a work in your da}' — a work 
 which j'e shall in no wise believe, though a man 
 declare it unto you." (See Isaiah, twenty-ninth 
 cha])ter.) 
 
 (iod is now beginning to deal with the inhabitants 
 of the earth for the wrongs which ihej* have done 
 unto his peojjle, and for i-cjecting his authority and 
 counsel, given forth from Heaven through the .Mor- 
 mons. Ilis dealings with them will be neither light 
 nor on a limited scale. But those who do repent, 
 and make right their wrongs, acknowledge the 
 authority of (Jod in the channel through which he 
 hath sent it, may find mercy and protection in that 
 channel, and nowhere else. 
 
 1 care not what our mill an<l lan<l claims are, or 
 were considered worth — whether five hundred thou- 
 sand dollars, or five cents. — twenty thousand dollars 
 is our demand; and you can pay it to us, as 1 have 
 said, and find mercy, if you will thencel()rth do right, 
 or despise the demand and ])erish. 
 
 As usual, 1 feel quite indifferent about it, and what 
 I have written 1 have written, and 1 excuse not 
 myself. 
 
 Without hypocrisy, deceit or falsehood, I remain 
 as heretofore, a servant of God. Okson IIvde. 
 
 P. S. — This letter, though indited by me, was 
 written and signed by the hand of ni}- clerk; j-et I 
 endorse it b}' mj' own hand, and request its contents 
 to be made as public as consistent. 
 
 As above, • Orson IIvde. 
 
 Si'uiNOTOWN, San Pete County, U. T., ) 
 March 11, lS(i2. j 
 
 11. .MoTT, lOsQ. — Dear Sir: I have planted my suit 
 to recover the value of our jiropert)' in Washoe Val- 
 lej' in the Chancer}- of Heaven. Your note of the 
 sixteenth ultimo brought mo the satisfactory inform- 
 ation that the ])apers were tlul}- served; and now, 
 without further argument, I am willing to rest our 
 cause, and submit it to a final decision. But one 
 thing 1 wish you, for your own sake, to remember, 
 and that is, the word of the Lord, and the words of 
 his servants have almost invariably been regarded 
 by a wicked and unbelieving race as mere "moon- 
 shine," or as something of far less conse<iuence. I 
 have rested my cause, and shall say no more for 
 some time yet to come. 
 
 Truly j^ours, Or-son Hyde. 
 
42 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 WITHOUT GOVERNMENT. 
 
 1857. 
 
 Exodus of tlie Morni'ins— .Suconil Attempt at lerritorial Organ- 
 ization — Pulilic Meeting in Car3on Valley— UL'Solutions — 
 Memorial — Kxaggerated .Statements — A Fyetter frim .JuJge 
 Crane to liis I'onstituents — .Mountain Meadow M;i33iere, 
 September 15, 1857 — Wejiteru Utah at the close of 1857. 
 
 In 1856 an armed mob of Mormons had driven the 
 United States District Judge from the bench in east- 
 ern Utah, and he had fled the Territory. The relations 
 between our Government and her Mormon citizens 
 in Utah had become of an unequivocally hostile and 
 bellifjerent character. Acts in defiance of law were 
 continuous; murders were not unfrequent, and a 
 reign of terror had been inaugurated wherever that 
 church was in the ascendancy, which was not the case 
 in Carson County. This state of things, amounting 
 to a rebellion, caused President Buchanan to send a 
 small arm}^ under (Jeneral A. Sydney Johnston to 
 Salt Lake in 1857 for the purpose of re-establishing 
 the (iovcrnmeiit"s sui)remuc}' in that localit}'. Brig- 
 ham Young called in the members of his church from 
 all parts to defend the City of the Saints against the 
 ap])roach of what he designated as the armed mob of 
 Gentiles. 
 
 In anticipation of such a state of things the Legis- 
 lature of Utah, on the fourteenth of Januarj*. 1857, 
 enacted the following law:— 
 
 * * * * "Said county is allowed to retain 
 its present organization so far as County Recorder, 
 Surveyor, precincts, and |)reciiict officers are con- 
 cerned, and maj' continue to elect those officers in 
 accordance with the existing arrangement;* and laws, 
 until further directed by Great Salt Lake County 
 Court or Legislative enactment. 
 
 "Section 5.— The Record books, papers and blanks, 
 and seals, both of Probate and County Courts, shall 
 be delivered over to the order of the Probate Court 
 of Great Salt Lake County." 
 
 April 13lh the County Court, with Chester fjove- 
 lan for Judge, adjourned until the first Monday in 
 the following June; but it was September 3, 1800, 
 before there was another session of this branch of the 
 Judiciary. 
 
 On the si.xteonth of July the P. G. Sessions Cali- 
 fornia Mormon train, numbering thirty-one men, six- 
 teen women, and eighteen children, with seventeen 
 wagons, forty horses, and thirt3--two mules as a 
 means of transportation, left Kagle Vallej- for Salt 
 Lake. 
 
 The Conover ('om|)nny Kxprcss arrived in Washoe 
 Valley just after sundown on the fil'th of September, 
 bearing a dispatch calling in the Mormons ?» masse 
 from western Utah. On the twentj-sixlh of that 
 month about 450 souls, several of whom were from 
 California and Oregon, with 128 wagons, started in 
 obedience to the order, and reached, on the second 
 of November, the City of the Saints. This exodus 
 of Mormons left the Truckeo and the Washoe Val- 
 leys nearly depopulated for a lime, and Johntown 
 
 in the same condition, not a store remaining at the 
 latter place. The property left by those people in 
 titles to land and improvements upon it, in Carson 
 Count)-, passed for a trifle into the hands of others. 
 Parties coming from California invested in this real 
 estate, and the temporary vacancy created by their 
 wholesale abandonment of the country, was soon 
 supplied by Gentiles anil apostates from the Brigham 
 Young theory of Mormonism. 
 
 SECOND ATTE.MPT AT TERllITORIAL 0R(1ANIZ.\TI0N. 
 
 A ver}' formidable effort was m ide to procure the 
 authorization by Congress of a new Territory, and 
 consequent org.mization of it by the people living 
 along the oast base of the Sierra Nevada, that was 
 set on foot August 3, 1857. The initiatory step was 
 made at a public meeting held in (renoa, of which the 
 following is the report as made by the Secretary of 
 the meeting. It will be observed that it occurred 
 after the departure of the Mormon train under 
 Sessions from Eagle Valley to Salt Lake, and about 
 four weeks before the arrival of the order for all 
 Mormons in western Utah to leave that section for 
 the City of the Saints. It will be further observed 
 that Judge Lovoland, the Mormon elder, was invited 
 to address the meeting, which he failed to do. 
 
 PUBMC MEETINd IN CARSON VAI.LEV. 
 
 At a primary meeting of the citizens of Carson 
 and adjacent V^alle^-s, Utah Territory, held at Gil- 
 bert's saloon, on Monday evening, August 3, 1857, to 
 take preliminary steps toward calling a grand mass- 
 meeting of citizens for the purpose of petitioning 
 Congress to organize a new Territory out of portions 
 of Utah, California and New Mexico, on motion. 
 Col. John Reese was called to the Chair, and William 
 Nixon appointed Secretary. 
 
 The object of the meeting was briefly stated by 
 the Chair, when the following resolutions were unan- 
 imously adopted : — 
 
 BesofceJ. That a mass-meeting of the inhabitants 
 of the Territory of Utah, lying oast of the Sierra 
 Nevada Mountains, west of the (iooso Creek Mount- 
 ains, and between the Colorado River on the south, 
 and the Oi-egon line on the north, be held on Satiir- 
 tlay, the eighth da}' of August, 1857, to take into 
 consideration this subject, and to jtrovide ways and 
 means for presenting this whole question to the 
 earnest consideration of the President of the United 
 States and both Houses of Congress. 
 
 Jiesoloed, That a committee of nineteen be appointed 
 to make arrangements for holding said mass-meet- 
 ing in the town of (ienoa, Carson Valley, on Sat- 
 urday, the eighth <l;»y of August, 1857. 
 
 h'enofceil, That .luiige Crane and Judge Lovoland 
 be invited, and are hereb}' requested to address the 
 meeting on that occasion. 
 
 The following gentlemen were apjiointod as a 
 committee of arrangements: — 
 
 R. I). Sides, Clear Creek; Dr. B. L. King, Kaglo 
 Valley; Dr. ]:)aggett, James .McMarlin, William B. 
 Thori-inglon, Orin Gray, John S. Child, Daniel 
 Woodford, Major Ormsby, D. E. Gilbert, Samuel 
 Singleton. II. Li. Alexander, and eight others, (Jarson 
 Valley. 
 
WITHOUT GUVERMilENT. 
 
 43 
 
 On motion adjourned to moot en masse, on Satur- 
 day, Auj^iist Stli, at one o'clock p. m. 
 
 John IiEESE, Chairman. 
 
 W.M. ><1X0N, Secrclary. 
 Genoa, August 3, 1857. 
 
 On the day indicated there assembled at Genoa 
 a mass-moetint; that was called to order Itj- .Major 
 Wni. M. Orm^by; and Colonel John lieese having 
 been elected President thereof the following gentle- 
 men were named as its Vice-Presidents: Isaac Jtoop, 
 Cajit. F. C". Smith, Dr. B. L. King, and Solomon 
 Perrin. Upon motion of Major Ormsbj- the follow- 
 ing committee was appointed, to ))re.<ent business 
 before the meeting: Major Ormsby, \l. 1). Sides, 
 Klijah Ivnott. Thomas J. Singleton, J)r. 15. L. King, 
 Daniel Woodford, S. Stephens, Warren Smith, and 
 John ilcMarlin. They retired to perform the duties 
 assigned them, and in their absence, Judge James 
 M. Crane addressed the meeting for about one hour, 
 after which, that committee presented the following, 
 which were adopted as the voi_po of the meeting: — 
 
 UESOLCTION.S. 
 
 WiiERE.\s, The people inhabiting the territory 
 commonl}- known as the Great American Basin, 
 l3Mng between the eastern spurs and foot-hills of the 
 Sierra Nevada, west of the Goose Creek range of 
 mountains, the Oregon line on the north, and the 
 Colorado and its tributaries on the south, having 
 become convinced, from the rapid increase of popula- 
 tion within these limits, the dangers which threaten 
 us from the numerous hostile tribes of Indians, and 
 from the absence of all law to restrain the vicious, 
 and to ])rotect the u])right. that some kind of gov- 
 ernment should be established as soon as ])ossibie for 
 the better security of life and property to it, there- 
 fore, 
 
 Kesolceil, That it is the sense of the inhabitants of 
 the aforesaid portion of the (rreat Basin, in mass- 
 meeting here assembled, that for the better security 
 and protection of their lives and jiroperty, as well 
 as those of the emigrants crossing the plains by the 
 several routes which cross the continent and ])ass 
 through this Territorj- to and from the Atlantic and 
 Pacific States and Territories, tliat a Territorial Gov- 
 ernment should be organized within the aforesaid 
 boundaries b}' Congress within the shortest possible 
 time. 
 
 Jiesuli-eil. That to more eHectually secure this object 
 a memorial lie drawn up. setting forth all the fads 
 and reasons for this movement, and that the same 
 be submitted to the respectful and earnest considera- 
 tion of the President of the United States, and to 
 both Houses of Congress; and that as a further 
 means to secure the attainment of this object, a Del- 
 egate be selected by the citizens of the aforesaid ])ro- 
 posed Territory, in mass-meeting here assembled, to 
 visit the l''e<iei-al ca](ital, to re|)resent the interests, 
 wants and views of the jieojile to the President of 
 the United States, and to both Houses of t'ongress. 
 
 Resolcfil , That James M. Crane be and he is hereby 
 selected, authorized, and apjtointed Ity the citizens 
 of the aforesaid Territory, in mass-meeting here 
 assembled, as our Delegate to represent us in Wash- 
 ington. 
 
 liesolced, That from Judge Crane's long residence 
 in thiii part of the Union, and his known devotions 
 to its interests, from his personal explorations in. 
 
 and general knowledge of, the condition, wants, 
 and resources of the Great American Basin and the 
 North Pacific, as well as from his known candor, 
 fidelitj', and ability, wo feel that we can not oidy 
 intrust our interests to him while in the Federal 
 Capital, but that we can most cordiallj- recommend 
 him to "the powers that bo" in Washington. 
 
 KesolceJ, That for the more eft'ectual accomplish- 
 ment of the great object of thjs meeting, that a com- 
 I mittec be appointed, consisting of twenty-eight ])er- 
 I sons, to manage and sLiperintend all matters neces- 
 sary and projjcr in the jiremises. 
 I kesuli-eil. That the following-named gentlemen bo 
 I and they are herelij' a]iiioiiUe<l said committee, with 
 power to fill all vacancies and to increase their 
 number when necessary, viz.: — 
 
 Honey Lake Valley — .Maj. Isaac Uoop. Peter Las- 
 sen, Mr. Arnold, Wm. Hdl, and Mr. McMurlry. 
 
 Eagle Valley — Dr. J}. L. King and Martin Steb- 
 bins. 
 
 Carson Valley — Maj. Wm. M. Ormsby, James 
 McMarlin, Dr. C. D. Daggett, Col. John Iteese, Col. 
 Wm. J'odgers, Thomas J. Singleton, Moses Job, Wm. 
 Thorrington, Isaac Farwell, Daniel Woodford, Orrin 
 Gray, and D. Jv (Jiibert. 
 
 Willow Town — Solomon Perrin. 
 
 Ragtown — James (^uick. 
 
 Twentj'-six-mile Desert — Jefferson Atchison. 
 
 Sink of Humboldt — Samuel Blackford. 
 
 Walker River and Valley— T. J. Hall and James 
 Mc In tyre. 
 
 Hope Vallej- — S. Stevenson. 
 
 Lake Valley— M. Smith. 
 
 Resolved, That the United States Senators and 
 Representatives in Congress from California, and the 
 Congressional Delegates from Oregon, Washington, 
 Utah, and New >lexico, be and they are hereby 
 invited and requested to use their personal and 
 ofticial influence with their brother Senators and 
 Representatives in Congress to secure the passage of 
 an Act by that body for the organization of the 
 aforesaid Territory. 
 
 Jiesulced. That the newspaper press of California, 
 Oregon, Washington, Utah and New Me.Kico, bo 
 requested to ])ublish the aforesaid proceedings and 
 memorial, and to use their editorial infiuenco in giv- 
 ing aid and comfort to this undertaking. 
 
 Resolced, That the yatioiml FnteUiyencer, Wasking- 
 toii Union, New Orleans Picayune, Crescent and True 
 Delta, the New York llerall, Tribune, News and Tines 
 and other inlhiential pa]iers in the Atlantic States of 
 the Union, be and they are, also, hereby inviteii and 
 requested to publish these jjroceedings and ntemorial 
 and otherwise extend to us the benefit of their pow- 
 erful influence and sujiport. 
 
 Rfnoh-e.it, That the President and Secretaries bo 
 appointed a committoo to attend to the publication 
 of the proceedings of this meeting. 
 
 .MEMORI.VL. 
 
 The citizens inhabiting the valleys within the 
 Great Basin of the American Continent, to be here- 
 inafter described, beg leave respectfully to jjresent 
 for the earnest consideration of the President of the 
 United States, and the members of both Houses of 
 Congress this their jietition; ])raying for the organ- 
 ization of a new Territory of the I'nited States. Wo 
 do not propose to come with any tlourish of trumpets 
 or multiply words in this memorial, but we propose 
 simply to submit a few jtlain statements as the 
 inducements and reasons which actuate us in making 
 this appeal to those who have the power to remedy 
 
u 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE^OF NEVADA. 
 
 the existinii; difficulties and embarrassments under 
 which we now hibor and BuH'er. 
 
 A hirjjje portion of the inhabitants who make this 
 a]ij»eal to the powers tiiat be in Washington, have 
 been residing within the region hereinafter described, 
 for the last six or seven j'ears, withoijt any Terri- 
 torial, State, or Federal jiroteclion from Indian dep- 
 redations and marauding outlaws, runawa}' criminals 
 and convicts, as well as other evil-doers among white 
 men and Indians. 
 
 Those who have come into this Territory since 
 then have and are still suttering and encountering 
 the same difficulties which the}- have ever met with, 
 and we have no reason to suppose that life and j)rop- 
 ertj' can ever be made secure in this jjart of the 
 country until some form of government shall be 
 established by which laws inaj' be jiassed and 
 enforced upon the disobedient and vicious. 
 
 We are peaceable inhabitants and law-abiding cit- 
 izens, and do not wish to see anarchy, violence, 
 bloodshed, and crime of every hue and grade waving 
 their horrid scepter over this portion of our common 
 countr}-. 
 
 In the winter-lime the snows that fall upon the 
 summits and s]nirs of the Sierra >.'eva<ia, fre(iuentlj- 
 interrui)t all intercourse and communications between 
 the Great Basin and the State of Califoriiia, and the 
 Territories of Oregon and Washington, for nearly 
 four months everj- year. During the same time all 
 intercourse and communication between us and the 
 civil authorities of Utah arc likewise closed. 
 
 Within this space of time, and indeed from our 
 anomalous condition during all seasons of the year, 
 no debts can be collected by law; no offenders can 
 be arrested, and no crime can be ])unislied except by 
 the code of Judge Lynch, and no obedience to 
 government can be enforced, and for these reasons 
 there is and can be no protection to either life or 
 property except that which may be derived I'rom 
 the j)eaceably disposed, the good sense and patriot- 
 ism of the people, or from the fearful, unsatisfactory, 
 and terrible defense and ])rotection which the revol- 
 ver, the bowie-knife, and other deadly weapons may 
 aftbrd us. 
 
 Even in the spring, summer, and fall months, we 
 are destitute of all power and means of enjoying the 
 benetits ol the local Territorial liovernmenl of Utah, 
 to which the most of us belong, as well as the local 
 and neighboring Government of California, Oregon, 
 Washington, and IS'ew iMexico. The distance be- 
 tween the Great Salt Lake City and the innumerable 
 fertile valleys which lie along the eastern spurs and 
 foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada, where the most of 
 the population of this section reside, is nearly 800 
 miles, and over this immense space there swee]) two 
 deserts. On this account no intercourse or commu- 
 nication of a legal or pcjlilical nature is or can be 
 held with the civil authorities of I" tali. The only 
 authority acknowledged in this part ot Utah Terri- 
 tor}-, by any class of ))eo])le, is that which the Cliurcli 
 of the liatter Oa^' Saints, whose members are gener- 
 ally known under the sobri(juet of Mormons, exer- 
 cises over its votaries and disciples. Neither they 
 nor the Gentiles appear to look to the Territorial 
 Government of Utah for an}- statutory laws for the 
 regulation of their business, or for the government 
 of their conduct. The .Mormons, in all their social 
 afl'airs, conform to the general, voluntary rules and 
 habits of life among the Gentiles, but they regulate 
 all their business affairs, dealing and intercourse 
 with each other b}- certain established rules of the 
 church and not by any laws ])assed by the legisla- 
 tive deijartment of the Territory. 
 
 These are but a part of the grievancesunder which 
 we labor. Xearlj- one-half of the country in which 
 the most of your ])etitioners reside, has but two Jus- 
 tices of the Peace and one Constable, and while no 
 one even respects their authoritj-. there are not jier- 
 haps fifty men in the w-hole county who know or 
 care to know who thej- are or where they live. 
 Should they attempt to exercise any authority, the}' 
 would be regarded not only as intermeddlers but 
 intruders. Nearly the whole region in which the 
 most of }-our petitioners reside, was once erected 
 into a count}- called 'Carson" by the Territorial l^eg- 
 islature of Utah, but for some reason or reasons 
 unknown to your petitioners, the same Legislature 
 has abolished the county organization and has estab- 
 lished in lieu of it an election jirecinct — a precinct 
 too, in which nobody votes for an officer, and nobody 
 cares to vote. 
 
 The present iiuinlier of white inhabitants who 
 reside within the limits of the proposed new Terri- 
 tory, cannot be far from 7. (MM) to S,IKM» souls, 
 and their numbers are rajiidly increasing. As the 
 county has no less than 2(10 intermediate val- 
 valleys, which run into one another, of the most 
 fertile grazing and agricultural lands, as well as foot- 
 hills, mount;iiii spurs and mountains in which are 
 found gold, silver, copper, leail, iron, coal and other 
 minerals, metals and precious stones, we have good 
 reason to suppose that, when they are ]iro])erly 
 cxplored and developed, it will be found that we 
 possess, /or its e.f/ent, one of the richest ttiul most jiru- 
 il active re.tjions of the ylohe. As the evidence in sup- 
 port of these facts is known and can be known now 
 to but a few individuals, we do not propose here to 
 discuss the subject, but rather to wait until further 
 explorations shall develop all the necessary evidence 
 in support of the truth of our statements. For these 
 and many other reasons there will soon be a rush of 
 population to this new Territory like that which 
 rapidly poured into- Texas and California in days 
 passed ; and, unless a Territorial (iovermneiit or 
 some other form of government shall be established 
 during the coming -session of Congress we may 
 expect to witness scenes of a tragical character so 
 appalling and startling- in their nature as to make 
 every man feel that no law can or should rule but 
 that which is enlbrced by the iron and savage rule 
 of unrestrained violence and bloodshed. 
 
 There are some portions of the (Jreat liasin of this 
 continent, claimed by the State of California, in 
 which reside a considerable number of people who, 
 in the winter time, can have no connection with it. 
 This is the case with those who reside in iloney 
 Lake Valley. That valley lies east of the Sierra 
 Nevadas, and within the ttreal Jiasin, and from this 
 cause the jieople living in it have no intercourse with 
 other ])arls t)f the Slate during the rainy season for 
 nearly lour months every year. They, therefore, 
 naturally belong to the eastern side of the Sierra 
 Nevadas, and on this account they desire to join us 
 in this movement. If they are forced to remain 
 with California they can never know anything about 
 the affairs of their State during the whole time its 
 Legislature may be in session. It is, therefore, 
 folly, and worse than folly, to attach the |)eo])le of 
 this valley to a State about which they know noth- 
 ing, anil care notliing. for one-third of the year, and 
 that third the most important part of it to them. 
 They therefore cordially unite with us in this prayer 
 and memorial to ('ongress, asking not only that they 
 may be attached to the proposeil new Territory, but 
 that they may add their united voice in support of 
 
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WITHOUT GOVERNMENT. 
 
 45 
 
 the grout necessities for the organization of tiio 
 aforesaid Territory. 
 
 There are others residing in the southern part of 
 California, on the eastern side of llio Sierra Xevadas, 
 wiio are similarly situated iliiring a portion of the 
 winter niontlis of each year. That part, also, of 
 New Mexico, Ijing near tlte Colorado IJiver and its 
 trihutaries, and witijin the tiadsdon Purchase, adja- 
 cent to them, have the same dillicullics of cmnniuni- 
 cating with the civil authorities of New Mexico at 
 Santa Fe, or any other local and neighboring govern- 
 ment, that a large jiortion of your petitioners have 
 to encounter in communicating with I'tah. Califor- 
 nia, and Oregon in the winter season. 
 
 In a<ldition to the facts here presented we suhmit 
 tiiat all the routes across the continent, between the 
 Atlantic and Pacific States and Territories, will be, 
 by the organization of this new Territory, amply 
 guarded and ]irotected. The population of the 
 Indian tribes within the ]iro))osed Territory- cannot 
 be far from 7.').(l(l() to 1(1(1. U(l(» souls, and the most of 
 them, undei- ])ro])i.'r management, could be very 
 easily controlled if wc had anyiliing like an organ- 
 izeil government within our limits. For these and 
 many other cogent considerations, which will readily 
 suggest themselves, we pray for the organization of 
 the aforesaid Territory. 
 
 Below we submit for the consideration of the 
 members of both Houses of Congress, a rough sketch 
 of the boundaries, which we woidil suggest as the 
 most ))racticable and appropriate for the j)roposed 
 new Territory-: — 
 
 Beginning on the northwest on a line of 42° north 
 latitude, and longitude 120°, thence following the 
 Oregon and Utah boundary line on a direct east 
 course to longitude 11(5°, thence a southeast course, 
 to about north latitude 38° and longitude 114°, 
 thence farther on in the same direction to north 
 latitude 34° and longitude 112°, thence almost a due 
 south course to the boumhuy line between the State 
 of Sonora, in the Republic of Mexico, and the Terri- 
 tory of New Mexico, thenco along that lino to the 
 eastern boundary of California, and thence along 
 the latter line to the ])lace of beginning. 
 
 This bounilary takes in a range of valleys that 
 are almost indissolubl}' connected together, and in 
 the winter-time the people who inhabit them are 
 almost entirely shut out from all communication 
 with California, New Mexico, Utah, Oregon, and 
 Washington; but in all seasons they (^an ami do 
 enjoy free intercourse with one another. All the 
 proposed wagon, military, stage, and rai'roatl routes, 
 between the Atlantic and Pacific States and Terri- 
 tories across the continent, enter and pass through 
 these valleys. All the Indian tribes which are now 
 the most troublesome to settlers and emigrants in 
 this region, either roam in, or surround, those val- 
 leys. For those, and similar urgent reasons and 
 considerations, we ask that they may he united in 
 ono Teri'itory, and that said Territory be organized 
 by t'ongress within the shortest possible time, and 
 for which ^-our petitioners will ever Jiray. 
 
 A committee was then nominated, consisting of 
 W. W. Nicols, R. I). Sides, Orrin Gray, J. K. Triimbo, 
 and Col. William Rodgers, to procure signatures to 
 the memorial. 
 
 Hy the unanimous request of the meeting, .Milton 
 S. llall and II. P. Duskins, were called u|)on to sing 
 the Star Spangled Banner, which they did in excel- 
 lent style. The meeting then adjourned, with the 
 full determination of all to work in good earnest to 
 
 accomplish the success of the undertaking. (Jreat 
 harmony and enthusiasm prevailed on the occasion. 
 
 J(UI.N Rke.se, I'l-eHiilenl. 
 D. E. (ill.HEKT, I c , . 
 
 J. K. Iki Miio, I 
 
 The valleys number from 200 to 250, and range in 
 size from 10 to 1(1(1 miles in length. They are a/f 
 nlliiri'il, and are the best ijrtizinij nnd lujiirultunil 
 Iduil.ion thin i-outinint. ( 'omparativcly no metals or 
 minerals have yet been found in them, although it is 
 believed that m;iny of them contain both. The 
 foot-hills lying throughout this basin, as well as the 
 mountains, are known to possess gold, silver, cojjpcr, 
 lead, zinc, iron, coal, and many other metals and min- 
 erals, as well as precious n/ouen. Already man}^ cop- 
 per, gold, silver, iron and coal mines are being 
 worked. 
 
 Thus far thej' have proven to be the richest found 
 on this side of the continent. 
 
 The Indian tribes are numerous throughout the 
 proposed Territory. The aggregate Indian popula- 
 tion is supposed to be from 100,000 to 115,000.* 
 
 About four weeks after this meeting was held, 
 occurred that horrible massacre l)y the Moi'inonsand 
 Indiansof those emigrants at the .Mountain .Meadows. 
 This fact was not known to the outside world until 
 long afterwards, although in October the news 
 reached Los Angeles of the fate of the train. It 
 was sui)posed that Indians alone had committed the 
 deed, but it soon began to be believed that Mormons 
 had incited them. This, with the further fact of hos- 
 tilitj- to the Government by Brigham Young and his 
 followers, caused the papers of California to ativo- 
 cate the creation of this proposed new Territory, and 
 some of the absurd exaggerations in regard to its 
 importance, made by correspondents, and editoriallj-, 
 in furtherance of the plan, furnishes some amusing 
 reading at this time. The following is a samjile: — 
 
 [From tlio SacramfiUo SttUi' Joiinial, October 25, 1 857.] 
 We have from time to time presented to the pub- 
 lic statements and facts in relation to the ]>roject of 
 founding and organizing a new Territory of the 
 United States within the trreat Basin of the Ameri- 
 can Continent. ****** 
 Now for the count r}^ /x^r se. 
 
 Thej- are broken up into many bands. The Pah 
 Yutes are much the largest in number, being about 
 40,000. They are not hostile to the Americans, and 
 have never favored the .Mormons. They are friendly 
 to a now Territorj', and in<leed anxious for it. The}- 
 desire to cultivate the arts of peace, and become 
 tillers of the soil. They are the best servants in 
 America; indeed, they have shown themselves to 
 be excellent cooks, farmers, herdsmen, and mechanics. 
 All the other tribes are war-like, insincere, treach- 
 erous, and the most of them blood thirsty. Should 
 a Territory be organized, the Pah Yutes would 
 ])romptly ui\ite witli the whites, and identity them- 
 selves with the peaceful progress of the country. 
 
 The following letter from Judge Crano, shows 
 that tho creation of tho Territory of Sierra Nevada 
 
 "As a .sainplr i>f the fx:i;;;tr;ittil atntc-inunta of tlio lu'riod to 
 wliicli it n'lati-H tliis im iiitrrt'.stiii^, ami is tlio fXL'iiSf for its iiiscr- 
 tiDii, liiit at that time tliere were iiii minus worthy of note in tlio 
 Territory, anil it is doubtful if the uumbcr of Indiana exceeded 
 •25,000. 
 
46 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 was coii;<idered at Wasliinttton about the same as 
 an accomplished fact at one time, but the Act was 
 finally defeated: — 
 
 JUDGE CRANE TO UIS CONSTITUENTS. 
 
 Wasiiini;ton, February 18, 1858. 
 
 Fellow-Citizens: It affords me much satisfaction 
 to furnish you in advance information of great 
 interest. The Comniitteo on Territories has unani- 
 mously aj^reed to report a bill forthwith to establish 
 a Territorial Government out of western Utah, 
 under the name of Sierra Nevada. It will be 
 bounded on the east b}' the Goose Creek Mountains, 
 on the west by the Sierra Nevada, or the eastern 
 line of California, on the north by the Oregon line, 
 and on the south b}* the Colorado River. 
 
 The bill will be pressed through both Houses of 
 Congre.ss, by all parties, as having an immediate 
 connection with the present militaiy movements 
 against the Mormons. It has been agreed upon 
 that it shall form a part of the measures designed 
 to compress the limits of the Mormons in the Great 
 Basin, and to defeat their efforts to corrujjt and con- 
 federate with the Indian tribes who now reside in 
 or roam through western Utah. For these and 
 many other reasons, no time will be lost to organize 
 a Territory over western Utah, that there maj' be 
 concentrated there a large Gentile |)Opulation, as a 
 check both upon the Indians and Mormons. * * * 
 To the lion. William Smith, the able member of 
 Congress from the < >range Congressional District in 
 Virginia (well known in California), j'ou and I owe 
 an everlasting debt of gratitude for bringing about 
 this auspicious result. * * * 
 
 In connection with this subject permit me to say 
 (for I am not writing to you unadvisedly) that you 
 all sow and jilant heavy crops of grain and vegeta- 
 bles this spring, for they will briiu/ rewhj sale at good 
 cash prices to supply the army and the Iwlians on their 
 reser cations. * * * * As soon as I shall get my 
 seat I think I can secure mail routes between Car- 
 son Valley, via Gold Caiion. Raglown, .Sink of the 
 Humboldt, to the Great Salt Lake, and from llonej- 
 Lake to the Humboldt, where the two lines form a 
 junction. As to the establishment of other neces- 
 sary mail routes in the Territory I have no fears. 
 in connect'on with this subject also, I have great 
 hopes of having a bill passed to bridge the deep 
 snow region on the Sierra Nevada, over the Honey 
 Lake and I'lacerville routes, so as to keep open com- 
 munication between our Territory and California all 
 the year around. The deep snow region on the 
 I'lacerville route is, 1 think, about eight miles in ex- 
 tent, and on the Honey Lake route, ela Shasta, 
 about the same. Neither will cost over 85(1,(100 or 
 gGO,0U0. * * * In conclusion, I hope the Legis- 
 lature of California will be as liberal and as gener- 
 ous to you as Virginia was to Kentucky in her days 
 of infancy and trial, and as Georgia was to Alabama 
 in her days of infancy; and like them, withdraw 
 her jurisdiction over valleys lying oast of the Sierra 
 Nevada, that they maj' all come under our Terri- 
 torial Government. 
 
 Ever your faithful friend, James M, Crane. 
 
 The foregoing will give the reader a fair idea of 
 the state of mind that the settlers of western Utah 
 were in, and the inducements that urged them to a 
 8e))aration. It further presents the pecuniary out- 
 look that floated before the mental vision of the 
 
 rancher whose products from the soil was to 
 feed 115,(100 Indians on reservations, and the sol- 
 diers that were to keep them and the Mormons in 
 cheek. Western Utah was a miners' and farmers' 
 paradise, where the roads to wealth were to be 
 paved by the U. S. Treasury, with coin, over fields 
 of precious stones, and the richest silver and gold 
 mines on the continent. These exaggerations had 
 their efTTect, and the public was being slowly pre- 
 pared for an excitement such as followed the eventual 
 discovery of the Comstock Lode. 
 
 .MOUNr.\IN MEADOW MASSACRE. 
 
 In advance of the arrival of General Johnston's 
 army, an emigrant train from the .States on its way 
 overland to California, stopped at Salt Lake for a 
 time to procure provisions. It was a compan}' of 
 superior intelligence, refinement, and wealth, that 
 numbered 150 souls all told. Thej- had an outfit 
 unusually fine and complete, their live-stock and 
 transportation alone being valued at §300,000. It 
 was an assemblage of farmers, ministers, doctors, 
 mechanics and artisans, who had been lured by the 
 sheeny hues of the "golded fleece" from pleasant, 
 happy homes in Arkansas, Missouri and Illinois to 
 seek other ones, on the Pacific Coast; that far-off 
 land where distance lent enchantment to the view. 
 It was as much a transcontinental l)arty of pleasure 
 as aught else, and recorded among its numbers the 
 infant, the happy youth, the joyous maid, the fond 
 parent, and white-haired doting grandam and 
 sire; the j-oung, the middle-aged and old, a grand 
 patriarchal family moving with the star of empire 
 west. Their supply of provisions had been ]irovided 
 in quantity sutticieiit only to last them to Salt Lake 
 where it was supposed that whatever would bo 
 required to complete the journey could be obtained. 
 They knew nothing of the impending war, and were 
 first startled into a comprehension of the peril that 
 menaced them when it was found that their money 
 would not buy food. The .Mormons would neither 
 sell nor give it them, and starvation in a land of plenty 
 stared them in the face. They were ordered to 
 leave Salt Lake City, and the journey was resumed 
 along the southern route b}' the way of San Bernar- 
 dino for the coast. Settlement after settlement was 
 passed and not a thing could be procured for love or 
 mone}- to eat except eight bushels of corn obtained 
 from the Indians. Cave S])rings was finally reached 
 September Gth, in the Mountain Meadows near the 
 southeast line of what is now Nevada. At this point 
 while resting to give their stock a chance to graze 
 and recruit, they were attacked suddenly on tho 
 morning of the seventh, by a combined f'oi'co of 
 Indians, and Mormons disguiseil as Indians, under 
 the leadership of John D. Leo. Seven of the emi- 
 grants were killed at the first fire, some of these 
 being awakened by the leaden messenger of death 
 from their morning slumberings into the realms of 
 the dark unknown. Fifteen more were wounded 
 
WITHOUT G0\T5RNMENT. 
 
 47 
 
 and the closing act of the darkest drama blistering a 
 page in history had begun. The tMnii;r'aiits rallying 
 like brave men as thej' were, beat otV their assailants 
 and threw up temporary tbrtifiealions. In the 
 resistance two of the attacking Jiarty were mortally 
 wounded and Hishop lligbee, the Monnon represent- 
 ative of God's mercj', love, justice and truth, got 
 down on his knees and blessed the assassins, calling 
 upon the Su|)roine IJuler to he.il them, and Gotl 
 neglected to do it. 
 
 The Mormons withdrew to procure reinforcements, 
 and two brave men among the emigrants undertook 
 to break through and procure assistance from where, 
 God oidy knew, for California was hundreds of miles 
 away. One of them was named William A. Aden, a 
 Tonnessocan, young, chivalrous and bravo, but they 
 met the notorious Hill Stewart and a boy at Pinto 
 Creek, who killed young Aden while his wounded 
 companion escaped. A few years later Stewart 
 went with a i'riend to ])oint out where he too had 
 slain a Gentile, and while there amused himself by 
 contemptuouslj- kicking about the bleaching bones of 
 his unburied victim, and yet that soulless, unhung 
 miscreant still lives near the scene of his atrocity. 
 Jlondaj- passed, Tuesday came and was gone, and 
 Wednesday brought with it neither sign, or hope of 
 relief. From the surrounding overlooking hills 
 came the constant report of the merciless rifle as the 
 besiegers continued to fire upon the e.xposed stock 
 or any living thing lli.it shnwed itself from within 
 that human slaughter house. The situation had 
 become desperate, they were without water, the 
 spring being a little ways from the fortification, and 
 commanded b}' the enem^-'s rifles. A heroine, hoping 
 that her se.\ might pi)ssii)ly ])rotect her, stei)|)ed out- 
 side the inclosure to milk a cow, when her life paid 
 the penalty of the act. Two children, like stray 
 doves from the ark, dressed in pure white, hand in 
 hand with a small ]>ail, started for the si)ring to pro- 
 cure water for the famishing garrison. Half the way 
 had been passed when these little martyr innocents 
 sank by the trail, ))ierced with merciless bullets, as a 
 cry of horror from the besieged, drowning the 
 despairing shriek of the childless mothers, wont up 
 towards heaven and brought no answering vengeance 
 upon the murderers. It was tluMi decided to make 
 one last, desperate, and almost hopeless effort to 
 communicate with the outside woi-ld. A manuscript 
 was jireparetl, stating the conilition of the |>arty and 
 giving the history of the wIkiIc all'air, I'pon it was 
 written the names of all the jiersons constituting the 
 party; their residence before starling upon the ex])e- 
 dition, to which was added the names and number 
 of each Masonic or Odd Fellows' lodge, the denomi- 
 nation of every church orsociety in the East thathad 
 a rejiresontativc among that part}', doomed to be 
 annihilated. The}- did not expect to get this record 
 through the lines to tell humanity of the ghoulish 
 infam}- that was striving to make a common gi-ave 
 blot out and hide this fiendish tragedy and its victims 
 
 from the world, yet something might transpire to place 
 it before the world. At length three men, ''the bravest 
 of the brave," volunteered to attempt that night the 
 jiassago of the line with the record, and strive while 
 life lasted to reach California, hundreds of miles away 
 over the mountains, through the deserts, on foot, 
 guideloss and without tood. It was a hopeless task, 
 the offspring of dcs])air, anti as the night closed in 
 around them and the stars came out to look down 
 upon the world, they saw this doomed garrison 
 gather around a white-haired old minister, whoso 
 outstretched hands and upturned face was calling 
 upon the throne of Omni])otence to help this forlorn 
 hope of three to reach — beyond the encircling coil of 
 savages — the honi's of humanity. At miilniglit the 
 throe stole forth, they passed the line of the besiegers, 
 but the next da}' their trail was discovered and Indi- 
 ans in charge of Ira Hatch were sent in jiui'suit. 
 They were surprised while asleep on the Santa 
 Clara Mountains, where two were killed and one 
 escaped, wounded in the wrist, who struggled 
 on until he reached the Las Vegas in southern 
 Nevada, close to the California line. The writer of 
 this in 1873 stood in the place where he fell, and lis- 
 tened to a detail of the manner in which the last of 
 those three was murdered. As ho was staggering 
 along the road, two men, one of them John .M. 
 Young, on their waj- to Salt Lake, met and cjtfored 
 him assistance; offered to smuggle him back to Salt 
 Lake, ami as he was journej^ing with them on his 
 return, was met near Cottonwood by the jtursuing 
 part}', to whom he was unwillingly ilelivered up. 
 At a signal from the white miscreant, Ira Hatch, the 
 Indians rained a shower of slow arrows u|)on the 
 wretched victim, that, entering the flesh, served only 
 as torture shafts, hanging to'goad the prisoner to his 
 death. He turned and ran with a feeble dragging 
 step, away from the road, leisurely pursued by the 
 assailants, who continued their target practice upon 
 him. But it could not last always, and when despair 
 and pain had driven away his life, the coyotes came 
 and feasted on what was left of the last of the three 
 dead heroes. The ])apers that they had striven so 
 nobl}' to place in friendly hands, were retained by a 
 Mormon for several years, but finally were destroyed 
 by John I). Lee, one of their bishops and the leader in 
 the massacre. 
 
 lii the mcuTitinic the eniii^rant |>:irly had met its 
 fate. When the assailants foiunl that to attack and 
 overpower the besieged uoiiM cost too many of 
 their own lives, it was dciided to treacherously lure 
 them to their fleath. 
 
 In carr^'ing out this plan messengers were sent to 
 confer with them under a flag of tru<'e, to say that 
 the Mormons had come to save them from the 
 Indians who were their assailants, and that if the 
 garrison would surrender to them all should be held 
 as prisoners an<l protected, Kclying upon this 
 assurance the surrender was made, and the emi- 
 grants, in com])lianco with instructions from the 
 
48 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Mormons, moved out from their defenses unarmed, 
 with the wounded and children in wa<<ons, followed 
 by the women in single file, the men bringing up 
 the rear. The}- were suddenly assailed while moving 
 in this form by both xaiutu and Indians, and in five 
 minutes the only living members of that ill-starred 
 party, that had numbered over 150 souls, were 
 eighteen children, who were supposed to be so 
 young that their memories could not rise up in judg- 
 ment against the murderers in after years. 
 
 The tragedies that were enacted in that hecatomb 
 of blood is beyond the power of any language to 
 express. A faint conception of its fiendish detail 
 might possibly dawn upon the imagination of the 
 one that can picture a scene where the last quiver 
 of death is moving the already- senseless form of a 
 husband, on whose bosom rested the little form of an 
 infant i)laced there by the young mother who is 
 standing over them dagger in hand defending her- 
 self, her young and her dead, like a tigress at bay, 
 while standing there holding in chock with her 
 blade a miscreant in front, she is stealthily ap- 
 proached from behind by one who sends a knife to 
 its hilt through her heart, that stretches her lifeless 
 form across the feet of the dead husband. The 
 murderer then taking from her nerveless hand the 
 dagger, thrusts it through the infant's body, pinning 
 its tiny form to the breast of its father, and then 
 laughs at its shrieks of agonj' and writhings in 
 death. Such was one incident; over one hundred 
 others, varying in their details of horror and 
 degrees of atrocity, were enacted, which left not a 
 single one unperformed that could have added to the 
 infamous monument built that day b}' the Mormons 
 to make the world execrate their name forever. 
 
 The pirates upon the sea under the black flag, wag- 
 in" war upon all mankind, make their prisoners walk 
 the plank to blot out evidence of their transactions. 
 The Church of I.,atter Day Saints, with the same 
 motion, urged on by revenge and sustained by a 
 religious lanalicism; had, through the teachings of 
 years, arrived upon the same plan of revenge, rob- 
 bery and murder, under the pirates war-cry of "Dead 
 men tell no tales." 
 
 W hen they were done there was no one left to tell of 
 the massacre but those who had committed it, and for 
 a time the fate of that emigrant i)arty was to the 
 worlil a mystery- Conscience had driven one par- 
 ticipant to a suicide's grave, and reason from its 
 throne in another, but still the secret was kept. 
 At length whisperings of what had been done crept 
 out into the world, and soon it was found that an 
 overland i)arty was missing. Finally, in IS.jil, John 
 t'radlebaugh was sent to Utah as a United States 
 District Judge, and being a brave man and just, 
 sought, regardless of ])eril to himself, to unravel the 
 mystery that surrounded the affair. Those children 
 were recovered, but could tell no tale of Mormon 
 participation in this outrage upon humanity, and 
 butHed upon every hand, the Judge abandoned the 
 
 attempt, published to the world the evidence he had 
 obtained, and was sent to western Utah to preside 
 over what is now Nevada. Twenty years passed 
 after the massacre before weak-handed human jus- 
 tice overtook any of all those murderers, when at 
 last John D. Lee was shot on the twenty-third of 
 March, 1877, by order of the Court, as a penalty for 
 his leadership and participation in the crime. Many 
 of the other criminals still curse the earth with their 
 execrated ])resence, and going unwhippcd of justice, 
 arc a living reproach to our Government and justifi- 
 cation foi- mob law and vigilance committees. 
 
 WESTERN UT.\U AT THE CLOSE OP 1857. 
 
 With all the j-ears of opportunity that had pre- 
 ceeded the advent of 1858 western Utah remained a 
 sparselj--settled country-. All forces influencing mat- 
 ter in the univer.se impels it towards an improve- 
 ment of its condition with inanimate things by the 
 blind im))ulse of alHnity with animate life, possessed 
 of vitality by the ceaseless desire to be less unhappy. 
 The power that causes a man to voluntarily change 
 his position or occupation in life is a belief in con- 
 sequent improved condition. But few of the human 
 family of the many who in passing through had 
 seen ]>ortions of western Utah had observed any- 
 thing in it that if appropriated would be of advan- 
 tage to the possessor. The' opportunity of utilizing 
 anj'thing therein to better one's condition outside 
 seemed meager, and confined to a limited area; there- 
 fore, the natural result was a population numbering 
 but 200 or 300 in an extensive eounfrj- that had 
 been more or less known for thirty-two years. The 
 inducements that had localized the few that lived there 
 with temporary designs of residence, was, traffic with 
 emigrants, who yearly grew less in numl)er, jjassing 
 through the country en route to California, work in 
 the poorlj'-j)aying placer mines in Gold Canon, and 
 grazing of stock for the California markets in the 
 vallej's along the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada 
 Mountains, between the Truckee River and the 
 head of Carson Valley. 
 
 The miner came to prospect through the mount- 
 ains for mineral, hoping to paj- his expenses by work- 
 ing a portion of the year in Gold Canon. The trad- 
 ers followed the miners to furnish supplies in ex- 
 change for gold-dust, and scattered along the over- 
 land road to trafldc with the emigrant. The ranch- 
 ers sought the fertile eastern base of the Sierra, 
 along the mountain streams, where stock was fat- 
 tened to drive across the mountains to California; 
 and all the ])0|)ulation of western Utah were mem- 
 bers of one or the other of those three branches of 
 industry. The troubles of 1857, existing between 
 the Government and Mormon Church, had served to 
 withdraw all the adherents of Hrigham Young from 
 the section now called Nevada, leaving only Gen- 
 tiles, and those who repudiated J5righam's authoi-ity 
 and jiolygamy, as residents of Carson County. 
 
 The section was practically without political organ- 
 
Wl^pl^^ ^ ^^^^^'^^ 
 
Hon. James G. Fair. 
 
 United States Senator from Nevada, was born at 
 Cloiii^licr. County Tj'roiic, Irelaiid, December 3, 1831, 
 and twelve j-ears later came with his parents to the 
 United States, settling in Illinois. Though but 
 eighteen years of age when the discovery of gold 
 was announced, he was ripe for action, and in 1850 
 we find him tugging as hard as older men among the 
 boulders at Long's Bar, in Butte County, California, 
 on Feather River, called by the Californians El Rio 
 de his Phiiiiais — the river of feathers. This kind 
 of scrambling, however, did not suit his turn of 
 mind. Placer mining, as then carried on, was a 
 haphazard kind of business, in hunauza one day, 
 the next in horasca, the latter daj-s having the pre- 
 ponderance. The peculiarity of mind which char- 
 a<'terizcd his later years, of looking for the source 
 of minerals, or, as a miner would say, of following 
 croppings or indications, soon asserted itself, and we 
 find him earl}- pounding awaj- at the (luartz veins, 
 with the full belief that his fortune was to be made 
 out of quartz. He early acquired all the knowledge 
 attainable in regard to quartz mining, and added 
 considerable to the general stock by his own exi)e- 
 rience while mining at Angel's Camp, in Calaveras 
 County, and acting as Superintendent of quartz mines 
 in other parts of the State. On the discovery of the 
 Comstock he removed thither, and found a field 
 worthy of his best powers, llis California experi- 
 ence soon proved of value, and in a few years he was 
 made Superintendent of the Ophir Mine, and in 1807 
 of the llale & Norcross. In the llale it Norcross, 
 he first became associated with John \V. Mackay, and 
 the}' subseiiuently induced .Messrs. .lames C. Flood 
 and William S. O'Brien, capitalists of San Francisco, 
 to join them in that and other mining enterprises. 
 With his judgment, knowledge of mines and oppor- 
 tunity he coidd hardly fail to acfjuii-e money, and 
 when the firm, afterwards so famous as the owners 
 of the richest silver mine the world ever saw, was 
 formed, lie brought into it not only a share of the 
 funds necessary to carry on the expensive work of 
 exi>loration, but a knowledge of mining and mines 
 that was second to no one on the I'acific Coast. 
 Messrs. Fair, Mackay, Flood, O'Brien and Walker 
 constituted the firm, Mr. Walker selling to Mackay, 
 and -Mr. Fair became the Mining Superintendent of 
 the mines of the company. 
 
 The long and persistent search for the lode after- 
 ward developed in the Consolidated Virginia Mine, 
 
 as well as the fortunate finding of it, are related in 
 the historyof the Comstock Mines, and need not be re- 
 peated here. It is well known to all the world, and 
 will be a subject for historical writers as long as men 
 search for precious metals and silver remains money. 
 
 Mr. Fair, as well as Mi-. Mackaj', is an operator out- 
 side of the mines, has large blocks of land and 
 buildings in San Francisco, knows as well as any 
 one when the market is iti bonanza and horasca, and 
 knows when to go in or go out. In June. 1S81. 
 he commenced the construction of a grand building 
 on the southwest corner of Sansome and Pino Streets, 
 San Francisco, which will be one of the most costly 
 and imposing structures of that city. Aside from the 
 power which the possession of enormous wealth 
 gives him, he is a power himself, cool when others 
 lose their heads, consequently coming out with the 
 balances on the right side of the ledger. 
 
 He has made various other ventures in mining; 
 owns mines in Panamint, in Arizona, (rcorgia, and it 
 is said in the Lake Superior District. He hass|>read 
 his net into many out-of-the-way places, and it is 
 quite likely that if a discovery of rich silver mines 
 were announced as having occurred in Patagonia, 
 or along the Straits of Magellan, with the same in- 
 formation would come the statement that the most 
 promising ])laces were owned by James (J. Fair, of 
 Nevada. When the great diamond swindle was per- 
 petrated he had his trusty agents in advance of the 
 Kalston crowd, and knew before tlioni that the mat- 
 ter was a " first-class sell." 
 
 For many years Mr. Fair spent a great deal of bis 
 time in the depths of his mines, visiting the ditt'erent 
 workings at all times of the day or night, and thus 
 became thoroughly conversant with every |)art of 
 the vast labyrinth of drifts, cross-cuts, winzes, slo])e8, 
 shafts, and inclines, as well as with the army of men 
 under his charge. There are few bodies so robust as 
 to bear the strain, and few minds so clear as to re- 
 tain all the great works and workmen in memory, 
 giving directions with perfect confidence, managing 
 the- greatest work of the age with utiparalleled sue- 
 'cess,and milking re])orts with the remarkable accuracy 
 and clearness shown by Superintendent Fair. 
 
 Ho did not appear to know he was getting rich, or 
 that ho was a rich man. He had been i)laced in 
 charge of a great property, and there he faitbfully 
 remained, toiling as when years before necessity 
 required him to carefully husband bis daily salaiy. 
 
He was not making money in any ordinary way, but 
 a thousand men, deep in the sweltering mine were 
 picking, shoveling, tearing the precious ore away, 
 heaving into his coft'ers gold and silver in countless 
 dollars more rajiidly than one could think the figures; 
 and was worth his millions before he was reconciled 
 to the fact. Still he kept faithfully at his post, as in 
 truth the property was too valuable and the respon- 
 sibility too great to entrust to any ordinary man. 
 
 Fair had proved his ability, and with most laudable 
 courage saca-ificed his comfort to his duties. But the 
 best work being done he concluded to have a little 
 recreation, and proposed a journey with his family 
 in the circumnavigation of the globe. The tour of 
 the world is now easily made, the steamer and the 
 rail car taking the traveler in comfort to all the great 
 cities and points of interest through the various 
 countries and climes in the circuit. Mr. Fair made 
 the journey in triumph, visiting all the places of note, 
 and enlarging his mind in the studies and associa- 
 tions of the different countries, men and govern- 
 ments he met, and returning the enlarged and culti- 
 vated gentleman, he was prepared to enter upon 
 the higher walks of life. His countrymen welcomed 
 his return bj- an invitation to stand for the office of 
 Ignited States Senator, as successor to the position 
 held by W'm. Sharon. The State of Nevada had 
 always been represented in the Senate by Eepubli- 
 
 cans and it seemed impossible for a Democrat to win 
 the high prize. The course had been made easier by 
 the neglect of Mr. Sharon to attend to his duties, and 
 the people of Nevada desired a change. To Mr. Fair, 
 one who had been so faithful to the trusts reposed in 
 him in a private capacity, one who had labored and 
 dwelt among them from the earliest Territorial days, 
 they turned for a Senator. His colleague was a 
 miner, and had proven the ablest of the Senators, 
 80 try another, was the cry, and James G. Fair, on 
 the eighteenth of January, 1881, was triumphantly 
 elected United States Senator from Nevada, to hold 
 office from March 4, 1881, until March 4, 1887. 
 
 He has the hearty, whole-souled expression that 
 comes from a healthy- body and well-balanced mind, 
 and makes friends instantly. His social qualities and 
 financial abilities are likely to make him an honor 
 to Nevada and a useful member for the country at 
 large. He is a Democrat in politics, but so broad in 
 his views, so independent in character, that the party 
 shackles will fail to hold him to any rigid line of 
 party action. 
 
 He is a family man, having a wife and four inter- 
 esting children, who, it is hoped, will perpettiate the 
 name of a deserving and successful man, and inherit 
 the forty or fifty millions he has taken from the 
 depths of the earth and added to the wealth of the 
 world. 
 

 L 
 
ELECTION AND DISCOVERY OF SILVER. 
 
 49 
 
 ization, there being no officere to execute or enforce 
 either civil or criminal law, if such had hovn recog- 
 nized as existing in the countr}-; and the only 
 influence, except the innate principle of justice, that 
 controlled the actions an<l dcalin<^s of men with each 
 other at this time was the fear of sununary treat- 
 ment of a nature euch as the next year was dealt 
 out to the unfortunate -'Luckj- Bill." 
 
 Such was the condition of the country as the year 
 1857 passed into historj-, anil a now era dawned 
 upon Nevada with the events that marked the prog- 
 ress of the ensuing yonv. 
 
 CIl A PTF, 1! V 1 1 I. 
 ELECTION AND DISCOVERY OF SILVER. 
 
 Carson t'nunty Klectiim DctoluT .lO, LsTS — Jlaiigiiig of " Kueky 
 Bill" .luiiu 111, 1S5S — I'ruluilcs to the .Silver Discovery — 
 Se;ircliiiigs in Nev;ul,i for .Silver — The (Irosh Brothers — 
 The Father's Account of Their Discoveries — The Lost .Shaft 
 Explained by J. M. Hunter — The Black Koek Prospectors. 
 
 The year 1858 was a prcparatoiy one in which 
 events shaped themselves with an apparent view of 
 placing a silver lining to the cluud that had over- 
 hung the fortunes of those living just over the bor- 
 ders east from ('alifornia. 
 
 An attempt was made to reorganize the County of 
 Carson that proved only partially successful. John 
 S. Child was commissioned I'robate Judge by Ciov- 
 ernor Cummings. the successor of Brigham Young, 
 and he called an election for Carson ("ountj' officers 
 that occurred October IjOth, of that year. There 
 were six voting precincts, and two tickets in the 
 field. One ticket purported to be anti-.Mormon, 
 although there was but one professed Mormon in the 
 valley at the time; but the anti-Mormon movement 
 was ill fact the vigilant ]>art}- who had sympathized 
 wilb the act or participated in the hanging of "Luck^- 
 Bill." and they termed the Judge and his friends 
 Mormons, or Mormon sympathizers. 
 
 When the election returns came in, four of the six 
 precincts' votes were thrown out and not counted, 
 because of illegal voting, and the two counted were 
 as follows: — 
 
 CARSON COUNTY ELECTION OCTOBER 30, 1858. 
 
 FoK KK1'UKSK..NT.\TIVE. ntKA.SL'RER. 
 
 11. B. ('lemons .57 .M. M. (iaige 511 
 
 Mark Stebbins 57 II. Molt, Sr 54 
 
 .SIIKI-.IKF. SEI.KCrMKN. 
 
 L. Abernathy 58 W. (i. Wyatt 58 
 
 George Chedic 55 James Mc.Marlin ...57 
 
 siTBVEvoK. '{• !>• Hi>les 57 
 
 C. N. Noleware 58 •'"'"i L. Cary 55 
 
 John F. Long 54 .1. U. liose 50 
 
 RECORI.KR. W.Cosser 56 
 
 S. A. Kinsey 5(i 
 
 S.Taylor 53 
 
 Townshij) No. 1. .lustico of the Peace — Benj. 
 Sears 25, A. (.«. Ilammack 22. 
 
 Constable — T. J. Atchison 31, J. M. Ucring 15. 
 
 7 
 
 Township No. 2. Justice of the Peaoc — James 
 Farwell 38, 11. Van Sickle 2G. 
 
 Constable— J. A. Smith 2G, J. M. Howard 18. 
 
 It will be seen by the above that the candidates 
 for Representative received the same number of 
 votes. Mr. Ivinscj-. the Clerk, saj's: "The result 
 was declared in favor of Mr. ("lemons, according to 
 the Utah Statutes, pages 234, Sec. 12." 
 
 Votes not counted on account of the illegality of 
 the returns: — 
 
 Stebbins. Clemons. 
 
 Gold Canon 3G 2 
 
 Washoe Valley 18 1 
 
 Eagle Valley 21 
 
 Smith's Station 1 10 
 
 Sink Humboldt 15 
 
 Total 76 28 
 
 Stebbins' majority 48 
 
 The successful candidates were upon what was 
 termed the Mormon ticket, except Sides and Aber- 
 nathy. 
 
 The people paid but little attention to the results 
 of this election, and although those receiving the 
 highest number of votes were declared elected, the 
 positions became mere sinecures. 
 
 HANGING OF LUCKY HILL, JUNE 10, 1858. 
 
 Ill the meantime had occurred one of those acts on 
 the part of a large numberol'the substantial citizens 
 of the country that was, and usually is, the out- 
 growth of a long continued absence of adequate 
 legal justice. The act referred to was the execution 
 b}' order of a citizens' self-constituted court, of one 
 of the most prominent citizens of the country, who 
 up to this time, with two or three noticeable excep- 
 tions, had been a universal favorite. The unfortunate 
 man's name was William B. Thorringlon, but ho was 
 called " Lucky Bill," and was a native of Chenango 
 County, New York, from where he removed in 1S4S 
 with his parents to Michigan. In 1850 ho crossed 
 the plains to California, and in 1853 became a resi- 
 dent of Carson Vallej', in western Utah. Ills educa- 
 tion was a moderate one, due to the fact that his 
 excessive animal spirits and vitality would not per- 
 mit a close application to stud}' when attending 
 school in his boj-hood. 
 
 In form he was large, weighing 200 pounds, and 
 with broad, ample shoulders, stood six feet and one 
 inch in height; his head, covered with glossy curling 
 hair colored like the raven's wing, was massive, with 
 a high classic forehead, and large gray mirthful ej'os, 
 looking out from beneath projecting eyebrows, that 
 indicated strong perceptive faculties. The country 
 had nil liaiulsomer or merrier citizen in it than Lucky 
 Bill, a name given to him because of the fortunate 
 result that seemed to attend his every action, lie 
 had become comfortably wealthy. It has already 
 been noted that the Heeses turned over a largo 
 amount of properly to him in January, 1855, includ- 
 
50 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 inw their Eai^le Valley Kaiich. lie had become the 
 successor of Israel Mott in the ownership of the 
 Carson Canon Toll-road, and a possessor of valuable 
 ranch property in the valley. 
 
 In character he was both generous and brave, 
 and his sympathies were readily aroused in favor of 
 the unfortunate; or, which in frontier parlance would 
 be termed, " the under dog in a fight," regardless of 
 the causes that had placed the dog in that position. 
 
 In addition to his ftirming and toll-road pursuits, 
 he was a gambler, and a very successful one, his 
 specialty being the " thimble rig game." 
 
 In 1854 a couple of California bound emigrants 
 stopped at Mormon Station, and had a falling out, 
 and it transpired that they were partners, one of 
 them owning the wagon and cattle that hauled it, 
 while the other, who had a wife, supplied the pro- 
 visions. The expense of this provision supply and 
 incidentals along the route had exhausted the hus- 
 band's finances, and the owner of the train refused 
 to take the bankru])l emigrants any further. Luckj' 
 Bill passing, saw the woman weeping disconsolately 
 by the wagon, and his sympathies were at once 
 aroused. Upon inquiry he learned the state of 
 affairs, and told the husband and wife to borrow no 
 further trouble, for he would see that they reached 
 the Sacramento without delay. 
 
 That night the owner of the outfit was induced to 
 bet against Lucky Bill in his ■' thimble rig game," 
 and in the morning he had neither an outfit nor a dol- 
 lar in money left. The winner gave him back fifteen 
 dollars of the money, bought him a new pair of 
 boots to travel in, told him to "lite out" for Cali- 
 fornia on foot, and never after that to bet against 
 any one who was playing his own game. To the 
 bankrupt family he gave a cow, spent the loser's 
 money in buying them provisions, etc., and then 
 hired a man to drive the team with them to Cali- 
 fornia. In 185U three men put up one night at 
 Lucky Bill's station in Carson Canon, on their way 
 home to the States. One of them was a white- 
 haired old man, poverty-stricken and discouraged 
 with his failures in California. In the morning his 
 horse was dead, and forced to abandon his hope of 
 reaching his Illinois home, he stood bj' the roadside 
 with a stony look in the eye and watched the depart- 
 ure of his companions for the country (hat seemed 
 shut out to him forever. "Cheer up, old man," said 
 Lucky Bill, in his happy, inspiring, whole-souled 
 way, and snapping his fingers over his shoulder in the 
 direction of the fast disa|)|)earing horsemen, added, 
 " I'll show you a trick worth eight of that." A few 
 days later the white-haired emigrant set out again 
 on his homeward journey, with a fine roan horse 
 hitched to a two-wheeled vehicle loaded with pro- 
 visions for the trip that had been given to him by 
 Lucky Bill. Numerous incidents of generosity like 
 these are rcnK'nibercd by the early settlers of 
 Nevada of this strange frontiersman, many of whoso 
 impulses were such «• ennoble inen. I|. is associations 
 
 in life, however, had been with individuals that had 
 led him to look upon murder or theft as a smaller 
 crime than would be the betrayal of a person who 
 claimed his protection, though that man might be 
 fleeing from justice after having committed either or 
 both those offenses. This peculiarity of Lucky Bill 
 being known to all, both good and bad citizens, 
 transformed him into an obstruction, sometimes to 
 the execution of justice upon criminals, and this 
 characteristic eventually proved his ruin. 
 
 In the springof 1858, Bill Edwards shot and killed 
 
 Snelling, in Merced County, California, and fled 
 
 to Carson Valley for safet}'. lie stopped with 
 Lucky Bill for awhile, and then wont up to Honey 
 Lake Valley, whore he stopped with \V. T. C. Elliott, 
 John N. Gilpin, and others. While in the upper 
 country, in connection with one Mullins, he mur- 
 dered Harry Gordier, for the purpose of getting 
 possession of the victim's personal effects, including 
 a band of cattle. The body of the murdered man 
 was found tied up in a sack and sunk in Susan River, 
 and an innocent partj- named Snow was hung for 
 doing it by citizens in the Honey Lake country, 
 upon what was doomed sufficient evidence of his 
 guilt. Sus])icion finally began to fall upon Bill 
 Edwards, and he started between two days for Car- 
 son Vallej-. where he found Lucky Bill; told of the 
 peril that was upon his trail; claimed to be innocent, 
 and asked to bo helped out of the country. Edwards 
 owned a valuable race horso which he wished to dis- 
 ])ose of, and with the proceeds escape to South 
 America. This friend of the "under dog in a fight" 
 attempted to perform both these things, to sell the 
 horso and help in the escape. Elliott and Gilpin, 
 assuming the role of detectives, followed the mur- 
 derer to Carson Valley, and feigning friendship for 
 both Luckj- Bill and P^dwards, was admitted to their 
 councils, helped in their ])lans, finally purchased the 
 horse, and then caused the arrest, on the fourteenth 
 of June, by an organization of citizens, of all par- 
 ties connected directly or indirectly with the aft'air, 
 except Edwards, who eluded them for a time, but 
 was finally secured in the following manner: — 
 
 Lucky Bill had a son named Jerome, a small lad, 
 who knew the lurking place of the man they wanted. 
 The boy was told that if he would secure the arrest 
 of Edwards that his father would bo turned loose, 
 and that if he did not, his parent would certainly 
 bo hanged. To save his father the son betrayed the 
 murderer into the hands of the citizens, and then 
 found that instead of working his sire's deliverance, 
 he was in danger of being hanged himself. 
 
 The trial and conviction took place on the seven- 
 teenth. Evorj'lhing was conducted with order, and in 
 close imitation of similar cases occurring in n'gularly 
 constituted courts. W. T. C. Elliott acted as Sherifl', 
 John L. Cary as Judge, and eighteen jurors deter- 
 mined the ([uostion of guilt. The evidence under 
 oath was written down by ('. N. Xoteware, late 
 Secretary of State for Nevada; and the writer of 
 
ELECTION AND DISCOVERY OF SILVER. 
 
 ol 
 
 this has road it all. Not a thing appears there 
 implicatiiii; Lucky Hill in sinyliiiri'^ exfi'])t the 
 attonipt to SL-eure the murderer's escape. The 
 absence ol' any knowleilijo on the part of the accused 
 of the guilt of Edwards, is a noticeable feature in 
 that testimony'; that parly, after having acknowl- 
 edged his own guilt, swore positively that he had 
 assured Lucky Bill that he was innocent, and iio one 
 else lestilti.i/ to the contrary, yet the Jury believing 
 that he did know, decided that ho was guilty as 
 accessor}- to the murder after the fact, and con- 
 demned him to be hanged. Edwards having acknowl- 
 edgeil the killing of Gordior, was also condemned, 
 his sentence being to be hanged at the scone of the 
 murder, in Hone}' Jjake Vallej'. Of the other 
 accused, two of them were fined 81,000 each, and 
 ordered to leave the country; the balance being dis- 
 charged. An unsuccessful attemj)! was afterwards 
 made to collect that fine; and one of the parties, at 
 least, still lives in Carson ^'alley. Theodore Win- 
 ters, Walter Cosser, and Samuel Swager, were 
 appointed a committee to go with Edwards to 
 Hone}- Lake, and see that he was hanged, which 
 they did, the execution taking place between six 
 and seven p. .v., on June 23, 1858. 
 
 On the nineteenth of June, at between three and 
 four p. .M., Lucky Bill, whose scart'old was building 
 ■while the trial was going on at the C'lear Creek 
 Ranch, on Clear Creek, was placed in a wagon with 
 the fatal noose around his neck, when, the team 
 being started, he was dragged by the tightning rope 
 out from the rear of the vehicle, whore, with body 
 swinging back and forth and twisting round and 
 round, lie slowly choked to death. His son is now 
 dead, and the widow is wearing out her life in the 
 Stockton Insane Asylum, in California. 
 
 PIIEI.IDES TO THE SILVER DISCOVERY. 
 
 In June, 1S58, the stage line between Piaccrville 
 and (Jenoa, that had been first established in June, 
 1857, was continued to Salt Lake, and at about the 
 same time the excitement in regard to the Walker 
 River placers began to spread. Wild stories at first 
 reached California regarding them that wore soon 
 tempered down to reports of returns only equal to 
 ordinary day's wages. April 17, 1858, the Afountain 
 Demorriit, of Placerville, California, reports prices in 
 Carson Valley upon information received from Major 
 Ormsby just from Genoa, as follows: — 
 
 Flour, per hundred 88 00 
 
 Corn, " " 4 00 
 
 Bacon, per pound 30 
 
 Pork, " " 20 
 
 Beef, " " 15 
 
 Potatoes, " " 02 
 
 Butter, •' " G2i 
 
 In August, the Rose Ditch, designed to take water 
 from the Carson River to use in mining at the mouth 
 of Gold Cafion, was completed, and the jiroprietors 
 were surprised to find the jiroposed outlet higher 
 than its head. This ditch was dug by ( 'hinamen 
 
 who camped at the mouth of the canon, and from 
 this fact the place becamd known as Chinatown. 
 
 The search for gold during the year was jiroso- 
 cuted further U]( the cafion above Johntown, and II. 
 T. P. Comstock, after whom the groat lode was 
 named, passed the season operating with ])oor suc- 
 cess, working Pah-Utes in the American Flat Wash. 
 To the north, in Six-milo Canon, a number of j)artie8 
 worked, among whom were Fenmore, known as 
 "Old V^irginia," after whose nickname Virginia Citj- 
 ■was christened, Peter O'Riley, Patrick McLaughlin, 
 and Emanuel Ponrod. A saloon was there, and a 
 restaurant, where board could be had at fourteen 
 dollars per week, both institutions the property of 
 Nicholas Ambrosia, known as " Dutch Nick." When 
 the winter set in, and the cold weather shut down 
 placer mining. Six-mile Cafion was abandoned for 
 the general rendezvous at Johntown. Thus matters 
 stood at the end of 1858. Just before the groat 
 change caused by the discoveiy of silver, and before 
 entering upon the details of that event, let us take a 
 backward glance at a few important incidents that 
 have been omitted from the chronology of occur- 
 rences alreadj- noted. 
 
 SEARCHINGS IN NEVADA KOR SILVER. 
 
 In an interview with Mrs. Laura M. Dettenrieder, 
 who became a resident of Nevada in l.S,")3, the fol- 
 lowing was elicited regarding Allen and his brother, 
 Hosea B. Grosh, and tfeeir operations while in the 
 country. Said she: — 
 
 I was not acquainted with them in 18.").'i. but 
 became so in 1854. in the fall of which year they 
 returned to Calilbrnia. and wintered at" Volcano. 
 In the early part of 1855 they came back, ]>acking 
 what they had on a little jenny, and slopped at my 
 house for dinner. On taking leave, Hosea said that 
 they were hurrj-ing away because they had to reach 
 the Sugar Loaf in Six-mile Cafion that night, where 
 they proposed making a camp at a spring. From 
 the Sugar Loaf camp thej- intended to prospect 
 farther for silver in the vicinity of where thej- had 
 found it the year before. Hosea and Allen both 
 said, We will ])Ul you, Mrs. KIlis (that was her name 
 at that time), in the " Pioneer claim," lo bo located 
 for the "Pioneer vSilver Mining Compau}-." They 
 had organized a company l)y that name at Volcano, 
 in the sjiring before coming over. I don't remem- 
 ber much about them that summer, and in the fall 
 1 went to California mj-self In the summer of 
 1857 I came back to Nevada, went up the Humboldt, 
 then across to Honey l.,ake, from where I returned 
 to l)ayton. In passing down the trail along the 
 American Flat Wash on my waj- to Dayton, I came 
 u|ion the cabin of the (Jrosh brothers, and found 
 Hosea B. sitting by the door with a sore foot, that 
 had been injured by driving a pick into it. The 
 wound seemed to be doing well, under water tre:it- 
 ment. which kept down the intlanimation. The two 
 brothers had a partner, named Captain (iaiiiin; antl 
 Allen returned to the cabin with the jiarlner before 
 I left. He handeil me a piece of rock, and s;iid, -'it 
 is from the claim you are in. a little above the 
 ])ioneer location, and wo have ])Ut your name down 
 t'or three hundred feet." Then wo wont out upon 
 
52 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 some elevated trround. and ))()intin<; to Mount David- 
 son, he said "It is down ut tiie base of that ])oiiit.'' 
 1 had learned, while up the llumbohit Kiver, of tlie 
 murder of a station-keeper at tiravellj' Kord. named 
 George Brown, and told the boys about it, and they 
 felt very bad, as thej- said he was their partner; 
 that he had intended to eome to (Jold (-'anon in the 
 fall, with what he made out of the station, where 
 he had six hundred dollars buried; and all his effects 
 was to become e'ommon property for the assistance 
 of the firm in opening their silver mines. Thej- all 
 seemed disheartened at the news 1 had brought 
 them, and I told the boj's that if thej- were sure it 
 was safe for me to do so, I would go back to Cali- 
 fornia, sell out all my propertj', and put in S1,.J00 
 to open the mines with. Then they showed me the 
 book in which their locations were entered, and 
 after I had agreed to furnish the money 1 went on 
 down to Johnlown. In three days after that. Ilosea 
 died from the effects of blood-poisoning from the 
 wound in his foot. Allen started to reach Cali- 
 fornia, leaving Comstock in charge of his things 
 and cabin, lie was snowed in on the Sierra before 
 he could get over, and when relief reached liim he 
 was so badlj- frozen that they had to cut off his legs, 
 from the effects of which he died. 
 
 '• I should like to know what became of the 
 record book they showed me, that was left in Corn- 
 stock's possession." 
 
 TUE father's account OF THEIR DISCOVERIES. 
 
 The following communication was addressed to 
 friends of the Grosh famil}-, who visited Nevada in 
 1879, and while here went to the Silver City cemetery 
 where Hosea's grave was pointed out to them by Mrs. 
 Dettenrieder. The letter tells its own story: — 
 
 Washington, July 8, 1879. 
 
 Mrs. C. B. \Vinslow, M. I)., Present — Mv Dear 
 Friend: You desire me to give you a detailed state- 
 ment of my sons' labors and discoveries in Nevada 
 (then Utah), as you are about to visit there, and 
 would like to speak of their discoveries of silver ore 
 in Carson Valley, correctly. It is a long story, and 
 1 presume it will be difficult to locate the scenes of 
 their actions after the many and great changes since 
 1857. But 1 will give you the outlines briefl}^ as 
 gathered from the letters now before me. 
 
 K. Allen and Ilosea B. Grosh, whom you knew in 
 your and their childhood and J'outh, went from 
 Iteading, Pennsylvania, in a companj- in 1S40, and 
 reached California, cia Tani])ico and Mazatlan. They 
 soon engaged in gold mining, most of the time at or 
 near '-Mud Sjjrings" (now El Uorado), Kl Dorado 
 County, with varying, but never very iirosperous, 
 fortunes. They visited Carson Valley in 1S.")1, but 
 soon returned to California. But in IS.'):! they made 
 it a longer visit, and j)retty thoroughly '• ])rospecled " 
 portions of what they called •' Carson Vallej-." 
 "Gold Canon," "Lake Valley" and " Washoe Val- 
 ley," and many of the adjoining mountains. 
 
 After their return to California, with specimens for 
 fuller examination, they wrote many letters, giving 
 details of their discoveries, and of the information 
 they were gradually acipiiring respecting modes of 
 testing their value. One stated that they found 
 what they believed to bo " carbonate of silver," in 
 "Gold Canon" — a "dark graj- mass, tarnished, 
 probably, by the sulphuric acid in the water. It 
 resembles thin sheet lead, broken very fine — and lead 
 the miners sujiposed it to be. The ore we found at 
 the forks of the cafion; a large quartz vein — at least, 
 
 boulders from a vein dose by here shows itself. * * 
 * * Other ore of silver we think we have found in 
 the canon, and a rock called black rock — very abun- 
 dant — we think contains silver." 
 
 These and other discoveries of this period, led to 
 many conversations with '• Old Frank," an experi- 
 enced Mexican miner, and to numerous experiments 
 in assaj'ing as their limited means allowed, jirepara- 
 tory to a return to Carson Valley. Thej- also organ- 
 ized a large company of kindred and friends in the 
 middle Atlantic States, called the " Utah Enterprise 
 Mining Com])an}-," of which they were part, and for 
 which they were agents — which was to enable them 
 to hold and work their various and numerous dis- 
 coveries. 
 
 But lack of means delayed their return to Carson 
 Vallej- until .Maj-, 1837. when they obtained an out- 
 fit by organizing the -'Frank Mining Companj'" — 
 named after " Old Frank " aforenamed, constituted 
 of themselves and a few wealthier friends who 
 advanced the moncj*. Thej- soon rediscovered their 
 former discoveries, and what thej- called •• Our Mon- 
 ster Vein," they located in the name of the Frank 
 Com])any, aild other veins in the name of the Utah 
 Hnter|)rise Coin]iany, and located in their own name 
 what they termed '• a smaller but richer vein " — " a 
 much more promising vein, because more easily 
 worked." Both of these arc said to be at or near 
 " the forks of the canon." Thej' also mention " suits 
 of veins crossing the caiion at two other points," and 
 "a mammoth vein of copper — co])per ])}-rites — twen- 
 tj--five or thirtj' miles north of the caiion, containing 
 considerable silver," and resembling copper, then 
 about being mined for its silver, some distance from 
 theirs. 
 
 They found great difficulties in making reliable 
 assays, in the nature of the 'ires, being, '■ not, as we 
 had supposed, magnetic oxide of iron, but the mag- 
 netic sulphuret of iron," and other mixtures (anti- 
 mony, etc.), adding difficulties in their toilsome and 
 tedious labor, with deficient materials and imjjerfect 
 apparatus. But all their assaysshowed the blackish, 
 jjurjile and violet rock to be rich in silver. The 
 greatest difficulty — one they could not surmount 
 except after much time and labor — was their pov- 
 erty. To procure food, they must use nearly- everj- 
 hour not absolutely needed for rest in gold digging 
 and washing — leaving only a few spare hours for 
 roasting and smelting. 
 
 While engaged in digging earth on Gold Hill* for 
 washing, Ilosea struck his pick into the hollow of 
 his foot. This was on .Vugust lllth. and mortification 
 set in and caused his death on September 2d. He 
 was buried res))ectahlj" by his fellow-miners, and his 
 remains have since been removed to a cemetery at 
 Silver City, and a memorial stone (which I had 
 ordered at mj' expense) has been placed over them — 
 as 1 am informed. 
 
 Allen, as early as ho could, on the fifteenth of 
 November, in companj- with his friend .Mr. Bucke 
 (now Dr. R. .M. Bucke, Superintendent of the Domin- 
 ion Insane Asylum, Ijondon, Canada), started for 
 California. Thej- were hindered hy the loss of their 
 mule and his recover}-, and caught in the great snow 
 storm of that j-ear, while in the Divide of the Sierra 
 Nevada, and comjtelled to kill their mule, and throw 
 away their s])ecimens and other baggage, and con- 
 tiriue their journey on foot through the dee]) and 
 trackless snow. Their ])owder a!ul matches got wet. 
 and the mule meat being consumed, they were four 
 days and nights without fire or food. slee)>ing in their 
 
 •Allan's Ifttcr says, " from a small ravine to thu ri^ht fork 
 of the main cafion." 
 

ELECTION AND DISCOVERY OF SILVER. 
 
 r,fi 
 
 blankets under the snow. They reached a Mexican 
 miner's canii), loi^s frozen to alxive tiie knees, and 
 tVorn thence were taken on sleds to Last Cliance, by 
 tlie miners ol'tiie iattiT ]phice, where .Mr. Hucke had 
 one leg and toot, and part of the other foot, am)>u- 
 tated, and recovered. ]Jut Allen, after lingering 
 most of the time unconscious, died December UUh, 
 and was tenderly buried. Mr. Bucko has since 
 marked the grave of his fellow-suflerer with a suit- 
 able memorial stone. 
 
 A writer from Virginia City, in the New York 
 Heidlil of December HO, liSTS, in giving a description 
 of the "Comstock'' Lode and oilier mines, gives an 
 account of my sons, their discoveries and deaths, 
 which is generally correct, and says: Krom associa- 
 tion with the two brothers Cirosh, ](revious to their 
 unfortunate deaths, Comstock, in some waj- or other, 
 at their melancholy ending, came into ])ossession of 
 what property they left. Dr. Bucke, who knew all 
 the ])arties well, says there was no intimacy between 
 Comstock and my sons, nor was there anj- likelihood 
 of there being anj- confidence reposed in the former 
 hy the latter, so widelj- different were they in char- 
 acter. disi)osition and habits. And if reports may be 
 relied on, Comstock himself told so manj' differing 
 stories in accounting for his possession and sale of the 
 lode, that it came to be believed t!iat he took posses- 
 sion of books, maps, and other ])a])ers which Allen 
 had boxed up for safe keeping, and thus learned of the 
 existence of the mines they had discovered, and 
 claimed them — sometimes as his own discovery ; 
 sometimes as having been left in his charge, for 
 which he was to receive one-third or one-fourth ; 
 sometimes, as their ])artner ; and sometimes as being 
 on the spot, and therefore nearer to them than any 
 distant heirs : having the best right, that of posses- 
 sion. 
 
 Thus, my friend, have I again gone over the letters 
 of mj- sons, and of their friends communicating their 
 sad fate, and given you briefly some of their numerous 
 details of cares, labors, trials and discoveries. 1 have 
 omilteil more than 1 have given ; but wliat 1 have 
 given may aid j"ou to find the scenes of their toils 
 and IJosea's grave — and may serve to correct any 
 errors and misunderstandings which rumors and tra- 
 ditions may have imjilanted in the minds of those 
 who have succeeded them in the jilaces they once 
 occu])ied. You can rely on their statements, for you 
 knew them ; and you also know that I would not 
 mis(|uote or jiervert wh:il they wrote to mo. 
 
 Wishing you all needed health, recreation, pleasure 
 and profit on your journey, J remain, 
 
 Very resjpccttiill}-. 
 
 Your friend, 
 
 A. H. (Jrosh. 
 
 "Dan Dc (juille,'' in mentioning these men in his 
 "Big Bonanza," states that: — 
 
 The Grosh brothers were well educated, and had 
 considerable knowledge of mineralogy and assay- 
 ing.- * * * In their cabin, which stood near the 
 ])resent town of Silver C'ily, about a mile above 
 Johntown, they are said to have had a library con- 
 sisting of a consideralile number of volumes of scien- 
 tific works: also chemical apjiaratiis and assayer's 
 tools. 
 
 They did not associate with the miiier.s working 
 in the canon, and were very reticent in regard to 
 what they were doing. They, however, informed a 
 few ]iersonsthat they had discovered a vein of silver- 
 bearing quartz, and it was well known among the 
 
 miners that they had formed a company for the 
 
 ])ur|)ose of working their mine. The majority of 
 the members of their comp;iny were undei'stor)d to 
 be in California (about Volcano), and in one of the 
 Atlantic States. * * * Li ISliO I saw their old 
 furn:ices unearthed, the}' having been covered up to 
 the depth of a foot or more by a deposit of mud and 
 sand from Cold Canon. They were two in number, 
 and but two or three feet in length, a foot in 
 height, and a foot and a half in width. One had 
 been used as a smelting and the other as a cupel 
 furnace. The remains of melting-pots and frag- 
 ments of cupels were found in and about the fur- 
 naces; also a large piec^e of argentiferous galena, 
 which had doubtless been procured a short distance 
 west of Silver City, where there are yet to bo seen 
 veins containing ore of that character, some of which 
 yiehl fair assays in silver. * * * Wiih the 
 brothers was lost the secret of the whereabouts of 
 their silver mine, if they ever discovered anj' silver 
 except that contained in the ore of the veins of 
 argentiferous galena 1 have mentioned. 
 
 After the discovery of the old furnaces of the 
 Grosh brothers in LSGO, there was much search by 
 miners in the neighborhooti for the mine thej- had 
 been prospecting, but no mine was ever found. 
 
 In a sort of sink, on the side of a large mountain, 
 at the foot of which stood the cabin and furnaces 
 of the brothers, was found an old shaft. Here was 
 supposed to be the spot where they had worked, 
 and the place was "located" {■•claimed " or " i)re- 
 emptcd") and called the " Lost Shalt." 
 
 About the first discovery made by the locators, 
 when thej- began cleaning out the shaft, was the 
 body — a sort of mummy — of a Piute squaw, who 
 had been murdered some years before by members 
 of her tribe, who had tumbled her remains into the 
 old shaft. 
 
 After finding this ■• dead thing," the owners of the 
 claim let a contract for the further sinking and 
 exploration of the old shaft. The men who took 
 the contract soon gave it up. They said they could 
 not work in the shaft; that Stones were falling out 
 of its sides without cause. Others took the con- 
 tract, and each part}' of miners that went to work 
 in the shaft gave it U]), saying that their lives were 
 endangered hy the stones which suddenly and at un- 
 expected times, jumped out of its sides. A tunnel 
 was then started to tap the ledge on which the old 
 shaft was su))posed to have been sunk, but it never 
 was completed. It is now well known that the old 
 shaft was sunk by a pai"ty of tiold Canon miners in 
 18.j1, they having taken it into their heads that from 
 this curious-looking ])it, or sink, in the side of the 
 mountain came all the gold found below in the 
 canon. 
 
 There was also a story current among the miners 
 in 18I)U, that before starting on the trij) over the 
 Sierra, which resulted in his death, Allen Grosh 
 boxed uj) the library and all the chemical and assay- 
 ing apparatus, and rwhei/ the whole somewhere 
 about Grizzly Hill, the mountain at the base of 
 which stood the cabin occupied by the brothers. 
 There was much search b}- curious miners in the 
 neighborhood for this sujpposed deposit of valuables. 
 They crawled under the edge of shelving rocks, 
 jieered into crevices among the cliffs, and proheii all 
 sus])iiMous- looking stone-heaps, but no lionanza of 
 scientific ajpjiaratus was ever discovered. When 
 Allen (irosh left to go over the mountains to Cali- 
 fornia, Comstock was placed in charge of the cabin, 
 and it is very probable that whatever books and 
 
54 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 ajjparatus there may have been were carried away 
 by such visitors as took a fancy to them, and thus 
 were scattered and lost. 
 
 On the 27th of June, 1865, Schuyler Colfa.x and 
 party who were eti route for California overland, and 
 about two hundred others, participated in the cere- 
 mony of erecting the marble slab mentioned by the 
 father at the grave of llosea B. Grosh, in the ceme- 
 tery at Silver City, Lyon County. Upon the slab is 
 the following inscription: — 
 
 llosea B., second son of Itev. A. B. Grosh, born 
 in Marietta, Pa., April 23, 1821), died at Gold ('anon, 
 Nevada, September 2, 1857. 
 
 Such is a brief sketch of the lives, discoveries, and 
 sad fate of the two men who first discovered silver in 
 Nevada, and they were the undoubted first, unless 
 the discovery in the Black ilock country' as here- 
 after related, was a genuine find. 
 
 THE " LOST SHAFT." 
 
 The mystery and the history of the '• Lost Shaft" 
 has been explained by Mr. J. M. Hunter, a responsi- 
 ble citizen of Montecito Valley, Santa Barbara 
 County, California, who, under date of August 8, 
 1881, relates the following : — 
 
 While in the mines at Sonora, Tuolumne County, 
 in the summer of 1S50, there were continued rejjorts 
 of rich diggings on the eastern slo])e of the Sierra, 
 which created (piite an excitement among the inincrs 
 who were, as everj'body recollects, constantly push- 
 ing for new discoveries, leaving good claims in hopes 
 of finding better; also for the adventure of prospect- 
 ing, and to be the first explorers of a new countrj'. 
 
 Immigrants from over the plains the preceding 
 year reported having been shown by the Mormons, 
 in Carson Vallc}-, large nuggets of gold iiurported 
 to have been found in the neighborhood. To search 
 for this 'fountain head" of gold a jiarty of fifty men 
 organized, and went over the mountains, going Ijy 
 the old emigrant road, through Uojie and Straw- 
 berry ^'alll,■3•s to Carson Valley, jjassing the old 
 Mormon Station, now Genoa. We ])ros])ected the 
 country from Walker's River to Devil's Gate, spend- 
 ing some eighteen or twenty days in doing so. On 
 the eighth of August, 185(1, we commenced sinking 
 a shaft at Devil's (iate, which was undoubledlj^ the 
 first hole sunk in that region. Some gold was found 
 in our jjrospecting trip, but in small (juantitics. 
 That which we found at Devil's Gate was much 
 lighter, in C()m))arison to its bulk, than what wo 
 had mined in California, and we did not think it 
 of much value. 
 
 The company disbanded on the twenty-fifth of 
 August, at the point where Kiupire City now is, some 
 returning direct to California. Myself and six 
 others went to Washoe liake, thence to Truckee, 
 and crossed the mountains to Nevada City, where 1 
 remained ten years, and then returned to Nevada. 
 
 The reason given bj' the immigrants of 184!) for not 
 8top])ing to mine in Caisson Valley, when shown the 
 coarse gold and nuggets by the Mormons, who repre- 
 sented it to lie in large i|uantities in the hills north of 
 them, was that tiiey were short of provisions; would 
 be unable to winter there, and were anxious to reach 
 California, the land i>r their destination. 
 
 While residing in Nevada City, I became acquainted 
 with Henry Meredith, who was killed in the Ormsby 
 massacre, near Pyramid Lake, and after mj- return 
 to Nevada Teri-itory, I saw his gun in the possession 
 of a Piute Indian. This 1 bouj^ht in 1808, of the 
 Indian for .?10. and sent it to .Mr. John Meredith, 
 brother of Henry Meredith. 1 had known the gun 
 well, and recognized it at once. 
 
 I have never claimed that our part)" was the first 
 on the Comstock, as that lode was not found for 
 several years alter our prospecting trip, and Devil's 
 Gate was lower down the canon. We pros])eeted the 
 foot-hills from Walker's Eiver to Pyramid Lake. 
 
 TIIK ni.ACK ROCK PROSPECTORS. 
 
 In the summer of 184!>, Allen Harding and two 
 other parties, whose names are not known, at day- 
 light one morning, left the emigrant road to hunt 
 for game, being short of provisions. They were on 
 their way i'rom the States to California at the time, 
 and had arrived, almost destitute, at a point between 
 Black Rock and Mud Meadows, in what is now 
 Humboldt County. 
 
 The emigrant road in that county runs to the 
 northwest in the direction of California, and these 
 three men, in seeking game, for food, had )iassed into 
 the mountains, to the northeast of it. It was a 
 barren, desolate, burned region of black igneous 
 rocks, and volcanic ashes, where they had gone, and 
 the hunters found no game. On their return to 
 cam]) about noon, they brought with them, however, 
 a chunk of bright metal that weighed about twenty- 
 five pounds, and pronouncing it silver, tried to get a 
 man who was short of sutticient oxen to haul his own 
 property, to take it to California for them. The 
 party in question politely informed them that he 
 would not pack it even though it were pure gold, and 
 thej' were forced to leave it beside the road. Before 
 going, however, thoy took a piece and melting it 
 down, made a button by molding it in the sand. 
 
 The button Allen Harding took with him to Cali- 
 fornia, intending to raise a companj', and go back 
 to work his mine of native, or pure silver. When 
 he arrived in the country about Mount Shasta ho 
 showed his s])ecimen, and related the manner in 
 which he had become possessed of it, and his nar- 
 ration was confirmed by the other two parties. He 
 said that after becoming discouraged in their hunt 
 for game they h:Td started back down the mountain 
 towards camp, and in doing so passed along the 
 margin of a shallow gulch that had been cut by 
 water, a little to their right. As they were going 
 along some bright metallic substance lying in its 
 bottom, and for a short distance up the banks, 
 attracted their attention, and they went down to 
 take a closer look. At first they supposed it was 
 lead, but finallj' concluded the substance must be 
 native silver; and there it lay scattered along the 
 head of the wash, and slicking out from the sides of 
 the gulch in chunks, from the size of a bean to 
 thirty, forty, and fifty pounds. It was there by 
 the wagon-load; an Aladdin's cave uncovered; and 
 
1859— GOLD HILL DISCOVERED. 
 
 " there was millions in it." The gold miners of 
 Sh!i»ta informed Mr. llariHiii; it was gold they 
 wanted; that tliej- would not take the liluck Rock 
 country as a gift if it was all silver, and he soon 
 came to think much in the same waj' himself. A 
 great manj- people saw the button and jironounced 
 it silver; when finally he sent it, in 1850, to San 
 Francisco to bo tested, and it was lost in the great 
 fire that swept over the city that j'ear. 
 
 Eventuall}- turning his attention to farming, he 
 settled in Petaluma Valley, Sonoma County, Cali- 
 fornia; and a little later a man named Frederick 
 Alberding, coming from the Rogue River country, 
 also located there, and became Harding's neighbor. 
 One day the last comer chanced to hear the storj- of 
 Harding's native silver mine, and he at once ))ro- 
 nounced a decided belief in its being a genuine find, 
 stating that the same story had been told him in 
 the Itogue River country bj- a [lai-ty who said he 
 was one of the 'original discoverers. The result of 
 all this was the organization of a company in Peta- 
 luma to go and locate it. The members of the com- 
 pany were M. S. Thompson, now a State Senator in 
 >«'evada; Allen Harding, A. B. Jamison. Fred. Albur 
 ding, H. Whiteside. Charles Humphries, Major James 
 
 Pingley, Holt Fine, P. McGuire, and Oman, and 
 
 the)- all arrived at Black Rock in quest of this 
 Silverado, on the eighth of July, 1S5S. Kor three 
 years Thompson, Harding and Jamison searched 
 for this treasure-house of the mountain-gnomes with 
 parties numl)ering sometimes as high as seventy 
 members, but the invisible wand had been waved 
 over the spot. Its lurking-place became an ignia- 
 /(i/aiiii — tantalizing the brain, and luring the pros- 
 pector to his death among the rocks at the hands 
 of prowling bands of savages, that were never at 
 peace with the whiles in that locality. H was never 
 found, and the search was (iitile, but Mr. Thomp- 
 son still believes that Harding told the triilii. lie 
 believes that the mineral had recently been sluiced 
 out by a water-sjiout, and thus e.\i)osed to view 
 when seen in 184!1, and that the storms of the years 
 that intervened, before the place was sought again, 
 had caved the banks and covered up the de|)osit 
 with washings from the country around. At the 
 time of the battle with the Pah-Utes, when they 
 defeated Major Ormsby, in 1S(!0, M. S. Thompson, 
 with a Jiarly of about seventy men. was out in the 
 Black I!ock country searching for the lost mine, 
 when he received news by a pony express that the 
 Indians were laying waste the whole country, and 
 also a call for him to come in and help i)rotect the 
 settlers in Honey Lake Valley. The request was 
 prom]>tly comj)lieil with, and none of the original 
 Black liock prospectors ever went back to that 
 country again in search of the lost treasure-house of 
 the gnomes. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 1859-GOLD HILL DISCOVERED- 
 
 The Coiiistock Lode Discovvietl, .June, Till^Aii Article of A^;roe- 
 ment — Sii-rra Nevada .Mine liocatiil — First Notii-e — (loidil & 
 Curry l.,ocated — Bill of Sale — California .Mine — Union Con- 
 solidated .Mine — Names of First I.K)cator8 on the Conintoek — 
 Virginia City LaiilulKin I^ot.s — Carson N'alley (,iuart/. — Jtich 
 Discovery — The Kirst Quartz .Mill — .Silver Found in the Com - 
 stock Ores — Itush from California. 
 
 As before stated, the miners all rendezvoused at 
 
 Johntown, when the winter frost of 1858 rendered 
 
 further placer mining im|)0ssible around Mount 
 
 Davidson (at that time known as Sun Peak), but in 
 
 January, 1850, there came a thaw, that started water 
 
 in the gulches, and jiarlies went to the head of Gold 
 
 Cafion prospecting, on the twenty-eighth of that 
 
 month. Arriving at the point they had started for, 
 
 at a rocky knoll on the west side, near the head of 
 
 the Canon at the north end of what now is the town 
 
 of Gold Hill, the)- tried for gold and found it. John 
 
 Bisho}), one of the party, gives the following account 
 
 of the discovery: — 
 
 *\Vhero (Jold Hill now stands. I had noti'^ed indica- 
 tions of a ledge, antl had got a little color. I spoke to 
 ''Old Virginia" about it. and he remembered the lo- 
 cality, for he said he had often seen the place when 
 hunting deer and antelo])e. He also said he had 
 seen any quantitj- of quartz there, so he joined our 
 party, and Comstock also followed along. When 
 we got to the ground, I took a ))an and tilled it 
 with dirt with my foot, for 1 hail no shovel or spade. 
 The others did the same thing, though I believe that 
 some of them had shovels. 1 noticed some willows 
 growing on the hill-side, and started for them with 
 my pan. The |)lace looked like an IndiaTi si>ring. 
 which it proved to be. 
 
 1 began washing my ])an. When 1 had tinished 
 I found that I had in it about fifteen cents. None 
 of the others had less than .eight cents, and none 
 more than fifteen. It was very fine gold; just as 
 fine as flour. Old Virginia decided that it was a 
 good place to locate and work. 
 
 The next difflculty was to obtain water. \Vc fol- 
 lowed the canon along for some distance, and found 
 what a])peared to be the same turmation all the way 
 along. Presently ( )ld Virginia, and anothei' man who 
 had been rambling awaj-, came back and said they 
 found any amount of water which could be brought 
 right there to the gi-ound. 
 
 1 and my partner, meantime, hail a talk to- 
 gether, and had decided to ]nit the others of the party 
 right in the middle of the good ground, 
 
 Afrer Old Virginia got back we told him this, but 
 were not understood, as he said if we liati decided to 
 " hog" it wo could do so, and he would look around 
 further; but he I'emained, ami when the ground was 
 measured off took his share with the rest. 
 
 After we had measured the groinid. we had a con- 
 sultation as to what name was to be given the jihu-e. 
 It was decidcdl)' not Gold Canon, for it was a lillle 
 hill ; so we concluded to call it Gold Hill. That is 
 how the jilace came by il> i)i-eseiit name. 
 
 At first the new find was lookecl u|ion with favor 
 only by the owners ; but when the pay dii'l became 
 richer and richer, as the miners worked in the de- 
 composed quartz towards the covered u\> ledge, and 
 
 *.Si-c " Hif{ Bonanza," liy Dan De l,luille, ]>age 4*2 and 43. 
 
oG 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 the yield increased from five dollars per day, to 
 twenty per man, the Johntown unbelievers became 
 excited, and moved en musge to the new loealitj'. 
 At first they camped under trees, then erected tem- 
 porary huts, or shanties, that gave way eventually to 
 log houses. In this way was started the town of 
 Gold Hill, that is built over that portion of the Com- 
 stock Lode, known as the Belcher, Crown Point, Yel- 
 low Jacket. Imperial. Em])ire, Kcntuck, and numer- 
 ous other mines that have since yielded to the world 
 the value of a nation's ransom in gold and silver. 
 
 THE LODE DISCOVERED JUNE 12 OR 13, 1830. 
 
 On the north and south sides of Mount Davidson 
 a wash comes down from the west that, reaching 
 the mountain's base, passes out through the foot- 
 hills eastward to the valley by the Uarson ISivcr. 
 Both of these washes have cut their way through 
 and over the Comstock Lode, and the waters that 
 made them picked up the gold freed by the decom- 
 posing quartz ledge and deposited it all along the 
 waj- as far as the valley below. These washes, after 
 they leave the mountain and quartz ledge, cut deep 
 into the hills, and are called canons; the one to the 
 south being known as Gold t/ufion. the other just 
 north of it, over the ridge, the Six-mile Canon. 
 The miners who had since 1850 been gradually 
 approaching Mount Davidson, as the diminished sup- 
 plj- of paj'-dirl in (Jold (^afion forced them to seek 
 new ground further u]!, were consequentl}', without 
 knowing it, nearing the quartz vein from which it 
 all came. When some passed to the north, over the 
 ridge, and commenced working in Six-mile Canon 
 towards the main mountain, they were gathering 
 gold distributed from the same general fountain of 
 the royal metals, and were unconsciously trailing 
 from another point to the same great treasure- 
 house that nature had secreted. 
 
 Emanuel Penrod, of Elko, under date of October. 
 1880, gives the following account of the discover}^ 
 of the Comstock Lode, and other incidents of eai-lj- 
 history: — 
 
 1 left Illinois in 1S.J2, bound for California, and 
 stopj)ing, mined with success for one month at Gol<l 
 Canon, and in November continued my journe}- to 
 the Pacific Coast. In November, 1858, I went back 
 to that canon, where I mined until .June, 1854. 1 
 then visited Illinois, and returned again in 185U with 
 my family, and have resided in this State since, fol- 
 lowing in summer the occupation of farming, and 
 that of mining in the winter. 
 
 I was on the jury when William Thorrington 
 (Lucky Bill) was hung. It was not, as 'Dan De 
 Qnille" has it, by a ^'igilance Committee, but by a 
 peoples' court. A A'igilance Committee was organ- 
 ized afterwards. * * * \ w!iN in (iold Mill when 
 Peter Oliiley and Patrick AlcLaughlin were ))i-os- 
 pecling at what is now the Opliir mine. They had 
 just found a good ])rospect of gold when Comstock 
 came to tiiem, and said, •• Vou have struck it, boys." 
 He tlien told tliiin that Old Virginia. .James Fin- 
 ney. .Jo Curby, .James White and William Hart 
 claimed this ground, and that they, O'lJiley and 
 McLaughlin, had bettor buy it or the old claimants 
 
 would drive them ott". OKiley and Mcl>aughlin 
 sent for me, and wanted me to buj- the old claim- 
 ants out, as Comstock and mj-self owneil nine shares 
 : out of ten ol' the spring that furnished water for 
 I working the mine; Comstock was to buy the other 
 I share, and we foui- were to be equal owners in the 
 claim. We tliought it was onlj- a continuation of 
 the ])lacei"s that had been worked lower down on 
 the flat, where the Ophir hoisting works now stand. 
 1 got a bill of sale from I-'inney, White and Curby 
 for the whole of the ground. Hart had left the 
 camp. I paid fifty dollars for it. I think, and Com- 
 stock gave an old blind horse for the share of water. 
 There were about six inches of pay-dirt after strip- 
 ])ing off about three feet of surface. This streak, or 
 stratum, of pay increased in thickness as we worked 
 up hill. We found the gravel ail decomposed quartz, 
 some of it black as soot. When it became known 
 that we had good paj- — for we were taking out 
 SoOO a day to the rocker, and were running three 
 of them — Joseph D. Winters found we had not 
 Hart's signature to the bill of sale. He, Winters, 
 found Hart, and got a bill of sale of his interest, 
 and to save trouble we took Winters in as a full 
 partner. About this time, June 12 or 18, 1859, our 
 ])a3'-streak turned down into a lead about four feet 
 wide, I contended it was a quartz lead, and the rest 
 of the boys laughed at me. Comstock finally sided 
 in with me, and we measured off our claim — 1,500 
 feet as the law allowed — ."jOO feet to the man, and 
 800 for the discoverer. This was a day or two before 
 Winters came in. After Wiiitei-s came into the com- 
 ])an}' we took in a man by the name of Orsburn, in 
 consideration of his building and stocking two aras- 
 tras, making six men in the companj". After it was 
 known to be a lead, our c()m]>any gave Comstock 
 and mj-self 100 feet of it, joining our work on the 
 north, for staking oft' the claim, and saving it to the 
 company. This 100 feet was the original "Mexican," 
 In a short time the news reached California of the 
 richness of this mine, and then followed a great rush 
 of excited |)eo)>le. Threats were made to cut down 
 claims to two hundred feet, so we each six of our 
 company selected his man, and deeded off fifty feet 
 each, making 800 feet in all. This 800 feet came 
 off the north end of th» Ophir. This was afterwards 
 called the Atchison. Some of the company, I believe, 
 got their |>art of this 800 feet back. I. from the first, 
 considered it a lonn Jith sale, and still do. A major- 
 ity of our comjian}- soon sold their interest in the 
 Ojihir, when the buyers proposed to build a §200,000 
 mill and to keep from being froze out, I sold my 
 one-sixth for S5,500 to James Walsh. I sold my 
 fiftj- feet in the Mexican to Meldoiiado for §3,000. 
 Of the six original locators, or companj', Comstock 
 died in Montana, Oliiley was taken to Stockton, 
 McTjaughlin, 1 heard, died in Southern California, 
 ()i-sl)urn went to the States 1 believe. Jo. I). Wintei-s 
 was in Califoniia when last I heartl from him, and 
 all except Orsburn I believe quite poor. 
 
 After many ups and downs I am located in Elko 
 CJounty, and pro|)ose to camp. 
 
 In 1.S58 I, with others, mined in a little gulch we 
 called Cedar I'avine, just below where Virginia Cit}' 
 stands, then from the head of the ravine working 
 the flat where the Ophir Hoisting Works now arc, 
 and to within three or four rods of the lead, where 
 there was so much clay it could not be worked. 
 O'Kiley and Mcliaughlin wore running a cut in this 
 clay in June, 1S51), wlieii they struck the croppings 
 of the lead broken over and covered three feet deep. 
 
 Later Mr. Penrod, in answer to a letter in which 
 
^ ^ 
 
 y z^*- 
 
John \^^. Mack ay 
 
 Is a good sample of those men who, leaving Europe 
 without capital, save that of brains and muscle, 
 come to America and by dint of hard work and good 
 judgment, accumulate fortunes which, even by 
 princes, are considered colossal, .\stor, crossing the 
 ocean with a few dozen musical instruments, his sole 
 capital, commences trade in a modest way, and soon 
 establishes a sj-stem of business which leads to fort- 
 une. It may be said of these colossal fortunes, 
 while they are often used to oppress the public, 
 they serve to show the possible results of industry, 
 guided by good judgment, and thus induce thousands 
 to emulate the owners in devoting themselves to 
 work, and in a measure atone for the evils they oth- 
 erwise promote. 
 
 Mr. Mackay was born in Dublin, Ireland, Novem- 
 ber 28, 1835, and is the youngest of the " Bonanza " 
 firm. He received his education in Dublin, where it 
 is said the purest English in the world is spoken, 
 consefjuently ho shows very little of the brogue in 
 his speech. He came to America in 1850, and was 
 engaged for a short time in a commercial house in 
 / Boston. The discoveries of gold in California were 
 then shaking the foundations of values, and breaking 
 up the old routines of business, and young Mackaj- 
 thought proper to bid good-bye to that old and 
 highly respectable, though somewhat fossilized speci- 
 men of eastern cities, and push out for California, the 
 country of boundless possibilities, where the customs, 
 habits and thoughts, had not jietrified into a social 
 bedrock which could not bo ])enetrated with shaft 
 or tunnel, or blown up with giant powder. 
 
 In the spring of 1852 we find him hard at work 
 close up to the snow-banks of that elevated town, 
 Downieville, in Sierra Count}'. It is not related of 
 him that he made a fortune there in mining, or that 
 he lost one, but here he met the talented and ac- 
 complished lady who afterwards became his wife. 
 Few made fortunes in those days at mining; the 
 miner's dust, as a usual thing, came in small 
 quantities, and onl}- made a bulk after it was 
 gathered in by merchants and speculators, who laid 
 all kinds of games and pit-falls to induce the miner 
 to part with it. Mr. Mackay was not of that kind, 
 80 ho delved away until the breaking out of the 
 Washoe fever, when he changed his location, and also 
 bis luck, though as far as that term is concerned 
 nothing could bo more inapplicable to his case than 
 the word luck, for if ever man achieved a fortune out 
 of hard and persistent endeavor, together with good 
 judgment, it was John W. Mackay; but this is antici- 
 pating. He commenced a tunnel in company with 
 
 other miners, in what is now known as the Union 
 Ground, and soon exhausted all the results of his 
 California mining. He did not curse Washoe and 
 leave it as so many others did. but went to work on 
 the Comstock at four dollars per day, which, how- 
 ever, was but a small portion of the benefits ho 
 derived from the labor he performed, for while 
 engaged in this way he was gradually acquiring a 
 knowledge of the great silver lode, and preparing the 
 way for the big work of his life. 
 
 He soon began to acquire feet, and made arespect- 
 able raise out of the Kentuck Mine in Gold Hill 
 This enabled him to operate still more largely, and a 
 few years later he felt safe, from the condition of his 
 : purse and his knowledge of the Comstock, to enter 
 upon the project of original explorations. In com- 
 pany with James G. Fair he undertook, by contract, 
 in IStift, to develop the Hale \- Norcross Mine, which 
 had previously paid large dividends. Heav)' assess- 
 ments were then in order, and the stock fell in the 
 market, but the contractors, having faith in the mine, 
 induced Messrs. Flood & O'Brien, successful mining 
 operators of San Francisco, to aid in securing control, 
 when shortlj- after another "bonanza" was opened and 
 dividends resumed. This laid the foundation for the 
 great fortune since acquired. With the profits of 
 successful mining and successful speculations the 
 firm, now composed of Messrs. John W. Mackaj-, 
 James G. Fair, J. M. Walker, James C. Flood, and 
 William S. O'Brien, extended their possessions until 
 thoy had control of some :?,(M)(I feet of the Comstock 
 vein north of the Hale \- Norcross, and along that 
 property they sent an exploring drift. Mr. Walker 
 becoming discouraged, sold his interest to Mr. 
 Mackay, giving the latter a two-fifths interest in 
 the firm. 
 
 The result of the drift was the discovery of the 
 "bonanza" in the Consolidated A'irginia and California 
 Mines, which paid between the years 1874 and 1879, 
 $100,000,000 in dividends to its stockholders. It 
 was on Mr. Mackaj-'s judgment that the terri- 
 tory afterward known as the California and Con- 
 solidated Virginia was purchased; that in addition 
 to the money paid for the ground, ?5(I0,000 was 
 spent in tunnelingandcrosscuttingbeforoasight of the 
 ore body was obtained. It may be asked whj- Mr. 
 Mackay believed in an ore body? Wh}- did ho 
 induce others to invest also? It must be answered 
 that he had studied the lode in its entiretj-. He had 
 compared its formation with the great lodes of Mex- 
 ico, which had been deposited in similar openings 
 between the same kind of walls. Ho had calculated 
 
on the average value of the foot in depth and length, 
 and the chances of an ore body in so many hundred 
 feet long and deep. There might have been nothing. 
 It was entirely possible the ore bodies should 
 skip his ground both in length and depth, as much 
 as it is possible for a man to go through a hundred 
 battles without harm. He had, however, no right 
 to expect more than the average deposit, and when 
 the great body of ore was found, the largest, the 
 richest the world ever saw, that much was luck or 
 good fortune, just as you choose to name it. Though 
 millions have come at his call, he still is studying 
 among the levels. He dons the mining suit, takes 
 his hammer and candle and goes prodding around 
 2,000 feet under ground, observing the dip of the 
 wall rocks, the stratification and character of the 
 ores, and is just as keen in searching out the secrets 
 of the mine as when he was pleading with Flood and 
 O'Brien to test the ground. He knows from the 
 shade of ore whether it is good or bad; whether to 
 order it mined out for milling, or whether to let it 
 remain where the great convulsion left it. With 
 him it is a science. He searches out the secrets of 
 the Comstock as the astronomer studies the stars, or 
 the movements of a planet or a comet; as the bot- 
 anist the structure of a plant, or a politician the 
 secrets of political economy. Though money is a 
 factor in the problem the strong motive is the love of 
 knowledge, in his case the knowledge of mines. Let 
 no one, because silver is in the lode, say that such 
 knowledge is beneath any man's attention. When 
 we look at the convulsion of the earth in which the 
 Ck)mstock fissure had its origin, the wonderful circu- 
 lation of subterranean currents (solfataras) which fill 
 
 the fissure with minerals, when we look for the 
 sources of the mineral, the sources of the power that 
 lifted up the rocks, and set them in order, we are 
 lost in wonder, as much as the star-gazer, or the 
 theologian. 
 
 Fortune has not spoiled Mr. Mackay as a citizen. 
 When not beset with adventurers he is as plain and 
 approachable as when swinging a pick in the Union 
 Tunnel, or putting a set of timbers in to a Belcher 
 drift. Like all wealthy men, he is annoyed with 
 applications for charity and assistance, many of 
 which are doubtless deserving cases, but far the 
 greater part are impositions, deserving only con- 
 tempt. The very circumstances compel a hedging 
 about of forms for self-defense. 
 
 Mr. Mackay married, in 1867, the daughter of Col. 
 Daniel E. Hungerford, who had served with distinc- 
 tion in the campaign against the Indians in 1860. This 
 was before the discovery of the "bonanza," and 
 must have been a union founded on mutual respect 
 and esteem. He has had two children by her, a boy 
 and a girl. She is a most accomplished lady, and 
 resides most of the time in Paris, where she repre- 
 sents well the culture and wealth of the United 
 States, and is doing much to bring about a feeling of 
 respect for the citizens of the wonderful Kepublic, 
 whose sources of wealth and power are unfathom- 
 able, and whose progress in culture and refinement 
 is a marvel to the world. 
 
 Mr. Mackay's house is a home for all worthy 
 Americans, a stepping-stone to the best society of 
 Europe. Our ex-Presidents, our Generals, our mill- 
 ionaires, all feel honored by being entertained by the 
 Queen of the Comstock. 
 
1859— GOLD HILL DISCOVERED. 
 
 57 
 
 his attention was called to an incident mentioned by 
 D:\u Do Qiiiilo in " IJIj^ IJonanza" i-o<{arding the C"om- 
 8tocl< Lode discovery, wrote as follows:— 
 
 On pane 52 of the " 15ifj Bonanza," Dan Du (^uilie 
 saj's: "Comstock next dcnianded lliat 100 feet of 
 the ground on the lead should lie segregaled and 
 given to I'enrod and liiinself for the right lo the 
 water they were using," which is incorrect. The 
 loo feet of ground referred to, al'terwards called the 
 Mexican, was given Comstofk and myself, as I wrote 
 in my first letter, as follows: Ahciut a woek after wo 
 four, i'. «., O'lxiley, McLaughlin, ( 'onislcick, and my- 
 self, were all in company aiul working, following tho 
 ])ay up the hill, /. e., the croppings of tho lead, 
 broken over when it turned to go down. I was tho 
 first to claim that it was a <iuarl/, lead; the rest of 
 the company laughed at mo and said it was only a 
 crevice washed out h}- a current of water. 
 
 I said it would do no harm to locate it for a quartz 
 lead, and did so. I wrote out the notice claiming 
 300 feet to the man and 300 foot for discovery, four 
 men, 1,500 feet in the claim, as was the law, and 
 signed the four names to it. Comstock then sided 
 in with me and hel])ed measure off the ground. 
 O'Kiloy and McLaughlin laughetl at us all the time. 
 In a few daj's it was proven to be a lead, and all the 
 country taken up. 
 
 In consideration of the location in tini^, and [)Ut- 
 ting their names in the location, O'Kiloy and 
 McLaughlin gave us tho 100 feet, to take it at any 
 place we wished. We look it on the north IVoni the 
 discovery. Comstock and 1 owned tho water that 
 supplied the mines. We then gave it to tho com- 
 pany. 
 
 Tho following copy of a contract entered into 
 within less than ten daj's after the location of the 
 Comstock Lode as a quartz vein, will throw some 
 light upon the condition of affairs at that time: — \ 
 
 NOTICE OF AN ARTICLE OP AGREEMENT. 
 
 This indenture, made and entered into this twenty- 
 second of June, 1859, between Emanuel Penrod, 
 Henry Comstock, Peter O'Riley, Pat. McLaughlin, 
 of tho first part, and J. A. Orsburn, J. D. Winters, 
 Jr., of the second part, witnessoth. That tho first 
 party above named do agree to soil and convey to the 
 second part}- (J. A. Orsijurn and J. D. Winters, Jr.) 
 two-sixths of fourteen hundred (14((0) foot, of a 
 certain quartz and surface claim lying and being 
 located on Pleasant Hill, Utah Territory, for and 
 in tho following considerations to wit: Tho said 
 second j)arty (J. A. Orsburn and J. I). Winters, Jr.) 
 do agree to build two arastras and furnish stock to 
 run tho same, worth tho sum of 875 each, and 
 the number of horses or mules are to bo two. It 
 is further agretid b}' the jiarties that after tho com- 
 ])letion of the first ai-astra, the proceeds from tho 
 vein and claim shall be e(iually divided between the 
 mombei-s of the company, after all debts settled 
 [line worn ofl'] copartnership. It is also agreed that 
 the second arastra shall be built as soon as possi- 
 ble after the cr)m|ilction of the first. It is also 
 agreed by the first |)arty, that the second party, J. 
 A. Orsburn and J. D. Winters, Jr., shall have an 
 equal interest in all the water now on the claim, for 
 the use of working said claim and arastras. It is 
 further agreed b}- tho members of the comiiaii}' that, 
 if an}' member of this comjiaii}' jiroposo to sell, he 
 is to give tho members of the company preference 
 8 
 
 in the sale. We do further agree that if there is 
 any surplus of water that is not used by the above 
 claim, that it ma}* be usod by Messi-s. Comstock and 
 
 E. Penrod, on tho . We do lurthor 
 
 agree that no member of this company shall sell, 
 convoy, or transact any business whatever for the 
 comjiany, unless ho is authorized to do so by a 
 majority of tho company. In testimony whereof, 
 wo, tho parties heroin mentioned, do cause seal to 
 bo made. 
 
 K.MANirKi, Penuou, 
 Patiuck McrjAt'dllLlN, 
 J. A. OllSItllRN, 
 
 Pktkii O'IJii.ev, 
 
 JosKi'ii D. WiNTKUs, Jr., 
 
 IIenrv Co.mstock. 
 
 Attest, n. F. Little. 
 
 llecorded this day. V. A. IIousewortii, Recorder. 
 
 The following copies of mine locations and other 
 transactions, are the first entries in Hook A of min- 
 ing records at Virginia City. It will be observed 
 that the miners put upon record within ton days 
 after the discovery, their acknowledgment that it 
 was yet a doubtful question as to there being a 
 quartz vein, and the credit of discovery is given to 
 Messrs. Penrod, Comstock & Co. 
 
 SIERRA NEVADA MINE LOCATED. 
 
 (First Notice.) 
 
 We, the undersigned claimants, have this day 
 located the .svy»/«).sci/ (luarlz vn'iu, (/iscoi'ereil hi/ .\fe.sDrn. 
 renrod, Comstock A- Co., commencing with the second 
 ravine north of Penrod, Comstock & Co., and run- 
 ning north through tho hill and with tho vein three 
 thousand six hundred (3, GOO) feet, with all its doj)ths, 
 angles and sjiurs. 
 
 June 22, 1859. Henry Miller, 
 
 C. C. (lATES, 
 
 J. F. Stone, 
 
 B. A. Harrison, 
 
 B. C. I NO, 
 
 R. Robinson, 
 
 T. SciiAMi's, (abandoned.) 
 
 T. Walsii, 
 
 H. M. TUAND, 
 
 H. M. Tkand, 
 
 J. Sturtevant, (abandoned.) 
 
 M Atwooi), 
 
 V. (i. Muui'iiv, 
 
 Jos. WiloiiWidlTII.* 
 
 Recorded this day. 
 
 Fee paid §3. V. A. Hoisewoktu, Recorder. 
 
 NOTICE. 
 
 That wo, tho un<lorsigncd, do claim these springs 
 and streams, as designated by notices and stakes. 
 Juno 23, 1859. Peter OUii.ev, 
 
 Pat. McLauoiilin. 
 Recorded this day. 
 Fee paid. V. A. Hoitse worth, Recorder. 
 
 NOTICE. 
 
 That we, tho undersigned, claim six hundred foot 
 of this quartz vein, commencing with the south end 
 of Finny iV Co., and running south six hundred feet 
 and two claims (or chains). 
 
 Peter C Rilev, 
 Pat. McLauuHlin. 
 
 June 23, ls5:i. Itccorded, etc. 
 
 •Namca of L. C. Porter and Josepli GifforJ scratched off. 
 
60 
 
 HISTORYIOF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 erroneously been given the credit of having first dis- 
 covered that the Comstock Ledge carried silver : — 
 
 Carson Valley Quartz. — We saw a specimen 
 of the Carson Valley gold quartz yesterdaj-. The 
 rock is verj- different in appearance to the quartz in 
 this vicinity. It has a lluish cast, and looks more like 
 common blue limestone than anj-thing else. The 
 sample which we examined was full of gold, however, 
 and if the lode is as extensive as has been represented, 
 the owners have doubtless found a good thing. 
 
 It was the following September 28th, before the 
 existence of silver in the Comstock Lode was hinted 
 at in that paper, and Mr. Stewart had ceased to be 
 its editor the previous August 3. The item then 
 crept into the Observer, as an extract from the 
 Territorial Enterprise. 
 
 This first notice was followed by others calculated 
 to create an excitement over the mountains, of which 
 the following are samples. They are also taken 
 from the Observer of July 6, 1859: — 
 
 RICH DISCOVERT. 
 
 J. S. Child, of the Walker Jiiver Express, returned 
 to this cit}- on Monday last. The news which he 
 furnishes in relation to the new diggings at Gold 
 Canon is most encouraging, and eminently calculated 
 to produce an excitement. It will be remembered 
 that we have before had occasion to mention the 
 probable richness of these diggings. Our corre- 
 spondents have constantly and uniformly predicted 
 that when the mines were proi)crl3- ])rospected they 
 would prove surprisinglj' rich, and it appears they 
 were not mistaken. Child states that the new dig- 
 gings are apparently in the debris of an old quartz 
 lode, which is so effectually decomposed that the 
 quartz is rotten, and crumbles like pipe-clay. Sev- 
 eral of the claims which are now being worked in this 
 old lode are yielding I'rom filly dollars to five hun- 
 dred dollars ))er day to tlic hand. The best part of 
 the matter is, that the vein has been traced a con- 
 siderable distance, and there is good rea.son for 
 believing that the diggings are extensive as well as 
 marvelously rich. 
 
 Some idea may be formed of the richness of these 
 mines b}' the following: — 
 
 Comstock & Co. are working two common gold 
 rockers, and are averaging 850(1 per daj- with each 
 rocker. 
 
 liishop ct Co. have struck dirt in their claim which 
 will ])ay forty dollars per day to the hand, but uii- 
 fortutiately lliey have now no water to work with. 
 
 The Calitorriia Compaii}', a party of miners who 
 recently left I'lacerville, have a claim which aver- 
 ages §25(1 ])cr da}' to the hand with a rocker. 
 
 W. Knight iV Co. are crushing the hardest of the 
 quartz with arastras. At jn-esent thej- are running 
 two, which j'ield an average of §4(1(1 per day each. 
 
 At Walker IJiver the miners are all doing well, 
 the only drawback to their ])rospcrily being a scarc- 
 ity of j)rovisions. It is strange that our business 
 men do not keep them better su])])lie(i. 
 
 And again from the same paper of the ensuing 
 August 13th: — 
 
 More (toLn. — The excitement about the Washoe 
 and Cold Hill mines continues unabate<i. Comstock 
 & Co., at the latter place, are literal!}' digging gold 
 
 by the panful. Another company known as the 
 California Companj-, have an extremely rich claim 
 at the same place. It is stated that this claim 
 yields as high as .?30(J ])er daj- with a rocker. 
 
 Gold has also been found in considerable <|uanti- 
 ties in Honey Lake Valley, and there is every reason 
 to believe that the eastern slope of the Sierra will 
 shortly rival the golden foot-hills of the West. 
 
 THE first quartz .MILL. 
 
 The news of the valuable discovery of gold-fields 
 in western Utah spread rapidly, and reaching Cali- 
 fornia, Hugh Logan and John P. Holmes came over 
 from Nevada County, in that State, to see what 
 foundation existed for the rumors. Becoming satis- 
 fied that a mine had been discovered, these gen- 
 tlemen purchased an interest in the Gold Hill loca- 
 tion, south of the divide, on the thirteenth of July, 
 just one month after Penrod had written out the 
 first notice claiming the Ophir property as a 'quartz 
 ledge. 
 
 Mr. Logan immediately started for Sacramento, 
 where he purchased of the Union Foundry, a small 
 mill, with mortar, and four stamps of 400 pounds 
 I each, with a horse-power to run it. In three daj^s 
 it was ready, and shipped on wagons drawn by 
 twelve yoke of oxen and eight horses, under charge 
 I of John Black. The machinery arrived at Gold 
 Hill the last of August; but as the water had all 
 dried up at that ])lace it was taken to the Carson 
 River, at the mouth of the canon where Dayton 
 now is. The batterj- blocks and posts for it were 
 cut just over the ridge east of Gold Hill. Early 
 in October the mill was started by horse-power, 
 and continued to crush quartz until closed down 
 by the winter storms, because there was no lumber 
 in the countrj- to cover it. 
 
 Castings for a water-wheel, to run the machinery 
 had been ordered from t'alifornia, but coming too 
 late were snowed in on the mountains and did not 
 amve until the next summer. 
 
 This was the first quartz mill jmt up or running 
 between the Rocky and Sierra Nevada Mountains, 
 and consisted of a four-stamp battery with blanket 
 sluices. 
 
 SILVER FOUND IN THE COMSTOCK ORES CAUSES A RUSH 
 FKO.M C.VLIFORNIA. 
 
 None of the parties having an interest in the lode 
 knew of its containing anj'thing of value except gold 
 until sometime in Jul}-, the knowledge being finally 
 obtained in the following manner: — 
 
 A rancher named W. P. Morrison, living on the 
 Truckee Meadows, visited the new discovery and 
 carried away through curiosity some of the suljihur- 
 ets that having bothered the miners in washing for 
 gold they had thrown away as worthless material. 
 Morrison's former residence had been Nevada City, 
 California, and in ros])on.i?e to a business call he went 
 dii'cctly to that i>lace, where in company with J. F. 
 Stone, ho visited the Journal office on the twenty- 
 fourth of June, giving an account of where it had 
 
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EFFORTS AT GOVERNMENT. 
 
 61 
 
 been obtained. It all resulted in turning llie gnmplc 
 over to an assaj'cr, named J. J. Ott. for a test, who 
 demonstrated that it contained SI, 505 in gold and 
 S3,19G in silver, making a total value of 84,701 per 
 ton. Another test was made with similar results by 
 an assayer named Melville Atwood, in Grass Valley, 
 California, and there could bo no longer a doubt as 
 to the value of the material that was being cursed as 
 an obstruction and east away as worthless by the 
 Utah miners. As to the immediate result upon the 
 imagination and consequent influence upon the 
 actions of tho.se making the discovery. Ban i)e Quille 
 writes: — 
 
 The excitement by no means abated when they 
 were informed bj^ Jlr. Morrison that there were tons 
 and tons of the same stutt" in sight in the 0])ening 
 that the Ophir Company had already made in the 
 lead. It was agreed among the few who knew the 
 result of the assay that the matter should for the 
 time being be kept a profound secret; meantime 
 the}' would arrange to cross the Sierra and secure 
 as much ground as possible on the line of the newly 
 discovered silver lode. 
 
 But each man had intimate friends in whom he 
 had the utmost confidence in every respect, and 
 these bosom friends soon knew that a silver mine 
 of wonderful richness had been discovered over in 
 the Washoe country. These again had their friends, 
 and although the result of the assay made by Jlr. 
 Atwood was not ascertained until late at night, by 
 nine o'clock the next morning half the town of Grass 
 Valley knew the wonderful news. 
 
 Judge Walsh and Joe Woodworth packed a mule 
 with provisions, and mounting horses were off for 
 the eastern sl()])e of the Sierra at a very early hour 
 in the morning. This was soon known, and the 
 news of the discovery and their departure ran like 
 wildfire through Nevada County. In a few days 
 hundreds of miners had left their diggings in Cali- 
 fornia and were flocking over tlie mountains on 
 horseback, on foot, with teams, and in any way that 
 offered. Many men packed donkej's with tools and 
 provisions, and going on foot themselves trudged 
 over the Sierra at the best speed they were able to 
 make. 
 
 When news began to be received in various parts 
 of California from the first |)arties of these adven- 
 turers U])on their arrival in Washoe, their reports 
 were confirmatory of all that had before been said 
 and imagined of the new mines, and an almost 
 unparalleleil excitement followed. Jliners, Ijusiness 
 men and cajiitalists fiocked to the wonderful land of 
 silver that had been found in the wilderness of 
 Washoe, be^-ond the snow}- peaks ol' the Sierra. 
 
 The few hardy, first prospectors soon counted 
 their neighbors b}' thousands, and found eager and 
 excited new-comers jostling them on every hand, 
 ))lanting stakes under their very noses, and running 
 lines round oi- through their brush shanties as regard- 
 less of tlieii' presence as though they were Pah-l'tes. 
 The handful of old settlers found tluMuselves 
 strangers almost in a single day in llicir own land 
 ai\d their own dwellings. 
 
 There were numerous sales of mining claims almost 
 daily, at what then were thought hiicli |iri<'es, and 
 the huridi'eds who were UM|irovided willi money with 
 which to ])urchase mining ground, swarmed the hills 
 in search of ledges that were still undiscovered and 
 unclaimed. The whole country was supposed to bo 
 
 full of silver lodes as rich as tbo Comstock, and the 
 man who was so fortunate as to find a large, unoccu- 
 jiied vein, containing rock of a color similar to that of 
 the Ophir, considered his fortune made. 
 
 Many who came from California know nothing of, 
 and cared less, for any mine except i)lacers, and 
 when it was found that all such had been worked 
 before, or were already in the possession of others, 
 they returned in the fall disgusted to the gulches 
 thej' had abandoned in the rusli to Washoe. 
 
 Others who deemed themselves more fortunate, 
 having located something or purchased an interest of 
 those who had, remained; prodigal in what means 
 they possessed and happy in what thej- believed the 
 coming summer would reveal to them, when capital 
 should come with the spring from over the mount- 
 ain for investment. They lived in tents, brush 
 houses covered with dirt, burrowed into the rocks 
 and tunnels by twos, half-dozen or twenty together 
 as congeniality, interest, or necessity assorted them, 
 and passed the most dreary, comfortless, severely 
 cold winter ever known in Nevada, warmed by scant 
 wood and cheered only by a golden hope in the 
 future. 
 
 Snow commenced falling on the twenty-second of 
 November. It continued through the daj' and 
 repeated itself with slight intermission until from 
 five to six feet of the white fleece carpeted the 
 ground, effectually closing out for a time communica- 
 tion with the outside world. 
 
 Many cattle and animals of various kinds perished 
 in the country during the winter; and though no 
 instance was known of a white man starving, Dan Do 
 Quille affirms that the stomachs of man}- had fre- 
 quent holidays. 
 
 Having followed in 1859 the development of min- 
 ing interests in western Utah, and camped upon the 
 " honest miner's" trail until they are securely cor- 
 raled in snow, perhaps it will be safe to leave them 
 there for awhile and return to the ])olitical history 
 of Carson County. 
 
 C II A P T K R X 
 
 EFFORTS AT GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Resume of Political History — IJulos .tiiil Regulations — A 
 Conviction ami Enr-C'ropping — Tliu Tliinl Unsuc- 
 cessful Attempt at Territorial ()ri;anizatit>n — Kac-sim- 
 ile of '• Torritorial Kiit riirise," .Inly .'10, I8">".t — IXvlara- 
 tion of Cause for .Separation — Kleetion anil .Ailoption 
 of Constitution, Septi'mlier 7, 1 S.V.I— .Miisser certilies to 
 Results of the Klei-tiou — .\uotlier Attempt to KeorKanize 
 Carson County l>y •'"'•ne ■'• S. CliiUl — Carson County KI«o- 
 tion Returns of Oetoher, l.S.V.I — .\tteuipt at Provisional 
 (Jovernnient — Provisional l,eKislat«re Mwt ami Ailjourn — 
 (iovenior Itoop'.s Messa;;e — .M'ter the Ailjinirnnient. 
 
 It has alreaily ln'cn noted that in l.S.")S an attempt 
 to reorganize civil government in Cai-son County 
 had been made by the appointment ol' John S. 
 Child, Probate Judge, who had called a special elec- 
 tion, tiiat was held on the thirtieth of October, 
 that year. The next loot-print of an attempt at 
 
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 government is found in Gold Hill, made one or two 
 days before the Comstock Lode was discovered. 
 The miners, because of the rapidly-increasing pop- 
 ulation centering about the place where the rich 
 placer gold deposits had recently been found, be- 
 came impressed with the importance of having some 
 well-defined, recognized rules of action for guidance, 
 in the absence of anj- operative, regularly consti- 
 tuted civil government to rely upon in case of 
 extreme emergencies. Consequently, they assem- 
 bled on the eleventh of June, 1859, at Gold Hill, 
 and adopted laws, of which the following are some 
 of the most important: — 
 
 Whereas, The isolated position we occupy, far 
 from all legal tribunals, and cut off from those 
 fountains of justice which every American citizen 
 should enjoy, renders it necessary that we organize in 
 body politic for our mutual ]irotection against the law- 
 less, and for meeting out justice between man and 
 man; therefore, we, citizens of Gold Hill, do hereby 
 agree to adopt the following rules and laws lor our 
 government: — 
 
 RULES AND REQULATIONS. 
 
 Section 1. Anj' person who shall willfully and 
 with malice aforethought take the life of any person 
 shall, upon being dulj' convicted thereof, sutier the 
 penalty of death by hanging. 
 
 Sec. 2. Any person who shall willfully wound 
 another shall, u])on conviction thereof, suffer such 
 penalty as the juiy may determine. 
 
 Sec. 3. Any ])erson found guilty of robbery or 
 theft shall, upon conviction, be ]iui)ished with stripes 
 or banishment as the jury may determine. 
 
 Sec. 4. Anj- ])erson found guilty of assault and 
 battery, or exhibiting deadlj- weapons, shall, upon 
 conviction, be fined or banished as the jury may 
 determine. 
 
 Sec 5. No banking game under any considera- 
 tion shall be allowed in this district, under the pen- 
 alty of final banishment from the district. 
 
 The rules thus adopted were recognized but a 
 short time, the rush from California in August and 
 September having swept them, with all else that 
 partook of the past, into chaos and obscurity. But 
 one incident seems to have been remembered of anj- 
 attempt that year to punish for an offense, and this 
 occurred in August, when a couple of thieves were 
 caught in Washoe Valley with a yoke of stolen 
 oxen. Their names wore given as George liuspas 
 and David Heisc; and a jurj' of citizens ordered an 
 ear of each cut off, which being done, they were 
 recommended to travel west for their health, and 
 they traveled. 
 
 TERRITORIAI- ORGANIZATION. 
 
 The movement set on foot in 1857, previouslj- 
 detailed in this work, failed of achieving the desired 
 result. The desire for a separate government, how- 
 ever, had not failed with the |)lan. It is evident 
 that the feeling of hostility existing between Mor- 
 mons and other citizens of the United States had 
 not been allayed in 1859, and that it was proposed 
 to U80 that feeling of unfriendliness as a leverage 
 
 by which to yet procure a Territorial organization 
 for the western portion of Utah that would not in- 
 clude Salt Lake ('ity. There were men cast of the 
 mountains in 1S59 who were politically ambitious, 
 and they gave direction to the popular feeling by call- 
 ing a mass meeting for the sixth of June, that year, 
 at Carson City, to take such action as would be 
 best calculated to open the Territorial question 
 again. That meeting apportioned Carson County 
 into voting precincts, called an election for July 14th 
 to choose a Delegate to visit Washington, and pro- 
 vided for a convention to convene at Genoa, on the 
 eighteen of July, to count the votes for Delegates, 
 give the successful candidate his credentials, and 
 take such other, not well-defined, action as the 
 emergency demanded. They also called a Nominat- 
 ing Convention of regularly-appointed Delegates from 
 the various precincts, to meet at Carson City on the 
 twentieth of June, whose only duly was to place in 
 the field candidates to be elected, at the same time 
 with the Congressional representative, as Delegates 
 to the (ienoa Convention. 
 
 The miners of Gold Hill, at the first meeting over 
 held on the Comstock, by the following action 
 joined in this movement: — 
 
 At a meeting of the miners of Gold Hill, held on 
 Saturday, June 11, 1859, A. G. Hammack was 
 ap))ointud Chairman, and V. A. Houseworth, Secre- 
 tary. The Chainuan briefi}' ex])lained the object of 
 the meeting, after which. Judge t'rano in a brief and 
 cogent speech, gave an account of his labors and 
 exertions as Delegate of Nevada to Congress. 
 
 On motion of V. A. Houseworth, it was unanimously 
 resolved that we fullj- indorse the citizen's proceed- 
 ings of Carson City, on June Olh. 
 
 On motion of B. F. Little, it was unanimously re- 
 solved that the Chair ajipoint five Delegates to meet 
 atCarson City, Kagle Valley, on June 2ilth. to appoint 
 Delegates of this distriet to be elected by the people, 
 to the Convention to be hold at Genoa, Carson Val- 
 lej-, on the eighteenth day of July ensuing, to consider 
 the public good. 
 
 The Chair a|)pointed V. A. Houseworth, J. A. Ors- 
 burn, James K. Rogers, L. S. Bowers, and Captain 
 A. 11. Parker, said Delegates. 
 
 It was unanimously resolved that we, the miners 
 of Gold Hill, in demonstration of resjjcct to Judge 
 Crane, hold that his manly and distinguished services 
 as Delegate to Congress, entitles him to our highest 
 considerations. 
 
 The mass meeting having boon held six or seven 
 ihiys before the Comstock Lode was discovered, and 
 the election following on the fourteenth of July, 
 thirty days after the discovery, and before it was 
 generally known that silver was a part of its wealth, 
 full}- establishes the fact that this was a political 
 move by the settlers of the country, and not by an 
 irresponsible transient population without fixed or 
 well-defined purpose. On the contrary, it was the 
 influx of such a class that later swept away this half- 
 com))leted governmental fabric. 
 
 The Convention, elected on the fourteenth, met at 
 Genoa, on the eighteenth, and after a nine days' 
 
EFFORTS AT GOVERNMENT. 
 
 03 
 
 session inljouniod on the twoiUy-oit^hth, its proceed- 
 ings being ])rintod in tlio Territorial Enterprise of the 
 tliirtioth. all in July, 1859. 
 
 i'\)rluniitely a copy of this j)iiper has been pro- 
 served, brown with age, and wrinkled and worn by 
 handling. Desiring to preserve a sample of a paper, 
 b}' lajise of time so valuable to history, a pholograph 
 of the original was taken, producing a fae-simile, in 
 dimensions fitted to the size of the book, and is pre- 
 sented on pages (')!)-72, a memento of the past. The 
 original was on jiaper twentj' bj' twenty-eight inches, 
 of poor quality, and the press work was carelessly 
 done, all of which the 8ample"shows. Besides giving 
 in detail the proceedings of the Convention, it con- 
 tains many names of the pioneers, and the leading 
 men of that time. 
 
 DE0LARATIO^f OF CAUSE FOR SEPARATION. 
 
 The following adilress by the C'onvention is in some 
 respect an exaggerated statement of the condition of 
 affairs at that time, and causes leading the people to 
 ask for a separated government: — 
 
 Wheue.vs, wo, the citizens of the proposed Terri- 
 tory of Nevada, considering that we have sutfered 
 from a scries of internal and external evils of so 
 grave a nature, as to remlor forbearance a virtue no 
 longer, and believing -that the time has now arrived 
 for us to take some permanent action upon our future 
 well-being as a people, and believing further that a 
 plain statement of the causes which have impelled 
 us to take this course, will convince a candid and un- 
 prejudiced public, we would therefore state: — 
 
 That a long train of abuses and usurpations on the 
 part of the Mormons of eastern Utah, towards the 
 people of Western Utah, evinces a desire on their 
 pari to reduce us under an absolute sj)iritual des- 
 potism. Such has been our ])atient sufferings, and 
 such is now the necessity for dissolving all political 
 relations which maj' have connected us together, 
 and we deem it not onl^- our right, but also our duty, 
 to disown such a government, and such a people, and 
 to form new guards for our future security. 
 
 We would charge upon the Mormons a gross viola- 
 tion of the organic Act creating the Territory of 
 Utah. 
 
 They have declared themselves hostile to the Con- 
 stitution, Government and Institutions of'ourcouiitr3\ 
 
 They have refused to submit to its laws, while 
 they have, whenever it suited tliem. claimed protec- 
 tion under these laws. 
 
 They iiave denied to the judges of the United 
 States a right to try in their court the violators of 
 the law, when such violations were numerous. 
 
 They have so managed lij- their legislation, as to 
 defeat justice, protect criminals, and render the laws 
 and the authority of the United States, in Utah 
 Territory p.void and of no effect. 
 
 They have conferred powers on their Territorial 
 Marshals, so extensive as to render void ihc au- 
 thority of the Marshals of the United States, in all 
 cases. 
 
 They have conferred U|)on Probate . Judges the sole 
 right to select juries in civil and criminal cases, in 
 violation of all law and all ])rccedeiit. 'I'hey have 
 also given to said .Judges, and .Justices of the I'eace, 
 absolute jurisdiction in all civil and criminal cases. 
 
 They have made all laws existing under the em- 
 
 bryo State of Deseret, binding upon the people of 
 this Territory, and in defiance of the laws of the 
 United States. 
 
 They have, by an Act of the Legislature, declared 
 all unmarried men ineligible as jurymen, unless they 
 have resided in the Territory two years. 
 
 The}- have imbued their hands in the blood of our 
 citizens, while the}' were peacefullj' ])Ursuing their 
 way across the continent, and have deprived them 
 of their property without due course of law. 
 
 They have jjoisoned the minds of the Indians 
 against us, forced us frequently to open war with 
 them. 
 
 We have ])etiti<jned them to redress and protect us 
 in our right, but our ajijjcals have ever been treated 
 with disdain and neglect. To continue the connec- 
 tion with Utah longer we fear would involve us in 
 treason and rebellion to our country. 
 
 We further consider that the danger, difficulty of 
 transit and ex])ense of communication with the seat 
 of the Territorial Government of eastern Utah, of 
 themselves valid reasons to induce us to form a sep- 
 arate Territorial organization. 
 
 We have appealed for assistance to California, but 
 she has declined to aid and protect us, because we 
 were without the jurisdiction of the Slate. 
 
 We have for the last two ye;»rs invoked Congress 
 to erect for us a Territorial Government, and that 
 body has been deaf to our appeals. 
 
 Therefore, believing in the rectitude of our inten- 
 tions and believing the time has arrived, we make 
 known and declare our entire and unconditional 
 sejiaration from eastern Utah. 
 
 To provide for and secure our future protection, 
 we pledge to each other our sacred obligations, to 
 erect for ourselves a Ten-ilorial (iovei-nment, founded 
 upon the Re])ublican iJriMciples of the Constitution of 
 the United Slates, and that we will maintain and 
 defend it to the best of our ability. And we look to 
 the support and protection of the Federal Govern- 
 ment, and our fellow-citizens in every part of the 
 Union. 
 
 ELECTION AND ADOPTION OP CONSTITUTION, SEP- 
 TEMBER, 1859. 
 
 Having decided to assume tho rcs])onsibility of 
 taking the preliminary steps incident to the organ- 
 ization of a provisional government, and trust to tho 
 future for a recognition by Congress, the Conven- 
 tion framed a Conslitulion to be submitted on the 
 seventh of the ensuing September, to a vote of the 
 people, and an election was ordered at tho same time 
 to fill the various offices created by it. 
 
 The election returns wore not preserved, and a 
 consequent obscuritj- surrounds tho result, but an 
 indication may be obtained from the following: A 
 resident of Genoa, in writing to tho Semi- Week/;/ 
 Oti(cryer of Placcrvillo, California, gives tho vote of 
 Genoa and Carson, as follows: — 
 
 Genoa. t'lirsoii City. 
 
 For Constitution 38 121! 
 
 Against Constitution 12 5 
 
 For Governor, Isaac Hoop 46 121 
 
 For Governor, John A. Slater. . 1 4 
 
 Soc. of State, A. S. Dorsey 47 121 
 
 Auditor, .John I). Winters 43 115 
 
 Treasurer, 1$. L. Kiujj 47 124 
 
64 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 The above, with (lie exception of Dr. Slater, were 
 probably clecti'd; but none of tbein were ever called 
 upon to servo except Governor Hoop. From a news- 
 paper clip, found in the Governor's scrap book, it 
 appears that the majority for the Constitution was 
 about four hundred votes. The following election 
 certificate tells its own tale: — 
 
 MUSSER TEKTIFIES TO RESULTS OP THE ELECTION. 
 
 I, J. J. Musscr, President of the Constitutional 
 Convention held in Genoa, in July, a. d. 1S.")0, and 
 Chairman of the Hoard of Canvassers aiijiointed bj- 
 that Convention to canvass the votes cast at the elec- 
 tion for otticers under the said Constitution of Nevada 
 Territory, held throui;hout said Territory, on the 
 seventh day of Se]Ucmber, a. p. 1S.")0, do hereby 
 certify, that the said Board of Canvassers failed to 
 meet at the a|)pointed time and place to discharjie 
 the duties assij^ncd to them. 1 further certity that 
 the votes cast at said election were received by me, 
 and that I have examined and cast up the vote of 
 said election returns that came to me unsealed, from 
 which 1 do hereby certify that a hirye imijority of the 
 votes cast on that occasion were in favor of the Con- 
 stitution, and also that Isaac Koop was elected Gov- 
 ernor of the said Territory by a large majority. 
 
 J. J. MussER, 
 Pres. Con's Convention, 
 
 Carson Cit}', December 12, 1859. 
 
 ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO REORGANIZE CARSON COUNTY. 
 
 Immediately after the foregoing election, John S. 
 Child held a session of Court at Genoa on the twelfth 
 of September, with P. II. Lovel acting as Clerk. 
 This was the first legal Court held in Carson County, 
 after April 13, 1857, when Charles Loveland presided, 
 just before the Mormons left for Salt Lake. Judge 
 Child found no business before the Court, and 
 adjourned until the next day. Pursuant to the 
 adjournment the Court convened, and still no busi- 
 ness; but the third day's session was rescued from 
 monotony by the appointment of \V. P. Morrison as 
 Coroner, authorizing him to officiate in an inquest to 
 bo held upon the body of John Buckley, who had 
 been killed at Virginia Citj*. On the fifteenth, six- 
 teenth, and seventeenth, the Court adjourned for 
 want of business, and none seems to have presented 
 itself until the nineteenth of October, when Mrs. 
 Rebecca A. Bristol filed an application for divorce 
 from Kssic C. Bristol, that resulted in her getting it, 
 and this was the only case tried in 1S59. A Coro- 
 ner appointed and a divorce granted was the sum 
 total of Court ]irocedure that j'ear. 
 
 Judge Child had become anxious to restore the 
 organization of Carson County, and give to it a legal 
 existence in all its functions. The necessity for 
 this was becoming daily greater, because of the i 
 rajiidly augmenting population, as well as the < 
 increasing value of mines and other property. In [ 
 pursuance of this design, the Judge, after dividing 
 the count}- into ten precincts, called a special elec- 
 tion to be held on tho eighth of October to till the j 
 various county offices. Out of tho ton precincts but 
 threo, Carson, No. 2, Gold Hill, No. 5, and Walker 
 
 River, No. S, opcjned any polls. The following are 
 the returns fi-om those j)reciiicts: — 
 
 CARSON COUNTY ELECTION RETURNS OF 
 
 OCTOBER, 1859. 
 
 OANIUDATES FOR 
 REPRESENTATIVE. 
 
 PRECINCT VOTE. 
 
 Prtfiiict 
 No. i 
 
 Precinct 
 No. 5. 
 
 Precinct 
 
 No. S. 
 
 Total for 
 Candidate. 
 
 C. II. Fountain 
 
 
 100 
 
 1 
 
 100 
 
 J. C. Jones 
 
 G7 
 
 84 
 1 
 
 S. \V. Sullivan 
 
 R. M. Anderson 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total Precinct Vote. 
 
 t!8 1 100 1 18 
 
 186 
 
 SELECTMEN. 
 
 
 W. C. Armstrong... 
 
 
 101 
 
 18 
 18 
 18 
 
 101 
 
 L. Drixley 
 
 K. Lambe 
 
 J. M. Luther 
 
 C7 
 G6 
 65 
 
 85 
 84 
 83 
 
 SHERIFF. 
 
 
 E. C. Moi-se 
 
 
 101 
 
 ""is" 
 
 101 
 
 J. Farewell . . . 
 
 66 
 1 
 
 84 
 
 R. Abernathy 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 Total Precinct Vote. 
 
 67 
 
 101 
 
 18 
 
 186 
 
 TREASURER. 
 
 
 II. Van Sickle. .. . 
 
 
 94 
 
 "is " 
 
 94 
 
 L. A. Smith... 
 
 J. M. Ilenry 
 
 67 
 
 1 
 
 85 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 SURVEYOR. 
 
 J. F. Long.. 
 P. C. Rector. 
 
 45 
 
 100 
 
 18 
 
 100 
 63 
 
 William Justice, elected Justice of the Peace, Gold 
 Hill; Alexander White, elected Constable, Gold Hill; 
 Thomas Knott, elected Justice of the Peace, Carson 
 City; Gocrge Wilder, elected Constable, Carson City, 
 
 The returns were certified to as above on tho 
 twenty-fourth of September, by P. H. Lovel, County 
 Clerk. 
 
 Upon receipt by the Utah (iovernor, A. Cummings, 
 of the election returns, ho forwarded commissions 
 dated November 15, 1859, for tho successful candi- 
 dates, with the following expressions, to the t'ounty 
 Clerk, P. II. Lovel. He presumed the matter would 
 eventuall}' have to submit to a legal investigation, as 
 there was no authoritj- for calling the election; but 
 as he was anxious to aid in organizing, he had for- 
 warded the commissions. 
 
 On tho ensuing fourth of Juno, Judge Child ad- 
 dressed the following communication to Armstrong 
 and Drixley, who had been elected Selectmen : — 
 
 " I urge upon you the necessity of appearing 
 immediately and taking the oath of office, from tho 
 fact that with the po])ulalion now within the limits 
 of Carson Countj- it is indispensably necessary that 
 we shoii!tl hat'e some law." 
 
 None of the parties elected accep'ed the ]iositions 
 they were selected to fill, consequently the only 
 legally authorized county officials in what is now 
 Nevada, in 1859, and up to August 6, 1860, were J. 
 
./ 
 
 '. V^ , t 
 
 y:j^yA / e ir r^ { 
 
 \_ 
 
Hon. James F. Hallock 
 
 Is the present Con trollcrol" Novada, the fiiumeial tri- 
 bune of the State roveniios and expenditures. Chanc- 
 inj? at his office, in the fall of 188(1, the writer obf^orved 
 a book, of something over 40(1 pages, that boru the 
 title of a "Brief Sketch of the Ilallock Ancestry in 
 the Ignited States." Turning the leaves we asked 
 the genial State official if tien. U. W. Ilalleck, who 
 for some years during the Ivebetlion commanded the 
 Union armies, was not a relation of his, and he 
 replied that such was not the case. Continuing to 
 turn the leaves, however, we came directly upon the 
 name of that distinguished General, and asked our 
 friend his reason for denying his kin. He replied 
 that it was the first time he had liecome aware of the 
 relationship and that he bothered himself but little 
 about either his ancestry or distant kinsman. We 
 continued to turn the leaves and found that the sub- 
 ject of this sketch was the direct descendant on his 
 mother's side — whose name was Mary Fanning — 
 from Dominicus Fanning, who was Mayor of a city 
 in Ireland under 'the reign of Charles the Fir.st, and 
 was taken prisoner at the battle of Drogheda in 1640, 
 all the balance of the garrison being put to the 
 sword. Finally this old Irish hero was beheaded by 
 order of Cromwell; his head being put upon a pole at 
 the entrance of the principal gate to the city, and his 
 property' confiscated, because when Charles I. made 
 a proclamation of peace, Dominicus advised the Irish 
 council not to accept it unless the British Govern- 
 ment would first secure to his people their religion, 
 their ])roiierty and their lives. 
 
 Turning to the lather's side, we noticed that I'eter 
 Ilallock, the ancestor of those of that name in 
 America, was one of the thirteen pilgrim fathers, 
 who in l(j40 fled from civil and religious oppression 
 in England, and landed in New Haven. All along 
 down the lino are the names of those who have 
 fought and fallen for the IJopublic, among the most 
 conspicuous of whom appears the name of Gen. II. 
 W. Halieck, who went from California to the tented 
 field (luring the late llebollioii, and eventuall}- became 
 the commander of all the Union armies. Hut as our 
 friend remarked that he cared but little for all this, 
 we skip much of it that would he interesting, and 
 pick up the thread of his own checkered destiny at 
 its dawn. 
 
 Born of humble parentage, his father being a small 
 farmer at Moriches, on Long Island, New York, his 
 life datOB from that place and the twenty-fourth of 
 
 .March, is:!."!. His earl)- years were spent in attend- 
 ance at school and helj)ing his father, until seized 
 with an uncontrollal)le desire to see the world, he 
 went to sea when but eighteen years of age, and was 
 absent for three years, when returning to his homo 
 he was induced to abandon an ocean life and become 
 a dry goods clerk in Brooklyn, I^ew York. 
 
 In 1855 he sailed for San Francisco, where, upon 
 his arrival, a couple of months were spent in coasting 
 in a brig belonging to a friend, who oflcred him the 
 l)Osition of Captain of it, or to furnish monej^ to start 
 in mercantile business with; both generous ofl'ei-s, 
 however, were refused. The mining mania had 
 taken full possession of him, and nothing short of 
 "a cot in some vast wilderness" would do. The 
 next three years were devoted to an unsuccessful 
 search, along the eastern bank of the river for Alad- 
 din's treasures. During that time, one of his most 
 extensive operations was to shift the course of the 
 middle fork of the Feather River, with a dam, and to 
 this day, when reminded of the fact, ho is enthusiastic 
 in continuing to damn that place and enterprise. 
 
 In Jlay, 1858, he joined the throng that left in 
 pursuit of the Frazer River ujnisfntuus, and came 
 back in the fall to Camptonville, Y'uba County, Cal- 
 ifornia, with a purse that looked like the seven lean 
 kine spoken of by the Evangelist. 
 
 In May, 18()0, he first visited Nevada, his com- 
 panion l)eing the since notorious Azberj' Harpon- 
 ding, who was arrested on the eve of an attem|)t to 
 sail from San Francisco, with a letter of nuinim from 
 the Southern Confederacy, to prey upon the Amer- 
 ican shipping on the Pacific Ocean. At the time 
 they arrived in Nevada, in ISIKI, the rahrte \Var 
 was in progress; but they continued, without inter- 
 ruption, their prospecting in the hills, now known 
 as Peavine District, in Washoe Count)'. The same 
 year he returned to California, and engaged in mer- 
 cantile business at Ih'andy City, in Sierra County, 
 where he remained until 1868. This latter year ho 
 again tried his fortunes with a mining excitement 
 that lead him, this time, to the Owyhee country, from 
 where he returned with the usual results. 
 
 On the twelfth of February, 1S(!4. ho arrived in 
 Austin, Lander (bounty, and ibrming a copartner- 
 ship with two other persons, commoncod work upon 
 a mining prospect. An unsophisticated capitalist 
 came along one day atid )>aid the three men 81,000 
 each for their hole in the ground. When the verdant 
 
purchaser had pasBcd beyond hearing distance, and 
 the partners came fully to realize the singular freak 
 of fortune that had dumped this money at their 
 door, one of them expressed the astonishment and 
 feelings of them all at the strange, unexpected, 
 unaccountable transaction by remarking, -'Let us 
 pray." 
 
 Mr. Hallock invested his proportion of the funds 
 obtained from the sale of the prospect in a grocery 
 business at Austin, where he remained until August 
 1, 18G8, when he located at Treasure City, in White 
 Pine Countj-. For :i year — in connection with 
 Charles V. Meyers — a successful mercantile business 
 was transacted, after which tlie}^ were overtaken 
 by business misfortunes. Their failure was caused 
 h}- having a large stock of merchandise on hand 
 when the railroad commenced bringing goods at 
 reduced freight rates into eastern Mevada, com- 
 bined with the sudden collapse of the mining excite- 
 ment in that part of the countrj-. 
 
 While everything was prosperous with Mr. Hal- 
 lock he was married to Miss Sarah L. Currie, of 
 Virginia City, on the thirtieth of November, 18G8; 
 and the young bride went to her new home with a 
 heart filled with fond hopes of passing her future 
 years over a life path covered with the rose tints of 
 happiness. Yet three of them had not come and 
 gone before the young mother, summoned by the 
 dark messenger, with a parting prayer for her hus- 
 band, and kiss for the infant boy, passed out into 
 the shadows of the mysterious unknown. Hundreds 
 of miles lay between the dead mother and her girl- 
 hood's home: but Mr. Hallock determined to take 
 her to that place for burial. No stage company 
 would take the pale sleeper as a passenger, and he 
 was forced to charter a stage for that purpose. 
 
 With the cold, inanimate form of the once beautiful 
 and loving wife, lying in her coffin, fastened to the 
 seat beside him; with the little child calling for its 
 dead mother, and sobbing in his arms; with the 
 long lonesome miles of dreary deserts that lay 
 between bim and the grave that awaited his dead, 
 he started, with no companion but the driver, the 
 little motherless babe, and his grief, to carry the 
 dead wife to her father's home. It's all a sad picture, 
 sadder than tears, but from out the background 
 appears the fact, that such acts as these come only 
 from promptings of a kind heart, true in its affec- 
 tion, constant in its allegiance, generous in its 
 motives; and from such we would choose our friends. 
 
 Mr. Hallock, after the death of his wife, visited 
 his home in New York, and taking his little bo)- — 
 whose name is James C. — left him there with his 
 grandparents. After an absence in the East of 
 about one year he returned to Nevada, and, in Octo- 
 ber, 1872, settled in Pioche, where he became book- 
 keeper and collector for the Water Companj- of that 
 place, and Secretary of the Alps Mining Company. 
 
 In 1878 he was placed by acclamation upon the 
 Republican ticket as a candidate for State Controller 
 of Nevada, and was elected to that position for a 
 term of four years. 
 
 As a State guardian of public receipts and expend- 
 itures he has had no superior in those who have 
 filled that position in this State. 
 
 His Controller's report of 1881 is an exhibit of 
 the subjects treated that showed the skillful work of 
 a master mind, a fact acknowledged by those com- 
 petent to judge; but it carried within it the seeds of 
 his political death, for the railroad will never for- 
 give his expose, in the interests of the people, of their 
 short-comings in this State. 
 
EFFORTS AT GOVERNMENT. 
 
 65 
 
 S. Child, Probate J uil.,'0 ; P. II. Lovul,* Clerk ; S. A. 
 Kinsey, Recorder ; P. C. Rector, appointed Survoj-or, 
 Jlarcli 1, 1800; D. G. (iioyd, Road Coinmissioiu'r, 
 appointed in February, ISlit) ; A. Kiniie, ai)pi)iiited 
 Road Commissioner, February, 18C0 ; James White, 
 appointe<l Road Commissioner. April, ISOO. 
 
 The attom]it to ori^anizo under existini^ laws hav- 
 ing jiroved a failure, let us return and follow the 
 eft'orl beinj; made to institute a government unauthor- 
 ized b}- law. 
 
 RESU.MKD HISTORY OF AN ATTEMPT AT PROVISIONAL OOV- 
 EU.VME.NT — DE.\T11 OF JI'PiiE CRANE. 
 
 The organization of a separate Territori;il fiovern- 
 ment had been so far perfected as tin' adoptiDii of a 
 constitution and the election of otKcers and a Legis- 
 lative body authorized bj' the instrument could 
 accomplish such a result, as alreadj' narrated, when 
 Judge Crane, the Congressional Delegate, died sud- 
 denly, at Gold Hill, of heart disease, on the twenty- 
 seventh of September, and was buried at Carson City 
 on the following day. Another election was called 
 for November 12, 1859, to fill the vacancj', when, 
 according to the Sacramento Union, J. J. Miisser re- 
 ceived for the position O/Ja votes, the balance being 
 cast for different parties. Who those different par- 
 tics were, or how man j- votes they received does not 
 appear, but as Governor Roop in his message de- 
 clared that Musser was " umanimously elected," it is 
 safe to assume that no oiu' attempted to run in o]i])0- 
 sition to him. Immediately alter a convention of 
 citizens counted the vote and declared the peoples' 
 choice for Representative at Washington. Mr. Musser 
 started on his mission to the National Cajiital. A 
 few days after his departure Isaac Roop, having been 
 declared elected Governor, subscribed to the follow- 
 ing oath of office : — 
 
 Teriutorv of Nevada. J-ss. 
 
 I do solemnlj- swear that I will support the Con- 
 stitution of the United States, atid the Constitution 
 of the Territory of Nevada, and that I will to the 
 best of mj' ability ]ierform all the duties of Gov- 
 ernor of said Territory' during my continuance in 
 office. Isaac Roop. 
 
 Subscribed and sworn to before me this thirteenth 
 day of December, a. d. One thousand eight hundred 
 and fifty-nine. F. M. Presto.n, 
 
 U. S. Commissioner Second Judicial District, U. T. 
 
 THE PROVISIONAL LEtllSLATlIRE MEET AND ADJOURN. 
 
 The Sacramento Union contains the following in 
 regard to the session of that first Legislative Assem- 
 bly in Nevada:— 
 
 [By Telegrai>li to the Sncramcnto DaHi/ Uiiinn.] 
 
 (Jenoa, December K!, IS.')!). 
 The first Legislature of the new Ti'rritory of 
 Nevada met and organized last evening at the house 
 o,f J. B. HIake, of (ienoa. O. II. I'iersoTi, of t'arson 
 City, was elected Speaker; II. S. Thompson, Clerk; 
 and J. II. McDougal, Sergeantat-Arms. 
 
 The proceedings met with a great deal of en- 
 thusiasm, (iovernor Roop <lelivered his message, 
 
 •Succeeded iu March, 1800, (Jeorgc McXvir. 
 9 
 
 which will be published in the 't'erri/orln/ A'"lfr/>rige 
 of to-morrow. Several s|)iriti'd resolutions were 
 passed, and a committee of three was appointed to 
 draft a memorial to Congress to e.\|iedite the for- 
 mation of the new Territorj*. The Legislature then 
 adjourned until the first Monday in July, IBliK. 
 
 GOVERNOR ROOPS MESSAOE. 
 
 To ttw, jvojilfi of icesleni Ulitli inrlitilfd w lliin the bound- 
 arieg of itie pntpDsed Terrilury of iVevwl i: — 
 
 Having been duly elected by you as Executive 
 of the Provisional Territorial Government of 
 Nevada Territorj-, and deeming it my duty to 
 address j'ou upon the subject of our separation from 
 the curse of Mormon legislation, 1 present to you 
 ni}' reasons why an organization of the Pi-fivisional 
 Government would at the jiresent time be impolitic. 
 At the time we were compelled to assemble in our 
 sovereign cai)acity to endeavor to rid ourselves of 
 the theocratic rule of .Mormoiiism, we had no pro- 
 tection for life, limb, or ])roperty. We had in vain 
 ]>etitioned Congress for relief against the unjust and 
 illegal attempts of Mormons to force upon us laws 
 and customs obno.xious to every American. We had 
 no courts nor count}' organization, save those con- 
 trolled by the sworil and satellites of the Salt J^ako 
 oligarchy; our pf)litical rights were entirely at the 
 will of a certain cli(iuo composed of those who were 
 O])posed to the first jirinciples of our Constitution 
 and the freedom of the ballot-box. Under these 
 circumstances, we endeavored to relieve ourselves 
 from these impositions, and believing that a Pro- 
 visional Territorial Government would best assure 
 us protection to life, limb, and propert}', we held our 
 election, and made all necessarj' arrangements for 
 the formation of a tem])orary government until 
 Congress should give us justice and ])rotection. 
 Since our election we have been deprived, by dispen- 
 sation of Providence, of our estimable Delegate to 
 Congress. James M. Crane, whose whole energies 
 were devoted to the best interests of our people, and 
 who carried with him to the grave the kindest wishes 
 of us all, and who should have inscribed upon his 
 tombstone: " An honest man, the noblest work of 
 God." 
 
 Within the ]iast few months an attempt has been 
 made by .ludge Cradlebaugh to establish the Ihiited 
 States I)islrict < 'ourt in this district. Coming among 
 us as he did with the prestige of his noble stand 
 against Salt Lake legislation, we at once yielded to 
 him and his court all the respect accorded in any 
 community. Rut notwithstanding all his endeavors, 
 Icicked by the gooil wishes of the peojile, the so- 
 called laws of Utah Territory have proved to him 
 an insnrinountatile barrier. We have now en route 
 to Washington as Delegate to Congress, to represent 
 us and our wishes, John ,1. Musser, unanimouslj' 
 elected hy the ]K'o|)le to fill the vacancy occasioned 
 by the derease of the lamented Crane, and in whom 
 we all jilace the most implicit I'onfidence. The 
 recent discoveries of goM. silver, copper, and lead 
 mines have caused an influx of ])opulation totally 
 unexpected at the lime of oui" late convention. 
 
 The new imniigration is composed of the bone and 
 sinew of California — of men who are disjxjsed to pay 
 all due obedience to laws which extend to them a 
 reasonable ])roteclion. Under the circumstances, 
 but few members of the Council and House of Dele- 
 gates have assembled in accordance with the call 
 for their election. Now, therefore, 1, Isaac Roop, 
 Governor of the Provisional Territorial Government 
 
66 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 ^ 
 
 of Nevada Territory, believing it to be the wish of 
 the peoi)le still to relj" upon the sense of justice of 
 Congress, and that it will this session relieve us 
 from the numerous evils to which we have been sub- 
 jected, do proclaim the session of the Legislature 
 adjourned until the fii-st Monday of July, ISfiO, and 
 call upon all good citizens to suj)port, with all their 
 energies, the laws and Government ol' the United 
 States. 
 
 Done at Genoa, December 15, a. d. 1859. 
 
 Isaac lioop, Governor. 
 
 AFTER THE ADJOURNMENT. 
 
 Mr. Eoop continued to assume the duties of Gov- 
 ernor after the adjournment. Most of his official 
 acts being noted in this work under the head of 
 ''The Indians, and their Wars in Xevada." The only 
 other instance known of his exercising such author- 
 ity being in the issuance of the following military 
 commission to M. S. Thompson, now a State Senator 
 from Humboldt Countj": — 
 
 Nevada Territory, ) 
 
 Susanville, February 1, 1860. ) 
 
 I, Isaac Roop, Provisional Governor of Xevada 
 Territory, do herebj' appoint M.S. Thom])son as my 
 Aid-de camp, to rank as Colonel of Cavalry-, with pay 
 and rations as such; this appointment to take effect 
 from date. In testimony whereof, 1 have thi.s daj' 
 and date affixed my private seal, there being no pub- 
 lic seal provided. Isaac Roop, Governor. 
 
 [L. S.] 
 
 The efforts of Mr. Masser, at Washington, fell 
 short of obtaining immediate legislation favorable 
 to his constituents, and he returned to Carson Count}'. 
 
 His influence, however, had left its impression, and 
 served to give form and direction to a growing sen- 
 timent in Congress inimical to leaving other citizens 
 of the United States under the unfriendly juris- 
 diction that had already, by the Mountain Meadow 
 massacre, been demonstrated to exist in Utah under 
 Mormon control. The subsequent development of 
 Comstock mines, causing a large increase of popula- 
 tion, but served to increase that feeling at Washing- 
 ton, and the breaking out of the southern rebellion 
 culminated it in the Congres.sionai Act of March 2, 
 18G1, creating the Territory of Xevada. With the 
 discovery of Gold Hill; with the discovery of quartz 
 gold and silver mines; with the infant Virginia City 
 born and named; with the consequent rush of pop- 
 ulation to the new El Dorado; with the first steps 
 towards reorganization of Carson County; with the 
 unsuccessl'ul attempt to create a Trovisional Govern- 
 ment; with a largo population struggling against 
 the rigor of the severest winter ever known in the 
 Great Basin; with western Utah shaking loose the 
 old and putting on the habiliments of a new era, wo 
 close the narrative of 1859 to introduce that of 18G0. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 PRCXJRESS OF SETTLEMENT. 
 
 1860. 
 
 Passenger Communicition »itli Californi.i — Stock-raising in 
 C'arsun Valley— The Weather — Building — General Appear- 
 ance — Business, Etc. — The Mines — P'irst Efforts to lieduce 
 the Ores — I'olitical History Continued — Carson County 
 Otficers in ISOO— County Court and Kepudtation of Debts — 
 Hates of Licenses — Stock Brokers — Toll-road and Briilge 
 I{;ites — First Railroad Franchise — First Court House — Ne- 
 vada Invoiced in 1S60 — Business .Statistics for ISOO — Popu- 
 lation of Nevada, ISUO — Nativity of Population — Deaths — 
 Stock and Agriculture in 1860. 
 
 The excitement in California had been increasing 
 through the winter, and a large population waited 
 on the Pacific Coast side in the spring for the melt- 
 ing snows on the mountains to admit of a passage 
 ovor them. Goods were shipped in the spring of 
 1860 on mules that traveled for miles upon blankets 
 s]>read on the snow to prevent their sinking into it. 
 T!ie first goods shipped into Xevada bj' its present 
 Governor, John H. Kinkead, reached the Territory 
 by passing the snow barriers in this way. The 
 hiirh price that the severe winter had created in 
 C:ii'8on County was a leverage that caused mer- 
 chants to make the most strenuous exertions to 
 reach that locality at the earliest po.ssible day in 
 spring; and those having no goods, lured by hopes 
 of sudden wealth awaiting them, were just as eager 
 to reach the "promised land." Of this latter class, 
 Dan Dc Quille, in his " Big Bonanza" says: — 
 
 At first they came on foot, driving donkeys, or 
 other pack-animals, bel'ore them, or on horseback, 
 rilling when they could, and leading their horses 
 where the snow was soft; but soon sleighs and stages 
 were started, and in some shape floundered through 
 with their passengers. Saddle trains for passen- 
 gers were started, however, before vehicles of any 
 kind began to run, and the snow passed over was 
 in man}' places from thirty to sixty feet in de])th. 
 
 At first there was not sufficient shelter for the 
 new-comers, and the}' crowded to overflowing every 
 building of whatever kind in all the towns along 
 the Comstock range. But houses were rapidly 
 being built in all directions, and the weather soon 
 became warm enough to allow of camping out in 
 comfort almost anywhere. 
 
 One of those parties who was so eager to reach 
 the Comstock was not so favorably impressed with 
 the country and its surroundings as wore manj- who 
 vi>ited it; and the consideration of his evidence is 
 important in arriving at a verdict as to the condition 
 of western Utah at that time. He writes from 
 Virginia City to the Jfoim/ain Democrdf, under dale 
 ol' April 5, 18G0, as follows, after having passed over 
 the road to that place from Placervillo in March: — 
 
 There aro but few houses in the Valley (Carson), 
 aixl at each house a few acres have been fenced in with 
 sawed lumber, and these seem to have been designi?d 
 for grazing purposes. 1 have not seen an agricul- 
 tural imjilement since I have been in the Territory, 
 and only about one acre of land plowed, or bearing 
 any appearance of having been placed in a prelim- 
 inary state of preparation for cultivation. I am told, 
 
PROGRESS OF SETTLEMENT. 
 
 67 
 
 however, that there are several good farms in tlie 
 smaller valleys, back in the canons anionjj the fool- 
 hills, but the ureatest portion of the valley 1 have 
 seen, is entirelj- destitute of soil, beini; a loose, dry, 
 coarse sand, which, with all the irrij^ation and cul- 
 tivation that could be bestowed upon it, could 
 not possibly be made to " s])rout a pea." Taken 
 altogether, the whole country jjresents an uninvitiiii^ 
 appearance, and 1 am satisfied that so far as aijricul- 
 turc is conceriH'd, (.'arson Valley is an unmitii;aU'd 
 hunibui^. 1 ho])e, however, that a more IhorouLfh 
 investiiralion will i)rove that the sniall valleys before 
 alluded to, will, when ])ul under cultivation, produce 
 sufficient to meet the wants of the ])eople of western 
 Utah. 
 
 STOCK RAISING IN CARSON VALLEY. 
 
 It is estimated that there are 10,000 head of hoi^s, 
 horses and cattle in Carson and neinhl)orini^ val- 
 lej's ; horses and cows are very poor, and thousands 
 are to be seen iyin;^ dead all over tlie valley. They 
 evidenti}' died from starvation. All the hogs I have 
 seen are in good order, as thej- have ])rofited much 
 b}- the numerous dead carcasses of other animals, 
 but to think of a fat ]K)rk steak under such circum- 
 stances, is by no means refreshing or consoling to 
 my mind, and yet we have them served up at our 
 restaurants, without knowing from whence they 
 came. 
 
 THE WEATHER. 
 
 Ever since I have been here, the wind has been 
 blowing continuall}', day and night, with double the 
 intensity of the afternoon winds which ])revail most 
 part of the year on Telegraph Hill and North Beach, 
 at San Francisco ; and I am told that these winds 
 prevail here nearly- three-fourths of the year. Snow 
 has been falling here lor the past fifteen hours, and 
 there is about one foot of snow on the ground, and 
 still snowing. All out-door business is stopped. 
 
 BUILDING — GENERAL APPEARANCE— BUSINESS, ETC. 
 
 A few daj-s ago there was some little stir here, in 
 the way of preparation for building. J have noticed 
 some eight or ten small buildings in the course of 
 construction, but some of them have been stopped 
 for the want of lumber. Mearly all of the " build- 
 ings " here are canvas : a few are of rough stone, and 
 some of them are merely- Iwks dug in the hill-side, 
 and covered over with brush and dried hides, present- 
 ing moretiie ap])earance of an Indian wigwam, than 
 that of a Cili/. The three fanioug cities, Genoa, 
 Carson and Virginia, all put together, would not 
 make a town half so large as Placerville. The ))riii- 
 cipal business going on at jiresent, is eating, drink- 
 ing and gambling. There are hundreds of men here 
 hanging around the gambling saloons from day to 
 day, not doing anything at all. Some are working 
 in the mines for wages, at five dollars per day ; so 
 j-ou will see that after paying four dollars a day lor 
 board and lodging, they will have one dollar a day 
 left. There is no demand for mechanics. Carpen- 
 ters get seven dollars ))er day, when they can get 
 work, but there is veiy little doing in that line, 
 owing to the scarcity and high ))rice of lumber. 
 Everything here sells for enormous jirices, not so 
 much on account of the ready return for labor, or 
 investment, as the cost of getting the articles here. 
 Lumber can be bought at the mills for fifty dollars 
 per thou^and and the same cnstx/oar /iiiw/ie'l i/ol/ms 
 per thousand. Flour is selling to-daj- for sixty dollars 
 ]ier hundred^it has raised twcntj'-five dollars within 
 the i)ast three days. Beef, from sixteen to twenty-five 
 
 cents per pound; potatoes, twenty-five cents ; hay. 
 I'our hundred dollars per ton. These extravagant 
 ]>rices cannot last long, but thej' are a great draw- 
 back to the prosperity of the country at present. 
 
 THE MINES. 
 
 As to the extent and character of the mines, 1 am 
 not a whit better iiifornie<l than before coming here, 
 bift I sup])ose I must fall in with the current of |>ul)lic 
 opinion here and admit that they are exceedingly 
 rich, as I have not heard any one here deny that 
 such is the case; meantime 1 will investigate 
 for m3-8elf, and inform j-ou at the earliest o]ipor- 
 tunity. I will venture the following remarks, upon 
 information obtained from reliable ])arties here and 
 from jjcrsonal observation. That there have been 
 false statements and exaggerated accounts sent forth 
 to the world in regard to the mines, there can be no 
 doubt. The reports that have apjieared in the papers, 
 that there have been heavy operations guiiig on here 
 in the way of griiuling and smelting ore, are utterly 
 false. No smelting has been done here except small 
 parcels for the ])urpose of making assays. It has 
 often been stated by writers from this place, that 
 such and such men who have been here but a short 
 time are now worth §10,000, 820,000, 850.000. and 
 that a man may be poor one day, and a millionaire 
 the next. But when these statements are sifted down 
 to the bottom, they turn out about as follows: Mr. 
 
 A. goes out and stakes oft" 200 feet of ground, and 
 returns to a drinking saloon; he approaches Mr. 
 
 B. and remarks. "1 have been oft'ered 8150 \)ct 
 foot for my claim, but do not care to sell." 
 "Ah I" saj-s B. " how much do you value j-our claim 
 at?" A. replies without hesitation, ••82.")0 i)er foot !" 
 B. in return makes similar statements to A. They 
 drink and depart, and straightwaj' it is reported that 
 A. and B. are each worth 850. OOO, when, in reality-, 
 it is not known that either of their claims are worth 
 fifty cents. But perhaps I have alreafly extended 
 this letter much too long for your columns. I must 
 close, and as soon as I have informed mj'self so as to 
 write un<lorstandingly, I will give j-ou a full histoiy 
 of the mines and mining operations here." 
 
 FIRST EFFORTS TO REDUCE THE ORES. 
 
 As the miners worked into Gold Hill and ap- 
 proached the main ledge, the quart/, became firm and 
 required pulverizing before the gold could be taken 
 from it, and it was necessary to treat the sulphurels 
 in the same way. This change of condition in the 
 material containing gold necessitated a preliminary 
 work ujjon it that was jjertbrmed hj- an ancient 
 Mexican contrivance called an arastra, which was 
 used to grind the rock and sulphurets to a ]iowder, 
 thus setting the gold free. Messrs. Hastings and 
 Woodworth had two of these running by water- 
 power on the Carson River at Dayton, in the fall of 
 1859, that pulverized three tons of rock each perilay. 
 The contract by which J. D. Winters, Jr., became an 
 owner in the Comstock Lode, already given, shows 
 that an arastra was one of the first appliances for 
 reducing ore on that lode. The building of this, and 
 the one constructed at the spring in Gold Hill, both 
 antedated those run by water-power at Dayton. 
 Then came the Logan and Holmes horso-power four- 
 stamp battery ;it Dayton, and these comprised the 
 reduction capacity ol' works in Nevada in 1S50. 
 
68 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 The following from Dr. K. B. Harris of Virginia 
 City, who is now one of the prominent citizens of 
 Nevada and who, prior to his arrival, had owned and 
 ■worked several quartz-mills in California, concisely 
 states the progress made in reduction works in 
 I860:— 
 
 In companj' with five others in the winter of 1859, 
 I fitted out an expedition for Washoe, and ]Mtched 
 my tent in Gold ilill, on the s]>ot now occupied by 
 the Bank of California. My visit to Gold Hill was 
 not with the view of remaining, at first, but tlie 
 excitement was too great to give up the new El 
 Dorado, and there being no physician, 1 concluded 
 to stop, test the progress of events, and, aside from 
 my professional duties, canvassed well the mineral 
 resources of the surrounding countrj'. I soon 
 became convinced that Gold ilill (which took its 
 name from the peculiar mound from which projected 
 a steep bluff of rock) was rich in mineral from the 
 " grass roots." 
 
 Very little ore had been taken out, and that was 
 being sent to San Francisco for reduction at gre:it 
 cost, paying as high as tweiitj-five and thirty cents 
 per pound, conveyed over the mountains on pack- 
 animals. 
 
 The last shipment by Sandy Bowers and wife of 
 2,000 pounds paid §2.200. 
 
 The general opinion prevailing was that the ore 
 could not be worked here. This was not my opin- 
 ion, however, for 1 believed and maintained the theory 
 that ores could be worked here in the same way as 
 in California. The question of amabjuiiinliou was 
 the only difficulty, owing to the silver ])revailing. 
 Many contended that it required a ])rocess j-ct 
 unknown to any exce|)t Mexicans, whose theories 
 were a(loi)ted, but alwaj-s proved in the end too slow 
 an order for go-ahead Americans. 
 
 The "dry crushing" process was settled U])on, and 
 no one would listen to the " wet crushing " theory. 
 Having surveyed the whole matter of the future of 
 the Comstock. and being convinced of the vast rich- 
 ness of Gold Hill, I entered into an understanding 
 with S.iikI}' Bowers and wife (taking as silent |)art- 
 ner J. 11. Mill^) to erect a mill in connection with 
 his mine (twenty feel in the richest |iart of the Gold 
 Ilill (rulcli) each party to be eipial owners. 
 
 Ever\Mliiiig was completed, ready for the signa- 
 ture of Bowers to the coniract, when that was re- 
 fu<ed, becau-e his at torney advised him not to give 
 his mine up to a '• Yankee Dictor." The o-tensib'e 
 reason tor refu-al wa< to get his own (attorney's) 
 fingers into the ))ie. which lie did idtimalely, and a 
 fortune, for a time, was taken from that mine. Then 
 1 turneil my attention to a*'- custom mill." bein;; 
 guiranteed all the rock 1 could work at SlOO per 
 ton. 
 
 1 looked about me for a thorough tiu-'incss ami 
 moneyed man, and luuiid both in C. II. Coover. of 
 Sacramento, who b. iiiir then in (iold Hill and seeing 
 "millions in it," readily Joined me. The first thing 
 was to select a ■' mill--ile." I located a small stream 
 of water runniiig <lown '• Crown Point Pound," and 
 secured a site for the mill on the east side ol' the 
 road, nearly opposite to the present Leviathan hoist- 
 ing works, formerly located bj- Overman for ara.-'tras. 
 On the twenty-seventh day of June, l.^tJO, we lell 
 for San Francisco. We secured one of "Howland's 
 nine-stamp, jxirtable, rotary batteries;'' the engine 
 and boilers to run it being procured from Goss & 
 Lambert, of Sacramento, all of wh'cli was ordered 
 shipped/o/V/iiutV/t. 
 
 We left for (Iold Hill July 2d, arrived there at 
 night on the fourth, and on the fifth, I commenced 
 operations for the erection of the works. 
 
 The machinery was freighted by ox and mule 
 teams, at four and five cents per ]>ound, and many of 
 the light and necessar}' articles by pack-mules at 
 twenty-five cents jjer pound, A great strife was 
 gf)ing on to blow the first steam whistle in the then 
 Teri-itory of Utah, 
 
 On the twentieth of July the machinery began to 
 arrive, and as fast as it came I was ready to put it 
 in position, and on the eleventh of August, a, .m., 1 
 started the machinerj- and crushed about a half ton, 
 the operation being witnessed bj* several hundred 
 peo])le, anxious to see the " old pioneer mill start." 
 Most of the crushed ore was carried off as souvenirs 
 of the great era of a Washoe cnterjirise. 
 
 The rock was donated by Bowers, and valued at 
 about 8400 per ton. 
 
 I procured my battery block from two j-ellow- 
 pine trees, cut near Fort llamsteed in Gold Hill. 
 There were three of those j-ellow-pine trees that 
 were about seventj'-five feet high. Thej* measured 
 in diameter nearlj- four feet at the stump, and were 
 the onlj' ones to be found among the hills. 
 
 Nearl}^ a thousand cord3 of nut-])inc wood were 
 cut in the ravine where the new Yellow Jacket 
 shaft is located, for which 1 ])aid for about 500 
 cords of it SI. 71 for cutting and cording, and 82.50 
 for i)acking; making it cost 84.25 per cord, delivered 
 at the mill. T>umber was worth 8100 jjer thou- 
 sand, and 1 ran my mill ncarl}- a month before it 
 was covered. On the thirteenth of August I started 
 the mill again, and ran continuouslj- until the follow- 
 ing October on ore from the Bowers' claim (and the 
 Gould & Curry, then managed by Charley Strong), 
 working about one ton per twentj^-four hours. 
 
 Finding this a losing business, and the dry dust 
 destro^-ing the machinery, I resolved on the "wet 
 |irocess," against the protest of many who believed 
 that the mineral could be saved only by dry crush- 
 ing. I soon made the change, and 1 not only in- 
 creased from one ton to ten per twent3'-four hours, 
 but saved thirteen dollars ])er ton more; thus set- 
 tling the )iroblem to a certainty. The advantage 
 was soon followed l>v Paul and others. 
 
 As my facilities increased and other mills began 
 to start, my prices fell to seventy-five dollars jier 
 ton. ami in the s|>ring of 1801 fell to fift}- dollars 
 per ton; then ;;iving-me a hamlsome |)rofit. The 
 co-^t of working the ore was a little less than six 
 dollars jier ton. 
 
 I hired my amalgamaters for fift}' dollars and 
 sixiy dollars ])er nnnith. 
 
 Eii<;ineers lor one hundred dollars per month, work- 
 ing twelve- hour shilts. 
 
 The retorted bullion ran from fen dollars to four- 
 teen dollars per ounce; but as the mine increased in 
 depth, it fell, owinii to an increase in silver. 
 
 A. B. Paul commenced to erect a mill near Devil's 
 Gate some time in the spring of 1800, and I thiidc 
 he started to crush ore on the afternoon of the 
 eleventh or twellth of August. There was a great 
 strife between Mr. Paul and mj-self to blow the first 
 whistle, and crush the first ore. As the milling 
 business had become ))rofilable, Coover came over in 
 the winter to assist me. 
 
 The third tnill of eight Howland Batteries (sev- 
 enty-two slam s) was erected by A. 15. Paul below 
 lower Golil Hill, but was not made a very great 
 success. The fourth mill was liy the Ophir ("om- 
 paiiy in Virginia, The fifth by Staples, in (iold 
 
VOL. 1. 
 
 CARSON VALLEY, UTAH TERRrEORY, SATURDAY, JULY 30. 1333. 
 
 «if .f.T. t>nff. tlitf Hialr. 
 
 Ctrritoriitl f nftrpcisf. 
 
 JERNEGAN & JAMES, "'^' "i;; *;,;''•' "-L, Kh..rc;'x.Nw 
 
 Ia j. r.itiraii, ( .iniiiiiitce uu Knolul Oii« 
 ma O/.Irr t.r BkJuiw*.- 
 
 Ti tne, CiriTjiiy or mi: .Ci^^rty- 
 
 Ttfiv:— sj-r: U'lUCouD.iillrv nil |Vriii!i- 
 i<«t.l Offici-t* <'t ,tli-j- 0.iisrei.ii.,u U-x 
 t'lT" la rrwrt ai rti!l.i»..: IVvi'lent 
 "r:Citit>'iii:oii, J. J, Mij*>tr, Viw I'n-v 
 
 Un-^li A-d .!.. I,. C irr; SwMary. Ji.o.F. 
 
 1^'"*:; A-5L«I«niSi-cfvtnrr.M. .M. Q.i:cri 
 
 Svr^-.«..l nl-Ar..,-. A 0.' n^.niu.avl-.- . 
 
 C. N. .\OTi;\VAKE. CJ.'.u Cvak'7 
 
 omriidtco r;iq;l;,tivc.|. All. I inofnl itial 
 \hQ n'Kir,- iijiik-lsciiiJcilJcirUj tlctU'd 
 l«y oallm.nioii, 
 O.Lh.. ■ ,, \rrM-. t;;.|ron.| \XV«nf, 
 
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 C"l. .'■ ,- kIio nfivr ta- 
 
 ' - 1 Ifittoi.ictillyii 
 
 :tf'ii..il vxiiljiti- 
 
 <v;nti"n utjdtlifir 
 
 i>.-.icio* iiif;i,.j,'r>ur ilic same. 
 Tiic rjirjiPc.vTi-. jKMirjrj. 
 
 KO.SIJ. 
 
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 i"« «-ti..... ,-.,*_^ ^4 ca 
 
 T»rM ^'■■el''«......,....-.._.«.H J VJ 
 
 airt:t Ct>nt» — — ..„ -.._^„«.,>. i>. . 
 
 AdVcrllilng',. 
 
 One PqWl*. 10 li-in. fir,! [sifTltM. SJ- 
 
 Mcb ici'i-'^i.rql laoriion, $1 C'l. Du'iaPd 
 C»r4t of [»« I.-i'i cr.lrit. oo^-TCifiSlS 
 
 ^"t o:c f;u»rCr 
 
 tCftiKBr; 
 
 •l;ca'j r»r lbs Ea:cr^rllr l' 
 .Vnov^s imv.T ^K^-TkiYfrfTf 
 
 A. B VDI. \ VI J. C U riAV(l>.H>.f Stc««i4[iTo 
 
 B. M »'■ t ,.., M.R^.r.itB. 
 
 J^C. Ki:..!.F:i' PiMinvair 
 
 X M. « ..M.K - „.C..i'»*». 
 
 "•C- M P\V Dl.l(««P Sf.i.r.c 
 
 JOHN w un»;\r. (>«*■. umie. 
 
 Constiliitional fuuviulion 
 
 ^OCCrdln?^ of ilic rtmt*cnt!on. 
 ^t Grnaa. Caw-Q Valley, L'..T., 
 
 J'driuinl lo A notice Rirci ami Ju:'. 
 liilKtl bj * Mak. Mctlirijr. licM ai fu; 
 mn CitT. Jnne 6th, ISjD. t)ie D^le^Jl^. 
 licet net ill CoiircntlO'i, anil wu caHol 
 toonicrlj A. Q. H4ti)iu.ii,I;: atiiL ^n 
 taoiir>n. Cul. J. J. Mii'<cr wnx clio<en 
 IfiMjKtrary CUa!rijiait, auij Jno.,F. Long 
 S*crctiry, I 
 
 M.>Tr(l antl carrlnl lliat u f 
 of fireU; ctcCfnl M a CoTr 
 Cmlcntial*. Mf»=«rii. "Njv nf 
 lti*fr, "nifo. Wii-.tcrt cf Wj ' 
 
 AiMkT.".ioMIiii.ilK.lJt. nmi U 
 l/on^ Vitll(-y, weTc ]ilacpil iiinoinnul.- 
 foriaJJCiiitiiiilt^^. 
 Oi mtti.,1 of G. W. ir-i'Tv^lf'. ■ 
 
 Vft« r-f... I f.% r .... f .- . . I .' . 
 
 byb, 
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 knil U-.L .,:.. 
 
 Mov.>l iii,.| o.trriwl lli«t' tlio ^ConV n 
 J^ioii Mk(t A ri.vi-3* to ^'iro tltyu (\te cui ; 
 Initlci' ti» r<ji.ir:: 
 
 ; C-Jurci-;iuj conrcoeJ pjrmnt w n - 
 lion. 
 
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 W^. I I 
 
 A irw» inirAiitf^, I 
 
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 TtViP*T, July lOtli. tllQf. 
 C'tnrention lui-t (I'jr.ujut tu ■.IJtfcri: 
 
 iBilit. 
 
 - Cc.mittcc on CrcJcntisU rrponcd a 
 
 m« rn! 
 
 ■rul ' 
 
 10 I 
 
 OnJrr i>r.Itj*itif«(— |.T. Tist tdc 
 
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 lis i.nlii of tbit 
 
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 1 Ili iloiiii ta ft 
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 d* OiO minority Iiniftr 
 PUrJi !f"ni our i-oii- 
 
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 1 i 1. A. V. Clui..iii 
 I. .I..l„, ll..l.i.,.m. 3. A 
 IV S 11, .J 1 I. .!_ (I 
 
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 5. J \\: 
 
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 TO!-*. 1 
 
 J. w 
 
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 Mnlii.t 
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 W>ll.t'<R;ier Diiirlcl— rrf'f 
 
 D..f.rv 
 
 WOfllt I, 
 
 1, J A 
 L 
 
 ■ I, V'. ii. W-;, 
 
 [mfiit. 
 
 I, p. m. 
 
 ■t.i;..';4 .lut (-uf^uiittto ailjiiam- 
 
 lauive wuiil,! >3)rtf,-.t u .it (Im CVurcu- 
 
 Nu Ti> M<oi> A calf for. • CmstltO' 
 ti'Miar C<"trfiii,on. 
 
 2'1-t T.» irraiii fjJ' jSntTpr* tu aa;.t 
 C.ifitttttloii to crraiu tif.il.c OHJcw mi- 
 •Irrtlio C^nttitmivti, »«.()le;i IIh? WhT 
 dr«ft. 
 
 Sn|. Tin^ 11.3 iif4»;/<- Crtnrtn'.; 
 Wlaliii-IuiJil.rtjn.i... i^wrt* Ilirmi 
 
 C"*u.itIUiti.ii.u| Conrt-htloii. 
 
 4tlt. Tu nt'pou.i tl/. .Oirjcrn of ticc- 
 Itnii Ift 'Iio rori'>i|« im.;iiitti 
 
 6ilr. r-iiiit-ko l.jwt (prcrulrig lU 
 
 rrturns of i-lK-riniif. 
 
 Cili. T** c.ul^ltsli fl'C qnal.Ccat:oii cf 
 Tot.r*. 
 
 2mI. Of.lT of Di^;(u~Ciiii-i«4 III 
 
 Cfirmiiltcc f-r Ifivnlji'tf tlitf Tor.uUJ rc* 
 lun.H r.r IMa'vtf" Iu Cw.pn-51". 
 
 Mr, C'liiiinmn— .V^diiii-intr of TOnr 
 co;iii->inw iip-i O'.Un of l;.i-Ii.p.i iu 
 rtKS vt tlic u-iiUxtr-tD^ tia<uru of li.e 
 call ni..|.-r wl.-rli vv grj ffl.vinl.Ii.-I, cm- 
 ^Mtr lliiit it i/- Ijut JiiVWmt this C'ti- 
 ttiiti'iii t.ik.' lilt .tr|( ui^lrurict uf |>u'»- 
 l.tni.i.,;,.,,, f.-rlvBudsIiigit (tm.M h.^ 
 It ilT.tt ciiitliii;,'!! »t.r.utfl . Blndi w.>ciM 
 ot l«j I'liriratl ;iml I^Tcnia a rteafl [.t* 
 UTaiiinin; L«. ul-ollipt |!h* Cniiru'tioii 
 Iiai rin r;j:I.t fi irflti'-"*T any Iiu'inc-s iif't 
 
 drhVltp-IIyltlll JJH^ifii: tlTIJUl.y Illr 
 
 cull, fur III no dctltt;; it i'oatJ Jir' on uii* 
 w:ifniiitiil.Io ni<»unij.li;*ll of iLc tlgUta vt 
 ilie T'-ojiIcnt lor^v, 
 
 ■ Wtf imilwt rno-r'dOTlnity nji'n^t 
 litis Coiir^nrinn iv..il(iin H.,|f into n 
 C.if!-titoiirt.,:il C'livimiuii, 1(1.1 M(W iti 
 view of llif a1.ovcjt(..'.ttori wfliOTc ti'ik.-n 
 iiriil wliivli np ciiiffita to, In; torrx-it 
 jiriiii nil.-«. li,i nl.,) iu^ii-w of lie fuit 
 ilintfli;!! i-uc tl.J 1,11 nitir i'do i!,e 
 Caiirj«», lori.ffiurji 
 iu orin-r wonl*, weo« 
 liail U0]tulil(i.-ia^>rp«4' 
 utidiiiir* that wuuM oLlIioriip ii. In m- 
 [;i"jr.llt')i't'-n; oa * >l!irr.)i.i,.| wr 
 W.tlyl/i-l(irpll..iMrr wouM not U- 
 rifli.Tlinj; tlie ociion r.r our immidiatc 
 rvimitd.iil*. Ill cl.nnzu);: wlint we rot), 
 ct-ii-c t-i t/c (lie Ii-gitimalo coaric of tlii* 
 
 Wu Wi.uM a\to fnrriMiIy rcrco^imfiitl 
 "'■■ iMLiiiutirtri of ilcr»-l.ir.,.. to I« 
 li.til ft< »|*cilioI III otir 2..1I. tf.Icr of 
 ' 'i-iiicM; w« ore t.MiiiiiJul t.i t],|*. f..r 
 ilii; rullitwiti- r«L»on«. wu iNliiTc it (< 
 
 ■ te a ciirn-tt i-rintijilo 10 c'ur.l in rvrtr 
 |.o.Sill,'D3inicr tlic r^ulit i<t niiTfaii-, 
 wc Woul^l tilr toil t.iil,^ fxrriiriw inu- 
 Iiini. nitil »jir,(ni«r.U lltrowii nfrn::..! ihf 
 l'«II..l Ihix ill If iiFitKc* t'orrri.nl l.y Inw 
 oml we would BlMititi* yftii l.i ihi- na- 
 Jii'foui iiLitjawK of rnui.l ollr.!.''*'! to 
 liHVf U-cPi (Minnilrtitl i| »a.li wdl rrjti- 
 fit.nl inmiiiiiiil»;i-<<Trr,-.^We nru iit<.i 
 ","i"'-n| |» HiMJiii-j itaPO.C"iiIHniIlro 111 
 • jiitiK* III,-*,, n-iorii*. .Wiiii*e wi-Ulii »!■ 
 ' It iviiy mutiUr ►li"a!Jclrp n *lr\r 
 
 ■u-1'il Iol.i«co,„iiri:ft.l< uii.l he Ii.|.l 
 
 |..f.nii,IIjr r.-f(».i..,i,iL. |,> il,i-iii f,)r dip 
 
 : ■ 'i! ^'mt.l»(T..ii(.t of |l.i<rnlii.-i.«, 
 
 ■\ lintlienllnwn|ln.I,[.M |,iin. 
 
 t the Bcti-.n of n rom niilpp; 
 
 'TithBtMilinmlprpry iMyntc 
 
 •'i.iuM U- |.|,iTvil in iKM.«rMiotn.r nil il,o 
 
 fjcl* rcljliii;: (o the lnkiti;rof the T<.Ip« 
 
 in PSv-li anj pf^rr prrriiipf. nil of Bbich 
 
 ii laoet rc-jitrlfoMr »n!.iiiitlr.l. 
 
 r. N. NOTKWAnr. 
 
 WAHRKN WAiiO.V. 
 Oi mrtlioii or \Tc. PrtKlor, the re. 
 
 |iort« n.TC rrrritcil. 
 U. ^V• Chic if.f>r«] lliat |t.o tnlii.vr 
 
 itv r.,„.rl tw n.Ini,I...|. 
 
 rector ni'.vrtl xn amrriil. hy 
 It ihfl «or.l tiojiurily" onl 
 a of " msjontj." 
 n j.-tict.ly iI.f-iKtion on iho 
 t, h» MniN. Nolririrf. W,I|. 
 ■ttl. Il»"r-nirlr. |'f,>i lor. (.'■.T. 
 
 J Aiawir, ii,r 
 
 ATr« — MfW. Eii;ott, JI^»(Ior.p, 
 
 C!'C(.i.jn (3 To:f«.)'\Vi::.jt,i'. J. ll..i.ii.- 
 
 Jcn (2 rotp*.) r-B.;;in (3. tot,*.) Ury. 
 B'lt.J. Q. lt..r»rt^.>n. Ntltthtry. Il,x»| 
 NVilp, A. A. Siaitli, nu-eJ'»7c WiHttr 
 Lot.c. Ji.o. [}. \\ Jiitrr, Srtilc, KiyiT, 
 P'Tw-y, IKij*p»orlh. StarlpTatit. Curry, 
 Cboni. llamma^lt. A'n!pr-on. TpoPt-.r, 
 St>"'virrJirM. Jpp.rciii. Orui'liT, llfli- 
 !» rly Kt,ri .Mart <;,f„ti,,_3|. 
 XdP*— M(-*'r«. Wj<»oi ( J TotM.) J. A 
 ■.iiiitt, Nulpwarc Farwrir. CwIJu-itt-i., 
 
 T ni***!". Ai"-nNtl.7, Ql-aiMtlrr, t'*rt. 
 
 WiiJr. O.Igp. CIicJk-. aiid Njp. (|'; 
 
 TofP*)— 8,1. ' ' ^ 
 
 ^^IV^1 l,f lltrtiniftrl: il.tt ■ comraH- 
 trtof IIv«l,cow-iiutn| (,| thtt C!i«:n 
 inanloJf.rta Co.Miiuti'.n— poi.p,!. 
 
 Mi-i-rn. lUmmaclc. N-jtrwarr, Kariti!', 
 Si-tiltf aiitl .N'l-alc tprrr tyi-o'.iiU'd o-i ^<l 
 lotnmittec. On tnnliod ..f Mr liry.nt 
 Viv Cliairmaii var odilnl to tl:ecvu:ait- 
 'r. ., . . 
 
 On motltiit, Xoterarp' trnfc rel-ntcd 
 rroinllitfcoiiiniltfrif 0. IV«)ltitioiii» ami 
 Pa hi nit ion oitdMr. i'r.n.tor Bulisliluiid 
 
 ill llil^jIuLV, 
 
 Oil iimtiPii of >rr. yolfVttrr, i^t 
 CIiB rniaii o|.po;i,tcj Me^r*, DT'ct, 
 C'HiiliiiKloii, lCli;otr, It^^iit itTi<] Oral** 
 hy, a coiniiiiiipr to draft a MtmoriaJ t 
 Irt lahIT|ilt^I inCoti^'rr*f. 
 
 On limlioii uf IjOti;;, C-it. J. J. McilCr 
 wa* ftiMnl to til.' C^iJi'iiittCf." 
 
 Ai!j"i!riif.l till tyiuorrow flWminff.B 
 o«Iut.k, o..nt. 
 
 Wc&scs-iav. Jo'jsoift., is:?.^ 
 
 ConTeniioii lotliiarcoaat to nJlyoru' 
 n-nt. 
 
 Ti.e CommittPf on Kcfolutlgiu r«K)H«l 
 HI niT'arution. 
 
 Oil in.'ii..n of Mr. Carrr tho trporl 
 
 Oil m..tii.ii of J. F. Lftn-. Ihe fiTxvrl 
 tf<i* rifi-rrc^l luik lo the C'riiiinftce 
 u.ih injiructinn* fiora the Cunrei,!liti, 
 
 C.Mliiiiltrp* Ott the Ci:i>tlmitnri nt:-l 
 M.ni.ifiult. r.-j.rrtcU l'if>;rcu, and OjItiI 
 f.prf.irlhrf tiiiif: 
 
 Mr. IVottorrffiTr.Ilhf f-iITnirin?; 
 
 rrnfro*. Thai :h* TrwiiT..M,L Tv- 
 TrnrnuB l<a n-fiip^tHl to pulilts'i rh.- 
 lirwiilii.?«i.r llii« CoiiTciitlcu In full, 
 wliitit »*a« nafcfi 10. 
 
 On in'.t:-»ti ..f Mr Cirrf. Mr. Janw. 
 of the T.-ftrr[T(»R;.M. rMm't'itKr, ff3« In- 
 T.tpil to takca xatiollio Coureiitioii. 
 Vhirli t.r .!. t-Iinisl. 
 
 On ini.iioii of A. 0. TTammnel. t^.p 
 
 Ch.iir nj-i-ilnftl a puitimlrtpo of irvcn t.» 
 tli'lrh-i iho 'iVrntniy into lyiii.kltPi; 
 di.lflitK. cooMUiii; ..f .VM.r.. W. S 
 hr^iif, IViPP Nt^ Jl. M. G*ls- 
 MMrt.Sn'lh. Tpo'Itc Winter, A. U. 
 
 IlrtlHrnnik ni.1l W. \\*4V0tt. 
 
 Ailj.iurticvl lit liair ).ul or.6 oVIork 
 p. la. I 
 
 ■^ AntRvftot itiiiiy. I 
 
 Cmtpj.tiim net i.ir»oiiil to o'' 
 
 nn-lif. C iiiltir« liol liriii^ >■ I 
 
 ri|->rl. o<i m'i|i..u Ihc Coiitrttt, 
 j-umtj lilt {\} taMTTtiw uiumiii^ 6 ■ 
 
 to rcpor, i:>cy-wm)r;'rtttoSoc:o(K 
 a. m. lo-aomr Bunilug to OAk* t^ 
 p*.rt<.- 
 
 Or. :cotioa C«irtfl::on tfljAroffl ty^ 
 to-do.'ioif Doruiiiir 9 o'clodi a. ta* 
 
 SiTtMAT, J0I7 5W. 1SS9. 
 
 Conrpn(TOi) npt r^aant to e^fcfltt* 
 racfit MiTjtpi of T:.:r*I«f iu:] friiAf 
 rrfij. t•^Jbf^n5 19 C'-'cclItiUS to X'jf fz&ti 
 'I'V*! Kt Aft. 
 
 n-i-or( of Co'ara:t!(v or l^f Cw»l!l» 
 ton U.'f U vriKT. A. 0. JU-zr^tK^ 
 ^'''." ySi"^- P^^^ra^H ^-e fPpOft, 
 e...li.rrprW..,r''-B.rM V^i^jTrvwoi 
 ou m'jtl.ii ..f Mr Cai^. ■»■« rcrrfftft, 
 . Ml iittr!eTtfct irotrl that l'j» rv 
 port I- h-ad 110.1 tii'-pt^ tr r^Jprtw! If 
 Aft..l-«nr.aS«livL» C:.Irf • L'T Irlt* o 
 t;rrM.ri*r. ' 
 
 Mr tlryanl Ciorptl that to Birfflt*f 
 l<*'i..Tctta »i.«k c:-jrc tfita t»tc», 
 nor l;'^rr thtn Cfc (r.tuatrt Bpoo tbv 
 Kii'c wt;o I or rjo'.rcfi. orrlfO. 
 
 TIipCy.*nfn;:tpe 01. CunitJtoiioo litft 
 iTi«.r:.-!. V.',-,', ■»:- *,.•, t 
 
 „.*^^'.-- ■ ■ ' Of«, 
 
 •!«.' "^ " tbfl 
 
 ;:■- ^..^, 
 
 ^ Fi. «o Ajifr^ 
 
 J t.-.i.. lu U flU.il, t« 
 
 Trrnor irn.t Lift tttkls* 
 
 •"■: '•.» r.r r..-., «e<) 
 
 V«l. 
 
 ■'ioq 
 
 -Ibt 
 
 UJJ*. Wi, 
 
 Viii<— E;.,- 1;. t^»,;.,i,., Chni-tt* 
 
 (3 Tolo-,) nMli.m., J„o. n(.l.n.pn| 
 
 .1. O. KoljtrlM)!.. \Vm. h"i!|[l,lfr, V.acp, 
 N'jlc. A. A. S.;,iih, Lo„j. J.-.r,. 6" 
 W jt.ifr*. S"-!:!", K''/. p->».^T !;.-.«, 
 
 f^Ji.. l;r..a., 
 ll.c "Uce of G 
 1.1 1';. or" cf 
 
 Cr.i.l,-.-. 
 
 0. w. c 
 
 iJ.,-', .i-!l ;.">.; .u w 
 
 X«.r.-TI.TO. W.r.lr 
 
 ■irr. T' " : - . _ ; ( 
 
 TTU, 
 
 Las* 
 . r- .-J ^.r t&t 
 
 Via.— Kii Oil, l)o»i!onf. OnMnii, 
 
 (J totr..) \V.ili>n 
 '■'Ir'.) V«njl.ii c 
 lt"l« rt«in, Nsil. r 
 
 J. :r 1-. 
 
 (» 
 
 A. 
 
 ;'J. Slurtt. 
 
 ~irk, Son' 
 
 (J lOtM.) 
 
 I. CoUific- 
 C«rr. Mart 
 1 .\'o IIX 
 
 TiiriuniT. JalffiUr., 19"?. 
 
 C'nTf'i'iiii liii t i^Miiatit lo r 
 mciii. .M.in,-, .,,f y,.i,„l„, „„ 
 tt|'|.roTiil. TI.c or>I,-r iif luj-inf.. I 
 
 iImI, Hti.1 tioDi* ftf tlirC'.iininiili*e W\ ,; 
 rrii-ly 1.1 rijHfl, nil tii.iilu,! il.,jr wer,- 
 'r-ti fiirir-r tiiiipln mill;, njxnt*. 
 
 (1.1 i..'.!...iiil.oi:irtirii»iioii ft.Jj.tomeil 
 
 Iu 1 dVI.kV I', ni. 
 jinrr.Nftrtir iriiroT. 1 lA WV ji n. ' 
 
 Oniti-iitOii 111. I ■ 
 'i.l. Mr. N..T. . 
 lillirwi 11. 
 
 warco'i'l Aliaiiall.y,— 5 
 
 ^•. i: .<.-.-!T -o., -,:„. ,ivj^ 
 
 ' r. 
 
 : lb* 
 111 i.guna 
 r-J to rtil- 
 
 I.J„I i>-..-l. V. A. 11..,,.,^ 
 
 "•'— 1 I. A U, lljuiTii.a I ' 
 -W. «•,..«„ 2 
 ■• M. Ofuub; 1 
 
 tCtc, . 
 
 JXO l: 
 
 TTAKRENWASSON.J 
 
 Oo oglMo, comollln dlKbar^od. 
 
 KOfUHl, Tl.-ii il.i. C..iit»il<n tfMt. 
 
 If. .■•7.1 c..,.! ; ,, oi,alCoi.rr;iti.i(i. 
 '.init all fmio 
 '.inj thircto. 
 
 1 
 
 |W. U JtBNKGAy. 
 
 O.N. Xote».iro lS.n pffl.ntJ'l th. 
 
 followlr; u t laUiUmU Ijc Itg ;i]'aIoiJ- 
 'ljIUf<rti 
 
 T ealln), Ihf 
 
 ', n ilr.lrtn.. 
 ' '.J. I!..l... 
 
 ' (» TOIK.I 
 
 ' , . Abcr'.ath.. 
 
 t 1,.-. C,.-;-. .\U,i Sc.rl.. Wadf. 
 0»l:««i..l >;o{13.IJIcai_;i. 
 Tl'O tnotloii aa ain.ii..',^l iI...) f^uMl 
 
 M u (ollo'ii ' 
 
 rl. . 
 
 J..]. 
 
 0.1 nii>ti..ii iif 
 n-irfirt. «»r« rtw. ... 
 ili«clij%'rd, I 
 
 It n-i« n.ir.it Mj.l nrrtn] it.it Iho »■ 
 r<|...-l Lo .,.l.,|.l,..| t., iln. o...'.-.it|."i. 
 
 II r.- 1I..I C.iri,i|i.||rc c.ii n..irr.' -' 
 
 iI.iTiirlii.rjr Rjivtinl. &« Cot. . 
 
 O.i molfrtfl cf sir. Curry, ttia rr- 
 
 . rmlinl tuil UMouifliiiltlw (^H'u.^l• 
 
 Ontnolf'f 
 
 rf Mr 
 
 V'V-ra^ 
 
 '*>ri »-j« I 
 
 
 
 Mr. X ; 
 
 
 
 ffjvi'I K- 
 
 
 
 ' J J, 
 
 •04 
 
 ■ trriMii 
 . .1 t.'i/cnti (• 
 
 .- (/ 
 
 .« u> 
 
 .Ir* 
 
 -« re*. 
 
 .•l! 
 
 I0.11iv.'i'w« l«.>iu.a/. iii^wca, •, o. 
 
 r»i?ir. Jul/ su lut 
 
 CinwDlIaoinolporva»nllo»4;oQT,::iflRl. 
 ^*oot of Ibo CoiaiultlowbdDgrtad/ 
 
 >-4 
 
 ■^ (I *w 
 '.1 - ■ -. . .M-'jon fi* 
 
 llll.iu lu li>« aalar7 uf rarr.l^rlal Aqj> 
 
Gfrritorial "fntrrpvisfr.J 
 
 ■■ !■ ' ■ r n ir ■'•'- 
 
 lii:>0.\.CAH-<»N VAI.I.KV. •,'. 
 
 SJ<tir.1aT. .1 u M 3om. 185'.>. "^ "^ 
 
 €oD!»tilntioniil (buuutioD. !; 
 
 ^ro^erdinRs of tite CnnTrnllon. , 
 lit i;rii->;t I'ursoa \'allrf, t'. T., 
 
 ■ f 1 
 
 .:n«s ai (Say be iirtttnlcJ by |tir.ii, sn-l no ptrtoo ►l-ill l-c r-.-jtwrlrd 
 i:. T..L i;u»cmt.r. ScatUry. TrfO- 
 
 
 I Uie>rtctitQac 
 
 ■1 fto'l ii<:f ;«rr ' 
 .1 tr]Kritiuu fr. 
 
 DECLARATION. 
 
 p.: 
 
 were ■-■. 
 
 T. 'ijlaP^ U'»ti«cTrOTlli, 
 
 II.. i ■■". Jernpfraii, Kirijr. 
 
 TL ^. ;■! .-. t.-. .\..U''.I'T. Ny^ [12 roll'] 
 Ff;»I.'. .O.l>'UJi. Oemjliy.j. UoIhiiMI", [3 
 
 &ttlf, A* A . Scn'.li. ti-Ji-.m-Tlu-IiJ, Slun- 
 
 iVjuuVi, j. j)..iVi..tc/fl iwi>i y\':h. Wudt. 
 
 £>-«>*j3-0 tLitJic. 
 
 T.t«"Cjiuii Hill oil .w.u.itlicn < dccLrcd 
 W^j<lcijnk]OkpKlti>lc. 
 
 ^0 
 
 tMpi^.'O'irtrrnNVy'rif Nir^.Ia, o.i.M.Icr- 
 Joe I'ji'i *<i l'!>''c'>oITinSi frntii a Mrii-> 
 «f )t,t-ri!ul a^H ixltjnal, /tiU .of m 
 ^Srt- Ti' Tiflturr-o^ tVr rf iidor f.trlh-jnincr 
 €'»iftijf'"'' lorijrt f J'arnl Wit-Tiii;* tlmt 
 
 fc;-* "" uar foiiiri 
 
 *■ ■ \ WUt,..^ 
 
 ev" ,., ..t.^ I'lif^"' 
 
 ilftTbiVjjli ihci^mrlnr :iIiL- MuTit 
 
 .■VV'-* ' '* ■' .p; k'ilc-i.'c'w"! Ili<-ir 
 fi> ■ ui,ili:r'aii.ini*oIuic 
 
 -♦■: ■ -r-.''.fit >;u!rrri [';:•, 
 
 If,. ' 'V fijr'dU»<jl 
 
 »i- • ' vrliiclr'niar 
 
 liu-, , ii;Ml»eO.-i'i(i 
 
 iTijfit .>:■;_.■ Ki'-.T -t,.;' t, I .jt tiUti iiur iluij 
 
 
 tr' 
 
 f 
 
 t* 
 
 (1.. 
 
 ii|<j>orl eiiit |)foln-liiiti of t>i^ l-'itUral . »>« 
 iwVi-.-itio-*i*t H'lJ nnr fi-lloMT-vitizciiS inl ^ ' 
 
 ui; i^rtof lliuUir.u... ff-^'-'".' 
 
 CONSTtTUT[OM. 
 
 ri,or«liall-l>fdfier-t\V • lv.,->.'. ^u ■. 
 
 Nu 4, ute • oiinc'lttofcn ••■ ■ '--' •■■"' 
 ,1 I., lli* \,^^ \,r,-, i;.-^»ln. l>i>Uiti No 6, 
 
 ..I* ^ kii^ut^: :i.i riiiLTfi Si»i-». ■ j,,.;.i,.t \-j ' our '\tiix-iitaji. ftna t"u 
 
 ■r iwii y.-«ni iii*i;l i-rrrt-Jirij- l'**l Ix-u-piU-*, Ui*io.l No 6. IKU Luuuc. 
 " Ihvbral rU-ctiOn «l. 
 
 ■Af it ..ffir*, tot 
 '* rXUtid 
 
 r (Tuf- 
 » Atl 
 
 >lU> 
 
 Vrriiorr ri ,n^.„ ft„o f„uf ;.rl.vatc?; Uuina No. ». K'V"''<""' 
 
 ilrtBt-auur ■» oflice. -n F^-l. ni 
 :l.c »»c.«rra. At«-iLUir rm» j-r.. 
 
 *.ne Trnwur* li'jt m r(iii<<tj u'i»' 
 |frM|ini;i<jit< tame liy Ik* ai"! 
 
 ■'•n^ti'tlit Mormotu, 
 t'lv "irS'i'iic uvi. cr»;- 
 'L'lalj. 
 '! ttimi^tlTM lio<llle 
 .1 iroft-rtitiitjijt .ami 
 ,'uiitrj; ^ . 
 
 - i.VBr BCftiiwt * jlic 
 United St:ac.' ■' 
 1 .\l/ '►ut.tiiit'to' It* 
 1 Mo wl.itr t-T.-r )[ 
 J liruU'L-li^:i Budt-r 
 
 _ . i;:l.i lu rry in Oiclr 
 
 cUiVUi'llit ti<)Iatur«'of lite law wliirii 
 Ai'Ji riv1d!-ir<Vt:r« MuniioiM; 
 
 T."-y liort- fu luatiB-ii) l.y Uicir Ifgis- 
 UUiAi »«Pio tlAil jo*llw', jiroiixt crimi- 
 nal', liinl iC'i'l'T tliv latfa ai>tl tht;' Qd- 
 iWfify ^)T'lflf U''-:(vd Simc iu Cia!,' 
 tirr'iii'Ty Xi':i\ ut-.il of no vC-ct; 
 
 TliiV lifcVtf iii.ifi-rr»sl jjfiwir* on llicU 
 T<rrtu>ftul M':ni!i*ll« ••i>txiiii-!»t ci 
 'r*hd^»rbl.l ttic uuUinrily of ll« MA^ 
 •twIMofUc Ctiiti-d:)UU<t In oil ca.'^a. 
 •JTrtr/ *^u♦3 CO ift,T>vJ ci.Oi I'roUle 
 3(1.1,-e«lhp wit rijrlit tO<<rltvljuriL-«^iii 
 Ciril *ii<l crirnttitl cAa-h, tiiTJnldUuti u( 
 »ll Uw •ii.l" toll |.rk.>;«lciit. T'^y lia»«-' 
 a1«o t^ri-ii Ul Mi'l Ju'Iq'Cs ariiJ' joitlkirt of 
 Clio'I>fitL'vfab«uliitc JunUictiuii III oil civ- 
 il mill rnminkl cuu-n; 
 
 T.i.y h*vc laiilj ull Iiw* Mwtb- Jin- 
 «Ier (lie ^'bi>ro OfViUTcrritury b^I Iu 
 d^fiuico-cil tliu law«*ot ''tlto UuiteO 
 0Ut<^t '■' ''-^ 
 
 T'lcf liaTo by ah' bct'of Uio LfpTiU- 
 {Dr*7«iiH:Iai'i-d all uiimarnnl men ii't.'K^i- 
 L!ffii'1t:'Tr^'^" tri'c* tV'-y liaTB rg«cJiJ 
 (:. ^' ■■ 
 
 a". I 3nd< Id the 
 
 ll'.y <cfc 
 . ,- . . ^ . . -y oiTwii-llii; 
 nC, Kiftl iiBic tjc|iri>i.-d Ihcia of 
 ii,K:f-\>AjiKtlJ MItliOUt dod coQr|b''oI 
 
 Uv !>■»-'■- 
 
 K-i ■ - r,l7..]| oMf.c 
 
 I : o*rn<;oml 
 
 AllTlCLE ]—Eli<Ure I'ratiJiue, 
 Slirir^s I ICvcry ffi-cw lute male |KT- 
 son. .of twriii; om- yian of B;:e or ui"- 
 vemd*. «lllt^)lnll liavc>l*ccti six moiitti' 
 iirst prrctrtin" on clt-cliDn a rotdriit of 
 llii* Ttrrtiory. Btul ilnny days a ri--iJvut 
 of tlic rouniy in ivhicli h« may oCi-r to 
 ciitc, noiJ Uni;; at lliv time a citizrn of 
 tliv L'tiilFi] t^iuti'*. stiiill Ih' cpiitili-*! In 
 VDle in oil vIi-ciIihk lnTraficr ti», U- licM. 
 anil at ollfcuv-liVlfClinriotlic rnlohlialllM; 
 Uko.by baliiil; proiiilcd, chat nny citi- 
 zen of lite L'nit'-O Sutt-n ami ft-»iit<-iil uf 
 tiic Tcrrilnry iitjy'iole on Ilic ntlnfttiint 
 •>r ttiU C»ii*lilii(i.jii.tii»luttlicrirj<t(ln.- 
 tion til fill tlic uITo'x licn-in crvfiliil. 
 : :;. Knry pcnnliiIiclfdorni.j«iirii«l to 
 niiy t'Sci: of |>roIit or tni«t miUit Uil* Coii- 
 Ktitutiun'cr laws niailo |>ur*u.iitt l!icrrIo. 
 Iivfuru lie lli3ll nilrttj|Kiii tlie duli<-« cf 
 ituoi oIEi,r, Ahall take uk) »>n>Mi-nbe tlir 
 folluwiij^u-tlh uralliniutiuti : "I, A. U.. 
 .!g»wmr tor uMrit»,-a» iliri-«»o luaylM-.J 
 Hut 1 hill »Oyi>urt tlif CoiutJQEioii uf 
 lliti Utiitinl SJtiiic^, a:i<I tlie Oimtilutiun 
 of 'il.cT>rrii-ry uf NcrBla. n:>U tliai 1 
 Will faillifJlly ixrforui all it>c du'.it-* f'l 
 ttic uHiu of ■ -■ !■■ iIjo tcit of my 
 ubilify." AuJ if any (itrwo rli-vtnl nr 
 u|'jioiiitrd li> oSco a* aforuaiJ, -mIliII 
 itt^j'kA't ur riTd^ to iskf *ai<l luih or 
 aQjriiuhun williiii tb« liriu- l:i-rriiiaru-r 
 l-re-tribcil, sanl vQicc lOial) La Uvi-tAnnJ 
 
 3. Wiiciitrcr any olcc fr^-m otiTOiu* 
 l>r\i'lilV iui-jiil, tuni no iiiO^Iu la fruTidaJ 
 liy tUu C«u»>!iii'uji niut (»«» for lilliRi- 
 tliu tVLu-, lilt) liiiTtn"^rAi'aimrc|fOK(,r 
 lo fill >ui.lt Viii-jmy by iiraiilin'/ » com- 
 n)ife»iitii, uljicit ^liuir ikj'ire a( llm iKxt 
 Awaiun ly tlic jiuj.Ic, ..r *o >«oii tlnTt- 
 tif[ir B« liU(Ua»?ur aJull In tUxlctlyud 
 
 4. Tli-ii to ))crson qIioto tlif o;x of 
 lw(-iily-<iiii- yiiirn, cunTicttd of larci-nr or 
 
 'i:Lcr iiif^uiijai ciiiu<>. unLa.^ in- rliall W 
 j>ar>loiicU, iii iKTiiiialtiT iirrxiitml, kliall 
 cvrr lliiTvCllcr I-: viililU-d to tote &l ony 
 tlivtii'n iii ItiisTcrrilory, unrl utr (irrNOu 
 UudtT f;uenli»ii*lii^ oa a iBualir. or ni a 
 pQf soil lua cmpoi mt*tu, snail ba cnlillcd 
 to b voir 
 ARTICLE 11.— Catiuin Departmtu 
 
 Sec. 1. 'Flic Ex:t-ulivc i»o*ir of the 
 Ttrriioiy ►lall U- »t>lnJ in m Uo»fnior. 
 irbOio term nf oCiro *l.till m:iiiiiciice uti 
 lbi> flrot M»ii<l'iy in Umiiilnr next eri 
 «tii[i;:lii« t!rt.ii".i, oil.) coii.i.iunl f.-r two 
 yrar^, ami until liii •'utvotur aholl bare 
 
 been il'-tlnl uitJ 1^1141 litii-d. 
 
 2. Tin- Cm »l.i.ii(ni fi)r b!I oIEwraun- 
 <lrr tlu« Coiisliiulibn •■Lull Ik lidd on tla- 
 Cf^t \\\-dtirN<J.-«y ufiir lliD Ilfil MoiidaT 
 of .Scplt-Mlnr. in tlic ytar one ttiuusm.i' 
 ciiclil liuiiilri-(l anil Iilty nine, ond va t)i< 
 KOiuo day ond niontli iii vftry cii-ond 
 ycor tlicrt'oflcr, outil oIIiirwi*c iirucidi-d 
 for by tliU Co'Htitulionurby |aW|at llic 
 [■!accji of Tutingfiir DclrKoU'^tu llictiiii' 
 ral Aiurmbly. Ttic clivlion ti> be lirM 
 in thu fainu manner ili tlic tlcvtioii of 
 l>>Ii),'atri', BiiJ till- rr1uriiilIitTtuf.nnJ<.T 
 «eal, to lieodilffvSrtl tu tlic tJjuaViT ol 
 iho lIouMj of |)i:Ii-|r.iti;<, and chlIikl-O 
 and truiittniltftl to tlic .SitTctary uf t)ic 
 iVrhlury, aiul dclirtri'd to tttg aaid 
 Spi-ukcr ut ttif coRuncnccincnt of tlic 
 ■ctflon of ttie Central Auvfubly utxi 
 ftituing MiiU'tiitiiin; jirOfidcil. ll>0 Crit 
 rctunu of an ctn.-tioii DmKr tliu C 
 
 iiliall be iniilc Ond cariTasicd u 
 
 \y- 
 
 t 
 
 Iin-Bscof A>y>tfancT ^n tlie'of- 
 frif^^dcnn,: lli« r»T»-« »•! 
 .ViV'ibly. tlie I'rr^iduitof 
 i!(c I ' • .J ''.•!u !-^ iiurce I'lC dulit«of 
 •;:iij L.r.,i.v ui''Jd> '^crii'ir U t'lid-d "■■' 
 licn-ju protidccT^'" .\nd in r^M-oflbc 
 dciiUi or tcKi>:Tin*Jon of *aid I'rciidcnt. 
 or iii« ninoval from the Tcrrilury, or of 
 lii» nfiKil til f^rvc. then the diilir« of 
 Kui'i ofUor^liall in like Di.inncf divnhp 
 n[>on liie Sjttokcr of ilic J!ol<c of iJrli^ 
 tatrs. And tlic (itiicral Aa«tii''!y may 
 )>roTide by law for tlic CAM) of iui)icacli- 
 incni or iTialiilily'iffttlic (loTcrntjr, ond 
 i[(\!aro what \K-r*.*n ►UU prrfunii tlic 
 cstvutlrc dutit-s duriag *uii.-ti t[]i|icacb- 
 (uciil i>r inahilit^r. 
 
 The -fi iivctiiOr alion bate |»o«rr lo 
 cwll ont llie M'liija to rt^Rl Invasiuii*, 
 »u)>jir\-H.'i iii^urrivtilna and rnfurw tlii- 
 -Itvutioii of the lntr». 
 
 a. n«- fliull t Ac care that tb« la«» 
 be fjitl.fully fXtCuti-d. 
 
 9. Jle fball ^miiiiatp, \nA ty ailil 
 witb tUtf advi-TBKil OJiiwnl of the C"0'»- 
 cil. aiipi'iut all citJl and luililary titti-er* 
 •if ihcTrfrit'ifj Jb/Kc »i.ii.iiiitni«.t ur 
 (-l>\'Iioi i* hut iilPt-rwl-c It-rriH |'rOTiditJ 
 lor, U:\e*A a diQiirfiit taoile uf afi-o^nt' 
 incjil l:^;!*^:!!!!!*! by tliO law rfwtin* 
 the iiEive.- 
 
 10. AllclnloCv-vrfariiomlcdby tdr 
 Qoiiniurnild Cotiiicil »li«ll be i.on.itia- 
 t«l to the C-iCiicd Within ten day* frma 
 the ivmniriicfturLT •>! «ib rr/ular Be*- 
 otoii iif th<* (jcniTtl A>*eUibly. b'») th 
 i> Tin of xHi-c fclisll i-oitiuit&tx- un tltc firrl 
 M'iKlaym Jsnuiry nnt rn^uin;: IFinr 
 a]i)>-*iiitciiiit, BiidVoiitnne for tiro year*. 
 tu.ilttiwwiivr nE'ifid In-ni nSc-,) niid 
 until their autxYxdn be cletU-d and 
 i|ualiScil eaMnliiifElii law 
 
 11. Tiie OyttniPr may «u<iifnd or 
 orri.i aiiy.lliilit.r*^Tiiyr of the IVrrito- 
 
 y fur di»obDl.»i*e o( orders or ottur 
 uilitary yCiriio-s and may rcnioTo liiiuin 
 jior.uiiiii.-u of tiic (iiitciicv of a Court .M:|P- 
 t.al. and may rcmuTu fur iiicouii":te«ry 
 
 conilui-ta allcifil olora wto 
 
 ctiftf ui'i>yiutmenl from tlic Kx«tnli»c 
 fuf n li nil lit>l rxrmiii'/ t"n yearx. 
 
 li. ii^hullbcllicdiityorilie Gorrr 
 Dor Kini-aniiojllj. and olirm-r if lirdccta 
 It exjivdiciit. 111 rwmiiic tlio b'wk 
 oiTouiit* of the Treasurer end Auditor 
 oflI.eT.rril . 
 
 13. lie ►hair, fn^tn line to titae, inform 
 the Crtitrel A^miihly cf the rondilion 
 of Iht) Ttmiory ui.4 ritorominid tu tluir 
 eori'idvnstinn mth iura>ori-a aa liO COar 
 dccTii in-CiTuary uld rsiiidiriit, 
 ■ 11. lb* aiiall il:3TD (•ower tO |rai>t 
 n'|incri-> and icilon-. txt^iil iu cb-'cj- of 
 tniiH-achmrnt bikI III ri«*H in whiili Ii 
 i« jirolnbitcd byHiiIicr oriivli-* uf Ilii« 
 Courtituiitvi. and to rmiit C'lr* and for- 
 f.-itur»'«f.iruiiKa-«o;.'3ii.iil till- Territory. 
 Iiutrhull not r^inil ilic iiriiiiiiwl or 
 tiTe*t of any di-M dnc ilio T.rritory rx- 
 ef(>t ill ca*e* of f.iic» and forftiinrcf, ond 
 Inlore praiitin^ i>ardi'ii IiO shall (.'i^^e 
 noiR-e ill one or nuTc ocw-^ipajicni of tlir 
 iij'[ilii-aiinn RiSiIefur i: mid of the d^y 
 on uhieli liiiiliriil-n wi'.l hr cifeo. and in 
 lauli wuc in ahivhhr ticniw* ihJ iKtw 
 er, tlii« power he sli&il rcii.<rt to cither 
 hninch of ilic Oeninil AiMUilily at it* 
 liral wii-inn Uifrealtir; tlio |>itiliiii<. 
 rniimmiiid«tion«.on<l r.-OM'u* whieli in- 
 QucMoi lliD dni'ion. and in oil cu«ci of 
 pjrJin, tUo Ucei»ioii of the Oi>*enior 
 mint lie mvlahi.d or r.j.xuil by both 
 IlijiHC!! of tUcUi^itcral Att^ciiibly i» juiut 
 
 ><iAioii. r 
 
 . IS. Tfif Oavcmor »hall rccciro o* 
 .coai]«cn«iiion fiir liiS tcrtioi* on aonujl 
 '•alary of riftcC'i liuuilrpl dull-ira. 
 
 iO. WUncitrihei'uhlc inlcrct rt- 
 
 Ddii.-alca»h,:ib« chosen aniiaully by ""I"' "-/ P«W.c Trca^ufr. Lot .i 
 ,i.ulKo,.the r.rst W.^..c^-y^ar.r > r.i^^.';"';.; ^J/J 
 
 I be clw»ct. bi lUe sualiCcd l'f»'l'l"';'-» « 
 
 I. 
 votrr- tii.Tiuf- 
 
 3. T'lc «e**ioB of thv 
 ily »hall be onnnal, r.:A 
 J-t Cr»t Monday iii Uu' 
 Miiiig lltc ebi'li».n of it* uiuiV.r*. 
 :j. Tlie inciiiben of t!.c Mog' 
 
 ri froa 
 Pf ap. 
 :i atnt- 
 Kivd rx- 
 .;.b11 be 
 !ju« ai 
 ..-al At 
 
 ■tieral Awm-l^'^'VSi'^*'**'' 
 .-:: commitice I ""*'',''>_, , , , „ . . 
 
 i>-r iKXt cif '^ Tho mcBbcra of the Genera! Aa- 
 lacnibiy iholl rcti-iiBfor iticir atrtjce^. a 
 .rlcorai'tnuauon tixtd by law. and >:bi<1 
 
 .'..... ..f .1 _ -..l.l. T^ .- II-. , .■ 
 
 the Iirjt ilciiiday of SepUiaU-r, utile** 
 otherwiic cnlifij by tlio Ocucral A«- 
 »en:t.Iy, and tluir term of oOitA atibll be 
 
 ic ji-ar 
 
 4. C<Jiiiiri!rscn bud mcniben cf the 
 llouicof DcU-nutcs tltall be duly qauli> 
 tied eU-clor* iii the re-iiviliic counlie* 
 and diS'.rie% which they rrjirtwnt. 
 
 t. Countiluieu »liu!l l>e cnojcn for two 
 y<ar«. nt tticNiiiie tnue ond plaiva as 
 inuUrt uf the ll"u->c of KUv^tis. 
 ;id no |n r»tiu »h«U \h: B invinUr ul tlic 
 Cwiii'til Of Uou*c of UJtV^lt? wlio ha* 
 iKil l>i,vii aciliKii uiid itil>.i>jiijut of Itic 
 IVrntwfy one J«r, atij liic d.^irul lyf 
 wtiivii livvtull be enoieii thirty ddi*; 
 
 uiiijiiio, all |i«'rM>iis whoarvciliZvKi ul 
 
 V Ti-Tr.:ury Mfd dLtlrivl lo wLi<It thty 
 
 i: ciioKu ouall be eligible at tliu Itrsi 
 
 rili'iu. 
 
 C. The namber of Coaitcilmcn ihall 
 iiul Ik lev tnaii one tlnrtl nor liKiix than 
 unchalf of irut ol the la^iu'.x-r* of tl.e 
 ilou-e of U lr^'.e», and al llic Cr»t «■»■ 
 wy.1 of llie tjeueral Ajmhi'i^ afUT Hie 
 Bi.u| tiouol lhiaCoi'>tituituuUkeat?ct.i. 
 tlic lVqiiciIukcj »liall tw diTidnl by 'bit 
 osiitkiatiy ai may bv into IWO cla<Mt. 
 Tlic AuU of the Couiiciliiicn of the flr-l 
 cl*>a ahall Ga vaoitvd at t!ic eXiurj;.un 
 ut tl'O tr»t year, mi ttiat onc-balf aball 
 bn c!iu»en iiiii.ujUy. 
 
 ". Katli b3use ahall choose il< Cvr. 
 otSicerj iiiid ju-)^« of the q'luli&^.^li'^ < 
 lectiyiinBiid rvturii«of lU own iiiciubt: 
 eXivi'L Ul litr.-iiil»e!orv (iroiidi^I. 
 
 term for whicb tLa 
 uicifiUrivf lIicllou»c Live b^'Cit elected. 
 
 t'U. Ktcry law ciiactcj by the (Kner> 
 al AiKiobly *ha!l nobrocc but o»c ob- 
 ject, and that ahall be rx^rcurd iu ' the 
 title, atid no Uw thall be teviud Or 
 ami'iid<,-d by reference of iti title. - I>at 
 in iueh cat*, (he act rcviird. qr ilic »rc> 
 tion Biuciided, ahall be rc-cna^tcd and 
 publiihtd at leti;;lh. 
 
 SI - .No'.-llrry rMI l«e Bm^^^irrd by 
 lhi:«TerrilorT, i.'ir fthall ihe oalc of Ivt- 
 
 rt ti.ki-ln "Ual!-«e.l. 
 
 a. Tlie tieneral Aiiembly ihall bore 
 no |>i>wi;r tu |uu any BlI t:r«t,liii|; any 
 i.li.ir[er lor ImitV-h-.- |.ufj..mi, but e'vx'i- 
 BluiiM nijy If formrO U"<1»r mucral lawa 
 Tjr drj'UMt of i:n!d ind ailier. but no 
 f uvb Bt-oklatioa ktia!) tnalr. i>*ue »r )>ut 
 in ciriuLuiyi'^ cny Ldl, elmk, tlikcf, 
 kxriiticalc (•ronitMOrt nnte or other [lapr, 
 or the \t*\KT of any Latik, to arcclato 
 aa monry. 
 
 23- K-icIi atockhoUrr ^f a cfirr.-ifi. 
 iiwii. or jv\:,l ai.Rk f ' o 
 
 i;.'ltridujllr and )>rr«>i , 
 
 liTi;wirt:oii'of Bllitjil' ' ■ . .. 
 
 AKTICLR IV.-AJ^,: li>j.-:.-w«r. 
 
 Sic. 1. TliO Judicial tower of ihla 
 
 Teiri[..ry al.a'.l bt tiMtii iti District 
 
 Courti. m IVobatc Ciurt*. bmI ia Ju>ll< 
 
 tvj of the rLii.-e. T'lC Gcli^bI Awcto- 
 
 i-'y msy a'»o f«*«'j!-ih i--cJi foprtnr, 
 
 '■'.'■ c» inay bo 
 
 • |>0.(i:ni 
 
 U,r lUe 
 
 proriilid fur by ilii« Cotireiitioti. i t— . . . ,, , _ _ ,«...,. i,- 
 
 rj^a'.e'a i>Iiail Uu-ru <>j>J'ii tlir laid rviuriu 
 
 codiwcl who altall be .ntUlnl to auvfi 
 
 iiiiaa iho Gi-arral Ai*rinbiy 
 II rt*h caic uIliT ll'o icrrtca 
 
 ireienra of boili llou»r".o:idlho'""'l*"'*'' 
 prrMjn'bafiiiff the bij.'be.t nuiuVr of "1"^ """r ,, , .f ,„ „i 
 
 Vote-, ai-d l*»iK co-utitolionally ehi:.b!r. Of --J. C<»ciml ha- U-vn ,,rf..^n:td^ 
 .hall b« the Uofinior. aii-l ►lull uuahfy t 17. A Scrctiry ahall b« ih-cttd for 
 athvrtin|.rc>*riU-d.o.itliefif»l.\loi..I-y thu T. rrnory ot thw •aiur lime c; ■ 
 of Utv-ciiiU-r iirxl eii^uin/ In* eUvt.wn, l-'ace. and in il^e «nie t:itiii:cr iki \ 
 ur oi avuu tlitrcHT^er u way b« urawU- xidrd bir tlKtVit.o-iof tjuurii.>r. k 
 jj(,|^ . junnof oDica-UiU-ouuiei;'."*; On H.e !.' 
 
 «. If two or wore persons bI.»II liire MomUy l» Ibcmibir iteit *u.tni.s b.« 
 the liighul und on i-qoal imiubtf ul tKvtioii, oml conlmoc fornrii ymra, and 
 rutc^, uiic of llittn alull be rlivicn Uor* uiitl I 
 
 luldlemur by the Counul bm) Itouwuf IMe- >^'' ' 
 
 . to] |CaU-«: JiudAll l|Ut>liou« in rrlaliou tO I 
 
 :J. A Uiajviiiy ol Ctitb IloU'C ahall u( *ui.ii tvuru. Bbu ntaoiuti iticir cvu 
 COUntitutv u iiitoniin tu uo burinrc<,bullp«iitation^ 
 
 o lc»tr iiiJiaWr may aHj-Juru from day S, llic Territory thai,' >*« ditidol Into 
 today, and may toii.iiel ll.c Oltnidinte j« i-otin-mtnl nuuiticr -I dLirnta, by tne 
 of ubHTKt tuclulN-ra III ►uiha maniier atil Cr*! Ij'iirral AkirniUjr, iut>;rtt t>>'»urh 
 utiikr nuLb inijalim aa cacb lioa»o uiay 
 prutidf. 
 
 D. ICdeb boQW' ahall determine Ihc 
 rub -1 of itioan |>roi»diii^«, atid Itiay 
 ttith t*.ic cct-currancv of tao-ll.irdi of 
 all lhviii<t:<l>irarli>lid,f-S|«l n Ofinbtr. 
 10. l^ch Uoti^»hall kn-|t a journal uf 
 it* own (»ro-.Tedi!i;;* oiid pui-Iidi the »amf, 
 BuJ the yeai-Biid iifiyi if ntlur IIoum.- 
 on any nuiM:n» ahul) at Il.o Ui^iie "t 
 any tl'irev ii-eiuUra i>n»cut bo culcTcd'd; 
 on the journal. 
 
 II. Wi.tn raronrln ormr In ritlur 
 lIi'UM, i!.v U"Virni>ror t!.*- j-.-r.i,n «x- 
 • rtijiiiii the fiiiictiuniuf the UoVtri.or 
 ■hull i>-Uc viritaof ehvl-cn to fill »uili 
 racande*; pro^idid, aiieli Tar-tiiiJc* Oivur 
 |>r>or to till: leuiuu uf thctjibtra) Av 
 acinbly. 
 
 I J. 'Hic iloors bf rarli Iloute khill be 
 0]ieii, exo'i't on ■uch iK\'a>iviia u iu liic 
 ujiiiiiou uf the l[uu>e aiuy rc'iaire ac- 
 trci y. 
 
 13. NcUlicr Ilcu'c»!:on ti^joum for 
 niure than thac djj*. u.:t:<iat tneccnuiit 
 of tiie utiier, nur to uny oihcr |itncc tbau 
 that IU whicb liiey muy be ovitinp. 
 
 14. Any bill may ori;,'iiiate Iu cither 
 lluuMiul the Uuural Awvinbly, ond all 
 li'b' [KMi-O by unc lluu*i- nay LAaiutn- 
 ded I.I the utncr, and all bi!l« *^ etmiv 
 Oe^l luutt bu relurnid 10 the T 
 wliicli tliiy ori;;i[iaUt!, and r< 
 cui'CurreiKe of K.4id llouic t < 
 lent to the GjTiritor fi^f I • 
 
 15. Enry billu: , 
 led thcU«;iK:zl Av 
 U-eouiel B law, be { T' 
 i-riiur; if he appruvc t:, I ' ■ i l . 
 ii; but If iiut, he ahall rituro . 
 wiih hi c'-!c-ti'ji* 1" l'<« I!t>-i«? 
 
 a!icrr.t.«u*, frota time to t.me. a« nc 
 [I'lliiit ^x>i may rrqg.re. I-ir cai h of 
 
 uhicb a Ibitrivt Jud^-e •!.>:. be rl.xtcd 
 
 by tlie joint Tote of tl.et'»nvral Awifi- 
 
 Ut.b- ■•. <-• ■. ■ ■ - ■ ' . ' 1 
 hr. i' 
 ary i. . 
 
 tirXl , t 
 
 • hiji -...•: J-.:^^* *;..i.. u ....:.■: ij 
 ilir r|ijal.rie<l thilon i-t tl.nr rrtiik-..tu 
 di»lr-.:v ..1 tr,i' c ^' •"'■■- ■■ ■. 4' d 
 
 aha::, . -. 
 
 a : 
 
 li'hr,, : 
 
 the Hi 1.- i. .-,.■., . *..-,.. i. .9 
 
 Bi'prtljte ]">»(r> Ml alt raf»-* inti-'r rr* 
 
 • inrlito rli-tnrt*, Biid tlie iln i*.> '• i'. »< r 
 Pi'trirt Juilj:*-. or lhf»rrdivl o( a Wi.il 
 in bin rnurt. ►hall be Ciial. 
 
 4. llie D.'iricl C'nurii ahall 1i8*fl 
 ftri(:ii-r.) ' :'.-.N ;:-■■) iti l". t.t.t (LI. I 
 wh.rn 1 
 
 d^.i:- 1 
 
 I'ruI'Btr i...uri», tlicir jyri>d,c:njn 
 bcunl..i, 1..1. 
 
 5. TlcGoirra! Ai-rrV'T -v/: 
 »iJc f-ir Ihf I 
 Clerki f r Pr. 
 I.vf.i* t'-,r ;■ 
 
 u lo ar*l fvt 
 
 aTa-) Fyrrr' ■ 
 
 II liBte l^Tti tiretcd 
 jie wliry aliill U- 
 
 ■, at,, I lo t:,c 
 
 l~ 1 
 
 l^r atJuoRi. 
 
 wf the T.rrilory 
 
 not Ixe ritu 
 aliall bJ*r I 
 
 
 
 . < >.. 1 ( .- iioitfluk-« , 
 lalv >ciMui.|l.vqcau<Ut 
 
 u»io;**^iii'i.jf.ni'llwhi/iiol iiuiubcTof twtt*,*"'"""''**^'' V''*-^J L;*i.m^v[ l..«^ U>U|k.i.ta-.il «i.*u..;:i;.^:ui l.-.l i --V-^c. t l i^ t.i>ii ltd 
 Btiou b« iut!:ijibfi.v*W^ys*f™or.iUO:l»l"»*^^^*^'^^^^ |«rfwnoaotbkoaoalw»aLaUbeoB «ib w aflina** | Oatc Cocri. 
 
 lioai JiUfiit • i. ,/iu'L Id t^t i'to* 
 
T\c JuJ-ei uf \U Diitrlct Cotru 
 - rtccue for tlieirtrr- 
 
 *il bo [MI'J Out fcf 
 
 kll nul Oc iiicrfa*-lT.rri!afi»J tun dhill U.- tlrtic^i't.y i 
 ■ ii; ttio ItfBi fyr qual Levi ««ilorsor tltctuUi.ty of 'uwu 
 r Uffi elcctctl. tl>r lu wWf. tNc propcrt/ Uir4 fwf Tcrrilo- 
 
 [>rojKitf in lUi Tcrritc.y »] »:i be Ui^llj-o 
 in {>ro,>ortton to m Tali.-, tu b'fcic-* • 
 Uinctl Uil.rrclnl bj \»m, but tuut ■ 
 '! ci> !«[»>n of tocu, cuiiQ'.f. » 
 
 r»ri,> r'^.^'jUlP t* ■• ^■-"i?''! ef*r^in;^ir j 
 
 mtmsT. 
 
 • f>fvTtit afa^all lb« «i(i|«i. uj 11 
 
 . f.)l 
 
 thrfr 
 
 I'fMMfC liiB «;tcvtiWH or I 
 
 Im mcile to < 
 
 cutD|)cnutiwa to ite [m'J uu! ' ' 
 
 tj Treamry of ihtir ft>prti. 
 
 wLittt iIjbII do*, be iiicreucil _' 
 
 «^ durinc iKc trrui r^ ■biclt tic; t.L^ljU.>/c 
 
 bftir brturlntrrl. iD\iit. 
 
 H neDi^UKt JoJ;rt thM be in- I2. I t»i tMI 
 IIi;iU!o to my r.thtr pSi-e during iS.r frinu oTht, uniiij uu junv 
 term for Mtticb tbcj ■JisJi iia<<; U.cu . t.'.r ri^bl« of «uOrut;o. tli<*M 
 «1«'»«J- haci(urb€OJufKUj"t.f '.-'.. 
 
 IS, Jo4|rt« iltall not rhar^ Joflcs f.tr(;rfy. or wilxrl. .■■. 
 •llh rt^prrt to maltrr* of f«ci, brj: tntj Irgo uI Uit taZra^^ - 
 tUl« th« tci'.iRloDj KuJ ili-claro (Lc U«. Iby lu«ri rc-i,i;l4U!.„' fl- 
 
 i4. The ^•.J\c uf kll proccSsr* llttll bfi lunj; cr.drr Bilnj 
 th« [xor^Io of .NftjdaTcrriicry; B.l (be ' " 
 pra>rct:tiont ihal) be ccndoclcil ici the 
 Ek4iM atkl b.T the Bi>t!ivri:j of tlieticc 
 
 Aimcix y.-^xcitia.^ 
 
 Src. 1. The Ccf.cral AittablT »K»II 
 
 ritiUe b/ t»<r f.>r ar^'tnliiog tLe Militift 
 f uct) & ouricr ft-t the/ aliall dcco ex- 
 polient, not ir>c<JS pa libit with the Con- 
 ■tilut;< ri BnJ lav* of the Vniu-0 Sute*. 
 
 ■J: Olctn of the Miiitia ihall bo eicc- 
 IM or •(>fK>iDtcJ lo iQch a tainocr o« 
 Ihe GrncrB.1 AucrcMy sb^lt from time 
 ^ line, direct turd tbkJl becoasiuioonj 
 |)j the GoTcrrOf. 
 
 ARTICLE yi.~TtrrUofUi VtUi, 
 
 6sc I. Tt« <iener»l AueiaWy "KaU 
 toot cmt« In tnjr imirtcier dcbu or liabil- 
 
 Jlif^otlicf tbnu 'DchAi n;s/ be &b<i 
 
 »bjll bUo Kite jwftcr tj n%'u!atc_,lfc 
 JBjioont (.rfwill loT cnartmciiU 
 ■J AftTKLE X— t^Bi/j-vitm. r j 
 Tfie LouiiOiry line* «f (licTcrniorf ofl! 
 
 *I C' ii.iumr.n^ At A J 
 
 " NctaJ> MilUlitBin*. ■■ 
 
 I'-- 
 
 .N.jj — Mv^f.. AUi'io'.lj 
 Cl»ndltr, CodJificloo. Ilo-t^ 
 
 I Nof.! 
 
 .at.fj'U 
 
 indufftce ihtrrwu frum i-w-tf. briucrr. 
 tumult nr ol.'ier iiu^rofxr iffaclire. . 
 
 13. Ab*iv<-c oil bii>.i t-» cf theTtfri- 
 toff. or the L'uttol ^tj£c*. *:.Bil uoi 
 fc\-t thoi^utittooof tht^lidtuco of any' 
 pcnoii. 
 
 11. A i'icr»:it/ »«tei)i»ll fOBitilole* 
 cloice. »b(rc iioioiljeriuc ducvtid, ju 
 Uii Conitilution. 
 
 iy It (Uil be thedutfof the Oen- 
 erti Aucoibly ut lu ti>t leMloii nuJ 
 cvcfj (ccoiiij/ ftritiual WMioti' tlicrrnf- 
 tt( (otkxtBD Attorney forthcTcrniory. 
 » ho •hall br eiTlnJ Ki] Attorocy Ueiie ml. 
 «hiMe duties a.-ii] coinpen«aiiau thai) be 
 prr^r.txd ao<) Ult<S t-y (jir. 
 
 10" All officers tl(\ic.l Of oppoinled 
 by TKluo of Ihlt Coiixlituiion >hM nvr- 
 crally bi; rc«)i.ircd to piro Ijond 
 
 Jowly ur^w»rj'ru'r'lhc %KlM^ .exprn»« yn-idi of - N^tuJ* for' ■ the Ti^thful iliv 
 ©( K"icfnrBeol.^anddJr«yuifcftli ueec»-|cUrK-cof tl.c dutiw of Ihrir rc-i>.Aiit»; 
 ul^it\ Ihcatu.tuiit/vf.'.Vhicfv,' bond* 
 
 nry ci|KQ*eii vf eon- 
 
 2. Tlio Uenrrdl A«<ii:ihly utiall can-e 
 lo bclcf inland i:'illi-»;li-d na fla ri.Vff»i 
 UX. Brliii-li, whrn Bdli'd 10 tt.c rvUiiur. 
 from mhcr ».iurv«. nuy i'l thtirjuds'- 
 tanit l>c «affi..-rijil 10 tnevt all tacb Uivo- 
 
 AUTICLl; \'ll,~AmtnJliig CfftutUKiim. 
 ^tc 1. lA'iJ wsetiiliDcnt ur DncinI 
 4Qent« t<\ or rcTitiuu »nd [Ij«it;;e, of til:* 
 eatircCoatlitutJon laay be -{'rojioscd. in 
 the Coqncil.or.Uouic of Dclrgk'.cr, ftn.l 
 if the *4De ^1)BlI bi; n^'rccil tu by . tic 
 iaa>iritjf ©f.-tticiacp'tewtlccu-d to each 
 vi xlf two Uoiitct, Kucli iiropO'ied itnmid- 
 inLii'. ur aminibuciiLi to, or rcvi^iou i.nd 
 ^tiall.bcrtiternl on their Joeruftl, 
 
 rll B*a\\ iiiatU'rs'K-iruliititig'tlia.Miuu 
 thgll b>' tiled, by. Uw. 
 AUTICLK IX.— rrewtry I^pjrtauM. 
 Src. 1. There kIiuII be a 7>i-iivury IK- 
 partisriit,'CVti5l«(iii;; of oti Auditor vKo' 
 •on by thcqualiScil clet-'torit nf the 'l\r- 
 rttory at cntli elcilJoii of the tnntib. rj 
 rtf tlio IIoii»cyf D.-I.-K'atc*. »^h')^hall re- 
 ■.ci»f BiiEnuciil,<jl«ry uf liflccu liuiiJred 
 dolbri^: .Olid of a T.cajurvr. tu betlixli-d 
 B.4 oboTc, vfbiia!ia:i tt!-io rcctiTc an nuna 
 al KaUry vt one jhou'^DnJ dollart; in 
 catcof uvacattcy in cither oflji-c. by dciith, 
 fcai-iiatiori.ortilUtTwLsp. the Gorenioi 
 
 bjr nml with the consent, of the Couotil, 
 
 iliali liJIiuch vucoocicf by oppoiJiluiciit 
 
 With iJnoiycsand n.y» . taVcn ihrreon, land eDinniiuiort, until tlic ntxL ccneral 
 
 ^uJrcfcrrgJio the G«.cp! A- • ■on and; the riualif.catioa of hi. or 
 
 i>rit tu be cho< 
 l>4ibti>)i(.tl for.llirre iii'j»lh'> i. 
 in;( Ihiitjme.of ra>ikiitj{ »ucli ■ 
 if ill tbc Gtncr^l Auctiibly u^xl lL^^cu, 
 fW •furi.'^xid, ktR'h Kmci'dmcnt fir nmeiul- 
 incut*, rcvuion and chanjfc, bhall .be 
 B^jfcfd ty by ft ia.ij ifiiy of all the mem- 
 ber. clLCtctl to iBcli [Iktute, then it thall 
 bu tl.c duty ol Jhe GcLirntl A*seml>1y to 
 Minrnt jkuc-i.>proi>o>cd auicniiiuciit or 
 Hiacuftnienta, rc*i>ion and ctiar;:e, to the 
 t'coy'.ti in fuch a maarer and at auvh a 
 liii-.c ai the Ucurral Avembly ahaj pre- 
 Mnl>c; opd if llic |)vo{»]e .fl);ill Ap|irove 
 nnd ratify suc'i 'amendment' or wnieiid 
 iDviit<, revision and vhan'v, by a Rinjor- 
 ity of the electors qtnliCoI :tu tote for 
 lucnlicri of tliu General At'temMy Tut- 
 iojc th^.-rcoii. »li;h nnieridtuetit or amend- 
 raeiit«, rctision and ch;in;;e, shall Ik-cOiqc 
 a part f1, or Die en't-re C"ij.tiluiion, 
 
 AttTtCLi; vni.— .Vjrt/;.i««i, 
 
 bic 'l.-Tiie Ont acuioa of the Orn- 
 eral AtM-nlily itiiJl l>e htid tt 0<-nuA, 
 which \Aice ahall bo lhc|trrmanent iilau- 
 of earcriurent until rcTnuvrd by law. 
 
 S. The Gcncrj] AitcinWy »hall Mtnb. 
 liib a lytlcn of co>i.>*.t and town gov- 
 ernment*, irhi^ti (lir.l| be at nearly nni- 
 form a« proclK'able thrun^bom the Tcr- 
 
 3 The OenrfAl Aiwembty a'haTI hare 
 po*rr to firoTtdo a ]t>,(ril of Supervii> 
 on in eacJi eunnty. ani| lhe«e Soficrriior* 
 ahall jointly ani in<liridn:dly perfuna 
 aach (lutin ni luay t>c |jre«rribcd by low. 
 
 4. All ol&eer4 who«o election or sp- 
 pointmcnt Unot protided for by thii 
 Conn I tu lion, ond allfliyjcm Hhotc nlTlcc 
 nay hereafter bo created by law. *hall bo 
 elected by the peopleor npitointed aa the 
 Genera]! A<iembly may d.rcct, 
 
 5. When the dura'.iun of any oftfco ii 
 not provided for by this ConiiitaliOQ it 
 
 ccc«or* Tiie Trciiurerand Audi 
 ■ aill kccji their oflieei nl the *cai of 
 ... . 1.,-iinicnt. auil enter into. hacIi bondi 
 « the General AMembly mar prctcrilw 
 ttlhriai;fcJd.H;Ucha.-ecof- I'htir rc*pet- 
 ttvo dntics. 
 
 2.', Tlio Aoditor iliall hare Iho j^encr- 
 b1 jopcrintcndciicc of the fijcal oijiri of 
 the Territory; he stiall di;;at and |>rc- 
 pare planj f<.r the i(nj.rovcr.iciit and 
 luaiiQjreraent of the revenue und for (he 
 itippcrt of the pubtic credit; prepare anil 
 rejiort frtlimaie-tC of the rci'cime and 
 tX|ieiidittiri:<vf thcTerrilory; dJ;u<1. sc'^ 
 tly bnd' . {Kncriu nil poblic utconnt*; 
 erant, under rejulaiioa* pre^vribed by 
 lawr,- all worrunls for inoneyt to bo (laid 
 «.ul nf the Treasury, in itur»u«ncc of a|i- 
 prupriation* by law; prcccr.bo the 
 roriualitica«f .tha IraiL'ft-r of stock or 
 other i-Tidcncw of the TirriEorial dibt; 
 and ctfuolerjlyn. withoni nhiih aoch 
 ctidtnie ►hall not be valid; he^hullmake 
 full report (if all hN procciAlinu'^. and of 
 the "ttttc of Iho Tr.-*»ury drpartmcnt 
 within ten days after thu comtncncemvnt 
 of iho »e»4ioji iifeo^'h General Ancnibly, 
 and perfunu such olbcr duties as tiiull bv 
 prr-t;ribi;d by law. 
 
 3. Tlio Treojiurcr shall rrcrito and 
 keep the money of the Territory, ail 
 duburie the fame tipon warrant* dr.nvii 
 hy the Auditor, and not otherwise; he 
 >hai: tnke recc pts for a<l moncyi jiaid 
 by lull), tml all receipts for rooueyn re- 
 received by hnu »hall bo in-Iorned npon 
 worrnntajigi.rd by (ho Auditor, without 
 which warrant so »i|;ncd no acknowlcd;-- 
 ment ofmoniy received in t)io Tr-Hury 
 fchall be valid; ami upon warn-* *fnid 
 by the Auditor ho aliall mak«'-ran*e- 
 tuciiii fjr thf pajfocnt of fiu intercut of 
 the pnSlic di'ji; every bond, cerlificnte 
 r otlicr cvidL-iieo of tho diht of the 
 
 ,:-yji,i I...,- «.ij, if.u Uiu Vi.'tjiiii 1-ci.i.c 
 op rani I'.to Viruin to its junction with 
 .Mnddy Uitir; llivucv due Ni/rth lo the 
 Oretuolinc: thenco WcA to the nlate 
 of U-siM.i.c, ■* ■ 
 
 AWVICI}: Xt — ZhtlriiU.. 
 
 Diitrict No. 1 thnll U-k'j?^*! «• 
 poiol cu the «!3ii3it of th'^Ss-er^ 
 Xeraita .Mosutaioi wWr« jf\ 4- 
 of tionh Latitude crosic* . -i^iQu 
 init. Thence tonthcr'y witli Mid. vm 
 tnit toihe htadwoien of Elyxion creek; 
 thence down that croek to the big beiHl 
 in laid crerk ;_ thcDVC In a atrai-hl line 
 to ti.e mouth cf w^Iow crec^;. thence 
 north to the Oresou line; thcpec along 
 *aid line to the j«l.icc of brginning. 
 
 Diitrict No. .2 .*hill U-Ria- at the 
 momKof xillow' crnk; thrntc ahv;; 
 the coitcro Khore of Honey Lake to the 
 north end nf Pyramid Lake; theare ii. 
 r. to Uuhbit Il<ile Spring*; thenccuofth 
 to the Oregon line; thmcc olnug said 
 l.ric tu Ihu coitcornT of Diitrict No, 1. 
 Thcnec south to the plaeip wf^ U-ginning. 
 
 I)i.'.iriit..No,-3, shall ccnuuelico' at the 
 hi-a4 of Klyniumrtrk. ', Them-cAilloiving 
 the 5U>nniit to a point npiitcitr the diei- 
 linn: rid^q between. Iloimy. Y*ke, ond 
 l^.i.g Viilfpy;' thctic'o down iffd rid,;c 
 to Long Vulfey ItiTer; thence <n a di- 
 nvt line 16 the north oliorc ut. i'yretuid 
 Ltke ; thence iilnn;; tiio roiitb line of 
 O.'lricLi No. 1 Olid 2 to the place u( be- 
 ginning. 
 
 No 4 shall begin at the wcrt eorner 
 of Di.trict Nu 3; ihcncc following llic 
 huminit (0 a point ojipuMte tlie dividing 
 ridge and folhiwing tho iiain*.Lfne]udiiig 
 Steamboat Vnlky. thence lo i.aid ridge 
 Olid following the "ame. including Steam- 
 boat Vallt-y, to Trui,kco Uivcr; thenic 
 on Mid streani lo the oorlii siiJe of I'y- 
 ramid Lake. 
 
 No' 5 shall begin at the we^t corner 
 of No. 4;'lhenc« doirn that»trcom lo 
 Carson Uiter ; thence down l.iid river 
 to Nicholas Ainbrnvinii' ta-jJ t thence 
 fiorilterly lo tFii- divide between Wmho 
 and Cjrsou river; thence alor.g ^3id 
 divide to the south line of District .N'o. 4. 
 Nn. <i shall comracticent N. AiiibroviiiN*. 
 ranch; tlieiicc ca«t to the boundry line; 
 thence v.i>t lo DiKirict No. 2; tluuce 
 on thcca»t line I'f Sna. 2,3,4 audi to 
 the I'lace of bi-Kinning. ' 
 
 No. ', shall Uttui at the hccil wotirs 
 of Clear Creek; thence nloni.' the caj- 
 tcni or open tuntinit to a point opposite 
 C.ipt. Sinitlis lUiicli; thence et't in- 
 ti'iding sjiil place to tho west fork of 
 Walker* River; thence up said ittreant 
 to f the main summit; thcnee alnn^' the 
 tuininit to the nurlb »hore ol Lake Itig- 
 let'; thence cu»t to tbo place 'of begin- 
 
 No, 8 <hii\\ crtmitiencoat the.licad wa- 
 ter* of Clear Creek; thentc; on the 
 ftf P.-tnct No. 7 lo the ire*t fork 
 of Walk>'r« Uivcr; thence catt to the 
 cwt boundry line; thcnco north (o the 
 iiiio of ■ No. 6; (hence along laid line to 
 the ptacc of beiritming. 
 
 Nn. 9 shall begin at the lieatl waters 
 of the nest fork of Wnlkcr'rf R ver and 
 fiillnwing the junimil lo the jooth bcun- 
 dary.Iiny of ihn Territory rtn ihenee 
 alonjr *aid lino lo the eatt boondary; 
 tlicnoc on caid bonndry to the line uf 
 District No. 7 and 8; thence along aaid 
 line to the place of boginniiig. 
 J. J. Mut*er. I*rt«. A. G. MnfumacV. 
 Jno. F. U g. S'V'y J. S. Ward, prcsy, 
 M. M.Gaigr, A.S.. J A. Sl-iicr, 
 
 may be declared by law; and If not »o Territory, aliall be signed by the Trca«urer 
 
 declared, such ofEeeihall be held during 
 Ibo plciiurc of tl»e authority making t 
 ^ppoifitmtfil. nor shall the duretio'. ■ 
 aoy ofJce not filed by Ibis Conslttut 
 ever exceed two ycara 
 
 6. Ejch coonty. town, city ift'l \u' ■ 
 ^i>eatc village iballrrako p'-oriiion* ■ 
 tfeo icpport of their own officeri. sal^.i 
 to locn rcstrietioni and reguUtious atabt 
 General A«u-rnl>ly may pre>i-rilie. 
 
 'limned by the Anuitar. oiil] n 
 
 ■ or other cvidcuco 
 another thall bo 
 
 -5 »'-iti K: ,:r:;rr 
 
 ntcn- 
 
 Kdcd 
 
 • (■lail iti« adioa •( ihi . 
 ilivit trfiirai bad ta lb> 
 fur 10 advi'lirc Uie If f^>ri 
 >uk.r tctf.oiutec k;<;<4iaitit tj i t-m 
 
 V>«' brtttv* iksl la adofil*: tL» reiclailca 
 
 my. El. 
 
 f ■ b«C**# 
 
 Nealr. 
 
 •■<^ It 
 
 ^**lle. 
 
 . ::'ci.ibb 
 
 W.I). 
 
 ■ ..i.ttn. 
 
 '■M. Ny* 
 
 • , -T. A, 
 
 Meiiri. 
 
 .-•j &f niock 
 
 .fk-c Meadowa 
 by tie Cj«- 
 
 haac (loop. 
 
 A. L. Uorsey 
 
 ,Ino. n. Ne.ile. 
 J. A. O.l.gni. 
 R. L. Km;;. 
 J. H. S;ur:cvaMi. 
 
 B. F Sa:lr, 
 \. A- -S'fiith, 
 w ^ v. ...' 
 
 h-^f\i Stark, •• 
 S-iiilhJ. Ijjll, •* 
 J. .1 Cwdc-'igfoft, 
 O W. Hr,ti^.rly, 
 W. M Orn'Aby, 
 T Anl.r-o 
 3. 1> i: biu'on, 
 
 n.c J 
 
 .1 '■! I 
 
 Kt ptcUU ■£>!£ 
 
 I tie .ill. cf tliiCet 
 
 .«!.". 1.; f., .M,. 
 
 
 I.i# Ifttt'oiJ 10 lt< 
 
 a.rj. ..r rr...i, w.-U," 
 
 • ;i3tla; lL» it'.iIijFWt; an ni.j.orij«,tj lo 
 
 ■eqult ibta,».I'#i. ' 
 
 irrtlij H\Si-t,e liKtlilca- 
 
 iluu Ib rce-Mlo lb 
 
 uiutr: Mil uf whUb Ii 
 
 r'spedfaUj lubrtU- 
 
 tj Bb J tbe **Br aikr J to 
 
 '• (a«-!f • w*iitr o( n^otd 
 
 C. N, >o-t«.T», 
 
 3. ll(Or*»r, Jfjeptest, 
 
 W«/(e3 \Taiiaa, 
 
 
 X.MUSta.tb. 
 
 L«^-li Vil:r-. " 
 
 J A. .'^mlih. 
 
 Jaert W.Kllt, •' 
 
 J.o W .Che^le, 
 
 a.ril Si^ll. " 
 
 :<«>t rar«*ll. 
 
 JoSDft.l!..fi. " 
 
 luLn [.. Car;. 
 
 L*(er Viai'f. •• 
 
 t. A TtiecpioB, 
 
 E:,.. L.itt. - 
 
 H. «. 0..if, 
 
 A. J. JJ.r^n, •• 
 
 P«l<r:(.r 
 
 J, A T.l.oi:. •■ 
 
 C.C.ilci,WaMOaprei,i>. lUttli.De. •> 
 
 Tho nye « and nays belug colled for, re- 
 lohed a* fitHours: 
 
 Aye* — Mc«ar:i. llnwdone. Uryant. Ga- 
 ry. C.'i.ipinan, (3 »otc«^ ChMni'lcr. Cod- 
 ditiglon. Curry, Klllntt, G:iige, lloaie- 
 worth, llaiam-iik. Ilij-p'rly. Jcniegan, 
 King, Lanif, Muvht, .\'ai;:li!ry, Ncale, 
 Oilwrn,.I.O Uottert-on. I'r-x'tor. Si:ttte. 
 A .A.Sinith, Summcra-Id. Vnoghan,'3 
 v.tc^.) William*. Thco. Winter*. J. U. 
 Winters ond \V ode- 
 Nays — Jno. Kobitiioaf3 Totes,) and 
 Slurtevunt. 
 Tho protest wax placed' on record. 
 On lootiuii of Mr. DoricV, the ret 
 od-.ptiii^'tlie maji.rity rrport of the co;,: 
 iiiittee appointed to cjiita^* the elcctii. 
 rv'turiM fur IK-Ici^-ate to Concrcsi waj ri 
 coniidered and uiinulled. When, on [i<> 
 tfoii of J. J. Mu'yer, the Convention re 
 solved itself into a Committee of the 
 WhoJo to cunvaiL* tho raid rlretioo re- 
 turn«. After which tho Coiaaitteo rose, 
 -and rc;io:tcdaf fullowi: 
 
 EiircTWS hktvr'cs. 
 •Vj-i/ n/ PrmrMt. I>»{gt. 
 
 •'■It- avw.ifttd af ivjiwiled 
 aiitlec. 
 
 On Qotioo of the adjptioa of the re- 
 , port of the C.<c:oii».te cf the Lbi!iv7 
 Station prtTinc:. the yeas and oayi wen 
 lrt:«"). *,•!. t»-fj!]^.p;-- rei-.-':- 
 
 •--■"' * T'.'ioQf, 
 
 Kll.ol, 
 Mi'ser. 
 
 .. -.-J, Jftou 
 
 '•./ J. O Uobertiop, 
 V. A. Sniitb. SoBUDCt* 
 ■'■•.. Vanglian {3 totet) 
 \. .iLLi u i J D. Wiaier.— ST.- 
 Nays— Mn.r. Chtd.r. Ney (12rotM) 
 J. A. Ssi:b, Mart. Smitb, acd Watsoa 
 (2 vote*.)' 
 The report was declared iJcpted.*. 
 Ojrr,&ton it was reioNid tbat'OO 
 tc't.mony ibeu:<l be receiteJ bat legU 
 (eitiiaony. 
 
 The report of the prteityeti of OUift> 
 town. Gold tMI. Wa^hot Valley. Lak* 
 VtfUfy, Geno*. Wolker I'.uer. Uakei^ 
 Camp,- .Motlsviilr, Cnrs^u C.ty. sad 
 Ssiithl Stati-fi were r^^-i r- reported 
 by the Commiirr- - 
 
 On the mot - .^rt of 
 
 the Cororoiltr' ,[ ito 
 
 Sink of the L . .Nct»« 
 
 ware. C^ieflic:! ■- swoni 
 
 to te.'.ify to *' ■!) the 
 
 legality of thj . --rinct, 
 
 alio the followir,- it.ii .%:. . ],.r!:Jty Mr. 
 James; 
 
 llelttt'ef -Vf. Jar^t t9 Mojer D^gt.^ 
 Ctsoi, Csaioa V*itiT, J«Ir, li:».' 
 Ua.r. Do39l. L*. 3. laOon A|«'a:--D«ar 
 
 — lUtinrrmoaiobnifi 
 
 I b*fl 
 
 Homy Lake 
 Mud Spring*. _., . , 
 
 black \Xoi\ 
 
 L^i.g Valtry 
 
 Truckee ilcaduwj 
 LimUey's StJliOil., 
 
 Chinjtowo , 
 
 GoM H'll , 
 
 Wndio Valley.... 
 
 Lake Valley , 
 
 Genoa ,., 
 
 Wnlker'd Uivcr ... 
 
 Itiker's Cioip 
 
 Motl'vitle 
 
 Ca;,onC.ty 4 
 
 Smuh'.Slatir.u 6 
 
 Sink of Ilumboldliin- 
 
 clnsiv.-,) 3 
 
 Podjjo Volley . 41 
 
 17 
 3 
 
 6 
 4 
 3 
 1 
 IG 
 U 
 
 4i 
 
 CT 
 
 \H 
 
 4 
 
 49 
 
 Crant. 
 
 C7 
 
 i; 
 1 
 
 41 
 
 35 
 1 
 
 Total. 
 
 ..U-3 
 
 Total Dumber of votes B17 
 
 Cranc'a majority.,. CI 
 
 Maj Uortp moved that the report f' 
 the Committee of. tbo Whole be rccciv : 
 — Cnrrinl. 
 
 MiiJ. Hoop moved that the report r' 
 the Committee of the WhUe be r*. ■ '. 
 
 Mr Nutcwurv iftore*! to n- 
 voting on the udopliun of tho r. 
 prrcineU. and the nye« and naj 
 cuthil, resulted as fullims; 
 
 Aye*— .Mi-B^ra. Abvrntiihyi Cary, Cod- 
 diintlnn, Cht-r"!!.-?. Ctt-d--, Firwrll, 
 
 Ihcvnrlotid )Uifai(BtT. 
 
 Vt»S If jpscUut:/, jaar ob't. im'r., 
 
 ALFRLD JAUC3, 
 
 \7le Emietrd Statixin-l) 
 
 ••T.v..:;..ir. »;...:;.. i.r-t....t.iut i>- 
 ».ir,i. .'.liir 
 
 cr ihr M , iits 
 
 IEI> ., ^-.na; 
 
 Jeiidaj cf Jci.', 19:5. ■ r wtfcs, 
 
 V. a lailiaa Afval." 
 
 The Tole bring taken aad the ay«s uA 
 \i»y« being eallcd, resulted as followi- 
 
 Avcs— 30; Nayi Cfi. 
 
 W'licreufion it was declared that tUi 
 rrjinrt nf the Cooimittrf, u tn the Sioh 
 of HumboMt, should be adopted. 
 
 Oa motion the re|»ort ai to OodA 
 Vulliv wai adopted as reported. 
 
 The I'retidctit tbes declared the YoCi 
 as follow*: 
 
 For PMgr, total noicVer of votc^ 
 Z'h; for Cranf, total utciVr of volea. 
 43y; majority fur Crar>e CI votes; aad 
 tHat Jarees M. Crane was duly declared 
 elected a\ Delegate to Coogrcu froo 
 Nevada Territory. 
 
 A I. V.:-rx , tTcrrl tl.e r/Iowiojf- 
 
 v>f th» 
 - ste to 
 
 
 
 
 
 lb. 
 
 tfc. pro* 
 
 
 -•:olb« 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 : 1 br 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ' r tiM 
 
 l.r:,,,-, 
 
 ol 
 
 -Scr, 
 
 ... ti 
 
 .^u 
 
 ii'iuinl 
 
 — rarnrd 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 .'1- M' 
 
 .« 
 
 fi^'t 
 
 llH. 
 
 fn" 
 
 ■■■^-■f.. 
 
 prci 
 
 7 Tn. 
 
 the General A 
 lory shall lions for the . < 
 loaned to, cridcncc of drl 
 
 A. C.I. 
 
 A. J. .Ma.ni, 
 J. A. T.iltw(, 
 Saul. I(aici;:!>f 
 
 , A. A. It'i 
 
 ■ v^tcs,) rriTf,' 
 
 >nd J. P ' 
 
 Cf . 
 
 ■court) i» 1.: . 
 
 9. N.I c . 
 WiiodQly m > 
 of Cftnfnrmity i ihe ri., 
 religiosi Met 
 
 10. Tuauon iball boMoal and: atil 
 fo;in throoahool I tbo i ■.Torritoij ■ all 
 
 4. Tho Trra.orer iliall render his le- W. T. C. Elh'otl, 
 ''2h:\ ^^'l1f'..■t'.■;^., i',c Au litor; ond on' J. U. Winter*. 
 
 1 of ttie'joi. 0. [WbcrUOti, T'terNye, 
 ' t tothaj I>4ar Furwcll, 
 
 declared tho lootior 
 
 '▼IS thra coIIm 
 
 ■oaud 
 
 Mhii 
 .Do, 
 «r IB 
 •a o( 
 J »t« 
 
 all other dttlica ibat ihail be pruaibvU 
 by law 
 &. Tbe Gcnent Anmb\j »bUt bare 
 
 Mr 
 test, t 
 
 record; " 
 
 ■i ' ' ^i^teJ u r 
 . tjr D^o 3. (. 
 
 --■ i.-^'CuJ ibat th4 rep::c i->. 
 
 jMtc& Mji wen callt4. n-fu-- 
 
 ■.^*„k. c' lie Cc^icas 
 ' t^a ViM Presideat* 
 
 '«Coo» 
 
 ' •*- I ^jti — McJirsr Aodmoo. tryiat 1 1m. M. Wt," A«iiia'ai twrmir. 
 
aI Td-a'iiiftT, liy iit»i.riiii;; mii- tli m ... 
 • ■A.H'»!l^n^l till- .U^Qdo; .foortiinjc 8 
 
 tT^rt-ivpii(!.ifi>rict iMir*nJiit in ••■tj'tiin.- 
 Inirut, Uiar U<i<>|t in llic C'lifr; iitiiinliS 
 ofS.t.i'.lrtj-fri-lAiMl nj.|.r..t-.l ] 
 
 * Mi'Tol t>/ Mr 'Ni-..' il-.it O'inmiltPf. 
 rf tline lie-ofiininlt-il '>y the t^iaini.mi to [ »•'• "tm*- r-u-r*. y»( la-'h -ro our h.i 
 
 h.T„.i/uu. tu- . irM...M--: i.f-...i* (>n.vi..,.l !-!:5:.vJ?:!.i':*.i".t.?:'.:-^';.!r!i;''.':: 
 
 |i<t)i* M'Cr^J' Ni'iil'-,* M.irf irnitli'uiitl 
 CuTjf «a* ii|>|>-Miii<'il •III.) CiiHiiitK^' 
 
 'flH)ftl|'«)iliOil of III- C''l'*tj'lUln»'l \g- 
 (f»L'"l><i ill lintrr, :>.Ttioii*^;cc<.ti'I.T.iir\l 
 «n'l Fourilt ur Article Nine 1^'vn.' mloji- 
 trtl. 
 
 • r* hare jtm.t p«ikile<M' 
 ■ i^.^i |.r>iir>-U"cf •Litliio'r r.«i 
 . ..*. from t<e».i>>ofiiirtor L'Uli 
 
 ^^.in Bi I erut ^^l ih* |iron; 
 
 Ato < f [I "I..-*! Tirir MffiUJ Iron ihs'^uiei 
 
 ■ ulh.riii'i Il-vr cfftrfl BO ftllcf. rrp'tttJii 
 
 Ir»i».« bljt-l ..f ibc |-^.««l.l» cli.Ki 
 tlirrv««* BO rrlirf siteiti*! sffwcd bj Uir 
 fi.t.ij fif nil ind'cnani jwnplf. 
 
 Kto'i.* Iiive 'Ktn ilM'»n. \'X,»*Tjit W. 
 
 rr>.n tttr hn.i'1 nf oor Trrrl'orj hdJ coinr>(l 
 
 tr I idirvL « h'-ra* wlirts ttw an* |ircfai). 
 
 iTC drU'trrJ fr"in tc'ltnj; aQotf|t g« hv 
 
 .r2v'flicwarc,' J. A. Swill", 
 
 Marl. SmUli, 
 (2 lylc:-,) 
 
 In 
 itrtfi^uYtbi pnfteo 
 
 /- DOn^EY.ChB. 
 Tlic Mcmorinl van ail0)>tol. 
 
 TFlrdtm*ni)« till 
 Hue r»)«etor Coojrr 
 
 '^B'liSTiBT nr TMrrfffth-icn'-RRtTrtRr 
 ,\T»" " ■>"i'l"J' tiiiiicf iliL- T-rriof, or 
 ■KiTa-U "Iiall t«- fl«_-{yi!i.»«. U)-wit 
 «.. C":)!!!!' ML-iiii; ■t"a |i»i>iC oil Sirrni 
 2CiTii'l.* Miiiiiimtii'.yiiiTe llic 42' «■! 
 ^■Mlti i^itirii'li- Imiclir* llio »jmiiiLt i>l 
 fiiil M'lii'itiiiii l.» tlir aV i-r t..iril. r,:il 
 jlO*.li;lI"iiLO Kl-ll■ll^^ 11-'° "f \V-.t 
 Lun;:iiU'i<-: lUcitiv NintliiutlirKiiil 42 
 oTNnrtli I.Tiiihi'I*'; llitiive AWi^t t>t lln 
 piai-tf of lH-o'"'iiii';r 
 
 , AG. 1T.\MM.\CK. Cl.'ii. 
 
 MrM^.'Oriii>ltr ofT-'ftil il^' r->!louii>'i n* 
 • ■iil..liriilf. Ti-i- i:.><i'..l.irt liiiciif tin- 
 T rr.trfr; of Nirnili almll bo v^ roltoto, 
 *0<irit: l»-<..ji 
 
 ..'C-iniAriicins nt a \'t\i\\ rm \\\f Strrrn 
 '^Ci'tml.i Mtiuiiliiiii', «l»n* till* 
 Kortli I..<t>iiit|r. ii'iiclitK tlio :>iiiti>nit i>\ 
 iji\<\ M<iiiMt.iiii*; llit'iii'u S-ulliL-rly Willi 
 fciiJ Sumriiil !■> llio35' iif NoMli I.tli- 
 iQilr; tlii'ii'V f^^t on raiil t-^riilli-l in 
 Ctf|i>rrf<li> llirrr; tlinii-fiiji >ai<l l!>t>'i 
 lU jiini'linii Willi tliu U.n Vir;;iii: tlic 
 pjfji'^'Kio ViriTiti lu iu j.iii.-li.m w.tli 
 ^l>i.M; i;^v.'r;ll.>t>i->-il>K- .\»rlli to tli< 
 Ou.^.i Iiik; tlicitiO \Vi>l l>> tliu t<Iiii'< 
 
 ,. (I., i.ioh.iti i.r.Mr. Willintns ilio *ul«- 
 itiliiio wat mli'i'i'il. M'tvttl \'j llniii 
 iiuik llut tli«- r-'.l< •Willi; 1)0 iit>4.-rti\t m 
 tti- Ctuiritiuijioi. viz: 
 ,;-.T<iv ruli-«,-u>iji;:u> om) nvolaiinn*' of 
 tha thiiji-ni III an; txcality williin ll>i* 
 ^errilury kliiill l>u llii- (jv, that fIsII 
 |^i>r<i iIlo inijii-rr ur..*-iii<l l«r..!iiii>, 
 ^irovulnl, >'Ui)i Idnnflii iKil uMiil It Willt 
 Xlie C-'ii'tiiiili.iinirtlii-Triii-ry. -'■'■' 
 
 *•• Oil T01<- I'h- Vru* iltlll lltlTH WtTt! cbrCil 
 
 Jprilli till- r..l!.i*ii.i; u-AiiIt;' 
 u"Vfft«— ll.'Miloiir. It.ifttit, C!iaiirr.iiii 
 V(3totci.) KlI-tiK, llui>i'iii;iik. Ji-rif-L'uii. 
 •>'cnl. O.luTi., A: A. bmitli, Williuin. 
 _ti"l W<iR*j.ii {i »oii*.» — IX 
 ". 'Niivd — ^"Mcjwr*. A''ji'atl>y,^ Atnl.r>oii 
 Car;,' -CliA>itJIcr,- • CIkiIk-, ,- O><i-I<ii^lo<). 
 C.irfV. I)..r*^y. U-i-kV, U..'i-i*..rlli. 
 lI-M-rlv. Kill- Luiit'. NVjr U- f'lC-.) 
 Nuuwi.r.-. Unii«l-y, It-iLn.^oii (2 i..l.-.) 
 ,J. O. U'i'«ruiiit, K"oj<. TcKtiT, Sriilv. 
 Suii'iiiriCvM, J. A. biuilli. Murl. 6'<iitli, 
 2iiuru»jul. 'ltiiLiii-c»i, . V.ia^liaii. Tiii-i>. 
 \Vi(.i4:r^, J.'D. Wtiiion'.'iiiuP \V.' U. 
 
 A»ljot>riiol to I ..yak. i». (H. i 
 
 '•'JUr. .JlryBiil piilfo iiniiiT) llial*~|io 
 
 SuulJ t)ii>tu oi( tu ipvrryw, Iv TLH-uitHjiivr 
 Lv. I.Mf Art. {5,..M ;.»■ ■».;,.:^^.,.. 
 "Mr UjhiIdiio )fftn\i liiiVj(;x9- tl^at li<' 
 
 fM"I;l O-i l-i .Hi'/fyf..|(ltftc ly.rwVHiWiJ*' 
 re. ^.if A(l. 3.rttM-.:. dj V,,.^.,. 
 , J. F;i^ii;>:uKH-itiaiIiatlKl»0'iM. 
 cnbiiMjrru# w r<nv i^'<Jdf ;!>.^;. 3. i>r 
 Art. a. ^ ,..^,- ,., t, , ,,,r»-r : 7 
 I^Otiiiotiou or C«l. MiL**cc.llto ruriliiT 
 con IK Itu Ml II uf lltu Ci><i'tttul4o>i .WA« 
 iaiiluriT (.11 (k> iiiurniA* iuupiiiiK--.c1 
 
 l<o - f,.i 
 
 mtA I 
 
 ?llr Ory iiiinTfil tlint lliu rrp»i.lctil 
 fli>|.niituii Awi*Uiit St-riri-mit-at-Arui* 
 Cjrfic.|, Sir, Curry »ro< ii]'(>ninic«l. 
 
 M->vo) I'y ll.iiiini.iLk, lliiit n CmninH- 
 ti-c <.f nil"-, oil.- fnnii ini'li I).»triil, Iji- 
 a|i|-u tili-il \>y Itic rri-Ni<k-iit tuilrjCllJivn, 
 r.il<.-« mill rt'i;utiitiiiii*, r»r Ili«» Cr*! t1i\-' 
 lii'ii I'V till) |ico|>ti*,' to f.iriii 'V'lfii'ti", 
 :il'i».iiit Jti-Ui-i of ilivtiiiii. nii'l r>)->rt 
 llii-KiMit.' tu 11(14 Coitvi-iilixiii cutTinl. 
 .Mr rn-i.ii-nt tti'i'niinnl J.- II*- Nmlr. 
 IM.tri.l No. I; W. S. Ilrynnl. D.-lri. l 
 Nn. 2; W. T. C. j;iliutt. |l..lri.-l Nl. 3; 
 W. \Vii^..iii, Il.^r.iii No, 4: A. CJrrj, 
 jiiMra Ni>, 5; U. Stiioiinrlii'l I. l)»lri<'i 
 .V.'. U; MirL Sill. III. l»i«lr.ct ^■... 7; C 
 .N. N..TtWBrp. Di-lricl Ko. 8; uit<l IVtcr 
 .\v.-. Ili.lri.l No. jy. .- 
 
 On ni'tiioni.f J. K. I-fli'V.T.Jl. Tfrtr- 
 I'tr. AIiirL Siiiilli, '\V. \Vu»j<iii uiiil..! 
 U'illi.iiitS' «vro iipiMiiiilcil u Cituiiuillri- 
 '■• ilrnrt lilt uiMn'k.i 10 llii* vitiUiin'iit tliu 
 IViril'iry r«;|jtiru ti> llin C^.i.<t)tllti<Mi. 
 
 M..ri,| l.y Jlr.>\'ulf, llMt.'.llid C" 
 •ttlul<iiii)'u i.ilii lliv Commiltcu (T til 
 U'l.'ili- 111 i-aiivj«. ido rituni* for I>..!i 
 ;.*tfU' III C«icri>4. >-I.oii;;>'iiiiirt'il tu 
 itiiH'iHll'y llic L'linirtiiaii to ai'|H»iiit o O 
 
 Illltli'V nr^I'Vfll lu C.1IIVIIM lllC Mill tv 
 
 titrii\ iiixl ri-|Htrt tia- kjiuc U tliii ,C^i>' 
 rviili> II r>'r tinvil uclixii^ 
 
 Mr, JluJttiT iiiovLtl lliittlio. .wbofc 
 •tii>ja-t liiiitlcr >>(.- itiitilc tliu. i>i)c<:inl or' 
 iJ^r iirifu-ijiipiu to-nigrruir, i)V i ^Vlvcb, 
 l». 111 , «.-»rriv-<L 
 
 Aiijiiuniiil t;il tomotroif mvx.^-i ot 
 
 !^ uVtyt k, 8. .Hi. 
 
 — ■— ^ I 
 
 -TittMnAY, July 20ili, 1B5J>. 
 ConT-ntiiHi iiii.t [-af'U.iiii ly «.ijuiini- 
 
 mtiil ; uiitlllti'rt of T. RIiril.(J n-uJ Uit'l \>\> 
 
 (ir..v,s|. U-|Mftjii.r C'l.ti.ii'Uirt litv'wji 
 111 unlvr, Uiu (iiancu Ctfiuio'ltti} itnt lir 
 ik;; ri-ii>ly |.i roi^trt.. 1 .luOlimi of Mr 
 M.'yiiitT (licCuuiiihltiii iitM.4 ulluvdl to 
 rr|^)ri ul ituy lUuc diicin;: lIiiriiouKii ot 
 till* Citiiftiii'iii.t Ciiiuiiititvoinn I'ri*- 
 i:.iKtl»;:i;iu Uolr^L'lA ninl rr|iorlini;l4\f 
 111 K>)frnl lliv (irrt llrvlioii n|>nTttil,4llil 
 
 iiiutiini iif Mr. IljDitiiuck,.U>v ri-i^ri 
 
 « ruiiv.^l, 
 
 Mr. NuUwaro poTO not'co ifml h.* 
 W'liM iri.ivc l.n,oii«.i!.rS.v. I. of Art. 
 I. i.f till- C'ltoiitiitiuii tu luurruvr uiu[iiit>';: 
 ut H oVKkIc. 
 
 On iiiolioii of MrXf.tlca'C'nhiiji'tlic 
 
 ..f liv,- B.i*ai.|«,iMU'l I.; tlnj IVivoJini 
 
 Uiijr.l i^if C.iiivavH'i''', to ail lri ci 
 
 ] >"ij-»— Aii'liTrso'n, Bryant, Giapwan, 
 (2 .V"U«.) 'CiimnJliT, Curry, Durn-y, 
 Klliutl, IJua'^vriirtli, llatiiliiiiik. Kii>|,'. 
 ip'i^', .Mus.Ncr, Nai^lily, Ncjic, O»0urii. 
 i'^iiiil'V, Jill*. iUb.n^oii ^a vuliT.) J. O. 
 
 J^jOvrU'ii. U'loj.. rrociMr.iHiiU-.A.'A. 
 
 C<tnil(i, blUrti'Vuiit. VdU^lioii ^3 VUtl7,) 
 
 TiiUi'. Wii.ttr-.' Jiio. l>. \Vtut(.r< _^ ^ , 
 
 .'i'lfi l^n^iiiul 4iKiit.uu U.-inj{ ILtU.^I' 
 
 Ic^ It tt'.t4 IblOl'tol. 
 
 ' irr\\ok;»ar,- luitTof ioMrlktf Oill'lTiC 
 
 woi-f "Uiima" 0- H'ltitl..! Ill .-uiiliii'f. 
 
 mij lnwrl "Car»vu C.li' !>• llio fk-al «f 
 
 Ijuvcihmv-iit. 
 
 Mr ; I'rwt.ir morcd afl n Sulislilutc lo 
 iitnkcilll out fnMi \a\<\ jic.tion ufur t'lv 
 nurti "Liw," itiCHiiii'tiluti: wu.-<Hil'i{>tiil. 
 
 Mr. UwuUuiitf tl>in inoTi-tl' tlii>l tlic 
 wurj* '"iwu yiarit" llni tli-ptiility i>f 
 Cuiiiik: Itiinj.'bij i-rj>i-<l, anil "ouo Jw 
 »uU>tuut<.il, Kliiili ui>» t-urriitl.' . 
 ' ■'»^ijl^'"o 'it^J^t-J l*> ruH;Oii»l.KT, Stf. 
 2. o.^tfu 2, t'j uiiiviiJ, t<r ri«(l'iiii''r'il 
 |..w,«V,uu.!iil, lliv fir.l rcluriH of 
 tUxiv.iVoniiLT tliii Cuiittitutiuii dliall Ik- 
 inuo:^^uit-»'ivn*#n] U4 iiruiriiJcil fvr l<y 
 
 tllt« CM|\(lltl«l.. 
 
 ■ Oiiiiwtiuii of Mr.' Xtali', (fio'worl 
 'r.*»iili-a' Ml ilio ]<r»vi*u uf Si-c. I. t>f 
 Art. F'ttiL*»lruvk iiut,-oii'l llio w 
 
 VltHlll' WusiUMXliJ. 
 
 •"'Mr. Niik-wurviriiinimiftt tlitj'folluw 
 iii|; >w Ii'.I.ImI to llii< C»n»tiiul>on: 
 
 AI! U.1!.vr».l.vi.il or ii|'i«.iiitiO l.y 
 nrluc -iTtlii- Ci,ii»lituliiiit ►Imll hvitjI 
 ly fk* r^iurvl loV'^u •'oinl'' to 'tin- \wn- 
 I'lo of ^^:Tl^b Tirritury. f..r ifio /ailliful 
 ili;tlinrt;v uf llju iliilli.* of tin ir ' ri-^in-C- 
 tiVi-,Ofl:>'C«, llicnmiiuiit'nf wlii^h Un'iln, 
 111 ft. II i/iullliiiltiTrtrrijuIiilii'^tlici 
 j:i,.IM.yliu-.|l.yli.w.- 
 
 ■ Oil r.iittiiii ol Jiio. F. Lons, Hip Pffni' 
 it'iif oiyi'ii.t^il A./A. Suiitti l.'urolliii 
 Cl'-rk. 
 
 Ailjo-imrJ'tlll I oVIoilcpii^, 
 
 jincitsvo:< Busny<i 
 0)fi'TtSilivu met {<ur*aJUb .(9 ^adjotira- 
 incm.. 
 
 0..\1( Iftpiwrly niiTcl lliit tlio Con 
 Tfliticiipt iiiiu toiii'uilloi.- of l!if U'liult* 
 
 t>i i-u:ity>4iiij) ri,lunu (or J^iUji^tu tu 
 
 Cy"i;f\-Kv 
 K, .M.,rri>i:U;r ruatcO as 6 xuUUtate 
 
 tliiit tlif: CimiEDl>l'"ini tv.Cuiniaitti'c uf 
 iiic t>i fiti'ViL-n MiiJ nturn« unJ nporl 
 J lliix'Cui|VLiiliuii f.ir liiiftl uttif)... 
 i.,Mr. Nuiewuru oJin.nl iliu follun.ug^ojt 
 fii'i*lili.ic for (!iu nlwvu.iiitfliuii^ 
 !iaj\l, Tliat l[;u Cli'air oit]»ojut' 
 
 C'ii|iiitilK« ol lliriy iniircviK-u of, ilii 
 
 C'oivtntloii, 111 ii]»-ii oti-t oiuiit tlio fc' 
 
 lurtM fjifil>' l.va'« t" CoiiitrrM; 
 
 .., On v*^if<K Ki'* ><:oa >in>l ^'"XK^SI^ Cfl)- 
 
 W wiTTiSr^'.iowfi";?, ri,»ult J 
 
 Vua:*— AI'ariLilliT, Ciry, Dinndl-T, 
 
 Clu-Uii*. C".Mi[i-Ioo,.'FarwilI. rUui--. 
 
 IIilliiiIyiNyi- tl^votLf.) Non-ffun-, .1. 
 
 A. I Smitlt, Mart.' Sinillt, TiiomiMtii. 
 
 
 jucliiiii uillPllif rri*liIii<i*'or IIii«'C''ii- 
 trnlmii ttt tuntu^'llif' rvluniii of llu- 
 G'«l tliflioii ii.i.I.T ■ ll.i* Con*lltiilift:i. 
 M.fcr^ J. II- Ni-iili-.- C. N. ^"ol. wnn-. 
 IViirNy.'. It. K. SJ.-III.-. nii.M»r.' ».. L. 
 Ktoj. ».Ti-iili|BiiMliiI Kii.|-*0'Ulinittiv. 
 M-.r.*l I,y Mr. l'r<\tiT., ll.il lliifr'n* 
 Jiori i,f it.t Coiiinnlltv 1.;^' t^i 'iiinnrl.il 
 .1 ti*« il.i- nonl ■■|V.>iiliit'*fiMli-a.| 
 of ill!,- wiif.l "iiHiikcT'i vf tbla ■ Co4ywii- 
 
 M>milliyj. P |,on^'* fi'nV mrriiil. 
 ll. a till- rqi-rt l)-i rtf.rnillM.k In tin- 
 C«uiiiiii(iv, iiiij to tujku irji'jrb tujiior- 
 row iiioniiii;^ 
 
 Uti Moii.iiM.f .Mr. Mii««r, M..j. n-vn, 
 
 II tilt) Cli«ii^,*'tfie firttitr t-rtinitl r.iii. 
 
 Tide Co!i.|imti.i;i WTjiH |ii.| on llit) t:i 1 ' 
 
 Ml' till II nVWknrifi^l.ni.iy. | ■' 
 
 .^Ir M,i*HT ilMVN iii'lii-c lliiil lio wrrnl 1 1 '' 
 
 -r U .l.iy lo rvviitiAiJiT tjcvlioo I. ul 
 
 KM t.i.liy 
 
 '.■•. Noti-ivaf^ olijrt'lrtl.' hi ?» Iml 
 
 iinliiv to nvoii-i'I. r llm naniu Srr. 
 
 1 ,\Tr toiiifirniw: ii'-ivtintiJ ntcrrut. 
 
 . iliv CUir. m .1 u)'!val luki'ii fniiti 
 
 ' !> i.y .\Ir. Cnolr. • O i foto- Ilii 
 
 • Kt-rucalli^, with ilio ful- 
 
 'II'yflf.f,"*Chipman 
 
 - -y. Klf'.if. Iloii-i- 
 
 ":;»i't. K'lijr. l^wf. 
 
 ^•^\^A^ itiiUit- 
 
 \. A. S.-,;!i,. Sill- 
 
 , 'i'litm WiHicr-', J. 
 
 N'iiy4— .\nili r*oii, Brynrft: . Chupmart. 
 (2 loir*.) Curry. pofM-y, lilli -tt, IIou-c- 
 wnitli, It.iitn;ii.k.Ji:rii.-;rni. Kin?. lyinL'. 
 Nil';;M.<r. Ni.iili-.U.ili|irii. Oliiiol.y.J. Muh 
 iijuiii a votrA.) J. 0. Kulii rt?on, [l'io|i, 
 rrnvt'T. Silili'. A.- A. Sriiitli, Suiiiiutr- 
 li.M. MwtiiaiiT, V-L-lun (3 voh- ) 
 W.lIm.iivTmu. VViiiUft-, J"0. i>. • Win- 
 tirv._uii . 
 
 • Tu-P-AwlIinU-fraiiKUn-.l [ost Mr 
 l'r..ili.r «(r.fol ilio |..:itmiiit', oihl.Kv- 
 yinl.tl lij^Mr. .Noti-i»ur«. 
 
 * .M.if.iBlfut llniClijiroi'iiointnCirii- 
 iiiiltirc olM,»i-ii, i»iii- fiiitn fdclr Ihstriii, 
 iiml oil.- fruirt till.- T rnlory at ttir;;r, i<> 
 vjMru.« ilirf ir-ito , pir I>.-Iit;'»'i' iw Cun- 
 '^tKt^, wltfi rlwU in-rfonn iitiir' dmiiB in 
 
 , l>rvMri<a'l>t llni lu^-utUniif IliU CotiTrrr 
 ,|>iim;< i;ruTiilri), ilmt llii'jrniliiiil uU Icm 
 ■'iioi.y Utiidtiit;: tlic l.-uiiliiy of- ihc- tv 
 ir... »Jui.li iriiV Irtj oilonil. au'I njiorl 
 IV liYjiJy orilliiri.liiiy oft-atli |in\-;i.Li 
 l'i[.iii-});alio vuig .iiiNiii vli.di, nuN 
 iiiin-iininiDi} 
 
 .Mc.**nt. J. 'U'illlflinF.. Tlirn.' ^^ tntpr*. 
 'ni.i.. Anil. r-.ri, \V. Wu.-ud. IVttr Nyi-. 
 O. \V. IM 1-1 riy IIII.I l»r. I(. L. Kii^ 
 l\i-n' u|'|il>iiit>ilon l!>e Coniniiltri*; ' l. 
 
 U. tioii It F. Si'liltf »diolpoltitn> 
 
 a.Cl.rfor Mill Cwii.miili'.-. 
 
 Ailjo'lnii.l hil twiuttriuvr monitog r. 
 Bu'ulu^To-'n)- 
 
 i^t^ifird th*t A Iiir ti[Ttui3g oftttptopl' 
 
 i*% ftol t)crn thruu^li I'tC l&llol-bol ml the 
 'Ifiiion.' Aflil l<i ilrK of ilif Icnj^tb ef Usi« 
 rctriiary IjrKiull «i'iBia«iioa uf |l>« »«1J 
 
 TClCni, «D<1 lhi> ■.B-rilniQii of ftflil "'fWinft 
 
 ut njoit anil n for drcli.ou In iLa |>rFtuU>>. 
 na niiuk4 cnriiFfliy rc.(>TDii>rsd^ itiat Ibc 
 w^olc *u.>jr<l n >t;rr n* in h Ildr^/ie to Ciia- 
 7f»»« !•« rtfftfrj l)»tV lo til* pcfip'r, r>r ibr m 
 lu .JxiJv oil tbe IrtWiOaridkr ufirribr Cm 
 Uunjnj \a iri.tttuUrr Bdl. Bi.'l Bik lo b< 
 ilmlj-tjtfj.^ J. MV WiLU.iir. (ji»B..Co(a. ' 
 ■ ^T»»V Wi,i«M, 
 
 Trdi- Avi'iiuos. 
 
 ■II. (. Kiio."'" 
 : ■ CfBoii, tr. T. J u ly 27 ifi 1 1 «»i" 
 
 On tniilioiitliv«luti-iDciit of iho'ScC- 
 nTify of lliV'(Jouiniii|fC"'ira«. biaiJtf a 
 )init "f l?ic innjoniy nj-ort. , 
 
 Mr Wiiwiii ii.k.-d f.ir I,<If on'IioIirV 
 linn: to iiiiiku a minuriiy njiutt.' trLuli 
 \iu9 f;ruiilL-<1.- 
 ' ' CouTcuiion 106k a' rrcctk iif OD^lI&lf 
 
 tltfUf.'-. 
 
 mtsrtti! fl? 'ftmvtAS. 
 
 Mlimrity- (if C«ii*«nliig ComiDiUi-t 
 
 ntwrtcd lu fyllow.': . "^ 
 
 BFpninC- 
 
 Ur ririiiot«r-f-.\ loiiiuiltf of ^AvrCan 
 
 nlte to nlioniAfxl nftrrpd llio niniUf ul 
 cmiii'lirie lU-r<luriia of llii> infill (Iniion 
 lur lM.t:«lrloCi.in:.e»». ,«0ul4 fruirtlfiillj: 
 
 li<>- li«ic to ill**'!!! rnini llir'rf|ioft of iVp 
 in.J'irii* nrjuurCumnintrr; wc tumikr lh«t 
 V.ir firuTnmru<li>ti4n lu r. ftf lhtf■^olt mfttirr 
 li i< k I'l (he |ip<i|i!r li ua«atr4i>tt-l «n<i wiin 
 •ml |irr<t>lciiii iliMi li 1< tlctc^nlii'it porrr* 
 il.Mi \\irj rfuiioi -inufi iliitlboToir li.islieru 
 lArotii ilir ji'uj.Ie'unrttnlir l^mc •uidorli' 
 I'l f.r l! 
 
 ' lo *•/ tr'Hiitip 
 
 *UVt 
 
 •l>«:i n<.( l.c rMunlnt HO-I Mill pmiOil lU. 
 ui>nn bjr llili Co'iiriilMii i*C]i3lfi|[ « lel 
 lino up'oi llic ■•i)nr«iy nuil ifiilum of 
 
 ConfCbllii'i mIiIiIi il'.#l nnCAtUrti in 11 
 
 nm iiivITci. in i-r tlinl npn'n rot ra|i.i tile i.r 
 dlltiiicuiilnnj; Lriwcfii r>chl Hb-I frmnv. >■« 
 iwrtii Ii.m-ij ii.i.lfr>u4 Wc.Pk oiirurny 
 •■f tour C.iin>'iiiii-p, tlirnf'ife. roulil rripni. 
 full J frci.rt (.lo^ti-u ■□4 aili iliat Ibonbolc 
 ■lil-jxt luaiicr be itUtn\ *i4(;k Ui y-mr Com- 
 iiiOirr to rrpi ri In orroolatiir *«l"h ibc in- 
 tlrudiimi *ii.l.«jir4 In .tin- rftolullan m. 
 atiss ibii C'vmiuittrr/ O^ W. Iti rrcuT, 
 
 Parea Nrt. 
 
 Oit motion .tho'.mliioriiy:- ri^iort 'was 
 nT<irvil. 
 
 . Mr, .NoitwoPe mnr«l ilmt tlio iniittir- 
 ity n-jiort Ir- ih]o|pIci1 DinlllioCoimiiittfc 
 ilrsi-lun^fd; Mr. Ncali-, inoTnl to nmrtnl 
 \>y iirvcrMi;: tlic wofil "niojrtiily" in tl.c 
 (i(.nc wf iiiuiionty; on Toto Hic jra* tiinl 
 ni>y;i wcro called Kitli ttio (ollowin^ re 
 suli:'> 
 
 Ycoi— Anilcrron,' Ilow{!on^" nrtnnr, 
 rimiimaii (2 vote".) Cnrry, Il-rM-y' Kl- 
 liiit. Mpa>i;».irt!i, ilainiiiQrk. Jiiin -.mii. 
 Km,-.. Ljm- 5Iii^i.-r. Nni;;!ilv. N,-.iI.-. 
 Olcrn",. Orm»l.y. Jni.,.' KuI.ii.m^ii i'l 
 t'ltc'.) J. O. KnUrHon. (Votlor. SiHli-. 
 A. A. Siiiiili, Sunniii-iGrM. i^Tuf|l•vlt.t, 
 Vnu;.'iiuii |J voti--,] Williiiius.-' Tln.'O. 
 Wintim uiiil Jno. l>. WinliT*.— SI. 
 -— JirtTi* — Mr«i'r<."'Ahfrrftiliy. - C.irr, 
 Clioiiilli-r, Ciiiili<% CoiJtIiii;;ioTi, *Katwnl, 
 'j"i;:'*,,Ny.i (13 votiii,] Nouworr. J. A. 
 S'liilli. M-iri.tiinilli, 'lliniiiiiotl;:>\Vnssuii 
 (3 vni.-jij Wa-luiiiiil Ili-|-p.rly.— 21. 
 
 'I'liu iitution ilica K-iii;; tir»i cii niiirn- ; 
 
 .Int. iiii.l ilio yi-mnrij imyt ljciiigmlk-(J, '' ' ' ' 
 
 fi-Miltiti I 5 Ion- ; 
 
 .Villi— AiiiIirMiii, I>f\'nn(,-:'Clilipm .■ 
 (2voti-««.] KMioti. ltjmr,ijitrJ'-rmt:.iii.. 
 K.ii/. .\»i;:lilT. HofMV. O'linrii Orni^l v. j'^'' " '.*, iic-ih 
 
 . KoI.iiiMin [i liiw*,] J. O. U'lliiri- l'P'l'"cr». •c- 
 i^n, IVoi-lor, Ijvltli', A. A- .*<iiiilti. ynru- ' li"'pvr^ i f i 
 
 rliil.', bliirUviiiii, ViiM;;liii [3 rotiv 
 U'lllain.*. Citrry, lluunnoilli, Jnci. ii 
 \Viiitvri timl CiU]ini<in [j roti-a,l — 'jLi 
 
 N.iy*— Jl'i^r*. Ci>'t-hii;:lnti,- 'Cjit >^ ■'■ ■■' 
 Ciuivll.r. Inrwi-ll, Cji/r.^-lli |.]. 
 
 I No. ?, I precietM.— Itlack r.o»« - 
 JEJert, Uroiaoi •''<I l'i»; I'^^fn'.'if. S II. 
 L«>.(. ^• X— Jii'i|;t't, Lcibivu m{I lUt'rr i 
 Uipmlor. Tbot. Ilarcry 
 
 bi*irivi Vo S. i prctictia— >o. Xr^ir.iffft, 
 WnrO Btiil L'li"ti>'»>l In^jM^lai. I.'r. Jc'.m A. 
 i^uut- No. i-JjlKH,K«KtilJ«B(lWiiabi: 
 lun-rclOT, W.T C. tlltotl. 
 
 D>FitictN«. 4,3 pttiloeii.— N'e. t— 'udi;ai,' 
 
 Uoipt!) aOd \Val«Oa ; IcfptCtOf. 0. J>. OiUatt. 
 
 .No. t-^u'if.ft. £a>a£a AJid (i»lta; lUfit<lor, 
 
 i'flrjLlO-O. 
 
 li.iUld .N"o S, Jfrt'lat^.— N» 1— Juflcn, 
 ProttornAdUr Kib(; Ini^tttor. U.aitb'.,jt]i. 
 
 .No, X— JuJgri, tiiuruiAttt ud Nuifroie; 
 Ioii>r<tor. A. UCB»aj. . 
 
 Liiitrtrl No. 0. 9 pirfiorli— ClHuiowii— 
 JiKt^ra, W C(n«tf aid Joi, K-iltf ; Io?p<rwr, 
 C*I-t I'arkrr. Guld llU-JuJKr<. Huu.e- 
 ttonti aoJ J. WiBiPr: l-.riJt<lo<, J C-.irp. 
 .-^S'lb'a Suilon-W%df«'i, WiliU'iiiauU Ujik* 
 
 l«iij; \atprtlot. tt. OiUilfa. MiliuKtOMO-* 
 J'.>litl.JM:>i Jontlkitl \},.1t; la.;.f<tof. II, 
 Kr.o. M-k lIua.l.aM!'>JuJ«r«, 1}l,t *\A 
 autlli; loip'rtivf, T, Ktllir. Uuba* i;ia;.au 
 — JuJCO, ClitrrT nuil Ntia'oa ; lotj.tciur. 
 Urown.' Wil^bli Eulitro— Jo-It f«, Onoril 
 aad Wililil; le.pnior, H. L«}io.i. Aufrr- 
 
 two* j>(at<OD— JujRCf. rurotrtiiwa aOJ ^ at. 
 
 mill; luipritor. T Animwa. .■iit>«Dti>a'« 
 :ii>t>ou— JuJ^ri.b'jIrriUracd Tyti; l»prc> 
 lor.'J, K. l-ipfiT. 
 
 Oiiiri. I .Vo. ;. 3 pftfiBru.— L«kt VallfT— 
 Jtiili;f>, K Citoiriiia-bJ W. lturB|.t>r.y /Ir. 
 »t»(ior, MuK« IVitri-. Va. l-JjIgM. I/. 
 \V'oo.lfgf.| mi.l W. II. .- a.U , lu'pfvUP, S«»l. 
 lylrr DArr'aC-rap— Jo e^^*. U. Uirawod 
 ■u.lJ. Siuiih; l.fpnior. U»k»r. 
 
 U.iiri.t.Vw B. arrerjn.n— No I— JuJitPj, 
 S Ki'ii.y-nJ W. W. 5.ailb; iT^rclor T J, 
 •licLtBi. o. ■ No. !— JuJ^w, t'ar«<ll u4 Lm: 
 Iu>|x-ciur. J. Ilowarj. 
 
 ^.llficl .No. 'J, : (ifff iBftr— No. 1— Jailjra, 
 t.. llillfr ao'l J.ni'i U rrii; lotpti'or. K. 
 Limtk .S . Z-JuJen. UilliKuiiaDjlboBip- 
 
 (on; Liljiprlur. n,.l>L t'niorr. 
 
 W* «iiuld aUo iF^ommrcid tTiat' iftpft t# 
 ■pj-oinf'l a ItOnr.l of l'i(« CaO'iNtra. «):• 
 III. II >>ir(iiil<;tBi I'.r Cipi'ot oa Ibr Jl Moa 
 <i«t <jf iMuliirn'xt (.iiiioii. la ronnrcli.ti 
 Willi llir 1'n-i.Icrt of Ihi* Contfitiioii. ao-1 
 Bholl I'rut'cd tu or»R a&<l rouol llif roita 
 ■•■d tt".:arc Ihr tnuit tbtrrof, aod ht-jf rtr- 
 
 llbotlfluf (Icdiori to ill (vrrt^ra l^al rwy 
 
 tM--lrM..|.all(i.f •ti-,fi U raaii tft;<»''^- j 
 aubm.ittd, ■ \ JOIi.V n. .^t:ALt:, LI. n. 
 
 Oil motion tfic rrjiort «o< rrrcitej, 
 
 .^!r. Dvrtry oQlrttl lUc folio* inj;, to 
 l*c niliK-.! to thr n-j-ort: 
 
 UtMlrtti, Tiiultla- Ji«:j;Mancl Clcrki 
 of llic fforiomi-IiTiioii iirttiMf :« .il.all re- 
 (U/ii a Irui: i-cjiy of I lit- |<oll liif. sluo 
 tlio U'ty litt. uiTomiuincil ■ilU llic b«I- 
 luLi. viliivli was tdojitid. ' 
 
 Oir ' motigu tlie vomtsittce Wu~ dti- 
 cliarf.'crt. 
 
 A.ljiiiirrnI tiRtit' t»KOfroir butfoiitg 
 at ti tiVlOLk, n. It! " 
 
 TtirtisDAr, Jotr 23lS. ISS?. 
 ConVrntion met |iur>.u.iiit lo m'jOiiro- 
 mcnl; .M..j. Hj...]. j., tl.- t;j.,vr. M.uutCT 
 uf yotiTOiiy n-aiX ami ciloj.titJ: 
 
 ' .Mr, Noicwdne lu-ircil • rrconialrm- 
 tiuii uf ^i<.■vliOll IsC uf Article - Lsl. Dtiicii 
 WU4 a^rnol to 
 
 ^'•Mr. >i(itvW4i:o llicti-mori-tl'tu rrtiaq 
 till- worxl "Tcrrilyry."aiiil iimrt "Cmrrft 
 :>latfK,'' ill ita •luiiJ, Ijjp cuta ic was lo 
 unli-rnt.i 
 
 ; On iiii^ion nf Mr .I,'-J,''Miw«rr, tl;9 
 fullowiritf il:iu^- vtai aiUv4 lo tl)« Ciw 
 
 iilint ol «iiiw mill 
 
 ■•■ ■ ^- "'i'"'- " ...■■liur. Inrf- 
 
 ili-rinv »oii' {jj uiKdiiho rv|«jrt i-f 
 
 .\vi-. [12 voir.] J. A. Mniit., .M><rt 't'"* "'•"'"'''•'» '-"wntmilUt woa fcODi.loJ. 
 
 'Iivniimiiii, I Wauioii [3- vutcx) 
 Wiiili- Hlnl Clililii-,~-23. 
 'J'oc inujuritjr ri'imil wai !bi-ii Unlurril 
 
 U'li.Jitlll.*. j 
 
 ll.i iiiiilit>n of J. V. l^iii;;. Ilio CviKii 
 
 (Kill v.'.\> ll.iit l;>t;iii Ituin the Itltitc I" 
 forilnr I'unMiKrjti'ni. 
 
 Oil iiioiioii tEio CuiTcDtiuniailJonrTK' 
 foriMplHiiir., 
 
 CiniTi-iiliuii mil fitiniuiitito.'aiijiiuni 
 mill', i 
 
 Cntnniitlfc 0!i'- prrfliutiiip. the Da- 
 trii'14. ninl ilr.il'iLii;; r-il>-> ^miil luwi 
 r.-;;ii!fl1.iij:!tM' 1-' ,:m!. .■.. t».;KLiu- m [ 
 niuko lliv full 
 
 C^rnul 
 Air, J.,0. Roldiisoii tnofpi] thbt o rnm- 
 
 iintiti: of ii'iio liL*ii|<;i 
 
 Mltiy llie l*rc«- 
 
 ft^'r^^f^*PlY, July 2"i''. 
 Clint fill ion iiit't |.iir*naiit i" . 
 mint; t»inutc*' of .y.-fliril,iy i 
 rr.iily lu ni«l, il>ci>ii'r>lury U4i» j^u^ 
 ti.-.u-'tilMClu'il<«k, |>. tu. - 
 'T. CiryV Clinn.llrr, Mr >"•'•'. <''i-- Cl>i.ltii.fln iT llir Cu 
 l-'iirwtll. Uriii.1' intt'-'jOi F.ni'n.v, rq-irtol Hntan i. 
 'iw,) XutcWMfr, ,'t""t<'nt'iiif ono dollar Uii.I liliy 
 
 :i.-, C .N Nmc- 
 , I'lUr.Njc 00 
 
 Jiill lU.L.IlUt.ll.'. 
 
 Aiijunriittl 10 1 oVIoi-k p. m. 
 
 '.iitii'n tnvi imr^uaut to adjoartt* 
 
 i(tc«,.o.n>AriwtioT)mtnt report 
 
 rir'>itT. 
 Mr C)iJiinM*x— Vour Commltlfa- oir 
 
 ^11 "i: -uii wuuiJrt»)nrituily npori 
 
 -n 
 
 r* -■— - 
 
 
 
 tiiU o;:t 
 
 lilll-T. of I 
 
 fit. 
 •• • 
 Hi. 
 
 \. 7 
 
 ^>) 
 •A I 
 .I''. ■ 
 
 Hi,'. 
 
 M<l(o»4ihl k».« b«ta ftb4 Ht^Mi\lfi9^\ 
 
 ■ \-j- -y li.il^i •!■. u! ,1 fi-ijri: j-crioj. 
 Call or Koncrj. 
 ■'■ TT T'.'it roofcil tp(v-coi)iiJdci',Bec 
 
 mnrnl for on IiiJcOSiiTfo 
 '.if Kic »lo«tlon.'^oii toio 
 , . : ; .. 1. i ...ivt Hin- calfnl; I. 
 
 j iV«— A'.Jiiiillif, C4ry. CIn--i;e,*CjJ- 
 
 lOiuxtoDu i'iTwtil, yiijjiy Urj>pftl/, 
 
 >Ttavfto.'< tMrt^r^.' 
 MitJ'irliyor C-n»»**i»jt Cvaittitltflt', 
 li-arc (v ri-t>orl a4fiillo«a:- 
 
 liirovT. , j 
 
 .iiUa DtinpiVi 'ii^ tirailrfbta of ib« pci. 
 
 Tf"t'.n' 
 
 /i ilrw of ihl rt«peftilb'>IUj'r»iiIne o" 
 et. tt««Ottlilrt«ptiini 1/ isbvil lb* fo:ka 
 lBjl.'l*( lUUinfOL , . 
 
 / 'iht\ Ti hA« n;.|3td ft&A ca&rtUtil a^l t' * i.^.\^ 
 votn rr*.ire»Jaa rt^icirtd to t>a*Tit lo ibiily \\ 
 C9a*tAit7af m4 «•, y*v Cyuatluttf utl^^' 
 
 ... ,-.■;. Cb"ii.5 
 i)t«J. and It* 
 
 ..♦^i^.l ''' "" ' ' ■^'^ Notewar*. S<etioa 
 
 -•ltyftpd)l*t Cl Ariirli; Sil t^aa rKOniidcrid. 
 
PROGRESS OF SETTLEMENT. 
 
 73 
 
 llill. The sixth by Hobcrt, in Gold Hill, near the 
 site of the Levialhaii works. Then followod the 
 Nevada, in Six- mile (.'anon; ^iuc•eeeded by others 
 too numerous to mention. Several thousand cords 
 of wood was cut in and about the adjoining; hills, 
 and as it disappeared ran up to fifteen dollars per 
 cor<l. 
 
 There was no water in Gold Hill save a couple of 
 small s])rini;s near the old Kmpirc mill, aside from 
 that riinnini^ down Crown J'oint ravine. 
 
 In the s|)riTm of l,S(il water was found in runnini^ 
 a tunnel in the northern part of Viri;inia, and the 
 bulk of it was conveyed in boxes and ditches to 
 (ii)l(l Mill by Williams it (tashwiler, and sold for (1 
 think) one dollar per inch to su]iply the mills. The 
 tunnel supplied about lUO inches. 
 
 POLITICAL HISTORY CONTINUED. 
 
 The unsuccessful eftbrts in 1859 to establish or 
 resurrect some form of govei-nment for Carson 
 County, or western Utah, has been already noted; 
 neither the Provisional Government or the county 
 election of that year having had anj- lej^al base for 
 support. 
 
 Judj^e Child, with earnestness equal to that which 
 had prompted the eflbrt of lS5!t, urii;ed upon the 
 people the necessity of availing themselves of such 
 laws as were operative in the countiy by electin<; 
 officers to execute them. August 0, 18G0, was the 
 time when such choice might be legally made, and 
 he called an election for that day, after first divid- 
 ing the counties into fourteen precincts. St. Jhuy's, 
 Humboldt, and Carson Counties were jointly entitled 
 to one member of the Utah Jjegislature. 
 
 The result of that election was to fill the vacant 
 offices of Selectmen, Sheriff, Treasurer, Surveyor, 
 and Member of the Legislature, which gave to Car- 
 son County, by election and appointment, the follow- 
 ing-named persons as officers in 1860: — 
 
 CARSON COUNTY OFFICERS IN 18C0. 
 
 (1). J. S. Child, Probate and County- Judge, now 
 in Genoa. 
 
 (2). George McNeir, Clerk, now in San Francisco. 
 
 (3). S. A. Kinse}', Recorder, now in Genoa. 
 
 (4). W. M. Stewart, Prosecuting Attorney, now 
 in Carson. 
 
 (5). Thomas Condon, Assessor and Collector, now 
 
 in Carson. 
 
 (G). James J. Coildinglon, ') r, , , , 
 
 0). William Alford, J Selectmen, salary 
 
 (8). 1. Williams, ^*1,;.00 per annum 
 
 (9). John L. HIackburn, Sheriff, killed in Carson. 
 (10). S. H. Marlette, Surveyor, now in Carson. 
 (11). 11. P. Bland, Treasurer. 
 John C. James, Legislature. 
 
 (1). S.ilary lixi-il ;it $2,500 i«;r year; succcudud by Juiljje I,. 
 W. K.OTia, .Inly :«), ISlH. 
 
 (•J). .Salary lixe.1 at iJl.SOO jicr year, Itcinovcil frnm iilficc 
 Maroh 'JO, INliO, fur alwciitiiig liiiiiSflf, ami \V. H. Pi'ttit 
 appiiirituil. .May U, KSGl, I'ettit r.!)i',nieil, ami C'li.irlcs V. Cmi- 
 fjer was a].iiiMiiU,-<l the •JOtli: he was aucceiilcd July :<0, 1801, liy 
 N. W. Wiiitoi,. 
 
 (3). Hi.i eleetii)!! w,ia iinsuccc.ssfiilly coiitcsteil liy K t". Mmire, 
 Decciiilier 3, ISGO. (iovenior Nye appointed .Samiiel U. Kiiiy to 
 that olliee July '-"J, ISO I. 
 
 This legislation cost Mr. Kinsey about 83,000. It 
 was a profitable |)osition on account of the recording 
 of mining claims, tiie jiroceedH of the oHice aver- 
 aging about fifty dollars per day. Afr. Morse had 
 run as a candidate at the election, although there 
 was, according to the call, no vacanc}-; and failing 
 to get a division in his favor from the courts, he 
 opened an office, and the minora, not knowing who 
 would eventually become Recorder, recorded with 
 both Kinsey and Morse. Mr. Kinsey retained the 
 old Record books. Governor Nyo to settle the dis- 
 pute, appointed a third party. 
 
 COUNTY COURT ANU REI'UIHATION OP DEBTS. 
 
 The first session of the County Court after an 
 interval of over three years was held by Judge Child 
 on the third of September succeeding the election. 
 This Court under the laws of Utah, aided by the 
 three Selectmen, performed the county business that 
 now is transacted in Nevada by the Count}- Commis- 
 sioners, and in other States by a Hoard of Supervisors. 
 
 There was no business transacted on the third of 
 September, but on the tenth appear.^ the following 
 entry uj)on the books: ''The Court next considered 
 the matter of county indebtedness, and ordered that 
 all county scrip issued to this date be declared void 
 and repudiated," On that same day commenced the 
 shower, that in after years became a deluge, of 
 petitions for private franchises and grants of water 
 rights, toll-roads, bridges, railroads, etc. 
 
 On the fourteenth, the county was divided into 
 fourteen school districts, and on the fifteenth, the 
 following rates for licenses were established lor 
 county revenue purposes. 
 
 RATES OF LICENSES. 
 
 Billiard T.aWe $10.00 
 
 BowliiiK Alley 10.00 
 
 Theaters, per day . .').(K) 
 
 Theaters, per month 1 (KI.OI) 
 
 Theaters, three months "JOO.OO 
 
 Theaters, one year 000.00 
 
 Opera or (>)ncert, same as Theater. 
 
 Caravan or menajjerie, for each e.xhihition 'JO. 00 
 
 C'ireu.s, .Slii,'ht of hand, Wire or Kope-Dancers, and sneh 
 
 per day 10.00 
 
 (4). Appointeil by Probate Court Septemlwr I'J, 1800. He 
 was suceeeiliil by I'. II. Clayton. 
 
 (0). Appointed by tlie court, Septomlx;r 10, 1800. The olliee 
 was declareil vacant In^cause of illegality, the County Treasurer 
 lieins; Collector I'x nfiii'in of Licenses, and on the sixteenth of 
 February, 1801, V,. C. (.'ardoz^i was appointi-d to collect the tax 
 in .St. Miiry's ami Hunilioldt Counties .-w well as Carsiin County, 
 the two former having been attached to Carsm for jmlicial and 
 revenue purposes. April IJ, ISlil, the Court allowetl the 
 Assessor and his deputy ten dollars per day and eijjht per cent, 
 on cnlleetioiis. 
 
 (0). liesi^neil April l.t, 1801, to takucfTect on thcsevcntocnth 
 instant, when \V. M. .Stewart was appoint«Ml to lill the vacancy. 
 
 (7). Kcsii;necl .Xpril 17, ISOl; acccptL'.l .May l.'Uh, ami the 
 next ilay John W. (Irier, of fiilver City, was .appointed to lill the 
 vacancy. 
 
 (S). Editor ami proprietor of TtrrKoriiU Entrtpri*^^ com- 
 missioned by tlovcrnor Nye, .Inly Ml, 1801. 
 
 ('.)). T. .1. Atchinsmi tiled notice of intention to contest the 
 election August I'J, ISOO. .Mr. Illackburn was kilhtl ill Carson 
 by William .Mayliidd, an<l Novcndier 'J8, I.SOl, the liCgislaturv 
 otreretl ,1 reward of ."JI.OtM) for the arrest of his munlerer. 
 
 (10). Wius later Surveyor Ceneral for Nevad:i. 
 
 (II). .Salary lixed at $1'J,'> [ler month from \ovend>cr I, 1800. 
 
74 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 (Business was divided into three classes as Ibllows ) : 
 
 First Class — Those whose sales reached 85,000 ikt 
 
 mouth, quarterly license 17.50 
 
 Seco.s'd Class — Those whose sales were less than $5,000, 
 
 au'l at least SI, 000 per mouth, nuarterly liceuse. . 12.50 
 Third C'la.ss — Those wliose sales were less than §1,000, 
 
 per month, quarterly license 10.0) 
 
 Traveling merchants or jiack-peiUUers 12.51) 
 
 And if they used a pack-animal or wagon to convey 
 
 their gooils 35.00 
 
 Hotels or Inns, per quarter 17.5 ) 
 
 Saloons, per quarter 17. ."lO 
 
 Pawnl>roker.<, per quarter 50. Oil 
 
 Auctioneers, per quarter 30.00 
 
 Stoek-Broker.s, over $100,000 in business, per quarter 80.00 
 
 Less than $100,000 ami over .$50,000 per quarter 40.00 
 
 Bankers aud dealers in l^xchauge, if business was 
 
 $200,000 aud uu<ler .$:50O,00O per month SO.OO 
 
 If business was $100,000 ami under $200,000 per month 40.00 
 
 If business w.as less than $100,000 per month 30.00 
 
 This Keveuue Act of the County Court was repealed 
 February 18, ISO), except S(j far as Liquor Dealers 
 and Manufacturers were concerned, and their 
 license was placed at per quarter 15.00 
 
 TOLL-ROAD A.SD BRIDGE RATES. 
 
 Established from Genoa to the Ridge, December, 5, 18G0. 
 
 Carriage or wagon with six or eight animals 2.50 
 
 Carriage or wagon with four animals 2.00 
 
 Carriage or wagon with two animals 1..50 
 
 Pleasure carriage wiih two animals 2.00 
 
 Buggy with one animal 1.00 
 
 Horseman or Pack with one animal 25 
 
 Loose Stock 1 -JJ 
 
 Same rates on road from Chinatown to Palmyra. 
 December 7, 1800. 
 
 Toll rates when not specially rated : 
 
 Wagon with six or eight animals 2.00 
 
 Wagon with four animals l.ol) 
 
 Wagon with two anim ils l.Ol) 
 
 Carriage or Buggy with two animals 75 
 
 Horseman or pack-animals 12.', 
 
 FIRST RAILROAD FRANCHISE. 
 
 The following entries also appear upon the record 
 of the Count}' Court, indicating an earlj faith in the 
 future of the Comstouk Lode, and a disposition to 
 take time by the forelock. 
 
 October 4, 18G0— Petition of Leonard L. Tread- 
 well et ul. for grant of railroad from Carson City to 
 Virginia City ; and also grant of water, were taken 
 up, and being duly considered and examined, the 
 pra3"er of the petitioners was granted. 
 
 October 24, 1860 — Gonnin and Tulluck arc 
 granted a charter bj' the County Court, to construct 
 a railroad "iVom Virginia City, by (Jold Hill, Silver 
 City, and through Gold Canon to Johntown * * 
 and thence down to Chinatown and the Carson 
 River." 
 
 FIRST COURT HOUSE. 
 
 On the nineteenth of September the Court, while in 
 session at Genoa, authorized the building committee 
 toe.\i>eii(l not to exceed 8750 to complete the Court 
 House in that place, and furnish it. This was an old 
 structure being repaired, a building thirty by sixty 
 feet, one and one-half stories in height. Now it is 
 clapboarded in front; rough boards j)ut uj) endwise 
 inelo.so the other end and sides, while shakes cover 
 the roof, and i>r<)bably were placed there by the 
 county to help make up tl.e cost of 87.")0. It has 
 been twice painted, but no one would mistrust this 
 fact from its ju'esent look, and it is now being 
 occupied as a stable. In the ujiper part of the 
 
 building Judge Cradlebaugh held his first United 
 States District Court, access to it being had through 
 the front door by means of a ladder from the street. 
 Later, stairs wei-e built from the sidewalk up to it. 
 
 Directly in front of the building, across the street, 
 stands the Nevada Hotel, where the Roop, or Pro- 
 visional Government, Constitutional Convention, and 
 later, its Legislature, met in 1859. A few hundred 
 feet to the north of this pioneer court building still 
 stands the first house built in Nevada, the old Mor- 
 mon Station, a log structure that now has a new 
 roof and a clapboard front. 
 
 NEVADA INVOICED BY THE DEPUTV UNITED STATES 
 MARSHAL. 
 
 At the State Capitol is deposited and laid away 
 among the material deemed worthless the original 
 books of the census records of Nevada in 18G0, from 
 which are compiled the following statistics. They 
 are imjiortant, being an exhibit of the condition 
 and degree reached in prosperity of Nevada at 
 that lime. 
 
 The following table shows the dift'erent kinds of 
 business, and its extent in each village and city in 
 the countr}-, and is a volume in itself. From it 
 there appears to have been at that time, in what 
 is now Nevada, sixty-six saloons, no preacher, four 
 school teachers, .six printers, nineteen doctors, and 
 not a lawyer practicing his profession. 
 
 BUSINESS STATISTICS FOR 1860. 
 
 BUSINESS DIRECTORY 
 
 OP 
 
 1800 TAKEN IN AUGUST 
 
 Hotels 
 
 Boarding Houses . 
 
 llestaurants 
 
 Saloons 
 
 Stores 
 
 IJarbers 
 
 Carpenters 
 
 Teamsters 
 
 IJIacksmiths 
 
 Jiootmakers . - . . 
 
 Jewelers 
 
 Printers . . 
 
 I)octor8 
 
 Dentists 
 
 Lively Stables... . 
 Harness Makera. . 
 
 Upholsterers 
 
 Tinners 
 
 Painters 
 
 School Teachers.. 
 
 Tailors 
 
 Brewers .• 
 
 Milliners 
 
 Gunsmiths 
 
 Speculators 
 
 Lawyers 
 
 Bakers 
 
 3 
 19 
 3 
 4 
 9 
 '> 
 
 11 
 7 
 9 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
 r 
 
 M 
 
 
 n 
 
 C 
 
 ^ 
 
 > 
 
 w 
 
 2 3 
 
 r3 H 
 
 a 
 
 z 
 
 o 
 > 
 
 . ' z 
 
 o 
 
 
 > 
 
 
 
 19 
 
 1 
 
 15 
 
 10 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 5 
 
 6 
 42 
 42 
 
 8 
 62 
 68 
 17 
 14 
 
 •> 
 
 1 
 <) 
 1 
 6 
 1 
 3 
 9 
 4 
 2 
 4 
 3 
 2 
 
 1 
 13 
 
 16 
 
 7 
 2 
 
 3 
 10 
 32 
 
 6 
 30 
 46 
 16 
 
 (! 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 19 
 29 
 15 
 63 
 109 
 17 
 
 lis 
 
 131 
 
 54 
 •>•> 
 
 4 
 6 
 
 19 
 4 
 
 14 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 11 
 9 
 3 
 4 
 9 
 2 
 
 1 
 21 
 
 5 
 28 
 
TKRRITORIAL ORGANIZATION. 
 
 There should bo added to the foregoing list to 
 make it complete, four telegraph operators at Car- 
 son, and one in Genoa, two druggists, and a daguer- 
 reau urtipit in Carson, The enumeration was made 
 in August by J. T, Waters, Deputj- United States 
 Marshal. 
 
 Long Vallev — Three public houses, ten miners and 
 sixteen ranchers; the balance of population no occu- 
 pation given; census taken in September. 
 
 SrE.\.MiioAT Vali.ev — Two niercliants, two public 
 houses, one saloon, and two blacksmiths; census taken 
 in September. 
 
 Palmyra District (in what is now Lj-on Count}-) — 
 One saloon and one merchant; census taken in Sep- 
 tember, 
 
 Clinton (now Dayton) — Two blacksmiths, one 
 shoemaker, one saloon, one merchant, one public 
 house; census taken in September. 
 
 Caeson Valley — One school teacher, three hotels, 
 and throe blacksmiths; census taken in October. 
 
 Walker's River Vallev — Two hotels, and one 
 grocery; census taken in October. 
 
 IIoNEV Lake Vallev (taken by t'alit'ornia Mar- 
 shal) — Ills claimed that along the border over L'JOO 
 persons were enumerated for that State who should 
 have been credited to Nevada. lie also saw over 
 2(tO miners' huts made of willow, that were aban- 
 doned because of the trouble with Indians. 
 
 The following enumeration of population at Ilag- 
 lown, the countrj- between there and Virginia City, 
 and the towns in the vicinity of the latter place, were 
 enumerated in August, all the valleys along the base 
 of the Sierra being reached in September except 
 ('arson Valley, which with the Walker River countiy 
 was taken in October. 
 
 POPULATION OF NEVADA IN 1860. 
 
 SlIBnIVISIO.NII. 
 
 White. 
 
 Colored. 
 
 Total. 
 
 Dwelliuifs. 
 
 Male. 
 
 Female . 
 
 
 5S4 
 319 
 ft-i 
 
 i:« 
 
 837 
 80 
 110 
 610 
 87 
 47 
 34 
 80 
 311 
 Oil 
 17S 
 
 an 
 
 97 
 
 2198 
 
 40 
 
 18 
 
 200 
 
 167 
 
 123 
 
 8 
 
 48 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 10 
 2 
 
 714 
 4.52 
 
 78 
 227 
 319 
 
 80 
 
 6:is 
 
 117 
 49 
 40 
 80 
 »i 
 
 637 
 
 196 
 39 
 
 105 
 
 2345 
 
 40 
 
 24 
 
 270 
 
 
 CarHdli Valley 
 
 81 
 
 Ka;,'le Vallev 
 
 64 
 
 K..rt Churchill 
 
 5S 
 
 Flowery Mifiiii;; Distriet 
 
 24 
 
 CciMia 
 
 fjnlil Hill 
 
 28 
 18 
 29 
 2 
 « 
 
 ? 
 1 
 
 57 
 
 .Itt<:k'8 Valley 
 
 Loii;; Valley 
 
 >l»iiitniit)t Ea^lo nmrrlcl 
 
 l'»iiit>Ta Mining District 
 
 23 
 14 
 12 
 2.'i 
 
 tto^'tdwn 
 
 Siher Citv 
 
 2 
 25 
 18 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 Su-aiiibiiut Vallev 
 
 58 
 
 
 14 
 
 Tnickec .Mea<lowii 
 
 8 
 139 
 
 6 
 
 70 
 
 8 
 
 22 
 
 
 SOS 
 
 Virginia ^linltitr histrict 
 
 
 Walker Hi. or Valley 
 
 WiuHJHie Valley 
 
 8 
 «0 
 
 <';ir»nti Count V, total 
 
 Iluiulioliit Countv, total 
 
 5957 
 40 
 105 
 
 710 
 
 4S 
 
 6712 
 40 
 105 
 
 2014 
 8 
 
 Saint Mary'B County, total. 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 Total o( Nevada 
 
 0102 
 
 710 
 
 46 
 
 6' 57 
 
 2fi37 
 
 NirTK.— Of the free colored population IB are male and 2 Icinalc niulntoes. 
 At < ienoa uiie »laoe is reported, named T. J. Sin(;leton, a female, aged 4,'> yean. 
 
 NATIVITY OP POPULATION. 
 
 I rish G5 1 
 
 English 294 
 
 German 454 
 
 Scotch 98 
 
 Mexicans .' 85 
 
 Other foreigners 482 
 
 Total foreign 2,()(i4 
 
 Total native 4,793 
 
 Total population G,857 
 
 t;HAPTER XII. 
 
 TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION. 
 
 1861. 
 
 PolitiCTl Events — Ai)iiointineiit.s liy (iovernor Nye — Org.iniza- 
 tioii and Kluctioiis — E.veeutive Procl.imatiou — .ludicial 
 Orj;aiii/,:itiiiu — Legislative Orj;aiii/.atii)ii — Census ami Elec- 
 tion Districts — Kirst Territ.irial Election — Mcmliers of 
 Teriitiiiiul Council — Members of Huuse of Iteprcseutativcs — 
 Territory Diviileil into Counties — Special Election of .Janu- 
 ary 14, 18()i'— Election of Sei>teml)er 3, ISti'J— Election of 
 tSeptemlM-'r •_', liSOH — Etforta to Become a .State— \'ote For 
 ami Against a State Government — Homograpliic Chart — 
 Third House — The Constitution IJefeated— Vote for Dtlicers 
 Under the Constitution — .Second Attempt to Become a 
 State— Constitutional Convention Elected June litli, and 
 Assemhled .Inly 14, 1864 — Votes for Congressional Delegate 
 — Constitutional V'ote. 
 
 Political and other events in 1861, pertaining to 
 Carson County, chronologically given until it is 
 merged in the first county organization of Nevada 
 bj- Act of her Legislature, approved November 25th 
 of that year as follows: — 
 
 January 8. William O. Connor filed bonds as 
 Deputy Sheriff for S2,000. The office of License 
 Collector declared not warranted by law as the 
 County Treasurer had those duties to perform ex 
 officio. 
 
 .Fanuary 18. Territorial law passed authorizing 
 change of Carson County seat of justice from (tenoa 
 to Carson City. 
 
 February 11. The County Court declared that 
 Honey Lake Valley was within the limits of Carson 
 County, and appropriated 8250 to assist any one in 
 tile legal resistance to the collection of ta.xes, within 
 th:it valle^', bj- the ollicers of Flumas County. Cali- 
 fornia, and March 9th following, that section was 
 organized as District No. 15. 
 
 February 13. Rates of taxation in Carson County 
 fixed for ISiil at one and one-half per cent, for 
 county and one-half jjcr cent, for Territorial pur- 
 poses. The latter was remitted on the following 
 seventeenth of Juno because the new Territory of 
 Nevada had been created in the meantime. 
 
 I''ebruary 14. tJeorge McNeir, County Clerk and 
 Auditor; salary fixe<l at 81,S0() per year. 
 
 February 15. John L. Blackburn allowed 81 ,3(1(1 
 for services as High Sheriff, and J. V. Solo jiresented 
 bill for services as Deputy' Sheriff. 
 
 February lU. The appointment of Assessor and 
 Collector in September being declared illegal and 
 void, the Court appointed to those offices ]•]. C. Car- 
 doza. lie was to collect taxes in St. Mary's and 
 
76 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Humboldt Counties us well as for Carson, those 
 counties haviiii^ been added to the latter for revenue 
 and judicial pur])oscs. 
 
 On the same date Judge Child was authorized by 
 the Count}' Court to select suitable rooms in Carson 
 City for holdini; Ihc March term of Court, the counts- 
 seat having been moved in the meantime from Genoa 
 to that ]ilace; 8200 was allowed to be expended in 
 fitting u]) such rooms. 
 
 February 19. Date of last entry in United States 
 District Court under Judge Cradlebaugh. 
 
 March 1. County Court met in Carson City for 
 the first time. Its place of meeting was in a build- 
 ing rented of George Lewis for §175 per month. 
 
 March 2. Congressional Act approved creating 
 Nevada Territory'. 
 
 March 7. A tax of one-fourth of one per cent, 
 levied to be continued from }-car to year, to raise a 
 fund of not to exceed $15,000 with which to build a 
 County Court llouse, also, one-half of one per cent, 
 to raise that same amount with which to build a jail. 
 
 March 8. Poll-tax fixed at three dollars or two 
 day's work. 
 
 March 22. 
 of Nevada. 
 
 April 10. 
 
 April 11. 
 
 James W. Nj-e commissioned Governor 
 
 George McXeir no longer County Clerk. 
 P. H. Cla^'ton presented a bill for ser- 
 vices as Prosecuting Attorney, and Thomas Winn as 
 Deputy Sheriff. 
 
 April 12. Assessor and his Deputy allowed ten 
 dollars per day for services, and eight per cent, on 
 amount collected. 
 
 April 18. Selectman J. J. Coddington resigned and 
 Wellington Stewart was appointed on the seventeenth 
 to fill the vacancy. On this last date. William Alford 
 resigned as Selectman, and May 14th, John W. Grier 
 was appointed to fill the vacancy. 
 
 May 14. The salarj' of Probate Judge was fixed 
 at §2,500 per annum, and that of Selectmen at 81,500. 
 
 July 8. Governor James W. Nye arrived in Car- 
 son ('it J'. 
 
 July 11. Governor Nye issued his proclamation 
 organizing the Territory of Nevada. 
 
 APPOINTMENTS FOR C.VKSON COUNTY. 
 
 The following appointments by Governor Nye 
 were made for (Jarson County during the year 18(Jl : 
 
 J'robate Judge, L. W. Ferris, Virginia City, July 29. 
 
 Clerk, Nelson W. Wiiiton, Virginia City, July 29. 
 
 Jiecorder, Samuel 1). King. July 29. 
 
 District Attorney, Marcus D. Larrowe, August 12. 
 
 T'ounty Siirvej'or, S. 11. Marlette, August 14. 
 
 Treasurer, AKerd Helm, August 20. 
 
 Selectmen, J. Williams, Chauncy N. Notowaro, 
 George W. Grier. .hily 81 . John F. Long. Septembei' 2. 
 
 In the next cha])ter is given a detail of events that 
 worked the change by which Carson County was 
 ab.sorbed and deprived of its separate existence. It 
 was a gradual transformation. 
 
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 cocoo-icDoooccinr-< 
 
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 2-S 
 
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 5 3 
 
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 5 
 H f 
 
 — s. -^ 
 
 DEATHS IN CARSON COUNTY. 
 
 The following deaths occurred within a year ]irior 
 to June 1, 18(!0, and do not include those slain by 
 either red or white men: — 
 
 FORT CIIPRCIIILL. 
 
 Robert Murphj', ago 2G, drowned, soldier. 
 Charles P. Selmer, age 28, inflammation of bowels, 
 soldier. 
 
oC't»?re/ci^^ 
 
 Hon. Lyman L. Crockett was born March 1, 1S31, 
 in Waldo ('ounty, .Maine; fame to the Pacific OoaHt 
 by way of the l8thmu.s of Panama in 1S51. During 
 the succooding nine years he was engaged in lumber- 
 ing and mining in California. 
 
 In 18()0 ho came to the then Territory of Utah 
 and worked at mining for one year, in Washoe 
 County. In lS(il he moved to Dayton, Lj'on County 
 (then called Chinatown, Carson ('ounty, Utah), and 
 built the first hay and feed stable ever opened in the 
 town, which business he followed for about one and 
 one-half years, when he engaged in the lumber busi- 
 ness, in which he remained the greater part of his 
 residence there. During that time he held several 
 ])OHitionsof trust and honor, some of them mentioned 
 in this sketch. In 1805 ho was appointed United 
 States I)ei)Uty Revenue Assessor for liyon ('ounty, 
 and was also United States Commissioner and Notary 
 Pul)lic. As County Cominissioner and Count)- Re- 
 corder and ex officio Auditor, as well as in his various 
 other offices, ho accjuitted himself with credit and to 
 the satisfaction of his constituency. In 1870 ho was 
 I)eputy Census Enumerator of Lyon County. In 
 1876 he removed to Reno, Washoe County, and 
 again engaged in the lumber business, also in the 
 manufacture of gas. In 1878 he was elected to the 
 
 position of State Treasurer, on the Republican ticket. 
 Since 1863 ho has been an active working mem- 
 ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
 and is at present connected with the same lodge in 
 which he was initiated over seventeen years ago. 
 Ho has been honored by his brother members to a 
 high degree, having held many positions in the lodge; 
 was Representative to the R. W. Grand Lodge for 
 twelve successive years; was also R. W. tJraiid Treas- 
 urer and W. G. Chaplain. In 186t) he became a 
 member of the Order of F. it A. M., joining Valley 
 Lodge, No. t), at Dayton, in which he has held sev- 
 eral oflSces, often officiating at burials in the absence 
 of clorg3-men. He has always rendered assistance 
 to his distressed brethren, and many live to testify 
 to his generosity. In 1861 he, in connection with 
 Judge Calvin Hall, located the cemetery at Dayton, 
 and December itth, of the same year, Mr. Crockett 
 dug the first grave therein. Several hundred have 
 since found a resting-place there; among them arc 
 two children that once cheered the household of Mr. 
 Crockett. He has a residence in Reno, Washoe 
 County, but at present resides in Carson City, the 
 duties of his present office making it incumbent on 
 him to do so. Mr. Crockett was married in October, 
 18();5, but has no children living. 
 
TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION. 
 
 77 
 
 Charles Slapp, ago 29, drowned, soldier. 
 Fred. Acaidel, age 23, drowned, soldier. 
 
 WA.SIIOE VALLEY. 
 
 John Calvin, ago 29, typhoid fever, teamster. 
 
 Senira Perkins, age l(i. typhoid fever. 
 
 Louisa Perkins, aged 4, typhoid fever. 
 
 Chester Harlow, aged 1, iuttamnialion of bowels. 
 
 Harriet Parks, ago 25, child bed. 
 
 Thomas J. Owsloy, ago 2, cholera infantum. 
 
 CARSO>J VALLEY. 
 
 Mary E. Jones, age 40, congestion of brain. 
 William Kdwards, ago 51, mountain fever, farmer. 
 Iliram Mott, ago 29, by a threshing machine, 
 farmer. 
 
 Sarah J. Robinson, ago 21, typhoid fever, servant. 
 
 WAOES IN 18(!0. 
 
 Farm hands, per month, ^50, or S:5 per day with, 
 and S3. 50 without board. 
 
 Female help, per month, S40, with board. 
 
 Carpenters, per day, without board, S7. 
 
 Board from 812 to S2(i per week to laborers. 
 
 Ruby Valley, in St. Mary's Count}-, has but one 
 farm, run by William Rogers, Indian Agent. Last 
 winter there was throe feet of snow in the valley, 
 and most of the stock died for want of feed. 
 Mountains highly timbered with cedar and pine. 
 No minerals yet discovered there. 
 
 llu.MBOLUT County. — No inhabitants in the county 
 except those connected vvith the mail service. The 
 onlj- things not human seen living are snakes, liz- 
 ards, and crickets, upon which the Indians are 
 forced to live a portion of the year. " Tho county 
 is the most barren of any I ever passed over." 
 
 J. P. Waters, 
 United States Deputy Marshal. 
 
 First, Congress created a new Territory including 
 it, over which a new system of laws ap])lie(l. Then 
 came Governor Nye, who applied the new system to 
 tho old subdivision as they had existed under Utah. 
 A Legislature then met, and on the twenty-fifth of 
 November, ISGl, the Territory was segregated into 
 nine counties, among whidi the old names of St. 
 Mary's and ('arson found no ])laco. The Legislature 
 enacted that the records of the county erased should 
 be turned over to the Secretary of State for safe 
 kee])ing, where they are now to be found. Then the 
 legal shadows of Utah passed from that portion of 
 the Great Basin that is now known as tho Stale of 
 Nevada. 
 
 OUdANIZATUtN ANll EI.KCTION. 
 
 James W . Nye, of Madison County, New York, 
 was commissioned Governor of the newlj'-created 
 Territorj- of Nevada, on the twenty-second of March, 
 1801; commissions being issued on the lwentj--sev- 
 enth of tho same month to Orion Clemens, as Sec- 
 retaiy; to Benjamin 15. Hunker, as United States 
 Attorney; and (ieorge Turner, as (Jhief J iistice; his 
 Associate Justices being Horatio M. Jones and Gor- 
 don N. Mott. 
 10 
 
 In July of that 3"ear Governor Nye issued tho 
 following, his first proclamation, to the people over 
 whom he was appointed: — 
 
 EXECUTIVE PnoOLAMATION. 
 To all whom it may concern — 
 
 Whereas, By an Act of Congress of the United 
 States of America, entitled "An Act to organize the 
 Territory of Nevada," ajiproved March 2, ISfil, a 
 true eo])y of which is lieri^to annexed, a (iovern- 
 meiit was created over all the country described in 
 said Act, to be called the "Ten-ilory of Nevada;" 
 and whereas, the following-named officers have been 
 duU- a])pointed and coiniuissioned under said Act, 
 as officers of said (iovernmenl, viz.: — 
 
 James W. Nye, Governor of said Territory, Com- 
 mander-in-Chief of the Militia thereof, and Suiierin- 
 tendent of Indian Affairs thei-ein; Orion Clemens, 
 Secretary of said Territorj-; (ieorge Turner, Cliief 
 Justice; and Horatio M. Jones and (Jordon N. Mott, 
 Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of said Ter- 
 litorj', and to act as Judges of the District Court for 
 said Territorj-; Benjamin H. Hunker, Attorney of 
 the United States for said Territor}-; I). Bates, ilar- 
 shal of the United States for said Territory; and 
 John W. North. Surveyor General for said Territory; 
 and the said (Governor and the other officers having 
 assumed the duties of their said oflices, according to 
 law, said Territorial Government is hereby declared 
 to be organized and established, and all persons are 
 enjoined to conform to, respect, and obey the laws 
 thereof accordingly. 
 
 Given under my hand and the seal of said Terri- 
 tory this eleventh day of July, a. d. 18t!l, and of the 
 independence of the United States of America tho 
 eighty-fifth. James W. Nve, 
 
 Governor of Nevada Territoi-y. 
 
 Governor Nye filled the several offices created by 
 the first Legislative Assembly with tho following- 
 named gentlemen; and thus tho swaddling-clothes 
 of government were )iHt U])on Nevada, transforming 
 liei-, an infant, into the sisterhood of Territories. 
 
 ArroINTEO 1!V (iOVERNOIt .JAMES W. NYE. 
 
 January 1, 18ti2, Warden of Prison, Abraham 
 Curry. 
 
 February 1, 18(12, Treasurer, John TL Kinkead. 
 
 February 1, 18(12, Auditor, Perry (i. Child. 
 
 February 24, 18t)2, School Superintendent, William 
 (J, Blakely. 
 
 September 8, 18G3, Auditor, vice Child, resigned, 
 William W. Rose. 
 
 December 24, 18()3, Superintendent Public Instruc- 
 tion, for two years, A. F. White. 
 
 At a later date tho following officers succeeded 
 those in the positions named who arrived with (iov- 
 ernor Nye: — 
 
 August .il, 18(j;!, Ciiited States Attorney, Theo. 
 Mdwards. 
 
 October 2, 18(13, Judge First District Court, John 
 W. North. 
 
 October 14, 1803, Assistant Justice Siii)remo Court, 
 Powhattan B. Locke. 
 
 JUDICIAL OROANIZATION. 
 
 On the Bovcntccnth of Jul}- another proclamation 
 
78 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 was iesned, this time to establish Judicial Districts, 
 over which to aBHijrn the three Judges for duty, and 
 the division was a peculiar one. 
 
 District No. 1, to which Gordon X. Mott was 
 assigned, included all of Carson County lying west 
 of the one hundred and eighteenth degree of longi- 
 tude, and embraced what now is Washoe, Ormsby, 
 Douglas, Storey, Lj'on and most of Churchill, 
 Counties. Within it was, practically, all the white 
 population of the Territory. 
 
 The Second District embraced that part of Nevada 
 
 ing east of No. 1, and between the one hundred 
 and seventeenth and one hundred and eighteenth 
 degrees of longitude, and J.o it was assigned Chief 
 Justice George Turner to preside over a country 
 inhabited by whites at the stage stations, Shoshonos 
 and Pah-Utes. 
 
 The third was given to Judge Horatio M. Jones, 
 and included all the Territory lying east of the one 
 hundred and seventeenth degree of longitude, within 
 which were a few more stage stations, and quite a 
 number of Shoshone and Gosh-Ute Indians. 
 
 The proclamation further stated, that the terms of 
 Court in the First District were to last two weeks, 
 commencing at Virginia City on the twenty-third of 
 July, to alternate between Carson and that place, 
 and closed with the following : — 
 
 The times and places for holding terms of the Dis- 
 trict Court, in the Second and Third District, will be 
 designated in a subsequent proclamation. 
 
 LEGISLATIVE ORGANIZATION. 
 
 The next thing in order, after having insured an 
 equitable dispensation of law, among the whites as 
 well as among the Indians, by the assignment of 
 Judges, was the organization of a Territorial Govern- 
 ment, or to set the wheels of State in motion. In 
 pursuance of this purpose, another proclamation was 
 issued, July 24th, that districted as follows, the Ter- 
 ritorj', for census and election purposes, appointing 
 Dr. Ilcnry De Groot, of Carson City, to take charge 
 of enumeration, and make returns of the number of 
 population in Nevada, on the twenty-second of that 
 month and year: — 
 
 CENSUS AND ELECTION UISTRICTS OF 18G1. 
 
 District No. 1, Genoa, including all of Carson Val- 
 ley south of Clear Creek. Population, 1,057. 
 
 District No. 2. Carson City, including Eagle Val- 
 ley, and that portion of Carson Valley north of Clear 
 Creek, and to a point three miles south of Empire 
 City. Population. 2,076. 
 
 District No. y,. Empire City and vicinity. Popula- 
 tion, 02ft. 
 
 District No. 4, Silver City and vicinity. Popula- 
 tion, 1,022. 
 
 District No. 5, Gold Hill and vicinity. Population, 
 1,297. 
 
 District No. 6, Virginia City and vicinity, includ- 
 ing what is known as Flowery District. Population, 
 3,284. 
 
 District No. 7, Washoe, including the Washoe Val- 
 ley, and all the territor}' south of the divide between 
 Washoe Vallej- and Steamboat Creek. Population, 
 1,005. 
 
 District No. 8, Steamboat Creek and Truckee Val- 
 ley. Population, 608. 
 
 District No. 9, Pyramid District, including all 
 territory north of Truckee Valley, from a point where 
 the Truckee River enters the mountains below Gates 
 and Gage's Crossing, and west of Pyramid Lake. 
 Population, 1,073. 
 
 District No. 10, Humboldt City and vicinity, in- 
 cluding the valley of the Humboldt and Silver Hill. 
 Population, 469. 
 
 District No. 11, Fort Churchill District, including 
 the Carson Valley, from a point ten miles below 
 Empire City to the sink of the Carson. Population, 
 569. 
 
 District No. 12, The valley of Walker Eiver and 
 all territory south and east of it. Population, 3,286. 
 Making the total population, 16,374. 
 
 The number of population being ascertained, the 
 next move in order was the calling of an election to 
 choose a Delegate to Congress, and a Legislative 
 Body for the Territory. This was done, and the 
 election occurred on the thirty-first of August, 1801, 
 resulting as follows : — 
 
 FIRST TERRITORIAL ELECTION DELEGATE TO CONGRESS. 
 
 The Union vote was 4,300; Democrat, 985. 
 
 John Cradlebaugh received votes 1,806 
 
 Charies E. OIney, " " 1,593 
 
 ("haries H. Bryan, " " . 90l 
 
 William F. Anderson, " ■ " 985 
 
 Scattering " 6 
 
 Total Vote 5,291 
 
 .MEMBERS OF TERRITORIAL COUNCIL. 
 
 District No. 1, J. W. Pugh, 413 votes, two candi- 
 dates; total vote, 642. 
 
 District No. 2, Ira M. Luther, 313 votes, throe can- 
 didates; total vote, 313. 
 
 District No. 3, Wm. M. Stewart,* 557 votes, three 
 candidates; total vote, 1,095. 
 
 District No. 4, John W. Grier,t 477 votes, two 
 candidates; total vote, 726. 
 
 District No. 5, Thomas Hannah, 220 votes, two 
 candidates; total vote, 386. 
 
 District No. 6, A. W. Pray, 671 votes; J. L. Van 
 Bokkelen, 635 votes; six candidates; total vote, 
 
 District No. 7, Solomc)n Geller,J 134 votes, four 
 candidates; total vote, 408. 
 
 District No. 8, none elected. 
 
 District No 9, Isaac lloop, 62 votes, two candi- 
 dates; total vote, 68. 
 
 • Resignefl in 1862. 
 
 + Resigned October 23, 1 86 1 , and a special elccti'm culled in 
 Lyon County, to choose his successor November 3, 1862. 
 
 t George \V'. Hejipcrly contested for the seat, but faileil lo sus- 
 tain the charge of illegal votes cast at Huffaker polls, upon 
 which his claim depended. 
 
TEIUUTUKIAL URGANIZATIUN. 
 
 79 
 
 MEMBERS OF HOUSE OV REPRESENTATIVES. 
 
 District N<>. 1, Samuel Yoiiiifjs, M^ votes; William 
 E.Teall, 320 votes; seven caiulidates; totalvote, 1,327. 
 
 District No. 2, James McLean, 180 votes, two can- 
 didates; total vote, 31G. 
 
 District No. 3, W. P. Harrington, Jr., 526 votes; 
 John D. Winters, 652 votes; six candidates; total 
 vote, 2.105. 
 
 District No. 4, William L. Card, 365 votes; K. M. 
 Ford, 330 votes; five candidates; total vote, 1,341. 
 
 District No. 5, John 11. Mills, ISO votes, three can- 
 didates; total vote, 394. 
 
 District No. 6, Mark IT. 15ryan, (Ml votes; Ejihraim 
 Durham,* 582 votes; Miles N. Mitchell, 623 votes; 
 nine candidates; total vote, 3,333. 
 
 District No. 7, Edward C. Ing, 205 votes; J. 
 H. Stnrtovant, 297 votes; four candidates; total 
 vote, 728. 
 
 District No. 8. William J. Osborn, 215 votes, three 
 candidates; total vote, 4(52. 
 
 District No. 9, John V. Wright, 52 votes, two can- 
 didates; total vote, 58. 
 
 After the election, another proclamation was made 
 declaring the result, and naming October_l, 1861, as 
 the time, and ("arson City us the place, for the mem- 
 bers to " meet in Legislative Asseinldy." 
 
 Congress had named 820,000 in gi-eenbacks as the 
 amount that could be expended per year in support- 
 ing a Tci-ritorial (iovei iimeiit for Nevada; and the 
 fear of not over prompt pay added to the fact that 
 greenbacks, the U. S. currency, were onlj- worth 
 about forty cents on the dollar, caused the people to 
 look with reserve upon the new scheme of Govern- 
 ment that came with oflicei"s imported to run it. The 
 Assembly was called to meet at Carson, but there 
 was no one there who would i-cnt the Government a 
 place on credit for the members to meet in. 
 
 Mark Twain, whose brother was Territorial Sec- 
 retary at the time says in his " Roughing It": — 
 
 But when Curry hoard of the (iifliculty, he came for- 
 ward solitary and alone, and shouicU'rcd the Ship of 
 State over the bar ami got her afloat again. 1 refer to 
 " Cuvry—0/<l Curry— Old Aim Curry." But for him 
 the Legislature would have been obliged to sit in the 
 desert. Ho otfoivd his iai-gc stone building Just out- 
 side the (•a|)ital, rent IVoc, and it was ghullj" ac- 
 cepted. Then ho built a horse-railroad from town to 
 the ca]iital, and carried the Legislators gratis. He 
 also furnished j)ine benches and chairs for the I>egis- 
 laturc, and covered the floors with clean saw-dust bj- 
 way of car|)et and s|)ittoon combined. Hut for Curry 
 the Government would have died in its tender in- 
 fancy. A canvas jiartilion, to sejjarate the Senate 
 from the House of liopresentatives, was put u|) by 
 the Secretary, at a cost of three dollars and forty 
 cents, but the rniled States <ioclinod to paj- for it. 
 Upon being roniimled that the "instructions" j)er- 
 mittcd llio p;iyinont of a liberal rent lor a legislative 
 hall, anil that that money was saved to the country 
 by Mr. Curi-y's generosity, the United States said 
 
 * Was from jVirginia City, and R. W. liillutt contcHtcd with 
 him the Bi'iit in tlic Iloiinv, on the grounds of iiun-residence, but 
 failed to iiiaintitiii the position. 
 
 that did not alter the matter, and the three dollars 
 and forty cents would bo subtracted from the Secre- 
 tary's eightoen-hundred-dollar salary — and it wm .' 
 
 The following, also from Mark Twain's book, is in 
 several particulars an exaggeration of facts, but for 
 all that gives so strong an impression of the general 
 surroundings at the time, that we give it in full: — 
 
 The matter of printing was from the beginning an 
 interesting feature of the new Government's diflicul- 
 ties. The Secretary was sworn to obey his volume 
 of written " instructions,' and these commanded him 
 to do two certain things without fail, viz.: — 
 
 1. Got the House and Senate journals printed, 
 and, 
 
 2. For this work, pay one dollar and tifty-cents 
 per " thousand " for composition, and one dollar and 
 fifty-cents per " token " for ])ress-work, in green- 
 backs. 
 
 It was easy to swear to do these two things, but 
 it was entirely impossible to do more than one of 
 them. When greenbacks had gone down to forty 
 cents on the dollar the jirices regularly charged 
 every bod3' by ])rinting establishments were 81.50 ])er 
 "thousand," and 81 5(1 ]ier '-token," in (/old. The "in- 
 structions" comniandod that the Secretary regard a 
 paper dollar issued by thotiovernmont as eipial to any 
 other (loUur issued by the Govornment. Hence the 
 printing of the journals was dist'onlinuod. Then 
 the United Slates stt'rnly roliuUed the Secretary for 
 disregarding the "instructions." anil warned him to 
 correct his ways. Whereupon he got some printing 
 done, and forwarded the bill to Washington* with 
 full exhibits of the high ])rice8 of things in the Ter- 
 ritory, and called attention to a printed market 
 report, wherein it would be observed that even hay 
 was 8250 a ton. The United States responded by 
 substracting the ])rinting-bill from the Secretary's 
 suffering salary; and, moreover, remarked, with 
 dense gravity, that he would find nothing in his 
 "instructions" reijuiring him to purchase hay! 
 
 Nothing in this world is ])alled in such impenetrablo 
 obscurity as a United States Treasury Controller's 
 understanding. The very tires of the hereaftercould 
 get up nothing more than a litful glimmer in it. In 
 the days 1 s])eak of ho never could be made to com- 
 prehend why it was that .i?20,00(l would nt)t go as far 
 in Nevada, where all commodities ranged at an enor- 
 mous figure, as it would in the other Territories, 
 whore exceeding chea])ness was the rule. Ho was 
 an officer who looked out for the little expenses all 
 the time. The Secretary of the Territory ke])t his 
 ofiice in his bed-room, as I have before remarked; 
 and he charged the United States no rent, although 
 his "instructions" ])rovided for that item, and ho 
 could have just'}' taken advantage of it (a thing 
 which I W(Milil have done with more than lightning 
 jiromptness if 1 had been Secretary mj'self); but 
 the United States never a|i|>lauiled this devotion, 
 indeed, I think my country was ashamed to have so 
 ini|)rovident a ]ierson in its em]iloy. 
 
 Those "instructions " (wo used to read a chapter 
 from them every morning as intellectual gymnastics, 
 
 * Wo notice in thoso procoodings that (rovernnr Nye's me«- 
 sago to the I,p^;islative Asswnhly, coverinK eleven pages in tho 
 book, was printed viTbatiin twite over, inakiii); twenty two 
 jjages in all. It is an exwllent niessijii', tilled with a p.itiiotio 
 (ire so characteristic of the 'Hiray ICanle," as the (iovernnr later 
 came to be called; but it would seem that one insertion under 
 the trying pc'cuiiiary circumstances would have l)ecn enough 
 even for that message. 
 
80 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 and a couple of chapters in Sunda5'-school every Sab- 
 bath, for thoy treated of all subjects under the sun 
 and had much valuable relitrious matter in them 
 aionfi willi the other statistics), those "illustrations" 
 commanded that ])en knives, envelopes, pens, and 
 writinj^ paper be lurnished the members of the Leg- 
 islature, so the Secretary inade the purchase and 
 distribution. The knives cost three dollars apiece. 
 There was one too many, and the Secretary gave it 
 to the Clerk of the House of Eepresentatives. The 
 United States said the Clerk of the Ilouse was not a 
 "member" of the Legislature, and took that three 
 dollars out of the Secretary's salary as usual. 
 
 White men charged three or lour dollars a "load" 
 for sawing up stove wood. The Secretary was saga- 
 cious enough to know that the L'nited States would 
 never pay any such price as that; so he got an 
 Indian to saw up a load of office wood at one dollar 
 and a half. lie made out the usual voucher, but 
 signed no name to it — simply aj)pended a note 
 explaining that an Indian had done the work, 
 and had done it in a very capable and satisfactor^- 
 waj'. but could not sign the voucher owing to lack of 
 ability in the necessary direction. The Secretary 
 had to paj' that dollar and a half He thought the 
 United States would admire both his econom}- and 
 his honest}- in getting the work done at half-pi'ice 
 and not putting a pretended Indian's signature to 
 the voucher, but the United States did not see it in 
 that light. The L'nited States was too much accus- 
 tomed to employing dollar- and-a-half thieves in all 
 manner of official capacities to regard his explanation 
 of the voucher as having an}- foundation in fact. 
 
 But the next time the Indian sawed wood for us I 
 taught him to make a cross at the bottom of the 
 voucher, 
 
 his 
 
 WaW-HO X NO-PAH. 
 mark 
 
 It looked like a cross that had been drunk a j-ear — 
 and then I " witnessed " it and it went through all 
 right. The United States never said a word. 1 was 
 Borry I had not made the voucher for a thou.sand 
 loads of wood instead of one. The Goverrment of 
 my countrj- snubs honest simplicitj- but fondles 
 artistic villain}-, and 1 lhiid< I might have developed 
 into a very capable pick-jjocket it' I had remained in 
 the public service a year or two. 
 
 That was a fine collection of sovereigns, that first 
 Nevada Legislature. They levied taxes to the 
 amount of thirty or forty thousand dollars and 
 ordered ex])cnditures to the extent of about a mil- 
 lion. Yet they had their Iit4le jieriodical cx])losions 
 of economy like all other bodies of the kind. A 
 member projiosed to save three dollars a day to the 
 nation by disjicii^iiiLC with the Cliajilain. And ye* 
 that shorl-siglitcii man needed the Chaplain more 
 than any other member, )>erhiijis, for he generally 
 sat with his feet on his desk, eating raw turnij)s, 
 during the morning prayer. 
 
 The Legislature s:tt sixty days, and passed private 
 toll-road franchises all the time. When they ad- 
 journed it was esiimated that every citizen owned 
 about three franchises, and it was believed that un- 
 less Congress gave the Territory another degree of 
 longitude there would not be room enough to accom- 
 modate the toll roads. The ends of them were hang- 
 ing over the boundary line everywhere like a fringe. 
 
 The fact is. the treigliting bu.-iiiess li:id grown to 
 such important j)roporlioMs that there was nearly as 
 much excitement over suddenly ac(|uired toll-road 
 fortunes as over the wonderful silver mines. 
 
 This first Legislature held a forty-nine days' 
 session, and adjourned November 29lh, after having 
 passed complete civil and criminal codes for the Ter- 
 ritory. Their enactments and joint resolutions, after 
 compilation, covered 518 pages of a royal octavo 
 book, eight of which are devoted to toll-road fran- 
 chises, only six of them having been granted. We 
 mention these facts, because of the wholesale exag- 
 geration in this particular by Mark Twain, which 
 has left a false impression of the efforts and character 
 of that first Assembly. 
 
 TERRITORY DIVIDED INTO COUNTIES. 
 
 By an Act approved November 25, 1861, the Ter- 
 ritory was divided into nine counties by name as fol- 
 lows : Churchill, Douglas, Esmeralda, Humboldt, 
 Lake (changed to Roop, December 5, 1802), Lyon, 
 Ormsby, Storey, Washoe. 
 
 Humboldt, Churchill, and Esmeralda Counties 
 included about four-fifths of the total area of the 
 Territory ; the other counties the principal popula- 
 tion. 
 
 After the division into counties it became neces- 
 sary to breathe the breath of political life into those 
 subdivisions, which was done in the following man- 
 ner: The two branches of the Assembly met in joint 
 convention, and nominated thrge Commissioners for 
 each county, who were commissioned by the Gov- 
 ernor. It was the duty of those appointed to meet in 
 their respective localities and apportion the same 
 into voting precincts, and prejiare for a general elec- 
 tion, to be held on the ensuing fourteenth of Janu- 
 ary, 18G2, at which time county officers were to be 
 chosen. Probate Judges and District Attorneys for 
 the several counties were given a two years' appoint- 
 ment by the Governor, upon the recommendation of 
 the joint House. For the result of that election see 
 the several county histories in this work. 
 
 This election of January 14, 1802, was for the pur- 
 pose of choosing county officers to serve until their 
 successors were entitled to supersede them; and it 
 was provided that their successors should be voted 
 for on the third of Sejitember the same year. There 
 were conscijuently three sets of officials in 1802 for 
 some of the counties in the Territory ; one by appoint- 
 ment, and two elected. 
 
 At the election of September ?,d, twenty-six Ter- 
 ritorial IJcpreseiitatives, five Councilmen, and a Dele- 
 gate to the Ilouse of Representatives, were chosen. 
 The votes cast, and names of successfid candidates 
 for the first two ])osiiions named, are given in the 
 county histories, for the latter it was as follows: — 
 
 ELFXTION OK SEl'TEMIIER 3, 1802. 
 
 Candidates for Delegates to Congress: — 
 
 Gordon N. Mott 2,838 
 
 John D. Winters 1,682 
 
 J.J M usser 1,710 
 
 J. II. Rals'on 904 
 
 Scattering Votes •- 35 
 
 7,169 
 
^H^^c^^Z^<..'^^^^--C^/^ 
 
 Hon. Jasper Baucock, Secretary of State of 
 Nevada, is a native of Ashford, Windham Countj^, 
 Connecticut and was born April G, 1821. His par- 
 ents moved into the State of New Yorli, and that 
 became the field of his business operations up 
 to 1852. He was a heavy railroad, canal and build- 
 ing contractor, the construction of fifteen miles of 
 the New York Central Railroad being one among the 
 numerous operations of his in this lino. 
 
 In 1852 ho moved to the Pacific Coast for the pur- 
 pose of continuing his business in San Francisco; and 
 for a time was very successful, many of the extensive 
 grading contracts in that city in early days being 
 ojicrated by him, until ho began to feel as though 
 fortune was being very kind to him. Hut one day, 
 Henry Mciggs, who had caused the illegal issuance 
 of large amounts of city scrip, suddenly disappeared, 
 and that class of paper fell from eighty cents on the 
 dollar, to ten. Mr. Habcock had on hand and duo 
 him in that class of ])aper, over 812(1,00(1 at the time, 
 875,000 of which was pledged for borrowed money, 
 and in a daj' he was bankrupt, but ho paid every 
 dollar of his debts and then wont to work for a 
 salary. 
 
 From that time forward his career has boon rather 
 of a checkered one, divided between mining in Cali- 
 
 fornia, Arizona and Nevada, speculating in real es- 
 tate, and operating water ditches. In 1873 ho came 
 to Nevada to take charge of a mining enterprise on 
 the Comstock, and since that time has been a resi- 
 dent of this State. 
 
 Before his first sottlomont in Virginia City ho had 
 succeeded in mending his broken fortunes and in 
 accumulating a competence; but it was swept away 
 in a stock zephyr, and he was left, at between 
 fifty and sixty years of age, with only his reputation, 
 his business qualifications, his energy and friends, to 
 start in life again, to build from the bed-rock up. 
 
 He is now a widower, with one son and three 
 daughters living. 
 
 Mr. Babcock has not made politics a business or 
 a study, but was elected to the Legislature in Cali- 
 fornia in 185!) as a Douglas Democrat, and follow- 
 ing the advice of his groat loader, became from the 
 first an uncompromising sui)porter of the Union 
 movement, and naturally floated into the ranks of the 
 Republican party. 
 
 In 187(1 he was elected to the Legislature from 
 Storey County, and Secretary of State for Nevada 
 in 1878, for a term of four years, having for his 
 deputy, Mr. James G. Chosloy, a very competent 
 and genial gentleman. 
 
TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION. 
 
 81 
 
 EFFORTS TO BECOME A STATE. 
 
 At the session of the Legislature of 1862, an Act 
 was passed that will be found on page 128 of the 
 Statutes of that year, that authorized at the general 
 election in September of 1803, the choice of Dele- 
 gates to frame a State Constitution to be submitted 
 to the peoj)le for their ap]iroval. At the same time 
 the question was submitted of whether the people 
 desired a State Government, with the following 
 results: — 
 
 VOTE FOR AND AGAINST A STATE OOVERN.MENT 
 SEPTEMBER 2, 1803. 
 
 FOR A8A1NST 
 
 Churchill and Lyon Counties. . 849 288 
 
 Douglas County- 193 119 
 
 Esmeralda County 539 72 
 
 Jlumboldt County 503 489 
 
 Lander County 583 87 
 
 Ormsby County 002 147 
 
 Storey Count}- - 2.415 155 
 
 Washoe County. 
 
 91G 
 
 145 
 
 Totals 6,660 1,502 
 
 Majority for a State Government 5,158 
 
 The people having decided by such an emjjhatic 
 majority in favor of putting on the robes of Slate, 
 caused the Delegates to assemble at Carson City on 
 the second of November after election, with a strong 
 faith in the eventual adoption of wlialever Constitu- 
 tion they should iVanio. 
 
 The Convention sessions were continued until 
 December 11th, and an instrument was framed that 
 in most particulars was the same as the one under 
 which Nevada later became a State in the Union. 
 Due attention was paid by many Delegates to the 
 chances of future preferment in a jjolitical waj-, this 
 fact being particularly noticeable in William M. 
 Stewart, ofStorey County, who laterbecame Nevada's 
 United States Senator. Mark Twain was a reporter 
 
 HOMOGRAPHIC CHART 
 
 — OF THE — 
 
 Members Constituting the Constitutional Convention of November, 1863, 
 
 AS PREPARED BY THE CONVENTION'S SECRETARY, WM. M. GILLESPIE. 
 
 Delegates. 
 
 Ciiunty 
 Represented 
 
 Alban, Win. G ... 
 B.1II. Xath'l A. H, 
 Bcclitel, Krud'k K 
 Bryan, C'lias. II . 
 Brdsnaii, C. M . . 
 C'liapin, Sam I A. 
 C'ulliiis, John A. . 
 Conner, Henry . . 
 Corey, James C. . . 
 Uorscy, Edward B 
 
 Knt, Fred'k A 
 
 Epler, W'm 
 
 (lilrson, (leo. L. . . 
 llaiaca, Jamu^ \V. 
 Harrison, W. It . . 
 Hiokok, Wni. B .. 
 
 Hitc, Levi 
 
 Hudson, Geo. A. . 
 lug, Edward C. . . . 
 Johnson, .1. Neely. 
 Keiiiiedy, Frank 11 
 Kinkead, .lnhn il. 
 Larrowe, Marcus U 
 McClure, James B 
 Mitcllell, Miles \, 
 Nightiiigill, A. \V, 
 North, John W. . , 
 Notcware, C. N . 
 Plunkett, Jos. U. 
 Potter, Charles S. 
 iiaUton, .fames H 
 mianip, L'hos. B . 
 Sm.ill, .l.as. W. . . 
 •Stark, .lames. .... 
 
 Sterns, L. O 
 
 Stewart, W'm. .M . 
 Vinlen, \Vm. 11 . 
 Wat^S'in, Warren. 
 Youii.;8, .Samuel . 
 •Cillespie. \V. M 
 t.Miirsli, A. J ... 
 + Bowman, Amos. 
 I. Stow, H. M... 
 
 Post-office Address. 
 
 Term of residence in 
 this Territory. 
 
 Place of Nativit.v. 
 
 State lost resi- 
 dent of. 
 
 Storey . . . Virginia . . . 
 Storey .. . IJold Hill . . . 
 
 ICsuieralda .\urora 
 
 Storey . . .Virginia . . . . 
 Storey . . . I Virginia . . . . 
 .Storey . . .! Virginia . . . . 
 Storey . . .j Virginia . . . . 
 
 Esmeralda' Aurora 
 
 Storey . . .klold Hill . . . 
 Ormsljy . . I Empire City. 
 Washoe. . j Frank town . 
 Hunilxjldt Star City . . . 
 
 Since July, 1861 
 Since Oct. I, 1S6I 
 Since May, IStjO 
 
 Ormshy . . 
 Uoughis. . 
 Humhcjidt 
 
 Lyon 
 
 Storey . . . 
 Lyon .... 
 Washoe . . 
 Ormshy . 
 Lyou .... 
 i )rms1 >y . . 
 Lander. .. 
 Lyon .... 
 .Storey . . . 
 Humboldt 
 Washoe . . 
 Douglas. . 
 Storey . . . 
 \V;i.shoe. . 
 Lamler.. . 
 Wa-sliiw. . 
 Douglas . . 
 l-^meralda 
 ICsmeralda 
 .Storey . . . 
 Lyon .... 
 Drmshy . . 
 'KsnteraKl.i 
 'storey . . . 
 
 Carson City. . 
 ( ienoa 
 
 Silver City. . 
 (iold Hill... 
 Silver City. . 
 Truckee .\leadows 
 Ciirsou City. . . . 
 
 Dayton 
 
 Carson City. . . . 
 
 Austiu 
 
 Carson Sink. . . . 
 
 Virginia 
 
 Unionville 
 
 Washoe City . . . 
 lleiioa 
 
 ^■'■■i.''"';' 
 
 Ophir 
 
 Austin 
 
 10 months 
 
 .Since June, 1S60 
 
 Since Sept., 186i 
 Since Aug., 1851) 
 
 .Since March, 1 850 
 Since Aug., 18G1 
 
 4 years 
 
 1 year last May. 
 
 Mansticld, Ohio 
 
 Portsmouth, N. H 
 
 Iteading, Berks Co., Penn. 
 
 California. . . Physician. . . . 
 
 California. . .iBanker 
 
 California. . . IXotary public 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Massachusetts . 
 
 Ireland . 
 Ohio. . . 
 
 Since July, ISOO 
 Since Aug., ISIil 
 Since June, I8GI 
 Snice .May 10, 'o'.t 
 Since .Sept., ISliO 
 .Since Aug., 18(jl 
 About ;{ years. . . 
 3 years next June 
 Since Aug. 1,1801 
 .Since July, 18(50 
 •i years last May 
 .Since .lune, 1801 
 .Since Oct., 1857. 
 
 .Since April, 1801 
 •i years 
 
 Ijake Valley 
 
 Aurora 
 
 Aurora 
 
 Virginia 
 
 Dayton 
 
 Carson City .... 
 
 Aurora 
 
 Virginia 
 
 .Sacramento, Cal 
 
 Carson City. ... 
 
 Germaiitown, Penn 
 ■Jacksonville, [U . . . . 
 Kryburg, Maine. ... 
 Lower Canada 
 
 Ogdenshurg, X. Y 
 
 Lanciuster, Ohio 
 
 .Massachussets 
 
 I'hilailclphia 
 
 Indiana 
 
 Canon-iliurg, Pcna 
 
 Smitlitiild, Penn 
 
 Coshocton, N. Y 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 Delhi, N. Y 
 
 .Vshland, Oliio 
 
 Keusclaer County, N. Y 
 Suw Y'ork 
 
 •i years 
 
 '2 years 
 
 .Since April, 1801 
 Since April, I.SOO 
 Since Feb., ISlil . 
 
 years 
 
 Since Feb., 1800. 
 Since July TJ, '01 
 Since Oct., --'8, '03 
 6 m<mtlis 
 
 Schenectady County, N. Y 
 Kentucky . . 
 
 Eaton, Ohio 
 
 .V. S 
 
 U. C 
 
 Wayne County, .N. Y. . . . 
 
 Albion, 111 
 
 liroome County, N. Y. . . . 
 
 i,>ueensliury, L. I., N. Y, . 
 -Vlbany, N. Y ........ .. 
 
 Chenango Cimiity, N. Y'. . 
 Caniula West 
 
 C.ilifornia. . 
 California. . 
 
 California. . 
 Indiana. . . ■ 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 Minnesota . . 
 Cilifornia. . . 
 California. . . 
 
 Co.achmaker . 
 I'ivil engineer 
 Merchant. . . . 
 Farmer 
 
 Cilifornia. . 
 California. . 
 California, . 
 lifornia. . 
 California. . 
 California. . 
 California. . 
 New Y'ork. 
 California. . 
 California. 
 California. . 
 Minnesota . 
 California. . 
 
 California. 
 California. 
 
 California. 
 California. 
 California. 
 California. 
 California. 
 California. 
 California. 
 New York 
 California. 
 Californi.i. 
 California. 
 
 La« yer .... 
 Lumljer dealer 
 
 Merchant. . . 
 Millman. . . . 
 
 .Mill owner. . 
 Mill owner. . 
 .Mill owner. . 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Lawyer .... 
 Lawyer .... 
 Merchant . . 
 Lawyer .... 
 
 Miner 
 
 .Sign painter 
 .-Vtti.rney . . . 
 Fanner 
 
 Married 
 or Single. 
 
 Married. 
 Single . . 
 Single . . 
 
 Married. 
 Single . . 
 
 43 Married. 
 
 M Single . . 
 
 Merchant. 
 Lawyer .... 
 
 Hotel keeper 
 Min'g&.Md"n) 
 Lawyer .... 
 Lawyer .... 
 
 .Miner 
 
 .Miner. .... 
 .Merchant. . . 
 
 Uroker 
 
 Keporler. . . . 
 Reporter.. . . 
 
 Married. 
 Wid wer 
 .M.irried. 
 Married. 
 
 Single . . 
 Single . . 
 Single . . 
 Wid'wer 
 Married. 
 Single . . 
 Single . . 
 .Single . . 
 
 .Single . . 
 Single . . 
 Marrieil. 
 .Married. 
 
 Ja:< Married. 
 . 50 .Married. 
 
 Married. 
 .Marrietl. 
 Single . . 
 Marrieil. 
 Single . . 
 Single . . 
 .Single . . 
 Single . . 
 Married. 
 Single . . 
 
 * Secretary. + Keporter. X Doorkeeper. 
 
82 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 at the time for the Territorial Enterprise, and in his 
 coirespondciice to that paper notes some of the 
 peculiarities of members as follows: — 
 
 Cakson, December 13th. 
 
 The Third House met in the Jlall of the Cimven- 
 tion at eleven p. m.. Fridaj-, immediately after the 
 final adjournment of the First House. 
 
 On motion of Mr. Xightinf^ill the rules were sus- 
 pended, and the usual prayer dispensed with, on the 
 j^rounds that it was never listened to b}- the mem- 
 bers of the First House, which was composed chiefly 
 of the same j^entlemen which constitute the Third, 
 and was, consequentlj% merely ornamental and en- 
 tirely unnecessary. 
 
 Mr. Mark Twain was elected President of the 
 Convention, ami Messrs. Small and Hickok appointed 
 to conduct him to the Chair, which the}' did amid 
 a dense and respectful silence on the part of the 
 House, Mr. Small ste])piiii^ grandly over the desks, 
 and Mr. Hickok walkinj;; under them. 
 
 The President addressed the House as follows, 
 taking his remarks down in short-hand as he pro- 
 ceeded: — 
 
 Gentle.men: This is the proudest moment of my 
 life. I shall always think so. I think so still. 1 
 shall ponder over it with unsjieakable emotion down 
 to the last syllable of recorded time. It shall be 
 my earnest endeavor to give entire satisfaction in 
 the high and bull^' position to which j-ou have 
 elevated me. 
 
 The President ap])ointed Mr. Small. Secretary; 
 Mr. (iibson.Otticial lieporter; and Mr. Pete lIo])kins, 
 Chief Page; and Uncle Billy Patterson. First As.sist- 
 ant Page. These officers came forward and took 
 the following oath: — 
 
 We do solcmnlj- affirm that we have never seen a 
 duel, never been connected with a duel, never heard 
 of a duel, never sent or received a challenge, never 
 fought a duel, and don't want to. Furthermore, we 
 will sup]>orl, protect and defend this constitution 
 which wc are about to frame until we can't rest, and 
 will take our paj- in scrip. 
 
 Mr. Youngs — "Mr. President, 1— that is — ." 
 
 The President — "Mr. Youngs, if you have got any- 
 thing to say, saj' it; and don't stand there and shake 
 your head, and gasj) '! — ah. J — a^,' as you have 
 been in the habit of doing in the former Convention." 
 
 Mr. Youngs — "Well, sir; I was only going to say 
 that I liked your inaugural, and 1 i)erfectly agree 
 with the sentiments you a](|)earcd to express in it, 
 but 1 didn't rightly understand what — ." 
 
 The President — "You have been sitting there for 
 thirty days, like a bump on a log, and you never 
 rightly- understand anything. Take your seat, sir, 
 you are out of order. You rose i'or information? 
 Well, you'll not get it; sit down. You will a]i])eal 
 from the decision of the Chair'.' Take your seat, sir; 
 the Chair will entertain no appeals from its decisions. 
 And 1 would suggest to j-ou, sir, that you will not 
 be ])ermitted here to growl in your seat, and make 
 malicious side remarks in an underione for tilteen 
 minutes alter you have been called to order, as j'ou 
 have habiiually done in the other House." 
 
 The President — 'The subject before the House is 
 as follows. The Secretary will read." 
 
 Secretarj- — "A-r, ar. t-i, li, arti,c-l-e, de — article — " 
 
 The J'resident — "What are you trying to do?" 
 
 Secretary — "Well, 1 am only a heli>les8 orphan, 
 and I can't read wi-iliiig." 
 
 The Chair appointed ilr. Hickok to assist Mr. 
 
 Small, and discharged Mr. Gibson, the Official Ee- 
 porter, because he did not know how to write. 
 
 Mr. Youngs (singing) — "For the lady I love will 
 soon be a bride, with the diadem on her brow-ow-ow." 
 
 President — "Order, you snutfling old granny," 
 
 Mr. Youngs — "I am in order, sir." 
 
 The President — " Y'ou are not, sir — sit down." 
 
 Mr. Y'oung.s — "I won't sir! I ai)peal to — ." 
 
 The President—" Take — your — seat!" 
 
 Mr. Y''oungs — " But I insist that 'Jeft'erson's 
 Manual'—."' 
 
 The President— " l)—n 'Jeft'erson's Manual!' the 
 Chair will transact its own Ijusiness in its own wav, 
 sir." 
 
 Mr. Chapin — " Mr. President: 1 do hope the 
 amendment will not pass. I do beg of gentlemen — 
 I do beseech of gentlemen — that they will examine 
 this matter carefully, and earnestly and seriouslj', 
 and with a sincere desire to do the people all the 
 good, and all the justice, and all the benefit it is in 
 their power to do. 1 do hope, Mr. President — ." 
 
 The President — "Now. there you go ! What are 
 yon trying to get through your head ':' — there's noth- 
 ing before the House." 
 
 The question being on Section 4, Article 1. (free 
 exercise) of religious liberty. 
 
 Mr. Stewart said — '■ Mr. President: I insist upon 
 it, that if you tax the mines, j-ou imjiose a burden 
 upon the ])eople which will be heavier than thej- can 
 bear. And when you tax the poor miner's shafts, 
 and drifts, and bed-rock tunnels, you are not taxing 
 his projiertj'; j'ou are not taxing his substance; j'ou 
 are liot taxing his wealth — no, but j-ou are taxing 
 what may become property some day, or may not; 
 you are taxing the shadow from which the substance 
 maj- eventually issue or may not; j'ou are taxing the 
 visions of Alnaschar; which maj- turn to minted gold, 
 or only prove the forerunners of poverty and mis- 
 fortune; in a word, sir, you are taxing his ho]ies. 
 taxii;g the aspirations of his soul; taxing the yearn- 
 ings of his heart of hearts! Y'essir, I insist uj)on it, that 
 if you tax the min( s, you will imixise a burden upon 
 the people which will be heavier than they can bear. 
 And when j-ou. tax the poor miner's shafts, and 
 drifts, and bed-rock tunnels, you are not taxing his 
 property; 3-ou are not taxing his substance; you arc 
 not taxing his wealth — no, but you are taxing what 
 maj- become projierty some day or may not; you are 
 taxing the shadow from which the substance maj- 
 eventuall}- issue or may not; j-ou are taxing the 
 visions of Alnaschar; which may turn to minted gold, 
 or merely prove the forerunners of i)oyrt}- and mis- 
 fortune; in a word, sir, you are taxing liis liopes ! 
 taxing the aspiiations ol' his soul! — taxing the yearn- 
 ings of his heart of hearts! Ah, sir, I do insist u])on 
 it that if 3"ou tax the mines, you will impose a bur- 
 den upon the jieople, which will be heavier than they 
 can bear. And when you lax the poor miner's 
 shafts, and drifts, and bed-rock tunnels — " 
 
 The President— "Take your seat. Bill Stewart! 1 
 am not going to sit hero and listen to that same old 
 song over andoveragain. 1 have been rejiorting and 
 re|)<)i-ting that ihlern;il s]ieech for the last thirty days, 
 and want you to understand that you can't play ilofl' 
 on this Convention an}- more. When 1 want it. I 
 will re])eat it myself— I know it by heart, anyhow. 
 You anil your bed-rock tunnels, and lilighted miners, 
 blasted hopes, have gotten to be a sort of nightmare 
 to me, and I won't put up with it any longer. I 
 don't wish to be too hard on your speed), but if you 
 can't add something I'resh to it, or say it backwards. 
 
TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION. 
 
 S3 
 
 or sinp it to a new tune, you have simply got to 
 simmer down for awhile." 
 
 Mr. Johnson — "Mr. President ; I wish it distinctly 
 understood that I am not acandi(hito for the Senate, 
 or any other offiee. and liave no intention of beeom- 
 inji one. And 1 wisii to call the attention of the 
 Convention to the faet, .sir. that outside influences 
 have been brought to bear here, that — " 
 
 The President — •• (iovernor Johnson, there is no 
 necessity of your ].utting in jour shovel here, until 
 you are called upon to make a statement. And if 
 you allude to the Engrossing Clerk as an outside in- 
 fluence, I must inform you. sir. that his balterj- has 
 been silenced with Territorial scri]) at fortj- cents 
 on the dollar." 
 
 Mr. Sterns — 'Mr. President- I cordially agree 
 with the gentleman fnim Storey County, that if we 
 tax the mines we shall impose a burden upon the 
 people that will be heavier than they can bear. 1 
 agree with him. sir, that in taxing the jioor miners' 
 siialls and drifts, ai]d bed-rock tunnels, we would 
 not be taxing his jiniperl^-, or bis weallli, or bis sub- 
 stance, but only that wbirh may become such at 
 at some future day — an AInasch.irian vision, which 
 might turn to coin, or might only result in distister 
 and dis:ip]>oinlment to the defendant ; in a word, sir, 
 1 coincide with him in the opinion that it would be 
 e(|uivalent to taxing trie hopes of the jioor miner — 
 his asjiinitions — the dear yearnings of his — " 
 
 The President — •' Yearnings of his grandmother ! 
 I'll slam tills mallet at the next man that attempts to 
 impose that tiresome old speech on this body. Sit 
 now.N ! you have been ])reltj- regiihir about rehash- 
 ing other )ieople's ))lalilu<les heretofore. Mr. Sterns, 
 but you have got to be a little original in the Tldrd 
 House. Your sacrilegious lips will bo marring the 
 speeches of the Chair next." 
 
 Mr. Kalston — '• Jlr. President : I have but a word 
 to say, and 1 do not wish to occupy the attention of 
 the House any longer than I can help ; and, although 
 1 could, perhaps, throw more light upon the matter 
 of our eastern boundary than those who have not 
 visited that interesting but com|)aratively unknown 
 section of our budding commonwealtb. it is grow- 
 ing late, and I do not feel as 1 bad a right to tax the 
 patience — " 
 
 Tb(; President— " Tax ! Take your seat, sir, take 
 j-our seat. 1 will not be bullj-ragged to death with 
 this threadbare subject of taxation. You are out of 
 order, anyhow. How do j-ou sujipose anj'body can 
 listen in any comfort to j-our speech, when you are 
 fumbling with your coat all the time j'ou are talking, 
 and trying to button it with your left hand, when 
 you know j-ou can't do it? 1 have never seen you 
 succeed yet, until just as j'ou gel the last word out. 
 And then tlio moment j'ou sit ilown, you alwaj's 
 unlpiittoii it again. You may speak, hereafter, Mr. 
 Ralston, but 1 want j'ou to understand that you have 
 got to button your coat before you get u]i. 1 do not 
 mean to be ke])t in hot water all the time by your 
 little oratorical eccentricities. " 
 
 Mr. Larrowe — " ilr. I'resident: There ai-e nine 
 mills in Lander County already. Lot me see — there 
 is Uobson's, five stamp; Thompson's, eight stam|); 
 Johnson's, three stamp — well, 1 cannot give the 
 names of all of them, but there are nine, sir — nine 
 splendid Bteam-jiower ipiartz mills, disturbing, with 
 their ceaseless thunder, the <lead silence of cen- 
 turies! Nine noble ipiart;^ mills, sir, cheering with 
 the music of their batteries tlii^ desponding hearts 
 of pilgrims from every land! Nine miraculous (piart/, 
 mills, sir, from whose steam-pipes and chimneys 
 
 ascends a grateful incense to the god of Labor and 
 Progress! Ninesceptered and anointed fiuartz mills, 
 sir, whose mission it is to establish the ])Ower, anil 
 the greatness, and the glory of Nevada, and place 
 her high along the—" 
 
 The Pi-esiijent — "Now will j-ou just take your 
 scat and hold j-our clatter until somebody asks you 
 for your confounded Reese River (luarlz-mill statis- 
 tics'? What has Jteese River got to do with relig- 
 ious freedom? and what have ijuartz mills got to do 
 with it? and what have you got to do with it 
 yourself? You are out of order, sir — plant j-ourself 
 And, moreover, when j'ou get up here to make a 
 si)ecch, 1 don't want you to yell at mo as if you 
 thought I were in San Francisco. I'm not hard of 
 hearing. I don't see why President North didn't 
 tone you down long ago." 
 
 Mr. Larrowe — "I think I am in order, .Mr. Presi- 
 dent. It was a rule in the other Convention that no 
 member could speak when there was no ipiestion 
 before the House; but after the ipiestion had been 
 announced bj- the Chair members could then go on 
 and speak on any suliject tbej- ])leased — or rather, 
 that was the custom, sir; the ordinaiy custom." 
 
 The President — "Yes, sir, 1 know it has been the 
 custom i'or thirtj- days and thirty nights in the 
 other Convention, but 1 will let gentlemen know- 
 that the}- can't ring in these stamps and Reese River 
 quartz-mills on the Third House when 1 am consid- 
 ering the question of religious liberlj' — the same 
 being dear to evcrj- American heart. Plant your- 
 self, sir — ])lant j'ourself. 1 don't want any more 
 yowling out of you, now." 
 
 Mr. Small — " The Secretary would bog leave to 
 state, for the information of the Con — ." 
 
 The President^ — "There, now. that's enough of 
 that. You learned that from (iillesjiie. 1 won't 
 have any of that nonsense here. When you have 
 got anything to saj' talk it right out; and see that 
 you use the personal ])ronoun ■!,' also; and droji 
 that presumptuous third per.son. 'The Secretary 
 would beg leave to state!' .The devil he would. 
 Now suppose you take a back seat, and wait until 
 somebody asks j-ou to state something. Mr. Cba])in 
 you will jilease stop catching flies while the ('hair 
 is considering the suli-ect of religious toleration." 
 
 Mr. Ball — --Mr. President: The l-'inance Committee, 
 of which 1 have the honor to be Chairman, have 
 aiTived at the conclusion that it is Rid miles from 
 hereto Folsom; that it will take 'I'.W miles of rail- 
 road iron to build a road that distance, without 
 counting the sw-itches. This would figure up as 
 follows: Bars, 14 feet 3 inches long; weight, SOO 
 pounds; 1,000 bars to the mile, 800, (K)0 pounds; 
 130,0(10 bars for the whole distance, weight, 104,- 
 000,000 pounds; original cost of the iron, w-ith in- 
 surance and transportation to Folsom from St. Louis, 
 cin Salt Lake City, added, say SIJ.50 a |)ouiid. w-ould 
 amount to a fraction over or under S;ji2.722.2.'i!i 42. 
 Three hundred and twelve millions, seven biiiidred 
 and twenty-two tboiisaiid, two hundred and tbirty- 
 niiio dollars and forty-two cents, sir. That is the 
 estimate of the Commiltee, sir, for |irime cost of 
 one class of material, w-illiout counting labor and 
 other expenses, in view of these facts, sir. it is the 
 opinion of the Comniitlee that wo had better not 
 build the road. I did not think it necessary to ^ub- 
 mit a written re|)orl because — " 
 
 The President— "Take your scat, Mr. Ball; take 
 your seat, sir. Your evil eye never lights u|)on this 
 Chair but the spirit moves j-ou to confuse its intel- 
 lect with some of voiir villi:ini)us algelifiiical mon- 
 
84 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 etrosities. 1 will iiol eiitcrlain them, nir; 1 don't 
 know anj'thinf; about them. You needn't mind 
 brinj^irif; in any written I'oports here — or verbal ones 
 either, unless you can confine yourpielf' to a reason- 
 able number of fiirures at a time, so that I can under- 
 stand what you are driving at. No, sir, the Third 
 House will not build the railroad. The other Con- 
 vention's donation of 8.'!.000.()0(l in bonds, worth forty 
 cents on the dollar, will bu\- enough of one of those 
 bars to make a breast))in, and that will have to 
 satisfy this commonwealth for the present. 1 ob- 
 serve that Messrs. Wasson, and Gibson, and Note- 
 ware, and Kenned}- have their feet on their desks, 
 the Chief I'age will jiroceed to remove those relics 
 of ancient continental barbarism from siglit." 
 
 Mr. Musser — "Mr. President: To be, or not to be — 
 that is the question — " 
 
 The President — " No, sir I The question is, shall 
 we tolerate religious inditt'ercnce in this community ; 
 or the rights of conscience ; or the rights ofsuffi'age ; 
 or the freedom of the press ; or free speech ; or free 
 schools, or free niggers. The Chair trusts it knows 
 what it is about, without anj' instructions from the 
 members." 
 
 Mr. Musser — '-But, sir, it was only a question 
 from—" 
 
 The President — " Well, 1 don't care, 1 want j-ou to 
 sit down. The Chair don't consider that j'ou know 
 much about religion anyhow, and consequently the 
 subject will suffer no detriment fi'om your letting it 
 alone. You and Judge Hardy can subside, and stud}' 
 over the ])reamble until you are wanted." 
 
 Jlr. Jirosnan — "Mr. President: These proceedings 
 have all been irregular, extremely and customarily 
 irregular. I will move, sir, that the question be 
 passed, for the present, and that we take up the ne.\t 
 section." 
 
 .Mr. .Mitchell— "I object to that, Jlr. President. I 
 move that we go into Committee of the Whole on it." 
 
 Mr. Wasson — "I move that it be referred back to 
 the Standing Committee." 
 
 Air. North — "J move that the rules be suspended, 
 and the whole article jilaccd upon its final passage." 
 
 The President — '(ientlemen : Tliose of you who 
 are in favor of adopting the original (jroposition, 
 together with the various motions now pending 
 before the House, will signify the same by saying 
 'aye.'" 
 
 No one voting in the negative, the Chair decided 
 the vote to be uniiniinous in the adirmative. 
 
 The President — "(ientlemen: Your i)roceedings 
 have been e.x'actlj' similar to those of the Convention 
 which preceded j'ou. ^'ou have considered a subject 
 which you knew nothing about ; spoken on every 
 subject but the one before the House, and voted, 
 witludit knowing what j-ou were voting for, or 
 having any idea what would be the general result of 
 your action. 1 will adjourn the (^'onvcntion for an 
 liour, on account of my cold, to the end that I ma}' 
 a]i|)ly the remedy jircscrilied I'oi- it by I)r. Tjader — 
 the same being gin and molasses. 'I'lie Chief I'age 
 is hereby instructt^d to provide a s])oonfid of 
 molasses, and a gallon of gin I'or the use of the 
 President." 
 
 TIIK CONSTrrUTION DEFEATED. 
 
 H was provided inthis Constitution that all of (he 
 offices created by it should be filled at the time when 
 the instrument was submitted to the ])eoplo. This 
 was a serious mistake, for those disa]>poinled in 
 getting nominations for the ])ositions they desired, 
 and their names wore legion, became hostile to its 
 
 adoption. A Convention was called to assemble ia 
 Cai-son on the thirty-first of December, and place in 
 nomination Union candidates to fill the various 
 offices to be called into existence bj- the proposed 
 organic law. 
 
 Eight here the trouble began. In Storey County 
 there was a serious split in the Union jiari)-, caused 
 bj' a bolt at the County Convention, headed by the 
 Daily Union. Eight delegates walked out of the 
 Convention, declaring their intentions to oppose its 
 nominations, because of the unfairness and slate 
 action of the assemblage. The bolters held primary 
 meetings in Virginia City; chose delegates who pre- 
 sented themselves to the .State Convention, where a 
 hearing was given them, and recognition denied. 
 In the controversy that arose, when the two delega- 
 tions were before that body asking preferment, a 
 passage of wit and menace occurred between William 
 M. Stewart and Baldwin, 8n the one side, and Tom 
 Fitch, of the Dai/i/ Union, on the other, that gave a 
 glimpse of the personal nature of the controversy, 
 and character of some of the principal actors. The 
 former charged Fitch with having offered to support 
 the regular ticket on condition that ho received the 
 nomination upon it of Attorney-General. Fitch 
 replied that he had remarked to those gentlemen on 
 a certain occasion, " in a joking way," that if they 
 would enter into §10,000 bonds to keep their word 
 when given, that he might be induced to entertain a 
 proposition to give them the influence of the Daily 
 Uuio7i. To this Baldwin responded, that " every- 
 body knew that when a little office was to be had, 
 or a little money made, Tom Filch neoer jokes." 
 
 The split was a serious one, and before the Con- 
 vention had made its nominations a formidable 
 movement in the Union ranks had arra^-ed itself in 
 hostility to the Constitution, to which the secession 
 element in the Territory immediately joined hands. 
 
 The Territorial Enterprise advocated one of its 
 ])roi)rietors, J. T. Goodman, for State Printer; and 
 the Daily Union desired one of its owners, John 
 (,'hurch, in the place. Neither were successful; 
 (ieorge W. Bloor being the choice of the Conven- 
 tion. The Enterprise was glad that Church was 
 beaten, and Church was partiall}- consoled because 
 (Joodman was defeated; but the nomination of Hloor 
 made neither one happy enough to cause them to 
 shako hands over the inky chasm. 
 
 John B. Winters, of Lyon County; Warren Was- 
 son. of Ormsby ('ounty; James Stark, of Ksmoralda 
 County; and 11. G. Worthington, of Lander County, 
 wore candidates for Congress; and the vote stood 
 in the Convention, all the first day. Winters, 21 
 v*)tes; Wasson, It! votes; Worthington, IT) votes; 
 Stark, 9 voles; and it required 26 votes to nominate. 
 On the second day Winters won the coveted ]irize. 
 
 For Governor, the names of Judge Charles II. 
 Morgan, and M. N. Mitchell were presented as rival 
 aspirants, the latter gaining the nomination. 
 
 The Storey County delegation was iu the Con- 
 
Hon. M. a. Murphy, Attorney General of the State 
 of Nevada, was born in the State of New York, 
 September 2!i, 18H7, his father cmij^rating to .Mcllenry 
 County, Illinois, eoon after the birth of his son, so 
 that the lad's earliest recollections were of Illinois. 
 
 He could only secure such poor advantages in the 
 •way of education as were offered by the common 
 schools of that day. Those were sujiplcmciited. how- 
 ever, by his owH exertions to acquire information, 
 which, with many persons, fully compensates for 
 what is usually called the T^nivcrsity training. It 
 seems that lip early fixed his mind on the legal pro- 
 fession, and turned his attention to reading that 
 would be profitable in that connection. The sys- 
 tematic reading of law had to bo postponed until 
 his limited finances could be ])ut in bettor condition. 
 As the gold mines of (,'alifornia ort'crcd the speediest, 
 rf not the surest way of rc]>lenisliing his cxcheiiuor, at 
 the early age of sixteen he started on hisj<iuiiiey of 
 life, and crossed the plains in 185;^, joining a bi'other 
 in Weaverville, Trinity County, California. lie 
 remained in this vicinity for several years, engaged 
 in mining or any other business which would afford 
 a moderate income, with only moderate success, so 
 that the aim of his life to take a sj-stcmatic course 
 of study in the law seemed as far oft' as over. In 
 April, 1863, he moved to Esmeralda County, in this 
 State, and engaged in mining. Here fortune smiled 
 upon him, and ho was able to pursue the study of 
 
 the law without hindi'ancc. His perseverance and 
 close application to his studies was soon rewarded 
 by his admission to the Bar. 
 
 Here he resided when the Republican Convention 
 at Eureka placed him in nomination against the 
 gentlemanly, courteous, eloquent, and distinguished 
 Kittreil, then Attorney General of Nevada. The 
 contest between those men was spirited, resulting 
 in the election of .Mur]ihy by a largo majorit}'. 
 
 The arduous and responsible duties devolving 
 upon one in so important an office are faithfully dis- 
 charged by Mr. Mur]>liy, and since his induction to 
 the position he has given entire satisfaction to every 
 one. He is a good sample of that class of self-made 
 men like Lincoln, (iarfieid, and huiuiredsofothei-s who 
 have wrested fortune out of poverty and adverse cir- 
 cumstances, and achieved success by their own innate 
 good sense and energy, which is better than a uni- 
 versity training, and without which education can 
 make nothing. The people delight to honor such 
 men because they know of them, and never forget 
 heir origin. Besides his present office, he has 
 several times been elected to honorable positions. In 
 1808 ho was elected County Assessor, and in 1872, 
 District Attorney, to which office he was re-elected 
 in IsTlaridin 187ti. He has always been Republican. 
 He was married, September 22, 1859, to Miss .Matilda 
 J. Myers, of Ki-d HiufVs, Tehama County, California, 
 enjoying most hap]iy domestic relations. 
 
TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION. 
 
 85 
 
 vention in tho interests of Hon. John Cradlebausjh 
 for U. S. Senator; and. in their preferment for State 
 officials, advocated those who were favoralile to 
 their choice for Senator. Colonel John A. Collins, 
 Henr}- Hdi^erton, and James W. Nye were also can- 
 didates for that disiini^uished honor, (■ollins with- 
 drew before the election, and Alinon llovey became 
 an aspirant. John Conness, who at that time was 
 representini^ California in Washintjton, writes as 
 follows to tho Viri^inia Cit}- DdUj Union, regarding 
 tho candidacy of Mr. Edgorton: — 
 
 If you send Henry Edgerton here as a Senator T 
 don't know what I wouldn't jiromise to do; and 1 
 do not hesitate at all, as a friend of Nevada Terri- 
 orj', to advise and ask that he bo one of her Sena- 
 •. ors. Send that gifted and big-hearted man here 
 as a Senator, and I will never cease to be thankful. 
 
 There were fifty-ono delegates elected to that 
 Convention, which lasted three days ; Chauncey N. 
 Noteware was President, A. P. K. Satl'ord, Secretary, 
 and a full "State ticket" was put in the field. 
 
 VOTE FOB OFFICERS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION. 
 
 N.4ME OF t'.1NDID.\TE AND 
 
 Office. 
 
 i 
 
 .J 
 
 o 
 o 
 
 ■i 
 
 a 
 
 i 
 
 a 
 o 
 
 3 
 
 ^1 
 
 2 
 
 Ciiu^.jres8m;in. 
 John B. Wiiitors 
 
 253 
 
 369 
 
 453 
 9 
 
 436 
 25 
 
 455 
 14 
 
 383 
 
 4.39 
 
 446 
 
 OS 
 
 454 
 2 
 
 442 
 
 2 
 
 448 
 
 1 
 
 443 
 2 
 
 457 
 2 
 
 457 
 2 
 
 457 
 2 
 
 94 
 
 947 
 
 297 
 
 154 
 
 Scattering Vote 
 
 15 
 
 (lovcrnor. 
 M. N. Mitchell 
 
 249 
 
 367 
 
 950 
 
 302 
 
 141 
 
 
 45 
 
 Lieutenant Governor. 
 
 25.'? 
 
 245 
 18.3 
 
 57 
 
 255 
 
 309 
 
 388 
 372 
 370 
 
 374 
 
 950 
 
 303 
 
 153 
 
 Sc.ittering Vote 
 
 Supreme Court. 
 R, S. Mesick 
 
 
 945 
 940 
 
 951 
 
 298 
 294 
 300 
 
 146 
 
 
 149 
 
 J li. H.irniou 
 
 159 
 
 Sc.itterini' Vote 
 
 31 
 
 Secretary of State. 
 
 940 
 
 302 
 
 173 
 
 Scattering/ V^ote 
 
 
 Treasurer. 
 W. B. Hickok 
 
 248 
 
 373 
 
 945 
 
 291 
 
 151 
 
 Sca.ttc'riiii' Viite 
 
 
 Controller. 
 
 244 
 
 .308 
 
 940 
 
 .300 
 
 170 
 
 Scattering V'ote 
 
 
 Attorney (Jeneral. 
 
 247 
 
 308 
 
 .... 
 932 
 
 939 
 
 .300 
 .... 
 
 305 
 
 150 
 
 Sctitt^'rin" V'ote 
 
 
 Sui»cTiittendent Instruction. 
 A. F. White.- 
 
 245 
 
 373 
 
 175 
 
 Clerk .Supreme Court. 
 Alfre.! ICclm 
 
 252 
 
 371 
 
 950 
 
 303 
 
 104 
 
 SUte Printer. 
 G. W. Bloor 
 
 253 
 
 .309 
 
 937 
 
 300 
 
 160 
 
 District Judge. 
 H. M. .fiiiica 
 
 
 
 1300 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 305 
 
 140 
 
 T M I'awlin" . 
 
 157 
 
 143 
 224 
 
 319 
 
 
 
 
 For Constitution 
 
 Against Constitution 
 
 270 
 64! 
 
 28 
 
 785 
 
 00! 
 1740 
 
 296 
 !I9I 
 
 175 
 802 
 
 
 
 .Storey County gave 570 for and 3,054 votes against the Con- 
 stitution. 
 
 The foregoing is tho official returns of that election, 
 held January 10, 1804, with Ormsby and Storey 
 11 
 
 Counties left out ; thej- having neither mnde anj*, or 
 loft upon record, data, upon which the fi-ures can be 
 asciTlained. 
 
 There were nine newspapers in tho Territory at 
 the time, all of which supported the adoi>lion of the 
 t'onslilution and election of the Ujiion ticket, except 
 the Aurora '/'imrs, Humboldt la'ai/in/ei; 0/1 I'uh L'te, and 
 "Virginia Union. There was but one ticket in the 
 field, the fight being made upon the organic law ; 
 and the Steivart war cry of injustice, contained in the 
 clause that authorized the ta.xing of" tho poor miner's 
 shafts and drifts and bed-rock tunnels," enabled the 
 opposition to carr}' with it the pojjular element, that 
 resulted in an overwhelming rejection of the instru- 
 ment. 
 
 SECOND EFFOllT TO BECOME A .STATE. 
 
 The first eft'ort to become a Slate proving a failure, 
 the ball was set in motion again within twenty days 
 after the election, by Senator Doolittlo, of Wisconsin, 
 who introduc'od a Rill into tho TTnited States Senate, 
 February 8th, that authorized the Nevadans to try 
 it over again. 
 
 While the measure was before that l)odj% Senator 
 Conness, of California, remarked — " Nevada is a 
 mining community exclusively, and can never be any- 
 thing else. It must alwaj's be fe<l from (u/jureut 
 Countries," and the Central Pacific Railroad Com- 
 pany has from the first been trying to denioii- 
 strate that Conness was a prophet. 
 
 March 21, 1804, the" bill was signed by President 
 Lincoln, and Governor Nye issued a proclamation, 
 calling for an election on the sixth of June, to choose 
 another set of Delegates, to frame a State Constitu- 
 tion, with the result given on the following page. 
 
 On the twenty-seventh of. July, the Convention 
 adjourned, and tho tiuestion of a State Government 
 was onco more before the people, under widely 
 different circumstances from those which had pro- 
 duced tho former defeat. This time that obnoxious 
 clause ri'garding the taxation of the •■aspirations of 
 the poor miners' soul, his shafts, and drifts, and bed- 
 rock tunnels," was so changed as to leave that class of 
 the commonwealth free to enjoy, untrammeled, their 
 hopes and as|)irations. This time no State Officers 
 were to bo voted for, and the class of population who 
 were aspirants for such positions, all joined hands in 
 the effort for an affirmative vote. This time there 
 was no general s])lit in tho ranks of the dominant 
 party, although tho old contest was continued in 
 Store}- County, resulting in the defeat of the regular 
 Republican nominees for County offices. 
 
 There was another cause that oxorted a powerful 
 influence upon the public mind at this time ; it being 
 0|>enl3'. and with iiersistence, charged bj* tho press, 
 that one of the Supreme Judges of the Territory 
 neglected his duty, and rendered decisions favorable 
 to the " highest biilder for cash." 
 
 Tho charge was never judicially affirmed or 
 negatived, and we do not know that the press was 
 warranted in its assertions; yet it presented a strong 
 
86 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION THAT WAS ELECTED JUNE 6TH. AND ASSEMBLED JULY 4. 1864, 
 
 AT CARSON CITY. 
 
 Ball. Nathaniel AH 
 
 Banks, Janies A 
 
 Hclden. W. W 
 
 Brady. H. B 
 
 Brijtjtian, (.'ornelius 
 
 Chapin, Sanincl A 
 
 Collins, John A 
 
 Crawfonl, Israel 
 
 Crosman, J. S 
 
 DeLonu. i-'harlea E 
 
 Duniif, E. F 
 
 Earl. .losiah 
 
 Kitrh.Th'unas 
 
 Kriwll, LloTd 
 
 Folsoni. Uiiman N 
 
 Gibson, George L 
 
 Haines. J. W 
 
 Ha\vle> , Albert T 
 
 Hovey, Alnum 
 
 Hudson, George A 
 
 John-nn, .!. Necl\ 
 
 Jones, Williiiin Henry 
 
 Kennedy, Francis H 
 
 Kinkead, J. H 
 
 L"K,'kwood, A. J 
 
 Mason, H. S 
 
 MK'linton, J. G 
 
 Morse. E. A 
 
 Murdock, Xelsoii E 
 
 Nourse. * ;eor;;e A 
 
 I'arker, H. G 
 
 Proi'tor, Fran<i8 M 
 
 8turfe\ant, James H 
 
 Tagliabue, Francis 
 
 Tozcr, Charles \V 
 
 Warwick, J. H 
 
 Wellin-ton, O 
 
 Wetherill, William 
 
 Williams, H H 
 
 Johnson, J. Neely, President. 
 Gillespie, Win. M., Secretary. 
 Whitford, And'w, Ass't Scc'y. 
 Marsh, A. J., ntticial RcjKirtcr 
 Carson, T. M.. Strg'tat-Anns 
 Skeene, Wni. K., I*oorkeeper. 
 Ri jhards, Gcor;ce, Pa^ 
 
 County. 
 
 66fl 
 KJl 
 10.". 
 105 
 12-24 
 1137 
 11»J 
 
 157 
 1121 
 160 
 
 593 
 
 12(X> 
 
 103 
 
 214 
 
 218 
 333 
 3rt 
 104 
 18*[ 
 11« 
 10-2 
 
 133 
 
 1227 
 321 
 23.-. 
 221 
 330 
 
 St orey . . . . 
 Humboldt . 
 Washoe . . . 
 Washoe . , . 
 
 Storev 
 
 Sto, ey 
 
 Storey . . . 
 Ornisby . . . 
 
 yon 
 
 Storey . . . . 
 Humboldt. 
 Storey . . . . 
 Storey ... 
 
 Storey 
 
 Washoe . . 
 Ornisby . . , 
 Doiujias. . . 
 I)i>ui^la8. . . 
 
 Storey 
 
 Lyon 
 
 Ormsby . 
 Humboldt 
 
 Lyon 
 
 Ornisby . . 
 Ornisby . 
 Esmeralda 
 Esnieraldu 
 Lander — 
 Churohill. 
 Washoe . . 
 
 Lyon 
 
 N'ye 
 
 Washoe . . 
 
 Nye 
 
 storey 
 
 Ijinder . . 
 Esmeralda 
 Esmeralda 
 Lander. . . 
 Ormsby . . 
 Store>' . . 
 Storey . . . 
 (,'alifornia 
 Ormsby .r 
 Ormsby . . 
 Ormsby . . 
 
 Profession. 
 
 Ranker 
 
 Mining Sup't. . 
 Lumber dealer 
 
 Mechanic 
 
 Lawyer 
 
 Miner. . . . 
 
 Miner 
 
 Editor 
 
 Miner 
 
 Lawyer 
 
 Lawyer 
 
 ..umber dealer 
 
 Lawyer 
 
 Attorney 
 
 Lumberman . . 
 
 Merchant 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Lawyer 
 
 Merchant 
 
 .Mill owner 
 
 t^awyer . 
 
 (did not attend) 
 
 lyawyer . . 
 
 .Menhant 
 
 MeclKUiic 
 
 I*h\!>i'.'ian 
 
 Elitor 
 
 (did not attend) 
 
 Millwvitfbt 
 
 Lawyer 
 
 MiniMK Sup't. .. 
 
 Lawyer 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Surveyor 
 
 Mining' ^V Milting 
 
 Lawyer 
 
 (did not attend) 
 
 Mininj^ 
 
 (did not att«nd) 
 
 Lawyer 
 
 Cleric 
 
 Clerk 
 
 Iteporter 
 
 Saloon keeper . . 
 Laborer 
 
 State in piat^ of Nativity, 
 Life. I 
 
 Whence to 
 Pacific Coast. 
 
 Sing^le . . 
 Single . . 
 Married . 
 Single , . 
 Married. 
 .Married. 
 Married . 
 Married. 
 Married . 
 .Marriet' . 
 Single . . 
 -Married . 
 Married . 
 Single .. 
 Married. 
 Married . 
 •Married . 
 Single 
 .Married. 
 Singl". . . 
 Married . 
 
 iNew Hamphire. 
 'I^ennsjklvanla .. 
 
 Vermont 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Massachusetts. . 
 
 Vermont 
 
 New York 
 
 New York 
 
 New York 
 
 New York 
 
 Ohio 
 
 New York 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Maine 
 
 Maine 
 
 bower Canada . 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 New York 
 
 Massachusetts . 
 Indiana 
 
 .Single .. Pennsylvania.. 
 37}Married. Pennsylvania 
 
 :{M|Single . . New York 
 
 47 Widower New York 
 
 2« Single . . Illmois 
 
 Massachusetts. 
 New York . . . 
 Wisconsin 
 mnectitut . . 
 
 New York 
 
 Ma.^sal■husclts. 
 
 Ohio 
 
 New York .... 
 Michigan ... . 
 
 New York 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Alabama 
 
 Wisconsin .... 
 
 Illinois 
 
 Maine 
 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Tennessee . . . 
 
 New York 
 
 I'ennsylvania . 
 Iowa 
 
 Single . . New York . 
 
 .Marii d. Maine 
 
 .Married Vermont . . 
 .Marrit'd Kentucky 
 
 3ft Married- New York 
 
 Single 
 .single . . 
 Married . 
 
 Single 
 
 3S Married. 
 2fi Single . 
 32 Sinirlo . 
 
 35 .Married 
 38 Single . 
 
 36 Married 
 12 Single .. 
 
 England 
 
 New York . 
 Connecticut. 
 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 Indiana ...... 
 
 Albany. N. Y.. 
 Rhode Is!and. . 
 
 New York 
 
 Ma^isachuselts . 
 
 Indiana 
 
 California 
 
 'ennsylvania . 
 
 Missouri 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Illinois 
 
 Illinois 
 
 New York . 
 Minnesota . . 
 Verimmt . . . 
 K'-ntucky . . 
 .\ew York . . 
 New York . . 
 .Michigan ... 
 New York . . 
 
 Whence to,o'< Present 
 ^ P Politics. 
 
 NeTikda. 
 
 1849 California 
 18.'i3!California 
 IS.'iO, Wisconsin 
 IStil'Califomia 
 IH-Sitcahfuniia 
 ISjO California 
 1849 California 
 lii52Calitornia 
 18.''>2 California 
 IboO California 
 1S52 Calif >rnia 
 1&49 Californa 
 1S(K) California 
 1852 Calift»rnia 
 1856 California 
 1849 California 
 1S49 t:ftlifi»rnia 
 1858 California 
 1849 Calif orrna 
 1849, California 
 I&49. California 
 
 1867 [California 
 1849 California 
 18-^4 California 
 1852 California 
 1859, California 
 
 1850 California 
 184)3 .Minnesota 
 1^:.2 California 
 184!) Calif<»tnia 
 
 1850 California 
 
 1851 California 
 18'»0 California 
 1854, California 
 
 Sew Jersey . 
 
 1849 1 Call for Ilia 
 
 Fa\ored in 
 1S60. 
 
 1863 
 
 IS-W 
 ISO; 
 1863 
 1860 
 I860 
 1863 
 1863 
 1863 
 1863 
 1864 
 1863 
 1S59 
 1861 
 1859 
 18.''»9 
 1861 
 18.59 
 1861 
 1860 
 
 lS6i 
 
 186(1 
 186fi 
 I86'J 
 1861 
 
 18(t< 
 18fl;i 
 1864 
 
 is:.8 
 
 1»5 
 l»f.9 
 1860 
 1863 
 
 Iowa 
 
 New York . 
 New York . 
 New York . 
 Alabama... 
 Ohio 
 
 ,1849 
 1661 
 1 1854 
 .!l86U 
 .184« 
 .11850 
 
 California . 
 New York. 
 California . 
 California . 
 California . 
 Kansas . . . 
 California . 
 
 Union . 
 I'nion . 
 Cnion . . 
 Union . . 
 Cnion . . 
 Union . 
 Union . 
 Union . . 
 Union . . 
 Union . . 
 I'nion . . 
 Union , . 
 Union . . 
 Union . . 
 Union . . 
 Union . . 
 Union . . 
 Union . 
 Union . 
 Unii>n . . 
 Union . . 
 
 Uniiin . . 
 Union . 
 Union . 
 Union . . 
 Union . . 
 
 Douglas 
 
 Lincoln . . . . 
 
 Lincoln 
 
 Lincoln .... . . 
 
 Oout'Ias 
 
 Lincoln 
 
 Lincoln 
 
 Lincoln 
 
 Lincoln 
 
 Douglas 
 
 Dougla** . ... 
 
 Iiouglas 
 
 Lincoln 
 
 Dimglas 
 
 Lincoln 
 
 Bell 
 
 Bell 
 
 Rreckinridge. 
 
 Douglas 
 
 Lincoln 
 
 Bell 
 
 Union . , . 
 Union . 
 Union . . 
 Dennx;rat 
 Union . . . 
 Union . . 
 Union . . . 
 Union . . 
 
 1861 Union . 
 
 18601 Union . 
 1861 Union . 
 lst!3 Uni<'n . 
 1864 Union . 
 1861 Union . 
 18tt2 Union . 
 1859. Union . 
 
 Douglas . 
 
 Bell 
 
 Douglas 
 Douglas . 
 Lincoln . . 
 
 Douglas 
 
 Lincoln 
 
 Douglas 
 
 BeJl 
 
 Douglas ..... 
 
 Linc(iln 
 
 Breckinridge. 
 Lincoln 
 
 Bell. 
 
 Bell 
 
 Lincoln 
 
 Breckinridge. 
 
 Lincoln 
 
 Douglas 
 
 Rreckinridge. 
 
 circumstantial case, so strong, that about 4,000 names 
 were signed to a petition asking the whole Bench to 
 resign. The document was printed with its names, 
 in the Territorial Enterpriser and filled six double 
 columns of that paper. The people were called upon 
 to adopt the Constitution, and in this way get rid of 
 this unpopular ]5ench.* 
 
 The general Territorial election was to come off 
 on the seventh of September, that year, at which 
 time County otticers, a Legislative Assembi}* and 
 Delegates to the House of Eepresentativos at Wash- 
 ington, \vere to be chosen. 
 
 A Territorial Ilepublican Convention was held at 
 Carson, on the tenth of August, consisting of fifty 
 Delegates, twenty-six of whom were proxies ; and 
 they put in nomination, on the regular Union ticket, 
 Thomas Fitch, as Delegate to the House of ]ic])resen- 
 tatives. The Democrats put A. C. Bradford in the 
 field, and Judge John Cradlebaugh ran indepen- 
 dent for that position. 
 
 The Constitution was submitted to the people, on 
 the day of the general election, and the following is 
 the vote upon it, as well as upon the Congressional 
 ticket. 
 
 VOTES FOR CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATE. 
 
 Thomas Fitch, Republican 1208 
 
 A. C. Bradford, Democrat ;]71G 
 
 •^'ee {jkM Hill News, of Auguat 6, IbG4. 
 
 John Cradlebaugh, Independent Union 3781 
 
 Scattering _ 4 
 
 Total. 
 
 CONSTITUTIONAL VOTE. 
 
 Yes. 
 
 Churchill County 178 
 
 Douglas County _ 470 
 
 Fsmeral da County 859 
 
 Humboldt County 320 
 
 Lander Countyt - 1018 
 
 Lyon County 898 
 
 Nye County 148 
 
 Ormsby County 999 
 
 Store}^ County 5448 
 
 Washoe County 1055 
 
 8709 
 
 No. 
 
 100 
 
 76 
 
 72 
 
 544 
 
 978 
 
 92 
 
 53 
 
 90 
 
 142 
 
 115 
 
 Total 11,393 2,262 
 
 Majority in favor of the Constitution, 9,131 
 
 +A liirge vote was pollcnl at Ania*li«r, and rtjcctod Ixicause of 
 fraud. 
 
STATE ORGANIZATION. 
 
 87 
 
 CHAPTER X 1 II . 
 STATE ORGANIZATION. 
 
 State Politics ami Elections — rrtsideiitial Klection of November 
 8, 18(>l — Contest for United State.s .Senate in ISW — Removal . 
 of Capital Attempted — Iteply «f Mr. Wait/. — Congi-essicmal 
 Election of 1S(>5 — .State EleetiDn, N'ovomlier li. 18GG — Elec- 
 tions in ISGS-Oil — Presiilential Election of I.StiS — .State Elec- 
 tion of November ;^, 1870 — I'olitics of the IjCgislatiire — 
 Presiilential Election of 1872 — Contest for United States 
 Senate — State Election of 1874 — Contest for United States 
 Senate — Presidential Elc>ction of 1876 — Uesult of the Elec- 
 tion — Politics of tlie Legislature of 187li — State Election of 
 1878 — Choice of Senator — Kepublican Ticket — Democratic 
 Ticket — -Politics of I.egislature of 1878 — Vote for United 
 States Senator — Presidential Election of November '2, 1880 — 
 Politics of the Lenislatiire of 18.S0 — Siitro's Net for Fair — 
 Colonel .I.imes (J. Fair — .Salary Hcduction l)y Hobart's Bill — 
 Judiciary Elections, 18G1 to 1878 — The State Ue-districted — 
 Districts as they are. 
 
 The Constitution having; been adopted, it required 
 but a proclamation IVom tbc President of the United 
 States to usher Nevada into the national t'amilj- as a 
 sister State; and the necessary parchment was 
 signed on the thirtj'-first of October, 18(54. 
 
 The year 1804 was the season of wholesale elections 
 in Nevada. Already there had been three, and her 
 admission rendered it necessary to have another, as 
 the Legislative officers and Congressional Delegates 
 chosen under Territorial law could not serve under 
 the new regime. 
 
 The Presidential election was to occur on the 
 eighth of November that year, at which time mem- 
 bers of the House of lieprcsentatives were to be 
 chosen; and as Nevada had become a State, the 
 recent election of Judge Cradlebaugh as a Dele- 
 gate was non-operative. There was accordinglj- 
 placed in the field that fall a full State and National 
 ticket by both the Republican and Democratic 
 parties of Nevada; including Representative, State 
 officers, State Senators and Assemblymen, eleven 
 District Judges, and nine District Attorneys. 
 
 The following is the ticket placed in the field bj^ 
 the Democrats: — 
 
 Member of Congress, A. C. Bradford, of Storey. 
 
 Governor, D. ¥,. Buel, of Lander. 
 
 Lieutenant (iovernor, R. E. Arick, of Storcj'. 
 
 Secretary of State, P. B. Kllis, of Ormsby. 
 
 Controller, J. P. (Jalagher, of Storey. 
 
 Treasurer, Paul Moroney, of Storey. 
 
 Superintetident of Public Instruction, J. B. Chinn, 
 of Washoe. 
 
 Surveyor General, John Ortrom, of Storey. 
 
 Sujireme Court Judges, John R. McConnell, of 
 Storey; William C. Wallace, of Storey: E. W. Mc- 
 Kinstry, of Esmeralda. 
 
 Attorney (ieneral, William II. Rhodes, of Storey. 
 
 Clerk of Supreme Court, Tod Robinson, of Storej-. 
 
 The following returns, except for the offices of 
 District Judge and Attorneys, exhibit the result of 
 that election: — 
 
 ELECTION OF NOVE.MBER 8, 18G4. 
 
 For Presidential Electors — Republican, 9,826 votes. 
 For Presidential Electors — Democratic, 0,594 votes. 
 
 Member of Congress, H. G. Worthington, 9,7"G 
 votes; two candidates; total vote, 16,328. 
 
 Governor, II. G. Blasdel, 9,834 votes; two candi- 
 dates; total vote, 1(;,389. 
 
 Lieutenant Governor, J. S. Crosman, 9,786 votes; 
 two candidates; total vote, Id, 348. 
 
 Secretarj- of State, C. N. Notoware, 9,839 votes; 
 two candidates; total vote, 16,335. 
 
 Controller, A. W. Nightingill, 9,842 votes; two 
 candidates; total vote, ]6,3(i!l. 
 
 Treasurer, E. Rhoades, 9,824 votes; two candi- 
 dates; total vote, 16,3 IT). 
 
 Superintendent Public Instruction, A. F. White, 
 9,823 votes; two candidates; total vote, 16,331. 
 
 Surveyor General, S. II. Marlette, 9,828 votes; two 
 candidates; total vote, 16,326. 
 
 Supreme Court Judges — C. M. Brosnan, 9,838 
 votes; II. O. Beatty,* 9,804 votes; J. F. Lewis, 9,826 
 votes; six candidates. 
 
 Attortic}- (Jeneral, George A. Nourse, 9,798 votes; 
 two candidates; total vote, 16,308. 
 
 Clerk Supreme Court, Alfred Helm, 9,846 voles; 
 two candidates; total vote, 16,310. 
 
 By this election Hon. Henry G. Worthington, of 
 Lander County, was chosen Representative to fill 
 the term until the expiration of the session of Con- 
 gress, on the third of March. 1865. Mr. Worthing- 
 ton served through one session, and returned to 
 Nevada as an as]>irant for re-election; but failing to 
 receive the nomination, removed to the Atlantic 
 Coast, where he took a prominent part in the recon- 
 struction of the Southern State Governments suc- 
 ceeding the war of the Rebellion. 
 
 For the Legislature, Nye County elected one 
 Democrat, Frank M. Proctor, to the Senate; and 
 Churchill County one Democrat to the Assembly, 
 named James A. St. Clair. The balance were all 
 Republicans. 
 
 CONTEST FOR UNITED STATES SENATE IN 1864. 
 
 After the organization of the two branches of the 
 Ijegislaturc. a Joint Convention was hold by them 
 on the fii'teenlh of l)eceniber, 1864, for the ])ur))i)se 
 of electing two United States Senatoi-s; and the 
 first vote stood as follows: — 
 
 William M. Stewart, of Storey County, 33. 
 James W. NyCj of Ormsby count)', 23. 
 Charles E. De Long, of Storey County, 23. 
 John Cradlebaugh, of Ormsby County, 12. 
 B. C. Whitman, of Storey (,'ounty, 13. 
 Necessary for a choice, 27. 
 Mr. Stewart having been elected, there still re- 
 mained the necessity of choosing another Senator; 
 and the next seven tallies stood — with the change 
 of but one vote — 
 
 James W. N^-e 23 
 
 Charles E. De Long 17 
 
 * Resignation to take eSect November 9, 1868, and Hon. B. 
 0. Whitman was nppointe<l the same day to till vacancy until 
 J. Ncely Johnson, who had been elected for that purpose, could 
 qualify. 
 
88 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 John Cradlebaugh 9 
 
 B.C. Whitman 3 
 
 There seeming to be a dead-lock, the Convention 
 adjourned until the next day, at 1 r. m. During 
 this interim, Mr. Stewart sent a mesxage to Judge 
 Cradlebaugh, stating that if the latter would con- 
 sent to yield to him all Government patronage, which 
 would be due by courtesy to both of Nevada's Sen- 
 ators, his election would be secured. The reply of 
 Judge Cradlebaugh was characteristic of the man. 
 " Tell Stewart," said he, " that I had rather be a 
 dog, and bay the moon, than such a Senator." 
 
 When the Convention assembled the ne.\t da}- 
 one vote decided the matter as follows: — 
 
 James W. Nye 29 
 
 Charles E. De Long IG 
 
 John Cradlebaugh 7 
 
 Total 52 
 
 Necessary for a choice 27 
 
 REMOVAL OF CAPITAL ATTEMPTED. 
 
 A little breeze was raised in the horizon of politics 
 In the early part of 18G5, by an eflbrt made to pro- 
 cure the removal of the seat of State Government 
 to American City, south of (Jold Hill, in Storey 
 County. 
 
 It will be remembered that in 1861 the State Cap- 
 ital was established at Carson City, and the Legis- 
 lative Assembly was obligeil to meet at the place 
 where the State Prison is now located — a suggestive 
 coincidence. Storej' and Lyon Counties, taking 
 advantage of this circumstance, entered into com 
 petition to secure the removal of the same to within 
 their respective boundaries, at Virginia City, if 
 Storey County was successful, or at Da3-ton, if Lj^on 
 County secured the prize. The Ormshj' County 
 people became alarmed, and by petition asked the 
 Legislature to adjourn to Carson City, where they 
 would be furnished with assemblj' rooms, free of 
 charge, which was finally done, Ijj'on and Storej- 
 Counties failing, either of them, to gain the location. 
 
 In January, 1864, a company organized with a 
 large caiiital, laid out a town on the flat south 
 from Gold Hill, ami n;imeil the location American 
 City. They then oflVreil S.")(l,(l()0 as a duMalioii to 
 the Terriiory if it would i-inmve the Capital from 
 Car.-on Ciiy to ili:it jihico; and tlie Sloroy Count}- 
 pa])ers advocali-d the removal. One of the reasons 
 alleged lor its being desirable to make the change 
 was, that Ormsby County had oftered to furnish 
 assembly rooms free of charge, and now was asking 
 a rental of 84.r)00 per ^es^ion for the use of the 
 buildinii. 'i'lie Ca|)ital was not removed; but the 
 discussioti li'fl the following interesting foot-|)rints 
 behind it. that indicated the existence in early limes 
 of that poliiicjil eneigy, and process of li-tling the 
 rays of »i7iJ'r li;;lil in ii|ion the understanding of a 
 Legislator, that since hue becumo suggestive of the 
 Senatorial ionn. 
 
 The Ormsby County people seeing the effect that 
 the charge for rent by their County Commissioners 
 had caused, many of them signed the following 
 petition, headed b}- E. B. Kail, Wellington Stewart, 
 and others: — 
 
 The undersigned, citizens of Ormsby County, 
 hereby resjjectfull}* request the present Commis- 
 sioners of said County to resign their otlice imme- 
 diately. To Adolphus Waitz we especially address 
 this reciuest. We tirmly believe he has used his 
 oflice as a means of speculation. We know that he 
 has brought the countj- to present bankruptcy, and 
 that he has acted in odious bad faith to this county 
 in tendering the free use of our public buildings to 
 the Territory, and afterwards charging the United 
 States for the use of each building. As to him, we 
 wish it distinctly understood that we shall not take 
 NO for answer. 
 
 REPLY OP -MR. WAITZ. 
 
 * * * A proper regard for the public good, 
 and those who elected me, as well as a feeling of 
 self-respect, forbids that 1 should hasten to gratify 
 j'our malice. If it be )"our pur])ose to intimidate me, 
 it only ))roves what 1 had supposed was the case, 
 that 3'ou were not well acquainted with my real char- 
 acter. I am not apt to be scared bj^ the threats of 
 armed desperadoes, much less those of peevish and 
 excited citizens. * * * 
 
 Your Coi'.nty Commissioner, 
 
 Adolphus Waitz. 
 
 On referring to this matter in ilarch, 1865, the 
 I'osf, ])ublished at Carson, said editorially: — 
 
 * * * And to show that wo are not mistaken 
 in these matters we will add, that we individually 
 collected the mone}- that was paid to a member of 
 the I^egislature to vote against the removal. * * * 
 The editor |)ro])oses to expose anyone else who goes 
 and does likewise. 
 
 CONdKESSIONAL ELECTION OF 18G5. 
 
 The election of 18G4 had chosen a liepresentativo 
 in Congress, Hon. H. G. W^orthington, for the term 
 ex])iring March 3, 18G5, and, consequently, it would 
 be necessar}' to elect another to take his seat with 
 the convening of the new Congress, in December, 
 1SG5. 
 
 Nevada had two United States Senators, but no 
 Member in the House of Representatives. To pro- 
 vide for the deficiency a Re])resentative had to be 
 chosen at the Slate Klection on the seventh of No- 
 vember, 1865. This brought to tlu- front three 
 KeiiLibiican as])irants, namely. Colonel Charles A. 
 Sumner, sujiported b}- the Gold Hill iVeirn and Vir- 
 ginia City Union; Hon. W. H. Clagett, supported by 
 the Terrilorial Kiiteiprinc ; and Delos II. Ashley, of 
 Lander County, su])ported by the lieene liioi-r h'eceilk. 
 Clagett carried the Storey County delegation by 
 twenty votes — as claimed b}' the Gold Hill News — 
 tliroiiirh the agencj' of Democratic votes in the 
 iiepulilican primaries. 
 
 On the tenth of October the Hepublic.in Conven- 
 tion met at Carson; the candidates, as named, were 
 placed in nomination before it, and for ten or twelve 
 
Col. a. C. Ellis, 
 
 Son of Dr. R. B. and Elizabeth (Collier) Ellis, was 
 born in Eiehmond, Eay County, Missouri, on the 
 twelfth day of July, 184tl. His father was a native 
 of Sussex County, Virginia. Jlis mother, a Ken- 
 tuckian by birth, died when he was but two years 
 old, and Mrs. M. P. Koas, an aunt upon bis father's 
 side, took upon herself the charge of his early train- 
 ing. In 1850 the father removed from St. Louis, 
 Missouri, to California, and the son went to reside 
 with his aunt in Kichmond, where the succeeding ten 
 years her house was his home. His early education 
 was obtained in the last-named town, where he 
 studied under a private tutor, and afterwards attended 
 the academy of A. C. Jledmon and It. \V. Finley until 
 1853, at which time he entered the Masonic College 
 at Lexington, becoming a member of the Freshman 
 Class in the fall of that year. In 1S55 he entered the 
 Junior Class at the University of Missouri, at Colum- 
 bia, and graduated therefrom July 4, 1857. 
 
 In the month of October of the same year he 
 entered the Law School at Louisville, Kentucky, 
 which was a department of the State University, and 
 remained there during two full courses of law lec- 
 tures under James Speed, later President Lincoln's 
 Attorney General, Judge W. F. Bullock, John C. 
 Preston, and Wm. Pirtle. In 1850, February 
 27th, Mr. Ellis graduated from this school and 
 was chosen to deliver the valedictory, and received 
 his diploma from James Guthrie, President of the 
 Board of Curators. By an Act of the Legislature of 
 that State, a diploma from the Law School entitled 
 the graduate to practice in all of its courts, and he 
 soon after located at llichmond, and through the in- 
 fluence of old friends, combined with natural talent, 
 acquired a good practice in his profession. In 1800, 
 on the twenty-eighth of March, ho was married to 
 Miss Lucie Rives Cobb, of Prince Kdward County, 
 V'^irginia. Mr. Ellis was named by the State Conven- 
 tion of Missouri as an alternate elector for Stephen 
 A. Douglas ill the camjiaign of 180(1. lie was a can- 
 didate the same year for Commonwealth Attorney 
 in the Fourtli Circuit, embracing seven counties, and 
 was defeated by only three hundred votes by his 
 Bell and Everett opponent. The estimate placed 
 upon Mr. Ellis by those who best knew him may be 
 judged from the fact of his receiving 2,300 out of 
 2,500 votes cast in his home county at that election. 
 In 18<)1 he joined the Confederate regiment com- 
 manded by Colonel B. A. Hives, and was an Adju- 
 tant, first of General Little's brigade, and then of his 
 own regiment, during the Pea Ridge battle and cam- 
 
 paign. Colonel Rives was killed at Pea Ridge, and 
 sometime afterwards Adjutant Ellis was sent by 
 General Price from Van Buren, Arkansas, to exhume 
 the Colonel's body and convey it to his old home in 
 Ray County for burial. In 1803 Mr. Ellis came with 
 his family to Carson City, Nevada, which has, since 
 the fall of that year, been his home. 
 
 In 1809 he practiced law in partnership with the 
 late Tod Robinson, in "White Pine County. In poli- 
 tics he has always been an earnest worker in the 
 Democratic ranks, and has canvassed the State in 
 the interests of his party many times. In 1870 ho 
 was a candidate for Governor before the Democratic 
 State Convention, at Elko, and was defeated by only 
 three votes, receiving, after a protracted and exciting 
 contest, ninety-eight votes, while bis opponent. Gov- 
 ernor L. R. Bradley, had lol. The friends of the 
 late Hill Beachy and Governor Bradley united, 
 through the influence of General T. H. "Williams, 
 Thomas Sunderland, T). K. Buell, and others,) to 
 defeat him. Mr. Kllis was chosen Chairman of the 
 Democratic State Central Committee, and made an 
 active canvass of the State in the interests of (Jover- 
 nor Bradley, who was elected. In 1872 he canvassed 
 the State for Greeley, though he was not the man of 
 his choice for President. In 1874 he received the 
 Democratic nomination for Congress, but was de- 
 feated by Wm. Woodburn, though he ran ahead of 
 his ticket largely. In 187(! he went as a delegate to 
 the National Democratic Convention, at St. Louis, 
 and presented the resolution of the Nevada State 
 Convention against Chinese immigration, and by 
 persistent eff'orts secured its insertion, with slight 
 modification, in the National Platform. On his return 
 home he again received the itemocratic nomination 
 for Congress, but was defeated by Thomas Wren, 
 although receiving in the neighborhood of two hun- 
 dred more votes than the Tilden Kloctors. 
 
 In 1878 he took an active part in the support ol 
 Bradley for Governor and Mr. Deal for Congress, and 
 the Democratic ticket, making another stirring can- 
 vass of the State, though not a candidate himself. 
 In 1880 he attended the National Democratic Con- 
 vention at Cincinnati, Ohio, as a delegate, and was 
 again a member of the Committee on Resolutions. 
 In connection with the members from California and 
 Oregon he secured the ado))tioii of the very emphatic 
 resolution in the National Platform against Chinese 
 immigration. During his political life Mr. Kills has 
 been one of the most zealous and untiring workers in 
 his ] tarty. 
 
STATE ORGANIZATION. 
 
 89 
 
 ballots the contest luy between those <;entlemcn. 
 Colonel Sumner then withdrew, and John B. Win- 
 tei-s ajipeareil before the Convention to ask its jire- 
 ferment for the coveted position. It required lil'ty- 
 three votes to get the nomination, and the new 
 candidate could not obtain over forly-nine. Mr. 
 Ashley continued to receive his regular fourteen 
 votes until about 4 p. .m., when it stood: John B. 
 Winters, forty-nine; \V. II. Clagctt, forty-eight; 
 Delos R. Ashley, eight. 
 
 The Convention then took a recess; and, after 
 re-assembling, twenty-six of Clagett's men voted for 
 Ashley. The friends of Winters also voted for 
 Ashlc}-. and thus he became the nominee of the 
 party. 
 
 Mr. Ashley then pledged himself, in a speech be- 
 fore the body tha't had placed his name upon the 
 ticket, to use his utmost endeavors to oLtain from 
 the Government all the aid, in land and money, to 
 build as soon as possible everj' railroad contemplated 
 and in course of construction, connecting the Slate 
 with the tide-water on the Pacific. 
 
 A plank of the Rei)nblican State platform affirmed 
 the same doctrine in regard to the railroad.* 
 
 As before stated, the election came off on the 
 seventh of November, at which time 
 
 Delos R. Ashlc)- received 3,(501 votes. 
 
 n. K. Mitchell received. 2,215 votes. 
 
 Total votes 5,900 
 
 The choice had fallen upon the Republican can- 
 didate. 
 
 In the election of 18GG there entered into the con- 
 test the National issues brought on by the Presi- 
 dent of the United States, Andrew Johnson. Mr. 
 Ashley again became the nominee of the Republican 
 party for Congress, and had for his opponent, on 
 the Democratic ticket, II. K. Mitchell, the same 
 gentleman who had contested the year before for the 
 honor of being chosen for that position. The result 
 was success to the entire Republican ticket, as fol- 
 lows: — 
 
 STATE ELECTION, NOVEMBER 0, 1800. 
 
 Member of Congress, 1). R. Ashley, 5,047 votes; 
 two candidates; total vote, 9,248. 
 
 Governor, II. (t. Jilasdei, 5,125 votes; two candi- 
 dates; total vote, 9,230. 
 
 Lieutenant tiovernor, J. S. Slingerland, 5,211 votes; 
 two candidates; total vote, 9,208. 
 
 Secretary of State, C N. Notewaro, 5,207 votes; 
 two candidates; total vote, 9,257. 
 
 Controller, W. R. Parkinson, 5,203 votes; two can- 
 didates; total vote, 9,257. 
 
 * Tlii'i was before tlie Central I'aeitic liaii re.achol the .State, 
 anil when it** e<m8triicti"ii wa.s m-'st ai'ilently <li;«ii"eil and lioped 
 for .'\.x an aei'"iii|iliNliiiitiit of tin' iliatant Intiire. .Vt the name 
 time there were two rnaiKs Heekin^ 8nl>siili'-8 — one, the Central 
 I'aeilie, then unnally ilenoniinatcil the Dutch Flat roail; and the 
 other the I'lacervdle mail, lioth roads were Heekin^ favors 
 whieh all parties wcru willin}^ to grant without question ur limit 
 of powers. 
 
 Treasurer, E. Rhoades, 5,157 votes; two candi- 
 dates; total vote, 9,239. 
 
 Superintendent Public Instruction, A. N. Fisher, 
 5,218 votes; two candidates; total vote, 9,250. 
 
 Surveyor General, S. H. Marlotte, 5,209 votes; two 
 candidates; total vote, 9,250. 
 
 State Printer, J. E. Eckley, 5,208 votes; two candi- 
 dates; total vote, 9,273. 
 
 Supreme Judge, James F. Lewis, 5,183 votes; two 
 candidates; total vote, 9,2(iC. 
 
 Attorney General, Robert M. Clark, 5,193 votes; 
 two candidates; total vote, 9,249. 
 
 Clerk Supreme Court, Alfred Ilelm, 5,000 votes; 
 two candidates; total vote, 9,202. 
 
 In admitting the State into the Union the Sena- 
 tors were allotted terms ending in March, 1807, and 
 March, 1809, respectively. 
 
 The election of United State Senators in 1864 was 
 for short terms — one for two 3'ears and the other for 
 four; and the question of who should take the short- 
 est one was decided by lot in open Senate. James 
 W. Nj'e drew the short term, and became a candi- 
 date for re-election before the Legislature, on the 
 sixteenth and seventeenth of January, 1807. There 
 were five aspirants for the ])Osition; and on the 
 fifteenth, when the candidates were put in nomina- 
 tion before the two separate Houses, the following 
 was the result of the combined vote: — 
 
 Charles E. De Long received 21 votes. 
 
 James W. Nye received 18 " 
 
 John B. Winters received 7 " 
 
 Thomas Fiteli received 4 " 
 
 Thomas U. Williams received 7 " 
 
 Total.. : 57 
 
 The same day II. R. Mighels published in his 
 paper, the Dnifi/ Ap/iea/, one of those incisive, burn- 
 ing editorials, for which he was noted, calling upon 
 the Union men of both branches of the Legislature 
 to supiiort the "(trey Eagle" for the United States 
 Senate. In it occurs the following: — 
 
 The whole Union ])ress, not only of Nevada; not 
 oiilv of California; not only of Oregon; not only of 
 all the Pacific States and Territories, but of all the 
 United States, east and west — with but two solitary 
 exceptions — are in favor of, and persistently advo- 
 cate, the re-election to the United Slates Senate of 
 Mr. Nye. 
 
 The exceptions referred to were the San Francisco 
 C'tt/l and Humboldt Rei/inter. During the political 
 camjiaign that had recently clo.sed, Mr. De Long 
 had assailed Mv. Nye by correspondence through 
 the press, in a very bitter strain, accusing the latter 
 of frauds in his ailministration of the Iiulian affairs 
 ill Nevada; consequently, the issue between these 
 parties was intenselj- ])ersonal. On the sixteenth 
 the Convention of the two Houses took jjlaco, and 
 the names of .Mr. Williams and Winters having been 
 withdrawn, the vote stood as follows: — 
 
90 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 James W. Nj-e received 25 votes. 
 
 Chill-lea E. De Lotif;; received 27 " 
 
 Thomas Fitoh received 4 " 
 
 Thomas U. Williams received 1 " 
 
 Necessary for a choice 29 " 
 
 An adjournment was then taken until the next 
 da)', when the vote was: James W. Nye, 32; Charles 
 E. De Lons^, 25. 
 
 There were seven Democratic votes, and all were 
 for Jilr. De Jjong. The successful candidate was then 
 declared elected for a term of six years, to com- 
 mence March 4, 18G7, and end March 3, 1873. 
 
 ELECTION IN 18G8 AND 1809. 
 
 On the sixteenth of September, 18GS, the Repub- 
 lican Convention met at Carson Citj', and placed a 
 ticket in the field. 
 
 Thomas Fitch by acclamation for Congress; Chas. 
 E. De Long being a candidate for the United States 
 Senate against ^N'iiliam M. Stewart, withdrew to 
 secure harmony in tlie party; and the following 
 resolutions were passed by the Convention: — 
 
 A'e.<o/(V'(/, That the action of Hon. C. E. De Long 
 in withdrawing from the Senatorial contest in favor 
 of Mr. Stewart, in order that there might be entire 
 unanimity in our councils, is an act of pati-iotic self- 
 denial so noble in its character, and so gratifying to 
 the loyal pcoi)le of Nevada, that it merits their 
 warmest cf)mmcndati(ins and approval. 
 
 Jie.so/oeil, That by his conduct in tliis matter Mr. 
 De Long has endeared himself to eveiy loyal voter 
 in tlie State; and the thanks of a grateful people 
 are hereby tendered liini tor so prom])tly sacrificing 
 his personal political prospects to the end that the 
 victory gained over error and wrong in the late 
 contest should not be shorn of its fruits by partisan 
 strife among the friends of Freedom, of Humanity, 
 and of I'rogress. 
 
 Mr. De Long was subsequently appointed Minister 
 to Japan, which post he filled with great satisfaction 
 to the American people, strongly cementing the 
 friendly relations between the two (iovernments. 
 
 All of the Republican candidates upon the State 
 ticket were elected, as follows: — 
 
 I'RESIDENTIAI- ELECTION OP 1868. 
 
 For Presidential Electors — Republican, 6,476 votes. 
 
 For Presidentiiil Electors— Democratic, 5,215 votes. 
 
 Member of Congress, Thomas Fitch, 6,230 votes; 
 two candidates; total vote, 11,579. 
 
 Surveyor General (unexpired term), John Day, 
 6,301 votes; two candidates; total vote, 11,677. 
 
 State Printer, H. R. Mighels, 6,425 votes; two 
 candidates; total vote, 11,689. 
 
 Supreme Judge (long term), B. C. Whitman, 6,476 
 votes; two candidates; total vote, 11,698. 
 
 Supreme Judge (unexpired term), J. Nooly John- 
 son, 6,398 votes; two candidates; total vote, 11,632. 
 
 The Legislature of 1S(>9 was made uj) of titty 
 Republicans and nine Democrats. 
 
 On the twelfth of January of that year William 
 M. Stewart was elected to succeed himself as 
 Nevada's United States Senator, being chosen by 
 forty-nine out of the fifty Republican votes on the 
 
 first ballot; A. C. Cleveland, of Washoe, giving hia 
 vote for B. C. Whitman. The Democrats cast their 
 nine ballots for Thomas H. Williams. 
 
 Mr. Stewart was in Washington at the time attend- 
 ing to his Senatorial duties; his political interests in 
 Nevada being placed under the supervision of Hon. 
 A. P. K. Saflbrd, who later became Governor of 
 Arizona. 
 
 .STATE ELECTION OF NOVEMBER 8, 1870. 
 
 In 1870 the Democrats made their first political 
 success in the State, securing the Congressman, and 
 the most important State officers, among whom were 
 Governor L. R. Bi-adle)-, and Supreme Judge John 
 Garber. 
 
 The Republicans, in Convention at Elko, on the 
 twenty-first of September, that year, placed the fol- 
 lowing ticket in the field: — 
 
 For Congress Thomas Fitch (no opposition). 
 
 " Governor P. A. Tritle. 
 
 " Lieutenant Governor J. S. Slingcrland. 
 
 " Secretary of State James D. Minor. 
 
 " Controller W. W. llobart. 
 
 " Treasurer Len Wines. 
 
 " Superintend't Pub. Instruction A.N. Fisher. 
 
 •' Survej'or General John Day. 
 
 " State Printer H. R. Mighels. 
 
 '' State Mineralogist H. R. Whitehill. 
 
 " Su])reme Judge J. S. Slauson. 
 
 " Attorncj' General Will. Camjibell. 
 
 " Clerk Supreme Court Alfred Helm. 
 
 The following is the result of the election; — 
 
 Member of Congress, Charles W. Kendall,* 6,821 
 votes; two candidates; total votes, 13,312. 
 
 Governer, L. R. Bradley,* 7,200 votes; two can- 
 didates; total vote, 13,349. 
 
 Lieutenant Governor, Frank Denver,* 6,689 votes, 
 two candidates; total vote, 13,309. 
 
 Secretary of State, J. D. Minor, 6,786 votes; two 
 candidates; total vote, 13,341. 
 
 Controller, W. \V. Hobart, 6,770 votes; two can- 
 didates; total vote, 13,353. 
 
 Treasurer, Jerry Schooling,* 6,942 votes; two can- 
 didates; total vote, 13,333. 
 
 Su]>erintendent Public Instruction, A. N. Pisher, 
 6,793 votes; two candidates; total vote, 13,3t!6. 
 
 Surveyor General, John Day, 6,002 voles; tw<5 
 candidates; total vote, 13,375. 
 
 State Printer, Charles L. Perkins,* 6,731 votes; 
 two candidates; total vote, 13,302. 
 
 Mineralogist, H. R. Whitohill, 6,711 votes; two 
 candidates; total vote, 13,363. 
 
 Supreme Judge,! John Garber,* 6,787 votes; two 
 candidates; total vote, 13,349. 
 
 Attorney General, J L. A. Buckner,* 6,650 votes; 
 two candidates; total vote, 13,277. 
 
 t.'lerk Supreme Court, § Alfred Helm, 6,801 votes; 
 two candidates; total vote, 13,365. 
 
 * Duiiiocrnts. 
 
 t Hu8ii,nic(l on the sixth of November, 1872, the day after 
 election iif that year. 
 
 t l{e»igiio<l .laimary 4, 1874. 
 
 iS Keoigneil January "-, 1875. I{is succcaaor had been elected 
 ou the jirevious third of November. 
 
STATE ORGANIZATION. 
 
 91 
 
 POLITICS OF THE LEdlSLATURE. 
 
 SENATE. ASSEMDI-Y. 
 
 COUNTIES. Dcm. Rep. Ucm. Ke]). 
 
 Churchill 10 11 
 
 llsmeralda 1 1 4 
 
 Elko 1 L' 
 
 Uumboldt 2 H 
 
 Lander 2 4 
 
 Lincoln 1 (I 1 
 
 Lyon (» 2 3 
 
 Nj-o 1 1 1 
 
 Ormsby 2 12 
 
 Storey 1 :{ 3 !• 
 
 Washoe II 2 o 3 
 
 White Pino 112 3 
 
 Totals 10 12 22 22 
 
 Douglas County elected one indc])eiident Senator 
 and two independent Assemblymen. 
 
 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1872 — SENATORIAL CONTEST. 
 
 The election year that gave General Grant his 
 second Presidential term, and consigned his com- 
 petitor, the unfortunate Horace Greelej', to his grave, 
 was one of unusual political activity in Nevada. Sena- 
 tor Nye's term was drawing to a close, which east 
 upon the Legislature to be chosen that year the 
 necessity of electing his successor, and for the first 
 time the overshadowing influence of money was felt 
 in political manipulations in this State. Money had 
 been used before, but not to so great an extent as in 
 the campaign of 1S72. 
 
 The mines of Storey County had produced wealth 
 that graduallj- centered under the control of a few, 
 and had placed upon the floor of politics a new class 
 of men, untried statesmen, developed by silver into 
 monej-ed Samsons, who felt equal to the task of car- 
 r^-ing away the political gates of Gaza. 
 
 The real contest laid between William Sharon. 
 who was termed the quartz-mill and railroad monop- 
 olist; and J. P. Jones, called by the press of the 
 State, ''The Commoner." .lames W. Nye, whose 
 name had become a national one, and familiar in 
 every household in the land, was also a candidate, 
 but without hope of ])refermenl where monej', and 
 not demonstrated fitness and ability to servo the 
 country and state, was to be tho shibboleth of suc- 
 cess. 
 
 The Democratic aspirants prior to tho election 
 were: John Garber, Supremo Judge; T. IL Williams, 
 of Storey County; Harry I. Thornton, of Lincoln 
 County; A. C. hlllis, of Ormsby County; W. W. Mc- 
 Coy, of Lander County; John C. Fall, of Uumboldt 
 County; II. K. Mitchell, of Storey County. 
 
 J. P. Jones was a heavy mining operator in Ne- 
 vada and Htock-<lealer in San Francisco. His policy 
 was to maintain high prices for such stocks as ho 
 was interested in, and ho carried a number of 
 friends whose limited means would have proved 
 their ruin but for his assistance. 
 
 It was charged by the Pacific Coast press gen- 
 ally that Sharon, backed by the California Bank, 
 
 desired to break the Stock Market, expecting his 
 opponent to go down with it, and ruin his main 
 supporters, in this way thinking to ])lace this bold, 
 talented, and generous coin distributor where he 
 would be forced to give up the contest. It was 
 further charged that the Central Pacific Railroad 
 Company had joined Sharon and the bank in this 
 move to suppress the Nevada •■ Commoner," who 
 was tho champion of the people in their struggle 
 against railroad, quartz-mill and bank monopolies. 
 
 May 7, 1872, mining stocks were at their zenith 
 for that year, tho inflatioti being (caused by the dis- 
 covery of a sup])osed bonanza in the Savage mine. 
 On the next day the San Francisco Chronicle pub- 
 lished charges by one Isaac J. Hubbell, accusing 
 G. F. Kellogg, the I'oreman of the Crown Point 
 mine, of causing tho Crown Point, Yellow Jacket, 
 and Kentuck mines to bo fired in April, 18(i0. at 
 which time a number of minors had lost their lives. 
 It further stated, that the " Nevada Commoner" 
 was privy to the act, it being done to influence 
 mining, or stock, manipulations. This same day. 
 after the news became current upon the street, com- 
 ing in connection with the unfavorable reports of 
 the Savage mine, stocks suddenlj^ declined from 
 thirtj" to forty per cent., and continued in their 
 downward course for several days. The Tcrri/orial 
 Enterprise, that supported J. P. Jones, in speaking of 
 this matter, said: — 
 
 Mr. Sharon, it is plain to everj' one here, has 
 resorted to this atrocious means of alienating from 
 his formidable com))elitor the support of a class of cit- 
 izens whose numbers render them, when united, an 
 almost resistless political power. 
 
 At this juncture friends interfered, and the sub- 
 ject was left to an investigation by the (irand Jury 
 of Storey County, which rendered a decision in tho 
 following June exonorating all jtarties accused. 
 
 Two years later, in August. 1S74, at a public meet- 
 ing in Carson, Sharon said of .1, P. Jones: — 
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen: I thank j-ou on behalf of 
 Senator Jones for the i'ece|>tion given him in your 
 fair city this evening. He has jiroven himself tho 
 representative of the true interests of the people. 
 He has represented our interests at Washington 
 against all opposition. He has been true to tho 
 trust of the people i-eposed in him. and I am h;ippy 
 to add ni}' voice in commending hiin for it. When 
 we find a representative true to the interests of tho 
 commonwealth; true to the best interests of all the 
 peo])le; true to the principles of liberty, right and 
 ireedoin. the i)eo])le can welcome him hack to his 
 home with all the feelings which are highest in the 
 hearts of freemen. 
 
 Mr. Jones was helping Mr. Sharon to become Stew- 
 art's successor in the I'nited Slates Senate at tho 
 time of the above eulogy; and it makes a world of 
 dift'erence whose ox is being gored. 
 
 On the sixteenth of August William Sharon with- 
 drew as a candidate, and the issue then lay between 
 Senator Nye and tho "Commoner." But the con- 
 
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 test liad virtually ended when the bunk and rail- 
 road interest ceased their onslaui^ht upon J. P. 
 Jones. It was claimed by the friends of Nye that 
 there had. for cause, been a compromise between the 
 moneyed powers, but the people did not believe it, 
 and still trusted their -Commoner." 
 
 On the twenty-fifth of September the Republican 
 Convention met at Reno, and placed upon its ticket 
 C. C. Goodwin for Congress. The nomination was 
 bj' acclamation, and for some time he refused to 
 accept the place, only doing so upon the assurance 
 from the Delegates representing the eastern counties 
 in the State that thcj- were unanimously for him. 
 Thomas P. Hawley was successful in gaining a 
 nomination for the Supremo Bench, and C. A. V. 
 Putnam was selected for State Printer. No other 
 State offices were to be voted for at the coming elec- 
 tion. 
 
 The Democrats placed Charles W. Kendall in the 
 field for Congressional preferment, and staked everj-- 
 thing ujjon his success. The friends of Jones lost 
 sight of Goodwin's interests in their eft'orts to secure 
 a Jjcgislature favorable to their leader, and the result 
 was success to the "Commoner" and the Democratic 
 candidate for Congress. 
 
 RESULT OF THAT ELECTION. 
 
 Republican Presidential Electors, 8,413 votes. 
 
 Denidcratic Presidential Electors. C.23C votes. 
 
 Member of Congress. Charles W. Kendall, 7,847 
 votes; two candidates; total vote, 14.903. 
 
 Supreme Judge. Thomas 1'. Hawley, 8,193 votes; 
 two candidates; total vote. 14,021. 
 
 State Printer, C. A. V. Putnam, 8,179 votes; two 
 candidates; total vote. l.j.OOS. 
 
 On the twenty-first of the following Jaiuiarj- the 
 vote for United States Senator stood, at the Con- 
 vention of the joint Houses of the State Legisla- 
 ture: — 
 
 J. P. Jones, 53; W. W. McCoy, 17; Charles E. De 
 Long, 1; Robert McHeth. 1; total. 72. 
 
 There was but one ballot, and J. P. Jones had 
 fairly entered u])on the career as a national Legis- 
 lator, in which cap;icity he has since won and worn 
 the laurel crown as a monetary statesman. 
 
 Of the man whom his success had consigned to 
 private life, Harry Mighels, on learning of his death 
 on Christmas, 187G, said in the A/>/)eai: — 
 
 To write a full and fitting obituary notice of 
 James \V. Nye would be to write the history of the 
 Hvputilican |iartj-; tell the story of the administra- 
 tion of Abraham Jjincoln; the struggle for the Union; 
 the scheme of reconstruction, and the lite and 
 achievements of the Republican l)arty of the State 
 of Nevaiia. For our deail friend and neighbor was 
 as closelj' united to all these momentous matters 
 and events as any man of his day. In the 
 verj- midst of the most tremendous events of war 
 and jiolitics he was one of the grandest figures u|)on 
 the stage of ]iublic aflairs. His name will ever rest 
 among the most distinguished patriots and states- 
 men of bis age. 
 
 His portrait now hangs in the State Capitol; and 
 the stranger who, passing, stop.s to look at it, will 
 be told — bj' whatever Nevadan chan^^es to be near — 
 that it is the kindly noble face of "Grej' Eagle" that 
 beams down from the cold canvas upon him. As 
 he tells you, if you note it, j'ou will see a look of 
 proud regret steal over the face of j'our informant, 
 as the scene recalls from the secret chambers of the 
 past a recollection of the one great heart, real states- 
 man, true patriot, and generous friend of whose 
 memorj- all Nevadans are proud. 
 
 STATE ELECTION OF 1874 — CONTEST FOR UNITED STATES 
 SENATE. 
 
 The political cam])aign of 1874 was started early 
 in the season, the Senatorial contest being the ab- 
 sorbing issue of the year. William Sharon again 
 became a candidate for that position, and Adolph 
 Sutro was his main antagonist. General Thomas 
 H. Williams was the Democratic choice, and each of 
 them were for the time being the leaders of a party 
 in the State— Sharon of the Republican, Sutro of the 
 Independent (Dolly Vardcn), and Williams of the 
 Democrats. 
 
 The owners of the Comstock Lode had come to 
 look upon the Sutro Tunnel scheme with great dis- 
 favor, although strongly advocating it at first. 
 Thej' had used every means available to defeat the 
 enterprise in and out of Congress, and Mr. Sutro was 
 violentlj' oj^posed to having the chief capitalist of 
 the mines go to Washington as a Senator where he 
 could use his position to cripple the tunnel enter- 
 prise; consequently, that gentleman entered the list 
 for the position himself, determined, at all hazards, 
 to "tunnel Sharon's prospects." Thus the mone3'ed 
 Titans of Nevada were brought in collision politi- 
 cally. To this day, fossil remains of the political 
 managers of that era can be warmed into life by a 
 reference to the " Battle of the Money Bags" for 
 Senatorial honors. 
 
 The Republicans met in Convention at Winne- 
 mucca, September 24th. of that year, and placed the 
 following ticket in the field: — 
 
 P""or Congress, Wm. Woodburn, of Store}- County. 
 
 For Governor, J. C. Hazlett, of Lyon County. 
 
 For Lieutenant Governor, John Bowman, of Nye 
 County. 
 
 For Secretary of State. J. D. Minor,* of Humboldt 
 County. 
 
 For Controller, W. W. Hobart,* of White Pine 
 Count}'. 
 
 For Treasurer. L. J. Hogle.t of Eureka ("ounty. 
 
 For Superintendent Public Instruction, S. P. Kelly, 
 of Eureka County. 
 
 ForSurveyortJeneral. John Day,*of Tiyon County. 
 
 For State Printer, C. C. Powning, of Washoe 
 (bounty. 
 
 ' TIic.hu uere ti\»o plucLtl upon tile ticket of the Independents, 
 and wiTi- dectwl. 
 
 t L. .1. Hiiglc afterwards withdrew hi» candidacy, and the 
 name of George Tully, of Ornisby County, was subatituted. 
 
John Grant. M D. 
 
 Doctor John Grant was bum in Lenox t'ounty, ( »iitario, Canada, in 1831, and 
 as the name strongly indicates, is of Scottish anci'sti y. 
 
 From early youth he evinced a desire for study, giving ]>reference at that time 
 to civil engineering, with the design of making that his profession For several 
 years he |iursued this branch of seientiHc study, till in 1854 he entered the Albany 
 Medical College, New York, and adopted the profession of medicine and surgery, 
 to which he has since assiduously di-xoted his life. From this college he graduated 
 in 1857. Subsequently he graduated from .Tetferson Medical College, of Philadel- 
 phia, and is al.so a graduate of the University of Victoria College, of Ontario, and 
 of the Royal College of Surgeons, England. 
 
 The Doctor's residence on the Pacific Coast has been chiefly in California and 
 Nevada. For fifteen years he followed his profession in Santa Cruz, the pleasant 
 summer resort on the Bay of Monterey, California. Here he practiced with great 
 success, his fame and skill extending to surrounding counties, extending his busi- 
 nes,s proportionately. During his residence at Santa Cruz his acquaintance was 
 wide-spread, embracing the prominent members of the profession and the. princi- 
 pal politicians and gentlemen of the State. Subsequently, for several years he 
 was a prominent physician anil surgeon in Virginia City. In every sease Dr, John 
 Grant is a gentleman of fine culture, thoroughly imbued with the sacred cause of 
 profe.s.sional proprieties and obligations, a man of the strictest integrity, blessed 
 with the itdieritance of a nature that finds happiness in cheering the afflicted and 
 downcast, and extending a hand to help the wearv through life. 
 
 The portrait of the gentleman of whom we write accompanies this sketch, A 
 fine form and manly carriage ; a countenance always genial, pleasant and intel- 
 lectual ; and with all this the Doctor remains a consistent bachelor, too loyal to 
 Hygeia to admit another goddess to his devotions. 
 
STATE ORGANIZATION. 
 
 93 
 
 For MineriilogiBt, II. R. Whitehill, of Churchill 
 County. 
 
 For Supreme Judge, W. H. Bentty* of White 
 Pine County. 
 
 For Supreme Judge, Warren Earll, of Elko County. 
 
 For Attorney General, Moses Tebbs, of Douglas 
 County. 
 
 For Clerk Supreme Court, C. F. Bicknell, of 
 Ormsby Count)'. 
 
 On the twenty-eighth of September the Dem- 
 ocrats, in Convention at Carson, placed the follow- 
 ing candidates before the people for preferment: — 
 
 For Congress, A. C. Ellis,* of Ormsby County. 
 
 For Governor, L. R. Bradley,* of Elko County. 
 
 For Lieutenant Governor, Jewett W. Adams, of 
 Storey County. 
 
 For Secretary of State, Charles D. Spires, of Lan- 
 der Count)-. 
 
 For Controller, T. R. Cranley, of White Pine 
 County. 
 
 For Treasurer, Jerry Schooling,* of Washoe County. 
 
 For Superintendent Public Instruction, E. Spen- 
 cer, of Lander County. 
 
 For Surveyor General, George Uaist, of Storey 
 County. 
 
 For State Printer. J. J. Hill,* of Humboldt County. 
 
 For Mineralogist, W . F. Stewart,* of Storey County. 
 
 For Supreme Judge, A. M. Hillhouse, of Eureka 
 County. 
 
 For Supreme Judge, C. H. Belknap,* of Ormsby 
 County. 
 
 For Attorney General, J. R.. Kittrcll, of White 
 Pine County. 
 
 For Clerk Supreme Court, B. H. Hereford,* of 
 Lincoln County. 
 
 The name of Spencer was withdrawn and that of 
 Willis substituted as a candidate for Superintendent 
 of Public Instruction. 
 
 On the thirtieth of .September the Independents 
 met at Carson in State Convention, and put upon 
 their ticket for State offices and Congress some of 
 the nominees from both the regular parties; but 
 laiiiiig to find u])()n either men that suited them for 
 all the positions, they proceeded to iian)e the follow- 
 ing gentlemen as third candidates in the field: Ijieu- 
 tonant Governor A. J. Hatch, of Washoe County; 
 Attorney (ieneral, A. B. Elliott, of Storey County; 
 Superintendent I'ulilic Instruction, II. H. Howe, of 
 Ormsby Count)-. 
 
 U. II. Howe declined the nomination, and neither 
 of the others were elected. 
 
 The Democratic party was made up of two ele- 
 ments — one that syin))aihized with or had assiste<l the 
 Southern Confederacy; the otiior. that hail done 
 lu'ither; and the former element had captured tluir 
 Convention, and nominated for Congress Colonel A. 
 C. Ellis, an ex-Confederate officer, instead of C. W. 
 
 * These parties were also noniin.itc<l l)y the Iii(Ic|iciiduuts ; yet 
 Ellis, Stewart, Belknap, and Heri;foril were ilefeiitcil. 
 12 
 
 Kendall, a northern man, who had twice boon elected 
 to that position by them. This was a serious mis- 
 take, as it turned out, for Mr. Kendall would neither 
 be flattered nor whijiped into pulling straight in the 
 political harness. He was asked to "stand in," and 
 make a ratification speech at a public meeting in 
 Virginia City, on the eighth of October. He ap- 
 peared on the platform, was introduced by the 
 Chairman of the Democratic State Central Commit- 
 tee, and then proceeded with such a storm of seri- 
 ously damaging accusations and denunciations against 
 the party platform, managers, and some of the can- 
 didates as the members present of that organization 
 never before had listened to. Ho was ordered off 
 the platform, and withdrew, with the crowd follow- 
 ing him, when he got upon a dry-goods box, and 
 continued his '-ratification speech." The box was 
 then kicked from under biin by some demonstrative 
 members of the enraged audience, and he was forced 
 to desist; but followed up the attack with very dam- 
 aging letters that were published in the Enterpri»e 
 until the close of the campaign. 
 
 The Independents and Democrats chartcreil the 
 Opera House in Virginia City for the campaign, and 
 forced the Republicans to hold their meetings out 
 in the streets. Mr. Sutro had magic-lantern jiictures 
 painted in the East representing Sharon in various 
 ways as a man that prospered unfeelingly upon the 
 misfortunes of others, and free exhibitions were 
 given with them to the crowds assembled on the 
 streets. 
 
 Thomas Fitch, "the silver-tongued orator," was 
 called into the struggle as a |>aitl attorney, to wither 
 the Sutro movement with his strange metaphors, 
 luminous wit. and scathing satire. The peo])le of 
 Storey and Ormsby Counties were told that the 
 defeat of Sharon meant success to Sutro, and ruin 
 to property values in either of those places, as all 
 business would be transferred, in such an event, to 
 the mouth of that "Banshee" of a tniincl in Lyon 
 County. 
 
 On the third of November the election came oft', 
 resulting in the choice of the following parties: — 
 
 ]\Ioniber Congress,* Wm. Woodburn, 0,240 votes; 
 two candidates; total vote, 17.S(!7. 
 
 Governor,! L. H. Bradley, l(),l!10 votes; two can- 
 didates; total vote, 18,0!t."). 
 
 Lieutenant Governor,! Jewett W. Adams, 0,529 
 votes; three candidates; total vote, IS.OtiO. 
 
 Secretary of Slate,* J. D. Minor, 10,502 votes; two 
 candidates; total vote, IS (101. 
 
 Controller,* W. W. llobtul. 11.01!) votes; two can- 
 didates; total vote, 17.0.'j7. 
 
 Treasurer,! Jerry Schooling, 0,404 votes; three 
 candidates; total voics. 18,070. 
 
 Superintendent Public Instruction,* S. P. Kelly, 
 9,070 votes; four candidates; tola! vote, 17,865. 
 
 Surveyor General,* John Day, 10,078 votes; two 
 candidates; total vote, 17,983. 
 
94 
 
 fflSTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 State Printer,! J. J- HiH, 9,071 votes; two candi- 
 dates; total vote, 18,038. 
 
 Mineralogist,* H. E. Whitehill, 9,043 votes; two 
 candidates; total vote, 17,94G. 
 
 Supreme Judge (long term),* W. H. Beatty, 9,932 
 votes; two candidates; total vote, 18,088. 
 
 Supreme Judge (short term).* Warren Earll, 9.322 
 votes; two candidates; total vote, 18,0G4. 
 
 Attorney General,! J- E. Kittrell, 9,050 votes; two 
 candidates; total vote, 18,006. 
 
 Clerk Supreme Court,* C. T. Bicknell, 9,209 votes; 
 two candidates; total vote, 18,038. 
 
 It will be observed that Hobart's majority is 4,101, 
 being nearly double that of any other candidate. 
 
 The Legislative Assemblymen chosen at the time, 
 over whoso election the main issue had been made, 
 stood as between the Democratic and Eepublican 
 parties, as follows: — 
 
 couNnES. Rep. Dem. 
 
 Churchill . 3 
 
 Douglas 3 
 
 Elko 6 
 
 Esmeralda. 2 3 
 
 Eureka 1 1 
 
 Humboldt 1 3 
 
 Lander 2 1 
 
 Lincoln 4 
 
 Lyon - 4 
 
 Nye 2 
 
 Ormsby 4 
 
 Storey 14 (I 
 
 Washoe 4 
 
 White Pine 7 
 
 Hold-over Senators 9 1 
 
 Totals 47 28 
 
 On the twelfth of January, 1875, the vote was 
 taken in both branches of the Legislature for a 
 choice of United States Senator, as follows: William 
 Sharon, 49; H. K. Mitchell, 21; Thomas P. Ilaw- 
 ley, 4. 
 
 The Democratic caucus had rejected General Will- 
 iams lor Mitchell. The votes of the two houses had 
 now elected William Sharon to the United States 
 Senate to take the place of William M. Stewart, who 
 had proved himself an able, earnest working member 
 of that body; and we find with regret that the 
 truth of history prevents us from saying the same 
 of his successor. 
 
 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1876. 
 
 The year that saw the two great national parties 
 struggling for victory in the country — with E. B. 
 Hayes as standard bearer for the one, and S. J. Til- 
 den advocated for the Presidencj' by the other — wit- 
 nessed a comparatively quiet political tournament in 
 Mevada. The national office — that sovereign State 
 gives to her intellectual Calhouns, Jefforsons, Doug- 
 lases, Clays, or Webstei-s — was not upon the market 
 to call another Nevada Croesus to the front, and can- 
 didates were left for ])referment to the strength 
 
 * Uupublicans. 
 + Democrats. 
 
 of their parties, and their own ability and fitness 
 for such position as they sought. 
 
 The Eepublicans placed their candidate in the 
 field at Carson City, on the twent3--fourth and 
 twenty-fifth of August. They gave Hon. Thomas 
 Wren the preferment over Charles E. De Long by 
 a vote of fiftj'-threo to forty-seven; at the same 
 time placing Judge O. E. Leonard upon the ticket 
 for Judge of the Supreme Court by a vote of fifty- 
 three to forty-two, as between him and Judge D. C. 
 McKenney, of Austin. 
 
 The Democrats, at their Convention in Virginia 
 City, August 28th, selected as their candidate for 
 Congress Colonel A. C. Ellis by a vote of eighty-six as 
 against fiftj--six cast for W. W. McCoy, of Eureka, 
 for the same position. Judge M. Kirkpatrick was 
 nominated without opposition for the position of 
 Supreme Judge. Both political parties had placed in 
 the field men of integrity, culture, and ability. 
 
 The question of whether there should be a new 
 Constitution framed was submitted at this election; 
 also the proposition to change the beginning of the 
 fiscal year from December 31st to December Ist. 
 
 RESULT OF THE ELECTION. 
 
 For Presidential Electors (Republican) 10,369 
 
 For Presidential Electors (Democratic) 9,294 
 
 Eepublican majority 1,075 
 
 Against a Constitutional Convention 8,032 
 
 For a Constitutional Convention 4,091 
 
 Majority against 3,941 
 
 For Congress, Thomas Wren 10,241 
 
 For Congress, Colonel A. C. Ellis 9,330 
 
 Majority for Thomas Wren 911 
 
 Supreme Judge, O. E. Leonard 10.111 
 
 Supreme Judge, M. Kirkpatrick 9,530 
 
 Majority for O. E. Leonard 581 
 
 The election had made a change in the party 
 strength of both branches of the Legislature that 
 will be best understood by a comparison of the fol- 
 lowing table with that of 1874: — 
 
 POLITICS OP THE LEUISLATURE OF 1876. 
 
 SENATE. ASSEMBLY. 
 
 Rep. Dem. Rep. Dein. 
 
 COUNTIES. 
 
 Churchill 
 
 Douglas 1 
 
 Elko 1 
 
 Esmeralda 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Humboldt 
 
 Lander 1 
 
 Lincoln 1 
 
 Lyon 1 
 
 Nye II 
 
 Ormsby 2 
 
 Storey 2 
 
 Washoe 1 
 
 White Pino 2 
 
 Totals .12 13 34 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 (1 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 2 
 
 1* 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 16 
 
 ' Iiidcpeudeut and Hold-over. Of the above Senators, seven 
 Republicans and six Democrats were hold-overs. 
 
STATE ORGANIZATION. 
 
 95 
 
 STATE ELECTION OF 1878 CHOICE OP SENATOR. 
 
 The struggle for Gubernatorial place upon the 
 Republican ticket in 1878 was a bitter one. R. M. 
 Daggett, General Batterman, and A. J. Tyrrell, of 
 Storcj- County, were all desirous of the position; 
 and it resulted in the withdrawal, before the county 
 primary took place, of the former, and the admis- 
 sion to the State Convention of an uninstructed Del- 
 egation from that count}'. As usual, the Republicans 
 were the first to hold their State Convention, which 
 assembled at Eureka, on the eighteenth of Septem- 
 ber; and, holding a two days' session, placed a Con- 
 gressional and Slate ticket in the field. 
 
 R. M. Daggett was nominated for Congress with- 
 out opposition; after which an unsuccessful attempt 
 was made to adjourn, the move being defeated by 
 Hon. Thomas Wren, who said adjournment meant 
 trade; and he was opposed to having a ticket 
 placed in the field that was made up of traffic 
 material. The choice of a candidate for Governor 
 was next in order. General P. E. Connor securing 
 sixtj'-three votes, and J. H. Kinkead sixty-six, the 
 latter being declared the nominee. Then followed 
 the vote by acclamation for Lieutenant Governor, 
 II. R. Mighels being chosen without opposition; in 
 fact, most of the ticket was made up of men who 
 gained a place thereby a vote that indicated a unani- 
 mous choice. 
 
 REPOBLICAN TICKET. 
 
 Congress, Rollin M. Daggett, of Storey County. 
 
 Governor, John II. Kinkead, of Humboldt County. 
 
 Lieutenant Governor, Henry R. Mighels, of Orms- 
 by County. 
 
 Secretary of State, Jasper Babcock, of Storey 
 County. 
 
 Controller, J. F. Hallock, of Lincoln County. 
 
 Treasurer, L. L. Crockett, of Washoe County. 
 
 Superintendent Public Instruction, J. D. Ham- 
 mond, of Ormsbj- County. 
 
 Surveyor General, A. J. Hatch, of Washoe County. 
 
 Supremo Judge, Thomas P. Hawlej', of White 
 Pino County. 
 
 Attorney General, M. A. Murphy, of Esmeralda 
 County. 
 
 Clerk Supreme Court, C. F. Bicknell, of Ormsby 
 County. 
 
 All of these gentlemen were elected except H. R. 
 Mighels and J. D. Hammond. 
 
 On the twenty- third of September the Democrats, 
 in Convention at Carson City, placed the following 
 ticket before the people: — 
 
 DEMOCRATIC TICKET. 
 
 Congress, W. E. F. Deal, of Storey County. 
 
 Governor, L. R. Bradley, of Elko County. 
 
 Lieutenant Governor, Jewctt W. Adams, of Storey 
 County. 
 
 Secretary of State, George W. Baker, of Eureka 
 County. • 
 
 Controller, M. R. Elstner, of Ormsby County. 
 
 Treasurer, J. E. Jones, of Washoe County. 
 
 Superintendent Public Instruction, D. R. Sessions, 
 of Elko County. 
 
 Surveyor General, S. H. Day, of Ormsby County. 
 
 Supreme Judge, F. W. Cole, of Eureka County. 
 
 Attorney General, J. R. Kittrell, of While Pine 
 County. 
 
 Clerk Supreme Court. Richard Rule, of Storey 
 County. 
 
 The only two successful candidates upon this 
 ticket were Jewett W. Adams and D. R. Sessions. 
 
 There were several occurrences of this campaign 
 worthy of remembrance, among the first of which 
 was the dropi)ingof the following resolutions from the 
 Republican platform: — 
 
 Resolved, That the Republican partj* of the State 
 of Nevada is opposed to, and protests against, any 
 repeal, modification, or change of the law taxing the 
 net proceeds of mines, commonly known as the Bul- 
 lion Tax Law. 
 
 This plank was introduced by Hon. Thomas Wren, 
 of Eureka, and was added to the platform of the 
 party, but when that document was placed before 
 the people it contained no such provision. Mr. 
 Wren at once demanded, through the public press 
 to know what had become of the lost plank. He 
 advertised for it, and the State Central Committee 
 dug it up, and put it where the Convention had 
 placed it, among the articles of party faith, claiming 
 that the important resolution had been inadvertently 
 omitted. The historian of the "Sazerac L5-ing Club," 
 being the Secretary who copied the resolution, was 
 said to be responsible for this notable absence of 
 mind. The Democratic platform contained a similar 
 clause, and both parties tacked upon their campaign 
 declaration of rights a dissoloing view, to the effect 
 that they were for bringing railroad corporations 
 "to time" upon the question of fares and freights. 
 
 Another incident of importance, and significant 
 in many ways, is related b}' Mr. Ilohart, who, by the 
 way, as State Controller, proved himself to be one 
 of the ablest financiers ever elected to a State 
 office in Nevada. lie said that at first there were 
 serious doubts in regard to the success of ihe Re- 
 publican ticket, especially the Gubernatorial part 
 of it, because of lack of funds, and the great pop- 
 ularitj' of Governor Bradley; because of his tried 
 honesty and incorruptible singleness of purpose that 
 could not be reached by either wealth or intimida- 
 tion. Besides, the people, many of them, wished 
 to reward him by re-election lor vetoing the "Bul- 
 lion Tax Compromise Bill." 
 
 General Kittrell, the Democratic candidate for 
 Attorney General, made a s]ieech in Virginia Cily, 
 in which he handled without gloves the ''Bonanza" 
 firm, and made many unnecessary personal remarks 
 that so angered Mackey and Fair, the jirincipal 
 owners of the " Bonanza Mines," that they, that 
 
96 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 nif^ht, determined to throw their entire influence 
 and streniTth in the direction that would consign 
 General Kiltrell and Governor Bradley to their 
 political graves. "1 went to Carson," paid Mr. 
 Ilobart, "and the next day told my friends that 
 the danger had passed, and the Republican ticket 
 ■would bo elected. From that time forward there 
 was no lack of funds on the llepublican side of the 
 house;" and, as before stated, with two exceptions, 
 their ticket was successful. 
 
 The following are the names of and the votes 
 that were received by the successful ones at that 
 election: — 
 
 Congress, Rollin M. Daggett, 9,811 votes; two can- 
 didates; total vote, 18,959. 
 
 Governor, John II. Kinkead, 9,747 votes; two can- 
 didates; total vote, 18,999. 
 
 Lieutenant Governor, J. W. Adams, 9,877 votes; 
 two candidates; total vote. 18,898. 
 
 Secretary of State, Jasper Babcock, 10,139 votes, 
 two candidates; total vote, 18,961. 
 
 Controller, J. F. Hallock, 10,193 votes; two candi- 
 dates; total vote, 19,022. 
 
 Treasurer, L. L. Crockett, 9,813 votes; two candi- 
 dates; total vote, 18,981. 
 
 Superintendent Public Instruction, D. R. Sessions, 
 9,742 votes; two candidates; total vote, 18.933. 
 
 Surveyor General, Andrew J. Hatch, 9,799 votes; 
 two candidates; total vote, 19,008. 
 
 Supreme Judge, Thomas P. Ilawley, 10,447 votes; 
 two candidates; total vote, lS,99t}. 
 
 Attorney General, M. A. Murphy, 9,993 votes; two 
 candidates; total vote, 18,952. 
 
 Clerk Supreme Court, Charles F. BicknoU, 9,823 
 votes; two candidates; total vote, 18,988. 
 
 Constitutional Amendment, Article IS: Yes, 5,073 
 votes; ^o, 337 votes. 
 
 Constitutional Amendment, Article 11, Section 10: 
 Yes, 3,357 votes; No, 91 votes. 
 
 Constitutional Araondmont, Article 9: Yes, 2,429 
 votes; No, 22 votes. 
 
 The singling out of Jlr. Mighels for defeat was 
 an unexpected misfortune to the party. There was 
 no name on the ticket more entitled to receive the 
 full party vote than his whose pen for j-ears had 
 been a wand of fire in the State, wielded in the 
 interests of Ilopublicanism. Ho was defeated by 
 the Virginia and Truckee Railroad Company influ- 
 ence, that desired to place S. II. Wright on the 
 Bench in the Second District. Mr. Mighels refused 
 to support them in the move, and the candidacy 
 of Mr. Wright was withdrawn. This independent 
 jininialist was then notified that ho, for his temerity 
 in standing between them and their interests, would 
 be defeated in his political aspirations. The fiat 
 bad gone forili, and the Juggernautal c.ir rolled 
 over him. 
 
 Two years before the vote for the Lesri^-laturo had 
 stood in Ormsliy County: II. R. Mighels, 840; M. 
 B. Elbtner, 590; Mighels' majority, 244. 
 
 At this election ho had led his ticket by 66 votes. 
 At the election of 1878, when defeated by the rail- 
 road influence, the vote stood as between him and 
 Mr. Adams in Ornish}' Count}" : Jewett W. Adams, 
 Democrat. 532; II. R. Mighels, Republican. 499: 
 majority for Adams, 33. 
 
 Governor Kinkead had received 140 ballots more 
 than Mighels in the hitter's home county of Ormsby, 
 where two years before he was the most popular 
 candidate in the field. 
 
 In Storey County the vote for him was 334 less 
 than for Kinkead, which, added to the falling off in 
 Ormsbj" County — where the railroad machine shops 
 are — gives 474 votes, which is 47 more than was 
 required to have elected him; and still the railroad 
 car of Juggernaut rolls on. 
 
 The unkindest cut of all came from the fact, that 
 editorials in the Appeal, favoring the railroad com- 
 pany in their issue with the Cornishmon when 
 attempting to work Chinamen in 1S7G, were used 
 against Mr. Mighels, thus rendering it possible for 
 that company to defeat him; and the coincidence 
 makes us admire that sweet singer in Israel who 
 remarked: '• Put not your trust in princes." 
 
 POLITICS OF THE LEGISLATURE OP 1878. 
 
 SES.*TK. AS.SEMBLT. 
 
 COCTNTIES. Rep. Dem. Rep. Dem. 
 
 Churchill 10 10 
 
 Douglas 10 11 
 
 Elko .1 1 3 
 
 Esmeralda 10 11 
 
 Eureka 114 
 
 Humboldt . 1 1 3 
 
 Lander 10 3 
 
 Lincoln 2 2 I 
 
 Lyon *2 3 
 
 Nye 111 
 
 Ormsby *2 *2 1 
 
 Storey 2 2 14 
 
 Washoe 2 3 
 
 White Pine 2 3 1 
 
 Totals - 19 G 41 9 
 
 Of the eleven hold-over Senators, five were Repub- 
 lican, one Independent, and five were Democratic. 
 
 VOTE FOR UNITED STATES SENATOR. 
 
 There was virtually no contest for United States 
 Senator, J. P. Jones having no opponent in the 
 Republican party, which had been successful in 
 electing a majority of both branches of the Legis- 
 lature. Ho had achieved, during the six 5-ears that 
 ho had represented Nevada in the Senate a national 
 reputation as a monetary statesman, excelled by 
 none of his com]>eers in that bodj-, and his re-elec- 
 tion was a foregone conclu>ion. The candidate for 
 the empty honor of the Democratic vote was Hon. 
 A. M. Ildlhouse, of Eureka, a distinguished and able 
 lawyer. 
 
 On the fourteenth of January, 1879, the Senate 
 
 * Uue uf t^cli of thcau was luilcpeudcut; aiid voted for J. P. 
 Jouca. 
 
Ht.SIDENCE^'>'bUoli^JLob dLUuK"' M^.^M.E. RINCKEL. 
 
 CARSON CT, NEV. 
 
 TH.BifirroN»i(ir,s r. 
 
STATE ORGANIZATION. 
 
 o: 
 
 and Assembly went throuy;h the formality of a vote 
 that resulted as follows: J. P. Jones, 60; A. M. Ilill- 
 house, 14. 
 
 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OP ISSO. 
 
 The nominations were, on the Republican side. 
 James A. (Jarfieldj of Ohio, for President; and Ches- 
 ter C. Arthur, of New York, for Vice-President; 
 and on tho Democratic side, General W. S. Hancock, 
 of Ponnsylvunia. for President; and William G. 
 English, of Indiana, for Vice-President. 
 
 The oloction campaign of 1880 was contested in 
 Nevada without funds u])on the part of the Repub- 
 licans. Mr. Sharon came out as a candidate for re- 
 election to tho United States Senate, and Mr. James 
 (t. Fair entered the list for that position as his Dem- 
 ocratic opponent. Mr. Sharon would not furnish 
 money to defray the legitimate expenses of the cam- 
 paign, and many of the leadii>g Republicans felt as 
 though a i)arty defeat was preferable to a continuance 
 of his Senatorial career, his personal affairs having 
 demanded his attention, and preventing his attend- 
 ance to his duties at Washington. His speeches 
 during the canvass demonstrated the necessitj^ of 
 making a change, and money from the Democratic 
 side of the house served the purpose of intensifying 
 the growing sentiment. 
 
 The people felt that a change could be onlj- for 
 the better, and election day saw tho Republican ship 
 scuttled and sunk beneath the jjolitical waves. 
 
 ELECTION RETURNS. 
 
 For Democratic Electors 9,611 
 
 For Republican Electors 8,732 
 
 Democratic majority 879 
 
 For Congress, George W. Cassidy 9,815 
 
 For Congress, Rollin M. Daggett : 8,578 
 
 Democratic candidate's majority 1,237 
 
 Judge Supreme Court, Charles IL Belknap.. -10,110 
 
 Judge Supremo Court, W. H. Boatty 8,251 
 
 Democratic candidate's majority 1,865 
 
 A.MENDMENTS TO CONSTITUTION. 
 
 Elimination of tho word "white" from Section 1 of 
 Article 2: Yes, 14,215; No, 353. 
 
 Add Article 18, granting rights of suffrage and 
 office-holding, notwitlislanding coloror previous con- 
 dition of servitude: Yes, 14,215; No, 672. 
 
 To add Section 10 to Article 11, forbidding the uso 
 of public funds for sectarian pur|)Oses: Yes, 14,848; 
 No, 560. 
 
 CHINESE m.MIOUATION. 
 
 Against immigration, 17,259; favor of immigra- 
 tion, 183. 
 
 It will bo observed that Mr. Daggett — who had 
 accomplished more for his constituents than all his 
 predecessors — received loss votes than was cast for 
 the Republican President. Ho had offended the 
 railroad |)owers in the State. It will also bo noted 
 that lion. W. II. Beatly, one of the ablest jurists 
 and purest men that ever filled tho position of 
 
 Supreme Judge in Nevada was the worst defeated 
 of all. He had failed in his ruling to please either 
 the railroad or "Bonanza" interests, and was sacri- 
 ficed. 
 
 In tho State Legislature, of the sixty-one mem- 
 bers elected to tho two branches, but nine were 
 Republicans, of whom two were Senators, viz.: W. 
 W. Ilobart, of Eureka, and J. I). Ilanunoiid. of 
 Ormsby. 
 
 POLITICS OF THE LEGISLATURE OP 1880. 
 
 SENATE. A.S.SF.^rBLY. 
 
 coiTNTiF.s. Rep. Dcm. Uep. Uem. 
 
 Churchill 1 1 
 
 Douglas 1 2 
 
 Elko .0 2 3 
 
 Esmeralda 10 2 
 
 Eureka .2 3 1 
 
 Humboldt 1 1 3 
 
 Lander 1 1 2 
 
 Lincoln 1 1 3 
 
 Lyon 1 1 3 
 
 Nye 1 2 
 
 Ormsby ..,*2 3 
 
 Storey 2 2 14 
 
 Washoe 1 1 3 
 
 White Pine 1 1 4 
 
 Totals 15 10 7 43 
 
 After tho Legislature assembled a now disturbing 
 element uncxpoctedlj' appeared upon the scene, 
 knocking at the door for Senatorial preferment. 
 Tho new aspirant was the world-renowned Adoljth 
 Sutro, to whom was given the sobriquet of ''Assyrian 
 bore"-er, who perforated the bowels of Mount 
 Davidson with a tunnel that boars his name. It 
 had come to be understood, at large in the country, 
 that the coveted position was to go to the highest 
 bidder for cash; and tho Ass3-rian came with the 
 silver notes of discord, to wither, like Dead Sea fruit, 
 tho apple of ambition that James G. Fair was in 
 the act of jiressing to his lips. Tho attempt was a 
 failure, as the following vote will show. 
 
 The dissatisfaction respecting Mr. Sharon, and his 
 conduct of tho cam])aign, resulted in dropping him 
 from tho list of available camlidates and substitut- 
 ing that of Hon. Thomas Wren. 
 
 James G. Fair — Senate, 10; Assembly, 42; total, 52. 
 
 Thomas Wren— Senate, 13; Assomblj', 7; total, 20. 
 
 Rollin M. Daggett — Senate, 1. 
 
 Of James G. Fair, who succeeded William Sharon 
 as Uriited States Senator, much has been i)ublislu'il 
 for and against, in the volume of which lurks but 
 little truth. Tho following from tho Gold Ilill Xews, 
 a Republican paper, edited by Alf Doten, may be 
 regarded as an impartial and truthful statement in 
 regard to him: — 
 
 COLONEL .lAME.S (I. FAIR. 
 
 (i>uite a jiopular error regarding (Jolonel J. (J. Fair, 
 which outsiders and those not i)ersonally acquainted 
 with him naturally fall into, is that he is second to 
 
 * Olio (if tho«! WHS ;iii Iiiilrpi'iicli'iit. Of llif fourteen .Seiiatnra 
 who liild liver twelve were llepublieuus, one .in Inilepumleut, and 
 ono a Demuurat. 
 
98 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 none as miner, mine manafjer, and minintjj engineer, 
 but that bej'ond that he knows comparatively little. 
 Never was a greater mistake. Colonel Fair never 
 graduated from any university of learning, and his 
 education has been obtained principallj' in the great 
 school of the world; but he is not by any means 
 deficient in many of the higher branches of learning. 
 He is an extensive reader, and pretty well versed in 
 historical, political, and other practical acquirements 
 and requirements; he has a well-stored, evenly-bal- 
 anced mind; is possessed of sound judgment, an emi- 
 nent degree of discretion ; and although he may not 
 make a brilliant mark as an eloquent member of 
 the United States Senate, yet he will attend to his 
 duty, and vote intelligently on all questions. As 
 member of any Congressional committee, be he on 
 mines and mining, or anj-thing else, he will be 
 among the best and most studiously intelligent, for 
 whatever he docs not know he alwaj^s studies into 
 until he does. 
 
 As a smooth diplomatist he has no superior. * * * 
 He can write a ]jretty good newspaper article when 
 he cares to, but seldom tries to distinguish himself 
 in that line. He takes great interest in the arts 
 and sciences, and has spared no expense to give 
 his children the best education obtainable. Always 
 having a strong desii-e to see the strange countries 
 he has read so much about, he took a trip around 
 the world, returning only recentlj' — ^just in time to 
 bo nominated for United States Senator. For prac- 
 tical ability, intelligence, general information, good 
 judgment, and sound common sense. Col. James G. 
 Fair will average well with his fellow-Senators and 
 Congressmen at Washington. 
 
 The Legislature of 1881 re-apportioned the Slate 
 reducing the number of Legislators from sovonty- 
 five to sixty. This reduces the expense of that 
 body about glO,000 per term. The following is the 
 new apportionment: — 
 
 Asaembly- 
 COUNTIES. Senators. men. 
 
 Churchill... 1 1 
 
 Douglas 1 .. 2 
 
 Elko 2 3 
 
 Esmeralda 1 2 
 
 Eureka 2 3 
 
 Humboldt 1 2 
 
 Lander 1 3 
 
 Lincoln 1 2 
 
 Lyon 1 2 
 
 Nye 1 2 
 
 Ormsby 2 3 
 
 Storey 3 10 
 
 Washoe 2 3 
 
 White Pine 1 2 
 
 Total 20 40 
 
 Senator W. W. Ilobart, of Eureka, introduced a 
 bill that, becoming a law, to take effect in 1883, will 
 make a further reduction of the expense of a State 
 Government — in mileage about $',i,(H)(), and in sal- 
 aries, 823,400; making a total reduction of 826,400 
 per year. 
 
 SALARY IlEDUCTIONS BV UOBART's BILL. 
 
 Present New 
 Salary. Salary. 
 
 Supreme Court Justices (throe) 87,000 85,000 
 
 Governor 6,000 6,000 
 
 Secretary of State 3,600 3,000 
 
 Controller 3,600 3,000 
 
 Treasurer 3,600 3,000 
 
 Surveyor General 1,000 1,000 
 
 Superintendent Public Instruction,. 2,000 2,000 
 
 Lieutenant Governor 3,600 
 
 Ex officio Eegister 2,400 2,000 
 
 Clerk Supreme Court ..:.. 3,600 2,400 
 
 Ex officio Curator and Secretary 
 
 Orphan's Home 800 400 
 
 Governor's Private Secretary 3,300 2,000 
 
 Deputy Secretary of State 3,300 2,000 
 
 Deputy Controller 3,300 2,000 
 
 Deputy in Surveyor General's office. 3,000 2,000 
 
 Deputy Treasurer 3,300 2.0(i0 
 
 Clerk State Library. 1,800 1.000 
 
 Warden Prison.. 3,000 2,000 
 
 Mileage, Members Legislature 40c. 25c. 
 
 Superintendent and Matron Orphan's 
 
 Home 3,000 2,000 
 
 Superintendent Printing. 2,400 2,000 
 
 Totals 877,600 $53,800 
 
 JUDICIAL ELECTIONS — 1861 TO 1878. 
 
 The office of Probate Judge was created in 1861, 
 the jurisdiction of that official being about the same 
 as now belongs to a District Judge. Each county 
 had a Probate Judge — appointed by the Governor, 
 with the approval of the Legislature — whose term 
 of office was for two years; but there was no Attor- 
 ney either elected or appointed. 
 
 In 1862 this law was changed, making the office 
 elective; at the same time the office of Prosecuting 
 Attorney was created for each county, except in 
 Churchill and Lyon, where one was to serve for both. 
 
 In 1S04 there occurred another change that was 
 engrafted upon the Constitution, in which the State 
 was apportioned into districts, over which District 
 Judges were to preside, who were to be chosen at 
 the ensuing general election. 
 
 In 1865 the office of District Attorney was added 
 to the county offices, to supersede that of Prosecut- 
 ing Attornej', the first of those officers being chosen 
 at the election of November 6, 1866. 
 
 Each of these judicial officers, except the District 
 Judges, were, strictly speaking, county officials; and 
 election returns reganling them will bo found with 
 the county election histories; but as there were often 
 two, and even more than two, counties embraced in 
 a judicial district, wo have thought it best to place 
 the returns, for the Judges elected in them, in sep- 
 arate tables. 
 
 ELECTION OP DISTRICT JUDGES, 1864. 
 
 First District, Storey County, C. B. Burbank, 
 3,416 votes; R. S. Messick, 3,443 votes; E. Rising, 
 3,418 votes; six candidates. 
 
 Second District, Ormsby County, S. II. Wright, 
 687 votes; two candidates; total vote, 1,276. 
 
 Third District, I/yon County, William Haydon, 
 964 votes; two candidates; total vote, 1,262. 
 
 Fourth District, Washoo and l?oop Counties, C. C. 
 Goodwin, 1,063 votes; two candidates; total vote, 
 1,852. 
 
STATE ORGANIZATION. 
 
 Oi) 
 
 Fillh District, Nye and Churchill Counlios, S. L. 
 Baker, 247 votes; two candidates; total vote, 442. 
 
 Sixth District, Humboldt County, E. F. Dunne, 
 44.) votes; two candidates; total vote, 81G. 
 
 Seventh District, Lander County, \V. H. Beatty, 
 1,278 votes; two candidates; total vote, 2.512. 
 
 Eighth District, Douglas County, D. W. Virgin, 
 4G2 votes; two candidates; total vote, 037. 
 
 Ninth District, Esmeralda County, S. II. Chase, 
 590 votes; two candidates; total vote, 1,030. 
 
 The State having been redistrictcd, the 
 
 ELECTION OF NOVE.MBER G. 1866 
 
 was as follows: — 
 
 First District, Storey County, Richard Rising, 1,811 
 votes; two candidates; total vote. 3,280. 
 
 Second District, Ormsby and Douglas Counties, 
 S. H. Wright, 683 votes; two candidates; total vote, 
 1,058. 
 
 Third District, Washoe County, C. N. Harris, 603 
 votes; two candidates; total vote, 1,169. 
 
 Fourth District. Lyon County, William Uaydon, 
 465 votes; two candidates; total vote, 762. 
 
 Fifth District. Humboldt County, G. G. Berry, 
 153 votes; two candidates; total vote, 305. 
 
 Sixth District,* Lander County, W. H. Beatty, 
 795 votes; one candidate; total vote. 797. 
 
 Seventh District, Nye and Churchill Counties, 
 Benjamin Curler, 369 votes; two candidates; total 
 vote, 671. 
 
 Jlighlh District, t Esmeralda County, S. H. Chase, 
 324 votes; one candidate; total vote, 324. 
 
 ELECTION OP 1868. 
 Ninth District.^ Lincoln County, Charles A. Leake, 
 58 votes; three candidates; total vote, 105. 
 
 The State having been redistrictcd again the 
 
 ELECTION OF 1870 
 
 was as follows: — 
 
 First District, Storey County, Richard Rising, 1,698 
 votes; two candidates; total vote, 3,300. 
 
 Second District, Douglas, Ormsby and Washoe 
 Counties, C. N. Harris, 1,169 votes; two candidates; 
 total vote, 2,266. 
 
 Third District. Esmeralda and Lyon ('ounties, 
 William M.Seawell, 620 votes; two candidates; total 
 vote, 1,067. 
 
 Fourth District, § Humboldt County, George G. 
 Berry. 378 votes; two candidates; total vote, 731. 
 
 Fifth District, Churchill and Nj'o Counties, Ben- 
 jamin tUirler. 399 votes; two candidates; total vote. 
 753. 
 
 Sixth District, Lander County, D. C. Konnoy,Mc 
 781 votes; two candidates; total vote, 1,445. 
 
 *■ W. H. Beatty re.sigiieil M.iy 17, 18G9, to Ix; installed Judge 
 of District No. Kiglit, the uumljcr of tlie newly-created one. 
 consisting of White I'ino County. 
 
 + S. H. Chase ilied October 2S, 18G!). 
 
 t Charles A. Leake dieil in August, 1870. 
 
 § At the election of November 5, 1872, O. R. Ijcon.ird was 
 elected to till the vacancy caused l)y the resignation of Judge 
 Berry, March 3, 1871. 
 
 Seventh District, Lincoln County, M. Fuller, 465 
 votes; two candidates; total vote, 800. 
 
 Eighth District. White Pine County, W. II. Beatty, 
 914 votes; two candidates; total vote, 1,719. 
 
 Ninth District, Elko County, J. II. Flack, 642 
 votes; two candidates; total vote, 1,211. 
 
 Still further changes having been made in the 
 various districts, the 
 
 ELECTION OF 1874 
 
 was as follows: — 
 
 First District, Storey County, Richard Rising, 
 3,758 votes; two candidates; total vole. 5,962. 
 
 Second District, Douglas, Ormsby and Washoe 
 Counties, S. H. Wright, 1,584 votes; two candidates; 
 total vote, 2,751. 
 
 Third District, Lyon County, William M. Soawell, 
 766 votes; one candidate; total vote, 766. 
 
 Fourth District, Humboldt County, W. S. Bonni- 
 fiold, 503 voles; two candidates; total vote, 879. 
 
 Fiilh District, Churchill, Lander and Nj'e Coun- 
 ties, D. C. McKenney, 1,065 votes; two candidates; 
 total vote, 1,831. 
 
 Sixth District, Eureka and White Pine Counties, 
 F. W. Cole, 1,290 votes; two candidates; total vote, 
 2,555. 
 
 Seventh District, Lincoln County, Henrj' Rives, 
 655 votes; three candidates; total vote, 1,354. 
 
 Eighth District, Esmeralda County, James S. Jami- 
 son, 248 votes; three candidates; total vote, 555. 
 
 Ninth District, Elko Countj', J. H. Flack, 772 votes; 
 one candidate; total vote, 772. 
 
 As the result of changes made by the Legislature 
 the districts now stand as follows: — 
 
 ELECTION OF 1878. 
 
 First District, Storey County, Richard Rising, 
 3,510 votes; two candidates; total vote, 5,708. 
 
 Second District, Douglas, Ormsbj' and Washoe 
 Counties, S. D. King, 1,663 votes; two candidates; 
 total vote, 2,922. 
 
 Third District, Esmeralda and Lj-on Counties, 
 William M. Seawall, 967 votes; two candidates; total 
 vote, l,.'i89. 
 
 Fourth District, Humboldt Count}-. W. S. Bonni- 
 field, 533 votes; two candidates; total vote, 914. 
 
 Fifth District, Churchill, Lander and Nye Coun- 
 ties, D. C. McKennej', 1,039 votes; two candidates; 
 total vote, 2,051. 
 
 Sixth District, Eureka, Lincoln and White Pino 
 Counties; Henry Kives, 2,104 votes; two candidates; 
 total vote, 3,862. 
 
 Seventh District, KIko County, J. II. Klack, 1,011 
 votes; two candidates; total vote, 1,852. 
 
100 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 BOUNDARIES OF NEVADA. 
 
 The Boundary Line War — Peace Meeting — Message of Governor 
 t'lemens — Line Agreed Upou — Square Miles in Nevada — 
 A County of Two States. 
 
 By the Act of Congress, approved March 2, ISCl, 
 the boundaries of Nevada were established as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 Beginning at the point of intersection of the forty- 
 second degree of north latitude with the thirty- 
 ninth degree of longitude west from Washington. 
 
 Thence, running south on the line of said thirty- 
 ninth degree of west longitude, until it intersects the 
 northern boundary line of the Territory of New 
 Mexico — later Arizona. 
 
 Thence due west to the dividing ridge separating 
 the waters of Carson Valley from those that flow 
 into the Pacific. 
 
 Thence on said dividing ridge northwardlj', to the 
 forty-first degree of north latitude. 
 
 Thence due north, to the southern boundary line 
 of the State of Oregon. 
 
 Thence due east to the place of beginning. 
 
 The law, by a proviso, excepted from the area 
 covered by this descriiHion anj- portion of California 
 that might be included, unless that State should 
 assent to such segregation. 
 
 THE BOUNDARY LINE WAR. 
 
 This became a fruitful source of trouble later, as 
 the west line of California had not been established 
 b}- survey, and the question of where Nevada began, 
 and the Golden State left off, was a matter of serious 
 doubt. 
 
 October 25, 18G1, Governor Nye advised the 
 aiijiointmcnt, by the Legislature of Nevada, of a 
 commission to confer with California and obtain, if 
 possible, the running of the Sierra Nevada mount- 
 ain line of division between the two sections. By a 
 joint resolution of the two bodies, ])as8ed November 
 9, 1861, such a commission was to be named in a 
 joint convention of both Houses* l)Ut they failed to 
 meet and make the appointments. 
 
 In the meantime, Deput}- United States Surveyor, 
 John F. Kidder, surveyed the line as designated b}- 
 Congress, from Lake Tahoe. northerly to Honey 
 Lake, for which he was paid SoaO.t 
 
 The same Legislature appro))riated SI, 000, con- 
 ditionally, to be expended b^- the (Jovernor in esfab- 
 lishitig the west boundary line from Lake Tahoe, 
 southerly to or bej-ond I'^smeralda County. | 
 
 Ah that county extended to the south line of the 
 Territory, it is hard to tell in what sort of a fog the 
 Legislators had become enveloped at that time in 
 regard to the geography of Nevada. 
 
 Jn 1S(;2 the line was run by J. F. Kiilder and 
 Buller Ives, that left Aurora, in Nevada, but the sur- 
 vey was not recognized by California. 
 
 * Statutes of 1861, page 512. 
 i Statut<a of 1861, p.ige 132. 
 t Statutes of 1801, page 209. 
 
 The Legislature of 18G2 passed a joint resolution 
 asking the California Legislature to cede to Nevada 
 such territory as had been included in the original 
 boundary description by Act of Congress.* 
 
 On the fourteenth of Julj-, 18G2, the bill introduced 
 by Judge Cradlebaugh became a law by approval of 
 the President, that added to the east line of Nevada 
 one degree, or about sixtj* miles in width of territory 
 lying between longitude thirty-eight and thirty- 
 nine degrees west from Washington. 
 
 Matters regarding the western boundary remained 
 in this unsettled condition all along the line, until 
 1803, when open war broke out along the border in 
 Eoop County. 
 
 The immediate cause of the trouble was a conflict 
 of authority. The officials of Plumas Count}', Cali- 
 fornia, claiming the right to exercise jurisdiction over 
 the territorj- embraced within the limits of what the 
 Nevada Legislature had organized into the county 
 of Eoop. First a Justice of the Peace was enjoined 
 by the Plumas County Judge from holding court in 
 Eoop Count}', and failing to obey, was fined 8100 for 
 contempt of court. Then the Sheriff and County 
 J udge of J{oop County were ordered by the courts of 
 Plumas County to cease exercising authority in Eoop 
 County, and upon failure to obey, the Sheriff of 
 Plumas and his Deputy came over and arrested these 
 two officials. The citizens then arose and took the 
 prisoners from custody before they had been taken 
 over the mountains. The Plumas County Sheriff, 
 whose name wasE. il. Pierce, returned in a few days 
 with a large posse of Plumas citizens, stated to number 
 from one hundred to one hundred and eighty persons, 
 and one j)iece of artillery, and attempted to enforce 
 the arrest of William H. Naileigh, Sheriff, and John 
 S. Ward, Probate Judge of Eoop County. The arrest 
 was made but a rescue ensued, and open hostilities 
 had commenced in the streets of vSusanville. The 
 Eoop County forces fortified in a log house, and Pierce 
 advancing took possession of a largo barn in the 
 immediate neigiiborhood, on the morning of the 
 filleenth of February, 1803. The Eoop County men 
 fired upon their assailants, and seriously wouncied 
 one of them, when the fighting became general, 
 resulting in the wounding of two of the log house 
 party. An armistice was at length agreed to with 
 a view to compromise, and the following is a copy of 
 the same: — 
 
 PEACE MEETING. 
 
 A stale of war existing between the authorities of 
 Plumas County, California, and the authorities and 
 <-ilizon8 of Eoop County, Nevada Territory, a com- 
 mittee of citizens of Honey Lake Valley and the 
 leaders of the belligerent ])arlies convened at Susan- 
 ville, for the ]iurpose of making some arrangements 
 for the establishment of jieace. and to stop the fur- 
 ther shedding of blood. Frank Drake was appointed 
 President, and H. U. Ji'nnings, Secretary. Mr. 
 Pierce, Sheriff" of Plumas County, made the Ibllowing 
 proposition, /o «>eV.: "Both parties to suspend hos- 
 
 * Statutes of 1862, page 1<)5. 
 
(JCCyiyVCj >^,//- 
 
 C 
 
E B. Harris, M. D. 
 
 Dr. Harris comes of an old New England, or rather 
 of an old England family, for the Harris family 
 were quite prominent several centuries ago, and 
 brought with them when they came to this country 
 in ltJ32 their coat of arms, and probably also, in com- 
 mon with all the older ]S"ew England families, expect- 
 ations of inheriting much wealth. The immense 
 fecundity of the Harris family (E. B. is one of thir- 
 teen) would have so divided the largest estate of 
 England that but a few millions would have fiillen to 
 the share of each Harris, and the tradition has long 
 since ceased to be valued by any member of the 
 family, the custom of each one's looking out for him- 
 self and making his own fortune being well estab- 
 lished among the descendants. Elias Braman Harris 
 was born September 13, 1827, at Eichfield Springs, 
 Otsego County, New York. At the age of eighteen 
 he entered Fairfield Academy, Herkimer County, 
 remaining until the age of twenty, when he entered 
 Geneva College, where he completed his literary 
 course. While in the last institution he commenced 
 the study of medicine and surgery under Professor 
 Frank Hamilton. The following year he entered 
 the office of Dr. \Vm. .M. Spencer, of Otsego County, 
 as a medical student, and also read a few books on 
 common law at the same time, under the instruction 
 of Judge Pomeroy of Cooperstown, New York, with 
 the expectation of fitting himself for the profession 
 of criminal jurisprudence, the profession involving a 
 thorough knowledge of medicine as well as law. 
 
 This design, however, was soon abandoned and hence- 
 forth he gave his force to the medical sciences. 
 
 In 1845 he entered the New York Medical Univer- 
 sity, and completed his studies under the instruction 
 of that world-renowned authority in surgery, Br. 
 Valentine Mott, graduating in 1847; also in 1848 ! 
 at the College of Surgeons. During the following ; 
 year he commenced the practice of medicine in i 
 Waterville, in Oneida County. At the beginning of ! 
 1850 he took passage for Valparaiso. Not liking the | 
 place he left for Panama, where he took passage on I 
 a California-bound steamer, arriving in San Francisco 
 in December, 1850, where he remained but a few 
 months, going to Jackson, then in Calaveras County, 
 by way of Stockton and Mokelumne Hill. The spec- 
 tacle of a man hanging on the famous tree, executed 
 by the court of Judge Lynch, determined him to con- 
 tinue his journey to lone, then a little hamlet at the 
 head of the valley bearing that name. He 8oor> 
 found business in running a hotel, selling goods and 
 practicing medicine at the same time in company 
 with Dr. Jabez Newton. The following extract from 
 
 a recently published history of Amador County will 
 give an idea of his career there. 
 
 I Doctor Harris acted quite a prominent part in the 
 ! early settlement of Amador County. He was a suc- 
 ; cessful physician as well as minor. He built and ran 
 ; forsorae time the Harris cV Newton Hotel; was largely 
 I instrumental in the organization of Amador County- 
 found time to help build up the State Agriculturai 
 Society; mingled in politics; taught singing, and did 
 I many things to help build up society. He was among 
 the foremost who went to the Washoe mines, put up 
 a custom mill, and made thirty thousand' dollars 
 before other men had time to look around. When 
 the civil war broke out. he joined the Union army 
 and was made full Surgeon, with the rank of Major 
 where Ins known skill as a surgeon, his great execu- 
 tive ability and energy, were invaluable. Though 
 genial and social in his habits, he never, either by his 
 presence or conversation, promoted or countenanced 
 gambling, drinking, and other vices, that swept into 
 the vortex of ruin so many brilliant and talented 
 young men in carl>- days. 
 
 He was one of the first officers elected after 
 1 he organization of the new county of Amador. The 
 above remarks were made regarding the numbers of 
 able men who at that time resided in the limits of 
 the county. 
 
 In the history of the mines of Amador County, 
 we find the following in regard to the Oneida Mine! 
 
 The mill and mine were leased, in 1.854, to Dr. E 
 B. Harris for a nominal rent, for the purj)ose of hav- 
 ingitdeveloped. He was endowed with great physical 
 strength and indomitable energy, as wellas good'jud.r- 
 raent, and by .selecting good rock, and acting as fire- 
 man, engineer, amalgamator, machinist, miner, and 
 supenntendont, hy turns, making about a dozen men 
 of one and that one himself, he made the mine iiay 
 ior that year, about thirty thousand dollars over 
 expenses. At that time machinery was generally 
 taken to Sacramento for repairs, necessitating long 
 delays and much expense. One day a cam-seat or 
 groove, on the shaft which holds the key gave way 
 and the cam was dangling like a broken leg. To 
 take out the shaft and send it to Sacramento was 
 expensive, both in time and money, and it was 
 resolved to drill a hole through both cam and shaft 
 and put a largo pin through them to hold the cam 
 By superhuman exertion this was done in about 
 three hours, the order to -fire up ' ringing simul- 
 taneously with the coming through of the point of 
 ''"'" and in half an hour the mill was pounding 
 
 the dril 
 
 mi 
 away. A year or two afterward the mine was 
 rented to Swam Sc Scgar, of lone, who in one year 
 lost as much as Harris made. 
 
 After the termination of his lease of the Oneida 
 Mill and Mine, he took a trip to the East, with the 
 design of remaining, hut he had too long been in 
 California to live contentedly in the East, and in 
 
1855 he returned and invested in the Volcano Canal 
 Company, becoming Superintendent. An unusually 
 dry season followed, and even his energy could not 
 make it a success, and it made a grave of nearly all 
 the money he had saved in mining, and he returned 
 to the practice of medicine at lone in Amador 
 County, which he followed with success until the 
 opening of the Washoe mines. 
 
 With his usual great energy he plunged into the 
 exciting business of mining, and erected the first 
 stamp quartz mill in the Territory. There have 
 been several claimants to the honor of having started 
 the first mill, but Dr. Harris is most emi)halie in the 
 assertion that his was thejirst, starling the machinery 
 with his own hand, on the eleventh of August, 1860, 
 at 2 p. M. of that daj', in the presence of 500 people. 
 At this time the mill, which was a nine-stamp rotary 
 battery, ran about an hour, when it was stopped on 
 account of a difficulty with the pans. The njxt day 
 Mr. Ki»ox was engaged to remedy the defect, and 
 again started the mill, but he was unable to manage 
 the pans, when Dr. Harris' engineer undertook the 
 work and made it a success. From that date the I 
 
 mill was run with great profit, being the most popu- 
 lar one in the district, which was soon supplied with 
 many works of the kind. [See page 68.] 
 
 On the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion 
 he left for the East, and joining the army remained 
 until the close of the war. December 21, 1865, he 
 married Miss Anna Isabella Stevens, youngest daugh- 
 ter of the Hon. James A. Stevens, of Hoboken, New 
 Jersey. Not even the changed condition of his 
 domestic affairs could induce him to remain in the 
 Eastern States, and on the twenty-first of March, 
 following, he left for the Pacific Coast, which he has 
 since made his home, practicing medicine in Sacra- 
 mento and Virginia City. He has a family of three 
 children — daughters — and his domestic relations are 
 all pleasant. 
 
 As a man, he is social, cheerful, hopeful, possessed 
 of a splendid physique, indomitable energy, with 
 excellent intellectual developments. The fault of 
 his character, if he has any, is a tendency to attempt 
 too many things at once, instead of concentrating 
 his forces on one object. 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
BOUNDARIES OF NEVADA. 
 
 101 
 
 tilitics and disband tlioir forces, he takini; his men 
 home with him and report tiie ease to tlie Governor 
 orCalilbrnia, re(iuestinii him to eonfer with the (lOv- 
 ernor of Nevada Territorj-, that the question of 
 jurisdiction may hi- settled |ieaceably— ])endinff such 
 settlement neitiier ]>artj- to chiim jurisdiction, also 
 that tiie citizens of the valley shall draw U]i a full 
 statement of the case and forward the same to the 
 (Jovernors of California and Nevada Territorj-, 
 requestiiiiT them to settle the ditliculties jjeaceablj' 
 and as soon as jiossible." 
 
 Mr. Elliott thought the jiroposition a fair and 
 honorable one, and that it would lead to a s]>eedy 
 settlement of our present diHieulties. He was lliere- 
 foro in favor of Mr. I'ierco's jiroposition. 
 
 Mr. I'ieree (Sherifl) moved tlie appointment of a 
 committee of four citizens (two of each ))arly), 
 to make the statement to each of the (Jovernors. 
 Carried. 
 
 Mr. KUiott moved that we adojit Mr. Pierce's 
 proposition for a settlement of our difticultics. 
 Carried, unanimously. 
 
 The Chairman api)ointod upon the committee of 
 corres[(ondence, Messrs. Itoop, .Murray, .lones, and 
 Young. On motion, meetini^ adjourned. 
 
 Fk.vnk buAKK, Chairman. 
 
 H. U. Jennings, Secretary-. 
 
 The above jiroeeedint^s is an agreement of settle- 
 ment between the contending parlies of itoop and 
 Plumas Counties. 
 
 (Signed) E. II. Pikkce, 
 
 Wm. IliLi, Naileioii. 
 
 The above is a true and correct copy of tiie ])ro- 
 ceedings of the ])eace meelini; lielil in Susanville, 
 February 1(). l.*>0:!. W.m. Hii.l Nailekjii, 
 
 .Sheriff of Poop County, Nevada Territory. 
 
 MESSAtiE OF liOVEUNOR CLEMENS. 
 
 Orion Clemens, the Territorial Secretary, was 
 Acting Governor at the time when the difficulties 
 occurred, and also on January 14, 1864, when he 
 made the following rei)ort to the Legislature of 
 Nevada: Hostilities ceased upon an agreement to 
 refer the subject to the (iovernors of California and 
 Nevada Teri-itory, for settlement; b\it yet excite- 
 ment was great, and began to extend be3'ond the 
 immediate locality of the disturbance; serious con- 
 secjuencos might ensue. 
 
 I telegra])hed in relation to the afVair to His 
 Excellencj- Leland Slanforil, (Jovernor of California, 
 and sent Hon. J. K. Lovejo3- to Susanville, to inves- 
 tigato the facts. Upon his return ho submitted a 
 written report, which, with aceom])anyiiig jiapers, 
 is herewith transmitted to your Honorable bodj-. 
 
 Subsequentlj-, a special messenger, William K. 
 Parkinson. Esf|., arrived, beai'ing an official state- 
 ment from William Hill Naileigh, who had been 
 appointed Slieritf of Uoop (^)anty, bj- (Jovernor Nye. 
 Mr. Naileigh staled the facts, asked nij- advice, and 
 promised to obej' mj- direction in the matter, a 
 ])romise he faithfully ke])t. 
 
 Accompanying this is .Mr. Naileigh's letter, with 
 a copy of my answer, in which are quoted my dis- 
 patch to (loveriior Stanford and his reply. 
 
 Judge Itobert Pobinson, of Sacramento, was 
 appointe<i b^- tiovernor Stanford, to confer with me 
 in relation to the boundary. Alter ascertaining 
 that the summit boundary would not be conceded 
 by the California authorities, we drew u|) an instru- 
 ment, ])roviding as the best that could be done. 
 13 
 
 First — That the tlovernor of the Territory will 
 appoint a commissioner to meet a commissioner 
 appointed bj- the State of tJalifornia, to run and per- 
 manently establish the boundarj- line between the 
 State of California and the Territory of Nevada, dur- 
 ing the ])rcsent j'ear, ISU^. 
 
 The second clause, ]iroviding that the line shoidd 
 be tem|)oraril}' regarded as nnming north through 
 the eastern eml of Honey Lake, was ]iro])osed by 
 Judge Pobinson, and was agi-eed to by myself on 
 condition that the line south of Lake Pigler, as run 
 by Kidilcr and Ives, in ISdjl, placing Aurora within 
 this Territory, should be i-egarded temporarilj- as the 
 true line, and Jurisdiction be accordingly so assumed 
 b}' Nevada Territory. To this Judge Pobinson did 
 not feel authoriy.ed to consent, and the writing was 
 leit without signatures, u|)()n a verbal undei-standing 
 that if apjiroved by the (Jovernor oi' California, the 
 dujilicate should be signed by the Governor of that 
 State, and of Nevada Territory, and exchanged. It 
 was not so approved, but submitted by (Jovernor 
 Stanford to the Jjcgislature of ('alilbrnia then in ses- 
 sion, and a law was enacted ))roviding that the Sur- 
 veyor (Jeiieral ot' California should I'liii. measure, and 
 mai'k the entire eastern boundary of that State, and 
 leqnesting the (Jovernor of Nevada Territory to 
 ap]>oint a commisr-ionei- to accom])anj- and act in 
 conjunction with said Surveyor Genei'al, "])rovided 
 that Nevada Territory shall ])ay all expenses of such 
 ])erson or ])ersons so apjwinted." 1 send you a cer- 
 tified cojiy of that Act, together with the ])a])er show- 
 ing Judge Pobinson's authority to act as agent nl' (be 
 Stale of Calilornia, and a duplicate of the allenipled 
 agreement between him and myself. 
 
 There was no law of this Territory authorizing a 
 surve}', or the appoiillnieni of a coniinissioner or the 
 pa3-nieMt of money, or the making of any contract 
 for payment for detiiung and establishing the bound- 
 ary. The calling of an extra session of the Legisla- 
 tive Assembly was urged Instead of that, I trusted 
 this Legislative Assembly. On the sixteenth of .Mmj-, 
 18(53, I ajipointed Butler Ives, Esq., one of the most 
 competent surveyors on the Pacific Coast, commis- 
 sioner for and on behalf of Nevada Terrilorj-, " to 
 accom])any and act in conjunction with the Surveyor 
 General of the State of California, in definini^ and 
 establishing the bouiidar}- line between the Terri- 
 tory of Nevada and the Slate of California," and 
 made a contract with said Ives by which he jjroin- 
 iscd and agreed " to diligently, faithrully and fullj- 
 perform all the duties devolving upon him as such 
 commissioner," and ])re]iare and file in the otlice of 
 the Secretary of the Territory, three copies of the 
 maps andfielil notcsof such survey within sixtj- daj-s 
 after the completion of the survej-, and make to this 
 Legislative Assembly '-a full ami detailed report of 
 the manner in which the survey has been made." 
 Said agreement also contains the following clause: 
 "And as consideration for said services to bo per- 
 formed b}- said Puller Ives, said Orion Clemens, Act- 
 ing Governor of the Territory of Nevada, in the 
 name of the ])eo|)le of said Territory ])leilges the 
 faith of Ihe Teri'ilorv of Nevada, to pay as comjien- 
 sation to said Puller Ives the sum of (83,0(1(1) three 
 thousand dollars in gold and silver coin, of the cur- 
 rent money of the United Slates, said sum of money 
 to bo so paid to said Butler Ives, thirty daj's after 
 the adjournment of the next (this) session of the 
 Legislative Assembly of the Teri'itory of Nevada." 
 
 It was slijiulaled" that this S3.()(H) should be ])ay- 
 ment in full of all expenses as well as services of him- 
 self and assistants. The detailed statement rofeiTed 
 
102 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 to will doubtless be made by Mr. Ives during your 
 session. 
 
 In conjunction with Mr. Kidder, who was appointed 
 by the Surveyor General ot Culifornia, .Mr. Ives ran 
 the line from the initial point in Lake Bigler, north ^ 
 to the southern boundary of Oregon, and south to 
 within about a degree of the southern boundarj- of 
 the Territory, when the severe cold and other difficul- 
 ties compelled a suspension of the labors of the com- 
 mission, but the important points were gained by 
 showing the true location of the boundary line in the 
 Honey Lake region, and thus preventing further 
 difficulties, while, in the south, upon the running of 
 the line under this commission the State of California 
 immediately jielded a jurisdiction long maintained 
 over the rich Esmeralda mining region, and the 
 position of the line and respective jurisdiction of Cali- 
 fornia and Nevada, arc now clearlj- known wherever 
 there arc settlements along our western border. i 
 
 Accompanjing this is a copy of my appointment i 
 of Mr. Ives, as commissioner, together with a dupli- 
 cate of our agreement, and his bond for arms fur- 
 nished for protection in going through the Indian 
 countr}-, and the inv(/ice and voucher fur the arms. 
 
 All of which is respectfully submitted b}- your 
 obedient servant, Ouion Cle.mens, 
 
 Secretary of the Territory. 
 
 THE LINE AGREED UPON. 
 
 February 7, 1SC5, an Act was approved making 
 the line between California and Nevada, the same as 
 had been decided upon by the former State, by a 
 Legislative Act in April, 18U3, consequently there only 
 remained necessary a survey to establish the line 
 where it had not already been done. The Act above 
 referred to of 1803 provided for such sarvej-. 
 
 May 3, 186G, the Congressional Act was approved 
 which ceded to Nevada a strip of territorj- sixty miles 
 wide, extending from Oregon to the Colorado River, 
 and all of Arizona lying between that river and 
 Nevada's south line. This acquisition included 
 11,000 square miles from Arizona and i;0,850 square 
 miles from Utah, and January 18, 1867, the Nevada 
 Legislature by Act accepted the gift. 
 
 March 5, 18f)0, the Legislature ajipropriated 84,000 
 to bo expended in surveying the east line of the 
 State, that by the above Congressional Act, had been 
 made on the thirty-seventh degree of longitude west 
 from Washington. 
 
 A joint resolution was passed bj- the Nevada Leg- 
 islature in 1871, asking Congress to give to Nevada, 
 all of Idaho that lay south of the Owyhee River, but 
 the proi>o.-ition was not favorably entertained by 
 that body. The same year the Nevada Legislature 
 memorialized the Legislature of California asking the 
 latter body to make the line of division between the 
 two States the same as had been named in Nevada's 
 organic Act. But this attempt to open the old ques- 
 tion met with no favor across the Sierra. 
 
 The boundary lines of Nevada as they now exist, 
 commence in the center of the Colorado River where 
 the thirty-filth parallel of north latitude crosses that 
 stream (near Fort Mojave); from thence in a direct 
 north-westerly line to the point where the thirty- 
 ninth parallel of north latitude iutertfccls the forty- 
 
 third degree of longitude west from Washington 
 (near the center of Lake Tahoe); thence north 
 on said degree to the forty-second parallel of lati- 
 tude (which is the south line of Oregon); thence 
 east on said parallel of latitude to the thirty-seventh 
 degree; thence south on said degree to the center 
 of the Colorado River; thence down said river to the 
 place of beginning. Area 120,000 square miles. 
 
 A COUNTY OF TWO STATES. 
 
 Resulting from a want of knowledge of where the 
 west line of Nevada really was, were manj- serious 
 incidents, some of them involving litigation as lato 
 even as 1881, others tragic in their workings, while 
 one at least was phenomenal in the history of poli- 
 tics. It was not determined whether the town of 
 Aurora was in California or Nevada until in 1863. 
 Aurora was claimed by both States, and became the 
 county seat of two counties; that of Esmeralda for 
 Nevada, and Mono County for California. In 1863, 
 Thomas N. Machin, of Aurora, was elected to the 
 California Assembly, where hit was selected as their 
 presiding officer, and later became Lieut. Governor 
 of that State. At the same time, Br. John W. Pugh, 
 also a resident of Aurora, was elected by the same 
 constituency to the Legislature of Nevada, and he, 
 too. was chosen as presiding officer for the bodj* of 
 which he had become a member. Thus we have 
 the singular coincidence, or political phenomenon, 
 of a Legislative branch in two separate common- 
 wealths at the same time, being presided over by 
 men elected from the same town, b}' mostlj- the 
 same votes, neither of whom, probablj*. were entitled 
 to their positions because of their having been 
 chosen by non-resident voters. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 MAILS, STAGES AND EXPRESS. 
 
 Mail anil I'iisstu^'er Ti'aiisport.ition — Snow-shoe Thompson — 
 Pony Express— Ovurlaml Mail Stagu Cmniiaiiy — Overland 
 Stai-e Fiirm — Telegraph Lines — I'reseut -M.iil U"Utea — Wells, 
 Far"0 & Co. s Express — I'ioneer Stage Line — Uverlauil Mail. 
 
 The history- of the transi)ortation of the United 
 States mails into and through the Territory of Nevada 
 prior to the era of railroads and telegraph lines, is 
 similar, in most respects, to that of other new Terri- 
 tories. First the pack-mule and the covered wagon, 
 followed by the pony express and the stage-coach. 
 Although several exi)loring parties and numerous 
 emigrant companies had, previous to 1850, passed 
 over that ))orlion of the Great Basin that is now 
 embraced within the limits of the State of Nevada, 
 yet, there had, up to that time, been no ])ermanent 
 settlements within the Territory. It was not till 
 the 5'ear 1851 that regular mail facilities were 
 secured to this section of the country; and even 
 then the mail line extended no farther east than the 
 Groat Salt Lake. 
 
MAILS, STAGES, AND EXPRESS. 
 
 103 
 
 Colonel A. Woodiird :iiul Mr. Chorpcninij had 
 associated themselves tot^ether, and under the firm 
 name of A. Woodard & Co., made a contract with 
 the United States in 1851 to carrj- the mail from 
 Sacramento, in California, to Salt Lake City. This 
 route, commencina; at Sacramento, ran ma Folsom 
 to Placcrville. in El Dorado Cuunty; thence over 
 the Sierra by the old emi<,'i-ant road, through 
 Strawberry and Hope Valleys into Carson Valley, 
 throuijh Genoa, Carson City, Dayton, Rai^town, and 
 thence across the Forty-Mile Desert to the Humboldt 
 Eiver, near the Humboldt Sink; then following the 
 old emigrant route east along the Humboldt IJiver 
 to what is now Stone-house Station, on the Central 
 Pacific Railroad, near which it left the river and, 
 turning to the southeast, took the " Hasting's Cut- 
 ott'" to Salt Lake Citj-. The entire length of this 
 route was 750 miles. The mail was packed on the 
 back of a mule, and the trip was made once a month 
 each way. 
 
 The actujil difficulties to be surmounted, and the 
 dangers, real and fancied, that beset the whole line, 
 are too numerous to recount, and beyond the powei-s 
 of imagination to correctly paint. Hi the winter, 
 upon that portion of the route which passes over the 
 Sierra, the snow fell I'rom fifteen to twenty feet on a 
 level, and in the canons and mountain gorges drifted 
 to the depth of forty or fifty feet. In the spring the 
 Carson and Humboldt Vallej's were sometimes flooded, 
 and swimming was the onlj- means of passage, 
 as there were no bridges. From Stone-house Sta- 
 tion, east, the whole country was infested by bands 
 of hostile Lidians. The Shoshone tribes were the 
 worst, and gave the most trouble. They would skulk 
 behind the rocks and watch day and night for the 
 mail or emigrant train, lying in wait to kill and 
 plunder. So great were the dangers from this 
 source that it was found necessary to employ men to 
 travel with and guard the mail. In the fall of 1851, 
 Colonel Woodard, while in charge of the mail, and 
 two young men, John Hawthorn and Oscar Fitzer, 
 who were employed as guards, encountered a band 
 of these hostile tribes at Gravel Point, near Stone- 
 house Station, and were all three killed. Chorpen- 
 ing, the surviving partner, continued to carry the 
 mail till the fall of 1853, when this contract expired. 
 He was then Joined by Ben. Hollidaj", and thej- 
 obtained permission to carry the same with a four- 
 mule team and covered wagons, which they con- 
 tinued till Jinie, 1857, when the establishment of a 
 tri-weekly lino of stages from Placcrville to Genoa, 
 by J. B. Crandall, left them with the line only 
 between Genoa and Salt Lake. Li 1857 a station 
 keeper on their line b}- the name of Brown, while 
 in the discharge of his duties as Station Agent, near 
 Gravelly Ford, was killed by the Lidians. These 
 hostile demonstrations on the jiart of straggling bands 
 of Shoshones and Gosh-Utes continued till 18(J;], when 
 more vigorous measures adoi)ted by General Connor 
 put a stop to them. 
 
 SNOW-SIIOK THOMPSON. 
 
 The difficulty of passing over the Sierra, occasioned 
 by the deep snows of winter, was partly overcome by 
 the use of snow-shoes. The mail was first carried 
 across by this means in the sjiring of 1853, by Fred 
 Bishop and a man named Drift, who alternated with 
 each other in making the trips. They used what 
 was called the basket form-, or Canadian jiattern of 
 snow-shoe. George Pierce succeeded Bishop and 
 Dritt, who in turn gave .way to John A. Thompson, 
 better known as "Snow-shoe Thompson." He was a 
 Norwegian by birth, and the first to introduce a 
 Norwegian pattern of snow-shoo. A pair of them 
 can be seen at the present time at the Orinsby House, 
 in Carson City. They are ten feet long, turn u]) at the 
 front end like skates, or runners, are about five or 
 six inches wide and one and a half inches thick in 
 the thickest part, and are made from the fir tree. 
 They are the identical shoes upon which Thompson 
 carried the mail between Genoa and Placcrville. 
 The most wonderful stories are related of this man 
 and his exploits on snow-shoes. 
 
 This noted mountaineer was born at Upper Tins, 
 Prestjrjold, Norway, in 1827. He came with his 
 iiither to the United Slates in 1837, and settled in 
 Illinois. In 1851 he crossed the plains to California, 
 where he worked in different jjlaces for several years, 
 sometimes mining, sonietimes farming. Hearing of 
 the difficulties attending the transportation of mail 
 across the Sierra on account of the great de])th of 
 snovv, he determined one day to make a pair of snow- 
 shoes such as he remembered to have seen when a 
 boy in Norway. Having made the shoes, he went to 
 Placcrville, near which jilace he could practice using 
 them and test their utility. Finding that they 
 worked to his entire satisfaction, he undertook to 
 carry the mail across the Sierra on them, making his 
 first trip in January, 185G. The distance, ninety 
 miles from Placei'ville to Carson Valley, was passed 
 over in three days, the return taking one less because 
 of the down grade. Having made the e.xiieriniental 
 journey successfully, Thompson continued to carry 
 the mail between the two points all that winter. The 
 weight of the mail bags was often from sixty to eighty 
 pounds. When traveling across the mountains he 
 never carried blankets or wore an overcoat. He 
 traveled b}- night as well as by day when necessary. 
 If he canii)ed for the night, he hunted the stump of 
 a dead pine tree and having sot fire to it, he built 
 him a bed of spruce boughs, on the snow, and lying 
 down with his feet to the fiiv rested and slept 
 soundly. Ho was never lost in the woods or the 
 mountains. By observing the apjiearance of the 
 trees and rocks he could tell which way was north 
 and which south and direct his course accordingly. 
 He helped to bring the material over the Sierra 
 Nevada mountains on which the A'tifer/n-ise was first 
 jirinted at Genoa in 1858. He was in the battle with 
 the Pah-Utcs in Maj', IStiO, at I'yramid Lake, when 
 the whites were routed with great slaughter. 
 
104 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 llo was a man of great physical slreiigth and 
 endurance, and of such fortitude of mind and spirit, 
 that he courted, rather than feared, the perils of 
 the mountains when visited by their fiercest storms; 
 and the wild rage of a midnight tempest could not 
 disconcert or drive him from his path. But under 
 the strain of the exhausting labors ho forced upon 
 himself, his great strengtli gave out, and in the 
 prime of life he was compelled to surrender to 
 Nature's last summons. After a brief illness, at his 
 residence in Diamond Valley, he dietl May 15, 1S7G. 
 His remains were taken to Genoa I'or burial, lie 
 left a wife and one child. 
 
 PtONEER STAGE LINE. 
 
 In the summer of IS'il, Col. J. B. Crandall estab- 
 lished a tri-weekly line of stages between Placerville 
 and Genoa, ami carried the " Carson Valley express,' 
 which was mauagc<l by Theodore F. Tracy. E. \V. 
 Tracy was agent at I'lacerville, and Smith and Major 
 Ormsby were agents at Genoa. In June of that 
 year, T. F. Tracy, accompanied bj- J. B. Crandall, 
 Mark Hopkins, J. 11. Neviit, \Vm. M. Cary, John 
 M. Doi-sey, Theron Foster, C A. Sumner, ana M. I). 
 Keiser, passed over the route, and established the 
 following stations between Placerville and Genoa, 
 viz.: Sportman's llali, Brockliss Bridge, Silver Creek, 
 and Cary's Mill. This was called the •• Pioneer 
 Stage Line," and connected at Genoa with the Chor- 
 pening wagons to Salt fjake. 
 
 OVERI,.\.ND M.\It,. 
 
 The summer of 1858 marked a new era in mail 
 and stage facilities. Crandall transferred the Pio- 
 neer Stage Line to Lewis Brad}- & Co., who estab- 
 lished a semi-weekly stage between Sacramento and 
 Genoa. Major George Chorpening, brother of the 
 enterprising and indomitable stage proprietor, had 
 secured the United States mail contract from Placer- 
 ville to Salt Lake City, which was to connect at that 
 point with the regular overland mail to St. Joseph, 
 Missouri. This ])ut new life into the route from Cur- 
 son to Salt Lake, and raised Iresh hopes for the 
 future of the region of country along its lino. The 
 first coach under this arrangement left Placerville 
 Juno 5, 1858. The tirst Overland mail stage, bring- 
 ing letters and passengers from the East, arrived in 
 Placerville, Monday-, July IDth of that year, at ten 
 o'clock in the evening. The event CLiused universal 
 rejoicing, and was celebrated with bonfires, speeches 
 and other demonstrations of joy and gladness. W. 
 M. Cary's new, and lor those days elegant, hotel was 
 illuminated, and the assembled multitudes were 
 addressed by G. D. Hall, 1). K. Newell and S. W. 
 Sanderson. Dr. Pettit sent up a beautiful balloon in 
 honor of the occasion. The Overland mail and stage 
 lino was now considered permanently established, 
 and in the hands of thoroughl}- reliable and com- 
 petent men. Yet the many dillicullies and dangers 
 attending its passage made it necessary to send 
 special messengers a portion of the way to guard 
 
 the mail and passengers. Messrs. Hightmire and 
 Lindsay, most worthy and etficient gentlemen, 
 were emploj'od to accompany the mail-coaches 
 as far as the Big Meadows, near the Sink of the 
 Humboldt, and return with the westward bound 
 stage. On their return, July 13, 1858, they reported 
 having met, on the third of July, five emigrants who 
 came through trom Iowa that season, at the Sink of 
 the Humboldt, who took the Truckee route for Cali- 
 fornia. They had crossed the country on pack mules, 
 and according to a rc|)orl published in the Mounfain 
 Democrat of Placerville, at that date, they overlook 
 General Harney and troo])S on the Sweetwater in 
 the Hock}' Mountains, en route for Salt Lake Citj", 
 who gave them perenitory orders notto])ass through 
 ihe Mormon countrj", which they had complied with 
 by going to the norlh of the City of the Saints. They 
 further stated that in Hot Spring Valley they over- 
 took a train consisting of sixteen Mormon families 
 (most of whom were women), hastening on to Carson 
 Valley. These families were, they said, in perpetual 
 dread of being pursued and massacred by the Salt 
 Lake Mormons, and were making almost super- 
 human eft'orts to widen the distance between them- 
 selves and the sanguinar}- saints. 
 
 On the fifth of September, of the same year, Mr. 
 Lindsay returned with the overland mail-coach, 
 having a portion of the Salt Lake mail of August 
 llJlh, also the mail which left there August 23d. Ho 
 reported an attack upon the mail party, August 20th, 
 by the Shoshone Indians, and the destruction of 
 their wagon and part of the tnail matter. It appeal's, 
 from the account given at the time by the Jfoantain 
 Denwrat. that on the night of August 20th, while 
 encamped eight miles below the tirst crossing of the 
 Humboldt, the mail party of August IGth wore sur- 
 rounded by a largo body of Shoshone Indians, who, 
 by }-elling and hooting, succeeded in stampeding 
 and driving oft' the stage animals. May field, tho 
 conductor, and his assistants, remained during tho 
 night to guard the wagon, but in the morning, find- 
 ing that the Indians had gathered in great numbers, 
 they determined to abandon everything except their 
 arms and ammunition, and take to the mountains for 
 personal safet}-. The mail-coach was afterwards 
 found, literally torn to atoms; and the mail-bags 
 were ripped open, and tho letters scattered in every 
 direction. These were i)icked u|) and taken to 
 Placerville, by Mr. Lindsay. About this time it 
 was reported that General Hunt lia<l Icit Salt Lake 
 City to explore a new stage route, west of trooso 
 Creek, which was thought to be 150 miles shorter 
 than the one then traveled. The overland stage, 
 which arrived September 20, 1858, with mail and 
 passengers I'rom Salt Lake and St. Joseph, Missouri, 
 brought tho welcome intelligence that the United 
 States troops had been ordered forward from Utah, 
 to protect the mail and emigrants. October 13th, the 
 overland mail reached tho west end of the route on 
 horseback, in advance of the stage, which bad been 
 

 
MAILS, STAGES. AND EXPRESS. 
 
 10c 
 
 delayed. It brought tho news tliat ( Ji'iieral limit 
 and Dr. Forney, tho Indian Agoiit in Utah, had 
 rouc-heil (Jravell}- Ford, and were snjourning there 
 with tho Sboshonos. 
 
 A settlement having been effected, for tho time 
 being, with tho hostiles of that tribe, the mails were 
 more regular and made better time, and tho business 
 ■was greatly inereased. In January, 1S50, the over- 
 lan<l stage brought the President's message from Salt 
 Lako in seventeen days. Letters sent by the over- 
 land mail reached their destination in tho East ten 
 days in advance of tho ocean steamer, and as a stage 
 left once a week this line began to be the more 
 po|iular and more generally ]>atronized by the 
 public. 
 
 April 2:i, IS.')!), there were .")(!() jiouiids of mail 
 8bi|)|>ed by the East bound stage, the largest amount 
 ever before taken at one time. In June of this year, [ 
 Captain Simpson, of the United States To])ograiih- 
 ical Engitieers, surveyed a new route from (^anip 
 Floyd to Genoa, which it was claimed would shorten 
 the distance about :!l)(l miles. Tho distance from 
 Camp Floyd, by the oM Humboldt route to Crenoa, 
 was reported to be 8.")4 miles, lly'the Chorpening 
 route through Ruby Valley about TilO miles, and by 
 the .Simpson survey .")(i.") miles. 
 
 In September the companj- cut hay ami made the 
 necessary pre]iarations to move down on to (he ('en- 
 tral or Simpson route, which ihey did the winter 
 following. In O(^tober, 18.")9, Chorpening's agents 
 having failed to call for the overland mail at Placer- j 
 ville, it was handed over to Ijcwis Brady & Co., 
 proprietors of the Pioneer Stage, who carried it till 
 March, IStiO, when it was returned to the charge of 
 Chorpening, ho being required to carry it with four- 
 horse teams. In October, 18.j9, J. A. Thompson and- 
 Judge Child started a now stage lino to run tri- 
 weekly botweon Placervilio and tionoa. They run 
 with coaches from Placervilio to Strawberry Vallej', 
 and from there to ('arson Vallo}^ they used sleighs, 
 and thus kej)! the line ojien all winter. For this 
 purpose they built two tine sleighs, with three seals 
 each, in December, 'ii<')'.), which were the first sleighs 
 ever used on this mountain road. In the spring of 
 1860 Louis JIcLane purchased the "Pioneer Stage 
 Line" between Placervilio and Cienoa, which ho 
 transferred in tho year 18G1 to Wells, Fargo & Co., 
 who then run the entire route to .Salt Lake. In the 
 summer of ]8(;o A. J. Phodos started an o]>posilion 
 stage line between Placervilio and Carson City via 
 Genoa. He used six-horse coaches, made daily trips 
 in from ton to twelve hours and reduced the fare 
 from fortj- dollars to twenty dollars. In the sum- 
 mer of 18(J2 he sold out to McLano, binding himself 
 not to start another opposition lino. 
 
 PONY KXPUESS. 
 
 In the spring of 18(;() the celebrated Pony E.vpresa 
 was established by Jones, Pussel & Co. W. W. Finney 
 as agent, organized tho line between Sacramento and 
 
 Salt Lake. Tho express came from San Francisco 
 by steamer to Sacramento, and was there immedi- 
 ately taken by a man on horseback. Tho old emi- 
 grant route was followed across tho Sierra till tho 
 valley of the Carson was reached, when the Simpson 
 route was adopted. This led to the east, through 
 tho desert in Churchill County, crossing the Peoso 
 River at Jacobsville; thence northeast to I'liliy Valley 
 and thence southeast, passing out through Deep 
 Crock and around the south end of Great Salt Lake 
 to Salt Ijako City. The time between Sacramento 
 and Salt Lake by tho Pony Ex])ros8 was three and 
 one-half da3's — relay stations every twenty-five 
 miles. One rider covered sovonty-fivo miles, and ho 
 was given but two minutes at each station passed. 
 Tho average I'ate of travel was nine miles ]ier hour. 
 Tho schedule time from New York to San Francisco 
 was thirteen days, via St. Joseph, Missouri. The first 
 express left Sacramento April l. 1S()II, at 2: 4.") p. m., 
 and carried fiftv-six letters from San Francisco, 
 thirtetn from Sacramento, and one from Placervilio 
 at five dollars jicr letter. Tho first express from 
 New York arrived A])ril l.'i. lS(i(l, bringing eigh( let- 
 ters. The time from St. .losejih was ten days. The 
 third trip of the ox])rcss brought news of the result 
 of the prize fight in London between lloenan and 
 Sayers. Also of tho adjournment of the Democratic 
 National Convonti'in at Charleston, South Carolina, 
 to meet in Baltimore tho eighteenth of June follow- 
 ing, as there had been no agreement upon a Presi- 
 dential candidate. The quickest time on record 
 made by tho Pony Express was with President Lin- 
 coln's first message. The time taken in bringing it 
 from St. Joseph, Missouri, to. Carson City, a distance 
 of 1,780 miles, was five days and eighteen hours. It 
 was done with double sets of horses, /. e., with fresh 
 horses between stations. 
 
 OVERLAND MAIL STAGE COMPANV. 
 
 The year following the establishment of the Pony 
 Express, the Southern Daily Overland Mail, which 
 had been established in 185!! through northern Texas 
 to California was transferred to tho Central or Simpson 
 route, its regular trips commencing on the first of 
 July, 18(11. The reason of this transfer was the 
 anticipated disturbances along the southern line, 
 C0iise(iuent u])on the war of the JJebellion. The 
 trans-continental telegra])h was also built along this 
 line. Tho work of constructing it was commenced 
 in 1850, jiushed rapidlj- forward in 1S(!0 and 18(!1, 
 and com]iloted tho twenty-second of Se])tembcr of 
 tho latter year. Previous (o the establishment of 
 the whole line, that portion between Placervilio and 
 Virginia City was built and operated by the '• Pla- 
 cervilio and Humboldt Tolcgra[)h Company," and was 
 known as " Bee's (Jrapcvino Line," having been jtro- 
 jected and built by Col. F. A. Bee. (3ver the Sierra 
 the wire was attached to the trees, and their sway- 
 ing b}- the wind, caused tho wire to stretch, until, in 
 many places, it lay along the ground between the 
 
106 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 points of Bui)|)ort. It is Haid that teamsters would 
 sometimes cut out jiiccos of the line and use it in 
 repairing the wheels of their wagons. One teamster 
 being remonstrated with for this, said ho supposed 
 the wire had been ]>laced there by the Toll-road Com- 
 pany to be used for that purpose. In consequence 
 of these breaks, messages were often delayed. If 
 there were important messages |)assing ihrougli and 
 the line was broken the message would bo transferred 
 to the Pony Express, and in this way the telegraph 
 was often beaten into Sacraniento by tiio ))OTiy rider. 
 Tills was the case with President Lincoln's tirsl mes- 
 sage and the news of his first election. 
 
 From the date of the removal of the Southern Over- 
 land -Mail to the Central route, and the establishment 
 of the Daily Stage line, the mail facilities and means 
 of transportation into and through the Territory be- 
 gan to improve rapidly. New roads were constructed 
 and the old ones were improved, so that heavj^ 
 loads of merchandise could be transported and faster 
 time made over them. Two toll-roads were built 
 across the Sierra ; one called the Placerville, and llie 
 other the Dutch Flat, or Donner Lake route. These 
 were wide enough so that teams could pass in the 
 narrowest places. The overland stage run with great 
 regularity, and its business was conducted with 
 promptness and dispatch. 
 
 The discovery of silver and the development of 
 the mines at Virginia City, gave rise to a raj)id in- 
 crease of trade, and other and competing lines of 
 stages were started. Quick trips from Virginia City 
 were often required to be made by parties on special 
 business to Sacramento, and they were sometimes 
 made in an incredibly short time. On the twentieth 
 of Februar}-, 1864, the Pioneer line is reported to 
 have made the trip in five minutes less than twenty- 
 four hours. The fastest time recorded was on Juno 
 20, 1804, when the Larue lino is reported to have 
 made the trip over the mountains, from Virginia City 
 to Sacramento, in twelve hours and twenty-three 
 minutes, canying the mail and William M. Lent, 
 John Skac, and S. Cook, as passengers, they having 
 chartered the coach. 
 
 So great and so regular was the inci'oase of busi- 
 ness and travel by the Overland stage, that the com- 
 pany was eomi)ellod, from time to time, to add new 
 stations, and increase the number of horses and 
 coaches, till, in the spring of 18()5, thej' had, between 
 Virginia City and Austin, a distance of one hundred 
 and eighty miles, thirteen stations, eight drivers, sev- 
 enty-eight horses, and fifteen mud-wagons and 
 coaches. Between Austin and Salt Lake, there were 
 thirty-six stations, si.xty wagons, one hiindi'ed and 
 ninety horses, and twenty-two drivers — distance from 
 Virginia City five hundred and fifty miles. This was 
 called the Western Division, and was owned by the 
 Overland Mail and Stage Company. The distance 
 from Salt Lake to the eastern terminus on tlie Mis- 
 souri Kiver was 1,220 miles, termed the Eastern Di- 
 
 vision, was owned by a New York company, and 
 managed by Ben Holladay. 
 
 OVEIIL.VND STAOE F.VRM. 
 
 In consequence of the exorbitant prices demanded 
 by the Mormons for hay, grain, and all kinds of pro- 
 visions, together with the groat expense of trans])or- 
 tation, the Overland Stage Company determined to 
 make the experiment of raising their own fodder, 
 and selected IJuby Vallej' as the best place for this 
 purpose. The success of the enterprise had so far 
 developed its advantages, that in the spring of 1865 
 thej' emj)lo3-ed one hundred men, thirty plows, 
 ninety yoke of oxen, and sowed 90,000 pounds of 
 grain. 
 
 As a result they harvested 8,.")75 bushels of barley, 
 8,745 bushels of oats, 1,655 bushels of potatoes, 1.854 
 bushels of turnips, 1,000 bushels of carrots, and sev- 
 enty-eight bushels of beets. Theirs was the first 
 experiment and the beginning of farming in eastern 
 Nevada. 
 
 TELEORAPII LINES. 
 
 The first movement towards an Overland Tele- 
 graph line was made at Placerville in 1S5S, by the 
 organization of the Placerville and Humboldt Tele- 
 graph Company. Tho first pole was erected at 
 Placerville Julj- 4, 1858, and tho line built to Oonoa 
 that fall, and extended to Carson City in the spring 
 of 1859, and to Virginia City in 1860. It was not 
 completed to Salt Lake till tho fall of ISGl. Tho 
 line to Virginia City had been constructed ijj- private 
 means, and frequent attempts had been made to 
 secure Slate and National aid to extend it, but with- 
 out avail. However, in Juno, 1860, Congress passed 
 an Act, directing tho Secretary of the Treasury to 
 advertise for sealed proposals for the " use by the 
 Government " of a lino or linos of tolograi)h, to be 
 constructed within two years from July 31, 1860, 
 from some point on the west lino of Missouri to San 
 Francisco, for a jjoriod of ton j^cars, and to award 
 the contract to the lowest bidder, provided ho did 
 not require more than §40,0(10 per j-ear. By a con- 
 cert of action between all tlie Pacific Coast companies, 
 they availed themselves of this proffered assistance, 
 and ajiplied it to the construction of one through line. 
 For this purpose tho Overland Telegraph Company 
 was organized, with a capital of Sl,2,")0,000. The 
 eastern end of the line, from Salt Lake to Omaha, 
 was constructed under tho supervision of Mr. Edward 
 Creighton ; from Salt Lake to IJuby Valley, under 
 tho su))orvision of James Street ; from Jiuljy Valley 
 to Carson, by J. M. Hubbard. The General Super- 
 intendent from Placerville to Salt Lake, was Horace 
 W. Carpontior, and Mr. James CJamble liad general 
 supervision of tho whole line. Thus arranged and 
 divided up, tho work of construction commenced. 
 On the twenty-seventh day of May, 1861, operations 
 were inaugurated by Mr. Gamble, who started the 
 construction outfit, consisting of a train of thirty 
 wagons, from Sacramento, loaded with wire, insula- 
 
MAILS, STAGES, AND EXPRESS. 
 
 107 
 
 ^ 
 
 tors, provisions, etc. — also eeveral luindrod head of 
 oxoii, horses, and mules. Although late in the season, 
 there was no stoppage for storms or bad roads, and 
 on the twenty-second daj- of September, a few daj's 
 less than four months from its commencement, this 
 great enterprise was completed, and connection at 
 Salt Lake was made with the eastern lino. Upon 
 that day was transmitted over the wires the news of 
 the Union defeat at Ball's Bluff, Viri^inia, and the 
 death of Col. E. D. Baker, the United .Stales Senator 
 from Oregon, This line was built along the Central 
 route through Nevada, and was operated in connec- 
 tion with the Overland Stage and .Mail line till the 
 completion of the Overland Railroad, May 13, 1869, 
 when they were both drawn off and that route aban- 
 doned. 
 
 PRESENT .MAIL ROUTES. 
 
 The great Overland Mail and Stage line was with- 
 drawn from its route upon the comi)lelion of the Over- 
 land Railroad, still there were numerous lines in the 
 interior, generally well equipped and conducted with 
 great spirit, enter]>rise and energy, and by reason of 
 the growth and gradual development of the State, 
 many of like character have been added since. All 
 the towns and mining camps of importance in the 
 State, not on railroa<l lines, and now sup])lied with 
 good mail facilities, are herewith enumerated, to- 
 gether with their distances from each other and from 
 the nearest railroad station. 
 
 Commencing with lieno, on the Central Pacific 
 Railroad, near the west line of the State, there are 
 at present two dailj' stage lines (t'xcei)t Sunday-) run- 
 ning from that station to the north anil northwest. 
 One leads back northwesterly into California ilii-ough 
 Phimas and Lassen Counties toSusanville, anil is used 
 most of tiie year in distributing the mails to those 
 counties, on account of the deep snows that fall upon 
 the mountains to the west. To Pocville or Peavine Dis- 
 trict, Nevada, is ten miles, and to Junction in Cali- 
 fornia is ten more. The other line extends north- 
 erljr through Roop County to Fort Bidwell, in Modoc 
 County, California, ISt miles, passing through Pyra- 
 mid, thirty miles from Reno; thence thirty-five miles 
 to Sheephead; thence twenty-seven miles to Ikitlalo 
 Meadow; thence to the northwest into Calif'oi'uia by 
 Eaglesville, Cedarville, and Jjake City to Fort Bid- 
 well; thence across to Willow Ranch, thirteen miles 
 to the west. 
 
 From Hye Patch on the CJentral Pacific Railroad 
 Kouthwest to Vanderwater fourteen miles, and thence 
 ten miles to Unionvillo, is a tri-wooklj'^ mail, and 
 twice a week from Mill City to Dun (ilen, nine miles. 
 
 From Winnemucca iioilli there are two daily lines 
 (except Sunday), One an important lino carrying 
 the Idaho mail, runs to Willow Creek, fiCty-four 
 miles; thence twenty-five miles to Fort McDerniitt, 
 and thence on to Boise City in Idaho. The other 
 runs to Willow Point, twenty-five miles; thence to 
 Paradise Valley, twenty-one miles; aud thence to 
 Spring City, twelve miles. 
 
 From Battle Mountain on the Central Pacific Rail- 
 road, a daily line (except Sun<lay) runs to Tuscarora, 
 sixtj'-eight miles; thence to Cornucopia, twentj--five 
 miles; thence to White Ro.'k, eighteen miles, thence 
 to Mountain City, twenty-eight miles. From Cornu- 
 copia to Columbia, twenty miles, is a tri-weekly line. 
 South from Battle Mountain is a tri-wcekly line to 
 Lewis, twelve miles. 
 
 From KIko to Tuscarora, fifty-nine miles, there is a 
 daily mail and stage line, connecting with the Battle 
 Mountain lino to Mountain City. 
 
 From Palisade on the Central Pacific Railroad, to 
 Bullion, fourteen miles, is a tri-weekly. 
 
 From Elko south to Eureka, a weekly- line runs 
 
 ! through Mound Valky and Dry Creek, thirty-two 
 
 miles; thence twenty miles to Huntington; thence 
 
 twenty -six miles to Cold Creek; thence via Diamond 
 
 to Eureka, thirty-seven miles. 
 
 From Eureka to Belmont is a daily stage (except 
 Sundaj-) running to More}-, eight}' miles; thence to 
 Hot Ci'cek, sixteen miles; thence to Tybo, twelve 
 and one-half miles; and thence thirtj'-five miles to 
 Belmont. From Morcy to Duckwater, forty-four 
 miles, the stage runs once a week. 
 
 From Al]iha, on the Eureka and Palisade railroad 
 to Mineral Ilill, eight miles, is a daily stage. 
 
 Between Eureka and Pioche is a tri-weckl}- line, 
 running fii'st to Pinto, seven and one-half miles; thence 
 to Hamilton, thirty-five and one-half miles; thence 
 to Ely, forty-five miles; thence to Ward, seventeen 
 miles; thence to Bristol, eightj'-five miles; thence to 
 Royal Cit}', ten miles, and to Pioche, fitleen miles, 
 making the whole line 215 miles. 
 
 There is a tri-weekly mailf'rom Hamilton to Ebcr- 
 hardt, five miles distant, and to Treasure City, three 
 miles. 
 
 From Wells to Hamilton is a tri-weekly lino, run- 
 ning through Elaine, twentj'-eight miles; thence to 
 Spruce Mountain, thirty miles; thence to Cherry 
 Creek, fifty-two miles; thence to .Schcllbourne, sixteen 
 miles; thence to Hamilton, ninety miles, making the 
 whole line 2IG miles. 
 
 From Spruce Mountain to Arthur, twenty-five 
 miles, and thence to Ruby Vallc}-, seven miles, is a 
 weeklj- mail. 
 
 From Pioche to Mineral Park in Arizona, 22'J miles, 
 is a tri-weekly line, running first to St. Josei>h, 117 
 miles; thence to .St. Thomas, twelve miles; and thence 
 100 miles to Mineral Park, The line at Mineral Park 
 is connected with a line Irom there along the Colo- 
 rado River to Yuma IJ.'U! miles. 
 
 A daily stage runs from Piorlie to Bullionville, 
 twelve miles; thence to Panaca, twn miles; thence to 
 Clover Valley, iwenly-eight miles, and thence east to 
 connect with the Utah Southern Railroad. 
 
 From Pioche to lliko, sixt^'-six miles, the stage 
 runs twice a week. 
 
 A tri-weekly mail runs from Osceola east and con- 
 nects with the Utah Southern at Frisco. 
 
108 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 From Austin, the southern terminua of the Nevada 
 Central Railroad, a tri-woekly mail goes southwest 
 to lone Cily, til'ly-fis-e miles; thence to Grantville, ten 
 miles, and to Candalaria, seventy miles. Also, from 
 Austin southwest to Junction, thirtj' miles, thence to 
 Pine Creek, forty-two miles, and to Belmont, eighteen 
 miles, is a tri-weekly mail. • 
 
 From Wadsworth,on the Central Pacific Eailroad, 
 a tri-wcekl}- mail goes southeasterly to Saint Clair, 
 thirt3--two miles; thence to Stillwater, twent3--two 
 miles; thence to Ellsworth, seventy-five miles; thence 
 to Downej-vilie, eleven miles; thence to (frantville, 
 twenty-eight miles; thence to San Antonio, forty- 
 seven and one-half miles, and to Belmont, thirty-two 
 and one-half miles, making the whole line 248 miles. 
 
 From Daj-ton a tri weekly mail runs to Welling- 
 ton, through Fort Churchill, twenty-two miles; thence 
 to Wabuska, twenty miles; thence to Mason Valley, 
 si.xtoen miles; thonce to Wellington, fourteen miles. 
 
 From Mason \'alley to Aurora a tri-weekly mail 
 goes via Cambridge, twenty-five miles; thence to 
 Wai'hington, fourteen miles, and thence to Aurora, 
 twent3'-one miles. 
 
 From Aurora a daily mail (except Sundaj-) goes 
 southeasterl}' to Columbus, passing througli Marietta, 
 fiftj' miles; thence to Belleville, ten miles; thence to i 
 Candalaria; eightmiles; to Metallic, one and a quarter 
 miles, and to Columbus seven miles be^-ond. Thence 
 a stage goes twice a week to .Silver Peak, thirty-six 
 and one-half miles; thence to Lida*, twenty-three and 
 one-half miles, and turning north to Montezuma, 
 twenty-five miles. 
 
 From Aurora a daily mail goes to Bodie, in Cali- 
 fornia, twelve miles. Also, a daily mail goes from 
 Aurora south into California, through Mono and 
 Jnyo Counties, su))]i!ying numerous ])ost-ntfices and 
 connecting with the Southern Pacific Jiuilroad at 
 Caliente. 
 
 From Carson City a daily stage runs to Glenbrook, 
 fourteen miles. Also, from Carson a daily stage 
 runs to Aurora, jiassing through Genoa, thirteen 
 miles; thence to Sjii'ague, twent^'-two miles; thence to 
 Walker liiver, seventeen miles; thence to Welling- 
 ton, five miles; thence to Pino Grove, twenty-five 
 miles; thence to JJockland, five miles; thence to 
 Sweetwater, twenty miles; thence to Elbow, ten miles, 
 and to Aurora, seventeen miles. 
 
 From Walker River to Coleville, twenty miles, is 
 a weekl}' mail. 
 
 From Genoa to Monitor and Silver Mountain in 
 California, is a triweekly mail, going to Sheridan, 
 eight miles; thence to Woodford, ten miles; thence to 
 Markleeville, seven miles, and to Monitor and Silver 
 Mountain, six miles. Between several points the 
 mail is carried by a special supply line. This is the 
 ease iietween Lovelock and .Salinas, forty-five miles; 
 between K\\n> and liamoile, eighteen miles; between 
 Battle Mountain and J$ailey, twenty-two miles; 
 between Schellbourne and Annini, twentj- miles; 
 between Fair Play and Buby Valley, twenty-five 
 
 miles; between Junction and Twin River, thirty-one 
 miles; and between Lida and Gold Mountain, twelve 
 miles. 
 
 Such is the condition of the mail and stage ser- 
 vice in 1881; changing as mining towns grow into 
 importance or decline, and as railroads are extended. 
 
 The Carson and Colorado Railroad will undoubt- 
 edly produce the most immediate change in the lines 
 running southeasterlj- from Car.son, making Haw- 
 thorne, or other towns as the road is extended, the 
 distributing, or initial point of routes. 
 
 In the historj- of Nevada, the mail and express 
 lines have borne an important part. Penetrating the 
 wilderness they have followed close upon the foot- 
 ste])s of the prospector, rendering aid and comfort in 
 the development of the country. Wherever the 
 miners made a camp the stage was quick to go. In 
 the excitement of new discoveries of mines a rush of 
 ]ieople would follow, a stage line would be put on, a 
 mail route petitioned for, and post-oftices established. 
 The National Government was generous in granting 
 subsidies oi- letting contracts for carrj-ing the mail, 
 and thus aided materially in maintaining lines where 
 the income was small and the necessity for such 
 accommodation to important enterprises was great. 
 This generosity led to great abuses, and soon lines 
 were conducted disgraceful Ij' to enterprise, but gen- 
 erally Ibej- were an honor to their proprietors. 
 
 WKLLS, FARliO ,«. CO.'s KXPRKSS. 
 
 Ill the rapid growth and suililcii collapse of some 
 mining towns, apjilicatioiis for ))ost-otfices have been 
 made, which going through the "circumlocution 
 office " of the de[)arlments at Washington would bo 
 granted about the time the last tent had been folded 
 and removed. There was another jiower, however, 
 an institution peculiar to the Pacific Coast, which 
 has no such "office"' but stood ever read\' on the 
 frontier, and wherever the miner pitched his tent, 
 however broad the tlesert or rugged the cafion, if 
 letters were to be sent or bullion carried, there went 
 the messenger with his pouch and strong box. This 
 institution was Wells, Fargo & Co.'s express, always 
 in the van of pioneers, readj- with the rush to go, 
 serving its ])urposo and reaping its reward, then 
 retiring as business declined, its facilities and accom- 
 modation always corresponding with the times. This 
 com))any rendered the pioneers needed service, for 
 which it is held in grateful remembrance. So prompt 
 and faithful were its messengers in the deliver}' of 
 letters, that for several years the express did the 
 princi])al carrying business, charging but two to 
 seven cents in addition to the Unitetl .States postage. 
 In addition the company transjjorted all the bullion 
 of the country, keeping such a record of its produc- 
 tion that its statistics have become authority suj)er- 
 seding all others. 
 
■^, 
 
 
George Thomas Marye. 
 
 GEoK(iE TiKiMAs Marve, OF, 118 he usnuUy signs his 
 name, (reo. T. Maiye.was born on the twenty-seventh 
 of November 1817, near the little town of Luray, 
 Pago County, Virginia. This is one of the most 
 lovelj^ sections of the Shenandoah ^'alleJ% and has 
 become famous for its romantic scenery and wonder- 
 ful caverns. 
 
 The familj- of the Maryes is of Huguenot origin, ! 
 and is one of the oldest in the State of Virginia. 
 The first of the name, and the founder of the family 
 in America, was James Marye, a clergyman of the 
 Reformed Church of France, in the Province of Nor- 
 mandy, lie, like most of bis co-religionists, was 
 driven from France by the persecutions following the ; 
 revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1C8."). His 
 departure from his native country was attended 
 with many dangers and narrow escapes, and his 
 adventures, and those of other Huguenots who 
 subsequently eanie with him to this country, form 
 the basis of a very interesting story called " The ! 
 Huguenot's Sword," published in the April number of 
 Harper's Magazine for 1857. He was fortunate in 
 avoiding arrest, and found refuge in London, where 
 he remained for several years. While there he mar- 
 ried Miss Letitia Staige, an English, lady, who was 
 his faithful companion throughout life, and who ac- 
 companied him on his voj^ago to his new homo in 
 what was then the distant Colony of Virginia. 
 
 In IGIU or l(i02 the British Crown made a grant 
 of lands on the James lliver to a number of French 
 Huguenot refugees who had fled to England. One of 
 the grantees was James Marye, and among them 
 were the Meanx, the Fontaines, the Fiournoys, the 
 Maurys, the d'Aubignes (or, as the name is now 
 written, the Dabnoys), and others whoso descendants 
 are still among the prominent citizens of Virginia. 
 They came to this country in a body and founded the 
 town, or settlement, of Monacan in Powhatan County. 
 James Marye came with them as the minister of the 
 band of colonists, and continued to reside at Mona- 
 can in that capacity for manj^ years. Hishoj) Meade 
 in his work on the "Old Families and Cluirches of 
 Virginia" gives an interesting account of the estab- 
 lishment of the church at Monacan, and of James 
 Marye's ministry there, and also of the subsequent 
 ministry- of himself and son, also called James, at 
 Fredericksburg in Spottsylvania. James the elder, 
 as we read in the Rev. Philip Slaughter's full and 
 complete historj- of St. George's Parish, removed 
 from Monacan to Fredericksburg in 1709, at the call 
 of the vestry of St. George's Parish, which at that 
 
 time embraced all of Spottsj-lvania County. He con- 
 tinued to reside at Fredericksburg as Rector of St. 
 George's until his death, which occurred in 1730 at 
 the old family homestead in the outskirts of the 
 town, on one of the hills overlooking it and the 
 neighboring river. The hill, with the house that 
 crowns it, is called Marye's Heights, and was the 
 scene of some of the bloodiest engagements of the 
 war of secession, when the National forces under 
 Burnside and Hooker, undertook to capture Fred- 
 ericksburg. It still belongs to the Fredericksburg 
 branch of the Slarye familj-. One of the sons of tho 
 younger James, who succeeded his father as Rector 
 of St. George's, named Pierre, left Fredericksburg, and 
 settled at Culpeper Court House, where he mar- 
 ried Miss Eleanor (ireen, daughter of Col. William 
 Green, of Culpeper, on the ^ixth of December, 
 177.'>. Ho had several children, and among them 
 William Staige, the father of tho subject of this 
 sketch. 
 
 William Staige Marj'c was born on the fifteenth 
 of February, 1775, and while still a youth left his 
 father's home and crossed the Blue Ridge Mount- 
 ains into that portion of the Shenandoah Valley 
 which has since been made Page County, and bo- 
 came one of tho early pioneers of that portion of 
 the country. On tho sixth, of May, 1802, ho mar- 
 ried Maiy Kuffner, the daughter of Peter Ruffner, 
 whose family were the original grantees from the 
 Colonial Government of all tho lands along tho 
 Hawksbill, between the Massanettan range of 
 mountains and the Blue Ridge. Some time after 
 his marriage, William Staige Marye founded and 
 laid out the town of Luray, at a point on the Hawks- 
 bill, which is a small tributar}- of the Shenandoah 
 River, on the direct road from the gap through 
 the Massanettan Mountains to the gap through tho 
 Blue Ridge. Here he established himself with his 
 family and engaged in a general merchaniiise busi- 
 ness, for a long time being tho only merchant, and 
 afterwards the |>riiu-i|>al one in that jiortion of tho 
 country. He was a man of broad and progressive 
 views, and was the recognized leader among his 
 neighbors in all matters of public concern: and 
 when in the course of time, tho vallej- became some- 
 what more populous, and Luray had grown to tho 
 dimensions of a repectablo little village, he procured 
 the |)assage of an Act of tho Legislature of the State 
 segregating the valley between tho Massenattan 
 and Blue Ridge from tho remainder of Shenandoah 
 County, to which it had previously belonged and 
 
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 from which it had always been divided by natural 
 barriers, and creating a new countj', which, in 
 honor of his friend Mr. Page, then Governor of 
 the State, he called Page County; and ho also 
 had Luray made the county seat, the Federal Gov- 
 ernment having, some time before, at his solici- 
 tation, established a post-office there. After accumu- 
 lating a competencj', Mr. Marye withdrew from 
 active business and resided altogether on his farm, 
 called the Hillside Farm, on the banks of the Hawks- 
 bill in the neighborhood of Luray. 
 
 Here the subject of this sketch and most of his 
 other children, of whom he had fifteen, were born, 
 and here he spent the last years of his life in the midst 
 of literary pleasures and in the enjoyment of the 
 respect of his fcUow-citizcns, for. although he never 
 held or sought for political office, his influence in 
 shaping the course of public events in his county 
 was paramount, and his memory is held in affection- 
 ate esteem by his neighbors of I'age Valley, and their 
 children down to this day. From here, too, he car- 
 ried on a correspondence with his son George after 
 the latter had gone to Baltimore, which, while it could 
 not fail to be of the utmost benefit in the intellectual 
 and moral development of his son, does honor to his 
 own qualities of head and heart, and is an evidence 
 of his rare and extensive attainments as a scholar and 
 philosopher. 
 
 Mr. Marye attended the school of Mr. Thomas at 
 Luray until the age of fourteen or fifteen j'ears, 
 when, at his own request, his father placed him in 
 the store of Messrs. Thomas AUmand & Co., who 
 were his successors in his former business at Luray. 
 Here Mr. Marye received a thorough business train- 
 ing, and he attributes much of his success in after 
 life to the habits of industry and sobrietj- that he 
 acquired during this period. He remained with 
 Allmand & Co., several years, but approaching man- 
 hood brought with it a desire for a wider field, and 
 leaving his native valley, he went to Baltimore which 
 was then, as now, a great place for ambitious young 
 Virginians. 
 
 Mr. Marye's eminently legal cast of mind, his clear, 
 sound judgment and powers of close, logical reason- 
 ing, would have admirably fitted him for the |)ractico 
 of the law, and it has often been a subject of com- 
 ment and surprise among his friends that he did not 
 adopt that profession. But his father's numerous 
 family made it difficult for him to give his son any 
 pecuniarj' assistance, and his own disinclination to 
 receive any aid and his energetic disposition led him 
 to prefer the more active pursuits of commercial life. 
 
 Ho first found emploj-ment in Baltimore as clerk 
 in the dry goods house of Hart & Co., Itcginniiig as 
 junior, but his industry and business ca])acity soon 
 caused his promotion, and at the time of his marriage 
 and before leaving his om])loyors he had the respon- 
 sible position of head clerk in the house. On the thir- 
 teenth of July, 1839, he married Miss Helen Tucker, 
 daughter of William A. Tucker, Esq., President of the 
 
 Baltimore Fire Insurance Company, a Director in sev- 
 eral of the banks of the citj-, and one of the original 
 stockholders of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. 
 After his marriage he formed a co-partnership with 
 Messrs. Marriot and Hardestj-, and under the firm 
 name of Marriot, Hardesty & Marye, he carried on a 
 large dry goods business, having an extensive con- 
 nection in the South and West. 
 
 In 1849, Marshall's famous discovery was attract- 
 ing the attention of the world to the fai'-off shores 
 of the Pacific, and Mr. Marye, who had inherited, in 
 an increased degree, the pioneer energy of his father, 
 was one of the first to join the adventurous band 
 who were everj'where starting out from the older 
 States in quest of the riches of the new El Dorado. 
 He left Baltimore in the early summer, and arrived 
 in San Francisco on the steamer Panama, in 
 August, 1849. 
 
 Bather an amusing incident is told as occurring 
 on the way out. It was at a time when the first 
 vigorous attacks were beginning to be made on the 
 institution of negro slavery in the South, and the 
 discussion of the subject aroused the strongest pas- 
 sions and prejudices of men. Jlr. Marye, not un- 
 naturally, entertained the same feelings as were well 
 nigh universal throughout the Southern States, and 
 they were shared by nearly all the passengers on 
 the steamer, but not hy all. Among the few who 
 held opposite opinions, and perhaps the onlj' one 
 who bad the hardihood to express them freely, was 
 William Sherman, who has since become a prom- 
 inent citizen of San Francisco. At that time he was 
 quite a young man, fresh from the New England 
 States, and had not yet learned the necessity of 
 keeping a guard upon himself in discussing this ex- 
 citing topic. The ardor of his convictions, and the 
 freedom with which he gave expression to them, 
 led to frequent discussions, and the boldness of his 
 utterances gave grave offense to some of the more 
 extreme and intolerant of the pro-slavery men, and 
 some of them even muttered threats of personal 
 violence against the Abolitionist. Mr. Marye, be- 
 tween Avhom and Mr. Sherman a warm friendship 
 had sprung up, and who had heard some of these 
 angry exj)ressions, drew Mr. .Sherman aside and told 
 him that it would bo well to use greater moderation 
 in discussing the slavery question, as man}' of the 
 passengers had never heard such sentiments before, 
 and were much exasperated by them. 'Why," said 
 he, "some of those fellows may throw you over- 
 board." 
 
 Mr. Sherman thanked him, and recognized the 
 soundness of the advice, and the voyage came to an 
 end without any further incident. 
 
 But a number of j'oars afterwards, when the war 
 had broken out between the Slates, and Mr. Marye, 
 although always a true patriot and lover of his 
 country, was inclined to think that the attempt to 
 coerce the South was unconstitutional and wrong, 
 he several times gave expression to his views in his 
 
GEORGE THOMAS MARYE, 
 
 asual vigorous and unequivocal manner. On one 
 such occasion, .Mr. Sberinan, who hajipenod to be 
 present, took him aside, and said: ''Marye, whatever 
 you maj- thinl<, it would be prudent to use greater 
 moderation in the exjiression of your sentiments or 
 some of these fellows maj' hang you to a lamp post." 
 
 Mr. Maryo, who has a good memory', recognized 
 the advice, and roadilj' acknowledged its point. 
 
 After his arrival in San Francisco, ^Ir. ilarye at 
 once engaged in a variety of j)ioneer work. lie 
 dealt largely in real estate, and built the first house 
 to the east of Davis Street. It was built at the 
 southeast corner of J)avi8 and Sacramento Streets, 
 on piles, in twenty feet of water. It was occupied 
 as a ship chandler's, and the ships used to come 
 right up alongside of the building for their supplies. 
 
 When Mr. Marye arrived in San Francisco there 
 were no wharves in the eitj', and the steamer that 
 he was on cast anchor in the bay ofl' Clark's Point, 
 and the passengers went ashore in boats. His 
 attention, therefore, was carlj' drawn to the neces- 
 sity of wharf accommodations for the shipping in 
 the harbor, and, during the year of 1850, he built 
 the Sacramento Street wharf, which ran from the 
 intersection of Davis and Sacramento Streets, fol- 
 lowing in the line of Sacramento Street, a distance 
 of 800 feet, into the deep waters of the bay. This 
 was for a long time one of the principal wharves of 
 the city, and was a very lucrative piece of property; 
 but after the sale of the citj- slip property its utility 
 as a wharf was destroyed, and with it its value; and 
 now, where the largest sea-going vessels used to 
 come and load and unload, it is all dry land, covered 
 with well paved streets and large brick and iron 
 structures. 
 
 After he had built the Sacramento Street Wharf, 
 Mr. Marye went to Stockton, and built the first 
 wharf in that city. It was built under contract 
 with the munici))al authorities, that he should pay 
 himself out of the first tolls to be collected, and then 
 turn it over to the city. The arrangement was 
 mutually satisfactory- and profitable, and after he 
 had received paj-ment he delivered it to the munici- 
 pal Government, who still hold it. 
 
 When he first started for California he sent at the 
 same time, around the Horn, a number of articles, 
 in the selection of which he displayed much good 
 judgment of the wants of a new country-, and, sev- 
 eral of which, among them a circular saw, were the 
 first of their kind to be brought to the I'acific Coast. 
 The profits of the venture were of course propor- 
 tionate to the sagacity shown in the selection of the 
 articles, and the saw and a]ipurtenanees, which had 
 cost him some 82,500, were sold l'>jr upwards of 
 $13,000. The other things were disposed of to 
 almost equal advantage. 
 
 During all this time he took an active part in the 
 life and progress of San Francisco. Though never 
 in any sense a politician, he took much interest in 
 public affairs, and was very influential as a strong 
 and consistent Democrat. Ills partner in business, 
 Caleb Smith, was the first Judge of the Superior 
 Court of San Francisco, and his brother, S. ]}olivar 
 Marye, was the first Judge of the County Court. 
 
 In 185(5 he made a trip to the Atlantic States, partly 
 to enjoy a perioii of well-earned rest and recreation, 
 but mainly for the purjioso of putting his eldest son, 
 for whom he had received an ajipointment from his 
 friend, (Jeneral Denver, Member of Congress at that 
 time from California, at the Military Academj- at 
 West Point. After his return to San Francisco the 
 following year he was urged by many of his friends 
 to become a candidate for the United States Senate, 
 but his partner in business had died in the mean- 
 while, and the necessity of giving his entire atten- 
 tion to his own private atl'airs im])elled him to de- 
 cline. About this time he built the house at the 
 northwest corner of East and Alarket Streets, and in 
 front of the house a large wharf running out into 
 the bay. The house still stands as he built it, but 
 the wharf has long since disajjpaared, and its site is 
 now occu)>ied by a portion of East Street, the sea- 
 wall and the ferry slips at the foot of Market Street. 
 In 1859 ho again went East, leaving a power of at- 
 torney with the brother of his former partner, who 
 was at that time Xavj' Agent of the port of San 
 Francisco, and who also represented the heirs-at-law 
 of his deceased brother. Mr. Marj-e, after staying 
 some time in the Atlantic States, went with his fam- 
 ily to iMirope. He traveled through England, Franc© 
 and Italy, and then, leaving his family abroad, re- 
 turned to America and arrived in California in 1860. 
 On his return he found that his agent had seriously 
 compromised all his interests and had gravely in- 
 volved his entire estate. The situation was one to 
 try the nerves and the fortitude of anj- man. and if 
 there had been a weak spot in his armor so unex- 
 pected and heavy a blow would have reached it. 
 But he showed no signs of discouragement. What- 
 ever may have been his feelings, he gave expression 
 to few words of complaint, lie fully recognized 
 th.it the fault was largolj- his own in leaving his 
 business and in trusting too much to the hands 
 of another, and he at once set about with redoubled 
 energy and vigor to repair what had been done, to 
 extricate his property from its incumbrances and 
 to unravel the legal meshes that had been woven 
 around it. The work was a long and tedious one, 
 but he never paused or stayed his hand until he had 
 brought it to a successful end. 
 
 When he came back from Eui-ope in IStiO, Mr. 
 Mar}-e wrote an oloiiuent letter to the Legislature 
 then in session at Sacramento, urging the jiurchase 
 by the Slate of Hiram Powers' beautiful statue of 
 "California," which he had seen in the sculi)lor'8 
 studio at Florence. 'J'he suggestion was well received 
 and would probably have been acted upon, but it was 
 made at a time when the shadow of the great strug- 
 gle imjjending between the States was already rest- 
 ing upon the land, and in the hush that precedes the 
 battle, as in the clash of arms, the art* of ])eace are 
 forgotten. The statue was afterwards bought by a 
 citizen of California, was taken to the State, and is 
 believed to be still there. 
 
 After Mr. Mar3-o had restored order to his affairs 
 and j)laced himself again securely in the possession 
 of his own, ho made another trij) to lOurope to join 
 his family. Ho traveled extensively with his wife 
 
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 and daughter during the years 18C:i-G4, and returned 
 to California at the close of the latter year, after 
 leaving his younger son at the University of Cam- 
 bridge, in England. For the next few years he was 
 principally engaged in settling old matters connected 
 with his former business, and in the accomplishment 
 of this he made several trips to the Atlantic States. 
 
 In 18G9 he went to Virginia City, Nevada, to 
 engage in banking and the brokerage business, and 
 the step proved to have been well-timed, for not very 
 long afterward came the great excitement in the 
 stock market attendant upon the Crown Point and 
 Belcher discovery, and still later the unprecedented 
 upheaval of the bonanza period. The story of those 
 great discoveries has been too often told to need to 
 be repeated here, but, as maj' bo readilj' supposed, 
 they were like the floods of Pactolus to those whose 
 business it was to handle the stocks of the Washoe 
 mines. Mr. JIarye's business, which had been very 
 large during the Crown Point and Belcher excite- 
 ment, became enormous during the era of wild specu- 
 lation following upon the Consolidated Virginia and 
 California development. The rush was so great that 
 his office in Virginia was never closed day or night. 
 It used to be kept open for customers from eight 
 o'clock in the morning to eight in the evening, then 
 the day clerks left and a night shift, as the^- say in 
 Virginia, went to work, that is, a set of clerks who 
 wrote up the books during the night. The mental 
 and nervous strain of such a business was very con- 
 siderable, but .Mr. Marj-c kept it well in hand, and it 
 is worthy of remark as ilhistralivc of the independ- 
 ence of his character and his strength of will, that 
 during this whole period while he was right in the 
 midst of the excitement, and living, as one might 
 say, in an atmosphere of stocks, in constant inter- 
 course with men who were dealing largely and grow- 
 ing rich through their ventures, he never bought or 
 sold a single share of stock on his own account. He 
 was wont to say that the profits of his business, if 
 he would keep them, were enough for him. 
 
 In November, IStJa, he opened his own office in 
 San Francisco, his younger son, George T. .Mar^-e, Jr., 
 who some time before had given up the practice of 
 the law to join him in business, taking charge of it. 
 Before this time -Mr. Marye had carried on such por- 
 tions of his business as re(iuired to be executed in 
 San Francisco through corres])ondents. but his ti-ans- 
 actions had now assumed such jiroportions that it 
 became necessary for him to have his own otiice 
 there. This arrangement, too, was desirable as a 
 means of saving monej-, for during the last two years 
 that he did business through others, he paid his San 
 Francisco correspondent over a hundred and eleven 
 thousand dollars commissions. (The exact sum was 
 8111,474.41.) Since the establishment of the house 
 in San Francisco the tendciic}' has been to make it 
 the main olfice, and it has now become so, Mr. .Marye 
 giving it much of his own time and attention. Dur- 
 ing the Sierra Nevada and I'liion excitement in 
 1878, the two offices, cspeciall3' the one in San 
 Francisco, did as much business as in bonanza 
 times, but the profits were not so great, as the 
 prices of stocks were not so hiL,li. In 1879, ho gave 
 his nephew, Orrick VV. Marye, an interest in the 
 business in Virginia, so that now he is able to devote 
 his time to the two offices without finding it neces- 
 sary to give his personal attention as closely as for- 
 merly to the details of either. 
 
 Since his residence in Virginia he has been hardly 
 less of a builder than in early days in California. 
 One of the most noticeable buildings in Virginia was 
 built by him in 1874. It is called Marye's Building, 
 
 and still belongs to him. He is, it is believed, the 
 largest individual owner of real estate in the town, 
 and although it is not now a verj' desirable class of 
 property, he has no cause to complain, for it paid 
 him for a number of years two and three and even 
 four per cent, a month. 
 
 Mr. Marye, since he became a citizen of Nevada, 
 has continued to show the same interest in public 
 affairs that he has always displaj-ed. Though neither 
 holding nor caring for office he has furnished a shin- 
 ing example to that numerous body of good citizens 
 who, because thej- are engaged in the active pur- 
 suits of an engrossing business, think that they are 
 relieved from the duty of giving any attention to 
 public matters. He has been prominentlj- connected 
 with the Democratic party in his State and has 
 worked hard to promote its interests and those of 
 good government. To the combined efibrts of him- 
 self and those of the gentlemen of the State Cen- 
 tral Committee is due in no small measure the 
 brilliant success of the Democracy in carrying the 
 State in the Garfield- Hancock campaign. 
 
 Mr. Marj'e, as may be seen from the engraving 
 accompanj-ing this sketch, is a man of striking ap- 
 pearance. In stature he is above the medium heighth, 
 with a well proportioned muscular frame. He has 
 gray hair (formcrlj- auburn), a broad, massive fore- 
 head, bright, searching eyes, an a<iuiline nose, and a 
 firm, positive mouth, with well-shaped regular teeth. 
 His face is a correct oval and clean shaven, excepting 
 the mustache. His hand is small and well-shaped, 
 white as a woman's and strong as a vice. The gen- 
 eral expression of the face is that of decison and 
 energy. If family mottoes are any indication of 
 their dominant traits, the motto of the Marye's, 
 that "persistent effort overcomes all obstacles'' (om- 
 nia vincil per/ina.i- virfus) is singularly appropriate, at 
 least to the member of the family who forms the sub- 
 ject of this sketch. He is constitutionallj- unable to 
 give up what he has undertaken, or to abandon what 
 he has once set his mind upon. Persistent endeavor is 
 no efi'ort to him, it is his nature. A good master of 
 human nature, and endowed with a sound, cool 
 judgment, he is able to make up his mind promptly, 
 without much fear of mistake, and these qualities, 
 which are supplemented by an easy, graceful hand- 
 writing, a power of rapid calculation, and a com- 
 plete knowledge of book-keeping, make him a thor- 
 ough business man, and give him great facilities in 
 the dispatch of business. Ho is a fast friend, and 
 benefits and injuries seem to bo alike indcliblj- im- 
 pressed upon his memory. Incidents of his boyhood, 
 of his early manhood, and of his riper years aro 
 apparently as vivid in his recollection as if they 
 had occurred but j'csterday. He is generous and 
 liberal to a sur]irising degree, and it is a good ])roof 
 of the strength of his character, that the impulses 
 of his heart are just as warm when he is exposed 
 to the chilling blasts of adversity as when enjoying 
 the genial glow of prosperity. During a long career 
 he has been often tried but never found wanting. 
 
 Mr. JIaryc has three children, two sons and a 
 daughter. His eldest son, William A. .Maiyo, holds 
 the commission of Major in the United States Army, 
 and is now in command of the Arsenal at Augusta, 
 Georgia; hisdaughlor .Vda is married to Dr. Joseph C. 
 Bail}', Surgeon in the rnited States Army, and now 
 stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco; and his 
 second son, George T. Marye, Jr., is his ])artner 
 in business, and President of the Stock Exchange, 
 and Chairman of the Democratic County Committee 
 of San Francisco. 
 
LAKES AND RIVERS. 
 
 109 
 
 niAi'TKU XVI. 
 RIVERS AND LAKES- 
 
 The Humboiat River— The South Fork— The Truckee River— 
 Wiilkfr River — Carson Kivor — The Amarfjioa — The Veg.is — 
 The Rio Virgeii — Qiiiii RiviT — The Lakes of Nevaila — 
 UuiiibuKlt — Carson — Walker — ryraniid — \\';ishoe — Tahoe 
 — Ruby — Franklin — Marlette. 
 
 The rivers of Nevada are few in mimbcr and 
 small in size. There is jirobaMy no other country 
 of equal extent of territory, within the jurisdiction 
 of the United States, so j)oorly su]ii)lied with run- 
 nini; streams as the State of Nevada. 
 
 With over 1(1(1,000 square miles of territory, 
 stretcliini^ across tlie western half of the Groat 
 Basin, from the (Jreat American Desert on the east, 
 to the summit of the Sierra Nevada on the west, a 
 distance of over 300 miles, and from the thirty- 
 fifth to the fortj-'second parallel of north latitude, 
 being ncarlj* SOO hundred miles in length, it does 
 not contain, within its borders, one navigable sti-eam, 
 the Colorado forming for a short distance its south- 
 eastern boundary' being indirt'ercntlj' navigable. 
 
 With the exception of the Owyhee lliver, which 
 rises in the northeastern portion of the State, and 
 flows with a long sweep to the west, thence north 
 into the Snake, and thence through the Columbia 
 River into the ocean, and a few small streams in the 
 southeast which flow into the Colorado, it contains 
 no streams whose waters reach the ocean. All those 
 immense bodies of water that gather upon the east- 
 ern slope of the Sierra Nevada, and upon the numer- 
 ous ranges of mountains that divide and subdivide 
 the State and flow down to their base, are absorbed 
 by the soil, either immediately upon reaching the 
 plains, or are discharged into lakes and reservoirs 
 somewhere within the borders of the State itself. 
 
 The rivers ai"e formed from s])nngs and the melted 
 snows of the mountains, and until heated by the sun 
 or corrupted by the soil over which they pass, or 
 through which they run after reaching the plains 
 below, their waters arc pure and cold. Some of the 
 smaller rivers, more properly called creeks, come 
 abruptly to the surface, having no visible source. 
 Their waters, pure as crystal, flow briskly along the 
 ])laiiis for many miles, and then disai)pear, leaving 
 the bed of the stream dry for long distances, when 
 the water again comes to the surface and resumes 
 its onward flow. 
 
 This gives a broken appearance to them, and like 
 tlie mountain ranges, they seldom have connected 
 or continuous courses. 
 
 Many of the streams have rapid currents when 
 they first leave the base of the mountains, and with 
 large volumes of water flow with great strength for 
 many miles, and then suddenly weaken and give 
 out, and, as though weary with the struggle for 
 existence, they retire ]K'rmanentlj- beneath the sur- 
 face of the earth and never apjiear again. While 
 the rivers of Nevada are useless for navigation pur- 
 poses, they are of great value i'or irrigation. The 
 14 
 
 rains u])on the plains and over the whole State are 
 very meagov; by no means suflicient to furnish the 
 necessary moisture for growing cro])s. This lack is 
 supplied by the waters of these streams; and largo 
 tracts of land, which would otherwise be barren and 
 utterly worthless, have become productive, and in 
 many instances, very valuable. 
 
 HUMBOI-DT RIVER 
 
 Is the largest and most important stream in the 
 State; and is the only one flowing from cast to west 
 through the Great Basin. Its valley formed the 
 ordinary emigrant route i'rom the Great Salt fjake 
 to California; and the Central Pacific Railroad now 
 follows its banks through nearly its whole course. 
 It rises in the tiooso f'reek Kange, in the northeast 
 corner of the State, 7,000 feet above the level of the 
 sea, and runs in a southwesterly direction over 300 
 miles, emi)tying into Ilnmboldl Luke on the bordei-s 
 of Churchill and Humboldt Counties, 4,100 feet 
 above the level of the sea, giving a descent to the 
 stream of near 3.000 feel from its source to its mouth. 
 Most of the way it flows through a region of country 
 consisting of sandj- plains, destitute of vegetation or 
 trees, except immediately along the stream, and 
 during the summer months its banks swarm with 
 flies, mosquitoes, gnats, and other insects. These 
 are most numerous along the lower portion of the 
 river and about the lake. On either side ol' the 
 Humboldt Valley and in places long distant from 
 the river are numerous mountain gorges, down 
 which ambitious streams leap, and strive to reach 
 the main channel, but, though promising well at 
 first, except in seasons of more than usual snow and 
 rain, they fail; and gradually sinking away, disap- 
 pear in the sand. The Ivittle Humboldt on the 
 north and the Reese on the south are noted exam- 
 ples. The former rises in Cotton Range, about 100 
 miles to the north, and flows to the south through 
 Paradise Valley, with much force of current, but 
 long before the main stream is reached it sinks in 
 the sand and disai>iiears. The Reese rises 200 miles 
 to the south, in the Toiyabe IJange, and for nearly 
 100 miles is a stream of considerable magnitude and 
 im])ortance. Before reaching Jacobsvillo, in Ijander 
 County, the volume of its waters is materially dimin- 
 ished, and forty miles beyond they disappear 
 entirely. It is said that in seasons of an unusual 
 fall of snow and rain, this stream flows to the Hum- 
 boldt, but this does not often happen, if ever. This 
 portion of the valley is barren and almost wholly 
 worthless — with scant vegetation and no timber, 
 there being for over sixtj- miles not a stick of timber 
 largo enough for a fence rail. The upper portion of 
 ' the valley is much better. Years ago, at the time of 
 I the early settlement of what are now Nye and Ijan- 
 der Counties, the valley of the Reese was quickly 
 i occupied by farmers and herdsmen and was made 
 wonderfully rich and jiroduclive by irrigating the 
 soil from this stream and the creeks and rivulets 
 
110 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 tributary thereto. The silver mines in the Toiyabe 
 Range of mountains were first discovered in 1862. 
 The overland stages crossed the vallej- i-i<> Jacobs- 
 ville and Austin; now the Nevada Central Railway 
 threads the valley from Battle Mountain to Austin, & 
 distance of ninety-three miles, from which stages 
 continue southerly up the valley crossing the Sho- 
 shone Range, its western border, to Grantsville in 
 Nye County. The river was named in 1859 by Cap- 
 tain -Simpson of the U. S. Army in honor of John 
 Reese who first explored the route crossing it from 
 Salt Lake to Carson Yallej'. 
 
 In Elko County, the north and south forks of the 
 Humboldt join the main stream, each rising about 
 one hundred miles away, in opposite directions. The 
 North Fork is a stream of considerable strength, ris- 
 ing in the northwest section of the Goose Creek 
 range, flowing southerly and receiving manj' small 
 creeks and rivulets in its course. The valley of this 
 fork is from five to seven miles wide, is covered with 
 a heavy growth of grass, and bj- means of irrigation 
 is susceptible of a high state of cultivation. The 
 length of the seasons and the early and late frosts, 
 due to its high altitude, however, give no guarantee 
 of a matured crop. The Goose Creek Mountains, 
 where the main stream of the Humboldt River rises, 
 form a rough and broken range; but the sides and 
 gulches afford an abundance of water and pasture. 
 It was upon this range, a little to the northwest of 
 Cedar Pass, that the weary and travel-worn emi- 
 grant first found water and food for himself and 
 beasts of burden, after passing the parched and life- 
 less desert lying immediately to the east. 
 
 The South Fork rises in the Diamond Range of 
 mountains, flows nearly due north through Hunt- 
 ington Valley, a fair agricultural country, and enter.s 
 the Humboldt from ten to twelve miles west of Elko. 
 There are numerous unimportant creeks and rivulets 
 that flow into the vallej^ of the Humboldt from the 
 various mountain ranges that skirt its borders. 
 Some succeed in reaching the river, but for the 
 most part they sink away and disappear in the 
 sands far back in the valley. The main stream is 
 about one hundred feet wide, and from four to six 
 feet deep. Towards its mouth the waters are brack- 
 ish, and so great is the waste from evaporation and 
 absorption that more water is lost from these causes 
 than is gained from the tributaries; and it is not so 
 large at its mouth as it is 200 miles above. The 
 same is true of most of the rivers of the State. The 
 name was given it in honor of the groat German 
 scientist and traveler, IJaron Von Humboldt, by 
 Fremont. 
 
 THE TRUCKEE RIVER 
 
 Is not so long as the Humboldt, but being a more 
 rapid stream, dL-^charges a much greater volume of 
 water during the year. It receives its supplj' 
 directly from Eake Tahoe, at an elevation of G,1G7 
 feet above the level of the sea, running north twelve 
 miles, when it is joined by the Little Ti'uckco, flow- 
 
 ing from Donner Lake. The accumulated waters 
 then turn and run east sixty -nine miles, when, turn- 
 ing to the north again and running sixteen miles, 
 discharge into Pyramid Lake, at an elevation ol 
 4,890 feet above the level of the sea, making a 
 descent of over 1,277 feet in ninety -seven miles. 
 The water is cold and pure throughout its entire 
 course, and flows with a rapid current. The upper 
 portions of the Truckee Valley are excellent farm- 
 ing lands. The banks for nearly fifty miles are 
 covered with heavy forests of spruce and pine, 
 which are being manufactured into lumber and 
 shingles by mills chiefly propelled by the power of 
 its falling waters. The Truckee is distinguished for 
 the quantity and quality of its fish, a variety usually 
 denominated " Lake Bigler trout," and from this 
 pleasant characteristic received from Fremont the 
 name of Salmon Trout River. In accordance with 
 the provisions of the Legislature, the waters of the 
 Truckee were stocked with McCloud River salmon 
 in 187!), and as a result, good and profitable fishing 
 maj- be had at the present time. By State author- 
 ity, the Carson, Walker, Humboldt, and other rivers 
 of the State are to be stocked with fish. A name- 
 less savage had been given the appellation of 
 Truckee by some emigrants, and afterwards guid- 
 ing another l)arty of travelers up the valley of the 
 river, was complimented by giving his name to the 
 stream. 
 
 WALKER RIVER, 
 
 In point of size, ranks next to the Truckee. It is 
 formed by the union of two forks which rise in the 
 Sierra Nevada Mountains, that unite about thirty 
 miles from their source. Thence the main stream 
 runs northerly about twenty miles, and taking a 
 turn to the east and south stretches away about 
 thirty miles, when it empties into Walker Lake, 
 about forty miles south of Carson Lake. In its 
 tortuous course it traverses about 100 miles. In the 
 valleys along this river is some of the best agricul- 
 tural land in the State, and on which now resides 
 some of its most prosperous farmers, as will be seen 
 by reference to some of the illustrations in this work, 
 i-epresenting some of the homes in Mason's Valle3^ 
 The Walker was named by Fremont in honor of 
 Capt. .lose])h Walker, a noted mountaineer, trapper, 
 and guide. 
 
 CARSON RIVER, 
 
 Ivike the Walker and Humboldt, is formed by the 
 confluence of two streams, and has no other tribu- 
 taries of any magnitude. 
 
 The East Carson is the main branch, rising in 
 Alpine County, California, having its source in the 
 Blue Lakes on the very summit of the Sierra Nevada, 
 from which also flows the Mokelumne, running west- 
 ward. After following a sinuous course through the 
 deep cafions and heavy pine forests of the eastern 
 slope it enters Carson Valley, flowing northward, 
 and is joined by the West Carson a few miles south 
 of Genoa, in Douglas County. Thence the main 
 
LAKES AND RIVERS. 
 
 Ill 
 
 stream pasties to the norlheai^t through Ormsbj*, 
 Store}', and Lyon Counties, and discharges its waters 
 into Careon Lake. From its source to its mouth it 
 is less than 200 miles by the river's course, including 
 the two forks. It has an average width of about 
 sixty feet, and a depth of three or four feet. How- 
 ever, as it is fed from the melting snows of the 
 Sierra, it is subject to great variations in this respect. 
 The land, aggregating a large area bordering on 
 the river, is very productive where irrigable, j-ield- 
 ing largely in haj', grain and vegetables. 
 
 Genoa, the county seat of Douglas County, is 
 situated in the valley of the Carson, and is sur- 
 rounded by a numerous and thrifty agricultural 
 population. 
 
 The Carson may be called the only navigable 
 river in the State. Many thousands of cords of 
 wood are yearly floated down it, to supply the 
 demands for fuel at Virginia, Carson, and other 
 towns, and for the numerous quartz-mills in Storej' 
 and Lyon Counties. The quartz-mill owners along 
 the Carson River, from Empire to Dayton, have suc- 
 ceeded, to a large extent, in securing by some means 
 (the farmers claim by foul, and the mill men assert 
 by fair) the use of the Carson waters. When this 
 stream is low and the mills in operation, the ranchers 
 are, to a large extent, prevented from using it for 
 irrigation, and this seriously interferes with the 
 agricultural industries in Carson Valley. Fremont 
 also has the honor of giving a name to this river, 
 calling it after his favorite guide, Kit Carson. 
 
 THE AMARGOSA 
 
 Is a singular river of the desert, rising in the Mount- 
 ain Spring range of the Amargosa Mountains, in the 
 southwest corner of Nye County, and running in a 
 southeasterly course about 150 miles, sometimes on 
 the surface and sometimes underground, it tui-ns 
 around the southern end of the range, and returning 
 to the northwest, it disappears in Death "\'^alley, a 
 depression on the borders ©f the State of California, 
 175 feet below the level of the sea. Before sinking, 
 the water becomes so saturated with the salts, alkalies, 
 and other ingredients of the soil through which it 
 flows, that it becomes bitter and unpleasant to the 
 taste, hence the Spanish name of Amargosa. 
 
 The Vegas and the Rio Virgen are small streams 
 in the southeast corner of the State, which rise in 
 the broken mountains of that region, and flow 
 into the Colorado River. At Las Vega (The 
 Meadows), where the first is encountered on the 
 " Old Spanish Trail," is a large area of fertile soil, as 
 its name implies. •' Rio Virgen " is a name the 
 Spanish explorei-s delighted to give in gratitude for 
 finding a pure running stream in so desolate a wil- 
 derness. 
 
 In the northwestern part of the State, Quin 
 River rises in the Santa Rosa Ilills of the Owyhee 
 Range. Its general course is south for nearly 
 eighty miles, when it turns west and runs towards 
 
 and sometimes into Mud Sink. Quin Valley, for 
 sixtj- or seventy miles along this river, is from three 
 to seven miles wide, and has rich grazing land its 
 whole length. 
 
 THE LAKES OF NEVADA. 
 
 As delineated on the maps, a great portion of 
 western Nevada appears covered by vast sheets of 
 water; but this is deceptive, as much of the area so 
 represented are mere mud-flats, occasionally inun- 
 dated. There arc, however, several large lakes of 
 permanent and deep water, Ij'ing in the greatest 
 depression of the basin, these being Pyramid, Hum- 
 boldt, Carson, and Walker Lakes, although two of 
 these, Humboldt and Carson, vary greatly in area, 
 and are too shallow for navigation. These four 
 lakes receive the waters of as many rivers, and in 
 seasons of excessive rain-fall spread over the adja- 
 cent country and make other lakes. Having no 
 outlets, their waters consequently being absorbed 
 by evaporation are, at a short distance from the 
 mouths of the streams feeding them, salt and bitter. 
 The theory, at one time entertained, that these lakes 
 had a subterranean outlet, or percolated through 
 the rocks to the ocean, is no longer regarded, evap- 
 oration from so extended surfaces being sufficient to 
 exhaust the inflow. 
 
 HUMBOLDT LAKE. 
 
 This lake is 4,100 feet above the level of the sea. 
 It is situated on the line between Humboldt and 
 Churchill Counties, and receives the watei-s of the 
 Humboldt River. It is thirty miles long and ten 
 miles wide. In reality it is merely a widening of 
 the river at this point, for in years of extreme high 
 water the stream flows through this basin to an out- 
 let in the lake, and passes on to what is known as 
 the liower Carson Sink, a few miles to the south. 
 
 CARSON LAKE 
 
 Is directlj'' south of Humboldt, and is twenty-five 
 miles long and ten miles wide, receiving the 
 largo volume of water discharged from the Carson 
 River. In wet seasons, when the streams from the 
 east and west have overflowed the lowlands about 
 these lakes, they continue tlieir course towards each 
 o.ther, and form what is known as the Lower Carson 
 Sink or Lake, thus creating an inland sea that grad- 
 ually increasing its dimensions from its double supply 
 eventually covers the intervening country and the 
 two Carson Lakes become one, stretching north to 
 near the Humboldt Sink or Lake, a distance of 
 eighty miles or more. These lakes have no visible 
 outlets, but so powerful are the sun's rays over this 
 region that their waters disappear, and in dry sea- 
 sons the lakes themselves are materially diminished 
 in size and the countr}' around is left parched and 
 dry. 
 
 WALKKR LAKE, 
 
 Lying in Esmeralda County, about forty miles south 
 of Carson Lake, is forty miles long from north to 
 south, and with a varying width of from five to fif- 
 
112 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 teen miles, and is fed by the waters of the Walker 
 Eiver. The lake is navis^'uble, small steamboats plyinji 
 on its surface, and is flanked on either side by high 
 mountains and rugged hills, which are dry and barren 
 being almost destitute of wood or water. The princi 
 pal of these is Mount Corey, which with its spurs 
 shields the water from the sudden and severe gusts of 
 wind which prevail along the eastern base of the 
 Sierra. The shores are irregular and indented with 
 small bays and inlets. The lake and river abound in 
 salmon trout, but not so numerous or so well flavored 
 as those in the Pyramid and Tahoe. Near the em- 
 houchure of the river spreads a large area of fertile 
 soil, and on the eastern shore runs the Carson and 
 Colorado Railroad. 
 
 PyRAMID LAKE, 
 
 The largest bodj' of water whoU}' within the limits 
 of the State, is thirty-five miles long and twelve 
 miles wide, and is situated in Hoop County, near the 
 western line of the State. It takes its name from a 
 rock rising from its center COO feet above its surface, 
 and having the shape of a pyramid. It has consid- 
 erable depth of water, and the scenery about it is 
 grand and picturesque — precipitous mountains from 
 2,000 to 3,000 feet high walling it in on either side. 
 It receives the flow from the Truckee liiver which 
 discharges an immense volume of pure, cold water 
 into it. In the summer when the melting snows 
 swell the Truckee, an overflow of its banks occurs 
 near its mouth, and the escaping water running 
 through a channel to the northeast forms a twin 
 lake to the ryramid that has been given the name 
 of Winnemueca. In the mountains along the 
 Truckee are numerous saw-mills which discharge 
 their sawdust into the stream which is carried to 
 the lake and has created a shoal. This shoal dam 
 ming the outlet to the river has caused a greater 
 quantity of water than formerly to flow into Winne- 
 mueca Lake, thus largely increasing its depth and 
 area, some five feet having been added to its depth. 
 
 WASHOE LAKE, 
 
 In the eastern part of the valley of that name, in the 
 southern part of Washoe County, embraces about 
 six square miles, with shallow and alkaline waters, 
 fed by small sireams which flow from the Sierra on 
 the west into the valley, where they sink and then 
 rise again in the lake. 
 
 LAKE TAllOK, 
 
 By far tlie most noted lake on the Pacific Coast, 
 is situated on the Sierra Neva<la Mountains, at an 
 elevation of over 0,000 feet above the level of the sea, 
 and fourteen miles west of Carson City, lying one- 
 third in the State of Nevada, occupj-ing the westerly 
 portions of Douglas, Ormsby and Washoe Counties, 
 and two-thirds in the Slate of California. The bound- 
 ary lino of the two States jiasses from the north to 
 the center of the lake, to the intersevlion of the 
 thirty-ninth parallel of north latitude, when it diverges 
 
 to the southeast. The lake is twenty-two miles long, 
 ten miles wide anU 1,700 feet deep, the waters being 
 cold and clear as crystal, and noted for their want 
 of bouyancy. From this quality and the great depth 
 to which they sink, persons drowned in the lake never 
 rise to the surface. The main body of the waters 
 maintain a nearly equal temperature at all seasons, 
 ice forming only near the shore, where also the 
 warmth of summer renders bathing pleasant. 
 
 It abounds in trout of a large size and fine flavor. 
 The coast is indented with beautiful bays and inlets, 
 and small villages are built along its shores. Steam- 
 boats cross from shore to shore daily, and sailing 
 j-achts are kept for the accommodation of the 
 pleasure-seeking public. There are good hotels, and 
 it is a pleasant summer resort for tourists. At its 
 north end are the celebrated hot springs, lying near 
 the Nevada line and within the State; and not far 
 distant from them is a beautiful spring of clear, cold 
 water, entirely free from mineral taste. On the west 
 side, about six miles from Tahoe City, is a spur of 
 mountains covered with a dense forest of sugar- 
 pine, the most valuable timber for lumber on the 
 Pacific Coast. On each side of this spur are fine 
 streams of water running into the lake. Not far dis- 
 tant to the south is Emerald Bay, a beautiful inlet 
 about four hundred yards wide at its mouth and 
 widening as it extends inland for nearly two miles, 
 forming one of the most beautiful inland harbors in 
 the world. Lake Creek, which comes from the hills 
 far to the south, and is fed by their springs and 
 snows, enters Lake Tahoe at its south end. The 
 valley of this creek is adorned with green meadows 
 and growing fields from the mountain slype to the 
 lake, and is one of the loveliest to be found in the 
 Sierra. To the north of the entrance of Lake Creek, 
 and on either side of the lake, peaks of the Sierra 
 rise from three to four thousand feet above the sur- 
 face, and are covered with snow nearly two-thirds 
 of the year. The waters of this wonderful reservoir 
 are derived whollj' from the springs and snows of the 
 surrounding mountains, and the Truckee Uivor on 
 the northwest is its outlet. This celebrated resort 
 is reached by stage, either from Truckee or Carson 
 Cities; it being about twelve miles from the former 
 and fourteen from the latter place. 
 
 Ruby and Franklin are two small lakes situated 
 in the valleys along the east base of the Humboldt 
 or Rub}' range of mountains, in the southwestern 
 portion of Elko County. In high water thej' become 
 united, and form a sheet of brackish water about 
 fifteen miles long, and seven miles wide. They 
 have no outlet, and are merely reservoirs, where the 
 surplus waters of the surrounding mountains accu- 
 mulate, and are absorbed in the land and evaporated 
 in the dry summer. About twenty miles east is 
 Gosh-Ule Lake or pond, and to the northeast, about 
 the same distance, is Snow Lake. These are smaller, 
 but possess the same characteristics as the othera. 
 
GEOLOGY OF NEVADA. 
 
 113 
 
 DONNEll LAKE. 
 
 Donner, iloiic}'. Mono, and Owens Lakes, tliouijli 
 not within the State, yet forminj^ a ])arl of that 
 series of reservoirs lyinijj aloiii; the rim of the 
 Great Basin, and near the line of Nevada, are j)er- 
 haps entitled to a passing notice here. Donner 
 Lake lies two and a half miles northwest of Truckeo. 
 It is about three miles long, one mile wide, and 200 
 feet deep. This, and Lake Tahoe, are thought by 
 some to be craters of extinct volcanoes, the mount- 
 ains around them presenting evidence of volcanic 
 formation. The waters are cold, and clear as crystal. 
 It is surrounded on three sides with towering mount- 
 ains, which are covered with a heavy growth of fir, 
 8]iruce, and pine. Its watei-s are discharged into 
 the Truckee liiver. 
 
 HONEY L.\KE 
 
 Is a circular sheet of water, about ten miles across, 
 and lies fitly miles north of Truckee City. Willow 
 and Susan Creeks from the north, and Lone \^allcj- 
 Creek from the south, supply its waters. It has no 
 outlet and its waters are shallow and strongly alka- 
 line, and in extremely dry summers they disappear 
 entirely. 
 
 MONO LAIvE 
 
 Is situated in Mono County, California, about ten 
 miles from the Xevada State line; is fourteen miles 
 long and nine wide, and has been sounded to the 
 depth of 300 feet and no bottom found. The waters 
 are so acrid as to render them unfit for drinking, and 
 even bathers, while delighted with the first immer- 
 sion cannot long continue the pleasure with safety 
 to their epidermis. Leather immersed in i'. is soon 
 destroj'ed by its corrosive properties, and no animal, 
 not even fish or frogs, can exist within it for anj^ 
 great length of time. The peaks of the Sierra in 
 this region reach their greatest altitude, and the 
 scenery aliout Lake Mono is varied and majestic. It 
 is fed by streams from the surrounding mountains, 
 and, although it has no outlet, the dr^mess of the 
 atmosphere keejjs it at about the same level by the 
 process of rapid evaporation. 
 
 OWENS LAKE, 
 
 Lying to the south of Mono, in Inyo County, is a 
 large and deep body of water, eighteen miles in 
 length by twelve in width, and is navigable for 
 steamers which have been used in the transportation 
 of ores and sup|)lies to mines on its eastern border. 
 The qualities of its waters are similar to those of 
 Mono, but notsostronglj- alkaline. The Sierra Nevada 
 Mountains form the background on the west, and 
 supply its waters. Like the other lakes of the 
 basin it has no outlet, evaporation exhausting the 
 water poured into it b}- Owens River, a stream of 
 150 miles in length. 
 
 .MAKLETTE LAKE 
 
 Is a small body of pure, cold water, situate on the 
 mountains forming the northeast portion of the rim 
 of fiake Taboo, covering about ."iOO acres of ground 
 
 and is from thirty to forty feet deep in the center. 
 Virginia City is supplied with water from th-s lake. 
 It is claimed that Jlarlette Lake has an altitude of 
 1,500 feet above C street, Virginia, which places 
 it about 1,G00 feet above the surface of Lake Taboo, 
 or about 7.7(10 feet above the level of the sea. This 
 is probably the highest lake in the world whose 
 waters have been used to supply cities having large 
 populations. 
 
 CHAPTEIl XVII. 
 GEOLOGY OF NEVADA. 
 
 Baron Itichthofeu on the Comstock — General Structure of Corn- 
 stock Veins — Inclosing Rock — Outcroppiugs — Vein M.itter — 
 Clay anil Clayey Matters — (^)nartz, Character of — Variety of 
 Ores — lleniarks on (Jeiieral (ieology, taken from Clarence 
 King's Ueports — The Glacial Epoch— Living Glaciers — Local 
 Characteristics — The Mountain .Syatem — Origin of Mineral 
 Veins — l''uture Mining Prospects. 
 
 Some account of the geology of the State is neces- 
 sary' to make constantly recurring references to the 
 mines intelligible. The larger part of our readers 
 have, perhaps, carefully read the published works of 
 Baron Eichthofen, ]{a3-mond, Clarence King, and 
 others, on the geology of the Comstock Lode, and 
 incidentally of the mines of other parts of the State. 
 This article is not intended for them, but for those 
 who have been denied the ))rivilege of reading tliose 
 works, or observing more than a limited area of the 
 State. 
 
 The basin like character of much of the State has 
 been referred to in another part of the work. Some 
 time in past ages an upheaval of mountains took 
 place, so peculiarly arranged as to inclose within 
 their embraces several hundred thousand square 
 miles of deep sea with all the minerals held in solu- 
 tion in the waters, such as soda, magnesia, silex 
 arsenic, antimony, iron, sulphur, as well as gold and 
 silver. North and south of Nevada the seas found 
 an outlet through the great rivers of the Columbia 
 and Colorado. In the great Utah basin they were 
 retained, and essentiall}' modified the whole charac- 
 ter of the land as well as the deposit of minerals 
 which took ])lace during man}' stages of the geolog- 
 ical eras. The vast beds of salt, borax, soda and 
 sulphur, with the thousand resulting compounds, are 
 the relics of that sea. If only the Sierra with the 
 accom]ianyiiig transverse mountains forming the 
 boundaries of the basins had boon elevated, we 
 should liave had a vast desert five or six hundred 
 miles across, a waste of alkali and soda flat, destitute 
 of animal and vegetable life, impassable for man or 
 beast; but the same forces which elevated the JJocky 
 Mountains, and subseiiuently the Sierra, also ele- 
 vated parallel but shorter ridges of mountains 
 between the two main ranges, some of whoso to])s 
 rise 10,000 feet above the sea level. In most 
 instances these U])lieavals were mainl}- in line with 
 great ranges of the Ilocky .Mountains and Sierra 
 Nevada, but often there wore transverse axes of 
 elevatioti which considerably modified the main lines 
 
114 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 of upheaval. To these interior longitudinal and 
 cross elevations we owe tlie fact of having mines 
 away from the Comstock series and the Colorado 
 deposits. Here we wish to caution our unscientific 
 readers against falling into the usual mistake of sup- 
 posing that these elevations were marked by any sud- 
 den elevations or catastrophes of any kind whatever, 
 though undoubtedly mother earth might have shaken 
 and groaned at times when all these mighty mount- 
 ain ranges were being evolved out of her bosom. 
 Time, an element of such prime importance, is one 
 of the infinite, inexhaustible quantities in nature's 
 laboratory, and the largest results may be wrought 
 out with the gentlest means. Foundations for con- 
 tinents 20,000 feet deep may be laid so slowly that a 
 hundred years may mark no sensible addition. In 
 this way the auriferous slates of California were 
 laid down ere the Sierra was raised from the bosom 
 of the deep. So the great valley of the Mississippi 
 was formed; so was the Great Basin, the future 
 treasure-house of the world. If we could have seen 
 an east and west section of Nevada during this era, 
 it would have presented something of the following 
 appearance: — 
 
 Though by no means so regular, some of the ele- 
 vations being much farther apart than others, some 
 being perhaps twenty, others a hundred miles 
 apart, and some of the elevations being thou- 
 sands of feet, others only hundreds. For the purpose 
 of illustrating the further changes of the strata and 
 fixing an ideal locality of llie mineral or ore bearing 
 portion, let the dark lines inclose the supposed min- 
 erals forming the future veins, for the valuable 
 minerals do not come out of the depths of the earth 
 like the floods of lava, but are the result of deposit 
 like the stratified rocks, perhaps having been held 
 in solution in the sea water. Other forces are intro- 
 duced. Along these lines of elevation volcanoes 
 broke out and sent floods of lava, the future propylites, 
 trachj-tes, and other forms of rocks, other than the 
 ordinary stratified rocks, associated with the min- 
 eral veins. With the elevation of the mountain 
 ranges came denudation of the upper portions, and a 
 deposit of tertiary matter in the retreating seas. 
 Some portions of these folded strata were 'so far 
 down into the earth as to become, or rather remain, 
 subject to a heat well known to increase on an 
 average one degree for each fifty feet, reaching per- 
 haps a higher than the boiling point, while the 
 upper portions were exposed to the lower tempera- 
 ture of the surface of the earth. The rents 
 
 and fissures, as well as the openings of natural 
 cleavage, would also be permeated by the heated 
 waters circulating through these fissures, all of 
 which would hold more or less minerals in solution. 
 If we could have seen an east and west section of 
 Nevada, it would have presented something of the 
 following appearance: — 
 
 Though the illustration is imperfect, as some of 
 the axes of elevation, like Mount Davidson, by this 
 time were several thousand feet above the surround- 
 ing country, and the strata of trachytes, propylites, 
 and other igneous rocks have become highly inclined, 
 following down the slopes of the newly-formed and 
 perhaps still rising mountains, the portions sur- 
 mounting the axes of elevation having been denuded 
 according to the second diagram in this article. 
 Before the upheaval or folding of the strata the dif- 
 ferent rocks would have had about the following po- 
 sition with respect to each other: — 
 
 Tnclyle. 
 
 Syenite, E 
 
 UR 
 
 Graaiuc Mt- 
 
 Authorities differ as to tlic plane of elevation at the 
 time of the deposit. Baron Hichthof'en, Clarence 
 King and Hossiter \V. ilaymond, were inclined to 
 give quite an inclination to the slopes at the time of 
 the outpour of proi>ylito and trachyte. John A. 
 Church, a later authoritj-, fixes the plane nearer a 
 horizontal. If Mount Davidson is the axis of eleva- 
 tion, which seems probable, it would look reasonable 
 that the elevation and eruption were contempora- 
 neous. The reader can elevate the diagram to suit 
 his theory. According to some writers on geology 
 (John A. Church, for one), sufficient time elajised 
 between the deposit of the propylite and the over- 
 flow of the trachyte for the surface of the former to 
 have been converted into soil, as charred and silici- 
 fied remains of timber and vegetable impressions are 
 plentiful in some places in the upturned strata. 
 
GEOLOGY OF NEVADA. 
 
 115 
 
 After the foldinj; or upheaval of the strata and sub- 
 sequent denudation of the portion over the axis of 
 elevation, a section would pi'esont the following ap- 
 
 pearance, with the exception, however, that as the 
 elevation was always in unuiiiial <iuantities, the 
 strata would bo rumpled and irregular: — 
 
 Syenite. 
 
 Main Lode. Propylite. 
 
 Trachyte. 
 
 The portion worn away by rains and other causes 
 is supposed to have been carried to the unrepre- 
 sented portion below the line of denudation, which 
 maj- be as many thousands of feet or more below 
 the level as the summit is above it, which, if we apply 
 the diagram to the Comstoek Lode, would be Mount 
 Davidson. 
 
 So far there is no appearance of mineral. Accord- 
 ing to Clarence King, the upheaval caused numerous 
 rents and fissures, even through the solid synitic 
 rock, and more especially along the line of junction 
 of the dift'ercnt rocks. Through the latter cleavages 
 or fissures poured out a third kind of lava called by 
 some andesite, on account of peculiar cr^-stallizations 
 found in it. It was of a dark color, and was known 
 by different names among the miners. It is known 
 to have been erupted subsequent to the upheaval of 
 the mountains, for it was spread out in horizontal 
 layers or strata over the inclined propylites and 
 trachytes, which formed the body of the mountain, 
 or elevation. Durinij this dinturh/mce the <jre<it Corn- 
 stock Lode was formed, the eruption of the veins 
 seeming to bo intimately connected with the deposit 
 of mineral. These rocks are frequently known as 
 porphyrj', a term rather descriptive than technical, 
 generally- meaning any kind of rock that has been 
 so far altered by heat, pressure or exchange of min- 
 eral bases as to have cr3'stals of feldspar, bearing 
 dift'erent names, scattered through the body of the 
 rock. Whenever in any of the dynamic disturb- 
 ances a portion of the overhanging wall broke off 
 and fell in the chasm, it subsequently became what 
 the miners called a poi-pkyry horse. Having made 
 those few preliminar3' explanations a description of 
 the Comstoek Ijodc, by Ferdinand Baron Ifichthofen, 
 than by whom no better authority can bo given, will 
 be read with interest. The description of the Corn- 
 stock Lode will to some extent atlbrd a key to the 
 geology of other parts of Nevada, and is there- 
 fore used in this portion of the work. 
 
 BARON RICHTHOPEN ON THE COMSTOCK. 
 
 The range of the Washoe iLountains, on which 
 the Comstoek vein is situated, is separated from the 
 steep eastern slope of the iSierra Nevada by a con- 
 tinuous meridional depression, marked by the deep 
 basins of Truckee. Washoe and Carson Valleys. 
 Its shape is irregular, though in general a direction 
 from south to north may be traced in the Summit 
 Range. South, it slojios gradually down to a smooth 
 table-land, traversed from west to east by the Carson 
 River flowing in a narrow crevice, beyond which the 
 Washoe Range continues in the more elevated Pino 
 Nut Mountains. Some i)eaks in the latter have an 
 altitude of probably more than !t,OU0 feet. To the 
 west the Washoe Mountains sink rapidly beneath 
 the detrital beds of Washoe and Truckee Valleys, 
 but are connected with the Sierra Nevada by two low 
 granite ridges, stretching at right angles with its 
 general course across the northern and southern ends 
 of Washoe Vallej-, and thus isolating the basin. To 
 the north and east the Washoe Range passes into a 
 very extensive mountainous region, which has been 
 but little explored; while to the southeast it disap- 
 pears abru])tly below one of the middle basins of 
 Carson River. The width of the entire range is not 
 more than fourteen miles, while its length from 
 north to south is not determinable on account of the 
 scanty knowledge wo possess about the northern 
 parts of tho country.* 
 
 The culminating point of the range is Mount 
 Davidson, tho elevation of which was determined by 
 J. D. Whitney, 7,827 feet. The altitude of the other 
 places are: Virginia City, (J.2(l5 feet; Devil's Gate, 
 5,105 feet; while the basins to the west and south have 
 the following elevations: Washoe Lake 5,(1(1(1 feet; 
 Carson City 4,G15 foot; Dayton, 4,4!)() feet; all accord- 
 ing to barometrical measurement bj- Professor 
 Whitney. 
 
 Mount ])avi<lson, the prominent central point, con- 
 sists of syenite, a granitic^ rock, wh'ch is hero com- 
 posed of two kinds of feldspar (orthoclase and oli- 
 goclase), hornblende in laminated ]irisms of greenish 
 black color, some mica, and occasionallj- epidate, Imt 
 no quartz. It is probably a continuation of the gran- 
 itic axis of the Pine Nut Mountains, and forms with 
 the metainiirphic rocks, which accomjyan}- it, the 
 backbone of the Washoe .Mountains. The latter 
 
 "This was writtun in I8ti(i. 
 
116 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 rocks join tho syenite to the north and south and 
 are intersected by dj-kes of that roek, thereby prov- 
 ing its later origin. Lithi)logically, they exhibit a 
 great variety; but they may be sui)divi(led into three 
 distinct gri)Uj)8, one of which is of fria^isic age, and 
 was discovered by Professor J. 1). Whitney in El 
 Dorado t'afion, near Dayton; this is the most recent 
 group, and its rocks are ordinarily but little metamor- 
 phosed. The}' are immediatelj- preceded in age by 
 a series of micaceous and f|uarlzose slates, which 
 usuallj^ contain some beds of limestone. Both these 
 grou])s occur onlj' at some distance from the Com- 
 stock vein. Of more importance, for the latter is a 
 third series of hornblendic ( uralitic) rocks with inter- 
 stratified layers of ([Uartzile, gray slate and crystal- 
 line laj'ers of limestoiie. which is often aecom])anied 
 by extensive deposits of crystalline limestone, with 
 extensive dejiosits of ])ure specular iron. These rocks 
 form the hills which flank the American I'^lat to the 
 west, as well as those between Silver City and Car- 
 son. They are capped b}' an overflow of quartzosc 
 ])orphj-ry, an eruptive rock, which, however, is of no 
 importance, except as forming the footwall of the 
 Justice vein. 
 
 Those rocks form the ancient series. They partly 
 preceded and partly were contcmjioraneous with the 
 eniei'gence of the Sierra Nevada and the Great Basin, 
 and the entire range of the Cordilleras, from the 
 ancient sea, whose traces are left in the saline incrus- 
 tations and salt pools at the bottom of the numerous 
 basins between the Sierra and the Rocky Mountains, 
 which had formerly remained filled with tho water 
 of the retiring sea. The Waslioe .Mountains undoubt- 
 edly formed an elevated range during the long period 
 which elapsed till the commencement of the formation 
 of the recent series of rocks, which bear still closer rela- 
 tion to the Comstock vein than the former. Those 
 rocks are eruptive and volcanic, and belong to the 
 latter part of the tertiary and to the post-tertiary 
 periods. 
 
 To the first of them in age we apply the recently 
 introduced term, ))ropylite. In Washoe the names 
 '• f'elds])atliic ]>or|ihyry "and "hornblendic porjihj-ry" 
 are conimonl)- used to designate two jiromincnt vari- 
 eties of it. Tliej'are very approiuiate miner's terms; 
 but scicntificallj- a])iilie(l, would be capable of very 
 differing interpretations. In other countries the term 
 " Diorite," '• Doritic jjorphj-iy," "greenstone," '• por- 
 ))h3'ritic greenstone" have been applied, which con- 
 i'usion of names best shows the indistinctness of the 
 external characters of tho rock. Pro|ivlite has this 
 remarkable ])eculiarity, namelj-. that it resembles 
 many ancient rocks exactly in a])pearance, and yet 
 is among the most recent in origin. It is ])rominent 
 among the inclosing rocks of the ("omstock vein, and, 
 besides, hicfosen seve.nd, jxt/ih/is niunt, of' fhe ltiriie.it anil 
 nio.it pr(i</n-/!re Ki/ner vniim in the iror/i/, as those in the 
 ('ar|)athian .Mountains, of Zacatecas and other ])laceB 
 in Mexico, and probabl}' several veins in Bolivia. 
 Mineralogicallj', it consists of a fine grained paste of 
 ordinarily greenish, but sometimes gray, red and 
 brown color, with imbedded ciystals of feldsjiar (oli- 
 goclase)and columns of<lark green and fibrous. sehiom 
 of black, hornblende, which is also the coloring mat- 
 ter of the base. A peculiarity of the rock is its fer- 
 ruginous character wh(!n decomposed. ProbabI}' it 
 contains other metals besides iron. (leologicall}- 
 it is an erM|itive rock; but it is acconi))anied b}- vast 
 accumulations of breccia, which is sometimes regularlv 
 stratified. The flats of Virginia City. (Jold Jlill. 
 American Cit}' and Silver City, consist of ])ro)>ylite; 
 it lies, in general, east of the mountains consisting of 
 
 ; the ancient formations, and contains several minei'al 
 i veins besides the Comstock Lode. Its distribution 
 ! in other countries of tho world is not ver}' general. 
 Several different kinds of eruptive and volcanic 
 rocks followed the outbreaks of prop^-lito ; but 
 only to one of them have wo to direct the atten- 
 tion in reference to tho Comstock vein, as it prob- 
 ably caused its formation, besides taking a promi- 
 nent part in tho structure of the countr}-. It is 
 known in Petrology by the name of Sanidin- 
 trachyte ; for convenience sake we simply use 
 the name trachyte. Its essential character is " a 
 predominance of a s]iccios of feldspar, called glassy 
 feldspar or sanidin, which, along with hornblende 
 and mica, is imbedded in a base or paste of pecu- 
 liarly rough texture, caused hy microseo])ical vesi- 
 cles which fill tho rock. It has a beautiful aj)- 
 pearance and presents very different colors. It is 
 an easj' blasting rock. * * * 
 
 There is no doubt about the eruptive character 
 of the lava, and this term has been ajtplied to it 
 in Washoe. The mode of occurrence shows that 
 it has been ejected through long fissures in a vis- 
 cous or liquid state and at a high temiicrature. 
 In some places the eruptions wore subaqueous, as 
 at Dayton. The entire table-land around that ])laco 
 is built up of trachytic tufa. The solid trachyte 
 rises from it in rugged mountains, which form an 
 elevated and verj- conspicuous range, ])assing east of 
 the (iould and Curry Mill, across Seven-mile Canon 
 (where, for instance, the Sugar Ijoaf Peak consists 
 of it), and bending in a semicircle round to 
 Washoe Ijako. Pleasant Valley is entirely sur- 
 rounded b}' trachj'tic hills ; arid farther north this 
 rock covers the country to a great extent. Sanidin- 
 trachyte has never been found to contain silver- 
 bearing veins, and in Washoe none occur in it, and 
 yet it has evidently been maiidy instrumental in tho 
 formation of the Comstock Lode and other veins 
 in that region. # * * Volcanic and eruptive 
 activity gradually died away, and we now behold 
 their last stages in the action of the thermal 
 springs, such as Steamboat S]>rings. The surface 
 underwent but slow and gradual denudation, and 
 tho events of the volcanic period are recorded so per- 
 fectly and distinctly in the nature and association of 
 the rocks, as to aid us groatlj- in explaining the mode 
 of formation of the Comstock vein. 
 
 OENEIIAI. STRUCTUKE OP COJISTOCIv VEIN. 
 
 The Comstock runs nearlj- in tho direction of tho 
 magnetic meridian (the variation being sixteen and 
 a rpiarter degrees oast) along the slope of the .Mount 
 Davidson range, which descends at a stee|) grade 
 until it abuts against the gentle slope of tho three 
 flats, on which, at an altitude of from ."),.S(MI to (1.2(10 
 foot, are situated the towns of Virginia, Gold Hill 
 and American City. The out-crop|)ings of the vein 
 extend in a broad belt along the foot of the steep 
 grade, and immediately above the three towns. Tho 
 course of the vein as far as yet ex|)lored is somewhat 
 de])endent on the shape of tho slo])o, as it partakes 
 of all its irregularities, passing tho ravines in con- 
 cave bends, and inclosing tho foot of the dillbrent 
 ridges in concave curves; tlie greatest convexity 
 being around the broad, uninterrii|ited base of Mount 
 Davidson itself. These irregularities are ini]iorlant 
 as they influeneo the ore-lieai'ing character of tho 
 vein. * * * 
 
 The Comstock vein, at a do])th of from 4(1(1 to (KKI 
 foot beneath its lowest outcrops, tills a fissure of 
 from 100 to i;iO, and even 20(» feet iu width, but 
 
-^y ^CytytyU^C^CO^^ 
 
^IQ HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
A. K. P. Harmon. 
 
 The pioneers who came to California brought lit- 
 tle or no capital with them. They came with clear 
 heads, i-esoliite wills and strong arms, Considering 
 the obstacles they encountered, a large percentage 
 became successful men. but hardly one of them had 
 unvarying good fortune. The tomporar}' disasters 
 which they encountered did not dishearten them. 
 Genuine men neither lost energy, pluck nor resolu- 
 tion because this or that venture did not turn out 
 well. There is not a pioneer in the eountrj- whose 
 range of experience during the last twenty years, has 
 not been greater than men elsewhere encounter in a 
 long life. Their losses have been greater and their 
 fortunes have been much more rapidly acquired. They 
 haveseen a country with a floating population of a few 
 thousands become a prosperous State, with nearly a 
 million inhabitants. They arc a part of its history. 
 
 A. K. P. Harmon was born at Scarborough, Cum- 
 berland County, Maine, in the year 1821. He was 
 named after the popular Governor of his own State. 
 His ancestors were of English origin; the earliest in 
 the line who settled in this country, coming over 
 about the year 1G:^2. The name as it then appeared 
 in the records was written tiarman. The father of 
 Mr. Harmon served in the war of 1812, and the 
 widow, who deceased during the present year, drew 
 regularly the pension accruing to the widows of sol- 
 diers of that war. Young Harmon received his 
 early education in the common schools, the people's 
 college, where so many of the strongest and bright- 
 est men of the countr}- have been trained. He is a 
 staunch friend of the public school system, and nat- 
 urally has little patience with those who arraj' their 
 influence against that beneficent institution. 
 
 After leaving the public school it became neces- 
 sary to do something for a livelihood. The young 
 man went to Portland, where he served as a clerk in 
 a mercantile house for about three j-ears. lie then 
 went to Georgia, where he served as clerk in a 
 mercantile establishment for three years; returning, 
 he served for two j'oars or more as clerk in a busi- 
 ness house in Portland, and afterwards became a 
 partner in the same. The news of gold discoveries in 
 California was received and discussed in nearly every 
 household in the Eastern States in the year 1848. 
 Young'men were leaving for the Pacific Coast bj' 
 thousands. They came in all ways and by all routes. 
 Some started [across the continent with ox-teams, 
 others'embarked in sailing vessels around t?ape Horn. 
 Mr. Harmon loft Portland for California in Decem- 
 ber, 1848, 'taking a 'steamship passage from New 
 York to Chagres, and trusting to chance, as many 
 
 others did, for a passage from Panama to San Fran- 
 cisco, as no line had been so permanently established 
 that through tickets could be bought. From Chagres 
 he walked across the Isthmus to Panama, where ho 
 remained for about six weeks, and then took passage 
 on the steamship Oreyon for San Francisco. The Ore- 
 yon was full of passengers, and the two forward 
 deck-boats were assigned to Mr. Harmon and his 
 companions as sleeping quarters. It was an odd 
 place to sleep, but the quarters were really more 
 comfortable than manj- a poor fellow had who was 
 glad to stretch himself on the hard deck. Large pre- 
 miums were paid on those first steamers for standing 
 room. Those who had been detained on the Isthmus 
 for many weeks were tired of that embargo and 
 were willing to pay large sums for a chance to reach 
 California. The prices paid for some of these pas- 
 sages would now take the traveler to Europe and 
 back very comfortably. 
 
 Mr. Harmon arrived in San Francisco on the sec- 
 ond day of April, 1840. and camped at a point now 
 intersected by Kearny Street, or about one block 
 from what was then the landing for small boats. 
 Everj-body was pushing out for the mines, and he 
 soon took passage on a small schooner for Sacra- 
 mento, the voyagers paying thirty dollars each for 
 the passage, boarding themselves and sleeping on 
 deck, arriving at Sacramento after an eight days' 
 passage. An ox-team was secured, a square meal 
 was obtained at Sutt;>r's Fort, and the partj- struck 
 out for Coloma. There Mr. Harmon wrought his first 
 daj- as a miner with a pan; the result of that da5-'8 
 labor was an ounce of gold-dust. Remaining at this 
 point for a few weeks, ho next went to Old Spanish 
 Bar, where he worked for some months, getting very 
 good returns. With this first money made from the 
 mines, he soon went to New York, bought a stock of 
 goods, returned to San Francisco and engaged in 
 mercantile business with good prospects. The fire 
 a few months afterwards swept his stock away. Dr. 
 Samuel Merritt relates this incident: He had just 
 reached the Coast with a small brig, which among 
 other articles of lading, brought a number of ready- 
 made houses. One of tlicm was sold to Mr. Harmon 
 to bo used as a store. In sotting it up it was found 
 that one or two pieces were missing. Notice was 
 given of the deficiency, but the fire on the following 
 night swept the store away, literally licking up the 
 town, and the doctor was never called upon to make 
 good the missing part of that building. 
 
 Mr. Harmon commenced mercantile business again 
 on or near the site of his burned premises. In the 
 
fall of 1850 he closed out his business in San | 
 Francisco and removed to Racramento, where he 
 was engaged in merchandise until the year 1864. He 
 was gradually becoming interested in mining enter- 
 prises. His ventures about this time in the Com- 
 stock mines were fortunate. He bought largely, 
 especially in the Chollar, of which mining company, | 
 and also of the Ophir. Imperial, Empire, Bacon, Sil- | 
 vcr Hill, Caledonia and others, he has been Presi- 
 dent for manj- years. He also holds interests in many 
 undeveloped mines which may turn out to be good 
 ventures at some future daj-. He is not a dealer in 
 stocks from daj- to day, but believes in mining for 
 dividends; and for that reason does not let go of a 
 mining enterprise because there is nothing in sight. 
 TheComstock group of mines has been the richest in 
 the known world. From no other area of equal 
 extent has there ever been such an output of bullion. 
 Those who have carefully watched all the phases of 
 silver mining for the last twenty years are reluctant 
 to believe that there are not still vast reserves of 
 ore in some of these mines, which patient labor will 
 yet reach; hence, the gigantic preparations for deep 
 mining. The pump just now erected on the Chol- 
 lar-Fotosi group of mines is the largest ever set up 
 at any mine. When a Mexican mine began to fill 
 with water, the natives abandoned it. When a mine 
 on the Comstock shows water, a pump capable of 
 delivering a thousand tons of water an hour is the 
 remedy. That is legitimate mining; mines which 
 have yielded millions may yield other millions; they 
 cannot be aiiaiidoned so long as there is a reasonable 
 prospect of finding paying bodies of ore. Mr. Har- 
 mon has little to do with the mining speculations of 
 the day. lie is considerate and cautious to a degree, j 
 In business he is methodical, clear-headed, prompt 
 and accurate. He knows how to say yes and no. 
 He has a high sense of business honor, and his ver- ; 
 bal promise would be accepted wherever he is known. 
 He is square built and square in his transactions, and 
 his record as an honorable business man is without a | 
 blemish. In the j^ear 1872 Mr. Harmon, having 
 acquired a handsome fortune, removed to Oakland, 
 where he has since resided. Selecting a tract of about 
 six acres noar the head of Lake Merritt, with a front- 
 age on Webster Street, ho erected a large dwelling 
 and made other costly improvements, which have I 
 
 always been in excellent taste. His greenhouse con- 
 tains one of the most extensive collections of rare 
 plants on the Pacific Coast. The grounds are hand- 
 somely laid out, and, with the improvements, com- 
 prise one of the most attractive homesteads in Ala- 
 meda Countj'. He is a liberal patron of art, and has 
 already a choice collection of pictures which may 
 serve as the foundation of a separate picture gallery 
 at no distant day. 
 
 Mr. Harmon has served for many years as one of 
 the Trustees of the Mountain View Cemeterj- of Oak- 
 land, and is also a Trustee of the Deaf, Dumb and 
 Blind Asylum. He is averse to holding public oflSce, 
 and onlj- consents to hold such as have no emolu- 
 ments, giving his sers'ices freely to institutions of a 
 benevolent character. 
 
 Mr. Harmon has alwaj's taken a deep interest in the 
 welfare of the State University, looking upon it as 
 the crown of the public school system. Two years 
 ago or more, he erected the Gymnasium building on 
 the grounds of the University at his own expense, 
 and gave it to that institution. Before that time 
 there was no adequate assembly room or place of 
 meeting on Commencement and other occasions. 
 The Gymnasium was planned to afford students the 
 best means of physical exercise, and to furnish also 
 a complete audience room for 1,500 people. It is ad- 
 mirably arranged for both these purposes. The cost 
 was not less than S12,000. It bears the name of this 
 citizen in just recognition of the noble gift. Mr. 
 Harmon is a benevolent citizen, never withholding his 
 contributions for any reallj' worthy object, but giv- 
 ing without ostentation, and often so secretly that 
 his most intimate friends never know the extent of 
 his benefactions. He is a life member of the Art 
 Association and of the Pioneer Association, and a 
 member of the Union Club, of San Francisco. 
 
 In 1846, Mr. Harmon married Miss Marietta Ran- 
 dall, daughter of Job Randall, Esq., of Portland, 
 Maine. This estimable ladj- was distinguished for 
 works of charity, and especially as an unfailing 
 friend and promoter of that excellent institution, 
 The Ladies' Relief Society of Oakland. This lady 
 having deceased a few years ago, Mr. Harmon mar- 
 ried in 1879, Miss Sarah S. Johnson, of Portland, who, 
 with a son and daughter grown up, constitute one 
 of the most agreeable families of Oakland. 
 
GEOLOGY OF NEVADA. 
 
 117 
 
 contracting in places so as to allow both walls to 
 conio in close contact. Both of the latter, at that 
 depth, descend easterly at an angle varying from 
 fortj'-two to sixtj' degrees. l'|)\vards from the 
 average de])th of 500 feet, the western wall rises to 
 the surface with the same inclination, which, how- 
 ever, occasionally diminishes at the ii])per levels to 
 forty and thirty-eight degrees, while the eastern 
 wall soon bends to the vertical, and gradually turns 
 to a western di|), which, at i)laces, is forty-tive 
 degrees. Its general position to the depth men- 
 tioned is, therefore, about vertical, with an inflation 
 to the west. The vein, conseciuentlj', expatids 
 towards the surface, in the shape of a funnel. The 
 increase in volume is especially produced by the 
 intervention, between the vein matter, of large frag- 
 ments of country rock, broken from the walls, but 
 usual!}' moved only a little vr&y downward, by slid- 
 ing from their original ])lace. The liulk and num- 
 ber of these fragments, or '• horses," increase towards 
 the surface, where some of them have a length of 
 1,000 feet, and a width of fifty to upwards of one 
 hundred feet. 
 
 Vein matter branching oft' from below fills the 
 spaces between the fragments, but is generallj', near 
 the surfiice, far inferior in bulk as compared with 
 the country rock.* The width of the belt in which 
 these branches come to the surface, and there form 
 scattered outcroppings, is generally more than .500 
 feet. 
 
 On the western side (west of the Virginia and El 
 Ilorado cro])pings) the Conistock vein is accom]>a- 
 nied b}' a number of smaller veins, the outcrop])ings 
 of which are visible on Cedar Hill, Central Hill, 
 Ophir Hill, and Mount Davidson, and are in some 
 places of considerable size. Thej' are nearlj- ])ar- 
 allel to the main vein, anil di|i to the east. Prob- 
 ably they will unite in depth with the Comstock 
 vein, which by its relation to them may be consid- 
 ered as the main vein of what German miners call 
 a -'gangzug." The western boundary of this main 
 vein is exceedingly well defined by a continuous claj' 
 selvage (gouge) lying on the smooth foot wall, and 
 separating the vein matter verj' distinctly from the 
 country rock; but it is ditterent on the eastern side, 
 where the adjoining country rock, as is often the 
 case with true fissure veins, is impregnated with 
 matter similar to that which fills the fissure. It 
 is fre(|uently concentrated in channels running par- 
 allel to, or ascending from, the vein, but, in fact, 
 forming parts of it. The well-defined east wall of 
 its main body has, therefore, not often the same 
 position relatively to the entire vein, and with the 
 growing depth gained by successive explorations 
 the development of vein matter, east of what was 
 formerly considered the east wall, increases. 
 
 INCLOSING ROCK. 
 
 The rocks which accompanj' the Comstock vein, 
 change in its course. Tliey are different varieties 
 of ])ro])j-lite on the eastern side, throughout its 
 whole extent. In some places the frei|uent and 
 large crystals of feldspar give it a por])hjritic char- 
 acter, which in certain varieties is rendered more 
 striking by green columns of hornblende; at others 
 the rock has a very fine grain, and the inclosed 
 crystals are of minute size; again, the rock is either 
 compact and homogeneous, or it has a brecciated 
 ' appearance from the inclosure of numerous angular 
 fragmentfl. Also, the color changes, though it is 
 
 * In other wnnls, tlie horscH or foreign substances constitute 
 the larger portion of the fissure matter. — Kd. 
 15 
 
 predominantly green, and the difTerent varieties of 
 docomj)osition create finallj- an endless variet}-. We 
 will presently have occasion to consider the causes 
 to which it is due. 
 
 The western country offers more differences. 
 Along the slope of .Mount Davidson and Mount 
 Butler, from the Best k Belcher mine to (!old llill, 
 it is formed bj' sj-enito, which, at some places, is 
 separated from the vein by a crystalline rock of 
 black color, having the nature of a]>hanite, but alto- 
 gether obscure as to the mode of its occurrence. 
 It is from three to fifty feet thick, and the elucida- 
 tion of its real nature maj- be expected from further 
 developments.* As syenite to the west, and propjMite 
 to the east, occur just in that portion of the Com- 
 stock vein which has been most explored, and where 
 works, more than anj-where else, extend in both 
 directions into the countrj', it has been generally 
 assumed in Virginia that the lode follows the plane 
 of contact between two different kinds of rocks, and 
 is therefore a contact deposit. ]5ut immediately 
 north of Mount Davidson, where ]iropylite extends 
 high up on the western hills, this rock forms the 
 western countr}' as well as the eastern — as at the 
 (California and Ophir mines — -though at the latter 
 metamorphic rocks and syenite are associated with 
 propylite on the western side. On Cedar Hill syenite 
 again jn-edominates; but further north propj'lite 
 forms the country rock on both sides. South of 
 Gold Hill the sj-enite disappears from the western 
 wall, and its place is taken to some extent by pro- 
 pylite, but in greater part by metamorphic rocks of 
 the third of the before-mentioned classes, )irinci|ially 
 quartzite and uralitic rocks. * * Nowhere have 
 sj-enite and metamorphic rocks been found on the 
 eastern side. 
 
 OUTCROPPINGS. 
 
 The outcroppings of the Comstock Lode do not 
 form a continuous line, but consists rather of small 
 and detached fragments of ((uarlz, ordinarilj- jiro- 
 truding from the surrounding ground, and sometimes 
 forming bold crests, which, in the aggregate, form 
 a broad uninterrupted belt. The horizontal <lis- 
 tance across the vein of the outcro|)s of the differ- 
 ent branches, amounts to upwards of (>(I0 feet. Those 
 of the western branches wbich retain the eastern 
 dip of the western wall of the vein, carrj' principally 
 crystallized quartz of a verj' glassy- appearance, 
 ordinaril}- of white, or at least of light color, and 
 comparatively of pure i|uality. Angular fragments 
 of the country rock are imbedded in the quartz, and 
 form the center of its crystallization; they usually 
 occur in large pieces and in tini'ly disseminated par- 
 ticles. 
 
 Metalliferous minerals are scarce, though not 
 entirel}- wanting. Nothing indicates underground 
 wealth, nor, indeed, has such been found by subse- 
 quent mining. The only exception is Cedar Hill, 
 where native gold was found abundantly in places; 
 but its scarce dispersion never justified great expec- 
 tations. Of this nature are the Sacramento, ^'■irginia, 
 and HI Doi-ailo outcrops, and others on Mounts 
 Davidson and Butler. Tbey have in several places 
 a width of 120 feet, besides other branches which 
 form ])art of them. 
 
 In the eastern outcrops, jiarticles of the country 
 
 * This rock was afterwards termed "andcsito," and is said to 
 liave been of volcanic origin, sulwetjuent to the upheaval or 
 elevation of the accompanying strata; and is also thought liy 
 Clarence King and others to W' contemporaneous witli, and to 
 some extent mstrumental in, the deposit of the mineral matter 
 forming the Comstock I-odc. It will Ik; referre<l to again. — Ed. 
 
118 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 rock, together with othei-s of clayey matter and 
 metallic substances, occur, finely dis.seminated through 
 the quartz, causing thereby a marked dift'erence 
 from the character of the western outcrops. A cer- 
 tain porous structure of the quartz, evidently origi- 
 nating from the removal of tino particles of ore, and 
 the brown and red coloring caused by metallic 
 oxides, indicate the ore-bearing character of large 
 portions in depth; and the dissemination of native 
 gold and silver in small pores and larger cavities, 
 gives evidence of the presence of ores of the precious 
 metals. Also the chloride and simple sulphuret of 
 silver, occur in the eastern outcrops. These differ- 
 ent characters of the "Facos" and "Colorados" of 
 the Mexican, and the " iron hat " of the German 
 miner, continue downward to varying depths.* 
 
 VEIN MATTER. 
 
 The vein matter of the Comstock Lode is of a 
 highly varied character, if we consider every sub- 
 stance which enters into the compo^tion of the body 
 of the vein between its two walls as belonging to 
 it. Its chief component pai'ts are fragments of 
 country rock, clay, and clayej' matter, quartz and 
 ores. 
 
 PRAG.MENTS OP COUNTRY ROCKS. 
 
 Near the surface, about five-sixths of the mass of 
 the Comstock vein consists of fragments of country 
 rock — "horses," as the Cornish miner calls them. 
 They are often of large size, and then terminate 
 below in a sharp edge. Their shape and size vary 
 somewhat with the nature of the rock of which they 
 consist. Those of projij-lite, which along the whole 
 range occur on the eastern side, and onl3- occasion- 
 all3- extend throughout the whole vein where the 
 country is of the same character on both sides, are 
 ordinarilj- ver}- much elongated in the direction of 
 the vein, frequently to 1.00(1 feet or more, while 
 their breadth is far inferior, and their height is 
 intermediate between both. At their ends they 
 thin out gradually. Those of syenite terminate 
 more abruptly, and their dimensions are more equal, 
 though they are always in the direction of the 
 strike of the vein. From the large "horses" every 
 variety of size occurs down to the smallest frag- 
 ments. The quartz is often so thickly filled with 
 angular ])ieces as to have a breccialed a])]ioarance. 
 Propylite is more common among them than sj-en- 
 ite, and brecciated vein matter is therefore ])rev- 
 alent in those parts of the lode where ))ro])ylite 
 incloses the same on both sides, or where, at least, 
 it furnished the larger part of the material for the 
 "horses." It is for this reason abundant in the Cal- 
 iiornia. Central, and (Jphir mines, and in the south- 
 ern part of the Gold Uill mines. 
 
 CLAY AND CLAYEY MATTERS. 
 
 Few largo veins are so abundant in these sub- 
 stances as the ('omstock vein. Clay forms the east- 
 ern selvage from north to south in continuous sheets, 
 sometimes of ten to twenty feet in tliickness. Other 
 sheets of clay divide "horses" from (juartz or differ- 
 ent bodies of the latter; and where the two walls 
 come in close contact they have in ]ilaces a united 
 width of twenty to sixty feet. This clay is ordi- 
 nariij- tough and i)Utt3--like, and contains rounded 
 ])el)l)les of the adjoining rock; only where quartz is 
 on both sides it i)artakes of its nature, and is more 
 earthy and dry. liut, besides, clayey matter occurs 
 
 'These surface rncks arc also called "gossan," "calico rock," 
 "mundic," "iron cap," etc. — Ed. 
 
 in the body of the vein to a great extent, and in 
 places takes a prominent part in filling the fissure. 
 Most "horses" terminate at their lower end in a 
 clayey substance, and continue downward as well 
 as in the direction of the vein as sheets of clay. 
 Out of the vein the same matter occurs to a great 
 extent in the eastern country, but scarcely, if ever, 
 in the western, thereby giving another evidence of 
 the indistinctness of the eastern boundary of the 
 vein. 
 
 QUARTZ — CHARACTER OP. 
 
 The differences mentioned before as prevailing in 
 the quartz of the outcrops continue downward, but are 
 not so conspicuous in depth on account of the gen- 
 eral white color of the quartz. But even then the 
 finely disseminated particles of the wall rock are 
 more peculiar to the eastern then the western por- 
 tions, and are alwaj-s abundant where the quartz 
 contains ore. At the upper levels, some bodies of 
 quartz are of a reddish color ; this is where the 
 "Colorados" continue downward. Frequeiitl\% how- 
 ever, this color is only due to the red clay filling the 
 fissures of the fractured quartz. In this case it is 
 probably produced by the percolation of the vein 
 matter bj- water, while in the former it is likelj- that 
 it is connected with the original formation of the 
 vein, as are all the phenomena presented bj' the " iron 
 hat." The ijuartz in the Comstock vein is rarelj' 
 solid, and blasting is a|)plied for its removal in but 
 few instances. Generally it is fractured, and in nu- 
 merous places the effects of dj-namical action on it 
 are such as to give it the appearance of crushed 
 sugar. It occurs in this condition when inclosed in 
 claj'ey matter, and then frequently reminds one of the 
 waving lines of damask.* J?ut then, also large and 
 continuous bodies, consisting entirely of " crushed 
 quartz," as we maj' call it, are occasionallj- met 
 with. Such was the ease throughout the larger part 
 of the gi'eat bonanza of the Ophir mine. 
 
 VARIETY OP ORES. 
 
 The principal ores of the Comstock lode are 
 stephanite, vitreous silver ore, native silver, and 
 ver}' rich galena; also small quantities of pj^rargy- 
 rite or ruby silver, horn silver, and poiybasite. 
 Besides these are found native gold, iron ))yrites, cop- 
 per ])3'rites, zincblende. carbonate of lead and 
 pyromorphite, the last two being very scarce. 
 
 Having quoted extensivelj-from Baron Ilichthofen, 
 a few extracts from Clarence King's exhaustive 
 report will be in order: — 
 
 UE.MAHKS ON GENERAL GEOLOGY. 
 
 Both the Sierra and I)e8ert ranges are composed 
 first of crumpled and uplifted strata, from the azoic 
 period to the late Jurassic; secondly-, of ancient 
 erupted rocks which accompanj- the Jurassic up- 
 heaval; and thirdl)-, of modern eruptive rocks belong- 
 ing to the volcanic familj', ranging in date ])rc)bably 
 from as early as the late miocene to the glacial 
 
 'Great value is attached U> the timliiig of a large ainouiit of 
 clay, gouge, or selvage on the walls of a vein. By many miners 
 it is consiilered as the result of tl)e shiw grinding of the walls 
 together, thus indicating a deep tissure, as no shallow crevice in 
 the surface of tiic e;irth woidd 1k' snhject to such displacement. 
 Other miners consider tlie clay .as resulting fn>m the dccomjiosi- 
 tion of mineral waters acting on the walls of the lo<le, thus indi-* 
 eating an extensive ore chauncl. It is likely that it may be 
 produced by cither or both acting together. In any case it is, 
 next to firm and consistent wall rocks, considered the best evi- 
 dence of an ore deposit or ore channel. — Ed. 
 
GEOLOGY OF NEVADA. 
 
 no 
 
 period. Folds of more or less comploxity, twisted 
 and warped by longitudinal forces, often comiJressed 
 into a series of zigzags, sometimes masked by out- 
 bursts of granite, syenitic granite, or syenite, and 
 last!}-, built upon bj' or freciuently buried beneath 
 immense accumulations of volcanic material; these 
 are the characteristic features of the mountain 
 chains. They are usually meridional and parallel, 
 and separated by valleys \vhi(jh are filled to a gen- 
 eral level by quarternarj- detritus, the result of 
 erosion from the early cretaceous period down to 
 the present time. The east slope of the Sierra, 
 directlj' facing the Washoe region, is. in brief, a 
 relic of metamorphic schists and slates, skirting the 
 foot-hills and resting at high east and west angles 
 against the great granite bod}% which, for many 
 miles to the southward, forms not only the summit 
 but the main mass of the range. Eising through 
 the granite, and forming an eastern summit is a 
 lofty mass of sanidin-trach3"te, of a dull chncolate 
 color, and onl^- remarkable for the beautifully regu- 
 lar prisms of black mica which intersect it. The 
 ridge known as the Washoe .Mountains is of this 
 trachyte. Its culmiiiating height, Washoe Peak, 
 lies directlj' east and west across the vallcj' from 
 Mount l)avidson, the center and summit of the 
 Virginia mining region. 
 
 Little can be learned of the ancient structure of the 
 Virginia range, for eight-tenths of its mass are made 
 up of volcanic rocks. Only at rare intervals, where 
 deep erosion lays bare the original range, or whei-e 
 its hard summits have been lifted above the volcanic 
 flows, is there any clue to the materials or position of 
 the ancient chain. Mount Davidson is one of these 
 relics, being composed of syenite. Lidined against 
 the base of this mass, and in the bottoms of ravines 
 eroded in the volcanic materials occur considerable 
 hills of metamorphic rocks, schists, limestones, graph- 
 itic shales and slates. Southward in the canon of 
 the Carson, and in the ravines of the Pine .Nut hills, 
 are uplifted slates and carbonaceous shales, associated 
 with irregular limestone beds, the whole surrounded 
 and limited by volcanic (andesite) rocks. Still further 
 southward, the crest ridge of the Pine Nut region, 
 which is a continuation of the Virginia range, is 
 syenitic granite, forming high, rugged crags, of an 
 extremely ]>icturesque asjiect. Hvery analogy would 
 point to the belief that these aqueous rocks and the 
 granitic masses accompanj'in;, them, are identical 
 with the similar njcks, which predominate in the 
 majorit}' of Cordillera ranges; but we have positive 
 proof of this in the fact that in El Dorado Canon, one 
 of the ravines of the Pine Nut hills, Professor Whit- 
 ney has found triassic fossils. 
 
 In resume, it may be said that this range is one of 
 the old Jurassic folds of stratified rocks, through 
 whose fissures granite and syenite have obtruded; 
 that after a verj' long period of comparative repose 
 from the early cretaceous to the late tertiary the 
 old range was riven in innumerable crevices, and 
 deluged by floods of volcanic rocks which have 
 buried nearly all its older mass, and entirelj- changed 
 its topograph}'. l»uring this ])eriod of vulcanism 
 the present vallej's were in great part filled with 
 fresh water lakes; and near the base of the A'ir- 
 ginia rango we have evidence, in the tufa deposits, 
 that a considerable quantity of volcanic material 
 .was both ejected under water and flowed down 
 into it. Water penetrating the fissured range and 
 meeting melted rock gave rise to the solfataras and 
 hot springs, whose traces are everj'wherc ajiparent. 
 Following this age of lava and steam eruptions 
 
 came the glacial epoch, with its sequel of torrents 
 and floods, and finally a great desiccating ]>eriod, 
 introducing our present condition. 
 
 THE OL.\CIAL EPOCH. 
 
 A sketch of the geology of Nevada which should 
 leave this out would bo very imperfect indeed. 
 Although the great ice ago had little to do in 
 forming the deposits of ores, it had much to do with 
 fixing the to])ography of the countrj-, and exposing 
 the mineral deposits. 
 
 In common with all the northern part of North 
 America, Nevada was covered with a deluge of ice. 
 Although it was, geologically speaking, a modern 
 affair, many centuries — perhaps thousands — have 
 elapsed since that period, and it requires a great 
 stretch of the imagination, while toiling over the 
 dreary alkali or salt plains to realize the fact that 
 at one time the ice overspread the whole country 
 from 5,000 to 20,000 feet in depth. But the proofs 
 seem incontrovertible. From California on the west 
 to Nova Scotia in the east can be found the track 
 of the glaciers, unmistakable in their character as 
 are the ancient roads in Kurope, constructed by the 
 Roman legions. The causes which led to these vast 
 deposits of ice, which changed the almost tropic 
 sun into an arctic one, and permitted the accumu- 
 lated snows to remain for unknown ages, is as much 
 beyond our comprehension as are the upheavals of 
 the Eocky Mountains or Sierra Nevada. The small 
 snow-banks left in the mountains seem about as in- 
 significant compared to the original masses as the 
 few hot springs compared with the great solfataras 
 that deposited the rich lodes of the Comstock. It is 
 one of the peculiarities of these great ice-fields that 
 they have a regular flow towards the greatest de- 
 pression. The movement is slow, sometimes not 
 more than a few feet in a j'car, but it moves with 
 a mightj' force. Great masses of rock held in the 
 ice as in a vise are dragged along the earth, cutting 
 away the hardest rocks, leveling everything to a 
 certain plane. In this waj' Carson, Truckee, Para- 
 dise, and all the larger valleys of the State were 
 eroded. At the lower end of those valleys may 
 generally be found the reef of rocks, the worn out 
 or abandoned tools of the defunct glacier left us; 
 under the influence of the changing climate it 
 slowly retreated up the mountain sides, these trans- 
 verso, also lateral piles of rock (jnoraines') indicating 
 the places where an obstinate and prolonged resist- 
 ance was made. The western slope of the Sierra 
 Nevada was the site of the most active work, bo- 
 cause the elevation was from tide water, or a molt- 
 ing point, to a region of perpetual frost. 
 
 LIVINU OLACIEKS. 
 
 The glaciers are now in full action in some parts 
 of Alaska, moving in columns of a hundred miles in 
 length so slowly that a j'ear is required to make any 
 perceptible movement ; but from under the glacier 
 tho waters pour out laden with clay and fine 
 
120 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 sand, the shavings and chips of the mighty ma- 
 chine that was, and still is, engaged in leveling 
 continents. In the southern part of California, 
 around the cluster of mountains containing Mount 
 Whitney, the glacier is still a powerful element in 
 shaping the earth. A few small ones, not often 
 exceeding a mile in their greatest dimensions, may 
 be seen in the vicinity of the Carson Eiver. The 
 number within the limits of that State may exceed 
 a hundred, though the period of their greatest ac- 
 tivity has long since passed away. 
 
 LOCAL CHARACTERISTICS. 
 
 Returning to the consideration of the general 
 geology, a few remarks concerning other jjortions 
 of the State will finish the subject, promising that 
 the particular description given of the Comstock 
 Lode will furnish a key to that of most parts of 
 the Great Basin, though it would seem that the 
 deposit of ores occurred in widely ditteront eras, 
 as also under different dynamical and metalliferous 
 conditions. 
 
 The portions of the Slate occupied by the last 
 of the reti-eating seas are marked by extensive 
 bodies of soda, borax, sulphur, alum and salt. 
 Those deposits are more particularly described in 
 the sketches of the different counties. Humboldt, 
 Churchill and Ksmoraldu counties are of this charac- 
 ter, being distinguished by the presence of numerous 
 saliniferous minerals. They occupy the lowest po- 
 sition of the Groat Basin, the largest rivers, such as 
 Carson, Humboldt, Walker, Truckce, all having their 
 sinks in, or near, those counties. In other portions 
 the beds of limestone, the remains of the coral 
 reefs of a former age, become the associates of the 
 gold and silver veins, and seem to have been ac- 
 tive in producing the precipitation, or deposit. 
 This condition seems to obtain in Elko, Nye, Kureka, 
 and White Pine. In other portions of the State the 
 deposits were in many instances in granite, in nar- 
 row fissures, with little indications of deep or exten- 
 sive fissures, as in Esmeralda and Lander counties, 
 as well as the mines on the eastern slope of the Sierra 
 Nevada, in the counties of Esmeralda, Ormsby, 
 Washoe, etc. The northwestern ])art of the State 
 in many places seems to be overlaid with the lava 
 from the great overflow which formed the famous 
 Modoc lava beds. 
 
 The first fossils belonging to the lower silurian 
 period, found west of the one hundred and twelfth 
 meridian, to which ])ublic attention was called, wore 
 discovered in lS(i(i, at Silver Peak, I'^sineralda County, 
 by I'rofessor Joshua E. Clayton. They were found 
 on the border of a large valle}', whoso depressed cen- 
 tral portion of several hundred acres in extent, is 
 covered with saline incrustations from the dej)th of 
 several inches to a foot or more. At that time Pro- 
 fessor Clayton was 8ui)erintending the construction 
 of reduction works there, as well as exploiting the 
 mines that were to su])ply the ore to be worked. 
 
 The valley has since then been known as Clayton 
 Valley. A hard, compact, finegrained calcareous 
 rock, which was susceptible of a high degree of 
 polish, proved to have been formed by the organic 
 remains of the earliest existing corallites known; 
 while an arenacious bed of yellowish, thinly laminated 
 sandstone in immediate proximity contained innu- 
 merable trilobites — the eai-liest living creatures on 
 the globe — which were plainly imprinted upon each 
 sheet of the rock as the layers were separated. 
 Thermal saline springs of large dimensions flow near 
 the point at which this discovery was made; and on 
 the hills that skirt the valley are found ledges con- 
 taining gold, silver, copper, lead and iron, besides 
 other metals less useful. 
 
 Manj- of the most prominent mines of central and 
 eastern Nevada arc found in limestone. Immense 
 reefs of quartzite are almost invariably found accom- 
 panj-ing these limestone belts, and running parallel 
 thereto. The Pilot Mountains, a short distance 
 southeast of Walker Lake, are mostly composed of 
 limestone, which contains numerous large fossils of a 
 recent geological period. Erosion has loosened and 
 exposed manj^ of these, and they can there be pro- 
 cured in great quantities, and of perfect form. In 
 the Diamond Jlange, on many of the most prom- 
 inent ])caks, which have suffered denudation by snow 
 and ice, can also be found fossils of Jike character. 
 At Hot Creek and Tybo limestone is the predom- 
 inating rock along the metalliferous zone. At 
 Mineral Hill, where the ore is found, the rock is 
 calcareous slate at the base of the hill, while over- 
 lying this higher up is limestone. Spruce Mount- 
 ain is composed of stratified limestone, or dolomite, 
 with an outcrop of porph3"r3' on the western slope at 
 its base. 
 
 The rocks of Humboldt County are syenite, 
 granite, porph3'ry and slate, though quartzite pre- 
 vails in some of the mountain ranges, accompanied 
 with limestone mingled with calcareous spar, which 
 either rests upon or alternates with hard, compact 
 grits and quartzile. In maii^' of the canons are 
 found boulders of ser])entine, conglomerate, talcoso 
 slate, fine grey granite, coarse rod, crystalline white 
 and metamorphic sandstones, gypsum, pebbles of 
 alabaster, and marble of variable textures. In some 
 localities volcanic action is indicated bj- the presence 
 of scoria, obsidian, lava and sulphur. 
 
 In Nye County there is a vein of silicious material 
 which contains much beautiful lui'quoise, useful to 
 the lapidary. Also boaiitifull}' silicifiod wood — largo 
 trees having been petrified — from which fine spec- 
 imens can be procured. The sandy ])laina of south- 
 ern Nevada frequcntlj' show upon their surface 
 many pebbles, rough-looking on the outside, about the 
 size of a hen's egg, which, u|)on being broken, arc 
 found to be agate, hollow — geodes, containing innu- 
 merable, iioautiful, tiny crystals. Calcedony, obsidian 
 etc., are frcijuently found in their company. 
 
^:^ 
 
 V. 
 
 
 JOINT SHAFT OF THE "CHOLLAR^t'OTOSirHALE A 
 
 VIRGINI/I 
 
f) NORCROSS" AND "SAVAGE'MINING COMPANIES. 
 WEVADA. 
 
GEOLOGY OF NEVADA. 
 
 121 
 
 TllK MOUNTAIN SYSTEM. • 
 
 The general trend of the interior elevations is 
 parallel to that of the Uocky Mountains and Sierra 
 Nevada, though instances are not wanting of trans- 
 verse elevations, and even of mineral veins to cor- 
 respond. In places these elevations rival the parent 
 Rocky Mountains in height. The United States 
 geological cxjiloration of the fortieth parallel gives 
 the altitude of Pogonip Peak, in White Pine Count}', 
 as 10,792 feet above the level of the sea; Tel 
 egraph Peak and Treasure Hill, 9,228; Treasure 
 City, S,!1S(I; and other places nL'urly the same. It 
 is remarkable that on those high elevations some 
 of the richest mines in the State have been found 
 in a horizontal po.sition, the minerals seemingly 
 owing their capture or precipitation to beds of lime- 
 stone, over which flowed the waters of solfiilaras, 
 holding silver in solution. 
 
 The Washoe range of mountains is 100 miles or 
 more in length, ending, on the south, in the Pine 
 Nut Mountains, which are even higher than Mount 
 Davidson, without its fortunate and unexampled 
 deposits, however. In the north it is lost or .sinks 
 under the great lava flow before referred to. 
 
 As illustrated in Figure No. 1, the surfjice of the 
 great intermediate basin appears to have been com- 
 pressed between the flanking ranges, the Sierra Ne- 
 vada on the west and the Rocky Mountains on the 
 east, the whole constituting a portion of the Cor- 
 dillerian system, which stretches from Central Amer- 
 ica to the Arctic. The regular recurrence of the 
 mountain ranges and the parallelism of their trend 
 impress the casual observer with the conviction of 
 lateral pressure as their cause. While there is a 
 general regularity in the physical features of all 
 the different ranges, the trend of all being northerly 
 and southerly, there appears great irregularity in 
 their lithological formation, offering to the geologist 
 and mineralogist the most interesting of all possible 
 fields for his studies. Within the limits of the State 
 are near 100 distinct mountain ranges, nearly everj^ 
 one of which are worth}' the close attention and full 
 description that IJichthofen and King have given 
 of the Washoe Range, including Mount Davidson. 
 Among the jirincipal ranges are, commencing in the 
 northwest, the Black Rock, Pine Forest, Antelope, 
 Trinity, Cottonwood or Santa Rosa, Hot Spring, 
 Independence, Goose (^"reek, and othersmaller mount- 
 ains, buttes and spurs north of the Humboldt River; 
 and south of that river and north of the central 
 parallel are the West Humboldt, East Range, Sonoma, 
 Battle Mountain, l''ish ('reek, Cortez, Pifion, Hast 
 Humboldt, Pequop and Toano. Along the central 
 belt are the Carson Sink l^ange, Augusta, New Pass. 
 Desatoya, Shoshone, Toiyabe, To<iuima, Monitor. 
 Hot Creek. Diamond, Pancake, White Pine, Egan, 
 Long Valley Range, Schell Creek, and Snake, In 
 the southwest and south are the Walker River or 
 Wassuch, Excelsior, Pilot, Monte Christo, Red Mount- 
 
 ain, Kawitch, Reveille, Pahranagat, Mount Irish, 
 Hiko, Ely, Highland, S|)ring Mountain, Cedar, Mor- 
 mon, Virgin, Grapevine, Belted, Desert, Buckskin, 
 j Vegas, and Muddy. There are many other ranges 
 of considerable importance, to some of which the 
 geographer has as yet neglected to give an appella- 
 tion; and there arc also many i.solated ]ieaks and 
 hills that have become famous for their mineral 
 wealth. Of these latter are the Potosi, with its 
 stores of galena; and the Salt Mountain, with its 
 great veins of rock salt in the extreme south; Sil- 
 ver Peak in the southwest; Ruby Hill and Prospect 
 Mountain in the Diamond Range; Treasure Hill and 
 Pogonip Peak in the White Pine Range; Mount 
 Tenabo, and its giant ledge, in the Cortez Mountains; 
 Jeff. Davis Peak and Wheeler Peak in the Snake 
 Range. Some of the ranges, as the Toiyabe, Dia- 
 mond, Schell Creek, Egan, and East Humboldt, ex- 
 tend unbroken for 100 or more miles in length, send- 
 ing their highest peaks 10.000 and 12,000 feet into 
 the sky. While the surface appears so mountainous, 
 there are broad valleys corresponding, seldom less 
 than five or six miles in width, some with fertile 
 soil, and some widely spread with salt, soda, borates, 
 nitre, suli)hur, etc, forbidding to the eye, but valua- 
 ble to commerce. Through all the mountain ranges 
 arc fretpient passes, and open ])lains surround their 
 termini, affording easy routes of travel; and in 
 nearly every range, whether the body bo of granite, 
 limestone, porphyry, or (piartzite, are veins of the 
 precious or useful metals. 
 
 ORKHN OK MINERAL VEINS. 
 
 If the minerals now sought for by the general- 
 ity of mankind had their .origin in the center of 
 tbe earth, or in the Plutonic regions, as so often 
 said, it is quite certain that they were ejected at such 
 an ancient period that they have been, and still are, 
 handled over and over by the superficial forces or 
 agencies. When superficial is spoken of it must bo 
 given sufficient latitude to embrace all that portion 
 of the earth which has been subject to deposit, 
 erosion, or denudation, which in many places is not 
 less than twenty thousand feet. In one of the illus- 
 trations used at the beginning of this article atten- 
 tion is called to the dark lities as inclosing the sup- 
 posed mineral stratum. That such a condition may 
 exist, and even does exist, may bo easily demon- 
 strated. The granite mountains tower far above 
 the stratified rocks at their bases, with which 
 they once were overlaid. This stripping process 
 has gone on until far down on the side of the 
 mountains we find the edges of the strata which 
 on the western slope go down under the great Sacra- 
 mento Valley, and on the eastern side un<ler the Great 
 Basin of Utah. We find the remains of mineral veins 
 whose tops, and ]ierhaps richest ])arts, have been 
 swept away with all tbe gold, silver and other min- 
 erals contained in them. We have seen the surface 
 of the Comstock Lode enrich Gold Cafion. The 
 
122 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 gold which was found in tho canon was \>re- 
 sumablj- not one per cent, of what was ori,i;inallj- in 
 tho vein, and the silver was all swept away, lodging 
 somewhere, below or perhaps, carried to tho lake at 
 the foot of Carson River. This condition prevails 
 all over the State. According to the reports of the 
 Assessors the mineral veins have been richest on the 
 surface, and these have for ages been exposed to the 
 wash and destruction incident to rains, frost and 
 sunshine. There is no destruction of metals, and 
 they must be in existence somewhere in the newly- 
 formed or ]josl pliocene strata. In the course of our 
 history mention is made of the use of immense quan- 
 tities of quicksilver used by the miners everywhere. 
 It all goes down the stream, enriching tho valleys. 
 Thousands of tons arc deposited in some shape below 
 the mines. Supposing that in course of natural 
 events, propylitc and trachyte should again cover 
 the earth, or at least the portion of it under consid- 
 eration, and bury it so deep that the present ranches, 
 alkali and salt beds, should become subject to the 
 internal heat of the earth, amounting to one degree 
 for each fifty feet of depth, the minerals would be- 
 come redissolved and perhaps be redepositod by the, 
 hot springs, or solfataras. which would result fi-om an 
 upheaval of new mountain ranges. The slightest 
 consideration of this subject will enable any one to 
 see that the 8:500, 0(1(1, (100 taken from tho mines of 
 Nevada have made no perceptible impression on the 
 total amount of tho original quantity. 
 
 The minerals lying in tho flats and mud lakes 
 may bo of ver\' little value to tho present race of hu- 
 manity, and are referred to as a possible solution of 
 tho question as to tho origin of mineral veins. 
 
 FUTURE .MININd I'llOSPECTS. 
 
 Whatever the fluctuations in the mining interests 
 of any one locality, Nevada will undoubtedly remain 
 tho groat silver-producing State for many years. 
 While it is verj' doubtful whether, as a rule, the 
 mines will grow richer as greater depths are attained, 
 yet there is such an immense tract of metalliferous 
 country with large ((uantities of low-grade ores, 
 which under favorable circumstances will pay for 
 reduction, that it is (juito certain thousands will mine 
 with ])rofit for hundreds of years. When we look at 
 tho extravagant rates of labor, timber, machinery 
 etc., extravagant compared with ])rices in Kurope — 
 where mining has boon carried on I'di- hundreds of 
 years on a basis of less than one-fourth of the 
 Nevada prices — and considei- that according to the 
 inevitable laws of exchange tho rates must approx- 
 imate each other, it leaves an immense margin for 
 develo|)ment in Nevada. 
 
 Vor}' little profit of the rich mines inures to the 
 State where the mines are situated. Tho profits go 
 to stockholders, who ])erliaps reside in I'aris or 
 Jjondon. The works are managed by agents, who 
 deem it their duty and interest to extort the utmost 
 profits ))ossible; they cheapen everything, wood. 
 
 labor and material to the greatest extent. Though 
 bonanzas enrich the world, or at least the owners 
 thereof, they bring no more profit to the country 
 than the poorer mines, which pay but a small profit 
 over the cost of working. In nearlj- every countj' 
 are found bodies of low-grade ores of all kinds, 
 where bonanzas are possible. In addition to the 
 mines of silver and gold there are immense beds of 
 borax, salt, sulphur, antimony and copper, all valu- 
 able in the arts, that alone would form the basis of 
 prosperity. When the systems of railways now 
 contemplated and under way shall have been com- 
 pleted, so that the prices of transportation shall not 
 be such an effectual bar to development, Nevada will 
 gradually assume among tho States tho position 
 which her immense resources entitle her. 
 
 CHAPTETt XVII I. 
 
 MINING .4.ND POLITICS. 
 
 Mining Inlliience Upou I'olitics — Why ami flow tlic L.iw Was 
 t'liangcd — Wliy the Law Was t'l\anged in 1S7I — Bullion 
 lucreasu in 1N71 Over 1870 — Table Showing Chtinge in 
 Asseasments anil Taxation, etc. — The Law of 1875, Its 
 Pecuniary and Political I'jli'ects — The Members Ignore Their 
 Pledges — An Outside Pressure Brought to Bear — The Two 
 Horns of the Dileninia — The llesult — Senators Voting Kor 
 and Against — The Veto and Its I'^ifects — Bonanza Move 
 Number Three — Attempt to Compromise — Compromise Ef- 
 fected — EBbrts to Avoid Paying the Penalties. 
 
 The search for tho royal metals first led to the 
 settlement of the whites in tho country now known 
 as Nevada. The discovery of the Comstock was the 
 first lodestone that attracted any considerable num- 
 ber into tho Territory. It is the mineral resources 
 of Nevada that have created a demand for other 
 branches of industry, and they languish or prosper 
 in response to the mineral developments of the 
 country. With the mining industrj- closed ilown, 
 even at this day, there would result such an exodus 
 from the State as would leave those who remained 
 more tenants at will of the Indians. ISecause of the 
 importance of this branch of Nevada's resources, it 
 has from the first boon the touchstone, or ruling 
 factor, in ultimatclj' determining her govermontal 
 policy. 
 
 In 18G3, when the first legally authorized effort 
 was made to adopt a State Constitution, tho question 
 that agitated the framers more than any other, was 
 that of taxing the mines. A section was inserted in 
 that instrument authorizing taxation of property 
 which ])laeed unproductive, and all mines, u])on the 
 same basis for being taxed as other projierty. A 
 strong opposition was developed in the Convention 
 against this clause in the section which authorized a 
 levy upon a mining claim on account of value given 
 to the location because of tho present hope or belief 
 that it would lead to vdlii-e at nomoyu/ure time. Wm. 
 M. Stewart was the most able and tenacious of all 
 tho members in his opposition to tho section as it 
 was introduced, and he projiosod an amendment 
 that authorized a levy only upon the net proceeds of 
 
MINING AND POLITICS. 
 
 123 
 
 that class of iiro])erty, but it was defeated. Ho 
 made a number of speeches upon the (piestion, in all 
 of which he reminded hia associates that he was 
 "Opposed to taxintj the hopes of poor miners; his 
 shafts, and drifts, and i)ed-rock tunnels." 
 
 Mark Twain, in his inimitable way, in a communi- 
 cation to the Territoi-wl Enterprise, gives the proceed- 
 ings of a burlesque body known as the Third House, 
 of which he was President. His report of the 
 meeting leaves a forcible impression upon tho mind 
 of the tenacity evinced by Mr. S., his proneness to 
 recur to tho hojjc deferred «f the poor miners, as 
 well as the importance attached at the time to that 
 subject by tho Convention generallJ^ This article 
 will be fount! in full in Cliaptov XII. of this book. 
 
 On the nineteenth of tho following January tho 
 Constitution was overwhelmingly rejected by the 
 peo])le, on the grounds, mainly, of its not contain- 
 ing the Stewart amendment. Another Convention 
 was called to frame a State Constitution, that met 
 at Carson, in Jul}-, 18(14, and the rejected instrument, 
 with slight changes, including the Stewart idea of 
 mining taxation, was again j)laced before the people. 
 Tho vote was taken at the general State election 
 that year, on the seventh of September, resulting in 
 adopting it by a vote of 10,378 to 1,284. The first 
 Legislature that met under tho Now Constitution 
 enacted a revenue law that was a])provod March tt, 
 ISd."). 
 
 This Act* authorized a tax levy of 81 ••")'• for tho 
 county, and 81.25 for tho State on each one hundred 
 dollars of valuation; but Section !t!l limited the levy 
 on ])roceeds of mines to one dollar on the hundred, 
 one- half for county, the other for State purposes. 
 This was a discrimination in favor of mining pro- 
 ducts of 81.75 on the 8100 over other kinds of prop- 
 erty.! 
 
 The law further ])rovided that twenty dollars 
 should be deducted for expense of working the ore, 
 and that only three-fourths of tho remainder should 
 bo taxed. I This would result in obtaining sixty 
 cents tax from a ton of ore that worked 8100. 
 
 WHY AND now THE J,.VW WAS CHAN(iEIJ. 
 
 Tho question of the constitutionality of the ninety- 
 ninth section of that law had been mooted from tho 
 time of its passage, but no case had boon brought 
 before tho courts to settle the matter until Feb- 
 ruary 8, 1877, when an af^tion for that purpose was 
 brought before Judge S. II. Wright, of tho Second 
 District. Both friends and enemies of the law knew 
 that the matter would be taken before the Supreme 
 Court of the State, as soon as Judge Wright ren- 
 dered his decision, by appeal of the unsuccessful 
 
 • .Statues of 18U4 and 1865, pages 271-300. 
 
 t State of Nevada vs. Kstabrook. New Reports, volume 3, 
 page 173. 
 
 tNcva<la Reports, volume 3, p.ige 179. "The closing sen- 
 tence of Section '.10 dincts ;i tax to be levied on tliree-fourtlia of 
 tlic value ]irevi(iu»ly a.seertaineil of llie procecda of the mine. 
 This is clearly unccin8tituti::n.il. The value being once ascer- 
 tained the whole value is taxable at the same rate a.s other prop- 
 erty. 
 
 litigant. The question was a very important one; 
 and if the section in question was finally declared 
 to be antagonistic to the State Constitution such 
 decision would increase materially tho amount of tax 
 that producers would bo re(iuired to pay upon their 
 bullion. 
 
 Some idea of the strength of motive that influenced 
 men to provide against the conseiiuences of an 
 adverse decision will be gained from the following: — 
 
 In 18()G tho Storey County Assessor had rej)ortod 
 811,951,876 as the gross amount of their bullion 
 produced, and a tax of 817,772.54 only had boon 
 paid on the same. If tho revenue had been col- 
 lected in accordance with only that portion of the law 
 which the Supremo Court finally decided to be con- 
 stitutional, the tax would have boon increased from 
 the amount as above — of less than 818,000 — to 
 8123,776.20 in Storey County alone. The Could & 
 Curry, Savage, Halo & Norcross, Yellow Jacket, 
 Kentuck, Imperial, Crown Point, Belcher, and other 
 mines of the Comstock were ^-ielding an aggregate 
 of from 815,000,000 to 817,000,000 in bullion per year. 
 This present income, and foreshadowing of such 
 vast andrapidlj^ accumulating wealth ibr the future, 
 made slight variations in the per cent, of tax, repre- 
 senting large sums of money. Therefore it was 
 doomed important that no uncertainty should lie 
 at the door of wealth, like tho menace contained in 
 the undecided suit; and the danger resulted in bring- 
 ing tho sensitive receivers of fabulous incomes into 
 the shadows directly behind the Legislative throne. 
 
 A special session of the Tjcgislature having been 
 called, convened on the fifteenth of March succeed- 
 ing the commencement of tho suit, and two rev- 
 enue bills were introduced before that body that 
 materially changed the provisions of tho law in 
 question. One of them provided for a further ex- 
 emption in the amount of bullion to bo assessed, 
 allowing eighteen dollars per ton on free ores, and 
 forty dollars per ton on such as had to bo worked 
 by the Freiburg (roasting), or smelting jiroccss, to 
 bo deducted from the gross yield.* The other was 
 introduced into the Senate by D. W. Welty, of Lan- 
 der County, on tho twenty-second of March, 1S67, 
 looking to tho relief of tho tax-op])rc88ed bullion. 
 It passed tho Senate by a vote of ten to five, and 
 tho Assembly by a vote of twenty-three to five, 
 almost without discussion; becoming a law by ap- 
 proval April 2(1, on tho same day of its passage. 
 Tho ninety-ninth section of the old law was on tho 
 sixth of June following declared unconstitutional, 
 because it made taxation unequal; but in this respect 
 the new law out-lleroded Herod liiinself.t It lim- 
 ite<l the liullinn tax in Storey < 'outit}' to twenty-five 
 cents on the one hundreil dollars, for countj- pur- 
 poses, at tho same lime authorizing therefor the 
 levy of 81.50 on the same amount of any other 
 species of property. Tho State tax was loil uniform; 
 
 * Statues of 1807, page 100. 
 + Statutes of 1807, page 103. 
 
124 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 (iiBcrimination only heinfj allowed in taxation for 
 county pur]ioses, and in Store}- County; productive 
 mines in other parts of the State being nhut out 
 from the beneficiary limitation. Under this new 
 regime, thj owner of a horse vaUv^d at 8100 paid 
 to Storey Countj- §1.5(1 in tax, while the owner of 
 a ton of ore yielding SlOO, first deducted eighteen 
 dollars out of it, if the same was free milling ore, 
 and then )) lid twenty and a half cents tax on what 
 remained; but if the ore had to be either roasted or 
 smelted to reduce it, then forty dollars was fiist 
 deducted, leaving sixty dollars to be assessed that 
 was taxed only fifteen cents.* 
 
 WHY THE LAW WAS CHANGED IN 1871. 
 
 It needs but a glance at the following exhibit to 
 enable a j)crson to understand the influences that 
 produced a change in the existing law creating 
 farther exemption in the tax on bullion. 
 
 INCllEASE OK BULLION IN 1871 
 
 Over the product of 1870, as exhibited by rolls of 
 County Assessors: — 
 
 Ksmeralda County, bullion assesKed in 1871, •SK>7,- 
 07!»; in 1870, $92,'.llil. Increase, .?44,l(i0. 
 
 Elko County, bullion assessed in 1871, SG14,04C; 
 in 1870, S210,l(;0. Increase, .«.'i0r),777. 
 
 Humboldt Count}-, bullion assessed in 1871, 8400,- 
 458; in 1870, 8378,840. Increase, 8120,618. 
 
 Lyon County, bullion assessed in 1871, 8.")70,279. 
 1 ncreaso, 8.")70,270. 
 
 Lander Count}-, bullion assessed in 1871,82,090,01.3; 
 in 1870, Sl,104,.')00. Increase, 8004,423. 
 
 Lincoln County, bullion assessed in 1871,83,604,- 
 802; in 1870, 81,602,016. Increase, 81,041,886. 
 
 Nye County, bullion assessed in 1871, 8474,108; in 
 1870, 8191,061. Increase, 8283,047. 
 
 White Pine County, bullion assessed in 1871, 
 §1,347,528; in 1870. 81,177,670. Increase, 8169,849. 
 
 Storey County, bullion assessed in 1871, 810,644,702; 
 in 1S70, 86,(153,040. Increase, 84,500,753. 
 
 Total increased bullion assessment of 1871 over 
 1870, 88,119,801. 
 
 In November, 1870, tlio Crown Point and Rclcher 
 '■bonanzas" were discovered, those mines being the 
 property of William Sharon, of the California Pank, 
 and his friends. The nni)recc(k'iitc(l j)ros])crily of 
 mines all over the Slate combined to help give own- 
 ers an overshadowing influence upon legislation; 
 and they sought, as |)rc)i<>ndci-ating ca]iital always 
 seeks, to shift the burden of taxation as much as 
 possible on to the properties and industries less for- 
 tunate and able to bear it. In addition to the above, 
 another strong incentive was thrown into the scale 
 for exemj)tion of mining products, because of the 
 following facts: — 
 
 The Legislature of 1869 had, in February, author- 
 
 * Statutes of 1867, pages 160 and 163. 
 
 ized Storey County to issue 8300,000 in bonds, to bo 
 given to the Virginia and Truckco Pailroad Com- 
 pany.* A levy of one-half of one per cent, was to 
 be made yearly upon the property of the county to 
 pay interest upon those bonds, and to create a sink- 
 ing fund for accumulating moneys, out of which to 
 jiay them oft' eventually. 
 
 The Crown Point, Belcher, Savage, in fact nearly 
 all the mines on the Comstock, were under the con- 
 trol of the California Bank stockholders at that time. 
 They consequently had a strong incentive for freeing, 
 as far as lay in their power, this class of property 
 from the burden of that debt. An additional motive 
 was added, in the fact, that the same parties to 
 whom the bonds were given and who owned the rail- 
 road, also controlled those best paying mines; and 
 they objected to having their bullion taxed into this 
 county sinking and interest fund, out of which they 
 were to be paid. The result of these influences, 
 brought to bear, was the approval of an Act of the 
 Legislature, on the twenty-eighth of February, 1871, 
 that further'changed the law concerning the assess- 
 ment of bullion, t This time it allowed a deduction 
 from the product of mines, of such an amount per 
 ton, as it cost to extract the ore and convert the 
 same into bullion. A limit, however, was placed to 
 the amount allowable for such expenses. The deduc- 
 tion on ores going twelve dollars or less per ton, could 
 not exceed ninety per cent, of their value. If they 
 yielded anywhere between twelve and thirty dollars, 
 a deduction of eighty per cent, might be made; and 
 a sixty per cent, deduction was admissible if they 
 produced between thirty and one hundred dollars. 
 If over 8100, fifty per cent, might be claimed by the 
 owner as exempt from taxation, provided it could bo 
 shown that such was the actual expense. A further 
 and additional deduction of fil'teen dollars per ton 
 was allowable upon any ores worked by the dry, or 
 Frieburg, ])roccss. The eft'ect of this change was to 
 very materially increase the amount of bullion that 
 escaped taxation. As an example: Under the law 
 of 1S(')7. forty-dollar ore escaped tax, if worked by 
 Frieburg or smelting process, and was assessed 
 twenty-two dollars if reduced in any other way. 
 Under the new law, the owners of the above grade 
 of ores that escaped ta.xation, might figure expenses 
 so high as to leave but one dollar per ton liable to 
 assessment, while upon • the free ores that were 
 assessed, as above twenty-two dollars per ton, the 
 assessment might be reduced to sixteen dollars. 
 
 The following table exhibits the eft'ect of the 
 changes in the laws, by showing what the tax was — 
 under each of the Acts, and the Supremo Court 
 decision— upon 812, 830 to 899, and 810(1 ores. The 
 remarks accompanying it, gives the authority for tho 
 figures as they are given: — 
 
 * Statutes (if I8G!>, page 49, Sections 1 imd 4. 
 i Statutes of 1871, page 87. 
 
AA/'alter E. Dean. 
 
 The young men who came to California as late as 
 1860 do not call themselves pioneers. Yet in relation 
 to business, they have had a pretty large range of 
 pioneer expei-ience. \V. E. Dean was born in 
 Eoehester, New York, December 25, 1838. His 
 ancestors on his mother's side were of Maryland 
 stock. His grandfather was present from that State 
 at the first inauguration of George Washington as 
 Pi-esident of the United States. On the paternal 
 side, his immediate ancestors were from Kew York. 
 Mr. Dean's early education was in the common 
 schools of Eoehester and in the High School of the 
 same city. This was supplemented by a good 
 elementary business education in a banking house- 
 In 1860, having attained his majority, he was ready 
 for any business venture which had a reasonable 
 prospect of succesB. He left Eoehester that year for 
 China, by way of San Francisco. But on reaching 
 the latter place, the accounts from China wore not 
 assuring. The treatment of Europeans at that time, 
 and the new hazards of business, with the prospect 
 of a war between China and one or more European 
 Powers, were considerations which changed Mr. 
 Dean's determination, and he concluded to try his 
 fortune in California. His business training stood him 
 in good stead. lie very soon became Secretarj^ of 
 some of the most important mines on the Pacific 
 Coast. Among them were the Chollar Mining Com- 
 pany, and afterwards the Potosi, Imperial, and oth- 
 ers. He acquired in these positions the reputation of 
 a prompt, accurate and faithful officer, with a large 
 capacity for the dispatch of business. Courteous and 
 obliging in his intercourse with those who had busi- 
 ness to transact with him, he could hardly fail of 
 being a popular business man. 
 
 Mr. Dean made business ventures in mines, some- 
 times with fortunate results, and sometimes with 
 losses. Probably an instance is not known of unvary- 
 ing good fortune on the part of any individual long 
 engaged in mining pursuits. The purchase of an 
 undeveloped mine is always a venture, where there 
 may be ten chances against making anything to one 
 for making a fortune. Yet a groat mine is such a 
 fortune, and there is so much fascination in the ven- 
 ture, that it is not a matter of wonder that enter- 
 prising men should be willing to take the risks. A 
 great mine can only be developed and placed on a 
 paying basis by a large expenditure, and often bj' 
 years of patient labor. Even when nothing is 
 returned there is this one essential benefit, that many 
 
 hundred thousand dollars may have been spent for 
 labor and supplies, and this money goes into a 
 thousand small channels, and helps the country just as 
 much as the same amount which the farmer pays for 
 the labor on his farm, and for the supplies which he 
 buys from time to time. Mr. Dean at last found the 
 balance from his ventures on the right side. He was 
 set down as a fortunate man. It was rather the good 
 fortune which came from experience, education and 
 a clear business head. He did not place all his eggs 
 in one basket, but at a later day, made several judi- 
 cious investments in real estate in San Francisco, 
 which ho has since improved, rightly judging that 
 the future growth and prosperity of that city were 
 well assured. 
 
 In the year 1878, Mr. Dean turned his attention 
 somewhat to raining interests in Arizona Territory. 
 Encouraging accounts were given of some of the 
 undeveloped mines in that region. The country was 
 remote. The railroad had progressed hardly beyond 
 the Colorado Elver. The cost of erecting mills and 
 transporting supplies was enormous. It was certain 
 that none but the richest mines in that condition of 
 things would return any profit to the owners. Many 
 cautious mining men were averse to touching any- 
 thing in Arizona. ^Ir. Dean bought for himself and 
 his associates what was then known as the Conten- 
 tion Mine, in the Tombstone District. The consid- 
 eration was only a few thousand dollars. But the 
 mine was only partially developed. Indeed, it had 
 never been opened far enough to show forth what 
 might be in it; the surface indications were promis- 
 ing enough. But surlaco indications have often 
 promised vastly more than was ever realized, as 
 most mining men know to their cost. The new pur- 
 chaser had not seen the mine, and did not see it for 
 nearly a year afterwards. It was, however, in 
 charge of one of the most competent superintendents 
 in the country. At the expiration of a year or more 
 he and his associates were able to demonstrate that 
 the Contention was a good mine. 
 
 Mr. Dean was not onl3- fortunate in his mining 
 investment, but also in his associates. When the 
 purchasers were able to demonstrate its great re- 
 sources, a mill was erected at a point about nine 
 miles distant, whore water could be procured. In a 
 few weeks the mill had produced bullion equal in 
 value to the entire cost of the establishment. Since 
 that time regular monthly dividends have been 
 made of 875,000 each, besides an extra one of the 
 
same amount last ChristmaB. The name of the mine 
 was changed to that of Western, and it is now 
 known as one of the great mines of the country. 
 The stock of this mine has never been placed on 
 the market. The owners are satisfied with safe re- 
 turns, and with conservative mining for regular 
 dividends. The mine is developed in an orderly and 
 systematic way, and it promises for many years to 
 come to be one of the best mining properties in the 
 country. Mr. Bean was married in 1863 to Miss 
 Helen C. MacDonough, of Philadelphia, and has one 
 son just coming to manhood. He is a member of the 
 
 California Commandery of Knights Templar, and is 
 also a member of several prominent clubs and 
 Associations. He has a large social nature, gives 
 liberally when his sympathies are enlisted, is a tried 
 and trusted friend, high-spirited and firm in his 
 views of public policy and duty. He has no taste 
 for politics, votes quietly, but never conceals his 
 opinions. He reads extensively, _has a taste for 
 art and refined amusements, and has the capacity 
 to enjoy in a rational way the fortune which he has 
 attained in the prime of his years. 
 
MINING AND POLITICS. 
 
 126 
 
 
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126 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 THE LAW OF 1875, ITS PECUNIARY AND POLITICAL 
 EFFECTS. 
 
 The people of Storey County became somewhat 
 restive under the discrimination, and in 1874 elected 
 John Piper of Viriiinia City to the State Senate, who 
 introduced a bill that became a law,* by an almost 
 unanimous vote in both Houses,t and was approved 
 February 20, 1875. The change made by Piper's 
 bill was a radical one. It repealed that portion of 
 the law of 1SG7 which limited the tax on bullion in 
 Storey County to twentj--five cents on the SlOO, and 
 placed the limit at one dollar and a half, the same as 
 with any other kind of projierty. 
 
 This was a revolution in the policy regarding 
 mines, and the unanimity of sentiment prevailing in 
 both Houses in regard to it, was due to the absence 
 of any outside influence in opposition to the measure. 
 William Sharon and associates had practically 
 exhausted the known ore bodies in their mines, and 
 no longer cared to exempt that class of property. 
 In fact, their interests now demanded a change in 
 their jiolicy. A heavier tax on mines would draw 
 but little money from them, and would increase the 
 Storey County sinking fund out of which their rail- 
 road bonds were to be paid. Consequently, that 
 firm allowed the bill to pass, neither favoring nor 
 opposing it. They were well enough pleased to 
 rea]) the benefits that came to them unsought; but 
 with those favors also came a political conflict upon 
 which they liad not counted. 
 
 As the Sharon mines had began to show signs of 
 being worked out, another bonanza, the largest yet 
 found, was opened by the firm of John W. Mackey, 
 James G. Fair, and Flood and O'Brien, in the Consol- 
 idated Virginia and California mines. The yield of 
 bullion from the Consolidated Virginia was: — 
 
 In 1873, 8(;45,587.17; 1874, 84,981,484.05; 1875, 
 ?1G,717,394.76; 1876, §16,057,049.47. Total §39,002,- 
 110.45. 
 
 It will be readily seen, that the change in 1875, 
 from a tax of twenty-five cents to possibly SI. 50 
 upon the §100, in Storey County, was throwing upon 
 the above firm, a volume of taxation that the Cali- 
 fornia Bank mines had escaped. This was not the 
 feature, however, which aggravated most; but the 
 fact that it forced these two mines to pay such a 
 large proportion of the Vii'ginia and Truckee Kail- 
 road bonds, was a hair that broke the camel's back. 
 The owners of the newly discovered bonanzas de- 
 elai'ed war against William Sharon, the bank man- 
 ager, bullion tax manipulator, princijial owner of the 
 Virginia and Truckee Railroad, and United States 
 Senator, who they supposed was resjionsible for the 
 existing state of things. The proposition was how 
 to avoid the increased taxation, and at the same time 
 ])unish their enemy. At that time the members of 
 the "Bonanza" firm were not politicians, their first 
 
 •Statutes of 1875, pages 74 and 75. 
 
 +In the .Senate, the vote was unanimous. In tlie Assembly, 
 only one vote was opposed to it. 
 
 niove demonstrated this fact; but they soon became 
 such, and their second effort showed them to be apt 
 scholars, in the arena where " Ways * * are dark and 
 * * tricks * * not vain." 
 
 Their first move as previously suggested, proved 
 their incipient condition as jK)lilicians, being no less 
 an eiTor than the refusal to pay any tax, either to 
 the countj' or State; believing the law to be uncon- 
 stitutional under which the tax-gatherer was acting. 
 The case was decided against them in the United 
 States Circuit Court and was appealed to the 
 Supreme Court of the United States, where it lay 
 undecided during the ensuing contest. This refusal 
 to pay occurred in June, 187G, and was a direct 
 demand upon the pockets of every property owner 
 in the State, who would be called upon to make up 
 all deficiencies to both State and county resulting 
 from the act. It came just at the eve of an election, 
 a fresh political question; and the two jiarties in the 
 State vied with each other in their outspoken hos- 
 tility to any action, by State officials or Legislators, 
 that looked towards a modification of the law under 
 which bidlion was taxed. The Republican State 
 Convention Resolved, "That the Republican party is 
 opposed to any repeal or change of the present law 
 providing for the taxation of the net proceeds of the 
 mines, looking to any different method of arriving at 
 values for the purpose of taxation." The Democratic 
 State Convention Resolced, "That all property, includ- 
 ing the net proceeds of mines, shall bear its equal 
 burden of taxation, and we are opposed to any Leg- 
 islation in anywise exempting such proceeds from 
 taxation." All candidates for the State Legislature 
 were under necessity of pledging themselves as anti- 
 compromise and anti-change on the bullion tax ques- 
 tion before they were accepted by either ])arty — 
 except in White Pine County. Apparently there was 
 but one opinion in the State, and that was for no 
 change. Judge O. R. Leonard was elected to the 
 Supreme Bench, aiid Thomas Wren to Congress, the 
 State going Republican on the Presidential issue. 
 The new Legislative members were divided upon 
 national politics, both Democrats and Republicans 
 being elected, but they were a unit upon the one issue 
 of the hour, and such was the political result of bo- 
 nanza move number one. 
 
 THE MEMBERS IGNORE THEIR PLEDGES. 
 
 The State Controller's report, at the assembling of 
 the Legislature, made the following exhibit of the 
 Slate debt up to the beginning of 1S77: — 
 
 Bonds payable after 1880. .§540,400 00 
 Accrued interest on same 
 
 Jan. 1, 1877 17,236 m 
 
 Outstanding warrants 57,441 87 
 
 Total outstanding State debt §G1.'),078 53 
 
 On hand to pay the same in 
 
 cash or Us e(juivalont 506,648 82 
 
 Balance of State debt not pro- 
 vided for 108,429 71 
 
MINING AND POLITICS. 
 
 127 
 
 Deduct amount not duo until 
 after 1881 33,751 18 
 
 Jjeavinjj Jan. 1, 1877, to bo 
 
 pioviiled for 74,678 53 
 
 To this add Controller's esti- 
 mated expense of running 
 the Stale Government for 
 the ensuing two years.* 894,250 85 
 
 This gives a total expense 
 that this Legislature was to 
 provide for of 968,929 38 
 
 The necessities, therefore, lying at the threshold 
 of the Slate Govornmenl was to provide for the 
 payment, within the next two years, of 8968,929.38 
 by borrowing money, taxation, or both. The 
 Controller estimated the jirobablo revenues of the 
 State, for the ensuing two years, not inclmJing tax on 
 mines, at S7U,21(l.t Add to this 864,464J as the 
 income from mines in the State, 7iol including tfie 
 " Bo7wnziis" and the State would have S775,674 to 
 meet its expense obligation of §968,929 with. 
 There would thus remain a deficiency of $193,255 to 
 be provided for bj- borrowing monej-, providing no 
 tax was received from the '-Bonanza" mines. This 
 was an over-estimate as to what the State 
 necessities would bo, tho results showing that the 
 deficiency would have been less than SlOU,O0(); 
 but this fact c<iuld not be known at that time. 
 Practically the (juestion ])resented was to provide 
 for a deficit of, say §200,000, or collect the tax from 
 the belligerent firm. 
 
 AN OUTSIDE PRESSURE BROUOHT TO BEAR. 
 
 The financial coixlition of Storey County was a 
 question that ju'esented itself in a strong light be- 
 fore tho now mombors. Tho County Treasurer had, 
 on tho close of 1866, reported that county as having 
 no floating debt, its only reported obligations being 
 those Virginia and Truckee bonds, of which there 
 remained un])aid 8218,000, bearing interest at seven 
 per cent. The shutting off of the "Bonanza" tax 
 was causing a deficiency in the county revenues that 
 presented the necessity of borrowing 8100,000 to pay 
 fortheirnew Court House, and maintain their schools, 
 unless tho disputed tax was paid. 
 
 THE TWO HORNS OF THE DILEMMA. 
 
 The amount of money involved in tho issue was 
 $290, 27.'). 72 due the State and county of Storey by 
 that mining corporation, as levied under existing 
 laws. To this had accrued, in tho form of penalties 
 for not paying the amount when due, the sum of 
 877,578.22, making a total of 367,853.94. 
 
 Tho whole question apparently presented to tho 
 Legislature resolved itself into one of a necessity for 
 borrowing 8200.000 tor the State; of forcing Storey 
 County to borrow 8100,000 to maintain her credit; 
 
 'This .imoiint was $12,643.47 more than was expended. 
 
 tThere was ^SI.'l.G'iii.'JO more paid into the treasury in 1877 and 
 1878 than the estimate. 
 
 JFigureil from the siippositinn that mines would continue to 
 produce as much bullion e.ich year .is they had yiehUd in 1876. 
 
 or go back on their party instructions as well as 
 personal pledges, and compromise with tho "Bonanza" 
 firm. 
 
 THE RESULTS. 
 
 On tho seventeenth of February, 1877, bill No. 126 
 was introduced before the Senate, that embodied tho 
 results of a compromise entered into between the 
 "Bonanza" managers on the ono side, and the county 
 officials of Storey County — joined by tho State Con- 
 troller and Treasurer — on the other, to which Gov- 
 ernor Bradley acquiesced.* The existing law said, 
 Assess tho value of what bullion remains, after de- 
 ducting tho actiial cost — nuil no more — of ])roducing 
 it, and placed a limit to tho amount per ton, beyond 
 which owners were not allowed to bring in bills of 
 expenses. The proposed compromise law made 
 those limits a little more favorable to mine owners; 
 and allowed a deduction for expenses equal to the 
 limits named, regardless of whether the actual cost had 
 reached those figures or not. The difl'erences amounted 
 to a reduction in tho tax on the bullion product in 
 tho State of thirty-one and a half per cent., as ad- 
 mitted by the friends of the compromise. t This 
 was equal to twenty per cent, of the entire taxable 
 property of tho State. By its enemies, the claim 
 was that it relieved from taxation between forty- 
 seven and fiftj' per cent, of mining products, assessa- 
 ble under the existing law of 1871. The "Bonanza" 
 firm said, pass this law, relieving us in I'uture from 
 the necessity of paying taxes U|)on thirty -one and a 
 half per cent, of our bullion profits, and we will ])ay 
 both State and county all that we owe, under exist- 
 ing laws. 
 
 On the twenty-fourth of February the bill passed 
 the Senate, by a vote of fourteen to eleven, as fol- 
 lows: — 
 
 SENATORS VOTING .\OAINST 
 n-S PA.SS.\(JK. 
 
 Goo. W. Baker, 
 W. M. Boardman, 
 11. T. Cresswell, 
 K. 15. Dickinson, 
 A. Garrard, 
 Wm, C. Grimes, 
 <^has. McConnoll. 
 W. L. Ross, 
 G. H. Shepard, 
 VV. F. Stewart, 
 N. Woscoatt. 
 
 SENATORS VOTtNO FOR ITS 
 
 PAHSAr.E. 
 
 A. J. Blair, 
 
 Geo. \V. Cassidj', 
 
 S. W. Chubbuck, 
 
 H. A. Comins, 
 
 Gen. T. 1). Edwards, 
 
 M. J. Farrell, 
 
 AV. Ji. King, 
 
 W. O. IL Martin, 
 
 John Piper, 
 
 T. B. Rickey, 
 
 E. A. Schultz, 
 
 O. K. Stampley, 
 
 T. N. Stone, 
 
 W.J. Westerfiold. 
 Total vote for bill, 14. Total ojjposing vote, 11. 
 On tlie twcntj'-sevcnth of February tho bill passed 
 tho Assembly, by a vote of twenty-seven to twentj-- 
 threo. On the first of March (tov. L. II. Bradley 
 vetoed it; and such was tho result, for the time 
 being, of "Bonanza" move number two. 
 
 * These officials were elected prior to the time when the ques- 
 tion of a compromise had been raised, consequently were not 
 pledged in the matter, aiul acted upon the question from a stand- 
 point of mere present policy. 
 
 t See (Governor's veto, Senate Journal, Eighth .Session, page 
 315 and 316. 
 
128 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 THE VETO AND ITS IMMEDIATE EFFECTS. 
 
 The Governor's veto message contained the follow- 
 ing remarks upon the political bearing of the acts of 
 those who hail taken part in the contest, and the 
 reward that might be looked for, in the near future, 
 as the natural result incident to those acts. Its 
 expression sounds strangely out of place and absurd 
 in the light of what has since transpired; much as 
 the reading of a prayer would at a prize-fight, 
 although the utterances are those only of principles 
 and sentiments that underlie the only hope of per- 
 petuating a free government: •' We are sent here," 
 said the Governor, " as the servants of the people, to 
 execute and carry out their will. There is no power 
 on earth to release us from the pledges exacted of us 
 by our constituents, except themselves. The success 
 or failure of our Government depends upon the 
 honesty of the representative in carrj-ing out his 
 instructions. The whole people, in their State Con- 
 ventions and in their County Conventions, have 
 instructed us as to our duty in relation to the assess- 
 ment of the proceeds of the mines. On no other 
 subject were the people of this State ever so out- 
 spoken, so unanimous. No member of this Legisla- 
 ture came here in doubt as to the wishes of those 
 who sent him. We all will have an accounting 
 with our respective constituencies upon our return 
 home for the proper execution of the trust confided 
 to us. While some may return covered with the 
 wreck of broken pledges, others, I am happy to say, 
 will meet their people and receive the reward of 
 ' well done, good and faithful servants.' Many will 
 go forth from this feast of the vultures with pledges 
 kept sacred, with manhood unsullied, and the people 
 will learn whom to truest hi thi: falare." 
 
 " And the people will learn o'honi to tra»t in the 
 futwe." What good has it done tliem to learn whom 
 to trust ? What advantage has it pi-oved to those 
 "Well done, good and faithful servants?" Of the 
 eleven .Senators who kept their faith with the people, 
 but two have since received preferment at the hands 
 of their constituents, namely G. Jl. Shopard, of Elko, 
 and Charles McConnell, of Humboldt. George W. 
 Cassidy, of Kureka, was one of the Senators who, 
 being pledged to oppose a change, ignored the fact 
 and became one of the strongest advocates of the 
 compromise. In 1S80 the ])eople elected him to Con- 
 gress as a reward for iiot keeping faith with them, 
 and defeated R. M, Daggett for that position, who 
 had ably served them in Washington, where ho had 
 acted consistcntl3', in following in the line of his anti- 
 railroad, and all other pledges. 
 
 The strangest part of this political anomaly, how- 
 ever, has been the way in which the voters after- 
 wards showed tlieii- aiipreciation of what the chief 
 actor had done for them, by defeating him for Gov- 
 ernor, because he had followed their instructions, 
 and giving the United States Sonatorship to the 
 party against whom they had instructed him to act 
 in maintaining their rights. We have no fault to 
 
 find with Mr. Fair, neither have we with Mr. Cassidy, 
 for these gentlemen are much better representatives 
 at Washington, than those deserve who reward their 
 friends with defeat, and enemies with preferment. 
 
 BON.\NZA MOVE .NUMBER THREE. 
 
 There was an extensive disjilay of enthusiasm 
 throughout the State when the news spread that the 
 Governor had vetoed the bill. Congratulatory meet- 
 ings and pledges from influential members of both 
 parties was the order of the day, naming L. R Brad- 
 ley for Governor for the remainder of his life, regard- 
 less of politics. Yet from a small minority in the 
 State, emanated the mutterings that portended a com- 
 ing storm. The press of Storey County came out in 
 such a raid of abuse as it never before had turned 
 loose upon a State official in Nevada. The Virginia 
 Evening Chronicle said, under the heading of, " Our 
 Boss Lunatic": " Governor Bradley has written him- 
 self down an ass in letters as large as the State of 
 Nevada. We move for a commission de lunatico en- 
 quirendo in his ease, and that pending the inquiry 
 pen and paper be carefully kept out of his way. In 
 his hands they are as dangerous as a razor in the 
 hands of a maniac." 
 
 The Gold Hill N'ews headed a caustic editorial, 
 "A I)is.\strous Veto," and satirically remarked that 
 " * * Truly this is a brilliant piece of statesmanship 
 on the part of Governor Bradley — one of which he 
 and his party may justly be proud ! * * He has 
 rung the death-knell of his party." 
 
 The Territorial Enterprise boiled over in bitterness 
 in the following strain: "Yesterday was one of the 
 saddest days ever seen in Virginia, The shadow of 
 a great calamity was felt everj'wherc; and over all 
 was the feeling that the people had been spat upon 
 and betrayed by the old imbecile whose only claim 
 for respect among men has been his reputation for 
 honesty, * * » \ye trust that it will cause the 
 people of Storey County to realize at last that the 
 most dangerous man to put in office at any time is 
 an old fool. A man who through a long life has 
 followed so narrow a groove that the suspicion of 
 dishonesty is always awakened in his breast if a man 
 with a clean shirt on approaches him. * * * 
 Ho is old and <lecrc|iit, and it would be cowardice 
 to abuse or insult him. * * * ]5ut would to 
 God that he was a young man that we might pub- 
 lish how much we wish that he was dead." 
 
 We give an extract from the opposite side of the 
 question as a sample of the opinions entertained 
 bv a large majority of the people of the State. 
 The Kureka Nejuilihcdn was politicallj- o|>posed to 
 the Governor, but said: "Governor Bradley deserves 
 well of the people of this State. Wo are alwaj's 
 glad to do justice to a political opponent, and on 
 this occasion we tender the Governor our hearty 
 thanks for his action. He has, wo believe, saved 
 the already overburdened tax-payers of the State 
 IVom the imposition of additional and unjust bur- 
 dens." 
 
MINING AND POLITICS. 
 
 129 
 
 ATTEMPT TO COMPROMISE. 
 
 Tho veto of Jlareh Iftt left the whole question 
 where the instructions of the people had indicated 
 that they desired it to be, dependent upon the 
 action of the Supreme Court. Seventeen days later 
 a proposition was made by tho "Bonanza" firm to 
 Storej- t'ounty. through its Commissioners, to loan 
 that county 880.00(1, and follow tho accommodation 
 by a further advance quarterly for four quarters 
 of an amount equal to a half of one per cent, on 
 their bullion j'ield, after deducting cost of produc- 
 ing it. 
 
 There were three conditions to be complied with 
 on the part of the county as a consideration for this 
 advance, as follows: — 
 
 First — The money was to bo used for no other 
 purpose than to replenish the general and school 
 funds, which left tho railroad bonds and other mat- 
 ter out in the cold. 
 
 Second — These advances to cease when the suit 
 was finally decided. 
 
 Third — That these advances were to be ci-edited 
 against the amount of taxes due the county and 
 State, provided suit terminated adverse to that firm, 
 otherwise not. 
 
 Fourth — If suit was decided against the ''Bonanza" 
 representatives then the County Commissioners wore 
 '•b}- official action, so far as they had tho power to 
 do the same, remit and release all penalties and per- 
 centages for which either of said companies shall 
 heretofore have been liable, by reason of a failure 
 on its part to have paid the taxes assessed against 
 it at the time when they became due." 
 
 This proposition for compromise met with suf- 
 ficient op]iosiiion to prevent its being adopted, and 
 was withdrawn on the twenty-seventh of the same 
 month. 
 
 COMPROMISE EFFECTED. 
 
 The next effort of these mine representatives, 
 looking towards relief from a portion of tho conso- 
 •luenccs of the error on their ])art of refusing to 
 pay their taxes, resulte<l more favorably, simply be- 
 cause they offered more and exacted less. This 
 time the proposition was made. May 3d, to pay all 
 they owed, both State and county, including costs 
 of suit, less peivdlies and jier cents that had accrued 
 for non-payment. Tho condition attached for doing 
 this was, that if the pending case in tho United 
 States Supreme Court terminated favorably to the 
 State then the District Court of Storey County was 
 to issue a viandamvs, staying execution for satisfac- 
 tion of so much of tho judgment as included penal- 
 ties and per cents, until the first of April, IST'J. This 
 would carry the same beyond the next session of 
 the State Legislature, thus giving an opportunity 
 for relief from tho necessity of l>aying lliom bj- an 
 Act of that body. The proposition was accepted 
 by the District Attorney and ('ountj- (^)mniissioner 
 of Storey County, atid the money, S2!M),27r).72, was 
 paid on tho fifth. Un tho seventh the question was 
 
 decided in the LTnited States Supreme Court in favor 
 of the State,* the fact being ]jublish(;d in the Vir- 
 ginia City papers the next day. 
 
 The appearance of this transaction would indicate 
 that tho attornej' of the "Bonanza" firm at Wash- 
 ington had advised them of the probable result of 
 their suit, and this final arrangement was a little 
 sharp practice to save as much as possible from 
 the wreck; but thoi-o is no positive evidence to this 
 effect. 
 
 EFFORTS TO AVOID PAVIN(! THESE PENALTIES. 
 
 On the ninth of February, 18V9, a bill was intro- 
 duced into the Senate, that had it been constitu- 
 tional would have removed the necessity for paying 
 the amount that had become duo the State and 
 county in the form of penalties from this firm. It 
 passed that body by a vote of fourteen to ten, and 
 the Assembly- by a vote of thirty-one to eighteen, 
 and was aj^jroved by the (iovornor, March 17, 187J).t 
 
 Immediately after the adjournment of tho Legis- 
 lature, Attorney tiencral Murphy asked of the 
 Supreme Court that the cases of tho California and 
 Consolidated Virginia Mining Companies, might bo 
 again placed upon the Calendar, for the purpose of 
 ro-argunient; to test the constitutionality of tho Act 
 dismissing the suits, and releasing the companies 
 from tho payment of the penalties. This request 
 was granted, and after re-argument, the Su])rcmo 
 Court held the law to be unconstitutional, for the 
 following reasons : — 
 
 First— That the District Attorney had no right, or 
 power, to consent to the entiy of a judgment, or to 
 receive less than tho full amount of taxes due and 
 penalties accrued, to the State and County. 
 
 Second — That the Act was in plain violation of 
 Sections twenty and twenty-one, of Article four, of 
 the Constitution of this State, in this, that it was a 
 special Act. It was therefore ordered that the judg- 
 ment of tho District Court be reversed, the demurrers 
 overruled, and the tlofcndants permitted to answer. 
 
 On tho receipt of the remitter in the District 
 Court, tho State, by J. H. Harris, District Attorney 
 of Storey County, filed an amended complain! on the 
 ninth day of July, ISSO; and on the sixth day of llie 
 ensuing ^'ovomber the Court rendered judgment in 
 favor of the State, and against each of tho com- 
 panies, for tho sum ])rayed for in the complaints and 
 the penalties amounting to S77,.")78.2U. 
 
 On tho 80vof!teenth day of November, 188(1, tho 
 California and Consolidated Virginia Mining Com- 
 panies filed their notices of appeal to tho Supreme 
 Court, where the cases are now pending. 
 
 The plan has been again adopted, of operating 
 with tho Legislature, to avoid the unavoidable result 
 of leaving tho issue for settlement in tho courts. In 
 pursuance of this plan. Senator llaines of Douglas 
 County, on tho twenty-seventh of January, 1881, 
 introduced Senate Bill No. 68, that is so framed as, 
 
 * 04 United .Stati'S Kqiorts, 4 Otto, page 702. 
 t .Statutes of IS"'.*, pagu 143. 
 
130 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 if possible by the use of phraseology of a general 
 form, to avoid the objection found in Section twenty, 
 Article four of the Constitution, that proved dis- 
 astrous to the former Act on the same subject. 
 
 Upon the final passage of this bill the Senatorial 
 vote stood eight Republicans aye, and five no; five 
 Democrats aye and four no; one Democrat favor- 
 able to its passage being absent. 
 
 The Senators voting aj'e were R. P. Dayton, Wm. 
 Doolin, J. B. Gallagher, W. D. C. Gibson, J. W. 
 Haines, D. W. Perlcy, M. S. Thompson, J. A. Brum- 
 sey, L. T. Fox, Chas. McConnell, J. B. ToUey, W. 
 R. King and W. J. Westerfield. 
 
 Senators voting no — J. D. Hammond, W. W. 
 Hobart, Chas. Kaiser, C. C. Powning, J. P. Wheeler, 
 B. H. Meder, \V. H. Henderson, Thos. Rockhill, G. 
 H. Shepherd, J. T. Williams; absent, J. Schooling. 
 
 In the Assemblj^ those voting yea were Messrs. 
 Bailey, Ballinger, Barrett, Copeland, Drcxler, Duffj^ 
 Englis, Fallon, Ford, Gignoux, Havenor, Kelly, 
 Knight, Longley, Mallon, Masel, May, McBurney, 
 McGowan, McKenzie, Mooney, Moriartj', Organ, 
 Parker, Penoyer, Penton, Tuska, Waldorf — twenty- 
 eight. Nay, Messrs. Adams, Bell, Blair, Bradshaw, 
 Coffin, Corbett, Ernst, Green, Irvine, Johnson, 
 Lewers, Newell, Plank, Richards, Shier, Smyth, 
 Soule, the Speaker — eighteen. 
 
 On the third of March Governor Kinkead vetoed 
 the bill. The Daily Index, in commenting ujjon the 
 unexpected event, said: — 
 
 There was a murmur of delight which grew into 
 actual demonstrations of applause in the Senate 
 Chamber, last evening, as the message of Governor 
 Kinkead was received announcing his veto of Senate 
 Bill No. (JS, commoTily known ;is the "bullion tax 
 penalties bill." That the veto was not generallj' 
 expected ailded wonilerfully to the zest of the occa- 
 sion. The ([Uestion was jiut by President Adams, 
 "Shall the bill ])ass notwithstanding the objections 
 of the (Jovcrnor?" and amid almost breathless silence 
 it received onl}- eleven votes as the tally closed. 
 Thus the bill was finally lost. The commotion 
 again commenced and many faces beamed with 
 smiles. The feeling of relief was to be marked on 
 nearly every countenance, including even those who 
 had sustained the measure liy their votes. 
 
 (iovernor Kinkead has done himself great credit 
 by this veto, and by none will this be acknowledged 
 more gladly than liy the DdUij lu'lcx. Through 
 this message the I{e])nblican ])arty has had a heai"- 
 ing, and the recreancy of the [{epublican Senators 
 to the will of the i)arty has been severely and 
 righteously rebuked. The people can now "thank 
 God and take courage," and so can the Governor 
 himself He has in this instance "crossed the Ru- 
 bicon." and there is no reason why he may not lor 
 constitutional reasons veto the " Lottery Hill." As 
 said elsewhere, we hope he will do so. 
 
 The Virginia (Jity Ghronick editoriallj' remarks 
 upon the same subject: — 
 
 The bill vetoed by Governor Kinkead last night 
 was substantially the same as that approved by him 
 two j'ears ago, the only dilference being that this 
 
 was drawn as a general law, to avoid the constitu- 
 tional objections indicated bj- the Supreme Court. 
 The veto of this bill took ever3-bodj' by surprise. 
 Had the Legislature, in defiance of the /ilitf/onus of 
 both jmrties, jxissed any bill repealing or modi/yinij the 
 existiiu) law in reijard to taxing proceeds of mines, it 
 would, vje think, have been the duty of Governor Kinkead 
 to veto it, as upon that ])oint the door had been closed 
 upon all argument. But this bill had no reference 
 whatever to the matter upon which the people had 
 exacted pledges. It was merely an effort to carry 
 out in good faith the terms of a business agreement. 
 
 The platforms of both parties at the time when 
 Mr. Kinkead was elected Governor, contained just 
 such clauses, pledging candidates to oppose any 
 modification of the law under which mines were 
 taxed. But this language reaches farther than the 
 veto by Kinkead; it moves backwards in its logic, 
 and justifies Governor Bradlej- in that act, for which 
 the Chronicle so bitterly condemned him at the time; 
 and, ])roves that after all, those letters were not so 
 large as they appeared to be at the time. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 AGRICULTURE. 
 
 Early Cultivation of Carson Valley — Cultivation in Humboldt 
 — Reports of Large Crops — The Climate of Neva'la — Monthly 
 anil Annual Meteornlogical Ilec<»r(l for ISSO — Table .SliowiiiL; 
 Number (if Trees and Vines in the .St,ite — Kain-fall — Cloud 
 Bursts — Irrig,iting Ditches and Acres Irrigated — Water 
 Catchment — Ayrieultural Products in li>7:^-74 — Progress of 
 Fruit Culture — Stock — Washoe Valley — Prospects in 1S81 
 — Tabulated Statement of the Increase of Stock from lS(i5 
 to ISSl — Tabulated Statement Showing Area Cultivatiil 
 and (irain Raised From l.S()5 to ISSl — Table of licailing 
 Products for 1880 — Cattle Raising — The Ilodeo — The Stam- 
 pede — The Cricket — Rocky Mountain Locust. 
 
 NEv.\nA is ranked as a mineral State. Although 
 capable in places of producing nearly all the cereals 
 and fruits of the temperate zone, the peculiar geo- 
 logical and climatic character will always militate 
 against anything more than a limited cultivation of 
 the soil. The greater portion of it lies at an eleva- 
 tion of more than 8, .500 feet; some of the vallej's are 
 0,000, and the mountains 10,000 to 14,000 feet above 
 the sea, subjecting it to unseasonable frosts. For 
 reasons not well imderstood the rain-fall over a great 
 part is insufficient to mature crojts, being, in some 
 instances, as low as four inches per annum. On the 
 higher mountain ranges snow falls to a great depth, 
 occasionally twenty feet or more. This melts on 
 the approach of summer, and forms strong streams 
 which flow, some into the Columbia, some into the 
 Colorado, and some into the Great Basin, which 
 constitutes such a remarkable feature in the topog- 
 raph}- of the American (Continent. Along these 
 limited water-courses are fertile valleys, and, where 
 exempt from summer frosts, producing fruits and 
 grains in abundance. The waters flowing into the 
 large rivers generally run in a deep channel, or 
 cafion, with precijjitous walls from one thousand to 
 several thousand feet high. There are not suflicie^lt 
 rains to round these channels into valleys as on tho 
 
AGRICULTURE. 
 
 131 
 
 oastern side of the Rocky Mountains, and century 
 ailor century the channels are worn farther into tlio 
 earth, the little rain fallini^ bein<; absoriied by tiie 
 earth and carried otl' by the Ueep gorges, and never 
 reappearing as springs or surface moisture. No 
 vegetation of any amount can grow in a country so 
 drained; and, accordingly, in the southern part of 
 Iho State are immense deserts of mem, table-lands, 
 and canons. Farther away from these rivers the 
 streams flow into the interior basin, where the 
 waters are soon evaporated by the desiccating 
 atmosphere, leaving dry flats impregnated with the 
 alkaline matters, or salts, brought down by cen- 
 turies of destruction and wash of the mineral veins 
 of the mountains. Soon after the building of the 
 Central racitic Railroad, samples of the soil were 
 forwarded to the Agricultural Department at Wash- 
 ington for analysis. It was found that the soils 
 were not deficient in the elements necessary to 
 mature good cro[)s of grain, and that water alone 
 was wanting to convert the apparent deserts into 
 blooming gardens. This does not, of course, apply 
 to the salt and alkaline plains, which are sometimes 
 covered several feet thick with the impure salts and 
 alkalies, and some only saturated to the extent of 
 making it useless. These alkali flats constitute ])er- 
 haps one-fourth part of the area of the valley lands 
 of the State. If the old, worn-oul soils of the East- 
 ern States could have some of the excess of potash 
 and soda present in the Nevada soil, both would be 
 much improved by the arrangement. 
 
 THE FIRST AGRICULTURE 
 
 In the State of Nevada was undoubtcdij' by the pre- 
 historic cave dwellers of the (Colorado Canons. There 
 is much evidence to show that by means of canals 
 and contrivances for raising water the art of culti- 
 vating the ground was carried to the highest extent, 
 else they could not have sustained the immense num- 
 bers of people which, according to late explorers, 
 inhabited the ancient cities. Among all the millions 
 who formerly occupied Arizona and vicinity, a few 
 hundred only (the Mocjuis and Zufiis) remain, as of yore 
 still cultivating the earth, and still perched in stone 
 houses on the lofty, almost inaccessible wems, or cling- 
 ing to the sides of the precipitious clitls. Whether 
 they employed manual labor alone or had trained 
 domestic animals to turn the furrow; whether they 
 raised grains, roots or fruits; whether they had 
 machinery or used sharpened, fire-hardened sticks, 
 like the eastern aborigines, we have no means of 
 knowing. It is to be hoj)ed that further exploration 
 may reveal some hieroglyphic or sign writing which 
 shall throw light on the subject. Whether they occu- 
 pied any of the valleys of northern Nevada is a ques- 
 tion to bo proved. 
 
 When the white settlers first went into the Walker 
 Valley they fouiKl the Indians irrigating portions of it 
 to promote the growth of an edible rout which formed 
 a groat portion of their living. As far as known this 
 
 was the only cultivation of the soil previous to tho 
 operations of the Mormons in Carson Valley subse- 
 quent to 1850. 
 
 The character of the possible productions of tho 
 country may bo learned from its natural growths. 
 In California the wild gra]ie-vine, fruits, and wild oats 
 and annual grasses forshadowc<l the immense grain 
 and wine crops which have since rendered the Slate 
 so famous. The esculent roots of the valleys of 
 Nevada and the perennial bunch grass indicate the 
 sources of future agricultural wealth. The presence 
 of the leek or wild onion, and the esculent (inw/r or 
 ground-nut, growing in such abundance on Walker's 
 River indicate tho capacity of potatoes and the hardy 
 esculent roots which have succeeded so well in every 
 part of the State. 
 
 Tho well-known serviceberry grows in abundance 
 and is utilized as food, as is the manzanita berry, 
 called by some of the assessors buttalo berry. A kind 
 of wild currant grows on the ui)])er Humboldt, again 
 indicating the capacity of the soil for the hardy 
 berries. Tho nuts of the pinus monopfiyUus were also 
 used by the Indians as food, as well as the seeds of 
 the wild peach, which is supposed to belong to the 
 peach family, though destitute of any of tho agreeable 
 pulp, the kernel alone being used as food. In the 
 spring of tho year the Indians feasted on the young 
 clover as well as many other grasses, eating it both 
 in a raw state as well as cooked. When tho grasses 
 were ripe tho squaws gathered the seed by beating it 
 into a basket, winnowing it in the old Hebrew fashion 
 by tossing it in the wind. They made no attempt to 
 raise any domestic animals, though they utilized the 
 grasshopper when he came in their way, but as this 
 insect hardlj' comes in the catcgor}' of useful articles 
 he will be treated under another head. 
 
 A kind of dwarf sugar-cane grows along the banks 
 of the lower Humboldt, which jjcrhaps furnishes a 
 valuable hint to the farmers of that viciiiit3\ It is 
 veritable eane, though on a small scale, growing 
 usually one-quarter to one-half an inch in diameter 
 and three to twelve foot in height. The sugar is 
 found in minute crystals on the stock, probably the 
 result of the evaporation of the juices of the plant, 
 which ooze out through holes jiunctured by the 
 insects. The Indians obtain the sugar by threshing 
 the stalks and detaching tho small crystals, which 
 they catch in a basket as they do seeds of plants. 
 The sugar harvest is considered a festival, and anti- 
 cipated with much pleasure by the natives. 
 
 EARLY CULTIVATION OP CAUSON VALl.EV. 
 
 Some of the Mormons brought butter, eggs, and 
 other things, as well as fat cattle for beef, to Carson 
 Valley in 1850, and the following j'oar, induced by 
 the green waving grass and clear running water, 
 made a regular settlement and commenced farming 
 with the intention of supi)lying the emigration with 
 vegetables, eggs and butter. Carson Valley butter 
 soon became noted, and many wagons loaded with it 
 
1:^2 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 passed over the mountains into California. Some 
 grain wa« also raised, and as early as 1854 a thresh- 
 ing machine was constructed by J. & E. Reese & Co. 
 The larger part of the agricultural productions were 
 disposed of to the California emigration at remunera- 
 tive prices. It was not until the discovery j^of the 
 rich silver mines of the Comstock Lode that the pro- 
 ducing ]iower of any part of the State was tested. 
 When (Joid Hill, Virginia, Dayton, and other towns, 
 sprang into existence with their inevitable extrav- 
 acant as well as necessary wants, fruits, vegetables, 
 and all kinds of perishable produce, were worth 
 mints of money. The counties of Sacramento, El 
 Dorado, Amador and Calaveras were taxed to their 
 utmost to su])])ly these wants. Apples, peaches and 
 pears, and all other kinds of fruit, often sold as high 
 as a dollar a pound. Hundreds of wagons took the 
 roads, and night and day kept moving on. The 
 long trill — four to six days — rendered the marketing 
 of these articles in good order next to impossible, and 
 supplying the wants by the productions of the 
 Nevada soil was earnestly considered. The high 
 price of freight even in the summer season — sixty to 
 one hundred dollars per ton — also sent up the prices 
 of grain to an enormous figure, and within a short 
 lime extensive preparations were made for farming 
 in all its branches. Very little record of the general 
 farming has been kept. We find that as earlj- as 
 December l!i, 1862, the Washoe Agricultural, Mining 
 and Mechanical Society was incorporated, the first 
 fair being held October 12th the following year, con- 
 tinuing five days. Although unequal in its displaj-s 
 in any department to what has since been attained, 
 it had the effect of calling attention to the boundless 
 possibilities. 
 
 CULTIVATION IN UL'MBOLDT. 
 
 The Humboldt River land, the "bad lands" of 
 Nevada, came in with both grain and vegetables, as did 
 the valleys north and south, and it became evident 
 that the State or Territory could become self-sup- 
 j)orting. The discovery of the Paradise Valley with 
 its 150,00(1 acres of tillable land turned attention in 
 that direction, though in consequence of the Indian 
 difficulties that valley did not get fully settled until 
 some years later. 'J he emigrants of earl}- days now 
 recalled the Thousand Spring an<l other valleys in 
 the eastern part of the State, and remembered that 
 the Moi-nions had raised enormous crops of wheat 
 on that kind of soil, and some of them jiushcd out 
 and located in these valleys. As usual in a new 
 country the stock-raisers were the ))ioneers. Jt is a 
 kind of produce that will transport itself and goes in 
 advance of railroads. During the drj' winter of 
 18C2-G:} in California, many herds were driven into 
 Nevada to crop the scattered bunch-grass. Jack 
 Sutherland, whose ranch is on Kings Iliver, in 
 Tulare County, California, drove over 20,000 head 
 and safely summered them in the northern part of 
 the State, and was thus able to make a fine start 
 when the feed grow again on his place. These pio- 
 
 neers first occupied the tillable valleys, and made 
 known their resources. 
 
 The discover}' of the Comstock Mines and others 
 farther cast induced agriculture on an extended scale. 
 Men pushed out on the Humboldt and up its vari- 
 ous branches, and in a few years began to be known 
 in the markets, but not until after the admission of 
 Nevada as a State was there anj' organized effort to 
 systematize the agricultural reports, so that we are 
 to some extent unable to give a reliable and full 
 history of the earlj' farming. Prices were high 
 until a full sup])ly for home consumption could be 
 raised. Hay from the beginning was produced in 
 Nevada, but barley was imported from California; 
 the price of freight — SOO a ton to Virginia, and 
 from that to S150 to points further east and south 
 — being added to the California quotations. Thus 
 we find at Austin that while haj' was worth S30 per 
 ton, barley from California was worth 8120. Pota- 
 toes which were raised in the vicinity were worth 
 two to three cents per pound. 
 
 Closer attention began to be paid to the weather 
 as connected with agriculture, and though frosty 
 nights with sunny days were a common occurrence, 
 it was found that in IRtU there were seventy-five 
 consecutive days without frost, and in 18C5, eightj'- 
 seven. This was better than was expected. That 
 was as good as many of the northern States. In 
 New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont, the jjcriod 
 exempt from frost was even loss than that, and in 
 those States corn, melons, beans, and potatoes, as 
 well as the hardy fruits such as apples, jiears, cher- 
 ries, and plums, grew to perfection. In addition to 
 this, no deep snows prevented getting around, or 
 sjtells of extreme cold weather endangered life, as in 
 those States, for the lowest point marked only 14° 
 below zero, the thermometer in the Eastern States 
 sometimes going as low as 50° below zero. It was 
 justlj- believed that the State could be made self-sus- 
 taining. 
 
 November 16, 18GG, the Humboldt Keyister con- 
 tained the following: — 
 
 Humboldt County alone is ca|)ablc of jtroducing 
 all the hay, grain, and vegetables needed by the 
 present jio|)ulation of the State. (Jarden vegetables 
 are hero in superabundance. They are a positive 
 drug in the market. Wheat, corn, barley, oats, 
 rj-e, and sorghum grow luxuriantly and ripen 
 tlioroughlj'. When the raili-oad comes to carry off 
 the surplus of the farms, look out for farming hero 
 on an Illinois scale. 
 
 Carson Vallej- being nearer the center of the min- 
 ing region developed faster. A flour-mill was 
 erected at the foot of the Kingsburj' Grade as early 
 as 18(55; one of light capacity, having been built in 
 1859. 
 
 The Humboldt 7fe^t»/cr, June 13, 1807, again called 
 attention to the agriculture of that county: "This 
 branch of industry (farming) in Humboldt County 
 promises to become of great importance in our 
 
AGRICULTUIIE. 
 
 133 
 
 future. The barley crop this season is estimated at 
 1,000,000 pounds. The value of wheat, barley, and 
 potatoes at a low estimate will not be less than 
 §150,000, not a twentieth part of the arable land 
 being under cultivation." The crops in lluby Valley 
 were also pronounced marvelous. 
 
 UEPORTS OF LARGE CROPS. 
 
 The crops of Douglas County were something 
 extraordinary: 20,000 tons of hay. 20,000 bushels of 
 wheat, 10, ()()(» bushels of barley, 1."),0(HI bushels of 
 oats, ],000 bushels of corn, 5,000 bushels of potatoes. 
 
 In ISGS a full report of the agriculture was 
 received from Humboldt County. The reported 
 grain was: 2,500 acres of barley, averaging forty 
 bushels, worth S2.50; 1,200 acres of wheat, averaging 
 forty bushels per ton, worth S3. 00; 3,000 tons of 
 hay, worth §20. 
 
 Lincoln County is situated at the extreme south 
 end of the State, near the Colorado River, and has 
 some peculiar features worth recording. The largest 
 part of the farming was done at Panaca \'alley by 
 the Mormons, but they would not report to the 
 Assessor, even running him oft' ri cf (irmin. In 18()7 
 the report for the i)ruduct of three farms, amounting 
 to ninety-five acres, was: — 
 
 150 bushels of barley .: .-$4 00 per bushel. 
 
 loO " " oats 2 80 " " 
 
 600 " " corn 3 50 " " 
 
 10 tons of beets, worth 06 " ])ound. 
 
 2 " " parsnips, worth 07 " " 
 
 10 " " squashes, '• 04 " " 
 
 15 " " cabbage, - 121 " " 
 
 40 " " potatoes, " 05-1 " " 
 
 8,000 melons (prices not given). 
 
 From the above it will be seen that the climate is 
 probably warmer than at Carson City. There is 
 considerable ditfcreiice also in the price of grain in 
 favor of the seller. 
 
 In Ormsby Countj- the value of hay, grain, and 
 vegetables was estimated at SlOO,500. 
 
 The lines were established the following year, and 
 the belligerent Mormons gathered into the Nevada 
 fold. The places included were lOagleville, I'anaca 
 City, West Point, St. Thomas, and St. Joseph. The 
 Assessor reports 10,000 acres of hay land, producing 
 2,200 tons of hay, cvidentl}' an error; otherwise no 
 new industries were rejiorted. 
 
 A prominent feature of the agriculture of 1871-72 
 was the attempt, or the beginning of planting and 
 raising shade, ornamental and forest trees. The 
 most prominent man in connection with this was G. 
 W. G. Ferris, who imported a great number of east- 
 ern forest trees, such as hickory, black walnut, but- 
 ter-nut, chestnut, liard and soft maple, and many 
 other varieties. 
 
 tteorge W. t'hcdic, (.'ountj- Assessor, 1872, reports 
 as follows of fruit trees for the county of Ormsby:— 
 
 The estimated number of fiuit and shade trees 
 trans])lanted in this county is about 1.'),(hI(), the 
 former kind predominating in number. Many of | 
 17 
 
 the fruit trees have alrea<l3' borne fruif, but owing 
 to the late frosts we usually experience the crop is 
 uncertain, and will not average more than one in 
 three years; and until some method is adopted to 
 protect these trees from the frost in the blooming 
 season wo cannot expect to reap an annual crop of 
 fruit. 
 
 The Surveyor General, Mr. Day, calls attention to 
 the importancoof systematizing the irrigation ditches 
 or canals. It scorns that dilKculty often occurred 
 between the mining community and the farmers, 
 the latter generally getting the worst in the strife; 
 an experience that the California farmers have had 
 for thirty years. Mr. Daj' reports as follows: — 
 
 The proper methods of construction, looking to 
 durabilit}-, efficiency, minimum cost, economj' in use, 
 and distribution of su])]j|y, together with careful 
 estimates of water flowing through the channels, to 
 bo diverted to useful purposes, are, particularly in 
 large agricultural districts, subjects of interest. At 
 present no good system of construction has been 
 adopted in this character of improvements. Large 
 bodies of agricultural lands, containing thousands 
 of acri's, lying contiguous, are irrigated bj' means of 
 ill-conl rived ditches. Means are not generally taken 
 for saving the water in reservoirs wliere the supply 
 is scant; the lines of artificial channels are neces- 
 sarily extended, and frequently in such directions 
 as to cause great inconvenience to adjoining lands, 
 and loss of cultivation. In large bodies of agricul- 
 tural lands, such as some of our ))i'iiicipal valleys 
 po.ssess, a sj'stem of irrigation should be adopted 
 comprising the whole vallej-. The ditches, so far as 
 possible, should be kept on the dividing line be- 
 tween pro])erty; and when so ])hiccd their margins 
 i-an be ])lanted with ti'ees. which, nourished by the 
 moisture of the ditches, will thrive, forming a pleas- 
 ing feature in the view, and greatly assist in fenc- 
 ing. Sufficient care is not taken when ditches cross 
 I ho jiublic highwaj-s to provide suitable crossings, 
 i^oaded vehicles are drawn with difficulty- across 
 ditches containing water; and in many instances, 
 from the nature of the soil, roads near ditches are 
 rendered almo.st useless from saturation. Some of 
 our alluvial valleys, during the time of irrigation, 
 arc almost im|)assable from this cause. 
 
 Good reports came in from Esmeralda County, the 
 productions being, in 1872, 20,000 tons of hay, 1,000 
 tons of |)otatocs, 2,000 tons of grain. 
 
 Much of the land that was sup|)osed to be worth- 
 loss has, under the influence of water and cultiva- 
 tion, become extremely i)roductivc. 
 
 TIIK CLIJIATE OF NEVADA 
 
 Is sui (jenerts, if such a thing can be. Whether the 
 visitor comes from the land of summer rains along 
 the Alleghany Mountains or great lakes, from the 
 sunny valleys of California, the arid plains of New 
 Mexico, or the interminable plains of British America, 
 the climate of Nevada will ])uzzle him. Though 
 a])pareiitly shut in by a high mountain range on tho 
 west which should ward ofl' fierce winds from that 
 i|Uarter. the wind will come pouring down tho ravines 
 forty or fifty miles an hour with force enough to 
 s\vee|) everything less in size than bullets into clouds, 
 pelting one exposed to it as if with shot, and sending 
 
134 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 clouds of dust high into the air or through the closest 
 weather-boarding into the farthest closet or pantry 
 in the house. The thermometer will stand at 31° in 
 the morning and reach 97° at noon, a condition that 
 is said to prevail on the great desert of Sahara in 
 Africa. Indeed the two places have manj- things 
 alike. According to the reports of travelers the hot- 
 test days were often followed by frosty nights. 
 The reports of Eollins, who was cast away on the 
 coast of Africa by the wrecking of the ship Commerce 
 in 1816, taken prisoner and carried into the interior, 
 were discredited until confirmed by recent travels; 
 but the same climatic phenomena which he de- 
 scribed as peculiar to the African deserts occur in 
 Nevada. 
 
 The foregoing table may be consulted with interest 
 and ])rofit. 
 
 This peculiar condition seems to prevail along the 
 foot of the Sierra Nevada, and becomes rather inten- 
 sified as we go east; modified of course by the ditt'or- 
 ences in latitude and altitude. The cold, it will be 
 observed, never exceeded one and a half degrees below 
 zero. On the head of the Humboldt, where an eleva- 
 tion of 6,500 feet is attained, frosts are of almost 
 nightly occurrence. Pjjko County is of this character, 
 precluding the raising of anything but grain and the 
 most hardy vegetables. In the southern portions of 
 the State, bordering on the Colorado Canon, a 
 different condition ])revails. The difference in lati- 
 tude and altitude produces warm nights as well as 
 days, and here we find the melon growing to perfec- 
 tion, and the semi-tropical fruits ripening with cer- 
 tainty. Humboldt County has perhaps the most 
 desirable climate in the State, being far enough away 
 from the lofty mountains to avoid the frostj^ nights 
 incident to the vicinity of snow-banks, yet near 
 enough to be benefited by the consequent rain-fall. 
 Carson Valley is liable to damaging frosts as late as 
 the first of Juno. Thej' are usually preceded b}' 
 several days of warm weather which brings the fruit 
 buds out, subjecting them to the danger of being 
 destroyed. The June frosts are usnallj' preceded by 
 a strong southeast wind, which blows so hard as to 
 move coarse sand and even gravel. Much of the early 
 sown grain is injured bj' the flying sand as well as 
 killed by the succeeding frosts. Late sown grain 
 escapes these dangers. 
 
 IRUKiATINCJ DITCHES AND ACRES IRRIGATED. 
 
 Irrigatif)n is beautiful in theory. It seemingly 
 places the husbandman in comparative indepen- 
 dence. He is not compelled to look quietly on while 
 a midsummer's sun, darting his scorching rays from 
 a cloudless sky, wilts and burns to death the tender 
 plants, the object of his care. He need not turn 
 his anxious gaze from the parching ground, where 
 the grain is drooping fi-om voiy thirst, to ])ray for 
 rain, as of old. At the first indications of drought he 
 can hoist the gates and send tiny, meandering rivu- 
 lets to the thirsty roots which will revive with life. 
 The reality dis])els much of the beauty of this 
 
 MONTHLY AND ANNUAL METEOROLOGICAL RECORD FOR 
 
 1880. 
 
 Carson City, Nevada — Latitude, 39 degrees 10 minutes ; longi- 
 tude, 119 degrees 40 minutes from (Jreenwich; 
 altitude above sea level, 4,US0 feet. 
 
 Chas. W. Fbienu. 
 
 < 
 
 
 
 £ S ^ ">^ ^ 
 £■0 cuSt^ 
 
 '■J 
 
 1- ri ic i^ Tf 1-1 -t i-T '.2 '>\ 
 
 CO 
 
 a 
 
 i-HCONi-ct-'^OIMl-lOCON 
 
 •* 
 
 a 
 
 t-i CO rc cc in CI ro iM M GO ci o>i 
 
 CO 
 
 a 
 
 ■A 
 
 IM CO M CO (M ^ CC M M i-i r-i 
 
 CO 
 
 X 
 
 -t-tcoMNOoocsirscOt-io 
 ^ '>^ o\ '>\ ^ ri 1-1 e-i 
 
 CO 
 
 Is 
 
 ■.0 O' ^ t-^ CO m t- c .-■ lO ^ m 
 
 C>1 .-1 CO CO C-l r-. (M rl CO 
 
 00 
 
 ts 
 
 in 00 m I- C-. -t I- ift I- I- c-i 
 
 r- 1 rH t— ( i-H C'J C'l I— * t-H 
 
 1-^ 
 
 iz; 
 
 ^Oioooc;oOT-i(Mt-eoot- 
 
 CO 
 
 ::zi |=^S 
 
 CO©^tOTj<l~rHO«OCOO"* 
 
 |C0 
 
 ;zi 
 
 Total No. of miles 
 traveled 
 
 .-^ -f .-< !M 00 c c in is I- i- 
 -ft-(MOOocoincocoe'iox 
 
 t- t- CO -^i t- OC I- ~. -t <T. -* Ir- 
 
 CO C^l -f -}• "t C^l '—<»-' »-• *— 1 CI 
 
 
 
 CI 
 
 CO 
 CO 
 CO 
 
 Maximum velocity 
 in miles |)er hour 
 
 -f in in Ci 05 ci -M I- c-i c; «c ti; 
 
 CO CO ^^ Cl Cl Cl 1— * r-H ,— f-« CI 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 ►J 
 
 No. of daj'S on wliicli 
 0.01 or more rain 
 or 8UOW fell 
 
 1- C-. ~ r-i CI C-l C CO Cl 
 
 in 
 in 
 
 No. (lays on wliich 
 cloudiness aver- 
 aged 8 or more ou 
 a scale of 10 
 
 1- CO C- C5 C-. CI K .-1 Tj. C-. X - 
 
 T-H ^^ ^^ t—" r-^ 
 
 C-. 
 
 Raiu and melted snow, 
 in inches 
 
 C ^ W Cl -t o 
 C CO o c o 
 
 ,-H f— I ,— t in w — 
 
 CO o < 
 
 o d 
 
 ci ■ 
 
 - ~f o 
 
 o 
 
 I— t 
 CO 
 
 Relative humidity per 
 cent 
 
 CO -f 00 •— '— w — -t -t C: -t -1 
 
 o in = X in c: •-< ci i-' o ^6 ■y. 
 
 -- -.o -.r — -t -f -* -t ■* in in 1^ 
 
 10 
 
 a 
 
 o 
 
 Oh 
 
 a 
 
 a 
 
 H 
 
 .3 
 
 CO ^ -^ c". t— w o 't o I— in in 
 
 CO -+ in = Ti ci CO CO cc 1-- CO CO 
 
 ci c co' CO -t -t '-' i^ — ~r ci ■-;; 
 
 CO CO CO -* i-o '.^ I- '-T '-; -t CO CO 
 
 If) lA in in in 
 
 in in 
 
 _.^irio-tci-*o^C5t-'-i-t 
 
 Cl CI CO CO CO CI i-i <-i 
 
 ininin inininin in 
 
 o CO in 1-- 1-- I-' CO 1-' CO -f ■-< Ci 
 
 5D in cs I- X o c". C5 C5 cc b- m 
 
 
 CI 
 
 1— » 
 
 00 
 
 10 
 
 t- 
 
 00 
 
 K 
 
 B 
 
 PQ 
 
 •3 
 a 
 
 
 •S 
 
 -+coo;cicicoi:o05coooooo 
 4< 12 c: ci ci ^ in o GO CO m 00 
 
 CO c; CI Cl CO CO CO CO CO "^ ■# CI 
 
 in iri in in in in in in in in in in 
 
 Cl Cl CI CI CI CI CI CI CI CI CI CI 
 
 ca 00 CI m -t o in o CI cc cc o 
 Jt S i^ — = I- Cl Cl -t" I- - oo 
 
 cc X c: cc c r-. .-. — Cj o -^ I- 
 
 -* -^ -t "t in in in in in in in -t* 
 
 Cl Cl Cl CI Cl Cl Cl Cl Cl Cl Cl Cl 
 
 CO 
 in 
 
 Cl 
 
 in 
 o 
 i.n 
 
 Cl 
 
 to in in =•- CI X .- Cl x gj Cl o 
 -~ I— o — I.n ,— « in »— ' "1" — I'" -I 
 t~ i_ '- in in in in in in i- x 1- 
 in in in in in iri in in in in in in 
 
 (M Cl Cl Cl Cl Cl Cl CI Cl Cl Cl Cl 
 
 
 2 c p 
 
 
 5 « 
 
 
 m 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 CQ 
 
 <*3 
 
 ID 
 
 a 
 
 at 
 O 
 
 9 
 
 a 
 s 
 < 
 
AGRICULTURE. 
 
 135 
 
 theory. Irritcation is slow ami o.\])unsive; ditches 
 must be conslrucled which, unless the iiuid has the 
 proper inclination, must meander according to the 
 surface to give the water the ]iroper motion. W too 
 steep it sweeps away the soil ; if too flat the water 
 accumulates and saturates the ground, converting it 
 into mortar that bakes and cracks in the sun. The 
 water must be taken from the ditches in quantities 
 nicely regulated to the nature and requiremenJs of 
 the soil, and constantly watched. Only sand}' soil 
 will stand saturation without damage; even on that 
 a little excess of water will wash the sand away and 
 lay bare the roots of the ])lants. The constant care 
 and attention required make the cultivation of the 
 soil by irrigation in large (juantities nearly impossi- 
 ble. Grazing land with sod may be saturated with- 
 out serious damage. 
 
 The following table, giving the number of trees 
 and vines in the several counties, will give a better 
 idea of the climate than any partial description. 
 
 
 » 
 
 COUNTIES. 
 
 
 V *- ; *» ; © 
 to'v © ^- • c© 10 . --O 
 
 ©~lC50tOO. ©©*-. ©© 
 ©C-. ^-OCO' ©04-. 0© 
 
 
 
 Gooseberry. 
 
 
 10,000 
 
 "26 
 
 1,000 
 
 " 1,266 
 
 26 
 
 20,323 
 
 400 
 
 
 Raspberry. 
 
 
 c 
 g 
 
 2 
 r 
 
 H 
 
 a 
 
 i 
 
 CO 
 
 "0 lo i "C • "0 • (X "0 "0 • • "0 
 
 00. ■ • =: = ■ • = 
 
 
 Strawbeny. 
 
 
 H-» ... . • 
 
 4- ... 1 . 
 . 4. . . W I-- . • 
 Ui H-» t;i t— • . > .— * . CJ' 
 UiO©. 10. ■ OOD. ■ 
 
 
 Grapevine. 
 
 
 H^ • . . . I . 1 . ■ . 
 
 
 
 — • OJ 
 
 
 Fig- 
 
 
 
 "to ' ■ '' 
 
 tCl . K-l ■ . ■ . 10 . . . 01 
 
 . I.S ' ' ■ ' CJi ■ • . 
 
 
 Walnut. 
 
 
 
 •"*!.'! 1 I ! I I I I i 
 
 Ig: ::::::;:: ; 
 
 <o 
 
 
 Alrtiond. 
 
 H 
 SI 
 
 
 mm©. ' ■ • O'-'' ■ © 
 
 
 Apricot. 
 
 > 
 TO 
 
 
 w 1 1 ! 
 
 C-, 10 • . 1 rf^ 
 
 04-00-J' ©©<o. . 'XiCS 
 
 Cherry. 
 
 
 
 
 -^ I I I 
 
 "CJ Ci . -^ 10 ' ■ 
 tn © m -1 to w -■ — ' • • -^ 
 
 *-cc©©to ©©©• ■ Ol»i 
 
 Plum. 
 
 
 "m -I ^ ■ 4. ... en 
 
 t* CO «T C-. U' • CO ■ ■ . *- 
 
 m M — GO ' OO- ■ ' 00 
 
 Peach. 
 
 00 
 
 p 
 
 "h-- "0 ■ 10 '-' • I-' 4^ 
 i-'Coa5Uic;'cs. i^-csu'. ow 
 
 WlntOOlOtO' ©OW' OW«> 
 
 Pear. 
 
 ' 
 
 380 
 
 2,468 
 
 500 
 
 V.258 
 
 5,000 
 
 300 
 
 390 
 
 2,008 
 
 5,700 
 
 212 
 
 293,053 
 
 145 
 
 Apple. 
 
 
 The first full report of the Assessors on the subject 
 ol' irrigation was made in 1874. The following is 
 taken from the report of the Surveyor General for 
 that year: — 
 
 Couuties. 
 
 Irrigating Ditches. 
 
 Acres Irrigated. 
 
 Churchill 1,425 
 
 Douglas 35 18,953 
 
 Elko 50 18,000 
 
 Esmeralda 25 850 
 
 Eureka 12 1,886 
 
 Humboldt 120 14,000 
 
 Lander 3 2,400 
 
 Lincoln 50 675 
 
 Lyon 10 5,260 
 
 N)'e 10 3,000 
 
 Ormsby 5 . 1,100 
 
 Storey 1 150 
 
 Washoe 180 30,000 
 
 White Pine 60 3,000 
 
 Total .561 
 
 .100,099 
 
 AGRICULTURE IN 1874. 
 
 The years of 1873 and 1874 marked an era in agri- 
 cultural as well as other interests. There was a gen- 
 eral settling down to steady work, and an absence of 
 the restless fever which was characteristic of the 
 early mining excitement. The County Governments 
 were in healthy operation, and full i-eports were re- 
 ceived. The Surveyor General's estimates of agri- 
 cultural products for 1874 were as follows : — 
 
 Kind. Acres sown. 
 
 VIclil in hush- 
 els per acre. 
 
 T..t.->1 yield In 
 bu..fhel9. 
 
 W^heat 4,346 17 70,300 
 
 Barley 26,651 20 506,790 
 
 Oats 5,372 14 74,695 
 
 Rye.. 100 10 1,000 
 
 Corn 493 28 13,690 
 
 Buckwheat 12 17 200 
 
 Peas - 326 lOi 3,450 
 
 Beans 53 11 593 
 
 Potatoes 4,136 70 290,458 
 
 Sweet Potatoes. i 96 24 
 
 Onions 76 55i 4,210 
 
 Hay 72,101 11-12 72,101 
 
 Hops - 1 1251b8 
 
 Beets (tons) 314 
 
 Turnips " 320 
 
 Pumpkins & Squashes " 5,350 
 
 Butter (lbs) 227,240 
 
 Cheese 
 
 22,200 
 W^ood " 668,738 
 
 Honey. 
 
 7,400 
 
 PROGRESS OF FRUIT CULTURE. 
 
 The traditional orchard was not forgotten. 
 Whether from the land of the orange or the apple, 
 the first thing after building a shelter, the farmer 
 sets out an orchard. What is home without fruit 
 trees — apple, pear or orange, or grapevines, as the 
 case may be ? flo who plants fruit trees is intending 
 to stay. In Ormsby County were 125 walnut trees, 
 125 elms, 300 box-older, 1,000 white maples, pre- 
 sumably the property of G. W. G. Ferris, who had 
 manifested a commendable enterprise in the planting. 
 
 No returns. 
 
136 
 
 HISTORY OF^THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 The following table shows by counties the fruit 
 trees in 1874: — 
 
 COUNTY. 
 
 ■3. 
 s. 
 
 < 
 
 2 
 
 H 
 1 
 
 c2 
 
 00 
 
 2 
 
 H 
 
 S 
 s 
 
 u 
 
 
 
 00 
 
 c 
 
 s 
 
 03 
 
 H 
 
 § 
 
 a 
 '3 
 
 C 
 
 S 
 
 2 
 
 H 
 t 
 'u 
 
 0. 
 < 
 
 a 
 a 
 
 g 
 
 Churchill.. 
 
 40 
 
 3001) 
 
 100 
 
 8500 
 
 2 
 300 
 I'lO 
 
 4 
 200 
 
 4 
 
 400 
 
 2 
 200 
 
 
 
 
 
 Douglas 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 Elko 
 
 
 
 900 
 
 Esmeralda. 
 
 100 
 
 1000 
 
 1050 
 
 250 
 
 
 
 
 500 
 
 Eureka . . _ 
 
 20 
 
 20 
 
 20 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 
 
 , . 
 
 Humboldt . 
 
 ;iooo 3000 
 
 400 
 
 400 
 
 200 
 
 250 
 
 230 
 
 100 
 
 500 
 
 Lander.- . . 
 
 430 
 
 118 
 
 482 
 
 4 
 
 120 
 18 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Lincoln.. .. 
 
 6 
 
 
 20 
 
 25 
 
 31000 
 
 Lyon 
 
 Nye 
 
 4Ei 
 
 ?:^ 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 
 18 
 
 300 
 
 50 
 
 20 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 Ormsby . . . 
 
 5000 
 
 100 
 
 550 
 
 400 
 
 400 
 
 20 
 
 70 
 
 10 
 
 
 Storey 
 
 240 40 
 
 88 
 
 35 
 
 38 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 Washoe . . 
 
 GOdO 700 
 
 600 
 
 900!400 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 300 
 
 White Pine 
 
 50 100 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Lincoln County leads strongly in grapevines; 
 Humboldt in a general variety of fruits. The latter 
 county is evidently on the high road to prosperity. 
 
 STOCK. 
 
 The stock business also looked remarkably encour- 
 aging. The product of mines, even when it amounts 
 to millions a 3'ear, is no evidence of permanent 
 wealth; tlie i-ichest veins have an end, but the jiro- 
 ducts of the soil ma}' continue for centuries without 
 diminution. The fields in the Roman Campagna, 
 which (."incinnatus plowed near 2,000 years ago, ai-e 
 still yielding golden grain, while the silver mines of 
 Tarshish arc scenes of desolation. In 1874, there 
 were 22,131 horses, 4,043 mules, 181,891 head of 
 cattle, 1S5,48G sheep, 0,7G8 hogs, GO, 000 chickens, 
 2,500 turkeys, besides much other stock that might 
 be enumerated. The annual increase is not less 
 than twenty-five per cent. A ))ortion must be 
 consumed, of course, but the residue goes into the 
 accumulations or investment as the source of future 
 wealth. The northern and eastern portion of the 
 State are most fitted foi- grazing ])ur|ioses. and many 
 thousand head of beeves are annually shipjjed by 
 rail, or driven on foot, to California and the eastei-n 
 markets. The bunch-grass of the hills is exceed- 
 ingly nutritious, and in many valleys grows a species 
 of sage, which, after being frozen, constitutes an 
 excellent herbage, receiving the name of " winter 
 fat" from the grateful herdsman. The beei" and 
 mutton of Nevada are highly prized by epicures. 
 
 UAIN FALL. 
 
 In the valleys extending into the Sierra Nevada 
 the anninil rain-fall may I'each fifty or sixty inches 
 in a year, as the snow sometimes falls twenty feet in 
 depth. As the lower end of the vallej-s is reached, 
 the rain-fall is less, and in some seasons amounts to 
 but four or five inches, and on the deserts and 
 interior plains even the last-named (juantity is (juite 
 
 uncertain. The valleys at the foot of the Ruby, 
 Santa Rosa, and other ranges of mountains in the 
 interior of the State get a quantity of rain approxi- 
 mating the rains of the Sierra Nevada. At Car- 
 son Valley the rain-fall for the year of 1880 was 
 13.1 inches. This may be taken as an average 
 of rain-fall in the northern and western part of 
 tho^ State. But it is evident, though no record 
 has been kept from Walker Lake south, that the 
 annual rain-fall gets less until a minimum is reached 
 at the Colorado River, where the high mcsri lamisaro 
 rained upon so little that the sharp angles of cen- 
 turies remain the same, never becoming rounded into 
 the graceful forms incident to plentiful rain fall. 
 
 There is evidence in the difterent levels of the 
 lakes of the State of periods when the rain-fall was 
 much greater that at present. The Great Salt Lake 
 in Utah is said to be pcrceptibl}' rising from year to 
 year, being several feet higher than when first visited 
 by the whites. This may be the case with the val- 
 leys and plains of the State of Nevada, which are 
 subject to about the same climatic laws. But the 
 ancient water-marks on the hills indicate a much 
 higher stage of water at one time, and, though the 
 water, in consequence of a period of unusual fall of 
 rain may rise a few feet, the evidence is incontro- 
 vertible that the country is gradually drying. The 
 great changes of elevation or de])i'ession that have 
 bi'ought about this result is a proper subject for the 
 consideration of the geologist; how to remedy the 
 matter, either bj' introducing or diverting some of 
 the waters of the Colorado or Columbia into the 
 de])ression; saving the annual rains bj- means of a 
 general sj'stcm of reservoirs, and distributing the 
 rain-fall whore and when it is most needed, are 
 matters for the consideration of the statesman and 
 civil engineer. That much might be done to amel- 
 iorate the ])erpetual drought, and make the State a 
 desirable and jirofitable home for many times its 
 present po])ulalion, is bej-ond a doubt. The mount- 
 ains might be clothed with trees. This would j)ro- 
 duce a greater rain-fall, as has been demonstrated 
 many time.? in the Old World. The pi'osent water 
 could be economized anil distributed to greater 
 advantage. To do this the riparian water rights 
 would have to be recognized, and the (jrah lnw, by 
 which the fii-st-comer takes the water for all time, 
 abrogated. The subject is so vast in its bearings 
 and HO immense in its consequences as to be prop- 
 erly a subject of National legislation. 
 
 The ancMcnt Peruvians inhabited a much higher 
 plateau than the Great Basin. It was nearly- rainless, 
 but by means of extensive canals, in some instances 
 three hundred miles long and carried over precipi- 
 tous canons and through gi-anite mountains, the}' 
 were enabled to sustain an immense population, and 
 attain a high degree of civilization. 
 
 CLOUD-Bl'RSTS. 
 
 As in all countries destitute of timber the rain is 
 liable to fall in unequal ijuantities. The clouds sat- 
 
AGRICULTURE. 
 
 137 
 
 urated to the point of precipitation will pass over the 
 treeless j)laiiis and bills without i)artini^ with their 
 moisture. So well was this understood in Greece 
 that the most earnest efforts were made to protect 
 the timber on the mountains and elevated places. 
 The term trce-kilkr, the most o])probrious eiiithet pos- 
 sible, was applied to those who wantonly- destroyed 
 timber. The j^reatcst calamity that could befall a 
 nation, a'^^cordint; to the old Greeks, was the destruc- 
 tion of their woodlands, bringing drought and famine 
 ill its train. The people were taught to revere the 
 trees as the homes of the gods; that it was sacrilege 
 to wantonly destroy them. Our American, with 
 little regard for the next generation, will sti-i]) mile 
 after mile of timber away without planting a single 
 tree to take its place. The western slope of the 
 Sierra, as well as the eastern, is being denuded, and, 
 in consequence, the cloud-burst, unknown to the early 
 comers of California, is becoming a frenuent visitor. 
 What is a cloud-burst > The name is suggestive 
 enough, but, unfortunately, convoj-s a wrong imjires- 
 sion. It is as if a cloud was a great sack or bag of 
 water which could be ruptured and the whole con- 
 tents let out by having a hole torn in it by coming in 
 contact with a mountain-top, or even bj' the branches 
 of a dry tree, a sort of Cesarian operation, an unpleas- 
 ant ])roce8s for the cloud, certainly! We get the 
 following description from one who has witnessed 
 the phenomenon, which is of more frequent occur- 
 rence in Nevada and Arizona than elsewhere in our 
 country: "The clouds had been gathering in a great 
 black bank on the west for some hours. Thick 
 masses piled up on the already accumulated clouds 
 until they seemed miles thick, dark and threatening. 
 On the ojjposite side from the northeast was a similar 
 gathering of clouds, giving the impression that a 
 storm was gathering there also. As the hours rolled 
 on the dense masses approached each other. At first 
 only the advanced clouds met and seemed rolled back 
 on the main masses; there was no rain yet. We 
 could see a long line forming at right angles with 
 the course of the clouds. It was of a lighter color 
 than the bank of clouds on either side and reminded 
 one of the changing shades when steel is being 
 tempered. Still towards each other the great masses 
 moved; the small, scurrying clouds, like outriders, 
 would roll back on the main mass, or even sweep 
 partly to the rear. The winds, which at first had 
 blown strongly from the west, had ceased, but high 
 up among the clouds we could hear a sullen, sub- 
 dued roar, as if from a thousand brazen throats afar 
 ofl'. The fall of a leaf could be heard; the birds and 
 wild animals were aware of the war and ai)peared 
 terror-stricken and mindless of human presence. 
 The roar became deo])er and seemed mingled with 
 the rustle of leaves and branches. At first a few 
 drops fell, large as bullets and some feet apart. 
 Soon they came faster until the}- fell so thickly as 
 to render it impossible to see fifty feet away. The 
 ground was soon running an inch deep with water 
 
 every little ravine that was a hundred j-ards long 
 was running waist deep and still the rain kept fall- 
 ing. Thtt water, that should have been drawn away 
 from the clouds by miles of woodland, was being jire- 
 cipitated in a small territory. Now amid the roar 
 of the falling rain and rushing water we heard a still 
 greater roaring. Down the channel of the brook, 
 which an hour before contained scarcely water 
 enough for an ox to drink, came a breast of water 
 four or five feet high antl a hundred feet wide, held 
 back to some extent by timber, leaves and other 
 trash, but sweeping everj-thing in its course. This, 
 uniting with other streams, formed a flood big enough 
 to wipe out a city if it was in its way. In this man- 
 ner Eureka was destroyed, and in this waj", a coach, 
 horses and passengers wore overtaken by a flood in 
 one of the ravines or cafions of the eastern Sierra a 
 few years since. A cloud-burst is simply a point of 
 condensation between two opposing currents of air, 
 both saturated with moisture, suspended for some 
 considerable time over a small space. A timbered 
 point in a countrj^ otherwise generally destitute of 
 trees, will frequently determine the localitj' of the 
 phenomenon. Such a cloud-burst occurred on 
 Smart's Mountain in Lynn, New Hampshire, some 
 forty years since. The high point, inaccessible to 
 teams, and consequently safe from the woodman's 
 ax, was the place of precipitation. Acres of forests 
 were leveled by the flood which buried farms, bore 
 away mills, or eroded new channels, which left the 
 mills high and drj', and played havoc generally. 
 
 From the very nature of the circumstances this 
 excessive rain-fall can extend over but a small space, 
 otherwise the most devastating floods would occur. 
 Happily in most countries these affairs are, j)erha])s, 
 less frequent than eartlK^uakes. People wonder at 
 the destruction, and, for awhile, fear a return, but 
 hundreds of years may elapse before such a peculiar 
 combination of winds and clouds may bring about 
 another catastrophe, but in the great interior of the 
 continent, particularly in that region lying between 
 the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains, 
 embracing southeastern California, Nevada, Utah, 
 Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico, their destruc- 
 tive force is often seen. In 1807, and again in 1870, 
 the city of Austin was visited by a cloud-burst, caus- 
 ing great damage to property. A more serious flood 
 from like cause occurred at Eureka in 1874, washing 
 away a great many substantiallj- constructed build- 
 ings and involving the loss of several lives. Similar 
 floods have visited the same city on several occasions, 
 but preparations having been made for them, the 
 destruction of property was loss. The catchment 
 area of either of these localities barely exceeds one 
 square mile, yet the amount of water falling in tlie 
 short period of an hour is one of the most wonderful 
 features of the power of the elements that men ever 
 behold, and that such a sea can be borne through 
 the air in fleecy clouds is a phenomenon inconceiv- 
 ably grand and terrifying. The volume of water 
 
138 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 f'alliiig in the brief moments is almost beyond fompii- 
 tation, Justilying the term '• cloud-burd.," although 
 it is a misnomer. The incline of the ravines, or val- 
 leys, in which the towns of Austin and Eui'cka arc 
 situated, is about ten feet in a hundred, average, and 
 through these the current rushes from five to ten 
 feet in depth and a hundred feet in width, continu- 
 ing near an hour, an irresistible, destructive torrent. 
 In other localities far greater volumes have fallen, 
 the flood marks showing a depth of fifteen feet and 
 a width of a quarter of a mile, with the incline nearly 
 as precipitous. 
 
 The Los Angeles News, California, of August 23, 
 1802, describing a water-spout occurring on the six- 
 teenth of that month in San Francisco Canon, says : — 
 
 It appears that on that day, about 1 o'clock p. m. 
 a heavy rain-cloud, which had been hovering over 
 the canon, burst with a noise like thunder, discharg- 
 ing a huge volume of water, instantly filling up the 
 canon with a roaring stream, canying everything in 
 its resistless course. A family with wagon and o.x-team, 
 traveling in the canon, wore caught and overwhelmed 
 in the flood, the di-iver alone, Mr. C. J. Chevalier, 
 escaping with his life. The water in the eauon 
 when the party entered it was less than three inches, 
 and when the torrent came it was over fifteen feet 
 deep, and it was past daylight next morning ere the 
 flood subsided. 
 
 The Carson Jpi>eal of January 13, 1878, gives some 
 incidents '■ to our purpose quite," of avalanches and 
 cloud-bursts occurring in that (jiiarter: — 
 
 This beautiful weather is so seductive and sjiring- 
 like that one forgets, as he sees groups of children 
 sitting quietly ujjoii the ground in the mellow sun- 
 shine, that il is .laiiuarj' and not June which is so 
 sunny and so full of light and cheer. * * * 
 
 We fell in with oui- old ]iioMcer friend Spurgeon, 
 j^eslerday, and after the customary weather-wise salu- 
 tations, we fell into the inevitable train of reminis- 
 cences. It was as if two gentlemen of Herculaneum 
 were to meet and gossi]> of their experiences in the 
 eruption remittances from the Vesuvian crater. 
 
 The readers of the A/ijituil will call to mind an ava- 
 lanche which took ])lace in the winter of 18()5-G6, by 
 whose icy current and pro])ulsive course a cabin and 
 two men on the Bigler graiie wci-e swejit down into 
 the <le))thH below. One of the men, liobinson bj- 
 nanu'. survived, his partner, Chadwick, lies there 
 under a hundred feet of gravel, granite, chips and 
 loam. Robinson stayed all night in his bare legs in 
 the snow, and was rescued in the morning by some 
 Canadians hard by. 
 
 In the spring of 1S()2 Mr. Spurgeon and a travel- 
 ing companion were overtaken b}' a cloud-burst near 
 Genoa. Spurgeon was complelel}' enveloped in dirt 
 and debris, but escajicd with a sti'n and some bruises, 
 Ilis companion has never since been seen. Says the 
 Hook, " two women shall be standing together; and 
 one shall be taken and the other left." 
 
 On the tenth ol" April, 1S()2, the mountain which 
 lies west of north, as one stands in Carson street 
 looking towards Washoe Vallej-, was the scene of 
 the verj- evident land slide or avalanche which is 
 so much a feature of that jiromontor}-. There had 
 fallen, after a long dr^^ winter, like the present, a 
 very heavy fall of snow, and it was the sudden melt 
 
 ing of this snow that caused the avalanche which 
 buried Spurgeon and his companion, and caused that 
 Washoe mountain to break in two." 
 
 In 1874 another cloud-burst occun-ed near the 
 same locality. 
 
 WATER CATCn.MENT. 
 
 The future agricultural wealth of the State 
 depends upon its means of irrigation, and as the 
 prosjject of turning any of the streams of the Colum- 
 bia and Colorado into the Great Basin is remote, 
 even if practicable, the system of impounding the 
 waste waters of the winter season will eventually be 
 considered and adopted. In all of the lofty ranges 
 of mountains snow falls to a considerable depth. 
 Most of this goes to the alkaline flats or the brackish 
 lakes to be evaporated in the hot sun of the summer, 
 and is mostlj' a dead loss to the State, the exception 
 being the remote and insignificant benefit in the 
 slightly moistened condition of the air resulting 
 therefrom. In the mountains are many flats and 
 depressions which could be converted into reservoirs 
 and become of vast utility. The matters of climate, 
 rain-fall, water-rights, and irrigation are subjects for 
 the consideration of the wisest heads. The greatest 
 populations of the world have existed where irriga-- 
 tion was the reliance. Egj-pt, with its ruined cities 
 of Karnac, Memphis, and Thebes; Hindoostan, with 
 its canals a thousand miles in length, tapping the 
 streams running from the loftiest mountains in the 
 world; Ancient Peru, and in fact nearly all the 
 ancient seats of population were enriched by arti- 
 ficial water distribution. The lands of seasonable 
 showers are the exceptions. What has been may be 
 again. 
 
 Pertinent to this subject maj- be quoted the follow- 
 ing from the report of the Assessor of Ormsby County, 
 Mr. H. H. Benee, to the Surveyor General, dated 
 November 30, 1880:— 
 
 The approximate area of agricultural land in this 
 county is 8,000 acres; but owing to a scarcity of 
 natural supplj- of water for irrigation, only about 
 l.KU acres are actually under cultivation, and the 
 question arises how water is to be obtained for irri- 
 gating ])urposes. 
 
 Numerous attempts have been made to su])ply it 
 by means of artesian wells, but all efl'orts in that 
 direction have failed; and, in my opinion, the only 
 solution of this question is that carried out by 
 Charles M. Scbultz, on his ranch near the mouth of 
 Clear Creek. 
 
 Some three years ago, Mr. Schultz constructed a 
 reservoir covering a surface area of about twenty 
 acres, about ten feet deep at the deojiest itoint, and 
 an average depth of about three feet. This reser- 
 voir is filled from Clear Creek in the s])ring of the 
 year, when there is an abundance of water running 
 to waste, and the water is thus stored up for use 
 when most needed. When tapped for use, it fur- 
 nishes a nice clear stream of water for irrigation 
 from four to six weeks at a time. 
 
 By means of this reservoir Mr, Schultz has been 
 enabled to cultivate about sixty acres more of land 
 than could have been successfully cultivated with 
 
AGRICULTURE. 
 
 139 
 
 the natural siip]>lies of water at hand; and his succ-csr 
 in this ]ianioular lias been such that lie contem|ilate8 
 not only iiu-reasing the ca]>acity of the present res- 
 ervoir, hut the construction of others immediately 
 below it, thus comitlclin-; a system of reservoirs, one 
 below the other, that will undoubtedly reward his 
 enterprise with a largo increase in agricultural 
 ])roduets. 
 
 There are many other suitable sites for reservoirs, 
 and by a reasonable outlay in their construction the 
 
 agricultural resourceB of the county might be more 
 than doubled. 
 
 Statistics have shown that the rain-fali along the 
 western border of the State, also in the mountains 
 of the north and cast, is about thirteen inches ])cr 
 annum, which, if gathered in reservoirs, would be 
 sulHcieut to irrigate all, or nearly all, the land of the 
 valleys, redeeming the State from its present barren- 
 ness. 
 
 
 Ta 
 
 bnlate 
 
 1 State 
 
 meut, 
 
 iitlOWl 
 
 ngby 
 
 COllUll 
 
 estue 
 
 Kearl 
 
 y liicr 
 
 3ase ot 
 
 Stock 
 
 Since 
 
 1865 to 1880.* 
 
 
 Coun- 
 ties. 
 
 
 18(35 
 
 isGt; 
 
 ISG7 
 
 1868 
 
 1869 
 
 1870 
 
 1871 j 1872 
 
 1873 
 
 1874 
 
 1875 
 
 1876 
 
 1877 
 
 1878 
 
 1879 
 
 1880 
 
 3 J 
 -= 1 
 
 Horses . . . 
 
 Mules 
 
 Cattle 
 
 Sheep 
 
 360 
 
 "lioo 
 
 
 
 610 
 
 20:i 
 
 1,511 
 
 
 
 
 
 64i: 
 
 4.^ 
 
 4,48! 
 
 8,509 
 
 8!)5 
 
 205 
 
 5,801 
 
 4,000 
 
 1,620 
 
 383 
 
 9,001) 
 
 21,382 
 
 3,303 
 
 437 
 
 49,287 
 
 45,610 
 
 2,620 
 
 523 
 
 13, .354 
 
 31,592 
 
 958 
 
 1!»0 
 
 11,618 
 
 400 
 
 1,590 
 833 
 
 7o; 
 
 260 
 6,914 
 5,42-- 
 
 800 
 
 200 
 
 1,,")!10 
 
 3,300 
 
 1,500 
 
 .300 
 
 1 1 ,425 
 
 7,700 
 
 3,565 
 
 404 
 
 3!),6S3 
 
 43,985 
 
 2,545 
 
 478 
 
 14,355 
 
 28,050 
 
 1,029 
 140 
 
 10,832 
 2,500 
 
 2,017 
 !)36 
 
 9,579 
 
 811 
 
 14C 
 
 6,805 
 
 5,537 
 
 1,183 
 
 14-. 
 
 4, GOO 
 
 1,900 
 
 1,368 
 
 201 
 
 10,027 
 
 12,435 
 
 3,423 
 
 .368 
 35,5()3 
 30,031 
 
 1,575 
 380 
 
 25;732 
 
 2,760 
 
 382 
 
 22,400 
 
 4,372 
 
 2,137 
 893 
 
 
 1,07' 
 
 9 
 
 > 6,8".K, 
 
 2,50(. 
 
 5t 
 
 1 9,12(1 
 
 12,00c 
 
 1,4.37 
 12h 
 
 3,7G( 
 4,860 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5S 
 !),G6( 
 6,31-. 
 
 1,27- 
 
 7! 
 G,4!i; 
 3,500 
 
 1,476 
 
 450 
 
 9,874 
 
 6,900 
 
 4,021 
 
 42G 
 
 37,81!) 
 
 36,038 
 
 1,537 
 
 230 
 
 20.142 
 
 28,000 
 
 3,500 
 
 350 
 
 21,650 
 
 8,120 
 
 1,482 
 
 GIG 
 
 7,789 
 
 8,940 
 
 5,052 
 
 79 
 
 36,780 
 
 5,987 
 
 620 
 
 198 
 
 1,460 
 
 5,600 
 
 2,5(>5 
 
 283 
 
 16,!)48 
 
 17,040 
 
 600 
 
 200 
 
 4,762 
 
 4,000 
 
 1 21 
 8,2 K 
 
 75 
 
 
 
 
 
 9,635 
 12,000 
 
 J f 
 
 
 
 800 
 
 1,00(1 
 
 200 
 
 2,700 
 
 1,000 
 
 200 
 
 2, 700 
 
 1,009 
 164 
 
 2,472 
 443 
 
 1,121 
 193 
 
 
 
 1,271 
 
 14! 
 
 ■ .3,852 
 
 1,151 
 
 12a 
 
 3,06C 
 
 -Mules. 
 
 
 
 
 1,550 
 
 3 \ 
 
 Cattle 
 
 
 1,800 
 
 2,79! 
 525 
 
 
 
 81 
 4,076 
 4,860 
 
 1,303 
 590 
 
 Sheep . . 
 
 
 2 1 
 
 Horses. . . . 
 
 -Mulrs. . . . 
 
 
 
 396 
 
 49 
 
 634 
 
 396 
 49 
 
 I.Olii 
 
 
 1,5.30 
 
 4O0 
 
 7,G12 
 
 I,OS0 
 
 400 
 
 8,380 
 
 
 
 
 11(1 
 5,9,37 
 
 
 ,0 
 
 Cattle 
 
 
 
 634 
 
 
 
 Sheep 
 
 
 
 
 3,506 
 
 5,212 
 
 383 
 
 38,438 
 
 26,741 
 
 2,100 
 
 400 
 
 5,3.30 
 
 23,000 
 
 2,000 
 400 
 
 'l0,()66 
 
 2 ( 
 
 ■^ J 
 5 f 
 
 Horses. . . . 
 
 .Mules 
 
 Cattle 
 
 Sheep 
 
 Horses . . . 
 
 .Mules 
 
 Cattle 
 
 Sheep 
 
 Horses. . . . 
 
 250 
 
 1, 000 
 1,000 
 
 G(V.) 
 
 1(>5 
 
 3,7iK5 
 
 1, 0*3 
 
 
 600 
 
 GO 
 
 1,850 
 
 1,500 
 
 1.224 
 
 203 
 
 5,788 
 
 1.159 
 
 600 
 
 GO 
 
 1,8.50 
 
 1,.383 
 1,2.30 
 2 292 
 1,'020 
 
 1,000 
 
 200 
 
 10,900 
 
 15,000 
 
 1,375 
 
 235 
 
 14,640 
 
 26,375 
 
 ()40 
 
 400 
 
 4,050 
 
 3,000 
 
 3,386 
 
 284 
 29,851 
 47,427 
 
 4,570 
 
 405 
 
 39,644 
 
 
 4,861 
 
 395 
 
 51,76!) 
 
 41,480 
 
 2,000 
 
 320 
 
 6,332 
 
 32,000 
 
 3,000 
 475 
 
 " V.'oi) 
 
 i f 
 
 s -\ 
 
 2,200 
 
 2.50 
 
 21,240 
 
 3,650 
 
 325 
 
 23,007 
 
 1,934 
 650 
 
 2, 100 
 
 300 
 
 20,500 
 
 3, .562 
 
 353 
 
 23,494 
 
 1. 885 
 
 605 
 
 13,365 
 
 Mules 
 
 
 
 
 
 9 -{ 
 ^ 1 
 
 Cattle 
 
 Sheep 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mules 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1,903 2,084 
 
 615 48!) 
 
 12,!)48 7,8.30 
 
 Cattle 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sheep 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1.3,600 
 
 4,000 
 
 1,200 
 
 54,000 
 
 17,000 
 
 5.54 
 
 14G 
 
 2,227 
 
 1,055 
 
 2,300 
 
 231 
 
 25,457 
 
 18,154 
 
 588 
 
 213 
 
 1,803 
 
 45 
 
 401 
 
 55 
 
 1,023 
 
 72 
 
 690 
 
 30 
 
 1,023 
 
 125 
 
 1,6.50 
 
 149 
 
 12,761 
 
 lt,9liO 
 
 1.3,719 
 
 4,000 
 
 1,220 
 
 40,200 
 
 .30,000 
 
 665 
 
 lOG 
 
 2,4!M 
 
 7,810 
 
 2,229 
 343 
 
 23,848 
 23,000 
 
 472 
 
 152 
 
 2,368 
 
 440 
 
 62 
 
 1,128 
 
 794 
 
 5!) 
 
 1,128 
 
 150 
 
 1,900 
 
 70 
 
 17,000 
 
 23.0l)0i 
 
 6,225 
 
 5,733 
 142 
 
 I2,2i(j 
 
 548 
 
 183 
 
 1,851 
 
 871 
 
 3,211 
 
 32-: 
 
 18," 102 
 12,580 
 
 726 
 
 289 
 
 5,046 
 
 9,56^ 
 
 o 1 
 
 Horses. . , . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2,164 
 
 816 
 
 18,507 
 
 14,082 
 
 578 
 
 123 
 
 1,575 
 
 3,600 
 
 4,8.30 
 
 435 
 
 .38,170 
 
 625 
 53 
 
 1,751 
 
 7,702 
 
 4,443 
 
 39,200 
 
 663 
 
 5l! 
 
 1,588 
 
 18,676 
 5,381 
 
 17,200 
 4,150 
 
 Mules 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Cattle 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sheep . ... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Horses. . . . 
 .Mules. . . . 
 
 I.-JOO 
 
 
 1,000 
 
 800 
 
 1,200 
 
 
 
 550 
 127 
 999 
 
 557 
 17.-; 
 
 1,9.35 
 7,082 
 
 514 
 156 
 
 lU.UUU 
 
 636 
 
 i ) 
 
 
 
 ^} 
 
 Cattle 
 
 Sheep 
 
 1,000 
 
 
 176 
 
 
 
 
 
 1,400 
 2,518 
 
 s J 
 
 Horses. . . . 
 
 Mules 
 
 Cattle 
 
 Sheep 
 
 Horses. . . . 
 
 250 
 
 ' 2,6o6 
 
 1,0« 
 
 300 
 
 100 
 
 K.-iOO 
 
 823 
 
 125 
 
 1,285 
 
 !l()0 
 
 
 
 1,319 
 
 .371 
 
 8,110 
 
 6,000 
 
 722 
 
 .309 
 
 2,216 
 
 1,674 
 
 563 
 
 92 
 
 553 
 
 2,613 
 316 
 
 I7,848l 
 
 (>oo! 
 
 190! 
 2,790 
 
 
 2,208 
 
 20!) 
 
 14,365 
 
 14,137 
 
 «1 
 
 
 441 
 
 190 
 1,051 
 1,189 
 
 11,76) 
 8,401 
 
 
 
 
 C 1 
 
 C 1 
 
 3 1 
 
 
 
 Mules 
 
 Cattle 
 
 Sheep 
 
 Horses. . . . 
 
 
 310 
 
 im 
 
 COS 
 250 
 
 620 
 
 212 
 610 
 100 
 
 815 
 343 
 650 
 
 
 
 
 2(X)i 
 
 3.000' 
 
 1 
 
 
 •^i 
 
 4.'>0 
 
 77 
 6s:i 
 
 360 
 
 70 
 5G0 
 
 531 
 
 82 
 
 2,164 
 
 » 
 
 1,524 
 
 76 
 
 1,064 
 
 4&4 
 99 
 
 " 07 '( 
 
 626 
 76 
 
 623 
 
 .Males 
 
 
 10A r.ikl 
 
 Cattle 
 
 
 460 
 600 
 
 836 
 
 84 
 
 31740 
 
 2,625 
 
 281 
 1S,!1G7 
 25,I!I5 
 
 610 
 
 700 
 
 1,374 
 
 72 
 
 823 
 
 250 
 
 2,600 
 
 2(M) 
 
 lG,.'-.75 
 
 22,000| 
 
 180 
 
 Sheep 
 
 
 1,470 
 
 65 
 
 1,0.38 
 
 2,075 
 
 1,.340 
 35 
 
 1,875 
 
 1,2^) 
 32 
 
 £ ) 
 
 riorses. . . . 
 
 Mules 
 
 Cattle 
 
 300 
 300 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 O '\ 
 
 m 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sheep 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Horses. . . . 
 
 Mules 
 
 Cattle. ... 
 Sheep 
 
 170 
 2,2411 
 l.SiJu 
 
 
 
 
 
 1,665 
 38j 
 
 4,G.''.7 
 1,005 
 
 
 
 2,800 
 425 
 
 17,728 
 
 2,500 
 
 l!IO 
 
 14,3(55 
 
 1 
 
 2,825 
 
 395 
 
 15,!)21 
 
 51,990 
 
 2,650 
 
 .390 
 
 14,0: 1 
 
 51.0.->.. 
 
 
 
 
 
 *Iu some iustonces no returns were found; this accounts for the blank spaces. 
 
uo 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 TaMlatei Statefflent, Showing tk Area Cnltivatefl, aM Grain Raised from 1865 to IS 
 
 Coun- 
 tit-s. 
 
 
 1865 
 
 18GG 
 
 18G7 
 
 1868 
 
 1869 
 
 1870 
 
 1871 
 
 1872 
 
 1873 
 
 1874 
 
 1875 
 
 1876 
 
 1877 
 
 1878 
 
 1879 
 
 1880 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1,000 
 
 20 
 
 110 
 
 620 
 
 18,503 
 
 506 
 
 !)0 
 
 8,000 
 
 5,725 
 470 
 
 859 
 4,826 
 
 10,000 
 
 196 
 
 3,611 
 
 7,000 
 
 1,840 
 192 
 438 
 
 4,815 
 
 2,600 
 
 2()7 
 
 I,. 500 
 
 4,000 
 
 718 
 
 633 
 
 61 
 1,080 
 
 19,553 
 
 406 
 
 1,716 
 
 9,000 
 
 7,500 
 
 500 
 
 1,012 
 
 3,500 
 
 10,000 
 
 310 
 
 5,2.50 
 
 14,000 
 
 2,400 
 213 
 360 
 
 5,500 
 
 .3,000 
 
 333 
 
 1,750 
 
 6,000 
 
 1,886 
 
 18 
 
 212 
 
 1,508 
 
 18,000 
 267 
 625 
 
 1.5,000 
 
 500 
 
 1,200 
 
 30 
 
 200 
 
 2,000 
 
 3,760 
 206 
 
 .528 
 9,041 
 
 3,025 
 
 217 
 
 3,599 
 
 4,236 
 
 11,000 
 1,080 
 3,750 
 
 16,000 
 
 2,136 
 
 54 
 
 1,887 
 
 18,000 
 
 3,000 
 
 180 
 
 1,500 
 
 4,000 
 
 7.35 
 
 15 
 
 .375 
 
 24,000 
 
 8,152 
 
 173 
 
 3,559 
 
 10,833 
 
 344 
 
 31 
 
 IS 
 
 1,949 
 
 8,400 
 
 262 
 
 1,035 
 
 2,000 
 
 1,095 
 
 57 
 
 400 
 
 SHK) 
 
 1,050 
 
 36 
 
 75 
 
 600 
 
 250 
 4 
 
 1,500 
 
 24 
 
 225 
 
 1,800 
 
 3,953 
 
 282 
 
 662 
 
 8,330 
 
 3,115 
 
 281 
 3,833 
 .3,403 
 
 12,000 
 1,080 
 3,750 
 
 16,000 
 
 1,512 
 
 22 
 
 794 
 
 7,500 
 
 3,081) 
 
 200 
 
 1,211 
 
 3,960 
 
 8.50 
 
 9 
 
 7.50 
 
 1,000 
 
 12,590 
 
 164 
 
 3,833 
 
 342 
 
 58 
 
 94 
 
 1,979 
 
 9,000 
 
 300 
 
 1,025 
 
 2, .500 
 
 1,200 
 60 
 50 
 
 1,000 
 
 1,200 
 
 18 
 
 75 
 
 800 
 
 300 
 3 
 
 3,726 
 
 10 
 
 182 
 
 2,079 
 
 15,254 
 
 90 
 
 636 
 
 9,829 
 
 4,600 
 254 
 937 
 
 5,700 
 
 10,000 
 1,9.50 
 3,250 
 
 16,000 
 
 2,000 
 
 20 
 
 75 
 
 1.3,000 
 
 2.890 
 
 200 
 
 1,203 
 
 4,145 
 
 475 
 
 15 
 
 75 
 
 4,500 
 
 15,2.54 
 
 1.53 
 
 4,741 
 
 18,441 
 
 740 
 30 
 
 SO 
 938 
 
 2,700 
 150 
 800 
 
 3,000 
 
 1,705 
 72 
 18 
 
 1,200 
 
 796 
 59 
 19 
 
 770 
 
 350 
 
 3,414 
 
 4 
 
 185 
 
 .3,155 
 
 16,140 
 117 
 212 
 
 11,460 
 
 7,240 
 
 165 
 
 1,862 
 
 6,900 
 
 3,000 
 
 21 
 
 75 
 
 13,000 
 
 2,680 
 
 165 
 
 1,030 
 
 3,975 
 
 500 
 
 15 
 
 75 
 
 4,500 
 
 16,140 
 
 676 
 
 3,855 
 
 20,000 
 
 740 
 
 30 
 
 120 
 
 1,000 
 
 2,000 
 
 90 
 
 500 
 
 900 
 
 1,232 
 
 40 
 
 221 
 
 375 
 
 3,600 
 
 17 
 
 455 
 
 5,000 
 
 16,284 
 
 1.50 
 
 1,241 
 
 9,487 
 
 8,807 
 
 2 292 
 
 2,'T05 
 
 10,160 
 
 2,800 
 
 32 
 
 1,100 
 
 12,000 
 
 1,810 
 
 54 
 
 449 
 
 3,5:0 
 
 27 
 
 500 
 
 Wheat.... 
 
 
 71 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 200 
 2,000 
 
 5,000 
 
 666 
 
 1,000 
 
 20,000 
 
 4,096 
 
 330 
 
 1,0.50 
 
 1,100 
 
 3,750 
 l,:i40 
 2,500 
 3,000 
 
 1,800 
 
 
 
 
 
 Hay 
 
 2,000 
 
 7,000 
 
 70 
 
 350 
 
 15,000 
 
 5,000 
 
 6I>() 
 
 1,000 
 
 20,000 
 
 4,096 
 
 330 
 
 1.050 
 
 1,100 
 
 3,750 
 1,340 
 2,500 
 3,000 
 
 
 
 
 
 3,000 
 1.5,624 
 
 l\ 
 
 ' ' '4.3s 
 
 932 
 
 7,096 
 
 492 
 1,041 
 6,875 
 
 
 
 Wheat 
 
 
 •)f>5 
 
 
 
 
 
 133 
 
 Hay 
 
 \rea 
 
 15,000 
 
 
 
 I" 040 
 
 
 
 
 7,782 
 120 
 
 Wlieat . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 2,000 
 
 
 20,606 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1,063 
 8,666 
 
 8,900 
 •' '>62 
 
 Hay ...... 
 
 
 
 
 Area 
 
 Wlieat . . . 
 
 Barley 
 
 Hav 
 
 355 
 
 1.50 
 
 12,000 
 
 
 
 
 
 1,666 
 1,716 
 3,000 
 
 
 
 
 3 1 
 
 
 
 
 2 075 
 
 
 
 
 10,000 
 2,7.30 
 
 t: i 
 
 Area. . . . 
 Wlieat 
 
 8,227 
 
 
 1,800 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 44 
 
 
 .30 
 
 ■3 1 
 
 Barley 
 
 
 
 1,800 
 
 
 
 
 900 
 
 Hav 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 700 
 
 800 
 
 60 
 
 150 
 
 4,000 
 
 
 9,500 
 2,175 
 
 
 Area 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Wheat 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 118 
 
 Barley. . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1,003 
 
 Hav 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Area 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4,355 
 
 27 
 
 400 
 
 2,953 
 
 16, .557 
 
 900 
 
 3,750 
 
 50,984 
 
 750 
 
 30 
 
 125 
 
 1,000 
 
 2,129 
 130 
 830 
 
 3,168 
 
 4,947 
 
 Wheat 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 45 
 
 Barley .... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1.50 
 5,450 
 
 1.5,000 
 
 50 
 
 Hay 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4,224 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 16,124 
 
 Wlieat . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 880 
 
 2,500 
 
 18,000 
 
 27 
 
 .5,475 
 
 1.5,000 
 
 410 
 
 900 
 
 i - 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 750 
 
 Hay 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 50,000 
 
 J 
 
 J3' 1 
 
 Area 
 
 Wheat 
 
 fiOO 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1,670 
 
 
 :j 
 
 
 
 3 
 .500 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 952 
 
 8 
 
 U 
 
 1,226 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 
 10 
 250 
 
 5,000 
 
 
 
 
 
 125 
 
 Hay 
 
 Area 
 
 Wheat . . . 
 
 2,100 
 2,000 
 
 
 
 
 915 
 
 5,163 
 27 
 38 
 
 2,500 
 
 .300 
 
 2,245 
 
 9,000 
 36 
 52 
 
 2,073 
 
 675 
 
 19 
 
 94 
 
 1,750 
 
 1,200 
 
 45 
 
 87 
 
 300 
 
 1.50 
 3 
 
 1,000 
 
 
 
 
 2,.300 
 
 
 
 22 
 69 
 
 
 
 ISO 
 
 l-'l 
 
 
 
 100 
 1,250 
 
 250 
 1,050 
 
 
 
 804 
 
 Hay 
 
 Area 
 
 1,000 
 
 2,200 
 
 
 
 2,900 
 
 o 1 
 
 95 
 
 Corn. 18 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 Wheat 
 
 
 
 
 
 274 
 
 84 
 
 1,420 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 -{ 
 
 Barley. . . . 
 
 
 
 5 
 350 
 
 
 
 ' ' ' '75 
 1,000 
 
 1,0.38 
 
 45 
 
 87 
 
 250 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 Hay . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i- f 
 
 Area 
 
 
 
 
 2,241 
 
 "55 
 144 
 250 
 
 ■■"79 
 
 1,650 
 
 250 
 
 1,100 
 117 
 30- 
 609 
 
 385 
 
 
 1,164 
 
 Wheat . . . 
 Barley . . . 
 
 
 25 
 105 
 
 150 
 
 150 
 
 101 
 
 o ( 
 
 172 
 380 
 
 
 231 
 
 Hay . . 
 
 
 200 
 
 1.50 
 
 
 457 
 
 ll 
 
 Area . 
 
 
 390 
 
 VVheat 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Hav 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 3,462 
 
 197 
 
 196 
 
 11,874 
 
 70 
 
 2,7(K) 
 
 225 
 
 182 
 
 15,600 
 
 100 
 
 2,9.50 
 117 
 
 125 
 
 2,9.50 
 177 
 
 125 
 
 2,890 
 
 135 
 
 215 
 
 26,(KX) 
 
 150 
 
 2,680 
 
 210 
 
 198 
 
 23,000 
 
 125 
 
 13,800 
 269 
 187 
 
 125 
 
 ^ f 
 
 Area 
 
 Wheat . . 
 Barley. . . . 
 Hay 
 
 10,450 
 
 7.50 
 
 4,000 
 
 7,-588 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 13,800 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 289 
 
 3 1 
 is (^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 178 
 
 
 
 
 
 11,1.55 
 
 
 
 21,000 
 
 22,000 
 
 
 *Ia some iustances uo returns were found; this accounts for the lilank spaces. 
 
 CATTLE-RAISINQ. 
 
 The bunch grass is the main relianeo for the herds 
 of cattle raiij^ing through the State. It is hard}-, 
 nutritious, and acceptable to the wandering stock, 
 but has not met all the expectations of those who 
 undertook to raise herds U])()n it. When the cattle 
 were Been to paw away the snow to get it, and 
 
 thrive and even get fat upon it in winter, the oxjiec- 
 tations of stockmen were boundless, but it was 
 found that the closely cropped bunches required 
 years for their renewal, and that one season's pas- 
 turage nearly worked oaf a range, and the cattle had 
 to subsist upon the wild sage, which has some of the 
 qualities of the domestic herb, communicating the 
 
"■•Xi^i ^ r-^,„J^ J^i^- 
 
 ^Z-t^ 
 
 :£^ 
 
Manuel San Pedro. 
 
 In the northwestern extreme of the Spanish Peninsula, where the Atlantic's boisterous 
 waves beat against the projecting buttresses of the Pyrenean chain, is the mountainous 
 Province of Galicia, and therein, forty-one years ago, the suhjcclof this sketch, Manuel 
 San Pedro, first saw the light. Ihiliive the coast of Spain generally, here &torni.s and 
 sea and mountains combined, have formed bold headlands, deep bays and projecting 
 islands, giving Galicia some of the best harbors of the kingdom. Good harbors are the 
 schools of sailors, and there young San Pedro took his lessons. At the age of fourteen 
 he left his native land for a voyage to Brazil, South America, and for several years his 
 life was on the ocean wave. With that skill and ambition which has marked his later 
 years, he soon rose to the rank of Captain, and as such liad coumiand of several ships in 
 the commercial marine. But the life of a merchant .sailor did not offer the opportu- 
 nities to which h^aspired. His tastes, talents and inclinations led him to mining. In 
 his native land mining had been the high and lionorable occupation of the people for 
 more than a tliousand years before he was born, and in his days of early manhood, the 
 world was resounding witli the success of mining enterprises. In view of acquiring a 
 knowledge of mineralogical .science, and familiarizing himself with the practical operations 
 of the business, he visited all the great mines of South America, Central America and 
 Mexico, spending several years in his studies. 
 
 While engaged in these explorations, the news of the wonderful silver mines of Nevada 
 was spreading over the world and Senor San Pedro .saw that there was the proper field 
 for his future operations. In 18G1, he came to Virginia City, bringing with him most 
 valuable knowledge of mines and mining. With the experience of a year in the mines 
 of the Comstock, he plunged forward into the wilderness, being one of the pioneers in 
 tile mines of Humboldt County. The Sheba and other mines of that region were then 
 attracting the attention of miners, and cau.sing a great sensation. But San Pedro did 
 not rest satisfied with the prospects of that region, and he went exploring the new 
 discoveries of Reese River, which carried him into Nye County, examining all the country 
 of the Toiyabe and the Shoshone ranges of mountains, becoming particularly interested 
 in the mines of Union District, which he hflped to organize, and, at a later date, to 
 found the town of Grantsville. 
 
 The White Pine excitement of 18G9 called him to new fields, and since then his 
 operations have been varie<l and extensive throughout this State as well as in California. 
 Always observing, always learning, he has become an authority on mining matters, and 
 his opinions are sought, and his sound and well-matured judgment relied upon by those 
 seeking information in mining matters: for the development of mining property, or 
 intending to invest in the same. With his twenty ^-ears' experience in the mines of 
 Nevada, together with the exact knowledge obtained by his studies in the Spanish- 
 American States, he has risen to the front rank as a mining expert, and his judgment is 
 regarded as infallible. The proof of this is given in his faith in the mines of Grantsville, 
 which among his earliest discoveries are now among the most valuable of the State, 
 returning large profits for capital invested in them and a promise of being inexhaustible 
 in their resources. He has seen grow up around him, greatly the result.'* of his sagacity 
 and enterprise, the thriving town of Grantsville, and with it he has thrived and jnos- 
 pered. Some seven or eight yeai-s ago he became associated in his mining operations 
 with James B. Cooper, Es(p,a gentleman of great businessj ability, and in 1S77. organ- 
 ized the Alexander Mining Company with Mr. Cooper as President and Don Manuel 
 San Pedro as Superintendent. The mines of this Company are in and around Grants- 
 ville, and with one of the best mills of the coast, using fifty stamps and all the modern 
 improvements, employs (juite a colony of men. So successful have the operations been 
 that extensive additions are expected to be made to the mill, quadrupling its capacity. 
 
 This sketch is necessarily brief; the full history of the gentleman's life, with all its 
 incidents, adventures, explorations and successes being suthcient to fill a volume. He is 
 still in the prime of life, with the port of vigorous manhood, and many more triumphs in 
 fortune's battles are in store for him. 
 
AGRICULTURE. 
 
 141 
 
 peculiar, though not objectionable, flavor to the beef. 
 N. H. A. Mason, who is the largest land owner and 
 perhaps cattle owner in the State — owning 1,800 
 square miles on Quin River, also several other 
 ranges — expresses the opinion that 160 acres of land 
 to the head is required to carry a herd through the 
 season. This is a low estimate on the abilitj- of the 
 land, but it may be correct. Undoubtedly mueh of 
 the land is much better than this, and some is so bad 
 that an animal might starve while traveling from 
 one bunch of grass to another. 
 
 The Central Pacific Railroad has made the exten- 
 sive raising of cattle in Nevada possible, by furnish- 
 ing a speedy and economical trans])ortation to 
 market. A drive of 300 miles will take fifty pounds 
 of flesh off the average steer. A drive of 600 or a 
 1,000 is, of course, out of the question. The cattle 
 ranges of the State are all within 300 miles, and 
 cattle are driven to the line of the raih'oad, and in 
 a few days are transferred, with little loss, to the 
 market in San Francisco or St. Louis. Over one- 
 half of the beef supply of the former place comes from 
 Nevada, amounting to nearly 80.000 head ]ier year. 
 Large herds onlj- are profitable. The best judgment 
 is necessarj' in handling cattle. The feed designed 
 for winter use must be preserved. The summer and 
 winter pastures are sometimes 100 miles ajiart. To 
 remain on the suiiuner range during the winter 
 would result in great loss, if not destruction of the 
 herd. A deep snow would bury up the closely 
 cropped grass, so that starvation would necessarily 
 ensue. Where the bunches are uncropped. the cattle 
 will paw away the snow, finding the grass by some 
 kind of instinct, and feast on the compact head of 
 grass, and perhaps improve in flesh during the 
 winter. 
 
 Winter feeding is found to be detrimental. Cattle 
 fed, though ever so little, lose their enterprise and 
 hang around the hay -stack, refusing to exert them- 
 selves at all, in this respect, at least, illustrating the 
 ordinary results of charity to a street beggar. 
 
 The migration of cattle was taught bj' the buffalo 
 that moves from Texas to the grassy |)lains of the 
 Red River of the north and back again the same sea- 
 son. The cattle become half wild, as do their con- 
 stant com])anions, the herders, who are a unique 
 race, with a code of morals and almost a language of 
 their own. Tliej- are not much above the Indian, 
 whom they have dis])laced in their civilization, and 
 in time may form a pojjulation as troublesome to 
 control as the native Indian. The cow-boys of 
 Texas are not a whit more amenable to the laws of 
 ethics than Cachise's Indians were. A rifle, knife, 
 saddle and horse are his e<|uipments. With these 
 he will have the best the country aflTords. Some- 
 body has to suffer. 
 
 LIABILITIES TO LOSS. 
 
 A drj' season may cut short the feed, in which 
 case thousands may starve. A deep snow or an 
 unusual low temperature may decimate a herd. It 
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142 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 is estimated that one-third of all the cattle in Nevada 
 died in the winter of 1879-80. Ten years previous 
 the winter was very destructive also. On the Car- 
 son River the snow commenced fallini^ in Novem- 
 ber, covering the ground two feet and a half deep. 
 In Pine Nut Valley the Allcorn Brothers lost 360 
 out of 4(10 head. Thej- had come in during the fall 
 across the plains and were not used to the range. 
 Walter Cosser lost seventy -five head; Israel Mott, 
 300 head. Two-thirds of all the cattle in Carson 
 Valley died. Among the farmers hay was worth 
 $100 per ton ; if taken to Virginia City, 8300 to 
 S500. Flour was worth 8100 per barrel. 
 
 Cattle that were in good condition and accustomed 
 to the range escaped. The " big melt," " big jaw," 
 and "black leg" are diseases, mysterious, and fre- 
 quently fatal; the latter, especially, is rapidly fatal, 
 no cure or preventive having been found. The vic- 
 tims are generally the finest calves, the poorer ones 
 escaping. The disease prevails in July and August, 
 these being the most dreaded months in the year. 
 The hind legs commence swelling and getting stiff, 
 the disease soon passing to the loins, when the animal 
 dies. The disease usually runs its course in three or 
 four hours. Some have supposed it to be a kind of 
 gout, engendered by excessive nutrition of the blood, 
 producing paralysis and stagnation, the blood being 
 found in clotted masses around the kidneys. The 
 losses by severe cold, snow and starvation are the 
 most serious, however. 
 
 Every season, in May and Juno, the owners have 
 what they call a 
 
 RODEO. 
 
 The cattle scatter over immense tracts of country, 
 being left pretty much to their own keeping and 
 straying ten, twenty, or even fifty miles from home. 
 An cxteiisivo cattle owner will travel from one rodeo 
 to another branding all the calves with his mark that 
 follow his cows. He may not see his stock again 
 until the rodeo of the following j'ear, or until he 
 searches out the fat ones for a drive. A cattle farmer 
 will brand annually from five hundred to five thou- 
 sand calves. The rodeo is the cattle herders' delight. 
 Here they may be seen in all their glory of riata or 
 rawhide, jingling spurs, and revolver. They run 
 races, throw the lasso over each other's heads, or 
 riding upon an unsuspecting greenhorn (gringo) and 
 catching his horse by the tail, tumble horse and rider 
 into the sand. 
 
 A DRIVE 
 
 Is the jxirtion of the herd set off for beef or for sale, 
 and is the increase, or profit of the herd. In a suc- 
 cessful scries of years the annual drive will approxi- 
 mate (he number of calves branded, which one year 
 with another will nearly equal one-quarter of the 
 herd. It will readily be seen that the stock business, 
 when successfully conducted soon brings a fortune. 
 Dr. Glenn once sent to market 13,000 at a single 
 drive. 
 
 Among the cattle kings in Nevada are : Dr. 
 Glenn & Co. with 30,000 ; Todhunter, with 25,000 ; 
 Lux & Miller, with 10,000; and N, H. A. Mason, 
 number unknown. 
 
 The total number of cattle in Nevada is estimated 
 at upwards of 200,000. It is extremely difficult to 
 arrive at anything like correct figures, as the owners 
 do not always know their own numbers, and the 
 Assessor is not paid for hunting up the beasts. If 
 there is an}' doubt the cattle owner is sure to have 
 the benefit of it. 
 
 BREEDS OP CATTLE. 
 
 The fine Durham or Jerse%' stock would find them- 
 selves out of place in the sage-brush. Cattle are 
 wanted that can either fight or run away as the case 
 demands. The Texas steer or cow can do all this. 
 Uis long slender horns and light heels make him 
 formidable either in fight or flight. They are less 
 prone to wander alone and are more readily massed 
 than American cattle. 
 
 A STAMPEDE 
 
 Is one of the things that are past all comprehension. 
 As this book may fall into the hands of some who 
 have never seen one, a description may be ]>ermitted. 
 Whether the atmosphere of the '-Great West," the 
 altered disposition of the cattle (horses and mules as 
 well), or a half indistinct recollection of danger in 
 past ages causes it, none can tell. The stubborn fact 
 remains unaccounted for. The emigrants of 1849- 
 50 often learned to the sorrow what a stampede was. 
 An eye-witness thus describes it: — 
 
 ' Twas bout three days this side Chimblej' Rock. 
 We'd been pokin along sort of easy as the cattle had 
 got kinder thin and the road was right sandy. 
 'Twas near middle the arternoon, an I was thinking 
 'o ridin' ahead fur a campin' ground. I'd got off to 
 s]iell my mar a bit and was leadin' her with the 
 bridle on my arm, my old woman walkin' with me. 
 The}"'s four wagon on us all and Riah's was behind, 
 his wife and children had jist climbed in over the tail- 
 board. The old mar was alius a blamed thing ter 
 lead; morn half asleej) less somebodj''s on her back. 
 The mar made a stumble and slapped her foot on 
 the ground like. 'Twant notliin'; you couldn't a 
 hcerd it twenty j'ards, but Riah's critters heerd it 
 though. The}' give a blow "n a heller 'n started 
 with their eyes as big as saucers, as if old Satan his- 
 self was prod'n 'em with his forked tail. The children 
 spilled out fust thing and Kiah's wife next; how she 
 rolled. "What's the matter dad?" says she. "Is't 
 Injuns?" "Blamed if I know," says I. "1 reckon it's a 
 stampede." The other critters started. You couldn't 
 stop 'em more'n you could a horrycane. The boys was 
 walkin' ahead. They heerd 'em a tearin along, but 
 tliiy- couldn't do nothin 'cept turn the skeered crit- 
 ters towards the blulVs. My mar had bruck away 
 and we's all afoot, hut set after 'em as fast as we 
 could. We cud see tar buckets, 'n blankets, 'n fry 
 ing ])ans, 'n crackers jist a flyin, 'ii the cattle's tails a 
 switchin'. Riah's rifle was tied ter the wag(m bows. 
 That fell down 'n went oft' 'n ke])t u]) the skeer, 
 though 't didn't hit nothin. We kim up two miles or 
 more towards the blurt's, it mout a been three, 'n 
 found 'em all snarled up. The forud ones 'ad turned 
 
AGRICULTURE. 
 
 143 
 
 'n upset the waijon, makitiica bii; scattcrmeiit. Tliey 
 dni<; it on the side awiiile til tother erilter.s i-im into 
 'em 'n we found 'em bellerin 'n i)lo\vin 'n all beat 
 out, piled one top or tother. The old mar stood 
 lookin on 's it' she hadn't done notliin'. We i^athercd 
 up the |)lunder 'n i;ot back to the road arter dark. 
 '■What made 'om run'?" J)ogond if I know, less 
 kays they's 's fur from home." The critters was 
 mitjhty little 'count arter that." 
 
 In 1849, sixty teams of cattle, five yoke to a team, 
 all drawini; emigrant wagons, stampeded on the 
 Sweetwater and run seven or eight miles before they 
 came to a liult. Horses and even the sedate, stolid 
 mule, who ought to be proof against any sudden 
 emotion, will join in the scare. The biggest fool in 
 the crowd is the solemn-looking mule. In early 
 days a cavalcade would be picketed out with ropes, 
 fifty feet long fastened to an iron pin eighteen inches 
 in length. Sometimes a herd of a hundred horses 
 would break awaj^ and run twenty miles, the iron 
 pins flying and prodding them every step. A more 
 terror-stricken crowd of animals never was seen. In 
 18G4, McCosh,a Missourian, started with six hundred 
 mules for California. They stampeded on the Platte 
 River and two hundred and fifty were lost beyond 
 recovery. In the past winter, 1880-81, a band of 
 thirteen hundred fat cattle, confined in a corral in 
 Paradise City, took a panic, broke out and started. 
 Some were killed in the ravines, or by falling over 
 precipices; man3- were lost, and those that were 
 recovered were greatly injured. The loss to the 
 owners was something like 810,(MI(). Months are 
 required to repair the nervous exhaustion produced 
 by a stampede. The danger is always present, and 
 the rush comes when least looked for. It is head- 
 long and irresistible, and can only be controlled by 
 fallhig in and running with the crowd, becoming in fact 
 a leader. 
 
 Is it not true also with regard to a human panic'? 
 
 THE CRICKET 
 
 Has his habitation west of the Rockj' Mountains. 
 He is a distant relative of the cricket on the hearth, 
 with many of his tastes and habits, but having 
 adapted himself to sage-brush and sand plains ho 
 has changed considerably in appearance, being much 
 larger and more clumsy than his domestic relative. 
 He is two inches or more in length, of a reddish 
 brown color, with only rudimentary wings, and a 
 stomach that will digest cactus or sago-brush equally 
 well, though ho will, when hard pressed for food, 
 live upon lettuce, cabbage, and other garden truck, 
 or even growing grain ; in fact, many farmers believe 
 that he seeks the civilized product rather than the 
 wild plants, and have experienced considerable dif- 
 ficultj- in kee])ing them out of their cultivated fields. 
 They overran the fields of the Mormons at Salt 
 Lake in 1849-50; luit in answer to the prayers 
 of the Saints for deliverance — according to the Mor- 
 mon records — the Lord sent innumerable gulls that 
 devoured the crickets. At any rate the fields in the 
 
 vicinity of Salt Lake were saved from the crickets 
 by the gulls that appeared in immense numbers. 
 Like the grasshopjier, the cricket has his favorite 
 breeding-place, and when grown emigrates in search 
 of better pasture, though, having little use of his 
 wings, he cannot carry his heavy body far away 
 from the homo of his youth. 
 
 They move in swarms, covering a space from half 
 a mile to five miles in width. They do not, cannot 
 mass, like the grasshopper, and, consequently, can- 
 not commit such wido-spread havoc, though they 
 are a great annoyance. Ditches will turn them or 
 catch them so they can be destroyed. One farmer 
 in the northeastern part of the State allowed ho 
 had headed them off eff'ectually from his garden by 
 building a sheet-iron and tin fence, four feet high, 
 which thoy could neither climb nor jump over. The 
 crickets were bad in places in 1869-70-71. but are 
 not considered a serious objection to settling in 
 Nevada. Probably they are not as destructive nor 
 as difficult to exterminate as squirrels in some parts 
 of California. 
 
 THE ROCKY .MOUNTAIN LOCUST 
 
 Or grasshopper is, perhaps, more of a menace to 
 the Pacific Coast than the "Heathen Chinee." He 
 seems as much a native of the high table-lands of 
 the interior as are the wandering hordes of Tartars 
 of Central Asia. Their range is enormous, occa- 
 sionally visiting one-half of the United States. We 
 may commence within fifty miles of Galveston, and 
 go northeast towards St. Louis, leaving that city, 
 say a hundred miles to the east; thence through 
 St. Paul to Winnipeg Lake — this line being nearly 
 direct, covering twenty-five degrees, or near 2,000 
 miles on the eastern side; then-ce west to the Colum- 
 bia River, taking in the larger part of its territory; 
 thence to the Sierra Nevada Mountains, taking all 
 of Nevada and part of (California (though so far 
 they have never crossed the Sierra), all of Arizona 
 north of the Big Cafion (that boats them) to Santa 
 Fe, following the Pecos River to the Rio Grande; 
 thence, as the jiotaries say, to Galveston, the place 
 of beginning, (containing 2,500,000 scjuare miles, be 
 the same more or less. This includes his extreme 
 range; his permanent breeding-place being the high 
 and dry lands in the northern ])art of the United 
 States, on both slopes of the l{ocky Mountains, to 
 the fiftj'-fiilh parallel; though his breeding-places 
 on the west side are confined to a few dry regions, 
 such as the head-waters of Snake l{iver, a portion 
 of Salt Lake Vallej', and parts of the eastern slope 
 of the Sierra Nevada. In places his range is near 
 1,000 miles from the breeding-place; he scarcely 
 ever breeds south of Pike's Peak, but will sometimes 
 extend his flight near to the (Julf of Mexico. 
 
 It chooses for its breeding-place rather dry, grav- 
 elly soil, and lays its eggs, some twenty-five or thirty 
 in number, about one inch below the surface, in a 
 cavity half an inch in length, and less than a quar- 
 ter in diameter, where they remain until the heat 
 
144 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 of the following spring hatches them, and brings 
 up the grass that shall nourish the young until they 
 are able to fly, which, with favorable weather, will 
 be in six or seven weeks. During this period they 
 loiter along, hiding under the decayed vegetation at 
 night, and traveling only in the warmer part of the 
 day. They frequently destroy gi-ain fields in this 
 stage, but may he turned by ditches, or destroyed 
 by various means. It is not until after they have 
 grown their wings that they show their formidable 
 nature. Having exhausted the herbage in the vicin- 
 ity of their breeding-place they apparentlj', by a con- 
 certed movement, rise in immense swarms, in num- 
 bers almost incredible, darkening the air for miles — 
 millions, perhaps millions of millions would not num- 
 ber them. They have been known to fall into Salt 
 Lake, so that the beach was covered several feet 
 thick with their dead bodies. They will stop a rail- 
 road train, or convert the roads vvhoi-e wagons are 
 passing into mud by sheer force of numbers. When 
 in their flight they mass and prepare to alight the 
 farmer is filled with terror. Karely can he turn 
 them aside. In some instances it has been done by 
 dense smoke, fire, noise, the preparations for them 
 having been ample. Usually the effort is vain. 
 Some morning he sees the skirmishing line appear- 
 ing like silver spots glistening in the air, and they 
 commence falling like the rain, until the air is dark 
 with their bodies. It seems as if the air for miles 
 in height is full of them. The rijiciiing grain begins 
 to fall. The first comers select the choice morsels 
 near the ground, cutting the stock off to get it. 
 They next seize the straw like saw-logs, and running 
 them through their mandibles, take otf another por- 
 tion; a third devours the balance, and in two or three 
 hours the harvest is ended, leaving a blackened, 
 dirty, filthy mass instead of the waving grain. 
 Sometimes they spread over a great extent of coun- 
 tr}', and remain several days before the work is 
 completed; but whether coming in swarms that 
 cover the ground, or in scattered numbers, they do 
 not leave until all is destroj-ed; and, thus they con- 
 tinue their flight until the season for incubation 
 arrives, when they settle for the purpose of leaving, 
 their eggs and winding up business. 
 
 In view of the ti'cmondous territory which is sub- 
 ject to their de)>redalions the United States Govern- 
 ment, in 187ti. ajjpointed a commission to examine 
 and report U])on the matter, which they did in a full 
 re])ort occu])ying some fitly jiages of tine print. The 
 habits of the insect, from the hatching to the laying 
 of the eggs, the character of the soil and temperature 
 favorable for their development, were cai'efuljy ob- 
 served; also their natural enemies and the means 
 which had been tried to destroy them or turn aside 
 the swarms. The result ma}' be found in the reports 
 for 1877, and will give one a better idea of the possi- 
 ble disasters than any ordinary report. It seems 
 that like all other insects, it has its natural enemies. 
 There is a small, red louse, or silky mile as it is 
 
 called, that will sometimes exterminate the whole 
 race of grasshoppers over a large territory. It 
 seems a fatal enemy, whether attaching itself to the 
 full grown grasshopper or burrowing in the egg 
 nest. In the first instance it attaches itself to the 
 sides of the insect, and never lets go while life lasts, 
 the grasshopper never arriving to the depositing the 
 ova. The appearance of these silky mites is hailed 
 with joy, as they not only destroy the swarm but 
 the egg deposits as well. In the first period of the 
 life of the insect, before the full growth of the wings, 
 much of the destruction may be averted or pre- 
 vented. At this period the insects move but a mile 
 or two in a daj'. Ditches, two or three feet deep, 
 will sometimes turn them away from a field. They 
 can be caught in nets or gathered \>y machinery 
 rolled by horse power. A dozen or more machines, 
 each possessing some peculiar merit, have been in- 
 vented for this purpose. Many different kinds of 
 poison have been recommended as efficient, but the 
 utmost energy and watchfulness will frequently fail 
 to save any portion of the crop. In the second 
 stage, in which the insect is full-fledged, it is nearly 
 impossible to avert total destruction when a 
 descent is made. The" habit of massing precludes 
 the general devastation of the land. The stream 
 may be from one to four miles wide; outside of this 
 the injury will be comparatively small. The average 
 annual loss from their ravages is estimated at 
 $40.0(10,(100. Hogs, chickens, turkeys, and domestic 
 fowls of all kinds feed upon them, as do most of the 
 wild birds and some of the wild animals, such as the 
 skunk, coyote, etc. The skunk, in particular, seeks 
 out the deposits of eggs, and in a country well 
 stocked with nests will dig the ground full of little 
 holes in search of the rich morsels. Some of the long- 
 billed birds also reach the eggs and feed ujjon them. 
 In 1880, and also during the earlier part of the pres- 
 ent season (1881), the grasshop])er8 ravaged the val- 
 leys along the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada. 
 Some fields were entirely destroyed. They breed on 
 or near the grounds where they commit their depre- 
 dations, and therefore cannot be the famous Rockj' 
 Mountain spretus, whose flight extends a thousand 
 miles. According to the report of the United Slates 
 Entomologist, the spretus does not extend his flight 
 to the Ilocky Mountains. 
 
 WASIIOE VALLEY. 
 
 This, extending past Steamboat Springs and to 
 the Truckee River, being on the line of travel be- 
 tween the mines and California, naturally developed 
 fast. Its big tract of hay land, which, umlor the 
 influence of irrigation, has ]>roduce(l marvelously, 
 being one great field of luxuriant alfalfa. The inex- 
 haustible supply of water and vicinity to market 
 have given it an impetus that maj- keep it in advance 
 of other counties in the State. The well-conducted 
 farms and elegant residences are evidences of thrift 
 that cannot he misunderstood. Perhajis no jilace in 
 the world combines a greater number of good (jaali- 
 
P0-I-T0,OR OLD WINNEMUCCA 
 
 NA-MA-GApR YOUNG WINNEMUCCA. 
 
 fTM mr C L. SMITH- 
 
INDIANS, AND THEIR WARS IN NEVADA. 
 
 145 
 
 ties than Washoo Valley. Some may bo more 
 beautiful, others more fertile, others with a more 
 genial climate, ami others with a better market, but 
 for the whole combined it may chalieiiye the world. 
 
 It was fii-st cultivated by the Mormons, who seem 
 to have an ej-e for profit as well as beaut}-, in IS.'jH, 
 but did not assume any special imi)ortance until 
 1860, or about the time of the development of the 
 Virginia silver mines. The subsequent buildinij of 
 the Central Pacific Railroad along its northern 
 terminus, and the Virginia and Truckee Railroad 
 through the valley, fixed its status beyond all cavil. 
 At present it seems likely to become a commercial 
 as woli as an agricultural center, and with its 
 natural advantages will have a brilliant future. 
 PUOSPECTS IN ISSl. 
 
 The partial suspension of the mines of Nevada has 
 worked a temporary hardship for the farmers. 
 These seasons of depression are common to all 
 countries, and are no evidence of declining wealth. 
 It is one of the peculiarities of an agricultural com- 
 munity, that even in the hardest of limes, substan- 
 tial progress is generally made. When the chil. 
 dren of Israel were starving in the wilderness, tlicj' 
 would not touch their cattle. These were regarded 
 as the source of wealth when they should reach 
 their promised land. Thej- would not encroach 
 on their capital. Jlarkets may be depressed, as 
 when in Iowa the price of corn was but ten cents a 
 bushel; j)lcuro-pneumonia may sweep off the cattle, 
 or cholera the hogs; and grasshoppers may cat up 
 the crops, as in Kansas, but the land, the source of 
 all the wealth, remains. In a year or two more 
 stock takes the place of those that died; the barren, 
 blasted fields again become clothed with grass and 
 grain; and the next decade shows a substantial 
 increase in all the elements of wealth. The State of 
 Nevada shows no exception to these general rules 
 By consulting the annexed tables a general i)rogress 
 through the decade of seventy will be noticed. The 
 population becomes contented with a moderate and 
 steady prosperity; the children pick up the business 
 where the fathers laid it down, each year, each gen- 
 eration adding something to the general wealth. 
 So cf)mmunilies from small beginnings grow to be 
 mighty States like Now York, Ohio, Illinois. So 
 may Nevada. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 INDIANS, AND THEIR WARS IN NEVADA. 
 First Kxpwlitidii of Whites — Washoe Kaiils— Munkr of I'lter 
 Ij^issuM — (!ov. Hoop anil the Indians — The War of ISdO — 
 Numaga's KITort for Peace — Burning of Williams Station — 
 Demand for Vengeanee — Volunteers for the I'^xpedition — 
 The Battle Kield — An Aimless Charge and Wild Ketreat — 
 Death of Major Ormsby — A Nameless Hero — Closing Scenes 
 —Effects of the Defeat. 
 
 The first intercourse between the white and red 
 race in Nevada, of which there is any record, dates 
 from 1832. In August of that year Milton Sublette 
 reached the head-waters of the Humboldt River, 
 
 with a company of trappers, among whom was the 
 celebrated Joe Meek, long afterwards a resident of 
 Oregon, of whom the following traditionary story is 
 told by Mrs. F. F. Victor, in her book entitled 
 "Mountain and Forest." Within a few days after 
 their arrival at that ])lace, .Meek shot and killed a 
 Shoshone Indian. The unfortunate, though famous 
 mountaineer, N. J. Wj-the, who was also of the 
 party, asked the tra]i])er why he had done this, and 
 was told that it was oidy a hint ''to keep the Indians 
 from stealing their traps." 
 
 "Had he stolen anj'?" (|ueried his questioner. 
 
 "No," replied Meek; "but ho looked as if he was 
 going to." 
 
 This was a suggestive introduction of the whites 
 to the natives of Nevada; one that gives the chief 
 actor a distinction over which it requires, u])on our 
 part, a great effort to become enthusiastic. 
 
 The following year Captain B. L. E. Bonneville 
 started an expedition of forty men* under Joseph 
 Wallver, from the Green River Valley, to explore 
 and trap the country west from Salt Lake to the Pa- 
 cific Ocean — Meek being one of the party. Kit Car- 
 son was not one of them. He had been seriously 
 wounded, a couple of months prior to this, in an 
 encounter with the Black Feet Indians, ami later in 
 the season trapped the Humboldt down to its Sink, 
 and no farther. Consequently, the oft-repeated as- 
 sertion that he discovered the Carson River in 1S88. 
 is untrue. The company made its way slowly down 
 the Humboldt, trap])ing as it went, until the curi- 
 osity of the natives had gradually overcome their 
 fears of the whites. From day to day their numbers 
 increased in the vicinity of, but at what they con- 
 sidered, a safe distance from, the camp and line of 
 the strangers' advance. At night the more daring 
 would occasionally steal into camp and carry off 
 some trifling article that seemed to them a treasure 
 of priceless value. 
 
 Their petty larccnj' proclivities, combined with 
 their constantly' increasing numbers, eventually 
 aroused the suspicion of Walker, who claimed, as 
 justification of what followed, to have feared a medi- 
 tated attack. 
 
 Washington Irving, in his account of this expedi- 
 tion, says: — 
 
 At length, one daj', the}' came to the banks of a 
 stream emptying into Ogden's River (Humboldt), 
 which they were obliged to ford. Hero a great 
 number of Shoshones were ])osteil on the opposite 
 bank. Persuaiied that they were there with hostile 
 intent, they advanced u|)on them, leveled their rifles, 
 and killed twenty-fivet of them upon the sjiot. The 
 rest fled to a short distance, then halted and turned 
 about, howling and whining like wolves and uttering 
 the most ))iteous wailings. The trapjiei-s chased 
 them in every direction; the poor wretches made no 
 defense, but Hed with terror; neither does it a])pear 
 
 *Mrs. F. F. Victor plaoes the nunilur at IKS, sco "Mountain 
 and Forest," hy that authoif.-is, ii.ige 14;t ami 144. 
 
 't^'lic nunilx'r killeil is placed at seventy-live by siunc authoress 
 in same book, se« page 14U. 
 
146 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 from the account of the boasted victors, that a 
 weapon bad been wielded or a weapon launched bj- 
 the Indians throughout the affair. We feel perfectly 
 convinced that the poor savages had no hostile in- 
 tention, but had merely gathered together through 
 motives of curiositj*. 
 
 A member of Walker's company, one morning, 
 found some of his traps missing, and swore that be 
 would have the life of the first Indian he met. Soon 
 after he chanced to see a couple fishing along the 
 margin of the river, unconscious of approaching 
 danger, when he deliberately raised his rifle and 
 fired at one of them, who sank to the earth as his 
 death-cry rang out over the vallej'. 
 
 When the hunters reached the sink of the Hum- 
 boldt, they struck across the country towards the 
 west. Arriving at Pyramid Lake, they followed 
 the Truckce Eivcr up into the Sierra Nevada 
 mountains, and from thence passed across to the 
 Sacramento, following nearlj' the same route now 
 traversed by the Central Pacific Ilailroad. 
 
 After the departure of Walker's party, there was 
 no more slaughter of Indians for the ensuing seven- 
 teen j'cars, although numerous expeditions passed 
 through Nevada, culminating in 1849-50 in a tidal 
 wave of whites from over the plains that passed down 
 the western slope, a deluge upon the golden plains of 
 California. 
 
 The passage of emigrants thi'ough the country, 
 among whom were many that were reckless, and 
 some who thought that the reputation of having 
 killed an Indian would transform them into heroes, 
 resulted in the slaughter of some straggling Sho- 
 shones, along the Humboldt in 1S49. Several 
 instances of the kind occurred, where they were shot 
 in retaliation for real or fancied aggressions. In 
 1850 this tribe, or portions of it, commenced a series 
 of depredations that lasted until the close of 1803. 
 
 In June, 1850, a train from JoHet, Illinois, among 
 whom was Capt. Robert Lyon, who relates that 
 while camped at a point near where Elko now is, 
 they lost one of their party, who was shot through 
 the heart with an arrow while on |)icket duty. An 
 ineffectual attempt was made to stampede the horses, 
 but three of the animals that were running loose 
 fell into the hands of the Indians. The next day 
 the man was buried near (iraveily Ford, and the 
 emigrants pursued their way. About twenty miles 
 from the Ford they came upon another train of seven 
 wagons and twelve men that had no stock, all of it 
 having been stampeded and driven off, and they 
 wore forced to burn their wagons, and go on foot 
 the balance of the way to California. Later the same 
 season another train was served in the same way, 
 all its slock being taken; but with the assistance of 
 others, among whom chanced to be several mount- 
 aineers, ])ursuit of the Shoshones was made under the 
 leadership ol' one — Wai'ner, resulting in a surjirisal 
 of the Indians, the killing of some thirtj' of them, 
 and the recovery of the stock. This put a stop to 
 troubles that season. 
 
 Jn the spring of 1851, Walter Cosser. now living 
 in Douglas County, in tlii.s State, left Salt Lake for the 
 purpose of going to California. There were five men 
 accompanying Cosser's party, among whom was the 
 since notorious Bill Hickman, the Danite, or destroy- 
 ing angel of Brigh am Young. The five were under the 
 leadership of Hickman; and while they were camped 
 at Stony Point, on the Humboldt Kiver, some 
 Shoshones were standing around, when one of the 
 Danite gang shot and killed a couple of them. Their 
 only reason given for doing it was the pleasure that 
 killing of redskins afforded the murderers. Three 
 or four days later, while upon the same river, Hick- 
 man's satellites killed two more Indians and a 
 squaw, and scalped the former. As before, they 
 made no attempt at justifying their acts by accusing 
 their victims of having committed a wrong. 
 
 In the fall of the same year (1851) Col. A. Wood- 
 ard of Sacramento, California, in company with two 
 guards named Oscar Pitzer and John Hawthorn, 
 were carrying the mail from Salt Lake to Sacramento, 
 and camped one night at the scene of Hickman's 
 massacre. That night a mortal tragedy was enacted 
 there among the mountains, by the banks of the 
 Humboldt Eiver; but its silent, passing waters, told 
 no tale. The next traveler over the route found the 
 mangled bodies of three white men at Stonj- Point, 
 and the newspapers of the Pacific Coast recorded the 
 fact as another outrage on the overland road by 
 savages, and demanded an extermination of the tribe. 
 The party w-ho discovered these bodies was S. A. 
 Kinsey, who now lives at Genoa, in this State. He 
 was carrying the eastward-bound mail for Salt Lake, 
 and was accompanied by a couple of men as guards; 
 but upon their arrival at the scene of the late trage- 
 dies, they camped, intending to pass a dangerous 
 point ahead in the night. As darkness came they 
 were prevented from doing so, however, by the Indi- 
 ans, who built fires in places that revealed any object 
 that might ])ass that way. To go around was im- 
 possible. They were consequently forced to remain 
 at camp until daylight before making the attempt to 
 continue their journej'. In the morning they 
 mounted and rode forward. Where the river came 
 nearest to the rocks a number of willows were grow- 
 ing, and the horsemen, as thej' approached this place, 
 leveled their rifles at it and rode quietly along, turn- 
 ing in their saddles as they passed, to enable them to 
 continue facing the point of danger. Thus they 
 made their way along bj' the willows to a more o]>en 
 and safe locality. As they passed beyond rifle range, 
 however, and lowered their weapons, a number of 
 Indians sprang out from their willow ambush, j-elliiig 
 and gesticulating in impotent rage at the escape of 
 their proposed victims. 
 
 In June, 1851, Joseph Zumwalt, now a resident of 
 California, visited Lake Tahoe, from whence he made 
 a tri|) bj' the way of Dayton to Truckeo Meadows, 
 and from the latter place to Pyramid Lake. In pass- 
 ing down the river between these last-named points, 
 
INDIANS, AND THEIR WARS IN NEVADA. 
 
 147 
 
 his party camo upon the half-docomposed bodj* of a 
 white man, whose hair was red, and thej- buried 
 the remains, lie had l)eeii ])ursiK'(l and fiiiiiliy mur- 
 dered by a hirge band oflndians, prol)ai)ly I'ah-l'tcf*; 
 this much the numerous pony tracks, still distinguish- 
 able in the soil, revealed, and nothing more. 
 
 WASHOE K.MDS. 
 
 In the summer of 1852, a man who kept a station 
 on the overland road at a point near the present site 
 of Empire, came up to Eagle Station and informed 
 those stopping there that a band of Washoes on the 
 cast side of the river, near that place, had in their 
 possession several American horses that he supposed, 
 of course, they had no right to. It was immediate!}' 
 determined bj- all to go down and take the animals 
 away from the Indians. The whites, under the 
 leadership of Pearson, a noted Indian fighter, con- 
 sisted of Frank Hall, now of Carson, his brother, W. 
 L. Hall, of Esmeralda County, the station keeper, 
 and a man named C'ady. They found the Washoes 
 with little trouble, but failed to discover the Ameri- 
 can stock. They found also, that the squaws were 
 taking the unnecessary camp ecpiipage of the band, 
 up the mountain to the east. This looked like busi- 
 ness, and when a bodj- of about sixty warriors with 
 their paint on, advanced u|)oii them, matters assumed 
 a decidedly hostile appearance. Pearson, the leader, 
 decided that there were too many to justify risking 
 a fight, and with two of his followers "lit out." Frank 
 Hall and — Cady concluded to await the approach 
 of the enemy and "play the friendly dodge," which 
 the}' did bj' distributing their small stock of tobacco 
 among them. Of course the Indians did not object 
 to the gifts, but, after accepting them, ordered the 
 donore to hunt their eyrie at the base of the mount- 
 ain in the west, and they hunted. 
 
 A few days later t'ady was riding along a trail not 
 far from where Dayton now is, and overtook an 
 Indian, and like a brave many deliberately shot him. 
 
 In 1852, the Indians made many raids upon the 
 stock in Carson Vallej'. In retaliation the whites 
 captured a couple of the tribe and brought them into 
 the Mormon Station as hostages, for a return of the 
 stolen property. One of the captives was a power- 
 ful man, dressed in a full buckskin suit, and the other 
 was a mere lad, some sixteen years of age, who 
 dressed as nature had clothed him. Several days 
 passed and nothing was heard from the lost animals; 
 when one morning the larger Indian was let walk 
 out a little way by himself, and be suddenly made a 
 dash for freedom. He scattered his garments as ho 
 went, and naked as he was born, bounded like a 
 frightened stag away toward the mountains. The 
 
 guard, named Terr}', had in a careless way 
 
 leaned his gun against the stockade, and was prob- 
 ably ten yards away from it when the warrior started; 
 but in a moment he had the formidable rifle in his 
 grasp, and taking a long, deliberate aim, fired. As 
 the whip-liko report broke upon the morning still- 
 ness the runner leaped high into the air and then fell 
 
 to the ground; and when they had reached the fallen 
 Washoe, he was dead. The Indian boy had not seen 
 
 the fate of his comjianion; but the rifle shot had told 
 him enough; and he was badly frightened, expecting 
 a similar fate for himself. His terror so impressed 
 those who had him in charge that they determined to 
 set him at liberty. They fitted him ui) with a suit of 
 new clothes, hat, coat, pants and shoes, and then 
 leading him about a hundred yards away, pointed to 
 the hills about twenty miles acro.ssthe valley, where 
 his people were, and said to him, "go." At first he 
 moved oft'm a hesitating kind of way, looking doubt- 
 fully back over bis shoulder, expecting every instant 
 to hear the dreaded rifle speak death to him. At 
 length his movements became more assured. He 
 scanned the countr}' ahead, looked back once more, 
 then suddenly leaping into the air, those shoes went 
 spinning into the sage-brush on either side, and the 
 boy was off for the camp of the Washoes with the 
 speed of the wind. 
 
 Between the years 1852 and 1857 there were more 
 or less murders, both of whites and Indians, along 
 the line of the overland road; within what is now 
 Nevada. In 1857 two men were killed by Wahoes, 
 on the road running south of Lake Taboo over the 
 mountains to California. Their names were John 
 MeMarlin and James Williams, and both were on 
 their way to California in charge of separate pack 
 trains from Mormon Station. Both were killed by 
 Washoes the same day, Williams at Slippery Ford 
 Hill, where he was buried, and MeMarlin on the sum- 
 mit near by. The body of the latter was taken to 
 Carson Valley, and buried on the ranch now owned 
 by Mrs. Clayton. There was no white survivor of 
 the double tragedy, consequently, none to tell of the 
 scene that was enacted in the shadows of the pines, 
 up among the rocks and ravines of the Sierra, where 
 their life's journey ended. 
 
 MURDER OF PETER LASSEN. 
 
 In March, 1S50, some prospectors went over from 
 Honey Lake Valley to search for gold in the Black 
 Rock country, in what is now known as Hunilioldt 
 County. Some of them had been there before, con- 
 sequently the part}' sejiarated, four going in advance 
 of the other three. They had an understanding 
 that they were to meet in a canon on Clapp Creek, 
 where running water is to be found during a ))orlion 
 of the year. The creek is about twenty miles north- 
 west of Black Hock. The second ])arty consisted of 
 Peter Lassen — after whom a jteak in the Sierra 
 
 Nevada Mountains is named— accompanied by 
 
 Clapper and Wyatt. They had reached the 
 
 mouth of the cafion up which the rendezvous had 
 been appointed, as night came on, ami camped by a 
 large boulder till morning. At daylight Lassen got 
 up, lit his pipe, sat down and was smoking, when 
 the party was fired on by a concealed foe, and Clap- 
 ])er was killed. Lassen sprang to his feet, rifle in 
 hand, and scanned the surrounding rocks in search 
 of the assailants, but unable to see any, told Wyatt 
 
U8 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 to move their camp equipage to a safer place, while 
 he watched and kept the enemy at bay. The latter 
 had taken one load of their efteets away, and was 
 returning for more, when another voile}- from among 
 the twilight shadows rang out on the morning air; 
 and the brave old hero of many a mountain battle 
 sank down by the rock where he had been standing. 
 As Wyatt came u]) he said to him, "I am done for 
 at last; take care of yourself;" and, mounting a 
 bare-backed horse, the only survivor, dashed away 
 over the rocks and plains of sand to bear the sad 
 news to the Bettlements. The four men camped 
 further up the canon knew nothing of the disaster un- 
 til they were met on their way into the Honey Lake 
 Station by a party on its way out to recover the 
 bodies of the two victims. They were buried where 
 they had been killed, but in November of hat j'ear 
 Lassen's remains were removed to Honey Lake. 
 
 The winter of 1850-GO was one of unprecedented 
 severity in Nevada, and the summer that preceded 
 it had witnessed the first wave of white emigration 
 from California to the Comstoek. The spirit of dis- 
 content had gained a pretty thorough hold of the 
 natives of the country, before these last causes had 
 been added to their real and fancied wrongs. Many 
 of them were led to believe that the evil spirit had 
 been angered by the presence in the territorj- of so 
 many whites; and that in consequence thereof, he 
 was sending the storms that were freezing and 
 starving them. 
 
 OOVEKNOR ROOP AND THE INDIANS. 
 
 The Territorial Enterprise, published in Carson in 
 iJccember, 18.')0, in mentioning the arrival of Gov. 
 Isaac Jioop from Honey Lake, said: — 
 
 The Indians in Truckeo Meadows are freezing and 
 starving to death by scores. In one cabin the Gov- 
 ernor found three children dead and d^'ing. The 
 whites are doing all they can to alleviate the mis- 
 cries of the poor Washoes. They have sent out and 
 built fires for them, and offered them bread and 
 other provisions. IJut in man}- instances the starving 
 Indians refuse to eat, fearing that the food is poi- 
 soned. They attribute the severity of the winter to 
 the whites. * * * The Truckee JJivcr is frozen 
 over hard enough t<i bear up loailoil teams. 
 
 On the i:!lh of January, 18(;(l, Dexter E. Dem- 
 ming was brutally murdered by Pah Utes at his 
 ranch in Willow Creek Valley, just north of Ilonoy 
 Lake Valley, in what has since been determined to 
 be (Jalifornia. This resulted in the following peti- 
 tion addressed to Governor Roop: — 
 
 SusANviLi^E, Nevada Ter., Jan. 15, 18(!l». 
 Dkaii Sir: We, the undersigned, would most 
 resjx'ctfull}' urge the neccHsity of your l"j.\cellency's 
 calling out the military forces under your command 
 to follow and chastise the Indians u])on our borders. 
 We make this request to 5-our l*',.xcelloncy from the 
 fact that we have received iiifurmation that we fully 
 relj- u]>()n, to the cfl't'ct that Mr. Demming has boon 
 murdered, and his house robbed, on or about the 
 15lh instant, by Indians, within the borders of Ne- 
 
 vada Territory. Your 
 will ever pray, etc. 
 A. B. McDonald, 
 Win. Bray ton, 
 E. Aubrey, 
 Wm. Hamilton, 
 
 D. Chandler, 
 G. W. Fry, 
 
 E. Brannan, 
 Wm. Hill, 
 
 J. H Shearer, 
 Geo. W. Shearer, 
 Jas. Belcher, 
 E. II. Nicols, 
 C3-rus Smith, 
 E. A. Rower, 
 W. M. Cain, 
 Wm. Dow, 
 Wm. Arullary, 
 Thomas Bare, 
 Z. C. Dow, 
 Thos. Sheflield, 
 
 E. G. Banghan, 
 Henry Hatch, 
 
 F. H. Moshier, 
 r. J. Tutt, 
 
 G. V. Lathrop, 
 
 0. Stresley, 
 J. Bonette, 
 N. Purdy, 
 F. Drake, 
 Chas. Kingman, 
 W. Taylor, 
 
 C. A. Fitch, 
 
 F. Long, 
 
 Mark W. Haviland 
 
 John .Morrow, 
 
 H. Kingman, 
 
 1. E. Ellison, 
 
 M. C. Thaderson, 
 
 or Shaderson, 
 J. W. Shearer, 
 J. L. ODonnell, 
 J. W. Doyle, 
 I. N. Boswick, 
 S. S. Smith, 
 W. C. Taylor, 
 J. M. Painter, 
 C. Brown, 
 
 petitioners, as in duty bound, 
 
 Fred. Morrison, 
 G. W. Mitchell, 
 John D. Robinson, 
 S. II. Painter, 
 Milton Craig, 
 A. A. Holcomb, 
 Wm. Hobby, 
 
 A. D. Beecher, 
 
 Dr. Jas. W. Stettinias, 
 Dr. II. S. Barrette, 
 
 B. E. Shumway, 
 L. Vary, 
 
 Dan Murry, 
 
 J. H. HoUingsworth, 
 
 Jas. A. A. Ohen or 
 
 Cohen, 
 A. L. Tunison, 
 Jas. Huntington, 
 E. L. Varney, 
 M. S. Thompson, 
 Clark Doty, 
 Ale.x McLoud, 
 Wm. D. Snj^der, 
 S. I). Patten, 
 A. W. Worm, 
 John Altman, 
 
 A. B. Jenison, 
 L. D. Sanborn, 
 J. S. Haggett, 
 Joshua II. Lewis, 
 II. E. Arnold, 
 
 L. J. Spencer, 
 
 B. B. tfray, 
 B. B. Painter, 
 P. \\. Shearer, 
 James McFadden, 
 J. II. Anderson, 
 A. Ramsej^, 
 J. E. Parker, 
 John Taylor, 
 T. Campbell, 
 F. A. Sloss, 
 S. Conkcj-, 
 C. Hall, 
 Antonio StorfF, 
 C. T. Emerson, 
 
 A detachment was immediately sent out to trail 
 the murderers, and find out if ]>ossible, to what 
 tribe they belonged. Under date of January 24th, 
 Ijieut. U. J. Tutt reported to the Governor that they 
 had been tracked into the I'ah-Ule camp. On the 
 twenty-eighth of the same month, two Commis- 
 sioners were a])pointed by the Governor to visit 
 Winnonuicca, the chief of that tribe, and demand 
 the murderers in accordance with a treaty pre- 
 viously made with him, providing for an emergency 
 like this. The following is a copy of their report: — 
 
 SusANViLLE, February 11, a. d. 1800. 
 Your E.\cem,f.\cy: Wo, the undersigned, your 
 Commissioners, aiipointed Januaiy 28, a. d. IStJO, 
 to proceed to the camp of the Pah-Uto tribe of 
 Indians, respoclfully rejiort that we proceo<Ied across 
 the couiitiy from this place in the direction of Pyra- 
 mid Lake; that on the third day of our travel, we 
 were mot by a band of about (30) thirty Pah-Ute 
 
^ 
 
I 
 
N. H. A. Mason 
 
 Is a native of Robinson County, Tennessee, and was born U&y 13, 1830. His parents 
 lived on a farm, and their children were educated and trained to that industry. In 
 183« the family moved to Pope County, Arkansas. In 1«J2 the subject of this sketch 
 crossed the plains to California, where he mined in Tuolumne County, near Sonora, in 
 that State, until 1853. The latter part of this last-named year he returned by way of 
 the Isthmus to Arkansas, and in 185-t, accompanied by his two brothers, drove a band 
 of cattle across the plains to Stanislaus County, California, and passings through Nevada 
 on this trip, he first saw the valley that now bears his name. In the fall of 1859 he 
 located at the place now known as Mason's Ranch, in Esmeralda County. (See History 
 of Mason's Valley). From 1854 until 1862 his exclusive business was dealing in stock, 
 and that which was incidentally connected with it. In 18G2 he became interested in 
 the Vir<Tinia and Gold Hill Water Works, and became the first President of that 
 company-, as well as Superintendent. November, 4,18(31), the "Bonanza" firm purchased 
 the control of the company's uiterest from him at a cost of §184,000. While he had 
 control the stock of the company paid monthly dividends of 810,000, or SI 00 per 
 .share. 
 
 In January, after the sale, he removed to San Jose, California, where he purchased a 
 controlling interest in the water-works of that city, and under his management pipes 
 were laid that brought the supply for that place eleven miles, from Los Gatos Creek. 
 Prior to this it had been raised from wells with pumps. In January, 1877, he 
 removed from San Jose to Oakland, California, having sold, the previous fourth of 
 November, all his interest in the water-works, and now his residence is San Francisco. 
 During this time his cattle interest, as well as the ranch property, was retained in 
 Nevada. In 1871 he took up a stock range on Quin River, in Humboldt County, 
 Nevada, that, is on an average thirty miles wide and sixty in length. In 1872 he pur- 
 chased 8,000 head of stock from R. C. and A. H. Broder, in Tulare County, California, 
 paying therefor §125,000, and drove them to his ranges in Esmeralda and Humboldt 
 Counties. This Quin River range is considered a little above the average of the State 
 in grazing capacity, including only what is classed as grazing land, and it will keep 
 from G.OOO to 7,000 head in good condition the year round. This is 164 acres to the 
 sintrle animal, including mountain foot-hills, and vordureless, sandy or alkali flats. 
 
 In 1877 he purcha.sed of Governor Bradley a range for winter grazing on Marys 
 River, north from Deeth Station, on the Central Pacific Railroad. In extent it is 
 thirty-five miles long and eight miles wide, and along the river is a bottom on an 
 average three-cjuarters of a mile wide through its entire length. In the summer .stock 
 is di-iven from there west into Bruno Basin, that is twenty miles long and twelve wide, 
 with Bruno Creek running through it. These two ranges judicially managed would 
 keep 7,000 head of cattle in good condition. 
 
 He has accpiired since coming to the State, by patent and claims in Ma-son Valley, 
 about 15,000 acres of land, of which 5,000 has been patented. Add to this the Quin 
 River, the Marys River, and Bruno Basin ranges, witli 12,000 head of stock feeding 
 upon the same, ami the result includes his posse.s-sions in this State. 
 
 On the twenty-second of October, 1857, he was married to Miss Elizabeth F. Dillon, 
 in San Joaquin County, California, and has three children, all girls, now living, who 
 are named respectively, Ursula, Dixie, and Maud. 
 
INDIANS. AND THEIR WARS IN NEVADA. 
 
 •149 
 
 Indiaim, well mountod, who, with a war-whoop, Bur- 
 romidod us and prevented us I'roni ))roc't'odiiii; to the 
 main cami). Wo were detained over nij^ht by the 
 same jiartj' of Indians, under a sti-iet guard, the said 
 Indians utterly retusini^ to j^ive us anj- inronnatif)!! 
 as to the wiiereabouts of their chiefs. 
 
 On the followini; morning, we were released from 
 imprisonment, an<i ordered to return to Honey Lake 
 Valley. Wo traveled two or three miles in the 
 direction of Ilonej- Lake \'alley, there heing a dense 
 fog, wo came to the deterniinalion to travel across 
 the country to the crossing of the Truckee Uiver. 
 and follow down said river to 1'3'ramid Lake, .\rriv- 
 ing at Pyramid Lake, we found an encanipnient of 
 tho I'ah-Utes; but, from the contradictory reports 
 received from the said Indians, we were unable to 
 ascertain where either of the chiefs could be found. 
 We then traveled down the lake about ten miles, 
 and found another encam])ment, which ])roved to be 
 the cam]) of Winnemucca, the war chief of the I'ah- 
 Utes. We re])resented to tho chief that we were 
 sent to them by the whites, to ask of the chiefs the 
 delivery of the murderer, or murderers, of Mr. J). K. 
 I lemming, in accordance with a treaty made and 
 entered into between the I'ah-T'tes and the citizens 
 of Ilonej' Lake Vallej-, at the same time inviting the 
 chief to return with us and settle our dilticulties 
 amicably. 
 
 The chief acknowleged that, according to said 
 treaty, we were warranted in making the demand; 
 but, after making many excuses, he not onlj^ refused 
 to como to Iloney Lake Valley, but refused to intcr- 
 ])oso his authority' in ])reventing doi)redatiotis upon 
 the whites on the part of his followers. We then 
 asked him to appoint .some future time to visit us. 
 He said that ho would not come at all, and that the 
 citizens of Honey Ijake Valley must pa}' him .Slti.ddO 
 for Hone}- Lake Valley. We have ascertained that 
 ho is at this time levying blackmail b}" demanding 
 from one to two beeves per week from the herders 
 of stock, there being two or throe thousand head of 
 stock in his immediate vicinity, horded by so few 
 that they daro not refuse the demand. We fiiul, 
 also, that the owners of said stock cannot drive 
 them to the settlements from the groat depth of 
 snow between Pj-ramid Lake and Iloney Ijake, 
 Washoe and Cai-son Vallej's. We believe that the 
 Pah-Utos are determined to rob and murdei- as 
 many of our citizens as they can, more especially 
 our citizens ujion the borders. 
 
 Finding it impossible to bring the Indians to any 
 terms of ])eaee, notwithstanding the advantages 
 offered them, wo determined to return as spe(^(lily 
 as possible, and make this our report to your Excel- 
 lencj'. WiLMAM Weatherlow, 
 
 T. J. Harvey. 
 
 It will bo observed that the report of tho Commis- 
 sioners was dated February 11, 18(j(). On the next 
 day, Governor Hoop asked assistance from tho Gen- 
 eral commanding the Pacific Dei)artment, in language 
 that so thoroughly explains tho position of affairs 
 in that part of the country, that wo give tho docu- 
 ment in full: — 
 
 Generai, Ci.arkr, U. S. A., [ 
 
 Commander of the Pacific Department, j 
 
 Sir: We are about to be plunged into a bloody and 
 
 ])rotracted war with the Pah-l'te Indians. Within 
 
 the last nine months there have been seven of our 
 
 citizens murdered by the Indians. Up to tho last 
 
 murder we were unablo to fasten thoso depredations 
 
 19 
 
 on any particular tribe, but always believed it was 
 the Pah-Utes, yet did not wish to blamo them until 
 wo were sure of tho facts. On tho thirteenth day of 
 last month, Mr. Dexter K. Demming was most 
 brutally murdered at his own house, and plundered 
 of everything, and his horses driven off. As soon as 
 1 was informed of the fact I at once sent out fifteen 
 men after the mur<ierers (there being snow on the 
 ground they could bo easily traced), with orders to 
 follow on their tracks until they would find what 
 tribe they belonged to; and if they would prove to 
 be Pah-lHes, not to give them battle, but to return 
 :ind re|)ort, as we had, some two years ago, made a 
 treaty with the Pah-lTtes, one of tho sli|)iilation8 
 being that if any of their tribe committed any mur- 
 ders or depredations on any of the whites, wo wore 
 first to go to tlio chiefs and that they would deliver 
 up tho murderers or make redress, and that we wore 
 to do the same on our part with them. On tho third 
 daj' out, they came onto the Indians and found them 
 to be Pah-lUes, to which I call your attention to the 
 ]):iper marked A. Immediately on receiving this 
 report, un<l agreeable to the said treaty, I sent Oapt. 
 William Weatherlow and Thomas J. Harvey, as 
 ( Commissioners, to proceed to tlio Pah-Ules' head- 
 ([narters, and there infoi'm tho chief of this murder 
 and demand retlress. Here allow me to call 3'our 
 attention to tho paper marked 15. It is now j)retty 
 well an established fact that the Pah-Utes killed 
 thoso eight men, one of them being Mr. Peter Lassen. 
 How soon others must fall is not known, for war is 
 now inevitable. We have but few good arms and 
 but little ammunition. 
 
 Therefore, I would most respectfully call upon 
 j'ou for a company of dragoons to come to our aid 
 at once, as it may save a ruinous war to show them 
 that we have other help besides our own citizens, 
 they knowing our weakness. .Vnd if it is not in 
 your power at present to dis|)atch a company of men 
 here, I do most respectfully demand of 3'ou arms 
 and ammunition, with a field-])iece to drive them out 
 of their forts. A four orsix-jjoundcr isindis])ensablo 
 in fighting tho Pah-Utes. We have no Indian Agent 
 to call on, so it is to j'ou wo look for assistance. 
 I remain your humble servant, 
 
 LsAAP Hoop, 
 Governor of Nevada Territory. 
 
 SusANVii-LE, February 12, lS(iO. 
 
 P. S. — Sir: If you should forward to us arms, 
 ammunition, etc., I hereby appoint Col. I. H. Ijowis 
 to receive and receipt for and bring them hero at 
 once. I. Roop. 
 
 Tho foregoing indicates, with sufilcient clearness, 
 that the accumulated hostility between the two races 
 had reaclie<l that point where it reiiuired but a 
 spark to cause it to burst forth into a fierce war 
 llame. The t!ommanding (ieneral sent no troops 
 and furnished no arms; and it all terminated in that 
 sanguinary outbreak, in the following Ma}', that re- 
 sulted so disastrously to both Indians and whites. 
 
 INDIAN ACCOUNT OF THE WAR OV 18()0. 
 
 The defeat and massacre of the party, usually 
 known as tho ''Ormsby party," on tho 12th of May, 
 18G0, sent a thrill of horror throughout tho Pacific 
 Coast, and to this day is regarded as one of tho 
 most im])ortant events in the early history of tho 
 State. IIa])poning, as it did, anterior to tho groat 
 war of tho Rebellion, the people were unaccustomed 
 
150 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 to tales of battle and bloodshed; the slaughter of 
 great numbers of relatives, friends and neighbors, 
 and the conflicts, movements and losses which at a 
 later date would have seemed trifling, then had a 
 terrible effect, and left a lasting impression. The 
 publishers of this work, desiring the most -minute 
 particulars of this most important Indian war of 
 Nevada, in the latter part of 1880 dispatched one of 
 their corps of writers to thoroughly examine the 
 ground and interview all whites and Indians who 
 could be found who had participated in the fatal 
 battle. In companj- with the Acting Indian Agent, 
 Maj. W. II. H. Wasson, he visited the Pj-ramid Lake 
 Reservation, obtained an interpreter, a Pah-Ute 
 named George Quip, who spoke the English language 
 fluently, and with numerous veteran savages trav- 
 ersed the battle-ground, spending three days in the 
 examination. The Indians were assured that what- 
 ever statement they should make would never be 
 used against them, and with such assurances they 
 gave a detailed account of the whole atfair. 
 
 It was a strange assemblage, of those old braves, 
 each narrating what he had done, and seen, of that 
 bloody record of 18G0. Each Indian would recount 
 his own experience and observation; but when asked 
 concerning anything beyond that, would say : " Me 
 
 no see 'um mobe tell j'ou 'bout that;" and the 
 
 party designated would be sent for, if not present, 
 and the stoiy would go on. On the third day we 
 rode over the battle-field and trail from Pyramid 
 Lake to VVadsworth, a distance of eighteen miles, 
 accompanied by some of them. As we came to a 
 place where a white man had been killed, or some 
 special event worthy of note had trans2)ired, they 
 would stop, and, in their peculiarly slow, dreamy 
 way, tell the event, or describe the death struggle. 
 Their speech was accompanied by gesticulations, and 
 movements of the body, conveying to the looker-on 
 a knowledge of what had transpired there in all its 
 tragic detail before the interpreter had opened his 
 lips. In this manner those events, that before had 
 remained a secret between the sla3'er and his dead, 
 were revealed. 
 
 In the latter part of April, 18G0, the Pah-Utes 
 congregated at Pyramid Lake from all over the ex- 
 tensive territory, for the purpose of holding a coun- 
 cil. The object of the gathering was to decide what 
 they should do, in view of the fact that the whites 
 were rapidly encroaching upon their lands; killing 
 their game ; and cutting down their orchards. 
 [Thus referring to the pine-nut trees.] By the first 
 of May they were nearly all in at the rendezvous. 
 
 There was a Shoshone chief there with his band 
 who had married a Pah-Ute squaw; he was for war; 
 and his Indian name was Qu-da-zo-bo-eat. A few 
 years later ho was killed near 15nt(le Mountain, by 
 members of his own tribe, after his return from a 
 raid into Paradise Valley. They killed him because 
 ho was all the time making trouble for them, bj' 
 stealing stock from the whites. There was a chief 
 
 from Powder River with his followers there, who 
 was also for war. His name was Sa-wa-da-be-bo; 
 he was a half Bannock and half Pah-Ute, and was 
 killed by the whites some two years later. Wa-he, 
 a brother of Old Winuemucca, was fierce for the con- 
 flict. He was afterwards killed by the Pah-Utes at 
 Walker River, concerning 'which a more extended 
 account is given elsewhere. Sa-a-ba, chief of the 
 Smoke Creek Indians, was for war. lie was a 
 brother-in-law of Old Winnemucca, and was killed 
 later by one of his own tribe, whom he was pi-oposing 
 to "Ho-do," or bewitch. No-jo-mud, chief of the 
 Honey Lake Band, was for war. Some j-ears later 
 he was killed by his followers, who had become 
 afraid of him, because of his continued active hos- 
 tility to the whites, fearing that it would bring dis- 
 aster upon them. Ho-zi-a, another Honey Lake 
 leader, who wa< afterwards killed by Capt. Dick, 
 their present chief, was also for war. Yur-dy, 
 known as Joaquin by the whites, was for war. His 
 band ranged in the vicinitj' of the big bend of the 
 Carson River, and south toward Mason Valley. He 
 is now dead. Ha-za-bok, a big medicine, and chief 
 at Antelope Valley, now living, was for war. He 
 proposed to su]i])ly the warriors with bullets, by 
 changing their tobacco into lead; to cause the ground 
 to open and swallow the whites; and to kill them 
 with fierce storms of hail. 
 
 Se-quin-a-ta, a chief from the Black Rock country, 
 was impatient for the strife to begin. He now lives 
 at the Reservation, is a little man, and is known as 
 Chiquito (little) Winnemucca. He was a man grown 
 and remembers distinctly when Fremont camped at 
 P}"ramid Lake, on his way from Oregon through this 
 country in January, 1844. It was this Indian that 
 refused to obey Young Winnemucca; charging with 
 his band past the latter as he waved back the Pah- 
 Utes in a vain effort to obtain a jieace talk with the 
 Ormsby ])arty, after the battle had 0|)ened. Mo- 
 guan-no-ga was chief at the Humboldt Meadows; 
 and was known to the whites as Captain Soo. Ho 
 was for war, and was shot by his brother Bob, a 
 few years later, receiving a wound that eventually 
 resulted in his death. He was in command of the 
 expedition whose acts precipitated the war, by the 
 killing of the Williams brothers, and the burning of 
 their station. Before his death, however, he became 
 a strong friend of the whites, and rendered valuable 
 assistance in breaking up the bands that kept up 
 hostilities in Humboldt County for several years 
 after the outbreak. His friendship for the whites 
 was the cause of his death. Ho had been leading 
 a com])any of soldiers into the Black Rock country, 
 where they had killed a number of Pah-Utes. 
 When he came back a cousin of his, named Cap- 
 tain John, wanted him to resign because of what he 
 had done; and expressed a determination of becom- 
 ing the chief himself. Soo's brother Bob proposed 
 to settle the matter by shooting both of them, 
 and the onu not killed, being the genuine medicine 
 
INDIANS, AND THEIR WARS IN NEVADA. 
 
 151 
 
 man, ought of course to be chief. He accordingly 
 "turned loose" on his brother fir.-st, and |)roved him 
 to be "no good medicine;" but before he was readj- 
 for John, that worthy "blazed away," and fetched 
 the would-bo arbitrator to "grass." Bob cventuallj- 
 recovercd; but, said our informant, "ho hoep sorrj- 
 bime-by, 'cause he think he kill um both, and got 
 to be chief himself" Old Winneniucea, whose 
 Indian name is I'o-i-to, was head captain over all, 
 and medicine chief of the tribe. He held his own 
 council, and declared neither for peace or war ; but 
 was known to be in favor of the latter. Ho was a 
 shrewd old jiolitician, and knowing things were mov- 
 ing to suit him, kept still and let others assume the 
 responsibility of acting. 
 
 NUM.\().\'s EFFORT FOR PEACE. 
 
 Among all that assemblage of the Pah-Ute tribes 
 there was one, and one only, among the chiefs, with 
 sufficient sagacity to foresee the evils that would 
 result to his people from war; one only who at the 
 same time possessed the courage to throw his influ- 
 ence in opposition to their will, and declare for peace. 
 The name of that warrior was Numaga; and he was 
 called by the whites Young Winnemucca, the war 
 chief. The word Numaga moans the giver of food, 
 the name indicating the disposition of its owner as 
 being that of a generous man. Numaga was not, as 
 the whites always supposed, the war chief of the 
 Paii-Ut08. There was but one general chief, and 
 that was Poito, at Pyramid Lake. 
 
 Numaga was the chosen leader only of that 
 branch of the tribe living upon the reservation, hav- 
 ing no authority, and claiming none, in any other 
 locality. Neither was he a relative of Poito, and 
 the two were always unfriendly. 
 
 Numaga was an Indian statesman who possessed 
 intellect, eloquence, and courage combined. He had 
 been among the whites in California, and could speak 
 the English language; conseqtientlj-, ap]>reciated the 
 superiority of the race with whom his peo])lo would 
 make war. His power, outside of his own band, 
 was that only of a superior mind, working, under 
 the control of an absorbing wish, to better the con- 
 dition of his race. They knew he was capable, they 
 believed him to be sincere, and it resulted in giv- 
 ing him an influence more potent throughout the 
 tribe than Poito's commands; consequently, the 
 whites came to look upon him as the war chief 
 and he would have attained that position had he 
 outlived Old Winnemucca, aiins Poito. 
 
 Such was the man who threw himself with all his 
 power into the council, to try, if possible, to stem 
 the tide that had set for war. He rode from camp 
 to camp, from family to family, friend to friend, 
 reasoning, counseling and beseeching them not to 
 precipitate a war, and bring dest^•ucti()n upon them- 
 selves. On every side ho was met with a calm, 
 respectful silence, that told as plainly as words could 
 have done it, that all wore against him. Then he 
 wont ofl' by himself, and, lying down, with his face 
 
 to the ground would speak to no one. Without 
 food, or drink, or motion, he laj- there as one dead. 
 The day passed and the night, another day and 
 night, and the third found him as had the first, a 
 motionless and silent mourner, brooding over the 
 calamity that he saw threatening his people. This 
 began to eft'ect a reaction among the masses of the 
 Pah-Utos, and the chief, seeing it, came to him and 
 said: "Your skin is red, but your heart is white; 
 go away and live among the pale-faces." Others 
 came and said: "Get up or we will kill you;" and 
 then ho replied: "Do it if you wish, for 1 don't 
 care to live." 
 
 At length the council met. Chief after chief rose 
 and recounted the wrongs of his band and demanded 
 war. After all had spoken, then Numaga, looking 
 like the ghost of a dead Indian, walked into tho 
 circle, and for an hour poui-ed forth such a toiTent 
 of eloquence as these warriors had never listened to 
 before: — 
 
 "You would make war upon the whites," he said; 
 " I ask you to pause and reflect. The white men 
 are like the stars over your heads. You have 
 wrongs, great wrongs, that rise up like those mount- 
 ains before you; but can you, from the mountain 
 tops, reach and blot out those stars ? Your enemies 
 arc like the sands in the bed of your rivers; when 
 taken away they only give place for more to come 
 and settle there. Could j^ou defeat the whites in 
 Nevada, from over the mountains in California 
 would come to help them an army of white men 
 that would cover your country like a blanket. 
 What hope is there for the Pah-Ute? From where 
 is to come your guns, your powder, j-our load, your 
 dried meats to live upon, and hay to feed your 
 ponies with while you carry on this war. Your 
 enemies have all of these things, nioro than they 
 can use. They will come like the sand in a whirl- 
 wind and drive you from your homes. You will be 
 forced among the barren rocks of the north, where 
 your ponies will die; where you will see the women 
 and old men starve, and listen to the cries of your 
 children for food. I love my peoj)Ie; lot them live; 
 and when their spirits shall bo called to the tireat 
 Camp in the southern sk3-, let their bones rest where 
 their fathers wore buried." 
 
 As Numaga was thus making a last desperate 
 ofl'ort to ('hange the action of the chiefs, and was 
 sending homo conviction of its folly to their under- 
 standing, an Indian, upon a foam- flecked ])ony, 
 dashed up to the council ground, and the speaker 
 paused. Tho new-comer walked into the circle; 
 and, pointing to the southeast, said: " Moguannoga, 
 last night, with nine braves, burned Williams' sta- 
 tion, on tho Carson Iliver, and killed four whites." 
 Then Numaga, with a satl look in the direction that 
 the warrior had pointed, replied: "There is no longer 
 any use for counsel; wo must prepare for war, for 
 the soldiers will now como hero to tiffht us." 
 
152 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 BURNING OP WILLIAMS STATION. 
 
 On the seventh of May, ISOO, the question was 
 pending, and the great influence of Numaga had 
 begun to make an impression in favor of a confer- 
 ence instead of a collision with the whites. A secret 
 war party, numbering nine in all, had left camp un- 
 known to that chief, under command of Captain Soo. 
 Thej- reached the Carson Iliver about sundown, at 
 the place where James O. Williams was keeping a 
 station on the Overland Eoad, ten miles northeast 
 of where Fort Churchill was afterwards built. 
 
 There arc three of that war party now living, and 
 one of them described the scene that followed: — 
 
 Said he: "We get there 'bout night; sun little way 
 up; and leave ponies back, maybe half mile. Then 
 we all go down to cabin, and three white men 
 come out. They look mighty scared, and talk heep 
 to Captain Soo, and — " 
 
 "What did they say to them ?" wc asked. 
 
 "Bunno ; talk heep. I no understand English 
 then." 
 
 "Well, what did they do next?" 
 
 "Bimeby one start off and run up the road towards 
 Buckland's, and two Injin run after him, and bring 
 him back. Then one, he run for the river, and me 
 after him; he jump in, and me watch; bimeby he 
 get half-way across maybe, then drown." 
 
 "Did j-ou shoot him when he was swimming?" 
 
 "No; nobody shoot him in water; maybe so, some- 
 body shoot him 'fore that, lie heep splatter water; 
 no swim much. 1 know him drown purty soon; no 
 use to shoot." 
 
 "While you were gone to the river what was 
 done at the station ?" 
 
 " 1 no see that. They tell me white man draw 
 aknife, and then one Injin grab him from behind, then 
 two, three — maybe four — Indian grab bim; then one 
 take his arm and do so,* and break it, and that 
 make him drop the knife; and then they throw him 
 on the ground, and kill him." 
 
 "How did they kill him?" 
 
 "They no tell me that. I dunno; maybe choke 
 him." 
 
 "How did they kill the other man ?" 
 
 "Dunno. When I come back, four Injin hold him 
 on the ground; then 1 go oil' down the river little 
 ■ways, to find place to picket pony, and when I look 
 back, see cabin on fire." 
 
 "Was it dark when tlu'j- burned the station?" 
 
 "No — purty near dark, though." 
 
 The narrator insisted that they found but tliree 
 whites at the station. Wo said to him that five men 
 wore killed, and he asked: — 
 
 " How you know? " 
 
 Upon his being told that the information was from 
 those who buried them, ho replied that, " Maybe 
 white man tell you heap of lies." Finally, ho sug- 
 
 * Tlic narrntor here, by motion, indicated a twisting, back- 
 ward wrenching of the arm. 
 
 gested that it was possible that two might have 
 remained in the house concealed; who were suffocated 
 and perished in the flames. The following are the 
 names of the parties who were killed, and no one 
 escaped from the place: — 
 
 Oscar M'illiams, a married man, aged 33 years, 
 and a native of Maine. 
 
 David Williams, a single man, aged 22 j-ears, and 
 a native of Maine. 
 
 Samuel Sullivan, a married man, aged 25 j'cars, 
 and a native of New York. 
 
 John Flemming, a single man, aged 25 years, and 
 a native of New York. 
 
 "Dutch Phil" ; unknown name, age, and residence. 
 
 The Indians camped on the bottom around the 
 place until 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning, and then 
 started across the eight-mile desert for Buckland's 
 station, intending to kill the owner, after whom it is 
 named. Thej' passed by the ranch of C. M. Davis 
 without molesting him, and on arriving at daylight 
 on the farm of W. H. Bloomfield, one of their num- 
 ber named , proposed to the band that they 
 
 drive off the stock from the place and return to the 
 lake without committing any further depredations. 
 It now being daylight, and as a further advance 
 would be attended by considerable risk, it was deter- 
 mined to i'ollow this suggestion; and one of their 
 number was sent in advance to report what they 
 had been doing. It was the arrival upon the coun- 
 cil ground at Pyramid I^ake, of this messenger, that 
 interrupted Numaga's speech. 
 
 "Why." we asked, " did you not kill C. M. Davis; 
 he was much nearer to you than S. S. Buckland ? " 
 
 "Davis," he replied, "purty good man; never 
 abuse Ingin; no kill him. Buckland he heep bad; 
 whi])Ingin; scold Ingin; mighty cross all the time; 
 we all say kill him, ])urty good." 
 
 On the evening of the massacre, the owner of the 
 station, J. O. Williams, was camping a couple of 
 miles further up the river, and thus escaped the fate 
 of his brothers. 
 
 The next morning he returned, and finding his 
 place a smouldering ruin, around which laj- the bodies 
 of his murdered kinsmen, he started for Virginia 
 City. 
 
 Mr. Davis, with three other men, remained for 
 several days at his place alter the event before they 
 knew what had transpired. When the news finally 
 came to them, however, they started with their 
 eft'ects for Dayton, reaching Huckland's station the 
 same evening — May 9th — that the Ormsby command 
 arrived there, on its way to chastise the Indians. 
 
 DEMAND FOK VENGEANCE. 
 
 The news brought hy Williams to Daj'ton, Silver 
 Oity, and Virginia created an intense excitement, 
 and couriers soon carried it, with added horrors, to 
 all the outlj'ing towns. Scattered over the whole 
 countrj- were little squads of j)rospectt)rs and ranch- 
 ers, whose isolated positions rendorwd them an easy 
 
INDIANS, AND THEIR WARS IN NEVADA. 
 
 153 
 
 proy to prowling bands of Miivagos. Such woro to 
 be warned; and many a wilil rido was taken by 
 hoi-semon over secret mountain and valley trails to 
 boar the notes of danger to a friend. In the whole 
 country there was but one voice, and that went up 
 from the whole people, for a swift and blood}- retal- 
 iation — one that should strike terror to the heart of 
 the Pah-Ute, and leave his country a tcnantless 
 waste. Detachments were organized for that pur- 
 pose at Genoa, Carson, Silver and Virginia Cities; 
 and on the ninth of May, 1860, they moved from 
 the latter place to Buckland Station, on the Carson 
 River, &h route for the scene of the late massacre. 
 On the tenth they arrived at Williams' Station, and 
 buried three of the victims, and took a vote as to 
 whether they should return or continue their march 
 into the enemy's countrj'. The vote was unanimous 
 for the advance, and they proceeded to the Truckee 
 River, and camped on the night of the eleventh of 
 May at the place where the town of Wadsworth is 
 now located. 
 
 VOUJNTEEES FOR THE EXPEDITION. 
 
 On the opposite bank of the river was standing 
 at the time a log cabin, in which wei-e five men 
 who had been besieged for several days by the 
 Indians. On the Sunday prior to the massacre they 
 had, with three others, been hunting at Pyramid 
 Lake, where they were attacked and three of their 
 number killed. The five, having made their escape, 
 had since found refuge in that cabin. They were 
 ferried, on a log drawn by lariats, across the river, 
 and joined the expedition on foot. 
 
 Let us now take a glance at this force that found 
 itself in a hostile country, intent upon chastising an 
 enemy that they must have known greatly out- 
 numbered them. There were four detachments, 
 numbering 105 men, nominally under the command 
 of otlicers selected foi- their general reputation as 
 being courageous men. The Genoa squad was under 
 the orders of Thomas V. Condon, Jr.; Major Ormsby 
 was leader of the detachment from (Larson City; 
 Richard Watkins was in charge of the Silver City 
 force; and Archie AlclJonald was Captain of those 
 from Virginia City. No one was selected to the 
 chief command, although its necessity was strongly 
 urged by Major Ormsby, J. Gatewood, and othei-s; 
 and they went into the fight without a leader, 
 although Major Ornisbj' is usually regarded as hav- 
 ing been the commander. It was a heterogeneous 
 mixture of independent elements, poorly armed, 
 without discii)line; and they did not believe that 
 the Indians would fight. A few of tliem would not 
 have been of the party had they contemplated seri- 
 ous trouble, but in the main they were boys and men 
 who would have made a heroic defense if pro])erly 
 handled. What they lacked most was discipline, 
 and a leader in whom tlie^' had entire confidence, 
 and who had authority to enforce his commands. 
 In the absence of these last two essentials it would 
 have been better had they all been cowards. Many 
 
 started on the expedition with the watchword of 
 "An Indian for breakfast and a pony to ride," con- 
 templating the pleasure of sacking Pah-Ute villages, 
 capturing their scjuaws and ponies, killing a few 
 warriors, and running the balance out of the coun- 
 try. There was another element there prompted by 
 sentiments and urged forward by feelings that 
 make the patriot, produces heroes, and often ends 
 in martyrdom. Of this class Henry Meredith, 
 Young Snowden, Spear, Ileadley, Kugene Angel, 
 and the "Nameless Hero," were bright particular 
 stars. 
 
 The following is as complete a list of that ill-fated 
 party as we have been able to procure: — 
 
 OENO.V llANdERS. 
 
 Captain T. F. t^ondon, (". E. Kimball, 
 
 Michael Tay, Robert Riley, -'Big Texas," 
 
 M. Pillar, Lee James. 
 
 J. A. Thompson, 
 
 CARSON CITY RANGERS. 
 
 Major Wm. M. Ormsbj', F. Shinn, 
 
 John L. Blackburn, James Gatewood, 
 
 Chris. Barnes, Frank Gilbert, 
 
 William S. Spear, C. Marley, 
 
 William Mason, John Holmes, 
 
 Richard Watkins, I)r. Wm. E. Eichelroth, 
 
 Samuel Brown, James Mclntyro, 
 
 Dr. Anton W. Tjader, — Lake, 
 Eugene Angel, 
 
 And nine United States soldiers. 
 
 SILVER CITY GUARDS. 
 
 *Capt. R. G. Watkins, Keene Albert Bloom, 
 Chas. Evans, James Sliabell, 
 
 James Lee, Anton Kauftman. 
 
 FROM VIROINIA CITY. 
 
 Company No. 1. 
 
 Captain F. Johnston, F. J. Call, 
 
 — McTerney, Hugh Mcfvaughlin, 
 
 Charles McLeod, John Fleming (a Greek), 
 
 Henderson (a Greek), Andreas Schnald (Italian), 
 
 Marco Kucrgerwaldt, John (raventi (ieorgo (a 
 O. C. Steel, Chileno). 
 
 COMPANY NO. 2. 
 
 Capt. Archie McDonald, Wm. Armington, 
 
 Chas. W. Allen, G. F. Brown, 
 
 G. I. Baldwin, 1). D. Cole, 
 
 A. K. Elliott, Chas. Forman, 
 
 A. L. Granis, F. Gatehouse, 
 
 F. Hawkins, Arch Haven, 
 
 J. C. Hall, George Jones, 
 
 * Captain Watkins w.aa a, vetiTan of the Walker lilliliustcring 
 expedition to Nicaraj,aia, where ho lost a \v^. Upon the organi- 
 zation of the party to pnni.sh the Imlians he Wiis invited to take 
 coninianil of a lonipany, l>ut ilielineil on aoconnt of his crippled 
 condition; hut heing told that .tome who had served under liini 
 in Nicaragua were anxious he shoidd be their leader lie con- 
 sented. He possesMinl a powerful horse, and in riding was 
 8trap|>e<l to the sadiUe. The Captain has written a vivid report 
 of tile ninreli and liattle, the ^>rineiiial points of which are incor- 
 porated in the account here given. 
 
154 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 ]?. Ijawrence, 
 Henry Meredith, 
 Pat McCourt, 
 Henry Newton, 
 A. I. Peck, 
 M. Sparr, 
 
 ("ol. M. ('. Vane, 
 H. Mcintosh, 
 S. McNaughton, 
 John Xoyce, 
 llichard X. Snowden, 
 O. Spurr, 
 
 COMPANY NOT KNOWN. 
 
 J. F. Johnson, N. A. Chandler, 
 
 G. Joiiner, A. G. B. Hammond, 
 
 James McCarthy, Armstrong, 
 
 T. Kelley, Galehousen. 
 
 J. Bowdcn, 
 
 The next day the command continued its advance, 
 moving to the north down the Trtickee River. No 
 resistance was met with until they had reached the 
 bottom-land, about one-hulf'miie north of the present 
 reservation building and within about two miles of 
 the south end of Pj-ramid Lake. 
 
 THE BATTLE-FIELD. 
 
 Within about three and one-half miles of the lake 
 the bottom lands widen out, leaving a broad level 
 stretch of meadow on both sides of the river, through 
 which the stream shifts its bod more or less every 
 year. There is a belt of large cottonwood trees with 
 underbrush among them, skirting the stream through 
 the entire distance. This meadow land is inclosed 
 on the west by a mountain, and on the east by a wide 
 stretch of comparatively level table-land that is 
 elevated somewhat above the meadows. The point 
 of contact between the two is sharp and well defined. 
 The dift'crence in elevation increases in the direction 
 of Wadsworth until it terminates in a bank some fiftj- 
 feet high, at the south end of the valley where the 
 meadows narrow down to a few j-ards each side of 
 the stream. At this south end the trail leading north 
 passes down from the higher country into the lower, 
 ami runs on the east side of the river to the lake. 
 Where this trail passes down into the valley is the 
 south end of the battle-field; and the point of the 
 last stand made by the Ormsby i)arly. 
 
 AN AI.MLESS CIIAKUE AND WILD RETREAT. 
 
 The whites had passed into this lowland and through 
 it to the north about one and a half miles, when 
 there suddenly ai)peared on an elevated point to their 
 right iront, just out of gunshot range, a band of Indi- 
 ans that apparently about e(|uaU'd their own number. 
 The order was given by Major Ormsby for the com- 
 mand to dismount and tighten the girths of their sad- 
 dles. While this order was being executed, a man by 
 the name of A. K. Elliott, who had a globe-sighted 
 riflo, took several shots at the enemy with no visible 
 results. The comjiany then mounted, and the order 
 was given to charge! and with a yell, about thirty of 
 the party dashed up an easy grade, made by a wash, 
 a little to the east of the eiiemj', on to the plateau 
 where they Ibund that the Indians hail melted away 
 from sight like a dissolving view. There seemed no 
 place for them to go; but they were gone, and as 
 before just out ol' rifle range appeared another scat- 
 
 tered line of mounted Indians. Their right, as far as 
 it was visible, rested on an elevated point, at the 
 margin of the valley, while their left, stretching away 
 to the east and south, formed a half circle. There 
 seemed but few of them, but they were badly arranged 
 for the comfort of the whites; a little stretching out 
 of that left or southeast line would have inclosed 
 them. In fact it looked as though they had charged 
 through an open gate into an Indian corral. For a 
 time it was doubtful whether the position of Ormsby's 
 party was the result of accident or design; but the 
 uncertainty vanished as every sage- bush in front and 
 on both flanks suddenly developed the hiding-place 
 of a Pah-Ute; and a shower of bullets and arrows 
 came hissing over their heads and among them. The 
 verj' air trembled with the wild yell that followed 
 the discharge, and many a poor fellow sitting on his 
 horse there began to picture to himself the horrors 
 he had read of that befell those who fell into the bands 
 of a savage war party. The battle was lost to the 
 whites in the next five minutes by a failure to 
 promptly continue the aggressive, and thus give hope 
 of success with which to occupy the mind, instead of a 
 graduallj' growing fear and hoi-ror of falling wounded 
 or otherwise into the hands of the Indians. Besides, 
 the greater number of the party had lagged behind 
 after observing the force of the enemy. 
 
 The volunteers who had charged remained u))on 
 the plateau possibly ten minutes ; doing nothing ex- 
 cept, to attend to frightened animals, and became 
 thoroughly imbued with the belief that they were 
 outgeneraled and defeated. Some of the animals 
 became so unmanageable that they bucked the re- 
 volvers out of their riders' holsters, and forced others 
 to drop their guns. The time for a favorable result 
 had passed, and then the retreat began in the effort 
 to join their alreadj- flying comrades. The first move 
 was toward the bottom to the west, to gain the shel- 
 ter of the timber that came within two hundred 
 yards of the plateau. 
 
 This was ai\other mistake, for the shelter they 
 sought was alreadj- the hiding-place of Chiquito Win- 
 nemucca's band, that made the Indian lino continu- 
 ous westerly to the river. This move left the enemy 
 on the plateau with nothing to do but out-flank the 
 whites by moving south on the upland and shoot 
 down into the timber, occasionally, at pistol range, 
 where the course of the river swept close into the 
 east margin of the meadows. A number of them re- 
 inforced Chiquito Winnemucca in the timber where 
 Numaga joined them; and as the Indians were press- 
 ing forward, ho rushed in between them and the 
 whites, waving back his followers in an attempt to 
 obtain a parley. Clii(iuito Winnemucca refused to 
 obey the oi^iler, and dashed by Numaga, followed by 
 the entire yelling horde. The whites fell back, but 
 through the personal exertions of two or three men, 
 they formed again a few hundred yards away. 
 
 There was one member of Ormsby's party named 
 William Headly, who from the first, until ho was 
 
INDIANS. AND THEIR WARS IN NEVADA. 
 
 155 
 
 killed, made himself constantly conspicuous. He was 
 termed by the Indians the " White Brave," and was 
 
 supposed by tliem to be in conimiiiui. 
 
 Agiiin and again members of tlio relrealiiig force 
 attempted to make a stantl. About half a mile from 
 where the battle opened, some tried to cross the 
 river, but were swept back again to the shore they 
 had started from. At this jjlace now stands, on 
 the upland overlooking the valley, an Indian school 
 house, and the river approaclies within fifty yards 
 of the elevated point. Here a number of mounted 
 Indians had congregated, and the whites, if they re- 
 treated further, were forced to run the gauntlet, the 
 dread of which had caused some to attempt the pas- 
 sago of the surging stream. It had to be done, how- 
 ever, and the rush was made. One horse was killed 
 in passing this point, its rider being among the last 
 • to give way before the onslaught of the band, led 
 by Chiquito Winncmucca, that was conslantlj' press- 
 ing them in the timber from the north. The horse 
 in falling dashed his rider to the ground, who in- 
 stantly sprang to his feet and turned upon the foe, 
 wounding in the knee the assailant nearest to him, 
 and then sank by his dead horse to the earth again 
 riddled with arrows and bullets. His name was 
 Eugene Angel, and his death was witnessed onl^- by 
 his slayers, who twenty years later described the 
 death scene, and pointed out the spot where the 
 bones of the brave man were buried. Three-quar- 
 ters of a mile farther south, still in the bottom-laiuls, 
 along the east bank of the river, another rally 
 was made in a grove of Cottonwood; and it was here 
 that the chivalric young Jleredith fell. In front of 
 the grove to the north was an open space through 
 which they had passed in falling back. Chi(|uito 
 Winncmucca in his eagerness arrived upon this open 
 ground in advance of his band, and rode alone out 
 into it, in pursuit of the whites. As soon as he ap- 
 peared the brave Ileadly, who had been lingering in 
 the rear, turned upon the chief; hatless, coatless, 
 without a shot left ho went for his enemy with 
 the bridle reins in one hand and a revolver grasped 
 by the barrel in the othei-, regardless of Winne- 
 mucca's weapons, he rode down upon him. The chief 
 turned and back they went, pursuer and pursued, 
 through the enemy's lines; when the heroic "White 
 IJrave" reeled in his saddle and fell to the ground, shot 
 through the head from behind. His horse and 
 weapons became the spoils of the Indian he had been 
 pursuing. The grove where Ormsby's commanti was 
 now making a last, and by some a desperate 
 effort to stem the tide of defeat, was within less than 
 a quarter of a mile of where the ft-ail passed out 
 of the meadows, up a steep bank about fifty feet, on 
 to the table-lands above. If the Indians in force 
 gained possession of this point of exit from the val- 
 ley there was left, seemingly, no outlet for escape; 
 and it was a iio.silion to be held at all hazards. 
 Major Ormsby ordered Thomas V. Condon and 
 Richard Watkins with their commands, to go and 
 
 take possession of that place and hold it, which they 
 did, although deserted by nearly all of their men as 
 
 soon as the point was reached. Said Anton KaufT- 
 man, now of Humboldt County, who was a boy 
 about sixteen years of age at the time: "The last 
 I saw of the battle, and the bravest thing I ever 
 saw, was Captain Watkins standing there on the 
 trail, leaning on a crutch, and blazing away at the 
 redskins. It's always been a myster}' to me how he 
 got away. Ho was the last white man I saw that 
 day, or until the next morning, when I arrived at 
 Buckland's Station." Mr. Kauff'man was eiTone- 
 ously under the impression that (Captain Watkins was 
 defending tho trail after the balance of the com- 
 mand had passed him in the retreat. 
 
 Thomas F. Condon started back to inform Major 
 Ormsby of the critical condition of affairs on tho 
 trail; therefore let us follow him and see what had 
 been transpiring at tho front. The horse that 
 Chi(|uito Winncmucca rode was shot under him, in 
 the open space before described, as that warrior 
 returned to the attack after Headly's death, and ho 
 had nothing to do with tho massacre that after- 
 wards occurred. The timber was within range of 
 the heights, and bullets wore constantly pattering 
 against and whistling among tho trees, from that 
 direction. An old bed of the river, thickly covered 
 with an undergrowth, connected the position of the 
 whites with that of tho Indians in the bottom, and 
 afforded tho latter a concealed route by which they 
 could reach tho already hard pressed command. 
 Soon tho woods were swarming again with tho 
 savages. Meredith went down under a mortal 
 wound, and where his life-blood mingled with the 
 soil, a bunch of wild roses sprang into life, to mark 
 the place in after years where a hero had fallen. 
 Again the whites gave way and the Indians in press- 
 in<r them out of the timber, discovered two secreted 
 in the underbrush near where Meredith had been 
 left. They ])assed on, however, in the pursuit, pre- 
 tending not to have seen them, supposing they 
 would remain there, hid until a more leisure oppor- 
 tunity presented itself, for attending to them. It 
 was tho last they saw of tlieir reserved prisoners, 
 the two men making their escape. 
 
 As the whites retreated from this their last cover, 
 and wont flying to the south to reach tho upper 
 country, they passed through a constant shower of 
 deadly missiles, that greeted them from the blutf all 
 along the meadow trail. Added to this was tho 
 thrilling war-cries of exultation going up from tho 
 hundreds that crowdeil upon their roar; and all com- 
 bined to complete what had been so effectually 
 begun — tho total demoralization of the entire part}'. 
 It was a wonder that such had not been the result 
 long before, and the retreat became a wild, panic- 
 stricken stampede. As the flying horsemen ap- 
 proached the i)lace, where Watkins, like another 
 Leonidas in the Pass of Thcrmopyle, was, single- 
 handed, defending their line of retreat, death spread 
 
156 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 over tliem her somber wings and silently shadowed 
 them all. 
 
 Ab the horsemen reached the point where the trail 
 wont up the stoo]) hank, it was im])os8iblc for all to 
 go at once; and the result was a halt for many, and 
 an almost hand to hand conflict with the savages. 
 One horse, with a fatal wound, dashed awaj' to the 
 west, and carried its rider to his death in the timber 
 by the river bank. Two men passing to the right in 
 climbing the heights by a more gradual ascent, went 
 rolling with their horses fatally shot down the bank 
 among their enemies. Young Snowden, as ho 
 reached the summit, fell from his horse and expired. 
 A few rods farther on, just a little waj- to the south 
 and west of the trail, another man threw up his 
 hands with a despairing look, and laid down with 
 his face to the ground, and died. 
 
 These were all, eight onlj-, whose lifc-blooil had 
 thus far paid the ))enalty of the fatal mistakes of that 
 terrible day. Plight only upon the field of battle 
 had died facing the foe, as brave men, all of them, as 
 any for whom history weaves its chaplets of fame. 
 
 As soon as the upper country was reached all 
 thought of an3'thing except escape was abandoned, 
 and the i'astest liorscs led the retreat. The unfortu- 
 nate man whoso animal gradually lost his position 
 in the advance and fell to the rear, found himself 
 slowly and with certainty slipping into the arms of 
 death. It was an open country, a straight trail, 
 and a terrible ride with a fearful stake that only 
 speed could win. To lose it was swift, terrible and 
 certain death. The pursuers in that race for life 
 were constantl}' seizing the whites who had become 
 the last among the flying band, and then would 
 follow a quick, desperate struggle, and another was 
 added to the number of the nameless dead. Two 
 miles were thus i)a8sed, when the Indians, becoming 
 more bold, one rode up behind a white man, and, 
 throwing his right arm around him, lifted him out of 
 the saddle and threw him upon the ground, while 
 the horses were at full speed, where he was killed 
 without otfering anj' resistance. 
 
 This feat elicited such applause from the pursuers 
 that it at once became po])uIar, and the same thing 
 was attempted with the next horseman reached. It 
 was a difterent style of a fugitive this time, and as 
 the Indian threw his arm around his victim he was 
 received with a pistol shot, and a desperate encounter 
 ensued, side by side their horsos flew over the 
 country. As the riders grasped in each other's 
 embrace, struggled for master^-, and fought for life; 
 until, locked in a deadly embrace, they rolled from 
 their winged battle-field into the trail. Lying upon 
 the ground they fought and strove, rolling over and 
 over, first one, then the other gaining a temporary 
 advantage, until the Indian was throttled, and would 
 have been strangled had not his comrades come to 
 his assistance. It was a quickly ended contest then, 
 and the brave Californian, \Vm. S. iSpear, was added 
 to the list of those who were sacrificed that day. 
 
 A little further along, the trail runs close to a 
 precipice, two hundred feet high, at the base of 
 which flows the river. Upon the nan-ow space 
 between the brink and the still higher hluft", an 
 Indian rushed up to look at an ajtparently dead 
 white man, when the corpse suddenly brought a 
 revolver to bear and fired. The white man sprang 
 to his feet, and, seizing the Pah-Ute, struggled as 
 one mad to jump from the dizzy heights to certain 
 death below, with the Indian in his embrace. His 
 design was frustrated by the lookers-on, who ended 
 the desperate combat by killing their comrade's 
 antagonist, and rolling his body from the heights. 
 
 About seven or eight miles south from the battle- 
 field a mountain comes down in one place to the 
 east bank of the river. At this point there is a narrow 
 neck of level ground through which the trail passes, 
 and a short distance to the south of it passes down' 
 again on to a meadow by the river. The meadow, 
 or bottom-land, is possibly a half mile long, and 
 then the trail leads out into the high, open country 
 again. At this narrow pass Major Urmsby had left 
 on his waj' down a number of men, under command 
 
 of a person named Lake, with orders to hold 
 
 the position and thus secure their line of retreat. 
 They were^josted on higher ground that overlooked 
 the trail, and in a favorable position from where a 
 dozen brave men could have held at bay for a short 
 time a small army. 
 
 Here Ormsb}- had intended to have made a stand, 
 if defeated at the lake, but as the leading fugitives 
 came dashing down the trail the reserves deserted 
 their post and joined them. Upon Ormsby's arrival 
 at this j)oint he found no nucleus around which to 
 attempt a stand, and passed on with the balance. 
 All were not so fortunate, however, for as the rear 
 entered the narrow place their flight was retarded 
 bj' their numbers. The Indians overtook them in 
 force; rode in among them; beat with their hands, 
 bows or guns, the horses of the fugitives over the 
 heads, thus causing them to fall l)ack further among 
 their pursuers. In this way the leaders pressed for- 
 ward to overtake horsemen farther in advance, 
 leaving those jiassed to be dealt with bj' their fol- 
 lowers, and crowded upon a number just as they 
 were passing down the trail into the bottom-land just 
 mentioned. At this jioint Ormsby's men received 
 volley that filled five nameless graves down near the 
 banks of the Truckee River. 
 
 " What about the white men that j'ou rode among 
 in the nari'ow pass?" we inijuired. 
 
 " White men," said our informant " all cry a heap; 
 got no gun, throw um away; got no revolver, throw 
 um away too; no want to fight any more now; all 
 big scare just like cattle; run, run, cry, cry, heap 
 cry, same as papoose; no want Injun to kill um any 
 more; that's all." 
 
 But it was not all, for further questioning revealed 
 the details of a scone that no artist could paint or 
 pen portray. A scene where the victims, tortured 
 
INDIANS, AND THEIR WARS IN NEVADA. 
 
 167 
 
 by fear into madness, rodo amonj;; their slayers with 
 outstretched arms, pleadini; and bogi^ini^ for life; 
 crying in vain for mercy, while the jeerini; devils, 
 flushed with victory and drunk with blood, lauj^hed 
 at their supplications, played for a time with their 
 frenzy, and then ended their miseries. 
 
 DEATH OF MAJOR ORMSBV. 
 
 When Ormsby left the bottom where the battle 
 had occurred, he was ridinjj a mule that had been 
 shot throiijLch the flank from where the blood would 
 gush forth at every step. The Major was wounded 
 in the mouth and l)oth arms, which rendered him 
 almost helpless, and as Captain Wutkins dashed past 
 him in the retreat to rally if possible some men to 
 make another stand, ho ordered Tjieut. Cris. Harnes 
 to remain behind with the wounded otticer and whip 
 the mule if possible into greater speed. Watkins 
 finding that no one could be induced to attempt any 
 farther resistance, soon returned to assist Ormsby and 
 the Lieutenant. 
 
 As he reached them the Indians, who were crowd- 
 ing close in pursuit, fired u])on the party and Barnes 
 received a wound. What immediately followed is 
 given in Captain Watkins own language, as taken 
 from a letter froni him upon this subject: — 
 
 "I then made up ni^- miiul that the fight was up, 
 that I could do no more for the Major, but might save 
 myself, so making a motion to Barnes logo, I said to 
 Ormsby that I would try once more to rallj* the men. 
 Ho replied that it wouUl be of no use; but to look out 
 for myself, as it was but a question of a few more 
 minutes with him, and that all he now asked was 
 strength to face the foe when he received his death 
 shot. The Indians were gaining on us rapidly; one 
 look at them and thought of self conquered valor, and 
 the next moment, with a few parting words to 
 Ormsby-, I was on my way to Carson. * # * * 
 * * * * As I was climbing up the third and last 
 of the ravines, I overtook ]5ig Sam. Brown, on his 
 white mare, with Ciipl. John Blackburn on behind 
 him, toiling uj) the hill." 
 
 Captain Watkins fartheron took up a man behind 
 him on his horse and carried him to safety. 
 
 The account of what followed his departure was 
 obtained from the Indians. 
 
 The Major continued his retreat as he best could, 
 and had reached the last little valley down by the 
 river where the five men were killed by a vollej- 
 from the savages as before mentioned. Here he was 
 passed, by such of the whites, as had up to this time 
 been following in his rear and engaging the atten- 
 tion of the pursuers in the manner before described. 
 
 At the point where the trail passes out from this 
 last-mentioned little valley he was overtaken. This 
 point is about hull-way between the battle-ground 
 and Wadsworth, and is at the place where a month 
 later a detachment of United States soldiei-s under 
 Captain Stewart, and volunteers under Col. Jack Hays 
 20 
 
 defeated the Indians as a chastisement for their out- 
 rages. He was half-way up the trail when his saddle 
 turned, throwing him upon the ground, and his mule 
 wheeling towards the river went back. The Major 
 got up and walked to the to]) of the steep grade; 
 when looking back ho recognized one of the Indians 
 nearest to hiqi in the pursuit, and instantly turned 
 and started to meet them. He evidently sup])osed 
 there was hope of his being spared, because of the 
 friendly relations that heretofore had existed between 
 him and the I'ah-Ute that now confronted him. As 
 ho moved down to meet them he waved his hand, 
 with tlio palm advanced, and said: "Don't kill me," 
 
 calling the Indian by name. '-I am your 
 
 friend. I'll go and talk with the whites and make 
 peace." "Xo use now," replied the Indian, "too 
 late," and he sent an arrow flj-ing through the 
 stomach and another through the face of his late 
 friend, who, sinking to the ground, was rolled from 
 the ridge dying into the gully below. 
 
 A NA.MELESS HERO. 
 
 A little in advance of Major Ormsby on the trail 
 were two parties, one from necessity and the other 
 from choice, having boon left with thoir leader, as 
 their companions had passed on. N. A. Chandler 
 was the name of one of the two who, being without 
 a horse, was there against his will; and as he saw 
 Ormsby ascend the hill and then turn back he darted 
 ofl:' down a depression until it came to a ])rocii)ilou8 
 terminus. Reaching this point, he took of!' his 
 revolver, and, laying it down, sprang from the 
 embankment and made his escape. 
 
 The other member of that forlorn hope was a 
 young man, a mere boy in his teens, out of whose 
 grey eyes looked the soul of a peerless hero. He 
 was riding a good hoi-se, but had lingered in the 
 roar, and saw the .Major thrown from his animal. 
 Ho then stopped and dismounted in the trail, within 
 twenty feet of where Ormsby stood, when he turned 
 back to talk with his Iwllan friend. A8~ that 
 friend fired u])on the Major, two other savages 
 dashed past to make way with the youth at the 
 top of the trail, po.ssibl}' ino feet away, expecting 
 an unresisting victim. In this they were disap- 
 pointed, for the bravo lad sprang behind his horse, 
 and with a revolver fired hastily at one of the two 
 who were advancing, but without eftect. One of the 
 savages then rushed up to the opposite side of the 
 animal, and the struggle went on with the horse 
 between them, until their positions were so changed 
 as to bring the j'outh in range of the gun of the dis- 
 engaged I'ah-Uto. This ended the combat, and the 
 "nameless young hero" sank by the trail, whore he 
 was afterward buried and forgotten; and but for the 
 enemy who killed him the noble act that resulted in 
 his death would never have been known to his own 
 race.* 
 
 * It h.is txHMi erroneously atato<l tliat Kielianl Siiowdeii was 
 the name of tliU yniii;; man. Miiowilen's body was fouuil nov- 
 eral inileii farther to the uorth. 
 
158 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 The cruel fate which quenched in oblivion the 
 name and young life of this lad leaves behind it 
 for U8 a memory sadder than tears; a broken home 
 circle somewhere in the world that kept fruitless 
 watch through the years that followed for the 
 return of the 3-outh or the man, and never knew of 
 the sublime act that, closing his life, had transformed 
 their boy-hero into a martyr. 
 
 CLOSING SCENES. 
 
 The next victims were Jones, McCarthy, and Mc- 
 Leod. They were overtaken in the ojien country, 
 and made a desperate resistance, keeping the band 
 at bay for some time with their revolvers, but 
 finally were killed. The event was considered of 
 sufficient importance to warrant a kind of war-dance, 
 and there was a circular trail beaten around them, 
 where their slayers had danced in joyous triumph, 
 because of the death of two such desperate foes. 
 While they were engaged in murdering these two 
 men the sun went down, but thej' still continued 
 their pursuit of the fleeing command, until reaching 
 the place where \Vadsworth now stands, it had 
 become so dark that the pursued were enabled to 
 hide away and elude the search. 
 
 Our guide accompanied us through to Wadsworth, 
 stopping at each place where a white man had been 
 slain to describe the death scene, until fortj'-si.x were 
 pointed out. The Indians claim to have killed only 
 that number, unless a few wounded, of which they 
 have no knowledge, strayed away into the mount- 
 ains and perished. They claim, however, that had 
 the battle opened two hours earlier in the day there 
 would not have been a white survivor. Their own 
 loss by acknowledgment was three warriors wounded, 
 and two horses killed. 
 
 Thus ended the Battle of Pi/ramid Lakf, the most 
 disastrous conflict to the whites ever waged in what 
 is now the State of Nevada. 
 
 EFFECTS OP THE DEFEAT. 
 
 On the morning of May 15th, after the disaster, 
 the stragglers on foot commenced arriving at Buck- 
 land's Station, and on horseback at Dayton, Vir- 
 ginia, and the other towns in the valleys farther 
 west, creating a panic of the most remarkable char- 
 acter that followed them wherever thej- went. The 
 horror was flashed over the line to California, and in 
 a few hours the massacre, with exaggerated general- 
 ities, had sounded its note of alarm for the Xevad- 
 ans throughout the l'a(!ific Coast. 
 
 At Virginia the women and children were placed 
 in a ])artially coin])lete(l stone building for safety, 
 the structure being speedily converted into a fort. 
 The place was called Fort Ililey, and later the Vir- 
 ginia Hotel. The citizens organized, and sentinels 
 were posted around the town. 
 
 At Silver City, a stone fort was built on the rocks 
 overlooking Devil's Gate and the town, in which 
 was mounted a cannon made of wood and hooped 
 with iron, that was trained to rake the ca&on below, 
 
 and yawned with its cavernous mouth, portcntious 
 of an impending calamity to the Pah-Utcs. After 
 the war had ended a few citizens took that cannon 
 back on the hill and fired it oft" with a slow 
 match, thus demonstrating that the man who 
 invented the thing had made a mistake in naming 
 and locating it, as it proved to be an excellent tor- 
 pedo, and a judicious point of location for its most 
 approved work would have been in the center of a 
 hostile village. 
 
 At Carson, the women and children were barri- 
 caded in the Penrod House, and the country around 
 was picketed. 
 
 At (renoa, the only building suitable for defense 
 was the stone cabin of Warren Wasson. He vacated 
 the premises, and that night started alone for Car- 
 son, to find out why no telegraph message could be 
 obtained from that place; it being feared that the 
 Indians were between the two points and had cut 
 the wires. 
 
 Arriving at Carson he found that the operator 
 had paid no attention to the telegrajih calls from 
 Genoa, and that no Indians had thus far put in an 
 ajipearance in either Carson or Eagle Valleys. Ho 
 also found that a party was being organized, under 
 Theodore Winters, to carry a dispatch from General 
 Wright, of California, to a company of cavalry sup- 
 posed to be at Honey Lake Valley, ordering that 
 company to march at once for Carson. 
 
 Wasson volunteered to carry the message alone; 
 and mounting a fleet, powerful horse, rode in four- 
 teen hours through the enemj^'s country a distance 
 of one hundred and ten miles to Honey Lake, with- 
 out change of horse, or without seeing an Indian. 
 He delivered the orders and the company moved 
 south. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. • 
 
 INDIANS AND THEIR WARS IN NEVADA. 
 
 Washoe Kegimeiit Oryanizatiim — Tlie March to I'yraniiil Lake — 
 Just Befort- the Battle— The Battle-! iroim<l— The Battle- 
 After the Battle— Other Invents Atiout Pyramid Fj.ake — 
 Eiul of the Camjiaiyii — Death of Win. AUea — E.xpetlitioii of 
 Colonel Lanilcr. 
 
 The road to California was the back door outlet 
 from danger that hundreds traveled, and many who 
 remained in the Territory were so badlj- frightened 
 that they would have been useless if the Indians 
 had made a further advance. 
 
 Across the mountains in California the news of 
 the massacre had created an intense excitement, 
 and sent a thrill of generous and chivalric prompt- 
 ings for assistance home to every heart. At Downie- 
 ville, within thirty-six hours after the message came 
 that the gallant Meredith had fallen a victim to the 
 knife of the savage, a companj- of one hundred and 
 sixty-five men was raised, armed, equipped and with 
 forty rounds of ammunition were, five days later, in 
 Virginia City, having traversed the mountains on 
 foot. From Nevada City, San Juan, Sacramento 
 and Placerville, organized companies surmounted 
 
INDIANS, AND THEIR WARS IN NEVADA. 
 
 159 
 
 the ic3' barriers of the Sierra, and added their num- 
 bers to those at Virginia, who were eager to be led 
 against the foe. The Governor of California sent for 
 the Nevadans to use in their own defense, five 
 hundred Minio muskets with plenty of ammunition. 
 Gold Hill, ("arson, (Jonoa, Silver City, Dayton and 
 Virginia City, furnished their ((uota of volunteers; 
 the citizens generally contributed to provision the 
 force, and the following was the result of a complete 
 and thorough organization of the command. 
 
 WASHOE REGIMENT ORaANIZATION. 
 
 Consisting of eight companies of Infantry and six 
 of Cavalry. 
 
 FIELD OFFICERS. 
 
 John C. Hays Colonel Commanding 
 
 J. Saunders Lieutenant Colonel 
 
 Dan. E. Hungerford Major 
 
 E. J. Brj-ant Surgeon 
 
 Perkins Surgeon 
 
 Bell Surgeon 
 
 Chas. S. Fairfax Adjutant 
 
 J. S. Plunkett Acting Adjutant of Infantry 
 
 Alex Miot - Department Quartermaster 
 
 Benjamin G. Ijip])incott. .IJegimental Quartermaster 
 
 John McNish Assistant Regimental (Quartermaster 
 
 K. N. Snowden Commissary 
 
 COMPANY A. 
 
 (Known as Spy Company.) 
 
 J. B. Fleeson Captain 
 
 COMPANY B. 
 (Known .as Sierra Guards.) 
 
 E. J. Smith Captain 
 
 J. H. Freasch First Lieutenant 
 
 Wm. WoUs Second Lieutenant 
 
 J. llailiday Third Lieutenant 
 
 Number of men Forty-seven 
 
 COMPANY 0. 
 
 (Knomi as Truckee Rangers. ) 
 
 Alanson W. Nightingill Captain 
 
 COMPANY D. 
 (Known as Sierra Ouarda.) 
 
 J. B. Reed Captain 
 
 N. P. Pierce First Lieutenant 
 
 D. C. J^alston Orderly 
 
 Number of men Fourteen 
 
 COMPANY E. 
 
 (Known as Carson llangers.) 
 
 P. il . Clayton Captain 
 
 COMPANY F. 
 
 (Known as Nevada Rifles.) 
 
 J. B. Van Hagan Captain 
 
 COMPANY G. 
 (Known as Sierra Guanls.) 
 
 F. P. Patterson Captain 
 
 C. S. Champney First Lieutenant 
 
 T. Maddux Second Lieutenant 
 
 A. Walker Third Lieutenant 
 
 Number of men Forty-one 
 
 COMPANY II. 
 (Known aa .San .Fuan Rifles.) 
 
 N. C. Miller Captain 
 
 CO.MPANY I. 
 
 (Known as Sacramento Guards.) 
 
 A. G. Snowden Captain 
 
 CO.MPANY J. 
 
 (From Sacramento.) 
 
 Joseph Virgo Captain 
 
 COMPANY K. 
 (Known as Virginia Rifles.) 
 
 E. T. Storey Captain 
 
 Number of men 106 
 
 COMPANY L. 
 (Known as Carson Rifles. ) 
 
 J. L. Blackburn Captain 
 
 A. L. Turner First Lieutenant 
 
 Theo. Winters Orderly Sergeant 
 
 CO.MPANY M. 
 
 (Known as Silver City Guards.) 
 
 Ford Captain 
 
 COMPANY N. 
 (Known as Highland Rangers or Vaqueros.) 
 
 S. B. Wallace Captain 
 
 Eobcrt Ijyon Firet Lieutenant 
 
 Joseph F. Triplett Second Lieutenant 
 
 Number of men Twenty 
 
 CO.MPANY O. 
 (Known as Sierra Guards.) 
 
 Creed Raymond Captain 
 
 Geo. A. Davis First Sergeant 
 
 II. M. Ilarshbarger Second Sergeant 
 
 Number of men Nine 
 
 Total rank and file 544 
 
 Companies A, C, F, II, L, N, and one-half of 
 Captain Storey's company K were mounted. The 
 entire command was armed with ilinie-rifles and 
 muskets without bayonets. 
 
 THE MARCH TO PYRAMID LAKE. 
 
 On the twentj^-fourth of May the Washoe regi- 
 ment moved from Virginia Citj' down Gold Canon 
 cheered by the citizens of Gold Hill and Silver City 
 as it passed through those towns, camping the fii"st 
 night at Miller's ranch, below Dayton, a village 
 known at that time as "Chinatown." The next day 
 was s])ent in receiving commissarj' stores, the iiuality 
 of which was the cause of considerable complaint. 
 
 The march was resumed on the twenty-sixth, and 
 the next cam]) was at Reed's Station, from where 
 Michael Bushy was sent out over the Twenty-six- 
 mile Desert as a scout, to learn if there were any 
 Indians in the immediate front. In May, two years 
 later, the remains of that unfortunate scout were 
 found by Warren Wasson, aided by Pah-Utes, 
 within eight miles of Williams' Station, where he had 
 
160 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 been killed bj- them. They said that the white man, 
 whose bones wei-e lying there on the sand, had been 
 riding a horse that was tired out, and as he 
 approached the station thej^ sallied forth to capture 
 him. lie turned back as they appeared, and a ra<;e 
 for life ensued. As the Indians approached too close 
 to him he would halt and level his rifle, thus bring- 
 ing the pursuers to a halt and cover behind sage- 
 brush. In this vrixy eight miles were skirmished 
 over, but those delays enabled some of them to pass 
 him, who, secreting themselves, shot the brave scout 
 in the back as he faced to the rear in beating off his 
 pursuers. Bushy was a celebrated Indian fighter, 
 and had figured conspicuously in the wars with them 
 in Oregon and Washington Territory. Ilis bones 
 are now preserved in a box at James Smalls' Station, 
 on the bank of Lake Tahoe; having been placed 
 there in anticipation of being claimed hy his brother 
 who lived in Oregon. 
 
 On the evening of the twenty-eighth the com- 
 mand bivouacked in a meadow by the banks of the 
 Carson iJiver, at the point where that stream turns 
 to flow north towards Williams' Station, which is 
 about one mile further below. The next morning 
 the Indians fired into the camp from behind some 
 rocks, on the hill to the north, and then retreated,, 
 ■with loss upon neither side, as far as known. While 
 camped at this place the body of James Flemming, 
 one of the men murdered at the station, was found 
 and buried. 
 
 On the evening of May 31st the regiment was 
 joined, at the present site of Wadsworth, by the fol- 
 lowing United States troops: — 
 
 Captain Jasper M. Stewart Commanding. 
 
 Captain T. Mooro Quartermaster. 
 
 Charles C. Keeney Surgeon . 
 
 C0.MP.\NY 0, THIRD ARTILLERY. 
 
 Captain Jasper M. Stewart, with enlisted men. . 82 
 
 DETACHMENT OF COMPANY I, TIIIRU ARTILLERY. 
 
 Lieutenant Gibson, with two howitzers, and en- 
 listed men 10 
 
 COMPANY A, SIXTH INFANTRY. 
 
 Captain F. F. Flint, with enlisted men G2 
 
 COMPANY H, SI.XTIl INFANTRY. 
 
 Lieut. McCreary with enlisted men 53 
 
 Total United States force, rank and file 207 
 
 Total Volunteer force, rank and tile 544 
 
 Total Command 754 
 
 By mutual consent Col. Jack Hays assumed com- 
 mand of both divisions, and that night tliej' camped 
 near the lower crossing on the Truckce Iliver. A 
 couple of men, while walking out in the evening, 
 discovered in the vicinity of this camp the bodj- of 
 one of the victims of the late massacre, and a writer 
 who was of tho-party thus describes what had been 
 found: — 
 
 The body was that of a small-sized man, and 
 was traced a distance of two hundred feet from 
 the spot where it had fallen, and whence it had been 
 dragged by some wild beast, which had partially 
 devoured it; the throat was cut as was afterward 
 found, invariably, with all the slain, scarcely- any of 
 whom were scalped; it was perforated with bul- 
 lets, and, as if the grim archer, Death, had wished 
 to leave the special sign of his presence, the feathered 
 shaft of an arrow, blood-begrimmed, which had sped 
 through the heart of the unfortunate, protruded 
 through the breast. Upon the fourth fii\ger of the 
 left hand was a gold ring, without inscription upon its 
 face, which was heart-shaped. As he was recognized 
 bj- no one, it maj' serve as desirable, however sad, 
 information to some anxious inquirer after his fate, 
 to mention that the third and fourth toes of one of 
 the feet were webbed to the second joint, and of the 
 other to the first. 
 
 The camping ground of the night of June 1st was 
 some eight miles farther down the Truckee River, 
 at the point since known as Fort Storey, called a fort 
 because of slight earth-works that were thrown up 
 at that point bj- the command, and named in memory 
 of the gallant gentleman killed near there a few 
 days later. On the evening of the arrival at this 
 place, S. C. Fletcher, of Capt. Storey's command, was 
 killed by an accidental discharge of his gun, the 
 ball passing through his head, and the next morning 
 he was buried with military honors. 
 
 JUST BEFORE THE BATTLE, 
 
 The forces under Colonel Hays were now in the 
 enemy's country, and, without being aware of the 
 fact, were but about one mile from where the body 
 of Major Ormsby still \Ay unburied. The former dis- 
 aster had taught the whites that it required some- 
 thing besides a tin horn and a riata, to either corral 
 or stamj)cde the Pah-Ute tribe. In fact, they had 
 come to believe them more formidable than they 
 really were, and had largely over-estimated their 
 numbers. In consequence of this the movements of 
 the troops were marked by considerable caution. 
 
 On the morning of June 2d a detail, eighty 
 strong, was made, forty from Capt. J, B. Van 
 llagan's com))aiiy, and the balance from Capt, E. F, 
 Storey's command, each of those officers taking 
 charge of his own men. This detail was ordered to 
 scout down the Truckee, to the Pah-Uto village at 
 its mouth, unless the enemy was discovered before 
 reaching that point. In the event of meeting the 
 Indians, an engagement was to be avoided, and they 
 were to fall back to Camp Storey, with such infor- 
 mation as could be obtained, to assist in a general 
 advance. 
 
 They moved out on to the upland, and striking 
 the Indian trail, followed it toward the Pah-Ute 
 village, finding along the way man)' of the ghastly 
 remains of those who had fallen in the recent 
 affray. Arriving at the j)oint where the trail led 
 abruptly down into the bottom, or meadow, where 
 the battle of Pyramid Lake had occurred, they 
 halted for a consultation, that resulted in a portion 
 
INDIANS, AND THEIR WARS IN NEVADA. 
 
 IGl 
 
 of the commands going down into the valley and 
 the balance remaining on the table-land above. 
 It was hero where Spcar and Snowdcn fell. The 
 party going on soon came to the body of Mere- 
 dith, but were signaled from the heights that the 
 enemy were in sight, and then fell back on a trot to 
 the reserve.^*. The Indians were advancing rajtidly 
 from the direction of the Lake, about three hundred 
 on horseback in the form of a wedge with the ]Miint 
 advanced, while about the same number on foot 
 came running up the valley in a "go as you please 
 style." 
 
 An orderlj' retreat immediately followed, at a 
 trot march, with instructions to keep ranks and not 
 to fire. In this way they were followed for several 
 miles, and obliged to listen without response to the 
 music of whistling balls from a long-range rifle 
 handled bj- an Indian riding in advance of all his 
 fellows. That rifle was probably the globe-sighted 
 one that had been taken from the nerveless hand of 
 the dead Elliott. One of the whites named Andrew 
 Hasey was wounded in the hips so severely that it 
 was several years before ho recovered, yet it was 
 not known at the time that he was at all injured, 
 as he made no allusion to the fact, and afterward 
 acknowledged his condition only when loss of blood 
 had weakened him to such an extent that some of 
 his comrades were enabled to pass him in a charge 
 on foot up the side of a mountain to capture Rocky 
 Peak from the redskins. 
 
 The officers commanding the retreating force, after 
 passing the rough, gully-cut ground between the 
 mountain and river on the east side of the 
 Truckoe, eaw the main body of troops under Colonel 
 Haj-s coming out to meet them, and thej- deter- 
 mined to make a stand where they were. They 
 accordingly formed their men in lino and faced the 
 advancing enemy. 
 
 THE BATTLE-GROUND. 
 
 When the battle took place, the form of the 
 ground surface had been created by nature, appar- 
 ently in the special interests of the Indians, for 
 use on an occasion like the one presented. On 
 the west lay a high mountain with steej), sloping, 
 rocky sides, that served as a lookout and signal 
 station, as well as a barrier to a flank movement on 
 that side. On the east flowed the Truckee River 
 that prevented a flank movement in that direc- 
 tion, leaving the Indians with nothing to do but 
 take care of the open, treeless front. There had at 
 one time in the ])ast lay a slo])ing |)lain of soil, sand 
 and rocks, between the river and mountain, about 
 one-half mile wide, that narrowed toward the north. 
 The rains and cloud-bursts, in the past centuries, 
 had poured their waters upon the sides of that 
 mountain, that flowed down over the plain into the 
 river, cutting watercourses that were deepest as the 
 margin of the stream was approached. Thus 
 nature's breastworks were formed, behind which a 
 
 retreating force could make successive stands 
 greatly to the disadvantage of the victors. Those 
 drj- channels gradually ajiproached each other as 
 their course neared the Truckee until all were 
 merged into one within two hundred yards of the 
 river, creating a level bottom, out of which Major 
 Ormsby was j)assing toward the south when killed. 
 One-fourth of the way down from the mountain 
 to the river, was a round, rocky biitte, or peak, 
 possibly two hundred feet high; to the south 
 of it was level country, to the north, and between 
 it and the river, the gullies as described lay 
 in continuous succession. About one mile to the 
 north, these natural earthworks ceased at a narrow 
 pass between the river and mountain, beyond which 
 was the open j)lain. 
 
 THE BATTLE. 
 
 The Storey and Van Ilagan details, when facing 
 the enemy, soon ?'ouiid themselves under fire from 
 the Indians, who in numbers had taken pos- 
 session of the round, rocky butte. They had also 
 formed a line extending from the river to well up the 
 side of the mountain; but their number was mostly in- 
 visible, having secreted themselves behind sage-brush, 
 in slight depressions of the ground, behind small as 
 well as large rocks; and there did not seem to be so 
 very many of them after all. How the large force 
 that was soon unmasked got out on the plain so 
 quickly, south of the gullied ground, seemed miracu- 
 lous to those who had never experienced the facilit}' 
 with which those sons of the desert could disappear 
 from view when there seemed to be nothing behind 
 which they could secrete themselves. 
 
 Everj- advantage of position was now in the 
 Indians' favor. The whites had fallen back until 
 both forces were on level ground with the earth- 
 works in the rear of the Pah-Utes. 
 
 Captains Storey and Van Hagan decided to make 
 a charge with a part of their command on foot, and 
 take the rocky butte before the main body, under 
 Colonel Hays, had come up, which they did in gal- 
 lant style, and retained the position, although- for 
 some time subject to a flank fire from the direction 
 of the river, as well as from theside of the mountain. 
 They were relieved from this dilemma of finding 
 themselves inside of the enemies lines, by the arrival 
 of the main force. The regulars deployed in open 
 order as skirmishers, and passed to the west of the 
 butte, and along the side of the mountain, driving 
 everything before them, while the volunteers on 
 foot moved forward in the same order to the east 
 of it, firing as they advanced. In this manner a 
 continuous line, about one mile long, extending from 
 the river to near the top of the mountain, was 
 formed, and a general engagement began, the In- 
 dians having a corresponding line to oi)j)Ose the 
 advance. 
 
 The following descri])tion of the struggle that 
 ensued, from the ])en of an anonymous writer who 
 claimed to have been a ]>articipant, was published 
 
162 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 in tho TerrUm-idl Enterprise, on the second anniver- 
 sary of the battle: — 
 
 The gallant Storey, he whose voice shook with 
 sorrowful emotion over the death of one of the 
 humblest of his ibllowern, backed by the Virginia 
 Rifles, now rages foremost in tho fraj-. All the 
 cavalry are ordered to the front, where, dismount- 
 ing, they advance on foot, while everj- fifth or sixth 
 man is left behind to hold the horses. The infim- 
 try are posted in reserve. The regulars deploy 
 as skirmishers, and advance slowly, steadilj-, surely. 
 A few of them fall. The Indians fall back; their 
 name is legion. Whence came they all, those 
 painted swarms of yelling demons? The plains, 
 the ravines, the hill-sides, the mountain-top. eveiy 
 rock, and bush, and sand-drift! Wherever a human 
 form can bo concealed they gradually retire from, 
 carrying away, as well as thoy can, their dead and 
 wounded. The afternoon wears in one continuous, 
 incessant discbarge of musketry and rifles. Charge 
 after charge is made upon the rocky fastnesses, and 
 deej) rifts in the earth, which conceal the foe, and 
 always with success. Though thoj' contest tho field 
 inch by inch, with obstinate determination, and ex- 
 pose themselves with frantic valor to tho deadly 
 balls of our unerring long-range Minies, thoj- are 
 driven from it. Driven from the rocks, the gullies, 
 tho ravines, the hill-sides and mountain -tops, till, ere 
 tho sunset, they flee beyond tho practicability of 
 pursuit, and the battle-field, with its bloody trojihies — 
 seventy of their dead concealed in the cliffs — are 
 our own. ]}ut the victor}', though complete, was 
 not gained without the sacrifice which the Moloch 
 of war so insatiably claims for its bloody altar. 
 
 The gentle, the generous, tho lion-hearted Storey, 
 at the head of his command, and in the thickest of 
 the fight, fell mortally wounded — shot through the 
 lungs — but remained on tho field till tho conclusion 
 of the battle. John Cameron and A. il. Phelps, pri- 
 vates in Ca])tain Storej-'s command, were also fatally 
 wounded. Both were shot in tho head; and that 
 evening, after being carried into camp, died the 
 death of the hif^h-souldl and cliivalric, who shield 
 the lives of their fellow-men b}' the sacrifice of their 
 own. Andrew llase}-, of the >.'evada Riflos, too, 
 was dangerously wounded by a ball in the hip, and 
 after undergoing two years of torture, and a severe 
 surgical operation, recently performed in San Fran- 
 cisco, is but now recovering. A number of other 
 casualties occurred during tho fight, especially among 
 the regulars, four of whom were injured. 
 
 Thus ended the battle of Truckee, 1 believe it is 
 safe to affirm, when all things are taken into con- 
 sideration, the most obstinately-contested of any 
 which has taken place between the whites and In- 
 dians on this coast. It is reported on tho authority 
 of a Hj)y from the regulars, who was with the I'ah- 
 XJtes in the battle, that their loss in the engagement 
 wan KiO killed, and an immense number wounded. 
 Most of their slain and all of their wounded they 
 contrived to carry away during the fight. Seventy 
 of their dead wore afterward found concealed among 
 tho cliff's in the mountain, after tho expedition 
 returned to Virginia City. 
 
 Certainly not over two-thirds of tho force were 
 actually engaged in the conflict; about 200 being 
 held as a reserve, and fill}' to guard the cam]>. But 
 when tlie disparity of weapons is considered, our 
 men being all armed with long-range I'itles, and 
 rifled muskets, carrying a heavy ball 1,000 yards, 
 and having plenty of ammunition, it is a matter of 
 
 surprise, notwithstanding their numbers, that for full 
 five hours the Indians were able to make head 
 against the incessant discharges of five hundred 
 rapidly-loaded Minies in the hands of men who un- 
 flinchingly and continuously advanced upon them. 
 That the younger Winnomucca, their war chief, is 
 an extraordinary man; and tho Pah-lHes, whatever 
 their other ijualities maj' be, are a bold and fearless 
 race, whom it wore folly to despise as enemies, seems 
 now, at least, to be sufficiently attested. 
 
 The foregoing is evidently an overdrawn, j-et in 
 the main correct, description, but as to the number 
 killed of the enemy is wholly at sea. The Pah-Utes 
 now acknowledge tho loss of but four killed and 
 seven wounded; and the most rigid and persistent 
 cross-questioning made at different times and under 
 different circumstances failed to draw anything from 
 any of them that indicated a concealment of tho 
 truth; yet such may be the case, as Josoi)h F. Trip- 
 lett, of Elko County, writes that the number killed 
 was forty-six; and states that he obtained the in- 
 formation soon alter the war from Captain Natchez, 
 Captain Breckenridge, Big George and Buffalo Jim, 
 all Pah-Lffcs. Mr. Triplett was in the engagement. 
 In conversation with many other persons who were 
 of the command, not one of them saw over three 
 dead Indians, or knew whether over that number 
 were killed. 
 
 The battle-ground was not selected by Colonel 
 Haj'os, but was fought over from necessitj', the 
 engagement having been forced at that point by 
 the persistent pursuit of the enemy. 
 
 AFTER THE BATTLE. 
 
 The bodies of James Cameron and A. II. Phelps 
 were buried on the third of June, near Camp Storey, 
 and the earthworks that gave the name of fort to 
 the camp were thrown up to render tho place more 
 defensible, in the absence of the main forces, that 
 were to go in jnirsuit of tho enemy. The bodj* of 
 Major Ormsby was also temporarily buried, being 
 later taken up and removed to Carson City for final 
 interment. In the forenoon of the day of tho battle 
 the bodies of two men had boon found and buried 
 with Odd Fellows ceremonies at the cam]). Tho 
 following is a description, taken from tho same 
 anonymous correspondent botbre-mentioned, of those 
 victims as they wore found: — 
 
 McliOod, a man of unusually largo proportions, 
 was found \\, ing upon his face, a stri]) of flesh includ- 
 ing tho sinew, having been cut from the center of 
 his back its whole length. Of the sinews of their 
 enemies the Indians are said froquontlj' to make bow 
 strings. ^IcCarth}^ and McIiOod la}' a few feel apart 
 upon a sandy jilain high above, and a mile back from 
 the river. Throe or four hundred feet from them lay 
 Jones, but the two Ibrmer woi'o in the center of a 
 circle ])erhai)s two hundred feet in diameter, which 
 was beaten by feet a])parontly as hard as tho main 
 trail to Pyramid Lake, used doubtless by the Indians 
 for centuries. It was surmised that those two men 
 had maile such formidable resistance, that their final 
 dost ruction was deemed worthy of the peculiar dis- 
 tinction of a war dance, of exultant rejoicing. 
 
INDIANS, AND THEIR WARS IN NEVADA. 
 
 ir,3 
 
 The appearance of McCarthy was inexpressibly 
 impressive; ho was of but medium size, with loiit;, 
 bushj- beard and heavy mustache; the crushini; of 
 the frontal bone immediately above the eyes, left 
 the aspect of the forehcail high and square. lie laj- 
 on his back; the chest was raised and expandeii; 
 the mouth firmly closed, the beard liaroiy )iormilting 
 a slight view of the compressed li])s. The i-iglit knee 
 was partially bent as in the act to spring forward, 
 and the right arm drawn back to its uttermost in a 
 curve above the head, as if in the full tide of strength 
 it were about to strike; the countenance and whole 
 attitude exhibiting stern defiance, oven triiunph over 
 death. 
 
 On tho fourth of June the march from Fort Storey 
 to Pyramid Lake was resumed ; a company' under 
 Capt. Josejih Virgo, of Sacramento, being left behind 
 with the wounded, among whom was Captain Storey. 
 On the waj' to the Lake the little advancing army 
 was constantly passing the exposed, nude remains 
 of the decomposing bodies of those who had fallen 
 along the ti-ail, on the previous 12th of May. Thej' 
 buried them where the3' were found excei)t in the 
 cases of Wm. S. Spear, Henry Meredith and 
 John Snowden, wlmse remains were taken up and 
 brought to the settlcnionls. from where thej' were 
 sent to their former homes in Calitbrnia. The 
 Pah-Ute village was found deserted, not a redskin 
 was to bo found in the country; but their trail led 
 northward, and on the fifth the pursuit of them was 
 resumed. 
 
 OTHER EVENTS ABOUT PYRA.MID LAKE. 
 
 There was a force of possibly thirty men, under 
 (Japtain Weatherlow, from Iloncy Lake Valley, in 
 the mountains west of, and towards the north end of 
 Pyramid Lake; and the following letter of confident 
 power and prowess, to (lovernor Roop, tells all con- 
 cerning him or his command: — 
 
 June 4Tn, 1860. 
 
 Dear (Joy.; With my small party I am scouting 
 around Pju-amid Lake. Tho last two daj^s have 
 been on the north side of it, and am now on the 
 west side, within two miles of the lake. I have not 
 seen an Indian, although I am in view of the ground 
 Oh which .Major Ormsby fought the Indians. Would 
 to (Jod I had fifty men, 1 would clean out all the 
 Indians from this region. Thus far 1 have been 
 waiting for the troo|)s from Carson to attack them, 
 and then to cut off retreating parties, but the move- 
 ments of the troops are so dilatory that 1 fear the 
 Indians will scatter ofl' before there is anj'thing 
 done. If there is anj' more men in the valley who 
 will come, and can get a fit-out, send them along, for 
 my party is too small to venture much; yet all are 
 anxious for a brush with the redskins. You need 
 feel no alarm of being attacked in the valley; there 
 is no Indians about to make it. at least on the north. 
 
 Respectful!}- j-ours, etc., Capt. Weatiieri.(jw. 
 Gov. Isaac lioop. 
 
 It would seem that tho Captain got out of the 
 way just in time, from the north end of tho lake, 
 to escape an opportunity of having the brush his 
 men seemed so desirous of; and if his courage was 
 equal to his assertion, it is fortunate that ho did 
 not have the fifty men. 
 
 Captain Thomas F. Condon and Warren AVasson 
 had induced a few men, ten in all, including them- 
 selves, to move to the north from Carson, and oc- 
 cupy a pass to tho west of the south end of Pyramid 
 Lake. This pass was the outlet through which tho 
 Pah-Utes were likelj- to attempt a retreat in the 
 direction of Honey Lake N'allej-, if defeated by the 
 Washoo regiment, under Colonel Hays. It was im- 
 portant this exit should be guarded — just as im- 
 portant as the attempt was reckless, with such a 
 mere handful of men. Their number was increased 
 on the way, Maj- ^Jlst. by a detachment from tho 
 vallej' that the movement was designed to protect, 
 and the pass was occupied bj' the entire force under 
 Captain Thomas F. Condon, now swelled to thirty- 
 four men, on the first day of June. This was tho 
 day before the battle; and but for the approach of 
 the whites from the south, along the river, they 
 might have found themselves in a hornet's nest. 
 
 On the second of June snow fell two feet deep on 
 the tops of the mountains, north and south of tho 
 Pass, and on tho night of the fourth this command 
 reached the opposite side of the river from Captain 
 Stewart's command, at the south entl of Pj-ramid 
 Lake, whore they discovered the charred remains of 
 seven white men. Their limbs were burned otl", but 
 the face and balance ol' their bodies had not been 
 touched by the flames, even their beards being 
 unscorched. They were left unburied for about one 
 week, with the hope that some one might identify 
 them, but no one did at that time. 
 
 They were supposed to be a party of California 
 prospectors, who ha<l last been seen passing down 
 the Truckee River by O. M. Evans, the day after 
 the massacre of the whites. They knew nothing of 
 tho trouble with the Pah-Utes. and were never 
 heard from after the thirteenth of May. Their 
 names were: — 
 
 N. U. Canfield, 
 Spero Anderson, 
 John (iibson, 
 Charles Ruth, 
 
 Daniel King, 
 
 — Courtright, 
 
 — Cenovitch. 
 
 END OF THE CAMPAKIN — DKATII OF WII.MA.M S. AI.I.EN. 
 
 As before stated, the command moved towards 
 the north on the fifth. There is a high range of 
 mountains running northerly along the east bank of 
 Pyramid Lake, that separates that body of water 
 from what is known as Mud Lake; and the lorces 
 under Colonel Ilaj's took up their line of march 
 along the eastern base of this chain of mountains. 
 Arriving at a cafion, running from the lowland up 
 into the rocky range, the command was halted; and 
 Captain Robert Lyon, William S. Allen, Samuel 
 Auckland, Hen. Webster, and S. C. Springer wore 
 sent forward as scouts. They passed along up 
 towards the upper end of this cafion; but as they 
 were noaring the summit there intervened in thoir 
 front an immense rock, where Buckland, Webster, 
 and Springer halted, while Lyon and Allon passed 
 
1C4 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 :ir<iiin<l anil up to tlio fartlior side. Tho followinij 
 is it iloscriplioii ol' wliut I'nl lowed, wrilton by Caplain 
 Lyon: — 
 
 Wo liad soon no Indians whon noinij uji, luii as 
 wo Ktoppod on liio vory toj) of tiio mountain, we 
 woro tirod upon liy thoin from an amlxish and Will 
 Allon was killed; a ball j>assod tbroui^h his mouth 
 and brain, llo droi>iiod at my foot and novor s|)olvo; 
 and tlioro diod ono of tho bravest, truest-hearted 
 men that over trod tho soil of >«evadii. 1 reaehod 
 from my saddle and tried to raise Will's bod)- on my 
 horse. 1 did not think of Indians or of dan-jer; I 
 only saw the bleodiiii; mouth ami fast jiiazin-; eyes 
 of my friend; but in loss than a minute 1 was sur- 
 rounded. I believe they intended to oa])ture mo 
 alive and soeuro my horse without injuriiii; him by a 
 ohanee shot. They had lain sooi-etod behind "(he 
 elitfs and rocks, and saw us walk i|uiotly into their 
 Ira)!. Tho tirst yell of tho savajjos as they spranjj 
 out from rooks ami olitl's to j^rab my horse revealed 
 to mo my peril. My rifle and the reins ot" my bridle 
 were in my left hand; but 1 had no time to use my 
 rifle. My rijjht hand instinotivoly snatehed front its 
 holster my Irustj' revolver, and with ono eareloss 
 shot at tho elosiiii; oirole of my foes 1 ijave Solim the 
 reii\s and in a seoond I was flyini; down tho steep 
 mountain followed by yells and whizzing; bullets from 
 the Indians. .My faithl'ul horse seemed to eompro- 
 hond tho tiani;or, and ho put forth every efl'ort, 
 boundinii over the rooks like a frii;htoned iloer. 
 That was his first and best raoe. and tho stake 
 was liberty for him and lite to me, and ."^elim won it. 
 1 ivde past two si|uads of Indians on my way down 
 the mountain. They fii-ed at me as I flew i>astthem, 
 but did not hit mo. 
 
 1 ]iassed the three u\en where they had halted, 
 and furthoi- on met Colonel Hays and Lani'o Nij^ht- 
 inu;ill in advanee, followed by all our horsemen oom- 
 iuii up the hill on a i;allo|i. They halted, and when 
 1 asked (."olonol Hays to lot my eompany i;o with 
 njo to reoover .Ulen's body, ho answered: "Wo 
 will all fio." Again we ilismountod, detailed 
 every tenth man to hold the hoi-sos, and marohed on 
 fool to the top ot' the mountain: but the Indians 
 had taken Allen's horse, arms and olothinjj and fled, 
 and that was their last hostile aet of the war of 18G0. 
 We ]>laced the oorpse on one of my paok-hoi-sos and 
 started baek to our oamp on tho Truokee, where we 
 arrived about - o'olook the next mornin-;. 
 
 The next mornini; the volunteer army started on 
 their return to Viri;inia City, where they surren- 
 deivd their rifles and were dismisseil. C'a|)tain 
 Storey's rentains were oarried to Virijinia City, 
 while my eompany now redueod to twenty, with sad 
 hearts oarried Aur dead oomrado baek to Carson 
 City, where he was buried with military honoi-s. 
 A Carson oom)>any brt>U!jht in the remains of Major 
 Ormsby. and to-day tlieir tombs oan bo soon near 
 tojjethof in the Carson oomotory. 
 
 On tho seventh of Juno the volunteer foroes under 
 Colonel Ilnj's woro disbanded, as appears frt>m the 
 muster-out i-olls of the (^>uartormaster. but the troops 
 under Captain .Stewart remained at Pyramid Lake, 
 whoro earth-works were thrown up that received tho 
 name of Fort Haven, in honor of General Haven, of 
 C'alifornia, who had voluntoorod as a private in 
 Colonel Uays' command. 
 
 EXPEPITION OF COLONEL LANDER. 
 
 In the s|)rini; and summer of ISGO Colonel F. W. 
 
 l-ander, in tho service of tho Creneral Government, 
 
 was en-janed in survejin-; and constructin<^ a waj^on 
 
 road crossinj; the Sierra Movada and tho Great 
 
 Basin, and while tho events of the Pyramid Lake War 
 
 wore transpiring, was in the vioinity of Honey Lake. 
 
 Farly in August, having about seventy armed men 
 
 at his command, ho oneounterod tho Indians in tho 
 
 Black Rock country, and had a skirmish with them, 
 
 losing ono man nanu'd .\loxandor Fainter, after 
 
 whom a valley in IJoop County was named. Tho 
 
 loss of tho Indians was not ascertained. This 
 
 encounter resulteil in a peace talk with ono of tho 
 
 oliiofs of tho Fah-Utes, Numaga, which resulted in, 
 
 measurably, i|uieting the savages. This chief 
 
 reported that his followers were in almost a fan\ish- 
 
 ing condition, tho result of their war against the 
 
 whites and being driven from their homos about 
 
 P)-ramid Lake. For services thus and subsoijuently 
 
 rendered. Colonel Lander was honored by having 
 
 his name given to a county created soon al\or tho 
 
 organization of tho Territory of Nevada. In tho 
 
 war of the Febellion Lander became a prominent 
 
 General of volunteers, and died of wounds received 
 
 in battle in Virginia in 1SC3. 
 
 THK I'.Ml-lTES .\FTER THE WAU. 
 
 The brave men who had so (juickly volunteered to 
 avenge the savage massacre of the Ormsby jtarty 
 and jn'otoct tho panic-stricken people of Nevada, 
 returned to their homos in Calitornia. leaving tho 
 force of regulars under Captain Stewart to hold tho 
 Indians in chock. This body of disciplined men 
 under tho charge of skillful otHcers had done most 
 ettioient service, and by their coolness, ease of 
 maneuver on tho batllo-tield and ready obedience to 
 ordei-s. gave an example of sohlierly iluty that greatly 
 strengthened the inexperienced volunteoi-s, giving 
 them tho confidence and courage that insui-od a 
 decisive victory. On tho Sth of June, the daj- 
 after the departure of the volunteers, Captain Stew- 
 art engaged Mr. Warren Wasson as scout, who kept 
 a journal of all his transactions and atVairs with the 
 Indians. Major Frederick |)odgo was at the time 
 Indian Agent, whose ett'ort«, aided by Mr. Wasson, 
 wore to i)acify the savages, entice them to their 
 reservati<uis and supply thom with comforts and 
 neco.ssities. At\er the battle the Fah- I'tes remained 
 in considerable force in tho vicinit}- of Pyramid 
 Jjake, maintaining a hostile attitude and commit- 
 ting doiiredations, but tho ]>unishment given and 
 force displaj'od admonished then> to keep tho )>oace. 
 Wasson was scout and express rider, passing through 
 many thi-illing scenes and dangei-s in the per- 
 formance of his duties. Late in June some loca- 
 tions for farming purposes were made on the Truckee 
 and near Pyramid Lake by .Mossi-s. J. !>. Boberts, 
 Thos. Marsh. Robert Reed, Hans Parian, O. Spevey, 
 Anderson Spain, Wiishington Cox Corey and M. A. 
 
% 
 
 I I 
 
 
 '^^^^ /^/t^^^^^^^ 
 
 'Ky1lhd.J>^0./h/)-c<^.'a 
 
 "^ 
 
 •^;5,:. 
 
 '?^'-^-. 
 
 RESIDENCE AND STORE OF JOHN S.CRAIG. 
 POST&EXPRESS OFFICE, MASON VALLEY, ESMERALDA CQ,NEV. 
 
INDIANS, AND THEIR WARS IN NEVADA. 
 
 165 
 
 Braly. Tho last two afterwards discovered the 
 mines at Aurora, and gave their names to Jlounts 
 Corey and Bra!}'. By the middle of July the 
 soldiers had all left Fort Haven and engaged in 
 the building of Fort Churchill, leaving Wasson 
 alone to manage the Indians as Agent left in 
 charge by Major l)odge. Great ett'orts and consum- 
 mate sagacity were required to maintain peace. 
 In the absence of soldiers largo numbers of tlie 
 dusky warriors returned with the intention of mas- 
 sacring the whiles, but through tho efforts of 
 Numaga and Oderkeo, the jieace-loving chiefs, 
 further bloodshed was prevented at that time. The 
 last of July Major Dodge, then stopping at Buck- 
 land's on the Carson Eiver, directed Wasson to 
 post notices on the Pyramid Ijake Beservation, 
 defining the boundaries and warning all intruders 
 to leave. These notices were printed, and dated 
 May 20, 1860. On the fifth of September Major 
 Dodge left for Washington, leaving Mr. Wasson 
 to act in his stead as Indian Agent. While acting 
 as such he directed his proteges in the arts of 
 peace, causing them to construct some adobe build- 
 ings, to cut hay and other work, both at tho Pyra- 
 mid and Walker Lake Reservations. In Decem- 
 ber, 18(5(1. he called all the tribe together and gave 
 to each man a hickorj' shirt and pair of blue over- 
 alls, and to each woman some calico, needles and 
 thread. A decrepit old Indian arriving late at the 
 "potlatch," was greatly disapi)oiiiled because noth- 
 ing had been saved for him, and all the other Pah- 
 Utes seemed delighted at his misery and the dilemma 
 of the Agent. But Wasson ij^uicUly strij)])ed himself, 
 and gave his white linen shirt and cotton flannel 
 drawers to the laggard savage, thus satisfying all 
 and making a Itisting impression upon the Indians. 
 
 Among those under tho Agent's charge was 
 Captain Truckeo, who possessed papers attesting to 
 his services under Fremont, given him by that 
 explorer. This Indian had acted in a friendlj' man- 
 ner to the early emigrants who gave his name to the 
 Truckeo River. He died October 8, 1S6(», in tho 
 Pine Nut Mountains, south of ('omo, Lyon ('ount3\ 
 
 In December, Waz-adz-zo-bah-ago, the head med- 
 icine chief of the Mono Lake band of Pah-Utes, was 
 killed and burned to ashes, and on the third day, 
 as related by many ])eople of the tribe, a whirhvind 
 came and raised the ashes in the form of a pillar, 
 and the chief Wazad/./.obahago walked out alive 
 and well, Tiiis is an incident of fad among the 
 Indians, and to all others as they wish to take it, 
 Wasson, who kept the record, said if ho had seen 
 it himself he could not have believed it. 
 
 Several incidents are related of the killing of 
 Indians, and attem])ts to kill by whites, who could 
 never forget or forgive the ruthless murders of 
 friends and relatives by these jirowling savages. 
 
 I.NDIAN WAU TUKEATENEU. 
 
 During April and May, 1801, over l,r)00 Indians 
 assembled at tho fisheries, near the mouth of Walker 
 21 
 
 River, headed by Wahe, who claimed to be second 
 chief of all tho Pah-Utes, and was really a brother 
 of (31(1 Winnemucca, head medicine chief of that 
 tribe. Wahe was a treacherous, cunning, cruel, and 
 brutal savage, being half Pah-Ute and half Ban- 
 nock, combining all the bad (lualities of bf)th tribes. 
 He claimed to be a spirit chief, and as such pro- 
 tected from the bullets and weapons of his enemies. 
 This his superstitious ])co])le were made to believe, 
 and no I'ah-lUe dare resist his will, believing a 
 cruel and sorrowful death would follow disobedience. 
 This chief had Iteen cons]>iriiig for some months 
 with various bands of Indians, and the largo num- 
 ber mentioned had gathered in council preparatory, 
 it is suj)))osed, to an outbreak. A servant and inter- 
 preter of Wasson, a young Pah-Ute, had dropped 
 some hints of a suspicious character which led him 
 to sus])ect the nature of the gathering and the dan- 
 ger of the ujjrising, which contemplated his death, 
 and tho securing of the arms, ammunition and sup- 
 plies in his possession at tho agency. He also learned 
 that, after he was disposed of. Fort Churchill was 
 to be ap])roached in squads of eight or ten, admit- 
 tance gained to all parts in a friendly manner, and 
 at a signal, slaughter the entire garrison there, con- 
 sisting then of only about forty men. Wasson, learn- 
 ing this, boldly entered the Indian camp, and by 
 argument and persuasion diverted them from this 
 rash and murderous attcmjit. He found among them 
 Bannocks from Idaho and Oregon, and rej)rusenta- 
 tivcs of the Pah-Utes from far and wide, those from 
 the most isolated places being most intent on com- 
 mencing tho raid of rapine and murder. Some had 
 been to California and seen the strength and wealth 
 of the whites, and somo had seen the disastrous 
 effects of the war of tho previous year, and those 
 joined with the Agent in the plea for peace. By 
 this means the conspiracy of Wahe was thwarted, 
 and his ])o\vcr overthrown. He afterwards fled to 
 Oregon, where he remained until May, 18(12, when 
 he returned, and was killed by two of the Pah-Uto 
 chiefs, who had been convinced that he Avas not a 
 sjiirit chief, and could be slain by their weapons; 
 still there was a lurking fear of his power instilled 
 into their superstitious beliefs by long teachings, 
 ami he was cut into minute pieces, which were scat- 
 tered in widely-separated places to more ell'ectually 
 prevent his self-resurrection. 
 
 In July, 18(>1, (lovernor Xj'e arrived, and assumed 
 charge of the Indians. But the time for war in 
 eastern Nevada had passed. The rapid influx of 
 whites had overrun the country, intermixing with, 
 and furnishing the Indians with more clothing and 
 food than they had previously been able to obtain; 
 and thej' found their condition much better than 
 when their nut-pine "orchards," their mice, ants, 
 grasshoppers, rats, snakes, rabbits, and grass-seeds 
 constituted their resource. The murders they had 
 committed were passed over, if not forgotten, and 
 favors were shown them on all sides. 
 
16G 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXII. 
 THE OWENS RIVER WAR. 
 
 Conference with the P.-ih-Utes— Imlian Scare at Como in 18G.3— 
 A Chief Murilereil— Troubles iu 1S04 in HumhoKlt County 
 — Indian Troubles in ISOo— Hostilities in I'arailise Val- 
 ley — A Ride fi>r Life — Fate of Collins and Kearbourne — 
 Ki-liteen Indians Scalped — Events in Other Parts in ISOo — 
 Hostilities in Paradise V:dley in 1805— Death of Col. Charles 
 McUermitt — Events in Humboldt County — Black Kock Tom 
 — Closing Action ami Act of the Year — Paradise Valley 
 Trouble in 18G7 — Hon. James A. Banks Killed— The Winter 
 of 1807 and Spring of 1868. 
 
 TuE winter of 18G1 was severe, and the Indians in 
 Owens Valley, California, killed some cattle. In 
 retaliation the owners, or their cmploj-es, killed 
 some Indians, and the latter responded by killing 
 whites wherever they could get an opportunity of 
 doino; so without endangering; themselves, until E. S. 
 Taylor, J. Tullman, li. Hanson, and a man named j 
 
 Crosen, better known as "Yank," had fallen 
 
 victims. Finallj' the white graziers concentrated 
 their herds at a point about thirty miles above Owens 
 Ijake, where they fortified, and sent to Visalia, Cali- 
 fornia, and ('arson, Nevada, for help. This war 
 more particularly pertains to California, but men 
 of Nevada were very active participants. 
 
 On the twenty-eighth of March, 1802, the fortified 
 graziers were re-enforced by eighteen men from 
 Aurora, when they took the field sixty strong, 
 under Colonel Mayfield, marched fifty miles up the 
 valley, and encamped on an old Indian camping 
 ground. On the sixth of April the Indians showed 
 themselves in force towards the mountains to their 
 southwest. The whites sallied forth in two divisions, 
 mot the hostiles, had a skirmish, lost one man, C. J. 
 Pleasants, of Aurora, killed, and then retreated back 
 to their camp. They were followed bj- the victors, 
 and com])elled to take shelter in an iri-igating ditch 
 (built by the Indians), from where shots were ox- 
 changed at long range until night. Sheriff Scott, of 
 Mono, received a ball in the head, and was instantlj' 
 
 killed; Morrison, formerly of Visalia, was shot 
 
 in the stomach, and died the following day. After 
 the moon went down the Indians ceased firing, and 
 the whites took advantage of the darkness to retreat 
 for their fortified post, leaving behind them their 
 dead, some eighteen horses, and considerable ammuni- 
 tion buried. They had killed one redskin in the 
 engagement. On their way down the valley the next 
 day,»ApriI 7th, thej- met Colonel Evans with a ])or- 
 tion of the Secoiid (.'alifornia Cavalry. 
 
 What followed, as well as some matters of interest 
 preceding those events, are given in tho following 
 oflScial report of Colonel Wasson to Gov. James W. 
 Nye, dated A])ril 20, 18G2. A copy of which was 
 furnished by Colonel Wasson. 
 
 Ja.mes W. Nye, (iovernor and ex o/ZiVjo Superinten- 
 dent of Indian Aft'airs, Nevada Territory, >ViV: You 
 will remember that on the twenty-fifth of JIarch last 
 I addressed you at San Francisco the following dis- 
 patch : — 
 
 "GoveunobNye: Indian difficultioe ou Owens Jiiver 
 
 confirmed, hostiles advancing this way. I desire to 
 go and if possible prevent the war from reaching this 
 Territory. If a few men poorly armed go against 
 those Indians, defeat will follow and a long and 
 bloody war ensue. If the whites on Owens Eiver 
 had prompt and adequate assistance, it could be 
 checked there. I have just returned from Walker 
 River; I'ah-Utes alarmed. 1 await a reply. 
 
 W. Wasson." 
 
 To which on the same day I received by telegraph 
 the following: — 
 
 "W. Wasson: tieneral Wright will order fifty men 
 
 to go with 3-ou to the scene of action. You may take 
 fifty of my muskets at the Fort, and some ammunition 
 with you, and bring them back. Confer with Cajjlain 
 Rowe. J.W.Nye." 
 
 In pursuance of these instructions, I immediately 
 repaired to Fort Churchill, and after consultation 
 with ("a](tain Kowe, who promptly adojitcd measures 
 to carr}' out j'our designs, it was determined to pro- 
 ceed to the scene of hostilities with the force and arms 
 you had designated. 
 
 Lieutenant Noble was sent in command of tho 
 detachment with the following letter of instruction: — 
 
 "Headquarters Fort CmRcini.b, ) 
 
 Nevada Territory, March 27, 1802. \ 
 IjIEUTENant: As commandant of the detachment of 
 fifty men, about leaving this jiost for Aurora and 
 vicinity, you will be governed by circumstances in a 
 great measure, but upon all occasions it is desirable 
 that you should consult the Indian Agent, Mr. W. 
 Wasson, who accompanies tho cx])edition for the ])ur- 
 pbse of restraining the Indians from hostilities. 
 Upon no consideration will you allow j'our men to 
 engage the Indians without his sanction. As often 
 as practicable you will communicate with these head- 
 quarters. Very respectfully, 
 
 E. A. JiowE, 
 Capt. 2d Cav., Cal. Vols., Commanding Post. 
 To Lieut. II. Nohi.e, 
 
 Second Cav., Cal. Vols., Commanding Detach'mt." 
 
 I proceeded i'rora Fort Churchill in advance of 
 the command, and met the Pah-Utes on the Walker 
 RiverReservation. Theexcili'ment was great amongst 
 them, and they aj)prehended general and immediato 
 hostilities with the whites. Their usual ])repara- 
 tions for defense in case of attack were apparent. 
 To quiet their a]])>rehensions of a ditliculty, and ])re- 
 vent trouble during my absence, I (lis])atched Indian 
 messengers to all the different bands of I'ah-Utos 
 with instructions to keep (luiel until my return, tell- 
 ing them that on my return from the south I would 
 direct them how to conduct themselves to avoid 
 difficulties, etc. These arrangements I found on my 
 return to have had the desired cfiect. 
 
 Wo left Aurora for tho scene <»f action on Owens 
 River, on the third of April, sending j'ou at that 
 date a brief rei)ort of our i)rocecdings, disposition 
 of the arms, and our ])lan of o])er-atioiis, as far as wo 
 could form them at tliat time, (ieorgi-, tlie inter- 
 preter, having become worn out, and unable to 
 accom|iany me, at Walker River I ])r<)cured tho 
 services ol' J{obert, a Pah-Ute, with wliom I left 
 Aurora, in advance of the command, and proceeded 
 by Alono Lake, where I t()und the I'ah-Utos of that 
 section congregated and much excited, but in an 
 interview succeeded in quieting them. Thoj' wore 
 much ])leaseil that 1 was going to stop the troubles, 
 as they feared they might themselves become 
 involved iu tho diUicultios, and they sent with me 
 
THE OWENS RIVER WAR. 
 
 167 
 
 one of their tribe who spoke the language of the 
 Owons RivtM- Indians. 
 
 We joined Lieutenant Koble at Adobe Meadows, 
 thirt}' miles (Voni Aurora, on the nij^ht of the fourth 
 of April. The next day I left tlie command, with 
 the two Indian inter|)reters, and traveled ci^ht or 
 ten miles in advance of the troo]>s. About noon 
 we passed the boundary between the I'ah-Uie and 
 Owens Kivor Indians countrj-, and traveled twent)'- 
 five miles, and encamped. The ne.xt day we reached 
 the upper crossing; of Owens Kiver, and encamped, 
 seeini^ no Indians, but abundance of fresh signs. 
 My Mono Lake In<Iian on the morning of the seventh 
 instant int'ormed me that he knew by certain signs 
 that the Indians were to the right and up the val- 
 lej", and I sent him up towards where they were, 
 while we proceeded down the valley towards the 
 fort, which was fifty miles distant. I instructed 
 him to tell the Indians that we had not come to 
 fight them, but to inquire into the cause of their 
 difficulties with the whites; and that if they would 
 do right, and were willing to come to a fair settle- 
 ment, justice should be done ihem; that at all events 
 1 desired to see and consult with them. I also 
 instructed him how to approach our camp that 
 night in order to avoid danger of being shot down 
 by the soldiers; and told him our camp would be 
 twenty miles below on the river. After we had 
 proceeded about twelve miles down the stream, I 
 saw a body of about 100 men at the foot of the 
 mountain to our right, some three miles distant, 
 and concluded to await the arrival of Lieutenant 
 Noble and his command, who were in the rear about 
 five miles. When they arrived, Lieutenant Noble 
 and myself left the soldiers, anil rode over to 9ee 
 who the parlies were. We I'ound Lieutenant-Col- 
 onel George Kvans, aLso Lieutenants French and 
 Oliver, with about forty soldiers. Second Cavalry, 
 California Volunteers, and Colonel Maytield, a cit- 
 izen, in command of about fort}- or fifty residents of 
 the valley. We made known to them our business 
 and instructions, but found little or no encourage- 
 ment to make peace with the Indians, their desire 
 being only to exterminate them. 
 
 They informed us that the citizens from the fort, 
 some si.Kty in number, had had a battle the day 
 before on a creek some twelve miles above, and in 
 the direction my .Mono Indian had gone that morn- 
 ing. In the fight the}- had three men killed and 
 were shamefully defeated. The citizens were 
 retreating to^'U-ds their fort when they met Colonel 
 Evans ■ •— ^'^ duced Ibrty-five of ihctn to return 
 w.ii^^*^^ rsuit of the hostiles, and they were 
 also in pursuit when we found them. Lvans being 
 Colonel of Noble's regiment took command of the 
 entire expedition, ordered Noble to bring up his 
 compan}-, and when he had done so, we proceeded 
 to the scene of the fight between the citizens and 
 Indians, and camped on the battle-groun<l. The 
 next morning by daylight I'-vans had ordered out 
 scouting ])arties in all directions, numbering from 
 six to ten men each. About noon that day some 
 of them returned reporting the enemy in force twelve 
 miles above, and at the extreme head of the valley. 
 Colonel Evans then orilered a ra])id movement in 
 that direction, and in two hours we reached the 
 mouth of the canon in which the Indians were 
 reported to bo. Here we encountered a terrific 
 snow-storm, accompanied by violent wind in our j 
 faces, notwithstanding which Evans ordered atj \ 
 advance up the mountains each side of the canon for 
 a distance of three miles. Fortunately lor us, how- 
 
 over, wo found no savages there, otherwise an easy 
 victory would have been obtained over us, as arrows 
 assisted by that gale would have had dreadful efi'ect. 
 We could have had no choice of position, and the 
 enemy choosing theirs, could have taken advantage 
 of the wind. Becoming satisfied that no Indians 
 were in the canon, we were ordered to retrace our 
 steps, and encam])eil in the valley three miles below. 
 I remained behind, and the storm having abated, 
 with the aid of a glass I observed Indian signs in a 
 canon one mile north. I cotichnled to visit tho 
 locality, and when near the mouth of the canon I 
 discovered a large Indian trail freshlj- made leading 
 out of it in a nortlierlj- direction. As night was 
 approaching I was unable to see any Indians, and 
 turned m}- horse towards camp that was some two- 
 and-a-half miles distant, when I heard an Indian 
 halloo some four hundred j'ards from me among the 
 rocks. 1 answered him in the same way, but heard 
 no reply. 1 then hallooed in English, Spanish, and 
 in Pah-Ute, also making friendl}- signs, several 
 times, but received no reply, but as 1 turned to go 
 awaj-, the hallooing was repeated. 1 re])lied, but 
 got no answer. This was repeated several times, 
 and becoming satisfied that he only intended to 
 decoj' me, I ]n-oceeded to camp. On ray arrival, 
 looking back, 1 discovered fires in the same canon. 
 
 The next morning. Colonel Evans ordered Sergeant 
 Gillispie, with nine of Noble's men, to reconnoiter it, 
 at the same time moving the whole command in that 
 direction. The detail advanced some 'MO yards up 
 the cauon, when they were fired upon, Gillispie being 
 instantly killed, and Corporal Harris wounded in the 
 left arm, when they retreated, leaving behind the 
 Sergeant's body and his arms. They met the com- 
 mand half a mile below the mouth of the canon, 
 when as many as were not required to hold the 
 horses were ordered to the attack. Lieutenant 
 Noble and his company were sent to take possession 
 of the mountain to the left of the canon. Colonel 
 Evans was to have taken the mountain to the right. 
 Colonel Maj-field and four other citizens accompanied 
 Noble, the balance of Mayfield's company remaining 
 below. Ijieutenant Noble succeeded in gaining his 
 position under a brisk fire from both sides from con- 
 cealed Indians. Here Colonel Jlayficld was killed. 
 Lieutenant Noble, finding it im])ossil)le to maintain 
 hi's position without great loss, or to ])roceed up the 
 mountain on accotint of its ]>recipitous nature, or 
 return the fire U])on the concealed foe with ell'ect, 
 retreated in good order down to Colonel Evans' com- 
 pany, carrying with him Sergeant (iillis])ie's body. 
 Colonel Evans, from the rugged and inaccessible 
 nature of the mountain, being unable to advance to 
 tho jjosition ho intended to take, the whole command 
 retreated down the valley, the Indians following and 
 building their defiance fires on our campingground 
 before the rear of the column was a mile and a half 
 distant. 
 
 We encamped that night twelve miles below, at 
 the spot where Sheritf Scott, who had been killed the 
 duj- before in tho fight between the citizens and Indi- 
 ans, was buried. Colonel Evans being without ])ro- 
 visions, except beef obtained in the valley, was com- 
 pelled to return to his former post near IjOs An- 
 geles, 300 miles distant. Lieutenant Xoblo with his 
 company accomi)anied him as far as the Citizens' 
 Fort, fifty miles below, for the pur|)ose of escorting 
 the whiles with their stock, amounting to about 
 4,000 head of cattle and 2,5(10 sheep, to this Territory. 
 During the engagement above mentioned, 1 selected 
 a high nock at about the center of operations, where 
 
168 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 I could observe all |p;irlics, and 1 am satisfied there 
 were not over twenty-five Indians, who had ])robably 
 been left behind, as a decoj' to the whites and to pro- 
 tect the main body and families, who had gone on 
 into the mountains to the north, to avoid a coilisiou 
 with the troops. 
 
 These Indians have dug ditches and irrigated nearly 
 all the arable land in that section of the country', and 
 live bj' its jiroducts. Thej-have been repealed!}- told 
 by oflicers of the Government that they should have 
 exclusive possession of those lands, and thej' are now 
 fighting to maintain that possession. Their number 
 is between 500 and 1,000, and they belong to the 
 California Digger Indian tribes. Many of them are 
 the refugees from Tulare Valley, who in 1S.")2 and 1S53 
 massacred the while inhabitants and depopulated the 
 Four Creek Country. At great expense to the Gov- 
 ernment they were driven over to this side of the 
 Sierra Nevada from Tulare Vallej-, and having taken 
 up their abode along Owens lliver as a place of last 
 resort, they will fight to the last extremity in defense 
 of their homes. 
 
 Lieutenant Noble conferred with me and we agreed 
 as to the course to be pursued till we met Colonel Evans, 
 who then assumed command. This rc-enforcement 
 ruined all our plans. We might have done better; 
 we certainly could not have done worse. Lieutenant 
 Noble and his men behaved gallantly on the field. 
 
 The next morning after the fight, finding it out of 
 my power to do any good in the neighborhood under 
 the circumstances,' and feai-ingthe effect of the vic- 
 tories these Indians had gained over us would be to 
 incite the Pah-Utes to hostilities, I left, accompanied 
 only by my interpreter; and the following night 
 reached the line of the Pah- Ute country. From the 
 time of entering it 1 met many of that nation who 
 were anxious to hear the news from the seat of war, 
 and what would be the possible result. 1 told them 
 not to ])articipate in the difticulties and assured them 
 that unless the}' did bo, they should not be molested, 
 etc. They promised to bo governed by my instructions 
 and advice. 1 arrived at the Walker Itiver Keserva- 
 tion on the sixteenth instant. The Indians were all 
 glad to see me return; said they had been afraid the 
 interpreter and myself would be killed by Owens 
 IJiver Diggers, and that if such had been the case, 
 they had 000 warriors ready to go and avenge our 
 death. 
 
 I was detained at Walker Reservation and at Fort 
 Churchill three daj-s, on account of the officers at 
 the latter jilace insisting upon herding the Govern- 
 ment stock, cavalry horses and all, thirty miles from 
 the fort in the Indians' country, notwithstanding 
 grass was just as good near the fort (an argument 
 used bj- the Indians), having excited an<l alarmed 
 the Pah-l'tes, who regarded it as a war movement 
 and an infringement on their rights. I took such 
 measures as were cakailated to allay the ditliculty; 
 anil I will add here tlial for the first time since the 
 cstallli^llm^•nt of that jiost, its management ])romisos 
 to be ])r<Kiuclive of more evil than good among the 
 Indians. 
 
 1 remain, very respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 Wakue.n VVasson. 
 
 On the twentieth of July following, Wasson was 
 called to San Francisco by a telegram from CJovernor 
 Nye, to confei- with Governor Stanford, of California, 
 General Wright, commanding the Dejiartment of the 
 Pacific, and J. P. II. Wontworth, Indian Agent, in 
 
 regard to the Owens River difficulties. He was then 
 directed to collect the Indians of that section at 
 Fort Independence, where Wentworth would meet 
 him with goods for presents, and make a treaty. 
 Under these instructions he assembled four hundred 
 of the savages, and, after some delays, on the six- 
 teenth of October the Agent arrived, the conference 
 was held, the presents were distributed, the treaty 
 made and the Indians held a great peace dance in 
 honor of the occasion. Thus ended the Owens River 
 War of 1862. 
 
 CONFERENCE WITH THE PAH-UTE CHIEFS. 
 
 Governor Nye, being by virtue of his office Super- 
 intendent of Indian Affairs, desired to meet the 
 principal chiefs of the Pah-Utes in conference, and 
 in May, 18(52, arrangements were made through the 
 agency of Mr. Warren Wasson, who had been Indian 
 Agent, for the meeting. The most influential chiefs 
 were Old Winnomuccaand Numaga; the latter, how- 
 ever, was absent in the north, and at first declined 
 to take anj- part in the discussion on account of the 
 death of Wahe, which still rankled in the breast of 
 Old Winnemucca, leaving the old chief to settle his 
 private difficulties in his own way. However, the 
 Governor, escorted by one hundred cavalry of Cali- 
 fornia volunteers, under Captain Price, arrived at 
 the lower bend of the Truckee on the twenty-third 
 of May and there halted, it being understood that 
 Winnemucca had positively refused to allow the 
 soldiers to come below that point, and had over two 
 hundred well-drilled and mounted warriors and as 
 many more on foot, to defend his position. This 
 refusal and force was kept a secret from Captain 
 Price, fearing if ho were aware of the menace that 
 he would resent it and bring on a collision, destroy- 
 ing the object of the conference. In the evening of 
 that day the Pah-Utes with Winnemucca, accom- 
 patiied by Wasson, arrived on the ground, appear- 
 ing in grand barbaric display, which seemed to the 
 whites as threatening and overawing, the Indians 
 being about lour hundred strong. During the two 
 Ibllowing days the whole band of si'sp''*-^ .,''ept up a 
 continuous war-dance for the eitifi-'^* ** 
 
 TOv return ♦ 
 
 r- 
 iive 
 
 tainment of their (lule-faced visitors, 
 coals to show their disregard for pain, and perform- 
 ing other feats of Indian character. On the evening 
 of the twenty-filth Numaga arriveii, he ap])earingas 
 the diplomatist of the tribe, and during that evening 
 and the succeeding da}' engaged in discussing mat- 
 ters with (iovornor Nye. No s]>ecific treaty was 
 made at this conference, but presents were inter- 
 changed and the parties separated. VVasson restored 
 to Winnemucca the property of his brother Wahe, 
 who had been killed by the Indians at Walker 
 Lake. Among the effects was a picture of the 
 deceased which the old man refused to keep, saying, 
 " No want it; me see him too much all the lime." 
 Numaga gave to Wasson, as a sign of peace and 
 friendship, his war cap, made of a whole otter skin, 
 
'k3 
 
 ^BJ^v 
 
 V"^" 
 
 ADAM HERBOLD. 
 
 MRS ADAM HERBOLD. 
 
 GPEChinZLD , hl£\/ADA. 
 
 ^^. 
 
 eWAVEVARD. 
 
 
 I'St 
 
 RANCH AND RESIDENCE OF A. HERBOLD. 
 
 ESMERALDA Ca,MASON VALLEY, NEV. 
 
THE OWENS RIVER WAR. 
 
 169 
 
 trimmed with larjL^o ciii^lc ])liimes, his pipe of pciifc, 
 tomahawk, and a magnificent bow, arrows and 
 quiver, articles worn by him in all his battles. 
 
 INDIAN SCARE AT COMO, IN 1863. 
 
 From a journal kept by Alf. l>otcn, who is present 
 editor-in-chief of the tiold lliil Dally News, itap])ear8 
 that Numaga, on the thirteenth of October, 1803, 
 met some of the leading citizens of Como, in 
 Lyon Count}', among whom was the journalist, and 
 through his interpreter, uttered a iormal protest 
 against any further destruction of the ]iiiie nut groves. 
 lie said that his ]ieo])lo depended upon the nuts 
 from these trees for food; that the "pine nut groves 
 teere tite hiilinns orchards" and they must not be 
 destroyed by tlie whites. That the}' were welcome 
 to the fallen or dead timber, but he should not per- 
 mit a destruction of that portion which yielded food 
 for his followers. 
 
 This warning was not heeded, and it was followed 
 by the sudden and unexpected appearance upon the 
 scene of numerous dusky forms, who with lowering 
 looks so thoroughly frightened the wood-chop])ers, 
 that thej' fled to Como and spread a war panic in 
 the town. 
 
 Martial law was declared in Como b}' Martin, the 
 Wizard; jtickets were posted, and a courier dispatched 
 to Fort Churchill for military assistance. That 
 night, a lieutenant with twenty men galloped into 
 the place and took charge of the besieged garrison. 
 The next night every one " who prowled the mid- 
 night darkness," were su])posed to have the counter- 
 sign or sutler a sudden calamity. Two citizens met 
 "in the gloaming," and so scared each other that both 
 forgot the password, and •' turned loose " in the most 
 approved style with their revolvers, each supposing 
 he was having a struggle for life with, possibly, 
 Numaga himself The alarm was general and fear- 
 ful to contemi)late. A butcher, in his hurry to rush 
 to the general defense from midnight massacre of 
 the town, in his haste to get hold of it, accidentally 
 fired ott" his gun, and then, as the aforesaid Alf. 
 Doten, without the fear of God before his eyes, 
 remarked, '• llcU did pop." The next morning the 
 Indians came into town to see what all the row was 
 about. 
 
 A CHIKF .MURDERED. 
 
 On the twenty-fifth of October, 1863, E-zed-wa, a 
 chief of the Walker Iliver Indians, was on his way 
 to Virginia City to see N. H. A. Mason, for the pur- 
 pose of entering a complaint against that gentleman's 
 overseer, John V. Hale, when lie was met b}' Hale at 
 Fort Churchill, who got him drunk, and then killed 
 both him and his horse. The body of the chief was 
 found in the Carson River by members of his tribe, 
 and Hale made his escaj)C after telling Mr. Mason all 
 of the circumstances. 
 
 About the first of December following, Pah-Utos 
 to the number of about 1,300 assembled at the sink 
 of the Carson, and by messenger to Fort Churchill 
 
 demaiiiled satisfaction for the murder of their chief, 
 who was known to the whites by the name of Cap- 
 tain George. Lieutenant Oscar Jewett was sent to 
 hold a j)arley with them, and the conference resulted 
 in an agreement to give the tribe, as damages for 
 the loss of E-zed-wa, a wagon-load of provisions and 
 clothing, and that Mason was to pay them 81,000. 
 
 TROIBI.E IN 1864, IN I1U.MB0LDT COUNTY. 
 
 A party of three, named Br. K. Smeathman, W. F. 
 White and Frank Thomj)son, were i)rospecting in the 
 mountains, near the north line of Nevada, west of 
 Pueblo, on the fourth of March, 1S64. When 
 engaged in looking for water, signs of Indians were 
 discovered by them, and Thompson advised a removal 
 from that locality, but the Doctor objected, and the 
 search was continued. They were soon after fired 
 upon from an ambush, and Dr. Smeathman fell 
 wounded from his horse, crying for help. Thomp- 
 son and White fled towards the settlements, leaving 
 him to his fate, and forty-eight hours later rode 
 into Rabbit Hole Station, from where they made 
 their way to Humboldt City. 
 
 In the same section of country, in the following 
 May, a prospecting party of seven men, while mak- 
 ing a temporarj' halt in a canon, scvontj'-five miles 
 noithwest of Paradise Valley, were fired upon by 
 Indians, and four of the party, among whom was 
 G. W. Dodge, wore killed. One man named Xoblo 
 received three wounds, and the other two were 
 unharmed. Noble, although hit in the nock, shoulder 
 and groin, succeeded in keeping the enemj' at bay, 
 while his two comjianions secured the horses, and 
 the three made their way to Star Citj-. The locality 
 of this tragedy received the name of Disaster Peak. 
 
 The Humboldt Re<j infer of June 4, 1S64, notes the 
 return of ])urties from the expedition that recently 
 left Humboldt and vicinity to chastise the Indians; 
 records that in a skirmish with the Bannocks, two 
 of that tribe had been killed, on one of whom was 
 found a shirt that had been the property' "of one 
 of the four men killed by them last month." This 
 paragraj)!) undoubtedly refers to those parties killed 
 at I'isaster Peak. 
 
 INDIAN TBOUni.ES IN 1865. 
 
 The first overt act in 1865 was in the last of Feb- 
 ruary or first of March, by a couple of Walker 
 River Pah-Utes, who murdered two ])rospeetors 
 near Walker Lake. The men killed were Isaac 
 Stewart, formerly of Cleveland, Ohio, aged twenty- 
 six years; and Robert Rabe, a German, aged thirty 
 years. The two men were on a ])rospecling tour, 
 and had decided to camp at a ))oint about two miles 
 from the head of the lake. Stewart rode forward 
 toward the lake to view out the next day's coui-so, 
 and Rabe remained to prepare camp and supper. 
 Ho was in the act of lighting a match, when shot 
 from behind through tlie back. He fell forward 
 upon his face, and ihe Indians killed him by smash- 
 ing his head with a stone. Tluy then starteil in 
 
170 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 pursuit of Stewart, who made his escape to the lake, 
 where, being headcti of}', he took to the water, and 
 has never been heard from. These facts were ob- 
 tained from a friendly Indian. Ilabe had consider- 
 ble money on him, and the two had four horses. 
 
 On the fourteenth of March two young warriors, 
 who had been principals in the murder, werecaptured, 
 with the assistance of friendly Pah-Utes. When 
 the j-oung men found what was likely to result to 
 them, because' of their acts, they proposed to ran- 
 som themselves. They oftered to give the Govern- 
 ment all their ponies, aqd if that would not do, to 
 throw in, as an extra inducement, their fathers, to be 
 hanged in their places. Eventually they were both 
 turned loose. 
 
 On the same day, March 14th, Captain Wells, with 
 a company of cavalry, surprised at daylight a camp 
 of Pah-Utes on the banks of Mud Lake, within the 
 PahUte Reservation, and killed every Indian found 
 in the camp. Major McDermitt, in a letter to Gov- 
 ernor Blasdel, reported thirty-two as the number 
 slain. 
 
 Simultaneous with the attack of Captain Wells, 
 Black Hock Tom was on the war-path in the north. 
 
 That night a telegram from Judge E. F. iJunne, 
 of Humboldt County, announced to Governor Blas- 
 del that the Wall Sjjring Station-keeper, and two 
 men at Granite Creek Station, on the Honey Lake 
 road, had been killed by Indians. The names of 
 two of the men were George Thayer, an express- 
 man, and Lucius Arcularius, the station-keeper. 
 On the seventeenth, Indians were reported as ren- 
 dezvousing at the head of Humboldt Canal. A war 
 meeting was held at Dun Glen, and only nineteen 
 guns could be found. On the twentieth, M. W. 
 llaviland arrived at Star City, asking help for Par- 
 adise Valley. 
 
 HOSTILITIES IN I>.\RADISK VALLEV. 
 
 On the morning of April 4, 18G5, two friendly 
 Indians notified A. Denio that in "two sleeps" a 
 band of warriors would make a raid upon Paradise 
 Valley, kill all the settlers and run off their stock. 
 
 Mr. l>enio, with his family, was living at the 
 time on the east side of Martin Creek, near the 
 present residence of N. (iiik'ian; and his neighbors 
 were A. and J. T. Bryant, T. J. Fine, and Mr. 
 Stockham. The latter gentleman being awaj- on a 
 mission to procure military assistance, if possible, 
 for the settlci-8, his wife was at home alone. Three 
 miles further up the cret'k another settler was 
 living named Rembreaux. I'rompt as well as ener- 
 getic measures were at once sot on foot to notify 
 all the settlers, and prepare for moving from that 
 locality to a place of safety. A conveyance had 
 to bo made for Mr. Fine, who was prostrated with 
 inflammatory rheumatism, also for the children of 
 Mr. Denio. The hind portion of a wagon was con- 
 verted into a cart for this ])urpose, but before they 
 could move a fearful storm set in, and all were 
 detained until the following morning. During the 
 
 night they were re-enforced bj- the arrival of Thomas 
 Byrnes and John Lackey. 
 
 Early on the morning of the fifth, the party, con- 
 sisting of all the persons mentioned, started to reach 
 Willow Point. To do this they were forced to cross 
 Martin and Cottonwood Creeks, swollen with the 
 recent storm, between which lay a swamp of mud 
 about two and a half miles wide. Over that portion 
 of the route the sick man, women and children, had 
 to be carried most of the way, rendering their prog- 
 ress tediously slow. After the passage was made, 
 Mr. Denio and Rembreaux manned the cart in which 
 Mr. Fine and the children were placed, and started 
 to haul it to Hamblin's Corral, some three miles on 
 their waj*, the two women accompanying them on 
 foot They were soon met by a man on horseback 
 named Jacob Hufford, who attached a riala to the 
 reach, which served as a tongue for the cart, and 
 with the other end of it fastened to his saddle, hauled 
 the primitive ambulance over the intervening dis- 
 tance to the corral without delay. The balance of 
 the party remained behind at the. Cottonwood Creek 
 to get across that stream such provisions, goods, etc., 
 as had been taken that far in their journey. It was 
 expected that thej- would be met by a man named 
 Christopher Fearbourne, who had gone the night 
 before up the valley with an ox-team to get the 
 
 effects of Barber, and Collins, who were to 
 
 leave with the rest. 
 
 P'earbourne had remained overnight with the par- 
 ties whom he had gone to move out of their danger- 
 ous proximity, and when they got up in the morning 
 it was to find a large number of Indians about the 
 house and corral. No unfriendly demonstration was 
 made, but looks, combined with their awaiting with 
 no apparent object about the place, seemed to carry 
 with it the indications of hostile designs that might 
 develop into action at any moment. Barber sug- 
 gested to his companions that they all go to the corral, 
 mount their horses, and ride off; but this j)lan was 
 objected to by Fearbourne and Collins, who thought 
 a bold front might do better. They deemed the 
 wisest course to be for them to put their things on 
 board the wagon, and go as they first intended. This 
 plan was tried, but the Indians becoming more 
 demonstrative and rather insolent, Barber said 
 to his friends. '• I am going to make the altem])t to 
 go for help, and j-ou shut yourselves up in the cabin 
 if there is trouble, and do the best you can till I get 
 back." 
 
 He went to the corral, caught and saddled a floet- 
 footed horse, as though nothing had occurred to dis- 
 turb him, and one of the Indians asked him what he 
 proposed to do. Barber re])lied that he was going 
 out to drive in a beef to kill; but they did not seem 
 to fully believe his assertion, and two of them 
 mounted their ponies and started with him. F"or a 
 long distance they rode along, until finally seeming 
 to become convinced that liarber had told the truth, 
 they turned back, lie rode on without increasing 
 
THE OWENS RIVER WAR. 
 
 171 
 
 hiH speed, until an elevation hid liim from their view, 
 when he j^jiiUoped onward in the direction of the set- 
 tlement where the parties lived whom wo have 
 described as on their way to the Ilamblin (,'orral. 
 
 The men who had remained liehind to get their 
 property to a place where it could bo reached and 
 taken up by the expected owner of the ox-team, had 
 ju8t comj)leted their task when Hai'ber came riding 
 up with the news of the danger that had overtaken 
 his comrades at the cabin. While he was telling 
 what had transpired, one of the listeners turned to 
 look in the direction of the threatened danger, and 
 saw a column of smoke rising from the valley, and 
 then they correctly suspected that tho cabin had 
 been fired, and probabi}' a struggle for life was at 
 that moment going on between the savages and the 
 two men who had shut themselves in there. Barber, 
 Bj'rnes and Lackey at once started to the relief of 
 tho besieged, while Bryant and the lad Denio set out 
 for the corral. 
 
 As Barber and his two assistants neared tho burnt 
 cabin and were within jiossibly three hundred yards 
 of it, they were suddonl}- assailed by twenty-two 
 Indians on horseback and a large number on foot, 
 but the three white men made a successful retreat to 
 the corral, three miles away, that had become the 
 place of general rendezvous. Just at this time as A. 
 and T. J. Bryant, with whom was young Robert 
 Denio, a lad but twelve years old, were approaching 
 the corral, they were discovered by the Indians, who 
 made an attempt to cut them off, which would have 
 been successful but for a bold rally on tho part of 
 Waldron Foster and Lackey, that created a diver- 
 sion and enabled tho footmen to gain the defenses. 
 
 The little garrison now consisted of A. Denio, his 
 wife and four children; Uobert Denio, a boy twelve 
 years old, Jacob Hufford and wife, Mrs. Stockham, 
 T. J. Fine, A. Bryant, T. J. Bryant, John Lackey, 
 
 Waldron Foster, Thomas Byrnes, Rembreaux, 
 
 and Barber. 
 
 Ten men, one boy, three women, and four children, 
 constituted tho entire force over which Mr. Denio, 
 by mutual consent, assumed command- The place 
 was j)ut in tho best possible condition for defense; 
 but it was believed by all that unless assistance camo 
 soon, a ma.ssacro would be their common fate. About 
 fitly yards from the corral stood Ilamblin's house, 
 which became a point of considerable danger, as 
 behind it the enemy was liable to take cover and 
 station sharpshooters. It was, therefore, decided to 
 burn the structure, and this task was performed by 
 T. J. Bryant and .Mr. Foster under a lii-e from the 
 Indians. Tlio only arms possessed by tho besieged 
 settlers were three common rifles, ono musket, two 
 double-barreled shot-guns, ono nav^- and five small 
 Colt's revolvers, and they were obliged to stay there 
 and receive without reply the fire from long-range 
 guns in ])ossession of the Indians, who were on every 
 side of them. 
 
 A UIDE FOR LIFE. 
 
 It was at length determined to make an effort to 
 break through the enemy's lines and roach Willow 
 Point, to let tho pe()])le there know tho peril that 
 menaced the garrison. Thomas Byrnes volunteered 
 to make the perilous attempt, and mounting a horee, 
 he rode straight down upon tho Indians and passed 
 through their lines upon a gallop, followed by a shower 
 of bullets and a half dozen duskj' warriors well 
 mounted. The fleet-footed horse flew over the plain 
 to the south with its ridor apparently unharmed, and 
 soon passed from the sight of those anxious watchers 
 at the little fort. It was a race for life. If over- 
 taken by a stray bullot, or tho mounted savages, tho 
 lives of all at the corral would have ]>ai<l the ponaltyi 
 and, seemingly inspired with the terril)lo emergency, 
 the noble animal flow like a winged Pegasus out of 
 sight from its pursuers. 
 
 Arriving at Willow Point Station about 3 p. m., 
 thirteen men were found there willing and anxious 
 to answer the call for help, but unfortunatolj-, only 
 twelve horses could be obtained to ride, and it would 
 not do for them to wait for an animal for tho thir- 
 teenth man. Twelve accordingly mounted tho horses 
 and as they were about to ride off, a white-haired 
 old veteran named Givens, the one who was to 
 have been left behind, seized a rifle in ono hand, and 
 laying hold of the pommel of a saddle with tho other, 
 told them to " heave ahead." In this manner ho 
 kept pace with tho relief party over that thirteen 
 miles, refusing to get on a horse, and every little 
 while sajing, " heave ahead, boys, heave ahead, tho 
 women and children must be saved."' 
 
 Just at night they arrived iii the vicinity of tho 
 besieged camp. The Indians upon iliscovering their 
 approach held a hurried consultation, raised tho siege, 
 and fled the valley. No more was scon of them. 
 About nine o'clock in the evening tho entire party 
 started for Willow Point, reaching the |)lace at 3 
 o'clock in tho morning of tho sixth, where they found 
 Lieut. Jo.seph Wolverton, with twent^'-fivo men, who 
 had arrived there late the previous evening. 
 
 A letter from E. F. Dunno, of Humboldt County, 
 published in the Gold Hill i\'ei/;.t, April 17, 18(J5, says: 
 "On the sixth, Wolverton engaged a band of Indians 
 about twelve miles from Cottonwood, killing ton of 
 them, and then pushed on to Martin Creek Gap, 
 some thirty-two miles from Willow Crook, where 
 they killed two more Indians. A company of volun- 
 teers, citizens, arrived at Willow Creek on tho even- 
 ing of tho seventh, and the next morning started to 
 aid Lieutenant Wolverton, but found on their arrival 
 that the Indians had made their escape. The only 
 casualty to Wolverton's command was ono horso shot. 
 
 K.VTE OF COM.INS .VNI> FE.MIHOI'RNE. 
 
 On tho seventh, Lieutenant Wolverton with his 
 command, accompanied by citizens, visited the scone 
 of the late trouble; and u|ion arriving at the burned 
 cabin found and buried tho remains of Collins and 
 
172 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Fearbourne. Judijiiifi; from the appearance of the 
 bodies and surromidiDf^s, it wan evident that the two 
 men had remained in the burning house until there 
 was left them only a choice as to whether they 
 would die by bullets or fire. They had then sallied 
 forth to their doom. Fearbourne had, apparently, 
 remained in the cabin, holding a pan over bis head 
 to protect himself fron the heat of the burning roof 
 of tbatfh, until his hands and arms were cooked. 
 He had then rushed out of the burning cabin, and 
 while running had evidently been shot in the back, 
 falling some 150 yards from the cabin, where he was 
 found still grasping the pan. The charred remains 
 of the unfortunate Collins were found among the 
 ashes and embers of a ))ile of poles but a short dis- 
 tance from the house, and it is supposed he ha<l been 
 j)laced on this funeral-pyre before life was extinct. 
 Ilis heart had been cut out, and his body otherwise 
 mutilated, in accordance with the usual custom of 
 these savages. 
 
 EIGHTEEN INDIANS SC.VLPED. 
 
 On the fifteenth of April succeeding the events 
 narrated, four parties succeeded in surprising a camp 
 of Indians near Kane Springs. They charged in 
 among the redskins, dealing death right and left, 
 and brought away with them eighteen scalps as 
 trophies of their work. 
 
 EVENTS IN OTUER P.\RTS IN 1865. 
 
 On the fifth of May James Emory, of Trinitj- 
 County, California, was killed by Pah-Utes, near the 
 Honey Lake road, about twenty-five miles from the 
 Humboldt Iliver. Ho was one of seven who were 
 en roufe for Pine Forest Mining District. At the 
 same time another of the party was wounded, named 
 Sponcer, and they reported having killed four 
 Indians. 
 
 May 20th, Captain Wells, with thirty-six men, 
 fought a combined force of Pah-Utes, Bannocks and 
 Shoshones, numbering, according to his report, 500. 
 The scene of the battle was Vii) miles northeast of 
 Gravelly Ford, and 75 miles from Paradise Valley. 
 The engagement lasted four hours ; I'esulling in a 
 repulse of the whites, and a loss of two men killed, 
 named James Monroe and Isaac \V. Godfrey, both of 
 Company D, F'irst Nevada Cavaby, and four 
 wounded. The place whore tho battle was fought is 
 called Godfrey Mountain by the Adjutant General of 
 Nevada.* A private letter from one of the soldiers 
 engaged in the battle, says: " I can give no correct 
 guess of how many Indians there wore; but they 
 must have had fifty or sixty guns, perhaps a great 
 many more; they used no bows and arrows." 
 
 The following letter gives all tho particulars con- 
 cerning tho incident of which it treats, that have 
 come to us: — 
 
 Paradise Vai.i.ev, July 5, 1SG5. 
 A. P. K. Sakkouu: I have this moment arrived 
 at this jioint, having been one of a party of soven- 
 
 * Adjutant (ioueral's lleport, f8G5, page C. 
 
 teen men who, on their way to Boise, encountered a 
 large band of Indians twent}' miles bej-ond Quin's 
 River, on Monday, the 'M instant, and of the jiarty 
 P. W. Jackson, of Virginia City, was instantlj' killed. 
 Thomas Kwing was shot through the body. Thomas 
 Rule, of Humboldt River, was shot in several places, 
 and a Canadian Frenchman, from Virginia (Jitj', was 
 shot through the lungs. Ewing, llule and the 
 Frenchman will be hereto-night. Mr. Ewiiig wishes 
 j-ou to em])loy a ])hj'sician and send him immediatolj' 
 to this place, Willow Point. We hope that none of 
 those wounded are mortally so, but they are very 
 badly shot. The tight lasted two hours. 
 
 Tuos. J. Butler. 
 
 The repeated contests in the northern part of Hum- 
 boldt County communicated the excitement to the 
 Indians of eastern Nevada, and they assembled in 
 threatening bodies in several localities of Lander 
 County. Tho Indians of this section belonged to the 
 Shoshone tribe, an inferior and ])ro])ortyless jjooplo, 
 who were so low in the scale of humanitj' that they 
 never consti-ucted a house, or wigwam, or anj-tbing 
 that could bo called by any name indicating a cover, 
 only seeking shelter in storms — which in winter 
 were frequent, and at times severe — behind rocks 
 and in the lee of bushes; subsisting on pine nuts, 
 pine burs, roots, mice, snakes (hence their name 
 Shoshone), gophers, rabbits, and game of a similar 
 character, occasionally killing a coj'otc, antelope or 
 other larger animal. The Pah-Utes were their 
 superiors, holding them in subjection, limiting their 
 range to what arc now called the Shoshone Mount- 
 ains on the west, forbidding them the ownership of 
 horses, and by other and oppressive moans, continu- 
 ing them in a state of destitution and degradation. 
 The largo influx of minors in 18tj2-G3, and subseqent 
 years, had relieved them from the opjiression of the 
 Pah-Utes, and had so greatly bettered their condition 
 that no ap])rohonsions had boon felt; consequently, 
 their threatening assemblages and thieving doi)reda- 
 tions so incensed the ])eople of Lander Count}- that 
 they called upon the Military Department to send an 
 expedition against thom. Colonel .Mooi-e, of the 
 California Volunteers, was in command at Fort Hubj", 
 and, in June, lSii5, ho dispatched Lieut. W. H. 
 Soamands, a young and energolic; officer, with about 
 forty men and a mountain howil/.er, to tho scone of 
 disturbance in the northern part of Rooso River 
 Valley. Soamands encountered tho Indians in tho 
 hills west of Reese River, and after a few shots dis- 
 persed them, without loss to his command, and an 
 unknown loss to the enemy. Tho energy and 
 promptitude of this movement, with the execution 
 and terror inflicted by tho howitzer, pacified tho 
 Indians of that quarter, or sent thom as allies of 
 those who wore still committing depredations in 
 northern Nevada and southern Oregon. 
 
 hostilities in paradise valley in 18C5. 
 Tho citizens of Paradise Vallo}- determined to per- 
 sist in their efforts to raise a crop of grain that year, 
 and to enable thom to do so two colonies were 
 
EXCHANGE HOTEL, AURORA, ESMERALDA CO,NEV. 
 ANGUS M? LEOD, PROP'R. 
 
 ^^■AM^~ 
 
 RANCH OF ANGUS M9 LEOD, MASON VALLEY, 
 
 ESMERALDA CO.,rMEV. 
 
THE OWENS RIVER WAR. 
 
 173 
 
 organized. One of them was formed about May 
 loth and consisted of Charles Adams, the founder, 
 
 M. W. Havihuui. A. Denio, Thomas Byrnes, 
 
 Travis, Doom, and .Mayland. They 
 
 established themselves on the ranch now owned 
 
 by B. F. Rile}-, Charles Siiiiihas, an<l Rice. 
 
 They succeeded in cullivatiiii; about eighty acres of 
 ground, but about the first of July the colony 
 removed to the- place now owned by R. Breiicbly, 
 for the purpose of culliiig hay. In this new locality 
 they found plenty of Indian signs, that indicated a 
 hostile proximity because of their secrecy or failure 
 to lead to a visible presence of any of that race. 
 
 The other colony was on the east side of the val- 
 ley, with .Martin Creeic running between them, and 
 thej' consisted of R. 11. Scott, Edward Lyng, C. A. 
 Nichols, Richard Brenchly, Charles CJegg, J. G. 
 Johnson, Joshua Warlord, Victor T. Schann and 
 Michael Mayleu. Tliese parties made the cabin of 
 R. H. Scott their place of nightly rendezvous, in the 
 day-time working, well-armed, upon their several 
 ranches. After their cro))s were in, four of them left 
 the valley and the others remained until in Jul}', 
 when indications of unfriendly Indians became so 
 strong in the vicinity that Scott decided to go and 
 see if military assistance could not be obtained. He 
 started, and got lost in the night, but discovering a 
 light ap])roached it and I'ouiul himself unexpectedly 
 in the temporary camp of Colonel McDermit, who 
 detailed Sergeant Thomas, of Company D, Nevada 
 Volunteers, with a Corporal and si.xteen men to 
 return with him. 
 
 This command, under Sergeant Thomas, had 
 moved north iVom Willow Point, to graze their 
 stock and occupy an advanced position in the valley. 
 The little force was then divided, and six men with 
 the Corporal were some four miles from the Ser- 
 geant's camp, when on the 2Gth of July they were 
 suddenlj- confronted b}' a body of Indians number- 
 ing, as variously stated, from twenty-seven to fifty 
 warriors. No attack was made, but their acts not 
 being oi'a friendly nature, a man was sent to notify 
 Sergeant Thomas of the condition of affairs, and he 
 immediately started with his men for llie tliroatencd 
 cam]). The Indians on observing his approach 
 hoisted a white flag, which the Sergeant responded 
 to by a charge that drove the marauders into the 
 swam]) where they took cover and found thems^'lves 
 in a ira]) from which there was no chance for escape. 
 A long and obstiiiate battle ensued, every man fight- 
 ing on his Dwn ])lan, as skirmishers, taking advan- 
 tage of cover in imitation of the Indian mode of war- 
 fare. There were several citizens who took j)art in 
 the fight, which made the foi'ces about ei]ual as to 
 numbers. Five Indians fled to a house for safety; ' 
 the building was fired and each was shot as he 
 rushed out from his burning refuge. 
 
 When the battle was over there were twent^'-threo 
 dead Indians left on the battle-ground, and the bal 
 
 ance escaped to the hills, one of whom died from 
 the ett'ects of his wounds. 
 
 THE WRITES LOST IN THE BATTLE.* 
 
 Jos(']ih Warfield, a citizen, killed. 
 
 Hereford, private, Company 1, California Volun- 
 teers, killed. 
 
 Daniel MulHy, jirivato, Companj' 1, California 
 Viilunteers, wounded. 
 
 Rehil, jirivate, Company I, California Volunteers, 
 wounded. 
 
 Travis, private. Company I, California Volunteers, 
 wounded. 
 
 M. W. Ilaviland, wounded. 
 
 One soldier who was wounded cut out the ball, 
 and then continued in the fight to its close. 
 
 DEATH OF COLONEL CIIAULES MCDEU.MIT. 
 
 On the seventh of August, this oflScer, who was 
 in command of the De])artment of Nevada, was 
 shot bj' an ambushed Indian, when riding along a 
 trail. He was returning to Camp McDermit, then 
 known as Quin's River Station, from a scout on 
 Quin's River, at the time, and lived but four hours 
 after receiving the fatal wound. His remains were 
 taken to Fort Churchill, where they arrived on the 
 nineteenth of August, and were buried there the 
 next day. A letter from him, written at tjuin's 
 River Station, on the first of August, stated as fol- 
 lows:—^ 
 
 " We have killed thirty-two Indians since 1 took 
 the field, and have had one man wounded, and one 
 man killed." 
 
 August 11th, an Indian named "Tom" was arrested 
 and shot in Spring Canon, near Unionville, he hav- 
 ing been recognized as one of the depredators in 
 I'aradise Valley. 
 
 EVENTS IN HCMBOLDT COUNTY. 
 
 T)nring the month of August Colonel Bryan made 
 a sumnu'r camp near Willow Point, where he re- 
 mained until October, when the forces under his 
 command withdrew to Dun Glen. 
 
 Sejitember lid, upon information received from 
 and under guidance of friendly Pah-Utes, a party 
 of hostile Indians, numbering about ton. were sur- 
 priseil in their cam]) near Table Mountain, about 
 thirty miles southeast of Unionville, and all were 
 killed. Twenty soldiers, under Lieutenant Penwell, 
 several citizens, and the guides, ])artici]iated in the 
 sanguinary work. The victims had recently par- 
 tici])ated in the war along the north lino of the 
 State, which fact was obtained from the guides, 
 who disclosed the hiding-i)lace of the hosliles. The 
 following account of the affair is taken from the 
 Humboldt Keyister, which is given to show the si)irit 
 of those times, and justification of the act l)y public 
 o])inion: — 
 
 The I'ah-Ute guides led the ])arly upon the camp 
 at daybreak this morning, so cautiouslj' that the 
 
 " Luttui- ti)<!olil Hill A'eiod, datoil August '1, 18G5. 
 
174 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OS' NEVADA. 
 
 entire t;ang was taken in, and ticketed for the 
 hai»py iiunting-i^rounds before thej- knew what was 
 the matter. Seven bucks bit the dust, and one or 
 two squaws were killed by accident. 
 
 September 13tli, at day-break, Captain Payne 
 attacked a camp of Indians in Quin's River Valley, 
 on Willow Creek; a running fight ensued that lasted 
 about three hours, resulting in the killing of thirty- 
 one Indians, and wounding of one white man. 
 
 The following extract from the Owyhee Aco/imche. 
 of Idaho, ])ublishcd by John and Joseph Wasson. in 
 October, besides the historic incident given, is valua- 
 ble as being a true expression of public sentiment at 
 that time in Nevada. 
 
 About the eighth instant, a friendly l*ah-Ute 
 gave information that the Indians were camped fif- 
 teen miles southeast of Unionvillc. Nevada. Lieu- 
 tenant Penwell, of Captain Doughty 's company, at 
 once proceeded from Dun Glun with a detachment of 
 men, and slaughtered them all. The soldiers have 
 adopted the true method of Indian warfare. They 
 neither wait for attacks nor hostile movements by 
 them, but go and hunt them as men would wolves 
 that prcj' on their stock. 
 
 BLACK ROCK TOM. 
 
 The above was the name of a chief whose band of 
 Pah-Utes had begun their raids on the fourteenth of 
 March, 1865, and it was his followers, as well as 
 those living in the mountains to the north and north- 
 east, joined by renegade Shoshones and 15annocks, 
 who had been keeping up hostilities during the sum- 
 mer in Paradise Valley and along the northern 
 frontier. 
 
 The peaceabl}- disposed Pah-Utes were afraid that 
 the warlike attitude of this band would antagonize 
 the whole tribe with the whites, and bring consequent 
 destruction upon them. Because of this fear, Captain 
 Soo, the chief of the Humboldt River Pah-Utes, 
 determined to aid the soldiers in killing oft' all the 
 hostile Indians regardless of their tribal relations. 
 
 In one of the first days of November, ISO."), a 
 party of men with three or four ox-teams, were haul- 
 ing goods from California to the Humboldt, over the 
 Honey Lake route. They had left Rabbit Hole 
 Station, and were a])proacliiiig Cedar Springs in the 
 evening. One of the teams had gained some distance 
 in advance of the others, when it was captured, the 
 driver killed, the contents of the wagon plundered^ 
 and the residue set on fire by Black Rock Tom and 
 his band. 
 
 The news was taken to Dun Glen, and Lieutenant 
 Penwell was ordereil out with twenlysi.v men in 
 pursuit of the marauders. Captain Soo, who had 
 been the leader in the Williams massacre in 1860, 
 acted as guide, and with the Indian characteristic of 
 treachery and love of blood, now made war on his 
 race. Upon examining the signs about the scone of 
 the tragedy he came to the conclusion that Black 
 Hock Tom was the guiltj" party, and the command 
 moved north in pursuit. On the ninth of November 
 
 they found those whom they were in search of 
 intrenched ujion a mountain, west of Pah-Ute 
 Meadows, and after an unsuccessful effort to dislodge 
 them, fell back into the valley some seven miles and 
 camped for the night. The next morning they 
 started for Dun Glen, where they arrived on the 
 eleventh without loss either to the Indians or them- 
 selves. 
 
 On the thirteenth of November^ Lieut. R. A. 
 Osmer, of Company B, Second California Cavalry, with 
 sixtj' soldiers, four citizens, and Captain Soo, with four- 
 teen of his warriors, started from Dun Glen, to make 
 another effort to punish the bold outlaw. On reaching 
 the sink of Quin's River, about 100 miles northwest of 
 Dun Glen, the wagons were left in charge of fourteen 
 men, while the others continued to march. At day- 
 light on the morning of the seventeenth, after having 
 passed through the swampy sink of Quin's River 
 during the night, Captain Soo declared as the sum- 
 mit of some low hills was reached that he could see 
 the smoke of the enemj-'s camp-fires some nine miles 
 away to the northeast. He also insisted that the 
 smoke was from the camp of Black Rock Tom. The 
 march was continued, and when within some five 
 miles of the point designated, the smoke could be 
 seen by all. The hostiles did not observe the 
 approach of the soldiers until only about two miles 
 intervened between the opposing forces, when Lieu- 
 tenant Osmer sai<l : " Come on boys, we can't go 
 around, the best man will get there fii-st;" and away 
 went the entire command in a "go as you please 
 style" for a two-mile charge. 
 
 The chief, Captain Soo, finding that he was likely 
 to be passed by some of the whites in the charge, 
 reached down and with a knife cut the girth and, 
 throwing the saddle from under him while at full 
 speed, flew like a true son of the desert, on his bare- 
 backed horse, over the plains, and was the first to 
 charge in among the enemy, who were making their 
 best off'orts to escape. A skirmish battle, that extended 
 over several miles of country, followeil. It was a 
 dashing, gullant affair, that entitled the participants 
 to great credit. One prisoner, a woman, was taken, 
 whom a citizen was about to kill but was jtrevented 
 from doing so by a soldier. Five squaws and six 
 Indians only escaped, among whom was Black Rock 
 Tom. 
 
 David O'Connell was killed; Sergeant Lansdon and 
 another man were wounded. The bodies of fifty- 
 five Pah- Utes were found, which does not account for 
 all the Indians slain, many of whom must have 
 remained iiidden on the battle-ground that extended 
 over an area ol'])ossiblj- three miles scpiare, that con- 
 tained many gullies and quantities of sago-brush. 
 
 After the battle had ended, a Corporal in coming 
 down the side of a mountain, or hill, was hailed by a 
 comrade, and upon going to the place found him try- 
 ing to stop the blood that was flowing from the 
 wounds of an Indian mother. Beside the woman, 
 who had received an accidental shot, lay an infant 
 
THE OW^NS RIVER WAR. 
 
 175 
 
 possibly six months old. and standing close by with 
 a frozen look of infant horror pictured in its face, 
 stood another child about two years of age. The 
 private said: "Let's take her down to the cam]), its a 
 pity to leave her here to die, and the little i'eliows to 
 starve." Just then the Corporal noticed a citizen 
 passing not far away and said to his comrade " call 
 
 and he will help you, 1 must hurry down." 
 
 Directly after reaching the foot of the hill he heard 
 several pistol shots in the direction of where he had 
 left the two men with the wounded woman, and 
 looking up that way saw the soldier coming down 
 alone. " Where is j-our squaw " said the Corporal as 
 the private came up. " That was a tine specimen you 
 called to help me," was llie reply. " The d — n 
 bushwhacker shot the whole lot of them, babies and 
 all. bcl'ore I knew what he was up to." 
 
 CLOSING ACTION AND ACT OF THE YEAR. 
 
 A part of Company B, from Dun Glen, and Com- 
 pany I, from Camp McDermit, both of California 
 regiments, met at Kane Sjiriiigs for a scout under 
 Captain Conrad, in December. Black Kock Tom 
 had gathered in the scattered families of his follow- 
 ers, and joined l)y those of other bands that were 
 still committing depredations, bad rendezvoused in 
 another locality on Quin's Eiver. 
 
 The snow was lying upon the ground at the time, 
 and the command under Captain Conrad were forced. 
 one night while out, to lead their horses in a circle 
 to keep from freezing. The Indian camp had not 
 been discovered yet, and camp-fires were not allowed, 
 as they would reveal to those sought the proximity 
 of their enemies. Evcntuallj- the Indians were dis- 
 covered on or near Fish Creek, and surrounded before 
 daylight. One squaw, a boy, and an old man were 
 captured, the balance, about forty in all, being killed. 
 No whites were injured. Thus ended organized hos- 
 tilities on the part of any band of the I'ah-Ute tribe; 
 some of the more desperate, however, allied to n^ne- 
 gades from the Shoshone and Bannock tribes, con- 
 tinued hostilities along the borders the following 
 year, some of them entering i'aradise Valley. 
 
 Black Rock Tom. who was absent at the time, 
 went down to the sink of the Ilumlioldt, and deliv- 
 ered himself up as a j)risoner to the chief. Captain 
 Hoc, who turned him over to the soldiers. Some cit- 
 izens went to the Captain and told him the people 
 were going to lake him from the soldiers and hang 
 him, and that he had better make his escape if he 
 wished to live. An ()j)piirlunit3- ^^''''' given for the 
 attempt to be made which he availed himself of, 
 when he was shot and killed. 
 
 The following is from the message of Gov. II. (i. 
 Blasdel, to the Senate and Assembly, dated January, 
 1866:— 
 
 Lack of time forbids detailing the incidents of 
 my visits among the various tribes; sutlice it to say, 
 some of their alignments were unanswerable. They 
 said, through their interj)reter, "the white men cut 
 down our pine trees, their cattle eat our grass, we 
 
 have no pine nuts, no grass-seed, and we are veiy 
 hungry.' I found them, in several instances, with 
 nothing to subsist u])on but rabbits, mice, grasshop- 
 pers, ants, and other insects." 
 
 PARADISE VALLEY TROUBLE IN 1867. 
 
 In the summer of 1S()(!, Camj) Winfield Scott, was 
 established at the noith end of Paradise Valley, 
 and on the twelfth of December, that year, it was 
 occupied by Company A, United States Cavalry, 
 under Capt. Muny Davis, with Lieut. John Laflerty 
 as second in command. 
 
 On the twelfth of January, 1867, Lieutenant Laf- 
 ferty encountered a band of Indians, near the head- 
 waters of the Little Humboldt, killed several of them, 
 and destroyed their camp. In the fore part of Feb- 
 ruary succeeding, he drove another ])arty from the 
 south fork of the Little llumboldt into the mount- 
 ains, who escaped because of the deep snow. 
 
 The last of February, Cajjtain Davis left Camp 
 Wintield Scott, Lieutenant Lafierty remaining in 
 command, and his energy and ability as an officer 
 were soon put to a severe test. March 13th the 
 Indians ran off the stock belonging to Charles Gagg, 
 who lived about eight miles southerly from the post. 
 The following morning found the Ijieutenant, with 
 fourteen men, in pursuit of the marauders, and not- 
 withstanding a fierce storm and fall of snow had 
 completely obliterated their tracks, he coi>tinued the 
 search. On the ninth day out he encountered the 
 band he was pursuing, killed six of them, destroyed 
 their camp, and captured their arms. 
 
 HON. JAMES A. BANKS KILLED. 
 
 This vigorous action made him a terror to the 
 dusky raiders, and gave a quiet season for putting 
 in crops to the farmers in Paradise Valley; and no 
 further trouble was experienced, until on the fii-st of 
 August, when Hon. .Tames A. Banks was killed by 
 them, within a couple of miles of Camp Wintield 
 Scott, while fishing in Cottonwood Creek. Mr. 
 Banks, who was at the time a resident of Dun 
 Glen, Humboldt County, was in eompanj- with Pev. 
 Mr. Temple, of New York City, on a visit to the 
 camp, and joined by Lieutenant TiaflTertj-, were out 
 fishing as before stated. Mr. Banks strolled u|) the 
 stream by himself, and the Lieutenant with Mr. Tem- 
 ple returned to cam|). The continued absence of his 
 guest caused the Lieutenant to institute a search, 
 fearing that he might have become bewildered and 
 lost his way. The remains of the unfortunate man 
 were found, shot through the breast, the assassin 
 having stripped and mutilated his body; and two 
 daj-s later the Rev. Mr. Temple preached the funeral 
 sermon of his friend, whom they buried in the camp 
 cemetery. 
 
 Mr. Banks was a native of Pennsylvania, and 
 thirty-nine years of age. He emigrated to Califor- 
 nia in 18r)2 from Pennsylvania, and became for sev- 
 eral terms a n\ember of the Legislature of that State. 
 He came to Nevada in 1863, was a member of the 
 
176 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Convention that formed the State Constitution, and 
 was Speaker of the House during the second annual 
 session of her Leffislature. He was a true friend, an 
 able man, and a good citizens, and tlie news of his 
 death was received with sadness throughout the 
 State. 
 
 The Indians — it was atterward learned that three 
 of them bad committed the act — made good their 
 escape, and a detail sent in pursuit of them soon 
 returned from an unsuccessful scout. Lieutenant 
 Lafl'erty then took bis entire available command and 
 started upon the war-path. He reached the south 
 fork of the Owyhee, where near its head-waters 
 he came upon the enemj' ; killed four of them ; 
 captured four; and, later in the same daj-, while 
 scouting alone in a canon, came upon four other 
 Indians, and in a hand-to-hanu conflict killed two 
 of them, captured the others and drove them 
 ahead of him into camp. This was the last of his 
 combats in 'Nevada, being relieved from command 
 about the first of November, by the arrival at Camp 
 Scott, of Lieutenant Jo.sepb Karge, with reiniorce- 
 ments. 
 
 THE WINTER or 18(i7. AND SPRINCl OF 18(j8. 
 
 On the nineteenth of November, 1^()7, before Lieu- 
 tenant Karge had become informed of the general 
 surroundings of the country, the Indians made a raid 
 into the eastern part of the Valley, and drove off all 
 the stock except that of Mr. Scott. Lieutenant 
 Karge went in pursuit, but moved so slowly, on 
 accou!it of deeji snow and baggage, that nothing was 
 accomplished. 
 
 The winter of 18G7 was verj' severe, and the 
 snow fell to the dejjth of several feet in Paradise 
 Valley, and continued upon the ground longer than 
 ever known before. Owing to the sevei'ity and 
 length of the winter, many families were forced to 
 subsist upon wheat and barley, ground in a 
 coffee-mill. Spring bad hardly come before the 
 valley was visited again by Indians, who, becoming 
 emboldened by their success a lew months before, 
 reiiealed the operation, this time driving off all the 
 stock belonging to M. W. Uaviland. 
 
 There were about twenty in the band of depre- 
 dators, under leadership of the dreaded Big Foot; 
 and young Hunter, a Lieutenant who had recently 
 arrived, was ordered to take Sergeant John Kellj-, 
 Cor])oral Thomas J{eed, and j)rivate Thomas Ward, 
 and pursue the enemy, whip him, and bring back 
 the stolen jiroperty. Jn obedience to these orders, 
 the young Jiieutenant, who had never witnessed 
 an engagement, set out on this perilous enterprise, 
 and was joined bj' a citizen named John Ifogers, 
 from whom ]Jig Foot had taken a valuable horse. 
 
 A lew unj)leasant words had jiassed between 
 Lafferty and the commanding ollicer, because the 
 former had iYisisted that it was much like -murder 
 to order out such a detail in pursuit of Big Foot. 
 Lafl'erlj- asked to be sent in place of the young 
 and inexperienced officer, which request was refused; 
 
 but after the forlorn hope was gone be was per- 
 mitted to take a small force of select men and iol- 
 low on. He scoured the foot-hills and cafions in 
 vain search of the young Lieutenant, and was about 
 to take to the mountains when a messenger over- 
 took him, with the news of a collision between the 
 Indians and those he was in search of and the 
 consequent imminent peril Of his friends, and with- 
 out a moment's delaj' started with his command at 
 their utmost speed to the rescue. 
 
 The five men, after starting in pursuit of the 
 Indians, had gone directly to the mouth of Deep 
 Caiion, where they struck Big Foot's trail; and 
 young Hunter, as rash as he was inexperienced, 
 dashed along the rocky j)ass, followed by his men. 
 Suddenly they were brought to a halt b}' a volley 
 from the concealed enemy that unhorsed every man, 
 and stretched the brave j"oung leader bleeding ujjon 
 the rocks, and beside him were the Sergeant and 
 private, writhing in the agonies of their death- 
 wounds. The Corporal and citizen were uiihai-med, 
 but their clothing was jierforated with bullets, and 
 their horses were gone. Sheltering themselves behind 
 a rock, they held a consultation, to see what should 
 be done in this fearful emergency. It was deter- 
 mined that one of them should try to reach Camp 
 Scott to give the alarm, and Bogers volunteered to 
 make the attempt, lie threw off his hat, coat, and 
 boots, and then made a dash from behind the rock 
 down the caiion, followed by a volley, and then by 
 scattering shots, until he was out of sight, mirac- 
 ulouslj- esca])ing without a wound. He finallj' 
 reached headquarters with news of the disaster. 
 There was "hurrying to and fro, and gathering in 
 hot haste" at Camp Scott, and soon the entire 
 force was on the gallop-march to Deep Canon, some 
 eight miles away. 
 
 In the meantime, Thomas Beed, the Cor])oral, had 
 been protecting his wounded comrades b^' tiring 
 upon every redskin that showed himself, and mak- 
 ing it a sure passjiort for any of their number to 
 the "happy hunting-grounds" who made the attempt 
 to reach them. It was a desperate contest, with 
 fearful odds against tlie single hero; but nerve and 
 courage won the prize, and the band of Indians 
 retired from the canon without having been able 
 to touch their prey. At length the command arrived 
 from the camp, followed later by Jiieulenanl Laf- 
 ferty; both were too late, for Big Fool and his band 
 had made their escajie, and went unj)unislied. The 
 Government, later, rewarded the brave Corporal 
 Bccd by presenting him a medal for his gallant 
 conduct. 
 
 Soon after this Lieutenant Lafferty was ordered 
 on duty in Arizona, where he distinguished himself 
 in several battles with Cachise's Apaches, the most 
 warlike Indians on the continent. In his last 
 engagement, October 20, 1800, while holding the 
 Ajjaches in check for the jjurpose of recovering 
 the bodies of some dead comrades, a portion of his 
 
RESIDENCE AND RANCH OF JAMES SULLIVAN. R£NQ. WAbnut CO., NEV. 
 
 HINDS'HOT SPRINGS. 
 
 RESIDENCE, RANCH r'^WATER CURING PLACE OF J.C.HINDS, 
 
 
 ■w; 
 
 ESMERALDA Cf, NEVADA. 
 
HOSTILITIES IN EASTERN NEVADA. 
 
 177 
 
 lower Jaw was carried away by a bullet, disabling 
 him lor lil'e. In the report by Colonol R. F. Ber- 
 nard of this engagement, he says: — 
 
 The conduct of Lieutenant Lafferly, Eighth Cav- 
 alry, was most gallant and brave. The cavahy arm 
 in Arizona has lost, for a time, a good and brave 
 officer in J.iieutenaiit Laffcrtj'. A government, in 
 extending thanks to their officers, cannot bestow 
 them too freclj- u])()n such officers as Lieutenant 
 Lafterty, Eighth Cavalry.. 
 
 Occasional straggling bands would continue to 
 enter the valley at long intervals, and steal stock, 
 until the clo.^c of 18G9; since when there has been 
 no further trouble with Indians in Paradise Valley. 
 
 CH APT Eli .\\III. 
 
 HOSTILITIES IN EASTERN NEVADA. 
 1860. 
 
 Tlie Dry Creek Figlit — (iravuUy Ford M.-issacre in 1801 — Eiustern 
 Nevada Troubles ill KSO'J — (loali-Ute War in LStil}— Attack on 
 CaQou Station in 1SG3 — Massacre at Canon Stution — Kml of 
 the tiosh-Ute War — Kasterii Nevada War Panic in ISTo — 
 Anecdotes and Incidents. 
 
 While the war between the citizens and Pah-Utes 
 in the Pyramid Lake country, resulting in the 
 battles of "Pyramid Lake" and '• Truckee," was 
 progressing, a bandof Shoshones perpetrated a gross 
 outrage in the eastern portion of the Territory, at a 
 point on the overland stage line, known as Dry Creek 
 Station. 
 
 This occurred on the twenty -second of May of that 
 year, and was the natural result flowing from the 
 increased confidence imjiarted bj- the success of the 
 Pah-Utes, in the battle where Ormaby fell, to those 
 previously disposed to bo hostile to the whites. The 
 following account is taken from the Earekn Lender, 
 with slight alterations to conform to evidence received 
 warranting the changes: — 
 
 TUE DRY CREEK FIOHT. 
 
 The story of the killing of Applegate and Lozier 
 constitutes a thrilling reminiscence of old overland 
 times. Of this sad and exciting event, Mr. ii. 11. 
 Egleston, a resident of P-ureka, relates the following, 
 he having assisted in their burial, heard the first 
 statements of the survivora and was familiar with 
 the scenes. Four days after the attack on Dry Creek 
 Station he was at I)iamon<l Springs, sixty miles cast 
 from that point, on his way from Camj) Floyd to 
 Carson, in company with Thomas Smith and Elisha 
 Mallory, a rancher at present living near (renoa. The 
 details of the light were told to .Mr. Kgleston by a 
 pony rider, W.L. Ball, more familiarly called " Little 
 Baldy," who with Silas McCanless, the station-keejier, 
 esca])ed from Dry Creek and made their way to 
 Diamond. Thej- were as follows: — 
 
 At the time of the fight there were four men at 
 the station — Si. McCanless, the station-keeper, John 
 
 Api'lcgate, \\h\\)\\ .M. Lozier, and Little Haldj-, the 
 pony riiler. McCanless, the station-keeper, was liv- 
 ing with a Shoshone siiuaw. and it appears that the 
 Indians were dissatisfied with this fact, and wanted 
 the squaw to return to the tribe. Early in the morn- 
 ing of the fight the hidians, numbering about filleen 
 or twenty, who were camped near by, came to the 
 station and demanded of McCanless to give up the 
 squaw. Considerable wrangling and high talk was 
 engaged in, but she was not given uj), and McCanless 
 having given the Indians a generous supjiiy of 
 rations and in a manner pacifietl them, thej- went off 
 evidently satisfied. They returned, however, at about 
 seven o'clock, and creeping uj) tothe station, which was 
 built of Cottonwood logs, and being newly con- 
 structed, had not been 'chinked" with mud, the}- 
 opened tiro through the crevices between the logs, 
 and at the first vollo^' killed Lozier and sevei'ely 
 wounded Applegate, he being shot through the 
 fleshy partof the thigh, the ball ranging up and coming 
 out through the j)Ocket in his pants. Leaving Lozier 
 dead in the station, the three men, .McCanless. ,\]iple- 
 gate and Bald}', fled from the )>lacefor dear life, with 
 the Indians in hot |)ursuit. Ajiplegate, at the out- 
 start, had handed his revolver to Bald}-. Alter run- 
 ning about a ijuarter of a mile, McCanless' squaw in 
 the meanwhile i-uiining between them and the 
 Inilians, and endeavoring to keep the latter back, 
 Applegate, who was badlj- wounded and was fast 
 failing from loss of blood, knew that he could not 
 hold out in the race, and halting he askeil Bald}- for 
 the revolver, and rather than be overtaken by the 
 red devils, who were close upon them, and di-eading 
 the torture they would inflict, placed the ])istol to his 
 ear and deliberately blew his brains out. .McCanless 
 and Baldy continued to run 'for their lives. In 
 order to lighten themselves they fairly stri|i]ied to 
 their underclothing, and after a most desperate 
 flight of several miles managed to outstrip the 
 Indians, who gave up the chase. The two men con- 
 tinued on at their utmost speed until they reached 
 the station at Jiobert's Creek, thirty miles distant 
 from Dry ("reek. Here they found a Spanish cook 
 and the ]>oiiy rider, where they remained until mid- 
 night, when the four left for Diamond Springs, 
 thirty miles further on, reaching that jioint at 
 sunrise the ne.xt morning. It was here that Mr. 
 Egleston met them, and he promised Baldy and 
 McCanless that the two men killed by the Indians 
 should be proju'rly buried when he and his parly 
 reached Dry Creek. I'pon arriving at Dry Creek 
 nearly a week later, search was made for the bodies. 
 That of Lozier had been dragged from the house 
 and horribly 7niitil;ited. The coyotes had torn it to 
 pieces. The scattei'ed remains, with the e.\ce])tion of 
 the lower ]iortion of the left leg, were found, 
 gatherc<l up and buried on the spot where .\])i)legate 
 was found — near where he fell. .\]i|)legate's body 
 had been only slightly mutilated by the coyotes, and 
 the two men were buried together and a monument 
 of stones piled over their grave. 
 
 This is the history of the affair as detailed to us. 
 McCanless, shortly after the fight, returned to Dry 
 Creek, and taking the s(|uaw, over whom the trouble 
 originated, to Salt Laki% married her, and the two 
 lived together and had several children. .\p|jlegate 
 was a native of .Michigan, and Lozier was from 
 Iowa, the former aged twenty-two, and the latter 
 twenty-one years at the time of their death. The 
 statement that the station was burned is a mistake. 
 It is standing to-day, if it has not been destroyed 
 recently. 
 
178 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 GRAVELLY FORD MASSACRE IN 18G1. 
 
 The account of this affair was obtained from 
 Charles Stebbins, now of Austin. 
 
 In the latter part of the summer of 18G1, four fam- 
 ilies from the States stopped for three weeks at the 
 trading-post of Stebbins, in Euby Valley. There 
 were thirteen persons in the part}', among whom 
 were four or five children, and their conveyance con- 
 sisted of four wagons drawn by oxen. There was 
 one little girl about ten years old among the num- 
 ber, who became strongly attached to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Stebbins, and they tried ineffectuallj- to persuade the 
 ])arents to leave her with them. There was a squaw 
 named Maggie about the place at the time, working 
 for Mr. Stebbins, who also became attached to this 
 little girl, and knew of the effort being made to get 
 the parents to leave her behind when thej- left. 
 
 The next day after the emigrants had resumed 
 their journey, Maggie also disappeared from the sta- 
 tion. Several days passed, when late one night some 
 one rapped at the door of Mr. Stebbins' house, and he 
 went to see who the intruder could be, and found a 
 squaw standing thei-e whose face and head were so 
 swollen and cut that he did not recognize her. She 
 stepped inside and sitting down on a stool in front of 
 the fire, commenced a doleful moaning cry accom- 
 ])anied by a buck and forward, swaying motion of 
 the body, as though racked bj* mental and physical 
 torture. It was a long time before she would utter 
 a word, but finallj- the harrowing details of a fiendish 
 outrage was drawn in broken sentences, mixed with 
 sobs, from the sorrow-stricken old Shoshone mother. 
 
 Before the emigrants had left Eub}' Station, Mag- 
 gie had become sus])icious that certain young warriors 
 of the tribe intended to massacre the party before 
 thej' passed beyond the Shoshone countrj', and she 
 determined to follow the wagons and rescue the lit- 
 tle girl should her suspicions prove correct. Her 
 fears were realized; the whites were suddenly at- 
 tacked in Yago Cafion, which connects Pine Valley 
 with the Humboldt River, near Palisade, a few miles 
 southeast of Gravelly P^ord. As the struggle, or 
 massacre, was going on, the faithiul Indian woman 
 rushed in among the combatants, and, seizing the 
 little girl, made good her escape from the scene that 
 ended in the murder of all the whites. Throwing the 
 child across her shoulder, she sped along the trail on 
 her way back to the home of Mr. Stebbins, but there 
 were many a long, weary mile lying between these 
 fugitives and safetj-. Through the balance of the 
 day and the following night she fled with her burden 
 of innocence, and as ho])e of success began to dawn 
 in the hearts of the fugitives, they were suildcnly 
 made aware of the immediate presence of two Indians 
 in pursuit. They were overtaken, the Indian woman 
 was beaten until she was senseless, and the child was 
 tied to a slake driven in the ground, when a knife was 
 used to aid the savages in committing a nameless 
 outrage upon her, and thus the little martj-r died. 
 
 When Maggie came to her senses she found her 
 
 assailants gone, and the dead body of her little 
 charge slaked to the ground as the brutish fiends 
 had left her. Then she had staggered along, heart- 
 stricken, the remainder of the way to bear the sad 
 news to her white Iriends. 
 
 Mr. Stebbins immediately set out with a few men 
 to see if what he had heard could be true, and find- 
 ing the little one he had loved so well, with her 
 open, dead eyes staring, horror-stricken, heavenward, 
 he knew that all he had been told was a terrible 
 reality. The next year the two savages, who had 
 thus brutally murdered the little girl, presented 
 themselves at Fort Ruby, not being aware of the fact 
 that it was known to the whites who had committed 
 the deed. They were seized; one was hung and the 
 other shot in attemjjting to make his escape. 
 
 EASTERN NEVADA — TROUBLES IN 1862. 
 
 That portion of the Shoshone tribe living in Ruby 
 Valley, in what is now Elko County, had for a chief 
 in 18G1, an Indian named Sho-kup, who was friendly 
 to the whites, in November, or during the first 
 daj's of December, of that year, he died of consump- 
 tion at the house of Charles Stebbins, and the fol- 
 lowers of the dead chief pro])osed, in accordance with 
 their usual custom, to kill Sho-kup's squaw, so that 
 she would accompany her dead lord to the happy 
 hunting-grounds. She fled to the trading-post kept 
 by Stebbins, at Ruby Station, on the Overland Stage 
 road, and claimed his protection, which being given, 
 caused such an excitement among the Indians that 
 assistance was asked from Governor James W. Nj-e, 
 who sent Colonel Wasson to that section with author- 
 ity to take such action as the circumstances de- 
 manded. 
 
 The following is Colonel Wasson's report to the 
 Governor, made after his return. The report is 
 given in full, because of the manj- interesting facts 
 containetl therein, relating to the Shoshones at that 
 time: — 
 
 Carson City, June 28, 18C2. 
 
 Ills ivvcELLENCY, James W. Nye, Governor and 
 Ex (Jj/icio Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Nevada 
 Territory — .S'lV.- I have the honor to submit this 
 re])ort of my trip, etc., to Ruby Valley. In accord- 
 ance with your instructions under date of December 
 16, 1861, I started bj' overland stage on the evening 
 of the eighteenth of December for Ruby N'alley, 
 and arrived at Smith Crock, Hecember 19th, eight 
 o'clock p. M. This is the first station in the Sho- 
 shone country. The summit oi'the mountains west 
 of Smith ('reek being the boundary' bclwoen the 
 Pah-Utes and the Shoshones. 
 
 On the twentieth of Doci'mber, six o'clock, a, .m., I 
 arrived at Reese Hivei- whoiv I met the chief To-to-a, 
 and about one hundred of his liand. I had a very 
 satisfactorj- interview with them. The chief assured 
 me of his I'ricndshii) for our Government, and that 
 none ol' his band woulil, under any circumstances, 
 molest the stage or telegraph lines, or any whites 
 that might want to visit or reside in his country. 
 He seemed to regret that tlure was any <listurl)ancc 
 between the whites and ShoshoTies, and volunteered 
 to go with me and assist in bringing about a settle- 
 
HOSTILITIES IN EASTERN NEVADA. 
 
 179 
 
 munt. I thanked him but did not itvail myself of 
 his prort'orod serviios, ailhoUi,'h I shoiihl have done 
 so had I deemed it neeessarv. His hand numbers 
 between throe and four hundred, are very destitute, 
 having no manner of property exce])t tire arms 
 obtained from the emijjrants and traders, and the 
 usual rude instruments used by savages in the collec- 
 tion of seeds, roots, fish, game, etc. 
 
 I left Reese River on the morning of the twenty- 
 first; passed Simjisons Park, Dry Creek, (irubs Wells 
 and arrived at Roberts Creek five o'clock i>. m. Hero 
 I found about fifty or si.xty half-starved Indians, and 
 I observed from fifteen to twent}' -five at each of the 
 last-named stations in a most deplorable condition, 
 subsisting principally upon the indigested barley 
 obtained by washing the manure from the overlan<l 
 stables in baskets after the manner of 8e])arating 
 gold from earth with a \nw. 
 
 I may as well state here that 1 met -Mr. Cook, 
 Assistant Treasurer Overland Mail C^ompany, from 
 whom I learned that he had given orders to station 
 keepers to issue rations of grain to the Indians at 
 such points as it seemed necessary, and in quantities 
 sufficient to prevent starvation. J remained only 
 one hour at IJoberts Creek, arriving at Jiuby Valley 
 on the twcntj--second, at eight o'clock a. m. Here I 
 found about IIH) Indians, headed bj^ a young chief, 
 by the name of ■• Hack." They were subsisting 
 chiefly upon the charities of the Mail Company and 
 other settlers in the valley. 
 
 1 was informed that about half of the Indians 
 belonging in Ruby Vallej' had left for the '' White 
 Knife " country*, on the upjier Humboldt, on account 
 of the late difficulties con8e<iueiit upon the death of 
 their chief, Sho-ku]), the circumstances of which 
 were substantially as follows, to wit: Previous to 
 Sho-kup's death, and after he had become satisfied 
 of bis rapidly a])]iroaching dissolution, he expressed 
 the desire that Buck should be successor to his posi- 
 tion as chief; that he should take his wife (a vcrj- 
 intelligent squaw named bj' the whites, Julia) also 
 his horses, arms, and other efi'ects. Now this dis])0- 
 sition of the estate did not accord with the old estab- 
 lished and time-honored custom of the tribe; so 
 immediately upon the death of Sho-kup, his friends 
 jiroceeded to slay his horses, and collect his 
 arms and other effects, and to complete the 
 horrid rite the almost frantic widow must bo added 
 to the funeral pyre, that she might accomjiany her 
 husband to the haj)])}- hunting-grounds of the (ireat 
 Spirit. Rut she shrank from the dreadful sacrifice. 
 She fled to the mail station, asking jirotection of 
 the whites, which was granted. The Indians fol- 
 lowed demanding her surrender, threatening to burn 
 the ))lace and kill everj white man in the valley if 
 they would not give up the woman, which the whites 
 refusing to do, they proceeded to |)lace a guard 
 ai'OHiid the station. The e.xcitemcnt increased until 
 a young Indian of the White Ivnife band shot and 
 killed an old favorite Indian doctor of Sho-kup's. 
 Whether the doctor's death obviated the necessity of 
 killing Sho-kup's widow or not, I cannot say, but 
 certain it is that the excitement ceased, and upon 
 the jiromise of the Indians that they would not kill 
 her,she was given upbytlic whites, and Buck escorted 
 her to the Indian cani|» about one-half mile distant. 
 Ruck returned to the station in the evening, and in a 
 few moments the repi)rt of a gun was heard in the 
 rection of the Indian camp. It was rumored that 
 .lulia was killed. Buck ran to get on his horse, but 
 was ordered by a white man to stop or he would shoot 
 him, at the same time firing at Buck with u revolver. 
 
 Buck reached his horse, but was prevented from 
 mounting him by another white man who was ahead 
 of him. and v.'ho nK)utited Buck's horse, and gave 
 chase, at the same time shooting at him with a 
 revolver. But the chief, through the tieetness of his 
 logs and the darkness of the night, escajted unhurt. 
 It was soon ascertained that the alarm was false and 
 that Julia was also safe. Buck returned to the 
 station the next daj', and the difficulty was amicablj' 
 settled. 
 
 Ca])tain McLean, with his detachment, arrived on 
 the twenty-seventh of J)ecember. 
 
 The dangers of interruption by Indians to the 
 mail and telegra]ih lines. a])preheiided in the com- 
 ing spring, are from a band of the Shoshones, called 
 ■' White Knives," occupying the couTitry between the 
 upper Humboldt and the ]iresent mail road; also 
 from the Gosh Utes, who reside east of Ruby Valley. 
 The former are ipiite numerous, and said to be very 
 hostile. I sent for them to come and meet me at 
 Ruby Valley, but bad weather ])revented them from 
 coming, and the same reason prevented me from 
 visiting them. I would res])ectfull}- recommend that 
 they receive early attention in the spring. 
 
 The remaining provisions sent out bj- you for the 
 Indians. 1 placed in charge of Mr. G. \V. Jacobs, the 
 road agent, who will see that it is properly issued 
 to the Indians from Reese River to Roberts ('reek; 
 and wo estimated that it would be ample for their 
 necessities until spring. In view of the vast number 
 of wild Indians in the eastern portion. of this Terri- 
 torj- who were not included in the estimate for the 
 expenses of this superintendencj* for the present 
 year, and the increasing necessity for prompt action 
 to keej) them quiet from the fact of the rapid settle- 
 ment of that portion of the Territory by the whites, 
 and for the protection of the mail and telegraph 
 lines, as well as the overland emigration, 1 would 
 most respectfullj' suggest that this Congress be 
 urged to make at least as large an ajipropriatioit for 
 this service as for the Pah-Ute and Washoe tribes. 
 
 I would also recommend two more Indian Reser- 
 vations, one to be located near (iravelly Ford, on 
 the Humboldt, and the other in the neighborhood 
 of Keese River. 
 
 I have the honor to be very respectfully, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 Warren Wasson. 
 
 The recommendations of Colonel Wasson, regard- 
 ing appropriations, were not carried out, and there 
 was considerable trouble with a portion of the 
 Shoshone Indians along the Humboldt River that 
 year. Kragmentaiy accounts have been obtained 
 of attacks upon emigrant trains in which white 
 men wore killed and stock driven off, these bloody 
 events, hero as elsewhere, running current with 
 all frontier history. Mr. Henry Butterfield, an 
 interpreter of the Shoshone language, and familiar 
 with the tribe, reports that two diU'erent emi- 
 grant ])arties were massacred that fall between the 
 south foi-k of the Humboldt and Gravelly Ford, 
 both at nearly the same time. One of them was 
 attacked near the South Fork, and there was left 
 a Chicago wagon, three ox-yokes, and some let- 
 ters, to tell of the tragedy enacted there. The 
 other emigrants, consisting of two men, their wives, 
 and nine childre!). were slaughtered within ton 
 
180 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 miles of the Ford, and no survivors from either 
 party to tell the story of their fate. 
 
 George L. M. Comstock, a resident of Nevada since 
 1800, relates that in the fall of 1S02 news reached 
 Unionville of an emigrant train that had lost, by 
 Indians, all tiunr stock at Gravelly Ford; and 
 were held there besieged by the Shoshones. Thirty- 
 two men immediately set out for their relief under 
 
 Captain Pool, the narrator being one of the 
 
 relief part}-. Thej' found the train as represented, 
 and so great was the joj- of the besieged at the 
 appearance of assistance, that strong men broke 
 down and wept like children. The next morning 
 after their arrival, Captain Pool's command went on 
 a little scout and succeeded in surprising an Indian 
 camp of about sixty warriors, of whom thirteen 
 were killed. The same day five of Pool's men sur- 
 prised sixteen more Indians, and killed five. This 
 was the last train through that fall, and the end 
 of hostilities that year. 
 
 OOSII-UTE WAR IN 18G8. 
 
 The (tOsh-Utes. under their war chief White Horse, 
 began hostilities by killing the keeper of Eight- 
 mile Station on the twenty-second of March, 1863. 
 
 The overland stage, bound East, that day con- 
 tained four passengers, Judge G. N. iMott, of Nevada, 
 and an old man on his way homo to the States 
 from California, accompanied by his two little sons. 
 The driver on this occasion was Henry Harper, 
 who was better known on the overland road as 
 '•Happy Harry." 
 
 A/j the stage arrived at the scene of the tragcdj' 
 it was received by a volley from the savages, who 
 were concealed in and about the house, followed 
 by the Indian wai'-whoop that once heard is never 
 i'orgotten. Awnj- dashed the frightened horses 
 guided by the unerring hand of the driver, whoso 
 lil'e-l)lood was flowing from a mortal wound. The 
 old man, struck with an arrow, sank into the bottom 
 of the coach-boot unconscious, and tlfV) onlj' chance of 
 escape that remained for any of them rested in tlie 
 nerve, skill and bravery of the hero outside. Cling- 
 ing to the lines and fighting against the death that 
 was creeping around his vitals, the driver urged 
 forward those maddened animals in his struggle for 
 hho safety of those whose lives were intrusted to his 
 charge, until a film gathering in his eyes he called 
 to the Judge to come out and take his |)laco. While 
 the stage was flying at the lop of the horses' speed 
 Judge Mott made his way by dinging to the sides of 
 the coach to the driver's assistance, and as he 
 grasped the lines lla|)py Harry sank dying under the 
 seat, whence the dark angel summoned him to a 
 place beside tiie world's forgotten heroes. 
 
 Judge iMolt arrived at l)eep Creek Station with 
 the dead driver, the wounded old man, wiio after- 
 wards recovered, and the two little boys. One of 
 the horses died from the effect of wounds received 
 in the race for life. The Indians burned Eight-milo 
 
 Station, drove ofl'the stock, and thus was commenced 
 the Overland War of 1SG3 in Nevada. 
 
 With hostilities begun, it required but a few days 
 for the incipient spark to kindle a of flame war along 
 the whole route, from Schell Creek to Salt Lake 
 City, a distance of 225 miles. Three days after the 
 death of Hajipy Harry, Company K, Second Cal- 
 ifornia Cavahy Volunteers, Captain S. P. Smith 
 commanding, was marching from Camp Douglas, 
 in Utah, for the scene of the disaster, but having 
 divided the company, the main bodj' under C'aptain 
 Smith did not arrive at Fort Ruby until the last 
 of April. 
 
 In the meantime, Henry Buttcrfield, who had been 
 recently appointed by Governor Nye as Indian 
 Agent at Euby Vallej', sent out two friendly In- 
 dians as spies to find out what tribe had committed 
 the act, and where the depredators could be found. 
 
 Maj' 5th, Company E, Third California Infantry 
 Volunteers, left Camp Douglas to guard the Over- 
 land Stage road between Salt Ijake and Austin, a 
 few soldiers being left at each station, usually about 
 four. As the stage arrived at a station two of the 
 soldiers posted there accompanied it to the next 
 stopping-place, and then guarded the next return 
 stage back; this dutj' being performed by the infan- 
 tr\', while the cavalry was left free to scout through 
 the country and patrol the road. 
 
 Soon after the destruction of Eight-mile Station, 
 where Ilappj' Harry was killed, a stage was am- 
 bushed in the night, while passing through a caiion, 
 a short distance east of Schell Creek. At tho time 
 there were a number of passengers on board, among 
 whom were two women and five soldiers. The vol- 
 ley from the Indians was returned with a will by the 
 latter, as the coach dashed past, and a mile farther 
 on tho only victim of the assault — a horse — fell dead 
 in the road from its many wounds. 
 
 As soon as the two spies sent out by Henry But- 
 tcrfield returned with the desired information, prep- 
 arations Were made for a movement to chastise tho 
 guilty jiarties. In jtursuance of this [)roject, Captain 
 S. P. Smith's Companj- of California Cavalry moved, 
 Jlay 1st, from Fort Huly, and the next morning at 
 daylight it had reached Schell Creek, having marched 
 sixty miles. During the day they kept as much as 
 j)ossible secreted; but as soon as the shadows of 
 7iight rendered concealment jjracticable the expedi- 
 tion moved south in Steploe Valley, along the base of 
 Schell Creek Mountains. Ever^^thing was conducted 
 with tho utmost caution to guard against their pres- 
 ence in the country being known to the enemy. 
 The morning twilight found the command camped 
 in a deep eafion, secure from observation, where 
 they remained during the day, while their Indian 
 allies were out searching for the (iosli-l'tes. About 
 sundown the Shoshonos returned with the informa- 
 tion that a number of them were about ten miles 
 farther to the south in the valley, camped upon 
 Duck Crook. As soon as the darkness was sufficient 
 
HOSTILITIES IN EASTERN NEVADA. 
 
 181 
 
 to conceal the operations of the cavalry they moved 
 from their daj-'s bivouac to ctt'ect a surprise, if pos- 
 sible, of the unsuspecting bostiles. One division 
 crossed the creek, three miles below, and ])asseil up 
 on the south side; and aided by the other actinjf on 
 the north side of the stream, encircled the slumber- 
 ing band with a cordon of steel, and then awaited 
 the approach of daylight to begin the work of death. 
 A pistol shot was to be the signal for the onslaught, 
 and when twilight came, and the shai')) note of 
 attack broke the stillness, the cavalry, on foot, with 
 a ringing shout, made a wild dash upon the sleeping 
 Indians. Let us draw the screen, and not look 
 u|)on the scene that Ibllowed; it lasted but a short 
 time, and but two escaped. That morning's sun 
 looked down upon a dead camp, where twenty-four 
 warriors lay sleeping their last sleep; and Happj- 
 Ilany was avenged. 
 
 Captain Smith remained until the next morning 
 in the vicinity of the scene of the massacre, believ- 
 ing that more Indians belonged to this band, and 
 that they would probably straggle into camp during 
 the day. Ilis camp, meantime. May 4th, was on 
 Duck Creek, where the valley by that name 0|iens 
 into that of Steptoe. This place was in front of 
 where now stands the Caldwell House. To the south 
 is rising ground, and in that direction pickets were 
 posted to observe the surrounding country, and 
 about 2 p. M. the}- signaled the a))])roach of Indians. 
 Immediately some twenty cavalrymen mounled, and 
 dashed u]) the hill, arriving there just as live return- 
 ing tiOsh-Utes reached the summit, and an imme- 
 diate struggle ensued, resulting in one wounded 
 cavalryman and tive dead Indians. 
 
 The next morning Company K moved u]> the 
 stream, and crossing the divide separating Duck 
 from Steptoe Creek, moved eastward and over the 
 Schcll Creek Mountains, reaching Spring \''alley 
 just at da3iight on the morning of the sixteenth, 
 after a march of one day and a night. Here they 
 surprised another Indian camp in a cedar swam]), 
 south of the present Cleveland ranch. The cavalry 
 charged down upon the hostile band, but were 
 brought to a halt by the swampy character of the 
 ground. Many horses were mired, but some floun- 
 dered through, and the consequent confusion, with 
 temporary delay, enabled most of the Indians to 
 esca])c. Twenty-three were found dead after the 
 short, sharj) conflict which ensued. The casualty to 
 the whites was a soldier wounded and one horse dis- 
 abled. From the scene of the last encounter the 
 command returned to Fort Ruby, where it arrived 
 May 10th, with the report that through its efforts 
 fifty-two Cfosh-Utcs had been permanently converted 
 to a peace jiolic}-. 
 
 On the twentieth of the same month, when the 
 overland sta^e was passing through a cafion east of 
 Deep ("reek in the day-time, it was fired upon from a 
 cliflT of rocks, and Riley Simpson, the driver I'ell from 
 his seat in the stage-boot mortally wounded. Major 
 
 Kgan, who was sitting by his side at the time, 
 
 seized the lines and dashed forward, carrying the 
 living and the dead away from the scene of the dis- 
 aster, j)ursued a long distance by the yelling savages. 
 In conse<iuenco of this attack, Company K was 
 ordered to Deep Creek, and during the remainder of 
 the year made that place the base of its operations. 
 
 ATTACK ON CANON STATION IN 1SG3. 
 
 Eight miles east of Deep Creek on the Overland 
 Stage road, near the Utaii line, there was in ISOS a 
 dry station that was siip]>liedwith water bj* hauling it 
 under guard with a team from Deep Creek slough. 
 The Indians had liiiriu'd this station, killed the man in 
 charge and driven oil' t he stock on the daj' succeeding 
 the death of Ilappj- Harry. 
 
 At this ])oint four soldiers of Companj- K, Third 
 California Infantrj', were left as that com]jany ])assed 
 the station on its wa}- to Fort Uuby from Salt Lake, 
 in Maj' succeeding this event. The sad fate of three 
 of the men left there and the heroism of. the other, 
 entitles them to a place in the memories of the past. 
 Their names were Jacob II. Elliott, Jacob Burger, Ira 
 Abbott, and Corporal William S. Hervey, all from 
 Columbia, Tuolumne County, California. Besides the 
 four soldiers were two men there at the time to 
 take care of the Overland Stage stock, one of them 
 being called " Deaf Bill," and the other was his 
 assistant. 
 
 During the last days of June, Abbott and Ilervey 
 guarded the stage one day from Deep Creek to 
 their home station. Before starting, the latter, 
 whose courage was bej^ond question, remarked to 
 a ladj- passenger that he dreaded the duty, as ho 
 had a presentiment of impending misi'ortiine. The 
 journey was made, however, without an inci- 
 dent occurring unusual or suspicious, and when the 
 stage had gone the}- set out with the water wagon, 
 in company with Deaf Bill as driver, to procure 
 water, leaving Klliott and Burger with the assistant 
 hostler to take care of the station in their absence. 
 Thej- ])i-ocured the water, and were within 4(10 j-ards 
 of the station, on their way back, when Hervey 
 again recurred to his presentiment of the morning, 
 which was growing stronger with him, and said: 
 ''I dreamed last night that I was going to be shot 
 and killed by Indians to-day, and — ." As this last 
 word was coming from his lips a bullet pierced his 
 brain, and he fell from his seat into the road a 
 corpse.* 
 
 The Indians, eighteen in number, had ambushed 
 the little ]iarty of three, and poured a volk'y into 
 them fVom ln'liiiul llu' sage-brush, at short range, 
 killing one (Ilervey). giving a wound in the right 
 shoulder to ,\bbott, which knocked him out of the 
 wagon, cut oft" a thumb of Deaf Bill, and wounded 
 one horse in the breast. The frightened animals 
 
 ' " I wiiiilil t.iko my "atli that tlii'so wore the laat wiinl.i of 
 my (lid coiiiriiili', as liu fill iIl:uI," aaiil Ira .Milxitt, wlu'ii narrat- 
 ing th««e events for the [inriKiHe of cnrreoting some Htatements 
 received from other parties uu thia suhject. 
 
182 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 sprang forward, but were stoppoci within a couple 
 of iiundred feet by Deaf Bill, who was not 80 deaf 
 but he knew the meaning of a thumb shot off; and 
 he opened on the (iosli-Ftes with his gun, bringing 
 down one of them with a severe wound. Abbott 
 sprang to his feet, and seeing the blood oozing from 
 the forehead of his dead friend, took a quick glance 
 around and saw the savages on the side of the road, 
 less than a hundred feet away. He ran to the 
 wagon for his gun, and, on obtaining it, killed one 
 Indian. He then turned back to get the body of 
 the unfortunate Hervey. Meanwhile, the Indians 
 were firing, and he received a wound in each log. 
 Kegardless of this he reached the body of his friend, 
 seized his undischarged gun. which was 13'ing beside 
 him, and fired upon his assailants, but did not kill 
 any of them, the wagon having run over and bent 
 the barrel. He then tried Hervey's revolver, but 
 the wound in his shoulder had begun to paralyze 
 his arm, a.nd his fire was ineffectual. After two or 
 three shots he ceased firing, picked u]) the body of 
 his friend, and started for the wagon. The Indians 
 still continued the fusillade, and he was wounded 
 twice more — once in each side — but finallj' succeeded 
 in getting all the weapons into the wagon, as well 
 as the bodj' of the dead soldier, when Deaf Bill 
 whipped up the horses, and the half-crazed animals 
 dashed away to the station. 
 
 On their arrival Ihoy were met by the assistant 
 hostler only, Elliott and liurger having gone out 
 hunting sage hens soon after the water party had 
 loft. Looking towards a knoll in the direction taken 
 bj' the absent men, Abbott saw and recognized the 
 glistening barrel of Elliott's rifle in the possession of 
 an Indian, and knew that the missing men were 
 dead. A sharp but short engagement, lasting but a 
 few minutes, ensued, when the Indians retreated and 
 were seen no more that day. 
 
 In about half an hour after the departure of the 
 Indians, an emigrant train came to the station, 
 bringing the body of Elliott, which had been found 
 in the road a short distance from there. With the' 
 emigrants, fortunately, there was a surgeon, who 
 dressed Abbott's five wounds; and to this opportune 
 arrival that lirave soldier an<i true friend owes his 
 life. The next day, the body of Burger was found 
 on the hill-side, evidently the first victim. The 
 brave Klliott had evidently made a desperate 'run- 
 ning fight, struggling heroically i'or life. His body 
 was badly mutilated, his whiskers having been torn 
 from his face in j)lace of scalping his head, which 
 was bald; and his heart had boon cut out and taken 
 away. 
 
 MASSACRE AT CANON STATION. 
 
 On the sixth of Jul}', a few days after the pre- 
 ceding occurrences, another and more successful 
 attempt was made to capture that station. At this 
 time there were six men at the place, Wm. I?ilej', 
 known as Deaf Bill, his assistant, and four soldiers of 
 Company E, Third California Cavalry, named Tarsey 
 
 Grimshaw, Michael McNamarra, Anthony Myers 
 and Lewis Pratt. 
 
 About sunrise Deaf Bill was currj-ing a horse in 
 front of the barn, when he was shot dead by a con- 
 cealed foe. At the noise of the gun the helper 
 rushed out of the barn, and at the same time one of 
 the soldiers came from the " dug-out," and both were 
 shot as they appeared. 
 
 The three soldiers still in the "dug-out," or cabin 
 built underground, decided to make a rush for the 
 barn, which thej- did, and one of their number was 
 killed on the way, leaving but two of the original 
 six to continue the fight. The two survivors built a 
 breastwork from the sacks of grain, and for an hour 
 beat off their assailants; but the wily foe finally set 
 a stack of haj' on fire, close to the barn, and the 
 result of the conflict was no longer in doubt. It was 
 Myers and Pratt who had thus far escaped the fate 
 of their comrades, only to be burned at last 
 unless they rushed forth from behind their defenses 
 to be shot down finally like wolves in a dei^perate 
 struggle for life. 
 
 They at once decided to mount horses and make a 
 dash. As one was a favorite fleet-footed anVmal, 
 they drew lots to see which should ride it. Fortune 
 seemed to favor Lewis Pratt, as he drew the favorite 
 horse. Shaking each other by the hand they mounted 
 for the desperate ride for life. Out of the barn and 
 down the road like the wind they flow, with Pratt in 
 the lead, while from every sage-bush along the route 
 seemed to come the leaden missiles. A hope of life 
 was springing into the hearts of the flying men 
 when Myers suddenlj' threw up his arms and rolled 
 from the saddle. His horse went a little farther and 
 i'ell, both of them struggling with their death 
 wounds. The bullets whistled about the receding 
 form of the gallant Pratt like hail as ho was passing 
 out of the range of the Indian rifles, until he disap- 
 peared down the road towards Willow Station, thus 
 far the only white survivor of the conflict. 
 
 That day a train of emigrants passed this last- 
 named station on its way to California. As it reached 
 a point about one mile west of that place, a dead 
 horse was found lying in the road, and beside it lay 
 stretched the unconscious form of a soldier mortally 
 wounded. It was the last survivor, the gallant 
 Pratt and his noble animal, and the two lay there 
 together, siiie b}' side, the dying and the dead, shot 
 through and through. He lived to be carried to 
 Willow Station, where the sad tale of the massacre 
 was told, and then ho died. 
 
 Company K, stationed, as before stated, at J>eop 
 (Jreek Station, went in pursuit of the band who had 
 committed this last depredation, but I'ailed to come up 
 with them; and after a two weeks' scout returned 
 with the report of having killed two Indians in 
 Pleasant Valley. 
 
 END OF THE (iOSII-VTE WAU. 
 
 But few events worthy of note transpired on the line 
 of the overland road after those given above. Among 
 
HOSTILITIES IN EASTERN NEVADA. 
 
 183 
 
 these were the hanging of a Shoshone in Jiilj", by 
 the military authorities at Fort Huby, and the shoot- 
 ing of another — both participants in the outraging 
 of the little twelve-year-old girl, murdered in ISiJl on 
 the trail from Ruby Valley to (iravell^' Ford. In 
 August, Company E, Third California Infantry, under 
 Lieutenant llosmer, altaeked a eam]) of Indians 
 about twent}- miles north of Cherry Creek, in Step- 
 toe Vallej', and killed five of thorn; and in October 
 the Gosh-X'tes asked for ])eace, which was granted 
 them, and they returned to the stations begging for 
 their rations as usual. 
 
 The loss to the Overland Stage Com]ia'iiy in I'tah 
 and Nevada from this war, was one hundred and 
 fifty horses, seven stations burned, and sixteen men 
 killed. Nevertheless the staires never failed to make 
 their regular trips, and seldom were behind their 
 schedule time, although beset with all those dangers 
 and calamities. 
 
 The following is an extract from a letter from one 
 of tha agents of the Stage Company: — 
 
 One verj- strange feature of this Indian trouble 
 during the j-eur 18(J3 was that verj- nearly all of the 
 depredations committed were against the Stage Com- 
 pany, its properly and employes, and why this 
 should have bee!i the writer is at a loss to under- 
 stand, for the Indians were always treated kindlj', 
 and fed and given emploj'ment at the stations. The 
 policj' of the Company was to treat them kindly, and 
 the onlj' object that can be conjectured was ])luniler 
 of the Company's stations that were well supjilicd 
 with jjrovisions, arms and ammunition, and their 
 stables full of fat horses. Kespectfully yours, 
 
 Len Wines. 
 
 Henry Butterfield's theory of the cause of the 
 war is that it was instigated by the Mormons. In 
 support of this position Mr. Butterfield, who was 
 conversant with the language of the red men and 
 had for a long time lived in their country, relates 
 that in 1SG4, while he was sub-Indian Agent, he met 
 by appointment the Gosh-L'te chief, White Horse, at 
 Desert Station. The chief upon being asked whj- he 
 had begun the war, disclaimed having had anj-thiiig 
 to do with it. He said his tribe had been told from 
 time to time by the Mormons that the Gentiles were 
 holding back and a]ipri)priating to their own use their 
 Government annuities, and that the only way for 
 them, the Indians, to "get even" would be to begin 
 killing the whites and stealing their property. Under 
 such advice his people had broken the bonds of 
 restraint, and contrary to the desire of himself and 
 other chiefs, taken the war-path. Such is the Indian 
 excuse, however poor it is and little entitled to 
 credence, for having committed their barbarous and 
 brutal acts along the overland road. 
 
 EASTERN NEVADA WAR PANIC IN 1875. 
 
 In the early part of September, 1875, two Indians 
 of the (rosh-Ute tribe informed A. J. Leathers and 
 James Tollard that they knew the locality of a val- 
 uable mine which they would point out for a consid- 
 
 eration, to which the two men agreed was fifty 
 dollars for the services, and in pursuance of the 
 agreement the four went to the point, and the ledge 
 was found all as the Indians had described, except 
 that it proved to be woi-ihlcss. Because of this last 
 fact the whites refused to pay their guides, who 
 thinking they had been unjustly dealt with, in 
 revenge killed Tollard, the other white man making 
 his escape to A. C. Cleveland's ranch in Spring 
 Yallej', White Pine Countj-. Cleveland immedi- 
 ately took the war-path, and captured an Indian 
 whom he took to his ranch, intending to deliver him 
 over to the civil authorities for trial, but the abor- 
 igine in attem])tiiig to make his escape came to an 
 untimely end from the efl'ects of a bullet from the 
 revolver of Mr. Cleveland. -Xnother Indian was met 
 with by some of Cleveland's herders, who ordered 
 him to give up his gun, and upon his refusal to dose, 
 thej- killed him. The Gosh-Utes were at the time 
 assembled in considerable numbers in the nut-pine 
 forests of the neighborhood, and were very much 
 alarmed because of the summaiy killing of the mem- 
 bers of their tribe. 
 
 These circumstances created somewhat of a panic, 
 or " scare," throughout Central and Kastern Nevada, 
 and the most exaggerated and extremely sensational 
 reports were circulated and jtublishcd. Volunteer 
 troops were raised at Eureka, Pioche, and other 
 places, equipped and sent to " the front." Gov. 
 L. R. Bradlej-, believing the danger to be imminent, 
 issued orders to captains of volunteers to seize horses 
 and necessary supplies for the troops; and the 
 "militarj^, " under command of Maj. John H. 
 Dennis, left Eureka September (Jth, for Spring Valley 
 to rescue Cleveland and those with him supposed to 
 be beseiged at his ranch. Governor Bradley also 
 telegraphed to General Schofield as follows: — 
 
 E1.K0, Nevada, September G 1875. 
 To M.\.TOR-GENEu.\r, SciioFiKi.i). San Francisco — 
 
 Information most authentic from Pioche, Eureka, 
 and Spring Valley, all unite in denKuuis for troops 
 and arms. Am unable to furnish them. Dispatch 
 just at hand signed by all Commissi(.ners of Lincoln 
 Count)-, says that 'MW Indians surround Patterson 
 and Cave Valley, and that all the Indians in eastern 
 Nevada appear to be on the war-])ath, and ask for 
 20(» guns and ammunition. Most reliable informa- 
 tion from Cherry Creek assures me that I am not 
 misinformed. L. K. Bkaih.ev. 
 
 Major Dennis and his command made a hasty 
 march to Spring Valley, a])]iearing to the frightened 
 Gosh-Utes an overwliclniing armj'. Either the 
 arrival of so formidable a force, or as the Indians 
 asserted, no intention tipon their part to begin war 
 with the whites, they being assembled there for 
 the ])urpose of gathering ])ine nuts, and not for 
 hostilities, there was no conflict. The name of the 
 Indian who killed Tollard was To ba. He was 
 demanded of the tribe, delivered bj- them to the 
 soldiers, and from them was taken by citizens and 
 hung. Thus ended the last I ndian " war "in Nevada, 
 
1S4 
 
 fflSTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 resulting in more ridicule to its instigators than 
 glory to the military participants. 
 
 ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 While the predatory bands were raiding in the 
 north, the Indians in the more densely peopled part 
 of the State were ])rofessing warm friendshij) for 
 the whites, seeking and receiving aid. The move- 
 ments of quite large bodies of soldiers, and the 
 severe punishment inflicted, bj' some denounced as 
 merciless, had a most beneficial effect in overawing 
 the great masses of .savages, predispo.sing them to 
 peace. They asserted that the thefts, murders, and 
 other outrages, were committed by the Bannocks, 
 Pit Ifiver, Modocs, and other Indians of Oregon, 
 Idaho and California, and not by the Pah-Utes. 
 Notwithstanding this assertion, It was well known 
 that the Pah-Utes formed the majority of the hostile 
 bands, although instigated and assisted by the 
 othei-s. On the fifth of June, 180.5, Captain George, 
 a Pah-Ute chief, and a delegation from his tribe 
 called at the office of Governor Blasdel, in Carson, 
 with professions of peace, saj-ing the Pah-Utes had 
 been called in from all points in the State where 
 hostilities existed. A few days thereafter the Gov- 
 ernor met several hundred Sho.shones and Pah-Utes 
 in convention, or pow-wow, at Jacobsville. in Lander 
 County, as reported in the lieene River Reveille, and 
 through the interpreter, S. H. Gilson, made a 
 long speech, demanding their obedience to the law, 
 and respect for the rights and property of the 
 whites; assuring them of protection in all their 
 rights, and of severe punishment for wrong doing, 
 at the same time explaining to them their rights 
 and duties. The speech was well received, and 
 the Indians appeared satisfied. Governor Blasdel 
 returned to Carson, arriving ihere on the fourteenth 
 of June. Meantime, troops were arriving, and posted 
 at the most advantageous localities. On the six- 
 teenth of June, Company B, St-cond California Cav- 
 alry, comprising sixty-five men, under command of 
 Lieut. R. A. Osmer, arrived at Carson, en route to 
 Fort Churchill, where thej' remained several months, 
 and were then sent into the Humboldt country. 
 On the thirteenth of August, Lieut. Col. Ambrose 
 Hooker, assumed command of the sub-district of 
 Nevada, by order of'CJeneral McDowell. 
 
 INDIAN DE.MAND KOK SATISFACTION. 
 
 About this time the Walker IJivor Pah-Utes made 
 hostile demonstrations in the vicinit}' of lone, then 
 the county seat of Nye Count}'. Several hundred 
 of them entered the village and demanded a certain 
 sum of money from the whiles for indignities ottered 
 one of their tribe by a bevy of hilarious sports. The 
 situation beginning to wear a serious look, the ])romi- 
 nent citizens contributed to the Indians' demands, 
 and they departed without shedding blood. 
 
 TWO .MEN KILLED IN THE SOUTH. 
 
 The same fall a |>arty of whiles, among whom 
 were Thos. Shaw, Mc Bride, Broom, Wil- 
 
 liam Garhart, with others, started from lone for 
 Gold Mountain, south of Lida Valley, and at the 
 northern extremity of Death Valley. One night, 
 after having arrived at their destination, they were 
 attacked by InJians. Broom and McBride were 
 killed, and Garhart was shot with an arrow through 
 the wrist, the remainder of the party escaping 
 unharmed to Silver Peak. 
 
 SARAH WINNEMUCCA. 
 
 On the eighteenth of May, 1867, Naches, the Pah- 
 Ute chief, came into Carsop City with a message from 
 Old Winnemucca, to the effect that the latter wanted 
 to make peace with the whites, and go upon the 
 Pyramid Lake Reservation to live. Subsequently, 
 through the efforts of Naches and Sarah, a daughter 
 of Old Winnemucca, who had married Lieutenant 
 Bartlett of the regular army, terms were made with 
 the old chief, and he with a portion of his tribe were 
 settled upon a reservation be^'ond the limits of the 
 State. Subsequentlj', the Pah-Utes, who had been 
 induced to go to the north, becoming dissatisfied with 
 the Indian Agent, tired of their northern home, and 
 longed to return to the scenes of their earlier life. 
 Sarah Winnemucca, who had been educated at San 
 Jose, California, and developed considerable orator- 
 ical talent, was ever ready to eloquently advocate 
 the return of her people to Nevada; while on the 
 other hand the Indian Agent was most desirous that 
 they should remain where thej- were. Sarah Winne- 
 mucca since that time has delivered several lectures 
 at San Francisco and other places upon the condition 
 of her people, and their abuse by Indian Agents, 
 and created much S5-mpathy in behalf of her race. 
 
 INDIAN WAR AVERTED. 
 
 Mrs. Ellis, then Mrs. Dietenreider, residing in Car- 
 son Valley, relates that in the spring of 1855, 
 Xumaga, a Pah-Ute chief, with about 300 warriors, 
 came to her with a note from Asa Kenyon, to give 
 them arms and ammunition with which to fight the 
 Washoes. She did not comply with this request, 
 but gave them an order on Mr. Mc.N[arliii for 100 
 pounds of flour. They went to Da3'ton where they 
 were feasted by the miners, and persuaded to aban- 
 don Iheir projected war. 
 
 FIRST LOTTERY IN NEVADA. 
 
 Jlr. Jose])h F. Triplett, a well-known citizen of 
 eastern Nevada, and one of the ])ioneer residents of 
 Carson Valley gives the following account of the 
 first ••Gift Enterprise" occurring in the (Jreal Basin, 
 which indicates considerable native shrewdness of 
 the Washoe savage: — 
 
 "In 1857, Captain Jim, chief of the Washoe tribe 
 of Indians, went around among the white settlers 
 in Carson Valley, and notified them that upon a 
 certain day his tribe would give a big ' fandango,' 
 or dance, and invited all to attend, stating that he 
 would give each white man a buckskin; adding, that 
 'may-bo-so white man bring one sack, two sack 
 flour.' As it was the policj- of the settlers to con- 
 
JittH-?..* , . 
 
 RESIDENCE OF J. W. HAINES, GENOA, Duu^l-d CO., NEV. 
 
 SjtrS'ti'Vc' 
 
 RANCH X RESIDENCE o«JAME5 COMPSTON. 
 
 ON CARSON 4 BODIE ROAD, ESMERAUJA CS'.NEV. 
 
HOSTILITIES L\ EASTERN NEVADA. 
 
 185 
 
 eiliato the red men wo nearly all of us attended his 
 fandanijo, takinj; along, as the chief suggested, a 
 Buck of flour. As each white man dismounted from 
 his horse, and laid his sack of flour on the ground, 
 an Indian letl otf and secured the horse. The whites 
 were allotted seats on the ground, in a circle around 
 the daneei"s. After a while the dancing ceased, and 
 Captain Jim appeared in the circle, followed by a 
 big Indian, laden with buckskins, and with much 
 ceremony presented one skin to each of the visitors. 
 Buckskins were worth about one dolhir each, while 
 a sack of flour was worth about eight dollars. 
 The wily savage made a good thing by the first 
 gift enterprise ever gotten up in the sage-brush 
 country, and the whites made fast friends of Iho 
 tribe." 
 
 TOUNO WINNE.MUCCA. 
 
 This redoubtable chief, who had command of the 
 Pah-Utes in muTij- a battle and foray, died of con- 
 sumption at Wads worth, on the fifth of November, 
 1871, leaving a son about twentj' years of ago, who 
 bore the unromantic name of " Mike." On the 
 eighth of December following the death of the chief 
 a successor was elected, bearing the name of George 
 Curry. 
 
 ATTACK ON EMIUR^VNTS. 
 
 On the morning of the ninth of Jul^^ 1859, an 
 emigrant train comprising twelve men, two women 
 and four children, halted in a large canon near a 
 place called Cold S])ringon the Sublette (-'ut-off for 
 tiie ])ur])oso of doctoring a sick horse. While thus 
 engaged and not expecting a hostile attack, a large 
 number of Indians made their appearance upon each 
 side of the caiioii and began to tiro upon the party 
 eneamju-'d. W. F. Hheppard, Ferguson Sheppard, J, 
 D.Wright, William Diggs, and Clayburn Rains were 
 killed. Mrs. Wright was seriously wounded, receiv- 
 ing a bullet in the back. JJeing helpless, the Indians 
 came t9 the wagon where she had been shot, 
 dragged her out upon the ground and then beat and 
 kicked her until she became unconscious and they 
 supposed her to be dead. They then amused them- 
 selves by torturing her husband, who lay dying 
 unable to move, in sight of his wife, and in tossing uj) 
 their infant ciiild of eighteen months by the heels into 
 the air and letting it fall upon a pile of rocks. Not 
 being prepared for defense, the men of the party 
 who were not shot down fled and secreted them- 
 selves as best they could. One of these iti running 
 caught UJ) an infant child of Mrs. Shc)>pard, and 
 after running several miles laid it in some bushes 
 where it remained until some ])assing emigrants 
 found and rescued it the next day. Mrs. Shcp])ard 
 concealed herself in a thicket not far from wliei'e the 
 attack was made, and the savages being intent ujjon 
 I)lunder — stripping the wagons of everything they 
 could carry of!'— failed to discover her. The two 
 remaining children, one a boy of eight and the other 
 five years, also were eflectuall}' hidden in the brush. 
 Upon the departure of the Indians Mrs. Sheppard 
 
 started on foot, and after, traveling about seven 
 miles, overtook the train of a Mr. Pierce, who 
 returned the next day and relieved the sufferers. 
 On the twelfth day of Se])tember the remainder of 
 the ])arty, through the kindness of .Major F. l»odge, 
 the Indian Agent, wore enabled to arrive at Placer- 
 ville, California, Mrs. Wright still unable to sit up 
 on account of her wound. The survivors of the 
 massacre related the occurrence to the editor of the 
 Placerville Ohse.rcer. in which jiapcr it was published 
 September 14, 185!). 
 
 PUNISHMENT KOH AHULTERY. 
 
 An incident which illustrates the natural crucltj^ 
 of the Indian race occurred at Coyote Creek, Washoe 
 Count}'', in the year 18G1. A squaw of the PahUte 
 tribe was charged with adultery, and being deemed 
 guilt}' was sentenced to death by burning. While 
 living her body was pierced with scores of pitch- 
 pine splinters which were set on fire and kept burn- 
 ing until .she died. 
 
 INDIAN .MUIIDEREU EXECUTED. 
 
 In 1S(>8, Mr. W. K. Johtison was killed by an 
 Indian in Mason Valley, in Esmeralda County. The 
 savage escaped to the north, but was pursued and 
 captured at Peavine, in Washoe County, taken 
 thence and hanged in (Jarson Valley, at the ])lace 
 then known as Widow Newman's Kanch, about half 
 a mile below Gary's Station. 
 
 FATE or A MEDICINE MAN. 
 
 In the year 18(5() there was an Indian who fre- 
 quently came into Aurora, Esmeralda County, who 
 pretended that he was a "medicine man," and prac- 
 ticed his art upon some of his ci'edulous brethren, 
 most of whom died while under treatment by him. 
 The deaths becoming so frequent the wise men of 
 the tribe came to the conclusion that his was "bad 
 medicine," and ho must die. A delegation of braves 
 thereupon seized the unfortunate doctor at Aui-ora, 
 on the eleventh of October, and while some of them 
 held him, others beat out his teeth, plucked out his 
 eyes, crushed his skull, and finally cut his throat. 
 
 INDIAN I'UNISII.MENT. 
 
 In 187-1—75, among the characters met with in tho 
 towns of \*estern Nevada was a Pah-Ute Indian 
 man, tall ami finely proportioned, who dressed in 
 squaw costume, lie was not recognized by tho 
 people of his race of either sex; the Indian children 
 shunned him; he was an object of ridicule for mem- 
 bers of other tribes and of the whites, and moodily 
 and disconsolately wandered around. Tradition 
 said, that upon an occasion, many years before, he 
 had shown himself a coward in battle, and that a 
 council of his tribe had sentenced him to death 
 therefor; but that tho sentence was afterwards com- 
 muted, and ho was doomed to don tho dress of a 
 woman as long as he lived, llo finally disajipeared, 
 and it was re[)orted that his dead body was found 
 in a mountain gulch. 
 
186 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 INDIAN KETRIBUTION. 
 
 In November, 18G7, a Pah-Ute squaw residing 
 near Fort Churchill, impelled by past grievances, 
 gave her liege lord and master a dose of poison, 
 and he died. Subsequently, she was residing, with 
 others of her tribe, in a camp near Virginia City, 
 when, on the second of December following, a brother 
 of the poisoned brave learning of the whereabouts 
 of the murderess slipped into the camp at night, 
 and after many savage gashes with a dull knife 
 severed her jugular vein, and death quickly ensued. 
 The act was approved by the Indians, saying it 
 was their custom. 
 
 ARREST OF NACHES. 
 
 Naches was a man of some importance among 
 the PahUtes; was tall, and of commanding appear- 
 ance, and was usually called by the whites a chief 
 although he appeared to have but little authority. 
 When there was no more call for his scalpingknife 
 on '-the tented field," his many moons were wasted 
 about the kitchen doors and waste places of the 
 mining towns wherever he wandered, presenting 
 but little of the beau ideal of a warrior. In Jan- 
 uary, 1874, it was represented that he was inciting 
 the Indians on the Humboldt to commit some dep- 
 redation; also, that he declined to remain on the 
 Reservation at Pj-ramid Lake, preferring the vaga- 
 bond life among the interior towns; consequently, 
 on the twenty-seventh of that month he was, by 
 order of Captain Wagner, in command of Fort 
 McDermit, arrested, and sent to Fort Alcatraz, in 
 the harbor of San Francisco. There he was treated 
 with much consideration, shown the -sights," and 
 the power of the whites, and sent home rejoicing 
 after a short detention. The newspapers of Nevada 
 represented Naches as a good and peaceable Indian, 
 and attributed his arrest to the Indian Agent Pate- 
 man, who wished to compel all the Pah-Utee to 
 reside on and swell the list of the Reservation, 
 This was denied by Mr. Pateman; but the charge 
 was made by Naches that the Agent wronged his 
 people and the (lovernment, and that he and his 
 band did not like to live with him. In June, 1878, 
 he resigned whatever chieftainship he possessed, and 
 Captain Charley, of Wadsworlh, reigned in his stead. 
 
 The fate of this latter chief may bo surmised 
 from the following paragraph in the Carson Appeal 
 of February 20, 1880: "The PahUtes have disposed 
 of the slayer of Captain Charley— an execution 
 without loss to the State." 
 
 THE VAIl-NAR-A-OAT INDIANS. 
 
 The Pah-rana-gat Indians are a branch of the 
 Utc family, and derive their tribal api)ell:ition from 
 the cultivation of the water-melon, which in their 
 language is called Pah ran-a-gat (pah, moaning water, 
 and ran-a-gat, melon, or vine-growing). At the time 
 the prOBjiectors first entered the country occupied by 
 them they found this band inclined to peace, and 
 engaged after their rude manner in tilling the soil. 
 Although they raised a small quantity of wheat and 
 
 some corn, their principal crop was the squash. A 
 diminutive species of sun-flower was also planted 
 for the seeds it yielded, and some water-melons were 
 also to be found in their cultivated patches. Grass 
 seed was also largely used by them as food. To 
 irrigate the land under tillage they had constructed 
 several ditches, which were creditable to those prim- 
 itive engineers. Crystal Sj)ring, which flows an 
 estimated head of GOO inches of water, was the 
 source of supply for the largest of these ditches, and 
 at its head the canal was eight feet wide on top, six 
 feet deep, and several miles in length. To dig this 
 they had procured iron from the abandoned emi- 
 grant wagons in Death Valley, which they had 
 tiently cut and shaped and fastened with strong 
 twine upon wooden handles, to be used for picks and 
 spades. As winter approached crops wore carefully 
 gathered and cached for future use, and they were 
 thus enabled nbt only to live well themselves, but 
 were also prepared to trade agricultural products to 
 their mountain neighbors who depended for a living 
 upon the results of the chase and pine nuts. The 
 Ash-Utes were the more constant dealers with the 
 Pah-rau-a-gats, and supplied the latter with much 
 dried meat, buckskins, etc. The Indians, however, 
 soon traded off to the whites the land they had 
 tilled, and adopted the vagabond life common to the 
 race. 
 
 In the latter part of the summer of 1865 Pahran- 
 agat Alining District was for a time nearly deserted, 
 the early locators there having sought other fields. 
 At the time of which we write, about the only white 
 persons remaining there wore W. H. Sales, Indian 
 Agent, C. W. Wandell, William Woodman, Ransom 
 Brooks, S. S. Sputt, Isaac Borton and Doctor Grub. 
 The Indian Agent Sales had sometime previously 
 promised the Muddy tribe of Indians, who lived some 
 distance south of the mines, that he would visit them 
 and dispense their annuities, which ])romis^he failed 
 to fulfill. This, with the small number of whiles in 
 the vicinity, was a sufficient inducement to start 
 these untutored sons of the de.sert upon the war- 
 path, and every Muddy warrior capable of bearing 
 arms became a member of an expedition of extermi- 
 nation against the little colony of white men at 
 Pahranagat. The tribe occupying the valley at 
 that time — the Pah-ran-a-gat.s — were divided into 
 two bands, one of which was headed by a chief, called 
 by the whites "Butternut," and the other by Chief 
 Pah-vitch-ick. An Indian, who had been brought 
 up in a Mormon family and whn was known by the 
 sobriquet of " Buck," led the hostile Muddys, 
 Reaching the lower end of the valley Buck halted 
 his forces near the lake, and sent a runner to the 
 Pah-rana-gat camps inviting Butternut and Pah- 
 vitch-ick to a council of war. The result must have 
 been satisfactory to Buck, for, a few days after that 
 time, the whites became aware that something 
 unusual was browing, from the fact that many of the 
 I'ah-rau-a-gats had absented themselves. One of the 
 
HOSTILITIES IN EASTERN NEVADA. 
 
 1S7 
 
 rotinue of Afjent Sales wan a Meadow Valley Indian, 
 called Jack. Sale.'* considered tins man Inistwortby, 
 and therefore imparted his suspicions that trouble 
 mi^lit bo brewini^. Jack undertook to find out the 
 truth. Leavinj^ the white camp he absented himself 
 three days. Upon his return he related to Sales the 
 state of affairs as detailed above, and the prospectors 
 were forewarned. Not beiiit; prepared for an ex- 
 tended fight, it was thought best to leave for some 
 of the outlj'ing Mormon settlements, and by ten 
 o'clock of the next daj- after .lack's return, quietly 
 and with as little bustle as possible, the white men 
 broke camp at Logan, and at noon halted at Crystal. 
 Thence thej- went to Pah-hoc, reaching there at 
 eight o'clock. So cautiously had they moved that 
 they did not think they were followed by the 
 allied Muddys and Pah-ran-a-gats, and therefore 
 sought repose in fancied security from molestation. 
 About midnight Jack was awakened by the apparent 
 "too-whoot, too-whoot" of an owl, to which with- 
 out hesitation ho returned an answering " too- 
 whoot." A few minutes thereafter a dusky form 
 appeared in the gloaming, and soon Pori, a Pah-ran- 
 a-gat sub-chief, came stalking into camp. This 
 Indian reported that the Muddys were upon the 
 trail; that they were divided into three parties, one 
 of which was detailed to cover the spring at which 
 the party obtained water; the second to raid the 
 camp, while the third would gather up and run ofl" 
 the stock. Immediatelj- all was bustle in the camp; 
 kegs were taken to the spring, filled with water and 
 ]iut in the wagons, of which there were three. A 
 party was sent out to bring in the animals, and 
 everj-thing was packed and preparations made for 
 defense. Bj- the time defensive operations were com- 
 plete Buck and his band appeared. Finding that 
 they could not surprise the camp, a strategetic 
 movement seemed to be in order, for I?uck an<l three 
 of his men walked boldly in, as though no mischief 
 had been contemplated. Shortly after ten others 
 followed. At this rate the eight white men wf)uld 
 soon be overpowered, and some decisive measure 
 must be taken. The whites immediately covered 
 the thirteen Indians with their guns, comjielled Buck 
 to order them to lie down in a pile and to warn 
 the Indians outside of the camp not to approach 
 un<ler penalty of having their prostrate companions 
 shot dead. These vigorous mcasui-es checked the 
 contemplated attack, and the remainder of the 
 night_ was ])assod in guarding the prisoners and 
 keeping off their friends. Buck in the meantime 
 made two attempts to escape, and was once pre- 
 vented by Doctor (irub and the other time by i{an- 
 som Brooks from so doing. When morning came 
 Agent Sales gave the Indians what annuity goods ho 
 had. and by that and other means they were induced 
 to take the trail and return homeward. After the 
 departure of Buck and his warriors the white men 
 started upon their Journey to the settlements, and 
 the ne.\t day arrived at Panaca without further 
 trouble. 
 
 One or two months after the occurrence of the 
 incidents above related, all of these men, with the 
 exception of Agent Sales, returned to the mines, 
 and with them came many others, attracted by 
 reports of mineral wealth. 
 
 That same year, an Indian of the Pahranagat 
 tribe, named Oh-kas, murdered a white man named 
 George Pogers, to get possession of a fine hOrso 
 which the latter owned. Another Indian informed 
 the whites of the transaction; the murderer was 
 caught, compelled to disclose the place where Rogers' 
 body was secreted, and then hung. 
 
 Early in the spring of 1800, a camp of Muddy 
 River Indians was made near (Ruin's Cafion, in the 
 Shen-nic-a-rah mountains, in the White Pine range. 
 These Indians began to steal and run off stock from 
 Pahranagat, and other places. Agent Sales being 
 absent, the miners thought to adjust the matter 
 without his assistance, which they did in a summary 
 manner. A party of six white men was organized, 
 and one of the number, named Iloppin, was chosen 
 Captain. The services of two friendly Pahranagats 
 were enlisted, and one evening, about dark, the 
 party left their camp for the hunt on horseback. 
 Early in the morning afier the second night out, 
 while in Quin's Canon, they discovered " signs " of 
 the enemy. Leaving their horses in charge of one 
 of the party, named N. H. Carlow, the others care- 
 fully reconnoitered until they located the Indian 
 camp. They then divided, two in one squad and 
 three in the other. The two wont directly towards 
 the Indians, while the three others had cautiously 
 slipped around and were approaching in the rear of 
 the camp. Th^ Indians seeing the two white men 
 approaching made fierce gesticulations, and dared 
 them to tight. The three men in the rear were not 
 seen by them until they had come within twenty 
 j-ards and delivered a well-directed vollej- from 
 their rifles. There were twelve Indians in the camp. 
 After the fight eleven of them lay dead, and the 
 remaining one had escaped only to die, for he was 
 mortally wounded. 
 
 The number of Indians in Lincoln Countj' in 1870 
 was estimated bj' the Indian Agent to be 1.2;!.">. 
 Since then they have fallen off rapidly, and probably 
 do not at this time number more than one-half the 
 above figure. They are Pah-l'tes with various local 
 tribal names. Though gcnerall}- peaceful, they occa- 
 sionally commit depredations. In December, 1S74, 
 a party, supposed to belong to Tem-pah-lUe Bill's 
 band of Indians, attacked and killed two white men 
 about seven miles from Iliko. The names of the 
 two men killed were Peter Dawson and Charles 
 Olsen. Another man, named William Ilannan, was 
 at the same time shot and wounded in the shoulder, 
 but escaped and told the story of the murder. The 
 settlors of Hiko immediately gathered together, and 
 a scouting partj- went out after the Indians, with 
 fruitless results. On the sixteenth of Dei'ember, the 
 following appeared in one of the Pioche papers, over 
 
188 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 the siE;nature of J. S. Hoag. Under Sheriff: M. Fuller, 
 District Judge: J. H. Cassidy and George Gold- 
 thwaite: — 
 
 "The Indians have killed eight jiersons, including 
 one woman and three children, within the last few 
 days in this county, on the Muddy Reservation and 
 near Iliko. We have no arms and no protection. 
 Wc wish arms and that the Indians be punished." 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 TRANSPORTATION OF LUMBER BY "WATER. 
 
 Early Mutliods in Ccilifornia — Diitieultics of Inventors — The 
 V Flume — Capacity of the \' Flume — Flume (^ompanies iu 
 Nevada. 
 
 The V flumo is a Nevada institution. Transpor- 
 tation by artificial water-courses is nearly as old as 
 civilization. Artificial channels were dug by the 
 ancient Egyptian, Chinoso and Hindoo nations, 
 though the lock, or elevation, from a lower to a 
 higher level, is a modern improvement. In the canal 
 system of California and Nevada, for the carrying of 
 water to remote mitiing places, the project of trans- 
 jiorting lumber and other materials was early con- 
 sidered. Many of the early residents had seen the 
 "Clinton Ditch," as Thomas Jefferson had termed 
 the Erie Canal, also the great crops of grain moved 
 to the sea-board by means thereof, and had early 
 thought of utilizing the streams in the trans])nrta- 
 tioii of lumber and wood. But a canal along a com- 
 paratively level country like Now York, and on the 
 dizzy heights of some of our mountain canons, were 
 two different things. In our mountain; cafions sharp 
 turns had to be inade where the lodging of a stick of 
 floating timber would cause an overflow which in an 
 hour would sweep away the earth where repair 
 would be next to iinitossihie. Again the ditch, or 
 flume, would be set up on the side of a steep hill on 
 one leg in such a careless manner that no man with 
 liis life uninsured would have a right to travel ovei-it, 
 and it is not strange that most of them were failures. 
 Captain J. C, Ham, of Amador County, California, as 
 early as 1834 undertook the construction of a flume 
 which was hoped to be useful tor transportation both 
 ways. The flume was four feet wide on the bottom, 
 five at the top, and thirty-two inches in depth. The 
 lumber was floated from the mill, and the aqueduct 
 built some fifteen miles to the place where the water 
 was to be distrilnited, the fall being about five feet 
 to the mile. The flume was completed and consid- 
 erable timber floated down, but it did not answer 
 expectations. The lumber otlon lodged, causing 
 overflows that would wash out considerable distances. 
 The ])aB8age " up the flume" was still more problem- 
 atical. This was to be accomplished by a boat of 
 peculiar construction. There was to bo a railway, 
 or gunwale, on each side of the flume, on which 
 traveled wheels turned bj- a water-wheel on the 
 same axle in the roar of the boat. The model worked 
 
 well enough but when the working-model was put in 
 it proved a failure, and no passengers or other freight 
 '• went up the flumo." A flume in Calaveras County, 
 in California,, was also built on the plan to float 
 lumber, and a great quantitj' was floated to Mokel- 
 umne Hill and other mountain towns. IJut most 
 of the first attempts were failures in consequence 
 of the washouts which more than offset any profits 
 from cheap transportation, and the bull-whacker 
 still flourished and dragged his loads through the 
 rough canons or over the hot sands of the plains. 
 Not until recent years was the discovery made 
 that revolutionized the transportation of lumber. 
 This was the V flume. Like all inventions of 
 importance this is claimed by several persons, but 
 was really a growth resulting from the wisdom 
 and experience of many. Several men are still 
 living who first suggested the building of the Erie 
 Canal, yet posterity has agreed in giving the greatest 
 credit to De Witt Clinton, who was able to carry 
 through the undertaking. Though Whitney, as early 
 as 1S40, )>roposed building an overland railroad to 
 Oregon, and thousands after him plaiinod how it 
 might be done, the countiy is dis|)osed to give the 
 chief credit of the great enterprise to the projectors 
 of the Union and Central Pacific Railroads, who 
 brought the theories together and out of the dis- 
 cordant elements wove, matured and executed this 
 great trans-continental enterprise. So, also, posterity 
 will give the honor of the discovery of the V flume, 
 not to him who first suggested it, but to him who 
 had the energy to build one and make it a tangi- 
 ble and operative fact. Timber slides are old affairs. 
 A hundred years ago a German, by the name of 
 Rapp, constructed, from an inaccessible mountain top, 
 a timber-slide to a lake three miles awa}'. This was 
 so much like a V flume that it ought to have sug- 
 gested it. but it did not, or anything else of impor- 
 tance. This trough was about three miles long and 
 was whollj- constructed of timber. The trees wore 
 divested of their bark when put in, and were usually 
 some minutes in making the transit, though in 
 rainy weather, when the trough was slippery, trees 
 had been known to go through in one minute and a 
 half A hunili-ed years later the principle was 
 developed on the opposite side of the globe by men 
 who probabi)' never heard of the name Rapp. Any- 
 thing pertaining to the development of this form of 
 transportation not only has a jiresont interest but is 
 likely to be of importance hereafter. In the 
 Douglas Count}' Banner, November 21), 18G5, was 
 the following notice: — 
 
 A surveying ))arty composed of R. W. Norris, Civil 
 Engineer, and others passed through Genoa last 
 week engaged in surveying the route for a flumo 
 from Gary's Mill (better known as Wade's Mill), on 
 the West Carson Piver, in .\l])ine County, California, 
 to Empire City. From Colonel Norris we learn that 
 the distance from the initial ])oint to the terminus 
 is thirty-two and a half miles ; that the fall in that 
 distance is 97G feetj; the estimated cost, 8150,000. 
 

 C 
 
A. C. Cleveland. 
 
 The subject of the following sketch is a native of the State of Maine, and was born at 
 Skowhegan, Somerset County. He remained in his native State until he reached the 
 age of seventeen. During his life there he acquired a fair education, and in January, 
 1858, started for California on the steamer Star of the West, the boat that was the first 
 fired upon by the rebels during the war of the Rebellion. Upon reaching the Pacific 
 Coast, Mr. Cleveland engaged in mining in Tuolumne and Calavaras Counties, until 1SG2 
 when he went to Plumas County and engaged in the stock business. In May, 18G3, 
 he crossed the mountains to Nevada, and located in Virginia City. His business at that 
 place was principally mining. In 18()5 he went to Washoe County and engaged in the 
 lumber trade. He was one of the first to build a V Hume for the purpose of conducting 
 wood and timber down from the mountains, having had one in operation as early as 
 18G8, at Simonds' place on Simonds Creek, at theb.ead of Little Valley, near Lakeview 
 Station. This fiume was two and one-quarter miles in length. 
 
 In 1866, Mr. Cleveland was elected a Commissioner for Washoe County, and was a 
 delegate to the State Convention that year, and during a contest before that body, 
 between the Winters and the Blaisdel delegations from Storej' County, Mr. Cleveland was 
 a member of the committee that decided the matter, and held the deciding vote. This 
 he cast for Blaisdel, in strict conjunction with his instructions by the County Convention, 
 he having pledged himself to do so, although Winters was his special friend and em- 
 ployer, and pecuniary benefits, as well as threats, were used to deter him from doing so. 
 It was threatened that the patronage of the Kentuck Mining Company would be taken 
 away from him unle.ss ho disobeyed his instructions, but he stood firm, and consequently 
 lost their patronage. General Clark says of him: "Hia word is of more value to him 
 than money." 
 
 In 1868, Mr. Cleveland was elected to the Assembly of the State Legislature from 
 Washoe County. In the fall of 1868, he went to Hamilton, and has since been a resi- 
 dent of White Pine County. During the winter of 1868- G9, he built the toll-road run- 
 ning fiorth from Hamilton. In 1870, he was elected to the State Senate from White 
 Pine County,andin 1871, he was appointed to prosecute the claims of the State at Wash- 
 ington, District of Columbia, and succeeded in getting an appropriation for the State of 
 $60,000. In 1873. he moved to his present ranch, in Spring Valley, where he is engaged 
 very extensively in stock-raising. 
 
 In the pursuit of this bu.siness he has taken great pains to improve the breeds of his 
 cattle, and has imported a number of very valuable thoroughbred animals. The enter- 
 prise displayed in this, and the success attending it, has .set the example to the graziers 
 of the State that will result in great public good. Having an extensive and valuable 
 range, and great faith in the adaptability of the country and climate to the rearing of 
 superior stock, he has entered upon the business with confidence and judgment supple- 
 mented by his usual energy. 
 
 He was married January 19, 1868, to Miss Kate M. Petei-s, of Carson City, Nevada. 
 He has seen much of life, and it is universally admitted that he is "true as steel." 
 
TRANSPORTATION OF LUMBER BY WATER. 
 
 IS'J 
 
 Governor II. H. 151iiK(lul, J. \V. Ilaines aiul J. F. 
 Sehultur, are named as interested parties. 
 
 The following Ajirii another project was inaui;ii- 
 rated by Goft". Elliott, Pray, and Spencer, who ]m-o- 
 po.sed to take the water from Clear Creek and carrj- 
 it to Empire, a distance of ahout thirteen miles, the 
 cost being estimated at 820,0(10. This was also 
 intended for the transportation of wood and lumber. 
 
 The first-named company filed their articles of" 
 incorporation about the first of -May, IStlO, witii .1. 
 W. Haines, J. B. Winters, Frederick Schulter, 
 Thomas Wade, and George F. Jones, as Trustees; 
 the ])i-iiicipal place of business being Carson City; 
 John B. Winters, President; Thomas Wells, Secre- 
 tary; George F. Jones, Treasurer. 
 
 Maj- 5th, "Ijake Tahoe and Emjiire Flume Com- 
 pany," tiled articles of incorporation, electing as 
 officers, A. W. Pray, J. II. F. (iort; and K. M. Clark. 
 The first being President, the second Superintendent 
 of Construction, and the last Secretary. The com- 
 pany designed beginning work at once, and to com- 
 plete the flume the following September. This com- 
 pany proposed beginning one mile and a half east 
 of Lake Tahoe, at a point near the head-waters 
 of Clear Lake, and carry the works to within a mile of 
 Empire Citj'. The Surveyor General for l.S()!)-70 
 speaks of an increased interest in the method of 
 "transporting lumber from the sources of 8U])])!y in 
 the mountains to the mills. The old method by 
 wagons involved the construction of costly roads, 
 which were of little use after the timber was 
 exhausted. The best of roads were soon cut u)) with 
 the pressure of the enormous loads, and the winter 
 rains completed the ruin. The transportation at l)est 
 was slow and expensive, while that b}- flume was 
 ra]iid and cheap. 
 
 lie reports, altogether, in the vState at that time, 
 about twenty-five miles of lumber flume, and recom- 
 mends that the flumes be extended. Three of these 
 were in Ormsbj- County. One belongs to II. 11. Yerring- 
 ton & Co., and commences at the end of the rail- 
 road, about two miles west of (Jarson Vhy, and 
 extends up the mountain sides about four miles. 
 
 The second, owned by Chamberlain & Co., com- 
 mences near the last, and also extends four miles to 
 near the summit. 
 
 The third, belonging to the "Summit Fluming 
 Companj'," commences in the mountains near the 
 head-waters of Clear Crook, following down Clear 
 Creek to the base of the mountains; thence along 
 the base of the mountains towards Carson City. 
 This, when completed, was about twelve miles long. 
 The oldest enterprise in the State was said to liavo 
 been that of J. \V. Haines, and (!. A. \iu\ (Jorder, 
 in Douglas Count}', which was completed in 1SI19. 
 Xo mention is made of the fact that there were V 
 flumes, by the Surveyor General in his report, ])rob- 
 ably because the advantage of this kind of flume had 
 not as yet attracted much attention. 
 24 
 
 These remarks have been with referetice to the sub- 
 se([uent claims for the invention of the V, and the 
 names above mentioned will ajjpear again in this 
 connection. 
 
 The Summit Fluming Company had filed articles 
 of incorporation the fifteenth of June jireviously, and 
 had during the summer, or up to the time of making 
 the report, constructed four mile-', connecting Elliott's 
 Mill with Carson City, showing a vigorous working 
 capacity. Somewhere in these years it was discovered 
 that the V shaped flume was the most efficient in car- 
 rying wood and lumber, and in 1859 one was first 
 adopted for such use without lapping the boards. 
 
 The princi])le involved, or rather, evolved, in the 
 V flume, or slanting sides, was that when the lumber 
 or wood lodged from any cause, the water acccumu- 
 lating would, in raising it up from the slanting sides, 
 free it, a result not accomplished when the flume was 
 with ])erpendicular sides, which in co!itradistinction 
 might bo called a U flume. 
 
 The question is still unsettled as to who first 
 invented the V flume, and although the Court decided 
 adverse to the claim of patented privileges by J. W. 
 Haines, it did not appear that he was or was not the 
 originator of this peculiar form of transportation, but 
 it did appear that he was the fii'St in Nevada to use 
 it as a wood and lumber carrier. 
 
 Litigation of this character involving the right of 
 an individual to the benefits of a valuable improve- 
 ment that is of importan<'e, and advantageous for 
 general use, often brings to the surface a flood of 
 truth and its opposite, and not unfrequently i-esults in 
 injustice to the inventor. 
 
 So it was with Whitney's cotton-gin, which made 
 cotton-raising profitable. Though fifty machines 
 were running at the time within hearing of the 
 Court, he could not ])rove that his machines were in 
 general use. The invention was worth millions to 
 the cotton States, but Whitney died poor notwith- 
 standing. The invention was of too much value to 
 be enjojed by one man. So it was with the shuttle 
 of the sewing machine, the horizontal sickle of the 
 reajier, the revolving cylinder of the rifle. Even 
 such a little thing as an improved saw-tooth became 
 the subject of costly and vexatious suits, and not 
 until a fortune was expended was Spaulding, the 
 inventor, allowed to enjoy the benefit of the in- 
 vention. It was sworn that the same form of tooth 
 had been in common u.se for years, but the Sujireme 
 Court held otherwise, and he eventually obtained a 
 recognition of his rights. It is not always the case, 
 however. Smart lawyers and hard swearing will 
 sometimes carr}' the day. 
 
 In August, 1872, J. \\ . Haines brought a suit at 
 Carson City, in the United States District Court, 
 against William Sharon and others, to determine 
 his right to benefits as an inveiUor of the V flume, 
 ho having obtained a patent as such, September 20, 
 1870. 
 
190 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 The followincr facts are compiled from the notes 
 of the tcstimonj' taken by the Judge presiding: — 
 
 The value of the V flume as a means of transporta- 
 tion is shown bj- the following: Yerrington & Co.'s 
 flume was constructed in 1809, and has been run- 
 ning since December, 1870. It is used for running 
 wood. The owners passed 30.000 cords through it 
 between December 1, 1870, and January 17, 1872. 
 The cost, including repairs and attendance of men, 
 would not exceed one dollar per cord. The cost by 
 the old method of transportation would have been 
 several times as much. The following, on the struct- 
 ure of the flume, is from the testimony of W. N. 
 Leete: The flume is constructed of ])lanks nailed 
 together in the shape of the letter V, with the 
 ends of the section butted together, so as to form a 
 smooth channel. It has been in existence since 
 December, 1870. 
 
 On the part of the defense (Sharon et al.) it was 
 denied that the plaintiff (J. W. Haines) was the 
 original inventor, or that he maintained a continu- 
 ous use of it. Ho was brought on the stand and 
 testified that he conceived the idea in 1868, 
 and made a model in Julj^, and constructed a 
 working flume in October of the same year, above 
 Genoa. 
 
 G. W. White, carpenter, testified that he knew of 
 a V flume in Simmon's Canon in 1808; that it was 
 owned by A. C. Cleveland; that it was made of 
 inch and a half lumber, one board sixteen inches, 
 the other seventeen and a half inches wide, nailed 
 together at the edges, so as to form a V; that it 
 was commenced in June, and finished the following 
 July; that it was 6,700 feet long, and was used 
 for floating wood. Prom the diary kept by himself 
 he found that the flume was commenced June 22d, 
 and finished July 21st; that when forty or fifty 
 lengths were finished that it was tried and found 
 to work well, '-not clogging more than anj- floom." 
 From this it would appear that the V form was 
 used because it was cheapest; and that it was found 
 to run about as well as anj^ other shaped flume. 
 It would run about twenty-five cords a day. 
 
 A. C. Cleveland, the proprietor, was put on' the 
 stand, and confii-med the statements of the previous 
 wittioss. Some particulars as to the connection of 
 the boxes were elicited. The [ends were not butted 
 together, except in a few instances, but lapped. In 
 the bends of the line of fluming the jogs would 
 sometimes make the sticks of wood jump out. To 
 remedy this, wedge-shaped pieces, three or four feet 
 long, were nailed in, which produced a smoother 
 current, and made it do better work. They ran sev- 
 eral hundred cords of wood through the flume, and 
 then sold it to the Overman Silver Mining Com- 
 pany. He also testified that he saw Haines' flume 
 in May previous; that ho got his idea of a V flume 
 from Haines. An older V flume still was hunted up. 
 J. II. Knox testified that he had a V flume in 
 1864, at Musgrovo Cafion, which was about 600 feet 
 
 long, the boards being from fourteen to eighteen, 
 inches in width. It was used to run oft' saw-dust 
 bark, and other waste material. Sometimes slabs of 
 eon.Kiderable size would fall in and go through, 
 though it was not intended to put lumber in it. 
 Some of the joints were lapped and some butted 
 together. This was in full view of the public, and 
 was not considered a thing to conceal. 
 
 Another man, Lonkey, testified to having used a 
 V flume in 18G4, in Washoe County, twelve miles 
 northwest of Carson. This was also used to carry 
 waste away from the mill, though occasionally con- 
 siderable pieces would fall into it and go through. 
 A second flume was built of larger dimensions, the 
 planks being twenty-two and twentj'-four inches, 
 and was two and a half miles long, extending from 
 Little Valley to Franktown, and cost about $2,000 
 ])er mile. The ends of the sections were butted 
 together, and altogether the flume was a good picceof 
 work. Cord-wood, sawed lumber, and almost every- 
 thing went through; one piece recollected was 
 twelve by sixteen inches, and twenty-four feet long. 
 This would seem to fix the early date of V flumes; 
 but this last was not constructed until July, 1870. 
 The lapse of time from the building of the first to 
 the building of the second flume was as much as 
 was required for Napoleon to change the map of 
 Europe, and does not show any connection of the 
 two events. 
 
 The reader will readily discover that the first per- 
 sons who used the V had no idea of its being an im- 
 provement on the box flame; that it was made of 
 that shape because it was cheaper. Thy state- 
 ments of other parties will be given, and the reader 
 will draw his own conclusions. 
 
 Charles Gillis, of Genoa, states that he, in connec- 
 tion with J. H. F. Goff, built some 200 feet of V 
 flume, at Glenbrook, in 1805, for the purpose of test- 
 ing its carrj'ing advantages over the box flume, which 
 choked badly; that it worked admirably, but they 
 could not get capitalists to recognize its merit, and 
 the project was abandoned. 
 
 Mr. Cleveland, who operated a V flume in 1808 on 
 Simmons Creek, thinks that Haines' flume was in 
 operation a few weeks previous to his. (ieneral 
 Marletto, also, is of the opinion that Haines had 
 the first V flume in the State. Colonel A. C. Ellis 
 says that several flumes of the shape in ([uestion 
 were in operation at the time that Haines applied 
 for a patent, which should and must invalidate the 
 patent. Ellis was attorney for the defendant in the 
 case of Haines and others versus Elliott Brothers, 
 and may be prejudiced; though if the flumes had 
 got into general use before a patent was applied for 
 it would certainly militate against his claims as an 
 inventor. Application lor the patent was made in 
 the spring of 1860. Mr. Haines' storj^ is that he 
 first conceived the idea of fluming wood in 1800; 
 that he constructed a box flume for that |)urpose in 
 Kingsbury Cafion, one mile in length, which proved 
 
THE CHURCHES OF NEVADA. 
 
 191 
 
 iinsncccssful. In 186G he tried a lap-over V flumo, 
 placing it in the old box flume; that it proved emi- 
 nently successful; that ho extended it into the 
 mountains durintj the next four years some twelve 
 miles. During the time, or about 1808, he changed 
 it at the section from a lap-over to an abutting 
 joint. There maj- be a saving claim in the matter. 
 The witnesses who saw his flume at the time speak 
 of it as a square box; did not see the diamond- 
 shaped bottom. 
 
 Judge Field, of the Supreme Court, decided that 
 the fact of the flumes having been in common use 
 previous to the application would invalidate the 
 patent, and a verdict was rendered for the de- 
 fendants. 
 
 It will be seen that few, if anj', of the persons 
 using the V had, at first, any idea of the value of 
 the improvement; that, when it became known, 
 numbers claimed the honor, so that it is uncertain 
 who did originate the change. 
 
 However much doubt maj- rest on the author of 
 it the utility cannot be questioned. By means of it 
 the forests in the remote and almost inaccessible 
 canons may now be utilized. It admits of almost 
 any grade; maj' be run on a slight or down a steep 
 incline with full assurance of success. Millions of 
 dollars have been spent in California to work out 
 the problem of lumber transportation. The V was 
 known to all. They had passed over it, used it in 
 one way and another, getting now and then a glimpse 
 of its utility, only to abandon it for something else. 
 Within the last few years an entire revolution of 
 lumber transportation has taken place. Instead of 
 costly wagon-roads, and toiling mules or oxen, the 
 wood and lumber is put into a box, and is hurried 
 by its own weight to its place of destination. One 
 of the largest of these is owned by the Pacific 
 Wood and Lumber Flume Company, the principal 
 owners being John Mackey, J. G. Fair, and J. C. 
 Flood. It was built in 1875 at a cost of $250,000, 
 is fifteen miles in length, standing most of the way 
 on trestle work, and contains 2,000,000 feet of lum- 
 ber, having a carrying capacity of 500 cords of wood, 
 or 5(1(1.000 feet of lumber ]>er day; or, to make the 
 matter plainer, it would take 2,000 horses to do tte 
 work of this flume. It was projected and built by 
 John B. Hereford in ten weeks. The company 
 owns 12, ()()() acres of timber lanil in the vicinity of 
 Huft'aker's Mill, north of Lake Tahoo, where this 
 flume begins, its termination being near the Vir- 
 ginia and Truckee liailroad in Washoe Valley, 
 
 The Surveyor General for 1879-80, Andrew J. 
 Hatch, reports the wood and lumber flumes as fol- 
 lows: — 
 
 Miles in 
 cowNrr. Ko. length. Wood flumed. Lumber flumcd. 
 Douglas... 2 .. 80,000 cords IC, 000, 000 feet, 
 Ormsby... 2 25 88,0(J0 " 17,(I(MI,()(M) " 
 
 Washoe... G 55 58,000 " 300,0((0 " 
 
 Total... 10 80 171,000 
 
 33,300,000 
 
 CHAPTER XXV, , 
 
 THE CHURCHES OF NEVADA, 
 
 [bv col, henry a. siiaw,] 
 
 Mormonism in the A.Ivaiice — 'I'lie First Marri.agc — Early Chris- 
 tian Missionary Work — The rionocT I'reachers— Contempt 
 for the Fourth Ciunmanilmeut — 'J'rihulations of a Young 
 Scotch Divine at Klko — A Funeral .Sermon Over the Wrong 
 Man — An Anecdote of the Lightning Express — Practical 
 Praying in the Legislature — Floating Denominations in 
 Nevada. 
 
 The church history of Nevada begins at as remote 
 a period as the earliest settlement in its Territory 
 of white men. The term "church," as employed in 
 this chapter, must be taken in its most compre- 
 hensive sense. It is intended to cover every phase 
 of religious belief; whether that of Jew or Gentile, 
 Christian or Buddhist, Mahometan or Spiritualist, 
 or any other adopted or practiced by men. It may 
 mean a society organized for the propagation of any 
 particular faith, a system of theology itself, or a 
 building devoted to public worship. There is as 
 great a diversity in the creeds of Nevada as there 
 are varieties in the assay of its ores. The Mosaic 
 character of its population fitly typifies the religion 
 of its people. The superstitious rites of the aborigi- 
 nal inhabitants and the Chinese pagans are practiced 
 side by side with the sublime teachings of Chris- 
 tianity. The proportion of professing believers to 
 non-sectarians, however, always has been and is 
 very small. A glance at the census tables, con- 
 trasted with the returns of membership in the dif- 
 ferent denominations, shows this to bo the case. 
 But it must not therefore be assumed by the reader, 
 who may not be conversant with the conditions 
 under which civilization has been planted in our 
 remote Territories, that the social atmosphere of 
 Nevada is oppressive on this account. Her men 
 and women make up in good works whatever they 
 lack in seeming faith. If not theoretically religious, 
 they are for the most part practically so. The 
 trials so often endured bj' the ]iioneers of a new 
 country, develop a spirit of charity, forbearance, 
 and good-will, toward one another; and all the graces 
 of Christian love and tenderness are frei|uently illus- 
 trated in places where no spire ])oints the way to 
 Heaven, anil where no man of God teaches the 
 inspired truths of salvation. But if the testimony 
 of zealous distributors of Biblical literature in earlj' 
 times in Nevada be ontitlod to any weight, there is 
 not very much for the faithful historian to record of 
 the piety of its inhabitants. As late as 1874 the 
 Rev. H. Richardson, the agent of the California 
 Bible Society, in his report of bis operations in 
 Nevada, used this language: — 
 
 The work of Hiblo distribution has special claims ' 
 upon us here, on account of its special needs. Is 
 there a State in our whole Union where there is so 
 little religious restraint, such ignorance of the Bible, 
 such flaunting at its teachings, such Sabbath-break- 
 ing, such heaven-daring i)r<)fanity. such common 
 drunkenness, such unblushing licentiousness, and 
 
192 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 such glorying in shame — in short, is there another 
 State* whore people so generallj' feel as though they 
 were almost or ijuito oiitof tiod's moral jurisdiction? 
 
 Mr. Richardson may possibly liuvo ])ut too many 
 Eembrandl touches in this picture of utter depravity 
 in his desire to serve his society and to still iurthcr 
 Btimuiate its zeal in the matter of providing reckless 
 miners and ))rospectors with free copies of the 
 unrevised Scriptures. Those who will carefully fol- 
 low the story of the progress of the various Christian 
 denominations, as ])rcseiited in the succeeding jiages. 
 will probably come to the conclusion that Uichard- 
 son's sketch is just a trifle over-drawn. 
 
 ADVANCE OF THE MORMONS. 
 
 The Mormons were the i)ioneer settlers in the 
 country. The}', of course, brought along with them 
 their peculiar doctrines, and Mormonism was there- 
 fore the (irst religion introduced bj- white men in 
 this Territory. All of the ))resent ><'evada was then 
 known as Carson County, Utah Territory. In 1847 
 the first settlemenl cstablisliod by the Mormons in the 
 couiitj' was at FraiiUtown, Washoe Valley. In.hine, 
 1854, another company of Mormons, headed by 
 Elder Orson Ilydo. arrived in Carson Vallej-. Two 
 years later, another i)arty, emin-acing about twenty 
 families, arrived from eastern Utah, and settled 
 chiefly in Washoe Valley. In 1857, Brigham Young 
 issued his ])roclamation recalling all the wandering 
 members of his tribe to Salt Lake, to tight the expedi- 
 tion sent out bj- the United States (iovernment under 
 Col. Albert Sidney Johnston. Ilis adherents in Car- 
 son and Washoe Valleys obeyed his summons, and 
 abandoned their fartns which they had brought 
 under cultivation. Subsequently other bands of 
 apostate Mormons returned and took possession of 
 these once prosperous settlements. The original 
 settlers in Meadow and Clover Valleys, were all of 
 this church, and came from Utah in 18(i4. Thej- 
 were in charge of Hisbo]i Samuel Fioo about two 
 years, and at first numbered about thirty-five fami- 
 lies. In 1872 they had increased to seventy families. 
 The settlement now numbers about thirty families, 
 and is in charge of Bishop Luke Syphus. The 
 first Mormon settlement in Kagle Vallej- was in 
 charge of Bishop M. Hatch, but is now in the 
 jurisdiction of Bishop Syphus. The Mormons in 
 Nevada are known as Josc])hites, the distin- 
 guishing feature of which is ojiposition to the doc- 
 trines of polygamy. They style themselves mem- 
 bers of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of 
 Latter Day Saints. Alexander 11. Smith, son of Joseph 
 Smith, who was the founder of this sect, is a mis- 
 sionary on the I'acific Coast of this branch of the 
 Mormon Church, llo is about forty-seven years of 
 age, an<l occasionally visits the Josephites of Xevada, 
 who number to-day probably about three hundred 
 all told. 
 
 EARLY MISSIONARY WORK. 
 
 The discovery of gold and silver in Nevada Terri- 
 
 tory, and the Washoe mining excitement turned the 
 tide of emigration eastward across the Sierra. By 
 the new-comers were borne the standards of other 
 Christian denominations. The Methodist Episcopal 
 Church organization was the first to establish a reg- 
 ular missionary outpost. The lioman Catholic 
 (Jhurch had its priests on the ground soon after- 
 ward. Later the Protestant Episcopal Church turned 
 its attention to this inviting field for missionary 
 labor, and after them successivelj- came the Pres- 
 byterians, the Baptists and the Congregationalists. 
 The history of these dift'erent denominations is fully 
 set forth further on under their respective headings. 
 
 Something may be generally sot down here of the 
 characteristics of missionary work in Nevada in 
 early times; of the dillicultics of Church work en- 
 gaged in by the men who pioneered the gospel in 
 those daj's. No more self-denying labor was ever 
 accom])lislie(l than that performed by these heralds 
 of religion. These jtioneer ministers did not come 
 to gain material wealth. Most of them are very 
 ])Oor to-daj'. Their successors are in about the same 
 condition. Had they been worldly-minded they 
 might have been rich. The pioneer ministers saw 
 the rougher side of life. They had few comforts. 
 They were glad to have a board shanty to live in, 
 and a tent for a ])lace of worship. These men and 
 their associates not onl}' founded churches, but every 
 one of them was an earnest advocate of a sj-stem of 
 public education. They sought not their own, but only 
 the highest welfare of their communities. Nevada 
 might lose all its mineral wealth and not encounter 
 any such loss as it would were the initial work of 
 the pioneer ministers absolutely stricken out. They 
 stood in their places not only for religion but for 
 education, law, justice, for temperance, honest indus- 
 try, and for eternal principles of right to \ny at the 
 very foundations of the State. The Right Reverend 
 (). W. Whitaker, the Episcopal Missionary Bishop of 
 Nevada, in his eleventh annual rejjort, jiubiished in 
 1880, indicates in a general waj- the difliculties with 
 which all ministers in his country have contended. 
 
 •' In the good providence of (iod," he writes, "I 
 am permitted to see the end of the j'ears of mission- 
 ary work in Nevada. They have been years of 
 almost unremitting lalior, much of which has been 
 attended with manifold discouragements and appar- 
 entl}' meagre results. The continual change which 
 is taking place in the population of our towns, and 
 the almost universal disregard of Sunday as a day of 
 rest and worship, have everywhere combined to 
 retard the progress which it should seem the Church 
 ought to have made during this time. If the ]ieoplo 
 of Nevada were attached to the places in which they 
 live, instead of constantlj' planning for removal, it 
 would be much easier for them to become identified 
 with Church work; and if they could be ])ersua(led 
 to relax their labors for one day of the week, a much 
 larger attendance ujnm Sunday services could be 
 easily secured. Whether this will ever be in this 
 
THE CHURCHES OE NEVADA. 
 
 103 
 
 generation i8 very doubtful. It iw certain that but 
 little progress has been made in this direction in the 
 last ten yeai-s." Again, in a report issued two years 
 before, the same gentleman remarks: " No one who 
 has not lived in a country where there is no Sunday 
 for the workingman, where the controlling desire of 
 almost every man and woman is to get rich quickly, 
 where few have anj- local attachments or think of 
 making for themselves a permanent home, has any 
 just conception of the diflicultj' in maintaining a high 
 standard of Christian character in one's own life, or 
 of leading others to strive to attain it." This tcsti- 
 monj- of Bishoj) Wliitaker is concurrent with that 
 ottered by all ministers of tlie gos])el who have ever 
 labored in Nevada. The institution of Sunday- 
 schools has accomiilishcd much toward securing a 
 better observance of the Sabbalh. These have been 
 planted in many localities where no tJhureh organi- 
 zation exists. They have been maintained by devout 
 men and women an.xioua to co-operate in the work 
 of the religious training of the young. The natural 
 desire for rest on one day in the week has also 
 served the cause. Business men and their clerks 
 have found the need of relaxation, and by common 
 consent the stores in Virginia City, Carson, and 
 other towns, are now kept closed on Sundays. Thus 
 much of the cause of complaint on this score on the 
 part of clergj'men has been removed. 
 
 PIONEER I>REACniNO IN KI.KO. 
 
 One or two illustrations of the jiecuiiar conditions 
 under which the pioneer ministers first laborer! will 
 suffice to show the character of missionary- work in 
 Nevada. In 1S70 the Rev. John Brown, then a 
 graduate fresh from the Glasgow University, Scot- 
 land, arrived at Hlko to take charge of an organiza- 
 tion of Presl)}-terians just formed there. He arrived 
 late one Saturday night. On stejtping into the rail- 
 road depot and making inquiries for a certain 
 gentleman, whom he had been told, before he left 
 San Francisco, he would find to be a strong pillar 
 in his church, he was directed to a faro bank. 
 There, amid the gambling crowd, he found the 
 "strong ])illar" gambling " with the boys," and evi- 
 dentlj- one of them. From the gambling-table this 
 young minister was led by this '-brother" to Sister 
 K., whom he was informed he would find to bo a 
 true mother in Israel. Sister R. was a queer mixture, 
 physically, morally and spiritually — half French and 
 half Indian. She had some good points, but they 
 were terribly com])f>unded with |ioinls that were 
 not quite so good. But for a foundation the young 
 Scotch divine had to take such timber as ho could 
 get in those daj's. It was ])retty crooked and 
 knotty but he could get no better. Next morning 
 ho preached in the Court House to as manly a 
 set of fellows as could l)e found aiij'where between 
 the Atlantic and the I'acifie. Returning from wor- 
 ship to his room ho stumbled over a dead Chinaman 
 who had been shot by one of his own fellowconntry- 
 men, and as that was regarded as a matter of small 
 
 consequence the body was left where it fell till a hole 
 could bo dug somewhere for its reception. During his 
 first week in Elko Mr. Brown spent his time pros])ect- 
 ing, not for silver, but for proper material to build a 
 Presbyterian Church, lie was convinced that it was 
 there, if ho could only got it mined and separated 
 from its surroundings. The Railroad ('om|(any gave 
 him four nice lots, so, when he stood up to jtreach 
 on the second Sabbath, ho told his hearers that 
 they were going to build a church, and that right 
 awaj'. lie invited his congregation to meet iiim 
 next morning to clear away the sago-brush. They 
 obej-ed the summons, though there was not a dollar 
 with which to begin oj)erations, and $2,500 at least 
 would be required. In tho crowd was a character 
 known as "Parson Cook." He could drink his whisky 
 straight, could hunt Indians, make bricks, build 
 houses, or exhort the "boys" on tho street from the 
 top of a drj'-goods box. This rough and shaggy pio- 
 neer rose and declared that the church had to bo 
 built; and if he w'as ])ledged a benefit night — that is an 
 occasion to exhort and take up a collection when the 
 church was built — he would give the bricks and build 
 the foundation. It was unanimously agreed to accept 
 his offer, and to proclaim the "parson" the best 
 fellow in all the town. He was as good as his word, 
 and when the church was completed he got his 
 benefit service. Life in Elko in those days was very 
 different from the correct and somber existence to 
 which the young I'resbyterian minister had been 
 accustomed among his native hills of Scotland. It 
 was the custom in Elko, as it is elsewhere in Nevada, 
 to give everj- one who died " a good send off"; " that 
 is, to take him to church and preach a funeral ser- 
 mon over his remains. This had to be done even for 
 the worst characters in the i>lace, and it used to try a 
 clergyman's soul exceedingly bard to find out just the 
 right thing to say on such occasions. Once Mr. 
 Brown was called on vcr}' suddenly to preach a 
 funeral sermon over the remains of a poor gambler 
 who had committed suicide. As gambling was a 
 great vice then in the town, ho had pre])arcd a ser- 
 mon on the subject which he had not 3-et delivered. 
 He knew there would be a big crowd of just the 
 class that ought to hear it, so he decided to deliver it 
 over the body of the suicide. The procession moved 
 in solemn silence through the main street to tho 
 church, and filled u]) every corner of the building. 
 Somehow or other tho Eeverend Mr. Brown got tho 
 wronir man in his mind. The man whom he thought 
 was lying dead in the cotlin before the pulpit was 
 alive and in tho audience. After moralizing some- 
 what on the evils of gambling, tlie minister became 
 rather personal in his obituarj- discourse. Instead 
 of sending the man, whom ho thought was dead, to 
 heaven, a glorified saint, he sent him in the other 
 direction; and referred in such plain terms to his evil 
 life and destitute family, that tho individual alluded 
 to and all ])resent realized that Mr. Brown was 
 preaching hU funeral sermon. This, of course, 
 
194 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 made him mad. He finally rose, and shaking 
 his fist at the minister, swore vengeance and left the 
 house. Others followed him muttering as they 
 went out that tbey would shoot Mr. Brown on sight. 
 It was not until all was over that the hapless clergy- 
 man know whom he had buried. Explanations and 
 apologies were subseijuently made, and peace again 
 was restored in the camp. Mr. Brown tells another 
 good story of his experiences at Elko. In those 
 days queer sorts of fellows used to come along 
 preaching the Gospel, or temperance, or something 
 else. One day a little old fellow visited Mr. Brown's 
 study, and asked him to go with him to hold services 
 on the street opposite the gambling saloons. The 
 pastor declined. The stranger went himself, and 
 while he was in the midst of his sermon his wife 
 drove into town on the top of a load of wood. When 
 she saw the partner of her joys and sorrows she got 
 down, and seizing him by the neck dragged him 
 in tlic dust, and after pounding him well with her 
 fists, told him to go home and provide for his starv- 
 ing children. The little old man got up and shook 
 himself, remarking that that sort of thing was not new 
 to him. Another day a man called on Mr. Brown 
 to ask him for the use of the church, in which to lect- 
 ure on temperance. lie was accommodated. In his 
 lecture he offered to bet 81"<l there was not a single 
 drop of whisky in Elko that would burn. No one 
 took him up, but next day the fellow was as drunk 
 as a piper, dancing in the streets, and challenging 
 the community to climb on him by thousands. The 
 Elko whisky burned a big hole in his character, and 
 ho had to leave on short notice. The only pair ever 
 married by Mr. Brown in the church remained to- 
 gether about twenty-four hours. Something hap- 
 pened, and they parted for ever. He received more 
 money in marriage fees in Elko than he has ever 
 received since. When a boy in Glasgow, Mr. Brown 
 used to join other wicked little fellows in |)laguing 
 the Mormon missionaries that occasionallj- preached 
 over there in the streets. One day a fine silk hat 
 was knocked off one of them, and Brown did his 
 part in trampling it in the mire. "God moves in a 
 mysterious way his wonders to perform." A Mor- 
 mon woman came to Elko from Utah, when he was 
 there, and set up a laundry. She told a sad tale, 
 and got five dollars out oi' the clergj-man. To pay 
 it back she wanted to do his washing, lie gave 
 her a big load of soiled linen, but never saw her 
 again. The Mormon church more than got even 
 with him, and he resolved that he would never again 
 interfere with its missionaries. Elko was a hard 
 place for a minister to do much good. The Rev. J. 
 II. layers, who preached there long after Mr. Brown 
 had left, testifies that the people there were gen- 
 erally kind, but, as a class, very wicked. Mr. Byers 
 also tells a good funeral story of JOIko. The Hon. 
 II. II. Peyton, formerly amemberof the Legislature, 
 was buried on June 3, 187G. This was the <lay the 
 pooi)lo of I'viko were expecting the passage through 
 
 the town of the famous lightning train from New 
 York to San Francisco. The funeral was set for 
 2 o'clock p. .M., but the train was not expected till 
 about 4 o'clock. The bell had tolled, and the church 
 was about half full of peo])le, with more coming in 
 sight. Tiie corpse rested on chairs before the pul- 
 pit, the pall-bearers and friends of the deceased 
 were present, and Mr. Byers was in the pulpit select- 
 ing the Ii3'mn8 appropriate to the solemn occasion. 
 He was just rising in the pulpit to begin the serv- 
 ices, when some called out, near the door, and said: 
 " The fast train is coming." To the minister's utter 
 astonishment there was a general stampede. Ever^'- 
 body lelt the church, citizens, pall-bearers, friends of 
 the deceased, and the sexton, the minister alone 
 remaining. As the last mourner disa]jpcared through 
 the door the solitary clergyman glanced at the coffin, 
 and thought, for a moment, he detected a movement 
 K on the part of the corpse also as though it, too, 
 would follow the crowd if it could. The people all 
 ran to the depot, and waited about fifteen minutes, 
 when the train came. The train-men and the few 
 passengers stoj)ped there for dinner, but not a 
 man or woman returned to the church till the 
 train was gone. Mr, Byers meanwhile walked about 
 the church, full of anxiety whether the dead man 
 would be buried or not. About the time the train 
 left he began to toll the bell again, when the people 
 began slowly to return to the church, but not as 
 many as had been there previous to the coming of 
 the train. He then preached a sermon from Amos, 
 4th cliajjter. 12th verse, after which the body of H. 
 II. Peyton was carried to the hill above the church 
 and buried in a lonely spot among the sage-brush. 
 The people of Elko, though quite hospitable, were 
 much like the Athenians. Thej' always craved for 
 something new. The ]ilace was too fast to adhere to 
 old things, even though they wore superior. A spirit- 
 ualist came along once and almost depicted the 
 church for a time. Sabbath-school teachers deserted 
 the Sabbath-school and church, and almost everybody 
 was carried awaj- with table-rappings and communi- 
 cations from what they supposed was heaven, but 
 indeed was so near hades that the pastor felt it was 
 unsafe to follow his congregation. Mr. Byers says 
 he never had any deacons at Elko as he had no 
 material out of which to make them. And the reader 
 may set down Elko as merely a prototype of all 
 other now mining towns. With some variations, the 
 same amusing stories may bo told of missionarj- work 
 all over Nevada. 
 
 PHACTICAL PUAYINd BY A CHAPLAIN. 
 
 Sometimes even clergj-men themselves were in- 
 fected bj- the spirit of the times. One extreme case 
 will illustrate our meaning. Some years ago during 
 a session of the Legislature at Carson, an ungodlj' 
 representative was heard complaining in the street 
 of the folly of having prayers b}' the chaplain at the 
 0])oning of the session each day. The chaplain, he 
 thought, was taking up unnecessary time. If his 
 
THE CHURCHES OF NEVADA. 
 
 105 
 
 pniyors wcro onlj- ]iriK'(ic-al it iiiiLjht do sfuno tjood. 
 The meinbor, thus oom]>lainiiin, was a miner, and 
 declared he could stand praj'injj provided some good 
 could be derived from it; for instance, if bj- pravins^ 
 for it the rock in his tunnel would be softened, or the 
 water flowing therein made more plentiful. Some- 
 body told the Rev. T. II. MctJrath. a Methodist 
 minister and the chaplain at the time, what had been 
 said bj- the petulant solon. ^ext morning when the 
 Assembly was called to order, Mctirath offered up to 
 the throne of grace the following prayer: — 
 
 On Lord: We pray Thee to remember member 
 
 . Make the rock in his tunnel as sofi as his 
 
 head and the water in his ditch as abundant as the 
 whisky he daily drinks. Amen. 
 
 McGrath is now Sexton of the Odd Fellows Oeme- 
 ter}- at Virginia City. lie was a zealous and hard 
 worker during his connection with the Methodist 
 ministry. In 1878 he had imbibed ideas at war with 
 its doctrines and he abandimed the fold. lie there- 
 upon organized " The Liberal Religious Society of 
 Nevada," whose bond of union was the golden rule. 
 Its first board of trustees were 0. C. liutlermiin, G. 
 E. Caukin and E. A. Schultz; William Krause, Treas- 
 urer; and Dr. U. Smith, Secretary. Services were 
 held for awhile in Virginia City, but the society did 
 not long survive its birth. 
 
 I'RE.\CIIEKS -Wn POLITICIANS. 
 
 A genial spirit of fraternization is one of the 
 marked characteristics of the Nevada clergj-. A 
 feeling of mutual respect has alwaj's prevailed 
 among the ministers of the various denominations. 
 It is a common practice for the Protestant pastors to 
 exchange ])ulpits, and whenever one church is de- 
 stroyed by fire the others are invariably ])laceci at 
 the disposal of the burnt-out congregation. The 
 frequent fires in Virginia City and other towns have 
 often illustrated the kindly relations sustained by 
 the churches toward one another. As a class the 
 pastors are men of the world, hard-working, ener- 
 getic, sensible toilers in the Ijord's vineyard, accus- 
 tomed to roughing it, and inured to every form of 
 hardshi|)and personal ])rivation. Intellectually they 
 are far superior to the light-waisted theologians 
 whose cburchly triumphs are indicated by the num- 
 ber of embroidered slippers in their possession. 
 Most of them have built their own churches, and 
 after a year or two of experience in the sage-brush 
 country, they succeed in picking u|> a great deal of 
 practical business knowledge which fits them for any 
 avocation. Some after a while turn to mining, and 
 others to politics. One clergyman was elected State 
 Mineralogist, another State Superintendent of I'lib- 
 lic Instruction, and others have served the commu- 
 nities faithfully in the Legislature. 
 
 EVANGELISTS AND PUBLIC.\TI0N8. 
 
 Neither revival gatherings nor camp-meetings 
 have ever obtained much headway in Nevada. In 
 1867 the Rev. A. B. Earle, an honored evangelist of 
 
 the Baptist Church, visited the State, and hold 
 revival services in Virginia, Carson and other towns. 
 Ho succeeded in doubling the membership of the 
 Methodist Churches; and his admirers in Storey 
 County put a thirty-pound silver brick in his hat on 
 the night of his departure for his Eastern home. 
 The ordinaiy Church instrumentalities have gener- 
 ally been relied on to save sinners. A novelty was 
 inaugurated by a minister in Gold Hill in 1864. In 
 May of that year the I^ews came out every afternoon 
 with scriptural texts distributed among its local 
 news paragraphs. The editor subsequently ex])lained 
 the mj-sterious publication of Biblical text in the 
 columns of his paper, which had excited so much 
 newspaper comment, by saying it was published as 
 an advertisement and paid for by the resident minis- 
 ter of Gold Hill. The only attempt ever made in 
 the State to issue a regular religious publication was 
 made in 1S74 by the Rev. Geo. B. Allen, Rector of St. 
 Peter's (Episcopal) Parish. He published a monthly 
 magazine entitled T//e Nevada Pidp'U for one year. 
 It was ably edited, an advocate of no creed, liberal 
 and independent in its views, and was open to a free 
 expression of opinions from all sides. It was a suc- 
 cess, but Mr. Allen's jiarochial duties would not per- 
 mit him to continue its publication, and The Nevada 
 F'ldpit ceased to exist with the number for Deeember 
 1874. 
 
 The Rev. H. L. Foote, subsequently Rector of the 
 same parish, during his incumbency (1S7(!-7S) pub- 
 lished a little pa])or called the Parish Guide, for the 
 exclusive use of the Episcopal Churches in Nevada. 
 
 nilU.E SOCIETY. 
 
 An important auxiliary to church work in Nevada, 
 mention of which may be made in this connec- 
 tion, were the California and Nevada Bible Societies. 
 The California Bible Society was formed in 184!). 
 Its first chief agent was the Rev. Frederick Buel, 
 who died in October, 186:5. As the only agent on 
 this coast for many years ho served not only Cali- 
 fornia, but Oregon, Washington Territory, Utah and 
 Nevada. In 1868 the Rev. N. Reasoner was ap- 
 pointed by the American Bible Society as agent for 
 Nevada, Utah, and a jiortion of northeast California. 
 Having continued in that relation lor two j-ears ho 
 resigned, leaving the field with no general agency 
 apart from that of the California Bible Society. The 
 Storey County 15ible Society was organized in 1872, 
 and made a good record of its doings until 1873, 
 when it was merged into the Nevada Bible Society, 
 which organized on the nineteenth of October in 
 that year, at a meeting held in St. Paul's (Episcopal) 
 Church, Virginia. The oHicers elected were A.J. 
 Ralston, President; W. H. Hurrall, Vice-President; 
 C. H. Osborne, Treasurer, and Hishop Whitaker, 
 Secretaiy. These with I'evs. \. X. Ilurd (I'resbytc- 
 rian), G. W. Kitcli (Methodist E])iscopal). and C. L. 
 Filch (Baptist), constituted the Executive Board. 
 Operations were entirely carried on by the voluntary 
 contributions oi" the friends of the Bible, rather 
 
196 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 than by anj- profits on its books. The parent society 
 in New York u;ranted the societ}- S2,(i00 worth of 
 Bibles, and the Hev. H. Richardson was engaged 
 to canvass the State of Nevada. This gentleman, 
 writing of his work in 1874, said: " Of the sixty tons 
 and more of Bibles which 1 have circulated the last 
 ten yeai-s in California and this State (Nevada), 1 
 thank God that they have been in nearly twenty 
 different languages." 
 
 FLOATING DENOMINATIONS. 
 
 Before relating the special history of the principal 
 denominations in Nevada, it is ))roper to briefly refer 
 to those religious organizations that have come and 
 gone from time to time, and which may be more 
 apjiropriatelj- designated as floating societies. The 
 Spiritualists have occasionally come to the surface. 
 In Virginia City several attempts were made to 
 organize them on a material basis, but all have 
 failed. Along in 1874-75, services were regularly 
 held on Sundays in Miners' Union Hall, Virginia 
 City, in the Welsh language, by people who pre- 
 ferred to commune with their Redeemer in that 
 ancient tongue. The Reverend Mr. Moses officiated 
 at these gatherings. In 1873 a sect of Bible Chris- 
 tians under the Rev. C. R. Klein, held sway for 
 awhile in Virginia Cit}-. At Winnemucca, a branch 
 of the Presbyterian Church known as the Cumber- 
 land Presbyterians, organized in 1S78, but after two 
 oi- three j-ears labor fell away to zero, and have lately 
 disappeared altogether. The Hebrews in Nevada 
 have never erected a synagogue, and do not very 
 strictly adhere to the teachings of Moses and Abraham. 
 Occasionally they invite a rabbi from San Francisco 
 to visit them, and hold services on the anniversaries of 
 their most important festivals. On April 23, 1878, the 
 Jewish citizens of Reno organized a society called 
 the Chobra B'rith Sholom, for religious and benevo- 
 lent purposes. Their property was destroyed in the 
 conflagration of 1879, and the society went out of 
 existence; but on August 10, 187'.), the Reno Hebrew 
 Benevolent Society was organized with twenty-one 
 members, for the same objects. It owns a cemetery 
 near Reno, and is the only Jewi^h religious society 
 existing in Nevada to-day. The spiritual care of the 
 Indian tribes in Nevada is genorall}- left to the 
 Government Agents, who are invariably Baptist 
 ministers. The Rev. C. A. Bateman, at present pastor 
 of the Hajttist Church. Nevada City, California, was 
 serving in 1.S74 as Indian Agent of the Pyramid Lake 
 Reservation. The Indians, however, are not easily 
 converted to Christianit}'. The Roman Catholic 
 C;hurch is the only denomination in the State that 
 has done anything to try and teach the Washocs and 
 Pah-Utes, but only to a limited extent, and mostly in 
 Storey County. 
 
 VVc will now proceed to a detailed account of the 
 rise and subsequent career of those various denom- 
 inations in Nevada which have established thcm- 
 BclvcB on a permanent basis. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 
 
 First Service — Value of C'liureh I'rojierty — Defection of a Min- 
 ister — Work Among tlie CliinesL — Tlie Diocesan .Scliool — 
 Gift of Miss C. L. Wolfe— Bishop Whitaker'a .School- 
 Damage by Fire — Church at (;olil Hill — .Silver City — Day- 
 ton — Austin — Hamilton — Pioche — Eureka — Reno— Belmont. 
 
 Population had been flowing into the new Terri- 
 tory of Nevada for some {wo or three yeai-s before 
 the attention of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
 was called to it as an inviting field for missionary 
 labor. As early as 18C1 a church service was held 
 in Virginia City, by an Episcopal clergyman of the 
 California Diocese, temporarily visiting that lively 
 camp; but it was not until the spring of the follow- 
 ing year that the American Church Missionary 
 Society selected the Rev. Frat.klin S. Rising, of New 
 York, and sent him out to this then remote region, 
 to begin the work of church organization. How 
 successfully he labored in this field, and the results 
 of his work, are fully set forth in the particular 
 history of the parishes, under their respective heads. 
 The first visit of a high dignitary of the church was 
 that of Bishop Talbot, now of the ])iocese of Indi- 
 ana. In 1863, he was Missionary Bishop of all the 
 northwest Territories, and in the fall of that year 
 he extended his annual tour from Nebi-aska as far 
 west as the Sierra. The first services held by him 
 in Nevada Territory were at Aurora, Esmeralda 
 Count}', on Sunday, October 4, 18G3. This was then 
 a mining camp of great promise, and bade fair to 
 become a conspicuous center of po|)ulation. A parish 
 was organized there, and on December 22d the Rev. 
 William II. Stoy became its regular minister, at a 
 salary of Sl.'iO per month. The society, however, 
 was short-lived, and fell to pieces a few weeks later. 
 Bisho]) Talbot, during his visit, hold services at 
 Austin, and other places, and consecrated the Epis- 
 copal Church at A'irginia, the first edifice of the 
 denomination built in the Territory, Until Nevada 
 was created a separate Missionary |)iocese, but little 
 effective work outside of the Comstock was accom- 
 plished. The gentleman whose name is most closely 
 identified with the growth of K]>iscop:ilianism in 
 Nevada, is the liiglil liev, Ozi William Wliitaker, 
 the present Missionary Bishop. A man of liberal 
 culture, of genial nature, and recognized executive 
 ability, he has endeared himself, not only to those 
 of his own church, but to the people generally. He 
 is a native of New Salem, Massachusetts, where ho 
 was born on May 10, l!S30. He graduated at .Middle- 
 bury College, Vermont, in 185G, and lor nearly four 
 j-ears served as principal of the High School at 
 North Brookfiold, Massachusetts. In 18(!3. ho was 
 graduated at the (ieneral Theological Seminary, Now 
 York, and ordained a deacon at Grace Church, Bos- 
 ton, on July 15th, of that year. On August 7th fol- 
 lowing, he was ordained a priest at St. Ste]ihen's 
 Chapel, Boston. He was immediatel}- detailed for 
 missionary work in Nevada, and proceeded at once 
 
PIONEER STABLE, W^ MOONEY, VIRGINIA, NEV. 
 
 OFFICE OFTHE GOULD&CURRY AND BEST & BELCHER. 
 
 MINING COMPANIES, VIRGINIA, NEVADA. 
 
THE CHURCHES OF NEVADA. 
 
 197 
 
 to his new sphere of aetivity. His hibors as mis- 
 sionary ami rector are fully set forth in the succeed- 
 ing pages. Ill 18G5, the Rev. Robert J. Parvin was 
 ek'cteil Hishop of Novuiln, but he was not confirmed 
 by tlie House of 15ishoi)s; then the Rev. M. A. De 
 Wolf Howe, D. D., was chosen, but he declined the 
 honor, as well as the exacting labor which the office 
 then promised to entail upon the incumbent. 
 
 VAI.I E OF CIUKCII PROPERTY. 
 
 In ISliS, the Rev. Mr. Whitaker, who up to that 
 time had borne the brunt of establishing on a firm 
 footing the church in Nevada, was elected Mission- 
 ary Hishop of the Diocese. JIo received the degree 
 of Doctor of Divinity from Kenyon College, Ohio, in 
 1SG9, and was consecrated a Bishop in New York 
 on October 13, ISO!). Last year (1S80) Bishop 
 Whitaker closed the tenth j-ear of his missionarj- 
 work in Nevada. An extract from his last annual 
 report to the Board of Missions of the J'rotestant 
 Episcopal Church shows very clcarlj' the progress 
 of the denomination in Nevada during the last 
 decade. Dr. Whitaker says: — 
 
 When I entered ujion the performance of mj- 
 duties as Missionary l^ishop there was but one 
 clergyman belonging to the jurisdiction; now there 
 are seven. There were then three churches; now 
 there are ten. There were then two rectories; now 
 there are eight. There were then 100 communi- 
 cants, there are now 340; there were then thirty 
 Sunday-school teachers and 320 scholars; there are 
 now ninelj--three teachers and 1.242 scholars. Dur- 
 ing this time there have been 1,199 infants baptized, 
 and 143 adults. There have been confirmed 368 
 persons, and 580 marriages have been solemnized. 
 The number of burials has been 1,129. The total 
 value of church property in Nevafla ten years ago 
 was 830. 400; it is now .?12.').0()0. In making up this 
 valuation 1 have deducted SlO.OOO from the actual 
 cost on account of de|)reciatii>n in the actual value. 
 But were all the church ]n-oi)erty to be destroj-ed 
 it could not be restored to its ])resent condilion for 
 less than 812'), 000. Of this amount 1 have received 
 i'rom sources outside the Slate, and mainly from 
 friends in the Atlantic States, §33,071. Subtracting 
 from the present value that of ten j-ears ago, we 
 have an increase of value in ten j-ears of 888. COO. 
 Deducting from this §33,071, the amount given from 
 outside sources, we have left §.').■). r)29. But in <leter- 
 miniiig the amount given in Nevada for church 
 ])roperty there should be added to this the §10,000 
 deducted for (lepreeialion in value, and §9.000 which 
 had been given by the congregation of St. I'aul's 
 ("hurch, Virginia Cit}'. for enlarging the chuirh just 
 before the great fire in 1S7."), but does not appear in 
 the present valuation. This gives §74,r)29. From 
 this amount must be deducted §8,000. the present 
 total indebtedness, which leaves 8106,529 as the total 
 given in Nevada for church pro])ertj' in the past ten 
 J-ears. Krom this it will be seen, that for every 
 dollar received from abroad for building churches 
 and schools our own peojile have, in ten years, given 
 somewhat over two dollars, and have altonether 
 given almost three-fourths of the present total value. 
 This amount is over and above what has been given 
 for current ex[)enses. 
 
 The foregoing is a fair report in a few words of 
 25 
 
 Ejii-scopal i)rogress in Nevada. The history of each 
 parish is treated separately. It is to these that 
 the reader must look for the entrances and exita 
 of the worthy men who have in their time striven 
 under all sorts of disadvantages to build up and 
 sustain an Episcopal community in the sage-brush 
 land. In common with all other Christian denomi- 
 nations who have tried to promote the cause of 
 religion they have only been able to hold their own 
 by the severest labor, and by overcoming almost 
 insurmountable obstacles. These diflieulties have 
 alreadj- been pointed out in the introductory observa- 
 tions in this chaj)ter. The building of church edi- 
 fices does not tell the whole story. Ministers have 
 done a great deal of work outside their own parishes, 
 and have traveled to neighboring settlements and 
 wherever two or three could be gathered to hear 
 the beautiful services of their creed. While Vir- 
 ginia City, having the largest ])0])ulation, was the 
 scene of the earliest work of the church, other points 
 have not been neglected. The faithful Bishop, while 
 doing \york as a missionary, held services at many 
 places outside the Comstock Lode. In 1864 the 
 Rev. Mr. Whitaker ])reaclied at Como, which now 
 has only six or eight inhabitants, but which was 
 then a mining camp of st^veral hundred people. 
 Occasional services were also held in these daj-s in 
 Galena, Franklin, Mill City, Ophir Citj", and other 
 places now almost abandoned to the solitar}- com- 
 panionship of the roaming coj-ote. When Washoe 
 Citj- was in the zenith of its ])rosperity, the Rev. 
 W. H. Dj-er, now in California, labored there for 
 awhile as an Ejiiscopal clergyman. 
 
 DEFECTION OF A CLEKGV.MAN. 
 
 The Rev. Johnston McCormac, who came from 
 Oregon in 1880, and who officiated as rector of St. 
 John's Parish, Gold Hill, for about a year, is the 
 only minister of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
 ever connected with the Nevada Diocese who 
 left the church to serve in another denomina- 
 tion. Mr. McCormac in 1S74 wasoHiciating as ])astor 
 of the Reformed Episcoi)al Church, at Ottawa, 
 Canada. A temporary offset to his defection was, 
 however, subsequentlj' secured in the ])erson of the 
 Rev. George W. Fitch, of the Methodist E|)isco])al 
 Church of the Nevada Conference, who was con- 
 firmed by Bishop Whitaker at Reno, on Jul}- 7, 1878, 
 but who al'lerwards returned to the Methodist faith, 
 and is now pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
 at Auburn, California. 
 
 I'ROSEI,YTI.N(i WITH TIIK CHINESE. 
 
 Among the enterprises undertaken by the Protes- 
 tant E|Mscoj)al Church in Nevada, was that of mak- 
 ing pro-ielytes of the Chinese population; but this 
 experiment met with no very encouraging success. 
 The Chinese on the Pacific Coast make very good 
 professing Christians, and that is about all. The 
 suspicion has been more than confirmed that these 
 people rarely, if ever, abandon the doctrines of Con- 
 fucius. They take readily to the Missions and Sunday- 
 
198 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 schools estiiblishud by wcll-incaiiing people lor their 
 benefit, but as soon as they have obtained a fair mas- 
 ter}^ of the English language they cease to take that 
 fen-id interest in Gospel teachings which distinguishes 
 their early ettorts to seek the light. There are some 
 rare exceptions to this rule, and it is generally 
 admitted that the Chinaman's highest conception of 
 church missions is that they are primarj' schools in 
 which he may incidentally learn something of "the 
 meek and lowly Jesus," while learning the language 
 which vastly improves his chance of remunerative 
 employment in this land of promise. On September 
 23, 1874, a Protestant Episcopal Chinese Mission 
 was established in Carson City. On that day Bishop 
 Whitaker formally opened the " Chapel of the Good 
 Shepherd," a small building with a seating capacity 
 for fii'ty persons. It was built at a cost of S'iyMi, all 
 of which was raised by Ah For, a Christian eolpor- 
 ter, who zealously labored to convert his country- 
 men residing in Virginia City and Carson City. Of 
 this amount nearly S300 was subscribed by China- 
 men in western Nevada, and the balance was con- 
 tributed by the American jteople. In 1875, Ah For 
 built a second chapel in Virginia City. It was his 
 custom to gather his countrj^men in these houses, 
 and preach to them on alternate Sundays, and to 
 teach them on the evenings of week days. Toward 
 the cost of the chapel in Virginia City, §150 was sub- 
 scribed by people residing in the Atlantic States 
 through Bisho]) Whitaker, and the balance by China- 
 men and friends of the underlaking in Nevada. A 
 part of the expense of maintaining the services was 
 assumed by the Sunday-school of St. Paul's (Jhurch, 
 Virginia City, and the Chinese Chapel in that town 
 was under the Bishop's charge. With the assistance 
 of the Reverend ^fr. Jenvey, Ah For translated the 
 Order for Evening Prayer into Chinese, and used it 
 at his services. He was familiar with the Bible and 
 apt at illustrating its texts. His Chinese Mission at 
 Carson (Jity was never very successful, and was soon 
 abandoned. The one in Virginia City was fairly 
 sustained for about a year, when in the conflagration 
 of October, 1875, its (Jhajjcl was destroj-eil with the 
 whole Chinese quarter of the city. On this there 
 was no insurance. Ah For became discouraged, and 
 no efforts were made to rebuild or resume the work 
 in which Ik; was engaged. Through the influence of 
 Bishop Whitaker, Ah For secured a missionary 
 appointment from the Established Church in 
 England, and is now serving as a missionary in his 
 own country under its direction. 
 
 GENEaOSITY OP MISS C. L. WOLFE. 
 
 The Diocesan School for girls at Jteno, conducted 
 under the ausj)iccs of the Protestant Eiiiscojial (-'hurch 
 in Nevada, is a standing tribute to Bishop Whitaker's 
 executive abilit3% and the resolute purpose which 
 marks the man in whatever he undertakes. lie had 
 recognized the constantly increasing need of a church 
 school for the education of girls — an institution 
 that could not fail to prove a most valuable aid 
 
 in the work of evangelization, and productive of 
 the richest blessings to the people of his church. 
 As early as 1870 he commenced the agitation of 
 this subject, and in 1873 he made an appeal for 
 aid in carrying out this cherished scheme, but all 
 that he received was 8300, which came from 
 friends across the continent. He was grateful 
 for this because it showed there were some who 
 were willing to stretch out their hands to help 
 the project. Two years later, however, a substan- 
 tial pledge gave assurance of success. Miss C. L. 
 Wolfe, a Now York lady, informed him she would 
 give 810,000 for the school, upon the condition that 
 the Bishop would raise an equal amount. In no part 
 of the country was such a school more needed. There 
 was none of such a character in the State. Its 
 establishment would place the opportunity of a 
 Christian education within the reach of many who 
 would otherwise grow up in ignorance, for it was 
 anticij)atod that the patronage of the school would 
 be derived mostly from sparsely settled, agricultural 
 valleys, and little mining camps, in which i'ow facili- 
 ties for securing an education could be enjoyed, and 
 in which religious instruction is seldom given. 
 
 The munificent offer of Miss Wolfe encouraged 
 Bishop Whitaker to renew his exertions to found 
 such an institution. Success crowned his ettbrts. 
 The people of Reno gave 84,000; a friend of the 
 school in Nevada gave 82,500; Mrs. M. A. Gros- 
 venor, of New York, gave .?],(tOO, and the balance of 
 the required ."?10,U00 was given in smaller sums, 
 partly by residents of Nevada, and partly by friends 
 at the East. Half a block of land was given by the 
 Central Pacific Ixailroad Conipanj', and the remain- 
 ing half was purchased and donated by the wide- 
 awake citizens of Reno, on condition that the pro- 
 posed school should be located in their town. The 
 construction of the building was begun on Juno 1, 
 lS7(i, and on October 12th the school was opened, 
 and has since boon in successful operation. We pre- 
 sent on another page an illustration of the school 
 and its surrounding grounds. It is 40x88 feet on the 
 ground, and three stories in height. It was warmed by 
 steam, supplied with hot and cold water and all modern 
 conveniences before it opened its doors. The cost of 
 construction reached 828,000, leaving a debt of 88,- 
 000. It has accommodations for forty-five boarding 
 and fifty day pupils. Miss Kate Hill is the worthy 
 princi])al, and she is assisted by an admirable corps 
 of assistants. Since the school was opened over 
 82,000 have been expended in j)ermaneiit im])rove- 
 ments, nearlj- half ot w bich was applied to the 
 expense of securing a ])ormanent and abundant sup- 
 ply of water for tlie use of the school, and for irriga- 
 ting the grounds. Towards the ]>ayment of the debt 
 in 1880 Miss Wolfe gave 82.5(10, Mrs. M. A. Gros- 
 venor, 81,000, and Mr. Daniel Cook, of San Fraticisco, 
 81,000, and several others have given smaller sums. 
 
 Bj' the aid of those generous gifts the financial 
 condition of tho school is bettor than at any previous 
 
TTTE r-TTTTHPTTES OF NEVADA. 
 
 199 
 
 limo since it was opened. Of the orif^innl builiiint; 
 debt all has been j)aid but 84,000. There is a. float- 
 ing debt of .?2, 31 0.7(5, which has been incurred for 
 improvements, and by reason of deficiencies in the 
 income, so that the total indebtuess is now 80,310.70. 
 The school property consists of seven acres of land, 
 and a building admirablj- ada]itcd to the purposes 
 for which it was designed. It still has many needs. 
 Among them a larger library, apparatus, and a sep- 
 arate building for a gj-mnasiuni; but it needs, first 
 of all, the payment of its debt. For all these, the 
 Bishop, with whom the supervision of this school is a 
 labor of love, looks to the friends of f^hristian edu- 
 cation, hoping they will give him the means i'or sup- 
 plying them. Owing to the present depression of 
 the mining industry in Nevada, he cannot hope that 
 the ini^titution will do more than ](rovide for its 
 current expenses; and any one familiar with the 
 condition of Nevada, will bear testimony that it is 
 doing nobly when it does even this. Its beneficial 
 influence is already felt in almost every town in the 
 State. Whatever is given to this school will yield 
 a rich return in the mental and spiritual benefit of 
 those connected with it. Could the surplus of its 
 income be employed in making needed improve- 
 ments, instead of being used for the payment of 
 interest and the reduction of the debt, the school 
 would become each year better provided with the 
 necessary means for doing still better work than it 
 now performs. 
 
 The regular course of study occupies four years. 
 Each scholar on entering the school is assigned to 
 the class for which she is found to be qualified. 
 Eegular exercises in reading, writing, spelling, defin- 
 ing, and composition, are continued throughout the 
 course. Especial attention is given to English com- 
 position, and the formation of a correct taste in 
 reading. 
 
 TERMS AND EXPENSES. 
 
 The school year is divided into two terms; one of 
 sixteen weeks, and the other of twenty-four. The 
 Advent term begins on the last Thursday in August, 
 and the Faster term on the first Thursday in Janu- 
 ary'. The charge per month, for board, washing, 
 fuel, lights, class lessons in vocal music, penmanship, 
 free hand drawing, and tuition in Fnglish and Fatin, 
 is thirty dollars. For day scholars (for the same 
 instruction), six dollars; day scholars in preparatorj' 
 department, four dollars. Those taking lessons upon 
 the j)iano or organ, or private lessons in singing or 
 drawing, or French or German, are charged at the 
 following rates: — 
 
 Piano or organ lessons, and use of instrument, 
 
 per month 810.00 
 
 The same, to those furnishing their own instru- 
 ment 8.00 
 
 Private lessons in singing 8.00 
 
 FreiK'h and German, each 4.00 
 
 Private lessons in drawing 4.00 
 
 " " in painting 6.00 
 
 When there are two boarders from the same 
 family, a discount of ten per cent, is made from 
 the above charges, for each. All jiaronts having 
 daughters to educate, and all friends of Christian 
 education, are invited to visit the school at any 
 time, and observe the manner in which its work is 
 carried on. 
 
 Catalogues containing full information will be fur- 
 nished upon application. Letters of inquiry should 
 be addressed to Bisnof Wiiitakek, 
 
 Virginia, Nevada. 
 
 THE nONEER CIlURCn OP NEVADA. 
 
 The following is the historical record of the various 
 parishes in Nevada, considered in the chronological 
 order of their foundation. 
 
 The first Protestant Episcopal service held in 
 Virginia was by the Rev. H. Smeathman, a visitor 
 from California. The congregation met for divine 
 service in the United States District Court-room, 
 on September 11, 1861. While he was here a parish 
 was organized and designated as St. Paul's Church. 
 Its members made application to Bishop Talbot to 
 assign to it a Eector. In March, 1802, the Rev. 
 Franklin S. Rising, of New York, a brother of 
 Judge Rising, now of Virginia City, was sent out 
 by the American Church Missionary Society to 
 Nevada Territory, arriving in Virginia City on April 
 18, 1862. Mr. Rising hold his first service on the 
 following Sunday (Faster), in the United States Dis- 
 trict Court-room. On August 19th the erection of 
 a frame church edifice, 34x00 feet, was commenced 
 at the corner of Taj-lor and F streets, the site of 
 the present church. 
 
 On Christmas-day it was temporaril}' occupied by 
 the congregation for the first time, and on February 
 22, 1863, was permanently and formally opened for 
 divine worship. It cost 830,000; the whole amount 
 having been contributed by individuals connected 
 with the parish. The first Sundaj'-school was organ- 
 ized on May 11, 1862, with five teachers and four- 
 teen pupils. In October, 1868, Bishop Talbot visited 
 Virginia City, and consecrated the church. Ho 
 also held in the same month a confirmation service, 
 on which occasion he conferred the apostolic rite on 
 thirteen ])ersons. The Rev. F. S. Rising was heart- 
 ily sustained by his parishioners from the start, lie 
 continued with them until January, 18()6, when his 
 health failing he resigned, and returned to his home 
 in Ni;w York. The esteemed gentleman lost his life 
 in a collision between two steamboats on the Ohio 
 River, in November, 1868. The sad news of his 
 tragic death was received with sincere and genuine 
 expressions of grief among his former parishioners 
 of Virginia. The Rev. 11. D. Lathrop, D. I)., now 
 of Fureka, California, and in 1866 in charge of the 
 parish at Gold Hill, was invited to take charge of 
 St. Paul's Church, and held afternoon services until 
 the twenty-first of April, 1867, when he was relieved 
 by the Rev. Ozi W. Whitaker. Mr. Whitaker, like Mr. 
 
200 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Rising, came out as a missionary of his church, and 
 was subsequently called as Rector of the parish. 
 In the same jear. Bishop Talbot was elected Bishop 
 of Indiana; and the missionary district of Nevada 
 Territory being left without oversight was placed 
 temporarily in charge of Bishop \V. Ingraham Kip, of 
 the Diocese of California. In October, 1867, Bishop 
 Kip visited St. Paul's Parish, Virginia City, remained 
 over two Sundays, and confirmed twenty-four per- 
 sons presented b^' the Rector. In the summer of 
 1868, a fire starling in the church tower, damaged 
 the church building to the amount of 82,700, which 
 was covered bj' insurance. In September, 1S72, the 
 church building was enlarged, and the interior rear- 
 ranged, the seating capacity being increased six 
 pews. In S<'])tember, 1874, the edifice was, at an 
 outlay of SO.OOd, again enlarged, an extension of 
 twenty feet being adiled to the east end, and a gal- 
 lery constructed across the west end. At the same 
 time a large ]iii>eorgan, costing 83,000, was erected 
 in the gallery. The Sunday-school now numbered 
 350 ))upils and twentj-four teachers, and the congre- 
 gation tilled the cliuri'h at all services. The school 
 room was in the basement of the church, 80x22 
 feet. In the general conflagration of October 
 26, 1875, the church building and rectory were 
 entirely destroj-ed, together with the homes of two- 
 thirds of the members of the congregation. The 
 rectory was rebuilt as soon as the weather ]>ermitted, 
 and the church edifice was rebuilt in the summer 
 of 1876. The foundation was laid in Jul}', and the 
 structure completed in December. The new build- 
 ing was ten feet longer and two feet wider than 
 the old, with a sealing accommodation of between 
 350 and 400. The total cost, including furniture, 
 organ, etc., reached S25 000. Towani meeting this 
 the sum of 812 000 insurance, recovered on the 
 burned building, was applied, together with 813,000 
 raised bj' subscriptions. An indebtedness of 82,00(1 
 still (1881) remains uncancelled. On December 10, 
 1876, the new church was formally opened for divine 
 service. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Whitaker has continuously served 
 St. Paul's Paxish as Rector since he first took charge. 
 In October, 1868, he was elected Bishop of the 
 Missionary Diocese of Nevada and Arizona, lie 
 accepted the office in Februar}', 1800, and on Octo- 
 ber 13th was consecrated as a Bishop at St. George's 
 Church, New York. During his absence from Vir- 
 ginia his place was filled by the Rev. Arthur Law- 
 rence, who was visiting the coast. Since entering 
 upon his larger duties as Bishop of an extensive ter- 
 ritory the right reverend gentleman has had to rely 
 upon the services of assistant ministers in the man- 
 agement of St. Paul's Parish. His first resident 
 assistant minister was the IJev.J. VV. Lee, of ]?oston, 
 who did duty in the parish in 1870, and left early in 
 1871. Mr. Lee is now (1881) Rector at Bristol, 
 Pennsylvania. In April, 1871, the Rev. William 
 Henderson, now in Iowa, acted as the Bishop's 
 
 assistant, and remained until the following October, 
 when he removed to Eureka, Nevada, and took 
 charge of the pari.sli there. Next came the Rev. 
 Rush S. Eastman, early in 1872, from Philadelphia, 
 who remained until 1874. 
 
 In 1877, Mr. Eastman was chosen rector of Gold 
 Hill Parish, where he remained until called to the 
 rectoi'ship of Austin, which he now holds. In 1874, 
 the Rev. W. R. Jenvey, from Pennsylvania, with Mr. 
 Eastman acted as an assistant minister of St. Paul's, 
 and in 1878 left to take charge of the Reno Parish. 
 In July, 1879, the Rev. George N. Eastman, a younger 
 brother of Rush, was installed as assistant, the duties 
 of which office he at present discharges. In addition 
 to his labors in connection with Virginia City, the 
 assistant minister holds regular services at Daj'ton 
 and Silver City on alternate Sundays. The present 
 membership of St. Paul's, Virginia Cit}', embraces 
 about eighty persons. It never exceeded one hun- 
 dred. Like all parishes in the mining regions, the 
 population is constantly changing. As illustrative 
 of the effect of this peculiarity upon church life, 
 attention is called to the fact that in a single j-ear 
 one pew in St. Paul's, Virginia, was in possession of 
 five families consecutively. Judge Rising is the only 
 member of the ]iarish to-day who was a pew-holder 
 when the first church was built. 
 
 The Sundaj'-school (after the great fire) held its 
 sessions in the basement of Beardsley's building, 
 nearlj- opposite the Presln-terian Church. Bishop 
 Whitaker held morning services in the Presbyterian 
 Church until the Odd Fellows Hall was rebuilt, when 
 services were held regularly in the latter building 
 until the church was again readj- for occupation. 
 
 GOLD niLL. 
 
 The Rev. Franklin S. Rising held a service at Gold 
 Hill on Maj' 18, 1SG2, after which a Sunday-school of 
 five members was organized. The Second Protestant 
 Episco])ul ('hurcli service ever held in the town was 
 h;i(l in the (iold Hill Theatre on July Sth. when the 
 parish called St. John's was organized, with Mr. 
 Rising as rector. On November 9th. the congrega- 
 tion changed its base from the theatre building to 
 the school house. A gambling game was carried on 
 night and day in the former, and the ownei-s of the 
 lease refused to allow the church i>eo])le the further 
 occupancy of it. " One of us " ho said, " has to quit: 
 these things don't run together." On October 18, 
 
 1863, the Rev. O. W. Whitaker succeeded Mr. Rising 
 as rector, and remained in charge until June, 1865. 
 The erection of a church edifice was begun J»\y 18, 
 
 1864, and finished in the fall. It was a liand.some 
 brick structure, of the (iotliic order, and su|)))orts an 
 S2(i pound bell. When completed cost about 813,000. 
 It was at that time in a pleasant and most desirable 
 location surrounded by residences, but is to-day 
 almost lost to sight among the ruins of olil hoisting 
 works. It was first opened for divine worship on 
 December 18, 1S64. In April, 1865, the church was 
 draped in mourning for thirty days in memory of 
 
THE CHURCHES IN NEVADA. 
 
 201 
 
 President Lincoln, assassinated in that month. In 
 June, ISijS, the J{ev. ])r. 11. D. Lathrop. from Ohio, 
 took charge of the (iold Hill Parish and remained in 
 charge until September 1, 18(57. when he accepted a 
 (•all to San Franci.sco. On October 13, 18G7, St. 
 John's Church was consecrated b>- Bishop Kip, Pro- 
 visional Bishop of the Nevada Diocese. The Rev. 
 0. W. Whitaker, of Virginia City, was invited to 
 again take charge of the parish in connection with 
 his own, which he did. This involved the most 
 arduous labor, as it entailed upon Mr. Whitaker the 
 responsibility of caring for throe jiarishcs at the same 
 time — Mrginia, Carson and Hold liili. lie held serv- 
 ices at the latter place as often as practicable until 
 187(», when the Kev. J. McCormac, from Oregon, 
 accepted a call from the parish. On the Fourth of 
 July, 1870, the rectory vvas burned, and soon after- 
 wards rebuilt. Mr. McCormac resigned on June 
 30, 1871, and Bishoj) Whitaker again was called 
 upon to hold the services as often as he could. 
 During the following j'car the Bishop and Pev. 
 (Jcorge B. Allen, of Car.son City, held occasional 
 services in Gold Hill, and on July 2, 1872, Bishop 
 Whitaker was requested by the vestry to take 
 full charge, which he did, and jirovidod regular 
 Sunday services until 187G, with the assistance of 
 the Reverends Rush S. Eastman and W. R. Jenvey. 
 These three divines managed among tlioni to keep 
 up regular Sunilaj- worship in Virginia Citj', Gold 
 Hill, Silver Citj-, and Dayton. In lS7tl, the Rev. 
 Rush S. Eastman was elected Rector of Gold Hill, 
 and continued to serve as such until December 1, 
 1879, when he resigned to accept a call from Austin. 
 Since his time there has been no regular rector at 
 Gold Hill, but occasional services have been held 
 there by Bishop Whitaker and bis assistant, the Rev. 
 George N. Eastman, The Sunday-school connected 
 with the ])arish has never missed a regular session 
 since it was first organized in June, 1803. At one 
 time ponding repairs to its school room, the school 
 held its session in the street. It was mainly through 
 the exertions of the Hon. N. A. II. Ball, deceased, 
 who for a long time was the Senior Warden and the 
 Superintendent of the Sunday-school, that the 
 church was built and the school maintained. He 
 died on August 28, 1870, and his loss was deeply 
 mourned by all classes, and the Gold Hill Church suf- 
 fered an irreparable loss. The Sunday-school at the 
 time of his death numbered twelve teachers and l.")(l 
 pupils. 
 
 SILVER CITY. 
 
 Chr3'sopolis Hall was the scene of the first gather- 
 ing for public worship of the l^piscopalians of Sil- 
 ver City. The Rev. Mr, Rising was the pioneer 
 clergj-man of the order here, as well as elsewhere. 
 He held his first services in the above hall on June 
 C, 181)2, his congregation nunilieriiig from 70 to 
 loo ])er.sons. The walls were lined with muslin, and 
 two common candles inserted in the necksof a coujile 
 of empty beor bottles, shod a dim religious light 
 
 upon the proceedings. The pulpit consisted of a 
 round table, and the smoke from the flickering can- 
 dles now and then drifted into the reverend gentle- 
 man's face. Services were held in Silver City with 
 great regularity until December, 1873, when they 
 were discontinued for a short time. From April, 
 1871, to February, 1872, Bishop Whitaker continued 
 to conduct the services every Friday evening. The 
 Pev. W. R. Jenvey, assistant minister of St. Paul's, 
 Virginia City, began holding regular Sunday services 
 in the public school house at Silver City in 1874, and 
 in September of the following year began the erection 
 of a church building. Soon after the general con- 
 flagration in Virginia Citj' in October, 1875, the par- 
 tiallj- constructed edifice at Silver City was utterly 
 wrecked in a fearful storm of wind, rain and snow, 
 which lasted ten days. It fell to the ground on 
 Saturday night, November 13th, Undismayed by 
 this disaster, Mr. Jenvey at once went to work and 
 rebuilt the church, and had it ready for occupancy 
 on Christmas-day, 1875. Mr. Jenvey continued 
 holding services here until he removed to Reno in 
 August, 1878. Since that time the Rev. George N. 
 Eastman has regularly held bi-weeklj- services in the 
 church at Silver City. 
 
 C.\R.S0N cm'. 
 On September 25, 18G2, the Rev, Franklin S, 
 Rising held the first Protestant E])iscopal Church 
 service in Ormsby County, in the Court House at 
 Carson City, On October 29, 1SG3, the Rev. W. M. 
 Riley, now of Haddonfield, New Jersey, entered 
 upon his duties as the first Rector of St. Peter's 
 Parish, Carson City. His services were held regu- 
 larly in the Court House, and 'ho remained as Rector 
 until April. ISOt), when, engendering the dislike of 
 his flock on account of his ultra iiro-Soutliern senti- 
 ments, he resigned. After his departure the Rev. 
 Dr. H. H. Lathrop held a weekly .service at Carson 
 every Fridaj' evening, from August IStili, to Sep- 
 tember, 1867. In July, 1867, the vestry determined 
 to build a church edifice, which was completed dur- 
 ing the following summer. Between Seiitember, 
 1867, and July, 1868, the Rev. Ozi W. Whitaker, 
 Rector of St. Paul's, Virginia City, held a regular 
 week-day service at the State Capitol. At that 
 time the ponj'-express was in operation between 
 Reno and Virginia; and the reverend gentleman in 
 those daj's was often seen riding in hot haste across 
 the countr}' on the fleet-footed animals employed b}' 
 the express company. In October, 1867, Bishop 
 Kip visited Carson, and at a service held in the 
 .Methodist Church, confirmed twelve condidates. 
 In May, 1868, the Rev, tieorge B. Allen, of Pennsj-I- 
 vania, received a call from the parish, and entered 
 upon his duties as |{e(U()r on August !'th. It was 
 on that day that the newly erected church was 
 occupied for the first time for divine worship. On 
 June 10, 1870, Trinity Church was consecrated by 
 the Right Rev, O. W. Whitaker, Bishop of the .Mis- 
 sionary Diocoso of Nevada. It was a plain but 
 
202 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE Of NEVADA. 
 
 substantially constructed building, put up at a cost 
 of 85,500. In December, 1873, it was enlarged 
 twenty-lour feet, making the auditory seventy feet 
 in length. Two wings of the same height, 58x21 
 feet, were added to the main building, for a lecture 
 and Sunday-school room. The auditory, consisting 
 of fifty-nine pews, were arranged in three rows 
 with two aisles, and all the stained-glass windows 
 were donated by different merabcre of the congre- 
 gation. The cost of the entire improvements, includ- 
 ing the expense of furnishing, amounted to nearly 
 812,000, only half of which was paid at the time. 
 The first service in the church after it was enlarged 
 was held by the Rev. Mr. Allen, on Easter Sunday, 
 1874; and on the following Sunday, Bishop Whitaker 
 formally re-opencd it for divine worship. On Decem- 
 ber 3l8t, Mr. Allen was transferred to the Diocese 
 of northern California, and is at present oflBciating 
 as J{ector of the Protestant Episcopal Church at 
 Petaluma, Sonoma County. The Eev. Samuel P. 
 Kelly next officiated at Carson for some months, 
 and was followed, on October 11, 1870, by the IJev. 
 H. L. Foote, from Stockton, California, who remained 
 in charge until Maj- 11, 1878, when he resigned, to 
 accept a call from Clinton, Massachusetts, his pres- 
 ent post-office address. During Mr. Foote's time 
 in Carson City, it was a period of great financial 
 depression, which quite seriously affected the pros- 
 pects of the church. The heavy debt, however, 
 upon the property, was somewhat reduced. 
 
 On October 13, 1878, the Rev. George R. Davis, of 
 Nevada City, California, took charge of the parish, 
 and is the present Rector. He found the church 
 83,000 in debt, and the object of his energetic minis- 
 tration was to lift this incubus. The ladies of St. 
 Peter's Parish, who have always taken an active 
 interest in the business details of the church went 
 to work zealously, and in eighteen months after Mr. 
 Davis' arrival canceled the entire debt. The church, 
 which in 1878 had forty communicants, and 125 pupils 
 in the Sunday-school, now numbers sixty communi- 
 cants and 100 children in the school. 
 
 DAYTON. 
 
 A parish was organized at Dayton on December 
 26, 1863, under the name of the Church of the 
 Ascension; but a year before that date sersMces had 
 been occasionallj' held by the Rev. Mr. Rising in 
 the Court House. The Rev. O. W. Whitaker who 
 organized the parish began his labors there on 
 November 15, 1803, and held regular services with- 
 out intcrmi.ssipn until June, 18G5. The Rev. W. H. 
 Dyer was in charge from November, 1865, to April, 
 1866. In the summer of 1867 the Rev. O. VV. Whit- 
 aker began holding regular Wednesday evening ser- 
 vices in the Methodist Kpiscopal Church, and after 
 that year services were held occasionally until 1874. 
 The Rev. W. R. Jenvey officiated at the Court House 
 regularly until his removal to Reno in August, 1878. 
 In July, 1879, the Rev. George N. Eastman began a 
 
 bi-weekly Sundaj- service in Dayton which he con- 
 tinues to the present day. 
 
 AUSTIN. 
 
 When Bishop Talbot made his missionary tour in 
 Nevada Territory in 1863 he stopped at Austin a 
 few days and held a service there. It was not until 
 18GG that regular worship according to Episcopal 
 forms was established. In that year Mr. D. M. God- 
 win began a lay service in the Court House on Sun- 
 days. In March, 1868, the Rev. Marcus Ijane, now 
 in Michigan, began holding services at Austin, which 
 he continued for one 3'ear. It was not until 1873 
 that a regular parish was finally organized and des- 
 ignated as St. George's. The Rev. Christopher S. 
 Stevenson, from New York, served as Rector one 
 year. He died in Brooklyn, New York, in 1880. 
 The Rev. S. C. Blackiston, from Colorado, now at 
 Fort Benton, Montana, succeeded Mr. Stevenson as 
 Rector in September, 1874, and lubored at Austin 
 five years. In May, 1879, he was succeeded by the 
 Rev. Samuel P. Kelly, who officiated as Rector of St. 
 George's Parish for a few months. Mr. Kelly is to- 
 day an active and leading member of the journalistic 
 profession, and at last accounts his talented pen was 
 in the service of the Oakland Tribane. The Rev. 
 Rush. S. Eastman, the present Rector at Austin 
 took charge of the parish on Easter, 1880. 
 
 A view of St. George's Church, Austin, is given ol 
 another page of this work. It is of the Gothic 
 order of architecture, is built of brick, and is one of 
 the handsomest church buildings in Nevada. It was 
 erected during the rectorship of the Rev. Mr. 
 Blackiston, and was consecrated to the service of the 
 Lord on Tinnity Sunday, 1878. The story of its 
 construction is an interesting one. For years the 
 services of the church in Austin were held in the 
 Court House. On Easter Sunday, 1877, the Rector, 
 after the sermon, called attention to the fact that the 
 great need of the parish was a house of worship. 
 The Easter offerings, he said, would be applied to a 
 building fund. A lot had alreadj- been purchased, 
 and the members of the congregation had graded 
 the same and had built the foundation. Those who 
 would pledge themselves to sub.scribe any sum 
 toward the cause were asked to designate on a card 
 the amount they could att'ord to give. After the 
 contribution plates had passed around a pleasant 
 surprise was in store for the wardens when they 
 counted the offerings. One member of the congre- 
 gation had pledged himself in a letter to build the 
 church at his own expense if the others would agree 
 to furnish it. This was the Easter offering of Mr. 
 Allen A. Curtis, the Superintendent of the ilanhat- 
 tan Mine, Austin. It is needless to add that the 
 offer was accepted, and that the liberality of Mr. 
 Curtis stimulated the generosity of others. Mr. 
 John A. Paxton and Mr. W. S. Gage united in the 
 gift of a fine bell for the stecjile. Mr. James S. 
 Porteous presented the church with an excellent 
 pipe-organ, which cost him 81,000, and which was 
 
THE CHURCHES IN NEVADA. 
 
 203 
 
 built by Alexjiniifr Mills, New York. The whole 
 cost of coinpk'tiiij; and furiiisliiiiij the ohun-h was 
 815,500, of which all but 85(H) was nivon by residents 
 of Austin, or by those havintj business interests 
 there. 
 
 The members of the cons^regation of St. George's 
 Parish, without exception, contributed jrenerously 
 toward the cflst of the new church which is com- 
 pletely and eletjantly furnished and entirely free 
 from debt. The erection, however, of such a build- 
 ing was possible onlj- though the libcralitj- of Mr. 
 Curtis whose donation aggregated from first to last 
 $9,500. Later the bank at Austin loaned the society 
 $750 to erect a wall to maintain the grade around 
 the church. A rectory was built before the erection 
 of the church, and the total value of the church 
 property at Austin is put at 817,000. 
 
 II.VMII.TON. 
 
 On Sunday afternoon, June 20, 1869, Bisho]) Whit- 
 akcr held the first Episcopal services in White Pino 
 Count}-, in Broker's llall, Treasure City. On the 
 evening of the same day he held the first services at 
 Hamilton, in the court-room of Justice Hotzel. The 
 next service was held b}- Bishop Whitaker on Aug- 
 ust 7, 1870, in the City Hall at llainilton. and on the 
 following Sundaj- at the Court House. The Bishop 
 oflRciated her > fur the ensuing two months, and until 
 the arrival of the l^ev. Samuel P. Keli}- from Khode 
 Island. On September 24th a meeting was held at 
 the house of S. M. Van Wyck, and St. Luke's Parish, 
 Hamilton, organized, of which Mr. Kellj^ was ciioseii 
 as Uector. Two weeks previously Bishop Whitaker 
 had organized the Sunday-school. In October, 1870, 
 a house was purchased and fitted up as a rectory. 
 During 1871, owing to the exertions of Mr. Kellj-. a 
 neat frame church was erected, which was conse- 
 crated July 14, 1872. A month later Mr. Kellj' 
 accepted a call to Eureka, and he was succeeded by 
 the liev. John Cornell, now of the American Prot- 
 estant Chapel at Nice. About the end of September, 
 1873, Mr. Cornell resigned. Since his time the 
 parish has had no rector, though services are held 
 there occasionally by the bishop and the clergymen 
 of Eureka and Pioche. The population of Hamilton 
 has almost melted away, but an l';pisc(j|(al Siinday- 
 Bcbool is still maintained there. Hamilton is still in 
 a vcr}- depressed condition. 
 
 nocHE. 
 
 It was in a drinking saloon that the Protestant 
 Episcopal Church first made its advent in this 
 once notorious camp. The proprietor surrendered his 
 establishment to the use of praj'er and praise on 
 the occasion of Bishop Whitaker's first visit, there 
 being no other place large enough to accommodate 
 a congregation. Amidst the strange surroundings 
 of vice and its train of evils the impressive services 
 of the church were read to a congregation of rough 
 miners on September i:!, 1870. About 15(1 |>ersons 
 densely packed the saloon, and on the sidewalk in 
 front was gathered an equally largo crowd unable 
 
 to obtain admission. In the summer of 1871 Bishop 
 Whitaker revisited Pioche, and twice held services 
 in the cam]). During this year the Rev. J. W. Lee 
 officiated here a few months. The Rev. H. L. Bad- 
 ger, from Ohio, who had accejited a missionary 
 appointment, arrived at Pioche in September, this 
 j-ear, and commenced the work of his mission. 
 Three days before his arrival the entire town was 
 reduced to ashes. For several months afterwards 
 Mr. Badger held services wherever he could secure 
 accommodations, meager as they were, first in ono 
 house and then in another. A neat little frame 
 church and rectory was completed on July 21, 1872, 
 at a cost of 83,679.54. After four years earnest 
 labor in this camj) Mr. Badger resigned, on account 
 of the continued illness of his wife, and was suc- 
 ceeded by the Rov. H. H. Kline, who served as 
 Rector from September 1, 1875, to January. 1877. 
 He was then transferred to northern California, but 
 after a year's absence returned in 1878, and con- 
 tinued in charge of Christ Church, Pioche, until 
 the summer of 1879, maintaining regular services 
 on Sunday, though engaged during the week in 
 teaching. There is no Episcopal minister at Pioche 
 to-day. The Sunday-school, with an average attend- 
 ance of fifty pupils, was maintained up to the close 
 of 1880. 
 
 EUREKA. 
 
 Public worship, according to the rites of the 
 Protestant Episcopal creed, was first had in a can- 
 vas tent on Main street. Eureka, on Septeml)er 28, 
 1870. During meal hours the tent was occupied 
 as an eating-house, bearing the sign of the Antelope 
 Restaurant. The services were announced to take 
 place at 7 o'clock in the evening, but owing to the 
 failure of Bishop Whitaker to arrive at the hour 
 designated the people returned to their homos. It 
 appears that the right reverend gentleman was on 
 his way to Kureka, from Hamilton, that afternoon, 
 but the stage-coach breaking down on the road a 
 delay ensued. It was nearly 9 o'clock when he did 
 arrive at Eureka, but notwithstanding the lateness 
 of the hour the people determined to have a soi-vico 
 at anj cost. So messengers wore sent out. and be- 
 fore 9 o'clock about fil't}' persons assembleii in the 
 tent. This was Eureka's Epi8co])al baptism. In the 
 ensuing winter the I'ev. Samuel P. Kellj- ofticiuted 
 several times, and through his exertions a buililing 
 lot was secured for the erection of a church. The 
 corner-stone wiis laid in May, 1871, bj- Bishop Whit- 
 aker, and St. James' ])arish organized. The Hishop 
 spent several weeks in lOureka that summer, dur- 
 ing which the building of the church was pushed 
 forward, and a comfortable rectory constructed. In 
 August the Rev. W. Henderson took charge of the 
 parish. I'ntil November, 1871, the services were 
 conducted in a tent, which on week days was used 
 as a school room. In Jul3^ 1S72, the Bishop visited 
 the ])ariHh, and contirmed fifteen persons. On the 
 twenty-eighth of that month the church edifice. 
 
20-1. 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 built of stone, was Kolemnlj- consecrated. Mr. Hen- 
 derson resigned the rectorship in August, and on 
 September 1st was succeeded by the Rev. Samuel 
 P. Kelly. In March, 1875, Mr. Koily extended an 
 invitation to the Kev. C. H. Marshall, of Wyoming, 
 to become assistant minister of the parish, which 
 was aecepled. On April r)th Mr. Kelly was elected 
 State Superintendent of Public Instruction; and, 
 resigning his charge, removed to Carson City to 
 enter upon the discharge of his jniblic duties. Mr. 
 Marshall, thereupon, was called to the rectorship, 
 and assumed ciiarge. He resigned in February, 
 1877, to accept a call as Rector of the Episcopal 
 C^hurch at Denver, Colorado. The Eureka Church 
 was closed for six months; but in August, 1877, the 
 Rev. C. B. Crawford, from i'cnnsj-lvania, the present 
 Rector, assumed charge. Since Mr. Crawford began 
 his labors the parish has been entirely self-sustain- 
 ing, which it never had been before his time. St, 
 •lames (!hurch has a flourishing Sunday-school. 
 
 IIENO. 
 
 Bishop Whitaker held the first services at the 
 school house in Reno, on October 16, 1870. His 
 second service at the same place was held on April 
 12, 1872. In January, 1873, he began holding serv- 
 ices in the Court House on alternate Sundays, which 
 were continued until the arrival of the Rev. William 
 Lucas, fromTillin, Ohio, on the fifth of May, The 
 parish, under the name of Trinity (!liurch, hud been 
 organized by the Rishop in the previous February. 
 J. C. Ijcwis was elected Senior Warden; A. J. 
 Hatch, Junior Warden; B. F. Leeto, Secretary; D, 
 A. Bender, Treasurer; .1. S. Shoemaker, Joseph De 
 Bell, and C. 11. Eastman, Vestrymen. Regular serv- 
 ices wore begun and held in the Court House by 
 Bishop Whitaker, Rev. George B. Allen, of Carson 
 City, and Rev. H. S. Eastman, ol <rold llill. In the 
 meantime the Rev. Mr. Lucas had been called to the 
 ])ermanent rectorship of the parish. On May 5, 
 1S7:5, he entered upon the discharge of his duties. 
 In July of the same year a lot was purchased for 
 $400, and a rectory built, which was ready for oecu- 
 ])ancy in October. The first confirmation service 
 ever held in the parish took ])lace in the Court 
 House, September (j, 1H74, when six candidates were 
 presented. On May 24, 1875, the corner-stono of the 
 church building was laid, and the work of erection 
 begun. It was vigorously pressed, and on Decem- 
 ber 12th of the same year the church was regularly 
 opened by liishop Whitaker for i>ublic worship. It 
 is constructed of wood, ;!2 x 7(( feet, with a sipiaro 
 tower at the right hand corner, Slill the church 
 was not completed. This had yet to 1)0 done, as 
 well as the laboi- of extricating it from debt. The 
 entire cost of the building was about §4,500, On 
 April 1, 187G, a set of chancel furniture was received 
 I'rom some church friends in the East, at the head 
 of whom was Miss Carrie E. Darlington, of (Jerman- 
 town, Pennsylvania. The Rev. Samuel P. Kelly 
 completed this valuable gift by presenting a beauti- 
 
 ful baptismal font as a thank-offering for the recov- 
 ery from a severe illness of his child, Helen. In 
 September, 1878, the Rov. William Lucas, run down 
 by hard work and enfeebled by sickness, was com- 
 pelled to temporarilj' resign his charge. The Rev, 
 W, R, Jenvey, then assisting Bishop Whitaker in 
 Virginia Citj% was called to the parish as Rector 
 pro lent, on September o, 1878. His first undertak- 
 ing was the completion of the church building, the 
 interior of which had remained unfinished and un- 
 carpeted. During the six weeks the carpenters 
 were at work services were held in Mr. Richmond 
 Smith's Opera House, that gentleman kiudlj- donat- 
 ing the use of the building. On December 17lh, the 
 church was again formally re-opened by Bishop 
 Whitaker. There was not a dollar of indebtedness 
 upon it, and it was ready for consecration, which 
 solemn service took place on June 8, 1878. Mean- 
 while the Rev. Mr. Lucas decided that he could not 
 return to the parish, and Mr. Jenvey, at present in 
 charge, was called to the permanent rcctorshi]). 
 The total cost of the church building has been about 
 80,000. It is free from debt. The Sunday-school 
 connected with Trinity Parish has fourteen teachers 
 and KiO scholars, 
 
 BELMONT. 
 
 The Rev. Samuel P. Kelly held the first services 
 of the Protestant E])iscopal Church in Belmont in 
 1872, The Rev. S. B. Moore ari-Jved there from 
 Pittsburgh in the following year, and officiated as 
 Rector of St. Stephen's Parish during the next four 
 years. The parish organization, however, dates its 
 corporate existence from February 10. 1874. In the 
 following year Belmont lost fully one-half of its pop- 
 ulation by removal. But by the indefatigable per- 
 severance of Mr. Moore, a neat church was erected 
 and jiaid for. It is of wood, and capable of seating 
 about i;iO persons. The entire cost was §3,790, of 
 which §2,750 was given in Belmont, It was con- 
 secrated on the third Sundaj- after Easter, 1875, 
 Mr. Moore was succeeded in 1870 by the Rev. Daniel 
 Flack, now of Rochester, ^<ew York, who had charge 
 a little over a year. Mr. Flack resigned the rector- 
 ship at Faster, 1S7!^. the business of Belmont having 
 so far declined that a clergyman cduld not well be 
 8upi)orted there. The church was thereupon closed 
 for nine months; but in December, the Rev. Samuel 
 P. Kelly undertook to revive the drooping spirits of 
 St, Stephens, and zealously served as Rector of the 
 ])arish until called to Austin on June 1, 1870. Since 
 that' date there has been no resident Ei)isi'opal min- 
 ister at Belmont, though, through the efforts of Mrs. 
 R. M. King, the Superintendent, a flourishing Sun- 
 day-school, in connection with the ilenoniination, is 
 still niaintaineil. It was discontinued after Mr. 
 Kelly left, but this zealous churchwoman reorganized 
 it in October, 1880. The average attendance is 
 about forty-five pupils. Bishop Whitaker occasion- 
 ally visits the place. 
 
THE CHURCHES OF NEVADA. 
 
 205 
 
 CHAPTEE XXVII. 
 THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 
 
 The Pioneer Piu-at — First Iliuiscof Worsliip — Kll'cctDf a Washoe 
 Zephyr — Father Maiiogiie — First C'hurcli at Iteiio — ."^t. Vin- 
 cent deSt. Paul .Society — Sisters of Charity — Father Mano- 
 giie's Biography. 
 
 The Rev. Father II. V. Gulla.uhor, now of Sun 
 Francisco, was the pioneer priest of the Roman Cath- 
 olic Church in Nevada Territory. His first hibors 
 were performed at Genoa, in Douglas County, though 
 he took genera! charge of the spiritual interest of the 
 fiiithful in this region, holding regular services at 
 Virginia City, Carson and Genoa. The historj' of 
 the Catholic Church in Nevada dates from the erec- 
 tion, by the Rev. Fallicr (iallaglier. of its first house 
 of worship in Virginia, i!i the summer of 1800. It 
 was built without anj' precautions or calculations in 
 guarding against the heavy winds and violent gales 
 which occasionally visit this region, and, conse- 
 quently, the first angry Washoe zephyr found it an 
 easy prey, prostrating it to the ground. About the 
 same time Father CJallagher had another church con- 
 structed in Carson, and another in Genoa. The one 
 in Cai"son was shortly afterwards blown down in a 
 hurricane, and the lumber was taken away bj' those 
 who had a claim for wages. 
 
 The Genoa Church was not jjaid for, and whatever 
 lien was on it was removed by some parties who 
 had it appropriated for a Court House. In June, 
 18G2, the Rev. Patrick Manogue took charge of the 
 Virginia Parish, and erected another edifice at a cost 
 of §12,000, which was consecrated under the name of 
 •' St. Mary's of the Mountains." The Passionist 
 Fathers, in the winter of the following year, built a 
 frame church on the divide between Virginia City 
 and tiold Hill. It was opened for services on Decem- 
 ber 20, 1863. This building was afterwards trans- 
 ferred to Gold Hill, but was found inadequate to the 
 wants of the congregation, and in the s]>ring of ISC-l 
 the Rev. Father P. O'Reilly built a large and more 
 commodious church. Mass was celebrated in it for 
 the first time on May 13th, and on July 201 h it was 
 dedicated. Father O'Reilly afterwards took a trip 
 lor the benefit of his health, and during a voyage 
 from Honolulu to Valjiaraiso, died on board the 
 steamer, and was buried at sea. The Rev. Father 
 Monteverde, now of Eureka, established in 18G4, St. 
 Augustin's Church in Austin, now in charge of the 
 Rev. Father Josc])h I'helan, and afterwards, dur- 
 ing the White Pine excitement, built a church at 
 , Hamilton. In 1805 a church was commenced in 
 / Aurora, Esmeralila County, and raised a few feet 
 over the ioundation by the Rev. Fallier Walsh, and 
 then abandoned because of the rajiid depopulation of 
 the place. The foundation is still standing there, a 
 relic of early limes. In 1808 the congregation of the 
 Virginia City Church became so numerous as to 
 require a larger house of worship. A brick church 
 was thereujHin erected by the Rev. Father Manogue, 
 at a cost of 865,000. This was considered both an 
 26 
 
 ornament to the cit_v as well as a credit and honor 
 to the Catholics. Immediately afterwards the Rev. 
 Father Manogue was a])poiiited Vicar-General of the 
 Diocese of Gra.ss Valley, which includes in its juris- 
 diction all of the Stale of Nevada. 
 
 CIICIICIIES BUII.T. 
 
 Earl}- in 1870 was built by the Rev. Father 
 Thomas tiracc, now in Marysville, the ])resent 
 church in Carson City, known as St. Theresa's, at a 
 cost of S5,000. In 1871, a Catholic Society was 
 organized by Father Scanlan at Pioche; and on April 
 ir)lh, that year, they completed a fine frame church 
 and parsonage at a cost of 84,000. The Rev. Father 
 William Malonoy, of Cherry Creek, now (1881) holds 
 services there once a month. At the time of organ- 
 ization the church at Fioche had a incnibershii) of 
 300. To-day the number does not exceed thirty- 
 five, but a Sunday-school, with a good attendance, 
 is maintained. In 1872 a church was organized at 
 Belmont, of which the Rev. Father Monteverde had 
 charge; and in 1874 a church edifice was built at a 
 cost of 83.000. There has been no priest stationed 
 there, and they have never had regular services. 
 The Rev. Father Phelan, of Austin, now visits Bel- 
 mont once or twice a year. No Sunday-school 
 has been in session there since 1874. In 1871, 
 Father Monteverde built a frame church (St. Bren- 
 dan's) at Eureka. Three years later a brick church, 
 with a stone foundation, was erected b}' Father 
 Hj-nes, at a cost of 85,000, the better to meet the 
 needs of an increasing congregation. The first 
 church at Reno was built by the Rev. Father Mer- 
 rill in 1871. In the great conflagration at Mrginia 
 City, on October 26. 1875, the magnificent church 
 built by Father Manogue in 1808 t'ell a pre}' to the 
 flames, and was totallj* destroyed. The present 
 edifice, a neat Gothic structure, considered to have 
 the finest interior finish on the coast, was built in 
 1877 by Father Manogue at a cost of 800,000. This 
 elegant structure is on the same lot as the old 
 church which was burned down, fronting on E 
 Street, and running along Taylor to F Street. The 
 church has a membership of about 2,500 regular 
 attendants. The communicants average 100 a 
 month, and at Easter time increase to 1.200 or 1.500. 
 Like other mining towns, the ])opulation of ^'irginia 
 City exhibits many fluctuations and vicissitudes even 
 in a single decade. The Catholic portion offered no 
 exception to liiese mutations. For the jiast fifteen 
 j-ears they might have been considered as number- 
 ing active and nominal from 8,000 to 5,000 souls. 
 
 In 1879 the first Reno church was burned down in 
 the great fire which devastated that town. The 
 erection of the present church al Reno was com- 
 menced hy the Rev. I'^ither .lames J. Callan, the 
 present Pastor. The latest addition to the list of 
 Catholic churches in Nevada is the one just finished 
 at Cherry Creek, While Pine, by the Rev. William 
 Maloney. The Reverend Father rode over 4,000 
 miles through Nevada and Utah in his expedition to 
 
206 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 collect the necessary funds. And now, after all his 
 labors, he has the pleasure and satisfaction of having 
 erected one of the prettiest churches in eastern 
 Nevada. The foregoing accuratelj' i-eprescnts the 
 surface progress of the Catholic church in the State. 
 No trouble has been taken by the priests to collect 
 statistics nor are anj- attainable by which a satisfac- 
 tory exhibit could be made of the growth in numbers 
 from time to time of the church or the actual value 
 of the property owned in this portion of the Diocese. 
 
 EARLY CLEROVMEN. 
 
 Neither has it been possible to secure a satisfactory 
 list of all the Eoman Catholic clergymen who have 
 labored in the State at different times since the 
 beginning. Those, however, who are enumerated 
 have been those who remained the longest and 
 accomplished the hard work of church building. 
 From 18G5 to 1874 the Reverend Father Mevel, a 
 French priest, held missions in the interest of the 
 Catholic Church in various places in Nevada and Cal- 
 ifornia. Father Mevel preached during that time 
 entirely in the French language. He assisted 
 materiallj- in building several churches in this State 
 and elsewhere. In March, 1874, he left this countrj- 
 for Hayti. Those who are oflSciating to-day are the 
 Revs. Patrick Manogue and Daniel O'SuUivan, at 
 Virginia City; the Revs. John Nult}^ and Patrick 
 O'Kane, at Gold Ilill; the Rev. James J. Callan, at 
 Reno; the Rev. Luke Tormey, at Carson City; the 
 Rev. Andrew O'Donnoll, at Winnemucca; the Rev. 
 Joseph Phclan, at Austin; the Rev. D. Montevcrde at 
 .Eureka, and the Rev. William Malonej- at Cherry 
 Creek. 
 
 BENEVOLENCE ANI1 EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 A vital and beneficial feature of Catholic Church 
 work in Nevada, as well as elsewhere, will be found 
 in its various agencies for the alleviation of human 
 suffering, the care of the orphan, and the relief of 
 the sick and destitute poor. Nearly eveiy parish 
 has its benevolent organization. A reference to one 
 or two will suffice to explain the character of all. 
 The altar and rosary societies connected with the 
 Virginia City Church are united in one, and is chiefly 
 composed of ladies. The members of these societies 
 pay one dollar admission fee and fifty cents a month 
 afterwards, and all funds arising therefrom are ap- 
 propriated for the interior decoration and embellish- 
 ment of the church, altar and sanctuar)\ The St. 
 Vincent de Paul Society of Virginia is composed of 
 both ladies and gentlemen, and numbers about five 
 hundred members. This society is both benevolent 
 and charitable, and though all the members are 
 Catholics its works and charities are extended to all 
 cases of want, suffering and distress without any dis- 
 crimination on account of creed or nationality. Suf- 
 fering humanit}' in every phase and complexion is 
 the object of this laudable society. Resides a Pres- 
 ident, two Vice-Presidents, Secretary and Treasurer, 
 five men and three ladies are appointed as visiting or 
 
 investigating committees, whose duty it is to hunt 
 up and report all cases of want, suffering, sickness 
 and distress. Members pay one dollar entrance fee 
 and fiftj- cents monthly dues. This society was 
 organized in 1863 by the Rev. Father Manogue, who 
 is still its President. 
 
 The Catholic institutions consecrated to the sacred 
 cause of charity and education in Nevada are the 
 Nevada Orphan Asylum, St. Mary's Hospital, St. 
 Mary's School for girls and St. Vincent's School for 
 boys in Virginia, and Mount St. Marj-'s Academy at 
 Reno. The Orphan Asj'lum and the Virginia schools 
 are situated a few blocks from the church, fronting 
 on H street. These are all conducted by the Sisters 
 of Charity. About one hundred orphans and half 
 orphans are cared for here, supported recentlj- by 
 private contributions and charities. It was the first 
 asylum provided for orphans in the Tenntory of 
 Nevada, but as soon as the latter was admitted as a 
 State the politicians went to work and secured the 
 passage of a bill creating an orphan asylum under 
 the control of the State. Hence since that time no 
 State aid has been received by the Nevada Orphan 
 Asylum. The St. Mary's and St. Vincent's schools 
 are attended daily bj' about two hundred girls and 
 one hundred boj-s. The schools arc separate and 
 boys only under the age of twelve years are admitted. 
 These buildings were commenced in 18G4 by the 
 Rev. Father Manogue, and in October of the same 
 3'ear a branch of the Sisters of Charity, Market 
 street, San Francisco, occupied and opened the 
 school and asylum under the charge of Sister Frede- 
 rica, who is still Superioress. St. Mary's Hospital, 
 in the eastern suburbs of Virginia Citj^ was com- 
 menced in 1875 by the Rev. Father Manogue, and 
 the exterior was nearlj' completed when the great 
 fire broke out in October of that year. The hospital 
 fronts Union Street and is nearly opposite the Interna- 
 tional Hotel. It is well situated, surrounded b}- 
 pleasant grounds, ornamented by trees and shrub- 
 bery, and during the summer months affords a 
 charming view from the city. This fine brick 
 building cost about 845,000, and is under the care of 
 the Sisters of Charity. The grounds were purchased 
 and presented to Father Manogue by Mrs. Mackay. 
 Mr. John W. Mackay has aided in its erection, and 
 his generositj' and liberality toward both the Nevada 
 Orphan Asylums and St. Mary's Hospital are well- 
 known and gratefully acknowledged. The Convent 
 school at Reno, known as Mount St. Marj-'s Academy, 
 is under the charge of the Dominican Sisters. It is 
 a three-story 45x65 frame building with a brick 
 basement. It was built in the winter of lR78-71t, and 
 narrowly escajtcd destruction bj- fire soon after it 
 was completed. The Catholics of Nevada contem- 
 plate the building of a college at Reno but, owing to 
 the prevailing depression in all branches of business 
 in the State, nothing yet has been done toward 
 carrying out such a project. 
 
THE CHURCHES OF NEVADA. 
 
 207 
 
 BIOGRAPHY OP BISHOP MANOOUE. 
 
 The Rev. Father Patrick Maiioijue, who in Novem- 
 ber, 1880, was appointed by the Holy See Coadjutor, 
 Bishop of the Diocese of Grass Valley, with the 
 right of succession, has been at the head of every 
 impoi'tant Catholic work in Nevada during the last 
 twenty years, and whose portrait is here pre- 
 sented. Bishop Manoguo is a stalwart-limbed man 
 
 Rev. P. Manogue. 
 
 of gigantic build, and a heart as warm as the 
 tropics, and as big as his body. It is said that there 
 is not a man, woman, or child that does not know 
 and venerate the man. Jle has had an eventful 
 career. Born in County Kilkenny, Ireland, March 
 15, 1831, he emigrated to the United States in 1849. 
 After residing two years in Connecticut he went to 
 Chicago, where he spent about four years in the 
 University of St. Mary's of the Lake. In 1851, he 
 drifted out to California, and for three years earned 
 his daily bread by hard work in the mines near 
 Moore's Flat. Having saved enough money to 
 defray the cost of a more advanced ecclesiastical 
 education, he left for Prance, where he entered the 
 Seminary of St. Sulpice, at Paris, for a four years' 
 course of instruction. On Christmas, 1861, ho was 
 ordained a priest of the church by ('ardinal Morlot. 
 In 18(12, be left Paris for Virginia City, where 
 he arrived in June of that year. His labors in 
 that parish have already been detailed. In 1868, 
 Father Manogue was promoted to be Vicar-Gene- 
 ral of his Diocese, and in November, 1880, he was 
 appointed as Coadjutor to Bishop O'Connell, of 
 Grass Valley, whose advanced ago makes a helper 
 necossary. A pleasing incident of bis exaltation 
 
 was tho reception of a congratulatorj- address 
 signed by all the priests of the Diocese. On Janu- 
 ary 16, 1881, at St. Mary's Cathedral, San Fran- 
 cisco, Bishop Manogue received the rile of consecra- 
 tion at the hands of Archbishop Alemany. A com- 
 plete history of the dangers Bishop Manoguo has 
 faced during his Nevada career, would form a vol- 
 ume as large and exciting as the history of the old 
 crusaders. During the first two years of his service 
 he traveled over the entire Territory, preaching, 
 organizing, baptizing, ministering to tho sick and 
 dying, andtending to the burial of the dead. Among 
 tho rough, turbulent spirits that first populated the 
 Silver State, hundreds of whom only recognized tho 
 existence of religion and priests as things to bo 
 scoffed at, his position was often hazardous. On one 
 occasion, after a hard ride of 180 miles, to prepare for 
 death a man under sentence of hanging, ho found 
 that the man was not as guilty as was represented, 
 and without a moment's delay he retraced his steps 
 in the face of the bitter winter blasts, and never 
 halted until he had procured a reprieve from Gover- 
 nor Nye, which was followed by a pardon. On 
 another occasion, after a long and dangerous ride, he 
 was compelled to force a pistol from the hands of a 
 brutal husband, who refused to allow him to admin- 
 ister the last rites of the church to his dying wife. 
 His saving of Bonner, when the miners were about 
 to hang him, and his successful efforts in settling the 
 difficulties between the miners and the (Chinese are 
 oft-told tales. His services during the awful scenes 
 at the mouth of tho shafts following tho fires in tho 
 Yellow Jacket and Belcher mines, are well romem* 
 bered by all in Virginia City and Gold Hill. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 
 
 The Pioneer Preacher— His Hat Passed Around — The First 
 Church — First Nev.-ula Conference— The Colored People's 
 Churcli — Dayton — Washnf City — Gold Hill — Starve<l to 
 Death — Austin — Carson City — Hamilton — Winnemucca — 
 Union ville — Keno — Eureka — Kuby Hill — Tuscarora — Elko 
 — M.iaon's Valley — De.ith of V^alentine Kightmyer — Church 
 Work in Various Sections — Review — Defection in the 
 Church. 
 
 The pioneer of Methodism in Nevada was one 
 Jesse L. Bennett, a local preacher, wlio labored in 
 Carson Valley as earlj- as 185!t. This was then a 
 portion of Utah Territory, and the designation of 
 Carson Valley at that time in .Methodist annals was 
 generally understood to comprehend all the territory 
 now embraced within the present boundaries of the 
 State of Nevada. Carson Valley was one of the 
 Methodist stations of the California Confei-once aa 
 far back as 1855. It was, however, a neglected fold 
 until Bennett, like John tho Baptist of old, came 
 preaching to tho people in tho wilderness four years 
 later. In 1^57, the J{cv. Ira P. Halo had been 
 assigned to Carson Valley by the Conference, but 
 there is no record in the subsequent minutes of that 
 
208 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE 01 NEVADA. 
 
 body that he ever labored at this post. At the Con- 
 ference meetinsr in the following year the sum of 
 S400 was apjiropriatod out of the church mission 
 funds to aid the work in Carson Vallej*. Bennett 
 preached occasionally at Genoa and Eagle Ranch, on 
 which Carson City now stands. In September, 1859, 
 the California Conference pushed out the Rev. A. L. 
 S. Bateman to Genoa, where he organized a society 
 and labored for six months. He then departed for 
 the East, and the society dissolved. Meanwhile, 
 Jesse L. Bennett organized a society at Carson 
 which also was in the throes of dissolution for want 
 of members after he left in .luly, ISfiO. Some of the 
 devoted band wandered ofl' to other camps, and 
 some who remained joined the Presbyterian Society. 
 Thus at this time only two of the old members 
 remained. Bennett arrived on the Comstock in 
 the year following, and preached the first sermon 
 ever heard in Virginia City. It was delivered 
 on C Street one Sunday morning. It is related 
 that after Jesse L. Bennett had concluded his 
 discourse, he passed his hat around among the 
 crowd. The preacher was astonished on its return 
 to him when he found it almost filled with gold 
 and silver. The collection amounted to several hun- 
 dred dollars. Times were "flush," and the presence 
 of a preacher was a welcome novelty for the wild 
 and reckless men who then constituted the popula- 
 tion of Virginia. The Rev. Samuel B. liooney, from 
 Stockton, California, was the first regular Methodist 
 pastor in Virginia. He had withdrawn from his 
 connection with the Methodist Episcopal Church in 
 1857; but at the Conference, in September, 1861, 
 resumed his relations with that organization, and 
 was assigned to Virginia City, at which place he 
 had labored on his own rcsjionsibiiitj' some months 
 before. At the same time Bennett was ai)pointed to 
 take charge at Washoe, then rising into prominence 
 as the most imi)ortant town in Nevada, next to Vir- 
 ginia. Rooney was an earnest, indefatigable worker. 
 He labored in season and out of season. He 
 preached in lodging-houses and in blacksmith shops, 
 in fact, the ruilest shelter aft'orded accommodations 
 to the church-goers of that day. Rooney built 
 the fii-st church in Virginia. It was a little 
 wooden structure at the corner of D and Taylor 
 Streets, the site of the present edifice. It was an 
 unpretending aft'air, put up during the summer of 
 1861, and cost about 82,000. At this time the regu- 
 lar membershiji of the Virginia ("hurch numbered 
 fifty-one j)crsons. There was also a Sunday-school 
 attached, having a roll of fifty pupils. The socictj' 
 at Carson, meanwhile, had been revived, and re- 
 ported twenty-one active members. At the Califor- 
 nia Annual Conference in September, 1861, a new 
 district was created and designated as the Nevada 
 Ttirrilory District, under the presiding eldership of 
 Rev. N. E. Peek. From this time it will bo neces- 
 sary to consider the se|>arate record of each church 
 organization, the better to trace and appreciate the 
 
 steadj' growth of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
 in Nevada. 
 
 VIRGINIA CITY. 
 
 Rev. Samuel B. Rooney's church did not long an- 
 swer the ambitious needs of its congregation. He 
 was succeeded in the pastorate bj^ Rev. C. V. An- 
 thony in the winter of 1862, who, in the j-ear following, 
 erected a commodious and elegant brick edifice at a 
 cost of 845,000, which was dedicated to jmblic woi-ship 
 on February 14, 1864. A parsonage adjoining was 
 also erected at the same time, at a cost of 82,000. 
 Rev. T. S. Dunn, now at Alameda, California, suc- 
 ceeded Mr. Anthony and served two years, ilean- 
 while at the General Conference of the chuix-h in 
 1864, the district was erected with an independent 
 Conference, embracing the State of Nevada and that 
 part of California lying east of the western slope of 
 the Sierra. The first session of the Nevada Annual 
 Conference was held at the Methodist Church in 
 Virginia in September, 1865, and its sixteenth session 
 was held in the same place in September, 1880. The 
 Rev. James E. Wicks relieved Mr. Dunn of the charge 
 in 1866. The membership of the church had now 
 grown to 100 persons, and the Sundaj'-school in like 
 proportion. In 1868 Mr. Wicks was succeeded by 
 Rev. A, F. Hitchcock, who served about filteen 
 months, and who was removed because he loved 
 a fair member of his flock not wiselj' but too 
 well. He was followed by Rev. T, H. McGrath, who 
 is now the Sexton of the Odd Fellows Cemetery at 
 Virginia. This work deals more full}' on his connec- 
 tion with Nevada Church history elsewhere. Mr. 
 McGrath was a great worker, and gifted with a rude 
 eloquence which nearly alwaj's commanded for him 
 a large audience. He remained in charge of the 
 Virginia congregation ov,.'r three years, and during 
 that time the societj' passed through many vicissi- 
 tudes, 
 
 WASnOE ZEPHYRS, 
 
 About one j-ear alter McGrath began his labors, a 
 Washoe zejihj-r very effectually wrecked the church 
 building. The wind came up about midnight, and 
 before morning the roof had fallen in and the wall 
 on the north side fell, demolishing an adjoining 
 wooden dwelling, the occupants of which, asleep in 
 bed at the time, narrowly esca])ed with their lives. 
 The J{ev. MctJrath set to work repairing the disaster. 
 Four weeks later the debris had been cleared away 
 and all was ready for the brick-masons, when a fire 
 burned down the wrecked edifice. The bricks were 
 next sold, and a frame church built by McGrath, at a 
 cost of about $8,000, on the same site. On Christmas 
 Eve, 1872, another Washoe zephj-r inflicted some 
 damage on the building. The front doors were 
 blown in, the plastering of the walls and ceilings 
 shaken down, and the inside of the church generallj' 
 wrecked. The interior, in fact, looked after the 
 storm like the breaking up of a hard winter. Re- 
 pairs were eflecled at a cost of about 8.'i.000. The 
 Rev. George W. Fitch, now Pastor of the Methodist 
 
RESIDENCES AND RANCH OF 1500 ACRES.OF MES5RS.BARRETT SlMALLETT. 
 
 ESMERALDA CO.,MASON VALUE Y, NEV. WITH VIEW OF MR. BARRETT'S RESIDENCE AT DAYTON. 
 
THE CHURCHES OF NEVADA. 
 
 209 
 
 K]ii>coi)al Cliurcli at Auburn, Caliroriiia, succeeded 
 McGrath in the pastorate in 1S73, and was relieved 
 by Rev. C. McKelvoy, of Canada, in 1875. The lat- 
 ter took chariio of tlie pastorate a few weeks before 
 the great conflagration of October, 1875, in which 
 the church building fell in the general ruin. This 
 made the second destruction by fire of the Methodist 
 Church building in Virginia. 
 
 In 187(1, a new and handsome frame church was 
 erected on the old site at a cost of about 820,000, 
 which still stands there; the fourth edifice erected by 
 the Methodists on the same lot. It is called the Cen- 
 tennial Methodist Church, in honor of its erection 
 and dedication in the Centennial year. Mr. McKel- 
 vey remained three years and was succeeded, in 
 September, 1878, bj- the present I'astor, the Rev. W. 
 C. Gray. The church indebtedness amounts to 
 S7.000. It has a membership of ninety-two persons. 
 The Sabbalh-school is an encouraging feature, 350 
 children being members thereof As an illustration 
 of the floating nature of the population, it is a sig- 
 nificant fact that there are not six members on the 
 church-roll who were members in 18G6. The organ- 
 ization has never lacked in liberal givers when aid 
 was sought. Among those who contributed gener- 
 ously toward the construction of the first brick 
 church, and who ultimate]}- paid the entire indebt- 
 edness, amounting to S1(J,000, were John C. Fall, 
 and Ex-Governor Biasdel. 
 
 AFRICAN CHURCH. 
 
 In 1873, the colored people of Virginia organized 
 a church society under the jurisdiction of the 
 African Methodist Episcopal Conference, and in 
 June, 1875, erected a small frame church on E street 
 between Union and Center streets. It was destroyed 
 in the conflagration in the following October, and no 
 attempt was made to reorganize the society, which 
 never had more than a feeble existence, until 1879, 
 when the Rev. Mr. Wier was appointed Pastor, and 
 remained less than a j'car. Because of lack of finan- 
 cial support no pastor was subsequently appointed. 
 
 As early as 18G2, an effort was piacle to organize 
 a branch, in Virginia City, of the Methodist Church 
 South, but the ])roject was abandoned. Beyond the 
 occasional visitation of a minister of the denomina- 
 tion seeking to build uji a society, nothing ever was 
 accomplished in this direction. 
 
 DAVTON. 
 
 The second Methodist Episcopal ('hurcli l>uildin<'' 
 erected in Nevada Territory was completed at 
 Dayton, in 18<;3. In the previous year. J. Kilpatrick, 
 a local i)reacher, ofliciated at Dayton. In l.S(j.j, the 
 Rev. J. H. MadJox took charge of Silver City and 
 Dayton, and the church building was erected by 
 Maddox. The cost was 83,0(10, and it was a neat 
 frame structure. The Rev. A. F. llilclicock suc- 
 ceeded Maddox in 18U4, and after him in succession 
 came the Revs. Warren Nims, \V. C. Gray, and 
 A. N. Fisher. The town having run down, the 
 
 charge was abandoned in 1873. Three j-ears later 
 a tramp set fire to the church building, and it was 
 reduced to ashes. 
 
 WASHOE CITY. 
 
 J. L. Bennett, who afterwards was elected as 
 Justice of the Peace at Washoe, and the local 
 preacher, already referred to, had charge of the 
 Washoe Vallej' Station in 1801. In the following 
 year he was relieved by Rev. W. G. Blakelj-, who is 
 now in Arizona, preaching and mining, and practic- 
 ing law by turns. In 1863, the Rev. T, II. McGrath 
 relieved Blakel}' of the charge at Washoe. In the 
 same year he built a frame church and parsonage, 
 at a cost of $4,500, and remained in charge until 
 SeptemVier, 1S(')5, when ho was succeeded l)y Rev. 
 A. I^'. Hitchcock, who labored here two j-ears; fol- 
 lowed by Rev. Warren Nims, who left in 1869. 
 Washoe soon afterwards began to decline, and, in 
 1872, was going down rapidly. The charge was 
 finally abandoned, and the church building donated 
 by the Conference to the School Trustees for a 
 school house, and the free use of all denomina- 
 tions. It is still standing, and is doing good service 
 at this time as a district school house. 
 
 (iOLD HILL. 
 
 In 1865, the fourth Methodist Church building in 
 Nevada was erected at Gold Hill. It was a frame 
 church and the cost was about 84,500. In those 
 daj's building material was very expensive, and an 
 improvement of any description was worth about 
 three times the present cost. From this may be 
 formed an approximate idea of the character of a 
 85,000 building sixteen years ago in Nevada. The 
 Rev. A. F. Hitchcock was Pastor at tJold Hill when 
 its first Methodist Church was dedicated. After him 
 came the Revs. A. Shaw, L. Case, R. A. Ricker, Colin 
 Anderson, A. Taylor, George Jennings, V. Right- 
 myer, T. S. Uren, and George W. Fitch. During the 
 pastorate of the latter in lS7ti, the church building 
 was sold to a company in the fire de])artment and 
 moved one block further south, whore it has since 
 boon occupied as a hose-house; fighting fire in a new 
 direction. A lot was jnirchased nearer the center of 
 the town and a new church with parsonage adjoining 
 built at a cost of about 80,000. The Rev. Warren 
 Nims succeeded Fitch. Next came the Rev. John 
 Willis, and after him the Ivev. Do La Matyr, the 
 present Pastor, who took charge on >May 21, 1881. 
 The population of Gold Hill has declined so rapidly 
 within the last two years as to make it highly ])rob- 
 able that the charge hero will be aliandoiied. 
 
 STARVED TO DEATH. 
 
 The Rev. Valentine Right myor, who was Pastor of 
 the Gold Hill church in 1873, died at his ]iost on the 
 eleventh of April of that year. Ho was a retiring 
 gentleman of an extremely mild and sensitive dis- 
 position. It was given out at the time that the cause 
 of his death was pneumonia, though those who took 
 the trouble to investigate the matter, subsequently 
 
210 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 made the painful discovery that Mr. Rightmyer had 
 died of inanition, or want of sufficient nourishment. 
 It appears that he had a large family and a small 
 salary. To keep them properly fed and clothed he 
 denied himself the necessaries of life. To outsiders 
 he never once complained of his hard lot, and he died 
 of starvation among a people who had plenty and 
 would have only too freely and generously relieved 
 him had they known his true condition. In those 
 da^-s, as at present, the story of distress had onlj' to 
 be once known to bring immediate and substantial 
 relief to the suflfcrers. The widow of Mr. Eight- 
 mj'er, now residing in (California, has been in receipt 
 of a small pension from the Nevada Conference ever 
 since her husband's death. 
 ' / The only other instance of a Methodist clergyman 
 dying in harness in Nevada was that of the Rev. H. 
 D. Slade, who had charge of the ^Aurora Station in 
 ISfiS, and who died there in April, 1864, after ten 
 months' service at that point. He was a native of 
 Cayuga County, New York, and was thirty-one years 
 of age. 
 
 AUSTIN. 
 
 Church work at Austin began in 1864, when it 
 was created a charge by the Conference, and the Rev. 
 C. A. £. Hertel assigned as its Pastor. He remained 
 here two years, and was followed by the Rev. J. L. 
 Trefren, who built the finest Methodist Church edifice 
 in the State in the following year. Trefren exhibited 
 shrewd business tact in this achievement. The 
 communitj' was rich in prospective treasure but 
 exceedingly poor in pocket. The Pastor found every- 
 body willing to contribute toward the erection of a 
 church building, but nobody could pledge ready 
 money for the cause. Nearly every man approached 
 to subscribe was the owner of mining claims. If the 
 Pastor would accept an interest in these claims ho 
 was welcome to them. A brilliant idea seized the 
 reverend canvasser. He would accept donations of 
 this character. The next difficulty was how to con- 
 vert these claims into cash. At last Trefren hit 
 upon the idea of pooling the claims, and organizing 
 a Methodist Mining Companj'. The church was 
 subsequentlj' built on this magnificent claim, and 
 considerable surplus capital remained with which to 
 carry on operations underground. It is interesting 
 to recall how the jiastor converted his securities 
 into coin. He made a journey to the gi-anite hills of 
 New Hampshire, his native soil, and diligently 
 labored with the brethren there. Ho unloaded on 
 his brother j)ar8on8 in New England. lie pointed 
 out to the faithful the brilliant ])rospecls of his mine 
 in the silver hills of Nevada, and the stock could not 
 be disposed of rapidly enough for the demand. They 
 saw, as though by intuition, how they could at the 
 same timq serve the Lord, do good, and make money. 
 Such a mine would pny dividends in heaven as well 
 as on earth. There was a " boom," and Trefren 
 realized over 8250,000 on the sale of the stock. Tho 
 result was the erection in Austin of tho largest 
 
 brick church building in the State, with the excep- 
 tion of tho Roman Catholic Church at Virginia Citj'. 
 A splendid organ was also purchased, and a brick 
 parsonage built. The amount expended on these 
 improvements aggregated over 885,000. Trefren had 
 sold hie stock on the installment plan. Before the 
 final installments were paid the "wild-eat" collapsed, 
 and there was no money to pay the last claim 
 against the church, and a debt of $6,000 was left on 
 it. Tho property was sold to the county for a Court 
 House, but was subsequently redeemed by the Church 
 Extension Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 which advanced money to pay the indebtedness, most 
 of which has been repaid, and the societj^ is now 
 almost out of debt. The Rev, J, L, Trefren is now 
 in Santa Cruz. In 1S68 he was transferred at his 
 own request from the Nevada to the California Con- 
 ference, The ministers who followed him at Austin 
 were, successively, the Revs. W, A. Cheney, Warren 
 Nims, John D. Hammond, W, C. Gray, and C, W. 
 Crall, who resigned on Juno 12, 1881, 
 
 CARSON CITY. 
 
 Allusion has already been made in this history to 
 the fact that Carson Valley was the scene of the 
 first Methodist activities in Nevada, and that the 
 term was comprehensive enough to cover a greater 
 area of country than is now understood by the desig- 
 nation. Though as early as 1859, Bennett, the 
 pioneer Methodist preacher, had labored in the 
 present capital town of Nevada, it was not until 
 eight years later that the little community of .Meth- 
 odists there had risen to the dignity of owning a 
 house of worshi]), the sixth church of that denom- 
 ination erected in the State. For this reason Carson 
 City is placed in chronological order after much 
 younger towns. The historical truth is that she was 
 the cradle of Nevada Methodism, though it cost 
 her people of this faith a long and desperate strug- 
 gle before they were able to put a roof over their 
 heads. In the fall of 1861, the Rev, W G, Blakely 
 was the Pastor in Charge of the station. At a 
 quarterly Conference meeting held on November 4th 
 of that year, at which among others in attendance 
 was Gov, James \V, N}-e, a subscription jiaper was 
 drawn up to bo circulated in tho town for tho 
 purpose of raising funds toward the cost of building 
 a house of worship. The first Trustees were Judge 
 Turner, Dr, II, II. llerrick, W, D, Chillson, Dr. 
 Hugh V, Hudson, Wm, P. Harrington, and Mr, 
 McLane, Over 8500 was raised on the first efl'ort. 
 At a meeting of the society on November 1, 18()2, the 
 Pastor, Rev, T, II, McGrath, reported but one male 
 and three female membei-s, including his wife, as the 
 strength of his congregation, A Sunday-school was 
 organized for the first time a few days later, with 
 six officers and teachers and thirty pupils. In 1863, 
 tho Pev, Warren Nims took charge of tho station, 
 and before the summer of the ensuing year, a ])ar- 
 sonago costing 8f^00 was erected. In December, 
 1864, Governor Blasdel and R. L, Higgins wore 
 
THE CHURCHES OF NEVADA. 
 
 elected Trustees of the society', and early in lS(jr> a 
 block of land was purchased for 81,000 as church 
 property, and preparations made to build a stone 
 church. During the remainder of that j'car, 
 the Pastor, the Rev. Warren Nims, niitjht have 
 been seen every week-da}- driving a two-horse 
 team hitched to a lumber wagon, on which ho 
 hauled all the rock used in the construction of 
 the edifice. Nims was made of the right kind 
 of timber for a pioneer preacher, and his indom- 
 itable ])huk won for him the admiration of all 
 classes of men outside as well as inside the church 
 circle. In its issue of January 22, 1874, the Carson 
 Appeal, then edited by the late Harry Mighels, in 
 recalling Nims' work nine years before, remarked: 
 
 Many is the time we have seen this brave, cheer- 
 ful, prayerful, little man's plug hat looming up from 
 the springless seat of a stone-laden mule-cart. 
 
 In fact 80 earnestly did this heroic clergyman 
 address himself to the task of building his church 
 that the people stood by him with all possible and 
 needed financial help. It was a protracted and 
 laborious task. In June, ISfiG, the structure, still 
 incomplete, had involved an outlay of S5,000. In 
 the following November, the Itev. J. W. Stump suc- 
 ceeded Nims as Pastor in Charge, and for the greater 
 part of the year 1867 the work of building dragged 
 its slow length along. At the ipiarterly Conference 
 meeting, held on August 27, 1807, the Pastor re- 
 ported the membership vastly increased as the result 
 of a powerful revival of religion under the leader- 
 ship of Rev. A. B. Earle, an honored evangelist of 
 the Baptist Church. At that time the congregation 
 enjoyed the use of the Pi-esbj'terian Church building 
 while awaiting the completion of their own. The 
 edifice was finally ready for occupation on Sunday) 
 September S, 1807. and on that day was dedicated by 
 Bishop Thomson. Its total cost was 810,000. In 
 the following j-ear, however, a marked falling off 
 in church membership was reported, but, as an entry 
 in the conference minutes discloses, then- was not 
 "a proportionate decline of spirituality." Another 
 report of a church elder of the period significantly 
 adds: " We are not as pious as we ought to be, but 
 might be much worse." The relative degree of piety 
 or impiety prevailing in Carson in 1807 is thus left 
 to the reader's imagination. In 1808 the Rev. J. D. 
 Hammond, at this writing Presiding Klder of the 
 district and one of the Senators from Urmsby County 
 in the Nevada Legislature, succeeded Mr. Stump. 
 In 1809, through the liberality of Gov. II. G. Bias- 
 del, the church debt, amounting to over 81,500, was 
 discharged, and an old lot behind the Presbyterian 
 Church belonging to the society was sold. Ham- 
 mond was succeeded by Rev. A. N. Fisher in 1,S71. 
 The Bociet}- was then feeble as to membership and 
 not specially flourishing as to congregation. The 
 Rov. A. N. Fisher remained three years in charge. 
 
 In May, 1874, the church building was repaired. 
 
 re-painted, the windows stained, and the pews and 
 choir-gallery re-modeled. In November the Rov. A. 
 H. Tevis was returned as Pastor, and stagnation 
 followed, as there was much friction between him and 
 his flock. In 1S70 the Rev. J. I). Hammond was 
 appointed Pastor in Charge and Presiding Elder. An 
 attempt was made to heal existing difficulties, but it 
 was not largely successful. Hammond remained till 
 the end of the Conference year of 1878, when the 
 charge was left to be supplied. Ho ])reached occa- 
 sioiiall)- during the winter, and in the s])ring of 1879 
 the Rev. J. T. Ladd, came from Chicago and sup- 
 plied the charge until the meeting of the Conference 
 in that year, when he was relieved by Rev. E. C. 
 Willis, the present Pastor. 
 
 The church has flourished under the pastorate of 
 Mr. Willis. The membershij) has been largly aug- 
 mented, the Sundaj'-school doubled its roll of mem- 
 bers, and the congregation is much larger than for 
 some years before. 
 
 HAMILTON. 
 
 In the winter of 18G8, when the White Pine 
 excitement was at its height, and there were over 
 15,000 people in the district, the Rev. T. H. M<-Grath 
 was the only preacher in the camj). liev. W.J. 
 White followed for one j'ear, and was succeeded by 
 W. C. Gray, during whose pastorate a hall at 
 Treasure Hill, used by mining brokers, was bought 
 by the Methodists in 1872, and converted into a 
 place of worship. It has long since been abandoned. 
 
 WINNE.MrcCA. 
 
 The first preacher in Winnemucca was the Rev. 
 L. Ewing, a reformed California gambler, who, after 
 his conversion returned to the East and studied for 
 the ministry. In 1872, he appeared at Winnemucca 
 and held services in the school house. He was fol- 
 lowed bj' Rev. T. S. Uren, and after the latter came 
 the Rev. George B. Ilinkle, who built a frame church 
 at a cost of 84,000. Next came the Rev. W. Carver, 
 who built and furnished a ])arsonage at a cost of 
 8800. The Rev. Goo. W. Fitch succeeded him and 
 the Rev. F. M. Warrington was the next Pastor. 
 The latter was succeeded b}- liev. John B. Willis, 
 the present Pastor, in March, 1881. 
 
 UNIONVILI.E. 
 
 The Rev. L. Ewing, who operated in 1872 between 
 Winnemucca and Unionville, built a frame church 
 at the latter town in that j-ear. John ('. Fall, whoso 
 liberality in aiding in the construction of the first 
 brick church in Virginia City has already' been 
 mentioned, ofl'cred to contribute one dollar for every 
 dollar given by others toward the construction of 
 the Unionville (Jhurch. In this way he defra3'e<l 
 half the ex])ense of the building, the total cost of 
 which was 82,800. After Ewing, canio in the order 
 named, the Revs. A. P. White, Colin Anderson, 
 (loorge Jennings, and John W . Pendleton. Like a 
 great many once flourishing towns in Nevada, 
 Unionville has almost faded from the niaii. \'>ry 
 
212 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 few of the old settlers remain, and no Methodist 
 pastor has had an abode there during the last two 
 years. 
 
 RENO. 
 
 The decline of Washoe City was contemporaneous 
 with the rise of Reno as a populous center. Washoe 
 Valley, of which Rono is the enlrepOt, was not. how- 
 ever, neglected by the Methodists in the early days. 
 In 1863, the Revs. F. M. Willis and G. B. Hinkle 
 preached in the valley, and a small society was 
 organized soon afterwards, but no regular ser^'ice 
 was held for some three or four years, till the town 
 of Reno was located. A societj' was then organized 
 in Reno, and services regularlj' held in the school 
 house. In 1870, the erection of the church building 
 was commenced by the Rev. A. R. Ricker; was com- 
 pleted in, the following year, and dedicated on July 
 30, 1871. The cost of the building was S4,000. In 
 1873, the Rev. A. J. Wells was transferred from 
 Fort Wayne, Indiana, and stationed at Reno. He 
 secured a lot on West Street, and built a very neat 
 parsonage. In the following year Mr. Wells moved 
 to California, and was followed bj* the Rev. Mr. 
 Arnold. At the Conference of 1875, the Rev. G. W. 
 Fitch was appointed Pastor, and was succeeded in 
 1876 by the Rev. Thomas S. Uren, who also remained 
 one year, and was followed by the Rev. W. C. Gray, 
 in 1877. The present Pastor, the Rev. C. Mclvelvey, 
 began his labors at Reno in 1878. The church build- 
 ing at this time was much in need of repairs, but the 
 society was small, and most of its members in mod- 
 erate circumstances; but, by persevering efforts, 
 81,(100 was raised, and exjiended in thoroughly 
 re-fitting, carpeting, painting and papering the 
 interior, building an addition for the choir, and in 
 fencing in the lot. Tlie society now has a vary neat, 
 tasteful, and commodious church building, which 
 escaped the ravages of the great fire in 1879. Mr. 
 McKelvey, the present Pastor, is a native of Canada, 
 and spent some seven j'ears in the Methodist min- 
 istry in the Dominion. He came to Nevada in 1875, 
 at the request of Bishop Peck, to take charge of the 
 Virginia City Church. He was there at the time 
 of the conflagration in October, 1875, in which all 
 the church property was destroyed. He re-built 
 both the church and the ])ars()nage, but before occu- 
 pying them he was burned out again, and lost all 
 his pei'sonal jjrojierty, including his library. 
 
 El'KKKA. 
 
 The Rev. Arnold was the first I'astor. Rev. L. Case, 
 second, and the Rev. John l)e La .Matyr, third. 
 They preached in the Court House. Mr. Arnold 
 organized the first society. A frame church costing 
 83,50(1, and a ])arsonage costing -SOUd were built at 
 Eureka by Rev. John A. Gray, the Pastor, in 1875. 
 It was burned in the firnt great fire in 1879, and 
 during the pastorate of Rev. R. A. Ricker, was par 
 tially rebuilt, and occupied a few months, when it 
 was again comi)letely destroyed in the general con- 
 flagration in the summer of 1880. The Rev. J. T. 
 
 Ladd took charge of the congregation here in Sep- 
 tember, 1880, and owing to his zealous labor, a new 
 and handsome little church was built in the spring. 
 It was dedicated on Sunday, April 17, 1881, the Rev. 
 C. W. Crall, of Austin, delivering the dedication 
 sermon. The entire cost of the new church was 
 82,500. Mr. Ladd assumed an unpaid indebtedness 
 of S250, and the Eureka Church stands entirely free 
 fnom all liabilities. The present edifice, it will be 
 seen is the third one built on the same lot in less than 
 two years. 
 
 RCBV HILL. 
 
 The only instance on record in Nevada of a church 
 building going up without the active aid of a pastor, 
 is to be credited to Ruby Hill. In 1876 the mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Society, planned, built and 
 paid for a church building, before a pastor made his 
 ap])earance. The Rev. R. A. Ricker, the first to 
 labor at this station, was assigned to the charge by 
 the Nevada Conference, at its meeting in September, 
 1880. 
 
 TUSCAROKA, ELKO COUNTY. 
 
 At this place a Methodist Church Societj- has very 
 recentlj' been organized, and the Rev. T. W. Pendle- 
 ton apjiointed to act as Pastor in Charge. Soon after 
 Mr. Pendleton arrived at Tuscarora ho found the 
 congregation was not able to support a minister, and 
 for some time, to make both ends meet, he was 
 obliged to work in the Grand Prize mine during the 
 week, and preach on Sunda5's. The society built a 
 parsonage costing $500. 
 
 mason's valley. 
 
 Mason's Vallc}- and Pine Grove comprise one 
 charge. The first Methodist Church service held in 
 Mason's Vallej' was by Rev. R. Carbcrry in 18G(!. 
 He was succeeded by Rev. Mr. Orn, who was fol- 
 lowed by Rev. Thomas Bartley. The last-named 
 minister organized the church society in 1874, when 
 it started with two or three members. The society 
 now numbers twenty-five souls. The church build- 
 ing was erected in 18S0 by the Rev. J. T. Ladd. It 
 is a frame structure, 25x40 feet, and cost 81,700. 
 .1. .1. Fox. V>. F. Rj-mers, C. Hernlabin and I)r. 
 Richardson were active workers in the enterprise. 
 vSince the Rev. G. B. Hinkle, the present Pastor, look 
 charge, which was in November, 1880, he has built a 
 neat frame parsonage costing 8600. 
 
 ELKO. 
 
 This is a .Methodist station, and the society consists 
 of about twenty worshipers. The Rev. Mr. Ewing 
 labored at Elko at one time, and the Rev. George 
 Jennings acts as a su])ply at the present time. There 
 is no church building at Elko. 
 
 REVIEWS. 
 
 The foregoing completes the list of Methodist 
 Church Societies now in existence in this State, and 
 of those which have ceased to exist. It is interest- 
 ing to review the growth of Methodism in Nevada 
 
-^ 
 
 ^Z^/., 
 
James C. Hagerman 
 
 Is a native of the State of Virginia, having been born at Malleu, Kanawha County, 
 August 22, 1837. Mr. Hagerman traces his parentage, witii lauilable pride, to a long 
 line of ancestors prominent in the history of his country, and beai-s relationship with 
 many of the distinguished personages of the present da}'. Those who are familiar with 
 the hi.story of Maryland, Virginia and Ohio, will well remember the ancestral name. 
 His father was a native of the State of Maryland, removing into Virginia when quite 
 young. Upon his mother's side he springs from the distinguished family of Tluirman, 
 one of the oldest and best known of the Old Dominion, and now of world-wide fame 
 through the veteran statesman of Ohio. ' 
 
 The gentleman of whom we write enjoyed the usual advantages of the j'outh of the 
 prominent families of Virginia in acquiring an education, which advantages were well 
 improved, giving him an education fitting him for any rank in life. Among his earliest 
 steps upon entering the arena of life, and perhaps liis wisest one, was in taking a partner 
 for his toils and triumphs, a sharer in his joys and sorrows, from among the fair maidens 
 of his native place. In 1860 he was married to Miss Catherine Walker, daughter of 
 Frederick Walker, Esq., one of the oldest families and prominent merchants of Maiden. 
 
 Thus prepared ami supported for life's contest, the young couple sought new homes 
 amid new scenes on the shores of the Pacific. It is a bold move at any time to leave 
 friends, the customs and associations of the past, and to cast one's lot with strangere, 
 but it is that class who settle and create new countries and keep the ball of civilization 
 rolling onward. Mr. and Mrs. Hagerman moved to California in 1800, making their 
 home in Marysville, Yuba County, where Mr. Hagerman entered upon the business of 
 a merchant. This he continued until the fall of 1867, when he came to Nevada. Soon 
 after, following the excitement of the time, he went to White Pine, and there engaged 
 for a short period in business, but, after one year's experience in that region, retraced 
 his steps westward, and .settled for a permanent home at Reno, where he now resides, 
 one of Reno's most respected citizens and prosperous merchants. 
 
 Mr. Hagerman, like all citizens of active life, intelligence and patriotic impulses, 
 takes a prominent part in the political questions of the day. He was on the Presiden- 
 tial Electoral Ticket of 1876, and was a delegate to the National Convention at Cincin- 
 nati in 1880. Though he has never been a candidate for any office of profit, he has 
 borne his share through the political contests, and has twice made the canvass of the 
 State through two Presidential campaign.s, giving trenchant blows for the supj)ort of 
 his party. 
 
THE CHURCHES OF NEVADA. 
 
 21 :} 
 
 since it was firet fairly planted twenty years ago. A 
 comparison of the statistical returns submitted at the 
 Nevada Conference of 1880 with those oxhibilinir the 
 condition of the Church in Nevada Territory in IStJd, 
 the first of which there is any official record shows 
 very clearly the progress accomplished. In ISiio 
 there were in the Territory seventy church menihcrs 
 and four local preachers, bcini; seventeen and one- 
 half members to each clergyman, and in 1880 the 
 number was 470, with thirteen preachers, or about 
 thirty-si.K members to each clergj'nian. The average 
 for the whole United States is one minister to 141 
 members. In 18t;0 the value of the church property, 
 consistinj' of one lot was S300. The ('onferencc 
 returns of 1880 represent its total value as 8G2,300, 
 which includes eight churches and eight parsonages. 
 To this should be added new improvements since the 
 last meeting of the Conference, consisting of a 82,500 
 church at Eureka, and a SdOO parsonage in Mason's 
 Valley; also the church at Ruby Hill valued at 82.000 
 and which by some inadvertance is overlooked in the 
 official returns. This would bring the total value of 
 the property of the Methodist Church in Nevada at 
 the present time up to 807,400. It should bo borm^ in 
 mind, however, that this docs not represent the 
 aggregate amount expended in church-building 
 between 18(>0 and 1880. A careful summing up 
 shows that the losses bj' fire during these twenty 
 years amount to 859, UOO, and by abandonment of 
 church |)ropertyiii deserted camps abf)ut 8'!.500 more. 
 Thus the value of property destroyed and unavail- 
 able is nearly equal to the present total assets of the 
 church, and the expenditures for real estate and 
 improvements in twenty years amount to about 8284 
 per capita on the basis of the existing membership. 
 
 The Board of Church Extension of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, second only in importance to its 
 Missionary Society, if not indeed a part of it, has 
 contributed liberally to the practical work of church 
 building in Nevada. Whenever the Conference has 
 asked for aid it has been cheerfully given. It has 
 not onlj- erected new churches in destitute places 
 but has contributed toward the rebuilding of those 
 which have been destroyed l)y fire. Its last donation 
 was §1,000 to the Methodist Church Society of 
 Eureka, whose property was twice destroyed by firo 
 in one year. The work of ])romoting the growth 
 of the denomination in Nevada is still zealously 
 carried on. Wherever a new mining camp springs 
 uj> their plans are at once laid to extend the 
 influence of the Society. The organization of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church is so thorough that no 
 territory, however remote, is neglected. Its traveling 
 preachers are over on the go. The circuits are as 
 large as the area of many of our Eastern States, and 
 as means of conveyance the preachers still largely 
 rely on the saddle and the buck-board. Under the 
 torrid heat of the summer sun and the fierce and 
 searching wintry' blasts these noble, unselfish, and 
 ill-paid men, exposed to all degrees of physical dis- 
 27 
 
 comforts, labor incessantly in the service to which 
 they have devoted their lives. 
 
 In this connection it is worthy of remark that 
 Genoa, the county seat of Douglas County, and 
 the oldest town in the State, as well as the head- 
 (juarters of a rich and extensive farming region, 
 has never had a Methodist Episcopal (!hurch. A 
 movement, however, has been recently inaugurated 
 having for its object the erection of a church build- 
 ing in Genoa. The Hev. .7. D. Hammond, who held 
 services in that town on March 28, 1881, mentioned 
 this fact and said he believed that before fall the 
 i-esidents of the valley would have a suitable place in 
 which to woi-ship. 
 
 A project was agitated in 1878, and at the Nevada 
 Annual Conference in that year a resolution was 
 adopted to build a University in the State under 
 Methodist auspices. Bej^ond the appointment of a 
 committee and the selection of IJeno as the loca- 
 tion, nothing further has been done. The scheme, 
 it is conceded, has been abandoned. 
 
 nKFECTION I.N THE CHURCH. 
 
 The historj^ of Methodism in Nevada would be 
 incomplete which ignores mention of the defections 
 in its ministr}- during the period covered by this 
 narrative. The first of which there is any record 
 is the case of the Rev. Thomas H. McGrath, who 
 had been conspicuously identified with the material 
 progress of the order from the earliest times. The 
 story of his active labors as a church builder has 
 already been told. In the summer of 1873. Air. 
 McGrath's doctrinal views having become more lib- 
 eral in character than the tenets of his persuasion 
 permitted, he resigned his charge in Virginia, and 
 organized a liberal society of Unitarians, in the same 
 town, and which is referred to under its proi)or head. 
 Curiously to say, his successor in the pastorate of 
 the Methodist Episcopal (Jhurch of Virginia, the 
 |{ev. George W. Fitch, also abandoned the Methodist 
 order some yeare later. Mr. Fitch resigned charge 
 of th') society at Winnemucca, in June, 1878, and on 
 July 7th of the same year, was confirmed by Bishop 
 Whitaker, of the J'rotestant Episcopal order, in 
 Trinity Church, Reno. On the following day ho 
 became a I'of'tulant, and on July 2.3d was admitted 
 as a candidate for Deacon's orders. He is now 
 (1881) serving as Pastor of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church at Auburn, ('alifornia, having, in 1870, 
 recanted his Episcopalian profeshions, to rejoin the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
214 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 CHAPTEIJ XXIX. 
 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 
 
 The New School Branch — First Meeting — Call for a Church at 
 Carson — Ornaniz.ition in Virginia City — Clmrches in Vari- 
 ous I'arts of the State — Keniuuiation of a Minister — Gold 
 Hill — Austin — Klko — Eureka — i'iochc. 
 
 TnE Presbyterian Church in Nevada was started 
 by what was known as the New School Branch of the 
 denomination. In the spring of ISfJl the Eev. VV. 
 \V. Brier, explorino; agent of the Assembly's Com- 
 mittee of Home Missions, visited the Territory of 
 Nevada in his official capacity, and called a public 
 meeting at the stone school house, in Carson City, 
 on May 19th of that year, to organize a society. 
 This was the initial movement to plant Presbyterian- 
 ism in the State. The Rev. \V. W. Brier is at the 
 present time a resident of Centerville, Alameda 
 County, California. He organized the churches at a 
 later date at Virginia and Austin. The work of 
 building up the Presbyterian Church in Nevada has 
 been expensive, and not as a whole successful. To- 
 day there are only four church buildings in the State 
 under the control of the denomination — at Carson 
 City, Virginia, Elko and Eureka. All the congrega- 
 tions occupj-ing them are self-sustaining except the 
 one at Elko. At other places societies have been 
 organized, but they are now practicallj- extinct. The 
 growth of all has been exti-emoly slow — barely per- 
 ceptible. For a long course of years they seem 
 stationary or declining. Church organization as an 
 experiment or an ex])edient maj' have been carried 
 too far. Previous to Jul_v 14, 1870, the Presbyterian 
 Churches of the State of Nevada belonged to a 
 Presbytery called Sierra Nevada, and the Presbytery 
 belonged to a Synod called Alta California. At the 
 same time there was another Synod on the Pacific 
 Coast called the Synod of the Pacific, which had 
 several Presbyteries. These two Synods in large 
 part were extended over the same areas of country. 
 Both assumed to occujiy I he same magnificent 
 domain, which included California, Nevada, Oregon, 
 Washington, Idaho, Utah, and Arizona. 
 
 In the vast Territories sloping eastward and west- 
 ward from the backbone of the continent, now 
 known as Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mex- 
 ico, western Dakota, and Nebraska, were six Pres- 
 byterian Churches, without Presbj'terian connection, 
 extremely weak, flickering lights amidst the wide- 
 spread darkness. These six churches, added to the 
 Synods of Alta California and the Pacific, i-epresentcd 
 thirteen years ago, the entire strength of the Pres- 
 byterian Church in the western half of our country. 
 In 1S7(), after tlu^ Old and New School Branches in 
 the northern States had been united into one body, 
 the two Synods on the Pacific Coast were consoli- 
 dated and called the Synod of the Pacific. In Julj-, 
 1870, this Synod convened in San Francisco and 
 divided the whole country embraced within its 
 limits into five now Presbyteries, without much, if 
 
 any, regard to the boundaries of any former Pres- 
 byteries. These were separate and distinct from 
 each other, lying side by side, but not overlap|)ing 
 one another. According to this arrangement all 
 Presbyterian ministers and churches belonging to 
 either of the old Synods, and now located within the 
 geograi)hical limits of any one of the new Pres- 
 byteries, were to be regarded as belonging to those 
 within whose bounds they might happen to be 
 located. So when the Sacramento Presbytery 
 was formed on July 14, 1870, as well as four 
 others, by the Pacific Synod to include about 
 twenty-four counties in the northwestern part of 
 the State of California, the State of Nevada, and 
 the Territories of Utah and Idaho, the Pres- 
 byterian churches in Nevada came under the care of 
 the Sacramento Presbytery. These churches were 
 those of Carson City, Virginia Citj% Elko, Austin, 
 and Hamilton. Two other churches have been 
 formed since; one at Eureka and the other at Pioche. 
 Below are presented the separate history of each of 
 the above-mentioned societies, except th(S one at 
 Hamilton, in regard to which there is not much to 
 be said. Jn July, 1870, it was understood that it had 
 only six members. In April, 1871, Mr. John Mar- 
 chant was Ruling Elder, and was elected by the Sac- 
 ramento Presbj'tery an Alternate Lay Commissioner 
 to attend the Presbj-terian General Assembly in 
 Chicago in Maj^ of that 3'ear, jjrovided the Iluling 
 Elder from the Elko Church, Mr. E. V. Robbins, 
 could not attend. The Hamilton Church, however, 
 never made any report to the Sacramento Presbytery. 
 
 CARSON CITY. 
 
 On the nineteenth day of May, 18G1, a meeting 
 of Presbyterians was hold in the stone school house 
 in Carson CitJ^ It was addressed by the Rev. W. 
 W. Brier, who urged u])on his hearers the projiriety 
 of forming a church organization in connection with 
 the Constitutional General Assembly of the Presby- 
 terian Church of the United States. At this meet- 
 ing. Judge Flenonkan officiated as Chairman, and 
 the following gentlemen were elected as Trustees, to 
 procure a site anil erect a house of worsliip: G. A. 
 Sears, J. Gasharie, S. Frasor, Wm. M. Stewart, and 
 H. B. Pomeroy. The Board of Trustees organized 
 by the election of G. A. Sears as Chairman, and after- 
 wards procured a ]ilan and drew u]) specifications for 
 a building. Subscri])tions to the amount of about 
 85,000 wore immediately thereafter obtained. On 
 Juno 2, 1801, the following written request was pre- 
 sented to the Bev. Mr. Brier: '• We, the undersigned, 
 desiring the ordinances of God's house, do hereby 
 request j'ou to organize us into a church of Jesus 
 Christ, to be known by the name of the First Pres- 
 byterian Church in Carson City, and to be placed by 
 you under the care of the Presbj-lery of Sierra 
 Nevada, and of the Synod of Alta California." This 
 document was signed by Mr. G. A. Sears, Mr. J. D. 
 Sears, Mrs. Mary E. Sears, Mrs. Mary A. W. Sears, 
 Mrs. Phebo Pierson, Mrs. Lydia S. Helm, Mrs. H. A. 
 
THE CHURCHES OF NEVADA. 
 
 215 
 
 Thomus. .Mr. S. Friiser, Mrs. N. G. Boyd, .Mr. A. T. 
 Taylor, and Mr. S. G. Lam. All except Mr.'*. Boyd 
 had been members of various evangelical churches, 
 and Mrs. Boyd had been baptized. A mcotinij; was 
 held on the same day, and all th(.'reu|ion united in 
 church fellowship. S. Fraser and A. T. Taylor wore 
 unanimously elected Rulin<; Elders, and ordained 
 after service that evening. Mr. Brier returned to 
 California and made a statement of the circum- 
 stances attending the organization of the society, 
 and of the importance of the tield for usefulness, to 
 the Rov. A. F. White, of Gilroj-. On September 
 12th, Mr. White arrived at Carson, and began his 
 labors as temporary- supply, on the second Sabbath 
 of that month. It was thought to be too late then 
 to erect a house of worship before the closing in of 
 winter, and the enterprise was post])oned until the 
 following summer. 
 
 On August 3l8t a second meeting was held in the 
 District Court-room for the election of a Board of 
 Trustees, the term of the first Board having expired. 
 The election resulted in the choice of S. Fraser, G. 
 A. Sears, Orion Clemens, William Corbett, and Judge 
 E. C. Dixon. The Trustees were instructed to initi- 
 ate efticient measures for the erection of a house of 
 worship with as little ilelaj' as possible. A new 
 subscription jjaper was circulated, and about S5,000 
 pledged. A site was now purchased, money collected, 
 and the work of building commenced. Before the 
 approach of winter the brick walls were up and 
 secured. During the spring and summer of 18G8 
 but little was done towards its completion owing to 
 the financial depression in the community. In Feb- 
 ruary, 1S04, a contract was made with responsible 
 parties for the completion of the house entire by the 
 first day of May following. On the second Sabbath 
 of May, 18(i4, the church edifice, which was of brick, 
 was duly dedicated by the Rev. A. F. White, assisted 
 by the Rev. William C. Pond, of Downieville; and 
 the Rev. Warren Nims, of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, Carson City. Mr. White remained as Pas- 
 tor until April 12, 18G8, when he was succeeded by 
 the Rev. Mr. Alexander, who discharged the duties 
 for three months. The Presbyterian clergymen 
 who have since his time orticiated as Pastors of the 
 church at Cai-son City were as follows: Rev. T. W. 
 Atherton from July 8, 18(58, to November 8, 18(i8; 
 Rev. J. Fraser from November 8th to December, 
 18«i»; Rev. I. N. Ilurd from December, 18G9, to 
 May, 1871; Rev. James Woods from September, 
 1872, to December, 1874; Rev. J. P. Egbert from 
 February 21, 1875, to May 7, 1875; Rov. John Jiaird 
 from May 7, 1875, to June 12, 1876; Rev. Josiah 
 McClain from September, 187U, to April, 1880. From 
 the latter date until the beginning of the present 
 year (1881) the pulpit has been vacant. In January 
 last, the i{ev. H. V. liice, from Brooki^-n, New York, 
 arrived and took charge of the church as its Pastor. 
 There are at the present time two l-jldors in this 
 church, Mr. William Anderson, and John J. Single- 
 
 ton. The number ul church nienibcrn reported la.-^l 
 May was sevent^'-nine; the number of pupils in the 
 Sabbath-school was 120. 
 
 VIUtllNrA CITV. 
 
 On the twenty-first of September, 1802, a Presby- 
 terian Church Society was organized and a meeting 
 held in the Methodist Episcopal Church for that juir- 
 posc. Sixteen persons were present. The Rev. W. 
 W. Brier, of the Home Missionary Society, consti- 
 tuted those present into a Church. Messrs. Nelson 
 W. Winter and E. Caldwell were elected Ruling 
 Elders. In December, 1802, the Rev. D. II. Palmer 
 arrived from New York, and entered upon his duties 
 as the first Pastor of the Presbyterian Church in 
 Virginia City. He was succeeded by the Rev. W. 
 W. Martin on November 10, 1864. The Pastors who 
 served afterwards, and the dates on which they 
 assumed charge were as follows: Rov. J. E. Tay- 
 lor, August 9, 1807; Rev. li. Sloat, January, 1809; 
 Rev. W. W. Macomber, March 18, 1870; Rev. I. N. 
 Hurd, May :31. 1872; A. C. Gillies, November 17, 
 1875; E. Graham, June, 1878. The latter resigned 
 in Novombor, 1880, and his successor, the Rev E. F. 
 Walker, the present Pastor, took charge in April, 
 1881. It was a long time after the first organization 
 of the society boforo a meeting house was built. It 
 was not until earlj' in 1807 that actual operations 
 were commenced having this end in view. On July 
 7, 1807, tho church was dedicated. It had cost 
 84,700. The funds which enabled the society to rise 
 to the dignity of owning a meeting house were secured 
 through a successful mining speculation. Tho Trus- 
 tees had received from some friends on tho inside 
 what is known as a point, on the stock market. 
 With tho little money in the treasury they purchased 
 a few shares of stock, which rose in a few weeks 
 several hundred dollars in value. They sold out 
 before the crash, and with tho proceeds bought four 
 lots on C vStreet, the principal business thoroughfare 
 in Virginia. On cither side of the meeting house 
 they erected buildings, rented out for stores, and 
 from which they have since derived an annual rental 
 nearlj' suflicient to pay tho salary of their minister, 
 and meet tho running expenses of the society. This 
 church has three Elders, A. B. Elliott, John S.Grant, 
 and Andrew Fraser. The organization reported 
 last -May, 105 members, and the Sabbath-school 2(tfl 
 pupils. The church building being located outside 
 tho district ravaged by tho conflagration of 1875, 
 escaped damage "b}' the fire. Until the date of its 
 erection ilio congregation worshiped in the District 
 Court-room. 
 
 OOI.D IIII.I,. 
 
 Tho Presbyterians organized their first society in 
 Gold Hill at Odd Fellows Hall, on Sundaj' morning, 
 November 1, 1803, and a week later elected as 
 Trustees, E. Caldwell, (iiles H. Gray, S. H. Robin.son, 
 Dana Walcott, and C. P. Bartlctt. Soon after tho 
 organization, tho Rov. W. W. Macombor, from tho 
 East, arrived and took charge of the congregation 
 
 \ 
 
216 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 for several months. At the first service held in Gold 
 Hill, the sermon was preached by the Rev. Fred 
 Buell. No meeting house has ever been built by the 
 denomination in this town, and the society has led 
 a feeble existence since its birth. There is no Pres- 
 byterian organization in Gold Hill at the present 
 time. 
 
 AUSTIN. 
 
 The first Presbyterian organization in Lander 
 County was established with forty-five members, at 
 Austin, on Sunday, January 3, 18G4. The Reese 
 River Reveilk, of December 12, 1863, had published 
 an announcement that at the Court House services 
 would be held by Jlev. L. P. Webber, a Presbyterian 
 minister, in the morning, and by the Rev. E. Jv. 
 Miller, a Methodist minister, in the afternoon. The 
 society prospered up to 18G8, at which time manj- 
 of the members left the place, and those remaining 
 found it impossible, without a church building, to 
 kee|) up the organization. An effort was made to 
 raise funds to build a church. Several hundred dol- 
 lars were collected for the purpose, but the edifice 
 was never built. The Austin Society was assigned, 
 on July 14, 1870, to the Sacramento Presb^-torj-. 
 At that date it had about thirtj^-six members, but 
 it never afterwards made any reports to the Presby- 
 teiy. In 1873, the church organization was broken 
 up. No Presbyterian Society exists at Austin to-day. 
 The Ruling Elders of the Austin Church have been 
 J. S. Slauson, Elijah Stanford, and John Marchant. 
 The Trustees were J. S. Slauson, John liorue, and 
 A. Nichols. The Presbyterian clergymen who have 
 successfully oflieiatcd at Austin, were the Revs. L. 
 
 P. Webber, Taylor, II. H. Hill, E. Willard, 
 
 J. P. Pinney, and A. M. Stewart, deceased. 
 
 ELKO. 
 
 The Rev. John Brown, a young Presbyterian min- 
 ister, a graduate of Glasgow University, Scotland, 
 and of Union Theological Seminary, New York, 
 arrived at Elko early in March, 1870. On the twenty- 
 sixth of that month he organized a church society 
 with a membershi]) of seven persons. The rail- 
 road company gave him four lots on which to build 
 a church, toward the cost of which $1,200 were con- 
 tributed by church members outside of Elko count}'. 
 The total amount expended in its construction was 
 $2,500. In the introductory portion of this chapter 
 the amusing incident which culminated in the build- 
 ing of the Elko Presbyterian Church is related. The 
 organ used by the congregation was presented to 
 them by the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher. The Rev. 
 Mr. Brown, who is now in Jacksboro, Texas, was 
 succeeded by the Rev. C. 1). Roberts in August, 1872, 
 who remained in charge until October, 1875, soon 
 after which time ho died, and on November 20th of 
 that year the Rev. Joseph II. Bj-ors succeeded to 
 the pastorate of the church. The Society at that 
 time consisted of only four members — Mrs. Yeatos 
 and her two daughters, and a Mrs. Van Alste5-n. 
 Mr. Byors remained at Elko till the twenty-seventh 
 
 day of August, 1877, and is now in Lawrence, 
 Kansas. During his ministry he received eighteen 
 additions to the church. The eldest was John Seitz, 
 seventy-five years, the youngest, Essie Thebo, ten 
 j'ears old. Her parents, Mr. Byers complained, were 
 unbelievers, and soon forced her to leave the church. 
 Four others were converts from the Mormon faith. 
 During his time Mr. Byers married twenty couples 
 and oBiciated at twenty-one funerals. He had but 
 one Elder in his church and he lived at Palisade, 
 thirty miles awaj'. He never had any Deacons, 
 being destitute of material out of which to make 
 them. Earlj' in 1878 the Rev. Robert McCulloch 
 assumed charge, but discontinued preaching regu- 
 larly in Juno, 1879, occasionally visiting the congre- 
 gation for some time afterwards. There was a 
 vacancy until April, 1880, when the Rev. A. J. 
 Compton was appointed Pastor, and continued in 
 that relation until the last of September following. 
 The Society owns a parsonage which was built some 
 time after the church. The present Trustees are J. 
 H. Rand, U. R. Bigelow, James Clark, L. H. Morgan 
 and James Brain. The number of members reported 
 in May. 1879, was twenty-five, but the number since 
 that time has been reduced to six. The Sabbath- 
 school reported in 1879 eighty-six pupils, but there 
 were at last accounts but sixty-three in regular 
 attendance. The Elko Church has suffered of late 
 years by being frequently left without a minister, 
 and by the steady waning of the population of 
 the town. It has no Elders to-day. In 1871 an 
 Elder of this church, Mr. E. V. Ilobbins, was elected 
 by the Sacramento Presbj'tery as Lay (Commissioner 
 to represent it in the Presbyterian General Assem- 
 bly, which mot in Chicago in May of that year. 
 
 EUREKA. 
 
 In August, 1873, the Presbj^terian Church was 
 organized at Eureka, by six members. The Sacra- 
 mento Presbytery entered it upon its roll of churches 
 on October 4th of that year. The Rev. W. C. Mc- 
 Dougal was the first Pastor. Ho was succeeded in 
 the following year by the Rev. Josiah McClain, who 
 remained at Kureka until the summer of 1876. The 
 Rev. Samuel M. Crothers then took charge until 
 May, 1879, when ho was followed by the Rev. Geo. 
 W. (iailagher last year. 
 
 The present Elders are, Mr. John Ilorno and Mr. 
 Thomas Evans. The number of church members 
 reported last May was thirty-nine. The number of 
 pupils in the Sabbath-school was ninety. The 
 societj- has a meeting house which was erected soon 
 after the organization was cftectod. It escaped 
 destruction in the last disastrous conflagration which 
 reduced half the town to ashes. On March 26, 1881, 
 the Rev. Mr. Gallagher oxj)loded a theological bomb- 
 shell among his congregation by simultaneously 
 renouncing the tenets of orthodoxy and resigning 
 his charge. The causes which impelled Mr. Galla- 
 gher, who was groati)' esteemed in Eureka by his 
 own people and the public generally, to sever his 
 
THE CHURCHES OF NEVADA. 
 
 217 
 
 relations with the Presbyterian failli were given by 
 him in a letter as follows: — 
 
 1 dissolved my connection with the Prosbj'terian 
 Church of this place last ni.nht, and will send mj- 
 renunciation of the standard doctrines of the t'hurch 
 to the Presbytery of Sacramento by to-nifjlit's mail. 
 The cause of my severing my connection with the 
 Presbyterian Church is mj' divergence from the 
 confession of faith in these points: In that 1 do not 
 believe in the doctrines of eternal punishment, of the 
 Trinitj-, of the inspiration of the Scriptures, nor in 
 the orthodox view of the atonement. i[y views now 
 are what may be termed Unitarian, and when 1 join 
 a Church hereafter it will be the Unitarian Church, 
 for that faith, in my view, is truest to nature, to 
 reason, and to true religion. 
 
 Mr. Gallagher's action created a general sensation 
 among the church people of the town, and created 
 no little interest in all parts of the State. A general 
 desire was expressed by all that the gentleman, who 
 was noted as a very eloquent speaker and a sound 
 logical rcasoncr, should publicly give his reasons for 
 his sudden and unlooUed-for ste]>. To this end an 
 address, signed bj' nearly one hundred of the most 
 prominent citizens of Eureka, was presented to him, 
 requesting him to deliver a discourse upon the sub- 
 ject connected with his renunciation of the doctrines 
 and teachings of the Presbyterian faith. Ou the 
 evening of March 30th 'Mr. Gallagher delivered an 
 elaborate address in explanation of his course at the 
 Eureka Opera House. 
 
 PIOCHE. 
 
 In 1873, a Presbyterian Society was organized at 
 Pioche. The Jlev. J. P. Egbert, now of San Jose, 
 California, was the first minister, and he remained 
 about six months. lie held his first service on .Jan- 
 uary 20, 1.S73. The organization started with twelve 
 members in the following April, but it never enjoyed a 
 prosperous career. The decline of business at 
 Pioche, the de])arture of most of the population to 
 other camps, and the fact of not having ministers to 
 labor there, soon made it impossible to keep up the 
 society of Presbyterians. In October, 1879, it was 
 taken off the roll as one of the churches of the 
 Sacramento Presbytery. The Rev. Mr. Egbert was 
 succeeded by the Rev. II. B. .McBride, now of Colusa, 
 California, in July, 1873. 
 
 A recapitulation of the strength of the i'resby- 
 terian Churches of Nevada shows that in May, 1879, 
 the date of the last official returns, the total mem- 
 bership was less than 300, and the roll of all the 
 Sunday-schools combined numbered about 500 
 children. Since that time there has been a steady 
 decrease, and there is rea.son to believe that about 
 one half the above number would more accurately 
 represent the real strength of the Presbj-terian 
 denomination in Nevada to-day. A fair estimate of 
 the total value of the church property places it at 
 about 815,000. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 BAPTIST AND CONGREGATIONAL. 
 
 The Colonxl C'liurcli — T;ilx!niacle H.ijiti.st Churcli — First Service 
 ill (.'arson — The Congregational (.'hurcli — Us Organization — 
 The Mrst Pastor. 
 
 The first Baptist Church in Nevada Territory 
 was organized in Virginia City by the Rev. Mr. 
 Satchell, in 18li3. With the exception of one pei-son 
 all the members were colored people. Mr. Satchell 
 remained their Pastor a little over one year. Dr. VV. 
 II. Stevenson, from Rhode Island, was then ordained 
 Pastor, and continued in that relation about two 
 years. In 186G, the church having become dissatis- 
 fied with its Pastor, divided, and the meeting house 
 was sold and moved away. That body was never 
 reorganized. About the year 18G5, the Rev. Mr. 
 McLafferty came from the East and organized a 
 society called the Tabernacle 15ai)tist Church, which 
 worshiped in the Court House. Mr. McLafferty 
 remained about two years and went to California, 
 when the organization died. On the first day of 
 June, 1873, Rev. C. L. Fisher, of Santa Clara, Cali- 
 fornia, arrived in Virginia City in response to an invi- 
 tation from an ac(iuaintance with a view to the estab- 
 lishment of a Baptist Church. He entered at once 
 upon his mission. For two months services were 
 held in the District Court-room. Tlienco the con- 
 gregation was removed to the Miners' Union Hall, 
 after three months and for better convenience they 
 again removed to the Washington Guard Hall. A 
 third removal three months later found them hold- 
 ing weekly services in the parlor of Sister Cochrane. 
 During these months eighteen members had signed 
 the roll, and on December 14, 1873, a council was 
 called. It consisted of the Rev. C. A. Bateman, the 
 Rev. H. Richardson, Bible Agent of Nevada, and the 
 Rev. C. L. Fisher. The sermon was preached by 
 .Mr. Bateman, Mr, Richardson acting as Moderator, 
 and Mr. Fisher as Clerk. At the conclusion of the 
 exercises it was announced by the Jl(odcrator that 
 the First Baptist C!hurch of Virginia, Nevada, was 
 duly organized. The Rev. C. L. Fisher accepted the 
 pastorate. In Aj)rilof the same year, a lot was pur- 
 chased for 8800, of which 8300 was paid and the 
 Trustees gave their notes for the balance. On 
 June Ist a contract for a church edifice was let at 
 82,100, and the building was ready for occupa- 
 tion on July 12th. It is located on C Street, 
 is forty feet long and twenty-three feet wide and has 
 a seating capacitj- for 150 persons. Subsei|ucntly 
 the basement of the church was fitted up as a lodg- 
 ing house at an oxi)enso of 81,207, making the total 
 cost of the church and lot amount to 84,107. On 
 October 1, 1875, the Rev. C. L. Fisher tendered his 
 resignation on account of ill-health. During his min- 
 istry thirty members were added to the church. On 
 December 30, 1S75, the Rev. James Wells, of Cali- 
 fornia, accepted the pastorate, which he resigned on 
 May 12, 1870. The Rev. G. W. Ford took charge of 
 
218 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 the church on June 4, 1876, aiiddiHcharj<ed ihc duties 
 of Pastor one year. From August 1, 1877, to March, 
 
 1878, the Ilev. T. J. Arnold, oflleno, held a monthly 
 service in Virginia. From March, until November 
 3, 1878, the chunth was closed. On the latter date 
 the Hev. T. J. Arnold became Pastor, a relation which 
 existed until May 15, 1879. During his ministration, 
 six united by baptism, two by letters and one by 
 experience. On January 1, 1880, the Rev. H. VV. 
 Read, the present Pastor, arrived from Clayton, Jeffer- 
 son County, New York, and entered upon his ministry. 
 Mr. Read had served as a volunteer chaplain in the 
 Union Army and was held for some time a captive 
 at Libby Prison. He had led an eventful life during 
 a long career as missionary of the Baptist Church. 
 His congregation now numbers but thirty-six per- 
 sons. The church society struggles under a debt of 
 $1,200, due the American Baptist Home Missionary 
 Society. Mr. S. B. Reid is the present Clerk of the 
 church. 
 
 In the summer of 1874, a few Baptists in Carson 
 City began holding services on Sunday under the 
 ministry of Major Sherman, who had been licensed 
 to preach. On November 1st, in that year, the Rev. 
 C. A. Bateman preached a sermon at Car.son City on 
 the occasion of the regular organization and recog- 
 nition of the first Baptist Church in that town. Six- 
 teen members signed the Articles of Faith and the 
 Covenant. The Rev. C. L. Fisher officiated as Clerk 
 and the charge was delivered bj' the Rev. H. Richard- 
 son, the Moderator. The consecrating praj-er was 
 offered by the Rev. Mr. Read. Early in 1876, the 
 Rev. J. (f. Burchet settled as Pastor, but remained 
 only a few weeks. The church soon died for want 
 of support. 
 
 On November 28, 1875, the Rev. C. L. Fisher, 
 having left Virginia City, organi/.ed a Baptist 
 Church in the Oj)era House, Reno. Fifteen mem- 
 bers signed the roll. In January, 1871!, the society 
 built, at a cost of $2,800, a small meeting house, 
 assembling in it for the first time on May 7th of 
 that year. The Rev. C. L. Fisher soon afterwards 
 resigned the pastorate and departed for California. 
 For a short time the Rev. C. A. Bateman preached 
 to the congregation. In 1877, the Rev. T. J. Arnold 
 acted as Pastor for fourteen months and then went 
 to Virginia City. In the contlagration of March 2, 
 
 1879, the little meeting house at Reno was reduced 
 to ashes; but on July 12th, of the same year, the 
 society began the erection of a larger house of wor- 
 ship. It now has a church building which will cost 
 it 81,000, when an unpaid debt of §2,500 is cancelled. 
 In the summer of 1880, D. Hanks McKenzio, a tem- 
 perance advocate concluded to become a preacher, 
 and was ordained by I. S. Kalloch and some mem- 
 bers of the ilctro])olitan (-'hurch in San Francisco, 
 as the Pastor at Reno. But he remained with the 
 church but a few days after his ordination, return- 
 ing to California, and again leaving the Heno 
 Baptists without a Pastor. His hasty departure loft 
 
 the im])re8Mioii on the congregation that he had only 
 sought the office of Pastor to serve an ulterior pur- 
 pose. He secured the title of Reverend to his name, 
 thereby giving, as he hoped, greater ecUU to his 
 work as a temperance orator. The present Trustees 
 of the Reno Baptist Church are Jason Smith, John 
 Smith, Cajitain F. Cook, W. W. Morton, and W. 
 Sanders; Captain F. Cook is Treasurer, and Robert 
 Ash, Clerk. The largest number of members it has 
 had at anj' one time was seventy-five. It has not 
 fifteen at present, but has recently secured the serv- 
 ices of the Rev. Scott as Pastor. Besides the 
 
 two buildings at Virginia and Reno there are no 
 other Baptist Churches in the Stale. The present 
 value of the church property is about $5,000, against 
 which there is an indebtedness of almost equal 
 amount. 
 
 The Rev. Winfield Scott has recentlj' taken charge 
 of the Baptist Church at Reno, and is building uj) a 
 large congregation, besides materially reducing the 
 church indebtedness. 
 
 THE C0NGRE0.\TIONAL cnUROH. 
 
 In response to a call issued on June 7, 1870, a 
 Council of Congregational Churches met at the 
 school house, Reno, on February, 18, 1871. The 
 Rev. J. E. Benton, of California, was chosen Mod- 
 erator of the Council; and J. C. Jlagerman, of 
 Reno, was elected Scribe. A petition was then 
 presented on behalf of the society organized on 
 January 20, 1871, to sustain -'an independent Con- 
 gregational form of worship in the town of Reno." Of 
 thatsocietj^ S. M. Webber was President; I). B. May 
 Vice-President; and N. C. Kinney, Secretary. On 
 the next day, Februarj' 10th, the First (!ongrega- 
 lional Church of Reno was organized. The original 
 members were J. C. Hagerman, Kittio Hagerman, 
 Sophia Scott, ^Aiwy F. Poor, Annie L. Poor, James 
 C. Weston. Nellie Kinncj-, Marj- Fairchild, Marj- C. 
 Kinney. The Rev. A. F. Hitchcock was elected 
 Pastor. A house of worship was soon built, and 
 owned jointly with the Independent Order of Odd 
 Fellows of Reno. It was dedicated to public wor- 
 ship on Sunday, June 20, 1873, by the Revs. James 
 Woods and C. A. Bateman. The J'astors who have 
 rogularl}' officiated since the organization of the 
 church were the Revs. A. F. Hitchcock, L. R. Ros- 
 boro, F. R. Girard, VV. J. Clark, C. H. Rope, A. 
 Drahms, and G. F. G. Morgan, at present in charge. 
 Excepting temporary intervals, the church has been 
 in active operation since its establishment. The 
 edifice is free from debt. A Sunday-school is regu- 
 larly maintained in connection with the church. 
 
SCH(M)L H[ST(1RY OF NEVADA. 
 
 210 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 SCHOOL HISTORY OF NEVADA. 
 
 [by I). K. SKS.SION.S.] 
 
 Sketch of Pioneer Schools — Scarcity of Data — Sources of Kcv- 
 eniie — Buel Shoe Kiiiul — Report of First Su|ierinteiuleiit — 
 School at Virginia t'ity--Sierra Seminary at Carson — 'IVrri- 
 torial Law Helative to Text-books — Teachers' Wages — Athihe 
 School Houses — Statistical Exhibit of l.S(i4— State University 
 — Mining College — Uniteil States Land (Jrants — Elko Se- 
 leetetl as the Site — Scarcity of Pupils — Ell'orts of First Prin- 
 cipal- — Kegents of — Eilierality of Congress — Public School 
 Fund — State Educational OlUeers— County School Boards — 
 Duties of State .Superintendent — Compulsory PMucati<m — 
 Non-sectarian Schools — Private Schools — Catholic Orphan- 
 age—List of School OHicers — List of Teachers — (Jualitica- 
 tion of Teachers — Colored Children — Ne.;r.>es, Chinese and 
 Indians — Ueturns of Teachers ami School Trustees lor ISfiO 
 — Value of School Property — Financial Transactions of 
 Schools by Counties. 
 
 Data for the compositions of the beginning of 
 school hi.-^tory are scarce and hard to collect. The 
 chief reliance for this information is the "oldest 
 inhabitant." Few of the old pioneers are left, and 
 those who still linger, have better memories for 
 events more startling than for the affairs of rudimen- 
 tary education. From 1859, and up to this date, 
 when all Nevada was a county of Utah Territory, 
 and thinly settled in occasional I'ertile spots by Mor- 
 mons, nothing definite can be known with regard to 
 the condition of education in the sage-brush land. 
 
 What incidental scraps of such information might 
 have been obtained, liave not been acquired for the 
 reason that those who have been depended on 
 to make the necessary research in their respective 
 localities, have, in almost every instance, failed to 
 assist the writer in this undertaking. The most 
 then that can be done is to give an outline of the 
 school history of this State — a skeleton as well 
 fleshed as the conditions render practicable. 
 
 The first report of Superintendent of Public 
 Instruction, made to the State Legislature, was made 
 by A. F. White, December 12. 18()4. Jle speaks of this 
 report and the condition of public school educa- 
 tion as the third that had been made, the two 
 preceding having been made annually to the Leg- 
 islature of the Territory. These cannot now be 
 i'ound. From ilr. White's report, referred to, the 
 following statistics are gleaned: At the beginning 
 of the State Government, in 1864, there were 
 ten counties organized, in which there were but 
 twelve school districts, eight school houses and 
 eighteen schools. In 18G2 the whole number of 
 youths between four and twenty-one years of age 
 was 1,134. In the latter part of 1804 this number 
 had increased to 3,057. In 1802 there were ])r()bably 
 two hundred pupils attending school, and in 1804 
 nearly 1,000. 
 
 As to the cost of maintaining schools in this new 
 country, an approximate estimate may be formed by 
 taking the total amount expended in Storey and 
 Jjyon ("ounties — the only counties from which any 
 financial report was received — which is 871,73!( 70. 
 As to the grade of schools, in 1802 there were but 
 five primary classes in the Territory, lu 1803, 
 
 the record shows six ])riinary schools, two inter- 
 mediate and one grammar. 
 
 Under the State organization the public school 
 system took new life immediately, and toward the 
 close of 1804 there were in Xevada twenty pri- 
 mary schools, four of mixed grade, four intermediate 
 and one grammar, the whole number of schools 
 being thirt3--scven. The school communities, how- 
 ever, were small raining camps merely; hence it 
 may be justly inferred that the grades were not 
 eharply defined, and, compared with what we 
 regard as graded schools now, there were as yet 
 scarcely any thoroughly graded schools in the State. 
 The condition of ]niblic education was as preca- 
 i-ious and unsettled as the states of society, at 
 a time when nobody contemplated making a home 
 in '-Washoe," as all Nevada was familiarly styled 
 by ('alifornians, but followed the uncertain drift 
 of mining excitement, looking forward to the time 
 when he should make a " stake," and return home 
 to live in " America." But few absolutely free 
 schools were maintained. The fixed sources of 
 school revenue were merely nominal; but already 
 the seed of love for our great national institution 
 of free public school education was seen trans- 
 planted and germinating hardily under the difficul- 
 ties and obstructions of our peculiar mining life. 
 
 THE BtlEL SHOE FIND. 
 
 In this great and good work the people showed 
 themselves deeplj' and thoroughlj- in earnest. Ap- 
 peals to their liberality were seldom made in vain. 
 The demand for private contributions was almost 
 always cheerfully met, nor were rate bills regarded 
 as onerous. Indeed, the maintenance of the schools 
 in the early days of Nevada was rather a personal 
 affair, and was in substance more of a private 
 than of a public character, though they were entirely 
 free in effect, for none suffered for the want of 
 tuition merely because they could not bear a part 
 in its expense. As illustrative of the pioneer spirit 
 for the managoniont of education among the chil- 
 dren, an incident may bo cited of early times at 
 Austin, the county seat of Lander County: In the 
 fall of 1803, the first action was taken toward start- 
 ing a school in this camp. Trustees were elected, 
 and a committee was appointed to raise funds. A 
 collection of S030 was made. In the spring follow- 
 ing, the Buel Shoe Fund was added to this sum. 
 The origin of this fund is humorous and suggestive: 
 Col. D. K. (-'Dave "J Buel, still alive and active, 
 was a prominent and successful jiioneer. lie was a 
 man of prodigious stature and symmetrically built. His 
 feet, of course, in order to corres])ond with the other 
 parts of his frame, were enormous; and his shoos, 
 which he wore loose, as a sensible man ahva3-s 
 does, excited surprise and admiration. On the 
 evening of May 20. 1804, a pair of the Colonel's 
 shoes were l)orne from their seclusion and ])iit up at 
 auction for the benefit of the public school fund. Tom 
 Wade, us uuctionoor, sold and re-sold them, until 
 
220 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 810C.05 was realized from the sale. Another inci- 
 dent strangely characteristic of the period, but 
 earlier by about two years, occurred in Carson City. 
 
 CARSON ROWDY FUND. 
 
 It was when Cai-son was in her flush, and when, if 
 she could have looked forward to her present law- 
 abiding and staid social condition, she would have 
 blushed for her then horde of faro dealers and 
 "short card" fiends. Two prominent citizens, whose 
 names are withheld, conspicuous for their success in 
 the mani])ulation of mining shares, as well as for 
 startling bravado, took possession of a theater one 
 night. They swaggered down the main aisle, armed 
 with six-shooters and bowie-knives, to the terror 
 and consternation of the audience, composed in 
 small part of women and children, and ordered 
 the curtain dro|)])ed. Their singular command not 
 being instantlj^ obeyed, they made a rush for the 
 stage. The actors fled in dismay, and the curtain 
 fell, wherupon the con((uerors proceeded to reduce 
 it to ribbons with their formidable knives. For this 
 act the}' paid, no doubt cheerfully enough, for it was 
 not consonant with the times to set anj^ high 
 value on money, 81,000 for the benefit of the com- 
 mon school fund of the town. 
 
 (IROWINti scnooLS. 
 
 In Virginia City, the largest town, there were only 
 seventeen children attending school in October, 1862. 
 In the same month of the following year there were 
 420 school children in the county, of whom 300 
 were at Virginia, and 60 at Gold llill. The school 
 house at the latter place was a very creditable build- 
 ing, furnished with seats and desks from San Fran- 
 cisco. The Territorial Legislature passed a law in 
 December, 1801, authorizing the incorporation of the 
 Sierra Seminary at Carson City. The incorporation 
 has never been made; but Miss II. K. Cla])p, one of 
 the earliest ladies to take up her home in Nevada, 
 and who instituted the project, started a private 
 school about that time, and has been teaching a 
 private school for boys and girls continuously' ever 
 since, under the name of the Sierra Seminary. It 
 may be remarked, in passing, that the conditions in 
 Nevada are not such as to render it practicable for 
 the higher grade instructions of learning to be sue 
 cessful. The State is too sparsely' settled, and the 
 competition with old established colleges and semi- 
 naries in California and Kastern States cannot be 
 withstood. This fact will be fully illus' rated in the 
 history of the I^niversity of Nevada farther on. 
 Associated with Miss Clapp in founding her school 
 were Mrs. E. G. Cutler (now Mrs. Haydon) cele- 
 brated as a singer and elocutionist, and Miss E. C. 
 Babcock. The first com])rohensivo statistical cxliibit 
 of school affairs was made by Rev. A. F. White, Ter- 
 ritorial Superintendent, and also the first Superin- 
 tendent under the State (Tovernment. This exhibit, 
 given on the following page, will show at a single 
 view the condition of the common schools in 1864. 
 
 For the sake of still further insight into the con- 
 dition of public education in the ten counties thert 
 organized, the following supplementary statement is 
 subjoined, being abstracts from the reports of County 
 Superintendents, whose names are appended: — 
 
 ORMSBY COUNTY — WILLIA.M B. LAWLER. 
 
 In this county there are 512 children between the 
 ages of four and twenty-one. Only 173 attend 
 public schools. About 12.T attend private schools. 
 About fortj' out of every 100 receive a street educa- 
 tion, which is one of idleness, and often of wicked- 
 ness and crime. Within the j-ear one school dis- 
 trict has been organized, and will soon have a com- 
 fortable school house. At present there arc but 
 two school houses in the county. Schools have 
 been sustained six months during the j'ear, in each 
 district. Amount paid teachers, 81,780; highest 
 sahuy paid teachers, 812.") per month; lowest, 840 
 per month. In Enijiire District the books re]iorted 
 in use are Standard First and Fourth Headers, 
 National First and Second Keaders, Primer, Ele- 
 mentary and Standard Spellers, Mental and Practi- 
 cal Arithmetic, probably Thompson's. 
 
 STOREY COUNTY — JUDGE FRANK TILFORD. 
 
 The receipts of the Board of Education from 
 December 7, 1S03, to October 30, 1804, amounted to 
 847,82<^).70. The exijenditures for the same period 
 were 840,121.31, leaving a balance of 81,009.39. The 
 existing indebtedness of the Board is 83,300, con- 
 tracted by their ])redecessors in office, 82,000 of 
 which amount is evidenced by outstanding bonds, 
 and the remainder. 81,300, is secured by mortgage 
 on the pro])crty of the Board in the city of Virginia. 
 There are 1,243 children in Storej- 0)unty, between 
 four and twenty-one years of age. The public school 
 in Virginia District has one Grammar School, two 
 First Intermediate Schools, one Second Intermediate 
 School, and three Primary Schools. In (iold Hill 
 District there is one First Intermediate and one 
 Primary School. In Flowerj' District there is one 
 mixed school. The number of children enrolled in 
 the various schools, is 390. Average dail^- attend- 
 ance, 27."). Te.xt-books in use: Sj)ellers, Sargent's 
 and Webster's; Algebra, Davies'; Geography, Cor- 
 nell's; Penmanship, Payson, Dunton, Scribner's; 
 Grammar, Green's course; History, Ijossing's United 
 States; Natural Philosophy, Comstock's. 
 
 WASHOE COU.N'TY — REV. T. H. .m'ORATII. 
 
 This county is divided into seven districts. There 
 are .")4!t children and youths between four and 
 twenty-one years of age — 2.")3 males and 24.J females. 
 There are 130 children under lour j'cars of ago — 
 fifty-five were born in Nevada. Number of pupils 
 attending school, 248. The average dail^' attend- 
 ance has been 197. The whole number of teachers 
 emploj-ed during thej'car was thirteen — eight males 
 and five females. The highest salary paid for teach- 
 ing was 812.') ])er month; the lowest was fifty-two 
 dollars. Thewhok^ lime taught was fifty-six months. 
 The whole amount of public funds received was 
 83,340.2"). Whole amount raised in the districts by 
 contribution was 8129.75. Amount expended for 
 teaching, 84,070; for other jjurposes, 82,315.75. 
 There is no jjrivato school in the county. The 
 schools are primary. Hut few of the te.xt-books 
 recommended by the Territorial Board of Educa- 
 tion are used. A list of the books in use not given. 
 
<::?^^ie^t>(/^ 
 
 ^>yo 
 
Hon. Andrew J. Hatch 
 
 Was born April 15, 1827, at Lanesboro, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania 
 and resided at Lanesboro and Great Bend, in that county, until 1 S3(S, when his 
 father moved to Chenango County, New York. In this beautiful and romantic 
 country the young Andrew Jackson grew to manhood. Those were great 
 Jackson days when the Surveyor was born, and like many another scion of 
 Democratic lineage born in the period when " Old Hickory " was a power in the 
 land, carries the initials of the hero of New Orleans and the " Sage of the 
 Hermitage." In the excellent academies of Oxford and Norwich, where 
 gathered the ambitious youth of Chenango, Broome and Otsego, he acquired 
 that first-c]a,ss training which enabled him in later years to become the skillful 
 surveyor and engineer. 
 
 Grown to manhood he sought the exciting scenes of the Pacific Coast, and in 
 September, 1852, he went to Tuolumne County, California, where he was 
 engaged in mining and teaching school until 1857, when he entered the Gov- 
 ernment .surveying service under Col. A. W. Von Schmidt. In 1858 he was 
 appointed United States Deputy Surveyor, by Surveyor General Mandevilie. 
 
 The decade of '49 to '59 had passed, and quietness and stagnation appeared to 
 be settling upon California as it had rested upon the o]<i countries of the East, 
 but the fates ruled otherwise. Upon the bleak hills of the eastern slope ili.scov- 
 eries were made which again aroused the world, and set the energetic people of 
 California again upon the go in search of mineral wealth. General Hatch was 
 early in the field, crossing the Sierra Nevada in April, 18G0. Then, the State 
 constituted a portion of Utah Territory, and was almost without a government 
 or a name. The whole region was Washoe; but in Washoe particular he set his 
 stake. His earliest entei-prise was mining in connection with his brother, R, S. 
 Hatch, on Galena Hill, west of Steamboat Springs. This did not continue f()r a 
 lengthy period, as he was soon called to the exercise of his profession. Gen. S. 
 H. Marlette was then County Surveyor of Carson County, Utah, and called upon 
 our subject to be his Deputy. From that date A. J. Hatch has been, with 
 scarcely an intermission, surveying the lands of Nevada, being County Surveyor 
 or Deputy Unitecl States Surveyor most of time, and has in person surveyed a 
 large portion of the public lands in the State. 
 
 Other offices, however, have called for his services, he having the honor of 
 being the first Justice of the Peace in Washoe County, holiling his court in galena 
 and Wa.shou City. In 1870 he was elected to the Legislature, serving in the 
 .ses.sion of 1871, when he was appointed Chairman of the Connnittee on Public 
 Lan<ls, and to him principally may be accorded the honor of having framed the 
 present State Land Law. 
 
 General Hatch was married October 4, 1870, at Wellsville, New York, to 
 Mrs. Helen F. Thorf)e, widow of Senator S. M. Thorpe, of Lawrence, Kansas 
 who was a.ssas.sinated by the notorious (.^uantrell and his murderous band 
 in the memorable raid of 1863. He has ri^claimed from a wilderness of 
 rocks and sage brush a beautiful little farm in the suburbs of Reno, where 
 he has resided with his family since coming to the Statu. His varieil experience 
 in his profe.ssion and in public life generally, eminently qualifies him for the 
 position of Surveyor General of Nevada, to which office he was elected in 1878 
 He has taken an active part in many of the public enterprises of Washoe- County, 
 anujug which was the Nevada and Oregon Railroad, of which company he was 
 the first President of the permanent organization. This enterprise, connecting 
 Reno with the line of valleys along the great plateau of the Sierra Nevada 
 through eastern California and Oregon, bids fair to become one of the most 
 important of the minor roads of the Pacific Coast, and is the pride of Nevada's 
 Surveyor General. 
 
SCHOOL HISTORY OF NEVADA. 
 
 221 
 
 A UENKKAL STATISTICAL TABLE 
 Compiled fkom the KtroBTs of tub Cocnty Superintendents — 1SG4. 
 
 *. < 
 
 •A\ ^ 
 
 (B -ti •* 
 
 n 
 
 3": 3 
 
 5 3 is 
 
 ffi i » 
 
 ■-• o I ■- o 
 
 si si 
 
 M s 
 
 ll 
 
 li 
 
 8 
 
 5 
 
 Ormsby . . 
 
 Total, 
 Storey . . . 
 
 Totol 
 Washoe. . , 
 
 Total. 
 DouglaB . . 
 
 Total 
 Lyon 
 
 Total. 
 Humboldt 
 
 Total. 
 l..andcr . . . 
 
 Total. . 
 Esmeralda . 
 Churchill . . . 
 Nye 
 
 Total . . . 
 
 1243 
 61 
 
 80 
 ISS 
 i>4 
 3S 
 
 80 
 
 549 
 
 .'j3 
 111 
 
 84 
 80 
 
 328 
 
 117 
 
 i64 
 
 381 
 
 390 
 
 10 
 ;t8.57 
 
 * 882 00 
 
 «G4 25 
 
 1,530 00 
 
 377 00 
 6U0 00 
 202 33 
 161 40 
 
 1,340 73 
 
 519 00 
 376 00 
 
 100 oO 
 216 00 
 
 l,i09 00 
 
 <I19 00 
 
 .•>64 00 
 
 30« 00 
 
 99 00 
 
 ,581 00 
 
 ?1,780 0() 
 
 $1,780 00 
 
 $47,820 70 
 
 12,905 86 
 
 105 76 
 24 00 
 
 770 
 [,049 
 800 
 260 
 6S6 
 225 
 
 129 75 
 
 473 35 
 1,379 25 
 
 360 17 
 702 35 
 
 3,476 00 
 
 4,670 00 
 
 476 
 600 
 
 502 
 570 
 
 3,005 12 
 
 4,345 85 
 
 100 
 
 519 
 375 
 
 100 00 
 1,050 00 
 
 1,309 OO 
 
 800 00 
 170 00 
 
 625 00 
 300 00 
 300 Oil 
 240 00 
 
 4,933 00 
 
 1,365 00 
 
 $01 AM 65 
 
 826,60S 86 
 
 $1,780 00 
 
 1,864 84 
 960 00 
 
 47,820 00 
 
 16 76 
 1,400 00 
 
 2,375 75 
 
 374 35 
 
 1,379 25 
 
 7,045 76 
 
 379 00 
 
 !,132 60 
 653 89 
 
 4,347 85 
 
 500 30 
 214 19 
 100 00 
 
 925 00 
 
 2,025 25 
 
 2,728 65 
 
 4,093 66 
 
 $46,230 98 
 
 rt,789 79 
 
 I Intcniiediate. 
 ( Primary. 
 
 Primary. 
 
 Pr'nian'. 
 
 I* tiruiiinmr. 
 ■ Intermediate. 
 ( Primary. 
 \ iTitL-rmediate. 
 ( Primary. 
 Mixed. 
 
 Primary. 
 Primary. 
 Primary. 
 Primary. 
 Primary. 
 Primary. 
 Primary. 
 
 Primary. 
 Primary, 
 Primary. 
 Primary. 
 
 Mixed. 
 
 Primary. 
 
 Mixed.* 
 
 Primary. 
 Primary. 
 
 Prluiarr. 
 
 Primary. 
 Primary. 
 Primary. 
 Primary. 
 
 I Intermediate. 
 "( Primar)'. 
 
 DOUGLAS COUNTY — JUDGE A. T. IIAWLEY. | 
 
 There are four school districts in I)ou<^las County 
 — one has been orfjanizod durinj^ tiio j-ear. Tiio 
 schools arc all in a prosperous condition. There are 
 328 children and youth between the ai^es of four 
 and twenty-one — l(i.") males and 1G8 females. There 
 are 117 children under four years of aj^e — sixty-six 
 of whom were born in Nevada. Ninety-cif^ht pupils 
 attend school. The average daily attendance is 
 seventy-five. Eight teachers have been employed — 
 28 
 
 six males and two females. The highest salaiy ])aid 
 per month was SlU7; lowest, SCH. Whole num- 
 ber of months taught during the year, twenty- 
 six and one-half Amount of school fund received, 
 81,340.73. Amount raised in the districts. 83,(10,"). 12. 
 Amount ex))ended for teaching, 82.215.25 ; for all 
 other school purposes, S2,132.<)(). The schools are 
 not classified. There are seven negro children 
 between four and twenty-one years of ago in the 
 county. No report of text-booUs is given. 
 
222 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 LYON COUNTY — MR. C. M'DUFFIE. 
 
 Lyon County is divided into three school districts. 
 The Trustees of Como District made no report of the 
 condition of their school. In the two districts from 
 which reports were made there were 281 children 
 and youth between four and twenty-one years of 
 age— 129 males, and 152 females. There are fifty- 
 throe under four years of age, of whom fifty-two 
 were born in Nevada. There is one child deaf and 
 dumb. There are 123 pupils attending school. 
 Average daily attendance, eighty-eight. The highest 
 salary paid per month was 8135; the lowest, thirty 
 dollars. Whole number of months taught, twenty. 
 The amount of funds received is not given. Exi)ended 
 for teachers' salaiy, $2,412.50; for other purposes, 
 §2,214.19. Five teachers have been employed dur- 
 ing the year. 
 
 HU.MBOLDT COUNTY — IKA F. KINOSBURY. 
 
 There are seven school districts in this county. 
 There are 235 persons between four and twenty-one 
 years of age. Only fifty-nine males and fifty females 
 are reported. Number of pupils attending schools, 
 eighty-four. Average daily attendance, fiftj'-two. 
 Three schools have been taught. Highest amount 
 paid for salary per month, 8100; lowest, forty dollars. 
 Whole number of months taught during the year, 
 sixteen. Received from public funds, 81,209. Raised 
 in districts, 8100. Paid for teaching, 81,100.25; for 
 other purposes, 8925. No list of text-books is given. 
 
 LANDER COUNTY — DR. H. S. HERRICK. 
 
 Lander County ia divided into four school districts. 
 There are 308 persons between the ages of four 
 and twenty-one years — 171 males; and 137 females. 
 Receipts from tbe school funds, 81,581. Raised 
 from different districts, 82,020. Total receipts, 
 84,093.55. Expended for teachers' salaries, 81,3G5; 
 for other purposes, 82,728.55. Number pupils attend- 
 ing school, 112. Average daily attendance, sixty- 
 three. Whole time taught, fifteen months. There 
 were five teachers employed — all females. The 
 schools are all primarj'. Number of white children 
 in the county under four years of age, ninety-two; 
 negro children, five; Indian children, 225 — all born 
 in" Nevada. The list of text-books is not given. 
 
 ESMERALDA COUNTY — REV. IRA P. HALE. 
 
 There is but one school district in this county. 
 A fine, commodious brick school house is in pro- 
 cess of erection. Whole number of children and 
 youth between four and twenty-one years of 
 age, 191 — males 101, females 90. A school has been 
 sustained with Intermediate and Primary depart- 
 ments. Number of children under four years of age, 
 113; born in Nevada, forty-five. 
 
 No reports have been received from Nye and 
 Churchill Counties, except that in Nye County there 
 are ten children between the age of four and twenty- 
 ono years. A. F. White, Supt. of Pub. Ins. 
 
 TEXT HOOKS. 
 
 Among the obstacles to be removed before a thor- 
 ough organization of school work could be effected 
 was the difficulty to secure uniformity of text-books. 
 The prevalent confusion of school books was, how- 
 ever, gradually obviated. Mr. White, in his report 
 of 1804, saj's: " But a month or two since a lady, 
 well qualified as a teacher, in taking charge of one 
 of our mixed schools, found there were but two or 
 three of the same kind of books among thirt}' pupils. 
 She appealed to the parents, but was told that the 
 
 children could not be supplied with new books. She 
 wrote to mo, a.sking if there was no remedy. I sent 
 her the law, the list of text-books required by the 
 Territorial Board of Hducation, and their instruc- 
 tions with regard to introducing the books into the 
 schools, and urged prompt compliance with the 
 requirements. I have not heard the result, but I 
 presume the books were obtained, and the school 
 placed on a proper basis. It is needless to say, that 
 now the uniformitj^ of text-books used throughout the 
 State of Nevada is complete, and rigidly kept so, 
 the statute for the violation of this provision of law 
 requiring that the school district violating it shall be 
 deprived of its apportionment of State school money. 
 School houses in the early times were not too well 
 furnished, nor were they alwaj's constructed upon 
 the most approved models. This was the result 
 rather of the want of sufficient means than of ignor- 
 ance in the premises. Our pioneers, unaided by pub- 
 lic funds, built a large majority of the houses in 
 which schools were kept, and in every instance 
 provided them with such furniture and conveniences 
 as they could afford. In some districts in which 
 there is but little wealth the peo])le showed their 
 determination by laying foundations and building 
 walls, hoping in time to complete the work thus 
 resolutely begun. 
 
 PRIMITIVE SCHOOLS. 
 
 In Humboldt and Lander Counties, in which 
 building materials were held at fabulous jirices, 
 adobe houses were used with earthorn floors, un- 
 plastered walls, and, in some cases, with thatched 
 roofs. Mr. White tells of visiting a school in which 
 there were twenty-five or more pupils, who were 
 seated upon boxes, without desks or chairs, or any 
 furniture whatever in the room. The inhabitants 
 of the district had done all thej- could, but their 
 money failed them. There were no public funds, 
 and impelled by a deep conviction of the importance 
 of education for their families, they gathered the 
 boxes, employed a teacher, opened a school, and 
 then patronized it; and their labor was not in vain, 
 says Mr. White, for their children learned in spite 
 of absent helps and conveniences. Another obstruc- 
 tion in the way of wholesome school work in the 
 early times was the poor pay of the teachers. For 
 the j-ear 1863, omitting Storej- County from the 
 estimate, the average salary paid the teachers of 
 the public schools of Nevada was about forty-eight 
 dollars, less than one-half the wages paid minors 
 for digging out the crude ore from our mines. 
 School teaching, as a consequence, had nothing in it 
 of a professional character; it was resorted to merely 
 as a temporary make-shift. That the quality of the 
 tuition was not always excellent is the unavoidable 
 inference. The evils which grew out of this under- 
 estimate of the importance and value of the teacher's 
 services are numerous and distressing to our most 
 vital interest — the diffusion of intelligence among 
 the people. Mr. White says: " The majority of 
 
SCHOOL HISTORY OF NEVADA. 
 
 223 
 
 teachers generally remain in the same situation 
 only about three months. A few continue to the 
 close of the second term, and 1 have not been able 
 to hear of more than three or four who have 
 taught the same school during a full year. In some 
 instances pei-sons have actually been employed to 
 teach for a single month, the salary ottered being 
 such a miserable sum that they were unwilling to 
 bind themselves for any but the shortest period pos- 
 sible." The condition of things in this respect is 
 greatly changed for the better now. Still, where 
 in the United States, in fact, in the world, are 
 teachers adequately remunerated, when the extent 
 and quality of their labors are considered in com- 
 parison with the market price of the labors of other 
 professional men and tradesmen ? The average plas- 
 terer or bricklayer is ordinarily paid from one-third 
 to one-half more than a first-rate teacher. The 
 Constitution of Nevada empowers the Legislature 
 to establish Normal Schools. Of course, no such 
 institution was thought of in the beginning of our 
 school life, nor is it likely, from the present con- 
 dition of affairs, that a Normal School will be desir- 
 able or expedient for a long time. Nevada could 
 not supply material for such an institution in the 
 way of pupils even; and to embarrass the rudi- 
 mentary S(Jiools l)y diverting any of the moneys 
 intended for their maintenance to this pur])0se would 
 be little less than suicidal to the foundation work 
 of public school education in the State. 
 
 STATE UNIVEKSITY. 
 
 The Constitution made it obligatory upon the Leg- 
 islature to provide for the establishment of a State 
 University which shall embrace departments for 
 agriculture, mechanic arts and mining. The Gov 
 ernor. Secretary of State and Superintendent of Pub- 
 lic Instruction were designated as the Board of 
 Eegents for the first four years, and required to 
 immediately organize and maintain theminingdopart- 
 ment " from the interest I'rom the first funds which 
 come under their control." To aid the State in the 
 establishment of a Univei'sity, the treneral Govern- 
 ment donated seventy-two sections of land, 42,080 
 acres. Another grant was made to Nevada, as to 
 the other States, of 30,000 acres for each ilopresenta- 
 tivo in Congress — 90,000 acres — for the maintenance 
 of a School of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts. 
 This grant was subsequently changed so as to make 
 this fund available for the support of a Mining Col- 
 lege instead, 0!i account of mining being the chief 
 industry in the State. As yet, it may be said, noth- 
 ing has been done more than nominally in the case 
 of the University or Mining College. lu order to 
 preserve the lands thus donated, however, the Uni- 
 versity was organized in such a way as formally to 
 comply with the conditions of the two grants. The 
 site selected is at Elko, in l'>lko County, on the 
 Central Pacific Ilailroad, where the citizens, to secure 
 the location in their town, built and furnished com- 
 pletely, at their own expense, a sightly brick edifice, 
 
 nicely planned, and having the capacit}- to accom- 
 modate a hundred ]ni]iils. 
 
 The building was finished in the winter of 1873-74 
 and accepted by the Regents; Hon. Jerr}' School- 
 ing, Hon. P. H. Clayton and Sylvester H. I'a}-, 
 elected by the Legislature to fill the vacancies made 
 by the expiration of the term of office of the Board 
 named in the Constitution, to serve for the first- 
 term of four years. The Regents at present are 
 Hon. T. N. Stone, Hon. John S. Mayhugh, and Syl- 
 vester U. Day, Esq. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, is one of the pioneers of 
 Nevada, he was born in 1830, in Dickson Township, 
 Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. In theyear 1850 
 ho came to California and located in Nevada County, 
 near Grass Valley, where ho followed (juartz and 
 placer mining and the lumber business until 185!), 
 when he moved to the then Territory of Nevada, 
 settling first in Virginia City, where he remained 
 about one year, and upon the discovery of the mines in 
 Esmeralda County, he went thither, and took an 
 active and prominent part in the politics of the times, 
 being chairman of the committee that reported strong 
 resolutions in favor of the Union, during the exciting 
 times succeeding the breaking out of the Rebellion. 
 From that time to the present ho has boon an active 
 and consistent worker for the Republican party; has 
 represented Esmeralda County in the State Legisla- 
 ture five regular, and one extra, sessions, from 18(J4 to 
 o 18G9. In the latter year he removed to Elko 
 
224 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 County, and was Justice of the Peace for Elko Town 
 Bhip for two years, when he was appointed Kegister 
 of the United States Land Office at Elko, by Presi- 
 dent U. S. Grant. This position he held five years, 
 at the end of which period the offices of Eureka and 
 Pioche were consolidated with his office and located 
 at Eureka, as a matter of economy on the part of 
 President Hayes' administration. In 1878 he was 
 elected to the Assembly, by a majority of 303 in a 
 Democratic county that gave the Democratic candi- 
 date for Governor a majority at the same election of 
 352. During the session of the Legislature he was 
 the recognized leader of the House, and was chosen a 
 member of the Board of Eegents of the State Uni- 
 versity for a term of four years, of which institution 
 he was one of the founders. His practical experience 
 in the selection of Government and State lands, and 
 the procuring of titles thereto, places him in the front 
 rank of that profession in which he is at present 
 engaged. 
 
 Is a native of Lester, Worcester County, ^lassachu- 
 BOtts, and fir.st beheld the light of da}' on the fourth 
 of February, 1834. Five years of his life were 
 spent in the town of Lester, when his parents moved 
 to near ItochcHtcr, New York. He was raised o!i a 
 farm, his parents being tillers of the soil. At the 
 age of eighteen he entered the Brockport Col- 
 legiate Institute, whore ho pursued his studies for 
 
 two years, and then attended the State Normal 
 School at Albany, and graduated in 1855. 
 
 Soon after graduating he became Professor in the 
 Fergusonville Academy, and the next year removed 
 to Shawneetown, Illinois, where he followed the pro- 
 fession of teacher until the spring of 1859, when he 
 crossed the plains to California. During the ensuing 
 eleven years he was a miner and school teacher at 
 Weaverville and Yreka, and held the position of 
 County Superintendent of Schools for Siskiyou 
 County for seven years. In 1870 he came to Nevada, 
 and located at Elko, Elko County, where he taught 
 school for two years. In 1872 he received the 
 appointment of Postmaster at Elko, and became 
 engaged in mercantile pursuits in the same town. 
 The office Avas held by him until the fall of 1876 
 when he resigned, and was elected to the State 
 Senate. During the session of 1879 he was elected 
 one of the Board of Regents of the State University, 
 and was chosen President thereof, which position ho 
 still holds. He was married September 7, 1856, to 
 -Miss Brenda O. Hull, of Buftalo, New York, and they 
 have four children, thixse girls and one boy. 
 
 HON. SYLVESTER H. D.\T. 
 
 Mr. Day was one of the first Regents, and has 
 always been its earnest friend, devoting his ener- 
 gies to the successful disposition and management 
 of the lands granted in aid of the University. In 
 him the University, as well as other institutions of 
 learning and public charities in Nevada, has always 
 had a warm and enthusiastic friend; and were it 
 possible by earnest endeavor to bring the institu- 
 tion to success, his devotion to its interests would 
 make it so. For some )-ears he has been Deputy 
 United Slates Land Survej-or, and otherwise con- 
 nected with ])ublie attairs, and is now residing at Car- 
 son Cily. 
 
 In the summer of 1874 D. R. Sessions, A. M. 
 and B. P., of Princeton College, was apjiointcd 
 Principal of the '-Preparatory Department of the 
 Universitj- of Nevada," a name assumed with be- 
 coming modesty, owing to the existing conditions, 
 lie undertook the mission, and opened the school 
 with a class of seven or eight boys and girls, 
 the number being divided about equally between 
 the sexes. They came to the Universit}' from the 
 upper department of Elko public school, or gram- 
 mar class, and all had their homes in the town of 
 Elko. Ever}- eff'ort was made to induce ])U))ils to 
 come into the University from the other counties 
 of the State, and from the more remote portions 
 of Elko County. In 187(! a wooden building was 
 erected for a dormitory, capable of accommodating 
 about twenty or twenty-five boarders; and Mrs. 
 M. A. Rood, an excellent ladj* and motherly woman, 
 was put in charge of it as matron. The building 
 was furnished and equipped throughout so as to 
 make pu]>ils from abroad comfortable, and to pro- 
 vide ibr them the best temporary substitute for 
 
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 h 
 
SCHOOL HISTORY OF NEVADA. 
 
 225 
 
 their own homes, and although no ehari^e was made 
 for tuition or lodging, and although board, the 
 only item of expense, was put down to the mini- 
 mum price practicable in Nevada, thirty dollars per 
 month, no more than three jmpils at any one time 
 availed themselves of the opportunities offered, and 
 came from other counties to stud}' at the Prepara- 
 torj- Department of the State University at Elko. 
 But few pupils in Nevada, unless their parents were 
 wealth}', proposed to pursue a higher course in the 
 liberal studies. These, of course, compared the 
 school at Elko, a one-teacher institution, with those 
 of California and of the Eastern States (where in 
 many instances their relations and friends had been 
 taught), having a professor devoted to his specialty 
 in every department of study. Long established 
 seats of learning have a prestige and a halo about 
 them which place them bej'ond the competition of 
 schools like that of Elko, struggling under difficul- 
 ties to get a foothold. Besides, though the expenses 
 of a pupil at Elko were as small as possible, they 
 were less almost anywhere else ; and then the 
 surroundings at the University at Elko cannot be 
 considered sufficiently attractive to over-balance 
 much of the prejudice that exists against it. 
 
 The town is small, containing not more than a 
 thousand inhabitants. It yet maintains many of the 
 features of the mining camp. It has no public 
 libraries. There is nothing suggestive of literature 
 in its atmosphere. While the country for miles 
 around is a waste of sage-brush, which grows grey 
 and cheerless in a soil, the abundant alkali of which 
 makes the water of the country sweetish and 
 unpalatable, and renders it extremely dilHtjult to 
 successfullj- cultivate the ordinary sorts of grasses, 
 shrubs and trees. The location is unfortunate. The 
 time is still far distant, however, when a University, 
 or an}' high-grade school of learning can flourish 
 in Nevada. The number of ])upils would be larger 
 were the University located in any one of the sev- 
 eral towns of Nevada that might be named. But 
 granting all that the mo.st sanguine upholder of 
 home institutions could demand, the efforts to 
 maintain a Universitj' in this Slate can result in 
 nothing more than nominal results. If all the 
 pupils in Nevada who take a college course of study 
 could be secured for our State institution (in grant- 
 ing which it would be necessary to presume that 
 it is on a footing to be at least compared with 
 complete colleges elsewhere), they would not num- 
 ber fifty in all, to be divided into four classes. In 
 order to make a University compete with those of 
 other and older States, presuming that we have the 
 adequate material in the number of pupils, the ex- 
 penses of its sujjport would bankrupt the common- 
 wealth before the skeleton of a class could be 
 graduated. But Elko won the coveted prize fairly. 
 She outdid the other thirteen counties in the otfer of 
 inducements, and secured to herself the site of the 
 only State institution of learning. By contributions, 
 
 bringing many a time sacrifices to the altar, the 
 people of this county contributed, each man what 
 he could, towards building the edifice already des- 
 cribed, and furnishing it with the most im|)n)ved 
 school furniture, at a cost not less than 815,000, and 
 possibly $20,000. The location of the University 
 there was under solemn contract between the State 
 and the county. There is but little reason in policj', 
 and certainly none in morals, why it should be, 
 now, removed to anj' other site in the State. 
 
 D. R. Sessions continued as principal of the Pre- 
 paratory Department (the only department) until 
 he removed to Carson, to take charge of the office 
 of Superintendent of Public Instruction, January 1, 
 1879, to which he had been chosen by the people of 
 the State in the election of the preceding fall. 
 Starting in with the few pupils spoken of in 1874, 
 he strove hard to advance them, and exerted his 
 ingenuity in every way to increase the size of his 
 class. In the winter he would have about thirty 
 boys and girls in school, and at the close of the 
 summer term, never more than fourteen or fifteen. 
 There were some ver}' talented children in Elko 
 (it must be remembered that the school had to be 
 recruited from this town and county almost entirely), 
 whose intellects he sought to develop rather by 
 working with them individuall}' than by class train- 
 ing, by studying each one's ])eculiar mental dispo- 
 sition, and applying himself directly to its individual 
 culture. At the end of the second school year ho 
 had succeeded in pushing forward a small class in 
 mathematics, so as to distinguish them by their 
 accom])lishments as well as by their name (University 
 pupils), from any advanced class in the public schools 
 of the State. They succeeded in mastering arith- 
 metic, algebra, and geometry, and were applying 
 the principles of trigonometry to surveying and 
 navigation when school closed for the term. The 
 members of this class, however, could no longer be 
 held, and went out to various occupations, to earn 
 their own living. Then, almost at "bedrock." ho 
 had to start out on his last two years of pedagogic 
 toils, which terminated with pretty much a repe- 
 tition of the same results jireviously reached, lion. 
 W. C. Dovey succeeded Mv. Sessions, and has been 
 in charge of the University ever since. Ho is a 
 competent educator, and has done all for his pupils 
 that could be exjicctcd of a teacher in the same 
 place. Under his care and tuition there has been 
 no noteworth}' change in either the number of ]iui)ils 
 or in the conduct of the school. As to the fund 
 of the University, the 40,080 acres for the University 
 proper, and the 00.000 acres Mining College Grant, 
 it has not grown large enough yet, tho interest 
 alone on the sales of land being subject to expendi- 
 ture, to paj' its expenses. The institution is con- 
 seciuently maintained by biennial appropriation by 
 the Legislature from the (Joneral Fund of tho State. 
 The I'rincipal's salary, §15,000 per annum, is tho 
 chief item of expense. 
 
226 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 ^^^^^.^^^^^ 
 
 The present State Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
 tion for Nevada, is a native of South Carolina, a 
 Bon of Thomas R. and Jane E. Sessions, and was 
 born at Georgetown, February 24, 1847. His scho- 
 lastic training prior to the war was received in pri- 
 vate schools, but after the bruakinir out of the 
 Rebellion he entered the Military Academy of South 
 Carolina as a cadet. When James Island was evac- 
 uated the South Carolina cadets, of whom young 
 Sessions was one, acted as the rear guard of the 
 Confederate forces that withdrew to Raleigh, North 
 Carolina, whence ho was ordered homo by the Gov- 
 ernor of his State. This was his only service in the 
 Confederate army, as he was but eighteen years of 
 ago when the war closed. 
 
 The result to his parents of that struggle was to 
 leave them impoverished, and no longer able to ren- 
 der pecuniary assistance to their son in his urt'orts to 
 obtain a thorough education. He at once turned bis 
 
 whole energj' in the direction of achieving success 
 in this line. In Latin a friend gave him lessons 
 for three weeks. Having no tutor in the Greek he 
 took it up and successfully prosecuted the study of 
 that language without a teacher. Eventually he 
 entered I'rinceton College, and maintained himself 
 there for two years, graduating in 1868 with the 
 honor of pre-oxcellence in English literature and the 
 modern languages. 
 
 In 187(1, he came to Nevada, and became a teacher 
 and journalist. In 1874, he received the appointment 
 of Principal of the Nevada State University at Elko, 
 and remained in charge of that institution until 
 called, by a vote of the people, to the poorly paid but 
 important position which he now occupies. 
 
 Mr. Sessions is a married man, his wife being a 
 daughter of C. N. Note ware, who was at one time 
 Nevada's Secretary of State, and has been from 
 pioneer days ono of her prominent men. 
 
SCHOOL HISTORY OF NEVADA. 
 
 257 
 
 prm.ic SCHOOL funds. 
 
 Tho law provides that " the principal of all moneys 
 accruing to this State from the sale of lands hereto- 
 fore given or bo([iicathod. or that may hereafter bo 
 given or bequeathed for public etchool purpo.nos; all 
 fines collected under tho penal laws of the State; two 
 per cent, of the gross proceeds of all toll-roads and 
 bridges; and all estates that may escheat to the Stale, 
 shall be and the same are hereby solemnly pledged 
 for educational purposes, and shall not be transferred 
 to any other fund for other uses, but shall constitute 
 an irreducible and indivisible fund, to be known as 
 the State School Fund, the interest accruing from 
 which shall bo divided semi-annually among tho 
 counties in this State, entitled by the provisions of 
 this Act to receive the same, in proportion to tho 
 ascertained number of persons between the agos of 
 six and eighteen years, in said counties, for the sup- 
 port of public schools." 
 
 In addition to this revenue, a State ad valorem tax 
 of one-half mill on the dollar is levied on all taxable 
 property, to which five per cent, of all State tax col- 
 lected is added. The monej- thus raised is appor- 
 tioned semi-annually among the counties by the State 
 Superintendent. Each county levies the necessary 
 supplementary tax. The amount obtained from State 
 tax and interest on sales of land on an average pays 
 the general school expenses at present of hardly 
 more than one month of school year. 
 
 The General Government has been liberal in her 
 donations of land to 2vevada for school pui'poses. 
 The first grant was of the Sixteenth and Thirty-sixth 
 Sections, of which tjl,9l!7 acres have been sold. A 
 great deal of the land included in this donation is 
 barren, and could not be disposed of, so that Con- 
 gress has lately given tho State instead 2, ()()(), 000 of 
 acres, to be selected anywhere in the State. The 
 Internal Improvement Grant, tho second in order, 
 was originally given for that purpose, which the 
 term indicates, but was afterwards given directly 
 for the benefit of free school education, owing to the 
 phj^sical conditions in Nevada. These donations, 
 together with an Indemnity Grant of 12,708 acres, 
 given in lieu of land under the Sixteenth and Thirty- 
 sixth Section Grant, " last in place," make up a 
 total which has the seeming of a most munificent 
 gift. Tho total number of acres granted is 2,574,- 
 CG5. Could it all be sold at the fixed ])rice of §1.25 
 per aero, there would be more than a seeming of 
 munificence in the gift. It would bo an almost end- 
 less task to find out just how much of this land 
 has been sold, and it is, of course, imjiossible to tell 
 how much moro will be sold. The Irredeemable 
 School I'und of Nevada, accumulated almost exclu- 
 sively from these sales, however, has to its credit at 
 present nearly 8550,000. It is safe to speculate that 
 returns from sales now incomplete, and new sales 
 to bo made, that this fund will reach Sl,5(l(l,0(l(l 
 within the next sixteen years. Of the §550,000 now 
 in hand, all but 835,000 is invested in Nevada State 
 
 bonds at four ])er cent. ])er annum interest, ])ayablo 
 semi-annually. Were not the land of this State so 
 poor, and were not so much of it absolutely value- 
 less, the fund realized from these sales would bo 
 enough aloTie to maintain her free schools without 
 the necessity of resort to State or county taxes for 
 their sup|)ort. Tho educational officers of this State 
 are Superintendent of Public Instruction, the State 
 Board of Education (composed of tho Governor, 
 Surveyor-General, and Superintendent of Public 
 Instruction), County Suj)orintendents, and School 
 Trustees. The State Superintendent is elected for 
 four years by vote of the people; and he is paid a 
 salary of 82,000 per j'oar. He is required to make 
 a biennial report to the Legislature of tho condition 
 of public instruction in tho State. He prescribes 
 forms and provides blanks for the County Superin- 
 tendents, who report to him. With tho advice and 
 consent of the Board of Education he may call a 
 State Institute once a year. He must visit the 
 schools in each countj' onco everj' year, his travel- 
 ing expenses being paid by appropriation. 
 
 THE BOARD OP EDUCATION 
 
 Must hold semi-annual sessions, for tho purpose of 
 devising plans for the improvement and management 
 of the public school funds, arid for the bettor organ- 
 ization of the public schools of the State, and such 
 special sessions as maj' be called by tho President. 
 A full record of the proceedings of the Board is 
 required to bo kept by the Secretary, and to be 
 embodied in the annual report of tho Sui)erintendent 
 of Public Instruction. 
 
 The principal duties of tho County Superintend- 
 ent, who is elected by the people for two 3-cars, is to 
 audit bills on the school fund, apportion county 
 school moneys, visit schools, appoint Trustees in 
 case of vacancy, and to act as chairman of the Board 
 of Examiners to test the (pialificatioiis of a|)plicant8 
 for certificates to toach in the public schools. 
 
 The School Trustees have the appointment of 
 teachers and the management of public schools gen- 
 erally. A Census Marshal is appointed by the Trus- 
 tees in each district, and he gathers all tho informa- 
 tion required by the State Superintendent once a 
 year. In order that tho provisions made for free 
 education in the State might roach thoir fullest and 
 most wholesome scope, an Act was jiassed by the 
 Legislature in 1873, compelling children to attend 
 school. It has proved im])racticablo to execute this 
 compulsory law, owing to the unsoundness of the 
 statute itself, as well as to tho condition of life in 
 Nevada, which render its enforcement arduous imd 
 distasteful. The enactment is a dead letter. 
 
 SECTARIANISM IN SCHOOLS. 
 
 The school law in operation since 1S(!5 provides 
 that no books, tracts, or papers of a sectarian or 
 denominational character shall be used or introduced 
 ifi any school establisluMJ umler the |)r<)visions of 
 this Act; nor shall any sectarian or denominational 
 doctrines be taught therein; nor shall any school 
 
228 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 whatever receive any of the public ' school funds 
 which has not been taught in accordance with the 
 provisionB of this Act. 
 
 In this connection it is somewhat singular to note, 
 that, up to the present administration, the office of 
 State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the head 
 of the Deiiartment of Education, has been held by 
 ministers of the gospel. Kev. A. F. White, a Pres- 
 byterian, was the first incumbent. He was suc- 
 ceeded by Rev. A. N. Fisher, a Methodist, who was 
 succeeded by Rev. S. P. Kelly, a minister of the 
 Episcopal Church. Rev. John D. Hammond, a 
 Methodist minister of Carson Cit}', was the candi- 
 date for the office on the Re])ublican ticket at the 
 election in 1878. It is not improbable that he would 
 have been elected, for his party has seemed to be in 
 the majority in Nevada, had not the question of 
 sectarianism entered into the political discussions of 
 the canvass to his disadvantage. 
 
 PRIVATE SCUOOLS 
 
 Are not numerous in Nevada. The oldest one of the 
 kind is the Sierra Seminar}-, at Carson, before 
 referred to. This school has always, from its early 
 organization, been in a healthy and flourishing con- 
 dition. Had the energy and ability of its founder. 
 Miss H. K. Clapp, one of the pioneer educators of 
 this county, received the encouragement and sup- 
 port that the people of older States are able to give 
 to such institutions, the Sierra Seminary of Nevada 
 would have been at the present time, second to none 
 of the kind in any of the Eastern States. It is, 
 probably, the best in this State of those founded, 
 fostered, and built up by private enterprise alone. 
 At Virginia City, the " Bonanza " people have 
 had a small school for their own children, 
 taught by a private tutor. There are one or two 
 others in the State; but as a general thing they are 
 small, and do not flourish near free and well-con- 
 ducted public schools. At IJeno, the Sisters of the 
 Catholic Church have a school for girls. They 
 have a fine, large building, many pupils in attend- 
 ance, and their school is in a flourishing condition. 
 At Reno, there is also a seminarj- for girls under 
 the supervision of Bishop Whitaker (an Episcopa- 
 lian), which is under the immediate charge of Miss 
 Sill, the Principal, who is assisted in teaching by 
 several lady teachers. The institution is well spoken 
 of, and is growing thriftily. There is a Catholic 
 orphanage and school at Virginia City, in which 
 there are from 100 to 150 girls. It was established 
 about sixteen years ago, under the ausjiices of the 
 Order of St. Joseph, and placed under the manage- 
 ment of Sister Fredorica, who continues at it« head, 
 assisted by eleven or twelve Sisters. Too much can- 
 not be said in praise of the genuine charitj- and 
 good works of these self-sacrificing women. Their 
 teaching is practical, and intended to prepare the 
 oridians under their care for the actual duties of 
 ordinary life. 
 
 A law was ])assed by the last Legislature to helj) 
 maintain this benevolent institution in these times of 
 business depression by State appropriations. 
 
 To go further into the details of public education 
 in this State might have the effect to render the 
 subject even less interesting than it is already re- 
 garded by the many; hence this cursory sketch will 
 bo now ended bj- a brief statement of facts, mainly 
 statistical, to show the approximate actual condition 
 of education in the State of Nevada at the present 
 time. 
 
 The school officers of the State at this writing are: 
 
 Superintendent of Public Instruction — David R. 
 Sessions, A. M., Carson. 
 
 State Board of Education — His Excellency, J. H. 
 Kinkead, President; Hon. A. J. Hatch, and D. R. 
 Sessions, Secretary. 
 
 Board of Regents of the State University — Hon. 
 T. N. Stone, Elko; Hon. S. H. Day, Carson; Hon. 
 J. S. Mayhugh, Elko. 
 
 Secretaiy of the Board— E. A. Littlefield, Elko. 
 
 Principal of the University, Preparatory Depart- 
 ment — Hon. W. C. Dovey, Elko. 
 
 COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS. 
 Counties Superiutemlenta Post-Officc Address. 
 
 Churchill J. W. Allen St. Clair Station 
 
 Douglas John Banning Genoa 
 
 Elko F. F. Midler Elko 
 
 Esmeralda .Ira P. Hale Aurora 
 
 Eureka Gid. J. Scanland Eureka 
 
 Humboldt C. Chenoweth Winnemucca 
 
 Lander J. S. Hammond, M. D Austin 
 
 Lincoln G. R. Alexander Pioche 
 
 Lyon J. E. Bray Dayton 
 
 Nye J. R. Dougherty Belmont 
 
 Ormsby .L. S. Greenlaw Carson 
 
 Storcj- W. W. Booher Virginia City 
 
 Washoe Morgan D. Bowen Reno 
 
 White Pine..L. O. Benedict Hamilton 
 
 The following is a list of the teachers now engaged 
 in the profession in Nevada: — 
 
 CHURCHILL COONTY. 
 
 Maud M. Hall, H. N. Hurd, 
 
 A. C. Gilliland, A. C. Gilliland, 
 
 Mary J. Smith, J. W. Ferguson. 
 
 DOUGLAS COUNTY. 
 
 Miss Mott, Miss A. Jennison, 
 
 Miss Everett, Miss A. Lathrop, 
 
 Miss Cook, Miss Davis, 
 
 Mr. Marsh, Mr. Schillingor. 
 
 EUREKA COUNTY. 
 
 G. J. Scanland, Miss K. McLaughlin, 
 
 Miss Emma Wright, Miss R. Frank, 
 
 Mrs. H. M. Atwood, Miss Ella Riley, 
 
 Mrs. A. L. Marsden, Miss Jennie Recce, 
 
 Miss Laura Hardy, John Reynolds, 
 
 Miss Louisa Mau, Miss E. Frank, 
 <;. J. Reek. 
 
6^^y^^!o^' 
 
Hon. George Washington Baker, 
 
 The subject of this sketch, whose portrait we produce, was born in Wisconsin while it 
 was yet a Territory, hLs parents having removed from Oswego, New York, to that part 
 of the country in IS-ti. George, who is next to the youngest of a family of eight chil- 
 dren, was born in the year 18-t5. He received a common school and academic educa- 
 tion, and attended college for a sliort time, but ceased those studies for the purpose of 
 commencing the study of the law. This profession he studied with Hon. S. M. Baker, 
 at Geneva, Wisconsin, who was one of the most prominent and able lawyers, and one 
 of the framers of the first Constitution of the State of Wisconsin. 
 
 George W. Baker, was admitted to tlie Bar, at Elkhorn, in his native State, 
 in March, 1869, and immediately thereafter commenced the practice of his profes- 
 sion at Decorah, Winneshiek County, Iowa, and rapidly gained a practice in the 
 courts of that and adjoining counties. The law practice, however, in agricultural dis- 
 tricts, being rather uninteresting, and the compensation being necessarily small, Mr. 
 Baker determined to try a new field, and accordingly emigrated to Nevada, where he 
 arrived in March, 1872, and settled at Eureka, where he has since resided. He soon 
 gained a good practice in his profession, and, being an active Democrat, was ap- 
 pointed by Governor Bradley to the position of ])istrict Attorney for the new county 
 of Eureka, upon its organization. May, 1873, which^oftice he held until January 1, 1875. 
 
 In 1870 Mr. Baker was elected to the State Senate, on the Democratic ticket, by a 
 large majority, and took a very prominent part in the proceedings of that body during 
 the session of 1877. Being elected for the short term, he only acted at one session of 
 the Legislature. He was conspicuous in his opposition to the attempted change or mod- 
 ification of the so-called " Bullion Tax Law," having pledged himself .so to do to the 
 convention by whom he was nominated; and, after the law did pass, he was mainly in- 
 strumental, after a veto by the Governor, in having the veto sustained by the Senate. 
 
 In 1878 he was nominated by the Democratic party for Secretary of State, but was 
 defeated by Jasper Babcock, the present incumbent. The whole ticket, with very few 
 exceptions, was beaten, and, it is said, by the " Bonanza " ring. Mr. Baker is at pres- 
 ent in the enjoyment of a large and lucrative law practice in Eureka and adjoining 
 counties in Nevada, being also interested in railroad and mining industries in his sec- 
 tion, and is thoroughly identified with the material interests of the State. He, in con- 
 junction with some other gentlemen of Eureka, were .the incorporators and promoters 
 of the Eureka and Colorado River Railroad Company, which has resulted in a compet- 
 itive line of railroad now in process of construction from Eureka eastward to Salt 
 Lake, Utah. This road will add very materially to the prosperity and permanency of 
 the mining industries of ea.stern Nevada, and greatly benefit the people of the entire 
 State, extending, by other connections, to California. 
 
 Mr. Baker was married July 1, 1873, to Miss Mary A. Hull, and a pleasant family 
 blooms around them. 
 
SCHOOL HISTORY OF NEVADA. 
 
 229 
 
 ELKO COUNTV. 
 
 T. N. Stone, Mrs. J. Taylor, 
 
 Miss Bella Cady, Miss Ida Williams, 
 
 Miss S. J. Mcllvaino, Miss Emma Ramuols, 
 
 J. D. liarnes, Miss II. S. Rice, 
 
 C. \V. Grover, Miss Lizzie Hough, 
 
 Miss A. G. Collins, iliss Adilio lIuiitiT, 
 
 C. \V. Grover, Miss 15. Pritthard, 
 
 J. M. McC'lellan, Mrs. D. Hall, 
 Mies Lizzie Dorsey, Jliss Julia Frost, 
 
 Miss Jessie Yeates, Jliss Alliee Smith, 
 
 Miss llattie Edwards,- Miss Sarah Gilland, 
 
 Mise M. Frost, Mrs. M. L. Lemon, 
 
 G. A. Davy, Miss Emma Yeates. 
 
 ES.MERAI.DA COUNTY. 
 
 H. D. Howard, Lou Sprague, 
 
 Clara L. Gregory, Julia L. Hartz, 
 
 Esther Smith, W. T. Buriny, 
 
 Lottie Pierce, Miss M. Ilealey, 
 
 Jennie Malarkie, Mrs. E. trreen. 
 
 HUMBOLDT COUNTY. 
 
 Mrs. M. H. Breck, Annie M. Morrison, 
 
 Myra F. Knox, Mi.'*s M. T. Dunne, 
 Florence i). Richardson, Miss Delia AlcCoy, 
 
 Miss Emma Linn, Josie Denio, 
 
 Nancy J. Holt, William Perkins, 
 
 J. B. Case, Marie Stewart. 
 
 LANDER COUNTY. 
 
 John M. Brown, Miss V. Dollarhidc, 
 
 Miss Fannie J. Work, Miss Ida Fleming, 
 
 J. A. Moore, Mrs. Mary Organ, 
 
 Miss Canno Bertrand, Henry M. Warne, 
 
 Mrs. S. Clifford, E. Craine. 
 
 LINCOLN COUNTY. 
 
 E. Wyman, 
 
 Miss Laura Goodrich, 
 
 J. T. Moore, 
 
 G. P. Dykes, 
 
 S. O. Crosby, 
 
 Miss E. Ciprico, 
 C. H. Bell, 
 Miss Kate Glisson, 
 Charles Bell, 
 Mrs. A. Gillerland. 
 
 LYON COUNTY. 
 
 Mills Van Waganen, W. W. Boohcr, 
 
 Miss Mora Uornick, Mrs. M. J. Walker, 
 
 Miss Anna Henry, Maggie Holmes, 
 
 J. E. Bray, Carrie McTigue, 
 
 Minnie Leslie. 
 
 NYE COUNTY. 
 
 J. R. Dougherty, Miss M. M. Godatt, 
 
 Miss Kate Campbell. 
 
 ORMSBY COUNTY. 
 
 H. H. Howe, Miss Mary J. Kelly, 
 
 Miss Eva Slingcrland, Miss Belle J{yan, 
 
 Miss Emclyn Walter, Miss Lena E. Patten, 
 
 Miss Stella Gates, Miss E. C. liabcock, 
 MissK. G. Bardenwerper, Ed. Farrington, 
 
 Miss Annie Martin, Miss Annie Lathrop. 
 29 
 
 STOREY COUNTY. 
 
 C. S. Young, Miss Ilattio May, 
 
 Mrs. C. S. Kendall, Miss A. Habicht, 
 
 iMiss N. A. Everett, Mrs. F. V. McNamara, 
 
 Miss M. McDonald, MissM. E. Cashion, 
 
 Miss Ida M. Lynch, Miss K. Neale, 
 
 Mrs. C. S. Wentworth, Miss A. Holmes, 
 
 Miss G. A. E. Wright, Miss M. E. O'Toole, 
 
 Miss Cassio Henderson, Miss Jennie Brophy, 
 
 Miss M. F. Hurley, Miss Ida Morgan, 
 
 Thomas P. McDonald, Miss Jenniellodgkins, 
 
 Miss (i. Flannigan, Miss F. F. Lynch, 
 
 Mrs. M. L. Gaston, Miss Dettcnreider, 
 
 Miss N. R. Lynch, Miss Mary O'Farrell, 
 
 H. F. Baker, T. B. Gray, 
 
 Mrs. M. H. Swift, Miss K. Connelly, 
 
 Mrs. M. B. Jessup, Miss A. M. Ellis, 
 
 Mrs. A. M. Potter, Miss K. S. Blakely, 
 
 Miss A. M. Sullivan, Miss Julia Michelson, 
 
 Miss M. Buckley, Miss Julia Madigan, 
 
 Miss A. B. C. Davis. 
 
 WASHOE COUNTY. 
 
 W. F. Anglemeyer, Miss Lottie Warren, 
 
 Miss Lizzie Nyles, Miss Frankie Gibbs, 
 
 Mr. Bristow, Miss .Mollie (Jrippin, 
 
 J. Townsend, Aliss Ella McNeely, 
 
 Miss Addie Park, Miss S. J. Wilson, 
 
 Mrs. F. T. Knowlton, ('. B. Murtin, 
 
 Orvis Ring, Miss (Jenie Payne, 
 
 Miss L. R. Royce, Miss Minnie Gibbs, 
 
 Miss E. M. Emery, Miss Flora Norlhop, 
 E. A. Barber. 
 
 MlllTE riNE COUNTY. 
 
 Mrs. L. Benedict Mrs. C. L. Walters, 
 
 Miss A. Randall, Mrs. L. Briggs, 
 
 Mrs. E. A. Mczgcr, .Miss May Baker, 
 
 J. Fuller, Miss E. Stanley, 
 
 Mrs. H. Lake, Miss E. Courtney, 
 
 Miss E. Courtney. 
 
 Of this corps of teachers it must bo said that they 
 stand favorable comparison with the educators of the 
 old States of the Union. They are earnest and 
 skillful. In the large school communities, for exam- 
 ple, in Virginia, Gold Hill, Reno and Eureka, their 
 schools are well graded and advanced almost to the 
 maximum proposed in free school education. It was 
 remarked bj' the Hon. John Swett, one of the most 
 experienced teachers in the United States, and now 
 Principal of the Girls' High School in San Francisco, 
 while present at an Institute held in Virginia City 
 in 188(1, that it was a pleasure for him to meet the 
 teachers of this State, that he found them sprightly 
 and familiar with the details of their work, and that 
 they lost nothing by comparison with the teadiers 
 with whom he was a co-worker in (,'alifornia. Were 
 it not out of order in giving a mere sketch or general 
 outline of school affairs in Nevada, the names of 
 some of the teachers might be mentioned who would 
 
230 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 shine in their profession in the midst of the most 
 cultivated educators in the public schools of the 
 great cities of the nation, in which the art of teach- 
 
 STATISTICS FEOM EETURNS OF SCHOOL CENSUS MARSHALS 
 For School Year Ending August 31, 1880. 
 
 ing is most studied and advanced. The following 
 table gives a comprehensive view of the school popu- 
 lation for 1880:— 
 
 Counties. 
 
 2; 
 
 23. 
 
 
 i- 
 
 
 Churchill. . . . 
 
 Douglas 
 
 Elko 
 
 Esmeralda.. . 
 
 Eurekii 
 
 Humboldt.. . 
 
 Lander 
 
 Lincoln 
 
 Lyon 
 
 Nye 
 
 Ormsby 
 
 Storey 
 
 Washoe 
 
 White Fine. . 
 
 Totals. 
 
 50 
 IGS 
 463 
 147 
 359 
 232 
 289 
 27G 
 20S 
 100 
 448 
 1,87!" 
 424 
 180 
 
 5,223 
 
 2i)l 
 129 
 468 
 128 
 358 
 261 
 260 
 242 
 205 
 131 
 532 
 2,004 
 457 
 165 
 
 79 
 297 
 931 
 275 
 717 
 493 
 549 
 518 
 413 
 231 
 980 
 3,883 
 881 
 345 
 
 5,369 10,592 
 
 18 
 158 
 435 
 162 
 445 
 386 
 376 
 304 
 214 
 147 
 592 
 2,252 
 533 
 218 
 
 6,240 
 
 2 
 
 31 
 
 49 
 
 21 
 
 49 
 
 35 
 
 29 
 
 42 
 
 34 
 
 2 
 
 117 
 
 177 
 
 77 
 
 28 
 
 698 
 
 zg 
 
 < cT 
 
 z 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 » = 
 
 es C 
 
 
 "1 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 n 
 
 2: "^ 
 
 
 
 
 S-o- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 (t 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 P 
 
 ^^ 
 
 
 
 4^ 
 
 c •^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 Oi 
 
 Km 
 c 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 ~'< 
 
 
 
 « 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 Kr' "^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 ■ o 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 o ^ 
 
 65 
 371 
 512 
 265 
 514 
 507 
 569 
 410 
 311 
 245 
 1,000 
 3,4CM) 
 757 
 309 
 
 9,295 
 
 11 
 
 52 
 
 154 
 
 53 
 
 106 
 
 106 
 
 119 
 
 11 
 
 53 
 
 21 
 
 213 
 
 379 
 
 175 
 
 78 
 
 1,632 
 
 3 
 61 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 14 
 10 
 35 
 11 
 
 9 
 42 
 63 
 26 
 27 
 
 56 
 242 
 737 
 162 
 539 
 316 
 388 
 329 
 347 
 122 
 650 
 2,565 
 610 
 243 
 
 314 7,306 
 
 l-lj B 
 •-J C 
 
 5' 3. 
 
 11 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 34 
 
 51 
 
 14 
 
 69 
 
 13 
 
 9 
 
 96 
 
 543 
 
 102 
 
 I 
 
 970 
 
 op- 
 
 E.05'' 
 
 2 a 
 &^ 
 IK 2 
 
 c 
 
 o C-. 
 
 20 
 
 36 
 
 112 
 
 71 
 
 156 
 
 122 
 
 135 
 
 115 
 
 53 
 
 30 
 
 179 
 
 763 
 
 168 
 
 87 
 
 2,047 
 
 
 S5 (6 
 CD 
 
 -I 
 
 P- 2 
 
 (K ex 
 
 z 
 
 O to —- 
 
 
 3^5 
 O P 3 
 
 r^ ft 
 
 as: 
 
 □I § 
 
 cr 
 
 "I 
 5 % 
 
 K or. 
 
 > P 
 
 z 
 
 W 
 
 3 
 P. 
 
 38 
 
 70 
 
 92 
 
 171 
 
 193 
 
 191 
 
 160 
 
 52 
 
 446 
 
 1,532 
 
 351 
 
 127 
 
 3,495 
 
 13 
 20 
 
 37 
 
 184 
 
 50 
 
 3 
 
 360 
 
 13 
 63 
 29 
 20 
 34 
 50 
 29 
 25 
 1 
 11 
 70 
 311 
 34 
 
 690 
 
 In this statement nothing is reported separately 
 concerning children not white, i. e. black, copper- 
 colored, and yellow. Under the statute, when 
 Nevada was admitted into the Union, there was no 
 provision made for the education of any but white 
 children. The color line is now rubbed out. In 
 January, 1866, the first school for negro children was 
 opened in Virginia City by a white man — Doctor 
 Waterman. Several other similar schools were 
 started, but they died out, owing to the smallness of 
 the negro population in Nevada. Now, all colors are 
 being educated together in the same free schools. 
 Into whatever part of the State you visit the schools 
 you may see a sprinkling of pupils whose progenitors 
 unmistakably hailed from Ethiopia, or thereabouts. 
 There are exceedingly few Chinese children in 
 Nevada, a mother among them in this countiy being 
 noted as a rare spectacle. In one or two instances 
 children of this race have studied in the public 
 schools of the State, but not ever long enough to 
 become educated in our language. Some Indian 
 children have sat stolidlj' in the public schools here, 
 but their efforts at education have been of a rather 
 sleepy sort, and they have never been known to mas- 
 ter the rudiments before the sago-brush and the 
 mountains had claimed them back again. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS STATISTICS FOE 1880. 
 
 Whole number of Primary Schools 81 
 
 Whole number of Intermediate Schools 11 
 
 Whole number of Unclassified Schools 81 
 
 Whole number of Grammar Schools 19 
 
 Whole number of High Schools 3 
 
 Total number of Schools 195 
 
 Total number of School Districts. . 109 
 
 Number of school houses built of brick 7 
 
 Number of school houses built of wood 96 
 
 Number of school houses built of adobe 1 
 
 N umber of school houses built of stone 2 
 
 Number of school houses rented 22 
 
 Number of school houses unfit for use 6 
 
 Number of new school houses erected 16 
 
 Number of teachers — male, 92; female, 105; total, 197 
 Average monthly wages paid male teachers. SlOl. 47 
 Average monthly wages paid female teachers. §77.00 
 Number of schools maintained less than three 
 
 months 3 
 
 Number of schools maintained only three months, 11 
 Number of schools maintained more than three 
 
 and loss than six months 29 
 
 Number of schools maintained more than six and 
 
 less than nine months 34 
 
 Number of schools maintained nine months and 
 
 over 88 
 
 Average number of months taught in all schools 
 
 of Nevada '^ttiV 
 
 Number of teachers who have made returns ac- 
 cording to law 180 
 
 Number of teachers who have failed to make such 
 
 returns 12 
 
 Amount of money expended for County Insti- 
 tutes 8150 
 
SCHOOL HISTORY OF NEVADA. 
 
 231 
 
 Number of First Grade CertificatcB issued. . 41 
 
 Number of Second Grade Certificates issued . . . 97 
 Number of applicants for Certificates rejected by 
 
 County Hoards of Kxamination 33 
 
 Average salarj' of County Superintendents per 
 
 month $48.25 
 
 Number of school visits made by County Super- 
 intendents 963 
 
 Average rate of County School Tax on 8100.. .33,'o\ 
 Supplementary thereto are the following: — 
 
 STATISTICS FROM THE EETUENS OF TEACHERS AND TRUSTEES 
 For the Schooi, Year Ending August 31, 1880. 
 
 COUNTIES. 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 ■< 
 
 :^ 
 
 > 
 
 CCcr 
 
 o tr 
 
 O D- 
 
 ot 
 
 o O 
 
 3 o 
 
 B O 
 
 i^ 
 
 1-0 a 
 
 ^0 a 
 
 
 ^^ 
 
 Wo 
 
 ^-^ 
 
 ffl (0 
 
 0. Boys 
 Registe 
 
 =t o 
 o ■ 
 
 m 3 
 
 li 
 O cr 
 
 " o 
 
 o » 
 
 ' cr 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 ~ o 
 
 ' £. 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 f?^ 
 
 ; o 
 
 3 
 
 
 C 
 
 a? o. 
 
 0^ ° 
 
 ■ OQ 
 
 
 ^; 
 
 . a 
 
 ■ o 
 
 . 3 
 
 
 O 
 
 ' ^ 
 
 
 , cr. 
 
 > 
 
 1 
 O 
 
 a- 
 
 
 
 a. 
 
 3 
 O 
 
 Churchill.. 
 Douglas. .. 
 
 Elko 
 
 Esmeralda . 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Humboldt. 
 Lander. . . . 
 Lincoln . . . 
 
 Lyon 
 
 Nye 
 
 Ormsby . . . 
 
 Storej' 
 
 Washoe . . 
 White Pine 
 
 Totals... 
 
 52 
 143 
 323 
 
 82 
 323 
 189 
 240 
 194 
 232 
 
 54 
 
 418 
 
 1,706 
 
 531 
 
 129 
 
 4,616 
 
 19 
 
 87 
 340 
 
 75 
 270 
 181 
 217 
 175 
 229 
 
 67 
 
 511 
 
 1,645 
 
 494 
 
 122 
 
 4,432 
 
 71 
 230 
 6G3 
 157 
 593 
 370 
 457 
 367 
 401 
 121 
 928 
 3.351 
 1,025 
 251 
 
 9,045 
 
 51 
 176 
 449 
 
 120 
 581 
 303 
 371 
 278 
 271 
 99 
 546 
 2,143 
 562 
 190 
 
 6,140 
 
 43 
 154 
 
 277 
 10:^ 
 526 
 267 
 213 
 250 
 252 
 96 
 493 
 2,001 
 525 
 102 
 
 5,401 
 
 P P^ 
 g,3" 
 
 a 9 
 
 -. < 
 
 d. _ p 
 
 Pa 
 00 cr c 
 
 ^3 
 *k O 
 
 -^ m 
 
 © cr 
 ^ o 
 
 as o 
 
 10 
 19 
 11 
 22 
 25 
 41 
 17 
 7 
 3 
 41 
 63 
 13 
 
 274 
 
 8 
 5 
 
 f) 7:i 
 • 1 Ho 
 
 O 7 1 
 " 1 (T 
 
 10 
 IOt*, 
 
 H 
 
 61 
 
 mos. 
 mo8. 
 mos. 
 mos. 
 mos. 
 mos. 
 mos. 
 mos. 
 mos. 
 mos. 
 mos. 
 mos. 
 mos. 
 mos. 
 
 o 
 
 P 3 
 
 o 3 
 
 (P 3 
 
 m 3" 
 
 P_ 
 
 p" 
 •5 
 
 851 25 
 
 71 77 
 75 45 
 
 74 00 
 95 71 
 80 18 
 
 94 50 
 85 72 
 
 95 00 
 
 75 00 
 88 75 
 
 107 30 
 71 19 
 83 00 
 
 r* O 
 
 ■ 
 
 1 o 
 
 0-! 
 
 
 «3 , 
 
 P 3 
 
 GO pn 
 
 20 
 21 
 77 
 16 
 88 
 50 
 
 100 
 39 
 40 
 14 
 50 
 92 
 
 294 
 14 
 
 915 
 
 o ? 
 
 O ~3 
 
 p --- 
 
 3 " 
 
 tqg. 
 
 M •<: 
 
 TO g- 
 I'm 
 
 , cr 
 , M 
 . <» 
 
 57 
 17 
 
 23 
 3 
 6 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 30 
 .44 
 .36 
 
 7 
 
 237 
 
 STATISTICS FROM THE RETURNS OF TEACHERS 
 For the School Year Ending August 31, 
 
 AND TRUSTEES 
 
 1880. 
 
 •COUNTIES. 
 
 Churchill .. 
 
 Douglas 
 
 Elko 
 
 Esmeralda . 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Humboldt. 
 
 Lander 
 
 Lincoln 
 
 Lyon 
 
 Nye 
 
 Ormsby 
 
 Storey 
 
 Washoe 
 
 White Pino 
 
 Totals, 
 
 
 b 
 
 !? 
 
 e-.B 
 
 
 g-o 
 
 3 P 
 
 ►1 
 
 rn) o. 
 
 O 
 
 o "= 
 
 o ^ 
 
 CD 
 
 ^-^ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 s) 
 
 ^E 
 
 P o 
 
 D- 
 
 ^ OD 
 
 
 "^ 
 
 cr 
 
 =0 _ 
 
 o 5 
 
 
 p 
 a 
 a 
 o 
 
 cr 
 p 
 
 o P 
 go o. 
 
 • 0) 
 
 ! o- 
 
 
 ' 
 
 Q 
 
 ■ M 
 
 o 
 
 a 
 
 ^^ 
 <^ 2 
 
 1 o 
 
 aj — 
 
 3 !J! 
 
 
 6 
 
 10 
 
 9 
 
 25 
 
 17 
 
 52 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 11 
 
 62 
 
 9 
 
 37 
 
 7 
 
 46 
 
 9 
 
 137 
 
 5 
 
 114 
 
 4 
 
 11 
 
 4 
 
 71 
 
 2 
 
 378 
 
 11 
 
 31 
 
 10 
 
 31 
 
 111 
 
 1,013 
 
 18 
 
 89 
 
 267 
 
 82 
 
 541 
 
 185 
 
 189 
 
 106 
 
 162 
 
 46 
 
 69 
 
 .3,138 
 
 379 
 
 47 
 
 5,518 
 
 o-P 
 
 o 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 10 
 
 411 
 
 20 
 
 518 
 
 3. == 
 o 2. 
 
 '■" 3 
 
 cr 
 X B 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 8 
 
 39 
 
 19 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 
 11 
 
 29 
 
 111 
 
 10 
 5 
 4 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 11 
 
 97 
 
 <t 3 (0 
 
 W P >_ 
 
 □D Q rr- 
 
 It 
 
 c1- 03 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 19 
 
 11 
 
 6 
 
 11 
 
 7 
 
 11 
 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 111 
 
 12 
 
 107 
 
 < « 
 
 p 2. 
 
 p ,) 
 
 12 
 
 <1 
 
 ^ p E. 
 
 £ 3 3 
 f ^^ 
 
 • 7: 5' 
 
 O 3 
 
 ' tr 
 
 ■ o ^ 
 
 ■ O Sj 
 
 ='o 
 
 17 
 
 II 
 10 
 1 
 8 
 2 
 
 13 
 132 
 
 ,500 
 
 ,0011 
 ,12(1 
 ,100 
 452 
 400 
 250 
 ,500 
 800 
 300 
 H50 
 960 
 000 
 
 8271,532 57 
 
 t"^ 
 
 a 
 
 a- 
 o 
 o 
 
 841 00 
 
 12 00 
 40 00 
 
 10 00 
 37 50 
 52 00 
 
 1,060 00 
 4 50 
 
 81,257 00 
 
 -. o 
 
 P 3 
 
 (-»■ 
 C 
 c» O 
 
 a 
 
 cr 
 o 
 o 
 
 880 00 
 25 00 
 
 .374 88 
 . .75 00 
 . .25 00 
 .100 00 
 .313 00 
 
 2,700 00 
 49 '66 
 
 83,741 88 
 
232 
 
 mSTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Attention is called to the foregoing statement with 
 regard to the value of school property in the coun- 
 ties. It api)ears that in Storey County alone this 
 value, confined to school houses almost exclusively, 
 is 8132,850. This speaks for itself, and is sugges- 
 tive of the liberalitj- of the people in this respect, 
 when it is remembered that there are not 4,000 
 
 school children in this county. The school edifices 
 in Storey Countj-, which are the best in the State, 
 but which are not much superior to some school 
 buildings in other counties, are large, built on the 
 best plans, in excellent taste, and comprise all the 
 improvements suggested by the art of modern school 
 architecture, being well ventilated, and convenient. 
 
 SUOWING THE TRANSACTIONS IN THE SEVERAL COUNTY SCHOOL FUNDS 
 Fob the ScnooL Year Ending August 31, 1879. 
 
 COUNTIES. 
 
 Churchill .. 
 
 Douglas 
 
 Elko 
 
 Esmeralda . 
 Eureka . . . . 
 Humboldt. 
 
 Lander 
 
 Lincoln 
 
 Lyon 
 
 Nye 
 
 Ormsby 
 
 Storey 
 
 Washoe 
 
 White Pine 
 
 Totals . . . 
 
 ISCOME. 
 
 
 1^ 
 
 'CR 
 
 O 
 
 o 
 • o 
 
 3 
 
 p 
 
 3 
 
 > 
 
 III 
 
 3 CO,. 
 
 3 « " 
 5 S. ffl 
 
 : ■? g. 
 
 
 c 2. 
 3 < 
 
 $299 
 
 374 
 (>5 
 2,434 
 0,580 
 1,994 
 2,264 46 
 
 899 40 
 
 520 
 
 469 
 
 375 
 3,164 
 5,672 
 1,801 
 
 826,914 88 
 
 8298 51 
 
 1,159 55 
 
 3,361 71 
 
 1,134 96 
 
 2,294 51 
 
 1,666 46 
 
 1,921 65 
 
 1,876 58 
 
 1,524 22 
 
 803 08 
 
 3,429 48 
 
 15,864 90 
 
 3,593 37 
 
 1,569 28 
 
 840,498 26 
 
 8668 04 
 3,850 69 
 8,101 95 
 3,289 28 
 7.S72 62 
 4,709 15 
 5,006 17 
 2.350 14 
 7,005 48 
 1,682 30 
 9,689 59 
 51,472 : 
 8.662 99 
 2,548 70 
 
 8116,909 37 
 
 ^==3 ! 
 
 ; ^w 
 
 ■ 2. -5' 
 
 ' « 2 
 
 2:3 
 
 P> to 
 ST o 
 
 tS2. 
 Zi < 
 
 ? a. 
 
 8402 45 
 
 4,943 08 
 
 2.859 64 
 
 910 75 
 
 3,362 15 
 1,375 12 
 
 813,853 19 
 
 a :r.3 
 
 o g o 
 
 O g B 
 
 C 3 3 
 
 3: crt- 
 
 - ^ <n 
 
 n g 2. 
 
 83.300 00 
 
 2,503 60 
 
 93 30 
 
 85,896 90 
 
 1-3 
 
 o 
 
 3 
 
 a 
 o 
 
 3 
 
 a 
 
 81,265 75 
 5,384 26 
 
 11,528 74 
 6,858 33 
 
 17.150 33 
 
 13,312 
 
 12.051 
 6,036 87 
 9,049 77 
 2,955 15 
 
 16,794 
 
 76,367 
 
 19,397 
 5,919 
 
 92 
 
 30 
 63 
 56 
 21 
 
 §204,072 60 
 
 SHOWING EXPENDITURES FROM COUNTY SCHOOL FUNDS 
 For the School Year Ending August 31, 1879. 
 
 COUNTIES. 
 
 Churchill . . 
 
 Douglas 
 
 Elko 
 
 Esmeralda . . 
 Eureka. . . . 
 Humboldt . . 
 Ijandcr . . . 
 Lincoln .... 
 
 Lyon 
 
 .Nye 
 
 Ormsby 
 
 Storey* .... 
 Washoe . . . 
 White Pine 
 
 KXPESDITVRES. 
 
 p_ 
 
 — . o 
 
 ' a 
 I cr 
 I o 
 
 81,251 
 4,770 
 
 11,473 
 4,045 
 9,610 
 5,817 
 6,243 
 5,001 
 6,083 
 1,767 
 
 12,535 
 
 11,829 
 3,418 
 
 Totals $83,848 06 $9,930 74 
 
 p — ir 
 
 3 3 ■ 
 
 5 P §: 
 
 6 S'o. 
 
 $305 33 
 
 500 00 
 
 2,806 25 
 
 2,793 74 
 
 122 25 
 
 1,505 95 
 
 1,837 22 
 
 p P 
 
 p 
 
 3 
 
 $36 38 
 
 $36 38 
 
 Wg 
 
 X ?-J- 
 
 $200 06 
 
 1 
 
 604 
 712 
 510 
 732 
 418 
 883 
 212 
 2,918 
 
 902 33 
 630 98 
 
 $9,726 67 
 
 X 
 
 O 
 
 3 
 
 $1,251 
 
 5,275 
 
 11,473 
 
 4,649 
 
 11,823 
 
 9,230 
 
 9,769 
 
 5,542 
 
 8.472 
 
 1,980 
 
 15,453 
 
 75,737 
 
 14,569 
 
 4.048 
 
 8179,278 88 
 
 o o 
 
 O 3 
 
 a p 
 
 S = 
 
 $13 
 
 108 
 
 55 
 
 2.208 
 
 5,327 
 
 4,0S2 44 
 
 2,282 20 
 494 74 
 577 10 
 974 86 
 
 1,340 35 
 630 00 
 
 4.828 28 
 
 1.870 23 
 
 $25,793 72 
 
 kJ £. c- 
 o o ® 
 
 •^°> ■s 
 
 ' o & 
 
 ' <B 
 
 ! ® p 
 
 Unknowu. 
 
 $367 5» 
 
 245 46 
 3,000 00 
 
 135 17 
 
 $3,748 13 
 
 * Could get no fuller report from Trcisurer. 
 
ANCIENT ORDER OF F. AND A. Jf 
 
 233 
 
 As showinj; the fiiiiincial transaotioiis of the schools 
 by counties the foregoing table is valuable. It is 
 taken instead of a similar report for 1880, as in this 
 year there was no report from Storey County, which 
 is the most important in the State. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 ANCIENT ORDER OF F. AND A. M. 
 
 The Order of Freemasonry — Speculative Freemasonry — Ma- 
 sonry on tlie Pacific Coast — Carson Lodge, No. 1 — Washoe 
 Lodge, No. 2 — Virginia Lodye, No. 3 — Amity Lodge, No. 4 
 — Silver Star Lodge, No. 5 — Esmeralda Lodge, No. (i — Kscu- 
 rial Lodge, No. 7— Lander Lodge, No. 8 — Valley Lodge, No. 
 9 — Austin I^dge, No. 10 — Oasis Lodge, No. II — Douglas 
 Lodge, No. 12 — Reno I»dge, No. IS — White Pine liodge. 
 No. 14 — Elko Lodge, No. 15 — Eureka Lodge, No. 10 — Hum- 
 boldt Lodge, No. 17 — St. John Lodge, No. 18 — Witinemucca 
 Ivodge, No. 19 — Palisade Lodge, No. 20 — Tuscarora Lodge, 
 No. 21 — Hope Lodge, N'o. U. I). — The (!rand Lodge, F. and 
 A. M., of Nevada — Mount Moriali Lodge, of Utah — Eastern 
 Star Chapters — Electa Chapter, No. 5 — Friendship Ch.ip- 
 ter, No. 1 — Subordinate Chapters of Nevada — Lewis Chap- 
 ter, No. 1 — Virginia Chapter, No. 2 — Austin Chapter, No. 
 3 — White Pine Chapter, No. 4 — St. Johns Chapter, No. 5 
 — Keystone Chapter, No. (i — Reno Chapter, No. 7 — Gold 
 Hill Chapter, No. S — (ieneral Grand Chapter of Nevada — 
 Knights Templars — De Witt Clinton Commandery, No. 1 — 
 Eureka Commandery, No. 2 — Silver Lodge of Perfection, 
 Scottish Rite No. 1 . 
 
 THE ORPER OK FREEMASONRY. 
 
 This is the oldest secret organization in the his- 
 tory of the world, and the cdiurities it has disjjensed 
 have been of inestimable value to mankind. Its 
 spread throughout every clime, and its introduction 
 into all civilized communities of the globe, even in 
 opposition to bigotry; its steady and progressive 
 march and constantly augmenting numbers, is ample 
 proof of its unbounded popularity, and its beneficial 
 designs. 
 
 The origin, though somewhat enveloped in the 
 mists of remote antiquity, is genci'ally conceded to 
 date from the time of the building of King Solomon's 
 Temple. At that time its members were operative 
 architects, and their skill was displayed in every 
 structure reared at that period. Operative Masons 
 were known to liritain as early as the year 287. 
 During the invasion of Britain by the Danes, between 
 the years 835 and 870, nearly all the convents, 
 churches, and monasteries were destroyed, and with 
 them the records and ancient documents of the Order 
 which had been deposited in the convents. Fifty 
 years afterward, King Athelstan desire<l his ado])ted 
 son Edwin, who had been taught the science of 
 architecture, to assemble in the year n2(i, in the city 
 ©f York, all the Lodges of Freemasons scattered 
 throughout'the country, that they might be recon- 
 structed according to their ancient laws. This done 
 he confirmed to them all the privileges which they 
 desired, and at the same time presented to the assem- 
 bled Masons the immortal document known as the 
 Charter of York. Thereafter Freemasonry flour- 
 ished to an extraordinary degree in all civilized lands. 
 
 About the year 1G4!), the difterent lo<lge8 in Eng- 
 land and Scotland having admitted manj' honorary 
 members into the society, generally for the influence 
 
 they wieliled rather than for any <|Ualification ])er- 
 taining to the original design of the Order they may 
 have possessed, Masonr)' in its speculative character 
 became a matter of earnest discussion. With the 
 completion of St. Paul's Cathedral, in the cit^' of 
 London, the occupation of operative Masons .seems 
 to have been brought to a close; for we find that 
 in the year 1703, the I^odgo of St. Paul, so named 
 because the operative Masons engaged in the erec- 
 tion of the Cathedral held their lodge in a building 
 situated in the church-j'ard on its grounds, passed 
 an important resolution, the object of which was 
 evidently to augment its numbers, and thereby 
 enlarge the area for the bestowal of its benefits. 
 That resolution was as follows: — 
 
 Resolved, That the privileges of Masonry shall no 
 longer be confined to operative Jlasons, but be free 
 to men of all ])rof'essioiis, provided that the}- arc 
 regularly approved and initialed into the fraternity. 
 
 This important decision entirely changed the face 
 of the society, and transformed it into what we find 
 it to-day — a praiseworthy institution, existing as the 
 conservator of art, religion and tradition, and per- 
 petuating by the beautiful allegories of its legends 
 and symbols, its eminently humanitarian doctrines. 
 
 SPECULATIVE FREEMASONRY. 
 
 In the short space of twenty-five j-ears, specu- 
 lative Freemasonry spread itself in a manner but 
 little less than miraculous, into nearly every portion 
 of the civilized world. J'assing from England to 
 France as earlj- as 1725, thence to Belgium, to Hol- 
 land, to Germany, to America; subsequently to 
 Portugal, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, to Sweden, and 
 to Poland. Lodges were to bo found as early as 
 1740 in Denmark, in Bohemia, in Russia, in the 
 Antilles, in Africa, and in the British Possessions 
 in Hindostan. The missing link in Masonry, which 
 made the chain complete around the world, was 
 welded at Japan, in the year 1874, by the establish- 
 ment of a lodge in that country — the only land in 
 the world at that time where the Order had not 
 established a foot-hold. Masonry now belts the 
 globe. Taking pattern from it, all other secret asso- 
 ciations have sprung into life; but none have j-et 
 reached an equal popularity, and probably the most 
 prosperous of these will always remain behind ita 
 more antique paternal instigator. ^ 
 
 If Freemasonrj' has ceased to erect temples; if 
 it has ceased to engage in material architecture; if 
 it no longer exhibits itself in the elevation of spires 
 and turrets, or points from which eyes may be 
 directed and hopes ascend toward a better and hap- 
 jiier world; it has not less continued its work of 
 intellectual and moral culture; and its success in 
 this respect has been far more satisfactory than 
 those who planned its design as a speculative insti- 
 tution ever ho])eil to achieve. Its spirit is immortal; 
 its wonderful craft is voiced in the towering ])yra- 
 mids and monumental obelisks of Egypt. It will 
 live and thrive as long as mankind exists. 
 
234 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 MASONRY ON THE PACIFIC COAST. 
 
 With the argonauts, who came in search of the 
 golden treasures of California in 1849, were parties 
 who, previous to leaving their homes at the East, 
 had formed themselves into companies for either 
 mining or commercial purposes, or both, as well as 
 for mutual protection. Several of these organiza- 
 tions were comprised mainly of Masons, and had, 
 previous to setting out upon their journey to the far 
 West, applied to the lodges where they were made 
 for permits, or dispensations, to open lodges and 
 " work " when opportunity offered. These dispen- 
 sations eventually became the nuclei around which 
 some of the first Masonic Lodges of California 
 formed. 
 
 The following incident will show that, although 
 no lodges were organized until the spring of 1850, 
 the brethren of the mystic tie of the Pacific Coast, 
 nevertheless forgot not their charitable duties, even 
 among the allurements attendant u]>on those flush, 
 golden times of the earlier days: — 
 
 The first Masonic funeral that over took place in 
 California occurred in the j-ear 1849, and was per- 
 formed over the body of a brother found drowned 
 in the bay of San Francisco. On the body of the 
 deceased was found a silver mark of a Mark Master, 
 upon which were the initials of his name. A little 
 further investigation revealed to the beholders the 
 most singular exhibition of Masonic emblems that 
 were ever drawn by the ingenuity of man upon the 
 human skin. There is nothing in the history or 
 tradition of Masonry equal to it. Beautifully dotted 
 on his loft arm, in red and blue, which time could not 
 efface, appeared all the emblems of Entered Appren- 
 tice. There were the Holy Bible, the square, and 
 the compass, the twenty-four inch guage, and the 
 common gavel. There weru also the Mosaic pave- 
 ment, representing the ground floor of King Solo- 
 mon's Temple, the identical tassel which surrounds 
 it, and the blazing star in the center. On his right 
 arm, artisticallj' executed as the others, were em- 
 blems pertaining to the Fellow Craft, the plumb, the 
 square, and the level. There were also the five 
 columns, rei)rcsenting the five Ordci's of Archi- 
 tecture — the Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Coritithian, and 
 Composite. 
 
 In removing his garments from his body, the 
 trowel presented itself, with all the tools of opera- 
 tive Masonry, besides all the emblems pertaining to 
 the degree of a Master Mason. Conspicuously on 
 his breast were the Lights of Masonry. Over his 
 heart was the Pot of Incense. On the other parts 
 of his body were the bee-hive, the book of constitu- 
 tions, guarded by the Tyler's sword; the sword 
 pointing to a naked heart; the all-seeing eye; the 
 anchor and ark; the hour-glass; the forty-seventh 
 problem of Euclid; the sun, moon, stars, and comet; 
 the throe steps, emblematical of youth, manhood 
 and old ago. Admirably' executed was the wce])ing 
 virgin, reclining on a broken column, upon which lay 
 
 the book of the constitutions. In her left hand she 
 held the Pot of Incense — emblem of a pure heart — 
 and in her uplitted hand a sprig of acacia — the em- 
 blem of the immortality of the soul. Immediately 
 beneath her stood winged Time, with his scythe by 
 his side — which cuts the brittle thread of life — and 
 the hour-glass at his feet — which is ever reminding 
 • us that our lives are withering away. The withered 
 and attenuated fingers of the destroyer were deli- 
 catelj- ])laced amid the long and gracefully flowing 
 ringlets of the disconsolate woman. Thus were the 
 striking emblems of mortality and immortality beau- 
 tifully blended in one pictorial representation. 
 
 It was a spectacle such as Masons never saw 
 before, and in all probability such as the fraternity 
 will never witness again. A large concourse attended 
 the burial; the impressive service of the craft was 
 read; the sprig of acacia was dropped into the grave 
 by the hands of men from all quarters of the globe; 
 the grand honors were given, and the stranger was 
 entombed in the last resting-place allotted to man- 
 kind. His name was never known. 
 
 CARSON CITY LODGE, NO. 154. 
 
 This was the first lodge of Masons established 
 between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. 
 On the third day of February, 1802, a dispensation 
 was granted by the Grand Lodge of the State of 
 California, upon the petition of the following-named 
 persons, to organize a lodge: Philip Stoner, II. B. 
 Ellis, F. A. Tritle, F. W. Peters, J. W. Wayman, W. 
 C. Phillips, Seymour Pixley, D. L. Britton, Herman 
 Armer, Wellington Stewart, W. B. King, H. F. Rice, 
 Abraham Curry, and Henry Grice. After working 
 under the dispensation until the fifteenth day of 
 Maj- the same year, a charter was gi-anted, and Car- 
 son City Lodge, No. 154, had legal masonic existence 
 under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Cal- 
 ifornia. 
 
 Its first officers named in the charter were Marcus 
 I). Larrowe, W. M.; Edward J. Smith, S. W.; and 
 Henry J{ice, J. W. 
 
 The first lodge meeting was at Carson City, under 
 the dispensation, on the thirteenth of February, 
 18C2, at which time subordinate olficors were elected 
 and by-laws adopted. At its second communication 
 on the twentieth of February, ten candidates who 
 desired " light " knocked for admission, and it 
 thenceforward prospered. It continued its allegiance 
 to the authorized power which created it, until some 
 time in January, 1805, when the Grand JiOdge of the 
 State of Nevada was organized, which ordered new 
 charters, with new numbers for all the lodges within 
 its jurisdiction. Accordingly Carson City Lodge, 
 No. 154, of California, under the new regime merged 
 into 
 
 CARSON LODGE, NO. 1, 
 
 Of Nevada. At that time its membership was about 
 fifty, which continued to increase until 1877 when 
 the maximum of 138 was reached. The Grand 
 
ANCIENT ORDER OF F. AND A. M. 
 
 235 
 
 Lodge Report of 1880 shows oiilj- 107 names — 
 only one of these beinj^ of the originiil c-harter mem- 
 bei-8 — that of Ferd. \V. Peters. 
 
 The Iodide has no hall of its own, thoui;h finan- 
 cially in good circumstances. Its lodge proportj- 
 and cash assets are estimated at $3,500 — probably 
 too low. 
 
 Among its Past Masters it numbers the following 
 names: Henry G. Blasdel, Charles Martin, Jacob 
 Tobriner, Benjamin F. Foster, Horatio S. Mason, 
 Benjamin Kdson, JJobcrt \V. Bollen, and Henry L. 
 Tickner. 
 
 Its present officers are Benjamin F. Foster, \V. 
 M.; Trenmor Coffin, S. W.; John S. Cheney, J. \V.: 
 George Tufly, Treasurer; Charles Martin, Secrctarj^; 
 George B. Hill,S. D.; Pearls B. Ellis, J. D.; William 
 Anderson and John J. Singleton, Stewards ; Ferdi- 
 nand \V. Peters, Tyler. 
 
 Its location is Carson City, Ormsby County, and 
 its stated communications the third Thursday in 
 each month. 
 
 WASHOE LODGE, NO. 2. 
 
 This lodge was authorized by dispensation of the 
 Grand Lodge of California on the twentj'-fillh of 
 July, 18G2, and on the fourteenth of May, lSt;8, was 
 chartered as Washoe Lodge, No. — , of California, the 
 charter naming the following officers: George W. 
 Brown, W. M.; R. R. Johnson, S. W.; Thomas B. 
 Prince, J. W. 
 
 The present Secretary reports the first officers 
 (probably under dispensation) to have been I). J. 
 Gloyd, W. M.; P. E. Shannon, S. W.; R. R.Johnson, 
 J. W.; James H. Sturtuvant, J. K. Lovcjoy and A. 
 W. Stowe. 
 
 The fii-st report made by the lodge was in Feb- 
 ruary, 1863, giving a membership at that time of 
 nineteen. In 1804 the number is given at thirty- 
 five. 
 
 In 18G5 in common with all the other lodges in 
 Nevada, which had been instituted by virtue of the 
 authority of the Grand Lodge of the State of ('al- 
 ifornia, Washoe Lodge transferred its allegience from 
 its parental Grand Lodge to the Grand Lodge of the 
 State of Nevada. Its membership increased to fifty- 
 eight in 18G8, and then the number declined gradu- 
 ally, until the Grand Lodge Report of 1880 places it 
 at tliirt^'-five. 
 
 The financial condition of the lodge is given as 
 follows: Ihdl Iniilding and lodge furniture 8800; 
 bills receivable, §2,500. Total, 83,300. 
 
 The present officers are Council F. Wootten, W- 
 M.; Sanford M. Place, S. W.; William Foote, J. W; 
 Cyrus A. Lee, Treasurer; John H. llarcourt. Secre- 
 tary; Francis JI. Smith, S. 1).; William Morgan, W. 
 D. Hardin, Stewar<ls; Phil. E. Hardin, Tyler. 
 
 Past Masters — William Foote, Charles N. Harris, 
 George JJobinson and Council F. Wootten. 
 
 Its location is Washoe City, and stated communi- 
 cations are held Saturdaj' evenings of or next pre- 
 ceding full moon. 
 
 VIRGINIA LODOE, NO 3. 
 
 On the fifteenth daj- of January, 1863, the Grand 
 Lodge of California issued its dispensation authoriz- 
 ing the establishment of a lodge at Virginia City, and 
 on the Iburteenth of May following granted the 
 charter for Virginia City Lodge, No. 162, the officers 
 named therein being, William H. Howard (P. G. M. 
 of California) W. M.; Joseph De Bell, S. W., and 
 James S. Kellej', J. W. 
 
 Membership before a change of jurisdiction was 
 made reached 100, and thereafter steadily gained 
 until 1878 when it was highest, 213. In IS.'^O ac- 
 cording to the Grand Lodge Report it had declined 
 to 184. 
 
 Since its organization it has disbursed in charities 
 nearly 812,000. The present financial condition of 
 the lodge is reported to be good. 
 
 The pi-esent officers are William McMillan, W. 
 M.; AVilliam Coyne, S. W.; John Cameron, J. W.; 
 George II. Dana, Treasurer; Lee McGowan, Secre- 
 tary; Charles Harper, S. D.; J. E. Lawrence, J. D.; 
 W. W. Treat and F. C. Bishop, Stewards; Elbert S. 
 Kincaid, T^-ler. 
 
 Past Masters — Albert Hires, John C. Currie, P. G. 
 M.; Michael J. Henley and James H. Dyer. Loca- 
 tion, Virginia, Storey County. Stated communica- 
 tions, second Wednesday in each month. 
 
 The great fires which devastated \'irginia in 1875, 
 having destroyed all buildings in which lodges were 
 held, and leaving no suitable place wherein the 
 brethren of the mystic tie could meet, determined 
 the Masonic fraternity of Virginia Lodge, No. 3 to 
 imitate the earlier jiatrons of the craft who were 
 wont to hold their meetings on the tops of the high- 
 est hills or in the lowest valleys. Thoj' resolved to 
 open the lodge upon a mountain top. This thej' did, 
 and the following account of it is taken from the 
 Territorial Enterprise of September 9, 1875: — 
 
 THE .MASONS ON THE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 The top of Mount Davidson is by actual measure- 
 ment 7,827 feet above the level of the sea. The apex 
 from which the flag-staft" rises is 1,622 feet above the 
 level of B Street, corner of Taylor. The summit is 
 3,500 feet west of the city, so that in a straight lino 
 from B Street, corner of Taylor, to the foot of the riag- 
 staff, it is a little over 3,857 feet, or not far from three- 
 quarters of a mile. But by the traveled route the 
 distance is long and tedious. Footmen can go direct 
 over the track run by the racers. Horse and foot 
 can )iass through Taylor Street and Taj'lor Ravine to 
 the ridge, and thence to the summit. Bullion Ravine 
 is passable for horsemen by skirting the eastern base 
 of the mountain and winding to tho west of the ])eak. 
 Besides these, there is the route by the way of the 
 Ophir grade to the top of the ridgo to the west, and 
 thence back east to the top. This is the route by 
 which most of the carriages made the summit. 
 
 THE I.ODliE. 
 
 Never since the morning stars sang their lullaby 
 over the cradled earth was there a more perfect 
 
236 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 representation of a Masonic Lodge-room than the 
 one in which the members of Viri<inia. No. 3, and 
 their visiting brethren held communication yester- 
 day. This existed not only in the charter, the 
 greater and the lesser lights, and the number requi- 
 site to compose a lodge, but it was literally bounded 
 but bj* the extreme points of the compass. Its dimen- 
 sions from east to west embraced every clime from 
 north to south. Its covering was no less than the 
 cloud}- canopy; and it is only where this is wanting 
 that the literal supports, the three great pillars of 
 wisdom, strength and beauty, are needed. But, 
 metaphoricallj', they were all there, for where, in a 
 lodge-room, was ever seen such wisdom to contrive, 
 strength to support, and beauty to adorn? Verily, 
 it was a meeting in the temple of Deity, and the wis- 
 dom, strength and beauty which are about His throne 
 were present in the symmetry, order and grandeur 
 of this primitive lodge-room. It was a lodge, the 
 dimensions of which, like the universal chain of 
 friendship of the Order, included the entire human 
 family. Upon the brow of the mountain, and a little 
 south of the flag-staff. 
 
 AN ALTAR OF ROUdll ASHLAR 
 
 Had been improvised, wherein rested the three great 
 lights of Masonrj'. Beside them stood the rc])re- 
 sentatives of the three lesser lights. Bude chains had 
 also been built of rough granite i'or the Worshipful 
 Master, Senior and Junior Wardens, while the Dea- 
 cons found ample accommodations among the bowl- 
 ders around. A large " G " had been cut from sheet- 
 metal and nailed to the flag-staff. The Tj'ler was 
 indeed in trouble, for in such a jilace how could the 
 lodge be duly tyled in accordance with modern usage. 
 But, under the direction of the Worshipful Master, a 
 row of pickets, designated by white badges on their 
 left arms, were stationed all around the summit. 
 They were near each other, so that none could pass 
 or repass without permission. In that way the 
 approach of cowens and eavesdroppers was eftect ually 
 guarded against. On reaching the summit the 
 brethren busied themselves with dispensing and par- 
 taking of 
 
 CORN, WINE, AND OIL. 
 
 A bounteous collation had been prepared by the 
 lodge, and members were mostly well ])rovided with 
 the means of refreshments, nourishment and joy. 
 These were dispensed with a liberal hand. All were 
 welcome and partook with an a|)petite sharpened bj' 
 the labor of the ascent and the fresh air which swept 
 the summit with a freedom known only to Washoe 
 zephyrs. While all this was going on, the members 
 of Virginia Lodge, So. 3, and visiting brothers, were 
 engaged in registering their names. Instead of the 
 regular lodge register, large sheets of drawing-paper 
 had been prepared to receive the signatures, with a 
 view to framing them and hanging them among the 
 adornments of their lodge-room when it is ready for 
 
 dedication. This work of obtaining the names of 
 those present took upwards of two hours. At length 
 the hour of opening having arrived, the craft were 
 
 CALLED FROM REFRESHMENT TO LABOR 
 
 By the sounding of the gavel in the east. The task of 
 clothing was also a tedious one. Ample provision 
 had been made for this, but some of the brethren 
 present were compelled to improvise the emblem of 
 innocence and badge of a Mason by making a white 
 apron of their pocket-handkerchiefs. It was found, 
 however, to be impracticable to satisfy the presiding 
 ofiicer that ail present were Master Masons, and a 
 special dispensation was granted by Bobert W. Bol- 
 len. Most Worshipful Grand Master of Nevada, that 
 the lodge be opened then and there, without form, 
 for the regular transaction of business. The opening 
 ode was therefore sung by the lodge quartette, com- 
 posed of Professor E. J. Pasmore, George N. Eells, C. 
 L. Foster and G. W. Dorwin; a brief prayer was 
 offered up by Bev. J. D. Hammond, and the white 
 Masonic flag, more ancient than the Golden Fleece or 
 Boman- Eagle, for the first time in the history of the 
 world, displaj'ed from the top of Mount Davidson. 
 As the wind unwrapt its folds and displayed the 
 square, compass and letter G emblazoned thereon, it 
 was greeted by three cheers and a tiger that must 
 have been heard for miles around. The 
 
 LOD(iE WAS THEN DECLARED DULY OPENED, 
 
 The following officers being present, /o wit: — 
 
 Albert Hires, W. M.; Alexander Dunn, S. W.; 
 Charles Harper, J. W.; George H. Dana, Treasurer; 
 G. F. Ford, Secretary; Philip Seldner, S. D.; John 
 Cameron, J. D.; John Farnsworth, W. P. Blight, 
 Stewards; J. A. McQuarrie, Marshal; C. L. Fisher, 
 Chaplain; E. J. Pasmore, Organist; E. S. Kincaid, 
 Tyler; Thomas P. Jones, E. Chamberlain, Alexander 
 G. Cowan, James W. Sill, John Abbott, William J. 
 McMillan, David L. Jones, G. W. Bobertson, J. H. 
 Dyer and T, X. Goyette, Sentinels. 
 
 It will not be amiss in this connection to state 
 that 
 
 THE JEWELS WORN 
 
 By the officers of the lodge have just been subjected 
 to a fiery ordeal. They were made of Ophir bullion 
 in the j'ear 1863, at the order of the late Col. W. H. 
 Howard, and by him presented to the lodge. Their 
 cost was S5()(). They were saved from the destruc- 
 tion which laid waste the Masonic Hall in the early 
 summer, but the fire of last Friday morning found 
 them in the hall of the Odd Fellows, where the lodge 
 met after being burned out. They were mourned 
 over as lost, but Were finally dug out of the ashes 
 nearly perfect, but a single one being missing. Some 
 of those recovered have had portions melted away, 
 but there is enough left to show the original design 
 and to carry the identity on down to future genera- 
 tions. There were also present at the opening the 
 following 
 
.J^^^-^ /^y^/Z^ 
 
 2^ 
 
Hon. Thomas Wren. 
 
 The following biography of Hon. Thomas Wren, 
 of Eureka, Xevada, is taken from the Nevada Monthlij, 
 of September, 1880: — 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born at McArthur, 
 Athens County, Ohio, January 2, 182G. His parents 
 were natives of Virginia, and, emigrating to Ohio, 
 were among the first settlers of that State. They 
 both died when Mr. Wren was quite young. Being 
 left an orphan at an early age, his advantages of 
 education were very limited, especially in the then 
 unsettled condition of that portion of Ohio in which 
 he lived. lie received but the rudiments of a com- 
 mon school education, but early developed a taste 
 for reading and study, which he has retained 
 through life, and thus stored i is mind with knowl- 
 edge. This self-education, aided by talents pecu- 
 liarly fitting him for the profession, has enabled him 
 to become one of the leading members of the Bar 
 of the Pacific Coast. 
 
 He is a man of indomitable will, an inflexible 
 firmness of purpose, and untiring industry; and has, 
 through these qualities, attained a position among 
 the foremost lawyers of the coast, in spile of nuiner- 
 ofts obstacles with which he was forced to contend. 
 He wont with his eldest brother to Peoria, Illinois, 
 in 1835. He inherited some property from his 
 mother, and when scarcely more than a boy in- 
 herited what was in those days, and in that sec- 
 tion, a considerable fortune I'rom his eldest brother. 
 Through inexcusable carelessness, and the rascality 
 of a lawyer employed as his attorney, this entire 
 propertj- was lost before he had arrived at an age 
 when he could bo capable of managing his own 
 affairs. 
 
 Mr. Wren is a true typo of the Western Ameri- 
 can; of medium stature, with broad shoulders; full, 
 well-developed chest, and stalwart, manly propor- 
 tions; a massive head, with expansive forehead; 
 deep-set, brown eyes, out of which beam intelligence 
 and determination; and thin, close-set lips, which, 
 more than any other feature of his face, denote the 
 character of the man; they indicate will-power and 
 force of chai-aeter, which would at once impress a 
 physiognomist with the conviction that the owner 
 of those was a man not to bo trifled with. Mr. 
 Wren is one of the kindest-hearted of men, pleasant 
 and genial to all with whom ho is brought in busi- 
 ness contact or social intercourse; but he is a man 
 who will not brook insult or slight; and none who 
 
 know him would daro to attempt to impugn his 
 honor or outrage his feelings, ^'otwithstanding that 
 his ])rofossion is sedentary, Mr. Wren is a great 
 lover of out door exercise and athletic and open-air 
 sports. Often on a fine day, at his home in Kureka, 
 he may be seen, after the arduous labor of trj-ing 
 an important and hotly-contested mining case, out 
 in the middle of the street obtaining relaxation by 
 playing liall with the school-boys, and as eagerly 
 intent, and as ardently interested in the game as 
 any of his playmates. Having in his early life 
 performed heavj' phj'sical labor, such as mining, 
 being blessed with a fine physique and robust con- 
 stitution, and never neglecting an opportunity for 
 physical exercise, his fifty-five years sit liglitlj- on 
 his shoulders; and notwithstanding his battles with 
 the world, and the ups and downs through which he 
 has passed in the exciting and feverish life incident 
 to the I'acific Coast, and especially to the mining 
 communities of that section, he is the embodiment 
 of health and manly vigor. 
 
 In 185(1 he left his Illinois home, and cro.-^sed the 
 plains to California, arriving in El Dorado C^ount}- 
 in that year. During the years 1850, 1852, and 
 1853 ho was engaged in mining, and in the last- 
 named year became interested in a mining ditch 
 property, of which he vvas appointed Superintendent 
 and Chief Engineer. In 1854 ho was appointed 
 Deputy Clerk of El Dorado County, his first active 
 participation in politics in his own behalf, though 
 always from boyhood having taken an ardent in- 
 terest in political att'airs. At the expiration of his 
 term ho again engaged in mining, dividing his time 
 until 18G3 between mining and the practice of law. 
 Ever since his arrival in California mining has had 
 for him a fascination, and long alter his abandon- 
 ment of that industry as his exclusive business, he 
 continued to engage in mining enterprises. His 
 practice as a mining lawyer having brought him in 
 contact with many knotty questions of geology, ho 
 saw that it would become necessary to familiarize 
 himself with that science. Ho accordingly entered 
 upon the study of geology and mineralogy, and so 
 successfully did he master those sciences, that there 
 is probably not a lawyer in the United States who 
 better underatands them as applied to mining litiga- 
 tion. 
 
 In 1803 an excitement was occasioned throughout 
 the Pacific States by the reported discovery of rich 
 
238 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 William J. Smj-th, 
 
 J{. Andrews, 
 
 C. W. Tozer, 
 
 W. H. Gidlow, 
 
 Mark Brown, 
 
 Benjamin P. Smith, 
 
 A. L. Murphy, 
 
 James Morris, 
 
 G. Stevens, 
 
 W. G. Thompson, 
 
 G. H. Winterburn, 
 
 Fred. Harper, 
 
 VISITING 
 
 BRETHREN. 
 
 William Nelson, 
 
 Boaz D. Pike, 
 
 F. C. Lord, 
 
 T. H. Flagler, 
 
 J. D. Hammond, 
 
 S. H. Goddard, 
 
 E. Chamberlain, 
 
 J. M. Hickman, 
 
 T. McGovern, 
 
 I. M. Thaxton, 
 
 H. Donnelly, 
 
 E. M.Long, 
 
 A. Thompson, 
 
 D. Edmonds, 
 
 R. J. Bromley, 
 
 A. Clark, 
 
 J. Wellington, 
 
 Joseph Gruss, 
 
 J. B. Braslaw, 
 
 E. A. Sherman, 
 
 J. Chegwidden, 
 
 E. S. Benner, 
 
 William Collicut, 
 
 William M.Laforce, 
 
 Henry Tonkin, 
 
 H. A. Clawson, 
 
 J. H. Molkcmbahr, 
 
 James Lynch, 
 
 J. G. McKenzie, 
 
 William Wallace, 
 
 G. W. Eobertson, 
 
 J. C. McDonald, 
 
 John Lentz, 
 
 R. H. Taylor, 
 
 A. M. Kruttschnitt, 
 
 E. M. G. Stewart, 
 
 John Eiley, 
 
 L. Lobenstein, 
 
 George FauU, 
 
 John Carpenter, 
 
 H. Falk, 
 
 S. J. Blair, 
 
 I. Z. Kelly, 
 
 J. E. Lawrence, 
 
 Charles V. Boitot, 
 
 T. Deignan, 
 
 Paul Jones, 
 
 Alfred Troude, 
 
 L. 0. Templeton, 
 
 William McCrum, 
 
 S. P. Kelly, 
 
 T. H. Whister, 
 
 I. F. Berry, 
 
 W. W. Dunlap, 
 
 Wm. J. Pendray, 
 
 Thomas Morrison, 
 
 Peter Turnot, 
 
 T. Tully, 
 
 A. G. Cowan, 
 
 John B. Winters, 
 
 G. W. Hammond, 
 
 S. J. Walker, 
 
 E. D. Williams, 
 
 G. H. McKee, 
 
 William Mill, 
 
 H. B. Fay, 
 
 Joseph Sparks, 
 
 George W. Hopkins, 
 
 John Wilson, 
 
 H. C. Jacobson, 
 
 William Avery, 
 
 Samuel Owen, 
 
 E. W. Adams, 
 
 N. C. Kinney, 
 
 Edward Conradt 
 
 A. D. Eitchoff, 
 
 W. D. Sutherlin, 
 
 J. H. Matthewson, 
 
 W. J. Williams, 
 
 Prosper Bruley, 
 
 P. T. Kirby, 
 
 William Webber, 
 
 A. H. W. Creigh, 
 
 J. McCain, 
 
 J. D. Delsort, 
 
 Eobert Keifer, 
 
 George S. Johnson, 
 
 J. F. Lewis, 
 
 John Hewitt, 
 
 E. Jlortenscn, 
 
 B. H. Lentz, 
 
 Wilson King, 
 
 W. W. Filkins, 
 
 Samuel H. Birtle, 
 
 John Canning. 
 
 W. PL Kneebone, 
 
 S. Zenovich, 
 
 J. Gates, 
 
 W. H. Mitchell, 
 
 John J. Oswald, 
 
 James Chegwidden, 
 
 James E. Parker, 
 
 Charles Glover, 
 
 J. H. Heilshorn, 
 
 F. H. Packer, 
 
 E. M. Elliott, 
 
 John J{. Lowe. 
 
 J. D. Hosking, 
 
 Joseph Agostini, 
 
 Sol. Xoel, 
 
 H. M. Cameron, 
 
 C. F. Brant, 
 
 A. D. Praxnin, 
 
 A. H. Hollister, 
 
 J. W. Van Zandt, 
 
 M. W. Hasset, 
 
 G. N. Eells, 
 
 Matthew Elliott, 
 
 J. K. Werldorf, 
 
 E. J. Peters, 
 
 L. G. Chapman, 
 
 Horatio Collins, 
 
 0. B. McDonald, 
 
 Joseph Mitchell, 
 
 John Caublo, 
 
 William H. Cloud, 
 
 S. W. Grant, 
 
 W. J. Westerfield, 
 
 James Eyan, 
 
 A. C. Freeman, 
 
 Hugh Halligan, 
 
 Ananias Maj-, 
 
 J. P. Eugg, 
 
 0. Lavigno, 
 
 S. Humill, 
 
 W. F. Alexander, 
 
 E. Brown, 
 
 C. S. Mott, 
 
 E. Bloomfield, 
 
 J. B. Marshall, 
 
 Adam Gunn, 
 
 Peter Daley, 
 
 William Vardey, 
 
 A. J. Banker, 
 
 John F. Perry, 
 
 C. N. Collins, 
 
 H. 0. Smith, 
 
 Samuel P. Kelly, 
 
 W. H. Smith, 
 
 John T. Bray, 
 
 J. D. Kenney, 
 
 J. C. Turner, 
 
 G. F. Hajward, 
 
 E. P. Lovejoy, 
 
 John B. Fegan, 
 
 Eobert Thomas, 
 
 I. S. Burson, 
 
 B. W. Guild, 
 
 Edwin Frolick, 
 
 E. E. Edge, 
 
 G. W. Cook, 
 
 Thomas Farsen, 
 
 Thomas Frellian, 
 
 Frank D. Turner, 
 
 Henry Lux, 
 
 E. B. Stonehill, 
 
 Joseph Cornelius, 
 
 F. F. Osbiston, 
 
 J. J. Alexander, 
 
 E. G. Westerman, 
 
 John Deman, 
 
 John IL Buitman, 
 
 D. W. Mcintosh, 
 
 Henry Eolfe, 
 
 George Clark, 
 
 E. D. Williams, 
 
 A. T. Hampton, 
 
 John G. Young, 
 
 E. A. Bulm, 
 
 James Jewell, 
 
 H. J. T. Scheel, 
 
 W. D. Husk, 
 
 L. C. Wiggins, 
 
 T. NV. McCroady, 
 
 E. Baird, 
 
 Henry Green, 
 
 E. U. Jeffs, 
 
 Eichard Cook, 
 
 J. E. Cowan, 
 
 J. D. Dessert, 
 
 A. J. Banker, 
 
 William L. Amos, 
 
 W. McKoighan, 
 
 W. Whitney, 
 
 J. B. Conrad, 
 
 Albert Werner, 
 
 Bob Marshall, 
 
 J. Portman, 
 
 J. S. Adams, 
 
 John Chapman, 
 
 F. V. Drake, 
 
 W. 1'. Workley, 
 
 J. S. Coxtor, 
 
 George L. Potter, 
 
 M. A. McDonald, 
 
 Alexander Picken, 
 
 D. Harrington, 
 
 C. A. Washington, 
 
 J. S. Ingraham, 
 
 B. L Tirman, 
 
 M. Banner, 
 
 J. A. Uoher, 
 
 B. Springstod, George B. McLean, 
 
 D. Skerry, 
 
 S. T. Leebes, 
 
 T. H. Williams, 
 
 L. M. Coffin, 
 
 D. McNaught, 
 
 C. C. McLaughlin, 
 
 John Hosking, 
 
 George Du])roy, 
 
 T. A. Atkinson, 
 
 Desire Perier, 
 
 P. J. Aiken, 
 
 William Erskin, 
 
ANCIENT ORDER OF F. AND A. M. 
 
 239 
 
 Thomas Penroeo, 
 J. B. Shay, 
 • A. L. Murphy, 
 J. H. Ellsworth, 
 Evan David, 
 John H. Shermier, 
 J. R. Jacoby, 
 J. H. Hobbs, 
 S. B. Ferguson, 
 S. B. Connor, 
 Charles F. lloffman, 
 S. N. Snyder, 
 Simon Davis, 
 E. D. Kitzmoyor, 
 William Garbart, 
 Robert Hayes, 
 Jacob White, 
 Joseph Hallock, 
 Charles Thompson, 
 George B. Allen, 
 S. Longabaugh, 
 B. J. Wakefield, 
 J. W. Sill, 
 W. A. Perkins, 
 J. C. Belcher, 
 
 William 
 
 W. H. Bennetts, 
 Thomas Jones, 
 
 C. H. Golding, 
 G. D. Kend, 
 
 J. E. Coulter, 
 
 D. S. Dow. 
 John T. Ueardon, 
 Geo.W. Williams, 
 James P. Nelson, 
 D. D. Donovan, 
 J. M. Campbell, 
 George Rook, 
 
 D. Stalker, 
 Henry FauU, 
 B. Benson, 
 W. H. Curnow, 
 George H. Warren, 
 H. B. Loomis, 
 George Keightley, 
 Peter Frost, 
 J. H. Bartlett, 
 T. J. Hodgkinson, 
 Wm. Sutherland, 
 Richard Sala, 
 James Bullen, 
 Trounce. 
 
 By visitors named above, the following States and 
 countries were represented: — 
 
 New York, California, Kansas, Michigan, West 
 Virginia, Utah, ^fissouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Maine, 
 Colorado, Now Jersej', Washington (District of Co- 
 lumbia), England, Scotland, Minnesota, Massachu- 
 setts, Washington Territory, Oregon, Virginia, Nova 
 Scotia, North Carolina, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, 
 Illinois, Canada West, Idaho, New Zealand, and 
 Kentucky. 
 
 AMITY LODGE, NO. 4. 
 
 Silver City Lodge, No. 1C3, begun its existence 
 by virtue of a dispensation granted by the Grand 
 Lodge of California on the twentieth day of 
 March, 1863. 
 
 The same power issued a charter for the organiza- 
 tion on the fif'teeiith of May of the same j-ear with 
 the following officers: John C, Currio, W. M.; Michael 
 J. Ilcnio}-, S. W.; W. B. Ilickock, J. W. 
 
 In the first report of the lodge to the Grand 
 Lodge of California it gave its membership as 
 eleven. In 18<)5, when a change of jurisdiction 
 was effected, there were thirty-four members. It 
 prospered and the number steadily increased until 
 the culminating point was arrived at in 187G. That 
 year the membership was seventy-six. In 1880 
 the number had receded to fifty. 
 
 Present officers — Wm. F''rancis F'rame, W. M. 
 Loring D. Noyos, S. W.; Fenner A. Angell, J. W. 
 John G. Young, Treasurer; Isaac Haas, Secretary 
 William W. Sirlott, S. D.; David McAllister, J. D. 
 Wellington Bowen and John Cauble, Stewards; M 
 W. Colquhoun, Tyler. 
 
 Past Masters — Charles D. McDuffie, James McGin- 
 nis, Harvey Randall, Isaac Haas. 
 
 Location, Silver City, Lyon County. Stated 
 communications, first Thursday in each month. 
 
 SirA'EB STAR LODOE, NO. 5. 
 
 On the eleventh of April, 1863, William G. Alban, 
 E. R. Barnes, Levi W. Leo, M. Frankenheimcr, 
 Louis B. Frankol, Sigmund Ettlingor, A. (J. llol- 
 lingshead, Hugh McLood, Henry Donnelly, S. A. 
 H. Ball, Robert Webber, Charles E. Olnoy and 
 Samuel Robinson, petitioned the Grand Lod';.;o of 
 California for a dispensation authorizing the organi- 
 zation of a lodge of Masons at Gold Hill. In 
 response thereto the document for which tlicj' 
 prayed was issued on the twentieth of Juno, and 
 on the eleventh of July the organization begun 
 work with the following officers duly installed : W. 
 G. Alban, W. M.; E. R. Barnes, S. W,; L. W. Leo, J. 
 W.; S. H. Robinson. Treasurer; S. Ettlingor, Sec- 
 retary; L. B. Frankol, S. D,; A. C. Hollingsliead, J. 
 D.; M. Frankenheimor and H. McLeod, Stewards; 
 H. M. Vesey, Tyler. 
 
 The Grand Lodge issued a charter on the thirteenth 
 of October, 1864, to Silver Star Lodge, No. 165, the 
 officers named therein being Charles E. Olnoy, W. 
 M.; L. W. Lee, S. W.; D. L. Bliss, J. W. 
 
 At the time of the establishment of the Grand 
 Lodge of the State of Nevada the lodge h:id 
 sixty-six members. Its largest membership was in 
 1876, when its roster contained 194 names. In 18S0 
 the number was 177. 
 
 The lodge has an interest in the Masonic Hall 
 Association Building, which has cost it near S7,000, 
 and has §1,200 cash on hand. It has dealt most 
 liberallj- with its brethren in distress, having dis- 
 pensed in charities during the period of i(s exist- 
 ence fully 815,000. 
 
 Present officers — John H. Hubbs, W. il.; Thomas 
 
 A. Menary, S. W.; Byron I. Turman, S. W.; John 
 Jones, J. W.; John O. Bennetts, Secretary-; Albert 
 
 B. C. Davis, S. D.; Henry Hughes, J. D.; II. il Lewis 
 and Jacob Benjamin, .Stewards; Stewart Logan, 
 Marshal; John I. Bramley, Tyler. 
 
 Past Masters — Samuel W. Chubbuck, Jarno.-* McAl- 
 lister, Lyman C. Wiggins-, Adam (fillespio, William 
 D. Sutherlin, William B. Wheeler, Andrew Ingruiid, 
 David Thorburn, 
 
 Location, Gold Hill, Storey County. St itod com- 
 munications, first Saturday in each month. 
 
 ESMEOALDA LODQE, NO. 6. 
 
 A dispensation was granted on the twc.ity eighth 
 of September, 1863, empowering certain persons to 
 organize a Masonic Lodge in Aurora, by llio Grand 
 Lodge of the State of California; and on tli j filloenth 
 of October following a charter was issu d lor Es- 
 meralda Lodge, No. 170, with the followi'ig officers: 
 J. H. Richardson, W. M.: John L. CarUr, S. W.; 
 Alfred A. Green, J. W. 
 
 The first report made by this lodge was to the 
 
240 
 
 mSTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Grand Lodge of California in 1864, when it was 
 shown there wore sixty-three members. The exodus 
 from that locality about that time of the population, 
 caused by the supposed worthlessness of the mines, 
 had the oft'ect of greatly reducing the membei-ship 
 of this lodge. From then until the present time 
 the average yearly membership has been about 
 thirty-two. The Grand Lodge Report of ISSO shows 
 but twenty-eight members. 
 
 Present officers — D. J. Lewis, VV. M.; James S. 
 Mooney, S. W.; Alvin W. Crocker, J. \V.; Frank 
 Neal, Treasurer; \V. II. II. Buckle}-, Secretary; 
 William Pool, S. D.; J. W. Towle. J. D.; M. I). Mur- 
 phy. Tyler. 
 
 Past Masters — M. A. Murphy, John Neidy, Frank 
 Neal, I>. J. Lewis. 
 
 Location, Aurora, Esmeralda County. Stated 
 communications, third Thursday of each month. 
 
 ESCraiAL LODGE, NO. 7. 
 
 This lodge was instituted under authority of a 
 dispensation of the Grand Lodge of California, 
 issued by that body on the twenty-second of Jan- 
 uary, 1S64. 
 
 A charter for the establishment of Escurial Lodge, 
 No. 171, followed the dispensation on the thirteenth 
 of October of the same year, naming as the officers 
 of the lodge, tieorge W. Hopkins, \V. M.; William 
 A. M. Van Hokkeren, S. W. ; Columbus Walker, 
 J, W. 
 
 At the time it received its new number, and came 
 under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of the 
 State of Nevada it had forty-two members. The 
 following j-ear it had increjised to sixty, and reached 
 its highest number in ISGll — 154. Its membership 
 in 18S0 was loG. 
 
 Present officers — Henry IJolfe, \V. M. ; Steven 
 Wilkin. S. W.: Robert M. G. Stewart. J. W.; Frank 
 Fredericks, Treasurer; Thomas H. Bingham, Secre- 
 tary; William Manning, S. D.; John R. Campbell, J. 
 P.; William M. Thornton and Alexander P. Pion. 
 Stewards; Klbert S. Kincaid. Tyler. 
 
 I'ast Masters — Samuel Owen, Robert H. Taylor, 
 George W. Ilopkins, Henry A. Gaston. 
 
 Location, Virginia, Store}- County. Stated com- 
 munications, second Thursday in each month. 
 
 L.\MIER I.ODUK, NO. 8. 
 
 This was the last Masonic I.iodge in Nevada 
 created by virtue of authority of the Grand Lodge 
 of the Slate of Calit'ornia. Its dispensation was 
 granted on the twenty-fifth of March, 1804; and on 
 the third of June following it begun work with the 
 following officers: Isaac S. Titus. W. M.; A. I>. Rock, 
 S. W.; tieorge W. Terrill. J. W.; Thomas A. Water- 
 man, Treasurer; John W. Jones, Secretary: R. C. 
 Gridley, S. D.. K. X. Willard, J. 1>.; A. Metz, Tyler. 
 
 Il» charter bears date October 14. 18t!4, and 
 issued to Lander Lodge, No. 172. 
 
 Frv)m a membership numbering twenty in 1865. 
 when it received authority from the Grand Lodge of 
 
 Nevada, it had increased, in 1880, to ninety-one. 
 
 Since its organization it has disbursed for charit- 
 able purposes about 85,000. Its assets are as fol- 
 lows: Hall building, S3,375; other eflfects, including 
 money on hand. SI, 000. Total, S4.375. 
 
 Present officers — Marcus A. Sawtelle, W. M.; 
 Stephen Buddie, S. W.; Alexander Dron, J. W.; 
 Charles P. Soule, Treasurer; James L. Smith. Secre- 
 tary; Joel S. Barnard, S. D.; George L. Williams, 
 J. D.; Reuben T. Hopkins and Thomas Thomas, 
 Stewards; Isiiac W. Davis, Tyler. 
 
 Past Mastei'* — Daniel M. Godwin, William A. Ran 
 kin, Andrew Nichols, P. D. G. M.; Henry Mayen- 
 baura; De Witt C. McKenncy. G. M.; William W. 
 Wixom, Marcus A, Sawtelle, P. D. G. M. 
 
 Location, Austin, Lander County. Stated com- 
 munications, tirst Friday in each month. 
 
 VALI,EY LODGE. NO. 9. 
 
 The first Masonic Lodge which came into exist- 
 ence by virtue of the authority of the Grand Lodge 
 of the State of Nevada, was Valley Lodge, No. !•. 
 
 On the twentieth of February, 1865, several mem- 
 borsofthe Masonic fraternity assembled at Dayton for 
 the purpose of taking steps toward the organization 
 of a lodge at that place. A subscription of S350 
 was raised, temporary officers were chosen, and ap- 
 plication was made to the tirand I>odge of the State 
 of Nevada for a dispensation to work as a Lodge. 
 
 On the seventh of March the dispensation was 
 granted, with Charles F. Brandt, W. M.; Henry 
 Sweetapple, S. W.; Albert tJallatin, J. W.; and on 
 the thirteenth of the same month the lodge organ- 
 ized at Dayton, at which time J. C. Hinds was 
 elected Treasurer; S. Heidleheim. Secretary; F. H. 
 Kennedy, S, D.; J. E. Sabine, J. D. 
 
 On the twelfth of October, 1S65, a charter was 
 issued, in which were named nineteen j>ei-sons as 
 charter members. The membership increased the 
 following year to thirty. It-s highest number of 
 members was reached in 1874, being then thirty- 
 nine. In 1S80. the number was thirty-two. 
 
 Financially, the lodge is prosperous, having in 
 furniture and regalia, S500: and S500 cash. It has 
 dispensed in charities, SLllUi. 
 
 The present officers are James L. Camjihell, W, 
 M.; Charles F. Brandt, S. W.; William Steaphens, 
 J. W.; Manly L. Johnson, Treasurer; George E, 
 Jaqua, Secretary; George W. Keith, S. D.; Frank 
 B. Mercer. J. D.; William Kean and Henrj- Bishop, 
 Stewards; Frank P. Christman, Tyler; John Carlin, 
 Marshal. 
 
 Past Masters — James Crawford, Charles F. Brandt, 
 George W. Keith. 
 
 Location, Dayton, liyon County. Stated com- 
 munications, second Monday in each mouth. 
 
 AUSTIN LODIIK. NO. 10. 
 
 A dispensation was granted by the Grand Lodge 
 of Nevada, on the twelt^h of April, 1865, to organize 
 Austin Lodge, No. 10, naming as officers, Thomas 
 
ANCIENT ORDER OF F. AND A. M. 
 
 241 
 
 Wren, W. M.; William S. Thomas, S. \V.: Marcus 
 A. Sawtelle, J. W.; atui on the twelfth of the ensu- 
 ing October its charter was issued. At that time 
 it reported a membership of twenty. Its highest 
 number of members was attained in IStlS, tiiat year 
 reaching fifty-seven. Thence its numbers declined 
 until there were but thirtj'one in 1871; when, by 
 a vote of its members, it surrendered its charter to 
 the Grand Lodge, turned over its property to Lander 
 Lodge, No. 8, located in the same place, and became 
 a thing of the i)ast. Its location was Austin, Lander 
 County. 
 
 OASIS LODGE, NO. 11. 
 
 On the eighteenth of December, 18C7, in response 
 to the petition of seventeen Masons, among whom 
 were J. G. Ividdle, A. W. Stowe, G. R. Alexander. 
 M. D. Fairchild, D. C. Turner, George W. Merrill, 
 James M. Ivennedy, D. W. Cutts, S. Goldstein, E. A. 
 Tullen, E. Pettit, John Sharp, J. A. Ball, Peter Con- 
 roy, and James O'Brien, the Grand Lodge of Nevada 
 issued a dispensation, authorizing them to organize 
 a lodge. 
 
 On the seventh of January, 18GS, Oasis Lodge, 
 No. 10, held its first regular communication, when 
 the following officers were chosen: James M. Ken- 
 nedy, VV. M.; D. W. Cutts, S. W.; S. Goldstein, J. 
 W.; J. G. Eiddle, Treasurer, John Sharp, Secretar^^; 
 E. A. PuUen, S, D.; E. Pettit, J. D.; James O'Brien 
 and Peter Conroy, Stewards: J. A. Ball, Tyler. 
 
 The lodge meetings were first held in rooms 
 improvised for the purpose in the Combination Com- 
 pany's stone building in Belmont. After working 
 successfully U. D. for about eight months, a charter 
 was granted the lodge, September 17, 18(]8, The 
 highest membership was in 1877, then reaching fifty- 
 three. Its membership in 1880 was forty-three. 
 The lodge has property estimated at §2,500, and 
 it has bestowed ui)oii charities not far from ,*;2,.")(I0 
 more. 
 
 The present officers are Woodson (Jarrard, \V. 
 M.; N. A. (hirvin, S. \V.; Charles U. Engstrom, J. W.; 
 Soth 11. Scjuire, Treasurer; Thomas Warburton, 
 Secretary; George W. Bennett, S. D.; Albert Fugc, 
 J. 1).; Thomas K. Morgan and George Nieholl, 
 Stewards; Lewis Roberts, Tyler. 
 
 Past Masters — Samuel P. Kelley, Findley McNeal. 
 
 Location, Belmont, Nj'e County. Stated commu- 
 nications, first Tuesday in each month. 
 
 D0UOI,.\S LOIXiE, NO. 12. 
 
 In 18(58, twelve Masons of (ienoa petitioned the 
 Grand Lodge of Nevada for a dispensation to work, 
 and on the twenty-second of February of that j-ear 
 their prayei- was favorablj- answered, and the follow- 
 ing officers named: Jtobert W. Bolleii, \V. M.; Silas 
 E. Tuttle, S. W.; Hiram Doyle, J. W. 
 
 A charter was given to l><)Uglas Lodge, No. 12, on 
 the following seventeenth of September, at w^hich 
 time it had thirty-one names enrolled for member- 
 ship. This list increased each j-ear until 1S7(!, when 
 it was largest — sixty-six. Since that time the num- 
 
 ber has decreased. In 1880 there were forty-six 
 members. 
 
 During the first five years of its existence the 
 lodge was opened and did its work in the County 
 Court House, having no hall of its own. Upon its 
 first organization in 1868, a joint-stock company of 
 its members was organized for the purpose of erect- 
 ing a Masonic building, but after an outlay of con- 
 siderable money, from some cause, to the chronicler 
 unknown, the undertaking collai)sed. 
 
 In 1874, however, the .Masons did er.ect a credit- 
 able brick building, costing about $8,000. In the 
 second storj' of this is their present hall, while the 
 first floor is occupied for mercantile purposes. The 
 hall has been tastefully furnished at a cost of 82,000. 
 The lodge has bestowed about S."),000 for charitable 
 purposes since its establishment. 
 
 Present officers — Frank Fettle, W. M.; Charles W. 
 Drake, S. W.; John B. Dondero, J. W.; John R. 
 Johnson, Treasurer; E. D. Bl;u;k, Secretary; .Moses 
 Tebbs, S. D.; II. W. Smith, J. D.; William I). Grey, 
 and Kopel Rice, Stewards; Henry P. Burnham, 
 Tyler. 
 
 Past Masters— D. W. Virgins, Kopel Rice, Fred. 
 Furth, R. G. Montrose, E. D. B. Black. 
 
 Location, Genoa, Douglas County. Stateii commu- 
 nications, Saturday of or next preceding full moon. 
 
 RENO LODGE, NO. 13. 
 
 The dispensation under the authority- of which 
 Reno Lodge, No. 13, was brought into existence, 
 bears date January 14, 1809, and its charter followed 
 on the twenty-third of Se[)tember of the same year. 
 The first officers were James S. Kelley, W. M.- 
 .Michael Borowsky, S. W.; George Grisen, J. W. 
 
 Its membership the first year was thirty-four, and 
 it has steadily gained from year to year. In 1880 
 ninety members were enrolled. 
 
 When first instituted the lodge meetings were 
 held in the upper story of a frame building on Vir- 
 ginia Street, and later in Alhambra Hall. 
 
 In 1872 an incorporation was formed, within the 
 lodge, \indor the laws of the State of Nevada, with 
 the object of purchasing land and building a hall, 
 A lot on the corner of Commercial Row and Sierra 
 Street, Reno, was bought, and on the fifteenth of 
 October of that year the corner-stone of an imposing 
 brick structure was laid with appropriate Masonic 
 ceremonies. Witliin the receptacle of the corner- 
 stone were deposited copies of the leading news- 
 papers of the States of Nevada and California, 
 together with coins, jewels, etc. On the twenty- 
 first of February. 1S7.'), the new hall was dedicated, 
 and after the .Masonic ceremonies were over the 
 occasion ended with a grand ball. 
 
 The lodge is a prosperous one — its property at 
 this time being valued at 810,0(10, 
 
 Its present officers are IL L. Fish, W. .M.; George 
 II. Fogg, S. W.; F. J. Windrell,J. W.; T. K. Hy- 
 mers. Treasurer; B. l-]. Hunter, Secretary-; William 
 L. Bechtel, S. I).; I!, S, James, J. D.; Martin Sanders 
 
242 
 
 fflSTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 and Ij. B. Batchelder, Stewards; N. C. Haslund, 
 Tyler; William A. Walker, .Marshal. 
 
 Past Masters — Joseph De Bell, l\ G. M.; L. L. 
 Crockett, Henry L. Fish, P. G. M.; J. il. Kinkead, 
 F. J. WinchoU, J. C. Ilagerman, Charles Knust. 
 
 Location, Reno, Washoe County. Stated commu- 
 nications, Saturday of or next preceding full moon. 
 
 ST. JOHNS LODGE, NO. 13 (COLORED), 
 
 At Carson City, is working under the jurisdiction of 
 the Sovereign Grand Lodge of California, Theodore 
 A. Lee, D. D. Grand Master for the District of Ne- 
 vada. This lodge of colored Masons was organized 
 April 20, 1875, and had for its first officers D. W. 
 Sands, W. M.; Theodore A. Lee, S. W.; J. Johnson, 
 J. W.; W. L. Baily, Treasurer; George Burns, Sec- 
 retary; Wm. Davis, S. D.; Oliver Janes, J. D. The 
 present officers are B. E. Johnson, W. M.; A. B. 
 Gibson, S. W.; George W. Jackson, J. W.; J. Gettys, 
 Treasurer; W. L. Baily, Secretary; Wm. R. Brown, 
 S. D., and George A. Ray, J. D. There were twelve 
 charter members. The largest membership the lodge 
 has had at any one time is thirty-two, and the present 
 membership numbers twenty. 
 
 The lodge furniture and regalia is estimated to be 
 worth SOOO. The lodge has disbursed in benefits, 
 charities, etc., 81,500; is outof debtand is in a healthy 
 and flourishing condition. 
 
 WHITE PINE LODGE, NO. 14. 
 
 The great influx of population into the White Pine 
 region of Nevada in 18Li9, and consequent attendant 
 destitution among those who had thoughtlessly rushed 
 thither without proper preparation- and among which 
 latter class there were of course members of the 
 Masonic fraternity — induced the brethren of Treas- 
 ure City, Hamilton and Shermantown to organize 
 for mutual assistance. This organization was main- 
 tained until, in response to a petition to that effect, 
 the Grand Lodge i.ssucd a dispensation on the ninth 
 of March, 1870, authorizing the institution of a lodge 
 for regular working, with the following officers: 
 S. B. Ferguson, W. M.; W. W. llobart, S. W.; M. J. 
 Henly, J. W. 
 
 On the fifth of April the bodj* organized, and on 
 the twenty-second of Soj)tombor following the 
 Grand Lodge duly chartered White Pine Lodge, 
 No. 14. 
 
 At that time the lodge reported fifty-two mem- 
 bers. The number was increased to eighty-four in 
 1872, and then gradually declined. In 1880 there 
 wore fifty-one members. 
 
 On the night of the second of January, 1872, a 
 fire occurred at Hamilton that destroyed the hall 
 in which the .Masonic Lodge convened. The building 
 was owned by Cook Brothers, whose store was upon 
 the first floor. In this fire the lodge lost its orig- 
 inal charter, which has been duplicated by the 
 Grand Lodge. 
 
 At present the lodge assembles in a stone building 
 which it owns, built in 18G9, with the expectation 
 
 that the county would purchase it for a Court House, 
 and known as the Walton Building. The hall build- 
 ing is estimated to be worth SOOO; and the lodge 
 has disbursed for charitable purpose 82,000. 
 
 Present officers— Evan Harris, W. M.; Archibald 
 Beaton, S. W.; John ]\IcLean, J. W.; George B. Mc- 
 Conkey, Treasurer; Edward Raum, Secretary; Sam- 
 uel Liddle, S. D.; Perlia B. Rowell, J. D.; George D. 
 Freeland and William Harris, Stewards; Hans 
 Christensen, Tyler. 
 
 Past Jlasters — Thomas N. Brown, George P. Mc- 
 Conkey, Evan Harris, John L. Robertson, Elllis H. 
 Morton. 
 
 Location, Hamilton, White Pino County. Stated 
 communications, first Tuesday on or before the full 
 moon. 
 
 ELKO LODGE, NO. 15. 
 
 The Masons who had congregated in the vicinity 
 of Elko, in 1809, quite early in the year also organ- 
 ized for fraternal purposes. They asked for, and on 
 the twenty-first of January, 1871, were granted, a 
 dispensation by the Grand Lodge, under which they 
 begun work on the twenty-fourth of the same month, 
 with John D. Treat, W. M.; Herman Armor, S. W.; 
 Elijah S. Yeates, J. W.; Robert Oliver, Treasurer; 
 Thomas N. Stone, Secretary; J. J. Hofl'man, S. D.; 
 and John C. Echnaner, J. D. 
 
 On the twenty-first of September, 1871, a charter 
 was granted for Elko Lodge, No. 15 (though accord- 
 ing to a report of the present Secretary, it appears 
 to not have been issued until the third of November). 
 
 The number of charter membci-s was twenty, but 
 the lodge's report made to the Grand Lodge in 
 1871, places the membership at forty. In 1874 
 there were seventy-five membci-s — the highest. Since 
 then, the average yearly membership has been about 
 sixty-four. In 1880 the number is given at sixty- 
 seven. The lodge property consists of a half interest 
 in a brick building, furniture, regalia, etc., of the 
 aggregate value of 85,000. Since organizing, the 
 lodge has disbursed in charities, 82,500. 
 
 Present officers — John J. -Meigs, W. M.; Joseph A. 
 Tinker, S. W.; James McBarnoy, J. W.; William 
 Plughoff, Treasurer.; Thomas N. Stone, Secretary; 
 F. F. Muller, S. I).; Joseph L. Cox, J. D.; James 
 Clark and Thomas Hunter, Stewards; George W. 
 Litton, Tyler. 
 
 Past Mastci*8 — M. P. Freeman, Green B. Able, 
 Thomas N. Stone. 
 
 Location, Elko, Elko County. Stated communi- 
 cations, first Tuesday in each month. 
 
 EUREKA LODGE, NO. K). 
 
 The Masonic fraternity at Eureka, in 1871, also 
 formed a ijunsi organization for mutual assistance, 
 following the footsteps of their brethren of White 
 Pine and Elko. This was the nucleus of Eureka 
 Lodge, No. IC, which received authoritj- from the 
 (frand Lodge on the fifth of April. 1872. On the 
 nineteenth of September, the same year, its charter 
 
ANCIENT ORDER OF F. AND A. M. 
 
 243 
 
 was issued, naming officers as follows: Daniel B. 
 Immol, W. M.; David E. Baily, H. W.; James IJilloy, 
 J. VV. 
 
 At the time of recoivini; its charter, the Iodide 
 numbered fortj^-two members. It has steadilj' aug- 
 mented its membership, and now reports 110. 
 
 A disastrous conflagration at Eureka, on the nine- 
 teenth of April, 1S70, destroj'ed the building owned 
 by the lodge — a brick structure, 30x100 feet — 
 together with regalia, jewels, furniture, and records, 
 entailing a loss of S20,000; but S5,()00 of which was 
 covered by insurance. 
 
 Its present property is a lot 100x100, in Eureka, 
 besides other property, valued at 81,000. About 
 $2,500 is annually disbursed by this lodge for cliai-- 
 itable purposes. 
 
 The present officers are Reinhold Sadler, W. M.; 
 Evan Jones, S. W.; William Stinson, J. W.; Reuben 
 Rickard, Treasurer; William P. Steichelman, Secre- 
 tary; William A. Darlej', S. D.; John J. Kermeen, J. 
 D.; Thomas W. Pearson and Alexander Eraser, 
 Stewards; Samuel W. Buckham, Tyler. 
 
 Past Masters— David E. Baily, R. W. D. G. M., 
 Alex. D. Rock, John Gillespie, Robert Gillespie, 
 Hiram Johnson, Charles J. R. Buttlar. 
 
 Location, Eureka, Eureka County. Stated com- 
 munications, Saturdays preceding full moon. 
 
 HUMBOLDT LODGE, NO. 17. 
 
 On the sixth day of November, 1871, M. W., the 
 Grand Master of Xevada, by dispensation, empow- 
 ered a body of Masons at Unionville to act as a 
 Masonic Lodge, which they did in comformity with 
 the usage of the craft, and so continued to do with- 
 out additional authority up to the twentieth of 
 November, 1873, when a charter was issued to Hum- 
 boldt Lodge, No. 17, naming the following officers: 
 William L. French, W. M.; George F. MuUer, S. W.; 
 O. R. Stampley, J. W. 
 
 Its members have never been many — not exceed- 
 ing twenty-five at any one time — while the average 
 yearly membership has been less than twenty-two. 
 In 1880 it reported eighteen members. 
 
 Present officers — George Frederick Muller, W. .M.; 
 James A. Hill, S. W.; John Taylor, J. W.; Pablo 
 Laveago, Treasurer; Andrew Davidson, Secretary; 
 A. D. McCuUough, S. D.; William Carpenter, J. D.; 
 Joseph Vivian, Tyler. 
 
 Location, Unionville, Humboldt County. Stated 
 communications, second Saturday in each month. 
 
 ST. JOHN LODGE, NO. 18. 
 
 Prior to the existence of this lodge, as far back as 
 May. 1870, a Masonic organization was formed at 
 Pioche for charitable as well as social purposes, and 
 manj' humane deeds were performed by it, and 
 much money was used for the relief of weary and 
 needy brothers. The officers of this incipient 
 lodge were P. McCannan, President; C. Weiderhold, 
 Secretary; Robert Apple, Treasurer. Finally, in 
 1872, a dispensation was asked for of the Grand 
 
 Lodge, for the establishment of St. John Ijodge, No. 
 18. This was granted on the tenth of August, 1872, 
 and on the twentieth of November, 1873, was fol- 
 lowed by a charter with John F. Gray, W. M.; 
 Daniel E. Mitchell, S. W.; Daniel K. Dickinson, J. W. 
 
 It begun with a membership of thirty-seven in 
 1872, which in the next two j'cars increased to 
 eighty-four. It then began to fall below seventy, 
 and in 1880 was only fifty-three. 
 
 The present officers arc Robert H. Elam, W. .M.; 
 David Cohn, S. W.; William P. Goodman, J. W.; 
 Dana C. Clark, Treasurer; George T. Gorman, 
 Secretary; Joseph A. Behr, S. D.; Julius Hoffman, 
 J. D.; De Marcus A. Fulks and (feorge T. Finnegan, 
 Stewards; Ephraini Dc M. Turner. Tyler; Clinton H. 
 Patchen. Marshal. 
 
 Past Masters — James F. Hallock, Charles F. 
 Myers, John M. Hanfoi-d. 
 
 Location, Pioche, Lincoln County. Stated com- 
 munications, fourth Saturday in each month. 
 
 WINNEMUCCA LODGE, NO. 10. 
 
 The dispensation which gave life to this lodge 
 was granted on the seventeenth of Ji^ne, 1874. 
 On the eighteenth of November of the same year 
 its charter was issued with the following as officers : 
 P. W. Johnson, AV. M. ; A. J. Shepard, S. W. ; 
 ThomasShone, J. W. 
 
 The first report to the Grand Lodge, in 1874, gave 
 the number of members sixteen. In 1877 it was 
 highest — fort3'-8even. At no time since 1875 has the 
 number of its members been loss than forty-one. It 
 was fortj'-five in 1880. 
 
 The present officers are Alexander Wise, W. M.; 
 Edmund D. Kelly, S. W.; John E. Bannister, J. W.; 
 Michael B. Stanton, Treasurer; James E. Sabine, 
 Secretary; Charles S. Osborn, S. D.; Isidor N. Lev}', 
 J. D.; C. W. McDeed and George Burke, Stewai-ds ; 
 Joseph N. Dowdell, Tyler. 
 
 Past Masters — Andrew J. Shepard, Pleasant W. 
 Johnson, Thomas Shone. 
 
 Location, Winnemucca, Humboldt County. Stated 
 communications, Saturday on or before the full 
 moon in each month. 
 
 PALISADE LODGE, NO. 20. 
 
 This lodge was not organized without opposi- 
 tion. Elko Lodge, No. 15, protested its establish- 
 ment. On the other hand, Eureka Lodge, No. 16, 
 was its friend before the Grand Jjodge, and a 
 dispensation was granted to the sixteen .Ma.sons 
 who had applied therefor, on the third of June, 
 1871!, in which T. F. Lawlor was named Worship- 
 ful .Master. It worked U. D. until the thirteenth 
 of Juno, 1877, when its charier was given it by 
 the (Jrand I.iodgc with Thomas F. L:iwlor, W. 
 M.; tJeorgo IJogul, S. W.; .lames E. .Marshall, J. 
 W. It hold its first meeting under the charter 
 on the twenty-eighth of .luly, . at which time it 
 installed all the alii)vo-namcd officers but Georgo 
 Rogul and James E. .Marshall as Senior and Junior 
 
244 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Wardens, tbcy having removed from thu jurisdiction 
 of the lodge. In their stead, W. S. McLlcllau and 
 T. K. .Moore were chosen and installed as Senior 
 and Junior Wardens respectively. 
 
 The membership has been small— the yearly 
 average having been about twenty. The Grand 
 Lodge Report of 1880 gives the number of mem- 
 bers seventeen. 
 
 Present officers-John N. Hill, W. M.; H. N- 
 Fletcher, S. W.; Charles Ross, J. W.; T. V. Lawlor, 
 Treasurer; James H. Hathaway, Secretary; John 
 Trcgoning, S. D.; J. R. Jewell, J. D.; T. McArdle 
 and J. H. Byers, Stewards; Joseph Y. J5rown, 
 
 Tyler. 
 
 Past Masters— T. F. Lawlor, W. S. .McLellan. 
 
 Location, Palisade. Eureka County. Stated com- 
 munications, second Saturday of each month. 
 
 TUSC.\110RA LODOE, NO. 2L 
 
 An organization of .Masons was established and 
 maintained at Tuscarora for a period of six months 
 before the Grand Lodge was asked to grant a dis- 
 pensation for a regular body. But, upon applica- 
 tion, a dispensation was granted on the twenty- 
 seventh of February, LS78, and a lodge forthwith 
 established in due form. 
 
 Its first officers were James Z. Kelly, W. M.; 
 W. T. Smith; S. W.; W. J. Hamilton, J. W.; A. R. 
 Booth, Treasurer; T. R. Butler, Secretary; Charles 
 Radcliff, S. D.; J. R. Homes, J. D.; J. M. Wood- 
 worth and William .Martin, Stewards; W. H. 
 Mitchell, Tyler; R. KHis, Marshal. 
 
 On the twelflli of June, ISSO, a charter was issued 
 the lodge, at which time the number of members 
 was thirtj'-six. 
 
 Financially it is in a flourishing condition, having 
 lodge furniture, regalia, etc., of the value of §500, 
 and though only about three years old as a lodge, 
 has dispensed in charities 81,300. 
 
 Present officers— James Z. Kelly, W. M.; Henry 
 C. Garner, S. W.; William F. Jlichards, J. W.; John 
 W. Powell, Treasurer; E. R. Boynton, Secretary; J. 
 K. Williams, S. D.; William U.Chellon, J. I).; Robert 
 Johnson and I). A. Gilchrist, Stewards; Henry Ben- 
 nett, Tyler; Elijah S. Yeates, Past Master. 
 
 Location, Tuscarora, l-'Jko County. Stated com- 
 munications, third Saturday in each month. 
 
 HOPE LODGK, U. D. 
 
 The dispensation under which this lodge is work- 
 ing; was granted on the soventcenth of July, 1880. 
 Uy reason of its small membership at the last meet- 
 ing of the Grand Lodge, no charter was issued, but 
 the dis])ensation was continued for another year. 
 
 It has but ten members. 
 
 Officers— Sylvester B. Hinds, W. M.; John K. Hart, 
 S. W.; Benjamin M. Hague, J. W.; Cliarles W. 
 Mallett, Treasurer; Jjorin A. Parker, Secretary; 
 Cassius H. Brown, S. I).; Miller Beach, J. 1).; Gran- 
 ville L Leavitt and Robert \V. Saunders, Stewards; 
 William T. Bunney, Tyler. 
 
 Past Master— Sylvester Benton Hinds. 
 Location, .Mason Valley, Esmeralda County. Stated 
 communications, Tuesday of or preceding full moon. 
 
 WARD .MASONIC ASSOCIATION. 
 
 In December, 1S7C, there were among the people 
 who had congregated in the vicinity of Ward, 
 White Pino County, many Masons. It was seventy 
 miles to the nearest lodge at Hamilton, and they 
 therefore decided to form themselves into a .Masonic 
 Association, which they did, and have maintained 
 the organization ever since. 
 
 There were forty organizing members. The num- 
 ber was increased to fifty-two, but in IHSO there 
 were only twenty Masons left to maintain the Asso- 
 ciation. 
 
 This Association dispensed about 81.200 for charit- 
 able purposes, and now has property valued at 81(10. 
 
 GRAND LODOE V. AND A. M. OF NEVADA. 
 
 On the sixteenth of January, 18G5, a Convocation 
 of Delegates from six Masonic Lodges, in this State, 
 assembled at Virginia City, and in two days' ses- 
 sion organized a Grand Lodge for Nevada, and 
 adjourned. 
 
 On the day of the adjournment, the seventeenth, 
 the Grand Lodge convened at the same place, with 
 the following officers presiding: — 
 
 Joseph De Bell Grand ^Lister. 
 
 George W. Bailey Deputy (Jrand iMaster. 
 
 Henry B. Brady Senior Grand Warden. 
 
 Richard T. JluUard Junior Grand Warden. 
 
 Charles E. Olney Grand Treasurer. 
 
 Charles H. Fish Grand Secretary. 
 
 Benjamin F. Shakspear Senior Grand Deacon. 
 
 William (i. Alban.. Junior Grand Deacon. 
 
 E. Jackson Grand Tyler. 
 
 After ordering new charters for all the lodges 
 then in the State, with new numbers, and the trans- 
 action of such other business as would bo incident 
 to such a body, it adjourned on the eighteenth of 
 January, having boon in communication for two days. 
 The limits of this work will nut admit of a 
 detailed history of the Order, and only a few i)rom- 
 incnt events can be mentioned, among which the 
 most important is the misfortune by fire that has 
 pursued it. Three times in 1S75 the Order was 
 visited l>y the fury of this ruthless deslroj'er. First, 
 on the nineteenth of May, when the Masonic build- 
 in" of Virginia City was burned, and with it most 
 of the Grand Lodge Library. The several organiza- 
 tions of Masons then moved to, and convened at, 
 the Hall of the I. O. O. F.; but on the third of Sep- 
 tember this building was nearly destroyed, and most 
 of what had escaped before hecame food for the 
 flames. On the twenty-sixth of October, still another 
 seething wave swept 'over Virginia City that Ktl 
 the city a smouldering bed of desolalion, and the 
 Masonic bodies only saved the lands they hud on 
 deposit in the fire-proof vaults of a bank. 
 
RESIDENCE AND RANCH OF D.H.DILLARD. ST.CLAIR.CHURCHILL CO. NEVADA. 
 
 C»HSCN LAftE IN IHt OISI»NCt. 
 
ANCIENT ORDER OF F. AND A. M. 
 
 245 
 
 necauso of these misfbrtuiics the Grand Lodge 
 did not meet tliat j'oar, and for a time there was no 
 building in which a secret society could congregate. 
 Out of this fact, and through the suggestion of J. B. 
 Winters, the Masons decided to open and close a 
 lodge on the summit of .Mount Davidson, which was 
 done; a detailed account of which will be found in 
 the history of V'^irginia Lodge, No. 3. 
 
 On the twenly-tifth of January, ISOli, a number of 
 Masons residing in Salt Lake City, Utah, petitioned 
 the Grand Lodge of Nevada for a dispensation to 
 establish an organization in that Territory. In pur- 
 suance of this petition the Grand .Master, Joseph Do 
 Bell, issued the authority to institute a lodge there, 
 to bo known as 
 
 MOINT MORIAII LODliE. 
 
 In the instrument was named as officers: — 
 
 J. W. Ellis Worshipful Master. 
 
 W. G. Higbee . . -Senior Warden. 
 
 W. L. Halsey Junior Warden. 
 
 Before the dispensation issued, the applicants were 
 required to give a pledge to admit no Mormons into 
 the Order. 
 
 Eventually the Utah bodj- desired to admit a mem- 
 ber of that faith, and aj^iilying for permission to the 
 Nevada Grand Lodge were denied the privilege. 
 
 In 1,8G7 they petitioned for a charter upon condi- 
 tion that the restriction as against that church was 
 withdrawn by the Grand Lodge, which was refused, 
 and the charter withheld. Upon receipt of this news 
 they disbanded. 
 
 This was the first ^Ma.sonic organization in I^tah, 
 and the ruling that disbanded it has since been 
 affirmed by the Grand Lodge of that Territory. 
 
 EASTERN STAR CUAPTEKS. 
 
 This is an Order of which only a Master Mason, 
 or his wife, mother, widow, sister, or daughter can 
 become members. It was first established in Franco 
 in 1730, and in the United States at a much later 
 date, where it flourished as a .Masonic side Degree 
 or Adoptive Rite until 1855, when the Order of 
 Eastern Star, as now conducted, was established. 
 
 ELECTA CIIAPTEll, NO. 3. 
 
 Wo have been able to get accounts of but two 
 of these organizations in this State, of which Electa 
 Chapter, No. 3, seems to have been first instituted. 
 This Chapter is located at Austin, Lander County; 
 was chartered May G, 1877, and the first officers 
 were: — 
 
 Fannie J. Work Worthy Matron. 
 
 Matthew ]\. Scott Worthy Patron. 
 
 Jhirtha Starratt Associate .Matron. 
 
 Klvii-a II. Nichols Conductress. 
 
 JIary lleanan Assistant Conductress. 
 
 Elizabeth L. Work Treasurer. 
 
 Andrew Nichols Secretary. 
 
 Eli Mclntire, lleniy II. Cooper, Ch as. TajMor, Trustees. 
 
 There were twenty-nine charter members, and 
 the present mombership is 100. 
 31 
 
 The property of the organization consists of rega- 
 lia, valued at 8100; cash, 8500. It has disbursed 
 in charities about 8300. The jjresent officers are: — 
 
 Clara Triplett. . Worthy .Matron. 
 
 John R. Williamson Worthy Patron. 
 
 Mary L. lleanan Assistant .Matron. 
 
 Martha Starratt Conductress. 
 
 Lizzie Dawley Assistant Conductress. 
 
 Margaret Fames Treasurer. 
 
 Fannie J. Work Secretary. 
 
 Andrew Nichols, Thos. Triplett, Joel S. Bar- 
 nard - - Trustees. 
 
 FRIKNPSIIIP CHAPTER, NO. 1. 
 
 Although this Chapter is numbered One, its date 
 of organization, being .laniiaiy 20, 1880, is later than 
 number Three. 
 
 Its location is at Elko, in the county of that name, 
 and the first officers were: — 
 
 Mrs. ^larj' Jackson Worthj- Matron. 
 
 W. A. Jackson Worthy Patron. 
 
 Mrs. Rose Steel Assistant Worthy Matron. 
 
 Mrs. S. J. Ellis - Treasurer. 
 
 T. N. Stone - Secretary. 
 
 Mrs. Lizzie Wines Conductress. 
 
 Miss Cecelia Hunter Assistant Conductress. 
 
 James Bruin Warder. 
 
 G. W. Litton - Sentinel. 
 
 There were sixteen persons iiame.l in the charter, 
 and the present membership is twenty-nine. The 
 present officers are the same as given above. 
 
 SUBORDINATE CHAPTERS R. A. .MASONS OF NEVADA. 
 
 As early as 18G3, when there had been but five 
 Blue Lodges organized in the Territory of Nevada, 
 a successful effort was made to institute a chapter. 
 
 The movement was inaugurated by a ))etition to 
 the Great Grand High Priest, asking authority to 
 do so; the request being signed by a number of 
 Royal Arch Masons in Carson City, resulted in the 
 issuance of a dispensation, dated in May, 1803. 
 
 LEWIS CHAPTER, NO. 1. 
 
 The dispensation issued on the date as above, was 
 from Dept. (i. G. High Priest, John L. Lewis, and 
 gave authority to form a Chapter at Car.son City, 
 Nevada, under the name of Lewis Chapter, No. 1, 
 the following being named as the first officers: — 
 
 George W. Hopkins High Priest 
 
 John II. Wayman King 
 
 Joseph Stewart Scribe 
 
 At the same time a disjieiisatioii was issued for a 
 cha])ter at Smyrna, in the empires of Turkey; and 
 upon this coincidence, combined with llie additional 
 fact that the Nevada Chapter had selected the name 
 of the Dept. G. G. High Priest as its own, that 
 officer in his report to the (ieneral (Jrand Chapter, 
 in 1865, says: — 
 
 The undersigned congrutiilates himself in having 
 been instruinetitai, in the same work, in planting 
 our standard in the distant Orient, and upon the 
 
246 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 golden shores of the Pacific, and spanned two con- 
 tinents with our arch. 
 
 For the gratifying compliment paid him jierson- 
 ally b}' his esteemed companions in Nevada, in the 
 selection of a name for their chapter, and thus 
 connecting him, in imagination at least, with this 
 gratifying result, he tenders his grateful thanks. 
 
 A charter was issued to Lewis Chapter on the 
 eighth of September, 18C5, by order of the General 
 Grand Chapter at Columbus, Ohio. 
 
 In 1874, it had a membership of sixty-six Royal 
 Arch Masons, and in 1880, there was reported fifty- 
 seven as being carried on the Chapter rolls. 
 
 At present the officers are Horatio S. Mann, H. 
 P.; Trenmor Coffin, K.; George Tuffly,. Scribe; John 
 E. Cheney, C. of H.; Chas. N. Harris, P. S.; and 
 Joseph Burlingame, R. A. Captain. 
 
 VIRGINIA CHAPTER, NO. 2. 
 
 The dispensation for this organization bears date 
 of September 8, 1865, and was issued by the same 
 body which authorized the formation of Chapter 
 No. 1. 
 
 The first officers named in the instrument are: — 
 
 George \V. Hopkins High Priest. 
 
 Samuel W. Chubbuck King- 
 Samuel Owen Scribe. 
 
 There were ton other charter members. 
 
 The issuance of a charter was delaj-ed until Sep- 
 tember 18, 1868. The membership reported in 1874 
 was 113, but in 1880 had fallen to ninety-four. 
 
 The present officers are: — 
 
 Enoch Strother High Priest. 
 
 Jacob Morris King. 
 
 Joseph E. McDonald Scribe. 
 
 Henry Rolfo *. C. of H. 
 
 Charles De Witt McDuffie P. S. 
 
 William Sutherland R. A. Captain. 
 
 AUSTIN CHAPTER, NO. 3. 
 
 In 1866, the Royal Arch Masons of Austin, in 
 Lander County, by reason of their comparative 
 isolation, petitioned for permission to organize a 
 chapter at that place. A dispensation was granted 
 them in October of that year, naming as officers: — 
 
 De Witt C. McKenney High Priest. 
 
 William W. Wixom . ..King. 
 
 Henry Mayenbaum Scribe. 
 
 There wore twenty-four other charter members. 
 
 In September 1868, a charter was issued and the 
 organization had only increased its membership to 
 forty-seven in 1874. For a few succeeding years the 
 membership was graduallj' lessened until the tide 
 turned in 1878, and in 1880 fifty-one members were 
 reported. 
 
 The officers in the last-named year were as fol- 
 lows: — 
 
 John R. Williamson Uigb Priest. 
 
 Albert F. Steinbuch King. 
 
 Eli Mclntiro Scribe. 
 
 Peter T. Farroll C. of H. 
 
 Joel S. Barnard P. S. 
 
 John Crowl It. A. Captain. 
 
 WHITE PINE CHAPTER, NO. 4. 
 
 The authority for the formation of this Masonic 
 bodj' boars date January 10, 1871, and the organiza- 
 tion took place on the ninth of the following month. 
 Tho first officers were: — 
 
 Thomas P. Hawley High Priest. 
 
 William Timson King. 
 
 Joseph Tyson Scribe. 
 
 Fourteen in all constituting tho first membership. 
 
 On the twentieth of September, of the same year, 
 a charter was granted, and tho records show an even 
 reasonable prosperity up to tho present time, when 
 the report of 1880 gives the number of members as 
 twenty-seven. 
 
 Tho last officers reported in 1880 were: — 
 
 William Timson High Priest. 
 
 John R. Williamson King. 
 
 Archibald Beaton Scribe. 
 
 John C. Russell C. of H. 
 
 Edward Raum P. S. 
 
 Evan Harris R. A. Captain. 
 
 ST. John's chapter, no. 5. 
 
 In 1873 the Royal Arch Masons residing in Eu- 
 reka petitioned the Great Grand Chapter for author- 
 itj- to organize, and permission was granted them on' 
 the tweiitj'-sixth of April of that year. 
 
 The first officers were: — 
 
 Samuel P. Kelloy High Priest. 
 
 G. C. Robinson King. 
 
 F. A. Belknap Scribe. 
 
 Later in the same year tho Grand Chapter of Ne- 
 vada was formed, which granted a charter to thia 
 subordinate organization on the twenty-first of No- 
 vember, all in 1873. 
 
 The charter named as officers: — 
 
 Samuel P. Kelley High Priest. 
 
 David E. Baily King. 
 
 F. A. Belknap Scribe. 
 
 In 1874 the membership is given as thirty-six, and 
 in 1880 as fifty-five. The chapter has met with 
 financial misfortune in tho loss of all their properly 
 in tho disastrous fire in Eureka on the nineteenth of 
 April, 1879. 
 
 The present officers, according to report of 1880, 
 are: — 
 
 Hiram Johnson High Priest 
 
 Luke W. Thompson..*. King. 
 
 John V. B. Perry Scribe. 
 
 Arthur W. Atchinson C. of H. 
 
 Jason S. Burlingame P. S. 
 
 Daniel McKinnon R. A. Captain. 
 
 keystone chapter, no. 6. 
 
 This, like the White Pino Chapter of Hamilton, 
 was working under a dispensation at tho time when 
 the Grand Chapter was organized in Nevada. Tho 
 dispensation, being dated on the twelfth of June, 
 1873, authorized the forming of tho above Masonic 
 
ANCIENT ORDER OF F. AND A. M. 
 
 247 
 
 body at Pioche, Lincoln County, where it is located. 
 
 The first officers were: — 
 
 Martin \V. Kales... High Priest. 
 
 A. A. Young King. 
 
 G. R. Alexander Scribe. 
 
 At the first meeting of the Grand Chapter of 
 Nevada, a charter was given to Kej'.stono Chapter, 
 No. 6, dated November 21, 1873, in which were named 
 as officers: — 
 
 E. D. L. Cutts High Priest. 
 
 G. R. Alexander King. 
 
 Thos. W. Abrams Scribe. 
 
 This chapter has money on hand and property 
 valued at Sl,r)00. It has disbursed for charitable 
 purposes about 81,500. 
 
 It started with fourteen members, increased that 
 number to fifty, and now, in 1880, reports but twenty- 
 three. The i)resent officers are: — 
 
 Clinton H. Patchin High Priest. 
 
 Gustavus R. Alexander King- 
 
 Asbury A. Young vScribe. 
 
 Henry S. Lubbuck .C. ofH. 
 
 Mathew Rogers . P. S. 
 
 Ephraim D. Turner R. A. Captain. 
 
 RENO CHAPTER, NO. 7. 
 
 A dispensation was granted for the organization 
 of this body, March 1, 1875, by order of the Grand 
 High Priest of Nevada. The name indicates its 
 locality in Washoe Countj'. Its first officers were: — 
 
 Frank Bell High Priest. 
 
 Charles Knust King. 
 
 Abraham H. Manning Scribe. 
 
 Levi W. Leo C. of H. 
 
 John Boyd P. S. 
 
 Charles Courtois R. A. Captain. 
 
 The Grand Chapter ordered a charter to be issued 
 to this body on the twenty-third of November, 1876, 
 and David E. Bailey, D. G. H. P. instituted the same 
 and installed its officers on the fourth of January, 
 1877. The first three officers named in the charter 
 were the same as those given above. 
 
 At present it has thirty-nine members, ton more 
 than was given in the report of 1870. 
 
 In 1880 the officers were: — 
 
 Charles Knust High Priest. 
 
 Rufus II. Kinney King. 
 
 Granville VV. Huffakor. Scribe. 
 
 F. J. Winchell.. C. of H. 
 
 Mark Parish .• P. S. 
 
 Thomas K. Ilymers R, A. Captain. 
 
 GOLD II ILL CHAPTEU, NO. 8. 
 
 By direction of the Grand Chapter a dispensation 
 •was issued November 23, 187G, authorizing the insti- 
 tuting of this chapter at Gold Hill, in Storoj' Count}'. 
 In May, 1877, its rej)ort to the Grand ( "hapter gives 
 the following named officers, who were probably the 
 first filling those jtositions in that organization: — 
 Samuel W. Chubbuck High Priest. 
 
 George Robinson King. 
 
 Benjamin Jl. Carrick Scribe. 
 
 Willot C. Davis C. of H. 
 
 James McAllister P. S. 
 
 Andrew Ingrund R. A. Captain. 
 
 The first three officers as above given, were also 
 named to fill the same positions in the charter thai 
 was issued on the fourteenth of June, 1877. Appar- 
 ently this chapter has been the most j)rosperous of 
 any of its order in the State, the increase of mem- 
 bership having been rapid and continuous. From 
 thirty-nine members in 1877, it has increased to sev- 
 enty in 1880. 
 
 The ])resent officers are: — 
 
 Willet C. Davis High Priest. 
 
 Byron I. Turman King. 
 
 Patrick McCarthy Scribe. 
 
 Thomas A Menary C. of H. 
 
 A. B. C. Davis P. S. 
 
 Peter C. King... R. A. Captain. 
 
 GENERAL GRAND CHAPTER OP NEVADA. 
 
 In the report of James A. Austin, Gen. G. H. P., 
 made in 1871, occurs the following: — 
 
 " In September, 18C9, I received a communication 
 from the High Priest of Austin Chapter, No. 3, at 
 Austin, Nevada, asking permission to form a Grand 
 Chapter for that State. I replied that I would 
 willingly grant such permission when I had received 
 satisfactorj^ information that all claims standing in 
 the books of the General Grand Chapter against the 
 three chapters in the State had been fully paid, and 
 that said chapters all united in- the petition for such 
 permission. I soon ascertained, however, that Lewis 
 Chapter, No. 1, at Carson City, had not been insti- 
 tuted under the charter granted in 1805, and thai said 
 charter had been lost in its transmission. 1 there- 
 upon ordered the General (Jraiid Secretary to pre- 
 ])aro and forward a duplicate warrant. Under these 
 circumstances, no further action has been had in the 
 matter of said application." 
 
 Josiah H. Drummoiul, (rcn. G. II. P., in 1874, 
 refers to tliis subject as follows: — 
 
 " On November 18, 1873, a convention of the 
 High Priests, Kings, and Scribes of tlfe four char- 
 tered chapters in Nevada, acting under a warrant 
 from me, dated the first day of November, 1873, pro- 
 ceeded to form the (Jrand Cha]>tor for the State of 
 Nevada." 
 
 At the time referred to above, the convention that 
 had assembled at Virginia t^'ity organized the (Jeno- 
 ral Grand Chajitor b}^ the appointment of the fol- 
 lowing officers: — 
 
 George Robinson (i. H. P. 
 
 Edward D. L. Cutts D. G. H. P. 
 
 David H. Baily G. K. 
 
 John L. Robertson G. S. 
 
 Andrew Nichols G. Sec. 
 
 John C. Currie G. T. 
 
 \V. A. M. Van Bokkelen G. C. H. 
 
248 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 On the twenty -first of the same month, the Grand 
 Chapter convened for the first time, and the follow- 
 ing gentlemen were chosen as officers for 1874: — 
 Samuel C. Wright, of Lewis Chapter, No. 1, G. H. P.; 
 John C.Currie, of Virginia Chapter, No. 2, D. G. H. P.; 
 DeWitt C. McKenne}-, of Austin Chapter, No. 3,G. K.; 
 William Timson, of White Pine Chapter, No. 4, G. S.; 
 Samuel W. Chubbuck, of Virginia Chapter, No. 2, 
 G. Sec; Horatio S. .Nlason, of Lewis Chapter, No. 1, 
 G T.; Edward D. L. Cutts, of Keystone Chapter, 
 No. 6, G. C. of H. 
 
 The succeeding officers to date have been, in 
 1875:— 
 
 John C. Currie, of Virginia City G. il. P. 
 
 DeWitt C. McKenney, of Austin ...D. G. H. P. 
 
 Chauncey N. Noteware, of Carson City G. K. 
 
 John L. llobertson, of Treasure City G. S. 
 
 George W. Hopkins, of Virginia City G. T. 
 
 Samuel W. Chubbuck, of Virginia City.. G. Sec. 
 
 George liobinson, of Cold Hill - G. C. of H. 
 
 Simon Davis, of Virginia City G. R. A. Capt. 
 
 John D. Hammond, of Carson City G. C. 
 
 E. J. Passmore, of Virginia City G. O. 
 
 Elbert S. Rincaid, of Virginia City G. G. 
 
 FOR THE VEAR 1876. 
 
 DeWitt C. McKenney, of Austin G. H. P. 
 
 Charles Martin, of Carson City D. G. H. P. 
 
 David E. Baily, of Eureka G. K. 
 
 George Robinson, of Gold Hill G. S. 
 
 Enoch Strothcr, of Virginia City G. T. 
 
 Samuel W. Chubbuck, of Gold Hill ...G. Sec. 
 
 Frank Bell, of Reno - '.G. C. of H. 
 
 Simon Davis, of Virginia G. R. A. Capt. 
 
 John D. Hammond, of Carson City . . G. C. 
 
 E. J. Passmore, of Virginia G. O. 
 
 Elbert S. Kincaid, of Virginia G. G. 
 
 FOR THE YEAR 1877. 
 
 De Witt C. McKenney, of Austin. G. H. P. 
 
 David E. Baily, of Eureka. D. G. H. P. 
 
 Philip Seldiier, of Virginia G. K. 
 
 Frank Boll, of Reno G. S. 
 
 John C. Currie, of Virginia G. T. 
 
 Samuel W. Chubbuck, of Gold Hill G. Sec. 
 
 Willet C. Davis, of Gold Hill G. C. of H. 
 
 Chas. J. R.-Biitiar, of Hamilton G. R. A. Capt. 
 
 John J). llamTnoiul, of Carson City .G. C 
 
 George N. Eolls, of Virginia G. O. 
 
 Elbert S. Kincaid, of Virginia G. G. 
 
 FOR THE YEAR 1878. 
 
 J'hili|) Seldiier, ol' Virginia G. H. P. 
 
 David E. Baily, of Kureka D. G. H. 1'. 
 
 Frank Bell, of Reno G. K. 
 
 Horatio S. Mason, of Carson City. . , . .G. S. 
 
 Charles Kiiust, of Reno G. T. 
 
 John D. ILinimond, of Carson City. 6. Sec. 
 
 Treninor Coffin, of Carson City G. C. of H. 
 
 Jonas Soely, of Virginia G. R. A. Capt. 
 
 Samuel P. Kelley , of Carson G. C. 
 
 George N. Eells, of Virginia G. O. 
 
 Elbert S. Kincaid, of Virginia G. G. 
 
 FOR THE YEAR 187'J. 
 
 David E. Baily, of Eureka.. G. H. P. 
 
 Frank Bell, of' Reno '. D. G. H. P. 
 
 Horatio S. Mason, of Carson City G. K. 
 
 Samuel W. Chubbuck. of Gold Hill G. S. 
 
 Charles Knust, of Reno G. T. 
 
 John D. Hammond, of Carson City.. G. Sec. 
 
 Robert H. Elam, of Pioche G. C. of H. 
 
 Hiram Johnson, of Eureka G. R. A. Capt. 
 
 Samuel P. Kelley, of Austin . . G. C. 
 
 George N. Eells, of Virginia G. 0. 
 
 Elbert S. Kincaid, of Virginia G. G. 
 
 FOR THE YEAR 1880. 
 
 Frank Bell, of Reno. G. H. P. 
 
 Chaunccj- N. Noteware, of Genoa D. G. H. P. 
 
 Samuel W. Chubbuck, of Gold Hill G. K. 
 
 William Timson, of Hamilton G. S. 
 
 Charles Knust, of Reno G. T. 
 
 John D. Hammond, of Carson City G. Sec. 
 
 Byron I. Turman, of Gold Hill G. C. of H. 
 
 Joseph E. McDonald, of Virginia G. R. A. Capt. 
 
 William C. Gray, of Virginia G. C. 
 
 (ieorge N. Eells, of Virginia G. O. 
 
 Elbert S. Kincaid, of Virginia G. G. 
 
 KNIGHTS TE.MPLAR. 
 
 The Order of Knights Templar was introduced 
 into the United States in 1808. Delegates from 
 seven Encampments of Knights Templar and one 
 Council of Red Cross, organized in New York City 
 on the twentieth of June, 1816, and formed a Gen- 
 eral Grand Encampment for the "United States. 
 Hon. De Witt Clinton, of New York, was elected 
 General Grand Master; and Thomas Smith Webb, 
 of Boston, his Deputy. 
 
 DE WITT CLINTON COMMANDERV, NO. 1. 
 
 In September, 1866, the corner-stone of the United 
 States Branch Mint of Carson City was laid under 
 the auspices of the Masonic (frand Lodge of Nevada. 
 A number of Sir Knights living within the State 
 were invited by the Order to participate in the pro- 
 ceedings; and at the close, upon consultation, it was 
 decided to take the necessary steps for the forma- 
 tion of a commandery at Virginia City. 
 
 Jacob L. Van Rokkelon was selected to corresiiond 
 with H. L. Palmer, (iraiid Master of the Grand En- 
 campment of the United States of America, with a 
 view of obtaining a dispensation. 
 
 As a result of the correspondence that ensued a 
 number of Sir Knights assembled at the Masonic 
 Hall, in Virginia City, on the sixteenth of Decem- 
 ber, 1866, and took the necessary stops for obtain- 
 ing a dispensation, among which w:is the signing of 
 a petition for the same, upon which appears the fol- 
 lowing names: — 
 
 Jacob L. Van Bokkclen. Horace M. Vosey, Henry 
 G. Blasdel, Ansel S. Olin, of Calitbrnia Commandery, 
 No. 1. 
 
 John Prescott Smith, Nathaniel A. H. Ball, John 
 C. Hampton, Daniel St. C. Stevens, Charles Forman, 
 
ANCIENT ORDER OF F. AND A. M. 
 
 249 
 
 Leonard X. FerriM, Jonah D. Treat, of Sacramento 
 Comiuandory, 2S'o. 2, California. 
 
 John C. Russell, of Pacific Commaiuk'ry. No. 8, 
 California. 
 
 John S. Kaneen, George W. Hopkins, of Nevada 
 Commandery, No. C, California. 
 
 Charles N. Cook, of El Dorado Commanderj-, No. 
 4, California. 
 
 Milton ilygatt, of Palestine Commandery, No. 2, 
 Iowa Citj', Iowa. 
 
 After the dispensation, bearing date February 4, 
 18G7, had been received, the first assembly was 
 held on the succeeding nineteenth of April, at which 
 time the organization was coni))leto(l. 
 
 The Sir Knights who acted as otticiais at this first 
 meeting were: — 
 
 Jacob L. Van Bokkelen Eminent Commander. 
 
 John P. Smith Generalissimo. 
 
 John C. Russell Captain General j)ro tern. 
 
 Nathaniel A. H. Ball Prelate. 
 
 Paniel St. C. Stevens Recorder ;>?-o (em. 
 
 John C. Hampton Treasurer pro (em. 
 
 Milton Mygatt Senior Warden pro tern. 
 
 Charles AV. Cook. .... . .Junior ^Varden jn-o (em. 
 
 George W. Hopkins Warder pro (em. 
 
 Ansel S. Clin Sentinel. 
 
 The first regular officers were the following, who 
 served for 18(>7 and IStlS: — 
 
 Jacob L. Van Bokkelen Eminent Commander. 
 
 John P. Smith Generalissimo. 
 
 John S. Kaneen _ Captain General. 
 
 Nathaniel A. II. Ball Prelate. 
 
 Milton Mygatt Senior Warden. 
 
 Charles W. Cooke Junior Wai-den. 
 
 John C. Hampton _ Treasurer. 
 
 Daniel St. C. Stevens Recorder. 
 
 Ansel S. Clin Standard Bearer. 
 
 Charles Jones Sword Bearer. 
 
 Jonah 1). Treat Warder. 
 
 Klbert S. Kincaid Sentinel. 
 
 This commander}- started with sixteen members. 
 The tuimber was eventually increased to ninety-two, 
 and at the present time there arc eighty-six. Its 
 propertj' consists of a one-fourth interest in the 
 Masonic Hail of Virginia City, and the paraphernalia. 
 
 The Recorder reports that this commander}^ 
 has disbursed in charities from S2(I,(I(I0 to SHO.dUd. 
 The following is taken from a historic pam|)hlet, 
 published by the organization, in regard to its own 
 past up to 1S7(J: — 
 
 On the nineteenth day of Maj , IS"."), the hall, 
 occu])ied as an asj-luni, was consumed by fire, and 
 jiart of the jiroperty of the commander}- destri)ye<l. 
 The asylum was then, by the courtesy of the Sociely 
 of Pioneers of Nevada, established in Pioneer Hall 
 until the twenty-sixth day of October, .\. d. 1875, 
 when that hall was also destroyed by fire, together 
 with fully one-half of Virginia City. Tlie com- 
 mandery had everything it owned burned at this 
 time, with the exception of the charter, oilicers' 
 jewels, and the report of a committee to prepare the 
 
 by-laws herein contained, for publication, which 
 were in the safe of the Eminent Commander. All 
 the minutes, records, and account books, exce])ting 
 that of the Treasurer, were destroyed, so that future 
 generations will only know what was done by our 
 commandery through the list of membershi]) and 
 by-laws, contained in this little volume. The cos- 
 tumes of ])robably two-thirds of the members were 
 also destroyed. 
 
 Our condition financially, as ascertained from the 
 books of the Treasurer, is as follows; — 
 
 Mortgage on Miller lot SI, 500 00 
 
 Montgomery Ave. bonds, San Francisco.. 1,700 00 
 Cash 2,138 0(t 
 
 Total $5,338 00 
 
 In 1880, the officers are: — 
 
 Charles Forman Eminent Commander. 
 
 George F. Ford Generali.ssimo. 
 
 Robert H. McDonald Captain General. 
 
 Hen ry Rolfe Prelate. 
 
 Joseph II. Matthowson Senior Warden. 
 
 Michael J. Henly Junior Warden. 
 
 John C. Hampton Treasurer. 
 
 John W. Eckley Recorder. 
 
 Granville W. Huffaker Standard Bearer. 
 
 Thos. K. Hymer Sword Bearer. 
 
 Alexander T. Menary Warder. 
 
 Elbert S. Kincaid Sentinel. 
 
 EUREKA COM.MANDERY, NO. 2. 
 
 This commandery having been recently formed 
 has but little history. It was instituted in July, 
 1880, under a dispensation from Vincent L. Hurlbut, 
 Grand Master of Knights Templars of U. S., with the 
 following officers: — 
 
 H. H. Conklin Eminent Commander. 
 
 W. H. Remington Generalissimo. 
 
 W. W. Hobart Captain General. 
 
 A. L. Fitzgerald Prelate. 
 
 Matthew Kyle Senior Warden. 
 
 H. Sadler Junior Warden. 
 
 A. Boungard Warder. 
 
 F. E. Baker Recorder. 
 
 The Grand Encamjiment of Knights Teii)])lars, V. 
 S. A., granted a charter to Eureka Commandery, No. 
 2, August 19, 1880. 
 
 The present officers are: — 
 
 H. H. Conklin Eminent Commander, 
 
 W. H. Remington . . Generalissimo. 
 
 W. W. llobart Captain General. 
 
 A. L. Fitzgerald Prelate. 
 
 Matthew Kyle Senior Warden. 
 
 R. Sadler Junior Warden. 
 
 II. Johnson Treasurer. 
 
 K. E. Baker -. Hecorder. 
 
 J. 1!. Kendall Standard Bearer. 
 
 L. P. Anderson Sword Hearer. 
 
 A. Boungard Warder. 
 
 SILVER I.OIXiE OF I'EHFEOTION, SCOTTISH KITE, NO. 1. 
 
 This society was organized in Virginia, Storey 
 County, on the twenty-third of April, 1874. 
 
250 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Its first officers were Hcniy St. George Hopkins, 
 T. P. G. W.; Phillip Seldner, S. G. W ; Stephen H. 
 Goddard, J. G. "\V. ; John W. Van Zant, G. O. ; Michael 
 J. Henly, G. A.; J. C. Hamj.ton, G. T.; Charles E. 
 Davis, G. G.; J. B. Pichford, M. of C; James A. 
 Maynard, G. G. E. 
 
 The present officers are Phillip Seldner. T. P. G. 
 W.; ilichaelj. Henly, S. G. \V.; Stephen H. God- 
 dard, J. G. W.; John W. Van Zant, G. 0.; \V. W. 
 Filkins, G. A.; E. J. Pasmore. G. S.; J. C. Hampton, 
 G. T.; J. H. Matthewson, G. M. C. 
 
 Its total membership since organizing embraces 
 about 100 names. 
 
 The lodge has lost by fire about 83,000. Its prop- 
 erty is estimated to be worth 8500. Its financial con- 
 dition at present is embarrassed. 
 
 CHAPTER X X X 1 II . 
 INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS. 
 
 Odd FelloH-ship in the two Hemispheres — Washington Lodge, 
 No. 1— The Order in 1S7S— VVildey Loilge, No. 1— SilverCity 
 Lodge, No. 2 — Mount Davidson Lodge, No. 3 — Carson 
 Lodge, Xo. 4 — Dayton Lodge, No. 5 — Esmeralda Lodge, No. 
 6 — Nevada Lodge, No. 7 — Waslioe Lodge, No. S — Austin 
 Lodge, No. 9 — Virginia Lotlge, No. 10 — Alpha Lodge, No- II 
 — Olive Branch I^odge, No. 12— Parker Lodge, Xo. IS — 
 Truckee Lodge, Xo. 14 — Genoa Lodge, X'o. 15 — Humboldt 
 Lodge, X"o. 10 — Hamilton Lodge, X'o. 17 — Elko Lodge, 
 No. 18 — Reno Lodge, No. 19 — Capitol Ix>dgc, No. 20 — Buena 
 Vista Lodge, No. 21 — Eureka Lodge, No. 22 — Pioche Lodge, 
 No. 23 — iSlmont Lodge, No. 24 — Paradise Lodge, No. 25 — 
 Palisade Lodge, No. 26 — Mountain Lodge, No. 27— Tybo 
 Lodge, No. 28 — Cornucopia Lodge, No. 29 — Tuscarora Lodge, 
 No. 30 — Battle Mountain Lodge, No. 31 — Crantsville Odd 
 Fellows' Association — Cherry Creek Odd Fellows' Associa- 
 tion — Table Showing Location, Strength and Charities of 
 the Indepeniient Order of Odd Fellows — ( I rand I»dge of 
 Nevada — Encampments, Indeiiemlent Order of Odd Feflow.s 
 — Pioneer Encampment, No. 1 — Carson Encampment, No. 
 2 — Piute Encampment, No. 3 — Keese River Encampment, 
 No. 4 — Reno Encampment, No. 5 — Ciarden Valley Encamp- 
 ment, No. fi — Silver .Star Encamimient, No. 7 — Mount Ver- 
 non Encampment, No. 8 — Elko Encampment, No. 9 — Bul- 
 lion Encampment, No. 10 — Reports for the Year Ending 
 December 31, 1879 — iJrand Encampment of Nevada — Report 
 of the Grand Encampment. 
 
 The Independent Order of Odd Fellows, as it at 
 present exists throughout the world is an American 
 institution of the present century, although the 
 Order of Odd Fellows existed in England long ante- 
 rior to the orgiinizution in this country. The object 
 of the early English organizations appeared to be 
 more for convivialit}- than benevolence and the 
 advancement of the social condition.' The membei's 
 recognized each other in a way mysterious to the 
 public, and acted so singularlj- that they were given 
 the name of " odd fellows," which long usage made 
 the name of the society. In the early part of this 
 century Thomas VVildey emigrated from England to 
 this country. He had belonged to an Odd Fellows 
 Lodge in his native land, and desired to institute a 
 similar association in the land of his adoption. For 
 this purpose ho ap]ilied for the proper authority from 
 the organization he had left, but failed to get it. He 
 therefore determined to proceed independently, and, 
 
 then a resident of Baltimore, Marj-land, advertised 
 in the papers of that city for any members of the 
 Order to meet at a public house in Baltimore, known 
 as the '• Seven Stars." Pursuant to that notice, there 
 met on the twenty-sixth day of April, 1819, five 
 persons, to wit, Thomas VVildey, John Welch, John 
 Duncan, John Cheathem and Richard Rushworth, 
 and thereon that day organized the "Independent 
 Order of Odd Fellows," distinguishing it from the 
 " Order of Odd Fellows " of England, being organized 
 without a charter or dispensation from any grand or 
 older organization. 
 
 With the expanded ideas and nobler aspirations 
 that seem to inspire all people as thej- are trans- 
 planted to the free soil and free institutions of the 
 Great Republic, so did the founders of Odd Fellow- 
 ship in America view the greater field, and prepared 
 their institution for a wider and nobler scope, with 
 '• Faith, Hope and Charity " as its watchwords. 
 VV'ith the organization of the Order, at the same 
 time and place, was organized 
 
 WASHINGTON LODGE, NO. 1. 
 
 This was a worthy name for the first lodge of that 
 Order that was to be in the great future, first in 
 love, first in charity, and first in cementing the broth- 
 erhood of man. The officers and members of this 
 lodge were Thomas Wildey, N. G.; John Welch, V. 
 G.; John Duncan, John Cheathem and Richard Rush- 
 worth. This was a small beginning, its survival was 
 doubtful, and the full scope of its object and powers 
 not fully comprehended. For many years the 
 growth was slow, but the foundation was solid, the 
 object noble, the association fraternal, and the bene- 
 fits so real, tangible, and substantial, that when it 
 became fully known, the prejudice against secret 
 orders removed, then the growth was rapid, until 
 now the membership has grown to half a million 
 men, and its charities have called for over 827,000,- 
 000. The halls, lodges, encampments and libraries 
 are in every town of importance in the land, and its 
 charities are everywhere. 
 
 In 1821 a convention was held in the same city on 
 the seventh of February, for the purpose of forming 
 a Grand Lodge, that, because of some obstructions, 
 failed to produce the desired result until the ensuing 
 twenty-second of May, when that old pioneer lodge 
 surrendered its charter and received one from the 
 " Duke of York Lodge of England," and became 
 subordinate to the general head in America. 
 
 The Grand Lodge of the United States was 
 formed February 22, 1S25, at which there were but 
 nine subordinates on the continent; and in 1828 
 the number of the Order was first stated, there 
 being given at the time but SOS as the result of a 
 growth of nine years. Ten years later the total 
 amount paid out for relief of members that year was 
 84,505.85. 
 
 From such a beginning has developed that grand 
 beneficiary influence among men, the magnitude of 
 
INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS. 
 
 251 
 
 which pan best bo realized by jrlaiicinij at the sub- 
 joined statistics, compiled from re])<irtM of j^rand and 
 subordinate bodies, under the jurisdiction of the 
 Grand Lodge: — 
 
 THE ORDER IN 1878. 
 
 Grand Lodges.. ... 50 
 
 Subordinate Lodges 6,975 
 
 Eebekah Degree Lodges TM 
 
 Grand Kncampments ,. 89 
 
 Subordinate Kncani])mont8 1,863 
 
 Lodge Initiations 33,860 
 
 Lodge .Members 442,291 
 
 Encampment Members 82,408 
 
 Eelief l.y Lodges 81 .553,726 70 
 
 Relief b}' Kncam])ment8 177,18(1 69 
 
 Relief by itebekah Lodges 9,498 29 
 
 Total Relief 1 ,740,4(15 68 
 
 Revenue of Lodges 3,814,126 98 
 
 Revenue of Encampments 415,934 22 
 
 Revenue of Rebckah Lodges 36,925 32 
 
 Total Jfevenuc 4,266,986 52 
 
 The following is an exhibit of the operations of 
 the entire Order, including Australia, Germany, 
 etc.: — 
 
 FROM 1830 TO DECEMBER 31, 1878. 
 
 Initiations 1,094,965 
 
 Members relieved 859,126 
 
 Widowed families relieved 115,127 
 
 Members deceased 81,648 
 
 Present membership 450,238 
 
 Total relief §27,468,286 36 
 
 Total receipts 73,504,918 00 
 
 ODD FELLOWS LODGES IN NEV-AD-A.. 
 
 The first organization of Odd Fellows in Nevada 
 was at Gold Hill, Storey County, April 1, 1862, and 
 it was given the name of Wildey Lodge, No. 1. 
 The charter members were Levi Hite, Peter Meyer, 
 VV. W. Shelly, J. Pfoutz, Michael Schwartz, O. East- 
 man, J. W. Phillips, VVm. 11. Beegan, H. C. Jacob- 
 son, A. B. Eider, John Lambert and D. Van Vran- 
 ken. Bro. J. W. Phillips was elected N. G. ; J. 
 Pfoutz, V. G.; and W. 11. Beegan, Secretary. The 
 present officei-s, 1881, are John F. Iluss, N. G; Sam- 
 uel Dowling, V. G.; Thomas. \V. Booth, R. S.; \Vm. 
 Mercer, Treasurer. 
 
 Silver City Lodge, No. 2, was instituted on 
 April 14, 1S(;2, with Broi. P. J. H. Smith, Kas- 
 ])er Haupt, William (i. Blakeloy, R. C. O'Neill and 
 Francis McMahan as charter members. [No report 
 of present officers in (irand Lodge Pejjort for 18S1.] 
 
 Mount Davidson J>o<lge, No. 3, was instituted 
 at Virginia City, on April 22, 1862, with Bros. 
 Erastus Bond, P. (r., Adolplic Philli])son, John 
 Steele, P. G., M. Holmes, P. G., J. W. Noyes, P. G., 
 W. B. Hull and H. J. Witto as charter members. 
 The present officers, 1881, are William 11. Kent, N. 
 G.; G. B. Joy, V. G.; William Kimball, U. S.; J. W. 
 Noyes, Treasurer. 
 
 Carson Lodge, No. 4, Carson Citj-, was instituted 
 on April 25, 1862, with Bros. D. B. Woolf, E. 
 B. Rail, J. 11. Wayman, Eli Harkely, Jacob W. 
 Uest, B. F. Clark, Morris Bick, Joseph .Mandlebaum 
 William D. Noland, F. W. Blake, John Wagner and 
 
 F. A. Tritle as charter members. The present offi- 
 cers, 1S81, are A. .M. .Mct'abe, N. G.; David Suther- 
 land, V. (i.; J. L. Beam, R. S.; George Tufly, Treas.; 
 TI. II. Benco, P. S. 
 
 Dayton Lodge. No. 5, Dayton, was instituted 
 June 2, 1863, and had as charter members R. B. Mc- 
 Connell, Levi Lamb, Ira G. Harlan, J. B. Brazelton, 
 D. C. McQuilty, Timothy .Madden, William Haydon 
 and J. E. Sabine. The present officers, 1881, are 
 Samuel Stevenson,' N. G.; II. T. Beale, V. G.; J. A. 
 Bonham, R. S. ; ^I. L. Johnson, Treasurer. 
 
 Esmeralda Lodge, No. 6, Aurora, was instituted- 
 September 16, lSt)3, with Bros. John Fisher, William 
 Eichelroth, M. Schwartz, Geo. O. Kies, John W. 
 Riens, J. \V . Simpson, Charles Cardinell, E. P. Davis 
 and F. Lambert as charter members. John Fisher 
 was elected N. G.; Wm. Eichelroth, V. G; Geo. O. 
 Kies, R. S.; M. Schwartz, P. S., and John W. Riens 
 Treas. The present officers, 1S81, are G. H. Hatch, 
 N. G.; George W. Deyo, V. G.; John H. Poor, R. S.; 
 D. J. Lewis, Treasurer. 
 
 Nevada Lodge, No. 7, Virginia, was instituted 
 January 15, 1864, with Bros. D. B. Woolf, D. M. 
 Love, Thomas Ileffron, Martin AVhite, John A. ^Ic- 
 Quaid, Isaac Pforshiemer, Jacob Feldberg, Frank 
 Denver, R. M. Black and Charles .M. Cornell as 
 charter members. The present ofKcers, 1881, are 
 Harry Block, N. (;.; J. K. Stephens, V. G; L. Loben- 
 stein, R. S.; R. T. Brodok, Treasurer. 
 
 Washoe Lodge, No. 8, Washoe, was instituted 
 January 18, 1864, with Jacob Stark, Hiram Bar- 
 ton, Louis Wertheimer, Wm. M. Bradley, Thomas H. 
 McGrath and C. A. Gibson as charter membei-s. 
 The present officers, 1881, are J. N. Barstow, N. G.; 
 A. McClelland, V. G.; Nat Holmes, R. S.; A. Sauers, 
 Treasurer. 
 
 Austin Lodge, No. 9, Austin, was instituted Janu- 
 ary 23, 1864, with J. II. Crane, Frank V. Drake, N. 
 R. Davis, A. D. Rock and E. X. Willard as charter 
 members. It is the successor to an Odd Fellows 
 Association, organized J)ecemhor 12, 1863, with D. 
 W. Welt}' for President, and Frank V. Drake, Secre- 
 tary. The present officers, 1881, are Charles Currelley, 
 N. G.; A. D. Burchficld.V. G,; Charles Lund, H.S.; 
 William H. Clark Treasurer. 
 
 Virginia Lodge, No. 10, Virginia, was instituted 
 May 18, 1865, with Erastus Bond, P. (J.-, F. B. Smith, 
 P. G., W. L. Donation, P. G., 1). M. Love, P. G., 
 John S. Kaneen, 10. W. Haines, Wm. Doolin, ('. M. 
 Brown, James Steele, Cornelius Finley, tJeorge C. 
 Burnett, (Jeorge Downey, Josiah Ivirle, J. H. Rennie 
 and J. G. Farrington, charter members. John S. 
 Kaneen was elected N. G.; E. W. Haines, V. G., 
 Erastus Bond, R. S. ; James B. Ronnie, P. S., and D. 
 M. Love, Treas. The ])rcsent officers, ISSl, are A. 
 A. Wills, N. G.; C. E. .Mack, V. G.; B. F. Wallace, H. 
 S.; J. C. Smith, Treasurer. 
 
 Alpha Lodge, No. II, .\ustin. March 11, 1867, with 
 Joseph Fvans, P. Do C'ook. Edward Hudson, |)aniel 
 Bowman, William J. Blake, J. W. Goetchus and J. 
 
252 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Marchant as charter members. SuiTendered its 
 charter in 1871. 
 
 Olive Branch Lodge, No. 12, Virginia, April 4, 1867, 
 with C. M. Cornell, H. S. Winn, W. 11. Virden, A. 
 AVilliams. J. B. SafTord, 11. Somers, James Estep, R. 
 M. Black, Biiri Callaghan. James h. Durant, Mark 
 Collins. Thomas Cowin and John Cowin as charter 
 members. The present officers, 1881, are J. J. Don- 
 worth, X. G.; S. F. Carter, V. G.; W. 0. Gray, R. S.; 
 W. J. Luke, Treasurer. 
 
 Parker Lodge, No. 13, Gold Hill, was instituted 
 October 8, 18G8, with W. H. Dolman, P. G., G. 
 Stockle, D. Young. J. F. Parks, P. G., Edward 
 Schaefer, S. E. IL Spurling, John Nelson, and II. 
 Motze, charter members. W. II. Ilolman, P. G., 
 was elected N. G.; John Nelson, V. G.; S. E. H. 
 Spurling, R. S.; Edward Schaefer, P. S.; G Stockle, 
 Treasurer. The present officers, 1881, are Charles 
 Lanthier, N. G.; Louis Parent, V. G.; Adam Baird, 
 R. S.; Conrad llaub. Treasurer. 
 
 Truckee Lodge, No. 14, Reno, was instituted Octo- 
 ber 28, 1808, with B. F. Ingram, John Borland, D. 
 Lachman, T. F. Lewis, T. P. Sikes, \V. L. lludnall, 
 and Geo. W. Cunningham as charter members. The 
 present officers, 1881, are H. Brown, N. G.; R. S. 
 Osburn, V. G.; F. C. Updyke, R. S.; J. GraflF, Treas- 
 urer; G. Cunningham, P. S. 
 
 Genoa Lodge, No. 15, Genoa, was instituted De- 
 cember 23, 1868, with the following-named brothers, 
 as officers: L. S. (ireenlaw, N. (i.; Joseph Kilpat- 
 rick, V. tr. ; Joseph Martin, Secretary, and I. W. 
 Duncan, Treasurer. (The Committee preparing the 
 history failed, after repeated efforts, to obtain the 
 names of the charter members.) The present officers, 
 1881, are J. T. Williams, N. G.; R. W. Vansickle, 
 V. G.; Philip Clarke, R. S.; A. Livingston, Treasurer. 
 
 Humboldt Lodge, No. 16, Winnemucca, was insti- 
 tuted August 29, 1869, with the following charter 
 members: James E. Sabine, P. G. R., T. W. Le(Jren, 
 P. G., T. V. Jnlien, Joseph Barnes, Charles F. .Moel- 
 ler, C. Haupt, James llunkins. The present officers, 
 1881, are Jonathan Fulton, N. (i.; Christ Bachtold, 
 V. G.; W. Perkins, R. S.; F. Naramore, Treasurer. 
 
 Hamilton Lodge, No. 17, Hamilton, was instituted 
 April 26, 1870, with J. B. Dayton, P. G.: J. T. Mat- 
 thewson, P. G., J. O. Darrow, John Marchant, J. W. 
 Simpson, and R. Sadler, charter members. John 
 .Marchant was elected N. (i.; J. B. Dayton, V. G.; 
 R. Sadler, R. S.; J. T. Matthewson, Treasurer. The 
 present officers, 1881, are S. S. Woodin, N. (J.; Wm. 
 Reedy, V. G.; II. Bush, R. S.; C. A. Mathewson, 
 Treasurer. 
 
 Elko Lodge, No. 18, Elko, was instituted October 
 1ft, 187(1, with A. J. Clark, J. B. Fitch, T. C. Keiiyon, 
 F. A. Rogers,' Elijah S. Yeates, John Ainly, C. B. 
 John.s, W. A. Harvey, charter members; E. S. Yeates, 
 was elected N. G.; F. A. Rogers, V. G.; W. A. Har- 
 vey, R. and P. S.; A. J. Clark, Treasurer. The pres- 
 ent officers, 1881, are J. P. Edoff, N. G.; E. Burner, 
 V. G.; 0. E. Green, E. S.; Walter Chase, Treasurer, i 
 
 Reno Lodge, No. 19, Reno, was instituted May 18, 
 1871, with Dan H. Pine, J. S. Sellers, Donald Mc- 
 Kay, Will T. Frank, P. B.Comstock. John Harwood, 
 N. J. Roff, Thomas Forbes, D. C. Martin, H. P. 
 Cowles, N. C. Kenney, and Robert Harrison. N. C. 
 Kenney was elected N. (i.; Dan H. Pine, V. G.; W. 
 T. P>ank, R. S.; H. P. Cowles, P. S.; David Martin, 
 Treasurer. The present officers, 1881, are J. M. 
 Fianigan, N. G.; A. Ljman, V. G.; R. F. Hoy, R.S.; 
 J. S. Shoemaker, Treasurer; T. E. Tibbetts, P. S. 
 
 Capitol Lodge, No. 20, Carson, was instituted July 
 28, 1871, with William D. Torreyson, J. II. Connor, 
 C. H. Maish. J. I). Minor, John Trap, D. G. Kitz- 
 meyer, J. A. Risdon, G. W. Chedic, J. W. Waters, J. 
 W. Robinson, G. W. White, and N. MeD. Kennedy, 
 as charter members. D. G. Kitzmeyer, was elected 
 N. G.; J. W. Robinson, V. G.; J. D. Minor, R. S.; 
 W. D. Torreyson, Treasurer. The present officers, 
 1881, are Charles H.Jones, N. G.; John D. Kersey, 
 V. G.; Geo. W. Chedic, R. S.; D. G. Kitzmeyer, 
 Treasurer. 
 
 Buena Vi.sta Lodge, No. 21, Unionville, was insti- 
 tuted October 26, 1871. with S. S. Grass, E. 1). Kelly, 
 F. X. Banks, H. A. Waldo, James McCormick, O. R. 
 Leonard, and John W. Tyler, as charter members. 
 E. D. Kelly, N. G.; F. X. Banks, V. G.; H. A. Waldo, 
 R. S.; A. J. Davis. Treasurer. The present officers, 
 1881, are D. AV. Johnson, N. G.; John McClure, V. 
 G.; F. X. Banks, R. S.; T. J. Hadley, Treasurer. 
 
 Eureka Lodge, No. 22, Eureka, was instituted 
 March 14, 1872, with Michael Borowsky, Marquis 
 Levy, William Head, E. L. Willard, A. Charson, O. 
 Peterson, Paul Kej'ser, Charles G. Hubbard. Q. 
 Waidhass, Charles Goll, N. Raffaelovich, William 
 Emery, Solomon Aschiem, S. Ridge, M. Fredenburg, 
 W. A. Seaton, Samuel Goldstone, E. E. Phillips, 
 Edward Schaeffer, Jonathan H. Haslam, and James 
 Stewart, as charter members. The present officers, 
 1881, are G. W. Douglass, N. G.; Daniel Hastings, 
 V. G.; William 11. Davenport, R. S.; Morris Calisher, 
 Treasurer. 
 
 Pioche Lodge, No. 23, Pioche, was instituted Sep- 
 tember 10, 1872, with J. W. AVright, P. G., E. M. 
 Crane, P. G., II. M. Barnes, Harvey Boone, Edward 
 Willet, A. Brown, and J. ]{. James, charter mem. 
 bers. The present officers, 1881, are R. J. Gordon, 
 N. G.; C. M. Hopkins, V. G.; Joseph W. Griffin, R. 
 S.; D. A. Fulks, Treasurer. 
 
 Belmont Lodge, No. 24, Belmont, was instituted 
 March 5, 1873, with W. S. McCornick, P. (i., Joseph 
 Cornelius, P. G., R. N. Oliver, Samuel Black, J. II. 
 Hatch, Thomas Warburton, Josiah Burnett, charter 
 members. The present officers, 1881, are S. Fergu- 
 son, N. G.; J. A. Ohiander, V. G.; A. M. Hawkins, 
 R. S.; W. Garrard, Treasurer. 
 
 Paradise Lodge, No. 25, Paradise Valley, was 
 instituted October 17, 1873, with R. II. Scott, P, G,, 
 Theodore Shiriey, R, F. James, B. F. Riley, T. Mul- 
 lineaux, F. Bauman, charter members. T. Shirley 
 was elected N. G.; R. F. James, V. G.; B. F. Riley, 
 
INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS. 
 
 253 
 
 Ji. S.; T. I^Iiillineaux, Treasurer. The present offi- 
 cers, 1881, are I!. II. Scolt. N. C; W . A. Spcrry, V. 
 G.; J. B. Case, K. S.; B..!!. Luther, Treasurer. 
 
 Palisade TiOdge, No. 20, Palisade, was instituted 
 April 1:5, 1874, with J. B. Tolley, J. Marehaiit, J. 
 Talbott, J. C. Wilkinson, J. B. llosbur<f, C. Zimmer- 
 man, W. S. Evans, D. L. Davis, and \V. X. Rabbits, 
 charter members. J. Marehant was elected N. CI.; 
 W. S. Evans, V. G.; J. C. Wilkinson, R. P. S.; C. 
 Zimmerman, Treasurer. The present officers, 1881, 
 are A. S. Longley, N. G.; T. R. Jewell, V. G.; J. 
 .Marehant, R. S.; E. M. Baum, Treasurer. 
 
 .Mountain Lodge, No. 27, Eureka, was instituted 
 May 11, 1875, with C. G. Hubbard, P. G., N. Simon- 
 son, Julius Beese, Peter Wagner, T. J. White, R. A. 
 Doak, and James Hunkins, charter members. N. 
 Simonson was elected N. G.; T. J. White, V. G.; C. 
 G, Ilul.hard, R. S.; P. Wagner. P. S.; Julius Beese, 
 Treasurer. The present officers, 1881, are J. L. 
 Smith, N. G.; J. Straus, V. G.; W. S. Beard, E. S.; 
 W. J. Smith. Treasurer; A. J. Dunn, P. S. 
 
 Tybo Lodge, No. 28, of Tybo, Nye County, was 
 instituted April 17, 1877, with the following named 
 charter members: Simon Rosenthal, John (Jregovich, 
 John Whoatley, J. I>. Page, David O'Niel, Richard 
 Wheatley, J. S. Hammond, D. B. Austin, William 
 Wheatley, R. N. Oliver, and J. T. Walker. The 
 present officers, 1881, are A. JlcPhail, N. G.; W. 
 Hrougher, V. G.; C. B. Strieberger, R. S.; J. A. 
 McPhail, Treasurer. 
 
 An Odd Fellows Association was formed in Tybo 
 in December, 1870, of which J. S. Hammond was 
 President; W. C. Reveal, Secretarj-; and S. Rosen- 
 thal, Treasurer. A hall was built by the organiza- 
 tion of brick. I.')x00 feet, at a cost of S:!,0(i(i, which 
 was taken and paid for by the lodge after it was 
 instituted in 1877, and the association disbanded. 
 
 C'ornucopia Lodge, No. 29, of Cornucopia, Elko 
 County, was instituted May 31, 1877, with D. 
 Meacham, M. Tobias, A. S. Eiscnberg, W. W. Ilogers, 
 S. L. Stark, and W. T. Early as charter members. 
 The present officers, 1881, are J. B. Ringgold, N. G. ; 
 Jacob Eggers, V. (r.; Samuel Mooser, R. S.; Wm. 
 Grafton, Treasurer. 
 
 Tuscarora Lodge, No. .SO, of Tuscarora, I-;iko 
 County, was instituted Juno 7, 1878, with charter 
 members as follows: E. S. Yeates, P. G., George W. 
 Pliillil)s, P. G., A. D. Ayci-s, P. G., A. P. Adams, D. 
 B. Higgins, Ticonard Curr}-, Martin Tiffany, P. (J., 
 and A. D. Walsh. The following are the officers for 
 the first term : Noble Grand, E. S. Yeates; Vice 
 Grand, (ieorge W. Phillips; Secretary, .Martin Titf- 
 any; Treasurer, A. D. Ayers. The present officers, 
 1881, are James Bennetts, N. G.; L. H. Curry, V. G.; 
 Elijah S. Yeates, R. S. ; John Jenkins, Treasurer. 
 
 About one year previous to organization an asso- 
 ciation of Odd Fellows was formed for the relief of 
 distressed members of the Onler. and lor mutual 
 benefit. 
 
 Battle Mountain Lodge, No. 31, of Battle Mount- 
 32 
 
 ain. Lander County, was instituted on the nine- 
 teenth of March, 1S71(. The following named jiarties 
 were the charter members: ilobert McHeth, John 
 •McWilliams, Joseph Bachelder, Frank Northway, 
 P. T. .Mackrow and A. D. Leniaire. The present 
 officers, 1881, are Lemuel Egotf, N. G.; F. .M. Spo- 
 nogles, V. G.; A. D. Lemaire, R. S.; H. F. Hradshaw, 
 Treasurer. 
 
 Grantsvillo Odd Fellows Association of tirantsville, 
 Nye County, was instituted November 17, 1878. 
 There being no lodge of the Order of Odd Fellows 
 nearer than Austin, Lander County, this associa- 
 tion was formed for the ])ur])ose of looking after 
 and caring for the sick of the Order, the first officers 
 were John Irvine, President; R.L.Thomas, Secre- 
 tary; and A. J. Fraidclin, Treasurer. The largest 
 number of members at any one time was fifteen ; 
 present membership ten. The financial condition of 
 the organization is good. The present officers are 
 E. O. Vaughn. President; A. J. l-'rankliti. Secretary 
 and Treasurer. 
 
 Cherry Creek Odd Fellows Association of Cherry 
 Creek, White Pine Countj^, was organized in March, 
 1880, with the following named gentlemen for the 
 first officers: Dr. J. H. Tofibrd, President; E. K. 
 Phipps, Secretary; Jacob Weber, Treasurer. 
 
 There were twenty-two organizing members. The 
 association was the outgrowth of a desire upon 
 the part of the numerous members of the Order 
 who lived in that vicinity to be able to render sub- 
 stantial assistance to any of their unfortunate associ- 
 ates, the nearest regular lodge being at Hamilton, 
 sixty-five miles away. The association have, besides 
 their organization property,' a cemetery for the 
 interment of deceased members of the Order. 
 
 SUBOUniNATE ENCAMl'MENT, I. O. 0. F. 
 
 The first six Encampments instituted in Nevada 
 were organized under authority' from the Grand 
 Encami)ment of California. No. 7 was authorized 
 by the Sovereign Grand Lodge, and the remaining 
 three b}' the (irand Encampment of Nevada. 
 
 Pioneer Encampment, No. 1, was instituted in Vir- 
 ginia City, Nevada, on the seventeenth of July, 1804 
 the following being the charter members: D. B. 
 Woolf, Isaac Pforzheimer, Erastus Bond, Warren 
 Heaton, Frank Seely, James L. Durant, John S. 
 Kaneen. The officers for 1881 are W. W Booher, 
 C. P.; William Kimball, II. P.; John Dunn, S. W.; 
 J. G. Farrington, S.; J. C. Smith, Treasurer; J. 
 S. Smith, J. W. 
 
 Carson Encampment, No. 2, was instituted in Car- 
 son City on the eighteenth of November, 1807, with 
 the following gentlemen as charter members and 
 first officers: A. Wailz, C. P.; John S. Vandyke, H. 
 P.; W. D. Torreyson, S. W.; Abraham Curry, J. W.; 
 George Tufly, T.; D. B. Boyd, S.; A. M. Clark. 
 The officers for 1881 are D. G. Kitzmeyer, C. P.; 
 G. F. Vanderhyde, H. P.; George W. Bryant, S. W.; 
 G. W. Chedic,S.; George Tufly, Treasurer; Alexander 
 Leport, J. W. 
 
254 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Piute Encampment, No. 3, -was int^tituted in Vir- 
 ginia City, on the twentieth of February, ISGT, and 
 the following were its charter members: I). M. 
 Love, ( '. Suttorlej-, C. Finlcy. Samuel Rosener, George 
 T. Finn, John A. .A[och, George Downey, ('. J. Collins. 
 The oflficers for 1881 are Charles Lanthier, C. P.; 
 Thomas S. Stephens, H. P.; Samuel Bennetts, S. W.; 
 T. W. Booth, S.; H. O. L)auehy, Treasurer; Gordon 
 Grant, J. W. 
 
 Reese River Encampment, No. 4, was instituted 
 at Austin, in Lander Countj-, on the nineteenth of 
 November, 1869. There were seven charter mem- 
 bers, and the following-named persons were the first 
 officers: F. V. Brake, C. P.; W. A. Rankin, IL P.; 
 Henry Barter, S. W.; H. Van Winkle, J. \V.; L. 
 Steiner, S.; T. Obenfelder, T. 
 
 The following extract from the reports of the Grand 
 Encampment of Nevada, in 1878, was adopted, and 
 tells its own tale: — 
 
 AMENDED REPORT OF COM.MITTEE ON I'ETITIONS. 
 
 To the R. W. Grand Encampvient, I. 0. 0. F., of the State 
 
 of Nevada : 
 
 Your Committee on Petitions, to whom was re- 
 fen-ed back the report relative to the petition for a 
 charter of Prometheus Encampment, No. 4, with in- 
 structions to amend their former report, beg leave 
 to submit the following: — 
 
 Beno/rei/, That a new charter bo granted to the 
 following named Patriarchs: R. L. Horton, Charles 
 Lund, .M. ('. McGluniion, James M Rooker, W. H. 
 Clark. Jefterson Hull, and A. Sower, for the resus- 
 citation of Reese Jtiver Encampment, No. 4, to be 
 held at Austin, Nevada, in the stead of a charter to 
 the said Patriarchs, to be known as Prometheus 
 Encampment, No. 4, as prayed for in the petition; 
 and further, that the books, regalia, and other ])rop- 
 erty formerly belonging to IJeese River Encamp- 
 ment, No. 4, be restored to said Patriarchs as the 
 property of the newly restored Encampment. 
 
 \V. H. ViRDEN, 
 
 Jacob Younu, Jr. 
 
 The officers for 1881 are J. S. Hammond, C. P.; 
 Frank Bowen, H. P.; J. I). \V. Dow, S. W.: John 
 Coder, S.; F. Van Nordeck, Treasurer; (Jeorge AV. 
 Dale, J. W. 
 
 Reno Encampment, -No. 5, was instituted with 
 the following charter members on the eighth of 
 January, 1872: Abram Prescott, A. Trant, Morris 
 Ash, J. F. Ferguson, Robert A. Frazier, A. F. Hitch- 
 cock, J. P. Richardson. The present officers, 1881, 
 arc Thomas Barnett, C. P.; R. F. Hoy, H. P.; J. 
 Fredricks, S. W.; D. B. Boyd, S.; G. W. Cunning- 
 ham, Treasurer; J. W. Boynton, J. W. 
 
 Garden Valley Encampment, No. fi, was instituted 
 at Dayton, Lyon County, Nevada, December 13, 
 1873. Its charter members were William H. Hill, 
 Patriarch; H. Kennedy, P.; L. L. Crockett, P.; L 
 Lamb, P.; L. Stoner, P.; J.Newman, P.; Thomas J'. 
 Mack, P.; Thomas Shedden, P.; L. A. Guild, P.; J. 
 D.Sims, P.; P. Barnes, P.; James fJates, P.; J. S. 
 Dallas, P.; Seth Allen, P. The following are its first 
 officers: William II. IJill, C. P.; L. Stonor, H. P.; L. L. 
 
 Crockett, S. W.; Thomas P. Mack, J. W.; J. New- 
 man, Scribe; L. Lamb, Treasurer. The present 
 officers are J. S. Dallas, C. P.; L. A. Guild, II. P.; 
 J. 1). Sims, S. W.; W. R. Davis, J. W.; J. A. Bon- 
 ham, Scribe; J. C. (rruber. Treasurer. 
 
 Silver State Encampment, No. 7, was instituted 
 also in Virginia City, and on the seventeenth of 
 February, 1874, in pursuance of authority from 
 the Sovereign Grand Lodge. The charter mem- 
 bers were F. V. Drake, H. Black, L. Scheen- 
 feldt, J. E. Guild, John Russ, William James, F. 
 Schmadeke. The present officers, 1881, are X. 
 Stocker, C. P.; I. Goodfriend, H. P.; J. Nichols, S. 
 W.; L. Guggenheim, S.; J, W. Noyes, Treasurer; W. 
 J. Luke, J. W. 
 
 Mount Vernon Encampment, No. 8, of Pioche, in 
 Lincoln County, was instituted on the seventeenth 
 of June, 1875, with the following as first officers: 
 R. H. Elam, C. P.; H. S, Lubbock, H. P.; J. A. 
 Spraker, S. W,; J. N. Curtis, S.; D. A. Fulks,T.; C. 
 F. Bowen, J. W. Adding the name of S, W, Steel, 
 and the foregoing will include the charter members 
 
 In the annual report of th« Grand Patriarch 
 made in June, 1876, appears the following: — 
 
 1 have instituted but one Encampment during the 
 recess of this (Jrand Encampment — .Mount Vernon, 
 No. 8, in the town of Pioche, I^incoln Countj' — a 
 charter having been granted at your last session. 
 The petition of five Patriarchs was received and 
 passed on by the Committee on Petitions. When 1 
 arrived there 1 fouiul one of the Patriarchs (Patri- 
 arch Willit) with a traveling card and that out of 
 date. Said card was returned to him. There being 
 but four Patriarchs, I conferred the three Encamp- 
 ment Degrees on three brothers — C. F. Bowen, J. 
 N. Curtis and J. A. Sj)raker — to make the necessary 
 number for the charter. I instituted the Encamp- 
 ment and set them to work. 1 remained with them 
 throe days and left them with eighteen members. 
 I wish to thank the Patriarchs of Mount Vernon 
 Encampment for their friendly greeting and kind 
 attention during mj- stay in their mountain town. 
 I hope this young encamjunent, the first otl'spring 
 of Nevada, will ever maintain the proud ])osition 
 that I believe should be accorded to the Patriarchs 
 of that place. 
 
 The present officers, 1881, are Louis Sulton, C. 
 P.; R.J.Gordon, II. P.; J, llildebrand, S. \V.; C. 
 Gebfried, S. ; D. A. Fulks, Treasurer; John Jane, 
 J.W. 
 
 Elko Encampment, No. 9, was instituted Septem- 
 ber 3, 1877, with fifteen charter members, and the 
 following for first officers: M. P. Freeman, C. P.; R. 
 R. Bigelow, H. P.; H. W. Brown. S. W.; P. A 
 Rowe,S.; George Russell, T.; W. Chase, J. W. The 
 present officers, 18S1, are S. M. Henley, C. P.; R. R. 
 Bigelow, H. P.; A, Bruce, S. W.; A. W. Hesson, S.; 
 John Hibbets, T.; J. .M. Lane, J. W. 
 
 Bullion Encampment, No. 10, of Eureka, Eureka 
 County, was organized September 6, 1877, with 
 twenty-one charter members. The first otticers 
 were \V. 11, Davenport, C, P,; William Doolin, II. 
 P.; Benjamin C. Levy, S. W.; A. T. Stearns, J. W.; 
 
INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS. 
 
 255 
 
 W. J. Smith, S.; R. Sadler, T. The present officers, 
 1881, are C. Ferraris, (J. P.; Peter Anderson, II. 
 P.; F. M. Heitman, S. W.; \Y. II. Davenport, S.; 
 Henry Mau, T.; Charles Broy, J. W. 
 
 GRAND ENCAMPMENT OF NEVADA, I. 0. 0. V. 
 
 On the twenty-eighth of December, 1874, dele- 
 gates from the various encampments of the State, 
 except No. 4, met at Carson, and decided, by a vote 
 of five for and one against, to [)etition the (Jrand 
 Lodge of the L^nitod States for authority to organ- 
 ize a Grand Encampment in Nevada. 
 
 In response to this petition, a dispensation was 
 granted, bearing date February 17, 1875, and on the 
 second of .March, that year, the Grand Kncampment 
 was regularly organized in Carson. At this time, 
 the several encampments had a combined member- 
 ship of 321 persons, with a revenue of S;},oOO and 
 SG,000 invested. 
 
 The first officers were: — 
 
 J. C. Smith Grand Patriarch 
 
 W. H. Hill ^ Grand High Priest 
 
 Geo. W. Chedic Grand Senior Warden 
 
 C. W. Jones Grand Junior "Warden 
 
 F. V. Drake Grand Scribe 
 
 Geo. Tuflj- ..... Grand Treasurer 
 
 H. O. Douchy Grand ^Marshal 
 
 C. H. Maish Grand Sentinel 
 
 J. V. Peers Dep't. Grand Sentinel 
 
 REPORT or THE ORAND ENCAMP.MENT OF NEVADA, 
 
 For the year ending December 31, 187!): — 
 
 Number of Encam))ments 10 
 
 Number of members jter last report 435 
 
 Initiated during the j-ear 38 
 
 Admitted by card 1 
 
 Reinstated to active membership 3 
 
 Eeinstated to dormant membership 154 
 
 Total membership G31 
 
 From which deduct — 
 
 Withdrawn by card 8 
 
 Expelled 1 
 
 Deceased 6 — 15 
 
 Now in membei-ship GIG 
 
 Deduct — 
 Suspended fromactivo to dormant membership . . IIKI 
 
 Active members 426 
 
 Number of Patriarchs relieved 7 
 
 RELIEF. 
 
 Amount jiaid for the relief of Patriarchs. $350 25 
 
 For burying the dead 250 00 
 
 Special relief . I'.'i (mi 
 
 Total relief 8G25 
 
 Amount of annual receipts $5,645 14 
 
 Number of weeks' sickness for which benefits 
 were paid 177 
 
 GRAND LODGE OP NEVADA, I. O. O. P. 
 
 The first ten organizations of the Order in Nevada 
 were formed under the jurisdiction of Calilbrnia; 
 
 and in 18G7 the members deemed their number suf- 
 ficient to warrant them in inaugurating a home gov- 
 ernment. In the pursuance of this idea, the repre- 
 sentatives of the several bodies in the State assem- 
 bled at Virginia City, in convention, on the twenty- 
 first day of January, 18C7, and organized the Grand 
 Lodge by the election of the following officers: — 
 
 LIST OF OFFICERS OF THE ORAND LODGE SINCE ITS 
 ORGANIZATION. 
 
 (From January 21, 1867, to June 6, 1867.) 
 
 Grand Master John S. "Van Dyke 
 
 Dejiuty Grand Master John \V. Tyler 
 
 Grand Warden P. J. II. Smith 
 
 Grand Secretary R. H . Taylor 
 
 Grand Treasurer 11. -M. Black 
 
 Grand Representative J. E.Sabine 
 
 Grand Chaplain John A. Collins 
 
 Grand .Marshal J. B. Brazelton 
 
 Grand ( 'oiuluctor C. Finley 
 
 Grand Guardian J. L. Beam 
 
 Grand Herald C. C. Wright 
 
 (From June 6, 1867, to June 4, 1868.) 
 
 Grand Master F. V. Drake 
 
 Deputy Grand Master Frank Denver 
 
 Grand Warden Win. II. Dolman 
 
 Grand Secretary li. 11. Taylor 
 
 Grand Treasurer C. Finley 
 
 Grand Representative J. P]. Sabine 
 
 (From June 4, 1868, to Juno 10, 1869.) 
 
 Grand Master John S. Kaneen 
 
 Deputy (;rand Master W. H. Corbett 
 
 Grand Warden John Pattie 
 
 Grand Secretary " W. N. Hall 
 
 Grand Treasurer . C. Finley 
 
 Grand Representative G. H. Morrison 
 
 (From June 10, 1869, to June 10, 1870.) 
 
 Grand Afastcr W. Haydon 
 
 Deputy Grand Master G. H. Morrison 
 
 Grand Warden J. W. Wright 
 
 Grand Secretaiy . . A. F. Hitchcock 
 
 Grand Treasurer George W. Chedic 
 
 Grand Representative ... W.N. Hall 
 
 Grand Rejjrcsentativc ..... . . J. S. Kaneen 
 
 (From June 10, 1870, to June 9, 1871.) 
 
 Grand Master G. H. Morrison 
 
 l)c])iity Grand Master J. W. Wright 
 
 Grand Warden.. .l.(i. Laws 
 
 Grand Secretary. F. G. Ijudlow 
 
 Gran<l Treasurer George W. Chedic 
 
 Grand Representative* F. V. Drake 
 
 Grand Representative Albert Hires 
 
 (From June 9, 1871, to Juno 7, 1872.) 
 
 Grand .Master - - Martin White 
 
 Deputy Grand Master I'. J. II. Smith 
 
 Grand Warden M. Stern 
 
 Grand Secretary J. H. Kinkead 
 
 Grand Treasurer George W. Chedic 
 
 Grand Representative D. O. Adkison 
 
 * Did not attend the session G. L. U. S. 
 
256 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Grand Ifepresentativc George Ilenning 
 
 (From June 7, 1872, to June tJ, 1873.) 
 
 Grand Master Vf.N. Hall 
 
 Deputj- Grand Master J. O. Darrow 
 
 Grand Warden J. W. Noyes 
 
 Grand Secretary F. V. Drake 
 
 Grand Treasurer . . George W. Chedic 
 
 Grand Representative Martin White 
 
 Grand Eepresentative J. C. Smith 
 
 f From June 6, 1873, to June 5, 1874 ) 
 
 Grand Master J. \V. Wright 
 
 Deputy Grand Master P. II. Clayton 
 
 Grand Warden M. Holmes 
 
 (i rand Secretary F. V. Drake 
 
 Grand Treasurer L. L. Crockett 
 
 Grand Representative Martin White 
 
 Grand Rcj)resentative J. D. Hammond 
 
 fFrom June 5, 1874, to June 11, 1875.) 
 
 (frand Master J. D. Minor 
 
 l)e])uty Grand Master E. L. Stern 
 
 G rand Warden C. W. Jones 
 
 (rrand Secretaiy F. V. Drake 
 
 Grand Treasurer L. L. Crockett 
 
 Grand Representative C. C. Batterman 
 
 Grand Representative James Lowery 
 
 (From June 11, 1875, to June 9, 1876.) 
 
 Grand .Master. D. O. Adkison 
 
 Deputy ( irand Master C. W. Jones 
 
 Grand AVarden R. Sadler 
 
 Grand Secretary , F. V. Drake 
 
 (irand Treasurer . -L. L. Crockett 
 
 Grand Representative .1.1). Hammond 
 
 Grand Rc|)resontativo T. V. .lulioii 
 
 (From .luno '.), 1876, to June 7, 1877.) 
 
 Grand Master .... C. C. Batterman 
 
 Di'puty (irand Master C. G. Hiil)l)ard 
 
 (iranil Warden J. Marchant 
 
 Grand Secretary F. V. Drake 
 
 (irand Trcasuj-er L. L. Crockett 
 
 Granil J{cprcsentative J. D. Minor 
 
 Grand Represenlalivc G. W. Chedic 
 
 (From Juno 7, 1877, to June 7, 1878.) 
 
 Grand Master 1*]. L. Stern 
 
 l>oput}- (irand Master W. !I. Uavonport 
 
 Grand Warden ti. W. Oungan 
 
 Cirand Secretary F. V. i)rake 
 
 (irand Treasurer. . . ... George Tufly 
 
 (irand Uc|)re.senlalivc C. W. Jones 
 
 Grand Representative W. II. Virden 
 
 (From June 7. 1878, to Jiiiic (!, 1S7!I.) 
 
 (irand .Master. . . W. II. Davenport 
 
 Deputy (irand .Master J. C. Smith 
 
 (irand Warden. K I' Davis 
 
 (iraixl Secretary William II. Hill 
 
 Gran<l Treasurer. . IJeorgo Tufl^- 
 
 (irand l!c))rescntative ...William Lucas 
 
 Grand Uepresentalivo I'. II. .Mulcahy 
 
 (From Juno 6, 1879, to June 5, 1880.) 
 
 Grand .Master J. C.Smith 
 
 Deputy Grand Master E. S. Yeates 
 
 Grand Warden J. S. Bowkcr 
 
 Grand Secretary William H. Hill 
 
 Grand Treasurer George Tuflj' 
 
 Grand Rc]n-esentativc C. C. Batterman 
 
 Grand Representative V. H. .Mulcahj' 
 
 (From June 5, 1880, to June 10, 1881.) 
 
 Grand .Master George Ilenning 
 
 Deputy Grand Master H. B. .McKee 
 
 Grand Warden H. Marden 
 
 Grand Secretary Wm. H. Hill 
 
 (rrand Treasurer George Tufly 
 
 (rrand Representative C. C. Batterman 
 
 Grand Representative M. W. Starling 
 
 llEBEKAII DECREE LODGES. 
 
 Two lodges of the Rebekah Degree of I. O. O. F. 
 made their report to the Grand Lodge meeting of 
 1881, as follows:— 
 
 Colfax Rebekah Degree Lodge, No. 1, of Virginia 
 City — The otficers for the term ending December 
 31, 1881, are Mrs. C. A. Hancock, X. G.; Mrs. M. 
 Lochlin, V. (i.; Mrs. J. M,^Lamb, R. S.; Mrs. I. 
 Goodfriend, T.; and Mrs. A. A. Goe, P. S. The 
 numbor of members for the term ending December 
 31, 1880, was seventy-seven. The annual receipts 
 of the lodge aggregate 8556.30; and it possesses 
 property valued at $1,964.36. 
 
 Esther Degree Lodge, No. 4, of Austin, Lander 
 County, was organized May 13,1880. The number 
 of charter members was fifty-six. The first otficers 
 elected were Mrs. Clara Triplctt, N. G.; Mrs. Annie 
 Thompson, V. (r.; Mrs. Annie Troon, R. S. ; Mrs 
 Eliza Hurchfield, T. The oHicers whose terms ex- 
 pire December 31, 1881, are Mrs. Annie Thompson, 
 X. G.; Mrs. M. V. Dow, V. G.; Mrs. Annie Troon, 
 R. S.; and Mrs. Eliza Burchfield, T. The present 
 membership of the lodge is eighty-five. The organ- 
 ization is solvent, and has the prospect of soon 
 accumulating a resi)ectablo fund, the recei])ts for 
 the year 1880 being 8123.50, with ])ruperty valued 
 at 870.50. 
 
 C U A I'TER .\ .\ XI V. 
 ORDER OF KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS. 
 
 Washington Lmlge, No. I — Kniiikliii L'xliro, No. 2 — Nevada 
 l./iilHe, No. 1 — D.inion Uodye, No. '2 — .Mystic Lixlgo, No. 3 
 — C'lirsi'n Lodj-c, No l — HmnlKiMt Ij^diji', .\o. ;"> — Uitioohi 
 I.,oilge, No. (i — IJcatilic LoilL't', N^'. 7 — Amity LmlLrf, No. 8 — 
 Toiyiilic Lodye, No ".t — Argciitft I.odfie, No. 10— Triumph 
 •/■ulyi', No. II — Lyon Ijodj;e, No l"J — (irand I/odgf K.of 1'., 
 of Nevada. 
 
 Ai,i, who have read the ancient stor}- of Damon 
 and Pythias will at onco know the intent and mean- 
 ing of the Knightly Order that has for its title the 
 name of the devoted and honorable friend. As long 
 ago as the third century before the Christian era, the 
 term has been a synonym of truth and fidelity. 
 Dainoii and Pythias were disci))les of the I'ythag- 
 oran i)rinciples of friendshi]). The tyrant of Syra- 
 cuse had condemned Pythias to death, but the victim, 
 begged for his liberty for a short period that he 
 
INDEPENDENT ORDER UF ODD FELLOWS. 
 
 257 
 
 might return to his home and arrange liis afl'airs 
 previous to his execution. Damon piodged his life 
 for the return of his friend. The tyrant ap])earing 
 satisfied if he could have one to execute, granted the 
 strange request, and accepted the pledge. Before 
 the appointed time of execution the faithful P^-thiaa 
 returned to undergo his f:\te and relieve his friend 
 from jeopardy. The noble action of the condemned 
 man and the perfect confidence manifested by the 
 friend so excited the astonishment of the tyrant, 
 Dyonysius, that he nut only released both the friends, 
 but begged to be admitted to their friendship. Such 
 an example has been held as the chivalric model 
 of true manhood through all the intervening cen- 
 turies, and as such presented itself to the brother- 
 hood of clerks and attaches of the Department at 
 Washington. The great war of the liebellion was 
 raging with all its intensity and fiercene.ss in the 
 beginning of 1S()4, and during the year were to 
 occur the culminating campaigns, both political and 
 military, that were to determine the future of the 
 Ivepublic. They were dark days. The necessity of 
 organization, of intimate relationship, of mutual 
 knowledge and confidence with associates, for self 
 protection and the good of the public, were apparent 
 to all. Being the period of a groat war, many of the 
 associations assumed a semi-mililar}- character. 
 
 Such were tlie circumstances that led to and sug- 
 gested the organization of the Knights of Pythias. 
 The exigencies of the (Jovernment had called a large 
 number of men to Washington in a civil capacity as 
 oflBcera, clerks, and attaches of the various depart- 
 ments, (rcnerally. they were far from home, friends 
 and relatives. Naturally they sought for association 
 and friendship. Those who were musically inclined 
 formed the Arion (rlec Club. This was too limited. 
 Mr. .1. II. Ilathbone, who had previously conceived 
 the idea of an association of the kind, assisted by Mr. 
 J. T. K. Plant, pre])ared a ritual and plan of an order 
 of friendship for tnutual aid and protection among 
 the clerks of the departments, which were presented 
 to the members of the Arion (ilee Club and others, 
 were heartily approved by them, and on the nine- 
 teenth of February, l.'^dl, the Order fif Knights of 
 P3-thia8 was organized, with its motto oi' Janti/ia et 
 Fulelitue, and its principles based on the lesson of 
 friendship as taught by the example of Damon and 
 Pythias. 
 
 W.\sniN(iTON I.ODdE, NO. 1, 
 Was the title of the lodge organized, with J. II. 
 Iiathbono as Worth}" Chancellor; Joel li. Woodruff, 
 Vice-Chancellor; J. T. K. Plant, Veneralile I'alri 
 arch ; I). L. Burnett, Worthy Scribe ; A. Van Der- 
 Veer, Banker; l{. A. < 'hampion, Assistant Banker, 
 and tieorgo 11. Covert, Assistant Scribe. 
 
 On the following eighth of \\\r\\ a (J rand Lodge 
 was formed with but one subordinate li(«ly as a 
 base of authority, but there soon l"ollowed four 
 other organizations, among which was Franklin 
 Lodge, No. 2. Soon, however, they all " went 
 
 where the woodbine twineth," except No. 2, which 
 held the fort and exercised the functions of a <irand 
 Lodge. A reorganization took place, and on the 
 ninth of Jutj-, ISGti, the new Grand Lodge hold 
 its first meeting, at which time there was a total 
 membership in the order of 139. On the same date 
 as last given the Supreme Lodge of the United 
 States held its first meeting at Washington. 
 
 From that time prosperity rewarded the zeal of 
 its members for e\])ansion of the Order by suc- 
 cess, and the following figures will show to what 
 extent: — 
 
 Years. 
 
 18G4. 
 1865. 
 1866. 
 1807. 
 1868. 
 1869- 
 1870. 
 1871. 
 1872. 
 1873. 
 1874. 
 1875. 
 
 Loilgea. Members. 
 
 3 78 
 
 1 52 
 
 4 379 
 
 .- 41 6,847 
 
 .. 194 34,624 
 
 .- 465 54,289 
 
 .. 615 58,577 
 
 .. 867 78,299 
 
 1,346 98,851 
 
 Showing to this date a steady and rapid increase, 
 which afterwards carried the membership to up- 
 wards of 100,000, extending over every State of the 
 Union, in Canada, and the Hawaiian Islands. From 
 the primitive object of encouraging friendship, and 
 guarding the interests of a class, the broad principle 
 has spread its joyful light over all classes, knowing 
 no south, no north, no 'east,' no west; no class or 
 religion, but a human brotherhood of all who possess 
 its requirements and conform to its rules. 
 
 THE ORDER IN NEVADA. 
 
 On the twenty- third of March, 1873, as a result 
 of the efforts of S. II. (roddard, the first lodge of 
 this Order was formed in Nevada, at Virginia Cit)', 
 under the name of Nevada Lodge, No. 1. The 
 organization was authorized b}' the Supreme Chan- 
 cellor H. C. Berry, of Chicago, Illinois, and the 
 following gentlemen were the charter members: 
 E. F. Clarkson, J. P. Flanningham, M. Nelson, A. 
 G. Koch, Claus Becker, J. W. Varnoy, A. Borlini, P. 
 (tugnina, George Bettinger, F. Schroder, M. Strouso, 
 W. P. Bowden, T. II. (juinlan, William Waltz. The 
 first oflicers wore S. 11. Goddard, P. C; K. F. Clark- 
 son. C. C; J. W. Varney, V. C. ; (ieorge Hettinger. P.; 
 M. Strouse, .M. of H.; II. A. Lenz, .\I. of F.; J. P. 
 I'"lanniiighani, K. of li. and S.; F. Waltermyor. M. at 
 A.; T. II. Oiiiiilan, I. (I.; Claus Becker, O. G. 
 This lodge has been unl'nrlunate in losing its 
 entire jjaraphernalia, which was consumed by fire 
 on the eleventh of Se])tenil)er. 1S75. Iniinediately 
 the regalia, etc., was ])rocured of Humboldt Lodge, 
 No. 5 (defunct), and this was also burned in the 
 great fire that swe])t through Virginia City on the 
 twenty-sixth of October, the same year. The rolls 
 
258 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 show a present membership of seventy, and its finan- 
 cial statement of June 30, 1880, showed §1,514.38 
 cash in the treasuiy. 
 
 Damon Lodge. No. 2, of Curson City, was in- 
 stituted July 18, 1873. by C. II. Starkweather, who 
 was assisted by many members of Nevada Lodge, 
 No. 1, and by other members of the Order. There 
 were eighteen applicants lor the ranks as charter 
 members. The following gentlemen were the first 
 officers: George Tufly, P. C; P. 11. Clayton. C. C; 
 James Dully, V. C; H. J.Peters, P.; F. Bo.skowitz, M. 
 of E.; Henry Decker, M. of F.; John A. Johnson, K. 
 of R. and S. The lodge immediately began to reap 
 the results striven for; applications for membership 
 flowed in rapidly and they were soon on a firm basis 
 financially, having June 30, 1880, 890-1.39 cash, with 
 a membership of twenty-nine. 
 
 Mystic Lodge, No. 3, of Gold Hill, was instituted 
 November 24, 1874. An application to the Deputy 
 Supreme Chancellor, signed by forty-five gentlemen, 
 resulted in the granting of a dispensation for the form- 
 ing of a lodge of the Order at Gold Hill. On that 
 date D. S. C. Starkweather, accompanied by raanj- 
 Knights from Cai'sonCity, proceeded to (told Hill, and 
 the lodge was organized. The first officers were 
 D. Wagner, P. C; J. A. Grant, C. C; J. D. Loyn- 
 achan, V. C; E. A. Prince, P.; H. O. Douchy, M. of 
 E.; George Mayo, M. of F.: L. Gazelle, K. of 1{. andS.; 
 G. Archer, 1. G.; D. Van Vrankin, O. G. This lodge 
 at once assumed a leading place in the ranks of 
 Pythian Knighthood, and had at one time sixty-eight 
 active working members. The organization sur- 
 rendered its charter September 2(3, 1879. 
 
 Carson Lodge, No. 4, of Carson City, through the 
 exertions of John P. Meder and several other gen- 
 tlemen of Carson, was instituted under dispensation 
 from the Deputy Supreme Chancellor December 21, 
 1873. The application for the dispensation bore the 
 signatures of twenty-four of the residents of CarsOn 
 City, who were the charter members. The first 
 ofiicers were E. Mara, P. C; John P. Meder, C. C; 
 J. W. Kobinson, V. C; George Gillson, P.; H. T. 
 Dunning, K. of R. and S.; B. F. Meder, M. of F.; 
 Edmund James, M. of E.; John E. Mack, M. at A.; 
 J. C. Bunker, L (r.; L. A. Frisbie, O. G. This lodge 
 has done efficient service in the cause of humanity. 
 It is a finely uniformed body, and on the thirtieth 
 of June, 188(1, had §1,911). 70 in its treasury, with a 
 membership of forty-six. 
 
 Humboldt Lodge, No. 5, of Genoa, was insti- 
 tuted March 1, 1874, under a dispensation granted 
 by the Deputy Supreme Chancellor upon an appli- 
 cation bearing the autographs of twenty-throe 
 gentlemen of (fenoa. D. S. C. Starkweather assum- 
 ing his station called upon the brethren present 
 to assist in inaugurating lodge No. 5, after which 
 the following gentlemen were elected and installed 
 as its first oHicers: E. D. Black, P. C; A. Livingston, 
 C. C; J. A. WhitCaker, V. C; A. Smith, P.; J. C. 
 Lupton, M. of E.; W. Swart, M. at A.; F. Fottic, 1. 
 
 (t,; p. Crippin, 0. G. The requisite number of 
 lodges now being instituted in this jurisdiction, the 
 question of organizing a Grand Lodge was agitated, 
 and favored by nearly all ]>resent. This lodge sur- 
 rendered its charter February 10, 1875, being in 
 existence a little less than one year. 
 
 Lincoln Lodge No. 6, of Virginia City, was insti- 
 tuted .March 29, 1874, a dispensation having been 
 granted by the Duputy Supreme Chancellor upon ap- 
 plication by petition of eleven gentlemen of Virginia 
 City, who constituted the charter members. The first 
 officers were C. H. Clark, P. C; G. L. Schwab, C. C; 
 S. W. Powell, V. C. ; H. D. Liudsay , P. ; J. Dunbar, K. of 
 R. and S.; J. B. McKenzie, M. of F.; J. A. Zimmer- 
 man, M. of E.; Wm. Smith, M. at A.; H. J. Cramp- 
 ton, I. G.; I. Knight, O. G. From the smallest 
 charter membership this organization took the front 
 rank in the line of battle, and grew to be the strong- 
 est in membership of any in the State, eighty being 
 reported to the trrand Lodge in 1875, and fitl^'-two 
 in ISSO. This lodge was suspended by the Grand 
 Chancellor February 24, 1875, and reinstated March 
 17th of the same year. The financial condition June 
 30, 1880, was represented by §1,378.04 as the coin 
 in its possession. 
 
 Beatific Lodge, No. 7, of Eureka, was instituted 
 September 22, 1874, under a dispensation granted by 
 the Grand Lodge of the State of Nevada. The first 
 officers were Wm. H. Davenport, P. C; R. M. Beatty, 
 C. C; O. M. Paris, V. C; D. W. McKenzie, P.; W. 
 H. Stowell, K. of R. and S.; Wm. Head, M. of F.; J. 
 C. Brown, M. of E.; A. E. Titus, M. at A.; J. C. 
 Lock wood, I. G.; N. Clark, O. G. There were 
 twenty-five charter members, and the lodge is in 
 a flourishing condition. The largest number of 
 members at any one time was sixty-five, and as 
 thej- all continued with the organization, it reports 
 that number on their rolls at the present time. The 
 treasurj- on the thirtieth of June, 1880, contained 
 §595.30. 
 
 Amity Lodge, No. 8, of Reno, was instituted on 
 the thirty-first of January, 1875, under a dispen- 
 sation granted by the Grand Lodge of the Order, at 
 Reno, Washoe County. It sprang into existence 
 with only twenty charter members. The first 
 officers were W. R. Chamberlain, P. C; C. C. Pown- 
 ing, C. C; C. W. Jones, V. C; R. Smith, P.; C. H. 
 Stoddard, K. of R. and S.; C. F. Bender, M. of E.; 
 C. A. Richardson, M. of F.; John F. Myers, M. at A.; 
 J. T. Davis, I. G.; H. W. Barlow, O. G. The finan- 
 cial condition of this organization is good, it having 
 disbursed about §1,200 in benefits and charities, 
 and has on hand ])ropcrty to the amount of §1,5(1(1. 
 The largest mombershij) was forty-nine. The pres- 
 ent membership is reported as forty-seven. 
 
 Toiyabe Lodge, No. 9, of Austin, was instituted 
 November 9, 1875, under a dispensation from the 
 Grand Lodge of the State, and was the possessor 
 of but ten gentlemen as charter members. The 
 first officei-s were M. B. Scott, P. C; W. II. Clark, 
 
INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS. 
 
 259 
 
 C. C; M. A. Sawtelle, V. C; A. Sower, P.; A. E. 
 Shannon, K. of R. and S.; M. Curtis, M. of F.; C. 
 P. Soule, M. of E.; J. C. Harper, M. at A.; J. S. 
 Barniiril, I. G.; L. Duncan, O. G. The present 
 membership is fortj^-four. though at one time they 
 could boast of one more. Their financial condition 
 is very creditable to the organiz;ition. they having 
 disbursed in charities and benefits, 84,714, and have 
 the sum of SI, 300 in cash in the bank. 
 
 Argenta Lodge, No. 10, Battle iMountain, was 
 instituted July 20, 1S7(!, by C. C. Powniiig, then 
 G. C. of Nevada, under a dispensation gi-anled bj- 
 the Grand Lodge, starting with twenty-five charter 
 members. The fir.st officers were as follows: J. A. 
 Blossom, P. C; A. Robertson, C. C; James Brown, 
 V. C; C. L. Perkins, P.; M. F. Bradshaw, M. of 
 E.; T. E. Ilagar, M. of F.; J. P. Cope, K. of R. and 
 S.; F. W. AVeasterell, M. at A.; G. A. .Middlcton, I. 
 G.; George A. Parrott, 0. G. The Trustees are J. 
 A. Blossom, James Brown and Walter Davis. The 
 members of the Finance Committee are C. L. Per- 
 kins, J. \V. Hatfield and W. F Lozer. The present 
 oiticers are D. A. Dunlap, P. C; Walter l)avi8, C. C; 
 William Norris, V. C; Charles H, Sproule, P.; A. 
 
 D. Lemaire, M. of E.; A. D. Wilcox, M. of F.; J. P. 
 Cope, K. of R. and S.; John F. Allen, M. at A. 
 The lodge at present has thirtj'-one members in 
 good standing, and its financial condition is as fol- 
 lows: Cash on hand, July 1, 1881, 8182.76; amount 
 invested, S200, making a total of cash assets, 8382.- 
 76. Mr. J. P. Cope, one of the organizers of the 
 lodge, stills holds the position of K. of R. and S., 
 and is also D. D. G. C. 
 
 Triumph Lodge, No. 11, of Virginia City, was 
 instituted on October 20, 1879, under a dispensa- 
 tion granted by the Grand Lodge of the State, 
 and was formed from members of Mystic Lodge, 
 No. 3, of Gold Hill, and for a time met at the 
 latter place. There were eleven charter members. 
 The first officers were William Bhukrill, C. C; H. 
 M. Monk, V. C; J. S. Newland, P.; P. H. Mulcahy, 
 K. of R. and S.; A. M. Sawyer, M. of F; John 
 Dodge, M. of E. The largest membership reported 
 was eighty-three, and that numlier is still on the rolls. 
 The financial condition of the lodge is good, they 
 having in coin and personal property about 81,100, 
 and have disbursed in benefits and charities some 
 8250. 
 
 Lyon Lodge, No. 12, of Dayton, was insti- 
 tuted October 15, 1880, under a dispensation 
 granted by the (irand Lodge. This organization 
 being of so recent date, but little can bo said 
 of its history. It had nineteen charter members. 
 The first officers were A. Friedline, P. C; J. S. 
 Dallas, CO.; G. E. Jaqua, V. C; O. A. Brooks, P.; 
 Charles Rothschild, K. of R. and S.; D. F. Norton, 
 M.of F.; (leorge Midgley, M. of F.; S. E. J. Bray, 
 M. at A.; R. J. Gancy, L G.; Charles Wagner, O. G. 
 The financial condition of this lodge is good, it 
 having several hundred dollars in the treasury. The 
 
 largest membershi]) at any one time was thirtj'-one, 
 and the same number is reported at the present time. 
 The preceding reports of these noble bands of 
 friends show a membership of about 50(1, with 
 near 810.(1(1(1 in their treasuries. During the ])eriod 
 of their organiz;ition they have disbursed between 
 six and se\en thousand dollars in reliefs and charities. 
 
 GRAND LODdE K. OF P., OF NEVAD.\. 
 
 Although the Order of the Knights of Pythias was 
 known and recognized as a prominent feature in the 
 calendar of secret societies in this State, for some 
 years previous to the organization of a tirand Lodge, 
 the number was insullicient to warrant such an 
 action until the institution of Humboldt Lodge, No. 
 5, when the subject was agitated and found favor 
 with a large majority of the members of the Order. 
 
 On the thirty-first of March, 1874, the Past Chan- 
 cellors and Representatives of the five organizations 
 met in conventic)n at Carson City, and the oi-ganiza- 
 tion of a Grand Ijoilge of the Order of Knights of 
 Pythias for the jurisdiction of Nevada was the 
 result. 
 
 They were in session two days, and during that 
 time elected and installed as officers for the ensuing 
 year, the following gentlemen: — 
 
 E. L. Stern, of Mystic Lodge, No. 3, P. (i. C. 
 
 S. H. Goddard, of Nevada Lodge, No. 1, G. C. 
 
 George Gillson, of Carson Lodge, No. 4, G. V. C. 
 
 C. E. Laughton, of Carson Lodge, No. 4, G. K. of 
 R. and S. 
 
 (ieorge Tufly, of Damon Lodge, No. 2, G. M. of K. 
 
 A. Livingston, of Humboldt Lodge, No. 5, G. M. 
 at A. 
 
 Cjcsar Corris, of Nevada Lodge, No. 1, G. I. G. 
 
 Lyman A. Frisbie, of Carson Lodge, No. 4, G. O. G. 
 
 Another session was held on the tenth of August, 
 the same year, in Carson City. Since organizing, 
 five dispensations have been granted for the forma- 
 tion of subordinates. 
 
 The following are the succeeding (irand Chancel- 
 lors, and Grand Keepers of J^ecords and Seal until 
 August 10, 1880: C. C. J'owning, (',. C; Charles E 
 Laughton, G. K. of H. and S.; P. H. Mulcahy, G. C.^ 
 W. H. Laughton, G. C; George H. Morrison, (J. C. 
 J. A. Johnson, (i.e.; V. U. Mulcahy, (J. K.ofK. andS 
 The ])reseiit (Jrand ofHcei's are J. J. Cooper, U. C. 
 A. K. Shannon, G. V. C; (J. J. 1). King, (J. I' : I' 11 
 Mulcahy, <i. K. of 1{. and S.; J. M. Flanagan, (.. .M 
 of K. ; W. M. N. Johnson, G. M. at A.; A. Iie])ort, G 
 I. C.; J. F Myers, G. O. (i. 
 
260 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 PIONEER AND OTHER SOCIETIES. 
 
 Society of Pacific Coast Pimiecrs — Society of l!eesc I'ivcr Pion- 
 eers — Virginia City Miners Union — Miners I'nion Library — 
 Unby Hill Miners Union — Nevada State Me«lical Society — 
 Grand Anny of the Piepublic — Phil Kearny Post-Custer Post 
 — Me;!iorial Day at Carson — Ancient Order of HilK'niians — 
 Division No. 1 of Virginia — Hibernian Society at Austin — 
 Irish-American Benevolent Association of Austin — Inde- 
 pendent Order of Hed Men — Piute Tribe, No. 1 — Nevada 
 Historical and Scientific Society ^ — Ancient Order of United 
 Workmen — Independent Order of Korestere — Court Nevada, 
 No. 1 — Eureka Court — Silver State Lodge B. L. F. — Cale- 
 donia Club — Virginia Turnverein. 
 
 The Society of Pacific Coast Pioneei-s was organ- 
 ized at Virginia City on June 22, 1872. It is com- 
 posed of three classes of members: — 
 
 First — All who were residents of the Pacific Coast 
 States or Territories prior to the first day of Jan- 
 uai"y, 1851. 
 
 Second — The male descendants, in the direct line, 
 of all who were residents of the Pacific States or 
 Territories prior to the first day of January, 1851, 
 and who are or have been members of the society. 
 
 Third — Ilonorarj- members. 
 
 The society was designed to be a moral, benevol- 
 ent, literar)' and sciontific association, and its objects 
 are to cultivate social intercourse, form a more per- 
 fect union among its members and create a fund 
 for charitable purposes in their behalf; to collect 
 and preserve information connected with the early 
 settlement and subsequent bistorj' of the Pacific 
 States and Territories; to form a library and cab- 
 inet, collect and preserve such literarj- and scien- 
 tific objects as the societ}- shall at any time deter- 
 mine; and, in all appropriate matters, to advance 
 the interests and perpetuate the memory of those 
 whose sagacity, energy, and enterprise induced them 
 to settle in the wilderness, and become the found- 
 ers of a new empire upon the Pacific Coast. 
 
 The annual meeting of the society is held on the 
 seventh day of July, in each year, the anniversary 
 of the acquisition of California and the day the 
 American Flag was first raised on the soil of that 
 countiy, and the annual celebration takes ])lace 
 on the ninth day of September, in each year, the 
 anniversary of the admission of California into the 
 Union. 
 
 The society soon secured a membership of nearly 
 400 pioneers, and accumulated money in its treas- 
 ur}'. It erected a fine two-stor3- brick building on 
 li Street, and collected one of the most valuable 
 mineral cabinets to bo found west of the Rocky 
 Mountains. In addition to mineralogical s]iecimens, 
 itsshelves were crowded with rare old coins, historical 
 documents and papers, natural curiosities, obsolete 
 fire-arms, and many other articles precious to col- 
 lectors. 
 
 In the great fire of October, 1875, the hall, with 
 its valuable cabinet and library, was destroyed. 
 The building had cost ?20,000, upon which there 
 ■was an insurance of $3,000. The loss the society 
 
 suftered through the destruction of its cabinet can- 
 not be estimated in dollars and cents. The hall has 
 since been rebuilt on the same site, and another fine 
 cabinet is in course of collection. The pro])erty 
 cost about 822,00(1, upon which there remains an 
 indebtedness of §3,000. 
 
 The following are the present officers of the 
 society: President, £. B. Harris, M. D.; Vice-Presi- 
 dents, Lee McGown, Ira Parke, C. M. Brown; Secre- 
 tary. T. B. Storer; Treasurer, S. I). Baker; Marshal, 
 Will Thomas; librarian, W. Frank Stewart. 
 
 oSince the rganization of the society to the present 
 time the following gentlemen have consecutively 
 served as President: Dr. S. A. Mc.Means, Charles E. 
 De Long, E. H. Taylor, and A. J. Tyrrell. 
 
 SOCIETY OF REESE RIVER PIONEERS. 
 
 The Society of Reese River Pioneers was organized 
 on the eleventh of June, 1873. It is comprised of 
 males who were residents of the Reese River Mining 
 District prior to the thirty-first of December, 1864, 
 and also of the male descendants of persons eligible to 
 membership. Its present oflicers are President, John 
 King; Vice-Presidents, W. 11. Moulton, S. Crescenzo, 
 Charles Dunning; Secretary, E. A. Allen; Treasurer, 
 M. M. Eagan; Marshal R. Y. Woodward. 
 
 The following are its members: — 
 
 John H. Dennis, 
 
 W. E. Ford, 
 
 G. A. Bauer, 
 
 A. A. Flint, 
 
 M. M. Eagan, 
 
 John Frost, 
 
 A. Sleinbuck, 
 
 Wm. AVatson, 
 
 Geo. Watt, 
 
 J. E. Rooker, 
 
 L. Ijoustalot, • 
 
 A. Sower, 
 
 Wm. Jlinnick, 
 
 James Southall, 
 
 G. A. Douglass, 
 
 Henry Alayenbaum, 
 
 L. Steiner, 
 
 A. R. Gandolfo, 
 
 M. J. Farrell, 
 
 J. Mctiinnis, 
 
 J. Evans, 
 
 E. S. Samson, 
 
 P. Lyttleton, 
 
 II. II. Allen, 
 
 O. C. Blivens, 
 
 P. Brannen. 
 
 J. E. Funston, 
 
 N. Wallace, 
 
 Thomas Doyle, 
 
 A. Patrone, 
 
 James Murphy, 
 
 D. Callaghan, 
 
 J. Bicknell, 
 
 J. A. Wilson, 
 B. B. Carthra, 
 R. McBelh, 
 R. Y. Woodward, 
 J. P. Thomas, 
 W. H. Moulton, 
 D. C. McKenney, 
 IT. R. Whitehill, 
 P. H. LovcU, 
 A. Nicholle, 
 P. Gross, 
 John O'Donnell, 
 S. Fuller, 
 
 D. L. Hcaly, 
 John Spencer, 
 J. R. Robinson, 
 G. A. Shephard, 
 Thomas Taylor, 
 David Todd, 
 Eli Mclntyre, 
 
 E. S. Davis, 
 J. Trolson, 
 (Jeo. Hall, 
 John King, 
 Chas. Dunning, 
 Wm. A. Sloan, 
 Charles Kearns, 
 L. Smith, 
 
 A. C. McCafferty, 
 J. Macavoy, 
 Joaquin Partargo, 
 Thos. Ward, 
 N. Barovich, 
 
PIONEER AND OTHER SOCIETIES. 
 
 .'Gl 
 
 J. D. Leutyms, 
 A. Minnium, 
 J. L. Fulton, 
 A. E. Shannon, 
 Duncan McCall, 
 A. Bctz, 
 James Sullivan, 
 Fortuna Guis, 
 Roger Conlon, 
 
 P. Sinnott, 
 James Kyan, 
 \Vm. S. C'ooley, 
 I. James, 
 John McFeo, 
 E. A. Allen, 
 S. Crescenzo, 
 Thomas Jones, 
 A. tireenhalgh, 
 
 P. Farrell. 
 
 The objects of the society are: To ciiltiviito social 
 intercoui-se among the members; to collect and pre- 
 serve information concerning the early settlement of 
 the country, and to perpetuate the memory of de- 
 parted pioneers. 
 
 miners' union. 
 
 "Unions for mutual protection and relief are as old 
 as history. The workmen on Solomon's Temple are 
 said to have had a (ruild or League, the Egyptian 
 workmen had combinations when thej' built the pyr- 
 amids, and the Chinese records make them coeval 
 with the formation of their government. Whether 
 beneficial generally or not is a question that has 
 often ]irovoked discussion, and still remains unde- 
 cidetl. Like all organizations lor especial purposes 
 they are liable to abuse their strength and become 
 in turn the tyrant. 
 
 The -Miners' Union was organized at Virginia City 
 June (i, lS(il!. I!. I). Ferguson was made President; 
 \V. C. Mateman, Vice-President, and B. J. Shay, Sec- 
 retary. 
 
 The (told Hill branch was organized August 0, 
 lS(!4.\Vm.\Voodburn, afler\v;irds member of ( 'ougress, 
 being made Proident. 
 
 These organizations soon included in their mem- 
 bership the larger part of the miners, and undoubt- 
 oil\y exerted considerable influence in kee])iiig up the 
 rates of hibor to four dollars per day, u jji-ice which did 
 not vary much for years. They were generally on 
 good terms with liieir eni])i()yers, and in som(> 
 instances the organizations wore approved by them 
 as giving the mining pojiuiation a head with which 
 to communicate. Some members of those societies 
 organized the Miners' Leagues in (irass Valley and 
 Sutter Creek, in California. At the latter place the 
 league came into collision with the authorities, caus- 
 ing what was called the Amador war, resulting in 
 the stopping of mining for some months. 
 
 The first demonstration was made on the evening 
 of July .n, 1S(;4, at (Jold Hill. The dissatisfied min- ■ 
 ers of (iold Hill were joined b}' the league from Vir- 
 ginia City. They paraded again the iie.xt day, and 
 the prospect of difliculty was so strong that the min- 
 ing Superintendents thought |>roper to yield to the 
 demand for four dollars per day. 
 
 February 11. 1877, quite an excitement occurred 
 
 at the Imperial Mine. The members of the league 
 
 to the number of thousands gathered and informed 
 
 the Superintendent that ho must discharge all (to the 
 
 33 
 
 number of fiftj'-eight) who were working for loss 
 than the established jjrices. Xo violence was used, 
 but the action was denominated by the papers as 
 a " forcible persuasion." 
 
 miners' union i.ibrarv. 
 
 The Minors' Union Library was established Decem- 
 ber 28, 1877. The first Hoard of Directors were 
 \Vm. H. Parker, B. Colgan, T. J'. Roberts, .loseph 
 Josephs, John F. .McDonald; B. Colgan, Secretary 
 and Librarian. 
 
 The present dii-ectors are A. J. Burns, Samuel 
 Hamill, Richard Henderson, James Dolan, Albert 
 Burns; .Tamos Dockory, Secretary and Librarian. 
 
 The present building was erected in 187i), at a 
 cost of §15,000 (lot worth §5,000), and took the 
 place of the one destroyed in the great fire. It con- 
 tains a librarj', ball and chess room, and in the 
 basement is a hall used by the -Montgomery (iuards. 
 Knights of the Red Branch, Mechanics' Union, 
 Ancient Order of Hibernians, and Miners' Union. 
 
 The library was commenced bj- an appropriation 
 of §2,000 from the treasury of the Miner's Union, 
 and is the oidy public library in Virginia. All 
 members of the Xlnion have access; outsiders are 
 required to pay fitly cents per month. 
 
 Cost of books to date §6,000 
 
 Number of volumes '_ 2,200 
 
 The original building cost §4,000, and was used 
 by the Minors' Union as a IkiII. 
 
 KtiHV HIT, I, miners' I'NION. 
 
 The ofticers of the Ruby Hill .Miners' Union, 
 Kureka County, are as follows: James Rowc, Presi- 
 dent; C. B. Bid well. Vice President; John Hancock, 
 Financial Secretary; J. W. Richards, Recording Sec- 
 retary; VV. D. Griffiths, Treasurer; Evans Richards, 
 Warden; Elislia Rule. Conduclor; John Heekerling, 
 E. Richard and William Giles, Committee on Finance; 
 n. Rawlings, J. Trembalh, J. G. Jury, P. 1). Hicks, 
 J. T. Richards, Trustees. 
 
 NEVADA STATE .MEDICAI, SOCIETV. 
 
 In April, 1878, a suggestion was made by several 
 physicians of the State as to the propriety of organ- 
 izing a medical society embracing the Slate at large, 
 under the auspices of, and in alliliaiion with, llie 
 "National American Medical .\ssoeialion." Accord- 
 ingly, a general call was made through the press, and 
 a circular issued to bo sent to all the medical men of 
 the State belonging to the old school of medicine. 
 
 There assembled under this call at Carson City, 
 twenty-four medical men from difteront parts of the 
 State, who formed an organization called the .Vevada 
 State Medical Society, divested of all local ])rejudice8, 
 partisan tendencies or personal motives. Its objects 
 are: — 
 
 First — The cultivation and advancement of the 
 science by united exertions for mutual improvement, 
 and bj- contributions to medical literature. 
 
 Second — The promotit)n of the character, intorosts 
 and honor of the fraternity by maintaining union 
 
W-2 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OP NEVADA. 
 
 and harmony in the regular profession of the State, 
 and aiming to elevate the standard of medical edu- 
 cation. 
 
 Third — The separation of regular from irregular 
 practitioners. 
 
 Fourth — The association of the profession proper 
 for purposes of mutual recognition and fellowship. 
 
 The regular meetings are held semi-annually; on 
 the first Monday in July, in Virginia City; on the 
 second Monday in January, in Carson City. 
 
 The society held its first regular semi-annual ses- 
 sion in Odd Fellows Uall, Virginia, on July 1 and 
 2, 1878, and elected officers as follows: President, 
 Dr. J. W. Van Zandt, Virginia; Vice-Presidents. Dr. I 
 J. W. Waters, Carson; Dr. A. Dawson, Reno: Dr. H. i 
 W. Smith; Recording Secretary, Dr, F. M. Conn, i 
 Virginia; Corresponding Secretary, Dr. J. Thomas 
 Johnson, Virginia; Treasurer, Dr. E. D. Black, Genoa. 
 
 Board of Censors — Dr. J. Grant, Virginia; Dr. H. 
 II. Hogan, Reno; Dr. B. Robinson, Virginia; Dr. F. 
 J. White, Carson; Dr. T. J. Magee, Gold Hill. 
 
 The roll of membership at this time included the 
 names of thirtj'-three physicians. The oration was 
 delivered by Dr. A. Dawson, of Reno, and a report of 
 a case of encephaloid cancer of the brain was sub- 
 submitted b}- Dr. F. H. Engels, of Virginia. 
 
 Since that time the society has held its meetings 
 semi-annually, kept up its membership and greatly 
 promoted the interests of the medical fraternity in 
 Nevada. 
 
 Dr. J. Thos. Johnson succeeded Dr. Van Zandt as 
 President, and the former was succeeded by Dr. 
 H. Borgstein. who is now in his second term. 
 
 The present officers are Dr. H. Bergstein, Presi- 
 dent; Dr. H. S. Herrick, Hamilton, Dr. J. S. Ham- 
 mond. Austin, Vice-Presidents; Dr. F. H. Engels, 
 Virginia, Recording Secretary; Dr. A. Dawson, Reno, 
 Corresponding Secretary. 
 
 Board of Censors — Drs. (Jeorge H. Thomas, C. B. 
 Bricrly, B. IJobinson. M. Rockman and F. M. Conn. 
 
 At the last annual meeting the names of thirty- 
 eight physicians were reported on the membership 
 roll. 
 
 ANCIE.NT ORDER HIBERNIANS. 
 
 Among the conspicuous benevolent societies of 
 Virginia City is Division No. 1 of the Ancient Order 
 of Hibernians. As its name implies it is composed 
 exclusivelj' of Irishmen. It was organized with 
 nineteen charter members in March, 1872, and 
 rapidly increased to nearl}' 300. It has a mem- 
 bership at present of about half this number. 
 
 The first officers were John Snow, President; P. 
 Fahy, Vice-President ; P. Ennis, Recording Secre- 
 tary ; James Moore, Financial .Secretary ; Dennis 
 Nevin, Treasurer. 
 
 The present officers are D. A. Curran. President: 
 D. Fitzgerald, Vice-President; Dan McCarthy. Re- 
 cording Secretary-; James Marlow, Financial Secre- 
 tarj'; Martin Ford, Treasurer; D. J. Mahoney, C. D.; 
 M. A. Feoncy, S. D. 
 
 The Hibernians have disbursed nearly S10,000 in 
 sick benefits, and about as much again has been 
 donated for charitable purposes outside of the Order. 
 
 UIBERNIAN SOCIETV AT AUSTIN. 
 
 The Society of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, 
 of Austin, Lander County, was organized on the 
 twelfth day of June, 1874. 
 
 The j)rescnl officers are John Smyth, County Del- 
 egate; Thomas Kennedy, President; P. Lynch, 
 Treasurer; T. E. Harnej-, Treasurer. 
 
 The number of its charter members was twenty- 
 five. The greatest number of members at any one 
 time was sixty-eight. The present number of mem- 
 bers is thirty-five. 
 
 Financially its condition is favorable; value of prop- 
 erty and cash, 8750; amount disbursed to date in 
 benefits, charities, etc.. 82.300. 
 
 IRISH-AMERICAN BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION. 
 
 On the twenty-first of June, 1872, the Irish-Ameri- 
 can Benevolent Association, of Austin, was organized. 
 Its objects are purelj- benevolent; ever}' dollar paid 
 into its treasury is to be repaid in benefits to the mem- 
 bers when required, according to the laws of the asso- 
 ciation. 
 
 The first officers chosen were Patrick Lynch, Presi- 
 dent; Charles O'Brien, Vice-President; George Mills, 
 Treasurer; John Smyth, Secretarj*. 
 
 The present officers are M. D. Murphy, President; 
 Thomas Gavan, Vice-President; James Brennan, 
 Treasurer; Thomas L. Brennan, Secretary. 
 
 The number of charter members was fifty; the great- 
 est number of members at any one time, 125, The 
 financial condition of the society is prosperous. The 
 disbursements to the present time amount to 87,500. 
 
 GRAND AR.MV OF THE REPUBLIC— PHIL. KEARNY POST, 
 NO. 10. 
 
 In 1868, the ex-Union veterans living in Virginia 
 City organized to promote the election of General U. 
 S. Grant to the Presidency. Their campaign club was 
 known as the " Boys in Blue." After the election 
 they reorganized as Post No. 8, of the Grand Army 
 of the Republic. 
 
 Their first officers, elected on October 5, 1869, were 
 A. H. W. Creigh, Commander; B. Ambrust, Senior 
 Vice-Commander; C. L. Metcalf, Junior Vice-Com- 
 mander; Dennis Farrell, Adjutant; (ieorgeL. Schwab, 
 Quartermaster; Henry Kent, Officer of the Day; 
 John W. Burke, Chaplain. 
 
 The Post comprised at that time sixty members. 
 The organization was maintainc(i until October. 1875, 
 when the great fire swept away their papers and 
 efFeots and dispersed many of the members. Four 
 years later the veterans again organized as Phil. 
 Kearny Post, No. 10, G. A. IJ., with twcnt}- names 
 on the roll. Since that time the membership has 
 nearly trebled. 
 
 The present officers are G E. Caukin, Commander; 
 Thomas Moses, Senior Vice-Commander; C. L. Met- 
 calf, Junior Vice-Commander; Charles H. Galusha. 
 Adjutant; George L. Schwab, (Quartermaster; George 
 
PIONEER AND OTHER SOCIETIES. 
 
 26^ 
 
 KIston, Otficcr of tho Day; J. W.Burke, Chapluin, 
 and Dr. E. \i. Harris, Suri^eon. 
 
 STANTON POST, NO. 20, 
 
 Department of California, G. A. R., Carson City, 
 Nevada, was organi7,ed March 24, 1S70. by (xeorgc 
 F. Ford, Assistant Inspector of the Seventh Division 
 Department of California. Number of members, 
 thirty. The first officers elected were J. A. Burlin- 
 game. Post Commander; T. J. Edwards, Senior Vice- 
 Commander; C. A. Witherell, Junior Vice-Com- 
 mander; William Wallace, Officer of the Day; E. 
 B. Wartmen, Officer Guard; W. M. Burthrong, Adju- 
 tant; C. Kitzme3'er, Quartermaster Sergeant; JI. 
 Shrieves, Sergeant Major. 
 
 This Post surrendered its charter and disbanded 
 in 1873. 
 
 MEMORIAL DAY. 
 
 Memorial day was first observed in Carson City, 
 May 30, 1870, by Stanton Post marching to Lone 
 Mountain Cemetery, and decorating tho graves of 
 Union soldiers buried there. 
 
 The Union soldiers and sailors observed memorial 
 day as above stated, for sevei-al years, when they 
 invited the citizens to unite with them. School 
 children, and children from the State Orphan's Home, 
 numbering in all about 500, the Mexican Veterans, 
 Federal and State officers, Carson Guards, and about 
 1,000 citizens, united with the Union soldiers, and 
 made the day a grand success in Carson City, as it 
 has been each year since. 
 
 CUSTER POST, NO. 5. 
 
 Custer Post, No. 5, Department of California, (r. A. 
 E., Carson City, Nevada, was organized July 17, 1878, 
 by J. A. Burlingamc, Special Mustering Officer. Num- 
 ber of members, forty-three. 
 
 The first officers elected were D. II. Lcntz, Post 
 Commander; C II. Maish, Senior Vice-Commander; 
 H. F. Bartine, Junior Vice-Commander; James Hunt, 
 Surgeon; Marshall Robinson, Quartermaster; C. A. 
 Witherell, Adjutant; William McCatl'erty, Chaplain; 
 E. B. Zubriskie, Officer of the Da.y; Joseph Carpenter, 
 Officer of the Guard; Mike O'llare, Inside Guard; 
 Eliiis Breed, Outside (iuard. 
 
 The present officers are E. B. Zabriskie, Post Com- 
 mander; D. H. Pine, Senior Vice- Commander; B. D. 
 Kennedy, Junior Vice-Commander; Benjamin Ilaj'es, 
 Officer of the Day; W. II. II. Scott, Officer of the 
 Guard; C. N. Harris, Chaplain; L. L. Lee, Surgeon; 
 Marshall Robinson, Quurtermastor; C. A. Witherell, 
 Adjutant; John McCremmon, Sergeant .Major; An- 
 drew Layman, Quartermaster Sergeant. 
 
 Custer Post has been in a flourishing condition 
 since its organization, members have helped each 
 other in many ways, especially in looking after the 
 sick, and finding employment for those who were in 
 want of it. 
 
 INDEPENDENT ORDER OF RED MEN. 
 
 The Grand Council of I. O. R. M., of Nevada, was 
 instituted on the seventh of January, 1S73, by A. 
 
 Curry, V. S. I. The following officers wore elected: — 
 Jonas Seeley, G. T.; H. J. Peters, S. S.; C. N. 
 Harris, J. S.; A. Waitz, C. of R.; J. B. Fitch, K. of 
 W.; A. Currj' and E. Strother, G. R. 
 
 PIUTE TRIBE, NO. I. 
 
 Piute Tribe, No. 1, I. O. R. M., was organized at 
 Carson City, Ormsby County, on the nineteenth of 
 July, 1870. 
 
 Tho first officers wore A. Curry, Sachem; A. D. 
 Treadway, Prophet; N. J. Saviers, Senior Sagamore; 
 H. J. Peters, Junior Sagamore; George G. Lyons, 
 Chief of Records; John liosser. Keeper of Wampum. 
 
 The charter members were A. Curry, N. J. Sav- 
 iers, Isaac McConnell, J. R. Fenney, II. J. Peters, 
 George G. Lyons, (Jeorge Bettinger, .M. Willard, A. 
 D. Treadway, Fred. W. Glenn, George W. Chean, 
 Israel Crawford, John Rosscr, A. Waitz, S. T. Swift. 
 J. M. Reese, A. P. Cotton, A. Wright, I. M. Benton, 
 and George L. Gibson. 
 
 HISTORICAI, A.vn SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 
 
 The Nevada Historical and Scientific Society was 
 incorporated at Carson City on the twelfth of July, 
 1865, with the following officers: — 
 
 A. F. White, President; W. F. B. Lynch, Vice- 
 President; C. L. Anderson, Recording Secretary; 
 Thomas Wells, Corresponding Secretarj-; W. B. 
 Lawlor, Treasurer. 
 
 ANCIENT ORDER OF UNITED W0RK.MEN. 
 
 Alpha Lodge, No. 1, A. O. U. W., was organized 
 at Eureka, on March 11, 1870. 
 
 Its first officers were as follows: M. Rockman, P. 
 M. W.; 11. A. Unruh, M. W.; E. A. Robinson, Fore- 
 man; G.J. Scanland, O.; I. C. C. Whitmore, Recorder: 
 B. C. Levj-, Financier; Wm. Pardy, Receiver; F. W. 
 Penfield, (J.; S. S. Sloss, I. W. 
 
 The present officers arc as follows; C. L. Bray; P. 
 M. W.; (i. A. Fletcher, JI. W.; J. Schanlanker, Fore- 
 man; A. Oliver, O.; I. C. C. Whitmore, Recorder; E. 
 J. Butler, Financier; Wm. Pardy, Receiver; Wm. 
 Joannes, (J.; P. II. lljul. I. W.; E. Bertrand, O. W. 
 
 The charter members of the lodge were thirty-two 
 in number; the greatest number of members was 
 eighty-eight; the present number is eighty-two. 
 
 Tho regalias and seal of tho lodge arc valued at 
 8116. Its objects are exclusively charitable, and its 
 present financial condition is excellent. 
 
 INDEPENDENT ORDER OF FORESTERS. 
 
 The society of lnde])eii(lent Order of Foresters 
 was ordained for the purpose of mutually benefiting 
 its members generally, but more particularly with a 
 view of securing to tho family of a deceased brother 
 of tho Order a i-ubstantial benefit, amounting to a 
 sum of money of from 81,000 to 83,000. Tho Order 
 was first organi/.ed June 17, 1S74. at Newark, New 
 Jersey. Since then over 8400,000 has been paid to 
 the families of deceased members. The origin of tho 
 Order dates back to the days of Robin Hood in Sher- 
 wood Forest. 
 
264 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 COURT NEVADA, NO. I. 
 
 Court Nevada, No. 1. I. O. of F., was ori^anized at 
 Virginia City, Storey County, on the twenty-si.\lh 
 of May, 1879, with J. F. Newh-ind, Chief Hanger; 
 M. C. McMillan, Vice-Chief Eanger; II. M. Monk, 
 Secretary; C. 1*". Sloat, Financial Secretary; A. 
 Learnhart, Treasurer. 
 
 There were fiftj'-four charter members; the great- 
 est number of members belonging at any one time 
 was eighty; ami in September, 1881, there were 
 forty-three mnnlK-rs. 
 
 Tlie societj- has disbursed in benefits, endowments, 
 and charities since its organization, 83,250. The 
 amount of property now on hand, including cash, is 
 estimated at Sl.dOO. 
 
 The present oftieers are H. Bergstein, C. R.; E. 
 Lee, V. C. R.; P. 11. Mulcahy, Recording and Fi- 
 nancial Secretary; J. S. Newland, Treasurer. 
 
 EL'REKA COURT. 
 
 A lodge of this Order was organized at Eureka, 
 on Januar}- 7, 1880. 
 
 The first officers were as follows: B. C. Levy, W. 
 C. R.; C. L. Bray, V. C. R.; W. J. Smith, Treasurer; 
 James W. Smith, R. S.; A. E. Shannon, D. D. VV. C. R. 
 
 The present officers are C. L. Bray, W. C. II.; R. 
 P. Dayton, V. C. R.; W. J. Smith, Treasurer; James 
 W. Smith, R. S.; A. E. Shannon, D. D. W. C. R. 
 
 The charter members were si.\ty in number. The 
 greatest number of members at one time were sixty- 
 five. The present number of members is fifty-five. 
 
 The i-egalias of the lodge arc valued at SlOO, its 
 financial condition is solvent, and up to the present 
 time it has disbursed $700 in charities. 
 
 SII-VEIl STATE LODCE, NO. 89, B. L. F. 
 
 The above lodge was organized on the seventh day 
 of November, 1878, at Carlin, Elko County, with 
 twentj'-two charter members. 
 
 The first otficei-s were: Master, M. Kline; Treas- 
 urer, Ole Thompson; Recording Sec, P. A. Ressiguie. 
 
 The greatest number of members at any one time 
 was thirty-six. At the present time there are thirty- 
 three names on its roll of membership. 
 
 The financial condition of the organization is good, 
 it having disbursed in benefits, charities, etc., over 
 five hundred dollars. 
 
 The present officers are: Master, J. A. Ressiguie; 
 Treasurer, Ole Thompson, IJecording Secretary; J. F. 
 F. Hale. 
 
 THE CALEDONIAN CI.IU. 
 
 On October 23, 1873, the Scotch-American citizens 
 of Store}- County organized the Virginia Caledonian 
 Club. Their object was to establisli and maintain 
 friendly intimacy among those who are of Scottish 
 birth or extraction, and to keep alive in them an 
 interest in Scottish manners and usages. They pro- 
 posed to accomplish these ends by the encourage- 
 ment and practice of the games, and ])roservation of 
 the customs and manners of Scotland, the promotion 
 of a taste for her language and literature, and the 
 binding more closely, in social links, the sons and 
 
 daughters of their mother country. A preliminary 
 meeting was held in August, 1873, at which Robert 
 Morrison presided, and W. M. Lachlan acted as Sec- 
 retarj'. The club started with thirty members upon 
 its roll, and has now three times that number. The 
 second Friday of each month is devoted to the regu- 
 lar business meeting, and the fourth Friday is 
 devoted to social purposes. The First Chieflians of 
 the club, since the dateof its organization, have been 
 the following: A. C. Hay, 1873; A. B. McKay, 1874; 
 David Stark. 1875; Donald McLean, 187G; William 
 Maxton, 1877; Hector Dow, 1S7S; D. H. Eraser, 
 1879; J. B. McDonald, 18S0; Alexander Wilson, 
 1881. During the same period the Honorable Chiefs 
 have been Hector Dow, A. G. McKenzie, Dan. H. 
 Eraser, Arthur B. Wilson, and Thomas Geddes. 
 
 THE VIROINIA TIUNVEREIN. 
 
 On March 27, 1870, the German residents of Vir- 
 ginia City met and organized the Virginia Turnve- 
 rein for mutual improvement, athletic culture and 
 recreation. A hull was built and equipped with 
 gymnastic a])i>aratus at a cost of 83,500. A. Liehter 
 was the fir-it President and Fred. Boegle the first 
 Secretary. Turner Hall was destroyed by fire about 
 a year after the organization, and the society was not 
 reorganized until January 7, 1S72, when A. Lighter 
 was chosen President and L. Siebenhauer Secretary. 
 The society never rebuilt their ))roperty, but leased 
 a hail, which they fitted up for their purjjoscs. The 
 President at present is H. Uuber, and Tred. Buechler 
 is the Secretary. The society has about forty mem- 
 bers and holds social dances about twice a month. 
 
 CII A I'TE 1! .\ .YX VI. 
 MILITARY AFFAIRS AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 The Battle-born State — .Secession Conspiracy —Call for Arms — 
 Orgaiiizint; the Doniocratic Party — Hoisting the Confederate 
 Flag — Enlistments of Volunttxirs — Connor Asaunies Com- 
 mand — .Secession Rmifpniit el Cimeliniit — Xevada Volunteers 
 — The Sanitary Commission — The Sanitary Sack of Hour — 
 Assassination of President Lincoln — Mexican War Veterans 
 — History of the American Flag. 
 
 Nearly all the incidents with which the military 
 
 have been connected have been related in the chapters 
 
 on the Indians and their wai^s, but there are more, 
 
 and could all the secret history be known a startling 
 
 tale could bo told. Nevada is the 
 
 BATTLE-noRN ST.-VTE; 
 
 The great war of the Rebellion, arising while the 
 first eftbrts were making to establish a Territorial 
 Government, and raging with unparalleled fury and 
 energy, with the future of the nation in doubt, when 
 she was admitted as one of the loving sisterhood of 
 the Union. But the battle raged afar off, giving only 
 the faint sounds of its thunder and the colorless 
 picture of the sanguinary field brought bj' the slender 
 electric wire. Yet these aroused to enthusiasm and 
 generous deeds the patriots who made up her spare 
 po])ulation. The discovery of silver, the creation of 
 the Territory and the organization of the Territorial 
 
MILITARY AFFAIRS AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 2G5 
 
 Govornment, preceded the secession of the Southern 
 Slates and the oulhreak of the war. and when this last 
 occurred, the respective streiij^th of the union and dis- 
 union elements wore quite unknown, and the fate of 
 the Paeific Coast, in which was included the J'oung 
 Territory, was in doubt. The population was com- 
 posed of natives of the >>orth and South, with a 
 Northern and foreign element synijtathizing with 
 the South, and whose expressions emboldened seces- 
 sionists to demonstrations of violence threatening 
 civil war. The Military- Department was under the 
 command of General Albert Sydney Johnston, a 
 Southern man, and believed read}- to co-operate with 
 the Confederate, or Kebel, tiovernmenl. 15y a secret 
 and strategic movement, General Edwin Voso Sum- 
 ner unexpectedly arrived in Sati Francisco and took 
 command. From that date secession had but little 
 hope on the Pacific Coast. 
 
 SECESSION CONSPIR.XCY. 
 
 There existed, however, then and subsequently, a 
 secret organization, the details of which are still kej)! 
 a profound secret by those who were leaders, and to 
 whom it was intrusted, having for its object the 
 establishing of Slate and Territorial Governments, 
 untler Confederate uuthorit}-. Commissions of (iov- 
 ernors and military oHicers, signed by Jetferson Davis, 
 President of the Confederate States, were sent to the 
 leaders of the organization. Nevada, it was under- 
 stood, was to be given to David S. Terry, who visited 
 the Territory with others of the conspirators, having 
 in his pocket the commission of Governor. Meetings 
 were held in secret, and some slight demonstrations 
 were made as if feeling the temper of the people, but 
 there was no outbreak of hostilities nor assumption 
 of authority. The intentions of the conspirators 
 were suspected and their movements were closely 
 watched, and precautions were taken by the Union- 
 ists and Federal authorities. 
 
 C.VI.L Koll AHMS. 
 
 The headi[uarlcrs of the conspirators was in San 
 Francisco, but their operaticjns and plans included 
 the entire Pacific Coast, or at least such States and 
 Territories as they could induce to join or had 
 hopes of conquering. Gen. \V. C. Kibbo was then 
 Adjutant General of California, and ho applied to the 
 United Stales military authorities for 1(1,0(10 stand 
 of arms, writing to (ieneral il. \V. llalleck as fol- 
 lows: — 
 
 It is represented and generally believed that there 
 is a secret organization in this Stale (C'alifornia) 
 iiiiniliering from 20,0(10 to 30,000 men, who are 
 leagued together for the overthrow of our National 
 ( Jovernmenl, and whose purpose it is, if an o))i)or- 
 tmiily should ever favor the scheme, to carry the 
 State out of the Union. This class of men openly 
 boast that their sympathies are with the traitors of 
 the South, and they lose no opportunity to defame 
 the Government from which the}' receive jjroteclion 
 of life and property, and whose great benelils they 
 enjoj-. They continuallj' preach their traitorous 
 doctrines among loyal men and do much to discour- 
 
 age enlistments. The loyal citizen has at this time 
 no protection from their insults, and even United 
 States soldiers have been shot down in our streets 
 for protesting against the ])ublic use of disloyal sen- 
 timents, and the ])robabilities are that the assassins 
 will go unwhi]i])ed of justice. 
 
 The strength of the (iovernment should bo mani- 
 fested and the Union feeling of the masses protected. 
 If this is not done and our armies should meet con- 
 tinued reverses, trouble might be inaugurated upon 
 the Pacific Coast. The lo^-al citizens of this coast 
 have borne this slate of things long enough. Will 
 the Federal Government help us to manifest the 
 strength we possess ? If so we will raise 20,000 men 
 used to arms. 
 
 OROANIZINO THE DEMOCRATIC PARTV. 
 
 Whether or not the organizers of the Democratic 
 party in Nevada, in 18G3, had any connection with 
 the conspirators who were jilanning to make David 
 S. Teny (iovernor of the Territory, under the Com- 
 mission of Jeff. Davis, is best known to the parties 
 in the movement. Many of the Democrats of the 
 lime ex])resscd strong Union seiilimeiits, and others 
 openly avowed their disloyalty, for which they were 
 arrested bj- the military authorities and imprisoned 
 at Fort Churchill, receiving punishment by being 
 requii'cd to carry sacks of sand under the guard of 
 a Federal soldier. At that date the fate of the Union 
 was in the balance, and ho who was not for it was 
 regarded as its enemy. One i)rominent Democrat, 
 Hon. John R. McConnell, had declared, "As Ken- 
 tucky" — his native State — "goes, so I go." Ken- 
 tucky declared against secession, but McConnell did 
 not abate his denunciation of the Administration 
 and the war for the Union. • The secession of the 
 Southern States, the outbreak of war following the 
 attack on Fort Sumter, and the united uprising of 
 the North, had appalled and stranded the Democracy 
 of the Pacific Coast; and having no i)art in the 
 organization of the Territory of Nevada, they were 
 but Democrats without a party. Naturally they 
 de.slred concert of action, and on the fourteenth of 
 February, 1SG3, a meeting was held in Virginia City 
 to organize the Democratic party in Nevada, and 
 the following names were appended to the call: — 
 
 S. A. McMeans, of Storey County, Chairman. 
 J. P. Ilickey, Secretary. 
 
 John I?. McConnell 
 R. \V. Billett, 
 J. C. Clark, 
 R. B. Jloyes, 
 Chas. VV. Fox, 
 Patrick O'Connor, 
 R. (•. Hardy, 
 L. Rawlings, 
 John Webber, 
 C. J. Jjansing, 
 Francis L. Audo, 
 N. O. Arrington, 
 P. H. Clayton, 
 R. H. Hall, 
 
 W. F. O'Neal, 
 J. G. Cooper, 
 John J. Wilson, 
 Charles C. Thomas, 
 J. W. Titus, 
 O. S. Allen, 
 John C. Langton, 
 George A. (Jray, 
 George E. Thomas, 
 John M. Neal, 
 J. W. Wilson, 
 J. Sutter, 
 Thomas Scale, 
 S. V. Berry, 
 
266 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 G. E. Williams, 
 J. S. Pitzer. 
 Archie McDonald, 
 E. L. Cardoza, 
 H. P. Haynes, 
 J. "W. Kerr, 
 R. P. Keating, 
 C. S. Fairfax, 
 J. G. Howard, 
 (xeGrgc E. Cobb, 
 R. Shelton, 
 Fred. A. Sawyer, 
 S. L. Curtis, • 
 E. Janin, 
 J. A. Paxton, 
 John I)ohle, 
 G. II. Shaw, 
 
 William 
 
 John Wobey, 
 John Gaines, 
 Wm. T. Barbour, 
 J. C. Hurley, 
 V. Frank Yalle, 
 J. W. Gash wilier, 
 James MeGrade, 
 N. K. Lamson, 
 Jacob Flebberg, 
 A. B. Carrington, 
 S. G. Post, 
 L. Videl, 
 H. B. Cossett, 
 J. B. Chin, 
 Thos. Marsh, 
 J. H. Hardy, 
 A. Casamaj-ou. 
 Cadien. 
 
 HOISTING OF THE CONFEDERATE FLAG. 
 
 The rebellious spirit manifested itself in a defiant 
 manner on many occasions in the first and second 
 years of the war, and issue seemed doubtful, but it 
 was met by the determined manner of the loyal ele- 
 ment which repressed any attempt of an uprising 
 On one. occasion only was the Confederate flag' 
 flaunted in the public gaze. In the fall of 1801, a 
 man named John L. Newman hoisted a Confederate 
 flag over a building of which he was proprietor, on 
 the corner of Sutton ATenue_and A streets, in Virginia 
 City, and stood by with a number of sj-niputbizers to 
 protect it. Immediately thereafter Mr. R. M. Water- 
 house, the partner in business with Newman, hoisted 
 the Union flag on the other end of the building, and 
 with pistol in hand declared he would kill any one 
 who would attempt to take it down. The people 
 were aroused, and great excitement prevailed. For 
 a few hours there seemed danger of the breaking 
 out of civil war, but discretion prevailed, and the 
 obnoxious emblem of rebellien was taken down never 
 again to reap])ear in Nevada. The secession element 
 was notified that anj- one repeating the oft'ense would 
 be summarily dealt with. Soon thereafter they 
 organized the Order of the "Golden Circle," and their 
 operations were carried on more secretly. The 
 necessity to counteract the machinations of this 
 party was seen by the loyalists, and the " Union 
 League " was organized. Both Orders originated in 
 the East, and these organizations in Nevada were 
 but branches. 
 
 ENLISTMENTS OP VOLUNTEERS. 
 
 In the fall of 1861, California commenced the organ- 
 ization of four regiments of volunteer infantrj', and to 
 obtain recruits for these Lieutenant Soaper, in the 
 spring of 1862 opened an office in Virginia City, being 
 the first recruitijig oflice in Nevada. After the usual 
 manner of such otlieers, he obtained two drummer 
 boys,and J. II. Matthewson, afterwards a Lieutenant 
 to carrj' a flag, and started to march through the 
 principal streets. They hud not marched a hundred 
 
 yards when a rebellious individual sprang from a 
 crowd of his friends on the sidewalk and destroj-ed 
 one of the drums, and was proceeding to demolish the 
 other when he was knocked down by Lieutenant 
 Matthewson. Several Unionists came to the assist- 
 ance of the recruiting party, among whom were Jack 
 Williams, Thomas Peaslej-, J. V. B. Perry and George 
 Birdsall. Williams acting as drummer, and the march 
 proceeded in triumph, growing to a grand procession, 
 ■which marched to the Citj' Hall where an enthusiastic 
 Union meeting was held and a patriotic address was 
 delivered by Hon. Charles Bryan, ex-Justice of the 
 Supreme Court of California. Recruiting was con- 
 tinued, and, while no violent measures were taken by 
 the secessionists, there were many expressions of dis- 
 approbation which required firmness and courage 
 to overcome. Seventy-five volunteers were thus 
 obtained for the California regiments before any per- 
 mission was given Nevada to raise any companies of 
 her own. 
 
 In the summer of 1862, the Third Regiment of Cal- 
 ifornia Volunteers, under command of Col. P. Edward 
 Connor, arrived and took possession of the United 
 States posts in Nevada, and on August 6th, issued 
 the following order: — 
 
 CONNOR ASSU.MES COMMAND. 
 
 [order so. 1.] 
 
 Headquarters District OF Utah. ) 
 Fort Ciiurcuill, August 6, 1862. / 
 
 The undersigned pursuant to orders from depart- 
 ment headijuarters hereby assumes command of the 
 Military District of Utah, coniju-ising the Territories 
 of Nevada and Utah. 
 
 In assuming command of the district I especially 
 enjoin on all disbursing officers the neccssilj- of being 
 particularly attentive, careful and economical in 
 their disbursements of the ])ublic funds ; and that 
 thej- in no instance purchase from persons who 
 have at any time, by word or act, manifested dis- 
 loj-alty to the Federal Government. Being credibly 
 informed that there are in this district persons 
 who, while claiming and receiving protection to 
 life and property, are endeavoring to destroy and 
 defame the principles and institutions of our (tov- 
 ernment under whose benign influence they have 
 been so long protected; it is therefore most rigidi}' 
 enjoined upon all commanders of posts, cam])s and 
 detachments, to cause to be jiromjjtly arrested and 
 closely confined until thcj' have taken the oath of 
 allegiance to the Government of the United States, 
 all pei-sons who from this date, shall be guilty of 
 uttering sentiments against the Government, and 
 upon the repetition of the oftense, to be, again 
 arrested and confined until the fact shall bo com- 
 municated to these headquarters. Traitors shall 
 not utter treasonable sentiments in this district 
 with imp\inity, but must seek some more congenial 
 soil, or receive the pmiishnient thej- so richly merit. 
 
 By order of P. Edward Co.nnou, 
 
 Colonel Third Infantry C. V. Com. District of Utah. 
 
 James W. Still.man, A. A. A. General. 
 
 SECESSION RAMPANT ET COUCDANT. 
 
 The following, as a sample of the times, is related 
 in the Esmeralda Star of August 23, 1862, then od- 
 
MILITARY AFFAIRS AND IJS'CIDEMTS. 
 
 267 
 
 itcd l\v ilajor Edwin A. Sherman, a veteran of the 
 Mexican War and a Unionist of the most positive 
 character: — 
 
 On Saturday night last, about eleven o'clock, a band 
 of rebels made a coni|ile(o pandemonium of our 
 town, and continued tlioir hideous orLjios until late 
 on Sunday mornini;. iheerin;^ for Jotf. Davis, Stone- 
 wall .lackson and the Southern Confederacj-. 
 
 This demoiistrati(ui was no doubt desiijned as a 
 test, to see whether the orders lately issued from the 
 War Hepartment, directini; all military otHcers to 
 promptly arrest all such ottenders and make them 
 take the oath of allegiance or sutler imprisonment, 
 would be put in force or not. 
 
 Our officers, whose dutj- it is to preserve the peace, 
 did not make themselves known, and consequently 
 no arrests were made by them ; they were truly 
 fieace officers. 
 
 Lieutenant H. Noble, who is noble by nature as 
 well as bj- name, and who has been an invalid for 
 some time past, and stojiping in our town to recruit 
 his health, was repeatedlj- insulted by boots and 
 cheers for Jeff. Davis in his presence, when those 
 cowardi}- villains knew he was I'eeble and thought 
 they could take this mean, cowardly, contemptible 
 advantage of the absence of his company (Captain 
 E. A. Rowe's), which is stationed at Adobe Meadows, 
 and they sought this opportunity^ to insult him, defy 
 the Government, and treat its flag with contempt. 
 
 Lieutenant Noble, though weak from a long illness, 
 was determined to let them know that our (iovern- 
 ment and its authorities was not to be trampled upon 
 ■with impunitj-. lie told us that ho was sorrj- that 
 his Companj- was not here, and if he only had the 
 men he would arrest them. We told him that he 
 could have as many men as he wanted, and informed 
 him of our ]io>ition as Major on the staff of (Jeneral 
 Bobbie, of the Third Brigade of the State Troops (it 
 was then thought Aurora was in California). lie 
 then applied for a sufficient number of men to make 
 the arrest. We ordered Captain II. J. Teel, of the 
 Esmeralda I?ifles, to detail a Sergeant with ten men, 
 to report forthwith to Lieutenant Noble, which 
 order was obeyed, and Sergeant II. A. Rhoades, with 
 his men rejwrted to Tjieutenant Noble as directed. 
 The guard ])roceeded to the house to which the most 
 rabid had retired, and though ho offered resist- 
 ance and dung to the house like a tick, ho had to 
 come along, though not without a good deal of 
 trouble, and kicking ]>rivate Michael Stewart very 
 severel}' on the shin, which .Mike responded to by 
 a forcible presentation of his toe in the rebel's rear, 
 after which he made no further resistance, and was 
 marched to the county jail and ])laced under charge 
 of Lieutenant I). H. Pine. 
 
 Sheriff Bailej- would not allow the prisoner to 
 remain, without being delivered up to him bj- a writ- 
 ten order; he was then removed to a log building 
 latelj- used by Colonel Wingate as a jjowder maga- 
 zine, where he was contined under guard of the 
 Esmeralda Rifles. 
 
 In the meantime the secessionists about the 
 town began togetlheir arms; were buying ammuni- 
 tion and moulding bullets; the}' also thi-eatened to res- 
 cue the prisoner, and take |>ossession of the armojy. 
 
 It was deemed prudent to distribute all of the 
 Minie muskets to the members of the Rifles, and the 
 surplus to Union men who knew how to use them. 
 The guard over the i)risoner was doubled. an<l all the 
 Union men were ready at the least alarm to rally to 
 the aid of those on guard. 
 
 Fortunately, however, for the "sccesh," they made 
 no attempt to carry out the threats, and the town 
 wasipiiet tluring the night. 
 
 On Mondaj' morning the whole comjiany of the 
 Rifles were under arms, and at 10 o'clock the jtris- 
 oner was brought out and placed in the center of the 
 hollow square, and was marched by the company, 
 who had their colors flying at their head, to the flag- 
 staff, where the oath was administered by Ijieutenant 
 Noble to the i)risoner, A. (^uinton; after which Lieu- 
 tenant Noble addressed the i)eople. telling them that 
 he considered the man but a tool in the hands of 
 others who had incited him to cheer for traitors, for 
 the purpose of making a test, and to see if he would 
 dare to carr3' out the orders from General Wright 
 and Colonel Connor. lie informed them that the 
 next one would not get off so easilj-. After thanking 
 the Rifles for so willingly obej-ing the orders given 
 them, they gave him three hearty cheers. Then 
 three rousing cheers were given for the Stars and 
 Stripes, and the company dismissed, each taking his 
 arms home with him. 
 
 We trust that this will prove a salutarj- lesson to 
 those who would insult our flag or defy the authority 
 of the Government; and they may rest assured that 
 so long as we have any right o)- authority to com- 
 mand, the Government shall be respected and its flag 
 shall be honored. 
 
 There are traitors in our midst who helped to fit 
 out Showalter and his party; they have also helped 
 to fit out others and given the rebels aid and comfort; 
 but their game is now up, and thej- are closely watched. 
 Traitors have come in here from other (|uarters, but 
 the}- will find this to be too hot a Union community for 
 anj- of their kind, and the sooner thej- gel out of it the 
 better it will be for them, and if thej- remain we 
 expect to enjoy the explicit pleasure in a few days of 
 administering to them the oath of allegiance. 
 
 NEV.\n.\ VOLtlNTEERS. 
 
 Early in 186;?, the order was received for Nevada 
 to raise a battalion of cavalry, and at once the gallant 
 Matthewson o]iciied a recruiting office at Gold Hill, 
 he being the first oflicer mustered into the service, 
 taking rank as First Lieutenant of Company B, 
 Nevada Territory Cavalry Volunteers, N. Baldwin, 
 Captain. About the same time a companj- was 
 recruited at Silver Citj-, which became Companj- A, 
 and was commanded by Ca])t. E. R. Zabriskie. These 
 companies were soon filled; mustered into service, 
 and in 1804 marched to Salt Lake. Baldwin was 
 promoted to Major of the battalion, and was ])laced 
 in command of Fort Rridger. Zabriskie, who was 
 senior Cajitain, declined the ])romotion, j)refei'ring to 
 remain with his companj', which he had made verj- 
 efficient. 
 
 Four more companies were subse(|uentl}' addeil 
 to this battalion. ('om])any C was recruited by 
 different persons and at various places, the organiza- 
 tion being com])leled in December, ISdH, and II. ]»al- 
 ton made Captain. ('om|iaiiy D was recruited at 
 (iold Hill, in the fall and winter of 18(i:i, and mustered 
 in with Milo (ieorge as Cajitain. Company E was 
 recruited in (ienoa, (!arson, and Silver City in the 
 spring of 18G4, by Captain Robert I^yon. Company 
 F was recruited at Aurora, in the winter and spring 
 of 18G4, by Capt. J. W. Calder. In addition to these 
 
2G8 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 there were six infantry companies enlisted in the 
 Territory, altogether numbering about 1,000 men. 
 
 In April, 186-1, the following report was given of 
 the force of Xevada Territory Volunteers: — 
 
 Cavalry — Company A, Capt. E. B. Zabriskie, eighty 
 men; Companj- B. Capt. N. Baldwin, ninetj'-four men; 
 Companj- C, Capt. H. Dalton, eighty-three men; Com- 
 pany D, Capt. A. B. Wells, seventy-three men; Com- 
 pany E, Capt. Robert C. Payne, eightj-two men; 
 Company F, Capt. J. W. Calder, eighty-eight men. 
 
 Infantry — Companj' A, Capt. A. J. Close, eleven 
 men; Companj- C, Capt. M. R. Hasset, firtj--onc men; 
 Companj- E, Capt. G. A. Thurston, fiftj--three men; 
 Company F, Lieut. W. G. Seamonds, fortj- men; Com- 
 panj- G, Capt. Wallace, seventeen men; Company H, 
 Capt. A. B. Kellj-, twenty-one men. 
 
 These volunteers were stationed at various places 
 throughout the Territory and Utah, and performed 
 verj- cttieient service in repressing any rebellious 
 uprising, and in the Indian outbreak that occurred 
 during the period, the account of which is published 
 under the chapter of " Indians and their wars in 
 Nevada." In the fall of 1865 all were mustered out 
 of service. 
 
 THE SANITARY CO.MMISSION. 
 
 The grim storj-of war, with its hecatombs of slain, 
 the mourning friends at home, and wide-spread des- 
 olation, is often relieved bj' the tales of individual 
 heroism, bj' generous deeds of friends and foes, bj- 
 the grand uprising of communities in acts of love, 
 charity and ])atriotism, showing humanity in bright 
 relief against the dark background of hate and 
 strife and death. While war was raging with un- 
 paralleled cnergj' in the east, during the j'cars of 
 Nevada's organization, the people of the I'acific 
 Coast were in comparative quiet, enjoj-inga remark- 
 able degree of prosperity; but praying, with exceed, 
 ing deep sympathj', for the success of their friends 
 and relatives in the fierce contest. Jlanj- of the 
 North and Soutli wint to the field to render the 
 assistance of their strength and life, and others sent 
 of their stores and fortunes — that for the South in 
 secret, necessarily so as rendering aid and comfort to 
 the public enemy. The popular crj' was assist- 
 ance to the North. The (iovcrnment had never pre- 
 pared itself for caring for the vast number of sick 
 and disabled men resulting from fatiguing campaigns 
 and merciless battles. ^/To j)rovi(io for this came the 
 most pleasant and redeeming feature of the war, 
 the Sanitary Commission, which procured and ex- 
 pended from 1862 to 1805, 84,800,000. /I-'or this fund 
 all could subscribe, however distant thcj- might be 
 from the scenes of strife and sutt'ering. The secre- 
 tary of the committee which collected money on the 
 Pacific Coast, in his report, said: — 
 
 Jlen of overj- political partj- gave, whether Dem- 
 ocrats, IJepublicans. or even secessionists; and there 
 was no sect or religion that was not represented in 
 this noble arnij- of givers. The Christians gave with 
 loyal self-denial; the Jews, as earnest sj-mpathizers 
 
 with*the suffering; heretics, as citizens of a Uepub- 
 lic to be saved, and men of no religion with an ardor 
 worthj' of the humblest religious devotee. The rep- 
 resentatives of every nation living in our midst, 
 English, (Jerman, French, Irish, ('hinese, Italian, 
 Hungarian, iiussian, Sjjanish, gave with the fervor of 
 native citizens. 
 
 Of the 84,800.000 in currency raised by the Com- 
 mission, over one-fourth of the sum came from the 
 Pacific Coast. Almarin B. Paul, who was President 
 of the Nevada Branch of the Sanitary Com- 
 mission, in his final report, dated September 7, 1865> 
 rendered the following statement of the contribu- 
 tions to the fund in this State, reckoned in currencj-: 
 Douglas Countj-, 82,075; Esmeralda, 810,080; Lander, 
 810,650; Lyon, 813,830; Oi-msby, 813,600; Storey, 
 8109.760.07; Washoe, 82.686; making a total of 
 8163,581.07. Churchill, Humboldt and Nye, the 
 remaining counties of the State at that time, were 
 then prosjKTOUs and patriotic, and contributed their 
 quota to the fund, but do not appear in Mr. Paul's 
 report. 
 
 THE SANITARY SACK OK FLOUR. 
 
 Numerous devices were emploj-ed to attract atten- 
 tion, to excite an interest and offer opportunities for 
 the people to contribute to the Sanitaiy Fund. 
 Among the most j)leasant of these, singular in its 
 origin, and remarkable in its results, was the ' Sani- 
 U»rj- Sack of Flour," the tale of which has become 
 ^historic and of frequent reference. At Austin, Lan- 
 der Countj-, was to be an election for citj- officers, 
 to be held on the nineteenth of April, 18(!4. The 
 candidates for Maj'or were Mr. Charles Holbrook, 
 a Republican, then a hardware merchant, and now 
 the same in San Francisco, and Col. David E. 
 Buel. a Democrat, a native of Delaware County, 
 New Yoi'k, and one of the proprietors of the town 
 site of Austin. The political and war excitement 
 ran high, and great interest was taken in the 
 campaign. Among the citizens were Dr. II. S. 
 llerrick, Hepulilican, a native of New York, then 
 holding a Federal position in connection with the 
 Internal Revenue Department, and subsecjuentlj- 
 Superintendent of Schools, and R. C. Gridiej-, Demo- 
 crat, of the grocerj- firm of Gridlej-, IIobart& Jacobs, 
 a native of Missouri, and a pronounced secessionist. 
 Challenges to wager fVei|uentlv followed animated 
 discussion, and Gridlej- challenged llerrick to bet 
 on the result of the election between Ilolbrook 
 and Buel. The challenge was accepted upon these 
 terms: The stake was to be a sack of flour of 
 fifty j)Ounds, which, if Buel were elected Maj'or, 
 ])octor Herrick should jturchase and carrj- from 
 Clifton, the western ])ortion of Austin, and deliver 
 to Gridley at his store in Upper Austin, being the 
 extreme eastern portion of the city, the two points 
 being about one mile apart. 
 
 The reverse was, should Ilolbrook be elected 
 5layor, then Gridley in the same manner should 
 carrj- a sack of flour from his store and deliver it to 
 
-•r- 
 
 ■^ 
 
 MR. JOHN Q.ADAMS. 
 
 MRS. JOHN Q.ADAMS. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 ' 
 
 4\, -^V"'^ "".*! 
 
 
 .J^Ut. 
 
 .^• 
 
 i 
 
 i ^ 
 
 
 
 
 Residence andRanch of JOHN Q.ADAMS, Genoa, Douglas Co.,Nevaoa. 
 
MILITARY AFFAIRS AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 26<J 
 
 llerrick in Clifton. Subsequently the Doctor sug- 
 fTusled that the winTiei- (should ijive the flour to the 
 Saiiitiuy Fund, and (hat the loser should carry it 
 over the route, maroliing, if the Heiiublican carried 
 it, to the tune of "Dixie," and if the Democrat car- 
 ried it, to the tune of ",lohn Brown's Bodj' Ivies 
 Mouldering, etc." The licpublican Mayor was elected, 
 and on the daj- following; the election, April 20th, 
 Dr. llerrick appeared with a band of music before the 
 store of ilr. (iridlev.and deni;iii<lcd the fulfillment of 
 .the af^reenu'iit. This was bitter to the rabid seces- 
 sionist, and manj- of his sympathizers looked upon 
 it as another of the acts of enforced humiliation 
 by the Federal authorities. But the Doctor was of 
 a humorous disposition, and without an enemj- in 
 the world, so it was concluded to carrj- out the wajjer 
 in a kindly and jocular spirit. The sack was pro- 
 duced, which the Doctor decorated with a number 
 of small fla_£;.s of "Stars and Stripes" — another act of 
 humiliation- — and (iridley, givinj^ his coat to Derrick 
 to carrj-, shouldered the sack and the procession 
 formed with the Austin Brass Band in front, then the 
 newly-elected citj- officers on horseback, then Dr. 
 Derrick canyini; the coat and cane of Mr. Gridley, 
 then tiridley bearing the sack of flour decorated with 
 flags and red, white and blue ribbons, and l)y|his8ide 
 his son, aged ten years, bearing a flag, then followed 
 a man carrying a broom (the insignia of Democracy) 
 draped in mourning, and with him walked a man with 
 a sponge on a long pole, and a large number of eiti/A-ns 
 following made up a very mi.xed and very jolly proces- 
 sion. In this form, with the band playing, flags fly- 
 ing, steam engines whistling, and the peo])le cheer- 
 ing, the procession inarched through the main street 
 about one mile to the Bank E.\change Saloon, where 
 was performed the ceremonj' of delivering the sack, 
 throwing up the sponge in token of surrender, and 
 putting away the broom as a pledge of submission. 
 After appropriate speeches by all the leading actors 
 in the atlair, much cheering and general hilarity, the 
 partj- returned to the central part of the city, and 
 Dr. llerrick donated the flour to the Sanitary Com- 
 mission, with the proposition that it be sold at auction 
 and the ])roceeds given to the Sanitar}- Fund. 
 
 A stand was erected in front of Holbrook it Mer- 
 rill's hardware store, and Mr. Thomas B. Wade, 
 formerl}' Maj-or of Placerville, California, took posi- 
 tion as auctioneer. After some music by the band, 
 and some patriotic speeches, the bidding began, .Mr. 
 (Jridley starting it at .?2(l(l. (ireat excitement and 
 good feeling prevailed. The auctioneer was eloquent 
 in his representation of the good purpose of the 
 fund, and patriotic songs iij' the crowd often inter- 
 rupte<l his remarks. Many bitlders followed the 
 first, there being a strife between the Republi- 
 cans and Democrats as to which jiarty should have 
 the honor of the largest coiitriliution to the fund. 
 Buel, the defeated candidate, not having cash at his 
 command, offered a certificate of indebtedness of 
 81,115 from the Indian Department — behaving been 
 34 
 
 Indian Agent in California — but gold was wanted, 
 and the bid was dedineil. Others ofl'ered mining 
 stocks, town lots, and other evidences of property, 
 but all were rejected. At last it was "knocked down" 
 for the sum of 8350, to an enthusiastic I'nionist, who 
 asked time to Uie following daj- to go to his home 
 for the money. Cash down was demanded. (Jrid- 
 lev oft'ered the money, but M. J. Noyes, one of the 
 newly-elected Aldermen, claimed that he also had 
 bid the amount, handed the auctioneer a bag ol gold 
 containing the .?l!5(l, and immedi;itely presented 
 the sack of flour to be sold a;;ain for the same pur- 
 pose. Then the b;iii(i |)layed in its highest notes, 
 the ci'owd drowned the music with its cheers, and 
 the fun was fast and furious. The play was now 
 fullj- inaugurated, and every bid was made a sale, 
 each )iunhaser returning the sack to be sold again, 
 individuals, Democrats and Republicans, would 
 make the purchase, and then join with clubs to 
 make a larger purse, and buy again. The mer- 
 chants united and bid 8300; Gridley, Hobart & 
 Jacobs bid 8200; the Oregon Mill and Mining Com- 
 pany bid 8120; the Lander Lodge, F. & A. M., hid 
 $113.!J0; Au,stin Lodge, No. 9, I. O. O. F., bid 8100; 
 the attaches of the R^ese River ReveiUe bid 8100; 
 several other bids of 8100 were made; others of 800, 
 850, 825, 820, and 810, until it seemed as if the town 
 would be drained of all its ready coin in the wild 
 enthusiasm and noble emulation to swell the sum 
 for the dearest purpose in the hearts of the ])(ipu- 
 lace, the giving in aid of the sick and wounded 
 soldiers who were suffering in the cause of their 
 country. Men who disa])i>n)ved of the war could 
 not restrain their syni])athies for their unfortunate 
 countrymen. The cause was charity, and not poli- 
 tics. For the day's sale the sum of 84,540 in gold 
 coin was realized; equaling more than 8t).(l(Mi in cur- 
 rency. The same evening was published in the 
 Reese River Rereil'e a vivid account of the events 
 of the daj', which added to the enthusiasm of the 
 people. This account was re|)ublished widely, and 
 the "(rridley-Herrick" sack of flour became famous.' 
 Photographs were taken of (iridlej- and the sack, 
 and sold for the benefit of the Sanitary Fund, while 
 a representation of the sack was adopted as the seal 
 and coat of arms of the new city. 
 
 Jlr. Gridley then conceived the idea of traveling 
 with the sack of flour, and rejieating the sales else- 
 where, declaring he would pay his own ex|ien8es, and 
 devote all the i)r()cee(ls to the benevolent ])urposo of 
 the Sanitary Fund. Arranging the affairs of bis 
 business as best ho could, early in May be started on 
 his noble mission. 
 
 On Sunday-, the fifteenth of May, he appeared in 
 Virginia City, and at an impromptu gathering realized 
 8580 from sales. The subse<|Uent sales in that 
 region are thus referred to in a local ])aper: — 
 
 May 16, 1864 — At eleven a. m., the Austin flour 
 sack was placed in an ojien barouche, and accompa- 
 nied by a line of carriages that were prucedud by a 
 
270 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 band of music, started for Gold Hill from Virginia 
 City. It was placed at auction in front of Maynard 
 ■ & Flood's Bank, where it sold for 65,822.50, to which 
 add 8240 paid ibr it by Gold Hill poo])le in Virginia, 
 j'estorday, makes a total of S().0()2.50 paid b}- Gold 
 Hill, ifark Twain accompanied the exi)edition, and 
 Tom. Fitch made a speech. The news had just 
 arrived of the great victory by Grant. From (Jold 
 Hill the procession moved to .'-silver City, where an 
 aggregate of 8805 was bid. Thence to Dayton, 
 where 81,200 was added to the amount. Then 
 returning through Gold Jlill where about 81,200 
 more was bid. In the evening the auction i)ro- 
 ceeded in Virginia, and the bidding continued until 
 S12.025 flowed into the fund in addition to the 
 8580 of the previous Sunday. Subseiiuent subscrip- 
 tions resulted in the following totals: — 
 
 Virginia City 813.990 
 
 Gold Hill 7,052 
 
 Silver City 2,000 
 
 Dayton 2,000 
 
 Total 825,042 
 
 A sum equal to §40,000 in United States currency. 
 
 Gridley continued his triumphal march through 
 the principal cities of California, realizing about 
 6175,000 for the benefit of the Sanitary Fund; after- 
 wards visiting the cities of the East, where much 
 more was added. The hero of this adventure prof- 
 ited no more from his great success than the fame 
 acquired and a change of heart, becoming from a 
 positive secessionist an ardent I'nionist, meriting 
 the reward of an honest man, a worthj' citizen and 
 a genial gentleman. About a year was spent in his 
 pilgrimage. Returning to Austin in poor health, he 
 I'ound his business much de])ressed and himself over- 
 whelmed in debt. His tour and excitement result- 
 ing in ill-health had unfitted him for business, and 
 he soon left the State to make his home in Stockton, 
 California, where, in 1871, he died and was buried, 
 the Stockton Evening j>/ai7 of March 10, 1881, saying: 
 "He now rests in the Rural Cemetery in this cit}', 
 without even a stick or stone to mark the resting 
 place of a hero." 
 
 The emulation of individuals of different parties 
 in the cause of generous impuisrs attending the sell- 
 ing of the sack of flour resulted in much good aside 
 from the direct benefits which were the prime ob- 
 jects of the sale. Previously the j)eople of Nevada had 
 manifested a spirit of bitter partisanship, at times 
 threatening open liostilities, and with such spirit 
 opened the ilay at Austin on the eventful twentieth 
 of April, 18G4, but the day closed on a fraternizing 
 community, when sectional and partisan rancor was 
 forever obliterated. The call forcharity had touched 
 a chord to which all responded, and in the unit}' of 
 good deeds made friends of those who liad thought 
 themselves enemies. The popularity and enthusi- 
 asm of the movement closed the voice of the weaker 
 part}', while their o]K>n-hearled and open-handed 
 generosity softened the • feelings of the stronger. 
 From that date war news and political matters were 
 discussed in a dift'eront tone than had hitherto pre- 
 
 vailed, and there followed a more kindly sentiment 
 of love for all sections of the Union. 
 
 AS.S.\SSIN.VTION OF PRE.Sll)ENT LINCOLN. 
 
 The great battles of the war had culminated in 
 the spring of 1865 with the capture of Petersburg, 
 Virginia, the surrender of Lee at Appomatox, and the 
 occupation of Richmond, the capital of the Confeder- 
 ate States. The Rebellion had collapsed and the war 
 was ended. This news had been received with great 
 rejoicing in the North, and in every town in Nevada 
 the occupation of Richmond was celebrated by pro- 
 cessions, the firing of guns, and orations. President 
 Lincoln had visited Richmond and had astonished 
 the people of the Republic, North and South, white 
 and black, by the unprecedented act of lifting his 
 hat in return to the salutation of an aged negro, 
 whom he met on entering the city. This was a 
 recognition of the new element he had advanced 
 from slaver}- to ecjual citizenship — this element 
 which Chief Justice Tanj' had but a short time 
 previously said, "after 200 years of servitude had 
 come to be regarded as possessing no rights which 
 white men were bound to respect." With peace 
 assured Lincoln had used his utmost energies, 
 jjrompted by the great kindness of his nature, to 
 ameliorate the condition of the conquered rebels and 
 to restore them to their rights in the Union. For 
 this, and many acts of like character, he had 
 endeared himself in the hearts of the people with 
 a confiding and all-absorbing love. In the midst of 
 these triumphs of physical and moral power, on the 
 morning of the fifteenth of April, 1865, the news was 
 telegraphed to Nevada that on the ])receding even- 
 ing this great and good man had been assassinated 
 while attending a theater in Washington. The feel- 
 ing of sadness and indignation was deep in the 
 extreme. For the first time the cities of Nevada put 
 on mourning. As soon as the news was received 
 every town, hamlet, and residence of respectability 
 in the State, was draped in the sombre habiliments 
 of woe. The universality of this expression of respect 
 and grief were nowhere better or more ajipropriately 
 displaj'cil than in this young State in the wilderness, 
 so far removed from the centers of civilization and 
 the scenes of the late strife. 
 
 The exciting events following the death of Lincoln, 
 the killing of the assassin, the lying-in-state, the 
 honors to the remains of the great martj-r as his 
 remains were borne westward to his final resting- 
 place in S|)ringfield, Illinois, belong to the nation's 
 history. On the nineteenth of April, the final obse- 
 quies took ])lace. Simultaneous with the ceremony 
 in the East, the princi])al towns in Nevada observed 
 like ceremonies in an ai)proj)riato and feeling manner. 
 At Austin, Virginia, Gold Hill, Silver City, Dayton, 
 Carson, Washoe and Unionville, minute guns were 
 fired, flags were at half-mast and heavily draped, 
 long processions marched through the streets, ser- 
 mons, poems and orations were delivered, and all 
 citizens, with few exceptions, wore badges of mourn- 
 
MILITARY AFFAIRS AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 271 
 
 ing. " At Gold Hill," says tbo lYews, " 2,000 people 
 assenihled :it Fort Homestead, on the heights over- 
 looking the town, to celebriite the obseiiuies of 
 Abraham Lincoln. At halt-hour intervals the solemn 
 gun ]iealod forth its note of sorrow from the rising 
 to the going down of the sun, and the bolls in the 
 Episcopal and Catholic churches tolled from ten 
 o'clock until four. All places of business were closed 
 during the day." At Virginia, 2,70() i)eople joined in 
 a procession of nearly a mile in length, while the 
 streets were thronged with citizens wearing badges 
 of mourning. At Austin the procession was large 
 and very impressivo, and attended bj' all classes of 
 citizens, burying with the dead President all the par- 
 tisan animosities remaining from the strife which had 
 overthrown the mightiest rebellion known in the his- 
 tory of the world, and cemented in blood the eternal 
 union of the Republic. 
 
 A few disgraceful incidents followed the assassina- 
 tion. At Gold Hill, a fellow called Posey Coxey, 
 upon hearing of the death of the President, remarked: 
 '■I'm glad of it. It's a pity he wasn't killed j'ears 
 ago.'' He was immediately arrested by the indig- 
 nant populace, and given a speedy trial without the 
 forms of law, and sentenced to receive thirty lashes 
 on the bare back. Ten of the lashes were intlicted, 
 when a motion prevailed that the sentence be com- 
 muted to carrying a Union flag from Gold Hill to 
 Virginia City, bearing on his back a card, with the 
 inscription, "A Traitor to his CouNTRy." While 
 on the march he was taken by the Provost Guard 
 and placed in prison. 
 
 In other localities similar expressions were heard, 
 and the culprit, in some instances, was severely 
 beaten, in some arrested, and in all held up to the 
 scorn and contempt of the people. The heartlessness 
 and want of manhood that would permit such ex- 
 pressions were rare among the bold and hardy 
 people who were the pioneers of the ''Silver State." 
 
 MEXICAN WAR VETERANS. 
 
 Nevada, though having but a small population 
 contains her share of the men who responded to the 
 call of tlje United States Government for volunteers 
 to quell the little unpleasantness which occurred 
 with the Mexican Government in 18K!. These men 
 becoming accustomed to the hardships incident to a 
 life in that country, were well fitted for pioneers on 
 the Pacific Coast, and munj- of them arrived in Cali- 
 fornia in early days, among whom wc find manj- 
 prominent and influential citizens. The same is true 
 of the "Battle-born State," where the .Mexican Vet- 
 eran Association of the State of Nevada met and 
 organized on the twelfth day of January, 1877, at 
 Carson City. The following gentlemen were elected 
 as its first otticers: \V. P. Stewart, President; A. D. 
 Treadway, Vice-President; W. Garrard, Correspond- 
 ing Secretary; E. B. Zabriskie, Recording Secretary. 
 The names of the members are as follows: — 
 Green B. Abel, G. (J. Berry, 
 
 1{. W. Bolleu, George Bradley, 
 
 Charles Billings, 
 Spencer Benson, 
 William Cradlebaugh, 
 F. Durning, 
 R. Fielding, 
 Thomas J. Gray, 
 William Garrard, 
 James Hunt, 
 James Hamilton, 
 William Heddington, 
 T, C. Hayden, 
 S. F. Hoole, 
 John W. Hall, 
 Henry Junckins, 
 James Jones, 
 John M. Kirgan, 
 Jerry Lehigh. 
 D. W. Lcvan, 
 John M. Massey, 
 John .Maloy, 
 J. B. Moore, 
 W. W. McCoy, 
 James P. Pettigrew, 
 William Patterson, 
 
 0. M. Bockstoad, 
 E. Pearson, 
 
 J. D. Patterson, 
 A. J. Powers, 
 D. H. Pine, 
 
 1. P. Richardson, 
 George Rouse, 
 J. E. Rooker, 
 Thomas Rockhill, 
 Captain Rhoads, 
 William F. Stewart, 
 G. H. She])herd, 
 William M. Smith, 
 David Swann, 
 
 D. II. Thompson, 
 A. D. Treadway, 
 J. S. Tipton, 
 
 A. G. Turner, 
 Sam Turner, 
 J. B. Van Hagan, 
 David Wilkins, 
 John W. Wingate, 
 C. B. Zabriskie, 
 
 E. B. Zabriskie. 
 
 HI.STORY OP THE AMERICAN FI.AO. 
 [Stiitistici'in, (San Francisco) 1S77.] 
 Previous to the adoption of a Union flag, different 
 devices had been used on different occasions, and the 
 various Colonics had chosen their standards, so that 
 the bodies of troops that joined the army, in the 
 early days of the Revolution, had flags of distinctive 
 designs. 
 
 In March, 1775, a flag with a red field was hoisted 
 at New York, bearing the inscription, "George Rex, 
 and the Liberties of America," and upon the reverse, 
 " No Popery." 
 
 It is not known with ccrtaint3- that the American 
 troo|)S had a flag at Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775 ; 
 but it is supposed that they carried a red flag, on 
 which was the device of a pine tree on a white field 
 in the corner. On July 18, 1775, General Putnam 
 (iis])laycd on Prospect Hill, a red flag bearing the 
 motto Qui triinshdit, suslinel, (Ho who transplanted 
 still sustains,) and on the reverse, " An Appeal to 
 Heaven." 
 
 Col. William .Moultrie designed the first flag in 
 South Carolina, which was blue with a white cres- 
 cent in the upper coriior next to the start', and was 
 hoisted on the fortilicalions of Charleston in Se])tem- 
 ber, 1775. 
 
 In Connecticut each regiment had its own jiectdiar 
 standard, on which was represented the arras of the 
 Colony, and the motto. Qui franstulit, suatinet. 
 
 The Continental Congress ap]iointed Benjamin 
 Franklin, Benjamin Harrison and Thomas Lynch a 
 committee to take into consideration designs for a 
 Union Hag. They wont to the American armJ^ then 
 assembled at Cambridge, and after consideration 
 adopted a flag composed of thirteen alternate red and 
 white stripes, with the red and white crosses of St. 
 
272 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 George and St. Andrew conjoined on a blue field in 
 the corner, and named it " The Grand Union Flag." 
 The stripes were a symbol of the number and 
 union of the Colonies, the colors being a combination 
 of the red flag formerly used by the army and the 
 white by the navj'. The crosses were retained to 
 show the willingness of the Colonies to return to 
 their allegiance to the British Crown if their rights 
 were secured. This flag was first unfurled by Wash- 
 ington, at Cambridge, January 1, 1776. 
 
 In 1770 Col. Gadsden presented a flag to Congress, 
 to be used in the navy. It was yellow, and bore the 
 device of a rattlesnake with thirteen rattles, repre- 
 sented in the attitude of striking, and the motto, 
 "Don't tread on me." This was used in the navy 
 and was called "The Continental Flag." The de- 
 vice of a rattlesnake had previou.slj'' been used on 
 flags. 
 
 The troops which were raised by Patrick Henry, 
 and called the " ('ulpepper Minute Men," had a ban- 
 ner with the device of a rattlesnake, and the mottos, 
 '' Don't tread on me," and " Liberty or Death," and 
 the name of the company. The celebrated riflemen 
 called the " Morgan liifles," had a flag on which was 
 inscribed " XI. Virginia Jlegiment," and "Morgan's 
 Rifle Corps," also the date, 177G, surrounded by a 
 wreath of laurel. The flag of Washington's Life 
 Guard was made of white silk, with various devices 
 and the motto, " Conquer or Die." 
 
 The first legally established national flag was 
 adopted by Congress June 14, 1777, by the follow- 
 ing: "Jieao/ved, That the flag of the thirteen United 
 Stales be tliirteen stripes, alternate white and red; 
 that the union be thirteen stars, white, in a blue 
 field, representing a new constellation." A constel- 
 lation could not well be represented on a flag, so the 
 stars were arranged in a circle, representing har- 
 mony and union. As hvinbols liie colors re|)resent: 
 Red, courage; white, integrity of jiurjjose; and blue, 
 constancy, love and failb. liy some it is asserted 
 that this flag was first unlurled by Paul Jones on 
 the Hduijer, and bj' others that it was first used at 
 ^he battle of Saratoga. 
 
 An Act of Congress of January' 13, 1794, provided 
 that after May 1, 1795, the flag of the United States 
 should consist of fifteen stripes, alternate red and 
 white, and the union of fifteen stars, white in a blue 
 field. Vermont and Kentucky having been admitted, 
 at that time the Stales were fifteen in number. This 
 act indicated that the flag should I'epresent the luim- 
 berof the Slatesof the Union bj' a corres])onding num- 
 ber of stripes and stars. The continued increase in 
 the number of States jjlainly showed that this law 
 shoiihl be changed. 
 
 A bill was passed by Congress, April 4, 1H18, 
 reducing the number of stri])es to the origiiial thir- 
 teen, and making the number of star.s equal to the 
 number of States; a star for each new Slate to be 
 added to the flag on the fourth of July following its 
 admission. The flag as thus established was hoisted 
 
 on the Hall of Representatives in Washington, April 
 13, 1818; although it had no legal existence until the 
 fourth of July following. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 RAILROADS. 
 
 Central Pacific — The Omipt'tiiii! Line — The C. I'. Railroad Com- 
 pleted — Disoriiniiiations Aj,':iinst Nevada — Table Showing 
 (J. 1'. Freight Discriminations — The Williams .Joint Resolu- 
 tion — Value of C 1'. Railroad Property in Nevada — 
 E<(uuliztd Asse.ssments of V. V . R. li. I'ropurty and Tax 
 Paid — \ irginia and Truckee Railroad — Tlie V. and T. R. R. 
 Built — Cost of Construction — Keport to the .State in ISSO — 
 Assistiinee Received — Inducements held out to obtain it — 
 Taxai)le Property that the Railroad would adil to Ormsby 
 County — Working Test or Result — Substance of the .State- 
 ment of the \'ice-l're.sidcnt in 1.S70 and I'istimates of Road 
 Value — Assessed and Eijualized Value of V. and T. It. R.- 
 Property and Tax on tiic same in Orm-sliy County — Princi- 
 pal and Interest paiil by Ormsby ( 'imnty upon the !S*()0,000 
 Given to tlieV.andT. K. U. — Moral — Table of E.vpensus 
 and Receipts — Freights Passing Over Ro.ad First .Six Months 
 of 1S7.S— Annual Keport of V.andT.R.R. Company for 
 ISSO— Local Freight Tariff 1S80— Directors IS.SO— Nevada 
 Central Railroad — Officers and Directors — OHicial Report 
 for Ten Months Ending December 'M, 18S0 — Kureka anil 
 Palisade Railroad — Directors — Report liSSO — Spec;ial Freight 
 Rates — Through Passenger Rates — Ixeport Ruby Hill Rail- 
 road ISiSO — I>ake Tahoe Narrow Guage Railroad — Pioche 
 and iiullionville Kailro.ad — Carson and Colorado Railro.ad — 
 Sixlt Lake and Western Railroad — Ne\'ada .Southern Rail- 
 road — Nevada Northern Jiiiilro.-id . — Nevada and Oregon 
 Railroad — Railroad Tal)le — Railroail (irants anil Incorpora- 
 tions — Eureka ami Colorado Itailroad — Reno and (.'uincy 
 Railroad — Humboldt and Colorado Railroad — Eastern Ne- 
 vada Railroad. 
 
 The Central Pacific liail road crosses the en tire State, 
 having a length of 4liM miles within its limits, being 
 more than half of the direct line from San P'rancisco 
 to Ogden, constituting an artery of commerce upon 
 which the life of business (le))en(U, and with its 
 wealth and men at its command, a ]iiiwer that over- 
 shadows all. How this)>ovver was aci|uired, and how 
 it is used, a true history of its rise and operations 
 will tell. Nevada existed and prospered before a 
 mile of the railroad was constructed. All her vast 
 territory was exi>lored, ))r()s])ei()us and busy cities 
 were built, elegant and powerful quartz-mills were 
 erected, farms cultivated, the herdsman's cattle 
 grazed upon her thousand hills, stages rattled, and 
 the great freight wagons rolled along her interior 
 roads, bullion flowed in a grand stream to the marts 
 of the world, and all without help from the railroad. 
 Hut this great triumph of modern art was most 
 ardently desired. The imagination pictured untold 
 benefits to arise from its construction. The trans- 
 continental railroad was the great desire of the 
 nation, and the most practicable route lay across the 
 breast of Nevada. Bright anticipations and confi- 
 dent plans were based on this fact. Fverywhero 
 along the lino, and at its termini, the people looked 
 u|)on its coming as the second advent of a Saviour. 
 They had tired of their wagon roads, over which all 
 could go alike, and ])raj"ed for the one of iron and 
 steam. Like the frogs in the fable, who, tired of the 
 log thej- had erected as their king, upon which they 
 had sported and rested at their will, chose a stork, 
 
RAILROADS. 
 
 273 
 
 ■which with long bill and ravenods appetite proceeded 
 to feed upon his mibjects. 
 
 The promulijation of plans for a transcontinental 
 railroad, were made almost as early as the introduc- 
 tion of the system in America. General Leaven- 
 worth, of the United iStates Army, is accredited with 
 the first plan as early as 18;')1, and shortly after, 
 Whitney, who had been missionar}- to Oregon, 
 created quite a sensation in lecturing upon his plan 
 of a Pacific railroad, and the advocacy of the ajipro- 
 priation of the odd sections of land for twenty miles 
 in width along the line, to paj- for its construc- 
 tion; this to be a (Tovernmeiit road. Through 
 all the history of California, from the hoisting 
 of the flag at Monterey on the seventh of June, 
 lS4fi. until the grant was made, the Pacific Pail- 
 road was the predominant political question, being 
 the most attractive "plank" in every platform 
 prepared by the leaders of cither party. But upon 
 the question of northern or southern route, the 
 politicians difl"ered irreconcilably, until, at last, 
 secession stopped debate and left the northern, or 
 central, route without a rival. Mr. Theodore D. 
 .Judah, who had been the engineer of the Sacramento 
 Valley Railroad, from Sacramento to Folsom, (Cali- 
 fornia, and also of the California Central, from Folsom 
 to Lincolrf, in the same State, had explored the 
 Sierra Js'evada for routes and- passcjs for wagou 
 roads and the railroad, and decided upon what was 
 known as the Donnor Lake route as the most 
 feasible. Having accomplished this, he sought to 
 organize a company for the purpose of constructing 
 the work of his great ambition, the Pacific liailroad. 
 So stupendous an enterprise could not be carried 
 into effect without (rovernment aid; and, in 1860, 
 Mr. Judah went to Washington to urge u])on Con- 
 gress the ]iracticability of the route, and the nec- 
 essary legislation to enable liim to ])roeeed with the 
 work. Through several sessions of Congress he 
 labored, trininphiiig in 18G2. 
 
 Having found a satisfactory route either for a 
 toll-road or a railroad, the organization of a coni- 
 l)any was the next object. In Sacramento were a 
 couple of hardware merchants with whom Mr. Judah 
 had had business relations while acting as engineer 
 of the Sacramento Valley Pailroad, Messrs. Colis P. 
 Huntington and Mark Hopkins, and these gentle- 
 men solicited other friends an<l men of influence to 
 join, and the Central Pacific Pailroad Comjianj' was 
 formed. Ijcland Stanforil was then (lovernor of 
 California, and ho was made President of the com- 
 pany. Charles Crocker had a brother on the Sujireme 
 Bench of California; the United States was at war; 
 the Constitution of the State forbid the creation of 
 a debt but for war |)urposcs. The railroad company 
 wanted a subsidy of S:!,O0n,nO(l from the State, and 
 the subsidy was granted. The Su|)reme Court sub- 
 sequently decided that the building of the road was 
 a war measure, and the debt in its aid constitutional. 
 Charles Crocker and Judge E. B. Crocker wore 
 
 members of the company. The object of the organi- 
 zation was to make a road from Sacramento to the 
 Nevada vState line, there to connect with any road 
 coming from the Kast. On the eighth of Januarj-, 
 18(j,'{, at Sacramento, was hold, in an imposing man- 
 ner, the ceremony of throwing the first earth in the 
 construction of the Pacific Pailroad. 
 
 The Legislature was then in session and look part 
 in the inauguration. The speakers of the occasion 
 were (iovernor Stanford, Rev. J. A. ]5enton, Hon. A. 
 M. Crane, Senator from Alameda, Hon. J. II. War- 
 wick, Assemblyman from Sacramento, Hon. W. H. 
 Sears, Assemldynian from Nevada, Hon. Newton 
 Booth, Senator from Sacramento, Dr. J. F. Morse and 
 Charles Crocker. The principal address was by Hon. 
 A. M. Crane. In an eloquent apostrophe to Nevada, 
 he said: "Nevada, the younger sister, aye, the child 
 of California; Nevada, whose rise to greatness has 
 been almost equal to our own; Nevada, we wish to 
 lock her in a nearer, a dearer, a closer and more fra- 
 ternal embrace." Prophetic words. The sequel shows 
 how near and dear, and close and fraternal has been 
 the embrace of the railroad companj' whose iron 
 bands lie across her breast. 
 
 The work of construction progressed slowlj-, as the 
 subsidies in its aid could be but tardily realized, and 
 Congress was induced to allow the issuance of first 
 mortgage bonds by the company, equaling the 
 amount of the national guarantee. Then the cunning 
 " Credit Mobilicr" sj'stem was invented, which was 
 imitated by the " (.'ontract and Finance Company," 
 whereby one set of directors could contract with 
 them.selves as another set of directors, and that which 
 before had been doubtful became an assured success. 
 The company had contemplated building only to the 
 State line, doubting their ability even to accomplish 
 so much, but developments taught them more than 
 they had ever dreamed of. The}- now found that 
 every mile of road constructed gave them besides the 
 road a great atnount of land, and money in their 
 pockets. Congress extended their nght to build east- 
 ward until the rails should join those of the Union 
 Pacific coming from the Kast. In the meantime the 
 great Engineer, the pioneer and organizer of the 
 enterprise, T. D. Judah, had died. In October, 1803, 
 he left San Francisco en route to Vv'^ashington, in the 
 service of the road. Arriving at New York he was 
 stricken with fever and died on the second of Novem- 
 ber following, his death being so sudden that his 
 friends had not been informed of his illness. 
 
 Thus is presented the initiation of that stuj)endous 
 work, the building of the Central Pacific liailroad 
 from Sacramento, f'alifornia, toOgden, in Utah, most 
 of the waj- through Nevada, placing the directors in 
 the front rank of financiers, and filling their coflers 
 with the result of labors not theirown. The success 
 of the enterprise and the wealth derived from it were 
 far beyond the wildest imaginings of the people in 
 general or those who were so lotb to enter upon the 
 responsibilities of the work. 
 
 V 
 
274 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 The first charter permitted the buildinj^ of the 
 road to the border of the State of California, but in 
 1S()2 the company sought to extend its limits bj- pro- 
 curing the right of way to continue its route through 
 Nevada. The natural result of high prices, in the 
 infancy of this Territory, for passengei-s and transpor- 
 tation, had created a desire with the people to escape 
 the evil as early and effectually as possible. The 
 first foot-prints of a movement looking to a practical 
 solution of the question, was exhibited in the unani- 
 mous vote of the first Legislative body, granting a 
 right of way for the Central Pacific Eailroad, to 
 Lelaiid Stanford, Charles Crocker, C. P. Huntington, 
 Lucius A. Booth, Mark Ilojjkins, Theodore I). Judah, 
 James Bailey, and Samuel Silliman. 
 
 This was followed during the session by three 
 other railroad franchises as follows: The Esmeralda 
 and Walker Eiver Eailroad, to run from Aurora to 
 Walker River, granted to P. G. Vibbard, P. Faulks, 
 John Nye, and others. The Virginia Citj- and 
 Washoe Eailroad, to connect Gold Hill and Washoe 
 City, to Henry A. Cheever and associates. The last 
 one was for the Virginia, Carson and Truckee Rail- 
 road, to run from Virginia City to the Truckee Eiver, 
 by way of Carson, with the privilege of extending 
 the line up that stream to the California line, also to 
 build a branch from the main line through Dayton to 
 a point ten miles down the Carson Eiver from that 
 place. In the Act granting this last franchise, 
 the incorporators named were J. H. Todman, E. E. 
 Moss, C. W. Newman, Wm. Arrington, Hiram Bacon, 
 Joseph Trench, John A. Hobart, Frank Drake, Wm. 
 Hayes, Wm. Gregory, J. P. Faulks, and associates. 
 No railroads were built under any of these grants 
 except the one to Leland Stanford and associates. 
 
 It was in December, 1803, that their second im- 
 print was made upon the records of this State in the 
 form of a clause in the Constitution permitting the 
 Legislature to give such com))any as should first 
 connect Nevada by a railroad with navigable 
 waters, S3, 000, 000 in bonds. This Constitution was 
 overwhelmingly defeated bj- a vote of the people on 
 the nineteenth of the following January, and with 
 it the proposed gift. 
 
 During the session of the Convention that assem- 
 bled in July, 18G4, the desire to procure cheaper 
 transportation rates manifested itself again in the 
 attempt to insert a similar provision into the Consti- 
 tution, under which the State Government was later 
 organized. The object in placing it there was to 
 offer a reward to the railroad companies for haste in 
 their efforts to reach the State lino, expecting to 
 reap groat advantage from a reduction in transpor- 
 tation that would make the gift a profitable invest- 
 ment. 
 
 After a spirited contest, on the eleventh of Jul}', 
 the following was made a part of Article VIII, Sec- 
 tion 9: " Provided that the State may issue bonds, 
 or secure the ])ayment of the principal or interest, or 
 both principal and intorcst of bonds, to an amount 
 
 not exceeding §3,000,000, at a rate of interest not 
 exceeding seven per cent, per annum, in sums not 
 exceeding 850,000 per mile, for each mile of road 
 actually constructed within the boundaries of the 
 State of Nevada, on such terms as the Legislature 
 may prescribe, to the company which shall first com- 
 plete a railroad to the State line, connecting this 
 State with the navigable waters of California or 
 with the navigable waters of the Mississippi Eiver; 
 but no law to issue bonds shall be effective unless 
 sanctioned by a vote of the people, at a special elec- 
 tion to be called for that purpose; provided, further, 
 that the sums derived from the proceeds of the sales 
 of the public lands granted to this State for internal 
 improvement purposes shall bo set apart towards a 
 sinking fund for the extinguishment of the principal 
 of said bonds; and prooided, farther, that a special 
 tax shall be levied to secure the payment of the 
 principal and interest of said bonds." 
 
 Two days later Ex-Governor Leland Stanford, 
 President of the Central Pacific Eailroad Company, 
 appeared, under a susjjension of the rules, before 
 the convention and stated that — '• You propose 
 to give your aid to the road, only after it reaches 
 the Territory, and then to the frst road that shall 
 reach it. Allow me, very respectfully, to say, that 
 in my opinion that action instead of aiding the 
 road is calculated to delay its construction because 
 you thereby raise a doubt as to whether or not 
 this road * * * has a practicable route." * He 
 made a strong plea in favor of the donation being 
 made directly to his company, in imitation of the 
 counties of San Francisco, Sacramento and Placer, 
 as well as the Government; but said if they would 
 not do this, " 1 would prefer that you should let 
 us alone rather than jjrovide that the State shall 
 grant assistance to the first road that comes to the 
 State line." 
 
 The result was that July 15th the clause was 
 stricken from the constitution by a unanimous vote, 
 and an attempt to add another to conform to Stan- 
 ford's wishes in giving to his comijan}- direct, was 
 defeated bj' a vote of twenty-one to six. 
 
 THE CO.MPETINU LINE. 
 
 On the twenty-fourth of December, 18G4, W. M. 
 Cutter, of Storey County, introduced a series of reso- 
 lutions before the Legislature, in which appeared the 
 following: — 
 
 Wheheas, Congress has provided what was deemed 
 to be a liberal bonus for the construction of such 
 a railroad, and said Congressional provision has 
 been secured exclusively to and under a corpora- 
 tion named and known as the Central Pacific Eail- 
 road C/'i)m|)any, which u]) to this date has con- 
 structed only thirty miles upon its jiroposed route, 
 and who.sc principal labor seems to have been to 
 reduce the number of miles ordered to bo built 
 per year (on pain of forfeiture) in the original 
 Pacific Railroad Bill; and 
 
 Wuekeas, a lino of railroad has already been con- 
 
 * A|)pcndi.T tu First Sessiou of Nevada Senate, pctge 58 and 62. 
 
RAlLKUAUo. 
 
 275 
 
 structed IVom tlie town of Freeport, at the head of 
 tide-wator on the Sacramento, and the town of 
 Latrobo, it beinfj a distance of thirty-eiirht miles on 
 a nearly direct line of communication with the capi- 
 tal of Nevada; and, 
 
 WnKKKAs, We have creditable information that a 
 larj^e and wholly responsible boily of resjiectable 
 capitalists are ])re])ared. with reasonable encoiirago- 
 ment. to push forward the railroad from l.alrobe to 
 the cai)ital of our Slate, on a route direct and feas- 
 ible; therefore be it 
 
 Resolved, Etc. 
 
 Henry Epstein, of Douglas Count}-, moved the fol- 
 lowing as a substitute, that finally passed both 
 houses, and was forwarded to Washington: — 
 
 Resoh-eJ, By the Assembly, the Senate concurring, 
 that our Senators be and are hereb}' instructed, and 
 our lUpresentatives in Congress requested, to use 
 tbeir utmost endeavors to secure the i)assage of a 
 law by Congress, lixing the sum of ten million 
 dollars (SI 0.000,000) in United Slates bonds, at dates 
 of thirty years or less, to such corporation as shall 
 fii"St eomj)lete a line of railway, and establish the 
 same in perfect running order, without break or 
 interval of stage transportation between the navi- 
 gable waters of the Sacramento Eiver and the base 
 of the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevadas. 
 
 No results came from the agitation, except to 
 develop the status of the companies, and infuse 
 additional vigor into the operations of the Central 
 Pacific Company, that possessed sufficient influence 
 at Washington to prevent the expressed wish of 
 the Legislature becoming a law. It was more 
 dangerous to them than the proposed gift of S3, 000,- 
 000 for the same purpose by Nevada. 
 
 The companj- referred to as the rivals of the Central 
 Pacific was known as the San Francisco and Washoe 
 Railroad Company, and they had made a thorough 
 survey of a line from Placcrville to Nevada by way 
 of the Carson Valley, contemplating Reese ]{iver at 
 Austin, by way of Virginia City, as their eastern 
 terminus. F. A. Bishop said under oath, of the offi- 
 cers of this comi)any: " Thej- are considered by the 
 community in which they reside as men of probity 
 and honor. All are business men, and, at least pos- 
 sess fair business capacity. Several of them have the 
 reputation of possessing large means, which 1 be- 
 lieve to be true." 
 
 The estimates of their Chief Engineer as to the 
 amount of money it would take to construct a rail- 
 road to the State line in Carson Valley by the Placcr- 
 ville route, a distance of 92 miles, was S7, 015,508, 
 orS7t),2.")l') per mile. To continue the same to Carson 
 City at 859,000 per mile, would make a total cost 
 necessary of $8,720, 5(i8 to connect the capital of the 
 State with navigable waters.* 
 
 The estimate by Mr. Judah for the l)utch Flat or 
 Central Pacific route was, that it would cost from 
 812,000,000 to 813,000,000 to reach the summit of the 
 mountains; and according to (rovernor Stanford's 
 figures, 813,000,000 to make connection between the 
 State line, eleven miles west of what is now Reno, 
 
 *Appondix First Nevada Senate, page 119. 
 
 and navigable water at Sacramento.t Continue this 
 lino the remaining eleven miles to Reno, and esti- 
 mate the cost of construction at 859,000 per mile — 
 figures set by the rival company as its costs over a 
 similar country — and the total constructing expense 
 for the Central Pacific is found to be 813.049.000. 
 
 This varies but little from an advantage of 
 85,000,000 for the competing line over the Central 
 Pacific route; and this fact interests the citizens of 
 Nevada in tliis. that they are now, and have been 
 since its comj)lotion, asked and compelled to contrib- 
 ute towards paying dividends upon an investment of 
 that 85.000,000, uselesslj- expended according to the 
 figures of those companies made at the time; but, 
 under the light of a recent report, the gap widens 
 and places this excess at over 89,000,000. 
 
 THE CENTRAL PACIFIC ROAD CO.MPLETED. 
 
 On the thirteenth of December, 18G7, the first loco- 
 motive ran into Nevada, reaching Crystal Peak from 
 the California side. On the fourth of .May, ISOS, the 
 track and telegraph were completed to Reno, and on 
 the nineteenth of June the last rail was laid between 
 Sacramento and that place, making railroad connec- 
 tion continuous between those two points. On the 
 thirteenth of ilaj-, 18(50, the golden spike was driven, 
 and the two oceans were united by an iron band. 
 
 In this connection we quote from a letter by Col. 
 B. L. E. Bonneville, of the United States Armj', to 
 the St. Louis Democrat: — 
 
 •' I observe in your paper of June 4th, fourth page, 
 that the paternitj- of the Pacific railroad is claimed 
 by certain individuals. 1 desire to say that in Juno 
 or July, 1831, I was at Jetfet^on Barracks, near St. 
 Louis, and residing as the guest of ^lajor (leneral 
 Gaines, of the United States Army, and that bo 
 told me that he had forwarded a paper from General 
 Leavenworth, United States Armj-, recommending 
 the building of a railroad to the Pacific, and that ho 
 Jaad forwarded the same to the War Department, 
 Washington City, endorsed as follows: 'I forward to 
 you the niagniticent project of (ieneral Leavenworth.' 
 Of course, this paper must bo in the office of the 
 Adjutant (Jencral of the War Department, and maj- 
 be revived and published, in justice to a meritorious 
 officer, and to compare the rudo ideas of the early 
 friends of that great and grand success." 
 
 DISCRIMINATION AGAINST NEVADA. 
 
 From the first a system of freight and passenger 
 tarift's was introduced that, although low enough to 
 prevent competition by teams or stages, yot worked 
 a serious damage to the State. It was for the inter- 
 ests of the comj)any to increase its freight traffic to 
 the utmost extent. JIanufaclories within the State 
 wore institutions hostile to such an increase, there- 
 fore not to be tolerated. The prices charged were 
 governed by a rule that permitted the existence of 
 traffic, and took for such permit thoprincijial profits. 
 
 tAppuiulix Kir«t Nevada Senate, page SU-tiC. Distance from 
 summit to Ueuu istil'ty-une miles. 
 
27G 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 The citizens of the State knowini:; that they had 
 rights that ■• while men were boiiiui to respect," 
 finally commenced a public agitation of the subject. 
 
 In October, 1S74, the Republican State Convention 
 introduced the I'oilowiiig i)huik into their platform, 
 and the Democrats maj' have had a similar one: — 
 
 " Nesohetl, That while we ap\)reciate the advan- 
 tages derived from railroads, we demand at the 
 hands of our National ("ongress and our Slate Legis- 
 lature, the passage of laws establishing fares and 
 freights at a reasonable rate, and prohibiting such 
 railways from discriminating in their charges between 
 the residents of this State and those of other States; 
 also wo favor the passage of laws compelling rail- 
 roads to pay a fair and equal amount of taxation 
 upon all property owned or controlled by them in 
 this State." 
 
 This plank sounded well, but the Legislature of 
 1875 accomplished nothing in that direction, and it 
 was not until 1879 that the subject assumed jiropor- 
 lions in the State that became indicative of some- 
 thing to be performed. 
 
 To show projierly the animus of the agitation of 
 that year, it will be necessary to go back a little in 
 time, and introduce what might just as properly 
 accompany the history of the Virginia and Truckeo 
 Railroad, or ■' the influence of mines upon politics." 
 
 o 
 
 EH 
 
 < 
 
 i-H 
 
 en 
 
 EH 
 
 From San Francisco to 
 Elko, Nev., 619 miles 
 
 From San Francisco to 
 Palisade, Nevada, 587 
 miles 
 
 From San Francisco to 
 Wiuneinucca Nevada, 
 475 miles 
 
 From San Francisco to 
 Eeno, Nev., 300 miles 
 
 From New York to Elko, 
 Nevada, 619 less num- 
 ber of miles 
 
 From New York to Pali- 
 sade, Nevada, 5S7 less 
 number of miles 
 
 From New York to Battle 
 Mount:iiri, Nev., 535 
 less uumlier of miles. . 
 
 From New York to Win- 
 nemucca, Nevada, 47'" 
 less number of miles. 
 
 From New York to Keno, 
 Nevatla, 30G less num- 
 ber of miles 
 
 From New York 
 
 miles to San Francisco 
 
 Q 
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 O 
 
 H 
 B 
 Eh 
 
 » 
 
 n 
 
 o o 
 
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 o o 
 as CO 
 
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 ^ -o ",o -o o -^ '^ --D o 
 
 ■M M 0•^ (M e-l rH (M M M 
 
 o o 
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 00 00 
 
 CO CO 
 
 O 3 
 
 in o 
 
 i~ I- Ci -.3 1- in 05 in t- 
 
 v: -^ CO -.: '-0 -t< -.= '.i '^ 
 Mco^ro-tinrc-tJO 
 •ninoo^'*'*i-iMm 
 
 ooooooooo 
 Mcc-^iTiJiroincco 
 
 O ^ 
 
 t>4 
 
 J3 ^ ^ 
 
 « bo ■ 
 
 
 
 « t. ° c .£" c cs 
 
 The above figures from the Central Pacific freight 
 schedule of 1877, are changed somewhat since that 
 date, but the same proportion of discrimination is 
 maintained in 1881. 
 
 All of the towns given in the table are stationed 
 upon the line of the Central Pacific road, and a car- 
 load of freight from New York must pass through all 
 of them in going to San Francisco. To reach the 
 latter place it must pass through I'llko and then have 
 G19 miles farther to go. But if that company is 
 asked to leave a carload of oil or candles there, and 
 not take it along over the last CI 9 miles of mount- 
 ains, they will charge Sr)00 more than they would to 
 take it clear through and back again. This is one 
 item disclosed in the table of discrimination as against 
 one locality in Nevada. 
 
 The following is an extract from RoUin M. Dag- 
 gett's speech on this question, delivered in Congress, 
 lie was defeated in the election of 1880 in the inter- 
 ests of this same railroad corporation: — 
 
 I am here to-day, sir, to place before and upon the 
 
 records of this House a verified complaint of discrim- 
 inations against the State of Nevada, in character so 
 monstrous that beside the exhibit the i-ecital of other 
 grievances will sound like favors conferred, and the 
 sweet promise of still greater bencl'actions to come. 
 
 Gentlemen from Illinois maj' bring their state- 
 ments of railroad wrongs, and 1 will ]iile an Ossa 
 upon the Pelion of their complaints; thej' may bring 
 them from Texas or (Joloi-ado, and I will Ilood 
 the Shasta of their appeals for relief, and still fall 
 short of expressing in the double monument of out- 
 rage the full measure of discriminations ])racticed 
 against Nevada. Their statements tell of a few dol- 
 lars per ton unjustly collected; mine of 820(1, SHOO, 
 8400, 8500 per car-load, wickedly, audaciously', re- 
 morselesslj' taken from the pockets of consumers 
 without even the ]iretensc of consideration. 
 
 l)is('rimin;ition! They will neverunderstand the full 
 meaning of the word until they have settled for the 
 carriage of a ton of freight, I care not of what kind, 
 bj' rail from New York to any railroad i)oinl in 
 eastern Nevada. 
 
 Their railroad managers are comparatively mild- 
 mannered gentlemen. They collect more than is 
 honestly their due, but are gracious enough to try 
 to explain the reason. Thisis not the casein Nevada. 
 There the merchant is compelled to p:\y through 
 rates i'rom ocean to ocean, and from 8200 to 8">00 
 per car-load in addition for the iirivilege of paj-ing 
 it, (luil f/ie Dioulli of prolest is c/uned by the tlireat of 
 inrri'ased exardong. 
 
 These statements must be regarded as strange by 
 those who know nothing of tln'ir truth; but I am 
 strangely well prepared to establish that they arc 
 strangely correct. 
 
 In this connection the remarks of Senator Pown- 
 ing, of Washoe County, made in the State Senate, 
 Februar}' 9, 1881, when a bill was before that body 
 looking to the regulation of fares an<l freights, would 
 seem to be appropriate u])on the ])oint of intimida- 
 tion. His remarks, as reported in the Virginia City 
 C/ironicle, were: — 
 
 * * * If the Legislature could bring charges for 
 this travel down to a just figure, he would be only 
 
mv'. 
 
B. F. Leete. 
 
 Mr. Leete is one of the many thousands sent out bj' 
 the pioneer States in the Kailroad and Canal devel- 
 opments, which have resulted in such an unprece- 
 dented growth of a nation in wealth and power. 
 Little did Clinton think what a movement he was 
 inaugurating when he projected the Krie Canal. 
 Although his ideas were far in advance of the age, 
 his wildest dreams fell far short of the reality. 
 When " Clinton's Ditch " was completed to the cen- 
 tral and western parts of New York, opening up a 
 market for the wheat, the State took a start in the 
 race for wealth which it has maintained to the pres- 
 ent day. It was the awakening ol' that spirit of 
 enterprise that has since girdled the world with elec- 
 tric wires and reticulated a continent with railroads; 
 that has sent into the commercial arteries of the 
 world a set of business men whose ideas of develop- 
 ment and extension of business enterprises found no 
 geographical limits, no obstructions in lofty moun- 
 tain ranges, deserts, or wide oceans. Fifty years 
 since almost every daring enterprise was projected 
 by a New Yorker. Men from, their infancy were 
 accustomed to consider great enterprises, and rail- 
 roads, canals, and lines of steamers were planned by 
 school children as pastimes. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was the outgrowth, the 
 logical sequence, of that unprecedented intellectual 
 activity that gave birth to such men of enterprise 
 and courage as those who ]>rqjccted and completed 
 the trans-continental railroads, and who outstrip the 
 fables of the Arabians in their development of 
 mechanical powei-s. B. F. Leete was born at De Ruy- 
 ter, Madison Countj', New York, Febuary 25, 1831. 
 He had the advantages of the common schools, and 
 also of the Union School of J>ockport, in his native 
 State. It will be remembered by our readers that 
 Lockport is the site of the connection of the Tona- 
 wanda Creek with the long levels oi' the Krie ( !anal, 
 involving an elevation of the boats by means of locks 
 ol' about eight}' feet. The works, though surpassed 
 by many engineering projects since, were, at the 
 time, considered stupendous, and undoubtedly the 
 vast piles of cut granite, forming the five diferent 
 lifts, had a stimulating influence in determining him 
 to adopt the profession of civil engineering. At the 
 
 age of twenty we find him engaged in the construc- 
 tion of the Niagara Branch of the New York Central 
 Eailroad. This was completed and opened to the 
 ])ul)lic in September, \S't2. He was next engaged in 
 the exploration and location of a route for branches 
 of the New York and Erie TJailroad, under the im- 
 mediate direction of Alfred Tufts, of ]?oston, and S. 
 W. Hall, of Philadelphia. These explorations were 
 completed early in 1854, from which time he engaged 
 in bridge-building until 1858. When the trans-con- 
 tinental railroad was projected he was employed 
 with the famous engineer. T. D. Judah, to make the 
 preliminarj' surveys from Sacramento eastward, the 
 road being afterwai'ds located nearly on the same 
 survey. After the Central Pacific was well under 
 way, he took charge of the Swamp Land Surveying 
 Corps, for Sacramento District, during the years 
 18Gl-(i2. Jn the fall of 18G2 he bridged the Pajaro 
 River below Gilroy, on the lino of Santa Clara and 
 Monterej- Counties, for.T. P. Sargent and Brothers. 
 In September, ISii.'i, he surveyed, and in company 
 with F. Birdsall, built the (Jolden Canon Grade. 
 This operation engaged his attention until 18(10, 
 when he discovered the great salt mine in ('hurchill 
 County. Perceiving the value of these in connection 
 with the immense reduction of silver on the Corn- 
 stock and other mines, he built the Eagle Salt Works, 
 from which are supplied all the mines of the Corn- 
 stock. Previous to this salt was imported from the 
 coast, or brought long distances from the interior, in 
 some instances on the backs of Indians, These 
 works being on the line of the Central Pacific Kail- 
 road, ho was enabled to sup])ly the mills at a much 
 lower figure than they were formerly accustomed to 
 pay. In consequence of the permanent character of 
 his Nevada investments, he removed his family to 
 lieno, where he has, since 1871, resi<led with his fam- 
 ily when not absent on some of his numerous busi- 
 ness operations. His residence, a view of which is 
 given in this work, indicates taste and a love of 
 beauty without a desire for ostentatious disjjlay. Vis- 
 itors will find the interior corresponding with the 
 e.xtcrior in its arrangements for comfort and the grat- 
 ification of the high aspirations of cultivated minds. 
 
RAILROADS. 
 
 277 
 
 too glad to lu'I]) in the ^nnd work, but t'oni;ress can 
 alone regulate inter-State tratlio. Nevaila is lielploss 
 in the grasp of the Central Pacific;. The Legislature 
 has legal power to pass laws saj'ing what shall be 
 done bj- the road within her borders, but the Central 
 Pacific has power to take tearful vengeance for any 
 such exercise of this right as the bill contom])lato8. 
 It is not good policj- to exasperate this monopolj' 
 needlessly. A few years ago Washoe County com- 
 pelled the Central Pacific to paj- 845,000 in taxes, 
 which the corporation did not want to i>a)'. What 
 was the consequence? Within ten days wood that 
 had been hauled from Verdi to JJeno for fifty cents 
 per cord cost one dollar to haul. The freight on 
 BOmo other things was also raised, and Mr. I'owning 
 said he did not think he was making an extravagant 
 statement in saj-ing the Central Pacific had squeezed 
 $2,500,000 out of the people of Nevada in revenge 
 for having been forced to pay that 845,000. Let 
 this bill i>ass, which would save the State 833,000 
 a year on passenger rates, and the Central Pacific 
 would put on the screws on freight and tax us 
 833,000 a month heavier than now, in revenge. * * * 
 
 After producing evidence of the truth of his asser- 
 tions, Mr. Daggett continued as follows: — 
 
 Is comment necessary upon these terrible rates? 
 Do they not speak trumpet-tongued of imjiositions 
 unparalleled in the annals of railroad ruffianism? 
 These charges have been neither known nor credited 
 beyond the State of Nevada. When mentioned by 
 the press they have been denied, and tvitfi threals of 
 still greater oppressions the railroad dictators have 
 silenced the complaints of their victims. 
 
 Nevada is an orange which for ten years these 
 railroad vampires have been sucking in silence. We 
 have been, and are still, bleeding at every pore, but 
 the extent, I am satisfied, has not been even imagined 
 by those in whose will has reposed the means of 
 relief. I am here to day to make proclamation of 
 these wrongs, that others maj' understand them as 
 I do. * * * Incredible as it may seem, seventeen 
 years ago freights were hauled on wagons from 
 Sacramento to Virginia Citj', up through the heated 
 vallej-s and over the rough roads and frozen sum- 
 mits of the mountains, for prices but a trifle in 
 advance of existing railroad rates between those 
 two points. In favorable weather Sacramento 
 freights were then delivered in Virginia City at 
 one dollar and fifty cents per hundred pounds. The 
 railroad rates are now one dollar and forty-six cents 
 and one-half — but three and a half cents per hun- 
 dred less than old teaming rates. 
 
 Yes, pack-mule c()m))etitioii in Nevada, of which 
 the directors of the Central Pacific infcrcntially 
 comjjlain as a sort of wicked and unnecessary 
 menace to their financial well-doing, is indeed all 
 that stands between llicm and the establishment of 
 rates in keeping with their rapacity, and their 
 charges are scheduled junt a shade below fii;ures 
 that would line the roads again with j)ack-lrains 
 and wagons. 
 
 ***** ***:(o. 
 
 r.MlALVZINO OUR INDUSTRIES. 
 
 Nevada abounds in rich and rebellious ores, reqrir- 
 ing the expensive aid of fire in reduction. To be 
 reduced at a profit thej' must be either cheaply 
 transported to cheap fuel, or chea|> fuel must bo ' 
 cheajjiyjtraiisported to them. These railroad pro- , 
 35 
 
 moters of our industries will fulfill neither require- 
 ment, and while the mines remain undevelojted, 
 and thousands of hands arc vaiidy seeking employ- 
 ment, their cars are houriy running unburdened 
 through the State. 
 
 Their object seems to bo to crush, not to develop, 
 the industries of Nevada, and to this end the com- 
 lielition of special rates from California is em])lo}'ed 
 when there is danger of an industrj- growing into 
 ini|)i)rtance. Lest I maj' not he (|uite understood, 
 permit me to cite an example or two: — 
 
 Limestone is rare in the neighborhood of the 
 Comstock. Finally, to the gratification of all. a 
 quarry was discovered and opened about ten miles 
 south of Virginia City, and for a few months lime 
 was furnished on the Comstock cheaper than it had 
 ever been sold before. California lime was no longer 
 required in Virginia, and its transportation to Nevada 
 almost ceased. The opening of this quarrj- was an 
 interference with the business of the railroad corn- 
 pan}-, and the}' ])romi)tly closed it by ])utting the 
 rates on California lime to figures below the cost 
 of local production. The qaarr\- was abandoned, 
 man}- men were deprived of emjjloj-ment, a grow- 
 ing itidustry was crushed, and the price of lime 
 has gone back to its old figures. 
 
 There are valuable sulphur deposits in Humboldt 
 County, and large quantities of the article were used 
 in the manufacture of acids near Virginia. Nevada 
 sulphur is no longer in demand. It can be laid down 
 in Virginia City cheaper from Europe than from 
 Humboldt County. 
 
 We have salt and soda in abundance, but they 
 cannot be trans])orted beyond the Stale, and farmei*s 
 along the line of the i-ailroad are kept in poverty by 
 special rates from California. 
 
 SPECIAL DISCRI.MINATIONS AllAINST NEVADA. 
 
 With San Francisco rates of transportation the 
 foundries and machine sho|)s.of' \'irginia and (lold 
 Hill would be able to supply eastern Nevada and 
 Utah with large quantities of mining machiner}' ; 
 but the Central Pacific folks will not permit it, and 
 to prevent it they charge 82t(t( ])er car-load more for 
 machinery forwarded from IJeno to Utah than from 
 San Francisco to Utah. 
 
 THE P.V.SSENOER TllAFKK!. 
 
 But the im])ositions of the llnion and Central 
 Pacific Railroads are not confined to the carriage of 
 freights. The through ])assage rates between vSan 
 l''i-aiicisco and (Jinulia are over five cents per mile, 
 with the addition of fourteen dollai-s for a single 
 berth, and 811! 50 for meals at their eating-slations. 
 The most of these eating-stations are ap])urtcnances 
 of the railroads, and the fooil hastily served is as 
 economical in cleanliness, variety, and wholesome 
 material as it is extravagant in |)rice. 1 do not men- 
 tion this in the way of complaint exactly, for passen- 
 gers can carry their own luncli-baskets, ami a rough 
 ))ion<'cr experience of thirty years on the frontiers of 
 tlif P:icific liMS rendered me sonieu hat iiiditlVrent to 
 the luxuries anil a|>poiiilnienls of a well-s|iread table. 
 .My object is simply lo "lidw that the exceedingly 
 thril'ty manaixers of the ovtrlaiiil road-" are not 
 reslr:ii 111(1 by any feelin-; of |iridf Irom ..wellinir their 
 annual receipts with the |irofils of badly-|)rovisionod 
 lunch-stands. 
 
 The jirice of a ihroui^h ticket from Omaha lo San 
 Francisco is 8100.50; distance, 1.027 miles. But this 
 represents the price ua well from Omaha to Reno, 306 
 
278 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 miles from San Francisco, and from San Francisco to 
 Cheyenne, 51G miles from Omaha. 
 
 ********* 
 
 HOW THE CENTR.\I, P.VCIFIC W.\S BUILT. 
 
 Nor can the necessitj* of securing a fair return for 
 the mone}' invested b}' the Central Pacific Railroad 
 owners be urged in explanation ol' their extraordinary 
 charges. When they began the construction of the 
 road thej- paid taxes in the aggregate on property of 
 all kinds, amounting to less than .'^150, 000. To-day 
 their railroad property alone, with the indebtedness 
 standing against it deducted, is valued by them at 
 the enormous sum of over 8180,000,000. But it can 
 not be shown that thcj- ever advanced money enough 
 from their own pockets to build a single mile of the 
 road. The bonds of the (rovernment and the subsi- 
 dies and gifts of the people were more than sufficient 
 to build and stock the road entire. 
 
 The original incorporators paid in ten per cent, on 
 $1,000 a mile for 115 miles, the estimated distance 
 from Sacramento to the Nevada line. Twelve hundred 
 and fifty shares of stock were subscribed at SlOO per 
 share, of which Messrs. Stanford, Huntington, Hop- 
 kins, and Crocker took 600 shares. Assuming, how- 
 ever, that they advanced the required ten per cent. 
 on all the shares subscribed, and their original 
 investment did not exceed §12,500 all told. On this 
 small investment the gentlemen have done well — so 
 well, in fact, that in 1S77 President Stanford reported 
 the ])roi)erty of the (central Pacific to bo worth 
 8187,003.()80".U(J, while .Mr. (.Vocker, President of the 
 Southern Pacific, valued the property of that road at 
 §115,359,011 08, making a total valuation of 8302.- 
 363, 592. ()4. The indebtedness of the Central Pacific 
 was given bj' Mr. Stanford at 885.301,350.64, and 
 the indebtedness of the Southern Pacific was placed 
 by Mr. Crocker at 830,415,332.95, making the total 
 indebtedness of the two roads 8115,806,083.59. The 
 account then stood as follows: — 
 
 Value of the property of both roads 8302,363,592 64 
 The indebtedness of both roads 115,806,683 59 
 
 Assets over liabilities. 186,556,909 05 
 
 Independentlj' of the United Slates bonds loaned 
 to the Central Pacific, the gifts to the two roads 
 amount to 801,011,280, according to the estimates of 
 their executive officers. The net earnings of the 
 roads are reported at 875,000,000. In reality thev 
 have been much larger, as their expense, like their 
 construction accounts, have afforded large margins 
 of profit to their managers in other capacities. 
 
 A part of the wealth of these railroad gentlemen 
 two years ago consisted of 854.000,000 of watered 
 stock of the (Antral Pacific and 836,000,000 of the 
 Southern Pacific, being an aggregate of 890,000,- 
 000 in stock, which cost them onlj' the price of 
 printing, and upon which the}' are compelling the 
 public to pay them eight per cent, yearly in 
 dividends. 
 
 The Southern Pacific has been constructed and 
 paid for from the earnings of the Central J'acific, 
 yet the owners issue 850,00(1 in stock and 840,000 
 in bonds per mile, and charge such rates as will 
 enable them to collect annually eight per cent, on 
 the stock and six per cent, on the bonds. 
 
 Hut, inviting as the subject may be, it is not my 
 purpose now to intpiire into the methods by which 
 the owners of the Central Pacific have acquired 
 their stupendous wealth. 1 have desired only to 
 show that their extortions are as unnecessary as 
 they are ungrateful and dishonest. 
 
 The speech from which the foregoing are extracts 
 was delivered on the twenty-fifth of February, 1881, 
 during the last days of Mr. Daggett's term; and it 
 was called forth by the following, known as the 
 Williams Joint Resolution: — 
 
 THE WILLIAMS JOINT RESOLUTION. 
 
 Joint resolution to the Congress of the United Stales in 
 relation to iliscrimination in fares awl freights by 
 interstate railroad companies. 
 
 WiiERE.\s, the people of the State of Nevada have 
 long suffered and do now suffer under the imposi- 
 tions and exactions of the Central Pacific Railroad 
 Company, which, besides retarding enterprise, injures 
 the business and prosperity of the people of this 
 State, and amounts to the most enormous, unjust, 
 and oppressive tax ever laid upon the industry of a 
 people. The said railroad company exercises over 
 the persons and property of others an almost abso- 
 lute power, vicious and tyrannical, destructive of 
 the rights of persons and of ])roperty, and opposed 
 to common justice, as well as to every ]irinciple of 
 civil and constitutional liberty known since the days 
 of Magna Charta; and 
 
 WuERE.\s, it is proper that the truth should be 
 known concerning this corporation and its trans- 
 actions, the following facts are herein stated: "The 
 people of Palisade, distant 435 miles east from Sac- 
 ramento, have to pay for freight on flour (fourth- 
 class freight, per ])ublished special-rate tarift' of 
 Central Pacific Railroad) ))er car-load, the sum of 
 8282 from Sacramento, while the people of Toano, 
 129 miles further east, paj' freight on flour jier car- 
 load, according to the printed special rate, the sum 
 of 8275 per car-load, while the merchant having a 
 contract for some so-called com])etitive point with 
 this railroad company paj-s freight on the same 
 article, to wit, flour, per carload, onlj- S2(»0, The 
 merchant at Toano, having a special contract, pays 
 eighty-two dollars per car-load less freight than the 
 merchant at Palisade, although, as before mentioned, 
 the carriage is 129 miles more. The goods delivered 
 at Palisade or Battle .Mountain, distant respectively 
 435 and 383 miles from Sacramento, have a freight 
 charge of 8480 per car-load, while at Toano the 
 freight amounts to 8275 per car-load to persons 
 having special contract rates for so-called com- 
 jictitive points, the greater service being performed 
 tor the less amount. Persons shipping wool or 
 other products from Palisade. Battle Mountain, Elko, 
 or other points in this State to the Eastern States, 
 have to pay local rates to Sacramento, thence freight 
 at through rates back over the same road to the 
 point of destination, the shipper being ot'ten com- 
 ])elled to pay freight at local rates for a distance of 
 over 500 miles, a service useless and unnecessary 
 even if rendered. The same unjust discrimina- 
 tion is practiced by this railroad com])any against 
 the people of this Stale in the rates of freight upon 
 goods ship|)ed from points east of this State. The 
 freight on a l)Ox of eggs from Ogden to Toano costs 
 one man 83.35 per box, and the same number of 
 eggs, in the same sized box, and of the same weight, 
 costs another man sixty-five cents. A hundred 
 pounds of sfjuushes costs one man in freight 81.36, 
 while it costs another fifty-five cents. Hams and 
 case goods costs one man 82.04, while it costs 
 another but fifty-fivo cents. The distance from 
 Ogden to Toano is 183 miles. The same unjust dis- 
 crimination is also practiced bj- this railroad com|>any 
 in passenger faros, A ticket from Omaha to San Fran- 
 
RAILROADS. 
 
 279 
 
 Cisco costs SUM), while :i ticket from Omaha to Pal- 
 isade, buintc (iOd miles nearer, costs ninety-tive dol- 
 lars. A person desiring to go East is charged within 
 a fraction of the full fare, through and from San 
 Francisco to the point he desires to reach, although 
 he may ride over one-third or less of the line of the 
 Central Pacitic JJailroad. More appalling examples 
 of injustice than arc shown by the above instances, 
 selected from among a mj'riad of kindred trans- 
 gressions, are hard to conceive; and 
 
 Whereas, such pernicious practices should bo no 
 longer tolerated; Therefore, 
 
 Be it hji the Sewite atul Ansemh/i/ conjointly resolved, 
 That the jiassago of the bill now before Congress, 
 known as the Reagan Bill, prohiiiiting discrimination 
 in fares and freights on interstate railroads, will bo 
 bailed with joy by the people of this State as a 
 measure of justice and relief 
 
 VALUE OP C. p. RAILROAD PROPERTY IN NEVADA. 
 
 A law was passed in 18G5, and amended in 1878, 
 bj- the Legislature, that requires all railroads, wholly 
 or in part within Nevada, to report each year to the 
 Secretary of State. * * * " The amount of cash 
 expended for the purchase of lands for the construc- 
 tion of the road of such company, the cost of the 
 construction of such road, and the cost of buildings, 
 engines and cars, respectively, used by such company 
 in this State." 
 
 A penalty of §500 per day is named as a punish- 
 ment for every day that elapses after February Ist 
 of each 3'ear that any compan}- fails to report the 
 above facts regarding the year ending the previous 
 December 31st. 
 
 The com))anies of the State paid no attention to 
 this law until after the amendment of 187S, which 
 fixed the penalties for noncompliance. The Central 
 Pacific Road has never comjilied with the require- 
 ments of this clause, claiming that they cannot, 
 because of the want on their part of data from 
 which to give the facts. 
 
 The value of the property can, however, be com- 
 puted from their own statements. Elaborate and 
 fair estimates have been made which fix the value of 
 the Central Pacific Comjiany's property in this State 
 at 849,403,437. In 1880, that property was assessed 
 at 84,152,414, being one-twelfth of the value placed 
 upon it by the companj-. The different counties 
 make different assessments, not being regulated by 
 a State Board of Equalization. 
 
 The attempt to raise the value of Central Pacific 
 
 Railroad pro])crty in any of the counties has alwaj's 
 
 been met by expensive litigation, and usually has 
 
 resulted in failure. In Washoe County, in 18G9, the 
 
 Board of Equalization reduced their assessment from 
 
 81,203,139 to 8050,389; but the Supreme Court set 
 
 the reduction aside, and the following exhibits the 
 
 struggle that has been going on there since: — 
 
 As fixed by Board 
 Assessment in of K(|uaIi/.ation. 
 
 1870 . . 81,044 484 851 1, 1 00 
 
 1871.. 1.112,750 559,440 
 
 1872 . . 1,04!»,150 543,050 
 
 1873.. 471,030...increa.-<ed to, .. 532,480 
 1874.. 780,000.... reduced to.... 030,000 
 
 1875,. 806,505.. ...010,722 
 
 1870 . 814,258 615,000 
 
 1877.. 889,277. 715.423 
 
 1878.. 888,051 723,660 
 
 1879.. 999,985 743,085 
 
 1880.. 890,110 733,210 
 
 A reference to the speech made by Mr. Powning, 
 in the State Senate in 1881, will give an idea of the 
 animus of this contest. 
 
 In Humboldt County, in 1809, the Board of Equal- 
 ization raised the railroad assessment from 80,000 
 per rail? to 88,000. 
 
 There were a number of citizens holding county 
 scrip who became frightened, fearing a refusal of 
 the railroad to pay its taxes, which would keep 
 them out of their monoj', and thej' petitioned the 
 Commissioners to reconsider the raise, and it was 
 done. 
 
 In 1880, the Board, in response to a petition, raised 
 the assessment from 80,000 to 89,000, but failed to 
 make it stand, because of informality in the way it 
 was raised. 
 
 In Lander County the assessment was raised to 
 89,000 per mile by the Board of Equalization in 
 1879; and in 1880 a further raise was made by the 
 Board to 812,000 jicr mile. Both times the Assessor 
 had placed it at 80,000. 
 
 In Eureka County the main track was assessed in 
 1874 at 815,000 per mile. The company litigated 
 the question of pa3-ment. and the matter was com- 
 promised finally when they paid on 86,000. It was 
 continued at 80,000 until 1879, when the assessment 
 was again raised to 89,000, Another litigation 
 occurred, but those figures were maintained, 
 
 VIRGINIA AND TRUCKEE RAILROAD, 
 
 One of the first railroad franchises granted in 
 Nevada was in 1801, 1'or a right to construct a road 
 from Virginia City to the boundary lino of Califor- 
 nia, by waj' of Eagle and Washoe Valleys, and the 
 Truckee River. Carson City was to be reached by 
 a branch from the main line. The scheme was 
 known as the "Virginia, Carson and Truckee Rail- 
 road," but never became operative except in theory. 
 
 The successor of the foregoing, under the name 
 of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad, camo into 
 existence under a special law, approved December 
 20, 1802, in which the general direction of the main 
 line was changed so as to jiass through Carson City. 
 Under pain of forfeiture it was to bo com])letod 
 within four years. Among the incorporators are 
 found the names of John II. Atkinson, Theodore 
 Winters, M. C, Hillyer, and J. Neoly Johnson; but 
 the road was never constructed. 
 
 Before the expiration by limit of the last men- 
 tioned charter, a now company was formed for the 
 purpose of building a narrow-gauge railroad over 
 the same route, and a special Act of incorporation 
 was approved by the Governor, November 2, 1805, 
 The name assumed was the "Virginia and Truckee 
 River Railroad," This effort, like the balance, did 
 not produce a railroad. 
 
280 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 On tho L'iirhth of May, 18G7. ori^anization papers 
 were filed in the Secretary of Slate's office, settiiij^ 
 forth that parties, araonfj whom was William Sharon, 
 proposed to build a railroad from Gold Ilili uorth- 
 erl}- to a point on the Truckee River six miles east of 
 the Stone and Gates crossing, and they called them- 
 selves the Virginia and Truckee Railroad Company. 
 This enterprise followed in the way of its predeces- 
 sors and no road was built, although the route was 
 surveyed in September of that year. 
 
 THE VIKUINIA AND TRUCKEE RAILROAD BUILT. 
 
 The menace contained in the foregoing proposi- 
 tion to connect, by rail, Virginia City with navigable 
 waters by a route that would leave Eagle and 
 Washoe Valleys unapproached, aroused the people 
 of those localities lo action. A movement was 
 consequently inaugurated to induce Ormsby and 
 Washoe Counties to become stockholders in a rail- 
 road. It was proposed by the officers of tho Virginia 
 and Truckee Railroad Company, that if Ormsbj' 
 County would take §200,000 in their company stock 
 atone dollar per share, and Washoe County 200,000 
 shares at the same price, that they would change the 
 direction of their route so as to reach the Central 
 Pacific through Carson City and Washoe Valley to 
 the Truckee River. 
 
 Articles of agreement wore entered into and 
 signed by the County Commissioners for the counties, 
 and by William Sharon and Thomas Sunderland 
 for the railroad company, embodying these facts. 
 There was no power existing in the county officers 
 to bind the county, and the people signed almost 
 unanimously a petition asking the Legislature to 
 jjass an enabling Act authorizing this investment. 
 This was in February, 1868*. On the fifth of March 
 incorporation papers were filed with the Secretary of 
 State organizing the Virginia and Truckee Railroad 
 Company, under which that company now operates. 
 In that paper the following gentlemen were named 
 as Directors: — 
 
 William Sharon, Charles Bonner, 
 
 Thomas Sunderland, F. A. Tritle, 
 
 A. W. Baldwin, Thomas Bell, 
 
 W. E. Barron, W. C. Ralston, 
 
 J. D. Fry, 
 
 To which add I). O. Mills lo include all of the incor- 
 porators. On the twentieth of June the completion 
 of the survey for the road was announced, I. E. James, 
 Engineer. On the twenty first of Jul}- the Carson 
 Ap/>e(t/ ntntod that the railroad company- did not ))ro- 
 pose to build in conformity to their contract with the 
 county. Decenilier i:!, 18G8, it was announced in tho 
 A/j/m;,iI that William Sharon would procure the build- 
 ing of a railroad from Virginia City to Carson if the 
 people of Ormsby County would give §200,000 as a 
 donation, and that the building of the same would 
 add at least 8 1.0(10, 000 to the taxable ])roperty of that 
 county, including road-bo<i at 840,000 per mile. Tho 
 figures showed that the addition of taxable value in 
 
 •tSei- Caraoii Daily Ajijn-nl I'Vliruiiry 'iSth aud ^Uth, March 
 17th aud 2;!d, aud July -Jlat— all of 1868. 
 
 Ormsby Countj- would be so great that the railroad 
 |)ropcrty alone would pay within fifteen years in 
 taxes an amount equal to all the principal and interest 
 on the bonds, amounting to S32G, 002, except the paltry 
 sum of §48,502. This last named amount was the 
 sum total of what it would cost the coun'y to pay 
 the §326,002 as a gift to that company. 
 
 A large majority of the people signed petitions to 
 the Legislature asking the passage of an enabling Act 
 authorizing the issuance of bonds for 8200,000 in 
 Ormsby and 8300,000 in Storey Counties, and such 
 bills were passed. 
 
 On the eighteenth of February ground was first 
 broken for the road. August lith, tho first locomotive 
 for it was landed in Carson, and the first rail was laid 
 on the twentj'-eighth of September. October 28th, A. 
 £). Treadway shipped the first freight on it, consist- 
 ing of two sacks of potatoes, and Xovember 12th con- 
 nection by rail was completed between Carson and 
 Virginia Cities, and the first passenger coach passed 
 from the latter place to the former on the twentj'- 
 niiith of the same month, all in 1869. 
 
 On the seventh of November, 1871, the road was 
 completed from Reno to Steamboat Springs, and the 
 first train passed over tho road between those points. 
 On the twenty-fourth of tho following August, the 
 last spike was driven that completed the lino from 
 Reno to Carson on which day tho first train passed 
 over the road from Virginia City to the Truckee 
 River. The first freight from Reno to Carson, all tho 
 way by rail, was the press and material for use in 
 the new Appeal office. On the nineteenth of Septem- 
 ber, the first through freight cars, two of them from 
 San Francisco to Virginia Citj% passed over the road. 
 On tho first of October, 1872, the first regular passen- 
 ger train passed over the lino, with Ilarry Slirievcs 
 as conductor. In December, 1872, the com])any com- 
 menced tho construction of their car and machine 
 shops in Carson, and on the eleventh of the same 
 month, the construction of the telegraph line from 
 Reno to Virginia Citj' along the railroad was com- 
 menced. In 1874 steel rails were laid between Car- 
 son and Virginia, necessitated because of the large 
 amount of business, thirty-six trains per day being 
 required to carry tho passengers and freight. 
 
 COST OP CONSTRUCTION. 
 
 In Dan Do Quillo's book, known as the ''Big Bonan- 
 za," page 228, it is recorded that the cost of tho road, 
 ready for rolling-stock, from Virginia City to Carson, 
 a distance of twenty-one miles, was 81,7.50,000 — or 
 883,333 per mile. September 25, 1873, H. R, Mighels 
 states in an article in tho Carson Ap]>eitl, written in 
 the interest of tho Virginia and Truckee Companj-, 
 that the cost of constructing tho entire road from 
 
 Virginia City to Reno, had been $ 2,600.000 
 
 Rolling-stock 509,500 
 
 Car shops 150.000 
 
 Real *estate, right of way, etc 120.000 
 
 Total cost of assets $3,379,500 
 
 Making the cost per mile for construction, 852,107. 
 
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RAILROADS. 
 
 281 
 
 In 1880 the report made to the State by that com- 
 pany as their assets, earnings, etc., was as follows: — 
 
 REPORT TO THE ST.\TE IN 1880. 
 
 Expended for construction, etc $ 3,715,873 23 
 
 Rolling-stock 712,278 84 
 
 Real estate 200,998 21 
 
 Teams 34,047 84 
 
 Wood 39,844 85 
 
 Stockon hand.. 146,994 28 
 
 Totalcost of assets in 1880 $4,856,042 25 
 
 Transportation receipts, 1880 1,124,300 32 
 
 Operating E.xpenses, 1880 674,553 38 
 
 Net earnings in 1880 $449,746 94 
 
 Length of road in miles ..52j^'^ 
 
 Cost per mile to construct road $71,185 00 
 
 Cost per mile for other assets, including 
 
 equipments 21,842 00 
 
 Total cost per mile 893,027 00 
 
 Per cent, of net profit upon this cost per mile, 9 (-J^ 
 
 ASSISTANCE RECEIVED. 
 
 Ormsby County Bonds 8200,000 00 
 
 Storey County Bonds 300,000 00 
 
 Comstock Mining Companies 387,383 53 
 
 Total 8887,383 53 
 
 E(iual to 817,065 per mile for the entire length of 
 the road. 
 
 To obtain this assistance inducements were set 
 forth by the company's agents, of which the follow- 
 ing is a sample. The statement is direct from Mr. 
 Sharon and his associates to the editor of the Appeal* 
 of the taxable property that the railroad would add 
 to Ormsby County: — 
 
 Ten miles of road at 840,000 per mile 8400,000 
 
 Machine shops and foundries, not less than . . 150,000 
 
 Engine and cars, say . 100,000 
 
 Increase of mill property 200,000 
 
 * See Caraon Appeal, February 20, 1S7'J. 
 
 Increase from storage and supply of 
 
 wood, etc 1 50,000 
 
 Total increase in assessable value in 
 
 Ormsby County 81,000,000 
 
 WoKKI.NO TEST OR RESULT. 
 
 With such an understanding the people favored 
 the gift to the company, but when, in 1869, the 
 Assessor placed the railroad assessment at 820,000 
 per mile, just one-half what the com])any had 
 affirmed that the same should be, exceptions were 
 taken, and a sworn statement was made by the com- 
 pany's Vice-President, that in effect contradicted the 
 original statement, inasmuch as he or they had 
 placed the figures six timea hhjher than the company 
 was willing to be assessed. The following is the 
 substance of the statement of the Vice-President in 
 1870, referred to, giving his estimate of the value of 
 the road: — 
 Eleven and one-half miles of main and side 
 
 tracks at 86,000 per mile 869,000 
 
 Real estate . . 5,500 
 
 Other property 55,850 
 
 Total 8130,350 
 
 The Carson Appeal o? January 25, 1870, says: — 
 
 We have given the railroad company 8200,000 in 
 seven per cent, interest bearing bonds; and we did it 
 on a promise that the company would add 81,000,000 
 of taxable pro])ertj^ to this county. We did it also 
 upon the statements, often repeated, of the agents 
 and priiici])al men of the company, that the com- 
 pany would submit to an assessed valuation upon 
 their road of $40,000 to the mile. 
 
 The assessment was reduced by the Assessor to 
 814,000, and then by the County Commissioners, con- 
 sisting of H. F. Rice, A. B. Driesbach, and S. E. 
 Jones, to 811,333 per mile. 
 
 The following table shows the working test of the 
 inducements for the $200,000 donation in Ormsby 
 County: — 
 
 Assessed 
 
 ROAD 
 
 AND Equalized Value of Virginia and Truckee Rail- 
 Properiv, and Tax on the Same in Ormsby County. 
 
 Principal and Intere.st paid by Ormsby County upon 
 
 THE $200,000 GIVEN TO THE V. & T. R. R. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Main Track 
 per Mile. 
 
 Same as 
 Equalized. 
 
 Total 
 Property. 
 
 Total Tax Paid. 
 
 Principal . 
 
 Interest. 
 
 Total Paid. 
 
 1869. 
 
 
 
 8 42,200 
 189,218 
 232,04!) 
 268,458 
 282,573 
 391,013 
 520,028 
 447,5!I7 
 434,98!! 
 428,!I77 
 662,15(1 
 497,492 
 
 8 1.899 00 
 7,573 74 
 10,238 21 
 ll,77!l 14 
 11,411 62 
 15,8(;4 11 
 17,885 7(1 
 14,5;i2 73 
 15,i:!!l 87 
 14,083 58 
 l!t,558 91 
 14.863 07 
 
 
 
 
 1870... 
 
 814,000 
 11,333 
 11,333 
 12,000 
 11,333 
 11,333 
 11,333 
 10,000 
 11,333 
 25,000 
 15,000 
 
 $11,333 
 '"l 1,333 
 
 
 820,405 00 
 
 13,755 00 
 
 13,720 00 
 
 13,242 25 
 
 5,000 00 
 
 18,627 87 
 
 23,411 00 
 
 5,145 00 
 
 9,030 00 
 
 7,910 00 
 
 3,325 00 
 
 $20,405 00 
 
 1871.-- 
 
 
 13,755 00 
 
 1872..- 
 
 
 13,720 00 
 
 1873... 
 1874 
 
 84,833 33 
 6,650 00 
 9,823 63 
 14,700 00 
 22,749 97 
 16,000 00 
 18,000 00 
 18,000 00 
 
 18,075 58 
 11,650 00 
 
 1875... 
 1876.. 
 
 1877. .. 
 1878... 
 1879 
 
 11,333 
 
 28,451 50 
 38,111 00 
 27,894 97 
 25,030 (10 
 25,910 00 
 
 1880... 
 
 13,800 
 
 21,325 00 
 
 
 8154,829 68 
 
 8110,756 93 
 
 8133,571 12 
 
 $244,328 05 
 
282 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Of the above tax ])aid by the com])any the State 
 received •?40,194.50, which leaves the county as 
 recipient (.f only 8114,635.18. This is 818,935.94 less 
 than has been paid in interest on the bonds given by 
 Ormsby County to that corporation. Yet the author- 
 ized agentof the Virginia and Truckee Railroad said 
 to the people of Ormsbj- County, through the columns 
 of the Appeal, that within fifteen j-ears the company's 
 taxes, that would be paid to the county, would equal 
 both the principal and interest thereon, less 848,502. 
 
 MORAL. 
 
 Let those who would vote to give money to soul- 
 less corporations, upon an expectation of beneficial 
 results that will not be of a pecuniary benefit to the 
 corporation, remember what God said about men who 
 were given over to believe a lie and be damned.* 
 
 ASSESS.MENT OF VIRCilNIA AND TRDCKEE PROPERTY AND 
 TAX PAID. 
 
 The result has been given of the first effort to 
 place a taxable value upon the assets of this com- 
 pany that would be in proportion to the property of 
 private citizens. The following table will show the 
 results from that date to the present time in each of 
 the counties through which it runs. Will the reader 
 please note the difference between the values placed 
 upon the property in 1878, 1879 and 1880. In 1879 
 the assessment was raised 8500,490, and fell off again 
 the next year $195,027. Why was this ? In 1879 11. 
 H. Bence was Assessor of Ormsby Count}-, and vis- 
 ited the Assessors of Washoe, Storey and Lyon Coun- 
 ties, urging upon them the justice of making a 
 united effort for an advance, with results as indi- 
 cated. In 1880 Mr. Bence was not elected, lie had 
 served the people so well that the railroad company 
 breveted him; the voters put him upon the retired 
 list, and the assessment dropped back 8195,027. 
 
 The following table will show what the expenses 
 and receipts of that company was for each month in 
 1872, and is the only report of the kind for years 
 previous to 1879: — 
 
 STATEMENT. 
 
 1872. 
 
 Expenses. 
 
 Gross Receipts. 
 
 Januauy 
 
 February 
 
 March 
 
 April 
 
 Mav 
 
 8 53,022 32 
 
 48,147 18 
 51,710 23 
 42,813 59 
 48,059 54 
 46,894 12 
 50,801 20 
 53,010 77 
 06,043 78 
 83,360 42 
 87,803 47 
 86,308 76 
 
 8 66,461 76 
 66,044 97 
 80,239 25 
 82,357 98 
 83,006 76 
 
 Juno 
 
 85.103 70 
 
 July 
 
 August 
 
 September ... 
 
 October 
 
 November 
 
 December . 
 
 89.080 73 
 
 97,478 25 
 
 101,753 97 
 
 95.342 38 
 
 120,901 82 
 
 112,577 55 
 
 
 8 718,987 44 
 
 % 1,070,300 18 
 
 *II ThessalouianB, second chapter, eleventh and first part of 
 twelfth verBua. 
 
 Freights passing over the road for the fii"st six 
 months of 1873, as reported by the general Freight 
 Agent: — 
 
 STATEMENT. 
 
 Articles. 
 
 In Pounds. 
 
 Total in Tons. 
 
 Merchandise 
 
 Lumber* ^ 
 
 Woodt - . - 
 
 Coal, (stone) 
 
 Ore 
 
 Tailings 
 
 Live stock 
 
 Crude bullion 
 
 42,020,604 
 
 70,915.872 
 
 108,420.000 
 
 30,068,860 
 
 224,088,500 
 
 12,096,000 
 
 220,000 
 
 160,474 
 
 21,010 
 
 35,457 
 
 54,210 
 
 19,534 
 
 112,044 
 
 6,048 
 
 110 
 
 80 
 
 Totals 
 
 496,799,310 
 
 248,495 
 
 •Number of feet, 2:J,93S,6l'4. 
 tNumber of cords, 43,3tiS. 
 
 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE VIRGINIA AND TRUCKEE RAIL- 
 ROAD COMPANY- FOR THE YEAR 1880.* 
 
 Amount of capital stock. 86,000,000 00 
 
 Amount expended for construction, 
 land, etc: — 
 
 Construction 83,715,878 23 
 
 Rolling-stock 712,278 84 
 
 Real estate 206,998 21 
 
 Teams 34,047 84 
 
 Wood 39,844 85 
 
 Stock on hand 146,994 28 
 
 Total 84,856,042 25 
 
 Amount of indebtedness: — 
 
 Bonds 8900,000 00 
 
 Mining Companies 92,600 08 
 
 Total 8992,600 08 
 
 Due this company from sundry sources 8197,011 25 
 Amount received for transportation of 
 freight, passengers, mail, express, 
 
 baggage, etc 81,124,300 32 
 
 Amount rec'd from sales of old rails.. 834,819 92 
 Freightof all kinds hauled, am't in tons 343,924J^^ 
 Amount paid for account of operating 
 
 expenses 8074,553 38 
 
 Number of dividends (paid monthly). 12 
 
 Amount paid ($15,000 per month)... 8180,000 00 
 
 Number of engine houses, shops, engines, cars: — 
 
 Engine houses 4 
 
 Machine shops 3 
 
 Engines 24 
 
 Passenger coaches 10 
 
 Baggage, mail and express cars 4 
 
 Box cars 7 
 
 Platform cars 237 
 
 Ore cars 117 
 
 Traffic receipts as above 81,124,300 32 
 
 Operating expenses 674,553 38 
 
 Net trallic earnings 449,74ij 94 
 
 Paid dividends 180,000 00 
 
 Bonds redeemed 100,000 00 
 
 Paid interest on bonds 97,250 00 
 
 Directors — D. O. Mills, San Francisco, California; 
 H. M. Yerrington, Carson City, Nevada ; 1). L. Bliss, 
 Carson City, Nevada ; I. L. Requa, Virginia City, 
 Nevada; William Sharon, Virginia City, Nevada; B. 
 
 * In consequence of the doatructinn of the .Secretary's books by 
 fire, several years ago, it is impossililc for the officers of the com- 
 pany to state the amount of paid up capital, and it is therefore 
 necessarily omitted in this report. 
 
RAILROADS. 
 
 283 
 
 C. Whitman, Virginia City, Nevada ; J. W. Eckley, 
 Virginia City, Nevada. 
 
 Officers — i). O. Mills, President, San Francisco, 
 California; II. M. Yerrington, Vice-President, Carson 
 Cit}-, Nevada; Agonc}- Hank of (Jalifornia, Treasurer, 
 Virginia City, Nevada; W. .M. Thornton, Secretary, 
 Virginia City, Nevada; II. M. Yerrington, (Jenoral 
 Sn])erinten(lont. Cai-son City, Nevada; I. E. James, 
 Consulting Kngineer, Virginia City, Nevada; P. A. 
 Lugonbuhl, Road Master, Carson City, Nevada ; J. 
 E. Fording. Master .Mechanic, Carson Citj-, Nevada; 
 B. F. Ljon, Master Car Repairer, (..'arson Citj% 
 Nevada; II. Hunter, blaster Transportation, Carson 
 City, Nevada; I). A. Bender, Freight and Passenger 
 Agent, Carson City, Nevada; C. P.Mason, Purchas- 
 ing Agent, Carson City, Nevada. Principal office 
 and address, Carson City, Nevada. 
 
 The wages paid on this road are, engineers five 
 dollars per day, conductors four dollars, firemen 
 three dollars and fifty cents, and brakemen three 
 dollars and twenty-tive cents. 
 
 LOCAL FREIGHT TARIFF, OCTOBER 1, 1880. 
 
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 Merctiandise in cents per 100 pounds, as above, will api)ly upon 
 all articles not enumerated under head of "Car Load Kates." 
 The above rates will apply I)etween stations, unless otherwise 
 provided. Through rates for freight range from eight to fifteen 
 and one-half cents per ton per mile. Passenger rates never ex- 
 ceed seven and one-half cents per mile. 
 
 NEVAD.\ CENTRAL RAILKOAl). 
 
 In 1874, M. J. Farrell, of Austin, Lander County, 
 foreseeing that the time would come when the 
 expense of mining in the Reese Iliver country, 
 because of slow and expensive freight facilities, 
 would exceed the income, and that it would result 
 in an eventual abandonment of the country, com- 
 menced a railroad agitation, by writing articles for 
 the Reese River Reveille, on the feasibility and neces- 
 sity of such an enterprise. lie also gathered statistics 
 in relation to such a road and laid tlicm before the 
 people at a meeting called for that purpose. The 
 work was warmly seconded by the people, and a 
 bill drawn up for presentation to the Legislature 
 
 at the next session, granting a franchise and 8200,- 
 000 subsidj- to any party that would build the 
 road. He was elected to the State Senate that fall 
 and laid the matter before the Legislature of 1875 
 as Senate Bill No. 3. Many members had been 
 elected on an anti-subsidy platform, and L. R. Brad- 
 ley, the incarnation of opposition to railroad subsidies, 
 occupied the Governor's chair. The prospect for 
 getting such a bill through was gloomy, but he 
 went to work at it, and with the assistance of the 
 Assemblymen from Lander County, and other 
 friends, succeeded after a hard fought battle not 
 only in passing the bill, but in again passing it over 
 the Ciovernor's veto. 
 
 After the session, he went to California, consulted 
 Governor Stanford and the officers of the Central 
 Pacific, with which road it was to connect at Battle 
 Mountain, as to what facilities they would afford the 
 enterprise; visited the North Pacific Coast Narrow- 
 (ruuge Railroad, and commenced the study of narrow 
 gauges. After his return home he took charge of the 
 petition made necessary by the bill, and carried it 
 through to completion, meanwhile gathering statistics 
 as to the traftic of the road, procuring all books possi- 
 ble that treated of narrow-gauge roads, and writing 
 up the whole subject in all its bearings five diff"erent 
 times, for as many different parties who wished to 
 investigate the subject. He corresponded with 
 parties all over the United States, writing volumes 
 on the subject, from 1875 to 1870. Ho dung to it, 
 and believed it would finalij' become an accomplished 
 fact, although every other man in the county, with- 
 out exception, had given it up, and began to laugh at 
 " Farrell's Hobbj-." 
 
 After his return, a meeting^as called to which he 
 submitted the information acquired, and ])ro])osed a 
 subscri])tion to pa}- for surveying a route. This was 
 responded to with alacrity, and a survey was made 
 with elaborate maps and specifications as to cost. 
 They were submitted to several parties, and finally 
 to Col. Lyman Bridges, of Chicago, who atler con- 
 siderable correspondence, came oat, and in connection 
 with the following-named parlies formed the Nevada 
 Central Railroad Company on the second of Septem- 
 ber, 1879. 
 
 OFFICERS AND niRECTOKS. 
 
 W. S. Gage, of San Francisco President 
 
 R. L. S. Hall, of New York City Vice-President 
 
 A. A. Curtis, of Austin, Nevada Treasurer 
 
 J. D. Negus, of Hattle Mountain, Nevada . .Secrotar^- 
 Lyman Bridges, of Chicago, Illinois. . Chief Kngineer 
 J. C. Fisher, of Battle Mouut'n, Nev. .Master Mechanic 
 
 F. W. Dunn, • " " Asst. Supt. 
 
 D. B. Hatch, of New York Director 
 
 M. E. Angel, of Battle Mountain, Nevada " 
 
 James II. Ledlie, of Ulica, New York " 
 
 M. J. Farrell, of Austin, Nevada " 
 
 A. Nichols, of Austin, Nevada " 
 
 Work was immediatel}' commenced, and the con- 
 struction was completed on the ninth of February, 
 
284 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 1S80. The road is a three-foot gauge, with iron rails 
 weighing thirty-five pounds to the yard. The curves 
 range from six to twenty-two degrees, and the 
 steepest grade is 115 feet to the mile. There is one 
 portion of the route of twenty-five continuous miles 
 of air line, in another twenty-seven, and the entire 
 length of the road is ninety-three and three-fourths 
 miles. 
 
 A change of management occurred May 1, 1880. 
 Prior to that time the road was running at a loss, 
 but since the change the tide has set the other way. 
 The present officer.-i and Directors are Joseph CoUett, 
 President; Itobert S. Walker, Vice-President; D. B. 
 Hatch. Treasurer, Anson P. Stokes, Allen A. Curtis, 
 M. J. Farrell, and A. ^Nichols, Directors. 
 
 Operating officers — Joseph Collett, General Man- 
 ager; F. W. Dunn, Superintendent; C. W. Hench- 
 cliffe. Secretary and General Freight and Passenger 
 Agent; R. Amerman, Cashier. 
 
 The Nevada Central owners contemplate contin- 
 uing their line farther south to Grantsville; the 
 extcntion to be known as the " Nevada Southern 
 Railroad," that is to eventually connect with some of 
 the Southern transcontinental roads, or the Nevada 
 Division of the California Central Railroad. 
 
 Lander County issued her bonds for §200,000 as a 
 gift to the Nevada Central Company for building 
 their railroad that cost 8944,590.58, and the profits for 
 the ten months that it has been in operation, up to 
 the close of 18S0, was 82,007.13. Their average 
 freight charges have been 15.3 cents a ton per mile, 
 the extremes ranging from ten to twenty cents. 
 Passenger rates practically ten cents per mile. 
 
 NEVADA CENTRAL RAILWAY. 
 
 LOCAL FREIGHT TARIFF, MARCH 15, 1880. 
 
 
 
 
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 34 
 
 4.3 50 
 
 'it} 
 
 
 iii :i-2 
 
 2!» 
 
 •>•» 
 
 7 
 IS 
 
 io 
 
 10 17 
 
 ..1 6 
 
 li 
 
 20 
 16 
 
 .35 42 
 25.32 
 
 ■IS 
 
 Rec'se Kiver Carton 
 
 54 4:t 
 
 :t;i '.■)•.' 
 
 38 
 
 
 G0 4!l 
 1)5 55 
 
 4(5 :i'.i 
 
 51 44 
 
 25 17 
 :io 22 
 
 6 .. 
 11 5 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 18,25 
 13 20 
 
 31 
 
 Hallsvale 
 
 26 
 
 Silver Creek 
 
 70 :i'.) 
 7".l ON 
 
 .->5 4'.l 
 01 5.S 
 
 .•t4l2(i 
 
 4:i;{5 
 
 16 
 
 4 
 
 
 •1 16 
 
 •>•> 
 
 Helena 
 
 25 IS 13 
 
 !) . . 7 
 
 13 
 
 Ledlio 
 
 SO 75 
 '.K2H1 
 
 71 1)5 
 
 77,71 
 
 50<.t2 
 5()|4S 
 
 32 25 20 
 38 31 26 
 
 1 1 
 
 16 7 .. 
 22 13 6 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 liate in cents per 100 pounds as alrave on general merchandise 
 and all articles not enumerated under " .Special Rates." 
 
 OFFICIAt, HEPORT FOR FIRST TEN MONTHS. 
 
 Capital stock . . .' 8 1 ,00(1 1)00 00 
 
 Cash cui)ital paid in on stock 9.12.") (HI 
 
 Purc-liase of laiids for construction . 13,920 58 
 
 Cost of construction 944,590 23 
 
 Cost of buildings 11,606 72 
 
 Cost of engines S 17.000 00 
 
 Cost of cars 9,666 66 
 
 Amount of bonded indebtedness 1,000,000 00 
 
 Amount received for transportation 
 
 of freight, passengers, mail, ex- 
 press, etc 108,484 79 
 
 Freight of all kinds hauled, in tons. . . 9,724 
 
 Amount paid for ojiorating expenses.. 8106,477 66 
 
 Number of engine-houses 2 
 
 Number of machine shops 1 
 
 Number of engines 3 
 
 Number of passenger cars (combination) 2 
 
 N umber of box cars 17 
 
 Number of platform cars 45 
 
 Number of hand cars 11 
 
 Total net profits for 1 880 82,007 13 
 
 Special rates between Battle Mountain and Aus- 
 tin, or Ledlie: — 
 
 Ores $ 9 per ton 
 
 Lumber 15 per ton 
 
 Lath and Shingles 16 per ton 
 
 Ha}-, baled 10 per ton 
 
 Coal (Cumberland and Lehigh) 12 per ton 
 
 Coal (Rocky Mountain) 9 per ton 
 
 Brick 12 per ton 
 
 Wood, from Hallsville and Silver 
 
 Creek to Austin 83 00 per cord 
 
 Charcoal, from Hallsville and Silver 
 
 Creek to Austin 6 cents 
 
 Mining timbers, from Hallsville and 
 
 Silver Creek to Austin 20 cts. each 
 
 Lagging 6 cts. each 
 
 Wool, from Austin, Ledlie, Silver 
 
 Creek, and Hallsville to Battle 
 
 Mountain 12 00 per ton 
 
 At Galena, eleven miles from its terminus at Bat- 
 tle Mountain, this road receives a branch called the 
 " Battle Mountain and Lewis Railroad," connecting 
 the towns of Lewis, Bullion and (Quartz Mountain, 
 having a length of fourteen miles. Stages and 
 fre ght lines connect at Ledlie and Austin for Grants- 
 ville, ('andclaria, 15elmont, and all other jyoints in the 
 southern part of the Stale. 
 
 EUREKA AND PALISADE KAII.KOAD. 
 
 The above-named road, by a track ninety miles in 
 length, connects the two towns after which it is 
 named. The comjiany was organized on the nine- 
 teenth of November, 1873, with the following gen- 
 tlemen for Directors: — Erastus Woodruft", William IL 
 lOnnor, Monroe Salisbur}', John T. Gilmer, C. H. 
 Hempstead, and J. R. Wilhington. 
 
 Their capital stock was Sl.OOO.OUO, the amount 
 being doubled in September, 1876. 
 
 In 1874 the franchise iia-^sod into the hands of 
 Edgar and D. O. Mills, who, in the latter |)art of the 
 same year sold one-half of it to William Sharon, A. 
 K. P. Harmon, John Shaw, Isaac L. Recpia, and 
 Thomas liell, and these gciitlemon constitute the 
 company as it now exists. This cor|)oration con- 
 structed the roa<l at a cost of 81.355.346.78, and 
 paid for right of way, lands and buildings. 889.078.98, 
 and equipped it at a further expense of 8112,190.97, 
 making a total expense for the property as it now 
 stands of 81,556,616.73. For rolling-stock, etc., see 
 general table. 
 
Kjc^ty^ 
 
Dr. Simeon Lem Lee 
 
 Is a native of ^'audalia, Fayette County, Illinois, and was l)orn September 4, 1844. 
 His parents resided on a farm, where he remained, dividing his time between work, play, 
 and the school room, until nineteen years of age, when he enlisted in Company H, Eighth 
 Illinois Infantry. 
 
 It was in 1863, that he became a soldier, and he remained in the army about two 
 and a half years, until the close of the war, when he was finally mustered out, as an 
 officer, having won his way from a private to a lieutenancy. He was one of the 
 storming party that took Spanish Fort, and a few days later Fort Blakeley, in 1865, 
 those strongholds being the key to the city of Mobile, in Alabama, which surrendered 
 as soon as these outer defenses had fallen. He was one of the first in the storming party 
 to reach the inside of the enemy's works- — Dr. A. C. Bishop, of Eureka, Nevada, being 
 the first at the charge that took the latter Fort. His Lieutenant, shot through the body, 
 fell a few yards before reaching the parapets, in front of which lay, dead or wounded, 
 one-half of Lee's comrades, who, with him, had faced the enemy's scathing storm of 
 schrapnel-shells, grape, canister, and musket laden messengers of death. Thus a vacancj- 
 was created, and a brave boy — for young Lee was not j'et twenty-one years of age — 
 received the reward by a commission for a gallant and brave act, that justly entitled 
 him to preferment. 
 
 After leaving the service, at the close of the war, he entered the medical college at 
 Cincinnati, Ohio, where he finally graduated in 1870, and the f-ame year settled in Carson, 
 Nevada, to practice his profession. In 1872, he removed to Pioclie, remaining there 
 until 1879, and then returned to Carson City, where he now resides. 
 
 In 1868, he was married to Lola M. Watts, of Cincinnati, and they now have three 
 sons, named respectively, Bi.shop F., William L.. and Adelbert W. 
 
 The Doctor is a man of decided opinions and chaiacteristics. His frivmls know that 
 he considers them as such, his enemies are in no doubt as to his views regarding them, 
 and he wa.s never known to stop at a half-way house. Occasionally he takes a hand in 
 the game of politics, and when he does, those M'hom he favors or those whom he opposes 
 are neither of tl-.em obliged to call the roll to find out whether he is present or not. We 
 are inclined to think he likes his friends too well and di.slikes the othei-s too much. In 
 disposition he is generous, and in manner polite and courteous. 
 
 As a physician, he is thoroughly read, has had and has now, extensive practice and 
 observation, and has brains enough to profit by it. As a surgeon, there are too many 
 examples of skillfully treated cases that have already come successfully from under his 
 treatment to leave a doubt as to ability in that line. 
 
RAILROADS. 
 
 •265 
 
 In 1875 they purchased the Ruby Hill Road at a 
 cost of S75,000, and constructed additional branches 
 to it at a further ex])eii.se of 675,(100, which adds 
 about six and one-half miles to their line. At pres- 
 ent their tonnage of freight is not equal to what it 
 has been in the past. The amount for one j-ear prior 
 to May 1, 1880, was as follows: — 
 
 Tons Grain 2,004.73 
 
 " Flour 91t).84 
 
 " Lumber 8,688.83 
 
 " Coal 5,92(J.98 
 
 "• Merchandise 8,266.74 
 
 Total tons by railroad to Eureka 25,894.12 
 
 " " " " from" 15,832.70 
 
 Total tons freight to and from Eureka 41,726.82 
 
 The average passenger rate is nine and one-half 
 cents per mile, and the average rate of freight is 
 twenty cents a mile ])er ton; through rates ranging 
 from five and one- half to over eighteen cents. The 
 principal freights going north from Eui'eka over this 
 road are lead, bullion, hides and wool. 
 
 From Eureka it connects by teams with Belmont, 
 Tybo, Morey, Hot Creek, Tem Piute, Pioche, Ham- 
 ilton, Mineral City, Ward, and Osceola. On the line 
 of the road is the company's farm ol' 1 ,000 acres of 
 land enclosed, from which is cut about 600 tons of 
 hay ycarlj-, and the company keeps a total average 
 number of sixty-eight men employed. There are 
 sixteen way-stations on the line, the most populous 
 of which are Alpha, twentj'-five inhabitants, with 
 one store, and Pine, with twenty-eight residents and 
 a store. 
 
 The present officers of the company arc Edgar 
 Mills, President; E. T. Oatman, Secretary; T. F. 
 Lawer, General Freight, Passenger and Ticket 
 Agent; P. Evarts, General Superintendent. 
 
 The company's shops are at Palisade, their Cen- 
 tral Pacific terminus on the north, where the rolling- 
 stock is repaired. J. P. Rugg is the Master Me- 
 chanic, and A. S. Longley, Master Car-builder. The 
 former was at one time in charge of the machinery 
 of the Combination, Crown Point, and Belcher shaft; 
 and the latter built some of the first cars for the 
 company in whose em])loy he is now working. T. F. 
 Lawer, the General Freight, Passenger and Ticket 
 Agent, entered the employ of the company origin- 
 ally as an office-boy. 
 
 REPORT OF THE E. AND P. RAILROAD FOR 1880. 
 
 Capital stock $2,000,000 00 
 
 Capital i)ai(l up. . 1,090.375 00 
 
 Amount jiaid for lands in construction 17.246 7(i 
 
 Cost of construction 1,355, 34(i 78 
 
 Cost of buildings 71,832 22 
 
 Cost of engines 40,314 22 
 
 Cost of cars 71,876 75 
 
 Amount of indebtedness (outstanding 
 
 bonds) 928,289 52 
 
 Amount duo the company 388,297 79 
 
 Amount received for transportation of 
 
 passengers, freight, ]iro])erly, mails, 
 
 express, and from ail other sources.. 444,532 38 
 
 Current expenses 196,299 44 
 
 36 
 
 Number and anidiint nt' (livi<londs (II 
 
 paid monthly) §285,000 00 
 
 Tons of freight transported 36,805.09 
 
 Number of engine bouses . . 2 
 
 Number of shops . . 1 
 
 Number of engines 5 
 
 Number of coaches 2 
 
 Number of cabooses 2 
 
 Number of ex|)ress and baggage cars 2 
 
 Number of box cars 21 
 
 Number of flat-cars 95 
 
 Number of hand cars 10 
 
 Total profits for 1880 ... S248,232 94 
 
 Per cent, of profits on investment ^^ra 
 
 SPECIAL FREIGHT RATES BETWEEN PALISADE AND 
 EUREKA. 
 
 Base metal 810 50 ])er ton 
 
 Brick 12 00 ])er ton 
 
 Coal (Cumberland) 12 00 ])er ton 
 
 Coal (Rocky Mountain) 7 00 ])er ton 
 
 ("oke 7 00 per ton 
 
 Flour • 16 00 per ton 
 
 Flue dust 4 00 ])er ton 
 
 Grain and mill stuff 12 00 per ton 
 
 Ilay, baled 16 00 per ton 
 
 ice 15 00 ])er ton 
 
 Iron (pig or scrap) 12 00 per ton 
 
 Lead 8 00 ])er ton 
 
 Lath, shingles and shakes 16 00 per ton 
 
 Lumber 19 00 per M. 
 
 Ore 5 00 per ton 
 
 Potatoes 12 00 per ton 
 
 Wool (compressed in bales, 17 lbs. to a 
 cubic foot) 10 00 per ton 
 
 BETWEEN WAY-STATIONS AND EUREKA. 
 
 Charcoal, from ]?radlcj's, .Black- 
 burns and points between. 27Jc per 100 fljs. 
 
 Charcoal, from Al])ha and Oak and 
 
 points between 22Jc per 100 lbs. 
 
 Charcoal from Summit and Horse 
 
 Shoo 183c per 100 lbs. 
 
 Charcoal, from Garden Pass and Old 
 
 Fourth 12Jc per 100 Ybs. 
 
 Charcoal from Diamond 10c per 100 lbs. 
 
 Hay ''baled), from I'A-aiisand Parry8.-815 00 par ton 
 Hay (baled), from Hay Ranch 14 00 per ton 
 
 Wood, from Alpha and Summit and 
 
 points between . . $4 00 per cord 
 
 W^ood, from between Summit and 
 
 Garden Fuss 3 00 per cord 
 
 Wood, from Old Fcuirtli and diamond 2 50 jier cord 
 
 Fifty (50) cents per ton will bo charged for loading 
 
 and transferring base metal. 
 
 Bri<'k, charcoal, coal, flue dust, hay, lumber, lath, 
 ore, shingles, shakes and wood, to be loaded and un- 
 loaded liy ship]icr, or at their expense. 
 
 Isiniity packages returned free. The following 
 named, having been used to trans|)()rt ]iro])erty to a 
 general market, will be returned free, provided they 
 are i)ro])erly marked and directed, and the comiJany 
 is released from all liability for loss or damage to the 
 same, and ])rovided they are removed promptly- from 
 the freight station. If recei|its are denuuuied, regu- 
 lar rates will be charged. When destined to points 
 off the litie of this road, charges to jirepay over con- 
 necting lines to destination must be collected by the 
 receiving agent: — 
 
286 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Beer kegs, butter and egg boxes, fruit boxes and 
 baskets, ice blankets, coal, meat and ore sacks, soda 
 and beer bottles in eases, and mil^ cans. 
 
 Quicksilver flasks and gasoline tanks will be re- 
 turned at one-half first-class rates, actual weight. 
 
 Agents must be particular to see that this priv- 
 ilege is not granted to parties not entitled to it, and 
 must explain on the way-bill upon whose account the 
 propertj- is returned. 
 
 THROUGH PASSENGER RATES BETWEEN EUREKA AND THE 
 FOLLOWING POINTS. 
 
 San Francisco S45 75 
 
 San Jose 45 75 
 
 Stockton 43 75 
 
 Sacramento 41 75 
 
 Marysville 42 85 
 
 Colfax 38 10 
 
 Reno 29 00 
 
 Virginia City 32 00 
 
 Winnemueca 16 25 
 
 Battle Mountain 1175 
 
 Elko... 10 50 
 
 Ogden...., 31 00 
 
 TRAIN RATES BETWEEN EUREKA AND THE FOLLOWING 
 POINTS. 
 
 Palisade $8 40 
 
 Alpha and Pine 3 50 
 
 Cedar 3 25 
 
 Oak 3 00 
 
 Between all other points conductors collect at the 
 rate of ten (10) cents jier mile for each adult. 
 
 The onlj- transportation on the Ruby Hill Railroad 
 is ore from the mines to the different reduction works 
 in Eureka, for which fifty cents or one dollar per ton 
 is charged, according to distance. 
 
 RUBY HILL RAILROAD FOR 1880. 
 
 Capital stock SI 50,000 00 
 
 Capital paid up 150,000 00 
 
 Paid for lands in construction 3,000 00 
 
 Cost of construction 111,547 50 
 
 Cost of buildings 3,000 00 
 
 Cost of engines 14,642 50 
 
 Cost of cars 17,810 00 
 
 Amount of indebtedness 
 
 Amount duo the company 10,258 70 
 
 Amount reed for transportation of fr'ght, 106,544 30 
 
 Current expenses. . 25,803 12 
 
 No. and amt of dividends, H (pd monthly) 75,000 00 
 
 Tons of freight transported 93,377 
 
 Kumber of engines. 2 
 
 Number of ore ears 30 
 
 Number of hand-cars 1 
 
 Total net profits for 1880 880,741 18 
 
 Per cent, of ]irf)fits on investment a trifle over 53. 
 
 LAKE TAIIOE NARROW-GAUGE RAILROAD. 
 
 This road was built in 1875 by fl. M. Yerrington 
 and I). L. Bliss to freight lumber and wood from 
 Lake Tahoo at (ilenbrook to the summit of the 
 Sierra Nevada Mountain, from whore the freight is 
 run in a V flume to Carson City. The road is eight 
 and three-fourths miles in length, and was grafled at 
 a cost of about 830,000 to the mile. Stool rails of 
 ti!i'h<ty'fi\<e'>[X)Unds <por lyardnwae. used in laying the 
 track. For equipment see general tab!*. ■ It:b»i*460 
 
 feet of tunnel; the two heaviest grades are 165 and 
 200.75 feet to the mile, and the average is 130. 
 
 In passing up the steep mountain from the lake 
 the road makes a long half-curve in going to the east, 
 and comes to an abrupt terminus like the point of the 
 letter Z. From this point it runs back along the 
 same face of the mountain 6,000 feet, going up con- 
 tinuously until it again terminates, this time upon a 
 trestle-work built out over the lake so high that it 
 makes one shudder to look down upon the water 
 below, and from where is presented a scenic effect 
 surpassed in few places in America. Again it trav- 
 erses the same side of the mountain, still going 
 up until an elevation is reached that carries it out to 
 the east over the summit, having passed back and 
 forth three times to reach that point along the face 
 of a mountain so steep that a stone started at the 
 top would roll to the bottom of it. 
 
 There are three engines on this road weighing 
 twenty three tons each, with thirteen-inch bore, 
 sixteen-inch stroke, six connected forty-inch drivers, 
 and Bissel trucks of two wheels. Either of those 
 little giants will take seventy tons of freight upon 
 cars up those grades at a speed often miles per hour. 
 
 The expense of running the road is about 83,000 
 per month. The transportation expense over the 
 road is seventy-five cents per thousand feet for lum- 
 ber, and fortj'-five cents per cord for wood. There 
 has been but one accident, and that was in 1877, 
 when a tourist fell off the cars and was killed. In 
 the summer there are about thirty men on the com- 
 pany pay-rolls; in the spring, however, it requires 
 sometimes a large force to keep the track in re])air. 
 The ties are six by eight and six feet long; the cars 
 are extra heavj' and capable of carrying from six- 
 teen to eighteen tons each. The office at (Jlen- 
 brook is connected b}- telephone with Carson Citj'. 
 
 John Bartholomew was the first Superintendent, 
 and was succeeded in 1877 by the present efficient 
 and gentlemanlj' incumbent, John T. Rogers. The 
 Master Mechanic, George Lindsay, has filled that 
 position for the company since its organization, and 
 is the right man in the right place. The companj-'s 
 shops contain all the a])pliances, except a foundry-, 
 necessary for either locomotive or steamboat repairs. 
 The present owner of the road is the Carson and Ijako 
 Tahoe Wood, Lumber and Fluming Companj', a cor- 
 poration organized under the laws of the State of 
 Nevada. 
 
 PIOCHE AND BULLIONVILLE RAILROAD. 
 
 This company was organized January 6,- 1872, 
 and their incorporation papers were filed with the 
 Secretary of State on the following twelfth of Feb- 
 ruary. 
 
 Under the management of General A. L. Page 
 the road was constructed, connecting the two points 
 indicated by its name, which lie twenty-one and one- 
 half milos apart. Work thereon was commenced in 
 the summer of 1872, and the first grading was com- 
 platodoiu'tho twouty-BOCond of Fobruaryj 1873. 
 
RAILROADS. 
 
 287 
 
 There was some trouble and bad work in the first 
 grading of the road, concerning which the Pioche 
 Record, in April, 1873, says: '-There is no honesty 
 in longer disguising the fact that the BuUionville 
 Narrow-Gauge Road is a failure." It adds: "The 
 rails are too frail, and the grading in places is not 
 safe. A new survey is being made and the work of 
 constructing a good serviceable railroad between 
 hero and BuUionville is now being prosecuted sensi- 
 bly and in earnest." Heavier rails wei'e soon pro- 
 cured, and on the fifth of May their first loco- 
 motive was fired up, and in the early part of June 
 the improved road was completed. .This short line 
 was constructed for the purpose of carr3'ing ore 
 from the mines of Pioche to the mills at BuUionville, 
 was built and managed chiefly by General Page, 
 since deceased, and for a few years transacted a fair 
 business, but with the exhaustion of the Raymond 
 and Ely, and Meadow Valley mines its resources 
 failed and it fell into disuse. 
 
 C.'VRSON AND COLORADO RAILROAD. 
 
 The rich mines of the southwest, at Belleville and 
 Candelaria, as well as those of the eastern border of 
 California, are inviting fields for railroad enterprise; 
 and to supply the freight and ])assenger necessities 
 of the extensive region the Carson and Colorado 
 Railroad Company was formed; its incorporation 
 dating May 10, 1880. Work was immediately com- 
 menced, the initial point being Mound House, on the 
 Virginia and Truckee Railroad; and the road, as far 
 as Hawthorne, a distance of 100 miles, was com- 
 pleted and opened for business on the eighteenth of 
 April, 1881. The lino is expected soon to be extended 
 to Candelaria, fifty-three miles farther, and event- 
 ually to the Colorado River. Over this road passen- 
 gers and freight are taken for Aurora, twenty-six 
 miles distant from Hawthorne, southwest; to Bodie, 
 in California, thirty-seven miles; to Belleville, forty- 
 five miles; and to Candelaria, fifty-throe miles, south- 
 east. 
 
 This lino is a three-foot narrow-gauge, laid with 
 steel rails and redwood ties, and equipped with new 
 and first-class rolling-stock. The route is an inter- 
 esting one, crossing the Carson River at Daj'ton (six 
 miles from Mound House), the location of several ore 
 reduction works, and distant three miles from Sutro, 
 at mouth of the Sutro Tunnel. 
 
 From Dayton the line follows the Carson River to 
 Churchill Canon; thence into Mason Valloj', a large 
 and productive farming district, through which runs 
 the Walker River; thence following the Walker 
 River, crossing the same twice to Walker Lake, 
 which is twenty-five miles in length, and from five 
 to nine miles in width; and along the shore of 
 Walker Lake to Hawthorne, located four miles from 
 the southern end of the lake. 
 
 The following are the names of, and distances to, 
 the various stations along the road, starting from 
 Mound House: — 
 
 Dayton 6 miles 
 
 Clifton 18 " 
 
 Fort Churchill 26 " 
 
 Washout 28 " 
 
 Wabuska 38 " 
 
 Cleaver 42 " 
 
 Mason 45 " 
 
 Rio Vista 54 " 
 
 Reservation 58 " 
 
 Schurz 65 " 
 
 Gillis... 78 " 
 
 Hawthorne 100 " 
 
 Financial statement, May 31, 1880 — Capital stock, 
 §(5,000,000. 
 
 Directors — S. P. Smith. San Francisco, California; 
 B. C. Whitman, Virginia; H. M. Yerrington, Carson 
 City; D. L. Bliss, C'arson City; D. A. Bender. Car- 
 son City; W. D. Toboy, Carson City; H. L. Tiek- 
 ner, Carson City. 
 
 Officers — II. M. Yerrington, President and Superin- 
 tendent; Robert J. Laws, Assistant Superintendent; 
 .James Oliver, Chief Engineer; 1). A. Bender, Secre- 
 tary. Principal office and address, Carson City, 
 Nevada. 
 
 The surveys and line have long been established to 
 Candelaria, much of which is graded, and several 
 miles laid with iron. Southeasterly from Hawthorne, 
 along the line of the road, stretches a sandy and bar- 
 len waste for eleven miles, when a hilly region is 
 reached, continuing southeast fourteen miles farther, 
 when the direction turns due south. On this road 
 the rates of pay for employes are, engineers SllO per 
 month, conductors 80(1, firemen ST5, and brakemen 
 $70. 
 
 SALT LAKE AND WESTERN RAILROAD. 
 
 On the seventeenth of June, 1881, tho articles of 
 incorporation of the Salt Lake and Western Railroad 
 Company were filed in the office of tho Secretary of 
 State at Carson, with the names of Holiver Roberts, 
 James Little, and Perly Williams as Directors, who 
 deposited 850,000 with tho Controller as an earnest 
 of their purpose. The design is to build a road from 
 Salt Lake or from the Southern Utah or other road, 
 through the southern part of the State, either by way 
 of Eureka or Pahranagat, the route being not j'ot 
 defined, and joining the California Central, making a 
 through road independent of the Central Pacifi(^ 
 The Carson A/ipmi/ of June 18ih says: " Tho prop- 
 osition to build the road grew out of trouble between 
 the Union Pacific and Central Pacific. Sydney Dil- 
 lon and Jay Gould are backing the enterprise, and 
 pro])ose to build a com])etitive lino from Utah to 
 San Francisco, and cripple the j)owor of the Central 
 Pacific to rob tho State of Nevada. Tho road 
 will be pushed forward with millions of capital, and 
 it means better limes for Nevada. 
 
 NEVADA SOUTHERN RAILROAD. 
 
 The line of the road is from Ledlie Station (N. C. 
 R. R.), to Clovordalo, eighty miles. Gauge, three feet. 
 Rail, thirty-five ]>uunds. 
 
288 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 This company was organized February 25, 1880, 
 to extend the line of the Nevada Central Railroad 
 Companj-. The line is located, and construction is 
 commenced. 
 
 Financial statement, May 31, 1880 — Capital stock 
 paid in, 880,000. 
 
 Directors (elected February 28, 1880)— J. H. 
 Ledlie, Utiea, New York; Andrew Nichols, Austin; C- 
 P. Soulc, Austin; Lyman Bridges, Battle Mountain; 
 Francis Bridges, Battle Mountain; J. W. McWill- 
 iams, Battle Mountain; P. W. Johnson, Battle Mount- 
 ain; R. L. S. Hall, New York City, New York; J. D. 
 Negus, Chicago, Illinois. 
 
 Officers — James H. Ledlie, President, Utica, New 
 York; Andrew Nichols, Vice-President, Austin; E. 
 L. S. Hall, Treasurer, New York City, New York; 
 Lyman Bi'idges, Chief Engineer, Battle Mountain ; 
 J. D. Negus, Secretary, Chicago, Illinois. 
 
 NEV.\DA NORTHERN RAILROAD. 
 
 The line of the road is from Battle Mountain, 
 Nevada, to the Idaho Line, 120 miles. Gauge three 
 feet. Rail, thirty-five pounds. This company was 
 organized Februarj^ 25, 1880, and a portion of the 
 line is expected to be opened the current year. 
 It connects with the Nevada Central Railroad. 
 
 Financial statement, May 31, 1880. — Capital stock 
 paid in, 8150,000. Surveys are being made north- 
 ward to the Columbia River. 
 
 Directors— R. L. S. Hall, New York City; P. W. 
 Johnson, Lyman Bridges, J. W. McWilliams, L. D. 
 Huntsman, L. S. Foster, Battle Mountain ; J. H. 
 Ledlie, Utica, New York; J. D. Negus, Chicago, 
 Illinois; Andrew Nichols, Austin. 
 
 Officers — R. L. S. Hall, President and Treasurer, 
 New York City; J. E. Negus, Secretary, Chicago, 
 Illinois; Lyman Bridges, Chief Engineer, Battle 
 Mountain. PriiKi])al office and address. Battle Mount- 
 ain, Nevada. 
 
 NEVADA AND OREGON RAILROAD. 
 
 The charter line of the road is from Aurora, via 
 Bodie, California, Carson City and Reno, Nevada, 
 Hoi'cy Lake Valley, Madeline Plains, Pit River and 
 (jooso Ijakc, California, to Oregon Line, 342 miles. 
 Branch to Virginia City, seventeen miles; branch in 
 Plumas County, California, fifty-five miles. Total 
 length, with branches, 414 miles. Gauge, three feet. 
 Rail, thirty-five i)ounds. 
 
 Companj- organized June 1, 1880. Construction 
 commenced Decemin'r 22, 1880, at Reno, going north- 
 ward. Colonel Thiimas .Moore, of Elizabeth, New 
 Jersey, has the contract for the construction and 
 equipment of the road, and it is expected to be 
 CDinpleled to Beckwourlh, in California, before the 
 expiration of the year 1881. 
 
 Financial statement — Bonded debt, 810,000 per 
 mile. 
 
 Directors — A. J. Hatch, George L. Wood, James 
 McMechan, C. A. Bragg, John Sunderland, R. L. 
 Fulton, C. P. Soule. 
 
 OflScers — A. J. Hatch, President, Reno; Geo. 
 L. Wood, Vice-President, San Francisco, California ; 
 John Sunderland, Treasurer, Reno; T. S. Coffin, Sec- 
 retary, Reno; H. G. McClellan, Chief Engineer of 
 Construction, Reno. Piincipal place of business, 
 Reno, Nevada. 
 
 EUREKA AND COLORADO RAILROAD. 
 
 This company was organized in February, 1881, to 
 build, as its name implies, from Eureka, at the 
 terminus of the Palisade and Eureka Railroad, 
 southeastwardly to the Colorado River. During 
 the summer of 1881 surveys were made, contracts 
 were let, and grading prosecuted from Eureka to 
 Robinson Canon, in "White Pine County. This being 
 an extension of the Palisade and Eureka, is under 
 the same management. 
 
 RENO AND QUINCY RAILROAD. 
 
 The Plumas, California, National, in July, 1881, 
 announced that arrangements had been made for 
 constructing a narrow-gauge railroad between the 
 town of (Juincy, Plumas County, California, to Reno, 
 on the Central Pacific, and that the Central Pacific 
 Company would assist the enterprise with funds to 
 insure its completion. 
 
 nUMBOLDT AND COLORADO RAILROAD. 
 
 On the twenty-eighth of May, 1868, a company was 
 formed in Austin, Lander County, for the purpose of 
 building a railroad from the Humboldt River to the 
 Colorado. The following were named as the officers: 
 Len Wines, President; Samuel Barclay, Secretary; 
 John A. Paxton, Treasurer; and the Board of Direc- 
 tors as follows: Len Wines, W. S. Gage, John A. 
 Paxton, L. B. Moore, I. C. Bateman, David E. Buel, 
 trcorge F. Dinsmore, James M. Dawley, Charles O. 
 Barker, of Austin; Dr. Gould, of Colorado; A. K. 
 Grim, of San Francisco; Charles Crocker, of Sacra- 
 mento; Able Bennett andJ.S. Christie, of New York. 
 
 This company was organized under the Act of the 
 Legislature of Nevada, entitled "An Act to Provide for 
 the Incorporation of Railroad Companies," &c., and 
 the certificate filed in the office of the Secretary of 
 State declares that the company shall continue in 
 existence for fifty years. 
 
 The initial point of the road was to have been near 
 Gravelly Ford, on the Humboldt River, from which 
 point it was supposed a road would also be con- 
 structed into Oregon, thus connecting the Columbia 
 and Colorado Rivers, as well as the Atlantic and 
 Pacific Oceans through the medium of the Central 
 and Union Pacific Railroads. It was also to connect 
 at the Colorado River with the line of one of the con- 
 templated roads over the southern route. 
 
 The )>rojectors had a bill before ('ongress for the 
 right of way and the usual grant of lands along the 
 route. The bill provided that the companj- must 
 construct and maintain a line of tck'gra])li along the 
 road; begin work within two years from the time of 
 the passage of the Act, and stipulated that at least 
 ten miles of the road should bo finished each succeed. 
 
RAILROADS. 
 
 2S0 
 
 ing year until 1880, when it must be completed. But 
 the bill never became a law and the project collapsed. 
 
 EASTERN NEVAD.V R.\lI,Ri)AD. 
 
 Januarj- 20, 1871, the Eastern Nevada Railroad 
 ('omj):iiiy was incorporated with \V. J. Forbes, I). T. 
 Elmore, E. B. Molt, llerniau Sadler and others as 
 incorporators. The road was to run from Elko on 
 the Central Pacific, to Hamilton, White Pine County, 
 a distance of 120 miles. An Act was passed permit- 
 ting White Pine County togrant a subsidy of 8250,000 
 in bonds, which was done conditionally upon the con- 
 
 struction of the road. The period was one of excite- 
 ment and prosperity, with a great amount of travel 
 through the region, to Eureka, Hamilton, Treasure 
 City, Robinson, Mineral City, and Pioche, and the 
 prospect bid very fair for the success of the entcrjirise. 
 Messrs. Elmore and Mott visited England to procure 
 capital to carry on the work; failing in this, together 
 with the rise of Eureka and the flianj^ing of the route 
 of travel through that place to Palisade, caused the 
 abandonment of the plan, after two years' struggle and 
 bright prospects of the instigators of the enterprise. 
 
 Name of Company. 
 
 sS 
 
 
 
 
 W 
 
 §1 
 
 » O 
 
 ai 
 
 
 SO 
 
 
 --> 
 
 5s CO r 
 
 n^ 
 
 § 
 
 >fl 
 
 I 
 
 — 3: n 
 
 s 
 
 
 (X3 
 
 O ct- (6 
 
 
 B- 
 
 8 » 3 
 
 o 
 
 (W 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 . of 
 upon 
 
 < 
 
 
 o 
 
 s 
 
 9 
 
 1 
 
 • B B 
 
 
 s 
 
 . 
 
 - ? S- 
 
 
 
 '. 
 
 
 CO 
 
 9^ 
 : g 
 
 ■ g. 
 
 Central Pacific 
 
 Virginia and Truckee. . . . 
 
 Eureka and Palisade 
 
 Ruby Hill 
 
 Nevatla Central 
 
 Lake Tahoe Narrow-Guage 
 Pioche and BuUionville . 
 
 Nevada Northern 
 
 Nevada Southern 
 
 Carson and Colorada . . . 
 Nevada and Oregon .... 
 
 452 
 
 90 
 
 5 
 
 9.3 
 
 S? 
 ■21 i 
 i'20 
 SO 
 
 100 
 
 284'4.8J 
 37 4.84 
 
 2i3 
 
 4;3 
 3j3 
 
 2.\3 
 
 •2" 3 
 ...3 
 ...3 
 
 .13 
 .3 
 
 Steel. 
 
 56 
 Steel. 
 
 35 
 
 35 
 
 35 
 Steel. 
 
 35 
 
 30 
 
 35 
 
 35 
 steel. 
 
 35 
 
 35 
 
 S 49,403,437 
 4,856,042 
 
 1,556,616 
 150,000 
 996,790 
 
 4,152,414 
 1,301,304 
 
 544,930 
 
 51,100 
 
 469,500 
 
 98,631* 
 
 7,11S,.500 
 
 16,049 
 23,509 
 10,431 
 
 7,296 
 
 
 226 
 
 261 
 
 4567 
 
 25,026 
 
 00 2 
 
 24 
 
 10 
 
 361 
 
 5,6,>2 
 
 ■'^tV 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 
 124 
 
 6,800 
 4,652 
 
 .53 
 
 2 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 ■■■4 
 
 30 
 
 79 
 
 55 
 
 
 
 56 
 4 
 2 
 
 Organized February 25, 1880. Stock paid np, S150,000. 
 Organized February 25, 1880. Construction commenced. 
 
 Organized May 10, 1880, Construction completed April 8, 1881. 
 Organized .June 1. 1880- Grading commenced December 22, 18S0. 
 
 "That company's report for 1878, gives the expense for construction of their entire 1,213 miles of railroad at §134,650,527. 89. 
 To learn, from those figures, the construction cost of one mile of that road, first deduct .?1.'),02 1,029 from the total, for expenses in 
 Califiriiia not liaving an eijuivalent in tliis .State. Then divide the remainder by the whole numlier of miles, and the result will be 
 898,631, the cost of one mile. 
 
 LIST OF RAILROAD GRANTS AND INCORPORATIONS. 
 
 Names of Railroad Companies. 
 
 Under Act. 
 
 Papers Filled. 
 
 Nevada or Central Pacific 
 
 Aurora and Walker River 
 
 Virj^inia City ;ind Wodhoe 
 
 Virjfinia, ('arson and Truckee 
 
 Virjfinia City and Silver City 
 
 Lake Tahoe' and Virginia City 
 
 VirKinia and Truckee 
 
 No name 
 
 Virjfinla and Truckee River 
 
 Virgitna ami Truckee 
 
 Vir^^'inia and Truckee 
 
 Humboldt and Colorado 
 
 Coli>ra'Jo and Nevada R. R. and Navlj^tion Co 
 
 Nevada Central 
 
 Eastern Neva<la 
 
 Virt^inia and Reno .Narrow-Ciauge 
 
 Reno and Virffinia Narrow-Oau^^ 
 
 No name , 
 
 Palisoda and Eureka: 
 
 Pioclic and Hullionvillo 
 
 Central .Nevada 
 
 Humboldt and Colorado 
 
 No name 
 
 No name 
 
 Eureka and Palisade 
 
 No name 
 
 Nevada and Oregon 
 
 No name 
 
 Virginia City and Umatilla 
 
 Nevatla 
 
 Nevada Central 
 
 Western Nevada 
 
 Nevada Noi-tbern 
 
 Nevada Suutliern 
 
 Nevatla an<I Arizona 
 
 Cartoon and Colorado 
 
 Nevada and * treuon 
 
 Southern Neviwla 
 
 Eureka and Colorado 
 
 Nov. ir>, 
 Nov. 26, 
 Nov. -39, 
 Nov. 29, 
 Dec. 19, 
 Dec. 19. 
 Hoc. 20, 
 March 9, 
 .March 2, 
 
 1881, 
 ISSI, 
 1»«1. 
 1S61 
 1882., 
 1862. , 
 1882.. 
 , ISdfi. 
 ,1860. 
 
 Mor;h 22, 189.'. 
 
 Pcb. 'Ji, i.STl'.. 
 March 22, 186:'. 
 Feb, 27, 1871 . 
 .March 8. IS71 
 
 Sep. I.ISU.")... 
 Mav 8, 18(17 . , . 
 .Ma'rch 5, 1888 
 Sep. l.'i, ISfiS.. 
 Feb, 8, 1869 . 
 .Ian. 4, 1871. . 
 .Inn. 20, 1871.. 
 Kch. 2.S, I8TI.. 
 Feb. 23, 1871. 
 
 March 22, I8(l.'i 
 March 22, 186.'. 
 Marili 22, IWl.'i 
 March 7, 187a 
 March 15, 1873 
 March 22, ISO.'. 
 Feb. 9, 1875 . 
 
 sen. 14, 1871 . . 
 Feb. 12. 1872 
 Nov. 28, 1872. 
 .Ian. 31, 1873. . 
 
 Nov. IB, 1873. 
 
 Feb. 20, 1875. 
 March 22, 1865 
 
 Feb. 15, 1876. 
 
 March 22, 188: 
 
 March 22. I-ld.'S 
 March 22, 18(1.'. 
 .March 22, 18<1.'. 
 
 March 24. 188.'. 
 March 22, 1885 
 ,1881 
 
 April 21,1875 
 April 1, 1878.. 
 Sep. 2, 1879. 
 !>«■. 13, 1878. 
 .March 8, l,18o. 
 .March N. 18.S0 
 .April 30. 1S80. 
 May 10, 1880... 
 June !•, I8S0.. 
 Nov. II, 1880 
 
 Succeeded by Viricinia and Truckee Railroad Act of 1862. 
 
 Connecting those points by way of Kingsbury Grade. 
 
 Connecting Virginia City and (California line via Carson City and Truckee River. 
 
 tnnecting N'irginia City with hayton. 
 Connecting those two pd nts cm Euj;le and Washoe Valleys. 
 From Gold Hill noilherly toTnickcc llivcr. 
 Virginia City to Reno cm Carson and Washoe Valleys. 
 From Gravelly Ford to Colorado llivcr through Lii'icoln County. 
 From Klk<. to .Mojave City, Arizomi. 
 From lieovvavve or Gravelly Ford to White Pine. 
 I onnccting KIkountI HiiUiltton. 
 
 Pi'pers micd four boursin advance of Heno and Virginia Narrow-Gauge. 
 hirst orgimizcil under general law. Tlien a special .\ctvvas passid. 
 From Palisade to Colorado Ulver via Kureka and Hamilton. 
 
 Was organized .lanuary 8, 1872. 
 
 Itunning from Pioche toCallvitle i;ta Rullionville. 
 
 Fiom Palisade to Furi ka. 
 
 Fiom Ihnnboldt Wei s to Colorado Uivcr. 
 
 From Kcno t.i .state line of California en route for Susanville. 
 
 Purchased Uuliy Hill lliuid in 187.'.. 
 
 From Kattle .Mountain to Austin. 
 
 N'irginia city t«i I'matilla, Oregon. 
 
 From crtal mines in Lyon Coiuitv to connect with Virgiida and Truckee Railroad. 
 
 From Virginia ( ity to northwest corner of north line of State. 
 
 From llntllc .Mountain n Austin. 
 
 h'roni It. tile Mountain to Austin. 
 
 Wadsworth to Walker Ijikc. 
 
 K.vt.'nds .Nevada Central north toSLtto line. 
 
 Kroin .lacolisvdle, on Nevatla Central, to Cloverdale, Nve County. 
 
 From Wadsworth to t^allvillc. 
 
 C'.nnects Virginia and Tnickee Raitntad with Walker Ijike. 
 
 From .Aurora, .Nev., toOiegon line via ('arson. Itcno and Henry Ijike Valley. 
 
 Fr 'in Ledlie .Station near Austiii to i;nuiUviltc, Nvc Coutitv. 
 
290 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 THE FUTURE LAND QUESTION. 
 
 From the foreij;oin£;, and from the histoiy, so 
 familiar to all. of the slrateg^y, cutinint; and selfish- 
 ness of the Central and Southern I'acitic JJailroad 
 Companies in California, deductions maj' be drawn 
 that porlend serious troubles to the most worthy 
 citizens of this State. The great grant (>f land 
 includes much that is valuable, and much that is 
 worthless. Alternate sections remain as Government 
 land or have passed to individual ownership. The 
 well-being of the State requires that all shall be 
 util'zed. Settlers are encouraged by the railroad 
 company to occupj- and improve the land, but are 
 refused any title, or agreement of terms upon which 
 they may rely in the future. The prospect opens 
 before them of a repetition of the Mussel Slough War 
 of California, with its murders, ejectments and 
 imprisonments, its ruinous litigations, exorbitant rates 
 for improvements made and propert}' created bj- the 
 purchaser, and at last to see one's rightful posses- 
 sions owned and occupied by another. Such 
 appears the plan and hope of the railroad corjjoration, 
 ever so subtle, so far-reaching, so grasping, so pow- 
 erful, and so merciless. To swell the countless mil- 
 lions already acquired by the Directors is their sole 
 object. By withholding the land titles and 0])])rcs- 
 sing the settlers, the latter maj- beg of Congress to 
 retake the land and remunerate the railroad com- 
 pany. Such a petition I'rom the company would be 
 but little noticed, but tVom a great number of suffer- 
 ing citizens it would bo heard, and wide-spread sym- 
 pathy would be created. There are nuts in the fire 
 which the railroad monkey would make the citizens 
 cat draw out. By oppressing the possessors of the 
 good soil, a vast amount of worthless land may be 
 sold to the Crovernment. Thus the seven million acres 
 of land east of the Sierra to which the railroad com- 
 pany is entitled could be turned into immediate cash 
 or its equivalent in bonds, a consummation it it sup- 
 posed that thej- most devoutly wish, and for which 
 they would force the oppressed people of Nevada to 
 most devoutlj' pray. 
 
 BANISIIINO AN OPFENDINQ CITIZEN. 
 
 The following letter is a fair indication of the rule 
 or ruin policy ol' concentrated railroad capital, bear- 
 ing the evidence of truth, antl signed and vouched 
 for by the writer whose name it bears. It discloses 
 an occurrence, that if permitted by the citizens of 
 Nevada to bo repeated, will lead to a species of servile 
 bondage on their part that would be intolerable to 
 those not born with the instincts of peonrige. 
 
 The Dalles, Oregon, April 12, 1881. 
 Dear Sirs: liy an oversight I have neglected to 
 answer j'our favor of February 2(lth, asking for facts 
 in regard to my experience with the railroad compa- 
 nies in Nevada. The newspai)er» in Nevada pretty 
 thoroughly '• ventilated " the subject at the time of 
 my election to the Ninth Legislature. 1 was acting 
 as agent for Keinhart & Co., in the grain business 
 in Eureka, and received a good salary. 1 also 
 
 owned one-half of the Eureka Baili/ Leader. A year 
 or so prior to my engaging in the newspaper business 
 and the grain business, I was agent for the E. & P. 11. 
 R. Co., and when I cjuit the company's employ was 
 on the best of terms with all of the officers of the 
 company. The most important issue before the peo- 
 ple of Nevada, at the election in 1879, was that of 
 reduction of fares and freights, and a number of good 
 Uepublicans opposed me on account of the friendship 
 which existed between me and all of the railroad 
 oHicers, and I repeatedly assured the people that 1 
 would do all 1 could if elected to pass a law to pre- 
 vent extortionate freight charges and discriminations 
 in rates, etc. The railroad company did not, to my 
 knowledge, try to prevent the election of any mem- 
 ber pledged to oppose these charges, and it was not 
 until the meeting of the Legislature, that the corpora- 
 tions commenced their work. 
 
 I was interviewed bj' ilr. Yerrington the first week, 
 who talked to me as if it was fully agreed that 1 
 would stand in for the railroad companies, and when 
 1 told him that I proposed to stand by the platform 
 and try to do as 1 had pledged inj'self to do, then 
 he commenced his arguments, and the hired tools of 
 the companies were sent after me. It was intimated 
 that 1 would be placed in a position to make money 
 by not taking an active part in opposing them, and 
 after trying all moans they attempted to bluff me, 
 and threatened to injure me in business, etc., and mis- 
 represented me in every waj', and put up jobs to get 
 me into trouble. One by one the members com- 
 menced to "fall down," and those who were loudest 
 in their denunciation of the thieving corporations at 
 the beginning of the session were the first to yield to 
 the influences set to work to capture them, and the 
 consequence was the companies were victorious, and 
 got away with everything they desired. After the 
 Legislature adjourned, the oHicers of the E. & V. R. 
 R. Co. commenced to carry their threats of ruining 
 me into execution. Edgar Mills, President of the E. 
 it P. K., notified Mr. Jieinhart that unless I was dis- 
 charged at once, that the E. & P. Co. would start 
 an opposition grain business in Eureka, and break 
 them up. At the same time Mr. Keinhart was 
 informed that they desired to put a man in my 
 place and furnish bonds that their man would attend 
 to the business honestly. The man was 1!. P. Dayton, 
 Senator from Lincoln, who voted for tho railroad 
 companies on every ])ropositiofi, and was always 
 ready to assist them, hence their desire to reward 
 him and to keep him for use at the next session, as 
 he was a hold-over. 
 
 Well, I was discharged and Dayton installed, but 
 I still had mj- newspaper, and 1 went and asked 
 Evarts, Superintendent of the E. & P., if he intended 
 to follow me up, or if he was satisfied with procur- 
 ing my discharge from R. & Co. He would give me 
 no satisfaction, and intimated that they intended to 
 run me out of tho State as an example to any other 
 presunijduous American who dared to O])pose their 
 wishes; and immediately they commenced to injure 
 my paper, and continued to do so until 1 was com- 
 ])elled to sell out and leave the State, or be ruined. 
 Knowing that it was only a matter of a very short 
 time that thej- would either ''bust" me, or get mo 
 involved in difficulties, 1 concluded to try the shot- 
 gun ])lan on a few of them, but was dissuaded from 
 doing so foolish a thing, which would only bring my 
 family in trouble. I left the State. I've stated 
 nothing but plain facts, which can bo fully verified. 
 I am willing to "abide mj' time," and am fully con- 
 vinced that before a great many years tho people 
 
HISTORY OF JOURNALISM IN NEVADA. 
 
 291 
 
 will a]i|)ly ii remedy that will flhake the world, and 
 the (|uicker it fomes the better. 
 
 1 know the inside workiiiijs of the railroad com- 
 panies. 1 know that members of the Ninth Ijegis- 
 iatiiro were boui;ht, body and soul, and money was 
 paid for votes almost openl}-. One member who 
 held out for a long time against them, tinallj' told 
 me he intended to make what he could out of it, as 
 the}' (the Go's) were going to win anyway, and 
 advised mo to do the same. lie afterwards voted 
 with the friends of the Go's. Hut all this is too well 
 known by anj- resident of Nevada. 
 
 I remain yours trulj', F. E. FisK. 
 
 The history of Fisk's banishment from Nevada, 
 brings home with resistless force, the following 
 from a speech by General Garfield, delivered a few 
 years since. Said he: — 
 
 It is painfully evident from the experience of 
 the last few years that the efforts of the States 
 to regidufe their railroads have amounted to but 
 little more than feeble annoyance. * * In these 
 contests the corporations have become conscious 
 of their strength and have entered upon the work 
 of controlling the States. Already they have raptured 
 several of the oldest and strongest of them ; and 
 these discrowned soccreiyns now follow in chains the 
 triumphal chariot of their conquerors. And this 
 does not implj- that merelj' the officers and repre- 
 sentatives of States have been subjected to the 
 railways, but that the corporations have ijrasped 
 the sources <in/l foantains of power, and CONTROL TUE 
 CHOICE OF BOTH OFFICERS AND REPRESENTATIVES. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 HISTORY OF JOURNALISM OF NEVADA. 
 
 The Rise ami Fall of Newspapers — Pioneer .Journalism — Press of 
 Douglas Connty— Press of Klko County — 1''. A. Littlelield 
 — O. L. C. Faircliilil^Major .John H. Dennis — Press of 
 Esmeralila County — Kxtracts from the Ksmeralda Sta> — M, 
 M. (ilenn — J. M. Dormer — Press of Eureka County — Kires 
 anil Klooils — .Abraham Skillnian — Hon. (leori^e W. C;iasiily 
 —Fred K. CanHeM— Hon. W. W. Hobart— Press of Hum- 
 boldt County — William Forbes — K. D. Kelly — Press of 
 Lander County — W. C. Pliillips — ,]. D. Fairchild — Myron 
 Angel — Prsss of I>inuoln County — I'ress of I^yon County — 
 I'Vank .\. Kenyon — T. K. Picott — Press of Nye County — M. 
 D. Fairchild — I'rcss of Omisby County — H. 1{. .Mighels — 
 Sam. P. Davis — K. K. Parkinson — Kdwani Niles — I'ress of 
 Storey County — Two Views of Hun. William Sharon — 
 i^ William Wright (Dan. De Quille) — .lournalists l\oui;hin;,' It 
 — Hunting Items — Hon. C. C. (Jooilwin — Hon. liollin .M. 
 Daggett — Dennis McCarthy — Arthur H. McKwun — Alf. 
 Doten — Press of Washoe County — C. C. Powning — Press of 
 White Pine County — Robert W. Simpson. 
 
 The census of 1880 gives Nevada but 62,265 popu- 
 lation; to York Gountj', ilaine, exactly the same, 
 and to each of twenty-six cities of the United Slates 
 a greater number. Twenty j^'ears prior to this time 
 the first new8j)aper published in what is now the 
 State was less than two years old; and, considering 
 the length of time, the number of people among 
 whom it has been done, Nevada has ])r()vod itself 
 to have no equal in the nation as a field of journal- 
 istic enterprise. 
 
 Ninety-one different nowspa])erH have been started 
 in Nevada, and twenty-eight of them only are now 
 
 in existence. Fortj'-nine dailies have been born, and 
 nineteen onlj' of them are not to be found among 
 the hecatombs. Fifty-five weeklies have looked out 
 for the first time upon an unfriendly world among 
 her sage-brush jilains, and thirty-eight of them have 
 come to an untimely enil. In what place upon the 
 earth where the Fngiish language is spoken can such 
 another record be found? The present of it all is 
 resolved, in 1881, into nineteen dailies published in 
 the State, of which five are morning and thehalanco 
 evening editions; eight of these publications having 
 no weekly connected with them. The circulation of 
 these dailies amount in the aggregate to 16,385 copies 
 per da}% their average sul)scrii)tion price being ten 
 dollars per year. There are eleven weeklies not con- 
 nected with these still in existence, the total circula- 
 tion of all being given by the census bureau at 4,400 
 copies, with the average subscription ])rice of S3.50 
 per j-ear. 
 
 Along the beach where these dismantled journals 
 were driven by adverse winds among the reefs upon 
 a lee shore are buried many absurd, strange, won- 
 derful and often tragic experiences. It was the age 
 of wonders and the era of magic to the profession 
 in the Silver Slate, that brought forth these numer- 
 ous journals, often to become crucibles of wealth to 
 their owners for a time, then to decline and sud- 
 denly cease to exist. 
 
 When a rich mining district was discovered, and 
 a numerous population concentrated, there the printer 
 would go and set up his press, flourish when the 
 camp prospered, make money when coin circulated, 
 get forehanded for a time, sometimes even wealthy, 
 spend his monej- as freolj'' as it came, invest in mines 
 or stocks, stay too long, and leave the camp a bank- 
 rupt, his creditors falling heir to a suspended journal 
 and the material that it was printed with. Ijiko the 
 miner, his life was a succession of changes, like him 
 it was a day of wealth, of high hopes, and a week 
 of hardships, of i)overt3-, of mixed doubt and hope, 
 that sometimes ended at the grave in blood, as did 
 the life of G. H, Derickson, at Washoe, in January, 
 1863. 
 
 PIONEER JOURNALISTS. 
 
 To bo a good compositor, a livel}-, versatile rejiorter. 
 with imagination to fill columns in the absence of 
 news, or an able editor, was a moderate fortune in 
 itself The first could earn his fifty dollars per wei'k, 
 the last was often paid seventy-five dollars for the 
 same time, and oecasioiially as high as S.")00 ]>er month 
 for editorial duties. It was during those times that 
 the press of Nevada had no superior upon the coast./ 
 .\mong its little army, now ]>assed away, were such 
 men as Joseph T. Goodman, II. |)e (Jroot. J. Iv. 
 Lovejoy, called the " Old Pah-Ute," W. .1. Forbes, 
 whose j)aragraphs under the head of "Semblins" were 
 ([uoled from ocean to ocean. Tom Fitch, the "silver- 
 tongued orator," H. C. Bennett, C. A. Sumner, l\. M. 
 Daggett, a .Miraboau with the pen. Judge C. C. Good- 
 win, on the surface of whoso writings floated some- 
 
292 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 thing strange, absurd, or pathetic, through which 
 often ran a strain of satire that made one doubt when 
 reading whether to laugh or cry, or both, or neither. 
 H. R. Mighels, B. J. Burns, J. J. Aj'er.s Mj-ron Angel 
 and M. D. Fairchild— with such men sitting in editorial 
 sanctums, with Samuel Clemens, known as " Mark 
 Twain," with Clement T. Eice, whom "Mark" 
 christened '-The Unreliable," and William Wright, 
 whom everybody knows as " Dan De Quille," on the 
 reportorial staff, could the Nevada press have ranked 
 second to any upon the coast? Of that entire list of 
 editors and reporters, but one is now living in the 
 State who continues to grace the profession, and that 
 one is "Dan De (Quille." The names of those pioneer 
 editors or reporters, such as McCarthy, McEwen, Alf 
 Doten, and others, who are still in the harness, have 
 been intentionally omitted from these mentioned as 
 the early " bright lights" in the State; not because 
 their abilities or prominence denied them such a posi- 
 tion; the contrarj- is true; but, as they are still in the 
 State, running newspapers, they might get mad if 
 placed there, and talk back. Those mentioned have 
 turned to other avocations, abandoned the State, or 
 died since that time, and will probably keep quiet 
 whether they like it or not. 
 
 CHARACTERS DEVELOPED. 
 
 The spirit of the Nevada press has always been of 
 an exaggerated character, such as developed a "Mark 
 Twain," and "The Unreliable"; aggressive to an 
 extreme that not unfrequently resulted in a duel. 
 In 1863, J. T. Goodman, editorially in the Territorial 
 Enterprise, gave Tom F'.teh, of the Union, so severe 
 an overhauling, that the hitter immediately sent a 
 challenge to the writer demanding a •■ blood atone- 
 ment." When Fitch, the " silver-tongued," could 
 not frame language for his enemy sufficiently "cussed'' 
 to give him satisfaction, it becomes evid'-nt that the 
 attack of Goodman must have been an inspirational 
 effort, that evolved the genius of assault beyond 
 which words ceased to add a meaning. The meeting 
 occurred in Si.x-mile Canon, August 1st, at nine o'clock 
 in the morning, and " Mark Twain " gives the follow- 
 ing characteristic account of the affair: — 
 
 * * * Whereupon " Young Wilson " and our- 
 selves at once mounted a couple of Olin's fast horses, 
 and followed in their wake at the rate of a mile a 
 minute, since when, being neither iron-clad nor even 
 half-soled, we enjoj- more real comfort in standing 
 up than sitting down. But we lost our bloody- item^ 
 for Marshal Perry arrived early with a detachment ot 
 Constables, and I >cpnty ShcritV Blodgett came with 
 a lot of blarslcd Sheriffs, and these miserable med- 
 dling whel])s arrested the whole i)arly and marched 
 them back to town. In interfering with our legitimate 
 business, Mr. i'erry and Mr. Blodgetl probablj' think 
 they are almighty smart, but wo calculate to get even 
 with them. 
 
 What in other places would have boon considered 
 thrilling; what in California even, would have boon 
 deemed sufficientlj' uncommon, or nf)vel, to excite 
 luirlh, would have passed unnoticed in the Sage- 
 
 brush State at that time, as too tame, too insipid, 
 in comparison with the exaggerated mental condi- 
 tion and feverish pulse of the masses, to receive 
 attention. The i)ress, to attract notice from that 
 people, must ])artake of the largeness of the reader. 
 Because of this the reporters were an exaggerated 
 aggregation that partook of and were an outgrowth 
 of those excited times. Nothing in the ordinary 
 would do. It was necessary to furnish literary 
 food conditioned to digest by an inflated public 
 mind, abnormally developed. But items of news 
 were not always to be culled from events that 
 transpired, and this deficiency was usually, or often 
 at least, supplied from the fertile brain of the 
 reporter; blood-curdling, like the massacre of the 
 family and scalping of the red-headed woman at 
 "Dutch Nicks," or wonderful, like the mythical cave 
 at Como, filled with virgin gold, related with an 
 elaborate detail of familiar names and surround- 
 ings that imposed upon the most skeptical. Tho 
 inventive genius of those reporters was not 
 always satisfied with its prey upon and hoaxing 
 of the outside world, but kept constantly at play 
 upon each other. The first steam press used in 
 printing a paper in Nevada was started in the 
 Territorial Enterprife office July 31, 1863. The gen- 
 eral mix-up on that occasion of new press, news- 
 paper and bottles of wine, caused "Mark Twain" 
 to take among other things, a severe cold, "that 
 settled on his mind," and he was forced for a 
 couple of days to turn over to his friend Clement 
 T. Rice, "The Unreliable," the local department of 
 the paper. The next issue of the Enterprise was a 
 sensation. The readers of that paper were astounded, 
 nonplussed, befogged. They read the following, 
 and supposed of course it was from repentant 
 Twain; but what could have caused it? was this 
 unmitigated wag drunk again, or had he become 
 sober, gone crazj', or what?: — 
 
 August 1, 1863. 
 Apolooetic. — It is said, " an open confession is 
 good for the soul." We have been on the stool of 
 repentance for a long time, but have not before had 
 tho moral courage to acknowledge our manifold sins 
 and wickedness. We confess to this weakness. We 
 have commenced this article under the head of 
 'Apologetic' — wo mean it, if we ever meant anything 
 in our life. To Mayor Arick, Hon. Wm. M. Stewart, 
 Marshal Perry, Hon. J. B. Winters, Mr. Olin, 
 and Samuel Witberel, besides a host of others 
 whom we have ridiculed from behind the shel- 
 tor of our reportorial position, wo say to these 
 gontlomen, we acknowledge our faults, and in all 
 weakness and siniplieitj- — upon our bonded marrow- 
 bones — we ask thoir forgiveness, ])romisini; that in 
 future we will give tlieni no cause for anything but 
 the best of feeling toward us. To " Young Wilson," 
 and the " Unreliable", (as we have wickedly- termed 
 them), we fool that no apology wo can make begins 
 to atone for the many insults wo have given thorn. 
 Towards these gentlemon wo have been as moan as a 
 man could be — and wo have alwajs j>ri(lo(l oursolf on 
 this base quality. We fool that wo are the least of 
 all humanity, as it wore. We will now go in sack- 
 
RANCH AND RESIDENCE OF J.J.FOX. MASON-VALLEY, ESMERALDA CO., NEV. 
 
HISTORY OF JOURNALISM IN NEVADA. 
 
 29n 
 
 cloth and ashee for the next forty days. What more 
 can we do? The latter-named fjontlemaii has saved 
 U8 several timo8 from receiving a sound tlircshing for 
 our impudence and assurance. He has sheltered and 
 clothed us. We have had a liaiikerini;, " my ho}'." 
 to redeem our character — or what little we have. 
 To-morrow we may iiet in the same old way ai;ain. 
 If we do, we want it now understood that this con- 
 fession stands. Gentleman do you accept our good 
 intentions? 
 
 ifark Twain was thunder-struck on ])icking up 
 the pa])er, and reading this apologj-. It ])roved a 
 galvanic and sovereign remedy for his cold, how- 
 ever, and the next day found him on duty again, 
 when he took occasion to explain in the following 
 characteristic strain: — 
 
 * * * We ai-c to blame for giving "the Unre- 
 liable" an opjjorluiiil}- to misrepresent us, and there- 
 fore refrain from rc|)iiiiiig to any great extent at the 
 result. We sinipl}' claim the right to </«;«// the Irulh 
 of every statement made bj' him in yesterdaj^'s 
 paper, to annul all apologies he coined as coming 
 from us, and to hold him u|) to public commisera- 
 tion as a reptile endowed with no more intellect, 
 no more cultivation, no more Christian princi|)le 
 than animates and adorns the sjjortive jackas.s rab- 
 bit of the Sierras. We have done. 
 
 The preceding relates chiefly to the Territorkd 
 Enterprise and the press of Storey Count}', but for 
 the purpose of uniformity each county will follow in 
 alphabetical order. The pioneer journal having borne 
 the same name while ))ul)lislic(i in different localities, 
 nevertheless, appeared in \'irginia C\iy before the 
 counties were formed, and it is therefore not inap- 
 propriate to include it under the head of the Storey 
 County Press, where the further history of the Enter- 
 prise will be found. 
 
 TlIK PRESS OF DOUGLAS COUNTY. 
 
 THE r.\R.SON VALLEY FARMER. 
 
 The ( 'arson Appeal notices on the tilth of Septem- 
 ber, 1865, that some one has purchased a portion of 
 the deceased Carson Indejxuilenl material, vvith which 
 to start a paper at Genoa, in l)ouglas Count}-. That 
 "somebody" was J. II. Hill, who, having raised by 
 subscription about 8-iOO from the peojile of that 
 county for the j)urpose of starting a Union ])aper, had 
 made the purchase, and, on (probably) the sixteenth 
 of September of that year, he issued the first number, 
 giving it the above name. lie changed the name of 
 his next number to the Nevada liepuhlican, and with 
 the third issue the concern demised. A citizen of 
 Genoa purchased Hill's interest, and leased the es- 
 tablishment to Richard Wheeler, who, being assisted 
 by A. T. llawley as editor, commenced publication of 
 
 THE DOUGLAS COUNTY BANNER. 
 
 The Banner was first unfurled on the seventh of 
 
 October, 1805, by parties and under circumstances as 
 
 stated above. It was a twonty-tbur column, weekly, 
 
 Republican sheet; price, five dollars per year. Finan- 
 
 37 
 
 cial embarrassment forced it to suspend with the 
 twelfth number; and Douglas (*r>unty was without a 
 newspaper for several years, until the starting of the 
 
 CARSON \AI,(,EV NEWS. 
 
 This ])aper was commenced as a twenty-four column 
 Republican weekly, on the twentieth of February, 
 1875, A. C. Pratt being its editor and j)roprietor. A 
 semi-weekly issue of it was commenced Kebruary 
 1(>, 1.S77, that was continued until August 24th of 
 the same year, when the weekly was again resumed. 
 Forty-four weeks later it suspended for want of suf- 
 ficient ])atronage, the jiublisher stating that when 
 times warranted he should resume. This resump- 
 tion occurred Se])tember 20. 1878, in reduced form, 
 the new isfue only containing twelve columns. July 
 1(!. 1880, Boynton Carlisle purchased it, and, chang- 
 ing the name, commenced the 
 
 CiEN().\ WEEKLY COIKIER. 
 
 The firft issue by Mr. Carlisle of the Cour/er occurred 
 on the twenty-third of .Fuly, 18S0. It* size was twenty 
 columns, lGx22 inches, ])olitics Re]mblican, and sub- 
 scription price three dollars per year. On the first of 
 January, 1S81, he sold the Courier to (ieorge .M- 
 Smith, who continues ])ublicution at the present time. 
 
 GENOA JOURNAL. 
 
 This was a twenty cohumi weekly, published at 
 Genoa, on paper 20x20 inches; Democratic in poli- 
 tics; subsci'iption ]irice, three dollai's ])er year; J. H. 
 (-.'radlebaugh, editor and proprietor. It was started 
 in April, 1880, susj)ended in the following July, and 
 was revived in September of the same year. 
 
 Mr. (ieo. M. Smith purchased the establishment on 
 the first of November, and changed its polities to 
 Republican, and on the first of January, 1881, con- 
 solidated it with the Courier. 
 
 TllK l'i;i:SS OF HLlvO COUNTY. 
 
 Before the railroad had reached eastern Nevada, 
 in 1809, the discovery of mines south of the Hum- 
 boldt River, in that ])art of the State, had made the 
 question of establishing some important shipping 
 station u])on the Central Pacific in what is now KIko 
 County, a foregone conclusion. Ivireka and White 
 Pine were to bo sup])lied from that road, and the 
 Central Pacific C^omjiany decided that KIko. upon 
 one of their land sections, and not Palisade, where it 
 was supposed the Government possessed the title, 
 should lie that shipping station. The inlluence of 
 this company wielded in the form of discrimination, 
 gave to KIko a largo advantage, and the fact that 
 such was the case caused the jmblic generally to 
 ex|)ect it would become the town of eastern Nevada. 
 It was faith in this locality more than jirosont utility 
 that caused E. D. Kelley to suspend the Humboldt 
 Reijiiiter at Unionville, and move the office to KIko 
 in May, 18011, with which to start the Indejxndenl. 
 
294 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 ELKO INDEPENDENT. 
 
 Mr. Kellcy, who, in connection with Judge George 
 G. Berry as a silent partner, had started the Inde- 
 pendenf, sold to Berry and C. L. Perkins in October, 
 18C!), and in a short time thereafter, H. C. Street 
 became a half owner. In the fall of 1870 Perkins 
 was elected State Printer on the Democratic ticket, 
 and he, with Mr. Street, moved to the State Capital 
 and purchased the Appeal, in December, from Henry 
 1\. .Mighel.i, and converted that j)aper into a Demo- 
 cratic organ under the name of the State Register. 
 Ihay did not sell the Independent, but hired W. B. 
 Taylor and J. C. Davis to run it for them, it being a 
 semi-weekly, under their management. In 1872 Mr. 
 Street sold his interest in the Independent to Judge 
 Berrj-, who became sole proprietor, it not appear- 
 ing when Mr. Perkin's interest ceased with that 
 sheet. In .May, 1872, Taylor became Berry's part- 
 ner, and June 4th, following, the Independent came 
 out double its former size and with a new dress. 
 During the time Taylor remained Berry's partner, 
 he joined Frank Kenyon, in September, in publishing 
 the Pioche Review, which susjjcnded November 12th, 
 when he became a partner in the Pioche Record. In 
 December, 1872, S. S. Sears and C. C. S. Wright 
 purchased both Berry and Taylor's interest in the 
 Indepewhnt. In August, 1875, the weekly was 
 changed to a daih"; in September, 187G, it was 
 enlarged, and in October, 187G, the present editor 
 and proprietor, S. S. Sears, became sole owner. 
 
 THE ELKO CHRONICLE. 
 
 W . H. Taylor and T. I. Butler, under the firm name 
 of " Chronicle Publishing Company," started this 
 paper as a Republican organ at Elko, on the fifth of 
 June, 1870; a twenty-four column semi-weeklj-; sub- 
 scription price, eight dollars per year. Being a very 
 spicy sheet, and conducted with ability, it lived 
 through the political campaign of that year, but 
 suspended December 4th, with the following valedic- 
 tory, headed, 
 
 "ALAS, POOR YORICK!" 
 
 Ours was not a wiiiiiiiig hand. The Democrats held 
 all the trun)))s. 
 
 The material of the office was moved in August, 
 1872, by -Mr. Taylor to Pioche. where the Pioche Re- 
 view was published with it until in November of that 
 year, when it was absorbed by the Pioche Record. 
 
 ELKO WEEKLY POST. 
 
 This was the third and lust j)aj)or started in Klko. 
 The first number bears date September 11, 1875, and 
 was a twent3--ciglit column weekly, printed on paper 
 24x:54 inches, jiublished by K. A. Littletield and C. C. 
 Powning. Politics ahvaj-s Republican. In October, 
 187r>, Mr. Littlefield became solo proprietor, and 
 March 10th of the next year, ho started the Tuscarora 
 Times, but sold the same that fall, having continued 
 in the meantime the publication of the Post. The 
 first of January, 1880, he was joined as a partner by 
 bis brother, L. B. Litllofield. The size of the j)aper 
 was reduced four columns, and the firm continued to 
 
 be E. A. Littlefield & Co., until suspension of the Post, 
 April 30, 1881. 
 
 E. A. LITTLEFIELD. 
 
 E. A. Littlefield is a native of Rhode Island. He 
 served an apprenticeship at the printer's trade in 
 East Greenwich, of that State. In 1857 he removed 
 to Minnesota. From 18G2 until 1864 he was editor 
 of the Goodhiie County RepMicun, in Minnesota. In 
 1864 he first arrived at Austin, Nevada, where he 
 worked for three months on the Reese River RereiUe, 
 from where he went to San Francisco, and for a time 
 he was upon the American Flag in that city. In 
 November he started the Klamath News, at Orleans 
 Bar, in Klamath County, California. In September, 
 1865, he visited Salem, Oregon, from where he went 
 to Yreka, California, and remained one year. His 
 next move was to Sacramento, C^alifornia; thence to 
 Auburn, where he remained until the fall of 1869, 
 having editorial charge of the iStars and Stripes. His 
 next evolution was to Sacramento; thence to San 
 Francisco, working in the former place upon the 
 Union, and in the latter for Bancroft & Co. PVom 
 San Francisco he returned to Nevada, and in connec- 
 tion with J. G. Law and W. II. II. Fellows, started 
 the Nevada State Journal, November 23, 1870. In 
 the fall of 1871, this editorial Japhet resumed his wan- 
 derings, visiting Salt Lake, where he became foreman 
 and assistant editor of the Daihj Mining Review. lie 
 remained there till the spring of 1872; then returned 
 to Sacramento, California, and fetched up on the 
 Territorial Enterjirise, in Virginia City, in the fall. 
 
 January of 1873 found him at work in Reno on 
 the Journal, the paper of which he had been one of 
 the founders, and being "caught in that place on the 
 fly," was married on the twenty-fifth of the next 
 month. From Reno he went back to the Enterprise 
 at Virginia City, thence to San Francisco, where, 
 taking stock in, he became connected with the Baily 
 Post. The friends of this goer of a journalist, think- 
 ing that his being hitched to a post would localize 
 him, were soon undeceived, for he broke loose in 
 .Fuly, 1875, and fetched up at Elko, Nevada, where, 
 in connection with C. ('. Powning. he started the 
 paper at that place. His last departure was from 
 Elko to Ogden. Utah, in .May, 1881, where the peo- 
 ple will soon learn that they have a traveled journal- 
 ist, a gentlemanly citizen and able writer ])ublishing 
 the paper among them called the Ogden Daily Pilot. 
 
 THE TI.MES-REVIEW. 
 
 .March 10, 1877, E. A. Littlefield, who was at the 
 time i)ublishing the Elko Independent, started a weekly 
 Republican paper at Tuscarora, in Elko County, 
 called the Tuscarora Times. That fall John H. Den- 
 nis and O. L. C. Fairchild purchased the Times. In 
 May of that j'ear C. C. S. Wright started a semi- 
 weekly at Tuscarora, to which ho gave the name of 
 Mining Review, and on the first of January, 1878, 
 the two papers were consolidated, the owners named 
 becoming ]>artners, and the name assumed for the 
 consolidated publication being The Times-Review. 
 
HISTORY OF JOURNALISM IN NEVADA. 
 
 20= 
 
 In April, 1878, Mr. Wright disposed of his interest 
 to the other partners, who have, until recently, con- 
 tinued proprietors. In size the Times-Review is the 
 same as the Si/rer State or Reese River Reveille. In 
 politics it is independent. The edition is chiily. Mr. 
 Dennis having recently retired, .Mr. Kairthild is now 
 sole proprietor. 
 
 O. L. C. FAlRCIIII.l). 
 
 The suliject of this sketch was born at Trumans- 
 burg, Tompkins County, Xew York, February 13, 
 1830. lie began early in life as printer's devil, and 
 finally graduated as first-rate compositor at the 
 case. After working as a journeyman at Elmira, 
 Rochester, and other places, he went to New York 
 City, and engaged upon the Jounuil of Commerce 
 until 1852, when he sought the golden shore of Cal- 
 ifornia, and disembarked from shipboard upon the 
 wharf in San Francisco in June of that year. Pro- 
 ceeding to the mines, he engaged for a time in min- 
 ing, trading, and ranching; but finally, tiring of 
 these, he went to Orovillc, Butte County, in 185(J, 
 and there, in partnership with Charles Lincoln, 
 engaged in the publication of the Northern Califor- 
 nian, the fii'st paper published in that place, and the 
 second one in the county. Afterward he sold out 
 his interest in that paper, and went to Coloma, and 
 worked in the An/us office there. In 1858, in com- 
 pany with his brother J. 1). Fairchild, he began the 
 publication of the Placerville Semi- Weekly Observer, 
 which he continued for a little more than a year. 
 Subsequentlj-, the Placerville Repnhlican was begun, 
 with Thomas Fitch as editor. Of this establish- 
 ment Mr. Fairchild was foreman until it suspended 
 publication. He then went to Austin early in lS(i3, 
 and there became connected with the Reveille, and so 
 continued until 1871, when he removed to California, 
 and purchased a half-interest, with 'William Gagan, 
 of the Oakland Duily Xews, of which he became sole 
 owner upon (iagan's death in 1873. He remained 
 at Oakland until 1877, when he returned to the Sage- 
 brush State, and bought a half-interest in the Tus- 
 carora Times. He is now sole owner of the Times- 
 Review of that place, a dailj-, and is also Postmaster. 
 Mr. Fairchild has done much to advance the material 
 interests of the State of Nevada. 
 
 .MAJOR .JOn.N H. DENNIS. 
 
 John H. Dennis, late of the Tuscarora Times- 
 Review, a native of Middlesex County, Massachu- 
 setts, was born .May 20, 1835, and came to the Pacific 
 Coast by way of Cape Horn in 1852. For eleven 
 years ho remained in California, during which time 
 he was mining a little, tried his hand at merchan- 
 dising, became an editor of the Independent in Ama- 
 dor County, and assistant on the El Dorado Times, in 
 Georgetown, Kl Dorado County, and served one 
 term in the Legislature from El Dorado County. 
 
 In 18(53 he removed to Austin, Nevada, and has 
 since resided in the Sage-brush State. In 1871 he 
 became a half-owner of the Reese River Reveille, and 
 in 1874 disposed of the interest to John Booth, its 
 
 present proprietor. He then purchased one-half 
 of the Eureka Se/ilinel, where he remained for three 
 years, and selling to .\. Skillman, moved to Tus- 
 carora. 
 
 Mr. Dennis is a quaint and pithy writer, and 
 withal possesses a large vein of humor, which 
 attracts much attention to his editorials. During 
 the " war" with the Gosh-Utes in Spring Valley, 
 Mr. Dennis commanded the troops sent out from 
 Eureka to strike terror to the hearts of the red- 
 skins, since which time he has proudly worn the 
 prefix of Major to his name. He was chosen one of 
 the Electors for the State of Nevada at the last 
 Presidential election, and was appointed messenger 
 to carry the vote to Washington. 
 
 THE PRESS OF ESMERALDA COUNTY. 
 
 The pioneer paper of Esmeralda County was 
 started at Aurora, Maj- 10, l.S(;2. as a twentj'-column 
 weekly being 21x28 inches in size. Republican in 
 politics, subscription price six dollars per year, and 
 its name was 
 
 TFIE ESMERALDA STAR. 
 
 Edwin A. Sherman & Co. appeared as the pub- 
 lishers, but the name of the party or parties consti- 
 tuting the balance of the firm was not mentioned. 
 Just before closing the first volume the partnership 
 name was dropped, and at the commencement of 
 the second, Mr. Sherman gave the following interest- 
 ing history of his paper and the press upon which it 
 was pi'inted. The article contains much that throws 
 out in bold relief some of the peculiar phases of pio- 
 neer journalism: — 
 
 [Saturday, May 2, 18G3.] 
 TO OUR PATRONS. 
 
 I To-day we issue the first number of Volume Sec- 
 I ond of the Star. It may not be deemed out of j)lace 
 to review somewhat of the ju'oss and its history. 
 
 Tlie press and a very small part of the present mate- 
 rial formerlj- belongetl to the late and lamented J. ,lud- 
 son Ames, and from which was issued the San l)iego 
 Herald. This press was brought across the Isthmus 
 of Panama in 1850 by Judge Ames, and in coming 
 up the Chagres River was thrown overboard bj' the 
 upsetting of the canoe in which it was being con- 
 veyed to Gorgona. The natives being unable to lift 
 the heavier part of it from the bottom of the stream 
 which had a very rajjid current, the Judge, who was 
 a very powerful man, jumped overboard anil lifted it 
 out himself and placeil it in the canoe, much to the 
 astoiiislinient of his dark-skinned companions. This 
 being a No. .'! Washington jiress. its weight can bo 
 more accurately estimated bj- the members of the 
 craft than by others; at any rate it will suffice for 
 our readers "to know that it weighs more than four 
 hundred pounds. He succeeded in getting it to 
 Panama after much difficulty; and soon after issued 
 at that place the Panama Star for a very short 
 period, and then brought it to San Francisco, 
 
 By the advice of his friends ho was induced to 
 move it to San Diego, as that point was then advo- 
 cated as the western terminus of the Pacific Rail- 
 
296 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 road; and it was desired by speculators in town lots 
 to have a newspaper published there, to induce 
 immigration and fjive an importance to the place. 
 At that time there were but tew jiapers published in 
 California, and as the members of Conj^ress were of 
 Southern proclivities and intent on having a Pacific 
 Jiailroad for the exclusive benefit of the Southern 
 route, their aid and encouragement of everj' enter- 
 prise in that jiortion of the State was given to that 
 end; hence the encouragement of the San Diego 
 IJeraH to that end. For ten long years Ames con- 
 tinued its publication, excepting at times, when the 
 immortal "John Phu-nix," alias '-Squibob," during 
 the Judge's absence, would carry it on in his own 
 inimitable stj-ie, playing all sorts of pranks, and 
 scattering gems of wit. The cuts out of which he 
 formed the Pictorial Herald, we still retain. The 
 garrison being removed from San Diego, and that 
 county exporting nothing but hides, its commercial 
 importance died entire!}' awa}'. The Mormons hav- 
 ing left San Bernardino to go to Salt Lake, at the 
 call of JJrigham Young, the Americans in that vallej' 
 sent to Ames at San Diego. oftVriiig to paj' the entire 
 expenses of moving it to their village, and as Ames 
 said "they were skinning everything in San Diego 
 County, he thought that perhaps they might com- 
 mence on him, and in order to save his ovvn hide he 
 would accept theoflcr of the San Hernardinos. before 
 he was Hayed alive." Ho accordingly, in the sum- 
 mer of IS.")!!, moved his press to San Bernardino and 
 published the llerahl there. 
 
 Unfortunatel}- for him the ]iopiilation was too small 
 to support a paper, and his |)riiitors not being willing 
 to take liurk ill jjiiymenl for their sei-vices, he was 
 compelled to let out his press to other parties, who 
 in turn failed to make anj-thiiig ibr themselves, or 
 pay him for the use of the press. Disheartened in 
 every respect, the flower of his life having been 
 thrown away in endeavoring to sustain the fruitless 
 project of making San Diego the Western terminus 
 of the Pacific Pailroad, the blasting of all his hojies 
 of pros])erit}- to be realized in its completion, and the 
 i'ailure of men who broke their jiromises with him, 
 all added their weight to his sorrow, and J. Judson 
 Ames, the true friend and social companiim, died of 
 a broke!) heart. 
 
 Previous, however, to his death, the jiress and 
 material jjassed into our hands, and with it wo 
 received this admonition from him. "If over you 
 let this press he used in publishing a rebel sheet, or 
 dispose of it to a traitor, my ghost shall haunt you as 
 long as 3'ou live, and when j-ou die 'Squibob' shall 
 act as foreman in scidling you across the 'Styx.' 
 Alas, both are now Ij'iiig 'iieath the green turf. 
 
 ]n A]iril, ISGl, we commenced the publication of 
 the San Heriiardiiio Patriot. The ilolconibe Valley 
 mines having induced a considerable emigi-ation to 
 that section of the country, the |)rospects \\iv ])ublish- 
 ing a ])ai)er were at that time somewhat Mattering. 
 But ditliciilties soon intervened. The Mormons 
 nearly all returned, the mines were not so rich as 
 the}- ])romised to be, large numbers of horse thieves 
 and other outlaws made it their resort, and more 
 than all, armed bodies of secessionists were formed 
 all through that section, and it was extremelj' ha/.- ' 
 ardous to publish a Union paper among such a peojjle. 
 I n October of that year, the press was leased for a cei-- 
 tain time, but the lessee was totally unable to suc- 
 ceed, and throwing up the contract it was deemed 
 host in February, 1S02, to remove it to Ksmeralda; and 
 accordingly it was )>acked up and brought to Aurora 
 by the Owen's Kiver route. While on the way it 
 
 narrowly escaped destruction from the hostile Indi- 
 ans; but owing to the kindness of Colonel Evans and 
 Lieutenant Xoble of the Second Cavahy California 
 Volunteers, an escort was furnished and it finally 
 reached here on or about the first of Maj' last. At 
 that time we were in Sacramento, and learning that 
 it had arrived, we started from that j)laee on the 
 ninth of May and reached here on the seventeenth. 
 On oui- arrival we were astonished to find the first 
 number of the <S''«r alreadj' issued without giving the 
 publishers names; and also surprised to find it express- 
 ing sentiments entirely antagonistic to the principles 
 we cherish. We also found that a heavj- sacrifice 
 had to be made on our part before we could get 
 possession of the press and material in order to 
 publish a loyal paper; and that was, to give a bill of 
 sale of one-half of it in order to get the control of the 
 whole, both cditoi-ially and financially. We made that 
 sacrifice, and for nine months ami a half had to strug- 
 gle against secession enemies in front and at the same 
 time be yoked with one by compulsion in business. 
 
 Yet we staggered along the best we could, avoiding 
 debt, and suft'eriiig in the beginning the privations 
 common to all at that season of the year. 
 
 On the seventh of ilarch last we purchased the 
 interest originally convej-ed, and since that time 
 have been " going it alone." That, at times, our 
 columns have betrayed a want of care, and gram- 
 matical as well as ty|)Ogra])hical errors have occurred, 
 we will candidly admit: but we trust our excuse 
 will be deemed sutlieient b>' our friends. We have 
 had the entire business of the oHice to attend to; to 
 keep the books, collect the bills, and in some cases 
 earn the amount three times over in running alter 
 the accounts due us, gather all the local items of 
 interest, climb the hills to give a true account of the 
 lodes, and report the amount of work being done 
 and the progress made, and when utterly fatigued, 
 to sit down and write out copy for the printers, 
 some of whom have been willfully careless; all this 
 duty when summed up together and perfoi'ined by one 
 iruiividuul, isii any wonder, tlnTi. that he >liou d some- 
 limes make mistakes. We doubt whether Ijindley 
 Murray might not err a little in some sentences, or the 
 proof-reader of the London Tilings might not over 
 look a typographical error, if compelled to perform 
 so muhifarious a dutj'. Yet, with all this, the Siwais 
 out of debt; it has sui)])lied its ottice with a considera- 
 ble amount of new tj'pe; that it has been the means 
 in some small degree in advancing the interests of 
 this district, we are vain enough to believe; of its 
 loyalty none can doubt ; its independent tone none 
 will (lis])ute; that it is hated bj- copperheads and 
 secessionists, Union men will admit; and from the 
 generous su])i>ort it has received from the loj'al men 
 of Esmeralda, in return wo tender our grateful 
 thanks. 
 
 It was our intention to have commenced our second 
 volume with a senii-weekl}'; but printers being 
 scarce, wo are at present com[)elled to defer it. 
 
 The Star became a semi-weekly June 24, 1SG3, 
 and on the twenty-third of the following So))tem- 
 bera change in tlie name of its location was made. 
 Previous to this time many had su])]>osed that Au- 
 rora was in Mono County, California, but the bound- 
 ary line survey having determined lOsmeralda ( 'ounty, 
 Nevada, to be its location, the »SV(ir changed its head- 
 ing to conform to the newly ascertained state of 
 facts. Between the fourth and eighteenth of No- 
 vember of that year John Hatch joined Mr, Sherman 
 
HISTORY OF JOURNALISM IN NEVADA. 
 
 297 
 
 in jmblishing the Star. The partnership continued 
 until -Afarch, 1804, when the paper suspeiuled. and 
 the material passed into the haiiils of John Hatch A 
 Co.. who used it to start in the same t(3\vn the 
 
 ESMEU.M.D.V U.\ILY UNION. 
 
 The first number of this sheet was issued on the 
 twenty-first of the same month that witnessed the 
 Star's suspension. The following regarding the 
 Union is from the pen of J. G. McClinton : " Eev. 
 J. B. Saxton. formerly of Oakland, California, and 
 then pastor of the First Baptist Church at .\urora, 
 was its chief editor, and .1. C. McClinton was city 
 editor till Augiist, 1S(;4, at which time Saxton retired 
 from the paper and McClinton succeeded him as 
 editor, and continued as such till the summer of ISliO, 
 when J. \V. Avard became sole proprietor and editor 
 and continued as such till the paper finally sus- 
 pended for want of support, in October, 1868. 
 
 In IStU Aurora was a -'booming" town and sup- 
 ported two dailies — the Union and the Times — the 
 latter being edited by Robert Ferral, now Judge of 
 Department Twelve of the Superior Court of San 
 Francisco. The prosperity c)f the town fled rapidly 
 and the Times suspended in the spring of 1SG5, and 
 soon thereafter the Union was reduced to a tri- weekly, 
 subsequently to a scini-weeklj- and finally to a 
 weekly, and for several months before its final sus- 
 pension Mr. Avard was not only sole proprietor and 
 editor, but also sole compositor, pressman and devil, 
 and also carried and distributed the paper to his 
 patrons. 
 
 In the spring of 1870, the old press and material 
 were sold to Chalfant & I'arker, who removed them 
 to Independence, Inyo County, California, and there 
 established the Inyo Indepeinlent. of which they are 
 still the proprietors, and they probably still have the 
 old historic press. 
 
 This press is said to be the same upon which were 
 printed many of the most remarkable productions 
 of the late Lieutenant Derby (John Ph(enix), in- 
 cluding his trick of converting the Democratic 
 paper, then printed on it, into a roaring advocate of 
 the Whig cause, while he was left temporarily in 
 charge during the absence of the editor. The late 
 John Bigler, being then the Democratic candidate 
 for (Jovernor of ('alifoi-nia, jiretendcd not to sec any 
 fun in the joke, but he probably enjoyed it as much 
 as any one — after he knew he had been elected. It 
 is a curious coincident that, in 18(!8, the old press 
 repeated its old trick. Mr. Avard went away from 
 Aurora for a vacation, and left his Esmeralda Union 
 (which was a pronounced He])ublican journal) tem- 
 porarily ill charge of Hon. Joe Wasson and another 
 man. They thought the sleepy old town needed 
 waking up, so without notice to anj' one the}- brought 
 the paper out as a rabid Democratic sheet of a mixed 
 Brick Pomeroy and Petroleum \ . Nasby character, 
 with the name of Governor- llaight flying at the 
 masthead for President. The hoax was very trans- 
 
 parent, but the State Capital Reporter of Sacramento, 
 then edited by e.x-Governor Higler, swallowed the 
 whole thing, and welcomed the now convert with 
 open arms — probably without reading the leading 
 editorial at all, as its ironical character was clearly 
 apparent. 
 
 AUROR.\ TI.MES. 
 
 This journal, on the material formerly of the 
 El. Dorado Times, of (Jeorgetowii, California, was 
 started as a weekly twenty-four column paper, at 
 the place its name indicates, in the forejjart of April, 
 18(18, by 1{. E. Draper and R. Glenn. May 9, 18li4, it 
 became a daily, with entire new dress and bright 
 ])rospocts, and during its existence was Democratic, 
 and aggressive. The bright prospects did not con- 
 tinue, however, and on November 7, 1864, on the 
 day before the election, the paper suspended. After 
 a short suspension the Times was revived under the 
 editorship of Robert Ferral, then a young and enthu- 
 siastic Democrat, now Superior Judge in San Fran- 
 cisco; but even his versatility of talent and great 
 popularity could not make the paper succeed against 
 the decline of business, and in the spring of 1865, it 
 ceased to exist. 
 
 The history of the Times was made eventful by 
 the incident of a duel between the editor, R. E. 
 Draper, and Dr. W. H. Eichelroth, fought on the 
 fifth of October, 1863, at the Bodie Panch, six miles 
 west of Aurora. The weapons were shot-guns loaded 
 with ball, firing at a distance of forty yards. At the 
 second fire Draper was severely wounded in the foot, 
 when the parties shook hands and "honor" was sat- 
 isfied. No political question was involved in the 
 quarrel, the duel resulting from a controversy over 
 trivial matters. Draper survived the wound but was 
 crippled for life. 
 
 ESMERALDA HERALD. 
 
 This paper was started as a twenty-four column 
 weekly by Frank Kenyon, at Aurora, on the thir- 
 teenth of October, 1877, and continued his property 
 until ^larch 1, 1880, when it was ])urchased by M. 
 M. Glenn, and has since belonged to him, with the 
 exception of a few months, during which time it was 
 run by Glenn Brothers. It is a weekly ])aper, 
 Republican in politics, and at present edited by its 
 owner, M. M. Glenn. For two years prior to 
 December 6, 187!), J. .\L Dormer was its editor. 
 
 M. M. (il.ENN. 
 
 This gentleman was born in Elgin, Illinois, in 
 1846, and came to California in 1853. In 1864 
 became connected with the Red Bluff fn<li'jnndent, 
 Tehama County, California; leaving which, he was 
 for a time interested in the San Joaquin Republican, 
 Stockton, and its city editor in 1871-72. Going 
 into Nevada in 18711, he edited the ExmeraUa 
 Herald for Frank Kenyon from December 6, 1879, 
 till March 1, 1880, at which time ho purchased the 
 establishment, and now wields its editorial pen. 
 
298 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 TUE BORAX JIINEK. 
 
 William W. Barnes started a iiewspajier at Colum- 
 bus, in August, 187:J, a twenty-column Democratic 
 weekly, that flourished for a time, and went down 
 with the borax interests in that section. The date 
 of final suspension was as late as 1877. In the latter 
 ])art of 1878, or early in 1870, Mr. Barnes removed 
 the printing material to Benton, in Mono County, 
 California, and started with it The Mexsenger. This 
 was but a six weeks' effort, when the office was 
 again moved, this time to Mammoth City, where 
 under the name of Mammoth Herahl it maintained 
 an uncertain existence until final dissolution in the 
 latter part of ISSU. 
 
 THE BELLEVILLE TIMES 
 
 Was started some time in the fall of 1S77, by Mark 
 W. Musgrove, whet sold in the ensuing April to D. 
 M. Brannan, on whose hands it died in about six 
 weeks. J. M. Dormer purchased the material, and 
 a portion of it was later used on theBodie Free Press. 
 
 THE TRUE FISSURE. 
 
 This paper was started June 5, 1880, at Cande- 
 laria by J. M. Dormer. It is a weekly, twenty-four 
 column sheet, printed on paper 20x81 inches; its 
 politics is Eopublican, and subscription price five 
 dollars per year. As it was in the start, so it now 
 is, a live publication, showing a practical knowledge 
 and a mental capacity in the editor and proprietor 
 that gives him a peculiar fitness for the position ho 
 occupies. 
 
 J. M. DORMER. 
 
 J. M. Dormer, editor and proprietor of the True 
 Fissure, Candelaria, E.smeralda County, was born 
 in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1843. When only a few 
 months old his family moved to Wisconsin, and in 
 1850 came to California, where they settled in Downie- 
 ville, Sierra County, California. There the first years 
 of the young man's life were jtassed, except what 
 time ho was at school in Marysville, Santa Clara and 
 Oakland. He learned the printer's trade under W. 
 J. Forbes, at that time editor and proprietor of the 
 Sierra Democrat, and afterwards well known through- 
 out Nevada, in 1860, when the Pah-Uto war broke 
 out, the j'oung printer was among the first to go to 
 the front. At the close oi that noted campaign ho 
 returned to Sierra County and followed mining for a 
 time. When the Sierra Detnocrat was destroyed by 
 tire in 1804, he began the publication of the Sierra 
 AJcoca/e, which he continued for two years, when ho 
 wont to San Francisco, and thence to Oakland, where 
 in conjunction with a co-operation of jirinters, he 
 ])ublishe(l the Dai/y Termini. Al'ler disitosing of his 
 interest in this venture, he went to Oregon in the em- 
 ploy of Bon. Holliday, who at that time was operating 
 extensively in that State in railroad building. After 
 the collapse of llolliday's gigantic enterprises, Mr. 
 Dormer went to Walla Walla, and from thonco to 
 Lewiston, Idaho, where he became the owner of the 
 Siynal, with United States District Judge W. C. 
 
 Whitson as ])artncr. .Judge Whitaon was assigned 
 the Boise .Judicial District, and the newspaper was 
 disposed of, .Mr. Dormer coming to I'ortland, Oregon, 
 where he became one of the Oregonian staflF. In 
 1877 the Bodie excitement carried him to that grow- 
 ing camp, where he took charge of the Staiulard, 
 and then the Herald, at Aurora. These papers he 
 conducted with marked editorial and financial ability, 
 and upon the death of h'rank Kenyon, in South 
 America, disposed of them for the benefit of the 
 estate. Mr. Dormer, with K. R. Cleveland and K. II. 
 Fontecilla, then began the publication of the Jiodie 
 Free Press. Finding his hands too full of other busi- 
 ness — he was still editor of the Aurora Herald — he 
 disposed of his interest in the Free Press to H. Z. 
 Osborn, and in June, 18S0, having sold the Herald, 
 he began the publication of the True Fissure at Can- 
 delaria, which paper he still owns. Since his resi- 
 dence in Ksmeralda County, he has taken a leading 
 and active part in politics. In 1878 he was elected, 
 on the Eepublican ticket. Superintendent of Schools, 
 and in the last Presidential election was a candidate 
 for the Legislature, but was defeated with the 
 balance of the Popublican party in the State. He is 
 a writer of fair ability, and is acknowledged a lead- 
 ing newsjtaper man. 
 
 THE PPESS OF EUPEKA COUNTY. 
 
 When the town of Eureka first became known to 
 the world, and was distinguished as the possessor 
 of a newspaper, the territory formed part of Lander 
 Countj', from which it was segregated and the 
 county of Eureka formed in 1872. The history 
 however, belongs to Eureka. The mines had been 
 discovered and the district organized as early as 
 18G4, but developments were not made until 1809, 
 sufficient to attract the attention of the public. The 
 White Pino excitement of the preceding year and 
 the early part of 1869, had drawn a multitude of 
 people to eastern Nevada, and with them printers 
 and journalists. AtShcrmantown was .Mr. Skillman, 
 trying to make a success publishing the Rejwrter, 
 and at the new town of Eureka was Dr. L. C. Mc- 
 Kenney who had had some experience in journslism, 
 and was anxious to re-enter the field. A partnership 
 was formed under the firm name of A. Skillman k 
 Co., and on the sixteenth day of July, 1870, they 
 commenced the publication of the 
 
 EUREKA SENTINEL. 
 
 Containing twenty-four columns, with Dr. iMcKennoy 
 as editor. The town rapidly grew, and with it the 
 paper ])rospered. The Doctor was a facile writer 
 and devoted himself to the descrijttion of the mining 
 resources of the district, thus aiding materially in 
 bringing jieople and capital to the region. Septem- 
 ber 29th the paper changed hands, the purchasers 
 
HISTORY OF JOURNALISM IN NEVADA. 
 
 299 
 
 being Messrs. Elliott and Geo. \V. Cassidj-, the for- 
 mer a practical printer as well as writer, and the lat- 
 ter the lute editor of the Inlmul Emjilrf of Hamilton. 
 The Sentinel was now made a Iri-wcckl}', and an 
 active Democratic organ, though not lessening its ener- 
 gies in setting forth the wealth of the surrounding 
 mines. Jlr. Elliott retired from the firm May 28, 
 1872, leaving Mr. C'assidy sole proprietor and editor 
 until December 3, 1874, when a half interest was 
 purchased by Mr. John IF. Dennis, late of the Reese 
 River Receille, and he became the principal editor and 
 business manager, leaving Mr. Cassidy the leisure 
 to devote to his pr)litical aspirations and duties, he 
 being the joint iSonator in the Legislature I'rom the 
 counties of Eureka and Lander, subsequently the 
 Senator from Eureka, and now the Representative 
 of his State in Congress. 
 
 The paper now became a daily, well-established 
 and prosperous. Mr. ]")onnis retained his connection 
 with the Sentinel until December 28, 1870, when the 
 founder of the paper, Mr. A. Skillman, returned to it 
 and purchased his interest, Cassidy & Skillman being 
 now the publishers. Notwithstanding the continued 
 progress and general prosperity of the Sentinel, it has 
 met with serious misfortunes. On the twentieth 
 of November, 187:i, the greater part of the town of 
 P^ureka was destroyed by tire, and with it went up 
 in the flames the office of the Sentinel, with all its 
 material, saving a few sheets of damaged paper and 
 one or two gallej's of type. By telegraph, new 
 office material was ordered from San Francisco, 
 which was at once forwarded, also the Eureka Daily 
 Sentinel Stijijilemenl , containing the legal advertise- 
 ments, the latter, with the type saved, enabling 
 it to continue its publication, as required by law. 
 The loss to the proprietors by the fire was estimated 
 at SI 2,000, with no insurance. Not a year had 
 elapsed since the date of the fire, when the opposing 
 element, water, came to destroy. In July, 1874, a 
 terrific storm, to which the mountainous region 
 of the State is subject, broke upon the surrounding 
 hills, sending a flood through the narrow valley in 
 which the town is built, destroying everything in its 
 course. The Sentinel office met the fate of its neigh- 
 bors, but not to so great an extent as others, much 
 of the material being saved. In April, 1879, the mis- 
 fortune of fire again befell it; but a portion of the 
 office being fire-proof, a total loss was thus averted. 
 New material was soon added, greater precautions 
 were taken, and now the office is one of the most 
 complete in the Slate, jmblishing dailj- and weekly 
 editions of the paper. Numerous power-presses are 
 in use, and every class of work done. The Srntiml 
 is vigorously edited, giving full news of the locality, 
 together with telegraphic dispatches from all parts 
 of the world. Its founder, 
 
 .MR. ABRAn.V.M SK II,I..M.\N, 
 
 Is one of the pioneer printers of the Pacific Coast, 
 arriving at San Francisco January 6, 1850, lacking 
 
 but a few daj-s of being a forty-niner. He soon 
 went to work at his trade as a printer, and in 1851 
 was half owner of the J'aci/ic A'eirg, one of the first 
 papers j)ublished in San Francisco. This property- 
 was twice destroyed by fire, and was at last com- 
 pelled to suspend publication on account of ( he want 
 of printing material. In 185:i he started the Shasta 
 Courier, then the only paper in the State north of 
 Marysvillo. AVith this he remained about sixteen 
 years, making tlu- ]ia]ier one of the liest known and 
 powerliil in California, it still retaining a high char- 
 acter. In the spring of 187(1, in companj' with G. 
 A. Brier, he started the Rejiorter, at Shermantown, 
 in White Pine County, but in July of the same year 
 ho transferred his office and his eflorts to Eureka, 
 where, in company with Dr. L. C. McKcnncj-, he 
 established the Sentinel. From this he went, in Feb- 
 ruary, 1873, to Hamilton, and in companj- with Mr. 
 Fred. Ellfott, purcha.sed of W. J. Forbes the I»7(i7e 
 Pine Xeivs, which he published until 1877, when ho 
 returned to Plureka and bought the interest of Mr. 
 Dennis in the Sentinel, which he still retains. This 
 long journalistic career, almost without cessation, 
 gives grounds for Mr. Skillman's claim of being the 
 oldest newspaper man on the coast who is still in 
 the business. Many years ago Mr. Skillman was 
 married to a beautiful lady, still his eom])anion, and 
 one son, grown to manhood, follows the profession 
 of his father. The senior of the firm, but junior in 
 years. 
 
 HON. GEORGE W. CASSIDY. 
 
 Hon. (reorge W. Cassidy is a native of Kentuckj-, 
 
 born in 1838, but emigrated to California when a 
 lad and grew to manhood in the mountain regions 
 of that State, his residence for a number of years 
 being at Dutch Flat, in Placer County. Ilis first 
 journalistic experience was in gathering items ibr 
 the Meadow Lake Enlerjn-ise \n \^W>. In 18(!!l he 
 was the local re])orter for the W/iife I'ine News, and 
 in 1870 edited and ])ublislu'd the Inland Empire. 
 Since September 21, 1871, ho has been proprietor, 
 and gcncrallj- editor, performing all the editorial 
 work, as well as conducting the business of the Senti- 
 nel. That he has made a success of the paper as 
 well as for himself, the position of both will 
 testify. Twice elected to the Senate, where ho 
 wielded a powerful influence, he has now been 
 elected Representative in Congress, taking his seat 
 in December, 1881. 
 
 El'REKA IIAII.V REPUBMCAN. 
 
 In 1871 a portion of the material of the office of 
 the Humboldt Reijinter was moved to Eureka by its 
 owner, Jlr. J. C. Ragsdale, who, on the first of .Fan- 
 uary, 1878, commenced the Rcpui/lican with six 
 columns to the page. Subsequently, the Republi- 
 can Publishing Companj- was formed, under which 
 organization the p;iper was issued, with .AFr. H. B. 
 Loomis as editor, until .March ■"!, 1878, when it was 
 leased to Messrs. Alf Chartz, W. \V. Wate and 
 
300 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Arthur McEwen, the latter acting as editor, and 
 Chart/, as local reporter, businci^s manager, etc. 
 Under this association the paper flourished, gaining 
 a reputation for its sprightly paragraphs and local 
 news, until a most unfortunate occurrence over- 
 whelmed it with disaster. The editor, one of the 
 most amiable and pleasant of writers, was distin- 
 guished for his witticisms, and indulging in this had 
 offended Mr. Kdward Rickcr, a conductor on the 
 Eureka and Palisade Railroad, who threatened vio- 
 lence in retaliation. On the sixteenth of June, 1878, 
 Kicker and Chartz meeting in the streets of Eureka, 
 engaged in a quarrel in consequence of the offensive 
 paragraphs, resulting in the shooting of Ricker by 
 t'hartz, the wound terminating fatally on the 
 eighteenth following. This sad event greatly excited 
 the people of Kureka, and .Tune 24th the Republican 
 ceased its publication. For this Chartz was tried and 
 sentenced to the penitentiary for life, but since his 
 incarceration and the declining excitement attend- 
 ing the tragic event, new evidence has been obtained 
 mitigating his offense, and great efforts have been 
 made to procure his pardon. Of his associates in 
 the Republican, Mr. Wats is a compositor in Reno, 
 and Mr. McEwen is editor of the Virginia Chronicle. 
 Mr. Chartz is a native of Canada, but a resident 
 of the Pacific Coast from boyhood. His journalistic 
 education he received in the office of the Eureka 
 Daily Sentinel, leaving that jiaper to engage in the 
 publication of the Republican. 
 
 EUREKA DAILY LEADER. 
 
 The material of the Republican was transferred to 
 Messrs. Fred. K. Canfield and F. E. Pisk, who, on the 
 twentj'-fifth of June, 1878, issued the first number of 
 the Eureka Daily Leader, continuing it as a Republi- 
 can paper, with six columns to the page. April 24, 
 1870, the paper was enlarged to seven columns. 
 October 4, 1879, Mr. W. W. llobart purchased the 
 interest of Mr. Fisk, the publishing firm being then 
 Jlobart & Canfield, with the former in charge of 
 the editorial department, and the latter having the 
 local. This firm were the publishers until April IG, 
 1880, when Mr. Canfield retired, and shortly there- 
 after Mr. C. A. .Morden entered the firm, the paper 
 being now published by llobart k .Morden. 
 
 FRED. E. CANFIELD 
 
 Is a native of the city of New York. He commenced 
 his journalistic career on the Sacramento Union in 
 18(54, and was traveling correspondent for the paper 
 for two years. Eventually he became connected 
 with the Fureka Sentinel, where he had been engaged 
 for about eighteen months, when he took charge of 
 the Leatler. After leaving this paper he returned to 
 New York, and is now with the North American 
 Mining and Development Company, of New York 
 City. 
 
 One of the proprietors and editor of the Fureka 
 Daily Leader, is a native of Marshall, <Jalhoun County> 
 Michigan, where he was born August 18, 1832. But 
 little time was given him to acquire a common school 
 education, for at fourteen years of age he entered an 
 office to learn the printer's trade, where he remained 
 an apprentice for two years. 
 
 In 1849 he crossed the plains to California, and for 
 four j'cars mined with varying success in the placers 
 of that State. In the fall of 1S53, when ho was but 
 twenty-one years of age, the position was tendered 
 him of Deputy Sheriff' of Butte County, California, 
 and he accepted the appointment. This was no sine- 
 cure at the time, as Butte was a flourishing mining 
 county and her camps were the favorite resort of 
 the desperadoes of all nationalities, and crimes 
 against both life and property were frequent. Ho 
 occupied the j)osition for four j'ears, and was ke])t 
 busy in enforcing the laws. In the discharge of his 
 duties he had some hair-breadth escapes, not only 
 from criminal classes, but also from mobs, who, 
 weary at the law's delay, made several unsuccessful 
 attempts to take prisoners from him, and give them 
 the benefit of a short trial and a long rope, but he 
 never lost a ])risoner in this way or by escajie. 
 
 In 1857 he was elected to the office of Tax Col- 
 lector of Butte County by an almost unanimous 
 vote. In 1860 ho closed his official career in Cali- 
 fornia, and engaged in merchandising, whi(^h busi- 
 ness he prosecuted at different j)oints in Butte 
 County until the spring of 1863, when he emigrated 
 
HOTO BV MORSE. SAN FRANCISCO 
 
 PMOTO OV O. NMAM, OAKLAND, OAL 
 
 J. H. Jcujua. 
 
 ^^^^ ^^^<^C^i^^^ 
 
HISTORY OF JOURNALISM IN NEVADA. 
 
 301 
 
 with a stock of goods to Austin, Lander County, 
 ^'ovada. At the organization of the Slate (tovern- 
 nient he was chosen by the Re]niijlieans of Lander 
 County to represent that constituency in the State 
 Senate. In that body he was api)ointcd *to the 
 responsible jiosition of Chairman of the Committee 
 on Ways and .Means, which he held during the ses- 
 slons of ia(M-(15. and of \>n;Ci. He ])repared and 
 reported all the principal financial measures passed 
 at both these sessions, including the present revenue 
 law of the State. He originated the present method 
 of assessing the net proceeds of mines, which 
 with some slight modification in the manner of 
 arriving at assessed values, remains in force as he 
 originally drew it in 1864. At the close of the ses- 
 sion of ISOO ho returned to California, where ho 
 remained until the spring of lStJ9, when ho joined 
 the rush to White Pine, and settled in Hamilton. 
 t)uriMg the summer of 187(1 he was nominated by 
 the J{epublican State Convention to the position of 
 State Controller, and in the November election was 
 elected over his Democratic opponent by a majority 
 of onlj' ninety-four votes. Ho took the office Jan- 
 uarj- 1, 1S71, in what is known as the first Bradley 
 administration, the Governor, the Treasurer, Attor- 
 ney General — in fact, about half of the State officers 
 being Democrats. This administration had not only 
 to face the |)ropo8ition of an empty treasury', but 
 also a large funded and floating debt. The bonded 
 debt was drawing the enormous interest of fifteen 
 per cent, per annum. On his recommendation, the 
 Legislature which convened that winter passed 
 bills authorizing the Controller and Treasurer to 
 negotiate two loans. One to represent the amount 
 owed by the State, incurred by her since her organ- 
 ization to the amount of 82S0,(l(l(), to run ton j'oars, 
 and the other to represent the amount of debt 
 inherited by the State from the old Territorial organ- 
 ization, to run fifteen j'oars, both loans to be nego- 
 tiated at par, and to bear a rate of interest not 
 exceeding ten per cent, per annum. The Controller 
 and Treasurer succeeded in negotiating both loans; 
 SI 60.000 was placed at ten per cent, interest, and 
 8500,000 at nine and a half 
 
 The amount of the State lax going into the interest 
 and sinking fund was reduced from seventy-five cents 
 to fifty cents, thus leaving a much larger proportion 
 of the State's revenue available for paying the cur- 
 rent ex))enses than ever before. This, in connection 
 with the large yield of the Comstock mines, which 
 began in 1872, soon placed the State on a firm finan- 
 cial footing. In 1874, Mr. Hobart was renominated 
 by the Hcpulilicans as their candidate for Controller, 
 and notwithstanding the fact that the election resulted 
 in the choice of about half the Democratic State 
 ticket, he was successful by over 4,000 majority. 
 Following his recommendation, the Legislature of 
 1875 reduced the State tax from 81.25 to ninety cents, 
 and jirovidcd for the use of some of the large surplus 
 iu the State Treasury in the extinguishing of the 
 38 
 
 State indebtedness. This was partially done in the 
 ensuing four years. On the first of .laiunuy, 1870, 
 .Mr. Hobart retired from the Controlleixhip with the 
 satisfaction of seeing the State practically out of debt, 
 and a large surplus in the treasurj'. In conformity 
 with the suggestion of his last report as Controller, 
 the Legislature made a further reduction of the State 
 tax to fifty-five cents, and enlarged the powers of the 
 Debt Commissioners so that what remained of the 
 State debt was redeemed. At the close of his term he 
 settled in the town of Kuroka and assumed editorial 
 charge of the Daily Lender, a liepublican paper. In 
 1880 he was the Republican nominee for State Sena- 
 tor for Eureka County, and was elected. During 
 the session of 1881 he did what was in his power to 
 reduce the expenses of the State (tovernment in 
 accordance with the changed fitiancial condition and 
 outlook of the State. 
 
 Bills prepared and introduced by him became laws, 
 the result of which will bo to reduce those expenses 
 after January 1, 1883, nearly 830,000 annually. 
 
 EUBY HILL WEEKLY MINING NEWS. 
 
 The above is a weekly paper published at Ruby 
 Hill, Eureka County, b^' James E. Anderson, who is 
 both editor and proprietor. It is a largo-sized paper 
 and well filled with all sorts of mining and local 
 news, and was first issued on the twentj--sixth of 
 Ai)ril, 1880. On the 15th of August, 1881, the 
 W'eehlij .\finiiuj Xews distinguished itself by issuing 
 an eight-page, fifty-six-eolumn edition, containing a 
 short historj- of 155 raining claims in Kureka < 'ounty, 
 giving names of many superintendents, foremen, 
 etc., saying : — 
 
 To-day's Afhnng New8 is the largest paper ever 
 issued in Nevada, and contains more information 
 concerning our mines than has ever been published 
 in the camp. The list embraces about every mine 
 or claim worthj^ of notice, and the reports are in 
 every instance correct. 
 
 The proprietor also stales, in the same number, 
 that the paper has been liberally patroznied since it 
 was first started. 
 
 THE PRF:SS of HUMBOLDT COUNTY. 
 
 W.J. Forbes, joined bj- Charles L. Perkins, started 
 the first paper in Humboldt County on the second 
 of May, 1863, and its advent in Unionvillo was cele- 
 brated by the citizens with a thirty-gun salute from 
 an anvil, followed by nine cheers, after which a i)ro- 
 cession was formed, and the town, following a single 
 cornet, marched to the printing-office, where they 
 madethings hilarious. It isdoublful if anotherpaper 
 on the Pacific Coast has been received with eipial 
 spontaneous cordiality. The name given to this 
 early venture was 
 
 THE niAinoLDT keoister. 
 Which was an unpretending sheet in size — onl}- 
 21x28 inches — but its editorial salute to the public 
 
302 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 was stamped with a terseness of expi'ession, and 
 point of purpose, that became eminently char- 
 acteristic of its editor-in-chief in after years. Polit- 
 ically it was independent, but favored a vigorous 
 prosecution of the war to suppress the Southern 
 Rebellion; and in mechanical appearance it was 
 the most attractive newspaper published in Nevada 
 at that time. 
 
 Mr. Forbes became sole proprietor with the 
 eleventh number, and continued as such until Febru- 
 ary 2, 1867, when he sold to G. G. Berry, H. C. 
 Street and 51. S. Bonnificld, who announced that 
 " with a change of editors the Heyisler has met with 
 a change of heart." Judge George G. Berry is 
 now ])ractising law at Wiiinemueca, and C L. Per- 
 kins, who was elected State Printer in 1870, is now 
 Clerk of Sonoma County, California. The firm, of 
 which Bonnificld was a silent |>artncr, continued to 
 publish the Rryisti^r at Uniinivillu until January, 1809, 
 when K. i). Kelly and .M. S. Bonnificld, present 
 District Judge of Huniboidl County, became jiropric- 
 tors. 
 
 The completion of the Central Pacific Railroad 
 left Unionvillc an inland town, doomed to a ])recari- 
 0U8 existence, and this caused a suspension of the 
 Register on the twenty-ninth of May, 1869. The 
 material was taken to the new town of Elko, on the 
 railroad, where the /nde/iendoit was started with it 
 in May, by E. D. Kelly & Co. 
 
 On the thirtieth of October, 1869, Mr. Kelly hav- 
 ing dis])Osed of the Fndejnmlenl at Elko, in connec- 
 tion with M. S. Bonnificld, revived the name of the 
 old JIunihoUlt Ii'e(/is/er, in a weekly paper that they 
 started in Winnemucca as a Democratic organ. In 
 March, 1870, T. Y. Julian assumed editorial manage- 
 ment, but gave jjlace in Julj' of the same year to 
 John Hobins, who became owner, and in 1872 the 
 Reyinln- passed to the control of 11. A. Waldo and T. 
 V. Julian, who now reside in Reno. October 1, 1<S74, 
 they commenced a daily ])ublication that was con- 
 tinued until November 10, 1875. They coiitiniicd it 
 until January, 1876, and sold to C. H. Stoddard, 
 under whose management it was suspended in Decem- 
 ber, the material ])assing to J. (J. Ragsdalc & Co., 
 with which was started the Eureka Rc/iulitiitoi. 
 
 WILLIAM .1. FORHES, i 
 
 The ])ionecr journalist of Humboldt Countj', was a 
 native of Ohio, and was a thorough practical printer, 
 acquiring bis trade and profession under the teaching 
 of Hon. Sam. Mcdary, the distinguished Journalist of 
 Columbus. He removed from his native State to Cal- 
 ifornia jn 183'.J, and became connected with various 
 papers in that State prior to his advent in Nevada, 
 among which were the Coloma Argus, Marysville 
 Ueralti, and Sierra Democrat, at Downieville. After 
 selling the J/umbo/ilt Register ho jjurchased the Vir- 
 ginia City Daili/ Union, and changed its name to 
 The Trespass, and this ])a]>er suspended under his 
 management. From there he went to White Pine, a 
 disgusted journalist, and started a saloon, saying 
 
 " That of twenty men, nineteen patronized the 
 saloon and one the newspaper, and he was going for 
 the crowd." 
 
 His associations with the press in the years gone 
 before had taken too strong a hold of him to permit 
 of his long continuance in such a business, and again 
 we find him at the editorial helm, this time of the 
 White Pine News. In 187;!, with a portion of the 
 material of the office, he went to Salt I^ake and 
 started the New Endowment, an enterprise that 
 proved an utter financial failure, his valedictorj^ say- 
 ing "We cease the publication because we did not 
 bring money enough with us." lie then returned 
 ' to Nevada and the Measure for Measure became one 
 of the journals of that State, published by him at 
 Battle Mountain, where be was found dead, lying 
 across his bed, on the morning of the thirtieth of 
 October, 1875. It was a lonelj' road and silent end 
 of a life that had failed to achieve its legitimate 
 results; alone by himself, "Semblins" had lain down in 
 the darkness and died in poverty-, and of such a 
 dreary ending to the course of one in his position, 
 he had written ten years before: — 
 
 "Semblins" sajs death cannot be a matter of much 
 moment to an editor — no thirty days notice required 
 by law^it is the local incident of a moment, a few 
 days as advertised on the fourth ])agc, a few calls by 
 subscribers not in arrears. A short, quick breath — 
 then the subscription paper for burial eoepenses." 
 
 A prophetic conclusion. 
 
 No member of the Nevada press was better or 
 more widely known in his time. Some of his witty 
 paragraphs under the nam de plame of '-Semblins" 
 became standai'd quotations in the United Slates, 
 and were repeated until their origin was lost. One 
 of them, that has since been credited to various 
 sources, was a bitter political thrust at d'ovor- 
 nor Nye, who had procured the appropriation of 
 •S75,000 to be spent for building a dam and mill 
 with which to saw lumber and irrigate land 
 for the Pah-Utc Indians, all of which had been 
 expended. For this there was only a miserable 
 excuse for a dam, with no mill to show for the 
 outla3\ all of which could have been acconi|ilislK'd 
 by Indian labor, with the proper outlay of Sl,0tl0. 
 Korbes sent absurdity floating over the world 
 where the English language was read, in the fol- 
 lowing brief paragraphs: — 
 
 "Semblins" knows that (iovernor Nye has a dam 
 by a mill-site, but he has no mill by a d n sight. 
 
 He made the following cutting thrust at the ex- 
 jiressed opinion, that the Southern soldiers, having 
 the blood of chivalry running in their veins, were 
 consequently braver men than their Northern adver- 
 saries: — 
 
 "Semblins " has been watching the record of the " su- 
 perior race" which Hragg's army has made from 
 Kentucky to tieorgia, and he thinks that some noblo 
 blood must run in the veins of those soldiers." 
 
HISTORY OF JOURNALISM IN NEVADA. 
 
 303 
 
 And again: — 
 
 "Semblins" has no faith in the eftbrt to raise the 
 ship A(inil(i hy means of a colier-dam. It rcjnind.s 
 him of a cow in Illinois wiiit-li ho saw swallow a 
 thistle and cotfor dam head off. 
 
 Forbes' final resting-place on earth is at Coloma, 
 El Dorado County, California. His remains were 
 brought there, and entombed by the side of those of 
 his wife, who had preceded him in death about two 
 years. An orphan child, Sheridan, named after 
 Forbes' favorite General, whom, in feature, he much 
 resembled, now attends school in San Francisco. 
 
 WINNE.MUWA AU(iKNT. ^ 
 
 John and Joscj)h Wasson started a Kepublican 
 paper by this name at Winnemucca in 1868. In the 
 last of November of that j'ear it suspended, and 
 the material was taken to Silver City, Idaho, where 
 it was used in starting the Tidal Wave. John Wasson 
 is now Surveyor General of Arizona, and his brother 
 Joseph is living in California, and was recently a 
 lively member of the Legislature, representing Mono 
 and In3-o Counties of that State. 
 
 TOE SILVER STATE. [^ 
 
 1/ John C. Fall purchased material for starting a 
 newspaper in Unionville after the Heyisler had been 
 removed from there, and in March, 1870, H.A. Waldo 
 commenced with that material to publish the Silver 
 State in that i)laee. John I. Ginn succeeded Waldo 
 in August, 1870, who, in turn, was relieved by John 
 Booth, .Fanuary 7, 1S71. On the following tirst of 
 February If. L. Tilden. who died in California, in 
 1880, took charge. He stated in the first issue that 
 he had left the count j- in 1S(J4, when everj-body was 
 leaving it, and that he came back when they were 
 all coming back, and that he jnoposcd to stay while 
 Humboldt County was])ros])erou8. In August, 1872, 
 the firm name became !\. L. Tilden it Co. Just after 
 the election that year, J. J. Hill A Co., who later 
 became State printers, assumed control, and, July 
 26, 1878, became sole proprietors. In 1874 the firm 
 became Peter Myers & J. J. Hill. Those parties 
 purchased the material from Jlr. Fall, and removed it 
 to Winnemucca, enlarged the paper to thirtj'-two 
 columns, and issued the first number in that place 
 September Kith of that year. Up to this time the 
 Silver State had been a weekly, but October 7, 1874, 
 the size was diminished to twenty columns, and the 
 publication of a daily was started that is still con- 
 tinued. September 8. 1875, Mr. M3-erR withdrew 
 from the firm, and H. I). Kell}-, who had been editor, 
 took his place as a partner, and continues to be such, 
 as well as editor, at the present time. 
 
 The Silver State has been Democratic through all 
 its changes of partnerships and form, and is, since 
 the suspension of the I'aradise Reporter, the only 
 paper published in Humboldt County. 
 
 E. 1). KELLY, ^ 
 
 Editor of the Silver Stale, is a native of Livingston 
 County, New York, and was born July 17, 1834. 
 With his parents ho moved to Clinton County, in 
 
 about 1840, and, in 1859, he came across the plains 
 to California. After reaching the Pacific Coast, until 
 the spring of 1862, he followed mining in Shasta 
 County, of the (ioldcn State, whence ho came by the 
 Honey Lake route to Nevada. After his arrival in 
 the Territory, his time was passed in mining until 
 1868, during which time he was occasionally called 
 upon to assist Mr. Forbes on the Reyister. 
 
 In January, 186!), ho, as before stated, became 
 editor and one of the proprietors of that paper, which 
 he took to Elko, in company with George (i. Berry 
 as silent partner. In May, 1869, he disposed of his 
 interest in the fmlependent at Elko, and removed to 
 Winnemucca, where, in connection with ..M.S. Honni- 
 field, ho started the second Humboldt Register. In 
 1870 ho disposed of his interest in the Ri;yi8ter to 
 John Ivobins, and, in 1872, he assumed his present 
 position with the Silver State. His reputation as an 
 editor and publisher classes him as a just, sincere 
 writer, whose ability entitles him to a larger field for 
 operations than the one at present occupied by him. 
 
 IIi;.VBOLDT NATIONAL. 
 
 This was a short-lived concern, that expired with 
 its tenth issue. It was started as a twenty-eight 
 column weekly, at Winnemucca, August 14, ISiill, by 
 J. A. Booth, and passed into the hands of Kobert Mc- 
 Beth, to die. 
 
 PAUADLSE REPORTER. 
 
 .Mr. 11. Warren, a young man of ability and energy, 
 hailing from Bakersfield, California, where he had 
 been correspondent I'or the San Francisco Chronicle 
 and Gall, as well as the Stockton Herald, started an 
 independent weekly, with Democratic tendencies, at 
 Paradise City, in Humboldt County, May 10, 1879. 
 In size it was the same as the Daily Silver State, and 
 suspended after the election of 1880. 
 
 THE PRESS OP LANDER COUNTY. 
 
 In the organization of the Territory of Nevada 
 Lander County comprised the entire northeastern 
 quarter, then being an almost unknown wilderness. 
 A military post in Ruby Valley, and a few Pony Ex- 
 press and Overland Stage Stations, comprised the set- 
 tlements, and the daily passage of the Pony Express 
 and the stage was all that gave life to the region 
 and attached it to civilization. In May, 1862, the 
 announcement was made that a rider of the Pony 
 Jlxpress had discovereil silver ore in a range of 
 mountains near Reese River. The jiublic mind was 
 already excited by the recent discoveries and great 
 fortunes made in the mines of Washoe, as 'he Corn- 
 stock region was then called, and the now discoveries 
 by Reese River fed the excitement, and a rush began. 
 The indefinitonoss of the locality, the distant 
 unknown region, by an unknown " river," gave a 
 charm to adventure, and (juickly "cities" sprung 
 into existence. Of these Austin took the load, the 
 site surveyed and buildings oroctodin January, 1863. 
 
304 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Among the first in this movement of pioneers was 
 the printer, Mr. W. C Phillips, with an enterprise as 
 bold as it was commendable, and successful in its 
 results, transported to the region the press and mate- 
 rial for a newspaper, and on the sixteenth day of 
 May, 1863, issued the first number of the 
 
 REESE RIVER REVEILLE. 
 
 The term -'Reese River" was fiimiliar to all, the 
 mining excitement then prevailing bearing the appel- 
 lation, the mining district was so named, and all 
 eastern Nevada was called " Reese River," so the 
 name with the alliterative. Re eilk, was naturally 
 suggested. Mr. Phillips was an able writer, as well 
 as a practical printer, and was his own editor. 
 Among the pioneers of Austin was a very skillful 
 printer, Mr. O. Jj. C. Fairchild, who became the assist- 
 ant of Mr. Phillips, and these gentlemen put up 
 the press, arranged the office and pulled the first 
 paper in the wilderness of eastern Nevada. Th^ 
 Reveille was issued as a weeklj' with six columns to 
 the page, and at prices commensurate with the 
 expenses and the opportunity — fifty cents a number 
 or twenty-four dollars a year in gold coin, and for 
 advertising, all the advertiser would stand. The 
 town was " booming," business was good, and the 
 paper prospered. It was a novel thing to see a 
 newspaper in such a wild, isolated region, and there- 
 fore the Rtese Ricer ReceiUe was circulated far and 
 wide, and the fame of the new mines spread. After 
 the third issue it was decided to keep step with the 
 progress of the town, and on June 3d the paper was 
 advanced to a semi-weekly. 
 
 Declining health compelled Mr. Phillips to cease 
 from active labor and seek a milder clime. To 
 enable him to do this ho leased the office on the 
 first of October to O. L. C and J. J). Fairchild, 
 who engaged Mr. Adair Wilf-on as editor, who, in 
 December, was joined bj- ilj-ron Angel as assistant. 
 Mr. Wilson continued as editor until February, 18(54, 
 when Mr. Angel took charge, and remained its 
 editor until January, 1868. Mr. I'hillij)8 returned 
 to Austin in May, 1S64, still in feeble health; evi- 
 dently declining with the dread consumption. ITnable 
 to resume the toil and excitement demanded of one 
 in the management of such a paper as the thriving 
 city of Austin then required, he sold his establish- 
 ment to his lessees, the Messrs. Fairchild, and 
 removed to bis former home in Illinois, where he 
 died in the following autumn. 
 
 The Reveil/e now takes a new departure. The 
 Messrs. Faiirhild had purchased com]>lele material 
 for a large daily paper, and on the twenty-fourth of 
 May, 1864, J. D. Fairchild pulled the first number of 
 the Daily Reese Ricer Reneilk, a morning paper of 
 nine columns to the i)age, being of the same size as 
 the Sacramento Daily Union. A local editor was 
 added, Mr. Locke acting in that capacity for several 
 months, when he was succeeded by .Mr. Wilmington, 
 who, in April, 1865, was succeeded by Mr. B. J. 
 
 Rums, an experienced and able journalist, who con- 
 tinued in the position until 18(>0. With the chang- 
 ing times the size of the paper changed. Following 
 the bright opening of 1804 came a great depression 
 in mining aftairs, the excitement dying away, and 
 the extinction of the new city seemed threatened. 
 With prudence the proprietors reduced the size of 
 the paper, first on August 2, 1864, to six columns to 
 the page, and fifteen inches in length; and on Sep- 
 tember 6th following, to five columns. In June, the 
 next year, the columns were lengthened two inches, 
 at which size the paper I'cmains. 
 
 Much ridicule usually attaches to a small sheet, 
 contemptuously characterized as a "seven-by-nine 
 concern," but it has been remarked "that the 
 Reene River Reveille, in its prime, removed the stigma 
 and prejudice against small papers." The paper 
 was distinguished for its ability, for the persistence 
 with which it advocated the interests of eastern 
 Nevada, and for its searching detail of its resources. 
 The circulation vvas wide, and it was copied exten- 
 sively. Such persistence and appeals bore fruit in 
 attracting foreign capital to the development of the 
 mines, and people to prospect and occupy the then 
 "unexplored regions." Political (juestions then 
 attracted great attention, and excited intense feel- 
 ing. The great war of the Rebellion was at its 
 height, the telegraph brought the news of all that 
 transpired, and the full dispatches of the Associated 
 Press were published. The Reveille was ardently 
 Republican, and commented without fear or hesita- 
 tion upon all questions. Supporting all the measures 
 of the Republican parly, it made itself a political 
 power; and as a newspaper, a local advocate and 
 conserver of social order, it attained a high standing 
 at home and a powerful influence abroad. 
 
 In October, 1868, J. J). Fairchild sold his interest 
 in the Reveille to (). L. C. Fairchild, who August 14, 
 1871, sold to Andrew Casamaj-ou and John U. 
 Dennis, who being Democrats, continued the paper 
 as independent in politics. September 9, 1873, Mr. 
 Dennis sold his interest to Mr. John Booth, Mr. Casa- 
 maj-ou assuming the post of editor. December 21, 
 1875, the paper ajipcars under the firm name of John 
 Booth it Co., with Mr. Fred. II. liart as editor, and 
 A. Maute as business manager. Following the death 
 (ff Mr. Casamaj-ou, who died at Austin on the ninth 
 of that month, Mr. Hart for a short ])eriod was ])art 
 owner, but since November 26, 1S7S, Mr. Hooth has 
 been sole proprietor and editor. With the com- 
 mencement of the thirty-sixth volume in May, 1881, 
 the editor says: "The pa])cr is second in age, and its 
 j)roprietor the oldest continuous j)ublisher in the 
 State." Mr. Booth probably means living papers, 
 the Territorial Entrr/rrine being the only one of 
 greater age now published; but the Daily Silver Aye 
 was published at Carson in 1860, the Esmeralda 
 Sffir at Aurora in 1862, the Daily Union at Virginia, 
 November 4, 1862, and the UumluMt Register at 
 Unionville, May 2, 1863. Mr. A. Skillman, of the 
 
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HISTORY OF JOURNALISM IN NEVADA. 
 
 305 
 
 Eureka .Ve/ir/ ««>(', maUes tlie same claim of being the 
 oldest foiUiiiuous jmblisher. 
 
 J. D. FAIKCIULD. 
 
 Joseph IH'imy Faivchild, of the Reese River Reveille, 
 was born at Ovid, Seneca County, New York, in 
 April, 1838. Growing up there to bo quite a lad, he 
 learned to set type. Arrivini; in ('alifornia in 1S54, 
 he not long afterward engaged himself to corajjlctc 
 the printing trade with W. J. ForJjes, who was at 
 that time j)ublishing a paper at (Jeorgetown, El 
 Dorado County. lie remained with Forbes, going 
 with him from El Dorado to Sierra Count}', for several 
 years, until he concluded to engage in a newspaper 
 venture of his own. With his brother, O. L. C. 
 P'airchild, he begun the publication of the J^lacer- 
 ville Semi- Weelity Olmercer, the first number of which 
 came out on the ninth of February, 1850. lie con- 
 tinued in that paj)er until it suspended in 18G0. 
 Then returning to his old emploj-er, Forbes, at 
 Downieville, he there remained until the Eeese 
 River excitement begun in lS(j;!. when he went to 
 Austin. Engaging as a journeyman in the Receille 
 otKce at Austin, when that ))aper first started, he 
 and his brother soon after became its lessees, and 
 finally ])roprietors by purchase, which continued until 
 the time of his death, which occurred at Sacra- 
 mento, California, in the summer of 1869, from 
 congestion of the brain, resulting from a fall from 
 a horse, llis remains were conveyed to George- 
 town, El Dorado County, where they wore buried. 
 
 .MYRON a'nuel 
 Was editor of the Reese River Reveille during the 
 most exciting and prosperous period of its historj-, 
 and after severing his connection with it was for a 
 numberofj-ears, first, editor, then San Francisco cor- 
 respondent and agent of the Whi/e Pine News and 
 Other Nevada papers. This gentleman is a native 
 of the State of New York, born in Onconta, Otsego 
 County, December 1, 1K27, a descendant of the first 
 I'uritan pilgrims who landed on I'lymouth Rock. 
 Ilia father, William Angel, desiring to advance the 
 prosperity of Oneonta, established a newspaper in 
 the village, and in this office the subject of this 
 sketch often assisted in the mechanical and editorial 
 departments, although then verj' young. In 1835 
 his mother died, and in 1842 his father, leaving him 
 an orphan in his fifteenth year. The boy, inheriting 
 a fair ])ro|)ert}', was enabled to ac(iuire a fine educa- 
 tion; from district school to Hart wick Seminary, 
 thence, in 184t!, to the Military Academy at West 
 Point, from which institution he resigned to join 
 the excited throng bound for the gold mines in 
 the newly ac(|uired regions of California. At the 
 date of the discovery of gold his elder brother, 
 Eugene Angel, was practicing law in I'coria, Illi- 
 nois, having recently been admitted to the bar, 
 and was anxious to join the I'coria Pioneers in the 
 journey overland. Urging the cadet to join him in 
 Peoria, Mr. Angel, in January, 1849, started on his 
 
 journey, crossing Pennsylvania to Pittsburgh by 
 stage, that being the only conveyance at the time, 
 the New York and Erie Railroad only reaching to 
 Port Jervis, on the Delaware River, and from Pitts- 
 burgh to St. Louis by steamboat, thence a short dis- 
 tance up the Illinois River bj- boat, and a toilsome 
 journey in mud-wagons to Peoria. In April the Pio- 
 neers left that city, destined for St. Jo., on the ilis- 
 souri, on the " uttcrlj' utter " verge of civilization. 
 The treachery of the Captain of the steamboat on 
 which was that part of the company in which was 
 Angel's party changed the fate of the J'oung emi- 
 grants by landing at Weston and refusing to proceed 
 to St. Joseph, this deciding the party to take the 
 Arkansas and Gila route, instead of the direct route 
 to the gold mines via the South Pass. On the 
 steamer was Captain William Kirker, an old mount- 
 aineer, who had been guide to Colonel Doniphan 
 in his march through New Mexico a few years pre- 
 viously. He told of gold mines in the Rockj- Mount- 
 ains, far richer than those of California, and a large 
 sum was paid him by a collection of Illinois and 
 Missouri people who then made u]> a com])anj-. Late 
 in May the journey was undertaken, and in July 
 prospecting parties entered the Rocky Mountains, on 
 the Rio Sangrc de Christoand other localities, which 
 have since become famous for their mineral wealth, 
 but, being entirely ignorant of the occurrence of 
 gold or how to obtain it, found nothing. The mines 
 of the Pike's Peak region were then condemned and 
 the route taken again for California, or somewhere, 
 the travelers hardlj- knew where. Captain Kirker, 
 the guide, said he knew of mines on the (lila River, 
 and ho would take them there. The Captain was 
 only plaj'ing his party, as ho had a family at Albu- 
 querque and ho only wished to have an escort to 
 take him safely there. The long journey was pur- 
 sued many hundred miles south along the Rio Grande, 
 then westward into Sonora to the head of the Rio 
 Santa Cruz, then northerly through Tucson to the 
 Pima villages on the Gila River. From this point, 
 the two brothers Angel, bocomii>g impatient to roach 
 their destination — it being then October — went in 
 advance of the train, each taking a small pack of 
 clothing and food, and after a journey of severe fa- 
 tigue, reached San Diego about the middle of No- 
 vember, ragged and famished. The train wliicli had 
 been left behind dragged its weary way along, and 
 in the spring of 1850 reached the mining region in 
 Mariposa County. 
 
 At San Diego was a small hermaphrodite brig about 
 to sail for San Francisco, and would take ])assenger8 
 at §100 each, the passenger to furnish his own sub- 
 sistence. As a groat favor, the owner of the brig 
 accepted 8150 as passage money for the two, that 
 being the size of their pile alter buying some pro- 
 visions for the voyage. About half a ilozen others, 
 who had reached San Diego with sufficient means, also 
 wont as passengers, leaving near one hundred desti- 
 tute emigrants bewailing their hard fato. A few 
 
306 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 days afterwards the steamer Oregon called in on her 
 wa}' from Panama, and took all remaining, free of 
 charge. 
 
 On the eighth of December, 1849, the two brothers 
 landed in San Francisco in the rain and mud of a 
 severe winter, in a condition that can better be 
 imagined than described. A few days thereafter an 
 incident occurred that helped much to relieve them 
 of want when employment was unattainable. They 
 had left in the wagon a trunk well filled with valu- 
 able books, some clothing, etc. To lighten the load 
 this was thrown out at the crossing of the Colorado. 
 At that time Lieut. Cave J. Coutts was in command 
 of some soldiers stationed there, since called Fort 
 Yuma, and seeing the trunk as jetsam, on the sand, 
 examined it, and finding the books, papers and cloth- 
 ing of a cadet, quicklj- ])ut it on an ambulance and 
 hastened after the departed train. Finding that the 
 object of his search had gone before, he pushed 
 through to San l>iego, but wa.s still too late to over- 
 take the owner of the things he had rescued at so 
 much trouble. The kind officer then put the trunk 
 in charge of a gentleman going to San Francisco, 
 with instructions to hunt up the owner and restore 
 him his property, with the warm regard ofa brother 
 soldier. The trunk thus reached its destination, and 
 the valuable books it contained sold for such prices as 
 aided to pass the hardships ofa winter which proved 
 the last to many young and homesick pioneers. 
 
 The summer of 1850 was spent in mining at Bid- 
 well's Bar, on Feather Eiver, with rather ])oor suc- 
 cess, and in 1851, the two brothers settled on a ranch 
 at a place since called Angel's Slough, near the Sac- 
 ramento Kiver, south of Chico. In 185G they pur- 
 chased a mining claim at North San Juan, Nevada 
 County, and joining with others commenced opening 
 it bj- tunnel. In this enterprise about $40,000 was 
 expended and lost. The brothers had continued 
 inseparable, until in 18()0 the elder, Eugene Angel, 
 went to the eastern slope in the Washoe excitement, 
 and was killed at the massacre at Pyramid Lake, 
 May 12, 18(10. ^13'ron Angel, in the meantime had 
 become editor of the J'lacerville Semi-Weekly Observer, 
 in which situation he continued until the spring of 
 I8G0, when he returned to San Juan to take charge 
 of his mining interests there. Upon the breaking 
 out of the war he offered his services to the Governor 
 of California and received the appointment of Captain 
 of Infantry. \]\>ou this being announced, the San 
 Juan I'resg of October 5, 1861, said: — 
 
 We are please<l to learn that our friend and fellow- 
 townsmen, Mr. .Myron Angel, is raising a company of 
 infantry in obedience to the call of the (Jeneral Gov- 
 ernment, liaving received official authority from 
 Governor Downey so to do. This furnishes an addi- 
 tional opportunity to all who are willing to serve 
 their country in the hour of her need, to enroll their 
 names. 
 
 Mr. Angel received a thorough military education 
 asa student at West Point, and knows well the duties 
 belonging to an officer, lie is a gentleman, too, in 
 
 whom recruits can repo.se implicit confidence. Their 
 necessities under his care will be promptly attended 
 to, and their rights strictly guarded. 
 
 No fund had been supplied for maintaining and 
 forwarding recruits, and this Mr. Angel did until his 
 own funds were exhausted. Then came the pressing 
 demand for his time to attend to the business of a 
 failing mining enterprise, in which his all was 
 invested, and although appealed to by Colonel Judah, 
 a West Point friend, who then had command of the 
 Fourth California Volunteers, he was compelled to 
 withdraw from the service, hoping for another 
 opportunity when his business would be better 
 arranged. That time, however, did not offer. After 
 writing for various papers, in 1803 he became editor 
 of the lieese River lieoeiUe, which is told in the sketch 
 of that pa])cr. While in that position he wrote 
 several reports on the mines of eastern Nevada, 
 assisting Mr. J. Eoss Browne in his "Eeport on the 
 Mineral Resources west of the Eocky Mountains." 
 A little book he wrote about this time on his 
 favorite theme of the resources of eastern Nevada 
 had the distinction of being published in French, in 
 Paris, and in German, in Leipsic, the translator into 
 French being Emil de Girardin, who paid the author 
 the compliment of saying it was the best English 
 ho had ever translated. Mr. Angel was editor-in- 
 chief of the yi'ei'e/7fc until 18(!S. when he left and became 
 editor of the Oakland Daily Xews, in California; 
 then of the State Capital Reporter, of Sacramento; 
 then of the White Pine Aeict, of which paper he con- 
 tinued as San Francisco correspondent and agent 
 until 1875, when he again became editor of the 
 Oakland A^eivs. While acting as newspaper corre- 
 spondent in San Francisco he also wrote for other 
 publications, the principal being a " Pacific Coast 
 Business Directory and Gazetteer," of which two 
 editions were published, one in 1871, and the other 
 in 1876; also the historical and miscellaneous matter 
 for the San Francisco annual Director}-. The 
 Pacific (.-'oast Directory comprised all the region west 
 of Dakota and Wj-oming, and contained the most 
 comi)lete account of the history, geography, and 
 resources yet published. While performing those 
 labors he was engaged in a mammoth mining enter- 
 prise, in company with Mr. M. D. Fairchild and lion. 
 John l)aggott, in making a canal, and opening a 
 large hydraulic mine in El Dorado County. After 
 an expenditure of over 8100,000 the enterprise came 
 to a halt for want of funds. Mr. Angel, when asked 
 his employment said, "I mine for a fortune, but 1 
 write for a living." In 1870 he formed a ha]>i)y mat- 
 rimonial alliance with (charlotte I'addock Livingston, 
 an acconijilished lady whose acquaintance extended 
 from the days of their youth. 
 
 .MEASURE FOR MEAS17RE. 
 
 This is rather a quaint title for a newspaper, but 
 it was the one adopted bj* a quaint person, Mr. 
 W. J. Forbes, a gentleman distinguished among 
 
HISTORY OF JOURNALISM IN NEVADA. 
 
 307 
 
 the journalists of tho Pacific Coast for his genial 
 humor, ability as an editor and skill in his craft. 
 He sought originality in all things, desiring par- 
 ticularly to avoid the "standard" names for his 
 papers. Among the papers he founded were the 
 Trespass, of Virginia, and tho New Endowment, of Salt 
 Lake. The name of tho first suggested itself by 
 his trespassing upon a field already occu])ied — 
 there being other papers in Virginia City where 
 ho had established his new enterprise ; and New 
 Endowment was adopted as a challenge to combat 
 to the Saints of Salt Lake. Wo will give measure 
 for measure, he said when starting bis last enter- 
 prise. "As ye measure unto us, so will we measure 
 nnto you," he was wont to quote as the reason 
 for his adopting the name, and moreover Shake- 
 speare had used it, and of course it was good. 
 The Measure for Measure was first issued at Battle 
 Mountain on tho twenty-sixth of December, 1873, 
 W. J. Forbes, editor and proprietor, on material 
 formerly used in succession in the ReceiUe office 
 at Austin, Reporter at Belmont, White Pine News 
 and Schell Creek Prospect, and was continued until 
 Octohor, 1875, when ])aper and editor ceased to be. 
 The field was limited and little or no profit had 
 attended the publication of Measure for Measure, but 
 it had gratified the ambition and the restless spirit 
 of its publisher. 
 
 THE n.\TTLE .MOUNTAIN MESSENGER 
 
 AVas started by Mark \V. AIu8grove,on tho nineteenth 
 of Ma}', 1877, but transferred by him in August fol- 
 lowing to E. A. Scott. On the sixth of July, 1878, 
 the office was destroyed by fire, but new material 
 was immediatelj- purchased and publication resumed 
 on the thirty-first of August. On the fifteenth of 
 December of the same j'ear, Scott leased the paper 
 to Messrs. Bobbins k, Sterling for a p'oriod of six 
 months. This firm failed, after a trial of three 
 months, and Scott resumed control, which ho con- 
 tinued until February 13, 1879, when Mr. S. II. Ful- 
 ton took charge. On the first of December, 1879, 
 the ])roprietor again leased the office, this time to 
 Messrs. Sproule k Davis, who still continue its publi- 
 cation, with Mr. C. H. Sproule as tho editor. The 
 Messenijer is Republican in politics; is published 
 weekly, giving the news of the surrounding mining 
 localities, and otherwise devoted to local interests. 
 
 THE BATTLE MOUNTAIN FREE PRESS 
 
 Was established in August, 1881, as a semi-weekly, 
 but has not yet given its history to the world. 
 
 THE PRESS OF LINCOLN COUNTY. 
 
 Tho newspapers of Lincoln County have all been 
 started at Piocho. There have been four of them, 
 three of which exist in tho Piocho Record, and the 
 fourth, known as the Piocho Journal, was closed out 
 by a fire. 
 
 ELY RECORD. 
 
 This was the pioneer paper of Piocho, and tho 
 first number bears date Sej)tember 17, 1870. W. II. 
 Pitchford & Co. were the jiroprietors, who published 
 this twenty-four-column weekly in a canvass tent. 
 With the fourth number, Pat Holland became 
 captain of the craft, and on the fifteenth of October, 
 he took in R. W. Simpson as mate. Thoy changed the 
 daj^ of publication from Saturday to Sunday, and 
 November IHth, of that year, reduced it to a twenty- 
 column sheet, and increased its issue to a semi- 
 weekly, one of its publication days still continuing 
 to be on Sunday. For nearly two years there 
 occurred no further change, when on April 1 lib, tho 
 firm became Holland k Co., Frank Kenyon assuming 
 tho editorial chair, and on the fourteenth of that 
 month four columns were added to the paper, it 
 being increased to tri-weekly, Sunday still continu- 
 ing one of its publishing days. August Kith, of that 
 year, Holland became sole pri)priotor, and no further 
 change occurred until he still further increased tho 
 publication, making a daily of it, to which he gave 
 the name of 
 
 PIOCIIE DAILY RECORD. 
 
 September 17, 1872, is the date of the first number 
 of this first daily at Pioche, the size and pro])rietor- 
 ship remained the same as in tho tri-weekl3^ and it 
 advocated tho Democratic candidate tor President 
 in 1872, A. D. Jones filling the editorial chair during 
 the campaign. 
 
 In tho meantime Frank Kenyon had joined W. B. 
 Taylor, of the Elko Independent, and they, with the 
 material of the old Elko Chronicle office, together 
 had started, in September, a daily Pepublican paper, 
 that was called the 
 
 PIOCIIE REVIEW. 
 
 The Reriew only lasted during the cam])aigii, and 
 was merged in Holland's i)a|>cr November 12tli,at 
 which time W. H. Taylor became one of tho ownei"8 
 of the Record. Mr. Taj-lor did not remain long, his 
 interest being purchased by tieorge G. Berry, ex- 
 Judge of Humboldt County, and tho ])ublication was 
 continued under the firm name of Holland & Co. In 
 January, 1873, John Booth jiurchased an interest, 
 and on tho eighth of tho ensuing April one column 
 was added to each page. In tho fore part of Juno 
 H. N. Maguire retired from tho editorial chair, and 
 J. D. Jones assumed that resi)onsibility, which was 
 followed on July 4th, of that year, by the retirement 
 of Booth, and the resumption of the old firm name 
 of Holland iV Co. In Sei)tcmbcr, 1871, Holland again 
 became solo proprietor, and continued to be such 
 until December, 1875, when ho failed. 
 
 The Record Publishing Ci>m])anv was formed, 
 and have continuetl that paper until the present 
 time, 1881. September 17, 1876, the size was 
 diminished and the dail}' issue abandoned, that of a 
 tri-weekly taking its place, which in turn gave way, 
 January 1, 1877, to a weekly that is still continued. 
 
308 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 In politics the Record has always been independent, 
 except in 1S72, when it supported the Democratic 
 ticket. 
 
 The several editors, until 1881, of the Record, 
 have been R. W. Simpson. Frank Kenyon, A. D. 
 Jones, II. N. .Maguire, John Croyland, J. F. O. lloloran, 
 George Gorman, and II. W. Turner, who fills that 
 position at present. 
 
 PIOCHE JOURNAL. 
 
 The P'wche Journal was tri-weekly, started Decem- 
 ber 15, 1874, by O. K. Wescott and Prank AVyatt. 
 In March, 1875, A. D. Jones and J. \V. Murraj-, pui-- 
 chased the establishment, and in November of that 
 year, Murray became sole proprietor. The fire of 
 May 3, 1876, destroyed the office and material, and 
 publication of that paper was not again resumed. 
 
 THE PRESS OF LYON COUNTY. 
 
 THE COMO SENTINEL. 
 
 The first newspaper in Lyon County was started in 
 the Como Mining District, in the mountains east of 
 Dayton. The first issue bears date April 10, 1864, 
 and the proprietors, II. L. Weston and T. \V. Abra- 
 ham, announce in it their intention to support the 
 Administration; to decapitate the leaders of all 
 wicked cliques and ungodly jjolitical alliances; to 
 publish a weekly twenty-four-column sheet; to help 
 hold up the hands of the mining Aarons of Como; 
 and to charge six dollars per year for their paper. 
 July 9th of the same year, Mr. Weston, wishing to 
 return to California, sold to his ])artner, who after 
 the thirteenth number was issued, removed the paper 
 to Dayton, where its nflme was changed to the 
 
 LYON COUNTY SENTINEL. 
 
 Lender this name its publication was continued 
 without change until the close of the first yearly 
 volume in 1865, when Mr. Abraham was joined in 
 the enterprise by B. F. Cooper and C. S. Paine. This 
 firm continued to wield the SentineVs destinies until 
 the fire of 1866 at Dayton burned their office. 
 
 But three short four-column numbers were ])riritod 
 after the fire, issued to complete the requisite time 
 for advertising some legal notices that had been 
 running. 
 
 LYON COUNTY TI.MES. 
 
 Eight years after the Sentinel suspended, this 
 paper, a Iwenty-four-column triweekly, was started 
 by Frank Kenyon, at Silver City, on the fourth of 
 July, 1874, the first issue having fifteen columns 
 filled with advertisements, the subscription rates 
 being ten dollars j)er j^ear. On the thirty first of 
 January, 1875, a fourteen-column supplement was 
 commenced in connection with the Sunday edition, 
 and continued until the close of the first year, July 
 4, 1875, when it was dropped, and the paper was 
 enlarged to twenty-eight columns. In the mean- 
 time the publication had changed, in March, from a 
 
 tri-weekly to a daily, and Henry J. Norton become, 
 April 6th, as.sociate editor, a position that he retained 
 until the ensuing fourth of January. 
 
 On the fourth of March, 1875, it was transformed 
 into a twenty-four-column daily, four columns being 
 added every Thursday to accommodate mining 
 advertisements and news. June 7th, of the same 
 year, the daily issue ceased, and the Times again 
 became a tri-weekly, of which Mr. Kenj-on continued 
 proprietor until July (!, 1878, when T. E. Picott 
 became its editor and publisher. 
 
 FRANK A. KENYON 
 
 Died on board a steamer en route to Guatamala, 
 while on a voyage for bis health, in the early part 
 of 1879. He was known as " the man of manj- news- 
 papers," having, besides founding the Times, started 
 the Bodie Standard, the Esmeralda Herald, and 
 Pioche Review, in addition to which he had estab- 
 lished papers in Oregon, California, Montana, and 
 Utah. He ser\-ed his apprenticeship in the office of 
 the Uerald, in Jacksonville, Oregon. 
 
 Mr. Picott continued with the Times until in 
 December, 1879, when, becoming interested in a 
 process for working rebellious ores, he sold to 
 John M. Campbell, and severed his connection with 
 the paper. November 10, 1880, Mr. Picott again 
 assumed charge of the Times, and the publication 
 was reduced to a weekly on the thirteenth of the 
 same month, the price being reduced to five dol- 
 lars per year. On the thirteenth of December, 
 1880, the establishment was removed from Silver 
 City to Dayton, where the Times is now published. 
 
 T. E. PICOTT 
 
 Is a native of Montreal, Canada, is thirt3--two 
 years of age and single. His appi-enticeship at 
 printing was served in Burlington, Vermont, and 
 New York City. In August, 1864, at the age of 
 fifteen, he enlisted, without asking for or receiving 
 bountj', in Comi)any K, 102d New York Volunteers. 
 
 In 1867 he became proof-reader on the Chicago 
 Daily Republican, the following year he went to 
 Austin, Texas, in charge of |)rinters to execute the 
 Stale printing, and after returning became, in 1871, 
 assistant foreman of the N(»w Orleans Republican. 
 In 1873 he started the Colorado Real Estate ami Min- 
 ing Reciew, at Denver, Colorado, and the same year 
 crossed the mountains and became assistant fore- 
 man on the Territorial Enterprise, from whore ho 
 went, in 1S74, to the Inlependent of that citj-, and 
 became its local editor. 
 
 On the fourth of July, 1875, he issued the first 
 number of the Sutro Iwlepemlent, in partnership with 
 Adolpb Sutro, the latter furnishing the money. A 
 j'ear and a half later he became evening reporter 
 on the Virginia Chronicle, and then business man- 
 ager of the same, from where ho entered upon 
 his present duties as editor and publisher of the, 
 Lyon County Times. 
 
RESIDENCE «► J.L.Campbell, 
 
 DAYTON. LVON C» N EV. 
 
 i'7M mff'T'^oH a /Tfy. s 
 
HISTORY OF JOURNALISM IN NEVADA. 
 
 :j()9 
 
 DAILY MININO llEPORTEIl. 
 
 IJut littlo is romembored conccrnini; this paper 
 except that it was short lived; it was started March 
 10, 187G, bj' the Reporter Publishing Company, K. G. 
 Norton being editor; was reduced to a tri-weeklj- 
 publication in the fore part of May. and was a native ' 
 of Silver City. 
 
 SUTKO INDEPENDENT. 
 
 This pajier was founded at Sutro.[in Ti3'on County, 
 in July, 1875. It was a weekly, published on 
 Saturday. Adolph Sutro furnished the money and 
 T. S. Picott the brains to run it. Xovenibor 1. lS7t), 
 P'rank li. Mercer, formerly of the Oakland, California, 
 Daily Eoening Tribune, succeeded Picott as its pub- 
 lisher, and the last of Februar}-, 1870, it sus]>OMdeil 
 This suspension resulted from the cessation of all work 
 on the tunnel, caused by the unsettled condition of 
 affairs pending the negotiations that ended in a com- 
 promise between the tunnel company and mine 
 owners on the Comstoek. 
 
 Again on the twenty-first of April, 1870, its publi- 
 cation was resumed bj- Messrs. (Josgrovc and James 
 McAfee. These gentlemen continued it as a weekly 
 until ^lay 2(!th of that year, when they commenced 
 issuing a semi-weekly. August 11th ensuing, Mr. 
 Cosgrove withdrew from the firm, and the weekly 
 publication was again resumed. Augu.st 2r)th, of the 
 same year, Frank B. Mercer, again associated him- 
 self with the paper as one of the publishers, and 
 November 17lh following, Mr. McAfee withdrew 
 leaving Mercer alone in command. 
 
 November 20, 1S8(I. the jiublication of the hukpend- 
 enl again ceased, because of the diminished patron- 
 age, caused by the gradual depopulation of the town 
 of Sutro. 
 
 THE PRESS OF NYE COUNTY. 
 
 The firet paper published in Nye County was called 
 the 
 
 NYE COUNTY NEWS. 
 
 It was started by Joseph E. Eckloy and Henry De 
 Groot, Juno 2.5, 18(>4. It was a weekly issue, pub- 
 lished at lone. Republican in politics, size twenty 
 columns, printed on paper lSx21 inches, price eight 
 dollars per year. The ])ublisliers in their first num- 
 ber editorially express doubts as to the propriety of ', 
 starting a paper at that time and place, and the ' 
 result ))r()vcd the doubt to contain more wisdom than 
 the motive that gave them an ojiportunity to express 
 the doubt, for they were forced to suspend that fall, i 
 
 In the latter part of June, 18(55, the News was i 
 revived bj' William Worker and .loseph E. Kcklcy. 
 the price was reduced to six dollars, and these were ; 
 the only changes from the original. 
 
 The following note from the Carson Appeal, of 
 May 21, 18i;7, tells the story of its demise: — 
 
 State Printer Eckley has disposed of his printing | 
 material used in the publication of the A'ye County 
 39 
 
 News. Hy this wo suppose that the paper is not to 
 be resumed. 
 
 THE ADVERTISER 
 
 Was a Democratic sheet, GxlO inches in size, printed 
 on one side only, and was issued at lone bj- John 
 Booth, during the campaign of 1864. It expired 
 with the seventh number. 
 
 THE SILVER BEND KEI'OKTER. 
 
 The j-ear 18G(] witnessed the creation of Phila- 
 delphia Mining District, in the central portion of 
 Nye County, and the flattering developments made 
 then in a short ])eriod of time caused a largo pop- 
 ulation to turn toward -'Silver Bond," as the local- 
 ity was generally known, as the Mecca of their 
 hopes of wealth easily secured. The "rush" thither- 
 ward was at its maximum in the s])riiig and early 
 summer of 1807, and the towns of Belmont and 
 East Belmont sprang up as only such frontier min- 
 ing hamlets can rise amid the rockj- canons and 
 sage-covered hillocks and plains of a region to which 
 people are attracted solely by the glittering allure- 
 ments of silver and gold. 
 
 Anticipating tho influx of population, and the 
 consequent importance of this point, in February, 
 18()7, M. D. Fairchild, an attache of the /.V-w lUver 
 Reveille, moved a ([uantity of surplus material and a 
 press from that oflico to Belmont. It was cold 
 weather, not adapted to fast freighting, nor were 
 the primitive houses in tho new town easj- to be 
 secured, or. when secured, tho most comfortable 
 structures in the world against the rigors of a winter 
 climate at an altitude of 7.0(10 feet above the sea. 
 These causes somewhat delayed tho ajjpearance of 
 the new paper, but on the thirtieth of March, 18(j7, 
 the Weekly Silrer Betul Reporter came into existence, 
 published by O Ij. C. Fairchild & Co. M. I). Fair- 
 child was editor and manager, as well as mechanical 
 operator, assisted only by a boy. The salutatory, 
 which we give below, is a model of newspa])er pro- 
 priety, and its precepts every Journal in the land 
 would do well to follow: — 
 
 Citizens of Belmont, of Silver Bend and of East- 
 ern Nevada, we to-day introduce ourselves b)- pre- 
 senting to your consideration the first number of the 
 Weekly Silrer Bend Reporltr, and with it our compli- 
 ments and best wishes, and in turn ask j-our friend- 
 shi]) and j'our patronage. American ])ioneei's, intel- 
 ligent and enterprising, carr^- with them the |ires8 
 and type, and wlierever they i)itch their tent, be it 
 in the wilderness of the interior, among the snow- 
 covered peaks of the Sierra or on the sunny. sea 
 beach of the Pacific, there too must the newspaper 
 apjiear, with its ]iolitical discussions; its disipiisitions 
 upon men, morals, law and religion; its advocacj' of 
 the resources of its section; its details of local and 
 foreign news ; its talcs, stories and jokes, and last 
 though not least in im]>i)rtance and interest, its ad- 
 vertisements. It is the newspaper that links the 
 ])ioneer with his iormer home — the subtle, invisible 
 wire over which courses the constant stream of in- 
 telligence, civilizing influences and sweet memories, 
 drawing tho wanderer back into the world, and as- 
 
310 
 
 fflSTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Bimilating ideas. Here, in this bright offshoot of 
 civilization, surrounded by a vast ocean of wilder- 
 ness, shall be a newspaper. In young, vigorous and 
 beautiful Belmont, we have set up our altars, and 
 amidst the crags and mountain peaks veined with 
 untold treasures, and assisted bj' the brave pioneers, 
 our companions, will tell the storj- of Silver Bend. 
 Eich bej'ond all comparison, bej'ond the El Dorados 
 of ancient or modern times we know our section to 
 be, and to make this known to the world, point 
 out the ap})roaehes, to present everj- resource, and 
 to tell how we live, shall be the aim and object — 
 the specialty of the Reporter. We have no jealousies 
 of localities, no favored place to advocate to the 
 injury of another, but while particularly represent- 
 ing Belmont, shall, in the broadest sense, advocate 
 the every interest of all, of Silver Bend, of Nye 
 County, of eastern Nevada and of the State at 
 large. We are in the midst of a mining region, the 
 wealth of which the world cannot yet comprehend. 
 In extent it is greater than man}' States of the East, 
 or than many of the kingdoms of Kuro])e. A future 
 of unequalcd prosperity a prodigal Nature assures 
 us, and in this bright hope and confidence we are 
 inspired to reach beyond the narrow circle of our 
 vision and include in our grasp all the " Great East " 
 and hold it up to the light of the world. All inter- 
 ests — mining, milling, agricultural, manufacturing 
 and mercantile — shall receive notice, and whatever 
 instruction in anj- of the various pursuits we may 
 be able to impart from our knowledge, or that 
 we learn from others, will be given, and the best 
 interests of all advocated and protected. Believing 
 in the power and efficacy of the press, its influence 
 at home and abroad, and that the paper is taken 
 as the representative of the people where published, 
 we shall endeavor that the Importer shall have the 
 power and be a representative well approved bj' the 
 peo])le. 
 
 While giving our chief attention to mining, local 
 news, and the advocacy of the material interests of 
 our section, we will not shun the discussion of the 
 great political questions of the day, nor of laws 
 which affect us, nor of the merits of public men, but 
 never as jjartisans — alwa3-s uiitrammeled by the sel- 
 fish and corrupting ties of parly, but ever independ- 
 ent and free as duty and a clear conscience shall 
 dictate. We do not wish that our declaration of 
 political independence shall be understood as pre- 
 meditating the juggler-feat of carrying water upon 
 both shoulders, or riding two horses going in oppo- 
 site directions; for wo shall carry water for no one or 
 party on either shoulder, and shall ride our own 
 hobby. We shall work for all, and for our country, 
 with the selfish pur]>ose of gaining success; but that 
 success we are determined to merit. As independent 
 in politics we will ho in business, fulfilling every en- 
 gagement, and asking !/«(</ /^/o qiM. In doing a dutj- 
 in su|)plying a pleasure and advancing the interests 
 of the section, we shall e.xpect encouragement and 
 support. ]'ublishing a newspaper is an enterprise 
 requiring a great expenditure, study and constant 
 toil, and its benefits are general, and cannot be 
 estimated. The people of vSilver Bend, of Austin, 
 central and eastern Nevada, must not bo chary in 
 their support of a labor beneficial to all. To our 
 contemporaries we extend the hand of fellowship, and 
 ask the courtesies of the craft. To our fellow-citi- 
 zens, .at homo and abroad, wo will make our bow, 
 and are now before you. Wdl you accept our ac- 
 quaintance, and be the friend of the Silver Bend 
 Reporter t 
 
 The new candidate for public favor was well re- 
 ceived, and thrived, and ably assisted in the develop- 
 ment of the material resources of the entire south- 
 eastern portion of the State, as well as the immediate 
 vicinity where published — being the advance jour- 
 nalistic outpost of the then little known region lying 
 to the south and east. In accordance with the rule 
 governing political appointments, Nye County, or 
 rather the " Great East," as that entire portion of 
 the State was termed hy the press on the western 
 border, was entitled to name the next candidate for 
 Congress, the other officers to be chosen from the 
 west. Tom Fitch, foreseeing this, had early moved 
 to Belmont, where ho had spread his political net. 
 As the time for conventions to be called approached, 
 the necessity of securing an " organ " became appar- 
 ent. The editor of the Reporter was an unpurchasable 
 Democrat, and so long as he controlled the sheet, 
 Mr. Fitch had no hope in that quarter. Conse- 
 quently, in the spring of 1878, overtures were made 
 by the Fitch interest to induce Joseph E. Eck- 
 ley to again enter the journalistic arena of Nye 
 Count}-, and jmblish a Republican paper. Promises 
 of money were made to Eckley, and he began nego- 
 tiating a purchase of the Reporter,h\\i non-fulfillment 
 of the promises made prevented a change of owner- 
 ship, and Eckley retired from the field. But Fitch 
 was persistent in his efforts to have an " organ " to 
 advance his political interests, and the Reporter 
 having more material that it could use yet lying in 
 the boxes as it had left the type foundrj-, besides the 
 extra press which had formerly been used in printing 
 the A'ye County News at lone, Mr. Fairchild sold Fitch k 
 Company a printing outfit, with which to begin the 
 publication of a rival weeklj' paper at Belmont, the 
 first number of which, under the title of Mountain 
 C/utmpion, with the name of W. F. Myers as pub- 
 lisher, appeared June 6, 1808. On the eighteenth of 
 April previous to this, liowover, political questions 
 having been pretty freely discussed, and peo]>le gen- 
 erally becoming somewhat warmed up, Mr. Fair- 
 child, ignoring his declai'ation of thirteen months 
 before in his salutatorj-, that political subjects would 
 be discuBsod " always untrammeled by the selfish and 
 corrupting ties of ])arty," had brought the Re/iorter 
 out as " a Democratic new.-ipajior, devoted to the 
 inculcation of Constitutional principles of govern- 
 ment," etc., with his own name as proprietor, and 
 had been making it uncomfortable for those who 
 favored the aspirations of Mr. Fitch. 
 
 On the sixth of June, the same day the Chumjiion 
 was issued as a weeklj-, the Reporter, which had until 
 then been a weekly paper, came out as a semi- 
 weekly, and so continued until July 29, 1868, when 
 its publication ceased — the White Pino region, with 
 its reports of Hidden Treasure, Kberliardt, and other 
 mines, having allured I'airchild to that then wonder- 
 ful locality, where he for a time quit newspapers, 
 and engaged in the lumber and wood trade during 
 the flush times there. 
 
HISTORY OF JOURNALISM IN NEVADA. 
 
 311 
 
 MAHLON DICKENSON VAIRCHILD. 
 
 Tho subject of this sketch was born in Otsego 
 County, J^ew York, September 7, 1827. He moved 
 with his father's family, when onlj- live years old, to 
 Tompkins County, in the same State, where his 
 father began the publication of the Trumansburg 
 Advertiser, the labor all being performed bj' members 
 of the family — as of seven bo3-s, six learned the 
 printer's trade. Naturally enough, the boy grew up 
 a thorough newspaper printer, having passed through 
 all phases of tho craft, from devil to editor. The 
 year 1848, when the first rumors of gold discoveries 
 in California reached tho Atlantic States, he was 
 editing the Newark UeraUl, Wayne County, New 
 York, and becoming impressed with tho great future 
 of the Pacific Coast, immediately made preparations 
 to emigrate to California. Leaving New York on the 
 steamer Crescent City, on the fifth of March, 184!t, 
 and arriving at the Isthmus of Panama nine days 
 thereafter, he was compelled to remain two months 
 before a passage could be secured to San Francisco. 
 The whale ship 6'y/p/i. finally atibrdedan opportunity, 
 and on the twenty sixth of July, 1849, landed her 
 250 passengers, among whom was young Fairchild. 
 Abandoning his trade, he engaged in mining, trading, 
 etc., with varying success, until 1859, at which time 
 he began work in tho oflice of the Placervillo 
 Observer, El Dorado County. Early in May, 1859, he 
 wont upon a pi'ospecting tour to what was then 
 called the Walker Kivor Diggings, near whore Bodio 
 now flourishes, and returning to (.ienoa after a few 
 weeks, there met Major Ormsby, by whom lie was 
 induced to go to the " diggings " at Cold Hill. Silver 
 mining was then unknown to the Americans, or in fact 
 to any of tho people who wore working at Gold Hill, or 
 on tho spot where the great mines of the Comstock are 
 situated. IJockers were used in washing the decom- 
 posed material that was picked from the softer por- 
 tions of the croppings of the great vein, tho water 
 being brought to them in small V troughs, leading 
 from springs, and passing from one to another 
 until too thick to be longer availably used in saving 
 gold — a poor quality, worth only from nine to thir- 
 teen dollars ])er ounce — the rockers all amalgamating 
 with quicksilver, the gold being fine. Packing a 
 horse with tho rock which the miners wore throwing 
 from their rocker screens, and procuring about a 
 gallon of the black sand (silver-bearing sulphurets 
 as they afterward proved to be), Fairchild left Gold 
 Hill for Placervillo in order to have the rock tested 
 for gold, and to induce some one with capital to join 
 him in the erection of a quartz-mill. He arrived at 
 the latter place on the fourteenth of Juno, with 
 probably the first ore that ever reached there from 
 the Comstock. But in those times quartz mining, 
 owing to unsuccessful operations throughout Cali- 
 ioviila. gejierally, was at a discount, and meeting 
 ^fjith J^o su^pesp^^ipi^that direction, ho dumped his ore 
 *MR.",'Jt^^'lift'f)^.'"Rf'" ot;^)f)i\ii Obaeroer ofiico, pulled off 
 S'*^'?i^V'i'il/^^ift:)rynAi^..^HWH/it.t»i« «^'*«o- sub- 
 
 sequently, when it became known that tho ore was 
 silver, he returned to Nevada with Eugene Angel, 
 and the two went into business. During a tem- 
 ]iorary absence. Angel, his partner, joined the ill- 
 fated Ormsby Jiarty, and was killed by the Imlians 
 in the unfortunate affair near Pyramid Lake. Dis- 
 heartened at the turn of affairs, Fairchild soon after 
 left Nevada for California, and thence went to 
 Arizona, and worked a copper mine near the mouth 
 of Bill Williams Fork, on the Colorado lliver. In 
 September, 18G3, he left this place, and upon arriv- 
 ing at San Francisco, learned of the great excitement 
 in relation to tho discoveries of silver at Reese River, 
 and that his two brothers, O. L. C. and J. D. FaiK 
 child, wore there and engaged in newspaper busi- 
 ness. Two months later fouml him at Austin, and 
 one of the Receille corps, of which Myron Angel "^yb 
 editor. Since leaving Belmont, with the exceptioff'df, 
 perhaps, one year as assistant and local editor of tho 
 Wliile Pine News, under W^ J. Porbes, and a few ilWA flits 
 upon the Oakland Xewx, in California, he ¥Jto'nM 
 been in the newspaper business. His last vetttiti^ 
 was in constructing a ditch, and operating litr'CitBti'- 
 sive hydraulic mine in El Dorado County, (Jftltte'i'lHW. 
 
 THE MOfNTAIN CHAMPION. ' '• 
 
 . .1 -111 -rjili:" 
 
 The Mountain Champion made its first appeara 
 
 at Belmont, June G, 1868, published by W. F..My,era. 
 It was started for 
 
 tho interests of 
 
 II J 1 /' -ji-.jj'i'>iiii 
 
 suspended before it was a j'oar old— its Qhject 
 
 3r the sole purpose ofrac^yancipg 
 Thomas Fitch for .Congress, and 
 
 llll // 'jrjjij.lllii) 
 
 old — its. 
 
 attained. Fitch elected to Congress, who ^ubseq,tji3ntly 
 
 rewarded Myers with a Federal appointment. 
 
 '''"li''"J i\i '"' '""' 
 -Material and press aftwward moved, to Shermaa- 
 
 town, White Pine County. , 
 
 THE BELMONT COU^IEJ^] , |ij„„ ,|.,„« hJ! 
 
 Was an independent sheet, withii Jle^blicaniltendt 
 ancies, published weekly, its i progetlatdDshbaingiA). 
 Casamayou and John Bootl^,,. , Its name indicates 
 the place of its issuance, a^d|^h^|^^tp.|0f|^f^e fiif^ 
 number was February 11, ISji.^ l,p Noven^b|ef;,^ 1|^75[, 
 Mr, Casamayou died. and||.t,h(j|^^^^idp\y| bj^^onjm^ |!V 
 partner, the firm name wa^ c|jrtn^ec} t<^ J(j)|ljn| B0|(j.t,|^ 
 it Co,, and renKiinod such unt|i!.L)«^ceijnb8i;,|18,7|i/.,|j\y,^.ojji 
 Andrew Maute became jts^ipole ^,pr(pp,ij(fto|\ ' Samuej 
 Donald purchased a half interest in t^i)^^pt5^bljyj||iii)e,^ 
 from Mauto November 27, 1880, and these two gen- 
 tlemen still continue its proprietors. 
 
 TIHj/IflBOWJNV.^.HJI'l JlllT 
 A Republican i)apeirri)ubliish«*di:iwe«kJ-y at/ TyJxP'.i ivias 
 started in May, lS"tli,by/J/.<^«i Kagsdale, In about 
 four months, Mr. nlliy^wi^leiiVya^MpM^-tt^wlieiiL- 4p «)<nior 
 bj- Wm. B, TayloriiOnd/-h«i i«, t«i!ni:gav'ft.plii<i<s\inila 
 little over one /yfeiW: to.iiCb.ii»l<*'<hUarro(jt, iwJbuOi-wiiUf 
 succeeded by Mm 1^0ve^,iin:ith^/:)(rint]«Mr oilitiSJiBi, 
 finally Love's luonllo doOCndiiig «|>on the »I>Oiulduiy 
 of D, -M. BraiTinau.,! Thal.^otilltMtVtili v^iijUuuud to 
 lend brilliaii«j)i,|t0.itibe )$i()(i:<Wltih itlntwtolinnllyjlit 
 November, li^?^, mnoe vtliMi iT}1boAD^it&vc groiicd;iB 
 literary dm^O^ss^ni jv/J i; ■-.<;// ji iiu--.ii;'.) Jj; jliil'// 
 
312 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 THE ORANTSVILLE SUN 
 
 Was a new luminary that commenced in December, 
 1878, under the auspices of D. L. Sayer, to help in 
 the intellectual illumination of Nye County. It 
 proved too small a world, however, for double orbs 
 of such magnitude, and after twenty-six evolutions 
 the Grantsville Sun passed into permanent eclipse, 
 leaving its Tyho rival still shining. 
 
 THE GRANTSVILLE BONANZA. 
 
 On the eleventh of December, 1880. this paper was 
 started as a weekly at the place its name indicates. 
 The proprietors, Andrew Maute and Samuel Donald, 
 declared their intention of maintaining it as an inde- 
 pendent organ, politically. It is a neatly printed 
 sheet, on paper 18x24 inches, with twenty-four col- 
 umns, and we trust it may prove a " bonanza" to its 
 proprietors. 
 
 ANDREW MALTE 
 
 Entered upon the line of a printer's profession first, 
 in 18G0, in the office of the Nevada City, California. 
 Traiiscript. In the spring of 1863 he entered as a 
 compositor, the office of the Washoe Times, and in 
 the fall of that year took charge as foreman of the 
 job department of the Carson Indepeiulent, of which 
 paper he became one of the proprietors, in 1864. 
 When Charles Perkins was State Printer, Mr. Maute 
 took charge of the establishment as foreman, in 
 1871-72. From this time until July, 1875, he was 
 connected with the Mornhty Ajipeal of Carson, at 
 which time he became foreman of the Keese River 
 SeveiUe. At the death of Mr. Casamayou, who was 
 one of the proprietors of that paper, in November, 
 1875, the subject of this sketch was appointed busi- 
 ness manager, and later, editor thereof, remaining 
 as such until the ensuing December I'Jth, when he 
 left that establishment and connected himself as pro- 
 prietor of the Belmont Cova-ier. 
 
 SAMUEL DONALD, 
 
 The jiartner of Mr. Maute in both the Bonanza and 
 Belmont Courier, was at one time a job printer in the 
 Appeal office in Carson City. He later became fore- 
 man of the Reese River Reveille office in 1875. In 
 February, 1877, he became associated in the Belmont 
 Courier, of which he purchased a half interest in 
 November, 1880. 
 
 THE PRESS OF ORMSBY COUNTY. 
 
 TERRIT0KL\L E.NTERPRISE, THE FIRST WEEKLY PAPER 
 IN NEVADA. 
 
 The first newspaper published in this county was 
 the Territorial Enterprise, now continued as a daily at 
 Virginia City. Alfred James and \V. L. Jernegan, 
 the men who had started at Genoa this pioneer 
 journalistic enterprise of .\evada. on the eighteenth 
 of December, 1858, removed the office to Carson 
 City in November, 1859, to which place the county 
 seat was transferred a little over one J'ear later. 
 While at Carson it was a twenty-column weekly, 
 
 and was printed on paper 21x28 inches. Jonathan 
 Williams and I. B. Wollard, becoming its proprietors, 
 removed the establishment to Virginia City in 
 November, 18C0. 
 
 SILVER AGE, THE FIRST DAILY PAPER IN NEVADA. 
 
 The departure of the Territorial Enterprise had 
 been hastened {\i' not determined) by the indiscre- 
 tion of a drunken foreman sent from Quincy, Plumas 
 County, California, by John C. Lewis, of the Argus, 
 to spy out the land for a favorable locality to estab- 
 lish a newspaper. The foreman, on looking over the 
 field for operations, decided upon Virginia Citj", and 
 wrote to his employer to that eft'ect, who imme- 
 diately set out with a complete establishment for 
 starting a paper there. Upon his arrival in Carson 
 City, however, he found the Enterprise had flanked 
 his lieutenant, and taken possession of the promised 
 land. _ There was but one of two things left for him 
 to do under the circumstances, either to go back to 
 California, or locate in Carson C'ity, and he decided 
 upon the latter couree. In this manner, within the 
 same month of the Enterprise exodus, its place was 
 filled in Carson bj- the issuance of a weekly paper 
 by ilr. Lewis, which he christened the Silver Age. It 
 was published in a carpenter's shop, that faced the 
 southeast corner of the plaza. In size it was about 
 24x30 inches, in politics Union, and being diminished 
 in size was transformed, September 3, 18G1, into the 
 Daily Silver Age, number 224 of which was a twenty- 
 column paper, 10x22 inches; subscription price, SIC 
 per year. 
 
 The dailj' was only about six months old when 
 the proprietorship passed to the Age Association, 
 consisting of John Church, S. A. Glessner and ;!. L. 
 Laird, who, in November, 1S02, moved the estab- 
 lishment to Virginia Chy, and started the Virginia 
 Daily Union on the fourth ot that month. In 
 the fall of 1808 the Union was ))ur(hased Ijy that 
 strange genius, W. J. Forbes, who gave it the name 
 of Trespass. Eventually the material was taken to 
 White Pine County by J. J. Ayres and C. A. V. Put- 
 nam, where it was used at Hamilton in publishing the 
 Inland Empire. Finallj', Gov. L. R. Bradley becom- 
 ing ])roprietor, transferred this wandering estab- 
 lishment to Holmes C. Patrick, who removed it to 
 Stockton, California, and John Church, in a lucid 
 interval, assured us that in this last move the ma- 
 terial should have been accompanied by all itsfonner 
 proprietors, whom he considered proper subjects for 
 the Insane Asylum at that place. 
 
 The Republican, at Stockton, California, was for 
 three j'cars printed with this old Silver Age material, 
 when that paper sus])ended. The A'arroiv-Gaiu/e, 
 edited and published by W. N. Glenn, succeeded 
 the Repahlir.iin. The office was then liought by L. 
 F. Bockwith, who issued therefrom the Dnilij Courier, 
 a seven-day newspaper, until aftei- the election 
 of Newton Booth as Governor. In .Vpril, 1874, Mrs. 
 Laura De Force Gordon purchased the wreck to 
 
J^fig^frAn Hitcbi-' 
 
Hon. Harry R. Mighels 
 
 Was born in Minot, ^faine, November 3, 1830. He had 
 one brother, George. When ho was two years old 
 his parents left ifinot and took up their residence in 
 Portland. His father, Jesse Wedgwood Mighels, 
 was a graduate of the iMedioal College at Dart- 
 mouth, New Hampshire. His mother and Henry 
 W. Longfellow were schoolmates. 
 
 After leaving the public school at Portland, he 
 attempted to learn the watchmaker's trade, but mak- 
 ing no headway relinquished it at the end of two 
 months. After his brief apprenticeship he studied 
 navigation. 
 
 In 1847. he went to Cincinnati with his father and 
 studied medicine a year, and got some smattering of 
 the art of painting in oil. On the first of August, 
 1850, he started for California in company with Solon 
 G. Burch. They went to New Orleans and then by 
 sailing vessel to Greytown (San Juan del Norte), in 
 the Mesquito Kingdom. They then ascended the 
 San Juan Hiver, crossed Lake Nicaragua to the 
 town of (iranada and went on to Leon, the capital of 
 the State. Hero they concluded to return to Nic- 
 aragua, and kept a tavern during the winter. 
 
 In the spring of 18.")!, they took ship at liealejo, 
 the then Pacific port of entry, and went down to 
 Panama. The voyage was made in the barque 
 Griffin,, owned by "Pet" Ilalstead, since nuirdercd 
 in Newark, New Jersey, and commanded by Bob. 
 Ualstead. Abe Ilalstead, another brother, was a 
 passenger. 
 
 Mighels lay two months at Panama, sick with the 
 fever, cared for by W. Ravenhill Harrington. He came 
 to San Francisco on the steamer Punumu, working his 
 passage as assistant storekeeper. In 1851 he worked 
 at ditch digging at Newton, Nevada County. From 
 there he went to Downievillo and painted signs. In 
 1852 he painted a drop-curtain for the Oownieville 
 theatre; painted it in oils. It was celebrated in its 
 day — more for its avoirdupois than ibr its merits as 
 a work of art. He next went to .Marysvillo and 
 worked as a decorative i)ainter ior (Jreen & Banks. 
 He decorated the first Marysvillo theatre, built by 
 William Wilson and Sej-inour Pixley. 
 
 In 1853 ho wont to Bidwell's Bai', and worked as 
 a sign painter, also painted pictures from time to 
 time. 
 
 In 185l> he went to Oroville and o|)oiu'(l a paint 
 shop there in partnership with Frank Ayers. In the 
 fall of that year he became regularly employed as an 
 
 assistant editor of the Butte Record (daily). In 
 the spring of 1857 he was for a little while editor of 
 the Sacramento Bee. In 1858 ho ran for the Assem- 
 bly in Butte ('ounty and was defeated. 
 
 In the fall of 1859 he went to San Francisco, and 
 obtained employment on the San Francisco Natiowil, 
 George Pen Johnson et al., editors. 
 
 In January, 1800, the Marysviile Daily Appeal was 
 started by George W, Bloor & Co., and Mr. Mighels 
 was its first editor. 
 
 In April, 1802, he was commissioned b}- President 
 Lincoln as Assistant Adjutant General, with the rank 
 of Captain, and was assigned to the staff of (reneral S. 
 D. Sturgis, whom ho joined at Fort Leavenworth, 
 Kansas. Was subsec^uently assigned to the com- 
 mand of the Second Division of the Ninth (Burn- 
 side's) Corps. Remained in the division during his 
 term as an array officer. Was present at the second 
 battle of Manasses, South Mountain, Antietam, Fred- 
 ericksburg (first battle), siege of Vicksburg, siege of 
 Jackson, Mississippi; the battle of the Wilderness, 
 1804; Spottsylvania, etc., down to Pittsburg, where 
 he was shot through the thighs, Juno 18, 1804; was 
 removed to the hospital at Annapolis. He finally 
 recovered in Baltimore; was honorably discharged 
 from the army on account of physical disabilities 
 from wounds received, and came to San Francisco in 
 1805. 
 
 Came to Carson, May 18, 1865, and assumed the 
 cditorslii]) of the Afoniiwj Appeal. The history of the 
 paper has been his own since that time. [See page 
 312.] 
 
 He was married to Miss Nellie S. Verrill. by Rev. 
 Horatio Stebbins, at the residence of Hon. George C. 
 Gorham, in San Francisco, August 20, 1860. 
 
 In the fall of 1870, Mighels ran for the Assembly, 
 and being successful was elected Speaker of the 
 House. His manner of presiding over that body has 
 never been equaled in the State. By reason of his 
 quickness and tact, business was transacted with 
 nearly double the usual speed, and when the session 
 was over, a number of substantial gitls, ])resonted by 
 the members and attaches, showed the high a]>pro- 
 ciation in which ho was hold. 
 
 In the fall of 1878 ho made his ever memorable 
 fight for the office of Lieutenant Governor. Ho was 
 everywhere acknowledged as the head of the ticket, 
 and the enemy concentrated thefiroof the cami)aign 
 upon him. He entered into the fight with his char- 
 
acteristic fearlessness and vigor, and through a long, 
 heated canvass, bore the brunt of the foulest abuse, 
 and most despicabio misrepresentation that it was 
 ever the lot of a political candidate of unblemished 
 record to encounter. A stranger in Nevada, reading 
 the Democratic newspapers, would have labored 
 under the impression that Harry Mighels, as he was 
 familiarly called, was the only candidate on the Re- 
 publican ticket. The least e.xpected but most ettoc- 
 tive blow of all came from within the party, and he 
 went down like Cicsar, stabbed by men from whom 
 he had every reason to expect the heartiest a.ssislance. 
 His years of gallant service for the party were all 
 forgotten, and then the man who was a born politi- 
 cal leader, and whose brains and energy had led the 
 Republican party of Nevada through many a hard- 
 fought battle to victory, was shelved to satisfy the 
 petty and contemptible spite of men whose only 
 cause for grievance lay in the fact that he declined 
 to be their tool. 
 
 In spite of the cheer}' ring of his editorials and 
 ever smiling face after defeat, those who knew Harry 
 Mighels best but realized how bitter was the cup of 
 defeat to his lips, how humiliating the thought that 
 malice, calumny, and treason hadcoml)ined to accom- 
 plish his downfall. In the following spring, May 27, 
 1879, he died in Carson, of cancer of the stomach. 
 Up to the last hour he looked death in the face as 
 calmly as if he was gazing into the eyes of an old 
 friend. 
 
 The last few months of his life were passed amid 
 terrible physical sufferings, as the cancer slowlj* pen- 
 etrated his vitals. Beyond the reach of medical skill, 
 and realizing how near the end was, he laughed and 
 chatted as merrily as ever, and seemingl}- with the 
 
 determination that his family should not know a day 
 of gloom while he lived. Up to the last he enlivened 
 the hours with pleasant jests, and died almost with 
 a smile upon his lips. 
 
 All of Migliel's characteristics were strikingly pos- 
 itive. He had more warm friends and bitter enemies 
 than any man in the State. He was as thoroughly 
 endeared to the one as he was relentless and uncom- 
 promising to the other. As a writer he hail no supe- 
 rior on the Coast. He penned the purest and best 
 of English, and leveled all opposition by his masterlj' 
 logic. 
 
 His wit and repartee flashed like the diamond. 
 His invective was an avalanche. He loved nature 
 as a true poet loved it, and spent most of the sum- 
 mer months wandering through the mountains 
 sketching and painting. As an artist he was a con- 
 scientious reproducer of nature as he saw it. painting 
 for the love of it, and distributing his efforts among 
 his friends. Although he never offered one of his 
 pictures for sale, he might have earned a competency 
 with his brush. Ho painted with great care and 
 labor and gave his works away as fast as the}- were 
 finished. 
 
 After his death the press of Nevada and California 
 joined in such earnest tribute to his genius, abilities 
 and sterling qualities of manhood, as could only have 
 been called forth bj' deserving merit. 
 
 The language of one of his biographies is appro- 
 priate: "With the heart of a soldier and the soul of 
 a poet in his breast, he died upon the field of the 
 the hardest won victories and most crushing defeats 
 of his life, laj'ing aside a sword, which, shattered 
 though it was, he hud taught his enemies to respect." 
 
HISTORY OF JOURNALISM IN NEVADA. 
 
 313 
 
 print a paper called the Ihiihi Lcmlir. It was a 
 Democratic sheet, edited with abilitj-, and, as liowell's 
 Newspaper Directory says, was the only daily in the 
 world at the time edited and conducted by a woman. 
 In 1S75 the establishment was removed to Sacra- 
 mento, where the publication was continueil until 
 July, 1876. The material was then taken to Oak- 
 land and used in the publication ef the Ddihj Demo- 
 crat, and thus are its wanderings traced. 
 
 CARSON DAILY INDEPENDENT. 
 
 The first number of this paper was issued on the 
 twenty-seventh of July, 1SC3, nine months after the 
 Silver Aije had been removed to Virginia City, within 
 which time no paper seems to have been published 
 at Carson City. It was a twenty-four-column sheet, 
 21x27 inches; was unequivocalh' Union in sentiment, 
 and the name of \V. \V. J{oss appears as proprietor. 
 Its advertising rates were given at three dollars per 
 ten lines or less for first insertion, half that for each 
 subsequent publication, and there were fifteen col- 
 umns of advertisements in the first issue; subscrip- 
 tion rates sixteen dollars per year. August Slst, of 
 the same )'ear, Israel Crawford became business 
 manager; on the fifteenth of September following four 
 columns were added to the paper, and on the twen- 
 tieth of the ensuing October Mr. Crawford ])urchased 
 the establishment. The firm of (r. W. Calwell it Co., 
 consisting of Mr. Calwell, Geo. A. Edes, Andrew 
 Maute, and Charles J. ililler, an association of prin- 
 ters, purchased the paper of Mr. Crawford on the 
 twenty-eighth of February, 1864, that gentleman 
 retiring, as appeared in the (fold Ilill I^ews, " with 
 the good will of his contemporaries," and the new 
 firm reduced the Iwlependent to its first dimensions, 
 within a week after the purchase, and on the twen- 
 ty-ninth of JIarch, only one month after selling, Mr. 
 Crawford's name again appeared as editor and pro- 
 prietor. 
 
 In July a weekl}- publication succeeded the dailj^ 
 then the daily was resumed August llkh, without 
 explanation; and the last file bears date October 11, 
 1864, Israel Crawford proprietor. 
 
 A part of the material of the office and the jiress 
 was sold to start the Gunoa Vulky Farmer in Septem- 
 ber, 1865, and the remainder was taken to Elko. 
 That portion taken to (fenoa finall}- passed into the 
 hands of A. T. llawley, the name of the paper being 
 changed to the Doug/as (Jowity Banner. 
 
 DAII.V EVENINd POST. 
 
 The issue of the first number of this paper was in 
 Carson City, on the twenty-seventh of August, 1S()4, 
 by II. W. Johnson A: Co., proprietors. It was the 
 successor of the Mensenyer, a sheet started bj- an 
 association of printers and run for a short time at 
 Gold Hill, that year. The J'ost contained twenty- 
 eight columns printed on paper 2:5x32 inches, and 
 the intention of holding aloof from the necessity 
 of supporting party !iominatioiis, although une- 
 quivocally Union, was its declared policy-. John C. 
 
 Lewis, former proprietor of the Silver Age, was em- 
 ployed as editor, but becoming too independent bis 
 place was supplied by one more subservient to the 
 policy of business. 
 
 The publication continued until the last of Octo- 
 ber of that year, up to which time files of that 
 paper now exist. After which, probably immedi- 
 ately, Mr. Lewis purchased the establishment and 
 changed it to a morning edition. The publication was 
 continued through the campaign of 1864, and its sus- 
 pension is noted by the Gold Hill News of January 
 [t, 1865, the same paper stating that for three weeks 
 prior to its last issue the Post had been doing the 
 State printing. 
 
 On the ninth of December, 1865, Mr. Lewis started 
 a weekly paper at Washoe City called the Eastern 
 Slope, with the I'ost material, where it continued in 
 use until 1868, when suspension again occurred. In 
 July, 1808, he removed it to IJeno where it was used 
 in printing T/te Crescent until 1875, when he sold to 
 J. C. Dow, who started the Daily Nevada Democrat, 
 After the Democrat suspended, the Heno Daily Eerord 
 until September, 1878, was published with it, and 
 then the material was taken to Bodie, California, to 
 print the Bodie News. 
 
 DAILY STATE DEMOCRAT. 
 
 Col. A. C. Ellis started a Democratic paper for cam- 
 paign purposes, October 25, 1864, at Carson City. 
 It had twenty columns, ])rinted on paper 17x24 
 inches. It ably supported McClellan for President. 
 Its editorial matter, ability, and an enthusiastic 
 energy, must have proved of signal service to the 
 Democratic party in the State during that contest. 
 It was an ephemeral publication, ending, as had 
 been designed in the start, with the close of the 
 campaign. 
 
 DAILY APPEAL. 
 
 Again, Carson City, the State capital, was left 
 without a news])aper. The ludejKiident, the Stale 
 Democrat, and the Jforniui/ J'ost, furled their sails, 
 pulled down their flags, and drifted with the tide 
 behind the fog-V)anks into obscurit}'. For a time it 
 remained an unoccupied literary port of entry. This 
 was a short-lived state of things, however, for there 
 soon came from where the others had disappeared, a 
 new craft, trim built, clean cut, with something of a 
 rakish look, that, throwing open its ports, fired a 
 moderate salute, followed by heavier ordinance, until 
 the grape and canister, hissing shrapnel, and solid 
 shot, poured in rapid succession from its broadsides, 
 forcing, first, stir]>rise; then, respect; and finally, 
 admiration for the belligerant little war craft that 
 demanded recognition in the journalistic world. 
 
 Such was the Daily A/>jieal; a twent3'-column sheet, 
 started May 16, 1865, bj- E. F. .McElwain, J. Barrett, 
 and Marshall liobinson. In politics it was Repub- 
 lican, and the first number contained the news of the 
 capture of Jett". Davis, whereupon the people of Car- 
 son proceeded to hang the ox-Confederate President in 
 effigy. 
 
314 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 lieiiry II. Mighels was engaged as editor, and on 
 November of that year the sale to him of Mr. 
 Barrett's interest in the paper is announced, the 
 new firm to be known as Jtobinson & Migheis. 
 This firm remained proprietors until the last of 
 December, 1870, when Messrs. C. L. Perkins, of the 
 State lieijister, and H. C. Street, purchase<i the estab- 
 lishment, and changed its politics to Democratic 
 and its name to 
 
 DAILY STATE REOISTER. 
 
 The first issue of the Register bears date December 
 29, 1870, and it contained the same number of 
 columns as had the A/ipnal, but they were lengthened 
 about two inches, in sympalbj', probably, with the 
 somewhat elongated, columnier structure of the 
 new editor, Mr. Street. 
 
 The ensuing March 5th saw the return to the 
 old size in the j)aper, and the announcement that in 
 future it would be issued only twice a vvcck; but 
 two days thereafter the dailj' was resumed, in 
 accordance with the wish of many citizens. 
 
 February 13, 1872, John Booth, late owner of the 
 Unionville Silver State, became proprietor, Mr. Street 
 being retired as editor. 
 
 On the ninth of September, 1872, llenrj' R. 
 Migheis, having returned to the county', purchased 
 the Register, and changed its name to the 
 
 NEW DAILY AI'PEAL. 
 
 Mr. iMighels immediately changed the politics as 
 well as the name of the paper, and thus was brought 
 back to the advocacj^ of IJejiublicanism the sheet, 
 that for two years and eight months liad been wan- 
 dering under an assumed name among the labj'- 
 rinthian gardens of Democracy. Ht; gave to the 
 New Appeal its former size and- appearance, and 
 fixed its subscription price at $12 per year. The 
 press with which its first number was printed was 
 the first through freight shipped from liono to Car- 
 st)n City over the Virginia and Truckee Kailroad. 
 .'^^n 51lo<««mbcr, 1872, Captain William Wetherell 
 i'feth-(«tlfr(*te"thl6"k)cal editorship, and D. Ji. Ses- 
 AionHihUCm'tied l6iifh«''f(cWition, which he retained 
 wnlill .WiJWh 9l,il'8T3C"'Dit'c'itfbt¥12, 1872, Marshall 
 WoiWihsoh ■bccsmol a^Jpifli'lficfi'; ■tfrta'e^")!ilo''fi'rm name 
 of t-itoWnscnil^l'MVijlVelk" Oiri im fl)^tt<^irit^"•fi(•l*t"^f 
 Jahiiai-y '•tlbei'piilJ4t-"wl<*'e*l^gell"ftiu*' Wlu'rtliia, illld 
 »;liin'iK3doiO«dl tt|ii1!*'y)itif*lHWHfi4b' ori'tiile <ll^erith>'bf 
 UloiionHi(Jnf*l'MaVt'H!;illid''olrr"thlJ"fir«t''l<if Jiiiilk'iy, 
 1^1% itho BntHe'Wfls-ii4^'rt'cUah-j^<jaid't'ho"i'"'- "'' 
 
 news |C^.s^alcl^eB| W ^ tcle^fpijfb, ,. ^f,aj,, 9^ m,%S?M 
 
 I 4'"paicheB. by tcletfranh. -May 9. J8,7G, four 
 coluuins and two inchcS.in lengt,u wei'Q,atra.in ladded 
 
 fe8°rn#?P*i?^ ilf!^. n^f ^.ll!?^. ?.VWTi Mfl?' iWS 
 
 II 
 
 1(1): .iii:''il 
 
 W.*t)''ht^ft|ft^)f $i4nw«f»WBjil »edlujtitinfinUho niuaJfes 
 HfiWlPiWyisi ■irA>Wb'$W*?>titjfr-iQ«lH ^ujiiWmltjV »ltii9UKh 
 there was no change in the size. January l,.-^ga8^ 
 
 Mr. Migheis became sole proprietor, and the sub- 
 scription price was reduced from twelve to eight 
 dollars per year. The following September he was 
 nominated b}- the Iie|)ublican party as Lieutenant 
 Governor, a i)Osition that he failed to secure. On 
 the twenty-seventh of May, 1879, Henry E. Migheis 
 died at his i-esidcnce in Carson City, and with his 
 life was extinguished one of the brightest lights that 
 had illumined an editorial sanctum in Nevada, if not 
 upon the Pacific Coast. 
 
 Editorial management of the J/>//e«/ devolved upon 
 Mrs. Nellie V., widow of Mr. Migheis, upon his 
 death; but on the following eighth of August, S. 
 II. Fulton, of the Elko Vost assumed those duties, 
 from which he was relieved by S. P. Davis, on the 
 ensuing Xovombcr flth, who continued to fill that 
 place with advantage to the paper and credit to him- 
 self 
 
 THb^1aV6''l'i'iknaging editor of the Morning Appeal, of 
 Carson City, isa native of Uranford, Connecticut, and 
 was born April'^^i'lBSOf ' A't fiUlfcen years of ago 
 alter d ancp (upcW t4»o 'Kiwtino *>Ali«i<c in'W)«<eonsin 
 *iae icoiwmeiAcid rirtd 'WfrntYjluod' for throeyWil-H, 'wtieii 
 h«t) witlulrtw from ■*feie"i>isti't^it5on;-'ttnd!- jof/iodi h(iii 
 parents at iirt>wrt«TjHe.NobraBka. ili lo -v'-. ntu-. 
 (j! IJiBitfiretilconwcbtion iwrtlr 'tttoi ipross iwjibii«r«« 
 reporter ftn-the OniftM^/A'^i/'i', Iti whiSohU-a^iiiyitlj^'W 
 bemainod iinttiiiMWton(43'i for i'fjat j'vshrs^'aiwd' 'bO<b*o 
 ooiaimg to theiiiPafifle €oit»t"hW fillodiithat'i^iouU 
 twaa upott the slRtt' of the fulkvwitlg' jb*irn«li»': tlto 
 
HISTORY OF JOURNALISM IN NEVADA. 
 
 315 
 
 Ailveriiser, Nebraska City Xeo-s. all in Nebraska; and ; 
 the St. Louis Jie/)ub/ican and Chifajjo Times, besides 
 which ho was editor of the Lincoln Statesman. 
 
 In 1872 ho moved to California and took charge 
 editorially of the Vallejo ludepenihiil durin<;j the 
 political campaign of that year, after which he was a 
 correspondent for the Nea-s Letter, and later a 
 reporter for the San Francisco Chrmiirfe. His next 
 newspaper connection was as temporary editor of the 
 Marj-sviMe Apjiea/, followed by the same duty with 
 the Colusa I>ule//endc7it, after which a humorous pajjer 
 at Vallejo called the OfXH Letter. Woodford Owens 
 and T. A. McCrosson were his jiartner.s in this 
 venture, and they soon moved the establishment to 
 San Francisco, whore the Opett Letter was continued 
 for about one year as an illustrated paper, when it 
 suspended. 
 
 His next engagement was with the San Francisco 
 Dili/;/ Emiinij Poi<t. and then he became one of the 
 staff on a paper known as the Mornimj LeiJijer, that 
 suspended with the suspension of the Bank of Cali- 
 fornia. With this last abbreviation of his aspirations 
 he abandoned California and became a reporter for 
 the Virginia Evening Chronicle in Nevada, where he 
 remained for four years, and then removed to Carson 
 City, where fin November 1, 187!), ho became editor 
 of the Morninij Appeal. 
 
 He is constituted of a strange combination of 
 extremes that permits him to take no middle course 
 in life, the ordinaiy paths of men being monotonous 
 routes that ho travels onl}- when forced into them; 
 an event out of the ordinary, or gigantic exceptions, 
 are his elysian fields to travel in — where the mind 
 is always building strong contrasts of strange forms 
 that makes of him a natural humorist. 
 
 It is said that a well-dressed Frenchman antl a 
 Chinaman unexpectedly met in the road one day. 
 They were at first astonished, then amazed; and 
 finallj' each laughed himself into hysterics at the 
 absurd figure of the other. If friend Davis had 
 chanced to witness that meeting, it would have been 
 our pleasant duty to have ended this biographical 
 sketch with an obituary. He builds strange and 
 formidable imaginative structures, and from the 
 same material just as strange and strong other forms, 
 thus creating by contrast, a constant absurdity in 
 the mind, that leaves its impression more or less 
 marked upon his writings. This peculiarity, exag- 
 eration and power to create imagery for comparison, 
 makes an original character which distinguishes him 
 from mail}' who are called humorists. Ilis power as 
 a writer is not limited to the above alone, tor he can 
 handle satire, is not at sea among the roofs of logic, 
 and is possessed of a far more than average descrip- 
 tive ability, but statistics would send him to an 
 insane asylum. In disposition ho is generous, frank 
 and kind hearted to his friends; to his enemies he is 
 also generous and frank — frank in his expression of 
 enmity, and generous in dealing them blows. 
 
 THE NEVAD.\ TRIBUNE. 
 
 This paper was started at Carson City as a semi- 
 weekly, on the sixteenth of July, 1872, by E.'J. 
 Parkinson, K. I{. Parkinson and Joseph JfcClure, 
 under the firm name of E. J. Parkinson \' Co. The 
 patronage in a short time warranting, a change to an 
 evening daily was made on the sixteenth of July, 
 1873. In size it was 14.\2(j inches, in politics it has 
 advocated anti-monopoly and Republican jjrinciples, 
 maintaining an inde])endence in regard to the sup- 
 port of candidates for otiices, and for the last four 
 years E. J. Parkinson has been its sole proprietor. 
 Its editorial and mechanical departments are both 
 operated b}- members of the Parkinson family. 
 
 R. R. PARKINSON, 
 
 The father and editor, is a native of England, and 
 passed the years of his j'oung manhood upon the 
 sea, where he visited many strange countries, and in 
 his wanderings tinall}- arrived in San Francisco April 
 3, 1850, since which time ho has remained a resident 
 of the Pacific Coast. In 1852 he was married in 
 San Francisco, and has since raised a family of eight 
 children. For the last sixteen years his home has 
 been at Carson City, during which time ho has held 
 various public positions, among which might be men- 
 tioned that of Justice of the Peace, Suj>eriiiteiident 
 of Schools, Deputy Supreme Court Clerk, and has 
 been four times Journal Clerk of the Nevada State 
 Senate. 
 
 The son and present proprietor, E. J. Parkinson, 
 was born in San Francisco in 1852. He is a practi- 
 cal printer, well posted in all the departments of 
 conducting a paper, and besides managing the busi- 
 ness and financial affairs of tho paper, attends to 
 the local editorial department. 
 
 DAILY EVENING IIERAI.l). 
 
 August 0, 1875, tho first number of tho above 
 twontj'-four-column sheet was published by Wells 
 Drury & Co., at Carson City, with C. A. V. Putnam 
 as editor. September 3d following, Wells Drury 
 sold his interest to Charles Lee. and the firm name 
 became the Iforald Publishing Company. 
 
 CARSON DAILY TI.MES. 
 
 The above was edited, owned and published, from 
 its fii-st issue, March 18, 188(», until its susj)ension, 
 June, 1881, by Edward Niles. It was in the start 
 only 12x18 inches, but was enlarged just before its 
 demise to 21x28 inches. It was l{e]>ul)lican in poli- 
 tics, the subscription price being ten dollars per j'ear. 
 
 EDWARD NII.ES 
 
 Is a native of Dansville, Livingston County, New 
 York, where the early daj's of his life passed at tho 
 homestead as smoothly as glided the ri|)pling waters 
 near that home, of the beautiful Canesaraga. His 
 father was a loading merchant of the place, whose 
 name was a synonym for reliability and integrity. 
 Young Xiles was the fourth of a family of six, and, 
 receiving a libei'al education, started in the world for 
 
316 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 himself at his father's death, some fifteen yeai's since, 
 with only fifteen dollar.s in hi.s potket; and he sol- 
 emnly assured the writer that he has hold his own. 
 As dork and book-kee]>er. his time was passed in 
 Chicago, until the great tire in that city of 1871, 
 when he went to New York, remained there about 
 one j'ear, from where he came to Nevada, and 
 entered the emploj- of the Virginia and Truckee 
 Railroad at Virginia City, as clerk and ticket agent. 
 Ife was soon promoted by that company to the posi- 
 tion of (leneral Ticket Agent and Paymaster, and 
 continued in their service for six j^ears. During the 
 Sierra Nevada excitement he made fifty thousand 
 dollars buying that company's stock, and lost it 
 nearly all in the same waj^ he had made it. He left 
 the railroad companj-'s employ, and eventually 
 started the Carson Daily Times, it being his first 
 experience as a journalist. He exhibited while en- 
 gaged in the duties as an editor, a natural talent for 
 the business, and his papers were never dull, while 
 from their columns often scintillated passages of wit 
 and satire, imagery of conception, and telling rep- 
 artee, that marked him as one "to the manor born." 
 The following explanatory valedictory from Mr. 
 Niles was published in the Index: — 
 
 "I started the business with limited capital and 
 incurred a debt of §2,500 for press, t3'pe and neces- 
 sary outfit. During the past year I have paid on 
 the material, including freight charges, fully 81,200, 
 and nearly §4,000 for composition. My material was 
 8up])licd by Messrs. .Miller & Richards, through their 
 San Francisco agency. 
 
 "Other payments fell due recently. The Scotch 
 firm above mentioned declined to extend further 
 accommodation, notwithstanding the fact that they 
 were fully protected and had been paid nearly one- 
 half of the value of the property. Aided by a zealous 
 and unusually strict incumbent of our shrievalty, 
 they pinched me so hard that I decided not to throw 
 any more good money after bad, concluded that dis- 
 cretion was the better part of valor in this case, and 
 quietly retired, for the present, from the arena of 
 Carson's paper knights. 
 
 "Conscious of having ministered faithfully to a gen- 
 erous army of advertisers, a valued corps of sub- 
 scribers and a cheerful squad of deadheads, and also 
 with the belief that the Times has been lively, enter- 
 prising and moderately entertaining, its editor and 
 publisher extends his sincere thanks to all who so 
 generously aided its vigorous career, and with malice 
 toward none, and all that sort of thing, will soon 
 enter a now field of labor, trusting, at some future 
 time, to profit by experience and with ample capital 
 again enter the editorial ranks. E. Nilks. 
 
 "Carson, June 14, 1881." 
 
 DAILY INDEX. 
 
 The first appearance of this paper was at Carson 
 City, on the twenty-fifth of Deeembor, 1880, Mar- 
 shall Robinson publisher. In size, it was 14x20 
 inches, contained twenty columns, nine of which were 
 
 blanks, having no printed matter in them, and the 
 subscription price was five dollars per year. This 
 I blank space represented the advertisements that the 
 publisher was willing to put in if he could get them, 
 and something loss than a column from the ready 
 pen of Judge C. N. Harris, the editor, stated the plan 
 for the future and prospects for the enterprise, from 
 which the following is condensed: — 
 
 "Editorially wo have no pronunciamonto to make. 
 Our columns will reflect matters of current interest. 
 We have no friends to reward nor enemies to punish, 
 our mode of expression will usually bo definite and 
 to the point, we shall have opinions to express now 
 and then. Politically, our accent is Republican and 
 our persuasion Stalwart. Religiouslj', we are toler- 
 ant. Sociallj', we are bland and accommoilating. 
 Our appreciation of the fine points of modern civiliza- 
 tion is second only to that of a raUroml president. 
 Financially, we are not a bonanza; and commercially 
 we acknowledge ourself a proper subject for the 
 grand bounce. Our diurnal comfort is principalh- 
 derived from our knowledge that a goodmanj- of the 
 people of Nevada are fixed up about as we arc. Wo 
 know of no good reason to fear for the success of our 
 venture. The times couldn't well be worse or harder, 
 nor the people much more impoverished. Every- 
 thing is to be won, and there is nf)thing more to be lost. 
 We can't lose much on advertisements, for wo have 
 started publication without any. We can't lose anj' 
 money, for the reason that none has been paid to us. 
 It must be a])paront, therefore, that the Index is 
 planted upon the bedrock foundation of public esteem, 
 and its future consequently secure." 
 
 This papex has been ably conducted and thus far 
 has maintained ceaseless opposition to that which was 
 in the interest of a few as against the many, because 
 of which it is entitled to the success that it has met 
 with. Judge Harris, its editor, is an able and logical 
 writer, who has alreadj- made an inroad upon the 
 stronghold of monopoly in the interests of the com- 
 munity at largo. 
 
 The preceding shows a long list of papers for a 
 single county, and that the smallest in the State, 
 and at the same time it shows an intelligent enter- 
 prise most commendable to the people. Several of 
 the papers most distinguished in after years were 
 hero originated, or here tarried on their pilgrimage; 
 and here, too, have many editors, reporters and cor- 
 res|)ondents exorcised their talents and won their 
 fame. The papers of Ormsby contain in their files 
 the histoiy of the State, and were they jireserved, 
 as they should have been most sacredly, their records 
 would have been altogether invaluable. Unfortu- 
 nately no complete tiles arc obtainable, although a 
 statute of the State requires their preservation. The 
 newsi)a|)er of the present day contains a diurnal 
 epitome of the current history of the time, particu- 
 larizing the locality and generalizing as the circle 
 widens until all the county, then the State and the 
 world como within its embrace. 
 
i 
 
 
 
 
 -M 
 
 D. M'^ RAE 
 
 D. M? Rae's Wood Camp, 
 
 IN THE MOUNTAINS BETWEEN LAKE TAHOE AND WASHOE VALLEY, 
 STATE or N EVA DA. 
 
mSTORY OF JOURNALISM IN NEVADA. 
 
 317 
 
 THE STOKEY COUNTY PRESS. 
 Much of what precedes this is applicable to Storey 
 County. It was upon the pa])ers there that Fitch, 
 Coodman, Bennett, Sumner, 1-ynch, Lovejoj-, Good- 
 win, Daf^Cgctt, '-The Unreliable," -'Dan De Quille," 
 and "Mark Twain" were first jtolished from roujjh 
 diamonds of the |)re88, and most of these gained their 
 re])ulation8 while connected with tho 
 
 DAILY TEKUITORIAI, ENTERPIUSE. 
 
 This journal was started at (Jenoa, in wlial is 
 now Douglas County, as a weekly, on the eighteenth 
 of l)cccmber, 1S58, and was tho first paper pub- 
 lished in Nevada. The writer has never seen tho 
 first files of it, and a diligent search has failed 
 to develop the existence of such; but the twent}-- 
 sixth number of that sheet having been procured, 
 the publishers of this history have obtained a fac- 
 fiiiii/e of it. in reduced size, which has been incor- 
 porated as pages 69-72 of this book. The size of 
 the sheet from which the fac-simile was obtained 
 is twenty-one inches by twent3'-eight. The founders 
 of this paper were W. L. Jernegan and A. James, 
 who continued its jnibliciition at Genoa until No- 
 vember 5. 1859, when the estal)lishnient was removed 
 to Carson City, where in the new locality, on the 
 twelfth of that month, its first number was issued. 
 In the meantime, Jonathan Williams, who, in Jan- 
 uarj-. 187ti. committed suicide at Pioehe. had pur- 
 chased the interest of James, and tho firm name 
 became \V. L. Jernegan k Co.; remaining such as 
 late as May, 1860. In October of that year, Mr. 
 Williams, having become sole proprietor, moved the 
 EnUrpiine to Virginia Cit3-. where its publication 
 has since been continued. On the second of March, 
 1861. Joseph T. (foodman and D. E. McCarthj- be- 
 came partners of Williams in the publication, and 
 the latter, in a short time, was succeeded by D. 
 Driscoll. On the twenty-fourth of September, that 
 year, the daily was first started, at which time the 
 weekl}- ceased. July ;M, 1863, steam-power was 
 first applied in printing the paper; and October 
 28th of that year Goodman and McCarthy became 
 sole proprietors. September IT), 1865, McCarthy 
 sold to Goodman, who became and remained sole 
 owner until early in February, 1874, when it passed 
 under the control of the Enterprise Publishing 
 Company of which H. M. Daggett was the brains, 
 and William Sharon the capitalist. 
 
 At present it is controlled and owned by the same 
 corporation that has passed into the hands of diftbr- 
 ent men. Col. H. G. Shaw occupying the chief 
 editorial chair, and "Dan De Quille" retaining the 
 position of local editor. The stock is about ecjually 
 divided between the Virginia and Truckee Railroad 
 Companj- and the "Bonanza" firm, of which two cor- 
 porations it is the organ. 
 
 TWO VIEWS OF W1I,I,I.\.M SII.VUON. 
 
 The causes that led to tho withdrawal of Mr. 
 Goodman from the Enterjtrlge was his hostility to tho 
 40 ^ 
 
 candidacy of William Sharon for the United States 
 Senate in 1872, when there appeared in his paper 
 what ho termed •' a welcome to Mr. Sharon," who 
 had Just come from California to look after his polit- 
 ical interests. The following are extracts from that 
 " welcome": — 
 
 * * * Your unexpected return, Mr. Sharon, 
 has afforded no opportunity for public preparation, 
 and you will conse(|iiently accept these sim])lo 
 remarks as an unworthy but earnest expression of 
 the sentiments of a people who feel that they would 
 be lacking in duly and self-resiicct if they failed 
 upon such an occasion to make a deserved recogni- 
 tion of your acts and character. You are jn-obably 
 aware that j-ou have returned to a community where 
 you are feared, hated and despised. * * * * * 
 
 * * * Your career in Nevada for the past nine 
 j-oars has been one of merciless rapacity. You 
 fastened yourself upon the vitals of tbo Stale like a 
 hj-ena, and woe to him who disputed with you a 
 single coveted morsel of j'our prej\ * * * You 
 cast honor, honest}', and the commonest civilities 
 aside. You broke faith with men whenever j-ou 
 could subserve your purpose by so doing. * * * 
 
 When Mr. Sharon, who had failed of achieving 
 political success in 1872, became a candidate again 
 in 1874 for the same position, he organized the 
 corporation that purchased tho paper of Goodman, 
 who abandoned the profession, and tho Enterprise 
 became a Sharon organ, giving him tho following 
 character, which by the way leaves one in some 
 doubts as to what kind of a man (his Sharon was, 
 or is: — 
 
 Mr. Sharon has lived in Nevada for ten years. 
 By his sagacity, energy and nerve, ho has amassed 
 a fortune. This is his crime. He has done what 
 he has without once breaking his jiligliied word 
 without once violating one |>rinciple of business 
 honor. While doing this he has carried with his 
 own, the fortunes of hundreds, and never onco 
 betraj-ed a trust or confiilence. * * * rpj^^ 
 present prosperity of western Nevada is more due 
 to him than to ;ui3' other ten men. an<l ct)uld his 
 work here be stricken out, with it would go at onco 
 two-thirds of our people, improvements and wealth. 
 
 In November, 1875, .Mr. Daggett severed his con- 
 nection with the Euterprine and resumed it again 
 December 1, 1877. In tho meantime Judge Good- 
 win had been editor. In 1878 .Mr. Daggett was 
 elected to Congress, and his mantle again fell upon 
 Judge Goodwin's shoulders, who remained until 
 1880 as editor-in-chief, when Fred. Hart succeeded 
 him, who in turn gave place to Colonel Shaw in 1881. 
 
 The following are tho changes in size that have 
 been noted of the Enterprise. 
 
 D'lte. Size. No. Columns. 
 
 July 30. 1859 21 x2S inches. 20 
 
 May. 1861 21x28 " .. 20 
 
 January 1. 1863 22x32 " .. 28 
 
 October 28, 1863... 28x12 '• .. 36 
 
 .March 9. 1866 21x28 " .. 24 
 
 September 14, 1866. 21x36 " .. 32 
 
 August 1, 1876 27x42 •' .. 36 
 
 January 1, 1878 24x36 " .. 32 
 
 Present time 24x36 " .. 32 
 
318 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 PHOTO. BV JOHN B. NDE. VIROlNIA, NEV. 
 
 iAT'^^ff 
 
 ['•DAN DE QUILLE."] 
 
 There are no readers of iiewK])iiper8, or makers of 
 the same, ou the Pacific Coast, who are not familiar 
 with the quaint name that heads this sketch. Not 
 only are they familiar with it, but they have come 
 to regard the genial geiilleman whom it represents 
 as one of their dear friends, ready to laugh at his 
 kindly humor and to familiarly pat him on the back as 
 an old acquaintance. Few there are, in fact, who 
 enjoy a wider popularity, or one more sincerely re- 
 garded than William Wright, who has won his de- 
 served fame under the twin ih: jilamc of "Dan dc Quillo,' 
 called for short, "Dan," and sometimes "Dandy," as he 
 started out in life a handsome boj- and with a dandj- 
 quill, making fun and inciting jjleasure wherever he 
 went. 
 
 Few would believe that Dan is a Quaker, yet 
 such is a fact, often proven, not by his sober-sided- 
 neas nor shad-belly style, but by his steadfast ]uir- 
 poso and the sincerity of his friendships. His an- 
 cestor, on his father's side, was Anthony Wright, 
 who came over from England with William I'eiin in 
 1681, hol))ing to found the city of •• Brotherly Love," 
 and the groat State of Pennsylvania. Subsequently 
 Anthony Wright moved into Virginia, in Loudon 
 County, and there planted the Wright Colon}', from 
 which the subject of this sketch is descended. Dan 
 also had forefathers on his motlicr's side, whose name 
 was Morrison, belonging to a family of note in the 
 north of Ireland. Captain Morrison was in com- 
 mand of a man-of-war in the IJritish Navy when 
 the American colonies rebelled against the mother 
 
 country, but being friendly to the cause of his coun- 
 trymen across the sea, he refused to fight them and 
 resigned his commission. At the close of the Revo- 
 lutionarj- War, the Captain, hastening to meet his 
 friends in America, took a ship, and with it the news 
 of the treaty of peace, and sailed to Philadelphia. 
 Here a landing was refused, an enemj-'s vessel not 
 being permitted to come into port; but when the 
 truth was made known that the war was over and 
 the colonies free, then they were welcome. Thus it 
 happens that Mr. Wright's ancestors, on both sides, 
 first landed and made their homes in Philadelphia. 
 At a later date the Wrights and Morrisons moved 
 to Ohio, then in the "far West," and there the pa- 
 rents of the subject of our sketch met and were 
 married, and there William AV right was born. May 
 0, 18211. At the age of eighteen he removed to Iowa, 
 where he first tried his haiui at humorous writing, 
 sending his productions to the pai>ers and to Gra- 
 ham's Magazine, Philadel]ihia. The editor of the 
 magazine at that time was Mr. Charles (i. Leeland, 
 who accepted the contributions and encouraged the 
 young writer to continue in his course and cultivate 
 a very evident talent. In Iowa he remained until 
 1857, when he obej-ed the injunction of Horace 
 (ireeley and " went west," reaching California the 
 same year. First ho sought a fortune in the gold 
 mines of the Sierra Nevada, mining at Omega, in 
 Nevada County, thence prospecting all through the 
 mountains, extending his explorations as far south 
 as .Mariposa (Jountj*. While journe^-ing and pros- 
 pecting he sent manj' very interesting descriptive 
 sketches of the country he traveled through, inter- 
 weaving them with humorous anecdotes of people 
 and incidents, to the papers, which introduced him 
 to the ])ublic of California. The Golden £rn, under 
 the editorship of Joe Lawrence, was then the j)rin- 
 cipal vehicle of bis communication with the public, 
 and was a po])ular and widely read literary journal. 
 Through its columns the i)eople of California became 
 familiar with the name of Dan de (^uille, learned to 
 respect its bearer and to eagerly look for his letters 
 and stories. Several j-ears were thus spent in mining, 
 prospecting, wandering and story-writing, gaining 
 a name and fame, if not much pelf. While in his ex- 
 plorations of the mountains in 1859. he crossed to 
 the eastern slope in the fall, Ity wa}' of the 
 Yo Semite Valley, and visited the mining region 
 j since bocomo the noted and populous Bodie. Then 
 it was a wilderness, where it was not considered safe 
 to remain during the winter, and he therefore hast- 
 ened to return by the route he came, barely escap- 
 ing being caught in the snow, having a fall of that 
 clement upon him to the depth of two feet in his 
 last encampment in the mountains above the Yo 
 Semite Falls. 
 
 The following year found him in the region of the 
 Comstock, where ho has since resided, where ho has 
 happily married and where a son and two daughters 
 bless his honored home. For a year or two after 
 
HISTORY OF JOURNALISM IN NEVADA. 
 
 319 
 
 his arrival in Xovada his sketches continued to ap- 
 pear in the GoUUn Era, and in the spring of 18G2 he 
 received a '-call " to take the jiosition of local editor 
 on the Sttferjn-ise, where, except for a few months at 
 a time, ho has remained, the one steady light of that 
 distinguished journal. 
 
 The daily newspajier is remorseless in its demands 
 upon the time and brains of its editors, particularly 
 in the smaller cities where the editorial corps is 
 limited and a few individuals make the paper, whose 
 columns, as the skeleton forms lie upon the stone, 
 sometimes, to the tired writers, yawn like the chasm 
 of Yo Semite, and few opportunities are offered for 
 studied literary efforts. In this harness of toil and 
 drudgery true genius at times is recognized and is 
 rescued from its fate by some good fortune, but gen- 
 erall}- the brightest are subdued under the dark 
 routine of labor, the demands of earning a livelihood 
 and the narrow grove in which business and poli- 
 tics force the mind. In this harness Mr. Wright has 
 toiled, and with all its disadvantages has won a name. 
 In 187G he published a volume of sketches, descrip- 
 tions of mining and incidents of life on the Com- 
 Btock. under the title of " The Big Bonanza," which 
 is very interesting and amusing, and should bring 
 the author a fortune by its sales. This is a volume 
 of 5()!> pages, profusely illustrated, and contains 
 many incidents in the life of its author. A large 
 mass of material has been gathered, which Mr. 
 Wright intends to publish in future volumes when 
 released from the demands of daily Joiinialism he 
 will have the necessary leisure to do the work prop- 
 erl}', and the general ])ublic maj' well look forward 
 to its appearance with a jdeasurable anticipation. 
 
 JOURNALISTS ROUGHING IT. 
 
 The following from "Dan Do Quille" will give the 
 reader a glim]ise behind the scenes of life upon a 
 newspaper at Virginia in early times. Mentioning 
 the Territorial Enterprise office, he writes: — 
 
 " The office was at the corner of A Street and Sut- 
 ton Avenue, then near the business center of the 
 town; B Street being the principal business street. 
 The building occupied as the office of publication was 
 a one-story, rickety frame structure, about thirty- 
 five feet long and twenty feet in width. 
 
 " In this room was the press (one of the old-fash- 
 ioned Washington presses), the cases of the com- 
 positors, the desk of the book-keeper, the tables of 
 the editors, and all the belongings of the office. On 
 the north side of the main building was a shed addi- 
 tion which was both kitchen and dining-room, and 
 besides was fitted up as a sleeping ])laeo for all hands. 
 Along the sides of the walls ■ bunks ' were arranged 
 one above another, as on shipboard, and as in the 
 cabins of the miners of California in the earlj- days. 
 
 "A Chinaman (Old Joe), officiated as cook and 
 acted as waiter during meals. A table some fifteen 
 feet in length occu])ied the center of the shed, and 
 on this were always to be found all of the substan- 
 
 tials and most of the luxuries obtainable in the mar- 
 ket, served up in Old Joe's best style. 
 
 "The old Chinaman was long thought to be the 
 'boss' cook of the town. This was chiefly for the 
 reason that he was able to place the butter on the 
 table moulded into the form of lions, dragons and the 
 like. So much was said in ])rai8e of Joe's lions, 
 tigers, and dragons, that he finally gave most of his 
 time to the modeling of such works of art. Presently 
 mouse hairs began to bo found in the biscuits every 
 morning and flies and bugs in other articles of food. 
 An investigation brought to light two or three dead 
 mice in Joe's lard keg. where he had for a week or 
 two been pouring back into the keg liot fat without 
 discovering the four-legged game that had been 
 trapped from time to time. Other equallj- unpleas- 
 ant discoveries wore made, and Joe was ' fired out' 
 by acclamation. O'-her Chinamen lollowed but as 
 all hands were now constantly on the watch for 
 faults in the cookery, none remained long, and pres- 
 ently cooking in the office was discontinued, and the 
 employes dispersed to trj' their luck among the 
 restaurants. 
 
 "While the kitchen was running it was a standing 
 joke to invite some acquaintance about the town to 
 dinner in order to try ex]>eriment8 by which to test 
 the strength of his stomach. No sooner had the 
 stranger commenced eating than some one began to 
 tell about some disgusting thing calculated to impair 
 his appetite. .More than one guest was driven from 
 the tabic amid the laughter of the case-hardened 
 regular boarders, though on one or two occasions 
 they caught a Tartar. All this time thej- little sus- 
 pected the kind of messes that were being dealt out 
 to them at home by Old Joe, whose ways had not 
 yet been discovered. 
 
 "The office did very well in summer, but in winter 
 it was as full of discomforts as any place seen by 
 Dante during his journey through the infernal 
 regions. There were not only extremes of heat and 
 cold, but one often suft'ered from both at the same 
 moment — would be freezing on one side and burning 
 on the other. On very cold nights the stove would 
 bo made red hot. Around it the editors drew up 
 their tables, and the printers moved their cases as 
 near as thoy could get them. They stood at thoir 
 cases with old barley sacks lashed round their feet 
 with jjieces of baling rope, and were frequently 
 obliged to go to the stove and thaw out their half- 
 frozen fingers. 
 
 '• At times, too, when the snow began to thaw off 
 the roof, there were leaks all over the office. Strings 
 were then fastened up against the roof at the worst 
 leaks, and the water led tlown to the floor at the 
 sides of the building, thus carrying it over and bo 
 yond the tables and cases. At times so many of 
 these strings were in use that the ceiling and all the 
 upper part of the office had the appearance of being 
 hung with huge cobwebs — webs of Brobdingnagian 
 spiders. 
 
320 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 HUNTING ITEMS. 
 
 "At that time J. T. Goodman was editor-in-chief, 
 and "Dan Be (^uille" was local editor. There was 
 then no telegraph line across the continent, and all 
 Eastern and European news came by 'Pony Express.' 
 Before the 'Pony' was put on all news came by 
 steamer cin Panama, or by the overland st:ige 
 coaches. The 'Ponj-,' therefore, was looked upon as 
 being nearly lightning, and he really was next thing 
 to it. 
 
 "The 'Pony' rider was often able to give items of 
 news from the 'plains' that were not in his budget, 
 and he was ahvaj-s intei-viewcd in regard to the 
 emigrant trains that were making their way in, 
 the movements of the Indians, and the like. 
 
 '•Besides looking after the news of the town, the 
 local editor also interviewed the 'captains' of all the 
 pack-trains that came in over the Sierra Nevada 
 MountainiJ, the teamsters, and the stage drivers, and 
 their passengers. Also, at this time, all the country 
 to the eastward remained to be prospected; and men 
 who scouted out into the wilderness a distance of 
 from 1(10 to 300 miles always had some wonderful 
 stories to relate on their return. 
 
 "In 1S()2 the Enterprise office was moved to a large 
 brick building on North C Street, where everything 
 was about as comfortable as in the majority of coun- 
 try towns on the Pacific Coast. 
 
 "It was at this time that Samuel L. Clemens 
 (Mark Twain) was associated with the paper as a 
 reporter. Before going to work on the paper he 
 had for a considerable length of time been writing 
 letters to it from Aurora, Esmeralda County. At 
 that time he was not known as 'iMark Twain.' He 
 simply signed his letters 'Josh,' and when he first 
 came to the office all hands called him Josh. He 
 did not relish having this name so fastened upon 
 him, and looking about for a better one he hit upon 
 that of 'Mark Twain,' taking it from one of the 
 cries of measurements in sounding on the Missis- 
 si])pi IJiver, where he at one time followed the busi- 
 ness of pilot. 
 
 " 'Mark' and 'Dan De Quille' hunted items together, 
 and the arrival of an emigrant train was still a big 
 event. The 'captain' and other leading men of the 
 train were cornered and encouraged to relate all of 
 interest that had happened during the Journey 
 across the 'plains.' The train often remained en- 
 canii)ed in the suburbs of the town several days 
 before proceeding to California, and before they left 
 all hands were pretty thoroughly -pumped.' 
 
 '•In these early da3-s there were in the town many 
 desperate characters, and blood)- affrays were of fre- 
 quent occurrence. Sometimes while a reporter was 
 engaged in gleaning the particulars in regard to one 
 shooting scrape another would start (growing out 
 of something said in regard to the first), and the 
 news-gatherer suddenly found him.self in the midst 
 of flying bullets, and had before him a battle, the 
 
 particulars in regard to which he need not take at 
 second-hand. 
 
 "Strikes in the mines were very frequent in those 
 days, as the leading mining com])anies were then 
 just beginning to find their first rich deposits of ore. 
 So rich were some of these that people were pre- 
 l)ared to believe almost anj-thing that was told. 
 Nothing in the way of bodies of ore seemed impos- 
 sible, and not a few men believed that at no distant 
 day the miners would reach a ]thu'e where the Cora- 
 stock Lode was a solid mass of silver from wall to 
 wall. Editors, printers, and all about the newspaper 
 offices, even down to the -devil,' had their jiockete 
 filled with shares in mines (then counted by feet), 
 and all expected in time — and in a very short time 
 — to find themselves very wealthy men, if not mil- 
 lionaires. Piles of ore lay upon the tables of the 
 editors, and specimens filled the cases of the com- 
 positors. 
 
 "Men who had been far out in the eastern wilds 
 generally made their way to the newspaper offices at 
 once, upon their return, to exhibit specimens of the 
 ores they had found, and tell of the wonderful regions 
 thej- had explored. As the unexplored regions then 
 covered thousands of square miles, it was thought by 
 no means improbable that somewhere, far out in these 
 wilds, existed lodes that were filled with native silver 
 and gold, even at the surface. It was argued that it 
 would be very strange indeed should it turn out that 
 the richest vein in the whole countr\- was that first 
 found, and which lay at the very entrance into the 
 vast wilderness of deserts and barren hills, apparently 
 only created as a congenial home for the precious 
 metals. As newspaper men generally knew when 
 prospecting parties were preparing to start out into 
 the wilds, they were always anxious to have an 
 interest of some kind in whatever might be found, 
 and were ever read}' to contribute their mite towards 
 the purchase of supplies and a proper outfit. When 
 such a jiarty had gone out, all the talk with devil 
 and all hands would be about ihe big interest they 
 would own when their prospecting friends came home. 
 Literature and mineralogy were strangely mingled, 
 and the latter generally largely i>rc(lominated. The 
 editor-in-chief threw aside his half-finished editorial, 
 the reporter his pet humorous sketch, and the printers 
 their ty])e, when a jtrospector entered a newspaper 
 office with his sack of specimens. 
 
 "In the early days, the reporters had no easy time of 
 it when they went forth to gather mining news. 
 There were then no cages on which to descend to the 
 lower levels — were, indeed, few lower levels. Manj- 
 of the shafts wore untimbered — were mere round 
 holes like ordinary wells — and the only machinery 
 /was a windlass. In descending to inspect material 
 'encountered at the bottom of a shaft, the reporter 
 I placed his foot in a loop at the end of a rope, and so 
 was sent spinning round and round, from 100 to .300 
 feet to the bottom. In descending, too, he swa^-ed 
 from side to side, striking first one side then the other 
 
HISTORY OF JOURNAUSM IN NEVADA. 
 
 321 
 
 of the rocky walls. In most cases, all he saw when 
 he reached the bottom, was hard barren porphyry-, 
 but in those days any rock that had a blue tinge was 
 thought to be rich in silver or to denote that silver 
 was close at hand." 
 
 c. C. aOODWIN. 
 
 C. C. Goodwin was born in the Genesee Valley, 
 New York State, a few miles from Rochester. He 
 received an academic education, and became a won- 
 derfully proficient mathematician — had most of the 
 English classics at his tongue's end when a boy, but 
 could never surmount the barriers which laj" between 
 him and the dead languages. 
 
 In 1S52 he came to California and studied law un- 
 der his brother, Jesse Goodwin, in Marysvilic, where 
 he afterwards became teacher in an academy. He 
 practiced law and taught school until 1861, when he 
 came to Nevada and built a ((uartz mill a few miles 
 below Dayton, putting a small fortune into its con- 
 struction. When the mill was nearly completed the 
 owner annoutieed a '■ warming," and was making 
 preparations to celebrate the event after the manner 
 of the sage-brush, when a freshet swept it away, 
 with his fortune, a wreck. At the same time six of 
 his men were drowned, one of them leaving an or- 
 phan boy to the cruel charity of the world. Mr. 
 Goodwin adopted the boy, who now holds the posi- 
 tion of Lieutenant in the Regular Army. His kind 
 care and providence for the future of that child 
 speaks of a generous, loyal nature, true and unflinch- 
 ing in its instincts, louder and with a more certain 
 sound than would a volume of eulogy. 
 
 Selling the dismantled machinery of the mill he 
 paid ort' such of his men as were left, and with a 
 few hundred dollars in his pockets put up an 
 arastra at JJayton. This venture was a failure, and 
 the subject of this sketch left J)ayton a long way 
 behind. He says that when he failed he owed less 
 than a 81,000, but since then he thinks that he has 
 paid out at least 81,000,000 on old promissory notes 
 and due bills. Since that time he has never put his 
 head finnncially above water that one of those com- 
 pounded interest-bearing notes or due bills did not 
 come from some secluded spot to greet him, as the 
 ghost of Han<|uo to .Macbeth. ILis bad luck seemed to 
 follow him like a shadow. He started a ranch in 
 Washoe County, and a lawsuit twenty miles away cut 
 off the watersupply with an inJiiiK-tion. and he left the 
 ranch a howling wilderness. Shortly afterwards he 
 was elected District Judge of Washoe County, and 
 edited a paper at J{eno. He next located a mine 
 in Kureka, and just as his friends were expecting 
 to see him blossom into a millionaire, the mine gave 
 out and left him in the lurch again. Another mine 
 opened in Nye (Jounty treated him with the same 
 lack of devotion to his interests. He then returned 
 to the newspaper business, where he reall}- belonged, 
 and for six years ran the JUnfurprixe, for awhile as 
 editor-in-chief and a portion of the time in connec- 
 tion with Congressman Itollin M. Daggett. The 
 
 Judge edited the paper with a vigor that made 
 its influence felt in Nevada, and it was recognized 
 as a. journal controlled by a man of brains and 
 culture. While he was editor the Enterprise had 
 nothing but gall and wormwood for the unrecon- 
 structed Bourbons. In 1880 he left that paper to 
 accept a position as editor-in-chief of the Salt Lake 
 Tribune, where he still remains. 
 
 In private life Goodwin is a conversationalist such 
 as one seldom meets, and his fund of quaint humor, 
 ready repartee and good stories, seems inexhaustible. 
 His home is always open to his friends, and his 
 purse at the mercy of every old tramp, dead-beat 
 and imposter who calls upon him for assistance, 
 as he could no more resist an appeal for charity 
 than he could change the attributes of his nature. 
 
 Harry R. Mighels, in the Carson Appeal of Novem- 
 ber 12, 1878, paj-s the following, in our judgment, 
 just tribute to Judge Goodwin's editorial labor and 
 talents: — 
 
 In the history' of Nevada journalism no such bril- 
 liant and eft'octive assaults were ever made by any 
 newspaper upon the enemy's line as Goodwin has 
 been making. His splendid services should be most 
 generously remembered; and he has, while making 
 an enviable re|)uation for himself, placed the Enter- 
 prise in the front rank of live and powerful political 
 newspapers. The peo])le of the State have a right to 
 be proud of their leading dailj" print, as his brethren 
 of the pen-and-scissors have a right to glor^- in the 
 achievements of their overworked but unflinching 
 and faithful brother. The Appenl gi\es him all hail! 
 
 ROLLIN iM. DAGGETT. 
 
 Not having a personal acquaintance with Mr, 
 Daggett, Judge C. C. Goodwin, of Salt Lake, was 
 addressed, asking him to write a brief biography of 
 this man, of whom associations had rendered him 
 the proper biographer. In reply the following was 
 received: — 
 
 Hon. liollin .M. Daggett was born in the State of 
 New York in the year 1832. At an early age he 
 was taken bj' his parents to Ohio. There he received 
 the rudiments of an education, and learned also the 
 business of printing. He must have been a strange, 
 queer genius, even in childhood. He told the writer 
 of this, that in his boyhood he had a pet pig, and 
 added, " I loved that pig better than a brother, and 
 when it came time to butcher 1 implored my father 
 to sj)are him. But my father would not, and added 
 hatred to grief by compelling me to kill m^- pet. 
 Do you know how it impressed mo? When my 
 father died I did not shed a tear, not a tear." 
 
 At sixteen, with only a rifle, some ammunition, a 
 little salt and a trifle of hard bread, he started on 
 foot across the plains. He wanilered unharmed 
 among the hostile Sioux, sleeping in their wickiups at 
 night, they believing him to be a lunatic. At last, 
 after crossing the Rocky Mountains, he fell in with a 
 train in which the cholera was raging. One man was 
 moving his family, consisting of a wife and three 
 small children, the elder being but nine years of age 
 
322 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 and the younger a babe of only three months, to Cal- 
 ifornia. He had two ox-teams. The driver of one team 
 had Just died. Daggett drove the dead man's team 
 for a daj" or two, until, when near old Fort Ilalli 
 the husband and father sickened and died within a 
 few hours. The night after the death of the man 
 the woman called Daggett to the wagon, and. saying 
 that she too was sick and was going to die, made him 
 promise that if ho liveil and if tlie children lived, he 
 would take them through to her friends in Sacra- 
 mento. How she died, how in the black night he 
 dug her grave, how his heart was wrung as he 
 heaped the earth upon her beautiful face, how he 
 selected the strongest oxen, hitched them to the 
 lightest wagon, tied a milch cow behind the wagon, 
 and in a frenzy drove away from that Golgotha, 
 together with his other adventures until his promise 
 was fulfilled and the children were safe with their 
 Sacramento friends, Daggett tells with dramatic 
 vividness in his own book, which is shortly to be 
 published. 
 
 In California he worked lor awhile in the mines, 
 and when he had made a " stake " went to San Fran- 
 cisco and established the Golden Era, the first liter- 
 ary journal of that city. 
 
 It was from the first a grand success. The sturdy 
 and robust intellect of Daggett was impressed upon 
 its pages in words which made a thrill all over the 
 coast. He continued on the Era for several years. 
 Selling it, at length, he embarked, with two associ- 
 ates, in the publication of the Mirror. This journal 
 commenced under the happiest auspices, and for a 
 time it prospered greatly; but the civil war came; 
 Daggett and his jiartners did not agree politically; he 
 bought them out; the hard times of the war followed, 
 and the paper failed. Then Daggett wont to Vir- 
 ginia City, Nevada, and soon after became associate 
 editor with Mr. J. T. Goodman on the Territorial 
 Enterprise. " Dan De (^uille " and " Mark Twain "* 
 were locals on the same paper, and under the hands 
 of these men the journal at once became famous. 
 "When Goodman sold the paper Daggett remained as 
 manager, and was connected with the Enterprige the 
 greater part of the time, until he was called away to 
 take bis scat in Congress at the extra session in 1879. 
 Since then ho has been occupied as Repi-esentative 
 in Congress. 
 
 He was married in Virginia City in 1866; his beau- 
 tiful wife died in 1876, leaving two little girls. 
 
 The foregoing tells about Daggett, but gives no 
 idea of him. Jlis writings reveal a'part of his na- 
 ture, but only a part. They reveal the power of his 
 mind, its wonderful versatility and the masterful 
 command he has over both robust and tender Kng- 
 lish. Still they only ball' reveal his real nature. His 
 genius has more shades than the rainbow has colors. 
 His audacitj- is something tremendous; his store of 
 humor is inexhaustible and contagious. To read 
 
 Twain ' 
 
 He (lid not commence upon the paper until after " Mark 
 ain " liad left \'iririnia. 
 
 some of his articles a stranger would declare that be 
 must be a human tiger; to read some others, women, 
 who never saw him, would, like •' Desdemona," be 
 ''^beguiled of tears," and wish 
 
 " That Heaven had made her such a man." 
 
 On seeing him each would be astonished, and would 
 laugh at the photographs his writings had made. It 
 was a daily occurrence, before the death of Mrs. 
 Daggett, to see Daggett in his own home extended 
 like a hippopotamus on the floor, his little girls 
 jumping upon him, beating him with tidies and pil- 
 lows, and screaming with delight; while all the time 
 he would be vehemently, with strange imprecations 
 and unheard-of anathemas, declaring that in just 
 half a minute he would jump u])on them, and smash 
 them into a million of pieces. 
 
 He has a strange personal magnetism about him. 
 Lot him for a moment take an old lady by the hand, 
 look into her eyes, and inquire about her health, and 
 from that time on, that woman will never hear any- 
 thing said against Daggett. He is full of quaint 
 words and ways; the heartiest and jolliest man, take 
 him day after day, and month after month, that one 
 ever worked beside. Yet his journalistic judgment 
 is infallible; the clearest, 1 think, in the Union to-day. 
 His taste is as exquisite as his judgment is clear. He 
 knows exactly the weight of words, and frequently 
 in a single sentence mingles the cynical bitterness of 
 Carlyle with the majestic, organ-roll of Macauley's 
 prose. His sphere is journalism. He makes a mis- 
 take when he essays anything else, unless it be mag- 
 azine or book-writing. On a journal like the Nation 
 or the Argonaut, where only three or four articles per 
 week would be required of him, he would, for his 
 party, shape and conduct public opinion in his sec- 
 tion. The pen, in his hi'iid, is like a mighty trip- 
 hammer, which is so nicely adjusted that he can, at 
 will, strike a blow which seems like a caress, and the 
 next moment hurl hundred-ton blows, one after an- 
 other with the quickness of lightning, and filling all 
 the air around with fire. Yet while at his work, inter- 
 rupt him and perpetrate some joke at his expense, 
 and ho will, while holding his intellectual hammer 
 suspended ready for another blow, laugh until the 
 tears will run down his cheeks. And then as a tender 
 mood comes over him, he will set thoughts to words 
 which the angels might in turn set to music to sing 
 on state occasions. Jlead these opening lines of one 
 of his Decoration-day poems: — 
 
 With leaf and blossom, spring has come again, 
 And tardy summer, garlamlea with tlowcrs, 
 Trii>a down the hill-side like a wayward child, 
 Her j;arlands frinxe<l with frost; but in her smile 
 Tlie valleys turn ti) green, and tender llowers, 
 Woke from their slumber by the song of binls, 
 Keach up to kiss the dimpled mouth of May. 
 
 C. C. Goodwin. 
 Salt Lake City, May 1 1, 1881. 
 
 VIRGINIA CITY DAILY UNION. 
 
 The proprietors of the Daily Silver Age, of Carson, 
 concluding that Virginia City was a better location for 
 them, suspended at the latter place, and, moving the 
 
HISTORY OF JOURNALISM IN NEVADA. 
 
 323 
 
 material of their jirinling-ofRce to the former, started 
 on the fourth of November, 1S62, the Virt^inia City 
 Daily Union. The parties entering upon this ven- 
 ture were S. A. (ileesner, J. L. Jjaird and John 
 Church. In jiolitics the paper was Union, in size 
 twenty-eight columns, printed on paper 24x3t! inches. 
 November 24, 18G8, it was enlarged four columns, 
 one to each page, and in May, 18G5, O. E. James & 
 Co. became proprietors. 
 
 This now tirm was an association of printers, con- 
 sisting of O. E. James, T. L. Ham, E. Armand, A. 
 P. Church, James Coiiley, J. H. Bain and J. H. 
 Huling. September 2U, ISGf), it was reduced to its 
 original size. 
 
 October 17, lS(i.5, T. L. Ham and J. H. lluliiii>; 
 withdrew from the tirm, and the Union came out as 
 a Democratic organ. There was mourning in the 
 Republican camp over this change of base in the 
 paper that had been one of the ablest advocates of 
 that doctrine in Nevada. In December of that year 
 it was changed to an evening edition. Between No- 
 vember 1(1 and 19, 1860, John Church and S. A. 
 Glessner again became proprietors, and in July they 
 reduced the Union to twenty-four columns. 
 
 Then came W. J. Forbes, the "Semblins," of the 
 Humboldt Register, who purchased the establishment 
 January 23, 1867, and changed its name, February 
 3d, to the 
 
 TRESPASS. 
 
 Under this name^we have been able to find no files 
 of the paper, and have learned little concerning it, 
 except that it suspended, and that an association 
 known as the '• Nevada Democratic Association,'' 
 purchased the material, with which they started 
 
 THE D.\ILy S.\FEGUARD. 
 
 The first number of the Safeguard appeared in 
 Virginia City in October, 1868, about the Gth of that 
 month, its editors being John I. Ginn and Robert E. 
 Lowery. January 22, ISGi), the Carson Daily Appeal 
 noticed that James J. Ayres and C. A. V. Putnam 
 had purchased all the material of the Daili/ Sn/egtinrd 
 with which to start a paper to be called the Inland 
 Empire at Hamilton, White Pino County, Nevada. 
 For sequel to this see History o( Silver y)(/eof Ormsby 
 County. - 
 
 VIRGINIA EVENING BULLETIN. 
 
 In 1863, Thomas B. Valentine, of San Francisco, 
 furnished material and money to start a paper in Vir- 
 ginia City, Nevada. Howard P. Taylor and Richard 
 A. Janus each purchased a third interest in the out- 
 fit on credit, and the firm became H. P. Taylor & Co. 
 
 On the seventh of Jul}^ that year, a daily thirty- 
 two column Republican paper was started by the firm 
 at the place contem])latcd, that was printed on pa))er 
 twenty-four bj- thirtj'-six inches, the subs(-ription 
 price being sixteen dollars per year. 
 
 The interest of Mr. Valentino soon passed into the 
 hands of F. B. Hasweli, and that of Mr. Taylor to 
 C. A. Parker, the change being announced on the 
 twenty-fourth of November, 1863. The size of the 
 
 paper was diminished to twenty columns, Februarj' 
 10, 1864, and on the twentieth of the same month 
 Hasweli withdrew because of disagreement regarding 
 who should be supported as a candidate for Mayor 
 of Virginia City. 
 
 May 17, 1864, the (Jold Hill New» notes the suspen- 
 sion of this sheet, stating that it had been a poorly 
 printed but ably edited pa])er, and that it was the 
 third that had suspended in Storey County since the 
 fifteenth of the previous October, the other two being 
 the Democratic Standard and the Occitlenfal. 
 
 The editor-in-chief. Dr. Wood, was in ill-health, 
 and meeting with a slight accident the editorial con- 
 duct of the Bulletin was supervised mainlj' by Mr. 
 Bennett, and this was the hitter's first connection 
 with the Nevada press. The Gold Hill News, in the 
 following facetious way, notices the accident met 
 with by Dr. Wood: — 
 
 Dr. Wood, of the Bulletin, while navigating C 
 street yesterday was run into, collided, rammed, and 
 capsized, by a viiJianous dog, and from the concussion, 
 did, like the ill-fated .Vonitor, then and there go 
 down stern foremost, to the great damage and wrath 
 of the said W. H. R. Wood, and against (In.- ])eace 
 and dignity of the Eceni)ig Bulletin, whereby wo 
 learn that the said editor neglecteth the Scri|)tures, 
 and hecdeth not the warning voice of the Apostle. 
 During his convalescence let him borrow a Bible and 
 turning to the third chapter ol' the E])istle of St. 
 I'aul to the Phillipians, second verse, and he will find 
 these words, " Beware of Dogs." 
 
 These two editors are now both dead. R. A. 
 James and H. P. Taj-lor reside in San Francisco, and 
 F. B. Hasweli in Oakland, California. 
 
 DAILY DE.M0CR.\TIC STANDARD. 
 
 The name indicates its politics. It was started 
 with money (§3,0(10) raised by subscription from 
 Democrats, the publishei"s being E. O. Hatch, and J. 
 F. Linthicum, the latter of whom was its editor, and 
 an able writer. Formerly he had occupied that 
 position upon the Marysvillo K.cpress. in California. 
 The Stanilard was an evening edition, its first num- 
 ber appearing on the tenth of August, 1863, There 
 were three daily Republican jiapers jiublislied in A'ir- 
 ginia at the time, that included the most brilliant 
 editorial and rejiortorial staff that has over graced 
 the profession in the State. There was consequently 
 but a poor show for ])ros])erity for this now enter- 
 prise, except that it came from party support. This 
 proved insuflficiont. and with the close of that year's 
 campaign it sus])cnded, the last issue bearing date 
 October 17th. 
 
 THE OCCIDENTAL. 
 
 A weekly jjaper, of a literary character, called the 
 Occidental, was started at \'irginia some time in the 
 year 1863, by Thomas Fitch. It was well printed 
 and well edited, but did not live to a very great age. 
 
 OOLIi lin.l. IIAII.V NEWS. 
 
 This paper, still in existence, and one of the most 
 important in the Stale, was started at the place its 
 name indicates October 12, 1863, by Philip Lynch 
 
324 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 and J. H. Mundall. It was a daily from the first 
 with twenty-four columns, on jiaper 21 x2S inches; 
 price, sixteen dollars per year, and the first number 
 contained eleven and a half columns of advertise- 
 ments. December 14th of that year a column was 
 added to each page, makinj; the size that is still main- 
 tained. 
 
 The business had increased to such an extent in 
 March. 1S(>4, that on the twenty-sixth of that month, 
 a supplement was added eontainini; twenty-six and 
 a half columns of advertisements. The otliee had 
 also become so jwpular as a place to drop in and 
 •)Ost the yi-ir.i in regard to its duties, that Mr. Lynch 
 editoriallj- stated that if they did not come less and 
 stay shorter, it would have the effect upon "the edi- 
 torial corps of this office — if not already damned to 
 the nether hell — of swamping their souls beneath a 
 load of profiinity that would sink thelireat Eastern." 
 
 In May. ISti.i. Hiram R. Hawkins jntblishes his 
 valedictory in the Xeics, stating that he had been 
 editorially connected with the paper since its start. 
 He was about to leave for Peru, where he was going 
 as United Slates Consul, and before starting the citi- 
 zens of Gold Hill presented him with a SOOii watch 
 and chain. He afterwards died in that country. 
 
 In the latter part of 1S67 Alf Doten became asso- 
 ciate editor, and February 13, 1872, Philip Lynch 
 died at Gold Hill. 
 
 The paper is now controlled and owned by the 
 News Publishing Company. The business manager, 
 W. P. Pratt, is a gentleman eminently fitted by 
 talents and urbanity for the position assigned him, 
 which for two years he has ably and successfully 
 filled. 
 
 ALF. DOTEN. 
 
 Alf l^'oten, the present managing editor, is a native 
 of Plymouth. Massachusetts, where he was born 
 July 21, 1829, his parents being full direct descei.d- 
 ants of the Pilgrim Fathers. In the earlier part of 
 his life he attended school, served an apprenticeship 
 as a carpenter, went one summer to the Grand 
 Banks of New Foundland, cod-fishing, and finally 
 shipping as a boy tar, sailed in l-'>40, March 18th, 
 for California. 
 
 He arrived in San Francisco October 2d of that 
 year, where he remained about one month and then 
 started for the gold tields. He visited \Vood's Creek, 
 and was one of the first at Shaw's Flat (December 
 25. 1S49), and eventually worked in all the princijial 
 diggings in the southern and central mines. In the 
 spring of 1850 he visited the northern mines, pros- 
 pected Doten's Bar. on the north fork of the Amer- 
 ican IJiver, and for six years remained in the pur- 
 suit of wealth as a placer gold miner. His opera- 
 tions in this line were suddenly terminated even- 
 tually by a cave of earth that buried him alive at 
 Fort John, in Amador County. He was dug out. 
 resuscitated, and sent to San Francisco for medical 
 treatment. After about one year he hired out as a 
 farm hand to a Luncha Plana rancher, and taking 
 
 kindly to the business, purchased a farm and spent the 
 next six yeai-s in fighting Spanish grants. 
 
 In June, 1863, he first visited Nevada, and located 
 in Como. about eighteen miles southeast from Vir- 
 ginia Citj-, where he tried carpentering, and then 
 mining, neither of which paid. While at Como, Mr. 
 Doten wrote letters to various news]iapei-s. including 
 the Como Stnfiue/ and Virginia Dni/i/ rnioti. the 
 vigor and compass of which led the proprietors of 
 the latter to secure his servii-os as a local editor. 
 He entered upon duty in that offii-e in December, 
 18t)4, where he remained as local editor for about one 
 and one-half years. His next engagement was with 
 the Tfi-ritorifi/ Enlfrprige for the same length of time, 
 since when he has been constantlj' in editorial har- 
 ness upon the Gold Hill Xeirg, of which he is now 
 managing editor. 
 
 In 1874. July 24lh, he was married in an open 
 boat out on the waters of I^ake Tahoe, since when, 
 with fair winds and^ a flowing sail, he has passed 
 along the river of life. hapi>ier by far than many of 
 those whose crat\s are freighted with gold. 
 
 He is a good manager, having managed during the 
 last few years to break nearly all of the bones in his 
 body, including both arms, both legs, and sundry 
 ribs. This has not been done all at once, but at dif- 
 ferent times, and he solemnly assured the writer, 
 that the only reason for cestJation in breakage, was 
 
HISTORY OF JOURNALISM IN NEVADA. 
 
 32.^ 
 
 duo wholly to the want of now material to operate I joined by H. C. Bennett, the Btubliorn and belliger- 
 
 on; that if ho had another log it would i;ot broken in 
 five minutoH. 
 
 Mr. Doten is a hearty, genial, wholo-souled char- 
 acter that it does one good to Bhake hands with. 
 As an editor ho is a hard wnrker, with logic, if 
 wanted; with wit, it' j>ertinent; with bard wenso all 
 the time, and sutficient caution to steer his j)aper 
 safely among political reefs. 
 
 NEVAD.V I'lONKER. 
 
 This was a (Jermuii semi-weekly Democratic paper, 
 subscription price nine dollars per j'ear. It was 
 started March 31, 18G4, at Virginia City, by.]. F. 
 Ilahiilen. The jiropriutor had been ))romised ?•'>()() 
 to hnist the Democratic slamlard. but received otilj- 
 $100 of the amount, and suspended publication in 
 October, after less than seven months existence. 
 
 THE DAILY OI.I) PILTE. 
 
 John K. Lovejoy & Co. issued the first number of 
 this ])a]>cr on the eighteenth of April, 18()-}. In si/,o 
 it was the same as the Ikmld, Union, or Ti;n-it(irial 
 Enterprise; in politics, lU^publican; and was published 
 Monday morning, and at evening for the balance of 
 the week, except Sunday. It was cm])hatically a 
 pointed issue, tho editor never letting an o])portunity 
 pass to make a pointed ])un with a vulgar turn. 
 Ijovejoy was an eccentric genius, hi repartee he 
 had no superior in the State; and those members of 
 tho profession who assailed him loft the field with- 
 out Hying colors. His eftort to establish a pajier 
 at Virginia was a failure, resulting not from a lack 
 on his part of ability to conduct a lively, readable 
 one, but from the fact that the ground was already 
 covered by his superiors in many respects. 
 
 September 8, 18t>4, he surrendered the Old, I'iule 
 to tho Democratic party, and retiring from its 
 tribal affiliations, became a rancher near Verdi, 
 where he died January 25, 1877. 
 
 The paper passed from Lovejoy to Travis Rhodes, 
 and eventually sus])endcd, when and why, or what 
 finally became of the material is to the writer 
 unknown. 
 
 MESSAIiE. 
 
 An association of printers under the firm name of 
 (ieo. W . Bloor & Co. started a paper by this name at 
 Gold Hill. May 2.'], ISIM, The (iold Hill X,:wh notes 
 its suB|)ension June 20lh of that year, and the mate- 
 rial of the office was taken to Carson Cit^-, where it 
 was used in starting the Car.son Post. 
 
 WASHOE DAILY EVENINIi HEKAI.D. 
 
 Tho beginning of July, 1864, saw Virginia City 
 supporting four dailj' papers, Enterprise, Union, Pio- 
 neer and the Old Piute, with the (iold Hill News just 
 over tho divide. Hut it was a kind of Fourth of 
 July j'ear for newspapers in Nevada, anyway, and ad- 
 ditional literary fire-works were not unacceptable to 
 tho masses, in view of the newsy and prosperous 
 condition of the Territory at that time. Thos. 
 Filch, the brilliant and erratic orator and writer, 
 41 
 
 ant, concluding there was still room, enlisted in tho 
 journalistic grand arm}' of that city, and fired their 
 first editorial rocket on tho third of July, 1864. 
 They named the ventiiro the Wnshoe Dnilij Evening 
 Herald; they proclaimed JJepublican principles with 
 vigor and eloquence ; they assailed thoir ojiponents 
 without scru]>lo and handled their enemies without 
 gloves. In three weeks Tom Fitch withdrew and in 
 five this rocket burned out. Hut, for the little time 
 it bla;!cd before the Virginians, thoro was a lively 
 time among tho Joves of tho press. The (fold Hill 
 News of July 27th, that year, mentioning this subject, 
 notes that: — 
 
 The Washoe Ihrahl ofTico is getting to be a very 
 livcl}' place, since tho ventilation of the (corrupt judi- 
 ciary- was commenced. Several gentlemen with 
 pistols visited the Herald editorial room last Satur- 
 day- fJul}' 23d), but no one was hurt. Vestcrdaj' 
 afternoon the jiroprii^tors of tho Enlerjtrise paid a 
 visit to their neighbor of the Herald, to induce him to 
 swallow — a whale, or something else — but tho Herail 
 wouldn't or couldn't, and the wliole matter ended in a 
 skirmish, in which both parties failed to be killed. 
 «***#« We understand that this morning 
 the Itendd editor had another beligcrant visitor in 
 the ]ierson of .Mr. ('urry, late owner of the Territo- 
 rial prison, who deniande<l the author of certain 
 statements reflecting upon the integrity of Mr. 
 (Jurry in connection with the prison art'airs. There 
 was no fight in this case, but liennett laid his hand 
 upon a very formidable derringer. 
 
 .NEVADA STAATS ZEITUNO. 
 
 This was the second (ferman ])aper started at Vir- 
 ginia Cit)% and its first issue bears date October 28, 
 1864. It was Republican in politics, Dr. H. M. Bien 
 biMng editor and proprietor. 
 
 AT THE CLOSE OK 1 8(!4. 
 
 On the ninth of January, 186."), tho tiold Hill News, 
 in recording the suspension of the Carson Daily 
 Evenimj Post, notes that il was published with the 
 material of the old Afesstige office, and that there had 
 been buried in the newspaper cemetery eight ]jubli- 
 cations in Storey CJounty. The following were six of 
 that eight: Fii-st, the Daily Dewocralic Standard, in 
 October, 1863; the Occident, time not known, but 
 between October 15, 1863, and May 17, 1864; the 
 Virginia Evening Bulletin, May 17, 1864; the Jfessaye, 
 Juno, 20, 1864; the Was/me Daily Ereitimj Herald, 
 August 8, 1864; and tho Nevada Pioneer, October 
 22, 1864. This leaves two unaccounted for, which 
 must have boon tho Stoats Zeilung, and tho Daily Old 
 Piute. 
 
 This left at tho beginning of 18(!5 but three papers 
 running in Storey County: the Territorial Enterprise, 
 the Virginia City Daily Union, and the tiold Hill 
 News. 
 
 TWO o'clock news. 
 
 This paper was started in Virginia City by John 
 r. Morrison, as a Republican sheet, on tho seventeenth 
 of April, 1865. No date can bo found of its sus- 
 pension. 
 
326 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 DEtTSCHE UNION. 
 
 Like the Two O'clock News, this paper made so light 
 an impression in its time, that no record seems left 
 regarding it. and a single sentence gives its history. 
 It was started in Virginia City by J. F. Hahnlen. as 
 a neutral paper, October IG, 186G, and the citizens 
 seem to have forgotten that it was ever published 
 there. 
 
 VIRGINIA EVENING CHRONICLE. 
 
 This was an independent sheet, and its first num- 
 ber, a dailj-, published by Kdwin F. Bean and John 
 1. Ginn, is dated October 8, 1872. On the twenty- 
 fifth of October Mr. Ginn ceased his connection 
 as a member of the firm, and became local editor. 
 The second of May following, H. C. Street becom- 
 ing a partner, the firm name was changed to Bean & 
 Street. July 14, 1873, C. C. Stevenson took Bean's 
 interest, and the publishing firm became Pratt & 
 Street, William R. Pratt representing the Stevenson 
 interest. On the twenty-eighth of the next month 
 C. C. Stevenson took the place of Street in the firm, 
 which was again changed, becoming Stevenson & 
 Pratt. At this time the size of the Chronicle was 
 thirty-two columns; on paper 23x28 inches. 
 
 In -May, 1874, John I. Ginn severed his connection 
 therewith editorially, and in September of that year 
 Mr. Stevenson ceased to be a partner; William P. 
 Pratt remaining pubiii^her and manager. The 
 Chronicle became a Democratic organ, and since has 
 continued advocating the principles of that party. 
 
 February 15, 1875, The Chronicle Printing Com- 
 pany published the paper, with R. U. Bogarl, editor 
 and manager. April 14lh of that year Sands W. 
 Forman and C. C. Carson assumed Bogart's duties, the 
 former as editor, the latter as business manager; 
 and the next month. May 24tb, D. E. MctJarthy 
 became sole proprietor, and has since remained such. 
 In September, 187G, it was enlarged to thirtj'-two 
 columns; but at present contains only twenty-eight, 
 printed on paper 23x32 inches. 
 
 Under its present management tho^C'Aromcfe has 
 become the leading Democratic paper in Nevada, 
 a position conceded to it by all; and its present 
 editorial staff, if equalled, is not surpassed as a whole 
 in the State. 
 
 It could occupy no other position under the con- 
 trol of as able a journalist as McCarthy, assisted by 
 such a man as Arthur McKwcn, who as an incisive, 
 analytic, or descriptive writer has few superiors on 
 the Pacific Coast, and in five years hence may have 
 none. 
 
 DENIS E. MCARTHY. 
 
 The following is a brief biograi)hy of the editor- 
 in-chief from the pen of one who has known him 
 for many years: — 
 
 Denis E. McCarthy, the editor and proprietor of 
 the Virginia Eoeniiu/ Chronicle, is a native of Mel- 
 bourne, Australia, where he was born February 22, 
 1841. In 1850 he came with his parents to San 
 Francisco. As is usually the case with men who 
 
 make their way in the world, his parents were not 
 wealthy, and at the age of ten he had to take off" his 
 jacket and earn his own bread. It can be truly 
 said of him, that he has climbed the journalistic 
 ladder from the verj' bottom. In 1851 he lent his 
 energies as fly-boj' to the presses of the .\foniing Bal- 
 ance and Eoening Picayune, in San Francisco, two jour- 
 nals long since dead, and even lost to memoiy. From 
 tly-boy be became the " devil" of the Eeenimj Journal 
 office, andnextacompositoron that paper and others. 
 In Januarj-, 18G], he came to Virginia City and, with 
 Joseph T. Goodman, bought the Territorial Enlcrjiriae 
 March 2d, then a slow weekly paper. The two 
 3-oung men converted the slow weekly into a live 
 dailj'. In 1SG5 .Mr. .Mct-'arthy, who had made a 
 snug fortune for so young a man, sold out to Mr. 
 Goodman, returned to San Francisco, and deserted 
 journalism for the stock market. But he was not a 
 success as a speculator, for within four months he 
 had lost his last dollar. By this time he was a hus- 
 band and the father of two children. He returned 
 to Virginia Citj- and engaged as foreman in what 
 but a few months before had boon his own job ottice. 
 In 18G9 he again left Virginia City and became 
 a reporter on the Sacramento Hfjiorler, where he 
 developed a journalistic capacity which attracted 
 the attention of the profession, and in 1870 he 
 was offered the position of city editor of the San 
 Francisco Chronicle. For two j'oars Mr. McCarthy 
 discharged the duties of this diflicult post with 
 energy and success. Ho left the cit}- editor's desk 
 in the Chronicle otfico to take the more responsible 
 
HISTORY OF JOURNALISM IN NEVADA. 
 
 327 
 
 place of managinj; editor, which he filled until 1874, 
 when he realized another fortune through his foro- 
 eight in anticipating the discovery of the "Big 
 Bonanza," and conseiiuent purchase of stock at a low 
 figure. It speedily rose in prico and he gladly, no 
 doubt, dropped the drudgery of daily newspaper 
 work. 
 
 A true journalist, however, cannot long remain 
 contented out of harness. Despite the hard and 
 constant toil which the profession involves, it has a 
 fascination which one who has felt it can seldom 
 resist. Mr. McCarthy was not one of the few who 
 are able to bid the business good-bye, and although 
 having mean.s enough to have enabled him to lead a 
 life of leisure, had he so wished, he returned to Vir- 
 ginia City and bought the Eceniny Chronicle. At 
 that time the paper was in a dying condition — 
 indeed it had never boon self-sustaining — but within 
 six mouths after its purchase by him it had risen 
 from the third rank among Storey County journals 
 to the first; and, within the year, had achieved a 
 circulation greater than had ever before, or has 
 since, been reached by any newspaper published in 
 Nevada. 
 
 The success of the Chronicle is not surprising. Mr. 
 McCarthy is confessedly one of the best newspaper 
 managers on the Pacific Coast, as well as one of her 
 most thoroughly trained journalists. He is a man 
 of strong convictions, a firm believer in the Demo- 
 cratic theory of government, and competent to ex- 
 pound it. As a writer his .style is peculiarly forcible; 
 clearness, earnestness, brevity and sound common 
 sense are the characteristics which make it recog- 
 nized. He has the gift of seeing the heart of a 
 subject, and wastes no words in making it plain to 
 his readers. He has also the true journalistic in- 
 stinct for news, and knows how to present it in a fresh 
 and lively form. Mr. MeCarthj'. notwithstanding 
 his scant schooling in boyhood, is a man of educa- 
 tion. He has read widely and much, and as he has 
 had no help in gathering his knowledge, it is all his 
 own, and he knows just where to put his hand on it 
 when he needs it. Personally, he is like his editorial 
 style — plain, direct, kindly and eminently sensible. 
 An utter absence of pretense, decision of manner, 
 great freedom in speaking his mind and unflinching 
 fidelitj- to his convictions of right, form the founda- 
 tion of a strong character whose ruggedness is re- 
 lieved by a n:.tive humor, warm-hearted generosity 
 and a keen enjoyment of social pleasures. 
 
 Within the past year Mr. McCarthy has made 
 investments in Mexican mining property, which 
 promise to soon bring him a large fortune. It is to 
 be hoped that should his ex])ectations in this regard 
 be realized he will not relinquish the Chronicle, for 
 his departure would be a serious loss to Nevada 
 journalisn). 
 
 ARTHLR n. M EWEN. 
 
 This gentleman is the chief editorial writer of the 
 Virginia Evening Chronicle, and is conceded to be one 
 of the most brilliant and forcible writers on the 
 Pacific Coast. He was born in Stranrare, Scotland, 
 in 1851. Came to America in 1853, and, to California 
 in 1868. There was plenty of work ottering just 
 then (pick and shovel work on the railroad between 
 Oakland and Sacramento), and young McEwen effected 
 a six months' engagement with the contractor at 
 Livermore Pass. The experience thus gained was 
 not profitless, as it supplied the young man with 
 material for a sprightly and amusing lecture on 
 •'Hard and Kasy Shoveling." 
 
 In 1870, Mr. McKwen, then only nineteen years of 
 age, drifted into journalism, beginning as an occa- 
 sional writer for religious weeklies in San Francisco, 
 and profane dailies in Oakland. Having accumulated 
 suilicient means to defray the cost of a year's board 
 and lodging, he, in 1873, entered the State University 
 at Berkeley, t'alifornia, and began to write for the 
 secular press. One of his contributions to the San 
 Francisco CA»-ontc& attracted the particular attention 
 of the managing editor, who sent for the j-oung 
 student and had an interview with him. The result 
 was that Jlr. McEwen abandoned the classic shades 
 of Berkeley for a permanent engagement as a mem- 
 ber of the local stat^'. Since that period he has been 
 employed upon several of the leading newspapers of 
 California and Nevada, always commanding a first- 
 class position. 
 
 Mr. McEwen's solidcst claim to rank as a leading 
 man in his profession, however, rests upon the record 
 he has made on the Virginia Eceitiny Chronicle. In 
 January, 1879. he was engaged as special correspond- 
 ent for that paper during the session of the State 
 Legislature in Carson City. A strong effort was 
 made by the best members of the Legislature to 
 enact some laws which it was hoped would relieve 
 the people from what were generally regarded as 
 oppressive exactions of the railroad companies. Mr. 
 McEwen entered with all the ardor of his zealous 
 nature into the crusade, and by his able and fearless 
 letters aroused the jicoplo of the entire State to such 
 an extent, that allhougli the battle was for the time 
 I lost, many of the faithless representatives were com- 
 pelled to leave the State by their indignant con- 
 stituents. 
 
 Mr. McEwen's management of the Chronicle edi- 
 torial department throughout the last Presidential 
 campaign stamped him as one of the most vigorous 
 I political writers in America. For the first time in 
 her history the electoral vole of the State was given 
 to the Democratic caiMruiatc, and the leading Demo- 
 crats of Storey County showed thoir appreciation of 
 Mr. McEwen's great services by presenting him 
 (through the Chairman of the State Central Com- 
 mittee) with a costlj' and elegant watch and chain. 
 Mr, McEwen is now but thirty years of ago. To his 
 natural gifts of keen common sense, fine powers of 
 
328 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 language and manly integrity, are added untiring 
 industry and studious habits. Those who know hira 
 best, predict of AriLur .McEwen, that in a very tew 
 years he will have acquired a national reputation as 
 one of the best thinkers and writers of his time. 
 
 THE D.ilLY INDEPENDENT. 
 
 This was a paper started in the interests of Adolph 
 Sutro, at Virginia City, on the first' of June, 1874, 
 John I. (rinn being its editor, but afterwards removed 
 to Lyon County. 
 
 CO .M STOCK D.\1LY RECORD. 
 
 This was a daily issue, started by \V. Frank Stew- 
 art, in September, 1876, at Virginia Cit}', and lived 
 one week. 
 
 THE PEESS OF WASHOE COUNTY. 
 
 W.iSHOE TIMES. 
 
 The pioneer paper of Washoe Countj' was a 
 weekl3- started at Washoe Citj% by G. W. Derickson, 
 with Gen. James Allen as editor, on the eighteenth 
 of October, 18G2. It was a twenty-four column 
 paper, 21x28 inches, price five dollars per jear. 
 Republican in politics. On the twentj'-third of Jan- 
 uary, 18G3, ilr. Derickson was shot and killed bj" H. 
 F. Swayze, and General Allen became jjroprietor on 
 the thirteenth of the ensuing month, remaining so 
 until his death, October 3l8t of the same year. Gen- 
 eral Allen died suddenly while attending the first 
 State Fair at Carson City, and B. F. .Derickson con- 
 tinued the publication of the Times as administrator 
 of Allen's estate. Judge C. C. Goodwin became its 
 editor, retaining that ])Osition until it passed, bj' sale, 
 into the hands of John K. Lovejoy, who changed its 
 name on becoming proprietor, December 12, 1863, to 
 
 THE OLD PAH UTAH. 
 
 The jjolitics of the Old rah Utuh was Republican, 
 as had been that of the Times, a.\\d it became a very 
 lively sheet under the new management. Mr. Love- 
 joy was a relative of the Lovejoys of Illinois, the 
 great abolitionists of early days, one of whom, Owen, 
 was killed at Alton, Illinois, because of his Free Soil 
 sentiments. No change was made in the price or 
 form of the j)a])er, but some of its editorials and 
 locals had a peculiar turn to them, that would at 
 this day exclude the sheet from the homes of 
 respectable families. In 1864, April 16th, Mr. Love- 
 joy sold the remaining half of the Puk Utah to E. B. 
 Wilson, the other hall' having been previously dis- 
 posed of to William Gregory, and moving to Vir- 
 ginia, started the Duihj Old Piu/e. 
 
 The new Washoe firm dropj)ed the old name and 
 hoisted in place of it at the head of I heir columns 
 that of 
 
 WASHOE WEEKLY STAR. 
 
 Each change of firm with that pioneer Washoe 
 paper seemed to develoj) a new name by which to 
 call it, and the old Times had come at last by trans- 
 
 migration to be known as a Sfnr in the constellation 
 oi' Nevada newspapers. No change was made in 
 size or price, but on the evening of the seventh of May 
 Wilson became sole proprietor, and on the twenty- 
 eighth of January, 1865, this Utai- dropped from the 
 journalistic heavens, and the old name assumed. 
 Thus, bj- an after-birth, doomed to a brief exist- 
 ence, came upon the stage the second 
 
 WASHOE WEEKLY TIMES. 
 
 With an unbroken consistency, this change of head- 
 light indicated a change also in the proprietors, and 
 De Lashmutt A Co. appear as owners, the names of 
 V. B. DeLashmutt, J. G. Law and Charles S. Clark, 
 being given as the members of that firm, the latter 
 having editorial charge. July 17, 1865, Law retired, 
 and August 26th, Prentice & Co. became proprietors, 
 with J. C. Lewis as owner of two-thirds and editor 
 under the new arrangement. Business called Mr. 
 Lewis to California, and in his absence Prentice con- 
 fessed judgment upon a demand against the office, 
 and about November 20, 1865, it was seized by the 
 Sheriff. This forced a suspension, and thus ended 
 the career of the pioneer paper of Washoe Countj'. 
 
 THE EASTERN SLOPE. 
 
 J. C. Lewis, Esq., finding himself out in the cold, 
 purchased the material of the old Carson Post, and 
 started the above-named paper December 9, 1865, 
 at Washoe City. It was a weekly, and in all 
 mechanical ways, as well as in size and price, was 
 a reproduction of the deceased Washoe Weekly 
 Times. In the first issue Mr. Lewis, in reply to 
 some not over-friendly mention of his undertaking 
 that had appeared in the Virginia Union, stated 
 that: — 
 
 I'ersonally we take no offense to the Uuiou's com- 
 ments on our entei'prise, but in behalf of the cred- 
 itors of the institution, we must protest. They, ])oor 
 devils ! were so unfortunate as not to be in at the 
 divide. Mr. V. A. Prentice divided the Washoe 
 Times. ])utting one-h;>lf in one pocket and the other 
 half in the other, and is now, we believe, the lucky 
 ]K)ssessor of the entire material, jiress, type and 
 furniture, as well as the dues of the office — in fact 
 everything connected therewith, save and except 
 the liabilities of the office, which he generously 
 allows the holders to continue to hold. 
 
 The EasleiH Slope was conducted with vigor and 
 success until the decline of Washoe City, and the 
 sudden growth of Reno led the proprietor to remove 
 to the new town and issue the 
 
 RENO CRESCENT. 
 
 On the fourth of July, 1868, appeared the first 
 nunilier, it being the first )>a])er ]tublished in the town 
 of Reno, then but a few months old. From October 
 22d to November 12, 1870, the Crescent was a daily. 
 January 2, 1873, W. C. Lewis, son of the pro])rietor, 
 became editor. March 31, 1874, it was again changed 
 from a weekly to a dailj', and in 1875 the paper 
 passed into the hands of J. C. Dow, who changed its 
 name and politics to the 
 
A ^. (P^ 
 
HISTORY OF JOURNALISM IN NEVADA. 
 
 329 
 
 DAILY NEVADA DEMOCKAT. 
 
 Mr. Dow's first issue of tho Demorrat bears date 
 June 30, 1SV5, but his coiiueetion witli the paper was 
 short lived, and^ in a few months, the establishment 
 was .sold to Henry .Mitchell, who running it in debt, 
 publication ceased. The material was stored for 
 about a year, when it was purchased and used in the 
 publication of the 
 
 RKNO DAILY RECORD. 
 
 The first nuiDber of this sheet was issued .Mondaj', 
 August 5, 1878, by U. A. Waldo, W. W. Ellis and B. 
 M. Barnc}', under the firm name of " H. A. Waldo & 
 Co." It began with tweiifj- eolunms, and on Septem- 
 ber 9th was increased to twenty-four. September 
 30th the Record Publishing Company, E. F. Reep, 
 manager, obtained control, and November 1, 1878, 
 8. F. Hoole, becoming sole editor and proprietor, 
 soon moved the material to Bodio, California, where 
 it now is used in the publication of the Bodie News. 
 
 NEVADA STATE JOURNAL. 
 
 J. G. Law & Co. commenced the publication of a 
 weekly twentj'-four-column paper at Reno, under the 
 above name, Wednesday, November 23, 1870. The 
 associates of .Mr. T^aw were W. II. H. Fellows and E. 
 A. Littlefield. August 2tJ, 1871, tho interest of Mr. 
 Littlefieid, by sale, passed to his partners. Febru- 
 arj- 5, 1873, the j)ubiication was changed to a semi- 
 weeklj-, and it continued such until April 1, 1874, 
 when the change to a dail}- and woekl3' was made, 
 and has continued until the present time. 
 
 June 15, 1S72, J. U. Law sold to C. C. Powniiig, 
 and tho firm became Fellows & Powning, until Sep- 
 tember 5, 1874, when the latter purchased the for- 
 mer's interest. Thus Mr. Powning, who had entered 
 the office as " devil," became sole proprietor and 
 editor. 
 
 Tho Journal under Mr. Powning's management in 
 politics is Republican, and has attained and main- 
 tained an active and substantial position among the 
 leading jjapers of the Slate, where it is read with 
 interest, because of tho solid, logical tone of its edi- 
 torials, that are known to have weight in influencing 
 action in Nevada. Wo here insert a brief but in- 
 teresting sketch of 
 
 HON. C. C. POWNING, 
 
 Who was born in tho village of Jeflferson, near Hazel 
 Green, (Jrant County, Wisconsin, on the twenty-third 
 of February, 1852. 
 
 He was left an orphan at the age of three years. 
 He remained in Jefl'erson with his grandmother until 
 1803, when he came to California. In 1808 he removed 
 to Nevada, and permanently located at Reno in 
 1870, filling the ])()siti<)n of '-devil" on the Necwhi Silale 
 JourtKtl, a i)aper started just at that time. 
 
 In 1872 he became a half owner in the concern, 
 and in 1874 its sob; jn'oprielor. 
 
 In 1878 he was elected State Senator from Washoe 
 county, by a majority of thirty-seven over both his 
 competitors on the Democratic and Workingmen's 
 ticket. 
 
 Although the youngest man ever elected to tho 
 Nevada Senate, ho at once took a front rank among 
 its members, and by his recognized ability main- 
 tained that position. As Senator he came to tho 
 front in the great question of the future — the contest 
 of the people against monopolj-. As an orphan, 
 fighting his way in tho world, dependent upon his 
 own resources, and inspired to a noble ambition by 
 his own genius, he has grown to manhood void of the 
 prejudices of a narrow circle or sectarian influence, 
 and entered the field of politics and legislation 
 untrammeled but by principles of justice and right. 
 He entered the field at a fortunate time, and with a 
 clear head struck the right course. The old dogmas 
 which had disturbed jjolitics had been swept into the 
 rubbish of the past with the questions of pope and 
 king, church supremacy. State rights, free trade, 
 slavery, and the like, and before '• j'oung America" 
 appears the mighty strife of the common classes — 
 the great industrial bodj' of the Republic, its stability 
 in peace and its strength in war — and the aggregated 
 wealth of soulless incorpations. Tho j-oung legis- 
 lator saw his opportunity, and improved it by hastily, 
 abl)' and energetically taking up the cause of the 
 people. His State is overridden by the moneyed 
 I kings, who rule it more tyrannically, treat the people 
 more eontemptuouslj', exact tribute more arbitrarily, 
 and assume more ostentatious greatness and power 
 than ever did potentate ruling by right divine. In 
 this field, fighting for the rights of the people, he 
 ; gave manj- trenchant blows, and now a ])osition 
 ' that promises him a life of usefulness and future 
 fame. While zealous in the interests of his county, 
 he extended his efforts in the welfare of his State, 
 and some of tho most beneficial Acts of tho Legisla- 
 ture owed their success to his cfibrts. 
 
 Without the advantages of a liberal education and 
 influential friends, alone, unaided, he has attained a 
 j position gratifying alike to himself and his friends, 
 I and presenting an instance of that success which 
 is possible under our institutions, and which is 
 attained by persistent application and untiring 
 energy, involving years of toil and study. His 
 name bids fair to be inscril)ed upon the roll of those 
 who will be honored l>y foremost ])ositions in Ne- 
 vada's future history. 
 
 ItKNO ENENINll (lA/KTTK. 
 
 This is a Republican journal of wide circulation 
 and acknowledged rank, published ovory evening at 
 Reno, to which a large eight- page edition is added 
 once a week. The first number of the Gm<iti: was 
 printed on tho twonty-eighth of iLarch, 1870, in a 
 little office on ('ommercial Row, opposite the Depot 
 Hotel. John !•'. Alexander, a recent graduate of tho 
 University of California, only twenty-three years of 
 age, being joined by .Mr. Ilaj'den, started the enter- 
 prise, and achieved merited success from the start. 
 The young man Alexander had been a resident of 
 Nevada since 185!t, having come with his parents 
 when a child but five yeare old. 
 
330 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE^OF NEVADA. 
 
 Ill 1877 the establishment was moved into its 
 present quarters, west of the plaza, and the eight- 
 page weekly edition was started in April of that 
 year. 
 
 The partnership between Alexander and llayden 
 finally ceased, the former becoming sole owner, 
 September 2, 1878; and after enlarging the paper, 
 sold out to R, L. Fulton and \V. F. Edwards on 
 the nineteenth of November, that year. Later, 
 Mr. Fulton became, and still remains, the sole 
 owner and publisher of the Guzette. This paper 
 has been Republican in politics, with sufficient inde- 
 pendence to prevent its approving measures simply 
 because they emanated from the party; has advo- 
 cated reforms advantageous to the county, and 
 exerted an influence beneficial to the State. 
 
 THE PLAINUEALER. 
 
 The first issue of the Plaindealer, at Reno, was 
 in March, 1881, with M. H. Ilogan editor and pro- 
 prietor. It is a four-column, eight-page weekly, 
 and is printed on paper 23x32 inches. It advocates 
 the principles of the National Greenback party. 
 
 THE PREj<S of white PINE COUNTY. 
 Following the great mining excitement attending 
 the discovery of the Hidden Treasure and Eber- 
 hardt mines of Treasure Hill, in 18G8, came the 
 printer with press and type; and on the twenty- 
 sixth day of December, 1868, the first number of 
 the White Fine News was published by Messrs. W. 
 H. Pitchford and Robert W. Simpson. The press 
 and material, as well as the publishers and printers, 
 had come from the Reese River Reveille office, at 
 Austin, though having first been used in printing 
 the Silver Bend Reporter. The iVews began life as a 
 weekly, with six columns to the page, independent 
 in polities, but devoted to the development of the 
 mining interests of the immediate vicinity. The 
 office was one of the earliest buildings erected in 
 Treasure City, and the News had the honor of being 
 the most -elevated" daily paper in the world, the 
 locality having an elevation of over 9,000 feet above 
 the level of the sea. 
 
 On the summit of this bleak and storm-driven 
 peak flourished a city of 5,000 inhabitants, busy 
 in search of other bonanzas like the extraordinary 
 one that had attracted them hither. Here was a 
 good field for a newBpai)cr, and the News pros- 
 pered. Myron Angel, I'ormerly of the Reveille, 
 became the editor, and in February the paper was 
 advanced to a triweekly, and in March to a daily, 
 with John I. Ginn as "local." In April, George \V. 
 Cassidy, now Member of Congress, succeeded Mr. 
 Ginn, and thus became attached to the ])ress of Ne- 
 vada. Among the citizensof this city in the clouds was 
 an experienced and distinguished editor and printer, 
 Mr. William J, Forbes, formerly of the UumhohU 
 Register, and late of the Virginia I'respass, who 
 
 had left the profession in disgust, saying he was 
 tired of working to please one in twenty ; he 
 would now work for the other nineteen ; and 
 therefore had established a saloon, thinking sell- 
 ing whisky a shorter road to wealth than publish- 
 ing a newspaper. But "once an editor, always an 
 editor." it is said, and Forbes was uneasy out of 
 his old vocation, so in May, 1809, he leased the 
 News, and became its editor, and in July pur- 
 chased a half interest. The paper was enlarged 
 to nine columns, which size it retained until 1S73, 
 and was distinguished for its fine typographical 
 appearance as well as the ability of its editorial man- 
 agement. In January', 1870, the News was removed 
 to Hamilton, which place had been made the county 
 seat of White Pine County. Under Mr. Forbes' con- 
 trol the paper was a pronounced and active Republi- 
 can advocate, being noted as a political power. In 
 1873, A. Skillman and Fred Elliott purchased the 
 office, reduced the size of the paper, and changed 
 its political character to Democratic. From this 
 date the News experienced many vicissitudes. 
 Skillman & Elliott continued the publication until 
 1875, when Mr. Elliott retired from the firm, 
 the senior partner maintaining the paper as a tri- 
 weekly and as a weekly until November, 1878, when 
 its publication was suspended, Mr. Skillman trans- 
 ferring his capital and energies to the Sentinel, in the 
 neighboring county of Eureka. Several efforts were 
 made to revive the News at Hamilton, but the issue 
 of December 23, 1880, says the material of the office 
 will be removed to Cherry Creek, where the paper 
 will be published hereafter, Mr. W. 11. Forrest and 
 Mr. W. Jj. Davis being the proprietors. 
 
 THE INLAND E.MPIRE. 
 
 The promising field of White Pine, as it appeared 
 in the fall and winter of 18G8-C9, was very inviting 
 to the enterprising journalist, and two experienced 
 and skilled gentlemen of the craft, Mr. James J. 
 Ayers, formerly of the San Francisco Call, now of 
 the Ijos Angeles Express, and Mr. C. A. V. Putnam, 
 at present connected with the Terriloriul Enterprise, 
 prepared themselves with one of the most complete 
 outfits ever put in a printing-office outside of the large 
 commercial cities, and by great labor and expense 
 transported it to Hamilton in February, 1869, and in 
 .March following issued the first number of the 
 D(iili) Iiihriid Empire. This was a large, handsome 
 paper and well conducted, but with the decline in the 
 " White Pine excitement," the roseate hue of the 
 promised wealth and tame faded into sombre colors, 
 the enthusiastic publishers succumbed to their fate, 
 and the [idtmd Empire ceased to bo, the last publica- 
 tion being in Aj)ril, 1S70. Rut the end was not yet. 
 The News being a powerful political element on the 
 Kopublican side, the Democrats, wishing to counter- 
 act its influence, ))urcha,sed the material of the /jt/n»«f 
 Empire, and revived its publication in the guberna- 
 torial campaign of 1870, under the charge of G. W. 
 Cassidy. The result of the campaign was the election 
 
\\/Sfy?^i£^r~ 
 
 William mjoney 
 
HISTORY OF JOURNALISM IN NEVADA. 
 
 331 
 
 of L. R. Bradley, G-overnor, whose money had been 
 chiefl}- instrumental in revivinj^ the i)ai)er. The 
 objec-t aceompiifshed. the paper ceased, and soon after 
 the material was sold to H. C. Patrick, who removed 
 it to Stockton, California. 
 
 THE EVENINC! TELEURA.M. 
 
 The rivalry between the While J'iue A^ews utTreas- 
 ure Citj', and the Inlmul Hmju're at Hamilton — both 
 large and able morninu; pa])er8 — induced Forbes of 
 the lYeion to enter into an arrani^ement with Pat Hol- 
 land, who had been the carrier of the lalanil Empire 
 and become dissatisfied with his business relations 
 with that establishment, whereby Holland should 
 ostensibly be the publisher of an evening paper to 
 be circulated in Hamilton, hoping thereby to lessen 
 the circulation and advertising of the Empire. In 
 accordance with this arrangement, the Evening Tele- 
 ffram sprang into life in the winter of 1869, with Pat 
 Holland as proprietor. \V. J. Forbes wrote its 
 " heavy" editorials, while Fred Hart tried his maiden 
 pen upon the " locals." It was printed in the office 
 of the White Pine News on Treasure Hill, and ceased 
 its existence when the Intmul Emj/ire succumbed. 
 
 THE SHER.MANTOWN REPORTER. 
 
 In the early part of ISiU), E. F. McElwain and U. 
 E. Allen began the publication of the Hhermantown 
 Reporter, with Wm. H. Clipperton as editor, which 
 was printed with the material and press formerly used 
 by the Mountain Cluimpion at Belmont. Subse- 
 quently it came into the possession of A. Skillman 
 and G. A. Brier, but had only a short existence. 
 The material and press were moved bj' Skillman k 
 Co. to Eureka, and there used in starting the Senti- 
 nel. The press was a peripatetic one, a small Wash- 
 ington, and had been in use in the publication of the 
 Ni)<' Comity Xeii;s as well as the Moantain Choiiipioti, 
 within the knowledge of the writer hereof, and was 
 an ancient affair when he first saw it. The Carson 
 Appeal o( l\i\.y 1!), 187(1, says: '• G. A. Brier, editor 
 of the Shermantown Reporter, dropped dead aljout 
 three o'clock this afternoon, in the office of Wells, 
 Fargo & Co., at Shermantown." 
 
 THE SCHEI.r, CREEK PROSPECT, 
 
 Chronologically, comes next in the list of White Pine 
 newspapers. In 1872 the mines of the Schell Creek 
 range of mountains gave great ])roinise of wealth, 
 and the village of Schellbourne grew into impor- 
 tance. As every thrifty village of the Silver State 
 must have a paper, Messrs. Forbes A: Pilchford, of 
 the While Pine News, at Hamilton in the same countj', 
 supplied the demand, and established a six-column 
 weekly, calling it the Schell Creek Prospect, issuing 
 the first number in July, 1872. This continued for 
 a period of six months, when, in January, \>>~\i, the 
 office was abandoned, the building removed, and the 
 press, type, cases, etc., left exposed to the mercy of 
 the elements. Some of it was subsequently gathered 
 together and moved to Battle Mountain, in Lan- 
 der County, where Mr. Forbes produced his Measure 
 for Measure. 
 
 THE WARD MINER. 
 
 In the historj- of the press a paper is a paper, 
 whether it be the size of a postal card or a blanket 
 sheet. The Ward Miner, as it appeared in the fall of 
 187(!, was neither of these, but was literally a 7x0 
 paper, being about the size of a sheet of notepaper, 
 and published by Mark W. Musgrove. The wealth 
 of the Martin White mine, and the rich croppings 
 of many quartz ledges in the neighborhood, had 
 attracted a large population to Ward, and the field 
 seemed promising for a newspaper. Musgrove was 
 not an experienced journalist, and his paper did 
 not prosper exceedingly, therefore ho transferred 
 his office and his " good-will " to Mr. Robert W. 
 Simpson, one of the pioneers of journalism in 
 Nevada, who then established 
 
 THE W.\Rr) REFLEX. 
 
 Issuing his first number April 1!', 1877, making it a 
 handsome paper with five columns to the page, which 
 appears the favorite size in the mining regions of 
 Nevada. The Reflex is independent in politics, 
 though with Democratic proclivities, ardently devot- 
 ing itself to the interest of its section. 
 
 R. IV. Simpson, 
 
 Although young in j-ears, is one of the pioneers of 
 Nevada, having commenced his work on the Reese 
 River Reveilk in 18(J8, then a stalwart lad fresh from 
 Missouri. In 18t)8, in company with W. H. Pitch- 
 ford, he established the White Pine News, and in 1871, 
 he became ])art owner of the Pioche h'ecord. in which 
 paper ho remained until moving to Ward, in 1877. 
 As a pioneer of the State so is he a pioneer in 
 journalism, filling e\iprj- jiosition in the routine of 
 newsjiaper- making faithfully and well. From his 
 advent into the "Snowy State" until the present he 
 has not crossed its boundaries, and with the ex- 
 ception of a few brief intervals when some mining 
 
332 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE 01' NEVADA. 
 
 Bpeculation made him a millionaire, or attracted by 
 bright prospects to develop some promising claim he 
 has kei)t his nasal organ in close proximity to the 
 space-box. As a faithful friend, honorable gentleman 
 and deserving journalist, he has no superior. 
 
 THE CHERRY CREEK INDEI'E.NDENT. 
 
 On the first of January, 1878, the first number of 
 the Cherry Creek Imkpendenf was issued bj- Mr. B. 
 M. Barnej-, who continued it about two months, 
 when he sold to A. V. Hoyt, who ran it about one 
 year, when it ceased to be. The pai)er was, with 
 five-column pages. Independent Democratic in poli- 
 tics, and had a circulation of about 250 copies. 
 
 In the review of the press of Nevada many reflec- 
 tions will arise, and diverse opinions be formed. To 
 some it will appear as if newspapers have been 
 born but to die, and that their founders either were 
 wanting in common judgment, or conducted their 
 enterprise with a want of common ability. To them 
 it has appeared as the graveyard of papers, and the 
 purgatory of publishers. But Nevada came into 
 being, and has existed under peculiar conditions. 
 Here was a broad expanse of unex])lored and 
 unknown regions, which, upon investigation, proved 
 of unusual character, and developed resources of a 
 kind previously unknown to Americans. Excite- 
 ment, the desire for adventure, and consequent 
 "rushes" attended explorations and development, 
 and, with true American enterprise, the press, the 
 school, and the church quickly followed in the wake. 
 As towns built up the newspapers appeared, and as 
 the miners moved on there went the printing 
 material. The conditions were far difterent from 
 the staid farming regions of the Mississippi or Cali- 
 fornia valleys, where the reproductive soil contains a 
 perennial resource, and where a paper once planted 
 maj- grow with the crops. If Nevada counts its 
 hundred journals, once flourishing as so manj' dis- 
 tinct papers, then enterprise has exceeded judgment; 
 but, generally, they are but changes of name and of 
 location. However, if often failing, the press of the 
 State has been peculiar from its superiority. For 
 this it is distinguished. Compared with the papers 
 of other States, counties or towns of equal popula- 
 tion throughout the Republic, Ihey are jiroudly 
 superior. Established in a period of excitement, 
 they seem to maintain a fever heat and constant 
 strain throughout iheir career. As the most enter- 
 prising of a people are the jjioneers, so must editors 
 and publishers maintain the front rank. In Nevada 
 their record has been most honorable, and to editors 
 and publishers is, more than to any other element, due 
 the progress the State has made, the maintaining of 
 law and order, the exposition of the resources, and 
 the procuring of the ca])ital for their develojiment. 
 No class have done better work, or more unselfishly, 
 and none have been so poorlj- remunerated. Many 
 of those who have advanced to wealth, have profited 
 
 by public offico, sold town lots, mining claims, main- 
 tained business, or strutted under titles, have owed 
 it all to the services of the local paper, and at the 
 same time falsclj- attribute their success to their 
 own wisdom and importance. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 HISTORY OF THE BAR AND BENCH OF NEVADA. 
 
 [hV HON. C. N. IUKKIS.] 
 
 First Case in the Territory — Probate Court of Carson County — 
 First Se.ssi"n of the Court — The First Criminal Case— First 
 Ailmissinii to tlie Bar — Unite<l States Di.strict < 'ourt — Judge 
 Druniiniiiid Vacates — Drummoud .Succeeded by Cradlel>augh 
 — Aihnissiou of Attorneys — A Grand Jury Impaneled — 
 The First Indictments — Court Expenses for the Term — 
 Special Term of Court — Judge Cradlebaugh Sui>erse<K<l — 
 Unpopular Indictments ^ Nev.ida Territory Judiciary — 
 .Juilge Mott .Succeeded by Judge North — The One-lx-dge and 
 Two-Ledge Theories — Changes of Prosecuting Attorneys — 
 Homily Upon Nevada Courts — First State Judges Klected — 
 Later Supreme .Judges — Attorney (Generals of Nevada — 
 Judicial Districts of the State — District .Judges Elected — 
 ■ludicial Districts Reorganized, and District .Judges Subse- 
 quently Elected — Most Upright and Honorable Judges — 
 Slenibers of the Bar of Nevad.a — A Retrospective View. 
 
 The history of the courts, judges, lawyers, and 
 litigation within the territory now embraced by the 
 State of Nevada, extends back to dates nearlj- cov- 
 ered with the first emigration across the plains to 
 California. 
 
 The Jformon assertion of jurisdiction was not 
 strictly limited to anj^ confines short of the sur- 
 veys which formed the eastern boundary of Cali- 
 fornia, although it was not much earlier than 1853 
 when the advanced settlements of the Mormons 
 began to dot the valleys skirting the easterly decliv- 
 ities of the Sierra. For the first year or two the 
 Spanish members that occupied the vast wilds that 
 extend from Salt Lake to the Sierra Nevada. re(|uired 
 little or nothing in the way of regularlj^ organized 
 judicial tribunals. There was room for all, without 
 any clash of possessionarj- or legal rights, and the 
 powerful motive and necessity for mutual protection 
 subserved all such purposes of civil government as 
 were not directly administered by the church hier- 
 archy at Salt Lake. 
 
 FIRST CASK IN THE TERRITORY. 
 
 It seems, however, that in 1853 one E. L. Barnard 
 was acting as Justice of the Peace, and on March 
 14th of that year the first legal cause was brought 
 before him bj' John Reese against Woodward & Co., 
 by attachment, for the recoveiy of StiTS. The full 
 particulars of this case will bo found on page 34, 
 and is simply mentioned bore to show when the 
 wheels of the jtidicial tribunal were first jtut in 
 motion. 
 
 PROBATE COURT OF CAHSC iN COUNTY. 
 
 In 1855 the Probate Court in and for Carson 
 County, Utah Territorj-, was held by Orson Hyde, 
 the Probate Judge, at the Mormon settlement 
 located where (ienoa now stands. The County of 
 Carson, then recently organized, was well nigh 
 
332 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE 01' NEVADA. 
 
 speculation made him a millionaire, or attracted by 
 bright pro8i)ect8 to develop some promising claim he 
 has kept his nasal organ in close proximitj- to the 
 space-bo.x. As a faithful friend, honorable ffent'— 
 and deserving journalist, he h->- - 
 
 by public office, sold town lots, m' 
 tained business, or strut •'■ ' 
 it all ♦- " 
 
 lO 
 
 ■r 
 
 ( 
 the 
 M. 
 wh 
 yea 
 five 
 tics 
 
 
 culalion of abou' 
 
 ' 11 A F 'i 
 HISTORY OF THEBAE AMj Bf-slv-i.^ Ur NEVADA. 
 
 t*- Oourt of Parsnn County — 
 
 ■ ' •• ""'-St 
 
 Will ap] 
 
 'triditions vf- 
 
 1 
 
 tioi 
 son 
 bor 
 wai 
 ent 
 it h 
 pur 
 bcii 
 He) 
 unk 
 of 1 
 kin< 
 mei 
 "ru: 
 and 
 
 BCh( 
 
 As 1 
 
 the 
 
 mat 
 
 the 
 
 forii 
 
 perc 
 
 ma> 
 
 hiiii 
 
 tine 
 
 but, 
 
 loca 
 
 Stat 
 
 this 
 
 of o 
 
 lion IhniUL' 
 
 superior. K. 
 
 they Heem to maintain •■! 
 
 stra' 
 
 pris _ 
 
 and publitthers m i 
 
 thci 
 
 and 
 
 the 
 
 law 
 
 (ho 
 
 No. 
 
 and 
 
 oftl 
 
 qaickly follow od in the "wake. 
 
 , and where a paper once planted 
 
 lO front rank. In J^'evad; 
 
 has made, the maintainiuG; ot 
 ' . of the r -. iind 
 
 r their , 'enl 
 
 . 1., or mfire utit-titiwhly, 
 
 '■■■" ii*ted. Many 
 
 have profited 
 
 >v the 
 
 aek lo auies neai . 
 
 in r* ;• rcicc t 1 w"» t * 
 
 !on ot juriBiiiciioii wuh iml 
 
 . , confines short of the sur- 
 
 vhioh formed the- eastern boundary of Cali- 
 liiiiiiii, although it rlierthan 1853 
 
 wImii ;1: > nUii! the Mormons 
 
 ^ skirting '.Va easterly decliv 
 
 :tend from Salt J<ake to th 
 
 j; in the way (_'i rr^ :;i, 
 
 .Is. There was room for 'H 
 
 ly dash of possession: ly or legal rights, and the 
 
 rful motive and necoseily tor mutual protection 
 
 . \>od j\U Biiz-h i>urpo«o« of civil government as 
 
 'y the 'hnrth hier- 
 
 ' uo lull 
 
 iMJUAXb 
 
 . In ^'^■■" 
 
 I'OUlii 
 
 the l'i-..l. 
 located \\i... 
 Canon, then 
 
 I or Carson 
 
 'rsoii ilyde, 
 
 .ion Ketllcm.'nt 
 
 Tlu 1 ..iinty of 
 
 ' i nigh 
 

 
 t 
 
Hon. Thomas P. Hawley. 
 
 Hon. Thomas P. Hawley, Justice of the Supreme Court of Nevada, was born in 
 Ripley County, Indiana, on the eighteenth of July, 1830. He resided in his native 
 
 State until the spring of 1S.")2, when he came to California, hy way of the plains, 
 arrivinif at Placerville in the month of Jul)'. He remained in El Dorado County 
 one year and was engaged in mining. 
 
 In August, 1853, he located in Nevada City, Nevada County, California, where 
 he lived for fifteen years. 
 
 He continued the business of mining until 1855, when he went into the County 
 Clerk's office. 
 
 It 1857 he was admitted to practice law, and at once secured a good legal busi- 
 ness at a Bar composed of such able practitioners as the late John R. McConnell, 
 Francis J. Dunn, Stanton Bucknerand James Churchman, and the Hons. Aaron A. 
 Sarcrent, Wm. M. Stewart, David Belden,Niles Searles, A. C. Niles and A. B. Dibble. 
 In 1858 he formed a law partnership with Henry Meredith, whose tragic death 
 at the hands of the Indians, at Pyramid Lake, in 1859, forms one of the saddest 
 pages of Nevada's turbulent history. 
 
 In 1858 he was married to Mi.ss Eudora Murrell, daughter of Col. John T. Mur- 
 rell, of Charleston, South Carolina. They are the parents of three children, a 
 son and two daughters, born in Nevada City. 
 
 In 1863 he was elected, on the Union Republican ticket, District Attorney of 
 Nevada County, and served as such officer for a period of two years. He contin- 
 ued in the active practice of his profesion in California, in partnership with the 
 late L. W. Williams, of Nevada County, until 1868, when he came to the State of 
 Nevada, locating in Hamilton, White Pine County. Here, by his industry and 
 close attention to business, he secured a first-cla.ss practice; and it is but a well- 
 deserved compliment to say that he took front rank at a Bar which embraced such 
 able legal minds as the late Delos R. Ashley, C. E. DeLong, D. W. Perley, and A. 
 M. Hillhouse, as well as the following, who rank among the leading law3'ers of 
 this coast: John Girber, Harry I. Tiiornton, Thomas Wren, D. S. Terry, Frank 
 Tilford, and M. Kirkpatrick. 
 
 In 1870 he formed a law partnersliip with John O. Darrow, since deceased, at 
 Eureka, Nevada. 
 
 In 1872 he was elected, on the Republican ticket, a Justice of the Supreme Court 
 of the State of Nevada. In 1874 he became Chief Justice, and served in that 
 position for four years. 
 
 In 1878 he was renominated by the Republican party, and re-elected a mem- 
 ber of the Court by the largest majority ever given a candidate for that office, his 
 opponent being an able jurist and popular gentleman. 
 
 As a lawyer he was attentive to business and went into Court fully prepared to 
 try his causes intelligently, never trusting, as is too often the case to what some 
 one has neatly phrased " the sublimity of luck." He was always clear-headed, 
 quick at discovering the weak points of an opponent, and with tact to present his 
 own strong points in the most favorable light. As an advocate, his manner was 
 earnest and impressive. He always made his client's cause his own. As a Judge, 
 the Nevada Reports bear evidence that he has continued his industrious habits, 
 and the decisions written by him will bust illustrate his legal learning and judicial 
 character. 
 
 On the bench he has been an impartial Judge. Socially, no man stands better, 
 and his official worth and personal popularity have twice received emphatic 
 endorsmeut at the hands of tiie people of Nevada. 
 
HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF NEV^VDA. 
 
 333 
 
 co-extensive with the present State of Xevnda. and 
 Judge llyde's Territorial jurisdiction was of im- 
 mense extent. 
 
 KIUST SESSION OF THK CO|-RT. 
 
 On the third of October this Court hold its first 
 session, and the first record entry was in the case of 
 James Melntyre en. Asa A. Knouse — an action of 
 "debit and damages."' The proceedings ujion that 
 day seem to have consisted of the tiling of the com- 
 plaint for recoverj' of S1S7.75. A copy of the com- 
 plaint and writ were issued, which latter was made 
 returnable October 12th. at nine o'clock. 'On this 
 day," saj's the record, "parties met at Cowin'e 
 house, and proceeded to trial without a jury, by 
 agreeniciit. ]>efendant filed his answer, and set 
 oft" in the sum of S200.25, leaving a balance in his 
 favor of 810.50. The Court, on hearing the evidence 
 and the pleas of the parties, and on careful examina- 
 tion of the account, ordered that judgment be ren- 
 dered against Melntyre, the plaintiff, in the sum of 
 $24.50 (more than was asked in the set-off), together 
 with the costs of suit, !S14; making the full amount 
 of judgment against the plaintiff of $38.50." 
 
 Thus was the judicial government of the people 
 inaugurated. The tribunal seems to have been con- 
 structed upon a basis that comprehended little more 
 than if found in Justices' Courts, elsewhere, although 
 the name " Probate Court " would commonly imply 
 the accessions of a seal and a Clerk, or Prothonotary. 
 
 THE FIRST CRIMINAL CASE. 
 
 On the second of November, 1855, this Court 
 exercised its criminal jurisdiction for the first time in 
 the case of a negro named Thackcr, who was brought 
 before Hyde, as Probate Judge, " for using language 
 of a highly threatening character." he, Thacker, hav- 
 ing said ''That he had spite enough in his heart 
 against A. .1. Wyekoff to kill him," and "that he 
 could cut the heart out of Mrs. Jacob Rose and roast 
 it on the coals." 
 
 This inhuman wretch was dealt with in the rigor- 
 ous manner following, as shown by the "docket." 
 To protect the life of Thacker being taken on the 
 spot, the Judge ordered his syrest, and although the 
 language was proven to have been uttered by the 
 accused, yet the Judge held that it was no threat; 
 but nevertheless summed up by taxing Thacker with 
 fifty dollars, for costs of suit, and advising him, " for 
 his own safety," to go over the mountains to his 
 master, in California. 
 
 The Court records the remark that "A man may 
 have malice enough at heart to kill another, and 
 judgment and discretion to prevent him from com- 
 mitting the deed; he may have the ability to cut a 
 lady's heart out and roast it upon the coals, and at 
 the same time he may have good sense enough not 
 to do it." 
 
 FIRST AD.MISSION TO THE B.VR. 
 
 On the second of November, 1855, Dr. Charles D. 
 Daggett and Solomon C. Perren were admitted to 
 practice before the Probate Court. 
 42 
 
 From these unpretentious beginnings, from this 
 well spring, as it were, has the stream of justice with 
 its various irregularities of current and interruptions 
 of flow ])assc(I down to more modern ilates, aiid within 
 more clearly defined channels. 
 
 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT. 
 
 In the course of time the judicial organization of 
 Utah Territory received the improving touches and 
 authoritative recognition that were so evidently nec- 
 cessary through the force of Congressional legislation, 
 and in the j'ear 1850 there came into Carson Valley, 
 from Salt Lake, about one hundred families, who 
 were accompanied bj* Judge Drummond, u]ion his 
 journey to open a genuine United States l)istrict 
 Court. The Judge awived about the middle of July, 
 iris first (Irand .Turj- had no rejircsenf ative of the 
 Mormon faith within its members, but at the 
 expiration of nine daj-s, after impaneling the same he 
 seems to have oxi)elled seven of the twentj'-three 
 members and substituted Mormons in their j)laces. 
 
 The court was held at Mottsville, in Mott's barn, 
 while the Grand Jury held its sessions in the house, 
 or in the holler portions of the day, in the black- 
 smith sho]). 
 
 The Grand Jury, after its reformation as above- 
 mentioned, found a true bill against two jiarties, one 
 of whom bore the name of E. Lamb, for stealing 
 two horses. It is stoutly asserted, by some surviv- 
 ing contemporaries, that Lamb did not steal the 
 horses, or in other words, was innocent of the charge; 
 but historj' is deprived of an authentic judicial 
 record upon this point, for the reason that Lamb 
 made his escape from .Mottsville, and the indictment, 
 in consequence, was never tried. 
 
 JUDGE DRU.MiMOND VACATES. 
 
 For some act of supposed contumacy, it is said 
 that .ludge Drummond threatened to "iron" the 
 Grand Jury, but lliis does not seem to have taken 
 the form of a judicial order, nor was the threat 
 carried into efl'ect. The Judge remained at Motts- 
 ville about six weeks, and then departed for Califor- 
 nia, from whence ho never returned. 
 
 It was thought that his judicial administration was 
 as unsatisfactory to himself and all concerned, as the 
 record of his procecditigs is meager. 
 
 DRUMMOND SfCCEEDEI) BY rK.\DI.EHAr(llI. 
 
 He was succeeded by John Cradlebaugh who, as 
 Judge of the Second Judicial District of Utah Ter- 
 ritory, convened court at (Jenoa on the fifth day of 
 September, 1S5!), with Alfred James for t'lerk, and 
 George \V. Hep|ierly as Deputy United States 
 Marshal and Hailifl' ol' the court. 
 
 ADMISSION OF ATTORNEYS. 
 
 On the tenth of October, of that 3-ear, the follow- 
 ing entry was made upon the records of the court: — 
 
 On motion of (r. D. Hall, and the Court being sat- 
 isfied of the gooil^ standing in the j)rofession of 
 Messrs. Charles H. 'Bryan. Hobert Anderson, G. D. 
 
334 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Hall, John J. Museer, \V. H. Brumfield and Welling- 
 ton Stewart, practicing attornej-s in the courts of 
 other States and Territories, said gentlemen are 
 admitted to practice as attorneys in the courts of 
 this Territory'. 
 
 A (iRAND Jl'KY I.MI'ANELED. 
 
 On that day the Grand Jury was impaneled, 
 with George AV. Chedic, at present a resident of Car- 
 son City, as the foreman. Wellington Stewart was 
 appointed by the Court as Prosecuting Attorney for 
 the Second District, in place of Alexander Wilson, 
 who had resigned as United States Attorney for 
 Utah Territory, upon the ground that heeould not, 
 for some reason, attend upon the courts in Carson 
 County. 
 
 THE KIRST INDICy.MENT. 
 
 On the twenty-first of October, 185!t, the first 
 indictment for murder was found against William 
 Sides, for a homicide committed at Gold Hill shortlj" 
 after the discovery of the Comstock Lode. At the 
 same time two bills of indictment were found for 
 lewdness, one for adulter}', and one for robbery. 
 In fact, the criminal calendar for the year l.S5!t 
 would indicate an older settlement, a more exten- 
 sive population, and a degree of demoralization 
 rather exceptional. In that j'oai'five bills of indict- 
 ment for lewdness, one for adulter^-, one for rob- 
 bery, six for assault with intent to kill, three for 
 murder, and one for felony were found b}- the (irand 
 Jury. 
 
 COURT EXPENSES FOR THE TERM. 
 
 On the thirtieth of November, 1859, the Court 
 expenses foot up S.")7:i.50 — the Prosecuting Attorney's 
 fees being 810 per daj', and the traveling expenses 
 of the Judge to and from Salt Lake being S150 
 for the 'estimated distance of 1,500 miles. 
 
 SPECIAL TER.M OF COURT. 
 
 A special term of court was held on June 11, 
 1860. John L. Blackburn was the Deputy .Marshal 
 in attendance. The term seems to have continued 
 in session from time to time until Februarj' 19, 
 18til. when the last record entries were made. 
 
 In 1860 three indictments for murder seem to have 
 been found. On September ]9th the case of Wm. 
 Sides was dismissed, on motion of the acting Prose- 
 cuting Attorney, P. H. Clayton. There was, in 
 fact, but little efficiency shown in the prosecution 
 of the criminal docket, or else the indictments were 
 in the main without merit. 
 
 JUDdK rUAI)I.EBAir(iII SUPERSEPED. 
 
 Judge Cradlebaugh had been succeeded by Judge 
 H. B. Flanikon, who, in October, 18G0, arrived, 
 accompanied by United States Mar.-hal Henry 
 Grice, and was furnished with letters of introduc- 
 tion to John S. Child, who was then the Probate 
 Judge. Judge Flaniken held the court in Carson 
 City until its close, as stated. 
 
 UNPOPULAR INDICT.MENT8. 
 
 It seems that when Judge Cradlebaugh first 
 arrived at Genoa he was accompanied by Judge St. 
 
 Clair, who addressed the Grand Jury, and charged 
 them to bring indictments against parties living 
 with women otherwise than in the marriage rela- 
 tion; and against gamblers, and parties alleged to 
 have participated in the irregular judicial proceed- 
 ings and executions that had occurred. Several of 
 the indictments for murder already alluded to are 
 said to have been directed against the latter class of 
 malefactors. 
 
 During the period brought to a close, in February, 
 1861, and under the Utah regime, the volume of civil 
 business does not seem to have been extensive or 
 imjjortant. The judicial administration was rather 
 a struggle, with indecisive results, to assert law and 
 order in a community where much of irregularity 
 was prevalent. 
 
 Thus closes our sketch of that period in the judicial 
 history of Nevada which preceded the organization 
 of the Territory bearing that name. 
 
 NEVADA TERRITORY JUDICIARY. 
 
 By Act of Congress, in 1861, the new Territory of 
 Nevada was organized, and Hon. James \V. Nye 
 appointed Governor bj' President Lincoln. By proc- 
 lamation of July 17, 1861, the (Governor divided the 
 Territorj' into three judicial districts, and assigned 
 the .fudges as follows: — 
 
 First Judicial District — The county of Carson 
 including all that portion of Nevada lying west of 
 the 118th degree of longitude west from Greenwich; 
 Gordon N. Mott, Judge. 
 
 Second Judicial District^ — All that portion of the 
 Territory, lying between the 117th and 118th degrees 
 of longitude; (Jcorgo Turner, Judge. 
 
 Third Judicial District — All that portion of the 
 Territory lying east of the 117th degree of longitude; 
 Horatio 51. Jones, Judge. 
 
 Thus was established the first regular beginning 
 of that judicial history which is distinctively Neva- 
 dan, and disconnects it from the influence of the 
 Mormon Church in Utah, although it should be here 
 remarked that Judge Cradlebaugh made for himself 
 a National reputation by his firm attitude in opposi- 
 tion to the -Mormon poxj-er during his term of judicial 
 administration. The newlj' organized Territorial 
 Courts, especially the First Judicial District, com- 
 menced the administration of justice under conditions 
 that wore novel, and, in some resjiocts, anomalous. 
 The court for the First District was hold princii)ally 
 at Virginia City, and the litigation was, in the main, 
 tho outgrowth of conflicting claims to mining prop- 
 erties, that were held to represent enormous values. 
 The (luestions involved were largely determinable by 
 a sort of common law, or tho custom of miners in 
 mining districts. Tho ablest representatives of tho 
 California Bar, in those times, flocked to Virginia 
 City, and wore, without exception, prominent in the 
 forensic discussions that were almost continuallj' 
 occupying the courts. In those days the law con- 
 cerning mineral-bearing ledges, their location, pos- 
 session and development, was largely formulated, and 
 
HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF NEVADA. 
 
 335 
 
 ultimately received the substantial recognition of 
 approvini; Congressional legislation . The trial of 
 the many causes was the scene of almost continual 
 excitement. The stock boards of San Francisco and 
 Virginia were often tremendously swayed by the 
 result of judicial rulings. Peijury was conceded to 
 be common, and the bribery of witnesses and juries 
 was spoken of as notorious. It was impossible that 
 the Judges should esca))e the suspicion, and even the 
 open charge of being corrupt. The peculiar confor- 
 mation of the giant lode, known as the Comstock, 
 occasioned two antagonizing theories, which struggled 
 for the legal ascendancy. They were respectively 
 known as the '• one-ledge " and "two-ledge" theories. 
 The excitement in the legal circles and among liti- 
 gants culminated in the year 1803. 
 
 .ItDdE .MOTT SUCCEEDED BV JIIDOE NORTH. 
 
 Judge Mott resigned, and Hon. J. W. North, who 
 was the first Survoj-or General of Nevada, was 
 appointed by President Lincoln as his successor in 
 the First District, and continued in office until 
 Nevada was admitted into the Union in October, 
 1864. He was accused of corruption by Hon. W. 
 M. Stewart, afterwards United States Senator. This 
 resulted in a lawsuit for libel with claim for SlOd,- 
 000 damages, which was tried by referees in 18t!."), 
 who rendered a judgment exonerating Judge North, 
 and found the accusations of Stewart to be without 
 any basis of fact. 
 
 THE ONE-LEDOE AND TWO-LEIKiE THEOKIES. 
 
 During this period of continued activitj- and 
 excitement in the courts, the "one-ledge" and "two- 
 ledge" theories alternated in obtaining ascendancy. 
 The decisions were not uniform — no one case seemed 
 to be authoritative in the ne.xt — although at the close 
 of 1864 the "two-ledge" party seemed the rather to 
 prevail. It is a question that has not even yet 
 (1881) been finally determined, although the sj'stem 
 of United States patents for mining ground and 
 ledges, conjoined with the consolidated ownership in 
 few persons of many of the conflicting claims, has 
 reduced the ([ucstion to one of vastlj- loss practical 
 imi)ortance. Indeed, it may now in a general way be 
 asserted as the prevailing notion, that the so-called 
 Comstock Ijode is a gigantic do])osit, or upheaval, of 
 vein or mineral-bearing matter of indefinite width 
 eastwardly from Mount Davidson, and of an unknown 
 extent in length north and south. Its superficial 
 or surface indications are irregular, ami often lead 
 to the supposition that there are a series of parallel 
 veins, but through explorations at profound depths, 
 this idea is in the main dispelled. Of course the 
 attention of our courts has always been drawn to a 
 line of civil questions similar to those arising in any 
 other community, b\it as mining is the main resource 
 for the prosperity of the State, just so has so-called 
 mining law always maintained the ascendancy. 
 
 CHANdES OF PROSKCUTINO ATTORNEYS. 
 
 In 1S61, Hon. Dighton Corsen was ai)pointed the 
 Prosecuting Attorney for the First District, Carson 
 
 County, and Hon. Marcus D. Larrowe for the Second 
 District. In 1S62. Hon. K. B. Zabriskie was ap]iointed 
 Prosecuting Attorney for the Third District, and con- 
 tinued in office from March till November 17th of 
 that 3'ear, when he resigned to enter the army as 
 one of the Nevada Volunteers, where he was ap- 
 pointed upon the staft' of General P. E. Connor as 
 Judge Advocate, with the rank of Ca{)tain. He was 
 succeeded in the cilice of Prosecuting Attorney by 
 Hon. Franklin II. Kennedy. In -May, 1863, Hon. 
 John J. Musser was appointed District or Prosecuting 
 Attorney, to succeed Hon. Marcus D. Larrowe, who 
 resigned. 
 
 HO.MILY UPON NEVADA COURTS. 
 
 After the Territorial Courts were once organized, 
 the course of legal procedure in Nevada Territory 
 was characterized by a regularity and certainty 
 that was a vast improvement upon the desultory 
 methods and plans of administering justice that had 
 been obtained under the Mormon reijime. There 
 was a binding force to the organic law of the Terri- 
 tory and the Acts of the Legislature, that at once 
 justified a larger measure of wished-for tranquilitj', 
 especially in the mining camps, than had heretofore 
 been possible. 
 
 But as already remarked, the vast values that 
 were constantly the subject of judicial action, caused 
 immense friction and distrust. The judges were the 
 victims of open charges of briber^-, and the determina- 
 tions of courts and juries were seldom received in 
 good faith by those who had not prevailed. The 
 prime cause of this dissatisfaction was the reckless- 
 ness and assurance with which witnesses were 
 induced to commit perjury, and the acknowledged 
 fact that many who sat on juries were to a moral 
 certainty subject to the seductions of money rewards. 
 In fact, a general demoralization of the public mind 
 had so far gained ground that it is scarcely to be 
 wondered at that the courts were unable to enforce 
 the authority and respect diie to the law. no matter 
 how honorable might be llie personal character of 
 the judges. It was. especiallj' "on the Comstock," a 
 sense of reckless greed for the making of fortunes, 
 and no consideration stood in the way of its 
 realization. 
 
 In the First District, Judge Mott retired, and Hon. 
 J. W. North, was in 1863, appointed to succeed him- 
 He was a man of honorable character and his per- 
 sonal history had been unexceptionable, but his career 
 was characterized by as savage and bitter attacks 
 from members of (he Bar and litigants as had been 
 the case during the incumbency of his predecessor. 
 
 Hon. William M. Stewart, afterwards one of the 
 United States Senators from Nevada, was especially 
 prominent in charges of corrui)t conduct on the i)art 
 of Judge North. The latter resigned in the summer 
 of 1864. In August of that year, forty-nine membei-s 
 of the Bar met at Virginia, and agreed by a vote of 
 twenty-six against twenty-one for Hon. H. O. Beatty, 
 and two for Hon. C. M. BrosiKin. tosuiqiort lion. I!. S. 
 
336 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Messick a8 a candidate for the Presidential appoint- 
 ment to succeed Judge Xorth. The appointment of 
 North's successor was never made by the President. 
 The Constitution of Nevada had already been framed, 
 and on the first Wednesday of the following month 
 of September the Constitution was adopted by the 
 people of the Territorj^. Hon. Horatio M. Jones, 
 ])rior to the formation on the State Government, had 
 resigned, and Hon. P. B. Locke had been appointed 
 as his successor. Provision had been made for an 
 election of a full set of State ofMcers on the first 
 Tuesday after the first Monday of the following 
 November. The State was admitted bj- proclamation 
 of President Lincoln prior to that election, and the 
 Statehood of the then Territory was to all interests 
 an accomplished fact. The new State Government 
 came into power on the first of December, 1864. 
 
 Among the reminders of the legal turmoil that had 
 embittered both Bench and Bar during the Territorial 
 days, was a suit by Judge North against Senator 
 Stewart for §10(1,00(1 damages for libel. This suit 
 was brought in Washoe Countj- before the District 
 Court in the spring of 1865, and was tried before 
 referees, at Virginia, on stipulation of the parties, 
 the damage being waived. The findings of the 
 referees were favorable to the plaintiff and adverse 
 to the defendant on all points. 
 
 The course of judicial government in the central 
 and eastern settlements of the Territory was much 
 more quiet and regular, although there were not 
 wanting fierce churgcs of jiKlieial corruption. Austin, 
 or " Keese Biver," was a mining camp of some pre- 
 tentions in those days, but not so productive of liti- 
 gation as the Corastock liode. 
 
 FIRST STATE JUDGES ELECTED. 
 
 At the general election for the State of Nevada, 
 in November, 1864, the following Judges of the 
 Supreme Court were elected: Hon. James F.jjcwis, 
 of Washoe County, then about thirty years of age, 
 an able 3'oung lawyer from Wisconsin, who had been 
 a law partner with Judge North; Hon. H. O. Beatty, 
 of Virginia City, aged about fifty j-ears, and for 
 many years a prominent member of the Sacramento 
 Bar, California, and Hon. ('. M. Brosnan, of A'irginia 
 City, aged about fifty-five years, of Irish birth, and 
 when a young man, in the State of New York, well 
 known for his brilliancy as a forensic orator. 
 
 According to the ])rovision in the State Consti- 
 tution, lots were drawn and Judge Lewis became the 
 first Chief Justice, having drawn the short term of 
 two years; Judge Beatty drew the term of four 
 years, and Judge Brosnan drew the term of si.x 
 years.. The latter died ,\|)ril 21, 1867, and Hon. J. 
 Neely Johnson, formerly Governor of (Jalil'ornia, 
 was appointed by Governor Blasdol to fill the vacancy 
 thus occasioned, and he remained upon the bench 
 until January, 1871. Judge Jjewis was re-elected in 
 1866, and remained upon the bench until January, 
 1878. Judge Beatty was succeeded by Hon. H. C. 
 Whitman of Storey County, in January, 1869, but 
 
 inasmuch as Judge Beatty resigned on the ninth of 
 November, 1868, Judge Whitman was appointed and 
 took his seat upon the Bench nearly two months 
 prior to his ])crmancnt accession to the election; and 
 at the same time Judge Lewis again succeeded to 
 the Chief Justiceship, thus made vacant by Chief 
 Justice Beatty. 
 
 LATER SUI'UE.ME JIDOES. 
 
 Aside from the Supreme Judges thus far named, 
 the following have been elected and appointed Judges 
 of that tribunal up to the present year, 1881: — 
 
 Hon. John Garber, elected November, 1870, and 
 resigned November 7, 1.S72. 
 
 Hon. Thomas P. Hawley, elected November, 1872, 
 and re-elected November, 1878. 
 
 Hon. C. H. Belknap was appointed by tiovernor 
 Bradley to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resig- 
 nation of Judge Garber, and remained upon the 
 Bench until January-, 1875. 
 
 Hon. Warner Karll was elected in November, 1874, 
 to fill the two years of the unexpired term of Judge 
 Garber, and so succeeded Judge Belknap. He 
 remained upon the Bench until January, 1877. 
 
 Hon. William II. Beatty, son of the former Chief 
 Justice H. O. Beatty, was elected November, 1874, 
 and remained upon the Bench until January, 1881. 
 
 Hon. O. II. Leonard was elected November, 1876, 
 and is now, 1881, Chief Justice. 
 
 Hon. C. H. Belknap was elected November, 1880, 
 to sui.-cced Chief Justice Wm. II. Beatty. 
 
 The Bench now consists of Justices Leonard, 
 Hawley and Belknap. 
 
 ATTORNEY OENERALS OF NEVADA. 
 
 The Attorney Generals of Nevada were elected in 
 the following order: — 
 
 Hon. George A. Nourse, formerly of Minnesota, 
 was elected at the first State election, November, 
 1864, and remained in office until January. 1867. 
 
 Hon. Pobert M. Clark, formerly of Ohio, was 
 elected in 1866, and remained in office until Janu- 
 ary, 1871, 
 
 Hon. Luther A. Buckner was elected November, 
 1870, and remained in office until January, 1875. 
 
 Hon. John 1\. Kittrell was elected November, 1874, 
 and remained in office until Januarj', 187It. 
 
 Hon. Michael A. Murphy was elected November, 
 1878, and is still in office. 
 
 JUDICIAL DISTRICTS OF THE STATF.. 
 
 The State in 1864 comprised nine Judicial Districts 
 as follows : First District, Storey County ; Second 
 District, Ormsby County; Third District, Lyon 
 County; Fourth District, Washoe County; Fifth 
 District, N5'e and Churchill Counties; Sixth District, 
 Humboldt County; Seventh District, Lander County; 
 Fighth District, Douglas County; Ninth District, 
 Esmeralda County. 
 
 The First Judicial District, Storey County, was 
 especially organized under the Constitution to allow 
 for the election of three Judges, with coordinate 
 powers and jurisdiction, in order that the mass of 
 
£-^ 
 
Judge O. R. Leonard 
 
 Was the youngest of six ciiildren, whose paieuts resided ou a iarm in Gaysville, Wind- 
 sor County, Vermont. After arriving at the requisite age his time was divided between 
 the school house and work upon the farm until he was sixteen years old, when he com- 
 menced fitting himself for college by teaching school in the winter and attending the 
 Randolph Academy during the summer. Eventuall}' he entered Dartmouth College, 
 helping to pay his way by the continuance of those winter terms of school teaching, 
 where he remained until his senior year. 
 
 After leaving Dartmouth he removed to California and entered the office of Belcher k 
 Belcher, at ilar^'sville, for the purpose of studying law, and was admitted to the Bar in 
 April, 1863. On the twenty-third of the following May he arrived at Star City, in 
 Humboldt County, Nevada, and has since remained a resident of this State. 
 
 Frequent mention is made of Judge Leonard in this history, and should one seek for 
 information of the events of the early settlement of the State, particularly of Humboldt 
 County, he could find no better posted or willing informant than the distinguished 
 Chief Justice. As a pioneer of Humboldt, he has witnessed the Hush times of Union- 
 ville, Star, and other cities of the West Humboldt Range; speculateil in Sheba, when it 
 was thought rich enough to pay the national debt; rejoiced in the wealth of the Arizona 
 which was expected to re-establish the prominence of Buena Vista; cTxulted over the 
 massive quarries of glittering oi'e in Montezuma and Trinity; gloried in the coming of 
 the railroad which was hoped to advance every interest, anil as he has seen these many 
 bright anticipations wither in the blight of experience, he still retains his faith in the 
 exhaustless resources of his county and his confidence in her future prosperity. The 
 best expression of this confidence is his long residence within its limits. Taking part in 
 its first growth and "boom," he has seen it settle into the industries and toil uf self-sup- 
 port, and thus growing with it, is entitled to the position he has achieved and the honors 
 he has won. 
 
 No laggard couM have succeeded in the active region and brilliant surroundings in 
 which he found himself when, as a young lawyer he entered upon the scene of his future 
 trials and triumphs. At the period when he entered upon the practice of the law, the 
 Bar of Humboldt Count}- was one that embraced among its members such men as Hon- 
 Frank Ganahl, Hon. Wm. Claggett, Gen. P. H. Harris, W. M. Dixon, W. H. Jones, A 
 P. Overton, and the late Chief Justice of Arizona, Judge E. F. Dunn. It was a high 
 order of legal talent, and for a young man and practitioner to gain recognition among 
 such Titans of the Bar, required ability, knowledge of the law, nerve and persever- 
 ance far in excess of the average. Within a few months after his arrival he was elected 
 District Attorney, and held that position by re-election for five years, when he removed 
 from Star City to l.'nionville, and became the law partner of Judge E. F. Dunn. 
 
 In 1808 he was a Republican Delegate to the Chicago Convention that nominated 
 Gen. Grant for President; and always having been a Union man was married while 
 East to Mi.ss Eliza Sylvester, of West Newbury, Massachusetts. 
 
 The practice of law was continued by him until I87-, when he became Judge of the 
 Fourth Judicial District. In 1874, at Winnenuicca, he resumed the law practice again, 
 and continued it at that place until elected, in 187(i, to the Supreme Bfench of Nevada, 
 of which he is now Chief Justice. 
 
 Judge Leonard is a gentleman of fine literary and legal attainments. He is genial in 
 his associations, aftable in his address, generous in his judgment of his fellows, and 
 courteous to all. As an attorney his cases were pi-osecuted with a persistence and 
 tenacity of purpose that left no just avenue for defeat. It was of him that Harry 
 Mighels wrote, in 1870, that he was "one of the fairest-minded and purest lawyers of 
 Nevada." As a Judge he possesses a well-earned reputation of unimpeachable honor 
 and integrity of purpose, as well as that of an able and erudite jurist. 
 
 The people's interests are safe when trusted to the integrity of such men as Judge 
 Leonard. 
 
HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF NEVADA. 
 
 .137 
 
 unfinished business that Lad accumulated under the 
 Territorial riylme, might bo rapidi}' uomplotod. 
 
 DISTRICT JUDGES ELECTED. 
 
 The three Judges so elected in November, 1864, 
 were lion. H. S. Mesick, Hon. Richard iiising, and 
 Hon. Caleb lUirbank, who each continued upon the 
 Bench until January, 1867. The Legislature had, 
 meanwhile, provided that but one Judge should be 
 elected at the general election in ISIKi, and Hon. 
 Richard Rising was re-elected and continues, by 
 successive re-elections, upon the District Court 
 Bench of the First District up to the present time. 
 
 The District Judges elected in November for the 
 other Districts, commencing with the Second, were 
 in their order as follows: — 
 
 lion. S. H. Wright, Hon. W. llaydon, lion. C. C. 
 Goodwin, Hon. S. Ij. Baker, Hon. E. F. Dunn, Hon. 
 Wm. II. Beatt}-, Hon. Daniel Virgin, and Hon. S. 
 II. Chase. 
 
 These Jiulges all continued in office until .lunuar}-, 
 1867. Several of them had not been regular!}^ 
 trained to the law, having very naturally been pro- 
 moted from the County Judgeships, which thcj- had 
 filled under the Territorial Government. Our Dis- 
 trict Courts had well-nigh universal original jurisdic- 
 tion. The only interior jurisdictions were Justices' 
 Courts and Recorders' Courts iu cities. The judicial 
 sj'stem, as will be seen, was simplicity itself, and the 
 administration of justice at nisi priics at once moved 
 on with smoothness and to the general satisfaction 
 of the people. 
 
 JUDICIAL niSTKIOTS REORGANIZED AND DISTRICT JUDOES 
 SUBSEQUENTLY ELECTED. 
 
 Since the first organization of the District Courts 
 many changes have been made in the territorial 
 limits and numbering of the Districts. The Stale is 
 now divided into seven Judicial Districts only. Aside 
 from those already mentioned the following have 
 since been or are now Judges of the several Districts 
 as from time to time organized. 
 
 Hon. (i, G. Berry, Hon. C. N. Harris, Hon. Benj. 
 Curler, Hon. Charles G. Hubbard, Hon. John II. 
 Boalt, Hon. J. G. McClinton, Hon. Charles A. Leake 
 (now deceased), Hon. John D. Gorin, Hon. George 
 D. Keeny, Hon. Mortimer Fuller, Hon. J. H. Flacky 
 Hon. W. M. Sea well, Hon. .M. S. Boniiifield, Hon! 
 F. W. Cole, Hon. Henry Hives, Hon. J. S. Jameson, 
 Hon. S. D. King, Hon. O. R. Leonard, and Hon. D. 
 C. McKenney. 
 
 .MOST UPRKHIT AND HONORABLE JUDOES. 
 
 During the seventeen years since the organization 
 of the State of Nevada, it must be said that our 
 Courts have been of honorable reputation. No 
 serious charges of corrupt conduct by any Judge 
 have been made, and no Judge has been impeached. 
 Among them have been, and are, men of thorough 
 education, ripe scholarship, and earnest devotion to 
 duty. To particularize would be invidious. 
 
 MEMBERS OF THE BAR OF NEVADA. 
 
 To turn more particularly to the Bar of Nevada, 
 we can say that it is second to none in ability and 
 integrity-, and numbers many men of bright minds, 
 who shine luminously in the " forensic arena," as 
 Justice Brosnan used to express it. The people of 
 Nevada maj- bo said to be more or less nomadic, by 
 reason of the fact that they are greatly addicted to 
 "following up" every new and important mining 
 discovery. This is particularly true of the members 
 of the legal profession. The result is, that with few 
 exceptions, the name of each lawyer of prominence 
 is found more or less identified with the history of 
 litigation in each county of this Slate. To classifj- 
 is, therefore, a matter of great difficult}-, unless the 
 history becomes prolix and realU' uninteresting. 
 Therefore, in a general way, some of the more prom- 
 inent legal lights of Nevada are meniioned, and 
 incidentally, a few of the different localities and 
 scenes of their ])rofessional labors. 
 
 During the Territorial days, the more important 
 litigation of the entire Territory was in a large ])art 
 conducted by the members of the Bar of Virginia 
 City, Carson and Austin. The mention of some of 
 those who (aside from the persons heretofore named 
 in connection with this subject) were identified with 
 the earlj- history of the Territory before it merged 
 into the sisterhood of States, and since that time, as 
 well, will have a familiar sound to the readers 
 of these pages. For instance: — 
 
 Aldrich, Louis 
 Anderson, .John 
 Anderson, R. M. 
 Ashley, Delos H. 
 Baily, D. E. 
 Baker, John T. 
 Boatly, H. O. 
 Beatty, William II. 
 Belknap, C. H. 
 Berry, George W. 
 Bixler, David 
 Blakely, G. W. 
 Bon nan, John 
 Boring, W. M. 
 Brackett, William 
 Brearley, E. C. 
 Bryan, Charles H. 
 Bulkley, L. E. 
 
 Allen, Richard N. 
 Anderson, M. D. 
 Anderson, William F. 
 Aud, F. L. 
 Baker, George W. 
 ♦Baldwin, A. W. 
 Beatty, R. .M. 
 Beebe, G. M. 
 Bell, F. W. 
 Bisho]., W . W. 
 Blair, A. W. 
 Boalt, John II. 
 Bonnifield, M. S. 
 Botts, C. T. 
 Bradford, A. C. 
 Brosnan, C. M. 
 Bullock, W. H. 
 Burbank. A. N. 
 
 Byrne, James H. 
 Cain, William Campbell, Thomas 
 
 Campbell, Will 
 Cassott, IE. B. 
 Churchman, James 
 Clarke, H. M. 
 Cole, Frederick W. 
 Cooper, David 
 Cox, Thomas 
 Crocker, A. W. 
 
 Carmichael, J. 
 Chipman, K. S. 
 Claggelt, William II. 
 Clayton, P. H. 
 Coles, J. L. 
 Corsen, l»ighton 
 Crittenden, A. P. 
 Curler, Benjamin 
 
 'Aftei'wariU United •States District Judge. 
 
338 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Darrow, John O. 
 Davies, T. \V. W. 
 Dickson, W. H. 
 Dorsey, J. W. 
 Dow, J. C. 
 Edwards, T. D. 
 Edgerton, Henry 
 Ferris, S. W. 
 Finn, J. F. 
 Fitzgerald, A. L. 
 Foster, J. C. 
 Fulton, A. 
 Garber, John 
 Gates, William M. 
 Gilcrest, S. F. 
 Graves, John W. 
 Griffith, J. J. 
 Hall, C. P. 
 Hall, J. P. 
 Harris, J. H. 
 Harding, G. P. 
 Hardy, J. P. 
 Harmon, F. H. 
 Hawley, Thomas 1'. 
 Hereford, B. N. 
 Hetzel, Seklen 
 Hill, C. Wilson 
 Hillyer, C. J. 
 Hubbard, Charles G. 
 Hundley, P. O. 
 Hunt, A. B. 
 Janin, Edward 
 Johnson, Iioger 
 Jones, Horatio M. 
 Kelly, John P. 
 Kennedy, James 
 Kendall', C. W. 
 King, Jr., S. D. 
 Kitlrell, John R. 
 Knox, W. L. 
 Lake, Delos 
 Larrowe, M. D. 
 Lewis, D. J. 
 Lindsay, U. H. 
 Mann, S. A. 
 Martin, Hcnrj' 
 Mayenbaum, Henry 
 iMcConncU, John K. 
 Me Hoe, P. A. 
 Meagher, J. D. 
 Merrill, George W. 
 Miller, Theo. 
 Moyes, K. H. 
 .Murph}', John M. 
 Newmark, M. J. 
 Xoursc, George A. 
 O'Dougherty, A. B. 
 Patehin, C. H. 
 Pereell,M. J. 
 Pitzer, Jesse S. 
 
 Davenport, W. H. 
 Dibble, A. B. 
 De Long, Charles E. 
 Douglass, George A. 
 Doyle, H. 
 Elliott, A. B. 
 Ellis, A. C. 
 Ferguson, E. D. 
 Fitch, Thomas 
 Flack, J. H. 
 Fuller, Mortimer 
 Fulton. S. D. 
 Gaston, Henry A. 
 Gedney. A. W. 
 Goldthwaite, Geo. 
 Gray, J. M. 
 Griffith, J. L. 
 Hall, Gavin D. 
 Harris, C. N. 
 Harris, P. H. 
 Hardj', James H. 
 Hardy. William J. 
 Harmon, J. B. 
 Haydon, Thomas E. 
 Hereford, Frank 
 llighton, Henry H. 
 Hillhouse, A. M. 
 Howard, C. G. 
 Huttaker, M. N. 
 Hutton, J. F. 
 Hu))p, George S. 
 Johnson, J. Xeely 
 Johnson, Wm. Neely 
 J alien, T. V. 
 Kennedy, Frank H. 
 Kennedy, James M. 
 Keyser, Phillip 
 Kirkpatrick, M. 
 Knox, A. C. 
 Labatt, Henry J. 
 Lansing, C. J. 
 Lewis, J. F. 
 Lowery, R. E. 
 liOvejoj'j J. K. 
 Marshall, L B. 
 Martin, Len. 
 McCurdy,S. P. 
 McDonald, O. C. 
 .Mc(juai(i, J. A. 
 Meredith, Henry 
 Mosiek Kichard S. 
 Mitchell, Henry K. 
 Murphy, M. A. 
 Musser, John J. 
 North, J. W. 
 Xugent, John 
 O'Dougherty. N. J. 
 Patterson, William 
 Perley. D. W. 
 Powell, Jr., John 
 
 Proctor. F. M. 
 Ralston, J. J. 
 Rankin, B. P. 
 Reardon, J. McC. 
 Rising, Richard 
 Robinson, Fred. 
 Sabin, George M. 
 Sankey. Samuel 
 Sawyer, G. S. 
 Savage, J. A. 
 Seely, J. 
 Slauson, J. S. 
 Southworth, E. C. 
 Steele, H. M. 
 Stewart, Francis 
 Storey, Thomas P. 
 Sutherland, W. J. 
 Taylor, E. W. 
 Taylor, R. H. 
 Thatcher, A. M. 
 Thornton, Harry L 
 Tilford, Frank 
 Wallace, W. C. 
 Waldron, Daniel E. 
 Warwick, J. II. 
 Webster. William 
 Welty, D. W. 
 Whitchcr, John N. 
 Wines, J. L. 
 Williams, George R. 
 Wren, Thomas 
 Wood, W. S. 
 
 Quint, Leander 
 Rand. J. H. 
 Read. J.- H. 
 Reardon, T. B. 
 Rives, Henry 
 Robinson, Todd 
 Samson, William 
 Sawyer, Fred. A. 
 Sawyer, P. A. 
 Seawell, W. M. 
 Shuck, Oscar T. 
 Smith, Thomas H. 
 Stafford, W. M. 
 Stephens, J. A. 
 Stewart, Wm. M. 
 Sunderland. Thomas 
 Swift, J. F. 
 Taylor, L. W. 
 Tebbs, Moses 
 Thornton, Crittenden 
 Thomas, Richard L. 
 Wait/.. Adolphus 
 Waldo. H. A. 
 Wandell, C. W. 
 Watson, J. 11. 
 Wells, Thomas H. 
 Whitman, B. C. 
 Williams, C. H. S. 
 Williams, Thomas H. 
 Wright, L. H. 
 Woodburn, William 
 Zabriskie. E. B. 
 
 And numerous others whose names are not to be 
 found upon the official records. This is a long list for a 
 population that has at no one time reached t)5,000 in 
 number. 
 
 Among these are names that have become note- 
 worthy in the history of Nevada, and in the coun- 
 cils of the nation. Many were, in their daj', and 
 others are now, men of extraordinary abilitj' in their 
 profession. Each locality in this State can find in 
 this list names closely identified with history. 
 
 There is no doubt that from 1801 U]) to, and in- 
 clusive of, 18G4 the strongest members of the Cali- 
 fornia Bar were either residents in Nevada, or were 
 connected with important litigation in our courts, 
 Com])aratively few of the ripe lawyers of those days 
 are now in practice in this Stale. Several are dead^ 
 others have retired from practice, and many of them 
 have settled in California. 
 
 A RETROSPECTIVE VIEW. 
 
 The very origin of the influx of people to the 
 " Washoe " country was so anomalous, that each 
 feature of its historj' is more or less similar in some 
 respects. When the Comstock Lode was found to 
 be a gigantic deposit of precious metal, it attracted 
 at once some of the best as well as some of the worst 
 ty])es of civilization. As enormous wealth was under 
 he surface of the rugged side of Mount Davidson, just 
 
HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF NEVADA. 
 
 331) 
 
 so there sprang suddcnl}- into existence a full-fledged 
 municipality with 20.000 inhabitants. The cit^- bad no 
 antique beginnings ; it grew like a mushroom in a 
 night. Its courts were thronged with a more numer- 
 ous and abler Bar than at any time since Nevada 
 became a State. The earlier historj* of jurisprudence 
 of this State has less of that quaint species of anec- 
 dote than is found in .States where the hardships 
 of frontier life were for generations endured by Bench 
 and Bar with the people whom they judicially gov- 
 erned. The former was the scene of earnest conten- 
 tion between legal giants, and case quickly succeeded 
 case, with each, as a rule, a new force of legal coun- 
 sel. The practice was well systematized from the 
 very first, and business was crowded along. In no 
 portion of the Territory was there much of what in 
 the Eastern States would be considered mnd Courts 
 or practitioners. Everj' locality was either the scene 
 of, or else closely connected with, some mining 
 interest. There was little of agriculture, and char- 
 acter anecdotes were rare. An incident or two will, 
 however, be given, as much for the reason that thej' 
 are generally Nevadan, as for any extraordinary 
 attraction discoverable in the incidents themselves. 
 The Ophir Silver .Mining Company was among the 
 first on the Comstock Lode to get into bonanza and 
 become wealth}- and aristocratic in tone. The com- 
 pany erected extensive reduction works in Washoe 
 Vallej', about thirteen miles distant, at the foot of 
 the Sierra, and coveted a valuable piece of timber 
 land on the mountain side near by, and began to 
 trespass upon the " possessory title " of Negus & 
 Stage, who were manufacturers of lumber and min- 
 ing timbers. The result was a suit to restrain the 
 trespass and to recover damages. The suit did not 
 come up for trial in the Washoe District Court until 
 1805. Hon. C. C. Goodwin, now editor of the Salt 
 Lake Trihune, was the Judge presiding. Mr. Tom. 
 Cox, a " rough diamond " in a legal way, was em- 
 ployed to assist the plaintiff, and ITon. B. C. Whitman 
 and the eloquent Tom. Fitch, whose oratory- has a 
 national reputation, appeared for the Oithir Com- 
 pany, which latter, by the way, was rather in its 
 decadence through the working out of its rich 
 pockets of ore. With such a team of legal lumina- 
 ries to antagonize, .Mr. Cox was somewhat driven to 
 extremities in the closing speech for the ]>laintifl'. 
 It was necessary for him to offset the effect of the 
 bewildering logic and charming eloquence with which 
 the able "corporation lawyer's " had presented an 
 unjust cause to the hard-headed jury, and accordingly 
 he made a highly personal attack, not merely upon 
 the alleged shaky old company itself, but upon the 
 brethren who represented the interests of that bloated 
 artificial personage. Accordingly ho spoke substan- 
 tially as follows: — 
 
 Gentlemen of the jur}-, the Oi)hir Company was a 
 couple of years ago mighty in influence and rich in 
 treasure taken from the bowels of Mount Davidson. 
 They built walla of masonry three feet thick in every 
 
 direction down here on Ophir Creek, and spread 
 shingles over them, and put in furnaces and machin- 
 ery, and called it a mill. Then thej- built a man- 
 sion near bj-, and fitted it u]) with everything 
 costly, and called it the Su])erintendent's residence; 
 then thej- fenced in the whole premises with ten- 
 foot pickets, and called it the ()|>liir grounds, where 
 you and I, gentlemen of the jury, were forbidden 
 to enter without the Superintendcnfs pass; then 
 they had their wine sujjpers, and the golden cham- 
 pagne floweil delightfull}-. while fair women smiled, 
 and bloated aristocrats gormandized. Their knives, 
 and forks, and spoons, and ])latcs were of silver, 
 and their glass was of the Bohemian cut of the first 
 sparkle and crystal. In those daj-s they had distin- 
 guished lawyers like Bill Stewart, General Wil- 
 liams, and Dick Mesick to assist their overreaching 
 propensities. P^verything was lovely with the Ophir 
 then, while the outside world looked on with help- 
 less envy at their shodd}- dignity and their swelled- 
 up self-esteem. Now all is changed, gentlemen of 
 the jurj'. Their fence has fallen down; thej' no 
 longer give wiric su])pers; they have shipped away 
 their silverware; the Su])erintendent is gone; the 
 mill shut down, and their old mine a 'wild cat;" 
 their aristocracy is seedy; and for law}-ers thej- 
 have been obliged to content themselves with such 
 men as ^V hitman and Fitch. 
 
 The bluf!', contemptuous, and studiedl}- intrepid 
 manner in which .Mr. Cox had delivered these 
 remarks were a source of great amusement to the 
 Court and jury, and not without some slight effect 
 upon the usually placid countenance of the Ophir's 
 attorneys; but the jury were unable to discover the 
 relevancy of this tirade to the case in hand, and 
 promptly rendered a verdict in favor of 'the Ophir." 
 
 In that same locality was a .Justice of the Peace. 
 He was of diminutive stature, solemn of countenance, 
 incapable of being penetrated by a joke, peddled 
 milk morning and evening, preached on Sunday, was 
 might}- in the Scriptures, and hated the Church of 
 Englatid with a consistencj- that was indicative of no 
 compromise from his Methodist stand-point. He was 
 never seen to smile, and was a terror to evil-doers. 
 Thissad-ej-ed embodiment of the rigors of the law was 
 called upon by the enraged jnipulace to administer a 
 series of aflidavits on Sunday morning, April Iti, 
 1865, to persons desiring to complain (o the Provost 
 Marshal, (General Van Bokkelen, at Virginia, con- 
 cerning unpatriotic words and behavior by one Jim 
 Pierson concerning .\braham liincoln, then recently 
 assassinated. The ilaj- in common estimation was 
 non-judicial, and the friends of the oft'ending Pierson 
 employed a well-known lawj-er, now one of our Dis- 
 trict Judges, to argue the matter to the old gentle- 
 man, and induce him not to proceed with the taking 
 of the affidavits. The Justice, however, was greatly 
 impressed with the gravity of the occasion, and 
 desired to do what he could to rid the community of 
 the obnoxious presence of such a " wicked man." 
 Little did ho regard the waiting of the congregati(m 
 for his ministrations at the church, nor yet was he 
 disposed to let his freely-confessed convictions that 
 the day was non-judicial, interfere with the making 
 
340 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 of his office equal to a great national emergency. 
 When the lawyer had ceased, he rested his face upon 
 his hands and his elbows on his knees, and without 
 a particle of expression in his eyes.*or emotion in his 
 voice or maimer, thought the matter over a few 
 minutes, lie then slowly raised his head and looked 
 sadly at the lawyer as he ])ronounced the " opinion " 
 of the Court; " This Court is of the opinion that 
 this is a case of great military necessity. This Court 
 will go on with the affidavits." And so he did. 
 The result was that on the following morning a 
 squad of cavalry appeared, and "Jim" rode away 
 with them toward Fort Churchill in a highly " non- 
 Judicial " manner. 
 
 PO.ND vs. RE.\I, DEL MONTE. 
 
 Among ks causes cil'bres of Nevada, that of the 
 great mining suit of Pond cs. Real Del Monte, is one 
 of the most prominent. The following report of the 
 trial is from the ("arson Daily Independent. The 
 shares in these mines once sold for near 8400 per 
 foot, and after more than §1,000,000 expen'diture in 
 development, mills and litigation, were abandoned: — 
 
 November 26, 18(>I5. Fond vs. Ileal Del .Monte. 
 This ease got fairly under way yesterda}-. and the 
 probability is that it will continue some eight or ten 
 days. The ground in dis])ute is verj' valuable. 
 
 The counsel in the case is as follows: For plaintiffs, 
 Messrs. Quint, Hillj-cr, Gough. and Clayton. For 
 (lefcmlcnts, Messrs. Crittenden, Mesi'-k. Stewart, and 
 llardj'. A pretty strong tuam on both sides. 
 
 December 1. ISCIJ. The Keal Del Monte and Pond 
 ease is dragging its slow K'ligth along in our District 
 Court. It has already occujiicd the attention of the 
 court about two weeks, and promises to last some 
 lime to come. And yet you mustn't tax these mining 
 institutions — oh, no! — there's no property in 'em! 
 
 December J), 18G3. Pond vs. Del .Alonte.— This 
 suit is still progressing in our District Court, and, 
 being a very important case, it is but just that so full 
 an investigation of the facts be had. The District 
 Court ai Aurora was compelled to adjourn at the 
 end of a two weeks' session on account of a provi- 
 sion of the statutes, that a term of court in one 
 county must end before the time fixed bj- law for 
 the commencement of a term in another county in 
 the same district; so it was impossible to try this case 
 there within the two weeks of their court, and the 
 court had to adjourn. 15y agreenienl of both parlies 
 it was moved here, and, we are ))leased to say, one 
 of the best juries ever imjianeled in this county is 
 giving a fair and impartial hearing to this case. 
 
 December liJ, ISd!!. Pond and Del Monte case. 
 The evidence in this case has been submitted, and 
 the arguments of counsel are now being heard. We 
 were in court a few minutes j-ester<la}', and tried to 
 become interested in •slial'ts," "tunnels," "l)ed-rock." 
 •driils," and the numerous other mining terms, but 
 it so confused ns that we did not know wlu'lhcr we 
 were in a tunnel, or under the bed-rock. The suit 
 i* an important one — involving property (if we dare 
 call mines property) to the value, it is computed, of 
 upwards of §1,000,000, and as much more as you 
 rnaj- please to call it. Wo have heard it reported 
 about the streets that there is danger of a collision 
 between the )iarties. no matter which way the suit 
 i 'Ii'firJed. The t.ffims of the law will, wo hope, 
 look lo it that no such affair takes place. 
 
 December 17, 1863. Yesterday afternoon, the 
 counsel in the Del Monte and Pond case got through 
 with their everlasting jargon, and submitted the 
 cropjiings, bedrock and all that sort of thing, to the 
 jurj-. These wise men of " Washoe " were still at 
 work u])on the mines at the last accounts received. 
 It is i)robable that thej- will agree, or agree to dis- 
 agree, sometime to-daj-. 
 
 December IS, ISO.!. Pond and Del Monte. The 
 Jury in this case are still sleeping on soft boards, and 
 eating rough meals. They have been out some 
 t\venlj--six or fortj- hours, and it is the general sup- 
 position that the}- haven't come to any agreement as 
 )-et. We don't think they will unless (a wise dis- 
 pensation of law !) thcj- are starved into a verdict. 
 Why should men be ke])t imprisoned from day to 
 day, and from night to night, when they can't agree? 
 If an honest man entertains an honest oi)inion, what 
 it was first it will be last, no matter how much you 
 jiunish him, or how long you keep him. That's our 
 theorj-. 
 
 December nineteenth, 1863. The jurj- in the case 
 of the Pond and Del Monte, finailj*, after two days 
 session, came to the conclusion to --agree to disagree." 
 They came into court and so reported, and were dis- 
 charged. So the whole trial must be repeated again, 
 unless the parties come to some understanding, and 
 make a com])romise. It is said that this suit has 
 cost the litigants upwards of 8200,000. We should 
 not be at all surprised to see both mines fall into the 
 hands of the lawyers in the long run, if the contest 
 is continued. 
 
 January 10, 1864. The Real Del Monte and Pond 
 case settled. The telegraph brings us the pleasing 
 intelligence that this case has been satisfactorily set- 
 tled between the parties litigant. Why didn't they 
 do this before spending thousands of dollars for law- 
 yers and witness' fees? 
 
 \ 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 HOMICIDE, AND SOME OF ITS CAUSES. 
 
 Causes wliioh Leail to Hnmiciile — Miinkiiul Not X.itur.illy Bail 
 — Cupidity .Not a KreijHciit Cause — Few Honiii-idus for 
 Politics — Capital Punishment Infrequent — Konnation of 
 ( lond Society —The CanfieM Outrage — Death of Hndrow 
 and Dillon — Deatli of I!. W. Knox — Capture of I,. B. 
 Vail — Vail Tried and Huu'4 — His Other Proliahle Murders — 
 Deaths l>y Violence in IS4G and to 1881 in t'hronoloj.'ical 
 Order — Itetributive .lustice — .Sam Hrown — I.»'in{;for<l Peel — 
 The Kxtreine Penalty for .Murder — Judge Lynch's Tribunal 
 — Kuiglits of the Uuad. 
 
 l.\ all new mining communities the number of 
 homicides is greater in )>roportion to ]io)>ul:ition than 
 in places settled for agri(ull\iral, manufacturing, com- 
 mercial and other kindred purposes. The causes for 
 this unfortunate condition are numerous and varied. 
 The expectation of gaining sudtlen wealth in localities 
 reported to bo rich in mineral products, fires the 
 hearts of a restless class that can be found in every 
 grade of society — the speculative, the miserly, those 
 prone to gambling, the reckless, as well as the staid 
 and sober. These are thrown together, strangers to 
 each other, in a new land, amid chaotic and exciting 
 scenes — a cosmopolitan mob out ol' which a new soci- 
 ety must be evolved, new life associations formed; 
 and the belter elements of which must begin at once 
 
f^y; 
 
 ^ ../, • 
 
 ^/L A 
 
O cJ^. >^^^- 
 
Judge C. N. Harris 
 
 Was born at Dryden, Tompkins Count}', Now York, yepteinber 3, 1839. When 
 eight 3'ears of age, his parents removed to Bellevue, Eaton County, Michigan, and 
 in 1852 from thence to Hennepin County, Minnesota, where he grew to manhood. 
 He received a common school and academic education and progressed to the junior 
 year at Hamlin I'nivursitj', at Redwing, Minnesota. While at college he enlisted, 
 April, 1801, in Company F, First Regiment, Minnesota Volunteer Infantr}', and 
 was present at the battle of Bull Run, July 21st of that year. He was seriously 
 wounded and reported killed. Being left upon the field he was taken pri.soner and 
 sent to Richmond, Virginia, where he remained in the prison hospital until about 
 November, when he, with fifty-six others who were supposed to be permanently 
 disabled, was paroled and sent to Fortress Monroe, where he received his discharge. 
 In August, ISGl, no tidings having been received from him, funeral services were 
 held at his home in Minnesota. 
 
 Again taking service in the army in June, 1862, he received an appointment at 
 Washington, D. C, and remained there until August, 1864, when he resigned a 
 clerkship iu the Quartermaster General's office and came to Nevada, arriving in 
 September of that year. Having studied law during his stay in Washington, he 
 was admitted to the Bar before the Supreme Court of Minnesota, just as he was 
 leaving for Nevada. He took up his residence in Washoe County and entered 
 successfully upon the practice of his profession, until in 1866 he was elected Judge 
 of the Third Judicial District, consisting of the counties of Washoe and Roop. In 
 1870 he was elected Judge of the present Second District, comprising Douglas, 
 Ormsby, Washoe and Roop Counties. At the expiration of his term, in January, 
 1875, he resumed the practice of his profession at Carson City, to which place he 
 removed in 1873. 
 
 In 1876 he was appointed by President Grant Register of the United States Land 
 Office at Carson City, which he continued to hold until August, 1880, he having 
 tendered his resignation in March previous. He was one of the Nevada delegation 
 to the Cincinnati Republican Convention, which nominated Ha)'es to the Presi- 
 dency. While practicing his profession he also edits the Dailij Index, a small but 
 stalwart Republican paper, which commenced publication in December, 1880, at 
 Carson City. 
 
 Judge Harris is a man of good abilities as a lawyer and writer, and in char- 
 acter is of thoroughly independent and strong traits. In person he is tall and of 
 good appearance. He is thoroughly identified with the history of western Nevaila 
 and is well known throughout the State. To his thoi-ough acquaintance with the 
 subject and his ready pen the publishers of this work are indebted for the h'story 
 of the Bar of Nevada. 
 
 The Judge was married in November, 1867, to Miss Clementine Magee, of 
 Washington, D. C, and has two children, both boys. 
 
H(^MICIDE, AND SOME OF ITS CAUSES. 
 
 341 
 
 to lay a foundation upon which to rear the suporstruc- 
 turo of good government, of law, and of order. 
 
 MANKIND ARE NOT NATURALLV HAD. 
 
 Rut few civilized men are by nature ultorlj' bad. 
 The good traits of mankind as a rule overlialance the 
 bad ones. At least, such should bo, and without 
 doubt is. the normal condition. Hut where men con- 
 gregate in a new field, anil that Held is sought onlj- 
 for the one Sole object of si)eedily actjuiring wealth, i 
 inevitable fate decrees that a large projjortion must 
 meet with disappointment. Defeat of expectation 
 begets a reckless disposition; recklessness is followed 
 by dissipation, gambling and other attendant vices. 
 
 Man, who in a sober mood and well settled in 
 legitimate business operations, would not believe it 
 possible for him to raise his hand to slaj' a fellow, 
 often unwittingly becomes a very demon from plans 
 miscarried, hopes deferred, ambitions thwarted, and 
 body and brain stimulated witii strong waters pro- 
 duced by the subtle art of the distiller. 
 
 CUPIDITY NOT A FREQUENT C.\USE. 
 
 In the new mining regions comi)aratively i'cw men 
 are murdered for money. The greater proportion of 
 homicides result from reckless bravado. Persons 
 meet in saloons, bagnios and gambling places with 
 deadlj- weapons upon their persons; they drink, 
 gamble, dispute when half intoxicated, banter each 
 other, and at last draw out their weapons and for 
 fancied causes alone slay each other. If one survives, 
 when the moment of sobriety arrives, in nine cases 
 in ten remorse comes, to escape which deeper 
 draughts are indulged, more reckless conduct dis- 
 plaj-ed until at last another inuirrel with fatal results 
 ensues. 
 
 In the list of homicides we give below it will be 
 seen that the total is 402. Those for which trivial 
 causes, or none at all, is assigned are more than one- 
 half. The majority of these can safely be set down as 
 having begun in frivolous bravado, and never 
 would have occurred had men not gone unneces- 
 sarilj- armed and congregated in places where 
 their cooler thoughts were usurped by those bo- 
 gotten by the insidious wiles of strong drink. There 
 are thirt}' cases in which the causes are stated to be 
 gambling and drunken quarrels, which pro|)erly 
 should bo classed as of "no cause." In newly-settled 
 countries, where all are squatters alike, it would 
 seem as though disputes about land titles ought to 
 be a more prolific source of ((uarrels than all else; 
 and yet such is not the fact, for there are only 
 twentj'-eight homicides reported as having been 
 caused by quarrels about title of land, money 
 and other ])ro]>erty. Quarrels about women are 
 fittcen. The unsettled stafe of a new mining com- 
 munity, where the preponderating number are 
 males, and a great many of the females not of the 
 best class, makes their presence no inconsiderable 
 factor in the cause of death by violence. There are 
 
 thirteen cases given where death resulted in resist- 
 43 
 
 ing arrest. Most of these can be" attributed to 
 intemperance ; for no offender against the law, 
 unless incorrigible or inebriated, will risk his life in 
 a contest with odicers, but, when cornered, grace- 
 fully accept the situation, and peaceably yield — 
 trusting to juries and the law's delay for future lib- 
 ertj'. Those whom ollicers kill for resistance of 
 arrest can bo set down as brave, foolish, reckless 
 characters. In all the long list which follows below 
 there are onlj- twelve of those who were murdered 
 for monej'. Bj- this the inference can readilj- be 
 drawn that, as a class, the settlers in a new mining 
 region are not the sordid, cold-blooded sort, who 
 kill for lucre alone — though there are a few who 
 do so. The justification of self-defense is given in 
 eleven cases. 
 
 FEW HOMICIDES FOR POLITICS. 
 
 Though the record below covers a period of in- 
 tense political feeling; was during a time in the 
 history of an internecine war; when an occasional 
 individual, for expressing in unguarded moments, his 
 sincerest thoughts and most earnest belief in relation 
 to the condition of the common countrj-, was sent to 
 Fort Churchill and made to march about the parade 
 ground loaded with bags of sand; and when men 
 from all parts of the Union mingled and discussed 
 political and other subjects, to the honor of the peo 
 pie of that time there are only five cases of homicides 
 attributed to jiolitical quarrels. By Indians the 
 recoi'd gives five as the number killed. B}' Chinese 
 fourteen — mostly in factional fights. A stage-driver 
 was killed by robbers — jirobably by accident. One 
 Chinaman was killed by an irate father in retaliation 
 for an assault upon a girl of nine years. 
 
 CAPITAL PUNISII.MENT INFREQUENT. 
 
 With the numerous homicides reported, one would 
 suppose that the natural sequence would have been 
 many executions and manj* consignments to ])rison 
 for long terms of those escaping capital punishment. 
 Such, however, is not the fact. Though the laws 
 arc strict and well-defined, adequate punislinient is 
 meted to but few. This is an anomaly which Can 
 only be attributed to our jury system of trial. As a 
 rule, judges nor ollicers were lax in the discharge of 
 their duties, but those charged with crime were 
 almost invariably, enabled by friendly contributions, 
 to employ able counsel; trials were ])ostponed from 
 time to lime for various causes; in such a nomadic 
 community important witnesses would be lost sight 
 of; time would pass away until new events transpir- 
 ing as it ran would render obscure the deeds of the 
 past; and when trials wore finally had sympathetic 
 jurors would predominate in the ]iancl,and acquittal 
 would ollen follow when conviction should have 
 resulted. 
 
 To such causes must we attribute the fact, that of 
 the entire number tried, only eight persons were 
 hung by sheriffs; twenty-three sent for various 
 terms to State Prison; while twenty-nine were ac- 
 
342 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 quitted outright, and the jury in one case disagreed; 
 One case of killing was found to be an assault, and 
 the perpetrator fined. With those facts in view, is 
 it to be wondered at that the people at times relieved 
 the* law officers by lynching persons whom they 
 knew to be guilty of unjustifiable murder? The citi- 
 zens and vigilants hung thirteen. After committing 
 murder, three cases of suicide are reported. 
 
 FORMATION OF GOOD SOCIETY'. 
 
 With the adjustment of land titles; the establish- 
 ment of fixed boundaries; the steady progress which 
 ordinarj- business makes; the pursuit of permanent, 
 laudable occupations; the advent of the true women 
 who make home cheerful by their presence — lessen- 
 ing the allurements to the haunts of the vicious — 
 the crystallization of the incongruous elements 
 begins; a new progcnj- arrives, school houses appear, 
 churches are built, and thus the purifying process 
 continues until society in these new regions is as 
 good as in the older settled portions, and murders 
 and the causes which produce them reach the mini- 
 mum point. 
 
 THE CANFIELD OLTRAUE. 
 
 The circumstances attending two of the cases re- 
 ported below are herewith appended, as given by 
 the Belmont, Nye County, liejwr/er o{ April 20, 1867:- 
 
 On Wednesday night last, at about the hour of 
 eleven, a part}' of six persons proceeded to the office 
 of the Silver Bend Minint; Company, and there find- 
 ing the General Agent, Mr. K. B. Caiifield, demanded 
 his signature to a check for a sum of money amount- 
 ing to S3,0()0. As neither Air. Canfiold nor the com- 
 jianj- were indebted to anj- one. much less to either 
 of those who comprised the party, he verj- properly 
 refused to do anj- such thing. The leader of the 
 gang then informed him that the period of five 
 minutes would be given him for consideration, and 
 if he failed to do so violence would be used. Air. 
 (Janfield, not yielding, was, after the allotted time, 
 informed that he must " take a walk " with the ruf- 
 fians. Having just returned from a trip to .Manhat- 
 tan District, and being somewhat fatigued, and 
 withal, unarmed, he did as he was bidden. Pro- 
 ceeding up .Main Sireel, the j>artj' were joined bj- 
 others, a[)parcntly in the plot, who, procuring a 
 scantling, or something of the kind, mounted Mr. 
 Canfield astride, and in this predicament conveyed 
 him to various places in town, subjecting him to 
 divers brutal insults and indignities. 
 
 DEATH OF MODIIOW AND DICINON. 
 
 Finallj', between the houi-s of twelve and one 
 o'clock, they had made the rounds to the llighbridge 
 Saloon, near the corner of Main and Belmont Streets, 
 where, after drinkinir and carousing for a time, were 
 about to compel Mr. Canfield to again mount the 
 scantling, when Mr. Lew. M. Hodrow interfered in 
 his behalf, and an affray occurred, which terminated 
 fatally to Bodrow and one of the leaders of the as- 
 saulting party, named John P. Dignon. So far as we 
 can learn, there was no justification nor excuse what- 
 ever for the outrage upon .Mr. Canfield, but was only 
 a preconcerted j)lot U])on the j»art of a gang of 
 lawless rulfiuns to extort money from that gentleman 
 Jpr some fancied or anticipated grievance. 
 
 The superinducing cause which, in the above 
 instance, produced the death of two men was 
 whisky. A few men, whose occupation was mining, 
 being idle, anticipated the possibility of a reduction 
 of wages, and the importation of a dift'erent class of 
 miners in the neighborhood by Mr. Canfield. This 
 they talked over in the saloons, from time to time 
 drinking as the one-sided argument progressed. A 
 " lark " was proposed, and " fun " was" sought in the 
 torture of Canfield. who was a young, boyish look- 
 ing man at the time, and recently from the City of 
 New York. The result is written in blood. 
 
 DEATH OF R. W. KNOX. 
 
 How different the cause which induced L. B. Vail 
 to kill Eobert W . Knox, in Lincoln County, about 
 the same time — the spring of 1867. The Austin 
 ReceUh and Belmont Reporter tell the story — this 
 from the former: — 
 
 Some time near the latter part of March, or about 
 the first of April. Robert \V. Knox left this place 
 with a man named L. B. Yail for the southern por- 
 tion of the State, since which time nothing has been 
 heard of him until quite recently, when his dead 
 body was found near Hiko, under circumstances 
 which indicate that he had been murdered by Vail. 
 James E. Matthews, Sheriff of Lincoln County, 
 immediately instituted search for Vail, and in the 
 pursuit came to this place with Sheriff' Ranne}- of 
 Nj-e County, and enlisting the services of City Mar- 
 shal Hank Knerr, the trio captured Vail at the 
 White House, on Reese River, about ten miles from 
 Austin. 
 
 Vail and Knox, having a small drove of horses, 
 passed through Pahranagat Valley, in the early 
 part of April, and entered a canon about twenty 
 miles south of Hiko. Vail was often seen in the 
 valley, but Knox was never seen alive after going 
 into the caiion. Knox was said to have had about 
 8500 in coin and a check foi; S"1,<IOO, and is a relative 
 of II. C. Lillie of Virginia. Upon inquiries being 
 made of Vail as to the whereabouts of Kno.x, he 
 made different replies — at one time stating that he 
 was hunting stock; at others that he had gone to 
 the Alormon settlements, to Arizona, to the States, 
 etc. Finallj- Vail came from the camp in the caiion 
 and proceeded westward alone, with the drove of 
 stock. It was then noticed that he also wore some 
 of Knox's clothes. Shortly after this, men came 
 from southern Utah in search of stolen horses, and 
 followed Vail to Austin, who was then accompanied 
 bj- Wood Harrington. The .Mormons, securing the 
 aid of Hank Knerr and H. K. .Marshall, pursued the 
 two men. came up with them, shot and subsequently 
 ea]>tured Harrington, and recovered the stolen horses, 
 but Vail escaped, owing to the fieetness of his hoi-se. 
 
 CAPTURE OF I., II. VAIL. 
 
 He was not then suspected of murder, but the 
 arrival of .Matthews and Ranney with a warrant for 
 his arrest on that charge induced further search, 
 which resulted in his capture at the White House, 
 as above related. That Knox had been murdered 
 was positively ascertained. Indians passing the 
 former camping-ground of Vail in the canon, near 
 Hiko, discovered a saddle, that had been buried, 
 partly exhumed by coyotes. Pulling it out, they 
 
HOMICIDE. AND SOME OF ITS CAUSES. 
 
 343 
 
 carried it to the settlements, and related the circum- 
 stance. The people having before this suspected 
 foul play, went to the spot where the saddle was 
 found, guided by the Indian.s, for the )nir])Ose of 
 making further examinations. Upon digijing, they 
 soon found the body of Knox, who bad been 
 killed by a blow on the head, apparentl)' with an 
 axe, and, doubtless, while asleep. Vail had buried 
 the body, and then made his bed over the spot, 
 BO as to hide it. This position he had occupied 
 for more than a month — sleeping upon the grave 
 of his victim! 
 
 After his arrest. Vail was taken to Belmont, and 
 held in jail there, by order of Judge Curler, for 
 some week.s, fearing that, as there was no Judge 
 to try the case in Lincoln County, and no jail 
 there, he might escape, or be hung without trial. 
 Some time in Julj-, however. Sheriff Matthews, of 
 Lincoln Countj% took his prisoner and left Belmont 
 for Logan, then the principal mining camp of the 
 county. 
 
 VAIL TRIED AND HUNG. 
 
 A correspondent of the Belmont Reporter, writing 
 from Hiko, thus gives the sequel: — 
 
 On the tenth instant, the Sheriti" and an escort 
 of six men arrived here with L. B. Vail, and took 
 him before a Justice of the Peace ibr examination. 
 As soon as it became known that Vail bad arrived 
 the citizens of Pabranagat Valley arose en masse. 
 and u])on the eleventh proceeded to Logan, took the 
 prisoner from the authorities, and brought him to 
 this place, where they organized a court, impan- 
 eled a jury, and proceeded to trj- him for the mur- 
 der of Knox. Sheriff' Matthews, Justice Gorin, and 
 Count}' Commissioner Wilson, in the name of the 
 count}' demanded that the prisoner bo given up to 
 the first-named officer, but they were thrust out of 
 the room, and not allowed to return. 
 
 The prisoner was given a fair and impartial trial, 
 found irw'lt.V "f murder, and sentenced to be hung 
 the same night at 10 o'clock — the sentence having 
 been pronounced at fifteen minutes before 9 — 
 allowing Vail only one hour and a quarter in which 
 to prepare for death. He said " all right," and 
 never faltered or acknowledged his guilt. He went 
 unresistingly to the scatt'old at the expiration of the 
 allotted time, and when asked if he had anything to 
 say, sullenly answered, " No." Whereupon the trap 
 fell, and the life of L. B. Vail went out in atonement 
 for many dark and terrible deeds, 
 
 HIS OTHEK PROBABLE MURDERS. 
 
 That he was a great villain and merited his fate, 
 but few who knew him doubted. Several years 
 before, a man who had been in his company at 
 Washington, Nye County, disappeared suddenly, and 
 was never after heard of Vail at one time, in a 
 half serious, half joking manner, pointed out a spot 
 upon the Kuby range of mountains to Mr. Leo])old 
 Bertschi, who lived in Reose Kiver Valley, but who 
 then happened to be in his company, and remarked 
 that there was where he had buried three men whom 
 he had killed, and said that for seven weeks he had 
 slept upon the ground between their graves. This, in 
 
 the light of what had been proven \\\wu the liial for 
 the murder of Knox, it was thought might have been 
 true; but .Mr. Bertschi's demise, resulting from an 
 accident, on the thirteenth of July, two days after 
 Vail was hung, left no living witness to lead a party 
 of discovery to the place which Vail had pointed out. 
 
 184G. 
 October 5. John Snyder was stabbed and killed by 
 John F. Jleed, at Ciravelly Ford, Humboldt County. 
 They were members of the " Donner Party." 
 1851. 
 September 27. John Watson, alias " Texas," was 
 shot and killed by Green Hensly, near where Fort 
 Churchill now stands. Hensly was hung by his 
 associates immediately thereafter. 
 1853. 
 Joe Barnard was killed bj' a trader from t'alifornia, 
 at Clear Creek Station, on the line between 
 Douglas and Ormsby Counties. Barnard was one 
 of the framors of the Squatters' Eesolutions of 
 Government. 
 
 1857 
 
 Two men, one named Steward and the other Larkin. 
 were mining upon the east fork of Carson Uiver 
 in the fall of 1K57, In the month of November 
 Larkin was found murdered in the cabin occu])ied 
 by both, and Steward was nowhere to be found. 
 At first it was supposed that Larkin had been 
 killed bj^ Steward, who had fled the countiy. But 
 later, when the circumstances were all taken into 
 consideration, people entertained the settled con- 
 viction that both men were murdered by some one 
 unknown. Larkin had that summer arrived in 
 the valley with an emigrant train bound for Cali- 
 fornia, but falling in with some relatives who had 
 settled near (fcnoa, he was by them made ac- 
 quainted with Steward, and thus became bis 
 mining partner. Larkin had no money at the 
 time he began work with Steward, while the latter 
 had about §1,00(1 in bis possession and 8S00 de- 
 posited with a Mr. Wade, who lived in the valley. 
 Steward has never since been heard of, and it is 
 probable that he was killed and his body so dis- 
 posed of as to induce the belief that ho luid killed 
 his partner and fled. 
 
 1S.')0. 
 
 " French I'ele " was killed by Billy Brown, in a saloon 
 on B Street, in Virginia City. 
 
 February. William Bilboa was shot and killed by 
 Sam. Brown, the notorious desperailo, in the streets 
 at Carson City. Nothing was done with the mur- 
 derer, although the act was a wanton butchery. 
 
 March. K. II. Knot was shot and killed by a boy by 
 the name of John Herring, at Genoa, Douglas 
 County. 
 
 April 29. Jessup, alias " Pike, ' was stabbed and 
 
 killed by William Sides, at Gold Hill. A quarrel 
 over a game of cards. 
 
344 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 June. 
 
 Knahler was shot and killed in.:ir I be 
 
 SieiTa Nevada Works, Virginia City, in a ijuarrel 
 about his wife. 
 
 September 5. T. Nelson Deals was shot and killed 
 
 b)- -McAbo}', at Willowtown. on the Carson 
 
 Eiver, four miles above Eagtown, and his widow 
 now lives at Genoa. 
 
 September 13. Sailor Jack was shot bj" AVilliam 
 Newman, at Virginia City. 
 ISGO. 
 
 January. Homer AVoodruff was stabbed and killed 
 by Sam. Brown, in Virginia City. 
 
 January. Henriques was stabbed and killed by 
 
 Isaac- Lanier, at Virginia ('ily. A countrj-man of 
 Henriques killed Lanier with a piek-axe. 
 
 February 11. Joseph Newberry was shot and killed 
 
 by Mc.Marlin, near Genoa. Dispute over title to 
 
 land. 
 
 April. Domingo was shot and killed in his tent 
 
 by some person unknown. 
 
 April. A Mexican was killed in Light's saloon, Vir- 
 ginia City, Bill Burns and Jefl'. Standifer both 
 claiming the honor of firing the shot. 
 
 November. Jas. N. Stevenson was shot and killed 
 by John L. Blackburn, in Car.son City. 
 
 Martin Burke was stabbed fatally by Fitzgerald, 
 
 in Virginia City. 
 
 Billy Brown was killed by Jack Williams, in a bil- 
 liard saloon on North C Street, \'irginia City. 
 
 " Balz" was shot and killed by a man who subse- 
 sequently left the country with Mrs. " Balz." 
 1861. 
 
 McKenzie was killed by Sam. Brown, in Virginia 
 
 City. Brown ran a knife into his victim, and then 
 turned it around, completely cutting the heart out, 
 then wiped his bloody knife and laid down on a 
 billiard table and went to sleep. 
 
 August 31. Thomas Stead was killed b^- a soldier, 
 at Buckland Station, Lyon County. Probably an 
 election-day row. The man was killed with a 
 club. 
 
 In the fall Wm. Gejihard shot and killed an inoffensive 
 old Irishman, who was helping to build Honey 
 Lake Smith's Station. He was not even arrested 
 for the killing. 
 
 November IS. John L. Blackburn, Sheritf of Car- 
 son County, was stabbed and killed by Wm. May- 
 field, a gambler, at Carson City. 
 1862. 
 
 July 28. Dr. F. Chorpenning was killed, at Aurora, 
 by Wm. Pooler. The doctf)r was acting Assistant 
 Surgeon for the command of Captain Howe. 
 
 October 29. T. Varney was killed by Allen Mil- 
 stead, at i^agtown, on the C^arson JJiver. Mil- 
 stead was hanged .laniniry !>. 1863, at J^ayton, by 
 the Sheriff. 
 
 November 28. Cornelius Mason was killed by Ed- 
 ward Kiehardson. 
 
 Parsons Atkinson and his nephew, Wm. JJogers, 
 were killed by Wm. Barnwell and Stout, 
 
 at Pine Nut, Ormsby County. The murderers 
 fled the countr3' and were heard of no more. Dis- 
 pute in relation to coal. 
 
 December 10. Jack Williams, a noted desperado, 
 was killed in Pat. Lj-nch's saloon. Pistols were 
 fired in the front room to attract attention, when 
 the rear door of tho back room was opened a few 
 inches and a shot fired from a pistol, which killed 
 him. He had killed several men in California and 
 Nevada, had bitter enemies, and expected to be 
 killed finallj-. He was out on bail for robbery at 
 the time. 
 
 December 25. N. Brown was shot and killed by R. 
 T. Ferris alias "Butcher Bob," at the Pioneer Hotel 
 in Unionville. Ferris was put under bonds of 
 82,500 to appear for trial, but was never tried. 
 
 An unknown man, a German, was found murdered 
 on North B Street, Virginia Citj-. 
 
 December. Thomas Reader was shot and cut in 
 I such a manner as to cause his death, on B Street, 
 Virginia Citj'. 
 
 1863. 
 
 Januarj' 11. Morris lioach was killed bj- William 
 Loonej', who was acquitted. 
 
 January 17. John Smith was shot and killed by 
 Second Lieutenant Henry A. Williams, at Snake 
 Creek Station, in Honey Lake Valley. Quarrel 
 over a game of cards. Thej- both belonged to 
 Company C, Second California Volunteers. Smith 
 was a private soldier. 
 
 Januarj' 23. Geo. W. Derickson was killed by H. F. 
 Swayze, at Wasjioe City. 
 
 February 10. Tbos. McLaughlin was killed by Ed- 
 ward McGrath, at Aurora. A dispute over a min- 
 ing claim, the cause. 
 
 April 17. McKinty was stabbed with a knife, by 
 
 a Chinaman, at Winters' Mill, one-half mile south 
 of iurora. McKinty died on the twenty-fourth 
 
 of the same month. 
 
 .March. Kelly was shot in a cellar on North C 
 
 Street, Virginia City. 
 
 October 30. Wm. Jones was stabbed and killed in 
 the Texas saloon, Virginia City. 
 
 April 12. John Reed and John McMahon were shot 
 and killed on North C Street, Virginia City, bj' a 
 man named Campbell. The victims were police- 
 men. Cara])bell was acquitted. 
 
 An Italian was shot and killed in a saloon on B 
 Street. 
 
 May 15. Badgely was killed by Tyrrell, 
 
 at Aurora, Esmeralda County. 
 
 June. Henry E. Herter was killed on the Gould 
 & Curry wood ranch, near Steamboat Springs, bj' 
 parties unknown. Supposed to have been mur- 
 dered for his money. 
 
 July 4. The proprietor of the San Francisco Saloon, 
 corner of B and L^nion Streets, Virginia Citj', was 
 shot and killed by Joseph McGee. 
 
 August. Richardson was killed bj'J. P. Cullen^ 
 
 I at Virginia City. Cullen sentenced to two and 
 
HOMICIDE, AND SOME OF ITS CAUSES. 
 
 3-^5 
 
 one-half years in Slate Prison. The sentence 
 was considered severe. 
 
 Aufjust 22. George Ward was shot and killed bj' a 
 Jlexican named "Jose," at Unionville; a gambling 
 difficult}'. 
 
 October. IJichard N. Snowden was fatally stabbed 
 at Unionville, Humboldt County, by a teamster. 
 He was somewhat noted as a politician and had 
 formerly lived at Auburn, Caliibrnia. 
 
 October 9. iJeuben Martin was killed bj' John 
 Spiker, at Clinton, Lander County. 
 
 October 24. George Lloyd was shot and killed by 
 John Daley, at Aurora, Esmeralda County, during 
 a row in a saloon. 
 
 About this time an exciting scene occurred in the 
 streets of Austin. An unknown man, supposed to 
 be insane, appeared upon the crowded streets, 
 brandishing a glittering axe, cutting all who came 
 within his reach. Three or four men were either 
 killed bj- him or dangerously wounded. Passing 
 through town he went on down the Clifton Grade, 
 and, in a few hour-s, his dead bodj' was found in 
 the road. He had been shot. No legal imiuirj' 
 was ever made as to who killed him. People, 
 however, generally accredited the deed to a 
 sporting man, since deceased, known as '• White- 
 headed '' Uoss. For a long time, thereafter, when 
 anj' person wished to send a thrill of excitement, 
 that would almost result in a panic, among the 
 crowds that thronged the streets of Austin, he had 
 only to raise theory of '-Look out! here comes 
 the man with the axe!" 
 
 October 24. John L)ennis, afitis " EI Dorado Johnii}-," 
 was shot and killed at Virginia City, by Langford 
 Peel, known as " Farmer Peel." Pee! was acquitted 
 on the grounds of self-defense. Peel was killed 
 in Montana in 18(J7, by a man named Bull. 
 
 October 2t>. Yuk Lee was shot and killed by another 
 Chinaman, four miles out on the Ophir road from 
 
 Gold Hill. 
 
 October 2(i. Maldonado, alias " Muchacho," 
 
 was killed in an affray that closed a prize fight 
 near Carson City. 
 
 October 28. Horace Smith, once Mayor of Sacra- 
 mento, California, was shot by Capt. F. W. H. John- 
 son, at Virginia City, from the ett'octs of which ho 
 died in December following. These men had been 
 very friendly, but a dispute arose between them 
 concerning the payment of a sum of money claimed 
 by Smith as his share of percentage from the sale 
 of some Yellow Jacket stock, which the two were 
 interested in selling for a woman living in Victoria, 
 British Columbia. Ca])tain .Johnson was agent foi- 
 Wells, Fargo & Co., and Smith was a |)rominent 
 lawyer. The latter struck the former with a cane, 
 knocking him down, and wiiile in this po.siiion 
 Johnson drew a ])islol and fired. The wound was 
 not supposed to be mortal at first, but after a time 
 Smith began to grow worse and finallj- died, the 
 bullet having abraded an intestine, causing inflam- 
 
 mation and death. .lohnson was tried and ac- 
 quitted. 
 
 "Sugar Foot Jack " was killed on B Street, Virginia 
 City. 
 
 November 11. James Dodd was shot and killed by 
 Daniel Farn}^ at (Jold Hill, Storey County. Two 
 dogs were fighting in a saloon, when Farny threat- 
 ened to shoot the man who interfered with them. 
 The jury disagreed. 
 
 November 28. .Merrill was shot and killed by 
 
 Gleason. 
 
 November 29. S. Poraoroy was killed bj' Jesse Bonds, 
 at Clifton, Lander County. 
 
 December 1. Mac was stabbed and killed by 
 
 George Morton, at Everett House, at the foot of 
 Geiger Grade. Mac was boating Morton at the 
 time. He was acquitted. 
 
 December 9. Joe McGee was shot and killed bj' John 
 Daley, in Carson City, with the same gun with 
 which McGee killed Jack William, just one j-ear 
 previous. 
 
 December 11. Charles Steer was shot and killed by 
 Deborah Ann Phillips, at Virginia C^'ity, for insult- 
 ing language. She was sentenced to one year in 
 State Prison. She was pardoned out by Governor 
 Nye, prior to April 9, 18G4. 
 
 Jack Butler was killed by a Spanish woman known 
 as "Sailor Jack," in Virginia City — the woman 
 was his mistress. She was acquitted. 
 18G4. 
 
 February 2. W. B.Johnson was killed in Aurora bj- 
 a band of desperados, headed by John Daley. The 
 citizens formed a Vigilance Commit' ee and hanged 
 John Dalej-, Jack McDowell, Wm. Bucklej- and 
 James Masterson. Another one named Vance 
 was sentenced, but escaped. 
 
 February 10. John Scott was shot and killed by 
 William Brown, at Virginia City, (both colored). 
 A colored woman, the reputed wife of Brown, in 
 her testimony before the Coroner's Jur}', said she 
 was married to him " By nature and God Almighty 
 for four months." 
 
 March 2. Joseph Gurtey was shot and killed by 
 Louis Seldt, on the Divide in Gold Hill, Storey 
 County. Seldt went to State I'rison. 
 
 March 4. P. H. Dowd was shot and killed by William 
 Janes, in the Gem Saloon, Gold Hill; Quarrel 
 about business. Janes sent to State I'rison for life. 
 
 April 10. Eugene Aine was l<illed during a fight 
 between some Frenchmen, five in number, who had 
 squatted on some land claimed by Dr. Kills, at 
 Steamboat Springs, and a 7W(tx'' of fifteen settlers, 
 about one mile north of the hotel. Aine was one 
 of the Squatters. 
 
 April 29. William Jones was stabbed and killed by 
 Martin Harvey, in a saloon near Devil's Gate, 
 Storey County. His only excuse for committing 
 the murder was that Jones was a Union man. 
 
 April. .Tames Thompson was killed by Ford, at the 
 What Cheer House, Gold Hill. 
 
346 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 On election day for municipal offices at Austin, Rich- 
 ard Allman became involved in a dispute with 
 another man, about some trivial art'air, which 
 resulted in the killing of an innocent man upon the 
 street — a stranger who had but recently arrived 
 thci;e — and who knew nothing whatever of the 
 quarrel. Nothing was done with Allman, but he 
 left soon after for .Montana. 
 
 May 2G. John Clark was shot and killed by Thomas 
 Wilkinson, in Virginia City. Clark was tearing 
 down Wilkinson's fence. 
 
 June t). John E. Campbell was killed bj- H. T. I'ar- 
 lin, in a saloon. Campbell was the aggressor and 
 was trying to shoot Parliu, when the latter crushed 
 his skull by a blow from a pistol. Parlin was 
 acquitted. 
 
 July 4. Charles 11. Plum was stabbed and killed at 
 a ball in Ophir, Washoe County, by a brother of a 
 girl he kissed in a sportive manner, when dancing 
 with her. 
 
 July 11. David Melntyre was killed by "Charley," 
 near Silver City; was struck with a board. 
 
 August 5. John Doyle was stabbed and killed by 
 James Linn, at Dayton, Lyon County. Linn was 
 hanged by the citizens at 3 a. .m. on the ninth. 
 
 Some time late in the fall of this year a young 
 man named White, who had previously lived at 
 Genoa, but more recentlj- kcjit a waj-side inn at 
 New Pass, having had some difficulty with his 
 wife, seized their child of a year old, and started 
 with it in his arms, on horseback, across Pcese 
 River Vallej'. Friends of the wife pursued 
 White for the purpose of taking the child away 
 from hira; and when about to overtake him. near 
 the old town of Clifton, Lander ('ounty, he placed 
 a revolver at his child's head, and blew out its 
 brains. Then turning the ])istol to his own head, 
 he again fired, and fell from his horse a corj)se, 
 thus completing the horrid tragedy. 
 
 December 20. Michael Madden, «//«« "Micke}- Free," 
 was stabbed and killed by Charles Smith, in Gold 
 Hill, Storey County. Quarrel over a game of 
 cards. Sentenced to twenty-one years in State 
 I'rison. 
 
 December 22. Calvin Martin was killed by James 
 Parsf)n8, in Washoe County, lie was acquitted. 
 18G5. 
 
 Hiram H. Noble, a bystander, was fatally shot by 
 J. J. Comer, «/(«» " Pike," who was engaged in an 
 altercation with a notorious character named 
 Squires, at Carson City. Verdict, accidental. 
 
 March 8. Christo])lier Penny was stabbed and killed 
 by Eugene Jjcforo. on the (Jeigor (irade. 
 
 March 12. Benjamin Melcalf was shot and killed 
 by John E. Doyle. A drunken quarrel. 
 
 April 8. Peter O. Foster was killed at Gold Hill by 
 parties unknown. 
 
 May 29. Charles McNair was shot and killed by 
 
 Elgin, at American Flat, Storey County. The 
 
 latter expressed pleasure that Booth had killed 
 Lincoln, when McNair attem])ted to chastise him 
 for his exjircssions, and vvas killed. Elgin fled to 
 parts unknown. 
 
 May. Henry E. Atkins killed by Daniel Hughes, both 
 soldiers. 
 
 June 6. Two young (iermans, who had a vegeta- 
 ble garden in Washoe Valley, were found mur- 
 dered in their cabin. No clue to the perpetrators. 
 
 July. George Baker was killed near Butte Station 
 by Henrj- Warder. 
 
 During the summer, in Reese River Valley, a prom- 
 inent rancher by the name of Wiggins became 
 involved in a difficulty with one of his neighbors, 
 an Irishman named Reilly. Wiggins seized a 
 double-barreled shotgun and killed the man. He 
 was afterwards tried at Austin and acquitted. 
 Wiggins afterwards fell a victim to small-pox, 
 and died at Hamilton, White Pine County. 
 
 July. John Templeton was killed by Charles Duval, 
 at Gold Hill. Grand Jury failed to indict Duval 
 
 August 4. (ruilermo was killed by Carle 
 
 Christine, in \'irgiiiia City, with a double-edged 
 knife, in a billiard-room. 
 
 August 7. Colonel Charles F. McDcrmit was killed 
 by an Indian, at or near Fort McDorinit, and the 
 body was interred at Fort Churchill. 
 
 September 19. Jose Maria Pinto was shot and 
 killed bj' I. V. Castro, in Virginia City. Pinto 
 endeavored to shoot a woman, and Castro inter- 
 fered, with the above result. 
 
 October 4. Ballard was killed by 
 
 Williams, ten miles west of Egan Canon. Both 
 men were teamsters. 
 
 October 8. A ilexican, name unknown, was killed 
 at Genoa by a negro. Cause, jealousy. 
 
 October 10. Patrick MuUoy was stabbed and 
 killed at a brewery, in Virginia City. 
 
 October 18. Stephen Lynnis, n/ias " Dublin Chicken," 
 was shot and killed by John Grimes, in Austin, 
 Lander County; an election row. tirimes acquitted. 
 
 November 7. Michael Martin was shot and killed, 
 at Yankee Blade, by Alexander Mewton, while 
 endeavoring to keep Martin I'rom using a knil'e on 
 an unknown man. Newton acquitted. 
 
 November 21. G. A. Bell was found murdered, 
 about five miles from the Brunswick Mill, on the 
 Pino Nut Road; had been shot, and the body 
 multilated with an axe. Bell was a wood and lum- 
 ber dealer; the body was rifled of all valuables. 
 
 December 25. Herman Eggert was shot and killed 
 by T. McXamara. 
 
 Ben Bolton was killed by Bill Shepherd,, who put a 
 derringer to his head and blew out his victim's 
 brains. 
 
 Jessie Leister was shot and killed, at Virginia 
 City, by some one whose identity was never 
 known except to herself. She would not tell who 
 did the shooting. 
 
HOMICIDE, AND SOME OF ITS CAUSES. 
 
 3-47 
 
 1866. 
 
 Februarj- 2. Martin V. Burnliart was killed by 
 Thomas Peuslc}-, in the Orni.-ib}- Mouse, < 'arson City, 
 Ormsby County, in self- defense. The former 
 attacked him with a six-shooter, and thnunh mor- 
 tally wounded, I'oasley munai^ed to kill his assail- 
 ant. 
 
 February 2. Thomas Peasley was killed by Martin 
 V. Barnhart, in the Ormsby House, Carson City, 
 Ormsby County. Mistaken identity the oause. 
 
 Februar}' G. Dodge was killed by Doc Kimball, 
 
 a( Washoe City, Washoe County-. Dodge entered a 
 gambliiigden kejU by Kimball, and drawiiiga slung 
 shot struck him over the eye, when Kimbal' 
 stabbed him with a Bowie-knife. 
 
 March. George Rogers was killed bj' an Indian, 
 near Panaca. It was believed the act was insti- 
 gated by white men who were unfriendly to the 
 murdered man. 
 
 June 25. Ilisborn was killed by A. G. Bradley, 
 
 near Camp McDerrait. Bradley acted purely in 
 self-defense. 
 
 Jul}^ 14. J. L. Rj-aii was shot and killed bj- J. and 
 G. Showers, at Silver City, Storey County. 
 
 August. W. T. Morphy was shot and killed by 
 Kobert Kelly, in Belmont, Xyo County, during a 
 fight about some land. Kelly was convicted of 
 murder in the first degree, but obtaining a new 
 trial, was acquitted. 
 
 November 7. Daniel McCune was shot and killed 
 by Wm. Houston, at Belmont, Nye County. The 
 former had repeatedly threatened the life of Hous- 
 ton, and was killed in his own cabin, Houston 
 was acquitted on the ground of insanity. 
 
 November 14. Ned Curron was killed at Washoe, 
 Washoe County, by Jonathan Yates, a/ias Samp- 
 son. Cause unknown. Weapon, pistol. 
 1867. 
 
 January 3. Martin Doren was killed at Aurora, Esmer- 
 alda County, by James W. Downej-, in a bar room 
 fight, stabbed. An old feud had existed between 
 them a long time. 
 
 January 16. Thomas Andrews was killed in a difticulty 
 between himself and brother, and Jacob and Sam- 
 uel Steinongcr, over the title to some land, at Pine 
 Creek, Fjander County. 
 
 Tim. G.Smith, Sheriff of Ormsbj' County, was shot 
 and killed by Thomas ]{iley. Smith was attempt- 
 ing to arrest Rilej-. The murderer at the time 
 escaped, but on the second of June, 1868, Asa L. 
 Ken3'on recognized him as he was traveling along 
 the overland road near Dayton. Kenyon raised a 
 posfie and started after him. Riley, upon being 
 overtaken, began to shoot and severely wounded 
 one of his pursuers, 11. A. Comins. Uiley seeing 
 that his pursuers were sure to capture him, and 
 getting out of ammunition, killed himself 
 
 April 0. Cornelius Hill was found dead, with his 
 throat cut from ear to ear, in a stone house at 
 
 the u])|)or end of Spring Valley, Storey County, 
 lie ha<l been robbed of all valuables, his hands 
 tied behind his back. A large reward was oftered 
 for the perpetrators of the murder. 
 
 April 17. At Belmont, Nye County, a gang of 
 drunken ruffians seized l{. B. Canfield, (reneral 
 Agent of the Silver Bend .Mining (Jompany, and, 
 putting him astride a rail, rode him through town. 
 Lewis il. Bodrow interfered and was killed. J. 
 P. Dignon, one of the aggressors, was also killed. 
 Dignon was the first white person born at Galena, 
 Illinois. 
 
 Maj- 5. Joshua .Morford was killed by Cjn-us Able, 
 at Paradise Valley. Morford met Able on the 
 road and remarked: "We cannot both live in the 
 same valley," and commenced firing. Five shots 
 were fired, when Morford fell. 
 
 May 19. Stephen Richards was killed at Austin. 
 Ijandcr County, by Robert lOlliott. Hasty words 
 the only provocation. 
 
 May. R. W. Knox was killed by L. B. Vail, in Pah- 
 ranagat Valley, twenty miles below Hiko. Vail 
 was hung by the citizens the following eleventh of 
 July. 
 
 John Milleain murdered a woman named Julia Pru- 
 lette, at Virginia. He was ti-ied, convicted and 
 hung April 24, 1868. 
 
 July 4. Policeman Hawkins attempted to enter a 
 house kept by (!ad. Woods, in A'irginia City, when 
 John Dalton tried to ])revent him, and was shot 
 dead by the officer. 
 
 July 13. Gartrano Labnala was killed by blows on 
 the head by an old colored man, who was fined for 
 assault. 
 
 July. Tucker .lolm, a Rali-I'lc, was killed at one of 
 Coffman's stations, on the Humboldt road, b}' 
 Alexander l-'leming, of Dayton. Fleming sus- 
 pected the Indian of killing his brother some three 
 years since. 
 
 August 31. Richard P. Ryan was shot and killed 
 b}- Wm. Twaddle, at Ophir (^afion. The former 
 was assisting the Constable to gi't possession of a 
 mule, when a fight ctisiieil with the above result. 
 No conviction. 
 
 October 1"). .]. H. Ijchigh was shot and killed by O. 
 R. Putney, at Belmont, Nye County- I'utnej- was 
 badly woundeil and lost the use of an arm. Le- 
 high was the aggressor, and Putney was discharged 
 after a hearing before the proper triliunal. 
 
 November 25. John Ijadd}- was beaten to death by 
 Ike Hubbel, at (Jold Hill. Storey County. 
 
 December 13, Caldwell was killed at Glen- 
 dale, Ormsby County, by Joseph Stanley with a 
 knife. Dis])uto about a cow. 
 
 isi;s. 
 
 Januarj' 13. At Ophir Cafion, 'Syo County, a man 
 named .Mexander Johnson, was shot to <1eath in 
 the saloon of Perlej- A: Luce by one of the proprie- 
 tors thereof No trial. 
 
348 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 January IS. Charles Thompson was killed by officer 
 
 Conley, at Gold Hill. Storey County. The 
 
 officer had arrested Thompson for carrying a con- 
 cealed weapon, and after reachini^ the station-house 
 attempted to kill Conley, when the latter shot him 
 dead. 
 
 Februarj- (J. Jesse 31. Peters was killed by S. Gold- 
 stein, at Belmont, Nye County. The former had 
 threatened to take the life of the latter. No action 
 was taken in the matter, as the shooting was con- 
 sidered to be justifiable. 
 
 February 28. T. Francis Lawton was found mur- 
 dered at White Pine. lie was a picture dealer 
 from San Francisco. No clue to the perpetrators. 
 
 .March 29. Frank P. Pitt was killed at Pioche, Lin- 
 coln Count}-, by Jacob Colburn. Pitt was a saloon 
 keeper, and on a spree when he attacked Colburn. 
 Nothing done with Colburn. 
 
 .March 29. Antonio Valencia was shot and killed by 
 Calestro California, at Virginia Citj-, the result 
 of an old quarrel. 
 
 April 9. Charles Watson was killed by George New- 
 ton, at Silver City, Storey County. They com- 
 menced fighting up-stairs, and rolled down locked 
 in each other's embrace, when the fall broke their 
 holds. Newton got out his pocket-knife and 
 stabbed Watson. 
 
 April 1(!. Michael Dunne was killed by Leslie F. 
 Blackburn, at Virginia City. Dunne was a 
 " shoulder striker " from Montana, and was a bad 
 man. 
 
 May 5. Noble T. Sloeum was killed by Kufus B. 
 Anderson, a bo^- about eighteen years old, at 
 Austin, Lander County. Anderson was hung at 
 Austin, October 30, 1868. At the execution a 
 terrible scene was enacted. The noose not being 
 properlj' fastened slipped as the trap was sprung, 
 and the doomed boy landed on the ground upon 
 his feet. This was roiioatod. and the e.xcited 
 crowd began to think of rescuing him. But upon 
 a third attempt, strangulation was completed. 
 
 June G. John Bach shot and killed C. H. Maisch, 
 at Carson. Cau.so — a woman; wile of neither. 
 
 Juno 15. Lawrence Clark was shot and killed by 
 Robert Steon, Deputy Shoritt', at Belmont, Nye 
 County. Clark resisted the officer, and .Steen 
 shot him in self-defense. 
 
 Juno. 'S-i. Solomon Brundige was shot and killed 
 by A. J. JIuff, a/inn Gott', in Surpri.se Vallc}-. Got!' 
 was hanged b}' the citizens on the 27th. 
 
 Juno 26, Charles J. Robinson was killed at Yellow 
 Jacket Springs. Esmeralda County, by Frank 
 Schoonniaker. No one but the two present, and 
 no conviction. 
 
 July 18. Walter Williams was killed bj' Peter Hill, 
 at Silver City, Storey County, while assisting the 
 officers to arrest the latter. 
 
 July 18. Peter Hill, ulias "Russian Pete," while resist- 
 ing arrest for robbery at Silver City, Storey 
 County, took refuge in the North Potosi Tunnel. 
 
 'While the officers and posse were attempting to 
 drown him out, he killed one of the />osse. and 
 then putting the pistol into his own mouth blew 
 his brains out. 
 
 In August of this year, Thomas Carberry. commonly 
 known as Irish Tom. shot and killed a man named 
 Vance, at Austin. Vance had recently arrived there_ 
 from Montana, and claimed to be the " bad man " 
 from that region, while Carberrj-, though a quiet 
 man when sober, had been engaged in many shoot- 
 ing scrapes about Aurora and other new mining 
 localities. Vance assumed an oft'ensive attitude 
 toward (^arberrj-, and told him that he would kill 
 him. Irish Tom was at this time unarmed, and so 
 informing his antagonist, Vance told him to go and 
 prepare himself and come back shooting. Car- 
 berry quietly left, obtained a pistol and carelessly 
 sauntered back. Vance, who was on the lookout, 
 immediatel}- began to fire, Carberr}' advancing to 
 close range uotwithstandin.g his enemj-'s repeated 
 shots. When in position to suit him, Carberry 
 rested his pistol across his arm, took careful aim, 
 and shot Vance dead. Carberry ac(iuitted. 
 
 August 26. \V. 15. llawslej- was killed by Al. Haw- 
 loy, between Gold Hill and American Flat. After 
 committing the murder Hawley climbed the hill 
 towards the Ophir Grade, and seating himself on 
 a rock committed suicide. 
 
 September 22. Thomas Griffith was killed by George 
 Wegstein, at Vansickle's ranch, Douglas County, 
 in a row resulting from a political discussion. He 
 was killed by a shot from a double-barreled shot- 
 gun, 
 
 November 20. AI, P. Waterman was shot by Miles 
 Goodman, at Virginia City, Storej' Count}-. 
 
 November 30. Jerry Emerson, a rough, was killed 
 at Argenta. Lander County. He was shot by some 
 person unknown. 
 
 December 20. Owen Murphy was killed by James 
 Walsh, at Austin, Lander Count}-. Murphy was 
 drunk and ap|)liod foul epithets to the wife of 
 Walsh. 
 
 1869. 
 
 February 3. David Jlclntosh was shot and killed by 
 
 Al. Page, at Elko. 
 February 29. Lewis and Seiner, two Jew peddlers, 
 
 were fgund in the creek near Camp Halleck ;the 
 
 bodies bore the marks of an axe. No clue to the 
 
 murdei'ers. 
 April 1. Uonry A. Corcoran was shot and killed by 
 
 Thomas H. HeftVon. at Elko. 
 .May 2. Parsons was killed by Tom Thacker, at 
 
 Winnemucca, Humboldt County. 
 July 2. Thomas Matthews killed Charles Jones in 
 
 White Pino County. 
 July 6. -Mrs. Priscilla Wilford was found murdered 
 
 at her house in (Jlear Creek, Ormsby County, with 
 
 her throat cut. No duo to the murdorors, 
 July tl. James Bender was shot and killed by Wm. 
 
HOMICIDE, AND SOME OF ITS CAUSES. 
 
 349 
 
 Chamberlain, at Crescent Station, on the Tlill 
 Beachj- Toll-road. 
 
 August. John L. Roach was shot by Frank liankin 
 in Pine Nut Valley. Trouble grew out of a wood 
 ranch sale. Roach died August 21st. 
 
 August 24. Beneditto Maccsstrell was killed by 
 Angelo Lombardi at Virginia City, Storey County. 
 Beneditto had slandered Lombardi's sister. 
 
 August. Joseph Buys was found with his head 
 crushed and pockets turned wrong side out, near 
 Hamilton. White Pine County. No clue to the 
 perpetrators. 
 
 September 24. John McKinscj^ was shot and killed 
 
 by Raft'erty, at Paradise Valley. Rafferty was 
 
 one of a Sheriff's posse, and McKinsey resisted 
 arrest. 
 
 December. Hamilton was killed by S. P. How- 
 ard, at Hamilton, White Pine County. 
 1870. 
 
 January 13. George F. Mills was killed by Cor- 
 nelius Buckle^-, at Eureka, Eureka County. Mills 
 was a member of the Nevada Assembly in 1869. 
 Bucklej- was a noted desperado. 
 
 January 21. Jonathan Young was killed at Sher- 
 mantown. White Pine County, bj- Tray M. John- 
 son. The shot was intended for another man, but 
 missed its mark. Johnson was acquitted. 
 
 February 15. Wm. A. Decker was shot and killed by 
 George Price, at Empire, Ormsby County. The 
 dispute was over a game of cards. Price got 
 fifteen years in State Prison. 
 
 Februarj- 28. Vung Yew was killed by John Burke 
 at KIko. He was kicked to death. 
 
 February. Levi Maize, alias '-Buffalo Bill," was shot 
 and instantly killed by "FIj-ing Dutchman," at 
 Eureka, P^ureka County. 
 
 March 25. Peruvian Joe was killed by a Mexican 
 
 named Corralis, in the White Pine country, 
 
 during a drunken brawl. 
 
 March 27. Ah Sin and Lung King were killed by 
 Aug P]ye, and the latter was killed the same day 
 by Ah Tom. A row among the Celestials at Elko. 
 
 April 12. Henry Phibbs was killed by George Routh, 
 at Reno, Washoe Countj'. The shooting was acci- 
 dental, as the shot was intended for another man. 
 
 April 12. J. H. Miller was killed by George Routh, 
 at Reno, Washoe County, and during the shooting 
 killed a by-stander named Henry Phibbs. 
 
 May 1. George Liddicoat was killed by William" 
 Little, at llyc Patch, Humboldt County. During 
 a fight somebody struck Little, knocking him 
 senseless. When he came to, he began shooting 
 promiscuously, and killed his friend. 
 
 May. Ad. Rogers was shot and killed in the hills 
 about six miles east of Pioche, Lincoln ('ounty. 
 Ho had gone out to examine some mining claims, 
 in company with Moses Black. The latter re- 
 ported that Rogers had been accidentally shot with 
 his own jjistol, which had fallen from its scabbard, 
 the hammer striking a stone and exploding it. 
 44 
 
 May 24. Richard N. Allen was killed by Dr. J. N. 
 J{. Owen, at Hamilton, White Pine County. 
 
 June 0. Annie McManus was killed by Bernard J. 
 Cosgrove, at Elko, KIko (bounty. Sixty-five wounds 
 were inflicted with a knife. Sentenced to State 
 Prison for life. 
 
 June 10. John F. (Jlennon was killed bj^ a 'sport" 
 named Ulysses W. Hutchinson, at Hamilton, with 
 a knife; no cause known. 
 
 June 29. Richard H. Dodd was killed by William 
 Dodds, at Pioche, Jjincoln Count}'. Hard feeling 
 between the parties, the cause. 
 
 July 17. Farlej- was killed by Murphy, 
 
 near Moleen, Elko County. The former was steal- 
 ing a ride on the cars, and when ordered off by 
 ^lurphy, drew a pistol, when the latter struck 
 him with a stick of wood — killing him. 
 
 August 10. James Wilson was shot and killed by 
 Alexander McDonald, at Bald Mountain. 
 
 August 23. William Thompson was killed by 
 
 Glasset, at Pine Grove, Esmeralda County. The 
 
 bullet passed through the side of McCoolo, 
 
 the man it was intended to kill, and struck Thomp- 
 son, a bystander. 
 
 September 4. Andrew Whitlock was killed bj- Jas. 
 Maxwell, at .Meadow Valley Mill, Lincoln County. 
 The foi-mer was an important witness in a law- 
 suit over the title to a ranch, and Maxwell took 
 this way to kee]) liim i'rom testifying, and then 
 escaped over the line into Utah. 
 
 September 6. A Chinaman was found murdered 
 about four miles below F,lko, on the Humboldt 
 River. The body was partially consumed by fire. 
 No clue to the perpetrators. 
 
 September 15. Lyon was killed by James 
 
 Stuart, at Glenbrook Hotel, Lake Talioe. Lyon 
 was the aggressor, and repeatedly attcini)ted to 
 cut Stuart, when the latter stabbed him fatally. 
 
 September 20. Harrj' (lorman was killed b^- George 
 Hirsch, at Pioche, I/mcoln County. Grand Jury 
 ignored the bill against Hirsch. 
 
 September 29. Ah Cum, a Chinawoman, was killed 
 by Ah Lin, at Carson, Ormsby County. 
 
 October 4. Hiram Thornton was found shot through 
 the head, on Smith's Ranch (Hot Springs^ Was 
 known to have considerable money at the time. 
 
 October 13. Lally Whitmore was killed by Edward 
 Can, with a carbine. 
 
 October 30. R. H. Carson, <i/ias '• Kit," was killed 
 at Pioche by parties unknown. Antonio Cardenas 
 was indicted for the killing, but was not con- 
 victed. 
 
 November 9. W. (i. Snell was killed in a mining 
 dispute over the Banner and Creole mines. Also 
 resulted in wounding ten others and throwing two 
 men down a shaft seventy feet. 
 
 December 11. Robert Wallace was killed, by being 
 struck on the head with a bottle, at Pine Grove. 
 Name of murderer not given. 
 
3o0 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 1871. 
 
 February 15. .John Clapny, with several aliases, 
 was killed by Jas. D. Kennedy, in Pioche. Ken- 
 nedy was convicted of murder in the second de- 
 force, and obtained a new trial. The case was 
 finally nolk j/rossed. 
 
 February 18. McDonald was killed by 
 
 McCoy, at Highland, Lincoln County. McCoy 
 then shot and killed himself, supposed to be in- 
 sane. AVas a stranger in the vicinity. 
 
 February 22. Thos. Coleman was killed at Pioche, 
 Lincoln County. Morgan Courtney and Barney 
 Flood were arrested, but were discharged from 
 custody, there being no direct evidence against 
 them. 
 
 March 5. William Smith was killed by Arthur Per- 
 kins llcftiian, at Vii-ginia City, lleffnan was 
 hung at (iold Hill, March 24th, for the crime. 
 
 March 12. Thomas (iorson was killed by ^fike Case}-, 
 at Pioche, Lincoln County. A business settlement 
 the cause. 
 
 April 12. AVilliam McMurray was killed by K. D. 
 Chase and Alex. Frazer at Tem Piute, Lincoln 
 County. Dispute over a mining claim. Acquitted. 
 
 April 17. .lames Funk was shot and killed by his 
 wife, Hattie, at Fureka. I^ander Countj''. Cause, 
 domestic infelicity, and too much whisky. 
 
 May 3. W. R. Warnock was killed, at Pioche, Tjin- 
 coln County, while passing some fo"-ts on mines; a 
 number of parties were arrested, but no con- 
 victions. 
 
 May 11. All Foo, a Chinawoman, was shot and 
 killed on Plaza Street, Virginia City, by a China- 
 man. 
 
 .May 30, .1. J. Moniihan was killed bj' Dennis 
 
 JIulonoj' and Fox, at Pioche, Lincoln Countj-. 
 
 The}- both got clear. 
 
 May 30. Mike Casej- was killed by James Levy, at 
 Pioche, Lincoln County. Acquitted. Mike Casey 
 is the man who killed Thomas Corson, March 12th. 
 
 July 7. Samuel Cooklin was killed by a Sberiff's 
 posse, at Pioche, Lincoln County. He resisted 
 the officers, firing at them; thej' had to shoot him. 
 
 Jul}' 13. George Kirk was hung by Vigilants, at 
 Virginia City. He had been ordered to leave 
 town, and came back; was found drunk in a dance- 
 house, taken to the Sierra Nevada works and 
 hung; had "GOl " ])inned to him. 
 
 August 5. (Jeorge .M. Harris was shot and killed by 
 D. A. Mj'endorff, at Pioche, Lincoln County. 
 Harris slapped Myendorft" across the face, there- 
 upon the latter killed him. Myendorft' acquitted. 
 
 November !t. William Ilardwick was killed by Dan 
 Harkins, at Genoa. Douglas County. Harkins 
 kicked him in the face until he killed him. Money 
 matters was the cause. 
 
 November 26. James Butler was killed by Special 
 Officer Shea, at Pioche, Lincoln Countj'. In- 
 sulting and threatening language was the cause. 
 Acquitted. 
 
 November 26. John G. Wood was killed by Pres. 
 . Standifer, at Pioche, Lincoln County. The citi- 
 zens held that the killing was justifiable. 
 
 December 8. Thomas Kelly was killed by Mollie 
 Forshay, at Reno, Washoe Count}'. He was cook 
 in a restaurant, and attempted to put her out of 
 the place for disorderly conduct, when she stabbed 
 him. 
 
 December IS. John Duland was found murdered at 
 Panaca, Lincoln County. No clue to the perpe- 
 trator, and no known cause. 
 1872. 
 
 March 2. Geo. Eeed was killed by William Hawkins, 
 at St. Thomas, Lincoln County, accidentally. No 
 investigation. 
 
 April 4. Henry Berge was killed at Elko, by Thos. 
 Laswell and Charles Dancy. 
 
 May 18. H. A. Wickware was accidentally shot in 
 an allray between Jesse S. Pitzer and Al. Jonson. 
 His leg was amputated, but he subsetiuently died 
 from the eft'ects of the wound. 
 
 June 5. James Sullivan was killed by Morgan 
 ^ Courtney, for calling him -'hard names." Acquitted 
 on jury trial. 
 
 July 4. James Jjong was shot and killed by P. W. 
 .Mansfield, at Belmont, Nye County. 
 
 July 12. Fannie Peterson was killed by Perry Ful- 
 ler, at Pioche, Lincoln County. They had been 
 living together, and had separated some time 
 before. Sentenced to fifteen years in State Prison. 
 
 August 26. J. R. Gibson was killed by Theodore 
 Hawkins, at Double Springs, Douglas County. 
 Self-defense was claimed by Hawkins. 
 
 August 27. J. C. McMinn was shot and killed by (!. 
 E. Sampson, at Duckwater, Nye County, Quarrel 
 over a ranch. After several trials and a change 
 of venue to Austin, Sampson was acquitted. 
 
 September 13. George Wilson was killed by Wm. H. 
 Pierce, at Carson City. Pierce kept a low gam- 
 bling den, and Wilson was an inoffensive sick man. 
 Pierce got thirty years in State Prison. Pierce 
 made several escapes before convicted. 
 
 October 2. Charles Hickey was killed by Mike Hol- 
 land, at Pioche, Lincoln County. A newspaper 
 article reflecting on Hickey, supposed to have been 
 furnished by Holland, the cause. The (irand .lury 
 ignored the bill ajcainst Holland. 
 
 October 14. A Chinaman was killed by Buck, at 
 
 Noyes Ranch, Washoe County. 
 
 November 5. John V. Strain was fatally shot in an 
 altercation between George Manning and a man 
 named Dow, at Piocho. Cause, an election row. 
 Manning, charged with the shooting, was exam- 
 ined and discharged. 
 
 November 20. Wra. McCarthy was killed by James 
 Woods, at Pioche, Lincoln County, t^uarrel over 
 "" a game of cards. Woods was acquitted, as Mc- 
 Carthy struck first, 
 
 November 27. James Fvans was killed by Henry 
 Lucas, at Dry Valley Mills. Lincoln County. 
 
HOMICIDE, AND SOME OF IT8 CAUSES. 
 
 351 
 
 tjiiarrel about amount of work dono by each olbcr. 
 (irand Jury i>j;nored tho bill against Lucas. 
 
 December 21). Tbos. Lyiicb was sbot and killed by 
 George Bibbins, in Eureka, Eureka County, in a 
 billiard saloon. 
 
 December 27. Frank Willis was killed b}- Joseph 
 Haggerly, at Bullionvillo, Lincoln County. An 
 old grudge. Haggerty sentenced to five j-cars in 
 State Prison. 
 
 December 28. Thomas Ityan was killed at Pioche 
 in an underground tight between employees of tho 
 Jiaymond and Ely, and Pioche Phccnix Mining 
 Companies. Ko one was punished for the deed. 
 
 December. James Armstrong was killed by Bur- 
 bank, known as " Pike," in lluby Valle}'. 
 
 December. An Indian was found dead near the 
 Banner mine. The body was mangled almost be- 
 yond recognition, lie was indonlified by an ac- 
 quaintance through the puculiarity of his gun. 
 
 December 2'.i. ('harles Swanson was fatally shot at 
 Pioche by some unknown person. He was at the 
 time going to work in the IJaj-mond and Ely mine, 
 but at that time a i]uarrel was in progress between 
 that and another mining company, and guards 
 were posted about the works. It being dark, 
 Swanson was doubtless taken by the guard as an 
 intruder and shot. A reward of $1,650 was oft'ered 
 for the arrest of his slayer, but he was never 
 
 known. 
 
 187.3. 
 
 January 3. James L. Armstrong was killed by Geo. 
 
 Eubanks, at Elko, Elko (,'ounly. Stabbed. 
 January 5. Cornelius .Murphy was killed by Timothj^ 
 
 MuUins, at East Belmont, Nj^o County. .Nlullins 
 
 was aci(uitted on the ground of self-defense. 
 March 11. Harrison Pheasant was killed by Jtobert 
 
 G. Moon, at the Muddy. Dispute concerning 
 
 boundary lines. iMoon acipiitted. 
 April 27. William Mann was killed by highwaymen. 
 
 He was driver of the stage from I lumilton to W ard. 
 
 The robbers got Wells, Eargo &, (-lo.'s treasure-box. 
 
 The stage contained five passengers, none of whom 
 
 were molested. 
 May 1. Thomas Welch was killed by Frank Soule, 
 
 at Pioche, Lincoln County. Old business transac- 
 tions. Soule acquitted. 
 May 8. S. D. Potter was killed by Jell. Howard, at 
 
 Pioche, Lincoln County. Quarreled over a game of 
 
 cards, Howard got ten years in the State Prison. 
 William li. Bethards killed a man at Schullbourne, 
 
 while druidc. Was tried, convicted of manslaughter 
 
 and sent to State Prison, lie was subsequently 
 
 killed by a fellow convict. 
 May 17. Charles Sanbourn and (ius Wright were 
 
 found dead in the water at Coyote Springs, six 
 
 miles from Bristol. No clue to the perpetrators. 
 May 29. Thomas Flitcroff was killed by Joseph 
 
 Watts, atSchellbourne, White Pine County. 
 June 7. Benetill was killed by Crary,atMin- 
 
 eral City, Eureka County. Tho wives of each of 
 these two men began quarreling and their row was 
 taken up by the men. Crary blew the top of Bone- 
 fill's head oft' with a shotgun. 
 
 Juno 17. John Copoland was shot and killed by 
 David M. Hall, at Belmont, Nye County. They 
 were both from Utah, where their trouble origi- 
 nated. Hall was hanged on tho seventeenth of 
 October, 1873. This is tho only case of hanging 
 by sentence in this county. 
 
 June. Frank Durand was killed by John .Stewart, at 
 Columbus, Esmeralda County. Stewart was hanged 
 April 24, 1874, at Aurora. 
 
 July 1. Peter Fitzgerald, engineer of the (iouldand 
 Currjf mine, had a street duel with Sam. Hamil- 
 ton, a pri/.e-ring sport. After the exchange of 
 numerous shots, Hamilton was fatally wounded. 
 
 July 0. John H. Lynch was shot and killed by 
 James Harrington, at Pioche, Lincoln County. Dis- 
 
 - pute over a dog. He wounded three other men 
 at the same time. Harrington was sentenced to 
 fifteen years in State Prison. 
 
 July 15. liobert Ash was killed by Owen Ferguson, 
 at tho Carson County Hospital. Ash was stabbed 
 thirteen times with a surgical instrument. 
 
 August 1. Morgan Courtney was shot and killed by 
 George McKinney, at Pioche, Lincoln County, who 
 lay in wait for him and shot him in tlio back. 
 McKinney was acquitted. 
 
 August 1. B. 11. Kislle was shot and killed bj- D. 
 
 _ W. Cherry, at Pioche, Lincoln County. He was 
 
 stealing Cherry's barley. Cherry was acquitted. 
 
 August. C.B.Green was killed by ])aniel Mathenj', 
 in the vicinity of Eureka. (Jreen was a stock 
 man, and was killed to get possession of a band of 
 horses. 
 
 September 2. John Manning was shot and killed 
 by Deputy Sheriff McKee, at Pioche, Lincoln 
 County, in self-defense. Acquitted. 
 
 September 28. Henry Thompson was shot and 
 killed by John G. Wiggins, both of the Fifth 
 United States Cavalry, while on westward bound 
 passenger train. 
 
 October 2. A squaw called Susio was killed by 
 Henry Carl, at Toll House, Hot Creek Boad, Nye 
 County. Carl sentenced to ten years in State 
 Prison. 
 
 October 5. Antonio Cardinos was killed by Charles 
 Peasley, at Pioche, Lincoln County, in a bar-room 
 fight. Acquitted oti self-defense. 
 
 October 25. En Chu was stabbed and killed by 
 Charles Poo, at Elko. 
 
 November 1. ,\ Cliinanian was murdered and robbed 
 of 8800, at Toano, Elko County, by his brother 
 Celestials. Tho murderers wore arrested at Elko, 
 and lodged in jail. 
 
 November 2. Joseph W.Thomas was killed by Wm. 
 llosamurgay, at Pioche, Lincoln County. Dispute 
 concerning wages. Sentenced to fifteen years in 
 the State Prison. 
 
352 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 November 3. — Matthew Cahill was killed by Robert 
 McCollough, at Piocbe, Lincoln County, in a Hurdy 
 House. McCollough got out on bail, and went to 
 work in a mine, and had both eyes blown out by a 
 blast. He left Pioche for medical treatment, and 
 thus got free. 
 
 December 14. Oulstein was killed by John 
 
 Hubbard, at Morey, Nye County. Struck with a 
 shovel. Acquitted. 
 
 December 20. James Morgan was mysteriously 
 murdered at Elko. The bullet that did the deadlj- 
 work was shot through the door of the man's 
 room, striking him in the stomach. A man named 
 Myatt was arrested on suspicion. 
 
 December 25. Henry C. Blackwell was killed b}' 
 Alexander McKeever, at Duckwater. Nye County. 
 ^IcKeever was drunk, and had called upon a 
 daughter of Blackwcil's, and when requested to 
 leave killed the old man with an axe. McKeever 
 was sentenced to ten years in State Prison. 
 1874. 
 
 January 1. Antonio Rivara was killed by Victor 
 Monego, at Columbus, Esmeralda County, with a 
 knife. 
 
 January 27. John Donovan was killed by Charles 
 M. Williams, at Cherry Creek, White Pine County. 
 A mining claim dispute. 
 
 March. Christian Eckstein, his wife and two chil- 
 dren, and a young man named Noelin, were all 
 found dead at the cabin of the former, in Smoky 
 Valley, about fifteen miles southeast of Austin, 
 Lander County. It is not known certainly how 
 they came to their death, but circumstances point 
 to the theory that the men quarreled through 
 jealousy, that a homicide followed, and afterward 
 the slayer killed the woman and children and then 
 took his own life. 
 
 April 12. Barney Kenney, known as "Little Bar- 
 ney," was shot and killed by Malt Hedding, in the 
 El Dorado Saloon, Virginia City. 
 
 .\pril. l^iiR was killed bj- Pj'att, at El 
 
 horado ("anon. The ditticulty was first between 
 Pyatt and a man named Jones, when the former 
 took refuge behind some rocks. King went to 
 inform him that Jones was not hurt much, when 
 Pyatt shot him dead. The cilizons thereupon 
 surrounded the murderer and killed him. 
 
 May (i. Frank Hen was killcil by William Somers, 
 at Miller's Ranch, in l>ougIas (.'ounty. Somers 
 sentenced to State I'rison for life. 
 
 May 12. John K. McCalluni was shot and killed by 
 James Murphy, at Carson City. They had a row 
 sometime bofbro, and met again with the above 
 result. 
 May Hi. William Dolan was shot and killed by H. 
 H. Sutherland, at Belmont, N)'e Counly, in a bar- 
 room fight. Sutherland was lynched by the cit- 
 izens June 3d. 
 
 June 3. Mit Raymond, an old woman, well known 
 
 to the sporting fraternity, was shot dead by 
 unknown parties in Virginia City. 
 
 June 13. Jack Brannan was shot and killed by Gus 
 - Botto, at Eureka. Brannan was a desperado, and 
 had threatened to kill Botto on sight. 
 
 June 30. Wm. P. O'Reilly, prize fighter, was stabbed 
 \ fatally by Charles Huff, also a bruiser, in Brophy's 
 saloon. 
 
 June. A Chinaman was killed by Harrj' Cresswell, 
 
 V. at Hot Creek. The Celestial tried to carve him 
 with a butcher knife. 
 
 June. Giovania Fclisina, of Douglas County, was 
 killed by his brother, Dominco B. Felisina, and 
 the body burned. The act was witnessed by 
 another Italian, who dared not tell of it. The 
 killer escaped, and was arrested in Grasatto, Italy. 
 
 August 3. W. S. Pratt was killed by J. L, Downs, 
 near W'adsworth. A dispute concerning some land. 
 
 September 9. Samuel Wilcoxen was shot and killed 
 by James W. Glaze, at Virginia Citj'. The latter 
 was a barkeeper for the former, and was on a pro- 
 tracted drunk; when remonstrated with by Wil- 
 coxen, he drew a pistol and killed him. 
 
 October 3. W. Kellogg. M. Kane and Reilly 
 
 were killed during a fight for possession of the 
 Justice mine. Several others mortally wounded. 
 
 October 18. A Chinaman was killed in Chinatown, 
 Carson City. One hundred and fifty shots (esti- 
 mated) were fired, and then this one was killed 
 with a knife. A general battle among themselves. 
 
 November 2. Jim King was shot and killed by 
 James Gleason, at Pioche, Lincoln County. He 
 got twenty-one years in State Prison. 
 
 December 6. Pete Dawson and Charles Olsen were 
 killed bj' Indians, at Hiko, Lincoln County. 
 William Honan was wounded, but escaped. 
 1875. 
 
 March. John Ledgway was found dead in the 
 ruins of his house that was burned; he was an 
 apostate Mormon, and whether he was murdered 
 or not was never found out. 
 
 April 21. Daniel Osborn was beaten to death by 
 Thomas Dwyer. at Verdi, Washoe County, during 
 a fight. 
 
 April. J. N.Sharp was killed by J. W. Rover, at 
 Sulphur Springs, Humboldt Count}'. The remains 
 of Sharp were found buried in pieces at different 
 places. Robbery was the cause of the deed. Rover 
 was hung Februar}- 19. 1878. 
 
 May 10. John Beal and James McCrearj' were found 
 murdered, on the Silver Age Ranch, in liander 
 County. The bodies were in a cabin; had been 
 beaten terribly. 
 
 June 2(). John JJass was killed by officers McKee 
 and Kellcy, ati'ioche, Jjincoln County. Ileopened 
 tire on the officers, firing five shots. They had to 
 kill him to take him. 
 
 July 7. Jackson and Beck had a fight at 
 
 Eberhardt City, concerning a woman. Both were 
 stabbed, and both died from their wounds. 
 
C A.NICHOLS. 
 
 MRS CA NICHOLS. 
 
 .. «»-*i^*Q,-V-. ^v ., 
 
 
 HOTEL, RESlDENCL b( RANCH OF C.A.NICHOLS , PARADISE VALlEY , HUMBUlDT CO. 
 
HOMICIDE. AND SOBIE OF ITS CAUSES 
 
 353 
 
 July. Michael Downing was found murdered near 
 Battle Mountain. The body was purtialij' con- 
 sumed by fire, ^'o clue. 
 
 August 4. Corcoran was killed by Peter Larkin, 
 
 Mrgiiiia ("ity. Larkin was hung at Virginia City 
 on the nineteenth of January-, 1877. 
 
 August 24. Fred Twigg was killed by a shot from 
 
 the pistol of Moody, while the latter and 
 
 ~^ Kaymonil were at war with each other, at Reno, 
 Washoe County. 
 
 August. Ralph Slater was killed by Harry Will- 
 iams, near Austin, Lander County, with a shot- 
 gun. 
 
 September 2. At Lower Jefferson, Nye County, a 
 difficulty occurred between Owen Shehaii and 
 ■' Bufl'alo Jack," concerning some money matters. 
 ~ They both left the saloon together. Shortly after 
 a pistol shot was heard, and Shehan was found 
 dead. Jack was arrested but released for want of 
 proof 
 
 September 30. Richard Mason was shot and killed 
 by Ole Johnson, at Hicks Station. A debt of 
 twenty-six dollars was the cause. Johnson was 
 sent to State Prison for twenty-five years. 
 
 October 9. Casper D. Larkin was killed by George 
 Davis, at Pioche, Lincoln Countj-. Sentenced to 
 five years in State Prison. 
 
 October. Dick Wheeler was murdered in cold blood 
 ~ by a desjierado, Pat Birmingham, at " Poison 
 Switch." 
 
 October. Doc Miller was killed by Samuel Dorsey, 
 who struck him with a board. Acquitted. 
 
 November 19. Gafney was killed by James 
 
 Stanton, at Eub}' Hill. Stanton struck him with 
 a stick of cord- wood. 
 
 187tJ. 
 
 February 5. Donnellj' was murdered and robbed at 
 Franktown. Suspicion rested on Chinamen. 
 
 March 18. Earl Hamilton was killed by John Rice, 
 at Pioche, Latidor ( 'ounty. The latter was ejected 
 from a ballroom, and while the same was being 
 done he stabbed Hamilton with a bowie-knife. At 
 Hamilton's retiuostRice was not prosecuted. 
 
 David Roach was shot and killed by Lawrence 
 Lynch, at JJuby Hill. Roach had threatened to 
 kill Lynch. 
 
 April 0. James Sloan was killed by .lolm .Murphy, 
 at Kmpire, Ormsby County. The Coroner's report 
 says: James Sloan came to his death from pistol 
 shots fired by John Murphy and David Best. 
 
 April 7. Josejjh Shram was-killed by Dan Sullivan, 
 at Kureka, Kureka County. Both men wore gam- 
 blers. Weapons, pistols. 
 
 April 20. Tim Sullivan was stabbed and killed by 
 William Doiuioi!}-, at I'itxhe, Lincoln County. The 
 quarrel originated among the children of the men. 
 Donnelly escaped, noattempt was made torecajiutre 
 him. 
 V April 23. John Dallie was shot and killed by R. U. 
 Carter, at Virginia City. A woman who had been 
 
 living with Dallie, left him and went to live with 
 Carter, this caused the difficulty. 
 
 May 2L Webster was killed by John Able, near 
 
 Camp Halleck. Money matters the cause. Web- 
 ster was the aggressor. 
 
 July 15. S. B. Miller was killed by George De 
 Long, near Reno, Washoe County. Miller was 
 drunk and tried to "lasso" De Long. An axe 
 was the weapon. 
 
 July 26. D. L. Leighton was shot and killed by John 
 Donahue, at Ward City, White Pine County. The 
 next day Donahue was taken out and hanged b\- 
 a posse of fifteen armed citizens. Leighton had 
 testified against Donahue. 
 
 September 1. Kate .Miller (dias Bull Dog Kate, was 
 stabbed and killed by Mary Irwin alias Hog-eyed 
 Mary, at Eureka. An ill-feeling of long standing. 
 
 September 19. James Hubler was shot and killed by 
 Ed. M. Gillis, at Winnemucca. A game of cards the 
 cause. Sentenced to fifteen years in State Prison. 
 
 October 10. Ritchie was killed bj- Will- 
 iams, in Churchill Count}-, with a Honry rifle. 
 Both men were stock-raisers. 
 
 October 30. William Argall was killed b}- his son 
 at Austin, Lander County. Argall was drunk 
 and endeavored to chastise his wife, when the son 
 stabbed him with a pocket-knife. • 
 
 December 11. Frank Rcidy was shot and killed bj- 
 James Price at Virginia City. The pair were 
 "hoodlums," and the former refused to loan the 
 latter two dollars, the cause. 
 
 December 14. John Emery was shot and killed by 
 " Yank" Buswell at Pine Nut. The former was 
 drunk and endeavored to collect some money owed 
 him by Buswell. 
 
 Decemberie. Andrew Elholm was killed by James 
 _ Graham in Six-mile Canon, Storey County. El- 
 holm had called the latter a liar. 
 
 December. James Donovan was shot and killed by 
 Frank Killet at Jefferson, Xye County. The men 
 agreed to settle a dispute with ])ist<>l8,_and were to 
 walk twenty-five steps in opposite directions and 
 then commence tiring. Donovan proved treach- 
 erous and turned at seventeen steps. His pistol 
 missed fire, when Killet shot him dead. The Grand 
 Jury refused to indict him. 
 1877. 
 
 January 2. Richard Paildock was killed by Thomas 
 Hughes in a saloon row in \'irginia ('ity. 
 
 January 2. Thos. Hughes was killed by officer Mc- 
 Donald in Virginia City during a row in a saloon. 
 
 January. Charles Silverstein was killed by Robert 
 Crosier at Elko, Elko County. Jealousy of a 
 woman named Mollic Costello. Crosier was hanged 
 at Winnemucca October !!(l, 1877. 
 
 February 23. William (Jrover was killed by Dan 
 
 - Coughlin in Belleville. The men had a fight some 
 days before, and Coughlin emptied a shotgun into 
 the body of Grover to settle the matter. 
 
 February 24. Larry Lynch was shot and killed by 
 
354 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 John Hubbard in a saloon at Tuscarora, Elko 
 Countj-. Acquitted on the ground of self-dofense. 
 
 March 8. Eldro W. Kuoll was shot and killed by Tom 
 McDowell, near Fort Churchill. This was a delib- 
 erate, cold-blooded murder. McDowell claimed 
 that Knoll had 'loused" him. Sentenced for life 
 in State Prison. 
 
 April 2. Bellows, killed by John Leonard at 
 
 Ward, White Pine County; dispute over a game of 
 cards. Sentenced to ten j-ears in State Prison. 
 
 April 27. Two Pah-Ute bucks quarrelled over a 
 game of cards, in Newark Valley. They attacked 
 each other with knives, and fought for half an 
 hour; both were killed. 
 
 Maj-. Matt Gleason was shot* by John Eoach, at 
 Pobinson, W'hite Pine County. Gleason sold a 
 mine in which Poach was interested, without giving 
 an account to the latter. 
 
 June 7. Tinnerty was shot and killed by Sam 
 
 -MilLs, a negro boy, at llalleck Station. The boy 
 attacked a lady with a knife, and was knocked 
 down by a man standing near. The boy then got 
 a gun and shot Tinnerty, suppo.sing him to be the 
 one who struck him. 
 
 June 25. "Charley," a sheep-herder, was killed by 
 Thomas Xelson, at the Humboldt Sheep Ilange, 
 H^umboldt County. Charley refused to do some 
 work when ordered bj- his employer, Nelson, and 
 becoming angrj' attacked him. 
 
 June 28. Homer Young was killed bj' 1{. C. Ham- 
 mond, near Lake Tahoe. Young had Jumped some 
 timber-land claimed by Hammond. Hammond 
 claimed that he mistook his victim for a deer. 
 
 June. Ah Hoj', a Celestial, was killed by Mann 
 Tonn, another Celestial, at Austin, Lander County. 
 Tonn got twenty-five years in State Prison. 
 
 July 1. Isaac McManus was killed by Wm. L. 
 Carter and B. F. Holland, at Muddy Peservation, 
 Lincoln County. Joseph Dean, G. Sloan andChas. 
 Newman were arrested and ac(iuitted. 
 
 July 27. Murray was shot by Mc- 
 Donald, at Macke)' & Fair's wood camp near Reno, 
 Washoe County. 
 
 September (i. Watson was killed by Henry 
 
 ])rever, in Steptoe Valley. The men were supposed 
 to be friends. 
 
 September it. Ah Ping, a Chinaman, was killed by 
 lium Gee, in Carson <.'ity, Ormsby County. 
 
 September 17. Galli l^ucius was beaten to death by 
 two men, former partners of his, at Peno, Washoe 
 County. Pobbery was the object. 
 
 September HI. Wilson was killed, near Rock 
 
 Creek, by his partner, during a struggle I'or the 
 possession of a gun. 
 
 September 1!). Dowdel was shot by Charles 
 
 Wolgamolt, at Elko, Elko County. Dowdel was a 
 desperado, and was on a spree; had tired his six- 
 shooter at several men. 
 
 September 21. Moses Hayes was killed by W. H. 
 J'ierco, at Tuscarora, Elko County. Dispute over 
 
 a town lot. This is the same Pierce who shot 
 Wilson in ('arson, in 1872. 
 September. Mrs. Hull was shot and killed by 
 .- Mrs. Black, at Paradise Valley. A dispute over 
 the quality of some butter. 
 
 October 3. ilolliday was shot and killed by 
 
 Phillips, at Reno, Washoe County. Row in 
 
 a dance-house. 
 
 Ortober 8. Louis Ash was shot and killed by Special 
 Policeman Wm. Davis, at Virginia City, Storey 
 County. Those who saw the shooting, proclaim it 
 a deliberate murder. 
 
 October 9. R. C. Allen was shot and killed by F. 
 Topier, in Smith Creek Valley. Jealousy regard- 
 ing a squaw, the cause. Allen was a notorious 
 "bully." 
 
 October 20. Ah Fat was killed in a general row in 
 
 — Chinatown, Carson City. A fight among them- 
 selves. 
 
 October 23. Andrew Mills was shot and killed by 
 
 Redell, at Tuscarora, Elko County. An old 
 
 grudge had existed between the parties for a long 
 time. Mills struck Redell with an ax, and killed 
 him, after he was shot by the latter. Both died. 
 
 October 26. Baldorana was shot and killed by 
 
 Bradley Johnson, at Birch Creek, Lander County, 
 for stealing wood. 
 
 December 22. Ah Fung and Ah Quong had a tight 
 
 _ in ('arson City, during which both Celestials were 
 killed with the same knife. 
 
 Ed. Ricker was killed bj- Alf. Chartz, at Eureka, 
 Eureka County. Churlz was sentenced lor life in 
 the State Prison. 
 
 1878. 
 
 January 18. William Wallace was killed by J. H. 
 White, near Reese River Station, Lander County. 
 
 - The latter threw rocks down a shaft upon his 
 victim, then cut the windlass rope, and letl. A 
 dispute concerning relative interests the cause. 
 
 January 27. A Chinaman was shot and killed by 
 
 Wm. Hy. Doane, at Virginia City. He was a 
 
 domestic in the family, and was caught in the act 
 
 of committing an outrage on Doane's little girl, 
 
 aged nine j'oars. 
 January 29. Joe Parmental was murdered at his 
 
 place of business in Columbus, Esmeralda County, 
 - and the building set on fire. The remains of Joe 
 
 were found partiallj' consumed. 
 February 7. Ah Song was shot and killed at Carson 
 
 City, Ormsby Count}', by some one unknown. 
 April 7. Gus Botta was shot and killed by Jesse 
 
 Bigclow at Eureka, Eureka t'ountj'. The trouble 
 ~ grew out of a misunderstanding in regard to seats 
 
 at the Opera House. Bigelow fired five shots. 
 
 Botta did not draw a weapon. 
 
 April 18. James Farrell was killed by I'at Eagan, on 
 
 the Little Humboldt. 
 April. John F. Jiohm was killed by Frank Reed, at 
 
 Rock Creek. 
 
HOMICIDE, AND SOAIE Ob' ITS CAUSES. 
 
 355 
 
 April. Chollestra Negrana was killed by Pareno 
 
 Phillippo, at Secret Canon. 
 June 2. Albert 11. Adams was killed by R. 11. Clark, 
 
 in Cai-son (^ity, Ormslij- County. The latter had 
 
 struck a brother of 3-ount; Adams, and was accosted 
 
 on the street bj' Adams when Clark shot him. 
 .Tnne. George F. Culver was killed by James Clark, 
 
 in Tuscarora, Elko County. The shooting was 
 
 accidental, as the fight was between Clark and 
 
 Jo.seph (Jarcon. 
 July 5. James CJahill was killed bj- Jerry Coft'noy, at 
 
 Tybo, Nye County, with an ordinary pocket-knife. 
 
 A drunken quarrel over some trivial matter. Coff- 
 
 ney sentenced to twenty years in State Prison. 
 July 12. Fletcher was shot and killed by 
 
 Daley, at Virginia Citj', Storey County, Fletcher 
 
 having struck Daley with an axe. 
 July 20. Michael Donahue was shot and killed by 
 
 Eobert Frazer, at Pioche, Lincoln County. The 
 
 former was a witness in a lawsuit and Frazer took 
 
 it upon himself to keep him from giving testimony. 
 
 Frazer died while waiting a trial. 
 July 29. David Holland was killed by K. P. Hull, 
 
 at Columbus. Dispute over a game of cards. 
 Julj- 29. William H. Uethards, was killed by Thomas 
 
 Flj-nn, at the Carson State Prison. Both men 
 
 were prisoners. 
 Jul}'. L. M. Huntsman was killed by a negro at 
 
 Carlin. A dispute about a saddle. 
 August. Peter Deegan was killed by John Carnes, 
 
 at Silver Reef A bar-room fight. 
 August. John Tuttlewas shot and killed by a woman 
 
 named Georgie Syphers, at Belleville. The man 
 
 had slandered her sister. 
 October 15. Otto SehoU was killed by Mike Carney, 
 
 at Ward, White Pine County. Scholl charged 
 
 Carney with selling himself at the election of 1874. 
 
 Carney was acquitted. 
 November 23. Ed. Haiilej- was killed in a row at a 
 
 horse-race at the Muddy, Lincoln County. 
 December 9. Luke Gafney was shot and Uijjod by 
 
 James Quin. at Elko. 
 
 1879. 
 
 .lanuary 4. Levy Keithly was shot and killed by C. 
 A. Buck, at Belleville. A misunderstanding about 
 82.50. 
 
 January 19. Mrs. Wm. (Jill was killed bj- her hus- 
 band, Wm. Gill, between Beckwith and lieno; the 
 body was horribly mangled. Gill came to Reno 
 and re])0rted that his wife had frozen to death. 
 
 April. Adam Clark was shot and killed by Hugh J. 
 Brady, at the Justice Mine. Clark was shift boss, 
 and refused to allow Brady to go below, as the 
 latter was drunk. 
 
 May 8. Oliver Webb was shot and killed by O. H. 
 Farlinger, in Eureka, Eureka County, in a board- 
 ing-house. 
 
 May. T. K. West was shot and killed by C. W. Hy- 
 mor at Paradise; the two men were at a perform- 
 ance; Hymer sat on West's lap, as the hall was 
 
 crowded; when asked to get up, he killed West. 
 Hymer was hung at Winnemucca, April <!, 1880. 
 
 Julj^ 7. Joe A])ers was shot and killed bj- ('a])tain 
 Akey, at Osceola, White Pine County; a dispute 
 over a mine. 
 
 July 21. H. Symons, a Constable, was shot by John 
 F. Pritehard, at Virginia City. Sj-mons was 
 endeavoring to arrest the latter. Pritehard was 
 sentenced to be hung, January 16, 1880. 
 
 July 27. S. I). Shelton was shot and killed by R. 
 A. Murphy, at Elko. 
 
 August 2. John L. Lancaster was shot and killed 
 by his brother, Morris Lancaster, in Mason's Val- 
 ley. Dispute over a water-right. 
 
 August 5. Angelo Proti was killed by Jose Zarger, 
 _ in Eureka, Eureka County, with a billiard cue. 
 Trouble over coal excitement. 
 
 August 18. Fish Creek Battle — 117 Italians resisted 
 a Sheriff's posse of nine men, resulting in the 
 death of five Italians, and the wounding of six 
 others. 
 
 November 10. S. M. Cakes was shot and killed by 
 Mrs. Dr. Snow, at Reno, W'ashoe County. Oakes 
 wont to the house after the doctor, and, being 
 deaf, did not hear Mrs. Snow's question of "Who 
 is there?" She supposing him to bo a burglar, fired 
 a shot through the door, which killed him. It 
 was a deplorable accident. 
 1880. 
 
 January 6. P. S. Traver was shot and killed bj- 
 Mike Owens, at Candelaria, Esmeralda County. 
 A misunderstanding in regard to a check in pay- 
 ment of services. Traver was Count}- Commis- 
 sioner of Esmeralda Countj'. Owens wasac(iuitted. 
 
 February 1. Thomas LaswoU was shot and killed 
 - by Barnej' Fitzgerald, at Reno, Washoe County. A 
 dispute over a game of cards. 
 
 May 2. Billy Martin was shot and killed by John 
 Brent at Eureka. Eureka County. 
 
 August ] (I. Thomas Mack was shot and killed by 
 Thomas Burns at Grantsvillo, Nye County. They 
 had been drinking together all night and so])aratiMl 
 in the morning. About 11 a. .m. Burns returned 
 to the saloon and shot his victim while the latter 
 was asleep. 
 
 December 9. John McCann was shot and killed by 
 _ Charles Jlarshall, at Belleville. Marshall was hung 
 by the citizens. 
 
 December Ifi. Thomas Logan was shot and mor- 
 talh' wounded by Bart Greeley, at Candelaria, 
 Esmeralda County. A trivial quarrel originating 
 in a bar-room was the cause. Greeley escaped. 
 1881. 
 
 Janinuy 1(!. James Mansel was shot and killod b}- 
 Frank Perkins, at Reno, Washoe County. Quarrel 
 over a game of car<ls. 
 
 April 10. Joe Turner was shot and killed by Doc 
 
 - Callison, at Candelaria, Esmeralda County. Trouble 
 over a game of canls. ('allison was acquitted on 
 the ground of self-defense. 
 
356 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 March 29. S. E. Merrill was killed by Mattias Sal- 
 mon, at Grantsville, Xje County. The murderer 
 was hanged to a windmill the same night by 
 " vigilantes," with "329" pinned to him. Salmon 
 is said to have been a member of the notorious 
 Vasquez band. 
 
 RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE. 
 
 The criminal history of Nevada would be incom- 
 plete without a few sketches of some of the more 
 notorious participants in the frequent broils which 
 occurred in the earlier times of the new State. 
 During his brief career in Nevada, 
 
 SA.M BROWN 
 
 Was, perhaps, more dreaded than any other of his 
 class — because of his treachery and utter meanness 
 generally. The most of the so-called desperadoes 
 have some redeeming quality, the remembrance of 
 which when they are taken off will cause a feeling 
 of pity at their fate and a sigh that they were not 
 better men and still alive. But no such redeeming 
 feature shone in the character of Sam Brown, and 
 no gleam of pity from breast of mortal man or 
 woman has ever illumed his pathway to the tomb. 
 In pei-son he was of medium height, heavy set, 
 florid complexion, and coarse, red hair and whiskers. 
 He swaggered through the streets and in the bar- 
 rooms, heavy-voiced and insolent to those unarmed, 
 with a large revolver and huge Bowie-knife slung 
 to a belt about his waist — simply a brutal mon- 
 ster, with every instinct brutish, wearing the hu- 
 man form. That he was not sooner killed can be 
 attributed to the fact that he selected for his vic- 
 tims those whom he supposed to be without friends 
 to avenge their death. In the time when he lived, 
 the population of the Territory comprised people 
 from all parts of the Pacific Coast, as well as 
 those who had emigrated from the East, strangers 
 to each other, a heterogeneous, cosmopolitan mass. 
 Sam Brown selected his "man for breakfast" from 
 the class without friends, and then deliberately 
 murdered him only when he knew perfectly well 
 that his own person was safe from harm, lie was 
 an arrant coward, and did his killing mainly when 
 he had been stimulated to courage by strong drink. 
 He did not daro to provoke a <|uarrel with one 
 equally well armed; nor did he, after engaging in 
 a quarrel, invite an adversarj- out into a fair field, 
 as brave though reckless men do. Although the 
 record given above shows only three men to have 
 been killed by him, he was guilty of many other 
 murders — one of a man known as one-eyed Gray, 
 in this State, in addition to those reported, lie was 
 said to have killed his first man in Texas, and in 
 1853 is heard of in Mariposa, California, in the kill- 
 ing of a man named T;yons. About 1854 he seems 
 to have been defending his ''bank" at Fiddletown, 
 California, and in doing so kills three Chilcnos 
 and wounds the fourth one. for wliich he was sent to 
 San (^uentin for two years. People who regarded 
 
 the rights of others desired to see him summarily 
 dealt with, and yet society was so crude that no 
 one made a movement to punish him, and as he had 
 not yet killed anj- pei-son in whom anj-body else 
 had special interest, none had moved in the organi- 
 zation of a "vigilance committee," those swift-deal- 
 ing and effective tribunals which are the terror of 
 evil-doers in such communities as those of the era- 
 bryotic State of Nevada in the year 1860. 
 
 Sam Brown spent mostof his time during the winter 
 of 1859-60 at Genoa. From the spring of 1860 until 
 the time of his death in July, 1861, he alternated 
 between Carson City and Virginia. On the day of 
 his death, which was also his birthday, he left Car- 
 son City in company with a man named Alexander 
 Henderson for Aurora, remarking that " as this was 
 his birthday he must have a man for supper." On 
 the road the two stopped at Webster's Hotel, between 
 Carson and Genoa, and sought a quarrel with Mr. 
 Webster, but finding Webster prepared for business, 
 this discreet murderer backed down, and with his 
 companion rode away. At Genoa, Brown attempted 
 the same game with Ilobert Ijockridge, and again 
 left when he discovered his danger. Henry Van- 
 sickle, an old resident of the valley, a genial man. 
 withal, and a quiet citizen, lived three miles above 
 Genoa, where he kept a hotel. Thither rode Brown 
 and his companion, arriving there just as the bell 
 was ringing for supper. Here thought Brown, is a 
 man who will not fight, and can be safelj- killed. 
 Brown dismounted from his horse, and when first 
 seen by Vansickle was in the act of untying his leg- 
 gings, as the latter thought. Vansickle then asked 
 him if he should put up his horse. Brown then 
 turned to Vansickle and in his rough way said: "No, 
 I would not stop with you, but I have come to kill 
 
 you, you 
 
 " and immediately drew his pistol. 
 
 Mr. Vansickle was taken completely by surprise, and 
 was not armed. He was well acquainted with Brown, 
 from his often having stopped at his hotel, had never 
 had any quarrel with him, and Brown had never 
 before exhibited any ill-feeling towards him. As 
 quickly as possible, and belbre Brown could shoot. 
 Vansickle rushed into the dining-room, at that time 
 filled with guests at the supper table. Brown follow- 
 ing, pistol in hand. Instinctivclj- the pei-sons at the 
 table ail jumped to their feet, thus covering Van- 
 sickle's retreat effectual Ij-. Without shooting. Brown 
 then went out of the house and rode off up the road. 
 Vansickle in the meantime had got possession of his 
 gun — a double-barreled fowling-piece — and taking in 
 the situation, concluded that as Brown had begun 
 upon him he might as well settle the affair at once, 
 and not live in fear of future attacks. The gun was 
 loaded with fine shot, which Vansickle did not take 
 time to draw, but added a charge of buckshot to 
 each barrel. Then, having ordered out a horse, sad- 
 dled, ho mounted the animal and gave chase to 
 Brown — an avenging Nemesis. Overtaking Brown 
 and his companion about a mile up the road, and 
 
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HOMICIDE. AND SOME OF ITS CAUSES. 
 
 357 
 
 when getting within shooting distance, Vansiekle 
 called to ilenderson to get out of the way, which ho 
 quickly did. Vansiekle then discharged both bar- 
 rels of his gun at Brown, knocking him ofT of his 
 horse, but not seriou.sly wounding him, for ho soon 
 remounted and fired two shots from his pistol at 
 ^'ansiekle, and then rode on as fast as he could. 
 Vansiekle followed him with his empty gun until he 
 arrived at Mr. William Cosser's house in which Brown 
 had taken refuge. 
 
 MeantiniOj.soveral persons had followed Vansiekle 
 from his house, and here overtook him, who had 
 been thoughtful enough to bring with them a suppl^^ 
 of ammunition, with which Vansiekle again loaded 
 his gun. Brown, soon after, came out of the house 
 and started up the road in the direction of Olds' 
 Station, with Vansiekle in pursuit. Having the 
 fleetest horse, Vansiekle overtook Brown near Motls- 
 ville, and again discharged both barrels of his gun, 
 but without apparent effect. Brown then turned 
 and, after firing three shots at Vansiekle, rode up to 
 the residence of Mrs. Mott and took refuge in the 
 house. By this time it began to grow quite dark, 
 and Vansiekle, not caring to attack his enemy while 
 he was under cover, watched the premises until he 
 should come out. After waiting for some time and 
 seeing no a])pearance of Brown, and a ])erson hap- 
 pening along tho road. Vansiekle prevailed upon this 
 passer-by to enter the house, and report whether 
 or not the bird had flown. This man reported that 
 Brown was not there. Whereupon Vansiekle hurried 
 on to Luther Olds' hotel, expecting to find Brown 
 there ahead of him. But he was disappointed — 
 he was not there. Ho remained there, however, for 
 a short time, and at length heard the jingle of spurs 
 which he recognized as those worn by Brown. Imme- 
 diately leaving the house, Vansiekle reached the 
 road just as Brown had alighted from his horse. 
 Confronting him with the remark, " Sam, I have got 
 you now!" he discharged both barrels of his gun into 
 his breast. Ujjon seeing his pursuer, mortal terror 
 seized \i\)on the ruffian; abject, unutterable fear 
 sealed his lips; a spasmodic, agonizing yell of despair 
 involuntarily forced itself from his mouth, "piercing 
 the night's dull ear," and the inhuman monster was 
 dead ! 
 
 This happened on the si.xth of July, 1861; an 
 inquest was held on tho seventh, and on the eighth an 
 examination of Vansiekle resulted in his discharge — 
 the general verdict being that ho had shown good 
 sense, and. instead of deserving punishment, ho 
 should be rewarded for having thus rid the commu- 
 nity of this brutal and cowardly villain. 
 
 LANOFOKK PEEL. 
 
 Among tho early noted characters of Nevada was 
 ho of the above name, though commonly know as 
 "Farmer" Peel. Ho arrived at Virginia City in 
 1863, and it soon became noised about among the 
 " fancy " that he was a man of metal — of " sand " — 
 45 
 
 and had had a severe fight at Salt Lake City. The 
 truth was, that at Salt Lake ho had become involved 
 in a quarrel with a soldier, pistols had been used 
 until emptied, and that both combatants had fallen 
 severely wounded; that I'ecl, while lying as he then 
 thought mortally hurt, had drawn his knife and 
 crawled, painfullj-, towards his prostrate adversary, 
 who was unable to move, and stabbed him to the 
 heart. Peel did not look like the typical " bad man." 
 Ho was " mild-mannerod," with keen, blue eyes, 
 sandy beard, was slight built, and of medium height. 
 He was quiet in his ways, drank lightly and never 
 became boisterous. The other " roughs " soon 
 sought his "measure." Dick Paddock began a 
 discussion with him in a saloon in Virginia, a few 
 months after he came there, and when a few hard 
 words had passed, said to Peel: "Do you want to 
 take it up?" "I havn't any objections," said 
 Peel in his quiet way. " Very well," said Paddock, 
 " what's your game?" "Your game is mine," was 
 the rejoinder. " Come right outside," said Paddock. 
 They went out, took positions and opened fire. 
 Peel was not hurt, but Paddock was soon disabled 
 by a wound in his breast and tho right hand, from 
 which he afterward recovered. 
 
 Not long after this occurrence, Peel was attacked 
 in a saloon on B Street, Virginia City, by John Den- 
 nis, commonly known as " Kl Dorado Johnny," with 
 fatal results to the latter. When Dennis made up 
 his mind to provoke Peel into a fight, he went to a 
 barber-shop, got shaved, had his hair curled and his 
 boots ])olished, stating that he intended to go after 
 a " bad man," and desired to look " nice " if he got 
 killed. He made as jileasant a looking corpse as the 
 roughs over turned out to bury. In the winter of 
 1867, Peel loft Virginia and never returned. Ho 
 went to Belmont, Nj-o Countj-, where ho tarried 
 several months, leaving in May, of that year, for 
 Montana. On tho twenty-second of July, two 
 months later, he was shot and killed at Helena, by 
 John Hull, a former partner, who had accompanied 
 him from Belmont. Peel never hunted a fight; 
 neither did ho run awaj' when a fight was offered 
 him. Ho was brave and cool, which made him a 
 dreaded enemy. Under other circumstances and 
 different conditions ho would have been a useful man. 
 Ho was a fair representative of the more gentlemanly 
 of tho cut-throats who infested the Comstock in the 
 early days of its history, and tho two foregoing 
 sketches being tho extremes of the t3-]ie, will suffice 
 to convoy an idea of tho medium characteristics of 
 tho fraternit}'. 
 
 THE EXTREJIE PEN.\LTY FOR MURDER. 
 
 Notwithstanding the numerous cases of homicide 
 occurring in the State there were comparatively few 
 judicial sentences of death, the causes therefor being 
 given at the beginning of this chapter. When the 
 extreme penalty was pronounced, so long a time had 
 generally olapscd since the commiosion of the crime 
 
358 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 and the final day for the execution of judgment, that j tary company were seized, a cannon was posted in 
 sentimental feelings in behalf of the condemned would 
 intervene, the dead man be forgotten, and when com- 
 mutation of sentence could not be had, a disposition 
 to give the prisoner as easy a •' send-off" as possible 
 would prevail, and theofficers whom the law demanded 
 should perform the act of strangulation were disposed 
 to grant the condemned, at the last moment, their 
 every request, as the following incident will illus- 
 trate: — 
 
 A young man named John Stewart, aged twenty- 
 four, had killed a man at Columbus. Esmeralda 
 County, been tried at Aurora, convicted and sen- 
 tenced to be hanged. When the day for execution 
 came he stated to the officer in charge that he had 
 but one request to make, and that was to be allowed 
 a free indulgence in alcoholic beverages from the time 
 of leaving his cell until the moment of dissolution. 
 This request was comi)lied with, the bottle-holder 
 standing by him and giving him a drink whenever 
 he desired it. Thus inspirated, before the fatal trap 
 was sprung, he gave utterance to the following 
 aphorisms: " If you take the mountain road, j'ou 
 will be murdered by Indians; if you take the trail you 
 will find no water and die of thirst. I must take the 
 trail, and in fifteen minutes will be choked to death." 
 Though so young, it was commonly reported that 
 this man had murdered two men prior to killing the 
 one for whose murder he was hanged. 
 
 JUDfiE LYNCH"s tribunal. 
 
 The difficulty experienced in securing the convic- 
 tion of malefactors, who generally had no trouble 
 in producing witnesses to swear as they were in- 
 structed, and the frequency of murder, caused in 
 some communities a feeling of insecurity and a 
 desire for a better condition of society. In 18G8-G4 
 Aurora, being reputed rich as a mining locality, 
 and there having been considerable dis]>ute there 
 in relation to mining pro])erty in the settlement 
 of which hired ruffians had been employed rather 
 than the invocation of the law, a number of bad 
 characters had congregated and for a time run 
 things as they liked. On the first day of Feb- 
 ruary, 1864, a gang of these roughs having decoyed 
 W. B. .lohnsoii, a prominent citizen of the county, 
 who resided on Walker l?iver, to Aurora, under 
 some pretense, took the opportunity to there bru- 
 tallj- murder him during the night of his arrival. 
 The brutality of the act caused great excitement 
 among the citizens, who felt that the time had 
 come for them to do something, surmising that if 
 the matter was submitted to the courts ])criured testi- 
 monj' would acquit the perpetrators. Arrangements 
 were quickly effected and an organization formed 
 called the "Citizens' Safety Committee." Meanwhile 
 four men had been arrested and ]nit in jail charged 
 with the murder, and were safely in the bands of 
 the legal custodians of the county. But as the 
 Safety Committee were in earnest that justice should 
 bo speedy and certain, the arms of the local mili- 
 
 convenient position and a tribunal ordered before 
 which the prisoners were brought, having been 
 taken by force from the duly constituted officers. 
 The forms of law were observed and the prisoners 
 given the benefit of counsel and a fair trial. Many 
 prominent" lawyers took active part in the delibera- 
 tions of the committee and gave a </uf(««-legal shape 
 to its proceedings. Among these were Judge E. B. 
 McKinstrj-, now of San Francisco, and W. Van Voor- 
 hces, of Oakland, California. The trial of the cul- 
 prits resulted in the conviction of John Dailey, Wil- 
 liam Buckly, John iMcl)owell, aUns Three-P^ingercd 
 Jack, and James Masterton, who were all sentenced 
 to be hanged. On the summit of a hill in the center 
 of North Silver Street, Aurora, was erected a gallows 
 large enough for this quadruple execution, and on 
 the ninth of February, in the presence of perhaps 
 5,000 peo])le, those four men were sent to that 
 '• undiscovered bourne from whence no traveler 
 returns." The news of the action of the Committee 
 of Safety having s]>read far and wide. Governor Nye, 
 previous to the execution of the men, telegraphed to 
 Samuel Youngs, one of the Count}- Commissioners, 
 to '-jiold the men you have in charge until 1 arrive." 
 To which the rcplj- was, "The men have just been 
 hung. Peace and order now prevail." 
 
 Other lesser Ij-nch courts were from time to time 
 improvised, but none of the magnitude of the one at 
 Aurora. L. B. Vail was tried bj' an irregular court 
 at iliko, Lincoln Count}', and hanged, in 18C8. In 
 the same year the people of Surprise Valley, about 
 fifty in number, took Andrew J. Huff — commonly 
 known as Goff — a native of Kentuck)', and escorted 
 him to an improm])lu gallows they had prepared for 
 his reception — two ujjright posts with a cross-beam 
 on top — when he, seeing that there was no escape, 
 took the matter philosophical!}-, and, climbing upon 
 a fence underneath, coolly adjusted the rojie around 
 his own neck, and jumped oil', thusliterall}* becoming 
 his own hangman. For seven years he had belonged 
 to an organized gang of highwaymen in California, 
 but the immediate cause of his hanging was the 
 killing of Solomon Brundage. James Linn was 
 lynched and unofficially strangled by the enraged 
 citizens of Dayton in 1SG4. 
 
 KNIOIITS OK THE ROAD. 
 
 Previous to the completion of the railroads in 
 Nevada, stage coaches were the medium of travel for 
 passengers, and they at the same time carried all of 
 the specie into the mining towns as well as all of the 
 bullion away from them. Large sums were con- 
 stantly going over the main routes of travel, and con- 
 sequently the stage coaches became an attractive 
 feature for the more enterprising class of " bad men " 
 with whom the State swarmed in the flush limes of 
 silver mining. Upon some of the roads these rob- 
 beries became so frequent that guards were sent with 
 the coaches, and some of the robbers soon l)ecame so 
 well known— though evidenie enough could not be 
 
HISTORY OF CHURCHILJ. r-orNTY 
 
 359 
 
 procured to eonvift thctu — tliiU tlicy were t'ni|iloyod 
 b}' the companies principally engaged in shipping 
 bullion, in some sinecure capacity at round wages, 
 for the reason that it was du-apei' to hire them than 
 to submit to their exactions u])on the road. After 
 a successful robbery, these knights of the road would 
 rendezvous in the towns, dress finely, gamble freely. 
 drink and treat generously, and mingle with the 
 crowds as though they were honest men. By their 
 suave manners they in one instance induced a porter 
 of Wells. Fargo I'c Co. to inform them when the '• box 
 was heavy " so that thej- could raid it, and it became 
 so common for them to call upon one particular stage 
 driver to •■ pass out the box " that he soon obtained 
 a ticket-of-leave. Sometimes the robbers would meet 
 with spirited resistance, and a number of bloody 
 encountei-s have occurred between these unlawful 
 toll-gathers and the occui>ants of the stage coaches. 
 
 On the thirty-tirsl of January, 1871, the stage run- 
 ning between Eeno and Honey Lake was stopped 
 by two highwajmen not many miles from the former 
 place. The driver, a Mr. Thomas, who was also 
 owner of the stage, was ordered from the box and 
 relieved of ninety dollars. In the stage as a passenger, 
 was Major Eggleston, United States Army Paymaster, 
 who had in a purse in his pocket two hundred dollars, 
 and a belt upon his jierson containing seven thousand 
 dollars in currency, all of which the robbers took. 
 They also took a small sum from another passenger. 
 While the robbers were engaged with these last two, 
 and oft' their guard, Mr. Thomas pulled out a derrin- 
 ger which he had in his pocket and which the rob- 
 bers had overlooked, and fired at the man who had 
 Major Kgglcston's belt, causing him to drop it. The 
 shot wounded the man, but the two opened fire upon 
 the passengers, meanwhile retreating. l)uring the 
 melee the horses ran oft' with the wagon and went to 
 lieno alone, whereupon a number of persons came out 
 to learn what had happened. Chase was given the 
 robbers and the wounded one was caught. lie proved 
 to be Charles Brever, and disclosed the name of his 
 associate, Bedford Koberts. 
 
 The following year, August Kith, the same stage 
 was stopped a mile and a half I'rom lieno bj' three 
 armed men who sprang into the road by the side of 
 which the}- had been concealed, and ordered the 
 driver, Mr. Thomas, to stop. Instead of doing so he 
 whipped up his horses and the robbers opened fire. 
 A wounded horse soon caused the stage to halt when 
 the robbers came u]) and completed their job, but ni»t 
 until the driver and his three passengers had inetlect- 
 ually exhausted all their shots in an endeavor to 
 keep them away. For this Jackson Morrison and 
 Clement B. Lee were sent to px'ison. 
 
 CHAPTER XLI 
 
 HISTORY OF CHURCHILL COUNTY. 
 
 Topograpliy ami ICaily Kmij;rants — Organization and Bounda- 
 ries — Uunionstranc'v and I'utition — Ixgislativf Knactnienta— 
 Kducation, Tumiierancuand Kelijiioii — Soil and Mineral Pro- 
 ducts — Appointnicntii and Klections — Valuable Springs and 
 Marshes — 1. X. L. .Mining District — .Stillwater the County 
 Seat — Deserted lOarly Settlcnieuts— Ancient Mining Dis- 
 tricts — Biographical .Sketches. 
 
 The topography of Churchill C'ounty is peculiar. 
 Its sinks, sloughs, lakes, salt beds and alkali flats, 
 have long attracted the attention of travelers. The 
 early pioneers supposed that the waters of Churchill 
 County reached the ocean through a sj-stem of sub- 
 terranean channels. In no other way could the dis- 
 appearance of living streams in the earth be made 
 explainable. It is now conceded that simpler causes 
 explain the phenomenon. Comparativelj- little rain 
 or snow ever falls, while the extreme dryness of the 
 atmosphere and soil induces extraordinary evapora- 
 tion and absorption. Humboldt Lake, the chief por- 
 tion of which lies within the northern limits of the 
 county, receives the waters of the Humboldt River, 
 the longest stream in the State. When the lake is 
 well filled, it discharges its surplus waters into the 
 Humboldt and Carson Sinks (o the south of it, by 
 means of connecting sloughs. Carson Lake, in the 
 southwestern quarter of the countj- is about twelve 
 miles in diameter, and is about fifty feet deep at the 
 utmost. Like Humboldt Lake, it is of an irregular 
 circular shape; haslow, flatshores; and connects with 
 the Humboldt and Carson Sinks. Its waters are alka- 
 line, and contain two or three species of unjialatable 
 fish, on which large flocks of wild birds, as gulls, peli- 
 can, swans, ducks, etc., subsist. The waters of 
 Humboldt River greatly deteriorate as they approach 
 Humboldt Lake. At various localities in Church- 
 ill County are imtd lakes and alkali flats. They are 
 slightly basin-shaped, and are composed of a stift' 
 clay, nearly impervious to water. During wet 
 weather they become wide lakes, having a depth, 
 however, of only one or two feet. When the water 
 sinks and evajioratcs, leaving the basin onlj- moder- 
 ately wet, it is still impassable for teams, by reason 
 of its miry condition. When it becomes perfectly 
 dry, its surface is covered with alkali or salt, and is 
 so hard that a wagon-wheel scarcely leaves an im- 
 pression on it in ])assing. Several of these flats, as 
 explained elsewhere, arc of great j)resent and pros- 
 pective value, by reason of their chemical deposits. 
 
 The Carson Sink .Mountains, running in a north- 
 erly direction through the central jjortions of the 
 the county; the Clan Alpine Range, next to the east- 
 ward; and the Desatoiya Range, forming the eastern 
 boundary of the county, are the jirincipal mountains 
 of Churchill. The Humboldt and Nightingale Mount- 
 ains extend somewhat southward of the northern 
 boundary line. The New Virginia and Hot Spring 
 Mountains are in the western portion of the county. 
 In these mountains, and along their foot-hills, there 
 is a growth of natural grasses which is well adapted 
 
360 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 to the nourishment of all kinds of etoek. In many 
 of the valleys along the Carson River are fertile 
 tracts which are becoming more valuable annually, 
 and produce superior agricultural crops. Irrigation 
 ditches are also being constructed in manj- localities, 
 thus bringing under cultivation large areas of land 
 which have heretofore been considered worthless. 
 Stock-raising is also becoming a leading industr}-. 
 
 The early emigrants from the East all passed over 
 the western portion of this county on their way to 
 California; but there was little here to induce them 
 to stop or to invite their return from the Pacific 
 Coast, if their dreams of rich mines and sudden, fab- 
 ulous wealth there were not quite realized. On 
 leaving the Humboldt, turning to the south, they at 
 once encountered a vast expanse of country, with 
 hills and valleys of sand, utterly destitute of water 
 or vegetation. An unbroken desert, forty miles in 
 extent, lay right across their path. Foot-sore and 
 weary on reaching this desert, some perished while 
 crossing, and those who survived were ready and 
 willing to pledge their "lives and sacred honor" 
 never to settle in so inhospitable a country as the 
 present western portion of Churchill County then 
 • appeared to be. Susequent explorations of this 
 county made little more favorable impression than 
 the first emigrants received from their experience in 
 the desert, and it is not surprising that the historian of 
 Churchill County should find no very startling events 
 to chronicle. 
 
 ORGANIZATION AND BOUND.A.RIES. 
 
 Churchill County derives its name from Fort 
 Churchill, an early military post, the site of which 
 is within the present limits of Storey Countj', and 
 which was named in honor of an officer of the 
 United States Army. The county was created by a 
 Territorial Act approved November 25, 1861, and its 
 boundaries were described as follows: — 
 
 Beginning at the north-east corner of Storey, and 
 running south, along the eastern line of said county, 
 to the northern lino of Douglas County; thence 
 easterly along the said northern lino of Douglas 
 County and the northern line of Fsmeraida County, 
 to the one hundred and sixteenth meridian; thence 
 north, along said meridian, to the fortieth parallel 
 of north latitude; thence west, on the said fortieth 
 
 fiarullel, to where it strikes the old immigrant road 
 eading from the sink of the Humboldt to the 
 lower crossing of the Triickee Hiver; thence westerly, 
 along said road, to the point of beginning. 
 
 When Lander County was created, on December 
 19, 18G2, about one-third of the whole area of 
 Churchill was made a part of the new county — all 
 that portion lying oast of the 40° of longitude. By 
 an Act approved February 20, 18G4, the boundary 
 between Lyon and Churchill Counties was estab- 
 lished at the line of longitude 41° 40', by means 
 of which a small cession was made to Lyon County. 
 By an Act approved February 27, 18G9, a triangular 
 tract, forming the southwest corner of Humboldt 
 County, was ceded to Churchill County, including 
 
 about twenty-five miles of Central Pacific liailroad, 
 the object being to increase the revenues of Churchill 
 Countj'. By the same Act the present boundary 
 between Lyon and Churchill was established. By 
 an Act approved March 5, 1869, a small triangular 
 tract at the southeast corner of Churchill County was 
 ceded to Nye County. 
 
 An Act approved November 29, 18G1, attached 
 Churchill to Lyon for county judicial and revenue jiur- 
 poses; including it in the Third Judicial District, and 
 located its county seat at Buckland's. By an Act ap- 
 l)roved Februarj' 19, 1864, Churchill was made a 
 distinct County, with all the rights, privileges and im- 
 munities belonging thereto, and the Governor was 
 instructed to appoint its first officials. 
 
 REMONSTRANCE AND PETITION. 
 
 When the bill for making Churchill a distinct 
 county was bclore the Legislature, a number of 
 farmers living near the line of Lyon County, remon- 
 strated against its passage, and petitioned that body, 
 in case it was deemed advisable to establish the sej)- 
 arate organization, to so fix the boundary lines 
 between L3-on and Churchill, as to leave them in 
 Lyon County. 
 
 To the llonorahle the Council and the Legislative Assem- 
 hly of the Territory of Nevada: — 
 
 The undersigned citizens and taxpaj'crs of Church- 
 ill County, Nevada Territorj-, would respectfully 
 represent that we regard the movements now mak- 
 ing for the organization of our said countj- as prema- 
 ture, and calculated, if successful, to work a serious 
 injury to the citizens and taxpayers of said county. 
 Wo would respectfully ropresoiit to j'our honorable 
 bodies that the voters within the boundaries of said 
 county, exclusive of the soldiers at the fort, who pay 
 no taxes, number onlj' about 123. 
 
 We would also represent that the taxable propertj' 
 of said county, as shown b3' the assessment rolls, 
 amounts to only about §175,000. In case your hon- 
 orable bodies should deem it advisable to establish 
 the separate organization of Churchill County, the 
 undersigned would respectfully- request that the 
 boundary lines between the counties of Lyon and 
 Churchill may be changed in such a manner as to 
 include the ranches of the undersigned within the 
 limits of Ijyon County. Your petitioners trust that 
 at a ])oint not far off in the future the agricultural 
 lands and the mines of Churchill County will invite 
 a population and create a taxable property adequate 
 to sustain a countj- organization, but we desire to 
 express to j-our honorable bodies our decided con- 
 viction that the time for such organization has not 
 yet arrived, and our desire that the countj- of 
 Churchill may at least, until another session of the 
 Territorial Legislature, remain attached to Lyon for 
 judicial, revenue and county pur])oses. 
 S. S. Buckland, S. Corlett, 
 
 J. \\. Iloiigham, James Wharton, 
 
 \\. 1). Price, T. H. Coats, 
 
 John Wood, John Lennon, 
 
 K. V. Roney, T. Harnes. 
 
 Wm. Chapi)ell, G. W. Burrier, 
 
 T. Finegan, Z. Belled, 
 
 D. Barnes, W. Mead, 
 
 H. M. Alcorn, John W. Jliller, 
 
 Wm. Fair, P. I. Ilartman, 
 
HISTORY OF CHURCHILL COUNTY 
 
 361 
 
 George M. Vicar, Henry Bethel, 
 
 R. Robinet, Martin Siinms, 
 
 B. L. Cross, Jeremiah Pelcher. 
 
 .Andrew J. Nelson. P. Treancr. 
 
 F. Luth. A. H. Lissak, 
 
 John Sc-hoiiinL;. Charles L. Lang. 
 
 Frederick Thicler, T. Marshall, 
 
 James Johnston. Alfred Merkley. 
 
 LEOrSLATIVE ENACTMENTS. 
 
 The Territorial Act of November 28, 1801, ordered 
 a special election throughout the State, to take place 
 Januarj- 14, 18152. Bj- an Act approved December 
 19, 1802, the Sheriff was made ex ojficio Collector of 
 the countj-. 
 
 An Act appi'oved the same day authorized Ellen 
 Redman and others to construct a toll-bridge across 
 Canson Slough at Redman Station, and to charge 
 toll as follows: — 
 For wagon drawn by six or eight animals — S2 00 
 
 For wagon drawn by four animals 1 50 
 
 For wagon drawn by two animals 1 00 
 
 For carriage and buggy, two horses 1 00 
 
 For carriage and buggy, one horse 75 
 
 For horseman 25 
 
 For pack animals 12J 
 
 For loose stock 10 
 
 Two per cent, of these charges went to the Terri- 
 torial School Fund. 
 
 The fine for crossing the bridge without paying 
 toll was not less than ten dollars, nor more than 
 SI 00. Anj^ one maliciously injuring the bridge was 
 liable to bo fined from twenty-five dollars to 8500. 
 All fines to accrue to the Bridge Company. The 
 rates of toll could be changed by the Governor and 
 Legislature, and the Commissioners of Lyon and 
 Churchill Counties could purchase the bridge in 
 three years at its appraised cash value. 
 
 An Act of December 20, 1802, authorized J. Jacob- 
 son, John Bowan, Alexander I'orson. .fohn Taylor, 
 P. Reynolds, and associates, to improve the Carson 
 River from Daj'ton to Humboldt Slough, thence to 
 Humboldt Lake, thence across the lake and up Hum- 
 boldt Kiver to Humboldt City, cutting canals, etc., 
 and rendering such route practicable for rafts and 
 vessels. 
 
 Act of February 2(1, ISOf, empowers James A. St. 
 Clair and J. J. McClellan to maintain a toll-bridge 
 across Old River, at a point known as the Upper 
 Sink crossing; no other bridge or fcrr}' to be allowed 
 within half a mile either way. 
 
 Act of February 19, 1864, organized a distinct and 
 separate county (heretofore connected ofliciall}' with 
 Lyon Countyj, and, on the second of April of the 
 same year, Governor Nye located the county seat of 
 Churchill County at La Plata. 
 
 B}' an Act of March 5, 1S(;0. the boundary lines 
 between the counties of Nye, Churchill and p]sme- 
 ralda were established as follows — cutting off" a trian- 
 gular piece from the southeastern portion of the 
 county: — 
 
 Beginning at the intersection of the meridian of 
 longitude 40° 15'' west from Washington, with the 
 
 eastern boundary line of California, thence northerly, 
 along said meridian of longitude, to its intersection 
 with the thirty-eighth parallel of north latitude, 
 thence northwesterly, to the Hot Springs on the 
 VW'llington and Reese River Road, thence northerly-, 
 to the thirty-ninth parallel of north latitude, thence 
 easterly, to ODomieH's Pass, on the lone and West 
 Gate Road, and thence the said boundary line shall 
 remain as heretofore established by law. 
 
 But little was ever done towards making the Car- 
 son navigable under the Territorial Act. In 1868 
 the county seat was moved to Stillwater, where it 
 has remained ever since. 
 
 The Act ajiproved February 27, 1800, by which a 
 portion of Humboldt County was given to Churchill, 
 required Churchill to pay to Humboldt County 
 therefor 8^^.000; but by an Act passed by the State 
 Legislature, Februarj* 13, 1871, Churchill was re- 
 leased from its payment, and all unpaid warrants on 
 this account were ordered destroyed. 
 
 EI)UC.\TI0N, TEMPERANCE ANI) RELIOIOX. 
 
 The first school in Churchill County, under the 
 county organization, was held in the " Big Adobe," 
 on the U])i)er sink of the Carson, in December, 1871. 
 The first teacher was Lemuel Allen, who is still a 
 resident of the countj'. *in 1872 the county was 
 divided into two school districts, the one being at 
 the upper sink, and the other at Stillwater, the 
 county seat. In 1874 a third district was organized. 
 In 1870 the three districts were combined into one, 
 known as the Union School l)istrict. Soon after- 
 wards a fine school house, costing 84,000, was erected 
 on the upper sink; a teacher and matron were 
 employed, and from forty to sixty pupils attended. 
 The consolidation continued until 1879, at which 
 time the count}- was subdivided into four districts, 
 the Union School House being used as District No. 
 1. E. P. Hall was first Superintendent of Schools. 
 Up to 1878 W. II. A. Pike was Superintendent of 
 the Union School. The present Sujierintendent of 
 Schools is J. W. Allen, who succeeded A. O. Ordway. 
 Mr. Allen, the first teacher, settled on the south side 
 of Carson Jjake, in December, 1803, bringing his 
 house with him from Carson Citj-. He is now Dis- 
 trict Attorncj-, and has the additional prominence of 
 being the only attorney in the county. 
 
 In .Tanuarj-, 1880, an unchartered tem])erance so- 
 cietj' was organized at Stillwater, with a member- 
 ship of forty-four persons. Jackson Ferguson was 
 chosen Presi<lent; William Harmon, Vice-President, 
 and J. W. Bond, Secretary. The present ollicers are 
 H. N. Hurd, President; William Harmon, Vice-Presi- 
 dent, and J. W. Allen, Secretary and Treasurer. 
 Monthly meetings are held in the Institute building 
 Three jiledges are administered — the tobacco pledge, 
 the whisky pledge, and the total abstinence pledge. 
 
 The first religious services held in the county took 
 place in the Institute building at Stillwater in the 
 spring of 1875. A .Methodist Episcopal clergyman 
 named Pendleton was in charge. He designed hold- 
 
362 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 iiig services there everj- third Sunday, and organized 
 a Sundaj'-school with a fair attendance, but was 
 finally obliged to abandon his efforts. 
 
 The first meeting of the Seventh-day Adventists 
 was held in the Institute Building on the first of 
 June, 1876, under the leadership of Jackson Fergu- 
 son, with a membership of fortj--four persons. Since 
 then regular services have been held every Saturday 
 at 11 A. .M. 
 
 SOIL AND MIXERAI. PRODUCTS. 
 
 Churchill County is not noted either for the pro- 
 ducts of its soil or its mines. The personal property 
 on the tax-roll consists mostly of hay. cattle and 
 sheep. The total value of property in the county 
 is less than half a million, and the population in 
 1880 was 470. For a fuller account of its pro- 
 ducts, the number of acres under cultivation — the 
 fruit trees, stock and grain raised, and the quantity 
 of land irrigated, reference is had to pages 135, 
 136, 139 and 140, of the general history. 
 
 APPOINT.MENTS AND ELECTIONS. 
 
 By virtue of the Creative Act, the first officers of 
 the county were named by the Governor. Below 
 will be found the names of all the persons who 
 have filled the different offices of honor and trust 
 in the county from its organization down to the 
 present time, either by appointment or election, 
 with the date of such appointment or election, 
 and the particular office each has filled. 
 
 No record was made of the election of June G, 
 1864, for delegates to the Constitutional Convention. 
 
 STATE SENATORS. 
 
 J. B. McClure, elected November 7, 1864; W. G. 
 Hanover, elected November 6, 186t;; William Hill, 
 elected November 8, 1870; W. C. Grimes, elected 
 November 3, 1874; Charles Kaiser, elected Novem- 
 ber 5, 187S. 
 
 ASSEMBLYMEN. 
 
 Henry K. Whitehill. elected November 7, 1864; 
 \V. H. Taj'lor, elected November 7, 1865; J. A.St. 
 Clair and W. C. Grimes, elected November 6, 1866; 
 E. Clark and A. B. Waller, elected Novembers, 1868; 
 J. J. McClclhm and .). M. Gray, elected November 8, 
 1870; Cranston Allen and J. M. Sanford, elected 
 November 5, 1872 — Sanford resigned July 16, 1873; 
 J. M. Sanford and Ij. Allen, elected November 3, 1874 
 — Sanford resigned December 27, 1875; L. Allen, 
 elected November 7, 1876; Jackson Ferguson, 
 elected November 5, 1878; J. W. Bichards, elected 
 November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. 
 
 Benjamin Curler, Thomas J. Cochran and J. B. 
 McClure appointed by the Executive, March 9, 1864 
 — Curler did not accept; Robert L. Pooler, E. P. Rich- 
 ardson and Thomas Plane wore elected September 7, 
 1864; William Hill, J. S. Hall and W. S. Lee elected 
 November 6, 1866— Hill resigned October 12, 1869; 
 James F. Gregory and J. M. Sanford elected Novem- 
 ber 3. 1868— Gregory resigned March 16, 1870; J. 
 
 .M. Sanford, E. Clark and M. C. Peters elected Novem- 
 ber 8, 1S70 — Sanford resigned January 2, 1873; D. 
 U. Dillard and E. C. Asher elected November 5, 1872 
 — Asher resigned July 7, 1873; J. K. Iliggins and E. 
 Clark elected November 3. 1874; William Hill and 
 D. M. Wightman, elected November 7, 187(i; and 
 re-elected November 5, 1878; Jacob Springer and 
 Henry Theelen, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 PROBATE JUDGES. 
 
 Alfred James, appointed by the Executive, March 
 17, 1864. and elected September 7, 1864; A. J. Ball, 
 elected November 6, 1866; W. J. Eastman, elected 
 November 3, 1868; J. E. Higgins, elected November 
 8, 1870; T. S. Dillard, elected November 5. 1S72; 
 A; W. Allen, elected Novembers, 1874; Samuel Tru- 
 man, elected November 7, 1876; S. A. Jones, elected 
 November 2. 1880. 
 
 DISTRICT ATTORNEYS. 
 
 A. F. Patrick, appointed by the Executive, March 
 17, 1864; Benj. Curler, elected September 7. 1864: 
 C. A. Jjeake, elected November 6, 1866; J. M. Gray, 
 elected November 3, 1868; L. Allen, elected Novem- 
 ber 8, 1870; Lemuel Allen, elected November 5, 1872; 
 Cranston Allen, elected November 3, 1874; A. W. 
 Doolittle, elected November 7, 1876; Lemuel Allen, 
 elected November 2. 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SHERIFFS. 
 
 Walter L. (rates, appointed by the Executive April 
 4, 1864; James G. Hughs, elected September 7. 1864; 
 Thomas H. Ellison and E. L. Coldron each received 
 110 votes, November 6, 1866; Coldron died June 25, 
 1867; J. C. Scott, elected November 3, 1868, failed to 
 file sufficient bonds and the office was declared vacant 
 March 10, 1870; Byron Sherman, elected November 
 
 8, 1870; Samuel Truman, elected November 5, 1872, 
 and re-elected November 3, 1874; James T. Brown, 
 elected November 7, 1876; John T. AValker, elected 
 November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY CLERKS. 
 
 \V. E. Smith, appointed by the Executive March 
 
 9, 1864; commission revoked June 111, 1864: and W. 
 C. Grimes appointed to till the place June SO, 1864, 
 and elected September 7, 1864; R. H. Chandler, 
 elected November 6, 1866; Daniel Reinwalt, elected 
 November S, 1868; J. J. Cushman, elected November 
 8, 1870, and re-elected November 5, 1872, and re- 
 elected again November 3, 1874; J. M. Sanford, elected 
 November 7, 1S76; J. W. Richards," elected Novem- 
 ber 5, 1878; J. H. Kent, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY TREASURERS. 
 
 Walter Goodell, appointed by the Executive, April 
 4, 1864; Wallace Goodell. elected September 7, 1864; 
 James Bucknor, elected November ti, 186(>, resigned 
 June 1, 1867, and the vacancy tilled by the appoint- 
 ment of Wallace Goodell, who resigned October 7, 
 1867; J. G. Hughs, elected Novembers, 1868; W. 
 J. Brandon, elected November 8, 1870, re-elected 
 November 5, 1872, November 3, 1874, and Novom- 
 
HISTORY OF CHURCHILL COUNTY. 
 
 363 
 
 ber 7, ]87(>; Wm. Murphy, elected November 5, 1878, 
 and re-elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY ASSESSORS. 
 
 J. \V. Ciunmings, appointed by the Executive, 
 April 4, 1864; Wm. S. Lee, elected September 7, 1864; 
 J. B. Welch, elected November 6, 1866; Elisha Siev- 
 rance, elected November 3, 1868; D. M. Wightman, 
 elected November 8, 1870, and re-elected November 
 5, 1872, and re-elected again November 3, 1874; E. 
 Clark, elected November 7, 1876; James A. Daniel- 
 son, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTV RECORDERS. 
 
 Nelson Murdock, appointed by the Hxecutive April 
 4. 1864; Ira E. Tierce, elected September 7, 1864; M. 
 W. Hoyt, elected November 6, 1866, and re-elected 
 November 3, 1868; J. W. Rich ard;*, elected November 
 
 8, 1870, and re-elected November 5, 1872, and re- 
 elected again November 3, 1874; J. H. Kent, elected 
 November 7, 1876: J. .7. Cambers, elected November 
 2, 1880. 
 
 SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS. 
 
 A. W. Doolittle, appointed by the Executive, April 
 
 9, 1864; George A. Nicholls, elected September 7, 
 1864; C. D. Davis, elected November 6, 1866; James 
 H. Job, elected November 3, 1868; E. P. Hall, elected 
 November 5, 1872; Donald McArthur, elected No- 
 vember 3, 1874; J. B. Ferguson, elected November 7, 
 1876; J. W. Allen, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COrXTY SURVEYORS. 
 
 Wm. A. Jackson, appointed by the Executive, 
 March 14, 1864, and elected September 7, 1864; A. 
 W. Doolittle, elected November 6, 1866; N. A. Guill, 
 elected November 3, 1868; Frank Goodnow, elected 
 November 8, 1870; J. W. McCuusland, November 5, 
 1872; James Uoft'man, elected November 3, 1874; 
 William Reinhart, elected November 7, 1876; J. B. 
 Ferguson, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 VALUABLE SPRINOS AND .MARSHES. 
 
 Twenty-five miles southeast of Wadsworth, and 
 about two and a' half miles from Ragtown,i8 Soda 
 Lake, in the midst of a desert, and consists of an 
 oval area of about sixteen acres, having a depression 
 of seventy-five feet below the general level. It can- 
 not be seen until the visitor almost reaches its rim. 
 Good drinking water is obtained in this basin all 
 ftround the deposits of soda, except on the northern 
 side. Here a s])ring flows out from the north, the 
 waters of which come from another small, circular 
 lake, three-quarters of a mile in diameter and half a 
 mile distant. Besides some other salts, the waters 
 from the spring contain about thirty-three per cent, 
 of soda. The deposit of soda occurs native, 
 in the form of incrustations, which have been 
 annually precipitated bj' evaporation from the water 
 accumulating in the basin during the rainy season, 
 and from the spring. It is several feet in thickness 
 and formed in layers, between which are dirt and 
 sand blown from the surrounding hills upon the 
 
 diflerent strata. The soda is dug out in large pieces, 
 and is then dried, separated from the impurities, and 
 sacked for market. The drying process requires the 
 most care, for, at a certain temperature and condi- 
 tion, the soda deliquesces and disappears in the 
 ground. In drj-ing, one-third of the weight of the 
 soda is lost. The purest soda is obtained from the 
 waters of the spring, which are pumped into large 
 vats and evaporated. The solution at a density of 
 30' and temperature of 70° Fahrenheit, is in 
 the exact condition for the crystallization of the 
 soda, and produces an article containing ninety- 
 eight per cent, of the bicarbonate of soda. Soda 
 Lake was discovered by Asa L. Kenyon in 1855. 
 When he first saw it he supposed it be a large sheet 
 of ice. In 1868 he sold it to Higgins & Dufty, who 
 in turn sold it to Doe & Dowd. Its present propri- 
 etor is J. S. Doe, of San Francisco. Works have been 
 erected near the basin. The bed of solid soda will 
 soon be dug out, but that obtained from the spring is 
 believed to be inexhaustible. Five men is all the 
 force necessaiy to prepare about sixty tons for the 
 market every month. The cost of shipping it to 
 San Francisco is about nineteen dollars per ton, and 
 it sells there at from fifty-five to sixty-five dollars 
 per ton. It is principally used in soap, glass and 
 paper factories; in calico printing, bleaching and 
 dyeing; and in the manufacture of yeast powders, 
 washing soda, and in many other chemical opera- 
 tions. A two-fifths interest in this proi^erty once 
 sold for §35,000. 
 
 NORTH SODA LAKE 
 
 Is half a mile distant from the one just described, 
 and is much larger in extent, covering an area of 
 about 400 acres, and having a depth of 270 feet. 
 The surface of the water is eighty-four feet below 
 the level of the desert. The Nevada and Pacific 
 Company owns and operates this property. Six 
 crystallizing reservoirs, each one hundred feet square, 
 and containing two feet of water, crystallize the 
 soda by solar evaporation. During the summer 
 months the waters are run into the reservoirs, but 
 the crystallization is not perfected until the api)roach 
 of winter. For this reason the same reservoirs can 
 be used only once during the season. The facilities 
 for evaporation can be erdarged to an indefinite 
 extent. When the reservoirs are filled the cost of 
 preparing the soda is very trivial. Little care is 
 required until the water disappeai-s. Large quanti- 
 ties of soda are annually consumed in Nevada for 
 milling purj)08es, but the bulk of it is shipped to 
 San Francisco. S|)ecinu'ns from North Soda Lake 
 were awarded a prize modal and diploma at the 
 Centennial Exposition. 
 
 Near Soda Lake are 1,600 acres of borax landsi 
 but only about 400 acres contain enough salts of 
 borax to bo worked with profit, and this tract 
 can be worked only once in two years. With 
 j)resent facilities about 2,000 pounds of borax can 
 be produced daily. The material taken from tiie 
 
3G4 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 marsh contains about ten per cent, of borax, but 
 occasional!}- jields thirtj- per cent. At the pres- 
 ent time the manufacture of borax in Nevada is 
 not profitable, b}' reason of the immense importa- 
 tation of boracic acitl from England, which is ad- 
 mitted to this country free of duty. Instead of 
 thirty-three cents per pound, a> formally, borax 
 must now be delivered at the railroad for nine and 
 a half cents. There is enough borax in Churchill 
 and Esmeralda Counties to supplj- the markets of 
 the world. 
 
 A salt marsh near the railroad station of Hot 
 Springs yields a large annual supply of salt, which 
 is obtained with little trouble or expense. The 
 whole face of the desert in this vicinity is white, 
 being covered from time to time with saline waters, 
 which evaporate and leave an incrustation of salt. 
 Wooden vats were formerly used for the jnirpose 
 of crystallization, but excavations in the gi-ound have 
 been found to answer the purpose quite as well. 
 The salt obtained is ninetj^-nine j)er cent, pure 
 chloride of sodium. Many other salt marshes, 
 much larger in extent, exist in Churchill Countj', 
 and can be made a source of wealth when a suffi- 
 cient demand arises for utilizing them. 
 
 THE I. X. L. MINING DISTRICT 
 
 Is in the Silver Hill range, forty miles southwest of 
 Lovelock Station, on the Central Pacific Railroad. 
 Stillwater is the nearest post-office. Ore was dis- 
 covered in 1878, and a district was organized in 
 September, 1879. The number of locations made 
 in the district is eighty-five; the number of miners 
 now there, twenty. The camp consists of two black- 
 smith shops, a boarding-house, and a few cabins. 
 The veins are found between a granite foot- wall and 
 a slate hanging-wall. The veins run northwesterly, 
 with the formation dipping to the northeast at an 
 angle of sixty degrees, and contain free and galena 
 ores. Gold predominates in some of the rock, and 
 silver in other localities. The principal mines are 
 the Bayfold, East Star, Black Prince, Iron Point, 
 Spar, Morgan and ^lammolh. The Bayfcld mine 
 contains a shaft 170 feet in depth ; the Iron Point 
 mine, a tunnel 160 feet in length. Ereight is teamed 
 from Stillwater at twenty dollars per ton, and from 
 Lovelock at thirty dollars. Nut pine is abundant 
 within a mile of the mines, and the supply of spring 
 water is ample for all purposes. 
 
 STILLWATEK THE COCNTV SEAT. 
 
 The first settler at Stillwater was J. C. Scott, who 
 located there in the fall of 18G2. In the spring of 
 1803, W. II. Dowd and Moses Job arrived, and soon 
 afterwards tliey were followed by William Page, J. 
 G. Hughs, .M. W. Hoyt, J. W. Richards, J. M. Sim- 
 ford, A. W. Doolittle, and others. Then it was sur- 
 mised that Stillwater would eventually be the county 
 scat of Churchill County, but more substantial 
 attractions were offered by the fine grazing and 
 agricultural lands in the vicinity. A station of the 
 
 Overland Stage Company had also been established 
 there in July, 1862. A town gradually grew up, 
 which became the county seat in December, 1868. 
 Stillwater was most prosperous in 1867 and 1868, 
 having then a population of l.iO. The altitude of 
 this site is 4,000 feet, and is in the valley of the Car- 
 son, on the right bank of the slough connecting Cai- 
 son Lake with the Humbtddt and Carson Sink. To 
 the north and west of the town are cultivated fields; 
 to the northeast are extensive grass and tule lands, 
 while sage-brush lands stretch off to the southward. 
 The streets are sparsely shaded by scattered cot- 
 ton woods. 
 
 Wadsworth is forty-four milesto the westward; Day- 
 ton and Sutro are about sixty-five miles distant in a 
 southwesterly direction. Stillwater's wood supply is 
 obtained from the Silver Hill range, ten to twenty 
 miles to the eastward, and chiefly consists of nut 
 pine and cedar. There ai-e no prevailing diseases at 
 Stillwater, and as in the case of Gilead, there is no 
 physician there. The present population is forty- 
 eight. A store, hotel, saloon, restaurant, post-office 
 and blacksmith shop comprise the places of business. 
 The buildings are constructed of wood. Public 
 meetings arc held in the Court House. Carson River 
 affords an abundant water-supply. The principal 
 supplies of goods and merchandise arc brought from 
 the Central Pacific Railroad at Wadsworth, by team, 
 the freight charge being twenty dollars per ton. The 
 educational facilities consist of one school, a teacher, 
 and thirteen ])upils. The school house is 12x24 
 feet in size,and is capable of seating thirty pupils. 
 The taxable property in the township is valued 
 at 871,000. Farming and stock-raising is the 
 principal avocation of the surrounding settlers. 
 The basement of the Court House contains a 
 jail. No one has ever been killed in the township, 
 and no serious disturbances of the peace have ever 
 occurred. 
 
 The Carson River overflows annually. The most 
 noted occurrence of the kind took place in January, 
 18C2. Before then, the waters of the Carson emptied 
 directly into the Upper Sink, and passed thence 
 through Carson Slough and Stillwater Slough, into 
 the Lower Sink. The dr}' river bod could bo plainly 
 seen in 1861, through which Old River now flows, 
 carrj'ing with it direct into the Lower Sink a great 
 part of the waters of Carson, instead of by the 
 Upper Sink, and thence b}' the sloughs. The same 
 flood cut a channel where New River now runs, and 
 also changed the outlet of the Upper Sink into an 
 inlet, taking .some of the water from New River and 
 emptj'ing it into the Upper Sink. The remainder 
 flows by Stillwater Slough into the Lower Sink 
 thus flowing past the west side of the town of Still- 
 water. The soil surrounding Stillwater is adobe, 
 and is well adapted for grain. 
 
 In 1876, Richards, Kent and Sanford constructed 
 an irrigating ditch, taking water from Stillwater 
 Slough, one and a quarter miles south of the town 
 
HISTORY OF CHURCHILL COUNTY. 
 
 365 
 
 The next season they raised the first crop ever pro- 
 duced in the township, and tht-reut'ter successfully 
 conducted agricultural operations. In 1879, Walker 
 \ Brown cut a ditch and commenced taking water 
 from the first ditch mentioned. At the present time 
 Richards, Murphj- & Springer are taking water from 
 the same source. 
 
 The land is well adapted to the growth of cereals, 
 and crops are growing larger annuallj". The farmers 
 have fenced all their cultivated land into one field, con- 
 sisting of 500 acres, thus saving considerable expense 
 in the way of fence building. No subdividing fences 
 are constructed. Both grain and pasture lands are 
 irrigated. As high as sixty-five bushels of wheat 
 have been raised to the acre in some parts of the 
 count}-. For a distance of fifteen miles to the north- 
 ward of Stillwater there extends a chain of sloughs 
 and fine pasture lands, terminating at the " Big 
 Sink," which is sometime.* thirty miles in width. Old 
 River empties into the Carson Sink on the west side, 
 after having meandered through the valley for twenty 
 miles, with a scattering settlement along its entire 
 length. The whole region is a net-work of streams 
 and baj'ous, which have undergone many changes 
 since the country was first settled. 
 
 On September 2, 1862, J. T. May was interred on 
 Mr. Magee's place. There are now eleven graves 
 there, it being the burial place for the surrounding 
 settlement. Back of Mr. Ferguson's place there are 
 five graves. The first burial took place there in 
 March, 1879. 
 
 DESERTED EAELY SETTLE.MENTS. 
 
 Huittown was at one time one of the most noted 
 localities in the Churchill Count}' region, being a 
 landmark of the past. In the earliest times it was 
 a station on the overland road, when the emigrants 
 moved across the Forty-mile Desert from Humboldt, 
 and pushed on to the gold fields of California. When 
 the Simpson route was discovered and adopted in 
 1860, and emigrants came by way of Schell Creek, | 
 Egan Canon, and Jaeobsville, on Reese River. Rag- 
 town still remained an overland station. Asa L. Ken- 
 yon settled at Ragtown in 1854, and has been the 
 only permanent settler there since, stock-raising being 
 his avocation. On his arrival there he found 200 
 people, but they all left in the fall. Two reasons are 
 assigned for the origin of the novel name of the 
 town. One is that it was originally composed of 
 cloth houses built by traders from California, who, 
 leavinii in the fall, left their ragged shelters to flutter 
 in the wind. According to another authoritj-. the 
 emigrants, on reaching it, hastened to divest them- 
 selves of their ragged garments, and plunge into the 
 cooling waters of the Carson. Long, scattered jiilea 
 of rags daily adorned the banks of that stream. 
 
 There was once an emigrant burj-ing-ground at 
 Ragtown containing 200 graves, results of cholera, 
 fever and exhaustion in early years, which were vari- 
 ously marked with log-chains, wagon-tires, etc. 
 During the flood of 1861-62 it was completely cov- 
 46 
 
 ' ered over and obliterated, and a public road now 
 
 ' passes over the spot. 
 
 Shortly after reaching Ragtown, Kenyon located 
 fifteen miles distant, on the ' Forty-mile Desert, " 
 where he sunk a well and did a very good business 
 in the sale of water to emigrants, llis charge for 
 watering stock was twelve and a half cents per head. 
 He also bought a store of his cousin, and in connec- 
 tion with his water enterprise, retailed merchandise 
 until 1800. At a time when the road was not kept 
 open regularly, in the winter, a large party of In- 
 dians visited him and desired to purchase gun caps, 
 upon which Mr. Kenyon raised the price to S300 per 
 box. They expressed surprise at such an enormous 
 price, and asked the reason of it. '• The cap man is 
 dead," replied Mr. Kenyon. For powder they were 
 asked -^SOO per pound. " Is the powder man dead, 
 too ? " they asked. " No," replied Mr. Kenyon, "but 
 he is very sick." In 1867 an emigrant named Flem- 
 ing perished from thirst on the desert between the 
 Humboldt and Ragtown. He was out three days. 
 Learning of the circumstance Mr. Kenyon went out 
 to search for him, and finally found him in a hole in 
 the ground which he had clawed out with hisfingers, 
 being insane from suffering. He was brought back 
 to Ragtown. but died the next morning, and was 
 buried in the emigrant graveyard. 
 
 In May, 1868, E. Clark paid a man twenty dollars 
 to haul two wheels and a log of wood from the Cot- 
 tonwood, on the Carson, to the crossroads of Rag- 
 town and Wadsworth, preparatory to building a road 
 between those two points. In June the first travel 
 commenced. At about the same time the present road 
 by way of Savage was completed. E. Clark purchased 
 it in September, and has since owned it. St. Clair 
 located the ranch on Old River, in 1862, which Thce- 
 lan now owns, and established a ferry there. Dur- 
 ing the following winter he put up a bridge, and toll 
 for crossing it has been charged ever since. Mr. Hill 
 purchased the ranch in 1S66, including St. Clair's 
 store. In 1873, the ranch was purchased by Mr. 
 Henry Theelen. 
 
 In earl}' times Centerville, one and a half miles 
 above Ragtown, was a well-known point. Varney 
 iV Waters built a hotel there in 1860. Benjamin 
 Curler purchased it in 1864. and subsequently sold 
 it to Joseph Scott. Curler is now practising law at 
 Belmont, Nye County. T. Varney was killed in 
 1862 by Al. Millstead, who was hanged at Cai-son 
 Citj- in 1863. Waters was killed on what is now 
 known as the -Little Adobe" ranch, by a man 
 named Wilson, who was subseiiuently tried and 
 acquitted. In 1866, James Ferguson nwned a ranch 
 near Centerville, and was visited one day by a bad 
 Pah-Ute known as "Bufl'alo Jim." who was accom- 
 panied by thirteen other Indians. They demanded 
 two sacks of flour, a cow, and some money. Fer- 
 nuson ofl'ered to give them the flour, but refused to 
 trive anything else, and a quarrel ensued, upon 
 which they strung him up to a hay press, but cut 
 
3G6 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 him down before life was extinct. They also cut 
 open all the baled hay on the premises. For these 
 outrages Ferguson swore that he would kill "Buffalo 
 Jim;" and meeting him out alone, about a. year after- 
 wards, he did kill him. lie then fled from the 
 country, and at last accounts was living in Missouri. 
 At the time he left Nevada he was the partner of 
 Sheriff Scott. 
 
 ANCIENT .niNING DISTRICTS. 
 
 "Happy are the people." saj's Montesquieau, "whose 
 annals are brief in the history books." By that 
 standard the people of Churchill must bo the hap- 
 piest of Nevada, and no one can gainsaj' it. Once 
 its eastern districts were thronged with miners and 
 prospectors, and the clatter of stamps was heard 
 in its hills. With the discoverj^ of mines in the 
 Humboldt Eange, in 1862, prospectors pressed for- 
 ward into the wilderness, and the districts of Mount- 
 ain Wells, Clan Alpine, and New Pass were formed, 
 and active operations commenced. 
 
 In Mountain Wells District a large number of 
 claims were located; and in the years 1863-64-65 
 many were sold to Eastern capitalists, who pro- 
 ceeded to develop them. The village of La Plata 
 was built, and became the county seat. A quartz 
 mill of ten stamps was built, and for a time pros- 
 pcritj^ seemed to smile on the region. The de- 
 velopments, however, did not equal the expecta- 
 tions, and the White Pine excitement absorbed 
 the mill and miners. The county seat was re- 
 moved to Stillwater, and soon thereafter La Plata, 
 the place of silver, was relegated to its original j 
 wilderness. The locality where once stood the hope- 
 ful village is on the e;istern slope of the Carson 
 Sink range, sometimes called the Uun Glen Range; 
 and fronting it is Salt Valley, a broad expanse of bar- 
 renness, but rich in salt, were transportation con- 
 venient to make it available. In this range is Job's 
 Peak, a conspicuous landmark for a wide expanse 
 of country'. 
 
 Clan Alpine District was organized in January, 
 1864. and many claims located. Shafts were sunk, 
 and drifts run, exposing veins of small size, contain- 
 ing ore, both gold and silver, of about twelve dol- 
 lars per ton in value. The countrj' rock is porphyry. 
 The surrounding country being more valuable for 
 producing suit than cereals, and mining not remun- 
 erative, the district was abandoned. 
 
 New Pass District was organized in the spring of 
 1864, and ledges of gold-bearing ore were found, 
 which, on the surface, appeared very valuable. The 
 district lies in the Shoshone range of mountains, 
 about thirty miles west of Austin, and the mines 
 were chiefly worked b}- people from that city. The 
 mines were quite thoroughly tested, but not yielding 
 to exceed fifteen dollars per ton, were abandoned, 
 but the State Mineralogist of 1867 regards them as 
 valuable. 
 
 J. W. ALLEN 
 
 Was born in Van Buren County, Iowa, March 10, 
 1843, and resided on the old homestead, attending 
 the common school during his early j-ears, and as- 
 sisting in the labors of the farm till he attained the 
 age of twentj-'One years, when, bidding adieu to 
 Iowa in 1864 he, in company with his mother and 
 two sisters, and following his father, who had pre- 
 ceded them one year before, emigrated from there 
 to the State of Nevada, joining his father, C. Allen, 
 and his brother Lemuel, who had found a home on 
 the south side of Carson Lake. 
 
 He resided from that time till 1868 in Churchill 
 County, Nevada, from which place he removed to 
 Sonoma County, California, where he remained 
 till 1870, at which time ho returned to Churchill 
 County-, Nevada, and entered into partnership 
 with his father and brother Lemuel, in farming 
 and stock-raising, till 1877, when he retired from the 
 partnership and removed to his present homo on 
 New River, 
 
 He is the possessor of 420 acres of land, 240 of 
 which is inclosed and mostlj- under cultivation. The 
 soil is a rich black loam, susceptible of a high state 
 of cultivation, and adapted to the growing of nrost 
 varieties of gi'ain. 
 
 Mr. Allen is much interested in the improvement 
 of stock, particularly of horses, of the Clydesdale 
 and Copperbottom breeds, many fine specimens of 
 which may be counted among the horses on his 
 ranch. 
 
 In 1876 Mr. Allen united his fortunes in marriage 
 with Mrs. Kate Peugh, and soon commenced house- 
 keeping in his present residence, which he erected 
 that year. He has been often called bj' his friends 
 and neighbors to places of trust and honor, filling 
 the office of Justice of the Peace of Upper Sink Pre- 
 cinct for six years, and from 1874 to 1876 the office of 
 Public Administrator of Churchill County, and has 
 been more recently elected Superintendent of Public 
 Schools for that countj' for the ensuing two years. 
 
 Ho has over devoted himself to the advancement 
 of morality and temperance, is a consistent and lead- 
 ing member of the Church of the Seventh-day Ad- 
 ventists and the Acting Superintendent of the Sab- 
 bath-school, and District Socrotary of the Seventh- 
 day Adventist tract and mission work in Nevada, 
 and Clerk of the St. Clair Church. Ho is also known 
 as a devoted and prominent advocate of temper- 
 ance, and Secretary and Treasurer of the temperance 
 organizations in the county, and Librarian for the 
 library of that society. 
 
 LE.MUEL ALLEN, 
 
 The subject of this sketch is a native of Han-ison 
 County, Ohio; on the twelfth of April, 183!t, he was born 
 and in the same year his father and mother removed 
 to Van Buren County. Iowa. There he remained 
 with his father, assisting on tho farm and attending 
 school, until tho year 1859. In that year he married 
 
bllSTUllY Ul UUUKCHILL COUNT\. 
 
 367 
 
 Mies Sarah Ann Peu<<h. and in the same year he and 
 his wile started lor PiJJc's Pcaiv, but stopped in Kan- 
 sas until the followinjj 3-ear, when lhe>^ returned to 
 Iowa, and resided there uji to the year 18(i2. when 
 they started lor I'iirson V'allej-. Nevada. They first 
 settled seven miles above Fori Churchill, on the Car- 
 son Hivor. Possessing little of this world's wealth, 
 they found their little stock of provisions and the 
 team of patient oxen, all that was left them with 
 which to begin life; but rich in the mutual faith and 
 affection they had for each other, they were nothing 
 daanted, and cheerfully faced the dim and shadowy 
 future. y\r. Allen had paid out his last two dollars 
 on crossing the bridge spanning the slough at the 
 sink of the Carson. There they remained until 
 December 1, 1SG3. when they removed to the south 
 side of the upper sink of the Carson Kiver. called 
 Carson Lake. He there established u station called 
 "The Wild Cat." taking his father as partner, 
 who had come out to join him, as did also his mother 
 and the family, the following j-ear. The station 
 was on the old Pony iJoad, and there the family 
 remained until 18G7, when he removed to their pi'csent 
 residence. 
 
 Since that time he has kept a " station " for the 
 accommodation of the traveling public. He now 
 owns in the countj- 1,040 acres of land, 500 acres of 
 which is fenced and under cultivation. He cuts about 
 600 tons of hay each year, and has also a fine bearing 
 orchard, including a variety of fruit which yields a 
 suilicient quantity to abundantly supply his own 
 family and also his neighbors. Mr. Allen was 
 ambitious to master the stud}- of the law, but being 
 compelled to seek his own fortunes in life, has had 
 but little leisure lime since early youth for anything 
 like systematic stud}', but during the entire length of 
 time of his residence in the Slate of Nevada ho has 
 devoted every spare moment to the ])ursuit of his 
 favorite study, and at leiiglh, on the sixteenth day of 
 January, 1873, he was admitted to practice by the 
 Supreme Court of Nevada. He was elected District 
 Attornej" for Churchill Counfj' in 1871, and re-elected 
 in 1873; he was again returned to the same oHice by 
 the election in the year 1880. In the year 1875, he 
 represented his county in the Assembl}', and was in 
 1876 re-elected to that jiosition. The children living 
 are six, three sons and three daughters. .Mr. and 
 Mrs. Allen have buried three other children. Willi 
 his usual desire to improve everything pertaining to 
 his iarm, .Mr. .\llen is jiaj-ing s|)ecial attentioTi lo the 
 breeding of good stock, antl he is the owner of a line 
 Durham bull. Over the entire country- '• Lem Allen " 
 is well known as one of the most " go ahead " men in 
 a State where such men are numerous, and is alto- 
 gether a representative man. His father, after a 
 long residence in the count}-, has now removed to 
 Reno, Washoe County, leaving, however, (in Chur- 
 chill County) many representatives in both children 
 and grandchildren. 
 
 J. W. BOND 
 
 Is a native of Noble County, Ohio, having been born 
 in that county on the twenty-third day of March, 
 1840. His earlj- years were passed on a farm in 
 ihat county till the age of twenty-one, when ho left 
 the labors of the farm to engage in the profession of 
 teacher in the schools, in which employment he 
 remained till the fall of 1862, when leaving 
 his native home he emigrated to the State of 
 Iowa, and there resumed his occupation of teach- 
 ing, in vvhich he continued till the spring of 
 1864, when he determined to seek the fortune 
 awaiting him on the Pacific Coast. Relinquishing 
 the honorable avocation in which he had been en- 
 gaged for the previous years in Ohio and Iowa, 
 he joined the westward moving army, and crossed 
 the plains, to find a home in ('alifornia. There 
 he remained till 1866, at which time he retraced 
 his steps as far as Nevada, where he married Miss 
 .Sarah C. Allen, a resident of the southern shore 
 of the sink of the Carson, on the second day of 
 September of that year. Returning to California 
 soon after and locating in Sonoma County, he re- 
 mained till A. D. 1878. During that time he was 
 largely engaged in farming. In the spring of 
 1878, having disposed of his interest in Sonoma 
 County, he removed to Churchill County, Mevada, 
 and investing the proceeds already accumulated by 
 energy and thrift in lands in this county, which he 
 has by industry and good husbandry made ]>roduc- 
 tive, he has become one of the most prosperous and 
 extensive farmers of the county. 
 
 JOHN p. BROWN 
 
 Was born February 8, 1826, in Luzerne Countj-, 
 Pennsj'lvania. In 1842 he removed to Kane Countj', 
 Illinois, and engaged in farming in that county up 
 to the year 1850. He then started for California 
 across the plains, and after the usual adventures and 
 hardships encountered in those daj's on overland 
 journeys, safelj' reached California. He first settled 
 in El Dorado County, finally going to Placcrville in 
 the winter of 1852-53. ]n February, of 1853, he 
 went East by the Isthmus, and returned (o Cali- 
 fornia with stock — his brother, Lyman, accomiiany- 
 ing him; in the same year he went back to Illinois. 
 Dui-ing 1854 he married Miss Delia .M. Tlioni])son, 
 of Huntly, McHenry Count}', Illinois, a daughter of 
 Shubael Trenk and .Margaret West Thompson. Al- 
 most immediately after, he removed to .Michigan, 
 where he was actively engaged in the lumber busi- 
 ness for six years, when he again turned his steps 
 toward the Pacific t'oast, locating in Silver City, 
 Nevada. He speedily found em|)loyment by starting 
 a business in teaming, which proved reniunoralive 
 during his stay in that place. Since 1864 he has 
 resided in Churchill County, whither he removed in 
 that year to engage in farming. 
 
 He is now the owner of a fine farm, containing 660 
 acres of land, located on Old River, six miles below 
 
368 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 the old overland bridge, and twelve miles from the 
 county 6eat. One hundred and sixty acres are under 
 cultivation all well adapted to the raising of grain, 
 vegetables, etc., and are all inclosed with a fence of 
 live Cottonwood; he has also a young orchard of 
 promising fruit trees, about two hundred in number, 
 only four years planted, and all bearing, giving 
 promise of heavy yields before many years. The 
 larger portion of the farm extends along Old Kiver, 
 and is well divided by ditches distributed at con- 
 venient distances over the entire farm. The water- 
 right is abundant for irrigating, and was the third 
 recorded in the county. Mr. Brown is giving his 
 personal attention to stock-raising, and may be con- 
 sidered as very successful in the_busines8. Although 
 but fifty-five years old, the active life of Mr. Brown 
 has been marked by many changes, and is noticeable 
 for energy and industry. He and his wife have had 
 a family of three children, two of whom. William 
 and Stella, are now living. 
 
 State Senator from Churchill County, Nevada, was 
 born in Freiburg, Baden, Germany, in a. d. 1830, 
 where he received the advantages of a good edu- 
 cation, imbibing much of the spirit of democracy 
 that eventually led him to seek his fortune and 
 cast his lot among the many who have found homes 
 among the freedom-loving people of America. 
 
 Leaving Germany when scarcely twenty years of 
 age, he crossed the Atlantic Ocean, landing in New 
 Orleans in the year 1850, when hearing tales of the 
 fabulous wealth of California— the gold fields— he 
 only remained sufficiently long to secure an outfit 
 for the journey, when he started overland for the 
 El Dorado of his hopes. 
 
 Arriving in California in the lall of 1850, he at 
 once located near the Yuba Hiver, in] Yuba County, 
 and successfully engaged in mining, merchandising 
 and teaming for seven years. Moved_by an honor- 
 able ambition for a lai-ger field of enterprise, he dis- 
 posed of his business in Yuba County, removed to 
 Sacramento, then fast growing into importance and 
 wealth, and became extensively engaged in the live- 
 stock business. In 1S70, he removed from Sacra- 
 mento, and located in Stillwater. Churchill County, 
 Nevada, and became largely interested in merchan- 
 dising, also dealing in stock. He is an honorable 
 representative of that German element that has 
 been so greatly conducive to the growth and pros- 
 perity of this county. He has by his energ}-, indus- 
 try and business capacity, accumulated a handsome 
 independence, that places him among the substantial 
 men of his county. In 1878. he was elected to the 
 State Senate on the Eepublican ticket, and has dis- 
 charged his duties with sincerity of purpose, and 
 evident desire to advance the best interests of his 
 constituents and the State. 
 
 The Senator is married, and both in social and 
 political life enjoys the confidence and respect of 
 those who know him. He is now in the prime of 
 life, with promise of many years of usefulness, a 
 portion of which his manj' friends will undoubtedly 
 insist upon being, as now, devoted to the interests of 
 the public, and perhaps in a more elevated position 
 than that now occupied by him. 
 
 J. J. CLSHMAN 
 
 Was born October G, 1838, in Piscataquis County, 
 State of Maine, emigrating at the early age of two 
 years to the State of Ohio, Lorain County, where 
 he remained with his parents the following six years, 
 accompanying them again in their second removal, in 
 1840, to the count}' of Henry, State of Illinois; 
 thence to Iowa, and back again to Illinois. There he 
 remained, assisting his father with the care and labor 
 of the farm, till 1859, when leaving his parents he 
 crossed the plains to California, where he remained 
 one winter, and the following summer moved to 
 Nevada, remaining in Carson City during the sum- 
 mer. In 1801 he purchased the ranch on which he 
 now resides, located on ("arson Sink, two miles from 
 the Carson Lake on the Belleville and Austin lioad, in 
 Churchill County, embracing 1,700 acres of land, 
 1,000 acres of which is fenced, and 125 acres under 
 cultivation, the remainder being devoted to pas- 
 turage. He has the ranch well stocked with cattle 
 and horses, and finds the growing of them jirofitable 
 and remunerative. Near the old residence, about 
 one-quarter of a mile from his present one, erected in 
 1877, and shown on another page of this work, he 
 has a fine bearing orchard of many varieties of fruit. 
 In 1865 he married Miss Mary Ellen Adams, by whom 
 he has two sons, Roj-al D. and Clement O., aged 
 fourteen and thirteen yearsj resj)ectively. He was 
 elected Clerk of the County of Churchill in 1872, 
 
HISTORY OF CHURCHILL COUNTY. 
 
 369 
 
 and discharged the duties of the office so acceptabi)' 
 that he was re-elected in 1874, and continued to ])er- 
 form the duties till 1876, when he retired from pub- 
 lie life to devote his attention to the care of his 
 private business. 
 
 ''■SW^ 
 
 The subject of this sketch, and whose name stands 
 at the head of this article, was born in the city of 
 New Orleans, State of Louisiana, on the thirteenth 
 day of Maj-, a. d. 184:^, where he remained with 
 his parents till the year 1853; his father during that 
 time being engaged in buying and selling cotton, 
 once recognized as the '-king" of Southern com- 
 merce, if not of the L'nited States. 
 
 During the year 1853, hearing much of the 
 golden paradise of the Pacific Coast, his father dis- 
 posed of his business in New Orleans, and, following 
 the sun in his western course, accompanied by his 
 family, came to C'ylifornia, by way of the Nicaragua 
 route, settling in Tuolumne County. There he on- 
 gaged in mining till bis death in 1879. 
 
 William grew up to manhood in Tuolumne County, 
 at times engaged in mining, after arriving at sufficient 
 ago to be of assistance to his father, and at other 
 limes in butchering, U> supply the mining cainjjs in 
 the vicinitj'. In 1870, leaving Tuolumne County, he 
 removed to St. Clair. Churchill County. Nevada, and 
 again engaged in butchering, a business he had been 
 largely engaged in since his earl}- youth, and in con- 
 nection with that f<jlIowed farming, and is largely 
 interested in stock-raising, growing and feeding many 
 of the animals which supply his main business. 
 
 In 1.S78 his integrity and business ability placed 
 
 him prominently before the people for their suffrage, 
 for the responsible position of Treasurer of the 
 county, to which office he was elected, and so accept- 
 ably discharged his duties, that ho was re-elected in 
 1880, which office he now continues to fill, with honor 
 and credit to himself, and to the satisfaction of his 
 constituents. On his election in 1878, the duties of 
 his office reijuiring his presence at Stillwater, the 
 county seat, he removed to that place, and has since 
 resided there. 
 
 On the fourteenth of December, 1879, he married 
 Miss Elizabeth Met tee. 
 
 Ue is the owner of 1(JU acres of excellent farming 
 land on the west side of Stillwater, and an equal part- 
 ner in the ownershi)) of the irrigation ditch now 
 under construction taking water from Stillwater 
 Slough and running across his farm, supplying it 
 with water for all needful purposes. 
 a', l. kenvon. 
 
 Tiio gentleman to whom this sketch refers is one 
 of the pioneers of Nevada. He was born in Rome, 
 Oneida County, New York, on the twentieth of April, 
 1830. His early life was passed in his native State, 
 where his time was varied between attending school, 
 working on the farm of his father, and learning tho 
 blacksmith's trade. His education was confined 
 mostly to the common schools, and was of a nature 
 such as is usually- obtained from similar institutions. 
 As youth ripened into manhood, his ambitious nature 
 would not permit him to remain in the quiet paths 
 to which he had been accustomed, but called upon 
 him to go forth into the world, and seek tho fortune 
 that lies in store for those who have the hardihood 
 to surmount the dangers and difficulties that beset 
 the paths of the pioneers. During the summer of 
 1852 ho crossed the plains to California, and located 
 at Gold Run, Placer County, where he engaged in 
 mining. In this he was very successful, and, during 
 the following winter accumulated quite a fortune. 
 The following spring he conceived the idea of becom- 
 ing a speculator in horses, and, in ])ursuanco of this, 
 ho returned to Missouri, and with the gold he had 
 saved purchased a band of fine blooded stock, and. on 
 tho eighth of .March, 1S54. started with it for Califor- 
 nia. On tho following first of August, he arrived at 
 Uagtown on the Carson River, and there disposed of 
 his stock, realizing a handsome profit. His next 
 business venture was starting a trading-post at that 
 place for traffic with the emigrants. There were at 
 this lime usually from .''(HI to 5(10 people at this sta-. 
 tion, living in tents and willow houses, and the rags 
 fluttering in tho breezes gave the place its significant 
 title. In 1855 Mr. Kenvon erected a log house, 
 which he used for a store and dwelling-house, and 
 this was the only house lolY standing after the flood 
 of 1S()2 in the town. .Mr. Kenyon has been a partic- 
 ipant in many of the battles with tho Indians, and 
 has also witnessed tho great mining excitements that 
 have transpired in western Nevada. 
 
370 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE ni EVAJM 
 
 Born in Hatb Uount^-, Kentucky, the third day of 
 November, 1839, is one of the first settlers of Old 
 River, Nevada. Removing with his parents, in 1856, 
 to Ralls County, Missouri, where he remained assist- 
 ing his father with the labors of the farm till 1862, 
 when, making the acquaintance of Dr. Glenn, of 
 Colusa County, California, he purchased a number 
 of mules, and in companj' with him crossed the plains 
 into California as far as Sacramento, where he re- 
 mained three months, till the fall of 1863, at which 
 date he came to Churchill County, Nevada, at that 
 time almost on the verge of civilization in its out- 
 reach from the shores of the Pacific over and be- 
 yond the snow-capped peaks of the Sierra. His 
 youth and early j'cars of manhood having been 
 passed in the honorable labors of the farm and the 
 cultivation of the earlh, he was well able to judge of 
 the adaptabilitj' of lands about the ('arson to the 
 raising of grain, when properly prepared. Engag- 
 ing in farming, he was among the first who encour- 
 aged the growing of grain at Stillwater, and the 
 originator of the plan, since so Buccessfullj- reduced ' 
 to practice, for irrigating the land by means of 
 ditches from Stillwater Slough, lie remained at Old 
 River, farming, till 18G7, when, joining a party of 
 Government surveyors under Colonel Monroe, he 
 accompanied them in the surv'e}' of Arizona, return- 
 ing in the fall of 1860. 
 
 On his return the people gave due evidence of their 
 appreciation of his iittogrily and ability by placing 
 
 him in nomination for the office of County Recorder, 
 and full assurance, by electing him, in which capacity 
 he continued to serve the people till 1875, at which 
 time he was transfen-ed to the office of Couiitj' Clerk, 
 the duties of which office he continued to discharge 
 till 1880. In November, 1880, he was elected to rep- 
 resent the people in the Assembly of the State for 
 the year 1881. 
 
 In January, 1871, Mr. Richards, ambitious to ac- 
 quire the art of telegraphy, commenced, under such 
 instructions as could then be obtained, to practice, 
 during all his leisure moments on the instruments 
 of the Overland Telegraph Line, and so perfected 
 himself that the company, in December, 1874, ap- 
 pointed him their operator and agent, and made his 
 office a repair office, with salary, and he now has 
 charge of the line from Virginia City to Austin. 
 
 In 1878 he was appointed Po.stmaster at Stillwater, 
 which position he still retains. 
 
 .JACKSON FERGUSON. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, Jackson Ferguson, was 
 born in the county of Cuyahoga, State of Ohio, on 
 the fourth day of September. 1832, where he 
 remained till the j^ear 1838, when he accompanied 
 his parents in their removal to Wayne County, 
 Indiana, where they were engaged in farming till 
 1841, at which time all removed to Van Buren 
 County, Iowa. Here he remained, dividing his time 
 in labor on the farm and attending school, till the 
 j'car 1853. at which time, having attained the estate 
 of manhood, he married Miss Elizabeth Peugh, a res- 
 ident of that county. In 1854, being moved bj' the 
 reports of the golden wealth of (/aliforiiia, leaving 
 family and friends, he joined the throng crossing the 
 plains to the Golden State, came to California, and 
 mined in Shasta and Trinity Counties till 1858. He 
 then returned to Iowa, and remained till 18G2, when, 
 accompanied by his family, ho again sought the 
 Pacific Coast, crossing the plains during that year. 
 Locating in Sonoma Count}', California, he engaged 
 in farming and stock-raising, and also became largely 
 interested in real estate business. In 18 — he dis- 
 posed of his ]>roperty in Sonoma Count}', California, 
 and removed to his present place of residence at St. 
 Clair, in Churchill County, Nevada, and near Carson 
 Lake. Here he purchased 740 acres of land bor- 
 dering on Carson River and along the Belleville 
 road. Of this, 400 acres are fenced, and the larger 
 portion under cultivation. In 1878 the St. Clair 
 Post-office was removed from St. Clair Station to 
 the ranch of Mr. Ferguson, and he was appointed 
 Postmaster, which office he now holds. He has also 
 represented his count}- in the Assembly since 1878, 
 with honor and fidelity, and to the satisfaction of his 
 constituents. Mr. Ferguson was appointed to the 
 position of Superintendent of Census for the State 
 of Nevada, for the census of 1880, and entered 
 actively in the discharge of the responsible duties 
 of that position. His son, J. F. Ferguson, made the 
 
HISTORY OF CHURCHILL COUNTY 
 
 371 
 
 enumeration of Churchill County for the census of 
 that year. Mr. Ferguson is the fortunate father of 
 five sons and one daufjhter, which with one daughter 
 sleeping in the churchyard, and •' the gude wife," 
 who is still living, constitutes the family. 
 
 W. H. A. PIKE 
 
 Was born in Cornish, York County, Maine, on the 
 twenty-fourth day of January. 1854. His early life 
 was passed on the farm of his father, Henry B. Pike, 
 who was one of the most extensive farmers and the 
 leading cattle merchant of the State of Maine. The 
 subject of our sketch received a liberal academic 
 education, first at the Cornish High School, Ijimerick 
 Academj-, and afterward at the Oxford Normal 
 Institute at South Paris, Maine. His aspirations to 
 become a lawyer prompted him to enter Bowdoin 
 College, where he was admitted to the Preshman 
 Class in 1873. 
 
 In 1874, Mr. Pike decided to discontinue his col- 
 legiate course, and '-go West," and we next find him 
 settled in Churchill County, Nevada, where, for 
 several years he was engaged in teaching school; 
 and, being one of the few "born to command," his 
 fitness for a teacher of the young was readily per- 
 ceived, and he was admitted to bo one of the most 
 successful instructors that ever presided over a 
 school in the State of Nevada. At length becom- 
 ing tired of the confinement consequent with his 
 profession, he turned his attention in other direc- 
 tions, and engaged in the practice of law. In this, 
 as in all other things to which he has given his 
 attention, he became eminently successful. In con- 
 nection with his profession, he has been engaged in 
 stock-raising, and is at the present time one of the 
 principal cattle-raisers in his count}'. He was mar- 
 ried in 1877 to Miss Ida M. Kenyon, of Churchill 
 County, a lady of rare accomplishments, who was 
 one of the first white children born in Nevada. 
 
 J. M. SANFORD. 
 
 The subject of the following sketch is a native of 
 New York State, where he lived until 1855, at which 
 time he removed to Wisconsin, and was engaged as 
 a tiller of the soil for the succeeding six years. 
 
 In 1861 he crossed the plains, and arrived at Hag- 
 town, Churchill County, Nevada, in the fall of the 
 same year, where he remained about one j'ear. He 
 then went to Sacramento, California, and after a few 
 month's stay there, returned to Nevada, and locating 
 again in Churchill County, engaged in the business 
 of stock-raising and ranching. By strict attention 
 to his business he was soon on a firm ba.sis in that 
 line. Ho was elected one of the C<imniissioners of 
 this county in 18G9, and one year later removed to the 
 county seat, Stillwater, where he has since resided. 
 In 1873 ho was chosen to represent his people in 
 the State Legislature, and was re-elected in 1875. In 
 this honorable position he served his constituents in 
 a satisfactory manner, and won laurels in that body 
 that will remain green for years to come. He has 
 
 also held the office of Justice of the Peace and Deputy 
 Sheriff, and to-daj^ stands firm in the estimation of 
 his fellow-men. 
 
 In 1870 he opened a hotel, a view of which will bo 
 found on another jiago, and has since catered to the 
 public in a style known onlj' to those who "know 
 how to keep hotel." 
 
 HENRV TIIEELEN 
 
 Is a n;itive of (xcrman}', born on the fourteenth of 
 January, 1832. He emigrated to the United 
 States when he was about twenty-nine years of 
 age, settling in Illinois, where he remained em- 
 ploj'ed on a farm until 1860, when, with others, 
 he emigrated to California, settling at Red Bluff. 
 Up to 1873 he was empk>ved in teaming, canying on 
 a successful business between California and Nevada, 
 and as far as Idaho, and to quite a number of other 
 points. In that year he sold his teams and purchased 
 the old St. Clair Station on Old Eiver, Churchill 
 County, Nevada, where he is still settled, and is the 
 proprietor of that very convenientlj' located station, 
 which he successfully manages for the accommoda- 
 tion of travelers, but more particularly for teamsters 
 who team between Candelaria, Grantsville and Wads- 
 worth. Mr. Theelen has 800 acres of fine land, 
 extending for three miles along Old River, 200 acres 
 of which are cultivated and inclosed with fence. 
 With unfiiiling success he raises each year an 
 immense crop of alfalfa, which he sells to the team- 
 sters, and also feeds to some very fine stock owned 
 by himself. He owns a toll-bridge crossing the 
 Old River, from which he derives a handsome reve- 
 nue. Ho also raises from 500 to 600 bushels of grain 
 per ye,ir, and his alfalfa fields cover at least 160 acres. 
 Mr. Theelen is extensively known, and throughout 
 his large acquaintance is ver}^ much esteemed and 
 respected. He is a married man, having married in 
 1874, and is the father of two children: Kate, aged 
 six years, and Annie, who is four years old. 
 
 D. M. WIOHTMAN 
 
 Claims Hancock Count}-, Illinois, as the place of his 
 nativity, and wiis born on Maj- 3. 1839. When four 
 years of age his parents died, leaving him to the care 
 of his uncle. At seven years of age he removed to 
 Jackson County, Michigan, where he remained until 
 he was seventeen j-ears of age. In the year 1856, 
 he went to Utah, after stopping ii Iowa a short 
 time. His next removal was to Ophir, Virginia City, 
 Nevada, reaching that wonderful mining district on 
 the fourth of July, 1859 
 
 In epitomizing a hislor}- of any of the bravo moii 
 who turned their faces tow.irds the setting sun, in 
 those earlier days when hardships were as much to bo 
 expected as wolves and Indians, thej' who have fol- 
 lowed after, when railroad travel and long cultiva- 
 tion of lands have supersede<l the first named, and 
 bravery and numbers have bamshed tho two last 
 named, will find but scant justice done to the sub- 
 jects of our sketches. But to many readers, memo- 
 
372 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 ries of those earlier days -will be made vividly real 
 bj- what we write; and to another class of readers, 
 each advance made toward the then outposts of civ- 
 ili7.:ition will need but few words to suggest the long, 
 patient and courageous struggle of those pioneers, 
 who have but this terse record to tell of lives and 
 adventures which will soon sound as unreal as 
 stories of romance. 
 
 In the fall of 1860, Mr. Wightman settled on bis 
 present ranch on the (.'arson Sink, where he now 
 owns 1,200 acres of hind, all fenced, 10(1 acres of 
 which are cultivated in grains. lie has a good 
 breed of stock, both cattle and horses, ranging over 
 his rich pastures. He cuts about 400 tons of hay 
 per year. The old adobe house, as shown in the 
 view, was occupied bj- him as a residence until the 
 year 1880, when he erected a fine frame house, 
 which he now occupies. 
 
 On the nineteenth of Jul}-, 1865, he married Miss 
 Sarah J. Mc(Tee; seven children bless their union, 
 five sons and two daughters. 
 
 His ranch is located on the Belleville road, thirty- 
 five miles from Wadsworth. In 1870, he was elected 
 County Assessor, and discharged his duties so 
 acceptabl}- that he was continued in that office until 
 1876, a period of six years. Since then, the citizens 
 of his count}-, appreciating his worth, have again 
 called him to the responsible position of County 
 Commissioner of Churchill County, the duties of 
 which office he is now discharging with like faithful- 
 ness and ability. 
 
 CHAPTER XLII. 
 HISTORY OF DOUGLAS COUNTY. 
 
 County Boundaries — Area of Agricultural Lands — Lands for 
 Piistoral Purposes — Valleys in Douglas County — Farms 
 in Carson Valley — Adaptability to Fruit Culture — The 
 Mines of Douglas County — Tlie Mammoth -Mine and 
 Tunnel — Genoa Mining District — Organization of the 
 County — Meeting of New Commissioners — Rates of 
 Toll Kstablished — New Court House Secured — Rate of 
 Taxation Fixed — Financial Condition of the County — Ap- 
 pointments and Flections- — Historical .Sketch of (!enoa — The 
 First Traders — The Pioneer Hotels— Early Condition of 
 (Jenoa — (Jcnoa of the Present Day — Tlie ('mirt Ifouse 
 Building — The Present Population — One of the Usual 
 Episodes — Early .Settlement of (Uenbrook — Productiveness 
 of the Soil — Friday's .Station and the New Road — First 
 Hotel at (Jlenbrook — More Mills .it (ilenbrook — First Store 
 at Glenbrook — The village of (Ilenbrook — The Shakspeari.in 
 Rock — A Must Deplorable Affair — Rafting Logs Across 
 Lake Tahoe — The Village of Sheridan — Medicinal .Springs 
 of the County — Biographical Sketches. 
 
 Douoi.AS is one of the nine counties created bj- the 
 Territorial Legislature on the twenty-fifth of No- 
 vember, 1861, when Nevada was first subdivided by 
 that body into minor divisions. Originall}' it com- 
 prised a portion of Millard County, Utah, and later, 
 of Carson County. The Act of the Legislative As- 
 sembly at that time established the county bounda- 
 ries as follows: — 
 
 Ik-ginning at Mftson's Ranch, on Walker River, 
 and running westerly, in a straight line, to the mouth 
 of Clear Creek; thence along the middle of said 
 
 creek to its source; thence due west to the California 
 line; thence south and southeasterly along said line 
 to the western boundarj- of Esmeralda County; 
 thence northerly along said boundary to the place 
 of beginning. 
 
 The western limits embrace the eastern summit of 
 the Sierra Nevada, and include no inconsiderable 
 part of Lake Tahoe, giving it such advantages of 
 timber and transportation as to make it the princi- 
 pal lumber producing countj- of the State. The 
 timber and wood lands of Douglas County are about 
 50,000 acres in extent, and although to a great de- 
 gree exhausted by the immense drain upon them in 
 the past fifteen years, are yet capable of supplying 
 largo quantities of lumber and wood. 
 
 AUE.\ OF AORICULTtIR.\L LANDS. 
 
 In 1868, the County Assessor, S. C. Chase, esti- 
 mated the agricultural lands of Douglas to be 50,000 
 acres — 45,000 of which would require irrigation to 
 be made productive; that but one inch of water per 
 acre would be required for that purpose, and that 
 the cost per acre for irrigation would be three dol- 
 lars. The lands thus rated and treated, it was con- 
 ceded would be exceedingly productive in character 
 — raising wheat, barle)', oats, corn, buckwheat, and 
 peas, besides j-ieldi ng large crops of potatoes of superior 
 quality, as well as other root crops, with unfailing 
 certainty, thus proving its capabilitj' to not only 
 sustain a large population, but furnish a considerable 
 surplus for export. Swamp and overflowed land was 
 estimated at 2,000 acres, all of which could be re- 
 claimed at a cost of ten dollars per acre. 
 
 LANDS FOR PASTORAL PURPOSES. 
 
 The same authority places the pasture lands at 
 200,(100, and the desert lands at 100,00(1 acres. Since 
 then — 1868 — no doubt the area upon which stock 
 and dairy cattle can be profitably ke)U has been 
 somewhat enlarged by the destruction of the forests, 
 and consequent growth of shrubbery and bunch 
 grass, upon which animals thrive, on the land for- 
 merly occupied by large pine and other trees. Besides 
 it is safe to assert, that the so-called -'desert" lands 
 are covered to a great extent with the white sage — 
 a shrub upon which cattle thrive in winter. 
 
 The climate, water, and nutritious herbage of 
 Houglas are unexcelled for dair3-ing purposes; and 
 there are many reasons whj' the products of this 
 branch of industry' should be greater in the future 
 than they have been in the past. The butter pro- 
 duct of Douglas County for 1880 is given at 40.000 
 pounds — an increase in five years of .S6,000 pounds, 
 which is an indication that it may be greater in the 
 near future. The manufacture of cheese, as yet, 
 seems not to have been undertaken, 
 
 VALLEYS IN DOKdl.AS COUNTY. 
 
 The greater portion of the ai-able land of Douglas 
 County lies in Carson, Long, and Jack's Valleys. 
 The first named is the largest, and its southern 
 extremity lies within the limits of the State of Cali- 
 
m-.,. 
 
 ■f^vvCrHITc - , 
 
 '"■^J?r. 
 
 V- 
 
 § 
 
 «Sliiii:> 
 
 .'' V 
 
HISTORY OF DOUGLAS COUNTY. 
 
 373 
 
 fornia. The remainder, what is known as Carson 
 Valley proper, is wholly within Doui^las County. 
 The valley receives its name from the Carson River, 
 which has its source in tho hiij;h Sierra, entering the 
 plain from the south, and wends its serpentine way 
 northeasterly throughout its entire length. This 
 valley, or more properly, large inland plateau, has a 
 mean elevation of about 4,500 feet above the level 
 of the sea, is about thirty miles long, and eighteen 
 wide; the lofty peaks- of the snow-clad .Sierra send- 
 ing down their tentacle like, pine-enveloped ridges 
 to skirt its western and southern border; while a 
 lesser range — tho Pine Xut Mountains^dwarfed by 
 comparison with its loftier neighbor on tho west, 
 sage-brush mantled, and now only with an occasional 
 stunted pinon upon its crests, forms the eastern side. 
 Carson Vallej- embraces about 80,000 acres, one- 
 tenth, or 8,000 acres, of which lies within the limits 
 of California. 
 
 FARMS IN C.\RS0N VALLEY. 
 
 There are about 30,000 acres of land in Carson 
 Valley inclosed by fence, and there are a number of 
 good farms. Prominent among these is that of 
 'Fred. Dangbcrg. five miles east of Genoa, who has 
 4,648 acres, all fenced. He has forty miles of irrigat- 
 ing ditches, leading water from the Carson River to 
 this immense farm. In 1879 he had one field of 
 reclaimed sage-brush land of GOO acres all sown to 
 barlej'. About 1,500 acres are used expressly for 
 grazing, and sustains nearly 1,000 head of stock. 
 The crop of 1879 was GOO tons of barley and oats, 
 and 1,600 tons of hay. 3Ir. Dangberg is an eld resi- 
 dent, having settled in Nevada in 1853. Value 
 of tho property, 860,000. 
 
 A. Klauber, one of the early merchants of Genoa, 
 and now of San Diego, California, owns a ranch 
 of 1,83(1 acres, adjoining Mr. Dangberg on the north. 
 Value. 830,000. 
 
 F. A. A. Frevort has a farm of 830 acres, inclosed, 
 south of Mr. Dangberg's ranch. Value, 818,000. 
 
 Heiijamin Karmer cultivates 800 acres, seven miles 
 south of Genoa, in the vicinity of Sheridan. Value, 
 815,000. 
 
 Henry Vansickle's farm comprises 1,800 acres, two 
 and a half miles south of Genoa. Value, 825,000. 
 
 William H. Boyd has a farm of 1,050 acres on Car- 
 son River, one mile below Genoa. Value, 818,000. 
 
 P. W. Vansickle owns what is known as the old 
 Haines Kanch, of 620 acres, three miles below Genoa. 
 Value. 812,000. 
 
 The HI Dorado Wood and Flume Company have 
 440 acres, with grist-mill. Value, 815,000. 
 
 Lawrence Fray's farm, on the east side of Genoa, 
 comprises 240 acres, and valued at 810,000. 
 
 J. W. Haines owns 320 acres in the northern part 
 of Genoa, upon which he has a fine dwelling, the 
 whole valued at 812.000. 
 
 One of the finest ranches in the valley is that of 
 Herman Springmeyer, of 480 acres of superior land, 
 lying five miles east of Genoa. Value, 812,000. 
 47 
 
 Joseph Jones has 790 acres of magnificent land, 
 with tine buildings, IjMng north of Genoa. Value, 
 820,000. 
 
 John Child's ranch, adjoining the Jones' property 
 on the north, of 640 acres, with its neat house and 
 large barn, is valued at 820,000. 
 
 Ex-Sheriff H. C. Crippen, at the Twelve-mile 
 House, twelve miles from Genoa, owns 240 acres, 
 valued at 88,000. 
 
 Chris. Dangberg's farm, which adjoins Crippen's 
 place on the northwest, embraces 960 acres, and is 
 valued at 88,000. 
 
 J. P. Pettigrew has a ranch of 440 acres, north of 
 and adjoining Chris. Dangberg's land, which has all 
 been reclaimed from sage-brush. Value, 88,000. 
 
 Adjoining and west of the Pettigrew ranch, L. S. 
 Ezell has 240 acres, valued at 85,000. 
 
 On the west fork of the Carson River, eleven 
 miles from Genoa, immediately at the base of the 
 Sierra Nevada Mountains, Bartley Cary has a farm of 
 150 acres, valued at 810,000. 
 
 William H. H. Cary's ranch of 170 acres, lying 
 south of Bartley Cary's, is valued at 88,000. 
 
 Two miles north of Sheridan, on the main road, 
 David Parke has 280 acres, valued at 810,000. 
 
 Hugh Parke has 280 acres south of the last-men- 
 tioned place, valued at 88,000. 
 
 Fred. Dressier has 560 acres near Sheridan, valued 
 at 815,000. 
 
 Six miles east of Genoa is Desert Station, a hotel 
 and stopping-place for freight teams and travelers. 
 The land has been reclaimed from sage-brush. There 
 is a good house here, a blacksmith shop, barns, and 
 two wells where water is raised by windmills for irri- 
 gation, etc. 
 
 On the west fork of the Carson, one and one-half miles 
 east of Sheridan, A. R. Brockliss has 840 acres, 
 valued at 816,000. 
 
 A. M. Taylor owns 517 acres one and one-half 
 miles north of Sheridan, valued at 87,000. 
 
 Near tho California lino, in the upper end of the 
 valley, four miles southeast of Sheridan, John Bald- 
 win has a farm of 440 acres, valued at 88,000. 
 
 Anthony McGuin owns 580 acres two and one-half 
 miles southeast of Sheridan, valued at 812,000. 
 
 J. Q. Adams has a farm three miles north of Genoa, 
 of 820 acres, whi?h is valued at 812,000. 
 
 Hanson Berry's farm of 360 acres, situated three 
 miles east of Sheridan, is valued at 810,000. 
 
 There are a number of other ranches in the north- 
 ern end of the valley, among which maj- be men- 
 tioned those of William Cradlebaugh, Mrs. Sarah 
 Claj'ton, J. W. Averill, Kichard Kirman, John Rosser, 
 Ro.'fser & Wolfe, and Dangberg & Schultz, all under 
 various stages of cultivation. But enough have been 
 enumerated to give a fair idea of the capabilities of 
 this beautiful valley. Stock-raising is a ])roniinent 
 feature among the industries of the valley, and there 
 are not less than 10,000 head of stock of various 
 kinds scattered among the difl'erent ranches. 
 
374 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Wherever irrij^alion is feasible, ditches have been 
 diiij and the sa><e-brusli grabbed out; such land has 
 proven among the best. Fully one-half the acreage 
 now tilled was at one time covered with s;lge-bru^h 
 and classed as desert land. Alumt 200 miles of 
 irrigating ditches now ramify the valley, which afford 
 an aggregate of about 500 inches of water. A fair 
 average yield of this class oi' land, well tilled, is about 
 as follows per acre: O.its and barley, twenlj* bu-hels 
 e:ieh; potatoes, 250 bu-heis; timothy and ciover hay, 
 mixed crop, one and oiie-h:ilf to two tons; alfalfa 
 produces two crops year)}-, and yields about three 
 tons per acre. 
 
 This valley, and the river which runs entirely 
 through it, received their name from Fremont, in 
 honor of the famous mountaineer who first entered 
 it when it was a portion of the tei'ritory of the 
 Eepublic of Mexico. The Territorial Unterpriae, 
 when fir-t issued at Genoa, in speaking of the dis- 
 covery of the valley by the white men, and the 
 manner of its christening, thus romantically saj-s:^ 
 
 Years ago, Kit Carson, after a toilsome and peril- 
 ous mireh over mountains, plains and desert wastes, 
 looked out from the crest of a snow-encumbered 
 mountain upon the beautiful valley that now bears 
 his name. The last i'a3's of the setting sun glanced 
 in (luivei-ing aiTows of light over the waters of the 
 be:iulilul river which winds its way through the 
 valley; th« snov. y peaks of tlie Sierra Nevada loom- 
 ing up against the ))iirplo and trolden heavens; the 
 steep mountain siiles; the tall ti'^'cs and the foam- 
 ImlT vv, iters, all clothed in a sutfuiion of glorious sun- 
 liirht. Were well calculated lo arouse the admiration 
 of the ])ioneer, and (o form his conclusion that of 
 all the beautiful valleys lie had triver-'ed in exi)lor- 
 inic the vast wild^rne-H of the West, none were more 
 fit to bear hi.s name than this. 
 
 Many of the most important events occurred, and 
 some of the most ihiilling scenes in the early hislorj' 
 of Neva la were enacted in this valley; but as all 
 Iiistorical matters that are worthj- of record occur- 
 ring prior to tlu! t weiity-fil'lh of November, ISlil. will 
 be found related in the gi'neral history of the .State, 
 they are jiurposely omitted hero. 
 
 Long Valley lies between the east and west forks 
 of Carbon River, and is, as its name indicates, a long, 
 narrow depression extendiiii: into California. Being 
 traversed by a limpid mountain stream its entire 
 leni;th. an abundant water sup])ly can be had for 
 irriifalion when required. It has a dark, rich, |)rn- 
 ductive soil, and is well adapted for dairying. An 
 abundance of timber is close at hand upon the 
 adjacent hills. 
 
 Jack's Vam.ey is a small oasis lying at the east- 
 ern base of the Sierra Nevada Jlountaiiis, bordering 
 Clear Creek, and extentling several miles southerlj' 
 from that stream. From its elevated ])osition it 
 overlooks the Carson River, an<l like all other well 
 watered spots of the re- ion in which it is bitualed, 
 highly productlvo. 
 
 ADAPTABIHTV TO FRUIT CULTURE. 
 
 Like most portions of Nevada, Douglas County 
 cannot pride itself upon a prolific fruit crop. 
 Although there were, in 1880, 3,278 apple trees, G70 
 peach, 433 pear, G70 plum, 469 cherry and 125 
 nectarine trees, but little of those kinds of fruit 
 matured. Late frosts, in summer, succeeding the 
 warm weather of spring are the banc of the horti- 
 culturists here. Toward the last of April or early 
 in 3Iay of each year it scenis to be the rule of this 
 elevated region for the foutheast wind to prevail for 
 several days, and it is none the less a rule that this 
 wind is the forerunner of severe frosts. As the fruit 
 trees have generally, ere this time, put out their 
 blossoms, these frosts destroy the embryo fruit. 
 Should anj' escape, still later in the season, the 
 month of June, again come the winds and frosts 
 and cut down all fruits that were fortunate enough 
 to escape the previous onslaught. Gooseberries, 
 raf^pberries, strawberries and currants are more 
 reliable, and mature in considerable quantities. 
 
 THE .MINES OF DOUGLAS COUNTY. 
 
 No paying mines have yet been developed iir 
 Douglas County, notwithstanding the ouilaj- of 
 money has been great and the effort j'ersistent in 
 e.vploilation. In 1SG8, S. C. Chase, County Assessor, 
 reports " no minertil land in the c<)utit\-,'' to the Sur- 
 veyor General. But in the tabulated statement, 
 which will be found on another ]>age of this vol- 
 ume, will be found under the head of "Mining 
 Industries," an estimate in 1880 of 24,000 acres of 
 mineral lands and one quartz mill in the county. 
 At various ])eriods there have been created within the 
 limits of the county a number of mining districts; 
 and even anterior to the discovery of silver there 
 had been some little placer mining for gold at- 
 temjited witli sluices upon the east fork of Car- 
 son River, below and near the place known as 
 Horseshoe Bend, toward llu^ upper end of the val- 
 ley. And later, from a ))aper i)rinted August 13, 
 1859, we have the following: — 
 
 We learn that John Trumbo, of (ienoa, Carson 
 Vallej', has recently had men out pro<|)ecling 
 through the countrj' east of Genoa. These men 
 found dirt on the east side of Carson Kiver. and in 
 sight of town, which prospects from ten to thirty 
 cents to the jian. 
 
 Across the valley, about eighteen miles southeast 
 of Genoa, in the lower hills of the Pine Nut iMount- 
 ains, in the fall of 1859, there were found such min- 
 eral "indications" as to create consiiierable excite- 
 ment among the residents, and man}' claims were 
 located. The following year, however, more encour- 
 aging " prospects" were obtained higher up in the 
 same range, at a short distance north of the road 
 leading into the Walker River and Mono Lake 
 regions, which caused an abandonment of the first- 
 named discoveries, and the immediate formation of 
 Eagle Mining District. 
 
HISTORY OF DOUGLAS COUNTY. 
 
 S7S 
 
 Silver Lake District was another miniiij;; locality 
 in the Pino Nut ranire, the principal mine of which j 
 was the Winters, and owned mainly by John B. 
 Winters. Ore of the value of ?S 0(10 was ship]ied 
 from this mine and sold at a net profit of 82,926. 
 This mine is now owned b}- Harry Clauson, of Heno. 
 A number ol' other districts were formed in the 
 county abi>ut the same time, all of which have had 
 their brief hour and are now forgotten. 
 
 THE MAMMOTH MINE AND TUNNEL. 
 
 The Mammoth mine is situated in Kaiflo District, 
 and is aliout ihe on'}' one in the county upon which 
 operations h.ive not been wholly suspended. There 
 is a tunnel in progress to sti'ike the ledj^o, now in 
 nearly 1.000 feet, and as large assays have been had 
 of the ore, great expectations are indulged b}- those 
 who are interested in the enterprise, when the ledge 
 is once re.icb' d by the tunnel. The expenditure 
 upon this work has been upward of $100,000. 
 
 Genoa Mininc. District is adjacent to (he town of 
 Gtnoa, one niiU- north, and wa-i created in 186f), at 
 whi ;h time i;olil-lie:iring quirtz was found, a code of 
 laws adopted, man}- large claitus located for tunnel 
 pur])oses. manj- tunnels begun, and a gre:it deal oF 
 labor and money expended witk barren results. Of 
 course, nearly all locations must be under the man- 
 agement of an incorporated company, and so it was. 
 rrinci]i:il among these corporations was the Sierra 
 Silver Milling. Saw and Quartz Mill Com]iapy, which 
 dill more toward tl)e dcvelojimcnt of a mining prop- 
 erty ihan ai'3' other conijiany. A tunnel was run 
 1 800 feet in length, and the ledge not reached. Five 
 yrars of labor, and a cash expenditure of §125,000, 
 fiiKilly convinced the stockholdirs that the mining 
 jiroperty thej- had located was of no value. The 
 expenditure of this and smaller hums of money by 
 other com|);mies for a time had a tendency toe.iliven 
 business at Genoa, as well as to create false ho|ics 
 and expectations of future commircia! greatness; 
 but with a cessation of work came the inevitable 
 reaction, and a dull season prevailed, until, at length, 
 the jiroper level was reached, and business matters 
 began to run smooildy in the legitimate channel 
 where it has ever since remained. 
 
 ORQANIZATION OF THE COUNTV. 
 
 At the time of the passage of the Act fixing the 
 boundaries of Douglas County, the inhabitants, 
 according to the census returns taken in July of 
 that year, numbered },07u, not including those 
 residing in Jack's Valley. In December, Goveriior 
 Nye appointed the following gentlemen to office, 
 whose dill}- it was to or;ranize the county: — 
 
 S. A. Kinsey, Uiram Molt, and Henry Vansicklo, 
 Commissioners; Joel A. Harvey, County Clerk; 
 Robert F. Hart, County Surveyor; William Wallace, 
 Sheriff; Chauncej- N. Noteware, J'robate Judge; B. 
 Rush Horton, Recorder; and John Tingman, Treas- 
 urer. 
 
 The Commissioners held their first meeting at the 
 
 oflfico of J. C. Dean, in Genoa, oii the twenty-eighth 
 of December, 1861, divided the county into six 
 precincts, and a])])ointed Judges of the election to 
 be held on the coming fourteenth of January, 1862, 
 as follows: — 
 
 For the Clear Creek Precinct, which extended 
 from the stream of that name south to the north 
 lino of Judge J. S. Child's ranch: J. 1) irsey, Wm. 
 Cradleliaugh, and B. Webster; the polls to bo at 
 J. Mc.Marlin's house. 
 
 For the Genoa Precinct, extending south from 
 Child's ranch to .M'iit>ville, including the Kings- 
 bury- Grade, as far as the first summit: R. N Alkn, 
 C. Tuille, and K. Mallorj-; the polls to be held at 
 the office of J. C. Dean, in (Jenoa. 
 
 Lake Yalley Pi-eciiict exlemied from the fir-t sum- 
 mit to the California line, and J. Small, M. L. Mc- 
 Donald, and Juffri'3's wi're appointed Judges; 
 
 the polls to be held at Fridays. 
 
 The Motlsville Prerinct extended from Jlott's 
 place south to the line of C.ilifoniia. The east fork 
 of Carson River was the east line of the precinct, 
 and Israel Alott, J. Kirk, and E. R. Cary were 
 appointed Judges; the polls to be at the res denco 
 of Luther Olds. 
 
 Mamrnoth Precinct included the country between 
 Teasdale bridge on the E ist Carson and the south 
 line of the county, taking in the E;igle Mining Dis- 
 trict and Double Springs. Judgesof E cclio i: D. D. 
 Olds and J. Rjdenbaugh, with polls at the Welch 
 .Station. 
 
 Walker River Prec'nct included that section of 
 the cou iir}- l3'ing east an I so ith of DouUle Spri nirs; 
 
 S. T. Ris-ue an i Himiltou being the Judges; 
 
 the ])olii being located at the F.iirc lild Stition. 
 
 MEETINO OF NEW COMMISSIONEIIS. 
 
 On the twenty-ninth of January, 1862, fifteen jjaj's 
 after the election, the County Commissioners newly 
 elected held a meeting for the ])iirpo80 of transact- 
 ing county business, and finding that the old Carson 
 County Court House was not in condition to warrant 
 fitting up for a continuation in its old line of service, 
 they decided to pay J. S. Child thirty dollars for one 
 month's rent fur a building for that purpose. They 
 also decided to rent " the cell " in the old Reese mill 
 an 1 fit it up for a jail. Having thus provided a ren- 
 dezvous for lliemsolves and a place of safetj- for the 
 criminals, they proceeded to divide the county into 
 Road Districts and appoint Siijiervisors for such of 
 them as had a road within their limits. The follow- 
 ing gentlemen were selected: Wm. Hamilton for 
 Genoa District, Benjamin M. Webster for Clear Creek 
 District, and 1). H. Barber for Mottsville District. 
 At the same time these Road Siijiervisors were 
 authorized by the County Commissioners to pay men 
 four dollars per day to work on the road. 
 
 RATES OF TOLL ESTABLISHED. 
 
 Toll-roads, bridges and ferries were a marked feat- 
 ure in the business carried on in the county in tliose 
 days, and as early as February 13, 1862, the Com- 
 
376 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 missioners commenced to deal with them as taxable 
 property, and to control their rates. Toll-bridge 
 licenses were established at fifteen dollars per quar- 
 ter, and the owners were authorized to collect from 
 the traveling public as follows: — 
 
 For man and horse 25 cts. 
 
 For wagon and two horses 50 " 
 
 For each additional span 25 " 
 
 For pack animal 10 " 
 
 For loose stock 05 " 
 
 Ferries were more numerous than toll-bridges, and 
 their licenses were generally, S7.50 per month, and 
 their authorized charges for ferrying were: — 
 
 For loaded wagon with four or six animals S2 00 
 
 For unloaded " " ■■ " « « i 50 
 
 For loaded wagon with two animals 1 50 
 
 For wagon without a load 1 00 
 
 For each additional team 50 
 
 For man and horse 50 
 
 For footman and pack animal 25 
 
 Toll-roads were charged different prices for a 
 license, according to the length and importance, or 
 cost of grades. For instance, the Eissue IJoad paid 
 $15 per quarter, and the one from Double Springs 
 which run to connect with the Kingsbury Koad, was 
 charged §17.50 for the same time. The rates they 
 were permitted to charge also varied, upon the same 
 principle that controlled the license, but were about 
 the same as bridges and ferries. 
 
 NEW COURT HOUSE SECtmED. 
 
 In February a committee reported to the Board 
 that the Catholic Church could be procured for 
 Court House purposes; that it could be made suita- 
 ble for seventy-five dollars, and their report was 
 accepted. 
 
 RATE OF TAXATION FIXED. 
 
 On the twenty-fourth of the same month the first 
 rate of taxation for the county was levied of SI. 57 J 
 on the SlOO for the following several purposes: — 
 
 For county purposes 60 
 
 For Territorial purposes 40 
 
 For school 07i 
 
 For county buildings 40 
 
 For Federal purposes 10 
 
 Total $1.57J 
 
 On the following seventh of May so much of the 
 resolution as had authorized a tax for the last three 
 purposes above given was rescinded, which left the 
 first tax collected in Douglas County at one percent. 
 
 FINANCIAL CONDITION OP THE COUNTY. 
 
 The financial condition of Douglas County in 
 1880 is as follows: Value of real estate, 8548,544; 
 value of personal property, 825(5,247.00, Total value 
 of taxable property, 8804,791. (iO. The total debt 
 was 81,559.29; cash on hand, 87,788.14; county and 
 State tax, 820,119.79; county tax, 815,093. The 
 population was 1,518; registered voters, 570. 
 
 For particulars in reference to the products of the 
 county from 1865 to 1880, inclusive, the number of 
 
 acres under cultivation, the stock, grain and hay 
 raised, the fruit trees and vines growing, and the 
 amount of land irrigated, the reader will turn to 
 pages 135, 13(i, 139 and 140 of the general history. 
 
 APPOINT.MENTS AND ELECTIONS. 
 
 In accordance with the Territorial law, the Gov- 
 ernor appointed the first county oflScers, whose names 
 have alreadj- been given, together with an account 
 of the action of the commissioners in organizing the 
 county. In January, 1862, a special election was 
 held, when a second set of officers was chosen; and 
 again in September of 1862, at the general election, 
 a third set of officers was selected, making three 
 sets of officers in control of Douglas County in one 
 year. 
 
 Following will be found the names of all the per- 
 sons who have filled the dift'orent offices of honor 
 and trust in the county subsequent to those first ap- 
 pointed down to the present time, whether by elec- 
 tion or otherwise, with the date of election and the 
 particular office each has filled. The Constitution 
 submitted to the vote of the people January 19, 1864, 
 was defeated; consequently the officers elected to 
 fill positions under that Constitution were with- 
 out occupation. Se])tember 7, 1864, the New Con- 
 stitution was adopted, and persons chosen at that 
 election took possession of the various offices to 
 which thej' were elected. 
 
 SENATORS. 
 
 P. Chamberlin, elected September 2, 1863; William 
 Carj-, elected Januarj- 19, 1864; J. W. Ilaincs, elected 
 November 8, 1864, re-elected November 6, 1866; 
 Isaac W. Small, elected November 8, 1870; S. B. 
 Rickey, elected November 3, 1874; J. W. Haines, 
 elected November 5, 1878. 
 
 ASSEMBLYMEN. 
 
 Charles M. Tuttle and Robert Fisher were elected 
 September 3, 1862; J. C. Dean and Robert Fisher, 
 elected September 2, 1863; P. Chamberlin and llonrj- 
 Epstein were elected Januarj- 19, 1864; Robert Fisher 
 and J. T. Ilawley, elected September 7, 1864; I. \V. 
 Small and H. Epstien were elected November 8, 1864; 
 M. M. Gaige and Robert Fisher were elected Novem- 
 ber 7, 1865; W. M. Caiy and E. Mallerj- were elected 
 November 6, 1866; J. S. Child and K. F. Dangberg 
 were elected November 8, 1S7U; Thomas B. Rickey 
 and 11. F. Dangberg, elected November 5, 1872; J. R. 
 Johnson and H. Vansickle, elected November 3, 1874; 
 Benjamin Edson and P. F. Powers, elected November 
 7, 1876; Thomas Irvine and 11. Vansickle, elected 
 November 5, 1878; Thomas Irvine and John A. John- 
 son, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COnNTY COMMISSIONERS. 
 
 p. C. Chamberlin, E. P. Welch, and Boland Aber- 
 nathy were elected January 14, 1862. George 
 Thomas appointed in place of Abernathy, February 
 4, 1862. J. W. Small, B, M, Webster, and P. Cham- 
 berlin were elected September 3, 1862; David Olds 
 
HISTORY OF DOUGLAS COUNTY. 
 
 377 
 
 elected September 2, 1863. Small resij^ned, A. U. 
 Prey was appointed November 29, 18G3. E. Mallory. 
 elected September 7, 1864; A. M. Taylor elected No- 
 vember 7, 1864; P. Lif,'htlo. J. S. Child, and D. K. 
 Winters were elected November 6, 186G; Henry Yan- 
 sickle, J. W. Duncan, and I). K. Winters were 
 elected November 3, 1868. Winters resigned Sep- 
 tember 20, 1869. Henry Vaiisickle, Fred. Frevert 
 and J. K. Winters were elected November 8, 1870; 
 A. M. Taylor and A. B. Boles were elected November 
 5, 1872; A. B. Boles and F. Frevert were elected 
 November 3, 1874; L. S. Ezelland A. M. Taylor were 
 elected November 7, 1876; David B. Park and W. H. 
 H. Gary were elected November 5, 1878; Herman 
 Sprinjimeyer and W . II. II. Gary were elected No- 
 vember 2, 1880. 
 
 PROBATE JUDGES. 
 
 John S. Ghild was Probate Judge, residing and 
 holding office in Genoa under the laws of Utah. 
 Ghauncey N. Noteware was appointed by Governor 
 Nye, December 14, 1861, and continued in office. 
 
 DISTRICT ATTORNEYS. 
 
 D. W. Virgin, elected Soi)teraber 2, 1863, resigned 
 and A. T. Ilawley was appointed December 5, 1864, 
 who resigned, and H. Doyle was appointed October 
 1, 1866, and elected November 6, 1866; Moses Tebbs, 
 was elected November 3, 1868, re-elected November 
 8, 1870; George P. Harding, elected November 5, 
 1872; D. W. Virgin, elected November 3, 1874; A. G. 
 Pratt, elected November 7, 1876, re-elected Novem- 
 ber 5, 187s ;Jno. H. Gradlebaugh was elected Novem- 
 ber 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SHERIFFS. 
 
 Geo. W. Brubakcr, elected January 14, 1862, re- 
 elected .September 3, 1862; Jacob Moore, elected 
 September 7. 1864; H. P. Burnham, elected Novem- 
 ber 6, 1866 ; R. W. Bollen, elected November 3, 
 1868, re-elected November 8, 1870 ; P. H. Roan, 
 elected November 5, 1872, re-elected November 3, 
 1874; H. P. Burnham, elected November 7, 1876; 
 H. G. Grippin, elected November 5, 1878. J. F. 
 Williams, appointed in place of Grippin, deceased; 
 Williams, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY CLERKS. 
 
 Joel A. Harvey waselected January 14, 1862, and 
 re-elected September 3, 1862, re-elected again Sep- 
 tember 7, 1864; S. A. Kinsey, elected November 6, 
 1866, re-elected November 3, 1868; Fred. Furth, 
 elected Novembers, 1870; W. Swart, elected Novem- 
 ber 5, 1872, and re-elected November 3, 1S74, re- 
 elected again November 7, 1876; P. P. Wagstein, 
 elected November 5, 1878, re-elected November 2, 
 1880. 
 
 COUNTY TREASURERS. 
 
 Henry Vansickle, elected January 14, 1862 ; 
 George H. Wilson, elected September 3, 1862, re- 
 elected SejUember 7, 1864; Henry Vansickle, elected 
 November 6, 1866 ; J. R. Johnson, elected No- 
 vember 3, 1868 ; Noah Blossom, elected Novem- 
 
 ber 8, 1870, re-elected, November 5, 1872; Peter 
 Lightle, elected November 3, 1874; E. D. Black, 
 elected November 7, 1876; A. Livingstone, elected 
 November 5, 1878, and re-elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY ASSESSORS. 
 
 J. R. Johnson was elected January 14, 1862; 
 Robert Lyon, elected September 3, 1862; L. A. Scott, 
 elected September 7, 1864; S. G. Ghase, elected 
 November 6, 1866; B. B. Gary, elected November 
 3, 1868; Joseph G. Lupton, elected November 8, 
 1870, re-elected November 5, 1872, re-elected again 
 November 3, 1874; R. (r. Montrose, elected Novem- 
 ber 7, 1876, and re-elected November 5, 1878; Wm. 
 W. Wyatt, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COLLECTORS. 
 
 H. P. Burnham, elected January 14, 1862; A. W. 
 Wilson, elected September 3, 1862, and resigned 
 December 1, 1862. C. N. Baker was appointed. 
 
 COUNTY RECORDERS. 
 
 B. Rush Horton, elected Januarj"^ 14, 1862; John H. 
 Davis, elected September 3, 1862, and re-elected 
 September 7, 1864, re-elected again November 6, 
 1866; Robt. Lyon, elected November 3, 1868, re- 
 elected November 8, 1870 ; Fred. Furth, elected 
 November 5, 1872, re-elected November 3, 1874, re- 
 elected again November 7, 1876; J. F. Longabaugh, 
 elected November 5, 1878, re-elected November 2, 
 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS. 
 
 J. G. Ogden was elected January 14, 1862, but did 
 not qualify, and Gharles M. Tuttle was appointed 
 April 8, 1862; C. Daggett, elected September 3, 1862, 
 died, and A. T. Ilawley appointeti March 7, 1864; 
 E. R. Gary, elected September 7, 1864 ; James Mc- 
 Lean, elected November 6, 1866, re-elected Novem- 
 ber 3, 1868. Resigned four days after the election; 
 R. G. Dean appointed. A. M. Warnock, elected No- 
 vember 8, 1870; G. B. Ilinkcl, elected November 5, 
 1872; J. E. Johns, elected November 3, 1874; H. W. 
 Smith, elected November 7, 1876 ; Koppel Rice, 
 elected November 5, 1878; John F. Banning, elected 
 November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SURVEYORS. 
 
 B. F. Hunt, elected Jaiuiarj- 14. 1862, re-elected 
 September 3, 1862; Reed Bigler elected September 7, 
 1864; office declared vacant September 4, 1865, and 
 A. Lash appointed September 12, 1865, elected No- 
 vember 6, 1866; L. S. Ezell, elected November 8, 
 1870, re-elected November 5, 1872; G. P. Young, 
 elected November 3, 1874, re-elected November 7, 
 1876, re-elected again November 5, 1878; John Car- 
 ney, oloetod November 2, 1880. 
 
 PUBLIC AD.MINISTRATORS. 
 
 J. R. Johnson, elected November 6, 1866 ; David 
 Watty, elected November 3, 1868; Koppel Rice, 
 elected November 8, 1870, re-elected November 5, 
 1872; G. Slemmons, elected November 3, 1874, re- 
 elected November 7, 1876; John Gardner, elected 
 
378 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 November 5, 1878; R. Raycroft, elected November 
 2, 1880. 
 
 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF GENOA. 
 
 Genoa. Ibo countj- seat of Douglas County, is 
 among the oldest settlements of Nevada. The locality 
 first attracted the attention of some Mormons in 1848, 
 who were eii route to the gold diggings in California 
 from Salt Lake City, and during that and the succeed- 
 ing years a few families settled here. Not until 1850, 
 however, did it assume the title of Mormon Station, 
 by which it was so well and widely known for many 
 years afterwards. As a trading and recruiting place 
 for the immense emigration which was then flocking 
 toward California from the East, its situation was 
 admirable, while its pastoral advantages were great, 
 and the adaptability of the soil to the culture of grain 
 and the hard}- vegetables had been proven. The site 
 of Genoa is a pleasant one, on the west side of Carson 
 Eiver, at the dehouihure of a small stream from the 
 Sierra into the valley, and about midway between 
 the northern and southern extremities of Carson 
 Valley. The view from the town is pleasing to the 
 eye. To the south, and immediately west, towering 
 grandlj" to great heights rise the majestic peaks of 
 the Sierra Nevada, while, spread out to tho east and 
 north, are the dark green meadows and pastures of 
 the Carson ValKy, with the willow-tringed stream 
 meandering through it — presenting a picture of 
 extreme beauty in front, and of rugged majesty 
 behind. 
 
 THE FIRST TRADERS. 
 
 Principal among the Mormon settlersof Genoa was 
 Col. John Ueese, after whom Reese River was subse- 
 quently called, a man of robust energy and much 
 enterprise. He started the first trading-post, and 
 also fed the hungry emigrants for a consideration. 
 But he did not stop at these. He put up a black- 
 smith shop and shod their animals and repaired their 
 wagons, and later erected a flouring and saw-mill. 
 
 William Nixon, also a Mormon, came to Genoa in 
 1856 from Salt Lake, bringing a stock of goods. 
 Renting the "station" of Reese, he became the only 
 merchant of the place for several years; but finally, 
 like Reese, he supposed he had made money enough, 
 and returned to Salt Lake, leaving as his successor 
 in business a Mr. Child. Nixon built the small one- 
 storj- house that now stands adjoining L. Prey's 
 meat market. 
 
 The next merchant to engage in business at Genoa 
 was Mr. A. Klauber. who first came to the place in 
 
 1858. He did not engage in business, however, until 
 
 1859, when he built the house, which he used as 
 a store, that now stands between the Court House 
 and Odd Fellows Hall — a one-story frame structure, 
 now belonging to M. Harris. V. Mandlebaum be- 
 came associated with Klauber in 185!1, and the firm 
 continued busiiiess under the name of Mandlebaum & 
 Klauber. 
 
 J. R. Johnson and S. Salmon, of the firm of Sal- 
 mon & Johnson, were the next firm of merchants. 
 
 They built of wood in 1860, and a brick store in 
 1863, where Johnson and N. Blossom now do busi- 
 ness. 
 
 M. Harris came to Genoa in 1876, and first com- 
 menced business there. He now keeps a general 
 mercantile establishment under Masonic Hall, and 
 is the owner of the lower story of Odd Fellows 
 Hall and the old Klauber Building. He first came 
 into Carson Valley in 1861. 
 
 THE PIONEER HOTELS. 
 
 After Colonel Reese, the first hotel was kept by a 
 man named Merkly, who, after awhile, sold out to 
 George AV. Brubaker, and he, in turn, disposed of 
 the establishment to a man named Raycroft. Mr. 
 Brubaker subsequentlj- erected the building in the 
 north end of town known as Rice's Hotel. 
 
 Thomas J. Singleton was a prominent hotel-keeper 
 at Genoa in 1857, and so coTitinued to be a )iumber 
 of years afterward. In 1857 he built a portion of 
 the structure now known as the Nevada Hotel. 
 The main ]iart was not added, however, until the 
 summer of 1859. It was in this building where the 
 unfortunate William J. Thorrington was tried and 
 sentenced to death. 
 
 In the earlj- p;irl of 1S60. the winter having been 
 vcrj' mild in California, many people started from 
 that State for the Comstock mines. About the time 
 of arrival in Car^on Valley, in February and March, 
 heavy storms came, and severe cold weatlier pre- 
 vailed. Snow to the depth of nearly two feet cov- 
 ered the ground for a month or more, cattle died off 
 bj- hundreds, and those treasure- seekers who had 
 come unprepared for such an emergency were thank- 
 ful for any sort of shelter, or to submit to the most 
 indifferent fare at high rates. All of the temporary 
 houses — mostly of cloth — were crowded at the mines; 
 Carson Cit}' was overflowing, and, therefore, man}' 
 tarried at Genoa awaiting the coming of warmer 
 weather. These causes combined to turn many hab- 
 itations of the place into temporary hostelries, which 
 were well filled, and the ]iropnetors well remun- 
 erated, D. Sands, at this time, was a prominent 
 landlord at Genoa. Among the transient hotel- 
 keepers were a widow woman named Baldwin, and 
 her son named White. The latter, several j-ears 
 afterward, established a station at New Pass, on 
 the Austin road, a few miles west of Jacobsville, and 
 met a tragic fate — death by his own hand, after 
 having killed his infant child. 
 
 EARLY CONDITION OF GENOA. 
 
 At the time of the discovery of silver, there had 
 congregated in the immediate vicinity of Genoa 
 about 200 ])cople, the most of whom had been 
 attracted there by the agricultural and grazing 
 advantages which the localitj- possessed. Several 
 hundred people were engaged in gold mining to the 
 southward at what was then called the Walker River, 
 or Mono, mines, who, to a considerable extent, made 
 Genoa their supplying point, Genoa also bad a 
 
HISTORY OF DOUGLAS COUNTY. 
 
 379 
 
 newspaper; it was connected with the outside world 
 by a telegraph line, and the overland sitagea j)a8sed 
 through. A grist and saw-mill were in 0]ieration. 
 Two stores supplied the residents witli all neces- 
 saries in the grocery and clothing lines, and it was 
 the leading town of western Utah. Situated close 
 to an abundant supply of ))ine timber, from which 
 lumber, shingles, etc., could be clieajily manufactured, 
 building was comparatively easy. During the im- 
 mense emigration of former years it had been the 
 favorite recruiting place for peo])lc tn route to Cali- 
 fornia; and many here lingered for a few days or 
 weeks to rest their cattle, and lay in stores prepar- 
 atory to surmounting the last, then formidable, bar- 
 rier — the Sierra Nevada Mountains — which barred 
 the pathway to the Mecca of their weary ])ilgrimage 
 from the far East; and it bid fair to become an 
 important frontier town, which would be able to 
 flourish upon its own natural resources. The dis- 
 covery of the famous silver mine a few miles to the 
 eastward of this prospective inland city, however, 
 cfTectcd an entire change of circumstances, and, con- 
 sequenil}-, a change of futuritj- awaited it — a differ- 
 ent hi.-tory than that aniici])ated by its early resi- 
 dents. 
 
 GENO.A. OF THE PRESENT DAY. 
 
 Although not the large and thriving town which 
 the first settlers foresaw, Genoa cannot be robbed 
 of its pleasant location. Job's Peak still lifts its 
 loftj- ])innacle to the houthward more than G,()00 
 feet above the town, sublimely grand and awful, ai:d 
 the emerald-carpeted valley of the Carson yet re- 
 poses in beauty at its feet. The little liamlet is busy, 
 with no excess of population, and consecjuently there 
 are no idlers nor tramps. There are forty-three 
 dwelling-houses, large and small. Five hotels invite 
 the traveler to a choice of transient homes, and 
 each stands ready to replenish the inner man. These 
 are the I{aycroft Exchange, Nevada Hotel, the 
 Central. Jlicc's Hotel and the Italian House. Mrs. 
 M. (iillman conducts the Nevada; and the Central, 
 owned bj- J. C. Lufton, is kept by J. Banning. 
 
 Of saloons, where but in a frontit^r town of equal 
 po]iulation would one think of finding six? — the 
 number in Genoa. This preponderance of drinking- 
 places of itself indicates that the present residents 
 are a social, jolly, bibulous class. There is one ])rint- 
 ing office, two stores of general merchandise, two 
 meat markets, two boot and shoe shops, three black- 
 smith and wagon shops, one drug store, one bakery, 
 two livery and feed stables, and two barber shops. 
 And then come the comfortable school house, and 
 Masonic and Odd Fellows Halls. 
 
 THE COURT IIOl'SE HriI,l)IN(l. 
 
 Genoa, being the shire town of Douglas County, 
 also numbers among its architectural features a fi.io 
 Court House. This building was erected in ISti"); is 
 of brick, with iron doors and shutters, and intended 
 to be fire-proof. It is of two stories — the ground 
 story being twelve feet high in the clear, and the 
 
 upper story, fourteen feet. The building is CGx.'iB 
 feet. Lawrence Gilman and Eufus Adams were the 
 constructing architects, and the contract price for 
 building was 818,000, but it cost a trifle more than 
 that sum. 
 
 THE rUESENT POPULATION 
 
 Numbers about 500, with an auxiliary population, 
 upon the contiguous farms, of nearly the same num- 
 ber. There are two daily lines of stages running 
 from Genoa to Carson City, the cajiital of the State, 
 furnishing s])eedy transit of mails and passengers to 
 the iron road; thus placing the Genoese in swift 
 communication with the outside world. 
 
 A fire, which consumed six buildings south of 
 Masonic Hall, occurred on the nineteenth of June, 
 1873. The roof of the hall was also burned. The 
 total loss was about 84.000, of which only 8500 was 
 covered by insurance. A second fire occurred on the 
 twenty-seventh of the same month, which destroj-ed 
 a brewery. 
 
 The Nevada and California Telegraph Company 
 has its main office here. This is a private enterjirise, 
 and was comjileted in September, 1878, in circuit 
 with Vii-ginia, Gold Hill, Carson, Silver City, I'ayton, 
 and £m])ire. It communicates direct with the 
 Mountain House and Aurora, in this State, and with 
 Colville, Briilgeporl and liodie, California. Length 
 of line 112 miles. It works direct with Virginia 
 on San Francisco business, messages being repeated 
 from Virginia. 
 
 The Genoa Flume and Lumber Companj-'s V 
 flume terminates here, discharging the wood, which 
 is cut high up in the mountains, into the Carson 
 River, whence it is floated to the mills at Empire, or 
 taken from the stream above that place, and hauled 
 to Carson City. 
 
 ONE OF THE USUAL EPISODES. 
 
 In the fall of 1S58, Genoa was the scene of one of 
 those unfortunate cjiisodes too common in newly 
 settled communities of the American frontier. Colonel 
 Reese, being the oldest settler of the place had, by 
 virtue of his prioritj- of arrival, laid claim to largo 
 tracts of grazing and haj' lands along the Carson 
 River fronting the town. John K. Trumbo, whilom 
 of Salt Lake Citj-, where ho exhorted the saints, and 
 in later j-ears in ]iersuasivo strains extolled the worth 
 of old wagons, harness, saddles, and the fine points 
 of both broncho and emigrant iiorses and mules, as 
 an auctioneer at the old Horse Market, at the corner 
 of Sixth and K Streets, Sacramento City, California, 
 was Reese's son-in-law, and had left Calil'ornia and 
 removed to Genoa. People were coming into the 
 now settlement (piite ra])idly. many of tluni desired 
 land, and thinking that the first-comers had no par- 
 ticular right to monopolize the entire public domain, 
 began to crowd upon their claims. Among the most 
 enterprising of the latter was Warren Wasson, who, 
 after becoming familiar with the situation, squatted 
 upon a land claim and began to fence it in. It so 
 happened that the particular tract which Wasson 
 
380 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 coveted was claimed by Reese, or members of bis 
 family, and Trumbo undertook to dispossess him. 
 
 As Wasson was one day hauling lumber upon the 
 land for fencing purposes, he found himself con- 
 fronted by Trumbo, armed, and a young son of 
 Reese, some sixteen or seventeen years old. Trumbo 
 had doubtless gone there more "for a bluff" than 
 for any desperate business, probably expecting that 
 a show of arms would deter the energetic settler 
 from further attempts to occupj- the land. But 
 Trumbo, if he had so supposed, reckoned without 
 his host. His adversary was not the sort of a 
 man to be frightened off, and after some threat- 
 ening talk, pro and ro7i., Trumbo, seeing that he 
 could not well back out without being charged 
 with cowardice, opened his batteries upon Wasson 
 — firing at him several times without effect. The 
 latter had in- his belt a Colt's navy revolver. Un- 
 limbering this weapon he brought it to bear upon 
 his assailant, took deliberate aim, notwithstanding 
 the fusilade of Trumbo, and, firing, placed the lat- 
 ter hors du combat with a shattei-ed thigh. By 
 this time young Reese, who had all the while 
 watched the fray, finding the battle had not gone 
 his waj-, essayed to try his prentice hand, and 
 came running up to Wasson, who was not notic- 
 ing him, presented a pistol of ancient form and 
 fired full in the hitter's face. But the pistol, onlj- 
 having been loaded with shot, did no further dam- 
 age than to fill Wasson 's face with leaden pellets, for- 
 tunately none of which touched his eyes. Wasson, 
 though having five shots left, magnanimously re- 
 frained from shooting the boy, and turning his 
 attention to assisting the prostrate Trumbo, placed 
 him on his wagon and conveyed him to his home, 
 where he lingered many months between life and 
 death, but finally recovered, though lamed for life. 
 Public sentiment attached no blame to Wasson, 
 nor did Trumbo bear him malice afterwards. All 
 of the participants in this little affair are yet living. 
 
 E.MU.Y SETTl.E.ME.NT OF GLENBROOK. 
 
 Glcnbrook is located in a beautiful cove on the 
 shore of Ijake Taboo, and is the great lumber man- 
 ufacturing town of the State of Nevada. The site 
 of Glenbrook was first claimed and squatted upon 
 in the Spring of 1860, by G. W. Warren, N. E. Mur- 
 dock and R. Walton. 
 
 In 1861 Capt. A. W. Pray erected a saw-mill, which 
 was lor several j'cars run by water, conducted 
 through flume and ditch for more than half a mile, 
 but the constantly increasing demand for lumber, 
 and a lack of water in the dry portion of the year, 
 compelled him to abandon that motor-and resort to 
 steam. This he did in 1864, the newlj' modeled mill 
 costing 820,000. These were the first mills built 
 upon the soil of Nevada, at Lake Tahoo, though one 
 had been constructed in Lake Valley, California, in 
 1860, now known as Woodburn's ..Mill. At the 
 beginning of the enterprise Captain Pray had part- 
 ners, but he eventuallj' bought out their interests, 
 
 and in 1862 also purchased the possessory title of 
 the original locators — Warren, Murdock and Wal- 
 ton — at a cost of about S9,000. The old pioneer mill 
 is 3^et standing. With far-seeing saga'-ity Captain 
 Praj- secured from the Government a title to 1,000 
 acres of land — locatingit with Sioux scrip. A portion 
 of this land was heavily timbered, while some was 
 excellent for grain, hay and vegetables. 
 
 PRODUCTIVENESS OF THE SOIL. 
 
 The productiveness of the soil upon the lake shore 
 is somewhat wonderful, considering the rigorous 
 winters and ils high altitude. But the soil, being 
 the fine debris from abraded granite, very soon 
 warms up under the influence of the summer sun 
 after the disappearance of the snow. Captain Pray 
 has several hundred acres under cultivation, and it 
 is no uncommon thing to cut four tons of timothj' 
 and clover hay to the acre, while three tons are a 
 certainty. The hay land is not irrigated. The aver- 
 age of the wild hay crop, or indigenous grasses, is 
 about one and one-half tons per acre. Wheat and 
 barley grow pi-ofusely, and Captain Pray's crop was 
 so large one season that he brought in a reaper to 
 harvest it. He thinks he has harvested some crops 
 that have j-ielded sixty bushelsof wheat to the acre, 
 and there have been instances where oats have been 
 measured that stood seven feet and eight inches high. 
 Ilaj', baled for the use of logging teams, sells at 
 Glenbrook at twenty-five to thirty dollars per ton. 
 
 Friday's station and the new road. 
 
 In 1860 J. W. Small and M. K. Burke located the 
 place a few miles above Glenbrook, upon the Placer- 
 ville road, and built the hou.se which has over since 
 been known as " P'riday's " Station. This is about 
 three-fourths of a mile inside of the Nevada State 
 line, and Mr. Small still lives there. At that time 
 all the travel, which was becoming very great, 
 entered Carson Valley princi])ally bj' the way of the 
 Kingsbuiy (Jrade. In 1862 a now route was con- 
 templated from Friday's Station to Carson City, fol- 
 lowing the lake shore for some distance, and then 
 diverging into the bead of King's Cafion, and enter- 
 ing Eagle Valley at the Capital City. This road was 
 called the Lake Bigler Toll road, was of easy grade 
 for a mountain thoroughfare, somewhat shortened 
 the distance to the great mining center, and was 
 completed in 1863. 
 
 FIRST hotel at OLENBROOK. 
 
 The now road diverted much of the travel, and, 
 consequentlj', eligible sites for public houses were 
 sought along its lino, and buildings for this pur- 
 pose erected. Of these there were none more suit- 
 able nor pleasant than the little cove upon which 
 Pray's mill was located, and the same year that the 
 road was finished, 1863, Winters &. C'olbath erected 
 the large structure which has since been known as 
 the (ilenbrook Hotel. This property now belongs to 
 Yerington & Bliss. 
 
'.^'^' 
 
 
 / 
 
 M?? A.F. ORESSLER 
 
 A.F.DRESSLER. 
 
 •v.: -i -.y 'r ._.-.; Aijf't'. 
 
 .,»^ ■ 
 
 Kesioence ^''' Home Ranch »• A.F. Dressler. 
 
 SHERIDAN, DOUGLAS d NEVADA 
 
HISTORY OF DOUGLAS COUNTY. 
 
 381 
 
 MORE MILLS AT OLENBROOK. 
 
 Lumber was at this time in good demand, and a 
 common article readil_v commanded twenty-tive dol- 
 lars per thousand, and clear, forty five dollars. No one 
 l>orson could be expected to long maintain the exclu- 
 sive mono))oly of its manufacture, and the Pray Mill 
 was followed by one erected by J. H. F. Gott' and 
 George .Morrill in the north part of the town. This 
 did a good business until it was dostroj-od by fire. 
 The site and remaining plant were then sold to A. H. 
 Davis iV Son, who built the Davis Mill, which event- 
 ually passed into the possession of Weils, Fargo & Co., 
 and'is still retained bj- that firm. 
 
 In 18T:i the firm of Yerington i*c Bliss began the 
 lumber manufacturing business at Glenbrook, and 
 have since that time been among the heaviest dealers 
 in the Pacific Coast iStates. They have connected 
 the timber belt of the entire valley of Lake Tahoe, 
 as well as the surrounding mountains sloping toward 
 it, by rail and V flume with the trans-mountain val- 
 leys and great consuming points of the interior. 
 During the year 1873, at the time that firm began 
 operations, the lumber product of Douglas County 
 was only 906,000 feet. This rose in 1875 to 21,700,000 
 feel, but with the enormous consumption of timber 
 it had fallen in 1880 to 12,000,000 feet. 
 
 FIRST STORE AT ULENBROOK. 
 
 The lumbering, dairy and other interests, which 
 were springing up all around the lake, 'soon attracted 
 quite a population sgid created the necessity of estab- 
 lishing a trading-post at a point best located for a'gen- 
 eral distributing depot. Glenbrook was selected as the 
 most available spot, and in 1874 J. A. Rigby and A. 
 Childers built the first store, and offered for sale the 
 first stock of goods there. The building was built 
 over the water, and sot on piles in front of the 
 present hotel. Tiiis may in some degree account 
 for the mj'stcrious disappearance of Mr. Childers, 
 who came up missing one morning, and was never 
 heard of more. It is surmised that ho maj' have 
 accidentally stepped oft' into the water and been 
 drowned, as from this peculiar sheet of water the 
 body of not a single person drowned therein has 
 ever yet been taken. After the disappearance of 
 his partner, Mr. Rigby admitted into the business 
 VV. T. and S. C. Davis, and the firm name was then 
 changed to Davis Co. & Bro. In January, 1877, 
 the building was burned, and the same year Cap- 
 tain Praj- built the present handsome two-storj' 
 structure, .'50x62 ieet, the corner part of which is 
 now occupied as a store by J. .M. Short, and the upper 
 story as a hall. 
 
 THE VII.LAOE OF GLENBROOK. 
 
 Besides the Glenbrook Hotel, in the spring of 1876, 
 Captain Praj' converted his planing-mill. which had 
 been used in conjunction with his sawmill, into a 
 hotel, which he christened the Lake Shore IIou.sc. 
 There are also several boarding-houses in the village. 
 
 Glenbrook supports two saloons, both being con- 
 
 48 
 
 ducted by the same firm, however, B. Greenhood and 
 Levi Knowles. The first saloon in the place was 
 opened by Rico & Comstock, in 1877, in John Toll's 
 building. 
 
 There are at (rlenbrook thirty cottages, onesaw-mill, 
 one hotel, one store, one saloon, one livery stable and 
 one meat market . all under one ownership, that of Capt. 
 A. W. Pra}'. These rent as follows: Cottages, from 
 five to ten dollars per month; the store for 81,072 
 a year; livery stable, twenty-five dollars per month; 
 meat market, fifty dollars, and the hotel for seventy- 
 five dollars a month. 
 
 The cottages are principally rented to the em- 
 ployos'of the mills, those engaged ujjon the railroad 
 and flumes, and the wood-choppers, with their 
 families. An occasional tourist stays here for two 
 or three of the hottest months of the year, and there 
 are quite a number of transient pleasure-seekers 
 passing through from stage to boat, but onlj- a few 
 who are not regularly engaged in business tarry 
 long. 
 
 THE SHAKSPEARIAN ROCK. 
 
 A singular illusion is presented to the observer 
 from Glenbrook — the profile of a man reclining, with 
 face upturned, appears at the apex of a mountain 
 peak. From a fancied resemblance to the greatest 
 of all poets, it is called Shakspeare Rock. It was 
 first noticed in 1862 by the wife of Rev. J. A. Benton, 
 of California, who was at that time sketching the 
 mountains. 
 
 A MO.ST DEPLORABLE AFFAIR. 
 
 Near Shakspeare Rock is a cavern, the entrance to 
 which is ten feet high and twentj- wide, upon going 
 through which to the north the cavern is reached, 
 being about twenty feet wide, seventy-five feet long, 
 and about fifty feet high to the roof. To reach this, 
 ropes are required, and great caution must be 
 observed lest by a false movement the explorer bo 
 plunged into the yawning chasm below. It was to 
 view this place that a gay party of young people 
 from Carson City left the village of (tlenbrook on 
 the ninth of September, 1877. The party were .Miss 
 Carrie Rice, Miss Vade Phillips, Miss Esther Moody, 
 Frank Williams, William Clark, and William Cramer, 
 the latter being Miss Rice's escort. Upon reaching a 
 precipitous point overlooking the cavern, where the 
 surface presented but a smooth, solid granite front, 
 and where the entire parly should have paused, 
 these two young people, Mr. Cramer and Miss Rico, 
 clasped hands, and ihoughtlcfsly started down the 
 iiidineil plane leading to the chasm, thinking they 
 could stop upon its brink. Swiftly they shot down 
 toward the fateful precipice, and when too late, 
 essaj-od to chock their furious progress. Both fell 
 down. Miss Rice went over the precipice, and 
 when aid was procured was found Ij'ing about ten 
 yards from the mouth of the cavern, breathing, but 
 unconsc'ous. She died in an hour. Her escort fort- 
 unately succeeiled in grasping something to which 
 he held, and was rescued. 
 
382 
 
 HISTORY OF. THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 RAFTING LOOS ACROSS LAKE TAHOE. 
 
 Ab the forests in the immediate vicinity of Glen- 
 brook were denuded of timber, the millers were com- 
 pelled either to suspend Operations or draw upon 
 some other source for a supply of logs. On the 
 western shore of Lake Tahoe, in California, were 
 virgin forests of immense trees, extending from the 
 water's edge, upon the sloping foot-hills, to the deep 
 snow line on the mountain sides; and human inge- 
 nuity sought and soon adopted methods to render this 
 large reserve available^ Steamers were brought into 
 requisition; the trees were felled, cut into suitable 
 lengths, hauled upon trucks drawn by oxen and 
 rolled into the water. The logs are then, confined 
 in " booms," consisting of a number of long, slim 
 spars fastened together at the ends with chains, 
 which completely encircle a " raft " of logs arranged 
 in the form of a V — some of these rafts containing 
 timber enough to make 250.000 or 800,000 feet of 
 lumber. In this condition they are -attached to the 
 steamer with a strong cable, and towed to the mills 
 at Glenbrook, which, being built immediately upon 
 the lake shore, are so arranged that the. logs can be 
 hauled by machinery upon the ways to the saM' 
 carriage as required. 
 
 A number of small steamers are employed for this 
 purpose; and the noble forests that once were the 
 pride and beauty of the western shore of Lake 
 Tahoe are fast disappearing before the destructive 
 ax of the woodmen, and they, too, will soon be a 
 thing of the past. The principal vessel used at this 
 time for towing logs is an iron tug called the Meteor. 
 This boat was built at Wilmington, Delaware, bj- 
 Harlan, Holling.sworlh & Co.; after having been put 
 together it was taken down, shipped by rail to Car- 
 son City, and then hauled to Lake Tahoe by teams. 
 This was in 1876. The Meteor is a propeller, eighty 
 feet long and ten feet beam, and will run twenty 
 miles an hour under a pressure of KiJ pounds of 
 steam. This vessel cost 818,000, and when not en- 
 gaged in towing logs, is frequently seen making the 
 tour of the lake with sonie^distinguishod personage 
 on board. 
 
 THE VII.LAOE OF SHERIDAN. 
 
 Sheridan is a small village situated eight miles 
 south of Genoa. The princi])al business houses are, 
 one store of general merchandise, two hotels, post- 
 office, a saloon and a blacksmith and wagon shop. 
 The surrounding county is well ailapted to grazing, 
 and several dairymen have settled there. Among 
 these is Harrison Hurry, who milks over 100 cows, 
 and makes a large quantity of butter. 
 
 MEDICINAL SPRINGS OF THE COUNTY. 
 
 Near Henry Vansicklo's, at the base of the mount- 
 ain spurs which jut into the valley from the west, 
 two miles south of Genoa, are some largo thermal 
 springs, now known as Wallej^'s Hot Springs. Here 
 is a large hotel building containing fortj- rooms, with 
 bath-houses adjoining. There are eighty acres of 
 
 land belonging to the property, and the improve, 
 ments were made at a cost of §100,000. These springs 
 have a great reputation for the cure of rheumatic 
 and scrofulous affections, and have become a noted 
 place of resort. The location is extremely pleasant, 
 the scenery grand, and the climate in summer invig- 
 orating and healthful. 
 
 Upon the land of Captain Pray, near Glenbrook, 
 on Lake Tahoe, there is a mineral spring, the cura- 
 tive properties of whose waters in certain complaints 
 is highlj- lauded. Iron seems to enter largely into 
 its composition. 
 
 JOHN gUlNCV ADAMS, , 
 
 Son of Elias and Belinda Adams, was born May 15, 
 \Kii, near Columbus, Adams County, Illinois. His 
 father was one of the first settlers in Adams Count}\ 
 and from whom the county derived its name. In 
 early life the subject of this sketch learned the brick 
 makers' trade, and for many years followed that 
 business in connection with his farm duties. In 
 May, 1850, he, in company with his father, emi- 
 grated to Utah, and was engaged in farming and 
 stock-raising until the first of June, 1853, at which 
 time he came to Carson Valley, and located on the 
 ranch now owned by Joseph Jones, and has since 
 resided in this valley. In connection with his 
 brother, under the firm name of R. and J. Q 
 Adams, was engaged in the same occupation as in 
 Utah. After a time they sold one-half of the 
 ranch and built the fine brick residence in which Mr. 
 Adams now lives, and for alfout five years kept 
 a hotel. He says "those were the happiest days of 
 my life," everything brought almost fabulous prices; 
 hay was worth from forty to eighty dollars per 
 ton; barley half a dollar a pound, etc. Going back 
 to his former business he made the brick used in the 
 construction of the United States Branch Mint, at 
 Carson Citj-, also for the Court House at (ienoa. 
 Mr. Adams was married to Miss lillen Dolan, daugh- 
 ter of Patrick and Mar}' (Welch) Dolan, October 1, 
 18(56. By this union there are three children, all 
 living. The following are their names and date of 
 birth: Mary Lydia, July 18, 1867 ; John Elias, De- 
 cember 24, 1868; William T^ufus, November 16, 1871. 
 In politics, Mr. Adams is a Republican, but takes no 
 active part therein. His ranch is under a good state 
 of cultivation, and well adapted to the growing of 
 all kinds of grain, vegetables and hay. A view of 
 the ranch, in connection with portraits, will be found 
 elsewhere. 
 
 JOHN S. CHILD 
 
 Was born in Derby. Orleans County, Vermont, on 
 the first of September, 1825, where he lived until 
 twenty-one years of age, when he went to Massachu- 
 setts, and resided until he came to the Pacific Coast 
 in 1852. On the fifth of April of the last-named year, 
 ho sailed from New York for the Pacific Coast on 
 the slii]) Xorllfrn Liijlil. the first trij) made bj' that 
 boat, and came by the Nicaragua route. His first 
 experience in California, was in the mines at Placer- 
 
HISTORY OF DOUGLAS COUNTY. 
 
 883 
 
 ville, Kl Dorado County, where he spent between two 
 and three years. In Julj", 1854, he came to Carson 
 Valley, Nevada, where he has since resided. During 
 the first four j-ears in this place he was eiii;ai;ed in 
 merchandising;, and sinj'c then has given his atten- 
 tion to stock-raising. In 1858 ho received the 
 api>ointmont of Probate Judge, of Carson County, 
 and held the office until the creation of Nevada Ter- 
 ritory. This office was not sought by him and ho has 
 never known to whom he was indebted for the appoint- 
 ment. After the organization of Douglas County, he 
 was appointed County Commissioner, and in 1870 
 waselected a member of the Assembl}-. In 1859 ho 
 was married to iliss A. E. Lufkin, of Placervillo, Cal- 
 ifornia, who departed this life in Kebruarj', 1873. 
 He was again married in February, 1874, to Miss 
 Eveline A. Gilbert, of Carson City, Nevada, a native 
 of Cato, Cayuga Countj', N'ew York, born January 
 14, 1826, and came to California in 1852, where she 
 lived until 1861, when she came to Carson City, 
 Nevada. Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Child are pro- 
 duced elsewhere in this book. 
 
 AUGUSTUS F. DRESSLER, 
 
 Son of Christian and Maria Dressier, was born in 
 Mulhausen, Germany, on the twenty-ninth of May, 
 1831. He learned the trade of dj-eing and printing 
 caTico in his boyhood, and followed that business 
 until he came to America. Leaving his native coun- 
 try on the seventh of March, 1851, he arrived in New 
 York on the second of Ma}', same year. He expe- 
 rienced many difficulties upon landing in llio I'nited 
 States from being unable to speak the English lan- 
 guage. His first situation in his adopted countrj- 
 was with a farmer on Long Island, where he worked 
 two years, and afterward moved to Minnesota, fifty 
 miles north of St. Paul, to the town of Montieello, 
 and entered the employ of Geo. M. Botram, for whom 
 he worked seven years. In 1860 Mr. Dressier started 
 for California, with three wagons drawn by oxen, 
 and arrived in Carson Valley, Nevada, in the fall of 
 the same year, being six months fn making the trip. 
 Hearing that times were dull in the country he had 
 started for, he concluded to remain in Carson Valley, 
 and soon found emploj-ment. In 18(>3 he purchased 
 a ranch on the west fork of the Carson Kiver and 
 settled down to improve the same. In 1875 he 
 bought a ranch in Sheridan, and has since resided 
 there. In 18(16 he was married to Augusta Wil- 
 helmina J)ietz, daughter of Christian F. and Chris- 
 tina Diet/., natives of Morseh. Mrs, Dressier was 
 born in Krfust, in Germany. Their union has been 
 blessed with five children, the following being their 
 names and date of birth: Maria F., July IS, 18(i8; 
 L. Adolphc, December 26. 1869; VVilhelm F., March 
 9,1871; Rosalie, April 11, 1873; Clara A., July 18, 
 1875. Christian F'ritz. a son of Mrs. Dressier by a 
 former marriage, is recognized as one ol" this family, 
 and is a bright, active boy of seventeen years. 
 
 In politics Mr. Dressier is a staunch Kejiublican; 
 in religion, a Protestant. A view ol' Mr. Drossler's 
 
 residence, in connection with portraits, will be found 
 elsewhere. 
 
 nON. J. W. IIAINES 
 
 Was born in Stanstcad. Lower Canada, August 17, 
 1826. His parents were Americans, formerly citizens 
 of the State of Vermont. In the year 1832 his fam- 
 ilj- emigrated to the wilds of Ohio, where he worked 
 upon a farm until 1843, when he changed his occu- 
 pation, and from that time until 1849 sailed upon the 
 lakes, between Buft'alo, New York, and Chicago, Illi- 
 nois, During the summer of '49 he crossed the 
 plains to California, in charge of the " Ohio train," 
 as Captain, arriving in Placervillo, El Dorado County, 
 July 31st. There were fifty-six men in this company. 
 Upon their arrival in California, the company went 
 up the Sacramento River in a boat called the AUedo. 
 The hardships of this trip discounted those of the 
 trip across the plains, and lasted from August until 
 December. In the spring of 1850, Mr. Haines 
 entered the mercantile business in Sacramento City, 
 under the firm name of Haines, Lyon & Co., which 
 was changed to Haines, Webster & Co. in 1853. In 
 the spring of 1855 we find our subject Marshal of 
 Sacramento City, and in 1859 he came to Nevada 
 with a band of sheep for the Virginia City mai-ket. 
 While on his trip across the mountains he encoun- 
 tered a snow-storm which held him a prisoner, in 
 Lake Valley, for eleven days. At the end of that 
 time his stock had become reduced in such manner 
 as to be unfit for market, and he was obliged to 
 drive them to the sink of the Carson to winter. In 
 1863 he located permanently in Douglas County, 
 then the Territory of Nevada, with his famil}-. Mr. 
 Haines was a member of the first Constitutional 
 Convention, and has represented the people in the 
 State Senate, was also an elector for Grant at the 
 his first and second elections. A view of Mr. 
 Haines' residence will be found in another part of this 
 volume. 
 
 DAVID R. JONES, 
 
 The suliject of this sketch, is fully entitled to the 
 rank of pioneer, he being one of the earliest settlers 
 in this State. He was born in Wales, in 1830, and 
 came to the United States when quite young; settled 
 first in the State of Wisconsin, and in 1853 came to 
 the Pacific Coast, and has since lived in what is now 
 Douglas County. Mr. Jones is well known through- 
 out the section of country in which he resides, is a 
 man of high moral character, strictly honest in his 
 dealings with both (ioii and man, and has for the 
 I ])ast ten years promulgated the word of tiod in the 
 cliurch of the " Latter Day Saints." Much credit is 
 due to Mr, Jones for the masterlj- manner in which 
 he has overcome the many obstacles that beset the 
 paths of the early settlers in a country like this. 
 Surrounded on all sides bj- unseen dangers, he has 
 lived to see his family giow up, an honor to their 
 parents, and a blessing to the land in which they 
 live. In politics ho is a staunch Kepublican. A view 
 of Mr. Jones' home is to bo found in this volume. 
 
384 
 
 HISTORY OB' THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII. 
 HISTORY OF ELKO COUNTY. 
 
 Agriculture and Mining — Organization and Boundaries — Mau- 
 agement of County Affairs — Appointments and Klections — 
 Elko Grange No. U — Valleysoftlie County — F. Honeyman— 
 John C. ^A■ood— Col. J. B. Moore— William Myers— W. T. 
 Crane — I'rincipal Mining Districts— Mineral Soap Mine — 
 Principal Towiis and Cities — Henry Martin (Irant — Hon. J. 
 B. ToUey— Fort Halleck. 
 
 The county occupies the northeastern portion of 
 the State, and contains a larger area of land adapted 
 to cultivation and stock-raising than anj- other sec- 
 tion within its boundaries. There are numerous 
 streams wending their way tlirough the elongated 
 vallcj's that lie between the chains of mountains 
 which travei'se the county generally from north to 
 south. These streams being fed by numerous springs, 
 produce an abundance of water, for this section, 
 when compared with some other portions of the 
 •■• Great American Basin," of which it forms a part. 
 The mountains, slopes and plateaus are covered with 
 nutritious grasses that afford excellent pasturage for 
 the vast herds of cattle, which fatten there for a 
 foreign market. 
 
 Grains and vegetables of all kinds are grown in 
 abundance wherever water can be brought upon the 
 land, and thousands of acres, that have been con- 
 sidered fit only for the homes of the coyote and hare, 
 are now bearing the necessaries of life in quantities 
 unequaled in the history of agriculture. Though 
 no part of the State of Nevada is probably better 
 supplied with living streams of pure water than that 
 which comprises Elko County, artificial means for 
 procuring a larger supply must be resorted to before 
 the thousands of acres of land within its boundaries 
 can be reclaimed and made to contribute to the agri- 
 cultural products of this county. 
 
 In nearly every part there is to be found an abun- 
 dance of game of diftcrent varieties, while the streams 
 are bountifully supplied with the finny creatures, 
 making this a sportsman's paradise. 
 
 Here grazing and agriculture claim the su])romacy 
 over the mining interest. The well-waterud valleys 
 and the snow-gathering hills of this elevated region 
 bring forth abundant forage u]ion which many 
 thousands of animals fatten throughout the year, and 
 the nutritious herbage, the purity of the water and 
 rarity of the atmosphere produce a superior and 
 healthier class of stock than is possible in most 
 other localities. This superiority has been most 
 observable in the beef and mutton and the products 
 of the dairy, but may bo looked for in amort^ marked 
 degree when attention is ])aid to the ecjuine race. 
 The rugged hills, the invigorating climate and other 
 conditions, are such as to invite the breeders of racers 
 of jjurest blood with assurance of lungs and muscle 
 that no other land can equal. The agricultural con- 
 dition and progress of the valleys of i'illko are given 
 in detail in this chapter, as well as the descriptions 
 of the mining districts. The right for agriculture to 
 claim the precedence will bo disputed by the miner. 
 
 The miners of the county have produced a vast 
 amount of bullion in the past, and their future is 
 bright and hopeful. Gold and silver have been the 
 metals most sought, but copper and lead exist in 
 great abundance. In the elevated plateau of the 
 north, particularly in the districts of Tusearora, Corn- 
 ucopia, Golconda and Bull Run, and the placers of 
 Independence, McCau's and other streams, the first 
 are mined, while in the southeast are rich veins of 
 copper, and in the southwest are found argentiferous 
 galena and carbonate ores of great value. With 
 such resources, a soil of perpetual wealth on the 
 surface and mines of the precious and useful metals 
 beneath, Elko may claim supremacy among the coun- 
 ties of Nevada. 
 
 0R0.\NIZATI0N A.ND B0UND.A.RIES. 
 
 By an Act approved March, 5 18G9, Elko County 
 was ci'eated out of Lander County, and its bound- 
 aries were established as follows: — 
 
 It shall lie east of a line drawn north and south 
 through a point on the Central Pacific Railroad 
 track, three miles west of the machine shop of the 
 Central Pacific Railroad Company, situated in the 
 town of Carlin: and north of a line drawn east and 
 west through the most northerly part or portion of 
 the military post or camp known as Cam]) Ruby, the 
 latter described line being the northerly- line of the 
 proposed county of White Pine. 
 
 By an Act approved .March 1, 1871, all that ])art 
 of Lander lying between the forty-first and forty- 
 second parallels of latitude, constituting the northern 
 portion of Lander, was added to Elko. The cession 
 included about 2,772 square miles. 
 
 On February 16, 1875, an Act was passed over the 
 Governor's veto, ceding to Eureka a triangular strip 
 or piece from the southwest corner of Elko (,'ounty, 
 which included within its limits the mining district 
 of Galena. 
 
 MANAOEiMENT OF COUNTY AFFAIRS. 
 
 The creative Act made Elko the county seat, and 
 provided that there should be no election until there 
 were a thousand voters in the county. The first 
 Commissioners, who had been appointed by the 
 Governor, took the nocessarj- steps to ascertain the 
 number of voters; and at their first meeting estab- 
 lished nine voting precincts. Registers were ap- 
 pointed to take the number of voters, and May 31, 
 1800, they reported the total number to bo 1,097. 
 
 The Board thereupon appointed June 21, 18G9, as 
 the day of election, fixed the polling-places, and 
 named the inspectors of election. There wore 478 
 votes cast at the first election. The names of the 
 successful candidates at this election will be found in 
 the list of county officers apjiointed and elected. 
 The Central Pacific Railroad ("ompany jn-osented 
 the county with a block of land upon which to 
 erect proper county buildings. 
 
 The Board of Commissioners acceiUed the gift 
 and proceeded to build a Court House and County 
 Jail and make such other public improvements as 
 

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HISTORY OF ELKU COUNTY. 
 
 885 
 
 were deemed essential to the dij^nity and honor of 
 the people of a newlj* organized and rapidly grow- 
 ing county. 
 
 The Legislatuic passed a law creating a State 
 University, and left the location of it ojjcn to the 
 competition of the various counties of the State. 
 Elko was noted as "the railroad town" of the State, 
 and her people were anxious to make it famous as 
 the seat of learning as well. They therefore made 
 liberal propositions. They offered to donate the 
 land and erect the buildings and make them a free 
 gift to the State. This offer was accepted b}' the 
 State, and the county expended §20.000 to secure 
 the State University'. J5onds, bearing high rates of 
 interest, were issued to pay for the buildings. Scrip 
 was issued to pay current expenses and over-due 
 interest, until, in less than four years after the or- 
 ganization, the county debt had reached the enor- 
 mous sum of SI 12,470, while the entire population 
 was less than 3,000. But the steady increase of 
 population and the factthat Elko is specially adapted 
 to grazing and farming, has enabled the county, by 
 strict econom3- and good management in later j'ears, 
 to pay current expenses and reduce the debt of the 
 county to less than 800,000. The population is now 
 nearlj' 6,000, and the affairs of the county are in a 
 healthy and prosperous condition. 
 
 For a more perfect knowledge of the products ol 
 the county, the number of acres under cultivation, 
 and the stock raised and maintained, reference may 
 be had to the tables on pages 135, 130, 139 and 140 
 of the general history of the State. For the bullion 
 product see table in the later pages of this work. 
 
 APPOINT.MENTS AND ELECTIONS. 
 
 In the following list will be found the names of all 
 the county officers, with the date of appointment or 
 election, from the organization of the county to the 
 present time: — 
 
 SENATORS. 
 
 J. B. Moore, elected November 8, 1870; Cj. II. 
 Shepherd and G. Cohn, elected November 3, 1874; T. 
 N. Stone, elected November 7, 1876; G. H. Shepherd, 
 elected November 5, 1878; J. B. Tolloy, elected 
 November 2, 1880. 
 
 ASSEMBI.V.MEN. 
 
 J. A. Savage and J. \V. Ellyson, elected November 
 8, 1870; H. C. Street and J. A. Savage, elected 
 • November 5, 1872; J. C. Dow, H. II. Peyton, E. Pen- 
 rod, and F. J. Franks, elected November 3, 1S74; G. 
 Griswo'd, J. B. Tolley, and J. H. Moore, elected 
 November 7, lS7t>; J. S. Mayhugh, B. L. Pliimmer, 
 and S. M. Beard, elected November 5, ls7H; J. Z. 
 Kelly, O. H. Ballinger, and James McBurney, elected 
 November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY COM.MISSIONEUS. 
 
 John Wa88on,M. P. Freeman, and Sol Lewis were 
 appointed County Commissioners by the Executive, 
 March, 1869. Wasson resigned April 29, 1869. John 
 W. Epley, and \V. M. Gillispie were sworn in aa the 
 
 successors of the first Board, May 10, 18G9; Len. 
 Wines, J. Pierson, and J. II.Leffingwell were elected 
 June 21, 1869; D. C. Butterfield, S. S. Sears, aad J. 
 Marks, elected November 8, 1870. Butterfield 
 resigned September 4, 1871, and T. B. Henley 
 appointed to fill vacancy. A. W. Gedney was 
 appointed in 1872. in place of J. Marks. George 
 Seitz, G. B. Able, and A. J. Smith, elected November 
 5, 1872; A. Wiseman and John Hunter, elected 
 November 3, 1874; Thomas Holmes and F. E. 
 Hughes, elected November 7, 1876. Hughes became 
 non-resident, and his office was declared vacant, 
 July, 1878. S. S. Sears and R. M. Conley, elected 
 November 5, 1878; F. Honeyman and J. J. Camp- 
 bell, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 H. P. Lathro]), M. D., was elected Coroner June 
 21, 1869. 
 
 nrSTIUCT ATTOUNEVS. 
 
 Wm. M. (iillispie, elected June 21, 1869; J. H. 
 Lucas, elected November 8, 1870; J. H. Rand, elected 
 November 5, 1872; II. C. Street, elected November 
 3, 1874, re-elected November 7, 1876; J. W. Horsey, 
 elected November 5, 1878; G. A. Kingston, elected 
 November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SHERIFFS. 
 
 J. B. Fitch, elected June 21, 1869, re-elected No- 
 vember 8, 1870; resigned October 8, 1872, and W. G. 
 Craighead, appointed to fill vacancy. H. H. Scott, 
 elected November 5, 1872; H. W. Brown, elected 
 November 3, 1874, E. L. Seitz, elected November 7, 
 1876; J. B. Fitch, elected November 5, 1878, re- 
 elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY CLERKS. 
 
 J. W. Stainbum was appointed County Clerk April 
 3, 1869; Thomas A. Waterman, elected June 21, 
 1869; H. H. Scott, elected November 8, 1870; 0. E. 
 Green, elected Novembers, 1872, re-elected Novem- 
 ber 3, 1874, re-elected November 7, 1876, re-elected, 
 November 5, 1878; A. G. Dawlej', elected November 
 2, 1880. 
 
 COIJNTY TREASURERS. 
 
 M. P. Freeman, elected June 21, 1869; G. H. Shep- 
 herd, elected November 8, 1870; M. P. Freeman, 
 elected November 5, 1872, re-elected November 3. 
 1874; J. 11. Bradley, elected November 7, 1876; H. 
 M. Grant, elected November 5, 1878 ; Thomas Gib- 
 lin, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY ASSESSORS. 
 
 William G. Seamands, elected June 21, 1869; H. 
 A. Ilarville, elected November 8, 1870. re-elected 
 November 5, 1872; E. II. (Jriswold, elected Novem- 
 ber 3, 1874, re-elected November 7, 1876; H. V. 
 Mundell, elected November 5, 1878, re-elected No- 
 vember 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTV RECIIRDEUS. 
 
 U.T. llaflord, elected June 21. 1869; F. A. Rogers, 
 elected November 8, 1870, re-elected November 5, 
 1872, re-elected November 3, 1874, re-elected No- 
 vember 7, 1876; S. M. Henley, elected November 5, 
 1878, re-elected November 2, 1880. 
 
386 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS. 
 
 Dr. M. V. Hudson, elected June 21, 1869 ; A. 
 Kinkead, elected November S. 1870; resigned May 
 H, 1872, and T. B. Henley appointed to fill vacancj-. 
 T. B. Henley, elected November 5, 1872; E. S. Yeates, 
 elected November 3, 1874; 8. S. Sears, elected No- 
 vember 7, 1876; T. W. Huntington, elected Novem- 
 ber 5, 1878; F. F. Muller, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SURVEYORS. 
 
 E. H. Griswold, elected June 21, 1869; C. C. Tracy, 
 elected November 8, 1870, reelected November 5, 
 1872, re-elected November 3, 1874; R. M. Catlin, 
 elected November 7, 1876, re-elected November 5, 
 1878; J. C. Smyles, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATORS. 
 
 H. J. Cady, elected June 21, 18G9; H. Ward, elected 
 November 8, 1870, failed to cjualify, and fl. C. Street 
 was appointed May 6, 1872; L. Terry, elected Novem- 
 ber 5, 1872, became non-resident, and Charles E. 
 Abbott was appointed November 3, 1873, to fill 
 vacancy; C. C. Melius, elected Novembers, 1874; N. 
 F. Peterson, elected November 7, 1876; Isaac 
 Gates, elected November 5, 1878; Isaac Syoc, elected 
 November 2, 1880. 
 
 ELKO GRANGE, NO. 9, 
 
 Was organized at Elko, in 1875, with twenty-four 
 charter members. . The first oflBcers were J. A. 
 Tinker, Master; E. Burner, Overseer; G. W. Lit- 
 ton, Steward; J. F. Burner, Lecturer; E. S. Yeates, 
 Chaplain; J. Hunter, Treasurer; J. L. Keyser, Sec-' 
 retary; H. Tuttle, Gatekeeper; Mrs. G. Litton, Ceres; 
 Mrs. A. C. Tinker, Pomona; Miss M. Yeates, Flora; 
 T. Hunter, Assistant Steward; Mrs. H. Tuttle, Lady 
 Assistant Steward. 
 
 The largest membership at any one time was 
 eighty-one, and a very little decrease is reported at 
 the present time, the books showing seventy-five 
 members in good standing. Their financial condi- 
 tion is good, though a little in debt, they having a 
 brick building, worth $800. The present officers 
 are J. A. Tinker, M.; J. Brain, O.; G. \V. Litton, S.; 
 E. Burns, L.; Mrs. L. M. Hunter, C; Mrs. G. W. 
 Litton, T.; Miss N. Tinker, Sec; J. Yeates, G.; Mrs. 
 E. Littlepen, C; Miss F. Kinnerson' P.; Miss E. 
 Glide, F.; J. Dencor, A. S.; Miss E. Litton, L. A. S 
 
 VALLEYS OP THE COUNTY. 
 
 Clover Valley lies between the Spruce and Ruby 
 Mountains on the west, and the Steptoe range of 
 mountains on the east, and is about thirty-five miles 
 long by twenty miles wide on an average, its general 
 direction being north and south. In some places it 
 widens out to a distance nearly' equal to its length, 
 and then gradually narrows up to about ten miles, 
 giving it a picturesque ap]>earnnce, when viewed 
 from the surrounding mountain tojis. Warm Creek, 
 so called, winds its way in a serpentine manner from 
 north to south, receiving additional waters from no 
 less than twenty smaller streams that rise in the 
 
 mountains and empty into it. There are numerous 
 springs, also, that contribute to the waters of the 
 main stream. These small creeks are named after 
 the different ranchers through whose lands they flow. 
 
 The earlj' settlement of the valley, according to 
 statistics from F. Honeyman, was by a number of 
 United States army officers, who conceived the idea 
 of doing a litilc ranching in connection with their 
 official duties. In 1864, Captain Thurstin, Lieuten- 
 ant Tolls and Doctor Long settled on the ranch now 
 owned by Mr. Honeyman, at the south end of the 
 main settlement. After one year's experience, these 
 gentlemen sold their interests to George Brumfield, 
 a discharged private soldier, and he remained in 
 possession until 1869, when he sold the claim to Mr. 
 Honeyman, who owned the adjoining ranch, and 
 who was one of the early settlers, he having a 
 claim and men at work for himi as early as 1864. 
 He settled permanentlj' there in 1866. In 1868, the 
 valley commenced to receive settlers, and during the 
 succeeding three years the population increased 
 very rapidly. 
 
 An abundance of wood is found in the mountain 
 ranges on both sides of the valley, consisting of 
 mountain mahogany, pine, cedar and quaking- 
 aspen, with an occasional spruce or fir on the east- 
 ern side. 
 
 The main settlement is in the northwest portion 
 of the valley, about twelve miles from the town of 
 Humboldt Wells, on the Central Pacific Railroad, 
 and thirty-one miles from Sjjrucc Mountain Mining 
 District. The railroad company own ever}' odd 
 section of land in the whole valley, and have sold 
 comparatively little. 
 
 The land being well watered, agricultural pur- 
 suits are a prominent feature. Oats and barley are 
 extensively raised, about 23,000 sacks being the 
 result of the crop of 1880, also considerable wheat 
 and a large amount of vegetables. There are about 
 6,000 head of cattle, owned bj' the settlers, that find 
 good pasturage, and in the winter a groat many are 
 driven into the valley to roam at will during the 
 cold weather, it being sheltered by the high ranges 
 of mountains. It is second to none of the winter- 
 grazing ranges. Over 3,000 head were driven to this 
 locality during the winter of 1880. During an 
 unusuallj- cold snap in 1880 the frost touched the 
 crops slightly for the first time. The valley has also 
 been visited b y crickets, but the damage done by 
 them was very slight. 
 
 The present population is about 125, of whom 
 fortj'-tliree are voters. In the spring of 1872 a 
 public school was started, and is kept about eight 
 months in the year. 
 
 The Indians have a ranch and cultivate about 
 fifty acres, princi])allj' in roots, there being about 
 half a hundred of them in all, including squaws and 
 papooses. The bucks also work for the settlers, at 
 one dollar per day. 
 
HISTORY OF ELKO COUNTY 
 
 n87 
 
 The subject of this sketch, was born in Leitrim 
 County, Ireland, in 1833. At the age of seventeen 
 years he emigrated to the United States and settled 
 in the citj' of New York, where he remained until 
 185G,engai,'ed in a dyeing establishment during most 
 of the time. In the last-named year he came to 
 Califoi'nia \ty the Nicaragua route. Arriving in the 
 land of gold, he sought his fortune in the mines, and 
 after one year's experience on the main Yuba River, 
 he went to Oregon, where ho engaged in farming. 
 From there he went to Washington Territory, and 
 again took up the pursuit of mining, and remained 
 until 1861, when he returned to California. The 
 Rebellion breaking out about that time, he was one 
 of the first to enlist in the defense of his adopted 
 country, joining the Third California Infantrj' Reg- 
 iment, under Colonel Connor, as a private, in which 
 ' capacity he served his country only two months, 
 being elected Second Lieutenant during that time. 
 His regiment was ordered to Utah, where he was 
 kept until the close of the war, having re-enlisted as 
 a veteran in the meantime. During his four j-ear's 
 service he commanded a battery of light artiilerj- 
 most of the time. At the close of the war be was 
 mustered out of sjrviee, and came to Nevada, set- 
 tling in Clover Valley, Elko County, his present 
 location, where he has since resided, engaged in 
 farming and stock-raising. His ranch is situated 
 eighteen miles south of Humboldt Wells. 
 
 »IB 
 
 PHOTO BY LOUIS MONACO. EUREKA. NEV. 
 
 /ohi C. IVood 
 
 Was born on the twelfth of Januarj', 1829, near Rose- 
 ville, Parke County, Indiima. At the age of nine- 
 teen he went to the State of Illinois, where he 
 remained until 1850, when he came to California by 
 way of the plains. The haps and mishaps incident 
 to such a trip were passed in safety, and upon reach- 
 ing the Pacific Const he entered the usual field of 
 labor, that of mining, which occupation he followed 
 in Calaveras County for five years, al Angel's Camp 
 and other places. In 1855 he went to San Joaquin 
 County, where he remained until 1859, when he 
 removed to the State of Iowa. In 18()2 he returned 
 to California, and one year later came to Carson City, 
 Ormsby County, where he engaged in the lumber 
 business, remaining until the j-car ISfiO. Soon after 
 the excitement upon the discovery of the mines in 
 White Pine County broke out, ho went to Hamilton, 
 in that county, thence to Eureka, thence to Spruce 
 Mountain, and in the fall of 1^7(1 located at Clover 
 Yalley, Elko County, where he has since resided, 
 extensivclj- engaged in farming and stock-raising, 
 his ranch containing 4S(l acres. During the past two 
 years he has handled large quantities of grain with 
 good success. In 185() he was married in San Joaquin 
 County, California, to Miss Eliza Webb, a native of 
 Tennessee. Their union was blessed with three 
 children, onlj- one being alive at the present time, a 
 daughter, married. On the twentieth of April, 1859, 
 his wife died. During his sojourn in Iowa, he again 
 entered the connubial state, being married to Miss 
 Jeannette Simons, at Lebanon, Van Buren County, 
 on the twenty-first of October, 1860. Eight children 
 have been born to them, four of whom are now liv- 
 ing — two boys and two girls. 
 
388 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Huntingdon Valley is another fine tract, and is 
 twenty-five to thirty miles in length, and an average 
 width of ten miles, running from the extreme 
 southern line of the county northerly to .the junction 
 of Huntingdon Creek with the south fork of the 
 Humboldt River, the former stream, which affords 
 ample irrigating facilities, running entirely through 
 it. Many fine farms are here cultivated, large num- 
 bers of stock are raised and fattened for market, and 
 general thrift is indicated by the homelike and sub- 
 stantial improvements of its inhabitants. Diamond 
 Range lies upon its western side, and the east Hum- 
 boldt Range upon the east, from the latter of which 
 many small streams, as Smith and Twin Creeks, put 
 down into the valley and join Huntingdon Creek 
 toward the west. 
 
 iNDEPr.-NDKXCE Valley lies about fifty miles north 
 of the town of Elko, between the Tuscarora Mount- 
 ains on ihe west, and Jack Creek range of mount- 
 ains on the east, and is about twenty-five miles long, 
 by eight miles in width, being in the shape of a 
 quarter moon. The south fork of the Owyhee River 
 traverses the valley from east to west, or nearly so. 
 There is an abundance of water, many small creeks 
 rising in the mountains and swelling the main stream. 
 This valley' was discovered by a scouting party of 
 United States soldiers, and derived its name from 
 having been first seen bj' them on the fourth of July. 
 Along the river are beautiful meadows that widen 
 out in some places to three miles, which produce 
 thousands of tons of hay. Lying at an altitude of 
 7,0(t0 feet above the level of the sea, grain docs not 
 grow as well as could be wished, though it is raised 
 to some extent. The land is used principally for 
 grazing purposes, only about 300 acres beingdevoted 
 to agriculture, most of which lies in the eastern por- 
 tion of the valle}'. Wood is found in the gulches in 
 limited quantities, but in the Jack Creek range, on 
 the east, there is plenty of timber, and a saw-mill is 
 established on the creek by that name, whence 
 come the mining timbers for the Tuscarora silver 
 mines. About forty men are constantly employed in 
 the lumbering business at this mill. 
 
 Old Tuscarora, a deserted town, lies on the north 
 side of the south fork of the Owyhee River, about 
 two and one-half miles southwesterly from the 
 present town of that name. The road from Elko, 
 Carlin and Battle Mountain passes through this val- 
 ley to Tuscarora. 
 
 There is a school district established and a school 
 bouse eroeted at the creek. The placer mines in the 
 valley on McCan Creek, are still worked b}* China- 
 men in the spring of the year, when there is plenty 
 of water. Stock-raising is engaged in to a consider- 
 able extent, there being about 15,000 cattle and 3,000 
 horses that find ])aHturage in the mountains and along 
 the streams. There are sixt}' voters and about 
 twenty women and children inhabiting this valley, 
 and some of the residences would do honor to a 
 modern city. 
 
 Lejioille Vallev, though smaller than some 
 others, compares very favorablj' with its larger 
 neighbors in man}- respects. Beginning at the foot- 
 hills of the Ruby range of mountains it widens out 
 at the Humboldt River, its course being about north 
 and south, is about fifteen miles long by four miles 
 in width on an average, and is situated about twenty 
 miles from the town of Elko. 
 
 The first settlers were John Walker, Thomas A. 
 Waterman and McClain, who came from Aus- 
 tin in 1804 and located in this valley. Xone of the 
 gentlemen are residents of the place at the present 
 time,^the last one moving awaj- in 1875. The water 
 supply is unlimited; Lemoille, Bowlder and Salt 
 Creeks traverse the valley and empty into the Hum- 
 boldt River. On the banks of these streams grow 
 Cottonwood and quaking-aspen, and in the mountains 
 are to be found the usual mahogany and piflon or 
 nut pine. One-half of the valley is the property of 
 the Central i'acific Railroad Company. 
 
 Frost has twice played sad havoc with the crops, 
 principally on the lowlands bordering on the streams. 
 Wheat and barley are raised to a considerable ex- 
 tent, and some of the finest potatoes produced in the 
 State come from this section. Unlike many other 
 localities, it has never been troubled by that scourge 
 in the shape of crickets that have found their way 
 into the county. The nearest mioing is in Railroad 
 District. 
 
 In 1876 a school was established that has an aver- 
 age attendance of about thirty-five scholars. The 
 ]>ost-otlice was established in 1880. 
 
 As a stock-raising section it is a success, being 
 well watered, and the surrounding country covered 
 with nutritious grasses. In connection with the 
 business, a curious incident took place in 1871. 
 Thomas Atkinson owned a band of sheep, twenty- 
 five of which were herded and driven oft' by a mount- 
 ain ''luK-k," or Rooky .Mountain sheep, that was 
 finallj- killed by John Walker. 
 
 Instances have beert authenticated in the State of 
 singular hybridizing of domestic and wild stock. J. 
 J. O'Doughertj^, of Egan Canon, had a small flock 
 of sheep, of perhaps thirty ewes, in 1867, several of 
 which had hybrid lambs. Two of them resembled 
 antelope, in that they were akin to the young of 
 that animal in color, and had sharp, straight, spike 
 horns, projecting backward some five or six inches 
 long, when not more than three months old. Another 
 resembled the common black-tailed deer more than 
 it did the family to which the dam belonged. Still 
 another was of a dingy white, with long forelegs, 
 and shorter hind ones, the elevated muzzle and 
 watchful jdisposition of the ovis montatui, or big- 
 horned mountain sheep. The ewes, with other 
 sheep, had been purchased from a drove that came 
 from New Mexico a year and a half before, and as 
 they were desired entirely for mutton, were not 
 permitted to breed, all the bucks having been killed 
 oflf. In the fall of 1868 these ewes hod strayed off, 
 
■-V 
 
 11 M- 
 
 
HISTORY OF ELKO COUNTY. 
 
 3S9 
 
 and were lost sight of for many months, the owner 
 never expecting to see thom again. An Indian 
 came one day and reported having seen them upon 
 a certain mountain, some twenty miles awaj'. The 
 owner sought them, and succeeded in getting them 
 home. They had been in an isolated place far 
 beyond the reach of any animals of their own kind. 
 After they had been home about two months their 
 owner was astonished to find that several of them 
 had dropped lambs of the character above described. 
 Offers to purchase the hybrids at a fanej' price wore 
 refused by the owner, who declared it his intention 
 to send them to the Smithsonian Institution, at 
 Washington, as curiosities in nature. But this in- 
 tention was frustrated by the death of the animals, 
 which occurred before any of them became ten 
 months old. 
 
 iloiND Valley is situated thirtj- miles south of 
 Elko and seventy miles northeast of Eureka, with 
 the Rubj' Mountains on the east and the Pine Valley 
 range on the west, is five miles long and one and a 
 half wide, taking the same direction as Smith's Creek, 
 which runs through it from northeast to southwest. 
 W. M. Kennedy claims to have been the first settler in 
 1861. Governor Bradley came into the valley the 
 same year with stock, but remained onl}^ a short 
 time. Kennedy located on Smith's Creek, and named 
 the valley from a mound that was near his location. 
 In former years the frosts have injured the grain a 
 little, but not lately. Water from the mountains is 
 l)lentiful in the spring, and wood is obtained from 
 the Kuby ilountains. 
 
 I'r.E.\s.\NT V.ALI.EY is one of the smallest in the 
 count}', being about four miles square, but is in a 
 fine location and is wonderfull)' prosperous. Accord- 
 ing to the information imjiarted b}' Mr. II. A. 
 Youngs, the first settlers were Frank Williams and 
 (xeorge Seitz, who anchored there as early as 1868, 
 neither of whom are at present residents of the 
 place. The valley heads in the Iluby range of 
 mountains, ami runs about northeast, and is well i 
 watered from the several creeks which flow through 
 it. The whole area of the valley is made to 1)0 pro- 
 ductive, nearly all of it being under cultivation. 
 (Jrain is the principal product, and about 1,500 tons 
 was the total of the crop of 1880. One-half the val- 
 ley is the property of the railroad company, but is 
 nevertheless settled upon. In 1877 the grain was 
 injured to some extent by the crickets that found 
 their way into the valley from the distant north. 
 Smut has once or twice visited the valley, but has 
 not done much damage. 
 
 Nearly all of the original log cabins are replaced 
 by frame houses, which give the valley a fine appear- 
 ance. The land is well fenced. Pleasant Valley 
 School District is located here, having a school house, 
 with improved furniture, and an average attendance 
 of fifteen scholars. The inhabitants number about 
 sixty, of whom thirty-six are voters. Wood- is ob- 
 tained from the mountains. Cedar lumber is found 
 49 
 
 in the South Fork range, which divides the South 
 Fork and Pleasant \'allej-. 
 
 Jfr. Youngs became a resident of this valley in 
 1871, and it was upon the ranch now owned by him 
 that the leaders in the great car robberj' in 1870 
 lived, purporting to be ranchers. A detailed account 
 of this daring robberj- will be found elsewhere. 
 
 HrBV Vallky lios east of the range of mountains 
 bearing the same name, beginning about eight miles 
 south of the old overland stage road. It is about 
 seventj^ miles in length by about sixteen in width, 
 and is (me of the most fertile sections in Elko 
 County. The general direction of the valley is 
 nearlj- north and south, narrowing at both ends, 
 making it a grand corral. It is well watered by 
 the many streams which rise in the mountains and 
 flow through it, and for a distance of over fifty 
 miles are numerous ranches that are irrigated there- 
 from. The eastern side of the valley looks dry and 
 barren when compared with the beautiful green, 
 cultivated fields on the western side. Xear the 
 center are two beautiful lakes, called Franklin and 
 RubJ^ the former ten miles long by four wide, and 
 the latter twelve miles long by three wide, including 
 the tules that grow around its shores. 
 
 On the east side of the valley grows the pifion, a 
 species of timber found in nearly all the mountain 
 ranges. The Ruby Mountains are generally des- 
 titute of timber, but on the high elevations j-ellow 
 pine is found, though difficult of access. Along the 
 streams grows a sufficient ijuantity of cottonwood 
 for all purposes of the settlers. Everj-thing con- 
 sidered, this is one of the finest valleys in the State 
 of Nevada. 
 
 According to the information so kindly furnished 
 by Col. J. B. Moore and E. II. Griswoid, the honor of 
 first settlement is given to William Rogers — known 
 as " Uncle Billy" — who arrived there as earlj- as 1859. 
 in the employ of the United States Indian Agent, for 
 the pur|K)so of selecting a reservation for the Sho- 
 shone Indians. His selection was a part of what 
 was afterward known as the Overland Farm The 
 Government did not a])prove the selection, however, 
 but Uncle Billy built a cabin and put in a small 
 patch of grain, and planted some vegetables near the 
 center of the valley, thus demonstrating the fact 
 that the land was capable of being made productive. 
 
 In 1S()1 the Overland .Mail and Telegraph Com- 
 ]ianys established stations at the south end of the 
 valley. In 1S(!2 Colonel P. E. Connor, established 
 Camp Ruby, while «« route for Salt Lake, Utah, 
 leaving two com])anies of the Third California 
 \'olunleor Infantry, under command of .Maj. P. A. 
 (Jallager, who was succeeded in 1863 by Lieut, Col. 
 .1. B. Moore, who hehl command of the post until 
 the fall of 1804, when Cajjt. (J. II. Thurstin, with a 
 j)ortion of the Nevada battalion, took command. In 
 1800 the camjt was abandoned, and the troops were 
 removed to Fort Ilalleck. 
 
390 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 In 1865 the Overland Mail Company becoming 
 tired of paying the exorbitant prices demanded by 
 the Mormons for barley and oats, concluded to raise 
 grain for their own use, and accordingly put in about 
 1,000 acres in Kuby Valley. Their experiment 
 proving a success, others entered into the same pur- 
 suits, and this was the pioneer grain country of 
 eastern Nevada. All the supplies for the company 
 were raised there until the line was drawn oft' in 
 18G0. upon the completion of the Central Pacific 
 Eailroad. 
 
 Col. J. B. -Moore and Lieut. K. Gilman had 
 raised grain and vegetables the previous year, 
 though not in great quantities. There was a grist- 
 mill built in 1867 by C. A. Griswold and Samuel 
 Woodward, on the overland farm, with two runs of 
 stone. They also built a saw-mill during the same 
 year on Cave Creek. Both these mills were run by 
 water. This was the onlj^ saw-mill ever built in the 
 valley, and is still standing, there being but one 
 other in the county of Elko. 
 
 Col. J. B. Moore. 
 
 Was born in the town of Piermont, Grafton County, 
 New Hampshire, on the twenty-eighth of October, 
 1828. He remained there until 1840, and during 
 that time received a limited education, such as can 
 be obtained in the common schools, lu the last- 
 named year be went to Boston, Massachusetts, where 
 he cast his first vote for President James K. Polk. 
 In 1846 he enlisted in the First Alassaehusetts Regi- 
 ment of Volunieers, and served through the Mexi- 
 can War. (jame to California in 18.52, where he 
 served seven consecutive years on the San Francisco 
 police force. In 1861, at the breaking out of the 
 Rebellion, he raised a company of volunteers for the 
 Third Regiment, of which ho was elected Captain. 
 In the month of October of the same year he was 
 
 promoted to be Lieutenant Colonel. In 1863 he 
 came to Nevada, and commanded Camp Ruby, also 
 Camp Douglas, in Utah; and was discharged in the 
 month of January, 1865, at his own request. Set- 
 tling in liubj' N'alley, he engaged in farming and 
 stock-raising, and still resides in the valley. He 
 raised the first grain in Elko Countj'. In 18G9 was 
 elected to the State Senate on the Republican ticket 
 by a majority of only one vote, against a Democratic 
 majoritj' of 150 in the county. Served in the fifth and 
 sixth sessions. In 1876 was elected to the Assembly, 
 being the only Republican elected in the county. Was 
 Deputy Warden of the State Prison in 1879, and 
 has held numerous positions of trust in the county. 
 The Colonel still continues in single blessedness. 
 
 WILLIAM MYERS 
 
 Was born in Herkimer Count}', New York State, 
 September 28, 1839, where he lived until the fall of 
 1858. He then came to the Pacific Coast by way of 
 the Isthmus of Panama, and settled in Contra Costa 
 
 IVm. Myers. 
 
 County, California. He afterwards lived in various 
 parts of that State until the j'ear 1862, when he 
 enlisted in Company B, Third Infantry California 
 Volunteers, Col. P. Edward Connor, commanding. 
 July 12, 1862, the regiment left California and was 
 stationed in Utah, whore it was engaged in fighting 
 Indians part of the time. Ho held the office of Com- 
 missary Sergeant of the Regiment for one year and 
 was then promoted to Second Lieutenant of Company 
 E. After about three years' service he resigned and 
 came to Nevada, settling in Kuby Valley, Elko 
 County, his present location, where he has since 
 resided. He has a ranch containing 640 acres, and 
 is quite extensively engaged in stock-raising as well 
 as being a good farmer. In politics Mr. Myers is a 
 
HISTORY OF ELKO COUNTY. 
 
 391 
 
 strong and consistent l{o|)ubli(.'an. Was married 
 March 17, 18i!9, to Miss Lottie Mangus, at Horkimor, 
 New York State. They have two children named 
 Ruby and Mabel, aged respectively nine and four 
 years. 
 
 Silver t?REEK Valley heads in the Bull Run 
 Mountains, and runs east and west, being about twelve 
 miles in length and has an average width of eight 
 miles, lying about twentj- miles south of the Idaho 
 boundary. It is strictlj' an agricultural section, being 
 well watered bj* several creeks, among which are 
 White Rock and Bull Run, that flow west and empty 
 into the south fork of the Owyhee River. About four 
 thousand acres have been broken up and seeded to 
 grain and grass. Land under fence is valued at five 
 dollar.s |>er acre. The present population as ]ier 
 census of 1880 is seventy-four. 
 
 South Kork Valley beads in the J?uby, or East 
 Humboldt, range of mountains, lying between them 
 and the Inskipt Mountains, and runs nearly east and 
 west. Its length is about fifteen miles by one-half 
 mile in width on the average, and is nearly- all fenced 
 and under good cultivation. The upper end is de- 
 voted to agriculture while the lower end is used as a 
 grazing range for the thousands of cattle that find 
 pasturage upon the nutritious grasses that grow in 
 abundance upon the mountain slopes. The valley 
 terminates in a cafion on the ranch of W. A. Shep- 
 herd, the gorge stretching away for twelve miles to 
 the Humboldt River. The scenery through this 
 cafion is magnificent, and would well i-epay the 
 tourist for his trouble in visiting this locality in 
 beholding this grand upheaval of nature. The 
 Central Pacific Railroad Company owns a portion 
 of this valley, although it is nearly all occupied 
 by the settlers. Grain is the principal product, 
 though the frost sometimes happens along at a 
 time when it is of no benefit to the ranchers. 
 The crop is seldom a failure, however. Fruit does 
 not thrive, but berries, such as strawberries, goose- 
 berries, etc., arc a success. Melons are also raised at 
 the upper end of the valley. 
 
 The old Hamilton and Eureka road passes through 
 the valley, which lies directly south of the town of 
 Elko, a distance of sixteen miles. (Jottonwood grows 
 in abundance from the ranch of G. H. Shepherd, to 
 the head of the valley, a distance of some ton miles. 
 
 According to information received from the last- 
 named gentleman, the first settlers were John Rich- 
 ardson, T. Chandler, W. A. Tucker, Robert Toller 
 and \V. T. Crane, who arrived and anchored there 
 in 18G7, in the spring. G. II. Shepherd arrived in 
 18C8, and W. A. Shepherd came in 1871. 
 
 The population at this time does not exceed seven- 
 ty-five, and about thirty-five votes are polled. A fine 
 school house adorns the settlement, and two schools 
 are maintained. 
 
 W. T. CRANE 
 
 la a native of Pennsylvania, was born in the year 
 1829, in Green County, whore he passed his boy- 
 
 PHOTO. BY TOGO. SACRAMENTO, CAL. 
 
 IV. T. Crane. 
 
 hood days until sixteen years of age. In 1845 he 
 went to Illinois, and was engaged in farming until ho 
 came to the State of Nevada, in 1808. He first set- 
 tled in Austin, Lander County, adding stock-raising 
 to his former business, in which he has been success- 
 ful. In 1867 he moved to his present location. South 
 Fork Valley, Elko County, where he has since 
 resided, engaged in the same business. He has held 
 the office of Postmaster at Coral Hill, also that of 
 Justice of the Peace. On the first of January, 1857, 
 he was married to KlizaWallace, a native of Sangamon 
 County, Illinois, their union proving fruitful, eleven 
 children having been born to them, ten of whom are 
 now living. The following are the names of the 
 children, and the date of their birth: — 
 
 Geo. W. W., born January o, 1858; Jessie Rae, 
 born March 2G, 1800; Knox A., born November 1(5, 
 1861; Mary E, born April 18, 1865; Lizzie L., born 
 January 28, 1867; Henry Shepherd, born February 
 14, 186!l; Emma Francos, born January 2S, 1871; 
 Charles Humboldt, born December 20, 1872; Andrew 
 li., born May 15, 1875; Jennie B., born October 27, 
 1877; James M., born .May 11, 1879. Jessie Rao, the 
 second child, died August 6, 1861. 
 
 Star Valley heads in the Rubj- range of mountains, 
 its general direction being north and south — is about 
 twelve miles in length with an average width of 
 eight miles, and lies twenty miles southwest from 
 the town of Wells. There is an abundance of water 
 flowing through the valley, the principal creeks 
 being Herders, Arikler, Deering and Boulder, which 
 rise in the Rub}^ range and traverse the valley, 
 
392 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 greatly to the advantage of the ranchers. Wood 
 is procured from the mountains, consisting of mount- 
 ain mahogany, yellow pine and aspen. Barley is 
 the principal grain jiroduct, though wheat and oats 
 are raised to a considerable extent. The frost has 
 never injured the crops, with the exception of one 
 season. Crickets have made their appearance, but 
 have never seriously injured the grain. Stock-rais- 
 ing is a prominent feature in this locality, the cattle 
 finding excellent pasturage along the streams and 
 on "the neighboring mountain slopes. 
 
 A public school was established in 187G, which 
 has an average attendance of sixteen pupils. The 
 school building, which was erected in the latter year, 
 is an ornament to the section, and would do justice 
 to any ordinary city. The building and furniture 
 cost SI, 250. When the small number of population 
 is considered — only about 150, with twenty-five 
 voters — this institution reflects great credit upon the 
 little band of pioneers, who, isolated as they are, 
 desire to give the young a chance for an education. 
 The nearest post-office to this place is at Deeth's 
 Station, on the Central Pacific itailroad. 
 
 Thousand Spring Valley, at the source of the 
 Humboldt River, is another great grazing section, 
 and largo quantities of hay are here yearly cut. 
 This place in former times was a goal toward which 
 the weary emigrant hopefully plodded, knowing 
 that if once reached his foot-worn and emaciated 
 cattle could speedily recruit. The valley receives 
 its name from innumerable springs — some of cold, 
 some of warm and others of mineral water. On 
 the northeast are the Goose Creek Mountains, and 
 the canon of the Humboldt affords egress to its 
 waters at the southwest. To the northward is a 
 high plateau, also abounding in springs, in which 
 heads the many creeks and tributaries of Snake 
 River, whose waters flow into the Columbia and 
 thence to the Pacific. Notwithstanding its eleva- 
 tion, there is no barrenness ; it abounds in forage 
 throughout valley and hill, offering superior induce- 
 ments to stock-raisers. 
 
 PRINCIPAL .MINING DISTRICTS. 
 
 ALABA.MA Dlstrict lies forty miles north of Hum- 
 boldt Wells, and was discovered in 1871 by Messrs. 
 Noll and Slack. Several locations were made, but 
 only a small amount of work has ever been done 
 in the district. A shaft was sunk to a depth of 
 fifty feet, which disclosed a vein of considerable 
 thickness. Water caused a cessation of work. Some 
 of the ore taken out was shipped to Winnemucca, 
 and worked there. The Dayton is the chief mine. 
 
 Aurora District was discovered in December. 
 1875, at which time its organization took place, and 
 several locations were made. A code of laws was 
 adopted in regard to the water privileges, locations, 
 etc. Wood and water are found in abundance in 
 close proximity to the mines. Developments arc in 
 order; the indications are fair. 
 
 Bruneau District is situated about two miles 
 from Island Mountain District, and is, therefore, 
 about seventy-five miles north of Elko. It was 
 formerly known as the W^^oming. Limestone, 
 granite, sla*,e, and quartzite'are the prevailing rock 
 formations, and the ore found here is comparatively 
 rich. Wood and water are found in abundance in 
 convenient distances, making the facilities for min- 
 ing exceedingly good. The Mordis is the principal 
 mining company. Their prospects were good, but for 
 undefinable reasons the place is deserted. It was 
 hero that G. W. Marlis was killed by a Chinaman 
 on the eleventh of September, he being the only 
 white man left in the district. The first location 
 was made in July, 1869. 
 
 Cave Creek District lies twelve miles north of 
 F'ort Ruby, on the eastern slope of the Ruby Mount- 
 ains, near the summit. The organization of the dis- 
 trict took place on the fourth day of June. 18G!t, 
 having been discovered in the preceding month of 
 May by General Ewing. There is an abundance 
 of wood and water close by the location. The 
 Amazon, Mississippi, Dodds, Exchequer, Enterprise, 
 Longmore, Murphy, and others, are claims which 
 were located the same month in which the district 
 was organized. The country rock is limestone, and 
 the ore carries lead, copper, and chloride of silver. 
 
 Centennial District was originally named Bull 
 Run, and afterward changed to White Rock, and 
 finally received the name it now beai's. The mines 
 were discovered in 1SG8, but the district was not 
 properly organized until June 21, 18G9. It is situ- 
 ated in the Bull Hun range of mountains, sixty- five 
 miles, air line, north of the town of Elko. About two 
 hundred locations were made soon after the organi- 
 zation of the district. The chief formations of the 
 mountains in which the mines are situated are gran- 
 ite and limestone, with a bolt of porphyry between 
 the two. James Patterson, now of Carlin, was the 
 first Recorder. Wood in abundance is found in 
 close proximity to the mines, consisting of ma- 
 hogany, tir, white and yellow pine, pifion, juniper, 
 Cottonwood and alder Sufficient water for all 
 purposes is found in the canons in the immediate 
 vicinity of the mines. The Blue Jacket ia one of 
 the principal mines and has a twentj'-stamp mill 
 and two Bruckner furnaces. Among the other 
 prominent mines are the Porter, Tuscarora, On- 
 tario, Potosi and Revenue, upon which considerable 
 work has been done. This is a fine agricultural 
 section, there being some fine cultivated ranches 
 on Silver Creek, a few miles to the northwest. 
 
 Cope District was organized .May 27, ISGP. It is 
 situated on the Owyhee River, about twelve miles 
 from the Slate line. Plenty of wood and water are 
 found in the immediate vicinity, and in Duck \'alley, 
 twelve miles away are some fine agricultural lands. 
 The character of the formation and veins here is 
 similar to that of Ueose River District, in Lander 
 
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 RANCt-i r" r;E:5iDENCE<>' A.B. FITCH. 
 
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 RESIDENCE ,.'" DAIRY RANCH »• T. B. SMITH. 
 
 SMITH VALLEr, ESM E RALDA C?, N EV. 
 
HISTORY OF ELKO COUNTY. 
 
 393 
 
 County. The ores also contain considerable horn 
 silver near the surface. The Excelsior and El 
 Dorado were among the princij)al mines. The 
 former was put on the stock board at San Francisco, 
 at KHi.iion shares, and was quoted in 1S73 at S2.'M). 
 A shaft was sunk to a depth of about liOO feet on this 
 mine and another on the Argenta reached a depth 
 of 240 feet. Mountain City grew up in consequence 
 of this discoveiy, and at one time was one of the 
 most prosperous mining towns in the State. In 
 1871-72 it contained about 1,000 people, some of the 
 buildings were of cut stone and two were built of 
 brick. The frame buiMings have near)}' all been 
 moved awaj". There is one, out of twelve hotels. 
 that still continues business, also one store. The 
 closing down of the E.xcelsior in the fall of 1873 
 caused the decline ot the town. 
 
 Cornucopia District was discovered in August, 
 1872, by Mart Durfee, and organized during the 
 same month. It lies about sixty-five miles north of 
 Carlin. There are at present onlj- about ten miners 
 at work in the district, though about fifty locations 
 have been made. The principal mines are the 
 Leopard, Hussey, Panther and F'isher, the first two 
 being the only ones upon which work is now done. 
 The quartz veins are found principally in porphyry, 
 and run northeast and southwest with the forma- 
 tion, and dip at an angle of 45° to the southeast. The 
 ores are mostlj' free-milling, silver-bearing, carrying 
 some gold, and are worked by the roasting process. 
 
 The only quartz mills built in this district were by 
 the Leopard .Mining t'ompanj', first a ten-stamp, 
 which was consumed by fire and replaced by a 
 twenty-stamp mill at a cost of Slli;{,000, which was 
 likewise destroyed on the eleventh of July, 1880. 
 This company sunk a shaft on their mine a distance 
 of 800 feet. The longest tunnel in the district is on 
 the Fisher mine, which is 250 feet. 
 
 Freights are received from the town of Carlin, and 
 are hauled to the district at a cost of two cents per 
 pound. The ores are shipi)ed to Bull ituii and Tus- 
 carora, for working. Wood and timber are procured 
 from the Jack Creek range of mountains, a distance 
 of sixteen miles away. 
 
 The excitement incident to the discover}* of this 
 district caused the building of the town of Cornu- 
 cojiia, which at one time, in 1874, was quite lively 
 and containe<l about l.ddO inhabitants, and polled a 
 vote of 400. Considerable business was transacted 
 during the excitement, requiring five stores and other 
 buildings in jiroportion. It was a prosperous town 
 until the destruction of the quartz mill, since when 
 the population has steadily decreased until there are 
 very few people left in the place. The census of ]8S(I 
 places the number ;it 174. A fine twostory hotel, 
 containing thirty rooms, is the only one running at 
 this time. In 1874 L. I. Ilogle erected a large 
 boarding-house and saloon, at a cost of 88,0(10. 
 
 Delano District is situated north from the town 
 
 of Tocoma, distant about thirty miles. The prevail- 
 ing geological formations are limestone and porphyry. 
 Very little work has been done in this district, 
 though quite a number of locations were made. 
 Wood and water for all purposes are found in the 
 vicinity. There were hopes at one time that the 
 mines would be developed by the Servia and Slavonia 
 Mining Companj', which incorporated in San Fran- 
 cisco for that purpose, but these hopes were never 
 realized. It is a quiet place at the present time. 
 
 DoiJ.Y Vauden District is located about sixty 
 miles south of Toano, and was organized in 1872. 
 No work is being performed there at the present 
 time, though the localitj- was considered good about 
 eight years ago. The prevailing formation is lime- 
 stone, and the ores are of a character requiring the 
 smelting process. There being a scarcity of water 
 along the wagon road from the nearest railroad 
 station makes freighting veiy costi}-. Wood is 
 found in the vicinity in quantities for all j)urpose8. 
 
 Good Hope District lies in Elko County, about 
 twenty -five miles northwest of Tuscarora. and was 
 discovered in 1878, the nearest post-office being Cor- 
 nucopia. The place was originally called Aurora. 
 Miners' cabins constitute the village. There are at 
 present about fifteen miners in the district, but about 
 fifty locations have been made. The principal mines 
 being Tiger, I'age and Kelly, Snyder, Voii and I, 
 Amazon, Kattler, Golden Era, Buckej'c, Aurora, 
 Atlantic Cable, Trade Dollar, and Silver Brick. The 
 veins run principally north and south with the forma- 
 tion, which is porphyry, anddij) at an angle of about 
 75° degrees west. The ores are usually free-milling, 
 and are worked by the Freiburg, or roasting, pro- 
 cess. The ledges are silver-bearing, with a slight 
 trace of gold. The deepest shaft is on the Page 
 and Kelly, and has reached a depth of 110 feet. 
 The ores are shipped principallj- to Tuscarora, 
 some going lo Salt Lake, Utah, however. Freights 
 are received by team from Cornucopia and 
 Tuscarora, at an expense of fifteen to twenty 
 dollars per ton, during the summer months. The 
 wood supply is principally of sage-brush for fuel, 
 but the timbers for mining purposes are obtained 
 in the Bull l{un Mountains, and hauled to this dis- 
 trict. Amazon and Four-mile Creeks furnish the 
 water supply. The population of the district is 
 sixty. 
 
 (ioosE Creek Distuict lies in the mountains bear- 
 ing the same appellatiiui, about thirty miles north 
 of Tecoma, a station on the Central Pacific Railroad. 
 The mines were first <liscovered by an Indian, who 
 pointed them out to Messrs. Thomas and Brown. The 
 organization took place in the summer of 1872, and 
 about ninet}' locations were made. The geological 
 formation is limestone and [lorphyry, the veins vary- 
 ing in width, and crop out in many places on the sur- 
 face. Wood and water are very scarce in the 
 immediate vicinity, though there is a good supply 
 
394. 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 within a radius of four or five miles. Assays give 
 from SI 60 to 8350 per ton. Some work is being per- 
 formed in the district at the present time. 
 
 Grand Junction District is well wooded, and has 
 an abundant supply of water. It is situated about 
 fifty-five miles from Klko. in a northerly direction, 
 and quite a number of locations were made, but no 
 important results were obtained. It is now lying 
 ijuiet, those holding claims living in hopes of further 
 development. 
 
 Granite Mountain IJistrict lies three miles west 
 of Dolly Varden District, in the same range of 
 mountains. It was located in August, 1872, by 
 William Muncey and Judge Eciliy. The ore is prin- 
 cipally copper. Work is entirely suspended at the 
 present time. 
 
 Halleck District is situated about six miles from 
 the Fort bearing the same name, and is on the 
 northwestern slope of the Ruby range of mountains. 
 It was organized during the summer of 1873, and 
 quite a number of locations were made by the 
 otticcrs and soldiers from the Fort. (iold and sil- 
 ver are found in small quantities in the ore veins. 
 Work is suspended at this time. 
 
 Hick's District is situated near the Island, Mount- 
 ain District, distant about ten miles. There are some 
 prospectors still there who firmly believe in this 
 eventually becoming a noted locality. The McDon- 
 ald mine was bonded at one time for a considerable 
 sum, that and the mine bearing the same name as 
 the district, being the principal locations. Some 
 very good ore has been produced by both these 
 mines. 
 
 Island Mountain District was organized in Sep- 
 tember, 1S73, and is situated seven t^'-fivo miles north 
 from Elko, and twenty-five miles south from the 
 Idaho line, near the Eruneau Mountain. The orig- 
 inal discoverers were E. Penrod, C. T. Russell and 
 W. D. Newton, the first named being one of the 
 discoverers of the Comstock Lode in ISSO. In 1875 
 a town started up, and several bouses were built, 
 but in 1878 it declined and only a few buildings 
 remain, among which are a hotel and blacksmith 
 shop, also a Chinese store. The principal features 
 in this district are the placer mines, though (piartz 
 is found to some extent, generally in porphyry forma- 
 tion. The principal mines are the Owyhee and Hope 
 Consolidated, Groelm and French, and W. A. Penrod. 
 There are only five white men and fifty Chinamen 
 in the district, though about 100 locations have been 
 made. The (|uartz veins run northwest and south- 
 east, with the formation, and generally dip about 
 40° to the northeast. The veins carry but little 
 silver, but go from §20 to 8400 in gold, which is 
 worth 819.50 per ounce. The longest tunnel is on 
 the Island .Mountain Mine, and is about sixty feet; 
 the deepest shaft is on the Golden Star, and is about 
 seventy-five feet. The latter mine was recently sold 
 
 by Henry G. Catlin to a New York company, but 
 the purchasers have not yet commenced operations. 
 Freight is received from Elko, and costs about thirtj' 
 dollars per ton. Wood is found in abundance in the 
 mountains four or five miles distant, and consists 
 principally of mountain mahogony and cottonwood. 
 There arc no ores now worked in this district, but it 
 is expected that when the new company begins ope- 
 rations those who have retained their interests in the 
 district, will realize the fruition of their fondest hopes. 
 The Owyhee Canal in connection with this district, 
 deserves mention. It was built by a company which 
 organized in 1874, with J. W. Pence as President, 
 but is owned and controlled at the present time by 
 E. Penrod. Its total length is about ten miles, 
 including the branches, which aggregate about three 
 miles, and has a capacity of 500 inches of water. It 
 has a reservoir located two miles from the lower 
 end, that covers an area of two acres, and cost about 
 81,000. The total cost was about 810,000. Unfort 
 unately there is only suflScieiit water to keep it run- 
 ning two months in the year to its full capacity. 
 The altitude is 7,500 feet, and the winter weather 
 is severe. In the spring the melting of the snow 
 on the mountains produces the water supply. 
 
 KiNGSLEY District was originally located in Decem- 
 ber, 1862, by Felix O'Neil, and is situated in the 
 Antelope Mountains, about ten miles north of the 
 old emigrant road. After partially organizing, and 
 doing nearly, a month's work on the claim, Mr. 
 O'Neil was driven from the locality- bj' the Mor- 
 mons. In 1865 the claims were discovered by a 
 soldier named George Kingsley, and the district 
 was reorganized under the above title. It lies in 
 the second range of mountains east of Egan Canon, 
 in a country abounding with wood and grass; water 
 in limited quantities is found in springs. In 1867 
 about thirtj- shafts were sunk, varying in depth 
 from twenty to 100 feet. The geological formation 
 of the district is granite and limestone. Rich cop- 
 per oi'e is found here, and a furnace, omploj'ing 
 twenty men, is running. The district is about 
 seventj' miles from Toano, and about thirty-five 
 miles from Schellbourne. 
 
 Kit Carson District lies in a northerly direction 
 from Humboldt Wells, distant about sixtj' miles, 
 and was organized in 1872 by the same parties who 
 located the Salmon District. Quite a number of 
 locations were made, but developments are still 
 necessary. The formations are granite and lime- 
 stone. The ores contain gold, silver, and copper. 
 Little, if any, work is in progress there at the pres- 
 ent time. 
 
 liONE Mountain District wa» organized in June, 
 1869, and is situated about thirty miles in a north- 
 erlj- direction from the town of Elko. Considerable 
 excitement prevailed incident to the discovery of 
 this mining locality, but soon died out from the 
 want of confidence. Wood is scarce in the district, 
 
HISTORY OF ELKO COUNTY. 
 
 39c 
 
 but water in sufficient quantities m obtained from 
 springs in the immediate vicinity. There are four 
 or five miners at work there at the pre.sent lime. 
 W. R. Litchfield was the first Recorder. 
 
 LrciNE, OR RuELi,, District is situated about five 
 miles from Tecoma, southeast of the Central Pacific 
 Railroad; a portion of it lying in Utah, but the prin- 
 cipal locations are in this State. There are several 
 mines which produce smelting ore, one of them hav- 
 ing a furnace verj- complete in its appointments, 
 which was erected and ei|ui])])ed at an expense of 
 nearly §4(1,000. This furnace is idle at present, and 
 is the property of the estate of 1. C. Bateman. The 
 town was quite lively at one time, and there is still 
 considerable pruspocling in the vicinitj'. The [jopiila- 
 tion has dwindled down to about a dozen people. 
 There is one hotel, one brcwerj', and a lew houses. 
 The ores are chiefly lead, but carry a large per- 
 centum of silver. Some beautiful specimens of wol- 
 framine from this camp were exhibited at the Cen- 
 tennial Exhibition, and received a prize medal. They 
 were the property of Mr. Adams. 
 
 Murray District is situated in the northwest cor- 
 ner of the county, and was organized in July, 18(59. 
 The Eclipse, Wool, Kansas, Black Eagle, St. George, 
 Raven, Lodi, and others, were at one time considered 
 good claims. On the Wool claim there was a tunnel 
 run about eighty-five feet. Shafts were sunken other 
 mines, but at the present time nothing is doing in the 
 district. 
 
 Rock Creek District was discovered in August, 
 187t), and is situated at the head of the creek, from 
 which it is named, about ten miles distant from the 
 town of Tiiscarora, in a westerly' direction. (Jood 
 prospects are found, and about twenty-five miners 
 are at work in the district. Wood and water are 
 found in suflicient ipiantities for mining purposes in 
 the immediate vicinity. 
 
 Salmon District is situated near the Kit Carson, 
 and about sixty miles north of the town of Toano.on 
 the Salmon Falls iiiver. It was organized in 1872 
 by Messrs. Hanks, Noll, and Lewis. The ores are 
 principally copper, several tons of which have been 
 shipped to San Francisco. Developments arc neces- 
 sary in order to judge what this district is capable 
 of producing. There are some fine agricultural lands 
 in the vicinity. 
 
 Sooner District, formerly known as " Fair 
 Weather," is situated about ten miles east of Mount- 
 ain City, in the Bruneau range of mountains. It 
 was first located in April, 1870, and organized in the 
 following July. The geological formation is granite. 
 The ores are argentiferous galena and copper. Wood 
 and water for mining purposes are found in sufficient 
 quantities near the location. The district at present 
 is abandoned. 
 
 Spruce Mountain District is situated about forty 
 miles south of Humboldt Wells and due east from 
 Elko. It was a lively camp in its earlier days, and 
 
 still continues to exist, after experiencing many se- 
 rious drawbacks. The Ingot Mining Company 
 erected a magnificent smelting furnace at an enor- 
 mous outlay, and for a time bid fair to astonish the 
 world with its ))roduction of bullion; but for some 
 unaccountable reason the furnace was closed down 
 in 1872, long before the ore veins gave evidence of 
 being worked out. The district is well watered and 
 an abundant supply of wood is found very conven- 
 ient to the mines. Other companies erected furnaces, 
 and a bold endeavor was made to keep this camp 
 in a lively condition, but to no purpose. The geo- 
 logical formation of the district is limestone and 
 porphyry. Among the most prominent claims lo- 
 cated there in the palmy days of this camp were the 
 Star King, Latham, Fourth of July, Black Forest, 
 Melrose, Iroquois Chief and others. 
 
 A New York company is putting up a large furnace 
 at the present time, which will undoubtedly enliven 
 things, and greater developments in the near future 
 may be looked for. The camp at present contains 
 two hotels, two saloons, one livery stable, one black- 
 smith shop, one butcher sho]), six families and fifty 
 miners. 
 
 TuscARORA District was organized in July, 1867, 
 and lies in the mountains bearing the same name, 
 about fortj^-five miles north from the town of Carlin, 
 which is the nearest railroad station. The Owyhee 
 River has its source in this locality, the waters of 
 which flow into the Pacific Ocean. The district 
 was discovei-ed by the Beard Hrothers, but the 
 work was confined mostly" to placer mining for some 
 time thereafter. The principal quartz mines are 
 Grand Prize, Argenla, Independence, Navajo, Belle 
 Isle, Young America, South, Silver Star, Silver Prize, 
 Star Spangled Banner and Commonwealth. The 
 geological formation is iiorph}^-^-, the veins gener- 
 ally running with the formation. The (Jrand Prize 
 vein runs east and west while nearly all the others 
 run north and south, and generally dip at an 
 angle of 45° north, the Belle Isle lying nearlj' flat. 
 The ores are nearly all free-milling, and carry gold 
 in considerable quantities near the surface, which 
 diminishes as the dc])th increases. The greatest 
 depth of shaft was on the Grand Prize, about 600 
 feet. The longest tunnel is on the Independence 
 Mine, which is about 1,.")00 feet. 
 
 Pine, fir and cottonwood timber is obtained from 
 the Jack Creek Mountains, a distance of from ton to 
 sixteen miles. The water supply for mining pur- 
 poses is obtained from the mine. F'reight is received 
 by teams from Carlin and Elko, and costs from one 
 and one-fourth to three cents per pound. At pres- 
 ent there are about 500 miners in the district. 
 
 WvoMiNfi Dlstrict is situated about twent}' miles 
 southeast of Cope District, and was discovered in 
 October, 1869. Organization took place on the fol- 
 lowing third of November. The geological forma- 
 tion is granite and slate, with limestone near the 
 
39G 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Ruramit. In the mountains fir timber is found, while 
 along the creek, which flows through the center of 
 the district, cottonwood grows to a considerable 
 extent. In the cafions are fine springs of clear, cold 
 mountain water. Among the ])riiKipal mines are 
 the Mountain King, Uhrysopolis and Miners Delight. 
 The courses of these leads are northeast, and dip at 
 an angle of 30° to the southeast. The ores contain 
 silver, copper, antimony and arsenic. There ie very 
 little work being performed at the present time. 
 
 Mineral So.\i> Mine: A very remarkable deposit of 
 mineral soap was discovered by the Hon. G. II. 
 Shepherd in October, 1875, near the junction of 
 Smith Creek and the south fork of the Little Hum- 
 boldt Eiver. It lies south of the railroad, and was 
 discovered while in search of coal deposits. The for- 
 mation in which the soap is found is of limestone. A 
 stratum of coal one-half inch in thickness, lies fifty 
 feet beneath this vein. The soap and coal veins lie 
 horizontal, ai.d parallel with, and in many respects 
 bear a strong resemblance to each other. It is free 
 from grit and makes a fine toilet soap, though not 
 strong enough for bleaching or washing purposes. 
 It is easily dug out with a shovel, and when dry 
 crumbles to a dry powder. 
 
 An analysis made by a chemist gave the following 
 qualitative result : Silicic acid, sesquioxide of alumi- 
 num, magnesia, oxide of iron, traces of lime, and 
 water — corresponding to a mixture of clay and 
 steatite, tinged by iron. 
 
 PRINCIPAL TOWNS AND CITIES. 
 
 Carlin dates back in the annals of time to the 
 year 1868. J. A. Palmer was the first settler, he 
 having located in the month of July of that year. 
 In the following September, S. Pierce joined with 
 Mr. Palmer, and stands second on the list of pio- 
 neers of the town. In 186!) C. Boyen, James Clark, 
 and others, settled there. This being the end of the 
 Humboldt Division of the Central Pacific Railroad, a 
 town sprang into existence in a very short time. 
 The place is located on the Humboldt Piver bot- 
 tom, with mountains on the north and south. 
 The altitude, b}- railroad survej-, is 4,897 feet. The 
 round-house and car-shops of the Central Pacific 
 Railroad being located at this place, gives it a 
 lively appearance, t'arlin was most prosperous in 
 1871, at which time there were about eight hun- 
 dred inhabitants, while at the present time it has 
 but about five hundred. The nearest towns are 
 Klko, twenty-live miles east, I'alisado; nine miles 
 west, both on the line of the railroad ; Tuscarora 
 is forty miles north. 
 
 The wood supply for the place is obtained from 
 the mountains and consists of juniper and cotton- 
 wood. Water is procured from wells. One school 
 house adorns the place, built in 1871, at an expense 
 of 81,500, which sum was raised principally by sub- 
 scription. The building is of wood, is 30x60 feet, 
 and will seat 100 scholars. The average attendance 
 
 of children is about thirt3--five. There is a Sunday- 
 school with about fifty scholars, held under the 
 auspices of the Episcopalian denomination; also a 
 lodge of the Independent Order of (rood Templars, 
 and one of the King Solomon Brotherhood. 
 
 Stock-raising and ranching is carried on to a con- 
 siderable extent easterly of the town, many of the 
 old settlers being engaged in those pursuits. On the 
 night of November 28, 1879, the library building, 
 furnished by the railroad company, was entirelj' 
 consumed by fire, likewise 1,1(10 volumes of books, 
 a piano, and the furniture, entailing a loss of $3,000, 
 on which there was an insurance of 82,000. The 
 value of taxable property in the township, not 
 including that belonging to the railroad company, is 
 about S50.000. There is a cemetery which is enclosed, 
 but as the locality is exceedingly' healthy, and there 
 being no prevalent diseases," it has been but little 
 used. 
 
 At present Carlin contains the railroad machine 
 shops and round-house, four stores, one hotel, two 
 saloons, two restaurants, two blacksmith shops, six 
 other ])laces of industrj-, one telegraph office, one 
 express office, one ])hysician, and one jail. 
 
 Elko is the county seat of Elko County, and is situ- 
 ated on the north side of the Humboldt River, on the 
 line of the Central Pacific Railroad, at an altitude of 
 5,000 feet above the sea level, (reorge F. Paddle- 
 ford is credited with being the first settler, he having 
 anchored there as early as the first of December, 
 1869. Fred. Wilson came during the same month. 
 CdI. Frank Denver and Len Wines had selected this 
 point early in 1869 as the most eligible for the 
 receipt and discharging of freights and passengers 
 from the railroads to the White Pino mining dis- 
 tricts, and a road was laid out and constructed by 
 these gentlemen connecting the two points. A line 
 of stages was started by them, and were followed by 
 Wells, Fargo & Co. and Hill Beachy & Co. Soon 
 after this the railroad company laid out the town 
 site and sold lots, through their agent, D. H. Has 
 kell, at prices ranging from 83(10 to 8500 per lot of 
 25x100 feet. These same lots sold, in the following 
 June, for from 81.5(10 to 82,000, at which time the 
 population had increased to 2,000, and the town 
 contained 500 houses including shanties and tents. 
 
 The nearest towns are Carlin, twenty-five miles 
 west, and Wells, fiftj'-five miles east, both on the 
 line of the Central Pacific Railroad. 
 
 The Prosbj-terian denomination has a church 
 built of wood, which cost about 82,0(MI, and will 
 seat 200 people. Two other religious organizations 
 are in existence. The Presbj'terians also conduct a 
 Sunday-school, containing about ninety scholars. 
 
 Among the corporations are a large Milling Com- 
 pany, with a flouring mill, built at a cost of 812,000; 
 the Elko .Mining and Soap Deposit Company, f)rgan- 
 ized in May, 1879; and the Water Company, organ- 
 ized in 1873. Water for the use of the town is 
 taken from the Humboldt River, and conducted in 
 
HISTORY OF ELKO COUNTY. 
 
 397 
 
 pipes wlierevcr required. The supply is unlimited. 
 
 Freights are shipped from this point to Tuscarora, 
 Kailroiid District, and to the neighboring valleys, at 
 a cost of from three-fourths to one cent per pound; 
 and supplies are received from San Francisco and 
 the East. 
 
 There is considerable stock-raising and farming 
 ill the neighborhood, large quantities of wheat and 
 barley being raised, most of which is shipped to 
 the mines in the interior. 
 
 The Masons, Odd Fellows, Good Templars, For- 
 resters, and Patrons of Husbandry, all have their 
 lodges, and are generally in a flourishing condition. 
 The first two mentioned own cemeteries for the 
 burial of deceased members, which are enclosed and 
 decorated. There is no public cemetery in the 
 town. The prevalent diseases of the locality are 
 of pulmonary character, but, as a general thing, the 
 place is verj- healthy. 
 
 A school house of brick, 20x60 feet, with a seat- 
 ing capacity of 200, employing three teachers, with 
 an attendance of about !')(( scholai-s, is a noted 
 feature, and a credit to the inhabitants. There is 
 also a public hospital that ranks well with similar 
 institutions elsewhere. 
 
 The total value of taxable pi'operty in the town- 
 ship is about 8341,000; and the total length of the 
 streets is about four miles, which are well supplied 
 with sidewalks of brick and planks. 
 
 About one mile from the town are situated the 
 Hot Sulphur Springs, one of those strange freaks of 
 nature for which the State of Nevada is noted. 
 
 The Elko Independent, a daily and weeklj^ news- 
 paper, is published with S. S. Sears as editor and 
 proprietor. The State University is located here. 
 
 Elko has been visited by the fiery elements at 
 dift'erent times, the most disastrous of which 
 occurred on the nineteenth of October, 1871, when 
 that portion of the town Ij'ing between Fourth and 
 Fifth .Streets, on Commercial, was destroyed, includ- 
 ing a large portion of Silver Street, known as China- 
 town. The loss was upwards of 875,000, on which 
 there was an insurance of about $10,000. On the 
 twentj'-first of Janiiarj-, 1875, another extensive fire 
 burned that portion of Commercial Street lying 
 between Fifth and Sixth Streets, with the exception 
 of the two corner buildings. The loss incurred at 
 this fire amounted to about §20,000. 
 
 A jail, built of brick, with iron cage ceils, the 
 structure costing SI 0.000, stands as a warning to 
 evil-doers. 
 
 At present the town contains 800 population, ten 
 stores, one hotel, seven saloons, two restaurants, two 
 livery stables, two blacksmith shops, one lumber 
 yard and ten other ])laces of industry; one clergy- 
 man, five lawyers, two physicians, and two other pro- 
 fessional men. 
 
 IlKNRY JI.MITI.N (IKANT, 
 
 Son of Cyril R. and Abby Falcs (Mason) Grant, was 
 born in Wooiisockett, lihode Island, September 4, 
 50 
 
 1812. He received a thorough education, his in- 
 tention being to adopt the profession of civil engi- 
 neer. At the age of eighteen 3-ears he left school, and 
 was occupied in various clerical duties until 1863, 
 when ho engaged as clerk and accountant for a 
 copper mining compaiij-, in the Lake Superior 
 country. This he continued until 1866, when ho 
 came to the Pacific Coast in the interests of a New 
 York com]>an}-, who were devclo|)ing mines in Nye 
 County ill this State. Ho remained in their employ 
 two and a half years as chief accountant. In 1868, 
 he returned to the East and was married to Miss N. 
 Arda JJorison, daughter of D. H. Rorison, of Ypsi- 
 lanti, Michigan. Mrs. Grant was born in Seneca 
 County, New York, a lad}' of unusual force of char- 
 acter, excellent judgment and cultivated tastes; and, 
 after a life of usefulness, departed this life. May 31, 
 1878. Upon the return of our subject to this coast, ho 
 accepted a position with the Owyhee Mining Com- 
 pany as accountant for the working of the Poorman 
 Mine at Silver Citj-, Idaho, where he remained until 
 1870, at which time he engaged in the banking 
 business in .Mountain City. I'iko County, Nevada, for 
 himself. He followed this business for three years, 
 but failing to bo remunerative it was abandoned, 
 leaving him somewhat embarrassed; but through his 
 extra exertions, and pure self-denial, he paid his in- 
 debtedness dollar for dollar. In 1873, he engaged 
 
398 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 as cashier in a banking house at Elko, Elko County, 
 Nevada, and there continued until 1880, when he 
 was appointed, by Wells, Fargo & Co., as their agent 
 in the same town, which position he now holds, and 
 conducts in connection therewith, a general insur- 
 ance business. In 1878, he received the Eepubli- 
 can nomination for County Treasurer, and was 
 elected by a majority of G27 votes, this in a strongly 
 Democratic county, being a strong indorsement of 
 his standing in the community. Mr. Grant is, at 
 present, also largely interested in stock-raising and 
 farming in Ruby Valley, Elko County. He has an 
 interesting family of three children: Harry M., born 
 January 15, 1872; Adele, bom March 31, 1874; and 
 Sarah A., born July 15, 1875. 
 
 Fort Halleck was established in July, 1867, by 
 Capt. S. P. Smith, of the Eighth United States 
 Cavalry, under orders from the General commanding 
 the Department of California. This fort is on the 
 right bank of Cottonwood Creek, about six miles 
 from its source, and the same distance above its 
 junction with Secret Creek, thirty miles southeast 
 from the town of Elko. It is in latitude 40° 48' 45" 
 north, longitude 115° 19' 34" west, altitude 5,800 feet, 
 magnetic variation 10° 21' 24", and has a post-office, 
 at present in charge of Charles E. Maj'er. The 
 military reservation covers about nine square miles. 
 There are no large tribes of Indians now in this 
 vicinity. A few wandering Shoshones are seen occa- 
 sionally. 
 
 The East Humboldt Range is directly back of the 
 fort. Several of the peaks rise to a height of 12,000 
 feet above the sea. The range is scantily covered 
 with a growth of mahogany, pine, cedar, and aspen. 
 In the canon is a fair growth of Cottonwood, poplar 
 and willow. 
 
 The soil is a rich, black loam, quite fertile when 
 irrigated. The country is exposed to frosts almost 
 every month in the j-ear, so that only the hardier 
 vegetables can be raised. Juno, July and August 
 are generally very warm. The winters are usually 
 long and the snow-fall very heavj'. The prevailing 
 wind is from the southwest. The annual rain-iall 
 at the fort in three years was fi.Gl inches. The 
 health of the country is excellent. The mean tem- 
 perature is 46°. The maximum tompcraluro for 
 several years past was 108°. Minimum, 27° below 
 zero. Maj. Geo. B. Sanford, of the First United 
 Slates Cavalry, is commander of the fort. The gar- 
 rison consists of Company I, First United States 
 Cavalry and Company G, Eighth United States 
 Infantry. 
 
 HON. J. B. TOLLEY 
 
 Is a native of La Fayette County, Wisconsin. When 
 but thirteen years of age, ho started for California 
 by the overland route in company with a brother, 
 and being a delicate boy sufl'ered greatly from the 
 privations consequent upon such a long and tedious 
 trip. His first occupation after reaching the land of 
 gold was mining at Placorvillo, El Dorado County, 
 
 V/ ,/ '■ 
 
 J. B. Tolley. 
 
 California, where he was not favored by dame for- 
 tune, and soon afterwards accepted the position of 
 clerk in a grocery store at Michigan Bar, Sacra- 
 mento County, whei'o he remained during the winter. 
 In 1851, he emigrated to Trinity County, in the 
 same State, and again sought his fortune in the 
 mines on Texas Bar; but the hostility of the Indians 
 was a great hindrance, and the severity of the 
 winter of 1852, caused much suffering among the 
 bold pioneers of that region. In 18.")3. Mr. Tollej^ 
 invested in a pack-train, packing supplies from 
 Colusa to the northern mines, enduring all manner 
 of hardships in the interests of his enterprise. In 
 1854, ho returned to the State of W^isconsin, and 
 devoted himself to a course of mental culture, attend- 
 ing a select school at Mineral Point, and afterwards 
 the seminar^' at IMattsville, reaping invaluable bene- 
 fits therefrom. In 1861 he, in company with his 
 father, drove a herd of cattle across the plains to 
 Trinity County, California, and experienced great 
 trouble from the redskins, having some desperate 
 skirmishes with them. Upon his arrival in Califor- 
 nia again, he pursued mining until 1862, when he re- 
 turned to his native State. The next year he again 
 sought the Pacific Coast, accompanied by his family, 
 this time taking the route via the Isthmus of 
 Panama. For seven years he followed his old occu- 
 pation, that of mining, when he received the appoint- 
 ment as agent for Woodruff k Ennor's Stage Line, 
 at Elko, and was afterward appointed as assistant 
 superintendent of the Leopard Mill and Mining 
 Compan3% at Cornucopia. In 1876 he was elected 
 to the Assembly, and in 1878 he removed to Tus- 
 carora, his present ])Iace of residence, from whence 
 he was elected Senator from Elko County, a position 
 he now holds. 
 
HISTORY OF ELKO COUNTY. 
 
 399 
 
 Is a native of Christian county, Kentucky, and ■was 
 born on March 14, 1827. Hia parents were farm- 
 ers, and at the tender age of sixteen years ho com- 
 menced the battle of life for himself In 1845 he 
 went to New Orleans, Louisiana, and entered the em- 
 ploy of a wholesale firm as salesman. The breaking 
 out of the Mexican War caused him to leave his situ- 
 ation, and he hecanie one of the first volunteers in 
 answer to the call by General Gaines for six-months 
 men to assist General Taylor on the Rio Grande. 
 One year later he returned to Kentucky, and spent 
 the succeeding five years in the emploj- of W. \V. 
 Western, a stock dealer. 
 
 In 1853 he started, with a band of cattle, from 
 Texas for California, and spent the winter in the 
 Cherokee Country, and completed the journey the 
 next summer, delivering the stock at Redding, Shasta 
 County, California. He then remained with his 
 brother, J. A. Shepherd, at the place then known as 
 Doak & Bonsell's Kerry. 
 
 In 1858 he commenced merchandising at same 
 place, now known as Shepherd's Ferry, on the San 
 Joaquin river, in San Joaquin County. In the spring 
 of 1866 he closed out his business at that place, and, 
 
 with a large stock of goods and a band of horses, 
 went to Virginia City, Montana, disposing of them 
 at a decided advantage, and in the fall returned to 
 California. In the spring of 1SG8 he came to Nevada 
 and settled in the valley of the south fork of the 
 liumboldt River, in Elko Count}-. The next fall he 
 commenced to grade what is known as the Elko and 
 Hamilton Toll-road, the first road of the kind in 
 eastern Nevada, and for six months after its com- 
 pletion was a bonanza, but Hill Beachey constructed 
 an opposition route running parallel with it. and the 
 bonanza ceased to exist. After the White Pine 
 excitement was over his attention was turned to 
 stock-raising, a business he still follows. In the early 
 organization of Elko Count}' he was elected Countj' 
 Treasurer, and he has been twice elected to the State 
 Senate, having two years of his present term yet to 
 servo, and rejoices in the fact that ho was born a 
 Democrat and has never sold his birthright. His 
 nominations at the hands of his party have been 
 without opposition, and the journals of the State 
 Senate reveal a record of his unvaried hostility to 
 monopolies that in itself speaks volumes. It is 
 safer to trust a man's record than his promises. 
 
400 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Humboldt Wells is situated on the Central Pa- 
 cific Railroad, fifty-seven miles east of Elko and 
 thirty-!*ix miles west of Toano. It was first brought 
 into existence by the railroad company, as a station, 
 being the end of the Humboldt and Ogden Division. 
 It lies on an open plain at an altitude of 5,629 feet 
 above the sea. On the south are seen the snow- 
 capped mountains, elevated 10,700 feet above the sea 
 level, reaching with majestic grandeur away up 
 among the clouds. In every direction mountains are 
 to be seen from this town, though those on the 
 south rear themselves far above their neighbors. 
 
 The station was established in 1869, and R. P. 
 liamill was the first settler, he being the agent for 
 the railroad company, and also for Wells, Fargo & 
 Co. His date of settlement was in September of 
 the last-named year. The next settlers were H. P. 
 Renshaw and W^m. Humphreys, who opened a sa- 
 loon in a log shanty on Christmas, 1869. P. D. 
 Freese and T. A. Jones arrived in 1870. Badt & 
 Cobn opened a store in 1871. The first hotel was 
 built and opened to the public by J. H. Smith in the 
 same year, and is now known as the Depot Hotel. 
 In 1871 a stage line was established, running south, 
 by way of Spruce Mountain, to Schellbourne, and 
 that, in connection with the developments of the 
 mines, by an Eastern company from Philadelphia, 
 gave the place a start. 
 
 From 1872 until 1876 the place was most prosper- 
 ous, though the population never exceeded 300. A 
 supply of wood, consisting of mountain mahogany, 
 nut pine and cedar, is obtained in the mountains to 
 the east. The water supply is from wells and springs, 
 there being no public water-works. A school house, 
 built of wood, capable of accommodating fifty schol- 
 ars, has an attendance of about forty children, under 
 the instruction of one teacher. 
 
 Among the curiosities of nature that are found in 
 this vicinity are the celebrated Humboldt Wells, from 
 which the town derives its name, mention of which 
 is made in the general history, page 18. 
 
 On the twenty-fourth of March, 1877, there was 
 an extensive fire, that swept awaj' the main part of 
 the town, including the buildings belonging to the 
 railroad company. This was a sad blow to the busi- 
 ness interests, and the loss was very heavy, amount- 
 ing to about 850,000. The fire was undoubtedl}' of 
 incendiary origin. Another fire occurred February 
 21, 1881, which entailed a lo.ss of about §20,000. 
 Notwithstanding these calamities there is still life 
 in the place. 
 
 In the cemetery are twenty-three graves, mostly 
 of children. The prevalent diseases are mountain 
 fever and pneumonia. 
 
 Stock-raising around the outskirts oi the town is 
 quite oxtensive, though agricultural pursuits are not 
 engaged in to any great extent. 
 
 At present the place contains IfiO persons, the 
 round-house and railroad buildings, two general 
 merchandise stores, two grocery and variety stores, 
 
 one hotel, two saloons, one restaurant, two barber- 
 shops, one blacksmith-shop, one liverj' stable, two 
 breweries, one harness-shop, one Chinese store. 
 The official name of the place is Wells. 
 
 TcscARORA is one of the most prosperous towns in 
 the State, and was first started by men who were in 
 search of the gold placer mines reported, by the 
 Indians, to be located in that vicinity. According 
 to the best authority obtainable HamiUon McCan 
 was the first settler, he arriving in the month of Sep- 
 tember,1867, and during the next month, Warren Shoe- 
 craft, Tim Brown, .M. H. Black and the Beard 
 brothers, John and Stejihen, arrived there. The 
 location of the foregoing gentlemen was at Old Tus- 
 carora, about two andone-half miles southwest of the 
 present town, and is now deserted. An adobe fort 
 was built in 1868 by the settlers for protection 
 against the Indians, and is still standing. 
 
 In 1875, the discovery of silver caused an excite- 
 ment, and many people rushed to the new El Dorado 
 during the year, at which time the present town 
 was started, situated at the foot of the mountains 
 which bear its name, on the west side of Inde- 
 pendence Valley, about four miles from its head. 
 Among the first to settle in the present town was A. 
 V. Lancaster, who put up the first building, which 
 was used as a store, boarding-house, and saloon. 
 
 In 1876 it was a very lively camp and contained 
 about 3,000 inhabitants, and though the population 
 has decreased, the prosperitj- of the place still 
 remains. It is located on the foot-hills which skirt 
 the valley at an altitude of about 7,000 feet. The 
 houses are built principally of wood, though there 
 are some constructed of brick, stone and adobe. The 
 nearest towns are Cornucopia twenty-five miles, 
 Columbia forty-five miles, and Mountain City. The 
 wood supply is obtained from the mountains on the 
 opposite side of the valley, and consists of pine, Cot- 
 tonwood, quaking-aspen and alder. The water is sup- 
 plied by a private company and is obtained from the 
 mountains back of town. There are two churches, 
 Methodist and Catholic. A Sunday-school connected 
 with the former contains about sixty scholars. 
 
 The mining interests have kept (ho town in exist- 
 ence, the quartz-mills furnishing employment for 
 many men. The Grand Prize, twent}' stamps; Tus- 
 carora. Independence and Navajo, ten stamps; Lan- 
 caster, ten stamps; and De Frees, ten stamps; being 
 located at this place. 
 
 Freights are received bj- teams froin Elko and Car- 
 lin, the former fifty-eight miles, and the latter forty- 
 six miles distant. The cost of transportation from 
 these places being from one and one-quarter to three 
 cents per pound. 
 
 Tuscarora has a school of about 150 scholars, em- 
 ploying three teachers, although no regular school 
 building lias been constructed. The building used is 
 a wood structure 25x45 feet, and is rented for that 
 purpose. 
 

 
 ^ 
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 a 
 
 
 
 B.H. REYMERS. 
 
 Mrs B. H.REVMERS. 
 
 X A .♦.?.?. y. y." .♦,» 1" ? t r < t ) 1 -I , ^ f f f. . . 
 
 ^»- 
 
 ■>^i!»iv 
 
 ■ '.A.'..M. 
 
 
 
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 •UU.. 
 
 RESIDENCE AND RANCH OF B. H. REYMERS. 
 
 MASON VALLEY, ESMERALDA CO., NEVADA. 
 
HISTORY UF ESMKRAi.DA COUNTY. 
 
 401 
 
 There is eonsidoruble stock-raising in the viciniU'. 
 but agricultural pursuits are not engaged in to any 
 great extent. The Hot Springs in close proximity 
 to the place are a great natural curiosity. The 
 Ti meg- li'e clew, a daily twentj^-colunm newspaper, is 
 published here by O. L. C. Fairchild, and is one of 
 the lire papers of the State. 
 
 The town has a number of secret societies, among 
 which are Tuscarora Lodge Free and Accepted Ma- 
 sons, Tusearora and Cornucopia Lodges Independent 
 Order of Odd Kellows, also a lodge of the Independent 
 Order of Good Templars, and the Tuscai'ora Miners' 
 Union. 
 
 The total value of taxable property in the town- 
 ship is about §700,000. 
 
 Tuscarora has been very fortunate in regard to 
 fires, there having been but few of any consequence. 
 Among them was the burning of the Grand Prize 
 Mill, January 1, 1879, which caused a loss of about 
 820,000, and the destruction of J. R. Wilkin's hotel 
 and some other Iniildings, which ])roved a loss to 
 their owners of about 810, OOU, on which there was 
 an insurance of 86,0()i). 
 
 The prevalent diseases arc mountain fever, pneu- 
 monia, and diphtheria. 
 
 There is no jail, which speaks well for the inhab- 
 itants, a small lock-up answering every purpose in 
 that lino. 
 
 At present the town contains twelve stores, one 
 hotel, eleven .saloons, eight restaurants, two liverj- 
 stables, three blacksmith shops, three butcher shops, 
 one telegraph office, one express office, two assay 
 offices, two clergymen, two physicians, four lawyers. 
 
 CHAPTER X L I V . 
 HISTORY OF ESMERALDA COUNTY. 
 
 Organizatiun ami Boiiridarios — Conflict of Authority — Double 
 Courts anil Double Electiou — Unpaid Warrants — Financial 
 Statement — Change of Houmlaries — Appnintnieiitsanil Klec- 
 tion — Topography, Mines, ami Agriculture — .Settlement of 
 Mason Valley — Albert .James Barrett — Albert H. Krway — 
 J. J. Vox — .John IJurrard (lallagher — Aihim llerbolil — C. 
 Hernlel)en — Angus McLeoil — Bcrnhard H. Keymers — -Abuer 
 Stanton Hiehanlson — Warren Benjamin .Saunilers — .Settle- 
 ment of Smith's Valley — T. B. Smith — Columbus Mining 
 District — Esmeralda .Mining District, Uold .Mountain — 
 Lida Valley anil other Mining Districts — W.H.Spragg — 
 J. C. Hinds — Aban<loncd Districts — I'rincipal Towns and 
 Cities — Execution of Desperadoes in 1S|)4 — (irand Jury 
 lieport . 
 
 One of the nine counties into which the Territory 
 of Nevada was divided by the Act of the First Ter- 
 ritorial I.iegislature, api)rovod November 2"), ISdl, 
 was the county of Esmeralda, with the seat of justice 
 ^ at Aurora. The following boundaries wore given: 
 Beginning at a point where the thirty-sevcntli ])arallel 
 of north latitude intersects tlie one hundred and six- 
 teenth meridian, and running west along said thirty- 
 seventh parallel to the ("alifornia line; thence along 
 said line, in a northwesterly direction, to the sumnjit 
 of the divide between the east and west forks of the 
 
 Walker River; thence along said divide, in a north- 
 erly direction, to the head- waters of Desert Creek; 
 thence, following down the middle of said creek, to 
 a point where it debouches from the mountain; 
 thence, following the base of the mountain, to the 
 west branch of Walker River; thence across said 
 river to the base of the mountain; thence, following 
 the base of the mountain in a direct lino, as near as 
 may be, to Mason's Ranch; thence due east to the 
 one hundred and sixteenth meridian; thonco south 
 along said meridian, to place of beginning. 
 
 This vast tract, 27.") by 14(1 miles in extent, as in 
 the case of Humboldt and Churchill Counties, was 
 composed chiefly of outside and unexplored terri- 
 tory' — a country that was considered worthless, and 
 was devoid of white inhabitants. The only people 
 within its limits wore those scattered along the route 
 of travel from Carson to Aurora, in .Mason and 
 Smith Valleys, and in the town of Aurora itself. 
 The balance of the county, embracing all of the 
 territory of Nye County, then belonging to Nevada, 
 was a ban-on, unknown waste. 
 
 CONFLICT OF AUTHORITY. 
 
 The uncertainty of the exact location of the east- 
 ern boundary line of the State of California kept 
 Aurora a bone of contention between that State and 
 the Territory of Nevada for two j-ears. The spring 
 of ISGl finding Aurora a new and rapidlj- growing 
 town, and Monoville, also a new town of some im- 
 portance, the California Legislature organized the 
 county of Mono, by Act of March 24, 18G1, and es- 
 tablished the seat of justice at Aurora. The terri- 
 tory included in the new county embraced that lying 
 between Amador and Fresno Counties, and between 
 the summit of the Sierra and the eastern line of the 
 State. The Act provided also for an election, to be 
 held June 1, 18(51, for County Clerk and ex officio Re- 
 corder and Auditor, Sheriff' and e.v officio CoWcHor. 
 District Attorney, Assessor, Treasurer. Surveyor, 
 Coroner and three Supervisors. The Governor was 
 to appoint a C'ounty Judge. These officers were to 
 hold office for the full term, commencing ai the next 
 annual election for Assemblyman. The new countj' 
 was attached to Tuolumne for re])resentative pur- 
 poses. P.J. Hickey, W. M. Boring, K.W.Casey, 
 C. N. Noteware, L. A. Brown, G. \V. Bailey and T. 
 A. Lane were appointed a Board of Commissioners 
 to supervise the election and issue certificates. 
 
 In accordance with the above Act an election was 
 held June 1, ISfil, and resulted in the choice of the 
 following officers for Mono Count)', California, nearly 
 all of whom were residents of Aurora: County 
 Clerk, R. M. Wilson; Sheriff, N. F. Scott; Di.strict 
 Attorney, R. E. Phelps; Assessor, J. H. Smith; Treas- 
 urer, William Feast; Surveyor, L. Tuttle; Super- 
 visors, E. tireen, Charles R. Worland and J. S. 
 Schult/.. Tho Governor of California appointed J. 
 A. Moutrio County Judge. 
 
 Governor Nye arrived in Nevada in July, 1861, 
 and in dividing the Territory into Council and Rop- 
 
402 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 reeentative Districts, became convinced that Aurora 
 was within the limits of Xevada, and therefore made 
 it, with a large tract of adjacent country, Council 
 District One, with one Councilman and two Eepre- 
 / eentatives. August 24, 1 SGI, the Esmeralda Union 
 (j^ Club, a large patriotic association of Aurora, recom- 
 mended an election of members of the Territorial 
 Legislature, in accordance with the proclamation of 
 Governor Nye, and also sent K. M. J lowland, H. G. 
 Phillips, L. A. Brown, \V. E. Johnston, F. K. Bech- 
 tel and Samuel Young to Carson City to attend the 
 Union Convention for the nomination of a candidate 
 for Delegate to Congress. An election was accord- 
 ingly held August ;^1, 18(>1, resulting in the choice of 
 John \V. Pugh for the Council and Samuel Youngs 
 and William E. Teell for the House of Eepresenta- 
 tives. These gentlemen sat in that body and helped 
 frame the first laws of the Territory of Nevada, 
 while the city from which they came, and which 
 contained nine-tenths of the population of the dis- 
 trict they represented, was the county seat of ^lono 
 County, California, and was governed by officer!^ 
 elected and acting under the laws of California. 
 
 It was by this first Territorial Legislature that 
 the county of Esmerald was created with Aurora as 
 the county seat, making that city the seat of justice 
 of two counties, under the laws of one State and 
 one Territory, and complicating matters as much 
 as it was possible to do. California by no means 
 relinquished her claim to the disputed territory, 
 upon the above action of the Nevada authorities, 
 but her Legislature continued to exercise its juris- 
 diction, and to grant toll, water and gas fran- 
 chises in the city of Aurora and vicinity. The 
 Nevada Legislature, not desiring to press mattere 
 until the boundary line could be definitelj- de- 
 termined, excepted Esmeralda fi'om the provisions 
 of the Act of November 28, "1801, calling an elec- 
 tion of county officers for January 14, 18G2, pre- 
 ferring to leave the disputed territory under the 
 authoritj' of the Mono Count}^ otHcers until the 
 boundary question could be settled. The same Act 
 granted the Governor power to appoint officers 
 and organize the county of Esmeralda, whenever 
 in his opinion it was desirable to do so. 
 
 By Act of March 26, 1861, the California Legis- 
 lature appointed a Commissioner to act in concert 
 with the United States Surveyor in locating the 
 boundary line, and approjjriated 810,000 to defray 
 the expenses. By Act of November 20, 1861, the 
 Nevada Legislature ai)])ropriated 81,000 for the 
 same purpose. Nothing was accomplished by either, 
 and the year 1802 passed without the vexed ques- 
 tion being settled. The disputed line ran in a south- 
 east direction from the point where the thirty-ninth 
 parallel of north latitude intersects the one hundred 
 and twcntietli degree of longitude west from (Jreen- 
 wich, to the jjoint where the thirty-fifth parallel 
 of north latitude intersects the Colorado Hiver. The 
 citizens of Aurora were divided in their inclinations 
 
 and ideas. Those who preferred forming a portion 
 of California maintained that the line ran northeast 
 of Aurora by the Five-mile House, while those who 
 desired to be in Nevada were just as po.sitive that 
 the line passed southwest of the city and through 
 the Bodie District. There was but little else than 
 the inclination of the people that decided their opin- 
 ions as to the location of this line, an actual case of 
 "the wish being father of the thought." As a rule 
 the Eepublicans were in favor of Nevada, and the 
 Democrats of (^alifornia, and as at that time the Re- 
 ])ublican8 were in a large majority, California stock 
 was quoted very low. In 1862 Judge Moutrie re- 
 signed, and Judge Baldwin was appointed. The 
 same year Sheriff Scott was killed by Indians on 
 Owens River, and G. \V. Bailey was appointed to the 
 vacancy. 
 
 At the election of September 3, 1862, the county 
 of Esmeralda not having been fully organized and 
 the terms of the Jlono County officials not having 
 expired, there was no election for count}' officers 
 whatever. There were, however, chosen lour mem- 
 bers of the Territorial House of Representatives, 
 John W . I'ugh, Councilman from the First District, 
 holding over as a member of the Territorial Council 
 for Esmeralda County. The gentlemen elected were 
 as follows: John S. Ross, Arthur M. McKeel, J. \V. 
 Calder, A. D. Allen. The last-named gentleman did 
 not take his seat, and Esmeralda had but three 
 Representatives in the second session of the Terri- 
 torial Legislature. 
 
 The first officer of Esmeralda County was John 
 F. Kidder, who was appointed Surveyor by the 
 Governor, July 8, 1862, followed by the appointment 
 on the twenty -second of the following December, of 
 Wm. M. Dixon as District Attorney. 
 
 On the second of December, 1862, the Nevada 
 Legislature passed a joint resolution, requesting the 
 Governor to organize Esmeralda County as soon as 
 prat'ticable, but he did not consider matters suffic- 
 iently settled to do so at that time. In Februarj-, 
 1863, the conflict between Roopand Plumas Counties 
 over the Honey Lake region brought matters to a 
 'crisis, and ste])s were taken to bring the boundarj- 
 difficulty to a final settlement. By the Act of April 
 27, 1863, the California Legislature directed the 
 Surveyor General of that State to establish the point 
 of intersection of the thirty-ninth parallel of north 
 latitude, and the one hundred and twentieth degree 
 of west longitude, and to survey the State line from 
 that ])oiiil north to the Oregon line, and southeast 
 to the Colorado River. The same Act appropriated 
 825,000 to defraj' the expenses of the surve}', and 
 re(iuested the Nevada authorities to ajijioint some one 
 to act in conjunction with the Surveyor General. 
 Acting Governor Clemens ap])ointed Butler Ives as 
 Boundary Commissioner on the j)art of Nevada, and 
 the survey was thus jointly undertaken. 
 
 No sooner had the initial point of the survey been 
 established in the clear waters of Lake Tahoe, than 
 
HISTORY OF ESMERALDA COUNTY. 
 
 / 
 
 401 
 
 the Governor became convinced that Aurora was in 
 Nevada Territory , and Juno 22, 18(13, appointed the 
 following officers: Sheriff, D. tV. Francis; Clerk, 
 Cyril Hawkins; Commissioners, C. 1). Wingate, 
 Samuel Youngs and John F. Moore. Samuel Youngs 
 declined the appointment, and the following day 
 John Hawkins was appointed in his stead; he also 
 resigned on the first of August. It was the duty of 
 these officers to organize tlie county and prepare for 
 an election of county officers at the next genei-al 
 election in September. 
 
 DOUBLE COURTS AND DOUBLE ELECTION. 
 
 In the month of July, 1863, Judge Turner, CJhief 
 Justice of the Territory, and assigned by Governor 
 Nye as Judge of the Second District, opened a term 
 of the District Court for Nevada in Aurora. At 
 the same time Judge Baldwin, of Mono County, was 
 holding county court, and the novelty was presented 
 of two courts sitting concurrently, exercising juris- 
 diction bj' virtue of authority derived i'rom distinct 
 sources. By wise and judicious management, no 
 conflict of authority was inaugurated, and the session 
 of each court was held quietly and with no inter- 
 ference with the proceedings of the other. Causes 
 were brought in either court, as the litigants pre- 
 ferred, the majority being taken before Judge Bald- 
 win, his court being held there regularlj'. 
 
 When the second daj'of September, 18()3, arrived, 
 the boundary line had not been surveyed as far south 
 as Aurora, and the uncertaintj- of location was still 
 as great as ever. The term of office of the Mono 
 County officials, elected in 1861, expired, and it 
 became necessary to elect their successors. A bril- 
 liant idea was conceived; they would hold two elec- 
 tions, one for Mono and one for Esmeralda. P^ull 
 tickets were nominated by both Republicans and 
 Democrats, making four in all, two for each county. 
 In Aurora the election was lively. The polls for the 
 Esmeralda election were held in Armory Hall, and 
 those for Mono in the Police Station, some distance 
 awaj- on the same street. Considerable hilarity was 
 exhibited and good feeling prevailed, people voting 
 at one place and then passing down the street to 
 vote at the other, thus making sure to hit it on one 
 side if they missed it on the other. The Republican 
 ticket was successful in both contests. 
 
 FOR MONO COUNTY. 
 
 County Clerk, John Hawkins; Sheriff, H. J. 
 Teel ; Treasurer, E. R. Rhoades ; Assessor, J. H. 
 Smith. 
 
 At this time Judge Baldwin was holding a term 
 of the County Court, and when the line had passed 
 Aurora, leaving it in Nevada, objection was made 
 to the jurisdiction of the court in the case then 
 before the court, and it was sustained by the Judge, 
 who declined to try any more cases in Aurora. 
 
 Within twenty days after the election those en- 
 gaged in the boundary survey reached Aurora and 
 passed to the southwest, leaving the city in Nevada, 
 
 -r 
 
 much to the disgust of some of the strong 
 adherents of California, who asserted that the sur- 
 veyors ran the lines around Aurora in order to leave 
 it in Nevada, and there are some of them who 
 maintain to this day that there is a jog in the 
 State line. In order to obviate any possible diffi- 
 culty in regard to the legality of the Esmeralda 
 County election of September 2, 1863, the (iovernor 
 apjiointed, on the nineteenth of that month, the 
 officers that had been elected, adding to the list 
 A. S. Peck, as County Judge, and all were sworn 
 into office on the twentj'-second of September. 
 
 As soon as the question of location was settled, 
 R. M. Wilson and William Feast, officers elected 
 for Mono County, loaded all the records upon a 
 wagon and took them across the line to the then 
 little town of Bodie, and the next spring, when 
 Bridgeport was declared the county seat ot Mono, 
 took them to that i)lace. An Act approved Feb- 
 ruary 9, 1864, to have these records transcribed, 
 was repealed January 10, 1865, because of opposi- 
 tion by citizens of Esmeralda, who were not willing 
 to pay §10,000 for that purpose, and the law was 
 never carried into effect farther than to expend 
 8300 for the necessarj^ books. 
 
 The officers for Mono County elected in 1863, 
 nearly all remained in Aurora,, and their places 
 were filled by appointment bj* the Governor of 
 California; R. M. Wilson, the County Clerk, removed 
 to Bridgeport, and William F'east continued to dis- 
 charge the duties of Treasurer, although residing 
 in Aurora, until his death in the summer of 1864. 
 H. J. Teel who was elected Sheriff of Mono County, 
 was appointed Deputy Sheriff of Esmeralda, by 
 Sheriff Francis, there having been an agreement 
 made bj- them before the election, that in which- 
 ever county Aurora was decided to be, the one 
 elected sheriff of that county should appoint the 
 other his deputy. 
 
 UNPAID WARRANTS. 
 
 The taxes for 1861 and 1862 were collected in 
 Aurora for Mono County, but those for 1863 were 
 not; and as soon as the money in the treasury 
 became exhausted outstanding warrants remained 
 unpaid. When the county seat was settled at 
 Bridgeport the officers of Mono County refused pay- 
 ment on all ]ireviousIy issued warrants, on the 
 ground that the expense was incurred in and for 
 the benefit of Aurora, and that Esmeralda County 
 should ])iiy them. There are outstanding now some 
 §20,000 of these old warrants, the larger portion of 
 which have been collected together, and suit is now 
 pending to compel Mono Count)- to paj- them. 
 
 FINANCIAL STATE.MENT. 
 
 The Board of County Commissioners elected in 
 1863 met on the twenty-ninth of September, and 
 divided the county into three townships, Aurora, 
 Sweetwater, and Excelsior District, being the elec- 
 tion precinct established in each. The brick build- 
 
 f 
 
404 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 ing on the corner of Pine and Silver Streets, now 
 owned by the county, was leased of Preble, De Noe 
 & Co. for 8250 per month, to be used as a Court 
 House. The jail that had been erected by the Mono 
 County authorities was also leased. In December, 
 1864, the Court House was purchased by the county 
 for §12,000, for which county warrants were issued. 
 After considerable discussion about the best manner 
 in which to redeem these warrants, and after the 
 Commissioners had made and rescinded two orders 
 for the issue of bonds for that purpose, one for 
 822,000, and the other for 825.000, (here were issued 
 in October, 1865, bonds to the amount of 811,500, 
 and all warrants on the Court House Fund then out- 
 standini^ were paid. These bonds bore interest at 
 the rate of two per cent, per month; and in Decem- 
 ber, 1871, 88,000 in bonds, with interest at the rate 
 of one and a half per cent, per month, were issued 
 to redeem all the old bonds still outstanding. In 
 1874 a jail was made in the Court House building at 
 an expense of about 81,500, and two bonds of 8500 
 each were issued, due in one year, with interest at 
 one and a half per cent, per month, which were 
 paid. In September, 1877, the house and lot known 
 as the Kidd House were purchased for 8500 of S. B. 
 Smith, to be used as a countj^ hospital. Under the 
 Act of March 14, 1877, amended January 31, 1879, 
 the Commissioners issued 8H*,(I00 on the eleventh of 
 February, 1879, to provide for current expenses. 
 They were made to fail due 82,000 each year after 
 the fifth year, interest ten percent, per annum. The 
 total debt of the county at the present time is 
 $32,915. Amount of cash in the treasury, 810,767. 
 
 CHANGE OF BOUNDARY. , 
 
 By the Act of Fobruarj' 16, 1864, creating the 
 county of Nye, Esmeralda lost more than half of 
 its territory, all that portion east of the meridian of 
 40° 30' west of Washington being set off into the 
 new county. This Act was amended March 0, 1865, 
 by making the line of the one hundred and seven- 
 teenth degree of longitude west from Greenwich 
 the lina of division, thus restoring a narrow strip 
 of what had been taken. By the Act of March 
 5, 1869, the boundary between Nye and Esme- 
 ralda was declared to be a line running from the 
 intersection of the California line by the meridian of 
 longitude 40° 15' west from Washington, norlhto 
 the thirty-eighth parallel of north latitude; thence 
 northwe.-iterlj' to the hot springs on the Wellington 
 and Keeso J{ivcr road; thence north to the thirty- 
 ninth parallel of north latitude. The Act of Febru- 
 ary 26, 1875. changed the eastern lino to the meri- 
 dian of longitude 40° 7'; thence north to the thirty- 
 eight parallel northwesterly to Hot Springs, and 
 north ia the thirlj'-ninth ])arallol, as before, leaving 
 the boundaries as they exist at jtresent, the north- 
 ern boundary never having been changed. 
 
 Al'l'OlNTMENTS AND KI.ECTIONS. 
 
 A complete list of the officers of the county from 
 its organization down to thepresenttime is herewith 
 
 given, together with the date of appointment or 
 election of each. The vacancies in oftice by death, 
 resignation or removal, if any have occurred, will 
 also be noted, with the names of the persons se- 
 lected to fill the same. 
 
 SENATORS. 
 
 J.J. Coddington, elected Councilman under Terri- 
 torial organization September 2, 1863; B. S. Mason 
 and William Wethcrall, elected Senators under the 
 provisions of a State Constitution, Januarj' 19, 1864, 
 but never qualified as the Constitution was rejected; 
 J. C. Parks, elected Councilman September 7, 1864; 
 Lewis Doran and John Ives, elected Senators No- 
 vember 8, 1864; B. S. Mason and Lewis Doran, 
 elected November 6, 1866; T. W. Abraham, elected 
 November 3, 1868; W. .M. Boring, elected November 
 8, 1870; J. G. Mc('linton and Frank Campbell, elected 
 November 5, 1872 — Campbell to fill vacancy caused 
 by the death of W. M. Boring; A. Garrard, elected 
 November 3, 1874; John B. Gallagher, elected No- 
 vember 5, 1878. 
 
 ASSEMBLYMEN. 
 
 J. W. Calder, Jacob Hess, and J. H. Graj^ were 
 elected Eepresentatives under the Territorial organ- 
 ization, September 2, 1863. Gray did not take his 
 seat. John S. Mayhugh, J. G. McClinton, E. T. 
 Loomis, and G. A. Green were elected January 19, 
 1864, under the provisions of a State Constitution 
 which was rejected, therefore never qualified. A. S. 
 Peck was elected County Judge under the same 
 regime; J. C. Darragh, P. B. Comstock, and L. Eice 
 were elected Ec))resentatives September 7, 1864; D. 
 H. Haskell, John S. Mayhugh, D. Wellington, and 
 Cyril Hawkins, elected Assemblymen. November 8, 
 1864; A. M. Wingate, J.S. Mayhugh, T. N. Browne, 
 and B. V. Poor, elected November 6, 1866. Browne 
 resigned April 0, 1867. C. P. Shakspeare, E. R 
 Shimmin, John S. Ma3'hugh, and S. J. Davis, elected 
 Novembers, 1868. Mayhugh resigned July 7, 1869, 
 Angus McLeod, D. C. Simpson, D. F. -Manning, and 
 M. R. Delano, elected November 8, 1870; J. B. Gal- 
 lagher, Robert McCall, W. H. Carpenter, and P. M. 
 Brummer, elected November .">, 1872; Alexander 
 Spencer, R. I. Hubbard, R. V. Tone, and E. R. 
 Willis, elected November 3, 1874; C. P. Shakspeare 
 and H. E. Sargent, elected November 7, 1876; J. J{. 
 Kldred and Charles P. Shakspeare, elected Novem- 
 ber 5, 1878; W. F. Bolding and T. M. McGowan, 
 elected November 2, 18S0. 
 
 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS 
 
 Appointed by (Governor Nye June 22,1863: C. D. Win- 
 egate, Samuel Youngs, and John F. Jlooro. Youngs 
 declined, and John Hawkins was appointed, but re- 
 signed August Isf. P. W. Randall, Geo. A. Green and 
 Cieo. A. Whitney-, elected Soptembor 2, 1863. Randall 
 resigned January 22, 1864. and W. II. Hurgcss ap- 
 pointed by Commissioners April 5th. The Su- 
 preme Court decided the aj)])()intment illegal, and 
 the Governor appointed Samuel Youngs April 11, 
 

 •r^' 
 
 i'^- 
 
 a-.^ 
 
 /^ 
 
 ,^^'r^.- ■■ 
 
 
 
HISTORY OF ESMERALDA COUNTY. 
 
 *0o 
 
 18S4. D. W. Davis, George A. Green and Samuel 
 Youngs, elected Septemher 7. 1864; George Benson 
 elected November 7, 18G5 ; E. B. Cooper, M. Y. 
 Stewart, and E. U. Smith, elected November 6, 1866. 
 Cooper resigned and J. G. MeClinton was appointed 
 hv the Governor April If), 1867. lie resigned Sep- 
 tember 25, 1868, and the Governor appointed Gardi- 
 ner C. White October 5, 1868, to fill the vacancy. 
 W. G. McBride, G. C. White, and Henry Williams, 
 elected November 3, 1S6S. McBride and While re- 
 signed, and T. H. Burt and Frank Neal were ap- 
 pointed August 3, 1869, to fill the vacancies. F. 
 Strackler, R. Keever and E. W. Bennett, elected 
 November 8, 1870; Henry Williams and C. Dumay, 
 elected November 5, 1872. Dumaj^ did not qualify, 
 and Angus McLeod was appointed June 2, 1873. T. 
 B. Smith and F. Strackler, elected November 3, 
 1874; P. L. Traver and D. C. Simpson, elected Novem- 
 ber 7, 1876. Franklin Neal was appointed January 
 15, 1880, in place of Traver, deceased. D. C. Simp- 
 son, and T. B. Smith, elected November 5, 1878; W. 
 S. Stone and G. A. Hamilton, elected November 2, 
 1880. 
 
 PROBATE JUDGES. 
 
 Wm. M. Boring was elected Probate Judge, Sep- 
 tember 7, 1864. 
 
 DISTRICT ATTORNEYS. 
 
 R. S. Mesick was elected Prosecuting Attorney, 
 under Territorial Government, September 2, 1863, 
 resigned January 22, 1864, Geo. S. Palmer appointed 
 to till vacancy; S. H. Chase, elected Prosecuting 
 Attorney, September 7, 1864; T. N. Browne, elected 
 District Attorney November 7, 1865, vice S. H. Chase, 
 elected District Judge; W. M. Boring, elected No- 
 vember 6, 1866; T. N. Browne, elected November 3, 
 1868, removed from county, and W. K. Boring 
 appointed April 5, 1869. to fill vacancy; John Curtis, 
 elected November 8, 1870; M. A. .Murphy, elected 
 November 5, 1872, re-elected November 3, 1874, 
 re-elected November 7, 1876; A. L. Greeley, elected 
 November 5, 1878. According to the canvass Daniel 
 Holland received more votes than (irooley, but the 
 latter successfully contested the election. Cande- 
 laria was re-counted and (ireeley given the office. 
 D. J. Lewis, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SHERIFFS. 
 
 D. G. Francis, elected September 2, 1863, re-elected 
 September 7. 1864, re-elected November 6, 1866, 
 re-elected November 3, 1868; John B. Helm, elected 
 November 8, 1870, re-elected November 5, 1872, 
 re-elected November 3, 1874; L. B. Lott, elected 
 November 7, 1876, died September 25, 1878, and J. 
 B. Hiskey ajipointed October 7th, to fill vacancy; 
 Clem. Ogg, elected November 5, 1878; David J. IJobb, 
 elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COINTV CLERKS. 
 
 E. B. Dickinson, elected September 2, 1863, re- 
 elected September 7, 1864; Jas. S. Jamison, elected 
 November 6, 1866: F. K. Bccbtel, elected November 
 
 51 
 
 3, 1868; D.J. Lewis, elected November 8, 1870, re- 
 elected November 5, 1872; I. N. Farwell, elected 
 November 3, 1874, re-elected November 7, 1876, re- 
 elected November 5, 1878, re-elected November 2, 
 1880. 
 
 COUNTY TREA.SrRERS. 
 
 Eben Rhodes, elected September 2, 1863, re-elected 
 September 7, 1864; W. A. Howard, elected Novem-. 
 ber 7, 1865, vire Rhodes, who had resigned. Howard 
 resigned April 16, ^1866, and J. (i. MeClinton was 
 appointed to fill vacancj'. Oliver Kimball, elected 
 November 6, 1866; G. W. Daran. elected November 
 3, 1868; Wm. H. Hail, elected November 8, 1870, 
 re-elected November 5, 1872, re-elected November 3, 
 1874, re-elected November 7, 1866, died November 
 26, 1876, and O. Kimball appointed December 11th, 
 to fill vacancy; A. V\^ Crocker, elected November 5, 
 1878; Angus McLeod, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY ASSESSORS. 
 
 J. H. Smith, elected September 2, 1863; J. H. 
 Richardson, elected September 7, 1864; Ira P. Hale, 
 elected November 6, 1866; M. A. Murphj-, elected 
 November 3, 1868, re-elected, November 8, 1870; S. 
 M. Booker, elected November 5, 1872; Dennis 
 Thompson, elected November 3, 1874; C. J. Dunlap, 
 elected November 7, 1876, re-elected November 5, 
 1878; office vacated for non-qualification, February 
 10, 1879, and Dennis Thompson appointed the next 
 day; December 2, 1879, office again declared vacant 
 for not filing a new bond, and G. II. Hatch was 
 appointed January 6, 1880, to fill the vacancj'. S. B. 
 Hines, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY RECORDERS. 
 
 John Hawkins, elected September 2, 1863, died, and 
 Cyril Hawkins appointed January 8, 1864, to fill 
 vacancy; G.L. Church, elected September 7, 1864; I). 
 W. Hastings, elected November 6, 1866; J. G. Me- 
 Clinton, elected November 3, 1868, resigned July 20 
 1869, and G. C. White appointed to fill vacancy; G. 
 C. White, elected November 8, 1870, re-elected No- 
 vember 5, 1872; David McKee, elected November 3, 
 1874, re-elected November 7, 1876. II. W. Barton 
 was appointed August 14, 1877, vice McKee, deceased. 
 I). J. Lewis, elected November 5, 1878; H. W. Bar- 
 ton, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS OP SCHOOLS. 
 
 J. B. Saxton, elected September 2, 1863; Ira P. 
 Hale, elected September 7, 1864; W. C. Meredith, 
 elected November 7, 1865, vice Ira P. Hale, who 
 resigned October 4, 1865. Meredith resigned April 
 16, 1866, and Hale was again appointed to fill 
 vacancy; Larkin Smith, elected November 6, 1866; 
 B. T. Tade, elected November 3, 1868, resigned 
 October 5, 1869, and Ira P. Hale appointed to fill 
 vacanc}'; Ira P. Hale, elected November 8, 1870, 
 resigned July 3, 1871, and S. B. Smith appointed 
 to fill vacancy; W. H. H. Buckley, elected Novem- 
 ber 5, 1872; H. D. Fletcher, elected November 3," 
 1874; J. F. De Vol, elected November 7, 1876; 
 
406 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 John M. Dormer, elected November 5, 1878, re- 
 signed April 6, 1880, and H. D. Howard appointed 
 to fill vacancy; Edwin Wood, elected November 
 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SURVEYORS. 
 
 Wm. Me Bride, elected September 2, 1863, re-elected 
 September 7, 1864; re-elected November 6, 1866; 
 Chas. E. Baldwin, elected November 8, 1870; A. Gar- 
 rard, elected November 5, 1872; J. R. NcNeese, 
 elected November 3, 1874; resigned April 3, 1876, 
 and Franklin Neal, appointed to fill vacancy; F. 
 C. Farnham. elected November 7, 1876; the oflRce 
 was declared vacant March 8, 1878, for non -resi- 
 dence, and J. M. Houston, appointed to fill vacancy; 
 J. M. Houston, elected November 5, 1878; re-elected, 
 November 2, 1880. 
 
 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATORS. 
 
 Henry Keever, elected November 6, 1866; S. M. 
 Booker, elected November 3, 1868; Samuel Youngs, 
 elected November 8, 1870, re-elected November 5, 
 1872; Henry Keever, elected November 3, 1874; 
 Henry D. Fletcher, elected November 7, 1876; A. 
 H. Hawley, elected November 5, 1878; Henry 
 Keever, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 TOPOCiUAPHY, MINES AND AGRICULTURE. 
 
 The topography of the county and the character 
 of the soil differs very little from the balance of the 
 State. A large body of fresh water, called Walker 
 Lake, covers a considerable ai-ea, extending from the 
 mouth of Walker River in a southeasterly direction 
 a distance of twenty-five miles, having an aver- 
 age width of nine miles, and abounds with fish at all 
 seasons of the year. The lake is deep, and like all 
 bodies of water in the Great Basin of Nevada, has 
 no outlet. The waters from Walker River flow 
 into it winter and summer. The floods in the last 
 days of 1861 and first of 1862, raised its waters 
 seventeen feet. The surface gradually receded un- 
 til about 1867-68, when another flood raised them 
 about seven feet. With these exceptions the waters 
 of the lake have been gradually decreasing, owing 
 probably to the supply being largely used for irri- 
 gating the ranches along the course of the river. 
 The Walker River has its source in two main 
 branches, which rise in the f?ierra Nevada and 
 unite about forty five miles from the mouth of the 
 stream. The main stream then flows northerly, 
 makes a coni])lete curve to the east, and then flows 
 south into Walker Ij.ike. The bottoms and valleys 
 lying along the river and the creeks flowing into it, 
 constitute a large ])()rtion of the tillable land of the 
 county. Upon Walker Ijake are two small steam- 
 boats, used in conveying produce from Mason Val- 
 lej' to Columbus District, shortening the usual 
 route of travel considerably. One of those boats 
 is forty feet long, and carries ten tons, the other 
 being of the same capacity and ton foot longer. The 
 first was built in the valley and taken down the. 
 river, while the other was constructed at the lake. 
 
 Three principal ranges of mountains, the Wassuck, 
 Excelsior and Volcano, together with a great many 
 lower and shorter ranges of hills, traverse the county 
 in all directions, the general course, however, being 
 north and south. Several hot springs, a number of 
 borax and salt marshes, numerous iron, copper, gold 
 and silver mines, are found in the county; the pro- 
 duction of gold, silver, salt and borax, aside from 
 agriculture, being the chief industries. 
 
 The superficial area of the county is about 9,000 
 square miles, a great deal of it being utterly value- 
 less. Of the balance it is estimated that there are 
 150,000 acres suitable for agriculture, 300,000 acres 
 of grazing land, 150,000 acres of timber land, covered 
 with a growth of pinon, or dwarf ])ine, and 750,000 
 acres of mineral land. Of the agricultural lands 
 some 13,000 acres ' are ini-losed, and 8,000 under 
 cultivation. 
 
 These lands lie in Mason, Smith and portions of 
 Antelope Valleys, along the branches of Walker 
 River and Sweetwater Creek, in Fish Lake Vallej% 
 and in a few isolated localities where water can be 
 obtained for irrigation. Haj- and barley are the 
 principal crops. There is always a great demand 
 for these in the mining districts adjacent, and a good 
 price can always be obtained. Considerable stock is 
 raised in the county, and small orchards are found 
 in considerable numbers. For statistics giving the 
 products of the county for each year from 1865 to 
 1880, the number of acres under cultivation, the 
 stock and grain raised, and the fruit trees and vines 
 growing, the reader is referred to the tables to bo 
 found on pages 135, 136, 139 and 14(i of the general 
 history. For the bullion product see tables in the 
 latter pages of this work. 
 
 The Carson and Colorado Railroad, opened for 
 travel in the si)ring of 1881, penetrates to near the 
 center of the county, skirting the east shore of 
 Walker Lake, traversing the valley- of Walker River 
 and connecting with the general system of railroads 
 by the Virginia and Truckee Railroad at Mound 
 House, in Lyon County. 
 
 SETTLEMENT OF MASON VALLEY. 
 
 In 1854 N. H. A. Mason, in company with two 
 brothers, was driving cattle from the Western States 
 to California, and passed through the fountrj\ now 
 known as Mason Valley, along ^Valker River. Their 
 cattle were stampeded, and in collecting them they 
 had a good opportunity of learning something 
 of the value of this section as a grazing range. 
 In 1859 Mr. Mason again visited the place, and, after 
 making a thorough examination, located what has 
 since been known as AIason"s Ranch. The fall of 
 that year a large band of cattle from the East was 
 wintered there, and, in 1860, he drove from Califor- 
 nia (Stanislaus County), what cattle he had there 
 to the Nevada range. 
 
 In October, 1859, Wm. 11. Dickson located on 
 what is now the reservation, up the river, about 
 fourteen miles from the lake, where Campbell, or 
 
HISTORY OF ESMERALDA COUNTY. 
 
 407 
 
 Wasson, later built the reservation house. He is 
 still a resident of the valley. 
 
 During the Indian troubles Mason and Dickson 
 drove their stock to Antolojio Yalloy. In July the 
 former returned to his ranch, but Dickson's claim 
 was lost to him because of its being on reserved 
 Indian laiuls, and he did not return \intil 1S(>2. 
 
 The tirst house built in the vallej- was by ilr. 
 Mason in 1860, 16x24 feet in dimensions, the walls 
 being eight feet high, and were of willows and 
 adobe. The roof was of tules, and the sides were 
 made by placing poles in the ground, then nailing 
 willows to them, and filling in between with mud. 
 It was built near the center of section thirteen, town- 
 ship fourteen north, twenty-five east. The structure 
 was maliciously burned in 1866. 
 
 Tom Wheeler and brother settled about eighteen 
 miles south of Mason's Ranch, on the west fork of 
 Walker River, in the fall of 1861. The place is now 
 owned by D. Wilson. The next settlers were Angus 
 
 McLeod, Charles Sneider, and Clement, who 
 
 came in the fall of 1862, and took up what is now 
 known as McLeod's Ranch. The same fall A. J. 
 and C. D. Lane and W. K. Johnson, in connection 
 with John R. Bradlej-, purchased a part of the 
 Mason Ranch, and drove cattle in from California to 
 the place. The same fall William, George and 
 Richard Alcorn, three brothers, settled between the 
 McLeod and Lane ranches. In 1863 Jesse Wood- 
 cock and Porter settled on the east side of the 
 
 river, opposite McLeod's, and during the same year 
 Sprague, Kimball and Buler took up the ranch now 
 owned by Mason where his house is built. 
 
 Mr. Mason, in 1861, sowed about one acre of 
 barley and planted some potatoes on the bottom 
 across the river from the old original house. The 
 second effort in this line was in 1863, bj^ Angus 
 McLeod and another, who both raised barley that 
 year. In 1864 several parties had fields of grain. 
 
 In 1861, Mason run a portion of what is now 
 known as the Mason Ditch, for irrigating purposes 
 on his ranch. It is now about four miles long, and 
 has cost about $2,000. The next was the Joggles 
 Ditch, taken out in 1863, that being connected with 
 a slough, has a total length of about six miles, and 
 cost 83,000. The I^ane & Johnson Ditch was also 
 taken out in 1863 on the opposite side of the river. 
 and is about three miles long. This was followed by 
 the McLeod Ditch in the same j-ear. It is two and one- 
 half niilcslong. The Sprague, Alcorn, andBuIer Ditch 
 was dug in 1864, and is now one of the main ditches 
 of the valley. In addition to the above are several 
 that have been constructed since, among which are 
 the Greenwood and Fox ditches, on the East Walker, 
 and the Mickey, Weston, Nichol, and Merritt ditches 
 on the West Walker. 
 
 A tragic incident transpired in Mason Valley, in 
 the winter of 1865-66, in which William Johnson, 
 who came to Mason Vallc^' in 1862, lost his life. He 
 came in company with Charles Lane, from California, 
 
 and they brought an Indian with them. This son of 
 the desert was accustomed to amuse himself by but- 
 tingheads with a ram belonging to Messrs. Lane and 
 Johnson, and during one of bis trials of hard-head- 
 edness, the ram used a little too much force and 
 knocked the redskin out of time. This so enraged 
 him that he seized a club and commenced pounding 
 his victor, when Mr. Johnson interfered, and in order 
 to make his arguments effective slapped the Indian 
 across the face. 
 
 During that night Johnson was murdered, and 
 suspicion was at once attached to this Indian, who 
 had taken a horse and disappeared. A ]Kirty imme- 
 diately started on his trail and found him in a min- 
 ing camp, in Peavine District, near where the town 
 of Reno now stands. On their waj- to the valley, 
 those having him in charge, concluded that the surest 
 plan for making a good Indian, would be to hang him, 
 which they proceeded to do. lie was accordingly 
 hanged to the limb of a tree, on the banks of the 
 Carson River, below Dayton, near the place now 
 owned by Mrs. Newman and Mr. Ilonej-man. 
 
 The valley runs nearly north and south, is eighty 
 miles long, with an average of nine miles in width, 
 the Walker River running through its entire length. 
 
 The statutes make four counties corner on Mason's 
 Ranch, but the point of contact has never been 
 determined by survey, although a strict construction 
 of the statutes would seem to carry the line about 
 six miles north of his present home, and take the 
 whole vallej- into Esmeralda County. This is not 
 the construction now given, however. There are at 
 present 260 voters in the valley, thirty-one of them 
 voting in Lyon County. 
 
 ALBERT JAMES BARRETT. 
 
 Was born in Fairfield, Somerset County, Maine, on 
 the twenty-eighth day of February. 1822. His 
 ancestors were among the earlj' settlers of America, 
 his great-grandfather and six sons coming from 
 England and first settling in Massachusetts prior to 
 the Revolutionarj- War, five of whom served in the 
 struggle for independence against the mother coun- 
 try. His father. Mr. C. Barrett, was born in New 
 Hampshire, and his mother, Betsj- Barrett ni'e Davis, 
 was a native of Maine. On the father's side the 
 English is allied with Scotch, his grandmother being 
 a descendant of the Chalmers of Scothind. a family 
 respected and esteemed on either side of the Atlantic. 
 Barrett, Sen., father of the subject of this sketch, foL 
 lowed the cooper's trade, and the son was, at the 
 early ago of five years, inducted into the mysteries of 
 sawing staves, and at seven years was promoted to 
 the "bench," shaving hoops. He continued to fol- 
 low this trade until 1850, when, animated by a desire 
 to improve his fortunes, he embarked on the steamer 
 Crescent Citij for ("alifornia. Cro.ssing the Isthmus 
 and finding no steamer ready to sail, ho engaged in 
 working at his trade for two months, and then tak- 
 ing passage on the A'orlherner, landed in San Fran- 
 cisco on the sixth of July, 1851, and from thence to 
 
40K 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 the mines. Not finding the success he anticipated, 
 he left the mines and settled in Sacramento, working 
 at his trade for three years. From thence he 
 removed to Michigan Bar, and for one and a half 
 years followed merchandising. Subsequently he 
 engaged in the same business in other places, closinir 
 at Brownsville. 
 
 In 1857 he purchased a ranch in Yolo County, on 
 which he resided for three years, and then disposing 
 of that removed to San Francisco. Dissatisfied with 
 city life, in company with Capt. A. VV. Pray, he 
 removed to Nevada and erected the first saw-mill at 
 Glenbrook, near Lake Tahoe, in which business they 
 continued for one year, and then selling his interest 
 in the mill removed from Glenbrook and located on 
 Clear Creek, in Ormsby County, Nevada, farming 
 for two years at that place, and subsequently for 
 thirteen years near Dayton. Eenting his ranch 
 in Dayton, he removed to Mason Valley, Esme- 
 ralda County, where he still resides. 
 
 Mr. Barrett was married March 22, 1848, to Miss 
 Clin E. Day, daughter of Tobias and Pha-be Day, of 
 the State of Massachusetts. They are blessed with 
 five children, all living — George A., Mary W., Charles 
 H., Isabel F., and Lettie C. The eldest daughter, 
 the wife of Charles W. Mallett, resides near her 
 parents in Mason Valley. They have one son, 
 William Albert, born July 28, 1879. 
 
 Mr. Barrett cast his first vote for Henry Clay, the 
 great Whig leader and orator, in 1844, and like most 
 of the New England men of that political school, 
 early united with the Eepublican party, to which he 
 has ever since belonged. In religion Jie is best 
 described as a Protestant in its most acceptable 
 sense, than which he could hardly be otherwise edu- 
 cated, as he was in the common schools of New Eng- 
 land. 
 
 ALBERT H. ERWAY, 
 
 Son of Charles and Susannah (Croddit) Erway, was 
 born near Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York, 
 January 8, 1811. His parents were also natives of 
 New York State. The first fifteen years of his life 
 were divided between working on a farm and 
 attending school, and at that age engaged as a 
 driver on the " raging canal " in summer, and was 
 in the lumber business during the winter. In 1835 he 
 removed with his parents to the State of Michigan, 
 locating at Three Itivers, St. Joseph County, and 
 entered a store as clerk, and soon after purchased 
 the business, and conducted the same for about three 
 years. The succeeding thirteen years he devoted to 
 the occupation of farming. In February, 1852, he, 
 with his family, sailed from New York on the 
 steamship El Dwmlo, crossed the Isthmus of Pan- 
 ama, and took passage on the steamer Oreyon for 
 San Francisco, California, where he landed April 
 7th. His first occupation in that State was mining 
 on Mormon Island. The next winter he went to 
 Sacramento and in companj^ with a friend, ])ur- 
 ohased a stock of goods, which they took to a place 
 
 called Fiddletown. In this enterprise they were 
 successful, and continued the business until . after 
 the destruction of Sacramento City bj- fire. He 
 then commenced freighting with a six-mule team, 
 making Stockton, San Joaquin County, his head- 
 quarters. In 1855 he returned with his family to 
 the East, and located in Cass Count}*, Michigan, 
 where he engaged in the lumber business. One 
 year later he sufl^ered losses bj' fire, and went to farm- 
 ing, which he followed until 1860, when he went to 
 Mills County, Iowa; thence to Nebraska, and kept a 
 hotel at Plattsmouth, Cass County, until 1862, when 
 he went to Denver, Colorado, and, contracting the 
 Salmon Eiver mining fever, started for the north- 
 west. He spent one winter packing supplies from 
 Walla Walla, Washington Territorj-, to the mines 
 in Idaho. In 1S63 he again sought California, and 
 engaged in freighting from Sacramento over the 
 mountains. In 186G he purchased a ranch sixteen 
 miles below the latter city. In 1868 he came to 
 Nevada, and engaged in the wood business at Carson 
 City, Ormsby County, also was interested largely 
 in freighting, but reverses overtook him, and he 
 was left to again build up a business, his entire cap- 
 ital consisting of a ten cent piece, which was at- 
 tached to his watch chain. At the end of eighteen 
 months he had by strict attention established him- 
 self in business, and had teams worth fuU}^ S3, 000. 
 In 1876 he settled in Mason Valley. Esmeralda 
 Countj", fully satisfied, after traveling over the 
 State, that this valley is inferior to none, as an 
 agricultural district, in the State. 
 
 Mr. Erway was married Februarj' 11, 1838, to 
 Miss Abigail Jane Phillipps, a native of Kentucky. 
 Their union was blessed by eight children, all living 
 at this time, six of whom are being educated in the 
 Eastern Slates. Mrs. Erway died February 18, 
 1869. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Erway is a Democrat of the old 
 school. In business, he has always been success- 
 ful until he reached a certain point, when reverses 
 would surely overtake him, but now with his fine 
 ranch as a backer, he need fear no foe. He is 
 able to produce 2,000 bushels of grain per year 
 from his place, and thoroughly understands his 
 business. 
 
 J. J. FOX. 
 
 The subject of the following sketch is a native of 
 Germany, born in the town of Auggen, Muellhcim. 
 In the year 1854, he left his " Faderiaiid,"' bidding 
 adieu to the scenes of his youth, and came to the 
 United States of America. His first location after 
 reaching American soil was in the State of Missouri, 
 where ho lived nearly five years, and in 1859 emi- 
 grated, having California as his objective point. 
 He came by way of the plains, and underwent all the 
 trials peculiar to a trip across the country. He 
 finally reached the Pacific Coast, and for a period of 
 about five years was a resident of the "Golden State." 
 In 1864 he crossed the mountains and became a resi- 
 
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HISTORY OF ESMERALDA COUNTY. 
 
 409 
 
 dent of Nevada, and in the winter of 1865-66, located 
 in Mason Vallej', Esmeralda County, where he now 
 lives. Mr. Fox has a fine ranch in this beautiful 
 valley, and is one of the much-esteemed citizens of 
 that locality; a man of sterling worth, honest and 
 upright in his transactions with his neighbors, and 
 will in time become one of the solid men of the State. 
 
 /^^^^^f^^ 
 
 Was born in County Mayo, Ireland, in 1843, and 
 came with his parents to America when but a child. 
 Arriving in this country, his people went to the 
 State of Wisconsin, where they have since resided. 
 The subject of this sketch began the battle of life 
 for himself at an early age, and by industrj^ and 
 economj' saved money enough to pay his way at 
 school, and graduated from Bull's College, at Racine, 
 Wisconsin. Possessed of an ambitious nature, and 
 realizing the fact that wealth and intellectual im- 
 provement are the result of personal eft'ort and 
 industry, he seized upon the first opportunity to 
 reach the much talked-about land of gold. California, 
 and engaged himself to a man to assist in driving a 
 band of sheep across the plains. Upon bis arrival 
 in California he did not realize the fruition of his 
 fondest hopes, and with youth and health as his 
 stock in trade, he turned his attention to the "briny 
 deep," and shijiped before the mast on a vessel then 
 at San Francisco, engaged in the lumber and South 
 American trade, and in this ship visited all the ports 
 from Puget Hound to Valparaiso. During that 
 time he saved some money, and entered the stock 
 business, which resulted decidedly to his advantage, 
 and for some years he was engaged in traveling in 
 the interests of his business, and became well known 
 
 in every town in California and all the northwestern 
 Territories, often going as far east as Fort Hen- 
 ton, on the Missouri River. It is a safe assertion 
 to say, that Mr. Gallagher is one of the best 
 informed men, in regard to the geographical lay 
 of the country, and the peculiarities of its inhab- 
 itants, to be found west of the Rockj- Mountains. 
 
 Having acquired a substantial capital, also a good 
 reputation as a stock-man, he settled in Mason Val- 
 ley, Esmeralda County, Nevada, and purchased a 
 largo tract of land. In 1873 he was elected to the 
 Assembly of the State Legislature; and in 1878 
 was elected to the high and honorable ])osition of 
 Senator, an office he has sustained to the satisfac- 
 tion of his constituents. Mr. (Jallagher is an exam- 
 ple of what can be accomplished with industry, 
 economy, perseverance, and a well-balanced head. 
 His position in life, single. 
 
 ADA.M IIEIIBOLD 
 
 Is a native of Germany, born at Baden, in 183."). At 
 the age of thirteen years he, with his jjarcrits, emi- 
 grated to America, and settled in Canal Dover, Tus- 
 carawas County, Ohio, and remained in that town 
 about five 3'ears. His father was by trade a cooper, 
 and followed that business. In lS.").'i, the family re- 
 moved to Sabuhi, .Jackson County, Iowa, and for 
 two years the subject of this sketch was trained to 
 the calling of a farmer in connection with his father. 
 During the year 1855, the elder Mr. Herbold sold 
 bis farm and bought a brewery in the same town, 
 and with the assistance of his two sons, Adam and 
 John B., succeeded in building up a good and flour- 
 ishing business. In 1856 the mother of the family 
 departed this life, and the duties of the household 
 devolved upon her only daughter, a young lady just 
 blooming into womanhood. There is an old adage 
 that says, ''misfortunes never come singly-," and so 
 it proved in this family, for during the year 1859 
 the brewery and buildings connected therewith, 
 were consumed by fire, while our present subject 
 was away on a visit to the State of Kansas. Upon 
 learning of this second calamity ho came home. 
 His father had already commenced rebuilding, and in 
 a short time thereafter, while boating sand across 
 the Mississippi River, for use in j)lastering the 
 building, the flat-boat sunk, ami before assistance 
 could be rendered our subject was an orphan. He, 
 assuming the management of the property, finished 
 the building and occupied it in a ditt'erent calling, 
 that of the butcher business. 
 
 In 1861 Mr. Herbold sold out his interests in Iowa 
 and came to the Pacific Coast, his objective point 
 being California. In company with Colonel Hes- 
 ter, ho crossed the plains, enduring untold hard- 
 ships. Upon reaching Salt Lake City, Utah; he 
 sold his cattle and purchased horses, and continued 
 the journey as far as Walker Lake, in Nevada, 
 and was obliged to camp for some time to recruit 
 his animals. The Indians refused to allow this 
 little band of worn-out pioneers to graze their stock 
 
410 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 in that vicinity, except upon condition of payment 
 therefor, to which the travelers were obliged to con- 
 sent. When they got ready to move on, however, 
 thej- found themselves minus most of their horses, 
 they having become mired in the mud and died, 
 without the consent or knowledge of their owners. 
 This was a damper on the spirits of the emigrants, 
 as there were only six horses left, and it was impos- 
 sible to haul their heavily laden wagons over the 
 mountains to California. So Mr. Herbold concluded 
 to winter in Mason Valley, which he did, and has 
 since lived there. His son. John Adam, being the 
 first white child born in that valley. 
 
 Mr. Herbold was married in 1857 to Louisa Alber- 
 tine Berger, a native of Prussia, born in 1839, com- 
 ing to America ten years later. Mrs. Herbold has, 
 like a true wife, followed the fortunes of her husband, 
 until now she can rest in the knowledge that they 
 are beyond want, and can enjoy the fruits of their 
 united labors. 
 
 Mr. Herbold is at present engaged iu the dairy 
 busiuess and stock-raising, in connection with his 
 farm labors. Eight children have been born to 
 them, only two of whom are living. 
 
 0. UERNLEBEN. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born in JJuvaria 
 on the tenth daj' of May, 1838, where he resided 
 until early manhood, emigrating from there to the 
 United States in the year 1859, and soon after located 
 in Missouri, remaining till IStiO, when he disposed 
 of his interests there, and, procuring an outfit 
 suitable for the journey, crossed the plains to find a 
 home at Michigan Bar in the southeast corner of 
 Sacramento Countj', California. There he remained 
 only one year, going to Nevada in 1861, and engaged 
 in mining at Virginia City for three j'ears. but not 
 finding it as remunerative as he had hoped gave up 
 mining and removed to El Dorado Canon, where for 
 two years he was engaged in supplying wood to the 
 people of that vicinity. In 18G5. disposing of his 
 interest in the wood business, he turned his hopes 
 towards ranching, and, purchasing a farm in Mason 
 Valley, settled down to the honorable pursuit of 
 farming, and with such' success that he has become 
 the possessor of a fine farm and a comfortable home. 
 
 In 1809, while residing in Virginia Citj', he mar- 
 ried Wilhelmina Keymers, a native of Hanover, 
 Germany, where she was born on the ninth day of 
 February, 1847. She sailed for the United Slates in 
 1868, landing in New York, whore after remaining 
 two months, she took passage by ship for San Fran- 
 cisco, California, and soon after went to Virginia 
 City, Nevada, where she resided some seven months, 
 and there remained till her marriage with Mr. Hern- 
 leben. In 1872 she visited her native home in 
 Germany, and returned in September, 1873. Mr. 
 Hernleben has remained industriousl}- employed on 
 his farm since his marriage, though not so closely 
 but that he found the time to visit the Elastern 
 States during the year 1876, and to bo present at the 
 
 Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia. They have 
 no children of their own, but this disappointment is 
 largely consoled by the presence of an adopted 
 daughter, the child of a sister of Mrs. Hernleben. 
 named Birdie Pfeifer, born in Mason Vallej'. Nevada, 
 on June 27, 1871. 
 
 HON. ANGUS m'lEOD 
 
 Is a native of Arkansas, and was bom in 1837. 
 October 23d. His parents died when he was young, 
 and he was left to seek his own fortune or misfor- 
 tune as circumstances, ability, and nerve should dic- 
 tate. At twenty years of age he started for 
 California, over the plains, with a few cattle, in com- 
 panj- with W. C. iLcCune. They had altogether 
 about 1,000 head of stock, and lost half of it before 
 the Sierra Nevada Mountains were reached. It was 
 the year 1857, when the Government was having 
 trouble with Brigham Young, and the Indians were 
 verj- troublesome along the route. About 100 head 
 of animals were run off by them, and one man was 
 killed at City Eock, where the Fort Hall and Salt 
 Lake roads come together. At the place where the 
 road passes over the high country, on the north side 
 of the Humboldt I?iver, between Elko and Gravelly 
 Ford, they reburied a man named Nichols who had 
 been killed by Indians in a train that was moving 
 in advance of them. Two daj"8 march farther down, 
 on the north side of the river, thej' came upon seven 
 fresh graves; men killed also by Indians. This was 
 rather a startling and sudden transition from the 
 peaceful pursuits of the Arkansas farmer to that of 
 traveling among hostile tribes in the mountains. 
 That winter he crossed the mountains to California, 
 wintered there, and returned to Carson Valley the 
 next spring, to assist in driving the stock across the 
 Sierra. In September, 1859, he again visited Nevada, 
 and became a clerk for Moses Job, at the place now 
 known as Sheridan, in Douglas Count}'. In the 
 spring of 1860, he purchased a couple of teams, and 
 became a freighter from California to the mines in 
 Nevada, continuing that business for the next three 
 seasons, each year increasing his transportation 
 facilities. The succeeding two years his trains 
 freighted lumber, etc., to Aurora, in Esmeralda 
 County. In the fall of 1862, McLeod took up the 
 ranch in Mason Vallej- that he now owns, a sketch 
 of which can be seen in this book. In the fall of 
 1864 he moved on to this land, where he lived until 
 March, 1878, when he returned to Aurora, the county 
 seat. Since removing to the latter place his time 
 has been principallj' occupied in caring for his houses 
 there, and attending to matters concerning the Car- 
 son and Aurora, as well as the Aurora and Sunshine 
 Toll-roads. He is a half-owner in each, and Henry 
 Williams is his partner. In August, 1880, he com- 
 menced taking charge of the Exchange Hotel at 
 Aurora. The property belongs to him, and a view 
 of the same also accompanies this work. He still 
 continues in the business, in addition to his num- 
 erous other attairs. In 1871, Mr. McLeod repre- 
 
HISTORY OF ESMERALDA COUNTY. 
 
 411 
 
 sented Esmeralda County in the State Lei^islatiiro; 
 in 1873 and 1874 was a County Commissioner of 
 the same; and at present is its Treasurer. In 1877, 
 July •'^d, he was married to Miss Mary K. Ellis, of 
 Gold Hill, Nevada. They have two children, named, 
 Charles A., born on the twenty-ninth of April, 
 1878; and Henry S., born on the fourteenth of 
 October, 1879. 
 
 BERNHARD H. REYMERS, 
 
 A native of Hanover, (Jermany, was born in 1840, 
 and eame to the United States at the early age of 
 twenty years, in the ship Christopher Columbus, ar- 
 rivintj at Castle Garden, New York, on the twenty- 
 seventh day of November, 1800, alone and destitute, 
 having lost everything on the voyage. Securing 
 employment at blacksmithing and house-moving 
 during the winter and following spring, ho earned 
 enough to paj- his passage to Nevada, arriving there 
 in June, 1870. Going to Esmeralda County, he im- 
 mediately, on his arrival, found employment on a 
 farm for two years, and bj^ industry and economy 
 secured means to. purchase a large tract of land, 
 and at once engaged in farming, which he carried on 
 extensively till 1875. In April, 1873, he married 
 Miss Henrietta Motseher. also a native of Hanover, 
 Germany, at the town of Wadsworth, Nevada. 
 
 In 1875 he abandoned his farm, and, going to 
 Candelaria, then becoming noted as a mining town, 
 he managed the boarding-house for the Northern 
 Belle Mine until June, 187G. He then, accompanied 
 by his wife, visited Germany to see their parents, 
 then residing in Bremen and Hamburg, and remained 
 till the following October, when they returned and 
 again settled on the farm. 
 
 Mr. Reymei-s has, by his industry and energy, 
 placed his farm under good improvement, and by 
 attention to business and economj' acquired a large 
 and valuable property. 
 
 Thej^ have three children living. May and Willie, 
 of five and two years, respectively, and Eda, of un- 
 numbered years, the queen of the household. Two 
 others, Wilholmina and Emma, are waiting across 
 the river. 
 
 DR. ABNER STANTON RICHARDSON 
 
 Was born in Jericho, Chittenden County, Vermont, 
 on the twenty-ninth day of June, A. d. 1841, where 
 he resided with his parents, Sylvanus and Jiaura 
 (Goodhue) Richardson, till about the age of tifleen 
 years, receiving the advantages of the common 
 schools till suffieientl}- advanced to enter the fJroen 
 Mountain Academy at Underbill, Vermont, and sub- 
 sequently the academy in Frielburgh, Missiscjuoi 
 County, Canada, and from there entered the Med- 
 ical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, 
 at Philadelphia, of which school he is a graduate. 
 
 When scarcely twenty years of age his studies anil 
 profession were interrupted by the war of the Re- 
 bellion, and, inspired by the patriotism of all true 
 lovers of one's country, enlisted in the First Regi- 
 ment of Vermont Volunteer Infantry, as a private 
 
 soldier, and served three months, till the regi- 
 ment was mustered out. Ho afterwards enlisted for 
 three years, and was engaged in the battle of Big 
 Bethel, and participated in the attacks on the forts 
 below New Orleans and in the siege of Vicksburg. 
 After the close of the war he settled in Pennsyl- 
 vania, an<l resided there from 1865 to 1870, when ho 
 removed to Chautaucjua County, New York, where 
 he resided till 1876, when he migrated to Nevada, 
 first settling at Belleville for eighteen months and 
 then in Mason Valley, where he has ever since re- 
 sided, engaged in the practice of medicine. His 
 skill and integrity have obtained for him a lucrative 
 practice and the confidence of his numerous patients, 
 of which he is in every way worth3^ In 1870 the 
 doctor was married, in Buffalo, New York, to Miss 
 Phrebe M. Decker, of Roj^al Oak, Oakland County, 
 Michigan. Ho is a consistent and exemplary mem- 
 ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church and an active 
 member of the Masonic Order. 
 
 WARUEN BEN.IAMIN SAUNDERS 
 
 Was born in Lagrange, Lorain County, Ohio, on 
 the thirty-first day of October, 1829. His father, 
 Horace Saunders, and mother, Miranda, daughter of 
 Nathan Clark, of that Slate, soon after their mar- 
 riage removed to Lorain County, among the first 
 settlers of that part of Ohio. There for half a cen- 
 tury he took active part in the stirring events of the 
 early days of the State, living to see the dense wil- 
 derness transformed into cultivated fields; the log- 
 cabin give place to commodious dwellings and stately 
 mansions; the narrow path of the wilderness to 
 I'oads, highways, and railroads; the pack-horse to 
 the stage-coach and cars. After outliving the al- 
 lotcd years of man, respected for his integrity, 
 energy, and intelligence, he died on the twentj'-fifth 
 daj' of September, 1873, at the ago of seventy-two 
 years, mourned by all who knew him as a Christian 
 whose deeds of kindness and charity adorned his 
 profession. 
 
 The subject of this sketch remained in Lorain 
 County ,^assi8ting on the farm of his father during his 
 early life, and till April, 1852, when ho started over- 
 land with a small party for California, crossing the 
 plains with teams, and arriving in Beckwourth Val- 
 ley on the twentieth of August of that year. In the 
 autumn of the same year, he moved to Rich Bar in 
 Plumas County, and engaged in mining for a few 
 months, and thence to Feather River, in Butto 
 County, where he mined till the spring of 1857. 
 Hearing favorable reports of Siskiyou County, he 
 disposed of his interests in Butto County and going 
 to Siskiyou, engaged in mining for four years, but 
 failing to find it as profitable as he hoped, he closed 
 his business and removed to Carson City, Nevada, 
 and for two years engaged in carpentering and the 
 millwright business, a trade he had learned in Ohio. 
 .\fter laboring in Carson City for two years, he 
 again returned to mining, removing to Palmyra Dis- 
 trict, Como Mountain, where ho planted all that ho 
 
412 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 had reaped and gathered in the previous years of 
 labor and of toil. Leaving Palmyra District and 
 mining for ever, he sought a location where he could 
 return to the time-honored pursuits of his youth, 
 and in company with N. (ireenwood and (J. Mecum- 
 ber, purchased a "squatter's location " in Mason Val- 
 ley in the spring of 18G5, and began at once the con- 
 struction of the Greenwood Ditch, and having com- 
 pleted the same, thej' turned their attention to 
 clearing and improving their farms. Mecumber soon 
 sold his interests, and not long since, Greenwood 
 disposed of his and removed to another portion of 
 the valley, Saunders alone remaining on the original 
 location. In 1868 Mr. Saunders and W. R. Lee lo- 
 cated a mill site on the West Walker River, and 
 erected tbe Mason Valley Mill, a two-story mill, 
 with two run of stone propelled by water-power. 
 They continued to operate the mill till 1871 success- 
 fully, when William Wilson became the owner, and 
 Mr. Saunders returned to the care of his farm. His 
 labors of cultivating and improving have been re- 
 warded by a farm productive in the growth of all 
 grains and fruits common to the climate and altitude, 
 and a residence commodious and comfortable, sur- 
 rounded by shade trees, orchard and garden, views 
 of which can be found on another page of this work. 
 
 Mr. Saunders was married on the thirtieth daj- of 
 September. 1873, to Mrs. Anna Kreisel, daughter of 
 T. G. and Rebecca Fcigenspan, natives of Germany, 
 where the father died in 1852. Mrs. Saunders came 
 to America in 1854, and settled in Wisconsin, where 
 she married Ferdinand Kreisel, and with him re- 
 moved to California in 185G, where he soon after 
 died, when she with her two children, Edward and 
 Theodore, in 1S(!2 removed to Nevadn, where she 
 resided with her children till her marriage with .Mr. 
 Saunders. In 1876 she returned to Germany, attend- 
 ing the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia on 
 her return, in company with her mother, who now 
 rests in the cemetery in Mason Valley. 
 
 Mr. Saunders has never engaged in politics, and 
 has held no office other than School Commissioner. 
 Is a Republican, conservative in politics, and a Prot- 
 estant, charitable in religion. 
 
 SETTLEMENT OF SMITH VALLEY. 
 
 Mr. T. B. Smith furnishes the following history 
 of Smith Valley;— 
 
 This valley is pleasantly situated among the hills 
 in the northwestern part of Esmeralda County. Its 
 length from southeast to northwest is over sixteen 
 miles, whilst its average width is six miles, giving i 
 an area of more than 60,000 acres. 
 
 In the month of August, 1S5!1, a ]>arty of herds- 
 men from Stanislaus County, California, consisting j 
 of R. B. Smith, T. B. Smith, S. Baldwin, and J. A. 
 IJogers, crossed the mountains with their cattle from 
 the San Joaquin Valley, by the Big Tree route, and 
 commenced the settlement in this valley. Thej' 
 had been informed by a i)arty of emigrants who had 
 passed this way four years before, that there was 
 
 a good place here to winter stock. Upon viewing 
 the valley, the herdsmen decided to settle here, the 
 abundance of white sage and bunch grass being in 
 great contrast with the scarcity of pasture in Cali- 
 fornia, because of several successive dry seasons. 
 They pitched their camp about the center of the 
 valley, near the banks of the West Walker River. 
 A tule house was constructed, in which the whole 
 party passed the winter. It was no warm recep- 
 tion they met with in their new house. The winter 
 was colder than any since known there. Heavy 
 snows covered the ground, and severe frosts froze 
 two feet of ice on the river, that had to be broken 
 in order to water the stock. Provisions had to be 
 procured in Genoa, at a distance of forty miles 
 away, and twenty cents a pound was the price paid 
 for flour at this place. To crown their trials, the 
 little tule house took fire in the spring, and was 
 quickly converted into smoke and ashes. 
 
 Soon after their arrival the question of a name 
 for the valley was discussed, and that of Smith 
 Vallej' was agreed upon, in honor of the Smiths, 
 of which there were two in the party. In the 
 summer of 1860 there was an addition to the col- 
 ony in the person of J. B. Ijobdel, who settled 
 about six miles south of the original cam)). He was 
 a farmer, and in the following spring put in a crop 
 of barley and vegetables, which he irrigated with 
 water from a sm;ill mountain stream called Desert 
 Creek. This was the pioneer crop. In 1868, Lob- 
 del sold his ranch to H. Mather, whose wife-^then 
 Mrs. W. R. Johnson — was the first lady to settle in 
 the valley. Soon after Lobdol made his settlement, 
 W. L. Hall and 1). C. Simjtson located a ranch five 
 miles further south. Wright and Hamilton built 
 the station now called Wellington, at the head of 
 the valley, and on the southern route from Carson 
 City. Daniel Wellington jMirchased the station in 
 1863, and in 1865 had a post-office established there. 
 It is now the property of J. Nicliolson, who is Post- 
 master. 
 
 When the mining interest commenced in Aurora, 
 in 1860, Wellington became, and is still, an impor- 
 tant stage station. The stage changes here, and the 
 repairing and horse- shoeing is done in a shop. Mr. 
 Zadok I'icrce has lately established a store, station, 
 and blacksmith shop some half mile below Welling- 
 ton, and now commands the whole trade of the 
 valley. 
 
 Lobdel's success in raising crops showed that the 
 valley was well adapted for cultivation, while the 
 ra])id rise of the mining interests at Aurora created 
 a brisk demand for farm products. Those advan- 
 tages were soon realized, and farming became the 
 leading industrj'. The first ditch was constructed in 
 1862 by the two farming companies. Fuller & 
 Mitchell, and Hall & Simpson. Its length was four 
 miles, and the cost was 82.000. The ranch to which 
 it belongs is now the property of Frank Rivers. 
 Messrs. Hall & Simpson found a ditch one-half mile in 
 
MRS. CHARLES SNYDER. 
 
 CHARLES SNYDER. 
 
 ^m^^^^WiW^- 
 
 fti?€ 
 
 HOME RANCH & KtblUtiNuc ui- lHARLES SNYDLK. 
 
 ESME 'ALDA C0.,MASON VALLEY, N EV 
 
HISTORY OF ESMERALDA COUNTY. 
 
 413 
 
 lenn;th on their place when they came, which they 
 say was built by the Indians. In 18()3 the Smith 
 Company constructed a ditch nearlj- four miles in 
 Icnslh, at a cost of SI, 200. It now beionfjs to the 
 Smith Brothers, and sui)plies water for their farms, 
 which lie about four miles north of Wellington Sta- 
 tion. In 1S(>4 an incorporated company constructed 
 the West Walker Ditch, about seven miles in length, 
 at a cost of S4,000. It supplies abundant water for 
 the tract of about 1,500 acres, lying one mile north- 
 east of Smith Brothers, and embracing the farms of 
 A. H. Hawley, J. McViear, H. M. Schooley, Mrs. E. 
 McCall. W. R. Hutson, and J. N. Mann. D. Well- 
 ington built a ditch the same year to irrigate the 
 ranch now owned by J. A. Rogers. It is two miles 
 long and cost 8600. In 1876, McFarnahan & Gard- 
 ner completed a capacious ditch at a cost of 820,00(1. 
 It runs along the side of a verj- precipitous hill for a 
 distance of four miles, and reaches a point which 
 none of the others could have watered. Its entire 
 length is eight miles, and it irrigates the ranches of 
 M. C. Gardner and J. Irwin. In 1877 the Burbank 
 Brothers completed a ditch some five miles in length 
 at a cost of 81,200. It irrigates the farms of S. M. 
 and S. E. Burbank. A ditch of large proportions 
 is now in process of construction on the north side of 
 the river. It is intended to be about eight miles in 
 length, with a capacity sufticieiit to irrigate four or 
 five thousand acres. It will have two reservoirs to be 
 used in case of low water in the river. This will 
 bring under cultivation a fine tract of land. It is 
 owned by Hall & Simpson, J. N. Mann, and M. C. 
 Gardner k Co. There are several other farms in the 
 vallej- bcsidesthose mentioned, and are owned b}- Hall 
 & Simpson, \V. L. Hall, L. C. Hobart, Mr. Phinne- 
 mon, and Leonard Hamilton. In the north end of 
 the valley is a fine ranch, the property- of J. C. Hinds, 
 watered bj- native springe. On this ranch are the 
 celebrated Hot Springs, resorted to by many for 
 their medicinal pro|)erties. 
 
 The farms above mentioned cover an area of about 
 C,000 acres, and j-ield a fair compensation for tillage. 
 The soil varies in dift'erent parts of the valley, the 
 prevailing character being a mixture of sand and 
 loam. It is well adapted to the growth of alfalfa, 
 and all kinds of trees thrive. There are several fine 
 orchards which jiroduce well in favorable seasons, 
 the fruit being of the finest quality. The staple pro- 
 duct is hay, of which the greater portion is alfalfa, 
 which averages four tons to the acre. Vegetables, 
 such as corn, potatoes, melons, etc., do well. The 
 principal stock-raisers are \V R. Hutson, Hall ct 
 Simpson, C. Smith, J. A. Rogers, A. H. Hawley, 
 Burbank Brothers, and T. B. Smith. The latter 
 makes a specialty of raising Ayrshire stock for the 
 dairy. The winters are cold, yet not so severe but 
 stock-cattle can be wintered without feeding. 
 
 T. B. S.MITII, 
 
 Born in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, on the 
 second day of April, 1834, is now a resident of Well- 
 52 
 
 ington, Esmeralda County, Nevada. In his early 
 life, he like most bo\-s of New England parentage, 
 alternated from the labor of the farm to the wooden 
 bench and high desk of the country district school. 
 Having arrived at the age of fifteen years ho was 
 apprenticed to a firm in Bristol, Connecticut, to learn 
 the trade of rule making; but becoming dissatisfied 
 with this business, packed his portmanteau, and bid- 
 ding adieu to Bristol and its " rules " departed for 
 Lebanon. New York, where he engaged as clerk in 
 the store of Tilden iV Co., until the spring of 1853, at 
 which time he decided to cast his lot with those seek- 
 ing the golden shores of the Pacific. Crossing the 
 plains during that year, ho arrived in California late 
 in the fall, and for a few years was engaged in min- 
 ing with the usual success of the early daj-s. He 
 then turned his attention to stock-raising, but finding 
 his business circumscribed in California, migrated 
 with his flocks and herds to the goodly lands of 
 Nevada. In the fall of 1867, he married Miss Maggie 
 Nichol, of Wellington, which union is blessed with 
 three children — Dwight T., James U., and Maggie 1., 
 aged twelve, nine and four years respectively. 
 
 HALL A SIMPSON 
 
 Are extensive farmers and stock-ranchers in Smith's 
 Valley, Esmeralda County. The engraving of their 
 place gives one an idea of the beautiful valley and 
 improvements nestling in the embrace of the bold 
 range of mountains. The proprietors have, doubt- 
 less, anchored permanentlj-. and intend to build up — 
 have built up — a charming home. The stream on 
 which it is situated bears the name Desert Creek. 
 
 Mr. Warren S. Hall is a native of Pitston, Maine, 
 born in 1826. He was on this coast, in the ship 
 Barnstable, as early as 1845, and left for Boston in 
 1848, about the time of the discovery of gold, 
 returning again in 1849, since which time he has 
 made the coast his home. He came to Nevada in 
 1851, and soon after located the Eagle Ranch, where 
 Carson City now stands. Ho settled on the present 
 homo in December. 1860. 
 
 D. C. Simpson was born in Cape Noddick, Maine, 
 in 1832, and came to California in 1850, and to 
 Nevada in 1859, locating on the farm where he now 
 resides in 1860. 
 
 The Arm have been doing business together 
 twenty one ^-ears, and propose to continue the part- 
 nershi]) well into the next century. Their principal 
 force is expended in raising cattle for the Nevada 
 market, the mountains and vallcj-s around them 
 aftbrding an excellent range both summer and winter. 
 The large barn is to store hay, with which to carry 
 stock through the exceptional severe seasons, which 
 are liable to occur. 
 
 PRINCIPAL MINING DISTRICTS. 
 
 Columbus District, at present the most important 
 in the county, is sixty miles southeast of Aurora, and 
 thirty-five miles northwest of Silver Peak, in the 
 Candolaria Mountains. Facts in reference to the 
 organization and early history of this district were 
 
414 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 gleaned from an article written b}' Wells Drury and 
 published in The Tru« Fissure in November, 1880. 
 The organization was made b)' Mexicans; and the 
 preliminary meeting was held in Washington Dis- 
 trict, Lander County, in 1864. The presence of hos- 
 tile bands of Indians within the district made it 
 unsafe for white men to live in this region at that 
 time. For this reason a special law was passed by 
 the organizers of the district, allowing the Recorder 
 to live outside of the district until it was sufficiently 
 populated to be safe within. 
 
 The laws adopted by the miners allowed the 
 owners of claims to have the free use of all streams 
 crossing their property, as well as all timber growing 
 on their claims; a provision not very essential as 
 there was neither timber or water on any of the 
 claims. At the present time, the only timber to be 
 found is the dwarfed greaswood, and there is no 
 water excujjt what is hauled to the mines in barrels 
 and tanks. The fir.st meeting was held August 17, 
 1864, the necessary laws passed and ofiicers elected. 
 Jose A. Ochoa was elected President, Casimiro 
 Arteche, Secretary, and C. L. Benedict, Eecorder. 
 Although the organization was by Mexicans, the 
 minutes were written up in English. The Eecorder 
 was allowed to live in Washington District till 
 Columbus District was sufficiently populated to be 
 safe to live in. 
 
 Notice of the first claim was put up August 31, 
 1864, for 1.400 feet, and signed by Antonio Barbe, 
 Seneriano Arna, Jose A. Ochoa, Refugio Galuviz, 
 Ventura Veltran, Maria Hurtado, and Angel Parcha, 
 and named the Jesus Maria Ledge and Gold 
 and Silver Mining Company. On the same 
 day a large number of other claims were made, 
 among which were the fiuadalupe, the Zaragosa, 
 Chol»la,S:incho Panza, and other.s. On the eleventh 
 of October the San Pedro was recorded. After that 
 came the Esmeralda, the San Callentano and many 
 others, nearly all of which bore Mexican names, the 
 Mexicans holding a virtual monopoly in the camp up 
 to this time. By degrees, however, a few Americans, 
 Sclavoiiians and Germans managed to get their 
 names on the notices of location, and the control of 
 the district finally passed from the hands of the 
 original claimants, together with the ownership of 
 the propertj'. 
 
 The records show that Gov. L. R. Bradley was one 
 of the early locators in this district. His claim em- 
 braced 400 feet, and was called the Bradley ground. 
 His son, John Bradley, was half owner with him. 
 Alf. Doten, well-known in Nevada as editor of the 
 Gold Hill N^eios, was also one of the early locators. 
 He was interested with Andy Colman, W. II. Virden, 
 Abram Lewis, Donald Ross and Harloy Fay in two 
 claims, known as the Zenobia and Tuscarora, 1,400 
 feet each. On the twelfth day of October, 1865, the 
 Northern Belle and the Southern Belle claims were 
 located by Alsop J. Holmes, M. C. Hubbard, Fran- 
 cis Seip and Edmund Griffin, having 1,000 feet each. 
 
 On the twenty-sixth of May, 1865, Mineral Mining 
 District, being uninhabitable, was, on petition of 
 its claim-holders, annexed to Columbus District. 
 Candelaria Mining Claim was located May 22, 1865, 
 and from this the town of Candelaria is supposed to 
 have received its name. 
 
 The mineral belt on which Columbus District is 
 established is about twenty miles in length, and 
 four miles in width. The ledges are found princi- 
 pall}- in slate and granite, and in the limestone 
 adjoining those formations. The general character 
 of the ore is a chloride of silver, carrying galena, 
 copper, iron, antimony and arsenic. The ledges 
 generally run parallel and crop boldly, frequently 
 from twelve to fifteen feet above the surface, and 
 are from twelve inches to three feet in width. 
 The rock taken out bj- prospectors assayed from 
 S50 to 8200 per ton, but the absence of wood and 
 water, and the generally' desolate character of the 
 district, operated to prevent a rapid development 
 of what were known to be rich ledges. The near- 
 est wood and water was found eight miles from 
 the mines. 
 
 Ill 1870, active operations were commenced by sev- 
 eral comjianies. Samuel Youngs moved a four-stamp 
 mill here from Aurora that year, and the Columbus 
 Mill and Mining Company built a ten-stamp mill, as 
 did also Sweetapple& Ilazeltine. Water was brought 
 from the town of Columbus, a distance of eight miles 
 from Candelaria Hill, where the mines are located, 
 and wood was hauled an equal distance, thus ren- 
 dering the working of the mines very inconvenient. 
 
 The leading mine in the district is the Northern Belle, 
 at Candelaria, first located in 186.'), and relocated in 
 July, 1870. It was worked not vcr}' successfully till 
 1873, when such a bodj' of ore was opened up that the 
 companj' decided to build a twenty-stamp mill, which 
 was completed in the spring of 1875. The mill was 
 erected six miles north of the mine, and water was 
 brought to it by a ditch, and pipe, fifteen miles in 
 length, at a cost of S25,000. A road was built to the 
 mine, and another to the source of wood supply. 
 
 The Northern Belle (^ompaiij' built a new twenty- 
 stamp mill in the fall of 1876. Up to 1878 the yield 
 of bullion from (his mine was >?3.754.(I00. and divi- 
 dends had been paid to the amount of 81, 500, 000. Since 
 then the mine has continued to be very productive, 
 although the yield of 1S77, 81.270,000, has not been 
 equaled. The other leading mines in the district are 
 the General Thomas, Mount Diablo, Metallic, Victor, 
 Vanderbilt, Platina and Baluartel. 
 
 EsMERAi.PA Mining District. This district, sur- 
 rounding the town of Aurora, was the first discov- 
 ered in this portion of the State, and gave its name 
 to the county, a name that was a rival of Nevada for 
 the honor of being the name of the State. As this 
 was the first quartz discovery in the county, the fol- 
 lowing account of the circumstances under which it 
 was made will be interesting. It is from the pen of 
 
HISTORY OF ESMERALDA COUNTY. 
 
 415 
 
 J. Wells Kell}', in the First Directory oi Nevada Terri- 
 tory, published in 1SC2: — 
 
 The credit of this discover^' is due to J. M. Corey, 
 James M. Bnily and E. 1{. Ilioks, and was brought 
 about in the lollowing manner: Messrs. Corey and 
 Braly, residents of San Jose, haviiii; t;ono over to 
 Wa-^hoe in the sprinu; of 18(i(i, on a jjrospecting tour, 
 which contemplated the exploration of a pretty wide 
 range of country, found themselves prevented by 
 Indian troubles from extending their labors beyond 
 the immediate vicinit}' of Virginia, until late in July. 
 They then struck north, and having examined the 
 district about P3-ramid Lake to their satisfaction, 
 returned and passed over into the Sullivan District, 
 east of Carsoi\ liiver. Here they fell in with Hicks, 
 who, having ])ros|)ected the country from Oregon 
 down, was still following u]) his searches for silver, 
 heading south. Having a similar object in view, the 
 throe formed themselves into a company, and con- 
 tinuing their journej- in that direction, along the 
 Pine Nut range of mountains to the West P^ork of 
 Walker River, bent their couise east, and pursuing a 
 zig-zag route through the mountains between the 
 forks of the Walker, worked their way down as far 
 as Mono Lake. Here they bent their steps to the 
 northeast, and, passing through the Bodie, El 
 Dorado and Masonic Districts, all being worked to 
 some extent at that time, thej' proceeded in that 
 ///direction until they reached the rugged chain of hills 
 
 I west of Walker I^ake. Having inspected these, and 
 a similar range further east, without meeting with 
 anj- encouraging prospects, thej' determined to go 
 south to the Coso region, then already somewhat 
 talked of. and, if necessarj-, push their journey the 
 length of Arizona, or even Mexico. 
 
 For the purpose of getting an extended view of 
 the suiTounding countr}', and shaping their course, 
 they ascended a high peak in the Wassuck range of 
 mountains, which, seen a long waj' off bj' the trav- 
 eler approaching Ksmeralda, has since very properly 
 
 ^ been named Corey's Peak. Having, from this ele- 
 vated position, determined a route, they entered 
 boldly upon what promised to be a long and toilsome 
 journey through one of the most fearfully barren 
 sections of the Great Basin. The}' had not gone far 
 until a want of water compelled them to make a 
 deflection toward the west. Coming upon a spring 
 in a valley-like depression encompassed by steep and 
 rockj- hills, they camped for the night. In the 
 morning Hicks, who seems to have been the hunter 
 of the party, started out with his rifle to look for 
 game. Passing over a craggy height lying west of 
 y their camp, since known as Esmeralda Hill, this 
 man, who had a quick and observing eye, noticed 
 the peculiar appearance of the quartz ledges, hero 
 quite numerous, and, breaking ott' some pieces, 
 brought them into camp. His companions, better 
 versed in mineralogy, at once detected in the blue 
 streaks that had attracted his attention the sul- 
 phi'rets of silver, and, proceeding to test it, found the 
 metal present in abundance. With such a prospect 
 all idea of going on without further inspection of 
 the locality was of course abandoned. The three 
 went out, and, examining the neighborhood, found 
 the hills ribbed with quartz veins from to]> to bottom. 
 Having tested these veins and found them all more 
 or less impregnated with the precious metals, they 
 took up seven of thenumhcr. The spotfrom which the 
 first pieccofrock was taken bj- Hicks is in the Discov- 
 ery Claim of what is now known as the " Old Win- 
 nemucca" Ledge, located near the brow and on the 
 
 "^ west declivity of Esmeralda Hill. This occurred on 
 
 >{he twenty-fifth of August, 18G0, a day that will be 
 memorable as having brought to light one of the 
 richest and most extensive mineral districts ever yet 
 discovered. [Newlj- discovered districts were usu- 
 allj' so regarded. — Ed] 
 
 Having taken uj) this small number of claims, act- 
 ing, under the circumstances, with a moderation 
 highly- commendable, these young men hastened to 
 Monoville, twenty-five miles distant, and acquainted 
 the inhabitants with the discovery. On the thirtieth 
 of August, a companj' of some twentj- returned with 
 them, when a mining district having been duly laid 
 out, and a set of rules and regulations adojited, 
 numerous claims were taken up. This district, ten 
 miles square, was, at the suggestion of J. M. Corey, 
 named Esmeralda — an appellation that has since 
 gradually extended itself to the adjacent country, 
 and finally been given to the county erected from a 
 portion of it by the Legislature of Nevada. 
 
 The name Esmeralda, thus ap])lied to the new dis- 
 covery, is the Spanish name of the green jewel^which 
 in English is called emerald. 
 
 Reports of the rich discovery, with samples of the 
 rock, soon made their way to Carson and Virginia, 
 and iramediatelj- there was a great rush for this 
 region, and before winter set in every out-cropping 
 ledge was taken up. The little collection of tents on 
 the hill was known by no distinctive name, the whole ,' 
 region being called Esmeralda. No attempt wa* 
 made to build a town there, but the later comers 
 pitched their tents on the flat at the head of the 
 canon, and the advantages of this place as a site for 
 the town was so evident, that before long every one 
 was located there. The winter was severe upon 
 those who spent it in the new town, the canvas tents 
 and rude huts constructed of stones being but scant 
 protection from the rigorous climate of that high 
 altitude, 0,(500 feet above the level of the sea. Not- 
 withstanding the unpropitious weather, the people 
 continued to arrive all the winter, and the population 
 became so great and the evi<lences of permanency so 
 certain, that the next spring the Legislature of Cali- 
 fornia created the new County of .Mono, with Aurora, 
 the name that had been given to the new town, as 
 the county seat. 
 
 For several years the yield of bullion was very 
 great, the celebrated Wide West, and the Real Del 
 Monte, Crocket, Ktna, Lord Byron, Juniata, Ante- 
 lope, Utah, Winnemucca, Esmeralda, Lady Jane, and 
 others being very productive. The mines have 
 never been worked below the water level, and the 
 work done seemed to develope the following facts 
 (see State Mineralogist's Report 1867-68): — 
 
 First — There seems to be a bolt of quartz, nearly 
 barren, underlying, every mine at about tho same 
 depth. 
 
 Second — In every instance it is above tho water- 
 level . 
 
 Third — The jrold decreases genorallj' from tho 
 depth of about 1(1(1 feet, and finally entirely disap- 
 pears where the barren quartz is found, while the 
 silver increases from the depth of about 1(1(1 feet to 
 the barren quartz. It does not wholly disappear, 
 but tho yield is not sufficient to pay for reducing. 
 
416 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 , Fourth — The water-level is reached in this barren 
 quartz. 
 
 Fifth — At the greatest depth to which this belt 
 has been opened there was evidence that rich silver 
 might reappear. 
 
 Inference — These mines may be worked profitablj- 
 at greater depths. 
 
 Acting upon the inference deduced from the above 
 facts, and encouraged by the important develop- 
 ments in the Bodie District, the Real Del Monte 
 Company was incorporated in October, 1877, with 
 a capital stock of 85,000,000; and a new shaft was 
 started on Last Chance Hill, with the design of 
 making a thorough and deep prospect. The shaft 
 has three compartments, and has already reached 
 the depth of 750 feet, at which point a station is 
 established, and cross-cutting being done. The 
 shaft is also being continued down 250 feet further. 
 If rich developments are made by this companj- 
 similar efforts will be made on a number of the 
 ledges, and Aurora maj- look to become again the 
 mining center she was in the days of her infancy. 
 Since this company has been at work business has 
 improved, and the town advanced, and there arc 
 now some 250 men at work in this mine, or prospect- 
 ing some of the others. 
 
 The quartz mills that have been at Aurora, only 
 one of which, the Coffee Mill, is now running, deserve 
 mention bj' name. 
 
 Pioneer Mill, built, and commenced running in 
 June, 1S61, by Green, Culver, and Jackson, the first 
 in the district, and cost 825,000. It was situated on 
 Willow Spring Gulch, in the upper part of town 
 Eight stamps. 
 
 Union Mill, built in 1861. Cost, 830,000. Eight 
 stamps. Esmeralda Kavine in lower edge of town. 
 
 Taylor & Co's Mill, below Coffee Mill, on opposite 
 side of street. 
 
 Moses Mill, built in 1862. Below the Union Mill. 
 Cost, 816,000. 
 
 Napa Mill, built in 1862. Cost, $20,000. Eight 
 stamps. 
 
 Aurora Mill, commenced running May 11, 1863 
 Cost, 850,000. Ten stamps. 
 
 Pine Creek Mill — This mill was also known a^ 
 Brodie's and as Luf kins'. Built, 1802. Eight stamps. 
 Cost, 840,000. 
 
 Gibbons' Afill, built, 1862. Coat, 815,000. Four 
 stamps. 
 
 Clayton's Mill, built in 18G2, one mile east of town. 
 Twelve stamps. Cost, 830,000. Afterwards called 
 Spring Valley Mill. 
 
 Lamb's, or Peck's, Mill, built in 1862, near Clay- 
 ton's Mill. 
 
 Antelope Mill, built in 1864, in Bodie Gulch. Gran- 
 ite and brick. Twenty stamps. Cost, 8150,000. 
 First built in 1863 with eight stamps. 
 
 Alturas Mill, built in 1862. Seven stamps. Cost, 
 820,000. 
 -V Wide West Mill, built in 1862. Granite and briek. 
 Cost, 8150,000. Twenty stamps. 
 
 Fogus Mill, built in 1863. Twelve stamps. Cost, 
 850,000. 
 
 Independence Mill, built in 1863. Cost, 890,000. 
 Sixteen stamps. 
 
 Real Del Monte Mill, built in 1863, in Bodie Gulch. 
 Cost, 8250,000. Granite and brick. Thirty stamps. 
 
 Union Foundry and Coffee Mill, built in 1862. 
 Cost, 820,000. Complete foundry and a four-stamp 
 mill. Now running on custom work. 
 
 Nearly all of the above mills ceased operations in 
 1863-64r-65, though the Antelope and Real Del Monte 
 ran several years later, and the Coffee Mill is still 
 running. 
 
 Bullion to the amount of 816,000,000 had been 
 produced in the district up to 1880. 
 
 Gold Mountain District is twenty miles south- 
 east of Lida Valley, just at the northern extremity 
 of Death Valley, in the same range of mountains, 
 and the first discovery was made by Thomas Shaw 
 in 1866, the district being organized in September of 
 that year. It is supposed that it was here that C. C. 
 Brcyfogle obtained the rich specimens that he 
 claimed to have found in Death Valley, and in search 
 of which so manj' people were so eager and so dis- 
 appointed. But little work was done until 1871, 
 when some new discoveries were made, especially 
 the Oriental, which was discovered that year by 
 Thomas Shaw, who found some very rich gold crop- 
 pings, and on which a shaft has since been sunk 150 
 feet. This ore was worked by a six-foot arastra. 
 No mill has ever been erected. There are two min- 
 eral belts in the district eight miles apart, and sep- 
 arated by a high valley. They are called the granite 
 and slate belts. The princi])al locations on which 
 more or less work has been done are the Oriental, 
 from which the richest specimens in the State have 
 been taken; Enterprise, Old Gal, Mountain View, 
 Golden Leaf, in the granite formation, and the State 
 Line, Kelley and Ober, Ann Arbor, and the Liberty. 
 Some. 200 locations have been made in the district. 
 Wadsworth, until Hawthorne was started, was the 
 nearest railroad station and the source of supplies. 
 
 There is plenty of pine nut timber in the district, 
 but water is scarce. The ore is free-milling gold, 
 with some silver; and at present there are ten men 
 living in the district. 
 
 LID.V VALLEY AND OTHER DISTRICTS. 
 
 LiDA Valley District is about twenty-three miles 
 southeast of Silver Peak, and was discovered by Will- 
 iam Scott, in May, 1871, and organized August 
 7th of that year. 
 
 The formation is limestone, slate, and granite. 
 The veins that have been traced for a distance of 
 eight miles vary in width from eighteen inches to two 
 feet, run from northeast to southwest, and dip to the 
 southeast. Some of the silver ore, in which is a small 
 per cent, of gold, is free-milling; but it generally car- 
 ries lead, with some copper and iron, as a base 
 metal; pinon pine in abundance upon the surround- 
 
Uj^'IcIul 
 
 "'iV,»» 
 
 
 '£^y?l4^--^^__^ 
 
 RESIDENCE AND RAiNi^n ur i^. nLhiNLLoLN 
 
 MASON VALLEY, ESMERALDA CO.,NEVADA. 
 
\ 
 
HISTORY OF ESMERALDA COUNTY. 
 
 417 
 
 ing muuDtains, water suflScient for milling purposes 
 in springs and shallow wells. Ores are now worked 
 raw. There are two mills in the district, one an 
 eight-stamp, the other having five, and both are run 
 by steam. Freights by team cost five cents per 
 pound from Wadsworth, distant 1G8 miles away in 
 an air line. What the reduction will be in gaining a 
 nearer railroad station at Hawthorne, is yet to be 
 seen. There have been about 250 locations made in 
 the district, fifty of which are still in existence, 
 among the more important of which arc the Brown's 
 Hope, Death Vallej', Suwaneo, Cinderella, Lida Hill, 
 or '' Hawkej'e,'' Lida Belle, Blue Dick, Sapphire, 
 Centennial, and Fortunatus, or •• Buster." 
 
 The greatest depth obtained is by shafts on the 
 Fortunatus and Brown's Hope mines, each having one 
 250 feet down. The longest tunnel is on the Suwanee, 
 and is 200 feet. 
 
 •Montezcma District was discovered by Thomas 
 Nagle, ifat Plunkott. and a man named Carlyle, on 
 the twenty-fourth of -May, 1867, and shortly there- 
 after the district was organized. The mineral bell 
 is six miles long and about two miles wide. The 
 rock formation being limestone and calcareous shale, 
 and is very compact. The water supply is limited, 
 while wood is found in abundance, and very con- 
 venient to the mines. The district lies ninetj^ miles 
 from Belmont, and fourteen miles from Silver Peak, 
 and has an altitude of 7,750 feet above the level of 
 the sea. About sixty locations have been made. The 
 manner of finding the ore is bj' making cuts in the 
 limestone from one to five feet in depth, but few of 
 the deposits having croppings. In the fall of 1870 
 a fine ten-stamp mill was erected, and, after a run f)f 
 about four months, was shut down. It was provided 
 with four pans, one largo settler, and four reverba- 
 tory furnaces. The ores obtained in this district are 
 the chloro-bromide (embolite), sul])hide of silver 
 and antimony (sittengerite), malachite and azarite. 
 
 Oneota District was discovered May, 1870, by 
 Mr. Wetherell, who was led to the place b)' an 
 Indian who had found some rich rock here. This 
 gentleman located the Indian Queen. The district 
 was organized June 20, 1870, and the following 
 spring a large number of locations were made. In 
 1802 a district was organized here by some parties 
 who were prospecting for gold in the White Mount- 
 ains They discovered a ledge two and one-half 
 miles north of the Indian Queen, but no valuable 
 rock being found, the district was abandoned. There 
 are several good springs, a fine stream of water, and 
 wood in abundance. The district is about thirty 
 miles southwest from Columbus, and within two 
 miles of the California line. The Indian Queen is 
 the principal mine, and is now incorporated. For the 
 first two or three years ore was sent to IJeno and 
 San Francisco for reduction, and in this way the 
 mine yielded $200,000 up to January, 1875. At 
 this time the incorporation was formed, a four-stamp 
 
 mill completed in June of that year, and since then 
 the yield has been much greater, and a large amount 
 has been paid in dividends. 
 
 Pine Grove District is about forty miles north- 
 west from Aurora, and was discovered Julj' 9, 1806, 
 by William Wilson. A great many locations were 
 made, only three of which, the Wilson, Kean and 
 Wheeler, were found to be valuable. The district is 
 cut by many canons running in ditferent directions, 
 forming an irregularly shaped mountain, the mass of 
 which is granite. Tlie veins are found on both 
 sides of the principal canon, having a courije north- 
 east and southwest. These mines are worked for 
 the gold, although some silver is found in the rock. 
 There are three mills in the district, the Pioneer with 
 ten stamps, the Central with five stamps, and the 
 Wilson. The Central is not now running. 
 
 Palmetto District lies west of the Lida, and was 
 organized in 1866, the discoverers being II. W. 
 Bunyard, Thomas Israel and T. W. McNutt. About 
 fifty locations have been made, and at one time things 
 were in a flourishing condition, but at the present 
 time there are no miners in the district. It lies in the 
 same range as the Lida, Sylvaniaand tJold Mountain 
 Districts. A large twelve-stamp mill was erected in 
 1866. for the purpose of working the ores from the 
 Champion, and one or two other mines on the same 
 lead. Water was obtained by sinking wells in 
 sufficient quantities to supply the mills and mines, 
 and after a successful run of a few months the mill 
 was obliged to shut down for the want of ore, the ore 
 body giving out, and the mines requiring much dead 
 work and capital before other ore bodies could be 
 uncovered, wore finally abandoned. The mill being 
 left to look out for itself, has been entirely taken 
 away, although the mines and mill-site are still held 
 by the old company under the patent. Pinon timber 
 is found in abundance in close proximity, the mines 
 being situated in an immense forest. The ores of the 
 district carry considerable copper, being silver ores, 
 carrying no gold. The leads run east and west, dip- 
 ping to the north. The deepest shaft is on the 
 Champion mine, and is about 100 feet in depth. 
 
 Sylvania District lies twelve miles southwest of 
 the Lida, and was organized in 1872 under the name 
 of Green Mountain District, but in lS7li was changed 
 to its present name. The first location was made in 
 
 1870 by Kincaid, which was followed by about 
 
 100 others. The district is located in a spur of the 
 White Mountain Kange, and there are at present ten 
 men at work there. The ores are principally galena, 
 with some silver and gold-bearing leads which seem 
 to indicate permanency. The formation is slate and 
 limestone, the veins running east and west. Smelt- 
 ing works were erected at Lost Springs, in 1875, but 
 are not running at the present time. The timber 
 supply is abundant, and of the kind known as pifion 
 ])ine. Water is obtained in sufficient quantities from 
 the many strong springs in the immediate vicinity. 
 
418 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 The deepest shaft in the district is on the mine owned 
 
 by Kincaid and John Judd, being 150 feet, and i 
 
 the longest tunnel, about 200 feet, is on the Uncle 
 Sam. The post-office is at Lida, but the nearest rail- 
 road station is Hawthorne. 
 
 Silver Peak and Red Mountain are virtually 
 one district, situated in the high mountains east of 
 Fish Lake Valley. The latter was discovered and 
 organized in July,'18ti4, during which year a three- 
 stamp mill was erected, and later a thirty-stamp 
 mill, called the Red Mountain Mill, was erected at a 
 spring a few miles from the mine. About this time 
 ledees were found but a few miles distant, and Silver 
 Peak District was organized. The principal vein 
 is the Red Mountain, and the Crowning Glory the 
 leading mine. Operations were suspended in Novem- 
 ber, 1870, the mill was shut down and all the hands 
 discharged. Since then but little work has been 
 done by the Silver Peak and Red Mountain Com- 
 pany. 
 
 abandoned districts. 
 
 There are a great many other districts in the county 
 some of which have been entirelj- abandoned, while 
 others are being slightly prospected, or being M^orked 
 simply for the purpose of holding the claims. in the hope 
 that in the future developments will make them valu 
 able. There is no doubt that when the narrow-gauge 
 railroad is completed to the Columbus District, an 
 upward influence will be given to the whole region. 
 The districts now prominent, of which particular 
 mention has not been made, are the Baldy, Cornell, 
 Cottonwood, Desert, Lake, Walker itiver, Tule 
 CafiOD, Masonic, Van Horn, Montgomery, ilinnesota. 
 Thunder Springs, Blind Springs, Hot Springs, Inde- 
 pendentia, Pahdet, and Washington. There are now 
 about 500,000 acres of mineral lands, sixteen quartz 
 mills, and there have been 22,292 tons of ore crushed. 
 
 J. c. hinds, 
 The subject of the following sketch, is a native of the 
 State of Pennsj'lvania, and first saw the light of da}- 
 about sixty years ago. In 1844 he left his home and 
 for many years was a traveler, having in his wander- 
 ings been twice nearly around the world. In 1800 
 he located where ho is at present to be found, the 
 genial owner and proprietor of the celebrated "Hinds' 
 Hot Springs," a view of which will be found in this 
 volume. The medicinal tjualities of the water of 
 these springs are among the wonders of the present 
 age. There are three different classes of baths, each 
 bath combining the waters of many springs with 
 various degrees of temperature. The springs are 
 situated only ten miles from Wellington Station. A 
 good-sized volume could bo written about these 
 springs, but suffice it to saj- that they are fast becom- 
 ing a popular resort, and rank first among the health- 
 sustaining institutions of the Pacific Coast. 
 
 W. H. SPRAOO 
 
 Is a native of New Brunswick, and first opened his 
 eyes upon this sinful world in the year 1833. When 
 
 a lad of but fourteen years he removed to the State 
 of Maine, and settled in Cumberland County. In 
 1853 he " went west" to the State of Wisconsin, and 
 two years later went to Illinois. In 1859 the ex- 
 citement connected with the discovery of the mines 
 at Pike's Peak, in Colorado, caused him to emigrate 
 to that section of the countrj-, and soon after he 
 continued his journey and landed in (California. In 
 1862 he crossed the mountains and has since that 
 time been a resident of Nevada, engaged in min- 
 ing. He was the discoverer of the Excelsior mine, 
 and lias been extensively interested in several other 
 mines. At present he is interested in the Ludwig 
 Copper Mine, and he, with his associates, have re- 
 cently erected a new furnace at that place. This 
 mine is in the Wilson District, and bids fair to 
 realize for its owners a bonanza. Mr. Spragg was 
 married to Miss R. G. Knox, daughter of Captain 
 John Knox, of Kentucky, and they have one child, a 
 daughter, Alice, wife of Charles T. Martin. Mr. 
 Spragg has a residence and ranch in Mason Valley, 
 and is very comfortably situated. 
 
 PRINCIPAL TOWNS AND CITIES. 
 
 \/ Aurora, the county seat of Esmeralda County, is 
 located in the center of Esmeralda Mining District, 
 and was first settled \>y J. M. Carey. James M. Brady 
 and E. R. Hicks, who came from San Jose in the 
 spring of 1860 on a prospecting tour. They organ- 
 ized the camp and named the town, and in the spring 
 of 1801 the Legislature of the State of California 
 created the new county of Mono and fixed the 
 county seat at Aurora, supposing it to be within the 
 limits of the county. The officers of Mono County 
 located here, rented a Court House and built a jail. 
 During that 3-ear the town continued to increase; 
 many substantial buildings were erected, and hotels, 
 stores and other places of business were opened. 
 Messrs. Green, Culver and Jackson erected the Pio- 
 neer Quartz Mill, a steam mill with eight stamps and 
 four roasters, which cost over 825,000, owing to the 
 high rates of freight and exorbitant prices paid for 
 material and labor. During the next two years 
 Eighteen quartz mills were erected, some of which 
 only ran for a short time. The height of pros- 
 perity was reached in 1863-64, at which time 
 there were twenty stores, a dozen hotels and as 
 many more boarding-houses, and saloons in great 
 numbers. The population in the summer of 1863 
 was 6,000. During the summer of 1864 most of the 
 mills shut down, and the following winter half the 
 people left, and the population continued to decrease 
 till 1870. 
 
 Aurora has only had two fires of anj- magnitude, 
 the first of which occurred at three o'clock in the 
 morning of the sixth of January, 1806. All the 
 frame buildings on both sides of Antelope Street, 
 between Pine and Aurora Streets, were burned, 
 entailing a loss of about 840,000. The next fire 
 was at 11 o'clock in the forenoon of September 
 
 I 
 
HISTORY OF ESMERALDA COUNTY. 
 
 4.19 
 
 11, 1873. In half an hour ten wooden buildings, 
 reachinc; from the corner of Pine and Antelope 
 Streets to the drug store, were burned, including 
 the County Jail and AVingate Hall badlj- dam- 
 aged. The Pah-Utos worked bravely in helping to 
 subdue the flames. 
 
 In 1S80 Aurora had 500 population, four stores, 
 seven saloons, one hotel, two lodging-houses, four 
 restaurants, one livery stable, one blacksmith shop, 
 one Methodist organization, one telegrajih office, one 
 express office, one assay office, one clergyman, four 
 attorneys, one doctor, one dentist, one hospital, onie 
 school building, 20x40 feet. of brick, one newspaper, 
 the Esmeralda Herald; S200,000 value of taxable 
 property. 
 
 The nearest railroad station is Hawthorne, distant 
 twenty-eight miles to the northeast. Bodie lies 
 twelve miles to the southwest. Belleville, east forty- 
 eight miles, and Pine Grove, north forty miles, 
 
 Belleville is situated on a slope in the foothills fac- 
 ing west, and was started in 1878; was most prosper- 
 ous from that time until 1876, the greatest number of 
 population having been about 500. The altitude of 
 the town is about 5,000 feet. Candelaria lies south of it 
 eight miles, and Marietta, northwest ten miles. At 
 present it contains about two twentj'-stamp quartz 
 mills, thirty houses, twelve families, 150 men em- 
 ]>loj-ed by the company, 300 population, four stores, 
 two hotels, seven saloons, two restaurants, one livery 
 stable, two blacksmith shops, one telegraph offino, 
 one assay office, one express office, one doctor, no 
 lawyers or clergymen, one school house, built of 
 wood, 20x30 feet. 
 
 Freights are received from the new railroad town 
 of Hawthorne, forty miles away, for which one and 
 one-half cents per pound is charged. 
 
 Candelaria derived its name from the mine of 
 that name, located May 22, 1865. It is also the 
 name of one of the mass days of the Catholic Church, 
 ■which accounts for its having been given to the 
 location bj' its Spanish discoverers. 
 
 In 1875, John McDonald erected a saloon on or 
 near the mine referred to, but, owing to a lack of 
 business, closed down. In the summer of 1876, 
 Zadoc Pierce purchased the McDonald property, and 
 opened a small store. Later he formed a co-part- 
 nership with George Vernon. That year a town 
 site was surveyed on the flat north of the hill, by 
 J. B. Hiskey, and in November it contained a 
 post-office, four stores, two hotels, eleven saloons, 
 one restaurant, one livery stable, and a number of 
 dwelling-houses. 
 
 In 1880, the population was estimated at 000, the 
 registered vote was 359, and the town contained 
 six stores, one hotel, ten saloons, three restaurants, 
 two livery stables, one blacksmith shop, three law- 
 yers, three doctors, one school house, lGxl2 feet, no 
 church, one assay office, one telegraph office, one 
 express office. 
 
 The wood and water supply is obtained from a 
 distance, water being brought in wagons from 
 Columbus, eight miles, and costs four and one-half 
 cents per gallon. Wood is obtained in the Excel- 
 sior Mountains, twentj- miles west, and from mount- 
 ains twelve miles to the south, and is of the kind 
 known as nut pine. 
 
 The nearest towns to Candelaria are Columbus, 
 eight and a quarter miles to the southeast; Belle- 
 ville, eight and three-quarter miles to the northwest, 
 and Metallic, three-quarters of a mile in the direc- 
 tion of Columbus. Freights come from the railroad 
 station of Hawthorne, liftj--five miles distant, and 
 cost twentj- dollars per ton. Prior to this, team- 
 ing freights came from Wadsworth Railroad Station, 
 130 miles distant, at an expense from San Francisco 
 of four cents per pound. There is a twenty-four 
 column weekly paper published at Candelaria, by 
 John Dormer, that was started June 5. 1880. There 
 have been seven homicides, the following being the 
 names of the victims: John Ferris, Joseph Tur- 
 ner, Thomas Logan, Traver, Moore, one Chinaman, 
 all of whom were shot, and John Lawless, who was 
 killed with a pick. 
 
 Columbus was an outgrowth from the discovery 
 of mines; was the first town started in the district of 
 that name, and its commencement dates from 1865. 
 The building of a quartz-mill was the first thing that 
 concentrated settlement there, the mill being located 
 at this point because of its proximity to the salt 
 and borax flats, as well as the facility for obtaining 
 water, that is found by digging wells but a few 
 feet into the ground. Nut pine and cedar wood 
 are found in the adjacent White Mountains. In 
 1866, the town had gained a population of about 
 200. The place has not been entirely dependent 
 upon the mines, for the large deposits of salt and 
 borax in the vicinity have supplied an industry that 
 has supported quite a population. The Pacific 
 Borax ('onipany commenced operations in Septem- 
 ber, 1872, at the Columbus Marsh, five miles south 
 of Columbus. In 1875 the company also went to 
 work in Fish Ijake Vallej', ten miles farther south, 
 and a little village of some forty cheap buildings, 
 chiefly adobe, sprang up, containing some twelve 
 families, and 200 pcoj)le. This conii>any suspended 
 work some time ago. Teel's Salt Marsh, and the 
 Virginia, or IHioades', Salt Marsh lie north and north- 
 west of Columbus, and have been worked quite 
 oxtensivclj'. The former is at ])resent being worked 
 by Smith Brothers, and the latter by A. J. Rhoades. 
 
 Columbus was most prosperous between the years 
 1870 and 1875, during which time the number of its 
 population is reported to have reached 1,000. The 
 buildings are of wood and adobe. There is no church, 
 but a school house, built of adobe, 16x20 feet, with 
 twenty pupils to attend in it, is among the institu- 
 tions of the town, 
 
420 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 At present there are about ] 00 people living there, 
 and the town contains two quartz mills, two stores, 
 one hotel, one restaurant, six saloons, one black- 
 smith shop, one livery stable, one doctor, one attor- 
 ney, one express office, a post-oflice and a news- 
 paper, the Borax Miner. 
 
 In early times W. W. Barnes started a weekly 
 twenty-four column paper, known as the Columbus 
 Times, there, but was forced, for want of patronage, 
 to suspend ])ublication. The nearest railroad station 
 is at Hawthorne, distant tittj'-eight miles, and team- 
 ing freights from that place are thirty dollars per 
 ton. 
 
 There have been several homicides in the place, 
 and two men have been hung, one of them, a Mexi- 
 can, being lynched for killing a countryman. 
 
 (tReenkielu is a thriving little town in the cen- 
 ter of the rich agricultural country in Mason Valley. 
 In 1869 W. R. Lee settled upon 160 acres where the 
 town now stands. In 1S71 Dennis Iliggins and E. 
 W. Bennett came, and the year following Mr. Hig- 
 giiis purchased the KiO acres of Lee, and had it 
 patented in his own name. There was at that 
 time the saloon of James Downey, the store of 
 E. W. Bennett, and the blacksmith shop of Isaac 
 Sims, on the land. Geiger, of the Virginia Geiger 
 Grade, kept store about two miles below the present 
 site of (treiMifiokl. He settled there about 1863. In 
 1872 William Withero and B. .(ackson came, and J. 
 S. Craig in 1873. At present, the town is in a pros- 
 perous condition, having a population of 200, five 
 stores, three hotels, two saloons, two restaurants, 
 three livery stables, three blacksmith shops and four 
 other places of industry. A tri-weekly mail goes 
 there from Carson. J. S. Craig is the present Post- 
 master, and agent for Wells, Fargo's Express. 
 Freights arc received from Wabuska, twelve miles 
 distant. They have a wood school house 20x30, 
 with a seating capacity of forty. The regular at- 
 tendance is twenty-two. The Methodists have a 
 church building that will seat 200; also a Sabbath- 
 school of twenty-five scholars. A good supply of 
 pure water is obtained from private wells, and wood 
 is procured from the mountains. The town is at an 
 elevation of 500 feet, and is healthful the j'car round. 
 The Post-oflice address is Mason Vallej', but an eflbrt 
 is being made to change it to Greenfield. 
 
 TuE Town ok L'ida Valley was laid out in the 
 valley by that name on March 1, 1872, and now con- 
 tains three stores, one saloon, one boarding-house, 
 one blacksmith shop, one butcher shop, one livery 
 and feed stable, and one post-oflice. 
 
 J. S. CRAIG 
 
 Is a native of Ireland, County of Donegal, and was 
 born in October, 1839. Leaving his native homo at 
 the early age of twenty-two years became to Amer- 
 ica and settled in Philadelphia, Ponnsj'lvania, and 
 there learned the saddler's trade, at which ho worked 
 till 1860, in which year he took passage for the State 
 
 of California, by way of the Isthmus of Panama, 
 and from thence to Nevada the following spring, 
 engaging in the saddler's business in Aurora, Esme- 
 ralda County, for a period of eight years. From 
 thence he removed to Pine Grove, in 1869, and re- 
 sided thereuntil 1875, whence he removed to Green- 
 field, Esmeralda County, where he now resides. Mr. 
 Craig has, during his leisure hours, devoted himself 
 to the study of the law, with such success that he 
 was admitted to the Bar in 1S68, and with his pro- 
 fessional avocation combines the pursuits of the mer- 
 chant and hotel keeper, besides having charge of the 
 express and post-offices, kept in the store adjoining 
 his hotel. To offset the seeming blessings before 
 mentioned, Mr. Craig might count among his misfor- 
 tunes that of having been Justice of the Peace dur- 
 ing most of the years of his residence in the Silver 
 State, an office that during the early years of the 
 settlement of the State necessarily combined the 
 Legislative, Judicial and Executive in one. 
 
 One of many instances illustrative of this occurred 
 at Rockland, Nevada, in 1872. During one of those 
 early entertainments known as "sprees," a despe- 
 rado, known by the name of Australian Kelly, 
 engaging in a free fight such as often were indulged 
 in in those days, was stabbed, and at the time sup- 
 posed to be fatally, bj- one Griffith. A man by the 
 name of John Grosser was arrested for the crime, 
 though at the time of the affray he was asleep in 
 bod. Kelly believed, as did his friends, that Grosser 
 was the guilty parly, and that Kelly was mortally 
 wounded. The^- determined to be avenged. To 
 accomplish this, throe of Kelly's friends entered the 
 building whore Grosser was held in custody by a 
 Constable, while the fourth, a largo, powerful fellow, 
 remained outside. At the time agreed upoij, he 
 entered the room, and, accosting Grosser, asked if he 
 was the man who cut Kelly. Grosser at once an- 
 swered he was not. The other, drawing a revolver, 
 replied, '' You aro, and you shall die;" but before he 
 could use it Justice Craig, who was present, with 
 great courage and presence of mind, seized the 
 would-be murderer and thrust him outside the build- 
 ing, closing the door. Immediately the throe others 
 rushed for Grosser, when they were met by tho 
 dotermined presence of the Constable, supported by 
 a cocked revolver, ready at a moment's notice to 
 second and su]>port the action of tho " Court." 
 
 They soon decided that Grosser was not the man 
 the}- were looking after, and tho little meeting 
 adjourned without notice. On the examination 
 Grosser was clearly proven innocent, and was re- 
 leased — his life saved by the courage and prompt 
 action of the officers of tho law. 
 
 Justice Craig was married in August, 1873, to 
 Miss Kitlie A. McGower, a native of New York City, 
 at the home of her parents in Bridgeport, Mono 
 County, California. They have two little daughters 
 living, and have buried one son, who died in early 
 childhood. 
 

 
 (l/aj% 
 
 RESIDENCE, Ml LLt.-" RANCH OF W.R. LEE. 
 
 ESMERALDA CO., MASON VALLEY, N EV. 
 
HISTORY OF ESMERALDA COUNTY. 
 
 421 
 
 JASPER DANIEL 
 
 Is a native of the State of Indiana, born in Warren 
 County, March 13, 1843, where he remained until he 
 reached the age of thirteen 3'ears. His facilities for 
 obtainint; an education were only those of a common 
 school, but he was one to improve his opportunities, 
 however measure the)' mij^ht be, and succeeded in 
 acquiring a fair knowleilge of the common branches. 
 In 1856, Mr. Daniel romovcfl to the State of Iowa, 
 and was a resident of that State until 1862, at which 
 time he emigrated to the far West. He endured the 
 hardships of a journe)- across the plains and wintered 
 with the -'Saints" at Salt Lake Citj-, Utah. The 
 next year he continued his travels toward the sotting 
 sun, and as he expresses it: " Willed away eight 
 years of the choice portion of his life." Being a man 
 who observes, he learned a great deal concerning the 
 countrj' and the peculiarities of the people of the 
 State of California and Territory of Nevada, where 
 he lived during the eight years before mentioned. 
 He finally returned to Iowa, and was married to the 
 lady who ])residcs over his household at the present 
 time. In 1876, Mr. Daniel returned once more to 
 the Pacific Coast, and has since been a resident of 
 Greenfield, Esmeralda County, Nevada, where he is 
 engaged in blacksmithing, also deals largelj' in 
 agricultural implements and general merchandise. 
 
 Mrs. .Tosie Daniels, wife of the subject of the fore- 
 going sketch, is a native of the State of Iowa, born 
 in Audubon County, July 5, 1856, where she 
 remained during the first year of her life. In 1857, 
 she went with her parents to Missouri, and for the 
 succeeding fourteen j-ears lived in that State, and 
 then returned to Iowa, and was soon after married. 
 Her union with the husband of her heart, has been 
 blessed with two children, as follows: Ida E., aged 
 seven years and Ernest B., aged two years, 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Daniel are much respected b}- their 
 neighbors, and are a well-to-do couple, living in the 
 knowledge that thej' have by industry and energy 
 succeeded in establishing a homo surrounded with 
 the comforts of life. 
 
 W. R. LKE 
 
 Was born in Covington, Kentuckj', in 1831, and dur- 
 ing the same year removed with his parents to Ox- 
 ford, Ohio, where he remained until 1830, when 
 another move was made, this time to Wayne County, 
 Indiana, and that place was the family headquarters 
 until the subject of this sketch reached his majorit)-. 
 In 1852. .Mr. Lee, with his father and mother, came 
 to California, and settled in Shasta County. Ho hav- 
 ing learned the trade of his father, that of a mill- 
 wright, came to the Territory of \evada, in ISiil, 
 and settling in Dayton, followed that business until 
 1863, when he went back to California, and in 1865 
 went to the Owens River country where he remained 
 until 1868. In the last-named year he again 
 anchored in Nevada, settling on the place now called 
 the Wilson Mill property. Mr. Lee built the mill in 
 the same year, and sold to William Wilson in 1871, 
 53 
 
 at which time ho located the land where the town of 
 Greenfield now stands. In 1873 he sold said land to 
 Dennis Higgins, and removed to his present home, 
 two miles north of Greenfield, in Mason Valley. 
 During that year ho built his flouring mill, and 
 started it running on the fourteenth of October. 
 These are two thirty-two-inch turbine water-wheels, 
 with a six-foot head of water, and the mill has a 
 capacity of twelve barrels of flour, and fifteen tons of 
 barlej% per run of twelve hours. Wheat is ground 
 for ten'dollars per ton and barley at three dollars. 
 .Mr. Ijeo ships quite extensivelj' to Bodie, Belleville 
 and Candelaria, and has the satisfaction of knowing 
 that he is a public benefactor in establishing an 
 institution of so much value to the communitj' in 
 which he lives. Nearly everything about his estab- 
 lishment is the work of his own hands, he having 
 made everything in connection with the mill except 
 the buhrs. 
 
 Mr. Lee was married to Miss Sylvia A. Kincaid, a 
 native of Ohio, October 30, 1863. .Mrs. Lee came to 
 Dayton, Nevada, in 1862, with her brother Alfred 
 Kincaid. Her union with Mr. Lee has been blessed 
 with eight children, six of whom are now living. 
 The following are their names and ages in 1881: 
 David A., fourteen years; Louisa, twelve years; 
 Schuyler, eight years; Robert E., six years; Eva B., 
 four years; Nettie M., nine months. The names of 
 those deceased, Elmore and Frank. 
 
 Hawthorne is the name of the town site at the 
 present terminus of the Carson and Colorado Rail- 
 road, on the east shore of Walker's I,ake. The fol- 
 lowing is taken from the Virginia Evening Chionic/e 
 of April 1, 1881, in reference to the new town: — 
 
 The new town of Hawthorne, on the line of the 
 Carson and Colorado Railroad at Walker Lake, will, 
 in the near future, give employment to a great many 
 workingmen of all classes. The town at present con- 
 sists of two tents and a clapboard shanty, but when 
 the railroad begins to crawl out that way it will grow 
 very rapidlj'. Hawthorne will doubtlessbe the countj' 
 seat of Esmeralda County in a j-ear or two. and as it 
 will be at the Junction of the railroad and the Bodie 
 wagon road, it is sure to be a prosperous jtlace. The 
 new wagon road to Bodie, which is owned by the 
 same men who are building the Carson and Colorado 
 Railroad, is as fine a grade as is to be found any 
 place in the mountains. From .Vurora to Bodie a 
 new route has been taken, that, although two miles 
 longer than the old one, is nearly an hour shorter in 
 time. The old grade, which is still traveled bj' a 
 few, is in places precipitous and dangerous. The new 
 grade is so constructed that a railroad track could be 
 laid down on it without much additional work. The 
 railroad will not bo built to Bodie, however. The 
 ])eo|ile out there ])refer to have the teams and 
 teamsters. 
 
 Esmeralda County for the past ten years has had 
 a steady and healthy growth. Her present popula- 
 tion is 3,220; assessed property valuation, 81,179,388; 
 and total debt, 832,!tl5. 
 
 EXECUTION OF BESPEUAD0E8 IN 1864. 
 
 In the year 1863 Aurora was u prosperous mining 
 
422 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 town of most flattering prospects for the future, with ' 
 a population of not less than 5,000; with a city gov- 
 ernment; two daily newspapers; two fire companies 
 of sixty men each, with their machines; two military 
 companies, uniformed and fully equipped, with com- 
 modious and convenient armories; a brass band of 
 eleven pieces, together with all other appendages 
 and accompaniments that go to make up a full- 
 fledged city. In common with all lively mining 
 camps, it was infested with bad characters; gam- i 
 biers and thieves were numerous, and wert' inces- ' 
 santly getting drunk and killing each other. A 
 "man for breakfast" became so common an oc- 
 currence, that the citizens ceased to be interested 
 in ascertaining his name and the circumstances of 
 the killing, feeling a sensation akin to gladness 
 when it was announced that one more rowdy, they 
 cared not which one, had met his natural and deserved 
 fate. A feeling of insecurity, however, rested con- 
 tinually upon the people; they knew not at what 
 time a peaceable citizen might be shot down. ■ 
 
 A reign of terror existed during this period, cul- 
 minating on the ninth of February, 1834, and it was 
 useless as well as unsafe, to invoke the majesty of 
 the law for the jirotection of person or property. 
 No witness could then be found that would be willing 
 to tell what he had heard or stten in any given case. 
 for to do so tliey would be the next victims in the 
 hands of that desperate gang of murderers and 
 thieves who had been attracted to Aurora from the 
 report of the richness and extent of her mines. It 
 made no difference how often this gang of cut-throats 
 maj' have assaulted one, or taken propertj-, a jury 
 could not be selected who had the moral courage to 
 find a verdict against them, as sure death awaited 
 them if they did so. The officers of the law, includ- 
 ing even the Judge on the Bench, were more or less 
 under the same influence of fear of personal injurj- 
 or loss of popularitj- in a political power. Nor were 
 the political parties of the daj' altogether free from 
 the annoyance and interference of this villainous 
 gang. At a primary- election held by the I'nion 
 Party in September, 1864, for delegates to represent 
 Aurora in the County Convention, these ruflians, who 
 were all Hemocrats, insisted upon voting, and having 
 other persons who were not members of the Union 
 Party vole also, and they enforced their demand to 
 vole by walking uj) to the officers of the election 
 and holding out in one hand their ballot, and in the 
 other hand a pistol which was pointed at the officer. 
 Thus things continued to go from bad to worse. If 
 the ticket voted by this gang had been successful, a 
 Democratic "secesh" delegation would have been 
 elected to the Union Republican Convention. 
 
 One of the leaders of this gang of rowdies, thieves, 
 fighters and murderei-s was John Uailey, then recently 
 from Sacramento, a young man of but twenty-five 
 years of age. Another of the gang was Sears, one of 
 whose acts led to the culminating event. Sometime 
 in Ihc month of April, 1863, ho had seen a horse tied 
 
 in front of Mayberry's, near Hoy's Station, on the 
 banks of the West Walker; mounted the animal and 
 rode away. The owner, a German named Louis 
 Wedertz, was much distressed b}- the loss of his 
 horse, and followed down the road to Jack Wright's 
 Station, now Wellington, and asked assistance of W. 
 R. Johnson, who was keeping the place. Mr. John- 
 son directed John A. Rogers, one of his men, to mount 
 and pursue the robber and bring the horse back. 
 Away flew Rogers in hot pursuit, leaving a dense 
 trail of dust behind him. The thief was overtaken 
 at Sweetwater, and being called upon three times to 
 stop, and refusing to comply, was shot dead. The 
 horse was returned to the happy German, and both 
 Johnson and Rogers were commended for their activ- 
 ity in recovering the stolen property-, the fate of the 
 robber being considered a deserved one. 
 
 The balance of the band determined to kill John- 
 son for the part he took in this aftair, and laid their 
 plans to accomplish this secretly. They sought to 
 induce him to go to Adobe Meadows, where they 
 owned a ranch, and keep a station there, intending 
 to kill him, where there would be none to witness 
 the act. They so far prevailed upon him that he 
 was in Aurora on the first day of February, 1864, 
 with the intention of going with them to view the 
 place on the following day. Their intentions were 
 discovered by one of Johnson's friends, who told him 
 that if he went with them to Adobe Meadows ho 
 would certainly be killed, and advised him to tell the 
 conspirators that he had received a letter from his 
 wife that necessitated his return home in the morn- 
 ing, and that he would go with them .some other 
 time. Johnson did as he was advised, and retired to 
 bed. The conspirators were satisfied that their 
 victim had discovered their intentions, and deter- 
 mined to kill him that night. They went to the 
 place where he was sleeping, aroused him, and coaxed 
 him down to a saloon, where the balance of the 
 night was spent. Between four and five o'clock in 
 the morning Johnson started for his lodgings, and 
 was met on Antelope Street by lour men, and shot. 
 Not content with this, the murderers cut his throat, 
 and set fire to his clothing. Great was the excite- 
 ment in the morning. The citizens felt that the 
 time had come for them to do something, knowing 
 that if left in the hands of the law enough pcijured 
 testimony would be ])rocured to acquit the pcr])e- 
 trators. Quickly arratigements were made for the 
 organization of a vigilance society. Three of the 
 men, John l)ailey, James Masterson, and John Mc- 
 Dowell, (i/itis Three- Fingered Jack, were arrested 
 by the authorities, and lodged in jail, while Sheriff 
 Francis, with an eager posse, started in pursuit of 
 William Buckley, who had fled. The prisoners 
 were given a preliminary examination before .Justice 
 Moore, at the old policestation, during which an alter- 
 cation occurred between one of the Dailey crowd, 
 named Vance, and a citizen by the name of Watkins. 
 resulting in the shooting of Vance in the groin. 
 
 I 
 
HISTORY OF ESMERALDA COUNTY. 
 
 423 
 
 Tho three men were committed for trial at the con- 
 clusion of the examination. 
 
 51 can while tho organization of the vigilance society 
 was progressing in the Wingate Building, some 350 
 of the law and order citizens joining the organiza- 
 tion. An executive committee of twelve ol' the lead- 
 ing citizens of Aurora was selected to decide the 
 conduct of the organization, and their orders were 
 full}- and {iromptly obeyed. Colonel Palmer was 
 appointed Marshal by them, and executed all orders. 
 The society was divided into companies, with proper 
 officers, and everything was done in a most systema- 
 tic manner. Captain Tecl, the Deputy Sherifl", was 
 arrested and guarded in his own house, some of the 
 guards belonging to the Esmeralda dangers, of 
 ■which company he was Captain. Other police offi- 
 cers were placed under like restraint, and the vigil- 
 antes maintained a guard over the police station and 
 jail. Vance and a number of other bad characters 
 were confined in the police station, and a few days 
 later liberated, and requested to immediately vanish 
 from sight, a request which they complied with 
 hastily. Vance was afterwards killed, at Austin, by 
 Irish Tom, one who had left Aurora in the same 
 unceremonious manner as himself. 
 
 AVhile these events were transpiring in Aurora, 
 Sherifl' Francis, with his posse, were in hot pursuit 
 of Buckley. The fugitive had secreted himself in a 
 cabin near the Mono Lake placer mines, and when 
 the pursuing party approached, a dog which accom- 
 panied them ran up to the cabin and began to bark. 
 Buckley looked out to see what was the matter, and 
 then fled from the rear door, pui>ued by the dog. 
 Not seeing the fleeing murderer, but being convinced 
 that the dog had discovered something, the party 
 hastened after them, and soon came U])on tho saga- 
 cious animal, watching at the mouth of a prospect 
 hole. From this hole Buckley was soon brought, 
 and the party started for Aurora, where they arrived 
 during the night. As soon as tho Sheriff passed 
 with his prisoner within the guard lines he was 
 arrested, and placed under guard in his office, while 
 Buckley was confined in the jail. Tho vigilance 
 committee had taken charge of tho arms of the 
 Esmeralda Rangers, and used Armory Hall for their 
 headquarters. On the summit of the hill, in the 
 center of North Silver Street, 100 feet northeast of 
 Armory llall, was erected a gallows large enough for 
 the quadru))lc execution. 
 
 For several days saloons had been required to close 
 their doors at 9 o'clock in tho evening, and on tho 
 ninth, the day set for the execution, business of all 
 kinds was suspended. People for miles around came 
 flocking into town, and on that day no less than 
 5.000 were gathered hero, tho majority of them being 
 in sym])athy with the proceedings. The town was 
 very quiet, guards patrolod tho streets, and everj-- 
 thing was still and orderly, and when Governor Nye 
 telegraphed to Samuel Youngs, one of the County 
 Commissioners, that there must be no violence, that 
 
 gentleman sent the following reply: "All quiet and 
 orderlj-. Four men will be hung in half an hour." 
 At noon tho vigilante companies formed in a hollow 
 square about the scaffold, being under the command 
 of Colonel Palmer, who received his orders from the 
 executive commiltee in Armorj- Hall. Tho four 
 doomed men were escorted to the scaffold, while 
 guards upon the outside of the square kept the crowd 
 at a distance. The execution could be witnessed 
 to great advantage from a number of places in town, 
 and at each one of these was assembled a crowd of 
 eager spectators. At half-past 1 o'clock a little 
 cannon that stood beside the gallows was tired, the 
 rope was cut, and tho four men disappeared through 
 tho trap-door and were soon hanging lifeless, a terrible 
 example of the vengeance of an outruLa'd commu- 
 nity. 
 
 Two days later Governor Nye, I'rovost Marshal 
 Van Bokkelen, and United States JIarshal Wasson, 
 rode into town, but accomplished nothing and left 
 on the third day. The effect of this wholesome ex- 
 hibition of justice and the absence of the bad charac- 
 ters warned out of town, was a quiet and orderly 
 community for some time, and a considerable modi- 
 fication of lawlessness ever after. 
 
 KEPORT OF THE GRAND JURY 
 
 Of Esmeralda County, Second Judicial District, for 
 the March Term of said Court, a. v. 1864. 
 
 To The Honorable District Court: The Grand 
 Jury, whose term is about to expire, in conformity 
 with custom, have the honor to jiresent this report: — 
 
 In the discharge of our duties we have examined 
 thirtj--six cases, of which twenty-two true bills are 
 found, ten ignored or dismissed, and four cases con- 
 tinued to the next (irand Jury. Tho Grand Jury 
 find it necessary to direct the attention of the County 
 Commissioners to the condition of the County Jail, 
 which has been leased from the county of Mono, Cal- 
 ifornia, by the Commissioners of the county of Esmer- 
 alda. At this time it contains four prisoners, against 
 whom have been found indictments for various 
 offenses by this Grand Jury. The j)rison itself is 
 inefficient and insecure, and totally unfit for tho 
 lodgment and safe-keeping of the ))risoners therein 
 We feel warranted, after inspection, in recom- 
 mending that some other locality and a more suit- 
 able building be jirovided. We do not hesitate to reit- 
 erate tho report of the Grand Jury of last October 
 Term, as to its total unfitness, however careful and 
 particular the officers in charge maybe, to secure tho 
 itimates. 
 
 The Grand Jury would therefore call the attention 
 of the County Commissioners lo this subject, and 
 suggest the purchase of some suitable location in this 
 City and erection thereon of a building better 
 adapted to the i)urpose,*nd more convenient than 
 the one now leased by the county. Until that is 
 done, we would recommend that a night guard be 
 placed over the present place of confinement till the 
 l)risoners therein confined shall have been brought 
 to trial or their cases disposed of. 
 
 The Court room and various county offices are 
 leased from I'reble, Devoe & Co., by the County 
 Commissioners, for the sum of 8250 ])or month, tho 
 owners thereof reserving to themselves the right to 
 lease or let the center or Court room at any and all 
 
 i^' 
 
+24 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA 
 
 times, provided they do not interfere -with any Court 
 of Record. The floor of the room occupied bj- the 
 County Recorder, as also that of the Probate Judge, 
 is of such a character that we beg leave to call atten- 
 tion thereto. It contains great openings and not a 
 few holes, through which come noises from a saloon 
 below, to the disturbance and annoyance of those 
 engaged in malting Records, whereby mistakes are 
 liable to occur. We therefore recommend that the 
 owners of said property be required, at as early a daj- 
 as possible, to construct therein floors of such char- 
 acter that there need be no further cause of com- 
 plaint. An examination has been made into the con- 
 dition of the afl'airs of the Justice of the Peace for 
 Township No. 1, and everything therewith found 
 satisfactory. 
 
 The City Marshal's ofiBce, rented at a cost of fifty 
 dollars a month, is a small frame building in the back 
 of which are two cells. Although we believe that as 
 yet no one has succeeded in escaping therefrom, yet, 
 it is patent to all that to make the attempt is to be 
 successful. The prisoners in these cells are fed at a 
 cost to tiie city of one dollar per diem, whereas, upon 
 inquiry it is found that the prisoners confined in the 
 County Jail are fed at a cost to the County of SI. 50 
 per diem. We find the books and records of all the 
 countj' oflScers kept in a neat, correct and clearly busi- 
 ness-like manner. Having thoroughly examined the 
 bonds of all the county officers, it is found that one 
 of the bondsmen on the undertaking of the ("ounty 
 Assessor has filed a protest, notifj'ing the pi«nper au- 
 thorities that he has withdrawn, as one of the sure- 
 ties upon said bond, for the sum of §2,000. We also 
 find that many of the bonds on file are without the 
 necossarj- stamp required by the United States Inter 
 nal Jievenue Law, and upon others the sureties have 
 been c]ualified before officers not authorized by law 
 to administer oaths in such cases. 
 
 With these exceptions the bonds are all correctly ex- 
 ecuted and approved, and in our opinion the bondsmen 
 are all good and responsible men. We also find that 
 the County Assessor has not complied with the pro- 
 visions of an Act of the Territorial Legislature 
 (approved December 20, 18C!1), providing for an 
 assessment on the gross proceeds of the mines. Since 
 the ])resent Assehsor entered upon the discharge of 
 the duties of his office, to wit, From October 1, 18G3. 
 to January 4, 18()4, there has been shi|)ped from this 
 county by Wells, Fargo & Co., of Aurora, bullion 
 amounting to 8219,770, upon which a revenue of 
 8659.31 has been lost to the county and Territory by 
 the negligence and inefficiency of the County Asses- 
 sor. We also find for the last quarter ending this 
 day, that there has been shipped by the above-men- 
 tioned company, bullion amounting to 8307.500, upon 
 which an additional revenue of 8922 50 is due this 
 county. We would especially call the attention ol' 
 the proper authorities to a nuisance now infecting 
 nearly everj' part of this cit}-, to wit, the numerous 
 disgusting Chinese brothels tliat exist on most oC 
 our public streets, to the great detriment of public 
 morals and danger of propertj', and recommend that 
 some action be immediatoJy taken that will effectu- 
 ally abate the evil. 
 
 Among other alleged ])ublic offenses, we have been 
 called upon to investigate the action of a self-styled 
 " Citizens' Safetj' Committee," and upon inquirj' we 
 find that it was composed of over six hundred of our 
 best, most substantial and law-abiding citizens. We 
 find that this association was organized on the sec- 
 ond of February, 1864, and on the ninth of the same 
 «aonth, four men, to wit, John Dailoy, Wm. Buckley, 
 
 John McDowell, alias "Three-Fingered Jack," and 
 James Masterson, were executed for the murder of 
 W. R. Johnson, and various other crimes, by being 
 hung by the neck on a gallows near Armorj' Hall, 
 in the city of Aurora, at the hands of, and in pursu- 
 ance of a preconcerted action on the part of, said 
 association. Having considered the homogeneous 
 character of our population, isolated as we are. and 
 removed from the influences of older communities, 
 and the great difficulty and expense of procuring 
 witnesses, which deter persons of limited means from 
 prosecuting and bringing to justice the perpetrators 
 of crime, and the fact that within the last three years 
 some twenty-seven of our citizens have come to their 
 death by the hand of violence, and the delaj-s and 
 inefficiencj', and we believe also, the indifference of 
 those who were the sworn guardians and ministers 
 of the law, and the unnecessary postponement of 
 important trials, whereby many notorious villians 
 have gone unpunished, we are led to believe that the 
 members of that association have been governed by 
 a feeling of opposition to the manner in which the 
 law has beeti administered, rather than by any dis- 
 regard of the law itself, or of its officers. 
 
 Under institutions so eminently popular as under 
 those which we live, where all power for the correc- 
 tion of abuses emanates from the people themselves, 
 it is not to be wondered at if thej- should exercise 
 that power when the tardiness or maladministration 
 of the law fails to correct evils complained of ; and 
 when those who are deeply interested in good and 
 wholesome laws, and in seeing them purely adminis- 
 trated, will not give sufficient attention to our elec- 
 tions to secure proper and sober legislators, judicial 
 and othei- officers, they must expect insecurity of life 
 and property. In this we find the true cause whence 
 have sprung many of the evils of which we have suf- 
 fered. The Grand Jury deplores the necessity that 
 called into existence that association or self-styled 
 " Citizens' Safety Committee," yet it is believed that 
 the members of said association were influenced in 
 their actions by no personal or private malice, but 
 were actuated b^- a due regard for what the}- deemed 
 the best interests of the community at large. Feel- 
 ing assured now. however, that lawless ruffianism 
 has been effectually checked, and will no longer dare 
 put at defiance our laws and its officers, and being 
 satisfied also that there is a determination on the 
 part of all our officers to fully and faithfully perform 
 all their duties, we, therefore, in view of iUI these 
 facts, dismiss the whole matter as being one of those 
 peculiar results of circumstances which cannot be 
 full}- justified in the ej-es of the law. j-et we cannot, 
 in our o])iiiion, eft'ect an3'thing by presentment that 
 would result in ))ublic good. 
 
 We believe the association has ceased to act and 
 formally dissolved, but doubtless the members are 
 ready, if ever sad occasion should again require it, 
 to assert the right of self-preservation and the 
 supremacy of natural law over defective statutory 
 forms and tedious tribunals, when, thereby, the sub- 
 stantial ends of justice can be best or alone attained, 
 and societ}' relieved of the horrors of unchecked and 
 triumphant villainy. 
 
 It is sincerely hoped by every member of this 
 (irand Jury that never again may dire necessity 
 require ly-ene wal of that terrible scene on the ninth 
 of Februftry, 1864. 
 
 We desire, before closing this report, to bear testi- 
 mony to the able, efficient and )irompt manner in 
 which the Sheriff' and his deputies have each dis- 
 charged their duties as oflSccrs of the law, in arrest- 
 
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 [HAROWAREj680CgRIFS^[| 
 
 RESIDENCE. 5T0RE AND SHOP OF JASPER DANIEL 
 
 GREENFIE LD, MASON VALLEY, ESMERALDA CO.,NEV. 
 
HISTOFIY OF EUREKA COUNTY. 
 
 425 
 
 ing and confining in prison the desperadoes tliHt have 
 recently suffered at the hands of the above-named 
 committee of citizens. We also reiurn our thanks 
 to Deputj' Sherifl' Capt. H. J. Teel, for tlie j)rompt- 
 ness with -whioh he executed all orders of the Jury, 
 thereby greatly facilitating the dispatch of business; 
 also to the county officers generally, for such infor- 
 mation as was required of them. 
 
 John S. MAVHidH. 
 Foreman of Grand Jury. 
 
 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 While submitting our general report, we deem it 
 our duty to add a few su])plementar}- remai'ks rela- 
 tive to the late outbreak and escape of three prison 
 ers from the t'ounlj- Jail. Wc find ujion inquirj- that 
 the following-named prisoners, to wit, Geo. Alexan 
 dcr, G. Valliano and Nicholas George, escaped from 
 their cells, between the hours of 7 and 8 o'clock on 
 the evening of the twenty-fifth instant, bj' removing 
 a portion of the planking from over the cell dooi-s, 
 thereby gaining access to the main or front room of 
 the prison, when they escaped by making a breach 
 in the south or front wall. 
 
 We learn upon inquirj- also, that the only imple 
 ment in possession of the prisoners, by which 
 u they effected their release, was an ordinarj' table- 
 knife, with which they jiicked the mortar from the 
 wall, thereby rendering the removal of the stones an 
 easy task. The Grand Jury Committee, whose duty 
 it was to examine into the condition of the public 
 buildings, suggested to the proper authorities the 
 necessity of placing a night guard over the jaM until 
 the prisoners therein confined should be brought to 
 trial, and had these suggestions been followed, no 
 escapes would probablj' have taken place. 
 
 We would mention, however, in justice to the Sher- 
 ift' and other ofticcrs of the law, that they have made 
 all efforts in tlieir power to recapture the fugitives, 
 but as 3'et without success. 
 
 We deem it not inappropriate to state, in conclu- 
 sion, that in consequence of the great difficulty wn 
 have labored under in procuring witnesses, many of 
 whom have been brought from a great distance, mak- 
 ing it necessary for us to adjourn from day to daj- 
 while awaiting their arrival, our session has been 
 protracted to an unusual length. In the discharge 
 of our duties we liave examined one hundred and 
 forty witnesses, besides reviewing a great deal of the 
 written testimony given in the various cases tried in 
 the Justices' Court, and now, having finished the bus- 
 iness before us, we submit this our report and ask to 
 be discharged. 
 
 All of which is most respectfully submitted. 
 John S. Mayhuoh, 
 Foreman of Grand Jury. 
 
 CHAPTER XLV. 
 HISTORY OF EUREKA COUNTY. 
 
 Pioneer Mines and Mining — Creation and Boundary — Action of 
 Commissionera — Appointments and KIcctiona — Topograph- 
 ical Features — Principal Mining Districts — Eureka District 
 in 1870 — Eureka District in iS7G — The Process of deduction 
 — Hon. Samuel Loni;liy —Prospect Mountain — (icology of 
 Eureka District — Williams' Salt Marsh — HemarkaUe Min- 
 ing Accident — Statistics of 1878-80 — The Pish t'rcek War 
 of 1S7"J — The Principal Towns — Beowawe — Kurcka — 
 Pioneer Items of Eureka — Buililin^;s and Materials — Several 
 Disastrous Fires — Sudden and Destructive Flooils— Fxlmund 
 R. Dodge — Hon. (i. W. Merrill — Hon. Henry Rives - 
 Palisadi^Ruby Hill. 
 
 The earliest incidents of Eureka's history were 
 associated with the Indian wars, the overland mail 
 and pony express, already related. Till the year 1873 
 it formed part of Lander County, but its general his- 
 tory is readily separable, and will be here given even 
 while it is a part of the mother county. With the 
 discovery of the Reese River mines, and the planting 
 of such a frontier post as Austin in the wilderness, 
 troing at one bound to the very center of the Terri- 
 tory, and the unexplored region of the maps, gave 
 an extraordinarj- impetus to prospecting, and soon a 
 very large area of country was run over and new 
 districts formed. First the prospectors ran northerly 
 and southerly along theToiyabe Range or contiguous 
 spurs, and then easterly on the overland road and in 
 its vicinity. In the north was found the great out- 
 croppings of the Cortez Giant, cutting through 
 Mount Tenabo, then other ledges of smaller size and 
 richer surface ores, and the district of Cortez was 
 formed early in 18t)3, probably the first in what is 
 now Eureka County. Here active operations have 
 been carried on continuouslj-, although at times on 
 the verge of abandonment until success crowned 
 good judgment and perseverance. 
 
 Eastward, near the overland stage station of 
 Diamond Springs, silver-bearing veins were found in 
 May, 1864, and Diamond District was formed. Pros- 
 pectors ranged through the mountains with much 
 energj', and often with little judgment, as is proven 
 by the neglect to discover the richest outcroppings 
 until a number of j-ears afterwards. The discover}' 
 which gave the name to Eureka, and subsecjuently led 
 to the explorations that disclosed the rich bodies of 
 ore that have since given the place its wealth and 
 celebrity, was made on the nineteenth of September, 
 18G4, by a prospecting party from Austin, composed 
 of Messrs. W. O. Arnold, W. R. Tannchill, G. T. 
 Taimehill, J. \V. Stotts. and Moses Wilson. This 
 party found a species of rock difi'eriiig from anj- they 
 had previously seen, and curiously examined it. The 
 crojipings at Austin were a rich chloride, and when 
 pieces of ore were placed in a fire, small globules of 
 silver would appear on the surface. This experiment 
 was tried with ore found by Arnold and bis com- 
 panions by ])lacing large pieces of the rock in their 
 camp-fire, the result being a flow of metal greatly 
 surprising the prospectors. They could not believe 
 it silver, and it was too hard for lead. However it 
 
426 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 was metal, and they exclaimed. •' Eureka," locating 
 their claims and organizing a district under that 
 name, with G. T. Tannehill, as Jiecorder, locating at 
 what is since called Xew York Canon. 
 
 The ore taken to Austin proved to be valuable, 
 being a combination oflead and silver, but not work- 
 able in the mills, and therefore not available but by 
 smelting or some new process. The lead mines, as 
 some called them, did not create the usual excite- 
 ment attending new discoveries, and but few visited 
 the new localitj*. The discoverers were without cap- 
 ital, and sought to sell, as they did not know how 
 nor had they the means to develop their new prop- 
 erty-. In 1864 thirty, and in 1865 thirty-one claims 
 were located; the next year but fifteen, then in 1867 
 but eleven, and in 1868 forty-three, which increased 
 in 1869 to 354. There are now about 3,000 claims 
 recorded, which, however, does not indicate that 
 there are so many distinct mines or veins in the dis- 
 trict. 
 
 F'ollowing the original locators came Alonzo Mon- 
 roe, M. G. Clough and Owen Farrell, in 1805, who 
 were led to the locality bj- an Indian, and who lo- 
 cated the Buckeye and Champion mines on what is 
 now known as Euby Hill. In the meantime the first 
 locators were seeking purchasers of their propertj', 
 and were successful in disposing of it to a party of 
 New York capitalists. In 1806 the purchasers of the 
 original locations began operations, expefiding large 
 sums of money, but through want of knowledge of 
 the proper treatment of the ores failed in their eiforts 
 to work the property profitably. 
 
 This failure, and others following, dampened the 
 prospects of the district, and it was not until 1869 
 that interest in its wealth was again aroused. In 
 that year the "rush " to White Pine occurred, and 
 as the excitement abated, people looked at the 
 mines of Eureka. Monroe and a i'cw others were 
 there and the abandoned furnaces were standing in 
 a dilapidated condition. 
 
 With this brief review of the general history we 
 will return to particulars. 
 
 CREATION AND BOUNDARY. 
 
 The county of Eureka was created out of Lander, 
 by an Act approved March 1, 1873, and its bound- 
 aries wore described as follows: " Beginning at a 
 point on the north boundary line of Lander County, 
 equi-distant between the northeast and northwest 
 corners of said Lander County; thence running due 
 south from said initial point to the south boundary 
 line of said Lander County; thence running east 
 along said south boundary line of Lander Countj' to 
 the southeast corner of said Lander County; thence 
 running north along the east boundarj- line of said 
 Lander County to the northwest corner of White 
 Pine County; thence running west along the south 
 boundary line of Elko County to the southwest cor- 
 ner of said Elko County; thence running along the 
 west boundary lino of Elko County to the northeast 
 corner of said Lander County; thonce running west 
 
 along the north boundarj* line of said Lander County 
 to the place of beginning." On February 16, 1875, 
 an Act was passed over the Governor's veto ceding 
 to Lander a triangular strip or piece from the south- 
 west corner of Elko Count}-, which included within 
 its limits the mining district of Galena. By an Act, 
 approved March 2, 1881, a small strip was added to 
 the eastern boundary of Eureka Count}-, being 
 detached from White Pine County. It begins at a 
 point where the eastern boundary of Eureka crosses 
 the summit of the Diamond range of mountains!, and 
 extends northward along the summit of the mount- 
 ains to the southern boundary of Elko County. 
 
 The Act creating the county, stipulated that 
 Eureka County should pay one-half the public debt 
 of Lander; fixed the seat of the new county at the 
 town of Eureka, and named the first county officers. 
 
 ACTION OF COMMISSIONERS. 
 
 The first meeting of the County Commissioners 
 took place at Eureka on March 20, 1873, Commis- 
 sioners, D. H. Hall, E.E. Phillips and L. W. Cromer 
 being present. V. H. Harmon presented his commis- 
 sion as County Clerk, and was recognized as such. 
 William Arington presented a commission as County 
 Commissioner, signed by the Governor, but the Board 
 rejected him. The amount of the various bonds to 
 be given by the county officials was then fixed upon, 
 after which commissions were presented by District 
 Attorney, G. W. Baker, and by T. C. Edwards as 
 County Recorder. William M. Gates appeared as 
 attorney for A. S. Campbell, and claimed for his cli- 
 ent the office of County Recorder. The matter was 
 spread upon the books without the recognitiin of 
 either party by the Board. Later in the day Camp- 
 bell was recognized. W. A. Edwards was appointed 
 County Surveyor, and J. D. Sullivan was recognized 
 as Sheriff, and L. P. KoUey as Superintendent of 
 Schools. The Board then adjourned, but assembled 
 again on the 21st. C. C. Wallace was recognized as 
 County Assessor and W. A. Seaton as County Treas- 
 urer. Various gentlemen offered to furnish rooms 
 for county seat i)urpose8 free, and their ofters were 
 taken under advisement. On March 22d the Board 
 rejected the bond of William Head, who claimed to 
 be County Superintendent of Schools, and declared 
 the position already filled. On March 25th, Skat- 
 ing Rink Hall, on the southwest corner of Main and 
 Bateman Streets, was accepted for county purposes, 
 the property being presented to the Board by J. O. 
 Darrow. 
 
 On April 8th the Board abolished Vanderbilt 
 Township, which includtid all that part of the county 
 lying south of a lino running as a continuation west 
 from the south line of Elko County. Palisade Town- 
 shij) was created the same day, and Vanderbilt 
 Township was re-established on the following day. 
 It was abolished finally on October 23, 1876, and its 
 territory made a part of Eureka Township, in 
 accordance with a petition presented to that effect. 
 The Act creating Eureka County and naming its 
 
HISTORY OF EUREKA COUNTY. 
 
 427 
 
 county officials provided that if 500 citizens should, 
 before the first Jfonday in July, 1873. petition for an 
 election, such election should bo called for the first 
 Mondaj- in August. A petition asking for such 
 election was duly presented to the County Commis- 
 sionei-s, but they decided, on Jlay 5th, that the ])oti- 
 tion was not in accordance with law, as it did not 
 contain the names of 500 persons who were actually 
 citizens. Manj' persons who were not citizens had 
 signed it. On June Uith the question came before 
 the Commissioners again, additional names having 
 been procured, but again the application was refused. 
 On May 10th bids were received for the building of 
 a County Jail, the lowest being for the sum of S3, 750. 
 All were rejected. On May 14th the Board ordered 
 new bids to be received, but the Commissioners 
 reconsidered the matter, and concluded to build a 
 jail themselves.- On April 2l8t the Board approved 
 of the settlement made of public matters between 
 the counties of Eureka and Lander. On December 
 2d, in response to a petition of 680 citizens, repre- 
 senting three-fifths of the taxable property of the 
 township, Eureka was declared subject to the pro- 
 visions of the Act approved February 21, 1873, 
 enlarging the governing powers of towns and cities 
 of Xevada. This Act was made to apply to an area 
 two miles in length north and south of the Court 
 House, and one mile west of the same, and half a 
 mile east of the same. On March 9, 1874, the pay of 
 the County Commissioners was fixed at ten dollars 
 per daj- each, when actively engaged. On March 
 16lh Ruby Hill Township was created, its area being 
 described as two miles in length north and south, 
 and one mile in width. On September 11, 1876, 
 this township was abolished, and its territory was 
 made a jjurt of Eureka Township. On May 18th 
 Henry Mathey was granted permission to lay gas 
 pipes in Eureka, " the grant to expire in four months 
 unless gas works have been erected in the mean- 
 time." In September, fifteen voting ])recincts were 
 created, and afterwards two more, making seventeen 
 in all. In October, 1873, bonds to the amount of 
 820,000 were issued to meet public expenses, and in 
 December 817,347.04 more were issued to meet the 
 indebtedness to Lander County. These bonds have 
 all been paid. 
 
 In 1875 the new Board of Commissioners created 
 Mineral Hill Township out of the territory then 
 recently acquired from Elko County, but subse- 
 quently reconsidered their action, and abolished the 
 township. In 1877 they issued current expense 
 bonds to the amount of 85,000, which were paid in 
 1870. In 1878 the sum of 81,2{»0 was paid to KIko 
 County on account of the cession to Eureka of the 
 Mineral Hill strip, and Pine Valley School District 
 was created. In 1880 the new Court House was 
 formally accepted, and Eureka School District bonds 
 to the amount of 820,000 were issued. 
 
 At present the county is divided into the five 
 School Districts of Eureka, Palisade, Beowawe, Min- 
 
 eral Hill, and Pinto. The school tax collected in 
 
 1872 amounted to 85,275. The children of school 
 age in 1878 was 472. Eureka County now has two 
 daily and one weekly newspapers. The SeiUinel and 
 the Leader are published daily at Eureka. The 
 Week/;/ Mlnit«j Niwn is published at Ruby Hill. (See 
 chapter on the Press of Nevada.) 
 
 The chief industries are mining and grazing. For 
 full statistics of the products of the countj- from 
 
 1873 to 1880, the number of acres under cultivation, 
 the stock and grain raised, and the fruit trees and 
 vines growing the reader is referred to the tables 
 to be found on pages 135, 136, 139 and 140 of the 
 general historj'. For the bullion product of the 
 county, see general table of bullion products. 
 
 APl'OINTMENTS AND ELECTIONS. 
 
 The first officers of Eureka County were named in 
 the Act creating the county, March 1, 1873. 
 
 Below will be found a complete list of all the 
 officers of the county from its organization down to 
 the present time, with the date of appointment, or 
 election of each. The vacancies in office bj- death, 
 resignation, or removal, if anj^ have occurred, will 
 also be found, with the names of the person selected 
 to fill the same. 
 
 SENATORS. 
 
 Geo. W. Cassidy and Geo. \V. Baker, elected No- 
 vember 7, 1876; \Yilliam Doolin, elected November 
 5, 1878; W. W . Uobart, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 ASSEMBLVJIEN. 
 
 M. B. Bartlett and Thomas Wren, elected Novem- 
 ber 3, 1874; D. E. Bailey, M. G. Cavanaugh, J. L. 
 Smith and A, W. Atchinson, elected November 7, 
 1876; Thomas Robinson, William Wermuth, J. L. 
 Smith and F. E. Fisk, elected November 5, 1878; G. 
 W. Merrill, 11. A. Knight, Samuel Longley, and James 
 Adams, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. 
 
 D. H. Hall, E. E. Phillips and L. W. Cromer 
 appointed March 1, 1873; John Hoi-n, J. W. Leran 
 and J. H. Morrison, elected November 3, 1874; T. D. 
 Page and Jose])h Oberer, elected November 7, 1876. 
 The seat of the latter was declarecL vacant for non- 
 residence March 4, 1878; A. W. Campbell and B. J. 
 Turner, elected November 5, 1878; N. Smith and C. 
 N. Mikel, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 lUSTHICT ATTORNEYS. 
 
 Goo. W. Baker, appointed March 1, 1873; Geo. W. 
 Merrill, elected November 3, 1874, re-elected Novem- 
 ber 7, 1876, re-elected November 5. 1878; W. II. 
 Davenport, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SHERIFFS. 
 
 John I). Sullivan, appointed March 1, 1873; George 
 Gilmore, elected November 3, 1874; James Sias, 
 elected November 7, 1876; Matt Kyle, elected No- 
 vember 5, 1878, re-elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY CLERKS. 
 
 F. il. Harmon, appointed March 1, 1873, re-elected 
 November 3, 1874, re-elected November 7, 1876; E. 
 
428 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 R. Dodge, elected Novembers, 1S78; C.J. R. Buttlar, 
 elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY TREASURERS. 
 
 W. A. Seaton, appointed iMarch 1, 1873; W. A. 
 Montgomerj', elected November 3, 1874; R. Ryland, 
 elected November 7, 1876; S. Cooper, elected Novem- 
 ber 5, 1878; R. Sadler, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COl'NTY ASSES.SORS. 
 
 C. C. Wallace, appointed March 1, 1873; J. C. 
 Powell, elected November 3, 1874; H. Knight, elected 
 November 7, 187(j; H. A. Knight, elected November 
 5, 1878; C. C. Wallace, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY RECORDERS. 
 
 A. S. Campbell, appointed March 1. 1873, resigned 
 December 2, 1873, and iSamuel Bell was appointed. 
 Bell resigned May 7, 1874, and T. J. Tennant was 
 appointed to fill vacancj'. R. L. Chase, elected No- 
 vember 3, 1874, re elected November 7, 1870; B.C. 
 Levy, elected November 5, 1878; L. Molinelli, elected 
 November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS. 
 
 William Head, appointed March 1, 1873; A. E. 
 Kaye, elected November 3, 1874, re-elected Novem- 
 ber 7, 1876; G. J. Scanland, elected November 5, 
 1878, re-elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SURVEYORS. 
 
 W. A. Edwards, appointed March 1, 1873; T.J. 
 Reed, elected November 3, 1874; II. H. Conklin, 
 elected November 7, 1876; T. J. Reed, elected No- 
 vember 5, 1878, re-elected Novembtr 2, 1880. 
 
 PUBLIC AD.MINIS'I'RATORS. 
 
 Francis Hanson, appointed March 1, 1873, office 
 declared vacant December 10, 1874; James Williams, 
 elected November 3, 1874; A. C. Bishop, elected 
 November 7, 1876; J. W. Smith, elected November 
 5, 1878, re-elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 T0PO0RAriIIC.\L FEATURES. 
 
 Like other portions of the State, the surface of 
 Eureka County consists principally of mountains and 
 valleys. Humboldt River flows across the northern 
 part, with a general course to the west. Maggie 
 Creek from the north and Pine Creek from the south 
 empty into the Humboldt. Fish Creek rises in the 
 southwestern part of the county, flows east into 
 White Pino County and sinks. Numerous small 
 streams originate from mountain spring.s, flow a few 
 miles and disappear in the earth. Along the west- 
 ern boundary are the Sulphur Mountains, extending 
 from the Humboldt River on the north to the line of 
 Nye County on the south. The Diamond range of 
 mountains skirts the eastern border for nearly 100 
 miles south from the Humboldt River, then trending 
 westerly crosses the southeastern |)ortion of the 
 county. The general altitude is high, the lowest point 
 being on the Humboldt at Beowawo, which is 4,695 
 leet above the sea. 
 
 Prospect Mountain and some of the lotlior peaks 
 of the Sulphur Range, have an altitude of 9,500 feet. 
 
 Diamond Mountain, which overlooks the town of 
 Eureka, has an altitude of 11,000 feet. 
 
 The topography of the county does not encourage 
 agricultural pursuits. The soil is generally sterile, 
 and water is not plentiful. In favorable localities, 
 along the Humboldt, Fish Creek and Pine Valleys, 
 good crops of hay and garden vegetables are raised. 
 The grazing interest is steadilj' growing in impor- 
 tance, the white sage and bunch-grass, found almost 
 eveiywhere, aftbrding ample pasturage for cattle. 
 The few cottonwoods along the streams, the pinon 
 and mountain mahogany and dwarf cedar in the 
 foot-hills, furnish timber for fuel and charcoal. 
 
 Pine Valley extends southward from Palisade for 
 the distance of fifty miles. It is wedge-shaped, the 
 point being to the north, and the valley being about 
 three miles wide at the southern extremity. Pine 
 Mountain looms up to the southwestward, being 
 sprinkled with timber. The other mountains are 
 almost denuded, yet hero and there men can be seen 
 at work cutting fuel for the railroad engines, the val- 
 ley being pierced bj- the Eureka and Palisade railroad. 
 Pine Creek heads in the I'ine Mountains and flows 
 northward to the Humboldt. The principal crop 
 raised consists of wild hay. Eighteen miles south- 
 ward from Palisade is the haj' ranch of the Eureka 
 and Palisade Railroad (Company, consisting of 2,500 
 acres of fenced bottom land, from which 1,000 tons 
 of hay are cut annually. The company runs a line 
 of freight teams from the terminus of their road at 
 Eureka, to Piochc and all intermediate points, em- 
 ploying from 300 to 400 mules, each team hauling 
 from 30,000 to 40.000 ])ound8. The hay cut at the 
 ranch is for the jiartial subsistence of these teams. 
 (The j'ear the railroad was built the number of 
 freight wagons thus emploj'cd was 201); animals, 000; 
 men, 10(1; stages, 32; miles traversed, not including to 
 Belmont, 230.) From Palisade to the railroad ranch 
 there are thirteen ranches, including five dairy 
 ranches. J'ine Valley contains a school district 
 twenty miles in length, north and soulh, in which 
 there are thirteen pupils. 
 
 principal .MINI.Nii DISTRICTS. 
 
 Antelope District, twenty miles north of Eureka, 
 lias been prospected to a considerable extent, and 
 many locations have been made; but no reduction 
 works have been erected. 
 
 CoiiTEZ Distuk-t is in an isolated mountain east of 
 the Toiyabe Mountains, at a locality about thirty 
 miles southeast of Beowawo Station, on the Central 
 J'acific Railroad. Ore was discovered in May, 1863, 
 by Dr. Hatch and others, from Austin, and a district 
 was at once organized. For a brief period it ex- 
 cited remarkable attention on account of its mon- 
 ster lodes and the distance thej' could be traced. 
 One of its claims, the Nevada Giant, was considered 
 the greatest discover}- in the State, but failed to re- 
 alize its great expectations, but recent developments 
 are proving its bidden wealth. Its large quartzite 
 

 
 W.HSPRAGG. 
 
 MR5.W.H.SPRAGG. 
 
 RESIDENCEf-^^HANCH OF W.H. SPRAGG. 
 
 ESMEnAU)A CO MASON VALLEY, N EVAOA. 
 
 LITM S^ir.^N A ^/' 
 
I 
 
HISTORY OF EUREKA COUNTY. 
 
 429 
 
 dyke, 400 feet in width, was found to be not entirely 
 composed of pay ore. It yields very well, however, 
 and is being steadily worked. The prineiiial mines 
 are located on the westerly slope of the loft}- peak. 
 Mount Tenabo. The Garrison is the most important 
 location in the district. Steam hoisting works and 
 all the necessary appliances for working ore are in 
 use. The water for the steam engine is packed on 
 mules a distance of about three miles. The prevail- 
 ing formation is limestone and ([uartzite. The veins 
 are small but rich. The ores require roasting before 
 amalgamation, and are of very high grade and carry 
 both gold and silver. The deepest shaft, that of the 
 Garrison, extends down 300 feet. 
 
 The mill which the Cortez Company built in lS(i.3, 
 at a cost of SIOO.OOO, and which was subsequentlj- 
 enlarged from eight to sixteen stamps, was sold in 
 1860 to Samuel Wenban, one of the original locators, 
 for Sti.OOO. It is situated about eight miles from the 
 mines, by wagon road, and four miles by trail. The 
 ore is transported on mules. Wood is found in 
 abundance about eight miles from the mines. Most 
 of the labor in the mines is performed by Chinamen. 
 The district is producing well. 
 
 The following description of Mount Tenabo and 
 its great vein is from the Reese River Reveille of Jan- 
 uary 4, 1807:— 
 
 This vein is imbedded in the bosom of Mount 
 Tenabo, a ]>eak 11.500 feet above the level of the sea, 
 and upwards of 5,(100 feet above the surrounding 
 vallej's. 
 
 Its base u]) its side to the vein is covered with a 
 scrubby pine, while its summit, and 1,500 feet below, 
 is overgrown with grass and shrubs. 
 
 The scarred and rugged mountain looks eternal. 
 Some '5,000 feet above its base a vein of silver-bearing 
 quartz cuts its face obliquely, burj'ing itself in the 
 mountain at one end and penetrating into the valiej- 
 at the other, after stretching out in ])al]iable vii'w to 
 the length of 1S,(;50 feet. Its width is 400 feet. 
 This vein, or perhaps more |)roperl}-, stratum of the 
 mountain formation, bears beds of ore, the extent of 
 which is only conjecture. The workings at various 
 mills have proved encouraging. The vein is encased 
 in crystalline limestone. 
 
 Twentj' locations have been made with the follow- 
 ing names and dimensions: — 
 
 Commencing at its greatest point of altitude is 
 the Chieftain, (ienesee County, 1,400 feet; Murphy 
 Comjtanj-, SOO feet; Gill Com])any, 800 feet; Taj'lor 
 and Passmore, 800 feet; Dewitt (Company, 450 feet; 
 St. Louis Company, 2,000 feet; Meacham & lirolhers, 
 400 feet; Niagara, 400 feet; Savage Company, 400 
 feet; Nebraska Coni])an}', 1,200 feet; Cortez (iiant, 
 Mount Tenabo Comiiany, 4.000 feet; Elmore Com- 
 panj", 200 feet; lUissell Com|>aiiy, 600; Continental 
 Companj-, 1,000 feet; Argentine Company, 1,000 feet; 
 Empire Comjiany, 800 feet; Conn & Brothers, 400 
 feet; Traverse Company, 400 feet; and the Anna 
 Burr Company, 2,000 feet. The latter claim is some- 
 what broken, and at its termination the vein pene- 
 trates the earth and is lost altogether. The vein 
 disappears also at the u|)j)er boundary of the ("hief- 
 tain. It has been openeii at several i)oints along its 
 course, in every case disclosing mineral. 
 
 The Gill, Taylor and Passmore, and St. Louis loca- 
 54 
 
 tions, near the upper end of the vein, have been 
 worked, the two latter considerably. The Cortez 
 Giant, which lies near the center of the vein, is the 
 most full}- developed, and has yielded a considerable 
 amount of bullion this season. Some work has also 
 been done on the ('onlinental, situated towards the 
 lower end of the vein, with about the same results 
 as in the other cases specified. Of this vein there is 
 little exact knowledge, but that it stands out upon 
 the mountain face, a large, palpable fact. It will 
 probably be developed, and when that day arrives 
 we believe the Nevada Giant will be regarded as 
 among the remarkable veins of the world. 
 
 DiA.MOND District is situated on the western slope 
 of the Diamond Mountains, about twenty-five miles 
 northeast of Eureka. Ore was discovered in May, 
 1864, and the district was organized in July follow- 
 ing. Very little work was done until 1866, when 
 the Mammoth claim was stripped forty feet. Several 
 tons of ore taken from it were sent to Austin and 
 reduced, and yielded 8150 per ton. In this mine the 
 walls are of hard blue limestone, well defined, and 
 carry lead, iron, and antimony. The (^hampion, 
 Cumberland, Silver Wreath, Utah, Blue Ware, and 
 Cash, are among the other most prominent claims. 
 The vein of the Champion is three feet wide, and dips 
 east at an angle of sixty degrees. The ore is found 
 in pockets, and averages 8100 per ton in silver. The 
 mineral belt of the district is about three miles in 
 length, and three-(iuarters of a mile in width. The 
 ores are argentiferous carbonates. A smelting fur- 
 nace was erected in 1873, and some bullion was pro- 
 duced. Wood and water are to be had conveniently 
 and in sufficient quantities. 
 
 EUREKA DISTRICT IN 1870. 
 
 To the general observer Eureka Mining District 
 will be understood as comprising all the mining re- 
 gion contributory, or in the immediate vicinity of 
 the city of Eureka, and the history of these to com- 
 prise about all pertaining to the county. There are, 
 however, several organizations within the limits, 
 each of which bear a difl'erent name, as Prospect 
 Mountain, Secret Canon, and Pinto. The early his- 
 tory of Eureka has been mentioned in the introduc- 
 tory to this county up to the date of its revival in 
 the season of 186!). On the sixteenth of July, 1870, 
 a newspaper was established in the now camp, and 
 in its first issue published the following account of 
 the district, which forms an important link in its 
 history: — 
 
 Flight months ago. where the town of Eureka and 
 its furnaces now stand, was a wihl waste. In No- 
 vember, Colonel I). K. Buel arrived in the canon, and 
 bonded the Buckeye and Champion niiiics. then only 
 just located and barely opened. At about the same 
 time. Colonel Hobbins came to Eureka and i)urehased 
 the Kentuck and Mountain Boy mines. In Decem- 
 ber both these parties commenced to smelt. The 
 former hired the McCoy furnace, and under the 
 hands of .Messrs. Jones & Williams, as foremen, 
 worked ores from the Buckeye. The latter built a 
 draft furnace, and, under the directions of Mr. W. T. 
 K. Pritchard, smelted ores from the Mountain Boy. 
 
430 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Both works proved the practicability of smelting the 
 Eureka ores successful Ij', and, what is most impor- 
 tant, they demonstrated that smeltinu;. under skillful 
 direction, was more profitable in this district than in 
 any other yet tested in the State of Nevada. In fact, 
 their operations, though then necessarily conducted 
 on a somewhat narrow scale, showed the fact that 
 the limit to the money to be made in the business 
 was marked only by the extent of the operations 
 and the size of the works. 
 
 Eneouraijed by these results, in January Messrs. 
 Bateman iV: Buel commenced the erection of exten- 
 sive works, while Colonel Robbins, representing the 
 Buttercup Mining Company of New York, made 
 arrangements for starting up larger operations. 
 The energj- of the Bateman Association, as the com- 
 pany was now called, brought their works to com- 
 pletion rapidly, and on the twenty-fifth of April 
 last they fired up their first new furnace, and in a 
 few weeks after the second one began to run out 
 bullion. In the meantime the Marcelina Mining 
 Company commenced to build their furnace and 
 work their mines under the direction of Jlessrs. 
 Wilson & Pritchard. Messrs. Wallace & Bevan, who 
 had prositected the district in the fall, returned from 
 Philadelphia with two iron cupola furnaces and the 
 necessary machinery. Between the first and fifteenth 
 of May, these furnaces were all in full blast, and the 
 results up to the thirtieth of June are as follows: — 
 
 Eureka Consolidated Mining Company (late 
 Batuman, Buel ct Co.)— bullion, 374 tons; 
 average value, 8348 per ton ; total §130,152 
 
 Marcelina Mining Company — bullion, 200 
 
 tons; average value, S350 per ton; total . 70,000 
 
 McCo}- Furnace^bullion, 110 tons; average 
 
 value, 81.")0 per ton; total 49,500 
 
 Buttercup Mining Company — bullion, 100 
 
 (ons; average value, S375 ))er ton; total.. 37,500 
 
 Wallace and Bevan — bullion, 75 tons; aver- 
 age value, $350 per ton ; total 26,250 
 
 Total 8313,402 
 
 Not to extend our present notice to too great 
 a length, we select the operations of the Eureka Con- 
 Bolidated Mining Company for fiftj'six days imme- 
 diately' preceding the transfer of the works from the 
 Bateman Association to the Consolidation, to show 
 the comparative costs and profits of smelting in 
 Eureka. We are indebted to the urbanitj- of Col- 
 onel Ingoldsby for these figures, who gave them to 
 us from the books of the company, and, therefore, 
 are thoroughly authentic and reliable. 
 
 In fifty-six working days, the company smelted 
 76(i tons 308 pounds of ("hampion ore, which gave 
 238 tons of bullion, realizing in New York §348 per 
 ton. The net results stand thus on the book: — 
 
 Bullion, 238 tons, at S34S per ton $82,824 
 
 Total costs, including mining, hauling, coals, 
 smelting, freight to New York, refining, 
 commissions, etc 37,186 
 
 Leaving not profit, in fifty-six daj's 845,638 
 
 The amount of coal consumed in smelting this ore 
 was 25,832 bushels, and the cost of mining and 
 hauling from the duni)) to the platform at the fur- 
 naces was $4.25, while three and one-half tons of 
 ore gave one ton of bullion. 
 
 From these figures our readers can draw their own 
 conclusions as to the merits ol' the Kureka mining 
 district. The results of the operations of the other 
 
 furnaces may safely be inferred, and certainly require 
 no comments from us. 
 
 Wood is abundant and easy of access. The cur- 
 rent rates for cord-wood are six dollars to seven dol- 
 lars and fifty cents, and for charcoal thirty cents 
 per bushel, delivered. Water runs in a fine stream 
 through the canon, and is ample to supplj- a large 
 number of works. What with the quantitj- of ore 
 now in sight in the various mines, and the ores on 
 the dumps, together with the abundance of wood 
 and water, both readily accessible, the future of 
 Eureka may be insured as at once prosperous and 
 profitable. 
 
 We give the following as average assaj-s from the 
 three mines which are as yet the most thoroughly 
 opened and tested: — 
 
 Champion $53 67 
 
 Champion 75 70 
 
 Buckej-e 75 75 
 
 Buckeye 83 60 
 
 Jackson ... 81 00 
 
 Total $383 58 
 
 General average, $76.73; and this may be safely 
 taken as the average of the smelting ores of the dis- 
 trict. 
 
 Of the mines from which ores have been smelted 
 i the following may be named as the most prominent: 
 1 The Champion, Huckeye, Tiptop, Richmond, Sen- 
 tinel, Central, .Marcelina, .\dams, Jackson, Fulton, 
 Cambria, Justice, Home Ticket, Conncllj-, llooiloo, 
 I Accidental, Badger, Lord Byron, Punderberg, South- 
 ern Pacific, El Dorado, Big Bdk, Santiago, Bull- 
 whacker, Otho, Kentuck, Mairnolia, .Moutitain Boy, 
 and about a dozen more. There are about 1,000 
 locations made in the district, on most of which 
 enough work has been done to hold them for one 
 year, and to show that the}- carry good smelting 
 ores. 
 
 The most prominent of the mines are found within 
 a mineral belt which runs in a northwesterlj- and 
 southeasterly direction, carrying a width of some 
 two miles. This belt commences at the Tip-toj), and 
 with the Richmond, t'hain])ion, Buckeye, Sentinel, 
 Central, Great Rejiublic, ilarcelina, Deep Mine, 
 Adams and Farren, runs in a direction from north- 
 west to southeast; thence, bending in a more south- 
 erlj' direction, with the contour of the hills, it takes 
 the Fulton, (/"ambria. Justice, and several others in 
 immediate proximit}-; thence, again, it embraces the 
 Dunderbcrg and Home Ticket, on the eastern limit 
 of the belt, and the El Dorado on the western limit, 
 running onward, with the Connelly and the Santiago, 
 the Robert Emmet, the Pritchard. and the .Manhat- 
 tan, to name only those mines on the extremes of 
 the breadth of the bell; and bending d(nvnward 
 again, somewhat easterly' it takes its course onward 
 to Secret Cafion. 
 
 EUREIvA DISTRICT IN 1876. 
 
 A further history is given in the following, quoted 
 from a paper prepared by Judge S. Hetzel, for the 
 Librarian of Congress, in response to an invitation 
 by the President as an exposition of the condition 
 and wealth of the county in the centennial year, 1876. 
 
 From 1S69 dates the first successful tivatmentof 
 the Eureka ores, and in the train of that success came 
 capital, labor and increased facilities for trans|)orta- 
 tion. The histoiy of the industrial growth of Eureka 
 is the history of the first successful treatment in 
 
HISTORY OF EUREKA COUNTY. 
 
 431 
 
 America of argentiferous lead ore. The first attempt 
 at emeltiiif; this class ol" ore was made at Oroana, in 
 Humboldt County, and was unsuccessful. In 18G6, 
 Moses Wilson built a furnace in Eureka on tlie site 
 now occupied bj- the Koslin Furnace, and an attempt 
 at smelting was made. This resulted in a total 
 failure. In ISGS Morris, Monroe & Co., having 
 acquired a large mining property in the district, 
 empio3-ed Mr. Stetefeldt, of Austin, to erect and 
 conduct a I'urnace. Having completed the furnace, 
 he commenced operations in May, IStiit, but each of 
 three attempts made b}- him resulted in failure. In 
 the meanwhile Maj. W. \V. McCoy had aci[uire(l 
 the Morris, Monroe & Co. property. Major McCoj- 
 attributed Stetefeldt's want of success to an insuf- 
 ficiency of blast, the poor quality of the material used 
 for lining, and the incompetency of his subordinates. 
 The last difficulty he overcame by securing the serv- 
 ices of R. r. Jones and John Williams, who had had 
 considerable experience in Wales. 
 
 In coming to Eureka from White Pine, Jones and 
 Williams discovered, on Paii(-ake Mountain, an excel- 
 lent quality of tire rock, and thus the second difficult}' 
 was overcome. Major McCoy then inserted in the 
 old Stetefeldt furnace, two side tweei's (it having 
 previously had but one, and that in the rear), and 
 the Pancake rock lining having been procured, Jones 
 and AVilliams, in J uly, 1869, commenced their first run 
 on ore from the Champion, Buckeye, Grant, and 
 Eureka mines. A deserved success attended their 
 eflbrts; the practicability of eheaplj' treating these 
 ores, heretotore regarded as so stubborn, was dem- 
 onstrated, and the future ])rosperity of Kureku was 
 assured. Major McCoy continued smelting until 
 November, 1SU9, when he leased the furnace to I>. 
 E. Buel and I. C. Bateman, who, about this time, 
 bonded the Cham])ion and Buckeye series of 
 mines, and purchased the Monroe town survey. 
 These gentlemen smelted successfully until the ter- 
 mination of their lease in May, 1870. 
 
 In December, 18(19, G. C. Eobbins commenced 
 erecting a draft furnace, which was afterwards con- 
 verted into a blast furnace. Still another furnace was 
 added to the Robbins reduction works, and all 
 of them were sold, in 187(), to a Chicago companj*. 
 In 187U, Bevan & Wallace built a furnace and engaged 
 in smelting, but their oj>eratio!is ])roved unsuccessful. 
 In the summer of 1870, 15ucl i^ Bateman, having 
 purchased the Champion and Bucke3-e series of mines, 
 built two furnaces at ihelowei-end of town. These 
 were subsequently, together with the mines, sold to 
 the Eureka Consolidated Mining Company. That 
 company subsequently built three additional furnaces, 
 and also constructed a narrow-guage railroad from 
 its reduction works a distance ol' three miles. About 
 the same time the Jackson Mining Company pur- 
 chased Wilson's furnace site and erected two furnaces 
 which were run on ore from the Jackson mine. In 
 the summer of 1S7(I, the furnace of the Uoslin Com- 
 pany was built, which has l>eeii iille for some years. 
 In the fall of 1S70, Thomas J. Taylor commenced 
 erecting a furnace, which ho subsequently sold to the 
 Phoenix Mining Company, which, in turn, sold it to 
 the Iloosac Com])anj'. 
 
 In Se])tember, 1870, J. J. Dunne & Co. purchased 
 of H. P. McNcvin, an uncompleted furnace at the 
 south end of town, and completed it, and it was sub- 
 sequentlj' used to run ores from the Hichmond mine. 
 In 1871, the Richmond Consolidated .Mining Com- 
 pany, of London, purchased the works of Ogden, 
 Dunne, & Co., and the Richmond mine. Four fur- 
 naces have sioco been added to these works. The 
 
 Richmond Company has also erected a refinery. 
 
 In 1872. II. lioynemann, having previously pur- 
 chased the Dunderberg and other mines, built his 
 reduction works, comprising two furnaces, which 
 have since been almost constantly employed in smelt- 
 ing ores from the Dunderberg and Atlas mines. 
 (Prom January 1st to September I^Oth, 1880, 3,500 
 tons were hoisted through the Atlas shaft.) The Sil- 
 ver West Mining Com])any also built a furnace in 
 1872, which has since been run principally on ores 
 from the K. K. mines. There are now in Eureka 
 (^1870) nineteen furnaces, whose dailj' capacity varies 
 Irom forty to sixty tons each. The Lemon M. & M, 
 Company has also erected a mill of fifteen stamps. 
 
 The production of charcoal has so far kept pace 
 with the requirements of smelling, and there has 
 been no change in the price for over four years. The 
 supply is limited, however, and before long our smelt- 
 ers will look to the illimitable forests of the Rocky 
 Mountains and the Sierra Nevada for their coal. The 
 area of the ore-producing region is extending annu- 
 allj-. Four years ago nearly all the ore reduced in 
 the district was extracted from a few mines on Ruby 
 Hill. While their yield has increased, new and large 
 bodies of ore have been oj)ened elsewhere, and the 
 mines of Pros])cct Mountain, McCoy Hill and other 
 localities bid fair ere long, to rival in productiveness 
 the mines of Ruby Hill itself 
 
 The experts difi'er as to the character of the form- 
 ation of the ore bodies in the district, but the best 
 opinion appears to be in favor of the existence of 
 true fissure veins. The main cause of the unexam- 
 jjled prosperity of the mining interests of Eureka is 
 to be found in the character of the ores. Tbey are 
 selffiuxing. They carry from fifteen to sixty per 
 cent, of lead, and sufficient iron and silica to obviate 
 the necessity of importing foreign material for smelt- 
 ing purposes. Eureka is the only known mining dis- 
 trict possessing this all-important advaniago. 
 
 The total bullion yield of Eureka District for the 
 year 1869 was less than §100,000. Since that year 
 it has continually increased, until, for 1875, the yield 
 was §6,100,000. The total amount of foreign capital 
 invested in mining in Eureka certainlj' does not exceed 
 81,500,000, including assessments. In return thei-efor 
 there has been extracted and reduced, in less than 
 seven years, over §20,000,000, and mining in Eureka is 
 yet in its infancj'. Not onlj- are new mines being con- 
 tinuallj- opened, but in all the mines increased pro- 
 duction follows an increase of depth, aiid not even 
 in the oldest mines has great depth yet been attained. 
 The history of Eureka lies in the future. 
 
 The Eureka Sentinel, in January, 1877, gave the 
 following as the bullion shipments of P'ureka Dis- 
 trict for 187G:— 
 
 Gold 9 827,985 78 
 
 Silver 1,452,459 20 
 
 Lead 602,306 28 
 
 Fine bullion 1,120,396 49 
 
 Total 84,003,147 75 
 
 The bullion shipments of Eureka District for 1878 
 were as follows, as per reports of Wells, Fargo & 
 Co,:— 
 
 Gold 82,341,497 03 
 
 Silver 3,257,481 37 
 
 Lead 1,382,728 00 
 
 Total 86,981,706 40 
 
43-2 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 The Ruby Hill Miniru/ News of August 15, 1881, 
 made the following statements: — 
 
 There are in Eureka District at the present time 
 fifty producing mines, and thrice that number that 
 could be made productive at a very small outlay. 
 Every share of the Eureka Consolidated (there being 
 50,000 shares) purchased in 1871 has returned a 
 profit of 882 to the holders. 
 
 The Richmond, although only 900 feet in depth, 
 has already' returned nearly 83,000,000 in profits, and 
 the mine is still in its infancy. 
 
 Of the amount invested in the district by foreign 
 capitalists about §800,000 has come from England, and 
 about 8400,000 from the Paeific Coast and other 
 points in the United States, making in all 81, 201), 000. 
 
 The value of Eureka mines, as shown by (juota- 
 tions, is 855,000,000. Ten thousand dollars per 
 month would more than cover the amount paid in 
 prospecting non-dividend paj'ing mines, and still the 
 district has yielded in gross over 868,000,000, has 
 paid over 87,000,000 in dividends and has the richest 
 and most extensive mines now in this country, and 
 its bullion product is constantly and rapidlj- in- 
 creasing. 
 
 The combined capacity of the smelting works in 
 Eureka is 745 tons daily, as follows: Richmond 
 Consolidated — Four hydrocicles capacity — two of 
 90 tons each, one of 70 tons, and one of 50 tons. 
 Combined daily reducing capacity, 300 tons. Eureka 
 Consolidated — Four stone furnaces of 50 tons each. 
 Combined capacitj-, 200 tons daily. Ruby Consoli- 
 dated — Two stone furnaces of 50 tons capacity each. 
 Silver West Consolidated — One stone furnace of 50 
 tons dailj^ eapaeitj'. Matamoras Mining and Smelt- 
 ing Companj- — One stone furnace of 50 tons dailj- 
 capacity. Hoosac — One stone furnace of 45 tons 
 daily capacity. 
 
 THE PROCESS OP KEDUOTION. 
 
 The ores of the precious metals are usually reduced, 
 or beneficiated, bj^ crushing under stamps to an 
 impalpable powder, then, by different processes, 
 according to the combinations of the ore, efl'ect the 
 amalgamation of the gold or silver with quicksilver, 
 but in Eureka the predominant metal is lead, rich in 
 silver and also containing gold, and this ore is most 
 successfully reduced by the smelting process. For 
 this, great furnaces are required, whose blazing fires 
 and brilliant streams of molten slag and silvery 
 bullion constantly present a picture of weird interest 
 to the observer, and whose tall stacks with rolling 
 clouds of gas and smoke intensify the jiicture. 
 
 The two great companies are the Eureka Consoli- 
 dated and the Richmond. The first reduces its ore 
 to bullion, as it is locally called, being a rich lead, 
 which is then shipped to Newark, Now Jersey, for 
 refining. The Richmond Company separate their 
 lead and silver in their own works in Eureka. The 
 process is described in the Ruby Hill Mininy News, 
 as follows: — 
 
 F'roin three to five immense furnaces in each of the 
 reduction works arc kept constant!}- charged, day 
 and night, from year in to year out, smelting all the 
 ore as it comes from the mines; consuming about 720 
 cords of wood a day, in the form of both charcoal 
 and wood. 
 
 The process of smelting, a stranger can never cease 
 
 to admire. Two red-hot streams of melted ore are 
 constantly running, one in front of each fiery fur- 
 nace, and one at the side; the one in front a little the 
 higher to drain off the upper, lighter, worthless mat- 
 ter, called slag, being earth}- matter and iron; the 
 other, lower, connected by a pipe dee])cr down in the 
 melted mass, where the purer metals of heavier 
 weight — lead, silver, gold, etc. — will not allow the 
 surface to rise as high as the other. The fierj' slag 
 is wheeled oft' to be emptied from great kettles — a 
 burning stream down the front of the ever-increasing 
 hill of waste. The metal is dipped into moulds as 
 bars, and wheeled awaj- to a differentlj- arranged fur- 
 nace, melted over and skimmed, removing five per 
 cent, of remaining ini])urity. From this furnace the 
 mass is again drawn off into immense vats, and cooled 
 in masses of over four tons. From here they are 
 raised by power deri-icks and put into another 
 immense iron retort or furnace of twenty tons 
 capacity, and melted, while heated steam, forced 
 into the bottom, causes a violent boiling of the liquid 
 mass. At length a partial cooling crystallizes the 
 lead in part, so as to appear like wet meal. Now 
 opening a vent at the bottom, the uncrystallized 
 liquid portion, by its weight rushes out, carrying 
 with it three-fourths of the silver and gold in the 
 mass, while the crystallized lead remains behind. 
 The lead drawn oft', is again put through the same 
 steam boiling process three or four times, each time 
 the running mass carrj-ing away throe-fourths of 
 the precious metals with it. At the last the whole 
 is put into a reverberatory furnace, the heat of which 
 burns away all the remaining lead as an oxide, and 
 leaving the pure silver with all the gold the ore con- 
 tained. 
 
 This last is called the cupelling process, and ends 
 refining. 
 
 The Richmond retains its refined lead bars, stacked 
 in immense cord-wood-like rows, thousands of tons, 
 the purest load in the world. 
 
 THE RICHMOND COMPANY. 
 
 A series of claims covering the larger portion of 
 Ruby Hill, some patented and others unpatented, 
 were purchased by the Richmond Company in 1871, 
 the principal of which are as follows: The original 
 Richmond and Tip Top, the Lookout, Victoria, Silver 
 Region, Colorado, St. George, St. Patrick, St. David, 
 St. Andrews, Standard and Cyrus. The six last 
 named form the westerly boundary of the Richmond 
 property, and cover the entire westerly slope of the 
 hill, and the limestone belt, which is the true ore 
 country of the district. This largQ and valuable 
 property is owned by an English company having 
 its headquarters in London, all the claims having 
 been purchased from the original locators. In 
 speaking of the Richmond Company, Molinelli's 
 "Eureka and Its Resources," published in 1879, says: 
 
 For years four furnaces have been kept in uninter- 
 rupted operation, with the exception of the time 
 necessary for repairs and the delay caused bj- the 
 destruction of the works by fire on the twenty- 
 seventh of Septeml)er, 1878, which entailed a loss of 
 880,000, and English capital has foun<l in this ])roperty 
 one of the most profitable investmentsevor madein the 
 United States. The famous Potts Chamber, a body 
 of ore so called after one of the foremen in the mine, 
 yielded without cessation an immense number of 
 tons of high-grade ore, all of which has been 
 

 "^f/ 
 
 '// 
 
 
 c^^. 7^ 'M ll^^^n^-rcT. 
 
 I I V* ■' w-ji; * "j i i ^ » y, **" 
 
 
 OLD & NEW RESIDENCE AND RANCH OF W,B. SANDEK-j. 
 ESMERALDA CO.,MASON VALLEY, NEV. 
 
^ 
 
HISTORY OF EUREKA COUNTY 
 
 433 
 
 reduced and refined at the company's works. The 
 establishment of a. refinery at this point bj- the man- 
 agers has given a large force of men employment, 
 and demonstrated the fact that there was no neces- 
 sity to ship our base bullion thousands of miles 
 before the precious metals could be separated from 
 the lead, that process being carried on as scientific- 
 ally and cheaply at the company's works as at any 
 foreign refinery. The mine is distinctively an 
 English cor|)oration, and the profits from it flow to 
 London. Notwithstanding this fact, great benefits 
 accrue to Eureka, as it gives emploj'ment to a small 
 army of miners and workmen, and draws its supplies 
 i'rom our local resources. The bullion product of 
 the Richmond for the 3^ear ending June, 1878, 
 amounted to 82,193.178. 
 
 The Richmond works consist of four large fur- 
 naces and a refinery fully equipped for treating fifty 
 tons of bullion daily. Two of the furnaces have a 
 capacity of ninety tons each; one of them, a capacity 
 of sixty tons; and the fourth, a capacity of fifty 
 tons. The charge for working custom ore is from 
 ten dollars to eighteen dollars; it was formerly 
 thirty dollars. In the mines and reduction works 
 450 men are employed at four dollars per day each. 
 The amount of custom ores worked at the Richmond 
 furnaces in 1878 was 11,953 tons. 
 
 Since the first purchase of the Richmond property 
 its stockholders have never been called on to con- 
 tribute one dollar toward its development or support, 
 and up to April, 1881, has paid twenty dividends, 
 aggregating 82,312,000, which is at the rate of forty 
 dollars per share. In addition to the amount paid 
 out in dividends, a large sum has been expended in 
 litigation and in the improvements at the mines and 
 reduction works and in repairing the damages of the 
 great fire alluded to. The stock of the company 
 was selling in London at £15 and £15 lOs in Sep- 
 tember, 1880, and (;,tlOO tons of lead bullion were 
 then lying at the mill. At the 500-foot level of the 
 Richmond Mine is a natural cave sixty feet in width 
 and 250 feet in length. Its roof is from fifteen to 
 twenty feet high, and sparkles with crystallized 
 gems. Still another cave in this mine is named 
 the Jlountain King's Domain, and is in the form of an 
 inverted tea-cup. It is fifty feet in diameter, and 
 the apex of the roof is thirty feet high. 200 tons 
 are daily hoisted from this mine. Richard Rickard 
 is the present Superintendent. 
 
 HON. SA.MUEL LONOLEY, 
 
 The subject of the following sketch, is a native of the 
 State of New ^'ork, having been born in Oswego 
 City. When a boy he entered a dry goods estab- 
 lishment as clerk; but, possessing a restless spirit, he 
 was not satisfied with his lot, and, conceiving the idea 
 that his fortunes lay in the mines of the Pacific 
 Coast, he bid adieu to the scenes of his youth, and, 
 at the early age of seventeen )-ears, loft his home 
 for California. For twelve years subsetjuent upon 
 his arrival in the land of gold, ho traveled through 
 the country, visiting nearly all the camps in the 
 State, as well as those in Nevada, coming to the 
 
 Samuel Longley. 
 
 latter State in 1809. During these twelve long 
 years he had learned the art of mining in all its 
 details, and, upon his arrival here, was recognized as 
 an expert at the business. His abilities in other 
 channels have also manifested themselves, as he has 
 creditably filled the honorable position of Assembly- 
 man from Eureka in the Nevada Legislature, being 
 one of the few Republicans elected from that county. 
 Mr. Longley is Foreman of the Richmond Mine, at 
 Eureka, a position that onlj- a responsible man can 
 fill, llis position in life, single. 
 
 OTHER IMPORTANT MINES. 
 
 The K. K. Consolidated Mines join the Eureka 
 Consolidated on the east, and were located in 1872 
 by W. S. Keyes, then Superintendent of the Eureka 
 Consolidated. From June 30, 1877. to June 30, 1878, 
 their bullion yield was 8378,787.71. 
 
 The Jackson Mine consists of three claims. Dur- 
 ing the years 1869-70-71 the original owners ex- 
 tracted considerable ore. Subsetjuently they sold 
 the property to a San Francisco firm, which made 
 large developments and im]>rovemonts, and brought 
 the mine into much prominence. The net bidlion 
 yield in 1879 was $132,000. The Ruby Hill Railroad 
 Company has laid a track to the mine, and ore is 
 being shij)ped daily to the Matamoras Company's 
 furnace, where it is reduced, and the resulting bull- 
 ion shipped to San Francisco for refinement. 
 
 The Phu'iii.x .Mine lies between the Jackson on 
 the east and Eureka Consolidated on the west, 
 being of the Ruby Hill group. The ground was 
 located in 1870 and the work of development began 
 in 1871. In 1872 large bodies of ore were developed 
 near the surface and much bullion produced, but, 
 through incompetent management and strife to con- 
 trol the stock, the company's debts accumulated and 
 
434 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 work was suspended in 1878, up to which time the 
 yield aggregated §475,000. Since that date it has 
 been worked spasmodically, j-ielding a fair profit. A 
 shaft to the depth of 710 feet has been sunk, at which 
 point a strong flow of water was encountered, and 
 on the twentieth of January, ISSO, work ceased, but 
 with the intention of resumption, as it is believed to 
 be one of the great mines of the district. 
 
 The Albion Mine was located in 1878 by miners 
 working in the Richmond Mine, under the impi-ession 
 that the vein of ore in the latter mine extended into 
 what was then thought unclaimed ground. The 
 claim has4,500feet of length by 500 of breadth. Work 
 of development was prosecuted with energy, but has 
 been interrupted bj- extensive and costly litigation 
 with the Richmond Company. 
 
 These are the principal mines of Ruby Hill, which 
 is the great bullion producing region of the district. 
 With the exception of the Richmond, all are owned 
 by incorporated companies whose place of business 
 is in San Francisco, and the stocks are extensively 
 dealt in at the stock boards of that city. In addi- 
 tion to these are the mines of Adams Hill, where the 
 Bullwhacker, Bowman, Titus, Wales Consolidated, 
 Williamsburg, Oriental and Belmont Consolidated, 
 Adams Hill Consolidated, and numerous others are 
 located, which, in the aggregate, have yielded 
 upwards of 82,000,000 in bullion. 
 
 McCoy Hill contains another group of mines, of 
 which the Silver State, Green Seal, Grant, Burt, and 
 others are important. 
 
 PROSPECT MOUNTAIN. 
 
 The most prominent and conspicuous of the hills 
 and peaks of Eureka District is Prospect Mountain, 
 which rises in imposing grandeur to the south of the 
 city, and is thus described: — 
 
 The highest peak of the mountain towers about 
 2,000 feet above the valley. It consists superKcially 
 of limestone, and has on both sides manj' outcrops 
 of ore, which seem to occupy a succession of gash 
 veins. On the western slope the quartzite reajipears 
 and extends to the south for several miles in the 
 direction of Spring Valley. Still west again is the 
 limestone, whereon there are some few mining loca- 
 tions. This limestone formation extends onward to 
 the west, a distance of about sixty miles. 
 
 The geological structure of the mountain consists 
 of alternations of limestone, quartzites and shales, 
 which form a continuous section of many miles 
 from the north of Prospect Mountain to Secret 
 Cafion. The geological sun'ej' of the fortieth par- 
 allel demonstrates that this great limestone mass of 
 Eureka Mining District reaches to the de])th of over 
 30,000 feet into the interior of the earth. The mines 
 of this mountain have jiroduced about SI 2, (10(1, 000 
 worth of bullion. Among its principal mines are 
 the Connolly, with 8350,000 to its credit; the 
 Dunderbcrg. having yielded 82,000.000; the Ham- 
 burg, with an aggregate yield of near 8400,000; the 
 Emmet Consolidated, having produced $100,000; the 
 
 Williams, with over 8100,000; the Mata moras, 
 Atlantic and Pacific, and others, with large ])ro- 
 ductions, and many in course of development. 
 
 FIRST LOCATORS OF RUBV HILL. 
 
 In 1865, while Owen Farrell and Alonzo Monroe 
 were prospecting in the Diamond range of mount- 
 ains, an Indian brought them a piece of mineral- 
 bearing rock. They at once perceived that it bore 
 valuable indications, and for ten dollars the Indian 
 guided them to the sj)ot whence he had taken it. 
 The locality was about two and one-half miles west 
 of Eureka, on a northwesterly spur of Prospect 
 Jlountain, which they named Rubj- Hill. The}- 
 located the whole hill, and the now famous mine 
 known as the Eureka Consolidated was called by 
 them the Great Republic. Senator M. J. Farrell be- 
 came a partner in the enterprise. Soon afterwards 
 J. H. Kinkead, now Governor, bonded all these loca- 
 tions and placed them on the London market, but 
 the firm he entrusted the matter with liiiled to make 
 any sales. Titles to the discoveries, however, were 
 maintained until 1867, when Moses Wilson, recorder 
 of the district, took possession of the Great Repub- 
 lic, and the other claims were abandoned. Subse- 
 quently they were taken up by new parlies. From 
 one of them, the Champion, Dan. Dalton shipped 
 sixty tons of ore, in June, 1869, to McCoy's furnace, 
 which was situated where Fisk's barley mill now 
 stands, and was at that time the only smelting 
 furnace in the district. The product was about 
 twenty tons of bullion, which was hauled to Palisade 
 by W. H. Clark, who claims to have hauled the first 
 bullion ever yielded by Eureka District. These 
 twenty tons of bullion were shipped to San Fran- 
 cisco and refined, and the ore assayed 881 in gold 
 and silver per ton. In November, 1869, the Mam- 
 moth, Buckeye, Sentinel and other claims were 
 bonded and then sold to Buell & Bateman, who, in 
 Maj', 1870, sold them to a party of San Francisco 
 capitalists. The latter incorporated under the name 
 and style of the Eureka Consolidated Mining Com- 
 pany. This organization was eft'ected in July, 1870, 
 and in Januar}-, 1871, W. S. Keys took charge as 
 Superintendent ot the mines and furnaces. 
 
 GEOLOdV OF El'REKA DISTRICT. 
 
 The following on the geology of Eureka District is 
 from Lambert Molinelli's book on the resources of 
 Eureka: — 
 
 Immediately east of the long and narrow gulch, in 
 which lies the town of Eureka, we find some high 
 lava bills, which extend, interrupted by vallej-s, very 
 nearly to While Pine, fori}- miles distant to the south- 
 east. Bordering on the lava hills, and extending 
 also west of ibe town a few hundred yards, are 
 trachytic tufas of whitish or ])inkish color. These 
 rocks, ])robably volcanic ash, are used for building 
 material. When frcshi}- quarried the}- may be easily 
 shaped by an axe; but, on exposure, they lose much 
 water and become quite hard. The tufas extend 
 southerly along the gulch about one mile. South of 
 the town we note also other gulches; the most west- 
 
HISTORY OF EUREKA COUNTY. 
 
 43o 
 
 erly, called Goodwin Canon, skirts alonsj Prospect 
 Mountain; the next, called Now York ('anon, runs 
 more or less parallel with the main sjuleh and ends in 
 a species of basin ai^ainst a portion of Prospect .Moun- 
 tain; the next, to the east, follows aloni; soutiierly 
 and, crossing a low divide, forms the highwa}- to 
 Secret Canon District. The main gulch receives some 
 minor tributaries from the east and passes on to Fish 
 Creek Valley. At the point first mentioned, south 
 of the town where the tufas give out, occurs a prom- 
 inent ledge of sandstone, from which rock has been 
 taken for lining the smelting furnaces. This sand- 
 stone reef is largely developed on the eastern side of 
 Diamond Range, facing Newark Valley, and ap])ears 
 again some fifteen miles to the east, as a part of the 
 coal measures at Pancake. It is hence called Pan- 
 cake Rock. The mechanical aggregation of its 
 quartZ3- particles varies very much. In some speci- 
 mens the sandstone is distinct!}- granular; in others 
 it appears compact, tough, and cross-grained. Only 
 the former varietj- is used for the furnaces; and when 
 80 used it must be built in with the edges of the bed- 
 ding exposed to the fire; otherwise it shales off in 
 large flakes. But one fossil has been found in the 
 Eureka reefs. This ap]3cared like a short section of 
 a small wood screw about three inches long and 
 nearly half an inch thick. The fossil was surrounded 
 by a hollow cj'lindrical space, leaving the articula- 
 tions free, the extreme ends of which formed part of 
 the inclosing rock. The specimen has unfortunately 
 been lost. In New York Canon we find a series of 
 ti'ue clay shales, which furnish the tamping for the 
 furnaces. On the western side of the same gulch, 
 we find a high ridge of calcaro-silicious rock, called 
 Silver Hill. The last contains some specimens of ore, 
 and has been located for mining purposes. In some 
 places it has yielded very rich ore carrying chloro- 
 bromide of silver. No well marked deposit has, 
 however, as yet been uncovered. A similar ore in 
 similar rock has also been found on and near Adams 
 Hill, about three miles west from the town. 
 
 Adjoining the town, a little south of west, are two 
 hills of trachj-tic tufas, and again west of these, an 
 isolated hill of massive quartz or quartzite, called 
 Cariboo Hill. In places this hill shows some very 
 rich specimens of chloro-bromide of silver, but not as 
 3'et in any great quantity. 
 
 Due south of the town and west of the main gulch, 
 not delineated upon the map, is a high mountain of 
 massive quartz or quartzite, whereon are situated the 
 Hoosac and other mines. The Hoosac has yielded 
 large quantities of atitimonial lead ores, some of 
 which were very rich in silver, but carried no gold. 
 
 In this respect thcj-, in common with the ores 
 found in the silicious limestone ridges, differ from the 
 lead-bearing ores of the dolomitic limestone, all of 
 which latter carry more or less gold. 
 
 Soulhweslof Cariboo Hill we come to Ajax Hill and 
 Ruby Hill. The former is merel}' an easterly continu- 
 ation of the latter. The quartziles and silicified lime- 
 stones extend in a northerlj' and southerly direction 
 from Adams Hill on the north to beyond the Hoosac 
 Mine on the south. A heavy line of calcareous 
 shales is found, more or less continuously, between 
 the same points. They seem to bear some fixed 
 relationship to the quartzitcs, and are ])robablj' the 
 remnants of conformably deposited beds. Hack of 
 Rub}- Hill, to the south, the high peak of Prospect 
 Mountain towers about 2,000 feet above the valley. 
 It consists superficially of limestone, and has, on 
 both flanks, many outcrops of ore, which seem to 
 occupy a Buccession of gash veins. On the western 
 
 side of the mountain the quartzite reappears and 
 extends to the south for several miles in the direc- 
 tion of Spring Vallc}-. Still west again we find the 
 limestones, wherein there are .some tew mining loca- 
 tions. The limestones extend onward to the west, 
 a distance of about sixty miles, until we approach 
 Smok}- Valley, which bounds on the east the Toij-abe 
 range of mountains, in which are the granite forma- 
 tions of the Reese River and other districts. To the 
 east of Eureka, the same broad belt of dolomitic 
 limestone extends quite to the limit of the Great 
 Basin, and is broken only by the valle3's, and by 
 occasional onlpourings of the volcanic rocks, and 
 rare appearances of the deep-lying granites. 
 
 The Eureka limestones carry Silurian and Devo- 
 nian trilobites in but two ])laces, as far as known at 
 present. The one is at a point near the northwest- 
 erly end of Ruby Hill, in the direction of the ex- 
 treme southerly spur of Adams Hill, and the other 
 is in New York Caiion, directly east of the Morti- 
 mer Mine, at a point about two and a half miles 
 south of the town. These fossils are all small, the 
 largest being about the size of a finger nail. 
 
 OTHER MINING DISTRICTS. ' 
 
 Pisii Creek District is eighteen miles south of 
 Spring Valle\% and was organized in 1871. The ores 
 are chieflj' galena, containing silver. The mines are 
 all located on a small hill, and cover an area of about 
 four acres. Scarcely any work has ever been done 
 there. 
 
 Leopold District lies north of Eureka, near Rob- 
 ert's Creek Station on the old Overland road. Was 
 organized in 1870, and very little work has ever 
 been done on any of its locations. 
 
 Mineral Hill District adjoins the southwest cor- 
 ner of Elko County, and is fift}--two miles north of 
 Eureka. PJighleen miners are working there, about 
 one-third of whom own mines. Two families live 
 there. A fifteen-stamp mill runs when it has ore, 
 which is during about tvvo months in the year, and 
 it obtains from the ore from sixty to ninety-five per 
 cent, of the silver it contains, according to quality. 
 None of the ore is roasted. This is the original mill 
 built by Curtis, of Austin, for the discoverers. They 
 sold it, through the agoncj' of Ike Bateman, to an 
 English comi)anj-, for §1,200,000, that was known as 
 the Mineral Hill Silver Mining Company, which put 
 up a twent}--stamp mill in addition, with a verj- 
 costly roasting furnace, but failing to got a sufficient 
 supply of ore, sold both mills and retired from the 
 district, with a total loss of their large investment. 
 Subsequently the Austin it Spencer mines were 
 located, and, in ISSO, the mills were purchased by the 
 Austin & Spencer company, 
 
 PiNTO District, sometimes called Silverado, lying 
 partly in White Pine County, is on the eastern slope 
 i)ftho Diamond range of mountains, about fourteen 
 miles southeast of Eureka, The ore is free-milling, 
 high grade, and the developments thus far mad« 
 indicate the existence of true fissure veins. The 
 mines were dinfeovered in 18G7 by Moses Wilson and 
 a party from Austin, and a number of locations were 
 
43G 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 made. In 1868, Mr. Duquette and others made loca- 
 tions, which comprise the mines now wori<cd. 
 
 KrcH.MOND District, located eighteen miles north 
 of Palisade, was orifanized in 1875. Xo mines have 
 been developed, however, as at the depth of forty 
 feet the ore "pinches." So far, not over ten tons of 
 ore have been shipped. Half a dozen prospectors 
 have taken up their residence in the district. 
 
 Secret Canon is seven and a half miles south of 
 Eureka, in a deep vallej', on the southern slope of 
 Prospect Mountain. Ore was discovered August 1, 
 1869, by Charles C. Breyfogle, M. Dougherty, B. 
 McCrorey, P. Murphy, and D. J. J. McLaughlin. 
 The first location was made that day, and on August 
 7th a district was organized, Charles C. Brey- 
 fogle presiding at the meeting. It was first called 
 the Sierra District, then the Secret Yallej- District, 
 and finally the Secret Canon District. Three hun- 
 dred locations have been made in all, and there are 
 now about thirty miners in the district. At one 
 time the town, Vanderbilt, was a very lively place. 
 In 1870 it contained 125 inhabitants, three stores, 
 two boarding-houses, a post-office, and a blacksmith 
 shop. For a time it had two dailj- lines of stages, 
 and one line continued in operation six months. 
 There were then 300 miners in the district, and the 
 population of all classes exceeded l.KOO. The ])rinci- 
 pal mines are the Stockton, Monroe, Irish Ambas- 
 sador, Hodgdon, Page and Corwin, Bayse, and the 
 Geddes and Bertrand series. Part of the ores are 
 of high grade, containing antimonial silver, and they 
 require roasting. The others are lead-bearing, and 
 are treated by the smelting jjrocess. Quito large 
 quantities of the ore was taken to Austin in the 
 first year of the discovery, which yielded as high 
 as 8600 per ton, returning a fine profit to the 
 miners. The veins are found between quartzite on 
 the west and shale on the east, and generally run 
 north and south across the formation, containing 
 silver and a trace of gold. The Stockton, and Ged- 
 des and Bertrand mines are pierced by a tunnel 
 310 feet long. Freight is teamed from Eureka at 
 $4.50 per ton. Nut pine, mahogan}-, and cedar 
 abound all over the district, but the supplj- has been 
 considerably reduced. The water is obtained from 
 springs. In the latter part of 1875 over 1,500 tons 
 of ore were extracted that j-icldod about Sli'M) per 
 ton. Bad management has much retarded the devel- 
 opment of this once promising district. Present 
 facilities for working ore consist of a twenty-ton 
 furnace. A ten-stamp mill was burned in 1873. Ore 
 is now chiefly shipped to Eureka. 
 
 Sierra Di.stkh'T, which was organized in Januarj' 
 1863, is eight miles south of Eureka. The jjHncipal 
 claims are the Monroe, Essex and Ophir. A ten- 
 stamp mill was once erected near the mines, but the 
 enterprise proved unsuccessful. Sage-brush was used 
 for fuel. , 
 
 Sprino Valley District is situated in the Spring 
 
 Vallej' or Prospect range of mountains, about 
 twelve miles south of Eureka, and was discovered 
 and a district organized on the twenty-seventh of 
 June. 186!), by Joseph Magett, William Murray, E. 
 H. Ross, and (reorge M. Kittell, while on a prospect- 
 ing trip from Treasure Hill, after the great "White 
 Pine excitement." The mountain range rises from 
 an elevated plateau, and runs almost due north and 
 south, and was at the date of discovery heavily cov- 
 ered with timber, and although drawn upon with 
 fierce energy to supplj' timbers for mining and fuel 
 for the furnaces, promises a supply for many years. 
 In 1869 the district had a population of from 800 to 
 1,000. The ores were of a high grade in the crop- 
 pings, and the veins stood prominently above the 
 surface of the country rock. Seventy tons of ore 
 from the Reeves and Berry mine were taken to 
 Austin for reduction, and yielded from seventy-four 
 dollars to S600 per ton; and ten tons from the 
 North Star mine yielded from sixty dollars to $250 
 per ton, being a chloride ore. The ore seemed 
 concentrated in the croppings, and as depth was 
 reached became more diffused through the rock, 
 rendering expensive transportation and reduction 
 unprofitable, and soon thereafter the excitement 
 attending the developments of the mines at Ruby 
 Hill drew attention from Spring Valley, and the 
 district declined. The country rock is a stratified 
 and metamorphic limestone, and the ore is found in 
 bunches, chiefly near the surface. At present there 
 are about forty dwellings in the district. 
 Williams' salt .marsh. 
 In Diamond Vallcj', forty-three miles north of 
 Eureka and ton miles cast of Mineral Hill, is Will- 
 iams' Salt Marsh, which consists of a thousand acres 
 of salt land in the midst of a flat fifteen miles in 
 length and six in width. Salt is obtained in incrus- 
 tations on the surface and from the solution in the 
 waters, which latter come within four feet of the 
 ground. For a long time the incrustations were 
 gathered without refining, but they were not pure, 
 containing only sixty per cent, of salt. The waters 
 are now evaporated by artificial heat from pans ten 
 feet long, four feet wide and ten inches deep, twen- 
 ty-two pans being in use, producing 5,000 pounds of 
 salt per day, the salt being ninety-five per cent. pure. 
 The waters contain about twelve per cent, of salt, 
 a gallon of water yielding a pound of salt. The 
 latter is sold at the marsh at two cents per pound. 
 
 RE.MARKABLE MININCl ACCIDENT. 
 
 On the twenty-third of June, 1873, a remarkable 
 accident occurred at the Eureka Consolidated Mine. 
 John George and George R. Dobbs, miners, started 
 to ride to the bottom of the shaft on the cage 
 ordinarily used for the ])urpose. The brake around 
 the reel broke, upon which the cage drop])cd to the 
 bottom with fearful velocity, a distance of 226 feet. 
 George was mortally injured and died in half an hour. 
 His right arm was broken, but his fatal injury doubt- 
 
HISTORY OF EUREKA COUNTY. 
 
 4.37 
 
 loss arose from the concussion. Dobbs was not 
 futiillj' injured, but almost any other man would 
 have been, under the circumstances. His right arm 
 was torn off near the shoulder; his left arm was 
 '• smashed all up;" his ris^lit thigh was broken, and 
 the bones protruded through his pantaloons, and he 
 was bruised generallJ^ He states that ho was per- 
 fectly conscious during the descent of the cage, and, 
 in fact, throughout the ordeal. He knew perfectly 
 well what was happening, but when the cage struck 
 the ground the breath was knocked out of him for a 
 moment. As soon as possible both men were raised 
 to the surface. George soon expired. Dobbs was 
 taken to his home, where, for nine weeks, he was 
 devotedly cared for by his faithful wife. His physi- 
 cians were Drs. Chamblin and Cummings, of Eu- 
 reka. At the end of nine weeks ho began to walk 
 about, upon which it became apparent that his left 
 arm required to be re-sot. Ho accordingly went to 
 San Francisco, and, without stimulants or narcotics, 
 endured the additional ordeal of having his arm 
 broken again and re-joined. It was then placed in 
 plaster of Paris and kept in that condition for seven 
 months, and has never given any trouble since, al- 
 though Mr. Dobbs is unable to lift a weight above 
 the level of his shoulder. At the time of the acci- 
 dent he was thirty-seven years of age and weighed 
 180 pounds. He is the father of eleven children, 
 two of whom have been born since the accident. 
 The mining company paid all his surgical bills, and 
 allowed him full wages for eleven months. He is 
 now in the enjoyment of robust health and is a con- 
 ductor in the United States Mint at Carson City. 
 
 I.MPORTANT EVENTS OP 1876. 
 
 Some of the most notable local incidents of 1876 
 may be summarized as follows: — 
 
 January 1. Quite a number of persons were noti- 
 fied to leave town by the committee of " 601." 
 
 Januarj' 24. A great snow-storm occurred, block- 
 ading the railroad. 
 
 Fcbruarj' 16. A threatening anti-Chinese excite- 
 ment began. 
 
 March 13. An agitation was inaugurated among 
 the miners concerning wages. David IJich was shot 
 and killed in Frank Wallace's salooti, on iluby Hill 
 by Larry Lynch. The latter was subsequently 
 acquitted. 
 
 March 17. The anti-Chinese crusade renewed. 
 Two Chinamen were killed in Eureka and one on a 
 wood ranch in Diamond Valley. 
 
 April 7. Joseph Schram.«/(«« "Dutch Joe," was 
 shot by Daniel Sullivan, and died on the following 
 day. 
 
 April 10. The first party of Eurokans started for 
 the Centennial K.xhibition. 
 
 May 1. Some town lots on South Main Street near 
 Atlas furnace, were jumped by a party of men who 
 were driven otf b}- Captain I'later. 
 
 May 0. A warehouse belonging to the railroad 
 55 
 
 companj-, and occupied by E. B. Millen, was de- 
 stroyed by fire. Loss, $4,000. 
 
 May 23. First anti-Chinese public meeting. 
 
 Juno 4. The Jerrott & Palmer lightning train 
 passed Palisade at5:30i p. .m., four hours ahead of 
 time. 
 
 June 22. A Centennial flag-staff was raised, which 
 cost nearly $900. 
 
 July 17. Fire on South Main Street. Loss $11,- 
 000. 
 
 August 1. Decided by the Judge of the Sixth 
 Judicial District, that an alien cannot acquire title 
 to mining ground in the United States until the same 
 has been patented to a citizen. 
 
 August 24. Incorporation of the Prospect Mount- 
 ain Tunnel Comj)any. 
 
 August 25. Hon. Thomas Wren nominated bj- the 
 State Republican Convention at Carson, for Congress. 
 
 August 26. A son of Mrs. Fales, of Palisade, was 
 drowned in the Humboldt River at that place. 
 
 August 30. Joseph Dascomb committed suicide 
 by shooting himself A switch of the Central Pacific 
 Railroad, near Palisade, was thrown open by two 
 bo3-s, and a train was thrown from the track. The 
 offenders were arrested, tried in Eureka, and sen- 
 tenced to a term in the County Jail. 
 
 September 1. Kato Miller was stabbed bj' Mary 
 Irwin, from the effects of which she died on the 
 fourth. 
 
 September 8. Matamoras furnace started. 
 
 November 7. (Jeneral election. Haj'es and 
 Wheeler carry the count}- by an average majority of 
 only nine. Democratic Senators and two Assembly- 
 men elected. The Republicans elect Sheriff", Auditor, 
 Assessor, Surveyor. Public Administrator, and County 
 Commissioner for the long term. 
 
 November 14. The Pioche and Eureka stage was 
 robbed near Pinto. 
 
 December 5. Wm. Kavanaugh commited suicide 
 at Ruby Hill. 
 
 December 11. The contested election case between 
 Hank Knight, Assessor, and J. C. Powell, was decided 
 in tho former's favor by a majority of two. 
 
 December 14. After being out seventeen hours, 
 the jury in the case of Mary Irwin disagreed, and 
 a new trial ordered. 
 
 December 15. Anti-Chinese demonstration. A 
 number of Chinese driven from their work on tho 
 railroad. 
 
 December 22. John Mai"sh shot by J. M. Fleming. 
 
 December 23. J. Mctfarry shot at by J. Mann, in 
 New York ('afion. 
 
 Tho number of marriages in tho county during 
 1876, was thirty-seven; tho number of divorces, 
 seven; tho number of recorded births, fifty -one; the 
 number of deaths reported, fifty-one. At the dose 
 of that year tho county debt was 836,000, of which 
 820,000 was in county bonds, payable July 1, 1877. 
 Cash on hand in the various funds, $34,535.38. 
 
438 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 STATISTICS FOR 1878-80. 
 
 In 1878 the Sheriff granted licenses as follows: — 
 325 liquor licenses, 366 merchandise licenses, 157 
 licenses for hotels and lodging-houses, 25 gambling 
 licenses, 32 licenses for livery stables, 6 bank licenses, 
 and 15 licenses for shows and theatres. In that 
 year 268 mining claims were located, 30 mining suits 
 were commenced, 102 arrests were made bj- the 
 Sheriff; there were 100 deaths, 54 marriages, 17 
 divorces, and at the close of that year five more 
 divorce cases were pending. The Methodist Church 
 at the town of Eureka had been closed during most 
 of the year, but on October 20lh was opened bj- Rev. 
 R A. Richer, who soon increased the membership of 
 the society from 6 to 30, and the membership of the 
 Sunday-school from 17 to 60. The Presbyterian 
 Church was in charge of Rev. G. W. Gallagher, the 
 Catholic Church in charge of Father Monteverde, and 
 the Episcopalian Church in charge of Rev. C. B. Craw- 
 ford. The ])opulalion of the county in 1880 was 
 7.086. The total property valuation was §3,500,267, 
 and the aggregate debt was S21,020. 
 
 THE FISH CREEK WAR OF 1879. 
 
 In August, 1879, occurred the somewhat noted 
 " Fish Creek War." The mine managers at Eureka 
 having decided that thirty cents per bushel forchar- 
 coal was an excessive price, resolved to pa}"^ only 
 twentj'-sevcn and one-half cents thcreattcr. The 
 Charcoal Burners' Association, which numbered sev- 
 eral ihounand men, refused to accede to the reduc- 
 tion, and prevented any supplies of charcoal from 
 being delivered at the mines. Its members also took 
 possession of the town of .Eureka on August 11th, 
 with alarming threats. B. J. Turner, Chairman of 
 the Countj' Commissioners, and Sheriff Kyle, tel- 
 egraphed particulars to Governor Kinkead, stating 
 " 2.000 persons, banded together, and with arms in 
 their possession, defied the civil authorities, and 
 refused to have anj' of their number arrested." It 
 was further added, 'they now hold forcible posses- 
 sion of many coal pits in this countj-. By force they 
 have prevented, and are now preventing the owners 
 of charcoal from hauling it to the furnaces, and they 
 threaten to destroj- other properly and burn the 
 town. Arrests have been resisted by the rioters who are 
 well armed and organized under the command of des- 
 perate leaders." The Governor was accordingly' urged 
 to call out a force of militia to quell such insurrection. 
 A telegram in response was immediately forwarded 
 by the Governor, instructing Gen. (Jeorge M. Sabin 
 to call into active service a sufficient force of the 
 Second Brigade of State militia to insure a restora- 
 tion of order. In the absence of General Sabin, at 
 San Francisco, Major Butler, his Adjutant-General, 
 took the required action. A lull ensued until August 
 18lh. At about 6 o'clock that afternoon a posae of 
 nine men, headed by Deputy Sheriff J. B. Simpson, 
 attacked a coal ranch at Fi^h Creek, about thirty 
 miles from Eureka, and opened fire on about a hun- 
 
 dred coal burners. Five of the latter were killed, 
 six were badly wounded, and several were made 
 prisoners. None of the Sheriff's posse were injured, 
 although it is claimed that the coal burners were 
 well armed, and fired the first shot. Much excite- 
 ment followed this collision, and statements damag- 
 ing to the Deputj' Sheriff's party were freely 
 circulated. However, the Coroner's jury impaneled 
 in the case brought in a verdict that, 
 
 The deceased persons came to their death from 
 shots fired by the Sheriff's posse while in the dis- 
 charge of their duty. 
 
 The " war " was thereupon terminated. The Sher- 
 iff 's;)osse consisted of Joseph Toomej', G. H. Smith, 
 Wm. Martin, Marshall Rice, Robert Brown, Henry 
 Storey and James Porter. In referring to the out- 
 break and its dcjjlorable culmination, the Carson 
 Appeal of August 21st said: — 
 
 Whoever is in the right, this infraction and defiance 
 of law cannot be permitted in this State. There 
 is scarcely a question but that the coal burners have 
 been imposed upon. They furnish coal to contract- 
 ors, who deliver it at the furnaces from their own 
 teams, and insist that the burners shall take their 
 returns without being furnished with certified meas- 
 urements from the receivers. It is easily seen how 
 great wrong can be done through the collusion of 
 dishonest parties. 
 
 The manufacture of charcoal is one of the most 
 important industries of Eureka County, the annual 
 consumption of that article reaching over 1,200 000 
 bushels. The average distance the coal is hauled by 
 teams to the mines is thirtj'-five miles. A cord of 
 nut pine wood produces about twenty-eight bushels 
 of coal, which is now worth twentj'-two cents per 
 bushel. The su|)|ily of timber for this purpose will 
 soon be exhausted. Including the victims of the 
 charcoal war, and five suicides, twenty eight persons 
 died violent deaths in the county that year. 
 
 THE PRINCIPAL TOWNS. 
 
 Beowawe is a railroad station on the Central 
 Pacific Railroad, eighteen miles west of Palisade, 
 and contains a post-oflSeo, hotel, store, a few dwell- 
 ings and the necessary railroad buildings. Accord- 
 ing to the recent census, its population consists of 
 fifty whites, seven Chinese, and four Indians. It is 
 the supplj' point of the mining districts in the Cortez 
 Range. 
 
 Eureka Township was incorporated by an Act of 
 the Legislature, approved March 1, 1877, and its 
 corporate powers were vested in a Board of Trustees, 
 consisting of five members. By an Act of the Leg- 
 islature, ajiproved .March 1, 1881, the right of laying a 
 street railway track in Eureka was granted to W. O. 
 Mills, Jr., E. T. Butler, Thomas Wethered and others. 
 H^' an Act approved March 2, 1881, a cor])oration 
 was created for the purpose of building a railroad 
 from Eureka via Pioche to Callvillo, in Lincoln 
 County on the Colorado River; and on the samodaj', 
 a Senate joint memorial asked Congress to appro- 
 
 I 
 
HISTORY OF EUREKA COUNTY. 
 
 439 
 
 priate $250,000 for Iho improvement of the Colo- 
 rado River between Fort Yuma and Caliville. 
 
 The town of Eureka, which is located ninety 
 milos south of Palisade, in a narrow valley running 
 northerlj- between projectinj; si)urs ol' the Prospect 
 Mountains, dates the commencement of its growth 
 from the j'ear 1869. The orisjinal proprietors were 
 Maj. W. W. McCoy and Alonzo Monroe, who held 
 the title to the town site, their two surveys joining 
 on a line crossing the valley, or ravine, at the pres- 
 ent center of the town. The Monroe survey lay to 
 the north and the McCoy survey to the south of 
 this line. In the latter were the springs which now 
 supply- the town with water. Two additional sur- 
 veys were subsequently made, the O'Neil on the 
 west and the McDonald on the east, over portions of 
 which the town has since extended. In ]8(j9 its 
 mining prospects had acquired permanent impor- 
 tance; and in compliance with popular demands, the 
 route of the semi weekly stage line between Austin 
 and Hamilton, run bj- John A. Wilson, was changed 
 so as to pass through Eureka. A mail was thus 
 afforded, but no post-office was established till 1870. 
 In the spring of 1870, Woodruff & Ennor estab- 
 lished a stage line between Palisade, on the railroad, 
 and Hamilton in White Pine County, which line 
 passed through Eureka. In August, 1870, Beachc}', 
 Wines & Co. changed their route, so that their 
 stages, going between Elko and Hamilton, passed 
 through Eureka. The passenger list on Woodruff 
 & Ennor's line averaged about ninety ])cr week for 
 Eureka. During the White Pine excitement, four 
 daily lines of stages ran between Elko and Hamil- 
 ton. 
 
 Previous to this all the travel and transportation 
 of that portion of the State lying east of Eureka 
 and south of the railroad had centered at Elko; 
 and although Palisade possessed superior advan- 
 tages as a shipping depot, yet the discriminations 
 of the Central Pacific Company against it and in 
 favor of Elko, proved a great hindrance to the suc- 
 cess of the new route, and Eureka also suffered 
 for two years from this cause. However, during 
 1870, the town grew rapidlj-. According to the Sen- 
 tinel of July 23, 1870, forty-three houses were 
 erected in one week; three came from Carlin, 100 
 miles; twelve from Hamilton, forty miles; four from 
 Treasure City, forty-three miles; sixteen from Sher- 
 man, forty-five miles; and three from Elko, 123 
 miles. On the thirtieth of June of that year the 
 various mining companies reported 8313,402 as the 
 total product of the mines to date. 
 
 PIONEER ITEMS OP EUREKA. 
 
 The first and only election in Eureka Township 
 was held on the eighth of November, 1870, result- 
 ing in the choice of W. Adams for Justice of the 
 Peace, S. B. Bell for Constable; and C. J. Lansing, 
 A. Skillman, and A. E. Titus for .School Trustees. 
 The following are related as -pioneer facts" by the 
 Eureka Leader of December 31, 1879: — 
 
 The first hold, and also the first two-story frame 
 building in Eureka is the old Parker House. Atone 
 time it was Iheoldoverland station and stage stable at 
 Austin. It was moved to Eureka by P. II. Parker, 
 and converted into a hotel. Its first position was 
 opposite the Eureka Consolidated Works, from 
 where it was moved to its presetit site. 
 
 The first load of bullion ever shi])pcd from 
 Eureka was taken to Carlin by one of Seaton & 
 ('lark's ten-mule teams. The road at that time 
 was simply a buggy track through the sage-brush. 
 The freight charged to Carlin was thirt}- dollars 
 per ton. This was in l.s70. 
 
 Nathan & Harrison brought the first goods for 
 a store to Eureka, and opened in the old Tanne- 
 hill log house. They subsequently built a stockade 
 on the present site of Doutiick & Co's brick store. 
 
 The first smelting furnace in Eureka was erected 
 by the Eureka Smelling Company, under the super- 
 vision of Maj. \V. W. McCoy, on the ground now 
 occupied by Ucinhart & Co's barlcj- mill. 
 
 Eureka's first house was built of logs, in 1865, by 
 the Tamichill Company, of Austin, who fir^t pros- 
 pected and located in Eureka District. It now 
 stands just above the K K furnace, adjoining the 
 residence of R. Rickard. 
 
 The first death in Eureka was that of a man 
 named Desmond, who M'as accidentally shot by 
 "Red Mike," in George Thatcher's saloon. His 
 grave was the first in the old cemetery back of 
 Chandler's stone-quarry. 
 
 John S. Capron put u|i the first lusiness house, the 
 Pioneer Restaurant. It was at first a large tent, 
 and occupied the ground where Vanina's store on 
 North Main Street, now stands. 
 
 Eureka's first fire occurred in a small frame build- 
 ing situated where Dumas' saloon now stands. It 
 caught from a defective stovepipe, and destroyed 
 three buildings. 
 
 The stone Episcopal Church, on Spring Street, 
 was the first building erected lor religious purposes. 
 The Catholic Church on Nob Hill followed in the 
 same year. 
 
 The first Eureka mine listed on the San Francisco 
 Stock Board was the Eureka Consolidated, in Octo- 
 ber, 1870. The first share was sold for nineteen dol- 
 lars. 
 
 The first stone building was the present County 
 Hospital, and was built as an olHce for the Eureka 
 Smelting Comjiany, by Maj. W. W. .McCoj-. 
 
 The first drug store was o|)encd by f)r. M. Rock- 
 man, near where Dr. Bisho]i's warehouse on North 
 Main Street now stunils. 
 
 The first post-office was kept in the Parker House, 
 with George S. Haskell as Postmaster. 
 
 The first practicing ph)'sician was Dr. M. Rock- 
 man, and the first lawyer Judge Wm. H. Davenport. 
 
 The first woman that graced the Base Range was 
 a Mrs. (y'hristy, who came from While Pine, 
 
 W. B. Wilson ran the first stages out of Eureka to 
 Austin and Hamilton, in November, 1869. 
 
 Judge Adams held the first Justices' Court in a log 
 cabin in the rear of the Parker House. 
 
 Abo Bateman built the first adobe house where 
 the new Kolcj-- Rickard buildintr now stands. 
 
 C. Carpenter o])cned the first hardware store, 
 whore the Empire Saloon now stands. 
 
 Paxton & Co.s was the first bank, at which J. S. 
 Capron made the first deposit. 
 
 Ham & Hunter opened the first livery stable on 
 Charley Lautenschlager's corner. 
 
 The City Brewery, on North Main Street, fur- 
 nished the first beer for Eureka. 
 
440 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Just below Bonetti's Saloon Joshua Bailey erected 
 the first lodging-house. 
 
 The Eureka Consolidated erected the first steam 
 hoisting works in the district. 
 
 Eureka was first called Napias,& Shoshone word, 
 meaning silver. 
 
 G. J. Tannehill was the first Mining Eecorder of 
 Eureka District. 
 
 Malcom McDonald opened the first butcher shop 
 in Eureka. 
 
 Jimmy Duker had the first billiard table, in the 
 old Mint Saloon. 
 
 In 187((, was raised the first crop produced In 
 Eureka County. At what is now known as the Ital- 
 ian Ranch, on Hunter Creek, four miles east of the 
 town of Eureka, J. T. Hunter sowed and planted as 
 follows: Eight hundred bushels of barley that pro- 
 duced twelve tons; 200 bushels of wheat that 
 produced five tons of hay and three tons of 
 wheat; and three and a half tons of potatoes that 
 produced fifty tons. In 1871, Pritchard's fast freight 
 line removed its depot from Elko to Palisade. In 
 1874, the Eureka and Palisade Railroad Company 
 commenced building its narrow guage line from Pal- 
 isade to Eureka, completing it and putting it in oper- 
 ation by October, 1875. This made Eureka the depot 
 for all wagon transportation, and freight and passen- 
 ger traffic, for the innumerable mining camps to the 
 south of it. It was now in regular stage communi- 
 cation with Austin, Belmont, Tybo, Hamilton, Pioche 
 and Ward District. 
 
 BUILDINGS AND MATERIAL. 
 
 Excellent stone quarries within the town limits 
 furnish an abundance of good building material, and 
 large quantities of brick are manufactui-od just 
 south of the town. Tiiese advantages are noticeable 
 in the architecture of Eureka, stone and brick struct- 
 ures being numerous. The recently com])leted Court 
 House, the cost of which was S.5.5,000, is the finest in 
 the State, with the exception of that at Virginia City. 
 The first edifice for religious worship was built in 
 1871, by the Episcojial Church, and is a solid struct- 
 ure of stone. The Roman Catholics erected a frame 
 edifice in the same year, but have since built another 
 one of stone. The Presbyterians and Methodists 
 also have tine church buildings. Among other 
 attractive buildings should be mentioned the Inter- 
 national Hotel, Jackson House, .SWt//«e/ building and 
 the Opera House. The (Jounty Jail, vault and fix- 
 tures cost 815,000; the Court House and the lot sur- 
 rounding it cost 855,000. The County Hospital, its 
 furniture and library, cost $10,000. 
 
 The Eureka Water Works Company abundantly 
 supplies the town with water. As a protection 
 against fire, a tank with a capacity of 55,000 
 gallons, has been constructed on the west side 
 of town, drawing its water supply from McCoy's 
 springs. Water from this source is only used in case 
 of fire. These works cost 810,000, and arc 220 feet 
 higher than the corner of Main and Clark streets, 
 and are capable of forcing water to the most elevated 
 
 points within the town limits. The fire department 
 consists of the Rescue, Knickerbocker, Nob Hill, 
 Eureka Hook and Ladder, and Richmond Hose Com- 
 panies. 
 
 SEVERAL DISASTROUS FIRES. 
 
 In common with every other mining town on the 
 Pacific Coast, Eui-eka has had destructive conflagra- 
 tions. The first occurred on March 28, 1875. A fire 
 originated in the Montana House and spread over 
 the surrounding locality, destroying ten buildings 
 and occasioning a loss of 825,000. The greatest 
 calamity of the kind occurred on April 19, 1879. At 
 about one o'clock in the morning of that date, while 
 a fearful gale was blowing, a fire broke out in the 
 green-room of Bigelow's Opera House, from the 
 explosion of a lamp. The flames spread to the Senti- 
 nel building, the Masonic Hall and the Western 
 Union Telegraph office, and by the winds were 
 blown east and north, down Buel, Spring and Main 
 Streets. The Jackson House and the front portion 
 of V. B. Perrj^'s saloon escaped bj' a miracle, but the 
 remaining portion of the town embraced within the 
 streets above named, was, within the period of two 
 hours, a mass of blackened ruins, and the fire was 
 only checked when it reached the end of Main vStreet 
 at the foundry, Spring Street above Mrs. Dennis', 
 and Paul Street at its terminus. In all this area the 
 onlj' property that escaped, excepting the two struct- 
 ures already mentioned, consisted of the fire-proof 
 building of the Sentinel office and the vaults of Pax- 
 ton's bank. Mr. Moch, proprietor of a restaurant, 
 was fatally burned, and Frank Alderson received 
 serious injuries. The Fire Department had battled 
 manfull}', but in vain. The total loss was estimated 
 at 81,000,000; half the town lay in ashes, and two 
 thousand people were destitute and homeless. Imme- 
 diatelj' after the conflagration, a remarkable jour- 
 nalistic feat was performed by the Sentinel force. 
 The stone fire-proof building at the rear of the main 
 office was so hot that the printers could remain in it 
 only by shrouding themselves in wet blankets. 
 Nevertheless they set up the paper and got out an 
 edition before ten o'clock in the morning. To relieve 
 the suffering of Eureka, Governor Kinkead imme- 
 diately placed at the disposal of the authorities of 
 that town the sum of 81,500, which remained unex- 
 pended from a IjCgislativo a)q)ro])riation in aid of the 
 Silver City suft'erors. Public meetings were also held 
 at Reno, Carson, and other points, and energetic steps 
 were taken to collect and forward money and su]) 
 plies. The smoke of the conflagration had scarcely 
 passed away before the rebuilding of Eureka had 
 been resolved upon, and in a few months (he task 
 had been completed with remarkalile energy. -\l 
 about ten o'clock on the seventeenth of August, 1880, 
 another groat fire began, breaking out at the rear of 
 Mrs. Po])lin's fruit and vegetable store on Main Street, 
 and taking almost the same course as the conflagra- 
 ation of the previous year. Three hundred houses, 
 many of them business establishments, and some of 
 

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HISTORY OF ElJRKFvA ("OUNTY 
 
 441 
 
 them the finest private residences in town, were con- 
 sumed. A space equal to fifty acres, consisting of 
 the very heart of the town, was swept almost com- 
 pletely. Only half a dozen buildings remained to 
 relieve the scene of desolation. These* were as fol- 
 lows: Jack Perry's corner, the Douglas building, 
 the Foley-Kickard Block, Paxton A: Co.'s bank, Jacob 
 Cohn's store, Schneider's drug store, and C. Lauten- 
 schlager's saloon. The Leader office. Odd Fellows 
 Hall, theater. International Hotel, Vanina & Co.'s 
 billiard saloon, A. .\[. Hillhouse's elegant residence, 
 and the Methodist Episcopal Church were among 
 the prominent buildings destroyed. But for the 
 most determined efforts of the firemen, the fire would 
 not have been confined to the east of Main Street. 
 No statement of the exact amount of the damage 
 was ever published. 
 
 SUnnEN AND DESTRUCTIVE FLOODS. 
 
 On July 24, 1874, a violent rain storm prevailed 
 all the forenoon at Eureka. At a little after noon a 
 cloud burst on the lofty range of mountains bordering 
 the canon on which the town is situated, and large 
 streams of water poured down the mountain slopes. 
 A perfect deluge of rain also swept over Eureka, 
 sending rivers through the streets, and flooding the 
 eastern portions of the town, but the inhabitants 
 considered themselves safe in their houses. Sud- 
 denly there came thundering down the canon from 
 two directions, a torrent that carried everything 
 before it. Houses were surrounded by water or 
 swept away, and their occupants flung into the black 
 and turbulent flood. Ropes were hastily procured, 
 and brave men rushed to the rescue of the struggling 
 victims, and many lost their lives in the attempt. 
 The scene was described as terrible. For half an 
 hour the flood lasted, and the destruction of life and 
 property w;;s great. Thirtj- houses were wrecked 
 or carried away, and 8100,000 worth of damage was 
 done. Among the heaviest losses of property 
 reported were the following: Eureka Hall, 88,000; 
 Eureka Consolidated furnace, 88,000; A. E. Davis' 
 stables and wagons, 87,000. The following persons 
 lost their lives: Mrs. Charles L. Bray, recently mar- 
 ried; A. C. Latson, pioneer; John Turner, teamster: 
 Eoger Robinette, reporter; J. W. Talbot, tcamstei-; 
 John Rauft, saloon keeper; W. J. McGcary, carpen- 
 ter; William Smith, miner; James Galvin, Jean Dor- 
 ney, Henry Heine, and five Chinamen. The Eureka 
 iS'ew^me/ gives the following additional details: — 
 
 There have been ijuantities of rain for several 
 daj-s. At 8:30 in the morning considerable dam- 
 age had been done at Ruby Hill. At 10 o'clock, 
 after having increased in violence; the storm br(»ke 
 away, excepting on the hills to the southwest of 
 town. Shortly after 11 o'clock, the effects of the 
 morning rain were manifested by the rush of the 
 flood that filled the channel, and some out-buildings 
 standing close to it were carried away, and tlio 
 floors of other buildings were covered with water. 
 At about 1 o'clock the rain re-commenced with 
 redoubled force, and hail mingled with it. The 
 
 interval between the flashes of lightning was about 
 one and one-half seconds. A few minutes before 2 
 o'clock, horsemen -tlashed down the streets giving 
 the alarm of the approaching flood. After them 
 came a torrent three feet dee]) and a iiuarter of a 
 mile wide. For half an hour it beat against Eureka 
 Hall, which was 25x100 feet in size, and it finally 
 carried the building away. Other buildings were 
 also swept off. 
 
 Among the miner incidents of the catastrophe, the 
 Sentinel mentions that a little girl rushed into the 
 flood and rescued her pet kid. The water-shed 
 having an outlet through p]ureka has an area of 
 thirty S((uare miles. 
 
 On July 24, 1876, at the same hour that the alarm 
 of the flood of July 24, 1874, was given, the whistle 
 of the Richmond Company and the ringing of 
 the fire-bells sounded the alarm, and a turbulent 
 volume of water was seen making its way down 
 Spring and Buel streets. The inhabitants fled to 
 the hill. The stream fortunately confined itself to 
 the ditch, and no lives were lost, and but little 
 property was destroyed. On August 15, 1878, at 
 twentj' minutes past P. m, a second flood was 
 heralded by the steam whistle of the liichmond 
 Company. Soon a multitude of voices sent up the 
 startling cry of " the flood ! the flood !" The skies 
 were rent by lightning, and thunders rumbled over 
 the valleys. The inhabitants again sought the hills 
 for safety, for a white, resistless wall of foamy 
 water swept down the main thoroughfare of the 
 town, and divided below the Eichmond dump. It 
 originated in Pinto Canon, four miles distant, and 
 was first seen by William Martin, who happened to 
 be riding a mule at the time. He spurred for the 
 town, shouting the alarm as he went, and notified 
 the men at the Richmond works, thus undoubtedly 
 saving many lives. This flood was a heavier one 
 than that of 1874, but was not so destructive. No 
 lives were lost. The damage was estimated at 
 875,000. Among innumerable incidents that oc- 
 curred, it is related that a woman, frightened out of 
 her senses, rushed into the water, but was overtaken 
 and saved by a man who had to abandon a barrel of 
 whisky to the flood in order to perform his gallant 
 exploit. Dark clouds still overhung the mountains 
 when a beautiful rainbow arched the inky canop)-, 
 the sun shone out brightly over Diamond \'alley, 
 and alarm and danger were passed. At 1 o'clock in 
 the following afternoon, still another flood swept 
 through Eureka, but the people were on the alert, 
 and no lives were lost, and only about $5,000 worth 
 of damage sustained. 
 
 ED.MIWD U. UUIlliE, 
 
 So^l of Joel and Hannah (^Clarkj Dodge, was born in 
 the town of New Lisborn, Juneau County, Wiscon- 
 sin, August 14. 1853. The parents of our subject 
 were farmers, and young Dodge was trained to that 
 calling until he reached his fifteenth year, at which 
 time he accompanied his father across the plains to 
 
442 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 ii./ 
 
 the Pacific Coast. Sickness and the failure of teams 
 caused him to stop at Austin, Lander County. In 
 January, 1870, he commenced work in the Manhat- 
 tan Quartz Mill, where he continued for one year. 
 Leaving the mill he began teaming, which occupa- 
 tion he followed only a few months, when he entered 
 the employ of Wells, Fargo & Co., as clerk in their 
 express office, where he remained about one year. 
 Throwing up his clerkship at that time he went to 
 California, and entered Ileald'H Business College in 
 San Francisco. In this last jjlace he acquired a 
 thorough business education, and returned to Nevada. 
 Being an active, energetic man, he did not wait for 
 something to turn up, but went to work hauling 
 wood until December, 1872, when he removed to 
 Eureka, and in company with another parly opened 
 a bakery, which the}' conducted for about one year. 
 From this Mr. Dodge entered the real estate business, 
 and in a few months accepted a position as book- 
 keeper in the mercantile establishment of W. H. 
 Clark. His next venture in the business line was 
 opening a general fire insurance office. In the fall of 
 1878 ho received the nomination for County Clerk, 
 and was handsomely elected by the Republican 
 party, and still holds that position, lie was married 
 to Miss M. L. Beardsloe, of Eureka, December 
 17, 1879. 
 
 Son of Paine and Uuth (Bray) Morrill, was born 
 June 26, 1837, in the town of Turner, Oxford County, 
 Maine. He was the eldest of three children, Hattie 
 E., born September 28, 1842, married Geo. E. Slroub, 
 and Philo C, born February 28, 1847, died Septem- 
 ber 5, 1861. The father of our subject was born 
 December 7, 1S0:J, died May 5, 1854. Mrs. Merrill 
 was born January 11, 1809, and is now living. 
 
 After obtaining a thorough academic education, 
 Mr. Merrill entered the law office of Barrows, the 
 present Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the 
 State of Maine, and subsequently studied with a 
 well-known firm in Evansville, Indiana. In 1860 he 
 was admitted to the Bar in the latter State, and 
 when the country was threatened with destruction, 
 consequent upon the breaking out of the Kebellion, 
 ho enlisted as a private in the Sixteenth Indiana 
 Volunteer Regiment, but was soon promoted to a 
 first lieutenancy, then to a captaincy, and was sub- 
 scquentlj' elected major of his regiment, but resigned 
 before receiving his commission. After his with- 
 drawal from the army he came to California, and 
 soon after to Austin, Ivander Counlj% Nevada; 
 thence to Nye County, where he was elected to the 
 office of District Attorney for several terms. Alter 
 spending one year in the White Pine country, he 
 settled permanently in Eureka, engaging in the 
 practice of law. In 1874, was elected District 
 Attorney of Eureka County, holding the office three 
 consecutive terms. In 1880 Mr. Merrill was chosen 
 to represent the )icoplo in the Legislature, being the 
 only Democrat elected in the county. He was 
 elected Speaker of the House, and proved to be the 
 right man in the right place. 
 
HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY. 
 
 44n 
 
 Judge of the Sixth District, and the subject of this 
 sketch, was born in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, 
 April 6, 1848. Ills education was obtained at the 
 Richmond College, in lia,y County, Missouri, and at 
 the Port Roj-al Academy, in Philadelphia, Pennsyl- 
 vania. Soon after leaving school he entered the law 
 office of Col. A. vS. Buford, President of the Rich- 
 mond and Atlanta Air-line Railroad Company, at 
 Danville, Virginia, where he pursued the study of 
 law, and afterward came to Nevada, and finished his 
 studios with Col. A. C. P^llis, in Carson City. In 1869 
 he commenced the practice of law in this State. His 
 ability in his profession was readily recognized by the 
 people, and he was elected Judge of the Sixth Dis- 
 trict in Nevada in November, 1874, being the young- 
 est man ever elected to such a position on the Pa- 
 cific Coast, and probably in the United States, being 
 only twenty-six years of age. Again, in 1878, he 
 was elected to the same high office, and has yet two 
 years before the expiration of his term, drawing the 
 largest salarj- paid in this State to any officer, not 
 excepting Governor or Supreme Judges. In politics 
 he is a Democrat, and has taken an active part in 
 the counsels of his party from the days of his youth, 
 and has long been recognized as one of its leaders. 
 On the sixth of April, 1874 (his birthday), ho was 
 married to Miss F. M. llazen, in the Church of the 
 Advent, in San Francisco, California. 
 
 P.\ns.\DE is situated at the west end of Twelve- 
 mile Canon, otherwise known as " The Palisades," 
 through which flows the Humboldt River. It con- 
 tains about 200 inhabitants, and consists of two 
 
 hotels, two saloons, a barber shop, a boot and shoo 
 shop, two stores, a post-office, about twenty-five 
 dwellings, the shops of the Kuroka and Palisade 
 Railroad Company, and various railroad buildings. 
 At those shops are manufactured all the box and 
 flat cars ref|uired by the company. Large ])iles of 
 base bullion bars arc usually to be seen stacked up 
 at the freight house awaiting shipment. During 
 1878, .31,038,884 pounds of base bullion were brought 
 by rail from Eureka. The water supply is brought 
 from a huge tank located on the mountain side to 
 the northward, at a height of 300 feet. This, in 
 turn, is supplied from never-failing mountain 
 springs. The recent census gives the population of 
 Palisade, and the lower part of Pine Valley, as fol- 
 lows: Whites and blacks, 105; Chinese, 48; Indians, 
 40; total, 253. That part of Eureka County de- 
 scribed as "north of the Central Pacific Railroad, 
 along the Central Pacific, and the lower part ot 
 Pine Valley," is credited with the following popula- 
 tion: Whites and blacks, 223; Chinese, 61; Indians 
 not taxed, 44; total, 328. 
 
 The town of Ruby Hill is two and a half miles 
 west of Eureka. The census of 1880 gives it a pop- 
 ulation of 2,165. It is the home of about 900 miners 
 with their families, has good streets, substantial 
 buildings, stores, churches, schools, a newspaper, a 
 theater hall, and all other characteristics of a live, pro- 
 gressive town. The Miners' Union numbers 600 
 members, and has a largo hall of its own. The 
 appearance of the town is much enhanced by the 
 large and costlj' works of the varions mining com- 
 panies operating there. Its history has been suffi- 
 ciently given in the preceding account of the rise 
 and progress of the mining industry in Eureka 
 County. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI. 
 
 HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY. 
 
 Impressions of the E.arly Emii;rants — f Jenenil Char.icteristics — 
 P-iradise ami (^'uiii Kiver V.alleys — Ori;anization and 
 Boimilaries — Fiuanoi.il anil IVlitioal Matters — Humboldt 
 Canal Scheme — Discovciy of Mineral — Principal Mining 
 Districts — Principal Towns and Cities — Hon. T. .1. Brad- 
 shaw — Joel Bradshaw — .lames Byrnes — Charles Kimler — 
 C. A. Nichols— W. A. Sherry— Hon. M. S. Thompson— E. 
 Blennerhas.sett. 
 
 Alk.\li ])lains, covered in part with scattering 
 sage-brush, with now [and then a tuft of bunch- 
 grass; basaltic rocks, twisted and contorted in the 
 great convulsions of nature, over which the lizard 
 darted in his daily hunt for a dinner of insects; 
 crickets sQuealing out a complaint when the long 
 whiplash of the ox-driver fell too near them; a 
 sage-hen or a hare Inirrj-lng out of sight of the 
 man with a gun intent on getting fresh meat; 
 those were the prominent objects that photographed 
 themselves on the memory of those who passed 
 down the Humboldt in the early California days. 
 How the horned toad, lizards, crickets, rabbits, 
 and sage-hens managed to survive and maintain a 
 
444 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 tolerable appearance of vitality passed the under- 
 staiidin£c of the average ox-driver who wended his 
 weary, toilsome way towards the setting sun. 
 What puch a country was made for — so uscle^JS, so 
 trod-forsaken — was the standing question alwaj's 
 entering into consideration, whether watching the 
 cattle during the long hours of the night, forcing 
 them onward with the resounding lash during the 
 day, or taking the dailj- rations of sodden bread, 
 fried pork, and black coffee. It is true, that now 
 and then one caught a glimpse of a valley which, 
 with seasonable rains, might make a fine home; but 
 to the average emigrant the country was repulsive 
 in the extreme, and thought of only as separating 
 them from the land that was pouring out its gold 
 in the profusion of J^l Dorado. 
 
 To the thoughtful man there was much to study. 
 The fixcls that the valley of the Humboldt was the 
 bottom of an ancient sea; that the waves, at some 
 distant period, rolled hundreds of feet above the 
 present water level, were a source of constant won- 
 der. Far up on the sides of the mountains could be 
 seen the terraces of the former beach or water 
 level. Every fragment of obsidian or petrifaction 
 was a subject of wonder, and a text for numberless 
 thoughts. The white sands and colored claj's were 
 the relics of bj- -gone ages, when the whale and other 
 monsters of the deep sported over the present 
 mountains and plains. The ancient lava beds, with 
 basaltic or columnar crystallization, and the inter- 
 vening or protruding rocks, twisted and contorted 
 with the changing of the alkaline bases, were ex- 
 posed to the inspection of the curious and the stu- 
 dious. 
 
 Year after year the emigrants hurried along, 
 little heeding the treasures that were locked up in 
 the hills, or reposing in the numerous valleys which 
 lay hidden between the mountain spurs which 
 traversed the Great Basin. The "great meadows," as 
 they were called, which marked the last resting- 
 place of the retreating sea, with their thousands of 
 acres of fine meadow grass, would induce the emi- 
 grant to tarr}' a while to recruit his worn-out cat- 
 tle; but when the indications of approaching winter 
 came, all left the valley of the Humboldt to the pos- 
 session of the Pah-Ute and his neighbors, the 
 lizards. It was not until the discovery along the 
 base of the Sierra Nevada of the richest silver 
 mines of historj' that the attCTition of explorers 
 was turned toward the great vallej'of the Humboldt. 
 
 With explorations and improvements marked 
 changes have resulted and different ideas prevail. 
 As late as IHSit Horace (freeley made his memorable 
 journey across the country, and, remarking upon the 
 repulsive appearance of the " Great Basin," expressed 
 the opinion that it would bo better if the Sierra Ne- 
 vada and Rocky Mountains could be brought to- 
 gether and the intervening country eliminated from 
 the surface of the earth. Denunciation was popular 
 then, but the hundreds of millions of treasure since 
 
 produced, and the perennial stream of bullion flow- 
 ing from countless fountains, the succulent beef fat- 
 tened upon its hills receiving a premium in every 
 market, the abounding health of the people and 
 their general wealth, the high and orderlj- state of 
 society, and the many great fortunes that point to 
 this region as their source, have changed the tone, 
 and Nevada can be no longer disparaged. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 
 
 Humboldt County contains about Ifi.OOO square 
 miles of territory, traversed by numerous mountain 
 ranges with general north and south trend. Some 
 of the peaks have an altitude of 10,000 feet above 
 the sea level, and 4,000 to 5,000 feet above the sur- 
 rounding country. The mountains generally have 
 an abrupt elevation, leaving broad, flat valleys, cov- 
 ered with sage-brush or barren sand, between. The 
 Humboldt River enters the county near the center 
 of its eastern border, makes a wide detour to the 
 northwest, turns abruptly towards the southwest, 
 emptying into Humboldt Lake in the southwest, 
 having a course of about 150 miles in the county. 
 
 This great valley afforded the most feasible and 
 natural passage for the emigration to the Pacific 
 Coast, and opened a route for the great transconti- 
 nental railway. Through it now runs the Central 
 Pacific Railroad, with 144 miles within the limits of 
 the county, thus giving superior advantages of inter- 
 communication. 
 
 The eastern portion of the county is the most ele- 
 vated. From its boundary at the one hundred and 
 seventeenth meridian from Greenwich it slopes grad- 
 ually to the level of the Great Basin, where it termi- 
 nates in level, barren, sandy, alkali plains, dry and 
 parched in the summer and half covered with water 
 in the winter. This kind of land forms a notable 
 feature in the topography of the county. One body 
 of this kind in the southwestern portion of the 
 county is fully sixty miles wide east and west, bj- IGO 
 in length from north to south. North of this tract the 
 country graduallj- rises until a mountainous elevation 
 is reached. Hero were the famous Black Rock Mines, 
 which for a long time were a puzzle and a delusion to 
 the prospector who saw possible millions in the myste- 
 rious, uncertain mineral. The Forty-mile Desert, the 
 terror of the earl j^ emigrants, where, in 1850, hundreds, 
 or rather thousands, of wagons, harnesses, yokes, 
 and skeletons of horses and cattle attested the real- 
 ity of their apprehensions, is a part of this barren 
 plain, which may find a parallel in the Great Desert 
 of Africa. 
 
 In the northern and eastern portion of the county 
 are many fine vallej's, which for beauty and fertility 
 have no superiors and few equals. The bunch-grass 
 is probably the most nutritious of all the grasses, and 
 keeps its virtues even when covered several feet 
 with snow. Cattle will thrive, and even get fat on 
 this when they have to paw the snow away to get 
 at it, though the snows do not often remain on the 
 
1 
 
HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY. 
 
 446 
 
 ground many weeks at a time. The TTumboldt 
 Valley east of the Great J5end is nearly worthless for 
 agriculture, but after the river passes through the 
 West Humboldt range of mountains and turns 
 toward the south, the valley becomes wider, grass}- 
 meadows take the place of the sage-brush flats, and 
 finallj' the great meadows are reached. Those who 
 crossed the plains with teams before the time of the 
 railway, will remember that unbroken, even untrod- 
 den miles of the finest grass, waist-high, covered these 
 natural lawns, 50,000 or more animals halting there 
 had only cropped awaj- the outer edge, so extensive 
 was the range. These meadows will be referred to 
 again in the sketches of the several towns and set- 
 tlements. 
 
 PARADISE AND QUIN RIVER VALLEYS. 
 
 The first of these, which, fortunately, does no dis- 
 credit to the name, is one of the oases sometimes 
 found in the most barren and desolate countries, like 
 Broussa, in Syria, or the vale of Cashmere, in Persia. 
 It is situated on both sides of the Little Humboldt, 
 which rises in the northern part of the county in the 
 Santa [?osa and Volcanic ranges of mountains, and 
 flows southward nearlj' a hundred miles, being joined 
 in its course by several smaller streams, finally join- 
 ing the main Humboldt at the Great Bend. The 
 vallej' is reckoned twenty to forty miles long and 
 ten to twenty wide, according to the judgment of the 
 writer as to the character or classification of the 
 land. In some places the rich, black soil, or alluvial 
 deposit, is six or eight miles wide, while the slope or 
 sides of the mountains, which maybe made product- 
 ive bj' irrigation, are ten or twenty more; in other 
 places the valley narrows to a much less distance, 
 actually segregating it into several distinct valleys. 
 As, from its lertility and favorable situation, it is 
 likely to become the most important and permanent 
 agricultural ])ortion of Nevada, an account of its dis- 
 covery and settlement well deserves a place in the 
 historj' of the State. 
 
 About the first of June, 18G3, K. D. Carr, W. B. 
 Huff, J. A. Whitmore and \V. C. Gregg started from 
 Star City with the intention of prospecting the 
 mountains on the north side of the Humboldt, rang- 
 ing to the east. They crossed near where Mill City 
 now stands, and followed the western slope of the 
 mountains until they struck Tlobcl Creek, which they 
 followed to its source near the summit. On attaining 
 the summit a wide and beautiful valley burst on 
 their view. Having seen only cafions and rugged 
 hills they were much sur])rised, and \V. B. Huff invol- 
 untarily exclaimed, "What a paradise !" and thus 
 gave name to the valley. The men were so elated 
 with the discovery that all thoughts of mines were 
 forgotten, and they lost no time in taking possession 
 of homesteads, or at least driving stakes to indicate 
 their claims. In July following, Gregg returned 
 with fourteen head of horses, wagons, mower, hay- 
 press and blacksmith tools. During the season he. 
 
 cut and baled two hundred and tifly tons of hay, the 
 5G 
 
 most of which he sold at remunerative prices at 
 Star City and Austin. In 1804, M. Maylen, Thomas 
 Byrnes, P. H. Scott, E. Lyug, Moffett, John- 
 son, Geo. IL Carrol, J. B. ( "arrol,Wm. Stock,C. W. Hin- 
 key, Geo. A. Middlelon, Charles A. Nichols, Richard 
 Brenehley, John Stockham, R. H. Scott, A. Denio, 
 M. W. Haviland and Jacob Hufierd, the two latter 
 with families, came to the valley, Mrs. Hufferd being 
 the first white woman to set foot in it. 
 
 They made houses of turf and such other material 
 as was at hand, and set up housekeeping with pros- 
 pects of eventually building up comfortable homes, 
 and cultivated small patches of land in vegetables. 
 March 6, 1864, Richard Brenchlcj' and Charles A. 
 Nichols plowed the first furrow, and on the twelfth 
 sowed the first grain in the valley. The grain 
 exceeded all expectations. From forty -five acres of 
 wheat they threshed 1,000 bushels, which they sold 
 for S9,000. Others also engaged in farming, the 
 results being equally satisfactory, and the whole 
 colony calculated on engaging extensively in farm- 
 ing the following season. Early in the spring of 
 18G5 the hostile appearance of the Indians induced 
 many of the settlers to abandon the valley. Others 
 relied upon the presence of the military at the 
 different camps to awe the Indians into quiet; but 
 Nevada is a large State, and a few scattered troops 
 can do but little towards restraining thousands of 
 savages hidden in the cafions and wild places. April 
 4th two friendly Indians came to Nichols' place very 
 much excited, and told him that in two or three 
 sleeps (days) the Indians were going to kill all the 
 white men, and advised, or rather entreated him to 
 leave immediately. Circumstances prevented them 
 from doing so, and some of the number were 
 killed. The Indians continued hostile, and, notwith- 
 standing the presence of the soldiers, made a resi- 
 dence very dangerous. Much of the stock was driven 
 off; some of the men were killed, and it was not 
 until 1869 that the settlers felt secure in their homes. 
 A full account of this period is given in Chapter 
 XXII of this history, to which the reader is re- 
 ferred. 
 
 In 1866 a military post was established at Camp 
 Winfield Scott. This was abandoned in 1871, the 
 troops being transferred to Camp McDermit. near 
 the Oregon lino. Among the early sottlei-s of the 
 
 valley, coming afler the emigration of 1864, were 
 
 Mitchel, H. V. Hilcy, Wni. Trousdale, James H. Glass- 
 gow, Victor John, Chris. l)oarborn, killed in 1866, 
 also his companion, S. B. Wordin, John and William 
 
 Sheldon, Roper, S. B. !'. Pierce, Chauncej- T^aw- 
 
 rence,John Mullenaux, Alonzo Bryant, T.J. Bryant, 
 
 Batista and John Rickanzoni, Fornian, Cyrus 
 
 Abel, Edward Odell, J. G. Johnson, Samuel Fore- 
 man, and others whose names are not remembered. 
 
 Since 1870 the settlement and improvement of the 
 valley has been rapidly going on; 148,358 acres of 
 land had been surveyed as early as 1876; 33,994 
 were sold at that time. Flour and barley, products 
 
446 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 of the valley, are now sold everywhere within a 
 radius of a hundred miles. The development of the 
 mines in the valley is also increasing the value of 
 the land by bringing a nearer market for the 
 productions. 
 
 The valley, owing to the immense range of hills 
 covered with bunch-grass, has become famous as a 
 stock range, and we find the following estimates, for 
 1880, of its live-stock: Cattle, 7,000; sheep, 10,500; 
 horses, 1,000. 
 
 The first store kept in the valley was owned by 
 (reorge A. Middleton, at Milton's Point. Whisky 
 was fifty cents a drink, though regular customers 
 got it at reduced rates. Coftee was SI. 00; bacon, 
 fifty cents; beans, thirty; flour and sugar, fifty, and 
 tea, $1.50 per pound. The fii-st flour-mill was built 
 by C. A. Adams in 1868. Previous to this wheat 
 was ground with a coffee-mill. Wheat yields twenty- 
 three bushels to the acre on an average. Of course 
 larger crops than this are frequent, as high as eighty 
 bushels to the acre having been harvested. The 
 mill now has two run of buhr-stone, turning out a 
 first-rate qualit}' of flour. 
 
 The Humboldt County Agricultural, Mining and 
 Mechanical Society owes its existence mostly to 
 the enterprise of the citizens of Paradise Valley. 
 This society has a capital stock of 810,000, divided 
 into 2,000 shares. The principal place of business is 
 Paradise City. The officers for 1880 were: — 
 
 C. C. Biles, President; J. K. Harvey, Vice-Presi- 
 dent; J. B. Chase, Secretary; Wm. Stock, Treas- 
 urer; J. R. Harvey, Superintendent of Arena; J. B. 
 Case, Superintendent of Pavilion. 
 
 Board of Trustees— W. B. Carrol, C. A. Nichols, 
 Ferdinand Bauman, W. M. Barnum, L. L. Rickard, 
 S. B. P. Pierce, J. E. Harvey, C. C. Biles, Chas. 
 Kemler, Wm. Weighl, B. F. Riley, B. H. Luther, 
 Anton Hinkey, J. B. Carr, Wm. Stock. 
 
 Committee on Speed Programme — C. C. Biles, J. 
 R. Harvey, B. H. Luther. 
 
 Committee on Premium List — Chas. Kemler, J. B. 
 Case, C. C, Biles. 
 
 Committee on Printing — J. B. Case, C. C. Biles. 
 
 Over 85,000 were offered as premuims, besides 
 medals and diplomas, for best horses, stock, miner- 
 als, agricultural, artistic and mechanical productions. 
 The list of the premiums, with the liberal rewards 
 ofl'ered, attest the intention of the citizens to put 
 themselves in the front ranks of enterprise and im- 
 provement. 
 
 Lees than twenty 3-ears have elapsed since the 
 settlers turned the first furrow, but the comfortable 
 residences and farm buildings, fences, waving fields 
 of grain, and numerous herds of cattle and sheep, 
 attest not only the fertility of the soil, but the enter- 
 prise and industry of the inhabitants. 
 
 QuiN River Vai.let lies along the river of the 
 same name, which rises in a high range of mount- 
 ains near the Oregon lino, and flowing south- 
 
 westerly several hundred miles, meandering among 
 the alkali flats, finally dwindles away and disappears 
 in the sands. The upper part of this valley contains 
 some good grazing land, most of which is in the pos- 
 session of one man — N. A. H. Mason, who maintains 
 upon it a herd of over six thousand head of cattle. 
 No great attempts have been made to cultivate the 
 soil, and the population is sparse. There are neither 
 schools, churches or other institutions for the benefit 
 of the few scattered herdsmen who compose the 
 entire population. 
 
 0RG.\NIZATI0N AND BOUNDARIES. 
 
 Humboldt County was created at the first session 
 of the Territorial Legislature by an Act approved 
 November 25, 1861, and its boundaries were described 
 as follows: " Beginning at the northeast corner of 
 Storey County; thence running easterly along the 
 immigrant road leading to the sink of the Hum- 
 boldt, to the fortieth parallel of latitude; thence 
 east along said line to the eastern boundary of the 
 Territorj-; thence north, along the eastern bound- 
 ary, to the northern boundary of the Territory; 
 thence west along said boundary line to the north- 
 eastern corner of Lake County, (since called Hoop); 
 thence south along the boundary lines of Lake 
 and Washoe Counties to the point of beginning." 
 This comprised close uj)on 23,490 square miles 
 in the northeastern quarter of the Territory. 
 This tract of country was larger than all of New 
 England, and larger than several of the other 
 States; in fact it would have been, as far as 
 territory was concerned, a very respectable State. It 
 is not presumed that the organization of a county 
 government served as much of a restraint on the 
 Indians, or on the more civilized whites who launched 
 themselves into this fei-ra incog7iita. 
 
 By the Act approved December 19, 1862, creating 
 Lander County, all that portion of Humboldt County 
 lying between the fortieth and forty-second parallels 
 of north latitude, and lying between the one hundred 
 and sixteenth and one hundred and seventeenth 
 degrees of longitude, was made a part of Lander 
 County. This included about one-third of the origi- 
 nal area of Humb'jldt Countj\ By the Act approved 
 March 7, 1873, a portion of the southeast corner of 
 Humboldt County was added to Lander County, 
 leaving the boundaries between the two counties as 
 at present. By an Act approved February 27, 1869, 
 the fortieth parallel of north latitude was made the 
 southern boundary of Humboldt County. By this 
 change Humboldt County lost a triangular ])iece of 
 territory at its southwest corner that contained 29J 
 square miles. In return for this cession, t'hurchill 
 County was required to pa}' to Humboldt County 
 the sum of 8.'J,000. The object of the cession was to 
 include a portion of the Central Pacific Railroad in 
 Churchill County, and thus assist Churchill in main- 
 taining u government. Subseijuently another small 
 .triangular section was coded to Churchill County in 
 the extreme southwest. 
 
HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY. 
 
 447 
 
 FINANCIAL AND POLITIOAI, MATTERS. 
 
 It seems to bo the fate of young communities, like 
 the j'oung generally, to plunge into debt, and then 
 struggle for years to get out, or to keep even. Debts 
 are usually incurred in prosperous years and paid 
 when times are hard. In some instances a community 
 is organized with high hopes, rich mines or other 
 sources of wealth being apparently unlimited. Pub- 
 lic works of an extravagant character are inaug- 
 urated, bonds bearing a high rate of interest are 
 issued to pay for them, and for a few years at least 
 everything appears prosperous. But the tide of pros- 
 perity turns; the mines fail or become worked out; 
 the population which was attracted by the excite- 
 ment leaves for some other new wonder; property 
 depreciates; everything but the debt gets less and 
 less as the years pass on; but the bonds bearing a 
 high rate of interest, which perhaps is not paid, roll 
 on increasing as they go, until everj' industry is 
 overshadowed by them; while the authors of the mis- 
 fortunes, the office-seekers and politicians, who 
 usually are parasites on the community, neither toil- 
 ing nor spinning, fold their tents and glide away. 
 This is the history of many a county in California; 
 and Nevada seems no exception. Humboldt County 
 for years had a nominal debt, but a Court House com- 
 mensurate with the jDTOsperous condition of the 
 county was needed, and the nucleus of a debt 
 started. From a few thousands it became 806,000. 
 A thousand or two was added each year until, in 
 1880, approaches to near the sum of $100,000. 
 Luckily for Humboldt County the influx of popula- 
 tion was not by tens of thousand a year as in the 
 counties of El Dorado and Calaveras, in California, 
 or the experiences of those counties might have been 
 repeated here. By looking at the assessment roll it 
 will be seen that there has been a general and steady 
 increase of property values. This is owing in a 
 great measure to the farming and grazing interest, 
 which is subject to much less fluctuation than min- 
 ing. The incomplete returns of \S(j'.\ do not show 
 the basis of the assessmtsnt roll of 81,09(!,848.r)0 for 
 that year, but the decrease of over 8200,000 the fol- 
 lowing season might have been occasioned by the loss 
 or driving away of cattle and other stock in conse- 
 quence of the diy winter of 1863-64, also by the 
 Indian difliculties. The lowest point was reached in 
 1865, when the assessment roll showed a total of 
 8385,460. From this point it gradually increased to 
 over 81,500,000 in 1868, and to 82,1!I8,7!)7 in 1869. 
 The fluctuation was caused by the discovery of some 
 of the richest mines away from the Comstock Lode, 
 causing a boom which reached its climax in 1869. 
 The reaction lasted but a year or two, when the 
 prosperitj' of the county was placed on a permanent 
 basis. 
 
 The mines, though not fabulously rich, are generally 
 on a paying basis. Though it may seem strange to 
 relate, yet it is now a conceded fact that mines 
 ■which are rich enough to attract the attention of 
 
 millionaires do a country but little good. The man- 
 agement is entrusted to agents who obtain labor and 
 materials at the lowest rates, the profits going to 
 some other place to bo expended, perhaps in London 
 or Paris in " creating a sensation." 
 
 Humboldt County has an assurance of a moderate 
 prosperit)', and when the people awake to the neces- 
 sitj- of curtailing county expenses to the rates pre- 
 vailing in older communities, as they inevitably will, 
 and commence a reduction of the hitherto increasing 
 debt, they may rest in peace. 
 
 The total value of taxable property in the county 
 for 1875, was 82,098,716, and the total debt was 
 869,403. In 1880 the taxable property was 82,375,- 
 973, with a debt of 898,079; showing that the increase 
 of debt keeps pace with the increase of property val- 
 ues in the county. According to the reports of the 
 various Assessors there are but 20,000 acres actually 
 under cultivation, while the Surveyor IJeneral reports 
 150,000 acres in the county available for agriculture, 
 with the possibilitj- of increasing the amount to 300,- 
 000 by means of proper irrigation. So that there is 
 ample room for a larger population and more homos 
 in Humboldt County. 
 
 For a full statement of the population, the bullion 
 product, the fruit trees and vines, the amount of 
 land under cultivation, and the various products of 
 the same, the reader is referred to the various tables 
 in the general history, where each is given under 
 the proper heads. See pages 135, 136, 139, and 140. 
 
 AI'POINT.MENTS AND ELECTIONS. 
 
 The names of those who tilled the various positions 
 of honor and trust in the county, either by appoint- 
 ment or election, and the date of such appointment 
 or election in each case, are given below: — 
 
 SENATORS. 
 
 M. S. Thompson was elected Councilman under 
 Territorial law September 3, 1862; \V. H. Claggett 
 and Win. Essler, elected Senators January 19, 1864; 
 Fred. Hutchins, elected Councilman September 7, 
 1864; Fred. Hutchins and M. S. Thompson, elected 
 Senators November 8, 1864; J. J. Linn, elected 
 November 6, 1866; M. S. Bonnifield, elected Novem- 
 ber 3, 1868; Robert McBeth, elected November 8, 
 1870, resigned,* March 18, 1873; Charles S. Varian, 
 elected November 5, 1872, resigned, August 8, 1875; 
 O. K. Stampley, elected November 3, 1874; Charles 
 McConnell, elected November 7, 1876; M. S.Thomp- 
 son, elected November 5, 1878; Charles McConnell. 
 elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 ASSE.MBLV.MEN. 
 
 \Vm. II. Claggett, A. J. Simmons, elected Repre- 
 sentatives under Territorial law September 3, 1862. 
 re-elected September 2, 1863; L. D. Preseott, J. W. 
 Strong and A. J. Simmons, elected Assembly-men 
 January 19, 1864; D. II. Brown and E. \V. Pratt, 
 elected Representatives Se])tombor 7, 18C4; D. H. 
 Brown, B. H. Nichols and J. Angus Dean, elected 
 Assemblymen, November 8, 1864, under the Con- 
 'Bcsidciico legislated into Lander County. 
 
448 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 stitution that was rejected; J. A. Banks, T. \. 
 Juliet! and J. J. Linn, elected November 7, 1865; P. 
 J. Parmater, T. V. Julien and O. K. Stampley, elec- 
 ted November 6, 1866; J. M. Woodworth, R. H. 
 Scott and T. W. Rule, elected Novembers, 1868; W. 
 
 A. Trousdale, Thomas Harris and Joseph Organ, 
 elected November 8, 1870; John O. Teviss, Charles 
 H. Stoddard and John H. Hoppin, elected Novem- 
 ber 5, 1872; L, A. Buckner, Pablo Laveago and J. 
 
 B. Case, elected November 3, 1874; S. W. Hammond, 
 W. H. Howard and W. A. Trousdale, elected Novem- 
 ber 7, 1876; Angus Mon-ison, David McLarkey and 
 O. P. Crawford, elected November 5, 1878; A. J. 
 Shepard, Joseph Organ and Thomas J. Bradshaw, 
 elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. 
 
 M. S. Thompson, J. G. Briggs and A. Benway 
 were appointed in 1861; J. G. Briggs, L. M. Carter 
 and M. S. Thompson, elected January 14, 1862; R. 
 M. Johnson, A. P. K. Safford and L. M. Carter, 
 elected September 3, 1862. Johnson did not qualify, 
 and J. B. Addlebaugh appointed November 15, 1862. 
 Safford resigned October 20, 1862, and Thomas Ewing 
 appointed to fill vacancy. Thos. A. Freeman, W. W. 
 Williams and C. VV.Shang, elected September 2, 1863; 
 A. D. McCuUough and T. A. Freeman, elected Sep- 
 tember 7, 1864; Geo. W. Fox, elected November 8, 
 1865; A. D. McCuUough, Robert B. Fluger and L. L. 
 Higby, elected November 6, 1866; H. G. Cavin and 
 Thomas Thompson, elected November 3, 1868; B. F. 
 Riley, Frank Drake and G. M. Miller, elected Novem- 
 ber 8, 1870; John Borland and Nathan Levy, elected 
 November 5, 1872; C. A. Nichols :ind J. F. Clark, 
 elected November 3, 1874; R. W. Wood and A. 
 Westfall, elected November 7, 1876; R. H. Scott and 
 H. P. Marker, elected November 5, 1878; D. (firoux 
 and L. N. Carpenter, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 PROBATE JUDGES. 
 
 A. W. Olliver, appointed December 10, 1861; Hiram 
 Knowles, elected September 2, 1863, re-elected Jan- 
 uary 19, 1864. 
 
 DISTRICT ATTORNEYS. 
 
 Wm. W. Dixon, appointed Prosecuting Attorney 
 December 22, 1862, resigned January 9, 1863, and 
 Hiram Knowles, appointed January 15, 1863, to fill 
 vacancy; O. R. Leonard, elected September 2, 1863; 
 A. P. Overton, elected District Attorney November 
 8, 1864. There being no vacancy he never served. 
 O. R. Leonard held over until January, 1867, by 
 virtue of Section 13 of Article 17 of the Constitution. 
 O. R. Leonard, elected November 6, 1866; P. H. 
 Harris, elected November 3, 1868, re-elected Novem- 
 ber 8, 1870; T. V. Julien, elected November 5, 1872; 
 S. S. Grass, elected Novembers, 1874; Goo. P. Hard- 
 ing, elected November 7, 1876, re-elected November 
 5, 1878; J. H. McMillan, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SHERIFFS. 
 
 A. W. Nightingill, appointed December 10, 1861; 
 Robert McBeth, elected January 14, 1862; re-elected 
 
 September 3, 1862; S. D. Prescott, elected September 
 7, 1864; J. M. Woodworth, elected November 6, 
 1866; J. N. Thacker, elected November 3, 1868; N. 
 H. Westfall, elected November 8, 1870; Samuel King, 
 elected November 5, 1872; Richard Nash, elected 
 November 3, 1874; Charles A. Kyle, elected Novem- 
 ber 7, 1876; Geo. M. Miller, elected November 5, 
 1878; W. T. Burns, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY CLERKS. 
 
 J. W. Whitney, elected Januarj- 14, 1862; re-elected 
 September 3, 1862. Wm. K. Parkinson, appointed 
 March 1, 1864, in place of Whitney, deceased. Wm. 
 K. Parkinson, elected September 7, 1864; J. D. 
 Minor, elected November 6, 1866; re-elected Novem- 
 ber 3, 1868; C. S. Varian, elected Novembers, 1870; 
 J. H. Job, elected November 5, 1872, re-elected No- 
 vember 3, 1874, re-elected November 7, 1876, re- 
 elected November 5, 1878; J. E. Sabine, elected 
 November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY TREASURERS. 
 
 A. W. Nightingill, elected January 14, 1862; W. A. 
 Holeomb, elected September 3, 1862, re-elected Sep- 
 tember 7, 1864; M. P. Freeman, elected November 
 6, 1866; J. M. Brown,elected Novembers, 1868; Chris- 
 topher Lark, elected November 7, 1870, re-elected 
 November 5, 1872; A. J. Shepard, elected Novem- 
 ber 3, 1874, re-elected November 7, 1876, re-elected 
 November 5, 1878; C. A. La Grave, elected Novem- 
 ber 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY ASSESSORS. 
 
 S. M. Boblett, elected January 14, 1862; E. E. 
 Comstock, elected September 3, 1862. Hiram Welch 
 was appointed June 6, 1864, in place of Comstock, 
 absent. W. J. Hanks, elected September 7, 1864; M. 
 H. Haviland, elected November 6, 1866; J. Q. Dry- 
 den, elected November 3, 1868; Charles Kyle, 
 elected November 8, 1870, re-elected November 5, 
 1872; James Buckner, elected November 3, 1874, 
 re-elected November 7, 187t); L. L. Rickard, elected 
 November 5, 1878; William Perkins, elected Novem- 
 ber 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY RECORDERS. 
 
 Wm. Brayton, elected January 14, 1862, re-elected 
 September 3, 1862. J. D. Minor, appointed April 6, 
 1863, in place of Braj-ton, deceased. A. P. K. Saf- 
 ford, elected September 2, 1863, re-elected Septem- 
 ber 7, 1864; H. Welch, elected November 6, 1866, 
 re-elected November 3, 1868; S. J. Bonnifiold, 
 elected November 8, 1870, re-elected November 5, 
 1872; Charles A. La Grave, elected November 3, 
 1874, ro-olocted November 7, 1876; G. F. Turriten, 
 elected November 5, 1878; W. A. Trousdale, elected 
 November 2, 1880, 
 
 COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS OP SCHOOLS. 
 
 E. A. Scott, elected September 3, 1862. Office 
 declared vacant April 6, 1863, and H. Pfersdorff 
 appointed to fill vacancy. J. F. Kingsbury, elected 
 September 7, 1864; A. H. Ileaslep, electeil November 
 7, 1865; George M. Miller was appointed April 2, 
 
HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY. 
 
 449 
 
 1866; T. G. Negus, elected November 6, 1866, re- 
 elected November 3, 1868; L. M. Irving, elected 
 November 8, 1870; C. Chenowith, elected Novem- 
 ber 5, 1872, re-elected November 3, 1874, re-elected 
 November 7, 1876, re-elected November 5, 1878, re- 
 elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SURVEYORS. 
 
 Wm. Epler, appointed December 9, 1861; Wm. 
 Epler, elected January 14, 1862, re-elected September 
 3, 1862, re-elected September 7, 1864; P. K. Root, 
 elected November 6, 1866, re-elected November 3, 
 1868; T. Ginacca, elected November 8, 1870; Joseph 
 Ginacca, elected November 5, 1872; D. Van Lennep, 
 elected November 3, 1874, re-elected November 7, 
 1876, re-elected November 5, 1878; T. D. Parkinson, 
 elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATORS. 
 
 W. F. Stevens, elected November 6, 1860, re- 
 elected November 3, 1868; James Buckner, elected 
 November 8, 1870; David McLarkey, elected Novem- 
 ber 5, 1872; M. Oppenheim, elected November 3, 
 1874; Pat. Bell, elected November 7, 1876; M. Op- 
 penheim, elected November 5, 1878, re-elected No- 
 vember 2, 1880. 
 
 COLLECTORS. 
 
 Frank K. Wheeler, elected September 3, 1862, re- 
 elected September 7, 1864, resigned April 2, 1866; J. 
 D. Minor appointed to fill vacancy. 
 
 UUMBOLDT CANAL SCHEME. 
 
 This canal was projected in 1862 and built by an 
 incorporated company, with the central oflSce at San 
 Francisco, the most of the stock being also owned 
 there. The principal operator in the matter was J. 
 Ginacca, an Italian, who had been a resident in the 
 Territory since 1860, being the earliest settler of the 
 town of Winnomucca. It was proposed to irrigate 
 all the land along the line of the ditch and also fur- 
 nish motive power to all the mills on its route. Mill 
 City was started u]) with the intention of making it 
 a milling and reduction center for all the mines in 
 the Star District, but the canal never reached that 
 point, stopping at VVinnemucca, twenty-eight miles 
 from the place where the water was taken out. For 
 some reason it was not found profitable and the work 
 was abandoned, no water having been through the 
 canal for ten years. About $100, Odd wore expended 
 in constructing the canal to Winnemutca. The canal 
 was to have been ninety miles long, fifteen feet wide 
 and three feet deep. 
 
 DISCOVERY OF .MINERAL. 
 
 The first mineral from Humboldt County, seen in 
 Nevada, was exhibited by two Frenchmen, Louis 
 Harleau and A. (Jintz, early in the si)ring of 1861. 
 They kept a trading-j)0st about one and one-half 
 miles south of the Humboldt House, and reported 
 rich and extensive veins carr^'ing both gold and sil- 
 ver in the main Humboldt range. The prospect of 
 finding a new El Dorado induced a groat number to 
 
 plunge into the unknown land. The common route 
 of travel was along the Cai-son River to the Carson 
 Station; thence across the Forty-mile Desert to the 
 sink of the Humboldt River; thence along the lake 
 and river to the Humboldt canons. The Indians also 
 brought in many rich specimens which they reported 
 as having been found on the east side of the West 
 Humboldt range. They appeared willing to lead the 
 whites to the sources of these specimens. Hugo 
 Pfersdoi-ff, on the twenty-eighth of April, 1861, was 
 conducted into the valley where Unionville has since 
 flourished. About the same time, Isaac Miller and 
 Joe Thacker were guided into Star Canon, the dis- 
 covery of the famous Slieba mine being the result. 
 During the year but three settlements were made, 
 Humboldt City being the third. Dun Glen was set- 
 tled in 1862. 
 
 PRINCIPAL MINING DISTRICTS. 
 
 Battle Mountain District, lying mostly within 
 the limits of Lander County, will be treated of in 
 the history of that county. 
 
 Black Rock District has been the subject of 
 more speculation, the cause of more brilliant expecta- 
 tions, and greater disappointments than perhaps any 
 other section of country in the mining regions. As 
 early as 1851) men began to hunt I'or precious metals 
 among the curious black ledges which wei-e so differ- 
 ent from anj'thing seen elsewhere. It was soft, 
 easily whittled, and had some of the lustre, when 
 cut, pertaining to all minerals and ores. Anj'thing 
 new had tremendous possibilities in it. If this was 
 silver the only appi-ehension felt was that the enor- 
 mous quantity in sight would uttorlj^ destroy the 
 value of that metal. By some it was urged that 
 precious metals were never deposited in such large 
 quantities; that it was impossible. Others saw no 
 reason why mountains of silver should not bo found 
 as well as mountains of iron. Most of the assayers 
 pronounced the rock worthless; others said that it 
 would yield, under proper treatment, S50 to ?500 
 per ton. The Assessor and Surveyor of the county 
 for 1867-68 reported as follows:— 
 
 The difficulty met in reduction has already boon 
 adverted to. It arose from a total misundei-standing 
 of the nature of the ore. The ores are true salts of 
 silver and gold, which have gone through one of the 
 most important stops in the process of reduction in 
 the laboratory of nature, in the bosom of the earth, 
 and are found in the I'orni of chlorides, iodides, brom- 
 ides, cyanides, and nitrates. To attempt to chlorid- 
 ize a chloride is folly, but that is what most of the 
 workers of this rock have undertaken to do, and the 
 reputation of the district hassuH'ered in conseijuenco. 
 But give credit to nature for what she has done — 
 commence whore sho has left oft" and the reduction 
 of the ores is a very simple matter. 
 
 The public chose the side of tremendous possi- 
 bilities, ajid pronounced the rock good. Several 
 districts were organized, and a number of mines in 
 each opened. A railway, with steam navigation 
 across Pyramid Lake, was talked of, and great 
 
450 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 cities built in imagination, but the price of silver 
 did not come down, nor did the discovery work 
 any change in the monetary affairs of the world. 
 The silver was not there. At present there is no 
 work being done at Black Rock. Three mills, built 
 respectively by the Black Rock, Goodwin, and 
 Atchinson Companies, were removed, after giving 
 the mines a fair trial. Other districts in the vicinity, 
 called the Hardin, Piute, Foreman, Chico, and High 
 Rock had about the same history. 
 
 The famous Rabbit Hole sulphur mines are in this 
 district. The first locations were made in March, 
 1875, by McWorthy and Rover. Shortly afterward 
 locations were made by Hale & Wright, one mile 
 and a half distant. The sulphur is found mixed with 
 clay, and sometimes nearh^ pure in large masses, 
 and seems to have been distilled, or sublimed, out of 
 the adjoining rocks, which are black, slaty marl and 
 limestone. An alkali tiat bounds the sulphur deposit 
 opposite the hills or mountains. Both places are 
 owned by the Pacific Sulphur Company, which ships 
 large amounts to Sun Francisco, where it is refined 
 and used for making sulphuric acid and other chem- 
 icals. It is worth at San Francisco about seventy- 
 five dollars per ton. The deposit is about twenty-five 
 miles due north of the Humboldt House, a station on 
 the Central Pacific Railroad. 
 
 BuENA Vista District was organized in 1861. Is 
 in one of the most beautiful sections of the State, 
 with cold springs, which feed a perennial mill-stream 
 flowing through a broad and fertile valley. The 
 mines in this district have furnished nearly 
 $4,000,000 in bullion, and some of them, such as the 
 Arizona and Hope, are still on a paying basis. 
 Among the prominent mines in earlj' days were the 
 National, Governor Downey, Alba Nueva, Cass, Joe 
 Pickering, llalleck, Seminole, Eagle, Leroy, Aga- 
 memnon, Manitowoc, Champion, Cedar Hill, North 
 Star, Atlas, etc. These had veins of ore three feet 
 or more in width, reported as paying from 850 to 
 $1,200 per ton. Some of the veins would run 
 as high as 8400 per ton; but the general aver- 
 age was very much less than was estimated 
 when the mines were being opened, and the final 
 result was not as satisfactory as the estimates and 
 assaj's indicated. In 1878, of all the mines in the 
 county, only the Arizona and Rye Patch paid a 
 bullion tax. From 1871 to 1878 the Arizona pro- 
 duced 81,i502,23H.58. Water was encountered at the 
 depth of eighty feet, and at the depth of 400 feet 
 it became uncontrollable. The property was owned 
 by John (). Fall \; Co. The district lies on the east- 
 ern slope of the West Ilomboldt Mountains, about 
 twenty-five miles south of the Central Pacific Rail- 
 road at Mill City. 
 
 Central District was organized in 1862, the 
 principal mine being called tlio Fiftj'-Si.x. The vein, 
 which was a compound or multiple vein, and sixty- 
 five feet wide, was rich in copper and silver, con- 
 
 taining of the latter some sixty or seventy dollars to 
 the ton. It was soon after sold to a New York 
 compan_y, in anticipation of the building of the trans- 
 continental railway. Ten years afterward locations 
 were made under the names of Teamster, Golden 
 Age, Railroad, Locomotive, Hammond and Monarch, 
 The veins are said to be very narrow, with bodies of 
 very rich ore, j'ielding in some instances 82,000 to 
 the ton. Up to 1875 the Golden Age had produced 
 about §17.000 in bullion, the ore averaging 8400 per 
 ton. The mill, a four-stamp, was burned in 187C, 
 since which time little work has been done. 
 
 Echo District was among the first organized, 
 dating back to 1863. and is situated on the western 
 slope of the West Humboldt range of mountains, 
 the Buena Vista being opposite on the east. The 
 noted mines at the time of the organization were the 
 Washington, Mountain King, Mining Star and 
 Alpha. The Wasliington ,Mine included several par- 
 allel veins, two to three feet wide, assaj'ing as high 
 as 8500 per ton, with every appearance of being a 
 true fissure vein. The Mountain King was to the 
 south of the Washington, with similar croppings and 
 characteristics. This was considered a very prom- 
 ising vein also. The vein was tapped at a depth of 
 500 feet with a tunnel 450 feet in length. The San 
 Francisco was north of the Washington Mine. The 
 Mining Star veins were at the head of the Echo 
 ('anon, on the same range as the Washington and 
 Mining Star. The Alpha Mine, located in 1864, is 
 situated at the mouth of Panther Canon. The ore 
 is found in considerable quantities in chutes and 
 pockets in a metamorphic limestone. The mine 
 was sold in 1869 to an English company for 862,000, 
 and has been worked most of the time since. Se- 
 lected ore mills 8100 per ton. The Rye Patch Mine 
 is a similar formation and is owned and worked by 
 the same company, as is also the Butte Mine. The 
 company has paid several dividends and owns a 
 Stetefeldt furnace and ten-stamp mill, at the Rye 
 Patch Railway Station. 
 
 The dividends aggregate 8127,500 
 
 Tho assessments " 97,500 
 
 The Rye Patch Consolidated is an incorporated 
 company with stock called on the Boards at San 
 Francisco. The works have been tied up to some 
 extent for some years, in consequence of a suit with 
 the Reese River Gold and Silver Mining Company, 
 who sued to obtain possession of tho Alpha .Mine 
 and 8225,000 damages. 
 
 El. Dorado District is situated on the western 
 slope of the West Humboldt Range, west of Star 
 Peak. The ledge which drew attention to this sec- 
 tion was the Banner, and is now known as tho El 
 Dorado, and is I5,l{80 feet in length. The Corinth, 
 New England and Mount Carmel were also noted 
 mines. None of the mines have met the expecta- 
 tions of tho owners or become noted. 
 
 Gold Run Distkict was organized in 1866, and is 
 
HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY. 
 
 451 
 
 located on tho socond range of mountains eawt of 
 the lower ilumbokit, the Golconda, Cumberland and 
 Jefferson being the principal places of promise, 
 though numerous other locations wei'o made. Tho 
 (lolconda, in particular, was supposed to be an im- 
 mense fortune. The following extract from the re- 
 port of tho Surveyor General will show the estimate 
 of its value in 18GS: — 
 
 The Golconda is an immense mass of mineral, 
 yielding from 840 to 8118 per ton in the mill. * * 
 * A shaft eighty feet deep has boon sunk in a solid 
 bed of ore. This shaft and a largo cut on tho sur- 
 face, some forty feet in length and fifteen feet deep, 
 expose thousands of tons of ver}- tine ore, sufficient 
 to emplo}- several mills for several 3'curs. In work- 
 iiig the assessments under the district laws tho own- 
 ers have found rich and well-detinod veins of ore on 
 three several places, of the same character as tho 
 original location. * * # » * A8sa3-8 as high 
 as 812,48(5 per ton have been made from this ore 
 by Sidney Tuttle, assayer at the Oreana Smelting 
 Works. 
 
 But a small amount of bullion tax was ever paid 
 from these mines. 
 f Htr.MBOi.DT District, organized in 1860, has the 
 honor of being the first in the county, is on tho 
 westerlj' slope of the Star range of mountains, 
 about five miles from tho rivor, two and a half from 
 the Central Pacific Eailroad, sixteen miles from 
 Unionvillo, and one hundred and soventy-fivo miles 
 from Virginia City. Humboldt Creek, forming 
 Humboldt Canon which is four miles long, runs 
 through tho district. A strong vein or reof of lime- 
 stone, in some places seventy foot high, crossing the 
 canon, is one of the main geological features of the 
 district. Several quartz veins running parallel to 
 tho limestone roef first called the attention of the 
 prospectors to the mineral wealth of tho district. 
 On tho lower side of the reef are tho Eoveillo, Frank- 
 lin, Santa Cruz, and Monte Christo veins. On the 
 upper side, in a <juartzite formation, are the Star- 
 light, Calaveras, Sigel, Adriatic, Winnomucca, Wash- 
 ington, and Saint Bernard, occurring in the order 
 mentioned. According to the reports of IfiOS, tho 
 Starlight had a vein ten feet wide; Calaveras, sixteen 
 feet; Sigel, two feet, bearing gold; Adriatic, four 
 feet; Winnomucca, twenty-four feet; Washington 
 and Saint Bernard, four feet each. 
 
 Nine mines were opened to a depth of fifty feet or 
 more, and tunnels were driven into the mines at a 
 great expense, but no large bodies of ore wore found. 
 During the panic of 1865 all work was suspended, 
 though tho claims wore not wholly abandoned. In 
 the winter of 1H7()-71 work was resumed on tho Star, 
 light and a mine called the Madia. At a depth of 
 seventy feet the vein of the Starlight was four feet 
 thick, standing nearly perpendicular. The Madia 
 was in the foot-hills, and was a vast mass of <|uartz 
 containing some gold, arsenic, and silver, the gold 
 being four to nine dollars a ton through the mass. 
 None of these mines ever became productive. With 
 
 chea]) timber, fuel, and labor, some of tho mines may 
 be put on a paying basis. l)uring its best days the 
 district contained about 500 inhabitants. Not far 
 from the railway is a deposit of sulphur, left by an 
 extinct thermal spring. Tho deposit of sulphur 
 alternating with gypsum is about twenty-five feet 
 across, and of uncertain depth. It has some econ- 
 omic value, but is more interesting as a relic of the 
 geological formation of the country. 
 
 Mount Eose District, located in 1871, is situated 
 in the boundaries of tho famous Paradise Valloj-, in 
 the northeastern part of the count}-. Having been 
 discovered and developed since the great mining 
 craze of the decade of sixtj-, it may be relied upon 
 as promising something for tho future. It is said 
 that wood, water and other supplies are in such 
 abundance as to make it the most favorable point for 
 mining in tho State. The veins are well-defined with 
 porphj-ry and granite walls. The ore is rich, carry- 
 ing both gold and silver, and ea.sily reduced. The 
 principal work, so far, has been done by the Paradise 
 Mining Company, though perhaps a hundred other 
 locations are made. Their vein crops out on the 
 face of a steep mountain, affording good opportu- 
 nities to mine with tunnels or drifts. Large quan- 
 tities of ore have been extracted, which averages 
 8200 per ton. So far as explored, the vein averages 
 six feet in width. The ore is crushed at a ten-stamp 
 mill, running by water and steam, as circumstances 
 require. The mill has changed hands several times, 
 so that the quantity of ore reduced is unknown. It 
 is estimated at 8:!00,()00. 
 
 Oro Find Dlstrict was organized in 18615, in tho 
 same range as the Sierra District, lying to the south. 
 The prominent features are a quartzite formation 
 dipping west and capped with limestone. This gives 
 an appearance to the ridge or reef as being com- 
 posed of quartz on the cast side and lime on tho 
 west. On the summit of the ridge is an immense 
 vein, called the Great Eastern, of opaque, brilliant, 
 white quartz, which crops out for a distance of seven 
 or eight miles, from six to thirty feet wide, from which 
 assays have been made from 880 to 8500 per ton in 
 silver, which is found as a black chloride. Two other 
 veins, less prominent, but sujiposed to bo richer, 
 called the Natchez and Yo Semite, attracted the at- 
 tention of tho first prospectors of this district. The 
 Natchez is on the eastern slope, and con8ei|uently 
 underlying the Croat Eastern and running parallel to 
 it at a distance on tho slope of about 2,000 feet. The 
 ore was said, in 1868, at tho time of the discovery, 
 to assay as high as 81(i,(ioo per ton, and the whole 
 mass as averaging 8175 per ton by the jian process. 
 
 The Yo Semite vein is in tho northern part of tho 
 district, and was estimated to yield 8."'0U per ton on 
 an average. Oro Fino Creek, at the foot of the 
 western slope, was thought to furnish ample mill- 
 power for tho mines. None of these fino prospects 
 
452 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 ever became profitable mines, and at present are not 
 worked. 
 
 Pine Forest District is in the extreme northern 
 portion of the vState, and was organized about the 
 time of the Black Rock excitement. Nothing has 
 ever been done in the dis'rict. The country is said 
 to be well watered and timbered, and will probably 
 prove more valuable for agriculture than for mining. 
 
 SACRA.MENTO DISTRICT is in the West Humboldt 
 Range, south of Unionville and east of the Great 
 Meadows, and within a short distance of the Central 
 Pacific Railroad. The Montana, Bullion, Sacramento, 
 and Nevada were the prominent attractions in the 
 district at the time of the organization. The ledges 
 cropped out boldly and were said to be well charged 
 with sulphurets of silver. Like many others, most 
 others, in fact, failure was the result. 
 
 SiERR.\ District was organized in January, 18G3, 
 and is one of the cluster in the vicinity of Unionville, 
 which is about twentj'-three miles to the southwest. 
 The Central Pacific Railroad and the Humboldt 
 Canal run through the district. The town of Dun 
 Glen, in the center of the district, is about five miles 
 from the river. 
 
 The attractions to this district were the Neptune 
 series of ledges, on which wereTallulah. Empire and 
 Essex Mines, and the Gem, about five miles to the 
 north of Dun Glen. These ledges were several feet 
 in width, with firm, smooth walls and clay selvedge, 
 and were suppo.sed to be permanent, first-class mines. 
 According to the Assessor of 1868, the ledges were 
 well charged with various kinds of silver ores, the 
 rock assaying as high as 8G,000 per ton, the Gem 
 Mine reaching as high as 816,000 per ton. Several 
 long tunnels were run into the hills, one to the Essex 
 vein being 6.35 feet long, tapping a vein of three feet; 
 another to the Ophir Ledge, of 320 feet, cutting a 
 vein of four and a half feet, both of which were esti- 
 mated to mill forty dollars per ton without selection. 
 
 The Gem was in a limestone formation, and was 
 said to yield an averageof S175pcr ton. The Chrys- 
 opolis was about two miles north of Dun Glen, and 
 had a vein of white quartz twenty inches wide, 
 charged with black sulphurets of silver, and was 
 estimated to average 6100 per ton. The company had 
 1,800 feet on the vein, which held its width and qual- 
 ity to the depth of eighty feet, the deepest working. 
 The Munroe J>edgcs were to the south of I)un Glen 
 about one mile. These were charged with free gold 
 and also gold in Hul])hurets. The country rock is 
 graywackc or metiimori)hic slate of the earlier series 
 of sedimentar}- rocks. The average yield was said 
 in 1868 to bo S250 per ton. 
 
 For the first two quarters the returns were 
 $526.92 per ton and 8270.05. Selected ore paid 
 81,000 or upwards per ton. 
 
 Star District was organized in 1861. and is one of 
 the cluster in the vicinity of Unionville, the town of 
 
 Star City being about twelve miles from Unionville. 
 The strata at this point dip west at angles varj'ing 
 from 25° to 80°. The district comprised a territory 
 six miles long on the slope of the mountain and four 
 miles wide. A gorge through this toward the oast 
 exposed the different strata and also served to drain 
 the entire district, the stream running about seventy 
 inches of water, miners' measurement, in the summer 
 and a larger stream during the rainy season. As the 
 sources of this stream are high up among the snows 
 it affords quite a (quantity of water when the vicinity 
 is parched with drought. In ascending the canon or 
 viewing the stratification from the east, the rocks 
 appear in the following order, the first named being 
 the lowest of the series and the last named the 
 uppermost: — 
 
 Brown Quartzite, steel-gray when broken, greatly 
 metamorphosed. 
 
 Black Limestone, sprangled with veins of feldspar 
 and sulphuret of iron; has a cleavage parallel to the 
 stratification. In this stratum is the Almira series of 
 veins on the north of the creek and the Yankee 
 series on the south. The Commonwealth Company 
 of New York owned 2,400 feet on this range. The 
 width of the veins is three to eight feet. The ores 
 were supposed to be free from rebellious mixtures 
 and to be easily milled. The ores on the south side, 
 or on the Yankee claims, were similar to the Almira 
 lode, though there were throe distinct varieties, one 
 being identical with the ore of the famous Sheba 
 mine. 
 
 Graywacke, of a bluish-graj' and extremely hard, 
 forming an extensive portion of the mountain. 
 
 Hard, Mack laminated slate. Between the last two 
 is the celebrated Sheba vein or ore channel, one 
 hundred and fifty foot wide, the value estimated in 
 1868 as follows: First-class ore per ton, 81,200; sec- 
 ond-class ore per ton, 8250; third-class ore per ton, 
 8150. 
 
 Some of the assays reached as high as 816,000 per 
 ton. The ore required roasting before reduction. It 
 was worked up to within twelve per cent, of the fire 
 assay at a cost of thirty-five dollars per ton. 
 
 The extensions north and south, two or three 
 thousand feet, did not differ materially from the 
 original location. An immense amount of work was 
 done on the mountain, but the ores wore not as 
 extensive, nor as rich or as easily reduced as. was 
 anticipated in 1868, and the mines were nearly 
 abandoned for a long time. Recently considerable 
 concentrated ore has been shipped to San Francisco 
 for reduction. No bullion tax was paid in 1880. The 
 Sheba and De Soto mines are still being worked. 
 
 7V« black slate, forming the hanging wall of the 
 Sheba mines, extended u]) the mountain for three- 
 fourths of a mile, when it abruptly- terminated, meet- 
 ing a quartzite stratum more decidedly silicious than 
 the veins at the foot of the slope. Several veins of 
 hard, glassy quartz, four to eight feet thick, cropped 
 out of this stratum for nearly a mile, receiving the 
 
STORE & RESIDENCE, AT PARADISE, HUM BO LOT CO.NEV. 
 
 ig ly Ui'iU •^. '^ ^ ,ii LJ ifi t_> (-/t-u 
 
 ' t^o Nc* 
 
 PROPERTY of CHAS, KEMLER 
 
HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY. 
 
 453 
 
 name of the Mammoth Lodes. The ore was an artjen- 
 tiferous galena, assaying $180 to SiKM) per ton. The 
 .Mauch I'hunk and Maston were the prominent loca- 
 tions on this lode. 
 
 Above the mammoth series and in the same quartz- 
 ite formation were the .Mountain Top series, which 
 is such a geological curiosity as to merit an extended 
 notice. This lode seems to have been a fissure in all 
 the rest of the formations, made after they were all 
 in place, as it cuts all in a direction diagonal to all 
 the lines of stratification, the fissure being filled 
 with brilliant white <iuartz which is visible by its 
 outcrop for ten miles, forming a prominent land- 
 mark. It is an evidence of the vigor of nature's 
 workings when the minerals were being distributed 
 or perhai)s concentrated into veins. Krom the south 
 side of this great vein a dozen or more small veins of 
 mineral shoot out and come to the surface. Little 
 work was done on them, though it was proposed to 
 run a tunnel into the mountain which should tap it 
 at a depth of 2000 feet. They went so far as to organ- 
 ize and name the Perigord Tunneling Company, and 
 stopped at that point. 
 
 Trinity Distkict was organized in 18(i3. It is 
 situated twenty-five miles north of llumboldt Lake, 
 and thirt}- miles southwest of Unionville, opposite 
 and west of the towns of l-Una. Torreyvillo, and 
 Oreana, which are built along the llumboldt River. 
 The mines which gave the place its reputation 
 were the Montezuma, Jersey, Savannah, Sultana, 
 Chloride, (Juatimozin, Tontine, Eagle, Dunderburg, 
 Ne Plus, Bald Hornet, Daisy and Oxide, Atlantic, 
 Northern Belle, Southern Belle, Eastern Belle, and 
 Western Belle, Hurricane, Vanderbilt, Belvidore, 
 Savanna, Shamrock, Dundock, Daisy, Kingkalla, and 
 General Grant, formerly the Moonlight. These were 
 all located in a section of couiilrv called Arabia, and 
 at one time were believed to be the richest mines in 
 the known world, the Assessor of the county, in 
 1868, expressing the opinion that a mile siiuare, 
 within which they were located, would produce 
 more bullion than any other ever known. The 
 Montezuma, especially, was so rich that everj' ton 
 of ore produced a half ton of metal, consisting of 
 antimony, load, and silver, there being no rock at 
 all in the vein. Up to 1875 there had been taken 
 out of the mine 7,0(10 tons of ore, yielding 8,150 
 tons of lead, and, according to the State Mineralogist, 
 8455,000 in silver. The Evening Star, by the same 
 authorit}-, ])aid sixty-five dollars j>er ton in silver. 
 The Chloride, a narrow vein, was said to assay as 
 high as $1,200 per ton. The General Grant was a 
 relocation of the Moonlight. About ?100,000 was 
 taken from this mine when it was first located and 
 worked. The ore from the Montezuma mines were 
 reduced at the Montezuma Smelting Works, located 
 at Oreana, which at that time (18(i8) were said to be 
 the most com])lete of any in the State. They were 
 under the charge of A- W. Nason, and were esti- 
 57 
 
 mated by George Lovelock to have cost $250,000. 
 In 18<i8, the annual product was estimated at $45,000. 
 In 1880, the best authorities place the whole of the 
 ores extracted at 30,(10(1 tons, which paid from thirty 
 dollars up to $700 per ton. The veins followed 
 the general trend of the mountains from north to 
 south. 
 
 The Evening Star mine was worked extensively 
 in lS(i4. The ore is a black sul])huret, with some 
 horn silver, remarkabl}' free from base metals, and 
 yielded sixty-five dollars per ton down to a depth 
 of 200 feet, when water was reached, since which 
 time little work has been done. Since the destruc- 
 tion of the Oreana Smelting Works by fire the ores 
 of this district are reduced at Salt Lake City. All 
 the paying mines are now bonded to Voshaj- & 
 Lyons, formerly of the Emma Mine of Utah. 
 
 VicKSBURd District was organized about the time 
 of the Black Rock excitement, and was situated some 
 seventy miles north of Humlioldt City. The miners 
 were driven out of the country in 18()4, during the 
 Indian War. The principal mines were the Spring, 
 Silver, Groat Southern, Montana, and Excelsior. 
 After the termination of the Indian difficulties work 
 was resumed, but nothing valuable was developed. 
 
 WiNNE.MiiccA District is about forty miles north 
 of Unionville, on the west side of the Humboldt River, 
 near the great bend and three miles from the rail- 
 road. The princi])al mines were the Pride of the 
 Mountain, Winnemucca and Union. The ores, though 
 supposed to be rich, were too refractory to be worked 
 by mill process. In 18(j9, the first-named mine 
 reduced eighty-seven tons of ore, producing $5,220. 
 The following year (1870) the Winnemucca reduced 
 sixt3'-eight tons, producing 88,285.70; 14(1 tons in 
 the Union claim produced 82,029.51. 
 
 The country rock is a hard slate, containing sul- 
 phurets of iron. Considerable money has been ex- 
 pended in developing or testing the mines. 200 
 tons of ore from the Pride of the Mountain pro- 
 duced $80 to $175 per ton. The ore is a chloride, 
 carrying horn silver. During the years lS75-7(! 
 about $40,000 in bullion was produced in this district. 
 No bullion was reported for 1880. 
 
 principal towns anu cities. 
 
 Dun Gi.en was among the earliest sottlctl places 
 in the county, its settlement dating back to 18(12. D. 
 P. Crook was the first person who ventured into this 
 section of countr}' as a settler, lie was soon atler 
 followed bj' Angus Dunn, D. McLarkej-, J. Slado, A. 
 J. Elsey, D. P. Crook, R. Monroe, Thomas Ewing 
 and James A. Banks. A company of United States 
 soldiers were stationed here in 1868, to keep the 
 Indians in check. At this time and for two or three 
 years after, the population reached 250, but since 
 then has dwindled down to about fiftj'. Nearly the 
 whole industrial interest is stuck raising. The ham- 
 let is surrounded by high mountains, partially cov- 
 
454 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 ered with stunted cedar trees, which furnish the wood 
 of the settlement. It has a post-office called Dun 
 Glen, but no telegraph or express office. It has one 
 ton-stamp mill for extracting the gold from the 
 quartz. The total amount of bullion so far is about 
 $100,000. It is believed by many that thorough 
 exploring would develop profitable mines. 
 
 Supplies are obtained from San Francisco and Sac- 
 ramento bj' way of .Mill City, on the line of the Cen- 
 tral Pacific Railroad, distant nine miles; freights 
 being about nine dollars per ton. Winnemucca is 
 about twenty miles awa}'. The houses are mostly 
 adobe and wood. The most noted homicide was the 
 killing of a frerman merchant by a man by the name 
 of Jackson, with a pistol shot. Ho escaped and was 
 never aj)prehended. 
 
 The Humboldt House and grounds, though not in 
 themselves remarkable, are quite so when the sur- 
 rounding circumstances are considered. Perhaps no 
 more desolate place than this vxis can be found in 
 the State of Nevada. What it now is shows what 
 the State might become with proper preservation 
 and distribution of the winter rains. 
 
 A stream of water of perhaps 100 inches miners' 
 measurement, was brought in a ditch from a canon 
 some miles away, and turned upon the desert, irri- 
 gating or moistening about thirty acres. The results 
 are 1,000 fruit and shade trees. Among the former 
 are 500 peach, apple, pear, and apricot trees, which 
 produce fruit equal to that of California or Oregon. 
 The shade trees, consisting of locust, cottonwood, 
 willow, pine, and oak, give an air of comfort and 
 prosperity to the jilace, all the greater for the con- 
 trast with the surrounding sterility. Gooseberries, 
 strawberries, currants, and blackberries, the lilac, 
 rose and other flowering shrubs grow as if to the 
 manor born, while eight acres of alfalfa, yielding sev- 
 eral crops a year, and a garden of all kinds of vege 
 tables, supply the physical wants of man and beast. 
 
 What might Nevada be with a people as energetic 
 as the author of this place? 
 
 HuMBOi.DT (y'lTY may be said to be the best illu.s- 
 tration of the celebrated " places that were" that is 
 known. There are stone and adobe houses, stores 
 and hotels, but not a foot-fall gives evidence of life. 
 In 18GH, when in its most flourishing state, it 
 had a population of some 500 inhabitants. The first 
 settler was Louis Barbeau, who has the reputation 
 of being the first to discover the existence of valuable 
 minerals in Humboldt County. Soon after him came 
 A. Pryor, John Coulter, F. J. Daniels, Colerick 
 Brothers, Geo. W . Meacham, Thos. McKinzio, C/'harles 
 Lewis, Toney Martinn, and John Sylvester. The 
 mines at the time of the settlement were considered 
 very promising, and ])rospective millionaires were as 
 plentiful as mosquitoes. Among the mines which 
 promised much were the Starlight, Calaveras, Sigel, 
 Adriatic, Winnemucca, Washington, and Saint Ber- 
 nard. Some of these veins were cut by tunnels sev- 
 
 eral hundred feet in length. A vast expense was 
 incurred. During the panic of 186.5 all work was 
 suspended, though the clains were not quite aban- 
 doned, sufficient work being done to hold possession. 
 In 1871 work was partly resumed on the Starlight 
 and Madia, which, however, are not worked at 
 present. The town seems to be utterly prostrated. 
 The nearest place is the Humboldt House, two miles 
 away. The place seems capable of being useful, and 
 in the hurly-burlj- of mining maj- again wake to life. 
 A correspondent of the Humholdt Register, May 2, 
 1863, thusdescribes the town: — 
 
 * * * A picturesque and beautiful village con- 
 taining some 200 well-liuilt houses, some of which are 
 handsome edifices, and manj^ beautiful gardens that 
 attest the taste and industry of the inhabitants. A 
 beautiful, crystal stream oi' water diverted from its 
 natural course runs, a little babbling stream, through , 
 every street. * * * Humboldt City contains two 
 hotels, kept in good style, one the Coulter House, by 
 Mr. and Mrs. Baile}- Nichols, the other, the Iowa 
 House, by Mr. and Mrs. Wilson ; two saloons, one by 
 Messrs. S3-lvester & Helmer, gentlemen ready to 
 argue or fight for their politics, or deal out red-ej-e to 
 their numerous thirsty customers, the other by 
 Messrs. Wilson & Coulter; one blacksmith's shop, by 
 Daniels A: Cooper, who will at any moment stop 
 shoeing a refractory horse to spina j"arn; two stores 
 with large and well-selected stocks of goods; four 
 families (five or six more are on the road for this 
 place) and children, chickens, pigs, and dogs enough 
 to give the place a lively appearance. 
 
 Lovelock is a station on the Central Pacific Rail- 
 road seventy-three miles southwest of Winnemucca, 
 and near the south line of Humboldt County. Those 
 who crossed the plains in an early day will remem- 
 ber this as the place where hundreds of emigrants 
 were compelled to leave iheir worn-out teams, 
 wagons, and the remains of their outfit, to bo appro- 
 priated by any who liked, and to make the balance 
 of their way on foot to California. Guns, pistols, 
 clothing, carpenter's tools, and every conceivable 
 thing with which they had loaded their wagons in 
 Jlissouri were thrown away to put themselves in 
 light marching order for the balance of the trip. 
 
 The vallej' here capable of cultivation is some 
 thirty miles long and twelve miles wide, the Hum- 
 boldt River running along its southeastern side. 
 The first permanent settlers were induced to come 
 here in consequence of the location of a station for 
 the overland stage at this point. James Blake 
 located in April, 1861, being joined by George Love- 
 lock and others the following year. In 1866 the 
 Central Pacific Railroad Company established a sta- 
 tion here for the convenience of the people doing 
 business in the Trinity Mining District, and a small 
 town, numbering about sixty inhabitants, was the 
 result. The neighborhood is thickly settled, so that 
 about fifty children attend school. The school house 
 is large and commodious, 30x80 feet, divided into two 
 portions. Church service and Sunday-school is reg- 
 ularly held in one of the rooms by the Wesleyan 
 
HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY. 
 
 455 
 
 Methodists, the Sunday-school attendance being 
 usually about forty, children and teachers. The 
 taxable property of the town, exclusive of the rail- 
 road property, is about 870,0(10. There arc about 
 four miles of streets in the aggregate, partly shaded 
 with locusts and other trees. The buildings of the 
 town are generally constructed of wood, some few 
 being of stone. The lumber for building is brought 
 by railroad from the Sierra Jsevada. The name of 
 the post-office and station is Lovelock. The town 
 has four stores, three hotels, two saloons, one livery 
 stable, and one blacksmith's shop. The locality is 
 considered healthy, a light malarial (ever in the 
 autumn being the worst to be apprehended. 
 
 The town has a good reputation for peace and 
 sobriety, there being but one homicide on record. 
 This was the killing of Patrick TuUoy, July 28, 1880, 
 bj' Robert St. Clair, with a pistol-shot, ibr which the 
 latter was sentenced to the penitentiarj^ for twenty- 
 five years. There have been no Ij'nchings or mob 
 demonstrations in the place, nor disastrous fires or 
 floods. 
 
 The valley around the town contains about 400 
 inhabitants, most of them being engaged in stock- 
 raising and farming; C,000 head of cattle are pas- 
 tured in the valley and adjoining mountains. Among 
 the prominent stock-raisers are: Morzen, who owns 
 2,000 head; Morker Brothers, 2,000, and Carpenter 
 & Lowery, 1,000. Of grain 1,500 tons are usually 
 grown in the valley. Joseph ALirzen, the largest 
 stock-raiser, owns 1,200 acres of highly improved 
 land, the .Morker Brothers, about 1,000. 
 
 The prospects of the vallej- are hoj)eful, in view 
 of the immense mineral resources in the vicinity. 
 On the north the Trinity Mining District, which has 
 an inexhaustible supply of smelting ore, containing 
 lead, antimony and silver, at no distant day must be 
 a source of much wealth. Thirty miles south are 
 mines rich in copper, which are also promising 
 elements in the future of the place. Six miles south 
 are beds of salt, soda, gypsum and saltpetre, which 
 will eventually become valuable. 
 
 Mill City was started in ISti.S, in anticipation of 
 the Humboldt Canal, and therebj' becoming a center 
 for the reduction of the ores of the Bucna Vista and 
 Star districts, which were distant from six to twenty 
 miles. The water, however, never reached the 
 place, and the town became a shipping place for the 
 mines in the vicinity of Unionville. The present 
 population is about fifty. It has a store for general 
 merchandise, one hotel, saloon, livery stable, black- 
 smith, and foundry; also, telegraph, express and post- 
 office. It is supplied with water by the Mill City 
 Water Works. 
 
 The town claims to be the healthiest in the world, 
 having so far no necessity for starting a cemetery. 
 
 HON. .M. S. TH0.MP80N 
 
 Was born in Alleghany County, Pennsylvania, in the 
 year 1827, where he received his early education, 
 
 and ill 1852 he came to California. In 1853 he set- 
 tled in Sonoma County, and built a flouring mill, 
 being the first to enter that branch of industry in 
 that county. With a party of ten men, he left that 
 portion of the countrj' in 1858 and crossed into the 
 then Territory of Nevada, for the purpose of finding 
 a rich mine said to have been discovered by some 
 emigrants as early as 1849. It was said to bo located 
 in the Black Rock country, now Humboldt County, 
 and of immense richness. [See page 54.] He was not 
 favored by dame fortune in this enterprise, but liking 
 the climate he concluded to settle there, and has since 
 been an active, energetic resident of Humboldt County. 
 He has identified himself with the politics of the State 
 in a creditable manner, and has had considerable to 
 do with the law-making, from the time of its merg- 
 ing from a Territory into a State. Was three times a 
 member of the Territorial Council. In 185!> he was 
 appointed by (iov. J. W. Nye as one of the Commis- 
 sioners to form and organize the county government 
 of Humboldt. He was nominated and elected Lieu- 
 tenant Governor of Nevada, under the first con- 
 stitution, but as the constitution was defeated in 18i;4. 
 he did not enter upon the duties of that office. Mr. 
 Thompson was a member of the Senate, during the 
 first and second sessions of the State Legislature. 
 From this time on, he was engaged in mining, until 
 in 1878 when ho was again elected to the Senate, and 
 in all of the many positions to which he has been 
 elected and appointed, he has given the utmost satis- 
 faction to his constituents. In politics he has been a 
 
45G 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 thorough Republican, and in all the years of his 
 political life has not once swerved from his fixed 
 principles. The healthy town of Mill City is his 
 home and post-oflSce address. 
 
 Paradise City, the center of business in the valley 
 of that name, was located in 186G by C. A. Nichols 
 and family. After him came Charles Kemler, J. B. 
 Case and others. The town now contains over 100 
 inhabitants, three hotels, two public halls, three stores 
 for general merchandise, one drug store, one brewery, 
 four saloons, one cabinet shop, two blacksmith shops, 
 one physician, a barber, a harnessmakcr, carpenter, 
 butcher and one school house. 
 
 The Paradise Record, a twenty-four column paper, 
 Democratic in politics, keeps the people well informed 
 on national and general topics. The town is nearlj- 
 in the center of the valley, forty miles northeast 
 from Winnemucca and nine from Spring City, a rival 
 town in the same valley. The buildings are con- 
 structed of wood and adobe. The school house is 
 28x56, divided into two rooms, each 14x28. The 
 value of taxable property is about $100,000. There 
 has been but one homicide committed in the valley. 
 May 4, 1879, Charles W. Hyner killed J. K. West 
 with a pistol shot, for which he was tried and exe- 
 cuted. The valley is generally considered healthy, 
 a slight tendency to pneumonia and typhoid fever 
 being the only exceptions. 
 
 HON. THOMAS J. BRADSHAW 
 
 Is a native of Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois, 
 where he was born in 184(1, and lived on a farm till 
 the age of twenty-three. Like most young men, he 
 had an intense desire to get a larger view of the 
 world than could be obtained by looking across a 
 prairie, and in 18GI! he pushed out west across the 
 plains, bringing up at Virginia City, in Montana, 
 llemaining here but one year he then went to the 
 newl3^-diHcovered mines of Kootcnay, in British Co- 
 lumbia. Fortune had no favors for him there, and 
 he left for Washington Territory, traversing much of 
 the country since so famous for wheat, taking Walla 
 Walla and other noted points in his course. Seeing 
 nothing ])eculiarly attractive, he concluded to try 
 California, and lived two years in Colusa County in 
 that State. Whether because his expectations were 
 not realized, or that he had not satisfied his desire 
 for travel, he pushed out into the Territory of Ne- 
 vada, and connected himself with the greatest rail- 
 road entor|)ri8e of the age, remaining with the Cen- 
 tral Pacific Company until the last rail was laid 
 which connected the Occident and Orient of the 
 American Continent. When this was done he settled 
 down for life in the sago-brush, having, perhaps, a 
 father's feeling for the land which he had assisted in 
 developing. His judgment as to the resources of the 
 land proved correct, and he soon made a pleasant 
 home, a view of which is given in another part of 
 this work. He owns C40 acres, or one square mile 
 of fine soil in Paradise Valley, and cultivates it all. 
 
 He has not surrounded himself with the good things 
 of this world lor himself alone, for he is a happily 
 married man, with five children to share his joys and 
 assuage his sorrows. His neighbors manifested their 
 appreciation of his upright character and ability by 
 sending him to the Legislature during the session 
 of 1880, from which he returned with the respect 
 of his constituents. 
 
 JOEL BRADSHAW, 
 
 Son of John and Susannah Bradshaw, was born at 
 .Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois, October 22, 
 1842. His parents were natives of the State of Ten- 
 nessee, but emigrated to Illinois in earij- life, and set- 
 tled in Morgan County. John Bradshaw was born in 
 1819, his wife being only two years his junior, born 
 in 1821, and has passed the greater part of his life 
 on a farm. In 1840 he settled on a farm in Hancock 
 County, Illinois, where he lived until 18G6, when he 
 removed to Franklin County, Kansas, where he still 
 resides. But to return to the subject of this sketch. 
 He lived with his parents until April 13, 1864, when 
 he started across the plains, in chargeof a four-horse 
 wagon, in the employ of a man named John M. Jones, 
 and arrived in Maiysville, Yuba County, California, 
 September 1st, of that year. During the succeeding 
 four years he was roaming around through the 
 State, and on the nineteenth of November, 18()8, 
 arrived in Paradise Valley, in Humboldt Countj', 
 Nevada. Three months later he went to White Pine 
 on a prospecting tour, and was for two years in that 
 district, east and south of White Pine for a distance 
 of twenty-five to 150 miles. In October, .1871, he 
 returned to the valley, and on the twentj'-first of 
 that month, homesteaded the northwest quarter of 
 section twenty, where ho now resides. He has 
 added to his original amount until he has at ))resent 
 300 acres of as good soil as the valley contains, all 
 under a wire fence, and well improved. He has 
 about twenty-five acres in alfalfa. His house is one 
 of the best in the valley, ceiled throughout. In pol- 
 itics Mr. Bradshaw is a liberal, in religion a Protes- 
 tant. He was married November 21, 1876, to Jliss 
 Adolia Akin, a native of Salt Lake City, Utah, daugh- 
 ter of Jonas and Eliza Jane Akin. By this union 
 there are two children, named Jool Pomera and 
 Francis. In business Mr. Bradshaw has been suc- 
 cessful, and is blessed with a pleasant home that in 
 summer has tho api)eaniiice of an oasis on the ])lains. 
 
 ■lAMES HYKNES, 
 
 Son of James and Mary Byrnes, was born at Rome, 
 New York, October 20. 1848, and was educated at 
 the common school of his native town. His jiarents 
 resided on a farm near Rome, and James worked 
 thereon until March, 1867, when he sailed for the 
 Pacific Coast, and arrived at San Francisco, Cali- 
 fornia, April 2d, following. About a month later 
 ho went to Paradise Valley, Nevada, where he 
 arrived May 9, 1867, and has resided there ever 
 since. In 1872 he returned East, and while there 
 
 4 
 
"^ ^ 
 
 RESIDENCE ^•"' RANCH ■" W.A.SPERRY, PARADISE VALLEY, HU M BO LDT CO. NEVADA 
 
 
 ■■'S^fefS 
 
 :..Vu u{nlXl'Vl.%^AV^-V V iVlxik 
 
 RETSiDENCE ^» JAMES BYRNES, PARADISE VALLEY, HUMBOlDT CO- NEVADA. 
 
 TMsmirroMtar^fY.s r- 
 
HISTORY OF HLTMHOLDT COUNTY. 
 
 467 
 
 was married to Miss .Mary Skahen, a dauj^bter of 
 Patrii'k ami Catherine Skahen ol' Rome, New York, 
 February 13. 1872. lie ami his bride at once 
 returned and settled at their present residence. By 
 this union they have had four children born, viz.: 
 Kiitie, December 4, 1873; Charles, October 25, 1875; 
 James, September IS, 1877; Alice, Auijust 31, 1879, 
 all living. Mr. Byrnes has a good ranch all under 
 fence, and 400 acres cultivated. A view of his place 
 appears on another page. In politics Mr. Byrnes 
 is a Republican, in religion a Catholic. 
 
 CHARLES Kl.MLER. 
 
 This well-known pioneer business man came to 
 I'aradise, in Humboldt t^ounty, from Sacramento, 
 California, in 1862, shortly after the discovery of the 
 famous valley, and has, perhaps, done as much as 
 any other person to develop and make known its 
 resources. He first engaged in freighting goods to 
 the valley, soon adding trade to it, opening the first 
 store in the place. lie also ran a hotel in connection 
 with the store. In 1873 he erected a tlour mill, the 
 first run by steam in the State, lie al.so found time 
 to engage extensively in farming and raising blooded 
 stock, mostlj- cattle, some of which rank among the 
 best on the Pacific Coast. -Mr. Kimler is also heavily 
 interested in mining, being the Superintendent of 
 the Bullion Mill and Mine, situated about two miles 
 from the town of I'aradise. He has been and is now 
 a live man, who sees at a glance the opportunities for 
 business, and acts without dela^'. His humanity is 
 broad and liberal, prompting him to acts of public as 
 well as private benefits. The erection of the Odd 
 Fellows Hall illustrates his public spirit, lie has 
 assisted manj' worthy but impecunious men, putting 
 them in the way of doing well for themselves. A 
 view of his place of business will be found in another 
 part of the work. The building is fifty-four feet by 
 eighty-five, and two stories in height, and is an 
 ornament to the town. 
 
 CHARLES A. NICHOLS, 
 
 Son of Asa and Harriett (Ilildrcth) Nichols, was 
 born in the town of Crown Point, Essex County, 
 New York, September 30, 1823. His education was 
 confined mostly to the public schools, with a short 
 attendance at a select school. After reaching the 
 age of eight years he only attended the winter terms, 
 working on a farm during the summer, and when si.v- 
 teen years old left school and devoted his time 
 entirely to farming and hauling lumber. With his 
 meagre facilities, Mr. Nichols had acquired a good 
 knowledge of the common branches, and in 1S44 
 wont to Michigan, with an uncle, locating in Branch 
 County, and engaged in teaching school in the winter 
 and working on a farm during the summer. This 
 he continued until the fall of 1851, when he was 
 obliged to change his residence on account of poor 
 health, and desiring to try his fortune in the mines, 
 came to California by way of the Isthmus of Pan- 
 ama, arriving in San Francisco in November. 1851, 
 
 lie at once went to the mines at Sonora, on foot, 
 being almost penniless. In company with Dr. Hall- 
 inger, of Branch County, Michigan, ho prospected 
 for a claim, and not being supplied with blankets 
 sufficient for the life he was leading, he contracted a 
 severe cold and was compelled to lay idle at Sonora 
 all winter. In the si)ring, he bought a claim on 
 Woods Creek, from which he took out enough to pay 
 his doctor's bills. In company with Amos Gustin, 
 he left the mines at that place and started for Fresno. 
 When he reached Merced River, he concluded to go 
 to work in a quartz-mill, and was to receive SlOd per 
 month, but the man failed and .Mr. Nichols got noth- 
 ing. Soon after he engaged in mining and merchan- 
 dizing on the river, and very soon was well situated 
 from a financial point of view. In May, 1855, he 
 sold his business and returned to Michigan, thence to 
 Iowa, and in the fall of the same j'ear returned to 
 .Michigan, and was married to Miss Susan A. Cragin, 
 daughter of Milo and Susan Cragin, of Quincy, Michi- 
 gan, and with his bride removed to Iowa, settling in 
 Ozark, Jackson Count}', where he, in connection with 
 an uncle, was engaged in milling and merchandising, 
 for a few months, when Mr. Nichols removed to 
 llo[)kinton, Delaware Countj', and purchased a mill- 
 site and saw-mill, partly constructed, for 85.500, and 
 through the ill-luck of his untile, lost every dollar. 
 The creditors allowed Mr. Nichol to finish the mill, 
 and he also erected a fiouring mill, and by good 
 management and industry cleared the indebtedness on 
 the propcrtj'. In lKt)4, Mr. Nichols rented the mills, 
 and again sought the Pacific Coast and located in 
 Honey Lake Valley, California, where he farmed one 
 season, and then removed to Paradise Valley, Hum- 
 boldt County, Nevada, where ho was joined by his 
 wife and daughter, and has since resided. He has 
 held the office of County Commissioner of Humboldt 
 County for four years, and was also Justice of the 
 Peace two years. Their daughter, llattie Josephine, 
 is married and living in the valley. 
 
 WILLIA.M A. SPERRY 
 
 Is a native of the State of Connecticut, born in the 
 town of Derby, December 18, 1840. At the age 
 of eleven years he went to Illinois and engaged in 
 farming. As youth ripened into manhood he desired 
 a wider field for his labors, and at the age of 
 twenty-two j'ears sailed on the ship Xorlliem Lujhl to 
 the Isthmus of Panama, and from there came to 
 San Francisco, California, in the steamer Golden 
 Gate.. I'nlike nearly all new arrivals, he did not 
 seek the mines as his first occupation, but going 
 into the Sacramento Valley ho pursued the same 
 business he had followed in his Illinois home. After 
 two years as a farmer ho went to Dutch Flat, 
 Placer County, and commenced mining, whore he 
 stayed about one year. From there he went to 
 Summit Valley, thence to Bear Valley, thence to 
 Meadow Lake, and finally arrived at Dutch Flat 
 again. Having traveled rather extensively through 
 
458 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 California, he came to Nevada, and for a period of 
 three months was located at Gravelly Ford. He 
 then came to Paradise Valley, Humboldt County, 
 and was there about the same length of time, when 
 ho went to White Pine, and for two years was 
 engaged in quartz mining. He then came back to 
 Paradise Valley, and taking up |some Government 
 land settled down as a tiller of the soil, where he 
 has since resided. In 1873 he built a fine house, 
 and has a well-appointed farm. In January, 1879, 
 he was married to Lena E. Wilder, of Athens, Mich- 
 igan. 
 
 WILLIAM STOCK 
 
 Is a native of Germany, the country to which the 
 United States is so largely indebted for the steady, 
 industrious emigration which has done so much to 
 make the wilderness blossom like the rose. He came 
 to the United States in 1854, making his first halt at 
 Cincinnati, in (Jhio, where he engaged in coopering 
 for five years. The reports of fortunes easily made 
 in California swept him off his moorings, and the 
 summer of 185!! found him on his way to the farthest 
 West. He worked for two years in the mines in 
 Trinitj' and Shasta counties, and then three more at 
 farming. Having accumulated a considerable sum 
 by his industry, and desiring to try the world for 
 himself, he ])urchascd an ox-team and went to 
 freighting between California and Nevada, and made 
 his way into Paradise Valley among the first. His 
 experience there will be found more fully related in con- 
 nection with the history of the Indian difficulties in 
 1803-64-05-60. He also mined at Silver City, Idaho, 
 during the years 1864-05, visiting California during 
 the time. In the fall of 186(! he came to Paradise 
 again, and located the farm u])on which he has since 
 lived, in company with G. H. Carroll. His adven- 
 tures and hair-breadth escapes during these years 
 will be a source of interest as long as people shall be 
 interested in frontier tales. 
 
 Queen City was one of the prospective rivals of 
 Paradise City. It was built, or rather the name was 
 given to a cluster of buildings on Martin's Creek, at 
 the time of the building of the Paradise Quartz 
 Mills, in 1874. At the closing down of the mills 
 most of the population left. In 1879 it contained 
 about 100 inhabitants, but being situated in a canon 
 in a rather inaccessible place, it did not long prove a 
 rival to Paradise City. It is distant five miles from 
 Paradise, and six miles from Spring City. It has at 
 present eighteen inhabitants; no stores or places of 
 active industry. Letters to jjcrsons at this place are 
 sent to Paradise City. The mill (not running) is a 
 ten-stamp mill, dry crushing, with a capacity of 
 teTi tons per day, using both steam and water power. 
 It has a roasting furnace (White & Howell) with a 
 capacity' of twenty tons. The amount of bullion 
 produced while running was estimated at 8235,000. 
 
 Spring City is a lively little town, twelve miles 
 northeast of Paradise City. It has a post-office and 
 
 daily mail, express office, seven saloons, two stores, 
 two hotels, one restaurant, one brewery, one book- 
 store and other industrial places. It is quite a 
 center, and at the last election, in 1880, cast eighty 
 votes. 
 
 Star City was the principal town of the Star Dis- 
 trict, and is ten miles north of Unionville, the former 
 County Seat, and ten miles south of Mill City. It 
 has an altitude of 3,700 feet, and is situated in a deep 
 canon, with Star Peak, a loftj' mountain which is a 
 landmark for all the region south of the Humboldt, 
 only two miles distant. In 1864-05 it had a popu- 
 lation of 1.200, whioh began leaving during the 
 panic of the following years, until now, but four 
 persons keep guard over the place. It has a Crane 
 Concentrating Mill capable of reducing forty tons of 
 ore in twenty-four hours. The value of all the tax- 
 able property in the place is estimated at 810,000. 
 [n consequence of the almost utter desertion of the 
 place it has been next to impossible to gather any- 
 thing of its early history. A full account of the 
 mines has been given under the head of Star 
 District. That 1,200 active men should ever have 
 assembled at any point and remained there three or 
 four years without making materials for an interest- 
 ing history would be absurd, impossible. The aban- 
 doned shafts and tunnels, the holes where the miner 
 had his shanty, the half-ruined chimnej^s, and the 
 hundreds of trails ramifj-ing in every direction 
 through the cafion, are all that remain to speak of 
 the busy thousand who once hoped to achieve fort- 
 unes which should make them respected and happy. 
 
 ^ Unionville has a history of its own, which alone 
 would make a good-sized volume. To condense 
 into a few pages a history which involves so many 
 social, political, and financial features is a piece of 
 vandalism that a true historian is verj- unwilling to 
 be guilty of, but there seems to bo no alternative. 
 
 Soon after the discovery of the Comstock Lode, 
 the Indians brought into the camp pieces of ore 
 similar to the rich rock of that lead, and expressed 
 a willingness to conduct white men to the vicinit}'. 
 Captain Hugo Pfersdorff and J. C. Hannan, with 
 two donkeys loaded with supplies, and four Pah- 
 Ute Indians, started out into the desert of sage- 
 brush, sand plains, and rugged, barren mountains, 
 and on the twelfth day of May, 1861, just as the 
 sun was setting, stood on the top of the ridge 
 overlooking the Uuena Vista Valloj-, or Cafion, as 
 it seems to have been improperly called, for it is 
 rather a valley. The <|niet vallej-, with a clear 
 stream running through it; the great gorge in the 
 mountain range, which towered among the clouds; 
 Star Peak some miles to the north, the summit co%'- 
 ered with snow, contrasting with the dark-green of 
 the valleys, were features fit to bo limned by a 
 painter, or immortalized in poetry by a Homer or 
 Virgil. Though our pros])ectors appreciated the 
 scenery, they bad come for the silver that was in 
 
HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY. 
 
 459 
 
 the monntains, and lost no time in giving the rocks 
 a thorough examination. They wore gratified in 
 finding abundant indications of mineral. Soon after 
 the arrival of the first part}- of explorers, carao Jerry 
 Harmon, \V. Strong. C. Lark, S. Montgomery. G. 
 \V. Whitney, John Wolliver, 1). B. Higgins, A. P. K. 
 Saftord, J. C. Fall, Thomas Kutherford, A. W. Night- 
 ingill, F. Aires, W. A. Koleomh, George Wortman, 
 jO. r. Dietz, (i. W. Fox, \Vm. H. Claggett, and Sam. 
 ^ Clemens (Mark Twain), all following the trail of the 
 first party, and anxious to share the fortunes which 
 were said to be had for the taking. Within a week 
 from the time the first white men came into the 
 cafion a meeting was called to organize a mining dis- 
 trict, S. M. Carter being chosen Chairman; W. Cum- 
 mings. Secretary. Within a year a town was organ- 
 ized, the first set of officers, or Board of Directors, 
 being K. McBeth, Chas. Kyle, Chris. Lark, James 
 Emorj', and John Spencer. J. W. Story was the first 
 Treasurer of the town. The town was originally 
 laid out nearlj- a mile above the present location by 
 ;^aptain Pfersdorft', who called the place Buena Vista. 
 It is said that, in anticipation of a great population 
 coming, the owner asked extortionate prices for his 
 land; in consequence of which, Chris. Lark, who had 
 taken up a place a mile below, conceived the plan of 
 having a rival town, and by judiciously giving away 
 and selling lots cheap, he turned the tide of set- 
 tlement to his portion of the vallej', 100 houses 
 being put up in a short time. 
 i ' What's in a name ? At first the new place, which 
 had a preponderance of persons sympathizing with 
 the Rebellion, was called Dixie, but in the course of 
 the 3-ear a great many Union men came to the place, 
 and July 14, ISGl, after much angry discussion and 
 hard feeling, the town was baptized " Unionville," 
 and the American flag flung to the breeze amid 
 much rejoicing. 
 
 In 1861 there were but three settlements in the 
 county, Unionville, Humboldt City, and Star City, 
 Dun Glen being settled the following season. At the 
 organization of the county, in 1802, the (iovornor 
 designated Unionville as the county seat, which posi- 
 tion it retained until 1873, when it was removed to 
 Winnemucca. Though the population poured rapidly 
 into the Star District very little substantial work 
 was done until 1866, when the Arizona mine was 
 sold by Wm. (Jraves and Ed. Kelly to Fall and 
 Temple, who organized the Arizona Silver Mining 
 Company, with John C. Fall as Superintendent. It 
 is said that the Arizona Mine has produced 8.'{,500,- 
 000 of bullion to date. The IlumliuUt Register, a 
 lively, six-column paper, was started in May, 1863. 
 
 The population of the town, in its best days, is 
 variously estimated from 000 to 1,500. The ditt'er- 
 enco in the estimates is probably caused by the 
 boundaries not being exactly doSned, one party 
 basing his estimates on those who actually resided 
 in the compact part of the town, the other including 
 the suburbs many miles in extent. Since 1870 the 
 
 town and surrounding district has declined consider- 
 ably in population, the present population being 
 about 2(10. Unionville is considerabl}* above the 
 level of the basin, which is about 4,000 feet above 
 the ocean, and is pleasantly located in a valley which 
 brings to perfection all kinds of hardy fruits, and 
 good crops of hay and grain. There are now two 
 stores, one saloon, two restaurants, one livery stable, 
 two blacksmith shojjs, a post-office, a telegraph and 
 express oflSce. The buildings are constructed mainly 
 of wood and adobe, some being of stone, however; 
 there is one church (Methodist Episcopalj, built of 
 wood, costing $2,500, and capable of seating 500 
 persons. 
 
 The only mining machinery in the town is a 
 twenty-stamp tailing-mill, capable of working forty 
 tons a day, and a two-stamp prospecting-raill, work- 
 ing one ton a day. The town is supplied with 
 water by a pipe running from the head of the cafion. 
 It is private property. The villages in the vicinity 
 are Rye Patch Station, six miles west over the 
 mountains. Mill City, on the line of the railroad 
 twenty miles away, through which supplies are 
 obtained from Sacramento and San Francisco, Star 
 City, ten miles north, and Vandewater, ten miles 
 south. Wood for fuel is obtained from the surround- 
 ing mountains, and is mostly cedar and mahogany. 
 There is no prevailing disease unless a tendency at 
 some seasons of the year to pneumonia may be con- 
 sidered as such. The locality is not subject to floods, 
 and has had but one severe fire, which occurred in 
 August, 1871, burning the express office, Luther's 
 store and David's shoe shop; the damage being about 
 85,000. 
 
 WiNNE.MUCCA is situated on the south side Of the 
 Humboldt River, 475 miles from San Francisco, 130 
 miles oast from Wads worth, fifty miles north of Union- 
 ville, and forty-two miles southeast from Paradise 
 City. This place was known in 1861 as the French 
 Bridge, or Ford, from its being a noted crossing 
 place. Joseph Ginacca and J. A. Algaur, both now 
 dead, were the owners at that time. The former of 
 these was the originator of the Humboldt Canal, 
 spoken ofin another place. The immediate site of the 
 town was formerly a hay ranch, owned by White, 
 Moore k Rule, as early as 1801. The town received 
 its name from C. B. O. Bannon, nephew of the 
 Secretary of the Interior under Lincoln, who wished 
 to perpetuate the name of a famous Indian Chief 
 Along with Bannon came Jlillon Shepardson, J. il. 
 Thackor, R. B. Cutler, T. D. Parkin.son, and soon 
 after, H. liarnes, N. Levy, W. F. Stephens, and 
 others. When the Idaho travel commenced in 1868, 
 a large portion of it found it most convenient to 
 leave the Central Pacific Railroad at this point, and 
 it became a famous stage and teaming center. Its 
 most prosperous jieriod was from 186S to 1874, when 
 it had a population of some 1,600. In 1872 it got the 
 county seat away from Unionville, being much 
 nearer the center of population than that place. 
 
400 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 The present population is about 1,000, with fifteen 
 stores, three hotels, twenty-one saloons, three livery 
 stables, live blacksmith shops, and twelve other 
 places of business not enumerated; telegraph office, 
 post-office, express office, assay office, reduction 
 works, tlouring-mill, two churches (Methodist and 
 Prcsbj'teriaii), two clergj-men, two lawyers, six 
 physicians, and one newspaper, the Silver State. 
 
 The Humboldt Iieduction Works have a smelting 
 furnace and ten -stamp mill. The flouring mill has 
 two run of buhr-stone, and turns out a good quality 
 of flour, enabling the farmers in the vicinity to realize 
 good prices for all their wheat. 
 
 The education of the children is attended to, 
 there being two schools with competent teachers. 
 
 The Court House is a large and substantial brick 
 structure, with jail and fire-proof vaults, built in 
 1874, at a cost of $50,000, for which bonds were 
 issued bearing an annual intei-est. A county hos- 
 pital provides a home for the indigent sick. 
 
 The Masons and Odd Fellows have strong socie- 
 ties in Winnemucca, as do the Ancient Order of 
 United Workmen and the Independent Order of 
 tTOod Templars. The first two have an inclosed 
 cemetery. 
 
 Th(! supplies are obtained at Sacra-nento and San 
 Francisco, by way of the Central I'acific Jtailroad. 
 Wood is supplied from the surrounding hills, and is 
 mostly of juniper, or cedar as it is commonly called. 
 
 Winnemucca, in consequence of being situated on a 
 line of extensive travel, where persons of all nations 
 and character come in contact, has an extensive 
 record of homicides. These are recorded elsewhere 
 in this work. 
 
 Extensive fires occurred in 1870 and '76, destroying 
 considerable property. 
 
 The immediate prosperity of the town depends upon 
 the trade to the northern portion of the State and Ida- 
 ho, and the possession of the county seat. It is quite 
 likely that a railway may be built through the Par- 
 adise Valley to Idaho, making Winnemucca a railway 
 center, in which case the town will have a brilliant 
 future. 
 
 The valley of the Humboldt is hero very broad, 
 and the possibilities of an extensive farming and 
 pastoral region are suggested to the observer. The 
 bottom lands near the river, where the old French 
 Crossing was the town before the railroad came, 
 are already fertile, and other 'localities, where water 
 has been ajqilied, show the productive ((ualities of 
 the soil. Should enterprise bring a sufficient quan- 
 tity- of water for general irrigation, either b^- pipes 
 from the mountains, as at Humboldt House, or by 
 artesian wells, as at Battle Mountain, the whole 
 could bo made part of that Paradise Valley that 
 stretches away to the north. Such was the view 
 that Ginacca, the enterprising pioneer of the town, 
 hail when he jirojected the great canal which was to 
 redeem the desert and establish manul'actories and 
 towns along its course, Hut Ginacoa has passed 
 
 awaj- without realizing the dream of his life, but 
 instead, bearing the contumely of devoting a 
 fortune to an impracticable idea. He was acting, 
 simpl}-, in advance of the time. The localities 
 irrigated prove what can be done, and intelligent 
 enterprise will not permit the wide plains and valleys 
 of Nevada to remain the deserts of the savage. 
 
 H. Bleiinerhassett 
 
 Is a native of South Carolina, and a grandson of the 
 Blennerhassett of the Ohio, so celebrated in the 
 story of Aaron Burr and his southwestern empire. 
 He served in the Confederate Army during the Civil 
 War, and came to the Stale of Nevada, in 1S70. He 
 was one of the Democratic Presidential Electors for 
 Tilden, and was also Chairman of the Democratic 
 State Central (Committee. Married the only daugh- 
 ter of C. Chenowith, of Winnemucca, Humboldt 
 County. Their union has been blessed with two 
 children. 
 

 -?.- ? 
 
 i^.-»'-i^ 
 
 ■i-'J 
 
 '*^'f^»^.«^ 
 
 
 EORGE'S EPISCOPAL CHU RCH , AUSTI N, LAN E"R CO.NEV. 
 
 DORMITORY to STATE U NIVERSiTV, ELKO, NEV. 
 
HISTORY OF LANDER COUNTY. 
 
 4C1 
 
 CHAPTER XLVll. 
 
 HISTORY OF LANDER COUNTY. 
 
 Discovery of and Rush to the Mines — Organization and Bound' 
 aries — County Seat and Court House — (bounty Debt and 
 Court House — Judicial District and Schools — Otiicers Ap- 
 pointed and Elected — The Ix.a<lin;; Industries — Bonds, Prop- 
 erty and Population — Principal Towns — Austin the County 
 Scat — Incorporated as a City — Water Company and Stock 
 Board — Reaction and \'aryinj; Fortunes — Destructive Rain 
 Storms — Chanf;e8 and Present Appearance — Hon. M. J. 
 FarrcU — Andrew Nichols — The Man with the Axt — Battle 
 Mountain — A. J. Blossom — Deserted Towns and Cities — 
 Principal Mining Districts. 
 
 The occupation and settlement of the various 
 States, Territories and localities on the Pacific Coast 
 have been in periods of excitement and by " rushes" 
 of people. Possiblj' in no other way could the 
 development of the country, or at least many local- 
 ities have been accomplished, and, however much an 
 excitement and consequent rush may be deprecated 
 the results have been, almost without exception, of 
 great public benefit. Great indignation has at times 
 prevailed against those who have told stories of rich 
 prospects, and traditions are extant of the summary 
 execution of men who have led others on a wild 
 hunt for rich mines which they failed to find. But 
 wherever the rushes have been some discoveries have 
 been made, and settlements followed. California was 
 thus settled in the excitement consequent on the 
 gold discover}- of 1848. British Columbia was 
 overrun and brought to the knowledge of the world 
 by the Fraser River excitement; the current of pop- 
 ulation was turned over the Sierra Nevada by the 
 Washoe excitement, and at last the great interior 
 of the wilderness was penetrated at a bound in con- 
 sequence of the Reese River excitement. Perhaps 
 without an excitement the distant Pacific Coast, 
 with all its loveliness, would have remained unoccu- 
 pied, and the sage-brush ])lain8 of JSevada would 
 still have remained on the maps as " Unexplored 
 Regions." 
 
 The Reese River excitemctit began in 18U2. At 
 that period the overland mail created all the civilized 
 life of the central and eastern part of the Territory 
 of Nevada. The route crossed the valley of Reese 
 Jliver at Jacobs Station, and from eight to twelve 
 miles northeast crossed the Toij-nbo range of mount- 
 ains, bj- a j)ass called Telegraph Cafion. Nearly east 
 of Jacobs Station was a pass, through which the 
 Pony Express riders had often traveled as a cut-off 
 on the overland road, and, as a consequence, received 
 the name of Pony Canon. From this cafion, on the 
 second of May, 18(J2, Mr. William M. Talcott, who 
 had been a Pony Express rider before that institu- 
 tion was superseded by the telegraph, was hauling 
 wood for the stage station, and discovered a vein of 
 ore-bearing quartz. The ore was taken to the sta- 
 tion, and some sent to Virginia for assay. Proving 
 rich, the report of the new discovery soon got 
 abroad, and the excitement soon followed. 
 
 The ])revious history of this section consisted in 
 the laying out of the Simpson Route, the establishing 
 58 
 
 of the overland mail, the construction of the tele- 
 graph — all of which are related elsowhere in this 
 work. Talcott, the discoverer of the ledge which ho 
 named the Pon}', and the first Recorder of the dis- 
 trict, was a native of Maryland, to which State ho 
 afterwards returned and died. 
 
 Reese River Mining District was organized on the 
 tenth of May, 18(>2. The first locators of mines 
 were Wm. M. Talcott, Felix O'Neil, Augustus Clapp, 
 James Farmer, G. W. Jacobs, J. R. Jacobs, A. P. 
 Hawes, Joseph Town, Walter Cary, (r. L. Turner, 
 and T. L. Crubb. Their locations covered a total of 
 of 2,(500 feet. The first location was called the Pony 
 Ledge, which is now owned by Charles R. Stebbins 
 of Austin. 
 
 ORd.VNIZATION AND BOITNDARIES. 
 
 The bill creating Lander County, out of por- 
 tions of Humboldt and Churchill Counties, was 
 framed by A. J. Simmons, and was approved Decem- 
 ber li), 1802. The boundaries of the new county 
 were defined in the statute as follows; — 
 
 Beginning at the point of intersection of the for- 
 tieth meridian of longitude, west from Washington, 
 with the forty-second parallel of north latitude, or 
 northern boundary of Nevada Territorj-; thence, run- 
 ning south on the line of said fortieth meridian of 
 longitude, through the counties of Humboldt and 
 Churchill, to the thirty-ninth parallel of north lati- 
 tude, ornorthern boundary- line of Esmeralda County; 
 thence east, along the said northern boundary line 
 of Esmeralda County, to the eastern boundary line of 
 the Territorj^; thence north, following the eastern 
 boundary line of the Territory, to the northern 
 boundary line of the Territory aforesaid; thence 
 west, along said northern boundary line, to the place 
 of beginning. 
 
 This included about one-third the area of Nevada, 
 as its boundaries then existed. The region was a 
 vast, unexplored wilderness, crossed by two overland 
 routes of travel, the Humboldt Valley and the Simp- 
 son routes. The mines in Ponj- Cafion had been dis- 
 covered, and the name of "Reese River" given to the 
 district. Six miles west, near the stream called 
 Reese River, was a station of the Overland .Mail, and 
 the only settlement near. This was then called 
 Jacobs' Springs, afterward called Jacobsvillo, in hon- 
 or of George Washington Jacobs, the division agent 
 of the Overland Mail Com])any. Here was located 
 the county seat, subject to a vote of the people at 
 the next general election. In the midst of the mines 
 in Pony Cailon, Austin had been built, and on the 
 second of September, 1803, the people voted that 
 Austin should become the county seat. By calcula- 
 tions subsequently made the fact was ascertained 
 that the western boundary of the countj', the fortieth 
 meridian, was east of the county seat. This was rec- 
 tified by an Act approved February 20, 1864, by 
 removing that part of the western boundaiy between 
 the fortieth and thirty-ninth parallels westward to 
 the Mount Airoj- Station, a distance of about twenty 
 miles. This lino was subsequently made to conform 
 to the summit of the Desatoya range of mountains. 
 
462 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 By Act of Congress approved May 5, 1866, a strip 
 of territory of one degree of longitude was taken 
 from Utah and added to Nevada, ceding to the State 
 at the same time all that part of Arizona north and 
 west of the Colorado River. This added three square 
 degrees of territory to Lander County, which then 
 comprised about twenty-eight percent, of the entire 
 State, and all the population of the region which soon 
 became known as "The Great East." From this great 
 area numerous counties were afterwards carved, giv- 
 ing Lander the title of "Mother of Counties." 
 
 By an Act approved March 5, 1869, the counties 
 of Elko and White Pine were created, taking a little 
 more than two degrees of the eastern part of Lan- 
 der, and by an Act approved March 1, 1871, all that 
 portion north of the fortj'-first parallel was ceded to 
 Elko. By an Act approved March 1, 1873, the 
 county was divided bj^ a line drawn south from a 
 point midway on its northern boundary, and the 
 eastern portion was made the county of Eureka. 
 Subsequently to the organization of Xye Countj*, a 
 strip of about ten miles in width was added to it 
 from the southern part of Lander, and, in 1873, the 
 line between Lander and Humboldt was adjusted to 
 run from the northeast corner of Churchill direct to 
 the center of township 32 north, range 42 east, Mount 
 Diablo base and meridian, thence east to the fortieth 
 meridian of longitude, taking quite a large area from 
 Humboldt County, and with it all the lower portion 
 of the Reese River Valley. The present area of the 
 county is about 5,200 square miles. 
 
 The name was bestowed in honor of General Fred- 
 erick W. Lander, previously mentioned in the his- 
 tory of the Indian War of 1860, who was in charge 
 of the construction, bj^ the United States Government, 
 of a wagon road across Nevada. He Rubsecjuentlj- 
 became a Brigadier General in the L^nion Army during 
 the war of the Rebellion, dying at the age of forty, 
 at Paw Paw, Virginia, March 2, 1862, from wounds 
 received in battle. 
 
 COUNTY SEAT AND COURT HOUSE. 
 
 By the provisions of the creative Act, Jacobsville 
 was made the county seat of Lander until a census 
 could be taken, and a permanent location could be 
 fixed upon by a vote of the people. The Governor 
 was authorized to appoint, prior to the next gen- 
 eral election, such county and township oflicers as 
 he might deem necessary. The County Commis- 
 sioners, thus appointed, hold their first meeting 
 March 3, 1863, approved the bonds of officers pre- 
 sented, and granted to J. Gooding a franchise for a 
 toll-road across Warsaw Slough to Jacobsville. Thoj- 
 also authorized the County Clerk to advertise for 
 bids for a Court House. At a subsequent meeting, 
 held April 29th, they awarded the contract to J. A. 
 McDonald. He was to have the building completed 
 by the first of August following, and was to receive 
 therefor the sum of 88,440. At the same meeting 
 they divided the county into thirteen districts. 
 
 The Court House was completed on time; and at 
 the meeting, held August 5th, the Commissioners 
 accepted the building, and issued scrip to the con- 
 tractor for the amount agreed upon. They also 
 redivided the county into ten districts, each to be a 
 voting precinct, and to have a Justice of the Peace. 
 
 The census taken in July, 1863, showed the actual 
 residents in these precincts to be 1,052 men and 110 
 women, also two "young children," which were 
 credited to Austin. No attempt was made to enu- 
 merate the prospectors scattered among the hills of 
 the various mining districts, but their number was 
 cstimiitod at 400. About 500 emigrants, not entitled 
 to vote, were not included in the census. Counting 
 all, the total population of Lander County on July 
 22, 1863, footed up 2,062; and the larger proportion 
 consisted of persons under forty years of age. 
 
 By a vote of the people at the election, hold Sep- 
 tember 2, 1863, Austin was made the county seat; 
 and the new Board of Commissioners met on the 
 twenty-first of September, at Jacobsville, and ad- 
 journed to meet at Austin in the afternoon of the 
 same day. 
 
 COURT HOUSE AND COUNTY SEAT. 
 
 The Court House which had been built at Jacobs- 
 ville was removed to Austin immediatelj- after, and 
 additions made thereto. At a meeting of the Board, 
 held in April, 1804, voting precincts in each of the 
 four wards were established, and the nineteenth 
 day of A|>ril fixed as election day. Thcj' also divided 
 the county into nine townships for the purpose of 
 revenue, issued scrip in payment of outstanding 
 claims against the county, and entered upon what 
 now would seem to be a system of useless as well 
 as extravagant expenditure of public funds. Within 
 two years after the organization of the county it 
 was nearly $200,000 in debt, and its scrip sold for 
 fifteen cents on the dollar. 
 
 JUDICIAL DISTRICT AND SCHOOLS. 
 
 By an Act, approved February 16, 1864, Lander 
 County was attached to the Third Judicial District, 
 that district being already composed of Lyon and 
 Humboldt Counties. 
 
 In October, 1865, H. S. Herrick, Superintendent 
 of Public Schools for the county, rejjorted that there 
 were five school districts, four school houses, and 
 five schools in the county; that there had been ex- 
 ponded forschool purposes during the year 84,464.14, 
 and that the number of children of school age was 
 444. The schools were carried on by the aid of the 
 State School Fund and a direct property tax. 
 
 OFFICERS APPOINTED AND ELECTED. 
 
 By the Act creating Lander Countj', the Governor 
 was authorized to appoint, prior to the next general 
 election, such county and township officers as ho 
 may deem necessarj'. The appointments made by 
 him, December 22, 1862, together with all subsequent 
 appointments and elections t<> otiico in this county, 
 are given hereafter with the title of the office, the 
 
HISTORY OF LANDER COUNTY. 
 
 4G3 
 
 name of the officer and date of election or appoint- 
 ment in each case. 
 
 SENATORS. 
 
 i>. E. Waidron, elected to Council September 2, 
 18G3; A. B. Dibble and A. P. Hereford, elected 
 Senators January 19, 18C4, under the Constitution 
 that was defeated; M. 1). Larrowe, elected Novem- 
 ber 8, 1864, became non-resident September 21, 
 1860; W. W. Ilobart, elected November 8, 1864; 1). 
 \V. Welty, and G. T. Terry, elected November 6, 
 1866. Terry was elected to fill the unexpired term of 
 Larrowe. S. Wilson, elected November 3, 1868; W . 
 VV. McCoy, and John Spencer, elected November 8, 
 1870; Geo. VV. Cassidy, elected November 5, 1872; 
 M. J. Farreli, elected November 3, 1874, i-e-elected 
 November 5, 1878. 
 
 ASSEMBLYMEN. 
 
 T. J. Tennant and R. S. Dixon, elected Ivcpresent- 
 atives under Territorial Government September 2, 
 1863; C. S. Sherman, S. G. Sewell and D. H. Lem- 
 mon, elected Assemblymen Januarj* 19, 1864, under 
 the Constitution that was defeated; E. A. Morse and 
 D. P. Waters, elected Representatives under the 
 Territorial Government, but were superseded by the 
 adoption of the Constitution at the same election, 
 September 7, 1864; 1). P. Waters, J. L. Hinckley, E. 
 P. Sine and M. A. llosenblatt, elected Assemblj'men 
 November 8, 1864; J. M. Dorsey, J. R Jacobs, T. J. 
 Tennant, and Robert Cullen, elected Novembjr 6 
 1866; T. J. Tennant, R. J. Moody, Geo. D. Coburn 
 and Geo. F. Mills, elected November 3, 1868; S. L. 
 Fuller, T. J. Jones, L. Murphy and H, A. VV illard, 
 elected November 8, 1870; E. J. Elzy, R. L. Horton, 
 Frank V. Drake and James II. Burgess, elected 
 Novembers, 1872; Geo. Watts and Andrew Nichols, 
 elected November 3, 1874; JamesE.Rooker, Andrew 
 Nichols andM. A. Sawtelle, elected November 7, 1876; 
 Thomas E. Ilagar, Geo. Watts and John Smyth, 
 elected November 5, 1878; John Smyth, W. B. New- 
 ell and C. P. Soule, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COCNTV COMMISSIONERS. 
 
 J. A. Veatch, Wm. M. Talcott and Geo. W. Wilson, 
 appointed January 26, 1863. Talcott resigned April 
 10th and Abraham Hopper was appointed April 20, 
 1863, to fill vacancy; Wilson resigned May 15th, 
 and James P, Greaves was apjwinted July 17, 1863, 
 to fill vacancy. T. H. Thompson, Wm. B. Morse, and 
 J. P. Greaves, elected September 2, 1863. G. A. 
 Swasey, appointed December 5, 1863, in place of 
 Thompson; E. G. Lamb, appointed March 24, 1864, 
 in place of Swasey; J. A. Mitchell, appointed August 
 17, 1864, in place of Lamb; Morse, left the county, 
 and George iMay appointed to fill vacancy December 
 3, 1863; M. P. Haynes, appointed April 20, 1864, in 
 place of May, resigned; AV. II. Anderson, appointed 
 July 23, 1864, in place of Haynes, resigned; Greaves, 
 resigned April 12, 1864, and R. H. Williams ap- 
 pointed June 16, 1864, to fill vacancy; F. C. Chase, 
 appointed November 11, 1864, in place of Williams. 
 A. H. Wilson, F. C. Chase and J. M. Jonos, elected 
 
 September 7, 1864; J. O. Mitchell, A. H. Wilson and 
 John Gray, elected November 8, 1864; J. F. Hallock, 
 J. A. Mitchell and John Gray, elected November 6, 
 1866; Gray resigned August 7, 1867; James Burgess, 
 John Spencer and M. Sowers, elected November 3, 
 1868; M. Sowers, J. H. Burgess and Matt. Furth, 
 elected November 8, 1870; W. S. Gage and Wm. 
 Arrington, elected November 5, 1872. Arrington re- 
 signed March 11, 1873; Gage resigned September 15, 
 1876. A. M. Home and J. W. McWilliams, elected 
 Novembers, 1874; Geo. L. Love, and J. N. Baker, 
 elected November 7, 1876; J. H. Burgess, J. N. 
 Baker and Henry Kling, elected November 5, 1878. 
 Burgess died January 3d, and T. W. Triplett ap- 
 pointed June 17, 1879, to fill vacancj'. A. A. Curtis 
 and J. P. Cope, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 PROBATE JUDGES. 
 
 Parish B. Ladd. appointed December 22, 1862, re- 
 moved for disloyalty July 6, 1863, and J. H. Ralston 
 appointed to fill vacancy. E. A. Crane, elected Sep- 
 tember 2, 1863. Geo. S. Hupp, elected County Judge 
 Januarj' 19, 1864, but never served, the Constitution 
 under which he was elected being defeated. 
 
 DISTRICT ATTORNEYS. 
 
 John Carmichael, appointed December 22, 1862; 
 Frank Jones, elected September 2, 1863; E. C. 
 Brearly, elected November 8, 1864, resigned June 
 12, 1865, and B. P. Rankin, appointed to fill vacancy. 
 11. Mayenbaiim, elected November 6, 1866, re-elected 
 November;!, 1868; F. H. Harmon, elected November 
 8, 1870; N. D. Anderson, elected November 5, 1872, 
 re-elected November 3, 1874, re elected November 7, 
 187(); George A. Douglass, elected November 5, 1878; 
 H. T. Creswell, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SHERIFFS. 
 
 George W. Jacobs, appointed December 22, 1862; 
 J. H. Tabor, elected September 2, 1863; J. Leffing- 
 well, elected November 8, 1864; B. F. Sanborn, 
 elected November 6, 1866; J. M. Dawlej-, elected 
 November 3. 1868; C. D. Spiers, elected November 
 8, 1870; John Emory, elected November 5, 1872, re- 
 elected Nevember 3, 1874; J. C. Harper, elected 
 November 7, 1876, re-elected November 5, 1878, died 
 December 12, 1879, and B. C. Thomas appointed 
 December 18th to fill vacancy. B. C. Thomas, 
 elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY CLERKS. 
 
 Elisha A. Marsh, appointed December 22, 1862; 
 S. E. Greele}-, elected September 2, 1863; Richard 
 Brown, elected November 8, 1864; C. D. Spier, 
 elected November 6, 1866; D. C. McKenney, elected 
 November 3, 1S(;8; John H. Dennis, elected Novem- 
 ber 8, 1870; M. J. Farreli, elected November 5, 1872; 
 W. A. Clifford, elected November 3, 1874; J. L. 
 Brennan, elected November 7, 1876; J. A. Miller, 
 elected November 5, 1878, re-elected November 2, 
 1880. 
 
464 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 COUNTY TREASURERS. 
 
 Augustus Clapp, appointed December 22, 1862; J. 
 M. Dawly, elected September 2, 18(53; Wm. Pardy, 
 elected November 8, 1864; Jesse Beene, elected 
 November 6, 1866, re-elected November 3, 1868; 
 George F. Dinsmore, elected November 8, 1870; A. 
 A. Curtis, elected November 5, 1872, re-elected No- 
 vember 3, 1874; J. Gilbert, elected November 7, 
 1876; J. A. Wright, elected November 5, 1878, re- 
 elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY ASSESSORS. 
 
 James R. Jacobs, appointed December 22, 1862; 
 H. S. Herrick, elected September 2, 1863; C. O. 
 Barker, elected November 8, 1864; A. E. Titus, 
 elected November 6, 1866; T. W. Triplett, elected 
 November 3, 1868; S. O. Clifford, elected November 
 8, 1870, re-elected November 5, 1872; L. Duncan, 
 elected November 3, 1874; C. D. Spiers, elected 
 November 7, 1876; J. C. Smyle, elected November 
 5, 1878; L. Duncan, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY RECORDERS. 
 
 James L. Thompson, appointed December 22, 
 1862; E. S. Davis, elected September 2, 1863, re- 
 elected November 8, 1864; Richard Brown, elected 
 November 6, 1866; C. D. Spier, elected November 
 3, 1868; H. J. Biddleman, November 8, 1870, re- 
 elected November 5. 1872; J. F. Roberts, elected 
 November 3, 1874; Charles Lund, elected November 
 7, 1876; A. C. McCafferty, elected November 5, 1878, 
 re-elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS OP SCHOOLS. 
 
 W. J. Brown, elected September 2, 1863, resigned 
 March 8, 1864, H. S. Herrick, appointed to fill vacan- 
 cy; H. S. Herrick, elected November 8, 1864; T. 
 Norwood, elected November 6, 1866, resigned and J. 
 S. Slauson appointed April 2, 1867, to fill vacancy; 
 T. 11. Harmon, elected November 3, 1868; M. Dozier, 
 elected November 8, 1870; J. R. Williamson, elected 
 November 5, 1872, re-elected November 3, 1874, re- 
 elected November 7, 1876; C. A. Dyer, elected Nov- 
 ember 5, 1878; J. S. Hammond, elected November 2. 
 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SURVEYORS. 
 
 Francis Tagliabuo, appointed December 22, 1862; 
 M. J. Noyes, elected Se|)tember 2, 1863, re-elected 
 November 8, 1864; T. J. Read, elected November 6, 
 1866; David Kerr, elected November 3, 1868; T. J. 
 Read, elected November 8, 1870; Wm. A. Edwards, 
 elected November 5, 1872; C Von Netzer, elected 
 November 3, 1874; Melville Curtis, elected Novem- 
 ber 7, 1876; J. C. Smyle, elected November 5, 1878; 
 Frank Duffy, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 PUBLIC AD.MINISTRATORS. 
 
 H. A. Barrows, elected November 8, 1864; W. W. 
 Wixom, elected November 6, 1866; B. B. Stansbury, 
 elected November 3, 1868; John Grove, elected No- 
 vember 8, 1870; W. B. Wilson, elected November 5, 
 1872, resigned March 28, 1873, and Richard Pierce 
 
 appointed to fill vacancy; J. Dreyfus, elected Novem- 
 ber 3, 1874; R. Y. Woodward, elected November 7, 
 1876; P. Laughlin, elected November 5, 1878, re- 
 elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COLLECTORS. 
 
 Samuel Gilson, appointed December 22, 1862. In 
 accordance with the provisions of an additional Act 
 approved December 19, 1862, the office of Sheriff and 
 Collector of Lander County were consolidated. 
 
 THE LEADING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 In view of frosts, lack of rain, and the apparent 
 sterility of the soil, the first settlers of Lander 
 County entertained little hope of ever being success- 
 ful in agricultural pursuits. In this they were not 
 much mistaken, although experiments and intelligent 
 operations have resulted in the production of suffi- 
 cient grain and vegetables to meet the local demand, 
 and at prices profitable to the producer and reason- 
 able to the consumer. Stock-raising has also become 
 an important industry. Still the leading industry of 
 the county is and always has been that of mining. 
 
 The first bullion product was from Buell's five- 
 stamp mill, which was put in opei'ation in August, 
 1863, and was the first mill started in the county. 
 From this time forward the construction of mills 
 kept pace with the discovery of mines. In the 
 beginning of 1865 there were fifteen mills in opera- 
 tion in the county, with a total number of 110 
 stamps, and in the spring of 1866 there were twenty- 
 nine mills, with an aggregate of 444 stamps. The 
 cost of a twenty-stamp steam mill at the place of 
 manufacture in San Francisco was, at that time, 
 from S17,000 to 825,000. The cost of transportation 
 to the Reese River District was from 64,000 to 87,000, 
 and ground, grading, furnaces, buildings, etc. usually 
 made the cost aggregate from §125,000 to §250,000 
 for a first-class mill. There were at that time 
 nearly sixty mining districts in the Reese River 
 region. 
 
 The yield of the mines increased steadily from 
 1863, when the product was 816,109, to 1868, when 
 it was 82,574,810; and the total product to 1880 was 
 816,659,209. The revenue derived from the tax on 
 bullion aided the county greatly in the reduction of 
 its bonded and floating indebtedness, and in placing 
 it8oll'ui)on an easier financial footing. 
 
 BONDS, PROPERTY AND POPULATION. 
 
 B}' an Act of the Legislature, approved January 
 23, 1877, the county was authorized to issue its 
 bonds to the amount of 8200. (K)O in aid of the Nevada 
 Central Railroad, which was soon afterward com- 
 pleted, giving the county of Lander (juicker commu- 
 nication with the outside world. The total popula- 
 tion, as appears from the census of 1880, is 3,624. 
 The assessed valuation of property for that year 
 was 82,007,319; total debt, 82(10,000, and cash on 
 hand in the treasury of the county, 817,348.03. 
 
HISTORY OF LANDER COUNTY. 
 
 465 
 
 PRINCIPAL TOWNS. 
 
 Austin leads in age as it does alphabetically the 
 towns of Lander, while Amador, once its rival, has 
 passed to the list of " deserted towns and cities." 
 The growth of Austin and its history will constitute 
 the major part of the history of the county. Should 
 one look for it on the map, it will bo found in lati- 
 tude 30° 29' :W'. and in longitude 40° 4' west from 
 Washington, or almost exactly in the center of the 
 State. Senator M. J. Farrell, in a lecture before the 
 Reese River Pioneers, gave such a sketch of its 
 history that it is reproduced in the following: — 
 
 When 1 arrived in Austin in Ajiril, ISfj.'}, there 
 was but one house, unfinished, and a few brush 
 tents. Clifton was at that time a verj- livelj- mining 
 camp, containing probably twenty or twenty-five 
 houses, and was rajiidly filling up with pilgrims from 
 California, but the grand rush had not commenced. 
 1 made a trip to California, in vSeptember of that 
 year, and the emigration was then at its zenith. I 
 did not take the trouble to count, but others did, 
 and one who traveled over the road on horseback, 
 and was ])art of two daj-s off the main track, re])orteii 
 274 freight teams (carrying freight at fifteen to 
 twenty cents per pound), nineteen passenger wagons, 
 three pack trains, sixty-nine horsemen, and thirty- 
 one footnu-n between Austin and Virginia. Another 
 recorded 4(M) teams of all descriptions, counted in a 
 stage ride between the same places, and it would be 
 safe to say that there were one-third as many on the 
 way from Salt Lake Citj' and the East. At the 
 same time two lines of stages from Virginia were 
 booked for six or seven days ahead ; and parties in 
 Virginia who never intended to come to Austin 
 made a good speculation b}' booking and selling 
 their chances, at a good advance, to persons who 
 were afraid the claims would all be located before 
 they could get to the scene. Li fact, the road was 
 literallj' crowded with people in wagons, stages, car- 
 riages and carts, on horseback, on donko3's. with 
 saddles and without satldles, with hand-carts, wheel- 
 barrows, on foot, and in every other conceivable 
 mode of traveling, all rushing wildly to Reese River, 
 the land of promise, the poor man's paradise, the 
 Mecca of fortune's devotees. Thej- seemed to have 
 but one idea, with which they were perfectly satu- 
 rated, and that was to get to Austin </uic/c. It was 
 impossible not to get excited when brought in con- 
 tact with this eager crowd of people; and those 
 who smiled at the recital when at a distance, in Cal- 
 ifornia or at the East, were the wildest of the wild 
 when they reached hero. Houses were built, tents 
 erected, and bru.sh shanties thrown togclluT, and in 
 an incredibly short space of time a town had sprung 
 up as if by the touch of an enchanter's wand. 
 Water was scarce, and an enterprising firm that 
 retailed it in carts, cleared from 81.0011 to 61.200 per 
 week. The dust became unbearable, by reason of 
 the immense amount of teaming and travel, and an 
 Austin bath was described as composed of two inches 
 of cold water in a big tub, a piece of brown 
 soap, a napkin, and a dollar and a half The 
 whole surrounding section was laid otf into lots. 
 streets, blocks, mining claims and water rights. 
 Even wet ground was made the subject 
 of proprietary interest. City lots sold all the 
 way from 8100 to 88,000 apiece. During the 
 summer of 1863, building operations were carried 
 on with the greatest energy, and in addition to innu- 
 
 merable tents and shanties, 3CG houses were built. 
 Fortune-hunters from California brought their houses 
 with them, having them all ready to put up on 
 arrival at Austin. New mining excitements occur- 
 red constantly, new districts were discovered and 
 organized, new towns were laid ofi", and thousands 
 who had hurried to Austin hurried ofi' as eagerly 
 elsewhere, and j'ot the Jtocsc River metropolis con- 
 tained 10,000 |)oo])le. Money was abundant, chiefly 
 in twentj'-doUar gold pieces, which nobody could 
 change, and provisions were correspondingl}- high. 
 Flour, at one time, sold at fift}- dollars per hundred 
 weight. Every industrial avocation and every pro- 
 fession had representatives, and saloons and gambling 
 dens were ample for all emergencies. Stages departed 
 regularl}' to Watertown, Canyon City, ]?ig Ci-eek, 
 Washington, Lme, Yandleville, Yankee Blade, ]5utte 
 City, tieneva. Coral City, .Tacobsville, Lander City, 
 Pizarro, Clinton, Centervillc, Augusta, Bolivia, 
 Unionville, Star Citj^ and a multitude of places no 
 longer heard of. From California and Utah ])ack- 
 trains were constantly ari-iving, and even an air of 
 oriental magnificence was imparted to the scene by 
 the advent of a long train of camels, loaded to an 
 astonishing extent. A duel occurred, a Young Men's 
 Christian Association was formed, killings were com- 
 mon, six ore mills were put U]), from ten to twenty 
 mining organizations were incorporated daily, an 
 enormous postal and express business was ti'ansacted 
 and more than fifteen hundred ofilices were oi)ened in 
 San Francisco for the sale of the hundreds of millions 
 of dollars' worth of stock of the thousands of Reese 
 River mining companies." 
 
 Some additional accounts of early events have 
 been furnished by John Frost, of the Manhattan 
 Company. He says that Felix O'Neil, J. Q. C. Van- 
 dcnbosch, George Buffet, and himself, arrived in 
 Austin on the eighteenth day of December, 18G2, 
 and found a Mr. Marshall and William Colo living in 
 a cabin at Clifton, and running what was known as 
 the Highland ,Mary Tunnel, opposite the present site 
 of the International Hotel, on the south side of the 
 canon, at a ]>oint which is now near the middle of 
 the town of Austin. There was no one else there 
 at the time, and as they wore the first to build a 
 cabin, they could properl}- be called tho first set- 
 tlers, although the first discovery of tho mines was 
 made by the pony rider. 
 
 Mr. Frost and his partners located claims known 
 as tho North Star, Oregon and Southern Light, 
 and then returned to tho Truckoo River to spend 
 the winter. 
 
 They returned in .March, 1803, and built the first 
 cabin in Austin, which was of logs. The claims 
 they located formed the nucleus of the present Man- 
 hattan Company. The company was first known 
 as O'Noil, Frost A: Co.; then as the Oregon Com- 
 pany, under which name a ten-stamp mill was built 
 and operated for two years. In June, 18G5, the 
 property was sold to a New York Company, and 
 tho name changed to Manhattan. The Frost iV 
 O'Neil survey was the first town location made, 
 and its object was to secure the water and mill site. 
 After that, Marshall, previously- referred to, located 
 a town site; and after him, D. E. Buoll, W. C. Uar- 
 
466 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 rington. E. Welton, and I. C. Bateman made a loca- 
 tion. The citizens, together with the town-site 
 proprietors, built the grade which made Austin 
 possible, as no teams could previously get up from 
 the valley. This was in the spring and summer of 
 1863. Meantime, the town of Clifton, situated on 
 the flat at the mouth of the canon, had grown to 
 respectable dimensions, but after the grade was 
 built its inhabitants commenced moving up to Aus- 
 tin, which became the central town. The cost of 
 the grade was 83,00(1, By the sixth of April, 1863, 
 the town company had also completed the Inter- 
 national Hotel, at Austin, a building, 37x90 feet in 
 size; had donated St^OO for the establishment of the 
 Receille newspaper; and one of its members, Buell. 
 had started to San Francisco to secure the erection 
 of an ore mill. 
 
 On A])ril Cth a post-office was in operation at Clif- 
 ton, with John \V. Clark as Postmaster. G. L. 
 Turner also started a pony express for the carrying 
 of letters to the various" mines, and to an office of 
 Wells, Fargo iV Co., that was in charge of S, W. 
 Langhorne. The Reveille of May 16th mentions that 
 Clifton has hotels and stores of every description; 
 that Austin promises to be a fine town; that flour 
 is selling at seven dollars per hundred, whereas it 
 commanded twontj'-two dollars in January; that the 
 overland .stages pass regularly; that an extra line 
 departs for Virginia Citj'; and that Austin is within 
 four da3-s' travel of San Francisco, and three days 
 travel of Salt Lake City. The same day it records 
 the return of J. K. Jacobs from Carson City, bring- 
 ing with him his daughter Nellie and Mrs. J. Stead- 
 man, who were just over from San Francisco. To 
 meet these parties, " Wash. " Jacobs and General 
 Ford drove in a buggy to Mount Airey. Captain 
 To-to-a, high chief of the Shoshones, also met^them at 
 New Pass Station, accompanied by a band of his 
 chosen braves. His attachment to Mr. J. R. Jacobs 
 was remarkable, whose life he several times saved by 
 giving timely warning of impending peril, and by 
 putting out of the way jealous or vicious members of 
 the tribe. On one occasion To-to-a killed an Indian 
 who designed to assassinate Mr. Jacobs for thejreason 
 that the latter had given the Indian some medicine 
 which failed to eftect a cure. On May 17th, twenty 
 families arrived from the States, and six families 
 from California. On .May 2lid it is recorded that ''Iht* 
 International Hotel is under the control of the firm 
 of Bateman, Paul & Buell. George. W. Terrill has 
 supervision of the restaurant in connection with the 
 same, and presides with dignity." In June following, 
 this hotel, which was but a lodging-house and saloon, 
 was leased to Charles Stebbins. 
 
 In addition to these W. K. Logan, at present 
 Justice of the Peace, kept a tobacco and s tationery 
 store. Jeff. Work, afterwards in the United States 
 Land Office, ke])t the Hank Exchange Saloon, and 
 Daniel E. Waldron, now of San Francisco, was attor- 
 noy-ut-law. Austin then contained about 450 citi- 
 
 zens, and its business enterprise was represented by 
 two hotels or lodging-houses, two stores, five saloons, 
 one billiard room, two meat markets, one bakery, 
 two stationery stores, three blacksmith shops, one 
 wagon shop, one variety store, tbree laundries, one 
 lodging-house and a new one in course of construc- 
 tion, one livery stable, one barber shop, one tailor 
 shop, telegraph office. Wells, Fargo & Co.'s Express 
 Office — John Leach. Agent — Turner's Express Office, 
 two adobe yards, one dairy, one printing office, two 
 lawyers, four Notaries Public, one sign painter, four 
 carpenters, four stone masons, one boot and shoe 
 store, one phj'sician. 
 
 In July of this year Miss Jennie B. Bauch started 
 a school in a brush tent. The Receille of Julj' 20th 
 records the death of Annie McDonald, and alludes to 
 it as '' the first from natural causes." The first child, 
 a daughter, was born to Mrs. W, M. Middlcton, of 
 Upper Austin, in the latter part of June; and, on 
 July 4th, the first marriage took place — C. Bryant to 
 Mrs. J. E. Leet. 
 
 A0STIN THE COUNTY SEAT. 
 
 By a vote of the people at the election held Sep- 
 tember 2, 1863, Austin was declared the county seat 
 of Lander County. It was here that prospectors, 
 miners and men of means were congregating. It 
 was thought to be the center of a series of min- 
 eral-bearing veins, which would be found to extend 
 through the earth for miles around. These things, 
 together with the fact that it occupied about the 
 geographical center of the State, from which parties 
 in search of mines would take their departure, and 
 to which they would return, raised great hopes con- 
 cerning the future of Austin. The population 
 increased rapidly, and the highest prices were paid 
 for mechanics of all kinds. Food was scarce, and 
 8400 per thousand was paid for lumber. The cost of 
 working ore was 8100 per ton, and, in January-, 1804, 
 the mills reported a total production of ore to date of 
 8100,000. 
 
 On the second of January, 1864, a fire company 
 was organized, which was called the Hook and 
 Ladder Company of Austin, with ten charter mem- 
 bers. Wm. J. Brown was elected President, and J. 
 Iv. Fisher, Foreman. At a meeting held January 
 11th the name was changed to Pioneer Hook and 
 Ladder Companj-, and under this name the organiza- 
 tion exists at the present lime, with the following 
 officers: George W. Dixon, President; W. Walton, 
 Foreman; II. Y. Woodward, First Assistant; John 
 Gray, Second Assistant; W. A. Clifford, Secretary, 
 and W. P. Dyer, Treasurer. The companj- now con- 
 sists of twenty-six active and four honorary mem- 
 bers. The first outfit was obtained by donations 
 from citizens, but the present one was jnirchased 
 by the company itself. In July, 1880, the funds of 
 the company on hand, derived from dues and fines, 
 was 8706.46. 
 
 Since the organization of the first company two 
 other companies have been organized, the Man- 
 
HISTORY OF LANDER COUNTY. 
 
 4G7 
 
 hattan Hose and Eagle Hose. The regular officers of 
 the Fire Department of the city at the present time 
 are, Melville Curtis, Chief Engineer; A. NichoUs, 
 First Assistant; A. Sower, Second Assistant. The 
 Board of Delesjates are C. P. Soule. Wm. Schwin, Geo. 
 Alsop, J. B. Eddy, R. Y. Woodward, Joseph Mc- 
 Ginness and Patrick Lynch — the first three named 
 being respectively President, Treasurer and Secre- 
 tary. 
 
 INCORPORTED AS A CITY. 
 
 In January, 18()4, ii petition was largel}' signed by 
 the citizens of Austin, asking the liCgislature to in- 
 corporate Clifton, Austin and Upper Austin into one 
 body politic, to be known as the "City of Austin." 
 On the seventeenth of February, 18G4, the Gov- 
 ernor signed the bill which was passed in accord- 
 ance with such petition, and the City of Austin was 
 launched with high hopes and brilliant prospects. 
 The fii'st city election, which was held April 19, 
 1864, and at which there were 1428 votes cast, re- 
 sulted in the choice of the following officers: Mayor, 
 Charles Ilolbrook; Clerk, L. M. McKenney; Record- 
 er, W. P. Harrington; Marshal, Louis M. Bodrow; 
 Assessor, N. McLean; Aldermen, Wm. W. Hobart, 
 Andrew Nichols, Thomas A. Waterman, Thomas W. 
 Triplett, Dudley Sale, G. F. Dinsmore and S. O. Clif- 
 ford. 
 
 On the day following this election, occurred the 
 celebrated incident of the sale of Gridlej-'s sack of 
 flour, the particulars of which will be found on 
 pages 268, 269 and 270 of this work. By the terms of 
 the Act of incorporation, the City Recorder was ex 
 officio a Justice of the Peace; the City Marshal was 
 also City Collector; and the Citj' Clerk was Treasurer 
 and Clerk of the Board of Aldermen. The City At- 
 torney was elected by the Common Council, the choice 
 falling on W. H. Beatty. Of the above-named offi- 
 cers, Bodrow was killed at Belmont, Dinsmoro and 
 Clifford died, and the remainder reside as follows: 
 McKenney, in California; Harrington, in San Fran- 
 cisco; Harmon and llobart, in Eureka County; 
 Nichols, in Austin; Sale and Waterman, in Elko 
 County; Triplett, in White Pine, and Beatty, late 
 Supreme Judge, is now a resident of Sacramento. 
 
 WATER CO.MPANY AND STOCK BOARD. 
 
 William C. Harrington, J. C. Bateman, John 
 Frost, Felix O'Neil, J. Q. C. Vandenbosh, and 
 others organized a water company; and on the 
 sixteenth of February, 1864, the Legislature gave 
 them a charter, granting exclusive privileges in 
 supplying the town of Austin with water, the same 
 to extend over a period of fifteen years. By an 
 amendatory Act, passed February 17, 1877, this 
 charter was made to cover an additional period of 
 four years. 
 
 On the fourteenth of March, 1864, the "Pioneer 
 Stock and Exchange Board" was organized for the 
 purpose of dealing in mining stocks, but there was 
 never very much business done, and the seats 
 never commanded fabulous prices. 
 
 REACTION AND V.\RYINfJ FORTUNES. 
 
 Alter such a period of wild excitement and fever- 
 ish ])r()sperity as accompanied the discoveiy of ore 
 in Lander C'ounty, it was but natural that a reac- 
 tion should follow. It came in the winter of 1864- 
 65, and manj- who had been enormously rich in 
 expectation 'were compelled to ])rospcct again, or 
 seek emplo3'ment outside of the city. However, in 
 the spring, speculators swarmed in from the East, 
 claims were purchased, and a rage for building 
 (juartz mills ensued; and although the iieo])lo some- 
 times overdid the business, and by the emploj-mont 
 of incompetent superintendents, made partial failures 
 in this line, }'et Austin was destined to grow and 
 become an important town. Wild speculation 
 ceased, prudent ventures succeeded, and business 
 flowed on smoother and in more enduring chan- 
 nels. 
 
 A fair estimate of the business transacted there 
 may be formed from the simple statement of the 
 passengers, produce, and. building materials that 
 were taken over the roads leading into the city 
 during 1865. The Overland .Mail Company carried 
 between Virginia City and Austin 5,840 passengers, 
 charging forty dollars each. The first part of the 
 year the Reese River Fast Freight Company ran a 
 tri-weekly line of stages, and carried several hun- 
 dred passengers. Other occasional passenger wagons 
 probably brought the number up to 6,000 for the 
 j'car; 7,620 tons of freight, consisting of merchan- 
 dise, machinery', and lumber were transported from 
 San Francisco to Austin at a total cost, for freight 
 alone, of $1,381,800. Lumber was brought from the 
 Sierra at a cost of six cents per pound for freight. 
 Besides the above, there were about 525 tons of 
 freight hauled through this city to Salt Lake, 
 Egan Cafion. and other points east, making a total 
 of over 8,000 tons arriving at Austin. The principal 
 portion went through the care of the merchants of 
 Austin, being i-eshi]iped at this ])oint. The rates of 
 freight between Salt Lake and Austin ranged from 
 six to nine cents per paund in coin; and from San 
 Francisco to Austin from eight to twelve cents dur- 
 ing ordinary weather; but in severe winters and 
 springs they sometimes reached eighteen cents per 
 pound. The charges on freights received at Austin 
 during 1865 averaged over 84,000 daily. 
 
 The lumber at that time used at Austin and vicin- 
 ity consisted of two varieties. The first-class article 
 was brought from the Sierra Nevada. The second- 
 class was manufactured from native pifion, and was 
 known as Reese River lumber. The receipts for 
 1865 were as follows: — 
 
 Sierra Nevada lumber 1,170.000 feet 
 
 Reese River lumber 1,200,000 " 
 
 Total 2,370,000 feet. 
 
 This lumber cost, Sierra Nevada, 8250 per thou- 
 sand; Reese River lumber, S125 to 8150 per thousand. 
 During that year, 1,600,000 shingles and shakca 
 
468 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 were received from the Sierra. The shingles cost 
 820 per thousand, and the shakes from $80 to $100 
 jHT thousand. The number of brick manufactured 
 during the season was 2,500,000; price, 812 to $18 
 per thousand. A great quantity of brick was used 
 during the year for the construction of mills, roast- 
 ing furnaces, smoke stacks, stores, and dwellings; 
 250 tons of lime were also used at a cost of $45 per 
 ton. Estimates and prices are always in coin, then 
 at a groat premium over the National, or Greenback, 
 currency. 
 
 During 1865 the amount of treasure that passed 
 through the office of Wells, Fargo & Co., at Austin, 
 aggregated $0,000,000. A line of telegraph connec- 
 ted with every section of the Union, and a mail 
 arrived daily both from the east and from the west, 
 via the Overland Route. About 40(i letters were 
 received daily, and about the same number were dis- 
 patched. Letters, papers, and packages, were car- 
 ried by express wherever stages went. Three bank- 
 ing houses were in operatipn (one of them a National 
 bank) purchasing bullion, furnishing exchange, re- 
 ceiving deposits, loaning money, etc. The learned 
 professions were represented by twelve physicians, 
 five clergymen, and thirty-three lawyers. There 
 were several private schools in addition to the public 
 school, conducted by competent teachers, in which 
 the English and foreign languages were taught, as 
 well as vocal and instrumental music, drawing, danc- 
 ing, and calisthenics. 
 
 DESTRUCTIVE R.\IN-STOR.>rs. 
 
 Although business had settled into more conserva- 
 tive and legitimate channels, the White Pine excite- 
 ment of 1868 attracted from Austin and vicinity 
 large numbers of adventurous and enterprising men. 
 Home who were doing moderately well where thej' 
 were, were willing to change with even a remote 
 prospect of doing better. In August of that j'ear, 
 also, great damage was done to the town by a de- 
 structive rain-storm. It occurred on the fifteenth 
 day of the month. At half-past 2 o'clock in the 
 afternoon a storm of rain ancj hail, accompanied- by 
 sharp lightning, swept over the city, and at four 
 o'clock torrents of water poured down the canon and 
 through Cedar Street, destroying $80,000 worth of 
 propcrtj\ 
 
 The Reveille office, a one-story brick structure that 
 stood above the Court House, was swept away and one 
 life was lost, A man named Spernam was carried 
 awaj' in his saloon and drowned. 
 
 Six years afterwards a storm still more destructive 
 to property visited the city. In August, 1874, a cloud 
 burst occurred among the hills east of the town, 
 and an immense volume of water poured down into 
 Pony Canon, and rushed through the streets of 
 Austin, dashing trees, boulders and drift of every 
 description against the buildings, and creating great 
 devastation. The inhabitants took the alarm in 
 time, and fled to the hills. No lives were lost; but 
 ■sidewalks, porches, roads, awnings and fences were 
 
 demolished; goods and merchandise were swept 
 away, and three feet of mud and debris filled the 
 streets and houses when the waters had spent their 
 force. The damage was estimated at 8100,000, and 
 the scene presented was deplorable. Resolute and 
 undismaj-ed, the people set to work to repair their 
 loss, and within a few months no signs remained of 
 the catastrophe, 
 
 CHANUES AND PRESENT APPE.\RANCE, 
 
 During the latter part of 1879 and the first part 
 of 1880 the Nevada Central Railroad was built 
 between Battle Mountain, on the Central Pacific 
 Railroad, and Clifton, giving Austin railroad com- 
 munication with San Francisco, 
 
 In the earlj' part of 1881, Allen A, Curtis, one of 
 the principal mine owners of Austin, constructed the 
 Austin City Railroad to Clifton, to connect with 
 the Nevada Central, It is a narrow-gauge road, 
 and runs through the main street of the town. 
 
 There have been several changes in the organic 
 Act which created the city of Austin, from time to 
 time, and final!}-, the city was disincorporated by 
 Act of the Legislature, and Austin is now a quiet, 
 peaceful, and pleasant country town. 
 
 The present population, according to the census 
 report of 1880, consists of 1,092 persons; in addi- 
 tion to which there are 320 Indian-i and 120 China- 
 men, 
 
 Austin is situated in a canon, running west into 
 Reese River Valley, on the western slope of the 
 Toij-abe Mountains, and at an elevation of about 
 7,000 feet. 
 
 Surrounding it on all sides are mountains and 
 sage-brush vallej's. Its streets are shaded, to some 
 extent, principally with locust. Battle Mountain 
 is ninety miles to the northward; Eureka, seventy- 
 four miles to the eastward; Belmont, eighty-four 
 miles to the southeastward; and Grantsvillc, seventy 
 miles west of south. Fuel, chiefly nut pine, is 
 brought by rail from the mountains to the north- 
 ward. In the vicinity of the town are three cem- 
 eteries, which have been decorated and beautified 
 to some extent. One hotel, seven or eight stores, two 
 restaurants, fourteen saloons, three livery stables, 
 three blacksmith shops, two assay offices, a printing 
 office, a telegraph office, an express office, a foundry, 
 and some railroad machine shops, comprise the lead- 
 ing industrial and business establishments. The 
 buildings are constructed of wood, stone, brick, and 
 adobe. The Catholic, E])iscopal, and Methodist 
 denominations are well organized, and have each a 
 clerg3'man, and a fine brick edifice of worship, and 
 have well-attended Sunday-schools. These churches 
 are among the finest in the State, 
 
 Public educational facilities consist of one school 
 held in a largo brick structure, capable of seating 
 400 i)upils. Four teachers are employed, and the 
 number of pupils in attendance is about 350, The 
 County Hospital occupies a large brick building, and 
 is under the management of the County Commis 
 
 J 
 
JyXWvVW^J^ 
 
 Allen A. Curtis, the subject of this ukutch, 
 Is a native of New Jersey, born November 1, 1838, 
 in Passaic County, near the town of Belleville, on 
 the Passaic lliver. His father was an extensive 
 paper manufacturer, and his grandfather on his 
 mother's side, Robert Morris, of New Jerscj-, was 
 one of the signers of the Declaration of Independ- 
 ence. Mr. Curtis came to California in 1850, by 
 water, and at once entered the employ of Van Winkle 
 & Duncan, iron merchants, at Sacramento, at thirty 
 dollars per month and board. He remained in the 
 employ of this firm until 1865. During that time he 
 visited Austin, Nevada, in the interest of his emploj-- 
 ers, and being well pleased with the prospects in 
 that section of the country, concluded to locate 
 there, which he did in April, 1865, and filled the 
 position of book-keeper for the Oregon Milling and 
 Mining Companj-, until, in August of that year, the 
 company sold its interest to the Manhattan Com- 
 pany, at which time Mr. Curtis entered the employ 
 of that company, and, with the exception of two 
 months, filled the same position he had held in the 
 Oregon Company, until P'ebruaiy, 1867, when be 
 was appointed Superintendent, in which capacity he 
 served three years, at which time he resigned, and 
 his brother was appointed in his stead. 
 
 From the time of his arrival in the countr3% he 
 has been a stockholder in that company to a limited 
 extent, and, to demonstrate his faith in the value of 
 the property, assumed all he was able of the indebt- 
 edness of the Manhattan Company, in 1800, that 
 eventually jiroved the sagacity of his judgment, 
 and resulted greatly to his pecuniary advantage. 
 
 .T 
 
 At the time he became Superintendent, the indebt- 
 edness of the company was S180,0U(J, and within 
 one year that obligation was paid, and eventually 
 Mr. Curtis, with his associates, became the pur- 
 chasers of the entire property. He built a narrow- 
 gauge railroad from the mill, a distance of two miles, 
 which connects with the Nevada Central Kailroad, 
 in the outskirts of Austin. 
 
 He is one of the firm of Paxton & Curtis, of the 
 Bank of Austin, and also connected with the Paxton 
 c*c Co. Bank of Eureka. He has twice held the office 
 of County Treasurer, and is interested in the whole- 
 sale grocery house of Gage, Curtis & Co., at Austin, 
 Lander County, Nevada. In connection with oth- 
 ei-8, he erected a fifteen-stamp mill at Mineral Hill, 
 that was under his supervision while being Super- 
 intendent of the Manhattan Mill, and was situated 
 eighty-five miles northeast therefrom. AVith a relay 
 of three horses he often made the trip between these 
 two points in eight and one-half hours. The Smoky 
 Vallc}- Salt Works, in Nye County, are also his 
 l)roperty. In lieno, Washoe County, there is also a 
 banking house controlled by Paxton, Curtis & Co., 
 and, in thepalmj- days of Belmont, they also had an 
 establishment of the kind there. Mr. Curtis was 
 married November 1, 1877, to Mary C. (Curtis— who, 
 though bearing the same name, was no relative, until 
 after the date mentioned above — in Austin, and is a 
 native of Sacramento, California. Their union has 
 been blessed with one child, now living, about two 
 years of age, named Allen Ralston. Mr. Curtis has 
 been closely identified with many enterprises, and is 
 one of the solid men of the State. 
 
HISTORY OF LANDER COUNTY. 
 
 4U9 
 
 sioners. The Court House, furniture, and the five 
 lota surrounding the structure cost 830,000. The 
 sidewalks of Austin are plank. In the vicinity of 
 the town enough haj-, barlcj', and vegetables are 
 raised to supply the local demand. The Masons, 
 Odd Fellows, Kebekahs. Knights of Pythias, lied 
 Men, Good Templars, Ueese liiver Pioneers, and 
 Ancient Order of Hibernians, all have lodges and 
 societies. (See i)artieulars elsewhere concerning the 
 secret societies and benevolent associations of the 
 State.) 
 
 The onlj- mill now in operation at Austin is that 
 of the Manhattan Compan}-. which is a very com- 
 plete establishment. It was built in 1863 as the 
 Oregon Mill, and rebuilt in 18(!5 by a New York 
 company, and transferred to the present company 
 in 1875. Originally it consisted of ten stamp.s, and 
 had a capacity of ten tons, but now contains twenty 
 stamps, and has a capacity of twenty-two tons. 
 Attached to it is a melting room and machine shop. 
 The roasting is done in a Stetefcldt furnace, only 
 salt being used in the process. The ore works to 
 within ninety-three and one-half per cent, of its assay 
 value, and has done so for the past two years. 
 The engine is of 120 horse-power. Formerly from 
 fourteen to eighteen cords of wood per day were 
 required to run the mill, but since boilers, with 
 upright tubes, have been put in, the same work 
 is accomplished with six cords. The cost of wood, 
 delivered at the mill, is twelve dollars per cord. 
 The charge for working custom ore is thirty-five 
 dollars per ton, and was formerly forty-five 
 dollars. Previous to 1S67 no record of the amount 
 of bullion worked at the mill was kept. Since 
 then the total amount has been to the value of 
 313,287, 874. G7. In and around the mill about forty 
 men are emploj-ed. who receive four dollars each 
 per day. The present Manhattan Silver Mining 
 Companj- is a San Francisco corporation, with the 
 following officers: President, John A. Paxton; Vice- 
 President, C. P. llubbell; Secretary, John Crockett; 
 Superintendent, Melville Curtis. 
 
 ANDREW NICHOLLS 
 
 Is a native of New Y'ork; born in the town of (Jen- 
 eseo, fjivingston (bounty, September 6, 1832. His 
 parents wore from Scotland. In the year 183(; they 
 moved from the native town of the subject hereof to 
 Coburg, Canada. His education was consequently 
 obtained on Canadian soil, and at the age of seven- 
 teen j'ears he was apprenticed to a drj' goods firm, 
 and after a time was a clerk in the same establish- 
 ment. In 1855 he went into business for himself in 
 western Canada, achieving success; btit in the year 
 1858 was taken with the milling fever, and started 
 for California. On his arrival ho found the Frazer 
 River excitement somewhat subsided, and turned 
 his attention in other directions, spending four 
 years in the mines in Butte County. In January, 
 18G2, be crossed the mountains to the Territory of 
 59 
 
 I 
 
 Nevada, and located in Carson City; and about 
 one year later came to Austin, Lander County, 
 where he engaged in the hardware business, which 
 he still continues. In 18(59 he started a lumber- 
 yard, and is now in full possession of that branch 
 of industry in that town. During his residence in 
 Austin he has made many investments in mines, 
 which have not proved as remunerative as he could 
 wish. In 181)6 Mr. NichoUs received the appoint- 
 ment as Assistant Assessor of United States Internal 
 Revenue, and held the position until 1871, at which 
 time he resigned. In the years 1875 and 1877 ho 
 was a member of the Nevada Legislature, and was 
 one of the parties to procure the passage of the bill 
 that resulted in giving Lander Count3- a railroad, of 
 which he is a director and stockholder. In politics 
 he is a Republican. His rise in the world to his 
 present high ])osilion among his fellow-men, and the 
 accumulation of his estates, is wholly duo to his own 
 energy and perseverance, having received no pecuni- 
 ary assistance from any one. He was married 
 March 9, lS(i3, to Miss E. H. Wells, of San Fran- 
 cisco, California. 
 
 HON. M. ,1. FARREI.I, 
 
 Was born at Mount Hoi)e, near Rockaway, Morris 
 County, Now Jersey, March 29, 1832. He is of Irish 
 jiarcnlago, his parents coming from the •'Emerald 
 Islo" when they wore very young, his father at the age 
 of eighteen and his mother when only six years of ago. 
 .Mr. Farrell was educated in bis native State and 
 sailed from Now York for California on the old 
 steamer Georgia, April 5, 1853. Tho steamer was 
 wrecked on her next trip. On the fifth of May, 1853, 
 
470 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Mr. Farrell arrived in San Kraneinco, and immedi- 
 ately went to tiic mincH in Nevada City, where lie 
 found a friend with whom ho engaged in mining in 
 Myor's Ravine, about four miles north of Nevada 
 Citj'. His next anchorage was at Jones" Bar, on the 
 South Yuba Kiver, where lie bought a Hume claim. 
 After that he wandered through Northern Caliibr- 
 fornia, jjrincipally in Nevada, Sierra and Plumas 
 Counties, as a miner, school-teacher, hotel-keejier. 
 butcher, and in fact, as ho saj-s, "turning his hand to 
 almost anything," until in 1863, ho came to Nevada 
 during the Reese River excitement, and located at 
 what is now Austin, in Lander County, arriving there 
 about tho fifteenth of April. The summers of 1863 
 and 18()4 he spent in prospecting, and the winters in 
 the town. In tho summer of ISli.") he took charge of 
 a lumber-yard, as agent for Ilendrick & Bowstead. 
 During the same season he furnished tools and pro- 
 visions for his brother and another man to prospect, 
 and they discovered and located what is now Ruby 
 Hill, in Eureka County. These locations — about 
 eight of them — covered nearly all of the hill. Tluy 
 also located claims in Secret Cafion, which have 
 since proved valuable. For three years Mr. Farrell 
 and his associates kept up the assessment work on 
 these claims, but there being no demand for base 
 metal claims at that time, they were bonded to Gov. 
 J. II. Kinkcad, for sale in Europe, which proved 
 a failure, and .Mr. Farrell turned his attention to 
 
 other matters and let them go. The claims referred 
 to covered the ground r\ow known as the Kureka 
 Consolidated and Richmond Mines, and would have 
 proven a " bonanza " to their owners had thej- con- 
 tinued to hold them. In August, IcSGT, Mr. Farrell 
 entered tho office of the Manhattan Mining Company 
 as Secretary, and has since remained in the employ 
 of that company. In 1872, he was elected to tho 
 office of County Clerk of Lander County by a largo 
 majority. In 1878 he was elected to the Senate of 
 the Nevada Legislature and re-elected in 1880. Ho 
 was married A])nl 20, 1871, to Miss L. C. Peterson, of 
 Au.stin, Nevada. Thcj' have no children. 
 
 "THE M.\N WITH THE A.\." 
 
 William Cornell, lately arrived at Austin from 
 Winncbiigo County, Illinois, laliorod undei-the insane 
 belief that everybody about liim was awaiting an 
 opportunity to take his life. At about 9 o'clock on 
 the evening of Julj- 18, 18G3, he went to his tent on 
 Main Street, and recjuestcd one of his partners to 
 get him a glass of whisky, making the excuse that 
 he had been working hard all daj' and was not feel- 
 ing well. This was a mere stratagem to get pos- 
 session of a knife and ax. The partner started 
 across to a saloon, soon after which the third partner, 
 William iMolligan, came to the tent and called to 
 Cornell to see if he was there, at the same time 
 looking in through the opening. Cornell immedi- 
 ately struck him with the edge of the ax. Tho 
 blow was a downward one, and inflicted an ugly 
 gash over Melligan's left oj'o. On receiving a sec- 
 ond blow Melligan fell to the grouiul. The maniac 
 then rushed out, and crossing over to Dunham's 
 saloon, began striking right and left with tho ax 
 at numerous persons congregated there, who sue- 
 <eedcd in avoiding his blows and escaping. One 
 shot was tired at him there. J\eturning to the street, 
 he inflicted a severe cut on the left elbow of John 
 Capron, severing most of the su])porting leaders, 
 and then chased a party of men into Stebbins' stone 
 building. Passing on, he struck a Dayton man, 
 known as "Frenchj-," tho edge of the ax cutting 
 from tho left crown to the right side of the neck, 
 and fracturing "Frenchy's" skull, in spite of which 
 the latter walked up town, took a drink, and then 
 rode horseback to Clifton to have his wound 
 dressed. The next victim was B. O. Anderson, 
 from Sweetland, California, who received a terrible 
 cut above the left ear. The maniac then met 
 Charles Ludlow, and inflicted on him a dangerous 
 gash near the left temple; and soon afterwards 
 struck Hillj' .Mills, of Clifton, on tho right side of 
 tho head, laying the skull bare. Next, a barber, 
 named Hammersmith, saved his head by receiving 
 a descending blow on his right hand and arm. 
 Further on, Mr. Powell was slightly cut in the 
 back; and Charles Tureinan only eseajied death by 
 falling sidowise over tho edge of tho road, his 
 breast pocket being cut away bj- a stroke of the 
 
HISTORY OF LANDER COUNTY. 
 
 471 
 
 ax. Nearing Clifton, the maniac fortunately began 
 to use the handle of his ax, and knocked Hevural 
 persons ainiost senseless, but inflicted no serious 
 wounds. Running the entire length of Clifton, he 
 met no one, and started in the direction of Jacobs- 
 villc. An armed party had been following him, and 
 picking up the wounded, but did not succeed in 
 overtaking him, for he had all the time been run- 
 ning with the speed of a race-horse. The next 
 morning bis dead body was found about a mile down 
 the Jacobsville Road. On the back of his head was 
 a gash made by the edge of his ax; his throat was 
 cut from ear to ear, and tive stabs were found over 
 his heart. These wounds were supposed to have 
 been inflicted by himself 
 
 Battle ilnuNTAiN is a station on the Central 
 Pacific Railroad, 535 miles east of San Francisco, via 
 Stockton, or 47-t ciu Benicia, and ninety-three miles 
 north of Austin, being also the northern terminus of 
 the Nevada Central Railroad. A daily lino of stages 
 connects it with Tuscarora, Elko County. The place 
 is supplied with water from mountain springs about 
 three miles distant, and by a number of flowing arte- 
 sian wells. Argenta had taken a very good start, but 
 the discovery of the Battle Mountain galena and 
 copper mines caused its principal business men to 
 remove to Battle Mountain in the winter of 1870. 
 It was thought that Battle Mountain would serve as 
 a point of departure lor Austin, as well as Argenta, 
 and have the additional advantage of being near the 
 new mines. Among the earlj' residents who made 
 this change of base were the following persons: J. 
 A. Blossom, lumber and coal dealer, J. \V. McWill- 
 iams, engaged in merchandising, A.Robertson, agent 
 of Wells, Fargo & Co., L. D. Huntsman, hotel-keeper, 
 A. Layton, freighter. Case & Burnette, stage owners, 
 I). Mclntyre, and Brown & Sadoris, merchants. The 
 railroad depot building was also oceuj)ied by I>. VV. 
 Karl, and Wliilney & Co., forwarding merchants. 
 Frevious to the arrival of these parties, the railroad 
 station bad been in charge of Daniel Kegan, who had 
 been the only resident there for six months, and had 
 furnished accommodations for travelers passing to 
 and from Battle Mountain District. 
 
 The first fire in Battle Mountain occurred in July, 
 1877, most of the block between Reese and Broad 
 Streets being burned. It consisted of frame build- 
 ings, and the loss was about §2(1,000. J5iossom'8 
 brick corner building was saved, and also McWill- 
 iam's stable, the latter being protected by an artesian 
 well. The buildings destroyed were insured for 
 about two-thirds their value. In the fall of 1878, 
 Block A was burned, with the exception of Scott 
 Hall, and the flames also entered the Chinese quar- 
 ter and swept it clean. Again the loss was about 
 $20,000, and the insurance to the value of two-thirds. 
 The third fire occurred in March, 1880, destroying 
 Huntsman's Hotel and the Railroad Local Dej)Ot. 
 Loss $15,000, well covered by insurance. The onl}- 
 visible iniprovemont to Battle Mountain resulting 
 
 fVom the construction of the Nevada Central Rail- 
 road has been the building of round houses. 
 
 For fort)' miles each way, north and south, the 
 country is supplied from Battle Mountain, creating a 
 trade of about 81O,(l(i0 per month. The business of 
 the town is represented by the following establish- 
 ments: Two general merchandise stores, one cloth- 
 ing store, a livery stable, brewerj-, five saloons, three 
 hotels, one tin shop, one blacksmith shop and wagon 
 repair shop, salt works, one harness and shoe shop, 
 two newspapers, post-office, express office, a school 
 house, the railroad depot and sixty dwellings make 
 up the remainder of the place. The water supply is 
 derived from seventeen artesian wells. They are sunk 
 to the depth of from 140 to 160 feet, and flow from 
 six to ten feet. The average flow through a five- 
 inch well is a strong inch. In addition to these, a 
 great strike of water was made in an artesian well 
 belonging to J. A. Blossom, which flows a stream 
 through a large pipe sixtj'-five feet above the sur- 
 face of the ground. From this stream 150 acres of 
 ground has been irrigated, literally making the 
 desert to blossom. 
 
 "^'^^^W^ 
 
 J. A. Blossom was born in Miamisburg, Montgom- 
 ery County, Ohio, Juno 0, 18.SG, where his father still 
 resides. In 30uth he learned the trade of his father, 
 that of harness maker, but did not work at the business 
 after he reached his majority. In 185G he left his 
 home and went to Missouri, and took charge of a 
 land office in the interests of an Eastern company, 
 where he remained until March, 1800, when became 
 to California by way of the Isthmus of I'anama, and 
 
472 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 located in Tehama County. The next j-ear he came 
 to the Territory of Nevada, and settled in what is 
 now Humboldt County, being one of the first settlers 
 and locators of the celebrated Humboldt mines. He 
 •was also one of the founders of Star City, on the 
 Sheba Ledge. During his twenty years residence in 
 Nevada, Mr. Blossom has seen much of the State, 
 living at Dun Glen, AVinnemueca. and other places. 
 He was one of the first settlers in Battle Mountain, 
 where he now resides, and built the first house, with 
 the exception of the railroad station house, erected 
 in that town. He was also one of the founders of 
 the flourishing towns of Galena, and Lewis, and was 
 the most extensive freighter in that section of the 
 country. His mining transactions have proved very 
 successful, he having sold no less than six diff'erent 
 mines within the past five years. He has always 
 been an active business man, and is now engaged in 
 merchandising, and is well known as a mining man; 
 is also largely interested in stock-raising. In 1879 
 he, under contract, graded the Nevada Central Rail- 
 road from Battle Mountain to Austin, employing as 
 high as 800 men and 500 horses in the work. Dur- 
 ing the years intervening between the years 1861 
 and the present time, Mr. Blossom has had many 
 curious and thrilling adventures, in his wanderings 
 among the mountains in search of the precious metal, 
 and in fighting the " dusky sons of the sage-brush." 
 He was married in April, 1866, to Miss Elvira Hunter, 
 at Star City, Nevada, and they have three children, 
 two sons, aged twelve and fourteen years, who are 
 at the present time at school at Santa Clara College, 
 in California. 
 
 DESERTED TOWNS AND CITIES. 
 
 In the excitement of mining rushes there are many 
 speculators in the crowd who are fiercely intent on 
 becoming proprietors of great cities, looking to the 
 future with a happy old age made ])leasant by a large 
 rent roll, or acquiring sudden wealth by the sale of 
 city lots. The great example of John Jacob Astor, 
 who, with tar-seeing sagacity, acquired much unim- 
 proved land in the city of New York; the many land- 
 grabbers of the cities of the Mississippi Valley-, who 
 became millionaires, and the examples of Sutter, 
 Lick, Brannan, and others of California, were before 
 them, and they wanted a city. These speculators 
 were exceedingly livel)- in the IJeese River region. 
 Jacobsvillo had been taken as a ranch before the 
 excitement began, and land there must be purchased. 
 The first rush was for Pony Canon. On a small 
 level j)lat of ground at the emboaehure of the canon 
 the city of Clifton was located. Half a mile up, pass- 
 ing a precipitous gorge, the city of Austin was loca- 
 ted, and on its borders several •• Additions " were 
 surveyed, and half a mile further up the cafion, now 
 broadened into valleys and ravines, was built Upper 
 Austin. These survive. 
 
 Almost immediately following the location of set- 
 tlers in Pony Cafion, cities were located in Big Creek 
 Cafion, seven miles south, in Washington Cafion, 
 
 twenty-eight miles south, and Amador, seven miles 
 north, on the western slope of the Toij-abe Mount- 
 ains. South of Austin, in the canons of the eastern 
 slope, were Geneva, twelve miles, Clinton, fifteen 
 miles, Guadalajara or Santa Fe, eighteen miles, 
 Kingston, twenty miles, and Bunker Hill, twenty-two 
 miles distant. These were all cities of great expec- 
 tations. 
 
 Amadok, seven miles north of Austin, was very 
 pleasantly located on a bench of level land at the 
 western base of the Toij-abe Range, overlooking the 
 Reese River Valley. In 1863 it was a candidate for 
 the location of the county seat, and polled TOO votes 
 in its own favor, claiming a population of 1.500. Sev- 
 eral very promising mines were located in the vicin- 
 it}', and large sums were expended in prospecting 
 them, but the results appear not to have been encour- 
 aging, as work ceased in a few years after the dis- 
 covery of the mines. The town was built chieflj- of 
 cloth, and has gradually disappeared. 
 
 Bunker Hill. — The reader of the files of the Reese 
 Rlcer Beveille of 1863-65 will see frequent and 
 favorable mention of Bunker Hill, which appears to 
 have been a thriving place. This was situated in 
 the narrow valley of Big Smoky Creek, twenty-two 
 miles south of Austin. The town was but a collec- 
 tion of miners' cabins, and as there was never a great 
 rush, there were no fortunes made in the sale of city 
 lots. Numerous fine appearing ledges with croppings 
 bearing both gold and silver, a rapid, sparkling 
 stream of cold mountain water, an abundance of 
 wood, sites for buildings and gardens, were the at- 
 tractions that brought its early inhabitants. 
 
 C.A.N0N City, situated on Big Creek, seven miles 
 south of Austin, contained in 1803 about fifty -per- 
 manent" residents, had one hotel, one store, two 
 restaurants, three saloons, one meat market, a 
 Notary Public and Recorder's office, u telegraph 
 office, and twelve houses and cabins. The cit^' is 
 no more; the streets are deserted, and the houses, 
 including the cabins, have departed. The beautiful 
 and strong stream of water flowing through the 
 canon was a most attractive feature in building up 
 the town, the impression being that its power would 
 be required in moving the machinerj- of the manj- 
 mills that must be built for the reduction of ores. 
 The ledges, however, proving small and le.ss valuable 
 than anticipated, the sparkling waters have gone 
 unused to their sink in the Reese River Valley. 
 
 Cut'TON, in 1863, numbered about 5U0 inhabitants, 
 had a post-office. Wells, Fargo & Co's Express Office, 
 and many important places of business. Though it 
 cannot properly be said to bo deserted, its popula- 
 tion is very much decreased, and its business mostly 
 gone; it is a part of the village of Austin, and 
 joins it on the west. 
 
 Clinton was one of the cities of 1863 situated on 
 the eastern slope of the Toiyabe, bordering Smoky 
 Valley, and fifteen miles south of Austin. Some 
 
HISTORY OF LANDER COUNTY. 
 
 473 
 
 mines of fine promise were opened here, and in 1865 
 a splendid quartz mill was constructed, but to dis- 
 apjioiiit for the time, probably to reappear in the 
 future and fulfill by further developments the 
 promise of early days. 
 
 Geneva occupied a little nook in the great Smoky 
 Valley, where Birch Creek, a beautiful stream, 
 debouched from the eastern slope of the Toiyabe 
 Range, twelve miles south of Austin. In the hills 
 inclosing Birch Creek were some large and appar- 
 ently very rich veins of quartz, some of which were 
 sold to New York capitalists, who expended large 
 sums of mone}' in thoir development, but with 
 unsatisfactory results. Geneva, in 1864, had some 
 fine stone buildings, and numerous log and cloth 
 houses, but the inhabitants long ago folded what 
 tents they could, and the stone walls, the pretty 
 vale, and the sparkling stream are left in their 
 wildness. 
 
 Jacobsville, the first county seat of Lander 
 County, was situated six miles west of Austin, was 
 originallj' a station on the overland stage line, and 
 at one time, in 181)3, had a population of three or 
 four hundred; also contained two hotels, three stores, 
 post-office, telegraph office. Court House and fifty 
 residences. By a vote of the people of the county, in 
 September, 1863, the county seat was moved to 
 Austin, and most of the residents followed soon after. 
 There is nothing left of Jacobsville at the present 
 time but a single farm house. 
 
 Kingston was not one of the earliest towns, but 
 followed the location of Bunker Hill. A correspond- 
 ence of the Reese River Reveille, dated February 22, 
 1864, says:— 
 
 From Bunker Hill I wrote you last; two miles 
 down the canon of the Big Smoky a lately construc- 
 ted wagon road leads to the new village of Kingston. 
 Here improvements are making, building, fencing, 
 and such other as to the enterprising and hopeful 
 promise returns in the future. And the future, too, 
 of Kingston, is bright, in truth, for none can see its 
 pleasant location, survey its unlimited water-power, 
 backed b}- its inexhaustable ledges of metalliferous 
 quartz of extent and richness unsurpassed, its arable 
 and wood land without stint, its ever}- facility and 
 resource, none can witness without believing it des- 
 tined to eminent prosperity. 
 
 This prosperity continued a few years; a large mill 
 was built to be run by the power of the stream, and 
 a pretty village flourished. The mines not meeting 
 expectations, and a great demand arising for mills in 
 the White Pine region in l.stl!), the mill was removed 
 thither, and business on the Big Smoky declined. 
 
 Landkii Citv had an existence in I .S(;.'! with sev- 
 eral hundred inhabitants. l)avid K. Huell built a 
 telegra])h line to the place, and the city, as the place 
 was called, possessed considerable importance. It 
 was situated at the dehoarhare of Big Creek upon 
 the plain, six miles south of Austin. The place is 
 now known only in name. 
 
 PBINOIPAIi MINING DISTRICTS. 
 
 Amador District is a few miles north of Austin, 
 and was organized in 1863, but all its mines have 
 been abandoned with the exception of those in Now 
 York Cafion, and it has been incorporated with 
 Reese River District. The mineral vein crosses New 
 York Canon, running east and west, a six hundred 
 foot tunnel having been driven in on the vein from 
 the canon. Three chimneys of good ore were found 
 in this tunnel. On the first one an incline has been 
 sunk to the depth of two hundred feet, to the water 
 level. Hoisting works have been erected over the 
 Midas mine, and a large amount of pay ore has been 
 extracted. 
 
 Bid Creek District is situated on the western slope 
 of the Toiyabe Mountains, six to twelve miles south 
 of Austin. None of its mines have been developed, 
 and most of its claims have been abandoned. Five 
 miles north of it there is a large out-crop of anti- 
 mony on a very high spur of the mountain. One dis- 
 lodged boulder of antimony is four feet s<|uaro. The 
 country-rock is granite. The stream which gives its 
 name to the district is of bright, pure water, flowing 
 with a rapid current tumbling over its rocky bed, 
 having a width of from ten to twenty-five feet in the 
 canon, but soon sinking as it enters the Reese River 
 Vallej-. The water to a great extent is now utilized 
 for irrigation. 
 
 Battle Mountain District is ten miles southwest 
 of Battle Mountain Station. It includes within its 
 limits the whole of the Battle Mountain Range, 
 which is twenty miles in length, north and south, 
 and ten miles in width. In these hills, in ISfiT, John 
 Kirk, of I'lacerville, California, with a party of road- 
 builders, had a fight with the Indians, hence the 
 name of Battle Mountain. The vallej' boundaries of 
 the district are as follows; Humboldt River Valley 
 on the north, Reese River Valley on the east. Sum- 
 mit Springs Valley on the west, and on the south a 
 valley connecting the Reese River and Summit 
 Springs Valleys. The general formation of the range 
 is that of a plateau, the highest elevation being at 
 the center, from which canons radiate to the valleys, 
 their names being as follows: Copper Cafion, Dark 
 Creek, Cotton Creek, Long Creek, Elder Creek, Trout 
 Creek, Trenton Cafion and Willow Creek. The rocks 
 of the district consist of slates, poridi3Tics, (juartzite, 
 sandstones, silicious limestones and granite. The 
 limestones are confined to the highest part of the 
 mountains, as layers, and were evidently formed 
 before the elevation of the mountains took place. 
 The metalliferous deposits chiefly extend along the 
 eastern and western mountain slopes; along the 
 southern extremity of the eastern slope, and along 
 the northern extremity of the western slope. Their 
 nature is that of true fissure veins, although in most 
 cases, the walls are not well defined. They can bo 
 traced for distances of from two to five miles, and 
 generally consist of a main channel, from which 
 
474 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 branches extend on both sides. They continue their 
 course independent of any change in the strike or 
 dip of the country rock. The width of the vein varies, 
 producing ore chambers. Slickensidcs occur inside 
 of their boundaries, as well as on the wall, and are 
 accompanied by a thicker or thinner layer of clay. 
 The ore is often found in conglomerated masses, con- 
 sisting of separate angular pieces of ore and gangue, 
 cemented by vein matter, quartz or calcspar. Crys- 
 tallized specimens of ore and gangue are found fre- 
 quently. Slate and sandstone frequently occur as 
 the main filling of the veins when the country rock 
 is of these kinds. Some of the veins might be classed 
 as contact and some as gash veins. The minerals 
 found are gold, silver, copper, lead and antimony. 
 Free-milling ores, in limited quantities, exist near 
 the surface. The bulk of the ores are worked by 
 the smelting process. The principal silver ores are 
 fahlerz, rubj- silver and argentiferous-galena; the 
 principal copper ores, red oxide of copper, copper 
 glance, and carbonates and silicates of copper. Anti- 
 mony occurs as a sulphuret. All these ores are of 
 high grade, galena having been found assaying as 
 high as 8400 in silver per ton, and seventy per cent, 
 lead. The average yield of galena is about 8150 per 
 ton, when yielding fifty per cent, lead and over. 
 When mixed with silver ores, as ruby silver or fahl- 
 erz, it has been found to contain as high as from 
 $3,000 to 84,000 per ton in silver. The copper ores 
 are of equally high grade, shipments having been 
 made fre(iucntly of ores of from forty to fifty per 
 cent. Surface indications are most numerous at Cop- 
 per Cafion and Duck Creek, at the southern end of 
 the eastern slope of the range. Galena, the princi- 
 pal mining camp of the district, is at the head of 
 Duck Creek. In its vicinity a number of parallel 
 fissure veins have been opened. They run in a north- 
 erlj- and southerly direction and are from 1,000 to 
 1,500 feet distant from each other. The leading 
 mines of this locality, in order from west to east, are 
 the Huena Vista, the White and Shiloh, the Trinity 
 :ind the Butte. The principal rocks in which these 
 veins occur, are slates of different kinds, graywacke, 
 graywacke sandstones and dykes of breccia, the lat- 
 ter probably being the eruptive rocks which caused 
 the fissure. These veins have been traced for from 
 two to five miles, and show a width of from three to 
 twenty feet. The Huena Vista ores are principally 
 galena, assaj'ing from 8150 to 8400 per ton in silver. 
 The White and Shiloh vein is a continuous paj- streak 
 1,300 feet in length, of an average depth of 250 feet. 
 The width of the pay ore has averaged six feet, and 
 the ore, sixty dollars in silver, seven in gold and six 
 per cent, in lead. The ores of the White Mine are 
 distinguished by the frequent and abundant occur- 
 rence of ruby silver and argentiferous gray copper 
 ore. Beautiful specimens of galena, covered with 
 wire silver, have been fre(|UeiUl}' found. The ores 
 in the Trinity Jline arc ])rincipally argentiferous 
 galena, averaging 8180 in silver j)er ton, when con- 
 
 taining fifty per cent, lead and over. The width of 
 the vein is from four to six feet. In the Butte Mine 
 the vein shows a thickness of from two to six feet, 
 with a paj' streak of from six to thirteen inches of 
 ore, averaging from seventy to one hundred feet. The 
 greatest depth attained is 300 feet. The ores con- 
 tain less lead than the ores of the previous-mentioned 
 lodes, and are properly milling ores. A mile and a 
 half south of Galena, are the Copper Canon mines, 
 which are owned by an English company. The ore 
 is shipped to Liverpool for reduction. The prevail- 
 ing rock there is quartzite, and the galena ores, 
 when entering the formation, change to copjier, at 
 least for the depth already obtained. A concentrating 
 mill, capable of working thirty tons of ore per day, is 
 in ojjeration within three miles of these mines, where 
 a good supply of water exists. The wet process of 
 working ore is employed. After concentration, less 
 than two per cent, of the ore remains in the slimes. 
 Battle Mountain District was organized in June, 1867. 
 
 Jersey Dlstrict is fort^^-five miles southwest of 
 Battle Mountain Station. Ore was discovered in the 
 fall of 1874. by A. S. Trimble. There is a good nat- 
 ural highway from the mines to the railroad. The 
 locations are on the western slope of the mountain. 
 The geological formation is quartzite and porphyry. 
 The principal claim is the Jersej', which has been 
 traced on the surface for a distance of 1,500 feet. 
 The vein is from one to six feet in width, and runs 
 north and south, dipping to the west. Two shafts 
 have been sunk to a depth of 140 feet. The ore is 
 argentiferous galena, with carbonates of lead. It 
 assays from 8140 to 8100 per ton in silver, and con- 
 tains about sixty per cent of lead. During the sum- 
 mer of 1870, 500 tons of first-class ore from this mine 
 were reduced at Omaha. The cost of transportation 
 from the mine to the railroad was 812.50 j)er ton. A 
 small smelting furnace erected at Jersey proved un- 
 successful for want of pro])er fluxing material. It 
 l)ays best to concentrate and ship the ore for reduc- 
 tion. 
 
 Lewis District is on the northern extremity of the 
 Toiyabe range of mountains, about sixteen miles 
 southeast from Battle Mountain. Ore was discov- 
 ered in the summer of 1874, by Jonathan Green and 
 E. T. George. The geological formation is limestone 
 and quartzite. The principal locations are all on 
 the same vein, which is from two to nine feet in 
 width, and has a course nearlj- north and south. A 
 hundred tons of ore taken from the Logan & Dusang 
 claim were worked at Winnemucca. and yielded 
 8140 to the ton. Two hundred tons from the Eagle 
 Consolidated yielded 8135 per ton. This mine has 
 connected with it a good ten-stamp mill with roast- 
 ing furnace. The district is well supplied with water, 
 but there is no wood in the immediate vicinity of the 
 mines and mill. The ores contain a large per cent, of 
 antimony, iron and manganese. A short line of rail- 
 road connects Lewis with the I^evada Central Hail- 
 
HISTORY OF LANDER COUNTY. 
 
 47.- 
 
 way at Galena, thus giving ready transportation of 
 ores and supplies to this rich district. 
 
 Ravenswood District is on the western slope of 
 the Shoshone Mountains, near the summit, and is 
 twcnty-tive miles northwest of Austin. Water is 
 sufficient for mining purposes, and nut pine and 
 juniper abound. Ore was discovered in 18G3, and a 
 district organized. The country rock is limestone and 
 slate; the mineral belt runs ten miles north and south ; 
 is two miles in width .and copper occurs more or less 
 in all the mines, yielding as high as fifteen and twenty 
 per cent. The principal mine is the Shoshone, the 
 ore of which carries a largo amount of galena, not 
 much copper, and yields thirty dollars per ton in sil- 
 ver. A number of locations j-ield fifteen and twentj' 
 per cent, copper, and twenty-five to thirty dollars in 
 silver, with some gold. Most of the claims in the 
 district have been abandoned. 
 
 Roberts District is about forty-five miles north 
 and a little east of Austin, on the western slope of 
 the Dry Creek Mountains, on a spur running at right 
 angles with the main summit, and about 1.000 feet 
 above the valley. The lower part of the spur is a 
 dark granite. The cropping of the hill is limestone 
 seamed with white spar, running in various direc- 
 tions. A hard, red-covered slate is exposed in a 
 slide a little to the east of the limestone. Granite 
 occui's east of the slate. The ore is found in bunches 
 on the south slope of the spur, which occur in-cgu- 
 larly. In one or two places they reach the summit 
 of the hill. The belt of the limestone extends north- 
 ward about 200 feet, and probably 2,000 feet east and 
 west. Ore has been found in twelve diftercnt places, 
 and consists ol' a chloride with galena and iron. The 
 first discover}' was made in August, in 1870, but 
 traces of old work were found. South of the spur on 
 which this district is situated there is a large body of 
 very pure magnetic iron ore. Four miles west of 
 the district is a salt marsh in Grass Valley. Few 
 developments have been made in this district. 
 
 Reese River District, the principal one in Lander 
 County, includes within its limits the celebrated Pony 
 Ledge and the city of Austin, and was organized 
 May 10, 1862, since which date Yankee Blade and 
 Amador Districts have been consolidated with it. 
 All its records have been carefully preserved. The 
 number of locations in it is over 8,000. The veins 
 are chieflj^ found in gneiss or granite, although in 
 the northern portions of the district they are found 
 in slate and porphyiy. They run nearly southeast 
 and northwest with the formation, and di)) to the 
 northeast at an angle of about 35 degrees. The ores 
 contain antimony, some iron and galena, and a 
 little copper and zinc. They arc silver bearing, 
 although gold is found in ^larshall Cafion, in the 
 southern portion of the district at the rate of from 
 five to fifteen dollars ])er ton. The principal mines 
 are the New Pacific, King Alfred, Magnolia, Chase, 
 Morris & Caple, Patriot, and those of the Manhattan 
 
 Company. Many small companies known as Cblo- 
 ridcrs are also operating. The deepest shaft is in 
 the Oregon Mine, and extends down 700 feet. Plenty 
 of nut pine is to be had at the distance of fifteen or 
 eighteen miles. The water supply is procured from 
 s])rings in the canon, and is distributed bj- the Austin 
 City Water Company. Remoter points are supplied 
 by local springs. Freight from San Francisco costs 
 sixty -six dollars per ton. The mines of the Man- 
 hattan Company have been steadily productive for a 
 long period, and bid fair to continue so for an indefi- 
 nite time to come. Allen A. Curtis is the agent of 
 the company. The King Alfred mines are the prop- 
 ertj- of an English company, and have produced a 
 large amount of bullion. A great deal of ore has 
 been extracted by the Pacific Company. 
 
 The gross bullion yield of the Reese River District 
 previous to 1805 is estimated at 82,000,000, although 
 no exact record was kept up to that time. Since 
 that time the district has yielded 819,591,551.18, and 
 now ranks the third in the State, only yielding the 
 palm to Eureka and the Comstock. 
 
 The princijial mines of Reese River District are 
 situated on Lander Uill, which is a gentle ridge pro- 
 jecting westerly from the main Toiyabe Range, and 
 forming a divide between Pony and Emigrant Canons, 
 north of Austin. 
 
 Most of the mines on Lander Hill are owned by 
 the .Manhattan t'ompanj', such as the Oregon, South 
 America, Ogden, Dollarhide, Mohawk, Freehold and 
 Lone Star. The ledges are well defined, but are 
 verj' narrow, which objection is compensated for in a 
 great measure by the richness of the ore. The ores 
 on the surface and down to the water line are chiefly 
 chloride, bromide of silver being occasionally found. 
 Below the water line only antimonial sulphuret 
 ores exist, commonly called ruby silver. 
 
 All the ores of the district reijuire chloronalion. 
 The ledge of the Oregon Mine varies in thickness 
 from eight inches to three feet, and chiefly contains 
 antimonial and ruby silver. 5Iany smaller mines in 
 the vicinity are worked through the Oregon shaft. 
 The widest vein in the South America Mine averages 
 two and a half feet. 
 
 The New Pacific Company is an Fnglish incorpo- 
 ration, and, in addition to its ledges on Lander Hill, 
 owns propertj' in Yankee Blade District. 
 
 An Act was approved on March 4, 1871, incorpo- 
 rating the Union Pacific Tunnel Company for the 
 construction of a draining and exploring tunnel in 
 Lander Hill. Among the originators of the scheme 
 were B. H. Stansbury and ])r. A. Chase. A tunnel 
 was run for a distance of 300 feet, when operations 
 ceased for want of funds. It was afterward sold 
 under execution, and was purchased by the Man- 
 hattan Comj)any. It never amounted to anything, 
 and, in all probability, never will, as it would, if ex- 
 tended, roach the mines of highest outcrop at a depth 
 of between 700 and 800 foot, and work is now in 
 progress much deeper than that. It is the opinion 
 
47G 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 of experienced mining operators that there is not 
 water enough in Lander Hill to justify such a long 
 and expensive tunnel as that would be, for the drain- 
 age of the depth it would reach, and the mines can 
 be worked to better advantage by shafts. 
 
 Sante Fe District is eighteen miles south of 
 Austin in the eastern slope of the Toiyabe range of 
 mountains. It contains some well-defined veins of 
 quartz, the ore of which has given good assays, prin- 
 cipally in gold. Very little work has ever been done 
 in the district. It was organized on the twelfth of 
 April, 18(53, Peter Brandow, Robert Stuart and John 
 Heed being the discoverers of the mines. The prin- 
 cipal mines are the Yo Semite, Eureka, Amazon, 
 Rattler and Hudson. The Shoshone Canon cuts 
 through the district, and in it flows a perennial 
 stream of e.xcellent water. 
 
 Yankee Blade District is a few miles northwest 
 of Austin and consists of a series of canons. The 
 formation is gneissoid, or granite. The low grade 
 claims have not been worked much for years. A 
 few locations containing high grade ore are being 
 developed. Ore was discovered in June, 18()3. The 
 district, of late years, has been incorporated with 
 Reese River District. 
 
 CMIAPTER XLVllI. 
 HISTORY OF LINCOLN COUNTY. 
 
 Karliest Kxplorations — First Discovery of Mines — Organization 
 and Boundaries — Appointments and Elections — Payment of 
 Taxes Kefused — Court House and County Jail — Collector's 
 Fees Swindle — Sundry Kailroiwl Subsidies — Meetings to Op- 
 pose the .Schemes — The Governor Vetoes the Bill — Promot- 
 ers of the .Scheme — Causes of Prostration — Principal Mount- 
 ain Ranges — Valleys of the County — Most Remarkable 
 Cave — Principal Mining Districts — Pioche, the County Seat 
 — Destructive Fires and Floods — Rapid Itecline after 1S7G— 
 Other Towns and Cities — The Salt Mountain. 
 
 The earliest mapsof the American common schools 
 displaj'cd the great region embraced between the 
 Rocky .Mountains and a narrow coast line on the 
 Pacific as " unexplored," and as they are traced down 
 to later times a few lines are evolved, among the first 
 of which is one designated " The Sjianish Trail." 
 This leads by a winding course from Santa Fe, in 
 Nuevo Mcjico, to El Pueblo de Los Angeles, in Alta 
 California, and by the trail are marked Rio Virgen 
 and Fias Vegas. Sjianish history records that be- 
 tween the years 1527 and 1537 a party of four per- 
 sons, the survivors of 100, under the leadership of 
 Count Alvar Nuficz Cabeza de Vaca, crossed from 
 the Florida Coast to the I'acific, i-itt Santa Fe, con- 
 suming ten years in the journey. Whether they 
 passed over the Spanish Trail or not is not related, 
 but for many years this route was traveled by the 
 Spanish, as well as American trappers, stock-dealers 
 and exjilorers. This southern extreme of the State, 
 therefore, if now the last developed, has the honor 
 of being the first to witness the people of oivilixa- i 
 
 tion, and to have its features delineated on the maps. 
 But with the mythical past we will leave this ancient 
 history. 
 
 E.\KLY explorations. 
 
 The first white people in our modern period who 
 traversed the region now embraced in Lincoln 
 County, were Mormons from Salt Lake. As earlj- as 
 1849 a company, in quest of a shorter route into 
 southern California, crossed the lower part of this 
 county through the then unknown desert. They 
 wandered about over this dreary, desolate waste of 
 land for several weeks in search of water and forage 
 for their animals, and finallj- perished of thirst and 
 hunger in Death Valley. In the winter of 1865-66 
 the tire and other irons from the wagons supposed 
 to have belonged to them were found and brought 
 to Pahranagat, and used by the miners there. In 
 1852 the Mormons obtained the contract for carrying 
 the mail over the route which Congress had that 
 year established from Salt Lake to San Bernardino. 
 A station was established at Las Vegas, and Brigham 
 Young located a settlement at that point, partlj- for 
 protection to the route, and partly for smelting lead 
 from the Potosi mines near b}'. The Mormons occu- 
 pied this place till the time of the Mountain Meadow 
 massacre in 1857, after which they sold out to par- 
 ties from El i>orado Canon, and returned to Utah. 
 However, as Montana and T^tah received their early 
 spring supplies from southern California, this route 
 to Los Angeles was used for commercial purposes 
 about five months in the year, till the completion of 
 the Central Pacific Railroad. 
 
 In 1858, while the United States troops under 
 Colonel Johnston, were encamped at Ham's Fork, 
 Brigham Young started up several exploration par- 
 ties from the southern .Mormon settlements, with 
 instructions to search out certain places farther to 
 the north, where the "saints" might find a safe 
 retreat in case of nocessitj'. One of these parties 
 followed the emigrant route and encamped in 
 Meadow Valley. While there they broke up the 
 ground and planted several acres in grain. They 
 constructed irrigating ditches, made some other 
 improvements, and then returned to their old settle- 
 ments, leaving the crop in charge of the Indians. 
 Brigham Young having become satisfied that the 
 L'nited States troops were there to enforce the laws, 
 and that the new Federal Judges proposed to act 
 onlj- through courts of law, withdrew the brethren 
 from Meadow Valley, and abandoned for the time 
 being the further exploration of this part of the 
 country. However, in 18(13, the Mormons at St. 
 (toorge sent out small colonies to occupy this valley, 
 as well as Eagle and Spring valleys, as herding 
 grounds. 
 
 FIRST IlISCOVKRV OF .MINES. 
 
 It was in the winter of 1863-t)4, when the Indians 
 were cold and hungry, that an Indian went to Wm. 
 Hamlin, at Meadow A'alley, and offered to show him 
 mines for a consideration. In this way the famous 
 
RESIDENCE u' A.SAUER, WASHOE CiT/, NZVAOA 
 
 •> . i 
 
 ♦'*^»». 
 
 o\. 
 
 ,«*. 
 
 ^*i '^^^ 
 
 J-ll. 
 
 _.-.JI?g>^ ^^^, 
 
 /' 
 
 '^:^ 
 
 
 
 ^&^A^?/ ^M 
 
 :^- ■< 
 
 ^^Ir^ 
 
 BiRDSEYEVIEW •' GOLOHILL RANCH. 
 RES:w» PROPERTY •>■ S O L W O E L , MASOW VALLEY , tyON C? NEV 
 
 
 t>rfc jA^rrpk ^ mfy s * 
 
HISTORY OF LINCOLN COUNTY. 
 
 477 
 
 Panaca Ledge was found. Hamlin, although he had 
 worked in placer diggings j-ears before, knew 
 nothing about silver ores, so ho wont to Salt Lake 
 City with his specimens and showed them to Gov- 
 ernor lleod. They wore examined and approved by 
 (Jeneral Connor and others, and then expeditions 
 were fitted out and sent to the Meadow Vullej- 
 mines. The first, headed bj- J. M. Vandormark and 
 Ste])hen Sherwood, reached the mines in A])ril, 18(;4, 
 and after making some locations proceeded to form 
 " Meadow Valley Mining District." Up to this time 
 Brigham Young had resisted all attempts to ])rospec.t 
 in Utah for the precious metals, and generally with 
 suceess. This time, however, he and the Mormons 
 were taken by surprise, and in order to get the bal- 
 ance of power in the district thoy suddenly turned 
 miners, and Erastus Snow, the Mormon High Priest 
 of southern Utah, came from St. (Jeorge, accompa- 
 nied by a host of " saints," and proceeded immedi- 
 atclj' upon their arrival to locate the countr}-. As 
 Sherwood, who was the Recorder of the District, had 
 returned to Salt Lake, taking with him the records, 
 Snovv formed a new mining district, and the second 
 expedition, under C. W. Wandell, having arrived, 
 they united with each other in locating mines and 
 making laws for the new district. Snow and his 
 part}- made their locations in square lots, so as to 
 cover as much ground as possible, and thus crowd out 
 the Gentiles. They left their records in the district 
 and returned home. When Sherwood returned to 
 the mines with the original records, a question was 
 raised as to the legality of the "square locations," 
 and thej' were finallj- declared irregular, and were 
 dropped. In due time the third party, composed of 
 soldiers from Camp Douglas, arrived and made their 
 locations. Some work was done on the I'anaca and 
 Mammoth locations, but at that time there could be 
 no profitable mining in this district for various 
 reasons. The fear of the Mormons, who were op- 
 posed to mining and might at any time create another 
 •'Mountain Meadow" aft'air in this district, was the 
 chief. The district was however never entirely 
 abandoned, as a few bona fide claim holders were 
 always in that region till the organization of the now 
 district, although they probably had no idea of the 
 true value of the mines at that time. 
 
 In ISG") exploring parties wont into the Pahrana- 
 gat Valley, and, finding what they supposed to be 
 valuable mines, Eastern capitalists were induced to 
 invest largely in them. The surface show of rich 
 ores was well calculated to mislead even experienced 
 miners, and in less than a year's time the I'ahrana- 
 gat Mining District was organized and hundreds of 
 locations made. In the fall Wm. 11. Raymond made 
 his appearance, and. after looking over the mines, 
 located and purchased about 1,(MI(I,(I0() feet of ground. 
 The district at that time was thought to bo a pa3ing 
 one. It was believed that a large population would 
 be at once attracted there, and that a groat amount 
 of business would be done, requiring county seat fa- 
 60 
 
 cilitios. Steps were therefore at once taken towards 
 the organization of a new county. 
 
 nllU.\NIZATION .\NIi BOUNDARIES. 
 
 The county of Lincoln was created by a Tjogisla- 
 tivc Act a|)i)roveil February 2i), 1S(JC, and its bounda- 
 ries were fixed as follows: — 
 
 Beginning at tho intersection of the thirly-ninth 
 degree of longitude west from Washington with the 
 thirty-eighth parallel of north latitude; thence east 
 to the State line; thence south to the southerlj' State 
 boundary line; thence along said line to its intersec- 
 tion with the thirty-ninth degree of longitude; 
 thence along that line to the place of beginning. 
 
 It was also provided that any addition which may 
 be made to the State on the east, south of the thirty- 
 eis^htli parallel of north latitude; and any addition 
 which may be made on the south, east of tho thirty- 
 ninth degree of longitude west from Washington, 
 shall become a portion of Lincoln Count}-, By an 
 Act approved March 18, 18(57, along the entire west- 
 ern boundary of the countj^ a strip about ten miles 
 in width was ceded to Nye. By an Act approved 
 February 20, 1S7.T, a considerable portion of Nye 
 was added to Lincoln on the north, consisting of a 
 tract about forty-six miles north and south, and about 
 fiftj'-four miles east and west, l}'ing along tho west- 
 ern boundary of Utah. By tho provisionsof the first- 
 named Act Crystal Springs was made the county seat. 
 
 Early in tho spring of 1S()G, ( Governor Blasdel left 
 Carson City, accom|ianied by numerous friends, with 
 the view of organizing the new county. The party 
 in endeavoring to reach I'ahranagat by a route dif- 
 lerent from the ordinary one, journe^-ed by way of 
 Death Valley, California. They crossed the valley 
 without serious difficulty, but after passing Ash 
 .Meadows, found themselves reduced to very short 
 allowances of food and water. Realizing the perils 
 of the situation, the Governor and State Geologist 
 White, hastened on to Logan, where they loaded a 
 wagon with sup|)lies, and dispatched it under guard 
 to their suffering friends. The latter were met at 
 Summit S|)ring. For several days they had been sub- 
 sisting oil liziirds. one man of tho party had died, 
 and all were more or less exhausted with unusual 
 hardships. Contrary to the Governor's expectations, 
 the county lacked the number of legal voters neces- 
 sary' to fill tho legislative requirements, and its 
 organization was postponed for one year. 
 
 By tho provisions of the Act of March IS, 1867, 
 the count}' seat was changed to lliko; 11. U. Day, 
 Charles Wilson, and .M. Fuller, wore appointed County 
 Commissioners. Tho count}' was constituted tho 
 .Ninth .ludieial District, and its legislative representa- 
 tion was fixed at one Senator and one Member of the 
 .\ssembly. On February 21, 1871, an Act was 
 approved ])roviding for an election concerning tho 
 removal of the county seat from lliko to any other 
 point tho citizens of the county might prefer. 
 
 On February 24, 1871, an Act was approved mak- 
 ing Pioche the seat of Lincoln County for three 
 
478 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 months, and providing for the immediate removal of 
 the public archives to that point. On April 22d 
 following, the county seat election took place, and 
 Pioche received a majority of 168 votes over the 
 town of Hiko, and became and has since remained 
 the county seat. 
 
 On the sixteenth of April, 18G7, Messrs. Day, Wil- 
 son, and Fuller, met at Logan Springs, took the 
 recjuired oath and legally constituted themselves a 
 Board of County Commissioners, electing H. H. Day 
 their Chairman. The Board then adjourned to meet 
 at Iliko on April 22d. John D. Gorin acted as 
 Clerk. In accordance with the Act approved on the 
 eighteenth of March preceding, the Commissioner-s, 
 as soon as practicable, selected and appointed the 
 first county officers. At a meeting of the Commis- 
 sioners held April 6, 1868, the first school district 
 was organized. This district was throe miles long 
 and one mile wide, and included the town of Iliko. 
 In October of this year the whole county was divided 
 into school districts, and Trustees of. each were 
 ajipointed. 
 
 APPOINT.MENTS AND ELECTIONS. 
 
 The first Commissioners of Lincoln County were 
 named in the .\ct of organization, March 18, 1867. 
 The balance of the county officers were appointed 
 by the Executive, and held their positions till the 
 election, November 3, 1868. 
 
 Below will be found a complete list of county offi- 
 cers from its organization down to the present time, 
 together with the date of appoiiUnient or election of 
 each. The vacancies in office by death, resignation 
 or removal, if any have occurred, are also noted, 
 with the names of the persons selected to fill the 
 same. 
 
 SENATORS. 
 
 ¥j. B. Hazard, elected November 3, 1868; R. S. 
 Ciai)p and J. R. Wilson, clec'tod November 5, 1872; 
 N. Wescoatt, elected November 3, 1874; A. J. Blair, 
 elected November 7, 1876; R. P. Dayton, elected 
 November 5, 1878; W. II. Henderson, elected No- 
 vember 2, 1880. 
 
 ASSE.MBLVMEN. 
 
 F. W. Randall, elected November 3, 1868; M. B. 
 (iurrahan, elected November 8, 1870; P. L. Shoaft", 
 Thos. Wallace and P. A. Craig, elected November 5, 
 1872; A. J. Blair, J.B. Van Ilagan and H.Bergstein, 
 elected November 3, 1874; A. T. Moore, John Bow- 
 man and George Goldthwaite, elected November 7, 
 1876; U. K. Allen, Geo. Paton and R. L. Wash, 
 elected November 5, 1878; Alilton Barrett, C. H. 
 Ponton and John >Shier, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTV rOMMrSSIONERS. 
 
 li. II. Day, Charles Wilson and M. Fuller, appointed 
 March 18, 1867; Henry Raymond, appointed August 
 20, 1867; James Moe, Chas. P. Ely and J. Gilbert, 
 elected November 3, 1868; W. C. Glisson, Wm. H. 
 Ferguson and P. McCannon, elected November 8, 
 1870. August 4th Wm. S. Ferguson resigned and 
 Michael McClusky appointed. D. A. Fulks, T. J. 
 
 Jones and C. R. Dann, elected November 5, 1872; J. 
 C. Lynch and J. Hoffman, elected November 3, 1874, 
 E. F. Morton and J. N. Craig, elected November 7, 
 1876; D. C. Clark and J. Eisenmann, elected No- 
 vember 5, 1878; A. Veitch and J. V. Keeley, elected 
 November 2, 1880. 
 
 DISTRICT ATTOKNEYS. 
 
 William H. Clipperlon, appointed May 27, 1867; 
 Chas. S. Colton, elected Nov. 3, 1868, did not qualify; 
 C. W. Wandell. appointed January IG, ISGO; G. S. 
 Sawyer, elected November 8, 1870, resigned August 
 22, 1871; George Goldthwaite appointed to fill 
 vacancy. George Goldthwaite. elected November 5, 
 1872, re-elected November 3, 1874; Thompson Camp- 
 bell, elected November 7, 1876, C. H. Patchen, elected 
 November 5, 1878, re-elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SUEUIKFS. 
 
 J. E. Matthews, appointed May 27, 1867, resigned 
 July 27, 18G8, G. W. List appointed to fill vacancy; 
 Wm. Ritter, elected November 3, 1868, resigned 
 November 21, 1868. G. W. List appointed to fill 
 vacancy; John Kane, elected November 8, 1870; W. 
 S. Travis, elected November 5, 1872; A. Fife, elected 
 November 3, 1874; W. L. McKoe, elected November 
 7, 1876, reelected November 5, 1878, re-elected 
 November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY CLERKS. 
 
 John D. Gorin, appointed April 22, 1867, elected 
 November 3, 1868, resigned September 5, 1870; P. 
 B. Miller, appointed to till vacancy, atid elected 
 November 8, 1870, re-elected November 5, 1872, re- 
 elected November 3, 1874; .1. M. Hanford, elected 
 November 7, 1876; re-elected November f), 1878; 
 George T. Gorman, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY TllEASURERS. 
 
 Charles R. Hoppin, appointed .\pril 22, 1S()7, 
 resigned Januar}' 8, lS(i8, ('has. .Sehinuck appointed 
 to fill vacancj-; William .M. Wilson, elected Novem- 
 ber 3, 1868, did not qualify; A Barber, appointed 
 .Tanuaiy 16, 18l)9; Henry Philli])s, elected November 
 8,1870; John Uoeder, elected .Xovember 5, 1.S72; M. 
 Quillen, elected November 3, 1874; D. A. Fulks, 
 elected November 7, 1876, re-elected November 5, 
 1878; R. II. Elam, elected November 2. 1880. 
 
 COUNTY ASSESSORS. 
 
 George Ernest, appointed April 22, 1867; N. H. 
 Carlow, elected November 3, 1868; J. A. Curtis, 
 elected November 8, 1870; K. J. Hanlo}-, elected 
 Xovember 5, 1S72, being a defaulter in the sum of 
 §'J,812, and failing to give additional bonds, man^- of 
 bis suroties being insolvent, he was removed Sep- 
 tember 2G, 1873. and O. P. Sherwood appointed to fill 
 vacancy; O. P. Sherwood and Henry Rives were 
 allowed to pay 86,135.50 in settlement, and the claim 
 was canceled. R. P. Daj-ton, elected November 3, 
 1874; X. Wescoatt, elected Xovember 7, 1876; W. 
 H. Henderson, elected November 5, 1878, did not 
 fiualify; G. W. Arnold, appointed June 26, 1879; T. 
 Hort'man, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
HISTORY OF LINCOLN COUNTY. 
 
 479 
 
 COtJNTT RECORDERS. 
 
 N. E. Allan, appointed April 22, 18(J7; Henry Itay- 
 mond, elected November 3, 1868; W. 11. Henderson, 
 elected, November 8, 1870, re elected November 5, 
 1872, re-elected November 3, 1874; J. C. ilender- 
 8on, elected November 7, 187(5, re-elected November 
 5, 1878, re-elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS. 
 
 B. S. Fullington, appointed Julj- 1, 1867, resigned 
 June 8, 1868, W. II. Clipperton, appointed to fill 
 vacancy; George \V. McLane, elected November 3, 
 1868, resigned January 4, 1870; Charles P. Ely, 
 appointed to fill vacancy; D. J. Wilmans, elected 
 November 8, 1870; Lowi.s Sultan, elected November 
 5, 1872; G. W. Hill, elected November 3, 1874, died; 
 W. Dolman, appointed December 6, 1875, who 
 resigned May 26, 1876, and G. E. Alexander was 
 appointed to fill vacancy; E. R. Wilmarth, elected 
 November 7, 1876, failed to qualify; G. R. Alexan- 
 der, appointed January 11, 1877; G. R. Alexander, 
 elected November 5, 1878, re-elected November 
 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SURVEYORS. 
 
 Charles Schcnk, appointed April 22, 1867; S. R. 
 Nichols, elected November 3, 1868, did not qualify; 
 C. W. Wandell, appointed April 5, 1869; E. Schopp- 
 man, elected November 5, 1872; O. K. Wescoatt, 
 elected November 3, 1874, removed for absence 
 October 14, 1875, N. Wescoatt, appointed to fill 
 vacancy; N. Wescoatt, elected November 7, 1876; 
 O. K. Wescoatt, elected November 5, 1878, did not 
 qualify; G. W. Arnold, appointed June 26, 1879; L. 
 V. W'ertheimer, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATORS. 
 
 John 11. Ely, appointed April 6, 1868; Charles 
 Cook, elected November 3, 1868; C. F. Philson, elected 
 November 8, 1870; D. L. Deal, elected November 5. 
 1872, re-elected November 3, 1874; C. F. Philson, 
 elected November 7, 187(i, failed to <jualify; S. L. 
 Lee, appointed January 23, 1877; John Shier, elected 
 November 5, 1878, did not qualify; James Pierson, 
 api)ointed Januaiy 5, 1880; M. J. Cortclls, elected 
 November 2, 18S0. 
 
 PAY.MENT OK TAXES REFUSED. 
 
 A good deal of difficulty was experienced in col- 
 lecting the taxes levied against the property of the 
 Mormon settlers in the eastern portion of the State. 
 By an Act of Congress, passed in 1866, one degree 
 bad been taken from Utah and added to Nevada; 
 still the boundary line had never been determined, 
 and though their propcrtj- was assessed in Lincoln 
 County the Mormon settlers refused to pay their 
 taxes, and there was not sufficient power in the 
 count}- at that time to force collection. Assessments 
 were made in 1868 and 1869; suits were brought and 
 levies made for the purpose of securing the taxes, 
 but to no purpose — the Mormons would notjiaj-. In 
 1870 the boundary lino was surveyed and established 
 
 by Isaac James and Captain Monroe. Since then 
 there has been no trouble about taxes, but there has 
 been a great exodus of Mormons from Lincoln 
 County. However, their place has been more than 
 supplied by succeeding Mormons, and these latter 
 make the better citizens. 
 
 A great change has come over these settlements. 
 The dug-outs and sod shanties have given way to 
 comfortable dwellings; the scantil3--drcssed and half- 
 fed population now go well clothed and have an 
 abundance to eat; the rude farm tools are supplanted 
 by the most approved implements of husbandrj-; the 
 few old broken down wagons are no more, their 
 places being supplied by those of the best Eastern 
 manufacture — the ponderous quartz wagon and the 
 bugg}-; and the small store whose entire contents 
 could have been packed on a mule has grown to be 
 a large and ver}- respectable mercantile establish- 
 ment, all the result of the influx of the "Gentile" 
 population and the opening of rich mines bj- Amer- 
 ican enterprise. 
 
 COURT HOUSE AND COUNTY JAIL. 
 
 The Court House of Lincoln County is a two-story 
 brick building, 40x60, and was built in 1871, at a 
 cost, including the jail, of S75,00O. The jail is a two- 
 slory stone building, 20x30 feet, and joins the Court 
 House in the rear. The historj- of the construction 
 of these buildings is sufficient!}- remarkable to jus- 
 tify a relation of it here. The contract was let in 
 August, 1871, to build the Court House for 816,400, and 
 the jail for 810,000. T'p to this time the finances of 
 the county were in good condition. The revenue 
 from bullion tax, quarterly license tax, etc., kept a 
 fund continually on hand to meet current expenses, 
 and it was thought al the time that with the increas- 
 ing wealth of the county this sum could be sj)ared 
 for county buildings, and, after a year or two, would 
 not be felt. Hut schemers, who saw their way to 
 profit, determined to absorb this increasing revenue. 
 By some uiuiccountable ])lan, after the work of 
 building commenced, the contract was broken, and 
 the work completed by the piece at the most extrav- 
 agant price for each. Rude stone stops, leading from 
 the Court House to the jail, cost several hundred 
 dollars each; 88,000 were allowed for water-closets, 
 and the whole work was done in this extravagant 
 way, till the Court House and jail complete cost 
 875,000; both of which could, under proper manage- 
 ment, have been built of the same material, and 
 <[uitc as substantial, for at least 830,000. 
 
 collectors' fees swindle. * 
 
 Upon the heels of the Court House and County 
 Jail swindle, came tho purchase, by the County 
 Treasurer, of projierty sold lor taxes and costs, the 
 county paying tho costs only. Under an Act of 
 the Legislature of 1871. the passage of which was 
 ])rocured by tho combined influence of the Sheriftsof 
 the dift'erent counties of the State, pro])erty, tho tax 
 upon which could not be collected, and for which 
 
480 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 there were no bidders because of its worthlessuess, 
 was " bid in " to the State, and the fees or costs were 
 paid by the county to the Sheriff, the same as though 
 he had collected the tax. The object of this law was 
 to enable the collectors of taxes to get fees from all 
 property assessed in the county, whether the tax 
 was collected or not. The fees paid by the county 
 the first year under this infamous law was 816,000. 
 These and other extravagances created a debt of 
 870,000 more than there was any necessity for, and 
 this, too, in the hifancy of the county. This afforded 
 an opportunity to speculate in the securities of the 
 county, anil so great was the distrust in them that 
 the scrip, instead of being taken at par for supplies, 
 commanded but about thirty cents on the dollar. As 
 an illustration of its value, or rather its want of value, 
 it is only necessary to state the fact that the Com- 
 missioners, after the Court House was built, allowed 
 8180 in scrip for four student lamps for the use of the 
 county offices. Prices in this ratio had to be paid for 
 hospital, jail, Court House, and all other county 
 supplies, from that time forward, with exceptional 
 instances. After the bonding of the county debt, 
 for awhile, the credit of the county was better, but 
 the great wonder is that the county is not more in 
 debt from this cause alone, aside from the great 
 expense attending the trial of so many criminals. 
 
 SUNDRY RAILROAD SUBSIDIES. 
 
 The bullion product of the county continued to 
 increase, and it was thought the revenue therefrom 
 would soon liquidate this great indebtedness. Indeed, 
 there was a prospect that there might sometime be a 
 surplus after paying the county debt, and the 
 schemers laid their plans again to absorb whatever 
 there might be. The same innocent and unsuspect- 
 ing Board of County Commissioners, who had been 
 led into building the Court House by the piece, 
 were induced to do something in the waj' of sub- 
 sidies for a railroad from Piocbe to IJullionville, that 
 had already been partly built by a mining company 
 for the express purpose of freighting their ores to 
 their mill. So, on the twent5--second of Julj-, 1872, 
 the Board mot at the call of the Chairman. M. 
 McClusky, a member of the Board, and William C. 
 Glisson, Chairman, were present, and the I'ollowing 
 business was transacted: — 
 
 After reciting that a large portion of the tax-pa)-er8 
 of Lincoln County had petitioned the Board of 
 County Commissioners of said county to i.ssue bonds 
 to the amount of 8200,000 to aid in the construction 
 of the Pioche and Bullionville Eailroad, the bonds 
 were ordered to be issued to the Railroad Company. 
 They were made payable in ten years from January 
 1, 1873, with annual interest at ten percent., interest 
 and principal paj-able in gold coin. Thej- were to bo 
 signed by the Chairman, countersigned by the Clerk 
 of the Board, and authenticated by the seal of the 
 county, to be numbered and registered when issued, 
 and to bo delivered to the Treasurer of the Railroad 
 Company upon the approval by the Board of a bond 
 
 from the companj' agreeing to expend the moneys 
 received on the bonds in the construction of the pro- 
 posed railroad. This action was made subject to 
 the ratification of the Legislature of the State of 
 2Cevada. The resolution further set forth the duty 
 of the County Auditor in providing the necessary 
 funds to pay the interest on these bonds, also a sink- 
 ing fund to meet the principal. The Clerk of the 
 Board was instructed to procure 200 blank bonds of 
 the form to be approved by the Commissioners; and 
 the Board adjourned. 
 
 Here was legislation for the people by two men 
 acting as County Commissioners. The bonds had 
 already been printed in San Francisco, and were 
 expected to arrive by that evening's mail. They 
 were to be signed that night and taken back to San 
 Francisco, and negotiated to innocent parties (?) by 
 Gen. A. L. Page, then Superintendent of Construc- 
 tion of the Railroad. This much having been done 
 it was thought the Legislature would ratify the pro- 
 ceedings of the Board, as these innocent parties 
 would have good cause of action in court against the 
 county. For some reason the mail, which was 
 expected to bring the blank bonds did not arrive that 
 night. The next morning the District Judge, being 
 curious to know for what the special meeting of the 
 Commissioners had been called, went to the Clerk's 
 office and asked to see the proceedings of the Board 
 of the daj' before. Upon reading the same he 
 hastened to the office of the District Attorney, George 
 \V. Goldthwaite, to request him to commence action 
 at once to restrain the issuance of these bonds. The 
 District Attorney, never before distrustful of his 
 ! own ability, now in a state of trepidation confessed 
 his want of ability to do the work. The Judge then 
 applied to another attorney, J. C. Foster, who, with 
 John P. Kelley, now connected with the firm of 
 (iarber, Thornton i*t Bishop, of San Francisco, drew 
 the complaint, Kelley being plaintiff in the case. 
 When the time sot for hearing arrived, the attorney, 
 W. W. Bishop (not of the firm just mentioned), for 
 the JJailroad Com])an3-, did not appear, and default 
 was entered and an injunction ordered. 
 
 This, however, only paved the waj' for a still more 
 magnificent scheme to get at the increasing revenue 
 from the then wonderful products of the mines about 
 Pioche; and another railroad project was devised. 
 
 On the fifteenth of February, 1873, a meeting of 
 the citizens was held at the Court House to consider 
 the matter of '• railroad communication with the 
 Central Pacific." Judge Fuller was elected Presi- 
 dent, and a large number of persons named for Vice- 
 Presidents. D. Carson, II. A. Thompson, J. S. Cros- 
 man, O. P. Sherwood and D. B. Hunt were appointed 
 a committee to draft resolutions. After considerable 
 discu.ssion in which the sense of the meeting was 
 fully expressed, the following resolutions, reported 
 by the committee, and adopted: — 
 
 Resohed, That the large and constantly increasing 
 business of Lincoln County, and the full and successful 
 
HISTORY OF LINCOLN COUNTY. 
 
 481 
 
 development of our mineral resources imperatively 
 demand the speed}' construction of a railroad con- 
 necting Piocho, in said Count}', with Eureka and 
 Palisade. 
 
 Heso/red, That in the opinion of this meeting the 
 increase in the value of j)roporty and in the jirodiic- 
 tion of bullion, which would be caused by the con- 
 struction of the railroad above mentioned, would be 
 more than sutiiciont to enable us to pay the interest 
 on 8350,000 of bonds without increasing the burden 
 of ta.xation. 
 
 A'eso/ve</, That we are in favor of the County sub- 
 scribing for stock in some well organized company 
 for building a road between the points aforesaid, and 
 issuing its bonds in payment for the same. 
 
 Resolved. That our Senators and Assemblymen be, 
 and thej- are hcrebj- requested, to secure the passage 
 of a law requiring the County Commissioners of this 
 County to subscribe for the amount of stock above 
 mentioned, and to issue bonds to the amount of 
 8350,000, bearing interest at the rate of seven per 
 cent, per annum, payable in not less than ten and 
 not more than twenfy years, 
 
 Resolced, That provision should be made in anj- 
 law that may be passed for one or more directors to 
 be selected by the County to act in its behalf. 
 
 Copies of the above resolutions were published in the 
 Record, and also sent to the Lincoln County delegation 
 in the Legislature. The feeling was s'ronglj' in favor 
 of a speedy railroad communication with the "outside 
 world,'' and at the close of the meeting three cheers 
 were given for " the success of this great enterprise," 
 The meeting was a small one in point of numbers, 
 and though the Vice-President* represented a large 
 amount of tax-payers, only a part of them were 
 present, some being out of the State, and those"who 
 were present, aside from those connected with the 
 scheme, had not suspected anything wrong. The 
 President of the meeting. Judge Fuller, and E. W. 
 Fleming, one of the Vice-Presidents, after learning 
 the object of the resolutions, opposed their adoption, 
 and pronounced them " monstrous." 
 
 .MKETINOS TO OPPOSE THE SCHEME. 
 
 From this on Judge Fuller became tlic champion 
 opponent of county subsidies to railroads. Jle made 
 several unsuccessful attempts, soon after, to get a 
 meeting called to rescind the action of the meeting of 
 the 15th. Finally, on the twenty-seventh of Feb- 
 ruary, he succeeded in getting a notice published in 
 the Record for a meeting that night, a full account of 
 which was published the following day in the Record, 
 from the columns of which the following is gleaned: 
 Judge Thompson was called to the Chair, and E. 
 Schopmaiin appointed Secretary. Judge Fuller came 
 to his feet, and made a lengthy speech. 
 
 He said his position was misrepresented at the 
 previous meeting, and he would avail himself of this 
 occasion to set himself right. lie thought the rail- 
 road would come just as soon without a subsidy, but 
 the first road would probably come from I'tah; that 
 he did not believe in the count}' being swindled by 
 issuing bo!ids to rings. 
 
 Mr. Hunt and Louis Folsenthal spoke in favor of 
 the proposition to aid the construction of a railroad. 
 
 The latter said his house had paid 834,000 for freight 
 the past year, and he was anxious for railroad facili- 
 ties. John Pattie opposed the issue of 8350,000 in 
 bonds, and endorsed the sentiments of Judge Fuller. 
 Judge Bishop took sides most emphatically for the 
 railroad. In his opinion it was clearlj' in the interest 
 of Lincoln County to issue the bonds. The county, 
 he said, had already spent thousands in building a 
 Court House, that was sinking at every corner, and 
 a worthless jail, and other improvements, and, here- 
 after, he wanted money spent to some purpose. 
 Judge Fuller replied that he did not wish to be 
 understood as opposing railroads. He was in favor 
 of them; but it would be mockery to issue bonds; 
 he spoke of the Hullionville Railroad, and said that 
 corporation would have got away with 8200,000 of 
 the people's money, if Mr. Kellej- and other tax- 
 paj'ers had not interfered. Colonel Sabin favored 
 aid to the railroad, and gave figures showing that 
 it would be the greatest benefit to that section of the 
 country; no railroad would or could come there, he 
 said, unless the citizens and tax-payers put in cap- 
 ital. In five years the bonds given by the county 
 would be wiped out, and the wealth of Lincoln 
 would be (juadrupled. Mr. Hunt thought if the 
 citizens would help the Palisade & Eureka Railroad 
 Company, the road would be built in eighteen 
 months. Then, he said, Californians and other 
 people would come and invest in their mines; the 
 mining stock now selling at fifty and seventy-five 
 cents, would bring five dollars and ten dollars; also 
 the way w'ould be open for other roads. At this 
 juncture, Judge Fuller introduced the following 
 resolution: — 
 
 Resolced, That it is the sense of this meeting that 
 our Representatives in the State Legislature be, and 
 are herebj' instructed to disregard any resolutions 
 heretofore ])assed with reference to Lincoln Count}' 
 subscribing stock or giving a subsidy to any railroad. 
 
 Judge Bishop spoke long and vigorously against 
 the resolution^also Mr. Wheeler and others advo- 
 cated giving aid to the road, attempting to show 
 how much the cost of living would be reduced, and 
 the immense saving to the business men of the 
 county in the way of reduced rates of freight. 
 Judge Fuller again arose and made a masterly speech 
 against issuing the bonds. He argued that the 
 Company would fix their stock at five times the cost 
 of building the road; that this stock would be given 
 at par for county bonds worth at least ninety-five 
 cents; that the stock would need to bo assessed but 
 twenty cents to complete the road, and the ring 
 would exchange this twenty-cent stock for ninety- 
 five-cent bonds, and thereby make seventy-five cents 
 for themselves, and the railroad would be benefited 
 but twenty cents on the dollar by the bonds. 
 
 The facts were that the Railroad Company had 
 already fixed their capital stock at 830,000.000, while 
 their estimate for building the road was 84,500,000. 
 This would make the stock in the railroad cost a 
 
482 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 little over fourteen cents when the road shoult) be 
 completed. To make an exchange of county bonds 
 for this stock would indeed be mockery. On motion 
 of Judge Fuller the meeting adjourned to the fol- 
 lowing night, when the numbers and interest were 
 greatly increased. The people of the county were 
 thoroughly aroused to the importance of the issue. 
 The meeting was organized by the election of J. C. 
 Foster as Chairman, who on assuming the chair, 
 defined his position on the subsidy question. He 
 favored a gratuity of 8100,(100 in county bonds to 
 the road that should be first built. Judge Fuller 
 offered a resolution to that effect, which was ap- 
 proved by Bishop, Holland, Wheeler, Hunt and 
 others. Questions of order were raised as to the 
 admissibility of the resolution in place of the one 
 offered at the meeting before, and which was claimed 
 by some to be first in order. Motions to appoint 
 tellers, to exclude all but tax-payers from voting, 
 to adjourn and to lay on the table, were made with 
 much confusion. A motion was also made by Judge 
 Fuller to have ex-Licutcnant Governor Crosman take 
 the chair, as he was a good parliamentarian, pro- 
 vided Foster was willing. 
 
 The Chairman made an appeal for order and free 
 discussion, and finally the meeting came to order, 
 and Judge Fuller took the floor, and spoke to 
 the resolution of the first meeting. He favored 
 railroads, but not subsidies, and he wanted the people 
 of Lincoln Countj' to dictate any law passed on the 
 subject. He said he held in his hand a copy of a 
 bill which proposed to rob the people of their sub- 
 stance. U came to him to-day, he said, from the 
 Capitol. He read and explained its provisions, 
 claiming that thej' were ambiguous, and showing the 
 cost to the county to be 8150,000, and that the road 
 might not come nearer than ton miles of Pioche; 
 commercial rivahy would insure the completion of 
 the Palisade road as soon as the Utah road was con- 
 structed, and it was wholly unnecessary to impov- 
 erish the county for a generation to come with the 
 provisions of this law. Judge Bishop opposed these 
 views, and thought Judge Fuller had misconstrued 
 the bill; there was not the danger a])]iruheiided; the 
 proposed road would cross a rich mineral belt almost 
 every ten miles, and, viewed merely as a wise invest- 
 ment, he was in favor of extending substantial aid to 
 it. Ex-Governor Crosman spoke in favor of the 
 subsidy, and argued at some length. Messrs. Hol- 
 land, Hunt and .hidge Pitzer also favored the subsidj'. 
 They wanted the railroad, and did not believe they 
 could got it without the proposed aid. The motion, 
 to allow none but tax-payers to vote, was called for, 
 and, when the meeting showed a disposition not to 
 allow it to be put. Judge Bishop, Mr. Holland, and 
 others withdrew from the meeting. Judge Fuller 
 then made a few remarks, explaining that the bill 
 would come up for final action on the following day, 
 and he wanted the pcoi)lo to vote undorstandingly. 
 The resolution of tho former meeting was then read, 
 
 and a vote taken by tellers. The resolution was 
 carried bj- a unanimous vote. The regular Secretary 
 having withdrawn, N. H. Maguire was appointed to 
 act for the balance of the evening. A motion was 
 adopted requiring the officers of the meeting to sign 
 this resolution as adopted, and telegraph it to the 
 Representatives in the Legislature. 
 
 Thus the citizens, in mass meeting assembled, 
 declared that their Kepresentatives in the Legislature 
 should disregard the action of all previous railroad 
 meetings in Lincoln (.'ounty. The proceedings of 
 the meeting were telegraphed to the State Legisla- 
 ture, but, notwithstanding the unanimous action of 
 the meeting, the bill passed, owing to a combination 
 having been made between the friends of the bill 
 and the friends of the Elko and Hamilton charter for 
 a railroad. The Record, it seems, published the tele- 
 graphic news of the passage of the bill by the Senate, 
 but suppressed tho news of its passage by the House, 
 and, for three days, the people of Pioche were con- 
 gratulating each other on the su])po.sed defeat of the 
 bill in the House. On the fourth day after the 
 adjournment. Judge Fuller telegraphed Governor 
 Bradley that the bill was a fraud upon the peo])le of 
 Ijincoln, and to await his letter. That night the 
 letter was written, and placed in the express office, 
 and nothing was he;ird from it till Judge Fuller 
 received the following letter from Governor Bradlej-: 
 
 State of Nevada, Executive Department, ) 
 Carson CiTy, March 18, 1873. f 
 
 Hon. Mortimer Fuller, Pioche, Lincoln County, 
 Nevada — Afj/ Dear Sir: Yours of the eleventh instant 
 came to hand to-day. 1 have to thank j-ou for the 
 valuable information as to the stale of j>ublic- feeling 
 on the railroad question in your county. J vetoed 
 the Lincoln and Nye Railroad Bill this morning, 
 using substantially the argument contained in your 
 letter. I hope that my course will meet the a])proval 
 of the good people of Ijincoln ('ountj-. Allow mo 
 to assure you of mj- sincere thanks for j-our honora- 
 ble and friendly course in this matter. 
 
 I remain yours, very truly, L. R. Bradley. 
 
 Tho Governor called this the " Lincoln and Nye 
 Railroad Bill," for the reason, likely, that it provided 
 for both counties taking stock in the com))any. Nye 
 then owned a strip of country about twentj- miles 
 wide, ^extending across what is now the northern 
 part of Lincoln County. There was a provision in 
 the Bill that Nye's subscription to the stock should 
 be submitted to a vote of the people of that county, 
 while it contained no such provision in regard to Lin- 
 coln. The subsidy was made absolute as regards 
 Lincoln, if the road was built. 
 
 Judge Fuller contended in the debate that the bill 
 was drawn so ambiguously that the railroad company 
 could force another SI (lO, (1(1(1 from Lincoln County 
 for tho last ten miles, or else not allow tho road to 
 como to Pioche, but allow it to go north of that place 
 into I'tah. Here was a chance, he thought, to 
 blackmail the county to the extent of several hundred 
 thousand dollars. 
 
 I 
 
HISTORY OF LINCOLN COUNTY. 
 
 483 
 
 CAUSES OF PROSTRATION. 
 
 These schemes to get at the then expected great 
 revenue of Lincoln County, together with the very 
 bad manajj;ement of the mines at the most critical 
 moment (at water level) when the best manage- 
 ment was required, have contributed largely to the 
 downfall and prostration of what is no doubt one of 
 the best mining sections on the Pacific Coast. 
 
 In April, 1878, the debt of the county was bonded 
 to the amount of SI 81. 000, the bonds bearing ten per 
 cent, interest, and payable in ten years. Ninety 
 thousand and five hundred dollars have been paid 
 for interest, and none of the bonds redeemed. The 
 county is now in debt over $300, 000, which sum 
 equals about half its present taxable property value. 
 The present population is 2,110, a decrease of nearly 
 one-third in five years. 
 
 For a full statement of the products of the county 
 from 18G7 to 1880, the number of acres under culti- 
 vation, the stock and grain raised and the fruit- 
 trees and vines growing, the reader is referred to 
 pages 135, 13(i, 140 and 189 of the general history. 
 For the bullion product of the county, see bullion 
 table in this book. 
 
 PRINCIPAL MOUNTAIN RANGES. 
 
 The principal mountains of Lincoln Countj^ arc 
 included in the White Pine, Yellow Pine and 
 Pahranagat ranges. The White Pine Range is in 
 the western part of the county, running nearly 
 north and south; is bold, high and snowy, and is 
 well wooded with nut pine, fir, white pine and 
 mahogany. Twenty miles to the eastward are the 
 Pahranagat Mountains, a low range covered with 
 nut pine, and running north and south. In the 
 southern part of the county are the Yellow Pine 
 Mountains, running northeast and southwest, a 
 wide and lofty range, well timbered with yellow 
 pine. Mount Irish is a lofty peak of the Pahrana- 
 gat Range, rising to the height of 11,000 feet above 
 the sea, and is seamed with ore-bearing veins of 
 quartz. This peak was named in honor of Mr. 
 Irish, Indian Agent for that region in 18(15. when 
 the mines were discovered. The Ely Mountains, 
 west of Pioehe, running north and south, arc rich in 
 mineral veins. The Spring Mountain Range, in the 
 southwest, is a verj' interesting group, and contains 
 a large area of pastoral lands. There are other 
 groups and hills bearing local names. 
 
 VALLEYS OF THE COUNTY. 
 
 The most northern valley in the county is Spring 
 Valley, which is four miles long and tliree-quai-ters 
 of a mile wide. It was first settled in 18ti7 by 
 William C. Moody and Alma Willett. During the 
 following year they planted jjotatoes, and sowed 
 wheal, barley and oats. The potatoes did well. 
 The grasshoppers devoured the grain, however, but 
 have not put in an appearance there since. Few 
 subsequent attempts to raise grain have been made, 
 for the reason that the frosts usually injure Ihe 
 
 crops. At one time this vallej- contained a j)opnla- 
 tion of twenty Mormon families, but only four now 
 remain. 
 
 South of Spring Valley is f^agle Valley, two and a 
 half miles long and half a mile wide. All of it is 
 capable of cultivation, being irrigated by springs. 
 At present it is chiefl)- utilized for meadow lands. 
 Notwithstanding freciueiit frosts, large quantities of 
 fruit are often raised in it. It was once inhabited 
 by twenty-two Mormon families; only seven now 
 remain. 
 
 EosE Valley, south of Eagle Valley, is a mile 
 and a half long and about half a mile wide. It con- 
 tains no running water, and is used as a meadow. 
 Eight families formerly inhabited it, but only two 
 remain. 
 
 Dry Valley is south of Rose, and is four miles 
 long and half a mile wide. It was once settled, but 
 the Meadow Vallej- Mining Company took the 
 waters from it, and it had to be abandoned. 
 
 Next south of Dry Vailcj' is Meadow Valley, ten 
 miles long and a mile wide, and well watered. It 
 produces large quantities of vegetables and some 
 fruit. It was first settled, in 18(33 and 1864, by the 
 Mormons, most of whom afterwards returned to 
 Utah. About twenty-five families now reside in it, 
 not including the poi)u!ation of Panaca. 
 
 Southward I'rom Meadow Vallej' is Meadow Val- 
 ley Wash, which is ninety miles long, and occasion- 
 allj' widens out into tracts of tillable land. It is 
 watered bj- springs, and is occupied bj' about twenty 
 families. It extends into Muddj' River Vallej'. 
 
 Muddy River Valley runs north and south, and is 
 about two miles wide and thirtj' long. It was set- 
 tled bj' the Mormons in 18(;4, .as will be found nar- 
 rated elsewhere in this work. It is capable of pro- 
 ducing abundantlj', as was then demonstrated. At 
 one time it contained a population of 1,700, but all 
 returned to Utah in 1871, excepting five families. 
 
 In the southern portion of the countj', about fiftj- 
 miles southwest of Muddj' River Valley, is the oasis 
 of Las Vegas Spring. It is almost in the center of a 
 desert twentj- miles wide, and affords water sutHcient 
 for the irrigation of 500 acres. The climate around 
 it is semi-tropical. Manj' kinds of fruit thrive vigor- 
 ouslj-. The old emigrant road from Salt Lake Citj' 
 to Los Angeles, California, passed near this spring. 
 The localitj' has been settled siiu-e 1852. 
 
 Clover Valley, lying west of the Meadow Vallej' 
 Wash, is four miles long and one wide. It is par- 
 tiallj' watered, is used for meadow land and is occu- 
 pied bj' ten families. 
 
 Fortj- miles west of Las Vegas, adjoining the 
 line of Inyo Countj'. Cjilifornia, is the Pah Rump 
 \'allej', running northeast and southwest. It is 
 thirtj' miles long and ten wide, and is but slightlj' 
 watered, but when irrigated, jiroduces well in fruit 
 and grain. 
 
 North of Pah Rump Valley is Ash Meadow Valley, 
 
484 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 running north and south. It is thirty miles long 
 and ten wide, and is well watered by springs, but 
 the soil contains too much alkali to be capable of 
 cultivivtion. It produces good grass, however. This 
 valley is inhabited by three families. 
 
 Lying between the Pah Rock and Pahranagat 
 Mountains, fifty miles west of Pioche, is the fertile 
 Pahranagat Vallej-, thirty miles long and half a mile 
 wide. Numerous springs su))plj' it with an abun- 
 dance of water, and fruit, grain and vegetables are 
 raised in liberal quantities, and find a ready market 
 at Pioche and the adjoining camps. Twent}' families 
 now inhabit this valley. It was first settled in 1805 
 by John H. Ely and others. 
 
 The northern part of the county is troubled some 
 with late frosts, but the southern valleys are exempt 
 from this misfortune. Grasshoppers have seldom 
 committed serious ravages in any of the valleys, and 
 rarely visit more than one valley in one season. 
 
 At the northern edge of the county, near the 
 center, is Lake Valley, which is really a continuation 
 of Steptoe Valley. It is about ten miles long and 
 two wide, runs north and soutrh, is partially watered 
 by springs, produces hay and grain, and is inhabited 
 by three or four families. 
 
 MOST REMARKABLE CAVE. 
 
 There is a cave opening into the east side of what 
 is called Cave Valley, in the northern partof Ijincoln 
 County. . The valley is really a continuation of 
 Steptoe, and further south is called Perr^- Valley. 
 The opening to this cave is about two and one-half 
 feet by four, and grows larger two or three rods from 
 the mouth. There are chambers, some of which are 
 ten or twelve feet high, twenty-five or thirty feet 
 wide, and sevent5^-five or more in length. About 
 half or three-quarters of a mile from the mouth is a 
 shaft, the mouth of which is eight or ten feet wide, 
 extending across the cave, so that a plank has to be 
 laid over it to get beyond. This hole has lately been 
 explored, and found to be about ninety feet deep, and 
 dry at the bottom. 
 
 One small spring of clear water, which runs but 
 a few rods before sinking, is all the water found in 
 it so far. This cave has been explored two miles or 
 more, but the end or extent of it has not yet been 
 ascertained. 
 
 PRINCIPAL MININd DISTRICTS. 
 
 Chief District is twelve miles south of Pioche, 
 and throe miles west of Meadow Valley. Not a 
 great many locations have ever been made, and these 
 have all boon abandoned. It is said that some of 
 the ore taken out in this district produced 6100 
 per ton. 
 
 Colorado District comprises a large area border- 
 ing on the Colorado Kiver, and embracing El Dorado 
 Canon. Mines were first discovered here in ISGl by 
 Joseph Good and other prospectors from North San 
 Juan, Nevada Countj', (California, an<l the district 
 organized. As in so many other instances recorded, 
 : '.I Indian led the prospectors to the discovery, and 
 
 asking for " techatticup," meaning bread, or some- 
 thing to eat, for his trouble, the principal and most 
 promising vein was named Techatticup. This was 
 a beautiful white spar vein and carried considerable 
 silver, (^uite an excitement was raised, and for some 
 years El Dorado Canon was the object of many pros- 
 pectors, and the shares in its mines sold for high 
 prices in the market at San Francisco and Los An- 
 geles. Many locations were made, some bearing 
 silver, others gold, and others copper. Some of the 
 gold-bearing veins have been worked successfully, 
 and with facilities for transportation the large copper- 
 bearing ledges would be of great value. The sur- 
 rounding country is dry and sterile, cactus and a few 
 thorny shrubs being the only vegetation. The canon 
 extends to the Colorado Jiiver, by which freight is 
 sometimes brought bj' steamer from- Yuma or the 
 Gulf of Califoi-nia. The settlement in the district is 
 called El Dorado, and under that head further par- 
 ticulars are given. 
 
 Ely District is situated on the Shell Creek Range, 
 in this locality usually called the Ely Range, in tho 
 northeastern part of Lincoln Counly, and was dis- 
 covered by Wm. Hamlin in 18t)4, and was then named 
 the Meadow Valley District. Stephen Sherwood 
 was the first Recorder. But little was done toward 
 developing the mines till 18G8. Late in that year 
 John II. Ely and W. II. Raymond came over from 
 Hiko, failing in with McCannon and Smith in tho 
 vicinity of where thecity of Pioche was subsequently 
 built. They made a re-location of the mines re- 
 corded in Meadow Valley District, changed the name 
 to the El}' District, adopted laws, laid out a town 
 and settled down to develop the mines. 
 
 From this time the mines were rapidly developed, 
 and in 1872 twenty-one hoisting works were in op- 
 eration and 2, (too miners at work in the district. The 
 net jjroeeeds of these mines has reached the enor- 
 mous sum of S20, 000,000. Tho productions in 187(5 
 had exceeded the assessments bj' §3,500,000. There 
 have been 1,800 locations made, the mining record 
 books being kept by the County Recorder. 
 
 Among the principal mines are the Raymond & 
 Ely, Meadow Valley, Iluhn & Hunt, Pacific, Inde- 
 pendence, Buliionvillo. Garfivid i*c Hancock, Alps, 
 Mazeppa, Washington iV Creole and American Flag. 
 The veins are chiefly found inthequartzito formation, 
 run in an east and west direction with the formation, 
 and dip south at an angle of between forty-five de- 
 grees and perpendicular. Tho Raymond & Ely shaft 
 has reached the de])tli of 1.48t! feet; being the deep- 
 est in the district. Pacific Tunnel is in 2,800 feet. 
 
 The present facilities for working the ores are 
 throe mills, having eighty stamps altogether. Water 
 is furnished by the Floral Spring Water ('ompany. 
 Freights are brought by wagon from Milford, on the 
 (Hah Southern Railroad, at a cost of thirty dollars 
 per ton. Pioche is the post-ollice address for the 
 district. 
 
 J 
 
HISTORY OF LINCOLN COUNTY. 
 
 485 
 
 Since 1876 but little has been done in these mines, 
 and comparatively little produced by the district. 
 It is claimed, however, that these miiie.-i are l>y no 
 means exhausted, and hojies are entertained that 
 Pioche will a!L;aiu bo a tjood camji. In is":! it was 
 producing half a million monthly. 
 
 Freyberu District is situated in the nortlicrn 
 part of the I'ah-Utc Mountains. Ore was discov- 
 ered in the fall of ISti."); its existence being divulged 
 to Messrs. l>idlake and Aikens, of Pahranagat. 
 The Worthington District was thereupon organized. 
 Not until the sixteenth of Maj', IStiil, however, was 
 actual work commenced. In that j-ear a party of 
 prospectors, led by George Ernst, re-organized the 
 district under its present name. Water, in the im- 
 mediate vicinity, is scarce, but there is plenty of it 
 at the distance of a few miles, and nut ])ine and fir 
 are in sufficient ([uantities for mining. Three 
 springs flow down the west side of the mountain, 
 and one is situated on the east side near the mines. 
 The mineral belt is about three miles in length and 
 one in width. Eight parallel veins, varying from 
 one to five feet in width, have been counted. They 
 are from thirty to five hundred feet apart, and 
 appear in the limestone. The principal mines are 
 the Ellen, Shoute, Trident, Boulder and Neptune. 
 Closely selected ore from the Ellen has j-ielded as 
 high as 8G90 in silver. Selected ore from the Shoute 
 has }-ieldcd from 8144 to 8S(lO per ton. The veins in 
 this district dip to the east at an angle of forty-five 
 degrees in some cases, and of eighty degrees in 
 others. In the valley, about five miles to the north- 
 east are a thousand acres of fertile land, having a 
 sufficiency of water. 
 
 Groom District joins Tom Pah-I'te District on 
 the south, and was organized in 1870. It is about 
 ten miles west of Summit S])rings, in the same range 
 of mountains, and includes within its limits Pah- 
 Ute Peak, which has an altitude of 8,80(1 feet. 
 Fir and pine cover the western slope of the peak 
 in the immediate vicinity of the mines. The ore is 
 of low grade, assaying from ten dollars to sixty-five 
 dollars per ton in silver, and was discovered in 1870. 
 During the next five years, considerable work was 
 done, and steam hoisting works were built at one 
 mine. At the end of that period operations ceased, 
 and no work is now being done. The formations 
 are of limestone, quartzite and argillaceous shale. 
 Wood and water arc in near proximity to the claims. 
 
 Paiiranac.vt District is situated in the I'abrana- 
 gat range of mountains, about sixty-five miles south- 
 west of Pioche. The nearest post-office is Iliko, 
 ten miles distant. Ore was discovered in .March, 
 ISC"), by John 11. Ely, T. C. W. Sayles, David San- 
 derson, Samuel S. Strut, \Vm. McClusky and Ira 
 Hatch, all from T'tah. guided there bj- an Indian 
 The district was immeiliately organized; and 1,000 
 locations have been made up to date. The veins 
 are found in quartzite, and run northeast and soath- 
 61 
 
 west across the formation, dipping to the east at 
 various angles. The ores are both free and base, 
 and contain no gold. The base ores are ])rincipallj' 
 load. The leading mines are the Illinois, Green 
 Monster, Black Warrior. North Side, Montezuma 
 and ("astle. The Illinois contains a tunnel 000 feet 
 long, and a shaft about 2.')0 feet in depth. The 
 (jreen Monster is developed to about the same ex- 
 tent. Plenty of nut pine is obtained near the 
 mines; water is hauled two and a half miles to the 
 mines; the ore is milled at the ten-stamp mill at 
 lliko, ten miles distant. Little more than assess- 
 ment work is now being done, active operations 
 having been sus])ended in June, 1871. Freight is 
 hauled from Milibrd, Utah (the nearest railroad 
 station, distant 175 miles), at the rate of fortj^-five 
 dollars per ton. Onlj' ten miners are now in the 
 district. The records are kept by the County 
 Recorder. Some specimens of ore once taken from 
 the Illinois assayed into thousands. 
 
 Pennsylvania District is situated in the range 
 of mountains between Meadow and Clover Valleys, 
 and is about forty miles south of Pioche. Ore was 
 discovered by a Mormon named Klingcnsmith, 
 but no work was done until the fall of 1871. The 
 principal mine is the Klingensmilh, the vein of 
 which is from two and a half to three feet wide. 
 An incline of seventy-five feet, and a shaft of 200 
 feet have been sunk in this mine, and low gi-ade ore 
 has been taken out which has yielded from twenty 
 to twenty-five dollars per ton. The vein is in quartz- 
 ite, a largo belt of which runs through the district 
 east and west. The chief tbrmation is granite. 
 Water is obtained from springs, although the 
 Meadow Valley Wash, not far away, contains an 
 excellent stream of water at all seasons of the 
 j-ear. Lumber is obtained at a saw-mill ten miles 
 distant. The nearest post-office is in Clover Valley. 
 
 Silver Springs District is in the northeastern 
 corner of the county, in the Snake Range Mountains, 
 and was organized in 1^!()9. Some exceedingly rich 
 ore was found near the surface, in a limestone forma- 
 tion, and several hundred tons of it yielded 850,000. 
 Two mills were built, one of which was subsequently 
 taken down and removed to Utah. Not enough ore 
 could be found to keep the mills in active operation. 
 Many of the claims have been abandoned, and only 
 11 few miners remain in the district. Some of the 
 best ore has been taken from the Nevada Queen. 
 
 SiL\ EK KiN(i Di.stkict is in the Lake Valley range, 
 sixteen miles northwest of Bristol, the latter being 
 the nearest post-office and stage station. Ore was 
 discovered in 1S74, bj- John Ileussand Phillip Marton, 
 and a district was organized the same year. Seven 
 locations have been made; four miners reside on their 
 claims, and the records are kept by Julius llofl'man, 
 at Pioche, The veins are Ibund between slate and 
 granite, running north and south with the forma- 
 tion, and dipping to the west at an angle of forty-five 
 
4«0 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 degrees. The ores are both free and base, the 
 bullion containing about ten per cent, of gold. The 
 principal mines are the Cjesar, Ida, Highbridgo, 
 Morning Star, and Schiller. These properties have 
 lately passed into the hands of an eastern company, 
 and early active operations are contemplated. The 
 ores are very rich, and the prospects of the district 
 very promising. The base ores yield from S75 to 
 8100 per ton; the free-milling ores, from 8700 to 
 81,000 per ton. The Cffisar Mine has a shaft sixty 
 feet deep, and the Highbridge Mine a tunnel eighty 
 feet long. Freight is hauled from Eureka, 165 miles 
 distant, at forty dollars per ton, and at the same rate 
 from Milford, Utah, 135 miles distant. Plenty of 
 cedar and nut pine are dose by the mines, and water 
 is obtained from springs two miles distant. The ores 
 arc hauled to Bristol, and worked both by milling 
 and smelting. No town has been built. 
 
 St. Thomas District is a few miles east of the 
 town of St. Thomas, on Mount Bonelli, of the Virgin 
 range. Ore was discovered in December, 1872, by a 
 partj^ composed of D. Bonelli, Lewis Siebrecht, 
 Thomas Belding, and Hans Gottfredsen. A district 
 was organized January 25, 1873. Eight or ten 
 miners are now in the district. About fifty locations 
 have been made, most of which have been aban- 
 doned. The formation consists of white quartz 
 ledges in dark, coarse granite. The veins run six- 
 teen degrees west of south, across the formation, and 
 dip from twenty-five to thirty-five degrees to the 
 east. The bullion product of the district contains 
 six per cent, in gold and seventy-two per cent, in 
 silver. The principal mines arc the Jlormon Ledge, 
 Virgin Queen, Kecluse, Belding Ledge, Pacific Mine, 
 Desert Foundling, Toshoe Foundling, Mica Pioneer, 
 Princess Louisa, Diadem, Summit Queen, Seventy- 
 Nine and Mountain Beautj^. The Seventy-Nine has 
 a shaft thirty-five feet in dui)lh; the Mica Pioneer a 
 tunnel twenty-five feet in length. Freight facilities 
 are very poor— -almost prohibitory — although, if 
 developments warranted, steamboats might ply on 
 the Colorado Piver and accommodate portions of the 
 district. No timber is nearer than seventy-five miles, 
 excepting mesquit forfire-wood. Lumber is hauled 150 
 miles. Water is procured from the Muddy Piver, Pio 
 Virgon and Colorado River. Mica is found in the 
 Virgin range, but not of a merchantable (juality, the 
 plates being stained and cross-fractured, the ledges 
 not having been worked to a depth beyond the 
 surfiice-sliding of the rock. 
 
 South EASTEKN District is situated about seventy- 
 five miles north of Las Vegas, in the Las Vegas 
 range of mountains. Ore was discovered in Septem- 
 ber, 1870, u])on which a district was organized, and 
 seven locations were made. Only assessment work 
 has been done since 1871. The ore contains a large 
 per cent, of copper, and is found in i|uartzitc and 
 j)orphj'ry, and assays from 830 to 8180 per ton. 
 Specimens of native copper are frequently found. 
 
 Wood is scarce, but a good supply of water is obtain- 
 able at Summit Springs, twelve miles to the north- 
 west. 
 
 Timber Mountain District lies north of Yellow 
 Pine, is about thirtj' miles square and contains an 
 abundance of wood and water. Ore was discovered 
 in October, 1809. Fifteen locations have been made, 
 but very little work has been done. The ore is 
 chiefly galena. 
 
 Tem Pah-Ute District, formerly known as Sheri- 
 dan District, is situated about fifteen miles west of 
 Crescent Mill, in the Tem Pah-Ute range of mount- 
 ains. The nearest post-oflice is Tem Pah-Ute. Ore 
 was discovered in December, 1868, by D. Service and 
 William Plumb. A district was organized on Janu- 
 ary 28, 1809. The mines are in a sharp, abrupt hill 
 about six miles long, the eastern side of which shows 
 a belt of calcareous slate, eappe<l with limestone, 
 which extends down to the low spurs on the western 
 side. Along the whole length of the western slope 
 of the hill a belt of quartzito crops out which is from 
 50 to 100 feet in length. A vein bearing silver 
 appears at several points between the slate and lime- 
 stone, running north and south with the formation, 
 and dipping to the east. The ores are free-milling. 
 The principal mines are the South End, Colchis, Old 
 Abraham, Balbec, Savage, Inca. Bagdad, Silver Peak, 
 Blue Bell, Wyandott and Cliff. The shaft of the 
 Inca is 250 feet deep; a tunnel ])ierces the Colchis, 
 South End and Old Abraham Mines. Ore from the 
 Balbec shows rich chloride, and specimens have 
 assaj'cd very high. Punning parallel with the first 
 vein described is still another one, a thousand feet to 
 the west. For upwards of two miles it shows from 
 a foot to ten inches in width, and dips to the east a'j 
 an angle of forty degrees. The ore carries antimony, 
 arsenic and copper in small quantities. Selected 
 specimens of ore from this district, carr^-ing lead, 
 antimony and copper, have assayed 8874 per ton. 
 Five miners are now in the district, and the number 
 of locations is 150. As high as fifty miners were 
 formerly at work, but when the ten-stamp mill at 
 Crescent was taken elsewhere, operations ceased, 
 pjxcavations are still being made in the tunnel, but no 
 ore has been taken out during the past year. Plenty 
 of wood and water can be had in the Na(|uintah 
 range of moutains, eight miles distant. Considerable 
 ore has been hauled to Tj-bo, eighty miles to the 
 westward. The records of the district are kept by 
 D. Service. 
 
 WiiEEi.ER District is situated in the extreme 
 southern section of the county, in the Mountain 
 Spring range of mountains. Very little work has 
 every been done in it; no ore taken from it has ever 
 been reduced; and all the claims in it have been 
 abandoned. 
 
 Yei.i.ow Pine District is situated in the extreme 
 southwestern corner of the county, in the Mount- 
 ain Spring range of mountains, and is thirty 
 
HISTORY OF LINCOLN COUNTY. 
 
 487 
 
 miles Boutheast of Las Vogas. Ore has boon dis- 
 covered, thus far, in only one locality. It crops out 
 on the west side of an almost perpendicular clifi' ir)(l 
 feet in height, and near the summit of the mount- 
 ain. Rich deposits of argentiferous galena, lying 
 almost horizontally, and varying in width from one 
 to five feet, crop out about ihirtj- feet from the base 
 of the cliff. Long before a white man ever entered 
 Lincoln County the Indians moulded bullets from ore 
 procured from this vein. The Mormons did the same 
 when preparing to resist Albert Sydney Johnston's 
 oci'upation of Utah in 18.J7. For this mine an En- 
 glish company is said to have once paid ."^IdOjOOd. Xo 
 work is now being done. The district is well wooded 
 and watered. Here were the Potosi mines of former 
 times. 
 
 PIOCHE, THE COUNTV SEAT. 
 
 Pioche, the county seat, and chief place of business 
 of Lincoln County, is situated on the northern slope 
 of the mountain, just below the mineral belt, and 
 close to the mines. The mountain is a spur of the 
 Ely range, extending easterly into the valley some 
 eight or ten miles. It is ISO miles southeast from 
 Eureka and 100 miles from Milford, on the Utah 
 Southern. In 1868 Joseph Grange and E. M. Chu- 
 bard came to this place and built a small furnace, 
 and reduced a small quantity of ore, but financially 
 made a failure. Of its early history we gather the 
 following from the Ely Refwd : " The city was located 
 in ISGit bj- P. McCannon, L. Lacourand A. M. Bush, 
 and surveyed by E. L. Mason, Civil Engineer. It 
 was named after F. L. A. Pioche, a citizen of San Fran- 
 cisco, who had invested largely in the mines. The 
 buildings are mostly one-story, and made principally 
 of wood. The town grew rapidly from the start. 
 Business and population increased with the increas- 
 ing shipments of bullion, so that in the winter of 
 1870-71 it had become the most active and iinj)orluut 
 mining town in southeastern Nevada. Lots which 
 had originally cost less than SlOO were sold for thou- 
 sands. Schools, churches and benevolent institutions 
 had been established, and a flourishing city had sprung 
 into existence." 
 
 DESTRUCTIVE FIRES AND FLOODS. 
 
 On the night of September 15, 1871, a terrible ca- 
 lamity befel the town. It was the anniversary of 
 Mexican Independence and the citizens of that nation 
 were glorifying the occasion with ball, bonfire, wine 
 and song, \then just after midnight flames were seen 
 to issue from the rear of a restaurant on the upjicr 
 part of Main Street, and though the air was unruffled 
 b}' a breeze they had got under irresistible headway 
 before the majority of the inhabitants were massed to 
 oppose them. In vain were all attempts to arrest 
 the progress of the fire. Nearly all of the houses 
 being of a dry and resinous material, the furious 
 flames swept them away in quick succession, until 
 only heaps of ashes and smouldering embers marked 
 the site of what two hours earlier was the most 
 flourishing and jirogressive of mining towns. 
 
 From 1,500 to 2,000 men, women and children were 
 without roofs to shelter them, and many were in 
 destitute circumstances. Still these were not the 
 most melancholy incidents of the fearful catastro- 
 phy. 300 kegs of powder which were stored in the 
 cellar of a leading mercantile house on Main Street, 
 exploded with a force that shook the mountains to 
 their center, and with it went up one wild wail from 
 all who witnessed the grand yet terrible spectacle. 
 Rocks, timbers and every conceivable missile of death 
 swept across Main and Meadow Valley Streets, and 
 the crowd on the latter street was raked as if by 
 grape and canister. Thirteen men were killed 
 and forty-seven others seriou.sly wounded. The loss 
 in property was over half a million, but a trifle of 
 which was insured. 
 
 Undismayed and but momentarily discouraged by 
 this annihilating blow, the sufferers set about rebuild- 
 ing, and six months later the temporary structures 
 had all disap]>eared, and Pioche City was again in 
 existence, her limits extended, population increased, 
 and having improvements of a more substantial 
 character. 
 
 On the afternoon of Sunday, May 5, 1872, the town 
 was again visited by a destructive fire, resulting in 
 the loss of twelve buildings, and property estimated 
 to be worth §50,000. So lives were lost. 
 
 On the twenty-second of August, 187.3, a flood 
 occurred which caused damage to the citizens to the 
 amount of 810,000. It was the effect of a terrible 
 rain-storm, which for a time so blackened the sky 
 that it was nccessarj- to light lamps in the houses. 
 
 Another rain-storm of less violence occurred in tho 
 summer of 1874. Again, in 1876, another destructive 
 fire visited tho town. Of it the Pioche /?ecor(/ said: — 
 
 On the morning of May 3, 1870, Pioche was again 
 visited by a destructive fire, burning nearly a block 
 of buildings, ])artially, on the east side ol" Lacour 
 and the west side of Muin Streets. The tire com- 
 menced about three o'clock in the old unoccu])ied 
 hurdy, ordance house, on Lacour Street, adjoining the 
 Journal office, and was discovered l>y two men iti the 
 oHice who had just com])leted striking off the pa])cr, 
 and were about to retire. A general alarm was 
 sounded, and the three tire companies were on hand 
 as soon as possible. VVc noticed one of the boys 
 having on a rutfled night-gown, showing that he did 
 not waste any time going home to put on a red 
 shirt. After an hour of hard struggle the)- got tho 
 best of the flames and extinguished them. Twenty- 
 one buildings were burned, and the loss estimated at 
 §40,000. 
 
 The town was most prosperous from the latter 
 part of 1872 to the close of 1873. In the tall of 1874, 
 1,800 votes were cast, and the town was estimated to 
 have 6,000 people. Although a city in size, contain- 
 ing all the usual citj^ organizations and places of 
 amusement, among which were a tine, largo skating 
 rink and throe theatres, the citizens declined to be 
 governed by a city charter. 
 
 A fire company was organized in June, 1871, with 
 about forty members, but without any apparatus were 
 
488 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 unable to do much at the fire in September of that | 
 year. In October, 1871, the Lightner Hook and 
 Ladder Company was organized, with W. W. Bishop 
 for President. In 1872 this company obtained a cart 
 and hose, and in July, 1875, the Pioehe Hose Com- 
 pany was organized, with Thomas Campbell for Pres- 
 ident. The Protection Hose Company, Xo. 2, was 
 organized in April, 1875, with George W. Arnold for 
 President; and the same year a Fire Department for 
 the town was organized, with J. J. Halpin for Pres- 
 ident, and L. V. Loomis. Chief Engineer. 
 
 Until 1872 the water used in Pioehe was hauled 
 four miles from a well, and from Floral Springs, five 
 miles distant. In 1871 a water company was or- 
 ganized to bring the water to Pioehe from Floral 
 Springs in pipes. John H. Wilson was President 
 and Superintendent of the company. The work was 
 completed in 1872, at a cost of §200,000, giving a 
 supply sufiicient for a town of 20,000 people. The 
 water has a fall of 112 feet, which gives the town 
 good protection against fire. 
 
 Pioehe ])rocures its goods and supplies from abroad, 
 principally from Chicago and San Francisco. Much 
 of the flour, and all of the grain and products of 
 the farms are supi)lied from Utah and the surround- 
 ing countrj- in Nevada. 
 
 The nearest railroad station, where goods are 
 received or shipped, is Milford, Utah, distant 115 
 miles. Kates for teaming freight to and from this 
 station is thirty dollars per ton. 
 
 The nearest towns to Pioehe are Royal City, 
 eighteen miles north-west, Bullionville and Panaea, 
 distant twelve and fourteen miles respectively to 
 the southeast. A narrow-guagc railroad was built 
 by Gen. A. L. Page, aided b}' the Uaymond & Ely 
 Mining Company, from Pioehe to Bullionville, to 
 transport the ore from the mines to the mills. The 
 road was completed in 1874, at a cost of 8400,000, 
 and for about tvvo years trains made regular daily 
 trips and carried passengers. 
 
 In Januar}-, 1873, the Miners' Union was organized 
 with Michael Cady for President, and had at one 
 time over 250 members. The '-Citizens' Protective 
 Union " was organized the same year. The killing 
 of Ryan in the fight between the Raymond and Ely, 
 and the Pioehe and Phanix, and the assassination of 
 (;harles Swanson by unknown parties a few daj-s 
 previous, led to this organization. The " Citizens' 
 Union" never took the law into its own hands, but 
 rather aided the lawful authorities in the prompt 
 execution of the laws. No attempts at lynching 
 were ever made in Pioehe. 
 
 RAl'in DECr.INE AFTKR 1870. 
 
 In 1875 the town commenced going down and fell 
 off rapidlj' after the principal mines shut down in 
 187U. The census of 18S0 gave the population as 
 800, of which probably 200 have since left. It had 
 i:^!t registered voters at the last election. There are 
 now no furnaces in Pioehe except the one built in 
 1868. The one built byJoseph Grange in 1869, and 
 
 one by John H. Ely about the same time, and the 
 large furnace erected by the Meadow Valley Com- 
 pany have all proved failures. The amount of bull- 
 ion produced here cannot be definitely ascertained, 
 but 820,000,000 is probably about the aggregate. 
 There are no benevolent associations in operation now 
 except the Masons and Odd Fellows, an account of 
 which is given elsewhere in this work. 
 
 The County Jail and Court House, built of stone 
 and brick, which cost §75,000, arc located in Pioehe. 
 The public cemetery is not inclosed, but the Masons 
 and Odd Fellows, the Catholics and the Hebrews 
 have cemeteries inclosed. 
 
 The Bescret Telegraph Company completed its 
 line to Pioehe in October, 1871, and the Western 
 Union line was completed in October, 1872. These 
 two companies conducted business separately till 
 January 1, 1878, since which time the two offices 
 have been in one apartment, and conducted by one 
 operator — J. L. Sears, The post-office building is 
 made of stone and was erected in 1869, Wells, Fargo 
 & Co's Express office is in a brick and stone build- 
 ing. The office was established here in 1870. There 
 is an assay office in a wood building. A daily mail 
 is received from the East by way of Milford on the 
 Southern Utah, and a tri-weekly from Eureka. The 
 Pioehe Record, once a large and prominent daily 
 paper, is now published weekly. [See chapter on 
 Journalism in Nevada.] 
 
 OTHER TOWNS AND CITIES. 
 
 Bristol City is situated on the Bristol range of 
 mountains, about twenty-five miles northeast of 
 Pioehe, Its distance from Eureka, by the traveled 
 route, is 180 miles, and from Milford, Utah, 120 
 miles. Ore was discovered in 1870, by a party of 
 Mormons, Messrs. Atchison, Hyatt and Hardy. In 
 1871 the district was organized, the town of National 
 City started, and a smelting furnace built. The lat- 
 ter was operated only a short time, after which it 
 remained idle until 1878. In the winter of 1877-78 
 new ore discoveries were made, and in the following 
 March the smelting furnace was started up. A new 
 company was also organized, a water jacket furnace 
 built, and the name of the town changed to Bristol. 
 It has two stores, one blacksmith sho)), three board- 
 ing houses, a livery stable, post-office, etc., and a popu- 
 lation of 100. It is the trading point for about 7(10 men 
 who work in the mines of the surrounding region. 
 It has no religious organizations, but services are 
 occasionally held by wandering missionaries. The 
 mines of the district are ])rodiu-ing about SI, 5(10 per 
 day. One hundred and fifty locations have been 
 made, and about :!(i0 miners are in the district. The 
 veins are found in limestone and quartzite, and 
 run northeast and southwest, obliquely across the 
 formation, and dipping to the southeast at an angle 
 of forty-five degrees. The ores are base, and arc 
 carbonized, and contain iron, antimony, lead and some 
 copper. In addition to silver the ores contain a small 
 per cent, of gold. The principal mines are the Ohio, 
 
HISTORY OF LINCOLN COUNTY. 
 
 489 
 
 Mayflower, Bristol Tunnel Company, Hillside. Bay 
 State, National, Tempest, Tiger, Iron, and (ircat 
 Eastern. The Hillside Mine has the deepest shaft. 
 720 feet; in the claim of the Bristol Tunnel Company 
 there is a tunnel 250 feet in length. Freight is 
 teamed from Milford at thirty-five dollars per ton, and 
 from Eureka at forty dollai-s per ton. Cedar and nut 
 pino are abundant close by. Water is obtained from 
 wells at Bristol, and is hauled a distance of from three 
 to five miles to the mines. The ores are worked by 
 smelting, and by the milling and roasting process. 
 The present facilities for working ores consist of the 
 smelting works, and a ten-stamp mill with a Howell 
 roaster. Both establishments have a total capacity 
 of forty-five tons per day. The records of the dis- 
 trict are kept by William Roe. 
 
 BuLLioNviLLE is Situated on the north side, one 
 and a half miles from the head of Meadow Valley 
 and twelve miles southeast from Pioche. This being 
 the nearest point to the principal mines of this dis- 
 trict at which a good and never failing supply of water 
 could be obtained, most of the mills for the reduction 
 of ore in the Ely District were located here. The 
 town dates its origin from the erection of the first 
 mill, and it grew rapidly till 187-1, when it contained 
 a population of 500, and was a lively business place. 
 In 1875 it commenced to decline. In 1877 two of 
 the mills were taken away, and in the spring of 1880 
 the remaining mill stopped running, and the town was 
 really deserted. vSinco then a new companj- has pur- 
 chased the tailings and put up new smelling and con- 
 centrating works, which has infused new life into 
 the town. The abundance of water found in the 
 mines of Pioche in 1876, rendered BuUionville no 
 longer a necessity for milling purposes. The popula- 
 tion now is 100. 
 
 BuNKEUViLLK, situated thirty-five miles northeast 
 from St. Thomas, on the Rio Virgen, and near the 
 east line of Lincoln Countj', was located in Jan nary, 
 1877, by E. Bunker and others, who came to that 
 part of the count}' to engage in farming. The town 
 now contains about l25 people, one store, one saloon, 
 one restaurant, one livery stable and one blacksmith 
 shop. They have a poet-office and a somi-weeklj- 
 mail. There is one church building, which cost S5((0, 
 and will seat about 350 persons, owned by the 
 " Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints," a 
 Mormon Sabbath-school with sixty scholars in usual 
 attendance, one day school with thirty-three pupils. 
 The buildings are for the most part adobe, though 
 there are a few frame structures. Their supplies 
 are obtained mostly from St. (ieorgo. in Utah, about 
 fifty miles distant to the northeast. The taxable 
 property in the township is valued at about 82,000. 
 Good water is obtained from the Rio Virgen and 
 wood from the valley along the stream. The soil in 
 the vicinity of the town is well adapted to agricul- 
 ture, vegetables being raised in great abundance. 
 Near the town are some remarkable curiosities, ruins 
 
 of a stone fort, relics, no doubt, of the Spaniard of 
 -Mexico or Arizona, evidences of whose trace may 
 be found in remains of old furnaces, pottery, etc., in 
 various places in southern liincoln County. 
 
 Callville was settled in 18G4 by Anson Call and 
 a small number of emigrants from northern Utah. 
 They constructed a few dwellings and two ware- 
 houses for the storage of freight, for at that time it 
 was believed that considerable trade would soon 
 spring up along the navigable portion of the Colorado 
 River. The altitude of the town is 700 feet. It 
 is situated on the banks of the Colorado, among 
 rough gorges and barren sand-hills. The surround- 
 ing scenery is desolate in the extreme, and few of 
 the original settlers remained. Its position, however, 
 is an important one, standing at the head of naviga- 
 tion on the Colorado River, and must eventually be 
 connected with Fort Yuma by a line of freight and 
 passenger steamers. A charter has already been 
 obtained for a railroad from Eureka to Callville. At 
 the last session of the State Legislature a memorial 
 to Congress was adopted, asking for the immediate 
 improvement of the Colorado River to Callville. It 
 set I'orth that evidences exist that a prehistoric race, 
 advanced in art, science and civilization once occupied 
 the region bordering on the Colorado, from the 
 (Jrand Canon to the Gulf of California, and inhabited 
 large and regularly laid-out cities; built canals, 
 aqueducts, highways and culverts; understood engi- 
 neering, constructed systems of irrigation and drain- 
 age, and embarked cxtensivelj- in mining operations. 
 The fact that Nevada has never before asked the 
 General Government for river improvements was 
 adverted to, and it was urged that immeasurable 
 benefits would accrue by rendering the Colorado 
 navigable at all seasons of the year to Callville, since 
 vessels can now ascend to it only during the spring 
 months. An appropriation of 8250,000 was asked 
 for, and it will undoubtedl}' be granted within a 
 reasonable period of time. The result would be M 
 vast enhancement of the prosperity of eastern 
 Nevada. 
 
 Ei, Dorado is in Colorado District, in the extreme 
 southeastern corner of the State, and is about four 
 miles west of the Colorado River, near the cele- 
 brated El Dorado Canon. It was started in 1801, 
 at the time of the discovery of ore and the organi- 
 tion of the district, and at present consists of a 
 store, boarding-house, saloon, blacksmith shop and a 
 few dwellings. A ten-stamp mill was erected in 
 1804, almost entirelj' composed of old material and 
 machinery. This was run at intervals for three orfour 
 years, after which its capacity was increased by the 
 addition of five stamps and a roasting furnace. At 
 the present time a new ten-stamp mill is being built. 
 The nearest railroad station is Fort Yuma, on the 
 Southern Pacific Railroad, with an excellent chance 
 for steam navigation up the Colorado to Callville. 
 The cost of freight from San Francisco, bj' water, is 
 
490 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 eight}- dollars per ton. El Dorado Canon is a re- 
 markable fissure through masses of roek, and is 
 twelve miles in length. Its width varies from twenty 
 to two hundred yards, and its walls are from two 
 hundred to six hundred feet in height, abounding 
 in striking and majestic scenes. Through this 
 canon flows the Colorado, having a fall of 240 feet 
 to the mile. By reason of ravines or washes, it is 
 conveniently reached from the mines, and affords an 
 unlimited supply of water. Wood from the adja- 
 cent mountains is delivered at ten dollars per cord. 
 Much of it is rafted down the river for a distance 
 of 125 miles. Float-wood is also caught in large 
 quantities during high water, and costs only one dollar 
 per cord. Ore was discovered in April, 18G1, by 
 Joseph Good and others, from Xorth San Juan, Cal- 
 ifornia. For several years considerable work was 
 done. Xo steam hoisting works have been put up 
 at any of the mines, hand windlasses being used 
 where tunnels and cuts are impracticable. Salt is 
 obtained from the mines near the Rio Yirgen, and is 
 brought down in boats from St. Thomas. The veins 
 in the district are found in talcose slate, and run 
 southeast and northwest across the formation, and 
 dip to the southeast at a slight angle. The ores are 
 base, and contain lead, antimony and zinc, and in 
 addition to silver, carry ten per cent, of gold. Six 
 hundred and fifty locations have been made in all, 
 forty of which have been recorded within the past 
 year. The principal mines are the Savage, Nash, 
 January, O. K., Silver Eagle, Silver Legion and 
 Techatticup. The latter-named mine contains a 
 shaft 380 feet deep, and a tunnel 400 feet long. 
 Mining prospects are regarded as very promising. 
 
 HiKO, situated in the Pahranagat range of mount- 
 ains, sixty-five miles southwest of Piochc, was laid 
 out in the spring of 18GG, by Col. \V. II. Raymond 
 and others. Mr. Raymond had purchased a large 
 quantilj' of what were called "squatters claims," in 
 this vicinity, lie had been East the year before, and 
 brought back with him the Pioneer Mill, which he 
 erected with the avowed object of determining the 
 value of the Pahranagat ores. This, however, proved 
 a complete failure, both in construction and in work- 
 ing the ores, and was taken down and removed to 
 -Meadow Vailc}-, op|)08ite I'anaca to work the ores of 
 the Ely District. 
 
 In March, 18G7, by the action of the County Com- 
 missioners, lliko became the county seat of Lincoln 
 County, and continued to be such till the twenty- 
 fourth day of February, 1871, when, by the action 
 of the Legislature and the vote of the people, the 
 county seat was removed to Pioche. At one time 
 Iliko was a lively little village, but after the removal 
 of the county seat, it declined in population and 
 importance to almost nothing, although a post-office 
 is still maintained there, with a semi-weekly mail 
 from Piocho. 
 
 In the summer of 1881, Jay Gould, of New York, 
 
 commenced at this point to survey the line of a rail- 
 road which is thought will connect San Francisco 
 with the Utah Southern. Should this road pass 
 through Hiko, it may again become a town of some 
 importance. 
 
 Highland is situated on the summit of Bennett 
 Spring Mountain, in Highland District. Pioche is 
 the nearest post-office. Ore was discovered in 1868, 
 by H. Henderson, Mr. McDougal and others, and in 
 1869 a district was organized, and the town was 
 started. The latter consists of a boarding house, 
 brewery, saloon, and a few dwellings. Twenty-five 
 miners are in the district, and about fifty locations 
 have been made. The veins run north and south 
 across the formation, which is of limestone, and dip 
 to the east at various angles. The ores are base, 
 containing lead principally, but showing copper, iron, 
 and a small per cent, of gold. The leading mines are 
 the Mendha, Phcenix, Henderson, and Arizona. 
 Selected ores from the latter have assayed fron 880 
 to 8210 per ton. The Mendha iline contains a shaft 
 300 feet deep, and a tunnel 800 feet long. Selected 
 ores from the Phienix and Henderson Mines have 
 assayed from 880 to 8210 per ton. The nearest rail- 
 road station is Milford, Utah, 120 miles distant, from 
 which freight is brought bj' team at the rate of thirty 
 dollars per ton. Fir, white and yellow pine, and 
 mahogany are in abundance near the mines; water 
 is hauled from springs two miles distant. The ores 
 are smelted at Bristol, twenty miles distant, at a cost 
 of seven dollars per ton, and about twenty-five tons 
 are taken from the mines daily. The records of the 
 district are kept by the County Recorder. 
 
 JuNCTioNViLLE is a few miles south of St. Thomas, 
 and twenty-five miles northeast of C'allville. D. 
 Bonelle was its pioneer settler, being attracted there 
 in 1875. J. Ellis arrived soon afterwards. Thej- 
 opened a mail station and stopping-place for travel- 
 ers, and also tried to do some farming, as the 
 locality was on the direct route of travel between 
 Idaho, Utah and Nevada, Arizona and Mexico. It 
 stands on a small delta at the confluence of the 
 Colorado River and Rio Virgen, and is surrounded 
 by barren hills, and by the mountains of the Grand 
 Canon of the Colorado. 
 
 The first white settlement of any part of this 
 region took place about the year 1856 by some few 
 Mormon families establishing a way-station at Ijas 
 Vegas for the convenience of the overland travel 
 between southern California and Salt Lake City. 
 This settlement was abandoned again by tliem 
 when the branch at San Bernardino was called to 
 Salt Lake, about 1857, and the station fell into the 
 hands of other white men who have since occupied 
 it. In 1865 a mission of some 250 Mormon families, 
 from northern Utah, arrived, and settled the vallej' 
 of the Muddy, establishing five villages along the 
 course of the stream; the lowest and largest, near 
 the confluence of the Muddy with the Rio Virgen, 
 
 Ji 
 
HISTORY OF LINCOLN COUNTY. 
 
 491 
 
 was called St. Thomas, and maintained the prece- 
 dence over the rest by reason of first rights to 
 water and proximity to the (^olorado River, which 
 wa.s calculated upon as an important factor in the 
 prof^ress of settlements, a large warehouse being 
 built at Callvillo, and steamboats bringing goods 
 from California to that point. In ISGS, these settle- 
 ments were about doubled in population by another 
 influx from the north, and the Muddj- Valley flour- 
 ished as I'ah-Ute County, Arizona. The subsequent 
 cession by Congress of a degree of longitude from 
 Arizona to Nevada placed these settlements within 
 the State of Nevada, and some controversies arose 
 with the authorities of Lincoln County about taxes 
 of former j-ears, during which Brigham Young 
 ordered the abandonment of the Muddj- settlements, 
 and the exodus of the entire population, excepting 
 one family', took place in March, 1871. 
 
 During the Mormon occupancy of the valley some 
 4(tO,0(IO shade trees, some 50,000 grape-vines and 
 fruit trees were planted, and about 3,000 acres of 
 land were reclaimed and irrigated, the aggregate 
 expense of dams and ditches being about 8200,000. 
 The products of the soil were wheat, barley, corn, 
 cane, grapes, peaches, plums, and some other fruits; 
 cereals j'ielding very well; cotton flourishing better 
 than in Tennessee or Kentucky. I'nder the close 
 and diligent culture of these people ten acres of soil 
 would sustain an ordinary family comfortably. 
 Since the exodus the land has passed into other 
 hands, in quarter sections, taken up under the Pos- 
 sessory Act of Nevada, and has retrograded in 
 capacity of production as it has lacked careful 
 attendance. There are about 500 acres of swamp 
 lands in the valley, susceptible of drainage, and 
 now yielding only wild hay. 
 
 The only industry followed is farming. Lack of 
 transportation renders mining impracticable, except 
 that the mills of El Dorado Canon and of northern 
 Arizona mining camps are supplied with rock salt 
 from the l{io Virgen. This salt is blasted out of 
 solid ledges, resembling those in Poland and Bavaria, 
 and is carried on boats on the Colorado Iliver, and 
 used in roasting and chloridizing silver ore. 
 
 The aboriginal Pah-Ute inhabitants of this region 
 have declined from 500 lodges to about 150 souls, 
 during the past two decades just elapsed. 
 
 The Colorado River forms the boundary of the 
 county and State for 175 miles and is or would bo 
 navigable if any industry existed sufticicnt to war- 
 rant it, up to the point of intersection of the west 
 boundary of Arizona at the foot of the celebrated 
 Grand Canon; although the highest point reached bj' 
 a large steamer heretofore is Junctionville at the 
 mouth of the llio Virgen, where a tract of desert 
 land is being reclaimed. At this point the mountain 
 passes of the State and of Utah, and the drainage of 
 this vast region converge with the Colorado liiver, 
 thus determining also the main lines of travel which 
 follow the natural passes, which in primeval ages 
 
 were immense water-courses. The indications of a 
 more advanced tribe of Indians having occupied this 
 region are numerous, ])ottery ware of superior char- 
 acter being often found. Also ruins of rock forts and 
 irrigating ditches are occasionally seen, similar to 
 those ascribed to the Aztecs and found among the 
 Pueblos, The climate of this region is semi-tropical, 
 the maximum temperature of summer in the shade 
 being 120°, and the minimum temperature of win- 
 ter about 20° above zero. Grapes, tigs, pomegran- 
 ates, etc, etc., are in their proper sphere here, and 
 thrive wherever planted and attended. All crops 
 need irrigation. No society has existed hero since 
 the Mormon exodus in 1871, The region has been 
 sparsely settled, and mostly by a transient element, 
 having no religious profession or name in which 
 any considerable number agreed. The T'tah South- 
 ern Railroad is the nearest point for shijjment by 
 rail, and is 250 miles distant. The rate of freight 
 from Milford is from S80 to 8100 per ton. Su])plies 
 are brought from Utah and from El Dorado Canon. 
 
 Panaca is located in Meadow Valley, three miles 
 below the head of it, and is fourteen miles southeast 
 of Pioche. It was laid out by the first settlers in 
 1864, and grew rapidly till 1868, when it had over 
 500 inhabitants. Business continued to be prosper- 
 ous till in 1873, when work for the mines fall- 
 ing off the town commenced going down. The 
 present population numbers about 300 people, with 
 a larger percentage of children than any other town 
 in the State, the school census giving eightj'. Pan- 
 aca has a tine school house, which cost 81,200, and 
 which will accommodate 120 pupils. The average 
 attendance is sixty. 
 
 The town occupies about 250 acres of land, which 
 is laid out in lots and blocks. The water supply is 
 abundant, being taken from Warm Spring, which is 
 about one and one-half miles east of the town. A 
 large stream of water, about three feet deep and six 
 feet wide, is thrown out from this spring, and the 
 quantity is not aft'ected by the seasons. This is the 
 principal source of water suj)ply for the whole valley. 
 
 ]{oVAi, City is in Jack Rabbit District, on the 
 eastern slope of the Bristol range of mountains, 
 about a mile east of Day Mine Stage Station, and 
 previous to 1876 was included in Bristol Di.-itrict, It 
 is situated near the mines, and contains a store, sa- 
 loon, boarding-house, blacksmith shop and restaurant. 
 Ore was discovered in 1876 by Isaac (iarrison and 
 others, and a district was at once organized. The 
 veins are found in limestone. The vein matter is 
 black and white spar, and runs northeast and south- 
 west with the formation. Its dip is nearlj- vertical. 
 The ore is soft and carries native silver in flakes, 
 and chambers are also found containing very rich 
 carbonate deposits. No indications of gold exist. 
 The Day or Jack Rabbit Mine is the princij>al one. 
 It has been worked since 1876, and at present is 
 yielding ten tons per day. It is owned by a San 
 
492 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Francisco corjjoration known as the Day Silver Min 
 ing Company, of which A. S. Gould is Superintend- 
 ent. ItH regular vein goes about forty dollars per 
 ton, and the chambers of carbonate yield as high, 
 sometimes, as 82,000 per ton. It contains a shaft 
 525 feet deep, and a tunnel 900 feet long. Freight 
 from San Francisco costs 8120 per ton; it costs 
 $40 per ton from Milford, on the Utah Southern 
 Railroad, 115 miles distant, and is brought by team. 
 Water is hauled from wells three miles distant. A 
 scanty supply of pine, cedar and mahogany exist at 
 the distance of six miles. The ore is smelted at 
 Bristol, seven and one-half miles distant. Forty 
 miners are in the district, twentj--five locations, and 
 the records are kept by George F. Weed. 
 
 vSt. Thomas was laid out in 18G4, in obedience to 
 the instructions of Brigham Young, and a ilormon 
 colony was established there. Jt was then expected 
 that commerce and emigration M'ould move toward 
 thenavigable waters of the Colorado, and St. Thomas 
 was intended as one of the various settlements that 
 were to connect Salt Lake City with that river. Its 
 colonists consisted of seventy-five families from 
 northern Utah, under the leadership of Thomas 
 Smith. The town is situated on a small eminence at 
 the mouth of a mountain gorge near Muddy Eiver, 
 and its altitude is 800 feet. Surrounding it are dry 
 mesas and sandstone hills. At the preriod of its 
 greatest prosperity, in 1807, it contained 500 inhab- 
 itants. Its streets and irrigiition ditches are shaded 
 by 20,000 Cottonwood trees. Overton is seven miles 
 northwest of St. Thomas, St. Joseph is eleven miles 
 northwest, Junctionville is twenty-five miles south- 
 ward, and thirty-five miles to the northward isBun- 
 kerville. Fuel consists of mcsquit and drift-wood, 
 and is gathered on the bottom-lands of theVirgen and 
 Muddy. 
 
 The cemetery is not inclosed. The prevalent dis- 
 eases are ague and malarious complaints of a mild 
 type. Only four families now live at St. Thomas, 
 the original population having been withdrawn to 
 Utah. A livery stable, blacksmith shop, butcher 
 shop, store, post-ofRce and stopping- place for trav- 
 elers represent all existing business activitj-. The 
 buildings are adobe. The water supply is obtained 
 from Muddy River, which contains two thousand 
 inches, and is claimed by the first settlers, bj- priority 
 right. The nearest railroad station is iMIH'onl, Utah, 
 260 miles distant. Freight is teamed from that 
 point at a cost of eighty dollars perion. The jn-inci- 
 pal supplies are obtained from Salt Lake City and 
 St. (ieorge, Utah, and from Pioche, Nevada. An 
 adobe school house, 12x11 feet in size, accommodates 
 twenty-five or thirty pupils. The taxable jjropcrty 
 of the township is valued at 81(1,000; aggregate 
 length of streets, five miles; agricultural operations 
 in the vicinity are confined to farming and stock- 
 raising on a small scale. The only murder on record 
 is that of George Reed, a teamster, who was fatally 
 
 shot with a needle gun, in 1872, by a man known by 
 the sobriquet of " Green River." Nothing was done 
 about it. 
 
 On August 9, 1872, a flood occurred which in- 
 flicted considerable damage. 
 
 Salt Moi'ntai.n, three miles south of St. Thomas, 
 is a leilge of solid crystalline salt, which, aside from 
 its material value, is of remarkable interest from the 
 fact that it contains traces of prc-historic man. 
 Jt crops out along the points of the low hills three- 
 quarters of a mile west of the Rio Virgen, is 75 or 
 100 feet in width, and dips slightlj^ to the west. 
 Trachitic tufa incases it on either side. The canons 
 from the hills to the weslwai'd of it cut through it to 
 the depth of 50 or GO feet. It is worked on the 
 sides of these canons, and is so hard as to require 
 blasting. The tufa is a light chocolate color, and 
 has stained the salt. The altitude of this mine is 
 1,100 feet above the sea, and about 300 feet above 
 the level of the Rio Virgen. Another body of salt, 
 of a similar character, crops out on the face of a 
 hill on the east side of the river, about three miles 
 south of the first described deposit. It can be traced, 
 at intervals, for a distance of four miles to the south- 
 ward, in the low hills about half a mile from the river. 
 This body of salt is estimated to be about nine miles 
 long, including the opening where the river i)asses it. 
 Two miles west of the mouth of the Rio Virgen, on 
 a bench of ground, is a natural salt well, with a 
 funnel-shaped opening about ;>0(l feet in diameter. 
 The sides descend at an angle of about 30°. The 
 water is sevent}' feet below the level of the opening, 
 has a temperature of about 70° and is very salty. 
 Its depth has not been ascertained, but it is known 
 to be more than seventy feet deep. To mine the 
 rock salt costs about five dollars per ton, and it costs 
 about eight to ten dollars per ton to deliver it at nav- 
 igable waters. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIX. 
 HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY 
 
 Character (if the Surface — .Samuel S. lUicklaiul — (i. W. Burrier — 
 Jolin Carting — Organization and Bmnularics — Appointments 
 anil Elections — Creation of a Comity Deht^ Internal Im- 
 provements — Court House anil County Jail — Investigation 
 anil Kconomy — Kinilier Cleaver — .1. S. Campbell — John 
 l.othrop — li.l'. Ilnnilall — J. I). Sims— Prospecting.' for Coal 
 — I'rincipal .Mining l>istriets — IVincipal Towns ;ititl Cities — 
 Principal tjuartz Mills — ^History of the Sutro Tunnel — Col. 
 C. C. Thomas. 
 
 Ti!K general character of the surface of Lj'on 
 County is mountainous and barren, except along the 
 Carson River where there is land susceptible of cul- 
 tivation. 
 
 The Carson Valley l)ottom, as it was called, com- 
 menced about one mile above Dayton and continued 
 down the river about twelve miles. Near Fort 
 Churchill, now Bucklands, there is quite an exten- 
 sive tract of good land, which, by irrigation, might 
 be capable of raising an immense amount of all kinds 
 
 I 
 
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 Q. 
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 QC 
 
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 ^'S y>f.':tj«'- 
 
 co 
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 "3 
 
HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 
 
 493 
 
 of produce. This section is now known as the Big 
 Bend of Carson Valley. The quantity of hay grown 
 in 18G3 was estimated at 2,100 tons. Grain and veg- 
 etables were also raised in abundance. It was esti- 
 mated that 10,000 acres ol' land might easily be 
 br4)ught under cultivation. There is not much alkali 
 in the soil, the drainage of the river effecting the 
 elimination of that class of minerals. In manj- ])arts 
 of the county, especially south and east of Dayton, 
 the country is covered with ranges of low mountains. 
 The nut pine abounded in these portions of the 
 county in an early day. The cutting and hauling of 
 this timber, or wood rather, to the mills of Da3-ton, 
 furnished employment for many men. It was esti- 
 mated in 1865 that the twenty-eight mills around 
 Dayton consumed 1,815 cords of wood perday, much 
 of which came from this source. This extraordinary 
 destruction soon denuded a countr}' by no means 
 well timbered, and that source of revenue was soon 
 exhausted. Walker River runs through the south- 
 eastern corner of the county, leaving about eight 
 miles of the famous Mason Valley within the lines. 
 
 SAMUEL S. BUCKLAND, 
 
 Whose name appears so often in the early history of 
 Nevada, was born at Kirkersville, Licking County, 
 Ohio, September 13, 1826, where he remained until 
 he reached the age of about twenty-four years, at 
 which time he came, by waj- of the Isthmus of Pan- 
 ama, to California, arriving in San Francisco on his 
 birthday, 1830. His aspirations led him to the mines, 
 and he soon after started for those in the northern 
 part of the State, in company with James O. Will- 
 iams, of '• Williams' Station " notoriety, where he 
 remained until 1857. During the last-named year he 
 came to what is now Nevada, intending to buy an 
 improved ranch of the Mormons, hut found they had 
 left for the eastern part of the territory three days 
 prior to his arrival. In the fall of the year he 
 engaged in packing suj)])lies from Piacervilie, Cali- 
 fornia, to Genoa, using ten mules, and receiving eight 
 cents per pound freightage. There being but little 
 snow that winter he continued this business nearly 
 all the time until the spring of 1858, when he took 
 up a ranch in Jack's Vallej'. In these last two bus- 
 iness relations he was associated with James O. 
 Williams. After selling this ranch they dissolved 
 partnership and Mr. Buckland took up another ranch 
 at the north end of Carson Valley, which he sold 
 during the same year. 
 
 In Jul}-, 1858, he took charge of a band of iiOO 
 cattle belonging to W. H. Bloomfield, moving them 
 from Carson Valley to the big bend of the C'arson 
 River. He arrived at the place known as Buckland's 
 Station the last day of July, that year. He took up 
 a ranch for Bloomfield on what is known as the 
 Island, and built a cabin. In the fall of 1850 ho 
 settled on his present ranch, and at the suggestion 
 of Mr. Roberts. Agent for the Overland Stage Com- 
 pany, established a station and ke])t the stage stock 
 and boarded the company's men. In the winter of 
 62 
 
 1859-CO Lo built a bridge across the Carson River 
 near the station, which was used as a toll-bridge 
 for some years. This was the first bridge built over 
 the river below Carson Valley, and was in use until 
 1865, when it was replacetl by one of a toll-road com- 
 ]>:iny's. During the month of November, 1859, snow 
 fell to the depth of two and one-half feet and the 
 winter was unusuallj' severe. Mr. Buckland, how- 
 ever, lived in a tent and " took boarders." Some- 
 times as many as twenty men were staying with 
 him. All who could found room to sleep on the floor 
 of his "tent hotel," and the remainder were obliged 
 to resort to the haystack. He did not charge for 
 lodging, though he acted as chambermaid and cook 
 for the wearj' travelers. In the s|)ring of 1860 ho 
 built a log cabin, of good size, that was replaced by 
 his present residence ten years later. In ]S6-t he 
 opened a store, the goods being kept in his house 
 until he erected a stone building for their reception. 
 His partner in the mercantile business was Henry 
 Bethel, who lost his life by the explosion of the 
 steamer Yo Semite, on the Sacramento River, in Oc- 
 tober, 1865. 
 
 Mr. Buckland was married December 6, 1860, to 
 Miss Eliza A. Prentice, at the residence of G. M. 
 Reed. Their union was blessed with eight children, 
 three of whom are now living: George H., aged 
 eighteen: Nelson J., aged fourteen, and John F., aged 
 nine years. The portraits of these brave pioneers, 
 and the pleasant home they have made out of the 
 wilderness in the valley of the Carson, will be found 
 elsewhere in this work. 
 
 O. W. BURRIER 
 
 Is a native of Penns3-lvania, born in Luzerne County, 
 September 14, 1838, where he lived until he was 
 about four years of age. He then went with his 
 parents to Rock County, Wisconsin. In April. 1861, 
 he left homo and came to the then wild country 
 that is now called the Slate of Nevada. Soon after 
 his arrival, he located on some land near where his 
 present residence now stands, and purchasing some 
 of W. II. Bloomfield, has a fine ranch containing 
 637 acres, all of which is inclosed, 60 acres hav- 
 ing been plowed; 260 acres is classed as haj- land, 
 and the remainder is well ada]>ted for grazing. 
 Mr. Hurrier was one of the first to sow grain in his 
 section of the country, putting in ten acres of barley 
 as early as 1862. Owing to a lack of knowledge as 
 to the proper waj- to irrigate, he, like others, made 
 a failure of his first attempt. His total jMcld that 
 year was not over three tons, but he has since 
 learned how to produce as much, and as fine grain 
 as can bo raised in the county. In 1864 he exper- 
 imented with trees, setting out several varieties of 
 fruit-bearing trees; among them were a dozen apple, 
 only three of which lived, but thej' began bearing 
 the next year, and have continued to 3Meld fruit over 
 since. His peach trees all died. In 1863 he pro- 
 cured some strawberry plants from ('alifornia, and 
 
¥Ji 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 the next year gathered about fortj- pounds of fine 
 fruit, that sold readily for half a dollar per pound. 
 There were 1,000 plants originally, but requiring 
 too much attention, were allowed to run wild. 
 Coming from a warmer climate they start too early 
 in the spring for his locality. Currants are a success, 
 but blackberries brought from California do not 
 thrive. 
 
 During the winter of 1861-62, snow fell to a depth 
 of about eighteen inches, on a level around his 
 his habitation, and a warm rain following soon after, 
 his partly constructed log-house was washed away; 
 he, however, regained the logs and built a house on 
 higher ground, in which he lived until he built a 
 frame house, his present residence, during the winter 
 of 1863-64. 
 
 Mr. Burrier was married in 1872 to Miss Helen 
 Burst, at Hanover, Rock County, Wisconsin, and 
 they have an interesting little daughter about six 
 years of age. 
 
 JOHN CARLIN, 
 
 Son of John and Catherine (Dalej-) Carlin, is a 
 native of Hudson County, New Jersey, and the date 
 of his birth was the fourteenth of March, 1841. His 
 first occupation, according to his best recollections, 
 was driving a produce wagon from his home into 
 Washington Market in the city of New York. In 
 1860 he came to California, by way of the Isthmus 
 of Panama. He naturally sought the mines as the 
 proper place to enlarge his worldly treasures and 
 became one of the earl}- prospectors in the Mono 
 County placers. In the spring of 1861 he mined at 
 Placerville, El Dorado County, and was again in the 
 Mono diggings in the fall of that year. Having 
 accumulated a little coin by industrj- and hard work 
 he came to Daj'ton, L^'on County, Nevada, in 1861 
 and engaged in teaming until January, 1863, at 
 which time he purchased one-half of his jiresent 
 home ranch, then containing 360 acres, and otie year 
 later became sole owner. P'rom a small farm of 360 
 acres he has from time to time purchased adjoining 
 lands until he is at present the jiossessor of 4,000 
 acres of very detiirable land, on a portion of which 
 stands his elegant residence that can best be appreci- 
 ated by reference to a view of the same to be 
 found in this work. His land is well divided, 120 
 acres being under cultivation, 1,000 acres of meadow, 
 and the remainder in pasture land, the whole being 
 under a substantial I'enco. Ho has also about twenty 
 miles of ditches for irrigating purposes. 
 
 Mr. Carling was married in October, 1865, to Miss 
 M. L. Newman, of Lj-on County, and of the six 
 children born to them but throe are living, named 
 James H., aged twelve; Mary E., aged eight; and 
 Maggie C, aged five years. Their mother now 
 sleeps in the cemetery that overlooks the ruins of 
 Fort Churchill, a dweller in the city of the dead, 
 having crossed the silent river on the twenty-second 
 of July, 1880. 
 
 ORGANIZATION AND BOUNDARIES. 
 
 We have given an extended histoiy of the early 
 settlement of the territory of which Washoe, Storey, 
 Douglas and Lj-on Counties were formed, and in 
 this sketch will speak of Lyon County as a political 
 organization, and give some account of the social 
 and financial features at the time it was created a 
 countj'. The great influx of active, aggressive men, 
 eager for wealth and not always particular how it 
 was obtained rendered the formation of county gov- 
 ernments absolutely necessary. The most feasible 
 routes of travel to the new mines lay through this 
 section; the only available water-power for the 
 reduction of ores was along the Carson River; the 
 overland travel came directly through it, and these 
 facts, with the rich silver mines of the Devil's Gate 
 and other districts, then supposed to be equal, if not 
 better, than the Virginia and Gold Hill mines, had 
 induced a large number of people to settle within its 
 limits. In fact, Silver City was a town sooner than 
 Virginia Citj-or Gold Hill, and l)ayton was supposed 
 to be a candidate for the location of the future Cap- 
 ital. Section 5 of the Act to create counties and 
 establish the boundaries thereof, approved Novem- 
 ber 2.5, 1861, provides that there shall be a county, 
 to be known as Lyon County, to include all that 
 part of the Territory within the boundaries described 
 as follows: — 
 
 Beginning at the southeast corner of Washoe 
 Countj-; thence following the north line of Ormsby 
 County, in a southeasterly direction, to the Half-way 
 House between Silver City and Carson Cit}-; thence 
 following the said line of Ormsby County to Douglas 
 County; thence following the northern boundary of 
 Douglas County to the llOth meridian of west longi- 
 tude; thence north five miles; thence, by direct line, 
 northwesterly to a point on Carson River one mile 
 below Reed's Station; thence north three miles; 
 thence westerly, bj' a direct line, to the southern 
 boundary of the Gold Hill Mining District, but run- 
 ning so as to include in this countj' the Devil's (iate 
 Toll-house; thence continuing westerly in the same 
 course to the eastern boundar}' of Waslioi' ("i)untj-; 
 and thence southerly along the eastern boundary of 
 said county to the place of beginning. 
 
 Daj-ton was appointed the county seat. At the 
 same time the county of Churchill was organized on 
 the east of Lyon, with provisions that for judicial 
 and revenue purposes they should be considered one 
 county. The name Lyon was in honor of (ieneral 
 Nathaniel Lyon, who fell in the battle of Willson's 
 Creek, near Springfield, Missouri. 
 
 AI'I'OINTMKNTS AND ELECTIONS. 
 
 In accordance with the provisions of the creative 
 Act, the (rovernor, in December, 1861, appointed the 
 county oflicers, who hold their positions till Januarj' 
 14, lS(i2, when their successors were elected. These 
 surrendered to their successors, who were chosen at 
 the general election held September 3, 1862, so that 
 there were three sots of officers in power during the 
 year 1862. 
 
HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 
 
 495 
 
 Below will be found, under appropriate heads, the 
 names of all the persons who have filled the differ- 
 ent offices of honor and trust in the county from its 
 organization down to the present time, cither by 
 appointment or election, with the date of such 
 appointment or election, and (he particular office 
 each has tilled. 
 
 SENATORS. 
 
 R. M. Ford, elected Territorial Councilman Sep- 
 tember 3, 18(52; N. P. Sheldon, elected September 2, 
 1863; D. L. Hastings and John McDonald elected on 
 the defeated Constitutional ticket .Tanuarj' 19, 1804; 
 W. Ci. Lee, elected September 7, 1S()4, but superseded 
 by Alfred James, elected under the new Constitu- 
 tion November 8, 18G4; C. Carpenter, elected No 
 vember 0, 1S(;(;; L». L. Hastings and M. S. Ilurd were 
 elected November 3, 18G8; J. C. Haylett, elected 
 November 5, 1870; J. S. Davenport, elected Novem- 
 ber 5, 1872; W. R. King, elected November 3, 1874; 
 Wm. J. Westertield, elected November 7, 187(i; \Vm. 
 R. King, elected November 5, 1878; Wm. J. Wester- 
 field, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 ASSEMBLY.MEN. 
 
 Jno. McDonald, Jr., Jno. B. Winters and J. M. 
 Ackley were elected September 3, 1862; McDonald, 
 R. E. Trask and Benj. (Jurler were elected September 
 2, 18G3; Curler, J, B. Brayleton, C. F. Brandt and 
 C. A. Witherell were elected January 19, 1864, but 
 did not serve, (he Constitution being defeated; J. D. 
 Hedfern and II. (J. Parker were elected as Territo- 
 rial Representatives September 7, 1864; W. T. Toombs, 
 W. C. Lee, H. S. Parker, November 8, 1864; Jas. 
 Crawford, Geo. A. Hudson and Geo. W. Walton, 
 elected November 7. 1865; Walton, J. F. Rooney and 
 A. Koneman, elected November I), 1866; C. D. King, 
 J. K. Barnej- and T. C. Ford, elected November 3. 
 1868; Geo. W. Likens, W. D. Dovey and J. F. Rooney, 
 elected November 8, 1870; James Crawford, T. M. 
 Hart and T. P. Mack, elected November 5, 1872; N. 
 C. Dovej', H. J. Carling and L. Morrill, elected No- 
 vember 3, 1874; P. D. Wright, H. Kennedy and C. 
 Cleaver, elected November 7, 187G; AV. E. Smith, II. 
 Kennedy and Levy Lamb, elected November 5, 1S78; 
 J. J. Corbett, M. H. Fallon and J. E. Gignoux, 
 elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. 
 
 E. B. Zabriskie, Rufus E. Trask and S. S. Buck- 
 land, were appointed by the Legislature December 11, 
 1861; B. C. Howard, R. E. Trask, S. S. Buckland. 
 elected January 14, 1862; T. Varney, L. L. Crockett 
 and B. C. Howard, elected September 3, 1862; Chas. 
 Ludlam, appo'nted County Commissioner December 
 22, 1862, in place of Varney, deceased, Howard 
 resigned May 7, 1866; A. Koneman was appointed 
 July 2, 1866; L. L. Crockett and T. J. Cochran, 
 elected September 2, 1863; G. W. Walton, elected 
 September 7, 1864; F. H. Smith, Jno. Cutler and J. 
 K. Barney, elected November 6, 1866; Smith resigned 
 September 4, 1867, and Robt. Robinson was appointed 
 September 9, 1867. 
 
 W. W. Byron, J. F. Rooney and W. Buncher were 
 elected November 3, 1868; J. L. Campbell, A. Per- 
 kins and C. R. Ahorn were elected Novembers, 1870, 
 Ahern resigned November 4, 1871; J. A. Angell, 
 appointed December 9, 1871; Albert Perkins and J. 
 M. McGinnis were elected November 5, 1872; J. R. 
 Shaw and J. M. McGinnis, elected November 3, 1874; 
 J. G. McKinzie, G. W. Burrier were elected Novem 
 ber 7, 187G; G. W. Burrier and J. R. Shaw, elected 
 November 5, 1878; J. R. Shaw and H. J. T. Schell 
 wei-e elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 DISTRICT ATTORNEYS. 
 
 Frank II. Kennedy, appointed by the Executive 
 December 18, 1861; Ellas B. Zabriskie, appointed 
 March 22, 1862, resigned November 17, 1862, and F. 
 H. Kennedy, re-appointed; Wm. M. Gates, elected 
 September 2, 1863, re-elected November G, 18G6, re- 
 elected again November 3, 18G8; J. Powell, Jr., elected 
 November 8, 1870; Geo. W. Keith, elected November 
 5, 1872, re-elected November 3, 1874, November 7, 
 1876; John Powell, Jr., elected November 5, 1878; 
 Geo. W. Keith, elected November 2. 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SHERIFFS. 
 
 J. Martin Reese was appointed by the Executive 
 December 11, 1861; G. H. Moore, elected January 14, 
 1862, re-elected September 3, 1862. resigned October 
 20, 1863— H. C. Lynch, appointed; (t. W. Shaw, 
 elected September 7, 1864, re-elected November 6, 
 18GG, Xovember 3, 1868, November 8, 1870. and 
 November a, 1872; R. A. Cooke, elected November 
 3, 1874, re-elected November 7, 1876, re-elected again 
 November 5, 1878, and November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY CLERKS. 
 
 Daniel Kendrick was appointed by the Executive 
 December 21, 1861, re-elected January 14, 1862. re- 
 elected again September 3, 1862, September 7, 1864, 
 November G, 1866; died August 20, 1867, and W. 
 A. Landers was appointed to fill vacancy on the 
 twentj'-second of same month; G. W. Keith, elected 
 November 3, 1868, i-e-elected November 8, 1870; J. 
 A. Bonhan, elected November 5, 1872, reelected 
 November 3, 1874, J. S. Dallas, elected November 7, 
 1876, re-elected Novembers, 1878, and again Novem- 
 ber 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY TREASURERS. 
 
 John Irvine was a])pointed bj' the PLxecutive De- 
 cember 21, 1861; John Irvine, Jr., was elected Janu- 
 ary 14, 1862, resigned Juno 2, 1862, N. C. Power was 
 appointed; K. II. Dean was elected September 7, 
 18)4, and resigned Novembers, 1865, B. F. Leet was 
 appointed; B. H. Carrick, elected November 6, 1866, 
 re-elected November 3, 1868, re-elected again No- 
 vember 8, 187(1; W. W. Byron, elected November 5, 
 1872; (tco. W. Shaw, elected November 3, 1874; J, 
 D, Sims, elected November 7, 1876, re-elected No- 
 vember 5. 1878, re-elected again November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY ASSESSORS. 
 
 Daniel Vanderhoof, elected January 14, 1862; 
 Daniel L. Smith, elected September 3, 1862; J. K. 
 Barney, elected September 7, 18ti4; D. L. Smith, 
 
496 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 elected November 6, 1866; G. C. McFadden, elected 
 November 3, 1868, re-elected November 8, 1870, 
 re-elected again November 5, 1872; O. E. Naeh 
 elected November 3, 1874, C. F. Brant, elected No- 
 vember 7, 1876, re-elected November 5, 1878; Fred 
 Winzell, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY RECORDERS. 
 
 John G. Shirts was appointed by the Executive 
 December 20, 1861; A. W. Russell, elected January 
 14, 1862, re-elected September 3, 1862, re-elected 
 again September 7, 1864; C. D. MoDuffie, elected 
 November 6, 1866; L. L. Crockett, elected Novem- 
 ber 3, 1868, re-elected November 8, 1870, and again 
 November 5, 1872; Z. T. Gilpin, elected November 
 3, 1874; John Lothrop, elected November 7, 1876, 
 re-elected November 5, 1878; W. R. Davis, elected 
 November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS. 
 
 S. W. Kees was elected January 14, 1862; C. D. 
 McDuffie, elected September 3, 1862, re-elected Sep- 
 tember 7, 1864; J. C. Hazlett, elected November 6, 
 1866, re-elected November 3, 1868; P. T. Kirby, 
 elected November 8, 1870, resigned November 4, 
 1871, C. V. Boiset appointed February 20, 1872; M. 
 B. Augustine, elected November 5, 1872; J. G. Crom- 
 well, elected November 3, 1874, resigned December 
 6, 1875; C. D. McDuffie appointed, who resigned 
 September 4, 1876, and was succeeded by W. E. 
 Doovey; John G. Young was elected November 7, 
 1876, re-elected November 5, 1878; T. B. Mercer, 
 elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SURVEYORS. 
 
 Francis Tagliabue was appointed by the Execu- 
 tive, December 13, 1861; John Day was elected Jan- 
 uary 14, 1862, and was re-elected September 3, 1862, 
 re-elected again Seitttmber 7, 1864, again re-elected 
 November 6, 1866; R. T. Mullard, elected November 
 3, 1868; J. C. Grubcr, elected November 8, 1870; A. 
 S. Dildine, elected November 5, 1872, re-elected 
 November 3, 1874, again re-elected November 7, 
 1870, and November 5, 1878; John M. Campbell, 
 and elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 PUBLIC AD.MINISTRATORS. 
 
 T. II. Laverty, elected November 6, 1866; J. II. 
 Jaqua, elected November 3, 1868; W. H. II. Scott, 
 elected November 8, 1870; Isaac Leversee, elected 
 November 5, 1872, re-elected November 3, 1874; 
 Thomas R. Hawkins, elected November 7, 1876; 
 George E. Jaqua, elected November 5, 1878; J. P. 
 Haj-nes, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY COLLECTORS. 
 
 J. S. Dillej' was elected January 14, 1862; M. W. 
 Starling, elecled September 3,1862, re-elected Septem- 
 ber 3, 1862, re-elected September 7, 1864, resigned 
 September 4, 1866; B. II. Carrick was apj)ointed. 
 
 INTERNAL l.MPROVE.MENTS. 
 
 Soon after the approval of the bills organizing the 
 counties of J^yon and Churchill, and uniting them 
 temi)()rarily for judicial and revenue purposes, a full 
 set of officers was appointed by the Governor, who 
 
 held their respective places till their successors were 
 elected, in January, 1862. By a reference to the 
 election returns of that year it will be seen that 
 there were no lack of candidates, although they 
 were to hold only till the next general election, 
 in September of the same year. 
 
 At the meeting of the Board of Commissioners 
 in 1862, A. F. Hurley contested the election of A. 
 \V. Russell for Recorder, on what grounds does not 
 appear, but the Board declined to investigate the 
 matter for want of jurisdiction. Churchill County 
 was made a district for the election of a Commis- 
 sioner. The Board made an appropriation of 
 810,000 to build a free bridge across the Carson, 
 provided the public would subscribe a sufficient 
 sum in addition to this to complete the bridge. 
 This appropriation was however revoked at a sub- 
 sequent meeting: and in December following the 
 Legislature authorized Bolivar Roberts to build a 
 toll-bridge across the Carson, at Dayton. By a 
 special Act of the Legislature, the Dayton Gas- 
 light Compan\- was organized, to be under the 
 management of M. W. Starling, William Haydon, 
 James H. Jaqua, and their associates. Tbe Silver 
 City Water (Jompaiij- was also created, Robert C. 
 Buzan and others being managers. Isaac II. Stith 
 and associates were authorized to build a toll-bridge 
 across the Carson, at Franklin Mill; and finally a 
 vast project for inland navigation was conceived 
 and attempted. This project was nothing less than 
 an attempt to improve the Carson River and Car- 
 son Lake, the Humboldt River and Humboldt Lake, 
 so as to make a continuous line of navigation from 
 Dayton to Humboldt City. The charter was granted 
 to J. Jacobson, John Bowen, Alexander Pierson, John 
 Taylor, T. Reynolds, and associates. The plan has 
 never been executed, but it was considered far more 
 feasible than the great Sutro Tunnel was, which is 
 now a fixed fact, and with the same energy might 
 also have been accomplished. 
 
 CREATION OP A COUNTY DEBT. 
 
 To create a countj' government is much easier 
 than to run it afterwards. Money is required. Sal- 
 aries of officers must be paid, rents for rooms as well. 
 In short, a county government must be paid for. 
 The debts had accumulated until outstanding war- 
 rants called for 81,902.50, exclusive of interest. 
 There was no money in tbe treasury, and something 
 had to bo done. The Auditor was authorized to 
 issue bonds, bearing interest, and paj-able out of the 
 general fund when there should be anj-. It was 
 stipulated that the bonds should be sold for not less 
 than half of the face thereof It was also ordered 
 that the rent of the Court House and jail be paid 
 the same way. 
 
 The jail was an insecure place, and extra guards 
 had to be stationed around the prisoner who had 
 murdered Varney. Silver Cit}' also had its share of 
 criminals, with no suitable lock-up; a sum of 8250 
 was ordered to be expended for that object, i)rovided 
 
X 
 
 < 
 
 UJ 
 
HISTORY OF LYON COTTNTY. 
 
 497 
 
 the citizens of Silver City raise half as much more 
 for the same purpose. 
 
 COrRT HOUSE AND COUNTY" JAII,. 
 
 A king without a kingdom; a general without an 
 army; a county without a Court House — what are 
 they? A Court House was determined ujjon. and 
 Commissioner Howard was authorized to procure 
 plans and estimates, and to obtain such legislation 
 at the session of 1SG4 as would enable the Commis- 
 sioners to issue bonds necessary for the purpose. 
 Accordingly the Legislature passed an Act, approved 
 February 18, 1864, which authorized the Commis- 
 sioners to issue bonds, to the amount of 830,000, 
 bearing interest at the rate of ten per cent, per 
 annum. 
 
 A call for plans and proposals was inserted in a 
 Virginia paper April 4th, and was dulj- responded to. 
 Sites were ottered for the buildings in ditt'erent parts 
 of the town, but the Commissioners fixed upon a lot 
 on Main Street, near Leslie's haj- yard and a bouse 
 occupied by Rothschild; provided that the parties 
 interested in the lot gave a trust-deed to the Com- 
 missioners, and opened streets in the vicinity; these 
 latter conditions not being complied with the loca- 
 tion should be at another specified point. John C. 
 McDonald, Jr. was appointed to sell the bonds to 
 be issued by the county. April 4, 18G4, the contract 
 for building the Court House was awarded to Wm. 
 M. Hussc}', who gave bonds for the faithful per- 
 formance of the work in the sum of 86,000. B. C. 
 Howard, one of the Commissioners was authorized 
 to superintend the work, at a salary of §200 per 
 month, March 20, 18G5, the Commissioners levied a 
 special tax of fortj'-five cents on each 8100 for the 
 erection of the county buildings, to be applied to the 
 bonds. In May, 1866, the Grand Jury made an 
 examination into the aff'airs of the Court House, 
 there being some dissatisfaction on the purt^of the 
 public in regard to the matter. Their report August 
 8, 18(U), will make the matter plainer than any con- 
 densed history can. It was as Ibllows: — 
 
 We find the Commissioners of Lyon County au- 
 thorized bj' Act (approved February 18, 1864,) to 
 issue bonds in $30,000, payable 85,000 in one year, 
 85,000 in two years, 810,000 in three years and 810,- 
 000 in four years, bearing interest payable semi- 
 annually at ten percent, per annum; to appoint a 
 suitable person to negotiate the sale of bonds, no 
 sale to be negotiated at not less than seventy-five per 
 cent;, on the par value. Said agent encouraged the 
 letting of the contract for the erection of the build- 
 ing, as he had succeeded in negotiating for the sale 
 of the bonds. A contract was let in April, 1864, to 
 Wra. M. Hussej-, for 818,750, for the erection of a 
 Court House, exclusive of the jail. The contractor 
 proceeded at once to the erection of the building. 
 After he had expended several thousand dollars, and 
 had completed the basement walls, the first storj' 
 approaching completion, information was received 
 from the agent that the parties with whom he had 
 negotiated for the sale of the bonds had declined 
 advancing the money upon them without assigning 
 any satisfactory reason. Then it was that the first 
 
 financial embarrassment occurred, leaving the Com- 
 missioners with the contract upon their hands, it 
 having been abandoned by the contractor, anil the 
 count}' deeply involved for the work already per- 
 formed. * * * To relieve the embarrass- 
 ment individual notes were issued by the Commis- 
 sioners pledging the faith of the county for the re- 
 demption. These notes were given to quiet the ap- 
 prehension of parties who had furnished labor and 
 material, the Commissioners presuming that the in- 
 terest that would accruo on these notes would be 
 much less than the costs that would necessarily arise 
 from legal proceedings threatened bj' the various 
 claimants. Then to procure money to relieve their 
 obligations the Commissioners were obliged to give 
 their notes pledging the bonds as collateral security. 
 
 Accompanying the report was a financial state- 
 ment of the Court House affairs, showing the total 
 cost of the jail and Court House to be 849,066.15. 
 The 830,000 of bonds had been sold for 824,500, 
 leaving a debt of over 825,000, on account of the 
 Court House, still outstanding. The Commissioners 
 found, in the course of their investigations, that B, 
 C. Howard had been paid 82,180 for superintending 
 the work of construction. Thej- also found that the 
 sum of 83,509.10 had been paid for interest upon 
 notes which had been given from time to time during 
 the process of the work of building, and that these 
 various sums were incorporated into the total cost of 
 the building. 
 
 In this way the county buildings cost the county 
 twice as much as they would have done for cash in 
 hand, and the accumulation of years of interest has 
 made them cost, probably, three times as much. 
 
 INVESTIGATION AND ECONOMY. 
 
 The Grand Jury, at this time, went into a 
 thorough investigation of all the financial matters 
 of the county from its organization to that time 
 (1866). They found the entire receipts of the 
 county, from December 30, 1861, to August 7, 1866, 
 to be 8199,263.54, and the total disbursements for 
 same time, including a defalcation of Treasurer 
 Dean in the sum of 82,484, to be 8105,669.18. And 
 still there was an outstanding indebtedness of 840,- 
 952.82. 
 
 They entered into an extensive mathematical cal- 
 culation and found that at the i)resent rates of income 
 and expenditure it would take just 272 j-ears to pay 
 ofi' the debt, and recommended that it be bonded and 
 a tax levied that would extinguish the debt in four 
 years. They also recommended that the expendi- 
 tures be put on a cash basis, and thought that the 
 legitimate expenses might be brought within 81,000 
 per month. As there was no paper published in the 
 county the report was posted in the Clerk's office. 
 October 8, 1866, in accordance with the recommenda- 
 tion of the Grand Jury, the Commissioners levied a 
 tax of ninety cents on each 8100, to be applied to 
 the Court House bonds. 
 
 Following up the work of economy and retrench- 
 ment thus auspiciously begun, the county was very 
 soon enabled to paj- current expenses without the 
 
498 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 necessity of putting its scrip on the market at a dis- 
 count, and materially to reduce the bonded debt. 
 In 1873, less than ten years, the bonded debt was 
 reduced to 815,000, and to-da}' it is entirely wiped 
 out. The present population of the county is 2,400. 
 For a more perfect knowledi^c of the products of 
 the county, the number of acres under cultivation, 
 the stock and grain raised and the fruit trees and 
 vineyards, reference is bad to pages IH.'), 136, 139 and 
 140 of the general history. For the bullion product 
 of the county see table elsewhere in this book. 
 
 PROSPECTINO FOR COAL. 
 
 Coal has not been found in quantity, or is it likely 
 to be. The ranges of metamorphic slates, granite, 
 syenite and porphyry which traverse the State indi- 
 cate the presence of metals older than coal. On the 
 other hand the fact that the Great Basin was form- 
 erly an inland sea: that the rivers flowing from the 
 Eocky Jlountains and also from the Sierra would 
 be likely to bring down with them large quantities 
 of drift-wood, point to the probability of deposits of 
 lignite, or brown coal, which is a deposit of a recent 
 age. The peat beds and deposits of vegetable matters 
 several i'ect in thickness along the Humboldt, point 
 to such a conclusion. If they had been buried a few 
 hundred feet in a tight clay for a hundred thousand 
 years or more, they would now have been tertiary 
 coal or lignite. Such deposits have been sought for, 
 but not with great success. The largest yet known 
 is in this county, about twenty-five miles southeast 
 ofUayton in El Dorado Canon, though mention of it 
 is made at other places. It is found in a similar for- 
 mation near Walkers Lake, and also in Washoe Val- 
 ley, and appears to be comjiosed of nearly the same 
 kinds of timber now growing on the hills and mount- 
 ains to the east, the pine being particularly abun- 
 dant. The first discoveries were made in 1861 by 
 Whitman and others. They proceeded to organize a 
 mining district and establish regulations for the 
 size of claims. Forty acres were allowed in each 
 claim, which was to be surveyed and treated as real 
 estate. The Whitman Com])any expended 810,000 
 or more in prospecting, but did not find very much 
 to remunerate them. The coal was worth at the 
 mines about twelve dollars per ton. It is said that 
 it contained so much incombustible matter as to 
 choke the flues and obstruct the draft, though much 
 of the dilficulty might have resulted from inexperi- 
 ence in the use of it. The beds of coal were on a 
 slope about twenty degrees from a horizontal, and 
 were from six inches to thirty inches in thickness, 
 inclosed in strata of clays of different kinds, some of 
 them approximating fire clays in mineral character, 
 all finall}' terminating in a coarse sand. 
 
 The discoveries in El Dorado Cafion were made 
 soon after. This coal, or lignite, met with more favor 
 than that of the Whitman Mine, several hundred 
 tons being carried to market in a short time. Sam- 
 ples from the Newcastle Mine assayed as fo 1 .ws: — 
 
 Moisture 19 65 
 
 Hydro Carbonaceous Matter 40 59 
 
 Fixed Carbon 28 31 
 
 Ash. 11 00 
 
 With traces of sulphur and iron. 
 
 It was remarkably free from sulphur, and if found 
 in sufficient quantities, would be of value. For the 
 most of the foregoing statements we are indebted to 
 the work of J. Ross Brown on the mines of the 
 Pacific Coast. 
 
 According to the report of the State Geologist for 
 1876, the explorations for coal in El Dorado Canon 
 have been quite extensive, something over 8200.000 
 having been expended in the search. The shafts 
 have been carried down to a depth of 600 feet or 
 more. The prospects were at one time so promising 
 that a railroad to the mines was contemplated, a char- 
 ter having been granted by the Legislature for this 
 purpose. 
 
 PRINCIPAL .MININO DISTRICTS. 
 
 The mineral veins in the early days were not con- 
 sidered much inferior to those of Virginia City and 
 Gold Hill. In all mining countries where the mines 
 are free to those who will find and work them there 
 are a large number of men who will stake off claims 
 in any direction that is possible for a lead to be 
 found. Everything like a quartz vein, or even a 
 stained rock, will attract their attention; they lay 
 claim to it, doing just enough to hold the ground, 
 and otherwise wait the approach of the industrial 
 miner, with shafts and tunnels, to develop the sup- 
 posed lead, and enhance the value of their ground. 
 If the lead runs through their ground they make a 
 stake, if not, they seek some other scone of excite- 
 ..ment, and tr}' again. Lyon County was no excep- 
 tion to this rule. It was overrun b}' a multitude of 
 prospectors and forestallers. By the first of January, 
 1860, the number of claims recorded amounted to 
 thousands, manj^ of which never had five dollars 
 of work done on them. To give the names of all 
 the locations would be giving too much space to 
 folly. Only noted mines will be mentioned. 
 
 Devil's Gate District was organized November 
 19, 1859, and is situated in Lyon County, about 
 two miles from Dayton. The first claim was 
 named the "Wild Cat," and was recorded Novem- 
 ber 24, 1859. By the first of January, 1860, there 
 were as many as 100 locations recorded. Among 
 the prominent claims were the Pride of the West, 
 Buckej-e, Gray and Cook, Kossuth, Mount Hope, 
 Danej-, and many others. The Daney eventually 
 became a celebrated mine. The Surveyor General, 
 in his report of 1865, claims that the Grosh Brothers 
 made the discovery of silver in this district as early 
 as 1857, on the ground then (1865) owned by the 
 Kossuth Company. 
 
 Indian Spring District was claimed to be rich, 
 having a number of promising mines, among which 
 were the Whitman. Jackson, Enterprise, Consoli- 
 
HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 
 
 499 
 
 dated, Maiden, Half X, Commodore, Walton, Spring 
 Dale, Maine, Superior, Buena Vista, Constitution, 
 Red, White and Blue, Banner, Washington and 
 Oswego. 
 
 In the southeastern part of the county, near 
 Esmeralda, were found several veins of copper ore, 
 which assayed also fifteen to eighteen dollars per 
 ton in gold and silver The ledges appeared to be 
 true fissure veins, with selvage or gouge of clay, 
 and firm, well-defined walls, with a dip to the east. 
 This belt of veins, carrying silver and gold as well 
 as copper, was said to cover hundreds of s(iuare 
 miles in the vicinity of Walker River, and to 
 extend an unknown distance into other counties. 
 This view of the matter was taken in 18(35, when 
 it was sujiposed that Nevada was almost a mass of ore. 
 
 Palmyra District was about eight miles south- 
 east of Dayton, among the Pine Nut Mountains. 
 The whole district was covered with a dense growth 
 of nut pine, which, however, was soon stripped off. 
 Water was found in sufficient quantity for steam 
 purposes. The mining claims looking best at the 
 time of the organization were the Orizaba, Tecumsoh, 
 Rappahannock, Jloy Del Monte, Orizaba No. 2, 
 Santa liosa. Palmyra, ^lontgomery, Santa ('ruz, 
 Walker, Oriental, Magna Charta, Nebraska, Buena 
 Vista, Prince of Wales, Anna McLellan, Winfield 
 Scott, Jlontezuma, Margaret White, La Fayette, St. 
 Lawrence, Cash Ledge, Express Company, Mont- 
 gomery Ledge, Green Mountain (!ompany. Vera 
 Cruz, Green Mountain Boy, Hooker Ledge, San Jose 
 Company, and the Wagram. These were all consid- 
 ered promising, but none of them have been mined 
 with good results. 
 
 PRINCIPAL TOWNS AND CITIES. 
 
 Cleaver is one of the stations on the Carson and 
 Colorado Railroad, thirty-nine miles southeast of 
 Dayton, in the valley of Walker River, being a north- 
 ern extension of Mason Valley. The surrounding 
 region is well adapted to farming and grazing, and 
 the station has the promise of growing into a busi- 
 ness town. The Carson and Colorado Railroad, which 
 has now fifty miles of track in T^yon County, is more 
 fully described in the chapter on railroads in the 
 early pages of this work. 
 
 KI.MHER CLEAVER 
 
 Was born near Toronto, Canada West, July 10, 1837. 
 His father, J. H. Cleaver, emigrated from PennsjM- 
 vania to Canada a few years before his birth. Be- 
 coming involved in the War of the Patriotsof 18li7-:{8 
 the family sacrificed their properly in the struggle 
 for libertj', and, being forced to leave the country of 
 their adoption, became henceforth one of that band 
 of fearless pioneers who blazed the way of civiliza- 
 tion to the far West, bringing up in Iowa in 1853. 
 The subject of this sketch hail, by his early life and 
 experience instilled in him a great desire for knowl- 
 edge, which on every occasion he developed, thereby 
 securing, by close application to his books, an excel- 
 
 lent common school education. In 1861, when the 
 youth and aged were rallying around the flag, Kim- 
 ber Cleaver entered for the War of the Rebellion as 
 member of Compaii}- II, Thirteenth Regiment Iowa 
 Infantry, the flag of which regiment he faithfully 
 followed from Shiloh (where he was wounded) to 
 Vicksburg, and from Atlanta to the Sea, being again 
 wounded at Atlanta, serving in all three years and 
 ten months, seeing active service most of the time. 
 At the close of the war he returned to Marshalltown, 
 Iowa, and the peaceful pursuits of his farm. He was 
 married to Miss R. A. IJandall on May 14, 18(58, and 
 removed to Mason Valley, L3-on County, in 1873. He 
 has, of course, experienced some fluctuations in fort- 
 une during an active life of nearly forty-four 3-ears, 
 but now, being well established on a pleasant ranch, 
 and also dealing in agricultural implements, with a 
 home and his wife and happy children about him, 
 he evinces no desire for a change. He is an earnest 
 advocate of Republican principles and is an active 
 leader of the temperance cause, being an officer of 
 the Grand Lodge of the I. O. G. T. of Nevada, and 
 an untiring and efficient member of the home lodge, 
 which numbers among its members many of the 
 representative men of the valley, who, with Mr. 
 Cleaver, are zealous in their desire to inspire the 
 youth of the land with industrious and temperate 
 habits and to instill into their minds the nobler aspi- 
 rations of manhood. 
 
 Co.Mo AND Palmyra, two towns in Palmyra Min- 
 ing District, situated soutlieast from Dayton, at one 
 time contained seven hundred inhabitants, but they 
 have since been nearly abandoned. Como was quite 
 a place in its day. In ISGl the town cast 200 votes 
 for Lincoln and not one for McClellan. The people 
 had determined to have 200 votes, and to make the 
 number a sick tJcrman was taken from his bed and 
 carried to the polls. Some said the man was dead 
 when he was voted; others say he was alive at the 
 time, but died shortly afterwards. 
 
 At that time Como was the county seat of Lyon 
 County, and had a newspaper called the Como Sen- 
 tinel, a livelj% hopeful sheet, with no doubt whatever 
 of the ultimate success of everything connected with 
 Como. 
 
 Notwithstanding all the blandishments of the 
 place, men would commit suicide. The first death 
 was of this nature. The place was so alarmingly 
 healthy that it was a deliatable question whether any 
 one would not have to move away to die, so that the 
 suicide might have been a grand, self-sacrificing ex- 
 periment. The ingenuity, as well as the liberalitj^ 
 of the (riti/.ens. was taxed to give him a decent 
 burial. There was no sawed lumber to bo had for 
 love or money, but a wagon-bed which had been 
 utilized as a |iig pen was brought into re(|uisition, 
 and the youthful swine had to give up his house to 
 accommodate the suicide's body, Alf Doten made 
 the cofiSn, As there was no paint, a mixture of blood 
 
500 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 and other materials was used to stain the wood, 
 polishing it with a rag. This piece of extravagance 
 cost his friends forty dollars. 
 
 When the first mill arrived in Como. a public 
 reception was tendered it. A procession headed bj' 
 a band composed of fife, drum, cymbals and cornet, 
 escorted it into the town. This mill, called the 
 Solomon Davis Jlill, bad quite an eventful history. 
 It was built in California for saving free gold, and 
 when quite old, was brought into Nevada and set up 
 at Dayton, being the second steam mill at that 
 place. It proved a failure, and in 1863 it was moved 
 to Como with the ceremonies mentioned. It was 
 true to its former character, and made no money for 
 its owners. In December, 1865, this mill was moved 
 to the Kearsage District, and ground out a twelve- 
 horse load of bullion for Almarin B. Paul, which 
 was taken to Virginia City under a strong guard of 
 troops. When it arrived it proved to be pyrites 
 of iron ! 
 
 The town of C!omo, in spite of its having such a 
 romantic name, graduallj' dwindled away, hotel, 
 saloon, stores and mining oflfices consolidating until 
 but one solitary individual. Judge G. W. Walton, 
 was left. On the night of November 22, 1874, the 
 cabin burned down, leaving his charred remains as 
 the last of Como. He was a Mason, and his body 
 was taken in charge by the fraternity and buried in 
 the southwest corner of their cemeterj' at Dayton. 
 Judge Walton at his death was sixty-three years old. 
 
 Captain Truckee, perhaps the best Indian that 
 ever inhabited Nevada, lived in this vicinity. He 
 was always the white man's friend, and when he 
 died he was buried according to his wish, "alle same 
 white man," with a " wooden head-stone " marking 
 his grave. This has since rotted away, and now no 
 one can tell where Captain Truckee sleeps. His 
 death occurred October 8. 1860. 
 
 D.WTON, the present count}' seat, is at the mouth 
 of the gulch, or stream, which runs from the Bonanza 
 mines to the Carson Kiver, and at the end of the 
 twenty-mile desert, across the fireat Bend of the 
 Carson, and seven miles from Gold Hill. It has had 
 an existence since 1849, but for ten years ])revious to 
 the discovery of silver was only a straggling lianilet, 
 bearing the name of Chinatown, in consequence of 
 the Chinese engaged in washing the gravel of the 
 ravine for gold, being the most numerous of any 
 nationalitjv The jirescnt name was determined at a 
 public meeting, held for that purpose November ;5. 
 1861. The discovery of the rich silver lodes had the 
 effect of near!}' destroying the ])iace I'or awhile, as 
 the discovery of gold did .San Francisco, hardly a 
 half-dozen persons being left to keep possession. 
 Manj- of the houses were moved away to \'irginia 
 City and (lold Hill. As the mines developed the 
 relation of Daj'ton to them became apparent, it 
 was the natural gateway to tlie outside world. Jn 
 addition to this the mill-sites along the Carson Kiver 
 were necessary to reduce the rich ores, consequently 
 
 a reaction set in that made Dayton nearly as flour- 
 ishing as Virginia City or (Jold Hill. All the min- 
 eral had to pay toll there. From the time that 
 milling commenced Dayton had a full share of the 
 profits arising from mining. In 1865 it had 2.500 
 inhabitants, a school house, lodge of Free and 
 Accepted Masons numbering fifty members, lodge 
 of Independent Order of Odd Fellows numbering 
 twenty-seven, a military company of eightj'-four, 
 one brewery, five car|)enters, three grocery stores, 
 seven hotels, five saloons, three lumber yards, and 
 other institutions common to flourishing towns in 
 mining countries. 
 
 In 1880 the population was about 200. It has a 
 post-office, telegra])h and express office, hotel, drug- 
 store, three for general merchandise, several saloons, 
 two blacksmith shops, two shoo shops, and one 
 barber shop. The people complain of its being 
 terribly dull. 
 
 In July, 1866, the people of Dayton sustained heavy 
 loses by fire. The office of the Lyon Countj^ Sentinel 
 was destroyed, and the paper was subsequently 
 issued in small sheets containing legal advertise- 
 ments. 
 
 J. L. CAMPBELL, 
 
 The subject of the following sketch, is a native of 
 Indiana, born in the city of Logansport, Cass Countj', 
 March 7, 1832. His father and mother were natives 
 of the State of New Jersey. At the age of twelve 
 years, Mr. Campbell emigrated, with his parents, to 
 New Boston, Illinois, where he remained as a plow- 
 boy, on his father's farm, until he reached his major- 
 ity. He had during that time acquired a fair educa- 
 tion, and, as youth ripened into manhood, he thought 
 to better his condition by leaving the j)arental roof, 
 and launching out into the great world in search of 
 the fortune he believed in store for him. He, there- 
 fore, decided upon California as the place for his 
 future operations, and, accordingly, jirepared for a 
 trip across the plains, and, alter a five months' 
 journej", through the hiirren country lying between 
 his home and the Pacific Coast, arrived in Sonora, 
 Tuolumne County, where he engaged in the butch- 
 ering business, and continued to follow that occupa- 
 tion until 1S62, al which lime ho crossed the mount- 
 ains, and located at Daj-ton, Lyon County, Nevada. 
 Since his arrival in this State, Mr. Campbell has 
 followed the same business, having besides his estab- 
 lishment in Dayton a branch meat-market in the 
 town of Sutro. about three miles away. He kills 
 his own beef, and, therefore, is able to supply bis 
 many customei-n with a fine (Hiality of meal. 
 
 He was first married at Sonora. California, to 
 Miss Liz./.ie Mitchell, a native of Ohio, who joined 
 her husband in l)a3'ton,Juiy 1, lS(i3, and was buried 
 in the cemetery at that place, on the twenty-first of 
 September, the same year. One son, George B., is 
 the result of that union. 
 
 Mr. Campbell was again married in 1867, and has 
 six children, four boys and two girls. 
 
S. S. BUCKLAND. 
 
 M'".' S. 5. BUCKLAND. 
 
 "^.^t^^^.-^:^^ ^ 
 
 
 
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 Vrf« 
 
 
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 t-i I i I 
 
 .--:•'.'.^ 
 
 RESIDENCE AND PARTIAL VIEW OF RANCH OF S.S. BUCKLAND. 
 
 FORT CHURCHILL, LYON CO.,NEV 
 
HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 
 
 601 
 
 MR. JOHN LOTHROP 
 
 l.s a nutive of Missouri, and was born July 25, 1842. 
 When ten years of ago he crossed the plains to Cali- 
 fornia, in 18()0 he became a resident of the State of 
 Nevada, and was actively employed in mining pur- 
 suits for several years, and has so satisfactorily 
 established himself in the esteem and regard of his 
 fellow-citizens that ho has been called upon to give 
 them good service as Deputy Sheriff and Deputy 
 Clerk, and has three times been elected Countj' 
 Recorder of Lyon County and is now a resident of 
 Daj'ton, the county seat of Lyon County. 
 
 a. p. R.\NUALL 
 
 Was born in Rhode Island, October 9, 1831. 
 His father, Samuel R. Randall, removed to Cincin- 
 nati in 1838. While there he was sent to school and 
 was advanced in his studies as much as was possible 
 at his ago, receiving Judicious care and careful 
 instruction at home, besides. When twelve j-ears of 
 age, bis parents removed to Campbell County, Ken- 
 tucky, and when eighteen years old, G. I'. Randall 
 returned to Cincinnati and worked at the blacksmith 
 trade until 1852. 
 
 He then loft for ('alifornia, reaching that long- 
 looked for goal on the last day of August, 18.J2. In 
 that year he was in Downieville, Sierra County, and 
 then in San Francisco, going from thence to I'unto 
 de los Rej-es, thirty-five miles from San Francisco, 
 where he remained until 1858 engaged in farming. 
 
 During the spring he removed to Calaveras Countj^ 
 and erected a substantial steam saw-mill in Nassau 
 Valley, and had it constantly running until 1861, 
 when he removed it to French Gulch, in the same 
 count}'. In 18(13 ho disposed of his business, sold the 
 saw-mill and went to Summit City, Alpine County, 
 but was there oiilj- a short time. He then came to 
 Nevada, farming in ('arson Valley, I)ouglas Count}', 
 and was so engaged until in 18C6 when he went to 
 Empire Cit}' and engaged in his legitimate business 
 of blucksmilhing, and for eight years continued at 
 that calling. In 1874 he removed to Dayton, Lyon 
 ('ounty, and purchased a blacksmith shop. He imme- 
 diately added extensive improvements, and now, in 
 1880, his shops and yards occupy an entire block in 
 the center of the growing town of Dayton. The 
 work which he turns out of his shops in wagon-mak- 
 ing and all the branches of the business shows him 
 a careful workman. 
 
 .Mr. Randall owns also a pretty residence in the 
 town. He married .Miss JI. E. C. Williamson, April 
 22, 1855. They have eight children living and three 
 deceased. 
 
 J. I>. SIMS, 
 
 Whose father, Robert Sims, left Tennessee at an 
 early day and settled in the then sparsely peopled 
 district of Missouri, now well-known as Greene 
 County. There, the subject of this sketch, was 
 born in 1841, and meritoriously remained with his 
 father until he was nineteen years of age, giving \ 
 63 
 
 most of his time and care to the clearing and culti- 
 vation of the farm, going to California in 1860, by 
 the southern overland stage route. He stopped in 
 Najia N'alley until the fall of that year, when he left 
 for Sacramento. 
 
 In the following sjiring he removed to the State 
 of Nevada and settled permanently in Dayton, Lyon 
 County. For a number of years he found steady 
 employment in the quartz mills, but concluding on 
 a change, in 1874, he established himself in a gene- 
 ral merchandising business, which has proven so 
 successful that he has found it necessary to extend 
 his facilities for trade, and to very materially en- 
 large his stock, and he now owns and occupies the 
 well-known brick building on Main Street. Mr. 
 Sims was elected Treasurer of Lyon County in 1876, 
 and being re-elected at each succeeding election he 
 has filled the position ever since; on the eighteenth 
 of September, 1880, was nominated by the Republi- 
 can convention for a third term, and being again 
 re-elected, is still Treasurer. In August, 1871, ho 
 married Miss Hattic E. Midgley, by whom ho had 
 four children, two of whom are dead and two are 
 now living. Mrs. Sims died on the twenty-third of 
 April, 1880. 
 
 Fort Churchill has often been mentioned in this 
 Historj'. and is more noted for its past than for its 
 ])resent. The glory of its military career has long 
 since departed. The Post was first occupied in 
 .June, 1860, by U. S. troops, under Captain Stewart, 
 who had been engaged in subduing the Indians at 
 Pyramid Lake, and after the commencement of the 
 War of the Rebellion, was enlarged and garrisoned 
 by the California Volunteers. Barracks and i|U«rter8 
 were erected at a largo cost, there being six fine 
 buildings for officers' quarters which cost S1G,Q00 
 each. In March, 1870, the Post was abandoned, 
 and tlio buildings sold at auction, bringing the sum of 
 8750. As a ranch overlooking the valley of the 
 Carson, it, for some years, hold its name, and later 
 the name is a]>plied to a station on the Carson and 
 Colorado Railroad, twenty miles oast of Da3'ton. The 
 railroad follows the Carson River to this point in 
 order to pass the Fort Churchill Caiion, then turning 
 Houth to the plains of Mason Valley and Walker 
 River. 
 
 Maso.v Vallev embraces a largo extent of country, 
 having within it the corners of the three counties of 
 Lyon, Douglas and Esmeralda. This is principally 
 described in the History of Esmeralda Count}', where 
 the town of that name and |)OSt-oflice is located. 
 Properly speaking, the extended valley should be 
 called Walker River Valley. This extensive valley 
 embraces one or more square townships of govern- 
 mont survey in Lyon County, the river flowing 
 from the south through Esmeralda, across the corner 
 of Lyon, for about ten miles, and into Churchill, 
 where it turns east, and then southerly to its moutb 
 in Walker Lake, Entering this valley from the 
 
502 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 north is the Carson and Colorado Eailroad, with the 
 stations of Wabuska, Cleaver and Mason. This 
 railroad has its initial ])oint at Mound House, in 
 Lyon County, on the Virginia and Truekee Eailroad, 
 and its present terminus at Hawthorne, in Esmeralda, 
 having a total length of 100 miles, about half of 
 which is in Lyon. 
 
 Mound House is a busy milling and railroad cen- 
 ter, six miles southwest of Dayton, being the junc- 
 tion of the new Carson and Colorado Railroad with 
 the Virginia and Truckcc Railroad. 
 
 Wabuska is one of the villages in the northern 
 part of Mason Valley, and is a station on the Carson 
 and Colorado Railroad, thirty-two miles southeast of 
 Dayton. The exact location is in township fifteen 
 north, range twenty-five east. Mount Diablo meridian 
 of the United Slates Land Survey. 
 
 Silver City was settled before Virginia Citj', and 
 was a place of considerable importance in 1860, hav- 
 ing four hotels, ten stores, two drug stores, two 
 butcher shops, three blacksmith shops, and several 
 elegant dwellings. In early days it rivaled Virginia 
 City in its mines, but failed to develop any "bonan- 
 zas," and afterwards derived most of its importance 
 from the quartz mills in its vicinity, and to being on 
 the line of travel between the "bonanza" mines and 
 the mills on the river. In 18G1 it had a population 
 of over 1,000 persons, the "Directory" giving the 
 names of 2G0 persons engaged in business. Several 
 hundred horses and mules, engaged in hauling 
 quartz, were boarded hero in the early years, and 
 the string of teams daily going to and fro were quite 
 a feature. 
 
 The Devil's Gate is an opening or gorge across 
 a reef of the metamorphic^ rock which traverses the 
 country parallel to the trend of the mountains. It 
 was a landmark from an early day, and was con- 
 stituted one point in the boundary line between 
 Storey and Lyon Counties. The town has^ few 
 resources for prosperity within itself, and, depending 
 upon the Comstock mines for life, it has partaken of 
 the general recent dullness. 
 
 It now has two hotels, two stables, one brewery, 
 express office, post-office, barber shop, blacksmith 
 shop, butcher shop, two shoe shops, one store for 
 general merchandise and several saloons. 
 
 Wadswortii on the Central Pacific Railroad is 
 claimed to be in Lj'on Cminty in its extreme north- 
 western corner, and is also claimed by Storey and 
 Washoe, the latter maintaining jurisdiction. 
 
 PHINCII'AL yUAKTZ MILLS. 
 
 Lyon County contains nearly all the mill-sites 
 available for reducing the ores of the mines of the 
 Comstock Lode, and, for a time, the whole of the 
 Carson River for twenty-five miles was claimed, and 
 much of it improved. John Lothrop, present 
 County Recorder, came to Dayton April )i'^, 1801, 
 and found the Logan and Holmes two-stamp mill 
 
 about 1,000 feet southeast of the present works of 
 the Lyon Mill and Mining Company. It had been 
 driven by an undershot water-wheel, but seemed to 
 have been abandoned. Tbe Sutro Mill was building 
 at the same time. This was the second mill built 
 in the canon, and the first that was run by steam 
 power. It had fifteen stamps, and was considered at 
 the time " a highly respectable aftair." The Carson 
 and Colorado Railroad runs through its ancient site 
 at the southwest bank of the canon in Dayton. It 
 worked ores for the Gould & Curry but it would 
 seem not verj' thoroughly, for Sutro has since 
 worked over the tailings, and made §100,000 out of 
 them. The mill was burned in 18(53, a man sleeping 
 on the premises perishing in the flames. There was 
 a rumor (hat the fire was premeditated to obtain 
 quite a large sum for which the mill was insured. 
 
 During the same season, 1801, the Solomon Davis 
 Mill was set up. This was an old aft'air from C!alifornia 
 and was only capable of saving free gold. It proved 
 a failure and was removed to Como, and thence to 
 the Kearsage District. Its history is given more 
 fully in the account of the town of Como. 
 
 The Rocky Point Mill, built in 18(51. was the first 
 large mill. A mill was put up opposite the point 
 where the Sutro Tunnel now opens about the same 
 time, but was soon after carried away by a flood. 
 The Illinois Mill was above the Rocky Point, and had 
 fifteen stamps. The Shaw Mill was east of the Rocky 
 Point. It had fifteen stamps, but was never put in 
 operation, as the Rocky Point Company claimed the 
 water with which the company expected to run the 
 mill, and succeeded in holding it. From this lime on 
 mill-sites were rapidly appropriated. Many a con- 
 test took place in settling these rights, in which a 
 strong arm and a resolute will took precedence of a 
 prior location. That the chaos terminated in a 
 peaceful industrial period of years is a matter of as- 
 tonishment and wonder to this day. It technical 
 law was violated, and the strong arm gras])ed more 
 than the courts would have awarded it, the property 
 generally fell to those who would utilize it. 
 
 In 1862 the following mills were in operation on 
 Carson River. First on the river below Ormsby 
 County was the Eureka Mill. The water was brought 
 through ditch and flume l.r>(Ml loot from the dam 120 
 feet long across the river. The building was "fix 180, 
 had twenty stamps, fonr arastras, and reduced thirty 
 tons of rock a day. They used the IlunI jirocess of 
 concentrating, with forty-two Hungarian bowls, 
 twelve copper concentrators, six flues, two Varny 
 pans and employed twenty-five hands. 
 
 iSan Francisco Mill, next below, with twenty 
 stamps, (Jhas. Itgen, A. H. Doschor, Chas. .McWill- 
 iams and William C. Divoll, proprietors, the last 
 named being Superintendent. 
 
 The Franklin Mill, Superintendent J. McDonald, 
 near the Daney ledge, was a large and substantial 
 structure l{Ox()(( feel, with ten stamps, two arastras, 
 with shaking tables and Hungarian rilttos. This was 
 
HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 
 
 503 
 
 one of the most substantial structures on the river. 
 The dam half a mile above was of stone, twenty 
 feet wide at the bottom and ten at the top. The 
 cost was about §00,000. The works were intended 
 to reduce the Daney ores, the mine being but one 
 and one-half miles distant. 
 
 Barton Company's Mill was situated on the east 
 side of the river below the Franklin. The water was 
 carried one and one-half miles from a sub.stantial 
 dam. The machinery was arastras, using the I'atio 
 process, J. N. Barton, Superintendent. 
 
 Sproul's Mills, owned by J. IJ. Sproul, C. C. Good- 
 win, Levi llile and J. E. Brett, the first named being 
 Superintendent, run ten stamps, but have water-power 
 for 100, if neeessarj'; use twentj- Huni^arian pans 
 and employ fifteen hands. 
 
 Carson Eiver Quartz Mill, Woodworth, Stewart and 
 Winters proprietors, was one and one-half miles 
 above Dayton. They had ton stamps and four aras- 
 tras. Two Turbine wheels were driven by a large 
 stream of water taken from the river 2,000 feet above, 
 the canal being twenty-three feet wide. The Hun- 
 garian bowls and Kayden process are used. 
 
 The Aurora Mills immediately joining the fore- 
 going, were owned by Mossheimer, John D. and 
 Joseph D. Winters and G. Kustcl, the latter being 
 Superintendent. Had thirty-eight stamps and re- 
 duced forty tons of rock per daj-. The two Turbine 
 wheels were driven by water taken out of the river 
 GOO yards above. 
 
 Keller & Co.'s Mill was below the Aurora, was 
 G0x75 feet, had fifteen stamps, reducing twenty tons 
 of ore per day, saving both silver and gold. 
 
 Solomon and Jacobs Mill was a steam mill of 
 small capacity, working ten arastras, and employing 
 ten or twelve hands. 
 
 Sutro's Mill had ten stamps, and reduced about 
 twelve tons of rock a day. 
 
 The Dayton Mill, owned by Ford, Berry & Co., 
 was at the lower end of the town of Daj'ton. It 
 had fifteen stamps and crushed about fifteen tons 
 per day. Cost 8t;0, 000. L. J. Carr, Superintendent. 
 
 Mineral Ilapids Mill. A town was laid out hero 
 which was intended to eclipse Dayton, but it did 
 not. The mill, owned by Colton & Smith, was run 
 by steam and had ten stamps and four twelve-foot 
 arastras, crushing twenty tons of rock per day. 
 The mill did custom work, not being connected with 
 any mine. 
 
 The Kocky Point Mill, owned by 11. Logan, J. 
 It. Logan, J. P. Holmes, and John Black, built in 
 1800, was one of the most extensive establishments in 
 the countr}-, the main building being 90xlO(t feet, 
 with water-wheel of one hundred-horse-power, forty 
 stamps, and reduced fifty tons of rock per da}-, 
 working for both silver and gold. The water was 
 brought a distance of 2,000 feet in a flume ten feet 
 wide and three feet deep. The dam was built of 
 stone and timber, and with the race cost over 810,000. 
 The wheel was sixteen feet in diameter and twelve 
 
 long, with forty buckets holding, when full, 6,000 
 pounds of water. Superintendents were Logan and 
 Black. It cost 8200,000, and in 1808 was owned by 
 the Imperial Silver Mining Company. 
 
 Freeborn & Sheldon's Mill was on the east side 
 of Carson Eiver, three-quarters of a mile below Daj'- 
 ton. It was on a large scale, the building being 
 seventy-five feet square. The machinery was driven 
 by a Turbine wheel weighing .").000 pounds, being the 
 heaviest in the countr}- at that time, having a power 
 sufficient to run fortj- stamps. J. S. Aitkin was 
 Superintendent. 
 
 Gautier's Mill was on the east side of the river, 
 run ten stamps, crushing fifteen tons of rock a day. 
 The process of amalgamation was (iautier's own 
 invention. 
 
 The Succor Mill, one mile and a half below Day- 
 ton, run fifteen stamps, crushing twenty tons per 
 day. The building was sixty feet square. The ditch 
 or flume convej-ing the water was thirty feet wide. 
 J. B. Moore was the Superintendent. 
 
 Frolhingham & Co.'s Mill was four miles below 
 Daj'ton, and run three 8tam))8 and four arastras, 
 crushing and reducing eight tons of rock per day. 
 P. Frothingham was Superintendent. 
 
 This completes the list of all the mills completed 
 on Carson River in 1802. Many moi-e were contem- 
 plated, and some were built. In Gold Cafion near 
 the Devil's Gate were the following: — 
 
 Pioneer Mill of the Washoe Gold and Silver Min- 
 ing Company. This mill was in Gold Cafion, just 
 above Devil's <4ate, and was started August 13, 1800. 
 It has been claimed for this mill that it was the first 
 in the Territory, but it is quite certain that one if not 
 two were prior to this. The Logan and Holmes 
 mill (a small affair however) started in October, in 
 1859, and E. B. Harris' mill, contest the priority with 
 the one in question, having probably started a day 
 or two sooner. The subject of priority is more i)ar- 
 ticularly mentioned in the early history of mining. 
 It was erected under the superintendence of Almarin 
 B. I'aul, having two engines, thirty-two stamps, 
 twenty-four amalgamating pans, and employed fif- 
 teen men. 
 
 Burk & Co.'s Mill, formerly McNulty's Mill was 
 situated at the junction of Gold Canon and American 
 Ravine at the lower end of the citj-, and was the 
 second quartz mill started in the Territorj-, was run 
 by steam, had five stamps, with ten grinders, on tlie 
 principle of the grist mill, invented bj- the superinten- 
 dent. 
 
 Trench's Mill was built during 1800. at a cost of 
 about 840,000 and was near the American Ravine. 
 It had a thirty-horse-power steam engine, twelve 
 stamps, two of the Brevoort's grinders, eighteen 
 pans, the invention of the projirietor. The main 
 building was 50x80. 
 
 Silver City Quartz Mill was owned by Lam- 
 bert, Weaver & Sullivan and had a thirty-five-horse- 
 ])ower steam engine, five stamps, two Brevoort's 
 
504 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 grinders and crushed ten tons a day. This mill com- 
 menced running in Pebruar}-, 18(11, and cost about 
 «35,000. 
 
 Union Mill was on American Uavine about fifty 
 yards above the Silver City Mill, had a forty-horse- 
 power steam engine, ten stamps and crushed custom 
 rock. 
 
 Pioneer Company's Mill, near Devil's (iate, had 
 a forty-horsc-power engine, fifteen stamps, and 
 crushed twenty tons of rock per day. Like several 
 other mills they had an improvement of their own 
 in the shape of a mullcr or grinder. 
 
 Swansea Mill was in Gold Canon, one mile below 
 Silver City. It had a forty-horsepower engine and 
 twelve stamps weighing 800 pounds each, doing cus- 
 tom work, crushing about twenty tons of rock per 
 day. Amalgamated with Hungarian bowls. John 
 Tregloan, Superinten<lent. 
 
 Excelsior Mill was situated above and near the 
 Swansea. It had a forty-five-horse-power engine 
 with eight stamps weighing 900 pounds each, crush- 
 ing sixteen tons i)er day. Thej' also had two ten- 
 foot arastras. John Briggs, Superintcmlent. 
 
 Osgood & Co.'s Mill was on the Dayton Road. It 
 was worked by an eighteen-horse-power engine, 
 had eight stamps crushing twelve tons per day, 
 doing custom work. Employed twelve men and 
 used the Bertola process of working ores. C. A. 
 Chapin, Superintendent. 
 
 Van Horn & Co.'s Mill, one mile and a half above 
 Dayton, was driven by water, having an over-shot 
 wheel fortj' feet in diameter. It was running six 
 stamps with a reserved power for six more. Van 
 Horn, Weston and Simon were the proprietors. 
 
 The Eastern Slope Mill was one mile and a 
 quarter below the Devil's Gate, had twelve double 
 stemmed stamps driven by a forty- horse- power 
 engine and crushed twenty tons of i"0ck per day, 
 employing twelve hands. They used the Novelty 
 Company's process, an entirely new one and one from 
 which great things were expected. J. C. Cushing, 
 Superintendent. 
 
 The Phii'nix Mill was on the south side of Gold 
 Cafion half a mile below Silver Cit)-. It had a forty- 
 horse-powcr steam engine, crushed forty tons of 
 rock j)er daj*. It was one of the largest mills run- 
 ning at that time and cost 850,000. It was said'to 
 have been managed very successfully. Bowton and 
 Uztiaj- ])roprictors. 
 
 Kellogg's Mill was about half a mile below Silver 
 City. The building was about 40x60. It had a 
 8tc;im engine of twcnty-horse-])ower, eight stamps 
 weighing (iOO poun<ls each and crushed fifteen tons 
 per day. They used the Chili mill in amalgamating. 
 It will bo seen that the mill men were laboring 
 under many ditticulties in reducing the ores. Almost 
 every Superintendent had a plan of his own. How 
 these experiments succeeded will be learned in the 
 portion of the work devoted to mining. 
 
 In 1868 there were thirty-one quartz mills in 
 
 operation, which had an aggregate of 440 stamps, 
 227 pans, and cost in round numbers the sum of 
 S050,000. The greatest public work is the Sutro 
 Tunnel, which has its terminus, or opening, in this 
 county. Lyon has an area of 621 square miles and 
 a population according to the census of 1880 of 
 2,409. 
 
 THE SDTRO TUNNEL. 
 
 The plan of working deep mines by means of an 
 adit is nothing new. Since the Romans worked the 
 mines of Spain, for silver, to the working of the 
 mines of Saxony, the adit has been a common 
 method. Some of these adits, or tunnels as the miners 
 choose to call them, are of immense length. The 
 adit of the Clausethal, in the Harz Mountains, is 
 six and a half miles long. It was commenced in 
 1777, and was not completed until 1800. Within 
 the last few years, the surve^-ors demonstrated that 
 a tunnel of fourteen miles in length would intersect 
 the lodes 300 feet deeper, and the work was under- 
 taken to save that much elevation of water and ore. 
 The supposed importance of the work was indicated 
 by naming it after the King of Hanover, the •' Ernst 
 August Tunnel." One in Gevenap, in Cornwall, has a 
 total length of more than thirty miles. One in 
 Germany, commencing on the banks of the river 
 Gram passing through the mines of Hodritz to those 
 of Schemnitz. has a direct line of about ten miles. It 
 was constructed both as a drain, and for the explora- 
 tion of the ground along its course. When the im- 
 mense wealth of the Comstock Lode, as well as the 
 floods of water, began to be apparent, the necessity of 
 working the mines in a more scientific manner was 
 soon considered. The elevation of the mines, near 
 2,000 feet above Carson River, which was but five 
 or six miles distant, suggested that as a proper loca- 
 tion for a drainage adit. 
 
 THE projector's TRIUMPH. 
 
 Mr. Adolph Sutro. a German by birth, and 
 acquainted with the manner in which the mines of 
 his native country were worked, undertook the hercu- 
 lean task — as will be hereafter related — of openmg 
 this great lode by such a work — and the Sutro Tun- 
 nel was made. 
 
 On March 1, 1881, this tunnel had attained a 
 length of 20,469 feet. The mouth of this tunnel is 
 on the northwestern face of the Dayton range of 
 mountains, in Lyon County, near the Carson Uiver, 
 and about 150 feet above its bed. At the Virginia 
 City end of the tunnel, and at right angles to it, are 
 two branches, known as the North Lateral aiui 
 South Lateral Tunnels. The former had attained, 
 on March 1, 1881, a length of 4,4(13 feet, and the 
 latter, 4,114 feet. These extensions are still being 
 continued. Including the main tunnel, the total dis- 
 tance penetrated underground is 28,980 feet, or fiftj-- 
 four feet less than five miles and a half. 
 
 The Sutro Tunnel was constructed at a total cost 
 of about 84,500,00(1, and it took nearlj' nine years to 
 complete it from its mouth to the Comstock Lode 
 
HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 
 
 505 
 
 Itfl cost, including lateral branches, up to and includ- 
 ing March 1, 1881, is 85,069,801.16. It has an inter- 
 esting history. At the time the scheme was pro- 
 posed, it was denounced as Utopian, and Adoiph 
 Sutro, its projector, was mercilessly ridiculed. When 
 it was seen that he was terribly in earnest, he re- 
 ceived some encouragement; but when he began to 
 lay his plans for success, he encountered the most 
 bitter opposition from the mining and milling com- 
 panies and the banking and railroad corporations in 
 Virginia City. But Sutro's shrewdness, with his 
 indomitable energy, pluck and perseverance proved 
 in the long run too much for his powerful antago- 
 nists. Starting without a dollar of money, and 
 defeated in his many efforts to obtain government 
 aid, he traveled through all the European money 
 centers, and, after many refusals, succeeded in rais- 
 ing sutKeient means to begin the enterprise, and 
 conduct it to success. The tunnel is a monument to 
 Sutro's genius, as well as to his pluck and stamina — 
 and we shall now relate something of its construc- 
 tion anil history. 
 
 THE IDEA CONCEIVED. 
 
 Soon after the discovery of silver, on the Comstock, 
 Adoiph Sutro, who was carrying on the cigar business 
 in Virginia Cit}', formed an opinion that the vein 
 was a true fissure one and likely to be productive to 
 an indefinite depth. Ho next conceived the idea 
 that the most economical method of developing the 
 various mines was by means of a gigantic tunnel 
 from Carson Valley to the lode. This idea, suggest- 
 ing in itself the greatest mining enterprise ever un- 
 dertaken in this country, and involving in extent 
 some of the costliest engineering feats of the Old 
 World was at first regarded as chimerical and im- 
 practicable. The encouragement and capital neces- 
 sary to the execution of the scheme were nowhere 
 to be found. On April 20, 1860, a communication 
 appeared in the Alta California, of San Francisco, 
 from Sutro calling attention to the lack of any sys- 
 tem in working the Comstock mines. " Most of the 
 companies,"' he said, "commence without an eye to 
 future success. Instead of running a tunnel from 
 low down on the hill, and then sinking a shaft to 
 meet it, which at once insures drainage, ventilation, 
 and facilitates the work by going upwards, thcclaims 
 arc mostly entered from above, and large openings 
 made which require considerable timbering ; and 
 exposes the mine to all sorts of difficulties." He 
 wrote this when he had been in Virginia only a 
 week, and when he did not know to his entire satis- 
 isfaction that there was an extensive vein of ore 
 there. Such explorations as had been then made 
 did not extend to a greater depth than twenty or 
 thirty feet. In 1861 Sutro erected a mill and reduc- 
 tion works, and took up his residence in the neigh- 
 borhood of the Comstock. He continued amid a 
 wilderness of indifference to advocate his project and 
 after awhile the people began to look upon Sutro as a 
 monomaniac upon the subject. He watched the 
 
 current of events, and day after daj' it became 
 plainer — to him that there was absolute necessit}' 
 for a deep mining tunnel. 
 
 TlIE PKO.IECT K.WORED. 
 
 In the fall of 1804 he petitioned the Legislature of 
 Nevada for a franchise, and a bill was drafted, giving 
 him and his associates the right of way for a tunnel, 
 as far as it lay in the power of the State to give it. 
 While this Act gave to the project the official sanc- 
 tion of the State, j^et the amount of toll or roj'alty to 
 be paid b)' the mine owners was not yet provided for, 
 but was wisely left to a voluntary agreement between 
 the tunnel projectors, and the various mining com- 
 panies interested in the completion of the work. Sen- 
 ator Stewart was the first President of the Tunnel 
 Company. He and Sutro spent nearly eight months 
 in persuading the mine managers to enter into some 
 kind of agreement with their company to push along 
 the enterprise. After protracted negotiations and 
 considerable expenditure of money, it was at length 
 agreed by a niajoritj' of the companies representing 
 nine-tenths of the value of the lode, that a royalty 
 of two dollars per ton should be paid on every ton 
 of pay ore extracted, and a compensation was also 
 provided for the waste rock and passengers which 
 should be transported through the tunnel after its 
 completion. The royalty was then regarded as a 
 mere bagatelle. The peo])lo interested now began 
 to appreciate the magnificence of the undertaking 
 and instead of throwing obstacles in the way they 
 all joined to help Sutro, the Bank of California 
 among them. 
 
 The following document shows the standing of the 
 Bank of ('alifornia towards the enterprise at the 
 date mentioned: — 
 
 BANK OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 I). O. Mills, President. W. C. Ealston, Cashier. 
 
 San Francisco, May 4th, 1866. 
 To THE OiiiE.NT.vi. Bank CoiiroitATioN London — 
 
 Dear Sirs: This letter will be presented to you by 
 Mr. A. Sutro of this city who visits England with the 
 view of laying before capitalists there a verj- impor- 
 tant enterprise, projected by himself, and known as 
 the Sutro Tunnel in the State of Nevada. This tun- 
 nel is designed to cut the great Comstock Lode or 
 ledge, upon which our richest silver mines are located, 
 at a depth of 2,000 feet from the surface, to 
 drain it of water, render it easily accessible at that 
 ])oint and thus increase the facilities and diminish 
 the expenses of the progressive development of these 
 mines. 
 
 Too much cannot be said of the great importance of 
 the work, if practicable u])on any remunerative basis. 
 We learn that the sclicnie has boon very carefully 
 examined by scientific men, and thej- unhesitatingly 
 pronounce in its fav^r at all points — practicabilit}-, 
 ])rofit and groat i)ublic utility, Mr. Sutro, wo pre- 
 sume, is furnished with the necessary documents to 
 make this apjiarent; and our object in this letter is 
 sim])ly to gain for him, through your kindness, such 
 an introduction as will enable him to present his 
 enterprise to the |)ulilic fairly upon its merits. 
 
 Conimen<ling .NIr. Sutro to 3-our courteous atten- 
 tions, we remain dear sirs, j-ours very irulj'. 
 
 W. C. Halston, Cashier. 
 
506 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 In a year or two the bank company was fighting 
 the tunnel project with terrific power. No one 
 thought that a two dollars roj-alty was an adequate 
 compensation for the manifold benefits the tunnel 
 would confer. Many were firm in the conviction that, 
 even at a ro3-alt}' of six or eight dollars per ton, it 
 would be advantageous to them. The Bank of Cali- 
 fornia, which later entered into a vigorous warfare 
 against the ciiterprise, then seemed particularly anx- 
 ious to help Sutro. 
 
 At that time the title, or fee, to the mines was in 
 the United States Government, and an Act of Con- 
 gress was deemed necessary, which should embody 
 the general features of the Act already passed by 
 the Legislature of the State, and which would grant 
 other necessary privileges in addition. Sutro accord- 
 ingly visited Washington, and, on the twenty-fifth 
 of July, 18()G, the bill, commonlj- known as the 
 " Sutro Tunnel Act," was approved. 15y the pro- 
 visions of this bill the (rcneral CTOvernment entered 
 into a direct compact with Mr. Sutro for the com- 
 pletion of the tunnel, and, in addition to giving the 
 right of way, empowered him to jiurchase 4,3b7 
 acres of land at the mouth, and to claim the owner- 
 ship of the mines within 2,000 feet on either side of 
 the tunnel, which he would have had under the 
 common mining law. The bill also confirmed the 
 roj'alty of two dollars a ton, and made the patents 
 of mining companies thereafter obtained subject to 
 the condition that the royalty be paid. Other minor 
 concessions were also made by the Act. But there 
 were manj- difficulties to be overcome. Objections 
 were to be met, capital to be secured, and private 
 interests were to be guarded. 
 
 BRIUIIT PROSPECTS OP SUCCESS. 
 
 After the Act of incorporation passed Congress, 
 Sutro thought his long-cherished project stood on a 
 basis that was not susceptible of doubt. Visiting 
 New York to enlist the aid of capitalists he pub- 
 lished a little pamphlet in which he explained the 
 advantages of the tunnel, and the probable income 
 tiiat would be derived from it. He was, however, 
 confronted by the objection that if, as he alleged, 
 there were millions in the scheme, he would easily 
 raise the money in California to carry it forward. 
 After considerable imporUmity, however, they prom- 
 ised that, if he would return to the Pacific Coast, and 
 raise three or four or five hundred thousand dollars, 
 thi-y would get SH, 000, 0(1(1 for him in the Kast. He 
 returned to California and submitted the proposition 
 to the mining companies. They began to subscribe, 
 and, in May, 18f)7, ho had 8(;00,(I00 pk-dged. A 
 groat many private people i)ut down their names for 
 five or ten or twenty thousand dollars each, and lie 
 had a fair i)rospect of raising 81,0(»0,000 in San 
 Francisco, and the whole amount retiuirod, perhaps, 
 in California. 
 
 OPPOSITION CO.M.MENCEU. 
 
 H was at this promising stage of the worlc that 
 the Bank of California stepped in and condulod to 
 
 break up the enterprise. Early in the year Sutro had 
 induced the Nevada Legislature to memoralize Con- 
 gress in the strongest terms, to aid the ])roject by a 
 loan. The Bank of California at that period virtu- 
 ally controlled the mines and mills. Thinking Sutro 
 was about to get a subsidy from the United States, 
 they set out to defeat his project. The first step 
 taken by them was to get the mining companies to 
 repudiate their subscrij)tions. The officers of the 
 mining companies had willingly entered into con- 
 tracts for royalty on the ores raised and also for other 
 things, but the mining companies had changed sides, 
 as the following telegram will show: — 
 
 ViBtiiNiA, Nevada, Jan. 15, 1868. 
 To the lion. William M. Stewart and James W. Nye — 
 
 We are opposed to the Sutro Tunnel project and 
 desire it defeated if possible. 
 
 Signed: William Sharon, Charles Bonner, Super- 
 intendent Savage Companj'; B. F. Sherwood, Presi- 
 dent Central Company; John B. Winters, President 
 Yellow Jacket Company; John P. Jones, Superin- 
 tendent Kentuck Companj'; J. W. Mackaj-, Super- 
 intendent Bullion Companj-; Thomas G. Taylor, 
 President AIj)ha and Su])eriiilendent Crown Point 
 and Best and Belcher ('()m))any; F. A. Tritle, Pres- 
 ident Belcher Company; Isaac L. Requa, Superin- 
 tendent Chollar-Potosi Company. 
 
 Alphcus Bull, President of the Savage Mining 
 Company, in his official report July 10, 186(5, wrote as 
 follows; — 
 
 The im])ortance of affording drainage at a great 
 depth, if it can possibly be obtained, cannot be too 
 highly estimated. The Sutro Tunnel Company is 
 the only part}' that proposes to undertake this 
 important enterprise, and j'our trustees have entered 
 into a contract with that company^ for the purpose 
 of efl'ecting this great object. It is much to be desired 
 that success may atteinl the effort, for it is in my 
 opinion a work upon which depends the future value 
 and profitable working of the mines of the Comstock 
 Lode. 1 recommend that this contract be ratified by 
 the stockholders at their present meeting. 
 
 The company in accordance with his recommen- 
 dation did ratify it. In July, 1867, he wrote to the 
 company that there were grave reasons for doubting 
 the policy of the arrangement, and recommended the 
 stockholders to repudiate it. This was generally 
 done under the pretext that Sutro had not complied 
 with the terms of his contract. Two conditions it 
 was claimed had not been fulfilled; first, the tunnel 
 com|)aiiy were to procure bona fide subscriptions to 
 the amount of 83,000,000; and, second, the agree- 
 ments were to have been submitted for ratification 
 by the stockholders in the mines at their annual 
 meetings. Sutro, however, showed that ho had 
 secured extensions of time from the trustees, and 
 that under such extensions they had no right to 
 repudiate their contracts. The real motive which, 
 it is said, inspired the 0])position to the tunnel pro- 
 ject, was the I'ear that it would, when completed, 
 ruin the business of the railroad, owned by the bank 
 people, which carried the ores from Virginia to the 
 
HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 
 
 507 
 
 quartz mills owned by the same intere8t and located 
 on the Careon River. As Sutro's scheme contem- 
 pla4,ed the erection of" extensive reduction works ut 
 the mouth of his tunnel, it was an easy matter to 
 array against it the hostility of the people of Vir- 
 ginia City. They became alarmed at the prospect 
 of seeing their town sooner or later depopulated, 
 and witnessing the rise of a still larger camp at the 
 mouth of the tunnel some four miles southeast of 
 them. They therefore regarded with genuine appre- 
 hension the destruction of ]>ro])erty values to the 
 extent of 813,000,000 or 814,000,000— that is to say, 
 property in Virginia City and Gold Hill, the mills 
 on the Carson, and the railroad. 
 
 The upshot was, that Sutro was baffled on the 
 very threshold of his success. He could not raise a 
 cent. lie returned to Xow York disappointed but 
 not vanquished. He soon discovered, to bis dismay, 
 that ho could get no money there. Then he formed 
 the resolution to visit Europe in quest of the sinews 
 of war. During his tour abroad he met such men 
 as Von Beust, Sir Roderick Murchison, Von Cotta, 
 Weissbach, Kerl. Hivot, Chevalier and many others 
 — the great scientific celebrities of the world. They 
 all indorsed his project. But it was impossible to 
 raise monej' to further it. The great obstacle in 
 1S(;7 was a feeling all over Kuropo that there was 
 going to be a war between Prussia and Franco. 
 Nothing could be done with American enterprises, 
 either railroads or tunnels, or anything else, because 
 war was bound to come. It did not come for two 
 j'ears afterwards, but it did come, and long before it 
 broke out uivesters had became timid. 
 
 F.WORABLE ACTION BY CONGllESS. 
 
 At the close of 1SG7, Sutro returned to America, 
 still resolutely intent upon accomplishing his ])ur- 
 pose. His first step was to submit the memorial of 
 the Nevada Legislature to Congress, which was 
 referred to the Committee on Mines and Mining, of 
 which, at that time, Jl r. Iligby, of (California, was 
 Chairman; the other members were Judge Wood- 
 ward, of Pennsylvania; Mr. D. R.Ashley, of Nevada; 
 J. Proctor Knott, of Kentucky; M. C. Hunter, of 
 Indiana; Judge Ferris, of New York; .Mr. Mallory, 
 of Oregon; Ceneral Ashley, of Ohio; and Mr. Driggs, 
 of .Michigan. They became deejilj' interested in the 
 question. Sutro was irrepressible. He fairl}- bom- 
 barded the committee with arguments in behalf of 
 the tunnel. He haunted both Houses of Congress 
 and soon became hale fellow well met with nearly 
 all the Scnatoi-s and Representatives. The result of 
 his active winter campaign was that the committee 
 mentioned, in an able report to the House, recom- 
 mended a loan of 85, (10(1, (((»(» to the tunnel c<>mi)any, 
 with a mortgage on all its property. A bill was 
 drafted and had every chance of a favorable consider- 
 ation. But Sutro's' evil star was still in the ascend- 
 ant. When the committee was about to be called in 
 the House, the impeachment of Andrew Johnson 
 commenced, and that lasted for months. Sutro had 
 
 in fact accomplished nothing. Congress adjourned 
 before his bill was reached. Under large expense, 
 out of pocket and almost despairing, he went home 
 again. But he was still full of courage. After a 
 few months' reflection in California he returned to 
 Washington to again press his claim before Congress. 
 The session of 18tJ8-(i'.l was a short one, and the 
 whole time was occupied in passing appropriation 
 bills. Sutro this time could not get a hearing, so he 
 went back to California once more and kept up com- 
 munication with financial men all the time, but did 
 not succeed in doing anj'thing. 
 
 IMPORTANT VISIT BY CONGRESSMEN. 
 
 In the summer of ISdli the Ways and Means Com- 
 mittee paid a visit to California. Mr. Hooper was 
 the acting (Jhairman. Sutro saw the importance of 
 getting those gentlemen over to Virginia City. He 
 urged them veiy earnestly to go to the mines on 
 their return to the East. They accepted his invita- 
 tion, but the California Bank people, Sutro's relent- 
 less enemies, insisted on taking charge of the com- 
 mittee during their visit to the Comstock. They 
 became the guests of .Mr. William Sharon, but this 
 did not prevent them from visiting Sutro at the 
 hotel in Virginia City. Ho showed them the lay of 
 the country, and they loft fully convinced of the 
 justice of his case. They went down into the mines and 
 were nearly prostrated by the terrible heat. Sutro 
 regarded it as a verj' fortunate circumstance that these 
 gentlemen came and saw the country. He thought 
 it would secure to him at last a hearing in Congress, 
 They had become fully satisfied that what he had 
 stated in regard to his undertaking was correct. 
 
 THE MINERS START THE WORK. 
 
 The next move made by Sutro was to fire the 
 hearts of the working miners. To that end he 
 harangued them in Virginia City. He apjiealcd to 
 them to assist him in the work. If each one would 
 put in tive or ten dollars apiece he declared he could 
 go on with the work and carry it out. He engaged 
 Pijier's Opera House at Virginia and addressed the 
 workers at considerable length, showing up the con- 
 s])iracy that had been forniod to lircak uj) the tunnel 
 ])roject. It may be concluded that Mr. Sutro had 
 motive enough for a bitter speech. He proved him- 
 self no mean orator, and by telling the miners of 
 the terrible nature and danger of the work, of the 
 dangers from sufl'ocation, from heat and from fire, 
 which the mine owners subjected them to, and of 
 the comforts, safety and profits of working with a 
 tunnel, which the mine owners refused to adopt, so 
 raised their wrath that death to the capitalists and 
 general destruction of mining ])roperty was so im- 
 minent that be had to go around among them and 
 allaj' the e.\citenient he had raised, lie circulated 
 pictures among the miners to illustrate .'ill these mis- 
 haps. Not long before a large number of men had 
 been lost by a fire in the Yellow Jacket Mine. This 
 was made into a picture of hundreds of miners fall- 
 ing headlong down a burning shaft a thousand feet 
 
508 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 deep, while the wives and children were wringing 
 their hands in frantic despair and imploring Heaven 
 for vengeance. The other picture represented the 
 miners as escaping from the mouth of the tunnel, in 
 case of a fire, to be caught in the arms of the happy 
 wives and children. Pictures of a rich mine owner 
 driving six fast horses and contemptuously covering 
 a worn-out miner with dust, and more to the same 
 eftect, calculated to arouse animosity, were spread 
 through the communitj'. There was the greatest 
 enthusiasm excited by his speech. The Miners' 
 Union subscribed S.")0,000 and received an interest in 
 the tunnel company. Th<it helped to start the work 
 going. 
 
 BEGINNINf, OF THE TUNNEL. 
 
 It was on the nineteenth of October, 1S(J9, that 
 the first shovelful of earth was turned over in this 
 gigantic enterprise. The occasion was marked by 
 some festivities. Manj' of the laboring men came 
 down from Virginia, and the officers of the labor- 
 ing associations, but none of the prominent operat- 
 ors on the Comstock showed themselves. The tunnel 
 was started going on a small scale. A little money 
 had been raised in California, but the means of the 
 tunnel companj' were limited. In December, the 
 projectors incorporated as a company in San Fran- 
 cisco. At the end of the year a progress of 460 
 feet had been made. 
 
 MORE TROUBLE AT WASHIN(iT()N. 
 
 In the following spring Sutrowas startled from his 
 work by the information that the Bank of Califor- 
 nia had sent agents to Washington to get his fran- 
 chise repealed. He thereupon rushed off to the 
 Capitol, and discovered on his arrival that Mr. Fitch, 
 of Kevada, had introduced a bill to repeal the third 
 section of the law which secured him his royalty. 
 The measure provoked quite a debate in the Fortieth 
 Congress. Then it was Sutro's good fortune that 
 the gentlemen of the Ways and Means (Jommittec 
 had been over in Virginia City. They all stood up 
 for him. With the exception of Mr. Sargent, of 
 California, the conimitee made a unanimous report 
 against the repeal. The vote upon the measure was 
 124 nays and 42 yeas. 
 
 After the bill was defeated, Sutro had to remain 
 in Washington to watch his opponents during the 
 remainder of the session. .Meanwhile he began 
 negotiations for money in Europe once more. He was 
 ])roniised 15, 1)0(1, 00(1 francs from Paris, and was wait- 
 ing for ('ongress to adjourn to leave for that city to 
 complete the financial arrangements. lie was just 
 read}' to sail, in July, when he received letters from 
 JJoveriiy Johnson in JiOndon, that it was no use to go 
 over, and sure enough on the fifteenth of July, when 
 he had reason to suppose ho had secured all the 
 money required, news came that war had broken 
 out between France and Prussia. That broke up 
 the negotiations. Sutro could not raise one dollar 
 in Europe or in the United States, bo ho returned to 
 Nevada once more. He carried on his work in the 
 
 tunnel, all the time struggling to get money to pay 
 for it. The miners were paid four dollars a day, in 
 eight- hour shifts, that is, three dollars in money and 
 one dollar in stock. Powder, tools and timbers had 
 to be supplied. It was also necessary to erect steam 
 machinery, and Sutro had to provide the funds or 
 stop the work, and that he was determined should 
 not happen. He tried to get along the best way he 
 could, pending the termination of the European war, 
 and then to commence anew negotiations for money 
 abroad. 
 
 In December, 1870, he was back in Washington. 
 He could do nothing in (California. He thought it 
 probable he might yet induce Congress to do some- 
 thing for him. It was a most mortifying situation 
 for him to see some of the ]{cpresentativos of the 
 Pacific Coast arrayed against the tunnel. They 
 were nearly all opposed to it. The other members 
 were told the tunnel was all a humbug, that it was 
 not necessary, and that the mines had given out. 
 During the year 1,200 additional feet had been exca- 
 vated. Sutro, now almost rendered desperate by 
 the untoward course of events, asked Congress to 
 send out a commission to investigate the subject. 
 The request was granted. On the fourth of April, 
 1871, President (rrant signed a bill authorizing the 
 appointment of a commission to examine into the 
 cost and utility of the work. The President 
 appointed Major (ieneral H. G. Wright, Major Gen- 
 eral John G. Foster and Professor Wesley Newcomb. 
 During the following summer the examination and 
 necessarj- reports were made. The work was deemed 
 altogether ieasible by the report; the cost was esti- 
 mated at $4,500,000, and the time neeessaiy for its 
 completion was somewhat dependent upon the capi- 
 tal and machinery emploj'od; but the tunnel was not 
 regarded as necessary for working or draining the 
 mines. 
 
 PROSPECT.S BRKiHTENINO. 
 
 While these gentlemen were carrying on their 
 investigations, Sutro received advices from London 
 thai his friends thei-e could arrange some financial 
 matters for him. On the thirtieth of August he 
 sailed forKuro])e, and, a few days after his arrival in 
 London, he arranged for S(i50,(M»0 in gold coin. He 
 returned to .Nevada after an absence of thirty days, 
 and, soon after his return, succeeded in raising in 
 London 8800, (M)0 more, which made in all 81.450,000, 
 a prett}- good sum towards constructing the tunnel. 
 With this increase of capital a more energetic pros- 
 ecution of the enterprise was undertaken. Some 
 400 men were set to work. In .\'oveml)cr four verti- 
 cal shafts were located along the tuiinol line. On 
 December 3l8t 985 additional feet had been exca- 
 vated, and the tunnel was then advanced 2,(iG5 feet 
 from its mouth. Willi the beginning of the New 
 Year (1872) work on all the shaft's was begun. 
 
 INVE.STKiATINO THE COMMISSION. 
 
 But Sutro was not satisfied with some of the con- 
 olusione reached by the commission. These he claimed 
 
TflSTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 
 
 509 
 
 were based upon information furnished by hiecnemiee 
 in reference to the important points of drainage, 
 transportation and concentration. lie insisted that 
 the commissioners' estimate of the comparative cost 
 of worlcing by means of the tunnel, and the way the 
 mines wore then worked, was certainly erroneous. 
 Another visit to Washington was made by him. this 
 time to request the Chairman of the mining committee 
 to ask that the commissioners bo cited before it. 
 In compliance with the request the Secretary of War 
 was asked to have them ordered to Washington. 
 The)' arrived, and the time from Kobruary 12lh to 
 April 22, 1S72, was occupied in their examination 
 before the committee. The evidence taken and 
 arguments made filled 810 pages of printed matter, 
 making up Executive Document No. 15, of the 
 Second Session of the Forty-second Congress. Sutro 
 did nut leave a stone unturned to show up every 
 point. A great many scientific facts were brought 
 out in the evidence. The testimony made a conclu- 
 sive case for Sutro. The Committee on Mines and 
 Mining, as a result, submitted a strong report in favor 
 of the enterprise. Tiic}- rocommondod a government 
 loan of 82,000,000 in its aid and submitted sixty-one 
 reasons to sustain their recommendation to this effect. 
 A bill had alread}- been introduce<l to aid in the 
 construction of the SutroTuniioi from the proceeds of 
 the sale of mineral lands and authorizing a loan of 
 85,000,000 to the tunnel company. This bill was 
 referred to the Committee on .\Iines and Mining and 
 their bill authorizing a loan of 82,000,000 was offered 
 as a substitute and its passai^e recommended. The 
 committee reported that thccost of theoonstruction of 
 the tunnel would be from 84,000,000 to 85,000,000 and 
 that it would take from two and a half to three and 
 a half 3'ears to complete it. Under the bill roi)orted, 
 the security to the government was to be one-half of 
 the royaltj'; the company to spend an equal amount 
 to that loaned by the government; one-half of all the 
 income to be paid over to the government semi- 
 annually; no money to be ])aid until commissioners 
 report the completion of each section; the aid 
 extended to applj- only to the first four miles of 
 tunnel to the Comstock Lode. Nothing could have 
 been more satisfactory to the indomitable Sutro, 
 whose hour of triumph was now evidently at hand. 
 But the bill was never passed and Sutro thencefor- 
 ward trusted to his business sagacity and energy 
 alone to carry forward this stupendous enterprise. 
 The money which ultimately completed the tunnel 
 came from private capitalists, and chiefly from Eng- 
 land and Germany. 
 
 .'■,EI,K-DEPE.NDENCF, ANU PROOKESS. 
 
 The mouth of the tunnel at the town of Sutro 
 enters the mountain about 150 feet above the Carson 
 Rivor-bed. The grade is three inches in 100 feet, 
 and the distance to the point where connection was 
 made with the Savage .Mine (1,640 foot level) is 
 20,018 feet. The first shaft is located 4,915 feet from 
 the mouth, and the top is 522 feet from the tunnel 
 64 
 
 level. In eighteen months after the beginning of 
 work upon this shaft the level was reached and 
 drifts east and west were started, the former in due 
 time being connected with the tunnel header. A 
 great deal of ditticulty was experienced from the 
 influx of water, and accordingly very effective pumps 
 were placed in position, and an average of ;{,000,000 
 gallons per month, or 100,000 gallons per day were 
 discharged. The second shaft is located 4,150 feet 
 further from tho tunnel mouth than the first, and its 
 elevation above the tunnel level is 519 feet greater. 
 During the seven months following the commence- 
 ment, the work of sinking was prosecuted with con- 
 siderable vigor, but when a depth of 600 feet had 
 been attained the work was stopped to place the 
 necessary pumps in j)08ition. 
 
 After a delay of four months, sinking was re- 
 sumed; and with an interruption during a part of 
 the year 1873, the tunnel level was reached in the 
 spring of 1874. East and west drifts were then 
 started; and when the former had reached a dis- 
 tance of 171 feet, and the latter 170 feet, a large 
 body of water was unexpectedly encountered in the 
 west, and in loss than a month the drifts and shafts 
 were almost filled to tho top. Nine months later, 
 this enormous bodj* of water was tapped b}- means 
 of a hole lOO foot long, bored by a diamond drill 
 from the face of the tunnel header. The water then 
 filled the two drifts, being a chamber .341 feet long 
 and 8x12 feet in dimensions, in addition to filling the 
 5x10 feet shaft over 1,000 feet high. The tapping of 
 this water was the most interesting incident of the 
 year. Upon the completion of the hole, the press- 
 ure was so great that the water burst through with 
 tremendous force. Nothing seemed able to with- 
 stand it. Hocks and fragments of timber were 
 carried along with irresistible power, and the miners 
 were obliged to have a care for their lives. The 
 outlet becoming stopped by the debris, it was again 
 opened, and the force ot the water was so great that 
 the steel drill was hurled out into the tunnel. Grad- 
 ually, however, the water became exhausted, and in 
 a few days work was resumed on the header. Tho 
 third shaft is located 4,490 feet from the second, and 
 its distance to the tunnel level is 320 feet greater 
 than the second. After a depth of 456 feet had 
 been attained, owing to an influx of water, which 
 could only be regulated with enormous labor and 
 expense, the shaft was abandoned. The fourth 
 shaft, 17,()!t5 feet from the tunnel entrance, was also 
 abandoned when 674 feet had been attained. The 
 cause of abandonment was the same as that in the 
 shaft above described. In addition to these main 
 shafts, a small air shaft was successfully completed 
 in the summer of 1872. It is situated 2,250 feet 
 from the mouth, and has a depth of 211 feet. 
 
 During the j'ears 1871 and 1S72, tho progress made 
 was 1,730 feet, and at tho end of the latter year 
 3,480 feet had been completed. The average num- 
 ber of foot made per month during the two years 
 
510 
 
 fflSTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 was seventy-two and one-twelfth. During the year 
 1873, 1,919 feet were made, making a total excavation 
 at the end of the year of 5.399 feet. The average 
 number of feet made per month was 105i. The 
 total estimate includes the 655 feet made in the east 
 and west drifts of the first shaft. During the follow- 
 ing year the average monthly progress was 223J feet, 
 and at the close of the year 8,079 feet had been made. 
 This great increase was due to the introduction dur- 
 ing the year of six Burleigh drills, which were run 
 by means of compressed air. The compressor, which 
 had been constructed by the Societe Cockerill, of 
 Belgium, was located at the first shaft. But after 
 the second shaft had been passed, this compressor 
 was exchanged for a new one located at the second 
 shaft, and constructed bj' the Humboldt Company 
 of Kalk, near Dentz and Cologne, on the Ehine. 
 Both compressors worked smoothly and gave excel- 
 lent satisfaction. 
 
 During the year 1875, the number of feet made 
 was greater than during any year preceding, or 
 anj- year which has followed. No less than 3,728 
 feet were made, and the average number of feet per 
 month was 3IO5. During the following year, the 
 monthly progress was forty-five feet less than in 
 1875, and the total distance made was 3,130 feet. 
 The falling ofi" in the number of feet was due to the 
 taking off of two drills early in the year, and also to 
 the diffic'ult character of the ground encountered. In 
 1877 the same difficulties were met as in the preced- 
 ing year. In addition to the dangerous character of 
 the ground, and the constant watchfulness necessary 
 to prevent accident, the temperature of the air was 
 terribly oppressive, and the water extremely hot. 
 
 TITROUOH TO THE COMSTOCK. 
 
 On the night of the eighth of July, 1878, and eight 
 years, eight months and nineteen days after the be- 
 ginning of work upon the tunnel, a connection was 
 made with the cast drift on the 1,640 foot level of 
 the Savage Mine. At the end of the drift, which is 
 270 feet east of the incline, a drill hole was bored 
 through some six feet of rock down into the tunnel. 
 This was the first connection between the tunnel 
 and the mine, and through the bole a rush of hot air 
 came up from below with a sound that could be 
 heard some distance from the spot. About 1 1 o'clock 
 the workmen on the Savage side placed eight Eig- 
 orret cartridges in position, and the tunnel men filled 
 the bottom of the hole with clay. The blant being 
 fired, the ground was shaken on all sides, and as the 
 workmen above hastened to the spot to see the con- 
 nection, they were met about half waj- up the drift 
 by a rush of hot air ami smoke which was almost un- 
 bearable. Their lights being blown out, they groped 
 their way in tlio darkness to the spot, and found that 
 the blasts had made a hole about five feet square in 
 the rock. Through this opening a shower of dust 
 and fine fragments of rock shot up, and the impure 
 air which had accumulated during the j'ears of 
 working found an easy outlet through the Savage 
 
 drift. On the following evening Mr. Sutro, his 
 daughters and a party of friends passed through the 
 opening, and thus the first step in the completion of 
 the tunnel was accomplished. They left the mouth of 
 the tunnel at half past4 o'clock in two passenger cars, 
 and after passing to the Savage Mine, they were 
 landed on the surface in Virginia Citj' in scarcely 
 more than one hour from the time of starting. It 
 was a season of great rejoicing among the tunnel 
 miners and their friends, and some festivities were 
 had at the mouth of the tunnel. 
 
 L.^TEKAL BRANCHES. 
 
 The work upon the main tunnel was continued 
 somewhat longer when preparations were made for 
 lateral branches in the direction of the Comstock 
 Lode. In August a contract was entered into be- 
 tween the tunnel company and the Julia Mining 
 Company, and the south lateral branch was immedi- 
 atelj' begun. By virtue of this contract, the Julia 
 company agreed to pay §100,000 for the benefit to 
 be derived, while the tunnel company procured an 
 outlet to Virginia City with full railroad facilities 
 from Carson Eiver, for the transportation of both 
 freight and passengers. The Julia company also 
 purchased the right of way to any ore bodies or 
 ledges that may be encountered in the tunnel grant. 
 
 During the last three years the work of extending 
 these lateral tunnels has been steadily progressing. 
 In addition considerable repaii-ing has been done 
 along the entire line. A large portion of the tunnel 
 had to be retimbered, tracks had to be laid and re- 
 laid, drain boxes constructed to cany off the water 
 and much other work done to make the tunnel serve 
 its purpose. On March 29, 1879, the Sutro Tunnel 
 Company relin((uished one-half the royalty of two 
 dollars per ton (to which, under the original agree- 
 ments, it was entitled) as far as ores are concerned 
 which would mill fort}- dollars per ton or under, so 
 that only those ores which yield over forty dollars 
 per ton will hereafter have to pay the full royalty. 
 The mining companies had continued up to this time 
 to regard the tunnel with disfavor, and to win them 
 over a readjustment of relations had become abso- 
 lutely necessary. The mining companies by the 
 new contract made at that date also agreed to ad- 
 vance to the tunnel compan}- seventy dollars per 
 running foot for every foot of lateral tunnel con- 
 structed northerly along the line of the Comstock 
 Lode to the Utah Mine and southerly to the Over- 
 man Mine, to be liquidated out of half the royalties 
 earned on ores extracted. The expenses of the 
 work during the last three j-ears have been defra>-ed 
 from advances ami roj'alties received under such 
 agreements, from sales and rents pf land and other 
 property, and from amounts borrowed on mortgage 
 from time to time as needed. 
 
 THE ITILITY OF THE TUNNEL. 
 
 The Sulro Tunnel was constructed chiefly with a 
 view of facilitating the working of the Comstock 
 mines, by ventilating and draining them, and trans- 
 
HISTORY OF LYON COUNTY. 
 
 511 
 
 porting their ores to a point where they can be 
 worked cheaply. It was also to serve as a channel 
 for the transportation of passengers and supplies for 
 the mines. While the tunnel has not thus far met 
 all the expectations of its projector, it is a fact that 
 it would be impossible to carry on the mining explo- 
 rations on the Comstock at their present great depth 
 of 3,000 feet, had it not been for the tunnel. As a 
 means of ventilation it has failed. No rich ore 
 bodies have ever been found in the course of its 
 excavation, and this was one of the groat dreams of 
 its bold originator. It is true the Brunswick Lode 
 is intersected by the Sutro Tunnel at a distance of 
 11,600 feet from the mouth, and at a depth of 1,361 
 feet from the surface, but the ore is of a low grade, 
 the assays varying from ten to thirty dollars, and 
 no prospecting has been done on this vein from 
 the level of the tunnel, except by two small drifts. 
 On the surface the vein shows well-defined crop- 
 pings, and is traceable two and one-hail' miles. It is 
 estimated that 8700,000 have been taken out near the 
 surface from the various mines from the Monte 
 Christo to the Occidental. The greatest benefit, and 
 an indispensable one at that, aft'orded by the tunnel 
 is the increased facilities afforded by it for the drain- 
 age of the mines. AVater, which has heretofore been 
 pumped, at an enormous expense, to the surface, 
 needs now only to be raised to the tunnel level. In 
 the Savage Mine water, which had to be raised 2,200 
 feet, has now onlj- to be raised 600 feet. In other 
 mines the same comparative difference of level will 
 be maintained. Much of the monej' raised annually 
 by mining assessments is expended in the purchase 
 of pumping machinery, and in the working of the 
 same, and so troublesome has the water been found, 
 that the cost of discharging the same has been esti- 
 mated at 83,000,000 per annum. Some idea of the 
 great volume of water carried off from the mines by 
 the tunnel maybe learned b}' referring to the StTper- 
 intendent's report for 1880. According to that 
 report the average amount of water received during 
 that year was equal to about 3,500,000 gallons per 
 twenty-four hours, or 208 miners' inches; but it has 
 run as high as 232 inches, or 3,9-12,720 gallons per 
 twenty-four hours. The tunnel is at this writing 
 connected with the following mines: Yellow Jacket, 
 Consolidated Imperial, Union Consolidated, Hale 
 & Norcross, Savage, Ophir, California and Consoli- 
 dated Virginia, aggregating a distance along the 
 Comstock Lode of about 9,000 feet. As a prospec- 
 tive profitable venture the hopes of the tunnel com- 
 pany are based upon working the low grade ores 
 remaining in the Comstock Ijode. It is difficult to 
 get reliable data concerning their quantity or value. 
 Most of the upper levels and workings are inacces- 
 sible, as the machinery on the surface has been 
 removed, and many of the old drifts have closed in. 
 It is the prevailing opinion, however, of those who 
 are familiar with the early workings of the lode, 
 that there are large quantities of low grade ores 
 
 still remaining in the various mines which can bo 
 worked at a profit. Should this work be commenced 
 it would not only become an industry of vast impor- 
 tance in itself, but would offer opportunities for 
 exploring new bodies of ore. The average value of 
 the low grade ores extracted near the surface from 
 the Crown Point, Belcher and Imperial claims is 
 812. 40|. In addition to the low grade ores of the 
 value mentioned, there are vast bodies of ore of too 
 low a grade to be worked at a profit without concen- 
 tration. If there were some method by which these 
 ores could be concentrated, they could be cheaply 
 extracted and transported through the tunnel and 
 worked at a profit. 
 
 MR. SUTRO RETIRES. 
 
 In 1879 Adolph Sutro resigned his position as 
 Su])erintendont of this company, at the same time, 
 it is believed, disposing of all his stock in the enter- 
 prise. He retired wealthy and well satisfied with 
 the result of his long struggle against the most ad- 
 verse circumstances. His enemies had finally been 
 compelled to recognize the man's genius and his 
 devotion to a single idea. Sutro will need no other 
 monument than the tunnel named after him. The 
 officers of the Sutro Tunnel Companj-, in 1881, were 
 Charles \V. Brush, President; William Irvine, Vice- 
 President; Lazard Freres, Treasurer; Pelham W. 
 Ames, Secretary, and C. C. Thomas, General Super- 
 intendent. 
 
 COL. C. C. THOMAS. 
 
 Colonel Thomas was born in Frederick County, 
 Marj-land, on the ^ixth daj- of September, a. d. 1827. 
 His father, John il. Thomas, was Surgeon in the 
 United States Armj% and his uncle, Francis Thomas, 
 was at one time Governor of Marj-land, and also 
 represented his State in Congress for manj- years. 
 He received in early years the advantages of the 
 best schools in his native town, and subsequently 
 entered St. John's College, Annapolis, Maryland, 
 from which school he graduated at the age of twenty- 
 one years. In the spring of 1849, attracted by the 
 romantic reports of the golden wealth of California, 
 he left Marj'land, and in company with a few friends, 
 crossed the continent to the shores of the Pacific, 
 and engaged in mining on Feather River, at Bid- 
 well's Bar, and in other portions of Butte County, 
 California. In 1853 he was elected to represent that 
 county in the Legislature, whore he served with dis- 
 tinction. In 1854 he removed to Sierra County, and 
 was one of sixteen who originated the mining enter- 
 prise known as the Masonic and Highland Mining 
 Company, to work the Blue Gravel lead near Forest 
 City, and there erected the second steam Imisting 
 works erected in the State. This was his first ex- 
 perience in deep mining. He was then engaged in 
 practical mining for seven years. 
 
 In 1862 ho received a commission as Colonel of 
 one of the Maryland regiments engaged in the Civil 
 War, and at once sold his interests in Sierra County, 
 and started east on the ill-fated steamer Golden Gate, 
 
512 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 -.x^ 
 
 PHOTO, ar JOHN s- hoc, viroinia, ncv. 
 
 Col. C. C. Thomas. 
 
 burned oiF the coast of Mexico, wherebj' 600 lives 
 were lost. 
 
 At the time of this terrible calamity, Colonel 
 Thomas remained on the ship, giving all the assis- 
 tance in his power, and, when the heat became 
 unendurable, cast himself into the waters and swam 
 ashore. He, and about 100 others, being all that 
 were saved. Soon after, obtaining passage to San 
 Francisco, and finding it impossible to resume his 
 journey, resigned his commission, and accepted the 
 position of Superintendent of the North Potosi 
 Mine, and removed to Nevada. During his resi- 
 dence in Nevada, he has been at various times Super- 
 intendent of the Overman, Uncle Sara, and of the 
 Halo & Norcross for nearlj' three years, in which 
 time a large amount in " dividends " were paid 
 to the stockholder.^. After twenty-seven j'ears of 
 experience in raining and milling, he has been 
 appointed to the responsible j)osition of General 
 Superintendent of the Sulro Tunnel, one of the 
 greatest mining and engineering enterprises of the 
 age. 
 
 The Colonel is now residing at Sutro, Nevada, 
 near the scene of his labors, surrounded by his 
 family and respected by a large circle of acquaint- 
 ances and friends. 
 
 CHAPTER L. 
 HISTORY OF NYE COUNTY. 
 
 Early Explorations — Petition and Kemonstrance — Organization 
 and Boundaries — Appointments and Elections — Economy 
 and Healthy Growth — Debt and County Buildings—Grazing 
 and Agriculture — Valleys of the County — Principal Mining 
 Districts — Principal Towns and Cities — Hon. George Ernst 
 — Hon. J. T. Williams. 
 
 Organized in 1864 and named in honor of Gov. J. 
 VV. Nye. In the organization of the Territory of 
 Nevada, all that part south of the thirty-ninth par- 
 allel and east of Mason Valley was assigned to Es- 
 meralda County. Little was iben known of the re- 
 gion, excepting that about Aurora and a narrow belt 
 leading thereto frora the north. All the east was an 
 unexplored wilderness, with the exception of a few 
 localities. Some of the old maps liad a line running 
 ilirough Smoky Valley, designated as '-Fremont's 
 Trail in 1845," and along it were the names of San 
 Antonio Peak, Hot Springs, Twin Pivers and Smoky 
 Creek. 
 
 Lilllo or nothing more was known of that section of 
 I lie Territory prior to the Reese River excitement ol 
 1862-63. Soon after the settlement of Austin, pros- 
 (jcctors went on exploring expeditions along the 
 Toiyabe range, which extends southward beyond the 
 limits of Lander County. In that range were soon 
 organized the districts of Washington and Marys- 
 ville on the western slope, and Twin River on the 
 eastern slope. In Reese River Vallej', part of which 
 was in Esmeralda County, several ranches were lo- 
 cated and settlements were made. 
 
 Prospectors were thought exceeding bold who pen- 
 etrated the unknown country beyond sight or easy 
 reach of known springs or water-courses, and it was 
 some time before any dry valleys were crossed. South 
 of the Lander County line the Toiyabe range is a 
 high and precipitous ridge from 8,000 to 12,000 feet 
 in height, and flowing down both sides are numer- 
 ous streams, generally sinking in the border of the 
 subjacent vallej's, but Reese River, coming from the 
 southern part of the range, continues its course 100 
 miles or more to the north. These supplies of water 
 led the prospectors south. Heading Reese River 
 Valley and inclosing it on the west is the Shoshone 
 range, and this was ne.xt explored. On the western 
 slope of this range silver-bearing veins were found 
 in 1863. Union District was organized and the town 
 of lone was soon built in the midst of supposed rich 
 mines. 
 
 PETITION AND ItE.MONSTRANCE. 
 
 The causes which led to the organization of Nye 
 County are partially set fortii in a petition to the 
 Territorial Legislature, signed b}' a large number of 
 pioneers, who had recently discovered a new mining 
 district, and reads as follows: — 
 
 To His Excellency, the Governor, and the Honorable mem- 
 hers of the Leyislature of the Territory of S^evada — 
 We, the undersigned residents of Nevada Terri- 
 tory, respectfully represent that we are residents of 
 
HISTORY OF NYE COUNTY. 
 
 513 
 
 a newly-discovered mining district, which is now 
 known as "Union District; " that the same is situ- 
 ated in the ransje of mountains lyin^j between the 
 valley of Keese River on the east and the valley of 
 Smith Creek on the west. We are distant from the 
 city of Austin, in Lander County", in a southerly 
 direction about sixty miles, and from Aurora, in 
 Esmeralda Count}-, in an easterly direction, about 
 100 miles. Now wo, your petitioners and residents 
 of this district, pray your honorable bodies that you 
 take into consideration the proprietj' of forming a 
 county for us, believing that our ends and the ends 
 of justice will be better subserved by so doing. 
 
 Immediately upon the presentation of the above 
 petition, a remonstrance was forwarded to the (tov- 
 ernor and Legislature, vvhich was extensively signed 
 by residents of Lander County, protesting against 
 the cession of any portion of thi-ir county to the 
 proposed new corporate body. Nevertheless, a bill 
 was introduced into the Assemblj' for the creation 
 of Nye Count}-, and was favorably- reported upon by 
 the commitlee t" whom it was referred. In report- 
 ing the commitlee stated that the [jroposed county 
 contained from 1,000 to 1,500 people. 
 
 ORGANIZATION AND BOUNDARIES. 
 
 The bill to organize the countj' of Nj-e was ap- 
 proved and became a law Februarj- Iti, 18(54. The 
 territory of the new county was thus described: — 
 
 Beginning at the intersection of the thirty-ninth 
 parallel of north latitude with the meridian of longi- 
 tude 40° .30' west from Washington; thence running 
 east along said lhirt3'-ninth parallel of north latitude 
 to the eastern boundary of the Territory of Nevada; 
 thence running south along said eastern boundary 
 to the point of intersection with the thirty-seventh 
 parallel of north latitude; thence running along said 
 thirty-seventh parallel of north latitude west to the 
 California line, and northwest along said California 
 line to the jjoint of intersection with the meridian of 
 longitude 40° 30' west from Washington: thence run- 
 ning north along said meridian to the place of begin- 
 ning. 
 
 Subsequent to the original creative Act the bound- 
 aries of Nye County have been changed six times. 
 On the ninth day of March. 18()5, half a degree was 
 ceded to Esmerahla Count}-, making the eastern 
 boundary of the county the meridian of longitude 
 40° .30' west from Washington. February 2G, 18(50, 
 a large part of the southeastern portion of Nye was 
 formed into Lincoln County. -May 5, 18GG, an Act 
 was approved by the President of the United States 
 extending the eastern boundary of Nevada sixty 
 miles into Utah, and adding to this State all its 
 present area south of the thirty-ninth parallel of 
 latitude. This addition on the south increased the 
 territory of Nye; but on March 2, 18G0, a portion 
 of Nye was added to White Pine. March 5, 1869, 
 the western boundar)- of the county was established 
 as at present. In 1875 that part of Nye oast of the 
 one hundred and fifteenth meridian west from Green- 
 wich was added to Lincoln and While Pine. Tho 
 area is 18,432 square miles. 
 
 APPOINTMENTS AND ELECTIONS. 
 
 Below, under appropriate heads, will be found the 
 names of all the persons who have filled the different 
 ottices of honor and trust in the county from its or- 
 ganization down to the present time, either by ap- 
 pointment or election, with the date of such appoint- 
 ment or election and the particular oflSce each has 
 filled.* 
 
 .STATE SENATORS. 
 
 F. M. Proctor, elected November 8, 1864, and 
 vacated his seat September 20, 1866; J. G. Riddle, 
 elected November 6, 1866; Robert Mullen, elected 
 November 3, 1868; 1). P. Walter, elected November 
 5, 1872; H. T. Cressweli. elected November 7, 1876; 
 J. T. Williams, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 ASSE.MBLYMEN. 
 
 A. C. Bearss, elected November 8, 1864, and 
 re-elected November 7, 18G5; J. M. Graves and W. 
 T. Jones, elected November 6, 1866; Wm. Doolin 
 and John Bowman, elected November 3, 1868; Bow- 
 man and A. II. Greenhalgh, elected November 8, 
 1870; Bowman and J. A. Prague, elected November 
 5, 1872; John B. McGee and P. M. Ellison, elected 
 November 3, 1874; T. J. Bell and J. M. Caldwell, 
 elected November 7, 1876; W. B. Taylor and J. T. 
 Williams, elected November 5, 1878; T. J. Bell and 
 Geo. Ernst, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. 
 
 Wm. B. Gould, G. A. Swasey and Lucius B. Moore 
 were appointed by the Executive April 4, 1864. 
 Moore did not accept and E. C. Southworth was 
 appointed to fill the place July 6, 1864; J, M. Bowes, 
 J. P. Courter and A. H. Sinimonds were elected 
 September 7, 18G4. Courter resigned .March, 1865, 
 John L. Craig appointed. O. T. Clark, elected No- 
 vember 8, 1865; A. T. Hatch, J. S. Bernard and W. 
 N. Smyth were elected November G, 186G. Hatch 
 resigned September 26, 1868; Samuel Tallman, J. A. 
 Ball and J. S. Tipton, elected November 3, 1868, E. 
 G. Brueii, A. Pearson and R. A. Prior, elected No- 
 vember 8, 1870. Tho vote between Pearson and Prior 
 was a tie. R. M. King, E. G. Bruen, and P. M. Elli- 
 son, elected November 5, 1872. Elli.son resigned Sep- 
 tember 27, 1873, Joseph Stowe appointed to fill the 
 place. C. E. Ashburn and B. .\IcCann were elected 
 November 3, 1874. W. C. Humiihrey and T. F. Mor- 
 gan, elected November 7, 1876; Andrew Bradley 
 and J. (r. Mitchell, elected November 5, 1878; A. U. 
 Spaulding and John Gooding, elected November 2, 
 1880. At a meeting of the Commissioners June 5, 
 1865, J. C. Johnson appeal's as a member of the 
 Board, there is nothing on the minutes to show 
 how he came there. 
 
 DISTRICT ATTORNEYS. 
 
 Elias C. Brearley appointed bj' tho Executive 
 April 8, 1864, resigned July 28, 1864, George W. 
 Merrill appointed, and elected September 7, 1864, and 
 re-elected November 6, 186G; George R. Williams, 
 
)14. 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 elected November 3, 1868, and re-elected November 
 8, 1870; Frank Owen, elected November 5, 1872; H. 
 T. Cresswcll, elected November 3, 1874; Benjamin 
 Curler, elected November 7, 1876, and re-elected 
 November 5, 1878; J. I. Griffith, elected Novem- 
 ber 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SHERIFFS. 
 
 Edward Irwin, appointed by the Executive April 8, 
 
 1864, re-elected September 7, 18G4, resigned June 5, 
 
 1865, A. Ranncj' appointed to fill vacancy, and 
 elected November 7, 1865, re-elected November 6, 
 1866; Robert Stein, elected November 3, 1868. and 
 re-elected November 8. 1870; J. M. Caldwell, elected 
 November 5, 1872, and re-elected November 3, 1874; 
 W. H. Huyck, elected November 7, 1876; David 
 O'Neil, elected November 5, 1878, and re-elected 
 November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY CLERKS. 
 
 George W. Chandler, appointed by the Executive, 
 April 11, 1864; E. D. Turner, elected September 7, 
 1864; J. M. Bellrude, elected November 6, 1866; W. 
 A. Brophy, elected November 3, 1868, re-elected 
 November 8, 1870; G. Nieholl, elected November 5, 
 1872, and re-elected November 3, 1874, November 7. 
 1876, November 5, 1878, and November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY TREASURERS. 
 
 Henry D. Groot, appointed by the Executive April 
 4, 1864, resigned July 28, 1804, P. C. Turner was 
 appointed to fill the place; A. Ranney, elected Sep- 
 tember 7, 1864, resigned June 5, 186.5, and A. A. 
 Simmonds was appointed to fill the place; John Sharp, 
 elected November 7, 1865; William Locker, elected 
 November 6, 1866; Perry Coleman elected Novem- 
 ber 3, 1868, and failing to file additional bonds 
 the office was declared vacant August 20, 1870, and 
 C. F. Singletary was appointed, and elected November 
 8, 1870; A. McLean, elected November 5, 1872, and 
 re-elected November 3,1874, re-elected again Novem- 
 ber 7, 1N76, November 5, 1878, and November 2, 
 1880. 
 
 COUNTY ASSESSORS. 
 
 D. p. McHay, appointed b3-tho Executive April 4, 
 1864; S. Brees, elected September 7, 1864, failed to 
 qualify; James II. Berrj-, a])])ointed April 6, 1865; 
 Stephen Roberts, elected November 7, 1865, re-elected 
 November 6, 1866, November 3, 1868, and November 
 8, 1870; Thos. Morgan, elected November 5, 1872; 
 T. Warburton, elected November 3, 1874, re-elected 
 November 7, 1876, and November 5, 1878; T. F. 
 Morgan, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY RECORDERS. 
 
 Nicholas Smith, appointed by the Executive April 
 
 4, 1864; Josejih Stowe, elected Sei)tember 7, 1864, 
 and re-elected November 6, 1HH6; John Sharp, elected 
 November 3, 1868, and re-elected November 8, 1870; 
 J. J. Falkinheim, elected November 5, 1872; James 
 A. Service, elected November 3, 1874, re-elected 
 November 7, 1876; George Ernst, elected November 
 
 5, 1878; M. R. Delano, elected November 2, ^ d. 
 
 COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS. 
 
 H. D. lloyt, elected September 7, 1864; Thomas 
 Cahill, elected November 7, 1865; B. W. Crowell, 
 elected November 6, 1866; G. R. Alexander, elected 
 November 3, 1868, resigned July 6, 1869, and Jno. 
 Powers appointed; J. V. Hathaway, elected Novem- 
 ber 8, 1870, re-elected November 5, 1872, resigned 
 April 9, 1873; C. E. Ashburn, appointed, who resigned 
 July 7, 1873, and E. C. Soulhworth was appointed; 
 F. C. Granger, elected November 3, 1874; M. R. 
 Delano, elected November 7, 1876, and resigned 
 April 2, 1878; R. M. King was appointed; J. R. 
 Daugherty, elected November 5, 1878, and re-elected 
 November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SURVEYORS. 
 
 John F. Kidder, was appointed by the Executive 
 April 4, 1864; Francis Tagliabuc, elected September 
 7, 1864; D. S. Childs, elected November 6, 1866; J. 
 A. Phillips, elected November 3, 1868, office declared 
 vacant January 4, 1872, and A. D. Rock was 
 appointed; John Jack, elected November 8, 1870, 
 office declared vacant January 4, 1872, and George 
 Ernst was appointed; J. C, Ogden, elected November 
 5, 1872, failed to qualif}^ and George Ernst was 
 appointed April 3, 1873, and elected November 3, 
 1874, re-elected November 7, 1876; A. M. Hawkins, 
 elected November 5, 1878; Aug. Matthews, elected 
 November 2, 1880. 
 
 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATORS. 
 
 S. L. Baker, appointed by the Executive, April 4, 
 1864; C. E. Ashburn, elected November 6, 1866, 
 failed to qualify, and G. A. Swasey was appointed, 
 January 6, 1868, and resigned, July 21, 1868; L. W. 
 Ferris, appointed to fill vacancy, was elected No- 
 vember 3, 1868, and resigned November 18, 1868, W. 
 W. Brow!i appointed to fill the place; J. Cornell, 
 elected November 8, 1870; J. W. Hollis, elected 
 November 5, 1872; C. C. Dykeman, elected Novem- 
 ber 3, 1874; J. L. Thomason, elected November 7, 
 1876, re-elected November 5, 1878; A. Crabtree, 
 elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 ECONOMY AND HEALTHY GROWTH. 
 
 The territorj- originall)- embraced in Nye County 
 was carved out of Esmeralda. 
 
 April 2, 1864, in accordance with the Creative Act, 
 the Governor issued hio proclamation, locating the 
 county seat at lone City, and ai)poiuting the first 
 county offifiers. 
 
 The County Commissioners thus appointed con- 
 vened at the countj' seat April 26, 1864, and ijuali- 
 fied by taking the prescribed oath of office and the 
 oath of allegiance. 
 
 A tax was then ordered of eighty cents on each 
 $100 worth of taxable property in the county, to be 
 ■made immediately i>:iyablo; and the Clerk was in- 
 structed to notify the Auditor, Assessor, Treasurer 
 and Tax Collector of the fact. Thus was the 
 machinery placed, and the wheels of government 
 
HISTORY OF NYE COUNTY. 
 
 515 
 
 were set in motion. Although the birth of the 
 new county was ushered in by the discovery of a 
 new mining district, there was not that unbridled 
 extravagance in the management of its financial 
 affairs which characterized and distinguislied many 
 of the county organizations of the Slate. 
 
 A Court House was necessary, and the modest 
 sum of ?800 was deemed sufficient for the construc- 
 tion of a building for that purpose. 
 
 The wisdom of the Commissioners, in this regard, 
 is now apparent, as the county seat was removed 
 from lono in three years' time. Februarj' G, 18(57, 
 the Legislature of the State passed an Act decreeing 
 that from and after the fifteenth daj- of tlie follow- 
 ing May, the county seat of Nye Countj^ should be 
 at the town of Belmont, to which place the i)ublic 
 records, archives and officers were moved on the day 
 provided. 
 
 The numerous mines located in that vicinity, and 
 the rapid developments that were being made, 
 attracted wealth and population, and Belmont soon 
 became an important center for all kinds of busi- 
 ness. The year previous and the year following the 
 change of the county seat, several quartz mills were 
 constructed in the district, of which Belmont was 
 the center. 
 
 DEBT AND COUNTY BUILDINOS. 
 
 In 1874 it was found necessary to build a Court 
 House and county jail at the county seat, with 
 accommodations to meet the wants of the growing 
 county. The sum of §34,000 was appropriated for 
 this purpose, and the bonds of the county were 
 issued to cover the appropriation. This fact will 
 explain the great increase of the countj' debt in the 
 year 1875, which was 869.101. The total valuation 
 of property for that j'car was 61,500,000. The jjop- 
 ulation was nearly 2,000. From that year to the 
 present the county indebtedness has steadil}' dimin- 
 ished, and the population remains about the same. 
 
 The bullion product of Nye, although aggregating 
 nearly SS, 000, 000, has not been so great as that of 
 some other counties, nor the returns from her agri- 
 culture so satisfactory. Still the afl'airs of the 
 county are, and always have been, in a health}- and 
 flourishing condition. ; 
 
 In the tables, found on jiagcs i:55. 180, 1.80 and 140 i 
 of the general history, can be seen the total products ' 
 of the county, the number of acres under cultivation, j 
 the stock and grain raised, and the fruit trees and 
 vineyards under training. For the bullion product 
 of the county see table elsewhere in this book. 
 
 ORAZINti A.\D AliRICULTUUK. 
 
 The topography of the county difTers little from 
 that of the major portion of Nevada, consisting of 
 valleys running north and south, and of mountain 
 spurs and ranges. A few years ago Nye was con- 
 sidei-ed a fine grazing countr}-, but its feed supply 
 has been nearly destroyed by the large herds of 
 stock which have been subsisted within its boun- 
 
 daries for several seasons past. During the last two 
 years more than 10,000 head of cattle have been 
 driven awaj-. The summer feed consists of bunch 
 grass. The winter feed is white sage, a fine forage 
 plant growing from eight to ten inches high, which 
 is not eaten bj' stock till after a heavj- frost occurs, 
 which latter sweetens or softens the plant. Cattle 
 are then very fond of it, and prefer it to anything else, 
 and, where it is abundant, will fatten on it through 
 the severest winters known in Nevada. The ranch- 
 ers of this county have never been seriously troubled 
 with grasshoppers, but crops are frequently injured 
 by frosts. With the exception of barley, very little 
 grain is raised. Alfalfa does well, and is being intro- 
 duced where sufficient water can be had for irrigation 
 purposes. 
 
 In 1874 the Surveyor General reported ten ditches 
 in the county for this purpose, and that 3,000 acres 
 of land were being supplied with water sufficient to 
 make them productive. Fruit trees, especially apples, 
 pears and plums, were being cultivated with good 
 success. At that time the value of taxable propertj' 
 in the county was a little over .?1.5M0,00(), nearly 
 two-thirds of which was personal property. Since 
 then the value of jiersonal property has been re- 
 duced one-half, while the real estate value has re- 
 mained about the same, showing that while the 
 mining interests of the count}' have materially de. 
 dined, the farming and grazing interests have about 
 held their own. 
 
 VALLEYS OP THE COUNTY. 
 
 DucKWATER Valley commences about seven 
 miles south of the north line of the county, and runs 
 southerly into Railroad Valley. It is three-quarters 
 of a mile wide and about twelve miles long, and is 
 well watered by Duckwater Creek. It almost en- 
 tirely consists of meadow land, only about 800 acres 
 of which arc under cultivation. It produces all kinds 
 of grain and vegetables, which are only slightly 
 liable to injury by frost. .Many fruit trees have been 
 planted, none of which are yet old enough to bear. 
 
 Hot Creek Valley runs nearly parallel with Rail- 
 road Valley, and is about eight miles wide and 200 
 miles long. It affords good winter grazing, produc 
 ing white sage in abundance. Its water supply is 
 insufficient, being obtained from small creeks and 
 springs. No families occu])y the valley at ])resent. 
 The towns of Hot Creek. Tybo and Morey are in the 
 bordering mountains. 
 
 Monitor Valley lies to the westwardol Hot Creek 
 Valley and extends about seventy miles southerly 
 from the northern boundary of the county, and is 
 about eight miles wide. It is watered by Fine and 
 .Mos(|uil<) Creeks and several other small streams. 
 Only about 300 acres of its entire area are under 
 cultivation; the balance consists of hay land. This 
 valley was first settled in ISOtl by Jacob and Samuel 
 Stainenger. Soon afterwards (ieorge and Thomas 
 Andrews settled near them, and in a difficulty which 
 
516 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 ultimately followed, Thomas Andrews was killed. 
 The Stainengers were acquitted. 
 
 Ralston Valley commences at a point sixty miles 
 south of the northern lineof the county near the town 
 of Belraont, and runs to the southern line. It is 
 about eight miles wide, contains no water, and no 
 attempts to settle it have ever been made. It was 
 named in memory of Judge James fl. Ralston, who 
 left Austin on May 1, 1864, to go to his ranch, situ- 
 ated about thirtj'-five miles .southwest of Austin. 
 Losing his way, he crossed several mountain ranges, 
 and on the eighth of May died of exposure and star- 
 vation at the edge of the valley bearing his name, at 
 a locality sixteen miles southeast of Belmont. He 
 had traveled more than 250 miles. Some days after 
 his departure from Austin, his friends feared that 
 something had befallen him, and a search party was 
 dispatched to overtake him, but returned unsuccess- 
 ful. A second party was organized, and, accom- 
 panied by Indians, trailed him to the place of his 
 death, and recovered his body. Here and there, on 
 their way, they discovered evidences that he had fed 
 on mountain berries, and had been sufficiently 
 refreshed to resume his dreary pilgrimage. On the 
 day he died he was observed by an Indian while 
 staggering along in a demented condition. The 
 Indian remarked to his squaw that" that man would 
 die before night," and approaching the Judge 
 endeavored to take charge of him. but was unable 
 to do so, and found his body on the following morn- 
 ing. The Indian refrained from communicating the 
 fact to the whites for fear of being charged with 
 murder. In 1837, Judge Ralston succeeded Stephen 
 A. Douglas as Judge of the Fifth District of Illinois. 
 Later he was a State Senator in Illinois, and a Quar- 
 termaster in the arm}- during the Black Hawk War. 
 In 1850 he removed to Sacramento, California, and 
 became a State Senator, and about 1860 came to 
 Nevada. At the time of his death his family resided 
 at Austin. 
 
 Railroad Valley, on some maps called Warm 
 Springs Valley, lies between the White Pine Range and 
 the Pancake range of mountains, and is twelve miles 
 wide and nearlj- 20u miles long. This valley was 
 first settled in 1867 by Alexander Beaty and others. 
 There is a lack of water, which is found only in 
 occasional spots, but not in sufficient quantities for 
 use in irrigation. There is enough for stock-raising, 
 however, and the valley is a good stock-raising 
 region, producing plenty of white sage and sand 
 grass. It also contains two salt marshes, which sup- 
 ply the local demand for salt for milling and domes- 
 tic purposes. There is at present but one family 
 in the valley. 
 
 Reese River A''allev, which extends south from 
 Lander County and reaches thirty miles into Nye, is 
 eight miles wide, well watered and contains eighteen 
 Pinches and fifty inhabitants. About 900 acres have 
 
 been brought under cultivation, much of which is 
 white sage land which yields well. 
 
 Sierra, or White River, Valley extends across 
 the eastern part of the county and is an extensive 
 grazing region with a number of fine ranches in it. 
 
 S.\ioKY Valley also commences in Lander County, 
 and for 140 miles runs southward through Nye, a 
 little west of the center, being about fifteen miles in 
 width, and watered by numerous small streams and 
 springs. H. Rpbinson and William Shay were the 
 first settlers. They took up land as early as 1863. 
 The valley now contains thirteen ranches and forty 
 inhabitants, and 500 acres of ground are under culti- 
 vation. The crops suffer verj- little from frost, the 
 reverse of which is the case in the principal portions 
 of the county. An extensive salt marsh is in the 
 central part of the valley, from which large quantities 
 of salt is gathered for the supply of the quartz mills 
 of the neighboring districts. Some remarkable hot 
 springs, elsewhere described, are in the southern 
 part. 
 
 principal mining districts. 
 
 Blue Spring District is situated about fifty miles 
 southerly from Austin, and about seventeen miles 
 northerly from the stage station of Hot Spring, 
 ilineral discoveries were made there in 1867, upon 
 which a district was immediatelj' organized. Fifteen 
 locations have been made. The formation in which 
 the veins are found consists of slate, quartz, por])liyry 
 and granite. The veins run with the formation, in 
 the direction of northeast and southwest. The ore 
 is low grade, is both free and base, and contains a 
 trace of gold. A fifty-foot shaft is the deepest in the 
 district. Freight charges to Austin are twenty 
 dollars per ton. Timber and water are scarce. No 
 mills have yet been erected, and but little work has 
 been done in the district for several years. The ore 
 is worked b}' milling and roasting, and has thus far 
 been taken to Park (".ifion in .Vnrtli Twin District. 
 The name of the post-office at Blue Spring District is 
 Minnium. The mining records are kept by J. H. 
 Greenhalgh. 
 
 Danville District is situated in the Monitor range 
 of mountains, about half waj- between Hot Creek 
 and Eureka, and a little westerl_v of the direct line. 
 Ore was discovered by P. W. Mansfield in 1866, and 
 a district organized which was re-organized in 1870. 
 (Quartz veins are found in a formation of limestone, 
 running north and south with the formation, and 
 dipping to the west at an angle of forty-five degrees. 
 The ore is free, and bears a small trace of gold. It 
 is most advantageously worked by the milling pro- 
 cess. Spring water is abundant, and nut ])ine grows 
 in close pro.ximiry. The freight rate to Eureka, by 
 team, is thirty-five dollars per ton. The prin(.-i|)al 
 mines are the Sage lien, Boston, Kucalyptus, Argo- 
 naut and Richmond. The greatest depth of shaft is 
 in the Boston, 150 feet; the greatest length of tunnel 
 is in the Eucalj'ptus, 125 feet. About thirty locations 
 
HISTORY OF NYE COUNTY. 
 
 517 
 
 have been made thus far. The ore is hauled to Morey. 
 From 1877 to 18711 about twenty men worked in the 
 various mines, but only five arc now employed, and 
 very little more than assessment work is done. 
 Some of the ore assays from .S2(I0 to -SciOd per ton. 
 The mining records are kept b^- Frank Miller. 
 
 E.MPIRE District takes in a portion of the town of 
 Tybo, and is in the Hot Creek range, about 100 
 miles southerlj' from Eureka. Ore was discovered 
 in August, 1866, by John Centers, P. B. Ilaight, J. 
 B. Saburn, E. P. Sine, and others, and a district was 
 immediatelj' organized. The principal mines are the 
 Bunker Hill, Mayflower and Sclavonian Chief. The 
 greatest length of tunnel is in the Bunker Hill. 200 
 feet; the greatest depth of shaft, 180 feet. The for- 
 mation is of limestone, running southeast and north- 
 west, the veins running with it "and dipping to the 
 east at an angle of thirty' degrees. The ores are 
 both free and base, and contain lead, iron, a little 
 copper and a small percentage of gold. The num- 
 ber of locations in the district is 168, and the number 
 of mines twenty. Little more than prospecting has 
 ever been done excepting in the Bunker Hill Mine, 
 from which about 2.000 tons of ore have been taken 
 that yielded from thirtj- to thirty-five dollars per ton. 
 Small lots of surface deposits have been shipped from 
 the district which went as high as S500 per ton, but 
 no permanent ledge of such value has been found. 
 Sufficient spring- water is available, and at a distance 
 of eight miles nut pine is abundant. The ore is 
 worked b_v the milling process. Freight teamed 
 from Eureka costs forty dollars per ton. The mining 
 records of the district are kept bj- J. D. Pago, of 
 Tybo. 
 
 GR.A.NT District was organized on the twcntj-- 
 sevcnth of October, 1868, and lies on the western 
 elope of the White Pine Mountain-*, at a locality 
 seventy-five miles south of Hamilton. The forma- 
 tion is of talcose slate, which dips to the east. The 
 two principal mineral veins also dip to the east at an 
 angle of forlj--five degrees. They run parallel. The 
 mountain is lofty, broken and precipitous, and affords 
 an abundant supply of white and j-cUow pine, fir and 
 other woods valuable either for fuel or timber. 
 Water and grass are also abundant. The Meridian 
 ledge is about four feet wide, the ore of which con- 
 tains carbonate of copper and chloride of silver. The 
 width of Blue Eagle ledge is five feel, the ore of 
 which is a green and blue carbonate of copper. 
 Assays show silver as high as 8300 dollars per ton. 
 Very little work has been done in t he district. But- 
 terficld's Salt Marsh is adjacent, and could produce 
 an unlimited amount of salt for milling purposes. In 
 1860 a considerable quantity- of ore was shipped to 
 Austin from Grant District, and j-iclded from 8500 to 
 $600 per ton. The ore is base. 
 
 Hot Creek District was. organized in 1806, ore 
 having been discovered by William Waters, William 
 Robinson, and others. The mining records are kept 
 
 65 
 
 by W. Gluys. There are ten miners in the district, 
 and the number of locations is 200. The formation 
 is limestone running north and south, the veins run- 
 ning with it, and dipping to the east at an angle of 
 eighty-five degrees. The ore is free-milling, bears a 
 small per cent, of gold, a.ssays as high as 8900 per 
 ton, and averages about 8250. The principal mines 
 are the Old Dominion, New Dominion, Coal Burner, 
 Wyandott, Mountain View, Free Ore Ledge, Oliver 
 Twist and Night Watch. The Old Dominion has a 
 shaft 300 feet deep, and the Night Watch a tunnel 
 300 feet long. Freight is teamed from Eureka, a 
 distance of eighty-five miles, at the rate of forty 
 dollars per ton. Water is abundant, and plenty of 
 nut pine is to be had at a distance of two miles. 
 The mineral belt included in this district is about six 
 miles long and a n\ile in width. There is a belt of 
 slate on the cast of the mines, and near them an 
 outcropping of transition rock. The district received 
 its name from a great natural curiosity, being a 
 stream of hot water of several hundred inches in 
 measurement, and running for several miles in a 
 deep chasm through the mountains, sinking in a tuie 
 marsh in a valley east of the range. 
 
 Jackson District is in the lone, or Shoshone, 
 range of mountains, thirty miles south of the rail- 
 road station of Ledlie, and ten miles west of the 
 stage station of Barrett. Ore was discovered in 
 18G4 by a prospector named Thomas Barnes, and 
 the North Union District was organized. In 1878 it 
 was reorganized under the name of Jackson District. 
 The veins are found in a formation of porphj-ry and 
 syenite, and run north and south, the veins running 
 with it, and dipjiing to the east at an angle of from 
 forty to si.xty degrees. The ores are free and con- 
 tain metal that is forty per cent, of silver and sixty 
 per cent, of gold. The principal mines are the San 
 Francisco, Arctic and North Star. The Arctic has 
 a shaft sixty feet deep, and the North Star, a shaft 
 fifty feet deep. Wood and water are found in 
 abundance immediately around the mines. The 
 wood consists of nut pine and cedar. Aboul twenty 
 locations have been made in the district, and there 
 are about six miners there. The district was dis- 
 tinguished, in the early 3-ears of its organization, for 
 the many beautiful specimens of geodes, chalcedony, 
 agates, silicified wood and other stones, valuable to 
 the jeweler and lapidarj-, found in it. 
 
 Jett District is situated in the Toiyabe range, 
 near Summit Cafion, thirty miles west of Belmont. 
 Hot Springs, ten miles to the northward, is the near- 
 est stage station. Belmont is the nearest post-office. 
 Ore was discovered in the district in 1875, by John 
 D.ivenport. During the ensuing year, the district 
 was organized, but not until 1880 did active opera- 
 tions begin. More than a hundred locations have 
 been made, although no miners are now resident 
 there. The records are kept bj- J. W. Bolcn, of Hot 
 Springs, The principal wines aro the Centennial, 
 
518 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Seventy-six and the Idlewild. In the Centennial, 
 the ores are of a varied character, such as carbonate 
 of lead, argentiferous galena, zincblende and anti- 
 mony. They are very rich, assaying from SlOO to 
 8300 per ton. The general character of the ore in 
 the district, however, is low grade and base, with 
 no trace of gold. The veins are found between 
 slate and porphyry. The greatest depth of shaft. 
 190 feet, is in the Centennial; the greatest length of 
 tunnel, 200 feet, is in the Idlewild. Plenty of 
 wood and water are to be had near the mines. Con- 
 siderable ore has been shipped to Eureka and 
 smelted. Freight is teamed from Austin, sixty 
 miles distant, at the rate of thirty dollars per ton. 
 A New York company contemplates active opera- 
 tions at an early date. 
 
 Lone Mountain District takes its name from a sol- 
 itary mountain standing in Smoky Valley. On this 
 mountain the minei« are located. The}- were discov- 
 ered by Mexicans in 1863, and were worked in a 
 rude way for several years, in quest of gold. A dis- 
 trict was organized in 1864. In 1866 the mines were 
 abandoned. In 1878 new mines were opened, and 
 the ore was transported to Belleville and milled, 
 yielding from seventy to seventy -five dollars per ton. 
 The number of miners now in the district is fifteen; 
 the number of locations, twenty. The veins are found 
 between slate and porphyry, and run with the forma- 
 tion in a northeast and southwest direction, dipping 
 to the east. The ore is base, being adapted for 
 smelting, and contains copper, lead, silver and some 
 gold. The greatest depth of shaft is thirty-five 
 feet. The nearest railroad point is Austin, 120 miles 
 distant, from which freight is brought by team. 
 Spring-water is abundant, and there is plenty of nut 
 pine and cedar convenient of access. Not very far 
 west of Lone Mountain is a salt mine, but it has 
 never been worked to a great extent. 
 
 JL\NHATTAN DISTRICT is ten miles southwest of 
 Belmont. Ore was discovered in 1866 by George 
 NichoU, and a district was organized the following 
 year. Fifty locations have been made. The princi- 
 pal mines are the Mohawk and Black Hawk. The 
 veins are between limestone and porphj-ry, which 
 formation runs north and south. The veins run with 
 it in most cases, but in others, across it. The dip is 
 westerly, at an angle of thirt3'-fivo to thirty-seven 
 degrees. The ore is base, containing copper and 
 iron, but no trace of gold. The Black Hawk Mine 
 has a shaft sixty feet deep, and the Mohawk a 
 tunnel 100 feet in length. Freight from Austin, 
 ninety miles to the northward, is teamed at sixty 
 dollars per ton. Plenty of nut pine and cedar are 
 close by the mines, and the supply of spring-water 
 is ample. ' The ore has been milled at Belmont, and 
 has averaged about SIOO per ton. Very little work 
 has been done in the district since 1869. The mining 
 records are kept by treorge Nicholl. 
 
 Milk Spring District joins Tybo District on the 
 
 south, and was organized in 1867. About forty loca- 
 tions have been made. In the fall of 1867 Colonel 
 Bucl worked six or eight mines. Considerable ore 
 was taken out, much of which yet remains on the 
 dumps. Since then nothing has been done. The 
 district receives its name from the appearance of 
 the water which rises in a large spring, which, 
 although pure to the taste, is milky in color. 
 
 North Twin Eiver District lies on the east side 
 of the Toiyabe Mountains, forty miles south of 
 Austin. A mill was built there in 1867, by the La 
 Plata Mining Company, of Reading. Pennsylvania, 
 but ran only for a short time. The Buckeye Min- 
 ing Companj", of New York, worked extensively for 
 several years upon the Buckej'e Mine, which was 
 discovered and opened in 1865. The mine produced 
 considerable silver, the ore being in irregular bunches, 
 sometimes very rich and promising, but not equaling 
 the great expectations, the mine was abandoned by 
 them. Ore is occasionally taken out and shipped to 
 Austin. 
 
 San Antonio District is situated in the Toiyabe 
 Mountains, about thirty-six miles southwest of Bel- 
 mont. Ore was discovered in 1863 by a party of 
 Mexicans, and a district was at once organized. 
 Considerable work was done during the ensuing 
 few years. In 1865 a ten-stamp mill was built at 
 San Antone Station, in Smoky Valley, twelve miles 
 distant, but after being operated a year it was pulled 
 down and removed to some other mining locality. 
 A four-stamp mill was also built in 1867, but was 
 only run a year. Slate, lime and porphyry- are the 
 prevailing formations, and run north and south, the 
 veins running in the same direction. The ore is 
 base. It is of high grade and boars load and anti- 
 mony, but no gold. It is worked by the milling and 
 roasting process. The principal mines are the Poto- 
 mac and Liberty. The latter contains a shaft 400 
 feet deep. Plenty of nut pine and cedar are found 
 at the distance of twenty miles from the mines. 
 Water is hauled from springs three miles distant. 
 Freight is teamed from Austin, 100 miles distant, at 
 a cost of thirty dollars per ton. 
 
 Silver Point District is twelve miles south of the 
 stage station of Hot Spring. The nearest post-office 
 is Belmont. Ore was discovered in 1865 by Edward 
 Shumwaj- and others, and a district was organized 
 under tho name of Argcntoro. In 1871 it was re- 
 organized under the present name. Twenty-one 
 locations have been made. Tho veins are found be- 
 tween slate and porphyry, and run north and south 
 with tho formation, dipping to the southwest at 
 an angle of fort3--fivc degrees. The ores are 
 base, containing copper and iron, and aver- 
 age about $130 to tho ton. About 100 tons 
 have been taken out that have not been milled. 
 The principal mines are the Minnesota, Blue 
 Bell, Modoc and Monte Christo, The shaft of the 
 I Minnesota is eighty feet in depth. Water is scarce. 
 
HISTORY OF NYE COUNTY. 
 
 619 
 
 Plenty of wood is found within three miles of the 
 mines. Freight is brought from Austin, seventy 
 miles to the northward, at thirty dollars per ton. 
 The ores of the district are worked at Austin and 
 Jefferson. The mining records are kept by the 
 County Clerk. 
 
 Springfield District is on the west side of Moni- 
 tor Vallej', in Silver Bend Mountains, about thirty- 
 five miles north of Belmont. It was organized 
 November 2-i, 1874. More than a hundred springs 
 furnish an abundant supply of water, while the 
 slope of the mountain is covered with white and nut 
 pines. The ores arc base, containing iron, lead and 
 silver, and best adapted for smelting. The bolt has 
 been traced for five miles along the range, some 
 of the veins being shown by continuous croppings for 
 a mile or thereabout, which reappear in the distance. 
 Considerable work has been done on the Sheba Mine, 
 which produces ore assaj-ing ninety dollars to the 
 ton. 
 
 The Devil's Punch Bowl. About a mile east of 
 the district is the remarkable feature of nature 
 known as the Devil's Punch Bowl. It consists of a 
 butte in the form of an inverted wash-bowl, which 
 is a quarter of a mile in diameter where it touches 
 the ground, and a hundred feet in diameter at the 
 apex. Upon ascending the smooth side of the^bowl 
 to the top, the visitor is confronted by an immense 
 chasm, almost perfectly circular, with vertical walls, 
 and of great depth, at the bottom of which is a 
 seething cauldron of boiling water of unfathomable 
 depth, which is incessantly foaming and exhaling hot 
 vapors and steam. 
 
 SuM.MiT District is in the Toiyabe range of mount- 
 ains, thirty miles south of Austin, on the southeast 
 side of Bunker Hill. Ore was discovered in 1863, a 
 district organized, and three mills erected. Opera- 
 tions were not successful, however, owing to inade- 
 quate machinery, and lack of proper knowledge of 
 the ores. The companies engaged in mining failed, 
 and very little work has been done since. The prin- 
 cipal mines are the Victorine and Phtenician. The 
 formation of the latter is limestone and slate. The 
 vein is five feet thick, has a course east and west, 
 and dips north at an angle of forty degrees, A tun- 
 nel fifty feet in length has been driven into the ledge, 
 and from the end of it an incline has been sunk 
 forty feet. The ore contains a large per cent, of 
 gold. Assays have been made which show $150 
 gold, and 8125 silver per ton. Some years ago, 1,800 
 tons of ore from the Victorine were worked, the 
 average pulp assays of which were sixty dollars per 
 ton. Thirty-seven per cent, only of this was saved, 
 which was not sufficient to pay the expenses of 
 milling and mining. There is plenty of good ore in 
 this district, which improved machinery could handle 
 at a profit. There is an abundance of water, and 
 wood can be had at five dollars per cord. The ore 
 can be mined and delivered at the mills for two dollars 
 
 and fifty cents per ton, [This district is probably 
 in Lander County,] 
 
 Toiyabe District is fifteen miles north of San 
 Antone Station. Ore was discovered in 1876 by 
 Messrs, Nicholl, Wallmer and Terrill. In 1878 a 
 district was organized, but no town has ever been 
 built there. The veins are between limestone and 
 slate, and between slate and porphyry, and run 
 north and south with the formation, dipping to the 
 west at an angle of forty degrees. The ores are 
 both free and base, and bear gold and silver. The 
 base ores contain lead and antimony. In some of 
 the mines there is very little silver, the ore going 
 about 8300 per ton. About thirty tons have been 
 milled at Jefferson, The base ore yields from sixty 
 to eight}- dollars per ton. Wood and water are 
 abundant, the latter being obtained from springs. 
 Freight is teamed from Austin, eighty miles to the 
 northward, at the rate of twenty-five dollars per 
 ton. The principal mines are the Toiyabe North, 
 Wykiup, California North, California South and 
 Toiyabe South, The deepest shaft in the district is 
 -seventy-two feet. The mining records are kept by 
 S. Compton at Peavine, 
 
 Other districts are described in connection with 
 the principal towns within their limits, 
 principal towns and cities. 
 
 Belmont, the countj- seat of Nye County, is situ- 
 ated on a sloping plateau of the Toquima range of 
 mountains, and has an altitude of 8,000 feet. Its 
 environs are picturesque in the extreme. The loca- 
 tion is also at the center of the important Philadel- 
 phia Mining District, the principal mines of which 
 are aliout a mile east of town. They are the Bel- 
 mont, Ilighbridge, Arizona, El Dorado South, El 
 Dorado North, Combination, Green & Oder, North 
 Belmont, Monitor-Belmont and Quintero. Ore was 
 discovered by an Indian, and the first locations were 
 made in October, 1865, soon after which a district 
 was organized called the Philadelphia. In 1866 the 
 name was changed to Silver Bend, but in the same 
 year was changed back to the one originall}- 
 adopted. The quartz veins are found between slate 
 and porphyry, which formation runs north and 
 south, the veins running with it, and dipping east- 
 erly at an angle of from thirty -seven to forty-five 
 degrees. The ore is base, containing copper, lead 
 and antimony, and is worked by milling and roasting. 
 
 Spring-water is abundant for all purposes, and nut 
 pine and cedar are found within eight miles of town. 
 Freight is teamed from Austin, ninety miles distant, 
 and from Eureka, 109 miles distant, at the rate of 
 from two to three dollars per 100 pounds. The com- 
 pletion of rail communication to Walkers Lake will 
 probably somewhat reduce these rates. Three hun- 
 dred locations have been made in this district. 
 
 The first mill was built in 1866. having ten stamps. 
 During the following year a twenty-stamp mill was 
 put up, and in 1868 a forty-stamp mill. The first 
 
520 
 
 fflSTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 mill erected ceased operations in 1869. The second 
 was idle from 1868 until 1878, after which it ran at 
 intervals for two years, and was then taken down 
 and moved to Gold Mountain. The third stopped 
 running in 1876. The present facilities for working 
 ore consist of a five-stamp and a twenty-stamp mill. 
 The richest of the ore has yielded as high as 81,000 
 per ton. 
 
 The deepest shaft in the district is in the Belmont 
 Mine, and penetrates to the depth of 500 feet. At 
 the depth of 360 feet a level has been run in the vein 
 for the distance of 1,400 feet. In sinking winzes from 
 this level two ehimnej's of ore were discovered, pitch- 
 ing south, which were so remurkabiy rich that the 
 stock of the company rose from 81.50 to 830 per share 
 within a few days. One of these chimneys was 
 within 200 feet of the locality from which the Can- 
 field Company took half a million dollars' worth of 
 ore a few years ago. Considerable difficultj* is ex- 
 perienced ia working the Belmont Mine, on account 
 of the flow of water. Pumps throwing out 200 gal- 
 lons of water per minute can scarcely remedy the 
 difficulty. Nevertheless the mine has been most 
 entensively developed, which can also be said of the 
 El Dorado South. The shaft of the Monitor-Belmont 
 has been sunk to a depth of 250 feet, and much rich 
 ore has been taken out. An incline in the Arizona 
 Mine is 175 feet in depth. Some of the ore extracted 
 from the Green & Oder Mine has yielded 8400 per 
 ton. The records of the district are kept by George 
 Nicholl, of Belmont. 
 
 The first settler of Belmont was Antonio Borquez, 
 who arrived in 1865. He was soon followed by A. 
 BiUraan, H. G. C. Schmidt, J. M. Reed, C. L. Straight, 
 R. Kelley, D. R. Dean, Len. Martin, O. Brown, S. 
 Tallman, J. Grover, D. E. Buel, Dr. \Vm. Geller, 
 Charles St. Louis, J. W. Gashwiler, S. M. Burk and 
 others. Ore discoveries, the convenience of wood 
 and water, and a naturally fine location, caused the 
 selection of the town site. Belmont was most pros- 
 perous in 1866-67, and again in 1873-74, at which 
 times it contained about 1,500 inhabitants. Its streets 
 are partially shaded by maples, locusts and Balm of 
 Gilead trees. 
 
 The nearest towns are these: Barcelona, eight 
 miles west; Jefterson, fourteen miles north; Hot 
 Creek, thirty-five miles easterly, andTybo about the 
 same distance southeaster!}'. Nut pine, cedar and 
 mountain mahogany arc obtained from the surround- 
 ing hills. At present the town contains four stores, 
 two saloons, five restaurants, one livery stable, a 
 post-office, an assay office, a blacksmith shop, and 
 about 400 inhabitants, '^'he buildings are constructed 
 of stone, brick, adobe and wood. 
 
 The Episcopalians and Koman Catholics have 
 organizations, and frame houses of worship. The 
 Episcopalian ('hurch will seat 200 persons, and the 
 Catholic Church 150. There are no clergymen at 
 Belmont, however. There are four lawyers, and the 
 
 extreme healthfulness of the township enables it to 
 fare well with one physician. 
 
 The number of quartz mills is three — one of five 
 stamps, one of twenty stamps, and one of thirty 
 stamps. The water supply is obtained from springs 
 and wells, and is ample for general use. Merchandise 
 is procured both from San Francisco and Chicago. 
 Secret societies consist of one Masonic lodge and one 
 lodge of Good Templars. A stone school house 
 20x24 feet in size, is capable of seating 100 pupils, 
 but only about half that number are in attendance. 
 The public hospital is under the management of the 
 County Commissioner*', and at present contains ten 
 patients. The aggregate length of streets is three 
 miles. The sidewalks are of wood and stone. 
 
 Agricultural interests in the vicinitj- are not of an 
 important character. Some stock-raising is carried 
 on. In Smokj- Valley are numerous hot springs, 
 which have attracted much attention. 
 
 In 1867 a weekly newspaper called the Silver Bend 
 Weekly Reporter was established and continued in 
 existence about two years. Another paper The 
 Mountain Champion was published in 1868 during the 
 election campaign, and in 1874 the Belmont Courier 
 was established and still continues. 
 
 The prices of board, and commodities in general, as 
 they were in March, 1867, may be learned from the 
 following extract from the Silver Bend Reporter of 
 that time: — 
 
 For the information of persons contemplating a 
 trip to Belmont, we append the following list of 
 prices of various articles at this time. Lumber per 
 1,000 feet, 8140; stone wall per perch, 85; passage 
 from Austin, 815; freight from Austin per pound, 
 fast 4(«,5 cents, slow do 22@3; board per week, 
 S10(n)812; flour, per 1(10, 813; sugar, (crushed) per 
 ])Ound, 33J cents; coft'ee, 45(5)50 cents; bacon, 35(0)40 
 cents; wood j)er cord, 84(aj8G; beef, 15(V^25 cents, 
 eggs per dozen, 81.25; tea ])er pound, 81(5 150; 
 beans, 15(^20 cents; butter, 75 cents; barlej' 9(^10 
 cents; hay per ton, 875. Adobes are valueless, and 
 there is no brick, shingles, nor shakes in the market. 
 
 Nye County, at present, is classed among the un- 
 developed counties, being distant from, and untouched 
 by any railroad. Every other county has some rail- 
 road history, but this great means of development 
 promises to reach these most distant parts at an 
 early day. From the east is promised the extension 
 of the Utah Southern from Milford, through the 
 northern part of Lincoln, crossing thiscountj- bj- Rev- 
 eille and Tum Pah-Ute, opening easj- communication 
 to Belmont, San Antonio. Smoky Valley and to a 
 junction at Silver Peak with a railroad from Califor- 
 nia. The work of construction has already begun 
 for the extension of the Nevada Central from Ledlie 
 in Lander County, under the name of the Nevada 
 Southern Railway, which will pass through the rich 
 mining region of Granl.sville, and extending to a 
 junction with the road from California and from the 
 East. 
 
HISTORY OF NYE COUNTY. 
 
 sn 
 
 ?yCt>^,^^^<i^ 
 
 Hon. Benjamin Curler was born in Ferrisburgh, 
 Addison County, Vermont, September 27. 18.34. 
 
 Tho father of our present subject being a farmer of 
 no great wealth, his earlydays were spent in active 
 pursuits, and were only varied b}- his attendance at 
 the district school. In September, 1853, he entered 
 a high school kept by B. B. Allen, at Vergennes, 
 Vermont, and at the expiration of the term, re- 
 turned to his father's farm, and worked until the 
 school opened again the next September, when he 
 once more settled down to his studies in good earn- 
 est. After his second term, he taught a school for 
 four months. During his twenty-first year of life 
 he emigrated to Illinois, but returned to his native 
 State, and taught school that winter. In the spring of 
 185C he again went to Illinois, and for a period of 
 nearly two years was engaged in teaching school, and 
 reading law. In the fall of 1857 he went to Wisconsin 
 remaining but a short time, however, when he re- 
 turned to Illinois, and engaged in the mercantile 
 business. In the spring of 1859 ho started for tho 
 mines at Pike's Peak, Colorado, and not realizing 
 what he expected in that region, he continued his 
 
 journey, and reached Carson City, Nevada, on the 
 fifteenth of September of that year, and followed tho 
 occupation of carpentering for some time. In 1862 
 he kept a stage station on the Carson River, and 
 continued the study of his profession. In 18G3 he 
 was elected a member of the Territorial Legislature. 
 March 9, 18G4, was appointed County Commissioner, 
 by Gov. James W. Nye, for Churchill County; and 
 during the same year ho was elected District Attor- 
 ney, and admitted to practice law in all the Ter- 
 I'itorial Courts. At tho general election in 186('>, 
 ho was elected District Judge of the Fifth Judi- 
 cial District, comprising the counties of Xyo and 
 Churchill; and was re-elected to the same office four 
 years later, his opponent being the Hon. C. H. 
 Belknap. At the expiration of his last term, he 
 resumed the practice of his profession. In 187C 
 ho was elected District Attorney for Nye County; 
 and was re-elected in 1878, which office ho still 
 holds. Mr. Curler is well known throughout the 
 State of Nevada, and is universally esteemed. He 
 was married in Vermont, November 6, 1856. to Miss 
 Rhoda A. Thompson. 
 
522 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Hon. George Ernst was born in Kirchheim, Hessen 
 CasBcl, Germany, a. d. 1837. His father is a stone 
 mason, and is still living. At the early age of two 
 years the subject of this sketch emigrated with his 
 parents to America. In 184.") his family settled in 
 Dubuque, Iowa, and George received bis education 
 in the common schools of that place, and also learned 
 the trade of his father. He subsequentlj' entered 
 Konyon College, in Ohio, from where he graduated 
 with high honors in 1862. In 18G3 he came to 
 Nevada, and located at Daj-lon. Ln'oii County, where 
 he soon alter received the appointment of Deputy 
 County Surveyor, under John Day, and for three years 
 remained in that office. In the spring of 1866, Mr. 
 Ernst accompanied Governor II. G. Jilai.sdel on an 
 expedition to Pahranagat Valley, and for a time 
 remained there. In 1867-68 he was Assessor for 
 Lincoln County, being the first man elected to that 
 office in the county. In 1870 wo find him a farmer 
 at Hot Creek, in Nye County, and in 1872 he was 
 appointed County Survej-or of the same, to which 
 office he was elected in 1874 and 1876. In 1877 he 
 had charge of the office of County Recorder and 
 Auditor, and was elected to perform the duties per- 
 taining to that office in 1878. In 1880 ho was 
 elected to the Assembly of the Nevada Legislature. 
 Mr. Ernst was the first to suggest to Adolph Siitro, 
 the feasibility of the enterprise resulting in the con- 
 struction of the famous Sutro Tunnel, and to him is 
 accorded the honor of making the first survey, locat- 
 ing the tunnel and shafts. In connection with his 
 many other duties bo has been Deputy I'liited 
 States Mineral Surveyor for eight years. In politics 
 
 he is a Democrat, but was a strong Union man 
 during the slight misunderstanding between the 
 North and South. He was married to Miss Ellen 
 Mary Hinton at Dayton, in 1865. 
 
 Barcelona is eight miles west of Belmont, in 
 Spanish Belt District, which is situated in the 
 Smoky Valley, or Toquima, range. Ore was discov- 
 ered by a party of Mexicans in 1867. In 1875 the 
 district was detached from the Philadelphia District, 
 and organized as at present. During the Ibllowing 
 year Barcelona was started, and attained a popula- 
 tion of 150. It contained a store, blacksmith shop, 
 assay office, three boarding-houses, etc.. but was 
 deserted in the latter part of 1877, by reason of the 
 cessation of work in the mines. In 1879 the mines 
 started up again, and about 500 tons of ore were 
 taken out. The ores of the district are rich, and 
 prospects are promising. The formation is between 
 slate and porphyry, running northeast and south- 
 west, the veins running with it, and di])j)ing to the 
 east at an angle of forty-five degrees. The ores are 
 base, requiring roasting. They contain antimony, 
 zinc and iron, and some have yielded twentj- dollars 
 per ton in gold and S3S0 per ton in silver. There is 
 plenty of spring-water at the mines, and nut pine, 
 white pine and cedar ai'c abundant in the neighbor- 
 hood. The principal mines are the Barcelona, Ligu- 
 sia, Altocana, Enterprise, and San Pedro. The 
 shaft of the Barcelona is 180 feet deep; the tunnel of 
 that mine is 1,300 feet long. Freight is teamed from 
 Austin, eighty miles to the northward, at the rate ot 
 fifty dollars per ton. The ores taken out are worked 
 at Belmont, Austin and Eureka; but it is believed 
 that a mill will soon be erected at the mines. The 
 records of the district are kept by George Nicholl, 
 at Belmont. 
 
 Bartlett is twenty miles east of the stage station 
 of iMinniuni, on Miner's Mountain, in the midst of a 
 good mining region. Ore was discovered in 1866 bj* 
 a prospector named Logan, and a district was organ- 
 ized called Northumberland. In 1875 the name was 
 changed to Monitor, but was changed back to North- 
 umberland in 1879, at which date the town was 
 started. It once contained a store, boarding-house, 
 post-office, numerous saloons, etc., but is now entirely 
 deserted. A ten-stamp mill was erected in 187!i, but 
 was operated only three months. The quartz veins 
 are between slate and porphyry, running north and 
 south with the formation, and dipping to the east at 
 an angle of thirty-seven degrees. The ore is free- 
 milling, containing gold and silver. Some of it is 
 very rich in gold. The j)rincipal mines are the 
 Monitor and Blue Bell. The shaft of the latter is 
 1 20 feet deep. Freight is teamed from Austin, sixty- 
 five miles distant, at the rate of twenty dollars per 
 ton. Nut and white pine are abundant. Water is 
 scarce, and is ])rocured from springs. Belmont and 
 Austin are the nearest post-offices. The books of 
 the district are kept by S. Slusher, of Eureka. 
 
 I 
 
HISTORY OF NYE COUNTY. 
 
 523 
 
 Ellsworth is in Mammoth District, thirty miles 
 south of the old overland road through the Cold 
 Spring range of mountains, and about twelve miles 
 ■westerly- from lone. It contains a ]io8t-orticoand stage 
 station. Ore was discovered in 18(53 by the Indians, 
 and in 18(14. Sam. .McKeon, A. T. Hatch, and others, 
 organized a district. The town was started soon 
 afterwards, but its growth was slow and discourag- 
 ing until 1870, when a ten-stamp mill was built. Its 
 population then increased to 200, and it became verj^ 
 lively. Since 1874 the mill has been operated on!}- a 
 portion of the time, and the population of the town 
 has dwindled down to twenty persons, including six 
 miners. The quartz veins are found in a formation 
 of granite, which runs northeast and southwest, the 
 veins running with it and dipping to the west at an 
 angle of fortj--five degrees. The ores arc most!}- 
 free-milling, and average about SI 00 to the ton. The 
 principal mines are the Peoria, Morning Call, General 
 Lee, Silver Wave. Mount Vernon and Lisbon. The 
 greatest depth of shaft is in the Mount Vernon, 180 
 feet. When the mill was in operation, Indians were 
 employed at the pans, settlers, concentrators and fur- 
 naces, with a couple of white men to oversee them, 
 and proved very eiBcient laborers. The cost of wood 
 delivered at the mills, has usually been three dollars 
 and a quarter per cord. Salt is worth thirty-five 
 dollars per ton. Water for the mill is obtained from 
 a forty-foot well. Some very rich ore has been taken 
 from the Esta Buena Mine, located and owned by 
 Don Manuel San Pedro, of (Trantsville. Some of it 
 has gone as high as Sl,(iOO per ton. Several tons 
 worked in the mill j'ielded 8325 each. The nearest 
 railroad point is Austin, sixty-five miles to the north- 
 east. Freight is brought from Wadsworth at the 
 rate of fifty dollars per ton. 
 
 Grantsville is in a beautiful canon about four 
 miles from lone Valley. It is in Union District, 
 which IS situated in the lone, or Shoshone, range of 
 mountains, just west of the Toiyabe range. Ore 
 was discovered in 1863 bj^ P. A. llaven, and a 
 district was at once organized. llaven also laid off 
 the town of Grantsville, and about fifty persons 
 settled there, among whom was John Bowman, J. C. 
 John.son, Mr. Veach, Peter Lefler, M. C-. JIahone, 
 Manuel San Pedro, and others. Its growth has 
 been most promising. Its altitude is about 8.500 feet, 
 and fine mountain scenery stretches away on everj- 
 hand. Ton miles to the northward is lone, and 
 seventy miles to the northeastward is Austin. 
 
 In September, 1877, the Alexander Company 
 became mterested in the mines in and around (Jrants- 
 ville, and re-located and laid oft' the town, and built 
 a twenty-stamp mill there, the capacitj' of which was 
 increased to forty stamps in 1880. 
 
 The present population of Grantsville is 800, 
 including 356 registered voters. It contains ten 
 merchandise stores, two drug stores, one hardware 
 store and tin shop, one furniture store, five restaurants 
 
 two bakeries, five saloonB, two barber shops, one jew- 
 elry store, two blacksmith shops, two meat markets, 
 two livery stables, one brewery, two assay offices, an 
 express oftice. bank, newspai)er, ami a foundrj-. The 
 climate is healthy- and the atmosphere pure. Three 
 mails arrive and depart every Avcek, and stage lines 
 connect with Wadsworth and Austin b\- way of lone, 
 and with Eureka by way of Belmont. Town lots 
 sell all the way from 850 to 8500. 
 
 In the vicinity of tJrantsville there are fourteen 
 valuable silver mines, as follows: The J*;ii/,abeth, 
 Bonanza, Lefler, Harvey, Success, Galatea, Chicago, 
 Centennial, Cooper, Silver Crown, Cadiz, Alameda, 
 Brooklyn, and the Alexander series. 
 
 The veins of the district are found in porphyry, 
 quartzite and limestone, running northwest and 
 southeast with the formation, and dipping to the 
 southwest at an angle of sixty degrees. Porphyry 
 is the predominating formation. The ore contains 
 native gold and silver, chloride and sulphuret of 
 silver, antimony, copper, and the carbonate of lead. 
 Some excecdinglj- rich specimens, containing gold, 
 have been found in the Shamrock and Franklin 
 Mines. Large-sized specimens have been obtained 
 from the former mine, showing moi'e gold than 
 quartz. The deepest shaft is in the Alexander mii;e, 
 1,200 feet. The incline of the same mine is 500 feet 
 long. The ores of the district are worked by the 
 milling and roasting process. 
 
 Wood and water are convenient and abundant. 
 Freight is teamed from Austin at the rate of forty 
 dollars per ton. The number of miners now in the 
 district is 140. Thus far the total bullion product 
 has been to the value of about 81,000,000. The 
 mining records of the district are kept by J. F. 
 Duchct. 
 
 The Odd Fellows have a well-organized lodge. 
 Educational facilities consist of a good, brick school 
 house, capable of seating sixty pupils, about forty 
 pupils being in regular attendance. The aggregate 
 length of streets in ihc town is two miles. About 
 ten miles to the westward, on Reese River, are a 
 few small ranches, and some stock-raising is also 
 carried on. 
 
 In November, 1870, Ihe Grantsville Snn, a weekly 
 paper, was started in the interest of Senator Jones, 
 but suspended in 1880. In Januarj-, 1881, the Grants- 
 ville Bonunza was started by -Mautc & Donald, and 
 is now being regularly ])ulilished. 
 
 A tunnel in the hillside answers the purpose of a 
 jail. In February, 1881, a Spaniard was Ij-nched 
 for the murder of a countryman of his. Another 
 murderer was arrested in August, 1880, and alter 
 conviction, was sent to the State Prison, where ho 
 is now incarcerated. The prospects of Grantsville 
 are favorable in the extreme. 
 
 The town ok Hot Creek is situated in the center 
 of a rich mining region, with wood and water con- 
 venient and abundant. Amonj' its earliest settlers 
 
524 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 were Jeremiah Miller, David Baker, Eli Baker, G. B. 
 Montgomery, Dr. Walter, E. G. Brown, Garrett & 
 Joslyn and Capt. A. D. Rock— who arrived in 1867. 
 The town was most prosperous in 1868, when its 
 population numbered about 300. The altitude is 
 6,800 feet. It is situated in a beautiful valley in 
 the foot-hills of the Hot Creek Mountains, and is 
 fifteen miles south of Morey District, twelve miles 
 north of Tybo, and thirty-five miles southeast of Bel- 
 mont. Its present inhabitants number only twenty- 
 five. The site of the town is now the property of 
 Hon. J. T. Williams. A saloon, restaurant, hotel, 
 post-office, blacksmith shop and assay office meets 
 the present wants of the community. The buildings 
 are of stone and iron. In 1867 a twenty-stamp mill 
 was built, but it was soon afterwards burned down. 
 The town at that time consisted of two camps, and 
 the upper one wa't then abandoned. In 1880 a ten- 
 stamp mill was built at the lower town, but it has j 
 never been operated much. 
 
 The bullion product of the town to date has been 
 about 81,000.000. The water supply consists of 300 
 inches, and is private property. Austin, about 
 ninety miles to the northwest, is the nearest railroad 
 point, and to team freight from it costs two cents 
 per pound. The taxable property of the township 
 is valued at §200,000. Large herds of cattle and 
 horses are raised in the vicinity, and one fine ranch 
 raises a large amount of hay and other produce. 
 
 Near the town are boiling hot springs of great 
 medicinal value, and mineral water is also abundant 
 of a quality highly appreciated. 
 
 The principal fire occurred in 1867. when the Old 
 Dominion twenty-slamp mill was burned down, 
 causing a loss of 890,000. 
 
 The P^ureka ^en^tJie^ of September 2, 1877, contains 
 the following information concerning Hot Creek: — 
 
 Hcniy .\lleii, the well-known contractor of Eureka, 
 has just finished a work of considerable magnitude 
 at Hot Creek. Last summer he was employed by 
 the Tybo Consolidated Company to build fifteen 
 kilns, in which the company proposed to burn the 
 charcoal necessary to supply their furnaces at Tybo. 
 He finished the work about a week ago, and some 
 idea of its magnitude maj' be gathered from the 
 fact that 600,000 bricks were used in building the 
 kilns. They are oval in shape, having a diameter 
 of twenty-five feet. Kacli one has a cajiacity of 
 1.400 b'lsbels. turning out that riuantity of coal to 
 each charge, the o))eralion consuming five days, A 
 great economj' of time results from these kilns, 
 instead ol' burning in the old-fashioned way, and as 
 the com|):iny owns a vast quanlitj- of wood in the 
 immediate vicinity, they calculate on their fuel cost- 
 ing them about one-half the usual rates. .\ force of 
 twenty men were emploj'ed about three months in 
 building the kilns. 
 
 The White Pino excitement jjroved a great injury 
 to Hot Creek, from which its recovery has been slow. 
 
 HON. J. T. WILLIAMS 
 
 Is a native of Arkansas, born in Conway, July 21, 
 18'i2. His father was a planter and died when the 
 
 PHOTO. BY LOUIS MONACO. EUREKA. HEV. 
 
 /. T. Williams. 
 
 present subject was quite young. At the earlj- age 
 of seventeen j-ears he came to California, by way of 
 the plains and arrived in 1859 in the land of promise. 
 He having no relatives or friends on this coast, was 
 obliged to follow the promptings of his own nature. 
 He settled in Calaveras County and engaged in min- 
 ing until 1862, when he came to the then Territory 
 of Nevada, and followed the occupation of silver 
 mining. 
 
 In 1863 he went in company with Gov. L. R. Brad- 
 ley to Austin, during the Reese River excitement, 
 and assisted in the organization of Nj'e County, 
 and has since resided in that countj'. He was mar- 
 ried to Miss Sophia Ernst, September 20, 1870, a 
 lady of cultured tastes, and more than ordinary 
 ability. 
 
 Mr. Williams is a descendant of an old Democratic 
 family, and is himself a Jiickson Democrat of the 
 strictest kind. His ancestors on his father's side 
 were from Wales, and settled in North Carolina long 
 before the American Revolution. His mother's ances- 
 tors were of French descent, settling in Virginia 
 about the same time, both families being strongly 
 identified in the cause of American Independence. 
 His grandfather was an officer in the Revolutionary 
 War, and his brother, Colonel Williams, fell at a 
 ])lace known as Williams' Pond, in South Carolina. 
 The works of Thos. Benton, "Thirty j-ears in the 
 United States Senate," reveals the fact that Mr. 
 Williams comes from good stock. His brother Lewis 
 Williams, of North Carolina, was a member of Con- 
 gress for manj- years, and Jonathan Williams, at one 
 time United States Senator from Tennessee, whoso 
 father fought in the Revolution, and who participated 
 himself in the war of 1812, Wfts also a member of 
 the same family. 
 
HISTORY OF NYE COUNTY. 
 
 525 
 
 The great triumph of the subject of this sketch is 
 in the authorship of the Williams Resolution regulat- 
 ing freights and fares on the railroads of the State, 
 which be introduced in the Nevada Senate in 1881. 
 His present residence is at Hot Creek, Nj-e Count}-, 
 and his business is divided between mining and farm- 
 ing. He is extensively interested in mining, owning 
 several paying claims. He also owns a hotel, and 
 has some 500 acres of fine bottom-land at his home 
 place and his hay crop is very valuable, being worth 
 about fort}' dollars per ton. Mr. Williams is a gentle- 
 man, esteemed by all who have the honor of his 
 acquaintance. 
 
 loNE, the original county seat of Nye, is about 
 twelve miles north of Grantsville, and is situated in 
 a romantic canon surrounded by lofty mountains. 
 Among its first settlers were Messrs. Veach, Carmack_ 
 Bowman, Barker, Baker, Johnston, Williams and 
 other prospectors. In 1865 lone contained a popu- 
 lation of about 600. At present it contains a store, 
 hotel, saloon, livery stable, post-oftice, blacksmith 
 shop and twenty-five inhabitants. Its two quartz 
 mills are idle. Their total bullion product to date is 
 estimated at 850(1.000. Austin is the nearest rail- 
 road station, and the freight rate, by team, is one 
 and one-half cents per pound. The taxable prop- 
 erty of the township is valued at §50,000. About a 
 thousand head of horses and cattle are owned in the 
 vicinity. In 1865 a weekly newspaper was started, 
 called the Xye Coanly Xews, but it discontinued pub- 
 lication in 1867. The wood and water supplies of 
 the town are abundant. Its buildings arc chiefly 
 frame structures. 
 
 Jefferson is situated in Jefferson I^istrict, in Jef- 
 ferson Mountain, a loft}' section of the Toquima range, 
 and is about twelve miles north of Belmont. Ore 
 was discovered in 1873 by John Johnson and Robert 
 Furgerson, and a district was organi/,ed under the 
 name of tJrecn Isle, which name was subsei|Uently 
 changed to the present one. In 1874 the town of 
 Jefferson was started, which, in less than two years, 
 contained a poi)ulation of 800 and polled 600 votes. 
 It contained two stores, three blacksmith shops, throe 
 boarding-houses, a post-ofl^ce and an express office. 
 Two mills were also in operation, and eight of the 
 mines were producing ore. In 1876 the ten-stamp 
 mill stopped work, and in 1878 the othcroncstopped, 
 upon which the town was abandoned. Only four 
 miners are now there. One hundred and twenty 
 locations have been made. The ore is free and con- 
 tains chloride of silver, containing a small percentage 
 of gold, and is very rich, and is worked by the mill- 
 ing process. The veins are small, and are found 
 between porphyry and slate. They run with the 
 formation, nearly north and south, and dip to the east 
 at an angle of sixty degrees. The Jefferson Mine 
 contains a tunnel 625 feet long, and a shaft 700 feot 
 deep. Selected specimens of ore from this mine, 
 having the appearance of granite, and betraying no 
 ' 66 
 
 evidence of metal, yielded as high as 810,000 and 
 820,000 per ton, and took the premium at the Cen- 
 tennial Exhibition. General ore from the district 
 assays from S40 to SI .700 per ton. Freight is teamed 
 from Austin, seventy-six miles, at thirty dollars per 
 tOTi. An ample quantity of spring-water exists, 
 and nut pine is abundant at the distance of three 
 or four miles, the records of the district are kept 
 by K. E. Shumway. 
 
 LoDi is in Lodi District, in the northwest corner 
 of the county, about a mile from the line of Churchill 
 County. The district is situated on a mountain spur 
 running northwest from the Mammoth Range. It is 
 seven miles from Porter's Stage Station, and the 
 nearest post-oflicc to it is Downeyville. Ore was dis- 
 covered in 1874 by Henry Welch and J. Kirkpatrick. 
 On May 14, 1875, a district was organized. In 1878 
 the town contained a population of 100, and boasted 
 a store, blacksmith shop, boarding-house, saloon, a 
 ten-ton smelting furnace, and other indications of 
 business life. It has since been abandoned, however, 
 and there are only six miners in the district. The 
 records are kept by Mr. Massey. About twenty-five 
 locations have been made. 
 
 The formation is of limestone, running southeast 
 and northwest, the veins running with it, and dip- 
 ping to the southwest. The ore is ba.se, and contains 
 lead and a little antimony, but no trace of gold. 
 The principal mine is the Illinois, on which a largo 
 amount of work has been done. Its shaft is 450 
 ieet in depth. At a depth on the vein of 100 feet, 
 a tunnel has been run 200 feet, from which level 
 winzes have boon sunk at different points. The vein 
 is from two to eight feet in width, and the ore in it 
 is chiefly carbonate of lead, which carries a large 
 per cent, of silver, some of which assays as high as 
 S500 per ton. 
 
 Water is brought in pipes from springs five miles 
 distant. Wood is scarce. Freight is teamed from 
 Wadsworth, on the Central Pacific Railroad. 100 
 miles to the northwest, the rate being forty-five 
 dollars per ton. Tho present facilities for working 
 ore consist of a small water jacket furnace. Since 
 its organization the district has yielded ore to the 
 value of $400,000. 
 
 MoREY is in a mining district of the same name, sit- 
 uated in the mountains about fifteen miles north of 
 Hot Crook, and four and a half miles from More's 
 Stage Station. Ore was discovered in 1865 by T. 
 J. Barnes, and in 1866 S. A. Curtis, Wm. .Muncey, 
 John Emerson and others organized tho district. In 
 1869 tho town was started. A ten-stamp mill was 
 built in 1873, but, after running a month, it discon- 
 tinued operations, and tho ore was shipped to Tybo 
 until .\pril, 1880, when tho mill started up again, 
 and ran until tho following December, turning out 
 89,000 worth of bullion per month. Another resump- 
 tion of milling operations is soon expected. Moroy 
 contains a store, blacksmith shop, post-office, board- 
 
526 
 
 mSTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 ing-house, express office, and a population of about 
 sixty persons. Thirtj--fivc locations have been made 
 in the district, and there are twenty miners there. 
 The records are kept by George Hammond. 
 
 The quartz veins are found in a formation of por- 
 phyry, which runs east and west, the veins running 
 with it, and dipping to the south at an angle of fifty 
 degrees. The ores contain zinc, lead, antimony, 
 some copper, and a small percentage of gold. The 
 principal mines are the Bay State, American Eagle, 
 Cedar, Keyser, Monterey, Little Giant and Black 
 Diamond. The shaft of the American Eagle is 200 
 feet deep; the tunnel of the Bay State, 1,000 feet 
 long. 
 
 Freight is teamed from Eureka, a distance of sev- 
 enty-five miles, at the rate of thirtj' dollars per 
 ton. Wood and water are in sufficient quantities for 
 all purposes. The ores averaged about eighty dol- 
 lars to the ton. Most of the mines in the district 
 have been self-sustaining from the outset. 
 
 Ophir Canon is situatod on the eastern slope of 
 the Toij-abe range of mountains, in Twin Eiver Dis- 
 trict. The nearest stage station and post-office is 
 Minnium, twenty-six miles to the northeast. Ore 
 was discovered in 1864, by G. H. Willard, Joseph 
 Patty and John Murphy, and a district was organ- 
 ized. In 1865 a twenty-stamp mill was completed, 
 costing over $200,000; connected with it was the 
 first experimental Stetefeldt furnace ever built. The 
 mines proved very rich at the outset, but after pen- 
 etrating below the water level, the wall rock was 
 found to be so hard that it could not be worked 
 profitably. Over 82,000,000 worth of ore was taken 
 out of the Murphy Mine. When the mill was built 
 the town was started, and it grew to a population of 
 400, but work on the mines ceased in 1868, and the 
 town became deserted. 
 
 In the Murphy Mine the vein is from eight to 
 forty feet in width, its course is northeast and south- 
 west, and it dips to the east at an angle of forty-five 
 degrees. The ore is found in pockets near the hang- 
 ing-wall, and contains a largo per cent, of iron, 
 copper, and arsenic. Beautiful specimens of native 
 silver have been found in this mine. The country 
 rock on both sides of the canon, where the metal- 
 bearing veins are found, is slate, it contains a large 
 amount of the pyrites of iron; small stringers of 
 white quartz cut through it in all directions. The 
 .Murphy Mine contains a shaft HOO feet in depth. 
 Freight from Austin, sixty miles to the northward, 
 is teamed at the rate of twenty -five dollars per ton. 
 Timber is scarce; Ophir Canon Creek supplies an 
 abundance of water. The mining records are kept 
 by A. H. Greonhalgh; the number of locations is 
 100; onlj' four mines still remain in the district, but 
 the massive stone walls of the costly and splendid 
 mill, and the brick walls of the elegant office and 
 mansion connected with the works, mark the scene 
 of the once busy place, monuments of great expec- 
 tations and wasteful extravagance. 
 
 Reveille is in a mining district of the same name, 
 in the Eeveille, a continuation of the Pancake, range 
 of mountains, about thirtj'-five miles southeast of 
 Tybo. Ore was discovered in August, 18G6, by W. 
 O. Arnold, M. D. Fairchild and Alonzo Monroe, and 
 a district was at once organized, and named in honor 
 of the Reese River Reveille, of Austin. By the ensu- 
 ing year fifty mines were in course of development, 
 and the ore shipped to Austin and other places. A 
 town sprung into being, containing two stores, a 
 blacksmith shop, a boarding-house, a post-office, and 
 150 inhabitants. 
 
 In 1S69 a five-stamp mill, and another one of ten 
 stamps, were built about twelve miles west of the 
 town, where water was to be had in abundance. 
 They were operated only a short time owing to the 
 failure of the company interested. In 1875 the ten- 
 stamp mill again started up, and was run at inter- 
 vals for four years, producing about 81.500,000 worth 
 of bullion. It then ceased operations. In the spring 
 of 1880 work was stopped on all the mines and the 
 town was abandoned, but the indications are that it 
 will again be re-peopled. 
 
 The number of locations in the district is !»50. The 
 formation is of limestone, quartzite and porphyiy, 
 and runs northeast and southwest, the veins running 
 with it and dipping to the east at an angle of forty 
 degrees. Most of the ores are free-milling. The 
 base ores contain lead and antimony. The jirinci- 
 pal mines are the tiila, Spj', Liberty, Fisherman, 
 Good Hope, La Salle, and Joliet. The Gila mine has 
 a shaft 4G0 feet deep and a tunnel a thousand feet 
 long. 
 
 The water supply of Keveille is obtained from 
 wells, and is insufficient. Wood is scarce, but there 
 is an amjilc supplj- of nut pine and cedar ten or 
 twelve miles distant. The mining records are kept 
 by J. U. Taylor, of Grantsville. Much of the ore of 
 this district has averaged from 875 to 8100 per ton, 
 and in several instances has j'ieldcd 81,500 per ton. 
 Reveille District is remarkably healthj% most of 
 the deaths which have occurred having originated 
 from accidents. There have been some cases of 
 pneumonia. The town of Reveille now consists of 
 one hotel, a saloon, post-office, butcher shop, livery 
 stable, and a blacksmith shop, and about thirty 
 inhabitants. The buildings are constructed of wood 
 and stone. Freight is hauled from Eureka, a distance 
 of 125 miles, at a cost of two and one-half cents per 
 pound. In the vicinity of Itcveille are five or six 
 cattle ranches, but agricultural interests are not 
 flourishing. 
 
 Trov is situated on (irant Mountain, about fifty 
 miles east of Hot Creek. The nearest post-office is 
 Duckwater; the nearest railroad station. Eureka. In 
 1867 the attention of A. Bcaty was attracted to 
 some float rock in a ravine. Ho immediately sunk a 
 shaft on the side hill above and struck ore, and a 
 district was soon organized. In 1869 the town of 
 Troy was laid otV, and it soon contained two stores, 
 
HISTORY OF ORMSBY COUNTY. 
 
 527 
 
 a boarding-house, a blacksmith shop, a post-office, 
 an express ottit-e and other adjuncts of embryo civil- 
 ization. 
 
 In 1871 a twenty -stamp mill was built, with a fur- 
 nace in connection. It ran about six months and 
 was then moved to Ward. The ore was of such low 
 grade that its reduction was considered unprofitable. 
 Work ceased on the mines and the town became 
 deserted. The formation is slato and limeHtone, run- 
 ning northeast and southwest, and dijiping to the 
 southeast at an angle of fifty -five degrees. The ores 
 are base, containing lead and copper. The principal 
 mines are the Clifton, Troy and Blue JOagle. The 
 latter has a shaft 300 feet deep and a tunnel 700 feet 
 long. The Troy Mine is also well developed. Plenty 
 of black pine, nut pine, j-ellow pine and fir are in 
 close proximity to the mines. Water is abundant, a 
 fine creek flowing past the town and mines. Freight 
 is teamed from Eureka, 12.") miles distant, at the rate 
 of sixty dollars per ton. No ore is now being taken 
 out. The mining records are kept by A. Beaty. at 
 Blue Eagle IJanch. There are seventy miners in 
 the district. 
 
 Tybo is twelve miles south of llot Creek, and 
 about forty miles southeast of Belmont, in a mining 
 district of the same name, which is situated on the 
 eastern slope of the Hot Creek Mountains. Ore was 
 discovered in 18G6, and in 1870 some important loca- 
 tions were made, including the Two (x Mine, bj- Dr. 
 Gallj- and M. V. B. Gillett. Tybo District was or- 
 ganized in 1870, being composed of the southeast 
 portion of Empire I)istrict. In 1874, the town of 
 Tybo was started in Tybo Canon, about two miles 
 from its mouth at Hot Creek Valley. John Centers 
 was its first settler, having made bis home there in 
 August, 18CG. Its altitude is 0,500 feet, and it is 
 surrounded by fine mountain scenery. 
 
 Soon after the organization of the district, a 
 smelting furnace was built at the town, and put in 
 operation, and in 1875 still another furnace was 
 built, and also a twenty-stamp mill. In 1S7(! the 
 town contained five stores, two blacksmith shops, 
 numerous saloons and 1,000 inhabitants. From the 
 opening of the mines until 1879, most of the ore 
 worked in the district was smelted, but in that year 
 the process of crushing and roasting was adopted, 
 since which time the smelting furnaces have not been 
 ran. Closing them threw more than 400 men out of 
 employment, and the town commenced declining. 
 The present population is 100. It contains three 
 hotels, one saloon, two restaurants, two livery stables, 
 a post-office, an express office, an assay office and a 
 blacksmith shop. Pneumonia is the only disease 
 which can be called prevalent, for the whole region 
 is remarkable healthy. The buildings are of wood 
 and stone. The fuel supply is obtained from the 
 mountains, at distances varjnng from ten to twenty 
 miles. 
 
 The Tybo Consolidated Company has two furnaces, 
 having a total daily capacity of eighty tons, and a 
 
 twenty-stamp mill. The water supply is obtained 
 from s])rings, which are private property. Eureka 
 is the most convenient railroad station, 100 miles 
 distant, and the I'reight rate by team therefrom is 
 two dollars per 100 pounds. 
 
 Tj'bo has a Good Templar's lodge, a brick school- 
 house, 18x20 foot in size, with twentj'-tive pupils in 
 attendance; and the taxable property of the town- 
 ship is valued at §200,000. In the vicinitj^ of the 
 town are numerous tine ranches, and about 2,000 
 head of horses and cattle. The Tybo Sun was 
 started in 187(1 by Mr. Ragsdale, who sold out to 
 \Vm. B. Taylor. William Love and D. M. Braunan 
 in turn succeeded Taylor, and in 1879 the paper sus- 
 pended. The jail consists of a stockade, and is, 
 fortunatelj', but little used. Several shooting affrays 
 occurred at Tybo during its palmy days, resulting 
 fatally; but the victims and the slayers were desper- 
 adoes, and little attention was paid to the matter. 
 
 The reduction mill is now working about twenty- 
 five tons per day, which average about twenty-five 
 dollars per ton. The formation of the district is 
 limestone and porphj-ry, running east and west, the 
 veins running with the formation, and dipping nearly 
 perpendicularly. The ores are base, containing lead, 
 iron and zinc, and seven-eighths silver and one-eighth 
 gold. The principal mines are the Lafayette, Casket 
 and Two tr. The latter is the most thoroughly 
 developed, having a shaft 450 feet in depth. The 
 vein is very regular and dips slightly to the north- 
 east. The ore is principally gray and yellow car- 
 bonates and argentiferous galena. The tunnel is 
 3,000 feet in length, extending through the three 
 principal mines. The mill is supplied with water 
 from the mines. It contains twenty stamps and a 
 White roaster. The records of the district are kept 
 by George Turin. Total number of locations, 100. 
 
 CHAPTER LL 
 HISTORY OF ORMSBY COUNTY. 
 
 Emigrants ami Early .Settlura — Organization of Drmsby County 
 — Appointinunta and Elections — Topograiihy of County — 
 E;irly .Settlers — .Samuel A. Nevers — Aaron D. Treadway— 
 Warren Wasson — AVilliam I). Torreysou — Advent of .\bram 
 Curry — Resources— Mines and Mining--(Juartz Mills — .Saw 
 mills — Toll-ro.ids — Court House — County Divideil into 
 Townships — (iame — State I'ri.son — Carson City — Hon. Chas. 
 ]•'. Hioknell — Hon. Trenmor ColKn--Mouroe A. Drieahadi — 
 H. H. Hence— \V. M. Cary— M. D. Hatch— .1. H. Marshall 
 — Duncan McKae — Mathias Kinckel — Harrison Slirieves — 
 tieorge C. Thaxter. 
 
 The historj' of Ormsbj- blends with, and has its 
 source in the earliest history of western Nevada, 
 when the region formed part of Carson County of 
 the Territory of Utah. The Carson Hiver flows 
 northeasterly through the county, and along its valley 
 came the trappei-s, explorers and emigrants in the 
 dim period of the past, in their search for game, for 
 new transcontinental routes and mountain passes, 
 and for new homos on the shores of the Pacific. Of 
 
528 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 the early trappers and explorers. Kit Carson has 
 left his name applied to the beautiful river that first 
 greets the thirsty traveler from the East and points 
 the way to the crossing of the Sierra, and of the 
 early settlers, Ormsby leaves his name to the county. 
 For many years the white strangers came and went, 
 leaving but their tracks to tell of their passage. 
 Some had tarried a few months, and a few localities 
 in the valley were said to have been " settled," but 
 the great emigration of 1849 — of preceding and 
 later years was for California, and the beautiful 
 valley of the Carson was still a wilderness. 
 
 In November, 1851, a party of men from the 
 placer mines of California, seeking gold on the east- 
 ern slope, were attracted by the advantages offered 
 for agriculture and trading purposes and located 
 upon ground where now stands the city of Carson. 
 These were Joseph and Frank Barnard, George Fol- 
 lensbee, A. J. Rollins, Frank and W. L. Hall. Kill- 
 ing an eagle on the spot, and preserving the stuffed 
 skin as a trophy, which was used as a sign for their 
 station, the place bec.ime known as Engle Valley. 
 This was the first settlement of the region under 
 review. Xo government yet threw its protecting 
 segis over the county. The whole region was a part 
 of Utah. 
 
 On the seventeenth of Januarj-, 1852, the county 
 of Carson was formed by Act of the Territory, 
 including all the inhabited portion of the west. This 
 early historj-, with the transition from Utah to 
 Nevada, belongs more particularly to that of the 
 State in which it is fully treated, leaving it necessary 
 in this place to refer only to the period since its polit- 
 ical organize tion as a county. 
 
 ORGANIZATION OF OR.MSBY OOUNTV. 
 
 Ormsbj' County was created by the Act of the 
 Territorial Legislature, approved November 25, 1861, 
 with boundai'ies defined as follows: — 
 
 Beginning at the northeastern corner of Douglas 
 County, and running easterly along the northern 
 boundary thereof to a point where it crosses Kl 
 Dorado Cafion; thence down the center of said 
 cafion to a point thereon due east of Brown & Com- 
 pany's dam. on Carson Kiver; thence in a westerly 
 direction, crossing Carson River at said dam; thence 
 to the Half-way House, between Carson and Silver 
 City; thence northwesterly to the summit of the 
 mountains east of Washoe l^ake; thence in a westerly 
 course along said summit to the tops of the Sierras; 
 thence due west to the California line; thence south 
 along sai<l line to the place of beginning. 
 
 The name of Ormsby was given in honor of Maj. 
 William M. Ormsby, one of its ])ioneer and most 
 prominent citizens, who had recently been slain in 
 battle with the Indians, 
 
 Geographically it is bounded on the north by 
 Washoe and Lyon Counties, east by Lyon, south by 
 Douglas and west by Placer County, in California. 
 
 The Legislature having ]>assed the Act creating 
 the county, met in Joint session on the twenty-third 
 of November, two days before the approval of the 
 
 bill, and chose three County Commissioners — H. F. 
 Rice, J. S, Albro and F, A. Tritle being the Com- 
 missioners then chosen for Ormsby County. 
 
 By an Act approved November 28, 18G1, a special 
 election was ordered throughout the Territory for 
 county, township and Territorial officers, to be held 
 on the second Tuesday in January, 1802, and pro- 
 viding that the officers then chosen should enter 
 upon their duties on the first Monday of February 
 ensuing. 
 
 By Act of the same Legislature, approved Novem- 
 ber 29, 1801, the rounty seat of Ormsby was located 
 at Carson City. 
 
 We have now the new countj', with its bounda- 
 ries, county seat, commissioners, officers and stat- 
 utes providing for the complete organization of its 
 srovcrnment. The Commissioners held their first 
 meeting on the twenty-fourth of December, 1861, 
 and Mr, H. F, Rice was chosen Chairman, Under 
 the general statates of the Territory they were re- 
 quired to organize election precincts and establish 
 polls, providing for the election to be held on the 
 ensuing fourteenth of January, The county was 
 declared to be one precinct, with polls established at 
 the following places: — 
 
 Polls No. 1 Carson City at Ormsby House 
 
 " " 2 Empire City at Kinney's Hotel 
 
 " " 3 Clear Creek., .at Haskell's Saw-mill 
 
 " " 4 at Half-way House 
 
 The following-named gentlemen were appointed 
 to act as Judges of the Election: — 
 
 Polls No, 1 — W. G. Bingham, W. D. Torreyson and 
 Seymour Pixley. 
 
 Polls No. 2 — H, Kinney, Abe Jones and D. C. 
 Clark 
 
 Polls No. 3— H, G. Haskell, R. Walton and Chas. 
 Jones. 
 
 Polls No. 4— W, F. Bryant, H. Howell and Geo. 
 Pringle. 
 
 APPOINTMENTS AND ELECTIONS, 
 
 The following is a complete record of the officers 
 of Ormsby Countj-, elected and appointed since the 
 organization in IStil, The first election was on the 
 fourteenth of January, 1862, specially ordered by 
 the Territorial Legislature. At this election the fol- 
 foUowing-namcd persons were candidates: Clerk, 
 Parker II. Pierce, and Charles W. Curry; Recorder, 
 S. D. King; Sheritl', William L. Marloy, D. J. 
 Gasherie, and Thomas J, Bradford; Assessor, O, H. 
 Pearson, (ieorge Chandler, A, H. Greenhalgh, and H. 
 H. llerrick; Collector, D, L. Huntsman, J. H. Cor- 
 mack, L. D, Strong, and S. G. Lane; Treasurer, W. 
 D. Torreyson, Charles C. Conger, and Samuel Doak; 
 Surveyor, James S. Lawson; Superintendent of 
 Schools, Rev. A. F. White: County Commissioners, 
 George L. Gibson, H. Smith, George W. Chedic, A. 
 Treadway, James Sanderson, W. S. Goodridgo, and 
 eight others receiving from 1 to 17(> votes; Justices 
 of the Peace and Constables were also elected at the 
 same time, there being fourteen candidates for the 
 
HISTORY OF ORMSBY COUNTY. 
 
 529 
 
 latter position. The Cleric was ex officio County \ 
 Auditor. Tlie liigliest vote was 998, for A. F. White, , 
 who had no opponent for Superintendent of Schools. 
 
 SENATORS. 
 
 Gavin D. Hall and J. C. liewis, elected Septem- 
 ber 3, 1862, the total vote was 1,080; Abram Curry, 
 elected September 2, 18G3, total vote 779; E. li. Cox, 
 elected September 7, 1864, total vote 1,240. The gen- 
 tlemen elected to the Senate and Assembly wore 
 chosen under the Territorial organization, and as the 
 State Constitution was adopted at this time, none of 
 them could serve under it in the capacity for which 
 they were chosen. This necessitated another elec- 
 tion to fill these otHces on the following eighth of 
 November. Jonas Seely and A. J. Loekwood, elected 
 November 8. 1864, total vote 1,273. Seely resigned 
 June 13, 18G6. Theo. D. Edwards and B. H. Meder, 
 elected November 6, 1866, total vote 743. Edwards 
 was elected for the long term, and B. 11. Meder for 
 the short term. D. R. Brown, elected November 3, 
 1868, total vote 919; Israel Crawford, elected Novem- 
 ber 8, 1870, total vote 866; A. J Loekwood, elected 
 November 5, 1872, total vote 930; T. D. Edwards, 
 elected November 3, 1874, total vote 1,156; W. O. H. 
 Martin, elected November 7, 1876, total vote 1,346; 
 B. H. Meder, elected November 5. 1878, total vote, 
 1,056; John D. Hammond, elected November 2, 1880, 
 total vote 1,102. 
 
 ASSEMBLYMEN. 
 
 A. Curry, A. D. Treadway and W. 11. Brumtield, 
 elected September 3, 1862; \V. H. Brumfield and 
 Wellington Stewart, elected September 2, 1863; S. 
 D. King, J. E. W. Casey and S. C. Denson, elected 
 September 7, 1864. The gentlemen elected to the 
 Assembly were chosen under the Territorial organ- 
 ization and as the State Constitution was adopted at 
 this time, none of them could serve under it in the 
 capacity for which they were chosen. This necessi- 
 tated another election to till these offices on the fol- 
 lowing eighth of November. S. C. Denson, L. C. 
 McKeeby and J. E. W. Casey, elected November 8, 
 1864; Orion Clemens, T. D. Edwards and George 
 Munckton elected November 7, 1865; Horace H. 
 Bence, George Munckton and U. A. Horton, elected 
 November 6, 1866; S. C. Wright, Wm. H. Corbitt 
 and John Hansen, elected November 3, 1868; A. J. 
 Loekwood, J. A. Burlingame and J. R. Cowen, elected 
 November 8, 1870; Jacob Tobriner, W. D. Keyser 
 and I). B. Lj'man, elected November 5, 1872; J. W. 
 Haynie, Alfred Helm and S. E. Jones, elected Novem- 
 ber 3, 1874; H. R. Mighels, H. G. Parker and W. 
 P. Mcintosh,' elected November 7, 1876. Mighels 
 resigned Noveinhcr 7, 1878. E. F. Gibson, T. W. W. 
 Davies and II. II. Howe, elected November 5, 1878; 
 Trenmor CotHn, Eugene May and William Havener, 
 elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. 
 
 H. F. Rice, J. S. Albro and F. A. Trille were 
 appointed by a joint session of the Legislaturdt 
 November 23, 1861, when three Commissioners were 
 
 named for each county. George L. Gibson, H. 
 Smith and Geo. W. Chedic, elected January 14, 1862. 
 July 8, 1862, (leo. W. Hopkins was chosen to fill the 
 position of County Commissioner in place of Smith, 
 who had removed from the county; Hopkins had 
 been appointed by the (rovernoroii the thirty-first of 
 the previous May. Abraham Jones, J. Sanderson and 
 Adolphus Waitz, elected September 3, 1862. The 
 Commissioners drew terms of office — Waitz three 
 years, Jones two years and Sanderson one year; 
 Jones removed from the State, and John Tarbell was 
 appointed .January 8, 1863; E. C. Dixon was ap- 
 pointed July 6, 1863. A. M. Elsworth and L. D. 
 Strong, elected September 2, 1863. Elsworth resigned 
 December 10, 1863, and Samuel Ripley was appointed. 
 Ripley did not serve, and Hazard Webster was ap- 
 pointed January 2, 1864. Webster did not qualify, 
 and E. W. Whitman was appointed March 24, 1864. 
 Whitman resigned, and S. E. Jones was appointed 
 July 1, 1864; J. R.- Mason and H. F. Rice were 
 appointed March 24, 1864. U. F. Rice, S. Bucking- 
 ham and S. E. Jones, elected September 7, 1864; 
 H. F. Rice, S. Eugene Jones and John Bunker, 
 elected November 6, 1866. Bunker resigned March 
 31, 1868; A. B. Driesbach, appointed April 15, 1868. 
 H. F. Rice, A. B. Driesbach and S. E. Jones, elected 
 November 3, 1868; J. E. Cheney and A. B. Saben, 
 elected November 8, 1870. Cheney resigned July 7, 
 1873, M. C. (lardner, appointed. B. H. Meder and 
 James Morris, elected November 5, 1872; George 
 Gillson and James Morris, elected November 3, 1874; 
 O. P. Willis and James Morris, elected November 7, 
 1876; John E. Cheney and M. Hogan, elected 
 November 5, 1878; S. E. Jones and Israel Crawford, 
 elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 PROBATE JUDGES. 
 
 E. C. Dixon was appointed by the Executive 
 December 14, 1861, resigned July 13, 1863, and S. H. 
 Wright appointed to the vacancy; S. H. Wright was 
 elected September 2, 1863. The office ceased with 
 the organization of the State Government in 1864. 
 
 DISTRICT ATTORNEYS. 
 
 Dighton ('arson was appointed by the Executive 
 December 18, 1861. The district, according to the 
 apportionment made by Governor Nye July 17, 1861, 
 included all of Nevada west of the one hundred and 
 eighteenth meridian west from Greenwich. S. D. 
 H^ng,/" elected Prosecuting Attorney September 2, 
 f863, resigned; T, D. Edwards api)ointed October 2, 
 1sb». Edwards resigned February 10, 18(i4, Thos. 
 ESJJaydon appointed. R. M. Clark, elected Septem- 
 ber 7, 1864; Samuel C. Denson, elected November 6, 
 1866, re-elected November 3, 1868, resigned Decem- 
 ber 7; 1868, Thomas Wells appointed, April 6, 1870. 
 Wells ^*.as succeeded by Wm. Patterson. Patterson 
 was elected November 8, 1S70, reelected November 
 5, 1872, and November 3, 1874; Trenmor Coffin, 
 elected November 7, 1876; M. A. Driesbach, elected 
 November 5, 1878; Horace F. Bartine, elected No- 
 vember 2, 1880. 
 
 y 
 
530 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 COUNTi' SHERIFFS. 
 
 Win. L. Marley was appointed by the Executive 
 December 9, 1861; D. J. Gasherie elected January 
 14, 1862, re-elected September 3, 18G2; T. G. Smith, 
 elected September 7, 1S(J-1, re-elected November G, 
 1866; killed in the discharge of his duty December 17, 
 
 1867, A. W. Nightintjill appointed December 19, 1867, 
 resigned September 7, 1808, and T. J. Edvvards was 
 appointed. S. T. Swift, elected November 3, 1868, 
 re-elected November 8, 1870, November 5, 1872, 
 November 3, 1874, and November 7, 1876; Lloyd 
 Hill, elected November 5, 1878; S. T. Swift, elected 
 November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTV CLERKS. 
 
 Parker H. Pierce, appointed by the Executive 
 December 21, 1861, elected, January 14, 1862; Chas. 
 W. Curry, elected September 3, 1862. Samuel H. 
 Wright, appointed May 4, 1863, in ])lace of Curry, 
 deceased. Wright resigned July 2, 1863, to become 
 Probate Judge, and Silas Caulkins was appointed, 
 and elected Se])tember 2, 1863, resigned Jul}' 4, 1864, 
 and B. F. Small appointed. H. B. Pomroy, elected 
 September 7, 1864; M. J. Ashmore, elected Novem- 
 ber 6, 1866, resigned November 10, 1S6S, and O. 11. 
 Parker appointed; T. J. Edwards, elected November 
 3, 1868, re-elected November 8, 1870, re-elected No- 
 vember 5, 1872, re-elected November 3, 1874, re- 
 elected November 7, 1876, resigned March 3, 1877, 
 and Alfred Helm appointed; J. II. Marshall, elected 
 November 5, 1878; M. D. Hatch, elected November 
 
 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY TREASUUEllS. 
 
 Phillip Stoner, appointed bj- the Executive Decem- 
 ber 14, 1861; W. D. Torreyson, elected January 14, 
 
 1862, re-elected September 3, 1862; John Wagner, 
 elected September 7, 1864; Horatio S. Mason, elected 
 November 6, 1866, re-elected November 3, 1868, No- 
 vember 8, 1870, and November 5, 1872; II. J. Peters, 
 elected November 3, 1874, re-elected November 7, 
 1876, resigned August 27, 1877, and James Fraser 
 appointed; M. L. Yager, elected November 5, 1878; 
 James Fraser, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY ASSESSORS. 
 
 O, H. Pearson, elected January 14, 1862, re-elected 
 November 3, 18(!2, resigned April 17, 18()3, and H. H. 
 Bence appointed. Bence was elected September 2, 
 
 1863, re-elected September 7, 1S64; Geo. W. Chedic, 
 elected November 6, 1866, re-elected November 3, 
 
 1868, re-elected November 8, 1870; J. P. Winnie, 
 elected November 5, 1872, re-elected November 3, 
 1874; E. B. Pixley. elected November 7, 1876; H. 11. 
 Bence, elected November 5, 1878; Jno. I). Kersey, 
 elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY RECORDERS. 
 
 S. D. King, elected Januarj' 14, 1S(;2, re-elected 
 September 3, 1862; S. D. King, Sr., elected Septem- 
 ber 7, 1864, re-elected November 6, 1866, November 
 
 3, 1868, and November 8, 187(1. Samuel D. King, Jr., 
 ap])ointed virvH. D. Fiing, deceased, Novcmbei- ■< IH72. 
 F. D. Turner, elected November 3, 1874, n ccted 
 
 November 7, 1876, November 5, 1878, and November 
 
 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS. 
 
 Rev. A. F. White, elected January 14, 1862, re- 
 elected September 3, 1862, resigned June 5, 1863, 
 and was succeeded by A. C. Knox. Knox resigned 
 and Chas. L. Anderson was appointed. Anderson 
 was elected Se))tember 2, 1863; W.B. Lawler, elected 
 Sejjtembcr 7, 1864; B. F. Bivins, elected November 
 6, 1866; Chas. Martin, elected November 3, 1868, 
 resigned August 16, 1869, and E. R. Parkinson ap- 
 pointed. L. S. Greenlaw, elected November 8, 1870, 
 re-elected November 5, 1872, re-elected November 
 
 3, 1874; E. A. Moody, elected November 7, 1876; L. 
 S. Greenlaw, elected November 5, 1878, re-elected 
 November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SURVEYORS. 
 
 James S. Lawson, appointed by the Executive 
 December 11, 1861, elected January 14, 1862; Porter 
 C. Rector, elected September 3, 1862; J. M. Ackley, 
 elected September 7, 1864, resigned December 4, 
 
 1865, Butler Ives was appointed. Ives did not qualify 
 and Richard A. Chase was appointed February 5, 
 
 1866, and again June 5, 1866. Abram Curry, elected 
 November 6, 1866; R. A. Chase, elected November 
 3, 1868; did not qualify, and H. J. Barker was 
 appointed December 6, 1869. R. A. Chase, elected 
 Novembers, 1870; succeeded June 3, 1871, by Hugo 
 Hochholzcr; Hoehholzer was elected November 5, 
 1872. Office vacated for non-residence June 1, 1874, 
 and Alexander Mitchell appointed. C. L. Anderson, 
 elected November 3, 1874, failed to qualify, and H. H. 
 Bence was appointed January 11, 1875. V. Hoyt, 
 elected November 7, 1876—1878 none elected, 1880 
 ditto. 
 
 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATORS. 
 
 Gregory A. Sears, elected November 6, 1866, 
 resigned, H. H. Bence appointed September 2, 1867; 
 II. H. Bence, elected November 3, 1868, re-elected 
 November 8, 1870. Office vacated for failure to file 
 additional bond January 2, 1872, and George G. Lj'on 
 appointed Febniiuy 17, 1872. J. O. Pierce, elected 
 November 5, 1872, failed to qualify, and John P. 
 Mcder appointed December 13, 1873; J. P. Meder, 
 elected November 3, 1874, re-elected November 7, 
 1876. Office vacated May 7, 1877, for failure to file 
 additional bond and J. D. Kersey appointed June 4, 
 1877; B. l'\ Foster, elected November 5, 1878; Mar- 
 shall Robinson, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 THE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE COUNTY. 
 
 The Act defining the boundaries had given the 
 county an area of 172 sipiurc miles, including lake, 
 mountain and valley, being the smallest county of 
 the Territory. The area of water was its portion of 
 Lake Talioc, comprising twenty-seven square miles, 
 the mountainous portion embraces near 100 square 
 miles, the remainder being valley. The form of the 
 county is ])eculiar; being of very irregular shape, its 
 greater length being along its southern border, a nar- 
 row arm of about six miles in width reaching out to 
 
HISTORY OF ORMSBY COUNTY. 
 
 531 
 
 the lake on the west, while the body spreads out in 
 the vallej' of the Carson River. 
 
 The mountains of the west are the Sierra Nevada, 
 and east of the Carson Kiver is the Pine Xut range. 
 The first rise to an altitude of between 7,(100 and 
 8,000 feet above the level of the sea and are covered 
 with a grand forest of jnne and other coniferous 
 trees, from which lumber, firewood and charcoal are 
 obtained in large quantities. Thisluniber and other 
 ))ro<Uu'ts of the forest arc brought to market by rail- 
 road and flumes, which are fully treated upon else- 
 where in this work under their ap])ropriate headings. 
 The Pino Xut Mountains of the eastern portion of 
 the county were so named from being clothed with 
 that species of tree, but the demands of the minor 
 and the quartz mills long since demanded their 
 denudation, leaving them bleak and barren. 
 
 The valley of the Carson River widens, after enter- 
 ing Ormsbj- County, a bi-oad arm of it reaching sev- 
 eral miles westward to the base of the Sierra, and 
 bears the local appellation of Eagle Valley. This has 
 an area of about twenty-five square miles, is fertile 
 in soil, abounding in water, and is exceediiiglj- pic- 
 turesque in scenery. The pine-clad spurs of the 
 Sierra Nevada rise abruptly in the west, a spur from 
 it and outlying bills border it on the east and south, 
 and in the north the gold and silver- bearing hills 
 that inclose the great Comstock Lode limit the vis- 
 ion. In the northeast, following the course of the 
 river, the valley of the Carson opens a distant hori- 
 zon. The altitude of the valley at Carson City is 
 4,015 feet above the sea, and of the river as it leaves 
 the county, 3,850 feet. The height of the mountain 
 ridge bordering Lake Tahoe is 7,312 feet, and of the 
 lake 6,137. The Pine Nut range within the county 
 attains an altitude of about (i.OOO feet. 
 
 The principal river is the Carson, running north- 
 erly, with a sinuous course of about eighteen miles 
 within the county. This is a stream of variable vol- 
 ume, flooded with the rains and melting snows of 
 winter and spring, and dwindling to a stream of ten 
 yards in width, and less than a foot in depth in the 
 summer and fall. 
 
 Clear Creek is a mountain torrent in the season of 
 floods, having a short course from its source in the 
 Sierra Nevada to its junction with the Carson. 
 
 Mill Creek is a small but rapid stream flowing from 
 the Sierra and entering Eagle Valley near Carson 
 City, its rapid fall making it valuable for propelling 
 machinerj-, hence its name. 
 
 El Dorado Cafion, which borders the county on 
 the east, sometimes bears a stream of water in its 
 bed, and these with a few rivulets in the Sierra Ne- 
 vada constitute the water courses of Ormsby. 
 
 Eagle Valley embraces the greatest area of arable 
 land. A small portion of it was originally covered 
 with natural grasses, but the greater portion was 
 covered by sage-brush. Hy means of cultivation and 
 irrigation it has been made ])roductivc. producing 
 the best of grain and vegetables. Trees have boon 
 
 planted which flourish luxuriantly, and with farms 
 made, roads and ditches constructed, the natural 
 appearance of the country is greatlj- changed. In 
 the vallej- arc the principal towns and settlements of 
 the county, the most important being Carson City, 
 Empire CAty and Warm S)irings. 
 
 For a full statement of the products of the county 
 from 18G7 to 1880, the number of acres under culti- 
 vation, the stock and grain raised, and the fruit trees 
 and vines growing, the reader is referred to pages 
 135, 136, 139, 140 and 141, of the general history. 
 For the bullion ]iroduct of the county see table else- 
 where in this work. 
 
 EARLY SETTLERS. 
 
 We have already given the names of Joseph and 
 Frank J3arnard, George Foliensbee, A. J. Rollins, 
 Frank and W. L. Hall, as the locators of Eagle 
 Ranch, in November, 1851. These men opened a 
 trading-post, cultivated a garden and made hay, 
 enjoying a profitable business until 1854, when they 
 sold it for the sum of 82,000 to Messrs. Reese and 
 Barnard, who had previously been established at 
 Mormontown, or Genoa, as it was subsequently 
 called. In 1855, Reese it Barnard sold the ranch to 
 some Mormons, several families of whom had settled 
 in the valky. This route had now become the 
 favorite one tor trains of emigrants and droves of 
 stock passing between the Eastern States, Salt Lake 
 and California, until bj- 1857 the grass was entirely 
 eaten out " root and branch." Then the tide of 
 travel passed by other routes, and trade declined. 
 
 In 1852 the Legislature of California appropriated 
 825,00(1 for the relief of destitute emigrants on their 
 way overland, and a party was sent out to meet those 
 needj^ people. .Vmong the party was Mr. J. T. 
 (irifiitb, who camped in Eagle Vallej', explored it 
 thoroughly and subaoiiuently returned, and is now a 
 resident of Carson City, Of the old settlers it is 
 inenlioiicd that Dr. B. L. King, after whom King's 
 Canon is named, came to the valley in 1852, and at 
 one time kept a place of public resort at tho old 
 brewery, west of the present city of Carson. Accom- 
 panying him were his daughters, Sarah and Mrs. M. 
 Little. A married daughter of Dr. King still resides 
 in the neighborhood. Hiehard Rose was the next 
 comer, giving his name to Hose Cafion, and Jacob 
 II. Ro.se, now living near Battle Mountain, Charles 
 Wolfe, James Menifee, and .Mr. Miller, are names 
 recorded in the annals of the pioneer settlers. Tho 
 year 1857 is given as the advent of Maj. William M. 
 Ormsby, Mr. S. A. Nevers, Mrs. Harmon, her sons, 
 John and Jamos, and her daughters, Sarah, Eliza, 
 ami Josephine. Charles Stei)biiis was there, tho 
 ]>roprietor of a store in that eventful year of 1867. 
 Mr. S. A. Nevors is credited with building tho first 
 dwelling in the vallej', beingthe same in which he now 
 rosidesnearCarson. Mr. Homy Fulstone,from whom 
 these facts arc obtained, arrived in the vallej- in 
 1858 with his fainilj-, consisting of himself and wife, 
 and sons, Ilenrj-, Robert. William, John, and Joseph, 
 
5^2 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 In company with him came also John Bath and wife. 
 In 1857 the Mormons were summoned by Brigham 
 Young to Salt Lake, which unreasonable and tyran- 
 nical behest the deluded and superstitious devotees 
 of the Church obe^-ed, and their settlements in 
 western Utah were abandoned or disposed of to any 
 person offering any price. The same scenes and 
 sacrifices enacted here were repeated wherever the 
 Mormon Church had a " stake," in Utah, California 
 or elsewhere. Those of Eagle Valley went with the 
 others, and the region was left with a new element. 
 At this time a new man enters upon the scene. 
 The following sketch of this person was published 
 in the Carson Dally Index of March 20, 1881: — 
 
 Soon after those days a few Mormon families had 
 ranches in Eagle Valley. As those people were 
 about to remove hence and return to Salt Lake, a 
 man named John Mankin, whom the early settlers 
 designate as an old pirate, mountaineer and frontiers- 
 man, purchased for a mere trifle the possessory right 
 and became the owner or claimant of all the valley 
 land lying between Nevers' Lane, extending to the 
 hills north and south, and the now Prison Hot 
 Springs. This man was a widower with four chil- 
 dren, one a daughter named Mace, about twelve 
 years old. With him lived also an Ute Indian boy 
 named " Cap." They resided in a cabin then a 
 little northwest of the present town site. 
 
 Mankin was a rough, passionate, illiterate fellow; 
 given to quarreling with his neighbors. He was a 
 splendid marksman with his rifle, which was his con- 
 stant companion, and in his hands a dangerous 
 weapon. His unpopularity caused some of the 
 " boj's " to plan a scare for him one night. Among 
 the part}' were Jim Menifee and Charles Wolfe. 
 They might as well, as thej- discovered to their own 
 fright, have attempted to catch a weasel asleep. 
 Thejf disappeared behind a log-fenced corral not an 
 instant too soon to escape a bullet. Mankin was a 
 broad-shouldered man of fifty-four years, so active, 
 that in sport he would run a race with any one in 
 the country, and there were some extraordinarily 
 active men here in those days. The distance of 
 fifty j'ards would be measured, and Mankin would 
 lie flat U|)on his face, and at the word would rise 
 and distance all his com])etitors. 
 
 Mankin took a ])arty to the Walker River country 
 on the pretense of showing them rich mining pros- 
 pects. Once there, he gave them the slip and re- 
 turned home. Vov weeks thereafter he ke])t his 
 gra}' stallion saddled night and da}-, ready to escajie, 
 fearing the return and attack by the men ho had 
 deceived, lie also rented some ground to a man 
 named Obar, where Mr. Folsom's dwelling and the 
 Nj-c stone mansion now stand. There was a dis- 
 pute about the area under cultivation, and, as usual 
 in those da3-s, the matter was left to referees; in 
 this case Theodore Winters and Dr. King being 
 chosen to view the ground and report. An im- 
 ])romptu court was held at Obar's house just north- 
 oast of Nevers' present residence, at which John ( 'arj' 
 (since dead), an elder brother of our |>resent Police 
 Magistrate, W. .M.Car}-, presided. Ex-County Com- 
 missioner S. A. Nevers, who resides here, was clerk 
 of the Court. During the consideration of the case, 
 Mankin stood one side of the f)))en doorwaj- and Dr. 
 King the othei- side. .Mankin was balancing himself 
 on one foot and looked as though he might at any 
 moment kick King under the chin, which he was 
 
 physically capable of doing with ease, while a man 
 nicknamed •■ Pike, " who lived with King, reclined 
 upon an old table with his hand upon a revolver. 
 Behind the last-named individual stood a son of 
 .Mankin with a knife up his sleeve. All this was 
 plainly seen by the clerk. ]5ut no violence was 
 attem])ted. Obar won the suit. His house, where 
 the court was held, was built by the Mormons. 
 The same cabin was afterwards removed and is now 
 a part of the dwelling of our esteemed townsman, 
 Farmer Treadway, who purchased the same some 
 j-ears later. 
 
 ADVENT OF ABRA.M CURRY. 
 
 For a short period it appears that Mankin and his 
 family were the only occupants of the region. But 
 a more energetic class, with more civilizing influ- 
 ences, was soon to make its appearance. Early in 
 1858, there came to western Utah a man of enter- 
 prise, ability and energy, whose course was to have 
 a decided influence on the future of the Territorj' 
 and State. This was Mr. Abram Currj'. His com- 
 ing is told in the Nevada Tribune of July 17, 1876: — 
 
 A traveler, weary with riding over the Sierra from 
 California, arrived at the ancient village of Mor- 
 montown (Genoa), where a town site had been laid 
 ofl", the owners expecting to make a great specula- 
 tion in the sale of lots therein. Curry was in pur- 
 suit of an eligible location to build a store for general • 
 merchandising. He examined the town site, and 
 soon selected a corner lot to build upon. The price, 
 $1,(100, and no less, must be paid. One of the partners 
 plead for reduction, the other was unflinching in his 
 demands for the sum, or no sale. His stubbornness was 
 excelled only by his iiiability to estimate the strength 
 and determination of his man, in consequence of 
 which the trade was never consummated. The 
 stranger mounted his horse, asked for the last time 
 for a reduction of terms. The cold, unrelenting 
 answer was returned as. before. Our hero replied, 
 " Well, then, I will build a city of mj- own," and, 
 suiting the action to the word, pressed his spurs to 
 the flanks of his alreadj^ restive steed, and, before 
 the sun had settled into the laj) of the west, Abram 
 Curry was in Kagle \ alloy foi- the purpose of redeem- 
 ing his promise of tlio mnrning. Here he was joined 
 by B. F. Green, Frank M. Proctor and J. I. ^lusser, 
 his companions, who had crossed the mountains with 
 him. A Mr. .Mankin was at this time in possession 
 of Kaglo Ruich, its eastei-n limits, the Warm Springs 
 and State Prison grounds, thence west to a point 
 near .Minnesota Street. The party viewed the jn-om- 
 ises, and concluded to buy the ranch. Jlr. Mankin 
 was asked what was his price, and he answered, 
 '•SI, Goo." The purchase was made, the pa)-ment 
 being 8500 coin and some mustangs. 
 
 The storj- of Mankin is concluded as follows: -'To 
 avoid his creditors he took to the Sierra Nevada 
 Mountains between two days, mounted upon his 
 gray stallion, and the children and the Indian boy 
 on the recently purchased animals. He went to 
 Santa (.!ruz,got into a shooting scrape there, and went 
 thence south, leaving his daughter, who married in 
 Santa Cruz." Upon leaving Fagic \'alley he swore 
 eternal vengeance against the Pah-Utes, claiming 
 that he had killed fifty of them. 
 
 In September, 1858, .Mr. Curry proposed to lay 
 out a town site, which was done, from which date 
 
 k 
 
G.W HUrrAKER. 
 
 JOHN TWADDLE. 
 
 cec (_■ 
 
 ^^^^^^2-^^ 
 
 /a^ 
 
 yU^^ 
 
 UTM.a^TTO/i* mlr 
 
HISTORY OF ORMSBY COUNTY. 
 
 538 
 
 the locality and the actors pass into the history of 
 Carson Cily. 
 
 At this period the population was excecdinpl}' 
 gcarec. it being represented that bj- coUcetinji all the 
 people in Carson, Washoe and Eagle Vallej-s, enough 
 would be present to have three sets in a dance. 
 These gatherings usually took ]>lace at Dr. King's 
 brewery, which was made a place of public resort. 
 The settlers of Eagle Valley regarded the Fiagle 
 Ranch as the central point, and it was long before 
 any other localitj- bore its specific name. A station 
 was established on the overland road where it 
 touched the river, three and a half miles from Eagle 
 Ranch, which siibsequentlj- bore the name of '• Dutch 
 Nicks," the usual name for Nicholas Ambrosia, the 
 first settler, but afterwards changed to Empire City. 
 Families also located at Clear Creek. Mill Creek, and 
 other localities prior to the discovery of the Com- 
 stock Lode and the rush of people to Nevada. 
 
 SAMUEL A. NEVERS, 
 
 Son of Ebenezer and Sarah C. (Andrews) Nevers, 
 was born in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, 
 March 1, 1824. His ancestors as far back as Mr. 
 Nevers can recollect were New England people. 
 His parents were both natives of Massachusetts, 
 his father being born at Lexington, and mother 
 at Boston. Young Nevers, was educated in 
 the common and high schools of his native 
 city; during his minority following the calling of 
 book-keeper. On the first day of March, 1849, he 
 bid adieu to the scenes of his childhood, and started 
 in pursuit of fortune in the golden State of California, 
 coming by way of Cape Horn, in the ship Svoeden. 
 On the third day of August of the same year he 
 landed in San Francisco, and without delay proceeded 
 to the mines on Big Bar, at Mokelumne, San Joa- 
 (juin County. After one month's trial in search of 
 the golden nuggets, he i-eturned to San Francisco 
 and spent the winter. In June of the year 1850, he 
 went to the mines on American River and worked at 
 Rattlesnake Bar, until the fall of 1857, at which 
 time he crossed the mountains to Nevada and located 
 in Eagle Valley, arriving there October 14. During 
 his many years' residence in the sage-brush country, 
 he has witnessed the transformation of a desolate wil- 
 derness into a thriving and beautiful city. Asa far- 
 mer, Mr. Nevers has been successful, through his 
 untiring energy and strict attention to business, and 
 has sold his crops some seasons at fabulous prices. 
 Hay, 8500 per ton and potatoes as high as 8100 per 
 to!i. lie was married October 10, 1S59, to May 
 Eliza Harman, daughter of J. and Mary (Smilhson) 
 llarman, and two children live to bless their union. 
 The following are their names and date of birth: — 
 Sarah II. horn, August 5, 1860 and John \V. born, 
 Januarj' 18, 1869. In politics Mr. Nevers is a Re- 
 publican but has held no office except that of County 
 Commissioner. His portrait will be found on another 
 page. Mrs. Nevers is a native of Monroe County, 
 Mississippi, born April 29, 1830. 
 67 
 
 AARON D. TREADWAY, 
 
 One of the pioneers of the State and the subject of 
 the following sketch, is a native of the Slate of 
 Connecticut, born in the town of Middletown, .March 
 1, 1815. At the age of sixteen years he was appren- 
 ticed to a brick mason, and mastered that trade dur- 
 ing the succeeding four J'ears, when he went to Ma- 
 con, Georgia, in 1835, and worked at his trade during 
 the winter. In the spring of 1S;^() he went to Illi- 
 nois, where ho continued the business until 1847, at 
 which time he went as First Lieutenant of Com- 
 ])any I, Fifth Illinois Regiment, to the Mexican War. 
 The regiment was commanded by Colonel Newby. 
 Lieutenant Treadwaj- won man}' laurels as an officer, 
 and was discharged at Alton, Illinois, in the fall of 
 1848. In the Spring of 1849 he came to California, 
 arriving at Weaverville, Trinitj' Countj', in the month 
 of July. Alter a short stay at the last-named place 
 he went to Sutter's Mill, in El Dorado County, 
 and from there to Sacramento Citj', where he re- 
 mained until he came to what is now Washoe, in 
 Nevada, in 1859. Mr. Tread way has done much to 
 build up the country in which he has resided dur- 
 ing the past twenty-two j-ears, always an active, 
 enterprising business man, recognized as authority 
 on anything pertaining to the cultivation of the soil, 
 and is known throughout the State as '• Farmer 
 Tread way." In 186(! he bought the land known as 
 Trcadway Park, and hy diligent labor has produced 
 for the pleasure of the people a park second to none 
 in the State. It is situated on \Vashington Avenue, 
 of easy access from Carson City, and the thousands 
 who visit the place during the summer months speak 
 volumes in favor of it as a summer resort. A view 
 of the park is to be found in this work. 
 
 COL. WARREN WASSON 
 
 Is a gentleman with whom the readers of this history 
 are already familiar, he being one of the earliest of 
 the pioneers, and prominent in the Indian wars of 
 Nevada. Colonel VVasson was born at Harpersville, 
 Broome County, Now York, December 25, 1833, a 
 "Merry Christmas " gift. When but three years of 
 age, his parents moved with him to Illinois, and of 
 the Prairie State are his earliest recollections. In 
 1849 ho crossed the j)lain8 in company with his 
 father and Judge John II. McKune, now of Sacra- 
 mento, California. In 1851 he returned to the East 
 by water, and again made the journey overland the 
 following year. In 1S57 he came to the eastern slope, 
 then a part of the Territoi-}- of Utah. 
 
 About the first of December, 1858, he located Big 
 Hot Springs, about five miles from Beckwourth's 
 Pass, claiming, by location, two miles of Long Valley, 
 being one mile each waj- from the spring. In the 
 following January he occujiied his new ranch with 
 100 head of cattle and twenty horses, having with 
 him one hired man named William Harley. Hero 
 he met and made friends with Xiimaga, also men- 
 tioned in the Indian history, and on the twentieth of 
 
534 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 February, 1859, bargained with him for all the rights 
 the Pah-L'tc8 had to the valley for a distance of nine 
 miles of its length. In the following month, Deer 
 Dick, chief of the Washoe tribe of Indians, came and 
 demanded pay for the land, denying the Pah-Uto 
 Jurisdiction and his right to cede the land of the 
 Washoes. Another purchase was therefore made, 
 and peaceful occupation followed. 
 
 On the twentieth of June, 1859, James Morgan, 
 with three others, moved into the valley and settled 
 fifteen miles below Hot Springs, thus making six 
 settlers, and these were the first inhabitants of Long 
 Valley. On the twent3--fifth of the same month, 
 Wasson was elected a delegate to the Genoa Con- 
 vention, which met on the eighteenth of July to 
 organize a provisional government, (see chapter X. 
 of this book). In August, 1859, he sold his Long 
 Valley properly to J. Hood, and moved to Genoa. 
 The following September, Wasson received the 
 appointment of Deputy United States Marshal from 
 Judge Cradlebaugh. 
 
 In the winter of 1859 and spring of 1860 he visited 
 Mono, Walker and Pyramid Lakes, making the 
 acquaintance of the Pah-Ute Indians and becoming 
 familiar with the country, which knowledge was 
 afterwards of great service to him in the Indian 
 difficulties which followed. He also purchased a 
 ranch near Genoa which he held vi el arinis, as else- 
 where related. 
 
 Colonel Wasson has hold several public positions, j 
 beginning with that of Deputy Marshal above ; 
 referred to, followed bj' Acting Indian Agent for a 
 long period, although others held the commission. 
 -March 6, 1862, he was appointed United States Mar- 
 
 shal of Nevada Territory by Abraham Lincoln, which 
 position he resigned December 25, 1864, being suc- 
 ceded by Edward Irwin. August 29, 1862, he was 
 appointed and confirmed Assessor of Internal Reve- 
 nue for Nevada, thus holding two important posi- 
 tions at the same time. He continued as Assessor 
 until June 1, 1869, being succeeded by Warren F. 
 Myers. He has also held three military commissions, 
 twice as Lieutenant Colonel on the Staff of Governor 
 Blaisdel, and once the same rank as aid to Governor 
 Bradley. 
 
 Colonel Wasson was, married Ma}' 29, 1867, to Miss 
 Grace A. Treadway, of Carson, a lady of superior 
 beaut}-, intellect and refinement, and a family of 
 seven daughters and one son bless the union. 
 
 After a residence of twenty-four years in Nevada, 
 the Colonel declares his intention of moving to Ore- 
 gon and there making his future home. 
 
 RESOURCES. 
 
 The wealth and prosperity of Ormsby County are 
 evidences that it possesses resources of an important 
 character. Situated centrally in the most thickly 
 peopled belt of the " Eastern Slope." it derives great 
 profit from the trade and travel its favorable position 
 demands. Trade with passing emigrants incited the 
 first settlers, who had the additional incentive of 
 seeking gold in the soil of the valley or ravines enter- 
 ing it. The pastoral and agricultural resources 
 seemed the most reliable to the early settlers, and 
 these were most cultivated. 
 
 Eagle Vallej^ contains the greater part of the ara- 
 ble land of the count}'. This contains about 16,000 
 acres, the greater part of which is susceptible of cul- 
 tivation. The soil is fertile, and produces the best 
 of grain and vegetables. The Surveyor General of 
 Nevada in his report for 1880, says that " about 5,000 
 acres of this valley are inclosed with good fences, a 
 large part of which is in a fine state of cultivation." 
 Along the Carson River and in some of the cafionsof 
 the Sierra, are small tracts of arable land. The Car- 
 son River opens a channel of trade with the heavily 
 timbered mountain region about its source, and im- 
 mense ([uantities of lumber, firewood, etc.. are floated 
 down the stream, the greater part of which is taken 
 from the water in this county. 
 
 A largo area, comprising more than 40,000 acres, 
 extending into the Sierra Nevada, was originally 
 heavily timbered, and, although much has been 
 taken, this forest still constitutes an important 
 resource. In connection with this interest are the 
 various small mountain streams, which afford power 
 for manufacturing the forest trees into lumber. 
 These are Clear Creek, Mill Creek and King's Canon 
 and small streams flowing into Lake Tahoe. The 
 Carson also affords a groat water-power, and nu- 
 merous quartz and saw-mills are propelled by its 
 force. Those streams furnish a perpetual power for 
 manufacturing purposes. 
 
 The mineral resources have not been developed, 
 but at different periods have attracted considerable 
 
 I 
 
HISTORY OF ORMSBY COUNTY. 
 
 535 
 
 attention. The Nut Pine Mountains bear many 
 ledges of gold and silver-bearing quartz, as well as 
 gold in placers. Iron and copper ores are also found 
 in the same range, and !i bed of lignite, once mined 
 for coal, exists in El Dorado Cafion. The dearth 
 of Tvater in this region is a serious obstacle to its 
 development. The placer mines have given evidence 
 of the mineral wealth. "For a few weeks," says 
 Kelly's Director)- of Nevada for 1862, " while the 
 water lasted, some twenty men made half an ounce 
 a day each, working surface diggings at Onion Val- 
 ley, in Sullivan District. There are other points 
 where equally good prospects can be had, but there 
 is no water." 
 
 In the foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada are numerous 
 quartz veins which have been sufficiently prospected 
 as to demonstrate the existence of gold and silver in 
 their stony embrace. The abundance of wood and 
 water, so essential to successful mining and milling 
 operations, in this section of the county is an advan- 
 tage it possesses seldom obtained in the mining re- 
 gions of Nevada. Extending from Clear Creek along 
 the base of the mountains across the entire county, 
 a distance of eight or ten miles, a series of quartz 
 ledges may be traced, all more or less impregnated 
 with the precious metals. These mines have been 
 worked with spasmodic vigor at various limes, and 
 considerable gold and silver has been produced. 
 
 Building stone of several varieties and of most ex- 
 cellent quality- is abundant. A quarry of sandstone 
 one and a half miles east of the town of Carson is 
 especially adapted for architectural purposesand has 
 been largel}- used in building the Slate Prison, United 
 States Mint, Capitol and other important struct- 
 ures. The State Mineralogist reports this species of 
 rock as existing in the foot-hills of the Sierra in great 
 masses. It is a sedimentary formation, somewhat 
 stratified and varying in compactness, easily 
 wrought and wearing well. Granite is in great 
 abundance in the Sierra Nevada; clay suitable for 
 making brick is found in profusion, and marble 
 suitable for ornamental as well as other purposes is 
 obtained from a bed of that stone five miles northeast 
 of Carson City. 
 
 The streams of Ormsby, notably the Carson, bear- 
 ing their freight of lumber, mine timbers and fire- 
 wood constitute a living and lasting source of wealth. 
 Besides being carriers of the forest products, they 
 afford irrigation for the arid soil, without which 
 there would be no agriculture, no beautiful gardens 
 or shady trees about its dwellings, and more than 
 all, do they afford the power which drives the manj- 
 quartz and saw-mills which furnish remunerative 
 employment for so largo a proportion of the popu- 
 lation. Added to these are the railroads centering at 
 the capital city, the Carson and Colorado reaching to 
 the mining regions of the southeast, and the Virginia 
 and Truckee extending, in one direction to the mines 
 of the Comstock, and in the other to lieno and 
 the Pacific Railroad. Willi these improvements and 
 
 natural resources the county presents the condition 
 of continued and substantial prosperity. 
 
 /Ui^T^^, <{/^^^-^vJ^^ '^-^ 
 
 William D. Torreyson, the subject of this sketch, 
 is a native of the State of Virginia, having been 
 born in Unison, Loudoun County. September 5, 
 1821. When he was thirteen years of age his 
 parents removed to Brooke County, West Virginia, 
 where he lived with them until the year 1S55. 
 r)uring his stay in Brooke County he learned the 
 blacksmith trade, and afterward engaged in the 
 manufacture of glass, owning the first glass-works 
 built west of the Alleghany Mountains. In 1835 he 
 came to the Pacific Coast, and located at Downie- 
 ville, Sierra County, California, where he followed 
 blacksmithing and mining until 18G0, when he came 
 to Carson City, Ormsby Count)-, Nevada, where he 
 has since resided. Being one of the early arrivals 
 in this place, ho has seen the town grow up around 
 him, and has ver)- materiallj- aided the progress of 
 several branches of industry, being engaged in 
 blacksmithing, milling and mining. He is at pres- 
 ent the projiriotor of an extensive wagon manufac- 
 tory in connection with a general blacksmithing 
 business. .Mr. Torreyson is a man well known 
 throughout the county — and respected bj- all — a 
 quiet, well-informed gentleman, and an honor to 
 the town in which he lives. Ho was married to 
 Miss S. C. Brown, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, De- 
 comber 6, 184!t, and has an interesting family of five 
 children. 
 
536 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 HON. H. H. BENCB 
 
 Was born in Jefferson County, New York, February 
 16, 1827. His parents were both natives of that 
 State. After receiving an ordinarj' common school 
 education he learned a trade, which he followed 
 until he started for California in 1852, by way of the 
 Straits of Magellan, in the steamer Pioneer, arriving 
 in San Francisco on the twentieth of August that 
 same year. Immcdiatelj' after his arrival he went 
 to Calaveras County, and engaged in mining .with 
 the usual ups and downs of the miners of those days. 
 
 y^/^; <^ ^ 
 
 In 1858 he contracted the Krazer [liver fever, and 
 went with the throng to that region, arriving in the 
 month of Jul}-. I'iiiding that ''things are not always 
 what the}- seem." be returned to San Francisco in 
 the fall an invalid, and soon after went to San Mateo 
 and engaged in farniing until he came to Carson 
 City, Ormsby County, Nevada, in 1860, where he 
 has since remained. In 18(i3, .Mr. Bence was elected 
 County Assessor, and held that office until 1866, 
 when he was elected to the Assembly. He was 
 Public Administrator during the years 1868-69-70, 
 and received the appointment as County Surveyor in 
 1874, and again elected Assessor in 1878. He was 
 also for two years l)e])uty United States Itevenue 
 Assessor, and the l)e])uty I'nited Slates Mineral 
 Surveyor. Mr. Bence has held otlice longer, as prin- 
 cipal and deputy, than any other man in the county. 
 As an officer he has faithfully served his county, a 
 jiractical man, he became familiar with the laws of 
 his country, and was at one time admitted to the 
 Bar, but preferring the profession of civil engineer. 
 
 he soon became proficient in the business, and to-day 
 stands at the head of Lis class in that line. As a 
 mathematician he has few equals. In politics he is 
 a Eepublican, having fought on that line since the 
 organization of the party. 
 
 -MINES AND MINING. 
 
 The mines of Ormsby, even if they have not en- 
 riched their owners or added their millions of treas- 
 ure to the wealth of the world, still constitute an 
 important feature in the natural resources of the 
 county, and their discovery, the excitement attend- 
 ing their earliest development, the high hopes of 
 their owners, the struggles with adversity, the manj' 
 abandonments and resuscitations of mining enterprises 
 and their present condition form an interesting chap- 
 ter in its history. 
 
 The excitement following the discovery of silver 
 in the Comstock Vein caused a great "rush '' of peo- 
 ple from California to the " Eastern Slope," very few 
 of whom had ever seen silver ore, and knew nothing 
 of its appearance or how it occurred in its native 
 State. Gold mining was the great interest of Cali- 
 fornia, either from the placers where it occurred a 
 native and pure metal and was obtained by simply 
 washing the earth containing it, or by crushing the 
 quartz, the original matrix of the metal. In both 
 cases the ])rocess was simple, the pure metal was 
 ])laiii to the view and no scientific skill was required 
 to extract it. The miners had learned nothing of 
 ores. These were a mystery. Silver, cojiper, iron, zinc 
 and other metals were known to come from ores, and 
 that was sibout all of the science of metallurgy that 
 they did know. This mj'stery gave zest to the excite- 
 ment. The dark ore concealed the rich metal. Veins 
 of quartz contained the ore. Everj-where through- 
 out the mountains were veins of quartz. That which 
 appeared at the surface, whether in Mount Davidson, 
 the Sierra Nevada or Pine Nut range, was to the 
 inexperienced eye all the same. Claims could be 
 located, and if the locator had not the capital or 
 inclination to develop his mine he could sell to spec- 
 ulative parties, or at least hoped to. 
 
 With these views, the people entering the Terri- 
 tory spread over the country in the vicinity of the 
 oldest settlements. Carson City became the bead- 
 quarters of an army of jjrospectors, who, in 1859 
 and '60, centered here and explored the surround- 
 ing region for " croppings " of quartz and " indica- 
 tions " of metals. There were then no mining 
 bureaus, no cabinets of minerals, no treatise on vein 
 formations, or descriptions of ores, by which the pros- 
 pector could familiarize himself with the appear- 
 ance and occurrence of ores, and as a natural conse- 
 quence he wont blindly to his work. All was ex- 
 citement and enthusiasm. Peo])le rushed hither and 
 thither. Wherever a j)iece of (piartz was observed 
 it was " located." A claim was made, using the set 
 phrase, so many " feet on the ledge, with all its dips, 
 spurs and angles," few knowing or caring what it 
 all meant. Under such conditions districts were 
 
HISTORY OF ORMSBY COUNTY. 
 
 537 
 
 formed which, in the aggregate, covered ihc entire 
 country, lapping and covering each other. 
 
 In the outlying hill;*, forming the base of the 
 Sierra, bordering Eagle Valley on the west, wore dis- 
 covered many veins of quartz, which were speedily 
 located, and Eagle District was organized in the fall 
 of 1859. The following year a number of these 
 lodes were prospected quite extensivel}-, but not 
 showing the wealth the high hopes of the owners 
 had pictured for them, were abandoned. At differ- 
 ent periods since, renewals of work have been made, 
 long tunnels have been run, and deep sdiafls sunk, 
 and nearly as ol'ten have all despaired of success. 
 
 The various Commissioners appointed to gather 
 mining statistics of the United States, the State 
 Mineralogist, and the Surveyor General have for 
 many years neglected to place Ormsby County in 
 the list of mining counties. The mines, however, 
 still exist. In 1876 work was energetically carried 
 on in the North Carson Mine, two and a half miles 
 north of Carson Citj', and, says the M'miay Jieciew 
 of July, 1876: "The hoisting works of the North 
 Carson has reeentlv blown the first steam mining 
 whistle ever sounded in Ormsbj' County." 
 
 For some years this mine took a prominent posi- 
 tion in the public mind and on the stock board of 
 San Francisco. Says the Tribune, of Carson City, 
 July 22, 1874:— 
 
 North Carson takes a jump this morning, and now 
 the hearts of the holders may rejoice. From twenty- 
 five to seventy-five is no small leap, and doubtless 
 the stock will continue to advance, from the fact that 
 mining experts have pronounced the mine a merito- 
 rious one, and also because it is now a recognized fact 
 that valuable mines exist in the hills surrounding 
 Eagle Valley. 
 
 The Mining Review of 1876, says: — 
 
 Assays of the rock have been made at the branch 
 mint at Carson, which range from S5 to 82,132.17 
 per ton. The company have 500 tons of milling ore 
 on the dump. The new hoisting works, which have 
 been put up at a cost of 815,000, will develop the 
 mine to a depth of 1,500 feet. The company own 
 forty acres of land adjoining their claim upon which 
 are located their offices and other buildings, making 
 quite a little village. 
 
 Clear Creek District was organized in 185!l, also 
 in the spurs of the Sierra Nevada, west of Carson 
 City. J. Ross Browne, United States Commissioner 
 ol Mining Statistics in 1868, saj-s: " The Clear 
 Creek District in 1859 and 1860 was the scene of 
 much excitement and activity. Extensive mining 
 grounds were taken u|(, and prospecting operations 
 initiated. llere a number of long tunnels were 
 afterwards driven, and deep shafts sunk, but none of 
 them availed to reach ore deposits of a remunerative 
 kind, and the district, under an absence of population 
 and an entire cessation of labor for several years, is 
 considered as practically abandoned." Mr. 11. H. 
 Bence, Assessor of the county, in his report for 1866 
 says:— 
 
 Near the base of the mountains, three miles west 
 of Carson City, is located the Athens Mine, the rock 
 of which prospects very well in gold and silver. 
 There ai'e other veins of quartz rock in the same 
 vicinity, which, it is said, jjrospect well, but at iires- 
 cnt there is no work being done upon them. 
 
 Commissioner Browne, in 1868, and State Mineral- 
 ogist Whitehill, in 1872, say: — 
 
 In 1860 a fiti'ul interest was awakened in regard to 
 supposed valuable discoveries made in the bald hills 
 southwest of Carson, which, having led to the loca- 
 ting of many claims in that neighborhood, even- 
 tuated, soon after, in their total abandonment, since 
 which time nothing further has been done either 
 towards locating or working mines in the district. 
 
 The abandonment of the mines of Ormsby appears 
 to have been complete for a number of j'ears; but in 
 1874, says the State Mineralogist's report for that 
 year, " Mines of gold and silver have also been dis- 
 covered, which are being worked with vigor at pres- 
 ent, and which bid fair to soon become paying prop- 
 erties." He then mentions the North Carson, the 
 Eagle, the Clear Creek Mine and the Niagara, all 
 showing extensive work and good prospects. Fol- 
 lowing this comes the report of H. H. Bence, 
 County Assessor of Ormsby, dated November 30, 
 1880, saying:— 
 
 This count}' cannot, like many other counties, 
 boast of its extensive mines, and bullion product, 
 but, nevertheless, we have some prospective mines. 
 The Voltaire Mine, belonging to the Voltaire Mining 
 Company, is situated about five miles southwest of 
 Carson C'itj- in a spur of the Sierra Nevada Mount- 
 ains, bearing easterlj- from the main range, and is a 
 property that gives fair promise of success. The ore 
 vein of this mine has an average width of from three 
 to five feet, with fine clay seams next the hanging 
 and foot-walls, the formation of the foot-wall being 
 granite, and that of the hanging-wall, gneiss. The 
 course of the vein is nearl)' northeast and southwest, 
 magnetic meridian, and has a di]) to the southeast 
 of about fortj'-tive degrees from the horizon. The 
 ore is somewhat base, containing a small ])ercentage 
 of copper and lead, but readily yields to the roasting 
 process. Some small lots of the ore worked have 
 yielded as high at 6200 per ton. The owners have 
 lately 8hii)ped a number of tons of this ore to San 
 Francisco for reduction or sale. The company have 
 built a house over their shaft, and hoist the ore bj' 
 horse-power, and have the mine well opened for 
 working, and are constantlj- taking out ore, as well 
 as making further developments on their vein. 
 
 Sullivan District was the result of the excitement 
 of 1859-60. This district lies in the Pine Nut 
 Mountains east of the Carson River, and was organ- 
 ized in the early ])art of 1 860. The croppings showed 
 the existence of free gold, and this most pleased the 
 inexperienced miners from California. 
 
 The first locations in this district had been made 
 quite early in the winter, and large talcs of their 
 richness were told in Carson, when the snow cov- 
 ered them and they were deemed inaccessible. As 
 an evidence of the excitement and means used for 
 speculating upon it this incident is related: At that 
 time Mr. Eugene Angel then a resident of Carson, 
 
538 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 had in his possession a beautiful minoralogical spec- 
 imen from the copper mines of Lake Superior, This 
 specimen contained quartz, native copper and native 
 silver. For this and the claims he held he was of- 
 fered a large sum in cash and a guarantee of 850,000. 
 to be paid upon reaching San Francisco, if he would 
 represent the specimen as coming from his mines 
 in Sullivan District. He resented the proposition and 
 the specimen was exhibited freely under its true 
 character. 
 
 The Indian War in May, and the great panic fol- 
 lowing the defeat of ifajor Ormsby's party near 
 Pyramid Lake, put a stop to all mining operations, 
 as is shown by the following, published in the Terri- 
 lonal Enterprise of Carson City, May 19, 1860: — 
 
 .MEETING IN SULLIVAN DISTRICT. 
 
 At a meeting held by the miners of Sullivan Dis- 
 trict, on the fourteenth day of May, 1860, the fol- 
 lowing resolutions were unanimously adopted: — 
 
 Where.\s, Reliable information has been received 
 from Mr. J. J. Webster of the existence of Indian 
 hostilities in this vicinity, and the miners of this dis- 
 trict being entirely destitute of arms for their de- 
 fense; therefore be it 
 
 Resoh-eil, That labor may be suspended on all claims 
 in the district for two months from this date, or until 
 said hostilities cease, and that no forfeiture of claims 
 shall take place in consequence of said cessation of 
 labor. 
 
 Resolcud, That the proceedings of this meeting be 
 published in the Territorial Enterprise. 
 
 John D.\y, President. 
 
 J. M. Jones, Secretary. 
 
 After the subsidence of the panic which the mer- 
 ciless character of the massacre had caused, and 
 which had extended throughout all the mining region 
 of the Territor}-, and cast a pall over the people of 
 California, then unaccustomed to tales of fierce war 
 and the loss of friends in battle, work was resumed 
 in this district as elsewhere. J. Wells Kelly, in his 
 first Directory of Xevada, in 1862, says: — 
 
 In Sullivan District, a great number of ledges were 
 located, and considerable work done in the summer 
 and fall of 1860, but not turning out as well as was 
 expected, the whole, with the exception of some half- 
 dozen claims, was subsequentl}' abandoned. Work 
 is still being done on the Bullion, Hatfield, Phccnix, 
 and one or two others, from which some good gold- 
 bearing rock has been obtained. At the period men- 
 tioned over loo men were at work in this district, at 
 present there are not more than eight or ten. I'lacer 
 mines also exist in that section, which would pay 
 fair wages with water for working them, but this 
 being almost whol!}- wanting, little can bo done. 
 For a few weeks, while the water lasted, some 
 twenty men made half an ounce a day, each work- 
 ing surface diggings at Onion Valley, in this district. 
 There are other j)oints where eriually good prospects 
 can be had, but there is no water. 
 
 The Countj- Assessor, Mr. H. H. Bonco, in his 
 report for 1866, says of this district: — 
 
 Lately, copper ore was discovered on the east side 
 of Carson Kivor, about six miles from Carson City, 
 which, I have been informed, assays from forty to 
 sixty per cent, of copper; but, as yet, there ha" been 
 nothing done to indicate the extent of the lodge. 
 
 There is also in the same vicinity a gold and silver- 
 bearing ledge, known as the ■' Wood Chopper 
 Ledge," which prospects extremely well and is 
 about twelve I'eet wide, but, like all others, remains 
 undeveloped for want of capital. 
 
 The Surve^-or General, K. H. Stretch, in his report 
 for 1866, in referring to this district, saj's: — 
 
 Iron and copper ores are abundant. About two 
 years ago there was considerable excitement about 
 reported discoveries of coal in El Dorado Canon. 
 Considerable work was done on the Newcastle Com- 
 pany's location, and a depot established in Virginia 
 for the sale of the coal, which was of a dull, black 
 color, and shaly in its appearance, being an inferior 
 lignite, probably of the Triassic age; but work has 
 been suspended for many months. The deposit is 
 not likelj- to be of permanent value. An attempt is 
 now being made to utilize the copper ores of this 
 section in the manufacture of sulphate of copper, an 
 article of great importance in the milling operations 
 of our State. The absence of any large percentage 
 of iron in the copper ores of some of the deposits 
 near Carson Elver makes them suitable for this 
 purpose. 
 
 The State Mineralogist, Eev. A. F. White, in bis 
 report for 1868, says: — 
 
 There are no mines worked in this countj'. In 
 El Dorado Canon a bed of lignite was worked for a 
 time for coal, but has been abandoned. In tbo 
 northern part of the mountains near the line of the 
 county, copper and iron ores have been found in 
 large ([uantities. These mountains present a variety 
 of geological formations, among the most prominent 
 of which are basalt, trachyte, and transition slate, 
 
 J, Ross Browne, in his report to Congress in 1868 
 upon the mineral resources, says of this district: — 
 
 Another drawback upon the success of these mines 
 was at that time experienced in the absence of mills 
 for working the ores, which were, therefore, unavail- 
 able, compelling claim-holders who were without 
 means to suspend work, leaving the problem as to 
 the character and value of these lodes still unsolved. 
 
 The same language is used by Mr. Henry R. 
 Whitehill, State Mineralogist, in his re|)ort for 1872, 
 showing that the same state of things as previously 
 reported continued to exist. 
 
 Aruentine District was located in the summer of 
 
 1859, lying in the range of mountains to the east of 
 Washoe Valley, and west of Virginia, and immedi- 
 ately north of Eagle Valley, in which Carson City is 
 situated. Like all other mining localities at that 
 early day this had its enthusiastic prospectors and 
 ponderous companies, A record of one of these is 
 furnished by the Territorial Enterprise of May 19, 
 
 1860, from w^Jiich is taken the following list of 
 incorporators: — 
 
 A. F. Chapman. M. Bankhoad, William N. Bank- 
 head, R. F. Cahill, R. C. McKenzie, J. Drake, R. 
 Neasham, S. I. Hill, A. J. Rutledge, J, P, Sharp, D. 
 Lowrie. M, W, Lusk, J, S, Coftee, S. E. Lewis, R. K. 
 Steele, J, P, Pettigrew, M, II. Spencer. William C. 
 Taylor, Henry Jones, John T. Ward, D. Marshall, J. 
 Williams. 
 
HISTORY OF ORMSBY COUNTY. 
 
 539 
 
 Mr. R. H. Stretch, State Mineralogist in 1866, 
 gives the farewell to the mines of Argentine Dis- 
 trict. iTesays: — 
 
 The}- lie chieriy in the granite, the gangue being a 
 glassj' quartz, in (some instances carrying iron pjTitea, 
 and stained Mack with other comj)Oiin(ls of iron, 
 assaj'ing small quantities of gold. The mines are 
 not likely to prove of much value. 
 
 QUARTZ .MILLS. 
 
 The development of the mines discovered in 
 1859-()(l required at once the construction of mills 
 for the reduction of the ores. The tirst ore extracted 
 was from the Mexican and Ophir claims at Virginia 
 City, and this was packed on mules over the Sierra 
 Nevada to California, some to Grass Vallej', and 
 .some to San Francisco for reduction, a small jiortion 
 being reduced in arastras near the mines. This ore 
 being very rich, one mule carrying 82,000 worth, it 
 was a good enough way of transporting the bullion 
 to market. But there was other ore in the mines not 
 so near pure silver, and this required reducing 
 nearer home. For this purpose the first thought was 
 power, and the Carson River seemed to oft'er it in 
 abundance. This stream was about fifteen miles 
 distant, and there at once the enterprising owners of 
 the mines directed their energies. 
 
 A small mill was first constructed near Empire 
 City in the spring of 1860, which was subsequently 
 enlarged as the Mexican Mill, or the Silver State 
 Reduction Works. The building of mills once 
 entered upon, the business increased with wonderful 
 rapidity. 
 
 In 1861 a mill was built in Clear Creek District and 
 run by water-power from Clear Creek. In the same 
 year a man named Ashe built a mill in Gregory's 
 Canon, which afterwards took the name of Ashe's 
 Canon. This mill was destroyed by a flood in the 
 winter of 1861-62 which was so powerful that it re- 
 duced the level of the cafion fourteen feet. .Shortly 
 afterwards the mill of Childs & Hunt was built on 
 Mill Creek five miles north of Carson City, driven 
 by water from the Creek. This had ten stamps and 
 crushed irom eight to ten tons per day, according 
 to the quality of the work. The mill was running 
 in 1863. The Silver State Mill, which is the common 
 appellation for the Silver State Reduction Works, was 
 built in 1861. one-half mile south of Empire City on 
 the cast bank of the Carson. The motive power 
 was water brought from the river through a ditch 
 four and a half miles in length, ten feet wide on top. 
 four feet on the bottom and four and one-half feet 
 deep, having a capacity to supply 4,000 cubic feet per 
 minute. In 1861. this mill had twelve stamps and 
 was capable of reducing twelve tons o^ore per day of 
 twent}--four hours, cost, including ditch. 825,000. ,1. 
 M. Davis was then Superintendent. This was greatly 
 enlarged in 1862, at which lime lh<' following descrip- 
 tion is given of it, and of the method of reducing ore, 
 in" Kelly's Directory of Nevada Territory for 18()3." 
 
 The mill is driven by water acting on a breast wheel 
 twenty-eight feet in diameter, and an outside breadth 
 
 of twenty-six feet, being the largest water wheel on 
 the Pacific Coast, furnishing about two-hundred- 
 horse power. The fall of water is twenty-two feet. 
 There are now forty-four stamps working, running 
 with an average speed of seventy-five blows j)er min- 
 ute, and the amount of rock crushed averages from 
 seventy to seventy-five tons daily — this being more 
 than double the amount crushed bj- any other mill in 
 the Territory-. Twentj'-eight of these stamps are 
 employed constantly on ore from the .Mexican Mine, 
 Virginia City, from which jilace the ore is freighted 
 in sacks. The remainder on custom work. 
 
 The plan adopted in working the ore dift'ers from 
 what is elsewhere in use, inasmuch as it is a combina- 
 tion of two distinct processes — that of simple amal- 
 gamation, and the Barrel Process. The ore is crushed 
 wet, and flows through ''Brevoort Grinders," to con- 
 vert it into as fine a state of division as possible, 
 and thence through a series of twelve Mitchell's 
 Amalgamators, in which the pulp, by means of cop- 
 per screws, is forced through a mass of quicksilver, 
 for a total length of one hundred and forty-four feet. 
 From the lust amalgamator the pulp flows into agi- 
 tators, in which are gathered all particles of quick- 
 silver or amalgam that maj- have escaped from the 
 amalgamators with the pulp. From the agitators 
 the pulp then flows into vats, where it is allowed to 
 settle, in order that as little as possible of the sul- 
 phurets of silver may escape. 
 
 The ore has now been deprived of all its gold and 
 free silver, and there remain but the sulphurets of 
 silver, with sulphurets of copper and other base 
 metals. The ore is then taken from the vats, spread 
 out upon a dr3-ing floor, deprived of its moisture, 
 carried thence b}' machiner}' to a grinder, where all 
 the lumps that may have been formed are destroyed. 
 
 The salt that is necessary for the roasting is ground 
 at the same time with the ore. thus causing it to be 
 intimatelj- mixed, and in this state it is elevated and 
 carried to hoppers above the furnaces, without the 
 intervention of manual labor. When the furnace 
 (a reverberator}') is readj' for a charge, an aperture in 
 the top is uncovered and the ore shoveled in and 
 spread out equally upon the bed or hearth of the 
 furnace, and then roasted and stirred for such a length 
 of time as the nature and quality of the ore demand. 
 
 As soon as the sulphurets of silver are converted 
 into chlorides (the result of the action of salt upon 
 heated sul|)hurets) the ore is drawn from the furnaces, 
 cooled, and then carried by means of a belt and ele- 
 vator to the dust chamber, immediately above the 
 barrels. 
 
 The furnace shed is 187 feet long by 40 feet broad, 
 and is intended for six furnaces, four of which are 
 now in use. The draught necessary for the fires is 
 created bj^ a large chimney 12x12 feet at the base, 
 and tapering to a height of eight}- feet. The chim- 
 ney is connected with the flues of the furnaces by 
 means of a main flue passing underground, along the 
 entire length of the shed. The flues of the retorting 
 and smelting furnaces are also connected with the 
 main flue, and thus the possibility of an accidental 
 fire is entirely avoided. Near the base of the chim- 
 ney are condensing chambers, in which are caught 
 such particles of silver as may be carried oft" from the 
 furnaces iiy vohitiiization or otherwise. 
 
 The ore having been deposited in the dust-room, is 
 now ready for the i)arrels. This portion of the mill is 
 58x40 feet, and thirty-one feet high, and divided into 
 three stories,viz.: the basement, barrel and dust-room. 
 In the dust-room the ore is bolted. ])reparalor}- to be- 
 ing charged in the barrels. The barrel-room is fitted 
 
540 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA 
 
 up for twenty barrels, each capable of working from 
 two to two and a half tons per daj-; oiilj- fifteen of 
 these are now in use. The barrel is charged with a 
 quantity of ore, watei", iron and fiuicksilver, and 
 then made to revolve until, bj' a test, it is ascer- 
 tained that all the silver has been extracted. The 
 amali;am and quicksilver are now drawn off, and 
 then the ore washed out of the barrels into a series 
 of atcitators, in which all escaping particles of amal- 
 gam are caught. In the basement, the salt and ore 
 are ground up together, and space reserved for ex- 
 perimental researches. 
 
 The above description refers chieflj- to the mode 
 of working the ore from the Mexican Mine. In the 
 custom department the ore is treated differentlJ^ 
 Here a series of twelve Hepburn's pans are em- 
 ployed, and the pulp flows into them directl}' from 
 the battery. No one system is adopti^d for all ores; 
 but each kind is first thoroughly tested and then 
 treateil according to its contents. 
 
 The crushing and amalgamating part of the mill 
 (comprising the stamjis, j)ans, amalgamators, etc.,) 
 is contained in a building lS(i feet long bj- 90 feet 
 broad. The total length of the entire mill is 450 
 feet. The line shaft is driven by two pinions, which 
 gear directly with spur-wheels fitted in segments 
 upon each outer shrouding of the water-wheel. So 
 true are these segments placed (each spur-wheel 
 consisting of twcntj--seven) that not the slightest 
 jar is perceptible. All of the machinerj- is of the 
 most solid descri])tion. 
 
 The mill has been running for Tiine months, and 
 not a single stop has occurred bj' reason of breakage. 
 The millwright is Mr. Isaac Railey. The wood 
 which is consumed at this mill is cut on a wood 
 ranch owned by the company, and situated at the 
 head of the ditch, down which it is floated to the 
 mill. 
 
 Another feature of this mill is the completeness of 
 the assay office. This is a fire-proof, brick building, 
 20x40 feet, erected between the barrel build- 
 ing and the furnace shed. The assay office oc- 
 cupies the entire basement of this building. All 
 the bullion produced by the mill is here smelted and 
 stumped ready for market. Daily assays are made 
 to ascertain the working of the mill in its various 
 departments. A chemical laboratory is also con- 
 nected with the assay oflice. Quite an extensive 
 assaying bu.siness is carried on here independent of 
 :hat of the mill. In the upper story of the same 
 building is the oflice of the mill. The windows and 
 doors of this oflice open directlj' upon the various 
 departments of the mill, and thus a constant super- 
 vision is exercised. Mr. E. B. Dorsey is Superin- 
 tendent. 
 
 This is locally known as the Mexican Mill, hav- 
 ing at latest dates forty-four stamps, twenty pans, 
 ten settlers, and a capacitj' for reducing ll!0 tons of 
 ore per day. The power is now given by a Turbine 
 wheel. 
 
 Mead's Mill was constructed in 1801, about the 
 same time as the Silver Slate, and was run by 
 water from the same ditch. It was located at 
 Empire City, had sixteen stamps, ten stone ]ians in 
 the amalgamating department, employed twelve 
 men and reduced twenty tons of ore per day. The 
 mill building was 4l).\5l) feet in dimensions on the 
 ground and cost, including bringing in the water, 
 825.000. 
 
 Two miles below Empire City was built, in 1861-62, 
 the Merrimac .Mill, by Messrs. Bryant, Ellsworth & 
 Co., at a cost of 850.000. In 1H63 it was owned by 
 Messrs. A. M. & S. R. Ellsworth, and run under the 
 superintendence of the latter. The machinery was 
 pro]iullud by water brought from the Carson in a 
 ditch 2,100 feet in length, fourteen feet in width and 
 four feet in depth, the dam at the head being 
 regarded at that time as one of the most substan- 
 tial on the river. The head of water at the mill 
 was twenty feet, acting on a center discharge wheel, 
 and creating eighty-horse power. The building was 
 100 feet in length by seventy in width, containing 
 sixteen stamps, of 750 pounds each, and, running day 
 and night, crushed thirty tons of ore ever}' twenty- 
 four hours. The '• Hatch |)rocess " was used, which 
 was regarded with great favor. The machinery was 
 made at the foundrj' of H. J. Booth & Co., of Mar^-s- 
 ville. California. The locality of this mill is now 
 designated as Merrimac Station, on the Virginia and 
 Truckee Railroad. It has increased its power by 
 improved machinery', and is able to crush fifty tons 
 of ore per day. 
 
 One mile further down the river was, in 1802, the 
 Copper Canon Mill, owned by Van Vleet, Tucker, 
 Moor, Kendriek and Clark, owners of the " Yellow 
 Jacket Claim on the (iold Hill Ledge," as the writers 
 of those days express it, crushing rock from that 
 mine, and superintended by Mr. Henry Shadel. The 
 Copper Canon Mill was run by water brought from 
 the Carson in a ditch, 600 feet in length, operating 
 on a center discharge wheel, six and a half feet in 
 diameter, giving motion to ten stamps, crushing fif- 
 teen tons of ore per day. The mill cost 815,000, the 
 building being sixty feet in length by forty in width. 
 The Vivian iMill, owned bj' Sperry it Co., in 1862, 
 was a short distance below the Copper Cafion, con- 
 tained sixteen stamps, emploj'ed twelve men and 
 crushed twenty-five Ions of ore per day. The power 
 was water brought from the Carson River through 
 a ditch and flume 1,100 feet long and twelve and one- 
 half feet head, operating a central discharge Turbine 
 wheel seven and one-half feet in diameter. The 
 dam at the head of the flume was constructed of 
 stone, very substantial, ariid the water supply was 
 sufticient for double the stumps used. In 1SG3 this 
 mill was owned b}- E. Kuhling & Co., and was super- 
 intended by Mr. C. B. Barstow. Subsequently a 
 IjcIIV'I Turbine wheel of fil'ly-six inches diameter was 
 placed in the mill, att'Drding ninety-horse power and 
 capable of reducing forty tons per day. 
 
 One-(|uarter of a mile below the last mentioned, in 
 1S()2, Messrs. ,\Vm. .M.Stewart, John llenning, Jas. 
 Morgan and C. 1'. Wood built a mill containing 
 twelve stamps, with which thirty tons of ore wore 
 crushed every twenty-four hours. The |)ower was 
 water brought from the Carson in a canal fifteen feet 
 wide and half a mile in length, operating under a 
 pressure of twenty-one feet head a Turbine wheel 
 seven feet in diameter and weighing 7,000 pounds. 
 
HISTORY OF ORMSBY COUNTY. 
 
 541 
 
 then the largest in the Territory, and estimated to be 
 capable of running 150 stamps. The mill edifice was 
 a fine solid stnic-ture. 160 feet long and sixty feet 
 wide. A substantial stone building, 30x40 feet, 
 served for oflSces and for the use of mill hands. This 
 was one of the most complete and best constructed 
 in the country in 1802, costing about 850,000. The 
 company owning it were the owners of thirty-three 
 and one-third foot of the best of the (lold Hill ground, 
 and crushed the ores from that mine. In 18(i8 this 
 mill was known as the Zephj-r Flat Mill, anil owned 
 by Messrs. H. H. Raymond and Wm. Thompson, Jr., 
 with Mr. Wm. S. liowo as Superintendent. 
 
 Baldwin iV Go's. Mill was at Kmpire City in 1863. 
 This combined steam and water-power, using the 
 first to drive its battery of sixteen stamps, and the 
 twenty amalgamating pans were run by water re- 
 ceived from the Carson. Fourteen men were em- 
 ployed under the superintendency of Joseph Bald- 
 win, Jr. 
 
 These mills have experienced many vicissi+udes of 
 fortune since their construction in 1800-61-62-63, and 
 have undergone alterations and changes unnecessary ' 
 to trace. Survej-or General 8. II. Marlette, in 1866, 
 reports six mills in the count}', viz.: Mexican, forty- 
 four stamps; Yellow Jacket, forty stamps; Bruns- 
 wick, eight stamps; Merrimac, twenty stamps; Viv- 
 ian, sixteen stamps, and Santiago, twenty-four 
 stamps. In 1874 Mr. Henry R. Whitehill, State Min- 
 eralogist, reports five mills, viz.: Mexican, fortj'-four 
 stamps, with capacity of crushing 120 tons per day; 
 Morgan, forty stamps, and seventy-five tons capacity; 
 Brunswick, fift^'-six stamps and 155 tons capacity; 
 Merrimac, twenty stamps and forty tons capacity, 
 and Santiago, thirty-four stamps and eighty tons ca- 
 pacity; and such is their present condition, receiving 
 their ore from the Comstock, brought to them by the 
 cars of the Virginia and Truckec Railroad. 
 
 SAW- MILLS. 
 
 The grand forests of the Sierra Nevada wore a 
 great attraction to the early settlers of the " eastern 
 slope," offering them facilities for obtaining lumber 
 of which they quickly availed themselves. The first 
 saw-mill erected in the region afterwards embraced 
 in Ormsby County, was built by Mr. Gregory in the fall 
 of 1859, on Mill Creek, three miles west of Carson. 
 This was a steam-power mill, and was the first steam 
 mill of any kind erected in what is now the State of 
 Nevada. The transportation of heav}- machinery 
 over the Sierra at that date was a very expensive 
 undertaking, and this was regarded as an enterprise 
 quite extraordinary. The mill was capable of cut- 
 ting 15,000 feet ])er day, and for many months was 
 run to its full capacity, so great was the demand for 
 lumber. Orders were taken weeks in advance of 
 the possibility of filling them, and customers con- 
 tended greedily for their turn. 
 
 Shortly after this Mr. Alexander Ashe built a saw- 
 mill on Mill Creek near the former, running it by 
 water from the creek. One mile north ol Gregory's, 
 68 
 
 Meeers. Thompson & 'JVeadwell erected a powerful 
 steam mill capable of cutting 15,000 feet of lumber 
 per day, also containing a shingle and planing 
 machine, which prepared for market large ([uantilies 
 of material for building purposes. In 1861 these 
 three mills were employing upwards of 100 men, and 
 had cost in their construction 860,000. 
 
 Mills now multiplied rapid!}-, there being in 1862 
 three on Clear Creek at a distance of from nIx to 
 eight miles southwest of Carson ('ity. The first was 
 the Coyote Mill, owned by Mr. George VV. Chedic and 
 Mr. D. B. Milne, afterwards by Mr. Samuel B. Mar- 
 tin. This was propelled by water, and was of large 
 capacity. Haskell & Co.'s Mill, built in 1861, was 
 also propelled by water, and the Clear Creek Mill, 
 owned by Mr. C. Jones and Mr. Denton, was driven 
 by steam. To one of the mills was attached a shin- 
 gle machine, there being a great demand for the lat- 
 ter article, of which large numbers were also made 
 by hand, there being much timber in the neighbor- 
 hood suitable for that purpose. These mills had 
 been erected at an aggregate cost of 833,000. In 
 1862 they employed 100 men, and were capable of 
 cutting 50,000 feet per day. Several changes, im- 
 provements and additions were made this year and 
 in 1863. Howe, Gray I't f -o. Ifad succeeded to Has- 
 kell & Co., and Elliott's Mill, driven by steam had 
 been added to the group in Clear Creek Cafion, each 
 turning out from 15,000 to 30,000 feet daily. Two 
 shingle machines had also been added, and were con- 
 stantly employed, so great was the demand. At the 
 point where Clear Creek debouches ujion the plains, 
 a substantial structure was erected in 18()2for a sash 
 and door factory, driven by •» large overshot wheel 
 of thirty-horse power, but the design was altered and 
 the factory was converted into a ((uartz mill. 
 
 The Lake Bigler Lumber Company, C. R. Barrett, 
 A. W. Pray, andN. 1). Winters, jiroprietors, wenl into 
 operation in 1862 in the region, as the name implies, 
 of Lake Bigler, or Tahoe, where was an abundance of 
 large trees affording a superior quality of clear 
 lumber, compensating for its distance from, and at 
 that time difficult access to market. The mill of 
 the company was propelled by water conducted 
 through a flume and ditch upwards of half a mile 
 in length, giving abundant power. In 1862 this 
 mill contained a set of double circular saws, a 
 muller, edger and shingle saws, employed twelve 
 men and turned out 20,000 feet of lumber daily, 
 besides a largo quantity of shingles. The company 
 secured by location and purchase several quarter 
 sections of land in the vicinity of their mill. 
 Shortly after the construction of this mill the 
 King's Cafion toll-road was made, giving it oppor- 
 tunity to send its products to the markets of Car- 
 son City and the mines of the Comstock. The 
 Monitor Mill was erected in King's Ciifion in 1863, 
 doing a largo business, and, says the chronicler of 
 the times, " were there half a dozen olhei-s in that 
 neighborhood, they could hardly supply the ex- 
 
542 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 traordinary want of lumber for mining, milling and 
 building purposes." 
 
 In 1862, Messrs. Hobbs, Russell & Co., built a large 
 saw-mill one-quarter of a mile below Empire City, 
 expending thereon about 820,000. This was enlarged 
 in 1863, and many improvements have been added 
 since, making it one of the best and largest saw- 
 mills in the State. This mill was built in conjunction 
 with a company organized for the improvement of 
 the Carson Eiver to make it available at all times for 
 the purpose of rafting logs from its head-waters in the 
 Sierra Nevada. For this purpose the Legislature of 
 Nevada in 1863 granted the company an exclusive 
 franchise extending five years, to use the river for 
 the purpose of rafting logs, fire-wood and lumber, in 
 consideration of the improvements to its channel. 
 The timber sawed at this mill is cut in Alpine 
 County, California, on the east fork of the Carson, a 
 distance by the river of upwards of eighty miles, 
 and driven down the stream in bodies, usually con- 
 suming forty days in a drive. About 5,000,000 feet 
 of lumber ie made annually. 
 
 From the earliest date of settlement, particularly 
 in 1862-63-64, when the building excitement was at 
 its height, there was much wanton destruction of 
 timber. The shingle and shake makers were en- 
 couraged by the great demand for the product of their 
 labor, and these destroyed great numbers of the most 
 valuable trees, being the most wasteful of all classes of 
 lumbermen. The forests being on public land there 
 was little care for economy, and all energies were 
 exercised for immediate gain regardless of what de- 
 struction resulted. As a consequence the forest 
 rapidly disappeared before the legitimate enterprise 
 of the mill owner and the ruthless destruction by the 
 shingle and shake maker, until the greater part has 
 entirely disappeared. [For later reports see chapter 
 on V flumes.] 
 
 TOLL-ROADS. 
 
 The settlement of the countj' came with a grand 
 rush, attracted by the discovery of the silver mines, 
 and at that time the avenues of travel were about as 
 the first emigrants had found and left them. For 
 the ordinary travel of passing from one bend of the 
 river to another, or crossing the valleys, or even pen- 
 etrating the cafions and foot-hills, they were pas- 
 sible, but were entirely inadequate when the great 
 mass of travel poured into the country, bringing its 
 mammoth " prairie schooners " with merchandise, 
 its heavy machincrj', and dashing stage coaches. 
 The necessity for good roads was great, and the 
 opportunity for individual enterprise in making them 
 was very bright. A few, loading to Nevada, up the 
 western slope of the Sierra, had enriched the build- 
 ers, and one, leading down the eastern slope, built by 
 Kingsbury & McDonald, in 1859-60, annuallj' re- 
 turned double its cost. Then followed a fierce con- 
 test for toll-road franchises, wherever there was a 
 prospect of a passing team. 
 
 There was an effort on the part of the public to 
 
 improve the natural roads, and, on the twenty-fifth 
 of February, 1862, the county was declared by the 
 Commissioners to be one Road District, and Timothy 
 G. Smith was appointed Road Supervisor. But offi- 
 cial duty did not carry the power or enterprise to 
 construct new roads. This was left to the enterprise 
 of individuals. 
 
 The road leading across Eagle Valley to Virginia 
 City was over sandy and marshy land, which, at 
 times, rendered passage difficult. To avoid this, 
 Messrs. Mark L. McDonald and Thomas Bedford, in 
 1862, constructed a road from Carson Citj- to the 
 Half-way House, six miles, skirting the foot-hills on 
 the west of Empire City. This was a very profitable 
 road, was well built, and traveled daily bj' hundreds 
 of the heaviest teams. On July 11, 1862, the toll on 
 this road was fixed by the County Commissioners as 
 follows: — 
 
 Loaded wagon, two animals 50 cts. 
 
 Each two additional animals 25 
 
 Buggy, two horses 50 
 
 Buggy, one horse 37i 
 
 Horseman 12i 
 
 Pack animal 5 
 
 Loose animals (each) 3 
 
 Empty wagons half rates. 
 
 At the same time a license tax was fixed at three 
 per cent, of the gross receipts on all toll-roads. 
 
 The same j'ear Levi Fisk & Co, owned a toll-road 
 leading over the divide between Eagle and Washoe 
 Vallcj's, the tolls on which were: — 
 
 Loaded teams o*" ' 70 animals. . . . 25cts. 
 
 " " four " 50 
 
 Empty wagons and buggies free. 
 
 David B. Milne owned a toll-road on Clear Creek, 
 
 running northerly from the Coj'ote Saw-mill to 
 Jack's Valley, on which the Commissioners, July 11, 
 1862, fixed the toll as follows:— 
 
 Loaded wagon, two animals 25 cts. 
 
 Each two additional animals 12 J 
 
 Pack animal 5 
 
 Loose stock (each) 3 
 
 Empty wagons free. 
 
 Rufus Walton at the same time owned a toll-road 
 leading from the Coyote Mill down Clear Creek to 
 the Jack's Valley Road, on which tolls were fixed 
 July 11, 1862, as follows:— 
 
 Loaded wagon, two animals 25 cts. 
 
 Each two additional animals 12i 
 
 Buggy 25' 
 
 Pack animal 5 
 
 Loose stock (each) 3 
 
 Empty wagons half rate. 
 
 The Lake Bigler Road from Small & Burke's 
 C' Friday's") Station, on the southern shore of the 
 lake to Carson City, running along the eastern 
 shore, and entering Eagle Valley via King's Cafion, 
 was completed in lSt!3, and was a very important 
 improvement to the county. The length was twenty- 
 one and a half miles, and the heaviest grade was 
 eight feet in 100. This crossed the summit of the 
 
HISTORY OF ORMSBY COUNTY. 
 
 543 
 
 Sierra 200 feet lower than that of Kingsbury <fe Mc- 
 Donald's, and Baved, on the road from Carson to the 
 junction with the Placervillo Road, three and a half 
 miles. This was a broad and well-constructed road, 
 and, during the dry season, was kept sprinkled as a 
 protection against the wear of its surface and for 
 the greater comfort of those passing over it. This, 
 however, was the custom on all first-class toll-roads. 
 The rates were fixed by the County Commission- 
 ers, July 9, 1863, as follows: — 
 
 Wagon with two animals $2 00 
 
 Each additional animal 25 
 
 Empty wagons, half rate 
 
 Buggy and two horses 1 50 
 
 Buggy and one horse 1 00 
 
 Horseman 50 
 
 Pack animal 25 
 
 Loose animals, (each) 12* 
 
 The Trustees of this company were Messrs. H. F. 
 Rice, Alfred Helm and Thomas E. Haydon; Butler 
 Ives was Superintendent. 
 
 Hartshorn's Ferry, on the Carson IJiver, was 
 licensed July 8, 1863, and tolls fixed as follows: — 
 
 Loaded wagon, two animals 50 cts 
 
 Each additional animal . 6i 
 
 Buggy and two horses 50 
 
 Buggy and one horse 37 J 
 
 Man and horse 25 
 
 Footman 12} 
 
 Pack animal 5 
 
 Loose stock, (each) 3 
 
 By Act of Legislature approved December 19, 
 1862, J. M. Forsythe and his associates were em- 
 powered to construct a plank and turnpike road 
 between Carson City and Empire City. 
 
 December 20, 1862, the Legislature granted to A. 
 J. Van Winkle and associates the right to construct 
 a toll-road from Como, in Lyon CountJ^ to Kmpire 
 City, in Ormsby County, and to bridge the river as 
 part of their road; and the same rights were granted, 
 February 20, 1864, to D. E. Hunter and associates. 
 The Legislature of the same year, February 9, 
 granted to A. Curry and associates the right to build 
 a macadamized road from Carson Citj- to Empire 
 City. 
 
 By an Act approved January 27, 1869, the County 
 Commissioners of Ormsbj- County were authorized 
 to issue $200,000 bonds in aid of the Virginia and 
 Truckee Railroad. 
 
 This Act was considered by some as unconstitu- 
 tional and the payment of taxes to meet the interest 
 was contested. On the tenth of November, 1869, 
 the Board of Commissioners ordered: — 
 
 That the taxpayers of Ormsby County be per- 
 mitted to pay all taxes assessed against them under 
 protest, pending the case now in the Supremo Court 
 testing the legality of the issuance of certain railroad 
 bonds, and the tax of one per cent, for the payment 
 of the interest thereon, and in the event of a decision 
 against the collection of said railroad tax. the same 
 shall bo refunded to each person paying the same 
 without suit. 
 
 At a special mooting of the Board of County Com- 
 missioners, held December 9, 1869, for the purpose, it 
 was ordered that the 8200,000 bonds authorized by 
 the Act of Januarj- 27, 1869, be issued to the Vir- 
 ginia and Truckee Railroad in denominations of 
 81,000, dated December 10, 1869, and that the 
 interest be payable on the first day of June and 
 December of each year. 
 
 Those bonds were delivered to Mr. W'm. Sharon on 
 the twentieth of December, 1809, also the coupons 
 due June 1, 1870, were paid, the road discounting 
 8350. This road, to which so much aid was given, 
 soon after its completion claimed to be the best pay- 
 ing road in the world, running over thirty heavily 
 freighted trains daily. 
 
 COURT HOUSE. 
 
 The countj' being created in 1861, it became 
 necessary to possess a Court House, and before build- 
 ing or purchasing one the first step was to rent 
 rooms for tom|)orary purposes. For this, on the 
 fifteenth of February, 1862, the Countj* Commis- 
 sioners rented the lower story of the building owned 
 by C. Adams, at the rate of 8140 per month. The 
 Board of County Commissioners, May 5th, advertised 
 for proposals for grounds on which to erect a Court 
 House, and also plans for the building, and the firet 
 of July, 1862, was set for the opening of bids and 
 plans. On the fourteenth of October following, the 
 county purchased of Abram Curry the stone build 
 ing known as the " Great Basin Hotel," corner of 
 Carson and Musser Streets, for the purposes of a Court 
 House. The price agreed upon was 842,500, of 
 which 85,000 was paid in cash and bonds issued for 
 the remainder bearing interest at the rate of ten per 
 centum per annum. The bonds were issued as fol- 
 lows: 810,000 due January, 1, 1864; 810,000, due 
 January 1, 1805; 810,000, due January 1, 1866; and 
 §7,500 duo January 1, 1867. A jail was added at a 
 cost of 85,954.35, and a further sum of 84,493.65 was 
 expended in alterations and additions to render the 
 building suitable for the purposes designed. 
 
 The Court House stands in 1881 nearly as it did 
 when first converted to its present use. not conspicu- 
 ous as a public building nor particularly ornamental. 
 
 On the twenty-fourth of June, 1870, the building 
 met with disaster, being partially destroyed by fire. 
 Being insured, the damage was estimated at 83,000, 
 which amount was paid to the Board of County Com- 
 missioners on the sixteenth of August ensuing by the 
 Pacific Insurance (,'ompany. The repairs made cost 
 about 85,000, including a new tin roof 
 
 The building is of two stories, in the upper of which 
 are the court rooms and below are the offices of the 
 county officers. 
 
 The jail is thus referred to in the Nevada Tribune 
 of Carson City, July 24, 1874: " It is bad enough to 
 be confined in jail; it is bad enough to be a 
 criminal; it is bad enough to be sentenced to be 
 hung by the neck: but nothing is so bad as to 
 be confined in that damnable hole called the County 
 
■544 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Jail of Ormsby County. The Sheriff and hie subordi- 
 nates do all in their power to keep it clean, but ail 
 their labor is ill-bestowed, for it is the worst hole we 
 ever read of, the Black Hole of Calcutta excepted. 
 The stench emanating from the cells is intolerable, 
 and we pronounce it a disgrace to incarcerate pris- 
 oners of any kind therein." 
 
 The severity of this denunciation maj- lead to 
 exaggerated opinions of the condition of the jail; 
 the editor undoubtedly delighting in senfiation, not 
 thinking his opinion might ever be incorporated in 
 history. 
 
 The Court House is at times used for other than 
 court purposes. The large hall of the court room is 
 available for ])arties, dance?, fairs, etc. In 1862 a 
 verj' successful fair was held in it, the first in Xevada, 
 by the Territorial Agricultural, Mining and Mechan- 
 ics Society, continuing three days. 
 
 Monroe A. Driesbach, son of Peter and Hannah 
 (Zerfars) Driesbach, is a native of New York State, 
 born in the town of Sparta, Livingston County, 
 April 18, 1843. His parents were of German descent, 
 but the date of the arrival of his ancestors in 
 Amorica takes us back before the days of the 
 American Itevolution. 
 
 His grandfather, Henry Driesbach, emigrated from 
 Pennsylvania in 1804, and settled in the wilds of New 
 York, in what in now called (ieneseo Valley, pur- 
 chasing a large tract of land, some of which still 
 remains in the possession of his descendants. Both the 
 father and grandfather of the subject of this sketch. 
 
 fought in the defense of their country, one, in the 
 Revolution, for American Independence, and the 
 other, in the war of 1812. and was in the memora- 
 ble battle of Lundj-'s Lane. Monroe, our present 
 subject, was brought up on a farm, as the "best 
 man,'' his mother being a widow for many years. 
 After reaching his majority, he, to satisfy his am- 
 bition for learning entered Alliance College, after- 
 ward transferred to Mount Vernon College in Ohio, 
 from which he graduated. He then entered the 
 Albany Law School, and graduated with high honors. 
 He was married September 23, 1874, to Helen A. 
 McXair, at Danville, New York. Mr. Driesbach 
 was in the employ of Messrs. A. W. Cooles & Co., 
 Alliance, Ohio, manufacturers of farming implements, 
 as book-keeper, until his departure for Nevada in 
 the spring of 1877. He was elected District Attorney 
 of Ormsby County, Nevada, in 1878. Mr. Driesbach 
 is a resident of Carson City, and is a man much 
 respected by his fellow-townsmen. 
 
 Hon. Trenmor Coffin, was born in Hendricks 
 County, Indiana, a. d. 1848. 
 
 His father was a farmer, and the subject of this 
 sketch was brought up on a farm, and accustome dto 
 hard work, he working with his father in clearing 
 away the native forest which covered the farm in 
 early days. Up to the age of twenty years he 
 acted as plow-boy during the summer, and attended 
 a small country school during the winter, where he 
 acquired the rudiments of a common-school educa- 
 tion. Ho entered the National Normal School, at 
 Lebanon, Ohio, when twenty years of age, and by 
 strict economy maintained himself for three years. 
 His pluck, in connection with the disadvantage under 
 
HISTORY OF ORMSBY COUNTY. 
 
 54.-) 
 
 which he labored to gain his education has been a 
 characteristic feature with him all through his life. 
 One of his modes for reducing the expense of his 
 tuition, was acting as steward for a club of fifty 
 students, receiving for his services his board and a 
 very small sum of money from each student. Alter 
 graduating from this school, he came west, and 
 reached Carson City, ^s'evada, in the month of 
 August, 1871. Having no banl< account at that time, 
 and not finding a situation suitable to his position in 
 the world, he went to work with a pick and shovel, 
 helping to build a mountain road, and, for some four 
 years thereafter, he was engaged in various employ- 
 ments, such as driving a team, and for a time worked 
 under the lion. W'm. Westerfield, running a truck in 
 the freight depot, at Steamboat Springs, that being 
 the terminus of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad, 
 at that time. Mr. Collin is a living example of what 
 can be done with courage and a persistent self-will, 
 intermingled with an ambitious nature. He finally 
 succeeded in obtaining a situation as teacher in the 
 grammar department of the public schools of Carson 
 City, where he acquitted himself creditably, and was 
 soon after placed in charge of the Nevada State 
 Library, and for one j-ear acted as Librarian. During 
 the time of his teaching and acting in the capacity 
 of librarian, he devoted his spare time to the study 
 of law, and such progress as he made is seldom 
 recorded, for in the month of October, 1874, he 
 was admitted to practice in the Supreme Courts of 
 Nevada. In connection with Hon. C. N. Harris, he 
 opened a law office for the practice of his profession 
 in the State. In 1876, Mr. Coflin was elected Dis- 
 trict Attorney, of Ormsby County, and, in ISSO, he 
 was placed upon the Republican ticket as a candidate 
 for the Assembly. This nomination was not sought 
 b}- him. but was tendered to him bj' his part}' from 
 pure principle. It is needless to add that he was 
 handsomelj' elected, and his constituents have had 
 no cause for complaint in regard to his actions as 
 their representative. He is ostensibly a self-made 
 man, and, by dilligence and energy, has built up a 
 lucrative practice, and has also built a reputation 
 among his fellow-men that will be remembered long 
 after he ceases to exist in human form. 
 
 COUNTY DIVIDED INTO TOWNSHIPS. 
 
 The creation of the county by the Territorial 
 Legislature in November, 18(11, its organization by 
 the appointment of officers, and their meeting in 
 December following, have been fully related. At the 
 first meeting of the Commissioners, December 24, 
 18(il, the county was made one voting precinct, with 
 polls established at Carson City, Empire City, Has- 
 kell's saw-mill on Clear Creek, and the Half-way 
 Hou.se; four in all. July 11, 1802, the county was 
 divided into two townships, by a line running north 
 and south from the southern boundary of the county 
 to the northern boundary on a direct lino of the 
 eastern boundary of the race-track east of Carson 
 City. All that portion lying west of that line to 
 
 be called Carson Township, and all east to bo called 
 Empire Township. 
 
 The dividing line between the two townships was 
 changed on the fourteenth of August following, so as 
 to run along the eastern edge of Eagle Valley. 
 This division, as the names imply, made Carson Citj- 
 the nucleus of one township, including Eagle Valley 
 and the mountain region of the Sierra Nevada; and 
 the other with Empire City as central point, taking 
 in the busy milling and lumbering population along 
 the Carson River and the miners and woodchoppera 
 of the Pine Nut range east of the river. 
 
 Carson Township, on the ninth of November, 
 18G3, was divided into two townships; that portion 
 north of the line of Spear Street and its extension in 
 Carson City, to be called Carson Township Number 
 One; and all south to be called Carson Township 
 Number Two. 
 
 These divisions remained in force until Sep- 
 tember 4, 1865, when the county was divided 
 into two townships by a line running from the 
 mouth of Clear Creek, northerly, with the sum- 
 mit of the mountains running west of Carson 
 River, and east of Eagle Valley, to a point east 
 of the State Prison, where the countj- road between 
 the Warm Springs Hotel and Empire City crosses the 
 reservoir or dam of the Mexican Mill Company, 
 thence due north to the county line. All west of 
 said line to be Carson Township, and all east to be 
 Empire Township. 
 
 The limits of the city of Carson were defined in 
 February, 1873, as comprising an area of one and 
 a quarter sections of land according to United 
 States surveys, being parts of sections seven and 
 eight, and seventeen and eighteen of township num- 
 ber fifteen north, range number twenty east, ot 
 Mount Diablo base and meridian. 
 
 STATE PRISON. 
 
 With criminals abundant and crime prevailing it 
 was the evident duty of the first Territorial Legisla- 
 ture to provide the usual means for preserving law 
 and order. In December, 1861, the Legislature 
 created a Board of State Prison Commission(frs, con- 
 sisting of the Secretary of the Territory, the Auditor 
 and Treasurer, and clothed them with power to lease 
 suitable buildings and grounds for the use of the Ter- 
 ritory as a Territorial Prison from the first of Janu- 
 ary, 1862. Abram Curry, one of the most public- 
 spirited citizens of Nevada, had furnished a ])lace of 
 meeting for the Legislature, and now proposed to do 
 the same for the criminals, and the lease was made of 
 Currj-'s propertj- at Warm Springs for the future 
 prison. The property included a stone quarry where 
 the prisoners could be put at work and liy their own 
 labor add to the buildings already existitig such as 
 would be needed for workshops, cells, dwellings, 
 walls, etc. The location was in the suburbs of the 
 city of Carson, and in every way seemed the ir.ost 
 suitable place that could bo selected, 
 
 January 1, 1862, the Governor appointed Abram 
 
546 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Curry, Warden, completing the stops to the organiza- 
 tion of the prison. This was but a beginning, and 
 for a year or more the Territorial Prison was but a 
 place of detention, with Warden Curry as contractor 
 in charge. The Territorial Legislature at the suc- 
 ceeding session passed an Act, which was approved 
 December 2, 18G2, empowering the Board of Prison 
 Commissioners to renew the lease of the property 
 made the previous year, from January 1, 1863, to 
 March 1, 1864, and for the keeping of all the prisoners 
 for said fourteen months, the expense not to exceed 
 810,000. Section two of the Act said: " It shall be 
 the duty of said Commissioners to report to the next 
 Legislative Assembly at its next session what kind 
 of property, if any, it is advisable to purchase for a 
 Territorial Prison." Accordingly the Board recom- 
 mended the purchase of the property already leased. 
 
 February 20, 1864, an Act was approved to pro- 
 vide for a Territorial Prison. The Act saying: "The 
 Board of Prison Commissioners, consisting of the Sec- 
 retaiy of the Territory, Territorial Auditor and Ter- 
 ritorial Treasurer, shall, on or before the first day of 
 March, 1864, contract with Abram Curr}- for the pur- 
 chase of the building now occupied for a Territorial 
 Prison, together with twenty acres of land including 
 the stone iiuarr3', with all improvements, implements, 
 arms and mechanic's tools belonging to or now used 
 for the labor and security of the prisoners. The' said 
 Curry shall make a deed of conveyance of the said 
 premises to the people of Nevada Territor3-, with full 
 particulars of boundarj-, description of property, 
 inventory, source of title, etc., and upon the proper 
 execution thereof the Territorial Auditor shall, by 
 order of the Board of Commissioners, issue bonds to 
 said Curry to the amount of 880,000 bearing interest 
 at the rate often per centum per annum for the pur- 
 chase of said property." 
 
 The buildings then purchased were destroyed b}' 
 fire on the first of May, 1867, together with the 
 records of the prison. Of these structures, ijieuten- 
 ant Governor James S. Slingerland, e.e officio Warden, 
 writes in his report to the Legislature in 1868: — 
 
 The " old kitchen " which stood as a landmark, 
 to which, it is presumable, the main buildings, com- 
 posing the prison were afterwards built, was nothing 
 but a tinder box built of rock, with here and there 
 a patch of mortar, full of seams and openings, 
 through which the wind had full sweep; covered 
 with an old, weather-worn shingle roof, through 
 which the rain poured in winter; lined inside with 
 canvas, that hung in tatters on the walls, and 
 connected with the main building by an opening in 
 which no door had ever been built. The dining- 
 room was lined in Iho same manner, and also the 
 two front rooms ailjoining, with the addition of here 
 and there a patch of wall j>aper, making ii still more 
 infiammablo. Ottice and guard were in the same con- 
 dition; wood- work old and decayed, and with all 
 the rest sadly in need of new material. The roof of 
 the main building, 40x100 feet, was shingled, rival- 
 ing in antiquity the roof of the kitchen — open and 
 leaky in winter, and in summer ventilatiiiic the 
 whole building with a hurricane of wind and und — 
 
 and throughout the whole of this 100 feet, but 
 three flues, to which the stove-pipes led from the 
 different parts of the building, some of which reached 
 for a distance of thirty feet, smoking and leaking 
 with every storm of wind and rain; putting all 
 together, you have a fair picture of the condition of 
 the buildings as 1 found them on the seventh of 
 January, 1867, and for which, with the rock pile 
 adjoining, the Territory paid 880,000. 
 
 After the purchase of the property in 1864, Kob- 
 ert M. Howland was made Warden. The records 
 having been destroyed, no official particulars are 
 attainable. As a reminiscence of prison discipline of 
 early days the Eureka Sentinel, of a recent date, 
 relates the following as occurring during Howland's 
 incumbency: — 
 
 Bob had then the same reputation for levity that 
 he now enjoys, and when he became Warden the 
 prisoners thought they would have an easy time of 
 it, but were disappointed, as Bob looked well after 
 the discipline of the • prison, and not a prisoner 
 escaped during his term of office. George Kirk, a 
 notorious character, was sentenced in 1864 to impris- 
 onment for. highway robberj*. The first morning of 
 his stay in the penitentiary he refused to come out of 
 his cell and ''fall in line" with the other prisoners. 
 This is how llowland subdued Kirk: The AVarden 
 quietly ordered his cell door closed, and the other 
 prisoners wore marched '' left hand on next man's 
 shoulder " to breakfast. Kirk, in the meantime, 
 was raving, and loudly cursing, and defying the 
 
 Warden or any other to even try to 
 
 make him come out, until he felt disposed to. The 
 Warden ijuietly went to the blacksmith shop, pro- 
 cured a bar of steel about twelve feet long, and had 
 it heated for about four feet on one end to a red heat, 
 and as quietly came back with it to cell No. 5. He 
 again ordered Kirk to come out and '• fall in," and 
 was met with the former refusal and violent abuse. 
 The Warden closed the grated door of the cell, and 
 shoved the bar of steel, hot end foremost (which ho 
 had now cooled to a dull color), through the bars. 
 Kirk sprang for and grasped it with both hands with 
 a close grip to wrench it from the Warden. With a 
 howl of pain, as it soared the flesh, he dropped it and 
 retreated, cursing with fierce rage. The Warden, 
 without speaking, swayed the hot bar back and forth 
 in the narrow cell, at times wedging Kirk in a corner, 
 searing his limbs with every touch. Kirk howled 
 with mingled rage and torture, now bounding over 
 it, and again under it. striking his head against the 
 top of the cell and falling back upon the bar, j-elling 
 and screeching like a pandemonium turned loose. 
 At last he realized the helplessness of his position 
 and begged for mercy. 
 
 After this discipline. Kirk became very submissive, 
 but his good behavior did not seem to be of long con- 
 tinuance, as it is related that he took part in an 
 imeute in the winter of 1864-65, when Alexander 
 Hunter, Assistant Warden, was shot, and made his 
 escape, A reward of 81, 000 was offered for his arrest, 
 which was accomplished bj' Sheritt" Sexton, of Placer 
 County, California, and he was returned to the prison. 
 The tragic end of this noted criminal occurred in 
 1871, when, refusing to obey the order of the mjstic 
 " 601 " in Virginia City, to leave that place, his body 
 was found hanging to the Sierra Nevada hoisting- 
 
HISTORY OF ORMSBY COUNTY. 
 
 547 
 
 works, with a card, labeled " 601," pinned to his 
 breast. 
 
 Ol' the Territorial prisonera there were but two 
 remaining in 18(j7, at which time there were I'orty- 
 one convicts in the prison, of whom five were under' 
 going life sentences. All the prisoners, even China- 
 men, of which race there were two, were able to read 
 and write. Of the fortj'-onc prisoners, Iwentj'-three 
 were of foreign birth, and eighteen natives of the 
 United States. 
 
 The Constitution adopted in ISfU, ])rovided for a 
 State Prison, which " shall be maintained as provided 
 by law." The Governor, Secretaiy of State and 
 Attorney (leneral were constituted the Hoard of 
 Prison Commissioners — tlie Governor being President 
 of the Board, and the Secretary of State, Secretary. 
 The Constitution, following the example of California, 
 provided that the Lieutenant Governor should be 
 ex officio Warden. The first Legislature meeting 
 under the State Constitution, passed an Act to pro- 
 vide for the government of the State Prison, which 
 was approved March 4, 1865. This authorized the 
 Board of State Prison Commissioners to take pos- 
 session of the Territorial Prison. One of the provi- 
 sions of the Act was the prohibition of any barbar- 
 ous or unusual punishment; and another that ordered 
 the Warden to furnish each convict with a Bible and 
 such other books and papers as the Commissioners 
 may direct. The Lieutenant Governor was John S. 
 Crosman, and he became Warden of the prison, con- 
 tinuing in the position until Januarj- 7, ISliT, when 
 he was succeeded by Lieut. Gov. James S. Slinger- 
 land. Governor Crosman had many things to con- 
 tend with during his wardenship arising from the 
 meager appropriations allowed, and the inadequacy 
 of the prison buildings, grounds and resources to 
 make the labor of the convicts remunerative. Gov- 
 ernor Slingerland, in his report to the Legislature, 
 says: — 
 
 The improvements made by Mr. Crosman were 
 eminently fit and proper, and doubtless would have 
 been continued on a larger scale had there been 
 funds sufficient to have carried out the j)lans as orig- 
 inally projected. 
 
 As previously stated, the principal buildings were 
 burned on the first of May, 1867. Of this fire the 
 report further says: — 
 
 The timelj- urrival of the Fire Department, of Car- 
 son C'itj-, with their engines, was all that saved to 
 the Slate the " Territorial Addition," in which the 
 prisoners were confined when the fire broke out. 
 Their superhuman eftbrts saved this ])<)rtion of the 
 prison property, which was not damaged to the 
 amount of 81,IMI(), as on the third daj- following the 
 prisoners were all safel}' housed in their same (piar- 
 ters once more, and ready for work as usual, owing 
 solely to the good and effective work of a Fire 
 Dopiirtment which any city might well be proud to 
 claim as its own. 
 
 The fire was undoubtedly the work of an incen- 
 diary. During the tire the prisoners were taken to 
 and kept in the Ormsby County Jail until the fourth 
 
 of May, when they were returned to the prison and to 
 work. The ruins were cleared away, and the Board 
 of State Prison Commissioners authorized the 
 Warden to take immediate steps to rebuild the 
 prison in conformity with the plan submitted by the 
 Board. Sealed proposals for furnishing material for 
 the building were called for and the prison rebuilt, 
 having a total capacitj' for 112 prisoners. Of the 
 treatment of prisoners, Governor Slingerland re- 
 ports: — 
 
 In the system adopted, I have not ]>roposed to 
 consume precious time in trying to make an unmiti- 
 gated rascal an honest man. I have no "trusties," 
 they all stand on a equal footing, one with another; 
 yet among them there are good men, who, if re- 
 stored to libertj-, would make good citizens and bo- 
 come worth}- members of society. 
 
 They are all cleanlj- clothed and well fed, each one 
 is dressed in prison uniform, made of woolen cloth 
 with stripes black and white. They all labor faith- 
 fully each day in the prison yard, and at meals get 
 for 
 
 BREAKFAST, 
 
 Beefsteak, potatoes, bread, hot or cold. 
 
 DINNER, 
 
 Eoast beef or stew. Baked beans on Monda3-s, 
 Wednesdays and Saturdays. Mush and molasses, o r 
 pudding, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Soup 
 on Tuesdays. Bread and potatoes each day. 
 
 SIPPER, 
 
 Cold meat, hash, potatoes and bread, stewed peaches 
 or apples everj' other day. To which may be added 
 vegetables, when in market. 
 
 It is a fact worthj* of notice that during the 
 past two j-ears there have been but two occasions 
 for punishment, those being for insubordination. 
 Prisoners have been orderly and well behaved, and 
 with a few exceptions have all been credited with 
 the five days, commutation allowed by law for good 
 behavior, thus materially shortening their terms 
 of imprisonment. A " Conduct Poll " is kept, and 
 posted at the end of each month, in which the five 
 days is credited, if deserved, and if not, in lieu 
 thereof, a black mark is set opposite the name of the 
 prisoner incurring, by misconduct, the forfeiture. 
 
 It seems to be the general desire of all to gain 
 this commutation, and, as the record shows, but few 
 have failed to gain it for each month of the two 
 years. 
 
 The expenses of the two years covered by the re- 
 port aggregated §72,070.04, made extraordinary by 
 the cost of rebuilding, and for the two years to follow 
 the Warden asked an appropriation of 8tiO,00(l. to 
 cover care of prisoners and to make further neces- 
 sary improvements. 
 
 By the election of 1S(!S Frank Denver was chosen 
 Lieutenant (iovernor, and by virtue of his office 
 succeeded Lieutenant Governor Slingerland as War 
 den, in Janiiarv, 1860. During his Wardenship 
 stone was (piarried for the Slate Capitol and other 
 buildings. 
 
 The Carson Appfitl of December 2, 1870, gives 
 the following account of an outbreak at the State 
 Prison : — 
 
 Theodore Hawkins, one of the guards, unlocked 
 
548 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 the outer grated door to let out the kitchen hands. 
 McClner was one of these and came out first, he 
 struck Hawkins a blow in the neck, knocking him 
 clear ofi' the door. McCluer was followed bj- William 
 Shea, Thomas Hetfron and Michael Loon. These 
 four made a rush at Jake Whipple, Captain of the 
 Guard. McCluer attacked him with a butcher knife, 
 cutting him in the palm of the hand and drove the 
 knife through the rim of his hat, clothing, etc. Other 
 members of the guard hearing the scuffle came to the 
 scene of conflict. HeftVon grabbed Biggs and pre- 
 vented him from using a gun. Then Bowen turned 
 loose with his pistol shooting McCluer through the 
 head and again through the breast killing him 
 instantly. Bowen then shot Heffron just below the 
 right shoulder-blade. Shea dealt Bowen a terrible 
 blow with a slung-shot made out of a piece of lead 
 pipe in a woolen stocking. Bowen turned and shot 
 Shea in the abdomen. Loon during the melee ran 
 out the front door and hid in the cellar. In the 
 meantime Captain Dingman, the inside guard, had a 
 perilous time of it. One of the prisoners supposing 
 him unarmed seized him and attempted to drag liim 
 awaj', when the Captain drew a derringer and shot 
 him in the abdomen, he then got outside and rushed 
 to the armory and got a gun, mounted the roof just 
 in time to prevent Pat Hurley and other prisoners 
 from escaping through the skylight. 
 
 The most serious emeute occurred on the seven- 
 teenth of September, 1871, during which Gover- 
 nor Denver and four of the guards were badly 
 wounded, and F. M. Isaacs, a guard, and Matthew 
 Pixley, a prominent citizen of Carson, who had 
 volunteered to assist in the suppression of the revolt, 
 were killed. Twenty-nine of the most desperate 
 characters escaped, many of whom were hunted and 
 killed in various parts of the State and California, 
 and some returned to prison and were tried and 
 executed. Great consternation and excitement pre- 
 vailed in Carson. All able-bodied men rallied to the 
 assistance of the officers, and the militia were called 
 out as an addition guard. 
 
 By the election of 1872, P. C. Ilj-man became ea- 
 officio Warden, but did not easily obtain possession of 
 the prison. The Carson Apjiecd of March 13, 1873, 
 relates the following: — 
 
 THE STATE PRISON WAK. 
 
 Owing to a conflicting construction of a new law, 
 Frank Denver, Wai-den of the Penitentiary, refuses 
 to surrender the prison to his successor, P. C. Hj'- 
 man. He even refuses to admit (iovernor Bradley, 
 Attorney (ieneral liuckner and Secretar}- of State 
 Minor — who constitute the Board of Prison (Commis- 
 sioners — into the prison. Thereupon the Governor 
 orders Major General Van Bokkelcn to assemble an 
 armed force of sixtj- men. On the fourteenth the 
 sixty men, and a jjieceof artillery arrived at Carson, 
 they consisting of thirty men of the National (hiard. 
 Virginia Citj'; ten men and a corporal from the Em- 
 met Guard, Virginia City; ten men from the Sars- 
 field Guards and ten men from the Montgomerj- 
 Guards. (leneral Van Bokkelcn is then ordered to 
 ])lace Hyman in possession of the ])rison, even at 
 cost of life. After receiving a summons. Denver sur- 
 renders the "Bastile," saying: " Under military ne- 
 cessit}', and from the fact that you liave a su])erior 
 'orce in numbers, and that if I should stand by mj- 
 I iL^hts by meeting force with force, innocent blood 
 
 might be shed, and the convicts escape, I hereby 
 surrender to )-ou as commander of the military 
 force." The capitulation then took place. 
 
 The position of Warden, at no time a bod of roses, 
 was a particularly trying one during the incumbency 
 of Mr. Hj-man. To make the prison a source of rev- 
 enue a boot and shoe factory was added which, 
 though at first badly managed, aided largely in pay- 
 ing the expenses of the institution. For a short 
 period Hyman was suspended anil Milton R. Elstner 
 was made temporary Warden. At the close of the 
 term, ending December 31, 1876, there were 128 
 convicts. The earnings of the prison aggregated 
 874,417.71, and the actual cost of maintaining the 
 prisoners 844,887.11. 
 
 March 17, 1877, Gen. C. C. Batterman succeeded 
 to the Wardenship. In his report he relates the fol- 
 lowing: — 
 
 On the twenty-ninth of October, 1877, there was an 
 uprising among the ])risoner8 with a view to escape, 
 in the suppression of which prisoner Ole Johnson 
 was killed and prisoner Daniel Matheny wounded. 
 Xone succeeding in escaping. In suppressing the 
 outbreak Deputy Warden Mathewson and Captain 
 of Guard Gounond were wounded. To these officers, 
 and to allot the officers and guards on duty at the time, 
 great ])raise is due for tneir cool judgment and 
 prompt action. 
 
 Of this revolt the Carson Apjieal of October 29, 
 1877, says: — 
 
 At 3 o'clock p. .M., the convicts at the State Prison 
 made an outbreak. Captain Mathewson, Deputj' 
 Warden, on entering the shoe shoj) was siezed b}' 
 ilatheny and Kellj- (prisoners for life), Crawford 
 (seven years), Ole Johnson (twenty five years), 
 Estrada (twenty-five years) and Allen (six years). 
 (lOunond, Captain of the Guard, was seized bj- Bada- 
 racco (life). Belcher (twenty-one yeai-s) and Burton 
 (three years). All these convicts were armed with 
 knives. Gounond received a dangerous cut in the 
 groin. Mathewson. on being pushed outside, ordered 
 three times for the guards to fire. .Mathewson was 
 shot through the right arm. The convict Johnson 
 received twenty-seven slugs and shot through the 
 back and shoulders, and died at 5 p. m. These shots 
 quelled the revolt. 
 
 At the close of General Batterman's incumbency 
 there were 140 prij^oners, of which two had received 
 a university education, and llti are rejjorted as able 
 to I'ead and write, and the same number were un- 
 married; thirty five were temperate, and the re- 
 mainder addicted to the use of intoxicating drinks; 
 sixty seven were of foreign birth, and eighty-two 
 native born; throe were convicted of murder in the 
 first degree, twenty-seven in the second degree, and 
 eight for manslaughter. 
 
 The appropriation for the support of the prison 
 for the years 1877-78 was 8175,000. Receipts from 
 the sale of boots and shoes, 8(i!1,066.54; sale of stone 
 from the quarry, 83,8!)2.12, and for stone charged to 
 building account. 83.084. 
 
 General liatterman continued as Warden until 
 January 1, 1881, saying in his report of that date: — 
 
■•# 
 
 
 
 
 ^-> 
 
 
 J 
 
HISTORY OF ORMSBY COUNTY. 
 
 549 
 
 Good order and discipline among the prisoners 
 have generally prevailed. While those amonir them 
 disposed to infraction of the rules have been closely 
 watched and kept in check, the treatment of all has 
 been just and impartial. In August, 1879, an 
 attempt was made to fire the prison; no other 
 serious attempt at an outbreak has been made. 
 
 The number of prisoners was 151. The appro- 
 priation for the years 1879-80 was 8175,000, of 
 which §17,744.68 remained unexpended. The pro- 
 ceeds of the labor of the convicts amounted to 
 $56,756.48. The present Warden is William Garrard. 
 
 The Legislature, in March, 1873, passed an Act to 
 provide for the purchase of ground and construction 
 of a State Prison, sufficient to accommodate 300 
 prisoners, and appropriated 8100,000 for the same. 
 The site was selected at Ueno, and work begun, but 
 whether it will be finished as designed, is a question 
 of doubt. 
 
 Of this new State Prison we give the following 
 histoiy: — 
 
 The State Prison at Carson City being regarded as 
 unable to accommodate the number of prisonei's that 
 would, at the usual rate of increase, soon become 
 inmates of it, a bill passed the Legislature, and was 
 approved March 7, 1873, " to provide for the erection 
 of a Slate Prison." By this Act the Board of Slate 
 Prison Commissioners, consisting of the Governor, 
 Secretary of State and Attorney General, as provided 
 b}' the Constitution, were authorized to purchase 
 the necessary lands and erect thereon a Slate Prison 
 with a capacity to accommodate 300 prisoners, 
 enough of the building to be at once completed to 
 hold 125 prisoners. The Board were authorized to 
 use prison labor, and $100,000 were appropriated for 
 the purchase of lands and the erection of buildings. 
 
 Not until the summer of 1874 did the Commis- 
 sioners select the site and make active preparations 
 to carry out the will of the Legislature. At that lime 
 they purchased 206 acres of land on the bank of the 
 Truckee River, a little more than a mile east of 
 Reno, chosen on account of its healthful location, 
 splendid water-power and contiguity to the overland 
 railroad. Plans for a building 450x500 feet were 
 adopted, S. F. Iloole was placed in charge, and the 
 work was commenced August 29, 1874. At first but 
 few men were employed, then the number was 
 gradually increased _to 160, and about the last of 
 December work ceased entirely. 
 
 The Legislature of 1875 appointed a joint commit- 
 tee, consisting of C. S. Varian and W. L. Boss, of the 
 Senate, and J. P. Smith, A. Spencer and L. Morrill, 
 of the Assembly, to investigate the matter. The 
 committee reported in favor of the location ; that the 
 land had cost 83,318.35, that a foundation wall nini; 
 feet high, seven feet thick, and 1,904 feet long, inclos- 
 ing five and one-half acres of ground, had been con- 
 structed of granite, concrete and rubble stone, at a 
 cost of 829.520.35; that other work had been done, 
 and materials purchased to the amount of $50,711.87; 
 that 835,000 properly expended would have accom- 
 69 
 
 plished the same work; that 8100,000 more would bo 
 sufficient to complete the wall and enough of the 
 cells to enable the prisoners to move thither and 
 engage in the completion of the work; that estimates 
 by two architects of the cost of completing the works 
 were 8345,143.67 and 8304,352.95. A minority 
 report was presented by W. L. Ross, dissenting from 
 the report of the majority that the work could have 
 been done for 835,000, and accompanying it with an 
 estimate bj- G. Hai8t,one of the architects who made 
 the above estimates, showing that the value of the 
 work done was §50,771.10. 
 
 Final Report of S. F. Hoole, architect of the Reno 
 State Prison, July 17, 1876, sa}'s the contract is 
 completed, and the walls in following condition: — 
 
 "The walls are finished to their connection with 
 the southeast corner of the cell-house, and the west 
 wall of the Warden's house, leaving an open space 
 for the Warden's and cell-house of 377 feet. If this 
 wall was built twenty-four feet high to its connec- 
 tions at each end. in accordance with the plans, the 
 iron doors and gratings inserted in their proper places, 
 all the prisoners now in the Carson State Prison, 
 with the colls and other material, could he moved to 
 the Reno Prison, and the whole work could be com- 
 pleted by prison labor under the direction of the 
 Warden. The cost of placing the walls in perfect 
 security to receive the prisoners will not exceed 
 §15,000, including all the iron work required." 
 
 Wm. Thompson, contractor for State Prison walls 
 at Reno, sclllod with Board December 16, 1876, 
 having 82,328.04 due him, which he authorized the 
 Board to pay ;-»ro rata on certain debts contracted by 
 him in {irosecuting the work, amounting to $2,687.42. 
 
 GAME. 
 
 The word " game " does not, in Nevada, always 
 apply to the animals running wild in forest and field, 
 nor to the untamed birds ot the air, neither to the 
 fish of its lakes and streams, although " seeing the 
 elephant " is commonly mentioned, and "hunting the 
 tiger in his jungle " appears to be an every-daj", and 
 nightlj% sport. A writer of the region says "A man 
 can find there any game he wants, whether played 
 with a pack of cards or pistol; whether it comes in 
 the shape of a big knife, or a straight from the 
 shoulder, or in courtesj- and kindness, from the 
 heart." Hunting game, in this acceptation of the 
 term, has often brought "a man for breakfast." But 
 " game " in cities and mining hamlets, and " game " in 
 the open country, in the plains and hills of the broad 
 State, are widclj- dift'erent things. 
 
 The extended area of barren plains, sparsely cov- 
 ered by shrubbj", dull-colored sage-brush, often vast 
 expanses of salt and alkaline plains, and hills bearing 
 but few trees to conceal their baldness, or furnish a 
 refuge, seemed to forbid the idea of the presence of 
 wild animals. While large game was never abun- 
 dant, there were frequently found bands of antelope, 
 and deer, and occasionally a few mountain sheep. 
 Coyotes were quite numerous, and foxes, wolves. 
 
550 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 lynx, bear, and California lions, were sometimes 
 met. In some sections were badgers in great num- 
 bers. The trappers of the early period sought the 
 streams for beaver and muskrats, of which some are 
 still found in the wild regions of the 8tate. Rabbits, 
 hares and sage-hens were the most plentiful of all 
 game worthily so-called, but the degraded savages 
 of the Great Basin sought for mice, rats, ground 
 squirrels, snakes, lizards, horned frogs, and the like, 
 which were numerous and afforded him food. The 
 sage-brush and other shrubby bushes of similar char- 
 acter appeared to furnish the desired food for rabbits 
 and hares, for where they grow, and the coyote 
 driven off or exterminated, there these little jvnimals 
 increase exceedingly, so much so as to become a pest 
 to the fiirmers and ranchers. 
 
 Of Eagle Valley, Mr. Henry Fulstone writes in 
 his diarj', January 1, 1850: " We are much troubled 
 with rats. This place abounds with mice, rats, 
 ground squirrels, horned frogs, lizards of several 
 kinds, night owls and night hawks of several kinds, 
 coyotes, magpies, rabbits, hares, sage-hens, grouse 
 and ducks." 
 
 CARSON CITY. 
 
 Every city dates its rise from some obscure or 
 accidental beginning, but all must have a cause for 
 business, prosperilj-, and, consequently, existence. 
 Lines of travel, arable land, facilities for manufac- 
 ture, rich mines, resort for health, grand scenery, 
 one or more of which must exist to fix the site of 
 a town or city, which will grow in proportion as its 
 natural advantages are utilized and improved by the 
 necessities and enterprise of its inhabitants. 
 
 Nestling at the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada 
 is a little valley, nearly circular in form, of about 
 twenty-five square miles of area, separated from 
 the Carson Valley and River, on the south and east, 
 by a low, projecting spur of the Sierra, opening to 
 the river in the northeast, and fronting the hills of 
 the W'ashoe Mountains in the north. 
 
 This valley was crossed bj- one of the roads 
 traveled by the early emigrants to California, and 
 near its western border, about three miles from the 
 river, appeared an eligible site for a ranch and trad- 
 ing-post. The locality was" well watered, with a 
 fertile soil, having an elevation of 4,615 feet above 
 the sea, and with a saluiirious, healthy climate. The 
 great travel, many thousands of emigrants with 
 long trains of wagons and herds of cattle passing 
 continually, affording a most favorable opportunity 
 for trade, a fertile soil with natural grass, neighbor- 
 ing mountains clothed with luxuriant forest, and 
 springs and mountain streams supplying abundant 
 water of purest quality, were the attractions, cen- 
 tering to a point on the western side of the valley, 
 that directed the location of the settlement. 
 
 Here, in November, 1851, as told in the history of 
 Ormsbj' County, Frank and W. L. Hall, A. J. and 
 Frank Barnard, and George Follensbeo settled and 
 established a trading-post, using an eagle, killed 
 
 upon the spot, as a sign and trophy over their house. 
 From this circumstance the station became known 
 as Eagle Ranch, and the valley became Eagle Valley 
 unto this day — and this was the beginning of Car- 
 son City. We have traced the history of the settle- 
 ment until the purchase of the Eagle Ranch by 
 Curry, Proctor. Green and Musser, in July, 1858, 
 and the laying out of a town site in September of 
 that year. To that date the history is that of 
 Ormsbj' County. 
 
 The laying out of the plat of Carson City is told 
 in the Nevada Tribune of July 22, 1876, as follr-vg: — 
 
 In September, 1858, Mr. Curr3'- proposed to his 
 partners to survey a town site. After due reflection 
 they consented, and Mr. Green went to Chinatown 
 (now Dayton) to secure the services of Jerry Long 
 (J. F. Long, formerlj^ of Plaeerville, California,) to 
 survey and lay out the town. When the Surveyor 
 examined the premises he doubted very much the 
 propriety and feasibilitj^ of the enterprise, and 
 urged its abandonment. Currj^ had not forgotten 
 his pledge to the speculators of Mormontown, to 
 build a city of his own, and no argument could 
 deter him from his seeming rash enterprise, and 
 in the face of natural objection, and notwithstand- 
 ing all the reasonings urged bj- the less sanguine, 
 who looked upon the plan as a foolish one, the 
 survey of the site progressed to completion, 
 and for the first time Carson City, that being the 
 name given it, figured as a cil}- on paper onl3-. 
 The streets were made wide for the reason that 
 by pursuing that plan the plot would be larger, 
 which, of course, would give it raorc prominence. 
 
 The survey must be paid for, and Mr. Curry of- 
 fered to give the Surveyor that block of land east 
 of the plaza, on which is located ^Ir. E. B. Rail's 
 hardware establishment, J. M. Benton's liver}- stable 
 and a number of other business places. But .Ferry 
 Long could not see the point, refused to take it, and 
 said he would rather have him (Curry) owe him 
 than to take such stuff as compensation for his 
 skill and labor. On the other hand, so great was 
 the faith of .Mr. Currj- in the success of this new 
 enterprise that when surveying the plaza he repeat- 
 edly said that the (Japitol of the State would, ere 
 many j'oars, bo built on that square. 
 
 The reader will remember that the tcrritoiy now 
 comprising the State of Nevada was at that time a 
 part of Utah Territoiy, and known as Carson 
 1 Count}'. Mr. Curry at this verj- early daj- looked 
 I forward to some time in the near future when Utah 
 Territory would be divided, the western ])ortion be 
 given to a now Territory, which in a short time 
 would assume the proportions of a Slate of the 
 Union. The plaza, or (/apilol Square, was full}- de- 
 signed by Mr. Curry to be the site for the Capitol 
 building of the new State, the hope of which his 
 own mind alone seemed to grasp. Our readers can 
 now see the wisdom of his predictions and their 
 fulfillment. 
 
 The four men purchasing the ranch of its previ- 
 ous owner, Mr. John Mankin, were Abram Curr}-, 
 F. -M. Proctor, B. F. Green and J. J. Musser, and 
 were now the owners of a city — on paper. Their 
 names, and those of other residents of the vicinity 
 at the time of the survey, wore given to streets, 
 perpetuating their memory. Shortly after the sur- 
 
HISTORY OF ORMSBY COUNTY. 
 
 531 
 
 vey, in the same month, an equal division of the 
 town lots was made between the four proprietors. 
 These gentlemen were alive to their interests, were 
 energetic, able and enterprising, and each took an 
 active part in the future development and political 
 history of the Territory and State. 
 
 Says the historian of Eagle Valley, publi.'^Led in 
 the Nevada Tribune July 24, 1876:— 
 
 About the time the proprietors divided the town 
 lots between themselves, Curry was engaged in mak- 
 ing adobes in a yard situated near P. H. Clayton's 
 residence in the southwest part of town. The first 
 house was built by Mr. Green, and is a part of the 
 present residence of Mr. \V. D, Torreyson; the sec- 
 ond was built by Mr, Proctor, and is a part of the 
 present residence of Mr. A. Waitz; the third was built 
 bj' J. J. Musser, and is now the property of Mrs. 
 Sheyer, and the fourth was an adobe store on the 
 northeast corner of the county building block, into 
 which Miijor Orrasby moved in the latter part of the 
 year, and in which he did a general merchandising 
 and hotel business on a limited scale. He had pre- 
 viously engaged in business in Genoa, his first loca- 
 tion. 
 
 Lots were freely given away to parties who would 
 agree to build upon them, and some wore traded off 
 for almost anything that was necessary and obtain- 
 able. For instance, the Methodist Church block 
 and the next one south were sold for twenty-five 
 dollars and a pair of boots. The property convej-ed 
 in this transaction is now (1876) worth ai)out 87,000 
 or 88,000. A fourth interest in the Warm Springs 
 (unimproved) was sold to Mr. Curr}' for a pony, 
 which was afterwards traded bj' its new owner for 
 twenty-five pounds of butter, which goes to prove 
 that Mr. Green appreciated butter more than he did 
 hot water; whilst Messrs. Proctor and Musser made 
 a gift of their two-fourths interest in the springs, and 
 in this way Mr, Curry became sole owner of the 
 Warm Springs, 
 
 By this time quite a community had gathered in 
 the little valley and the new village, there being sev- 
 eral families, as has been previously related under 
 the heading of " Old Settlers." All the people of 
 those dates have left a record of respectabilitj' and 
 obedience to law, and among them are names, seem- 
 ingly the great majority, which are still held in 
 remembrance of the warmest regard and highest 
 respect. In such a community of pioneers is foujid 
 the pioneer preacher of the church of the pioneers, 
 the Methodist, always in the van of civilization. The 
 Rev, Mr, Bateman (or Jesse L, Bennett), of the 
 Methodist Church, represented that denomination in 
 the little hamlet of Carson City in the fall of 1858, 
 He was devoted to his work, and without doubt 
 exercised a restraining influence over the community 
 where he dwelt, as well as affording an unspeakable 
 comfort to those who wore religiously inclined. 
 This pioneer minister also solemnized the first Chris- 
 tian marriage in the valley, A marriage bj- civil 
 contract had taken place in the valley of the Carson 
 on the fourth of July, 1854, the history of which is 
 elsewhere given, the celebration of which with a 
 wedding festival party took place at the Eagle Ranch, 
 
 The winter of 1858-59, says the chronicler before 
 
 quoted, was very severe, which worked great hard- 
 ship on the people, uncomfortably housed as they 
 must have been and were. Stock died because of 
 scarcitj- of food and shelter, and, altogether, this 
 people had to endure privations that none of us can 
 now realize. These great mountains, covered in 
 winter by excessive snows, separating them from 
 communiciition with California, it could not be other 
 than uncomfortable; but the hope of something bet- 
 ter in the future — a hope to which we are all in- 
 debted — sustained them. The next place of business 
 erected was the Gem Saloon, and occupied by Mr, 
 F. Perkins for that purpose, and is the building now 
 occupied by Mr, O, P. Willis for his apothecary 
 business. 
 
 During this period Mr. Harry Fulstone one of the 
 pioneers of Carson City kept a private journal, from 
 which the following extracts are taken, distinctly 
 bringing to view the scenes and actors of those prim- 
 itive days. 
 
 November 7, 1858. Flour is now selling at twelve 
 dollars per hundred pounds; potatoes, five cents per 
 pound; beef and pork, twelve and one-half cents per 
 pound; milk, twelve and one-half cents per quart; 
 cow, if you want to sell her, forty dollars, if you 
 want to buy, seventy-five dollars. 
 
 November 15. You have a deal of trouble here 
 to get your pay after it has been due for months. 
 They are a pack of speculators, robbing one to jjay 
 the other. They pay what they please after making 
 agreements, and have it all their own way, and it is 
 of no use to remonstrate. 
 
 November 17. Stebbins wanted my team to-day 
 to fetch lumber. 
 
 November 19, Fall of rain and snow; water came 
 through the roof and wet the room. My son William 
 collected a debt to-daj- in potatoes and squashes, 
 
 November 28, Got some meat to-daj'. Quite a 
 treat. Meat is scarce. We are sick of rabbits. 
 
 November 20. Had a hare to-daj'. It was quite 
 fat. They are still (|nite fiit at this time of the year, 
 I would rather have an English tame rabbit than one 
 of these American dainties. 
 
 December 4. Wo have had a great deal of snow 
 latelj'. Money rather scarce. 
 
 December 23, The grass on the ground is dry 
 and buried in the snow. The cattle begin to want 
 feed. The winds are tremendous. 
 
 December 24. Abe ('urry gave me a bottle of 
 whisky to celebrate Christmas with. 
 
 January 1, 1859. A dance in Curr^-'s new build- 
 ing at night. We are very much troubled with 
 rats, etc. 
 
 Januarj- 11. Times very hard. Not much trad- 
 ing, and things very high. Poor men working 
 simply for their food. Flour fifteen dollars per 100 
 pounds; vegetables seven to eight dollars per 100 
 ])Ounds. 
 
 January 12. Turned tailor to-day, and cut out for 
 Joseph a pair of buckskin pants. The mines in 
 the cafions at Walker River cannot be worked by 
 reason of heavy frosts and want of water. Times 
 seem dull, but there are jjloiity of dances; the 
 charge per couple is five dollars. Feed for cattle 
 is getting plenty again, 
 
 January 30. Planted trees for Stebbins. [The 
 first planted in Carson City. t)ne is still standing 
 on Main Street.] 
 
 February 2. First horse race of Car-son. Fifty 
 persons present. Nearly every one drunk. 
 
552 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 February 15. Bad weather, wind and snow. 
 Cattle and horses suffering. 
 
 February 19. Finished Josepli's buckskin pants. 
 
 February 21. Twenty-eight feet of snow on the 
 summit of the mountains. Snowing almost daily. 
 
 Alarch 9. A boy at Genoa shot a man 3'esterday 
 about a bridle. [Killing of E. Knott by John 
 Herring, aged nineteen )-ear8.] 
 
 March IS. Went to another horse race. It was 
 about the same kind of an ailair as the other. 
 
 March 25. Another horse race. 
 
 March 27. Horse race. Thej' have found good 
 diggings at Gold Canon. Some men have made 
 from §175 to S300 in three days. [Gold Hill stands 
 at the head of Gold Canon.] 
 
 March 30. Went down to a dance at Jacob's, at 
 Johntown, in Gold Canon. Walked. Stage over- 
 took me. Saliie King urged me to get on the stage, 
 and I did so. We had a gay time. I came back in 
 Major Ormsby's wagon. It broke down three times, 
 and we had to tie it up with ropes. 
 
 April 1. Flour hard to get. Paid twenty-eight 
 dollars per 100 for it to-daj-. 
 
 April 22. We sow wheat. 
 
 April 29. Bill Sides murdered a man named 
 "Pike," (Jessup) at Gold Cafion. Stabbed him 
 twice. Row over cards. 
 
 April 30. Sides brought to Eagle Valley. 
 
 June 2. Sides liberated on bail after a week's 
 mock trial. He paid Musscr $700 to clear him. 
 Trial put oft' till fall. Got bondsmen in S2,500. 
 [Finally acquitted, as is told elsewhere.] 
 
 July 4. Celebration. Cannon burst near Green's 
 house. Man severely hurt. 
 
 July 17. Made Robert a pair of buckskin pants. 
 
 July 18. Great excitement at (ioid Canon. Only 
 seven dollars an ounce paid for gold-dust at Genoa, 
 [Genoa being the chief commercial ))oint] and twelve 
 dollars fifty cents allowed at Gold Cafion. 
 
 That society was progressing at this early period, 
 and that the dwellers of the neighboring vallej's 
 and hamlets enjoj'ed themselves, is shown from the 
 following from a communication to the Territorial 
 Enterjrrise of January 29, 1859, published at Genoa, 
 then the chief town of western Utah: — 
 
 Some of us sought these valleys when they be- 
 longed to nature's solitudes, assured that their nat- 
 ural advantages would soon gathor society about us. 
 In this we have not been disappointed. The influx 
 of actual settlers has of late been very considerable, 
 and our late holiday frolics should convince an an- 
 chorite that society in Carson Valley is a fixed fact. 
 Youth, oeauty, intelligence and grace arc all here in 
 their freshness and potency, and the spirit of concord 
 seems to preside over our pastimes. 
 
 Our New Year's ball at Eagle Valley was a perfect 
 jam. The house, though large, was quite too small. 
 Wo crowded ourselves out ! H" any cold-blooded 
 mysogamist doubted the fact that man is gregarious, 
 our New Year's ball would have cured him. All 
 seemed to saj' in the language of the poet: 
 
 "On with the dance, let joy be unconfined." 
 
 The people of Carson seemed determined to have 
 a hap])y time, notwithstanding their many discom- 
 forts arising from badly constructed dwellings, the 
 high price of comestibles and the severity of the 
 weather. 
 
 The rigors of winter abated about the first of Feb- 
 
 ruary, giving great relief to stock and their owners, 
 but the deep snow on the Sierra Nevada rendered 
 communication with California exceedinglj- difficult. 
 With the opening of spring additions were made to 
 the population which had been constantly increasing 
 since the exodus of the Mormons. There is now 
 here the nucleus of a city. The surrounding valley is 
 " claimed " in ranches and occupied by the claimants, 
 herdsmen and station keepers. South is the greater 
 valley of the Carson, with Genoa as its capital, and 
 northeast are Johntown, Gold Canon and the settle- 
 ments along the Carson River. A few white men 
 and Chinamen have been washing, or mining, for 
 gold at Johntown and in the canon at intervals for 
 several years, and now, in the spring of 1859, are 
 meeting with greater success than before. Astonish- 
 ing developments are made in the mines, and soon 
 their fame spreads abroad. Population flows in, and 
 Carson Ci'y has soon grown so large that it would 
 be difficult to keep the record of its individual citi- 
 zens, although at this date all are pioneers. As soon 
 as the mountains were passable in the spring, the 
 proprietors of the town site, Messrs. Curry, Proctor, 
 Green and Musser. brought their wives and children 
 to join them, and comfortable dwellings were erected. 
 City lots, before the rich mining devolopments were 
 made, were usually sold at fiftj" dollars each, and 
 many were given awaj' to those who would build 
 upon them. 
 
 A great excitement followed the discovery of the 
 rich gold deposits in the upper part of Gold Cafion, 
 changing entirely the condition of affairs and trans- 
 forming the inhabitants from a simple pastoral and 
 trading people to a busy mining, manufacturing and 
 speculating communitj*. With the quality, instinc- 
 tive to all Americans, of self-government, obedience 
 to law and the observance of legal forms, courts 
 were organized in the absence of anj- regularly con- 
 stituted authorities. This was soon found to be 
 necessary. 
 
 The organization of a Lynch Court, under the ex- 
 citement of some recent outrage when passion 
 sways justice, is verj' repugnant to all law-abiding 
 citizens, although in cases of necessity they are 
 compelled to take such a course. To avoid this 
 exigency a People's Court was organized, and J. 
 L. Cary was made Judge. In the diary of Mr. 
 Fulstone, from which extracts have been made, 
 the killing of Jessup by William Sides, is men- 
 tioned, and that the murderer was brought to 
 Carson City for examination. Sides and Jessup, 
 miners in Gold Canon, hud quarreled over a game 
 of cards, resulting in the death of the latter as is 
 elsewhere related. 
 
 The examination of Sides, which partook of the 
 form of a trial for the murder of Jessup, was 
 before the People's Court. Mark Slebbins and 
 Samuel Tj-ler managed the prosecution, and J. J. 
 Musser and F. M. Proctor were attorneys for the 
 defense. A.G. Hammack was appointed Judge in place 
 
HISTORY OF ORMSBY COUNTY. 
 
 553 
 
 of J. L. Gary, absent. These were the jurors selected: 
 J. Mott, Geo. Hill, Thomas Boyd, J. Adams, P. Brown, 
 Thomas Yancy, J. Gatewood, W. Sturdovant, W. 
 H. Boj-d, II. Mott, J. Rose, and Joiin Cesser. The 
 trial was reported by P. H. Lovell, then telegraph 
 operator at Genoa, to the Semi- Weekly Observer, at 
 Plaeervillo, and published in the issue of June 4, 
 1859. The above is the report of the first day, 
 concluding as follows: — 
 
 Several witnesses were examined yesterday, and 
 the case rested by both counsels. The evidence 
 goes to show conclusively that Jessup made the 
 first assault. 
 
 June 7th he telegraphs: — 
 
 The People's Court met pursuant to adjourn- 
 ment. W. il. Ormsby was chosen Chief Judge; H. 
 F. Pierce and G. "Whippcrly, Associates; and J. K. 
 Trumbo, Clerk. A resolution was passed that 
 Sides be held to bail in the sum of 82,500 till 
 Wednesday, the first of September next. A reso- 
 lution was also passed requesting the press not to 
 publish the evidence in the case. The case was 
 then withdrawn. 
 
 On the sixth of June an important meeting was ' 
 held in Carson City, for the purpose of taking 
 initiatory steps to organize a Territorial govern- 
 ment. At this meeting A. J. Haramack was ap- 
 pointed Chairman, and J. K. Trumbo, Clerk. The 
 following resolutions were adopted: — 
 
 Resoloed, That a convention of the people of the 
 Territory of Nevada be called to assemble in 
 Genoa on the eighteenth of July ensuing, to consider 
 the public safety. 
 
 Kesohed, That an election for delegates to said 
 convention be held throughout the Territory on the 
 second of July ensuing. 
 
 The convention was held as ordered, the proceed- 
 ings of which are published elsewhere in this History. 
 
 The thirteenth of June was celebrated in Carson 
 by a well-attended ball, as the birthday of Mr. 
 Charley Stebbins, one of the pioneer settlers of the 
 valley and a very popular member of socictj'. 
 
 Among the pioneers first to obey the impulse of 
 the mining excitement was Dr. O. H. Pierson, then 
 of Marj'sville, California, who, ten j'cars before, had 
 felt the same thrill of adventure while practicing 
 his profosMion in Peoria, Illinois, and joined the 
 throng that went seeking the golden placers of the 
 Pacific Coast. Ho writes, twenty-one years after: — 
 
 In June 1 came here; with pioneer wagon drove 
 through Washoe Valley seeking a new home, and 
 after visiting the then houseless and lonely rough 
 spot now known as Virginia City came to Kagle 
 Valley, alius Carson, and found a valley of beautiful 
 pasture, but only three buildings, one owned by the 
 well remembered Major Ormsby, one by the noble 
 Abram Carry, who assisted so much afterwards in 
 im])roving Carson, and one owned by Mr. Stebbins. 
 [Dr. Pierson's letter does not agree with older 
 records, which mention Green's, Proctor's, and .Mus- 
 ser's residences, Ormsby's, Stebbins' and Curry's 
 business houses and the Gem Saloon, besides sev- 
 eral cabins and dwellings either in the town limits 
 or in the immediate neighborhood.] I erected the 
 
 fourth building, the old St. Nicholas Hotel, on the 
 corner of Carson and First Streets, and after that 
 built twelve other houses of various sizes and differ- 
 ent forms of construction, in different i>art8 of the 
 city. As by magic buildings were erected all along 
 the main, or Carson Street, and on the cross^streets. 
 
 Less than a year has jtassed since the survey of 
 the town plot, and in the fortunes and prospectB 
 of the pioneers changes have been made as vividly 
 romantic and interesting as ever conceived in the 
 brain of the novelist. The discovery of mines has 
 been made whose wealth startled the world, and 
 brought to this quiet eastern slope a rushing, ex- 
 cited mass of humanity. Carson City becomes a 
 city in reality. Hotels, saloons, stores, a brewery 
 and other places of business are opened. The en- 
 terprising firm of Wells, Fargo & Co. establish an 
 express, and by this means letters are quickly and 
 regularly sent to California at twentj'-fivo cents 
 each. Stages were run tri-weekly between Genoa 
 and Gold Canon, via Carson, Messrs. Lewis & Wylie 
 being the proprietors. 
 
 So far had progress been made that on the fourth 
 of July, 1859, a grand celebration of the Nation's 
 birthday was held. An oration, prayers, and the 
 reading of the Declaration of Independence, with 
 procession, the firing of cannon, feasting, and dancing 
 in the evening were the features of the day. An 
 accident, resulting from the bursting of the cannon 
 used in firing the salute, severelj' injuring one of the 
 cannoneers, marred the happiness of the occasion. 
 
 Acts of violence were quite common in the town 
 and surrounding country, some quarrelsome people 
 disregarding settlements by arbitration, and defying 
 the People's Court in the absence of courts and oflS- 
 cers authorized by regularly constituted govern- 
 ments. A correspondent of the Plaeervillo Observer, 
 writing from Carson City under date of June 2G, 
 1859, says: — 
 
 Such things as cutting and shooting are of too 
 frequent occurrence here, and a stop should be ])Ut 
 to them. Offenders ought to be placed in confine- 
 ment until we shall have courts legally organized. 
 It is true some time may elapse before we are blessed 
 with such institutions, but criminals are the j)ersons 
 who should suffer for this delay. Thej- ought to be 
 kept even for forty years, and if they survive the 
 present generation of men and still no courts are 
 organizoil, wo should hand them down prisoners to 
 posterity. 
 
 August 13th, the telegraph wires were stretched to 
 Carson and an office opened. This was an institution 
 at that time (|uito uncommon on the Pacific Coast, and 
 the erection of a single line of wire to any town was 
 regarded as an important event. An extract from 
 the Terrilorial Enterprise of September 17, 1859, says 
 of Carson City: — 
 
 All is life, bustle and activity at this growing 
 place. Major Ormsby is building an ailobe house 
 45x50 feet, and two stories high. Ho intends it for 
 a residence and [)laco of business. There is a hotel 
 in progress of construction by Sears & Co., 100x50 
 feet. Rice & Co., have a large saloon adjoining their 
 
554 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 hotel nearly completed. Mr. f'nrry has commenced 
 a building also intended for a saloon. There are 
 also many other buildintrs in course of construction 
 intended tor stores and ])rivate dwellings. The scarc- 
 ity of lumber is a great drawback to our prosperity; 
 J. K. Trumbo disposes of his lumber weeks in ad- 
 vance. Thomas Knott is building a saw mill in 
 Jack's Valley. A company from Forest City, Cali- 
 fornia, is about building a mill in Eagle Valley and 
 ere long all demands for lumber will be supplied." 
 
 On the twenty-eighth of September, five teams 
 from the new mines of Virginia Citj' passed through 
 Carson en route to California, loaded with silver ore. 
 This was a palpable evidence of the wealth of the 
 mines; offering a future resource of business in trans- 
 portation, from which Carson City would greatly 
 profit. As a consequence, it created a sensation. 
 The rich and mysterious ore would all be sent to 
 San Francisco, and probably Europe, for reduction, 
 as it was not generally believed that skill and means 
 for beneficiating them could be had in that wild 
 region. Now it was first becoming known that the 
 mines were really valuable for silver ore, and this is 
 the first mention made of anj- quantity of that 
 metal being found. Now everybodj- began looking 
 for silver. 
 
 On the fifth of October, Messrs. E. Dearborne, II. 
 E. Bond and John A. Talbott arrived at Carson from 
 the mines in the vicinity of Mono Lake, and re- 
 ported finding rich silver veins on the east side of 
 the Carson River, and man}- went out to locate 
 claims, thus originating Sullivan's District. From 
 this date silver predominates in the reports. 
 
 November 5th, is an important day in the history of 
 Carson City, as on that day the Territorial Enierprise 
 was transferred there from Genoa, indicating the 
 growth of the new town, and giving it precedence 
 as the place of first importance in the Territory. 
 
 Numerous stage and express lines are now appear- 
 ing. George McCarter established a transmountain 
 express September Ist. John A. Thomjison ct Co. es- 
 tablished a tri-weekly stage and express from Car- 
 son City to Placerville, commencing Novetnber 2, 
 having purchased the line of Brady & Sunderland, 
 who had failed in their contract of carrying the 
 overland mail. Saunders k Co. established an ex- 
 press, commencing on the ninth of the same month. 
 
 The nineteenth of November is darkened b}' the 
 tradegy of John L. Blackburn, Deputy Marshal of 
 western Utah, and engaged b}' the citizens of Car- 
 son as watchman, killing James N. Stevenson. For 
 this Blackburn was arrested and tried for murder. 
 The Territorial En'er/rrine of December 3d, reported 
 bis acquittal, it having been proven that he acted in 
 self-defense, and that Stevenson was a malicious and 
 desperate man. Tragical events of this character 
 resulted greatly to the prejudice of the young com- 
 munity on the eastern 8lo])e, and have been much 
 commented on and exaggerated, but order was gen- 
 erally bettor maintained than is usual in ui organ- 
 ized society on the frontiers. Blackburn h; c| pre- 
 
 viously been a resident of Dutch Fiat, in (California, 
 where he held the reputation of a quiet and peace- 
 able citizen, and in his new home was honored with 
 high otfice; but he was subsequently regarded as a 
 desperate and fighting man. and at last fell by the 
 hand of an assassin, being murdered by Wm. .May- 
 field, in November. ISCl. for whose arrest a reward 
 of 81,000 was offered by the State. 
 
 A second winter was then approaching, finding the 
 people poorly prepared to meet it. There had been 
 a great increase of population, many arriving late 
 in the season, both from the east and the west, and 
 many thousand head of stock were scattered in the 
 valleys. Eoads had been constructed over the Sierra 
 with the expectation that they would be traversable 
 continuously, and no apprehensions of want were 
 entertained. Quoting further from Dr. Pierson's 
 reminiscences; he says: — 
 
 Who does not remember the winter of 1859, when 
 the snow fell on the night of the seventh of Novem- 
 ber two feet on a level, and remained until the ensu- 
 ing March, and the inhabitants living on the scanty 
 supplies that were then in the vallej', for it was 
 impossible to get provisions from over the mountains. 
 I paid twenty-five dollars to a man to go with three 
 j^oke of oxen up to the first mountain to bring in 
 half a cord of wood, and on one occasion went on 
 horseback to Jack's Vallej', cleared oft' the snow and 
 dug up two sacks of onions and three sacks of cab- 
 bages, paid an enormous price, had them hauled up 
 and used them for the guests of the St. Nicholas, 
 showing how scarce vegetables were. Barley was 
 one dollar a pound, hay two hundred dollars a ton, 
 charges for keeping a horse,'to stabling, haj- and grain 
 seven dollars a night, day board, two meals a day, 
 eighteen dollars a week. And now, 1880, how 
 changed. On nearlj- every street through which I 
 pass I find new buildings, I see trees in everj- j-ard, 
 the first ones of the kind I having set out in that 
 same summer of '59. 
 
 At intervals during the winter, the roads crossing 
 the mountains were opened, and trains of pack- 
 mules carried over 8U])plies, but it was late in the 
 spring before business was fully resumed. 
 
 During this winter, Mr. John A. Thompson, who 
 had previously established a stage line, rendered 
 great service by carrying the mail across the 
 mountains, going over the deep enow on snow-shoes, 
 by which act he gained much credit and notoriety, 
 earning the sobriquet of " Snow-shoe Thompson." 
 A sketch of him. and of his perilous feats are given 
 elsewhere. 
 
 The Enterprise had repeatedly called upon scien- 
 tists of metallurgical experience, to establish an 
 assay office in Carson, pointing out its opportunity 
 for business and the necessity to minors. Early in 
 the spring of 1860 this requirement was filled by 
 Prof Louis Lanszwcert, which gave an impetus to 
 prospecting, and many of the since celebrated mines 
 first had their value told at this office. 
 
 Among other enterprises called for was that of an 
 accurately surveyed race-course near town, and this 
 was accomplished in April, 1860, over which many 
 
HISTORY OF ORMSBY COUNTY. 
 
 555 
 
 trials of speed have been made, and over which some 
 prominent politicians have presided. 
 
 The Cai-pon City Water Company, for the purpose 
 of supplying the citizens with water for domestic 
 and other purposes, was organized on the twenty- 
 ninth of February. ISfiO, and the following officers 
 were elected: Wellington Stewart, President; Thos. 
 J. Moore, Superintendent; John Leach, Secretary; 
 and Wm. DeKa^-, Treasurer. 
 
 The past year had been one of continued prosper- 
 ity, notwithstanding the severity of the winter. 
 Carson City was now the acknowledged center of 
 business, and most important town in western Utah. 
 Here people gathered, and built, and speculated in 
 city lots, thinking its eligible site, its abundance of 
 pure water, its fertile soil, so favorable for gardens 
 and comfortable homes, and its many other advan- 
 tages so perceptible to the eye, would secure to it a 
 permanent precedence. The barren and wind-driven 
 mountain-slope, where the silver mines were found, 
 was regarded as so inhospitable as to forbid its selec- 
 tion for homes or places of business to any great 
 extent, and it was at tliis time neglected for the 
 pleasanter valley. But it was soon found that busi- 
 ness centered close to where the miners delved, 
 whether in deep canon or on a rocky peak, and the 
 fair Carson was surpassed in the race. 
 
 In May a temporary pause was given to progress, 
 a most disastrous Indian war occurring, in which 
 several of the most prominent and enterprising citi- 
 zens of Carson lost their lives, and causing a panic 
 that sent many families to safer quarter,^ in Califor- 
 nia. This was the war with the Pah-Utcs, resulting in 
 the battles near Pyramid Lake, to which a chapter 
 is devoted in this history. 
 
 At this date the following were among the princi- 
 pal business men and professionals of Carson City 
 as shown by their advertisements in the Terriforiaf 
 .^jt^er/jrtse, published bj- Col. Jonathan Williams and 
 Wm. L. Jornegan, Attorneys-at-law, J. J. Musser, 
 Frank M. Proctor, William S. Spear, 1{. M.Anderson, 
 W. F. Anderson, John C. James, Charles H. Bryan, 
 W. Stewart. D B. Milne, Gavin 1) Hall and Kirkpat- 
 rick & Baldwin. Dr. Anton W. Tjader, and Dr. 
 Moore were resident physicians and Dr. S. F. Child 
 practiced dentistry. P. C. Rector, John Day and 
 S. H. Marlette were surveyors and engineers. Thomas 
 Knott was Justice of the Peace by commission of 
 Governor Cummings, of Utah. Parker II. Pierce 
 sold shingles and shakes. Mrs. C. C. Williamson 
 advertised machine sewing. P. II. Lovoll was tele- 
 graph operator and agent for the Pony Express 
 which advertised to take letters t'rom San Francisco 
 to New York in twelve da5-s. and to transmit tele- 
 graphic dispatehesin eight (lays. Loiters wore carried 
 through for five dollars every half ounce, and tele- 
 gra])hic matters from Carson (Jity to St. Joseph, Mis- 
 souri, at two dollars an<i forty-five cents for each ilis- 
 patcb, adding the telegraphic charges. Lewis & Rico 
 cried" Ho! For the Diggings," as thoy sent oft' their 
 
 •'Pioneer " stages with six horses each twice a day to 
 Virginia City. Wells. Fargo & Co., and S. W. Lang- 
 ton, advertised their express business. AdolphuB 
 Waitz kept the Carson City Hotel. Siege's Hotel and 
 Restaurant was under the proprietorship of Richard 
 Siege. L. Arpin, V. Bick & Co., conducted the St. 
 Charles Hotel, (leorge Lewis was proprietor of the 
 Magnolia Saloon. J. & W. Pearson made beer, ginger 
 wine, bitters, syrups, etc., at the Pioneer Brewery, on 
 Carson Street, and J. Barenkamp & Co., on King 
 Street sold all kinds of liquors, wines, etc. A Lin- 
 dauer& Co., advertised new store and new goods. 0_ 
 II. P. White & Co., in connection with Landeckor, 
 were merchants and forwarders. John C. Falli 
 William P. Harrington, Jr., and S Buckingham had a 
 general merchandise store and also a banking busi- 
 ness. Col. J. B. Starr, late of Sacramento, and Van 
 Winkle & Co., were auctioneers, and Louis Lans- 
 zweert was assayer. Gen. Thomas H. Williams 
 and W. II. Clow, advertised that they owned a one- 
 half section of land north of Nicholas Ambrosia's 
 ranch, known as " Dutch Nick's," and warned people 
 off from it. Much of the advertising in the papers 
 of that period are from Placerville and other points. 
 Some of these advertisers are still residents of Car- 
 son, some living in various parts of the world, and 
 others have closed their life's history. The list does 
 not comprise all who were engaged in business at 
 that time, only those who handed their names down 
 in the pioneer newspaper of the city and Territory. 
 Major W. M. Ormsby, up to the time of his death at 
 Pyramid Lake, was engaged largely in business; 
 Henry Meredith, a young lawyer recently from Cal- 
 ifornia, the same; Kugene Angel, a lawyer bj' pro- 
 fession, but then surveying and dealing in real 
 estate at Carson, also a victim of the war; Dr. Munck- 
 ton, druggist; H. S. Phillips, groceries and real es- 
 tate; O. H. Pierson, hotel, succeeded by Scott & 
 Vantine; II. Remington, carpenter; H. Muller kept 
 a restaurant ami .1. Muller was barber. .Fohn Wag- 
 nerstarlcd the first brewery. Others of the pioneers 
 have been mentioned in different parts of this 
 history. Among those who claim pioneership not 
 prcviouslj- mentioned are J. (,|. Moore, who built the 
 first theater in 1861; George and Daniel Kitsmeyer, 
 saddler and harness makers and furniture dealers; 
 .1. II. Kinkead, merchant, now Governor of the. Stale; 
 A. B. Driosbach, merchant; Jacob Klein, merchant; 
 John Kosser, butcher, now ]iroprielor of the Ormsby 
 House; .lames Dufl'^-, acid works; Thomas Millard, 
 tailor; J. M. Benton, livery stable; Wm. Littlefield, 
 merchant; Geo. T. Davis, groceries; Chas. Mann and 
 Jos. Plat, clothing; George Tuffl}-, hotel, now banker; 
 ,1. (i. Torrej'son, carriage maker; Joseph and George 
 Cowan, painting; Augustus Lewis, carpenter; Ed. 
 Sweeney, water-works; Alfred Helm. Parker & 
 Moore, saloon and theater; Ilenr^- Martin, teaming; 
 U. S. Mason, grocer; Kaiser A KIrod, hay yard; 
 Samuel Wright, undertaker; A. D. Troadway, M. 
 W. Little, .Mr. Phillips, .Mr. Woods and Mr. Winny 
 
556 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 farmers; Col. A. C. Ellis, lawyer; Win. Pierson, mer- 
 chant; 0. P. Willis, druggist; Matt. Riiikel, butcher, 
 H. F. Rice, Wells, Fargo & Co"8. agent. 
 
 For several month.s following the massacre of Pyr- 
 amid Lake the fright continued, and little advance 
 was made, but thelndians having been subdued, and 
 the people becoming convinced of the fact, resumed 
 their business and general prosperity ensued. Dur- 
 ing this period looal politics considerably agitated the 
 people of Carson, who were restive under the rule of 
 Mormon laws, and were desirous of self-government. 
 They had previously sent on one of their promi- 
 nent citizens. Hon. John J. Musser, as Delegate to 
 Congress, asking the creation of a Territor}'. but 
 he had been unable to accomplish the object. 
 
 In the spring of 1800, Judge Cradlcbaugh. one of 
 the United States District Judges for the Territory 
 of Utah, arrived and organized a court. This im- 
 proved matters slightly, but as all civil cases required 
 to be adjudicated according to the statutes of Utah, 
 little business was done. In August an election for 
 town officers was held, but the laws being Mormon, 
 great dissatisfaction continued. The formation of a 
 new Territory was constantly urged, some advocat 
 ing the name of Washoe, and others the name of 
 Nevada. (ircat was the rejoicing when it was 
 learned that on the twentieth of March, 1861, Presi- 
 dent Buchanan had approved the bill organizing 
 the Territory of Nevada. Shoi-tly afterwards James 
 VV. Nye was appointed Governor by President Lin- 
 coln, and in July, in company with most of the Fed 
 eral appointees, arrived in the Territory, and on the 
 eleventh issued his proclamation of the organization of 
 the government, selecting Carson City as the capital. 
 A census of the people having been made as required 
 in the Organic Act, an election ibr choosing a Dele- 
 gate to Congress and members of tlie Legislature 
 was ordered to be held on August 31st. The mem- 
 bers of the Legislature chosen at this election, met at 
 Carson City October 1, 1861. Wm. M. Stewart 
 represented Carson City in the Senate, and John p. 
 Winters in the Assembly. This event was celebrated 
 by a ball given at the house of John D. Winters, 
 which was one of the most notable affairs of the 
 kind occurring in the young city. Governors Nye, 
 Roop, and numerous other distinguished gentlemen 
 were among the guests. 
 
 Carson City has now become the cajMlal of the 
 Territory, an honor to which she had aspired, and to 
 which her founders had looked forward when survey- 
 ing Eagle Ranch into town lots and squares. The first 
 Legislature met at the Warm S|)rings Hotel, a large 
 building recently erected and belonging lo Abram 
 Curry. 
 
 Among the firststatutcs was one apjiroved Novem- 
 ber 28, ISdl. giving to John J. Musser. Jonathan 
 Wild, Sarah A. Blackburn, and John G. Kelly, and 
 their associates the right to lay water pi))es to sup- 
 • ply the town of Carson City. 
 
 November 29th an Act was approved creating the 
 
 Carson City Gas Company, granting the franchise to 
 John J. Musser. George Lewis and associates. 
 
 The Act creating the County of Ormsby had been 
 approved on the twenty-fifth, and on the twenty- 
 ninth, Carson City was made the county seat. This 
 is another step of importance in the historj' of the 
 town, it now being countj' seat and capital, and on 
 the high road to prosperity. 
 
 The principal events in the history of Carson are 
 epitomized in the following: — 
 
 February 12, 1865. The Nevada Historical and 
 Scientific Society incorporated. President, A. F. 
 White; Vice President, W. F. B. Lynch; Recording 
 Si'cretiuy, C. L. Anderson; Corresponding Secretary, 
 Thomas Wells; Treasurer, W. B. Lawlor. 
 
 August 2, 1865. At 3 a. .m. a fire broke out at the 
 rear of " Squire's Bowling Allej''," corner Fourth 
 and Carson Streets, spread to adjoining buildings and 
 destroyed, including merchandise, about §60,000 
 worth of property. James Sanderson, Samuel Cohn, 
 and S. Foulk were the heaviest losers. 
 
 August IB, 1865. At 3:30 a. m. a fire broke out in 
 an unoccupied building known as the People's Mar- 
 ket, on Cai'son Street, between Fourth and Fifth, 
 directly opposite the scene of the conflagration of 
 the second instant. The surrounding buildings were 
 light frames, and the whole block was swept awaj-. 
 Ijoss, 825,000, which was well divided up among 
 man}' citizens. This fire was the work of an 
 incendiarj'. 
 
 December 26, 1865. Five prisoners escaped from 
 the penitentiary just before the breakfast hour. 
 They had dug a hole through the wall of the dining 
 room. Careless guarding was the cause. Their 
 names were Dade, Sharner, Donnelly, Coolej^ and 
 George. The latter was recaptured in the afternoon. 
 
 December 27, 1865. The Secretary of the Treas- 
 ury at Washington a]ipointed Abram (^urry, Ilenrj' 
 F. Rico and .lohn H. Mills, as Commissioners to es- 
 tablish a Mint at Carson. 
 
 February it, 1866. B. F. Small, Postmaster at Car- 
 son, received notice from the Postmaster General 
 that Carson had been designated as a mone3--or(ler 
 office. 
 
 April 18, 1866. The Warren Hose Company of 
 Car.son receive a S500 hose carriage purchased from 
 the Libertj' Hose Company of San Francisco. 
 
 July 17, 1866. From (^arson Appeal : " A glorious 
 day for ("arson! The arrival of the Mint papers! 
 Joj' and gunpowder ! At an earl}^ hwur yesterday 
 morning our citizens were startled from their beds 
 by the booming of cannon and the riTigiiig of bells, 
 which demonstrations were m;ulc in honor of the 
 arrival of a bigjiackage ofpa])crs by express marked 
 'A. Curry. Sn|)crintendeni of ( 'onstruclion, Carson 
 Mint." And. glorious to contemplate, that package 
 contained the long-looked-lbr plans and specifications 
 tor the Branch Mint at Carson." A handsome in- 
 stallment of the appropriation for the ilint was at 
 that date in San Francisco, subject to the check of 
 the Disbursing Agent. 
 
 July IS, 1866. On this date at 8 A. m., ground was 
 broken for the mint. ,Iohn H. Mills threw the first 
 shovelful; II. V. Rice the next; Col. Abe Currj- the 
 third, and 11. H. Mighels of the Ap/>ea/ the fourth. 
 The lino of the front porch was selected for the cere- 
 mony. An ani|)le force of laborers then went to 
 work. 
 
 August 11, 1866. At 12:30 a. m., a lire broke out 
 at the rear of the premises of Jacob Beam, on Carson 
 
 I 
 
fl/-^- Lira's 
 
 RESIDENCES »' Miiii^ Cha'S F. B I CK N E LL >"• GeO C.ThAXTER, 
 
 CARSON, NEV. 
 
HISTORY OF ORMSBY COUNTY. 
 
 557 
 
 Street. Less, buildings, tools, etc., 84,630. An in- 
 cendiary' fire. 
 
 September 24, 1866. To-daj' the Masons laid tbe 
 corner-stone of the mint. Fine day, brass band, 
 sinfiing, a big crowd. Senators Nye and Stewart, 
 and the Judges of the Supreme Court present. J. 
 C. Carrie, G. M. of the Grand Lodge of I^evada, laid 
 the stone. Col. Robert Taj'lor, and Nj'e and Stewart 
 spoke. Ceremonies closed by the singing of " Old 
 Hundred." 
 
 The following is a brief description of the 
 
 CARSON .MINT. 
 
 Granite from the prison stone quarry. Pict style 
 of architecture. Portico, Ionic. Hall, twelve feel in 
 width; main hall 12x40; on the right of the entrance. 
 Paying Teller's office, 13x16 feet. Coining room, 
 19x19. Spiral staircase conducts above. Whitening 
 room. 10xl4J, with a vault in solid masonry 5x6. 
 Annealing furnace and rolling room, 17x24. Gold 
 and silver melting room, 10x24. Melters and re- 
 finers' office, 12.k19 feet. Deposit molting room, 
 14ixl9. Deposit weighing room, 10x10, with a 
 strong vault 6JxlOJ feet. Treasurer's office, 13x16, 
 with a vault five feet square. Engine room, 16Jx53 
 feet. Beside which there is a cabinet, adjusting 
 room, ladies' dressing room, humid assay room, 
 assayer's office, assaycr's room, watchman's room, 
 two store-rooms, attic, basement. As a preventive 
 against fire the floors are double, with an inch of 
 mortar between. The foundations are seven feet 
 below the basement floor and laid in concrete. 
 Building two and a half stories high. 
 
 The machinery for the mint arrived November 22, 
 1868. The mint has a front of ninety feet on t'arson 
 Street. 
 
 January 23, 1869. A bill was introduced in the 
 Ijegisiature appropriating 8100,00(1 for a Capitol 
 buiiiiing. The local press agitates in its favor. 
 
 November 1, 1869. The machinery of the mint 
 was put in motion in the afternoon. 
 
 January 26, 1870. The Board of Directors of the 
 Nevada Orphan's Home hold a meeting and accept 
 the tract of land known as the Perley and Lander 
 lot, on which to build the Home. It has a frontage 
 of 940 feet on Fifth Street and 750 feet on Stewart 
 Street, and contains seventeen acres. The purchase 
 money was donated bj' the citizens of Carson, the 
 chief movers being (ieo. L. Gibson, A. L. Treadwaj', 
 A. Curry, Geo. Tufly and A. B. Driesbach. The 
 law requires that the building shall be constructed 
 and be ready for occupancy by October 18, 1870. 
 
 April 14, 1870. The State Capitol Commissioners 
 received proposals for the erection of the Capitol 
 building. They were as follows: (ieo. H. Hancock, 
 Virginia City, 896,700; John C. Metson, Gold Hill, 
 $89,000; Charles Hanberger and John Hughes, San 
 Francisco, 896,t)00; S. F. Hoole, Reno, 892,400; John 
 A, Fiske, Carson, 8160,000; Peter Cavanagh, Carson, 
 884,000. Contract awarded to Cavanagh on con- 
 dition that he file a bond to tb" amount of fifty per 
 cent, of the bid. The bond was filed on the fol- 
 lowing da}-; Cavanagh to be paid monthly as 
 the work ])rogre.ises, seventy-five per cent, of the 
 amount due. He agrees to have the building read}' 
 for occupancy by December, 1870, and finished by 
 January 1, 1871. Mr. Gosling is appointed architect. 
 
 April 18, 1870. Water pipes were laid across Car- 
 son Street to tbe Capitol grounds, aTid a load of 
 rock was hauled to the same place. 
 
 April 21, 1870. (Jround was broken for the Capitol 
 building. Firm ground was found at three and one- 
 70 
 
 half feet. Tbe foundations of the exterior walls are 
 to be seven feet thick. 
 
 April 23, 1870. The Board of Orphan's Home 
 Directors receive bids for the Orphan's Home Build- 
 ing as follows: B. H. Meder, Carson, 88,500; S. F. 
 Hoole, Virginia City, 89.500; E. B. Hancock, Gold 
 Hill, 87,800; C. H. and J. P. Jones, Carson, 89.995; 
 J. E. Metson, Gold Hill, 88,350; E. Demuelle, Vir- 
 ginia City, 88,500. Hancock was awarded the 
 contract. 
 
 LAYING THE CORNER-STONE OF THE CAPITOL, JUNE 
 9, 1870. 
 
 The procession consisted as follows: — 
 
 Marshal Triile and Aids, mounted. 
 
 BAND. 
 
 Emmet Guard, of Virginia Citj', fift)' members. 
 
 National Guard, of Virginia City, forty members. 
 
 Eagle Engine Company, of Virginia City, 
 
 and machine. 
 
 Curry Engine Company, of Carson City, and machine. 
 
 Federal officers in carriages. 
 
 Officers and attaches of Mint, in carriages. 
 
 Liberty Engine Companj-, of Gold Hill, and machine. 
 
 BAND. 
 
 Warren Engine Compaii}', of Carson, and machine. 
 
 The contractor and builder of the Ca|)itol. 
 
 Capitol workmen, fifty-six men. 
 
 Carriages with citizens. 
 
 Seventy-six members of Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows. 
 
 Thirty-three Knight Templars mounted on 
 
 black horses. 
 
 Two hundred Masons of the Grand and Blue Lodges. 
 
 After a march through town the Choral Society 
 opened ceremonies. 
 
 While the procession was moving, Stanton Post, 
 of Grand Army of the Republic, fired salutes with a 
 howitzer. 
 
 Grand Master George Hopkins laid the corner- 
 stone, and Robert M. Taylor delivered the address. 
 
 A brass box, deposited in the corner-stone, con- 
 tained a copy of the Declaration of Independence, 
 Constitution of the United States, Organic Act of 
 Nevada Territory, etc., etc. 
 
 September 10, 1872. A 84 500 fire occurred. 
 
 September 19, 1872. Supt. H. F. Rice puts down 
 before the Mint building a granite sidewalk, twelve 
 feet wide and 180 feet long. Gas is introduced into 
 the Ca]iitol building. 
 
 September 20, 1872. Peter's new flouring and 
 barley mill starts up. 
 
 " Carson is noted all over the State as the Forest 
 City of Nevada; cotton wood, being the native to 
 the manor born, does the best, but trees of all kinds 
 do well." — Ajrjieol. 
 
 November 30, 1872. F"'irst anniversary dinner of 
 the St. Andrews Society of Carson. 
 
 January 7, 1873. The (.irand Council of the Inde- 
 l)ondent Order of Rod Men of Nevada was instituted 
 this evening by A. Curry, V. G. I. The following 
 officer.s were elected: Jonas Seolj-, G. S. ; H. J. 
 Peters, S. S; C. N. Harris, J. S.; A. Waitz C. of R.; 
 J. B. Fitch, K. of W.; A. Curry and E. Strother, G. 
 R. Representatives from all the tribes in the State 
 were present. 
 
 March 1,1873. An unusual Washoe zephj-r. The 
 highest wind ever known here. Several largo barns 
 blown over and miles of fencing. 
 
 July 1, 1873. F. D. Hotrich became Superintend- 
 ent of the Mint vice H. F. Rice. 
 
 July 31, 1873. A big fire occurred at Camp 18. 
 A 825,000 mill, belonging to Bragg, Folsom & Co., 
 was burned, and 830,000 worth of lumber. 
 
558 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 August 2, 1873. A big fire occurred at the lumber 
 yard of Sharon & Yerington's flume, one and one-half 
 miles west of town. About 8,000 cords of wood 
 were burned, worth seven dollars per cord. Origin 
 of fire not stated. Insurance, seventy per cent. 
 
 August 17, 1873. The Aijjieal says: " The finances 
 of Ormsby County are in fine condition. The 
 county pays cash for everything, and has been doing 
 so since the last income of taxes. 
 
 August 2. 1874. The Glenbrook planing mill, 
 owned by Davis & Tha.xter was burned at 2 a. M.this 
 morning. Loss S15,000. Origin a mystery. 
 
 August 12, 1874. At G p. m. sixteen men working on 
 the new ditch at the end of the flume about two and 
 a half miles west of town, uncoupled a car standing 
 on a side track, and started for town. The brake 
 would not work and the car came down at terrific 
 speed, and finally collided with some freight cars. 
 Peter McMahon was mortally injured, and died in 
 one hour and a half E. L. Anderson was seriously 
 injured, and all the others more or less hurt. 
 
 "November 10, 1874. Rice & Holmes water-works 
 completed, west of town. The reservoir is on Porter 
 Warren's place— old Camp Nye— is capable of hold- 
 ing 200,000 gallons, to be drawn from Taylor's 
 springs, and other springs in the vicinity. The main 
 pipe enters the city on Robinson Street. 
 
 December 29, 1874. John Murphy hanged at Carson 
 for murdering John McCuUom. 
 
 January 20, 1875. Great snow storm at Carson. 
 Two feet of snow on a level falls in thirty-six hours. 
 Greatest storm since 1861-62. 
 
 February 27, 1875. Carson Incorporation Act 
 signed by the Governor. Also, bill to appropriate 
 S25.000 for the improvement of Capitol Square. 
 
 October 7, 1875. Ordinance passed creating Car- 
 son fire department. 
 
 October 30. 1875. At 5 a. m. Carbon Acid Works 
 burned; incendiary fire; loss 853,000; insured for 825,- 
 000. Completest establishment ofthe kind on the coast. 
 Produced sulphuric acid and blue stone. Belonged 
 to a stock company of which the principal men were 
 Adolphus Waitz, George Gillson, and Felix Marzbach. 
 These are the second acid works burned on that spot. 
 December 17, 1875. At an early hour this morning 
 the body of Tom Burt was found hanging to the cross 
 beam of the gate of the graveyard. Pinned to his 
 breast was a sheet of note paper, on which was in- 
 scribed with a pencil ''601." Uo had been taken 
 from the Curry Engine House during the night by a 
 party of disguised men and hanged. It was well 
 enough known that he had been connected with re- 
 cent acts of incendiarism. Uo was a rough and va- 
 grant, and had been in the habit of sleeping in the 
 engine house. Had a very bad record. 
 
 June 6. 1876. When a construction train of the 
 Virginia & Truckee Road was nearing the tunnel on 
 the divide between Ormsby and Storey Counties, 
 loaded with Chinese laborers, it was stopped by 
 thirty or forty armed white men, and compelled to 
 turn back to town. The white men declared that 
 they needed work for the support of their families, 
 and that the Chinese should not work. 
 
 The next day a crowd of 150 white men drove 80 
 Chinamen from the wood camj) of Yerington k Co., 
 and notified other employers not to keep Chinamen 
 more than forty -eight hours. That evening three of 
 the rioters were lodged in jail, and threats were made 
 that the jail would be mobbed. Chinatown quaked 
 to its foundations, and the war ended. 
 
 August !t, 1876. Mountain fires in the Clear Creek 
 gulches and cafions, at Ash Cafion, etc. No great 
 damage done. Fine scene at night. 
 
 August 19. 1876. Cobetot House burned. Loss, 
 825.000. 
 
 November2, 1877. At 7p. m., an immense wood-pile 
 at the flume south of town, was discovered to be on 
 fire; 9,500 cords of wood burned. Loss, 847,000. 
 Origin unknown. Owned by the Flume Companj^. 
 
 Januarj' 10. 1878. At 1 a. m., the old Frisbie Cor- 
 ner (restaurant and saloon) was burned. It was the 
 first frame building in Carson, although much en- 
 larged and added to. Built by Ben. Green in early 
 times. I>. P. Frisbie bought it in 1860. Was a bar- 
 room, lodging-house and eating-house for eighteen 
 years. Origin of fire unknown. 
 
 January 19, 1878. At 1 a. m. an incendiary fire 
 broke out in Chinatown, and twenty-two houses 
 were burned. 
 
 August 6, 1879. James McCarthy was tied to a 
 post in the Capitol grounds, with a placard of " Wife 
 Beater," adorning his person. 
 
 November 25, 1879. In the District Court, M. C. 
 Gardner vs. Yerington & Bliss. Plaintiff entered 
 into a contract in the spring of 1875, to furnish logs 
 to defendants, the latter to provide a man to measure 
 the logs. Plaintiff claims that by false measurement 
 he was cheated out of 8.000,000 cubic feet of lumber, 
 worth 830,000. (Colonel Ellis and Judge Harris for 
 plaintiff. Judge Whitman, of Virginia City, for de- 
 fendants.) Yerington k Bliss had previously loaned 
 Gardner 814.700 with which to build the railroad 
 near Yanks, Lake Tahoe, and sought to cripple him 
 and get the road. A hard, legal fight ensued. After 
 a second trial the jury gave a verdict of 84,400 for 
 Yerington k Bliss.'and an offset of 810,(100 for (Gard- 
 ner for underscaling. Gardner had hard work to 
 raise the 84.400 nceessarj- to save his road, but by 
 great efforts succeeded, and then sold the road to a 
 rival lumber company for 817,000. In various ways 
 the damage in cash and business to Yerington & 
 Bliss amounted to $100,000. 
 
 In the bad days of 1861-62, there was a high- 
 toned mulatto barber at Carson named Underwood. 
 He was partially educated, and affected to regard 
 full-blooded negroes with unbounded contempt, and 
 seldom lost an opportunity to express himself on the 
 subject. " Doc," a black man, entered his shop one 
 evening, and a conversation between them soon 
 drifted into a row. 
 
 " You niggers ain't got the sand! " Underwood ex- 
 claimed. "Doc "drew an immense knife; Under- 
 wood fled out of the shop and across the street, but 
 " Doc" overtook him on the plaza. 
 
 "Aint'gotthe sand, eh? " exclaimed " Doc " re- 
 peatedly, each time plunging the long blade into the 
 shrieking mulatto, who soon fell dead. The murderer 
 served a term in the penitentiarj' for this offense. 
 
 HON. CHAS. F. BICKNELI., 
 
 Was born May 22, 1840, in Bath, Sagadahoc County, 
 Maine. After receiving a high school education in 
 his native State, he learned the trade of carriage 
 making. Not contented with the quiet life ho was 
 there leading, he sought new fields for his labors, 
 and came to California, by way of the Isthmus of 
 Panama, in I860. Reaching San Francisco in due 
 time, he remained there until May. 1863, at which 
 time he came to Nevada, and worked in the mines 
 fifteen months. When the excitement at White 
 
 \ 
 
HISTORY OF ORMSBY COITNTY. 
 
 559 
 
 Pine broke out, he went with the throng to that 
 locality, and waB the first Deputy County Recorder 
 of that county. In 1871 he came to Ormsby 
 County. He was appointed Assistant Secretary of 
 the Nevada Senate in 1869, and elected Secretary 
 during the sessions of 1871 and 1873. In 1874 he 
 was elected Clerk of the Supreme Court; and was 
 reelected to the same office in 1878. In the fall of 
 1874 5Ir. Bicknell built his handsome residence on 
 Elizabeth Street, Carson (^ity, a view of which will 
 be found in this history. Mr. Bicknell is well known 
 throughout the county in which he resides, as well 
 as the eastern portion of the State. He is a court- 
 eous gentleman, and universally respected by all. 
 He was married to Mrs. A. G. Roberts, daughter of 
 A. H. Davis, of Carson City, on the tenth of April, 
 1872. 
 
 GEORGE C. THAXTER, 
 
 Is a native of the State of Maine, and was born in the 
 city of Bangor, October 14, 1842. Ho lived in his 
 native city until 1862, when, fired with patriotism for 
 his threatened country, he enlisted in the Eleventh 
 Regiment, Maine Yolunteor Infantry, receiving the 
 appointment of hospital steward. After seeing serv- 
 ice in the field as well as the hospital, ho was dis- 
 charged on account of disability caused by exposure. 
 On coming out of the army he returned to his native 
 State and entered the drug business at Newport, 
 Penobscot County, where ho remained during the 
 succeeding five years. In 18<)8 he went to Moingona, 
 Iowa, and for eighteen months was engaged in the 
 same business and then came to the State of Nevada, 
 and located at Carson City, Ormsby County, where 
 for nine years ho was engaged in the lumber busi- 
 
 ness, being a partner in the Glenbrook Mill Company. 
 In 1878 he left the last-named business and returned 
 to his first love, the drug business, buying the estab- 
 lishment of O. P. Willis, at the northwest corner of 
 Carson and King Streets, Carson City, where he 
 continues to hold forth as one of the leading drug- 
 gists in the State, a man thoroiighlj- conversant with 
 the profession. He was married to Miss M. Davis, 
 of Newport, Maine, December 11, 1864. 
 
 HON. WM. M. GARY 
 
 Was born at Smitbfield, Jefferson County, Ohio, Jan- 
 uary :5, 1814. In 1818 the familj- moved to Stillwa- 
 ter, Guernsey County, Ohio, to re-commence life on 
 the frontier, their respectable fortune having been 
 swept awaj- amid the general depression that resulted 
 from the war of 1812. After one year at that place 
 the family moved to the banks of the Sandusky 
 River, where the town of Bucyrus now stands. In 
 1822 the subject of this sketch was sent to his grand- 
 father, in Middletown, Washington County, Pennsyl- 
 vania, where ho attended a school kept by the father 
 and sister of the celebrated Alexander Campbell, the 
 founder of the Campbellite Church. In 1823 his 
 mother died, and ho lived with his relations until 
 1827, when ho was a))prenticed to a hatter, in his 
 native village. In 1831 ho removed to Lima, Indi- 
 ana, where he coramencod life for himself In 1834 
 he left the latter ])laoe and located in Peoria, Illinois, 
 whore ho lived until the spring of 1836. In Decem- 
 ber, 1836, ho was married to Miss Sarah A. Kirk, at 
 Bucj'rus. Ohio, and soon after moved to Angola, 
 Indiana, where a commission awaited him as the first 
 Sherift' of the now countj' of Steuben. lie remained 
 in Angola until the fifteenth of March, 1850, when he 
 started for California, and arrived at what is now 
 Placon'ille on the fourth day of August the same 
 
560 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 year. He acquired some wealth and returned in Jan- 
 nary, 1851, to Indiana for his family. Three months 
 and seventeen days were occupied in his trip home, 
 he taking the Nicaragua route. In March, 1852, he 
 left Angola with his family for a second trip across 
 the plains to California, and arrived at Placervillc. 
 by a singular coincidence, on the fourth of August, 
 1852, just two years from the date of his first ar- 
 rival. Soon after he commenced the hotel business, 
 and in the fall of the same year built the Placer 
 Hotel, which was burned in April, 1856. One year 
 later he built the Gary House, and remained the 
 
 /ff^ 
 
 /h-Jt^^, 
 
 owner and usually the proprietor of this well-known 
 bouse until 1865, when he sold the place and came 
 to Carson Valley, Nevada, and built a flouring mill. 
 In 1866 he was elected to the Assembly of the Ne- 
 vada Legislature from Douglas Count}'. In May, 
 1867, his wife died, and he removed to Virginia City 
 and was Superintendent of several quartz mills. In 
 1869 he removed to Washoe City and was married 
 to Mrs. Eslflle M. Clark. Ho remained in this place 
 until 1874, when he returned to his farm in Douglas 
 County. In 1877 he moved to Carson Citj', where 
 he now resides. He has been twice elected Justice 
 of the Peace and City Magistrate, and at present 
 holds the office. Mr. Gary has two sons, Edwin R, 
 and \Vm. H. H. Cary, the result of his first marriage, 
 and one son, a lad of nine years, Eugene D., by his 
 second marriage. Mr. Cary has seen much of active 
 
 life, and is a man of unusual vitality. He is of 
 Quaker origin, and his family is noted for longevity, 
 and he bids fair to live for many years. 
 
 J. H. MARSHALL 
 
 Was born July 26, a. d. 1850, in Bucyrus, Crawford 
 County, Ohio. His father was born in the same 
 town, while his mother was a native of Xenia, Ohio. 
 During the first nine years of his life he lived in his 
 native town, and then removed to St. Louis. Missouri, 
 where he attended the Webster School for seven 
 months. He then moved with his parents to Mat- 
 toon, Illinois, where he had the benefit of one year's 
 
 ^ 
 
 r^ 
 
 schooling, and at the early age of eleven years, 
 entered the mercantile business, as clerk, in the estab- 
 lishment of Mclntyro & Ogden, afterwards that of 
 J. M. Douglas, where he continued until the spring 
 of 1864. The father of Mr. Marshall was Assistant 
 Quartermaster of the United States Army stationed 
 at Cincinnati, Ohio, whither young Marshall went. 
 After a short stay at that place he went to Bucyrus, 
 his native town, and six months later went to Xenia 
 and commenced a five-years' course of study with 
 the intention of qualitiyiiig himself for a lawyer. A 
 few weeks later his father was killed, and the sub- 
 ject of this sketch was compelled to relinquish his 
 pet object and go to work, which he did in a mas- 
 terly manner. His first move after quitting his stud- 
 ies, was in obtaining a position as clerk and book- 
 keeper in a store at Sulphur Springs, Ohio, where he 
 remained until November, 1867; thence to Junction 
 City, Kansas, where he hold the position of Assistant 
 Postmaster one year, and changed to his old pro- 
 fession as book-keeper in a general merchandise store 
 
HISTORY OF ORMSBY COUNTY, 
 
 561 
 
 for ono year; thence to Lawrence, Kansas, and 
 entered the cmplo}' of the Kansas Pacific Railroad 
 Company as Chief Clerk, Cashier and Ticket Aj^ent. 
 After this he held positions on several railroads, 
 until 1873. March, 1874, he accepted a position as 
 book-keeper with J. G. Fox, of Carson Citj', Nevada, 
 and came to the latter place. He occupied that 
 position until he was elected County Clerk of Ormsby 
 County, in 1876, on the Dolly Vardon ticket. Mr. 
 Marshall has never married. 
 
 J. M. BENTON, 
 
 The subject of this sketch, is a native of the State of 
 New York, being born in Tompkins County, July 
 19, 1837. His parents were driven from New York 
 City b}- the Tories, during the Revolutionary War, 
 and settled in Yates County. Benton Center, of 
 this last-named county, derived its name from this 
 family. They, however, afterwards removed to 
 Tompkins County. In 1856 .Mr. lienton started out 
 to seek his fortune, and for about six years traveled 
 through the Western States. In 1862 he entered the 
 United States Army, as a surgeon, a position he 
 creditably filled for nineteen months. In the spring 
 of 1864 he came across the plains to Nevada, and was 
 engaged in mining and milling until 1867 when he 
 entered his present line of business, that of livery and 
 sale stable. A view of his stable buildings accom- 
 panies this sketch. They are situated on the north- 
 east corner of Carson and Third Streets, the site of 
 one of the first buildings in Carson City. He bought 
 this property in 1867 and has built additions from 
 time to time as his increasing business demanded, 
 and has at present one of the finest and best arranged 
 establishments in the State. For the past ten years 
 he has been the proprietor of the stage line running 
 between Carson City and Lake Tahoe, of which the 
 celebrated " Hank Monk " has been the " whip." 
 Mr. Benton was manned August 28, 1868, to Miss 
 Mattie E. Meder, daughter of Senator B. H. Meder, 
 of Carson City. 
 
 M. D. HATCH, 
 
 The subject of the following sketch, is a native of the 
 Green Mountain State, being born in Williamstown, 
 Orange County, Vermont, on the nineteenth of 
 August, 1841. Though a native of that State, his 
 recollections do not date back to the time he lived 
 there, for at the early age of two years he went with 
 his parents to Lake Count}', Illinois, where he 
 obtained a common-school education, and passed the 
 days of his youth in the garden State of the West. 
 When he was a mere boy his parents moved to Cali- 
 fornia, and he accompanied them on the long and 
 tedious journey. This was in the year 1852. Arriv- 
 ing in the land of gold they settled in Nevada County, 
 where they remained until 1867. During the last- 
 named year, Mr. Hatch crossed the mountains and 
 located at Carson City, Ormsby County, Nevada, 
 and engaged in the mercantile and lumber business, 
 hwere, by strict application to his business, he 
 
 acquired a competence, and retired from active busi- 
 ness life. A man of sound judgment and sterling 
 integrity, the partiality of his fellow-townsmen did 
 not allow him to remain a private citizen among 
 them, and he was induced to accept the nomination 
 as County Clerk, to which office he was elected by a 
 handsome majority in 1880, and without doubt will 
 bo able to exhibit as clean a record at the expiration 
 of his term of office, as his predecessors have done. 
 He was married October 20, 1869, to Miss Bertie A. 
 Davis, of Glenbrook, Nevada, 
 
 MATHIAS BINCKEL (DECEASED) 
 
 Was a native of the old world and was born in the 
 year 1833. Coming when a mere babe to America, 
 with his parents, his early recollections did not date 
 back to his native land. His people settled in the 
 city of St. Louis, Missouri, where our subject passed 
 the days of childhood and early youth until ho was 
 about nineteen years of age; being a man every way, 
 except in years, he started out at this age to seek his 
 fortune. 
 
 In 1852 he went to California and after eight years' 
 stay in there he came over the mountains to Virginia 
 City, During the next three years he made the trip 
 between California and Nevada several times, and 
 located permanently in Carson City, Ormsby County, 
 in 1863, where he carried on the meat business for 
 many years, and by strict application to business 
 accumulated a comfortable fortune. In 1876 he 
 erected the palatial residence, corner of King and 
 Curry Streets, one of the finest in the city, where his 
 family now reside, Mr. Rinckol, departed this life 
 October 6, 1879. Ho was well and favorably known 
 throughout the State, and his death was a calamity to 
 
562 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 the town in which he lived. Miiny m<>nuinenU< of hi^ 
 untiring energy are still visible in Carson, in the shape 
 of fine buildings. He was married to Miss M. E. 
 Coftej-, at Carson City, on the sixteenth of Sep- 
 tember. 1865, and their union was blessed with six 
 children, four girls and two boj-s, all of whom are 
 living. A view of their home and one of the many 
 business properties owned by them may be seen else- 
 where in this work. 
 
 DUNCAN .m'rae. 
 The subject referred to in this sketch, is a native of 
 Canada, and first beheld Ihe light of day in the 
 Province of Ontario, on the seventeenth day oi' 
 March, 1840. His education was obtained on Cana- 
 dian soil, and for some years after arriving at man- 
 hood's estate, was employed as foreman of a large 
 lumber 3'ard in his native town. In 1870 he emi- 
 grated to Nevada, and located at ('arson Cit^-. 
 Ormsby County. His old business still clung to 
 him. and soon after his arrival ir\ the land of silver, 
 we find him an extensive contractor for the cutting 
 of large amounts of wood for different companies. 
 His early training combined with a clear well-bal- 
 anced head, soon placed him in advance of his com- 
 petitors, and he has, beyond a doubt, handled more 
 wood during the past few years than any man in the 
 State of Nevada. Mr. .McKao now ompioj-s a large 
 force of men, numbering about 125, and over 100 
 horses and mules, in the delivery of 400 cords of wood 
 daily at Lakeview. The wood is cut in the Sierra 
 Nevada Mountains and placed in a V flume and thus 
 transported bj' water to a point nine miles below. 
 The wood is owned by the Sierra Nevada Wood 
 and Lumber Company, and is used principally by 
 the Bonanza Firm in working their mines on the 
 Comstock. A view of McRae's wood-camp and por- 
 trait of himself may be seen amongst the illustra- 
 tions of this work. 
 
 HARRISON SHRIEVES 
 
 Was born in Lancaster, Ohio, November 16, 184G, 
 where he spent his boyhood, i-oceiving such advan- 
 tages in education as wore afforded by the schools of 
 his native town. Fired bj^ the prevailing patriotic 
 feeling he left school when ho was sixteen and 
 enlisted in the three-months service under Captain 
 Henley, and went to Camp Chaso, Columbus, Ohio, 
 in the latter part of 1862. At the expiration of his 
 three-months' term ho re-cnlistod in the Tenth Ohio 
 Cavalry. On the reorganization of his company he 
 was made Sergeant, and was afterward promoted to 
 First or Orderly Sergeant. 
 
 Ho partici])atod in all the active service of that 
 Regiment, down to the time of the famous march 
 through Georgia, whore in a charge on the enem}- 
 at a place called Bear Creek ho received a wound 
 which necessitated his being carried in an ambulance 
 the rest of the way to thc.'<ea. Tho charge was con- 
 sidered a brilliant affair, and ho received the approba- 
 tion of his officers for the daring displayed in le iding 
 tho way and enthusing his company with his own 
 
 spirit. VVp can hardly conceive a more disagreeable 
 position than to hear the thunder of the guns and 
 see the triumphs of the Union cause in that 
 famous '• march to the sea," without being able to 
 participate in the brilliant achievements. On his 
 arrival at Savannah he received a furlough, and 
 visited his home in Ohio, where he remained until 
 able to report for dut}', when he rejoined his regiment 
 in 1865, which was, however, soon disbanded. His 
 career, short as it was, was long enough to stamp his 
 character with the soldierly qualities of bravery and 
 endurance. 
 
 In 1866 he went to St. Joseph, Missouri, where he 
 engaged in merchandising. While there he was ap- 
 pointed Cashier for the Union Pacific Railroad, which 
 position he was obliged to resign on account of his 
 failing health, which had been much impaired In- the 
 necessarj' hardships to be endured, as well as the se- 
 vere wounds ho received. He turned his steps towards 
 California, the land supposed, above all others, to be 
 best fitted to restore impaired health. Soon after 
 reaching California he was appointed conductor on 
 one of the trains of the Central Pacific Railroad. 
 He was married to Miss Lou C. Tufly, February 21, 
 1871. Their dreams of domestic happiness were, 
 however, rudely broken by his untimely death, which 
 occured March 11, 1874. The hardships of camp 
 life on his boyish frame, together with the severe 
 wound, cut short a promising career and swelled by 
 a unit the number of victims of the great Rebellion 
 and the price of establishing a free government. 
 
 The widow of the subject of this sketch resides in 
 what is called the Governor's house, or the Nye Man- 
 sion, which was occupied bj- that famous man during 
 the Territorial existence of Nevada. It ])assed into 
 her possession June 15, 1880. A sketch of it will be 
 found on another page. 
 
 EMPIRE CITY. 
 
 Throe and a half miles north of Eagle Ranch, 
 now Carson City, tho overland emigrant and stage 
 road struck the bank of the Carson River, and there 
 Nicholas Ambrosia located a ranch and kept a 
 station, his claim being recorded March 24, 1855. 
 This station became known as " Dutch Nick's," 
 which name it bore long after the locality had been 
 8urvej-ed into lots and streets, and was officially 
 known as Empire City. Tho town site was laid out 
 in March, 1860, by Eugene Angel and other survey- 
 ors, and tho name it now boars given it. 
 
 Tho fine water-power hero afforded by tho river, 
 and its convenient access to the mines of the Com- 
 stock Lodge, were tho inducements for making a 
 town. Several largo quartz mills were built, as has 
 been mentioned in the historj- of Ormsby County, 
 and tho town has always been busy and prosperous. 
 Within tho town aro the Mexican and Morgan Mills, 
 and others in the vicinity. Two miles below is tho 
 Brunswick Mill which, when in operation, employs 
 200 mon. 
 
 At Empire is tho depot of the wood business of 
 
HISTORY OF ROOP COUNTY. 
 
 .563 
 
 the Carson River; the many thousand cords of fire- 
 wood, mining timber and other classes of lumber 
 floated down that stream are here caiicht in booms, 
 landed and transferred to the oars of the Virginia 
 and Truckee Railroad which passes through the 
 place, and borne to their destination. Fifty thou- 
 sand cords of wood were thus brought to market in 
 1880. 
 
 Among the places of business are four saloons and 
 one large store. The present population is 150. 
 
 CHAPTER LII. 
 HISTORY OF ROOP COUNTY. 
 
 Creation aud Boundaries — Appointmen's and Hections^ At- 
 tempted Organization — Topographical Features — The Prin- 
 cipal Valleys. 
 
 One of the errors fallen into when the Territory- 
 of Xevada was organized, in consequence of the un- 
 certainty of the eastern boundary line of the State 
 of California, was the assumption that the fertile and 
 well populated region of Honey Lake Valley lay- 
 within the limits of the Territory. It had always 
 taken a jirominent part in the affairs of western 
 Utah, was the home of Hon. Isaac Roop, Governor 
 under the preliminary Territorial organization of 1859 
 and 18(50, and when Governor Nye called an election 
 for members of the first Legislature it was made the 
 Ninth Council District, and apportioned one Council- 
 man and one Representative. The election was held 
 August 31, 1801, and resulted in the choice of Isaac 
 Roop for the Council and John C. Wright for the 
 House of Representatives. 
 
 The Legislature divided the Territorj- into nine 
 counties, November 25. 18G1, among which was the 
 county of Lake, embracing this region, with bounda- 
 ries as follows: — 
 
 Beginnning at the northwest corner of Washoe 
 Count}-, and running easterl}- along the northern 
 boundarj- of said county to the mouth of Truckee 
 River; thence due east to the summit of the first 
 range of mountains east of said river; thence in a 
 northerly direction along said range, and the main 
 granite range of mountains, to the Oregon line; 
 thence west along said line to the summit of the 
 Sierra: thence south along said summit to the place 
 of beginning. 
 
 Bj- the Act of November 29,1861, the county seat 
 was declared to be at such a point as should be de- 
 cided by the vote of a majority of the voters of said 
 county, at the first election to be held therein. By 
 the same Act Storey, Washoe and Fjake Counties 
 were erected into the First Judicial District, to which 
 Hon. Gordon N. Mott, of the Supreme Court, was 
 assigned as Judge. 
 
 APPOINTJIENTS AND ELECTIONS. 
 
 At a Joint session of the Legislature, hold Novem- 
 ber 27, 1801, for the purpose of selecting Commis- 
 sioners to organize the various counties, and super- 
 
 vise the election to be held January 14, 1862, 
 William Wetherlow, William H, Naileigh and Daniel 
 Murraj- were chosen for Lake Count}-. These gen- 
 tlemen did not provide for the election as intended, 
 and the county was not organized until a year later. 
 A county election was held September 8, 1862, at 
 which the following county officers were chosen: — 
 
 Re])resentative, C.Adams; Sheriff. W. H. Naileigh; 
 Clerk, H. J. Borette; Recorder, Z. N. Spaulding; 
 Treasurer, Frank Drake; Assessor, E. A.Townsend; 
 Collector, Henry E. Arnold; Surveyor, E. R. Nichols; 
 School Superintendent, A. A. Holmes; Commission- 
 ers, Franklin Strong, S. J. Hill, J. C. Wimple. 
 
 Adams did not take his seat. Hon. Isaac Roop 
 sat in the Council in the session of 1862, holding over 
 from the Ninth District. He was the last member 
 from this region to sit in the Legislature. 
 
 Bc}ond tlie election of officers the county still 
 remamed unorganized until after the Legislature 
 assembled. Honey Lake Valley, in which the wealth 
 and population of the county existed, was claimed 
 by Plumas County, California, as being within its 
 limits, and this had retarded the organization of 
 Lake County. When the Legislature met it was 
 determined to fully organize the county, and main- 
 tain the jurisdiction of Nevada over the disputed 
 section. Accordingly, the Legislature changed the 
 name from Lake to Roop, by Act of December 2, 
 1862. The Governor, on the fourteenth and fifteenth 
 of the same month, appointed and issued commis- 
 sions to all the county officers that had been elected 
 in September, also a commission to John S. Ward to 
 act as Probate Judge. By Act of December 19, 
 1862, the Legislature ordered a special term of the 
 First District Court to be held in Roop County the 
 third Monday in January, 1863. 
 
 ATTEMPTED OROANIZATION. 
 
 The county was promptly organized by the newly- 
 appointed officers, and trouble at once commenced 
 with the authorities of Plumas County. This diffi- 
 culty, and the manner of its settlement, are fully 
 related in another portion of this volume, and it is 
 only necessary to say that the disputed territory was 
 decided to be in California, thus leaving Roop County 
 shorn of all that contributed to make it a county, the 
 portion remaining being a vast tract of barren and 
 uninhabited land. 
 
 At the election held September 2, 1863, the follow- 
 ing gentlemen were chosen to represent Roop 
 County: William V. Kingsbury, in the Council; 
 John C. Partridge, in the House of Re])resentative8; 
 II. L. Partridge, in the Constitutional Convention. 
 
 When the Legislature met on the twelfth of Janu- 
 ary, 1864, the boundary ruiestion had been settled, 
 and as Honey Lake Valley, the residence of these 
 gentlemen and the section they represented, had 
 ceased to be considered a portion of the Territory of 
 Nevada, they were not jjermitted to take scats in that 
 body. 
 
 February 18, 18(i4, the Legislature passed an Act 
 
564 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 attaching Roop County to Washoe, for judicial and 
 revenue purposes, and in the State Constitution, 
 framed the following summer, and adopted in Sep- 
 tember, the same provision was inserted, thus ending 
 the separate existence of Roop County, and making 
 it, what it has since continued to be, simply a portion 
 of Washoe County. 
 
 TOPOGRAPHICAL FEATDKES. 
 
 Roop County, as it exists to-day, is but a long strip 
 of barren and unoccupied land, there being not over 
 100 white people within its limits. Its topographical 
 features consist of low ranges of hills, between 
 which, running north and south, lie two chains of 
 valleys. The western boundarj' line runs along the 
 summit of a range that shuts out from this county 
 the fertile and well-populated regions of Honey 
 Lake and Surprise Valleys, the most prosperous and 
 only well-settled districts in this portion of the 
 Nevada basin. 
 
 Of the valleys in the county there are about a 
 dozen of considerable size, and with soil capable of 
 producing a rich growth of vegetation if supplied 
 with water, the scarcity of which is the great obsta- 
 cle in the way of their advancement. Mineral and 
 hot springs abound, and extensive salt marshes are 
 found, some of which are being rendered produc- 
 tive. Placer mines have been worked to some 
 extent, and quartz ledges have been found, the 
 mineral deposits, however, being greater in that por- 
 tion now belonging to California. One large and arid 
 desert and several mud lakes, once large bodies of 
 water, but now simply sheets of mud in the wet 
 season, and drj' ground at other times, are also to be 
 found. 
 
 The celebrated Pyramid Lake, discovered by Lieut. 
 John C. Fremont on the tenth of Januarj-, 1844, lies 
 in the southern extremitj^ of the county. His ac- 
 count of the discovery is interesting: — 
 
 Beyond, a defile between the mountains descended 
 rapidlj' about 2,000 feet, and tilling tii) all 'the lower 
 space was a sheet of green water some twenty miles 
 broad. It broke ui)Oii our eyes like the ocean. The 
 neighboring peaks rose high above us, and we 
 ascended one of them to obtain a better view. The 
 waves were curling in the breeze, and their dark 
 green color showed it to bo a body of deep water. 
 For a long time we sat enjoying the view, for we 
 had become fatigued with mountains, and the free 
 ex])anse of moving waves was verj* grateful. It was 
 set like a gem in the mountains, which, from our 
 position, seemed to inclose it almost entirely. Its 
 position at first inclined us to believe it Mary's Lake, 
 f Humboldt), but the rugged mountains were so 
 entirely discordant with descriptions of its low rush}- 
 shores and o|)cn countrj-, that we concluded it 
 some unknown body of water, which it afterwards 
 proved to be, 
 
 Fremont's party camped on the lake shore the 
 next day and passed down its western shore to the 
 mouth of the Truckee J{iver, which point they 
 reached on the fifteenth, and found a large Indian 
 village. In regard to the name he says: — 
 
 We encamped on the shore opposite a very remark- 
 able rock in the lake, which had attracted our atten- 
 tion for many miles. It rose, according to our 
 estimate, (500 feet above the water, and, from the 
 point we viewed it, presented a pretty exact outline 
 of the great p3-ramid of Cheops. This striking 
 feature suggested a name for the lake, and I called it 
 Pj'ramid Lake; and though it may be deemed by 
 some a fanciful resemblance, I can undertake to say 
 that the future travelers will find much more striking 
 resemblance between this rock and the pyramids of 
 Egypt, than there is between them and the object 
 from which they take their name. 
 
 THE PU1NCII'.\L VALLEYS. 
 
 The most considerable vallej^ in the county is the 
 one commencing some distance above the southern 
 line and extending north forty miles, with an average 
 width of five miles. It is known as Long Valley, 
 and lies near the California line. A number of 
 springs, little streams and small, shallow lakes are 
 found here, and maintain the vegetation of sage- 
 brush and bunch-grass. The vallej- is simply a cattle 
 range, and is by far the largest in the count}'. One 
 band of 11,000 is owned by W. B. Todhunter, and 
 several others have smaller bands. With irrigation 
 this large valley could be made extremelj- productive, 
 as no doubt it some day will be. 
 
 Birectlj' north of Long Vallcj', and over a low 
 range of hills, lies Coleman's Valley. One family 
 lives here and there have been three or four claims 
 taken up. A little gardening is done where water is 
 readily obtained, but the valley is chiefly used for a 
 range for the 2,000 cattle kept there. The soil here 
 is also fertile and with irrigation would soon produce 
 grain and hay in abundance. 
 
 West of these two valleys and over the California 
 line lies Surprise Vallej', and below this the well 
 settled and fertile Hone}- Ijake Valley. 
 
 Twelve miles east of Coleman's Valley is Antelope 
 Valley. This is small and contains large numbers of 
 the animals from which its name is derived. There 
 are no claims taken up hero, and it is used as a 
 stock range in winter. 
 
 Guana Valley Irtes six miles further east, and is a 
 largo and fertile valley. It is about thirty miles 
 long, only five of which lie in this State, the balance 
 being in Oregon. It is used simply for a stock range 
 and is the best one in the county. 
 
 South of this is a small tract called Badger's Flat. 
 It is well watered by springs, and is used tor a range 
 for the 1,<I00 head of cattle kept there. 
 
 Still farther south is Massacre Vallo}', a fine tract 
 of land six by twelve miles in extent. Two thousand 
 head of cattle are kept here, and there is a small 
 tract of meadow land. 
 
 South of Massacre Valley is High Hock Canon, 
 running diagonally across three townships. Some 
 land has been taken up, and a creek runs through it. 
 Along the creek the land has been surveyed. 
 
 Lying to the oast of the above, and on the edge of 
 the desert is Deep Hole. Here about eight hundred 
 head of cattle and horses are kept. 
 
HISTORY OF ROOP COUNTY. 
 
 66S 
 
 Going back to Long Valley and then continuing 
 south, a fertile spot known as Duck Flat is found. 
 It is on the stage road to Surprise Vallej-, and there 
 are throe claims taken up, on which from two to 
 three hundred tons of hay are annually cut. Some 
 gai'dening is also done, and 1,000 head of cattle 
 are kept here. 
 
 Passing to the south, across a number of small 
 barren valleys, Buffalo Canon is reached, a narrow 
 tract eighteen miles long. Buffalo Station in this 
 place is on the stage road. A few cattle are kept 
 here and some ha}- cut. 
 
 South of this is Murphy's iSalt Marsh, where B. F. 
 Murphy has been preparing salt for the market for 
 the past ten years. His salt works are located at 
 Reno. 
 
 Eight miles south of Murphy's is Sheep Head, a 
 station in the desert on the stage road. A spring of 
 water is found here, the only good water in the des- 
 ert. This stretch of inho.^pitablo land is in some 
 places forty miles wide, and is surrounded by a scant 
 growth of sage-brush and grease wood, while for 
 miles there is no vegetation whatever. Alkali, salt, 
 borax and gypsum are the leading components of the 
 soil, rendering a trip across its arid waste extremely 
 unpleasant. Six miles south of Sheep Head is a 
 spring called Buck, or Bull, Spring, and six miles 
 farther south is Rotten Egg Spring, a name pecu- 
 liarlj- appropriate, so extremely disagreeable is the 
 water both to the smell and taste. Round Hole, or 
 Deep Hole, Spring lies six miles more to the south, 
 and the water, although not very pleasant is used for 
 drinking purposes. It is on the above route that 
 the stage road runs, and sixteen miles southeast of 
 Round Hole is P^-ramid Lake, on the road now fol- 
 lowed by the stage, passing through Pyramid City, 
 and Jonesville, which lie on the line between AVashoe 
 and Roop Counties. 
 
 Following in a southerly direction from Round 
 Hole, along the old stage road, Fish Springs is 
 reached, at a distance of eighteen miles. Here 
 
 William Anderson has a largo ranch. Two hundred 
 and fifty tons of hay and fifty tons of alfalfa are cut 
 here, and 'considerable small fruit is raised. A num- 
 ber of fruit trees, not yet bearing, have been set out. 
 Ho has about 600 cattle and horses. 
 
 Eight miles southeasterly of Fish Springs, on the 
 old stage road, is Dry Lake, where Newcomb has 
 about GOO hoi'ses and cattle, cuts some haj- and has 
 a nice vegetable garden and a small patch of grain. 
 X little lake that becomes dry in the summer gives 
 the name to the locality. 
 
 Just six miles to the south is Dry Valley, a small 
 tract watered by springs. There are two ranch 
 claims here, on which a little grain, hay and vegeta- 
 bles are raised. 
 
 Six miles southeast of Newcomb's, and directly 
 east of Dry Vallej', on the old stage road, is Little 
 Winnemucca Valley. It was formerly a milk and 
 butter ranch, and has now sever?! claims taken up, 
 where considerable grain is raised and a quantity of 
 stock kept. 
 
 South of this lies Winnemucca Valley proper, 
 about ten miles long and extending to the end of 
 the county. Two large ranches in the valle}- are 
 owned by Dickinson and Hepperly, who raise con- 
 siderable barle}' and some oats and wheat. A quan- 
 tity' of hay is cut, and some hor.ses and cattle are 
 kept. The valley is watered by small streams fed 
 by a number of springs. 
 
 Four miles east of Hepperly's is Pah-Ute Cafion, in 
 which is one ranch on which hay and vegetables are 
 raised, and about 500 head of cattle kept. 
 
 It is thus seen that Roop County contains many 
 thousand acres of land that need but the presence 
 of water to render them fertile and productive. 
 What the future of the countj' will be is difficult to tell, 
 but that irrigation from some source of water su]i])Iy 
 will render them productive and inviting to settlers 
 can scarcely be doubted, though years will probably 
 pass away before people will have settled here in 
 any considerable numbers. 
 
 71 
 
566 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 PMOTO BY TABtR. SAN fRAHClSCO 
 
 IV. H. Smith. 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY COITNTY. 
 
 567 
 
 CHAPTER LI 1 1. 
 HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY. 
 
 Commingling of All Classes — Discovery of the Comstock Lode — 
 Supplies from California — Teamsters Association — Itoad 
 Agents — Organization of the County — Capt. Kihvartl F. 
 Storey — James F. lAnvis— Mark Strouse — -M. N. Stone — 
 Scenery of Virginia City — First Buildings in (iold Hill — 
 First Kvents Recounted — Early Legislative Acts — The Char- 
 ter Amended — Philipp Deideslieimer — Pliilo Knapp— William 
 (iarhart — Chas. Williamson — Charter of Virginia City — 
 Kveuts of the year 18G3 — Rival and Amliitious Towns — 
 Col. 1{. H. Taylor— Joseph E. McDonald— Political Excite- 
 ment — Private and Public Extravagance — Thos. Moses — 
 Charles Forman — Amusements in Early Days — How an 
 Arastra is Made — Richard Rising — Henry Rolfe — Beneficent 
 Institutions — First Quartz Mills — Col. A. M. Edgington — 
 W. E. F. Deal — Greater Prosperity Indicated — I. E. James 
 — Virginia City when Five Years Old — Military Companies 
 — Leading Industrial Enterprises — The Fire Department — 
 The Newspaper Department — (!old Hill in tlie Year 18(1,3 — 
 The Bonanza Period — The Sutro Tunnel — James C. Fair — 
 John W. Mackay — The Virginia & Truckee Railroad — .lames 
 
 C. Flood— William C. Ralston— William Sharon— .lohn P. 
 Jones — Depression of Mining — Ralston to the Front — Oppo- 
 sition to Sutro Tunnel — The New King of the Comstock — 
 (Ireat Panic of lS7o — What the Mines have Accomplislied — 
 
 D. Crosby — R. \' . Dey — Finances During the Bonanza Period 
 — Taxing the Virginia and Truckee Railroad — Principal 
 Fires in Virgania City — Fires at Cold Hill — Virginia City 
 Fire Department — The Water Supply — Sulistantial Im- 
 provements — The Foundries of Virginia City — lolin Mc- 
 Cone — The Manufacture of Ice — TlieCeneral Outlook Hope- 
 ful — L. T. Fox — Joseph B. Mallon — William Woodburn — 
 Finance and Resources — Appointments and Elections — W . 
 N. Mercer (Hey — John F. Egan — F- H. Packer — Method of 
 Working tlie Mines — Compressor Drills — Temperature of 
 the Mines — J. Minor Taylor— W. H. Patton— Some of the 
 Leading Mines — The Comstock Croup of Mines — Statistics 
 of Proceeds— List of Bonanzas — The Utah Mine — Sierra 
 Nevada — Union Consolidated — The Mexican Mine — The 
 Californiu — Consolidated Virginia — Best & lielcher — (Jould 
 & Curry — The Savage Mine — The Hale & Norcro.ss — The 
 C hollar-NorcrossSavage Shafts — Chollar-Potosi — Bullion 
 Mine — The Exehetjuer — The Alpha Mine — Consolidated Im- 
 perial — (iold Hill (iroup — The Challenge — Contidencv — The 
 Yellow .Jacket — Kentuck — Crown Point and Belcher — ."segre- 
 gated Belcher — Overman — Caledonia — American Flat Croup 
 — Outside Mines — Mining Boom — Fluctuation of Stocks — 
 \Vm. Mooney — Accidents in the Mines — The Yellow Jacket 
 Disaster— Charles Zeigler — "Sandy" Bowers. 
 
 The bistory of this county is, to some extent, the 
 history of the whole State. It was here that the 
 mines were discovered; here they developed into the 
 wonderful proportions that revolutionized all pre- 
 vious values, and sent trade and manufactures 
 into new channels, built new cities, and sent new 
 millionaires into the world. Thoui^h apparentl}' 
 insignificant and unknown men became fabulously 
 rich and noted, we shall see as our history pro- 
 gresses, that energy and judgment, hero as else- 
 where, soon asserted their superior values, and gave 
 to their fortunate possessors the control of the great 
 bonanzas. Here, as in all countries and in all times, 
 the presence of great wealth drew together, not 
 only the energetic men of business, but also the 
 criminal and abandoned classes, those who fasten 
 themselves on society, and gather a large share of 
 the products of the industrious. Gamblers, thieves, 
 swindlers, bummers and prostitutes — all claimed a 
 share of the silver mountain, and, though such people 
 hardly ever retain for any length of time their ill- 
 gotten gains, they manage, somehow, to handle a 
 great share of the money. 
 
 DISCOVERY OF THE COMSTOCK LODE. 
 
 The lode was found in 1859, and a small portion 
 
 of the community were soon aware of the fact that 
 an important discovery had been made. The few 
 sacks of ores that were shipped to San Francisco 
 wore like the few samples of gold that found their 
 way East, which only indicated the vast possibilities 
 of the country. Sili^er ore, that would assay forty to 
 eighty per cent, in the shape of blue clay, had been 
 trodden under foot, washed awaj', sluiced out, and 
 gotten rid of in the easiest way possible. It was 
 said there were mountains of it. Previous to this 
 California had had many excitements. Gold Lake, 
 Gold Bhitl', Ivcrn River, Frazer River, \Vhite Mount- 
 ain, and others had all drawn away their thousands, 
 and sent them back disappointed; but in those 
 instances gold, that was only found in small quan- 
 tities, was the object sought. The new discoveries 
 were silver ores. Some who visited the new mines 
 reported, on their return, that more millions were in 
 sight at Gold Hill and Virginia than California had 
 yet produced. All the stories of the fabulous wealth 
 that Spain drew from South America and Mexico 
 came to mind; of Spanish galleons sunk with the 
 weight of silver on board; of the solid altars and 
 crucitixes of silver; of the hundreds of vessels with 
 rich cargoes captured by the buccaneers; of cities 
 plundered of their vast wealth; of the burial of the 
 |)ilo8 of money in many places along the Atlantic and 
 Pacific Coasts, and on lonely islands. The awkward 
 coinage of the Mexican and South American money 
 bore evidence of the rude age, when half-savage 
 miners boiled their /rj/ofes in silver kettles. A new 
 Mexico, a new Peru, was found just over the Sierra 
 Nevada, and the whole country was aroused. As 
 soon as the melting of the snow permitted, and oven 
 before, a great multitude set out for the silver land, 
 some on foot, and some with jjack-mules. 
 
 The snow still covered the country, and little could 
 he done to discover new mines, or even develop the 
 old ones. Some run tunnels to intersect the veins 
 discovered, and some, who had good locations, sunk 
 on the leads. The winter passed away however, 
 and the scramble commenced. Indications were 
 found high up on the mountains to the west (Mount 
 Davidson), and east of the Comstock location, 
 towards Carson River, as well as north and south of 
 the site of the first discovery, and soon every one 
 had any quantity of feet. Numerous disputes about 
 claims occurred in consequence of the uncertain 
 terms of occupation. Those who have had any ox- 
 jierienco in making possessory claims, well know on 
 what slight circumstances the right to a claim 
 depends. In most cases, however, possession was- 
 the only title, and even that was not always good, 
 unless a show of force was made to give it respecta- 
 bility. In some instances men fortified their ground 
 and held it by military possession. 
 
 Along with the miners came those of whom it has 
 been written; — 
 
 " True patriots wo, for be it understood 
 Wo left our country for our country's good." 
 
568 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 SUPPLIES FROM CALIFORNIA. 
 
 The whole of western Utah, or Nevada as it was 
 afterwards called, did not produce provisions enough 
 to Bupplj' the new population a week; but California 
 had now become an exporter, and in a short time 
 the roads leading to "Washoe" were thronged with 
 teams carrj-ing everything over the mountains, from 
 quartz machinery down to strawberries, that could 
 be desired. 
 
 Ten j'ears of cultivation had developed the agricul- 
 tural resources of Califoi'nia, and the miners of the 
 new Territory could make themselves far more com- 
 fortable than did the gold miners in the da3's of '49. 
 A passable wagon route across the mountains, used 
 by the tirst emigration, enabled the farmers of El 
 Dorado and the adjoining counties to carry in pro- 
 visions, but soon costlj' roads were established, with 
 easj- grades, which were kept sprinkled, and equal 
 to the walks of a city. 
 
 TE.iMSTERS' ASSOCIATION. 
 
 Thousands rushed into teaming, but it was by no 
 means a sinecure, though there was enough profit to 
 induce hundreds of men to engage in it. Freight at 
 first was enormously high, twenty-five cents a pound 
 not being deemed too much for hauling over the rough 
 roads. Finely graded roads enabled the teamsters 
 to make money at two cents a pound, or fjrty dol- 
 lars a ton, and the competition became so sharp that 
 a "Teamsters' Association " was established, which 
 fixed the uniform rate at sixty dollars per ton from 
 Folsom, the terminus of the Sacramento Talley Rail- 
 road. An agent was appointed who resided there, 
 shipping all goods by members of the association, 
 who waited their turn, sometimes for days, before get- 
 ting a load. It was of course a voluntarj' associa- 
 tion, but it became well understood that goods ship- 
 ped through other agencies were liable to be injured 
 while in transit. vSometimos the wagon containing 
 them would unaccountably roll over the grades in a 
 dark night, while the owners were camped but a few 
 feet away. Again, nuts from the wheels would be 
 missing; harness would be cut, and a man known to 
 be " cutting under " was annoyed in various ways. 
 These regulations did not apply, however, to those who 
 were engaged in hauling their own jiroduco. Like 
 all combinations of this kind, it worked its own cure, 
 by lessening the amount of freight and increasing 
 the applications for loads, until the teamsters them- 
 Bolves were willing to see the society disorganized. 
 
 RO.\r> AdENTS, 
 
 As highwaymen designated themselves, drove a 
 thriving trade during the early days of the Washoe 
 excitement. Provided they escaped the first wrath 
 of the victims the robbers were generally^safe enough, 
 for few persons had any time to track up a thief, or 
 prosecute the case in court. As no one thought of 
 traveling without money, almost everyone, even the 
 man trudging along on foot, would have fifteen or 
 twenty dollars, and a few days of successful foraging 
 
 in this way would make quite a " stake " for a gamb- 
 ler or broken prospector. The vacant ground 
 between Virginia Citj' and Gold Hill, as also down 
 the road towards Dayton, was a favorite ground for 
 robbing footmen. Many a man has been halted in a 
 dark evening and compelled to give up his loose 
 change, and many a man who resisted has been shot 
 and unceremoniously tumbled into some of the numer- 
 ous abandoned shafts which dotted that part of the 
 country. Others, bolder in their oj)erations, would 
 attack the stage and capture the bullion which was 
 sent over the mountains in bars. 
 
 The following extracts taken at random from the 
 newspapers, will give an idea of the manner of 
 these road affairs: — 
 
 August 28, 1865. Jack Harris, A. AVatcrman, 
 
 Mose Haynes, Pitcher, and Love, were put 
 
 on trial for highway robberj'. Haynes turned States' 
 evidence. Harris was acquitted, and Waterman was 
 sentenced to thirteen years' imprisonment. 
 
 October 31, 186U. The stage was stopped on the 
 Geiger Grade, and the safe, containing S5,150, was 
 taken and blown open. The passengers also lost 
 several thousand. Wells, Fargo & Company offered 
 89,000 for the apprehension of the robbers. 
 
 November 14, 186G. A partj' entered the toll 
 house at American City, and compelled the toll col- 
 lector to open the safe, which contained about S550. 
 
 October 7, 1865. The stage was robbed in Six- 
 mile Cafion of about 82,300. 
 
 June 10, 1868. The overland stage was met bj' 
 three men with double-barreled shot guns, and the 
 passengers — four gentlemen and two ladies — ordered 
 out. The ladies were not molested, although one of 
 them had 8900 on her person, but the men were 
 relieved of about 84,000. 
 
 October 26, 1872. Lieut. Col. M. N. Stone, 
 Democratic stump speaker, was stopped near Spring 
 Valley by two road agents and robbed of a valuable 
 watch and fifty-five dollars. He was out making 
 speeches. 
 
 ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY. 
 
 This was accomplished at the first session of the 
 Territorial Legislature. By the Act approved No- 
 vember 25, 1861, the boundaries were established as 
 follows: — 
 
 Beginning at the northwestern corner of Lyon 
 Count}' and running thence in an easterly direction 
 along the northern boundary of Lyon County to the 
 northeastern corner thereof (which was one mile east 
 and three miles north of Heed's Station on the Carson 
 Jliver), thence north in a straight line to the road 
 leading from the lower crossing of the Truckee to the 
 sink of the Humboldt; thence westerly along said 
 road to the Truckee River; thence up the middle of 
 said river to the eastern line of Washoe County; 
 thence southerly along said line to the place of 
 beginning. 
 
 It would seem that the geography of the country 
 was little understood by the memborsof the Legisla- 
 ture. In the Act organizing Lyon County the north- 
 ern line was fixed so as to include in the territory the 
 Devil's Gate Mining District, it being the intention 
 to give Lyon County a share of the promising ground. 
 The first officers, excepting County Commissioners 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY. 
 
 569 
 
 who were made by the Legislature, were appointed 
 by the Territorial Governor Nye. 
 
 In August, ISGO, the census showed the following 
 facts: Virginia, total i)opul:ition. 2,300. Females, 
 118. Dwellings, 868. Gold Hill, total population, 
 638. Females, 14. Dwellings, 179. 
 
 Silver City, which for all business purposes was a 
 part of the same community, was about the same in 
 size as Gold Hill. These three places had something 
 over half the poi)ulalion of the Territory. This 
 census was taken in August, but bj- the first of Janu- 
 ary- following, the population had largely increased. 
 Within one year from that time Virginia had a popu- 
 lation of 3,284; Gold Hill 1,294. 
 
 C.\PT. EDWARD FAUIS STOREY, 
 
 After whom Storey Countj' was named, was born in 
 Jackson County, Georgia, July 1, 1828, his father 
 being Col. John Storey, who was in command of 
 a regiment of volunteers during the diflSculties 
 with the Indians in the western part of Georgia 
 during General Jackson's term of the Presidency, 
 and afterwards acted as commander of an escort 
 which conveyed them to the Indian Territory at the 
 final settlement of the difficulty. Colonel Storey re- 
 moved with his family to Texas in 1844. and took a 
 prominent part in the events which preceded, and re- 
 sulted in. theannexationof Texas to the UnitedStntos 
 as well as the war which soon occurred with Mex- 
 ico. Early in the Spring of 1846 Colonel Storey and 
 three sons enlisted in a company of Texan Rangers, 
 commanded by Capt. (now General) H. E. McCul- 
 Joch. The Colonel and the son under consider- 
 ation survived the war. In 1848, on the breaking 
 out of border difficulties the surviving son, though 
 but twenty j-ears of age, was elected Lieutenant of a 
 company of Rangers under Capt. Jacob Koberts, and 
 did effective service in quelling the outlaws. The 
 young ranger was married in 1849 to Miss Adelia 
 Calhoun Johnson, of Lockhart, Caldwell County, 
 Texas, by whom he had one child, a daughter, now 
 Mrs. J. W. Williams, residing in Visalia, California. 
 His wife dying in 1852 Lieutenant Storey took his in- 
 fant daughter and started overland to California by 
 way of Mexico, reaching the Pacific Coast at Mazat- 
 lan. Here he embarked on a sailing vessel which, 
 meeting storms and adverse winds was blown out of 
 her course, sprung a leak, and was delayed until the 
 crew and passengers were stricken with famine, some 
 of the party dying of their sufferings. He finally 
 reached San Francisco, and soon after made his way 
 to Tulare County, where ho engaged in stock-raisitig 
 until the discovery of the Washoe mines, when he 
 came to Nevada. After the unfortunate attack on 
 the Indians which resulted in the death of Major 
 Ormsby and the dispersion and destruction of the 
 greater part of the attacking party, ho raised a com- 
 pany of riflemen, and with others made the attack on 
 the fortified camp of the I'ah-Utes Juno 2, 18(J0, which 
 resulted in the defeat of the Indians. Captain Storey 
 
 here met his death at the hands of an Indian who, 
 ambushed behind a rock, shot him through the lungs, 
 producing death the same evening. 
 
 Captain Storej', though raised on the frontier and 
 engaged most of his life in border afl'airs, was instinc- 
 tively a gentleman, loved and respected by all. His 
 native good sense atoned for the want of high cul- 
 ture, and made him a man to be consulted with profit 
 in every emorgencj'. He leaves many relatives to 
 share his honors. A younger brother has recently 
 been Lieutenant Governor of Texas. 
 
 PHOTO BY JOHN S NOE VlHQiNlA. HtV 
 
 James F, Lezvis. 
 
 JuDciE Ja.mes F. Lewis is a native of Wales, and 
 was born May 4, 1836. In childhood he loft his native 
 land, and coming to the United States, settled with 
 his parents in the city of Utica, in New York Stale. 
 He received a thorough academic education at 
 Whitosboro, near Utica. In 1S.')(; ho, with his parents, 
 removed to Racine, Wisconsin, where he studied law, 
 and was admited to the Bar in that State in the year 
 1860. In 18(i2, during the great mining excitement 
 in Nevada, ho removed thence and entered upon the 
 practice of his profession in connection with Hon J. 
 W. North. TTpon the admission of the State of Ne- 
 vada into the Union, in the year 18(J4. ho was nomi- 
 nated and elected by the Republicans to the Supreme 
 Bench of the Slate, and became its first Chief Justice. 
 The term for which he was elected ex|)iring two years 
 later, he was again elected to the same position, 
 which he held until the expiration of his term on the 
 first of Januarj', 1873. Shortly afterward he located 
 at Virginia Citj-, Storey County, and entered upon 
 the practice of law, immediately obtaining a large 
 
570 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 and lucrative bu.Niiicss. Judge Lewis is now one of 
 the firm of Lewis & Deal, Attorneys and Counselors- 
 atlaw, in Virginia City, a firm well and favorably 
 known throughout the State. 
 
 MARK STROUSE 
 
 Is a native of Germany, born in the town of Lauder- 
 bach in May, 184.5. He was the youngest of a fam- 
 ily of ten children. At the age of thirteen years he 
 left his home and wont to Butzbock, and two years 
 later came to America, bringing a sister with him, 
 and settled in the city of New York, where he ob- 
 tained a situation in a wholesale house, two days 
 
 butchering business. His brother died in 1868 since 
 which time the subject of this sketch has managed 
 the business alone. His establishment is the largest 
 in the State. His business house is four stories high 
 and 121 feet long by 26 feet wide. He also has 
 a fine stock ranch containing 500 acres in Honey 
 Lake Vallej-, California. In 1808 Mr. Strouse was 
 elected Chief of Police, and has also served two terms 
 as City Treasurer of Virginia Citj'. and was for seven 
 years Foreman of Company No. 1 of the Volunteer 
 P^ire Department. He was married January 14, 1874, 
 to Lilly B. JIdgington, and has one child, a daughter 
 six j'cars of age. 
 
 iL LEE, VIR3l^r» 
 
 ^^/^'^ 
 
 after bis arrival. Ho stayed with this firm about 
 three months, whon he came to California and loca- 
 ted at Mokolurane Hill, in Calaveras County, and 
 was engaged in mining, and the mercantile and 
 butcher business, foi two and one-half years. While 
 in that place he owned a claim that promised well, 
 and refused 810,000 for it, but like many others he 
 could not foresee that from his claim he would not 
 realize the fruition of his fondest hopes, and in a 
 short time it was abandoned. In June, 1863, he 
 crossed the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Virginia 
 City, Nevada, with a large band of sheep and lambs, 
 numbering 5,500, camping frequently in the snow 
 during his tedious journey. 
 
 Immediately after reaching his destination he 
 started in business, owning a hog ranch, lending a 
 stall in a moat market, and keeping a .set of books all 
 at the same time. In 1856 he formed a partnci ship 
 ■with his brother, Abraham Strouse, in the general 
 
 M. N. Stone, 
 
 Son of Francis Preston Stone, is a native of Ken- 
 tucky, born in Wayne Countj-, August U, 1842. At 
 tho age of eighteen years he entered the office of his 
 father, who for thirtj' j-ears was a prominent lawj'er 
 of Kentucky, and commenced tho study of law. On 
 tho breaking out of the civil war tho subject of this 
 sketch relinquished his studios and entered the Con- 
 federate service as a private in the Sixth Kentucky 
 Infantrj-, which became, early in 1861, attached to 
 tho famous " First Kentucky Brigade," commanded 
 by Gen. John C. Breckinridge. After the battle of 
 Shiloh, in which he ])artici])ated, ^Ir. Stone was 
 transferred to the Sixth Kentuck}' Cavalry, Duke's 
 Brigade, and served in the " Raiders' Division," com- 
 manded bj- the celebrated John H. ^forgaii, until tho 
 close of the war, and was a member of the >let1'erson 
 Davis escort until within a few hours of President 
 Davis' capture in Georgia, tho escort having been 
 disbanded just before that event transpired. Mr. 
 Stone witnessed and participated in many of 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY 
 
 571 
 
 the hard-fought battles. Among them were Shiloh, 
 Stono River, Siege of Vicksburg, Chickamauga, Mis- 
 sion Eidge and numerous other engagements, and 
 rose to the rank of Captain of Cavalry in 18G4. In 
 1868 he came to Nevada and entered the law office 
 of Gen. Thos. II. Williams and David Bixler, in Vir- 
 ginia Cit}-, ;uid subseciuently became a partner with 
 those gentlemen. In 1872 he received the nomina- 
 tion by the Democratic State Convention for Presi- 
 dential Elector on the Greeley ticket, and stumped 
 the State.for the Democratic party. His party being 
 in the minoritj' in the State he was defeated. In 
 1874 he received the Democratic nomination for the 
 office of District Judge of the First District, em 
 bracing Storey County, and again the election re- 
 sulted in his defeat. Mr. Stono has taken an active 
 part in politics since he became a citizen of Nevada, 
 and in the Presidential election of 1880, in connec- 
 tion with W. E. F. Deal and others, conducted the 
 campaign in a manner creditable to his party and 
 himself which resulted in carrjMng the State for 
 Hancock and the election of Col. James G. Fair to 
 the United States Senate. At the present time .Mr. 
 Stone is engaged in the practice of his profession at 
 Virginia City. 
 
 SCENERY OP VIROINIA CITY. 
 
 The view from Virginia to the eastward is remark- 
 ably fine. The eye can sweep in a vista of 180 miles 
 in some directions. To the southeast are the Pine 
 Nut Mountains, about Como. The Twenty-six-milc 
 Desert and the Forty-mile Desert are also plainly pcr- 
 coi)tible from C Street, looking eastward. Far to 
 the right of the Como Mountains are the snow- 
 capped summits of the Sierra Nevada. As regards 
 scenerj' Virginia City has much to boast of although 
 its immediate environs are desolate in the extreme. 
 It is a city built on a mountain side. 
 
 In the winter, when this happens to be covered 
 with snow, the view, though cheerless, is not with- 
 out interest. The atmosphere sometimes is so clear 
 that trees can be distinguished at a distance of 
 thirty miles or more. Virginia City has an elevation 
 above the sea of 0,205 feet, and above the Humboldt 
 plains about 2,000 feet. Mount Davidson rises above 
 the city 1.G22 feet, having a total height above the 
 sea of 7,827 feet. Some of the Pine Nut Mountains, 
 in the same range, are still higher. 
 
 Snow falls to the depth of several feet at Virginia 
 City, and still deeper further west in the Sierra 
 Nevada. Snow-slides ol'ten occurred. John Yager 
 was buried by one at Cedar Hill in January, 18fi0. 
 The snow also buried the mouths of shafts so as to 
 hide them from view. In .March, 18G0, James J. 
 Kelly, while passing from Gold Hill to Virginia ("ity, 
 rode into a shaft, horse and rider both being killed. 
 
 In 1859 Virginia City had but two or three houses, 
 and these were stone cabins; a year latter the place 
 had (|uite a metropolitan a])pearance. The Interna- 
 tional Hotel had the usual bar-room, dining-room, 
 kitchen and twelve sleeping-rooms. The lumber of 
 
 which it was built was whip-sawed in Six-mile Canon. 
 The receipts of the hotel for the first day after open- 
 ing were 8700. The erection of steam saw-mills 
 soon after obviated the necessity of whip-sawing 
 lumber. 
 
 FIRST BUILDINOS IN GOLD HILL. 
 
 The first building in Gold Hill was a small frame 
 erected bj- Dutch Nick (Nicholas Ambrosia) on Main 
 Street, opposite where the Eclipse Stable now stands. 
 The next was a small boarding-house and restaurant 
 run by Mrs. Cowan,'afterward8 Mrs. Sandy Uowers. 
 It was built of logs, from the hills around the town. 
 The third 'was a one-story frame about sixteen feet 
 square, built in August bj- Soi.],\V'eihl, and used as a 
 grocery store. Like the^first-mentioned building, it 
 was moved from Johntown on account of the scarcity 
 of lumber at Gold Hill. John Vignot also built a log 
 oabin, and quite a number of rude shanties were con- 
 structed, in some of which families made homes. 
 Many people lived in tents, and even brush shanties. 
 This was during the summer of 185!). 
 
 FIRST EVENTS RECOUNTED. 
 
 At the dedication of the new school building of 
 the Fourth Ward, November 28, 187G, the following 
 facts with regard to Virginia City were related by 
 the editor of the Territorial Enterprise, for the edifi- 
 cation of the children: — 
 
 The first child born in the city of Virginia was 
 a daughter of John H. and Levina S. Tilton, on the 
 first day of April, ISGO. Mr. Tilton was then living 
 in a house, built by himself, on the Original Opera 
 House lot. The child was named Virginia in honor 
 of the new mining camp. Mr. Tilton crossed the 
 plains the previous summer, reaching this place 
 September 1st, and lived for awhile in their wagon. 
 The following March he built a house on the lot 
 where the child was born. The first dollar he earned 
 was bj' carrying mortar for the Ophir .Mining Com- 
 pany, who were putting up an office. His wife at 
 the same time earned 82.50 with her needle. 
 
 The first school was opened by the Misses Down- 
 ing who rented a house on the lot now occupied by 
 Ijipman's dry good store on South C Street near Tay- 
 lor, in the summer of ISGO. Miss Gregory subsequently 
 opened a school on D Street. The firet public school 
 was organized in 18G2. The school bouse was 
 erected on the present site of the Third Ward School 
 House. Captain Melville was Principal, Miss Fida 
 Collins Assistant, Col. John \ Collins. Siiiierin- 
 tendent. 
 
 The first religious services and the establishing of 
 the first churches are detailed in chapters XXV to 
 XX.X ii\clusive, devoted to the Churches of Nevada. 
 
 The first funeral was that of the young daugh- 
 ter of Ijyman Jones who died in 1S5!) and was buried 
 in a cemetery near the present Ophir works. 
 
 The first bank was that of Wells, Fargo & Co., 
 in 1859, under the charge of Captain Simmons and 
 Charles Foreman. The office was at the corner of 
 A Street and Sutton Avenue. 
 
ov: 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 The first theater was the Opera House, built 
 t- in the spring of 1863 by Thomas Maguire and John 
 Burns, now on the corner of 1) and Union Streets, 
 afterwards owned by John Piper. 
 t. The first ball was at the San Francisco Restau- 
 rant, Christmas eve, 18G0. Present the following 
 ladies: Mrs. Dirks, Mrs. Delanej', Mrs. Paxton, Mrs. 
 Tilton, Mrs. Bryan; Miss Leonora Dirks, Mrs. Blair, 
 Mrs. Flick, Mrs. Hastings, Mrs. Dill, Mrs. Howard, 
 Mrs. Adams, Mrs. ]{08s, Mrs. R. J. Smith, Mrs. How- 
 ard and Mrs. Charles Barstow. The proprietor of the 
 livery stable, 'Mr. Whipple, built a sleigh expressly for 
 the occasion, and the sound of sleigh hells mingled 
 with the merry voices of the dancera. 
 
 The first paper was the Territorial Enterprise 
 more particularly referred to in the chapter on the 
 press. 
 
 E.A.RLY LEGISLATIVE ACTS. 
 
 The Act of November 28, 1861, incorporated the 
 Virginia City Gas Company, giving the franchise to 
 Henrj- ('. Smith, Chas. Ransom and associates. The 
 bill incorporating the Gold Hill Gas Company, with 
 Seymour Ilurlburt, A. De Ijand and John Keinbleas 
 associates, was passed the twenty-ninth. The same 
 day the county seat was established at Virginia City. 
 
 The Act approved December 17, 1862, incorpor- 
 ated the town of (iold Hill and fixed its boundaries 
 as follows: "Bounded on the north by the southern 
 line of Virginia City; on the south and east by the 
 boundary line between Store}' and Lj'on; on the 
 west by the boundary lines between Storey and 
 Washoe." This Act was amended February 20, 1864, 
 excepting from the Act of incorporation the follow- 
 ing tract: " Commencing at the intersection of Broad- 
 way and Carson Avenues, according to the survej-ed 
 map of American City made by John Ostrom and 
 filed in the Recorder's oflico of Storey County, run- 
 ning thence sixty degrees east, magnetic meridian, 
 tweiit}- chains; thence in a direct line southeasterly 
 to the intersection of the boundary line between 
 Lyon and Storey Counties and American Ravine, 
 runnijig through American Flat to Silver City; 
 thence in a southwesterly direction along said 
 boundarj' line between Lyon and Storey Counties to 
 the southwest corner of Storey County; thence in a 
 northerl}' direction along the boundary line between 
 Storey and Washoe Counties to its intersection with 
 the Ophir Grade Toll-road; thence along said Ophir 
 Grade Toll-road to a point north sixty degrees west, 
 magnetic meridian, from the place of beginning; 
 thence to the place of beginning." The Act was 
 still further amended, February 18, 1862. By this 
 Act American Flat was excepted from the order of 
 incorporation. It was re-incorporated December 17. 
 1862, February IS, 1S64, and in March, 1865. 
 
 Though Gold Hill did not e(|ual Virginia City, on 
 account of the rival towns of American Flat and 
 Silver Citj', which drew away, or, rather, absorbed 
 large numbers of the incoming population, it early 
 became quite an important place, with several fine 
 
 fire-proof buildings. The Virginia City Water Com- 
 pany also supplied Gold Hill. Acting under a sim- 
 ilar charter to that of Virginia City, Gold Hill ef- 
 fected an organization in 1863, and at the first elec- 
 tion chose H. H. Flagg, W. H. Matthews, S. H. Rob- 
 inson, G. Douglass and C. II. Hobbs as Trustees. The 
 total vote was 503. 
 
 Virginia City was first incorporated under the 
 Territorial laws of TTtah, in Februarj-, 1861, and on 
 March 11th following a set of ofticers were cho.sen for 
 one year as follows: N. W. Winton, President; L C. 
 Bateman, Secretarj'; George H. Shaw, Joseph Scates, 
 Louis Feusier, Trustees; C. P. Robinson, Treasurer; 
 D. Bailej', Marshal and Street Commissioner: Joseph 
 F. Atwill, Justice of the Peace. The document 
 granting this incorporation was issued by the Legis- 
 lature of Utah, and will be transcribed here both as 
 a curiosity and to preserve it, as it is not known to 
 be in print in any work. It will be found on pages 
 576-7. 
 
 THE CHARTER A.MENDED. 
 
 After the^organization of the Territory of Nevada, 
 the charter of Virginia City was amended so as to 
 conform more nearly to the habits and customs of 
 the citizens. Section 8, granting powers to the 
 Trustees, the words " and ]irovide for licensing bars 
 at which spirituous liquors are .sold " were interlined, 
 also, " The Board of Trustees shall also have power 
 to levy and'provide for the collection of a license-tax on 
 all billiard tables and nine or ten-pin allej-s, kept for 
 public use; on all theatrical performances and exhibi- 
 tions for money of ever}- kind; on all insurance com- 
 panies incorporated under the laws of this Territory; 
 on brokers, dealers in exchange, stocks, gold and 
 silver bullion; on all persons engaged in trading, 
 merchandising, or delivery in any kind of goods, 
 articles or wares whatsoever; on tavern-keepers, 
 saloon or bar-keepers engaged in selling wines, dis- 
 tilled or fermented liquors, * * *" 
 
 The authorities of ITtah never encourage the sale 
 of liquors, never permit it if possible to prevent it. 
 Of course this was an impossibility from the very 
 commencement with such a po|)ulation as made up 
 Virginia City. " Whisky or death" would have been 
 a rallying cry to rouse the whole population. 
 
 In August, 1862, Virginia City had a population of 
 2,704 inhabitants, which was estimated to exceed 
 3,000 at the beginning of winter. It had three 
 churches, a Court House, and several flourishing 
 schools. The Virginia City Water ("ompany had 
 laid pipes through the greater part of the town, sup- 
 plying it with pure water from several tunnels, which 
 had penetrated Mount Davidson and other elevations 
 in the vicinity. A company was also formed to sup- 
 ply the place with gas, made from the Whitman coal, 
 which was thought to be of good quality for that 
 purpose. Good roads were early constructed, leading 
 through Gold Hill to the Carson Hiver, both for the 
 transportation of ores to the mills and to receive the 
 neceeeary supplies of lumber and provisions. 
 
SCALt 4- '" 
 
 a fl a 
 
(?ffau and S^<>kni of crimccxitia 
 
 Qn>fMieA hu S^VifMjp^iid^sfttvmet- in IS60 wdiie in cluvt^ o| fhe Opfiii '•inivw cu 
 •■initiincj 8iijnwiw._ ^r?if ontti 4a|^ , <><cwic and wx^iiit iticlAod, svfu'«t>i^ a Uae o| 
 
 Ai \c Jajt'tti i^' lip vitici ptt>|j*'ttM {^a»iu cvUttf in vnA\k <.\ir>\^ anA icna^ 
 
 Drawn h)Errtesi\\aiser,Cti>£>u)irurr Sait.h'nuvixeApnit'ylS' PhilIPP OEIOESHEiMER 
 
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\ 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY. 
 
 573 
 
 PHIUPP DEIDESHEIMER 
 
 Is a native of Germany, born in 1832. At the age of 
 nineteen years he came to California, by way of Cape 
 Horn. He remained in the hitter Slate until 18G0, 
 when he came to Nevada, and has since resided on 
 the Comstocli. A full description of the wonderful 
 invention of this gentleman accompanies this notice, 
 and a view of the same will be found in this work. 
 "Dan De <^uille," in relation to the invention, sa^'s: — 
 It is to Philipp Deidesheimer that the world is 
 indebted for the invention of that plan of timbering 
 mines, known as timbering in -'square sots." 
 
 It is the system now in universal use on the Corn- 
 stock, and that which must everywhere be used in 
 mines containing bodies of ore of great width. But 
 for this method of timbering, it would have been 
 almost impossible to work the immense ore bodies of 
 the Ophir. Gould \- Ciirry, Belcher, Crown Point, 
 Yellow Jacket, California, Consolidated Virginia, and 
 the other great mines of Virginia City and Gold Hill. 
 The history of the invention is as follows: About 
 the first of November, 1860, Mr. W. F. Babcock, of 
 San Prancisco. Agent of the Pacific Mail Steamship 
 Company, and a leading Director of the Ophir Min- 
 ing Company, sent to Mr. Deidesheimer, who was 
 then engaged in mining operations in El Dorado 
 County, California, requesting him to come to San 
 Francisco. When Mr. Deidesheimer arrived in San 
 Francisco, Mr. Babcock asked him if he had ever 
 seen or worked a quartz lode over sixty feet in 
 width. Mr. Deidesheimer said he had never seen or 
 heard of a vein of ore of such great width. Mr. 
 Babcock then asked him if he could work such a 
 mine, and Mr. Deidesheimer said he could not toll 
 what he could do until he bad seen and studied such 
 a vein. Mr. Babcock then said that up to that time 
 all miners and mining engineers had failed to prop- 
 erly work the mine, that the Ophir was a very val- 
 uable mine, but unless some way of supporting the 
 ground could be discovered, it would bo of but little 
 value to the owners. 
 
 Mr. Deidesheimer finally agreed to try what he 
 could do with the mine, and was requested to leave 
 that ver}- day for Virginia City. He arrived at the 
 mine about the eighth of November, and at once 
 began the investigation of the difficulties with which 
 ho found the minors contending. 
 
 He studied the situation till about the fourteenth of 
 November, when he set to work upon the problem. 
 After about three weeks devoted to experiments 
 and studj- ho hit upon the plan of building up square 
 sets of timbers, a system upon which it has since 
 been found impossible to improve. 
 
 Mr. Deidesheimer then began opening up what 
 was at that time called the third gallery, a chamber 
 on the vein some 215 feet below the surface. Under 
 his directions the carpenters had properly framed a 
 great number of timbers. The miners were not a 
 little puzzled when these short pieces of timber were 
 taken into the mine. They had no idea of theman- 
 72 
 
 PHOTO By NOE * LCE, VIBQINIA, NCV 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 J^^€^ 
 
 nor in which they were to bo used Even after the 
 first row of the sets had been placed in position they 
 did not see what was to come next. However when 
 they had erected upon this first row a few sots, and 
 had built u|) sots by the side of sols as well, they 
 began to got the idea and wore able to see that they 
 could easily and safely go on adding set to set 
 to any height or width; in iact, in any direction re- 
 quired. 
 
 By building up and extending his "square sots " 
 as was required, Mr. D.!iiloshoiniorsuecossfull3- sloped 
 out tho ore from wall to wall, tho vein averaging 
 over sixty-five feet in width, and tho ground sup- 
 ported by the wall of timber stood as firmly as did 
 the undisturbed sections of tho mountains. 
 
 In the following February, 18G1, the work had so 
 far progressed that the idea could readil}' bo grasped, 
 and tho whole plan at once understood bj' all who 
 saw it, whether mining men or men of other pro- 
 fessions. All who examined the sj-stem at once ac- 
 knowledged that it was the only true way of sloping 
 out and timbering up ore bodies of great width. 
 
 In that part of the vein then being worked the 
 ore was so soft that it was all dug down with 
 l)icks. No blasting was required. 
 
 Persons who have even the slightest knowledge of 
 mining can see that without A[r. Deidesheimer's sj's- 
 tem of timbering it would have been almost impos- 
 sible to work such ground. 
 
 At Gold Hill, previous to Mr. Deidesheimer's inven- 
 tion, they had experienced great difiiculty in keep- 
 
574 
 
 HISTORY 'OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 ing up the ground in which they were at work, and 
 several accidents had occurred. Then they were 
 using round logs. And to get as much ore as possi- 
 ble out of one chamber or gallery, they made these 
 about thirty feet long. We say " made " them, for 
 the reason that owing to the short growth of the 
 timber on the surrounding hills it was necessary to 
 splice two stieks by fastening them together with 
 iron bolts and bands. These posts were set up close 
 together in rows, and caps some eighteen feet in 
 length were then placed across the tops from row 
 to row. 
 
 It is easy to see that, owing to the great height of 
 these timbers, and the great distance between the 
 rows, there would be constant danger and trouble 
 from their being crushed in; also, one can see at a 
 glance that after such a set of timbers was in posi- 
 tion, there was no way of placing another set, either 
 over or under it, ami thus getting at the ore above 
 and below. 
 
 The Gold Hill people were not slow to see the 
 advantages of the system of timbering practiced at 
 the Ophir Mine, and at once adopted it. 
 
 The timbers are so framed that when a post is set 
 up there is a place on its top for the ends of four caps, 
 and when these are in position a mortise is formed 
 in which fits the end of the next post. So of all 
 four of the posts. And there is always a place for 
 the caps of the sets that arc to be put on any side. 
 These sets form cribs of timber about five by six 
 feet square, and when completed make convenient 
 places in which to stow away waste rock, which 
 filling in of refuse rock renders the whole almost as 
 firm as was the original material. The sets are as 
 compact as the cells in a honeycomb, and like these 
 are by repetition capable of being extended in all 
 directions to any distance that may be required. 
 
 There is, indeed, a striking resemblance in these 
 sets of timbers to the cells formed by the honey bee, 
 the only difference being in the shape. 
 
 Soon Mr. Dcidosheimcr's system of timbering was 
 introduced everywhere on the Comstock. It was a 
 necessity. The mines could have been worked by 
 no other plan. With it the miners could safely ex- 
 tract ore to any height, or any width, or any length, 
 or any depth. Without it they could do nothing or 
 next to nothing. 
 
 The plan must be used everywhere in the world 
 where an ore bodj' is over twentj- feet in width. 
 
 When the officers of the Ophir Mining Company 
 saw the great advantages of Mr. Doidesheimer's 
 plan of timbering— which they were not slow to 
 do — they gave him full charge of the mine, with the 
 title of Mining Engineer. This title and honor came 
 to Mr. Deideshcimor in the spring of 18G1. In 1862 
 they had reached what was called the sixth gal- 
 lery, some 560 feet perpendicular below the surface. 
 All of this ground, 200 feet in length, G5 feet 
 in width and 560 feet in depth, had been stopod 
 out and supported by means of Mr. Deidesheimer's 
 
 square sets, built up as shown in our illustration. 
 This great space was afterwards filled with waste 
 rock from the surface, which rendered it as strong as 
 a mass of solid rock. 
 
 Never has there been loss of life or property any- 
 where on the Comstock through any defect in this 
 system of timbering. English and German mining 
 engineers who crossed the ocean to examine the plan 
 of timbering, complimented Mr. Deidesheimer very 
 highly upon the ingenuity of his invention, and 
 heartily congratulated him upon the grand success 
 it had proven. They said it was the only perfect 
 system of supporting large areas of grouml by 
 means of timbers that had ever been invented, and 
 was no more capable of improvement than were the 
 cells of the honey bee. Xo matter how hard the 
 rock may be, or how soft, the " square sets " arc 
 equally efficacious. 
 
 When -Mr. Deidesheimer hit u])on this invention 
 he had an immense fortune within his grasp. He 
 had but to close his hands upon it to make himself 
 a millionaire. Unfortunately for himself, but most 
 fortunately ffor the mining world, he neglected to 
 patent his invention, which he could have done with 
 out the slightest trouble or dissenting voice from any 
 part of the world. At that time his only thought 
 was to solve the great problem and earn the ap- 
 proval of his employers. Also great cares and respon- 
 sibilities claimed ever}' moment of his waking hours. 
 He had no time in which to look further than to see 
 that his " square sets " were doing all that was re- 
 quired of them. He had not leisure in which to 
 study out the full scope and value of his invention, 
 or to think how indispensable it was to all engaged 
 in mining large bodies of ore. Had he taken to 
 himself a single day, and made use of it in taking 
 the steps necessary to secure a patent, he might from 
 that daj- to this have folded his hands and given no 
 thought to anything further than the collection of 
 the royalty that would have been paid him bj' every 
 leading mining company on the Comstock. As it is 
 ho still has his fortune to make. 
 
 (Signed) W. Wright. 
 
 Ifom lie plume, Dan De Quille. 
 
 The above written history on mj' plan and system 
 of timbering large bodies of ores by "square sets" 
 is true and correct. ruiLiPP Deideshelmeb. 
 
 Virginia, May 18, 1881. 
 
 PUILO KNAPP, 
 
 The subject of this sketch, is a native of the State of 
 Maine, but came to California in the year 1856, 
 where he remained seven years and came to Nevada 
 in 1863, locating at Virginia City, Storey County. 
 Being born in a cold country, he naturally entered a 
 cold business, and in 1864 started the ice trade in 
 that city, furnishing all the ice used in the mines on 
 the Comstock until 1877. Previous to the great fire 
 that swept through Virginia City in 1875, he was 
 extensively engaged in the ice, soda, also wood and 
 coal business on D Street, occupying eight buildings 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY. 
 
 575 
 
 situated on the site now occupied by the Virginia 
 and Truckee R-iilroad freight buildings, all of which 
 were consumed, also six other buildings belonging 
 to him in other parts of the city. Notwithstanding 
 his great loss he set immediately to work and erected 
 the fine buildings on E Street, opposite the Ophir 
 Works, during the next year and has since carried on 
 the Pioneer Soda business. An illustration of his 
 works will be found on another page of this book. 
 
 other callings, he was saccessfui, and at the present 
 time rejoices in the part ownership of one of the 
 finest establishments in the State, and has done a 
 prosperous business. " Curly Bill " was a popular 
 driver, a gonial, whole-souled man, and a general 
 favorite with the travelinir public, and it is said that 
 a passenger who was fortunate enough to occupy the 
 box seat with him, when he held the reins, considered 
 it a streak of good luck. 
 
 PHOTO BY JOHN S HOE, VlROlNIA, NEV 
 
 PVm. Garhart. 
 
 Or " Curly Bill," as he was called in early days, is a 
 native of Pennsylvania, and was born at Reading, 
 April 3, 1834. His youthful days were passed in 
 Cincinnati, Ohio, until, at the ago of sixteen years, 
 he came to California, arriving in San Francisco, 
 April 3, 1850. After a stay of six weeks in the city 
 he sought his fortune in the mines, and for one year 
 worked in French Gulch, in Shasta County. He 
 then turned his attention to the stage, and for the 
 succeeding eighteen years followed the business for 
 a livelihood, not, however, as Booth or Forrest, but on 
 a Concord coach, as one of the finest rcinsmen on 
 the Pacific Coast. His first route was from Sacra- 
 mento to Nevada City, where he drove for five years. 
 Ho then drove from Folsom to Nevada City, by way 
 of Auburn, until 1858. In 185!l he drove from Forest 
 City to Marysvillo and Downievillo. In 18H3 ho 
 commenced driving from Donner Lake to Virginia 
 City, Nevada, where he continued until 18(59. He 
 then formed a partnership with C. Derby, at Vir- 
 ginia City, and opened a livery stable. In this, asin 
 
 PHOTO BY NOE 4 LCE. VIRQINIA, NEV 
 
 CHA'i^Syf^'l^^ 
 
 Charles Williamson, the present Sheriff of Storey 
 County, Nevada, was born August 23, a. u. 1831, 
 on the Islo of Unst, ono of the Shetland Isles of 
 Scotland. In the year 1852, upon reaching his 
 majority, ho left his Highland homo and came to the 
 United States, locating in Pennsylvania, where he 
 at once engaged in mining, following the business 
 for four years in that State. He then removed to 
 Belleville, St. Clair County, Illinois, where for two 
 years ho followed the same occupation. About the 
 year 185!» he went to Fulton, Missouri, and engaged in 
 farming, remaining at that place until 1SG2, at which 
 time he came to the Pacific Coast, locating at Vir- 
 ginia City, Nevada, where he has since made his 
 homo. Ho once more engaged in his old occupation, 
 and was a miner until 1878, when he was elected 
 Sheriff of Storey County, which office he holds and 
 creditably fills at the present time. Mr. Williamson 
 was married in 1872, to Asenath G. Gay, who is a 
 native of Cornwall, England. 
 
576 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 CHARTER OF VIRGINIA CITT. 
 
 Be it enacted hy the Governor and Legislative Assembly 
 of Utah. 
 
 Section. 1. That the citizens of Virginia City shall 
 be a body politic and corporate under t^ie name and 
 style Virginia Citj% and by that name shall have suc- 
 cession, maj' complain and defend in all courts, and 
 in all actions and proceedings, purchase, receive and 
 hold ])roperty, and sell or otherwise dispose of the 
 same for their common benefit. 
 
 Sec. 2. The area of Virginia City shall be two miles 
 square, and shall be bounded and described as fol- 
 lows: Commencing at a point one mile south of the 
 quartz mill of the Mexican Silver Mining Company; 
 thence east one mile; thence north two miles; thence 
 west two miles; thence south two miles; thence east 
 one mile. 
 
 Sec. 3. The corporate powers and duties of Vir- 
 ginia City shall be vested in a Board of Trustees, to 
 consist of five members, who shall be elected by the 
 qualified voters of Virginia City on the first Mondaj^ 
 of March of each year, and shall hold their office for 
 one j^ear, and until their successors are elected and 
 qualified. 
 
 Sec. 4. The Board of Trustees shall assemble 
 within five daj's after their election and choose a 
 President and Clerk from their number. They shall, 
 by ordinance, fix the times and places of holding 
 their stated meetings, and may be convened by the 
 President at any lime. 
 
 Sec. 5. At all meetings of the Board a majority 
 of the Board of Trustees shall constitute a quorum to 
 do business, and a smaller number may adjourn from 
 time to time, and may compel the attendance of 
 absent members in such manner, and under such 
 penalties, as the Board previously, by ordinance, may 
 have prescribed. 
 
 Sec. C. The Board of Trustees shall be the judges 
 of the election returns and qualifications of their own 
 members, and determine contested elections of all 
 city officers. The}- maj' establish rules for their own 
 proceedings, punish any member or other per.son 
 for disorderly behavior in their own presence, and 
 with the vote of four of the Trustees expel anj- 
 member of the Board. The}' shall keep a journal of 
 their proceedings, and at the desire of any member 
 shall cause the j-cas and nays to be taken on anj' 
 question, and entered in the journals, and their pro- 
 ceedings shall be published. 
 
 Sec. 7. In case of a vacancy in the Board of 
 Trustees by resignation or otherwise, the remaining 
 Trustees shall have power and bo required to fill 
 such vacant-}- at their next regular meeting. 
 
 Sec. 8. The Board of Trustees shall have power 
 to make such ordinances (not inconsistent with the 
 Constitution of the United States) and the laws 
 of tlio Territor}' as the}- may deem necessary to pro- 
 hibit disorderly conduct ; construct pumps, aqueducts 
 reservoirs or other works necessarj- for su|)pljMng 
 the city daily with water; to keep in repair public 
 wells; to lay out, alter, keep open and repair public 
 streets and alleys of the city; to provide such means 
 as they may deem necessary to protect the city from 
 injury by fire; to levy and collect annually a tax on 
 all property in the city not exceeding one per cent, 
 on the assessed value thereof, except the mines which 
 shall not bo subject to taxation; to levy and collect 
 a poll-tax of not exceeding one dollar per annum on 
 every male inhabitant of twenty-one years of age 
 and under fifty; and to pass such other ordinances 
 
 for the regulation and police of said city as they may 
 deem necessary. 
 
 Sec. 9. The Board of Trustees may cause to bo 
 erected at Virginia City a city jail, and the Recorder 
 may impose penalties of fines and imprisonment in 
 the city jail for such times as he shall prescribe for 
 the breach of and not inconsistent with the ordinances 
 of said city. All fines collected in pursuance of this 
 Act shall by the executive officer collecting the same 
 be paid over to the treasury of the city. 
 
 Sec. 10. The Justice of the Peace of the precinct 
 in which Virtjinia City is located shall be ex officio 
 Recorder of Virginia City and shall have jurisdic- 
 tion of all offences against the ordinances of said 
 city. The fees of tho Justice of the Peace of said 
 city shall be such as shall be established by the 
 Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees shall 
 have power to create such other offices as they may 
 deem necessary and to fill the same by ajipointmcnt; 
 to ])rovide their duties and fix their compensation; 
 to fix bonds for the faithful performances of their 
 duties and to remove them from office at pleasure. 
 
 Sec. 11. The Justiceof the J'eace of Virginia City 
 shall have power to sentence anj' person convicted of 
 offences under the statutes of the Territory of Utah, 
 to imprisonment in the city jail as provided for by law 
 for imprisonment in the county jail, and all fines for 
 offences within the jurisdiction of said Justice im- 
 posed by the statutes of Utah shall, when collected, 
 be paid into the City Treasury. 
 
 Sec. 12. The Board of Trustees shall have power 
 to make such laws for the assessment and collection 
 of taxes as they may deem expedient, and may pro- 
 vide that the property of all delinquent tax-payers 
 be sold for taxes at such time and in such manner as 
 the Board of Trustees by ordinance shall direct, and 
 such tax deed made under a sale in pursuance of an 
 ordinance of said Board of Trustees, shall be prima 
 facie evidence of title to real property, and in a sale 
 of personal property the delivery of possession by 
 the proper officer shall pass title to tho purchaser. 
 
 Sec. 13. All officers of tho cit}', before entering 
 upon the duties of their office, shall take tho oath of 
 office and give bonds to the inhabitants of Virginia 
 City. 
 
 Sec. 14. The President of the Board of Trustees 
 shall, on the first day of March and September of 
 each year, make out a full and correct statement 
 of all moneys received and expended daring the next 
 six months preceding, and shall cause such statement 
 within ten days thereafter, to be jmblished in some 
 newspaper published in tho city, or posted in three 
 public places in tho cit}'. For any neglect of duty 
 or to comply with this section, ho shall forfeit tho 
 sum of ?100, to bo recovered with costs in any court 
 of competent jurisdiction to tho use of the city. 
 
 Sec. 15. The Board of Trustees shall cause to bo 
 )iublished in some newspaper |)ublislied in Carson 
 County all ordinances of the city at least two weeks 
 before said oniinances shall be carried into effect. 
 
 Sec. 10. Should any of the Trustees, or any other 
 city officer remove from the city, or absent himself 
 therefrom more than thirty days without leave of 
 the Board, or neglect to qualify within ten days after 
 receiving notice of his election, or, if bond is ro- 
 ([uired of him, neglect for the said time to give said 
 bond, his office shall thereby be vacated. 
 
 Sec. 17. Charles L. Strong. John Ricketon, John 
 A. Collins, T. J. Andrews and A. E. Bead, or any 
 three of them, are authorizeil and required to give 
 not less than four days' notice of an election on the 
 second Monday of March, one thousand eight hun- 
 
p. Knapp & Co. 
 
 OtPOT VIRGINIA ICE CO. -"' PIONEER SODA WORKS. 
 
 < •'^ 
 
 1L. 
 
 
 
 ;-A "M'Pr'pjl^Tt"" 
 
 RESIDENCEo' B. F. LEETE, 
 RCNO, WASHOE C NEV. 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY. 
 
 577 
 
 dred and sixty-one, or as soon thereafter as may be, 
 for the election of city officers provided for in this 
 Act; they shall also appoint the Judge to act at said 
 election. The said Judi^es shall nive certificates of 
 election to the five persons having the highest num- 
 ber of votes for Trustees. 
 
 Sec. 18. The Board of Trustees of Virginia City 
 shall not contract any liabilities, either by borrow- 
 ing money, loaning the credit of the city, or contract- 
 ing debts which, singly or in the aggregate, shall 
 exceed the sum of 88,000, and the Trustees shall 
 issue scrip not exceeding this amount when they 
 shall deem necessary for the construction of a city 
 jail or for current expenses of the city government. 
 
 Sec. 19. Any person shall be qualified to vote 
 and hold an office in Virginia City who is a citizen of 
 the United States, and is and has been a resident of 
 said city for thirty days. 
 
 Daniel II. Wells, 
 President of the Council. 
 John Taylor, 
 Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
 Approved January 18, 18C1. 
 
 A. Cdmmino, 
 Governor of Utah Territory. 
 
 I, Francis Wootton, Secretary of the Territory of 
 
 Utah, do hereby certify that the foregoing is a true 
 copy of an Act to Incorporate Virginia City, the 
 original of which is now on file in this office. In 
 testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand and affix 
 the seal of the Territory of Utah. Done at Great 
 Salt Lake Citj% Utah Territory, on the second of 
 February, a. d. one thousand eight hundred and six- 
 ty-one. Francis H. Wootton, 
 [seal.] Secretary of Utah Territory. 
 
 EVENTS OF THE YEAR 1863. 
 
 The county and town governments had gone into 
 operation. The proper courts had been established 
 and peace and prosperity seemed well assured. The 
 towns of Virginia City, Gold Hill and American Flat 
 were lively places whetein all kinds of industry as 
 well as vice flourished. 
 
 The Washoe Stock and Exchange Board was 
 organized March G, 18G3, with A. C. Wightman, Presi- 
 dent; Jackson McKinstry, Vice-President; John Mc- 
 Carthy, Secretary; W. R. Scribner, Treasurer. 
 
 After the organization was completed the Board 
 adjourned to have a champagne supper, Mark Twain 
 happened to be in town and reports the baptismal 
 ceremonies as follows: — 
 
 By a sort of instinct we happened in at Almack's 
 just at the moment that the corks were about to pop, 
 and discovering that wo had intruded we were 
 retreating when Daggett, the soulless, insisted upon 
 
 our getting with the Board of Brokers, and we 
 
 very naturally did so. The President had already 
 been toasted, the Vice-President had likewise been 
 complimented in the same manner. Mr. Mitchel 
 had delivered an address through his unsolicited 
 mouth-piece, Mr. Daggett, whom he likened unto 
 Baalam's ass — and very a])tly loo — and the press had 
 been toasted, and he had attempted to respond and 
 got overcome by something — feelings jjerhaps — when 
 that everlasting, omnipresent, irrepressible, "Unre- 
 liable" crowded himself into the festive apartment, 
 where ho shed a gloom upon the Board of Brokers, 
 
 and emptied their glasses while they made speeches. 
 The imperturbable impudence of that iceberg sur- 
 passes anj-thing we ever saw. By a concerted move- 
 ment the young man was partially put down at length, 
 however, and the Board launched out into speech- 
 making again, but finally somebody put u])five feet 
 of " Texas," which changed hands at eight dollars a 
 foot, and from that they branched otl' into a whole- 
 sale bartering of •' wildcat" — for their natures were 
 aroused by the first smell of blood of course — and we 
 adjourned to make this report. The Board will 
 begin its regular meetings Monday next. 
 
 We find about this time an obscure entrj- in the 
 police records that Jack Perry, the City Marshal, 
 corraled the Stock Board of Virginia. Whether 
 the entry refers to the orgies of this evening the 
 editor is unable to say, and must again leave the 
 reader to judge the necessity of corraling them, as 
 well as of the fact. 
 
 Some laughable accounts of the humorous man- 
 ner in which Sherifl' iloward occasionally' discharged 
 his official duties gained him great notoriety in the 
 county. The following are related of him for facts: — 
 
 He once summoned a jury of squint-eyed men, and 
 the lawyers were nearly crazed in trying to get the 
 attention of the jurors. The next time be summoned 
 the fattest men in the county, and the jury-box was 
 running over with oleaginous matter for the whole 
 week. The next the thinnest men were in the jury- 
 box that could be found. It is said the Sheritl' had 
 also planned to summons the ugliest men for another 
 session; also the handsomest, which raised such 
 curiosity that the court had to interfere, as the 
 crowds coming to see the show would seriously inter- 
 rupt business. Sheriff Howard summoned the fol- 
 lowing tall men: — 
 
 HEIGHT. 
 NAME. PEF.T. INCUE3. 
 
 H. G. Blaisdel G 5 
 
 O. P. McCalmont 6 4i 
 
 J. B. Chinn 6 4* 
 
 John N. Crans G 2} 
 
 L. Eawlings t> 2 J 
 
 Samuel Doake G Ij 
 
 Samuel A. Chapin . . G 1| 
 
 J. M. .Merrill G U 
 
 D. Bailey 6 1 
 
 Joe Clark G } 
 
 Thomas Taj-lor G \ 
 
 William McCoy 5 11} 
 
 S. B. Bloomfield 5 llj 
 
 WilliamWelch 5 Hi 
 
 Cornelius Finley 5 11 
 
 H. M. Vessoy 5 10 
 
 Those who ascribe greatness of soul to those who 
 have large bodies will find an argument in the liberal 
 character of this jury, for they donated the scrip to 
 which they were entitled to the Ladies' Relief Society 
 of Gold Hill and Virginia City. The first of the list 
 was afterwards Governor of Nevada, and many of 
 the others achieved distinction. The long jury is 
 still remembered by many of the citizens of Storey 
 County. 
 
 Virginia City was lighted with gas for the first 
 
578 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 time November 12, 1863, and the principal stores and 
 hotels were illuminated. 
 
 In this year, too. the citizens of the whole State 
 were made glad bj- the arrival of a through over- 
 land mail. Those who now are accustomed to read 
 the news from the Eastern States at the hour at 
 which it transpires, can form little idea of the 
 pleasure with which the gold and silver hunters of 
 those days read the news of twenty days previous, 
 or how they began to feel themselves coming once 
 more into the light of civilization. 
 
 The Fire Department of Virginia City was or- 
 ganized and quite early put on an efficient basis. 
 The system had not gradual!}- grown into existence 
 as in some of the older eastern towns which in the 
 course of a century of experience had arrived at an 
 efficient working condition. Many of the members 
 had been members of fire companies and had a full 
 knowledge of the value of decision and energy requi- 
 site to conquer a fire where the combustible nature 
 of the materials and the fierce winds rendered a fire 
 nearly uncontrollable when once under waj'. 
 
 The Fire Department was organized as early as 
 March 4, 18G1. In 18()2, the officers were: John 
 V. B. Perry, President; Samuel E. Wetherell, Vice- 
 President; \V. H. Barstow, Treasurer; Peter Lar- 
 kin, Chief Engineer; John Cullen, Fir.«t Assistant; 
 M. R. Williams, Second Assistant. 
 
 There were two engine and one hook and ladder 
 companies with nearly two hundred members, most of 
 whom were property holders and, as such, personally 
 interested in the efficiency of their respective com- 
 panies. 
 
 The Masons, Odd Fellows and Sons of Temper- 
 ance as well as the C'hurches were early organized 
 and acted an efficient part in controlling the turbu- 
 lent elements in society and introducing the ameni- 
 ties of civilized life. 
 
 In 18G2 the Masons had two working Lodges, the 
 Odd I'^ellows two, and the Sons of Temperance one, 
 in Virginia City. In other portions of the county 
 they also had strong working organizations. It is 
 impossible to estimate the value of these societies in 
 assisting to bring such an energetic, restless and, to 
 some extent, reckless population under social and 
 political restraint. The man who joins any eocietj- 
 acting under regular rules and learns to listen with 
 deference to opinions differing from his own is un- 
 consciously becoming a better citizen. 
 
 Education was not forgotten. The presence of a 
 child almost called forth a donation for a school. 
 No matter how devoted to business or how depraved 
 a man may be, the innocent face of childhood will 
 call up memories of youthful years, and bring with 
 it a desire to benefit the little one and, j)erhap8, save 
 it from the scathing, self-consuming fire of a life sim- 
 ilar to his own. A school was established in Gold 
 Hill in 1862, and continued through the months of 
 May, Juno, and July, Mrs. Mary L. Gaston bein;; the 
 teacher, at a salary of $100 per month. The i. um- 
 
 ber of pupils was fourteen. The Trustees were C 
 H. Hobbs, C. H. Deland, and E. R. Barnes. Judge 
 S. A. Kellogg acted as examiner. The following 
 3-ear Jlrs. Sue H. Summers taught eight months with 
 a salarj- of SI 25. per month. A school was also 
 opened at American Flat by Miss Ida Tuttle. From 
 this time forward schools were on a firm basis. For 
 History of Schools see Chapter XXXI. 
 
 The year 1863 may safely be put down as a 3-ear of 
 marked progress in Storey County. During that 
 year new buildings, of a substantial character, were 
 erected; the prices of goods, in consequence of 
 increased freighting facilities, were more reasonable; 
 the promising condition of the mines created a good 
 demand for labor; stage and fast freight lines were 
 established in all directions, and everything gave evi- 
 dence of increasing prosperity. The countj- debt 
 was less than 825,000, and the ])opulation rapidly 
 increasing. The approach of winter now, did not, 
 as formerlj', herald destitution and suffering. The 
 shipments of bullion, from (iold Hill alone, 
 amounted to $1,156,121. The Water Company's 
 receipts for the last half of the year were 847,386. 
 Expenditures, 81."), (Hd. 
 
 Though there was much of the southern element 
 in the State, the Union feeling predominated. A 
 tall staft', with a flag thirty feet long, was erected on 
 Mount Davidson, with appropriate ceremonies. 
 Some of the speakers pledged Nevada to raise bullion 
 enough to pay lor putting down the Rebellion. 
 
 RIVAL AND AMBITIOUS TOWNS. 
 
 Whether because the principles of secession or con- 
 solidation, disintegration or union were frequently 
 discussed, or whether any natural and constitutional 
 causes, such as a radical difference in race or in civil- 
 ization aroused unconquerable antipathies, or whether 
 some political aspirants who Vere out of office wanted 
 offices created for them, or whether some ambitious 
 persons who held office wanted to swell their per- 
 quisites a little more, there was a serious disturbance 
 about the county and municipal lines, " about this 
 time," as the almanac makers say. 
 
 The ball was opened bj- the introduction of a bill 
 into the Legislature to consolidate into one munici- 
 pal government all the towns of the county. As Vir- 
 ginia City was practically the county it would virtu- 
 ally have the effect of being ruled by that city. To 
 this Gold [lill seriously objected. It was enough to 
 support the county officers; to see them serenely 
 enjoying the use of the money drawn from them by 
 county iaxes, but to be obliged to pay for Virginia 
 sidewalks, Virginia gas-lights, Virginia sewers, and 
 for Virginia debts and Virginia rascalities generally, 
 they would not, could not agree to, and the opposi- 
 tion became so fierce that the bill was dropped in 
 compliance with an almost universal protest of the 
 Gold Hillers. 
 
 Having felt their power in a fight, the citizens of 
 Gold Hill now resolved to establish a municipal gov- 
 ernment of their own, and a bill was introduced to 
 
 1 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY. 
 
 gr9 
 
 incorporate that burgh into a city and create a set of 
 municipal officers. But American t'lal now inter- 
 posed. Were they to be made to support in lazy 
 dignity the tTold Hill swells; so Gold Hill was incor- 
 porated with American Flat left out, leaving a great 
 want of harmony in the lines of the new city. 
 
 Having tasted the pleasure of authority, the Gold 
 Ilillers now proposed to cut loose from Virginia 
 Citj- cntirel}- and have a county of their own, and 
 had a bill introduced into the Legislature of 1804-65 
 to that effect. This was " carrying the war into 
 Africa," and Virginia City was put on the defense, the 
 Territorial Enterprise taking up the cudgels with a 
 terrible vim. Storej- County, shorn of Gold Hill and 
 
 American Flat, would not be worth a forotHcers. 
 
 Gold Hill retorted that the Virginia sports and 
 gamblers governed the countj- and were |)luiiging 
 everything in ruin; piling up a huge debt for ttold 
 Hill to paj-. The project failed, and county affairs 
 went on in the old way. 
 
 Among the many changes proposed by the people 
 of Virginia Citj', who seemed to have some of the 
 ambitious character of their namesake, the mother of 
 Presidents, was a plan to remove the Capital to Sto- 
 rey Countj\ In this matter they were generous, 
 and were willing it should be located at American 
 Flat, 850,000 being subscribed for erecting suitable 
 buildings. They urged the matter with much zeal, 
 and created considerable alarm in other parts of the 
 State by their efforts, but Lyon County putting in a 
 claim, and the Ormsby County authorities becoming 
 more reasonable in their demands for rent, the pro- 
 ject was abandoned. 
 
 COL. R. II. TAYLOR 
 
 Was born in the city of New York, August 17, 1822. 
 After finishing his studies in the schools he entered 
 the law office of his father and read law until 1840, 
 when he came to California. In 1850 he located in 
 Marysville, Yuba County, and started the ^lar^-sville 
 llerall, the first newspaper published in that town. 
 The date of the first issue was August (i, 1S50. The 
 history of Yuba County, published in 1879, in speak- 
 ing of this paper says: " It presented an extremely 
 neat ap])earance. Its editorials were spicy and 
 showed ability. The impossibility of procuring a 
 sufficient quantity of white paper compelled the pub- 
 lisher to rrcf|uentl\- print the issue upon brown paper, 
 or as the editor remarked, 'do it up brown.'" In 
 1853 he sold his paper and business and went to 
 Downieville, where in 1850 he was elected District 
 Judge of the Seventeenth Judicial District, composed 
 of Sierra and Plumas Counties. In .June. 18(')2, he 
 resigned the office and resumed the ])ructice of law. 
 which profe.ision he has since followed. He came to 
 Virginia City, Nevada, in March, 1863, and in 1868, 
 was the Democratic candidate for Supreme Judge. 
 Until 1872 he had al\va3-s been a Democrat, but the 
 nomination of Horace Greeley was something he 
 could not indorse and he came out for Grant. Be 
 
 PHOTO BY JOHN 8. NOE. VIRGINIA. NCV. 
 
 coming at that time convinced of the truth and jus- 
 tice of Republican principles he has done good work 
 for that party at every election since then. Ho was 
 on the Republican electoral ticket in 1880. lie has 
 been twice elected President of the Pacific Coast 
 Pioneers of Nevada, and was the first Noble Grand 
 of the first lodge of Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
 lows on this coast, in which office he was installed 
 September 0, 1840, which was one year to a day 
 before the admission of the State of California into 
 the Union. He was married to .Miss Emily M. Kav- 
 anah, in New York City in 1842, who died in San 
 Francisco, California, in September, 1849. In 1854 
 he was married, in Downieville California, to MisB 
 Mary J. Leahigh. 
 
 .JOSEPH E. m'D0N.\LD 
 
 Is a native of Canada, born in the town of Hillier, 
 April 28, 1846. His boj'hood days were passed on 
 Canadian soil. His education was principally re- 
 ceived at the town of Pictou, where he continued his 
 studies until he reached his seventeenth year. His 
 facilities for obtaining an education in the higher 
 brunches wore not of the best, but during; his school 
 days he improved " the shining hours." and accumu- 
 lated more useful knowledge than many who re- 
 mained in school years after he was obliged to relin- 
 quish his studies. As youth ripened into manhood 
 he sought wider fields wherein to search for the fort 
 
580 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, 
 
 1 
 
 
 PHOTO ev JOHN S not. VIRQINIA. NCV 
 
 f^^^^W^-^^ 
 
 t^-r^ 
 
 uno ho fully believed laid in store for him, and in 
 18G3 came to ^Nevada, and located in Yirsrinia City 
 where he engaged in mining, and soon after forsook 
 that occupation and entered the wood and coal busi- 
 ness. In this he was successful, and not forgetting 
 tis parents, living away back in the land where he 
 "first beheld the light," ho returned to them in 1875, 
 and from his accumulated wealth bought a home and 
 placed them therein, that their declining years might 
 be passed in peace and quiet. For this act Mr. Mc- 
 Donald deserves the res])ect and esteem of his fellow- 
 men. It is an example that might be followed by 
 thousands of our young men, had thej' the ambition 
 and filial atlection reposed in the subject of this 
 sketch. He returned to Nevada during the same 
 year, and in 1878 was nominated and elected to the 
 responsible position of County Clerk of Storey 
 County, by the licpublican part}-, an office he filled 
 to the entire satisfaction of his constituents and the 
 people generally. In 1880 ho was nominated for the 
 same office and without doubt would have gained an 
 easy victory, but for reasons best known to himself 
 withdrew his name, declining to run for the office 
 again. His principles are not altered in the least, 
 and he is to-day asHtauiich a Republican as ever, and 
 will cast bis vote with that party as long as he is sat- 
 isfied that it is in the right. 
 
 lie was married in 1875 to Miss Lizzie Virginia 
 Crosby, of San Jose, California. 
 
 POLITICAL EXCITEMENT. 
 
 In Gold Hill the election of Trustees, under the 
 late Act of incorporation, occurred June 6, 1864, and 
 resulted in the success of the Citizens' Ticket by 186 
 majority. C. S. Coover, S. H. Eobinson, H. C. 
 Blaiichard, Moses Korn, and G. W. Aylsworth were 
 the successful candidates. Great excitement pro- 
 vailed. Twenty-one double votes, found in the bal- 
 lot-box. were rejcclod. One side charged fraud, 
 while the other claimed the result as the " triumjjh of 
 law and order." 
 
 The whole political struggle culminated in the 
 November election. The pride of being one of the 
 galaxy of States, of having a voice in the selection 
 of a President, brought out a full vote. The Repub- 
 licans buried their dissensions to unite against the 
 common enemy. The Democrats, encouraged by 
 their partial successof September 7th, were confident 
 and noisy. As might have been expected, hard 
 words were succeeded by hard blows and, in 
 instances, by the use of fire-arms and knives, with- 
 out any fatal results in the county however, and, 
 when the decision was rendered, all bowed in submis- 
 sion to the popular verdict. The average majority 
 of the Republican Ticket in the county was some- 
 thing over 800. 
 
 Some amusing wagers were made which served to 
 dull the edge of the strife, and help to renew good 
 feeling after the election was over. L. D. Noyes 
 agi'eed to saw a cord of mountain mahogany wood, 
 in a public hall, if McClellan was elected President, 
 provided, J. C. Benson would do the same if Lincoln 
 was elected. A committee from Virginia City, Gold 
 Hill, DajHon, Silver City and Carson were to see 
 that " all things were done decently and in order." 
 The wood when sawed was to be sold for the benefit 
 of the Sanitary Fund. 
 
 The ladies of Gold Hill gave an entertainment, 
 during the election season, for the benefit of the 
 Sanitary Fund, which resulled in raising S3. 080. 
 The donations added to the fund, during the thirty 
 daj-s succeeding the election, raised the amount, so 
 that the whole fund was e(|ual to $10.30 for each 
 voter in the place. 
 
 PRIVATE AND PUBLIC EXTRAVAOANCE. 
 
 " Every man for himself and th^ Devil take the 
 hindmost" seemed to have been the general motto 
 up to the year 18()5, and if there was any reform in 
 subsequent j-cars it was not rapid enough to shock 
 the ordinaiy mind. Those of our readers who are 
 familiar with the early history of San Francisco, 
 Sacramento, Piacervillo, ^lokehimne Hill or Sonora 
 will recogni7,e the jiicture as one common to all new 
 mining towns, and the accumulation of sudden wealth 
 by those who have been ])oor. (iold intoxicates, not 
 like whisky, but like nothing else. It is said that 
 some of those who discovered the enormous de- 
 jiosits in Hallarat, in Australia, had their horses shod 
 with shoes made of gold. Though this form of ex- 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY. 
 
 581 
 
 travagancc did not prevail in CuiiCoi'nia or Nevada, 
 Eomo other equally as absurd did. Man is much tbo 
 same animal everywhere, whether in the oil regions 
 of Pennsylvania, the mines of Colorado, thcbonanzas 
 of Nevada or the placers of California. 
 
 The reports of the finances of the municipal gov- 
 ernment in future years will be no less astonishing 
 than the bonanzas. The following is vouched for by 
 the editor of the Gold Hill News, Alf. Doten, who 
 was a " part of the history " and the statements may 
 be relied upon as substantiallj' correct: — 
 
 The debt of Virginia City in 1SG5 was as follows: 
 
 Scrip bearing interest at 
 
 5 and 6 per cent, per month $29,467 34 
 
 3 and 3A percent, per month 15,582 62 
 
 4 per cent, per month 8,050 00 
 
 2 ))er cent, per month ) 
 
 12 per cent, per annum ) 78 294 28 
 
 K.inds 48.000 00 
 
 Accumulated interest 45,462 86 
 
 As this estimate was made after the 
 annual paj-nients had been made and 
 showing the .•■maliest amount of debt at 
 anv ]iortion of the vear we may add pay- 
 
 mJnt of .- 20.980 68 
 
 Making the sum total for the earlier 
 
 part of the year as §254,837 78 
 
 The 12 per cent, bonds were worth in the market 
 forty-five cents on the dollar; the scrip twenty to 
 forty five cents. 
 
 Tliccount}- finances were not less astounding. 
 
 The county debt in 1863 was 8 10.897 43 
 
 The county debt in 1864 was 194 099 51 
 
 The county debt in 1865 was 280,579 76 
 
 If we add to the l.'ist amount the 
 
 warrants redeemed for 1865 46,495 36 
 
 The amount of the debt the earlier 
 
 part of the j'car would be 8327,075 12 
 
 What this debt was for can hardly bo imagined as 
 there were no county buildings except, perhaps, a 
 hospital. 
 
 The indebtedness December 1st was as follows: — 
 
 First class indebtedness $100,069 28 
 
 Second class indebtedness 174,510 48 
 
 Total 8280,579 76 
 
 The firstsum was contracted prior to July 25, 1864. 
 
 TH0.M.\S MOSES 
 
 Was born in Wolcottville, Connecticut, June 2, 1834. 
 When two j-ears old ho removed with his parents to 
 Auburn, New York; thence to Litchfield, Ohio, in 
 1842; thence to Wisconsin in 1851; one year later he 
 removed to Illinois. In 1853, ho emigrated to Ore- 
 gon, crossing the plains. The next year found bim 
 in (California; and in 1855 ho returned to the I'^asl, 
 and followed farming in Wisconsin until 1858. In 
 the spring of 1859 he went, as wagon master for a 
 government train, to Fort Yuma. Cilifmnia. Ho 
 returned to Wisconsin the same year, and in 1800 ho 
 went to Denver, Colorado, and settled in Clear Creek 
 County. In 1861 he went as ])ack-masler for W. H. 
 Kussell, for the i)urposo of looking out a stage-road 
 from Denver, Colorado, to Salt Lake City, Utah. 
 73 
 
 PHOTO BY JOHN S NOE. VIRGINIA, NEV 
 
 In 1861, in the full, he was elected Sheriff of Clear 
 Creek County, Colorado, under the Territorial organ- 
 ization. The War of the Rebellion being well under 
 way at this time, he joined the army, receiving a 
 Lieutenant's commission, and was recruiting oflicer 
 for the Third Colorado Infantry. In 1863 he was 
 promoted to a Captaincj-, and served with distinc- 
 tion in the Department of Missouri. After serving 
 four years Captain Moses was mustered out of ser%-- 
 ice with his regiment. In the fall of the year, 1865, 
 ho became a member of tho firm of J. W. Bloom- 
 field it Co., at St. Louis, Missouri, ami went to Santa 
 Fe, Now Mexico, in tho interest of the firm; he also 
 made trips in other directions for tho firm, until in 
 the spring of 1867 ho went to Kansas, and was 
 appointed sutler at Fort Wallac. In 1869 we find 
 him a contractor in Colorado, on tho Kansas Pacific 
 IJailroad. In 1871 ho again crossed the ])lains to tho 
 Pacific Coast, and located in Seattle, Washington 
 Territory, where he kept a hotel. In 1872 ho was 
 one of tho surveyors for the Northern Pacific Rail- 
 road Contpuny. Ver^' few men have traveled as 
 much as tho subject of this sketch; and alter an 
 eventful life ho settled in Virginia City, Storey 
 Count}-, Nevada, in 1873, where he has sinco resided. 
 In 1S7(! ho was elected as Justice of tho Peoco, and 
 ro-olected in 1878. 
 
582 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 ^ 
 
 PHOTO BY NOC A LEE, VIRQiNIA. NEV 
 
 'gp'z-*^^ 
 
 ■^ 
 
 -<. Cl/^^ 
 
 Charles Forman, one of the olfiost and most prac- 
 tical raining Huperintendents on the Comstocif, and 
 the subject of this sketch, was born in Tioga County, 
 New York, in January, ISri"). His education was 
 received at Owego. At the cixvXy ago of eighteen 
 years he left his home and emigrated to California, 
 reaching Sacramento in 1853, where for four years he 
 was box clerk and cashier of the post-oflico at that 
 place. Subsequently he received the appointment as 
 Deput}- Sccrctar}' of State. During 18G0 Mr. For- 
 man came to Virginia City to examine the mining 
 interests of that place, and was offered, and accepted 
 a position in the express office of Wells, Fargo & Co., 
 with whom he remained about one year. After 
 which date he devoted his time wholly to mining at 
 Gold Hill, having the superintendcncy of the Kdipse 
 Mill and Mining (Jompanj-, which position ho filled 
 until 18()7. During this time, however, he superin- 
 tended the Bacon .Mill and Mining Companj", Piute 
 Mill and Mining Company, and the Confidence Min- 
 ing (/Onipanj', also the Vivian Mill. In 1S70 he 
 went to Piocho, Lincoln County, as General Sujierin- 
 tendent of the Meadow Valley Mining Company, 
 where ho romaiaed o&ly about ton months. The fol- 
 
 lowing three years he spent partly in San Francisco, 
 and the remainder in Salt Lake City, Utah, being a 
 member of the firm of B. F. Sherwood & Company, 
 brokci's. In Salt Lake City he was engaged in the 
 lumber business. Upon bis return to San Francisco 
 he conceived the idea of a trip through the northern 
 Territories, to examine the coal mines said to exist 
 there. His trip was an extensive one, taking him 
 through Oregon, Washington Territory and British 
 Columbia. Ho returned to Virginia City in 1874, 
 and at once assumed the position as Superintendent 
 of the Overman Mine, at Gold Hill, and soon after 
 that of the Caledonia Mine, both of which he super- 
 intends at the present time. He resides in Virginia 
 City, having one of the finest residences in the city. 
 
 AMUSEMENTS IN EARLY DAYS. 
 
 These partook of the character of the jieoplo; 
 something strong for miners; no milk and water ex- 
 hibitions. If it had been po.^sible to hang men and 
 afterwards resuscitate them or blow them from can- 
 nons and afterwards gather the scattered fragments 
 together it would have drawn finely. Tom Maguire 
 of California notoriety built an opera house as early 
 as 18G3. It was afterwards known as Piper's Opera 
 House and became famous as a place for all kinds 
 of public meetings, political and social as well as 
 theatrical. It fronted fifty-four feet on D Street and 
 was one hundred feet deep. 
 
 Prize fights were not uncommon. Onlj- a few of 
 the exhibitions of this kind can be noticed. In con- 
 sequence of being prohibited bj' law they were gen- 
 erally held in out-of-the-way places. They com- 
 menced as early as 1863. In October of that year 
 
 Bradlej- and Pat Fogg arranged a fist fight for 
 
 money. Gallagher and Brooks also made 
 
 an exhibition of their prowess according to the rules 
 of the ring, the latter coming off second best. 
 
 January 8, 1864. Two Hibernians, " jist to honor 
 Jinoral Jackson" arranged a fist fight to come oft' on 
 a vacant lot on B Street, but the police interfered 
 with the amusement, to the disgust of many of tho 
 spectators. 
 
 March 1 0th of the same j'ear, Patsey Fogg and 
 
 Bradley met again, this time in Six-raile Canon. 
 We are unable to say who came off best. 
 
 June 4th, Bill Davis and Patsej' Daylej- fought at 
 American Flat for SI. 000 a side. Three thousand 
 spectators witnessed tho exhibition at 82 50 a head. 
 The grounds were inclosed in a tight board fence. 
 The manner in which this was got up, " regardless 
 of expense" showed tho esteem in which such exhi- 
 bitions wore held. 
 
 August 8th, same year, Patsej' Fogg again ap- 
 jieared on the jiugilistic arena, this time against 
 William Blackwood. The place of meeting was at 
 Spring Valloy. Aftortwonty-four rounds the victory 
 was awarded to Fogg. 
 
 January 17, LSC'i. Patsey Fogg fought Harry 
 Cooper one hour and twenty-two minutes. At the 
 close of tho sixty-third round Fogg was declared 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY. 
 
 583 
 
 winner. In consequence of the porsietence of the 
 combatants it was, according to the papers, a pro- 
 longed and brutal affair. 
 
 April 4, 18()5. Patse}- Fogg whipped John Kelle- 
 her at the end of one hour and seventeen minutes, 
 after thirty-nine rounds. The stakes were 81. '"lO. 
 The place of meeting was on the border of Storey 
 County. 
 
 October 1, 1865. A bear and dogfight came off at 
 the Opera House, in which the bear made short work 
 of whiiipiiig the dog. After the dog was whipped 
 the police arrested the managers. 
 
 The last of these exhibitions of any note occurred 
 
 May 4, 1872, between White, an Irishman, and 
 
 Williams, a Cornishman, who fought on the old 
 
 race course for 8250 a side. Williams won. 
 
 HOW AN .\R.ASTRA (S .MADE. 
 
 Dig a circular hole five to eight feet across and two 
 feet deep. In the center of this set down a i)ost of 
 four or five inches in diameter, to the depth of three 
 or four feet. Pave the bottom of the hole smoothly 
 with the hardest rock you can get, fitting the pieces, 
 which should weigh fifty to one hundred pounds each, 
 rather closely but not too closely together, using a 
 stiff clay to cement the joints. The ])orphyry rocks 
 generally found in the vicinity of mineral lodes, 
 make a good pavement for the arastra. At a dis- 
 tance of three to five feet from the center of the 
 hole, make a rim of curbstones rising eight or ten 
 inches above the floor; this should also bo made 
 water-tight with stiff" day. If the work has been 
 well done it will hold water. A sweep should be 
 attached to the central part with an arm reaching 
 out three or four feet to hitch a mule or horse to, or 
 if the arastra is large enough to justify, the sweep 
 may be extended from the center in both directions, 
 so as to have two horses or even two pair attached 
 to it. To this sweep are attached the stones by 
 ropes or chains, which do the grinding by being 
 dragged slowly around in the circle, bringing every 
 particle of quartz to a condition of ])a8to. The 
 charge is from 300 or 400 pounds up to a ton, 
 according to the size of the concern. Enough water 
 should be used to make a rather paste-like hasty 
 pudding or meal mush, which it much resembles 
 when it is done or ground fine enough. Too much 
 water would wash the fine particles of the ores out, 
 and too little would prevent them from settling to 
 the bottom or into the clay seams, where, if the 
 process is well done the gold and silver is found 
 mixed with the quicksilver at the end of the process. 
 In the opinion of many persons this is the cheapest 
 way of reducing ores, especially at a distance from 
 a town where machinery is manufactured. 
 
 In 18G5 the Gold Hill mines worked 724 men 
 regularly, and produced 9(>0 tons of ore daily. 
 The Virginia City mines employed 6C2 men and 
 produced 475 tons daily. The gross yield of the 
 Comstock for three-quarters of the year was 257,728 
 tons, which produced 89,328,188 in bullion. 
 
 PHOTO. BY JOHN g. HOC. VIROINtA, NEV. 
 
 Judge Richard Rising, the subject of this sketch, 
 is a native of Pennsylvania, and was born in the city 
 of Philadelphia in 1837. His boyhood was spent in 
 the city of New York, until in January, 1853, when 
 with his mother and other members of the family, he 
 joined bis father in California. He entered the oflico 
 of Geo. Foote and commenced reading law, where ho 
 staj'cd but a short time, and afterward finished his 
 studies with Gen. J. A. McDougall, and was admitted 
 to the Bar at the age of twenty -one years. 
 
 Ho was married in 1859, and removed to Downie- 
 ville. Sierra County, California, and entered upon the 
 duties of his profession. Being a man of more than 
 ordinar}' intellect, and possessing the qualifications 
 necessary for success, ho soon gained a largo and 
 lucrative practice. In 18G1, the discovery of the 
 mines on the Comstock led him to Nevada, and in 
 partnership with W. M. Stewart, afterwards United 
 Slates Senator, and Mr. .M. Kirkpatrick, was engaged 
 in nearly all the important litigation of those days. 
 When the Territory of Nevada was converted into a 
 State, ho was elected one of the District Judges, 
 being then only twenty-six years of age. At the 
 expiration of two yeai's the throe offices of District 
 Judge were merged into one, and Judge Rising was 
 re-elected to that high position, which he has held 
 until the present time, having boon re-elected four 
 times. Ho is a man of great argumentative powers, 
 an able lawyer, and enjoys to-day the respect and 
 good-will of his follow-mon. 
 
98* 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 PHOTO BY JOHN S HOC, VIRQrNIA, NCV 
 
 ^1 
 
 Henry Rolfe is a native of Maine, and was born in 
 Farmington, July 30, 1844. His boyhood daj-s wore 
 passed in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, where 
 he attended school and finally graduated at Harvard 
 Universitj'. Soon after graduating ho came to the 
 Pacific Coast and located in San Francisco, California, 
 where he remained until the year 1872 when he 
 crossed to Nevada, and has since been a resident of 
 Virginia City. His first occupation in the latter city 
 was with the well-known Geo. T. Marye, stock- 
 broker, in whose employ he remained until 1875, at 
 which time he became a member of the firm of \V. 
 n. Clark & Co., in the same line of business. In 
 1878 he severed his connection with that firm and 
 was tendered and accepted the office of Deputy 
 County Clerk, which position ho creditably fills at 
 the present time. Mr. Rtjlfo is thoroughly convcr- 
 eani with the duties pertaining to his office. In poli- 
 tics lie is a strong Republican, but a consistent one, 
 and in social life is a popular gentleman, the possessor 
 of the esteem and respect of the people generally. 
 
 HENEKICENT INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 It must not bo supposed tliat Gold Hill and Vir- 
 ginia City were altogether made up of pi'izo fighters, 
 gamblers and their victims. Ono di-unken man in a 
 town will make more noise than twenty respectable 
 citizens, and a Joaquin Muriclta has made more 
 history tlian hundreds of good men would make. 
 
 Along with the rest came those who not only main- 
 tained self-respect and integrity but became active 
 in ])romoting the reforms necessary and establishing 
 beneficiary societies. 
 
 The German Turn-vereins established an order at 
 Gold Hill as early as October. 18C3, with the follow- 
 ing officers: C. Fliender, President; George Perry, 
 Secretarj'i J. G. Meyer, Treasurer; C. Haul, Second 
 Treasurer; Fred. Ulil, leader of gymnastic exercises. 
 
 The Gold Hill Band was organized December, 
 18C3. 
 
 The Odd Follows Hall at Virginia was dedicated 
 December 7, 18G4. The Library was established in 
 the winter of 1865 with GOO volumes. 
 
 May 21, 18GG, the Good Templars was organized 
 at Gold Hill with about thirty members bj- E. S. 
 Loomis of Champion Lodge, Virginia CilJ^ When 
 the Champion Lodge was organized we are not 
 informed. These institutions exerted a positive 
 influence in building up societj' and neutralizing the 
 virus of the criminal element. 
 
 FIRST QUARTZ MILLS. 
 
 At this date many forms of mills were experimental. 
 The weight of the character (whether rotating or 
 fixed) of tappit-shape of cams and other things, 
 were something to be determined by experience. 
 The number of mills in the county was tliirly- 
 six; aggregate number of stamps, G23, with an 
 aggregate of 1,510-horsc power, and a crushing 
 capacitj- of 850 tons each twentj'-four hours. Thirty- 
 four wore classed as wet crushing, and two as dry 
 crushing, using the Freiburg process of reduction. 
 There were also five arastra mills in the county, with 
 a capacity of crushing from a half ton to one ton 
 per day each. The arastra is a Mexican or Spanish 
 institution, and though a very slow affair, has many 
 valuable qualities, such as cheapnessand availability. 
 It furthermore has the reputation of being more 
 thorough in its work, working nearer to an assay 
 than any other process. It is, from the ease with 
 which it is set up and the absence of iron, adapted 
 to the use of the prospector in places remote from 
 machine shops. 
 
 COLONEL A. M. EDGINOTON 
 
 Was born in East Springfield, Ohio, in the year 1828. 
 At the comparatively earl}' ago of twenty-four he 
 turned from the quiet haunts of his youth to seek in 
 the distant West an adventurous path to possible 
 fortune. Reaching California in 1852, he was soon 
 in the midst of the stirring scenes around him. For 
 eight years he shared the ])erils, excitements and 
 privations of frontier life in all its phases. Locating 
 in Placer County, he became in turn merchant, 
 miner, teamster and lumberman. His nature was 
 too generous and proiJigal, however, for large finan- 
 cial accumulations. He was ton ready to assist the 
 unfortunate and share with needy friends to enroll 
 his name among the great money makers of the day. 
 In 18G0 he crossed the line into Nevada, and alter 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY. 
 
 585 
 
 various vieisiludes became Deputy Sheriff of Storey 
 County. In 1865 he was appointed Deputj' Internal 
 Revenue Assessor, which position heresittned during 
 the followinjj year, by reason of political complica- 
 tions. At this time, and until the day of his death, 
 ho was an uncompromising Republican. In 18G7 ho 
 became accountant at the Morgan Mill, in Ormsby 
 County, and in the following j^ear was appointed 
 Superintendent of the Union Mill and Mining Com- 
 pany- at Virginia City. In 1870 he received the com- 
 mission of Major on the Staff of Brigadier General 
 
 j4 ^h- wcA^^ 
 
 COT^ 
 
 Batterman. During all these years his health had 
 been slowly yielding to the dread destroyer, con- 
 sumption, and he was finally compelled to resign his 
 position, and entirely abandon the active pursuits of 
 life. On the fifteenth of October, 1875, ho died at 
 Sacramento, calm and conscious to the last. His 
 remains were interred, a few days afterwards, at 
 Virginia City, with civic, military and Masonic 
 honors. Never before did the population of that 
 mining metropolis betray' such unanimous respect and 
 sorrow in memory of a departed citizen. His benevo- 
 lence, honesty and noble sense of duty had com- 
 mended him to all classes, and exacted their esteem 
 and love. Behind him he left an unblemished record. 
 He was not a scholar in the collegiate sense, but a 
 finely gifted brain and persistent self-culture had 
 mude him the peer of anj' with whom he camo in 
 contact. In ever3--day life he was a practical expo- 
 nentof Christianity, and concerning bis religious pro- 
 fession Bishop Whillaker wrote of hini, after his 
 death, as follows: " He was one of the vestrymen 
 
 of vSt. Paul's Church, in this city, and for years had 
 been one of the church's warmest friends and sup- 
 porters. He was always ready with voice and hand 
 and purse to aid in anything that would promote 
 the church's welfare. By his death I feel that 1 
 have lost not only a warm personal friend, but that 
 the church has also lost a zealous advocate." The 
 universally popular homage paid to the memory of 
 Colonel Edgington is not that which wealth or politi- 
 cal station command but such as mankind reserve 
 for examples of the purest and noblest manhood. 
 
 Cr^ 
 
 PHOTO ev MORSe SAN FRANCISCO 
 
 C^/i^ 
 
 W. E. F. Deal, son of Dr. Wni. Grove Deal, was 
 born in Calvert County, Maryland, March 8, 1840. 
 In 1845 he moved with his parents to Baltimore, 
 where he attended school, and in September, 1855, 
 entered Dickinson College, at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 
 from where he graduated, after pursuing a full col- 
 lege course, in July, 18.')9, with degree of A. B., and 
 afterward received the degree of A. M. from his 
 Alma Mater. Dr. Deal, father of the present subject, 
 was one of the first who left Baltimore for California 
 upon the discovery of gold, reaching the latter place 
 in the spring of '49, and was closely identified with 
 the early history of the State. Mr. Deal left for 
 California soon after graduating, where ho arrived 
 September 12, 1859. His first occupation was as a 
 teacher in a school in Oakland, Alameda County, 
 where he staj'ed until March, 1800, and moved to 
 Colusa, Colusa County, California, and had charge of 
 a school from March until July, 1860; thence to 
 
586 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Nevada City, California, whore ho opened a private 
 school, over which he presided until May, 1863, at 
 which time he came to Nevada, and has since been 
 a resident of Virginia City. Daring that year he 
 entered the law office of I). W. Perley and Chaa. E. 
 DcLoncr, and studied law while uctinsjf as their clerk, 
 and in 18G5 was admitted to the Bar of the Supreme 
 Court of Nevada. In 1800 he formed a partnership 
 with Curtis J. Hillj-er and W. S. Wood, which con- 
 tinued until 1871. In 1870 Mr. Deal was nominated 
 by the Democrats for the office of District Judge, of 
 the Fourth Judicial District, but was defeated by 
 Judge Rising, by only ninety-six majority. In 1873 
 the jiartnership of Lewis & Deal was formed, which 
 still exists, and is cxtonsivelj- engaged in the practice 
 of law in the courts of Nevada and California. In 
 1878 Mr. Deal was nominated for Congress, but was 
 defeated by R. M. Daggett. In 1880 he was chair- 
 man of the Democratic State Central Committee, for 
 the campaign of that )-ear. which resulted in the 
 election of Democratic nominees for Presidential 
 electors — of which Mr. Deal was one — Member of 
 Congress, Justice of the Sui)rcmc Court, and a Dem- 
 ocratic Legislature, insuring the election of a Demo- 
 cratic United States Senator from Nevada. He 
 was married in 1875. and has three children. 
 
 ORE.\TER PROSPERITY INDICATED. 
 
 Great energy had been displaj^ed in building up 
 the Slate. Churches, schools and benevolent insti- 
 tutions seemed to succeed as niitiirally as though to 
 the " manor born." Many projects were inaugurated 
 that afterwards exerted a great influence on the 
 trade, mining and social character of the new com- 
 munity. 
 
 " Wild cat " schemes are pressed to the front. This 
 term has been ;ised for half a century or more to de- 
 note baseless projects. Forty years since the West- 
 ern States were overrun with wild cat banks, and 
 happy the business man who did not get bitten by 
 them more than once in a daj'. Wild cats of this 
 description flourish best in a land of great possibili- 
 ties, where fortunes are quickly made by a brilliant 
 stroke, or lost much sooner by one false move. The 
 silver mines of Nevada had more wild cats to the 
 square mile than any other land ever discovered. 
 There were greater varieties, more colors, they ap- 
 peared in more places, and under more varied cir- 
 cumstances than were ever known before. If men 
 in other places were bitten by them, here men were 
 devoured, lost, so that not a vestige was left; or, to 
 descend from the figurative style of talking, there 
 were more swindling projects than were ever con- 
 ceived before. 
 
 When the Comstock Lode was discovered the 
 croppings oast and west, more particularly the for- 
 mer, looked nearly as well as those which afterwards 
 ])roved to be so immensely rich. There was much 
 mineral in the surface, in fact many of them had 
 considerable quantities of milling ore, but they gen- 
 
 erally "petered out" at no great depth, but they 
 formed splendid material to organize stock compa- 
 nies on and draw out assessments. Most of those 
 interested in these concerns had very little knowl- 
 edge of mines, theoretical or practical, and were 
 easily imposed upon, even the men who organized the 
 companies were themselves often deceived. When 
 such a field presented itself to rascals they were not 
 slow to avail themselves of it. Mines were incor- 
 porated on ground that did not have a particle of 
 mineral, this being supplied from other mines 
 Gold-dust was shot into the ground, silver was 
 melted into the rock or plugged in, in such a way as 
 to resemble natural ores, so that a person not an ex- 
 pert would see silver all around in a worthless 
 mine. In one instance the pure silver specimens 
 taken out of the rock had the impression of an 
 American Eagle including the j)luri bugler on them 
 the work of salting not having been well done. A 
 sample of this salt can be seen in the Mining Bureau 
 of California, at San Francisco. But jirofcssional 
 swindlers generally succeeded in deceiving the public, 
 or rather individuals of that extensive family. Even 
 some of the Comstock mines were assi'sscd to tho 
 extent of millions without ever making dividends. 
 
 Some amusing things in this connection occurred in 
 an early day. A party from Sun Francisco who had 
 been visiting tho mines, returning with a sack of 
 ores stopped all night at a hotel in Amador County 
 with a notorious wag by the name of Iloslcy. After 
 listening to their talk awhile he planned a surprise 
 for them, and, aflcr they had retired, judiciously ex- 
 changed their worthless specimens for similar look- 
 ing ones, which he knew to bo good. Tho unsus- 
 pecting travelers continued on their waj- to the city 
 whore they put their find in the hands of an assayer. 
 The results exceeded their most sanguine hopes. 
 Companies were formed and money raised to carry 
 on the work, but tho clouds, though bright, had no 
 silver lining. 
 
 Men who had good mines did not know how to 
 manipulate them but were to some extent at the 
 mercy of any pretender to the art of mining or valu- 
 able methods of reducing refractory ores. Valuable 
 mills which should save half of the expense of reduc- 
 tion were sold in great numbers to the unsophisti- 
 cated miners. 
 
 The result, however, of so many experiments and 
 mistakes was the adoption of tho best system of min- 
 ing tho world ever saw. While the world was plan- 
 ning how deep mining could be carried on, the miners 
 of Nevada had solved it with air compressor drills, 
 diamond augers and powerful hoisting machinery. 
 When Sutro, backed by European cajutal, started to 
 tunnel the mines at a depth of 1,000 foot, according 
 to the best methods of mining known to them, the 
 miners with their modern machinery beat him in tho 
 race, getting below the range of the tunnel long 
 before he made the connection. 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY. 
 
 587 
 
 PHOTO By NOE A. LCE. VlflOINIA, NCV 
 
 /. E. James 
 
 Is a native of Ohio, and was born in Marion t'ounty, 
 January 6, 1830. The first twenty years of his life 
 were passed in his native Slate. lie received a 
 thorough education at Granville College, and studied 
 civil engineering, a profession in which he has gained 
 a name throughout the Pacific Coast, ilis first 
 situation as an engineer was with the Bellefontaine 
 and Indiana Kailroad Company, where ho was 
 employed two years. In 1833 he came to California 
 by the Nicaragua route, reaching San Francisco in 
 the month of January-, and settled in Downieviile, 
 Sierra County,* where he followed his profession and 
 was elected County Surveyor of Sierra County. In 
 May, IStjO, Mr. James crossed the mountains to 
 Nevada, settling at Virginia Cit^-, making the Corn- 
 stock his headijuarters, as a mining surveyor, until 
 1878. Duringthis time he was chosen Chief Kngineer 
 of the Virginia and Truckee Jlailroad, which road 
 was built under his supervision in 1870. He also 
 located the boundary line between Utah and Xevada, 
 from the Idaho line to the C!olorado River. In 1S73 
 he made an exploration from Blue River Station, on 
 the Colorado Desert, to the (Julf of California, encoun- 
 tering numerous dangers and didiculties, abouiKiing 
 in that comparatively unknown region. Mr. James 
 filled the responsible position as Superintendent of 
 the Yellow Jacket Mine for one year, and was then 
 chosen to the same position at the Sierra Nevada 
 Mine, where he is at present engaged. He is also 
 Consulting Engineer of the Carson and Colorado 
 Railroad, now under course of construction. 
 
 VIRGINIA CITY WHEN FIVE YEARS OLD. 
 
 Mining towns violate all the ordinary laws of 
 growth and decay. To-day there is no sign of life; 
 the Indian squaw gathers grasshoppers and seeds, 
 and all is serene and sleepy as though generations 
 had come and gone, and might do so to the end of 
 time. The minor finds ore, and all is changed. 
 The ground swarms with humiinity; the earth is 
 piled with goods for sale; lumber is made of the 
 adjoining forests; buildings go upof brick and stone; 
 water is brought into the new city through pipes; 
 the streets are lighted with gas, and ere a summer's 
 sun is gone the city blooms out with st^Me and com- 
 fort, and crime also, such as our fathers never 
 thought of. 
 
 At the end of five j'ears Virginia City was lull 
 grown, rejoicing in life. She assessed taxes to the 
 amount of ^OOiSs,*^.""), and spent a great deal more in 
 the shape of bonds and scrip; had a City Police, 
 and a population which gave them ample work to do. 
 
 The churches were numerous and the schools 
 ranked high as has been previously stated. 
 
 The public cemetery' was purchased by the city 
 and contained twenty -seven acres. 
 
 Mount St. Mary's Cemetery was owned by the 
 Catholics and was connected with the churches. It 
 was the first to im]irove and decorate the grounds. 
 
 The Eureka Society (Hebrew) ;il30 had a cemetery 
 which was considerablj' improved. 
 
 The Count}- Hospital was located in Virginia City. 
 The building was three stories high, divided into 
 two departments. The male department being 
 40x60 feet and ca])able of accommodating sixt)- 
 patients. The female department had accommoda- 
 tions for fourteen persons. Dr. Thomas H. Pinker- 
 ton was the visiting physician. 
 
 The City Hospital, a fine large building, was not 
 in use at this date, lS(!,i, for some whim of the city 
 government. 
 
 There were two Masonic Lodges, two of Odd Fel- 
 lows, one Sons of Temperance, one Fenian Brother- 
 hood, Eureka Society, Typographical Societ\-. all of 
 which are more particularly described under the 
 head of societies. 
 
 MILITARY COMPANIES. 
 
 The patriotic spirit of the citizens of Storey County 
 has been referred to before. At a time when a word 
 might rouse the flame of rebellion the surest way of 
 keeping it down was to be i)ropared fur its suj)- 
 ])rossion. Several comjianies were early organized. 
 
 The Virginia (^'ily (tuards were organized in 1863. 
 and had seventy-three members. The otticers were 
 Captain, Thomas ('ahill; First Lieutenant, John 
 Cahill; Second Lieutenant. .Alexander Mort; Brevet 
 Lieutenant, James Holan. 
 
 Washoe Guards, sixty-seven members, organized 
 September, lS!ii:!. Captain. Thomas (i. Murphy ; First 
 Lieutenant, M. Ila.ssett; Second Lieutenant. James 
 Bronn; Brevet Lioutonant, Charles Rotto. 
 
 National Guards, eighty-six morabors, organized 
 
58ft 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 November, 1863. Captain, C. C. Warner; First Lieu- 
 tenant, A. B. Elliott; Second Lieutenant, W. A. 
 Bourne; Brevet Lieutenant, C. \V. Meizner. 
 
 Emmet Guard, seventy-one members, organized 
 May 15, 18C4. Captain, Peter X. Ryan; First Lieu- 
 tenant, P. ^['Auliffe; Second Lieutenant, J. M'Kenna 
 Dolan; Brevet Lieutenant, J. H. Hassett. It was said 
 that this last body organized with especial reference 
 to being useful in the expected difficulty between 
 England and Ireland. 
 
 LEADING INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES. 
 
 The gas works were established in November, 1863. 
 In 1865, 1,200 feet of main had been laid down and 
 the works enlarged so as to manufacture 5,000 feet 
 per day. President, C. H. Simpkins; Secretary, W. 
 B. Tbornburgh. 
 
 The Virginia and Gold Hill Water Company was 
 the nucleus of the company which afterwards merged 
 in the present Company. In 1865 the Trustees 
 were John Skuc, C. G. Funk, J. W. Gashwiler, M. M. 
 G. Ross. Officers: N. A. H. Mason, President; John 
 Skae, Vice-President; C. G. Funk, Secretary and 
 Treasurer: J. W. Gashwiler, Superintendent. 
 
 The California Stage Company ran a daily line 
 connecting with the approaching Central Pacific Rail- 
 road at Auburn, and also running to Marysville, 
 Grass Valley, Nevada, and other places, also connect- 
 ing with their line to Portland, 710 miles distant. 
 
 Pioneer Stage Company ran a daily line to Sacra- 
 mento via Gold Hill, Silver City, Carson Cit}-, Genoa 
 and Placerville, carrying Wells, Fargo & Co.'s 
 express and the United States mail. 
 
 Pacific Express and Stage Company ran a daily 
 line to Sacramento through the Henness Pass, con- 
 necting with the steamers at Sacramento, or connect- 
 ing at Newcastle with the Central Pacific Railroad. 
 
 The Overland Stage Company left daily, westward 
 for Sacramento, and eastward for the Missouri River, 
 passing through Austin and Salt Lake. 
 
 Besides these stage lines there were several stage 
 and express companies connecting with ihc towns in 
 the adjoining counties. Also a Fast Freight line run- 
 ning to Sacramento, carrying freight from Virginia 
 City to San Francisco in three days. This was the 
 bonanza period for stages. They ran full at high 
 rates and consequently could afford to stock their 
 roads with the best of horses. 
 
 The Fulton Foundry was started in 1863, and in 
 1865 were ready to make castings or machinery of 
 anj' size. 
 
 The Gould & Curry Foundry did their own work 
 exclusively. 
 
 The Mechanic's Mills were engaged in manufactur- 
 ing sash, doors and other articles incident to the 
 extensive building. 
 
 The Virginia Planing Mill was established in 1863, 
 and also did all kinds of work connected with build- 
 ing. 
 
 Beer was not forgotten, and five breweries could 
 
 scarce supply the people with beer, for Nevada has 
 a dry climate! 
 
 There were three assaj- offices, one brick yard, one 
 pottery, besides other places where repair and manu- 
 facturing was carried on. 
 
 THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 Cities built up rapidly' are, from the nature of the 
 materials used, peculiarly subject to destruction by 
 fire. This liability was vastly increased by the high 
 winds which came pouring over the Sierra Nevada 
 nearly every day. The citizens early recognized the 
 necessity of providing against this source of destruc- 
 tion. The department, up to this time, was entirely 
 voluntary, and, perhaps for that reason, was a most 
 efficient organization. 
 
 The Virginia Engine Compan}^, No. 1, was organ- 
 ized in March, 1861. It had one of the most power- 
 ful engines on the coast, with nine and one-fourth 
 inch cylinders, seven and one-half inch stroke, and 
 twenty-four feet brakes, with 600 feet of hose. The 
 company was composed of sixty-five men. 
 
 Nevada Hook and Ladder Company, No. 1, was 
 organized out of the members of the first engine 
 company, who felt the necessitj' of such an organiza- 
 tion to supplement the operations of the engine com- 
 panj', and generally' acted with and under the same 
 management as that companj'. It was organized in 
 March, 1861, and had sixtj--five members. 
 
 The Young America Engine Company, No. 2, was 
 organized March 17, 1862. The spirit of rivalry with 
 the first organization, induced them to purchase an 
 engine a little better than that of Company No. 1, if 
 possible, at a cost of S6,000. It had ten inch cylin- 
 ders with nine and one-half inch stroke, and was 
 manned by eighty members. It had GOO feet of hose, 
 and was so arranged as to throw five streams if nee- ■ 
 essary. 
 
 Eagle Engine Companj-, No. 3, was organized in 
 August, 1863. The engine was of the Jeffrey make, 
 and cost 83,700; had 600 feet of hose, ifnd was manned 
 b}' eighty members. 
 
 Washoe Engine Company, No. 4, was organized in 
 August, 1863. The engine was similar in size to that 
 of No. 1, and was built to order at a cost of 82,800 in 
 Now York. They were supplied with 600 foot of 
 hose. As with the other companies, there was much 
 of corjis da esprit. 
 
 Though these large and efficient companies were 
 organized with especial reference to the dangers of 
 fire, yet it is evident that the superabundant energy, 
 which must be worked off somehow, was a largo ele- 
 ment in the life of the organizations. That class of 
 men who were made to move the world, delight in 
 the excitement and exertion incident to the service 
 in a fire com|iany. Transferred to other field> they 
 become leading stock-brokers, merehants and specu- 
 lators. No town of its size ever had moro of that 
 element than Virginia City. 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY. 
 
 589 
 
 THE NEWSPAPER DEPABTMEKT. 
 
 The pioneers of Nevada were eminently a reading 
 people. Thej- might plead guilty to charges of 
 extravagance, excitability and recklessness, but no 
 one ever suspected them of a want of general intel- 
 ligence. The newspaper followed closely the saloon, 
 and when the matutinal drink was taken the morn- 
 ing paper was read as a matter of course. The press 
 of Storey County has been noted for vigorous edito- 
 rials since the mines became famous. One of the 
 / first as well as most noted was the Territorial Enter- 
 prise, the pioneer paper of the Territory, having been 
 first published in Genoa, then in Carson City, from 
 which place it was removed to Virginia in Novem- 
 ber, 18(50. Under the management of Goodman & 
 McCarthy, it became a first-class paper. Mark 
 I Twain and Dan Do Quille enriched the paper with 
 ^ their humorous productions. 
 
 The Daily Union was established November 4, 1862, 
 by John Church ct C'o. It claimed the largest circu- 
 lation, and was the newspaper of the place. 
 
 The Daily Old Piute was started in 18C5 by Lovejoy 
 & Co., and was issued as an evening paper. 
 
 The Nevada Pioneer was published by J. F. 
 Ilahnlen for the German population. It was recog- 
 nized as one of the ablest German papers on the 
 coast. It will be seen that Virginia City was 
 second only to San Francisco for the number and 
 ability of its papers. The circumstances under 
 which the city had its birth and growth, the class 
 of readers unusually intelligent and energetic, with 
 the large admixture of the reckless and even crim- 
 inal element in the population, called for editorial 
 ability of the highest class. Firmness, mingled 
 with discretion, honestj' without bigotry, and the 
 ability to treat with vigor all the current ques- 
 tions of the day, were absolute essentials without 
 which a paper would not survive a week. 
 
 These papers have been more particularly noticed 
 in the general article on papers, and have been 
 noticed here as showing the peculiar!}- intellectual 
 and moral condition of the community during the 
 period of time under consideration. 
 
 OOLD HILL IN THE YEAR 1865. 
 
 Gold Hill early organized as a town under the 
 Utah laws, and after the admission of the State 
 into the Union reorganized under State law. The 
 number of votes cast at the first election was 
 somewhat over 1,000. A Town Hall was erected 
 costing 815,000. They had various fine buildings, 
 such as Jfaj-nard i^ Flood's fire-proof block, the 
 Odd Fellows Building, and many elegant resi- 
 dences, which were sources of pride to the citizens. 
 
 The churches were well represented, though the 
 members were not numerous. 
 
 The Calvary Presbyterian (new school) organized 
 November 1, 18G3, with one Elder, Rev. William 
 Wirt Macomber, and seven members. Two years 
 later the number had increased to thirteen. 
 74 
 
 St. John's Episcopal Chiirch met in the Odd Fel- 
 lows Hall, Hev. O. W. Whitaker, Rector. This 
 church had a Sabbath-school under the charge of N. 
 A. H. Ball, numbering seventy-five scholars. 
 
 The Roman Catholics were under the care of the 
 Rev. Father O'Riley, formerly of Marysville. They 
 had not at this date erected a church, though the 
 matter was under consideration. 
 
 The public schools were divided into two depart- 
 ments; the intermediate, with forty pupils, under 
 the charge of Miss L. H. Crocker, and the primary 
 with fifty pupils. Miss S. D. Meacham, teacher. The 
 building had improved school furniture. 
 
 Silver Star Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons 
 had twenty-four members, and was in a flourishing 
 condition. 
 
 Wildey Lodge, No. 1, Independent Order of Odd 
 Fellows, numbered ninety members, and. as before 
 mentioned, had a beautiful hall. It was organized 
 April 1, 1862. 
 
 Pioneer Division, No. 1, Sons of Temperance, 
 had an organization numbering one hundred and 
 fifteen members. They met in the Odd Follows Hall. 
 
 Gold Hill was well connected with the outside 
 world, with stages; the Overland Stage to the States, 
 the Pioneer Stage to California, Langton's Line to 
 Dayton, Russel's Fast Freight Line, and all others 
 coming to Virginia City by way of Carson Valley, 
 coming through the place. 
 
 Maynard & Flood, and Almarin B. Paul & Co., 
 carried on the business of banking, and supplied all 
 the exchange wanted by the citizens, for the Eastern 
 States or Europe. 
 
 The Pioneer Foundry' and Machine Shop was the 
 first in the Territory. The first building having 
 been destroj-ed by fire, a new one, 126x30 feet, with 
 wing 40x50, built of brick with tin roof, was erected 
 shortly after, and supplied with all the necessary 
 machinery for doing first-class work. 
 
 The Empire Foundry and Machine Shop was also 
 recentl}' put in operation, with improved machinerj' 
 of all kinds. A third foundry was being erected by 
 McCondy & Co. 
 
 The Gol<l Hill Neios (evening paper) was supposed 
 to be the best paying newspaper in the State. It 
 was remarkably well edited, and strong in advocat- 
 ing the union of the States. 
 
 The Daily Aforninij Message was but recently 
 started, but had brilliant prospects, the publishers 
 being men of experience and ability. 
 
 A large list of quartz mills and mines, also a long 
 list of business firms, showed that Gold Hill, if not 
 a brilliant, elegant, and aristocratic place, had a 
 solid foundation for prosperity in its legitimate busi- 
 ness operations. 
 
 THE BONANZA PERIOD. 
 
 If the discover}- of the silver mines had startled 
 the commercial world, the bonanzas had the effect 
 to astonish and move it to an incredible activity. 
 As it became known that greater deposits below the. 
 
590 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 surface had been found than were ever known be- 
 fore, when millions on millions began to roll into 
 the banks and mints, it had much the effect on trade 
 and commerce of the first knowledge of the abun- 
 dance of gold in California. Where would the new ad- 
 justment of values cease? Whatever else might be- 
 tide, a dollar would remain a dollar, though it might 
 not purchase as much food, clothing, houses or lands 
 as in former times it would still paj- a dollar of in- 
 debtedness. Up to 1SG5 the yield of the Comstock 
 Lode had been about 845,000,000. 
 
 Virginia City had a population estimated at 15,000. 
 The estimated value of property outside of the mines 
 was 811,000,000. The value of bullion raised annu- 
 ally was estimated at S800 for each person. The 
 uncertain values of the mines, the fluctuations from 
 week to week and month to month, as favorable or 
 unfavorable rumors were put in circulation, showed 
 the morbid sensitiveness of capital to the possibilities 
 involved in Washoe. We must go back several hun- 
 dred years in history to the time that unknown con- 
 tinents and rich silver mines were coming into the 
 vista of awakening Europe to find a parallel to the 
 almost superhuman energy displayed by the citizens 
 of Storey County. 
 
 This section of time, although named the Bonanza 
 Period, opened with a few gigantic financial opera- 
 tions, each of which in any other part of the world 
 or at any other time, would have boon considered as 
 brilliant, daring or reckless, as risky or safe princi- 
 ples dominated the observer. Among the most prom- 
 inent measures inaugurated and under way about 
 this time may be mentioned the Sutro Tunnel; the 
 works for bringing water to the Comstock from the 
 Sierra Nevada, and the Virginia and Truckeo Eail- 
 road. Each of these became, in the hands of the 
 projectors, a great factor in the tremendous drama 
 which the money gods of the Pacific Coast acted 
 during the years of the discovery of the bonanzas, 
 ll will be the task of the historian to give an intel- 
 ligent view of the operations, and show how they, 
 one after another, came upon the stage, now elevat- 
 ing and now crushing some of the actors, until, met- 
 aphorically speaking, the stage was strewn with the 
 blood and brains, the limbs and bodies of the finan- 
 cial kings. The stock boards of San Francisco, the 
 California and Nevada Banks, though non-residents, 
 are active members in this huge contest, and will be 
 referred to as they make their influence felt in the 
 game. 
 
 THE SUTRO TUNNEL, 
 
 More particularly described in the history of Lyon 
 County, was a project to tap the mines at an average 
 depth of 1,6(10 feel below the surface. This project, 
 though favored at first by all the mining companies, 
 came to be regarded finally, in consequence of local 
 interests which itatt'ect«d, as the bclenuir,thii death's 
 head and cross-bones of every vested interest in the 
 . county. The projector, Adolph Sutro, however, 
 proved himself no mean competitor with any who 
 
 I entered the drama, fighting his way inch by inch, 
 and stubbornly holding every coigne of vantage, 
 whether among the miners of the Comstock, in the 
 Legislature of Nevada, in the Halls of Congress, or 
 among the capitalists of Europe. 
 
 JA.MES U. FAIR 
 
 Was born in Clougher, Tyrone County, Ireland, in 
 
 \ December, 1831. He came to this country in 1843, 
 
 attended school at (Geneva, Illinois, where some of 
 
 his family still live. He was an orignial '49er. In 
 
 I that year he was at work on Long's Bar, Feather 
 
 ! River, California. He did not find it profitable, so 
 
 he turned his attention to quartz mining. His first 
 
 assay was at Angels, Calaveras County. He soon 
 
 ranked high as a good judge of mines and as an 
 
 operator. In 1855 he became Superintendent of the 
 
 j Ophir Mine, and in 1857 the Hale & Norcross Mine 
 
 came under his direction. It was the latter which 
 
 gave Fair his start in the world. Soon after he 
 
 made a lucky guess. He surmised that certain 
 
 ground might contain a great deal of rich ore. With 
 
 the help of Flood he secured the claim, since grown 
 
 so famous throughout the world as the Consolidated 
 
 Virginia and California Mines. 
 
 The particulars of the discovery are more fully 
 described in the chapter on mines and mining booms. 
 
 .JOHN W. MACKAY, 
 
 The j-oungcst of the Bonanza Firm was born in Dub- 
 lin, in 1835. Coming to California in 1852 he 
 engaged in mining in Sierra County with moderate 
 success, and left for Nevada on the discovery of the 
 silver mines. He secured a location on the Com- 
 stock, but having exhausted bis means before strik- 
 ing ore he worked in the Mexican Mine at four dol- 
 lars per day. It is related of him that he had set 
 •• his pile " at 825,000, a sum in the opinion of his 
 companions which denoted an unreasonable ambi- 
 tion. In 1809 he became connected with Flood & 
 O'Brien in their operation on the Halo & Norcross, 
 from the development of which he formed his opin- 
 ion of the value of the ground on which the Big 
 Bonanza was afterwards discovered. Ho owes his 
 success in life to several qualities: good judgment, 
 close attention to business, or in this instance we 
 might say a close study of the nature of mines, a 
 tenacity of purpose that was proof against ordinary 
 adversities, and a good share of luck. Sandy 
 Bowers, Comstock, Penrod, and Finney, had luck, 
 but they did not have the other qualities, and they 
 were soon lost to view. 
 
 n 
 
 THE VIRGINIA AND THUCKEE RAILROAD 
 
 Was also a daring enterprise. The country to be 
 supplied by it was of limited extent, the route which 
 it was to traverse, a mountain region of precipitous 
 cliffs and deep gorges over which it was deemed a 
 triumph of engineering to carry a wagon road. In 
 any country and by any other people the project 
 would have been deemed chimerical, but it was car- 
 ricd through, and became a powerful operator in the 
 period under consideration. 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY. 
 
 691 
 
 It is not always easy to account for the motive 
 power that impels men to dure the dangers of the 
 frozen regions, the arid deserts of the tropical 
 countries, the trackless wilds of the malarious for- 
 ests, the dark depths of deep mines, or the terrors 
 of the hattle-field. Although money generally enters 
 into all these operations as a factor, a sine qtui non 
 it is not, as some mercenary and narrow-minded per- 
 sons would have us think, the only inducement to 
 action. Wo have seen the Jesuit missionary leave 
 the lu.xuries of his native city, and go barefooted, 
 poor and sick among the rude Indians of the Pacific 
 Coast and bury himself from the world. Some 
 other motive than money must be sought as the 
 source of action. The man who rushes into battle 
 and throws awaj' his life in the almost certain fatal 
 charge has more inducement than the pittance paid 
 him as wages. The men who explored the Colorado 
 Canon, the wilds of Africa, the wy regions of the 
 North Pole could have had no hope of reward in the 
 shape of coin. In some, the motive is the love of 
 knowledge, which may also include a love of the 
 marvelous. Such men were De Solo, JJaleigh. Cabot, 
 Livingstone, Franklin and Kane. Frances Xavier, 
 Ignatius Loyola and Father Junipero Serra did not 
 seek gold. The love of power, of self-assertion, of 
 individuality, seems to be the strongest motive with 
 the men who move the world, whether in the halls of 
 legislation, the cloisters of Rome, the fields of battle, 
 the brokers' boards of the commercial cities, or the 
 silver mines of Nevada. Though our bonanza kings 
 strained ever3- nerve to overthrow each other, to 
 grab the biggest pile, j-et when the object was 
 attained, the money seemed to flow away from their 
 possession as the rain-drops on the sandy soil. The 
 superhuman struggle once over, the adversary over- 
 thrown, and the results attained, the victory was 
 soon forgotten in some now struggle for supremac}'. 
 Shakespeare, who seemed to have looked farther into 
 the human heart and seen more of the motives of 
 humanity than any other writer, makes one of his 
 heroes say of Ciesar: — 
 
 Now in the name of all the gods at once 
 Upon what meat Joth this our Ciesar feed 
 That he is grown so great V 
 
 In this connection some knowledge of the personal 
 
 character of the men who figured so extensivelj- in 
 
 these years will be desired by our readers. 
 
 JAMES C. FLOOD 
 
 Was born in the city of New York in 1820, coming 
 to California in 18-19. His early years in California 
 were spent in a retail liquor busincs."*, where in con- 
 nection with W. S. O'Brien he accumulated the funds 
 which afterwards enabled him at the opportune 
 moment to purchase the grounds or portions of it on 
 which the famous mine was developed. Uo has 
 been successful in every movo in his life, and his 
 judgment and executive ability seem equal to any 
 emergency. His operations in the Ilale & Norcross 
 and other mines evinced a high order of talent, and 
 
 when the great discovery threw 830,000,000 into his 
 hands he proved himself a first-class financier, 
 eventually overthrowing all his competitors, involv- 
 ing in ruin some of the strongest financial institu- 
 tions on the coast. This looks like a heartless war- 
 fare, but it is the rule among financiers and not the 
 exception. 
 
 WILLIAM C. RALSTON 
 
 Came to California in 1854, and engaged in such 
 banking as there was in California, as one of the 
 firm of Garrison, Fritz & Ralston; afterwards engag- 
 ing in banking with Donohoe & Kelly. On the 
 organization of the Bank of California he was made 
 cashier. Besides the numerous projects in Nevada, 
 he was also instrumental in building n\^ the Dry 
 Dock at Hunter's Point, Mission Woolen Mills, Bay 
 Sugar Refinery, West Coast Furniture Factory, 
 Kimball's Carriage Factory, Cornell Watch Factory, 
 California Theater, Grand and Palace Hotels, Rec- 
 lamation of Sherman Island, besides others. 
 
 WILLIAM SHARON 
 
 Is a native of Ohio, but spent the early years of his 
 manhood in Illinois as an attorney-at-law, coming to 
 California in 1849, where he soon commenced specu- 
 lating in real estate in the city of San Francisco, 
 fully aware of the fact that a great city would 
 spring up on the hills around the harbor, and when 
 the discovery of silver began to set millions ot dol- 
 lars in motion he came to Nevada as confidential 
 agent of the Bank of California, which was con- 
 ducted by William C. Ralston. Like all the other 
 operators his career shows a combination of energy, 
 tenacity of purpose and close-tistedness, whifih will 
 will if it is possible. 
 
 HON. JOHN p. JONES. 
 
 Few, if any, of the mining men or politicians of 
 Nevada have made a more world-wide reputation 
 than ho whoso name heads this parugrajih. John P. 
 Jones was born in Hereford County, England, near 
 the border of Wales, in 1828. His father, a man of 
 considerable force of character, moved to America 
 when his son was but an infant, and settled in 
 Cleveland, Ohio, where he carried on the business of 
 a marble cutter until his death about ten years ago. 
 John P. received the ordinary education of American 
 youth in the common schools of Cleveland. In com- 
 pany with his brother, he sailed for California in 
 1849 and arrived on the golden shore early in 1850. 
 His early experience in California was that which 
 usually attended j'oung men of those days, seeking 
 their fortunes in the mines, rushing from place to 
 place, making a fortune one season and exhausting 
 it in some great enterprise the next, constantly re- 
 Imildiiig and never discouraged, with faith, honor, 
 and ambition as their anchor and their star, in their 
 mature years thoy are the stalwarts of the land. 
 Jones' first experience was in 185(1 in the mines of 
 Poorman's Creek, in the Feather River region, then 
 in the southern mines, in Tuolumne and Calaveras 
 
592 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Counties; in 1852 he was in the far northwest on the 
 Trinity, in 1853 back again in Tuolumne, and back 
 to Trinitj' again in 1855, where he remained for sev- 
 eral j-ears, being Sheriff of Trinity County, volunteer 
 in an Indian war, miner, debater. State Senator for 
 Trinity in 1861, and candidate for Lieutenant Gover- 
 nor of California in 1867, on the ticket with George 
 C. Gorham. At that time " Jones of Trinity " was a 
 power in the Republican party and the most popular 
 man in the State, but the ticket was not popular and 
 was deieated. 
 
 Jones then turned his attention to the Comstock, 
 and was made Superintendent of the Kentuck and 
 Crown Point Mines, taking up his residence at Gold 
 Hill, where he has since maintained his home. His 
 career in Nevada has been both successful and hon- 
 orable to an eminent degree, and the reward has been 
 fortune and fame unsurpassed by the most brilliant 
 tales of romance. Soon after taking charge of the 
 Kentuck and Crown Point a dii'astrous fire occurred 
 in the Yellow Jacket, an adjoining mine, which 
 wrought death and destruction in his own mines. In 
 rescuing and caring for the miners injured and his 
 kindnes^s to the families of those who perished, ho 
 attached himself to the people bj' ties which can 
 never be sundered. With great intelligence and 
 characteristic courage ho devoted his energies to 
 retrieve the property intrusted to his care, and in 
 December, 1870, came upon a bodj' of rich ore in the 
 Crown Point Mine 1,100 feet below the surface, then 
 the deepest workings on the Comstock Lode. 
 
 Disaster and oft-repeated assessments had depreci- 
 ated the shares of the company from SlOO in June, 
 1868, to two dollars in November, 1870, with an 
 assessment of 83.50 per share, due in December. At 
 this low rate Jones invested all his earnings and all 
 he could borrow, and induced his friends to take 
 shares. One wealthy friend he called upon and told 
 of his discovery with all the happiness of a miner and 
 the glowing enthusiasm of his nature, but the friend 
 was unmoved, replying, "Jones I will loan you the 
 money to buy with, but as for me, I have seen the time 
 when I reached through the holes in my pants and 
 scratched a poor man's hide, and I don't mean to 
 ever take any risks that will make me do it again." 
 Jones got the money on his promise to pay; the stock 
 in May, 1872, was $1,825 a share, and the determined 
 miner was enjoying an income of 81,000,000 a year. 
 This was the largest and richest bonanza found up 
 to that date, extending into the Belcher Mineon the 
 south, and yielded about 860,000,000, of which nearly 
 half was paid to stockholders in dividends. 
 
 Jones again entered the ])olitical field. The cam- 
 ])aign of 1872 was believed to be vital to the Repub- 
 lican party, and extraordinary efforts would be 
 required to carry Nevada to insure a Republican 
 Senator. The stalwarts of the State looked to Jones 
 for a standard-bearer, and the monopolists were all 
 opposed to him from his known opposition to their 
 selfish schemes and tyrannical conduct, consequently 
 
 he bore the burden of the campaign. For this the 
 party by a unanimous vote rewarded him with Sena- 
 torial honors, while the monopolists, even those pro- 
 fessing to be Republicans, conspired to achieve his 
 ruin, to destroy his power and counteract his influ- 
 ence. Fortunately he triumphed over all, and in 
 j 1879 was re-elected to the high position he now 
 holds. 
 
 The Senator can claim the honor of making the 
 first campaign of anti-monopoly against monopoly; 
 although the real issue was carefullj' kept in the 
 background. The open contest is to come. In accept- 
 ing the position of Senator in January, 1873, ho thus 
 addressed the Legislature: — 
 
 As a Senator of the nation, I will not vote for the 
 appropriation of a dollar out of the public treasury 
 except for the maintenance of the public faith and 
 credit, and for purely governmental jiurposesand the 
 attainment of the objects for which this government 
 was created. I will not vote for a subsidy of land, 
 money, bonds or credit, to cither individuals or cor- 
 porations. I will not vote for any hot-bed scheme 
 for "the development of our resources," because I 
 believe their development to be more healthy when 
 made solely by private enterprise, under the all- 
 sufficient stimulus of private interest, and I further 
 believe that such propositions are not generally 
 made for the public good, but in thcinterest of public 
 plunderers. 
 
 Such sentiments aroused the ire of the "public 
 plunderers," and their pursuit of him has been con- 
 tinuous and merciless. As a guardian of the people's 
 interests he has been faithful, and as an advocate of 
 questions of great national importance he has won a 
 fame that places him among the first students of 
 political economy, the most conservative and just of 
 statesmen and the most brilliant of orators of our 
 country; winning the title of "The Great Com- 
 moner." 
 
 Senator Jones has been twice married, first to the 
 daughter of Judge Thomas Conger of Sacramento, 
 who died in a few years after marriage, leaving one 
 son; and again was married to a daughter of Hon. 
 Eugene L. Sullivan, Collector of the Port of San 
 Francisco. 
 
 The Senator is still in the prime of life, of fair 
 countenance and massive brow, a robust, command- 
 ing form, and dignified carriage, looking well worthy 
 the honors he bears. Rut the austere Senator is 
 not always unbending, being rather distinguished 
 for his social qualities and the enjoyment of fun. 
 Numerous stories are told of his early mining, as 
 1 well as of his political career. The pioneers of Cali- 
 fornia were a spirited set in their day, and Jones 
 was one of them. Ho was mining in the vicinity of 
 Sonora, Tuolumne County, in 1850. His early opera- 
 tions were not extensive enough to indicate the 
 business talents he afterwards disj)la3*ed; but his 
 energj- and love of strife exhibited itself in camp 
 fun, which promised much in that line. It is not 
 recorded of him that he organized any bull and bear 
 fights, but he was the projector of a fight that set 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY. 
 
 693 
 
 the camp into a laughter, that propagated itself 
 until the name of Jones was famous in connection 
 with it across the continent. 
 
 As the story goes, it was in 185(1 that Jones and 
 his partners repaired to Sonora on a Sunday, accord- 
 ing to the custom of the country, to lay in supplies 
 for the coming week, see the sights, and spend such 
 few scads in pleasures as the state of their purses 
 would warraTit. While there a great outcry occurred 
 in one of the corrals. A little, lean, insignificant 
 looking jack, upon which a Mexican was packing 
 his crowbar, bafea and frijofes, had wandered 
 unobserved in the corral, and had, notwithstanding 
 his burden, successively attacked and whijiped out 
 all the horses in the j'ard, finishing U]) with a famous 
 black stallion, whose fighting qualities were beyond 
 question, he being considered not only dangerous, 
 but invincible But the extraordinary development 
 of jaw in the jackass, combined with a phenomenal 
 courage, enabled him to make short work of the 
 big stallion, that was now writhing, utterly helpless 
 in the terrible mouth of the infernal little animal, 
 that was as relentless as a bear trap. After some 
 considerable trouble the jack was induced "to let go 
 his hold, and was led out to be shot; but the Mexi- 
 can pleading his povert}' and the generally peaceable 
 character of the animal, the sentence was commuted 
 to banishment, on condition that he should be 
 instantly taken out of town. 
 
 Jones, who had quietly witnessed the proceedings, 
 was struck with an idea. In the camp where he 
 was mining lived an odd character from Arkansas, 
 by the name of Joggles, who owned a worthless old 
 plug of a horse, which had made itself famous and 
 finallj' infamous by running everything of!' the range 
 in the shape of a horse. When appealed to in re- 
 gard to the ill-doings of the brute the old man would 
 laugh until the tears would run down his cHeeks, 
 remarking that "Old Pison is some, you bet," and his 
 valuation of the animal would go up with every fresh 
 com]ilaint. until half the money in the camp would 
 not buy him; in fact, the horse had become an in- 
 tolerable nuisance, but old Joggles was on the shoot 
 atid it was dangerous to molest Old Pison. In Jones' 
 opinion the jack was good for him, and a bargain 
 was soon struck with the Mexican, who was 
 glad to get two ounces for the jack. Jones and his 
 partners packed their supplies on the brute, that had 
 by this time resumed his sleepy, innocent look, and 
 about sundown they reached their camp with their 
 purchase. As expected, old Joggles made his ap- 
 pearance, and joined with the crowd in the funny 
 remarks about the new animal. 
 
 " What ur yer gonter do with thot thar critter?" 
 says Joggles, referring to the jack. 
 
 "Turn him out to grass," says Jones. 
 
 " He, he," chuckled Joggles, " he won't be a mouth- 
 ful for Old Pison; he'll chaw him inter a dish-rag 
 quicker'n shucks." 
 
 " Don't know about that," says Jones, "you can't 
 tell how these jacks will fight." 
 
 " Bet yer fifty dollars Old Pison licks him in a 
 minute," says Joggles. 
 
 Jones — " Well, old man, I don't know as I want 
 your money, but if j-ou want to bet a little on it 
 perhaps wo can accommodate you; but then a jack 
 is a mighty ugly thing to fight; you had better not 
 try it." 
 
 The old man's blood was up. Old Pison never had 
 been whipped, and his opinion was that it was im- 
 possible. " I'll bet yer one hundred," says he; " I'll 
 double the bet." Jones didn't care much to bet, but 
 thought that the jack could whip Old Pison. Jog- 
 gles continued by raising the bet to 8300, and daring 
 Jones to take it. Jones reluctantly consented, pro- 
 vided the jack could rest until tomorrow, which, as 
 it was now nearly dark, the old man agreed to. 
 
 Joggles dug up his oyster can containing his pile, 
 and put up the dust. It was agreed that the jack 
 was to be turned out on the flat back of the town, 
 and that they should not be driven together, but 
 left to meet each other "sorter by chance." Jones 
 and his company went to work in sight of the 
 expected arena. After a time Old Joggles was seen 
 driving the horse over the hill from the opposite 
 side, though ho kept out of view as much as possible. 
 The tvPo creatures, from an inborn sense of true 
 chivalry, mutually recognized each other as worthy 
 foes, and gave the challenge for mortal combat, 
 the horse, by laying back his ears, elevating his 
 head, and giving a loud snort; the jack, by a series 
 of sharp though graceful curves with his spike 
 tail, and a loud blast from his war trumpet. 
 
 The horse rushed to the onset with mouth open, 
 wide enough to take in any part of the jack but his 
 head. The ground on which the meeting occurred 
 was a kind of rod clay, and the dust obscured the 
 combatants from view for a few minutes, but when 
 they did come to sight the horse was makinir for 
 town for dear life, with the infernal jack hangiu'T to 
 his withers. The hold broke loose, and Old Pison 
 put in his best licks, getting away from the jack, 
 who came after as fast as his short legs could carr3'- 
 him, his tail rapidly making short circles in the air, 
 and his terrible trumpet uttering the fiercest notes 
 in his repertoire. Down the hill came the horse, his 
 eyes standing out as if pursued by a fiend. The 
 fight was all gone out of him now. In abject terror 
 he rushed to his stable for securitj', but the door 
 was closed, and Old Joggles was some distance 
 aw!>y, following up the fight. Old Pison ])aused just 
 a moment, but the jack was coming, with that terri- 
 ble mouth distended, for another bite, and as there 
 was no time to consider the situation, he sornnvfullv 
 passed on through the town: but the road terminated 
 in a deep gully over which it was impossible to 
 leap, and into which it was death to jump. 
 
 Old Pison paused a moment on the brink, but the 
 enemy was upon him; over he wont, choosing death 
 
594 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 rather than another encounter with that terrible 
 pair of jaws. When Joggles got on the ground be 
 beheld his favorite just expiring, and the jack looking 
 on, venting his still unsatisfied rage in furious trurapet- 
 ings. 
 
 "Dog on yer big coffin head, yer've licked Old 
 Pison. Nothin' can't live that's did that;" and, 
 drawing his revolver, the jack was soon lying in 
 death with his defeated enemy. 
 
 "Jones," says the old man, his revolver still in his 
 hand, "you know'd how that there critturcud tight." 
 Jones had need of all bis diplomacy to make the old 
 man believe that he didn't know; but peace was 
 made, and Old Pison never troubled the range again. 
 
 DEPRESSION OF MINING. 
 
 Among all the fluctuations which the Comstock 
 has experienced, the depression of 1864-65 was the 
 most depressing. It is true that a few mines like the 
 Ophir and Gould & Curry had been paying divi- 
 dends, and had gone up to fabulous prices, but the 
 depression carried the estimate of the mines as much 
 below the true value as the previous excitement had 
 carried it above. In the opinion of many, ruin and 
 general desertion of the town was apparent. Houses 
 were moved away, some going to Meadow Lake and 
 some even to Reese River. 
 
 RALSTON TO THE FRONT. • 
 
 It was at this moment that William Sharon, acting 
 for the Bank of California, under the direction of 
 Ralston, came to the front, loaned money on the 
 mills and mines, and helped to sustain the drooping 
 courage of the operators. Whether to ascribe the 
 success of the experiment to good luck or sound 
 judgment may be difficult. What the value of the 
 securities would have been without the discoveries 
 made in the Savage, Chollar-Potosi, and Hale & 
 Norcro.ss it is impossible to conjecture: but it may 
 also be said that loans on such prospects for fortunes 
 were reasonably certain; that no more risks on an 
 average were made than any business then carried 
 on in California required. The loans were repaid, 
 and the business became very remunerative. The 
 capital of the Bank of California was nominallj* but 
 85,000,000. It is said that Friedlander in California 
 produced the great corner in wheat in 186.3 with less 
 than 825,000, though the operation involved millions. 
 Something of this kind must have been evolved by 
 Sharon acting for the bank, for in a few years we 
 find it virtually controlling the mines. Money had 
 been advanced on nearly everything, and certificates 
 of stock taken as security. The business operations of 
 the bank were enormous. According to the custom of 
 deposit, the holders were authorized to vote for all 
 shares of stock placed in their hands for security. 
 By using stocks in their possession, and judiciously 
 exchanging and bu5'ing, as the case might demand, 
 they managed to control nearly all the prominent 
 mines. It is asserted that a few feet of H;.'e & 
 Norcross wore purchased once at $16,000 perfoui to 
 
 hold a controlling interest in the election, although 
 the market value was but 82,000. By means of this 
 control they were enabled to starve or feed the mills. 
 It is charged that Sharon would loan money on a 
 mill and then refuse to give it custom work, and that 
 in a year or two the mill would fall into the posses- 
 sion of the bank. At anj- rate, we find in 1875, 
 the following mills owned by the Union Mill and 
 Mining Company, of which William Sharon was 
 President; Pacific Mills, co.sting 8130.000; Sunder- 
 land, 860,000: Empire, 830,000; Express, 815,000; 
 Land's, 860,000; Railroad,815,000; Winfield, 880,000; 
 Nevada, 855,000; Merrimac, 8130,0(10; Santiago, 
 860,000; Vivian, 845,000; Eureka, 8300,000; Franklin, 
 830,000 ; Island, 820,000 ; Sacramento, 835,000 ; 
 amounting to $1,200,000. The Water-works cost- 
 ing 87,000,000, were virtually under their control. 
 The value of these was 87,000,000, and the Virginia 
 and Truckee Railroad, 83,000,000. Ralston in his 
 best days had at least 825,000,000 under his control. 
 It may be asked how such a contingency could hap- 
 pen. Every one had confidence in his financial 
 ability. Everything that he touched turned to gold. 
 He seemed the favored child of fortune, and no one 
 hesitated to deposit money with him. The milling 
 business was almost monopolized by the Union Mill 
 and Mining Company. The usual price was twelve 
 dollars per ton, of which seven dollars was said to be 
 clear profit. This turned more than 81,000,000 ayear 
 into his hands. lie was also able to bull or bear the 
 stocks by working in good or bad portions of the 
 mines, making dividends or assessments at will, it 
 was generally believed that the mines were worked 
 in the interest of the stock speculators rather than 
 the stockholders. 
 
 The railroad commanded the timber and wood 
 trade necessary for the mills and mines, and gave 
 the bank a still farther hold on the community. The 
 bank, during its existence, had made regular divi- 
 dends of one per cent, per month toils stockholders, 
 and had paid in this way 86,500,000, the earnings 
 amounting, according to the books, to more than 
 87,000,000. 
 
 OPPOSITION TO THE SUTBO TUNNEL. 
 
 When the tunnel scheme was first proposed all 
 Nevada was in favor of it. Ralston gave Sutro a 
 very fine letter of recommendation to the Globe 
 Bank, of London, asking them to give him a hear- 
 ing. The Legislature endorsed it. and unanimously 
 adopted a memorial to Congress asking a loan to the 
 project of 84,000,000, and Sutro was sped on his waj' 
 to the capitalists of Europe by the prayers and good 
 wishes (presuming that stock-dealers i)ray) of all 
 Comstock. But when the threads of all the enter- 
 prises began to fall into Ralston's hands; wlien, by 
 actual experiment, it was found that with the aid of 
 dynamite, compressor drills and powerful hoisting 
 machinerj', the mines could be worked without a 
 tunnel; that it was likely to injure the value of the 
 railway by superseding the necessity for wood; 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY. 
 
 595 
 
 impairinpj the value of the mills in consequence of 
 the ores being brought to the mouth of the tunnel 
 for reduction, building up a rival town around the 
 mouth of the tunnel and dethroning him, making 
 Sutro the king, he turned all his influence against it, 
 making, perhaps, the greatest eft'ort of his life in try- 
 ing to defeat the pi-oject. If he did not move the 
 heavens and the earth he certainly came as near it as 
 any man could have done. It was carried into the 
 domain of politics, and became mixed up with recon- 
 structions and the Fifteenth Amendment. As the 
 question of tunnel or no tunnel had no possible bear- 
 ing on the national questions or connection with 
 any political party, the adoption of Ralston's side of 
 the contest must have been a bid for popular favor 
 and temporary success. It is quite true that the 
 proposed system of working the mines through the 
 Sutro Tunnel would involve many changes, and, 
 perhaps, impair the value of the buildings at Vir- 
 ginia City, the Virginia and Truckee liailroad, and 
 the Water-works as well, but the damage was only 
 such as would result from a cheaper transportation 
 and working of the ores by another route and 
 another method. Such damages occur whenever 
 new lines of transportation are established, or now 
 machinery for manufacturing is introduced. The 
 real fact was: '• AVe will have Ealston for king, and 
 not Sutro." 
 
 Sharon was running for the United States Senate. 
 Sutro announced himself as a candidate also, and 
 went into the fight, with his accustomed vim and 
 tenacity, but circumstances were against him, and 
 he did not make much of a contest. The Republican 
 Convention, of 1874, adopted the following strong 
 platform against the tunnel: — 
 
 Resolved, That in the name of the whole people 
 of Storej' County we earnestly denounce the attempt 
 of the Sutro Tunnel Company to destroy the pros- 
 perity of this county; that in the final completion 
 of the Sutro Tunnel we apprehend ruin and destruc- 
 tion to the prosperity of the people. We cannot 
 close our eyes to the fact that in the ultimate suc- 
 cess of this iniquitous scheme all property must bo 
 reduced in value, business must decline, and wages 
 be reduced, entailing unmeasured misery and dis- 
 tress upon this people; and we urgently call upon 
 all classes of people in Storey Count}-, of whatever 
 business, trade, or occupation, and aside from any 
 political bias, to seriously consider the danger to 
 which they are exposed — a peril which threatens at 
 once their homes, their fortunes, and the means by 
 which a support for themselves and families is fur- 
 nished. The hopes of every man in this communitj- 
 to better his fortune, hang \ipon the issue of this 
 struggle l)etwecn property hDldei-s on one side, and 
 on the other this adventurer, who, backed b}- foreign 
 capital, is seeking by every possible means to transfer 
 the earnings of years of toil by this people to his 
 own private coffers. To property owners and busi- 
 ness men the fact must be a])parent that A'irginia 
 and Cold Hill are doomed places if Adolph Suti-o 
 and his confederates are ])erniilted to carry out 
 their designs; and to miners and all laboring men 
 we particularly appeal, to be mindful of their own 
 
 interests in this matter, for it has been openly 
 threatened that a completion of the Sutro Tunnel 
 will force a reduction of the wages of laborers to 
 half the present prices. In everj' view of the mat- 
 ter, except that of the projectors own personal inter- 
 est, justice and right loudlj' demand that the people 
 of this community should ])ress the contest against 
 this common enemy until success crowns their efforts. 
 That in the Republican part}- alone the ])eople of 
 Storey (Jounty can bo assured that their interests 
 will find protection and defense. This party, and 
 all its candidates for State and county ofl[iceVs, are 
 not only fully pledged, but are, in sincerity and 
 honesty of purpose, determined to leave no hon- 
 orable means untried until this great shadow shall 
 have been dispelled, this great danger averted, and 
 the promoters of this wicked scheme routed and 
 defeated. 
 
 Sharon was elected, and the United States Gov- 
 ernment did not lend their aid to the tunnel, which, 
 however, went on to completion, and no disastrous 
 results have followed. Mining is still carried on 
 through shafts as before, the miners still reside in 
 Virginia and Gold Hill, air compressors are still 
 required to ventilate the mines, and water, only, 
 pumped from below runs through the tunnel. 
 
 THE NEW KING OF THE C0.M8T0CK. 
 
 In another part of this work we have given an 
 account of the discovery of the bonanza and the 
 rapid accumulation of wealth by the fortunate ))os- 
 sessors. In former* times the proprietors patiently 
 endured the domination of the California Bank until 
 they could act independently. They purchased one 
 mill after^ another, not in the name of the mining 
 companies, but as the Union Mill and Mining Com- 
 pany, and thus became a syndicate similar in its op- 
 erations to the Credit Mobiiier and the other agen- 
 cies of the railroad companies. In 1874 the products 
 of the Consolidated Virginia amounted to 84,079,- 
 200. In January, 1875, the receipts were 81,001,400; 
 in February, 81,200,000; March, $1,705,600; April, 
 $1,509,000; May, 81,521,000; June, 81,502, COO; July, 
 81,604,000, amounting to over 815,000.000. The 
 owners of this bonanza were cool and cautious, as 
 well as enterprising. They had made arrangements 
 to open the Nevada Bank in San Francisco, and, ac- 
 cording to reports, had withdrawn their deposits, 
 amounting to over 81,800,000, from the Bank of Cal- 
 ifornia. It is also said they had locked up for their 
 use several millions of the bonanza proceeds. 
 THE liUE.\T p.\Nir OF 1875. 
 
 This resulted in a stringency causing a panic, the 
 dethronement of the old king and in setting u]i a 
 new dictator. Though the nucleus of tliis was in 
 California, the basis of it was the Comstock, and its 
 history is necessarily a part of the history of the 
 mines, more especially as the effects were mmv visi- 
 ble in Virginia City than in San Francisco 
 
 January. 1875, opened with the prices of all stocks 
 on the lode at the highest rates. California was 
 rated at 8780 per share, at the rate of 100,000 shares 
 in the company. Consolidated Virginia being 8700. 
 
596 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Others, though not as high, were as much above 
 their value, and a reaction was necessary, inevitable, 
 though few, even of the wisest, had an idea of the 
 utter demoralization of the stock market which was 
 to ensde. In February the stock of the California Min- 
 ing Company was increased to 500,000 shares, which 
 exhibited a monthly fluctuation of from ten to twenty- 
 five dollars per share, or selling at sixty-nine dollars, 
 the highest, in March and forty-six dollars, the low- 
 est. The California and Consolidated Virginia, how- 
 ever, being in bonanza and paying regular dividends, 
 were the least fluctuating. In all speculation was 
 wild. During the eight months following the open- 
 ing of 1875 stock values had declined the enormous 
 amount of 8100.000,000, and during the last week 
 of August the shrinkage amounted to §42,000,800. 
 This was equivalent to the loss of so much property, 
 or at least of so much available security. Such a 
 collapse could not but result in a panic. 
 
 Common reports are not very reliable, and it 
 is difficult to ascertain the real cause of the panic. 
 Probably a combination of causes, among which may 
 be reckoned the immense inflation consequent upon 
 the discoverj- of the bonanza, the inevitable reaction, 
 the withdrawal of money from this coast for supplies, 
 the moving of the wheat crop which required four 
 or five millions, and the locking up of money for a 
 cinching of the market. The palifornia Bank was 
 carrying an immense number of projects involving 
 many millions. Many of the papers, the San Francisco 
 Bulktin especially, had frequently called the atten- 
 tion of the community to the irrcgularitj- of Ralston's 
 proceedings, for he was virtually the bank', and 
 perhaps had some influence in precipitating the 
 inevitable downfall. As the summer advanced, 
 great masses of stocks, which were traceable to the 
 bank crowd, were thrown upon the constantly falling 
 market, and the deluge was made greater bj- those 
 who could not get money to keep their margins good. 
 It was circulated through the streets that Flood & 
 O'Brien were throwing the bonanza stocks on the 
 market to break it, and they also sj-mpathized with 
 the downfall. 
 
 The twenty -sixth of August was the daj- of grief for 
 the whole coast, the day that swept thousands who 
 supposed themselves well off into povcrtj-. The 
 bank closed its doors; Ralston resigned his position 
 and the bank went into the hands of a committee for 
 examination. The liabilities amounted to 814,000,- 
 000, its assets to §7,000,000; the latter being uncertain 
 from the fluctuating value of the securities. The 
 previous reports of the officers had fixed the assets 
 at 820,000,000, and the liabilities at §1. "5,000, 000. 
 Other banks had to suspend, but the panic was 
 stayed, although the stock-board, for fear of further 
 depression, suspended operations for two months. 
 The further history of the institution does not 
 particularly concern Storey County, as from that 
 
 time the Bonanza Firm carried things much their 
 own way. The bank was a legitimate fruit of the 
 sj'Stem of mining and stock s])eculations, and as such 
 necessarily is a part of our histor}'. Ealston, himself, 
 though a financial failure, is one of the best out- 
 growths of the Comstock. He was energetic in 
 action, comprehensive in his schemes, and generous 
 to all who did not stand in his way. He did more 
 to develop business and bring out the resources of 
 the country than anj- man before or since his time. 
 His greatest monuments are the works (and they 
 number scores) which he projected and completed> 
 and Nevada lost a true friend when Ralston died. 
 
 WHAT THE -MINES HAVE ACCOMPLISHED. 
 
 The first ones to put up engines thought a great 
 thing had been done when they put up an engine of 
 twenty-five-horse power. Five hundred feet was a 
 long distance into the earth, but experience is a 
 groat teacher. The class of men who opened the 
 Comstock were awake to any plan of improvement, 
 and in the course of a few years developed a sj-stem 
 of machinerj' which for effectiveness was never 
 excelled in any part of the world. When one 
 stands by the C and C shaft, the Yellow Jacket, or the 
 Forman shaft, he may well wonder how any addi- 
 tional improvement can be made. The massive 
 hoisting gear, the reels with the graduated circum- 
 ference which equalizes the weight of the cable as it 
 comes up making the lifting power the same, the 
 compressor which sends a supply of fresh air to the 
 farthest drift in the mine and drives a drill at the 
 rate of 250 strokes a minute, the automatic ore skip 
 which dumps itself as it comes to the surface with- 
 out endangering the lives of anj' one as the old 
 method of bucket landing did, are all the products of 
 late j^ears. The present idea of deep mines limits it 
 to 4,000 feet, but if the ore goes farther some way will 
 bo contrived to get it. The old saying of chase a 
 dollar to the gates of hell has been realized on the 
 Comstock for mai.^- years, and still the work goes on. 
 
 The amount of machinery now in use, and which 
 has been worn out at Virginia City, has had an 
 immense effect in stimulating the manufacturing 
 industries of San Francisco. This machinery has 
 been of a costly character, and has been mainly pur- 
 chased there. Local iron works have done the 
 repairing and have constructed the simpler mechan- 
 isms required, but San Francisco has reaped the 
 vaster benefits. In fact, Virginia City and environs, 
 can almost be said to have made San Francisco what 
 she is to-da}-. It is the great riflle whieh has caught 
 the silver that has flowed from the Comstock. But 
 for that the long linos of palatial stores, the princelj' 
 residences in the suburbs, the linos of railroads and 
 steamships, and the clanging machine shops would 
 not have been. Yet it is the fashion to speak slight- 
 ingly of Xevada as the land of sage- brush and 
 deserts. 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY. 
 
 597 
 
 D. Crosby, eldest son of eight children, born to 
 Joseph and Sarah (Johnson) Crosby, natives of Dum- 
 fries, Scotland, was born in Syracuse, New York, 
 July 30, 1835. At the age of eight years, he, with 
 his parents, emigrated to the State of Jlichigan, 
 Township of Nankin, Wayne County, at that time a 
 dense wilderness. His early years were spent on a 
 farm, with no special opportunity for obtaining an 
 education other than those afforded bj- the district 
 schools, but, through the combined influences of both 
 farm and school, he receiveda thorough training of 
 
 ^r(^^^ 
 
 self-reliance, perseverance and fortitude, that were 
 developed in after life to a remarkable degree. As 
 youth ripened into manhood, his vigorous and ambi- 
 tious nature led him to seek new fields, and, at the 
 early age of eighteen years, he went to Detroit, 
 Michigan, and secured a position in the dry goods 
 establishment of Zach. Chandler, where he remained 
 two j'ears. After leaving that position, he purchased 
 a half interest in a jewelrj' and Yankee notion store, 
 and for five )'ears remained there, under the firm 
 name of Crosby & Lovell. In 1860, desiring a richer 
 field for his labors, he set sail for California, where 
 he arrived April 12lh of that year. After a short 
 stay in San Francisco, he went to Sacramento and 
 formed a partnership with T. H. Cook, and for the 
 succeeding four years carried on a mercantile and 
 teaming business, and delivered the first brick used 
 in the construction of the Slate Capitol at Sacra- 
 75 
 
 mento. In 1864 ho severed his connection with the 
 firm, and came over the mountains to Virginia City, 
 Store}' County, Nevada, soon after as.sociating himself 
 with R. J. Breed in the wood and coal business, also 
 general teaming, under the name of Breed & Crosby, 
 owning and using as many as 300 horses and mules 
 at a time, hauling quartz from the mines to the mills. 
 The firm continued successfully for nearlj' fifteen 
 years, up to the fifteenth of December, 187SI, when it 
 was dissolved, and he associated himself with his 
 brother, John J. Crosbj-, conducting the same line of 
 siness under the name of Crosby & Co. 
 
 Richard V. Dey 
 
 Was born in New York City, on the eleventh day of 
 March, 1835, where he continued to live until he was 
 twenty years of age, receiving his education in the 
 great metropolis. His ancestors wore from Holland, 
 and the date of their arrival in New York was as far 
 back as 1(>2(;. Dey Street, in that city, derived its 
 name from once being in the possession of this fam- 
 ily. In 185.5 the subject of this sketch came to Cali. 
 fornia, and for four years was engaged in the jewelry 
 business in the city of San Francisco. In 1859 he 
 became associated with Col. J. C. Fremont, and for 
 one year was engaged in mining with him in Bear 
 Valley, Mariposa County, California. He then came 
 to Virginia Citj- and engaged in mining, and was also 
 interested in a saw-mill in Carson City, following the 
 business for throe years. During the year 18G4 ho 
 received the appointment of Deputy United States 
 Marshal, and upon the resignation of his superior 
 officer was appointed United States M.'irsbal, and 
 continued in that position for one year, since which 
 
598 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 time he has been connected with the Bonanza Firm, 
 in relation to the title to their mines. In 1880 Mr. 
 Doy took a trip around the world in company with 
 Col. James G. Fair, occupying nearly eight months 
 in viewing the wonders of the Old World and the New. 
 ilr. Dey is of fine appearance and a well-bred gentle- 
 man, gaining hosts of friends wherever he goes. 
 
 FINANCES DUKINO THE BONANZA PERIOD. 
 
 It will be remembered that at the close of our 
 first period (1805) the finances were in a peculiarlj"- 
 shaky condition. The Virginia City bonds and scrip, 
 drawing from one to five per cent, per month, 
 amounted to 825-1,837.78. 
 
 The county debt in May, 1865, amounted to no 
 less than 8327,475.12. The destruction of many of 
 the records by the great fire, and the abstraction or 
 mutilation of others, prevents getting a very clear 
 idea as to how the county and city threw off its 
 debts. From the extravagant habits of municipal 
 and county officers of that date the impression 
 would obtain that bankruptcy was inevitable, but 
 the discovery of the different bonanzas, which com- 
 menced soon after the bullion-tax income, which was 
 almost enough some years to run the county, to- 
 gether with wiser financial measures, carried both 
 city and county out of debt, and left the finances in 
 a healthy condition. The construction of a Court 
 House, the water-works, and the l>onds (8300,000) 
 for the building of the Virginia and Truckeo Rail- 
 road, were ail canceled in the course of a few years, 
 80 that almost alone in counties on the Pacific Coast, 
 Storey County is practically out of debt. For the 
 full statement of this question see (Jhapter XVlll. 
 
 TAXING THE VIRGINIA AND TRUCKEE RAILROAD. 
 
 The 8300,000 of bonds donated were receipted for 
 by the company January 31, 1H70. The value of 
 the portion of the track in Storey County at first 
 was fixed at 812,000 per mile. October 7th it was 
 reduced to 810,000 per mile, and afterwards to 
 88,000, the difference 82,000 per mile for six and one- 
 half miles, 813,000, being added to the rolling stock. 
 October 10, 1873, the value of rolling stock was 
 reduced from 840, 920 to S3! ,920. It was reduced still 
 more October 4, 1875. October 4, 1879, the assessment 
 was still further reduced, making the total value of 
 the track 810,580 less than in 1873. The valuation 
 was still further reduced in 1880. 
 
 PRINCIPAL FIRES IN VIRGINIA CITY. 
 
 The combustible nature of the materials of which 
 the towns are built, the terrific winds which dailj' visit 
 this side of the mountains, with the dry character of 
 the atmosphere, and the careless habits of the 
 transient population, all combined to make the 
 chances of a conflagration numerous. This was 
 early seen bj- the resident population, and efficient 
 means were taken, as it was thought, to prevent any 
 widespread disaster. So thought the cities of 
 Chicago and Portland, but the fire-fiend devoured 
 tbera. 
 
 The first great fire in Virginia City broke out 
 August 29, 1863, in a carpenter shop in the rear of 
 Patrick Lynch 's saloon. About 8700,000 worth of 
 property was destroyed. The burned district ex- 
 tended from Taj-lor Street to Sutton Avenue, north 
 and south, and from A Street to B, and partly down 
 to C, east and west. This was then the principal 
 business part of the town. This fire was the occa- 
 sion for the culmination of the feud between the 
 engine companies Number One and Two, more par- 
 ticularly described in the account of the Fire 
 Department. 
 
 On September 29, 1865, a fire started at the Foun- 
 tain Head Restaurant. It burned over an area 
 extending from Union Street to below Suttcm 
 Avenue, and as far as D Street east, and A Street 
 west. About 8400,000 worth of propertj- was 
 destroyed. 
 
 On September 23, 1866, Music Hall was destroyed 
 by a fire occasioned bj' the bursting of a lamp. 
 
 On the nineteenth of Sejitcmber, 1S70, another 
 fire broke out in Lonkey & Smith's lumber yard, 
 corner of D and Smith Streets. It spread from D 
 down to E Street east, and as far as A Street west, 
 running close to Taylor Street on the north, and to 
 the Tahoe House on the south. The total damage 
 amounted to 8300,000. 
 
 June 29, 1873, at 11 o'clock, i'. .v.. the McLaugh- 
 lin & Root building, on B Street, blew up and took 
 fire; 100 pounds of Hercules powder, six cases of 
 nitro-glycerine, 100 pounds of giant jjowder, and 
 200 pounds of common powder had been stored 
 under the bed-room of Major General Xnn Bokkelen, 
 by that gentleman, and exploded. He was killed, 
 also J. P. Smith, W. I). Davis. Ben Mandel, Mrs. Ed. 
 Dean and her little daughter, Billy Low, Chas. Knox, 
 Mrs. Emily Connor and John Devine. Losses by 
 fire, water, etc., 8225,000. Many persons were 
 wounded. 
 
 A portion of the building was occupied by the 
 Hank of California. 
 
 The great fire, one long to be remembered, com- 
 menced at 5:30, A.M., October 26, 1875, in a low 
 lodging-house on A Street, and resulted in the total 
 destruction of the business part of the citj', and a 
 loss of about $12,000,000. The burned district 
 included all between Taylor .Street on the south, and 
 Carson Street on the north, Stewart Street on the 
 west, and the Chinese quarter on the east. The fire 
 soon passed bc^'ond all possibility of control, driving 
 the firemen and people from one block to another 
 with scarcelj' any delay. As the air became heated 
 the flames seemed to leap across whole blocks at a 
 time. The '• fire-proof" buildings seemed to offer as 
 little resistance as those of wood. The mills and 
 hoisting-works were swept away as bj- a whirlwind. 
 Considerable quantities of powder were stored 
 around the towTi, and this exploding increased the 
 horrors of the scene, and paralyzed the eflorts to 
 
 1 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY 
 
 69f> 
 
 quell the tire or to remove valuables, so dangerous 
 was it to approach a building. 
 
 The shafts of the mines burned down to a consid- 
 erable distance, occasioning much caving in. At the 
 Ophir a cage was let down and covered with dirt to 
 prevent the fire from passing down, but the fasten- 
 ings or springs gave way when the dirt was shoveled 
 on it, and the fire went down the shaft. The Con- 
 solidated Virginia saved their shaft with a bulk-head 
 covered with dirt. Soon after the fire a gale com- 
 menced blowing, tumbling down the tottering wails 
 and filling the air with clouds of ashes and cinders. 
 November 2d a snow-storm setin and made the situa- 
 tion still worse. 
 
 The business houses destroyed numbered over JiOO; 
 the dwellings. 1,000. The mill of the Consolidated 
 Yirginia, which cost 8500,000, was destroyed. 
 
 The people set to work to rebuild even while the 
 beds of coals were glowing with heat, and in a few 
 days most of the people were under shelter. The 
 railroad brought in supplies of timber and provisions. 
 Fortj'-six trains passed over the road in one day ; 1 00 
 cars were dropped at Reno for Virginia City in one 
 day. But for the railroad the city must have been 
 abandoned until spring. Let those who see no good 
 in railroads make a note. 
 
 The mines were soon in working condition. The 
 Ophir shaft was repaired (retimbered) sixty feet 
 deep, new and powerful hoisting works set up. and 
 everytiiing in running order in thirty days, four of 
 which were used in putting out the fire. Samuel 
 Curtis was the Captain in this rapid work. 
 
 FIRES AT GOLD HILL. 
 
 The largest fire that Gold Hill ever experienced 
 occurred April 20, 186-1. It broke out about three 
 o'clock in the morning, in the What Cheer House, at 
 the corner of Main and Crown Point Streets. The 
 Virginia Engine Company, No. 1. and Eagle Com- 
 pany, No. 3, came to their relief, and with the assist- 
 ance of the Hook and Ladder Company of Gold Hill, 
 succeeded in quelling the fire. The loss was about 
 815,000. 
 
 VIRGINIA CITY FIRE DEPART.MENT. 
 
 The Fire Department of Virginia Citj- had its origin 
 in a bucket company. In the fall of 1800 the citizens 
 met at the International Hotel, then a frame house 
 on 1$ Street, and organized to fight fire, their only 
 equipment being a supply of buckets. This com- 
 pany was disbanded carlj' in the following year, 
 when the nucleus of the present department was 
 formed, by the organization of Hook and Ladder 
 Companj", No. 1, and Virginia Kngine Company, 
 No. 1. Tom Peasley was the first foreman of the 
 truck company, a position he subsequently resigned, 
 to become the foreman of the first engine company, 
 which he had also organized. On March lit, 18()2, 
 Young America Engine Company, No. 2, was organ- 
 ized, with Jacob Young, Jr., as foreman. This 
 company was composed of young workingmen, gen- 
 erally designated as "the boys;" while Kngine 
 
 Company, No. 1, was made up principally of those 
 who prided themselves on being the "sports" of 
 the town. The Fire Dejjartnient was now organized, 
 with Tom I'oasley as the first chief engineer, who, 
 some years later, met with a tragic death in the 
 Ormsl.y House. Carson City. On March 4, 18G3. 
 Peter Larkin defeated Peasley for chief. On August 
 29th, of that year, Virginia Citj- had its first great 
 fire (described elsewhere). During the progress of 
 the conflagration, a long-standing feud between 
 Hook and Ladder Company, No. 1, and Engine 
 Conipan3\ No. 1. on one side, and Engine Company. 
 No. 2, on the other, culminated in a severe battle, 
 with fatal consequences to one man. The fire broke 
 out in a carpenter's shop, in the rear of Patrick 
 Lynch's saloon. 
 
 The fight occurred between C and D Streets. Brick- 
 bats were freely used and several men received 
 brui^es and contusions from these missiles. The gen- 
 eral conflict had ended when John Cullen, First 
 Assistant Engineer of the Dipartment, shot and 
 killed one Richardson, an expelled member of Engine 
 Company, No. 2. Cullen was a member of the same 
 company and after the fire a crowd composed of 
 Richardson's friends gathered in front of their engine 
 house and threatened to demolish it. The comjiany 
 had a cannon loaded with grape and canister, which 
 they were prepared to discbarge against the mob in 
 the event of an attack. 
 
 Billy Warnock. a member of another company, 
 stood up and made a speech warning the infuriated 
 men not to attack the house, as there were inside 
 forty or fifty armed men, and they would be taking 
 desperate chances. The crowd thereupon took the 
 hint and withdrew. Thus ended the first and only 
 battle ever fought bj* the fire laddies of the Com- 
 stock. 
 
 Eagle Engine Company, No. 3, was organized on 
 August 2, 18G3, and purchased the hand engine 
 belonging to Vigilant Company, No. 9, of San Fran- 
 cisco. Washoe Engine Comjianj-, No. 4, was organ- 
 ized soon afterwards. Billy ilackintosh, now dead, 
 was their first foreman. In the summer of 18G4, 
 Knickerbocker Engine Company. No. 5, was organ- 
 ized with Hugh Kelly as foreman. Confidence En- 
 gine Companj-, No. 6, was organized October 19, 1864, 
 with Frank Ilollaway as foreman. By a resolution 
 of the Board of Aldermen, passed on Maj' 11, 18(10, 
 Confidence Engine Company were granted leave to 
 change their name to Monumental, No. 0. On Nov- 
 ember 24, 18G6, a hose company called Hand-in-Hand 
 Hose Company, No. 1, was organized, but disbanded 
 after a brief existence. The foregoing included all 
 the companies organized in the Old Volunteer Fire 
 Department of Virginia City. 
 
 In May, 18G5, the Board of Aldermen passed an 
 ordinance reducing the salaries of the foremen and 
 assistants. This gave great dissatisfaction to the 
 members of the Fire Department, and on June Ist, all 
 the companies passed resolutions not to turn out to a 
 
600 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 firo or in any way to act as a department or to sell 
 their apparatus until the objectionable ordinance was 
 rescinded. The vote on the resolutions stood 252 
 yeas, 6 noes. The next day a mass meeting of citi- 
 zens was held and a committee appointed to request 
 the council to repeal the ordinance, which they did 
 on condition that the citizens subscribe to pay the 
 diflference. 
 
 The following is a list of the Chief Engineers of 
 the Virginia Volunteer Fire Department for 1862 to 
 1875, in which year it was disbanded and reorganized 
 as a Paid Department. 
 
 Thomas Peasley, 1862; Peter Larkin, 1863-64; R. 
 Williams, 1865; Hugh Curran, 1866; James Wellock, 
 1867; Thomas Fo.x, 1868; William Pennison, 1869; 
 James Malone, 1871-72; '-Kettle Bully" Brown, 1873; 
 F. McNair, 1874-75. 
 
 Of the above, Peasley, Larkin, Williams, Wellock, 
 and Malone are dead. Peasley was murdered at 
 Carson, and Malone was suffocated by gas in the 
 Andes Mine, June 6, 1881. 
 
 In the great fire of 1875 all the companies except 
 Monumental, No. 6, and Young America, No. 2, lost 
 their apparatus. Kook and Ladder Company, No. 1 ; 
 Virginia Engine Company, No. 1; Young America, No. 
 2; Eagle, No. 3; Knickerbocker, No. 5; and Monu- 
 mental, No 6, owned their houses and apparatus. 
 Some of these companies owned dwelling-houses 
 from the rent of which they derived a little income. 
 These were also swept away by the flames. The Fire 
 Department was in fact burned out. Engine Com- 
 pany, No. 1, presented their apparatus to the E.xempts 
 as a relic, and the Monumentals retain theirs to this 
 day, the company keeping up its organization and 
 acting as au.xiliaries to the present department. 
 
 In 1876 the Legislature passed an Act authorizing 
 the organization of a paid Firo Department. The 
 Volunteers thereupon disbanded. Engine Company, 
 No. 2, incorporated as a building association, with 
 twenty members. All the flxempts organized under 
 the title of the Virginia Exempt Fire Association. 
 This organization owns and occupies the house form- 
 erly belonging to the Knickerbocker Engine Com- 
 pany. Its property is worth 86,000. Its Presidents 
 since its organization have successively been William 
 Pennison, John S. Pidge, D. O. Adkinson, and Jacob 
 Young, Jr. 
 
 The reorganization of the Fire Department of Vir- 
 ginia City was radical and complete. The change 
 in the system of water supplj- brought about a 
 change in the methods of fighting firo. The pres- 
 sure at the mains was so increased as to render 
 unnecessary the employment of the old hand en- 
 gines, or ''man-killcrs." By increasing the number 
 of hydrants, and freely distributing sections of hose 
 at different points, ready for instant use, a small 
 body of permanent firemen, stationed in some cen- 
 tral locality', would bo ready to meet all emergencies. 
 No community in the United States is better pro- 
 pared than Virginia City is to-day to fight fire, and 
 
 that, too, with only a handful of men. The amount 
 of material belonging to the department is as fol- 
 lows: One steam engine, one hand engine, one hook 
 and ladder truck complete, five extra ladders, two 
 horses and harness, two one horse hose carts, two 
 one-horse hose carriages, five hand hose carts, one 
 four-wheeled hand hose carriage, 8,000 feet of hose, 
 with full supply of nozzles, axles, lanterns, etc. 
 There are ninety-six hj-drants and twenty-one cis- 
 terns distributed throughout the city, and extra lad- 
 ders are also distributed at various points ready for 
 immediate use. The hose depositories are over 
 twenty-five in number. They resemble the little 
 shelters provided for railroad switchmen, are always 
 locked, the key being kept in the nearest house. 
 These depositories each contain from 150 to 300 feet 
 of hose, with pipes, spanners, lanterns, nozzles, etc. 
 At the largest depositories the hose is reeled on 
 carts. The Department consists of a Chief Engin- 
 eer, Assistant Engineer, and twelve horsemen. K. 
 B. Brown was the first Chief under the new riyime. 
 He was succeeded by William Pennison, who was 
 displaced on political grounds by John Reardon, 
 after the consolidation of Virginia City and Gold 
 Hill. 
 
 THE WATER SUPPLY. 
 
 It was not until 1873 that the inhabitants of Vir- 
 ginia City and Cold Hill enjoyed an abundance of 
 pure, soft water. In the early days natural springs 
 afforded a sufficient supply for the few persons 
 living in the two mining camps. As the popula- 
 tion increased these springs wore found inadequate 
 to meet the demands of the people, and various 
 devices were adopted to collect and distribute the 
 water flowing from several tunnels which had been 
 run into the mountain west of Virginia City for 
 prospecting purposes. Large wooden tanks were 
 built at different points to store the precious fluid, 
 but the company which had been organized to sup- 
 ply the community frequently found itself embar- 
 rassed in its attempts to keep filled these rude res- 
 ervoirs. The tunnels running dry, a water I'amine 
 would bo imminent; when new strata of rock were 
 cut across and ibr a time the supply increased. 
 But the tunnels at the best furnished but feeble 
 streams, and these were charged with minerals. 
 The next device resorted to was to dam up the 
 shallow basins on the summits of the distant hills 
 to hold back the water from the molting snow. 
 These wore found to yield largely and for a long 
 time, when tapped by a tunnel run under the basin 
 or sunk at the depth of 300 or 400 feet. Yet one 
 after another these hills failed. Thousands of dol- 
 lars had been expended in these various experi- 
 ments, but the danger of water famines constantly 
 confronted the people. Finally the Virginia and 
 Gold Hill Water Company determined to bring a 
 suppi}' of pure water from the streams and lakes 
 of the Sierra Nevada Mountains — Irom the regions 
 of eternal snow. It was a bold scheme and its ac- 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY. 
 
 GOl 
 
 complisbment one of the most remarkable engineer- 
 ing triumphs of the ago. The distance from Vir- 
 ginia City to the first available streams in the 
 Sierra was about twenty-five miles; but between the 
 Virginia range of mountains and the Sierra lay the 
 deep depression known as Washoe Valley — in one 
 part of which is situated Washoe Lake. 
 
 The problem to be solved in bringing water from 
 the Sierra to Virginia City was how to convey it 
 across this deep valley. To succeed was to achieve 
 a feat in hydraulic engineering never before at- 
 tempted in any part of the world. This was to 
 carry the water thi-ough an iron pipe under a per- 
 pendicular pressure of 1,700 feet. This feat, how- 
 ever, -Mr. II. Schussler, the engineer of the Spring 
 Valley Water-works, of San Francisco, said could 
 be performed, and he was prepared to undertake 
 it at once. In the spring of 1872 surveys wore 
 made and orders given for the manufacture of the 
 pipe. The first section was laid June 11, 1873, and 
 the last on the twenty-fifth of July the same year. 
 The whole length of the pipe is seven miles and 
 134 feet. Its interior diameter is twelve inches, and 
 it is capable of delivering 2,200,000 gallons of water 
 per twenty-four hours. In its passage the water 
 makes a descent of 2,100 feet from the mountains 
 into Washoe Valley, and, by means of an inverted 
 syphon, is again raised 1,5-40 feet to flow thence on 
 to the city. 
 
 Thus is brought to bear an enormous pressure 
 which forces the water rapidly through the pipe. 
 The water is brought to the inlet through a large 
 wooden flume, and at the outlet is delivered into a 
 similar tlume, twelve miles in length, which conveys 
 it to Virginia City. The pipe is of wrought iron, 
 and is fastened by three rows of five-eighths inch 
 rivets. At the lowest point in the ground crossed, 
 the perpendicular pressure is 1,720 feet, equal to 800 
 pounds to the square inch. Hero the iron is five- 
 sixteenths of an inch in thickness, but as the ground 
 rises to the east and west, and the pressure is re- 
 duced, the thickness of the iron decreases through 
 one-quarter, three-sixteenths down to one-sixteenth. 
 The pipe in its course crosses thirteen deep gulches, 
 making that number of undulations, as it is through- 
 out its length laid at the depth of two and one-half 
 feet below tlic surface of the earth. Besides these, 
 there are several lateral curves round hills and points 
 of rocks. 
 
 The manufacturers of the pipe had been furnished 
 with a diagram of the line on which it was laid, and 
 each section was constructed to fit a certain spot, so 
 there was just one place and none other for each 
 section of pipe as received from the manufactory. 
 The pipe contains no less than 1,150,000 pounds of 
 rolled iron, is hold together by 1,000,000 rivets, and 
 there were used in securing the joints 52,000 pounds 
 of lead, which was melted and poured in from a port- 
 able furnace that moved along the line as the work 
 of laying the pipe progressed. It is related that at 
 
 the first filling of the pipe, a stream of water about 
 the thickness of a common lead pencil, escaped 
 through the lead packing of a joint, at a point 
 where the pressure was greatest. This struck 
 against the face of a rock, and rebounding, played 
 upon the upper side of the oipe. The water 
 brought with it from the rock a small quantity of 
 sand, or grit, ])erhaps, but at all events it soon bored 
 a hole through the top of the pipe, and from this 
 hole, which shortly became two or three inches in 
 diameter, a jet of water ascended to the height of 200 
 feet or more, spreading out in the shape of a fan 
 toward the top. 
 
 This was repaired, and the water finally flowed 
 through the pipe, and reached Gold Hill and Vir- 
 ginia City on the night of August 1, 1873. When 
 the water reached the outlet there was great rejoic- 
 ing. Cannon were fired, bands of music paraded the 
 streets and fire-works were discharged all over the 
 city. Many persons went out and filled bottles with 
 this first water from the Sierra, and a bottle of it is 
 still preserved in the cabinet of the Pacific Coast 
 Pioneers. 
 
 In 1875 the Virginia and Gold Hill Water Com- 
 pany laid a second pipe alongside of the first. This 
 has an inside diameter of ten inches. Instead of 
 being fastened with rivets it is lap- welded, and is the 
 longest pipe ever made in that way. As there are 
 no rivet heads in it to produce friction, it delivers the 
 same amount of water as the larger pipe, namely, 
 2,200,000 gallons per twentj'-four hours. 
 
 Up to 1875 the supply of water was chiefly drawn 
 from a stream known as Hobart Creek, but in that 
 year the works in the mountains were extended by 
 pushing the supplj' flume through to Marlette Lake, 
 within the basin of Lake Tahoe, a distance of eight 
 and a half miles, and a total distance from Virginia 
 City of thirty-one and a half miles. To tap Marlette 
 Lake it was necessary to run in one place a tunnel 
 3,000 feet in length under the ridge forming the rim 
 of the Lake Tahoe basin. 
 
 Connected with the works are several reservoirs 
 that hold from 3,000,000 to 10,000,000 gallons of 
 water. Marlette Lake lies at an altitude of 1,500 
 feet above C Street, Virginia City, and the water is 
 brought in at such a height above the town that it 
 can everywhere bo carried far above the highest 
 buildings, and streams from the hydrants are thrown 
 with great force and eft'ect in case of fire occurring 
 near them. The cost of those water- works was over 
 82,000,000. The supply is now more copious, accord- 
 ing to population, and of finer quality than is that of 
 any other city in the Union. This flood of water, 
 soft and pure as that distilled in dews, is conducted 
 into every house in Virginia, Gold Hill and Silver 
 City, and is praeticallj' inexhaustible. It supplies 
 not only the wants of the peo])!e, but those for all 
 milling, mining and mechanical purposes. It furn- 
 ishes the boilers of all the hoisting works on the 
 Comstock, and also those for the steam mills; and so 
 
602 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 I'rec li-om impuriiies is it, that those boilers never 
 become coated, nor are they eaten out with chemicals 
 held in solution. 
 
 SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENTS. 
 
 Shortly after, the great fire the citizens commenced 
 the substantial structures, which make Virginia City 
 an honor to the Pacific Coast. Hotels, theatres, 
 churches, and school houses, sprang up as if by 
 magic; and, in a few years, presented a more 
 advanced growth than many larger cities a hundred 
 years old. The International Hotel would com- 
 pare favorably with the Sherman House at Chicago, 
 or any of the first-class hotels in the East. This 
 was completed in 1876. It is built of brick, with 
 cut-stone facings. It is 05 feet front, 108 feet deep, 
 six stories in height, exclusive of basement; is 109 
 feet high, and contains 160 rooms. It occupies the 
 site of the International, destroyed by the great fire. 
 
 The Court House is one of the finest structures 
 in the State; and, including the fixtures and jail, 
 coat $117,000. This building was completed in 1876. 
 The ground on which the building stands is con- 
 sidered worth 830,000. The property is estimated 
 at $150,000. 
 
 School houses were 80on erected to the value of 
 $140,000. The liberality of the Comstockers in 
 affairs of this kind is never questioned. The pride 
 of the people extends farther than the erection of 
 public edifices, and the education of the children 
 was amply provided for. The annual amount of 
 the school fund is §135,000. 
 
 The City Hall is also an honor to the place. This 
 is in the southern part of the city, and is con- 
 veniently situated to tran^tact the business of the 
 united interests of Gold Hill and Virginia City. 
 
 Piper's Opera House, famous for the many politi- 
 cal meetings held there, as well as the exhibitions 
 of histrionic talent, is a large building, with audi- 
 torium capable of seating 900 persons, and a stage 
 fifty-four feet wide, and thirty-eight feet deep. 
 The whole building covers a space 130x54 feet 
 deep. It is on the site of the first opera house, 
 built by Tom ^laguire, and was opened January 28, 
 1878. It has dress circle, parquette and gallery. 
 The flats are 12x18 feet in size. The receipts of a 
 single night have often been over 81,000. 
 
 After the big fire, theatrical representations were 
 held in the Odd Fellows Hall until the erection of the 
 new building. 'J'he present building with its prop- 
 erties cost about 850,000. As in all towns containing 
 a large number of energetic, resolute men, the theatre 
 has always been liberally patronized, and consider- 
 able first-class talent has at different times appeared 
 on the stage. 
 
 St. Mary's Hospital was built in 1875 and opened 
 March 6, 1876. The grounds formerly known as 
 Van Bokkelon's Gardens wore presented bj- Mrs. 
 Mackaj-. The cost of the building, with furniture, 
 was 840,000. The mining and milling men contril>ute 
 one dollar per month each for the support ol the 
 
 institution. The income from this source is about 
 8500 per month. Six Sisters of Charity reside at the 
 hospital. 
 
 THE FOUNDRIES OF VIROINIA OITV. 
 
 The mines of Storey County, with that extensive 
 demand for castings and machinerj- of all kinds, led 
 to an extraordinary development of the foundry 
 business. The great foundries of San Francisco are 
 indebted mainly for their rise and prosperitj- to the 
 discovery of silver on the Comstock. At an early 
 day, however, it was seen that an inviting field for 
 the foundryman's industry was to be found in the 
 vicinitj" of the mines. The pioneers in Nevada in 
 this branch of industry were Messrs. Mead, McCone 
 & Tascar. These gentlemen had for a long time con- 
 ducted a flourishing little foundry in Placerville, 
 California. In the fall of 1862 they moved their 
 machinery over the Sierra, and established them- 
 selves in Johntown, two miles below Silver City. 
 They began operations with two lathes and a drill- 
 press, and with facilities for running down forty 
 hundred weight of castings at one melting. This 
 firm struck a wave of genuine prosperitj-. So rap- 
 idlj' did the orders flow in that they had to labor 
 night and day to accommodate their customers. 
 They fairly coined money, and, after two years' 
 operations at Johntown, they again moved their 
 machinery, this time to Silver City, where they 
 erected a large stone building, at a cost of 8125,000. 
 It was known as the Nevada Foundry, and was then 
 the largest establishment of its kind in the State. 
 At first the firm employed seventy-five men, which 
 force was subse(iucntly increased to 100. 
 
 In 1864 McCone bought out Tascar's interest, and, 
 in 1866, his other partner. Mead, sold his interest in 
 the business to him, thus making McCone the sole 
 proprietor. On Maj- 15, 1872, a fire, supposed to 
 have been started by an incendiarj', left nothing 
 standing but the walls. The damage inflicted 
 amounted to alrout 8160. (UtO, on which there was 
 only 835,000 insurance. McCone, having saved his 
 patterns and a few tools, then moved to Virginia 
 City, and bought the Fulton Foundry, which he 
 thereafter conducted. 
 
 This establishment had its rise in a small machine 
 shop started at the corner of B and Taylor Streets, 
 in 1861, by Kdwards & Hughes. After working 
 one year they rented the shop to a millwright 
 named Thomas R. Jones. The latter's lease expir- 
 ing in June, 1863, he bought some land on the 
 Divide, and erected thereon the Fulton Foundry, 
 by which name it has since been known. Jones 
 started work with two lathes, and a little drill- 
 ing machine. The following year ho enlarged his 
 premises, added two more lathes, a planing and shap- 
 ing machine, and made many other improvements. 
 At first ho employed ten men, but when he returned 
 in 1867, the force steadily at work numbered over 
 forty. In the fall of that year he sold oat to A. L. 
 Greeley, a lawyer by profession, who had previously 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY. 
 
 been carrying on a small foundrj' business in Gold 
 Hill. In 1869 (rreeley sold the Nevada Foundry to 
 the Bank of California, when the latter placed it in 
 charge of Mr. Crraves. a master-mechanic on the 
 Central Pacific Railroad, and .Mr. J.M. t^»tiimby. also 
 a railroad man. -All the castings and finishings for 
 the Virginia and Truckee Railroad were manufac- 
 tured by the establishment at this time. 
 
 On June 15, 1872, the Bank sold the foundiy to 
 Mr. McCone, who rebuilt the institution, put in new 
 machinerj', and extended the works generally. Mr- 
 McCoiie had just finished ail iho niilroad work when 
 the rich strikes in the Crown Point and Belcher 
 mines led to a large increase in orders for castings 
 and machinery from all the mines in process of 
 development along the famous lode. At this time 
 (1874) the daily average of emploj-cs in the foundry 
 reached 111) men. Business continued brisk up to 
 1877, when it fell off materially, and the force of 
 workingmen was reduced to sixty. The dull period 
 which followed the exhaustion of the "bonanza" 
 mines led to a still further reduction, and at the pres- 
 ent time about thirty men can do all the work re- 
 quired. 
 
 John McCone. whose skill, zeal, and marvelous 
 industry built up this great interest, died in 187G, 
 since which year the business has been managed by 
 the executors of his estate. To illustrate the capaci- 
 ties of the Fulton Foundry it is only necessary to 
 add, that the largest casting in one piece ever 
 turned out on the Pacific Coast was the product of 
 this establishment. This was the fly-wheel center 
 for the Yellow Jacket hoisting works. Its weight 
 is 44,500 pounds, and it was successfully cast on 
 Saturday, December 11, 1880. 
 
 The Fulton Foundry also had the honor of con- 
 structing the first engine and pump ever made in 
 Nevada. This achievement was accomplished in 
 June, 1864, and the work was done for the Bullion 
 Mining Company. 
 
 The wages paid to foundrymen in Virginia City 
 are higher than paid anywhere else in the world to 
 the same class of workmen. Machinists receive §6; 
 moulders and pattern makers, 85.50; blacksmiths. 
 86.50; helpers, -54; and laborers, SH,50 per daj-. 
 Among the other foundries which have also flourished 
 in Nevada may be mentioned the Union Foundry, 
 established in 1869 by James Mead, and the Gold 
 Hill Foundrj", started in 18ti4 by (Jreeley, which is 
 now owned bj- George Emmott. 
 
 The Pioneer Foundry, of (Jold Hill, was started by 
 Oliver Ilj'de in 1862. lie operated it on a small 
 scale until lH(i7 when he sold his tools and patterns 
 to the other foundries. In 1878 the Virginia Foun- 
 dry was started by l''razer \- ('ummiiigs, but the lat- 
 ter soon sold out his interest and in September, 188(1, 
 Andrew Frazer moved to Heno and opened a foun- 
 dry in that town. In 1.S7(! John Ivenis starteil u 
 small brass foundry in Virginia City and after run- 
 ning it one year abandoned it for want of biisiness 
 
 John McCone 
 
 Was born in Countj' Armagh, Ireland, in the year 
 1830. At the age of fourteen j-ears he came to 
 America, and located at Newmarket, New Hamp- 
 shire, where he served an apprenticeship at the 
 moulder's trade. Thence to Cincinnati, Ohio, and 
 worked as a journeymen in a machine shop until 
 1850, when he came overland to California, and for a 
 iQ'^ months was engaged in buying and selling cattle 
 at Sacramento and vicinity. Thence to the city of 
 San Francisco, and engaged in the house-moving and 
 general teaming business, until he accumulated capital 
 enough to buy an engine and other machinery neces- 
 sary to start a small foundry, which he located at San 
 Jose, California. This proving unprofitable he ex- 
 changed it for a wind-mill factory, and this proving 
 likewise he turned his attention to stock-raising, also 
 in hauling lumber from the foot-hills to San Fran- 
 cisco. In 1852 he forged a plow-share, probably the 
 first one made in the Santa Clara V^alloy. In 1857 
 he went to El Dorado County, and for a time was 
 engaged in hydraulic mining at Placerville. His 
 desire for his former business induced him to estab- 
 lish a foundry at that place, which he conducted 
 until the discovery of the Comstock minesi!) Nevada, 
 at which time he, with his partner, crossed the 
 mountains and started the same business at John- 
 town, two miles below Silver Citj-. This was in lsi!2. 
 Business was rushing, and it soon became necessary 
 to have more room. From natural advantages 
 existing in Silver City, he, with his partner. James 
 Mead, decided to buihl a foundry that would 
 accommodate their steadily increasing business nl 
 that place, and accordingly had constructed a <!!,>• 
 
604 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 granite structure 300x100 feet, at a cost of about 
 8120,000. In 1866 Mr. McCone purchased the 
 interests of his partner, thereby becoming sole 
 proprietor. During the White Pine excitement in 
 1869, he built and shipped to that place a twenty- 
 stamp mill, which was burned a short time after, 
 entailing a loss to Mr. McCone oi nearly .860,000. In 
 May, 1872, soon after this disaster, the fine struct- 
 ure built at Silver City was also destroyed by the 
 fire-fiend, causing another loss to the proprietor of 
 8132,000. This was a fearful blow to him, but with 
 his characteristic pluck and energy, he at once pur- 
 chased a small foundry located on the Divide between 
 Gold Hill and Virginia City, and as business increased 
 he built additions to the building, and at the present 
 time it is acknowledged to be the largest establish- 
 ment of the kind in the State, known as the Fulton 
 Foundrj-. During the time of building up this last 
 business his health became impaired, and after an 
 illness of four years he died in San Francisco, 
 on July 2!). 1H76. Mr. McCone was ostensively 
 a self-made man, ranking as one of the prom- 
 inent business men of the State, having all 
 the requisites to make him successful, viz.; good 
 judgment, pluck and perseverance. He was mar- 
 ried to Miss Alicia Kcllej^ in October, 1858. At 
 the time of his death his family consisted of his wife 
 and four children, two boys and two girls. 
 
 THE MANCFACTURE OF ICE. 
 
 The water company put up an ice factory in 1877. 
 using Holden's Machine, that is capable of making 
 fifteen tons of ice daily, which is sold for about 
 twenty dollars per ton. Ice was formerly brought 
 from Truckee. Groat quantities, formerly 10,000 
 tons annually, are used in various ways in the 
 mines; for cooling drinking water, for putting on 
 the persons of the miners when in the hot drifts, 
 etc. The superintendents have found that a liberal 
 supply of ice is economy. The present ice works 
 are found adequate to the demand. The process of 
 making is interesting, but too complicated to be 
 explained without drawings. The principle, how- 
 ever, is that of surrounding the water to be frozen 
 with a liquid capable of expansion, which, during 
 the expansion, absorbs the heat, or caloric, from the 
 water, reducing it to a freezing point. 
 
 THE (iENERAL OfTLOOK HOPEFUL. 
 
 With the failure of the Bank of California and 
 the re-adjustment of titles to propertj', came a period 
 of gradual depression in mining and real estate val- 
 ues, with u gradual decline in the population. The 
 bonanzas wore gradually worked out, and no new 
 ones wore discovered. This is not supposed to be 
 permanent, as the same condition obtained in 1865 
 to a greater extent than at any time since. Bonanzas 
 have been expected in the Sierra Nevada, and the 
 adjoining mines. Stocks would go up to a fabulous 
 value, but "naJa hnnanza," as a Spaniard would say, 
 and the shares would sink again, lower than before. 
 
 It is now believed that the Bonanza Firm own a 
 controlling interest in all the important mines on 
 the Comstock, and no one cares to risk much in- 
 vestment in them, and thej- have shrunken to less 
 than one-thirtieth of their value, January 1, 1875. 
 
 PHOTO BY TABeO. SAN rRANCISCO 
 
 Hon. L. T. Fox 
 
 Is a native of Virginia, born in Accomack County, in 
 the j'ear 1828, and was brought up on a farm, until 
 at the age of eleven j'ears his attention was directed 
 to the " briny deep," which occupation he followed 
 until 1850, serving in every capacitj- on board a 
 vessel from cabin-boy to Captain. At the early age 
 of sixteen he was an oflScer under the American flag, 
 which is evidence of more than ordinary abilitj'. In 
 his travels by sea he visited ncarlj- every port of anj' 
 consequence in the old world and the new. In 
 1850 he reached the Pacific Coast, and desiring a 
 change of occupation, he left the sea and engaged in 
 mining in Sierra County, California, which he fol- 
 lowed about one j-car, and then engaged in the stock- 
 raising and butchering business in the same count}' 
 until 1863, at which time he came to Nevada. From 
 1SC3 to the present time he has been a resident of 
 Storey Countj-, making and losing several fortunes. 
 In politics he has alwaj's been an earnest and con- 
 sistent Democrat, and has filled several positions of 
 trust to the entire satisfaction of his constituents. 
 In 1870 ho was elected to the State Senate from 
 Store}' County, and reelected in 1880 for a second 
 term; has been County Commissioner, President of 
 the Board of Trustees for the town of Gold Hill for 
 five years, and is Major General of the State Militia, 
 and is withal a popular man, esteemed by all of his 
 large circle of acquaintances. 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY. 
 
 605 
 
 PHOTO BY NOC fc LEE, VIROINIA, NEV 
 
 W/?.A^^^<j 
 
 Hon. Joseph B. Mallon, the subject of this sketch, 
 is a native of Ireland ; was born in County Tyrone 
 in the year 1838. At the aijc of twelve years he 
 came to the United States and settled in the city of 
 New York, where he attended school five years, re- 
 ceiving a sound business education. In 1855 he 
 sailed away from the city where he had improved his 
 knowledge, and in due time landed in San Fran- 
 cisco, California. After one and one-half years ex- 
 perience in the latter city, he went to Victoria, Brit- 
 ish Columbia, to assist in the management of a busi- 
 ness house for a San Francisco firm, remaining there 
 about three )-cars. He then returned to California 
 and located in Mariposa Count}-, engaged in the 
 grocery and general merchandising trade, spending 
 two years in that place. He then came to Virginia 
 City, Nevada, and joined his brother, John Mallon, 
 who was already established in the same business, 
 and in a short time the subject of this sketch became 
 a partner with him. This firm did a prosperous 
 business, but the ruthless destroyer, fire, twice swept 
 away their store, incurring a loss each time of about 
 870,000; but it is credited to the firm that they paid 
 all thoir liabilities, dollar for dollar, without a thought 
 of compromise. John .Mallon, the senior member of 
 the firm, died March 11, 1876, since which time Jo- 
 seph B. has owned and controlled the business, and 
 ranks to-day among the prominent business men of 
 the State of Nevada. 
 76 
 
 Hon. William Woodburn, of Virginia City, was 
 born in County Wicklow, Ireland, in the j^ear 1838; 
 emigrated to the State of Maryland, and was for 
 some time a student in St. Charles College, in that 
 State, lie came to California in 1855, and subse- 
 quentlj- to Nevada, where ho studied law, being 
 admitted to practice in 18G5; since which time he 
 has generally followed the law as a profession. He 
 was J>istriet Attorney for Storey Count^-in 1871-72, 
 and was elected to the Forty fourth Congress as a 
 Republican, receiving 9,317 votes against 8,567 for 
 bis opponent, Ellis, Democrat. 
 
 FINANCE AND RESOURCES. 
 
 Storey County, although a heavy loser by the 
 defalcation of the Treasurer, B. H. Carrick, who was 
 charged with embezzlement, tried, found guiltj' and 
 sent to the State Prison for a term of years, has no 
 debts of any consequence, either bonded or floating. 
 The assessed valuation of her property in 1880 was 
 .*5, 197, 574, and her population was 16,115. 
 
 For a full statement of the agricultural and mis- 
 cellaneous products of the county from 1865 to 1880, 
 the number of acres under cultivation, the stock and 
 grain raised and the fruit trees and vines cultivated, 
 also the number of irrigating ditches, the reader 
 is referred to pages 135, 136, 139 and 140 of the gen- 
 eral history. For the products of the mines see 
 general table on that subject for each county. 
 
 APP0INT.MENTS AND ELECTIONS. 
 
 The first County Commissioners were elected by 
 the Territorial Legislature in December, 1861, and 
 
606 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 tho other officers of the county were appointed by 
 the Executive, all holding their respective positions 
 till the first election, which occurred January 14, 
 1862. 
 
 As the regular elections were established by 
 law on the first Tuesday in September, the officers 
 elected January 14, 1862, held only for the fraction 
 of the term, or until they were succeeded by those 
 elected at the regular election. A complete list of 
 all the officers of the county, from its organization 
 down to the present lime is herewith given, together 
 with the date of appointment or election of each. 
 The vacancies in office by death, resignation, or 
 removal, if any, arc also noted, with the names of 
 the persons selected to fill the same. Following is 
 the list: — 
 
 STATE SENATORS. 
 
 R. M. Daggett, A. W. Baldwin, and II. H. Flagg, 
 elected to Council under Territorial law, September 
 2, 1863; S. A. Kellogg, N. W. Winton, C. A. Sum- 
 ner, and VV. H. Claggett, elected Senators, November 
 8. 1864. Kellogg's seat was declared vacant on 
 account of his non-residence, and Claggett resigned 
 April 16, 1865, vacancy filled by special election. F. 
 A. Tritle, elected November 5, 1865; C. C. Steven- 
 son, O. II. Gray, and John Nelson, elected Novem- 
 ber 6, 1866; F. A. Tritle and W. N. Hall, elected 
 November 3, 1868. Tritle resigned October 8, 1870. 
 James Phelan, L. T. Fox, and George W. Hopkins, 
 elected November 8, 1870; C. C. Stevenson and N. 
 S. Hobart, elected November 5, 1872; John Piper 
 and S. W. Chubback, elected November 3, 1874; W. 
 Frank Stewart and E. A. Schultz, elected Novem- 
 ber 7, 1876; J. P. Wheeler and W. D. C. Gibson, 
 elected November 5. 1878; J. A. Brumsey and L. 
 T. Fox, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 ASSEMBLYMEN. 
 
 J. D. Meager, M. N. Mitchell, W. S. Minneer, J. 
 Williams, W. H. Mills, E. R. Burke, J. G. Howard 
 and W. H. Davenport were elected Representatives 
 under Territorial law September 3, 1862; Warren 
 Heaton, W.M. Gillispie, A. H. Ungar, I. L. Requa, 
 A. B. Elliott, Thos. Barclay, E. R. Barnes and John 
 Nelson, elected Representatives September 2, 18G3; 
 Frank Tilford, W. T Andrews, A. B. Dibble, C.J. 
 Russell, T. H. Williams, W. T. Barbour, W. H. 
 Stone, elected Representatives September 7, 1864, 
 but did not serve; W. M. Cutter, W. W. Bishop, J. 
 A. Rigby, J. Bolan, E. Bond, C. W. Tozer, H. M. 
 Bein, R. A. Young, E. Patten, A. L. Greeley, John 
 Leavitt and J. Smith were the first elected to the 
 Assembly under State Government, election held 
 November 8, 1864; Edward Ingham, H. C. Mc 
 Dougall. Thomas Lane, E. F. (ilover, John C. James 
 J. W. Woodruff, A. B.Elliott, William M. Cutler 
 Jos. F. Hall, I>. Wood, O. U. Grey and J. Vander 
 water, elected November 7, 1865; J. P. Wheeler, G 
 I. Lammon, Thomas Parker, A. K. I'ottcr, W. N 
 Mitchell, John Welch, 1. L. Swaney, George H. Dana 
 
 E. Strothers, A. H. Lissack, S. E. Huse and R. D. 
 Ferguson, elected November 6, 1866; J. M. Han- 
 ford, J. S. Burson. John Welch, George Lammon, 
 Wilmer Brown, A. K. Potter, C. J. Hillyer, J. L. 
 Richardson. D. 0. Atkinson, W. D. Gray, J. W. 
 Anderson and J. A. Burlingame, elected November 
 3, 1868. Lammon resigned April 2, 1869. Atkin- 
 son resigned May 1, 1869. Burlingame resigned 
 April 1, 1869. A. K. Potter, Henry Piper, E. L. 
 Buckingham, Samuel Owens, C. S. Saville, G. W. 
 Rogers. O. T. Barber, Robert E. Lowery, Thomas H. 
 Williams, A. C. Hay, A. Lawson and R. T. Smith, 
 elected November 8, 1870; Thomas Adams, J. P. 
 Smith, J. W.Wilson, C. Derby, John Randall, E. L. 
 Sterns, R. Arnold, Samuel Owens, G. H. Morrison, 
 Jacob Fox, N. G. Andrews and W. B. Sheppard, 
 elected November 5, 1872; Philip Reese, E. R.Smith, 
 N. G. Andrews, Wales Averill, E. L. Buckingham, 
 J. P. Smith, T. B. Atkinson, William B. Gray, John 
 F. McDonnell, Simon Ogg, H. Crandall and James 
 Lowery, elected November 3,1874; Wellington Stew- 
 art, James G. Rule, Francis E. Mills, John H. Harris, 
 George Toombs, A. T. Brann, Jasper Babcock, John 
 E. Coulter, P. H. Howard, E. A. Smith, George L. 
 Hawks, William H. Botsford, Joseph Beer and F]. L 
 Buckingham, elected November 7, 1876; S. M. Pow- 
 ell, Thomas Lane, William Prisk, Henry A. (raston, 
 John E. Allen, J. C. Harlow, Dan Lyons, J. P. 
 Smith, John L. Hanna, Owen Frazer, George L 
 Andrews, L Fulton, J. P. Flannery and A. Lawson, 
 elected November 5, 1878. Gaston resigned May 1, 
 1879. H. H. Penoyer, Wal. J.Tuska, S. V. Mooney, 
 P. H. Ford, D. A. Moriarty, W. E. Copeland, L. P. 
 Drexler, Joseph B. Mallon, Henrj- Duffy, J. C. 
 Masel, A. G. McKenzie, J. D. Waldorf, Ed. T. Plank 
 and Ambrose Englis, elected November 2. 1880. 
 
 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. 
 
 I. W. Knox, A. B. Paul and T^ouis Feusicr, elected 
 January 14, 1862; J. W. Knox, II. H. Flagg and 
 Martin White, elected September 3, 1862; Charles 
 H. Knox, elected September 2, 1863, resigned Sep- 
 tember 5lh, and A. K. Grimm appointed by Governor 
 to fill vacancy. J. J. Denney, elected September 7, 
 1864; Geo. P. Morrill, E. A. Gamble, D. W. Baleh, 
 John De Wilt and H. M. Eddj-, elected November 
 6, 1866. T. G. Taylor was appointed in place of 
 De Witt September 5, 1867, his seat having been 
 declared vacant, from non-residence, on the thirtj'- 
 first of August. J. A. Rigby, W. H. Burrall and T. 
 M. Hart, elected Novembers, lS(i8. Rigby resigned 
 September 1, 1870, and Burrall resigned February 
 10. 186!». John Piper, W. D. Gray, L. 11. Tor])e, A. 
 Brisacher and Andrew Frazier, elected November 8, 
 1H70; Andrew Frazier, elected November 5, 1872; 
 W. B. Sheppard. .lohn B, Kundall, L. II. Torpe and 
 
 A. Kox, elected November 3, 1874. L. T. Kox, ap- 
 pointed May 7, 1878, in place of Randall, deceased. 
 
 B. K Uazeltine, L. II. Torpe and E. Nye, elected 
 November 7, 1870. Torpo died iu December, 1878. 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY (BOUNTY. 
 
 607 
 
 Thomas Giillagber. D. li. Fraser and K. Nye, elected 
 November 5, 1878; William Webber, Matt Canavan 
 and W. J. Sheridan, elected November 2. l)^8tl. 
 
 PROBATE JUDGES. 
 
 Leonard W. Ferris, appointed December 9, 1861; 
 Leonard W. Ferris, elected September 2, 1863. 
 
 DISTRICT ATTORNEYS. 
 
 Dighton Corson, elected September 2, 18G3; W. 
 W. Bishop, elected November 6, 1866; E. W. Ilillyer, 
 elected November 3, 1868, resigned January 12, 1870. 
 and J. A. Stephens appointed to fill vacancy. Wm. 
 Woodburn, elected November 8, 1870; J. A. Stephens, 
 elected November 5, 1872; Will Campbell, elected 
 November 3, 1874, died January 14, 1876, and Jonas 
 Seelj- appointed. Seely resigned February 23, 1876, 
 and R. II. Lindsay appointed to fill vacancy. Frank 
 V. Drake, elected November 7, 1876; John H. Karris, 
 elected November 5, 1878; Ogden Hiles, elected 
 November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SHERIFFS. 
 
 Wm. H. Howard, appointed December 11, 1861, 
 elected January 14, 1862, re-elected September 3, 
 1862; Jacob C. Clark, elected September 7, 1864; Fat. 
 Mulcahey, elected November 6, 1866; W. J. Cum- 
 mings, elected November 3, 1868; Thos. A. Atkinson, 
 elected November 8, 1870, re-elected November 5, 
 1872; Thomas E. Kelly, elected November 3, 1874, 
 re-elected November 7, 1876; Chas. Williamson, 
 elected November 5, 1878; W. J. Hanks, elected No- 
 vember 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY CLERKS. 
 
 Nelson W. Winton, appointed December 10, 1861; 
 Nelson W. Winton, elected January 14, 1862, re- 
 elected September 3, 1862; Lucian Herman, elected 
 September 7, 1864; J. V. A. Lansing, elected Novem- 
 ber 6, 1866; Geo. H. Dana, elected Novembers, 1868, 
 re-elected November 8, 1870; W. G. Thompson, 
 elected November 5, 1872, re-elected November 3, 
 1874; John P. McFarland, elected November 7, 1876; 
 J. E. McDonald, elected November 5, 1878; John A. 
 Mahanny, elected November 2, 1860. 
 
 COUNTY TREASURERS. 
 
 Thomas J. Taylor, appointed January 6, 1862; 
 Thomas J. Taylor, elected January 14, 1862; L. Feu- 
 sier, elected September 3. 1S62; F. A. Fargo, elected 
 September 7, 1864, resigned April 25, 1866, and C. 
 C. Thomas, appointed to fill vacancy. M. L. Dexter, 
 elected November 6, 1866; John S. Kaneen, elected 
 November 3, 1868; M. A. McDonald, elected Novem- 
 ber 8, 1870; E. Nye, elected November 5, 1872; C. 
 B. Smith, elected November 3, 1874, re-elected No- 
 vember 7, 1876; B. II. Carrick, elected November 5, 
 1878. The oflSco was declared vacant November 6, 
 1880, and Richard Kirman appointed to fill vacancy. 
 W. N. Mercer Otey, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 CODNTY ASSESSORS. 
 
 Lloyd Frizcll, elected January 14, 1862, re-elected 
 September 3, 1862; Thomas Cardiell. elected Septem- 
 
 ber?, 1864; A. M. Kruttschnitt, elected November 6, 
 1866; Richard Arnold, elected November 3. 1868; A. 
 M. Kruttschnitt, elected November 8, 1870; Thomas 
 Gracey, elected November."), 1872, re-elected Novem- 
 ber 3, 1874; Anthony Fox, elected November 7, 1876; 
 William Skyrme, elected November 5, 1878; P. J. 
 Dunn, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY RECORDERS. 
 
 H. G. Blaisdel, appointed December 13, 1861; 
 George E. Brickott, elected January 14, 1862, 
 resigned April 21, 1862, and Charles H. Fish, ap- 
 pointed to fill vacancy. Charles H. Fish, elected 
 September 3, 1862; H. M. Vesey, elected Septem- 
 ber 7, 1864; Charles H. Fish, elected November G, 
 1866, re-elected November 3, 1868; Charles Raw- 
 son, elected November 8, 1870, re-elected Novem- 
 ber 5, 1872; A. J. McDuiiDell, elected November 3, 
 1874; Fred. P. Nichols, elected November 7, 1876; 
 Stephen Wilkin, elected November 5, 1878; William 
 M. Brennan, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS. 
 
 C. S. Jackson, elected January 14, 1862; A. W. 
 Briggs, elected September 3, 1862. May 29, 1865, 
 Hon. John A. Collins was appointed by County 
 Commissioners. R. M. Daggett, elected November 7, 
 1865; Hon. John A. Collins, elected November 6, 
 1866, resigned July 22. 1867, and J. W. Whitcher 
 appointed to fill vacanc}'. J. W. Whitcher, elected 
 November 3, 1868, re-elected November 8, 1870; J. 
 N. Flint, elected November 5, 1872, re-elected No- 
 vember 3, 1874; E. J. Passmore, elected November 
 7, 1876; T. B. James, elected November 5, 1878, 
 died, and C. S. Young appointed November 14, 1879, 
 to fill vacancy. W. W. Booker, elected November 
 
 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SURVEYORS. 
 
 Senaca H. Marlette, appointed December 12, 1861; 
 I. E. James, elected Januarj* 14, 1862, re-elected 
 September 3, 1862; E. L. Mason, elected Septem- 
 ber 7, 1864; George Hunt, elected November 6, 
 1866, re-elected November 3, 1868; T. D. Parkinson, 
 elected November 8, 1870; M. Winnie, elected No- 
 vember 5, 1872; Ross E.Browne, elected November 
 
 3, 1874; G. Haist, elected November 7, 1876; Charles 
 F. Hoffman, elected November 5. 1878; Gott Haist^ 
 elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR!?. 
 
 C. Gartrell, elected November 6, 1866; S. Symone, 
 elected November 3, 1868, re-elected November 8, 
 1870; M. Holmes, elected November 5, 1872; Wm. 
 Mayer, elected November 3, 1874, died, and D. F". 
 Hodges was appointed September 11, 1876, to fill 
 vacancy. D. F. Hodges, elected November 7, 1876; 
 R. P. Brodek, elected November 5, 1878; Dr. F. il. 
 Conn, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COLLECTORS. 
 
 John Easterling, elected January 14, 1862, re- 
 elected September 3, 1862; J. F. O'Farrell, elected 
 September 7, 1864. 
 
608 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 PHOTO BY NOE * Lt«. VIRQINIA. NEV 
 
 William Newton Mercer Otey, son of Eight 
 Rev. James H. Otey, the first Episcopal Bishop of 
 the State of Tennessee, was born April 15, 1842, 
 in Columbia, Maury County, Tennessee. He was 
 educated at and a graduate of the Virginia Military 
 Institute, under the renowned " Stonewall " Jackson. 
 Mr. Otey entered the Confederate Army in 1861 as 
 a private, and served during the entire war, rising 
 to the position of staffoffieer; was on the staff of Lieu- 
 tenant General Folk, also that of General Bedford 
 Forest. After the war ended ho wont to the city of 
 Memi)his, Tennessee, and entered the mercantile 
 business. In 1872 the subject of this sketch came 
 to the Pacific Coast and located in tbo city of San 
 Francisco, California, whore for one year he filled 
 the position as book-keeper and cashier of the San 
 Francisco Chronicle. His next engagement was as 
 bookkeeper for the firm of \Vm. T. Coleman & Co.. 
 where he remained three years. In July, 1878, he 
 came to Virginia City, Storey County, Nevada, and 
 has since occupied the responsible position as Secre- 
 tary for the Yellow Jacket Silver Mining Company. 
 At the Democratic County Convention of 1880 Mr. 
 Otey received the nomination for County Treasurer. 
 He was married June 22, 1876, to Miss Geraldine 
 Gogcr, daughter of James H. Goger, confidential 
 clerk for J. C. Flood & Co., San Francisco. 
 
 PHOTO BV JOHN B NOE. VIROIHIA, NEV 
 
 #-. J2 
 
 John F. Eqan is a native of County Galway, Ire- 
 land, and was born June 12, a. d. 1833. His young 
 days were spent in the Emerald Isle, but at the age 
 of eighteen he sailed away, and landed in New York 
 City, May 2, 1851. Soon after his arrival upon 
 American soil he located in Delaware County, New 
 Y'ork State, where he remained three 3'ear8. In 
 1854 he bid adieu to his newl3--made friends and 
 came to the State of California, where he at once 
 engaged in the usual occupation in those days, that 
 of mining, spending the first year at Auburn, Placer 
 Count}', passing through the usual ups and downs 
 of the camps around that place. He then went to 
 Orkans Flat, where he remained until, with the 
 rush of thousands, ho came over the mountains to 
 Virginia City. From the latter place he went on 
 a prospecting tour, through Nevada, Wj-oming, 
 Colorado, and Now Mexico, and returned to Virginia 
 City in 1874, where ho has since resided, engaged 
 usually in mining. Mr. Egan has probabl}' visited 
 more mining camps, and seen more of the difTeront 
 ways invented for the saving of the precious metal, 
 than any man on the Comstock. Ho at present 
 fills the po.sition of Su])crintendent of the Andes 
 Mine; is well skilled in his calling, an honest, upright 
 man, universally esteemed by his fellow-men. He 
 was married in May, 18G5, to Miss Mary E. Bride, 
 at Virginia City; and they have a fine family of 
 four children, two boys and two girls. 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY. 
 
 609 
 
 PHOTO. BY JOHN 8. NOE, VIRGINIA, NEV. 
 
 F. H. Packer, M. D., 
 
 Is a native of Massachusetts, born in the town of 
 Leyden, Franklin County. His boyhood days were 
 passed on a farm, there being but little to break the 
 monotony of that style of life except the obtaining 
 of an education, which he accomplished to such an 
 extent as to be engaged as teacher for a district 
 school at the age of seventeen years. This occupa- 
 tion he continued during the four succeeding winter 
 terms, attending school for his own benefit during 
 the spring and fall. In 1868 he removed to Brat- 
 tleboro, Vermont, and commenced the study of 
 medicine. In 1871 he graduated with high honors 
 from the Hahnemann Medical College, of riiiludel- 
 phia, Pennsylvania. Practicing his profession one 
 year with his former preceptor. Dr. D. P. Dear- 
 born, he was afterwards associated with Dr. II. A. 
 Houghton, at Keesville, New York State, for three 
 years, and then came to Nevada, locating at Vir- 
 ginia City, where he has since resided. The doctor 
 enjoys a good practice, and is well skilled in his 
 profession. 
 
 METHOD OF WORKING THE MINES. 
 
 In our account of the geology of the Comstock we 
 gave the situation of the mines as on the eastern 
 slope of the Mount David.son range of mountains, 
 with a depression varying from thirty to fiftj' 
 degrees, though the true slope or dip was found 
 some hundred feet below the surface, which was as 
 usual bent towards the depression or valley. The 
 shafts at first followed the incline of the veins 
 which seemed towards Mount Davidson, but it was 
 soon found that the veins dipped to the east, and 
 
 perpendicular shafts were sunk in some instances 
 3,000 feet to the east, to intersect the veins below. 
 These shafts have several compartments for the 
 pump and for the passage of ores, material and men 
 up and down. When the ore body is reached levels 
 are run as far as the claim extends, also cross-cuts to 
 determine the width of the vein or ore body; for the 
 term vein though in common use, is apt to convey a 
 wrong impression, as the ore deposits are in every 
 conceivable shape, sometimes scattered in a great 
 mass of rock, sometimes in thin sheets, sometimes in 
 chimneys or chutes, and again in reniform or amor- 
 phous masses. 
 
 The first essential condition of mining is security. 
 The shaft and all its branches must be timbered 
 until it is quite certain that the way up and down is 
 sure to be unobstructed. There are several waj-s of 
 securing a shaft against closing up or caving in. 
 When a shaft is expected to be but 100 or 200 feet in 
 depth, the timbering is slightlj- done compared loan 
 opening in the Consolidated V^irginia. In the first 
 instance a square of timbers of the size of the shaft 
 is put in, and spiling, or lagging, usually about four 
 feet long and two by six inches in its smaller dimen- 
 sions, driven in behind the frame, and ready to inter- 
 sect the next set of timbers which will not be more 
 than three feet from the first At the corners a 
 post between each set keeps the timbers of the shaft 
 from collapsing endways. Everything is wedged up 
 tight as the safety of the shaft or mine depends 
 upon not letting the dirt or rock get a start. When 
 the shaft is shallow and the pressure not great, the 
 timbers may be small, but when a large shaft is to 
 be constructed which has four or five compartments, 
 the timbers may bo large and brought close together, 
 the lagging left out. The new ChoUar-Potosi shaft 
 has timbers fourteen inches square. 
 
 Contrary to what might be supposed the most 
 expensive shaft, or tunnel, oven, is in soft rock or 
 claj-. Anything less firm than granite becomes 
 partlj' fluidized under the tremendous pressure of 
 hutidreds of feet of earth, and actually runs, crawls, 
 as the miners say. A seam of a foot in thickness 
 will often cause a delay of weeks by its continued 
 swelling, which crush the strongest timbers, com- 
 pelling a renewing every day. Mining superin- 
 tendents say they have seen solid logs two feet in 
 diameter crushed endways into fibres in twenty-four 
 hours. Experience in mining, as in everything else, 
 is a guide in such matters. 
 
 W hen a shaft is down to the required depth then the 
 levels are timbered much the same waj-, except the 
 drift is now secured with perpendicular sets of tim- 
 bers, say six feet high with cap-piece into which 
 slight gains, or mortises, are cut for the posts, or 
 uprights, the latter timbers a])proaching each a few 
 inches at the top to prevent the feet, which generally 
 rest on the bottom, from being thrown together by 
 the thrust of the walls. The spaces between these 
 sets of timbers are secured by lagging much in the 
 
610 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA 
 
 same manner as in a shaft, except that no props or . 
 braces are required between the sets of timbers, as | 
 the pressure now is mostly downwards and not ! 
 endways, as in a shaft. The levels are usually run 
 every hundred feet, and are either numbered or 
 named so that each one is known by all concerned, 
 as five, ten, twenty, or New York, London, Paris, or 
 San Francisco, as the case may be. A miniature 
 cable is run by means of a screw or reduction gear- 
 ing, so as to show exactly at what point in the shaft 
 the tub or cage is passing, and men. timbers or other 
 supplies are taken oft' accordingly. A tramway with 
 car carries timbers to the end of the level, or brings 
 ore or waste to the shaft to be hoisted. The sump 
 is that portion of the shaft going below the works 
 to catch the drainage. When these arrangements 
 have been made, sloping is commenced. This is tak- 
 ing out the ore. If the ore body is narrow the waste 
 rock, such as will not pay for reduction, is thrown 
 back, filling up the vacant spaces, saving much tim- 
 bering, but in the bonanza on the Comstock, the 
 longest timbers that could be got into the mines, 
 would not reach across. They would splice them, 
 banding them at the junction with iron rings. JJany 
 accidents happened until Mr. Deidesheimer invented 
 the block system of timbering, being a succession of 
 frames. Since the adoption of this the miners have 
 experienced little difficulty in rendering the mines 
 safe. A drawing of the work is giving in another 
 part of this volume. 
 
 THE COMPRESSOR DRILLS. 
 
 Formerly all drilling was done by hand, sometimes 
 by single hand, when the same man held and struck 
 the drill, and double or even triple handed, that is 
 having one, two and three strikers. The latter style 
 requires much more room than can usually be had in 
 a tunnel or shaft. A compressor drill, of which there 
 are several patents, is an air engine or cylinder with 
 piston supplied with air at a high pressure, forced in 
 by a machine on the surface or at the mouth of a 
 tunnel. The portable or working part is light, 
 weighing perhaps 200 pounds, and can be set up any- 
 where that a man can go. It will strike 250 times a 
 minute with perfect accuracy, never hitting the man 
 who holds the drill in the face as the best of strikers 
 will sometimes do. 
 
 The air escaping from the engine serves to ventilate 
 and cool the mine, thus serving a double purpose. 
 Previous to the introduction of these engines the 
 matter of ventilation was a serious one, involving 
 much expense. 
 
 In consequence of the use of the compressed air 
 drills and nitro-glycerine compounds the work of 
 running drills and shafts has been very much less- 
 ened, and the economy of ))erpendicular working as 
 comj)ared with adits and tunnels very much changed. 
 The Yellow Jacket shaft, begun October?, 187G, was 
 sunk at the rate of eighty-one and one-half feet per 
 month, without extraordinary energj*. Drift are 
 often run eight or nine feet in twenty-four hour.^. 
 
 TE.MPERATURE OF THE MINES. 
 
 Although all mines increase in temperature after 
 getting below the depth aff"ected by the external 
 temperature, that of the Comstock is so abnormal as 
 to have caused a great deal of inquiry, varying as it 
 does from 70° to 150°. There are various opinions 
 concerning the cause of it. Some writers contend 
 that it is a relic of subterranean heat which sent out 
 the floods of propylitc and trachyte; others that it 
 is due to the approach of the internal of the earth, 
 others that it is chemical in its origin and owes its 
 existence to the decomposition of minerals. In all 
 the shafts, whenever an upcast of air is established, 
 the thermometer shows a decided increase in the 
 temperature. The amount of hot air coming out of 
 the mines is something wonderful, amounting to 
 288,630 cubic feet per minute, the 58,500 feet from the 
 Savage having a temperature of 100°. Much of this 
 was sent down at a temperature of 40° to 60° lower. 
 The upcast was in some instances as high as 900 
 feet per minute, or at the rate of ten miles per hour. 
 The water pumped from the mines is also hot, scald- 
 ing hot. The ground is divided into alternate dry 
 and wet strata. The amount of water occasionally 
 encountered is incredible. The reader is referred to 
 the article on the Sutro Tunnel in the sketch of 
 Lyon County for statistics on water. Suftico it to 
 say here that in 1876 the miners in the Savage and 
 Hale & Norcross struck a stream which flowed so 
 rapidly that the miners escaped with much difficulty. 
 3,000,000 tons of water were removed from the 
 mines in question in the course of eight months with- 
 out lowering it more that fifty feet. This immense 
 quantity of water was not less wonderful for its 
 quantity than for its abnormal heat. According to 
 John A. Church, the heat extracted from the rocks 
 by this mass of water was equivalent to the consump- 
 tion of 24,546 tons of pure carbon j-early; that by 
 the upcast of air as equal to 4,055 tons, altogether 
 making as much heat as 28,601 tons of carbon could 
 yield, or converting it into anthracite coal, the heat 
 lost by the rocks of the Comstock Lode equals the con- 
 sumption 0/55,47^ tons of anthracite coal yearly/ It is 
 of course desirable to know from whence it proceeds. 
 But three sources have as yet been suggested; the 
 internal heat of the earth, the remains of the ther- 
 mal period when the lavas flowed out, and chemical 
 action or decomposition. To the first it is replied 
 that the depth acquired by any shaft in the world 
 according to the acknowledged rate, one degree for 
 each fifty feet, would not reach the point seen in the 
 mines, and that furthermore the heat does not cor- 
 respond with the depth but varies greatly in dift'er- 
 ent places at the same depths, which would not bo 
 the case according to the first hj'pothesis. With 
 regard to the second, Mr. Church, the authority 
 before referred to, has shown that the propylites 
 were cooled off" long enough to become soil and pro- 
 duce a growth of trees before the outflow of the 
 superincumbent trachyte, which militates against the 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY. 
 
 <^11 
 
 second theory. According to Mr. Church, the source 
 of Ihe heat is in the constant formation of the kaolin 
 clay out of the volcanic rocks, the change from solid 
 rock to clay causing the liberation of the latent 
 heat. 
 
 PHOTO 6Y MOnSE. SAN FRANCISCO 
 
 ^C-f.^i 
 
 J. Minor Taylor, referred to in the following 
 sketch, is a native of Connecticut, born in Now 
 Preston, Litchfield County, June 10, 1843. His early 
 education was received in his native town. At the 
 age of nineteen years, he Joined the United States 
 Army Signal Corps, and was ordered to New 
 Orleans. Louisiana, where ho arrived in the month 
 of April, 1862. In this branch of the service ho 
 remained until 18fi4, and the next year went to New 
 York Citj' and assumed the ])08ition of cashier in 
 a large mercantile house, where he remained until 
 1809, at which time he t-arao to California. In ,Iuno, 
 1874, he came to the State of Nevada, and has since 
 been in the employ of Messrs Mackay k Fair. 
 
 W. H. I'.VTTON, 
 
 The subject of this sketch, was born at Princeton, 
 New Jersey, July 7, 1831. Ho is a grandson of 
 (;ol. Robert Patton, a native of \Vest])()rl, in the 
 north of Ireland, who served in the Uovolulionary 
 War under General Lafayette, and at the close of 
 the war was appointed Postmaster at Philadelphia, 
 
 Pennsylvania, which position he held until his death, 
 in 1814, a period of about thirty years. But of W. 
 H. Patton we may say, he received a thorough 
 English education at Stamford, Connecticut, and 
 afterward went through a course of civil and 
 
 PHOTO QV JOHN S HOE, VlUQINIA, NEV 
 
 W. H. Patton. 
 
 mechanical engineering. In 1852 he came to Cali- 
 fornia, bj- way of Capo Horn, working his passage 
 before the mast, in the clipper ship Tornado, Cap- 
 lain Mumford, landing in San Francisco, on the 
 seventh of July, that j'ear. Ho immediate!)- sought 
 the mines as his tiold of labor, and from that time 
 to the present has made a specialty of mining en- 
 gineering, having, while in California, been con- 
 nected with many important mining and milling 
 enterprises, and has identified himself with numer- 
 ous important improvements in that class of work. 
 Mr. Patton was on the Comstock as early as 18G4, 
 but afterwards wont to the eastern part of the Stale 
 and California, returning to Virginia Citj- in 1874, 
 where for four years ho was in the cm])loy of the 
 Bonanza Firm, as their designing and constructing 
 engineer. All the largo mills, hoisting and pumping 
 works, at the mines controlled bj' this firm, wore of 
 his designing, and built under his supervision. Mr. 
 Patton also designed and erected the works and 
 machinery at the Union and Yellow Jacket new 
 shai'ts, which will compare favorablj- with anything 
 of the kind in the world. The hoisting engines, 
 designed mid ])laced in position by him at these 
 shafts, are capable ol' working to a depth of 4,000 
 feet. In addition to the above, some of the principal 
 works designed and erected by him in Virginia City 
 are the Consolidated Virginia Mill, of sixty stani]'- 
 
612 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 with a capacity of 300 tons of ore per day; the 
 California Mill, of eighty stamps, capable of reduc- 
 ing 400 tons of ore per day; also the pumping 
 engines at the Belcher air shaft, Combination shaft, 
 Forman shaft, Savage shaft, liould & Curry and Best 
 & Belcher joint shaft; also, Hale & Norcross shaft. 
 Since 1878 he has also held the position of Superin- 
 tendent of the Consolidated Virginia, California, 
 Ophir, Mexican, and Union Consolidated Mines. 
 Mr. Patton is a thoroughly practical mining man, 
 very reserved and modest, but probably has accom- 
 plished more than any other man on the Comstock 
 to facilitate deep mining, and all cheerfully accord to 
 him the credit he so well deserves. He was mar- 
 ried November 7, 18U(), to Miss Jessie F. Winchester, 
 of Chautauqua County, New York, and their union 
 has been blessed with five children, four of whom 
 are living at this time. • 
 
 SOME OP THE LEADING MINES. 
 
 Having given these few general explanations, a 
 short description of the main mines of the great 
 lode, with a few items of their history, will be in 
 order. No attempt will be made to give a full his- 
 tory of the mines. The discovery, methods of work- 
 ing, geology of the deposit, the lawsuits, manipula- 
 tions of the stock, etc., of any of the larger mines 
 would fill several volumes of this size. Only a gen- 
 eral description can be given. 
 
 The Utah Mine, located at the extreme north end 
 of the known members of the lode, has never 
 been a paj-ing institution. The claim was located in 
 1859, and re-incorporated as at present in 1871. It 
 has been much of the time under the management of 
 James (t. Fair and John Skae, both names famous in 
 the Comstock annals. At the time of the second 
 incorporation a shaft was sunk 500 feet east of the 
 croppings, and the vein intersected at the depth of 
 nearly a thousand feet. Extensive explorations have 
 not developed any valuable ore bodies. The assess- 
 ments have aggregated §1,080,000. 
 
 The Sierra Nevada has been before the public 
 many times as a prospective bonanza. In 1878 the 
 stock suddenlj- bounded from five dollars a share up to 
 8260, when it began to recede. It has jirodnced enough 
 bullion to justify a hope of having a bonanza in it, 
 and for many years has been a favorite stock for 
 "milking" the public, both in assessments and in 
 sales of shares. The expenses of this mine have 
 been as high as half a million a year. The total 
 yield is in the neighborhood of 81,000,000, of which 
 sum a little more than 8100,000 was paid to the 
 stockholders as dividends. The total assessments 
 amount to over 84,400,000. There are numbers of 
 persons who still have confidence in the mine. 
 
 The operations of this mine have varied much 
 from the others. It was discovered after much ex- 
 ploration that the surface rock contained gold. The 
 eomi)aiiy went to crushing for this without attempt- 
 ing to save the silver. The process of amalgamation 
 was simple and inexpensive, and the result was 88.66 
 
 to the ton. Eighteen thousand tons were crushed 
 with a profit of 845,000. 
 
 Union Consolidated is one of the non-dividend 
 mines, the assessments amounting to 81,060,000. 
 The present company was incorporated in 1875. 
 Adjoining the Sierra Nevada, it has sympathized 
 strongly with that mine in its market values. It 
 advanced in 1878 from a merely nominal value to 
 8193, after which it receded, with varj-ing values. 
 
 The Mexican Mine is also a non-paying mine, 
 valuable for its possibilities. The present company 
 was incorporated in 1874. Total assessments levied, 
 81,436,000. It derives its prospective value from 
 its vicinity to the Ophir. through the shafts of 
 which it has been explored to a depth of two thou- 
 sand feet or more. 
 
 The three companies mentioned are sinking a 
 joint shaft for exploration, which, for permanence 
 and efficiency of machinery, is unsurpassed on the 
 Comstock Lode, or perhaps on the Coast. It is 
 about 2,500 feet north of the C and C shaft, and 
 is expected to strike the lode at the depth of 3,000 
 feet, ample power being provided to hoist water, 
 and other material, from that depth. It is regarded 
 as one of the most important on the lode, not as 
 inaugurating the use of powerful machinery, but as 
 testing the question of deep mining, and the indefi- 
 nite extension of the lode to great depths. 
 
 California is composed of several claims formerly 
 known as the California, Central No. 1 and No. 2, 
 and the Kinney, the total being 000 feet. The dis- 
 covery of the ore body was made from the Consoli- 
 dated Virginia on the 1,500-foot level in 1873, after 
 which this company was organized. The ore was 
 enormously rich, much assaying as high as 81,200 
 per ton, and small pieces going up to several thou- 
 sands. It is impo.ssible to give any idea of the excite- 
 ment that attended the discover^'' of this bonanza, 
 which extended through the ground of both the Cal- 
 ifornia and Consoliclalud Virginia. The San Fran- 
 cisco papers went into elaborate calculations of the 
 extent and value of the ore body; it extended the 
 length of the two claims, and was from 200 to 400 
 feet in width, and of an unknown depth. It was 
 easy to figure up 8100,000,000 in sight. 
 
 The stock of the two mines advanced in less than 
 two months from 815,000,000 to 8108,000,000, and not 
 only the stock of these mines, but, in fact, all mines 
 on the lode. The two mines together yielded some- 
 thing over 8100,000,000, of which sum three-fourths 
 were paid as dividends. 
 
 THE CONSOI.IDATEP VIRGINIA. 
 
 The Consolidated Virginia locations were originally 
 made by Sides, .Murphy, White, and Kinnej-, and 
 were consolidated with the above name, then includ- 
 ing some of the present California, The hoisting- 
 works and mill were destroyed by fire in 1875, but 
 were soon rebuilt. 
 
 This mining company, in conjunction with the 
 California, is sinking a deep shaft, which is expected 
 
THE BULLION 
 
 As Listed by the County Assessors of Ne- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 Nanieh of Counties. 
 
 Ores ... 
 Tailings . 
 
 Ores 
 
 Tailinps . 
 Ores .... 
 
 18(16. 
 
 188«. 
 
 Tons. I Value 
 S 
 
 1S67. 
 
 1S68. 186«. 1870. 
 
 1871 
 
 
 Tons. Value. 
 
 Tons. 
 2,867 
 
 Vahic. Tons. 
 
 Value. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Aalue. 
 « 182,678 
 
 Tons. 
 
 __. 
 
 1,601 
 
 Valup. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Va 
 
 Esmeralda. 
 
 Esmeralda .... 
 
 $ 114,477 
 
 S,956» 259,128 
 
 8,254 
 
 t 92,910 
 
 3,028 
 
 - 
 
 ESko 
 
 
 
 
 
 2,' 11 
 
 219,169 
 
 5,702 
 202 
 
 1 
 
 Elko 
 
 
 
 
 
 K . 
 
 
 
 
 Eurekii 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Tailintcs .. 
 
 Ores 
 
 Tailings .. 
 Ores 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Bumboldt 
 
 Humboldt . 
 
 Lyon 
 
 
 
 
 
 807 
 
 85,222 
 
 4,574' 227,621 
 
 i 
 
 7,464 
 
 360,602 
 
 7,934 
 
 878,840 
 
 20,166 
 
 1 
 
 Lyon 
 
 Tailings .. 
 
 Ores 
 
 Tailings- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 184,417 
 
 22,842 
 
 73« 
 
 25,995 
 
 "i 
 
 Lincoln 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11,861 
 
 1,662,916 
 
 a,E( 
 
 Lincoln 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Lander 
 
 Ores . 
 
 Tailings . 
 Ores .... 
 Tailings . . 
 
 
 
 5,709 
 
 
 7,802 
 
 1,857,816 
 
 
 4,915 
 
 922,929 
 
 11,824 
 
 1,104,690 
 
 2,.< 
 
 Lander 
 
 
 1 
 
 Nye 
 
 
 
 
 7,970 
 
 811,631! 
 
 7,426^ 792,027 
 
 801) 
 
 103,647 
 
 1,966 
 
 204.668 
 
 3,087 
 70 
 
 
 Nye 
 
 
 Ormsby 
 
 Ores 
 
 Tailings . . 
 
 80,761 
 
 
 tt48,102 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 •• 
 
 Omrsby 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Storey 
 
 Storey ... 
 
 Ores . . . 
 Tailings . . 
 
 276,808 
 
 "9,489,406 
 
 372,546 
 ■8,200 
 
 tll,951,S76 
 72,000 
 
 482,176 
 
 13,853,847 
 
 400,559 
 
 M«,716 
 
 279,621 
 
 6,684,062 
 
 238,960 
 
 6,859,699 
 
 395,600 
 48,360 
 
 11 
 
 ; i 
 ii 
 
 Washoe 
 
 Ores 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 Washoe 
 
 Tailings . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 White Pine 
 
 Ores . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 28,464 
 
 1,825,286 
 
 86,782 
 
 1,258,209 
 11,776,891 
 
 88,604 
 26,928 
 
 726,828 
 
 White Pine 
 
 TailingH.. 
 
 S07,0«« 
 
 
 
 
 480,42S 
 
 16,172,50( 
 
 
 
 
 423,264 
 
 
 Totals 
 
 9,439,405 
 
 434,657 
 
 12,028,876 
 
 18,295,297 
 
 329,516 
 
 10,019,063 
 
 811,474 
 
 lO.i'S 
 
 Revenues received by State 
 from tax of mine proceeds. 
 
 Revt-nue received by State 
 from tax on proceeds of 
 mines alter deducting cost 
 of collection 
 
 
 ! $ 15,447 36 
 
 Xfi4A7 SA 
 
 It » 10,877 04 
 
 II t 80,006 38 
 
 II « 81,676 62 
 
 II » 53,286 08 
 
 II t 66,492 93 
 
 II « 98,ID') 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 'Tailings in Six Uilc Canon. 
 •• Wells, Fargo & Co. shipped during the year, (rem Storey County, ♦12,833,719.83 in bullion. 
 
 t Wells, Fargo & Co. ehijiped duilng the year, from Storey County, ♦14,007,884.18. 
 tt Includes only nine niontbtr. 
 
ODUCT OF NEVADA 
 
 i from November, 1864, to December 31, I880. 
 
 
 LS72. 
 
 1873. 
 
 1874 
 
 1876. 
 
 1876. 1877. 
 
 Tons. 
 19,102 
 
 S78. 
 
 1879. 
 
 1880. 
 
 Totals 
 
 biu. 
 
 Value. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Value. 
 
 » 333,691 
 
 260,168 
 
 2,800 
 
 2,677,176 
 
 Tons. 
 
 3,764 
 6,635 
 
 Value. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Value. 
 
 t 958,300 
 
 5,401 
 
 536,603 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Value. Tuns. 
 
 ! 
 
 Value. 
 
 $1,508,361 
 
 570 
 
 1,044,326 
 
 24,799 
 
 3,898,878 
 
 Value. 
 
 Tona 
 
 Value. 
 
 « 960,380 
 
 3,806 
 
 1,093,960 
 
 Tons. 
 26,552 
 
 Value. 
 $ 995.323 
 
 Value. 
 
 3,865 
 
 $ 116,222 
 
 476,169 
 17,208 
 
 4,935 
 
 7,328 
 
 252 
 
 70,924 
 
 t 266,372 
 162,666 
 
 14,226 
 
 800 
 
 7,742 
 
 26,118 
 
 40 
 
 6,216 
 
 180 
 
 53,432 
 
 1 1,501,6.W 
 
 2,628 
 
 477,048 
 
 3,600 
 
 2,107,160 
 
 36,612 
 
 60 
 
 11,945 
 
 2,809 
 
 86,338 
 
 i 724,5^9 
 
 24,005 
 
 88 
 
 17,049 
 
 8,089,873 
 
 8,254 
 8,444 
 
 16,937 
 
 1,280,702 
 
 7,611 
 
 372,821 
 
 6,617,032 
 
 49,832 
 
 26.0.S0.304 
 
 
 61,693 2.362,102 
 
 81,476 
 
 3,160,180 
 
 127,496 
 
 5,529,89!1 
 
 
 
 128,03.1 
 79,99-. 
 
 110.056 
 
 11,033 
 2,670 
 
 3.744.288 
 
 66,266 
 
 2,680,631 
 
 8,S3$ 
 3,440 
 
 353,040 
 148,457 
 
 7,182 
 12,640 
 
 238,826 
 102,997 
 
 8,08;'' 
 7,370 
 
 244,11.'^ 
 35,473 
 
 6,703 
 
 5,910 
 
 1.840 
 
 66,158 
 
 17,008 
 
 21,624 
 
 7,332 
 
 20 
 
 15,567 
 
 2,826 
 
 229,097 
 
 41,858 
 
 27,336 
 
 347,559 
 
 957,764 
 
 104,651 
 
 1,006,476 
 
 274 
 
 801,291 
 
 33,779 
 
 3,246 
 14.961 
 190 
 70,188 
 14,300 
 3,621 
 7,050 
 
 137,139 
 
 95,442 
 
 2. 262 
 
 :!S1 .537 
 
 797,241 
 33,129 
 
 813,377 
 
 6,172 
 
 16,170 
 
 815 
 
 68,250 
 
 6,947 
 16,319 
 
 6,!i.'iS 
 
 230,665 
 76,668 
 7,467 
 308,649 
 412,868 
 143,676 
 596,836 
 
 6.626 
 17,276 
 
 364.982 
 14,087 
 
 9,877 
 6,138 
 
 239,416 
 36,819 
 
 3,657,055 
 
 610.663 
 
 37,065 
 
 4,835,941 
 
 19,116,257 
 
 992,468 
 
 16,659,206 
 
 274 
 
 8,905 
 2,504 
 2,996 
 9,160 
 
 696,602 
 
 5,410,014 
 
 56,325 
 
 2,760,087 
 
 148,738 
 
 65,805 
 
 11,590 
 
 5,606 
 
 703,899 
 
 3,591,033 
 
 160,464 
 
 791,608 
 
 86,682 
 65,129 
 30,608 
 
 7,170 
 
 628.697 
 
 1,420,856 
 
 199,969 
 
 884,671 
 
 105,136 
 
 11,699 
 
 27,680 
 
 7,363 
 
 619,361 
 520,782 
 164,640 
 724,460 
 
 73,258 
 17,951^ 
 14,351 
 6,714 
 
 328,143 
 597,749 
 92,660 
 683,859 
 
 66,815 
 5,096 
 3,167 
 3,614 
 
 353,415 
 
 160,419 
 
 36,076 
 
 340,692 
 
 2,805 
 
 387,394 
 
 10,167 
 
 598,433 
 
 8,336 
 
 356,672 
 
 16,013 
 866 
 
 606,802 
 29,481 
 
 24,900 
 1,097 
 
 820.962 
 21,621 
 
 26,915 
 
 914,429 
 
 25,378 
 
 747,752 
 
 17,575 
 
 384,611 
 
 7,994,786 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12,336,309 
 394,276 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 26,788 
 
 302,907 
 
 82,602 
 
 185,785 
 
 19,061,394 
 
 775,391 
 
 87,181 
 17S,762 
 55,187 
 
 670,796 
 
 7,048,983 
 
 608,628 
 
 41,099 
 115,179 
 24,150 
 
 310,429 
 
 3,618,633 
 
 134,044 
 
 1,167,010 
 
 256,657,989 
 
 3,972,238 
 
 4,668 
 0,099 
 s,.... 
 
 448,801 
 S7,78D 
 
 22,389,575 
 268,148 
 
 526,743 
 7,690 
 
 22,476,785 
 52,830 
 
 539,866 
 18,400 
 
 25,826,07) 
 197,471) 
 
 598,448 
 2S,423 
 
 37,778,659 
 249,480 
 
 662,607 
 71,348 
 
 36,291,630 
 770,71.'. 
 
 0,052 
 
 63,661 
 
 717,831 
 
 20,666 
 
 23,822,240 
 
 18,618 
 13,794 
 6,660 
 
 864.S16 
 
 68,362 
 
 486,708 
 
 9,090 
 
 32,071,861 
 
 5,910 
 
 13,616 
 
 200 
 
 838,136 
 
 26,449 
 
 597,264 
 
 1.627 
 
 
 
 
 408,691 
 46,666,867 
 
 13,730 
 787,096 
 
 
 
 607,296 
 
 31,916,473 
 
 16,536 
 12,688 
 
 6S1,100 
 68,784 
 
 4,463 
 22,544 
 
 192,934 
 80,473 
 
 148,462 
 
 9,435,308 
 
 348,197 
 
 1,346 
 6,170 
 
 16,791 
 
 873,574 
 
 12,085 
 1,385 
 
 86r,8«l 
 
 806,457 
 n.lhO 
 
 46,639,146 
 
 8,214 
 916,061 
 
 , 
 
 
 3j,086,193 
 
 T,S46 
 
 29,696,437 
 
 822,083 
 
 646,898 
 
 17,699,920 
 
 420,135 
 
 9,726,613 
 
 386,341,683 
 
 g t 136,673 81 
 116,935 88 
 
 II « 194,230 81 
 174,897 16 
 
 II »K 
 U 
 
 16,643 91 
 1,401 66 
 
 II « 166,600 96 
 148,369 03 
 
 II 8 233,772 84 
 217,226 28 
 
 II 9 340,658 31 
 326,707 08 
 
 II 8 166,641 86 
 146,510 09 
 
 lis 
 
 i6.7:lO 04 
 1,332 20 
 
 ,| * 2 
 
 1.266 09 
 3,004 IS 
 
 1,738,058 66 
 1,692,446 04 
 
 } Includes November and December, 1804, and le amount recetved Into treasury, 
 tt Is amount recctvod into treasury. 
 
 li Amount due thu treasury, or total ossesHinunt (or State purposes. 
 f The last two quarters o( 1880 arc not yet reported to Controller. 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY. 
 
 613 
 
 to enable the owners to work at a depth of 4,0(tO 
 feet. The site is 1,000 feet east of tbe working 
 shaft of the Consolidated Virginia. The works are 
 substantial and combine the latest improvements and 
 the results of e.xperience. This machinery is said to 
 bo the first that used the direct action for the pur- 
 pose of hoisting and pumping. The efficiency of the 
 machinerj- is shown by the facts that the engine has, 
 since reaching the 700-foot level, raised 3,000 tons of 
 water per day, besides raising all the rock and ore 
 taken out of both mines below the 1,650-foot level, 
 and also the mines adjoining them on the north and 
 south. Under the head of " Mining Booms " further 
 particulars will be given. 
 
 The Ophir .Mine is one of the oldest, if not the 
 oldest discovery of the group, having been mined 
 since earlj- in 1859, the bonanza reaching to the 
 surface. It has yielded over 810,000,000 in bullion, 
 and declared dividends to the amount of $1,594,400. 
 The a.ssessments have been 83,088,200. 
 
 Best & Belcher is another of the promising mines, 
 the assessments reaching nearly 8500,000. Ore bodies 
 have been reported as existing, but no product of 
 bullion has proven their value. The mine consists 
 of 540 feet on the lode, and is one of the oldest lo- 
 cations. 
 
 The Gould & Curry Silver Mining Company was 
 incorporated on the twenty-seventh of June, 1860, 
 with the following officers: John O. Earl, President; 
 J. C. L. Wadsworth, Secretary; VV. C. Ralston, 
 Treasurer; Charles L. Strong, Superintendent. 
 
 The claim of the company is centrally located on 
 the Comstock Lode, and has yielded 815,644,220.63 
 in bullion, most of which has been extracted from 
 above the adit levels. 
 
 A prospecting shaft, inclined below the 1,500-foot 
 level, has been extended to a vertical depth of 1,900 
 feet, disclosing, so far as explored, a vein of unde- 
 termined width of very promising ore-bearing mate- 
 rial. 
 
 Owing to the great expanse of the lode at this 
 central position, it was judged advisable to suspend 
 the prospecting operations from this incline, and 
 resume its exploitation from a point nearer its east- 
 ern confines. 
 
 Another shaft was accordingly commenced 2,285 
 feet still further to the eastward, which has, at the 
 perpendicular depth of 1,970 feet, or 2,370 feet below 
 the croppings, penetrated the easternmost borders of 
 the ledge formation. 
 
 The enormous expenditure incurred in sinking 
 this east shaft, although primarily a severe tax on 
 the shareholders, will ultimately bo of great advan- 
 tage in economically working the mine. 
 
 As the necessary buildings are finished, and their 
 equipment complete, the cost of continuing the shaft 
 to an additional depth of 1,500 feet will be com- 
 paratively small, and will bo borne in part by the 
 adjacent mine (the Best & Belcher Company). 
 
 Such is the magnitude of the .nineral lead within 
 
 the boundaries of this mine, that it is calculated this 
 extreme depth will have been attained before the 
 west wall of the oro formation shall have been 
 reached. 
 
 The character of the rock exposed in the deepest 
 workings continues similar to that which inclosed 
 the bonanza existing near the surface. 
 
 In the new shaft, as it progresses downward, the 
 indications of the close proximity of another ore 
 body are rapidlj^ increasing. 
 
 At the last annual election, held in San Francisco, 
 on the twentieth of December, 1880, the following 
 officers were elected: \V. S, Hobart, President; A. 
 K. Uurbrow, Secretary; H, 11. Penoyer, Superin- 
 tendent. 
 
 It is confidently expected that a development of 
 value will have been made in this mine before the 
 next annual meeting, which will bo satisfactory to 
 all the stockholders. 
 
 The works of this (company are among the finest 
 on the Comstock, and can bo better appreciated by 
 turning to the view, to bo found on another page of 
 this volume. 
 
 The Savage was developed to some extent in 18S0 
 along with the Ophir, Gould & Curry and other 
 mines of an oarly day. The dividends slightl}- ex- 
 ceed the assessments, but it has not declared any 
 dividends for ten years or more. It is considered one 
 of the best explored mines in the range, having mor© 
 feet of drifts, cross-cuts and winzes than any mine, 
 and has kept the lead in going down, generally 
 being some hundred feet in advance of its neighbors, 
 thus having the misfortune to strike the largest 
 flow of water of any of the mines. Some years 
 since a flood of water was encountered on the 2,200- 
 foot level, which filled the mine 450 feet; the water 
 rushed in so rapidly that the miner.-s had to fly for 
 their lives. Pumps were put in capable of throwing 
 10,000,000 gallons per month to the surface. Three 
 years' constant pumping did not exhaust the head, 
 but it still remained as high as tho 2,000 foot level. 
 Great trouble was experienced in consequence of the 
 breaking of tho pump-rods. Tbe companj- now 
 drain, or rather, pump into the Sutro Tunnel which 
 intersects tho lode. During tho threeyears of pump- 
 ing it was estimated that 1,800,000 tons of water 
 were raised to the surface. This water bad a tem- 
 perature of 139°. Tho company has powerful 
 machinery, and propose to continue the explorations 
 to a depth of 4,000 feet. This mine has paid 84,460,000 
 in dividends. 
 
 Tho Halo & Norcross adjoins tho Savage, and has 
 had to share with that mine the disadvantages of tho 
 floods of water. This is a mine of some repute, the 
 out-put of bullion having been $7,822,233, and tho 
 dividends exceed tho assessments bj- very nearly 
 82,900,000. The water is now pumped into the 
 Sutro Tunnel. 
 
 Chollar-Potosi is a consolidation of two companies 
 bearing tho separate names. They wore incorporated 
 
614 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 in 1860, and consolidated in 1865. Daring the same 
 year an asseissment of 8280,000 was made to pay 
 debts and put the mine on a working basis. The 
 mine has been, perhaps, as regular in its yield as any 
 on the lode. The total product is 813,839,600. The 
 company paid forty-four dividends amounting to 
 83,079,925; assessments, 81,358,502; in favor of stock- 
 holders, 81,721,423. It is said that these two com- 
 panies expended 81,000,000 in litigation before agree- 
 ing to unite. 
 
 CHOLLAR-NORCROSS-SAVAGE SHAFT. 
 
 This well-known shaft is owned jointly by the 
 Chollar-Potosi, Ilale & Norcross, and Savage Mining 
 Companies, the three companies representing 2,771.} 
 feet of the Comstock Lode. The shaft manage- 
 ment is under a Board, constituted of the presidents 
 of the companies interested, which is at present 
 composed of the following gentlemen: A. K. P. 
 Harmon, Chairman; Gen.T. H. Williams, and George 
 Condon. Isaac L. Requa was elected Superintend- 
 ent at the beginning of the work, and has directed 
 the entire operations to the present time. 
 
 The work of sinking the shaft was commenced in 
 June, 1875, and is now 2,4C0 feet deep. The shaft 
 has four compartments, three being five by six 
 feet, and the other six by seven feet in the clear. 
 There are two large pumping engines, one known 
 as the Coi-nish, and the other as the hj-draulic 
 system, the two having a capacity of 3,000 gallons 
 per minute, for a height of 800 feet. The hoisting 
 engines have a capacity of 1,200 tons each twenty- 
 four hours. The machinery connected is of suf- 
 ficient power to work from a depth of 3,000 feet. 
 The shaft is located 8,500 feet east of the outcrop 
 that marks the original surface line of the Corn- 
 stock Lode. As the dip of the lode is about 
 forty-five degrees east, this shaft should intersect 
 the vein at about 3,000 feet from the surface, or 
 mouth of shaft. It is the intention of the com- 
 pany to prosecute all of their prospecting and ore- 
 extracting through this shaft. 
 
 A very correct idea of these works can be 
 obtained from the view which may be seen on 
 page 120. 
 
 The Bullion Mine, which was obtained by assess- 
 ments, has been a grave for about 83,000,000. The 
 explorations have extended to a depth of nearly 
 2,500 feet. It may bo asked, why expend so much 
 monej' on a prospect ? In answer it may be said, 
 that the Bullion ground was on the lode, and as 
 far as human judgment could say was as likely to 
 have a "bonanza" as any other piece of ground 
 north or south of it, but it did not have it. One set 
 of shareholders after another would sink and drift, 
 always finding encouraging indications of a fortune, 
 but indications only. The fissure was very wide, 
 with considerable quantities of low grade ore, 
 which, however, would not pay Tor extraction and 
 redaction. 
 
 The Exchequer has much the same history as 
 the Bullion. It was explored from the same shaft, 
 was managed by the same Superintendent, and the 
 stock was probablj- owned by nearly the same par- 
 ties. The assessments made were in the vicinity of 
 half a million of dollars without returns. 
 
 The Alpha Mine is adjoining the Consolidated 
 Imperial and is worked or prospected from the same 
 shaft, and is sometimes mentioned as being a part of 
 the same. A quarter of a million has been expended 
 upon the ground, with about the same results as in 
 the Consolidated Imperial. As in that, fine stringers 
 of quartz and some ore bodies were found but not 
 enough to cover expenses. 
 
 Consolidated Imperial is a consolidation of the 
 Imperial, Bacon, Empire, Eclipse, French, Bowers, 
 Consolidated Grold Quartz, in all making 468 feet. 
 The consolidation was effected in April. 1870, and is 
 divided into 500,000 shares. Some of the heaviest 
 capitalists of San Francisco and Nevada wore the 
 owners, so when we say that nearly a million of dol- 
 lars were spent in exploring the ground our readers 
 will not be likely to shed any tears over the waste of 
 monej'. Considerable bodies of ore were found, 
 enough to keep up the hopes of owners, and the 
 prospecting went on to the depth of 2,000 feet or 
 more. The machinery for hoisting and pumping was 
 all first-class and monc}^ was not wanting. All was 
 done that mind and monej- could do to develop a 
 mine, but a bonanza has not yet been found. The 
 mines composing the consolidation wore exceedingly 
 rich near the surface, and have produced many 
 millions of dollars. 
 
 HOLD HILL (IROUP. 
 
 Though the towns of Gold Hill and Virginia City 
 have given names to the difterent groups of mines, 
 the dift'orence is more than a vicinity to the respect- 
 ive towns. There seems to be a geological division. 
 It has been marked by all close observers of the mines 
 that the ravines running towards the east from dif- 
 ferent points on the Comstock Lode wore in de- 
 pressions which owed their existence, to a great 
 extent, to the folding of the strata by an upheaval 
 transverse to the axis of the Virginia, or Mount Da- 
 vidson range, though the subsequent outflows of 
 trachyte and andesite, as well as the glacial action 
 would essentially modify and change the original 
 surface formation. These transverse upheavals have, 
 perhaps, had the effect of establishing the locality of 
 the ore deposits, or at least of modifying them, much 
 as hard points of rock in a river channel would 
 form islands or eddies. The fissure seems to make 
 a flexure around the foot of Mount Davidson; also 
 a flexure outwards or towards the cast in other 
 places, and the ore channels seemed to have been 
 richest in these outward flexures, or at the junctions 
 of the lines of elevation. So that ihe barren places 
 between Gold Hill and Virginia City are proliablj- 
 the results of eneral laws. It is observed in regard 
 
 1 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY. 
 
 616 
 
 to the characlor ol' ilio two deposits that north of 
 Gold Hill the ores were in compaot bodies; south 
 in continuous sheets. It is also said that awaj' 
 from the foot of Mount Davidson the tissure mani- 
 fested a tendency to break out through the propylito 
 and leave large bodies of it on the western or foot- 
 wall, instead of closely following the junction with 
 the syenite. 
 
 The barren ground between the two formations 
 
 were the 
 
 Feet. Ass's up to 1879. 
 
 Bullion 943} . . .82,802,000 
 
 E.\chequer 400 ... 380,000 
 
 Alpha - -466 . . . 240,000 
 
 Imperial Consolidated... 468 ... 875, (lOO 
 
 Challenge 90 ._. 10,000 
 
 Confidence 130 ... 256,32(1 
 
 Total 2,497}. . .84,523,320 
 
 This amount has since swelled fully to 85,000,000. 
 Verilj^ mining is a precarious business. John A. 
 Church, perhaps as good authority as any, is of the 
 opinion that the quartz bodj^ which contained the 
 Virginia bonanzas may be seen in embryo on the 
 eastern part of the Gold Hill mines, which would 
 prove an individual character and separate origin 
 of the two deposits. 
 
 The Challenge is a small body of ground prospected 
 from a neighboring shaft, with an occasional drift. 
 It has a prospective value as long as the Comstock 
 continues to have ore on any of its levels. Com- 
 paratively but a small sum has been expended upon 
 it. 
 
 The Confidence has had a body of paying ore, and 
 paid 878,000 in dividends, and has also expended 
 something over a quarter of a million in assessments. 
 It was worked through the Yellow Jacket shaft, 
 the ore body being a part of the Yellow Jacket 
 bonanza. 
 
 YEIJ.OW JACKET SILVER MINE 
 
 Was located in the spring of the year 1859, by Bishop, 
 Camp, Rogers, and others, and consists of 957 feet of 
 the Comstock Lode. It has been worked contin- 
 uously since its location, and has produced 814,372,172. 
 The company was incorporated Februar^'^ 17, 1863, 
 under the then existing laws of the Territory of 
 Nevada, and has continued a Xevada incorporation, 
 being the only mine on the Comstock Lode that has 
 its home office at the mine or in the State of Nevada. 
 The present number of shares is 120,000, of the par 
 value of 8100 each. 
 
 The mine is at present worked through the new. 
 or east shaft of three compartments, two of them 
 being for hoisting, five by six and one-half feet each, 
 and the third one six and one-half by seven and one- 
 half feet for pumps, etc. This shaft was started in 
 October, 1876, and on May 1, 1880, reached a depth 
 of 3,000 feet (vertical). A sump twenty-seven feet 
 deeper, with large drift from same for storage of 
 water, has since been completed. This shaft with 
 machinery and all improvements has cost up to date 
 
 81,626,520. The machinery consists of a compound 
 pumping engine, initial cylinder, thirty-one inches in 
 diameter, and expansion oj^lindor sixty-two inches in 
 diameter, and both of 144-inch stroke. This engine 
 operates a single line of pump-rods sixteen by six- 
 teen inch, 3.02O feet long, or thirteen fourteon-inch 
 pumps by 12il-inch stroke, raising the water to the 
 surface, or about 3,040 feet. Within a few weeks the 
 shaft will be connected with the Stitro Tunnel, 1.513 
 t'oet below its top, when the present line of pumps 
 will be doubled, thereby increasing the present 
 pumping capacitj- twice or double. [This connection 
 has since been made]. 
 
 The hoisting machinery consists of a pair of direct 
 acting engines, each cylinder being twenty-eight 
 inches in diameter, with a ninety-six-inch stroke, 
 and connected. The winding ropes are of steel wire, 
 flat, and weighing about six pounds to the foot, one- 
 iialf inch thick, and eight inches wide, operating one 
 skeet and one double — double-decked cage, hoisting 
 four cars at once, each carrying about one ton of 
 rock. In case of emergencj' it can also raise two 
 tanks, each holding about 1,300 gallons of water. 
 For use of pump shaft there is a double C}'linder com- 
 pound geared hoist, each cylinder being eighteen 
 inches in diameter with twentj--fonr-iiieh stroke, us- 
 ing a flat steel wire rope one-half inch thick by six 
 inches wide. Have also for compressing air to run 
 drills, pumps, blowers, etc., one Burleigh and one 
 Waring compressor, with lap-welded pipe eight 
 inches in diameter, extending to the bottom of the 
 shaft. There is also a machine and carpenter shoji 
 supplied with the most modern tools. The buildings 
 are very fine, as will be seen by the view on another 
 page, and have a good supplj' of fire hydrants, and 
 hose that will reach all parts of the surface property. 
 A side-track from the Virginia and Truckee Railroad 
 carries wood and material direct to the works. 
 Steam for driving the machinery is generated by 
 five pairs of tubular boilers, each fifty-four inches in 
 diameter, and sixteen feet in length. The present 
 officers of this companj- are: F. A. Tritle. President; 
 W. N. Mercer Otey, Secretary; Thos. G. Taylor, 
 Superintendent; I. E. James, A, M, Cole, B. C. Whit- 
 man, and (teorge Wallace, Trustees. 
 
 There is also a transfer office in San Francisco, for 
 the purpose of transferring stock, under the direction 
 of James Newland, Secretary, and Geo. Wallace, 
 Vice- President. 
 
 The Iventuck Mine comprises ninety-four feet on 
 the Comstock Lode, next south of the Y'ellow Jacket, 
 and is one of the locations of 1859. ,\ rich body 
 of ore came to the surface through nearly all these 
 Gold Hill claims, and yielded many millions of dol- 
 lars before barren ground was reached. The Ken- 
 tuck was a long time in bonanza, and, up to 1870, 
 had paid 81,252,000 in dividends. The total assess- 
 ments have been 8300,000, Active developments 
 have been suspended, awaiting the completion of 
 shafts on neighboring mines. The capital stock is 
 
616 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 $3,000,000, divided into 30.000 shares. In 1863, 
 shares were selling at from 8400 to 8500 each. The 
 mine has 5-ielded 813,389,068, equal to 8142,436.90 
 for each lineal foot of the claim. 
 
 The Crown Point was located in 1859 by Nelson 
 Brobant and three others, who soon began taking 
 out rich ore, but sold their property before any great 
 developments were made. The claim comprises 541 1 
 feet of the Comstock Lode, lying between the Ken- 
 tuck on the north and the Belcher on the south. 
 Capital stock, 810,000,000, divided into 100.000 shares. 
 When in its first bonanza, which continued till 1867, 
 it produced over §2,000,000, and paid about 8300,000 
 in dividends, without assessments. For two years 
 or more work continued in barren ground, when in 
 December, 1869, a drift running on the 1,100-foot 
 level came into good ore, which was found to reach 
 up to the 900-foot level and downward to the 1,500- 
 foot level, with a width in the broadest place of 360 
 feet. From this bonanza 811,600,060 was paid in 
 dividends. The last dividends were paid in 1875, 
 since which time it has been a prospecting mine. 
 The total assessments have amounted to 82,575,500, 
 and the total dividends to 811,898,000. 
 
 The Belcher Mine comprises 1,040 feet of the lode 
 next south of the Crown Point, and dates its location 
 among the early days of 1859. No body of paj'ing 
 ore was found on the surface, and it continued a pros- 
 pecting mine until February, 1871, when the last as- 
 sessments — of that period — were paid, and it was 
 found to contain a great share of the bonanza 
 which had been di-^covcred in the Crown Point. 
 Small quantities of bullion had been taken out, but 
 assessments were regular. The present incorpora- 
 tion has a capital stock of 810,400,000, divided into 
 104,000 shares. The mine has paid 815,397,200 in 
 dividends, and levied 82,575,500 of assessments. The 
 bonanza of the two mines, Crown Point and Belcher, 
 produced an aggregate of 858,110,240. 
 
 The Segregated Belcher Mine joined the Yellow 
 Jacket bonanza, and was supposed to have a large 
 slice of it within its bounds, and was supposed atone 
 time to have a portion of the expected Overman 
 bonanza, which, however, did not prove very rich. 
 About a quarter of a million was spent in explorins; 
 without striking anything of value. 
 
 The Overman Mine is one of the most noted and 
 important in many respects on the Comstock. It is 
 a point of departure for the systems of mines which 
 terminate in American Flat and Dayton, having its 
 east and west ledgo, both of which have been con- 
 sidered as promising investments. The west ledge 
 in early days produced a considerable quantity of 
 bullion, enough to induce thorough prospecting. 
 Subsequently a new shaft was sunk, near 1,500 feet 
 east. The assessments have been in the vicinity of 
 83,000.000. The amount of bullion is estimated at 
 83,239,400. The mine is interesting, as being in the 
 locality of the Forman shaft, which is the largest, 
 best equipped shaft yet commenced, and is located 
 
 6,000 feet east of the line of croppings. It is not 
 expected to strike the vein until a depth of 4,000 
 feet is attained. The shaft is L shaped, with four 
 compartments, the additional on the side being used 
 for a pump. 
 
 The Caledonia is one of the last that is known 
 to be on the Comstock fissure, the chain of ore 
 deposits dividing at this point, one branch making 
 towards American Flat and the other towards the 
 Devil's Gate. Opinions, however, differ in this mat- 
 ter, and each line of claims has its advocates as 
 being the genuine Comstock Lode. Over 81,500,000 
 has been spent in explorations. The yield of bul- 
 lion is reported 81,645,000. 
 
 A.MERIC.\N FLAT. 
 
 Twenty years since this section ranked high in 
 importance. Large croppings of quartz furnished 
 satisfactory evidence of the extension of the Com- 
 stock Lode in this section, and the town of Ameri- 
 can City grew up in view of the expected valuable 
 mines. The Globe Consolidated is a union of the 
 Globe, Arizona, Jura, and Utah. Its reputation has 
 been at times good, 82,000,000 having been taken 
 from it in an early day. It is said to contain an 
 immense amount of low grade ore. The Baltimore 
 Consolidated, Maryland, American Flat, and Rock 
 Island have a similar history and character. The 
 prospects of all these mines have been such as to 
 justify a heavy outlay in exploration, which, so far, 
 is barren of any bonanza. It is quite probable that 
 when labor and supplies shall be obtainable at figures 
 as low as in some parts of California, where quartz 
 is extracted from deep shafts and milled at a cost of 
 two dollars per ton, American Flat will send forth 
 millions of bullion, and give employment to a large 
 population. 
 
 OUTSIDE MINES. 
 
 This term is given to a great number of mines 
 which lie parallel to the Comstock. Thej- number 
 hundreds, perhaps thousands, both oast and west, 
 north and south. They have been located with and 
 without croppings, in every conceivable place, and 
 according to the most absurd theories. All were in 
 hopes that a bonanza would come that way. Some 
 are high up on Mount Davidson, and some to the 
 east. 
 
 The cluster containing the Justice, Now York, 
 Lady Washington, Woodville, Alta and Silver Hill, 
 is perhaps as promising a field as any of the out- 
 sides. The first named reported, in 1877, a bullion 
 product of 82,339,057, which came near turning the 
 " true fissure " through that mine, and sent shares 
 up in all mines in that vicinity. The Justice, if not 
 on the Comstock Lode, has many indications in com- 
 mon with it. The black dyke, so essential an indica- 
 tion on the Comstock, is present. The fissure is 
 deep and strong, though transverse to the stratifica- 
 tion of the pro])ylite, with well-defined walls, though 
 rather irregular and rumpled, twisted, perhaps, 
 would be the better term, as the ore body varies in 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY, 
 
 617 
 
 direction from thirty degrees west of north in the 
 upper levels, to nearly araagnotie meridian at a depth 
 of 1,000 feet. On the surface it is a lenticular mass; 
 al a depth of 1,000 feet it is a series of parallel layers 
 divided by the prevailing rock. The gangue, or 
 inclosing material of the ore, is calcite, a kind of 
 limestone. The formation is considered as of much 
 importance in studying the Comstoek Lode. 
 
 The other mines mentioned derived their prospec- 
 tive value from their vicinity to the Justice. The 
 management of the mine has caused a great deal of 
 talk in financial circles, and also sevei-al failures of 
 prominent capitalists, not of sufficient interest to 
 justify a particular description here. 
 
 The Julia Mine is directly east of the Chollar- 
 Potosi, and has prospects enough to justify putting 
 on extensive machinery and sinking 2,000 feet or 
 more. As in nearly all the outsides, there was good 
 ore enough occasionally to keep hope alive and draw 
 out assessments. It is quite probable that when the 
 demoralization of labor and capital, incident to the 
 discovery of the bonanzas, shall have been forgotten, 
 many of these outsides will become self-supporting 
 and perhaps profitable. 
 
 MININU " BOOM." 
 
 This is rather an ambiguous phrase, coined to'meet 
 a want on the Pacific Coast of a word to express the 
 condition of a community surcharged with hope, 
 excitement and activity. A panic is the opposite 
 term; in u panic there is no hope, no action, but a 
 giving up, a despair, a moral, physical, and intellect- 
 ual death. In one case every one sees just ahead 
 untold wealth, with its accompaniments of ease, 
 honor, and luxurious homes. When a rich mine is 
 discovered and there seems a reasonable prospect of 
 sharing in the profits, of bettering one's condition, of 
 getting out of the terrible soul-killing rut of poverty, 
 who can help becoming excited. The excitement gains 
 constantly; one man communicates it to another, and 
 in a little while every one is anxious to get feet. It 
 goes up from day to day. Reports, manufactured 
 for the market, come in one after another, confirm- 
 ing the most extravagant previous statements, and 
 adding others equally exaggerated, and in a short 
 time the wisest and coolest lose their heads, fall into 
 the stream and add strength to the current. A his- 
 tory of the mines without an account of the mining 
 excitements, would be very deficient and lame. 
 Every new discovery produces a corresponding 
 excitement, but the discovery of the great bonanza 
 in 1873, as well as the panic which followed the reac- 
 tion, completely overshadowed all previous booms 
 and panics. The discovery is said to have been 
 made in 1874, but it was, in fact, a gradual matter 
 occurring during the years 1873-74. 
 
 The California and Consolidated Virginia had been 
 barren for several hundred feet above the 1,000- 
 foot level; the owners, or principal ones, J. W. 
 Mackay, James G. Fair, James C. Flood, and Will- 
 iam S. O'Brien, being induced to sink by the pres- 
 
 ence of large ore bodies in the Ophir, and Gould & 
 Curry, in neighboring ground. During 1872, assess- 
 ments, aggregating 8212,400, had been made, and 
 the stock varied greatly as the ])rospects for striking 
 ore became bright or dark, varying from 827.00 in 
 January, to 8200 in June, and 887.00 in December, 
 the shares at this time being 23,000; the minimum 
 value being 8637,200, the maximum, 84,720,000. 
 (Consolidated Virginia is spoken of here.) At the 
 beginning of 1873 the shaft was down 000 feet with- 
 out striking anything of importance. A drift which 
 had been started north from the Gould & Curry on 
 the l,lG7-foot level, to explore the Consolidated 
 Virginia, had been carried outside of the lode, but 
 had stringers of quartz on the way, which indicated 
 an ore body; and when it reached the ground of 
 the latter company it was in fair milling ore. On 
 crosscutting, the stratum proved to be fifteen feet 
 thick. This, of course, placed the mine on a good 
 foundation. This strike was about eighty feet north 
 of the Best & Belcher claims, ajid was, in fact, 
 the extreme south end and upper part of the great 
 body of the bonanza, which proved to be of similar 
 shape to a double convex, or, perhaps, plano-convex 
 lens. Owing to the heat, the crosscutting on the 
 Gould & Curry drift was suspended until con- 
 nection could be made with the main shaft, which 
 was being put down at the rate of three feet per 
 day. 
 
 In July, 1873, a stream of hot water was encoun- 
 tered in the drift, bringing in so much sand and 
 water that work had to bo suspended, leaving the 
 shaft only to bo prosecuted, which, in August, had 
 reached a depth of 1,100 feet, nearly on a level with 
 the Gould & Curry drift. Pumps were put in 
 position, and drifting out of ore vigorously com- 
 menced. By the end of the month the ore breasts 
 at the shaft showed a width of forty feet. The out- 
 put of ore was increased to 200 tons per day, and 
 a manifest improvement took place in the ore, which 
 now milled forty dollars per ton. It was now found 
 that the width of the vein at the depth of 1.1G7 feet 
 was nearly 400 feet, and the depth was known to 
 bo 200. The shipments of bullion had now grown 
 to a quarter of a million a month. This account is 
 thus given minutely to show that the discover}' of 
 the bonanza was no sudden thing to startle people, 
 but a matter of regular development. 
 
 In October, of 1873, the Trustees of the company 
 increased their capital stock to 810,800,000, repre- 
 sented by 108,000 shares at $100 each, which sold in 
 the market at considerable less than par. So far the 
 California had no existence, or was included in the 
 first incorporation but it now was separated and 
 incorporated as the California, being composed oCthe 
 original California, ("entral (No. 1 and 2) and the 
 Kinney Claim, amounting to 600 feet, the shares 
 being made to correspond with the Consolidated Vir- 
 ginia. May 11, 1874, the company declared their 
 first dividend, three dollars to the share, or $324,000. 
 
618 
 
 fflSTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 In llio ineaiitiinc iLc drill Ijeforu referred to from 
 the Gould it Currj-, waf> carried north through the 
 California ground and connected with the Ophir, the 
 drifts from the shaft at the 1,300 and 1.40n-foot 
 levels all being extended north through it, also thus 
 proving the extension of the bonanza north at the 
 respective levels of 1,167, 1,300 and 1,400 feet, the 
 shaft also being sunk to the depth of 1,500 feet. The 
 daily output of ore was now 400 tons, still the dix- 
 covery was not yet made. It was now known that 
 the ore was increasing in value as the depth in- 
 creased. It was also found to spread out, and dur- 
 ing the summer of 1S74 a systematic eftbrt was made 
 to ascertain the extent and value of the ore by run- 
 ning through it vertically and horizontally every 
 100 feet, literally cutting it into cubical blocks of 100- 
 foot sides. During the summer the stock had fluctu- 
 ated in the markets from 885 to 8110, (par value 
 $100) but on the completion of this crosscutting the 
 boom commenced and they went up to 8580, The 
 development of the mine has been carefully described 
 in order to more fully understand the unparalleled 
 excitement that followed. It has been mentioned 
 that the ore had continually become richer down to 
 the 1,500-foot level. It is now time to introduce the 
 boom. A Virginia paper now comes out with double 
 beads in caps: — 
 
 HEART OF THE COMSTOCK ! 
 
 A MASS OF SULPHURET AND CHLORIDE ORES ! ! — CRYS- 
 TALIZED ORES THAT ARE ALMOST PURE SILVER ! ! ! 
 SHINING LIKE A CASKET OF BLACK DIAMONDS. 
 
 In referring to the lowest cross-cut, the paper 
 
 said: — 
 
 This is the cross-cut in which is found the richest 
 ore yet discovered in the mine — which has astonished 
 all the exi)ert8. It has been bored into the bonanza 
 through a mass of chloride and sulphuret ores 
 which excites the imagination of all beholders. 
 It is now in 205 feet, ninetj'-five feet of which is in 
 the extraordinary rich ore of which so much has 
 been heard. It was in this cross-cut that was 
 encountered, a daj' or two since, the stephanite, a 
 species of crystallized ore that is almost pure silver. 
 At the distance of 180 feet in on this cross-cut, a 
 chamber of about ten feet square has been excavated. 
 Its walls on every side are a mass of the finest chlor- 
 ide ore, filled with streaks and bunches of the richest 
 black Kuli)hurets. In the roof, towards the north 
 side, is to bo seen a quantity of stephanite, shining 
 like a whole casket of black diamonds. It looks as 
 if the whole mass grow richer with ever foot of 
 advance. 
 
 Speaking of the next cross-cut south, the paper 
 
 Bays: — 
 
 This cross-cut is in 290 feet, 255 of which is in ore 
 of the finest quality. Its face is in ore of the same 
 kind as already passed through; no signs of a wall 
 or of an end of ore. 
 
 Ores of this kind is known to assay up into the 
 thousands, but it would seem impossible that such 
 large masses of silver should be depo.sited or even 
 created. It never was known; so the writer ^teps 
 
 down to apparently very moderate estimates. By 
 strong effort he brings the supposed estimate down 
 to 8100 per ton, although it is apparent to thereader 
 that 81,000 is little enough. He also reduces the 
 size of the deposit about one-half. 
 
 Cutting off such a slice, we find it to be one foot 
 thick, 220 feet wide and 300 feet long. In this slice, 
 then, are GO, 000 cubic feet, which, thirteen feet to 
 the ton, gives a trifle over 5,076 tons, which, at 8100 
 per ton, amounts to 8507,600 as the value of one 
 slice cut off of but three levels and cut down every 
 way we can think of Should we begin at cross-cut 
 No. 3 and continue to cut oft' slices of the same size 
 till we reach the California line we should find the 
 value of all our slices to be 8116,748,000. That the 
 average value of this deposit may be safely placed 
 at 8200 per ton will hardly be doubted; therefore the 
 above figures must be doubled to give the value of 
 our slices. This estimate leaves entirely out of the 
 count the two levels above, also all that may be in 
 the mine below, and is indeed but a small section 
 taken out of the mine of a convenient size for 
 handling. 
 
 Phillip Deidesheimer, perhaps one of the most 
 reliable mining engineers on the Pacific Coast, exam - 
 imed the mine as far as explored, and reported as 
 follows: — 
 
 I went through the California and Consolidated 
 Virginia, and inspected them thoroughly, 1 think 
 the bonanza extends so far as is developed, 350 feet 
 through Consolidateii Virginia, through the Califor- 
 nia, which would be a total distance of !'50 feet, and 
 perhaps into the Ophir, My former calculations 
 showed that the bonanzas were 600 feet in depth. 
 The explorations have been carried 142 feet deeper 
 since mj^ last visit, and the ore was the same. The 
 explorations upward have shown ore 100 feet above, 
 and ore has been struck still 100 feet above that. 
 This gives a total increase of the developed height of 
 the ore bodj- of 342 feet, or 542 feet in the aggregate, 
 and the progress is still through ore of e(|ual richness. 
 The probability is that the width will exceed my 
 originial calculations. The winze that was sunk a 
 few feet from the line of the California in Consoli- 
 dated Virginia is 142 feet below the l,5((0-foot level, 
 and passing through very rich ore. C'ross-cut, No. 2, 
 which is 114 feet south of the California line, on the 
 1,500-foot level, is now 31(1 feet in ore, and no wall 
 yet. The cross-cut from the 1.550-1'oot level, shows 
 ore running up to the tens of thousands, with every 
 indication of continuance. The winze ninety-two feet 
 below the l,55()fbot level is in very high grade ore, 
 averaging, I should think, from 81,000 to 81,500 per 
 ton. 
 
 I assert that there is already to be shown in the 
 two mines, California and Consolidated Virginia, 
 81,500,0(10,0(10 of ore. 1 make this assertion and 
 am willing to stand by it. I think it will be ])erfectly 
 safe to say that the ore will average 82110 per ton. 
 I have examined drifts, l.")(lfeet in ore that averaged, 
 ton ]ier ton as it was taken out, 820(1 per ton. I 
 have examined di-ifts 15(1 feet in ore that averaged, 
 ton per ton as it was taken out, 8500. 1 should say 
 that Consolidated Virginia and California are worth 
 at least 85,(100 i)er share; that is, I have no doubt 
 but that amount will be paid out in dividends, I 
 have been mining twenty-four years, or most of my 
 life-time, I am very careful about my statements. 
 
 The Superintendent of both mines, James Of. Fair, 
 
 1 
 
TTTSTORY OF STOREY COUNTY. 
 
 619 
 
 confirmed these statements in his annual report made 
 December 31, 1874. Other statements in addition, 
 that the ground to the south was entirely unexplored ; 
 that none of the cross-cuts have yet reached the 
 eastern boundary; that a double winze had been 
 sunk from the l,r)r)0-foot level, 147 feet, passing 
 through rich ore, and the bottom is now in ore of 
 equal value to any j-et found, still left room for the 
 wildest expectations with regard to the possible 
 wealth of the new discovery. 
 
 The discovery- of such a vast bodj- of silver ore was 
 justly deemed of national importance and 11. H. Lin- 
 derman. Director of the mint, with Prof R. E. Rogers 
 wore caused to make an official examination. They 
 confirmed to a great extent, the reports of previous 
 examinations; the less e-stimates, when they are less, 
 were considered as only modest depreciations, 
 lest the public should decline to credit their reports. 
 No mining boom or excitement ever had such good 
 foundation. But one man saw the gold gravel 
 lying in illimitable quantities in Gold Lake. One 
 man only had seen Greenwood Valley, where gold 
 could be picked up by the bushel. Gold Bluff's, Fra- 
 zer River, Kern River, and the Cariboo Mines all had 
 but a thousandth part of the foundation that the big 
 bonanza hnd, but they stirred California to the foun- 
 dation. On each occasion it seemed as if the cities 
 were going to be depopulated; but there was no 
 room for doubt here — 81,500,000,000, certainly, with 
 a probability of twice as much and a possibility of 
 
 , there was but one doubt, one question. 
 
 Would not silver depreciate so as to render it unfit 
 for a circulating medium ? That a general fear that 
 this was imminent is shown in the fact that several of 
 the large commercial powers demonetized silver. 
 But logic was very accommodating, and political 
 economists soon proved that a vast stream of silver 
 had always flowed to the eastern nations, a quantitj- 
 amounting to millic^is every year, none of which 
 ever returned; that a plethora of silver was impos- 
 sible, and the •' boom '' continued. Xever did such 
 a demoralization occur to a community. Bankers, 
 whose hair had grown graj- in watching the ups and 
 downs of a market, money lenders, who never 
 advanced a cent without double security and quad- 
 ruple interest, retired capitalists, who had salted 
 their money down in United States Bonds for old 
 age, manufacturers, merchants and their clerks, 
 farmers and their harvest men, mechanics and their 
 apprentices, wives and widows, mothers and daugh- 
 ters, mistress and servant, all, ])Oured in their orders 
 for stocks. A husband parting from his wife, a lover 
 from his mistress, gave a share or two of Consolidated 
 Virginia or California as a happy reminder of his 
 affection. Three stock boards in San Francisco could 
 scarce transact the business of buying and selling 
 that grew out of it. In Virginia Citj* the excitement 
 was not less intense. The finest building on the coast 
 was erected for one of the boards of brokers. Capi- 
 tal was withdrawn from every legitimate business 
 
 to invest in stocks. Real estate was mortgaged to 
 the last cent at ruinous rates, to purchase stocks on 
 a margin. Men borrowed money, time and again, 
 agreeing to double it for its use a short time. The 
 shares, 108,000 in each company, went up to five or 
 six hundred each, and the dividends of each of the 
 mines wore over a million a month for sixteen 
 months. If such an excitement never was seen, 
 neither were such mines. Shares went up all along 
 the Comstock, all of them sharply advancing, and 
 some in a manner similar to the bonanza mines. 
 Flood, Mackaj-, O'Brien, and Fair were credited 
 with owning three-fourths of the shares in the 
 respective companies, and they would of course sell 
 — when they could get twice or thrice as much as 
 their stock was worth. Who would not? And so 
 they supplied the demand. To give all a better 
 chance to buj-, the shares were increased five for one, 
 making r)40,00() for each company, the California in 
 February, 1875, and the Consolidated Virginia a 
 year later. 
 
 The reaction came at last. No community could 
 stand such a fever long. Somebody must work, or 
 the people^vvill starve. In January, 1875, the Cali- 
 fornia touched S780, and the Consolidated Virginia 
 §700. From that point it fell away in s]>itc of the 
 constant dividends. It was known to be manipulated 
 by a few men who could stop dividends, stop work, 
 flood it with water, or otherwise impair the value of 
 the stock at their will. The great fire of October, 
 when Virginia Cit}' was destroyed, sent the stock 
 down to 8210. Dividends were paid as usual, though 
 the surface works and much of the shaft was 
 destroyed, out of the reserved funds. 
 
 From that date to this there has been a general 
 decline in the value of mining stocks on the Com- 
 stock Lode, and though an occasional flutter occurs 
 in prices, the thousands who invested their hard 
 earnings in the certificates of shares, turn away 
 heart-sick as the prices recede daj- by day. Those 
 who built fine residences costing 800,000 to a 8100, (M.'O; 
 those who built modest cottages; those who thought 
 to lift themselves above the drudgeries of dailj- 
 labor, have been disappointed and obliged to sur- 
 render all. 
 
 There is. of course, much bitter feeling existing 
 toward the Bonanza Kirm who sold Iho stocks at 
 these rates. Books have been published charging 
 fraud and corruption, but in looking over the history 
 of the mines the record of the Great Honanza docs 
 not show more sharp dealing, more sales at boom 
 rates, than most men, especially stock-brokers, would 
 willingly make for the resulting profits. 
 
 KLL'rTi;.\TIoNS OK .STOCKS. 
 
 This history is not intended to be a record of 
 stock transactions. The reader if not satisfied with 
 general results, will have to consult the voluminous 
 records of the half-dozen stock exchanges which 
 transacted the immense business pertaining to th;- 
 mines. The list of prices for 1875 and 1880 show 
 
620 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 1 
 
 tho great fluctuation of stocks incident to a discov- 
 ery of a bonanza in any of them: — 
 
 Jan., 1875. Val. Feb., 1880. 
 
 $ 299,000 8 110,000 
 
 2,100,000 500,000 
 
 9,500,000 850,000 
 
 8,508,000 516,600 
 
 31,752,000 504,000 
 
 84,240,000 675,000 
 
 75,600,000 1,026,000 
 
 9,612,000 680,400 
 
 7,776,000 270,000 
 
 20,280,000 89,600 
 
 8,848,000 324,000 
 
 20,280,000 369,000 
 
 6,000,000 165,000 
 
 42,500,000 110,000 
 
 1,350,000. 87,000 
 
 11,500,000 25,000 
 
 875,000 25,000 
 
 1,622,640 56,160 
 
 20.880.000 186,000 
 
 Name. Val. in 
 
 Utah .- 
 
 Sierra Nevada 
 
 Union Consolidated 
 
 Mexican - - 
 
 Ophir 
 
 California 
 
 Consolidated Virginia.. 
 
 Best & Belcher 
 
 Gould & Curry 
 
 vSavage 
 
 Hale & Norcross 
 
 Chollar-Potosi 
 
 Bullion 
 
 E.xcheiiuer 
 
 Alpha. 
 
 Consolidated Imperial.. 
 
 Challenge 
 
 Confidence 
 
 Yellow Jacket 
 
 Kentuck 
 
 Crown Point 
 
 Belcher 
 
 Segregated Belcher 
 
 Overman 
 
 Caledonia 
 
 780,000. 
 4,750,000. 
 5,980,000. 
 1,056,000. 
 11,404,800. 
 5,700,000. 
 
 37,500 
 100.000 
 83,200 
 25,600 
 69,120 
 20,000 
 
 §393,253,440 $6,905,580 
 
 It will be seen at a glance that most of these 
 values were purely speculative. When one stock 
 took a rise, all the rest sympathized. The thermom- 
 eter of values was in the public and not in the 
 mines. It is believed, however, that January, 1874, 
 saw the highest point of the mass of values. There 
 were other prominent periods in values. In 1868 the 
 Yellow Jacket sold at 81,750 per foot; the Hale & 
 Norcross, 87,100; Crown Point, 82,350. These high 
 rates were followed bj^ depressions. A new discov- 
 ery ^^ould send them up. The last grand rally was 
 made in 1878, when the Sierra Nevada went from 
 $5.25 in July, to 8260 in October. 
 
 Long since, stock speculators have been governed 
 more by the temper of the public than the prospects 
 of tho mines. The question is not whether the mine 
 is a safe investment, but whether the market is rising 
 or falling. It is not strange that fortunes wore made 
 by a few when the public were so ready to buy at 
 any rates. 
 
 WILLIA.M .MOONEY 
 
 Is a native of Ireland; was born in January, 1838. 
 Came to the United States when but four j-ears of 
 age, and located at Hartford, Connecticut, where he 
 remained until he reached tho age of twenty years. 
 The education hi; received in the " land of wooden 
 nutmegs," was of service to him in after life. In 
 1850 ho came to San Francisco, California, but did 
 not stay there any length of time, going direct to 
 -Marysville, Yuba County, where ho was extensively 
 engaged in tho cattle business, until 1860, when be 
 was almost ruined by the rising of the rivers to such 
 a degree that his pro])erty was swept away. At 
 this time he called to his aid his native pluck and 
 
 energy, that has been characteristic with him all 
 through his eventful life, and struck out for new 
 fields, wherein to glean another harvest. Among 
 the early pioneers we find him treading the soil of 
 Nevada, in the year 1860. From Virginia City he 
 went to Humboldt, but returned in 1861, and accepted 
 a position in a livery stable, where he worked by 
 the month until, in 1862, he opened a stable of bis 
 own, on the same spot where he may bo found 
 to-day, one of the most prominent livery men in tho 
 State. Mr. Mooney was married in Washoe City, 
 May 1, 1867, to Miss Emma Smith, of Pleasant 
 Valley. Their union has been blessed with three 
 children, two boj-s and one girl. 
 
 ACCIDENTS IN THE MINES. 
 
 Mining, by general consent, is conceded to be a 
 dangerous occupation. The utmost care on the part 
 of Superintendents can not avert all danger. The 
 great depth, the eternal darkness, dispelled only by 
 the feeble light of a tallow candle; the giving away 
 and crushing of the timbers in some of tho numerous 
 chutes and drifts, precipitating rock or dirt down 
 upon the miner hundreds of feet below; the genera- 
 tion of poisonous or explosive gases; the danger 
 from floods of water, which may come at any time 
 with overwhelming ra])idity: and last, but not least, 
 fire, all combine to make deep mining one of tho 
 most dangerous avocations which can be followed. 
 To add to the unavoidable dangers, tho minors, 
 braving death in so many forms, become reckless, 
 seemingly balancing themselves on the brink of 
 destruction, with little care which way they fall. 
 Let one unused to mining stand at tho mouth of 
 a deep shaft that goes 2,000 feet or more down into 
 the earth, and see the men scuffling for places on 
 tho tub or cage; see them clinging on the outside, 
 where the slightest indiscretion will precipitate them 
 against jagged rocks 1,000 feet below, or subject 
 them to the danger of having *n arm or head torn 
 off against tho timbers of the shaft while descend- 
 ing in the bucket, and the wonder is that more are 
 not killed. It has been said that the deaths from 
 accident in the Comstock mines average one a month. 
 Sometimes there are none for weeks, then they may 
 succeed each other with startling rapidity; but the 
 generality of them have so accustomed themselves 
 to see a man brought out of the shafts maimed, 
 limp, and lifeless, or torn in pieces, that, beyond a 
 passing remark, it excites no comment, being regarded 
 as a thing of course. 
 
 THE YELLOW JACKET DISASTER, 
 
 \Vhich occurred April 7. 1809, was so fatal in its 
 mortality that the date has been reckoned as tho 
 black day. The fire started in the 8U0-foot level 
 about seven a. .m., and was doubtless caused by some 
 one of the retiring night-shifl leaving a candle 
 among tho dry and almost half-charred timbers 
 which have taken the place of tho ores extracted at 
 that depth. A ])art of the day's shift had been low- 
 ered into the Yellow Jacket, Crown Point, and 
 
♦-»«- 
 
1 
 
HISTORY OF STOREY COUNTY. 
 
 621 
 
 Kentuck before the flames burst oat. When the 
 peril was discovered the fire alarm was sounded, 
 and the fire companies of Gold Hill and Virginia 
 City responded with alacritj'. Simultaneously with 
 the fire alarm the smoke, thick and dark, was seen 
 coming up from the shaft, and then it was known 
 through both towns that men were being burned 
 in the mines, or smothered by the noxious gases. 
 Many of the miners who were perishing below bad 
 wives and children in the town. These, with others, 
 came to the works. When they saw the hopeless 
 situation they had to be restrained from throwing 
 themselves into the burning pit, for the instinctive 
 thought of woman is, that ''if 1 were only there I 
 could do something for them." The fire companies 
 could do but little towards starving the fire, and but 
 a few were got out alive, and these by retreating 
 into the adjoining mines. Some were suffocated 
 while flying along the lower galleries; some made 
 their way to the shafts onlv to fall into the devour- 
 ing flames. The sulphurous vapors generated bj- 
 the fierce fire against the mineral rocks filled the 
 lower levels, and rendered it almost impossible to 
 recover the bodies even. During that and the fol- 
 lowing day twenty-three bodies had been recovered. 
 On the 000- foot level of the Crown Point, nine men 
 were found in one heap. Thej- had attempted to 
 unjoint an air pipe to get fresh air. On the morn- 
 ing of the tenth it became certain that no more per- 
 sons could possibly remain alive, and shafts were 
 closed up, and steam turned through the ventilators. 
 The fire burned in some portion of the mine for 
 three 3'ears. Several bodies not recovered vverc sup- 
 posed to have been destroyed by the fire which 
 burned in the closcd-up galleries. 
 
 Thirty-six persons were destroyed, the bodies of 
 twenty -seven being recovered and identified: — 
 
 J. McLellan, Richard Bickle, John Ilogan, John 
 Hallisey, George Tompkins, James Peters, Patrick 
 Quinn, Patrick Buckley, John Rowen, John Bickle, 
 Joseph Mathews, Anthony Toy, Peter Blowin, Thos. 
 McCo}-, Patrick Ilogan, Archie McDougal, A. G. 
 Grant, William Mitchell, William Jewell, Edward 
 Jewell, Jeremie Chennette, Thos. McCallum, Johna- 
 than Jones, Harry Stevens, Thomas Toland, Matt. 
 Tooney, and Michael MeCormido. 
 
 September 19, 1873, another fire occurred in the 
 Yellow Jacket Mine, caused by sparks from a forge. 
 Several explosions occurred, killing four men, and 
 wounding about a dozen more. The Kentuck, 
 Crown Point, and Belcher, being connected with 
 the Yellow Jacket, were more or less injured. 
 
 Names of killed: W. S. Broadwater, James Nilcs, 
 Thomas Cusic, and James Waters. May 2, 1874, 
 owing to the bad working of the cage, Cornelius 
 McCarty and Richard Pierce were fatally injured, 
 and several others severely. 
 
 CHARLES ZIEOLEU 
 
 Was born in the town of Lagenzelza, Germany, in 
 the year 1831. He was the youngest son of five 
 78 
 
 PHOTO av JOHN S NOe. VIRQINIA. NEV 
 
 Chas. 
 
 Ziegler 
 
 children, and resided with his parents in various 
 parts of Germany until he reached his eighteenth 
 year, at which time he left his home and the friends 
 of his youth, and came to America, on the ship 
 Xhxanihr /., arriving in New York Citj- June 30, 
 1S49; from thence he went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 
 and engaged in the butcher business, following that 
 trade for about one 5'ear, when he was compelled to 
 seek out-door employment on account of bis health, 
 and for two years was a farmer. In 1852 he started 
 for California, but upon reaching a point in Iowa, he 
 changed his plans and remained in that State about 
 four months. During the next two years he traveled 
 through the Southern Slates, working at his trade 
 in New Orleans, Louisiana, Natchez, Mississippi, 
 Louisville, Kentuckj-, and several other places, 
 remaining but a short lime in a place. In 1855 wo 
 find him in Keokuk, Iowa, working as a journeyman 
 at the same old business. In September, 1S56, he 
 was married to .Miss Mary Murray-, and settled down 
 in business for himself, and for eight years was very 
 successful in the butcher business, also had a meat- 
 market and store. In May, 1864, he started for 
 California once more, accompanied by his family 
 and a splendid outfit worth 810,000. During the long 
 and tedious trip acro.ss the ))lains he sufl'ored lieavj- 
 losses, and when ho reached the Sierra Nevada 
 Mountains ho decided to go to Virginia City, Nevada, 
 instead of ("alifornia, and arrived at his present 
 place of residence October 10, 1804. Although he 
 had witnessed the disappearance of his hard-earned 
 property while on his trip, his energy, pluck and 
 perseverance soon placed him on a firm footing, and 
 
G22 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 i/ 
 
 he is to-day one of- the most prosperous and inde- 
 pendent business men of Virginia City, conducting 
 two butcher shops and a general market. He is in 
 every respect a self-made man, and rejoices in the 
 esteem and confidence of his fellow-citizens; is 
 the father of six children, four sons and two 
 daughters, who, in connection with his estimable 
 wife, comprise his family. 
 
 ANECDOTE OP " SANDY" BOWERS. 
 
 In the history of the Comstock Lode a thousand 
 anecdotes could be related, tragic, pathetic and comic. 
 Partaking of the two latter classes is the following 
 of Sandy Bowers, of whom some particulars are 
 related in Chapter Yl. 
 
 Lemuel S. Bowers, commonly known as " Sandy," 
 was an ignorant, easy-going frontiersman, happen- 
 ing, in 1859, to be mining for gold in Gold Cafion by 
 the simple process of washing the mineral-bearing 
 earth in a rocker, and as developments continued 
 found that his claim of ten feet covered a portion of 
 the Comstock Lode. Adjoining was a claim of the 
 same dimensions belonging to Mrs. Cowan, who also 
 resided in the canon and was washing and cooking 
 for the miners. The two married, and the claims 
 became one, proving of extraordinary richness. In 
 a few years they were overwhelmed witli wealth. 
 Too ignorant of business, they knew nothing of pru- 
 dent or cautious investments, and became the tools of 
 harpies. The now wealthy couple were advised — as 
 a good joke — to take a tour through Europe to sec 
 the sights and become polished in accordance with 
 the station they were in the future to occupy. They 
 were also advised to build a palace worthy such a 
 party to reside in. Accordingly in 1801 the "Bowers 
 Mansion " was commenced in the wilderness of 
 Washoe Valley. Before leaving for Europe Sandy 
 was told that the proper thing to do was to give a 
 banquet. " Banquet goes," said Sandj-, and the 
 International Hotel of Virginia City was engaged'for 
 the occasion. Every obtainable luxury was ordered 
 which Virginia or San Francisco could furnish. 
 Champagne was to be as free as water in a spring 
 flood. Everybody was'invited. Toasts were drank 
 and in response to "Our host," Mr. Bowers was 
 called upon to reply. He arose and delivered the 
 following characteristic speech. 
 
 "I've been in this yer country amongst the fust 
 that come here. I've had powerful good luck, and 
 I've got money to throw at the birds. Thar ain't no 
 chance for a gentleman to spend his coin in this 
 country, and thar ain't nothin' much to see, so me 
 and Mrs. Bowers is agoin' to Yoorop to take in the 
 sights. One of the great men of this countrj^ was 
 in this region a while back. That was Horace 
 Greeley. I saw him and he didn't look like no great 
 shakes. Outside of him the only great men I've seen 
 in this country is Governor Nye and Old Winne- 
 mucca. Now mo and Mrs. Bowers is goin' to 
 Yoorop to see the Queen of England and the other 
 
 great men of them countries, and I hope you'll all 
 jine in and drink Mrs. Bowers' health. Thars 
 plenty of champagne, and monej' ain't no object." 
 Sandy and his wife spent several years abroad, 
 purchased much elegant furniture, laces and pictures 
 for his mansion in Washoe, which was erected at a 
 cost of over §400,000, and returned, and still had 
 " money to throw at the birds;" the hawks and vul- 
 tures, and other birds of prey getting the greater 
 portion. Without any good missionary to instruct, 
 or any strong friend to advise and direct he continued 
 to throw money at the birds with the approval and 
 encouragement of flatters, sycophants and robbers, 
 and his princely fortune was wasted. His widow 
 earns a precarious livelihood near the scenes of her 
 former toils —and glory. 
 
 CHAPTER LIV. 
 HISTORY OF WASHOE COUNTY. 
 
 Explorations and Settlements — Petition to the County Court — 
 John Twaddle — Andrew Saner — Abandoned by the Mor- 
 mons — Miners Take Possession — Organization and County 
 Seat — Court House, .Jail and Hospital — Lumber and Quartz 
 Mills — Removal of the County Seat — Locatinn and Ereetion 
 of Buildings — Poor Kami and Hospital- — Kree Bridge Con- 
 structed — Financial and Political Condition — .-Yppointments 
 and Elections — W. A. Walker — K. S. Osburn — Death I'en- 
 alty Inflicted — .Agricultural Lands and Products — Ervin 
 Crane — W. D. Harden — A. A. Longley — George Smith, 
 Sr.— George S. Smith— Granvdle \V. HufiTaker— T. G. 
 Herman — Isaac H. Ball — Principal Irrigating Canals — Reno 
 in its Early Days — W. 1{. Cliamlx-rlain — Henry Lyman 
 Fish — Protection against Fire — Property Destroyeil by Fire 
 — Infested by B.ul Characters — The Association of "001 " — 
 Efforts to Incorporate — L. W. Lcc — Episcopal Seminary — 
 Mount St. Mary's Academy — Hebrew Benevolent Society — 
 Principal Towns and Cities — Steamboat Springs — Jos.'ph 
 Frey — .lames Sullivan. 
 
 ALTHonr.ii it is probable that some of the Amer- 
 ican trappers that penetrated into this region as 
 early as 1832 may have traversed the country now 
 embraced within the limits of this county, j-et there 
 is no record of any visit prior to that of Lieutenant 
 Fremont, on his second exploring expedition. He 
 came down from Oregon through Roop County, and, 
 on the tenth of January, lS4i, discovered and named 
 Pj'ramid Lake, and on the fifteenth came to the 
 mouth of the Truckee River, which he named 
 Salmon Trout River. Following up the stream to 
 the bend, ho left the river and continued south on 
 the seventeenth, thus passing out of the county. 
 An emigrant parly, pas.sing through in the fall of the 
 same year, gave the stream its present name, as is 
 related in the portion of this volume devoted to a 
 history of the State. 
 
 Though not the earliest settled portion of the 
 Slate, still Washoe Vallej' was known and Truckee 
 Meadows were known by the earliest emigrants, 
 those that passed through to California prior to the 
 gold discover}'; subsequent to that event, thousands 
 passed up the valley orlbllowed up the winding course 
 of the beautiful Truckee, stoiqiing for a few days of 
 rest, and to permit their jaded and half-famished 
 
 4 
 
HISTORY OF WASHOE COUNTY. 
 
 623 
 
 stock to recruit Hpon the rich grass that grew bo 
 luxuriantly along the watcr-coursea. For the ten 
 years immediately succeeding 1849, no winter passed 
 but found belated emigrants encamped at the base 
 of the Sierra awaiting the opening of the snow- 
 blocked passes by the dissolving hand of spring. 
 The fate of the Donner party, and the well-known 
 hardships and perils, even unto death, encountered 
 by those who had attempted the passage of the sum- 
 mits after winter had laid upon them his embargo 
 of snow, deterred them from making the hazardous 
 attempt, and they encamped for the season in the 
 valley. Snow fell in the valley but seldom more than 
 to a depth of from six to twelve inches, and the rank 
 growth of grass, from two to three feet high, was 
 always a plentiful supply of food for the animals. 
 Upon this they feasted ainl fattened until spring, when 
 they were able to easily pull their loads across the 
 intervening mountains to the goal their now impa- 
 tient masters were so eager to reach. 
 
 It will be observed that the spelling of the name 
 of the valley was ditterent from that in vogue at 
 present, and is, no doubt, the more proper; the well- 
 known faculty of the heedless miners of corrupting 
 foreign or un-English words into a similaritj- to 
 English, having, as soon as the great influx of 
 strangers set in, changed Wassau to Washoe. 
 
 Passing bj' these transient sojourners, it is found 
 that no actual settlement was made until 1852, when 
 a man named Clark built a little cabin in a lovely 
 spot near the present site of Franktown. This was 
 just at the base of the mountains where a small 
 jutting ridge, covered with fine timber, reached out 
 beyond the base of the hills. To his beautiful jilace 
 he gave the name of " The Garden of Eden." The 
 next year a man afterwards known as Old Man Kose, 
 who, as a belated emigrant, bad spent the previous 
 winter in the mouth of King's Canon, in Eagle 
 Valley, came across the Divide and settled in Washoe 
 Valley, on the Simons Place. He also took uj) a 
 ranch in Eagle Vallej'. G. W. Dodge and John 
 Campbell, who had been working in the placer mines 
 of Gold Canon, took up what is now known as the 
 Bowers Ranch in 18.")3. The place now occupied by 
 Theodore Winters was settled the same year by a 
 German named Christopher West. Clark took his 
 departure that year, leaving but four men in the 
 valley, Eose, Dodge, Campbell and West. 
 
 The first permanent settlement in the Truckee 
 Meadows was made by a Mormon named Jamison, 
 who came up from ("arson Valley in 1852, and estab- 
 lished Jamison's Station, on the Truckee River, where 
 he traded with the emigrants, buj-ing their lean and 
 exhausted stock, or trading good cattle for them. 
 The poor cattle which he bought were quickly fat- 
 tened and put in good condition by the rich grass 
 that skirted the banks of the beautiful stream. Ar- 
 riving at this station and others established on the 
 various routes of travel, footsore and weary from 
 their long tramp across the alkali desert, their pro- 
 
 visions nearly exhausted, their cattle jaded and use- 
 loss from overwork and lack of nourishment, the 
 emigrants were able to lay in provisions for the bal- 
 ance of their journe)-, and to procure good cattle to 
 replace those unfitted for further use, or whoso bones 
 la)' whitening on the scorched sands of the desert. 
 
 In June, 1854, the companj' of Mormons, headed by 
 KIder Orson Hyde, arrived in Carson Valley, and in 
 the summer of 1855, Alexander Cowan and ■wife, 
 now Mrs. Sandy Bowers, came to Washoe Valley, 
 and purchascJ the Bowers Ranch of Dodge & Camp- 
 bell. William Jennings bought the ranch occupied by 
 
 (Christopher West. Clayton, Seth Dustin, Edwin 
 
 Walker. John Hawkins, and others, also came to the 
 valley and took up ranches. Elder Hydo was pleased 
 with the location, and commenced the erection of a 
 saw-mill at Franktown, as the little center of the 
 .-•ettlement was named. The saw-mill was comjileted 
 that fall, and Elder Hj-de started from Mormon Sta- 
 tion late in October, with a companion named Willis 
 Lewis, to cross the mountains to Placerville, Cali- 
 I'ornia, to procure machiner)-. They were caught in 
 a severe snow-storm, and Lewis declined to proceed, 
 and endeavored to return. He was never heard of 
 again, and his bones, washed by the driving rains 
 and covered by the drifting snows, no doubt lie in 
 home secluded s])ot in the beautiful Sierra, whose 
 lowering peaks reveal no*, the many tragedies they 
 have witnessed. After a desperate struggle to free 
 himself from the encompassing snow, Elder Hyde 
 finally reached the station completely exhausted, his 
 feet frozen so badlj- that their preservation was de- 
 spaired of For several months he went upon crutches, 
 and it was a long time before he fully recovered from 
 the effects of the terrible exposure that had been 
 fatal to his j'oung companion, and bad brought him 
 so near the brink of death. 
 
 The mill was comiiietcd the following spring, and 
 contained two saws, one circular and one upright, 
 and immediately commenced sawing lumber from the 
 thick growth of timber that covered the mountain 
 sides. From this time onward frame houses began 
 to take the place of the rude log cabins first built by 
 the settlers, and the valley began to assume a more 
 cheerful aspect. 
 
 In 185G another party of Mormons arrived from 
 eastern Utah, some twenty or thirty families in all, 
 and settled chiefly in Washoe Valley. This was 
 quite an addition to the population of Franktown, 
 which then became quite an important portion of Car- 
 son County, Utah, of which it was then a part. 
 
 Tho following is a copy of a document on file in 
 the oflRco of the Secretary of State, and is given for 
 several reasons, but chiefly because it bears the 
 names of a number of tho original locators of 
 Franktown: — 
 
 PETITION TO THE COUNTY COURT. 
 
 To fhe Honorable, the County Court of Carson Count]/, 
 ijreeting — 
 
 We, tho citizens of Franktown, Wassau Valley. 
 
624. 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA 
 
 do hereby petition your most honorable body, that 
 you do, at j-our earliest convenience, grant to the 
 citizens of this valley the privilege of locating a 
 road for the conveuicnco of the public, running as 
 follows: — 
 
 Commencing at the southwest corner of the 
 city plat of Franktown, and running thence south, 
 or as near south as the lay of the country will per- 
 mit, to C. Loveland's ranch, and thenco east to the 
 county road. 
 
 We, the undersigned, consider this an essential 
 road, and if your honorable body will grant the 
 privilege for the same, j-our petitioners, as in duty 
 bound, will ever pray. Furthermore, we wish this 
 road to run north to the north end of Wassau Val- 
 lej', on the same parallel. 
 
 Leonard Wines, R. Bentley, 
 
 Seth Dustin, M. D. Hambleton, 
 
 William Jennings, P. G. Sessions, 
 
 Albert Dewey, C. Godfrey, 
 
 E. Kelley, E. Thompson, 
 
 Edwin Walker, P. A. Jaekman, 
 
 A. B. Cherry, G. P. Billings, 
 
 Isaac Hunter, E. Brown, 
 
 A. S. Pendleton, C. Layton, 
 
 E. C. Foss, G. C. Coleman, 
 
 Alex Cowan, John Hawkins. 
 
 Franktown, Wassau Valley, February 22, 1857. 
 
 JOHN TWADDLE 
 
 Was one of the pioneers of Nevada. He was a 
 native of Scotland, and was born on the twentieth 
 of July, 1825, near the city of Edinburgh. In 
 1848 he came to the United States, and located 
 near St. Ijouis, Missouri, where for five years he 
 was engaged in mining. In the year 1853 he 
 crossed the plains to Suit Lake City, Utah, where 
 he resided seven years, at which time he removed 
 to the western part of the Territory, now called 
 Nevada, and located in Washoe Valley. In com- 
 pany with his brother they decided to make this 
 their future home. Their claim was near where 
 the little town of Franktown now stands. The 
 brothers lived together for nine years, when the 
 subject of our sketch sold out to his brother, and 
 located further down the valley, where ho lived until 
 the date of his death, November 15, 1879. He 
 was married March 6, 1846, to Miss Jane Brown, 
 who, with their three children, still occupy the old 
 home. 
 
 ANDREW SAUER, 
 
 The subject of the following sketch, is a native of 
 Germany. Ho was born in the village of Dielheim, 
 on the fourteenth of January, 1829. In the year 
 1850 he lell the land of his birth, and emigrated to 
 the United States, locating first at Cincinnati, Ohio, 
 where ho lived three years. At the end of which 
 period he came to the Pacific Coast, and s])ent the 
 succeeding six years, jjartl}' in the mines, and the 
 remainder in the butchering business, which he suc- 
 cessfully followed in Amador, Sacramento, and El 
 Dorado Counties. Mr. Sauer is a shrewd business 
 man; one that is bound to succeed wherever his lot 
 may be cast. A desire to sec more of his adopted 
 country led him to Nevada, as one of the early 
 
 pioneers, in the year 1859, and located in Washoe 
 Valley, where he has since resided. Ho was mar- 
 ried June 21, 1859, to Miss Catharine Baker, and is 
 blessed with nine living children at the present time, 
 four boys and five girls. 
 
 ABANDONED BY THE MORMONS. 
 
 The recall of the .Mormons b}' Brigham Young, in 
 1857, nearly depopulated the thriving community of 
 Franktown, leaving but two ladies in the settlement, 
 Mrs. John Hawkins, whose husband did not return 
 with the others; and Mrs. Alexander Cowan, who 
 refused to accompany her husband back to the home 
 of Mormondom. Those who returned were com- 
 pelled to sacrifice their farms and improvements, 
 selling them for whatever they could obtain. Wm. 
 Sides bought Moore's property for 8200, which was 
 paid in provisions and stock. Other ranches were 
 purchased for like small amounts, and the saw-mill 
 was sold to Rose for a small sum. Winters & 
 Brother bought Jenning's ranch; and Clayton's was 
 sold to two Germans, Charles Sheets and one called 
 Dutch Mack. About fifty Mormons returned to 
 Salt Lake City from the vicinity of Franktown, leav- 
 ing the population at a very low ebb. 
 
 Jamison's Station remained the only settlement 
 along the Truckee for several years, the majority of 
 emigrants coming by the Carson River i-oute. A 
 great many, however, followed the old route from 
 the sink of the Humboldt to the Big Bend of the 
 Truckee, or the Lower Crossing, now Wadsworth, 
 continuing then up the stream and crossing the 
 mountains by the DonnerLake route. In 1857 John 
 F. Stone and Charles C. Gates established a post on 
 the Truckee, at what was afterwards known as Stone 
 & Gates' Crossing, now Glcndale. Thej' were soon 
 followed by Henry Miller, Watson Sturtcvant, J. H. 
 Sturtcvant, L. C. Savage, Pelcg Brown, Richard 
 Martin, L. P. Drexler, G. W. lluffaker and Mr. 
 Sloan, who were the original settlers in Truckee 
 Meadows. 
 
 A few months after the Mormon adherents left 
 their prosperous settlements, at the dictation of Brig- 
 ham Young, fully as large a company of apostate 
 Mormons arrived here from Salt Lake, having aban- 
 doned the City of the Saints, disgusted with its 
 wickedness and crime. Many of those settled in 
 Washoe Vallcj', and thus brought the pojiulation up 
 to what it had been the year before. These, with 
 other settlors that dropped in, one by one, gave quite 
 a population to the young communitj'. 
 
 MINERS TAKE POSSESSION. 
 
 Such was the condition of the Washoe Valley and 
 vicinity when the announcement of the great dis- 
 covery on Mount Davidson brought the armj' of 
 miners and adventurers from California. One of the 
 leading routes of travel was by way of the Ilonness 
 Pass, or by Donncr Lake, and down the banks of the 
 Truckee to one of several crossings, and thence to 
 Virginia City. Thousands who came by this route 
 passed through Washoe Valley, many of them stop- 
 
1 
 
HISTURY OF WASHOE COUNTY. 
 
 625 
 
 ping to avail themselves of the many peculiar ad- 
 vantages ottered there by nature. Abounding in 
 water, already well covered with farms and meadow 
 lands, bordered on the west by mountains covered 
 with a dense growth of pine and fir, the valley was 
 ready for the hand of enterprise. The little town 
 of Franktown, with its one saw-mill, began to be of 
 importance. The absence of both wood and water 
 from the vicinity of the Comstock compelled the 
 miners to depend upon the supply of those necessary 
 articles from without. Saw-mills were built in the 
 mountains, and lumber and wood prepared in groat 
 quantities and conveyed across the valley and inter- 
 vening mountains to the scene of activity. Produce 
 of every kind i'rom the farms, especially hay and 
 barley, were in great demand, and more land was 
 brought under cultivation, the yield of the farmer's 
 toil bringing high prices. 
 
 The population of this county began to increase, 
 and the census of 1860 showed that there were fifty- 
 eight families and 543 people within the limits of 
 Washoe County. Prospectors traversed it from one 
 end to the other, and several mining districts were 
 organized, and for a time held in great favor. The 
 Argentine District in the mountains between the 
 valley and Virginia City, was organized in 1860, 
 as was also the Galena District. The presence of 
 water and fuel in such liberal quantities, led to the 
 establishment of quartz mills. Mills were built in 
 accessible localities, and about them grew up vil- 
 lages with astonishing rapidity. The towns of 
 Ophir, Washoe City and (Jalcna all blazed up in 1861, 
 and entered upon a career of prosperity that lasted 
 several years. Ore was hauled across the barren 
 mountains and the marshy ground at the head of 
 Washoe Lake, and crushed at the several mills, and 
 the teams returned with wood, lumber and produce, 
 thus having a load both ways, and rendering the cost 
 of getting the ore to the mill less than it would 
 Otherwise have been. The Ophir Mill of seventy- 
 two stamps cost 8500,000, and the Dall Mill, at 
 Franktown, with sixty stamps, cost half as much. 
 These, with the other mills in the valley, employed 
 hundreds of workmen, and with the farms and lum- 
 ber interests supported a busy j)()pulation. 
 
 At the same time along the Truckee River wore 
 settlements. Within a mile of the present town of 
 Verdi was built a bridge; at Hunter's another was 
 constructed; at Lake's Crossing, now Reno, another; 
 and at Stone & Gate's Crossing, afterwards Glendalo, 
 still another. At all these points did the great travel 
 of the llenness Pass and Donner Lake routes cross 
 the river. Stages rolled swiftly along with their 
 crowds of passengers, while long lines of pack-trains 
 and mule and oxteams, drawing the capacious 
 prairie schooner, toiled slowly along behind. 
 
 Such was the condition of the region with a popu- 
 lation of 1,613, when the Legislature created it a 
 separate county, and it entered upon its career as a 
 political organization. 
 
 OUGANIZATION AND COUNTY SEAT. 
 
 Washoe is one of the nine original counties into 
 which the Territory of Nevada was divided by the 
 first Territorial Legislature. Previously, this had 
 been a portion of Carson County, Utah. The boun- 
 daries, as defined by the Act of November 25, 1861, 
 have suft'ered no alteration whatever, except to be 
 rendered more certain by proper surveys. Section 
 4 of the above Act reads as follows: — 
 
 There shall be a county, to be known as Washoe 
 County, to include all that part of the Territory 
 within the boundaries, described as follows: Begin- 
 ning at the northwest corner of Orinsb)- Count}', and 
 running easterly along the northern boundary of 
 said county, to the summit of the mountains east 
 of Washoe Lake; thence, in a northerly course, 
 along the summit of said mountains, to the lower 
 end of the 15ig Meadows, on Truckee River; thence, 
 down 8ai<l river, to its lower crossing; thence, east, 
 aloni^ the Immigrant Road, to the summit of the 
 mountains lying east of said river; tlu-nce, north, 
 on the main summit of said mountains, to a point 
 from which, running direct west, would intersect 
 the Truckee River at its mouth in Pyramid Lake; 
 thence, due west, to the California line; thence, 
 south, to the place of beginning. 
 
 The seat of justice was located at Washoe City, 
 the largest town at that time within its limits, at 
 then less than a j'ear of age. The name of the 
 county was taken from the beautiful lake and valley, 
 which lie in its southern extremity, being the name 
 of a tribe of Indians that occupied the eastern slope 
 of the Sierra Nevada, from the Truckee to Carson 
 River. It is a name'th:it has undergone considerable 
 alteration in orthography since first applied by the 
 settlers to the beautiful valley, the name in the 
 early records appearing as Wcmsau. When the Con- 
 stitution was framed, an unsuccessful attempt was 
 made to have this adopted as the name of the new 
 State, but Nevada gained that honor. 
 
 COUKT UOUSE, JAIL ANJU HOSPITAL. 
 
 The county offices were located and the first meet- 
 ings of the Board were held in the Davis 15uilding in 
 Washoe City, but February 18, 1S62, the building 
 owned by Rico & McLaughlin, opposite the Washoe 
 Exchange, was rented for 8525 jier year, and the 
 county olliees were removed to their new quarters 
 March 15, 1862. October 22, 18G2, the upper story 
 of the Masons' brick building was secured at an 
 annual rental of 81,320, and was at once occupied for 
 county offices. Previous to this, however, stops 
 were taken to provide tho county with a suitable 
 Court House and jail. July 3, 1862, the Board adver- 
 tised for suitable plans for a two-story and basement 
 brick or stone Court House, and on the twenty-sixth 
 tho plan of John A. Steele was adopted, for which ho 
 was paid forty dollars. August 4th, ho was |)aid an 
 additional forty dollars lor separate plans for Court 
 House and jail. Tho Washoe Mill and Mining Com- 
 pany presented the county with a block of ground 
 upon which to build. Hero tho matter rested for a 
 season. 
 
626 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 1 
 
 July 10, IsOo, iLc county advertised for bids on 
 the construction of the Court Jlousc, and August 20th 
 the contract was awarded to John A. Steele for 
 815,000. September 13, 18fi3. bids for building the 
 jail were also advertised for, and this contract was 
 also awarded to Mr. Steele, October 22, 1863, for 
 83,740. The buildings were completed and occupied 
 before the end of the j'ear. 
 
 April 8, 1863, the Board advertised for bids upon 
 the erection of a county hospital, and August 20, 
 18C3, two bids were opened and rejected, the lowest 
 being for §1,800. Nothing more was done until July 
 2, 1864, when the Board again advertised. August 
 8, 1864, a building was purchased of E. B. Wilson 
 for 81,000, for this purpose. Three years later it 
 was sold at auction for 8200. 
 
 LUMBER AND QUARTZ MILLS. 
 
 The next half-dozen years saw great changes in 
 Washoe County. In 1866, the wood and lumber 
 business was of a most extensive character. Fifteen 
 saw-mills were constantly preparing lumber, mining 
 timbers for the Comstock market, while hundreds of 
 men were cutting cord-wood for the use of the mills. 
 These mills, most of them driven bj' steam-power, 
 cut 1,300,000 feet of lumber per month, besides mak- 
 ing thousands of feet of lath and shingles. This 
 lumber was conveyed to Virginia and Gold Hill bj' 
 the numerous freight wagons, which returned with 
 loads of ore to be reduced in the quartz mills. Of 
 these there were ten, carrying a total of 281 stamps, 
 and costing 81.420.000 in their construction. Washoe 
 City, Ophir, Franktown and tralena were prosperous 
 and busy. A change soon began, however, that in 
 a few years resulted in the utter destruction and 
 abandonment of the mining business, and the ruin, 
 demolishmont and desolation of the once thriving 
 towns. Ophir and Galena have disappeared, Washoe 
 City is but the mournful relic of its former greatness, 
 while Franktown still exists a small village, depend- 
 ing upon the surrounding farms and somewhat upon 
 the lumber interests in the neighboring mountains. 
 
 This revolution was brought about by several 
 causes, all tending towards the same end. At the 
 same time that mills were built in the valley, others 
 were erected along the Carson Itiver and at Gold 
 Hill and Seven-mile Cafion. In 1866 there were 
 about seventy of these mills, carr^'ing over 1,100 
 stamps, and, of course, were crushing a majority of 
 the Comstock ore. Wood was also floated down the 
 Carson River for the use of these mills, and the 
 dependence upon the mills of Washoe Valley became 
 less and less. Finally, in 1869, the railroad was com- 
 pleted from Carson City to Virginia Citj', thus enab- 
 ling the ore to be carried to the mills on the river 
 much cheaper than it could bo hauled over the 
 mountains to the valley, as well as taking wood and 
 lumber to the Comstock without demanding the serv- 
 ices of the freighters. The consequence was that 
 the milling business of this section rapidly died ut, 
 and the mills were dismantled. To add to this i ..use 
 
 was still another. The Central Pacific Kailroad passed 
 down the Truckce River in 1808, and the new town 
 of Reno was heralded with such loud trumpets that 
 there was a great stampede of men from the valley 
 to the now town. All these causes led to the rapid 
 decay of the valley towns. 
 
 REMOVAL OF THE COUNTY SEAT. 
 
 Reno had no sooner become conscious of her 
 strength than she began to cast longing eyes upon 
 the county seat. On the fifth of August, 1868, when 
 Reno was less than a year old, a petition signed by 
 705 citizens was presented to the Board of County 
 Commissioners for the removal of the county seat 
 from Washoe City to Reno. H. M. Frost favored 
 the design and J. H. Snodgrass opposed it, but A. C. 
 Cleveland being absent, the matter was laid over 
 until September 8th, when, a full Board being present, 
 the petition was denied. Here the matter rested 
 until February 1, 1870, when, Reno having increased 
 in size and importance and Washoe City having ret- 
 rograded still farther, another petition was presented 
 to the Board, at that time consisting of M. J. Smith, 
 W. R. Chamberlain and G. W. Brown. A protest 
 was also presented b}- the citizens of Washoe City. 
 
 Both the petition and protest were considered the 
 next day, Thomas E. Hayden appearing on behalf of 
 the petitioners, and William "Webster and William 
 Boardman representing the people of Washoe City. 
 The whole daj- was consumed in the argument, and 
 the petition proving insufficient, Hayden was allowed 
 to withdraw it, against which action Webster and 
 Boardman filed a protest. On the fourth of the next 
 April, Ilaj'den filed still another petition to the same 
 effect, which was granted the ne.xt day, Smith and 
 Chamberlain voting in the affirmative, and Brown in 
 the negative. A special election to decide the perma- 
 nent location of the county seat was called for June 
 14, 1870. 
 
 On the tvvontieth the Board met and canvassed the 
 returns, which showed 544 votes to be for Reno, and 
 :!62 for Washoe City. 
 
 The Board ordered that the seat of justice be 
 located at Reno, and notified the county officers to 
 remove their offices and records to that jilaco. The 
 people of Washoe City did not abandon the con- 
 tost, however, but applied to the District Court for 
 an order restraining the removal of the county 
 seat. The order was granted, but when the mat- 
 ter came up for a hearing the writ was dismissed. 
 An ajipeal was then taken to the Sujireme Court, 
 and in July a decision was rendered holding that 
 the Board of County Commissioners had not fol- 
 lowed the statute, that its action was void, and 
 that the Third District Court had erred in dis- 
 missing the writ. The proceedings of the County 
 Commissioners of April 5, 1870, were ordered 
 annulled. 
 
 The next step taken by the citizens of Reno was 
 to have a bill introduced into the Legislature, 
 which was passed and approved February 17, 1871, 
 
HISTORY OF \VASHOE COUNTY. 
 
 627 
 
 declaring Eono to be the county seat on and after 
 the third of April, 1871. The people of Washoe 
 Valley wore much dissatisfied with this action, and 
 desired to be attached to Ormsbj' County. A bill 
 to effect this purpose wa.s introduced into the 
 Legislature, providing for the payment to Washoe 
 County of SI 5,000 in three installments by Ormsby 
 County, and also for the exemption of the attached 
 section from tax on the 8200,000 of bonds issued 
 by Ormsby County to the Virginia and Truckee 
 Railroad. The bill failed to pass, and Washoe 
 Valley is still an important section of Washoe 
 County. 
 
 Upon removal to Reno the District Court 
 was held in Peters' Theater, and the county offices 
 occupied various locations. May 31, 1871, a tax of 
 one-fourth of one per cent, was levied for erecting 
 or purchasing county buildings. July 7th, the 
 Board advertised for bids upon the construction of 
 a Court House, according to plans b}' Mr. Sellers. 
 August 6th, S. F. Hoole also presented plans which 
 were accepted, and for which he was paid §150. 
 September 11th, bids were received, and the contract 
 let to S. F. Hoole for 820,500. 
 
 LOCATION AND ERECTION OF BUILDINGS. 
 
 In selecting the site upon which to build, con- 
 siderable trouble and annoyance were experienced. 
 Several offers of ground were made on more or 
 less advantageous terms, but the most liberal one, 
 and the one accepted, was made by M. C. Lake. 
 This gentleman agreed to present the county one 
 acre of ground on the south side of the river, and 
 $1,500 in money, besides setting out shade trees, 
 and laying out a public square in front of the lot, 
 and to supplj- water to the county property-. No 
 sooner was this decision announced than great dis- 
 satisfaction was expre.-ised by the citizens of Reno. 
 At that time Reno was nearly all on the north 
 side of the river; the business of the town was 
 there, and the original plat of the town embraced 
 no territory south of the stream. They desired to 
 have the Court House located in the heart of the town, 
 and a suit was commenced by I). II. Haskell to 
 restrain the Commissioners from building, on the 
 ground that the site selected was not in the town 
 of Reno, the place to which the county seat had 
 been removed. At that time Reno was not incor- 
 porated, and, therefore, had no definite boundaries; 
 the ground donated was a portion of Lake's adilition 
 to the original town; and October (i, 1S71, judgment 
 was rendered in favor of the Commissioners An 
 appeal was taken to the Supreme Court, where the 
 case was dismissed, and thus the matter ended for 
 a time. 
 
 J. Z. Kolley was appointed architect on the first 
 of April, 1872, and work was commenced on the 
 twentieth. After 83.000 had been expendeil, an 
 injunction suit was commenced in the United States 
 District Court, June 5, 1872, but was soon after with- 
 drawn. The corner-stone was laid June 22. 1872, 
 
 and contained copies of the Xecada Slate Journal, the 
 Reno Crescent, the Eureka Sentinel, the San Francisco 
 Chronicle, and the Sacramento Union, pieces of United 
 States currency, silver coins, copy of contract, speech 
 of lion. C. W. Kendall on artesian wells, and a num- 
 ber of other documents and articles. 
 
 The building was completed and accepted Jan- 
 uary 24, 1873. It is a fine brick edifice, 58x79 feet, 
 and two stories high. On the lower floor are the 
 offices of the Clerk, Recorder, Treasurer and Sheriff", 
 besides the jail. On the upper floor are the other 
 offices, and a pleasant court-room, 35x58 feet. The 
 building is surmounted by a dome, fi-om which a fine 
 view of the surrounding country may be obtained. 
 During the progress of the work material alterations 
 were made in the plans, and, when the building was 
 completed, the contractor presented a claim for extra 
 labor and material to the amount of 810,9(J7, which 
 the Board refused to allow. Suit was commenced by 
 the contractor, but the matter was finally submitted 
 to a Board of Arbitrators, who allowed 84,828. The 
 decision was accepted by both parties, and the 
 amount awarded was paid. 
 
 At the time of awarding the Court House contract 
 and locating the site, the Board of Count}' Commis- 
 sioners was composed of T. K. Ilymcrs, T. G. Her- 
 man and George Robinson, the first named protest- 
 ing against the action of the majority in locating the 
 house on the south side of the river. The wisdom 
 of the course pursued by the Commissioners is very 
 plain now to all, for the town has not only spread 
 out bej'ond it, but it is only a few minutes' walk from 
 any part of the town, and, by its absence from the 
 business portion of the place, has twice escaped 
 destruction bj- fii'e. To provide funds for the erec- 
 tion of the Court House, bonds to the amount of 
 823,000 were issued. In the summer of 1879 an 
 excellent fire-proof vault and a large burglar-proof 
 safe, with a time look, were constructed in the office 
 occupied by the Treasurerand Recorder, bj- the Hall 
 Safe and Lock Company, for 82,440. 
 
 POOR-FARM AND HOSPITAI,. 
 
 Until 1876 it was the custom of the Count j- Com- 
 missioners to contract each year with some respon- 
 sible person, to care for the indigent sick of the 
 county. October 4, 1875, a small tract of forty acres, 
 on the south side of the river, and one mile east of 
 Reno, and twenty-five inches of water were purchased 
 of A. J. Hatch for 81,000, to bo used for a poor-farm. 
 Ai)ril 17, 1876, a contract was let to Wm. Thompson 
 for the construction of a county hosjiital on the ))oor- 
 farm, to cost 85,253. The building was finished and 
 is now used by the county, being in charge of a phys- 
 ician appointed by the Board. 
 
 FIIEE BlUUUF. CONSTRUCTED. 
 
 The toll-bridge that spanned the river at Reno, 
 and known for years as T^ake's ISridge, was 
 declared a free bridge by the Commissioners in 1872. 
 Its long service having rendered it insecure, a new 
 one was necessary, and the Board advertised for pro- 
 
fi28 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 posals to construct a Buitable bridge, October 18, 
 1875. These bids were received, 824,000, 813,000 and 
 §12,800, and were all rejected. The old bridge con- 
 tinued to do service for two years longer, and on the 
 sixth of March, 1877, bids were again advertised for. 
 April 5th thirteen propositions were considered, 
 ranging from 814,400 to 824,000, and the contract 
 was awarded to King & VVheelock, for 815,700. 
 August 7lh the bridge was completed, accepted and 
 thrown open for travel. 
 
 FINANCIAL AND POLITICAL CONDITION. 
 
 The financial condition of Washoe Count}' is good. 
 There is nearly enough money in the treasury to pay 
 all outstanding certificates, while the 825,000 of 
 bonds, due in from one to thirteen years, can be met 
 without any embarrassment. 
 
 When the Coifrt House was built at Washoe City, 
 no bonds were issued, but warrants were issued, for 
 the work, and money was raised to discharge them 
 bj- increased taxation. To provide a fund for con- 
 structing the Court House in Reno, the Board of 
 County Commissioners issued on the first of July, 
 1872. bonds to the amount of 823,000, under the pro- 
 visions of a general Act, approved March 10, 1865, 
 providing for the purchase or erection of county 
 buildings. These bonds bear interest at the rate of 
 twelve per cent., and June 30, ISSO. there were but 
 86,000 of them outstanding, one-half of which were 
 due Januarj' 1, 1881, and the balance a year later. 
 
 In pursuance of an Act approved February 26, 
 1875, providing for the issuance of bonds to the 
 amount of 67,000, for the purpose of procuring a 
 hospital and poor-farm, the County Commissioners 
 authorized bonds to the amount of 85,000 to be issued 
 April 10, 187G. These bonds were never negotiated, 
 but were held in the office of the County Treasurer, 
 and canceled as money was received from the collec- 
 tion of taxes, no interest being paid on them. 
 
 To provide funds for the construction of the iron 
 bridge at Heno, the Commissioners, June 4, 1877, 
 ordered bonds to issue to the amount of 816,000, 
 with interest at ten per cent, the principal to be pay- 
 able in annual installments of 81,000, due January 1, 
 
 1878, and each year thereafter. Of this issue 813,000 
 were outstanding June 30, 1880. 
 
 July 1, 1878, the Commissioners ordered that bonds 
 to the amount of 84,000 bo issued, under the pro- 
 visions of an Act, approved March 14, 1877, to pur- 
 chase the road from Franktown east across the 
 valley to the Opliir Grade, and known asDall's Road. 
 They bore interest at the rate of eight per cent, and 
 were made payable one-half January 1, 1880, and 
 the balance a year later. 82,000 of these were out- 
 standing June 30, 1880. 
 
 The last bonds issued by the county were for 
 84,000, ordered by the Commissioners September 15, 
 
 1879, by virtue of the Act, approved >[arch 8, 1870, 
 providing for the construction of a bridge at the 
 town of Wadsworlh. They were made payable 
 81,000 January 1, 1882, and the same amount each 
 
 succeeding year, with interest at the rate of eight 
 per cent. They are all outstanding. The total 
 indebtedness of the county in 1880 was 831,296. 
 Cash on hand, 828,570. The total value of taxable 
 property was 85,502,450, and the population 7,324. 
 
 Washoe and Roop Counties combined are divided 
 into twelve precincts, six of which are judicial dis- 
 tricts and have a Justice of the Peace, namely, num- 
 bers 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 12; they are: No. 1, Reno; No. 
 2, Wadsworth; No. 3, Brown's; No. 4, Washoe City; 
 No. 5, Franktown; No. 6, Glendale; No. 7, Verdi; 
 No. 8, Peavine;No. 9, Pyramid; No. 10, Duck Flat; 
 No. 11, Mill Precinct; No. 12, Salt Marsh. Roop 
 Count}' is b}' the Constitution attached to Washoe 
 Count}' for judicial purposes, and the last three pre- 
 cincts above given lie within its limits. 
 
 GRANVILLE W. Hl'FFAKER 
 
 Was born in Monticollo, Wayne County, Kentucky, 
 on the seventh of May. 1831. The first eight years 
 of his life were passed at that place, when he re- 
 moved to Jacksonville, Illinois, where he received 
 his education. In 1847 he went to St. Louis, Missouri. 
 During the succeeding six years he was rambling 
 about on the frontier, subject to many curious adven- 
 tures. In the year 1853 he emigrated to Salt Ijake 
 City, Utah, engaging in the mercantile business until 
 1858, when he came to Nevada Territory, and set- 
 tled where ho now resides, at the head of Truckee 
 Meadows. Very few of the Nevada pioneers arc able 
 to date back as far as Mr. Huffuker, and his early 
 experience has enabled him to accomplish many 
 things impossible for those who arrived later in the 
 Territory. He owns one of the finest ranches in the 
 Slate, near the renowned Steamboat Springs, and 
 bids fair to live many years to enjoy the fruits of his 
 labors. 
 
 ISAAC n. BALL 
 
 Was bom at Leesburg, Virginia, on the twenty-sixth 
 of September, 1835. When quite young he removed 
 to Kendall County, Illinois, where he passed his 
 youthful days. In the year 1854, being about nine- 
 teen years of age, he started for California, where he 
 arrived in duo time by way of the Isthmus of Pan- 
 ama. He remained in the latter State ton years, 
 following the occupation of mining for seven years 
 at Weavcrville, Trinity County, then for two j-ears 
 was Second Lieutenant of Company H, Fourth Reg- 
 iment, California Volunteer.s. llis record as an offi- 
 cer stands without a blemish, and the many acts of 
 kindness shown his men during the two years of his 
 army experience, leaves a lasting impression. He 
 spent one year at Mud Springs, California. Wo next 
 find the subject of this sketch settled on Walker 
 River, in Nevada, where he lived one year and then 
 settled permanently in Pleasant Valley, in 1865, 
 where he has since made his home. His business at 
 this time is ranching. July 28, 1S73, he was mar- 
 ried to Miss Harriot A. Griner, and thoy have two 
 children. 
 
 % 
 
HISTORY OF WASHOE COUNTY. 
 
 629 
 
 APPOINTMENTS AND ELECTIONS. 
 
 A complete list of the officers of Washoe County, 
 from its organization down to the present time is 
 hei-ewith given, together with the date of appoint- 
 ment or election of each. The vacancies in office by 
 death, resignation or removal, if any have occurred, 
 are also noted, with the name of the person selected 
 to fill the same. 
 
 SENATORS. 
 
 Solomon Geller, elected August 31, 1861, Ter- 
 ritorial Councilman for the first Legislative Assem- 
 bly, re-elected September 3, 1862, re-elected Novem- 
 ber, 1866; S. B. Shamp, elected November 3, 1868; 
 C. H. Eastman, elected 1866, re-elected November 8, 
 1870; William Thompson, elected November 5, 1872; 
 W. L. Boss, elected November 3, 1874; W. M. Board- 
 man, elected November 7, 1876; C. C. Powning, 
 elected November 5, 1878; Jerry Schooling, elected 
 November 2, 1880. 
 
 ASSEMBLYMEN. 
 
 James H. Sturtevant, elected August 31, 1861, to 
 first Legislative Assembly, re-elected, September 3, 
 1862; J. K. Lovejoy and R. W. Perkins, elected 
 September 3, 1862; Wallace Coldwell and Thomas 
 Prince, elected 1866; W. E. Bunker, S. A. Moulton 
 and A. C. Cleveland, were elected November 3, 1868; 
 H. H. Hogan, A. J. Hatch and H. II. Beck, elected 
 November 8, 1870; E. C. Ses.sions, W. E. Price and 
 
 F. Lemmon, elected November 5, 1872j H. H. Hogan. 
 George Alt and H. H. Beck, elected November 3, 
 1874; J. S. Shoemaker, J. K. Everett and George 
 Alt, elected November 7, 1876; W. E. Price, E. C. 
 Underwood, J. P. Faulks, elected November 5, 1878; 
 W. F. Berry, J. H. Bailej- and Eoss Lewis, elected 
 November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. 
 
 F. II. Burroughs, H. F. Pierce and C. C. Smith, 
 appointed by the Territorial Legislature, December 
 10, 1861; S. G. Sewell, S. Allison and T. A. Pead, 
 elected January 14, 1862; Samuel McFarland, D. J. 
 Gloyd and G. W. Folsom, elected September 13, 
 1862; McFarland resigned September 24, 1864; J. 
 N. Mundell appointed, October 1, 1864; H. H. Beck 
 elected November 9, 1863; resigned April 30, 1864; 
 
 G. N. Folson, appointed. E. C. Sessions elected, 
 September 7, 1864. Mundell resigned June 23, 1866; 
 L. H. Dyer, appointed. John II. Snodgrass, Henry 
 M. Frost and A. C. Cleveland, elected November 
 6, 1866; James H. Sturtevant, M. J. Smith and John 
 A. Moch, elected November 3, 1808. Sturtevant 
 resigned November 15, 1869; George \V. Brown, 
 appointed. W. H. Chamberlin appears in place of 
 .Moch, October 4, 1869. No record of appointment 
 or resignation. T. K. Ilymers, T. (i. Herman and 
 George Robinson, elected November 8, 1870; Peleg 
 Brown and E. B. Towle, elected November 5. 1872; 
 0. E. Ross and E. Owens, elected November 3, 1874; 
 E. Olinghouse, R. H. Kenney and T. K. Hymera, 
 
 79 
 
 elected November 5, 1878; James Frey, R. H. Ken- 
 ney and D. H. Ladge, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 DISTRICT ATTORNEYS. 
 
 J. F. Lewis, appointed by the Executive April 30, 
 1864, resigned December a, 1864. Allanson Smith 
 appointed, who resigned August 17, 1865; Thomas 
 Fitch, appointed August 18, 1865; Wm. Webster, 
 elected November 6, 1866; Joseph Kutz, elected No- 
 vember 3, 1868, resigned April 4, 1870; W. M. Board- 
 man appointed, elected November 8, 1870, re-elected 
 November 5, 1872; H. B. Cassitt, elected November 
 3, 1874, resigned July 3, 1876, Wm. Cain appointed; 
 John Bowman, elected November 5, 1878; G. A. 
 Rankin, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY sHERirrs. 
 Chas. C. Smith, appointed by the Executive De- 
 cember 26, 1861, elected January 14, 1862; T. A. 
 Read, elected September 13, 1862, re-elected Septem- 
 ber 7, 1864; W. H. Thurman, elected November 6, 
 1866; Chas. W. Pegg, elected November 3, 1868, re- 
 elected November 8, 1870; J. E. Jones, elected No- 
 vember 5, 1872, re-elected November 3, 1874; A. K. 
 Lamb, elected November 7, 1876; W. A. Walker, 
 dieted November 5, 1878, re-elected November 2, 
 1880. 
 
 COUNTY CLERKS. 
 
 P. E. Shannon, appointed by the Executive De- 
 cember 10, 1861 ; H. F. Pierce, elected January 14, 
 1862; Chas. C. Conger, elected September 3, 1862. 
 Office declared vacant on account of removal from 
 countj-, April 9, 1864, W. P. L. Winham appointed. 
 S. A. Mann, elected September 7, 1864; M. L. Yager, 
 elected November 6,1866; J. D. Shoemaker, elected 
 November 3, 1868, re-elected November 8, 1870, re- 
 elected again November 5, 1872, November 3, 1874; 
 P. B. Comstock, elected November 7, 1876; Mark 
 Parish, elected November 5, 1878; R. S. Osburn, 
 elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY TREASURERS. 
 
 H. H. Lull, elected January 14, 1862; T. A. Ent, 
 elected September 3, 1862; W. P. L. Winham, 
 elected September 7, 1864; John McFarland, elected 
 November 0, 1866; R. A. Frazier, elected November 
 3, 1868; re-elected November 8, 1870, re-elected 
 again November 5, 1872; F. B. KhSecker, elected 
 November 3, 1S74, died .May 13, 1875; G. W. Huff- 
 iikcr appointed. B. B. Norton, elected November 
 7, 1876; D. B. Boyd, elected November 7, 1878, re- 
 elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY ASSESSORS. 
 
 L. C. Savage, elected January 14, 1862; S. C. 
 Jolley, elected September 7, 1864; T. A. Read, elected 
 November 6, 1866; Wm. Thompson, elected Novem- 
 ber 3, 1868, re-elected November 8, 1870. D. B. 
 Boj-d, elected November 5, 1872; R. A. Frazier, 
 elected November 3, 1874; H. Ij. Fish, elected No- 
 vember 7, 1876; W.T. Everett, elected November 5, 
 1878; J. M. Flannagan, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
630 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Z,>a-''&<yCy'^l.'tyt/' 
 
 R. S. OsBURN, tho (subject of the following sketch, 
 is a native of the State of Pennsylvania, having been 
 born at Meadville, Crawford County, on the twenty- 
 first of September, 1849. 
 
 His education, which was a liberal one, was 
 received in his native town, and when about seven- 
 teen years of ago he left his home and settled in Eu- 
 gene City, Oregon, and engaged in the drug business. 
 He remained at that place until 1872, when he re- 
 moved to Jacksonville, in the same State, still con- 
 tinuing in the same business. After eighteen months' 
 stay in the latter place he came to Reno and formc^d 
 a partnership with J. E. Simpson, in the ajjothecary 
 and drug business, and since the death of his part- 
 ner, in 1878, has been associated in business with J. 
 S. Shoemaker. 
 
 Mr. Oaburn was elected County Clerk of Washoe 
 County, on the Democratic ticket, in 1880. He was 
 married in 1872 to Miss Anna E. Lemmon, of Reno. 
 
 COUNTV RECORDERS. 
 
 Isaac Mears, appointed by tho Executive, Decem- 
 ber 10, 1801; R. F. Kiddie, elected January 14, 1862; 
 P. E. Shannon, elected September 13, 1862; (ieorge 
 C. Cabot, elected September 7, 1864; H. L. Fish, 
 elected November 6, 1866, re-elected Novembers, 
 1868, re-elected again November 8, 1870; C. A. 
 Richardson, elected November 5, 1872; John B. 
 Williams, elected November 3, 1874, re-elected 
 November 7, 1870, reelected again November 5, 
 1878, and November 2, 1880. 
 
 W. A. Walker was born in Charleston, Kanawha 
 County, Virginia, November 30, 1851. He received a 
 thorough education, being a graduate of Hanover 
 College, at Hanover, Indiana, and Notre Dame 
 University, at South Bend, Indiana. He also spent 
 two years at the German Universities and in travel- 
 ing through Europe. In 1871 ho came to tho Pacific 
 Coast and located in the citj'ofSan Francisco, where 
 he read law, intending to adopt that profession. In 
 1872 became to Reno, Washoe County, Nevada, and 
 engaged in tho mercantile business until 1S78, at 
 which time ho was elected Sheriff of the County, on 
 the Democratic ticket, and in 1880 was re-elected. 
 
 Mr. Walker was married in 1874 to Miss Helen 
 K. Fonda, of San Francisco. 
 
 COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS. 
 
 J. W. North, appointed December 10, 1861, re- 
 signed, and Dr. G. A. Weed appointed November 3, 
 1803. T. H. McGrath, elected September 7, 1864, 
 resigned, and Wm. M. lioiirdniun appointed, Sep- 
 tember 3, 1866. Warren Nims, elected November 
 3, 1868, resigned August 2, 1870, A. F. Hitchcock, 
 appointed, and elected Novombor 8, 1870. Orvis Ring, 
 elected November 5, 1872, re-elected November 3, 
 1874, re-elected again November 7, 1876; A. Daw- 
 son, elected November 5, 1878; I). D. Bowcn, elected 
 November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTV SURVEVORS. 
 
 D. B. Scott, elected January 14, 1862, and re- 
 elected September 7, 1864; A. J. Hatch, elected 
 
HISTORY OF WASHOE COUNTY. 
 
 631 
 
 November 3, 1868; E. L. Bridges, elected November 
 8, 1870. Office declared vacant February 6, 1871, 
 J. Humboldt Eaton appointed. A. J. Hatch, elected 
 November 5, 1872; W. W. Skinner, elected Novem- 
 ber 3, 1874, resiscned January 3, 1876, A. J. Hatch, 
 appointed January 4, 1876, and elected November 7, 
 1876. D. H. Barker, elected November 5, 1878; W. 
 C. Skinner, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY PUBLIC ADMINISTRATORS. 
 
 Nat Holmes, elected November 3, 1868, re-elected 
 November 8, 1870; William Stopher, elected No- 
 vember 5, 1872; C. W. Jones, elected November 3, 
 1874; N. C. Harland, elected November 7, 1876; C. 
 W. Jones, elected November 5, 1878; W. H. Dick- 
 ens, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 DEATH PENALTY INFLICTED. 
 
 The death penalty has been inflicted but once in 
 Washoe County, and then for a crime committed 
 without its limits. Murders have been frequent 
 enough, and crime hag reveled here as it has in other 
 portions of the State, but there seems to be an im- 
 possibility of conviction befoi-e the courts. Juries 
 have failed to render verdicts that call for capital 
 punishment, and to the juries, who but reflect the 
 sentiments of the communities of which they are 
 parts, must be ascribed the blame for so much crime 
 going unpunished. 
 
 The man who suffered death at the hands of the 
 law was J. W. Eover, for the murder of I. N. Sharp, 
 near l?abbit Hole Sulphur Mines, Humboldt County. 
 Sharp went to the mines, where only Rover was at 
 that time, on the eighth of April, 1875, and was 
 missing from that time until the eighteenth, when 
 search revealed that he had been killed, his bodj- cut 
 into several pieces and buried in different places 
 enveloped in ore sacks. Eover was arrested for the 
 crime, and a strong chain of circumstantial evidence, 
 accompanied by the fact that his boots exactly fitted 
 the footprints about the places where the body was 
 buried, secured his conviction and sentence. Upon 
 application to the Supreme Court he was granted a 
 new trial, which also resulted in conviction. Again 
 the Supreme Court granted him a new trial, and the 
 case was taken to Washoe County bj- change of 
 venue. His first trial in this county resulted in a 
 disagreement of the jury, and the next, making the 
 fourth, in a verdict of murder in the first degree. 
 When informed of the result he remarked: •• Well, if 
 it doesn't affect other people more than it does mo, 
 they will all cat a hearty breakfast," which he pro- 
 ceeded to do. The jury agreed upon their verdict at 
 two o'clock Sunday morning, June 17, 1877, and it 
 was filed the same day, to which exceptions were 
 taken. For the third time the Supreme Court con- 
 sidered the case, and at last sustained the finding of 
 the lower court and ordered the sentence to bo 
 executed February 19, 1878, nearly three years after 
 he committed his great crime. One more effort was 
 made to save him by his indefatigable counsel, and 
 the day before the execution a Sheriff's jury was 
 
 demanded to try the question of the prisoner's 
 sanity. This was a proceeding so unusual that it 
 requii'cd considerable reference to the authorities to 
 ascertain what it was and how it was conducted. 
 The jury was accordingly summoned, and the ques- 
 tion of the sanity of the condemned man tried before 
 them. On the morning of the execution the jury 
 reported that they were unable to agree, standing 
 five for insanity and seven for sanity, and the Sheriff 
 made preparations to carrj- out the sentence of the 
 law. A little after the hour of noon the doomed 
 man was led to the jail-yard, where a gallows bad 
 been erected. From his position on the instrument 
 of death he spoke fifty-two minutes to the 200 spec- 
 tators that had been admitted within the yard, on 
 the outside of which was assembled a large crowd of 
 people who were refused admittance. His speech 
 was a defense of himself, and contained his dying 
 protestation of innocence. At two o'clock and fortj' 
 minutes, everything having been prepared by Sheriff 
 A. K. Lamb and his assistants, the fatal platform fell, 
 and J. W. Rover paid the penalty of his crime. He 
 was forly-eight years of age, a native of New York, 
 and left a wife and three children in San Joaquin 
 County, California. His victim also had a wife and 
 ihree children in Oakland, California. 
 
 AURICULTURAL LANDS AND PRODUCTS. 
 
 In the matter of agriculture, its chief interest and 
 resource, Washoe is the leading county in the State. 
 From south to north, through the heart of the 
 county, runs a chain of vallej's, that was once, no 
 doubt, a system of inland lakes. They are Washoe, 
 Pleasant, Steamboat and Truckee. The surface area 
 of the county is 1,195 square miles, or 7(;4,S0O acres, 
 and is divided as follows: — 
 
 Timber land (acres) 115,200 
 
 Meadow '^ •' 46.080 
 
 Arable '■ " 161,280 
 
 Mineral " " 20,000 
 
 Water surface " 15,360 
 
 Barren and grazing lands (acres).. 406,880 
 
 Total 764,800 
 
 The first of the series of valleys is Washoe, with 
 an area of about fifty square miles. In its south- 
 eastern extremity lies Washoe Lake, covering a sur- 
 face of six square miles, and above this is an exten- 
 sive marsh. Along the east side of the lake is land 
 of good quality not yet improved. The western side 
 of the valley is the one that received the earliest 
 settlements in the county, and contains the villages 
 of Franktown and Washoe City. The land slopes so 
 that it can bo well irrigated from the natural 
 streams that enter it from the mountains on the 
 west. Fruit, of excellent qualitj-, and all kinds of 
 vegetables, are raised here; also large quantities of 
 grain, especially oats and barley. The chief atten- 
 tion is given to hay and stock. Tame grasses, espec- 
 ially alfalfa, have boon successfully introduced. 
 There is a largo portion of the valley not yet 
 
6*2 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 brought under cultivation, but it is gradually being 
 rendered productive. Comfortable, and in some 
 cases even elegant, houses, surrounded by shade 
 trees, dot the valley, and, with the large barns, 
 stacks of hay and grain, herds of horses, cattle and 
 sheep, speak of comfort and independence. 
 
 Passing through a rugged canon at the north end 
 of the valley, cutting a channel through a low range 
 of bills. Pleasant Valley is entered, containing an 
 area of a thousand acres of fertile and well-watered 
 land. Here are several good farms of the same char- 
 acter as those in the valley below. 
 
 Lying to the north is Steamboat Valley, contain- 
 ing, and named after, the celebrated Steamboat 
 Springs, elsewhere described. The area is about 
 6,000 acres, and some of the finest farms in the 
 county are located here. The waters of Steamboat 
 Creek and several irrigating ditches supply the nec- 
 essary moisture for the crops, of which alfalfa, grain 
 and vegetables are the great staples. 
 
 Northward of this extends the Truckee Valley, so 
 long known on the overland route as the Truckee 
 Aleadows. It is a fine tract of meadow and fertile 
 sage-brush land, containing, possibly, 130.000 acres 
 of land that will eventually be made productive by 
 irrigation from the Truckee River and other sourees. 
 Manj' farms are located on choice spots both north 
 and south of the river, and their acres of growing 
 grain and grass form beautiful oases in the broad 
 expanse of somber-colored sage-brush. In the midst 
 of the valley lies the town of Reno. The future of 
 Ibis valley is bright and promising. 
 
 The principal product of the county has always 
 been hay, for which a readj^ market and good prices 
 could be obtained. The early settlers cut hay on 
 the natural meadow land and raised small crops of 
 wheat. Barley, oats, corn and vegetables were also 
 tried, and found to be well adapted to the soil and 
 climate, except corn, for which the season is too 
 short. Vegetables are raised in large quantities and 
 of excellent quality, especially potatoes. Fruits, 
 such as apples, cherries, pears, etc., do well, and a 
 number of fine orchards can be seen. Alfalfa was 
 introduced about 1863, Mr. Peleg Brown being the 
 first gentleman to experiment upon that kind of 
 grass in the State. His success and that of others 
 led to the general sowing of alfalfa fields by the 
 ranchers, until now thousands of tons are cut annu- 
 ally, some fields yielding two or three crops a year, 
 amounting to from six to eight tons per acre. 
 
 Although there was more or less stock in the 
 county, belonging to emigrants, left hero by them to 
 recruit, or broken down stock purchased from the 
 emigrants by the settlers, it was not until 1857 that 
 stock-raising, as a business, was undertaken. Peleg 
 Brown drove in some cattle that year, and Drexler 
 & Sloan did also. In 1859, G. \V. Huffaker and L. 
 P. Drexler drove in 500 head of cattle. By this time 
 considerable numbers of cattle were kept by the 
 
 ranchers in the valleys, William R. Musgrove hav- 
 ing considerable in Washoe Valley. It was, and is 
 the practice of stock owners, to drive their herds to 
 the mountains in the spring, bringing them back in 
 the fall to winter in the comparatively mild climate 
 of the valleys. The winter of 1859 was the most 
 severe one that has been experienced by the cattle 
 owners, and large numbers of stock perished. 
 
 The clipping of wool in 1878 amounted to 86,000 
 pounds, and 50,000 pounds of butter were made. 
 The same year 14,000 pounds of honey were 
 gathered from 750 hives of bees, being nearly the 
 entire product of the State. This is an industry that 
 has grown up within a few years, and almost entirely 
 within the limits of this county. 
 
 The fruits of the temperate zone are raised in 
 large quantities, and are of excellent (juality and fla- 
 vor. Experiments have been tried by the farmers, 
 which have demonstrated that the climate and soil 
 are well adapted to the growth of apples, pears, 
 plums, peaches, cherries, and the small fruits, and 
 that the semi-tropical fruits do not produce well. 
 Berries are of especial excellence, and are being 
 largely cultivated. The fruit culture has grown to 
 quite large proportions within a few j'ears. and a 
 great many fine orchards can now be seen, all along 
 the different valleys. 
 
 ERVIN CRANE 
 
 Is a native of Vermont, and was born in Addison 
 County, June 25, 1812. His boyhood was spent at 
 Bridport, where he received his education. In 1832 
 he left the Green Mountain State and went to New 
 York, where he remained about two years, and from 
 there to Brookl3-n, Michigan, where he resided dur- 
 ing the next thirteen years, generally engaged in 
 farming. In 1847 he move to Wisconsin, locating 
 at Baraboo, in Sauk County, where he conducted a 
 livery and sale stable until 1S50, when he crossed the 
 plains to California. His first year on the coast was 
 spent in mining in Plumas County; the second he 
 passed in Oregon, and Washington Territory, and 
 came to Nevada in 1864, and settled permanently, 
 near his present location in Steamboat Valley, near 
 the famous Steamboat Springs. His occupation since 
 coming to Nevada, has been ranching and stock- 
 raising. Mr. Crane is given the credit of being the 
 first to demonstrate to the people of Nevada, that 
 alfalfa and shade trees might successfullj- be grown 
 upon the sage-brush land. His first attempt at sow- 
 ing alfalfa and setting out trees, was looked npon as 
 a crazy scheme, but the beautiful green fields upon 
 his own ranch, and upon those of his neighbors, and 
 the fine cottonwood groves, are the only proof nec- 
 essary that his judgment was sound. 
 
 Mr. Crane was first married to Jliss Mary Tiffany, 
 of New York (now deceased), and on the twenty first 
 of September, 1864, was united to Mrs. Mary E. 
 Stiles. Their union has been blessed with three 
 children, all of whom are living. 
 
1 
 
HISTORY OF WASHOE COUNTY. 
 
 633 
 
 W. D. HARDEN, 
 
 The subject of the following sketch, is a native of 
 the State of Ohio; was born June 23, 1840, in Hock- 
 ing County. At the age of twelve years he went 
 with his parents to Van Buren County, Iowa, where 
 he lived with them on a farm until ho reached his 
 twenty-third year. On the twenty-.sixth of March. 
 18G3, he was married to Miss Eliza T. Fisher, and 
 two weeks later started with his bride for California. 
 Their bridal tour was a long one, their mode of 
 conveyance being by ox-teams. On reaching the 
 Sierra Nevada Mountains he altered his course, and, 
 in place of going to California, concluded to settle 
 in Virginia City, Nevada, where he arrived on the 
 sixteenth of September, 18G3. Upon reaching the 
 silver land, he followed the wood business for two 
 yeai*s, in Virginia City, and the third year found 
 him in the same business in the Sierra Nevada 
 Mountains. In 18G6 he purchased the place where 
 he now lives, in Steamboat Valley, near the noted 
 springs bj' that name, and has since resided there, 
 engaged in farming. His early training on a farm 
 has proven a decided benefit to him, and enables him 
 to follow the business successfully. Six children 
 have been born to him, all of whom are living. 
 
 A. A. LONOLEY 
 
 Is a native of Kentucky, born in Caldwell County, 
 A. D. 1834. Receiving an education in his native 
 State he left there at the early age of nineteen 
 j'ears, and came to California, where he was, for a 
 number of years, engaged in teaming and trading 
 through the mountains. In 1861 he came to the 
 then Territory of Nevada, and the next year there- 
 after settled on the place where he now resides. At 
 that time there were very few settlers in the valley, 
 the Indians predominating by a large majority. The 
 land had not been surveyed by the Government at 
 that time. Mr. Lnngley pre-empted KiO acres, and 
 since then has purchased about 500 acres more, and 
 therefore has quite an extensive ranch. By his per- 
 sistent efforts, and indomitable will and energy, he 
 has produced from the originally barren waste of 
 sage-brush a beautiful, well-appointed ranch. The 
 expense of clearing the land of its rocks and sage- 
 brush, and the construction of ditches to convey the 
 water of the river over his land, has necessarily been 
 great, but a glance around his home-place shows 
 what can be done in that line. He is at the present 
 time a successful stock-raiser, and has experienced 
 the ups and downs pertaining to an early settlement 
 in a wild and barren country. His residence is on 
 the Truckee Meadows, near Reno, in Washoe 
 County. Ho was married in 186C to Miss Mary F. 
 Moore, a native of California, who died in May, 
 1877, leaving four children. In June, 1879, he was 
 married again, to .Mrs. Mary O. Noyes, who is a 
 native of Massachusetts. 
 
 OEOROE SMITH, SR. 
 
 The gentleman referred to in this short sketch is 
 a native of England, and was born at Sherrington, 
 
 in 1816. In the year 1854 ho crossed the ocean 
 and found a home in the United States, locating 
 first at south Salt Lake City, Utah. After a few 
 years he, wjth his family, came to Carson Valley, 
 Nevada, and soon after located in a beautiful valley, 
 which he very appropriatelj- named Pleasant Valley, 
 lying further to the north, towards the noted Steam- 
 boat Springs. He now resides upon the same ranch 
 that he located in 1S58. Mr. Smith was one of the 
 first, if not the first white man to settle along the 
 eastern base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains; and, 
 bj- indomitable will and groat energy, has accom- 
 plished what very few men could have done. The 
 danger surrounding such an early settlement among 
 the Indians cannot be fully portrayed. He has a 
 well-stocked ranch, his business Ij'ing in that direc- 
 tion, which he fully understands. He has a large 
 family, consisting of eight children, all living, and 
 an estimable wife. 
 
 QEOROE S. SMITH. 
 
 The subject of this sketch is of English parentage, 
 being born in England, in the year 1840. At the 
 early age of fourteen years he came to the United 
 States with his parents, and lived with them at Salt 
 Lake Citj-, Utah, in the neighborhood of five years, 
 when they moved to the western portion of the then 
 Territory of Utah, and settled near his present 
 location, in Pleasant Valley, Washoe County. Being 
 an energetic and capable young man, he soon dis- 
 tinguished himself among the pioneers of those days, 
 and stands well in the estimation of his neighbors 
 and acquaintances. He has a fine farm, containing 
 160 acres, adjoining that of his father. He was 
 married in the year 1862, to Miss Ellen Cook, who 
 is a native of Scotland, their union being blessed 
 with four children, three of whom are living at the 
 present time, death having broken their family 
 circle by taking their oldest child, a son. Mr. Smith 
 is pleasantlj' situated in his present location, and is 
 a gentleman respected by all who know him. 
 
 PRINOIPAI, lURIiiATINil CANALS. 
 
 Of the irrigating canals that have wrought such a 
 wonderful change in those sage-brush lands, by con- 
 ducting to them the refreshing water running to 
 waste in the Truckee River, there are several worthy 
 of special mention. The first one of consequence 
 was the Cochrane & Longley Ditch, built in 1864, 
 at an expense of about 86.000. It is seven miles 
 long, and carries water from above the Reno Bridge 
 to the vicinity of Hutfaker's. It is now owned by 
 a company of farmers. 
 
 The Lake Ditch, formerly the Drexler, was con- 
 structed by a conipanj- of farmers in 1865, at an 
 expense of 835,000. It heads at Hunter's Bridge, 
 and follows a course of seventeen miles to Steam- 
 boat Valley. In 1867 it was badly damaged, the 
 company became involved, and the ditch was sold 
 to Hatch & Lake, at Sheriff's sale, for §1.500, by 
 whom it was repaired and enlarged. It is now the 
 property of M. C. Lake. 
 
634 
 
 mSTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 The English Ditch was built in 1865, to conduct 
 water to the Auburn Mill, by the Washoe Consoli- 
 dated Company. It heads a little above Reno, is 
 five miles in length, cost about 85,000, and is now 
 the property of Samuel Brown. 
 
 The Orr Ditch, running from a point three miles 
 above Reno, nine miles through the Truekee 
 Meadows to Spanish Springs, was commenced by 
 Henry Orr, and completed b)' a company of farmers 
 at a cost of about 88,000. 
 
 The South Side Canal takes water one mile below 
 Mayberry's, and carries it to Wheeler's ranch, five 
 miles south of Reno. It was built in 1876 by a com- 
 pany of farmers, at a cost of about $9,000. Com- 
 mencing two miles above Hunter's Bridge, and run- 
 ning around the hills, a distance of thirteen miles 
 towards Steamboat Springs, is the Last Chance 
 Ditch. It was built by farmers in 1876, and cost 
 815,000. 
 
 The Steamboat Irrigating Canal is by far the 
 largest work of this kind, being thirty-four miles in 
 length, and costing over 850,000. It was commenced 
 in 1878, and was completed in the spring of 1880. 
 The ditch takes its water from the Truekee River, 
 four miles above Verdi, runs parallel to the course of 
 the stream several miles, then turns to the south and 
 crosses the creek at Steamboat Springs; it then turns 
 to the north, and discharges into the creek, five 
 miles below. It was built and is owned by an 
 incorporated company of farmers. Mr. A. M. Lamb, 
 who came to Galena Canon, at the town of Galena 
 in 1863, and is now a resident of HufiFakcr, is Pres- 
 ident of the Company. 
 
 The Highland Ditch is owned by Evans Brothers, 
 and has been in the course of construction for the 
 past three years. It takes water from the river 
 near Verdi, and runs along the north side of the 
 stream to within a mile of Reno. Reno is now 
 supplied with water from this ditch, which cost 
 about 815,000. 
 
 For a full statement of the products of the 
 county from 1865 to 1880, the number of acres 
 under cultivation, the stock and grain raised, and 
 the fruit trees and vines growing, also the number 
 of irrigating ditches, the reader is referred to pages 
 135, 136, 139 and 140 of the general history. 
 
 RENO IN ITS EARLY DAYS. 
 
 Lying at an altitude of 4,507 feet above the sea, 
 on both banks of the Truekee River, in the rich val- 
 ley SO long and well known on the old route of 
 overland travel as the Big Meadows of the Truekee. 
 Reno is the center of the most important agricultural 
 district in the State, the terminus of the Virginia 
 and Truekee Railroad, and the principal station in 
 Nevada on the line of the Central Pacific, at which 
 point goods destined for Carson City and Virginia 
 City are transhipped. Although a birth of the 
 great overland railroad, and one of the youngest 
 towns in the State, it is full of life and vigor. ;ind 
 gives indications of a more permanent pro?;' lity 
 than any of her rival sisters. 
 
 In 1859 a settlement was made on the south side 
 of the river, where the Lake House now stands, by 
 a man named Fuller. At this point the river could 
 be forded, and a route of travel was laid out from 
 California, crossing the river at this point to Virginia 
 Cit)- and the south. The house was kept as a way- 
 side inn for the accommodation and refreshment of 
 travelers and the long pack-trains and freight teams 
 that toiled across the mountains to the newlj'-dis- 
 covered land of silver. This was but one of several 
 points where the river might be crossed, and in 1860 
 Mr. Fuller, then proprietor of the road, upon which 
 a franchise to collect toll had been granted, con- 
 structed a wooden bridge for the better accommoda- 
 tion of travel. The winter of 1862 was one of ex- 
 ceedingly high water, and the bridge, in common 
 with others along the stream, was carried away by 
 the torrent. 
 
 In 1863, M. C. Lake came into possession of the 
 property, and rebuilt the bridge, the place becoming 
 known as Lake's Crossing. Again in 1867 the bridge 
 was damaged by high water and rebuilt bj- Mr. Lake. 
 In 1865 an English company built the Auburn Mill, 
 about one mile from the site of the town. This loca- 
 tion was selected because of the good facilities for 
 fuel and water. Quartz was brought to the mill from 
 a considerable distance in several directions, it being 
 the onlj' mill nearer than Wa«hoe City. The Big 
 Meadows had by this time all been occupied bj' 
 settlers who had brought a portion of the rich 
 soil under cultivation, and the year before Reno 
 sprang into being saw the town-site a field of wav- 
 ing grain. 
 
 When the Central Pacific Railroad began ascend- 
 ing the mountains with giant strides, the officials 
 looked ahead of the iron horse to select suitable 
 spots where should be established the necessary sta- 
 tions. Somewhere on the Truekee River it was 
 evident must bo a poiiit where the goods for Virginia 
 City and vicinity would be unloaded and forwarded 
 to their destination. It was well understood that 
 such a town as that was destined to bo of considera- 
 ble importance, and care was used to select the most 
 eligible situation. The land on which the original 
 town was laid out belonged then to M. C. Lake, 
 and the only building upon it was one he had 
 erected at the north end of the bridge with the inten- 
 tion of building a grist-mill. 
 
 He deeded forty acres to Charles Crocker in con- 
 sideration of his causing a station to be established 
 there, laying it oft' in town lots, and convoying a 
 certain number of the lots back again. This was 
 accordingly done. The town was christened Reno, 
 in honor of (reneral Jesse Reno, who fell at the bat- 
 tle of South Mountain, and the lots were placed upon 
 the market May 9, 1S68, and sold at auction, some of 
 them bringing as high as 81,000. 
 
 Although the railroad had not approached the 
 town, so great was the faith in the future of the 
 young fledgling that people hastened hither in large 
 
HISTORY OF WASHOE COUNTY. 
 
 635 
 
 numbers, anxious to secure desirable sites and cast 
 their lot with the young city that had such a prom- 
 ising future before it. Until the railroad came there 
 was but little business, except that aftbrded by its 
 construction, and the people had to live upon their 
 own means. The rude and hastily constructed 
 shanties that then covered the town site gave but 
 little promise of the comfortable and even elegant 
 dwellings, substantial business houses and commo- 
 dious hotels that now bear witness to the town's 
 prosperity. 
 
 As in all such cases since the palmy days of '49, 
 saloons were the first places of business to be opened, 
 and bj' far the best patronized. For a few weeks 
 men had nothing to do but to see to it that these 
 " necessary evils " did not fail for lack of an occa- 
 sional two-bit piece, and it is hardly necessary to 
 remark that they attended to this dutj' with a zeal 
 worthy of a better cause. 
 
 The first train from Sacramento arrived June 18, 
 1868, and it was a great daj' for Reno, bringing with 
 it the tangible assurance that their confidence had 
 not been misplaced. From that day Reno counts its 
 career as a business town. It was nearly a year 
 after this event, on the tenth of May, 18G9, that the 
 last spike in the overland railroad was driven at 
 Promontory Point, and a few daj's later the citizens 
 of Reno assembled at the depot to greet the first 
 through train from the East. Until then they had 
 but faintlj* realized the magnitude of the railroad and 
 their connection with it, and the sturdy pioneers who 
 had loiled but a few years before a laborious journey 
 of four months across the plains, mountains and 
 deserts, gazed upon the train that had left New 
 York but six days previously, and exclaimed as did 
 Gallileo of old, "The world moves." 
 
 No sooner did trains begin to arrive from Sacra- 
 mento with their loads of freight and passengers 
 than Reno began to bustle and hum with life and 
 activity. Stages left dailj' for Carson and Virginia, 
 crowded with passengers, and long trains of freight 
 wagons were loaded with goods at the depot, from 
 the scores of cars that arrived weekly, and defiled 
 through the streets and out upon the roads that led 
 to their destination. 
 
 Those wore the palmy daj's of Reno; work for all 
 who sought it; plenty of money; good prices paid for 
 la'. or and goods. The number of men, animals and 
 •vagons required in transacting this immense freight- 
 ing business, assured emplo}-ment and prosperity for 
 the merchant, farmer and mechanic, and, it may be 
 remarked, to the saloon keeper also. Where there 
 is a large number of men, well employed and receiv- 
 ing good wages, especially when the majority of 
 them are unmarried and free from the restraining 
 care of the home circle, there the saloon finds its 
 most inviting field. There, also, will be found a 
 class of human cormorants who live upon the labor 
 and toil of others by robbing them at the gaming 
 table, or by the many devices of which money is 
 
 extorted from the unwary, or, failing in that, by 
 open violence and crime. With such a class, in com- 
 mon with her sister towns, was Reno infested. Sa- 
 loons and gambling houses opened their inviting 
 door, and shameless women walked the streets and 
 enticed men into dance houses where music and 
 rcvelrj' sounded far into the night. Such were the 
 infant days of Reno, but the settlement of families, 
 the establishment of churches, schools and institu- 
 tions of learning, the presence of pure and cultivated 
 ladies, and the energy and determination of the citi- 
 zens, have succeeded in making a marvelous change, 
 and Reno to-day offers but slight indications of the 
 Reno of but ten years ago. 
 
 July 4, 1868, J. (". Lewis, who had for several 
 years been publishing the Eastern Slope, at Washoe 
 City, removed his material to this place and issued 
 the first number of the Reno Crescent, a paper that 
 existed nearly ten years. The second paper was 
 issued November 23, 1870, by J. G. Law & Co. 
 
 During the first two years of its life the town had 
 enjoj'cd a thriving business and great prosperity. 
 The population had steadily increased to over 1,000, 
 and the rude shanties that composed the original 
 town had given place to neat dwellings and fine 
 frame business structures. A few brick buildings had 
 also made their appearance. Besides this, the town 
 had spread out in all directions beyond the limits 
 of the town as at first laid out. The town as first 
 surveyed and platted was all on the north side of the 
 river, but in 1870 M. C. Lake annexed an addition 
 on the south side of the stream, and J. J. Dunne ex- 
 tended the limits on the north. 
 
 In 1871 L. H. Dyer built a theater, and thus added 
 one more metropolitan feature to the town. 
 
 In September, 1872, connection with Virginia City 
 by means of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad was 
 completed, and Reno realized that what had been 
 looked forward to as a great advantage, was, for the 
 time being, a severe blow to its prosperity. Indeed, 
 the citizens had begun to see this sometime before, 
 for the year before the road had been built from 
 Reno to Steamboat Springs, and the latter place, for 
 the time, became the terminus of the road and the 
 point where goods were transferred to wagons to be 
 carried to their destination. The immense freight- 
 ing and stage business to the south that had kept 
 Reno bustling with activity was transferred to Steam- 
 boat Springs, and upon the comjilction of the road 
 died out entirely. Had this business been the sole 
 dependence of the place it would have relapsed into 
 a mere station on the railroad, but such was not the 
 case. For miles up and down the river were large 
 and fruitful farms that made Reno their Bhip])lng 
 point and from her received their merchandise, and 
 miles to the north and west lay fertile valleys, well 
 settled, also looking to Reno for their supplies. These 
 resources and the fact that Reno is an important sta- 
 tion on the great overland route of travel, as well a-* 
 the terminus and transhipping point of another ro.id. 
 
fi36 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 combined to keep, and always will keep her from 
 becoming a place of Bceondarj' importance. 
 
 HENRY LYM.\N FISH 
 
 Was born at Sandwich, Barnstable Countj-, Massa- 
 chusetts, on the twenty- second of July, 1834. After 
 receiving a liberal education he determined to visit 
 the Pacific Coast, and, accordingly, took passage on 
 the ship Eliza Warwick, at Boston, bound to Hono- 
 
 lulu, October 5, 1852. On the eighth of February, 
 1853, he reached Honolulu, and, on the twenty- 
 seventh of the same month, ho shipped on the 
 brigatine, William Wallace, and arrived at San Fran- 
 cisco, California, on the tenth of the following March. 
 He at once started for the southern mines, and 
 reached Jamestown, Tuolumno C(junty, April 7, and 
 engaged in mining. July 1, 1861, Mr. Fish removed 
 to San Francisco, where ho remained until Septem- 
 ber, 181)2, at which time ho came to Virginia Citj", 
 Nevada, and soon after settled in Ophir, Washoe 
 County. 
 
 At the general election of 1863, he was elected 
 Justice of the Peace at Ophir, and, in 1864, was 
 elected County Assessor of Washoe County, but was 
 deprived of office by trickery in the Constitutional 
 Convention. In 1866 he was elected Count}- Re- 
 corder, after serving as minute Clerk in the Assembly 
 of that year. He was re elected to the office of 
 Kccorder, in IBOS and 187(1. In 1872 he came to 
 Iteno, with the Washoe County records, and has 
 since been a resident of that place. In 1876 he was 
 elected County Assessor. 
 
 Mr. Fish has been connected with the First 
 National Bank of Reno since ite organization, and 
 
 was elected a Director of that institution, April 6, 
 1881. He has been an active member of the Masonic 
 fraternity for many years, and was elected Most 
 Worshipful Grand Master of the State of Nevada, 
 at the annual convocation of 1878. 
 
 He was married at Virginia City, November 1, 
 1863, to Miss Emily C, third daughter of Ansel 
 Tobey, Esq., of Sandwich, Massachusetts. They 
 have one child living, named Emily Alice, born at 
 Ophir, Nevada, January 20, 18G6. 
 
 W. R. CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 Many a man can plead a case succossfullj' in the 
 Supreme Court who cannot keep a hotel. It is diffi- 
 cult to determine precisely the qualities which enables 
 a man to entertain the public, though it is not at all 
 difficult to determine, when we enter a hotel, whether 
 the landlord is in his right place. If he is to the 
 " manor born," we shall feel a sense of home prevad- 
 ing the atmosphere; of comfort crawling over our 
 tired limbs. The boot-jack is just where we want it 
 to draw off our muddy boots; the towels are clean 
 and fresh; the beds invite to comfort and repose: the 
 food on the table looks toothsome and wholesome; 
 the necessary services are rendered kindly without 
 ostentation or undue servility; and then the face of 
 the popular landlord is cheerful; a reflex of his own 
 comforts; a certificate of the genuine character of 
 the house as a home for the traveler. Such a man is 
 our landlord of the Depot Hotel at Reno, known 
 and esteemed by all the traveling public. He natur- 
 ally takes to hotel-keeping as a duck takes to water. 
 His first house was built in 1808, and was burned 
 down in 1878; rebuilt and again burned March 2, 
 1879, the last fire consuming everything. The pres- 
 ent house was built during the summer following the 
 fire, and is a commodious structure, 170 feet long by 
 32 feet wide, three stories in height, with platform 
 on the Central Pacific Railroad twentj--eight feet 
 wide, and on the Virginia and Truckce Railroad fif- 
 teen feet wide, with fort}' -seven large and airy lodg- 
 ing rooms, bcsider offices, famiij- sitting-rooms, par- 
 lors and bath-rooms. In the same building are the 
 offices for the sale of railroad tickets and iho for- 
 warding of passengers and baggage, so that the 
 traveler is able to make all arrangements for his 
 journey without delay or vexation. 
 
 Mr. Chamberlain was born in Rensselaer County, 
 New York, in 1842, from which ])lace he moved to 
 Wayne County of the same Slate, coming to the 
 Pacific Coast in 1864. He mined six years in Sierra 
 County, California, before coming to Reno. He kept 
 several public houses before engaging in his present 
 0])eration. He kept the Cold Spring House in 
 Sierra. California, the Plum Vallej- House in the 
 same county, and also the Little Truckee House, the 
 Carlin Kating House at Elko, in this State, and the 
 Elko Eating House at the same place. Ho was mar- 
 ried in 18(54 to Miss Margaret A. Peer, of Newark, 
 Wayno County, Now York. They arc not blessed 
 with children. 
 
HISTORY OF WASHOE COUNTY. 
 
 G37 
 
 PROTECTION AGAINST FIRE. 
 
 So rapidly had the town sprung up that but little 
 attention was paid to any particular measures against 
 fire. A small fire in 1868 led to the organization of 
 the first fire company in the town on the seventeenth 
 of November of that year. Of this company, the 
 Reno Hook and Ladder Company, No. 1, James 
 Finnigan was Foreman. The vitality of this com- 
 pany was feeble and its life short. At this time 
 Messrs. Browsky, Howell, Lake, and Ashton were 
 appointed Fire Wardens of the town. No further 
 means were provided to secure the property' ot the 
 place against destruction by fire for over two years. 
 
 On the fourth of April, 1871, however, a meeting 
 was held in Pioneer Hall to consider measures for 
 protection from fire. F. F. Osbiston presented the 
 town with a fire alarm bell, and a committee was 
 appointed to devise measures and solicit subscrijv 
 tions. Four days later they reported in favor of 
 constructing seven cisterns in convenient locations 
 for storing water, the cost of which would be SI, 200. 
 At that time the subscriptions amounted to 8900, and 
 the committee was directed to complete the work, 
 which task was soon accomplished and paid for. 
 The cisterns were built of wood, and were of the 
 capacitj- of about 1,600 gallons each. Ninety-five 
 fire-buckets were also purchased and placed in the 
 vicinity of the cisterns, convenient for instant use. 
 Having taken these precautions the citizens felt in a 
 measure secure from destructive fires. 
 
 At 6:30 o'clock on the evening of October 25, 
 1875, a fire was in some manner ignited in the 
 residence of George Schaffer, on Commercial Row, 
 and before it could be extinguished five dwellings 
 had been destroyed, entailing a loss of §25,000. 
 Loud calls were now made for a Fire Department, 
 as the whole city would have been destroj'cd had 
 there been a high wind such as frequently prevails 
 there. On the tenth of the following month Reno 
 Engine Company, No. 1, was organized with sixty- 
 four members, and J. L. McFarlin, Foreman; Mor- 
 ris Ash and L. Marks, Assistants; 82,826 were sub- 
 scribed by the citizens at that time, and more sub- 
 sequently. Considerable discussion was had for a 
 number of days as to whether a hand or steam 
 engine should be purchased, which resulted in favor 
 of a hand engine, and one was accordingly procured. 
 In the following January, however, it was decided 
 to purchase a steamer, and choice was made of a La 
 Franco patent rotary engine, which, with 1,000 feet 
 of hose and two carts, cost S5.000. With these 
 appliances, and with the Railroad Fire Engine, No. 
 48, the city seemed to bo well protected from fire. 
 This was demonstrated on the sixth of the next 
 October, when a fire broke out in Jacob GrofTs 
 bakery, on Commercial Row, and was subdued after 
 two buildings were burned. Ijoss about 815,000. 
 
 On the twenty-first of July, 1877, Washoe Com- 
 pany, No. 2, was organized for the purpose of tak- 
 ing charge of the hand engine. Allen Bragg was 
 80 
 
 chosen Foreman, and R. P. M. Kelly and N. J. Salis- 
 bury, Assistants. 
 
 At the present time the F'irc Department consists 
 of three volunteer companies. ]{eno Fngine Com- 
 pany, No. 1, has charge of thofiro steamer; Washoe 
 Engine Company, No. 2, has charge of the hand 
 engine; and Hose Company, No. 48, has charge of 
 the hose used by the Railroad Fire Engine, No. 48. 
 
 PIIOPERTV DESTROYED BY FIRE. 
 
 The first serious fire occurred Wednesday, October 
 29, 1873, and ere it ceased its ravages destroj'cd 
 more than lOO buildings. About half-past ten at 
 night, flames were discovered issuing from the 
 Western Hotel, on Commercial Row, between Vir- 
 ginia and Sierra Streets. The alarm was instantly 
 sounded and people rushed from all directions to 
 the scene of danger. Befi)re the cisterns could be 
 uncovered and the buckets brought the flames had 
 made great headway and were burning fiercely. 
 The citizens fought desperately, but wet blankets 
 and buckets of water seemed of little avail, and the 
 flames spread rapidly. The fire quickly reached 
 Masonic Hall on the west and Barnett's brick block 
 on the east. Around this it went to Virginia Street 
 and down to Bell & Burke's brick store on Second 
 Street. Crossing Virginia Street here it swept back 
 on the other side to Commercial Row. In two 
 hours were burned the two brick blocks bounded by 
 Sierra, Center, Second and Commercial Row. except 
 four stores, a few dwellings, the Journal office and 
 the Masonic Hall, the verj- business heart of the citj'. 
 
 Good service was rendered by the railroad firo 
 trains that came rushing to the scene from Wads- 
 worth and Truckee. The ('arson City fire engine, 
 S. T. Swift, also came, but owing to a delay of the 
 train did not arrive until the firo was under control. 
 The loss was estimated at 8100,000, on which there 
 was considerable insurance. 
 
 In the evening of October 25, 1875, Goorge Schaf- 
 f'cr's residence on Commercial Row caught fire, and 
 before the flames could be extinguished five dwellings 
 were destroyed, with a total loss of 825,000. 
 
 A few minutes after one o'clock on the morning of 
 February 13, 1877, flames were seen issuing from the 
 upper story of the Depot Hotel. The alarm was 
 sounded and the Firo Department and engine No. 48 
 quickly ajipearcd on the scene. The flames were 
 extinguished after damaging the building to the 
 amount of 815,000. Mrs. Lena Johnson, a Swede 
 chambeiTiiaid, was unable to effect her escape and 
 was burned to death. While the fire was burning 
 fiercely the overland train from the East arrived, and 
 passing the burning building safely, stopped just 
 beyond to discharge its load and then went on. 
 
 The greatest disaster that has befallen the cour- 
 ageous young city and tho greatest event in her 
 history, is the memorable fire of Sunday. March 2, 
 1879. Almost a hurricane was blowing that Sabbath 
 morning, filling the streets with clouds of dost, when 
 fire caught in a pile of cedar wood back of tho Rail- 
 
638 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 road House, supposed to have been caused by sparks 
 blown from a chimney that had been burning out. 
 The flames were observed by an old lady known as 
 Grandmother Hogan, who emptied two tubs of water 
 upon them, but the wind blew so fiercely that they 
 soon got beyond her control. 
 
 The Fire Department was called out and the 
 steamer, hand engine and No. 48 all responded with 
 alacrity. The efforts of the firemen and citizens 
 were futile in the face of the wind, and for four long 
 hours they fought the roaring and rapidly-spreading 
 flames without avail. The fire marched on until 
 there was nothing more within its grasp to feed- 
 upon, and then died out. The burned district em- 
 braced ten blocks, including every business house in 
 town, save two grocery stores. The Masonic Hall 
 and Catholic School were both saved almost mirac- 
 ulously, although the Catholic Church was destroyed. 
 Mrs. John Beck was burned in her house while 
 endeavoring to save some of her property. Three 
 tramps, named Charles Falncr, James Fitzpatrick 
 and Robert Irvine, met the same fate in E. C. Mo- 
 Kinney's barn, and an Indian was burned in the 
 Nevada State Flouring Mills. 
 
 Hundreds were thus rendered homeless, and the 
 supply of food for the city had been almost totallj' 
 consumed by the hungry flames. That night large 
 quantities of bedding and food were received from 
 Carson, Virginia and other places, and the homeless 
 made as comfortable as possible in the churches and 
 dwellings that had escaped the flames. A relief 
 committee was organized, and everything possible 
 done to relieve the suffering. The next day a bill 
 was introduced into the Legislature, at Carson, ap- 
 propriating SKtjOOO for the relief of the sufferers, 
 and received the Governor's signature within an hour 
 of its first introduction. 
 
 The most extensive losses are here given: — 
 
 Manning & Duck . $ 50,000 
 
 Gray & Isaacs 20.000 
 
 Farmers' Co-operative Association. 18.500 
 
 Abrams Brothers 25,000 
 
 Judge Marshall 18,000 
 
 S. M. Jamison 15.000 
 
 M.C.Lake 12,.5{)0 
 
 VV. H. Chamberlain, Depot Hotel. . 25,000 
 
 Nevada Stale Flouring Mills 85,000 
 
 D. C. McFarland 12,000 
 
 D. & B. Lachman 35,000 
 
 C. J. Brookins i*t Co 10,000 
 
 Barnett Brothers 60,000 
 
 Courtois it Boyd 20,000 
 
 M.Nathan 17,500 
 
 Pollard House 12.000 
 
 J. Prescott IH.OOO 
 
 Hill & Oaks .•.. 10,000 
 
 t)8burn A Shoemaker 14,000 
 
 Central Pacific Kailroad Company. 100,000 
 
 PatHogan lo.ooo 
 
 Mi-s. Sim])son 11,000 
 
 Mrs. H. Noyes 10,000 
 
 Other losses approximating 320,000 
 
 Total 8896,000 
 
 The amount of insurance on this was but 8194,600, 
 leaving a total loss of over 8700,000. 
 
 Great as was this disaster, the energy and enter- 
 prise of the citizens was greater, and soon new 
 stores and dwellings began to appear over the ashes 
 of those that had passed away. So great was the 
 change wrought in a few months that nearly all 
 traces of the fire vanished from sight, and Ileno 
 appeared to bo as busy and prosperous as before. 
 But though the visible effects of the fire could be so 
 quickly removed, the invisible ones could not, and 
 Eeno to-day is sufl'ering in her business and commer- 
 cial enterprises from the severe losses of the great 
 conflagration. 
 
 INFESTED BY BAD CH.ARACTERS. 
 
 Mention has heretofore been made of the number 
 of bad characters that infested Keno. Several times 
 the city had been nearly cleared of them bj" means of 
 notices sent to the more notorious ones to leave within 
 a stipulated time, signed " 601," and known to emi- 
 natefrom an association of citizens. The many mis- 
 deeds of these individuals it is unnecessary to record, 
 but the following incident is of interest because of 
 the peculiar circumstances. 
 
 For some time prior to the thirteenth of July, 
 1874, Reno had been made the rendezvous of three- 
 card-monte-men, gamblers, garroters, and burglars. 
 Men had been fleeced of their money, houses and 
 stores entered and people robbed on the streets. On 
 the night in question Under Sheriff Kinkead and 
 Deputy Sheriffs Ilutton, Jones and Avery, jiosted 
 themselves about town to watch the actions of five 
 men who had attracted their attention. Sometime 
 after midnight a shot and cries for help were heard 
 issuing from the alley back of Commercial Row and 
 in the rear of the post-oflSce. Avery rushed to the 
 scene and found the five men beating a man who 
 proved to be \V. T. C. Elliott. At this juncture Elli- 
 ott fired two more shots, which, with the appearance 
 of the officer, caused the villains to run, two going 
 out upon Virginia Street and two upon Center. 
 Avery pursued the first two and overtook them at 
 the bridge, when one of them turned upon him with 
 his gun, but when Avery covered him with his revol- 
 ver exclaimed, " Don't shoot! I'm wounded now." 
 It was found that he had a bullet wound in the right 
 breast and another in the right leg, just above the 
 ankle. He was taken in charge, tho other man 
 escaping. 
 
 Of the other three, one was captured by Officer 
 Ilutton, as he was escaping from the alley, and the 
 balance made good their escape. Officers immedi- 
 ately went in search of them, and at five o'clock in 
 the morning Kinkead discovered their tracks near 
 the railroad bridge. lie at once rode on in ]iursuit, 
 and when he arrived at Huffakers, ascerlained that 
 they had taken bieakfast there. Although he was 
 warned that tho\- were well armi-d and was advised 
 not to attempt their ca]>lure, he continued the pur- 
 suit alone, overtaking them at Crane's. Riding up 
 
HISTORY OF WASHOE COUNTY. 
 
 639 
 
 to within 100 yards of them, ho disiuouiilod and 
 orderod them to surrender. They drew tlieir weap- 
 ons and took each a side of the road. Kinkead's 
 shot-fjfun was loaded with buckshot, and covering 
 one of thorn with this the officer warned him to 
 throw down hi.s ])istol before ho counted three or he 
 would shoot. The only response to this was a laugh, 
 and when the fatal three had been counted, the offi- 
 cer fired, lodging two balls in the man's right breast. 
 They then threw down their pistols and surrendered 
 and were safely conveyed to Reno by their plucky 
 captor. 
 
 In two weeks they were tried and sentenced to 
 twelve years in the penitentiary. 
 
 THE ASSOCt.\TI0N OP ■'601." 
 
 Soon after the arrest and conviction of the five 
 disreputable persons, in July, 1874, there was formed 
 an Association of citizens, who were known as the 
 '"GOl." The object of this Association was to find 
 out and watch any objectionable characters that 
 might infest the town, and to give them " tickets of 
 leave " whenever it was deemed necessary to rid the 
 town of their presence. These notices to quit the 
 place were often more effective than suits at law 
 or open violence would have been. A few da^'s 
 after the fire of February 13, 1877, this Association 
 issued several free passes, with excellent effect, which 
 were duly accepted and used in time to prevent 
 scenes of violence. 
 
 The onlj" time that it bccamj necessary for"' the 
 •' GOl " to demonstrate the fact that they were not 
 a mythical organization was in September, 1878. 
 
 There lived in town at that time a saloon keeper, 
 named W. J. Jones, whose unsavory reputation had 
 followed him hither from California. A j'oung ladj' 
 in San Francisco inserted an advertisement in one 
 of the papers, seeking for a situation as a lady's 
 companion. Jones answered it, and stated that he 
 was an invalid lady, and finally made arrangements 
 with her to como to Reno. When she arrived here, 
 late at night, Jones met her at the depot and con- 
 ducted her to his saloon, the character of the place 
 not being observed by her until she had entered. 
 Here he made insulting proposals to her, which she 
 resented, and compelled him to conduct her to a 
 hotel. A companion of Jones, one H. J. Carson, 
 then went to the hotel, and by representing to her 
 that she was not safe from Jones there, induced her 
 to accompany him, to what he called, a ])laco of 
 safety. ILo conducted her towards the railroad 
 bridge, and then made the same overtures that she 
 had received from Jones. The now thoroughly 
 frightened girl, alone and friendless in a strange 
 place, and at the mercy of such villains as these, 
 know not what to do or which way to turn, but 
 finally reached the hotel again, and related hor story. 
 
 The indignation of the citizens was intense when 
 the news was circulated the next da}'. Carson 
 was arrested for vagrancy and lodged in jail, much 
 to his satisfaction, for he feared the vengeance of 
 
 the |)eoi)Ie. The young lady was taken in charge 
 by the Masons, and tenderly cared for. 
 
 The next evening, September 19, 1878, Jones 
 was visited in his room by a body of men, who 
 bound him and carried him to the south end of the 
 railroad bridge. That evening a much respected 
 citizen, William Duck, had died, and as the captors 
 proceeded with their victim the church bell was 
 tolling. Imagining that the bell was sounding his 
 own death-knell the guilty wretch begged and 
 pleaded for mercy. 
 
 Arriving at the end of the bridge they found 
 more men who had in charge a large kettle of tar 
 and a liberal supply of feathers. lie was deprived 
 of his clothing, covered with the hot tar, a kettle 
 of the hot liquid emptied over his head, his face, 
 hair and eyes literally filled with it, and then liber- 
 ally covered with snow-white feathers. His cloth- 
 ing was then put on him, and trembling with pain 
 and fright he was given a ticket to Truckee, and 
 placed on the Overland Train. 
 
 On the train and in Truckee he was the subject 
 of a great deal of pity by people who were not con- 
 versant with the facts, and the act was denominated 
 a cruel outrage by the newspapers. When, how- 
 ever, the circumstances were brought to light ho 
 received but little sympathy. He was several daj-s 
 ill Truckee before he became thoroughly cleansed, 
 and the blisters made by the hot tar were a con- 
 stant reminder of tho "GOl" of Reno for many days. 
 Carson was sentenced to fifty days in jail for va- 
 grancy, and when discharged took his departure from 
 town. 
 
 Notices wore also sent to a number of undesira- 
 ble citizens to take up their abode in some remote 
 locality, and some of them departed without even 
 waiting for this little formality. One of these, a 
 young man nameil Alf. Howard, or better known as 
 Jesse Cook, had the temerity to return on the 
 twenty-eighth. He had made himself obnoxious by 
 circulating obscene literature, and enticing drunken 
 men into houses of ill-fame, and tho "GOl" deter- 
 mined to show that they meant what the}' said 
 when they issued an order to leave town. 
 
 About seven o'clock the next evening he was 
 enticed into the alley back of Morris Ash's saloon, 
 where he was seized and bound by a body of men. 
 His cries for liel|) brought a number of people to 
 the rescue, who departed as hastilj' as thoy came 
 when permitted to gaze into the muzzles of tho 
 numerous revolvers carried by the men. Cook was 
 taken to a secluded spot on the river bank, and 
 given a very light coat of tar and feathers on his face 
 only, being treated leniently on account of his 
 youth. Ho went to Truckee and joined his father, 
 who had proviousl}' been driven from Reno. They 
 returned the next morning, and took the train for 
 Virginia City. Since these events it has boon un- 
 necessary for tho "GOl" to make any demonstrations 
 whatever. 
 
640 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 EFFORTS TO INCORPORATE. 
 
 In the early part of 1871, when it was definitely 
 settled that Reno was to be the countj" seat, elated 
 with past success, many of the citizens desired to 
 have the town incorporated to ensure better protec- 
 tion to both life and property. This was opposed by 
 many who thought the expense of a town govern- 
 ment greater than the benefits to be derived; that 
 the township officials were sufficient to maintain 
 order, anij that if any protection from fire was 
 desired, the money could be raised by subscription 
 among those most deeply interested. A public 
 meeting was called Januar}' 7, 1871, and a com- 
 mittee appointed to draft a bill, but beyond this 
 nothing was do.ie, and the matter was dropped. 
 
 During the summer of 1877, after slumbering for 
 nearly six years, the subject of incorporation was 
 again discussed. By request of the Board of Trade 
 the people voted on the question. Two hundred and 
 eighteen votes were cast, giving a majority of thirty- 
 eight in favor of incorporation. Steps were then taken 
 to carry out the will of the people thus expressed. 
 Nothing was accomplished in this direction, how- 
 ever, till a general Act was passed by the Legis- 
 lature in March, 1879. 
 
 A petition having been presented to the Board 
 of County Commissioners by the citizens of Keno, 
 the town was incorporated April 8, 1879, under 
 the provisions of the general Act, approved March 
 8, 1879. The town as incorporated embraced the 
 original plat and Lake's, Marsh's, Hayden's, Shoe- 
 maker's, Hatch's, Evan's, North and Western Addi- 
 tions, described as follows: — 
 
 Beginning at the corner of sections 2, 3, 10 and 
 11, township 19 north, range 19 east; thence east 
 between sections 2 and 11 and 1 and 12 to the 
 one -fourth corner between sections 1 and 12; 
 thence south through the middle of sections 12 
 and 13 to the center of section 13; thence west 
 through the middle of sections 13 and 14 to the 
 one-fourth corner between sections 14 and 15 ; 
 thence north between sections 14 and 15, 10 and 
 11 to the place of beginning; containing all of sec- 
 tion 11, the west one-half of section 12, the north- 
 west one-fourth of section 13, and the north one- 
 half of section 14, township 19 north, range 19 east. 
 
 Thus, nearly ten years after the matter was first 
 discussed, Reno became an incorporated town. The 
 corporation is governed by the Board of Count}- 
 Commissioners, who levy taxes, pass ordinances and 
 regulate the fire and police departments. 
 
 The business interests of Reno may be summed uj) 
 as follows: Five general merchandise stores, four gro- 
 cery stores, three dry goods stores, three drug stores, 
 three clothing stores, two boot and shoe stores, three 
 hardware stores, two stationery stores, five varietj' 
 stores, seven millinery and dressmaking establish- 
 ments, three furniture stores, three jewelers, one 
 gun store, six moat markets, four livery stables, 
 three large and seven small hotels, fifteen saloons, 
 two dailj- and weekly newspapers, one lumber yard, 
 
 one bank, four physicians, one dentist, twelve attor- 
 neys and a number of restaurants and shops. The 
 manufacturing industries, besides a number of shoo, 
 harness, tailor, blacksmith and wagon shops, are the 
 Washoe Brewery, Charles Becker, propHetor, built 
 in September, 1870, by Becker &Knust; the flouring 
 mills of Lake <k Beck, originally built for a feed mill 
 by S. C. Fogers and A. J. Coghill, in 1869, but soon 
 converted into a flouring mill and called Reno Flour- 
 ing and Feed Mill, combined in 1873 with the salt 
 works under the name of Nevada State Mills, burned 
 in the great fire of March 2, 1879, and rebuilt by 
 Lake & Beck; Auburn Quartz Mill, built by an Jln- 
 glish company in 1805, and has been idle for some 
 time; B. F. Murphy's salt works. Among the past 
 industries were Seaton & Marshall's Soap Factory; 
 Reno Tannery, bj- George \V. and A. J. Hatch; and 
 the Reno Planing Mill, by S. F. Hoole. 
 
 Reno is lighted by gas, supplied by the Reno Gas 
 Companj-, has a good theater, five churches, com- 
 modious school building, an elegant brick high school 
 building just completed, two institutions of learning 
 and a large number of residences and dwelling-houses, 
 well protected by foliage and surrounded b}' well- 
 kept yards. The streets are broad and straight, and 
 the town is well supplied with shade trees, chiefly 
 Cottonwood and poplar, though other and better 
 varieties are now being introduced. 
 
 The Reno public school house was built in Decem- 
 ber, 1869, at a cost of S4,000, In 1874 an addition 
 was made, that cost 84,000, and in 1877, another, 
 costing S2,000. The fine high school was recently 
 completed. The Catholics have in contemplation the 
 building of a college. In 1875 the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church of Nevada, at its annual conference, 
 determined upon building a University. A commit- 
 tee selected Reno as the location most desirable, but 
 nothing further has been done. Reno was also se- 
 lected as the site for the State Agricultural College, 
 but that also lies dormant. 
 
 L. W. LEE 
 
 Is a native of New York, having been born in Gene- 
 see County in 1834. When he was quite young he 
 removed with his parents to Elkhorn, Walworth 
 County, Wisconsin, and they were among the first 
 settlers of that section of the country. In 1S60 Mr. 
 Lee crossed the plains, and located at Gold Hill, 
 Storey C'ounty, Nevada, where ho remained for about 
 five years, part of the time engaged in keeping hotel, 
 lie afterwards went to Long Valley and engaged in 
 ranching and keeping station until 1873, at which 
 time he came to Reno, where ho has since resided. 
 Mr. Lee is the owner and proprietor of the well- 
 known livery and feed stable, situated on the south- 
 west corner of Fourth and Sierra Streets. The build- 
 ing is 69x100 feet, two stories, first of stone and 
 secondof brick, and was built by him in 1875. In con- 
 nection with his livery business ho is quite exten- 
 sively engaged in shipping cattle, often ships as high 
 
HISTORY OF WASHOE COUNTY. 
 
 641 
 
 as 8,000 head in a single year, about one-half of 
 them being weighed at Keno. He was married in 
 December, 1858, at Elkhorn. Wisconsin, to Miss Julia 
 D. Moore, a native of that place. 
 
 EPISCOPAL SEMINARY. 
 
 December 18. 1875. an agreement was signed 
 between O. M. Whitaker, Missionary liishop of the 
 Protestant Episcopal Church of Nevada, and about 
 200 subscribing citizens of Reno, in which the party 
 of the first part agreed to build a seminary for the 
 instruction of girls in English, modern European 
 languages and the classics, to cost $20,000, of which 
 the parties of the second part were to furnish $5,000. 
 Those subscribing SlOO or more were B. F. Leete, D. 
 A. Bender & Co., 0. & A. Evans, A. J. Hatch, C. C. 
 Powning, Manning & Duck, Norton & Co., and M. C. 
 Lake. Six and one-half acres of ground in the north- 
 west portion of the town were secured and building 
 was commenced June 1, 1876. A fine structure 
 40x88 feet and three stories high was completed in 
 October, at a total expense of §27,000, large enough 
 to accommodate forty-five regular and fifty day 
 scholars. The school was dulj^ opened with forty 
 scholars with Miss Kate Sill, Principal, and ibur assist- 
 ants. Of the building fund 810,000 were donated 
 b}' Miss C. L. Wolfe, of New Yoi-k, who was really 
 the founder of the institution. To the energy of 
 Bishop VVhitaker is due the successful completion of 
 
 the work. 
 
 -MOUNT ST. Mary's academy. 
 
 In the winter of 1878-79 the Catholics of Nevada 
 erected, in Reno, a fine three-story building, 45x05 
 feet in size, for a convent school, which is under the 
 charge of the Dominican Sisters. It is of wood with 
 a brick basement, and narrowly escaped destruction 
 in the great conflagration that occurred soon after 
 its completion. 
 
 HEBREW BENEVOLENT SOCIETY. 
 
 On the twenty-third of April, 1878, the Jewish 
 citizens of Reno organized a society called the Chebra 
 B'rith Sholam, for religious and benevolent purposes. 
 Isaac Barnett was President, and Isaac Frederick, 
 Vice-President. In consequence of the destruction 
 of their properly in the great fire of 18711, the society 
 went out of existence, but on the tenth of August, 
 1870. the Reno Hebrew Benevolent Society was 
 organized with twenty-one members. The first oili- 
 cers were: Morris Ash, President; D. Peckner, Vice- 
 President; E. Meyer, Secretary; Thomas Barnett, 
 Treasurer; A. Prescott, Messenger; D. Lachman, M. 
 D. Levy, and J. Prescott, Trustees. The society is 
 in a sound condition, with eighteen members and a 
 cemetery, books, para])hernalia, etc., valued at §050. 
 The highest membership has been thirty-two, and it 
 has disbursed 8112.50 in charitable objects. The 
 present officers arc: Morris Ash, President; D. Lach- 
 man, Vice-President; K. .\[ayer, Secretary; Thomas 
 Barnett, Treasurer; A. Prescott, Messenger; Isaac 
 Barnett, Isaac Frederick, and Benjamin Lachman, 
 Trustees. 
 
 PRINCIPAL TOWNS AND CITIES. 
 
 Auburn was laid out and named in 1865 by an 
 English company-, who erected a twenty-stamp mill 
 about a mile north of the present site of Reno, but the 
 birth of Reno in 1868 so overwhelmed it that Au- 
 burn died in its infancy. 
 
 Brooiclyn is on the south side of Peavine Mount- 
 ains, and midway between Reno and Verdi. Here 
 the New York Company began running a tunnel 
 early in 1875. It was said that the company expected 
 to expend half a million of dollars in developing their 
 claim, and as a number of other locations were made 
 in this portion of the Peavine District, the new town 
 which they laid out and named Brooklyn, seemed to 
 have a future before it. A boarding-house for the 
 men, a few shanties and the shops and stables of the 
 company composed all there ever was of the town of 
 Brooklj^n. Considerable monej* has been spent on 
 the mine bj- the United Brooklj-n Mining Company, 
 and machinery has been erected, but little, however, 
 has been accomplished. 
 
 Crystal Peak lies in a grass}- nook, between 
 the jutting hills at the eastern foot of the Sierra. 
 It is the natural outlet for an extensive tract of 
 timber land, and for that reason, and because of its 
 beautiful and healthful location, a splendid site for a 
 thriving town. The advantages were noted and 
 improved by the Crystal Peak Company, who laid 
 out a town here in 1864. The company owned lum- 
 ber and mining interests some ten or fifteen miles 
 west of the town, in a mountain containing crys- 
 tallized gold quartz, from which the name was 
 derived. 
 
 In addition to the gold and silver-bearing quartz 
 ledges, coal was found in Dog Valley, and a number 
 of companies were formed to work it. The scarcity 
 of fuel in this State rendered a body of lignite 
 especially valuable, and developments were watched 
 with considerable interest. It was soon discovered 
 that the seams of bituminous matter were verj- thin, 
 that the coal was of very poor quality, being largely 
 intermixed with foreign matter, and almost useless 
 as a fuel. The character of the formation denoted a 
 quite recent origin, as it contained fragments of wil- 
 low leaves, grasses, etc., remains resembling some 
 varieties of sage-brush, and the elytron of a beetle, 
 apparently the same as a species now found on the 
 same mountains, and attached to the pinon. These 
 remains, together with the manner in which it is 
 associated with the surrounding rocks, indicate the 
 formation of a much more recent date than that of 
 the beds of coal in the Eastern States and in Eng- 
 land. 
 
 The discovery was made early in 1864, and con- 
 siderable work was done in the few subsequent 
 years. Several thousand dollars were expended in 
 sinking shafts, in boring by artesian pi'ocess, and in 
 driving tunnels, some of the shafts being continued 
 to a depth of 300 feet. In some places the work 
 
642 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 wa.- fii>l done by Ijoriiig, lh«ii :ibal't!s were sunk, and 
 Bteam machinery erected to facilitate hoisting and 
 pumping operations. The result of the developments 
 was to demonstrate the almost worthless character 
 of the coal, and the mines were abandoned. 
 
 The same result followed the few attempts that 
 were made to work the quartz of the district, and 
 that industry has been for a long time discontinued. 
 The lumber interests have been the most extensive, 
 and the one upon which the region has placed its 
 chief dependence. Several saw-mills in the vicinity 
 have been running constantlj-; the Truckee is capa- 
 ble of furnishing an abundance of water-power, and 
 for years the lumber and wood supplied from this 
 district were sufficient to support quite a flourishing 
 town. 
 
 In the year 18G8, Crystal Peak enjoyed a pros- 
 perity such as she has not known since. The Cen- 
 tral Pacific Eailroad was then just entering this 
 State, and the saw-mills of this section were sup- 
 plying the immense amount of necessary materials 
 for its construction. All was bustle and business in 
 the little town, and hopes were entertained that 
 the road would pass through it, but they were not 
 realized, for the line passed two miles to the left. 
 
 From that time the old town went into a rapid 
 decline, and from a population of 1,500 it dwindled 
 down to a scant few who still cling to it. 
 
 Franktown is the pioneer town of Washoe County, 
 being settled before the great Comstock Ledge was 
 discovered and before there existed such an organ- 
 ization as Washoe County, as has been fully detailed 
 in the preceding history of the county. 
 
 The town of Franktown was first settled in 1852, 
 and became a town in tlio ycav 1855. Its early his- 
 tory has been fully related in the history of the set- 
 tlement of the county, with which it is too closely 
 woven to be separated. It was but a small hamlet, 
 and was the only town within the present limits of 
 the county of Washoe, until after the influ.K of 
 people caused by the silver excitement. The saw- 
 mill built by (Jrson ilydo was the only manufactur- 
 ing industry, the settlors being nearly all farmers. 
 
 The discovery and development of the Comstock 
 soon had an eftect 0!i Franktown. The saw-mill 
 was run to the limit of its capacity, as were others 
 in the vicinity. A brisk demand for wood and lum- 
 ber for the mines kept Franktown busj-, as it did 
 other places in the valley. A sixty-stam]> ([uartz 
 mill, costing $250,000, was erected here, by J. II. 
 Ball & Co., in 1861, and caused a great increase in 
 the business and population of the town. It was 
 burned in 18(i5, and immediately re-built, but was a 
 second time burned, a few years later. 
 
 The same causes (hat destroj'ed the quartz milling 
 business in other portions of the valley, took effect 
 here, and Franktown had a decided relapse. In 
 1872 the Virginia and Truckee Railroad was c m- 
 plotod, and this place became quite a depot fnr ihe 
 shipment of wood, lumber, and produce, from ihe 
 
 surrounding farms and the timber lands in the adja- 
 cent mountains. There are a hotel, two stores, 
 market, blacksmith shop, and a number of neat 
 dwelling-houses. A wood Hume, owned bj- the Vir- 
 ginia and Gold Hill Water Company, terminates at 
 this point. 
 
 JOSEPH FUEY 
 
 Was born in Alsace, France, on the ninth of February, 
 1834, where he remained until he reached his fifteenth 
 j^ear, when lie came to the United States, and settled 
 in Cincinnati, Ohio, where for seven months he 
 worked as a gardener. He then went to New Orleans, 
 Louisiana, where he learned the butcher's t-rade. 
 Being of a roving disposition, and possessing a desire 
 to see the United States in the fullest possible man- 
 ner, he traveled most of the time during the succeed- 
 ing five years, spending a few months in a place in 
 manj- of the Southern and Western States. His first 
 experience on the Pacific Coast was inCalif'ornia, in the 
 j'ear 1854, where he remained onlj' six months, going 
 over the mountains to Nevada, where he passed one 
 year and returned to California. In 1859 he again 
 came to Nevada, and the next year bought his pres- 
 ent ranch, near Franktown, and since then lie has 
 followed farming and butchering at his present loca- 
 tion. In 1S79 he purchased a fine farm near Peno 
 with a view of making it his future residence in order 
 to give his children better school privileges, having 
 already erected fine improvements on his place. 
 
 Mr. Frey was married to Miss Louisa Schatter on 
 the seventeenth of November, 1802. They have eight 
 children, five bo3-s and three girls. 
 
 Glenuat.e was formerlj- known as Stone &, Gates' 
 Crossing, a trading-post having been established 
 here in 1H57, by ("Charles C. (Jates and .Tohn F. Stone. 
 It is but a few miles below Peno, and a portion of 
 the travel to Virginia City crossed the river at this 
 ))oint, instead of at the several crossing jilaces above. 
 Stone & Gates kept the I'armcrs' Hotel at this ))oint. 
 In 1800 Stone & (iates built a bridge here, which 
 was carried away by the high water in 1SG2, when 
 the county constructed a free bridge. \ store was 
 built hero in 1800, and soon quite a town sprang up, 
 consisting of two stores, hotel, market, blacksmith 
 shop, saloons, etc., which received the name of (ilen- 
 dale. It enjoyed its lease of life but a short time, 
 however, for, two years later, the new town of Peno 
 absorbed all the business it formorlj- enjoyed, and 
 the town of (Jlendale vanished from sight. Mr. 
 Gates died in 1878, and Jlr. Stone now resides in 
 Dutch Flat, California. 
 
 •lA.MES SULLIVAN 
 
 Is a native of Ireland, and was born on the first of 
 February, 183C. At the age of twenty years he 
 crossed the water to America, and immediatelj- after 
 landing went to Port Jervis, Orange County, New 
 York, where he had relatives living, where ho re- 
 mained until ISGO, when ho came to California by 
 way of the Isthmus of Panama, arriving in San Fran- 
 cisco on the twenty-fourth of September. One month 
 
HISTORY OF WASHOE COUNTY. 
 
 643 
 
 later he went to Sueramento, and was cmplo3'ed in 
 the hardware establishment of Gillig, Mott & Co., 
 duriiifj the next two years. In 1SG2 he came to 
 Nevada on business connected with the firm, and 
 being favorably impressed with the country, decided 
 to locate here, which he did in the month of March, 
 18G3. in Truckee Meadows, three miles northeast of 
 Reno, on the Surpri.se Valley lioad, where he now 
 resides. In 18(j4 he was in partnership with P. J. 
 Kelley in the hotel business at (ileiidalc, and during 
 the same year built a hotel on the Peavine Road, 
 but soon after he withrew from the partnorshi]) 
 a heavy snow and rain-storm having destroyed 
 the well, which had been dug at great expense, 
 therebj- rendering the property valueless. In 1872 
 Mr. Sullivan built a fine brick house on the site of his 
 first residence. His ranch consists of lU) acres of 
 very jiroductive land, also 100 acres of grazing land, 
 all of which is fenced and well watered by irrigating 
 ditches on overj- part of the ranch, which is also 
 well stocked with cattle. Through his indomitable 
 will and energy he has made a beautiful place out of 
 a waste of sage-brush, for which he deserves great 
 credit. 
 
 Galena was laid out in the spring of 18(10 by A. 
 J. and R. S. Hatch, who then organized the mining 
 district of Galena in the edge of the mountains on the 
 \ve8t of Pleasant Valley. They also built a smelting 
 furnace, the first one on this side of the Sierra, and 
 constructed a road one and one-half miles long from 
 the town to the mines at Galena Hill. 
 
 The district received its name from the large ([uan- 
 tities of galena in the ore. The ore assayed about 
 8200 to the ton, and great things were expected of 
 it. Several unsuccessful trials were made to reduce 
 the ore, the failure being ascribed to ignorance. Con- 
 siderable work was done on the mines and a quartz 
 mill erected, in which the ores from this and sur- 
 rounding districts were worked. 1'he fact was 
 demonstrated that the ore was too base and the 
 amount of silver too small to be worked to advan- 
 tage, and the mines were abandoned. 
 
 At this time the business of the town underwent a 
 radical change. The town was moved half a mile 
 further up the creek, and it became a flourishing 
 lumber camp. For five or six years the business was 
 good, and the town had a poj)ulation of over ;iOO, 
 chieflj' Italians; but as soon as the lumber became 
 exhausted the town disappeared. While in the 
 height of its prosperity the town was almost blotted 
 out by fire. At nine o'clock on the morning of May 
 27, 18(15, during the prevalence of a high wind, a fire 
 was started that soon ilestroyed lifly houses. The 
 citizens bore their losses bravely, and soon a new 
 town appeared upon the spot. 
 
 lIcNTEit's liRiDiiKisH crossing point of the Truckee. 
 midway between Reno and Verdi. It was on one of 
 the routes of travel to the Washoe country from 
 California. In 1860 a man named Stout built a bridge 
 
 here. John Hunter also kept a hotel at this place. 
 In 1 8fi2 M r. Stout was drowned, and the bridge carried 
 away by high water, but the Henness Pass Toll-road 
 Company rebuilt the bridge, which became free upon 
 the expiration of the franchise in 1872. 
 
 HuKFAK Kit's is a station on the Virginia and 
 Truckee Railroad, seven miles south ol Reno. In 
 185!) (;. W. lluftaker and L. P. Drexler brought 500 
 head of cattle into the Truckee Meadows, and settled 
 on the ranch still occupied by Mr. Huttakcr. Hr. 
 Drexler now resides in Virginia City. 
 
 In 18G0 Langton's Pioneer Express established an 
 office here, and iti 18(i2 a post-office was located here 
 with G. VV. Hutfaker as Postmaster. In 1863 Straus 
 & Cramer opened a store, as this was quite a station 
 on the stage route. Cramer died in 18(54, and L. P. 
 Drexler purchased his interest. In 1866 Armsti'ongiS: 
 Adler bought the store, and in 1869 moved it to the 
 new town of Palisade, on the Centi'al Pacific Rail 
 road. The same year both the post-office and the 
 express office of Wells, Fargo it Co., who had 
 succeeded Langton's Pioneer Express, were re- 
 moved. In 1871 the ^'irginia and Truckee Railroad 
 was completed through this place from Reno, and 
 Huffaker's became a regular station from which 
 considerable produce is shipped li)- the farmers. The 
 Bonanza V Flume also ends at this point, and large 
 quantities of wood are shipped, 
 
 JoNEsviLLE was laid out two miles from Pj'ramid 
 City, at which point is situated the Jones & Kin- 
 kead Mine, the most important in the district, and 
 the one on which the most work has been done. 
 
 Work has been temporarilj' suspended on this 
 mine, and as the developments in other claims have 
 not proved as satisfactory as hoped, the district is 
 but lightly populated. P^-ramid City contains a 
 post-office and four buildings, and the town of Jones- 
 ville, a hotel, a store and a dozen cabins. 
 
 MiLi, Station is two and one-half miles south of 
 Franktown. This was an old mill-site; and is now 
 the terminus of a wood flume from the mountains, 
 and a station on the Virginia and Truckee Railroad, 
 and contains several little cabins. 
 
 Ophir is three miles below Washoe City and one 
 mile above Franktown. Hero the Ophir Mining 
 Compan}' erected a quartz mill and reduction works 
 in 1861. To this mill was drawn all the ore taken 
 from the company's mine in Virginia City, The mill 
 was an immense stone structure, and the seventy- 
 two stamps and other machinor}- were run by steam- 
 power. The company also owned fourteen sections 
 of wood land and 700 acres of valley land adjacent 
 to the mill, through which ran a fine stream of 
 water that supplied the mill with that necessary- 
 article. The ;nili cost 8')00,000, and a bridge more 
 than a mile in length, crossing the marsh above 
 Washoe Lake, cost 875.(1(10. The mill emplo}-e<l 15(1 
 hands, ami quite a town sprang up, second in size 
 only to Washoe Citj- in the county. 
 
644 
 
 HISTORY OF TflE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 In 1863 a railroad was projected to run from Vir- 
 ginia City to Ophir, witli branches to the other 
 mills and into the timber lands, but was never con- 
 structed. The connection of Empire City, on the 
 Carson River, with the Comslock mines, by means 
 of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad, was the 
 cause of the abandonment of the Ophir works and 
 the utter desertion and demolition of the town. The 
 dismantled ruins of the old works and one dwelling- 
 house now serve to mark the spot where once stood 
 a busy village of 500 people. 
 
 Pyramid District lies a few miles west of the south 
 end of Pyramid Lake. As early as 1860 prospectors 
 were through this region, and ledges were discovered, 
 but were considered of little value and were not 
 worked. The croppings along the surface are ex- 
 posed to view for a long distance, and lay unnoticed 
 for a number of years. On the sixth of March, 1876, 
 Dr. S. Bishop, of Reno, located the Monarch and was 
 soon followed by many others. The doctor had been 
 on a pi'ofessional visit to the neighborhood, and had 
 found on a table in the house a piece of the rock, 
 which he took home with him, the result of the assay 
 inducing him to make the above location. 
 
 A two-stamp prospect mill was erected by Bishop, 
 and the result of its workings caused quite a rush of 
 people to the new district. The ore so closely re- 
 sembled that of the Comstock that it was proclaimed 
 that " another Comstock "had been found, and some 
 went so far as to assert that it was the same vein as 
 its noted predecessor of ALount Davidson. 
 
 l*Yn.\Miii CiTV was at once laid out, and a board- 
 ing house and a few buildings were erected, the pop- 
 ulation soon amounting to nearlj- I50((. During the 
 summer of 1876 daily crowded stages ran from Reno 
 to Pyramid City. Another town, called Cold Springs, 
 was also started some three miles to the east. The 
 district was organized at a miners' meeting, held 
 April 12, 187G. Five town sites were surveyed, and 
 all the springs and mill sites in the vicinity were 
 located. 
 
 PoEVii.i.E, a small mining camp, sometimes denom- 
 inated Peavine, Poe City, or I'odunk, is situated in 
 the Peavine Mountains in the Peavine .Mining Dis- 
 trict, nine miles from Reno. 
 
 The Peavine ledges were discovered in 1863, and a 
 district twenty miles long and about ten miles in 
 width was organized. In the center of the district 
 is a clusler of small springs, near which a house was 
 built in IStJd, and fi'oni the jjeavines growing about 
 the springs the mountains received their name. 
 
 The lodes of the district are from three to twenty 
 feet thick, and lie in a granite and metamor]ibic for- 
 mation. Several tunnels were run in on a number of 
 the ledges soon after the discovery of the district, 
 and ore taken out that assayed from fifteen to fortj' 
 per cent. coj>i)er. and from Slid to 8500 per ton in 
 gold and silver. Some choice ores reduced at the 
 Auburn Mills yielded 100 ounces of silver to the ton. 
 
 Smelting works on the Swansea plan, with a capac- 
 ity of ten tons per day, were erected in the district, 
 and several other furnaces were projected. A town 
 named Peavine was laid out at the springs in 1863, 
 that contained several houses while the mines were 
 being prospected. 
 
 The ore refused to be worked by the ordinary 
 process, and the mines were largely deserted, although 
 a few clung to them, in the hope that the future 
 would enable them to be worked. The canons in 
 the mountains were worked for placer gold, when 
 plenty of water was to be had in the spring. 
 
 In 1863, John Poe and others resumed work in 
 this district, and developed several rich ledges, the 
 Poe, Paymaster, and Golden Fleece, being the most 
 prominent. The first two were united, and the 
 Consolidated Poe became the leading mine. A ten- 
 stamp mill, in connection with a new stj'le of fur- 
 nace, was erected, and considerable money spent in 
 developments and improvements. The town, then 
 called Poe City, increased rapidly to a population 
 of 200, and a store was established. 
 
 The ores were found to be very rebellious, some 
 of them possessing the most complicated combina- 
 tions of minerals known. Many new processes were 
 introduced and tested here, each one with a great 
 deal of confidence, but all to no purpose; and, 
 although the ores assayed extremely high, enough 
 could not be extracted from them to pay for the 
 working. After spending about 820(1,000, the Con- 
 solidated Poe ceased operations, as did also nearlj- 
 all the companies working in the district. The 
 town of Poeville has but about a dozen inhabitants. 
 In the future these ledges will probabl}' be worked, 
 as thej- are of undoubted richness, and only require 
 the proper method of treatment to make their value 
 known. 
 
 STEA.MBOAT SPRINGS. 
 
 As these springs are among the greatest natural 
 curiosities of the State u detailed (lescri])tion of them 
 is in order, and more especially as thej' are fast 
 becoming the favorite resort of invalids and tourists. 
 Nature, in an eccentric mood made these springs for 
 the benefit of mankind, and in this, as in others of 
 her wonderful creations succeeded admirably. They 
 are situated in Steamboat Valley, an extension of 
 the Washoe Valley, at an altitude of 4,500 feet above 
 the sea, eleven miles south of Heno and twenty-eight 
 miles by railroad from Carson City, anil forty miles 
 by the same mode of conveyance from Virginia City, 
 while by the wagon road from the latter place it is 
 only nine miles. The tract of land on which the 
 springs are situated contains eighty acres. The build- 
 ings consist of a fine hotel, with twent}- rooms, also 
 five cottages containing a like number of rooms. 
 Connecteil with the main hotel is a bath-room build- 
 ing, containing fiitcon seperate sets of baths each, a 
 set consisting of a steam bath from a hot suljihur 
 spring, also tub anil shower baths. No artificial 
 agencies are employed in the beating of the water, 
 
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 RANCH OF JOSEPH FREY, FRANKTii 
 
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 /N, Washoe Co. Nevada. Located in I860. 
 
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 -)E CO. NEVADA. 
 ' N 1879. 
 
HISTORY OF WASHOE COUNTY. 
 
 645 
 
 bat niilure provides the same all heated before it 
 reaches the surface of the ground, and the tempera- 
 ture is 212° Fahrenlioit. Fiftj' thounand dollars in 
 coin has been expended in improvements upon the 
 buildings and land, and preparations are in progress 
 for still greater the coming season. There is a drug 
 store connected with the establishment, and the pres- 
 ent proprietors have added an electric bath, with all 
 the latest improvements, the two latter being under 
 the immediate supervision and direction of Dr. II. 
 Rozsas, Professor of Medicine, and late a member of 
 the California State Board of Medical Examiners. 
 The doctor is a gentleman thoroughly conversant 
 with his profession and is a graduate of Wein, Leip- 
 zig, Prag. Munich and Paris. His wife is associated 
 with him and acts as nurse when occasion requires. 
 Before reaching these wonderful springs the traveler 
 is notified of their existence and locality by large 
 wreaths of steam that wind in a serpentine manner 
 towards the heavens, visible at a great distance. 
 The early emigrants to California relate some won- 
 derful stories in relation to these freaks of nature, of 
 their puffing and blowing off steam like a steamboat, 
 hence their name. It is also claimed that in those 
 daj's the chemical action in this strange laboratory of 
 nature was much more violent than at the present 
 time, but the phenomenon even now is sufficiently 
 curious to interest and puzzle the most scientific 
 beholder. The property is at present owned by C. 
 F. Moeller & Co., who thoroughly understand cater- 
 ing to the traveling public. The springs are on the 
 westerly half of the tract, and issue from a rocky 
 mound formed of incrustations, about one-quarter of 
 a mile long by 400 feet wide. Running lengthwise 
 of this mound are fissures, about one foot wide of 
 very irregular construction, from which comes the 
 water and steam. The Virginia and Truckee Rail- 
 road runs nearlj- through the center of this tract, 
 the springs and buildings being on the west side of 
 the road. A stream of pure cold water also runs 
 through this land. 
 
 The springs were located in 18G0 by Felix Monet, 
 a Frenchman. The southern portion was located 
 in 18G0 by a man named Cameron, who was negli- 
 gent about perfecting his title. Doctor Ellis took up 
 the same properly in 18C1, and proceeded to improve 
 it. Cameron sold his title to Charles VV. Cullins, who 
 commenced suit to obtain possession. Doctor Ellis 
 built a hospital in 1862, with accommodations for 
 thirty-four patients, and erected six or seven bath- 
 houses in connection with the springs. The litiga- 
 tion dragged along until 1807, Doctor Ellis still hold- 
 ing possession, when a final decision was rendered in 
 favor of Mr. Cullins. About the time that Doctor 
 Ellis was dispossessed the improvements were burned 
 to the ground, the fire believed by some to have been 
 of incendiary origin. Mr. Cullins then procured a 
 United States patent for the property, and in 1871 
 built a tine depot and connecting buildings for the 
 accommodation of guests. 
 81 
 
 In the fall of 1871 the Virginia and Truckee Rail- 
 road was completed to this point from Reno, and this 
 place remained the terminus for nearly a year. 
 Quite a town sprang up instantly, as goods brought 
 by the railroad were here transferred to freight 
 wagons, and the immense freighting business of Reno 
 was taken here to a large extent. The completion 
 of the railroad to Carson City extinguished its com- 
 mercial light, and the new town disappeared. In 
 187;{ Mr. Cullins fell into one of the springs, and was 
 so severely scalded that he died soon after. In the 
 fall of 1874, M. and J. Rajip ])urcliased the property, 
 and erected the hotel. In iMarch, 1880, a post-office 
 was established here, with J. Rapp as Postmaster. 
 
 In 1876 deposits of sulphur and cinnabar were 
 opened near here by Tom. Wheeler and Louis Dean, 
 who sold in 1877 to P. A. Humbert, since which time 
 the mine has been steadilj- worked by the Nevada 
 Quicksilver Mining Company. Large quantities of 
 pure sulphur have been taken from around the 
 springs. 
 
 "W.ADSWORTH is at an elevation of 4,077 feet above 
 the sea level, and is one of the lowest points on the 
 line of the Central Pacific Railroad in this Slate. 
 The Big Bend of the Truckee is a place familiar to all 
 overland emigrants who came by this route, as being 
 the place where they first found plenty of good, pure 
 water upon emerging from the desert; and here, 
 where the river turns to the north to find its home in 
 the bosom of the Pyramid and Winnemucca Lakes, is 
 where most of the emigrants reached and crossed that 
 stream at what was known as the Lower Crossing, 
 now called the town of Wadsworth. 
 
 It was here that Fremont left the river and con- 
 tinued south in January, 1844; and it was here in the 
 fall of the same jear that the jiarty of emigrants 
 first saw and named the river. It was one of the 
 great landmarks of overland travel, and the one most 
 looked iorward to for its relresliing supply of water, 
 grass and fish. It, as well as other points on the 
 river, was a great recruiting station for exhausted 
 emigrant trains. 
 
 When the Central Pacific Railroad passed through 
 here, in the summer of 1868, this point was selected 
 for one of the most important stations on the lino. 
 It is here that the road leaves the i-ivcr and strikes 
 out across the Great Desert, through which it runs 
 a distance of 100 miles, to the town of Humboldt. 
 The car shops of the Truckee division, extending 
 from Truckee to Winnemucca, were located here; 
 and here the engines take their load of wood and 
 water for their long trip across the arid desert. 
 For this reason Wadsworth first came into promi- 
 nence, being the base of supplies for the building of 
 the road across the desert. The engines oi\ this 
 portion of the road are constructed with increased 
 capacity for carrying water, on account of the great 
 quantity required. 
 
 The work shops at this point employ quite a num- 
 ber of men, and the round-house contains twenty 
 
-646 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, 
 
 stalls. Besides the railroad interests there are two 
 hotels, three grocery stores, two general merchandise 
 stores, one varietj- store, and saloons, markets, shops, 
 etc. As soon as the road was completed to this 
 point, it became the base of supplies for the mines 
 to the south, in Churchill, Esmeralda and Nye 
 Counties. The excellent roads leading to Columbus, 
 Belmont, Ellsworth, and other mining towns, are 
 lined with the long freight teams c-onvej'ing goods 
 from W'adsworth. As long as those points are sup- 
 plied by freight wagons, Wadsworth will retain the 
 bulk of the traffic; but as soon as one of the pro- 
 posed railroads invades that region, the freighting 
 business will materially decline. The population, of 
 about 500, are busj- and prosperous. 
 
 For two years Wadsworth was a bone of conten- 
 tion between Washoe and Lyon Counties, on account 
 of the uncertainty of the boundary line. The 
 boundary ran along the "old emigrant road," and 
 the people of Lyon County discovered a cut-off, 
 which they claimed to be the main road, and which, 
 tf the claim was conceded, would leave Wadsworth 
 in Lyon County. Jurisdiction had always been 
 exercised by Washoe County, and, upon the attempt 
 being made by the officials of Lj-on County to assess 
 taxes against projjerty in the town, the matter was 
 carried into the courts. The case was twice tried in 
 Ormsby County without arriving at a decision, and 
 was then taken to Humboldt County, where the 
 third trial resulted in favor of Washoe County, in 
 May, 1871. 
 
 The excellent bridge that sjjans the Truekee River 
 at Wadsworth was constructed in 1879, by the 
 county, at an expense of $4,000. 
 
 A number of accidents, of a more or less serious 
 nature, have occurred on the railroad in the vicinity 
 of Wadsworth, but probably the most peculiar one 
 and the one that but narrowly escaped being most 
 horrible in its consequences, occurred June 13, 1872. 
 Passenger train, No. 1, passed over a broken rail, 
 six miles west of the town, which caused the roar 
 two coaches to leave the track and lean up against 
 the rocky side of a cut, throiigii which the train was 
 passing. In this position they were dragged rapidly 
 along until they came to the end of the cut, opening 
 out u])on a steep embankment vvhon the two coaches 
 were upset and demolished. Strange as it may seem 
 when one contemplates the nature of the accident, 
 no one was killed, but t wonty-seven passengers were 
 injui'ed, some of them severely. Had the cars leaned 
 in the opposite direction, they would have been 
 deposited in the Truekee Kiver as soon as they 
 cleared the cut, and a great loss of life would have 
 necessarily ensued. 
 
 T. n. IIEIt.MAN, 
 
 The subject of the I'ollowing sketch, is a native of the 
 State of Pennsylvania, having been born in Lycom- 
 ing County, on the thirt}' first day of October. 1830. 
 Ue passed Lis early life and grew to manhood in his 
 native countj'. His education was received in the 
 
 common schools, and was of an ordinary kind. In 
 1850, having reached his twentieth year, he removed 
 to Jefferson County, where he remained about four 
 years. Like thousands of others, he had a desire to 
 behold the wonders of the Pacific Coast, and bidding 
 adieu to his Eastern home came to California. Upon 
 his arrival in the land of gold, he sought the mines 
 in Plumas County as his quickest and surest avenue 
 to wealth, and for the succeeding three years fol- 
 lowed the fortunes of the miners of those days. In 
 1857 he quit the mines and engaged in ranching in 
 Ijassen County, where he remained until 18G0, at 
 which time he crossed the mountains and anchored 
 in what is now the State of Nevada. His first stop- 
 ping place was at Truekee Meadows, then called the 
 Lower Crossing of the Truekee, and, in connection 
 with Joseph Fellnagle, became a settler. There were 
 no white men in that section of the country at the 
 time. Mr. Herman and his partner located the ranch 
 in January, 1861, which now contains SOO acres. In 
 1872 he became sole owner, and has at this time one 
 of the finest places on the Meadows. He raises vast 
 amounts of haj', having 125 acres devoted to that 
 branch of agriculture, 90 acres being in alfalfa, which 
 yields three good crops each year. A view of his 
 ranch will be found in another part of this volume. 
 
 Washoe City sprang into being from the neces- 
 sity of cheap fuel and water with which to work the 
 ores of the Comstock. The mountains fringing 
 Washoe Vallej' on the west were bountifully supplied 
 with timber, and many saw-mills were busy in pre- 
 paring lumber and mining timbers. These were 
 sent to Virginia City, across the intervening mount- 
 ains. The wagons returned with loads of ore, to be 
 worked in the numerous mills that were springing 
 up in Washoe Valley. 
 
 In 1861 the Atchison Mill was built by J. H., S. 
 M., and S. S. Atchison. A town was laid out by 
 Peter Rice and J. W. Grier, and named Washoe City. 
 The situation of the now town in relation to the im- 
 mense lumber interests of this region, and in rela- 
 tion to the rapidly developing Comstock, whose ores 
 it was supposed would always bo brought here for 
 reduction, led to its rapid growth. It was thought 
 that here would be a city second only in ini])ortance 
 to Virginia City, if, indeed, it did not surpass that 
 place. Town lots were in great demand, and sold 
 at a high price. Upon the formation of Washoe 
 County by the Territorial Legislature, in the fall of 
 18G1, the seat of justice was locatcil at Washoe City, 
 a fact that gave it an additional forward impulse. 
 
 Professional men located here as the county seat, 
 and a prospective city of importance. Three more 
 quartz mills, the New York, Buckej-e, and Minne- 
 sota, were erected. In 1803 a fine two-story brick 
 ('ourt House was built, and the same year G. W 
 Bloor commenced publishing the Washoe 2'imes. 
 The town became well built u|i with brick and frame 
 business structures and dwelliiiL's; and in 18li5, the 
 year of its greatest prosperity, had a ])opulation of 
 
HISTORY OF WASHOE COUNTY. 
 
 647 
 
 about 2,000 people. The businesa of froiplhting 
 between this and other points in the valley and Vir- 
 ginia City was very great, and so long as this 
 lasted the business prosperity of the town was 
 assured. 
 
 When mills were built on the Carson Hiver, 
 in Eagle Valley, the town of Empire began to make 
 encroachments upon the business of Washoe City; 
 and the completion of the Virginia and Truckee 
 Eailroad from Carson City to Virginia, in 1869, 
 struck a fatal blow at its prosperity. From that 
 time Washoe City, which had already declined con- 
 siderably, faded awaj- rapidly. The citizens deserted 
 the sinking ship, many of them joining those who 
 had previously moved to the now town of Reno, 
 while others sought out more remote localities. 
 
 The only paper in the town, the Eastern Slope, 
 moved to Eeno in July, 186S; by Act of the Legis- 
 lature the county seat was transferred to the same 
 place in the spring of 1871, and thus Washoe City 
 was robbed of the last resource for maintaining a 
 town. 
 
 About twelve o'clock on the night of April 28, 
 1873, a fire broke out that destroyed William Will- 
 iams' two-story brick building, and five other 
 houses, the town being then entirely unprotected 
 from the fianies. The only extensive fire the town 
 had previously experienced was on June 1, 1865, 
 when a large number of buildings were burned. At 
 that time there was a tire company called Washoe 
 Hook, Ladder and Buclcet Company, which had 
 been organized the previous March. 
 
 For several j^ears Washoe City had a population 
 of about 200,- but has since suffered a further decline, 
 and now has one small store, a saloon, and a dozen 
 dwelling-houses. A church was built here by the 
 Methodists in the days of prosperity, which is now 
 occupied as a district school house. One of the 
 flumes down which wood is floated from the mount- 
 ains terminates at this point, and the business fur- 
 nished by that, and the shipments of the few ranches 
 in the immediate vicinity, are the life of what 
 remains of Washoe City. Most of the buildings that 
 composed the old town have entirely vanished from 
 sight, and there is but little to suggest the thriving 
 city that once was the pride of Washoe County. 
 
 Verdi is a station on the Central Pacific Kailroad 
 about two miles from the old town of Crystal Peak, 
 springing up as soon as the railroad came along, 
 and may bo called the descendant and successor of 
 that town. Here the lumber interests of the district 
 are centered; saw. lath and shingle mills here tind a 
 shipping point. Of late years a new industry has 
 been added, and now Verdi also stores and ships large 
 quantities of pure mountain ice, being one of the 
 points for the preservation of that article, the whole 
 ice business of the coast being concentrated in the 
 Sierra, along the line of the railroad. The popula- 
 lation is about 200. 
 
 The bridge that spans the river on the road from 
 
 Vordi to Crv'stal Peak was built in 1873, partly by 
 the county and partlj- b}- the citizens. In 1860 a 
 bridge was built there, the place being known as 
 O'Neil's Crossing, and being one of the crossing 
 points of the Truckee River for travel to the then 
 new mining region of the Comstock. In 1862 the 
 bridge was carried away by high water, and was 
 rebuilt. A mo--t curious accident occurred hero on 
 the thirty-first of March, 1873. The bridge, upon 
 which tolls were then collected, fell into the stream, 
 while a load of wood, drawn by ten oxen, was upon 
 it. But one ox was injured, and the wagon was 
 drawn out of the water, right side up, without having 
 lost a single stick from its load. The new bridge 
 which was then constructed was made free to all. 
 
 One of the best planned and executed robberies 
 occurred at this place, that has been recorded in the 
 State. A band of robbers, led by A. J. Davis, and 
 composed of J. E. Chapman, R. A. Jones, E. B. Par- 
 sons, John Squires, James Gilchrist, Tilton P. Cock- 
 erill and J. C. Roberts, planned the robbery of Wells, 
 Fargo & Co's. treasure-boxes. Chapman wenttoSan 
 Francisco to watch for a large shipment of treasure, 
 which was expected soon to be made. On the 
 fourth of November, 1870, he sent the following dis- 
 patch bj- telegraph: — 
 
 To R. A. Jones, Capital House, Reno: Send me 
 sixty dollars, and charge to my account 
 
 J. Enuique. 
 
 This dispatch was conveyed to a retreat in the 
 Peavine Mountains, in which were assembled all of 
 the gang exce])t Chapman and Roberts, and where 
 the plans for the robbery were matured. 
 
 That afternoon thej- all proceeded to the stone 
 culvert, near Hunter's, going bj" different routes. 
 Here Jones was left with the guns and tools, with 
 the understanding that soon after the freight train 
 ])assed up to V'erdi the others would be down with 
 the engine and express car, and that if they did not 
 stop at the culvert, to place obstructions on the track 
 to prevent jjursuit, and to follow on his horse with 
 the guns and tools. 
 
 Davis, Parsons, Squires, Cockerill and Gilchrist 
 then proceeded to Verdi, and when the eastward- 
 bound train stopped there, about 1 o'clock on the 
 morning of the fifth, boarded it, cut off the passenger 
 coaches, took po.ssession of the engine, mail and 
 express cars, and compelled the engineer to ran 
 down the track and stoj) at the culvert. Davis then 
 cried out " Man, come out with tho.se guns," when 
 Jones made his appearance. The door of the express 
 car was then <)|iened, and the messenger oriiered out 
 and placed under guard with the fireman in the mail 
 car, a guard being also maintained over the engineer. 
 The treasure-boxes were then broken open and 
 Sn,GllO secured. 
 
 Having accomplished the robbery, the men hastily 
 divided the plunder, and departed in different direc- 
 tions. Davis went towards Virginia City, burying 
 $20,000 near Hunter's place. Jones and Gilchrist went 
 
648 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 across to the Peavine road, with 87,500, which they 
 buried in a ravine near a point of rocks, and contin- 
 ued on to Sierra Valley, where they were soon after 
 arrested. The others, with the balance of the spoil, 
 took the road to Crystal Peak, scattering in several 
 directions, one of them going to the house of J. C. 
 Roberts, in Antelope, another member of the gang. 
 
 Within a week after the commission of the crime, 
 the perpetrators were all arrested, including Chap- 
 man and Roberts, some of them in this State, and 
 others in California. Roberts confessed all he knew 
 about the aifair. Jones divulged the hiding place of 
 87,500, Gilchrist of §12,000 and Davis of §20,000, so 
 that nearly the whole amount was recovered. 
 
 At the trial in Washoe C/ily the following month, 
 Roberts and Gilchrist testified against their compan- 
 ions and were discharged. Davis and Jones pleaded 
 "guilty," and were sentenced, the former to ten years 
 and the latter to five years, in the penitentiary, 
 while the others pleaded " not guilty," were con- 
 victed and sentenced to various terms, ranging from 
 eighteen to twenty-three and one-half years. In 
 what is denominated the '■ Big Break" from the 
 penitentiarj', September 17, 1871, in which twenty- 
 nine prisoners escaped. Squires, Chapman, Parsons 
 and Cockeriil gained their liberty, but were all 
 recaptured within a month. Parsons was captured 
 September 28lb, and confined in the Ormsby County 
 jail, from which he immediately escaped, and 
 remained at liberty several years. 
 
 CHAPTER LV. 
 HISTORY OF WHITE PINE COUNTY. 
 
 The Mountains ami V.illeys — Timlier, Mills .iikI Lumber — Wild 
 Game anil Fish — The Indian Trihea — I)i.scovery of and Kush 
 to the Mines — Organizatiim and B luiidaries — First County 
 Commissioners — Court House and Defalcation— Appoint- 
 menta .ind Klections — Itoaourccs of the County — More 
 Hopeful Prospects — I'rincipal Mining Districts — J'aucakc 
 Coal Mines — Frincipal Towna and Citiea. 
 
 The general trend of the mountains of White 
 Pine County is north and south. The Diamond 
 range, in the western part of the county, is high 
 and snowy; the White Pine range, on the west cen- 
 ter (known as Ruby, or East Humboldt, range in 
 Elko County), is bold and high; Treasure Hill is an 
 easterly spur of the White Pine range; ranging 
 down the center of the county are the Egan Mount- 
 ains; the Schell Creek range commences near the 
 north lino of the county, and runs into Lincoln 
 County, and is there known as the Patterson range; 
 Snake Creek range commences near the southeast 
 corner of the county, and runs north about seventy 
 miles; the Antelope Mountains form a low range 
 extending into Elko Countj-; Wheeler's Peak, form- 
 erly called Jeff. Davis Peak, is the loftiest in eastern 
 Nevada, its altitude being 12,980 feet. 
 
 Newark Valley, which contains about 100,000 
 acres of tillable and grazing lands, is near the west- 
 ern limits of the count}', and is irrigated by Colo 
 Creek, Newark Creek, and numerous springs. It 
 was first settled in 1860 by E. Orser and James and 
 Samuel Gilson. Grain was first raised in 18C7, since 
 which time grain and vegetables have been pro- 
 duced annually. The valley has a total white popu- 
 lation of 150. 
 
 White Pine Valley lies between the White Pino 
 and Egan Mountain ranges, and is sixtj' miles in 
 length and fifteen in width. The northern half of it 
 is in White Pine County, and contains about 2,000 
 acres of tillable land. Its soil is rich, and it is the 
 best grain growing valley in the county. It is irri- 
 gated from While Pine River and from springs. It 
 was first settled in 1869 by J. R. Withington, the 
 Ellison brothers and others. Grain was first raised 
 in 1870. The largest barle}^ crop it ever produced 
 amounted to 300 tons. The white inhabitants of the 
 valley number fifty persons. 
 
 Steptoe Valley is the largest in the county Ij'ing 
 between the Egan and Schell Creek ranges, and com- 
 mences near the southern extremity of the county 
 and runs north to the Humboldt River. Its average 
 width is fifteen miles, and its tillable area is esti- 
 mated at 70,000 acres. Many creeks flow down 
 from the mountain slopes on either side. The settle- 
 ment of this vallej' dates from 1868. Since 1870 
 considerable grain has been raised annually. The 
 crop of 1875 aggregated 600 tons. The number of 
 ranches is thirty, and the total white population is 
 200. 
 
 Spring Valley, in the eastern part of the county, 
 is flanked by Schell Creek and Snake Mountains. It 
 commences near the .southern boundary line of the 
 county, and ends near the northern boundary line. 
 Its length is about 100 miles, and its width 12. Its 
 northern portion is well watered by numerous small 
 creeks, all of which run long enough for irrigation in 
 the spring, and many of which are living streams. 
 It contains about 25,000 acres of good arable soil 
 that can be irrigated. Its white population numbers 
 about 150 persons. 
 
 Snake Valley lies east of the Snake range, the 
 State line passing through it. About 350,000 acres 
 of it are in this county, of which 10,000 are tillable. 
 It is chiefly devoted to stock-raising. Its slope 
 being to the south and cast, its climate is warmer 
 than that of most portions of the county, and largo 
 quantities of tomatoes and other vegetables are suc- 
 cessfully cultivated. In numerous small valleys not 
 mentioned, grain and vegetables are raised. 
 
 TIMBER, mills AND LUMBER. 
 
 The Schell Creek, White Pine, Egan, and Snake 
 Mountains were ])artially covered with pine, origin- 
 allj', which was fit for lumber. Mills are now in 
 operation on all the ranges with the exception of the 
 
JP#. 
 
 ^ff. 
 
HISTORY OF WHITE PINE COUNTY. 
 
 649 
 
 White Pine range. On the hitter range, in 1869, 
 twelve mills were running, and lumber was worth, 
 from 8100 to §200 per thousand, and finely dressed 
 lumber from the Sierra Nevada brought 8400 per 
 thousand. There isj-et a large quantity of sawable 
 timber on the Snake range, and considerable on the 
 Schell Creek range. All of the mountains in the 
 county are well covered with nut pine and mountain 
 mahoganj^, which are excellent for charcoal and fuel. 
 
 WILD GAME AND FISH. 
 
 The larger wild game of White Pine County con- 
 sists of mountain sheep, deer and antelope; the 
 smaller kinds include the wild cat, lynx, fox, coyote, 
 hare, porcupine, rabbit, badger, duck, goose, sage 
 hen, snipe, curlew, grouse, and prairie chicken. The 
 mountain hare is much larger than the valley hare, 
 and is gray in color in the summer, and snow white 
 in the winter. The ducks, geese, curlew, and snipe, 
 are of several varieties. The sage hen feeds on sage 
 only in the winter, and in the summer and fall makes 
 fine food. Deer are more numerous in the mountains 
 than when the county was first settled. In the 
 month of May they migrate northward, and return 
 southward in October, by regular trails. It was 
 formerly the custom of the Indians to build long 
 brush fences across these trails, in the shape of a 
 letter V, thus forming a corral into which the deer 
 collected, to be slaughtered there by hundreds. 
 Since the Indians have become supplied with fire- 
 arms, they do their deer slaying in detail, and no 
 longer by wholesale operations; and, as a con- 
 sequence, that animal is now more numerous than 
 formerly. 
 
 After the settlement of some of the vallcj-s, the 
 coyotes became exceedingly troublesome, and a war 
 was waged against them by the ranchers, that almost 
 resulted in their extermination. Soon afterwards, 
 the hare and rabbit multiplied wonderfully, and 
 became more troublesome than the coyotes had 
 been. A shooting match, that occurred in Steptoe 
 Valley last season, illustrated their mtilti|>licity. 
 The rival parties were organized bj- Samuel Mosier, 
 and consisted of six hunters each, chosen from among 
 the best shots of Hamilton. After three hours of 
 lively work, the supply of ammunition gave out. 
 The number of hare and rabbit slain were found to 
 number 009, and an even larger number of dead and 
 wounded were found lying about the field the next 
 day. During the present season hare and rabbit 
 have niy.-:teriously disappeared, from the prevalence 
 of some disease among them, no doubt. The same 
 thing has occurred once before, within the memory 
 of the Indians. 
 
 There are only two streams in White Pine County 
 that have fish in them. In 1876 trout wore placed 
 in Cluvelund Creek, in Spring Valley, and have multi- 
 plied i-apidly since. Lehman Creek, which Hows 
 into Snake Valley and then sinks, also contains trout, 
 and it is supposed that the Mormons, who formerly 
 occupied a portion of the valley, placed them there. 
 
 THE INDIAN TRIBES. 
 
 The Indians of this county are of the Shoshone and 
 Gosh-Uto tribes — about seven Shoshones to every 
 three of the other tribe -and belong to the Duck Val- 
 ley Reservation. The Indians of White Pine County, 
 however, have never been on a reservation, and have 
 received very little aid from the Government since 
 1872. The census report places their number at 
 810, but it is known that many of them were not 
 found by the census agents, and their actual number 
 is probably not less than 1,200. The Shoshones 
 occupy the western part of the county, and the Gosh- 
 Utes the eastern part. Before any white settlements 
 were commenced, the Pah-Utes subjugated the Sho- 
 shones, and regularly collected tribute from them, 
 and only permitted them to keep a certain small 
 number of ponies to each band, and if, at any time 
 the number was e.'cceeded, the extra ponies were 
 seized by the Pah-Utes. In this manner the young 
 Shoshones were kept dismounted and at a disad- 
 vantage. Attractive Shoshone maidens were also 
 borne avvay by force to Pah-Uto lodges. The Gosh- 
 Utcs took a prominent part in the overland stage 
 troubles of 1803, but have been perfectly quiet since 
 the scare of 1875. A few of them are engaged in 
 farming, and own teams, wagons and implements, 
 but the majorit}- strictly follow the scriptural injunc- 
 tion to take no thought of the morrow. Most of the 
 heavy household drudgery of the white settlements 
 is done by squaws, who work at cheap rates and 
 make docile and industrious domestics. 
 
 DISCOVERY OP AND RDSH TO THE MINES. 
 
 The area of White Pino County is 8,200 square 
 miles, and previous to April, 1SC9, was a part of 
 Lander. The mining district from which it receives 
 its name was organized in the autumn of 1865, and 
 was so called from the predominant forest trees cov- 
 ering a lofty and strong range of mountains, extend- 
 ing 100 miles north and south. A. J. Leathers, 
 Thomas aMurphj-, Morrill, and others, who were the 
 pioneer prospectors, gave but little attention to the 
 district, until in 1868, following the directions of an 
 Indian, they explored the naked summit of Treasure 
 Hill, and there found that extraordinary body of 
 mineral wealth which soon after led to the concentra- 
 tion of population in that quarter, and the organiza- 
 tion of a new county. The news of this wonderful 
 discovery went, as though borne on the wings of the 
 wind, to eveiy city, town and camp in the State. 
 Population gathered in. like the walei-s from a cloud- 
 burst, suddenly and in overwhelming numbers. So 
 great was the excitement during the year 1868, that 
 every man who could got there, went to the White 
 Pine District to examine the Eberhardt Mine, and 
 the vast wealth of the district. 
 
 The White Pine News of March 28, 1874, in a do- 
 scrii)lion of this period, said: — 
 
 White Pino, at its birth, six years since, was a 
 jirodigy. The chloride ores of the Hidden Treasure 
 and the Eberhardt were unknown to the North 
 
650 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 American coDlinenl, and had a parallel only in the 
 Chanarcillo and kindred Chillian mines. Their rich- 
 ness running into the thousands, and their docility 
 extending nearly to assay value, excited the greed 
 or interest of all within hearing. These, together 
 with the misapprehension of their extent, caused by 
 the profuse exhibition on Chloride and Bromide 
 Flats, inflamed the public to a degree unknown since 
 the birth of California. Electrified by the prospect 
 of interminable wealth, multitudes took their line of 
 march for the new Mecca, and so great was the 
 hegira, that, indifferent to sickness or climate, within 
 the first season some ID, 000 or 12,000 men hud estab- 
 lished themselves in huts and caves 9,000 feet above 
 the sea. All locomotives were in requisition, from 
 Shank's mare to the dashing coach, and teams 
 groaned under the burden of subsistence for the pil- 
 grim army. In the midst of the small-pox, with the 
 thermometer at zero, a carnival of riot and specula- 
 tion was inaugurated. Mines, land, wood and water 
 were claimed; towns were built; lots rose to the 
 thousands; and mining claims, good, bad or indiffer- 
 ent, were bought and sold at unconscionable prices. 
 
 The Mining Recorder in 1869-70 was obliged to 
 keep three assistants, who were busy all the time 
 recording claims, making this the best paying ofiice 
 in the county, recording over 13,000 claims in two 
 years, by far the greater number being recorded 
 within the first six months of the excitement, which 
 was in the fall of 1868 and beginning of 1869, the fee 
 being fifty cents a name, averaging two dollars a 
 claim, giving the Recorder, Mr. L. P. Tenney, a com- 
 fortable fortune for his two years of service. 
 
 The first mill was a ten-stamp, erected by Jere- 
 miah Miller, and within ten months thereafter there 
 were 212 stamps ready for operation. The cities of 
 Treasure, Hamilton and Shermantown sprang into 
 existence, and before the close of the year 1868, the 
 population of White Pine District had reached over 
 10,000. The distance to Austin was 120 miles, and 
 not wishing to go so far to the county seat, and 
 thinking it would be better to have a county of their 
 own, the people of this district made application to 
 the Legislature for a separate county organization. 
 
 ()R(iANIZATI0N AND BOUNDARIES. 
 
 By an Act of the Legislature, which took eflfect 
 April 1, 1869, White Pine County was created'out of 
 a portion of Lander; the town of Hamilton was 
 made its county seat; the first officers were named 
 and its boundaries were fixed as follows: "All that 
 portion of the State of Nevada lying east of a line 
 running due north and south through the most west- 
 erly part of the house know as Shannon's Station, 
 on the westerly slope of Diamond Mountain, in Lan- 
 der County, on the road from Austin to Hamilton, in 
 said county; and south of a line running duo east and 
 west through the most northerly partof Camp Kuby, 
 and north of the present line between the counties of 
 Nye and Lander, as located by Thomas J. Reed, 
 County Surveyor of Lander Count)-, made in 1868." 
 By an Act approved February 26, 1875, a portion of 
 the territory of Nye was detached and addi d to 
 White Pine County, thus establishing the bound. .rios 
 
 of the latter county as they are at the present time. 
 
 FIRST COUNTY COM.MISSIONERS. 
 
 Messrs. Drake, Wheeler and Cranley, the Com- 
 missioners designated by the Legislative Act, met at 
 Hamilton, the county seat. April 1, 1869, and pro- 
 ducing their commissions from the Governor, together 
 with their official oaths, duly subscribed and certified 
 to as required by law, proceeded to organize the first 
 Board of County Commissioners by the election of 
 Frank Wheeler, Chairman. Their official oaths wore 
 ordered filed and recorded. The Clerk then quali- 
 fied, after which the oaths and bonds of the Sheriff, 
 Assessor and District Attorney were approved and 
 filed. Petitions were then presented as follows: 
 from Archie G. Turner, asking that a township be 
 established at Patterson, and that a Justice of the 
 Peace and Constable be appointed; from the citizens 
 of Treasure City, asking that James Steel be ap- 
 pointed Constable for that place; and from the citi- 
 zens of Hamilton asking that Marshall Atwood be 
 appointed a Justice of the Peace for that place. 
 Atwood was appointed Justice of the Peace, and 
 Robert 0. Keefe, Constable for Hamilton, and both 
 presented their official bonds and qualified. 
 
 COURT UOUSE AND DEFALC.iTION. 
 
 The new countj' being duly organized and the 
 officers properly qualified and installed into their 
 several positions, steps were at once taken to provide 
 the necessary funds to meet current expenses, and 
 furnish suitable buildings. There being no general 
 election till the fall of 1870, the officers first appointed 
 remained in charge of attairs till that election. In 
 the meantime the contract was let for the erection of 
 a fine two-storj' brick Court House and jail, being 
 40x60 feet, and containing rooms for all the county 
 officers. The building was completed and accepted 
 in 1870, and cost the round sum of S55,000. 
 
 M. W. Kales, the first apjiointed County Treasurer, 
 resigned in 1869, before the expiration of his term 
 of office, and Lewis Cook was appointed to fill the 
 balance of tho term. At the expiration of Cook's 
 term of office in 1870, an examination of the books 
 showed him to bo in debt to the county $24,000. 
 Cook had quietly retired from the countrj', and an 
 ofl'er of 81,000 reward failed to effect his arrest. A 
 compromise was finally made with his bondsmen by 
 which the county shared in tho loss. 
 
 APPOINTMENTS AND ELECTIONS. 
 
 The first officers of White Pine County were 
 named in the Act of the Legislature which created 
 the county, and which was a])proved April 1, 1869. 
 These parties continued in office till their successors 
 were chosen at the general election in November, 
 1870. 
 
 A full list of all the officers of tho county from the 
 date of its organization down to the present time is 
 given below, together with the date of appointment 
 or election of each. The vacancies in office by death, 
 resignation or removal, if any have occurred, are also 
 
HISTORY OF WHITE PINE CJOUNTY. 
 
 fi51 
 
 noted, together with the names of the persons 
 selected to fill the same. 
 
 STATE SENATORS. 
 
 A. C. Cleveland and Geori^o P. Mills, were elected 
 November 8, lS7(t; John Waj^ner and U. E. Allen, 
 were elected November 5, 1872; did not serve, as 
 Cleveland and Mills held over. Hobert Robinson 
 and E. B. Dickinson, were elected November 3, 1874; 
 H. A. Comins, was elected November 7, 1876; D. 
 W. Perley, was elooted November 5, 1878; Thomas 
 Rockhill, was elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 ASSEMBLV.MEN. 
 
 John Wagner, AVilmer Brown, P. P. Cannavan, 
 T. J. Tennant and C. U. Patchin, were elected 
 November 8, 1870; F. W. Cole, E. Matthews, Thos. 
 Robinson. D. C. Yinnedge and O. H. Gray, were 
 elected November 5, 1872; H. A. Comins, Nelson 
 Allen, G. R. A. Bibbins, W. H. Ford and J. M. 
 Gerhardt, were elected November 3, 1874; O. H 
 Gray. George D. Coburn, Thomas Rockhill and A. 
 G. Lowery, were elected November 7, 1876; M. R. 
 Lyons, M. S. Sharp, Weatlj' Smith and Charles 
 Green, elected November 5, 1878; Chas. (ireen, John 
 A. Condon, George F. Parker and George G. Blair, 
 were elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY COM.MISSIONERS. 
 
 Frank Drake, Frank Wheeler and T. R. Cranley 
 were appointed by the Legislature April 1, 1800; A. 
 C. Gordon, Alexander Brown and D. C. Clark were 
 elected November 8, 1870. Gordon resigned January 
 
 6, 1874. J. R. Withington appointed. Clark resigned 
 September 18, 1.S72. Henry Mau and R. Sadler, 
 elected November 5. 1872; Samuel Liddle and Samuel 
 Hosier, elected November 3, 1874: S. S. Woodin and 
 H. L. Fitzhugh elected November 7, 187('(; J, H. 
 Lockwood and Ed. Caldwell, elected November 5, 
 1878. Caldwell resigned in 1880 and Frank Drake 
 appointed. G. W. Halstead and John Flynn were 
 elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 DISTRICT ATTORNEYS. 
 
 F. 11. Kennedy, apjjointcd by the Legislature April 
 1, 1869; John R. Kiltrell, elected November 8, 1870, 
 re-elected November 5, 1872; J. B. Barker, elected 
 November 3, 1874; B. K. Davis, elected November 
 
 7, 1876, re-elected November 5, 1878, died in 1880, 
 and A. H. Freece apiiointcd. C. M.Thackstou, elected 
 November 2, 1880. 
 
 rOINTV SHERIFFS. 
 
 Edward Irwin, ap])ointed by the Legislature April 
 1, 1869; J. D. Patterson, elected November 8, 1870, 
 re-elected November 5, 1872; Ed. Raum, elected 
 November 3, 1874, re elected November 7, 1S76, re- 
 elected again November 5. 1878, again re-elected 
 November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY CLERKS. 
 
 IL M. Eddy was appointed by the Legislature 
 April 1, 1869; B. II. Hereford was elected Novem- 
 ber 8, 1870; Win. T. llanford was elected November 
 
 5, 1872, re-elected November 3, 1874, resigned in 
 Maj-, 187."), and was succeeded by W. R. Forrest. 
 Forrest was elected November 7, 1876, re-elected 
 Novembers, 1878; John .McKornon elected Novem- 
 ber 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY TREASURERS. 
 
 M. W. Kales was appointed by the Legislature 
 April 1, 1869, resigned, and Lewis C^ook appointed in 
 his place in 1869, W, P. Willard. elected Novem- 
 ber 8, 1870; Wm. Tinson, elected November 5, 1872; 
 Wm. Pardy, elected November 3, 1874; George P. 
 McConkey, elected November 7, 1876, re-elected 
 November 5, 1878, re-elected again, November 2, 
 1880. 
 
 COUNTY ASSESSORS. 
 
 Augustus Ash was appointed by the Legislature, 
 April 1, 1869; T. R. Cranley was elected November 
 8, 1870, re-elected November 5, 1872; J. B. William- 
 son, elected November 3, 1874, re-elected November 
 
 7, 1876; Wash. Woodberry, elected November 5, 
 1878, re-elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY RECORDERS. 
 
 \\'arren T. Lockhart, appointed by the Legisla- 
 ture April 1, 1869; T. N. Brown, elected November 
 
 8, 1870; Wm, C. Love, elected November 5, 1872; 
 Wm. Tinson, elected November 3, 1874, re-elected 
 November 7, 1876. re-elected again November 5, 
 1878, again re-elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS. 
 
 H. S. Herrick, appointed by the Legislature April 
 1, 1869, elected November 8. 1870, re-elected Novem- 
 ber 5, 1872, re-elected again November 3, 1874; H. 
 Hagar, elected November 7, 1876; H. S. Herrick, 
 elected November 5, 1878; L. O. Benedict, elected 
 November 2, 1880. 
 
 COUNTY SURVEYORS. 
 
 E. F, Mitchell was appointed bj' the Legislature 
 April 1, 1869; F, Tagliabue, elected November 8, 
 1870; Thomas J. Read, elected November 5, 1872; 
 M. W. Henry, elected November 3, 1874; Wm. M. 
 Mctiill, elected November 7, 1876; George B. Bur- 
 bank, elected November 5, 1878; Joseph Grandel- 
 mycr, elected November 2, 1880, but did not qualify. 
 
 COUNTY PUlU.lr AD.MINISTRATORS. 
 
 M.J. Henly, appointed by the Legislature April 
 1, 18(i9, and was elected November 8, 1870; Wm, H. 
 Taylor, elected November 5, 1872; E. Mejer elected 
 November 3, 1874; J. C. Edwards, elected November 
 7, 1876; E X. Willard, elected November 5, 1878, 
 re-elected November 2, lS,s(i, but did not (pialify. 
 
 I RESOURCES OF THE COUNTY. 
 
 The prosjierity of White Pine was short, sharp and 
 decisive enough to sati.sfy the most speculative cast 
 I of mind. Those who made the tii-st investments 
 were so dazzled with the splendor and greatness of 
 their prospective wealth that they were never quite 
 able to see how they wore despoiled; and those who 
 made the last investments were unable to turn quick 
 
652 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 enough to escape the crash and general ruin that 
 followed the failure of the mines. Still, these mines 
 were exceedingly rich, and, while they lasted, pro- 
 duced bullion in great abundance. The value of the 
 gross product in 1S70, the second year after the first 
 discovery of the mines, was 81,590,6G2.6(J, and at the 
 close of the year 1873 they had produced 88,767,784. 
 
 This was of incalculable benefit to the new county, 
 for the tax on the bullion product was nearly equal 
 to the tax on all other property of the county com- 
 bined, and supplied the Treasury with the ready 
 means to pay current expenses and liquidate the 
 bonded debt in the erection of the Court House. 
 
 For a complete statement of the bullion product of 
 the county each year, from 1869 to, and including, 
 1880, reference is had to the table upon this subject, 
 published in this work. 
 
 The discovery of mineral wealth had the effect to 
 develop the agricultural resources of the county, 
 which were before unknown. The fertile lands of 
 Spring, Steptoe and Snake Valleys were sought out 
 and brought into requisition, and made to supply 
 the mining camps with every cereal, vegetable and 
 fruit which a northern climate can produce. The 
 mountain ranges furnished abundance of wood and 
 timber, and the frequent springs and streams upon 
 their sides and at their base rendered thousands of 
 aci'cs valuable for grazing. The surplus waters of 
 the mountain streams, by means of irrigating ditches, 
 were turned upon the drj- and barren fields, which 
 were thereby made to blossom and bear fruit. 
 
 For a full statement of the products of the county, 
 from 1860 to 1880, the number of acres under culti- 
 vation, the stock and grain raised and the fruit trees 
 and vines growing, also for the number of irrigating 
 ditches, the reader is referred to pages 135, 136, 139 
 and 140 of the general historj^. 
 
 MORE HOPEFUL PROSPECTS. 
 
 Notwithstanding the depression in all kinds of 
 business that followed the failure of the mines; and 
 the marked decline in ])opuiation and wealth which 
 the county experienced at that time, yet there is now 
 and for the past few j'oars there has been, a better 
 feeling and a more hopeful outlook. The ephemeral 
 excitements of former times have passed, and those 
 citizens who have remained have turned their atten- 
 tion to the systematic develojiment and improvement 
 of their properties, both mining and agricultural. 
 
 The ai)parent success of mining operations in 
 Ward District hos had a tendency to encourage 
 miners and to give increased confidence to the pub- 
 lic generally in the jjcrmanency and wealth of other 
 districta. Treasure Itill, and the towns of White 
 Pino District, whoso population, at one time, was 
 reduced nearl}- to zero, are looking up; and other 
 localities are being actively prospected. 
 
 The introduction of alfalfa into most of the valleys 
 of the county has given a new im])etu8 to the graz- 
 ing industry. Two crops each year and some- 
 
 times three are raised from the same ground. Grass- 
 hoppers have not been as troublesome here as they 
 have in other parts of the country, and the grain is 
 rarely affected by smut or rust. Severe frosts, which 
 come in some localities every month in the year, are 
 the only hindrance to abundant crops of fruit and 
 vegetables. 
 
 The population of the county, as given by the cen- 
 sus of 1880, was 2,582. The total value of assessable 
 property, real and personal, is §963,541, and the 
 total debt is 8139,042. The cash on hand is 821,- 
 617.66. 
 
 PRINCIPAL MINING DISTRICTS. 
 
 Bald Mountain District is in the Euby Mount- 
 ains, about fifty miles north of Hamilton and 
 eight miles south of the old overland stage road. 
 There are two peaks, not widely separated, which 
 are destitute of timber near their summits. The 
 mines are on the south peak and in the saddle 
 between that and the northern peak. Ore was 
 discovered on August 13, 1869, by G. H. Foreman 
 and others, and on August 20th a district ten miles 
 square was organized. The formation is limestone. 
 The Free Metal Belt is about five hundred yards 
 wide, and extends north four miles. It is east of the 
 southern slope. The Base Metal Belt is far up on 
 the eastern slope of the south peak, and is al)0ut 
 500 yards wide, and two miles in length. An out- 
 crop of quartzite rock passes between these belts, 
 nearly due north. Plenty of spring water is to be 
 had near the mines; nut pine, juniper and mountain 
 mahogany cover the low hills, and bunch grass is 
 abundant, but there are no meadows in the adjacent 
 region. In the Nevada Mine the ore is a chloride, 
 and carries iron, antimony, some carbonate of lead, 
 and a trace of copper. Five tons of it yielded 8128. 
 In the Genii Mine the vein matter is much decom- 
 posed. The ore shows copper and antimonj-, and is 
 red with the oxide of iron and carbonate of lead. It 
 jnelds forty dollars per ton. Ore in the Bismarck 
 Mine shows from forty to eighty dollars in silver, 
 and from twenty-five to forty -five percent, in copper, 
 with some iron. 
 
 Cave District is on a low hill of the Egan range 
 of mountains, about fort}- miljs south of Ward. Ore 
 was discovered by John Hughes in 1869, and, on the 
 seventeenth of March of that year a district was 
 organized. At the south end of the hill is a cave 
 which has been explored and mapped for a distance 
 of 2,500 feet. The mines are on the hill near the 
 cave. Tfco formation is of limestone. The vein 
 matter is from two to four feet in width, and dips 
 southeast from thirty to forty-five degrees. The ore 
 is found in seams and bunches, and selected speci- 
 mens assaj' from 850 to 84O0 per ton, can-ying galena, 
 stromerite and iron. Water is abundant; wood is 
 procured from the range of mountains adjacent. 
 Not much work was done until 1878, since which 
 time some ore has been hauled to Bristol, in Lincoln 
 County. 
 
mSTORY OF WHITE PINE COUNTY. 
 
 653 
 
 Cooper District is situated on the eastern slope of 
 the Schell Creek Mountains, on the south side of 
 Simpson's Pass and twenty miles oast of Ward. It 
 was organized on .Maj' 2, 1869, ore having been dis- 
 covered the preceding day. A sufficient su])ply of 
 wood exists. Water, in limited quantities, is found 
 four miles to the northward, and in abundance at 
 the distance often miles. The formation is limestone, 
 dipping ten degrees to the east. Slate is found along 
 the canons, and granite at the mountain summits. 
 In the California, Blue Load, Carrick, Potomac and 
 Rappahannock .^[ines the vein matter varies from 
 four to eight foet. The ore assays from S62 to S192 
 per ton in silver, and carries galena, antimony, iron 
 and arsenic. In the Fairplay Mine the vein matter 
 is six feet in width, and the ore shows fine chloride 
 of silver. In the MoUie Rutter and Eclipse Mines 
 the vein matter is four foet in width, and spooimens 
 of chloride ore assay from forty to several hundred 
 dollars per ton. The vein matter of the Cooper 
 Mine is about five feet in width, and selected speci- 
 mens of ore have assayed from §78 to S145 per ton. 
 In the latter mine the ore is generally found in small 
 pockets. Most of the work ever done in the district 
 was in 18G9 and 1870. Fiftj' or sixty locations have 
 been made. The ore is free. Xo mills have over 
 been put up in the district, and there are no miners 
 there. 
 
 Enterprise District is on the western slope of the 
 Schell Creek Mountains, a little northeast of Pier- 
 mont. It was organized on July 1, 18 !9. The ore 
 contains lead and copper, and assays from fifteen to 
 thirty dollars per ton in silver. The mountain slope 
 abounds with fir, yellow pine, nut pine and juniper. 
 In the valley is cedar. The district contains a suffi- 
 cient supply of water. 
 
 Gold Canon District is near Egan Canon, in the 
 Et'an range of mountains, fifty-five miles northeast 
 from Hamilton in a direct line. Ore was first dis- 
 covered by a company of volunteer soldiers, com- 
 manded by Captain Tober, who wore on their way to 
 Fort Ruby. A district was organized on the twenty- 
 third of September, 1863, and the first claim recorded 
 was that of Samuel J. Taut. The mountains and the 
 cafion were named after Howard Egan, a Mormon 
 Danite, who, at an earlj' day, discovered the cafion 
 while endeavoring to make his way to California. 
 The geological formation where the mines are, con- 
 sists of the oldest stratified rocks in alternate zones 
 of schist, quartzite, and slate. 'J'he upheaval of the 
 beds is from east to west, their upturned edges 
 forming the entire cast face and summit of the Egan 
 range. The west flank of the range, and the high 
 ridges west of the Egan basin, are silurian. devonian, 
 and carboniferous beds, consisting mainly of calcare- 
 ous shales and limestone peculiar to the geological 
 ages. The principal mines at Egan are owned by 
 the San Jose Mining Company, at the head of which 
 formerly stood General Rosecrans, now a member of 
 82 
 
 Congress from California. These mines, all held by 
 Government patents, are as follows: The Gilligan 
 
 ' Mine, 1,600 feet; the Gilligan West, 1,400 feet; the 
 Gilligan East, 800 feet; the Jenny Eind, 1,600 feet; 
 the San Jose, 115 feet; the Centennial, 1,500 feet; 
 the Pino Tree, 1,500 foot; the Eastern, 1,500 feot; 
 the American, 1,500 feet; and the Columbus, 1,500 
 feet. The Gilligan Ledge, the first of the company's 
 possessions originally' worked, cuts obliquely across 
 the country rock from southwest to northeast, and 
 the dip is northwest, at angles varying from fifty 
 to eighty degrees below the horizon, the average 
 dip being about seventy degrees. This description 
 applies to the Gilligan West and East, the Jenny 
 Lind, San Jose, and Centennial, on the same ledge 
 continuously. The Gilligan is pronounced by ex- 
 perts to bo a true fi.ssure lode, of great length, and 
 of undoubted persistence in depth. The other min- 
 ing locations offer advantageous explorations, but 
 have not as yet been sufficiently explored to turn 
 
 ' their possessions to account. The Social Company 
 opened the trilligan Mine in the year 1863, with 
 lucrative returns, under the superintendency of Mr. 
 John O'Dougherty. The Social became united with 
 the Steptoe in 1865. The Social and Sleptoe Con- 
 solidated extended the works, and built the twenty- 
 stamp mill at Egan. 
 
 The San Jose Mining Company became possessed 
 of the property in 1871. Its first efforts were to 
 sink the main incline on the Gilligan, some ninety feot 
 deeper, making the depth from the surface about 
 500 feet. A derangement of the pumping force led 
 to a stoppage of the work, the sinking of the shaft 
 having met with an 0])posing body of water. The 
 company then determined to run an adit, or tunnel, 
 for the purpose of draining and working the mine 
 moi'o advantageously. This tunnel cuts the ledge 
 at right angles, at a distance of 1,200 feet from its 
 mouth, and extends some 300 feet to 400 feet beyond 
 the ledge, in a northerly direction. It strikes the 
 ledge about 500 feet cast of the main incline, and 
 from 450 to 650 feet below the croppings. Levels, 
 to the right and left of the tunnel line, have been 
 driven along the course of the ledge; sometimes on 
 the ledge, and at other times losing it, owing to the 
 intersections of false, or cross-courses. The level 
 to the right, or northeast, extends now some 700 
 feet; that to the left, or southwest, and connecting 
 with the Gilligan, is some 500 feet in length. Work 
 has lately been resumed, after a suspension of three 
 
 ; years, but with only a small force of miners. This 
 force is to bo augmented as operations progress, and 
 as prospcctings and explorations demand. The vein 
 has always yielded gold atid silver, in the propor- 
 tion of one-third gold, to two thirds silver. 
 
 Freight is brought from Wells, on the Central 
 Pacific Railroad, by a stage, carrying Wells, Fargo 
 & Co.'s express. Teamslere with mule teams carry 
 freight from Toano, at one and one-fourth cents per 
 pound. The i»tago freight varies i'rqta ton to fifteen 
 
654 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, 
 
 cents per pound. The timber supply of the district 
 i8 nut pine, white or pitch pine, fir, Bpruce and 
 mahogany, for fuel purposes. The supply is abun- 
 dant at five dollars per cord, excepting for mahogany, 
 which is seven or eight dollars per cord. The water 
 supply is also abundant, from the springs which form 
 the Egan Canon Creek, running through the canon, 
 and into Steptoe Valley. A large body of water is 
 also constantly discharged through the San Jose 
 Company's tunnel, and joins the water of the creek. 
 The ores from above the water line are worked by 
 wet crushing batteries, but, from below that line, 
 are treated with roasting and dry crushing. The 
 nearest post-office to Egan Canon is that of Cherrj"- 
 Greek, about five miles to the northeast. 
 
 Hunter District is in the Egan Mountains, ten 
 miles south of Egan Canon, and fifty miles northeast 
 of Hamilton. Ore was discovered Decembers, 1871. 
 Limestone and quartzite are the prevailing forma- 
 tions. In the Vulcan Mine the course of the vein is 
 east and west, and the dip is to the south. For a 
 depth of 186 feet ore has been found all the waj'. 
 An average of 100 assays showed a product of from 
 sixty to eighty dollars per ton. Very little work 
 has been done in the district. Wood and water are 
 plenty. 
 
 Kern District is about forty-five miles south of 
 Big Creek, on the south side of a pass through the 
 Snake Mountains known as Pleasant Valley. The 
 district is five miles in width, and covers a section of 
 the mountain about fifteen miles long, southeast and 
 northwest. Ore was discovered in 1859 by the 
 employes of the Overland Mail Company. In June, 
 1868, the Mammoth Ledge was located. On the 
 seventeenth of Ajiril the district of Pleasant Valley 
 was organized. On the third of May following, a 
 party of men from Kern County, California, entered 
 a wide canon in search of water at a localitj' about 
 five miles west of the original point of discovery, 
 and there found ore. On the ninth of May they 
 organized Kern District, and included within its 
 limits the section already occupied by Pleasant Val- 
 ley District. They also laid off the town of Glen- 
 coe in the canon. A friendly adjustment of conflict- 
 ing claims followed, and the name of Kern was 
 adopted for the doubly organized district. The 
 mineral belt includes the whole southwestern slope 
 of the hill and three or four miles of the northeastern 
 slope. The body of the hill is granite and quartzite, 
 and is capped with limestone, which is genorallj- the 
 country rock about the mines. The vein matter of 
 the Mammoth Ledge stood from one to twentj' feet 
 above the surface, and contained sulphurets of iron, 
 traces of gold and some co])per and silver. A mass of 
 magnetic iron was found in the opening at the depth 
 of six feet. Below, it diminished, but continued on 
 the foot-wall, the other part of the vein carrying 
 copper, lead and nickel. The foot-wall is well 
 defined and lined with clay, and the country rock is 
 
 granite. Assays have ranged from S3 to over 8100 
 in silver and gold. About twenty miles southeast of 
 Kern District are three salt beds, connected by a 
 slough and capable of affording an unlimited supply 
 of salt. Warm Creek, which flows into the marsh 
 containing these beds, has a temperature of eighty 
 degrees. It flows from a boiling spring two or three 
 miles west in the foot-hills, and is eight feet in width 
 and two feet deep. Along the valley to the south- 
 ward for sixty or seventy miles are several fertile and 
 well-watered sections. 
 
 Lincoln District lies on the western slope of the 
 Snake Mountains, east of Wheeler's Peak. Ore was 
 discovered on July 10, 1869, and two days after- 
 wards the district was organized. Timber is abun- 
 dant on the eastern side of the mountain, consisting 
 of fir, white and yellow pine, tamarack, juniper, nut 
 pine and mountain mahogany. In some localities the 
 trees are three feet in diameter and 175 feet high. 
 Bunch-grass abounds, and there is plentj' of spring- 
 water for mining purposes. Several small .streams 
 flow down the eastern slope of the mountain and 
 emptj'into Snake Creek, which, in turn, flows into a 
 lake of the same name which is two miles long and a 
 quarter of a mile wide, and contains excellent trout. 
 Around the lake are several thousand acres of fine 
 meadow and agricultural lands, beyond which are 
 largo groves of red cedar. The mines arc in a 
 timbered region in a belt of limestone. The princi- 
 pal ones are the Washington, Ohio, Iowa. Worcester, 
 Buena Vista, Young America, Canaan, Balbcc, Cross 
 Lead, Sheffield and Passaic. The mineral belt is 
 four miles long, north and south, and about two 
 miles wide. The mountain is exceedingly broken. 
 The Washington Mine is near the summit, at an alti- 
 tude of 11,000 feet. Specimens from it have assaj-ed 
 $517 per ton, carrying some copper, lead and anti- 
 mony. The croppings in it are eight feet in width. 
 The Iowa contains a vein three feet wide, the 
 ore of which shows copper and chloride of silver. 
 Near by are great quantities of black and white spar. 
 Many other claims have been located, but have, as 
 yet, never been developed. 
 
 Lake District is situated in the mountains over- 
 looking Steptoe Valley from the west, and was 
 organized in September, 1873. Ore was first dis- 
 covered by (loorge B. Taylor. The formations are 
 slate, quartzite and limestone. The princi])al mines 
 are the Excelsior, .Mastodon, Belcher, l.ida and El 
 Dorado. The ore is very high grade and has fre- 
 quently assayed .?1,000 to the ton. Wood and water 
 are abundant in the district. 
 
 McDoudAi. District lies nearly west of Piermont, 
 on the western slope of the Schell ("reek Mountains, 
 and at the head of Duckwater Creek. It was 
 organized on the first of July, 1869, The formation 
 is limestone; the veins are from three to six feet in 
 width, run north and south, and are accompanied by 
 a capping of spar. The ore is in finely crystallized 
 
HISTORY OF WHITE PINE COUNTY. 
 
 655 
 
 white quartz with deep blue copper stains passing 
 through it and carrying silver. Two fine springs 
 near the mines afford a good supply of water. Cedar, 
 fir, mit and j-ellow pine and juniper are abundant in 
 the vicinity. 
 
 Nevad.\ District is on the western slope of the 
 Schell Creek Mountains, thirty miles southeast of 
 Pierniont and ten miles east of Robinson. Ore was 
 discovci'ed on the twenty-fifth of April, 18G9, by a 
 party of explorers from Reno. A district was organ- 
 ized on the seventh of May following. Wood is 
 found in sufficient quantities in the hills and canons. 
 Water is obtained from springs near the mines, and 
 from Steptoc Creek, three miles distant, where there 
 is a permanent supplj- of 400 inches. The country 
 rock is limestone; the ore is principally a rich 
 chloride. In 1873 the claims on Wagner Hill were 
 located, thirty in all, and the town of Tamerlane was 
 laid out. Considerable ore was extracted but the 
 burning of the ten-stamp mill at l\obinson put a stop 
 to operations. In Steptoe Valley, a few miles dis- 
 tant, there are several fine stock and agricultur.il 
 ranches. 
 
 Newark District was organized in October, 18GG, 
 bj- Stephen and John Beard, and others from Austin, 
 who discovered the mineral-bearing veins. The dis- 
 trict is on the eastern slope of the Diamond range of 
 mountains, about twenty miles east of Eureka. The 
 geological formation is slate and limestone, the lat- 
 ter carrying a great abundance of fossil shells. Deep 
 chasms are cut in the mountain side which exhibit 
 the character of the rocks. One of these chasms, or 
 cafions, is called the Minnehaha, and another Chi- 
 huahua, and through both run sparkling streams of 
 water. The first is remarkable for the beauty of its 
 scenery, and the latter for its grandeur. The Chi- 
 huahua Canon seems formed bj' some great convul- 
 sion of nature, rending the rocks in twain, leaving 
 them standing in perpendicular walls 1,000 feet in 
 height, almost rivaling the great chasm of the Yo 
 Semite, in California. This deep fissure exposes veins 
 of silver-bearing quartz varying from two to twenty 
 feet in width, the principal being the Lincoln and the 
 Chihuahua. 
 
 In 18G7 the principal mines of this district were 
 purchased by an Eastern company composed chiefly 
 of members of the Methodist Church, and incorpo- 
 rated as the Centenary Company, in honor of the 
 centenary year of that denomination. Through the 
 exertions of Ilevs. J. L. Trefren and W. G. Blakeloy, 
 of Austin, this company was organized, including in 
 its conditions the building of a church at Austin, 
 which was accomplishoel in 1857, and is more fully 
 referred to in the chapter devoted to churches in this 
 work. This company built the Newark Mill, and for 
 some years carried on fiuite extensive operations. 
 Numerous changes have occurred in ownership and 
 names since that period. 
 
 At one time a large quantity of ore was taken out 
 
 and much bullion produced, but bad management 
 entailed losses on stockholders, and little more than 
 assessment work is now done. The most prominent 
 mine is that of the Newark .Mill and Mining Com- 
 panj-, situated on a spur running east from the Dia- 
 mond range of mountains. It includes the locations 
 known as the Chihuahua, I^incoln and Ruckej'c State, 
 but no developments have been made below a depth 
 of seventy feet, although 8100,000 worth of bullion 
 has been taken out. The croppings of the ledges 
 are traceable for a distance of 4,000 feet, and as 
 far as explored, preserve the character of a true fis- 
 sure vein, with well marked hanging-walls. From 
 the Battery Mine considerable ore has been taken 
 out and shipped to Eureka, but with present facilities 
 the operation is not profitable. Plenty of wood and 
 water for mill and mining purposes are conveniently 
 situated in the district, and an inexhaustible salt 
 marsh is within three miles of the mill. 
 
 Piedmont District was discovered and organized 
 in 1869. In the spring of 1871 a San Francisco 
 company purchased a half interest in the chief loca- 
 tions, opened a mine, erected a ten-stamp mill, and 
 inaugurated active and energetic operations. Wood 
 is delivered at the mines at five dollars per cord, 
 and water is convenient and abundant. Three miles 
 distant is a body of timber, and a good saw-mili 
 fully supplies the local demand for lumber. 
 
 PiERMONT District is on the eastern slope of the 
 Schell Creek Mountains, at a point seventy miles 
 northeast of Hamilton, and 180 miles south of the 
 Central Pacific Pailroad. It was organized July 5, 
 18G9. Near the mines is a stream containing 100 
 inches of water at the lowest stage; and nut j)ine, 
 mountain mahogany, fir and yellow pine, all of large 
 size, are abundant in the vicinity. There is but one 
 mineral-bearing ledge in the district. It crops low 
 down on the foot-hills in places twenty-five feet 
 above the surface, varies in width from five to fifteen 
 feet, and runs northeast, dipping to the east at an 
 angle of forty-five degrees. The Piermont Mine 
 covers 1,200 feet. It cuts across the vein matter, 
 and a shaft twenty-four feet in depth exposes a 
 large body of ore. Five tons reduced yielded $300 
 in silver, and 837 in gold. The countrj- rock on the 
 west is quartzite, lined with c\ny , that on the east 
 is a blue calcareous slate, with clay linings. 
 
 Queen Springs Distuict is situated on Queen 
 Springs Mountain, eighty miles northeast from Ham- 
 ilton, on the old overland road. It extends six 
 miles north and si.x miles south from Queen Springs, 
 and is bounded on the east by S|)ring Valley and on 
 the west by Steptoe Valley. The mineral belt ex- 
 tends through the entire length of the district, and 
 is from half a mile to two miles in width. The geo- 
 logical formation of the mountain is limestone. To 
 the east there are vertical strata of calcareous 
 shale, and next to this, over the base of the mount- 
 ain, the formation is trachyte. The metal-bearing 
 
656 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 veins or deposits of ore are found in limestone, and 
 crop out in many places to the surface. The dis- 
 trict was organized on the twenty-fourth of June, 
 
 1871. A considerable amount of surface work has 
 been done, but no openings to anj' dejjth have j'et 
 been made. The ore veins are all found in lime- 
 stone. The district is well supplied with wood and 
 water, and the facilities for mining and milling are 
 favorable. The town of Schellboume is two miles 
 distant from the mines. 
 
 Ruby Hill District, in the Schell Creek range 
 of mountains, was discovered in 1871, and organ- 
 ized in 1872, by William Adams and Richard Whit- 
 worth. This district was taken from the Schell 
 Creek, and the records are kept by A. Tiffney, in 
 Ruby Hill. There have been 150 locations, and 
 there are at present fifteen miners. In 1871 and 
 
 1872, when the mines were first taken up, the dis- 
 trict contained from 200 to 300 inhabitants, but 
 because so little was done towards opening them 
 the place commenced going down, and it now has 
 but very few residents. The principal claims are 
 Lookout, Silver Wreath, Cow and Calf, Lady Emily, 
 Grizzly, Iowa Chief, and Omega. The Lookout has 
 a shaft 125 feet deep, and the Omega has a tunnel 
 700 feet long, and reaches a depth of 200 feet below 
 the surface. Freights are brought from Toano by 
 team, a distance of ninety miles, at a cost of thirty 
 dollars per ton. Fir, nut pine and mahogany are 
 found in abundance in the district. The ores are 
 sent to Salt Lake to be worked. 
 
 San Francisco District is in the foot-hills, on the 
 eastern slope of the Egan Mountains, at Hercules 
 Gate, about fifty miles east of Hamilton. It is ten 
 miles square, and the valleys included in it contain 
 meadow and agricultural lands. Ore was discovered 
 on the twelfth of May, 1869, by a party of men from 
 San Francisco, and on the fifteenth of May a district 
 was organized. The mineral belt extends about four 
 miles north and south, and is from a mile and a-half 
 to two miles in width. Where the principal mines 
 are found, a section of limestone is displaced to the 
 depth of about fifteen feet, over an area 1,000 feet 
 north and south by 250 or 300 feet east and west, 
 leaving the face of an imperfect white marble ex- 
 posed. The scams of mineral run north through 
 this formation, and are from a few inches to six or 
 eight feet in width, and dip to the east at an angle of 
 forty-five degrees. The walls are not well defined, 
 there being no partings. The principal claims were 
 located on the twenty-ninth of May, 18G9. The ore is 
 found in seams, and while it isgenerally of alowgrado, 
 assaying from 830 to 8100 per ton, specimens have 
 been found which assay Irom 81.200 to 82,000 per 
 ton. It carries gold and silver in nearly equal parts, 
 and contains galena, antimony, copper and iron. 
 East of the district about six miles, is Steptoe Valley, 
 and there are springs in the cafions and wood on the 
 bills. South of Hercules Gate about four miles, is a 
 
 warm spring. Hercules Gate is a narrow pass into 
 Smith's Valley, formed by some tremendous convul- 
 sion of nature. It is an eighth of a mile or more in 
 length, is about sixty feet in width, and on cither 
 side perpendicular walls of rock arise to the height 
 of 300 feet. It contains springs, and a stream of 
 water runs through it to the east and sinks into the 
 adjoining valley. A fine, smooth wagon road runs 
 through it. 
 
 Shoshone District is in the Snake range of 
 mountains, immediately south of Wheeler's Peak, 
 and thirty miles southeast of Ward, Ore was dis- 
 covered by an Indian, who, on March 13, 1869, 
 divulged the fact to a party of prospectors, and led 
 them to a ravine where it existed. A district was 
 organized the same daj'. and ten claims were recorded. 
 A little work was done during that year and the 
 next, but scarcely any has been done since. These 
 claims are situated on a low spur of the mountain 
 called Mineral Hill, and other locations have been 
 made on a spur further north, called Lookout Mount- 
 ain. The ledges are large and well defined, running 
 north and south, and the ore is free, but it is of low 
 grade. No miners are now in the district. The 
 entire surrounding region is covered with nut pine 
 and mountain mahogany. To the east the mountain 
 rises to the height of 10,000 feet, and is capped with 
 limestone. 
 
 Silver Canon District is in the Schell Creek 
 i-ange of mountains, eighty-five miles south of Toano, 
 and was formerly a part of Ruby Hill District. The 
 nearest post-office is Schellbourno. Ore was discov- 
 ered by W. B. Lawlor, in 1879, and a district was 
 organized in 1880. Twenty locations have been 
 made, and there are forty-five miners in the vicinity. 
 The camp consists of two boarding-houses, a black- 
 smith shop, and a store. The veins are found in 
 slate, and run north and south with the formation, 
 dip]>ing at an angle of forty-five degrees. The ore 
 is free milling, and contains silver. The principal 
 mines are the Blue Bell, Sadie L., Buck Horn and 
 Copperopolis. The Sadie Ij. has a tunnel thirty-five 
 fool in length, and a shaft 112 feet in depth. Freight 
 is teamed from Toano at the rate of eighty-five dol- 
 lars per ton. A scant supply of water is obtained 
 from springs. Nut pine, mahogany, and fir, are 
 abundant. The ores are worked bj' a mill of ten 
 stamps. An additional mill of twenty stamps is 
 being put up. 
 
 SACRA.MENT0 DISTRICT is situated on the western 
 slope of the Snake Mountains, about twenty miles 
 west ol' the State line and a few miles north of the 
 dividing line of Nye and White Pine Counties. The 
 nearest post-office and stage station is Osceola, four 
 miles distant. Ore was discovered by Jack Bastian 
 and others on April 17, 1S69. About forty locations 
 have been made. The formation is quartzite, and 
 runs north and south, the veins running with it, and 
 dipping to the west at an angle of twenty degrees. 
 
HISTORY OF WHITE PINE COUNTY. 
 
 Go 7 
 
 Thoores are base and rebellious. There iaii strip of 
 gold-bearing coiintrj" commencing at a point four 
 miles north of Sacramento District, and running 
 down through it, which is considered very rich. The 
 principal mines in the district are the Independence, 
 the Louisville, Bay State and the Armstrong. As- 
 says have resulted as follows: Ore from the Inde- 
 pendence, 812 per ton in silver and from 8200 to 8400 
 per ton in gold; ore from the Armstrong, from 8100 
 to 8150 per ton in gold; ore from the Gem, Oro Fino 
 and Old Mortality, from S-i" to 8300 per ton in 
 gold, and from 850 to 8112 per ton in silver. In the 
 three last-named mines copper and lead are found in 
 email quantities. The supply of wood and water in 
 the district is ample forall mining purposes. Spruce, 
 fir and j-ellow pine are found at the heads of the 
 canons, while Spring Valley, west of the district, is 
 well watered for thirty miles to the southward, and 
 for a long distance to the northward. The water 
 runs in streams, or collects in ponds or pools. Sev- 
 eral miles north of the district is a lake, in Spring 
 Valley, which is four miles in length and two in 
 width. This valley contains an extensive strip of 
 meadow land, which reaches northward nearly to 
 the Humboldt Kiver, and numerous groves of beau- 
 tiful red cedar trees, which attain a height of 
 seventy or eighty feet. In places the Indians 
 have cultivated it, and raised vegetables, wheat and 
 barley. It also forms fine pasturage for herds of 
 stock. Southeast of Sacramento District, along 
 Snake Creek and about its sink, there are several 
 thousand acres of very fine land. It is well watered 
 and capable of high cultivation. The streams are 
 all supplied with the best of trout, and as the canons 
 leave the mountains they widen into little valleys and 
 are exceedingly fertile. 
 
 Silver Park District is in the southeastern corner 
 of the county. In the limestone formation near the 
 surface some good ore was found, and tvvo mills were 
 at one time erected for working it, but the results 
 were not encouraging. 
 
 SciiELL Creek District is about seventy-five miles 
 northeast of Hamilton. Several mines have been 
 sold to San Francisco capitalists, but at last accounts 
 no very important operations were in progress. 
 
 Snake District is on the eastern slope of the 
 Snake range of mountains, about twelve miles east 
 of Sacramento, and very near the Utah line. It was 
 organized in February, 18G9. The country rock is 
 granite. Specimens of ore have boon found which 
 assay finely, but there is not sufficient encouragement 
 to justify the e.Kpondituro of much capital or labor 
 in developments. Wood and water are abundant, 
 and some good stock ranges and ranches are found in 
 the adjoining valley. 
 
 Taylor District is situated in the foot-hills oast 
 of Steptoe Valley, and is about twenty miles south of 
 Robinson. Ore was discovered in July, 1873, by 
 Taylor and John Piatt, and a district was soon aflor- 
 
 ■wards organized. Wood and water are abundant. 
 The geological formation is limestone. The ore is 
 very rich, and carries copper and galena. A good 
 deal of it has been sent to Sacramento City. Several 
 claims have been recentlj' purchased by a San Fran- 
 cisco company, and active operations are contem- 
 plated. 
 
 principal towns and cities. 
 
 Ciierry Cheek is located in the mining district of 
 the same name, at the mouth of Cherry' Creek Canon, 
 near the bottom of the eastern slope of the Egan 
 range. Its elevation is 0,300 feet above the sea, and 
 its location is superb for a town. The discovery of 
 the mines in 1872 and the formation of the district 
 in the fall of that j'ear, led to the organization of 
 the town in the spring of 1873. The growth of the 
 place during the following year was most remark- 
 able. At the election in 1874, over 500 votes were 
 cast. Wells, Fargo & Co.'s express opened an office 
 in 1873. Also a post-office was established, which in 
 1876 was made a money-order office. In 1875 many 
 people moved from the place, but the town has 
 remained about stationary in population since 1876, 
 there being G39 at the last census. 
 
 The nearest railroad stations are Wells and Toano, 
 on the Central Pacific, and each ninety miles distant. 
 A tri-weekl^' mail is brought by stage from Wells, 
 but the freight is brouglit mostly from Toano. 
 Cherry Creek has always been a prosperous camp 
 with less disturbances and murders than most other 
 places of its size and age in Xevada. 
 
 Baker Post, No. 13, (Jrand Armj- of the Republic, 
 was organized in December, lS71t, with seventeen 
 charter members. The first officers were J, F, Sis- 
 sons, Commander; J. C. Moon and Wilson Carey, 
 Vice-Commanders; J, 11. Blethen, Adjutant; J. D. 
 Maxwell, Officer of the Day. The present officers 
 are the same except the Commander, who is R. D. 
 Parker. At present the Post numbers twenty-five 
 members, and has property consisting of hall furni- 
 ture, uniforms, etc., worth §300. 
 
 The Jfiners' Union was organized in November, 
 1879, with seventeen charter members. The first 
 officers were J. C. Moon, President; A. G. Ray, Vice- 
 President; Douglas Brown, Secretary; and Peter Mc- 
 Cul lough. Treasurer. The present officers arc John 
 Curtis, President; Peter McCullough, Vice-President; 
 P. H, Cannon, Recording Secretarj-; J. II, Lander, 
 Financial Secretarj'; J. C. Moon, Treasurer. There 
 are now 149 members. The society has on hand 
 $350 in coin, and hall property and regalia worth 
 8:i00, and has disbursed in benefits and charities 
 81,000, 
 
 The object of this organization was to counteract 
 the manifest preference given b}' the mine managers 
 to Cornishmen to the exclusion of other nationalities. 
 
 In the Cherry Creek District there have been 500 
 locations made, and there are now 300 miners at work. 
 The records are kept at Cherry Creek. The princi- 
 pal mines are the Star, which has a tunnel 400 feet 
 
658 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 lon.£c and a shaft 520 feet deep, the Teacup, Ex- 
 change, Geneva, Pacific, Pine Nut, Mary Ann, 
 Chance, Flagstaff, Grey Eagle, Bobtail and Boz. 
 Plenty of timber is procured within six miles, and 
 consists of nut pine, cedar and mountain mahogany. 
 The ores are mostly free milling and there are two 
 quartz mills to work them, one twenty-stamp and 
 one six-stamp. The White Pine News was removed 
 here in 1881, and is published weekly. 
 
 .tfW^^- 
 
 HoN. 0. 11. Grey, the subject of the present sketch, 
 was born in the city of New York, in the year 1830, 
 and grew to manhood among the Highlands of the 
 Hudson. Receiving a common school and academ- 
 ical education ho removed to Illinois, and for five 
 years engaged alternatclj- in teaching and farming. 
 1\q removed to C'alilbrnia in 185'J, where he engaged 
 in merchandising and mining until 1863, at which 
 time he became a resident of Storej- County, Nevada, 
 where for seven years ho was engaged in the mining 
 and lumber business. Leaving Storey County, he 
 moved to Cherry Creek, White Pine County, in 1869, 
 since which time he has constantly been engaged in 
 merchandising. 
 
 During his residence in Storey Count}- he was 
 thrice elected to represent that county in the 1. L^is- 
 lature of the State, serving first in the Asscmlily, 
 
 and subsequently in the Senate. In 1873 the people 
 of White Pine County evidenced their appreciation 
 of his abilitj' and integrity by electing him to the 
 Lower House of the Legislature, and b}' re-electing 
 him in 1875. In 188(1 he became one of the stand- 
 ard bearers of the Republican party, and canvassed 
 his eountj- as Presidential Elector with credit to him- 
 self and acceptably to his party. 
 
 PHOTO BV DUNHAM, OAKLAND, CAL 
 
 e^ 
 
 <d^- 
 
 Hon. George F. Parker was born in St, Charles, 
 Kane County, Illinois, November 20, 1850, his parents 
 being among the first settlers of that county. At 
 the age of eight years his parents removed to 
 Chicago, when his father enlisted in the Union army, 
 and was killed at the battle of Fredericksburg in 
 1863. Leaving his mother in Chicago, he went to 
 Nauvoo, Hancock County, and afterward entered 
 the Industrial Uiiivorsitj-, in Urbana, Champaign 
 County, where he remained till 1871, when ho re- 
 turned to Chicago and worked at the carpenter's 
 trade till 1876. Leaving Chicago in the spring of 
 that year, he turned his face westward and traveled 
 overland, arriving in Nevada, locating in Cherry 
 Creek, White Pino Count}-, where ho still resides. 
 Since settling in that place he has boon engaged in 
 the restaurant business, and at his trade of carpen- 
 ter and builder. 
 
 He was married at Cherry Creek on the seven- 
 teenth day of February, a. d. 1879, to Miss Mary 
 E. Jakes, of Steptoe Valley, Nevada, by whom he has 
 one child. In 1880, having become interested in the 
 
HISTORY UF WHITE PINE COUNTY. 
 
 659 
 
 politics of the country, was nominated and elected 
 to the Assembly, discharging his duties faithfully 
 and satisfactorilj-. 
 
 HON. HENKV A. fOMINS, 
 
 The subject of this sketch, was born in F"]ast Edding- 
 ton, Penobscot County. Maine, in the year 1836. 
 His ancestors were among the early settlei-s of New 
 England, suffering the privations incident to those 
 
 Henry A. Comins. 
 
 early days, and often called to defend their homes 
 against the attacks of the Indians. Serving with 
 credit in the Indian wars, the}- engaged with patriotic 
 devotion in the struggle for independence during 
 the Kevolution, and again fought heroically in the 
 war of 1812, and never with dishonor. Ho became 
 a student at the VVeslbrook Seminary, near Port- 
 land, Maine, but left the school before graduating. 
 In 1S58 he removed from Maine, and coming to 
 California, by way of the Isthmus, engaged in 
 placer mining for several years with varied suc- 
 cess. In 18G3 he settled in Nevada, at Bmpirc 
 City, in Ormsby Count}-, when he engaged success- 
 fully in the lumber business. In 18ii0 he removed 
 to White Pine, carrying on the lumber trade at 
 Hamilton, Ward and Cherry Creek. He has also 
 engaged in farming and mining. Accumulating 
 quite a fortune in his various cnterjjrises, he has 
 lived to see his "riches take wings," but leaving 
 him energy, integrity, and perseverance to acquire 
 another fortune. 
 
 He has held several local offices, and has repre- 
 sented his county in both Houses of the Nevada 
 Legislature. While in the Senate, as Chairman of 
 the Committee of Ways and Means, he was largely 
 
 instrumental in relieving the State of debt, reducing 
 the rate of taxation, and increasing the permanent 
 Public School Fund. 
 
 ifr. Comins was married in Carson City to Miss 
 Minnie M. Stauts, in 18()7, by whom he has two 
 children. 
 
 The increased interest manifested in the building 
 of narrow-guage railroads proves the wisdom of 
 the policy he so strongly advocated while a member 
 of the Legislature. 
 
 Eberhardt is located in what is known as Apple- 
 garth's Canon, at the foot of the southern slojie of 
 Treasure Hill, at an altitude of 7,000 feet, and five 
 miles southwest from Hamilton. This town was 
 started in 18(59, and its location at this point was in 
 consequence of the erection here of the Stanford, 
 and the Eberhardt and Aurora Mills. The present 
 population is 170, most of whom are employed in 
 the Eberhardt Mill. It contains a store, blacksmith 
 and wagon shop, carpenter's shop, post-office, and 
 an active temperance organization. The mail is 
 brought tri-wcekl}' from Hamilton by stage. 
 
 Hamilton, the county seat of White Pine, is located 
 on the northern slope, near the foot of Treasure 
 Hill, at an altitude of 7,977 feet, and has a fine loca- 
 tion for a town. This site was first used for a camp- 
 ing ground by the miners, then prospecting White 
 Pine Mountain, in the fVU of 1807. The town was 
 laid out on the sixteenth day of May, 1808, by Ed. 
 Goben, Henry Kelly and W. II. Hamilton, and 
 given the name of the latter. Previous to this the 
 place had been called Cave City. The first frame 
 house was put up by King & Ivers for a saloon, in 
 June, 18(i8. The town then contained about thirty 
 people. About this time the rush commenced, and it 
 continued to increase till the fall of 1809, when the 
 town was estimated to contain upwards of 10,000 
 people. Six lines of daily stages, some of them with 
 six horses, could bring only a part of the pilgrims 
 anxious and eager to come. 
 
 The city was incorporated in 18(>;i, einbracin>' 
 within its limits one mile by two, most of which was 
 laid out in city lots. The city was disimorporated 
 in 1875. 
 
 In its flourishing days Hamilton contained ail the 
 organizations usual in a city of its size, among which 
 were Ilyman Engine Company. Liberty Hose Com- 
 pany, and Hamilton Hook and Ladder Company (af- 
 terwards consolidated into, one tire company), the 
 White Pine Guards, Odd Eellows, and Masonic 
 Lodges, -Miners' Union, church organizations, etc. 
 For amusements there was a theatre and skating- 
 rink, with the usual number of dance-houses. The 
 post-ollicc and Wells, Kargo i\: Co.'s office were 
 established in 18liS. 
 
 The prospect that the town would soon reach a 
 population of forty or fifty thousand caused the 
 organization, in San Francisco, of a water company 
 to supply the town of Hamilton and the mines o! 
 
660 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 Treasure Hill with water. J. D. Fry was President, 
 and Col. C. P. Head, Superintendent. The source of 
 supply chosen was lUapah Springs, three miles east 
 of Hamilton, on the east side of Momomoke Hill, 
 where the water flows out of the rock at the i-ate of 
 nearly 2,000,000 gallons per day. Steam pumping 
 works, of a capacity of 1,500,000 gallons in twenty- 
 four hours, were erected at a cost of 8380,000, by 
 which the water is forced two miles through a 
 twelve-inch pipe, to a reservoir at the summit, an 
 elevation of 1,000 feet. From this point it is dis- 
 tributed through twelve miles of pipe. The original 
 company having failed to make a financial succe.ss of 
 the enterprise, in 187S it passed into the hands of the 
 Eberhardt and Aurora Mining Company, of London, 
 by which it has since been used in supplying their 
 mines, under the management of Capt. Frank Drake. 
 Samuel Liddel, the present engineer in charge of the 
 works, has been the mechanical engineer in charge 
 from the erection of the works to the present time. 
 
 In 1870 the town was ornamented by the erection 
 of a fine brick Court House, containing a jail, at an 
 expense to the county of S50,000. 
 
 Previous to 1873 Hamilton had been visited by 
 small fires, resulting in loss ranging from 8200 to 
 §5,000; but on the morning of June 27, 1873, the 
 main portion of the town, including all but two of 
 its business houses, was entirely destroyed by fire, 
 from which it has never entirely recovered. The 
 loss was estimated to be at least 8G00,000. During 
 the progress of the fire women and children were 
 to be seen in all directions, running excitedly to and 
 fro, in an almost nude condition, having lost their all 
 in the flames. The White Pino Sews, in an extra at 
 the time, said: — 
 
 The onlj- redeeming circumstances which will give 
 a crumb of comfort amid the surrounding desolation 
 is the spirit displayed bj- the people of all degrees, 
 expressed in ho))C'f'ul and assuring words of comfort 
 to each other. There are so many acts of individual 
 sacrifice of their own properlj', to assist others more 
 in need, that our estimate of human nature has been 
 considerably raised since half past five this morning. 
 On every hand oft'ors of assistance, from one to 
 another, could be heard, and all seemed to vie in 
 offering every comfort to those in need. 
 
 The fire was set by Alexander Cohn to the back 
 part of bis tobacco and cigar store on Main Street, 
 near the center of the town, at about five o'clock 
 A. .M. His object is sup]>oscd to have been to get 
 the small amount for w'iiich his store was insured. 
 To make sure that the building would burn he turned 
 the sto)) cock in the main pipe, near the edge of the 
 town, shutting otV nearly all the watei-. Before it 
 was discovered where the trouble was the town was 
 gone. For this crime he was arraigned, convicted 
 and sentenced, the same year, to seven years in the 
 State Prison. 
 
 The first public school in Hamilton was o))ened 
 in Jul}', 1809, at which time there were 300 chil- 
 dren in the district between the ages of six and 
 
 eighteen. In the fall of 1869 a good school house 
 was built, at a cost of 84,000. This was not de- 
 stroj'ed by the conflagration of 1873, and is still in 
 use. It will accommodate 200 pupils. The present 
 enumeration of the district is thirtj--seven, and school 
 is maintained six months in the year. 
 
 The nearest railroad station to Hamilton is Eu- 
 reka, the southern terminus of the Eureka and Pal- 
 isade Eailroad, distant forty-three miles to the north- 
 west, but the Eureka and Colorado Eailroad will 
 pass near it. From this point a triweekly mail is 
 brought by stage. 
 
 White Pine District, within which the town of 
 Hamilton is situated, is located in the White Pine 
 Mountain and Treasure Hill range. The mines 
 were discovered October 9, 18G5, by A. J. Leathers, 
 Thomas Murphy and others, and the district was 
 organized October 10, 1865. This discovery was 
 on the western slope of the White Pine Mountain. 
 The principal locations of that year were organ- 
 ized as the Monte Christo Mining Company, by 
 Mr. Thomas Murphy, now T. M. Antisell, of San 
 Francisco, and sold to a Philadelphia company, 
 who erected a mill and carried on operations for 
 a few j-ears with unsatisfactory results. The Super- 
 intendent was Mr. Edward Marchand, although Mr. 
 Murphy was chiefly in charge, and A. J. Leathers 
 was blacksmith. While engaged here in the fall of 
 1857 an incident occurred that led to the great 
 discoveries and mining excitement of the following 
 year. 
 
 One night the blacksmith, J<eathers, was sleep- 
 ing in his shanty, probably not as peacefully as 
 Abou Ben Adhem, when he was awakened by 
 hearing a noise among his culinary utensils, and 
 he observed in the darkness an Indian devouring 
 his beans. 
 
 " Who's there? " asked Leathers. 
 
 " Jim," replied the savage; and Leathers, whose 
 toils and scantj^ fare had not made him peaceful 
 or generous, arose, and with kicks and blows drove 
 the dusky forager out into the darkness and the 
 desert. 
 
 A few daj-8 after, Jim again appeared, this time 
 to make peace with Leathers, and as an oft'ering 
 gave him a piece of silver ore which the black- 
 smith melted in his forge, jiroducing a button of 
 silver, through which he punched a hole and made 
 a ring that he wore for many years after. Murphy, 
 learning the facts, engaged the Indian to show 
 them the locality where he found the ore. This 
 was agreed upon, and after preparations were made, 
 Murphy, Leathers, ^[archand, and Jim — afterwards 
 called "Naiiias Jim" — napias biing the Indian 
 term for silver — went in search of the local- 
 ity. Snow had fallen, and the journey was one of 
 great toil, hardshi]) and risk of life. The Indian 
 led them around the southern part of the main 
 White Pino Mountain. ri<i the valley in which 
 Shcrmantown was afterwards built, and by a great 
 
HISTORY OF WHITE PINE COUNTY, 
 
 661 
 
 struggle through the snow to the summit of a 
 bald and wind-driven ))eak. and there showed them 
 ore in abundance. The mine was located, and 
 named the ■■ Hidden Treasure" ; and surely it was 
 a treasure to the energetic and hardy prospectors. 
 During the winter a little work was done, and 
 within a year the propertj- thus found was sold for 
 $250,000. Rich as this appeared on the surface the 
 ore did not extend 100 feet in depth, and the mine 
 proved of but little value. 
 
 This diseoveiy, however, led to others, and shortly 
 afterwards Eberhardt found the claim bearing his 
 name, which proved the richest mass of silver ore 
 ever found to that date. This fell into the hands of 
 Drake, Applegarth, Crawford, Sproule and Turner, 
 who took several tons of the ore to Austin for 
 reduction, where it produced several thousand dol- 
 lars per ton, and a great excitement was created. 
 The effects of this excitement and the rush to White 
 Pine have been related. The ore was a pure chloride, 
 cropping on the surface at several ])oints, which 
 were located bj^ different parties, who afterwards 
 contested in the courts for the ownei-ship, one claim 
 under the name of the Richmond, making a suit 
 which is among the causes celehre of Lander County, 
 to which the region then belonged. 
 
 While excavating the almost pure silver from the 
 great mass of ore, it is related that the owners were 
 offered by San Francisco capitalists, 64,000,000 for 
 their mine. The Superintendent, one of the owners, 
 was silting in a rocking chair in the mine, watching 
 the miners, when the offer was made to him, but 
 indignantly replied, "No! when we have taken out 
 enough to pay the national debt then we will talk 
 about selling," 
 
 The rich bodj' of ore was soon exhausted, though 
 not until several millions of dollars had been taken 
 from it. Subsequently, in connection with the 
 Aurora Mine, it was sold to an English company, 
 who have since worked it with varying success, but 
 with continued hope and unwearying energy, under 
 the superiiitcndency of Ca])tain Frank Drake, who 
 possibly still has hopes of paying the national debt. 
 Large bodies of ore have frequently been found in 
 the claims of the company, and much bullion pro- 
 duced, the statistics of which are unattainable. Of 
 the original owners it is reported that Drake, Craw- 
 ford and A))plegarth, arc still in good circumstances, 
 but that the others have experienced the vicissitudes 
 too often recorded of the discoverers of rich mines. 
 
 There are now 250 miners in the district. The 
 princijial mines are the Eberhardt, North Aurora, 
 South Aurora, Treasure, Ward Beecher ('onsolidatod, 
 Stafford, Central, Hidden Treasure, Imperial, Mobile, 
 Trench and Jennie A. The quartz veins are in lime- 
 stone formation, run nearly north and south with the 
 formation, though the ore occurring in •'chambers," 
 as locally called, the veins are not easily traced or 
 
 described. The Eberhardt and Aurora Mine has 
 83 
 
 a shaft or an incline, which is 1,400 feet in extent. 
 In an effort to thoroughly explore the ground, the 
 Company has run a tunnel now reaching 5,760 feet 
 into the mountain, which at the extremity is 1,600 
 feet beneath the surface. 
 
 Freights are shipped from Eureka at a cost of twenty 
 dollars per ton. The timber is obtained from White 
 Pine Mountains, and is of a poor quality of pine and 
 fir. The ores are worked by milling process, there 
 being one mill in operation at the present time. 
 Only about fifteen mines are now being worked. 
 The mining records of the district are kept by the 
 County Eccordcr. 
 
 The mines of this district have been peculiar in 
 this, that the richest ore has been found near the 
 surface, the mines nearly all having been abandoned 
 before going to anj- great depth. In the Eberhardt, 
 over 1,000 tons of ore were taken out of a space 
 40x70 feet, none of which was more than twenty- 
 eight feet below the surface. This ore milled 83,200 
 per ton, seventy-two per cent, being silver. The 
 tunnel now being run on the Eberhardt, will soon be 
 under the apex of Treasure Hill, and will demon- 
 strate whether paying ores are to be found at a 
 greater depth. 
 
 Mineral City, located in the center of Robinson 
 Cafion, about forty-five miles northeast of Hamil- 
 ton, was started in 18G9, and in 1870 contained a 
 population of 400, In the latter part of 1870 the 
 town was deserted, only two persons remaining. In 
 1872 it took another start and in the winter of 1872- 
 73 the city contained from 5()(i to GOO people. There 
 are but two families now in the place. 
 
 The Robinson District in which Mineral City is 
 situated, is located in the Egan range. It was dis- 
 covered and organized in 1867 bj' Thomas Hobinson. 
 There have been 1,201 locations. The principal 
 mines were the Altaman, Fairview, Sunnj-side, Eli- 
 jah. Miama, Haj-es and Sunburst; none of which are 
 now being worked. The quartz veins were found in 
 the limestone formation, and in the Altaman Mine 
 seemed to run across the range east and west. In 
 the other mines it seemed to be in largo de])osits, and 
 near the surface, without anj- well-detincd ledges. 
 The Altaman was worked for gold only, and has a 
 tunnel iMifl feet in length. The Mayes was worked 
 for silver only and has a shaft 325 feet deep. The 
 Eljah and Sunburst contained lead and silver. The 
 other mines contained copper, though all bearing 
 some of the precious metals. The mining records are 
 kept at Mineral City, bj' A. R. Watson. The post- 
 oftice is at El}', though the stage route runs through 
 the district. Freights are brought from Eureka 
 eighty-five miles, and from Wells 140 miles. Nut 
 pine is procured from the mountains about three 
 miles distant, and springs furnish abundance of 
 water, and Murray Creek, a fine mountain stream, is 
 near by. There are at present only three miners 
 in the district. 
 
662 
 
 fflSTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 HON. GEORGE G. BLAIR 
 
 Was born in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, August 
 31, 1845. When nine years of age his parents 
 removed to Clark County, Iowa, where he remainod 
 until July, 18C3. Enlisting then in the Eighth Iowa 
 Cavalry . he soon found himself in Tennessee, and 
 during the two years he was in the army he saw 
 some hard service and was constantly in active duty. 
 At the end of two j'ears he returned to Iowa, and 
 
 Geo. G. B/(7ir. 
 
 applied himself to farming in that State and in Mis- 
 souri until the year 1868. In that year ho migrated 
 to the State of Nevada, and became interested in 
 mining in White Pine County. Seeing in that occu- 
 pation great possibilities of success, he has faithfully 
 continued to give his time and energies to the 
 development of the mining interesls in that county, 
 meeting with the changing success which usually 
 attends that Imsincss. Mr. Blair resides in Osceola, 
 and is the proprietor of the O.-^ceoia Mine, from which 
 the district takes its name. In 1880 ho was elected 
 a member of the Assembly, to represent in that body 
 the Democratic Party, and to aid in advancing the 
 general welfare of the State in which he is so truly 
 interested. Mr. Blair is a descendant of a staunch 
 old family so long and favorably known throughout 
 the middle and western counties of that famous old 
 Commonwealth, that his name will sound familiar to 
 roost of the large number hailing from the Keystone 
 State who have settled in this western country. 
 
 OscHOLA was started in 1877, five years after the 
 discovery of the placer mines in that district, and 
 now has a population of seventy-five, though there 
 
 is a much larger number of miners in the district. 
 The District of Osceola was discovered in August, 
 1872, by Joseph Watson and Frank Hicks, and was 
 organized in October of the same j-car. There have 
 been over 400 locations, of which there are sixty 
 quartz and forty placer that are probably good. The 
 principal quartz mines are the Crescent, Osceola 
 Credit Mobilier, Cumberland, Eagle, Exchange and 
 Silver Age. The placer mines are the Wisel, Scofield, 
 Cumberland, Gulch and Daj- Gulch. The Crescent 
 has a tunnel 500 feet long, which reached a depth of 
 250 feet below the surface. It also has a shaft 125 
 feet deep. The nearest railroad station, from which 
 freight is brought, is Deseret, on the Utah Southern 
 fiaiiroad, 100 miles distant. The rate is thirty dol- 
 lars per ton. Fire-wood is procured in sufficient 
 quantity close at hand, but material for timbering 
 the mines is brought seven or eight miles. The 
 adjacent springs furnish a supply of water sufficient 
 for ninety stamps. Water for hj'draulics is being 
 brought from the small streams from Wheeler's 
 Peak, which will furnish about 100 miner's inches 
 jter day. 
 
 In Osceola there is one five-stamp mill. The town 
 was first settled by George O. Blair, who now keeps 
 Ihe mining records. It is situated in a canon, with 
 al)ru]it mountains on the north and west, a high 
 bluft'. called Lookout Mountain, on the south, and 
 Wheeler's Peak on the east, and has an altitude of 
 7,500 feet. At present the town contaiiistwo stores, 
 one hotel, one restaurant, one livery stable, a black- 
 smith shop, and two other places of industry. Sup- 
 plies are obtained from San Francisco, by rail, to 
 Eureka, and thence by stage 115 miles; also from 
 Salt Lake Cit}-, by rail, to Deseret, and thence by 
 stage 100 miles. The mail is brought from Deseret 
 three times a week. The buildings are constructed 
 mostly of wood. A frame school house, 12x20, has 
 been erected, with seating capacity of thirty. In 
 the vicinity of the town, grazing and agriculture are 
 engaged in with some profit, there being from twelve 
 to fifteen persons engaged in each. 
 
 In July, 1879, Capt. D. B. Aikey shot and killed 
 Joseph Ayers. On the hearing of the case it was 
 shown that Aikey acted in self-deftnse, and he was 
 acquitted. 
 
 PiNTO, a small town in Silverado District, on the 
 eastern slope of the Diamond Mountains, fourteen 
 miles southeast from Eureka, contains two black- 
 smith shops, a boarding-house, a post-office, and a 
 few dwellings. Twelve miners are in the district, 
 and the total number of claims is 202. The quartz 
 veins are found in a formation of limestone, running 
 north and south with the formation, and dipping to 
 the east at an angle of forty-five degrees. The ores 
 arc generally adapted for smelling, and average 
 8300 per ton. The mineral-bearing belt is about 
 eighty feet in width. Freight is teamed from Eureka 
 at (V cost of nine dollars per ton. The sujiply of 
 
HISTORY OF WHITE PINE COUNTY. 
 
 663 
 
 cedar in the vicinity will last for years. Considerable 
 ore is smelted at the Richmond Works, and more is 
 hauled to Eureka. The principal mines arc the 
 Queen, Rescue, and Fair Plaj'. The first named has 
 been worked on a limited scale I'or eight years, and 
 has produced S80,000 in silver and gold, chiefly in 
 silver. The main ledge of this mine has not been 
 encountered yet. Its ore, thus far, has come from 
 veine leading from the main body, to strike which, 
 the conij)any is now sinking a shaft. It is hoped 
 that this connection will ensure most encouraging 
 and profitable results. The ore of this mine varies 
 in quality and value, ranging from S^OO to §1,200 
 per ton. One chimnej-, or nearly perpendicular ore 
 vein, sixty feet from the surface, produced §30,000. 
 Another, at a depth of ninety feet, produced 850,000. 
 The Rescue Mine, immediately adjoining the Queen 
 on the south, has been leased by a partj' of miners, 
 who are taking out ore daily. Silverado District 
 was organized in 1869. The boundary line, separat- 
 ing Eureka and White Pine Counties, runs through 
 it. Silverado Mountain is a bold, picturesque mass 
 of dolomitic limestone, about two miles in length 
 from northeast to southwest, and, at its highest point, 
 is 2,000 I'eet above the vallej'. 
 
 ScuELLBOURNE, a Small town in the mining district 
 of the same name, contains two stores, a boarding- 
 house and post-office; being on the stage route be- 
 tween Wells and Hamilton. It is ninety miles north- 
 east of the latter and 120 miles south of the former 
 place. It was formerly called Fort Schellbourne, and 
 was an overland stage station. In the mining ex- 
 citement of 1872 it grew to a town of 400 or 500 
 inhabitants, with several stores, blacksmith shops, 
 livery stables, newspaper, etc. 
 
 The district of Schellbourne is in the Schell Creek 
 range, and was discovered in 1871 by James McJIa- 
 hon. It was taken from the McCurdy District, has 
 had 200 locations and now contains thirty miners. 
 Wm. Buck, at Schellbourne, keeps the mining records. 
 
 The principal mines are the El Capitan, Nutmeg 
 and McMahon. The quartz veins are found in por- 
 phyry, and run north and south with the formation. 
 Freights are brought from Toano, at a cost of twenty- 
 five dollars per ton. Timber is found in abundance 
 all over the district, and consists of nut pine, fir, 
 cedar and mahogany. Schell Creek Spring furnishes 
 plenty of water for the five-stamp mill now in use, 
 as well as the inhabitants of the town, who number 
 now fifty-six, including whites, Chinese and Indians. 
 
 Sher.mantown was located near the mouth of the 
 cafion between White Pine Mountain and Treasure 
 Hill, about five miles south of Hamilton. This being 
 a good mill site, five quartz mills and lour furnaces 
 were erected here in 180S-G!.>. which caused a lively 
 town to spring up, which in the fall of 18G9 contained 
 between four and five thousand inhabitants. Two 
 saw-mills were built here in 18G8, which were the 
 first in this part of the district. In 18G9, the town 
 
 was incorporated, and in 1870 had a newspaper. At 
 the present time, one solitary family comprises the 
 entire population. 
 
 Swansea was about three-quarters of a mile north 
 of Shcrmantown. It once had two quartz mills and 
 smelting works. In 1809 it had 500 inhabitants. 
 Nothing now remains to mark the spot or tell the 
 tale of its former greatness. 
 
 Treasiike City is located on the western slope of 
 Treasure Hill, near the top, at an elevation of 9,700 
 feet. The first cabin built at this place was put up 
 by Murphy & iMarchand, in November, 18G7. They 
 were then the owners of the Hidden Treasure Mine. 
 In the spring of 18G8 the rush to the place com- 
 menced, and in April a town was laid out, and named 
 Treasure City, which in less than a year contained 
 0,000 inhabitants, polling nearly 3,000 votes at the 
 miners' election. In 1869 the town was incorporated, 
 at which time it had a dail}' paper, one theater, two 
 bands, a stock board. Masonic and Odd Fellows 
 organizations, and all the usual city institutions. 
 
 In June, 1874, the main business portion of the 
 town was burned, but little of which was ever re- 
 built. In 1878 the principal mine on the hill stopped 
 work, and the town was nearly abandoned. At 
 present it contains but one family and a t'c\y miners. 
 
 Ward, situated sixty-two miles southeast of Ham- 
 ilton, and in the White Pine range, was started in 
 1876, being the best location for the residence and 
 business of the men who followed the discovery of 
 the mines in this district. The town, which was 
 started in the sjiring, grew rapidly from the com- 
 mencement, and the next winter contained about 
 1,500 people. The spring following, however, business 
 drooped and the town commenced going down, fall- 
 ing oft' nearly two-thirds in population in that year. 
 Since then the place has steadil}- gone down to the 
 present time, and now has a population of only 300. 
 In 1877 a Hook and Ladder Company wasorganized. 
 which was disbandetl in 1879. The first school in 
 the place was organized in the fall of 1876, with an 
 attendance of fifty scholars. The town now has a 
 good school building that will accommodate eighty 
 scholars. 
 
 In the fall of 1876, when the town was growing 
 rapidly, the usual percentage of the rough and law- 
 less element came also. A citizen by the name of 
 liightner, having refused to loan money to one of 
 these roughs, who went by the name of Donohue, 
 was shot down while walking along the sidewalk, 
 Donohue having hid behind a wagon-bed for the 
 purpose of shooting him as he passed. The next 
 morning Donohue was discovered hanging from a 
 tree just below the town. This seemed to have a 
 very salutary effect upon the rough element, as there 
 was no more killing, except among themselves, to 
 which the citizens paid no particular attention. This 
 ..was the only case of lynching in the county. 
 
 In 1877 J. Crawford and John Carlo, both of whom 
 
664 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 had been working in the mines at this place, and 
 were supposed to be good, honest men, attempted 
 to rob the stage as it was coming in about one and a 
 half miles below town. They stepped out from the 
 brush, where they were hid, and fired at the driver 
 and the messenger, missing both of them. The 
 messenger, Eugene Blair, then shot both the robbers, 
 killing Carlo, but only wounding Crawford, who 
 escaped. He was afterwards captured, tried and 
 sent to State Prison. Ho died of consumption, in 
 prison, January, 1881. 
 
 The Mining District of Ward, in which the town 
 is located, was discovered and organized in 1872, by 
 Thomas F. Ward. The mining records are kept by 
 Louis A. Hauck. There have been 153 locations, 
 and there are now sixty-five miners in the district. 
 The principal mines are the Paymaster, Defiance. 
 Shark, Pleiades, I. X. L., Governor, Jupiter, Gram- 
 pas, Juno, Mountain Pride, and Silver Cloud. 
 
 The Paymaster has a tunnel 3,000 feet long, and is 
 750 feet below the surface. It also has a shaft 1G2 
 feet deep. This and others are the property of the 
 Martin White Mining Company. 
 
 Freights are brought by team from Eureka, 110 
 miles, and from Wells, 155 miles. 
 
 Timber is procured at a distance of eight or ten 
 miles, and consists of pine. A good supply of water 
 is obtained from Willow Creek, and is brought, by a 
 pipe, three miles to the mill. There was a furnace 
 of fifty tons capacity and a twenty-stamp mill belong- 
 ing to the Martin While Mining Company. The 
 furnace has been idle for two years, and the mill one 
 year. 
 
 In 1876 two smelting furnaces were erected at 
 Ward, but the ore was of a rebellious nature, and the 
 fluxes had to be hauled so far that they were not a 
 financial success. In 1877 a twenty-stamj) leaching 
 mill was built at a cost of ?85,000, and $25,000 was 
 
 spent in experimenting, when it was given up as a 
 failure. A very fine double track tunnel, which is 
 now in 3,050 feet, is being run by the Martin White 
 Company, under the Paymaster and Young America. 
 Upon the developments of this tunnel depends the 
 future of this camp. The Ward Reflex, a weekly 
 newspaper, is published here, and maintains its faith 
 in the future prosperitj' of the district. 
 
 PANCAKE COAL MINES. 
 
 Twenty-two miles due east from Eureka, and fifteen 
 miles distant from Hamilton by the stage road, are 
 some coal veins in the Pancake range of mountains, 
 which have attracted considerable attention. A 
 shaft on being sunk thirty feet, found water, and 
 some seams of coal in a vein four feet thick. Three 
 distinct veins exist in the locality, which can be 
 traced a distance of two miles, and which vary in 
 width from four to six feet. Above the water level 
 the material composing the vein consists of the 
 oxide of iron, mixed with carbonaceous matter of a 
 loose and crumbling nature, but becomes more solid- 
 ified and partially crystallized as soon as the water 
 level is reached, and seams of coal from one to two 
 inches in thickness are found. The veins dip under 
 the mountains to the west at an angle of forty 
 degrees, and their course is fifteen degrees east of 
 south from the point of discovery. The formation 
 is referred to the carboniferous era, and very much 
 resembles that of the Wj'oming coal fields. The 
 first formation below the vein in which the coal is 
 found is siliceous iron ore; then comes a stratum of 
 limestone, and beneath this sandstone and conglom- 
 erate. Above it the formation is bituminous and 
 argillaceous shales; next to the shale, calcareous 
 slate, then red sandstone, conglomerate and limestone 
 capping the whole formation. Whether coal exists 
 in sufficient quantities to make it profitable to mine 
 it, remains to be determined. 
 
Patrons Directory. 
 
 CHURCHILL COUNTY. 
 
 XAME. 
 
 Allen, J. W New Hiver. . . 
 
 Allen, Lemuel 'Carson River. 
 
 Bailey, C. H ist. Clair 
 
 Bond, J. VV i New River. . . 
 
 Came to 
 State. 
 
 Came to 
 County 
 
 roST-OFFICB. 
 
 01.1 River. 
 
 Brown, John P, 
 Clark, Ephraim 
 Cushiiiaii, .1. J. 
 Dillard, D. H. . 
 
 Doane, S. A [Stillwater 
 
 Doolittlc, A. \V Stillwater 
 
 Carson Lake 
 St. Clair 
 
 Ferguson, Jackaon. . . St. Clair 
 
 Gray, B. F Nevada Soda Lake. 
 
 (Jrimes, W. C Slough Station .... 
 
 Hull, E. P I Allen s Ranch 
 
 Kaiser, Charles Kaiser s Ranch 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser Iowa 
 
 Farmer, stock r'ser& Bist. Att'y Ohio 
 
 Farming 
 
 Farmer and .lustice of the Peace- 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 New York 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Pennsylvania . . 
 
 Missouri 
 
 Maine 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 Connecticut. ... 
 
 New York 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Kent, Ira H 
 
 Keiiyon, Asa L. . 
 Magec, William . 
 
 Merry, A 
 
 Murpliv, William 
 Pike, \V. H. A. . 
 Richards. J. W.. 
 .Small, Frank L. . 
 
 Smith, 
 
 Stone, (;. \V 
 
 Stnrdevant, J. M 
 Thcelcn, Henry. . 
 Thompson, H. W 
 
 Walker, J. T jstillwater . . 
 
 W'ightman, 1). M.... [Carson Lake 
 
 Stillwater 
 
 Ragtown 
 
 Magee Station 
 
 Big Soda Lake. ... 
 
 Stillwater 
 
 Stillwater 
 
 Stillwater 
 
 New River 
 
 Big Soda Lake 
 
 Big Soda Lake 
 
 Stunlevant Station . 
 St. Clair Station . . . . 
 Old River 
 
 Farmer and Public Administ'r 
 Farmer and Surveyor .... 
 Farmer, Pstm'r& Sup't Xev. C's 
 
 Superin't Nevada Soda Works'lllinois 
 
 Rancher and stock raiser |Virginia 
 
 Blacksmithgit min'ngproperty Pennsylvania . . . 
 
 Farm'r, stock rais'rand Senator (iermany 
 
 Farmer and County Clerk. . . . New York 
 
 Stock raiser ! New York 
 
 Rancher and .Station Keeper. . Scotland 
 
 Super't Big Lake Soda Works .Maine 
 
 Farmer and County Treasurer. JNew Orleans, La. 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser iMaine 
 
 Assem'n, Pstm'r& Tel. Operat'r Kentucky 
 
 Farmer .... iMaine 
 
 Soda manufacturer Maine 
 
 Soda manufacturer Maine 
 
 .Stages statu IGm fr Wadsw'th New York 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser Prussia 
 
 Engineer New York 
 
 Farmer and Sheriff Oregon 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser Illinois 
 
 1864 
 1862 
 1870 
 1878 
 1860 
 1864 
 1860 
 1861 
 1877 
 IS61 
 1876 
 1863 
 1862 
 1861 
 1870 
 1875 
 1854 
 I86:i 
 1867 
 1870 
 1874 
 IS61 
 1879 
 1861 
 1857 
 1874 
 1862 
 1860 
 1869 
 1850 
 
 1864 
 1862 
 1870 
 1878 
 1864 
 1864 
 1861 
 1S62 
 1877 
 1861 
 1876 
 1872 
 1864 
 1861 
 1870 
 1875 
 1854 
 1863 
 1870 
 1870 
 1874 
 lSt>4 
 1879 
 
 1860 
 1877 
 1873 
 1880 
 1873 
 1860 
 
 No. 
 Acres. 
 
 St. Clair 
 
 420 
 
 St. Clair 
 
 1,040 
 
 St. Clair 
 
 240 
 
 St. Clair 
 
 560 
 
 Stillwater 
 
 660 
 
 St. Clair 
 
 1,700 
 
 St. Clair 
 
 1,000 
 
 Stillwater 
 
 160 
 
 Stillwater 
 
 1,400 
 
 St. Clair 
 
 760 
 
 Wadsworth .... 
 
 
 Wadsworth. . . . 
 
 2,480 
 
 St. Clair 
 
 160 
 
 Stillwater 
 
 640 
 
 Stillwater 
 
 200 
 
 Ragtown 
 
 960 
 
 St. Clair 
 
 300 
 
 Wailswortli .... 
 
 
 Stillwater 
 
 160 
 
 Stillwater 
 
 100 
 
 .Stillwater 
 
 
 St. Clair 
 
 :«K) 
 
 Wadsworth . . . 
 
 49 
 
 Wadsworth. . . . 
 
 49 
 
 Wadsworth .... 
 
 
 St. Clair 
 
 800 
 
 Stillwater 
 
 
 Stillwater 
 
 160 
 
 St. Clair 
 
 1,200 
 
 DOUGLAS COUNTY. 
 
 RKSIDE.NOK. 
 
 
 Came tu 
 State. 
 
 Came t( 
 Count V 
 
 I'UST-ofFICE. 
 
 No. 
 Acres. 
 
 D.. 
 
 Adams, John Q. 
 Baldwin, .John. 
 Banning, J. T . . 
 Berry, Harrison 
 Black, E. 1)., M 
 
 Brockliss, A. R 
 
 Cameron, R. I) 
 
 Carlisle, Boynton.... 
 
 Child, .Johns 
 
 Cobb, W. A. B 
 
 Cradlebaugh, John H. 
 
 Crippen, Mrs. L) 
 
 Dangbcrg, H. C 
 
 Dangberg, H. F 
 
 Dressier, A. F 
 
 Ezell, L. S 
 
 Foster, Wm 
 
 Frevert, F. A. A 
 
 Oclatt, R 
 
 fJillis, Chas 
 
 Haines, J. W 
 
 Harris, M 
 
 Irvine, Thomas 
 
 James, John 
 
 Johnson, J. R 
 
 Jones, David R 
 
 Jones, Joseph tienoa 
 
 Kinsey, Stephen A. 
 Lindsay, George R. 
 
 Livingston, A 
 
 McCommas, T. J... 
 Meier, F 
 
 Genoa 
 
 Carson Valley 
 
 Genoa 
 
 Sheridan 
 
 Genoa 
 
 Sheridan 
 
 (ienoa 
 
 Genoa 
 
 Carson Valley 
 
 Glenbrook 
 
 •ienoa 
 
 Twelve-Mile House. 
 
 Genoa 
 
 tienoa 
 
 Sheridan 
 
 Genoa 
 
 Genoa 
 
 tienoa 
 
 Genoa 
 
 Genoa 
 
 Genoa 
 
 Genoa 
 
 Sheridan 
 
 G enoa 
 
 (Jenoa . 
 
 Sheridan 
 
 (ienoa 
 
 Glenbrook. 
 
 Genoa 
 
 (ienoa 
 
 Sheridan . . 
 
 General Farming 
 
 Dairying and farming 
 
 Druggist 
 
 General farming and dairying. 
 
 Phyiician and surgeon 
 
 (ieueral farming 
 
 Wood business 
 
 Ed. & prop. Cnurier 
 
 General farming & stock gr'g- 
 Proprietor of Lake Shore H otel 
 
 Ranching. 
 
 Farming, lintel keeping 
 
 (icneral farming & stock gr'g. . 
 (ieneral farming & stock gr'g. . 
 
 General farming 
 
 General fanning & County Com 
 
 (ieneral farming 
 
 (ieneral farming 4 stock grow'g 
 Liveryman & stage proprietor.. 
 
 Staging 
 
 Lm g, fmg& Prs't N. & C.T.Co 
 
 (ieneral merchandise 
 
 (ieneral merchandise 4 farming 
 
 (ieneral farming 
 
 General merchandise 
 
 General farming 
 
 General farming 
 
 Fanning and fruit growing. . . . 
 
 Master mechanic 
 
 County Treasurer 
 
 Dealer in cigars and li<|Uors. . . 
 General farming 
 
 1853 
 
 1872 
 1863 
 1865 
 1850 
 1868 
 1877 
 1854 
 1864 
 1860 
 1853 
 1863 
 1850 
 1858 
 
 Illinois 
 
 Canada 
 
 Missouri 
 
 Indiana 
 
 Ohio 
 
 England 
 
 Canada 
 
 Kentucky . . . 
 Vermont .... 
 
 Maine 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Michigan .... 
 (iennany .... 
 (iermany .... 
 Germany .... 
 
 Kentucky i 1859 
 
 'Tennessee 1852 
 
 Germany 1859 
 
 Pennsylvania.... 1861 
 
 New 'Sork 1861 
 
 Canada 1863 
 
 Prussia 1860 
 
 Scotland 1858 
 
 England 1852 
 
 Illinois I860 
 
 Wales 1853 
 
 Wales 1863 
 
 New York 1850 
 
 Scotland [ 1872 
 
 Prussia 1861 
 
 Illinois 1852 
 
 Gernittiiy ' 1874 
 
 1853 
 
 1860 
 
 1879 
 1860 
 
 I860 
 
 1852 
 
 960 
 480 
 
 360 
 
 870 
 
 420 
 
 1,120 
 235 
 
 Genoa 
 
 Sheridan . . . 
 
 (ienoa 
 
 Sheridan . . . 
 
 (ienoa 
 
 Sheridan . . . 
 
 Genoa 
 
 (ienoa 
 
 (ienoa 
 
 (ilen brook . . 
 
 (ienoa 
 
 (ienoa 
 
 Genoa i 1,000 
 
 Carson ' 
 
 Sheridan I 600 
 
 Genoa | 280 
 
 Genoa < 
 
 Genoa 
 
 (ienoa 
 
 (ienoa 
 
 (ienoa 
 
 Genoa 
 
 Sheridan . . . 
 
 (ienoa 
 
 (ienoa 
 
 Sheridan. . . 
 
 (ienoa 
 
 Genoa 
 
 Glenbrook... 
 
 Genoa 
 
 Genoa 
 
 Sheridan . . . 
 
 830 
 
 160 
 1,400 
 
 300 
 
 760 
 
 20 
 
 200 
 
666 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 DOUGLAS COUNTY- Continued. 
 
 NAME. 
 
 Montrose, R. G. . 
 Note ware, C. N... 
 Pettegrew, J. P... 
 
 Pratt, A. C 
 
 Pray, A. W 
 
 Ray craft, Joseph.. 
 Rogers, John T. . . 
 
 Ryan, J. W 
 
 Short, J. M 
 
 Springmeyer, H. . . 
 Stodieck, Fred. W 
 
 Tebbs, M 
 
 Walker, W. G.... 
 Wegstein, F. P... 
 Williams, J. T.... 
 Wyatt, W. W.... 
 
 Genoa 
 
 Genoa 
 
 Genoa 
 
 Genoa 
 
 Glenbrook 
 Genoa .... 
 Glenbrook . 
 Glenbrook . 
 Glenbrook , 
 
 Genoa 
 
 Genoa 
 
 Genoa 
 
 Genoa 
 
 Genoa . . . . . 
 
 Genoa 
 
 Sheridan . . 
 
 County Assessor. 
 
 Ganeral farming & stock grow'g 
 
 Miner 
 
 Lumbering and general farming 
 Proprietor of K.xchange Hotel 
 Superintend'tL.T. N. G. R. R. 
 
 Boardiug-house keeper 
 
 General merchardise 
 
 General farniing& stock grow'g' 
 General farming & stock grow'g 
 
 Lawyer 
 
 General farming 
 
 C<iunty Clerk 
 
 Sherifl'. 
 
 General farming 
 
 XATIVITT. 
 
 Came to 
 State. 
 
 Ctime to 
 County. 
 
 POSIOPPICE. 
 
 No. 
 Acrei. 
 
 Canada 
 
 ISCO 
 ISoV 
 1857 
 1854 
 1860 
 1863 
 1875 
 1873 
 1877 
 1868 
 1864 
 1866 
 1860 
 1873 
 1872 
 1857 
 
 ises' 
 
 Genoa 
 
 
 New York 
 
 Genoa 
 
 
 Indiana 
 
 Texas 
 
 (Jenoa 
 
 200 
 
 
 
 
 Ireland 
 
 
 
 Vermont 
 
 Maine 
 
 Glenbrook 
 
 
 Glenbrook 
 
 
 
 
 
 Germany 
 
 Germany 
 
 Indiana 
 
 Georgia 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Genoa 
 
 500 
 liiO 
 
 
 
 Genoa 
 
 160 
 
 Pennsylvania. . . . 
 Missouri 
 
 Genoa 
 
 
 Sheridan 
 
 230 
 
 ELKO COUNTY. 
 
 I Came to (."^me to 
 State. County. 
 
 POSTOFncK. 
 
 No. 
 
 Abel, J. D 
 
 Adams, Charles 
 
 Ainley, John 
 
 Atchison, L. E 
 
 Bacon, J. H 
 
 Ballinger, 0. H 
 
 Bradley, John R . . . . 
 
 Brown, H. W 
 
 Brown, R 
 
 Burwood, John 
 
 Campljell. J. J 
 
 Carville, Kd 
 
 Cather, William J. . 
 
 Clark, James 
 
 Conley, R. S 
 
 Conway, K. J 
 
 Crane, WmT 
 
 Dakin, Judson 
 
 Davis, James 
 
 Uawley, A. G 
 
 Dennis, J. H 
 
 Dorsey, J. W 
 
 Dove, James 
 
 Drown, C. E 
 
 Drown, V. E 
 
 Duncan, (J. W 
 
 I)u \al , M OSes 
 
 Duval, William 
 
 Epley. J. W 
 
 Fairchild, O. L. C... 
 
 Faxon, Charles 
 
 Fitch, J. B 
 
 Gedney, A. W 
 
 George, Eli 
 
 Gibb^ W. B 
 
 Goodale, D 
 
 (Jooding, C A 
 
 Grant, D 
 
 Grant, H. M 
 
 Gray, Enoch 
 
 Green, O. E 
 
 Griswold, E. H 
 
 Guld.igcr. N. P 
 
 HamilT, U. P 
 
 Hank, C. R 
 
 Hardesty, George W . 
 Harrison, Thomas. . . 
 
 Hogle, L. I 
 
 Huneyman, F 
 
 How, John 
 
 Hull, y. W 
 
 Huyck, W. H 
 
 Jones, T. A 
 
 Jones, Thomas M... 
 Johnson, Robert... 
 
 Fort Halleck 
 
 Mound Valley 
 
 Elko 
 
 Tuscarora 
 
 Mountain City 
 
 Elko 
 
 Elko 
 
 Tuscarora 
 
 Elko 
 
 Ruby Valley 
 
 Camp Halleck 
 
 Mound Valley 
 
 Tuscarora 
 
 Elko 
 
 Tuscarora 
 
 Clover V-illey 
 
 South Fork Valley. 
 Lamoille Valley. . . . 
 
 Elko 
 
 Ruby Valley 
 
 Tuscarora 
 
 Elko 
 
 Tuscarora 
 
 South Fork Valley. . 
 South Fork Valley.. 
 South Fork \'alley. . 
 
 Clover Valley 
 
 Clover Valley 
 
 Tuscarora 
 
 Tuscarora 
 
 Lamnillc Valley. . . . 
 
 Elko 
 
 Ruby Valley 
 
 Tuscarora 
 
 Clover Valley 
 
 Star Valley 
 
 Elko 
 
 Ruby Valley 
 
 Elko 
 
 Star Valley 
 
 Elko 
 
 Wells 
 
 Mound Valley 
 
 Wells 
 
 Secret Creek 
 
 South Fork 
 
 Ruby Valley 
 
 Tuscarora 
 
 Clover Valley 
 
 Elko 
 
 Elko 
 
 Tuscarora. 
 
 Carlin 
 
 Tuscarora 
 
 Tuscarora 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Hardw.Tre 
 
 .Superintendent Argcnta Mine. 
 (Jen. merchandise and P. M. . . 
 
 Blacksmith 
 
 Stock dealer 
 
 Lumber and general mdse 
 
 Furniture dealer 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Farmer and horse raiser 
 
 Notions, furnishing goods, etc. 
 
 Proprietor Depot Hotel 
 
 Carpenter 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Prop. Elko Fouriug Mill 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 I'xiitor Time.i Ifrriew 
 
 Dist. Atty of Elko County. . .. 
 Foundry and machine shop. . . 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Teamster 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Supt. Cmwl'th <fc Falcon Mines. 
 
 Editor and Postmaster 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Sheriff 
 
 Farm'r, stock raiser, gen. mdse. 
 
 Lodging house and saloon 
 
 Farmer and st*)ck raiser 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Furniture dealer 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Agt. W. F. * Co. and Co. Treas . 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 County ( 'lerk 
 
 P. M., Blacksmith, .st'k raiser. 
 Mercliant and Postmaster.... 
 
 Stock raiser and farmer 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Ranching and stock raising. . . 
 Mine owner, capitali.st& ranc'r 
 
 B'armer and stock raiser 
 
 Agent Duck Valley Restra'nt. 
 
 Postmaster 
 
 Blacksmith 
 
 General merchandise 
 
 Prop.CIrand Pr'e Ho'tl & min'r. 
 Tinshopandbrdware 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 Massachusetts. . . 
 Canada West... . 
 
 Indiana 
 
 Canada West. . . . 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 Virginia 
 
 New York 
 
 Canada 
 
 England 
 
 Pennsylvania. . . 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Pennsylvania. . . 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Pennsylvania... . 
 
 New Vork 
 
 New York 
 
 New York 
 
 M.assuchusetts. . . 
 
 Maryland 
 
 England 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Missouri 
 
 Canada AV'est. . . 
 Canada West. . . 
 
 New York 
 
 New York , 
 
 Massachusetts.. . 
 
 Maryland 
 
 New Bninswick. 
 North Carolina. . 
 
 Vermont 
 
 New Vork 
 
 New York 
 
 Utah 
 
 lihode Island. . . . 
 
 Maine 
 
 Wisconsin 
 
 New .lersey. . . , 
 
 Denmark 
 
 Pennsylvania. . . 
 
 Virginia 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 England 
 
 New Vork 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Pennsylvania. . , 
 
 New Vork 
 
 Ohio . 
 
 South Carolina. 
 South Wales ... 
 Canada West . . 
 
 1869 
 1865 
 1862 
 1869 
 1868 
 1862 
 1862 
 1859 
 1879 
 1866 
 1859 
 1872 
 1869 
 1862 
 1863 
 1862 
 1863 
 1868 
 1872 
 1860 
 1863 
 1857 
 1858 
 1874 
 1862 
 1875 
 1868 
 1808 
 1859 
 1863 
 1866 
 1864 
 1863 
 1868 
 1860 
 1872 
 1879 
 1877 
 1866 
 lii72 
 1869 
 1863 
 1876 
 1868 
 1862 
 1861 
 1862 
 1872 
 1864 
 1878 
 1874 
 1870 
 1869 
 1879 
 1859 
 
 1869 
 1870 
 1869 
 1877 
 1869 
 1870 
 1808 
 1859 
 1879 
 1867 
 1S67 
 1872 
 1869 
 1874 
 1868 
 1874 
 1807 
 1868 
 1S78 
 1804 
 1877 
 1875 
 1808 
 1874 
 1809 
 1875 
 
 I8r>8 
 
 1808 
 1868 
 1877 
 1870 
 1868 
 1863 
 1870 
 1869 
 1872 
 1879 
 1877 
 1869 
 1872 
 1869 
 1867 
 1876 
 1869 
 1879 
 1872 
 1805 
 1872 
 1804 
 1878 
 1874 
 1879 
 1809 
 1879 
 1870 
 
 Fort Halleck . . . 
 Mound Valley. . 
 
 Elko 
 
 Tuscarora , 
 
 Mountain City.. 
 
 Elko 
 
 Elko 
 
 Tuscarora 
 
 Elko 
 
 Ruby Valley . . . 
 Fort Halleck . . , 
 Mound \'aUey. . 
 
 Tuscarora 
 
 Elko 
 
 Tuscarora 
 
 WeUs 
 
 Elko 
 
 Lamoille 
 
 Klko 
 
 Uuhy Valley. . . 
 
 Tuscarora 
 
 Elko 
 
 Tuscarora 
 
 Elko 
 
 Klko 
 
 lOIko 
 
 Wells 
 
 Wells 
 
 Tuscarora 
 
 Tuscarora 
 
 Lamoille 
 
 Elko 
 
 Ruby Valley. . . 
 
 Tuscarora 
 
 Wells 
 
 Deotli Station. . 
 
 Klko 
 
 liuby Valley... 
 
 Elko 
 
 Deeth Station . . 
 
 Elko 
 
 Wells 
 
 Mound Valley. . 
 
 Wells 
 
 Halleck Station. 
 
 Elko 
 
 Ruby Valley . . . 
 
 Tuscarora 
 
 Wells 
 
 Elko 
 
 Elko 
 
 Tuscarora 
 
 Carlin 
 
 Tuscarora 
 
 Tuscarora 
 
 320 
 400 
 500 
 
 1,200 
 
 154 
 320 
 700 
 
 560 
 240 
 320 
 
 640 
 
 600 
 600 
 
 320 
 
 280 
 
 1,200 
 
 800 
 
 240 
 S40 
 
 300 
 
 1,000 
 
 400 
 
 1,500 
 
 1,100 
 
 480 
 
PATRONS DIRECTORY. 
 
 667 
 
 ELKO COUNTY-Continued. 
 
 NAUE. 
 
 Came to Canic to 
 State. County.! 
 
 po6T-orncB. 
 
 No. 
 Acros. 
 
 300 
 240 
 600 
 800 
 200 
 160 
 640 
 
 .Tohnston, D. V Star Valley Fanner ami stock raiacr 
 
 Kuith, H. .J Laiiidille \ alley . . . . Fanner, stock raiser and 1*. M. 
 
 Kennetly, \Vm Mound Valley Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 King, Thomas Clover Valley Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Kingsbcry, Mile Ruby Valley Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Kirk Patrick, U. \V. . . Star Valley Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 l.ampman, Chas Clover Valley Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 l^incaster, A. V Tusearora Miner 
 
 Lanham, R. D 'South Fork Valley. Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 LittleHeld, E. A Elkn Ed. & I'rop. Elko MVcW// I'osl. 
 
 Ruby Valley P'armcr and stock raiser 
 
 . Elko Deputy Slierifl". 
 
 . South Fork Valley. . Contractor, builder & fanner. . 
 
 . Fort Hulleck Post-trader 
 
 . Elko 'R'gt State Uny & real es'tag't. 
 
 . Lamoille Valley. . . .Farmer 
 
 . Star Valley Farmer 
 
 . Mound Valley Farmer 
 
 . Lamoille Valley. . . . iFarmer and stock raiser 
 
 . Tusearora I Amalgamator. 
 
 . Star Valley Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 . Tu.scarora Mining Superintendent 
 
 . Wells 'Merchant 
 
 Elko Deputy County Rcconler 
 
 I/oav ridge, A. 
 
 Lowe, Arthur 
 
 Martin, J. L 
 
 Mayer, C. E 
 
 Mayhugh, John S. . . 
 McCenney, (). W.N. 
 
 McCoy, (J. W 
 
 McCutchen, .1. M... 
 
 McDermott, J. T 
 
 McMahan, E. L 
 
 McMuUen, James. . . 
 
 McXally, John 
 
 Meigs, (Jeo. H 
 
 Miller, M. H 
 
 Moore, .T. B Ruby Valley Fanner and stock raiser. 
 
 Monty, Joseph L 
 Morgan, L. E. . . . 
 
 Moser, (Jeo 
 
 MuUer. F. F 
 
 Mundell, H. V... 
 Murphy, A. C . . 
 Myers, James. . . . 
 
 Myers, Wm 
 
 O'Connor, Thos. . 
 Passow, Charles. . 
 Phillips, C. W... 
 Pixley, Myron. . . 
 R.imcy, .lohn W.. 
 
 Rand, J. H 
 
 Rcch, Jacob 
 
 Roach William. . . 
 Robbins, John.. . , 
 Rogers, W. W. . . 
 Rosberry, J. B. . . 
 
 Scherff, M, 
 
 Schoer, C 
 
 Scott, W. H 
 
 Scott, Joseph ... 
 Scranton Levi . . 
 
 Sears, S. S 
 
 Shepherd, (i. H.. 
 Short, Frank. ... 
 Short, Thomas. . , 
 Smith, Joseph . . . 
 Smith, W. T. . . . 
 Snow William. . . 
 St. Clair, L. W.. 
 Steinaker, W . . . . 
 Steward, D. H. . . 
 
 Stone. T. N 
 
 Street, Thomas. . 
 Suggett, S. H . 
 Surface, J. M. 
 
 Tusearora iBlacksmith tjraud Prize Mine. 
 
 Elko JBlacksmith and wagon shop. . . 
 
 Carlin -~ - 
 
 Elko 
 
 Elko 
 
 Wells 
 
 Ruby Valley 
 Ruby Valley 
 Ruby Valley 
 
 But her. 
 
 Druggist 
 
 County Assessor 
 
 Telegraph operator 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser. 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser. 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Ruby Valley jKarmer and horse raiser.. 
 
 Tusearora [Teamster 
 
 Lamoille Valley . . . .Farmer and stock raiser. . 
 
 Elko jPrinter 
 
 Elko (Attorney-atlaw. 
 
 Star Valley. . 
 Clover Valley. 
 Ruby Valli^y. . 
 Cornucopia. 
 
 Blacksmitl 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser . . . . 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Brewery 
 
 Tusearora Blacksmithing 
 
 Wells 'Proprietor Depot Hotel 
 
 Clover Valley [Farmer 
 
 Clover Valley [Vaquero 
 
 Secret Creek Stock raiser and farmer 
 
 Ruby Valley Fanner 
 
 ICd. and Prop. iJaUy Elko Iiid. . 
 
 Stock raiser 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Tusearora ( ieneral merchandise 
 
 Ruby Valley [Farmer, stock raiser and P. M. 
 
 .Star Valley Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Tusearora Butcher 
 
 Star Valley Farmer 
 
 Elko Merchant & regt. State Univty. 
 
 Tusearora Chief enginer Indiana Mill ... . 
 
 Elko Justice of the I'eace 
 
 Wells 1 
 
 Pleasant Valley. . . .Farmer 
 
 Fanner and stock raiser 
 
 Farmer an<l stock raiser 
 
 Fanner and stock raiser. . . . 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Indiana 
 
 Mis.souri 
 
 Irclutid 
 
 Ireland 
 
 New Vork. . . . 
 
 Virginia 
 
 New York .... 
 
 Maine 
 
 Kentucky. . . . 
 Rhode Island. 
 
 Utah 
 
 England 
 
 Maine 
 
 Illinois 
 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Illinois 
 
 Missouri 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 Ireland 
 
 New Vork .... 
 
 Vermont 
 
 Missouri 
 
 New Hampshire. 
 Canada East. . 
 New York. . . . 
 
 [Germany 
 
 France 
 
 jPennsylvania. 
 
 Illinois 
 
 JNew York. . . . 
 .New Vork. . . . 
 
 ilreland 
 
 Germany 
 
 New York .... 
 New York .... 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Maine 
 
 Indiana 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Illinois 
 
 Germany 
 
 Germany 
 
 Kentucky. . . . 
 
 Elko. 
 Coral Hill . . . 
 Ruby Valley. 
 Ruby Valley. 
 Ruby Valley. 
 
 Talbot, Henry M, 
 
 ThompsoE), U. B 'Ruliy V.dley. .. 
 
 Thorp, .lohn P Lamoille Valley. 
 
 Triplett, Joe F Lamoille Valley. 
 
 Trueman, H. M Pleasant Valley. 
 
 ToUey, J. B [Tusearora 'Mining 
 
 Toyn Charles Mound Valley Farmer 
 
 Tucker, (Jeorge Elko JLivery 
 
 University, State. . . .Elko ' 
 
 Vanness, Alonzo Ruby Valley Farmer 
 
 \Valsh, Wm. .1 South Fork Valley. . 'Farmer 
 
 Wear, R. G Mound Valley iFarmer and stock raiser. 
 
 Weathers, W Star Valley 'Fanner and stock raiser. 
 
 Weeks, .lohn F Clover Valley Farmer and stock raiser. 
 
 Weeks, S. T Clover \' alley Farmer 
 
 Wilcox, W. A Clover V alley Farmer and stock raiser. 
 
 Williams, John W. . . Mound Valley Farmer 
 
 Williamson, G. F. . . . Kuby Valley Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Wilson, Fred Tusearora Livery .Stable 
 
 Indiana 
 
 New York . ... 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 Illinois 
 
 IreKand 
 
 England 
 
 Connecticut. . . . 
 
 Utah 
 
 Virginia 
 
 Pennsylvania . . 
 
 Minnesota 
 
 Massachusetts. . 
 
 England 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 Missouri 
 
 Connecticut. . . . 
 North Carolina. 
 
 Scotland 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 Wisconsin .... 
 
 England 
 
 Missouri 
 
 Indiana. . . 
 New York . 
 Missouri. . . 
 Alabama... 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Ohio 
 
 New Vork. 
 Missouri.. . 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Illinois. . . . 
 
 1873 
 1861 
 1868 
 1863 
 1877 
 1864 
 1864 
 1864 
 1864 
 1870 
 1868 
 1869 
 1873 
 1860 
 1863 
 1879 
 1868 
 1868 
 1874 
 1872 
 1876 
 1872 
 1.S77 
 1863 
 1877 
 1864 
 1869 
 1875 
 1862 
 1876 
 1864 
 1862 
 1864 
 1871 
 1877 
 1863 
 187r> 
 1869 
 1876 
 1875 
 1860 
 1869 
 1864 
 1872 
 1868 
 1877 
 1868 
 1869 
 It 60 
 1868 
 1874 
 1869 
 1872 
 1869 
 1864 
 1868 
 1870 
 1868 
 1870 
 1864 
 1875 
 1876 
 1869 
 1864 
 1863 
 1857 
 1873 
 1869 
 1867 
 1863 
 
 1879 I 
 
 1869 
 
 1868 
 
 1873 
 
 1872 
 
 1865 
 
 1872 
 
 1860 
 1861 
 
 870 
 873 
 861 
 
 868 
 869 
 879 
 872 
 869 
 869 
 875 
 870 
 869 
 869 
 S73 
 869 
 869 
 879 
 869 
 868 
 875 
 872 
 876 
 872 
 879 
 863 
 877 
 870 
 869 
 875 
 869 
 876 
 864 
 864 
 875 
 873 
 877 
 870 
 875 
 869 
 876 
 875 
 871 
 8(>9 
 872 
 872 
 868 
 877 
 877 
 870 
 869 
 868 
 874 
 869 
 872 
 869 
 877 
 868 
 874 
 878 
 870 
 880 
 875 
 87(J 
 869 
 864 
 869 
 872 
 873 
 869 
 868 
 867 
 
 879 
 869 
 Sl)8 
 873 
 N72 
 8(i9 
 872 
 
 S68 
 8(>8 
 
 Deeth Station . . 
 
 Lamoille 
 
 .Mound Valley. . 
 
 Wells 
 
 Fair Play 
 
 Deeth Station. . 
 
 Wells 
 
 Tusearora 
 
 Elko 
 
 Elko 
 
 Ruby Valley. . . 
 
 Elko 
 
 Elko 
 
 Fort Hallcck... 
 
 Elko.. :• 
 
 Elko 
 
 I.)eeth Station. . 
 Mound Valley. . 
 
 Lamoille 
 
 Tusearora 
 
 Deeth Station . . 
 
 Tusearora 
 
 Wells 
 
 Elko 
 
 Ruby Valley. . . 
 
 Tusearora 
 
 Elko 
 
 Carlin 
 
 Elko 
 
 Elko 
 
 Wells 
 
 Ruby Valley. . . 
 Ruby Valley. . . 
 Camp Halleck . . 
 Ruby \allcy . . . 
 
 Tusearora 
 
 Lamoille 
 
 Elko 
 
 Elko 
 
 Deeth Station . . 
 Clover \'alley . . 
 Ruby X'alley . . 
 Cornucopia . . . 
 
 Tusearora 
 
 Wells 
 
 Welli< 
 
 Wells . 
 
 Halleck Station. 
 Ruby Valley.. . . 
 
 Elko 
 
 Elko 
 
 Ruby Valley. . . 
 Ruby \alley. . . 
 
 Fair Play 
 
 Tusearora 
 
 Ruby Valley. . . 
 Deeth Station. . 
 
 Tusearora 
 
 Deeth Station . . 
 
 Elko ._. 
 
 Tusearora.. . . .'. 
 
 Elko 
 
 Wells 
 
 Elko 
 
 Ruby Valley. . . 
 
 Lamoille 
 
 Lamoille 
 
 Elko.. 
 
 Tusearora. 
 
 Mound Valley. . 
 
 Elko 
 
 Elko 
 
 Ruby Valley. . . 
 
 Elko 
 
 Elko 
 
 Deeth Station. . 
 
 iWells 
 
 Wells 
 
 Wells 
 
 Elko 
 
 Ruby V.alley . . . 
 Tusearora 
 
 800 
 
 rioo 
 
 320 
 
 320 
 160 
 120 
 600 
 320 
 
 250 
 
 800 
 
 800 
 640 
 360 
 500 
 
 160 
 
 80 
 
 160 
 
 320 
 
 1,000 
 
 240 
 400 
 520 
 
 390 
 440 
 
 200 
 
 360 
 160 
 600 
 
 400 
 
 160 
 200 
 
 160 
 600 
 160 
 320 
 280 
 200 
 160 
 400 
 
668 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 ELKO COUNTY- Continued. 
 
 NAME. 
 
 Came to Came to' 
 State. [County. j 
 
 P08T-0FFICB, 
 
 Wines, Albert [Lamoille Valley. . . . Farmer and stock raiser . 
 
 Wines, I.«onard Ruby Valley Agent 
 
 Wines, N 'Ruby Valley Farmer and stock raiser. . 
 
 Wiseman, A Clover \' alley Farmer and stock raiser. . 
 
 Wiseman 1 Clover Valley Farmer 
 
 Wood, J. C Clover Valley Farmer and stock raiser. . 
 
 Woolverton, 1. P. . . . Ruby Valley Kaiicher and stock raiser. 
 
 Young, H. A [Pleasant Valley Farmer and stock raiser. 
 
 Indiana . . . . 
 Indiana . . . . 
 
 Indiana 
 
 Kentucky . . 
 Kentucky. . . 
 
 Indiana 
 
 Virginia. . . . 
 (Georgia. . . . 
 
 1870 
 ISGO 
 ISGl 
 1807 
 LSG!) 
 1862 
 1872 
 1860 
 
 1870 
 1803 
 1801 
 1807 
 180!) 
 1870 
 1872 
 1809 
 
 I,amoille 
 
 Ruby \'allcy . . 
 Ruby Valley. . 
 
 Wells 
 
 Wells 
 
 WelU 
 
 Fair Play 
 
 Elko 
 
 No. 
 Acres. 
 
 320 
 
 1,600 
 560 
 160 
 400 
 240 
 400 
 
 ESMERALDA COUNTY. 
 
 NAME. 
 
 Came to Came to 
 State. County.! 
 
 POST-OFFICE. 
 
 No. 
 Acres. 
 
 Baker, Henry 
 
 Barrett, A. J 
 
 Hirniingbani, .1.0... 
 Cleaver, Kimber. . . . 
 
 Cobb, S. (; 
 
 Compston, James. . . 
 
 Craig, John S 
 
 Daniel, Jasper 
 
 Dickson, W. H 
 
 Downey, Jame.s 
 
 Erway, A. H ...... . 
 
 Erway, James W . . . 
 
 Farwell, L X 
 
 Feigenspan, Frank.. 
 
 Fox, J.J 
 
 Gallagher, J. B 
 
 Oaward, A 
 
 Olenn, M. M 
 
 rireen, < rco. A 
 
 llaight, .lames L. . . . 
 
 Hamilton, C A 
 
 Hamilton, Len 
 
 Hawley, A. H 
 
 Herbiild, Adam 
 
 HigL'ins, Dennis. . . . 
 
 Hiud.s, J. C 
 
 Houston, J. M 
 
 Irwin, W. A 
 
 Johnston, James. . . . 
 
 Lee, W. a 
 
 Levy & Co 
 
 Lewis, D. J 
 
 Mallett, C. W 
 
 Mason, N. H. A. .. 
 
 Mather, H 
 
 McLeod. Angus. . . . 
 
 Merrilt, .lames 
 
 Mills, Jacob 
 
 Ncligh, William. . 
 Nichols, James. ... 
 
 ^'ierce, Zailok 
 
 l{cy^ier«, B. "H... r- 
 
 Rogers, .1. A 
 
 SaiKlcni, W. B .... 
 
 Sefton, Henry 
 
 Simpson, D. C 
 
 .Smart, J. (I 
 
 Snyder, Charles. . . . 
 
 Spragg, W. H 
 
 Swascy, H. F 
 
 Waldo, CJ. B. .^ . . . 
 
 Mason Valley 
 
 Mason \' alley 
 
 Mason Valley 
 
 Mason A" alley 
 
 Aurora 
 
 Compton Station . . . 
 
 Mason Valley 
 
 Greenfield 
 
 Mason Valley 
 
 GreenHeld 
 
 Mason Valley 
 
 Mason Valley 
 
 Aurora 
 
 Mason Valley 
 
 Mason Valley 
 
 Mason X'alley 
 
 Aurora 
 
 Aurora 
 
 Nine-Mile Ranch. . . 
 
 Aurora 
 
 Mason \'alley . 
 
 Smith Valley 
 
 .Smith Vallej 
 
 Mason Valley 
 
 lireentield 
 
 Hot Sp'gs, Smith V'y 
 
 Masim Valley _. 
 
 Smith \'.illey 
 
 Mason Valley 
 
 Mason Valley 
 
 Aurora 
 
 Aurora 
 
 Mason Valley 
 
 Mason Valley 
 
 Desert Creek 
 
 Aurora 
 
 Mason Valley 
 
 Mason Valley 
 
 Wellington 
 
 Masiui \'alley 
 
 Smith Valley 
 
 Mason \'alley 
 
 Wellington 
 
 Mason \*alley 
 
 Mason Valley 
 
 Desert Creek 
 
 Greenfield 
 
 Mason Valley 
 
 Mason Valley 
 
 Wabnska 
 
 Mason Valley 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Farmer 
 
 B^armer 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser. 
 
 Liveryman 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Merchant 
 
 Hardware imple'ts & gen. mdse 
 
 Fanner 
 
 Hotel, liv'y stable, sal'n & far'g 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Co. Clk, Not'ry,com. dl'r, I'.M 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Farmer, cap'st and stock raiser 
 
 Civil Engineer 
 
 Printer 
 
 Farmer and hotel keeper 
 
 Farmer and Justice of Peace. . 
 
 FarnRT and stock raiser 
 
 Farming and dairying 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Hotel keeper and farmer 
 
 Proprietor of the Hot Springs. 
 Co. .Surveyor and Civil Engin'i 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Parmer and stock raiser 
 
 Millwright and milling 
 
 Merchants 
 
 Lawyer 
 
 Farmer 
 
 ■Stock raising 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser. . . . 
 
 Karmer and capitalist 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Owner of mine 
 
 Fanner and stock raiser 
 
 I Merchant 
 
 Farmer ami stock raiser 
 
 I Farmer y 
 
 [Farmer anil stock raiser 
 
 I Farmer and .stock raiser 
 
 I Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 j.Saloon 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 I Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 IParmer 
 
 Maine 
 
 Texas 
 
 Canada 
 
 Maine 
 
 Ireland 
 
 I reland 
 
 Indiana 
 
 [Virginia 
 
 I England 
 
 New York 
 
 Michigan 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Germany .... 
 
 liermany 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Illinois 
 
 .VeH' Hampshire 
 
 California 
 
 Rhoile Island. . . 
 
 Virginia 
 
 N'ermont 
 
 (iermany 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Virginia 
 
 Vermont. ...... 
 
 California 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 Pennsylvania. . 
 
 Maine 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 New York 
 
 Arkansas 
 
 South Carolina. 
 Canada 
 
 I860 
 1859 
 1873 
 1863 
 1869 
 1860 
 1863 
 1859 
 1800 
 1803 
 1862 
 1860 
 1867 
 1864 
 1868 
 1862 
 1878 
 1862 
 1870 
 1803 
 1850 
 1872 
 1864 
 1872 
 1859 
 1868 
 1874 
 1860 
 1861 
 
 1859 
 
 KS.".9 
 1800 
 
 1879 
 1802 
 
 1878 
 1877 
 
 1862 
 1871 
 18.->9 
 1800 
 1859 
 1858 
 1862 
 
 1872 
 
 1868 
 
 1859 
 
 Scotland 
 
 Vermont 
 
 (iennany 
 
 .Sweden 
 
 Oh'io 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Maine 
 
 New York 
 
 \ew York 
 
 New Brunswick. 
 
 Vermont 
 
 I Illinois 
 
 1862 
 1860 
 1870 
 1859 
 1861 
 1861 
 1859 
 KS79 
 I860 
 1800 
 1862 
 1867 
 
 1877 
 
 1879 
 
 Mason Valley. . 
 Mason Valley . , 
 Mason Valley. 
 
 Aurora 
 
 .Sweetwater 
 
 Mason Valley. . 
 M ason A'alley . . 
 Mason \'alley . . 
 Mason Valley . . 
 Mason Valley. . 
 Mason \'alley . . 
 
 Aurora 
 
 Mason Valley. . 
 Mason Valley. . 
 Mason Valley. 
 
 Aurora 
 
 Aurora 
 
 Aurora 
 
 Aurora 
 
 -Mason Valley , 
 Wellington . . . . 
 Wellington . . . . 
 Mason \'alley . . 
 
 Sweetwater 
 
 Wellington . . . . 
 Masiui Valley. . 
 Bodie, Califor'a. 
 Mason Valley. . 
 .Mason Valley. . 
 
 Aurora 
 
 Aurora 
 
 Mason Valley. . 
 Mason \" alley . . 
 Walker River. 
 
 Aurora 
 
 Mason Valley. . 
 Mason \*alley . . 
 Wellington . . . . 
 Mason Vallej'. . 
 I Wellington ... 
 Mason \'alley . , 
 Wellington ... 
 Mason \'alley . . 
 Mason Valley. 
 Wellington ... 
 'Mason Valley. 
 .VI ason Valley. 
 Mason \'alley . 
 
 Wabuska 
 
 iMason Valley. 
 
 1,400 
 220 
 403 
 
 320 
 620 
 
 012 
 520 
 160 
 
 160 
 
 320 
 
 5,000 
 
 320 
 
 1,040 
 
 120 
 
 1,500 
 
 284 
 
 200 
 
 440 
 
 300 
 
 200 
 
 2,000 
 
 280 
 
 80 
 
 1,400 
 
 800 
 640 
 320 
 560 
 
 3,400 
 
 40 
 
 320 
 
 1,600 
 500 
 320 
 
 4,000 
 
 ' ' 760 
 240 
 840 
 320 
 
 EUREKA COUNTY. 
 
 NAME. 
 
 Allen, James S 
 
 Ammond, fieorgo K 
 Anderson, L. P. . 
 Bailey, David E. 
 Bail«y, George. . . 
 Baker, O^ W . . . 
 Barnes, Fred 
 
 Kureka, . . 
 
 Eureka. . . 
 Eureka. . . 
 Eureka. . . 
 Eureka. . . 
 Eureka. , . 
 Eureka . . 
 
 I 
 
 Cime to Came to 
 I .State, t'ounty 
 
 rt.HT-OFI'ICB. 
 
 Proprietor of the Ottawa Hotel . 
 
 Attorney atlaw 
 
 Lumberman 
 
 Attorney atlaw 
 
 Proprietor of the City Market 
 
 |Att(iriiey-at-law IWiscimsin . . . 
 
 [Proprietor of People's Market. [Pennsylvania 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Pennsylvania . 
 
 .Sweden 
 
 Pennsylvania . 
 TenncsBee . . . , 
 
 1871 
 1802 
 1871 
 1805 
 l,S(i3 
 1871 
 
 1871 
 1870 
 1871 
 1870 
 
 1.S72 
 1871 
 
 Eureka.. . 
 Eureka... . 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka.,. . 
 Eureka.. . . 
 Eureka.. . . 
 
 No. 
 Acrea. 
 
 .j 210 
 
 !i'iVobb' 
 
 180O I 1871 Eureka I 100 
 
PATRONS DIRECTORY. 
 
 669 
 
 EUREKA COUNTY- Continued. 
 
 NAME. 
 
 Came to 
 State. 
 
 Came to 
 County 
 
 Ton-awmm. 
 
 no. 
 
 Biirtlett, M. B 
 
 Beatty, R . M 
 
 Berg, Aaron 
 
 Bice, Jnseph 
 
 Bishop, A. C, M. V. 
 
 Bishop, \Vm. W 
 
 Bliss, Geo. F 
 
 Butler. E.J 
 
 Ca<l.v, C. H 
 
 CaiiHeld, Chas. A. . . . 
 
 Carpenter, H 
 
 Cassidy, Geo. W 
 
 Clarke, Luther 
 
 Cole, F. W 
 
 Cromer, L. W 
 
 Crosaan, R 
 
 Dehnian, Charles. . . . 
 
 Doak, R. J 
 
 D,>.lj.p, E. R 
 
 Doutrich, Frank. . . . 
 
 Emrick, W 
 
 Eureka Tunnel Co.. . . 
 
 Englert, O. C 
 
 Everts, P 
 
 Fitzgerald, A. L. . . . 
 
 Fletcher, G. A 
 
 Gavin, Geo 
 
 Gorman, F. O 
 
 Gritiin, Henry 
 
 Hall, D. H 
 
 Hampton, James 
 
 Harmon, .J. C 
 
 Haskell, A. D 
 
 Haskell, W. P 
 
 Hillhouse, A. M 
 
 Hintze, August 
 
 Hnhart, \V. W 
 
 Holmes, J. B 
 
 Johnson, Hiram 
 
 Jones, Charles D 
 
 Kernieen .lohn J 
 
 Knight, Hank 
 
 Kyle, -James 
 
 Kyle, Matthew 
 
 Laml)crt, J. W 
 
 Lamoureux, (ieo. \V. . 
 
 Lansing', C. J 
 
 Langstroff, J. B 
 
 Lautenschlager, C. . . . 
 
 Lawler, T. F 
 
 Leathers, A. J 
 
 Ijee, Joseph T . . 
 
 Levy, Benj. C 
 
 Longley, Sand 
 
 Lyon, M. R 
 
 MacLaughlin, D. J. J. 
 MeCuaii;, Angus D. . . 
 
 MrPharlan John 
 
 Mendcs, Joseph ... 
 Merrill, (ienrge VV. . . 
 
 Mikel, C. M 
 
 MilU, \Vm. O. Jr....l 
 Molinelli, Lambert. 
 
 Morrison, E. <; 
 
 Nesbitt, J. A 
 
 Oat man, E. F 
 
 Pearson, Thos. \V. . . . 
 
 Read.'l'hos. J 
 
 Rcid, R.J 
 
 Remington, W. H . . 
 
 Rives, Henry 
 
 Rock, A. D 
 
 Rose, E. H 
 
 Scanland, G. J 
 
 Scott, 0. L 
 
 Shoemaker, C. H 
 
 Sloss, S. S 
 
 Smith & I>oak 
 
 Smith, J. L 
 
 Spinner, Wm 
 
 Stewart, Wm. D 
 
 Stinson, Wm 
 
 84 
 
 Eureka. . . . 
 Eureka. . . . 
 Ruby Hill 
 Uuby Hill. 
 Eureka. . . . 
 Eureka. . . . 
 Eureka. . . . 
 Eureka. . . . 
 Huby Hill 
 Ruby Hill. 
 Eureka. . . . 
 Eureka. . , . 
 Eureka. . . . 
 Eureka. . . . 
 Eureka. . . . 
 Eureka. . . . 
 Eureka. . . . 
 Eureka. . . . 
 Eureka. . . . 
 Eureka. . . . 
 Eureka. . . . 
 Eureka. . . . 
 Eureka. . . . 
 Eureka. . . . 
 Eureka. . . . 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka, ... 
 Eureka. ... 
 Ruby Hill. 
 Kureka. . . . 
 HubyHdl.. 
 Eureka. ... 
 Eureka. ... 
 Eureka. . . 
 Eureka. ... 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Ruby HUI. 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Ruby Hill.. 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Ruby Hdl.. 
 Eureka. . . . 
 Ruby Hill. 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Kureka 
 
 Kureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Palisade . . . 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Ruby HUI. 
 Kureka. . . . 
 Ruby Hill.. 
 Ruby Hill 
 Ruby Hill.. 
 Ruby Hill. 
 Ruby Hill.. 
 
 Kureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 IJuby Hill.. 
 Eureka . . . . 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Ruby Hill.. 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka. ... 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka.. .. 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Ruby Hi'l.. 
 
 Wholesale liquor dealer 
 
 Attorney-at-law , 
 
 (ieneral merchandise 
 
 Foreman Eureka Consolidated . 
 
 Physician and surgeon 
 
 Attorneyatlaw 
 
 Super'nt Eureka Water Works. 
 Sec. Eureka & .Silv'r Peak Tul's 
 Foreman of the.Iackson Mine. 
 Foreman of the Jackson Mine. 
 Receiver of U. S. Land Office. . 
 Editor and publisher 
 
 Attorney-atdaw 
 
 •fustice of the Peace 
 
 Feed 
 
 Watchman at Richmond Mine. 
 
 Livery and feed stable 
 
 County Clerk 
 
 General mcrch-indise 
 
 Boots and shoes 
 
 Blacksmithing 
 
 Superintendent of E. & P. R. R. 
 
 Attorney-at-law 
 
 City H.iy and Feed Stables . . . 
 
 Tinsmith and plumber 
 
 Constable 
 
 Chief Engineer Jackson Mine. 
 Proprietor International Hotel. 
 
 General merchandise 
 
 Planing mill : 
 
 Insurance agent 
 
 Merchant 
 
 Attorney-at-law 
 
 ■Saloon 
 
 Kd. & pr'p. Eureka Dailii Leader 
 Engineer Eureka Consolidated. 
 
 (ieneral merchandise 
 
 Engineer at .lackson Mine. . . . 
 Sup't Ruby Dunderberg Mines. 
 County Assessor 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 Illinois 
 
 Germany 
 
 England 
 
 Illinois 
 
 Pennsylvania . . 
 Massalieusetts . 
 New York City. 
 
 Wisconsin 
 
 New York 
 
 Vermont 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 Virginia 
 
 New Y'ork . . . . 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Sweden 
 
 Virginia 
 
 Wisconsin 
 
 Pennsylvania. . . 
 New York 
 
 I8C2 
 1S66 
 187.i 
 18(i5 
 1869 
 1HG3 
 I SCO 
 1868 
 1874 
 1874 
 1860 
 1860 
 1869 
 1863 
 1863 
 1871 
 1863 
 1872 
 1869 
 1878 
 1863 
 
 Sheriff 
 
 Gen. mdz. agt W^E. & Co., P.M. 
 
 Teaming 
 
 Attorney-at-law 
 
 Merchant tailor 
 
 Proprietor of Eureka Brewery - 
 Gen. Frt& Pas. AgtE.& P.R.R. 
 
 Prospector 
 
 Blacksmith 
 
 County Recorder 
 
 Foreman Richmond Mine 
 
 Mining 
 
 Packing 
 
 Blacksmith 
 
 .Vliiiing 
 
 District Attorney 
 
 I'rop. Eureka& Ruby H'l Stages 
 Man. Eureka &Cal. Lumber Co. 
 
 Deputy County Clerk 
 
 Blacksmith and wagcm shop.. 
 
 Physician and surgeon 
 
 .Secretary E. * P. R. R 
 
 Sup't Ruby Hill Water Works. 
 County and U. S. Surveyor. . . 
 Blacksmithing & wagon mak'g. 
 
 Hardware 
 
 Attorney-at-law 
 
 Civil Engineers 
 
 Prospecting & Mining 
 
 County Sup't Pub. Instruction 
 
 .Mining ami real estate 
 
 Proprietor Nevada Laundry . . . 
 
 Harness and saddles 
 
 Livery and fwd stables 
 
 Livery and feed stables 
 
 Manager W'estern Union Tel . . 
 
 Teaming 
 
 Carpenter 
 
 Wisconsin 
 
 New York 
 
 North Carolina . 
 
 Canada 
 
 Canada 
 
 Australia 
 
 Massachusetts.. 
 
 Canada 
 
 England 
 
 .Maine 
 
 Massachusetts. . 
 .Massachusetts. . 
 
 lOhio 
 
 ;l iermany 
 
 .Michigan 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Massachusetts. . 
 
 VVales 
 
 England i 
 
 Canada 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Irelanil ' 
 
 Virginia i 
 
 New York. ... 
 
 New York 
 
 t iermany ! 
 
 ( Iermany 
 
 New York 
 
 Maine 
 
 Nova Scotia . . . 
 
 France 
 
 New York 
 
 Vermont 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Canada 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Portugal 
 
 Maine 
 
 North Carolina. 
 .New York .... 
 
 Italy 
 
 New York 
 
 Canada 
 
 Illinois 
 
 England 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 Maine 
 
 Iowa. . . 
 
 Virginia 
 
 Virginia 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Illnnis 
 
 New York 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Pennsylvania . . 
 
 New ^'ork . . . 
 New York ... ' 
 
 Scotland 
 
 Canada 
 
 1871 
 
 1869 
 
 1878 
 
 1861 
 
 1871 
 
 1865 
 
 1872 
 
 1859 
 
 1872 
 
 1864 
 
 1872 
 
 1869 
 
 1864 
 
 1862 
 
 1863 
 
 1868 
 
 1868 
 
 1871 
 
 1869 
 
 1863 
 
 1871 
 
 1870 
 
 1854 
 
 1860 
 
 1859 
 
 1872 
 
 1871 
 
 1867 
 
 1864 
 
 1866 
 
 1869 
 
 1859 
 
 1865 
 
 1869 
 
 1868 
 
 1869 
 
 KS64 
 
 1863 
 
 1876 
 
 1871 
 
 1866 
 
 1863 
 
 1869 
 
 1879 
 
 1869 
 
 1860 
 
 1869 
 
 1874 
 
 1868 
 
 1863 
 
 1869 
 
 1874 
 
 1863 
 
 1871 
 
 1866 
 
 i862 
 1871 
 1870 
 1869 
 
 1870 
 
 1873 
 
 1875 
 
 1870 
 
 1874 
 
 1877 
 
 1870 
 
 1875 
 
 1874 
 
 1874 
 
 1877 
 
 1871 
 
 1870 
 
 1874 
 
 1869 
 
 1871 
 
 1870 
 
 1872 
 
 1872 
 
 1878 
 
 1877 
 
 1872 
 
 1874 
 
 1878 
 
 1872 
 
 1871 
 
 1870 
 
 1872 
 
 1869 
 
 1874 
 
 1872 
 
 1872 
 
 1871 
 
 1871 
 
 1874 
 
 1S7!I 
 
 1874 
 
 1870 
 
 1876 
 
 1870 
 
 1870 
 
 1871 
 
 1670 
 
 1871 
 
 1870 
 
 1870 
 
 1872 
 
 1871 
 
 IStiS 
 
 1864 
 
 KS73 
 
 1869 
 
 1876 
 
 1879 
 
 186!) 
 
 1875 
 
 1670 
 
 1 869 
 
 1873 
 
 1876 
 
 1876 
 
 1872 
 
 1870 
 
 1869 
 
 1879 
 
 1870 
 
 1874 
 
 1871 
 
 1874 
 
 1878 
 
 1874 
 
 1869 
 
 1874 
 
 187-1 
 
 1874 
 
 1873 
 
 i.S70 
 1871 
 1870 
 1871 
 
 Eureka. . . . 
 Eureka. . . . 
 Ruby Hill. 
 Ruby Hill. 
 Eureka . . . 
 Eureka .... 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Ruby Hill... 
 Ruby Hill. . . 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka .... 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka . . . . 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka. . . . 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka . . . . 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 ;Ruby Hill .. 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Kuby Hill... 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka . . . . 
 Ruby Hill.. 
 ICureka . . . . 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Kureka . . . . 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Ruby Hill .. 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Ruby Hill.. 
 
 Kureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Palisade . . . 
 
 Eurfka 
 
 Ruby Hdl... 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Ruby Hill.. 
 Ruby Hill.. 
 Ruby Hill.. 
 Ruby Hill... 
 Ruby Hill, . 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Ruby Hill... 
 
 Kureka 
 
 Kureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Ruby Hill... 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka. , , . 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka. . . . 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eurrka 
 
 Eureka. . . . 
 I''ureka . . . 
 
 Kureka 
 
 Kureka 
 
 Ruby Hill... 
 
 480 
 
 500 
 
670 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 EUREKA COUNTY-Continued. 
 
 NAME. 
 
 Came to Came to 
 State. Couuty. 
 
 rOST-OFFICE. 
 
 No. 
 Acres. 
 
 Stowell, W. H. . . . 
 
 Sweeny, J 
 
 Thoma, G. H 
 
 Trainer, Thomas. . 
 Trofatter, E. T. . . 
 Vauilerleitli, J . . . 
 
 Wells, S. O 
 
 Wuthanl, Thomas. 
 Whitmore, J. C. C 
 Williams, Thomas. 
 
 Work, ,1. J I Eureka 
 
 Wren, Thomas. [Eureka 
 
 Eureka. . . . 
 Kuby Hill. 
 Eureka. . . . 
 Ruhy Hill. 
 Ruby Hill. 
 Eureka. . . 
 Eureka. . . . 
 Kureka. . . . 
 Eureka. . . . 
 lUuby Hill. 
 
 Druggist . 
 
 Physician and surgeon 
 
 Enrin'r at Eureka CousolidateJ 
 
 Prop, of the Trofatter House. . 
 
 Prop . Cosmopolitan Hotel . . . . 
 
 Stock growing & general farm'g 
 
 , Teaming 
 
 .Bookkeeping 
 
 !Attorney-at-law . 
 
 New York . . . . 
 
 Canada 
 
 New York . . . . 
 
 .Scotland 
 
 Massachusetts 
 (Jermauy .... 
 
 Canada 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Massachusetts 
 
 England 
 
 Pennsylvania . 
 Ohio 
 
 1868 
 
 1870 
 
 1872 
 
 1872 
 
 J 867 
 
 1877 
 
 1871 
 
 1871 
 
 1877 
 
 1878 
 
 1872 
 
 1872 
 
 186G 
 
 1873 
 
 1871 
 
 1871 
 
 1877 
 
 1879 1 
 
 1872 
 
 1877 
 
 18G2 
 
 1873 
 
 1863 
 
 1873 1 
 
 Eureka ' 
 
 Ruby Hill.. ..i 
 
 Eureka I .... 
 
 Ruby Hill ' 
 
 Ruby Hill i 
 
 Eureka I 
 
 Eureka 1,000 
 
 l']ureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Ruby Hill j 
 
 Eureka 
 
 Eureka 
 
 HUMBOLDT COUNTY. 
 
 NAME. 
 
 RB8IDXKCE. 
 
 Caine to 
 State. 
 
 Came to 
 County 
 
 I'OST-Ol'I'lCR. 
 
 No. 
 Acres. 
 
 Abel, David A. . . 
 
 Black, A. L 
 
 Blakeslee, L. A. . . . 
 Blennerhassett, E. . 
 Bonnifield, M. S. . . 
 
 Buckner, L. A 
 
 Burns, W. T 
 
 Buabee, M. E 
 
 Bradshaw, Joel. . . . 
 Bradshaw, John D. 
 Bradshaw, T. J . . . . 
 
 Byrni-s, James 
 
 Byrnes, John 
 
 Carrel, Geo. H 
 
 Carrel, Merrick B . 
 
 Emmons, H. C 
 
 Prayer, N 
 
 (iermain, Jos 
 
 Gould, .jas 
 
 Harlan, T.J 
 
 Hill, J. J. & Co . . 
 
 Hinkey, C. H 
 
 Hinkey, C. W 
 
 Job, J. H 
 
 Kemler, Clias 
 
 Macaulay, H. P 
 
 Marzen, J 
 
 Morrison, A 
 
 Naramore, Frank. . . . 
 
 Nichols, C. A 
 
 Organ, Joseph 
 
 Pierce, S. B. P 
 
 Recaiizone & Eorgnone 
 
 Rechard, L. L 
 
 Rodifer, W. A 
 
 Scott, R. H 
 
 Senghas, Chas 
 
 Spcrry, W. A 
 
 Thompson, M. S 
 
 Vestal, James 
 
 Weiglul, Wm 
 
 Wise, Alex 
 
 Paradise Valley. . 
 Paradise Valley. . 
 
 Humboldt 
 
 W'innemucca 
 
 Winnemucca 
 
 Winuemucca 
 
 Winnemucca 
 
 Pleasant Valley. . 
 Paradise Valley. . 
 
 Paradise 
 
 Paradise Valley . . 
 Paradise Valley . . 
 Paradise Valley . 
 
 Paradise 
 
 Paradise Valley. , 
 
 Lovelocks 
 
 Spring City .... 
 Winnemucca. . . . 
 
 .Mill City 
 
 Paradise 
 
 Winnemucca. . .. 
 
 Paradise 
 
 Paradise Valley. 
 Winnemucca. . . . 
 
 Paradise 
 
 Paradise 
 
 Lovelocks 
 
 Rye Patch, 
 
 Winnemucca. ... 
 Paradi.se Valley. 
 
 Star Ranch 
 
 Paradise 
 
 Paradise 
 
 Winnemucca . , 
 Paradise Valley. 
 Paradise V^alley. 
 Paradise Valley. 
 Paradise Valley . 
 
 Mill Cily 
 
 Paradise Valley. 
 
 Paradise 
 
 Winnemucca. . . . 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser. . 
 
 Quartz milling 
 
 Humboldt House 
 
 Engineer 
 
 .•Attorney 
 
 .Attorney 
 
 Shoriir 
 
 inner 
 
 I Jeneral farming 
 
 Farming 
 
 General farming 
 
 ( Jentral farming 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Farming 
 
 .Merchant 
 
 Mining 
 
 Proprietor of Lafayette Hotel. 
 
 Foundry, hotel and mills 
 
 Mill Superintendent 
 
 Proprietor Daily Silver State. . 
 
 Farming 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Co. Cl'k and prop. Cen'l Hotel 
 
 •Merchant 
 
 .Miller 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser. 
 
 Mining; and milling 
 
 Livery and lumber 
 
 Farmer, stock raiser and hotel 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Iowa 
 
 Ohio 
 
 South Carolina. 
 
 Virginia 
 
 Kentucky .... 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 Rhode Island . . . 
 
 Illinois 
 
 Illinois 
 
 Illinois 
 
 New York 
 
 New York 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Ohio 
 
 New York. . . . 
 New York. . . . 
 
 France 
 
 New York 
 
 Virginia 
 
 .Milling and merchandising. 
 
 Farming 
 
 Liveryman 
 
 Mechanic 
 
 Merchandising 
 
 Farming 
 
 Farming 
 
 Mininj,' and State Senator. . 
 
 Farming 
 
 Farming 
 
 Stock gr'r, freig'gft Inter. Rev 
 
 Germany 
 
 ( lermany ... . 
 
 England 
 
 (lennany . .. . 
 
 Iowa 
 
 Prussia 
 
 Maine 
 
 Vermont 
 
 New York . . . . 
 
 England 
 
 Maine 
 
 Italy 
 
 New York . . . . 
 
 Virginia 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Germany 
 
 Connecticut. . . 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 Missouri 
 
 England 
 
 Prussia 
 
 1866 
 
 1877 
 1873 
 1871 
 1862 
 1862 
 1868 
 1862 
 18GS 
 1876 
 1866 
 1867 
 1867 
 1861 
 1860 
 1873 
 I860 
 1856 
 1873 
 1860 
 
 1870 
 1863 
 1866 
 1866 
 18711 
 1863 
 1861 
 1868 
 1866 
 1863 
 1862 
 1864 
 1867 
 1858 
 1862 
 1863 
 1867 
 ISSS 
 1872 
 1869 
 1862 
 
 1866 
 
 1877 
 1873 
 1871 
 1862 
 1862 
 ISliS 
 1862 
 186S 
 1876 
 1868 
 1867 
 1867 
 1861 
 1S60 
 1.S76 
 1860 
 1870 
 1873 
 1879 
 
 1870 
 1863 
 1866 
 1866 
 1879 
 1877 
 1,S61 
 1869 
 1866 
 1863 
 1862 
 1864 
 1867 
 1877 
 1862 
 1870 
 IS6S 
 185S 
 1872 
 1869 
 1863 
 
 Paradise 
 
 Paradise 
 
 Humboldt 
 
 Winnemucca. . . 
 Winnemucca. . . 
 Winnemucca. . 
 Winnemucca, . 
 Winnemucca. . . 
 Paradise Valley 
 
 Paradise 
 
 Paratlise Valley 
 Para<lise Valley 
 
 Paradise 
 
 Willow Point.. 
 
 Paradise 
 
 Lovelocks 
 
 Spring City. . . . 
 Winnemucca. . . 
 
 Mill City 
 
 Paradise 
 
 Winnemucca . 
 
 Parailise 
 
 Paradise Valley 
 Winnemucca. . . 
 
 Paradise 
 
 Paradise 
 
 Lovelocks 
 
 Rye Patch 
 
 Winnemucca. . . 
 Paradise Valley 
 
 Mdl City 
 
 Paradise 
 
 Paradise Valley 
 Winnemucca. . . 
 I'aradise Valley 
 Paradise Valley 
 
 Paradise 
 
 Paradise Valley 
 
 Mill City 
 
 Paradise 
 
 Paradise 
 
 Winnemucca. . . 
 
 640 
 
 m 
 
 150 
 360 
 560 
 600 
 600 
 680 
 6,000 
 480 
 610 
 
 160 
 
 1,280 
 1,020 
 
 1.000 
 
 1,400 
 •iOO 
 
 5,000 
 800 
 
 600 
 300 
 
 450 
 
 2,100 
 
 GOO 
 
 LANDER COUNTY. 
 
 NAME. 
 
 Came to 
 State 
 
 Came to 
 County 
 
 rosT'OPncK. 
 
 No. 
 Aeres. 
 
 Ahlers, Fred 
 
 Barclay, A 
 
 Bean, J. A., M. D.. 
 
 Blossom, .1. A 
 
 Booth, .lohn 
 
 Boyden, J. W 
 
 Brown, James 
 
 Curtis, Allen A. . . . 
 
 Farrell, M. J 
 
 Ferguson, ■!. F 
 
 Finegan, .lames. . . . 
 Gibson, William . . 
 
 Reese River Tp. . . 
 Battle Mountain. . 
 Battle Mountain . 
 Battle Mountain. . 
 
 Austin 
 
 Austin 
 
 Battle Mountain. . 
 
 Austin 
 
 Austin 
 
 Austin 
 
 Austin 
 
 Austin 
 
 Farmer .... 
 
 Ayent I). W. Earl & Co 
 
 Physician an<l surgeon 
 
 .Mining and stock raising 
 
 ICd. & Pub. ReeM Jiiver Jieveille . 
 
 lawyer 
 
 Agent C. P. & N. C. Railro-id. 
 Mining, banker and merchant. 
 Accountant and State Senator. 
 
 Livery and feeil stables 
 
 Contractor and builder ... . 
 Postmaster 
 
 Germany 
 
 Canmla 
 
 .\ew Hampshire. 
 
 Ohio 
 
 England 
 
 Mitssachu8ctt«. . . 
 Pennsylvania. . . 
 
 New Jersey 
 
 New Jersey 
 
 New Vork 
 
 Maryland 
 
 Illinois 
 
 1863 
 1869 
 1879 
 1862 
 1863 
 1878 
 1863 
 1864 
 1863 
 1872 
 1870 
 1864 
 
 1863 
 1870 
 1879 
 1879 
 1873 
 1878 
 
 isi;.s 
 
 IMVt 
 1863 
 1872 
 1870 
 1864 
 
 Austin 
 
 Battle Mt 
 
 700 
 
 Battle .Mt 
 
 
 Battle Mt 
 
 640 
 
 
 
 Battle Mt 
 
 Austin 
 
 Austin 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Austin 
 
 
PATRONS DIRECTORY. 
 
 671 
 
 LANDER COUNTY-Continued. 
 
 NAME. 
 
 Came to 
 State. 
 
 Catnc to 
 Count}. 
 
 POST-OPPICB 
 
 No. 
 Acrea. 
 
 Hammond, J. S. M . D. 
 Huntsm.iii, L. D. . . 
 Lanmiurltart, George. 
 Manhattan .S. M. Co. 
 
 Mayeuliaum, H 
 
 McCiifferty, A. U 
 
 MeKenuey, D. C 
 
 Mc Williams, Jno. \V . 
 
 >(ioholls, .\ 
 
 Pui;li, [,. M 
 
 Smyth, .Ino 
 
 Spoiiogle, F. M 
 
 ISproule, C. H 
 
 Thomas, B. C 
 
 Von Nordeck, F 
 
 Williamson, John K. 
 Wrifjht, J. A 
 
 Austin 
 
 Battle Mountain. 
 
 .\u8tin 
 
 Austin 
 
 Austin 
 
 Austin 
 
 .\ustin 
 
 Battle Mountain. 
 
 .\ustin 
 
 Battle Mountain . 
 
 -■Vustin 
 
 Bitttle Mountain. 
 Battle Mountain.. 
 
 Austin 
 
 .\nstin 
 
 Austin 
 
 Austin 
 
 Physician and surgeon 
 
 Proprietor Capitol Kotel 
 
 Butcher 
 
 'Silver mining and miliiog 
 
 Lawyer 
 
 Recorder 
 
 District J udge 
 
 (ieneral mcrcliaiidise 
 
 Lumher dealer 
 
 Mining 
 
 Liquor dealer and mining. . . 
 
 Physician and surgeon 
 
 Kd. & Pb. BiMleMl. Ueosengr. 
 
 Sheriff 
 
 Druggist 
 
 Merchant and mining 
 
 Jewelry & County Treasurer. , 
 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Germany 
 
 Germany 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Canada 
 
 Ohio 
 
 New York 
 
 .Missouri 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Ohio 
 
 California 
 
 Missouri 
 
 Germany . ... 
 South Carolina. 
 Xcw York 
 
 1875 
 1)55.S 
 18U0 
 
 1603 
 ISalt 
 1803 
 1803 
 1802 
 180-J 
 180'J 
 1877 
 1807 
 1803 
 1871 
 1803 
 1807 
 
 1878 
 1808 
 1806 
 
 IS03 
 1803 
 1803 
 
 1808 
 1803 
 1878 
 18011 
 1877 
 1808 
 1803 
 1872 
 1803 
 1807 
 
 Austin . . . . 
 Battle Mt. 
 Austin. . . , 
 Austin. . . 
 Austin. . . . 
 Austin,. . . 
 .\ustiu . . . 
 Battle Mt. 
 .•\u.stin,. . . 
 Battle Mt. 
 .\ustin . . . 
 Battle Mt. 
 Battle Mt 
 Austin . . . . 
 Austin . . . 
 Austin. . . . 
 Austin . . . 
 
 100 
 
 100 
 
 LINCOLN COUNTY. 
 
 NAME. 
 
 BF-SIDEXCK. 
 
 Came to 
 State. 
 
 I 
 
 Came to 
 County. 
 
 No. of 
 Acres. 
 
 Adams, Robert . . 
 Adelmann, A. .. . 
 Alexander, G. R . 
 Barton, G. R. . . 
 
 Garden, C.R j 
 
 Carman, S. H 1 
 
 Clark, D. C ' 
 
 Cook, Joseph : 
 
 Craig, John 1 
 
 Crooker, J. B 
 
 Crowley, R. W 
 
 Culverwell, W 
 
 Curtis, J. N 
 
 Douoherty, A. B. O. . 
 
 Dow, S. L 
 
 Duff, J. R 
 
 Eilers, Henry 
 
 Kixenmann, J 
 
 Elam.R. H 
 
 Findlay, A. M 
 
 Fishbach, Jno. B. . . . 
 
 Fogg, \V. H 
 
 Fulks, D. A 
 
 Fuller, M 
 
 Gelabert, John 
 
 Gillan, Thomas 
 
 Goodman, W. P 
 
 Gorman, Geo. T 
 
 Gould, A. S 
 
 Hagerty ft. Barton . . . 
 Hellowell, Sidney. . . . 
 
 Henderson, J. C 
 
 Henderson \V. H 
 
 Hildebrand. J 
 
 Howell M. D 
 
 Kastberg, Chris. P. . . 
 
 Kelley,J. V 
 
 Lakin, \Vm. W 
 
 I.,cahigli, Mrs. Kate. . 
 
 Lee, Arthur O 
 
 Lee, F. C 
 
 Mandich, A 
 
 Mclntyre, \V. J 
 
 McKec, \V. L 
 
 Nesbitt, G 
 
 Nesbitt, .1 
 
 Newton, D. H 
 
 Nyswoiiger, Daniel. . . 
 
 Pate hen, C. H 
 
 Philson, C. V 
 
 Pierson, James 
 
 Reynolds, Jno 
 
 Roe, Charles L 
 
 Roc, William J 
 
 Sears, .J. I 
 
 Shier, John 
 
 Smith, S. D 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Piochc. . . . 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Bullionville . 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Bristol 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Bullionville. 
 
 Bristol 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Bristol 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Panaca 
 
 Bristol 
 
 Bristol 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Bristol 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Royal City . 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Bristol. . . . 
 
 Pioche. . . . . 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Bristol. . . . 
 
 iRristol 
 
 [Pioche 
 
 IPioclu' 
 
 I Bristol 
 
 I Panaca 
 
 Panaca .... 
 
 Piochc 
 
 Bristol 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Bristol 
 
 j Panaca 
 
 Tioche 
 
 Pioche. . . 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Bristol 
 
 I Bristol 
 
 Bristol 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 IMerchant tailor Kngland 
 
 Butcher. 
 
 Druggist 
 
 Merchant 
 
 Proprietor Bullionville Hotel. 
 
 Blacksmith 
 
 -Merchant 
 
 Livery 
 
 i< ■ermany 
 
 Dis't Columbia. . 
 
 Utah 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 New Y'ork 
 
 Maine 
 
 Prussia 
 
 Deputy Sheritt' Kentucky. 
 
 New Y'ork 
 
 Ireland 
 
 England 
 
 England 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Maine 
 
 England 
 
 Gennany 
 
 Wisconsin 
 
 Virginia 
 
 .Scotland 
 
 Germany 
 
 Maine 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 New York 
 
 Spain 
 
 Canada 
 
 New ^'ork 
 
 Dis't Columbia. 
 Ohio 
 
 Gen. Man'g Bristol .Silr M. Co. 
 
 Printer 
 
 Dairy 
 
 (ieneral Merchandise 
 
 Attorney at Law . . 
 
 Engineer 
 
 Supt, Meadow Valley Mine. . 
 
 Saloon 
 
 Hardware 
 
 Supt. Water Company 
 
 Man'r. Panaca Ce-oper've store 
 
 Postmaster 
 
 Timekeeper Hillside Furnace. 
 
 County Treasurer 
 
 Attorney at Law and miner. . . 
 
 Butcher 
 
 Butcher 
 
 Stationer 
 
 County Clerk 
 
 Superintendent Day Mine. . . . 
 
 Merchants 
 
 .Saloon 
 
 County Recorder 
 
 Mining 
 
 Restaurant 
 
 Supt. Hillside Mining Co 
 
 Mining, 
 
 Agent Wells, Fargo & Co 
 
 Miner 
 
 Restaurant 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Farmer .M issouri 
 
 Merchant Austria 
 
 Bookkeeper Hillside Min'g. Co . jSouth America 
 
 Sheriff I.Sonth Carolina . 
 
 Merchant 'Ireland 
 
 Merchant '\ reland 
 
 Clerk Bristol Mining Co .Massachusetts. 
 
 Farmer Pennsylvania. 
 
 District -Attorney [New York .... 
 
 Physician an<l surgeon Penn.'ylvania . 
 
 Prop. San Jose House Virginia 
 
 Supt. Hillside Furnace Ireland 
 
 -Mining iNew York. . . . 
 
 Sunt, ilayllower Mine |New York. . . . 
 
 Telegraphing -Vew Y'ork. . . . 
 
 Merchant {Englaiid 
 
 (i rain dealer lOhio 
 
 England 
 
 Missouri 
 
 Missoim 
 
 (icrniany 
 
 New Jersey. . . 
 
 Germany 
 
 New Y'ork . . . . 
 
 Indiana 
 
 .Vew York. . . . 
 Utah. 
 
 1869 
 1809 
 1802 
 1872 
 1803 
 ISOS 
 1861 
 1806 
 1808 
 1880 
 1868 
 1808 
 1871 
 1866 
 1875 
 1802 
 1869 
 1864 
 1873 
 1872 
 1870 
 1877 
 1860 
 1805 
 1865 
 1870 
 1807 
 1864 
 1870 
 
 1872 
 1872 
 181)5 
 1876 
 1800 
 1873 
 1872 
 1869 
 1800 
 1>04 
 1864 
 1859 
 1875 
 1802 
 1872 
 1872 
 1880 
 I860 
 1800 
 1869 
 1862 
 1865 
 1804 
 1872 
 1872 
 1872 
 1872 
 
 872 
 870 
 872 
 874 
 S70 
 871 
 872 
 866 
 870 
 880 
 872 
 871 
 871 
 872 
 875 
 871 
 870 
 870 
 873 
 872 
 870 
 877 
 870 
 800 
 807 
 870 
 870 
 870 
 878 
 
 872 
 872 
 800 
 870 
 879 
 874 
 872 
 872 
 870 
 804 
 8fh» 
 870 
 875 
 869 
 872 
 872 
 880 
 872 
 872 
 870 
 870 
 878 
 871 
 872 
 873 
 872 
 W7U- 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Bullionville . 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Bristol . ... 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Bullionville. 
 
 Bristol 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Bristol .... 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Panaca .... 
 Bristol. .... 
 
 Bristol 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Piochc 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Bristol 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 RdyalCity.. 
 Piocher. . . ;.■ 
 
 Bristol 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Bristol 
 
 Bristol 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Bristol 
 
 Panaca 
 
 Panaca 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Bristol 
 
 Pioche. 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Bristol 
 
 Panaca 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pi'iche 
 
 Bristol 
 
 Bristol 
 
 Bristol 
 
 Piochc. 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche.. . „. 
 
 1,000 
 
 400 
 
 10 
 10 
 
 .SO 
 
 640 
 
672 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 LINCOLN COUNTY-Continued. 
 
 Spear, Charles.. . 
 Stoddard, Sam . . . 
 Stromberg, F. \V . 
 Sultan, Louis. . . . 
 Turner, H. W.... 
 
 Vallejo, P 
 
 Veitch, Alex 
 
 Wedge, John. . . . 
 Welland, Henry. 
 Wilkin, D 
 
 ICame tojCame to 
 Stale. County. 
 
 POST-OFFICE. 
 
 No. 
 Acres. 
 
 Bristol . 
 Pioche. . 
 Panaca. 
 Pioche. 
 Pioche. 
 Wertheimer L | Pioche. 
 
 Bristol Engineer 
 
 Pioche JKngineer 
 
 Bristol H.>tel 
 
 Pioche 1 Merchant 
 
 Pioche Editor of the Pioche Record. . . 
 
 Saddlerj' Canada 
 
 Assayer 
 
 Maine. . . . 
 Michigan . . 
 Prussia. . . 
 Prussia. . . 
 Illinois. . . . 
 California. 
 
 Prop, of the Panaca Hotel . . . 
 Merchant. 
 
 Mercliant. 
 
 England. . 
 Germany. 
 Ireland . . 
 (Jermany 
 
 1873 
 
 1878 
 
 1871 
 
 1874 
 
 1878 
 
 1878 
 
 1867 
 
 1869 
 
 187.3 
 
 1873 
 
 1878 
 
 1878 
 
 1867 
 
 186!) 
 
 186.5 
 
 1865 
 
 1861 
 
 1870 
 
 1860 
 
 1870 
 
 1872 
 
 1S72 
 
 Bristol 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Bristol 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Bristol 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Panaca 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 Pioche 
 
 10 
 
 LYON COUNTY. 
 
 NAME. 
 
 RESIDENCE. 
 
 Barnes, P 
 
 Bonhani, J. A 
 
 Brant, V. F 
 
 Briggs, John 
 
 Buckland, S. S. ... 
 
 Burke, T. W.. 
 
 Burner (!. W. . . . 
 Camiiljell, J. L. . , . 
 Campbell, John M. 
 
 Carliiig,.lcihn 
 
 Cooney, Martin . . . 
 
 Dallas, J. S 
 
 Fitch, A. B 
 
 Gruber, J. C 
 
 Hazktt, J. C, M. 1> 
 
 Hawkins, T. H 
 
 H<iugham, J. Kiley . 
 Jaqua, (Jeorge E . . . . 
 
 Kclley, Michael .... 
 
 Lamb, L 
 
 Lothrop, John 
 
 Noel, Sol 
 
 Kandall, G . P 
 
 Savage, P. R 
 
 Scott, John 
 
 Seawell, W. M 
 
 Shaw, J . K 
 
 Sheldon, H. H 
 
 Sims, J . D 
 
 Summerfield, A 
 
 Thomas, C. C 
 
 V inson, Theo 
 
 Dayton 
 
 Dayton 
 
 Dayton 
 
 Silver City 
 
 Buckland Ranch 
 
 Sutro 
 
 Burrier's Ranch 
 
 Dayton 
 
 Silver City .... 
 Carling's Ranch. 
 Cooucy's Ranch. 
 
 Dayton 
 
 Fitch's Ranch. . . 
 
 Dayton 
 
 Dayton 
 
 Dayton 
 
 Dayton 
 
 Dayton 
 
 Sutro 
 
 Sutro 
 
 Dayton 
 
 Mason Valley. . . 
 
 Dayton 
 
 Sutro 
 
 Dayton 
 
 Dayton 
 
 Dayton 
 
 Sutro 
 
 Dayton 
 
 Sutro 
 
 Sutro 
 
 Silver City 
 
 Came to Came to 
 State. County. 
 
 P0ST-0K71CE. 
 
 No. 
 Acres. 
 
 Livery, feed stables &, teaming. Ohio 
 
 Postmaster and stationery. . . . Wisconsin. . . 
 
 County Assessor Pennsylvania 
 
 Mining and milling England 
 
 Gen'l farm'g, st'k gr'g & dairy gOhjo 
 
 Tinsmith 
 
 Farm'g, dairy 'g & stock raising 
 
 Butchering 
 
 Ed . & prop . Lyons Co . Timcn . 
 Farm'g, dairy 'g & stock raising 
 Farming and stock raising. . . . 
 County Clerk & Pioneer Stg Lue 
 Farmer and stock grower. 
 
 Union Hotel 
 
 Apothecary and physician. . . . . 
 Carp'r, contrac r& Justice? ce 
 
 Fanniuy and dairying 
 
 Broom manufacturer 
 
 Black.smith 
 
 Carpenter 
 
 County Recorder 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Blacksmithiiig 
 
 Foreman Sutro Machine Shop. 
 Sup . Lyon Mill & Min'g Com'y. 
 
 District Judge 
 
 Hay, grain, iumb'r& wooddel'r 
 Cashier Sutro Tunnel Comp'y . 
 Merchant & County Treasurer. 
 
 Merchant 
 
 Superin't Sutro Tunnel Comp'y 
 Superintendent French Mill 
 
 California 
 
 Pennsylvania . . 
 
 Indiana 
 
 Pennsylvania . . 
 New Jersey. . . . 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Michigan 
 
 New York 
 
 jGermany 
 
 Pennsylvania . . 
 
 Delaware 
 
 Indiana 
 
 Connecticut.. . . 
 
 Ireland 
 
 New York 
 
 Missouri 
 
 Wisconsin .... 
 Rhode Island. . 
 Massachusetts. . 
 
 England 
 
 Dis. of Columbia 
 
 Illinois 
 
 New York. . . 
 
 Missouri 
 
 Poland 
 
 Maryland . . . 
 Wisconsin . . 
 
 1860 
 
 1863 
 
 I860 
 
 1861 
 
 1857 
 
 1873 
 
 1861 
 
 1862 
 
 1874 
 
 1861 
 
 1863 
 
 1864 
 
 1871 
 
 1860 
 
 1802 
 
 1863 
 
 1864 
 
 1875 
 
 1863 
 
 1862 
 
 1861 
 
 1861 
 
 1863 
 
 1874 
 
 1S69 
 
 1860 
 
 1863 
 
 1877 
 
 1861 
 
 1870 
 
 1861 
 
 1862 
 
 1860 
 1864 
 1800 
 1861 
 
 1879 
 
 lf62 
 1880 
 
 1873 
 
 1867 
 1862 
 1863 
 
 1875 
 1863 
 1862 
 
 1874 
 1874 
 1869 
 1872 
 1863 
 1877 
 1861 
 1876 
 1880 
 1869 
 
 1,680 
 
 Dayton 
 
 Dayton 
 
 D.iyton 
 
 Silver City... 
 Ft Churchill 
 
 Sutro 
 
 Ft Churchill 
 
 Dayton I 
 
 ■Silver City ' 
 
 Ft Churchill . . . 4,000 
 
 Dayton 1,400 
 
 Dayton i 
 
 Ft Churchill... 300 
 
 Dayton I 
 
 Dayton 
 
 Dayton. . . . 
 
 70 
 
 D.iyt n 
 
 Dayton 
 
 Sutro 
 
 Sutro 
 
 Dayton 
 
 M.ison Valley. .: 840 
 
 Dayton 40 
 
 Sutro 
 
 Dayton 
 
 Dayton 
 
 Dayton 
 
 Sutro 
 
 Dayton 
 
 Sutro 
 
 Sutro 
 
 Silver City. . 
 
 320 
 
 NYE COtTNTY. 
 
 NAME. 
 
 Jr. 
 
 Ashbum, C. E Belmont 
 
 Barrett, J. T. . 
 Bell, T. J... .. 
 Benham, N. M 
 B<ihle, Henry 
 Bowler, P. .\I., 
 Brougher, Wilson.. . 
 
 Bryden, J. H 
 
 Court, Chad 
 
 Curler, Benj 
 
 Donald, .Sam 
 
 Donnel, J. A 
 
 Dougherty. .lames R. . 
 
 Engstrom, CO 
 
 Ernst, Geo 
 
 Esser, M. W 
 
 Ferguson, S 
 
 Gilmore, Bros 
 
 Gilmorc, J. B 
 
 Gooding, John 
 
 Graham, Jamea 
 
 Granger, W. N 
 
 Griffith, J. I... 
 
 Came to 
 State, 
 
 Ohio. 
 
 Clerk 'Pennsylvania. 
 
 Reese River Tp Farmer 'Georgia 
 
 Grantsville JMining Indiana 
 
 (Jrantsville 'Clerk Illinois 
 
 Tybo Brewer Germany 
 
 Belmont J Attorney at Law 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Grantsville 
 
 Belmont 
 
 Grantsville 
 
 Tybo • 
 
 Belmont 
 
 Belmont 
 
 Belmont 
 
 Belmont 
 
 Belmont 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Reese River Valley. 
 
 Grantsville 
 
 Belmont 
 
 Belmont 
 
 Saloon Pennsylvania . . 
 
 'Engineer (Canada 
 
 JButcher lEngland 
 
 District Attorney IVermont 
 
 Ed. & Pro. (irantsville yio«<i;i2(i. lEngland 
 
 Livery, harness and saddlery. .New York 
 
 Teacher, Co. Supt. of Schools. New York 
 
 Engineer. 
 
 Mining engineer 
 
 General merchandise. . . . 
 
 Saloon 
 
 Saloon 
 
 Butcher and saloon 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Livery and stock raising. 
 
 Attorney at Law 
 
 District Attorney 
 
 Sweden. . . . 
 Germany . . 
 Germany . . 
 New York 
 
 I 
 
 18G3 
 1859 
 1860 
 1875 
 1868 
 1870' 
 1875 
 1869 
 1859 
 1859 
 1872 
 1873 
 1877 
 1869 
 1863 
 1860 
 1859 
 
 Ireland. . . 
 Prussia. . . 
 Scotland. 
 Vcrmout. 
 Iowa 
 
 1872 
 1869 
 1863 
 1871 
 1878 
 
 Came to 
 County. 
 
 POST^jmCE. 
 
 1863 
 1867 
 1874 
 1880 
 1870 
 1870 
 1S75 
 1874 
 1869 
 1867 
 1877 
 IS74 
 1877 
 1872 
 1866 
 1866 
 1871 
 
 1874 
 1869 
 1863 
 1871 
 1878 
 
 No. 
 Acres. 
 
 Belmont '. . 
 
 Austin 
 
 (irantsville 
 
 Grantsville 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Belmont 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Tybo 
 
 irantsvillc.;. . . . 
 
 Belmont 
 
 rantsville 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Ik'linont 
 
 Belmont 
 
 Belmont 
 
 Belmont 
 
 Belmont 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Tybo . 
 
 Grantsville 
 
 Grantsville 
 
 Belmont. ....'.. 
 Belmont 
 
 600 
 
 400 
 
 160 
 
 1,220 
 600 
 
PATRONS DIRECTORY. 
 
 673 
 
 NYE COUNTY-Contlnued. 
 
 NAUE. 
 
 RBSIDEN'CB. 
 
 Camo to.Camo toi 
 State. County . 
 
 rosT-orrici. 
 
 No. 
 Acres. 
 
 Harvey, A. B 
 
 Hawkins, A. M 
 
 Hogaii. .}. W 
 
 Humphrey, W. C. . . . 
 
 Kint;, R. M 
 
 Koch, Win 
 
 Kraiis, Albert 
 
 Kiichel, C. J 
 
 Langworthy, It. C . . 
 
 Luse, L. S 
 
 Maute, Andrew 
 
 McDonahl, A. R 
 
 Mclje.in, Adam 
 
 MoXamara, .lohu .... 
 
 Mitchell, J. G 
 
 Mitchell, Thos 
 
 Morgan T. F 
 
 Nicholl, (ieo 
 
 Norris, J. E 
 
 Oak, 
 
 Obenderf, J. I 
 
 0>;deu, .1. C 
 
 Ohlandef, John A. . . . 
 
 O'Xeil, David 
 
 Page & Donnel 
 
 Page, .J. D 
 
 Pe»ple8, John 
 
 Post, S. G 
 
 Robinson, H. H 
 
 San Pedro, M 
 
 Sine, K. P 
 
 .Spaulding, A. H 
 
 Stimler, Henry P . . . . 
 Stocker, Abuer H . . . . 
 Streitlierger, G. B. . . . 
 Trowbridge, N. S.& Co 
 
 Trowbridge, N. S 
 
 Turin, George 
 
 Vaui;hn, K. O 
 
 Wallace, U. T 
 
 Warburton, Thomas. . 
 Wilson, R. A 
 
 Grantsville 
 
 Belmont 
 
 (irantsville 
 
 Grantsville 
 
 Grantsville 
 
 Grantsville 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Grantsville 
 
 (one 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Belmont 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Belmont 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Belmont 
 
 (irantsville 
 
 Belmont 
 
 Belmont 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Belmont 
 
 Downieville. . .. 
 
 I'ylw 
 
 Belmont 
 
 Belmont 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Tybo 
 
 lirantsville 
 
 Belmont 
 
 Grantsville 
 
 Belmont 
 
 Belmont 
 
 Belmont 
 
 Grantsville 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Grantsville 
 
 Ueese River Tp. 
 
 Belmont 
 
 Belmont 
 
 Agt. W., F. & Co., and Notary. British Guiana. . 
 
 Surveyor Iowa 
 
 Foreman Alexander Mine A'crmont 
 
 Teaming and mining Ohio 
 
 Hardware Pennsylvania . . . 
 
 Prop. Grantsville Brewery. . . . Prussia. 
 
 Salooii Austria 
 
 Mining jCalifornia 
 
 General merchandise Connecticut . . . . 
 
 Restaurant Kentucky 
 
 lid. & Prop. Belmont Courier. . j France 
 
 Machinist Massachusetts.. 
 
 . jCounty Treasurer-. IScotland 
 
 .'Engineer |New .Jersey. ... 
 
 Co. Com. and boarding house . . iScotlaml 
 
 Scotland 
 
 Virginia 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Wisconsin 
 
 Maine 
 
 Maryland 
 
 New York City 
 
 •Sweden 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Pennsylvania . . 
 Massachusetts. . 
 Ohio 
 
 Supt. Alexander Mill 
 
 County Assessor 
 
 County Clerk 
 
 Mining 
 
 .Mining 
 
 Mining 
 
 Supt. Tybo Con. Mining Co . 
 
 •leweler 
 
 Sheriff 
 
 Livery 
 
 Livery 
 
 .Saloon 
 
 Postmaster and grocer 
 
 Deputy Sheriff jTenncssee, 
 
 Supt. Alexander Mine ISpain 
 
 Attorney -at-law 
 
 Livery and County Com 
 
 Postmaster 
 
 Attorney -at-law 
 
 General merchandise. . . . 
 General merchandise. . . . 
 (Jeneral merchandise .... 
 P. M., J. P. and Notary. 
 
 .Saloon 
 
 Farmer 
 
 County Assessor 
 
 Engineer and .1. P 
 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 Maine 
 
 Illinois 
 
 Vermont 
 
 Austria 
 
 1859 
 1874 
 1859 
 1860 
 1803 
 1860 
 1877 
 187S 
 1865 
 1863 
 1863 
 1861 
 18UI 
 187-J 
 1804 
 1870 
 1863 
 1863 
 1869 
 1876 
 1867 
 1869 
 1864 
 1869 
 
 Michigan. . . 
 Switzerland. 
 Wisconsin. . 
 Michigan. . . 
 Kngland. . . . 
 Canada 
 
 1862 
 1863 
 1800 
 1809 
 1801 
 1801 
 I87I 
 1864 
 1878 
 186J 
 
 1871 
 1865 
 1871 
 1867 
 1803 
 1876 
 
 1875 
 1874 
 1870 
 1874 
 1807 
 1867 
 1878 
 1878 
 1865 
 1863 
 1870 
 1872 
 1860 
 IS72 
 1806 
 1870 
 1804 
 1866 
 1873 
 1876 
 1867 
 1870 
 1872 
 1875 
 
 1874 
 1806 
 1871 
 1867 
 1806 
 1870 
 
 1865 
 1874 
 1878 
 1875 
 1803 
 1805 
 1874 
 1807 
 1878 
 1874 
 
 'Grantsville. . 
 Belmont. . . . 
 Grantsville.. 
 (irantsvilla. 
 Grantsville. . 
 Grantsville.. 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Grantsville. . 
 
 lone 
 
 Tybo 
 
 I Belmont. . 
 Tybo. . . . 
 Belmont. . . . 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Bi'Imont. . . . 
 (irantsville.. 
 Belmont. . . 
 Belmont. . . 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Belmont. . . . 
 Downieville 
 
 'Tybo 
 
 Belmont. . . . 
 Belmont. . . . 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Tybo 
 
 (irantsville.. 
 Belmont. . . . 
 Grantsville.. 
 Belmont. . . . 
 Belmont. . . . 
 Belmont. . . . 
 Grantsville,. 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Tybo 
 
 Grantsville,. 
 
 .Austin 
 
 Belmont. . . . 
 Belmont. . . . 
 
 540 
 
 ORMSBY COUNTY. 
 
 C^Tno to Came K 
 IStatc. <_Viuntv. 
 
 P08T-0FF1CK. 
 
 No. 
 AcreB. 
 
 Adams, J. W Carson City. . 
 
 Authers, James Carson City.. 
 
 Babcock, Jasper .... Carson City. . 
 
 Bath, J no Carson City.. 
 
 Batterman, C. C Carson City. . 
 
 Belknap, C. H jCarson City. . 
 
 Bence, H. H Carson City. . 
 
 Benton, J. M. 
 Bicknell, Charles F. 
 
 Brown, (ieo. E 
 
 Cary, W. M 
 
 Cheney, J. E 
 
 Clugage, F 
 
 Coffin, T 
 
 Craw ford, James. . . .'Carson City . 
 
 Davis, (ieo. T Carson City. . 
 
 Davis, Sam 'Carson City.. 
 
 Drcisbach, .M, A 'Carson City. . 
 
 Edgecomb, E 'Carson City. . 
 
 Carson City. . 
 
 Carson City . . 
 
 Carson City . 
 Carson City. . 
 Carson City. 
 Carson City. 
 Carson City. 
 Carson City. 
 Carson City. 
 
 Klwards, Theodore D. ' 
 Ellis, A. C. 
 
 Forties, John Carson City. 
 
 Fording, I 'Carson City. 
 
 Fox, J. W Carson City. . 
 
 (ireenlaw, L. S Carson City. 
 
 (ircenlaw. Mayo A. . . Carbon City. . 
 
 Hallock, J. F Car3<m City. 
 
 Harris, C, N Carson City. . 
 
 Hatch, .M. D Carson City . . 
 
 Hawley, Thomas P . ;Carson City. . 
 
 Herrick, L. A Carson City. 
 
 Hillyer, E. W Carson City. 
 
 Hogan, M. ■ iBruuswick . . 
 
 Lieutenant Governor 
 
 Farming 
 
 .Secretary of .State 
 
 Stock growing & gen Harming 
 
 Warden of State Prison 
 
 Chief Justice 
 
 Assessor, surveyor & mining. . 
 Staging, livery & ioc business . 
 Clerk (if the .Supreme Court. . . 
 
 Bookkeeper 
 
 .lusticc of the Peace 
 
 Retail grocer 
 
 .Mail &, stage business 
 
 Attorney 
 
 .Superintendent U. .S. Mint . . . 
 Wholesale and retail grocer . . . 
 
 Journalist 
 
 Lawyer 
 
 Livery and boarding stables. . . 
 
 Lawyer 
 
 Attorney at law 
 
 Agent for D. W. Earl & Co . . . 
 Master Mechanic V. & T. R. U. 
 
 Physician an<l surgeon 
 
 Superintendent public schools. 
 
 Clerk 
 
 Controller 
 
 Lawyer 
 
 County I'lerk 
 
 Justice of Supreme Court 
 
 Physician and surgeon 
 
 United States .Judge . . . 
 
 County Commiss'rft Teaming. 
 
 Vermont 
 
 England 
 
 Connecticut. . . . 
 
 England 
 
 New York ... . 
 
 iVew York 
 
 Xew York 
 
 New York 
 
 Maine 
 
 England 
 
 Ohio.. 
 
 New York 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Indiana 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 New Hampshire 
 Connecticut. . . . 
 .N'ew York ... . 
 
 Maine 
 
 Pennsylvania . . 
 
 Missouri 
 
 Nova Scotia. . . . 
 Pennsylvania . 
 Pennsylvania. . 
 
 Maine 
 
 Maine 
 
 New York. . . . 
 
 .Vow York 
 
 Vermont 
 
 Indiana. 
 
 New York. . . . 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Ireland 
 
 1805 
 1860 
 1872 
 1858 
 1865 
 1865 
 I860 
 1864 
 1803 
 1877 
 1854 
 1801 
 1860 
 1871 
 1863 
 1859 
 1875 
 1877 
 1803 
 1863 
 1863 
 1868 
 1809 
 1870 
 1803 
 1807 
 1804 
 1864 
 1867 
 1868 
 1872 
 1S66 
 1864 
 
 1872 
 
 1805 
 1875 
 1800 
 
 1871 
 
 1861 
 
 187 i 
 1874 
 
 187 
 
 l,sO:! 
 1803 
 
 'is76' 
 
 187!) 
 
 is73 
 
 1807 
 
 1872 
 
 Carson City 
 Carson City 
 Carson City 
 •'arson City 
 Carson City 
 Carson City 
 Carson City 
 Carson City 
 Carson City 
 Carson City 
 Carson City 
 Carson City 
 Carson City 
 Carson City 
 Carson City 
 Carson City 
 Carson City 
 ICarson City 
 ICarson City 
 Carson City 
 Carson City 
 Carson City 
 Carson City 
 Carson City 
 iCarson City 
 Carson City 
 Carson City 
 Carson City 
 Carson City 
 Carson City 
 Carson City 
 Carson City. 
 Empire. . . . 
 
 r. . . . 
 
 
 
 466 
 
 
 
 .. 
 
 
674 
 
 fflSTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 ORMSBY COUNTY-Continned. 
 
 Came to 
 State. 
 
 Came to 
 County 
 
 rosT-omcK. 
 
 No. 
 Acres. 
 
 Carson City. . 
 
 Empire 
 
 Carson City. . 
 Carson City. . 
 Carson City. . 
 Carson City. . 
 Carson City . . 
 Carson City . . 
 Brunswick . . . 
 Carson City.. 
 Carson City.. 
 Carson City. . 
 Carson City. . 
 Carson City . 
 Carson City . 
 Carson City . . 
 P^mpire City . 
 Carson City. . 
 Carson City . 
 
 Empire 
 
 Empire . 
 
 Hunter Harry 
 
 Jones, .S. E 
 
 Keyser 4 Elrod. . . . 
 
 Keyser, \V. D 
 
 King, .1. R 
 
 King, S. D 
 
 Kinkead, John H. . 
 Tjaughton, Chas. E. 
 La Vallicre, R. R. . 
 
 Lee, 'S. Lem 
 
 Leonard, 0. R 
 
 Lugenbuhl, Phil A. 
 
 Lyon, Geo. G 
 
 Marshall, J. H 
 
 Marston, C. A 
 
 Martin, J. H 
 
 Martin, W. 0. H . 
 Mason, C. P. .... 
 
 Mason, H. S 
 
 May, Eugene 
 
 Me(;uIlough, F. J . . 
 
 McRae, Duncan 'Carson City 
 
 Meder, B. H Carson City. . 
 
 Meder, J. P Carson City. . 
 
 Meyers, < !eo. H Carson City, . 
 
 Murphy, M. A Aurora 
 
 Nevada State Library. Carson City. . 
 
 Nevers, S. A Carson City . . 
 
 Niles, Edward Carson City. . 
 
 Parkinson, E. .J Carson City.. 
 
 Robinson, Marshall . . Carson City, . 
 Sessions, David R. . . Carson City.. 
 
 .Sharp Bros Carson City. . 
 
 Sharp, Jno. W Carson City. . 
 
 Small, B. F Carson City. . 
 
 Small, G. W Lakeview. . . . 
 
 Smart, Dr. J. S. M.. Carson (.'ity. , 
 Stewart, Wellington, . Carson City, . 
 
 Swift, S. T Hot Springs. . 
 
 Torreyson, W. 1) Carson City.. 
 
 Tennant, Thomas J . . Carson City. . 
 
 Thaxter, Geo. C Carson City.. 
 
 Townley, Rev, L Carson City. . 
 
 Treadway, A. D Carson City.. 
 
 Tutty, George Carson City. . 
 
 Werther, Chas Empire 
 
 White, F. J Carson City.. 
 
 Williams, Jos. F Empire 
 
 Witherell, C. A Carson City. 
 
 Wood, J. E Carson City. 
 
 Wright, S. C Carson City. 
 
 Yager, M. L I Carson City. 
 
 Young, J. W ICaraon City. 
 
 Master Transp'nV. 4 T. R. R. 
 Livery 
 
 New York. 
 Ohio 
 
 ILivery, hay yard & fanning. . 
 IV. 4 T. R. K. Train Dispatch'r. 
 
 :Lawyer 
 
 jGovernor 
 
 [Auditor V. &T. R. R 
 
 Supt. Brunswick Mill 
 
 i Physician and surgeon . ... 
 iJustice of Supreme Court 
 
 Roadmaster V. & T. R. R 
 
 IVivate Sec. of (iov., & Atfy . . 
 
 County Clerk, geu'l insurance. 
 
 Photographer 
 
 Contractor 
 
 General merchandise 
 
 Purchasing and supply agent. . 
 
 Wholesale 4 retail grocer 
 
 Millwright 
 
 Superintendent Mexican Mill . 
 
 Wood contractor 
 
 Milling 
 
 Accountant 
 
 Clerk 
 
 Attoruey-at-law and At'y Gen. 
 
 Pennsylvania . . . 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Washington D C. 
 Pennsylvania . . . 
 
 Maine 
 
 Alabama 
 
 Illinois 
 
 Vermont 
 
 Germany 
 
 Xew York 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Bosttm, Mass. . , 
 Vermont 
 
 1868 
 1S60 
 
 ■Wisconsin. 
 I Vermont. . , 
 
 New York 
 
 Illinois 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Can.tda 
 
 New Hampshire . 
 
 Maine 
 
 Maryland 
 
 New York 
 
 General farming 
 
 Publisher Cnivon Times 
 
 Publisher of the Tribune. . . . . 
 
 Printer 
 
 State Supt. I'ubliu Instruct. . 
 Proprietors Orm.sby House . . . 
 
 Hotel keeping 
 
 Hotel keeping 
 
 Lumber and wood 
 
 Physician and surgeon 
 
 Lawyer 
 
 Proprietor Hot Springs 
 
 Carriage & wagon manufactu'r. 
 
 Accountant 
 
 Druggist 
 
 Clergyman 
 
 Farmer and stock grower 
 
 Banker 4 hotel proprietor. . . . 
 
 Dealer in wood 
 
 Physician and surgeon 
 
 .Millwright 
 
 Register U. S. laud office .... 
 
 (ieneral farming 
 
 Receiver U. S. land office . . . 
 
 County Treasurer 
 
 Carriage manufct, blacksmith 
 
 Massachusetts . . 
 
 New York 
 
 California 
 
 Vermont 
 
 South Carolina.. 
 
 Massachusetts . . 
 
 Maine 
 
 Maine 
 
 New Brunswick. 
 
 Ohio 
 
 New ^'ork 
 
 Virginia 
 
 Pennsylvania. . 
 Maine 
 
 1857 
 1871 
 1861 
 1860 
 1872 
 1861 
 1870 
 1863 
 1872 
 1869 
 1874 
 1872 
 1859 
 1868 
 1874 
 1S61 
 1863 
 1867 
 1870 
 1863 
 1864 
 1873 
 1863 
 
 1857 
 1873 
 1862 
 1864 
 1870 
 
 Connecticut. 
 .Switzerland. . 
 
 Baden 
 
 Virginia.. . . 
 
 Illinois 
 
 New York.. 
 
 Virginia 
 
 New York . . 
 Kentucky. . 
 I Maine 
 
 1879 
 1859 
 1863 
 1877 
 1859 
 1863 
 1860 
 1859 
 1869 
 1869 
 1859 
 1862 
 1868 
 1870 
 1863 
 1863 
 1859 
 1859 
 1863 
 1876 
 
 1861 
 
 1877 
 1880 
 
 Carson City . . 
 
 1860 Empire. . . . . 
 
 Caisou City. . 
 
 iCarson City. . 
 
 jCarson City . . 
 
 iCarsou City . . 
 
 ICarson City. . 
 
 Carson City. . 
 
 Empire 
 
 Carson City . . 
 
 Carson City . 
 
 Carson City . . 
 
 Carson City . . 
 1874 Carson City. . 
 1872 Carson City.. 
 
 Carson City. . 
 
 Empire 
 
 Carson City . . 
 
 !Car30u City. . 
 
 1870 Empire 
 
 Empire 
 
 1870 Carson City. 
 
 1863 Carson City.. 
 
 1864 Carson City. . 
 1876 iCarson City . . 
 
 'Carson City . . 
 
 Carson City . . 
 
 ICarson City. . 
 
 Carson City. . 
 
 Carson City. . 
 
 Carson City. . 
 1870 Carson City. 
 . ... Carson City. . 
 1879 Carson City. 
 
 1861 
 
 1875 
 
 1864 
 
 1859 
 1863 
 1877 
 1859 
 
 1860 
 1875 
 
 1871 
 
 Carson City. 
 
 Carson City . 
 
 Carson City . . 
 
 Carson City . . 
 
 Carson City . . 
 
 C.irson City. . 
 
 Carson City . . 
 
 Carson City. . 
 
 Carson City. . 
 
 Carson City . . 
 
 Carson City. . 
 
 Empire 
 
 Carson City . . 
 
 1870 Empire 
 
 . . . .!Carson City. 
 
 Carson City . 
 
 Carson City . 
 
 .... Carson City . 
 Carson City. 
 
 40 
 
 400 
 
 400 
 
 100 
 
 80 
 
 STOREY COUNTY 
 
 KAME. 
 
 Came to 
 SUte. 
 
 Came toi 
 County : 
 
 rOST-OPFICB. 
 
 No. 
 Acres. 
 
 Abbott, Ira 
 
 Adkinsim, D, O 
 
 Ahl Chas. L 
 
 Aude, Francis L . . . . 
 
 B.iilcy, W. S 
 
 Ballard, 1. C 
 
 Bass, A. J 
 
 Boyle, E. D 
 
 Breed, R, J 
 
 Brennaii, Wui. M. . . 
 
 Brown, John K 
 
 Buckniinster, P. S . . 
 Buckner Thomas. . . . 
 
 Carrick, B. H 
 
 Chronicle, Va. h'v'y. . 
 
 Cole, A. M 
 
 Cole, W. G 
 
 Coun, F. M 
 
 Coyne, W 
 
 Crampton, H. J. . . 
 Craven, Alfred 
 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City . 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City . 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City . 
 Virginia City. 
 
 Gold Hill 
 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 
 Gold Hill 
 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 
 Amlagamator 
 
 Postmaster 
 
 Home 4 Phoenix Inst. Agent. . 
 
 I^awyer 
 
 Stock raiser 
 
 'Engineer 
 
 Butcher 
 
 Supt. Alta, Wash'on, Benton M 
 
 A\'ood and Coal 
 
 County Recorder and Aud't. . . 
 
 Attorney at law 
 
 Supt. Savage Mine 
 
 County Treasurer. 
 
 New York 
 
 )In<liana 
 
 iNew York 
 
 [Kentucky 
 
 New York 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 Missouri. ...... 
 
 j Ireland 
 
 New York 
 
 'Maine 
 
 tNew York 
 
 I New Hampshire. 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 Maine 
 
 Apothecary 
 
 Engineering 
 
 Physician and surgeon 
 
 Aid. & Foreman ;.t Lonkey 4 S. 
 
 .Soap nianufacti rer 
 
 Surveyor 
 
 New York .... 
 London, England 
 
 Ohio 
 
 .Missouri 
 
 New York. . . . 
 New Jersey. . . 
 
 1862 
 1863 
 1860 
 1862 
 1860 
 1862 
 1873 
 1863 
 1861 
 1867 
 1876 
 1864 
 1867 
 1860 
 
 1861 
 1864 
 1862 
 1873 
 1864 
 1875 
 
 1866 
 1863 
 1864 
 
 1860 
 1862 
 1873 
 1863 
 1861 
 1867 
 
 1864 
 1867 
 1873 
 
 1861 
 1864 
 1862 
 1873 
 1866 
 1876 
 
 Virginia City. 
 \'irgiuia City. 
 V'irgmia City. 
 Virginia Ciiy. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City . 
 
 i;old Hdl 
 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 
PATRONS DIRECTORY. 
 
 675 
 
 STOREY COUNTY-Continued. 
 
 Crosby, 1) 
 
 Dale, Mrs. M 
 
 DeiJesheiiuer, Philipp. 
 
 Deal AV. E. F 
 
 Derby, C 
 
 Dcy, H.V 
 
 Dicksou, \V, H 
 
 Dunne, P. J 
 
 Keklcy, J. W 
 
 Kgan, J. F . 
 
 Eugeis, F. H 
 
 Enterprise Pub. Co . . 
 
 Follett, M. V 
 
 Forman, Chas 
 
 Fox, L. T 
 
 Eraser, Andrew 
 
 Garhart, \Vm 
 
 Graham, .J. H 
 
 Grant, .lolin 
 
 Hancock, \Vm. H. . . . 
 
 Harris, E. B 
 
 Harris, J. H 
 
 Hickok, Wm. B 
 
 Hill, Chris 
 
 Hill, Wm. H 
 
 HiUyer, C.J 
 
 Humbert, P. A 
 
 James, I. £ 
 
 Kaueen, John S 
 
 Kirkpatrick, M 
 
 Ku.ipp, I'iiilo 
 
 Lewis, Jas. E , 
 
 Lindsay, P. H 
 
 Loukey, Oliver 
 
 Loomis, H. B 
 
 Lowell, W. H 
 
 Lyman, D. B 
 
 Lynch, Michael 
 
 Mahanny, J. A 
 
 Mallou, J. B 
 
 Manoguc, Rev. P. . . . 
 
 Martin, E. A 
 
 Marye, Geo. T 
 
 McAllister, James. . . 
 
 McCoue, Ale.\. J . . . . 
 
 McDonald, J. E 
 
 McKenzie, A. G . . . . 
 
 Mitchell. K. B 
 
 Mooiiey, .S. \ 
 
 Muoney, Wm 
 
 Moses, Thos 
 
 Moulton, L F 
 
 Newland, J. S 
 
 Nichol, F. D 
 
 Nye, E 
 
 Otey, E. K 
 
 Otcy, Mercer 
 
 Packer, F. H 
 
 Patton, Wm. H 
 
 Peasley, Andrew. . . . 
 
 Penoyer, H. H 
 
 Pijjer, Henry 
 
 Piper, John 
 
 Ke<ina, Isaac L 
 
 IJickctts, A. H 
 
 liising, Kichard 
 
 liolfe, Henry 
 
 Kooney, T. H 
 
 Schotetield, C 
 
 Shannon, P. E 
 
 Shaw, H. G 
 
 Smith, E. II 
 
 Smith, J. C 
 
 Smith, W. H 
 
 Stephens, 
 
 Stone, M.N 
 
 Stonehill, E. B 
 
 Strouse, Mark 
 
 ■Sulliv.in, U. O 
 
 Taylor, .). .Minor 
 
 Taylor, K. H 
 
 imiDENCX. 
 
 Virginia City . . 
 Viruinia City. . 
 Virginia City . . 
 Virginia City. . 
 Virginia City. . 
 Virginia City. . 
 Virginia City. . 
 Virginia City. . 
 Virginia City. . 
 Virginia City. . 
 Virginia City. . 
 Virginia City. . 
 Virginia City . . 
 V'irginia City. . 
 Gold Hill..... 
 Virginia City . . 
 Virginia City . 
 Virginia City . 
 Virginia City . 
 Virginia City . . 
 Virginia City . . 
 Virginia City. . 
 Virginia City. . 
 Virginia City. . 
 Virginia City. . 
 Virginia City . . 
 Virginia City. . 
 Virginia City. . 
 Virginia City. . 
 Virginia City . . 
 Virginia City . 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Virginia City. . 
 Virginia City. . 
 Virginia City. . 
 
 Virginia City. . 
 
 Virginia City. . 
 
 Virginia City. . 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Gold Hill 
 
 Virginia City. 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Virginia City. 
 
 Virgania City. 
 
 Virginia City. 
 
 Virginia City. 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 V'irginia City . 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 V'irginia City. 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Gold Hill 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Virginia Citv. 
 
 Gold Hill...'.. 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Virginia City 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Virginia City 
 
 Gold Hill 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Virginia City . 
 
 Wood and coal 
 
 Arlington House 
 
 Mining implements... 
 
 Lawyer 
 
 Livery and ranching. . . 
 
 Mining 
 
 Lawyer 
 
 County Assessor 
 
 Manager of Cal. Bank . 
 Supt. Andes Mine. . . . 
 Physician and surgeon. 
 Daily Eiiterprinf 
 
 Came to Came to 
 8Ute. County 
 
 POOTOlTICB. 
 
 No. 
 Acres. 
 
 New York 
 
 Indiana 
 
 ( lerniany 
 
 Maryland 
 
 New York 
 
 New York... .. 
 New Brunswick. 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 (ieorgia 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Gei-mnny 
 
 Mining Superintendent. 
 
 Fouudryman . 
 Livery 
 
 Taylor, Thos. G Gold Hill 
 
 Physician 
 
 Butcher 
 
 Physician and surgeon 
 
 Lawyer 
 
 Insurance 
 
 Butchering 
 
 Insurance 
 
 Attorney-atlaw 
 
 Mining engineer 
 
 .Supt. .Sierra Nevada Mine . 
 
 (ias engineer 
 
 Lawyer . . 
 
 Soda works, li(|Uor and ice. 
 
 Attorney at law 
 
 Lawyer 
 
 Lumber 
 
 Local Ed. Gold Hill News. . . 
 Sec. I'acilic Mill & Mining Co. 
 Gen. Supt. Pacific .Mill Co. . 
 
 Mining 
 
 Tax Collector 
 
 (Jroceries, wines and liquors . . 
 
 Bishop 
 
 Assayer 
 
 Banker and broke- 
 
 Machinist 
 
 Foundry 
 
 County Clerk 
 
 Supt. Utah Mine 
 
 Attorney at law 
 
 Act. Hale& NorcrossS. M. Co. 
 
 Livery and sale stable 
 
 Justice of the I'eacc 
 
 Cashier Nevada Bank 
 
 Dentist 
 
 Deputy County Hecorder 
 
 Butcher and County Com 
 
 Sec. Sierra Nev.-ula Mine 
 
 Sec. Yellow Jacket Mine 
 
 Physician ami surgeon 
 
 .Mining & meclianical engineer. 
 
 Hardware 
 
 Supt. B. 4 B and G. 4 C. M. 
 
 .Saloon 
 
 Piper's Opera House 
 
 Mining .Snpcrinlendent 
 
 Notary Pulilic and Com 
 
 District .Inilge 
 
 Deputy County Clerk 
 
 Supt. Union Shaft 
 
 .Supt. Fultiin Foundry 
 
 Notary Public 
 
 Editor Kiilciyrv'i' 
 
 Lumtier 
 
 Bla<-k8niith 
 
 Supt. Belcher Mine 
 
 Lawyer 
 
 Attorney-atlaw 
 
 Attorney at-law 
 
 Butcher and Virginia Ico Co. . 
 
 Minister 
 
 Accountant 
 
 Lawyer 
 
 Miner 
 
 America 
 
 New York 
 
 Virginia 
 
 Canada 
 
 Pennsylvania . . 
 Pennsylvania . . . 
 Ontiirio, Canada. 
 
 New York 
 
 New York 
 
 New Y'ork 
 
 New York 
 
 Germany 
 
 Canada 
 
 Ohio 
 
 New York City. 
 
 Ohio •. 
 
 New York .... 
 Kentucky .... 
 
 Maine 
 
 Wales 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Canada 
 
 New York. . . . 
 
 Maine 
 
 Vermont 
 
 Ireland 
 
 .M.Tssachusetts 
 
 [Ireland 
 
 Ireland 
 
 lOngland 
 
 Virginia 
 
 Ireland 
 
 California 
 
 Canada 
 
 Scotland 
 
 Maryland .... 
 New York. . . . 
 Ireland 
 
 18IH 
 186:i 
 1800 
 1SG3 
 18ti:i 
 18U0 
 1873 
 1874 
 18Uy 
 181)0 
 1872 
 
 1871 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 Boston, Mass . . . 
 
 Ohio 
 
 New Orleans, La 
 Pennsylvania . . 
 
 Virginia 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 Vermont 
 
 New Jersey 
 
 New Y'ork 
 
 New Y'ork 
 
 Germany 
 
 (Jerinany 
 
 New York , 
 
 British Guiana. . 
 Pennsylvania . . . 
 
 Maine 
 
 New Y'ork 
 
 ICngUnd 
 
 New Jersey. . . . 
 
 Maine 
 
 New York . 
 Canada. . . 
 Now Y'ork . 
 Kentucky . 
 Prussia . . . 
 Gennany. . 
 Ireland... 
 New York. 
 New York. 
 New York. 
 
 1862 
 
 18G3 
 
 I860 
 
 1875 
 
 1876 
 
 1866 
 
 1880 
 
 1867 
 
 1860 
 
 1874 
 
 1863 
 
 1863 
 
 1876 
 
 1860 
 
 1863 
 
 1861 
 
 1863 
 
 1862 
 
 1 86'.) 
 
 1855 
 
 1872 
 
 1863 
 
 1862 
 
 1860 
 
 1859 
 
 1861 
 
 1862 
 
 1872 
 
 1861) 
 
 I8W 
 
 1863 
 
 1863 
 
 1863 
 
 1870 
 
 1803 
 
 1800 
 
 1873 
 
 1880 
 
 1875 
 
 1804 
 
 1802 
 
 1880 
 
 1878 
 
 1874 
 
 1804 
 
 1800 
 
 1805 
 
 1860 
 
 1800 
 
 1801 
 
 1873 
 
 1801 
 
 1872 
 
 1805 
 
 1874 
 
 1861 
 
 1867 
 1862 
 1857 
 1807 
 1808 
 185l» 
 1803 
 1877 
 1874 
 1803 
 1862 
 
 1874 
 
 isoo 
 
 1872 
 
 1800 
 1874 
 1805 
 1803 
 1876 
 1860 
 1803 
 
 i863 
 1873 
 
 1864 [Virginia City. . 
 1803 'Virginia City . . 
 1800 ;Virginia City . . 
 1803 Virginia City. 
 1803 Virginia City . . 
 1800 Virginia City. . 
 
 Virginia City. . 
 
 Virginia City. . 
 
 Virginia City. . 
 
 Virginia City. 
 
 Virginia City. . 
 
 Virginia City. . 
 
 1871 Virginia City . . 
 Virginia City 
 
 1802 Gold Hill 
 
 Virginia City. . 
 
 1863 Virginia City., 
 
 1875 Virginia City . . 
 
 1876 Virginia City . . 
 1806 Virginia City . . 
 1880 Virginia City.. 
 
 Virginia City. . 
 Virginia City. . 
 Virginia City 
 V irgiuia City . . 
 Virginia City. . 
 Virginia City. . 
 Virginia City. . 
 Virginia City. . 
 Virginia City . 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 
 1872 Virginia City. 
 1874 Virginia City. 
 
 1803 Virginia City. 
 1802 Virginia City. 
 1800 Virginia City. 
 1872 Virginia City. 
 
 1861 Virginia City. 
 1802 Virginia City. 
 1872 Virginia City. 
 180y Virginia City. 
 
 1804 Virginia City. 
 1872 Virginia City. 
 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 
 Gold Hill 
 
 Virginia City. 
 Viiginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Viiginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City, 
 j Virginia City. 
 I Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia Cit^' . 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 V'irginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 V'irginia City. 
 I Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 
 1862 Gold Hill 
 
 1803 
 1870 
 1863 
 1800 
 
 i8s6 
 
 1877 
 1864 
 1862 
 1880 
 1878 
 1874 
 1804 
 1800 
 1805 
 1800 
 180O 
 1861 
 
 1872 
 1873 
 1874 
 
 I80>J 
 1862 
 1857 
 
 i808' 
 
 18o"J 
 
 1803 
 
 1874 
 
 :«°>o 
 
676 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 STOREY COUNTY-Continued. 
 
 NAME. 
 
 Came to Came to 
 State. Ci'untv 
 
 TOST-oracK. 
 
 No. 
 Acre?. 
 
 Thompson, H. C Virginia City 
 
 Tritle,' F. A Virginia City 
 
 Tudsbury, J. B Virginia City 
 
 Wallace, B. F Virginia City 
 
 Whitaker, (). W Virginia City 
 
 Whitman, B. C Virginia City 
 
 Wilkin, .Stephen Virginia City . 
 
 WilIi.inison, Chas. . . . Virginia City . 
 Woodburn, William Virginia City . 
 Ziegler, Charles I Virginia City . 
 
 aerk . . 
 Broker. 
 
 Butcher jlmliaiia 
 
 niinois : 1864 
 
 Pennsylvania . . . 
 
 City Clerk 
 
 Rector and Bishop. 
 Attorney at law. . . 
 County Becorder . 
 
 Michigan 
 
 Massachusetts. . . 
 Mt'issachusetts. . . 
 Ohio 
 
 Sheriff Scotland 
 
 Attorney at law Ireland i 1863 
 
 Butcher iGermany 
 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City . 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 Virginia City. 
 [Virginia City. 
 
 WASHOE COUNTY. 
 
 NAME. 
 
 Came to. Came to 
 State. Countv. 
 
 I 
 
 POST-OmCE. 
 
 No. 
 Acres. 
 
 Truckee Meadows 
 
 Reno 
 
 Reno 
 
 Reno 
 
 Reno 
 
 Truckee Meadows. 
 Reno 
 
 Alt, George 
 
 Ball, I. H 
 
 Bauta, A 
 
 Barker, D. H 
 
 Barnes, A. H 
 
 Beck, H. H 
 
 Bender, C. T 
 
 Blasdell, Mrs. J. A. 
 Boardman, W. M . . 
 
 Bowman, .Tohn jReno 
 
 Boyd, D. B iReno 
 
 Brown, Mrs. E Brown's Ranch. . . 
 
 Cain, William Reno 
 
 Clark, A. J Reno 
 
 Comstock, P. B Reno 
 
 Crane, Ervin Steamboat Valley. 
 
 Crockett, L. L Reno 
 
 Dawson, A Reno 
 
 Donahue, James | Washoe Valley . . . 
 
 Donahlson, William. . I Wadsworth 
 
 Elder, David, S i Wadsworth 
 
 Everett, J. K iReno 
 
 Everett, W. F Huffakers . . 
 
 Fish, H. L Keno 
 
 Fowler, Eilwin I Wadsworth 
 
 Frey, Joseph Washoe Valley. . . 
 
 Fulton, R. L 'Reno 
 
 Ganimans, 1{. S 'Pleasant Valley . . 
 
 Gladding, A. L Wadsworth. . 
 
 Glendale | Fanner and stock raiser. 
 
 Pleasant Valley. . . . iFarmer 
 
 Hagerman, J. C 
 
 Haller, Christ 
 
 Hammond & Wilson 
 
 Harcourt, J. H 
 
 Harden, W. D iHarden Ranch 
 
 Fanner 
 
 Civil Engineer 
 
 Golden Eatrlc Hotel 
 
 Milling, Lake Mills 
 
 Cashier First National Bank. . 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser 
 
 Attorney at law 
 
 District Attorney 
 
 County Treasurer 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Attorney at law 
 
 Merchant and ranching 
 
 Livery 
 
 Ranching 
 
 State Treasurer 
 
 Physician & Supt. of Schools. . 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Proprietor Nevada House 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Merchandise 
 
 County Assessor & bl'ksm'th'g. 
 Bookkee]K.r & Notary Public. . 
 Postmaster, Agent W. F. &Co. 
 
 Fanner ami butcher 
 
 Editor Reno Kienhin Oazetle.. 
 
 . .iFarmer and stock raiser 
 
 'Blacksmith and wagon maker 
 
 Keno Wholesale and retail merchant. 
 
 Reno Butchering 
 
 lie no 
 Howard's Ranch 
 
 Hu (Takers 
 
 Reno 
 
 Keno 
 
 Keno 
 
 iPcnnsylvaniii . . . 
 
 iVirginia 
 
 New York 
 
 New York 
 
 Vermont 
 
 Ohio 
 
 America 
 
 New York 
 
 New York 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 Pennsylvania . . 
 
 Indiana 
 
 Germany 
 
 Vermont 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 Vermont 
 
 Maine 
 
 New York 
 
 Canada 
 
 New Y'ork 
 
 (Massachusetts. . . 
 
 Illinois 
 
 Illinois 
 
 Massachusetts. . . 
 
 Vermont 
 
 France 
 
 Ohio 
 
 [Maine 
 
 >few York 
 
 Virginia 
 
 Germany 
 
 Hatch, Andrew J . 
 Howard, Mrs. M. J 
 Hnffaker.G. W.... 
 .Jamison, .S. M. . . . 
 
 Knox, W. L 
 
 Lake, M. C 
 
 Lamb, A. M 
 
 Ijce, C. A Franktown 
 
 Lee, L. W IKcno 
 
 Lewcrs, Ross jWaahoc Valley 
 
 Lindley, A Reno 
 
 Lisle, \V. F. P iHuftakcrs 
 
 Lodge, D. H I Wa!.hoe \"alley 
 
 LongUy, A. A Truckee Meadows. . 
 
 May Maurice j Franktown 
 
 McFarlin, J. L Reno 
 
 Mcl'herson, Wm Wadsworth 
 
 McTaggart, Robert.. Truckee Meadows.. 
 Moeller & Schoenman . -Steamboat Springs. . 
 
 Morton, W. W Truckee Meadows. . 
 
 Myers, .lohn V Reno 
 
 Osburn, R. S Reno 
 
 Owens, Elian I Franktown 
 
 Parish, Mark 'Reno 
 
 Paxtoii, Curtis & Co. .j Reno 
 
 Pcckham, Geo. E. ...Traekee Meadows.. 
 
 Perkins, Mrs. R. VV..j Washoe Valley 
 
 I'ine, J. N iTnickee Meailows. . 
 
 Pollock, James iTruckee Meadows. . Farmer 
 
 Powell, D Truckee Meailows. . jCarpenter and ranching 
 
 Powning, C. C Reno Ed. & P. Nevada State Journal. 
 
 Keno Livery 
 
 Franktown J. P., R. R. Agt., W. F. & Co. Illinois 
 
 Farmer Ohio .■ • • ■ 
 
 Surveyor General & Engineer.. Pennsylvania. . . 
 
 Ranching Michigan 
 
 Kauching Kentucky 
 
 Postmaster Pennsylvania . . . 
 
 Attorney at law Maine 
 
 Lake Mills and real estate : N'ew York 
 
 Huffakers Farmer Wisconsin 
 
 Merchanilising and butchering. Michigan 
 
 .Stock corral and ft>ed -table. . .New York 
 
 Fanning and horticulture I reland 
 
 .Merchandise Illinois 
 
 Farmer Illinois 
 
 Farmer an<l stock raiser Ohio 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser Kentucky 
 
 Deputy Sheriff. Canada 
 
 Wagon, carriage fact., gen. job, Ohio 
 
 Master car repairer Scotlniul 
 
 Fanner and stock raiser .Massachusiitts. . . 
 
 l«5t» 
 186-1 
 1873 
 18p9 
 1870 
 1860 
 1868 
 1861 
 1S65 
 1860 
 1861 
 1862 
 1871 
 1862 
 1861 
 1860 
 1860 
 1873 
 1872 
 1862 
 1861 
 1872 
 1860 
 1862 
 1862 
 1834 
 1874 
 1860 
 1862 
 1868 
 1863 
 
 I'rop Steamboat .Springs Hotel 
 Farmer and stock raiser .... 
 
 Druggist 
 
 Druggist and County Clerk . 
 
 Farmer 
 
 County Clerk 
 
 Banking 
 
 Fanner 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Indiana 
 
 Uiuisiana 
 
 Pennsylvania . 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 Vermunt 
 
 Massachusettfi.. 
 
 Indiana 
 
 i Vermont 
 
 {Canada 
 
 New York 
 1 Wisconsin 
 
 1871 
 1863 
 1860 
 1862 
 185!) 
 1868 
 1864 
 1861 
 1863 
 1863 
 1800 
 1860 
 1880 
 1863 
 I860 
 1861 
 186J 
 1860 
 1868 
 1879 
 
 ISGl 
 185<J 
 1866 
 1860 
 1872 
 
 185SI 
 1864 
 1873 
 1870 
 1870 
 1860 
 1868 
 1861 
 181)5 
 1861 
 1864 
 1862 
 1871 
 1862 
 1868 
 1860 
 1876 
 1873 
 1872 
 1862 
 1862 
 1873 
 1862 
 1862 
 1864 
 1854 
 1878 
 ISliO 
 1870 
 1868 
 1863 
 
 1872 
 1865 
 
 i.s62 
 18511 
 1868 
 1865 
 IS6I 
 bsiiS 
 1S63 
 1865 
 KSiiO 
 1,S80 
 1863 
 1860 
 1861 
 1 865 
 1872 
 1868 
 1870 
 
 1864 
 185!) 
 1868 
 1870 
 1862 
 1868 
 
 1862 
 186!l 
 1874 
 1860 
 1872 
 
 1864 
 1859 
 1868 
 1 870 
 l8tU 
 1868 
 
 IReno 
 
 Washoe City . . 
 
 Rene 
 
 j Reno 
 
 Reno 
 
 JReno 
 
 ' Reno 
 
 j Keno 
 
 I Reno 
 
 I Keno 
 
 Reno 
 
 Reno 
 
 jReno 
 
 I Reno 
 
 Reno 
 
 Reno 
 
 Reno 
 
 Keno 
 
 Franktown. . . . 
 Wadsworth. . . . 
 Wadsworth ... 
 
 Reno 
 
 Reno 
 
 Keno 
 
 Wadsworth . . . 
 Franktown .... 
 
 Reno 
 
 .Steamb't Spr'gs. 
 Wadsworth .... 
 
 Reno 
 
 Reno 
 
 I Reno 
 
 Franktown. . . . 
 Steamb't .Spr'gs. 
 Carson & Reno. 
 
 Keno 
 
 Keno 
 
 Keno 
 
 Reno 
 
 Keno 
 
 lieno 
 
 Franktown. . . . 
 
 Reno ' 
 
 Franktown .... 
 
 Reno 
 
 Keno 1 
 
 Franktown .... 
 
 Keno 
 
 Frank t4>wn . . . ., 
 
 Reno I 
 
 Wadsworth . . . | 
 
 Reno j 
 
 Steamboat Sp'gs 
 
 Reno. . 
 
 Reno 
 
 Reno I 
 
 Franktown . . . . | 
 
 Reno 
 
 iReno 
 
 |Keno I 
 
 Franktown .... 
 
 Reno 
 
 I Keno 
 
 Keno 
 
 Reno ' 
 
 258 
 160 
 520 
 
 240 
 
 600 
 
 220 
 
 160 
 
 700 
 
 677 
 
 100 
 
 900 
 600 
 
 1,400 
 320 
 
 800 
 
 120 
 275 
 570 
 
 320 
 5<)b 
 
 120 
 
 ISO 
 580 
 
 500 
 
PATRONS DIRECTORY. 
 
 677 
 
 WASHOE COUNTY-Continued. 
 
 NAME. 
 
 I 
 
 iCamc to Came to 
 StAte. JCounly. 
 
 posT-orKies. 
 
 No. 
 Acres. 
 
 Rankin, (!cn. A. . . . 
 
 Happ, .lulin 
 
 Remington, \V. T. . 
 Reno Reform Club. 
 
 Sauer, A 
 
 Schaefer, G 
 
 Schooling, Jerry . . . 
 
 Scott, J. A 
 
 Sellers, J. S 
 
 Smith, (Jcorge 
 
 Smith, (J. S 
 
 Sullivan, J.-imc9. . . . 
 Thomas, Caroline. . 
 
 Thomes, W. M 
 
 Towl, E. B 
 
 Twaddel, Ale.\au(ler 
 Twaddel, Klienezer. 
 
 Varian, C. S 
 
 Walker, W. A 
 
 Webster, William. . 
 Wlii.sler, Henry,. . . 
 
 Williams, J. B 
 
 Wilson, Jno 
 
 Wilson, i;. W. J... 
 
 Reno 
 
 Steamboat Springs 
 
 Reno 
 
 Keno I 
 
 Washoe Valley . 
 
 Reno 
 
 iReno 
 
 I Ueno 
 
 Truckce Meadows . . ' 
 Pleasant Vallcv.. 
 Pleasant Valky . . 
 Truckee Meatlows 
 Truckce Meadowf 
 
 Reno 
 
 Franktown 
 
 Wasliou \'alley . . . 
 
 Franktown 
 
 Reno 
 
 Reno 
 
 Reno 
 
 Glendale 
 
 Reno 
 
 Reno 
 
 Truckee Meadows 
 
 Attorncy-at-law 
 
 Prop. .Steamboat .Springs Hotel. 
 Horseshocrandblacksmithing. 
 
 Temperance Organization 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Butchcrinj; 
 
 Merchandising 
 
 Mining 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Ranching and stock raising. . . 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Farmer 
 
 I Iowa 
 
 Germany . . 
 New York. 
 
 Farming 
 
 Teamster 
 
 Merchant 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser. 
 
 Farmer 
 
 Lawyer 
 
 Sheriff 
 
 Attorney-at-law 
 
 Farmer and stock raiser. 
 
 County Recorder 
 
 Livery 
 
 Farming ami ice 
 
 Germany 
 
 Germany 
 
 Missouri 
 
 Xew York 
 
 Pennsylvania . . . 
 
 England 
 
 England 
 
 Ireland 
 
 England 
 
 Maine 
 
 Canada West . . . 
 Salt Lake City . . 
 
 .Scotland 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Virginia 
 
 Scotland 
 
 Indiana 
 
 New York City, 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Canada 
 
 1878 
 ISliS 
 
 187!) 
 18r>!l 
 1S70 
 1SG2 
 
 KS7:? 
 
 \SM 
 1857 
 18.^8 
 18U3 
 1870 
 18()7 
 1855 
 1858 
 ISIJO 
 18{>7 
 1871 
 1803 
 1802 
 18GS 
 18(>I 
 1868 
 
 1 878 
 ls7.'. 
 1S78 
 1879 
 1800 
 1870 
 18G2 
 1S7:» 
 18(>4 
 1857 
 1858 
 1804 
 1870 
 18ti7 
 18G0 
 18t)0 
 18i;0 
 1 870 
 1871 
 
 i8o:< 
 Ksoa 
 
 1808 
 1801 
 180S 
 
 I Reno ' 
 
 Steamh'tSpr'gs.' 80 
 
 Ken*» 
 
 Heno ' 
 
 Washoe City. . . 240 
 
 Heno 
 
 [Heno 
 
 j Keno 
 
 Reno 87 
 
 Washoe City .. . 800 
 1 Washoe City .. . 160 
 
 Reno 240 
 
 Reno 240 
 
 Reno 
 
 Franktown .... 5 
 
 Franktown .... 320 
 Franktown. . . . 500 
 
 Keno 
 
 Keno 
 
 Keno 
 
 Reno 
 
 Reno ' 
 
 Reno 
 
 Reno 100 
 
 WHITE PINE COUNTY. 
 
 iCame tojCamc to 
 State. County I 
 
 l-OST-OI^CE. 
 
 No. 
 Acres. 
 
 Barrick, A. F 
 
 Bates, Mrs. 
 
 Beene, Horace D. . 
 Bibliens, (J. R. A. 
 
 Blair (Jeo. G 
 
 Blethen, J. H 
 
 Booth, J.N 
 
 Bourgeois, Louis.. 
 
 Briggs, Kobt 
 
 Burbank, Geo. B. . 
 
 Bush, H 
 
 Campbell, J. C. .. . 
 Cannon, P. H. . . . 
 Cleveland, A. C... 
 Collins Daniel R.. 
 Comiiis, H. A . . . . 
 Condon, .John A. . 
 
 Coulter, G 
 
 Cowley, K. .1., .Ir. 
 
 Curtis, John 
 
 Dinsler, N 
 
 Doscher, A . H . . . . 
 Drake, Frank .... 
 
 Drake, Oliver 
 
 Drake, W. B 
 
 Fjistwood, A B. . . 
 Fillmore, W. H... 
 Forrest, W. R.... 
 Forrest 4 Davis. . . 
 
 Frank, R 
 
 Garahan, M. B. . . 
 
 Grey, OH 
 
 Grey, W.S 
 
 Griswold, F. W.. 
 Hamilton, (ieo. C. 
 
 Harris, Evan 
 
 Hauck, Louis A. . 
 Haynes, W. .1 . . . . 
 
 Herrick, H. S 
 
 Hilp, V. F... ... 
 
 llixsim, J. W. . . . 
 
 Karbstein, Chas. . . 
 Kennedy, Geo. . . . 
 
 Kcoch, P 
 
 Lander, Jos 
 
 Lawkr, W.B.... 
 
 Liddle, Jas 
 
 Liddlc, Samuel. . . 
 
 Lyon, H. K 
 
 Marty. J.J 
 
 Cherry Creek . . . 
 Cherry Creek . . . 
 
 Ward 
 
 Ward 
 
 Osceola 
 
 Cherry Creek . . 
 Cherry Creek. . . 
 Cherry Creek . . . 
 
 Ward 
 
 Cherry Creek . . . 
 
 Hamilton *. 
 
 Ward 
 
 Cherry Creek . . 
 Spring Valley. . . 
 Cherry Creek . . . 
 
 Ward 
 
 'War<I 
 
 , Hamilton 
 
 Cherry Creek 
 Cherry Creek . . . 
 Cherry Creek . . . 
 Cherry Creek . . , 
 
 El>erliardt 
 
 Ebcrhardt 
 
 Cherry Creek . . . 
 Cherry Creek . . . 
 Cherry Creek . . . 
 
 Hamilton . 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Cherry Creek . . . 
 
 Ward 
 
 Cherry Creek . . . 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Cherry Creek . . . 
 
 Wanl 
 
 El>erliardt 
 
 Ward 
 
 Schellbourne. . . . 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Ward 
 
 Ward 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Cherry Creek . . . 
 < 'berry Creek . . . 
 
 Ward 
 
 Silver Canon. . . . 
 
 Ward 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Cherry Creek . . . 
 Eberhardt 
 
 Mining 
 
 Lodging house 
 
 Attoruey-at-law 
 
 Shoemaker 
 
 Miner 
 
 Mining and book-keeping. 
 
 Dentist and barber 
 
 Butcher 
 
 Mining 
 
 County Surveyor 
 
 Notary Public 
 
 Book-keeping 
 
 Mining 
 
 Stock raising 
 
 Postmaster 
 
 Lumber 
 
 Livery 
 
 Mining 
 
 Livery 
 
 Mining 
 
 Engineer Star Mine 
 
 . jSupt. Ebcrhardt & Aurora M.Co 
 'Mining 
 
 .Harness shop 
 
 .jMacliiuist 
 
 .iBlacksmith & wagon-maker. . . 
 
 .County Clerk 
 
 .Pub. W/iit, Pine A'eicti 
 
 .Merchant 
 
 . |Mcrchant 
 
 ! Merchant 
 
 •Tusticc of the Peace 
 
 Clerk 
 
 Saloon 
 
 Eng. El»rhardt & Aurora M. Co 
 
 Notary Public 
 
 Supt, El Capitan 4 Woo<l8tock. 
 
 Physician & Co. School Supt. . 
 
 Merchant 
 
 Mining 
 
 Butcher 
 
 Merchant 
 
 Druggist 
 
 Engineer 
 
 Mining 
 
 Stock raiser and butcher 
 
 Supt. White Pine Waterworks. 
 
 Supt. Hunter k Gray Eagle M. 
 
 Book-keeper 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Alabama 
 
 New York 
 
 Pennsylvania . . . 
 
 New Y'ork 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 Canada 
 
 Missouri 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 New York 
 
 Michigan 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Maine 
 
 Vermont 
 
 Maine 
 
 Louisiana 
 
 jOhio 
 
 New York 
 
 New Y'ork 
 
 Germany 
 
 Germany 
 
 New Hampshire. 
 New Hampshire. 
 
 |New York 
 
 I New N'ork 
 
 Wisconsin 
 
 Illinois 
 
 Prussia 
 
 Irela'-d 
 
 New York . . . . 
 New Y'ork . . . . 
 New Y'ork . . . . 
 
 England 
 
 Wales 
 
 Germany 
 
 Virginia 
 
 New York . . . . 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Kentucky . . . 
 
 • iermany 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Cana<la 
 
 Vermont 
 
 New York . . . . 
 New Y'ork. .. . 
 New Y'ork. . . . 
 Connecticut. . 
 Khode Island. 
 
 I80!l 
 1801 
 1870 
 1800 
 1868 
 1872 
 I80!l 
 1870 
 1808 
 1872 
 185'J 
 1876 
 1870 
 1863 
 1804 
 1803 
 1872 
 180'l 
 1804 
 1807 
 1874 
 1800 
 1803 
 1809 
 1803 
 1873 
 1870 
 1873 
 
 1875 
 186>t 
 1876 
 186!) 
 1868 
 187!) 
 ISO!) 
 1873 
 1872 
 1872 
 1808 
 1870 
 1876 
 1808 
 1808 
 1800 
 1875 
 1809 
 1809 
 1869 
 1874 
 1809 
 1868 
 180!» 
 1874 
 1873 
 1871 
 1873 
 
 1869 
 
 1870 
 
 1868 
 
 1 8; 6 
 
 1803 
 
 1809 
 
 1859 
 
 180!) 
 
 1809 
 
 1871 
 
 1808 
 
 1808 
 
 1808 
 
 1868 
 
 1861 
 
 1869 
 
 1856 
 
 1869 
 
 1800 
 
 ISti!l 
 
 1802 
 
 1808 
 
 180!t 
 
 18(i!l 
 
 1869 
 
 180!l 
 
 1809 
 
 180!) 
 
 1869 
 
 1809 
 
 I860 
 
 1 879 
 
 1871 
 
 1871 
 
 1808 
 
 1.S08 
 
 1868 
 
 1868 
 
 1860 
 
 1869 
 
 1875 
 
 1875 
 
 Cherry Creek. 
 
 Cherry Creek. . 
 
 Ward 
 
 Ward 
 
 Osceola 
 
 Cherry Creek. 
 
 Cherry Creek. . 
 
 Cherry Creek. . 
 |Ward 
 
 Cherry Creek . 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 |Ward 
 
 Cherry Creek. 
 
 Osceola 
 
 Cherry Creek. 
 
 Ward 
 
 Ward 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 iCherry Creek. . 
 
 Cherry Creek. . 
 
 Cherry Creek. 
 
 Cherry Creek. 
 
 Elx^rhanlt . . . 
 [Ebcrhardt . . . . 
 ^Cherry Creek . 
 [Cherry Creek . 
 ICherry Creek . 
 
 I Hamilton 
 
 'Hamilton 
 
 Cherry Creek. 
 
 Ward 
 
 Cherry Creek. 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Cherry Creek. 
 
 Ward 
 
 Elierhardt 
 
 Wanl 
 
 Schellbourne. . 
 Jlamilton 
 
 Ward 
 
 Wai-d 
 
 Hamilton . . . . 
 
 ( berry (.'reek.. 
 
 I 'berry Creek . 
 
 War.1 
 
 ('berry Creek. 
 
 'Ward 
 
 I Hamilton 
 
 ,( 'herry Creek. . 
 I Ebcrhardt. . . . 
 
 3,100 
 1,200* 
 
 160 
 
 600 
 
 360 
 
 84 
 
678 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 WHITE PINE COUNTY-Continued. 
 
 NAME. 
 
 RESIVBN'CK. 
 
 Came to 
 State. 
 
 Came to 
 County.- 
 
 rosT-ornoc 
 
 No. 
 Acres. 
 
 
 Mathewson, .Jas. T. . . 
 McConkej', Geo. P. . . 
 
 MoDerinid, K. A 
 
 McOill, W. X 
 
 Mezi/er, George 
 
 Molitor, John 
 
 Moon, I. C 
 
 Nelson, John S 
 
 O'Xeil, T. F 
 
 I'arker, F. A 
 
 I'arker, Geo. F 
 
 Parker, G. H 
 
 Perley, D. M 
 
 Pliipps, E. K 
 
 Pierce, L. D 
 
 Reiley, James 
 
 Jtuacli, Samuel 
 
 I;<.l)erts, J. H 
 
 Jtockhill, Tbos 
 
 .Scaiilan, David 
 
 Shearer, Peter 
 
 Simpson, I{. VV 
 
 Smith, Kdward S . . . . 
 
 Smith, 1{. G 
 
 Spencer, A. J 
 
 Stedman, D. R 
 
 Steele, John A 
 
 Stockle, G. F 
 
 Strickland, D 
 
 Taylor, G. H 
 
 Tinison, Wm 
 
 Townsend, J. K 
 
 Treece, A. B 
 
 Trimble, (Jeo. A 
 
 Tuttoril, J. II., M. D. 
 
 Vanderlip, A. M 
 
 M'earne, John 
 
 Vyebb,T. E 
 
 Weber, J 
 
 Wliite, .lesse I 
 
 Williamson, J. B. . . . 
 
 Woodbury, W 
 
 Woodin, S. S 
 
 Wray, Charles 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 C'lierry Creek . 
 
 Ward 
 
 Ward 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Cherry Creek. 
 
 Ward 
 
 Ward 
 
 Cherry Creek . 
 Cherry Creek . 
 Cave Valley. . . 
 
 Ward 
 
 Cherry Creek. 
 Cherry Creek. 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Ward 
 
 Cherry Creek. 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Kberhardt . . . . 
 Eberhardt . . . . 
 
 Ward 
 
 Cherry Creek . 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Cherry Creek . 
 Cherry Creek. 
 
 Hanulton 
 
 Cherry Creek. 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Cherry Creek . 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Cherry Creek. 
 Cherry Creek. 
 (/'Iierry Creek . 
 Cherry Creek. 
 
 Ward 
 
 Cherry Creek. 
 
 Ward 
 
 Cherry Creek. 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Merchant 
 
 Clerk and County Treasurer. 
 Capitalist 
 
 . Surveyor 
 
 . Brewer 
 
 . Restaurant 
 
 . Mason 
 
 . .Saloon 
 
 . Livery 
 
 . Boarding house 
 
 . Restaurant 
 
 . Ranching 
 
 . Stock raising 
 
 . Assayini; 
 
 . Mail. Cherry Creek Watcr\v"k. 
 .Merchant and Postmaster.... 
 
 . iLivery 
 
 . Supt. Exchange Mine 
 
 .'Mining 
 
 . Amalg. Eberhardt & Aurora M. 
 . Fireman Eberhardt & Aurora M 
 
 . IProp. .t Ed. yVurd Jii-Jlex 
 
 .'Supt. Teacup & Geneva M. . . . 
 
 Merchant . 
 Mining. . . 
 
 Shoemaker. . 
 
 . County Recorder and Auditor 
 , Prop. H. ct E., H. & W.T. R 
 
 District Attorney 
 
 Book-keeping 
 
 Physician and surgeon 
 
 Merchant 
 
 Cirocery and feed stable 
 
 Merchant 
 
 Deputy Postmaster. 
 
 Mining 
 
 County Assessor. . . 
 
 Jeweler. 
 
 I New York 
 
 [Maryland 
 
 'Canada 
 
 jOhio 1 
 
 Germany 
 
 Austria 
 
 Indiaua 
 
 Nova Scotia. . . . 
 
 Wisconsin 
 
 New York 
 
 Illinois 
 
 Delaware 
 
 New Brunswick. 
 .Massachusetts . .' 
 
 New York 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Wisconsin 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 Massachusetts . .' 
 
 Illinois 
 
 Virginia 
 
 England i 
 
 New York 
 
 Utah 
 
 Connecticnt 
 
 New York 
 
 Germany 
 
 Maine 
 
 New York 
 
 New York ! 
 
 New Y'ork 
 
 Ohio 
 
 New York 
 
 New Y'ork 
 
 Canada I 
 
 Kugland 
 
 New Y'ork ' 
 
 Germany 
 
 New Y'ork 
 
 Maine i 
 
 Massachusetts . . 
 Connecticut.-. . . . 
 London, Enjiland 
 
 1869 
 1871 
 1864 
 1870 
 1862 
 1863 
 1866 
 1864 
 1872 
 1863 
 1877 
 I860 
 1872 
 1873 
 1870 
 1869 
 1869 
 1873 
 1862 
 1868 
 1864 
 1863 
 1863 
 1866 
 1867 
 1863 
 1859 
 1860 
 1863 
 1859 
 1869 
 1866 
 1867 
 1867 
 1876 
 1872 
 I8G9 
 1870 
 1874 
 1860 
 1859 
 1869 
 1865 
 1863 
 
 1869 
 1872 
 1869 
 1873 
 1869 
 1868 
 1868 
 1869 
 1872 
 1866 
 1877 
 1877 
 1S72 
 1873 
 1870 
 1869 
 1869 
 1873 
 1868 
 1809 
 1868 
 1868 
 1869 
 1868 
 1867 
 1869 
 1865 
 1872 
 1869 
 1868 
 1869 
 1868 
 1868 
 1870 
 1876 
 J 872 
 1869 
 1870 
 1874 
 1871 
 1868 
 1869 
 1868 
 1869 
 
 „ -, I 
 Hamilton ' 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Cherry Creek . . ' 
 
 Ward 
 
 Ward 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Cherry Creek 
 
 Ward 
 
 Ward 
 
 ICherry Creek 
 
 I Cherry Creek 
 
 Ward 240 
 
 .Ward 320 
 
 Cherry Creek 
 
 IC'herry Creek. . 120 
 
 {Hamiltou 
 
 jWard 
 
 iChcrry Creek. 
 
 [Hamilton 
 
 j Eberhardt 
 
 Eberhardt 
 
 Ward i 
 
 Cherry Creek . .• 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Cherry Creek 
 
 Cherry Creek . . i 41 
 
 Hamilton j 
 
 Cherry t'reek 
 
 Hamilton .... 
 
 Cherrj' Creek. 
 
 Hamilton .... 
 
 Hamilton .. . 
 
 Hamilton | 
 
 Cherry Creek . . ' 
 
 Cherry Creek . . 
 
 Cherry Creek 
 
 Cherry Creek . . i 
 
 Ward I 200 
 
 Cherry Creek . 
 
 Ward 
 
 Cherry Creek. 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS. 
 
 RRSIPRNCP.. 
 
 'Came to 
 
 I State. 
 
 Came to 
 County, i 
 
 posT-orriCB 
 
 No. 
 Acres. 
 
 l>ean, W. E San Francisco. 
 
 Harmon, A. K. P Oakland 
 
 Sntro, Adolph San Francisco. 
 
 Mining New Y'ork 1860 J 1860 
 
 Mining Maine 1849 ' 1849 
 
 Retired Prussia | 1850 |l 1850 
 
 San Francisco . . . 
 
 Oakland i . 
 
 ."<an Francisco. ., . 
 
ADDITIONS AND ALTERATIONS. 
 
 679 
 
 ADDITIONS AND ALTERATIONS. 
 
 UNITED STATES SKNATORS. 
 
 William M. Stewart and James AV. Nye, elected 
 1865. Nye re-elected 18(57. Stewart re-elocted 1 869. 
 John P. Jones, elected 1873; William Sharon, elected 
 1875. Jones re-elected 1879. James G. Fair, elected 
 1881. 
 
 DELEGATES AND KEPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 
 
 John n. Cradlebaugh, elected delegate August 31, 
 1861; (iordon N. Mott, elected delegate September 
 2, 1863; Henry G. Worthington, elected November 8, 
 1864; Delos IJ. Ashley, elected November 7, 1875, re- 
 elected November 6, 186C. Thomas Fitch, elected 
 November 3, 18(>S; Charles W. Jvendall, elected 
 November 8, 1870, re-elected November 5, 1872; 
 William Woodburn, elected November 3, 1874; 
 Thomas Wren, elected November 7, 1876; Kollin M. 
 Daggett, elected November 5, 1881; George W. Cas- 
 sidy, elected November 2, 1880. 
 
 GOVERNORS. 
 
 James W. Nye, of New York, appointed by Presi- 
 dent Lincoln, March 22, 1861; Ilenrj' G. Blasdel, 
 elected November 8, 1864, re-elected November 6, 
 1866; Luther R. Bradley, elected November 8, 1870, 
 re-elected November 3, 1874; John II. Kinkead, 
 elected November 5, 1878. 
 
 LIEUTENANT GOVERNORS. 
 
 John S. Crosman, elected November 8, 1864; James 
 S. Slingerland, elected November 6, 1866; Frank 
 Denver, elected November 8, 1870; Jewett W. 
 Adams, elected November 3, 1874, and re-elected 
 November 5, 1878. 
 
 SECRETARVS OF STATE. 
 
 . / Orion Clemens, appointed by the President March 
 27, 1861; Chauncey N. Noteware, elected November 
 8, 1864, re-elected November 6, lS(i6; James D. Minor, 
 elected November 8, 1870, re-elected November 3, 
 1874; Jasper Babcock, elected November 5, 1878. 
 
 STATE CONTROLLERS. 
 
 A. W. Nightingill, elected November 8, 1864; W. 
 K. Parkinson, elected November (i, 1866. Parkinson 
 died, and Lewis Doran was appointed, 1870. W. W. 
 Hobart, elected November 8, 1870, re-elected Novem- 
 ber 3, 1874; J. F. Ilallock, elected November 5, 1878. 
 
 TREAStlUERS. 
 
 John 11. Kinkead, appointed by Governor Nye, 
 February 1, 1862; E. Rhoades, elected November 8, 
 1864, re-elected November 6, 1866; Jerry Schooling, 
 elected November 8, 1870, re-elected November 3, 
 1874; Lyman L. Ci'ockett, elected November 5, 1878. 
 
 JUSTICES OF THE .SUPREME COURT. 
 
 George Turner, Chief Justice, Horatio N. Jones 
 and Gordon N. Mott, appointed by the President 
 March 27, 1861. Mott resigned September, 1863, 
 
 and J. W. North was appointed in his place, October 
 2, 1863; Jones resigned in 1864, and Powhatan B. 
 Locke was appointed in his jilaco. James F. Lewis, 
 H. O. Beatt}- and Cornelius M. Brosnan, were elected 
 November 8, 1864; James F. Lewis re-elected Novem- 
 ber 6, 1866; Brosnan died April 21, 1867, and J. 
 Neely Johnson was appointed by the Governor; 
 B. C. Whitman, elected November 3, 1858; John 
 Garber, elected November 8, 1870. Garber resigned 
 November, 1872, and Charles fl. Belknap appointed 
 bj' Governor Bradley; Thomas P. Ilawley, elected 
 November 5, 1872; William II. ISeatty and Warner 
 Earll, elected November 3, 1874; O. R. Leonard, 
 elected November 7, 1876; Thomas P. Ilawley, 
 re-elected November 5, 1878; C. II. Belknap, elected 
 November 2, 1880. James F. Lewis was Chief 
 Justice from the organization of the Supreme Court 
 until January 1, 1867; H. O. Beatty was Chief 
 Justice from Januarj', 1857, until he resigned Novem- 
 ber 9, 1868; James F. Lewis was again Chief Ju.stice 
 until January 1, 1873; B. C. Whitman was Chief 
 Justice from Jainiarj- 1, 1873, until January 1, 1875; 
 Thomas P. Ilawley was Chief Justice from January 
 1, 1875, until January 1, 1879; William II. Beatty 
 was Chief Justice from Januarj- 1, 1879, until Jan- 
 uary 1, 1881; O. R. Leonard is Chief Justice, since 
 January 1, 1881. 
 
 ATTONETS GENERAL. 
 
 Benjamin J5. Bunker, appointed by the President, 
 March 27, 1861. Bunker resigned and J. W. North 
 was appointed in his place. North was made Asso- 
 ciate Justice and Theodore D. Edwards was appoint- 
 ed August 31, 1863. (Jeorgo A. Nourse was elected 
 November 8, 1864; Robert M. Clarke, elected No- 
 vember 6, 1866; Luther A. Bucknor, elected Novem- 
 ber 8, 1870; John R. Kittrell, elected November 3, 
 1874; Michael A. Murphy, elected Novembers, 1878. 
 
 CLERKS OK THE SUPREME COURT. 
 
 J. McC. Roardon, appointed 1862; Alfred Helm, 
 appointed 1863, elected November 8, lS(i4, re-elected 
 November 6, 1866, and November 8. 1870; Charles 
 F. Bicknell, elected November 3, 1674, re-elected 
 
 November 5. 1878. 
 
 SURVEYORS GENERAL. 
 
 Seneca II. Marlette, elected November 8, 1864; 
 John Day, elected November 6, 1866, re-elected No- 
 vember 8, 1870, and November 3, 1874; Andrew J. 
 Hatch, elected November 5, 1878. 
 
 SUPERINTENDENTS OF PUHLIC INSTRUCTION. 
 
 W. G. Blakley, appointed by Governor Nye, Feb- 
 ruary 24, 1862; A. F. White, appointed December 
 24, 1863, elected November 8, 1864; A. N. Fisher, 
 elected November 6, 1866, re-elected November 8, 
 1870; S. P. Kollj', elected November 3, 1874; D. E. 
 Sessions, olocted November 5, 1878. 
 
680 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 
 
 STATE PKINTERS. 
 
 John Church, 18G4; Joseph E. Eckley, 1866; H. E. 
 Mighels, 1868; Charles L. Perkins, 1870; C. A. V 
 Putman, 1872; S. J. IlilK 1874, 1876 and 1878; J.W. 
 Madrill, 1880. 
 
 Churchill County Officers omitted on pages 362 
 and 363:— 
 
 county com.missionkrs. 
 
 William Hill and E. E. Wightman, elected Novem- 
 ber 7, 1876; W. W. Williams and D. M. Wightman, 
 elected November 5, 1878. 
 
 SENATORS. 
 
 W. C. Grimes, elected November 7, 1876; Charles 
 Kaiser, elected November 5, 1878. 
 
 ASSE.MBLYJIEN. 
 
 L. Allen, elected November 7, 1876; Jackson Fergu- 
 son, elected November 5, 1878. 
 
 DISTRICT ATTORNEYS. 
 
 A. W. Doolittle, elected November 7, 1876, and re- 
 elected November 5, 1878. 
 
 COUNTY TREASURERS. 
 
 W. J. Brandon, elected November 7, 1876; William 
 Murphy, elected November 5, 1878. 
 
 COUNTY SHERIFFS. 
 
 Jas. p. Brown, elected November 7, 1876; J. B. 
 Ferguson, elected November 5, 1878. 
 
 COUNTY CLERKS. 
 
 J. M. Sanford, elected November 7, 1876; George 
 A. Barnot, elected November 5, 1878. 
 
 COUNTY ASSESSORS. 
 
 E. Clark, elected November 7, 1876; J. B. Verplank, 
 elected November 5, 1878. 
 
 COUNTY RECORDERS. 
 
 I. H. Kent, elected November 7, 1876; S. A. Doane, 
 elected November 5, 1878. 
 
 COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS OF .SCHOOLS. 
 
 J. B. I'^crguson, elected November 7, 1876; A. O. 
 Ordwaj', elected November 5, 1878. 
 
 COUNTY SURVEYORS. 
 
 Win. Rhinehart, elected November 7, 1876; W. J. 
 Eastman, elected November .'), 1878. 
 
 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATORS. 
 
 Sam. Turman, elected November 7, 1876; J. E. 
 Jliggins, elected November .'), 1878. 
 
 Washoe County Officers omitted on page 621: — 
 
 SENATORS. 
 
 James H. Sturlevant and Solomon Geller, elected 
 Territorial Councilmen September 3, 1862; J. H. 
 Sturtovant and T. G. Negus, elected September 2, 
 1863; James S. Slingcrland and Charles Lambert, 
 elected Senators November R, 1S(;4; C. H. Eastman 
 
 and Solomon Geller, elected November 6, 1866; T. 
 B. Shamp, elected Novembers, 1868. 
 
 ASSEMBLYMEN. 
 
 Theodore Winters, J. K. Eovejoy and R. W. Per- 
 kins elected Territorial Representatives September 
 3, 1862; Hiram Gove and D. E. Hunter, elected Sep- 
 tember 2, 1863; II. H. Beck, J. A. Myrick and R. M. 
 SLakleford, elected Assemblymen November 8, 1864; 
 H. H. Beck, Felix O'Neil and T. B. Prince, elected 
 November 7, 1865; Wallace Caldwell, G. N. Folsom 
 and T. B. Prince, elected November 6, 1866. 
 
 Attorneys to be added to list on pages 337 and 338: 
 
 Allen, Cranston. Hawley, A. T. 
 
 Allen, Lemuel. Ilealey. T. \V. 
 
 Ammond, Geo. R. Higgins, J. E. 
 
 Angel, Eugene. Hiles, Ogden. 
 
 Ball, A. J. Hilyer, i:. W. 
 
 Barker, J. B. Holland, Daniel. 
 
 Bartnee, H. F. James, Alfred. 
 
 Bean, Horace D. Jones, Frank. 
 
 Belknap, Claj'ton. Jones, S. A. 
 
 Boardman, \V. M. Keith, Geo. W. 
 
 Bowler, P. .M., Jr. Keeny, Geo. D. 
 
 Jiowman, John. Kingston. G. A. 
 
 Buckner, Luther A. Ladd, Parish B. 
 
 Chase, S. II. Leake, C. A. 
 
 Churchill, Clark. Leonard, O. R. 
 
 Clipperton, VVm. H. Locke, Powhatan B. 
 
 Cotfin, Tronmor. Lucas, J. H. 
 
 Colton, C. S. McMillan, J. H. 
 
 Cossett, H. B. McRae, P. A. 
 
 Cradlcbaugh, John 11. Mott, Gorden N. 
 
 Crane, E. A. Notoware, C. N. 
 
 Creswell, H. T. Owen, Frank. 
 
 Curtis, John. Palmer, G. S. 
 
 Davis, B. K. Patrick, A. F. 
 
 Deal, W. H. P. Pratt, A. C. 
 
 ])cnson, Samuel C. Ralston, James H. 
 
 Dillard,T. S. IJankin, (i. A. 
 
 Dixon, E. C. Smith, Aianson. 
 
 Dixon, W. W. Smith, Horace. 
 
 Doolittle, A. \V. Stephens, Thomas H. 
 
 Drake, Frank V. Stewart, Wellington. 
 
 Farll, Warner. Thaekston, C. M. 
 
 Kastman, W. J. Truman, Samuel. 
 
 Ferris, Ijeonard W Turner, (ioorgo. 
 
 F'reece, A. B. Varian, Chas. L. 
 
 Gillespie, W. M. Virijin, J). W. 
 
 Greeley, A. L. While, Martin. 
 
 Wright, S. H. 
 
 On page .')47 it is stated that Frank Denver was 
 elected Lieutenant (Jovernor in 1S68. Ho was 
 elected in 1870, and took charge of the State Prison 
 in 1871. and was relieved bj' a Statute of the Legis- 
 lature maken the Warden an appointed ollicer. 
 
 h «fl 81 
 

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