COMSTOCK PAPERS

NO. 11

The White & Murphy Ground

Was located by Alexander White and John Murphy, Washoe miners of the ante Comstock era. Their claim, which covered but 210 feet, now forms a part of the Consolidated Virginia mine. They sold out early, realizing but a few thousand dollars for ground that has since been sold many times over at the rate of more than fifty thousand dollars per foot, or ten million dollars for the whole. Both of these men are now dead, White having died many years ago, and Murphy more recently, both being poor at the time of their decease. Murphy, besides his interest in the above ground, owned at one time 200 feet in the Crown Point and some other locations at and below Gold Hill. But from none of these did he ever receive much money, having disposed of his interests therein before any important developments were made upon them. During the Reese river excitement he migrated to that country, and was there again fortunate in getting into a good claim, having been one of the locators and a fifth owner of the Murphy mine, situated in the Twin River district, 50 miles south of Austin. In 1864 he disposed of his interest in this property for $10,000 cash, after which he made a journey East, but does not appear to have remained there long, as he subsequently turned up among the advance prospectors at White Pine. But here his usual good luck failed to attend him, and he, like thousands of others, was forced to leave the district with a depleted exchequer; nor, speaking in miner's parlance, did he ever again succeed in making a raise. Murphy, who was an Irishman by birth, was a man of considerable shrewdness and natural ability, and with better early opportunities and more favorable surroundings would likely have achieved a larger and more permanent success. Being big-hearted and sociably inclined, his character was marked by some of the infirmities common to generous natures, such as a disposition to trust to luck and to spend his money freely among his companions and friends.

The Hale & Norcross Claim,

Containing 400 feet on the main lode, was originally taken up by the men whose names it bears; both of whom were living in the country at the time of the Comstock discovery. Hale was an old man and a Mormon, having come from Salt Lake and settled in Washoe valley some eight or nine years before that event. He was about the only one of that sect, many of whom were then living in the valleys of western Utah, lucky enough to secure an interest on the great mother lode by location, though quite a number of "Jack Mormons," a class of Gentiles so called because of the special regard they manifested towards that people, had the good fortune to obtain claims or parts of claims in that manner. After selling out his ground in 1860 the old man returned to the Land of the Saints, where the $2,000 or $3,000 he had brought with him soon found its way into the plethoric purse of the church.

            Norcross, who had spent most of his life on the ocean, acting in the capacity of a common seaman, had by some chance current of fortune been carried over the Sierra Nevada, and was, during the summer of 1859, at work in a sawmill standing at the head of Eagle valley. Excepting one idiosyncrasy he was not a man to be specially noticed or remembered -- Norcross was one of the most profane persons we ever met with; and we say this not wishing to disparage the well-founded claims of other nautical men to great accomplishments in this direction. We don't say, as is so apt to be said in cases of this kind, that every other word this fellow uttered was an oath, because, in fact, it was not; yet we do affirm that he was noted for his impious and irreverent utterances even among the primitive crop of Washoe miners; and that these latter were by no means a God-fearing or, for that matter, a devil-fearing people, it is needless to allege. He joined Hale in disposing of his claim and soon after left Washoe and came to San Francisco. What became of this son of Neptune, if still alive, we know not; what has become of him, if dead, we know well enough. It is said that after having, sailor-like, spent all his mone in fast living, he again betook himself to a seafaring life--a course he would be very apt to pursue on finding his coffers empty and his craft fast drifting on a lee shore.

            The ground disposed of by these two men in the summer of '60 for some five or six thousand dollars, is now selling at a valuation of about three million dollars, and has in times past sold at much higher rates, if we deduct the cost of development and permanent improvements since made upon it.

John Bishop,

Who was a Canadian by birth, went to Washoe in '58, mined along Gold canyon and ran much with Sandy Bowers. He owned at one time in Yellow Jacket, Crown Point, and other claims about Gold Hill. He also owned 50 feet, being one-sixth of the California ground now included in the great bonanza mine of that name. He procured all these interests by original location, his name appearing often on the old records of the Gold Hill district. Although he sold out early and at low figures, the amounts received from his various claims aggregated a handsome sum. Being a man of many acquaintances and of social habits, his money went freely; and although an active prospector and good worker, we believe he has met with no special success since he left Washoe; his time of late years having been spent mining in California, or in tours of exploration into more distant parts of the country.

            Bishop's name has recently been brought into prominence through its connection with a lawsuit instituted by certain Washoe parties against the present California company for the purpose, as set forth in their complaint, of recovering the 50 feet of ground formerly owned by him, and to which they allege the company have no legal title, the deed purporting to convey it to them, and through which they claim to derive title, being a forgery. As to the merits of the controversy we have, in its present stage, no means of judging, though the plaintiffs stoutly affirm that they can maintain their allegations by ample and incontestable proofs. If this is the case, it is a little singular, to say the least, that a suit for the recovery of this valuable estate should have been postponed to so late a day.

**************************************************************************************************

COMSTOCK PAPERS

NO. 12

Emanuel Penrod,

Who owned, at one time, a sixth of the Ophir ground, besides valuable claims at Gold Hill, came overland from Illinois and settled in Washoe early, having prior to the Comstock discovery never been in California. He took up a ranch on Clear creek, a few miles south of the present site of Carson City, where he spent his time between cultivating a small tract of land and placer mining, which latter calling he followed on the bar at Chinatown, and along Gold canyon. He was among the first to obtain a foothold in the new silver mines, the value of which he seems to have appreciated from the first. Being, however, a cautious and prudent man, he disposed of nearly all his interests early, realizing only moderate figures for the same. For his one-sixth share in the Ophir, sold to Judge Walsh, he received $6,200. He remained on his ranch for some time and until it became quite valuable, when he disposed of it and removed to Elko county, Nevada, where for several years past he has been engaged in hydraulic mining, and, according to report, doing remarkably well. Penrod always enjoyed among his neighbors and those who had dealings with him, an excellent reputation for honesty and good sense. He was also a person of fine courage and superior business qualifications, being, in fact, a good type of the straight-forward, enterprising Western man.

V. A. Houseworth.

            Like Penrod and other settlers in western Utah, this man, tempted, while on his way overland to California, to tarry and try his luck in the placer diggings along Gold canyon, or to turn aside and seek refreshment for his famished stock and jaded teams in the grassy valleys that lie along the foot of the Sierra, remained through the approaching winter and finally made up his mind to stop altogether, converting what was at first intended as a mere sojourn into a permanent settlement in the country. Houseworth came from western Pennsylvania, and being a blacksmith by trade, settled soon after he arrived in the country at Gold Hill, where he found profitable employment shoeing the horses and sharpening the picks of the miners. Being a man of intelligence, steady habits and good character, he was elected first recorder of the district. He owned in the Yellow Jacket and other claims about Gold Hill, and also one twenty-fourth of the Ophir, which last he disposed of for the sum of $2,000, Judge Walsh and Dr. Ober, an old and well-known resident of San Francisco, being the purchasers. The various mining interests which he parted with in 1859-60 for $3,000 or 4,000, would have brought him $500,000 or more had he held on to them a year or two longer. Having made a little "stake," which no doubt seemed to him a great deal of money, Houseworth returned to his old home soon after; and, although he came back to Washoe a few years later, he does not seem to have remained long. The probabilities are that he saw little opportunity, under the changed condition of things, for a man like him to further increase his "pile" or make another raise, and so betook himself again to a country where the chances for realizing a fair return for his labor were more certain, if not quite so tempting.

Naming the Mines -- History of their Etymology,

            In a majority of cases the names applied to the original locations on the Comstock lode require no explanation, the terms themselves, though in many instances wholly fanciful, sufficiently indicating their derivation and meaning. Of the 43 claims that may properly be referred to this class, 26 have been named in accordance with the rule here mentioned, 17 bearing the names of the parties who took them up on bought them from first hands soon after they were first located. Those at all conversant with this branch of etymological history need not be told how whimsical and even absurd are sometimes the primary reasons that operate upon the mind of the prospector when selecting names for his mining locations; hence the far-fetched and fantastical appellations so frequently given them. In the Comstock vocabulary this absurd style of nomenclature is not conspicuously apparent, the terms Ophir, Bullion, Exchequer, Challenge, Confidence, Empire and Imperial, as suggestive of certain ideas and properties, being appropriate enough; nor can any exception be taken to the remainder of this class, though not so happily chosen as the above.

The Allen and the Mexican Grounds.

We have already spoken of the fate of Allen, locator of the ground lying between the Utah and the Sierra Nevada, in which he was at one time largely interested and which still bears his name. The Mexican mine was so called after the Meldonado Brothers, two Mexicans who bought it in 1860 and afterwards worked the ores by the patio method, preparing at Virginia City and extensive yard with many arrastras for the purpose. These were the only works ever erected in Washoe whereat this plan of ore reduction was practiced on a large scale. The Meldonado's were skilful miners in their way, working their ore more closely than was generally done by others at the time. They made money, and finally sold their mine to Alsop & Co. for a good price, after which they returned to their native country. This piece of ground went for a long time by the name of the Spanish claim, and is so designated on the earlier maps, the Mexicans being indifferently called Spanish, referring to the nationality of their ancestors and the language they speak, as the Americans are for the same reasons called English.

**************************************************************************************************

COMSTOCK PAPERS

NO.13

The Central, Kinney and Sides.

The Central ground was so denominated from its position between the Ophir and the California mines, then considered the most important, and in fact, about the only two claims, except the Mexican, worth much on the great lode. The Kinney ground, though not located by, was purchased at an early day by the man whose name it bears. After holding it for a long time, during which very little work was done upon it, he finally disposed of it to James C. Flood, for the sum of $1,200. Recently, Kinney has brought suit to recover a portion of this ground, which he alleges was deeded away by him under a misapprehension as to the number of feet he was actually conveying to the purchaser. This fraction of his claim now incorporated in the Consolidated Virginia mine, is worth in the stock market nearly a million dollars. Richard Sides, his brother William and some of their neighbors, managed, like many of the primitive settlers in Washoe, to possess himself of a section of the great mother lode on terms that involved the payment of very little money. This section, formerly known as the Dick Sides claim, covers five hundred linear feet, lying between the White & Murphy on the north, and the Best & Belcher on the south. It had not been much developed up to the time of its purchase by the owners of the Consolidated Virginia mine, of which it at present forms a part. Sides and his partners disposed of their interests in it many years ago, receiving what was then deemed a fair equivalent for the property. This man, who was living on Clear creek, Carson valley, before the discovery of the silver mines, still continues to be a resident of Washoe. In 1859, his brother William killed a man named Jessup, at the town of Gold Hill, for which offence he was obliged to flee the country, the circumstances under which the act was committed being too atrocious for even a Washoe community to overlook. Jessup was buried close beside the wagon road at the lower end of the town, his being the first grave in the place. After a year or two his remains had to be taken up, the wagon road having been so changed that it ran directly over the little mound under which they rested. Jessup was held in good repute, and his death was much deplored by those who knew him. He owned fifty feet in the Ophir at the time he was killed, from the sale of which his mother, who came out from Missouri soon after, realized a handsome sum. Abernethy and Baldwin, who also lived on Clear creek, where they carried on ranching and lumbering, owned between them 150 feet in the Sides ground. Taking the money received from the sale of this property, and some feet they owned in the Belcher, they came over to California and bought land in Suisun valley, where they have since lived in independent circumstances.

Concerning the Locators of the Best & Belcher

            We have not much knowledge. Best seems to have retired from the active scenes of Washoe life at an early period. Belcher, who had been a ranchman in California and went to Washoe in 1859, also disposed of his interest betimes, both in this claim and in some others at Gold Hill, which he had obtained from Comstock. Soon after he returned to this State and betook himself to his former occupation, which he has since successfully pursued. He was a quiet, gentlemanly sort of man, of more than ordinary intelligence and good business habits.

The Gould & Curry Claim

Passed into the hands of these two men and their associates early in the summer of 1859, having been sold to them by the original locators.  The purchasers themselves sold out the same fall to other parties, and at low figures, Curry having received not over six or seven thousand dollars, and Gould still less for his interest. They were both men of superior character and first rate business capacities. Abram Curry, or as he was more commonly called, Colonel Curry, had been in early life a steamboat man on the Western lakes and rivers, and was marked by something of that off-hand, rough energy and frankness characteristic of men trained in that school. He was, nevertheless, a kind-hearted, honest man, and distinguished for his public spirit and enterprise. He was among the first settlers at Carson City, and did more than any other man to build up and improve that place. As early as 1860, he took up the Hot Springs, two miles east of the town and put them in fit condition for public use. At this point he also opened extensive stone quarries, from which he afterwards took out material for the construction of a court house and other public buildings, at Carson, and still later for the Capitol of the State, and the United States mint, all of which were put up under his supervision. He also held the position of Superintendent of the Mint at that place, the duties of which he discharged in a manner to secure the approval of both the Government and the people. He died at Carson City some four or five years since, leaving his family not exactly poor, yet far from being rich. His partner Gould went to Reese river in 1862, and there engaged in the lumber manufacture and trade, which he carried on successfully for a number of years. Later, he was at several of the other pioneer mining camps in central and eastern Nevada, engaged in the same line of business. He is now a resident of California, and it is not too much to say of him that he has always enjoyed the confidence and respect of the several communities in which he has lived and transacted business.

**************************************************************************************************

COMSTOCK PAPERS

NO. 14

Savage,

Who had been a miner at Downieville, went over the mountains in the summer of 1859. Soon after his arrival at Virginia City, he, in conjunction with two or three others, bought the ground that now carries his name from a party of "jumpers," satisfying at the same time the demands of the contestant claimants. In 1860 he was engaged in packing goods over the Sierra, but soon after disposed of his mines and having some money, came to California, where he purchased land, upon which he has for many years resided, a staid and prosperous farmer.

William Chollar,

Whose name is connected with the Chollar Potosi, was also a California miner. He went to Washoe in the fall of 1859, located the Chollar ground, in which he held the usual two-hundred-foot claim, and undertook to explore it by means of a tunnel. This, though a costly work, availed nothing, therefore he sold out and taking the proceeds of the sale returned to his home at Grass Valley, and there again engaged in mining. He was a clear-headed business man, active and industrious, but being of a convivial disposition, at times spent his money lavishly. Some seven or eight years ago, at the earnest solicitation of his brothers living in Connecticut, he went home to that State, where he is reported to have since died.

Triglone, Trench and Overman.

            John Triglone, once owner of the Triglone claim at Gold Hill, is now and for some ten or twelve years agone has been a well-to-do quartz miner in Amador county, California. He did tolerably well over in the land of salt, sage-brush and silver, having, besides his mining ground, been a large owner in the Swansea mill, which for some time made handsome net earnings. The Trench claim, covering twenty linear feet in the heart of the rich shute at Gold Hill, was bought by Joseph Trench and Erastus Sparrow in the fall of 1859, these parties having the next year put up a large and well appointed mill at the mouth of American ravine, which was run for several years with large profits upon the ore taken from their mine. Sparrow, who was already an old man at the period we are speaking of, died several years ago. His partner in this enterprise still lives, an energetic, stirring man, as noticeable for his sturdy physique as for his kindly disposition and good natured bonhomie. He is supposed to be financially well off. Overman, the last in this category of names, (as this claim is also the last on the universally recognized line of the Comstock lode), belonged to the Washoe mining pioneers. This circumstance did not, however, profit him greatly, as he parted with his interest in the ground that bears his name for a trifling consideration. In the summer of 1859, he was living in a log cabin near this spot, a quiet, elderly man, still earning small wages in the nearly exhausted diggings along Gold canyon. He died in Washoe several years ago, and was buried near the scenes where he had so long lived and labored.

**************************************************************************************************

COMSTOCK PAPERS

NO. 14

The Name and but Little Besides

            As we have seen, the various mines situated on the Comstock lode were named, for the most part, after the men who first took up claims thereon, or those who purchased from these original locators. Both of these parties, with a few exceptions, disposed of their interests at an early day, not a single one of the men whose names are attached to these mines having long remained a large owner in any of them. It is probably enough that these pioneers do not today own so much as a share in a Comstock mine, unless it be some of the very low priced ones. More than one-half of these men are, in fact, now dead, few of them while living having been distinguished for that foresight and thrift, without which scarcely any secure wealth.

The Men of Nerve and Courage Come in for a Share.

            Before dismissing this branch of our subject it may, perhaps, be proper to mention still another class of adventurers, who, repairing early to these new-found silver mines, managed, without money or hard labor, to secure small and sometimes very considerable interests in some of the most valuable and actively productive claims on the great mother lode. These men belonged to that class, numerous in frontier countries and rough communities, who, preferring excitement and danger to the drudgery of hard work, are apt to be chosen to fill the offices of marshals, sheriffs, constables, etc., positions which more quiet and peace-loving citizens do not often covet, and for discharging the duties of which they are not always well fitted.

            Now, so it was, many of these pioneer claim-holders were a good deal this stripe of persons themselves, or a kind whose experience lead them to readily sympathize with the bold and adventurous. Some of them, too, were a little uneasy as to the tenure whereby they held their possessions, being nothing loath to strengthen the same by an alliance with these practitioners under the shotgun and revolver code. Hence the transfer to these latter of divers and sundry feet in the rich claims at Gold Hill was a thing of frequent occurrence. As a general thing, these were not men of a noisy and turbulent manner or quarrelsome disposition, given to bluster and exhibitions of brute violence. On the contrary, they were more often noted for their quiet and even gentlemanly deportment, but of firm nerve and cool and desperate courage. Many of them had been engaged in deadly affrays, but these had mostly occurred in the discharge of their official duties, or, if of a personal kind, had not often been provoked by themselves.

Tom Peasley, John Blackburn and Tom Andrews

Might be cited as good examples of this school of men. Blackburn was killed at Carson City, December, 1861, by Bill Mayfield, a desperado and gambler. He was at the time marshal of the Territory, Mayfield having been led to commit the assassination through apprehension of being arrested by the officer. The killing was done in the early evening, in a well lighted and crowded saloon, and was an act of wonderful daring on the part of the murderer, who approached his victim openly and while surrounded by his friends, and stabbed him to the heart, after which he marched out, flourishing his bloody knife in defiance and made good his escape through the aid of confederates outside. Blackburn, as he saw his adversary approach, drew his pistol, and would probably have killed him, had not his own friends, by injudiciously interfering, defeated his purpose. With his last gasp he leveled his weapon upon the retreating assassin, but fell dead before he could draw the trigger, his eyes burning with a fearful desire for vengeance. Blackburn, when entirely himself, was averse to acts of violence, though one of the bravest men that ever lived. When excited with liquor, however, as occasionally happened, he was a most dangerous man, attacking, without discrimination, his friends and his foes. Only a few days before his death, being slightly under the influence of liquor, he assailed and would have killed Wm. M. Stewart on the streets of Carson, but for the prompt interposition of Thomas Hannah, then with Stewart, a member of the Territorial legislature. The provocation given for this deadly assault was not only trivial, but almost wholly imaginary. Mayfield, after being for sometime concealed in Carson City, and nearly perishing with cold, his limbs having been badly frozen, was arrested, but afterwards succeeded in making good his escape and fled to Montana, where he was killed in some gambling or other brawl a year or two later

            Peasley, while being the peer of Blackburn in point of courage, was at the same time a most genial, kind-hearted and companionable sort of person. He was also noted for his splendid physical powers, being at the same time a young man of intelligence, and by no means deficient in fine moral qualities. The incidents connected with his death were not very unlike those that attended the killing of Blackburn, the moving cause consisting in part of a personal grudge and in part of political differences. He, too, was killed in a saloon in Carson City, his assailant coming upon him unawares and shooting him fatally. With a pistol ball through his most vital part, such was the strength and will-power of the wounded man that he seized his murderer and, crashing him through a closed door, drew his pistol and deliberately shot him dead, falling the same instant, himself a corpse, upon the floor. Both Peasley and Blackburn had been quite largely interested in different properties on the Comstock lode, and were at the time of their deaths owners in some of the more valuable mines along it. Andrews, of whose name we have made mention, was also at one period interested in some of the Gold Hill grounds. After many rough and varied experiences these interests have slipped away, but the owner still survives, with seemingly a good many years of active service still in store for him.

            We might adduce many other examples of men belonging to this class, but need not multiply them here, the cases already cited sufficiently illustrating the anomalous condition of affairs that made it possible for such valuable interests to be secured by considerations and services of the kind alluded to.

**************************************************************************************************

COMSTOCK PAPERS

NO. 15

Pioneer Mills and Millmen.

            Postponing, for the present, further reminiscences of the first claim locators on the Comstock lode, and their immediate successors, who together gave their names to most of the mines along it, we proceed to remark briefly upon the first efforts made in the way of developing these mines and providing reduction works for the proper treatment of their ores. As already stated, the earliest attempts at working the Comstock ores were made in the spring of '59 at Gold Hill, the means employed consisting of the common Mexican arrastra, some half dozen of which were in use there before the rich ore deposit at Virginia City was discovered. During the following summer and autumn the number of arrastras here employed was largely increased several having been started near the site of the new discovery, and also down on Carson river, these last being driven by water. In the spring of 1860 the Meldonado brothers, owners of the Mexican, or, as it was then called, the Spanish ground, erected extensive yards for working their ores by the patio process, there having, as yet, been no mills or other reduction works put up here for the treatment of the ores.

Almarin B. Paul and the Introduction of the Washoe Pans.

            In the month of March, 1860, Almarin B. Paul, an experienced quartz miner, and skillful metallurgist, of Nevada county, California, made a visit to the newly found silver mines of Washoe, and after carefully examining the character of ores, became satisfied that amalgamation could be thoroughly and economically effected through the use of the iron pans already employed in the gold mines of California. This idea was rejected as absurd by the old school of metallurgists, all of whom contended for the use of the German barrel or the Mexican patio process, some even insisting that the ores here could be satisfactorily treated only by smelting.

            So thoroughly however, was Paul impressed with the adaptability of the pan process for this purpose that he instituted a series of carefully directed trials to test the matter, the results of which fully confirmed his previous opinion. Satisfied that he was right, he determined that the mill which he had already concluded to put up in Washoe should be furnished with this and no other amalgamating apparatus. Having completed an organization styled the Washoe gold and silver mining company, No. 1, of which he was himself the moving spirit and almost sole director, Paul commenced on the 24th day of May, 1860, work on his new mill, which was located at a rugged pass on Gold canyon, known as the Devil's Gate, this site having been chosen because of its convenience to water.

The First Two Mills and a Close Race for Precedence.

            On the 7th day of June, Paul gave his order to Howland, Angell & King, of the Miners' Foundry, San Francisco, for the iron work of this mill, which was driven by steam and carried 24 stamps. This machinery, with all needed supplies, was shipped over the mountains during the summer at an average expense of about $400 per ton, this being before any wagon roads had yet been constructed over the Sierra. As there was but a single saw mill then running in the country, the lumber required for this mill cost at the rate of about $300 per M, labor and material of every kind being proportionately high.            Notwithstanding these and other obstacles, the projector and manager of this new enterprise pushed it ahead with such activity and vigor that he had the pioneer mill of Utah Territory advanced so near to completion that steam was let on and machinery started up on the 11th day of August, 1860.

            It was by a single point, however, that Paul gained this distinction for his mill, that of Coover & Harris, situated at Gold Hill, two miles above, having gotten up steam and set its stamps in motion only an hour or two later on the same day, as appears by the certificate of W.H. Howland to that effect, he having acted as engineer for both of these establishments on that occasion. As this was only an eight-stamp mill, the labor and cost of its erection were proportionately less, though the iron work, turned out at the same foundry, was not ordered until two weeks later than in the case of Paul's mill, which latter cost about $50,000.

Their Successful Career.

            The two mills, though rude and unpretentious structures, compared with some of those soon after put up, had, nevertheless, a long and successful career, having made large earnings for the owners, while they served the mining public acceptably and well. Paul's first run was on Gold Hill ores, Alpheus Staples having given him a contract to work 4,000 tons, at $30 per ton, an arrangement that resulted to the mutual satisfaction and advantage of both parties. He had at the first endeavored to get a contract from the Ophir and the Gould & Curry companies, but they declined to furnish him with ore, being timid about his proposed method of amalgamation. Before his mill had been running a week, however, he had engaged to work ore to the amount of nearly half a million dollars, and so numerous were the applications thereafter, that he commenced, within three months, building near the town of Gold Hill another mill, which was to carry 64 stamps and cost $150,000.

The First Clean-Up

Made by him, amounting to several thousand dollars, was carried in iron kettles to Ruling's assay office in Virginia City, where its appearance after being retorted created quite a stir, this being the first bullion produced in the country. It had, moreover, been demonstrated that pan amalgamation, since known as the Washoe process, would answer in the treatment of these Comstock ores, a fact that gave a new impetus to mining and imparted additional value to "feet."  It is worthy of note that the first attempt at working the ores of the first silver mine ever found and opened in the country should have been attended with the inauguration of a process so distinguished for its efficiency and so essentially its own.

A Retort of Preposterous Dimensions.

            Paul, entertaining a pretty high notion as to the richness of these Washoe ores, had taken over for use in his mill a retort of about 300 pounds capacity. This implement having been thrown out and for some days exposed to the public gaze, excited the jeers of passers-by who tauntingly inquired of the over-sanguine mill builder if he expected to ever fill the thing with amalgam. The first clean up having more than filled this retort, put an end to these jocular remarks upon its extravagant dimensions. The retorts now in use at the larger Washoe mills hold several tons each, and it takes a good many of them to serve the purpose at that

A Coover Mill

Also ran at first for the most part on Gold Hill ores, the proprietors, Charles S. Coover and Dr. E.B. Harris, having contracted with Plato and Bowers to work their ore at $25 per ton. The building occupied by this mill was a mere shed, composed of rough lumber, and no one in passing by would have supposed it of much account. But the machinery was good, and it was run by a man who thoroughly understood and carefully attended to his business. Pass it at what hour you might and this mill was in motion, and so it continued for several years, giving the best of satisfaction to all who patronized it, while it enriched the owners. It afterwards passed into the hands of C.C. Stephenson, who also made money with it, but standing close to the wagon track, and proving to be quite in the main street of Gold Hill when it came to be widened and straightened, this venerable and useful structure was torn down and the machinery removed to eastern Nevada, where it was again set up and has since been pounding away as industriously as ever on the silver bearing ores of that region.

**************************************************************************************************

COMSTOCK PAPERS.

NO. 16.

Pan Amalgamation, and What It Led To.

            The trial of pan amalgamation having proved a success, demonstrating the facility and cheapness with which the Comstock ores could be worked, confidence in the value of the mines was greatly increased, and many parties were encouraged to put up reduction works who would not otherwise have gone into the business. The popular idea that a vast deal of science, or at least much practical skill, was indispensable in the treatment of argentiferous ores having been thus partially dissipated, the California millmen were quite certain that they could deal with them successfully when a method so similar to that employed in reducing the gold-bearing quartz of this State would answer the purpose. Accordingly a good many of this class repaired to Washoe during the summer and fall of 1860, with a view to putting up mills and running them on this new school of ores. The arrastras that had been set up the year before were designed merely for working the quartz found at Gold Hill, in which the most of the gold was free and easily separated, no effort having been made to save the silver which it contained; the miners not then suspecting, in fact, that it carried any of this metal. When the sulphureted silver ores of the Comstock proper came to be handled, this style of apparatus was found to be wholly inadequate; hence early recourse to more effectual 'methods became necessary.

Era of Active Mill Construction

            The completion in August, 1860, and the successful operations of the Paul and the Coover mills, was immediately followed by the inauguration of numerous other enterprises of this kind, several having, in reality, been planned prior to the above date and in anticipation of the success that it was expected would attend these pioneer establishments. So rapidly, indeed, did this business of mill construction thereafter proceed, that no less than 86 works of this description, carrying a total of 1,200 stamps, and costing an aggregate of over six million dollars, had been finished and started up by the end of 1861, some 40 or 50 arrastras and several patio yards built and set at work meantime, not being included in this estimate. Work upon a good many other mills had also been commenced before the end of that year, the most of which were completed early in 1862, when the era of most active mill construction terminated in so far as the Comstock mines were concerned, this industry having, for the next three or four years, been transferred to Esmeralda, Reese river, Pine Grove, Humboldt, and other interior districts.

Location, Cost and Capacity.

            Of the mills built for reducing the Comstock ores eight, carrying 114 stamps and costing $200,000, were located in Ormsby county; six, carrying 106 stamps, and costing $1,200,000, were located in Washoe county; forty, carrying 573 stamps, and costing in the aggregate $3,700,000, were located in Storey county; twenty-two, carrying 360 stamps, and costing $1,000,000, were located in Lyon county, and ten, carrying 84, and costing $300,000, were located in Esmeralda county, there having been erected, up to the end of 1861, not more than two or three small establishments of this kind in any other portion of Nevada Territory.

The First Parties to Put Up Water-Driven Machinery,

East of the Sierra, for the purpose of ore reduction, were Judge James Walsh and his partner, Joseph Woodworth, who, on their first visit to Washoe, in the latter part of June, 1850 [sic], threw a slight dam across the Carson river, at a point about one mile above the present town of Dayton, then Chinatown, and, diverting the water into a side race, employed it for propelling a couple of arrastras, which they constructed and put up there for testing the Gold Hill ores, they having bought from Comstock a small claim at that point before purchasing the silver bearing deposit a mile further north, and which afterwards constituted the site of the great Washoe discovery. The water right so secured on the river was, the next year, further utilized by the construction there of additional arrastras and, finally, by the erection of extensive reduction works, this now being the site of the present Ophir company's large and efficient mill.

            Besides Paul, Coover and Harris, the following parties commenced the erection of mills, and, in some cases, completed and had them running before the end of 1860: Richard Ogden and J. Downes Wilson, who, in November, 1860, finished the Ogden & Wilson mill, the first one completed in the Virginia City district; Henry G. Blasdel, Alpheus Staples, Israil W. Knox, who built the Olive Branch mill, Flowery district; McNulty, who built what was afterwards known as the Bacon mill; Peter Frothingham, who put up a small establishment on. Carson river, four miles below Dayton; John B. Winters, connected with Woodworth & Mosheimer in the building of the Carson River mill; John Atchison, Logan and Holmes, whose works were also on Carson river; Trench & Sparrow; De Land, Eclipse mill; and various other persons, whose names we cannot now recall to memory. Among the mills that were begun this year and completed near the end of it or early in 1861, was that of the Spanish company, at Virginia City; the Aurora, Keller, Dayton; the Sproul and several other mills on Carson river, besides a number of small establishments along Gold canyon, one or two about Virginia City and several along Six  Mile canyon, in the Flowery district. In the next number of these papers something will be said about the Ophir, Gould & Curry and other extensive works put up in 1861-2 at an enormous expenditure of money, but which, after a few years, ceased operations and were finally dismantled, with some remarks upon the causes that lead to these disastrous results.

**************************************************************************************************

COMSTOCK PAPERS

NO. 17.

The Big Mills of Washoe. -- They Adhere to the Old Methods.

            Notwithstanding the success of amalgamation by the pan or Washoe process had been fully established by the experimental trials made in the summer of 1860, as already related, such was the distrust of the new plan entertained by the Ophir, Gould & Curry and other of the leading companies on the Comstock, that they, acting under the advice of the old school of metallurgists, declined to adopt it in the extensive reduction works commenced by them in the fall of 1860 and finished the following year. Another reason for these companies sticking to the old and more expensive methods was the belief entertained by them that the great body of their ores was much richer than they afterwards proved to be; it having been supposed that an expense of $40 or $50 per ton for their reduction could well be borne, provided the work were so effectually done as to secure a very high percentage of the gold and silver they contained. How much these companies overrated the value of their ores at the start may be inferred from the fact that they offered, in the spring of 1860, to contract with Judge Walsh for the reduction of large quantities thereof at an average rate of $75 per ton, it not being their intention then to work anything of less value than this. Acting under these misapprehensions these parties projected their reduction works on an extensive and costly scale, these establishments in the subdivision of their departments, the elaboration of the ores, and, in short, in both completeness and details, conforming largely to European models.

The Mill of the Ophir Company

Was put up in Washoe valley at a point 12 miles westerly from their mine, this site having been selected because of its proximity to wood and water and in the expectation that a railroad would soon be built between these two points. The buildings erected here covered an area of fully an acre, everything having been constructed on a grand scale. Besides the main edifice, an immense building was put up for the use of the patio process, which was here employed for a time on the poorer class of ores. Shops, stables, carriage houses, quarters for workmen, superintendent's residence, offices, etc., were all well built and capacious. The machinery, material and workmanship were also first-class, the cost of the entire hacienda having amounted to over $1,000,000. Besides the crushing mill, carrying 36 stamps, several furnaces for roasting or chloridizing the ores were provided, the Freiberg in connection with the patio process having been here practiced. Rows of huge barrels, used for amalgamating purposes and extending the whole length of the mill, were kept in ceaseless revolution. The services of 100 men were constantly required in the several departments, besides nearly as many more in cutting and hauling wood, making lumber, burning charcoal and other outside employments apart from those connected with the mines. A hundred tons of ore were worked here daily, independent of that disposed of by the patio method. In addition to the ground about their works the company owned 700 acres of grazing and agricultural lands lying in the valley near by and 9,000 acres of woodland on the adjacent mountains, where a saw-mill had been put up for cutting their own lumber. Over this grand establishment Captain William L. Dall exercised a general supervision, with Captain Henry A. Cheever for his assistant, both of these men having had a long and honorable service as commanders in our merchant marine.

The Ores Grow Poorer and the Works Cease to Run.

            Thus situated, the owners of the richest section of the Comstock lode, and having within themselves everything requisite to work their ores to the best advantage, it was expected by everybody that the Ophir company was on the highway to sure and early fortune, and for a time their affairs really seemed prosperous enough. But their ores, which at first averaged about $150 per ton, soon began to decline in value, leaving under their expensive modes of manipulation, such a narrow margin for profit that they were obliged to supplant the same by the more cheap and simple but much derided Washoe pans, through the use of which they would no doubt have reached satisfactory results had not their works been located at such a great distance from their mine and had not the latter within a short time after this substitution been pretty well exhausted of its paying ores. As it was, this company, with all their bright prospects at the start, their valuable mine, extensive works and great facilities for ore reduction, achieved but a brief and moderate success; their expenses after two or three years having outgrown their income to such as extent that they found it expedient to close up their works, which, after their own ore supplies had failed, could not, owing to their remoteness, compete for custom work successfully with mills located nearer the mines.

The Final Collapse

            Having ceased operations and stood idle for a time, the business of dismantling this vast establishment was at length commenced, some of the machinery and more valuable material being disposed of to one party and some to another until its entire demolition was finally accomplished, the company having meantime disposed of most of their other property in the neighborhood. With the stoppage of the reduction works the considerable town built up around them was depopulated and speedily went to decay, scarcely a house being now left in the once flourishing city of Ophir to mark where it stood. The extinction of the town and of everything pertaining to it has been as utter as of the once promising industry which built it up.

The Gould & Curry Mill,

Which was commenced about the same time and finished a little later than the Ophir works, surpassed the latter not only in size and cost of construction but also in style and perfection of finish. Possessing a property of great supposed value, the owners of this mine, the most of whom were men of wealth and liberal notions, determined that they would put up an establishment commensurate with the magnitude and importance of their mine and which should outrival anything of the kind ever before constructed in this or any other country, a purpose in which they were heartily and ably seconded by their general Superintendent, Charles L. Strong, also a man of large ideas, and by no means deficient in enterprise, energy and practical ability. With such a management, well supplied with money, the grand undertaking after being entered upon was pushed ahead rapidly, the site fixed for their structure having been a small flat at the junction of Six and Seven Mile canyons, two miles northeasterly of Virginia City. The spot was a rugged one, rocky and uneven, the cost of clearing away the ground and preparing for the foundation of the main building having amounted to more than had yet been expended upon any mill in the Territory. The massive walls laid for the reception of the main edifice, which was 250 feet long with wings 75 feet in length, all built of timber, were constructed of hewn stone, takes from a quarry near by, and dressed at great expense. The engine, of 150-horse power, a splendid piece of machinery, was built at the Pacific works, in San Francisco. There was eight batteries of five stamps each, capable of crushing 40 tons of ore per day. For generalizing steam to propel this engine, six furnace with three boilers, each 26 feet long and 4 inches in diameter, with 14-inch flutes, were provided. In the various departments of this establishment, notwithstanding every labor-saving device then known in the business had been introduced, the services of 75 men were required working in relays day and night, operations here never having been intermitted.  With its terraced walls and numerous out-buildings, the place bore something the appearance of a fortified city.

And The End

This company, like the Ophir, entertaining at first a great distrust of the Paul or pan process, employed at the outset the Tyler or Veatch plan of amalgamation, which involved the use of numerous deep tubs, the system being a mixture of the German, the patio and the pan process, which latter was after a time wholly adopted. The total cost of the Gould & Curry mill, all accessories and surroundings included, amounted to over $1,250,000, a good deal of this expenditure having been of a kind that would, with our present experience in the business of ore reduction, be considered superfluous, and some of which was even at that time by many believed unnecessary. The history of this grand and costly establishment was so similar to that of the Ophir that we need not here rehearse it in detail.

            After a successful career extending through a few years, the current expenses began to drag heavily on the company and the mine itself giving out, brought operations at last to a stand-still, after which the work of disintegration began and proceeding at rapid pace, has left only the massive foundations of the great mill to attest where it stood.

**************************************************************************************************

COMSTOCK PAPERS.

NO. 18.

Overdoing Matters at the Start.

            Not only in the matter of mill construction did the pioneer miners on the Comstock greatly overdo things at the start. Their extravagant ideas about the mineral wealth of the country betrayed them into a variety of other equally fatal mistakes, such as the laying out of extensive cities at all supposed eligible points, the building of costly wagon roads over the mountains, the projection of gigantic tunnel schemes and the like, to say nothing of innumerable mining enterprises, backed by any amount of nominal capital. Within 18 months from the time that the Washoe excitement broke out more than a score of town sites had been surveyed at localities that were believed to possess such natural advantages as would speedily attract to them a large population, and render the lots there laid out exceedingly valuable. All the mineral and thermal springs within a hundred miles around had been seized upon under the impression that they could easily be converted into great sanitariums, whose wide-spread fame would at once attract to them swarms of invalids from every quarter. Through every pass in the Sierra Nevada between Sonora and the Downieville buttes a toll road had been commenced and partially constructed, nearly enough money having been expended first and last on this class of improvements to have built a narrow-gauge railroad over the mountains. Before the end of the year 1861.

Eighty six Companies, with an Aggregate Capital Stock of $61,500,000,

Had been organized, the most of them having their headquarters in San Francisco, to open up and work the mines of western Utah, the era of excessively large capital and purely speculative mining having not yet been inaugurated. Only in one case, that of the Ophir, did the stock of any of these companies amount to as much as $5,000,000. That of the Gould & Curry, next in magnitude, was fixed at $2,400,000 and that of the Mount Davidson at $2,000,000, none of the other companies on the list having reached the latter figure, the most of them having ranged from $250,000 to $500,000. Of all the companies incorporated during that period,

Only Nine Survive,

Viz.; Ophir, Gould & Curry, Sierra Nevada, Chollar, Lady Bryan, Hale & Norcross, Utah, Bullion and the Daney, the limits of some of these having since been so curtailed, extended or otherwise altered as to nearly destroy their identity. The claim of the present Ophir company, for example, covers but a fraction of what constituted the original Ophir ground, while the Sierra Nevada, the Chollar and the Daney embrace a good deal more ground than they did at first; the Chollar having absorbed what was formerly the Potosi and the possessions of the Daney having been extended for more than a mile north of their original location. On the other hand, a good many small claims have been aggregated, constituting one or more large ones, as in the case of the California, Consolidated Virginia, Empire-Imperial, etc.  Some of these early incorporations, for one reason or another,

Enjoyed Quite a Fame in their Day.

            The Burning Moscow, for instance, was for a time rendered conspicuous through the long and bitter contest which that company waged with the Ophir, the problem of the one ledge theory having for the first time come up for adjudication and forming the turning point in the fight. The Mount Davidson company, formed to drive a tunnel into the Comstock lode and open it up to the depth of 1,000 feet, was for several years a live and popular institution, the end proposed having been then considered a marvelous undertaking. The Latrobe was another incorporation gotten up for a similar purpose, both of these companies expecting also that they would intersect some valuable blind leads in the course of their excavations. In this, however, both were disappointed, though the Latrobe company did have the good luck to strike such an amount of water as afforded them for several years a considerable revenue, this being a very scarce commodity at that period about Virginia City. Before either of these tunnels had reached their objective point, the Comstock lode had been opened to such depths by other means that, their further prosecution being deemed unexpedient, both were abandoned, causing severe disappointment to multitudes who had bought the shares of these companies, believing them to be a safe and profitable investment.

"Vanished into Thin Air."

            It was the case, indeed, that very few of the many companies organized at this early day ever accomplished anything beneficial to the shareholders, nor did any considerable number of the other grand schemes then set on foot realize the fond hopes of the projectors. Not more than two or three of the many gorgeous cities lithographed and laid out ever advanced beyond that embryotic state. The medicinal virtues of the mineralized springs failing to be appreciated by the invalid public, these remained as before solitary Bethesdas in the desert. The most of the roads constructed over the mountains, being but little used, heavily burdened the slender finances of the counties and towns that had helped to build them, while of the mining claims located all over the country, not one in a thousand was ever able to make even a tolerable showing of mineral wealth. Of the multitudinous companies associated and incorporated, not more than a score or two have left any enduring record, all the rest having perished from lack of merit or sheer inanimation during their earlier stages of development. The "Hope" gave up in despair; the "Excelsior" failed to get any higher; the "Sucker," having drawn scant sustenance from the pockets of the hapless shareholders for a while, succumbed to its fate; the "Scoria" turned out to be dross; the "Naescharama" perished from some unknown cause, probably lockjaw; the "Great Republic" collapsed, and "Congress" adjourned sine die, the doom of these companies having been seemingly foreshadowed by their names.

The Ups and Downs of the Past.

            In January, 1862, a great flood occurring carried off many of the mills situate along Carson river, inflicting severe loss upon both the millmen and miners, the entire damage sustained by these two classes having been estimated at $2,000,000. This event, in connection with the ill success that had attended the most of the prospecting enterprises engaged in, had a tendency to greatly depress the spirits of the mining community about this time. This despondency was, however, gradually removed by the developments that continued to be made on the Comstock lode, the mining interests of the country having been maintained in a prosperous condition for several years thereafter, when another season of depression and gloom ensued, to be followed in turn by an era of greater prosperity than ever before. From these events of the past a lesson of fortitude and patience should be drawn by those unfavorably affected by the stagnation now prevailing in the Comstock stocks, this ebb and flow of fortune appearing to be incident to the great Washoe lode.

**************************************************************************************************

COMSTOCK PAPERS.

NO. 19.

They go Actively Into the Business of Exploring The Country and Locating Claims.

            In the last number of these Papers, we were led to remark upon the manner in which the Washoe miners, through an over-estimate of the mineral wealth of the country, were at the start betrayed into many wild schemes and much prodigal expenditure. In nothing did this excessive confidence display itself more signally than in the expedition with which the region for many miles around was explored, the numerous mining districts that were organized, and the multitude of claims that were taken up. Not until the month of September, 1859, did the new crop of adventurers begin to arrive in the Territory in considerable numbers, and yet within 16 months from that time as many as 25 or 30 different mining districts had been formed, the country from Esmeralda to Humboldt, and from the base of the Sierra Nevada east for a long distance having been run over and settled with scattering mining camps. The area thus partially explored and populated amounted to some 10,000 or 12,000 square miles, while the number of linear feet located might be literally counted by the million. That not much attention was paid to the

Mineralogical Character of the Ledges Located

It is needless to say, very little pains having been taken to determine whether they were ore-bearing or not. It was enough that there was a ledge or the semblance of one, the inexperienced and excited prospector concluding that any, even the smallest and most barren quartz croppings, were worth taking up, if indeed they did not present conclusive evidence of valuable mineral deposits below. The more claims of whatever kind a man was able to get hold of, the better were considered his chances for making a fortune, or rather the greater the fortune he might be supposed to have already secured. Unacquainted with the character of silver-bearing ores and lodes, without the skill or means for making assays, every reef of rocks met with and sometimes even the boulders found on top of the ground were located under some fitting name significant of their supposed great wealth, the sole ambition of these prospecting "tramps" being the securing of numerous "feet," as attested by the certificate of the accommodating recorder.

What Led to this Extreme Activity, and Tended to Foster These Illusory Notions

            Of the vast mineral resources of the country, was the fact that the Comstock lode, which was made the standard for measuring the probable value of all others, was in no wise remarkable either in its surface dimensions or other external features. Its outcrop was neither large nor continuous, while the rich ores had as yet shown themselves at only two points along it. In the vicinity were other ledges to all outward appearance equally valuable; the Virginia, lying only a few hundred feet further west, presenting even bolder croppings at many places along it. The prospector found, in fact, fully as good looking ledges as this at Gold Hill and Virginia City wherever he went, wherefore it was not at all strange that he should, in his ignorance and inexperience, have attached to them an equal prospective value, and eagerly sought to secure as many of them as possible, an end that could be attained without much trouble or cost; and so the whole country was rapidly run over and locations made everywhere. It was unfortunate for the future of this industry that the business of silver mining amongst our people should have been inaugurated by the discovery of such an exceptionally rich lode as the Comstock proved to be, inasmuch as it led to an undue excitement at first, whereby both the miner and the general public were betrayed into all kinds of follies and prevented afterwards from exercising that degree of patience, industry and economy that would otherwise have been observed, rendering the business, most likely, a success from the start. Had we commenced on a lode carrying a low grade ore, we should have escaped the unhealthy excitement that ensued, while we would have been more apt to apply our labor and means with diligence and care in opening up the mines, satisfied to work hard and reap a moderate return. As it was, with our ideas inflamed and our expectations exalted to the highest pitch, we commenced building at the top, converting the business, as it were, into a pyramid standing on its apex instead of its base, hence much of the disappointment and disaster that followed.

Developments Delayed, and Disappointment All Round.

            The winter of 1859-60 set in early and proved to be a long and severe one, wherefore but little work was done on any of the numerous ledges taken up the fall before. The cold and stormy weather continued with snow and sleet quite into the summer, in the early part of which the Indian war broke out, still further delaying the work that would otherwise have been done and postponing it for another year. Not until the spring of 1861, therefore, did the business of active development begin, after which another year was required to prosecute this work to anything like determinate results, and when these were reached they generally turned out to be unsatisfactory. Then came a reaction and for a time "feet" were in disfavor, till the glowing accounts from Reese river again revived the furore, and the business of prospecting for and locating claims became as active as ever, to be followed in a year or two by another decadence, and this by the White Pine stampede, which without ending may justly be considered the culminating point in these vein mining excitements, Schell creek, Panamint and latest and least of all, Coso and Darwin, having all been movements of a milder type.

**************************************************************************************************

COMSTOCK PAPERS

NO. 20.

Filling Up the Geographical Vocabulary of the Country.

            How rapidly a mining excitement, through a hastened influx of population, tends to multiply the names of natural objects and localities in a country before almost without any geographical vocabulary, the movement caused by the discovery of the Comstock lode aptly illustrates. Take any map of the region now constituting the State of Nevada, published prior to 1860, and we find it well nigh a blank. Scarcely more than 50 names, all told, appear upon it. The few mountain ranges, scattered at random over it, leave us to infer that the country is an almost uninterrupted plain, a supposition strengthened by the fact that it really does form a part of the Utah basin or Great American desert. The only rivers laid down are the Humboldt, Truckee, Carson and the Walker with their several forks in the northwest and the Rio Virgin and the Muddy in the southeast, these being, in truth, all the streams that exist here of sufficient size to be styled rivers. We see thereon the names of some half dozen lakes and sinks and sloughs. Dotted lines, devious and far separated, straggle across the nameless waste, indicating the trails of Fremont, Beckwith, Steptoe and other early explorers, while a single wagon road, coming in from the north  east, and following down the Humboldt, marks the route pursued by the pioneer immigration. Here and there is put down on these early maps a saline or thermal spring, a mud lake or a soda lagoon, the only towns or settlements appearing thereon, being the old Mormon station, now Genoa, Franktown, in Washoe valley, Ragtown, standing near Carson river, on the southerly edge of the Forty-Mile desert and Chinatown, situate at the junction of Gold canyon and Carson river, near the point where the old immigrant road crosses the latter. Upon these early and almost vacant charts, are put down neither townships, counties, nor other political divisions; all that is indicated in this direction being that the country belonged to Utah Territory, being generally denominated Western Utah.

Progress of the Work

            If now we look upon the map of this region, 18 years ago so nearly a blank, we find it crowded with names. First, we have the Territory as an entirety organized into the State of Nevada with fourteen counties, some of which have been in part subdivided into townships. A multitude of mining districts appear, covering a large portion of the State, being those that still maintain their organization, such as were formed and afterwards disbanded through diminished population, or, as sometimes happened, through entire desertion, having been dropped from the more recent maps. Scores of towns and mining camps present themselves, some of the former being of very respectable dimensions, both as regards business and population; Virginia City and Gold Hill, which are really but one place, containing about 25,000 inhabitants, while Carson City has over 5,000. Such additional lakes and streams as have since been discovered, as well also as the principal mountain ranges and passes, the more noteworthy springs, the borax beds and other remarkable salines have all been looked after and duly named.

Scanty Material.

            In this christening process the Washoe argonauts have had to rely mainly upon their own lingualistic resources, there having been here no previously existing Spanish and but a scanty Indian nomenclature, as in California, to help them out. There were, to be sure, names of aboriginal origin attached to some of the higher peaks and ranges, and also to a few other of the more remarkable natural objects, but the adoption of these, except it a few instances, was by the whites deemed inexpedient because of their great length, their harsh and gutteral sounds or their awkward pronunciation. The Rio Virgin (already half anglicised), a small stream in the southeastern part of the State, and Las Vegas, meaning the meadows, in the same vicinity, appear to have been the only terms derived from the Spanish to be found on the early maps of all this region, the christening of these having been due to their lying along the old Spanish trail leading from Santa Fe to Los Angeles, and not because there had ever been any settlements made here by that people.

Of the Indian Names that Have Been Retained,

We have, first, Tahoe, applied to the large lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains, about two-thirds of it being in the State of California. The term, in the native tongue, means big or beautiful water, and adhering to the Indian rule should be divided into three syllables and pronounced Tah-hoe-ee, with the accent on the last, and not in two syllables, with the accent on the first, as we absurdly practice. The observance of the method first mentioned besides being more in consonance with the analogy of the aboriginal tongue, would impart to the word a much more poetic and euphoneous sound. The newspaper press should attend to the correction of this mistake. Washoe, the name of an Indian tribe who formerly inhabited a series of valleys lying along the eastern base of the Sierra, is still retained, having been given to the principal valley in this series and also to the county which covers it, and the country adjacent. This term should have been applied to the State itself in accordance with the desire of many of the inhabitants at the time of its creation, as it had already become identified with the famous silver mines all over the world, and its adoption, apart from its eminent fitness and agreeable sound, would have prevented the many mistakes that constantly occur through the confounding of this name and that of the large and populous California county adjoining this State on the west. The Truckee river was so called after the Indian who was employed by the Donner party to guide them over the mountains into California. He appears to have been a faithful and intelligent old man, and there is little doubt but these unfortunate people would have escaped the terrible fate that overtook them, had they paid attention to his timely warnings. Shoshone, Toiyabe and Toquima, names of three high mountain ranges in Nye county, are all of Indian origin; so also is Sinkavata, a broad valley lying to the west of the Shoshone range; Winnemucca, name of a town on the Central Pacific railroad, also of a shallow lake lying to the east of Pyramid lake, and connected with it by a slough, was the name of the principal chief of the Piutes, who lived to a great age, dying only a few years since, leaving a son who, succeeding to his name and office and who has, like his father, always maintained friendly relations with the whites. Pahranagut is the name of a mining district situate in Lincoln county, in the extreme southeastern part of the State. It once contained quite a large population and enjoyed a good reputation for mineral wealth, but failing to sustain it by practical results the place has, for years past, been nearly abandoned.

            Having but a meager vocabulary upon which to draw, the early dwellers on the "Eastern slope" being those of the pre-Comstock era, managed to make this slender stock go a good way. Thus, the name of Kit Carson, the famous Indian scout and guide, was by them applied to a river, the pass in which that stream originated, the valley through which it ran, as well as to the lake into which it disembogued and the sink where the surplus waters of the latter finally disappeared; the name having at a later date been given to a county organized in this part of Utah, and afterwards also to a city, the now flourishing capital of Nevada.

            Among the county names of the new State only that of Washoe is of Indian origin. Esmeralda county was called after the principal mining district within its limits. The term, meaning in Spanish an emerald, was in its application here a purely fanciful and not altogether happy one. Douglas county was named after Stephen A. Douglas, then United States Senator from Illinois. Ormsby, after Major Ormsby, an early settler in Carson valley and an energetic business man, who was killed while leading the expedition against the Indians in June, 1860. Storey in like manner was named after Captain Storey, who lost his life in the same expedition. Lyon was named in honor of General Lyon, a brave officer in the Union army, who fell at the battle of Wilson's creek, Missouri, in 1861. Churchill county was also named after a distinguished army officer, his name having before this been given to the fort, erected on Carson river in 1860. Humboldt county bears the name of Baron Von Humboldt, the great German scientist, traveler and author. Eureka and Elko were named after the principal towns they contain. Nye county was named after James W. Nye, first Governor of the Territory and afterwards U. S. Senator from Nevada, an honor that he well deserved. Lander after General Lander, of the U. S. army, who for many years was engaged in exploring the country between the Missouri river and California, and laying out wagon roads through the same. Lincoln county was named after the "martyr" President, and White Pine after the chief mining district of that region, the name having been originally suggested by a species of pine found in the neighborhood.

            The towns and stations along the Central Pacific railroad were mostly named by the company; some, as Reno, Halleck and Wadsworth, after military men; others, as White Plains, Rye Patch, Wells, Palisade and Promontory, etc., from certain natural features or peculiarities of the place; while the choice of others, like Verdi, Vista, Toano, etc., was mere matter of fancy or taste. Mill City was a name applied to that site, now a railroad station, long before the road itself was built, it having been selected under the impression that the canal projected for taking water from the Humboldt and conducting it to this point, would lead to the erection here of many mills for the purposes of ore reduction. The ditch never having been completed the mills failed, and as a consequence, the town also failed to be built.

The Twin Rivers.

            When Fremont crossed this country in his expedition of 1845, he was led to notice while passing through Big Smoky valley two large streams of the purest water, issuing each from a narrow gate-like gorge in the Toiyabe range. These gorges are but a few hundred yards apart and the two streams continuing to flow out into the valley in close proximity and parallel to each other for quite a distance, suggested the name of "Twin rivers," which was accordingly given to them by the great "Path-finder," and they were so laid down in the maps afterwards prepared by him. When the inevitable prospector arrived in that region, recognizing in these two creeks the Twin rivers of Fremont, he adopted the name for a mining district, whence it came to be applied to a considerable section of the mountains and valley adjacent; the singular form of the phrase, "Twin River," having meantime come into general use.

Reese River

Was named after Captain Reese, a Mormon, who having a home establishment at both Carson valley and Salt Lake, necessitating frequent journeys between these two points, was led to seek a shorter path than the circuitous route via the valley of the Humboldt. In carrying out this purpose he left the old immigrant road near Carson lake, and pursuing an easterly course came upon the small stream that now bears his name. Walker river and lake bear the name of one of the employees of the Northwestern Fur Co., who trapped on these waters many years ago. Pyramid lake is so called because of a high, conical rock rising from the deep water near its eastern shore. In looking over the modern map of Nevada, many streams will be seen there laid down as rivers, but they are with the exceptions already noticed, nothing but creeks, and the most of these very small creeks at that. Reese, Twin, White and many other so-called rivers, including the Virgin and the Muddy, are everywhere easily fordable, nor would it greatly trouble an active man to jump across almost any of them, except during their highest stages.

**************************************************************************************************

The Discoverer of the Chollar Mine.

EDITORS PRESS: -- In your issue of December 30th, 1876, your article, "Comstock Papers", states that Mr. William Chollar "some seven or eight years ago, at the earnest solicitation of his brother, living in Connecticut, went home to that State, where he is reported to have since died."

            It may interest some of his former friends and mining associates on the Pacific slope to know something of the present whereabouts of this famous prospector and miner. Mr. William Chollar returned from Nevada to Danielsonville, Conn., in the fall of 1873, and has made his home a part of the time with his son, William H. Chollar. During the past two years he has been engaged in prospecting in the towns of Eastford and Woodstock, in this State. He has located a mine of fair prospects in each of these two towns. The assays from both locations are considered flattering by himself and his associates. This winter he is with his partner, Mr. Brown, in Woodstock, engaged in sinking a shaft, and he is prosecuting his mining enterprise with his usual energy and enthusiasm. His post office address is Woodstock, Conn. He is confident that there is great mineral wealth in New England, and that all that is wanted to success  fully develop it is enterprise and practical mining experience.

            He is the same genial and confident person of yore, when he discovered the famous Chollar mine, and certainly he has the best wishes of every body for his success in his present mining enterprise.

JOSHUA PERKINS.

Danielsonville, Conn., Feb. 12th, 1877.

**************************************************************************************************

COMSTOCK PAPERS

            The following from a recent number of the Virginia Enterprise will serve as an addition to the "Comstock Papers" published in this journal:

            Yesterday morning the reporter was awakened from his matutinal repose by the sound of picks and shovels near, and within a few feet of where picks and shovels first sounded on the Comstock. A moment later he found himself at the old original Ophir dump, near the intersection of Carson and Howard streets, the wind flapping his shirt sleeves fitfully and mussing his unkempt hair as he stood watching some Mexicans undermining the dump. It may be said, by way of explanation, that nearly the whole of the old dump was removed to macadamize C street last fall. To reach the bottom, therefore, only requires now the sinking of a few feet, where previously it would have been necessary to have sunk from 12 to 20. The Mexicans, to the interrogations of the reporter as to their actions, gave the following explanation:

            During the season of 1861, when the great freshet visited Sacramento, the Ophir was being worked for the rich ore of the croppings. This was not to be reduced by the rude appliances of the day, but was to be sacked and shipped on the hurricane decks of mules to California. Each mule load was worth from $1,000 to 1,200, so rich was the rock. At the time of that freshet, from 20 to 30 sacks of this ore had been taken out and was ready to ship. The flood came down through Ophir ravine like the waves of the sea, taking everything before it. Cabins and all sorts of mining works were swept away by its fury. It even took a brick building down on D street. The sacks of ore were never found afterwards. The leader of the gang, with hair and beard like the almond's snowy bloom, and who mined on the Comstock before it was ever seen by the original prospectors, said he was satisfied that the sacks were covered by dirt and debris near where they were digging, and where dumps had subsequently covered them still deeper. Now that the dumps had been so nearly removed, he expected to be able to find them readily.

            The conversation having thus drifted into olden channels, and the company having been increased by the presence of John L. Moore, one of the veteran prospectors of the Comstock, the reporter drew his note-book and listened.

            Mr. Moore (to the gray-haired Mexican)--Did you know Savariano?

            Mexican--Yes. He mined up here (pointing toward the old Mexican works) 20 years ago.

            Moore--He was a great prospector.

            Mexican--Yes. He found this (meaning the Comstock); he and Moldonado. Then he found Cerro Gordo. He discovered ore out there at Austin, too.

            Moore--Did you ever go with him on his prospecting trips?

            Mexican--Yes. I was with him when he found Cerro Gordo.

            Moore--Oh, Ho! then you know something about the 40 loads of ore stolen from Moldonado?

            The Mexican looked alarmed; glanced at the reporter, shook his hands, shook his head, and refused to talk any more. At a nod from Mr. Moore the reporter took the hint without waiting for a boot as a starting point, and left.

            An hour later he made it very convenient to meet Mr. Moore and from him he got the balance of the story.

            When the pioneers first came to this section they found Mexicans working the claim named after them, but which is now part of the Ophir mine. The ledge from which this ore was taken has never yet been found by the Americans. In those days one-half of the claim was owned by Moldonado, and was worked by Savariano. The ore was very rich, a single mule load being worth from $1,000 to $1,200. This was taken by pack mules to California by the way of Placerville. Some 40 mule loads had been taken out and prepared for packing.

            Next morning it was found that the pack train under Savariano had departed in the night. The lead had been covered up and has never been found since. The only thing ever seen or heard of the train was by an early teamster as it was filing towards the mountain by Woodford's, and beyond Genoa. Savariano had played Moldonado false, had stolen the mules and from $40,000 to $50,000 in ore, and left the country. Instead of going through by Placerville, he kept along the eastern slope of the mountains, struck down by Aurora, thence through Mono into Inyo county, California. It was during this flight that the gold mines of Cerro Gordo, in Inyo county, were discovered, and the white-haired Mexican said yesterday that Savariano was in that section now.

            A year ago last summer, Mr. Moore saw a Mexican walking over the section where the old original Mexican claim lay. He watched the man for an hour, as he appeared to be searching for something, but seemed unable to find the bearings. At last Mr. Moore interviewed and found him to be Savariano. He was then searching for the lead from which this rich ore had been taken, and which, on the night of the flight, had been covered up. Savariano at that time asserted, as does the old white-haired Mexican who was with him while here and who went away with him, that the rich lode from which that ore was taken has never been discovered, but remains today on the Ophir ground as it was left at that time. Savariano, when here, tried to get a lease of the ground of the Ophir company, but did not succeed. The old Mexican says things have changed so that he cannot tell for sure where the lode lay, but that Savariano knows where it is, and can uncover it in a day or two.

            There are several things which go to corroborate this wonderful story. The sudden disappearance of the Mexicans and their pack mules is well-known to all early Comstockers. This was followed by a cessation of work on the claim and desertion of the premises.