[From Thompson & West's History of Nevada 1881, With Illustrations And Biographical Sketches Of Its Prominent Men And Pioneers, pp. 425-443]

HISTORY OF EUREKA COUNTY.  425

CHAPTER XLV.

HISTORY OF EUREKA COUNTY.

Pioneer Mines and Mining—Creation and Boundary—Action of Commissioners—Appointments and Elections—Topographical Features—Principal Mining Districts—Eureka District in 1870—Eureka District in 1876—The Process Of Reduction —Hon. Samuel Longley—Prospect Mountain—Geology of Eureka District—Williams' Salt Marsh—Remarkable Mining Accident—Statistics of 1878-80—The Fish Creek War of 1879 — The Principal Towns — Beowawe— Eureka —Pioneer Items of Eureka—Buildings and Materials—Several Disastrous Fires—Sudden and Destructive Floods—Edmund R. Dodge — Hon. G. W. Merrill — Hon. Henry Rives — Palisade—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 history 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, going at one bound to the very center of the Territory, and the unexplored region of the maps, gave an extraordinary 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 the Toiyabe Range or contiguous spurs, and then easterly on the overland road and in its vicinity. In the north was found the great outcroppings 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 1863, probably the first in what is now Eureka County. Here active operations have been carried on continuously, 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. Prospectors ranged through the mountains with much energy, and often with little judgment, as is proven by the neglect to discover the richest outcroppings until a number of years afterwards. The discovery which gave the name to Eureka, and subsequently 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, 1864, by a prospecting party from Austin, composed of Messrs. W. O. Arnold, W. R. Tannehill, G. T. Tannehill, J. W. Stotts, and Moses Wilson. This party found a species of rock differing from any they had previously seen, and curiously examined it. The croppings 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 his companions by placing 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 Recorder, locating at what is since called New York Cañon.

            The ore taken to Austin proved to be valuable, being a combination of lead and silver, but not workable 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 excitement attending new discoveries, and but few visited the new locality. The discoverers were without capital, and sought to sell, as they did not know how nor had they the means to develop their new property. 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 district.

            Following the original locators came Alonzo Monroe, M. G. Clough and Owen Farrell, in 1865, who were led to the locality by an Indian, and who located the Buckeye and Champion mines on what is now known as Ruby Hill. In the meantime the first locators were seeking purchasers of their property, and were successful in disposing of it to a party of New York capitalists. In 1866 the purchasers of the original locations began operations, expending large sums of money, but through want of knowledge of the proper treatment of the ores failed in their efforts 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 few 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 boundaries were 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 County to the southeast corner of said Lander County; thence running north along the east boundary 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 corner of said Elko County; thence running along the west boundary line of Elko County to the northeast corner of said Lander County; thence running west along the north boundary 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 southwest corner of Elko County, 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 County, 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 mountains 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, Commissioners, D. H. Hall, E.E. Phillips and L. W. Cromer being present. F. H. Harmon presented his commission 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 client the office of County Recorder. The matter was spread upon the books without the recognition of either party by the Board. Later in the day Campbell was recognized. W. A. Edwards was appointed County Surveyor, and J. D. Sullivan was recognized as Sheriff, and L. P. Kelley 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 Treasurer. Various gentlemen offered to furnish rooms for county seat purposes free, and their offers 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, Skating 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 included all that part of the county lying south of a line running as a continuation west from the south line of Elko County. Palisade Township 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 Monday in July, 1873, petition for an election, such election should be called for the first Monday in August. A petition asking for such election was duly presented to the County Commissioners, but they decided, on May 5th, that the petition was not in accordance with law, as it did not contain the names of 500 persons who were actually citizens. Many persons who were not citizens had signed it. On June 16th 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 $3,750. 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 21st 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, representing three-fifths of the taxable property of the township, Eureka was declared subject to the provisions of the Act approved February 21, 1873, enlarging the governing powers of towns and cities of Nevada. 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 day each, when actively engaged. On March 16th 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 part 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 meantime." In September, fifteen voting precincts were created, and afterwards two more, making seventeen in all. In October, 1873, bonds to the amount of $20,000 were issued, to meet public expenses, and in December $17,347.04 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 subsequently reconsidered their action, and abolished the township. In 1877 they issued current expense bonds to the amount of $5,000, which were paid in 1879. In 1878 the sum of $1,200 was paid to Elko 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 $20,000 were issued.

            At present the county is divided into the five School Districts of Eureka, Palisade, Beowawe, Mineral Hill, and Pinto. The school tax collected in 1872 amounted to $5,275. The children of school age in 1878 was 472. Eureka County now has two daily and one weekly newspapers. The Sentinel and the Leader are published daily at Eureka. The Weekly Mining News 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 county 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 history. For the bullion product of the county, see general table of bullion products.

APPOINTMENTS 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 by death, resignation, or removal, if any have occurred, will also be found, with the names of the person selected to fill the same.

SENATORS.

            Geo. W. Cassidy and Geo. W. Baker, elected November 7, 1876; William Doolin, elected November 5, 1878; W. W. Hobart, elected November 2, 1880.

ASSEMBLYMEN.

            M. B. Bartlett and Thomas Wren, elected November 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, H. 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 Horn, J. W. Leran and J. H. Morrison, elected November 1874, T. D. Page and Joseph Oberer, elected November 7, 1876:  The seat of the latter was declared vacant for nonresidence March 4, 1878; A. W. Campbell and B. J. Turner, elected November 5, 1878; N. Smith and C. N. Mikel, elected November 2, 1880.

DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.

            Geo. W. Baker, appointed March 1, 1873; Geo. W. Merrill, elected November 3, 1874, re-elected November 7, 1876, re-elected November 5, 1878; W. H. Davenport, elected November 2, 1880.

COUNTY SHERIFFS.

            John D. Sullivan, appointed March 1, 1873; George Gilmore elected November 3, 1874; James Sias, elected November 7, 1876; Matt Kyle, elected November 5, 1878, re-elected November 2, 1880.

COUNTY CLERKS.

            F. H. 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 November 5, 1878; C. J. R. Buttlar, elected November 2, 1880.

COUNTY TREASURERS.

            W. A. Seaton, appointed March 1, 1873; W. A. Montgomery, elected November 3, 1874; R. Ryland, elected November 7, 1876; S. Cooper, elected November 5, 1878; R. Sadler, elected November 2, 1880.

COUNTY ASSESSORS.

            C. C. Wallace. appointed March 1, 1873; J. C. Powell, elected November 3, 1874; H. Knight, elected November 7, 1876; II. 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 Samuel Bell was appointed. Bell resigned May 7, 1874, and T. J. Tennant was appointed fill vacancy. R. L. Chase. elected November 3, 1874, re elected November 7, 1876; 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 November 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; H. H. Conklin, elected November 7, 1876; T. J. Reed, elected November 5, 1878, re-elected November 2, 1880.

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATORS.

            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.

TOPOGRAPHICAL 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 Pine County and sinks. Numerous small streams originate from mountain springs, flow a few miles and disappear in the earth. Along the western 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 portion of the county. The general altitude is high, the lowest point being on the Humboldt at Beowawe, which is 4,695 feet above the sea.

            Prospect Mountain and some of the loftier 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 steadily growing in importance, the white sage and bunch-grass, found almost everywhere, affording ample pasturage for cattle. The few cottonwoods along the streams, the piñon 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 here and there men can be seen at work cutting fuel for the railroad engines, the valley being pierced by the Eureka and Palisade railroad. Pine Creek heads in the Pine Mountains and flows northward to the Humboldt. The principal crop raised consists of wild hay. Eighteen miles southward from Palisade is the hay 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 Pioche and all intermediate points, employing from 300 to 400 mules, each team hauling from 30,000 to 40,000 pounds. The hay cut at the ranch is for the partial subsistence of these teams. (The year the railroad was built the number of freight wagons thus employed was 200; animals, 900; men, 100; stages, 32; miles traversed, not including to Belmont, 230.) From Palisade to the railroad ranch there are thirteen ranches, including five dairy ranches. Pine Valley contains a school district twenty miles in length, north and south, in which there are thirteen pupils.

PRINCIPAL MINING DISTRICTS.

            ANTELOPE DISTRICT, twenty miles north of Eureka, has been prospected to a considerable extent, and many locations have been made; but no reduction works have been erected.

            CORTEZ DISTRICT is in an isolated mountain east of the Toiyabe Mountains, at a locality about thirty miles southeast of Beowawe Station, on the Central Pacific 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 excited remarkable attention on account of its monster lodes and the distance they could be traced. One of its claims, the Nevada Giant, was considered the greatest discovery in the State, but failed to realize its great expectations, but recent developments are proving its hidden wealth. Its large quartzite

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 principal mines are located on the westerly slope of the lofty 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 prevailing formation is limestone and quartzite. 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 1863, at a cost of $100,000, and which was subsequently enlarged from eight to sixteen stamps, was sold in 1869 to Samuel Wenban, one of the original locators, for $6,000. 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 January 4, 1867:

            This vein is imbedded in the bosom of Mount Tenabo, a peak 11,500 feet above the level of the sea, and upwards of 5,000 feet above the surrounding valleys.

Its base up 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 3,000 feet above its base a vein of silver-bearing quartz cuts its face obliquely, burying itself in the mountain at one end and penetrating into the valley at the other, after stretching out in palpable view to the length of 18,650 feet. Its width is 400 feet. This vein, or perhaps more properly, 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,

            Twenty locations have been made with the following names and dimensions:—

            Commencing at its greatest point of altitude is the Chieftain, Genesee County, 1,400 feet; Murphy Company, 800 feet; Gill Company. 800 feet; Taylor and Passmore, 800 feet; Dewitt Company, 450 feet; St, Louis Company, 2,000 feet; Meacham & Brothers, 400 feet; Niagara, 400 feet; Savage Company, 400 feet; Nebraska Company, 1,200 feet; Cortez Giant, :Mount Tenabo Company, 4,000 feet; Elmore Company, 200 feet; Russell Company, 600; Continental Company, 1,000 feet; Argentine Company, 1,000 feet; Empire Company, 800 feet; Conn & Brothers, 400 feet; Traverse Company, 400 feet; and the Anna Burr Company, 2,000 feet. The latter claim is somewhat broken, and at its termination the vein penetrates the earth and is lost altogether. The vein disappears also at the upper boundary of the Chieftain. It has been opened at several points along its course, in every case disclosing mineral.

            The Gill, Taylor and Passmore, and St, Louis locations, 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 fully developed, and has yielded a considerable amount of bullion this season. Some work has also been done on the Continental, 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.

            DIAMOND 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 following. 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 $150 per ton. In this mine the walls are of hard blue limestone, well defined, and carry lead, iron, and antimony. The Champion, 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 $100 per ton in silver. The mineral belt of the district is about three miles in length, and three-quarters of a mile in width. The ores are argentiferous carbonates. A smelting furnace was erected in 1873, and some bullion was produced. 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 region contributory, or in the immediate vicinity of the city of Eureka, and the history of these to comprise about all pertaining to the county. There are, however, several organizations within the limits, each of which bear a different name, as Prospect Mountain, Secret Cañon, and Pinto. The early history of Eureka has been mentioned in the introductory to this county up to the date of its revival in the season of 1869. On the sixteenth of July, 1870, a newspaper was established in the new camp, and in its first issue published the following account of the district, which forms an important link in its history:

            Eight months ago, where the town of Eureka and its furnaces now stand, was a wild waste. In November, Colonel D. E. Buel arrived in the cañon, and bonded the Buckeye and Champion mines, then only just located and barely opened. At about the same time, Colonel Robbins came to Eureka and purchased the Kentuck and Mountain Boy mines. In December 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. E. Pritchard, smelted ores from the Mountain Boy.

430      HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA.

            Both works proved the practicability of smelting the Eureka ores successfully, and, what is most important, they demonstrated that smelting, 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.

            Encouraged by these results, in January Messrs. Bateman & Buel commenced the erection of extensive works, while Colonel Robbins, representing the Buttercup Mining Company of New York, made arrangements for starting up larger operations. The energy of the Bateman Association, as the company was now called, brought their works to completion 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 Messrs. Wilson & Pritchard. Messrs. Wallace & Bevan, who bad prospected 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 Bateman, Buel & Co,)—bullion, 374 tons; average value, $348 per ton ; total      $130,152

            Marcelina Mining Company—bullion, 200 tons; average value, $350 per ton; total 70,000

            McCoy Furnace—bullion, 110 tons; average value, $450 per ton; total          49,500

            Buttercup Mining Company—bullion, 100 tons; average value, $375 per ton; total 37,500

            Wallace and Bevan—bullion, 75 tons; average value, $350 per ton; total       26,250

            Total $313,402

            Not to extend our present notice to too great a length, we select the operations of the Eureka Consolidated Mining Company for fifty-six days immediately 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 urbanity of Colonel 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 766 tons 368 pounds of Champion 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 $348 per ton                  $82,824

            Total costs, including mining, hauling, coals, smelting, freight to New York, refining, commissions, etc                                                37,186

            Leaving net profit, in fifty-six days                   $45,638

            The amount of coal consumed in smelting this ore was 25,832 bushels, and the cost of mining and hauling from the dump to the platform at the furnaces 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 of the Eureka 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 current rates for cord-wood are six dollars to seven dollars and fifty cents, and for charcoal thirty cents per bushel, delivered. Water runs in a fine stream through the cañon, and is ample to supply a large number of works. What with the quantity 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 assays from the three mines which are as yet the most thoroughly opened and tested:

            Champion                   $53 67

            Champion                   75 70

            Buckeye                       75 75

            Buckeye                       83 60

            Jackson                        81 00

            Total.                           8,383 58

            General average, $76.73; and this may be safely taken as the average of the smelting ores of the district.

            Of the mines from which ores have been smelted the following may be named as the most prominent: The Champion, Buckeye, Tiptop, Richmond, Sentinel, Central, Marcelina, Adams, Jackson, Fulton, Cambria, Justice, Home Ticket, Connelly, Hoodoo, Accidental, Badger, Lord Byron, Dunderberg, Southern Pacific, El Dorado, Big Bilk, Santiago, Bullwhacker, Otho, Kentuck, Magnolia, Mountain 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 they carry good smelting ores,

            The most prominent of the mines are found within a mineral belt which runs in a northwesterly and southeasterly direction, carrying a width of some two miles. This belt commences at the Tip-top, and with the Richmond, Champion, Buckeye, Sentinel, Central, Great Republic, Marcelina, Deep Mine, Adams and Farren, runs in a direction from north- west to southeast; thence, bending in a more southerly direction, with the contour of the hills, it takes the Fulton, Cambria, Justice, and several others in immediate proximity; thence, again, it embraces the Dunderberg 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 Manhattan, to name only those mines on the extremes of the breadth of the belt; and bending downward again, somewhat easterly it takes its course onward to Secret Cañon.

EUREKA 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 1869 dates the first successful treatment of the Eureka ores, and in the train of that success came capital, labor and increased facilities for transportation. The history 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 smelting this class of ore was made at Oreana, in Humboldt County, and was unsuccessful. In 1866, Moses Wilson built a furnace in Eureka on the site now occupied by the Roslin Furnace, and an attempt at smelting was made. This resulted in a total failure. In 1868 Morris, Monroe & Co., having acquired a large mining property in the district, employed Mr. Stetefeldt, of Austin, to erect and conduct a furnace. Having completed the furnace, he commenced operations in May, 1869, but each of three attempts made by him resulted in failure. In the meanwhile Maj. W. W. McCoy had acquired the Morris, Monroe & Co. property. Major McCoy attributed Stetefeldt's want of success to an insufficiency 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 services of R. P. Jones and John Williams, who had had considerable experience in Wales.

            In coming to Eureka from White Pine, Jones and Williams discovered, on Pancake Mountain, an excellent quality of fire rock, and thus the second difficulty was overcome. Major McCoy then inserted in the old Stetefeldt furnace, two side tweers (it having previously had but one, and that in the rear), and the Pancake rock lining having been procured, Jones and Williams, in July, 1869, commenced their first run on ore from the Champion, Buckeye, Grant, and Eureka mines. A deserved success attended their efforts; the practicability of cheaply treating these ores, heretofore regarded as so stubborn, was demonstrated, and the future prosperity of Eureka was assured. Major McCoy continued smelting until November, 1869, when he leased the furnace to D. E. Buel and I. C. Bateman, who, about this time, bonded the Champion and Buckeye series of mines, and purchased the Monroe town survey. These gentlemen smelted successfully until the termination of their lease in May, 1870.

            In December, 1869, G. C. Robbins commenced erecting a draft furnace, which was afterwards converted into a blast furnace. Still another furnace was added to the Robbins reduction works, and all of them were sold, in 1876, to a Chicago company. In 1870, Bevan & Wallace built a furnace and engaged in smelting, but their operations proved unsuccessful. In the summer of 1870, Buel & Bateman, having purchased the Champion and Buckeye series of mines, built two furnaces at the lower 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-gauge railroad from its reduction works a distance of three miles. About the same time the Jackson Mining Company purchased Wilson's furnace site and erected two furnaces which were run on ore from the Jackson mine. In the summer of 1870, the furnace of the Roslin Company was built, which has been idle for some years. In the fall of 1870, Thomas J. Taylor commenced erecting a furnace, which he subsequently sold to the Phoenix Mining Company, which, in turn, sold it to the Hoosac Company.

            In September, 1870, J. J. Dunne & Co. purchased of H. P. McNevin, an uncompleted furnace at the south end of town, and completed it, and it was subsequently used to run ores from the Richmond mine. In 1871, the Richmond Consolidated Mining Company, of London, purchased the works of Ogden, Dunne, & Co., and the Richmond mine. Four furnaces have since been added to these works. The Richmond Company has also erected a refinery. In 1872, H. Heynemann, having previously purchased the Dunderberg and other mines, built his reduction works, comprising two furnaces, which have since been almost constantly employed in smelting ores from the Dunderberg and Atlas mines, (From January 1st to September 30th, 1880, 3,500 tons were hoisted through the Atlas shaft.) The Silver West Mining Company also built a furnace in 1872, which has since been run principally on ores from the K. K. mines. There are now in Eureka (1876) nineteen furnaces, whose daily capacity varies from 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 smelting, and there has been no change in the price for over four years. The supply is limited, however, and before long our smelters 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 annually. 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 opened elsewhere, and the mines of Prospect Mountain, McCoy Hill and other localities bid fair ere long, to rival in productiveness the mines of Ruby Hill itself.

            The experts differ as to the character of the formation of the ore bodies in the district, but the beat opinion appears to be in favor of the existence of true fissure veins. The main cause of the unexampled prosperity of the mining interests of Eureka is to be found in the character of the ores. They are self-fluxing. They carry from fifteen to sixty per cent. of lead, and sufficient iron and silica to obviate the necessity of importing foreign material for smelting purposes. Eureka is the only known mining district possessing this all-important advantage.

            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 certainly does not exceed $1,500,000, including assessments. In return therefor there has been extracted and reduced, in less than seven years, over $20,000,000, and mining in Eureka is yet in its infancy. Not only are new mines being continually opened, but in all the mines increased production follows an increase of depth, and 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 Eureka District for 1876:—

            Gold                            $ 827,985 78

            Silver                           1,452,459 20

            Lead                           602,306 28

            Fine bullion                 1,120,396 49

            Total                           $4,003,147 75

            The bullion shipments of Eureka District for 1878 were as follows, as per reports of Wells, Fargo & Co.:

            Gold                            $2,341,497 03

            Silver                          3,257,481 37

            Lead                           1,382,728 00

            Total                            $6,981,706 40

432      HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA,

            The Ruby Hill Mining 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 $82 to the holders.

            The Richmond, although only 900 feet in depth, has already returned nearly $3,000,000 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 $400,000 from the Pacific Coast and other points in the United States, making in all $1,200,000.

            The value of Eureka mines, as shown by quotations, is $55,000,000. Ten thousand dollars per month would more than cover the amount paid in prospecting non-dividend paying mines, and still the district has yielded in gross over $68,000,000, has paid over $7,000,000 in dividends and has the richest and most extensive mines now in this country, and its bullion product is constantly and rapidly increasing.           

            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 capacity, 200 tons daily. Ruby Consolidated—Two stone furnaces of 50 tons capacity each. Silver West Consolidated—One stone furnace of 50 tone daily capacity. Matamoras Mining and Smelting Company—One stone furnace of 50 tons daily capacity. Hoosac—One stone furnace of 45 tons daily capacity.

THE PROCESS OF REDUCTION.

            The ores of the precious metals are usually reduced, or beneficiated, by crushing under stamps to an impalpable powder, then, by different processes, according to the combinations of the ore, effect 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 picture.

            The two great companies are the Eureka Consolidated 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, New 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 Mining News, as follows:

            From three to five immense furnaces in each of the reduction works are kept constantly 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 furnace, and one at the side; the one in front a little the higher to drain off the upper, lighter, worthless matter, called slag, being earthy matter and iron; the other, lower, connected by a pipe deeper 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 fiery slag is wheeled off 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 away to a differently arranged furnace, melted over and skimmed, removing five per cent. of remaining impurity. 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 derricks 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 off, is again put through the same steam boiling process three or four times, each time the running mass carrying away three-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 contained.

            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 lead 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 bill, and the limestone belt, which is the true ore country of the district. This large 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 uninterrupted operation, with the exception of the time necessary for repairs and the delay caused by the destruction of the works by fire on the twenty-seventh of September, 1878, which entailed a loss of $80,000, and English capital has found in this property one of the most profitable investments ever made in 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

HISTORY OF EUREKA COUNTY.  438

reduced and refined at the company's works. The establishment of a refinery at this point by the managers has given a large force of men employment, and demonstrated the fact that there was no necessity to ship our base bullion thousands of miles before the precious metals could be separated from the lead, that process being carried on as scientifically and cheaply at the company's works as at any foreign refinery. The mine is distinctively an English corporation, and the profits from it flow to London. Notwithstanding this fact, great benefits accrue to Eureka, as it gives employment to a small army of miners and workmen, and draws its supplies from our local resources. The bullion product of the Richmond for the year ending June, 1878, amounted to $2,193,178.

            The Richmond works consist of four large furnaces 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 contribute one dollar toward its development or support, and up to April, 1881, has paid twenty dividends, aggregating $2,312,000, 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 l0s in September, 1880, and 6,000 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 Mountain 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. SAMUEL LONGLEY,

The subject of the following sketch, is a native of the State of New York, having been born in Oswego City. When a boy he entered a dry goods establishment 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 years, left his home for California, For twelve years subsequent upon his arrival in the land of gold, he traveled through the country, visiting nearly all the camps in the State, as well as those in Nevada, coming to the

[Illustration]

Samuel Longley.

latter State in 1869. 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 Assemblyman 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 only a responsible man can fill. His 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 $378,787.71.        

            The Jackson Mine consists of three claims. During the years 1869-70-71 the original owners extracted considerable ore. Subsequently they sold the property to a San Francisco firm, which made large developments and improvements, and brought the mine into much prominence. The net bullion yield in 1879 was $132,000. The Ruby Hill Railroad Company has laid a track to the mine, and ore is being shipped daily to the Matamoras. Company's furnace, where it is reduced, and the resulting bullion shipped to San Francisco for refinement.

            The Phoenix 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 control 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, yielding 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, 1880, 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 impression that the vein of ore in the latter mine extended into what was then thought unclaimed ground. The claim has 4,500 feet of length by 500 of breadth. Work of development was prosecuted with energy, but has been interrupted by 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 addition 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 $2,000,000 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 superficially of limestone, and has on both sides many outcrops of ore, which seem to occupy a succession of gash veins. On the western slope the quartzite reappears 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 locations. 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 Cañon. The geological survey of the fortieth parallel demonstrates that this great limestone mass of Eureka Mining District reaches to the depth of over 30,000 feet into the interior of the earth. The mines of this mountain have produced about $12,000,000 worth of bullion. Among its principal mines are the Connolly, with $350,000 to its credit; the Dunderberg, having yielded $2,000,000; the Hamburg, with an aggregate yield of near $400,000; the Emmet Consolidated, having produced $100,000; the Williams, with over $100,000; the Matamoras, Atlantic and Pacific, and others, with large productions, and many in course of development.

FIRST LOCATORS OF RUBY HILL.

            In 1865, while Owen Farrell and Alonzo Monroe were prospecting in the Diamond range of mountains, 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 spot whence he had taken it. The locality was about two and one-half miles west of Eureka, on a northwesterly spur of Prospect Mountain, which they named Ruby Hill. They 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 became a partner in the enterprise. Soon afterwards J. H, Kinkead, now Governor, bonded all these locations and placed them on the London market, but the firm he entrusted the matter with failed 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 Republic, and the other claims were abandoned. Subsequently they were taken up by new parties. 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 Francisco and refined, and the ore assayed $81 in gold and silver per ton. In November, 1869, the Mammoth, Buckeye, Sentinel and other claims were bonded and then sold to Buell & Bateman, who, in May, 1870, sold them to a party of San Francisco capitalists. The latter incorporated under the name and style of the Eureka Consolidated Mining Company. This organization was effected in July, 1870, and in January, 1871, W. S. Keys took charge as Superintendent of the mines and furnaces.

GEOLOGY OF EUREKA 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 valleys, very nearly to White Pine, forty miles distant to the southeast. Bordering on the lava hills, and extending also west of the town a few hundred yards, are trachytic tufas of whitish or pinkish color. These rocks, probably volcanic ash, are used for building material. When freshly quarried they 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.              435

erly, called Goodwin Cañon, skirts along Prospect Mountain; the next, called New York Cañon, runs more or less parallel with the main gulch and ends in a species of basin against a portion of Prospect Mountain; the next, to the east, follows along southerly and, crossing a low divide, forms the highway to Secret Cañon 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 prominent ledge of sandstone, from which rock has been taken for lining the smelting furnaces. This sandstone reef is largely developed on the eastern side of Diamond Range, facing Newark Valley, and appears again some fifteen miles to the east, as a part of the coal measures at Pancake. It is hence called Pancake Rock. The mechanical aggregation of its quartzy particles varies very much. In some specimens the sandstone is distinctly granular; in others it appears compact, tough, and cross-grained. Only the former variety is used for the furnaces; and when so used it must be built in with the edges of the bedding exposed to the fire; otherwise it shales off in large flakes. But one fossil has been found in the Eureka reefs. This appeared 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 cylindrical space, leaving the articulations free, the extreme ends of which formed part of the inclosing rock. The specimen has unfortunately been lost. In New York Cañon we find a series of true 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 chlorobromide 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 trachytic 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 yet 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 antimonial lead ores, some of which were very rich in silver, but carried no gold.

            In this respect they, 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.

            Southwest of Cariboo Hill we come to Ajax Hill and Ruby Hill. The former is merely an easterly continuation of the latter. The quartzites and silicified limestones extend in a northerly 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 quartzites, and are probably the remnants of conformably deposited beds. Back of Ruby 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 succession of gash veins. On the western side of the mountain the quartzite reappears and extends to the south for several miles in the direction of Spring Valley. Still west again we find the limestones, wherein there are some few mining locations. The limestones extend onward to the west, a distance of about sixty miles, until we approach Smoky Valley, which bounds on the east the Toiyabe range of mountains, in which are the granite formations 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 valleys, and by occasional outpourings of the volcanic rocks, and rare appearances of the deep-lying granites.

            The Eureka limestones carry Silurian and Devonian trilobites in but two places, as far as known at present. The one is at a point near the northwesterly end of Ruby Hill, in the direction of the extreme southerly spur of Adams Hill, and the other is in New York Cañon, directly east of the Mortimer 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.

            FISH CREEK DISTRICT is eighteen miles month of Spring Valley, and was organized, in 1871. The ores are chiefly 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 Robert'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 corner of Elko County, and is fifty-two miles north of Eureka. Eighteen 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 two 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 agency of Ike Bateman, to an English company, for $1,200,000, that was known as the Mineral Hill Silver Mining Company, which put up a twenty-stamp mill in addition, with a very costly roasting furnace, but failing to get a sufficient supply of ore, sold both mills and retired from the district, with a total loss of their large investment. Subsequently the Austin & Spencer mines were located, and, in 1880, 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 of the Diamond range of mountains, about fourteen miles southeast of Eureka. The ore is free-milling, high grade, and the developments thus far made indicate the existence of true fissure veins. The mines were discovered in 1867 by Moses Wilson and a party from Austin, and a number of locations were

436      HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA.

made. In 1868, Mr. Duquette and others made locations, which comprise the mines now worked.

            RICHMOND DISTRICT, located eighteen miles north of Palisade, was organized in 1875. No 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 valley, 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. Breyfogle presiding at the meeting. It was first called the Sierra District, then the Secret Valley District, and finally the Secret Cañon District. Three hundred 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 daily 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 1,000. The principal mines are the Stockton, Monroe, Irish Ambassador, 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 process. Quite large quantities of the ore was taken to Austin in the first year of the discovery, which yielded as high as $600 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 Geddes and Bertrand mines are pierced by a tunnel 310 feet long. Freight is teamed from Eureka at $4.50 per ton. Nut pine, mahogany, and cedar abound all over the district, but the supply 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 yielded about $200 per ton. Bad management has much retarded the development 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 DISTRICT, which was organized in January, 1863, is eight miles south of Eureka. The principal 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.

            SPRING VALLEY DISTRICT is situated in the Spring Valley or Prospect range of mountains, about twelve miles south of Eureka, and was discovered and a district organized on the twenty-seventh of June, 1869, by Joseph Magett, William Murray, E. H. Ross, and George M. Kittell, while on a prospecting 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 covered with timber, and although drawn upon with fierce energy to supply 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 croppings, 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 $600 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 Valley, forty-three miles north of Eureka and ten miles east of Mineral Hill, is Williams' 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 incrustations 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, twenty-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.

REMARKABLE MINING 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 purpose. The brake around the reel broke, upon which the cage dropped 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.  437

less arose from the concussion. Dobbs was not fatally 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 right thigh was broken, and the bones protruded through his pantaloons, and he was bruised generally. He states that he was perfectly 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 physicians were Drs. Chamblin and Cummings, of Eureka. At the end of nine weeks he began to walk about, upon which it became apparent that his left arm required to be re-set. He 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, although Mr. Dobbs is unable to lift a weight above the level of his shoulder. At the time of the accident 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 conductor in the United States Mint at Carson City.

IMPORTANT EVENTS OF 1876.

            Some of the most notable local incidents of 1876 may be summarized as follows:-

            January 1. Quite a number of persons were notified to leave town by the committee of " 601."       

            January 24, A great snow-storm occurred, blockading the railroad.

            February 16. A threatening anti-Chinese excitement began.

            March 13. An agitation was inaugurated among the miners concerning wages. David Rich was shot and killed in Frank Wallace's saloon, on Ruby 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, alias " Mitch Joe," was shot by Daniel Sullivan, and died on the following day.

            April 10. The first party of Eurekans started for the Centennial Exhibition.

            May 1. Some town lots on South Main Street near Atlas furnace, were jumped by a party of men who were driven off by Captain Plater.

            May 9. A warehouse belonging to the railroad company, and occupied by E. B. Millen, was destroyed by fire. Loss, $4,000.

            May 23. First anti-Chinese public meeting.

            June 4. The Jerrett & Palmer lightning train passed Palisade at 5: 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 Mountain Tunnel Company.

            August 25. Hon. Thomas Wren nominated by 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 boys, and a train was thrown from the track. The offenders were arrested, tried in Eureka, and sentenced to a term in the County Jail.

            September 1. Kate Miller was stabbed by Mary Irwin, from the effects of which she died on the fourth.

            September 8. Matamoras furnace started.

            November 7. General election. Hayes and Wheeler carry the county by an average majority of only nine. Democratic Senators and two Assemblymen 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 the 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 the railroad.

            December 22. John Marsh shot by J. M. Fleming. December 23. J. McGarry shot at by J. Hann, in New York Cañon.

            The number of marriages in the county during 1876, was thirty-seven; the number of divorces, seven; the number of recorded births, fifty-one; the number of deaths reported, fifty-one. At the close of that year the county debt was $36,000, of which $20,000 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 by 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 26th was opened by 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, Crawford. The population of the county in 1880 was 7,086. The total property valuation was $3,500,267, and the aggregate debt was $21,020.

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 for charcoal was an excessive price, resolved to pay only twenty-seven and one-half cents thereafter. The Charcoal Burners' Association, which numbered several thousand men, refused to accede to the reduction, 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 County Commissioners, and Sheriff Kyle, telegraphed particulars to Governor Kinkead, stating "2,000 persons, banded together, and with arms in their possession, defied the civil authorities, and refused to have any of their number arrested." It was further added, "they now hold forcible possession of many coal pits in this county. By force they have prevented, and are now preventing the owners of charcoal from hauling it to the furnaces, and they threaten to destroy other property and burn the town. Arrests have been resisted by the rioters who are well armed and organized under the command of desperate 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. George M. Sabin to call into active service a sufficient force of the Second Brigade of State militia to insure a restoration 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 18th. At about 6 o'clock that afternoon a posse of nine men, headed by Deputy Sheriff J. B. Simpson, attacked a coal ranch at Fish Creek, about thirty miles from Eureka, and opened fire on about a hundred 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 excitement followed this collision, and statements damaging to the Deputy 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 discharge of their duty.

            The " war " was thereupon terminated. The Sheriff's posse consisted of Joseph Toomey, G. H. Smith, Wm. Martin, Marshall Rice,