NEVADA IN THE MAKING

Being Pioneer Stories of White Pine County and Elsewhere.

by

B. F. MILLER

B.F. Miller, whose reminiscences are those of a real pioneer [click on image to enlarge)

INTRODUCTION

Jeanne Elizabeth Wier, Editor

            These stories were originally written for the White Pine News. They form the reminiscences of a real pioneer who is blessed with a remarkable memory and a knack for the narration of his many experiences. They were written in reply to an editorial in the paper of another state which directed attention to Nevada's small population and spoke of her weakness as "pitiable".

            Mr. Miller claims that had but a little of the riches taken from Nevada for the upbuilding of California been spent where it was acquired, Nevada would today be one of the strongest links in the chain of commonwealths. The Palace Hotel, the Flood building, Sutro Heights, the Mills building, Stanford University and many other California improvements, he points out were financed by Nevada wealth, as were also Eastern projects such as the Postal Cable-Telegraph line. And he adds, "Nor has Nevada's wealth alone been devoted to the upbuilding of her sister state of California. Many an impoverished European nobleman owes the rehabilitation of his estates to the dowries brought by American girls, the daughters of men who piled up vast fortunes from the mines of Nevada. 'Nevada needs neither the pity nor the patronage of any state in the Union. But a small part of the money taken from her bosom to enrich other states would have made her arid lands the Mecca of countless farmers. Let us hope that future Nevada millionaires will realize that patriotism like charity begins at home."

            It should be noted that the Mackay family, by their gifts of money and of personal interest, form a remarkable exception to the general rule

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of ruthless exploitation by now wealthy ex-Nevada families. May we hope that the stories of heroism, of patience, of endurance, of generosity which follow will perchance recall to some of these wealthy families the conditions which made possible their benefits obtained within this State, and chief of all that environment which grew giants in power out of ordinary men. Truly, the chief asset of this State is the men whom she has produced. She should not seek in vain to realize upon this source of her wealth.

CHAPTER I.

SOME BEGINNINGS

            The first white settlement within what constitutes the present boundaries of the state of Nevada was made by the Mormons in 1850 in the valley of the Carson river. The disciples of Brigham Young had three years previously founded Salt Lake City, this settlement antedating by a year the signing of the peace treaty with Mexico by the terms of which the territory now embraced in Texas, New Mexico and California was ceded to the United States for a consideration of fifteen million dollars.

            At the time the Mormons settled in the valley of the Carson river the territory was a part of Utah. The river and later the capital city of Nevada were named after Christopher Carson, better known as Kit Carson, famous trapper and scout. Carson, whose early life was identified with Nevada and other states later carved out of the wilderness he had helped to conquer, was a unique figure.    Born in Kentucky in 1809, at the age of nineteen he went to New Mexico and in 1828 and the subsequent years trapped all over what is now New Mexico, Texas, Oregon and California.

            Carson had great influence among the Indian tribes and it was solely due to his efforts that the Comanches, Arapahoes and Cheyennes signed a treaty of peace with the government in 1865. Carson later represented the Indians before a congressional investigating committee which looked into injuries done the red man, and through his influence reparation was made and land allotted the different tribes. Later he was made Indian agent when a reservation was provided for the Indians at Fort Lyon, where he died in 1868. He was buried at Taos, New Mexico, his grave being one of the show places of the State.

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            The writer visited Carson's grave in 1910, when he entered into negotiations with the Denver & Rio Grande railroad for a joint traffic arrangement with the railroad for a connection with his automobiles between Taos and the railroad with a view to handling sightseers and tourists. Taos, besides the grave of Carson, is noted for its Indian pueblos and could easily have been made an attractive show place. However, due to delays in securing permission from the interstate commerce commission the agreement was never perfected, the writer instead making arrangements with the Mexico Northwestern railroad, the Mexican government and the Cole-Ryan mining interests for the operation of freight and passenger automobiles into the Ocampo mining region. This was just prior to the outbreak of the Mexican revolution which resulted in the overthrow of Porfirio Diaz and constitutes an interesting experience which may be given at a later date.

            Carson County, Utah, now Nevada, was first organized as a unit of government in 1854. In 1850 congress had defined the boundaries of Utah, which did not extend west of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. At this time what is now western Nevada was a part of California.

            The first civil suit in Carson County was brought by John Reese in 1853 against a surviving member of Woodward & Company and was for six hundred and seventy-five dollars for supplies furnished the firm while carrying mail from Salt Lake City to California. Reese secured a judgment and sold under execution the share of the defendant in the property then known as Mormon Station, now Genoa, bidding one hundred and thirty dollars for the property.

            The first criminal prosecution was in 1855, the defendant being a negro named Thacker, who was accused of having used threatening language to

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"The property then known as Mormon Station, now Genoa" [click on image to enlarge]

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A. J. Wyckoff and Mrs. Jacob Rose. The court, in summing up the case, remarked that "a man may have malice enough in his heart to kill a man and discretion enough to prevent him from committing the deed ; he may have the ability to cut a lady's heart out and roast it on the coals, and at the same time he may have good sense enough not to do it." The judgment of the court was that the defendant, Thacker, should be fined fifty dollars for cost of the suit, and for his own safety he was advised to return to California.

            Up until this time everyone east of the Sierra Nevadas had to go to Millard County, Utah, to the county seat. The distance from Carson valley to the county seat was eight hundred to nine hundred miles as people were forced to travel in those days. Indians were the only inhabitants along the greater part of this distance, and great credit must be given to Brigham Young for his ability in handling the redskins in those days, as the Indians fully trusted the Mormons, and it was not until later when the government began to send troops that the Indians became suspicious of the white man.

            In 1861 the first territorial government was organized in Nevada and the following year application was made for statehood. The state took its name from the Spanish word signifying "snow-covered." A provisional government had been established in 1859 at Genoa, with Isaac Roop as governor, but nothing further was done.

            Nevada was finally admitted as a state in 1864, the proposal asking for admission to the Union having been defeated the year previously owing to a disagreement over the proposed constitution. In 1864 President Lincoln saw that it was absolutely necessary to admit the thirty-sixth state in order to insure the enactment of the thirteenth amendment to free the slaves and end          

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the war, and inasmuch as Nevada had shown her loyalty to the Union by sending more volunteers than either California or Oregon, the only two states west of Kansas at the time, he was satisfied that he could rely on Nevada's vote and urged congress to take action.

            As a result a bill was introduced in. the senate in February, 1864, authorizing the people of Nevada to frame another constitution which would meet their wishes. This was done and in September, 1864, the people ratified the new constitution and asked for admission, and October 31, 1864, President Lincoln issued his proclamation declaring Nevada admitted to the Union.

            In 1865 congress submitted the thirteenth amendment to the several states for ratification and two weeks later favorable action was taken by the legislature of Nevada, which was thereafter known as the "battleborn state." The message notifying President Lincoln of the result of Nevada's vote on the state constitution was the first transcontinental message sent over the Western Union wires and the cost of the message was over three thousand four hundred dollars. The cost of sending a ten-word message from Gold Hill to San Francisco at that time was two dollars and fifty cents, while seven dollars was the rate for a ten-word message to the East.

            In early days Nevada was little known outside of her own boundaries but with the discovery of gold and silver the news spread rapidly and miners and fortuneseekers from all sections began to flock to the country. The history of the Comstock and other wonderful properties is too well known to need any comment, but it might not be amiss to make mention of a few of the mines whose early history is interwoven with that of the State.

            One of the most noted of the early-day proper-

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ties was the Con. Virginia, and California, which at the time the writer came to the State in 1874 was being operated as two properties, although actually only one and under control of the same interests.  The stock of each property at that time was selling at eighty-five dollars a share, but with increasing depth values also increased and in the fall of that year the stock was quoted at one hundred ten dollars a share. During the winter, when the one thousand five hundred foot level was reached, the stock jumped to six hundred dollars, and in 1875 the Con. Virginia stock sold at seven hundred dollars, while the California was quoted at from seven hundred dollars to eight hundred dollars, making a total market value for the two mines of one hundred sixty million dollars. The actual profit of the Consolidated Virginia and California was one hundred five million dollars, the ore averaging between ninety dollars and one hundred dollars a ton for five years, values being about equally divided between gold and silver. The increase in the value of this stock is but one instance of the rapidity with which Nevada mining millionaires were created in those days.

            Among other great producers were the Ophir, Yellow Jacket, Savage, Gould & Currie, Overman, Chollar, Potosi, Crown Point, Bullion, Belcher, Sierra Nevada, Hale and Norcross. Many lawsuits naturally resulted from the great value of the properties involved, and decisions in these cases were eagerly watched. For a number of years more than one-fifth of the output of the mines was expended in prosecuting or defending lawsuits. Over one million dollars was spent by the Ophir and Moscow in the litigation of one suit, though the latter property was worthless and the only question involved was that of a boundary. A suit brought by the Chollar against the Potosi cost both parties to the litigation one mil-

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lion three hundred thousand before it was finally settled by a consolidation of the two properties.

            The heat in a number of the mines was almost unbearable as depth was reached, the temperature ranging from fifty degrees at one hundred feet in depth to one hundred and twenty degrees at two thousand feet. Miners could only stand the work for a few minutes at a time until their shoes were filled with perspiration. In the Julia mine the heat was so intense that the water was scalding hot and even with the use of revolving fans miners were known to drop dead from heat. Tons of ice were used daily and picks could only be handled with gloves, while cloth dipped in ice water was wrapped around the drills to keep the hands of the miners from being burned.

            In 1877 a hot spring was uncovered in the Savage mine and the vapor from the water, at a temperature of one hundred fifty-seven degrees, was let into the incline. In the Gould & Currie mine in 1878 a miner by the name of Brown fainted when the temperature reached one hundred twenty-eight degrees. He was carried to the surface but lost his memory and failed to recover the use of his faculties for many years. Mine accidents were frequent during the early operations of the Comstock until the Deidesheimer timbering system was adopted, after which there were but few accidents.

CHAPTER II.

EGAN CANYON AND THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN EASTERN NEVADA

            While the fact may be disputed by some, nevertheless I believe it is well established that the first gold discovered in Nevada was found by the Indians away back in the '50s along the old overland

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stage road in what is now White Pine county. During the early '60s an overland stage station was located four miles south of Cherry Creek, in what was later called Egan Canyon, this station being established by Major Egan, Indian fighter of old Fort Ruby, at that time the first station west of Egan.

            The Egan mill, run by water power from, Egan creek, was one of the first, if not the very first, built in Nevada. The mill was built by Michael J. O'Connor, a Mr. Donohoe and a Mr. Kelly. These men, notwithstanding the high cost of mining and of mill construction, made considerable money. In fact, it was reported that the gold shipped from Egan canyon virtually financed one of the old-time banks of San Francisco, known as Donohoe, Kelly & Co. San Francisco was then comparatively a village and supply point for the territory south of Oregon City, Oregon.

            Egan Canyon, like many other old-time White Pine camps, has had many ups and downs, and was virtually abandoned when the overland stages ceased to run after the Central Pacific railroad was completed in 1867. Nothing more was done in the way of mining development at Egan until along in the early '70s, when the same banking company, having been successful with its surface operations, believed that with rail transportation only one hundred miles distant deeper development would be profitable. The company then drove the Egan tunnel, tapping the water in the underground workings, and uncovered immense bodies of rich ore. A big stamp mill was erected and, under the management of General Rosecrans the company milled about three hundred fifty thousand dollars worth of ore before the vein pinched out in 1875 or 1876.

            The writer spent some time in Egan during the fall of 1874, at which time the mine and mill

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Gen. Rosecrans [click on image to enlarge]

Egan Canyon [click on image to enlarge]

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were in full operation and making regular bullion shipments by Wells, Fargo & Company's express over Woodruff & Ennors' stage line to Humboldt Wells, (now Wells), Nevada. Egan at this time was known as a "one-man" town from the fact that Pat Lagon owned the only store, only saloon, only boarding house, nearly all the rooming shacks, the townsite, the water rights in the canyon, and a little ranch at the mouth of the canyon. This ranch was purchased along in the '80s by the late Charles Green, and it has been known ever since as the Green ranch.

            Mr. Green, who was well and favorably known for many years in White Pine county, ran for the lower house of the legislature in 1876, the election resulting in a tie vote with P. M. (Doc) Ellison of White River. To avoid the expense of a special election the candidates agreed to shake dice for the honor, the throw being won by Mr. Green, who was again elected to the assembly in 1880. After serving his term in the lower house Mr. Green retired from politics until 1900, when he made the race for the state senate and defeated H. A. Comins by the narrow margin of eight votes. In both branches of the legislature he served the county with ability and integrity and justly ranked as one of the foremost citizens of the county.

            The writer, who was personally acquainted with Mr. Egan, was induced to come to Nevada in the spring of 1874 through information given him by the major at Gold Hill (Deep Creek), Utah. Major Egan, at that time seventy years of age, was carrying mail, paid for by private contributions, on horseback between Deep Creek and Salt Lake City, a distance of about two hundred miles. Deep Creek at that time was quite lively, but not so much owing to mining activity as to the fact

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that liquor was plentiful and there was a lively speculation in townsite lots.

            It was here that the writer first met Tim Finnegan, who shot and killed Mr. Houston, night watchman at Ward, in 1876. Finnegan was not considered a bad man while sober but, like many others, when drunk was rather free in the use of a gun. It was Finnegan who, one night in Fred Snively's saloon at Deep Creek, shot Bill Saxton in the heel. Saxton, by the way, was a nephew of the late Mr. Saxton who was associated with the McKinley people in developing Robinson Canyon (now Ely) through the operations of the Canton Mining Company in the early '70s.

            Egan Canyon was virtually deserted from 1875 to 1876 until about 1880, when the second boom hit Cherry Creek. The Donohoe-Kelly Company resumed operations with Bartholomew O'Connor, a brother of Michael J. O'Connor, as general manager and Frank Hallowell as superintendent. The company spent about one hundred thousand dollars trying to find the lost vein, but without success.

            The question of the first discovery of gold in Nevada is somewhat disputed as to locality, and the writer does not pose as an authority regarding the matter, merely giving his version of the facts as told to him after he settled in the State in 1874. Some say that the first discovery was made by the Mojave Indians in Eldorado Canyon, on the Colorado river, in the extreme southeastern part of the State, a short distance north of old Fort Mojave. The first real mining of consequence for both gold and silver in Nevada was unquestionably done by the Mojave tribe in the '50s. It has been reported, though personally the writer cannot vouch for the fact, that the victims of the famous Mountain Meadows massacre, near the Utah-Nevada line, were on their way to Eldorado

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Canyon. In this massacre one hundred and fifty of the best equipped emigrants who ever crossed the plains were entirely wiped out, and for which crime, John D. Lee, a resident of Utah ( as leader of a gang of whites from Utah), paid the penalty with his life in 1877.

CHAPTER III.

THE GLORIOUS PERIOD OF HAMILTON.

            The history of Hamilton, one of the earliest and most productive of White Pine's camps, is perhaps as checkered as that of any, with the difference that it weathered the dull days following several booms, due chiefly to the unflagging belief in the town held by a number of old-timers.

            After the prosperous and exciting days of '68, '69 and '70 the town slumped somewhat, but in 1874, when the writer first visited it, the county seat of White Pine county was still the supply camp for such places as Treasure City, Sherman-town and Eberhardt. Its early population of fifteen thousand had dwindled, many of the treasure seekers being attracted by the finding of ore at Pioche in 1870, at Schellbourne in 1871 and at Cherry Creek and Eureka in 1872.

            Though her glory was somewhat dimmed by the newer camps, Hamilton never lost her commanding place as a distributing point, stage and mail lines radiating from here to feed the other camps. The stage between Hamilton and Pioche at this time was operated by Gilmer & Salisbury, the route being from Hamilton over the Shellback range through White River valley to Pioche. This route was followed until about 1872, at the time of the discovery of the mines in the Robinson district, when Mineral City postoffice, now Lane City, came into being. The Hamilton-Pioche

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Map of White Pine Range compiled by A. Cadwalader, published by H. H. Bancroft & Co., San Francisco, 1869.  Scale 11 6-10 miles to the inch [click on image to enlarge].

White Pine News, February 27, 1869. [click on image to enlarge]

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stage was then changed and routed east from Hamilton through Mokomoke mountain, traversing the Cleveland grade, established by the late A. C. Cleveland, through Illipah canyon, past the Mineral City postoffice, thence south by way of Willow creek and Bullwhack summit, through Cave valley, Patterson and Bristol mining districts to Pioche.

            A branch stage line at this time left Mineral City, going north by way of Hercules gap, where extremely rich ore deposits had been uncovered, continuing through Steptoe valley to Shellbourne and across the valley to Cherry Creek.

            Hamilton also received mail and passengers from Elko by way of Huntington valley, the stage lines being operated by Woodruff & Ennors until the discovery of ore in Eureka in 1871, when the Hamilton-Elko route was discontinued and the Hamilton, Eureka and Palisade route established by the same firm and continuously operated until the construction of the Eureka & Palisade railroad in 1875-76. Stages thereafter were operated to Hamilton by Gilmer & Salisbury.

            Stage drivers and Wells Fargo guards in those days risked their lives on every trip and tragedies of the road were by no means infrequent. One of the brave messengers, Eugene Blair, was held up many times but never gave up the treasure box, and always put up a winning fight. When he mounted the boot of a stage-coach he was the terror of the highwaymen and they generally tried to get him first before ordering hands up but they never succeeded.

            Mention of Hamilton would be incomplete without calling to mind some of the business men whose steadfast belief in its future withstood the blow sustained through the great fire and the exodus of thousands to the new mining fields. Per-

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Correspondence of Everts and Company, now in the possession of the Nevada Historical Society. [click on image to enlarge]

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haps the best known among these merchants were James Mathewson and P. Everts, engaged in the general merchandise business under the firm name of Everts & Company until 1876, when the business was taken over by C. A. and J. B. Mathewson and operated under the name of Mathewson Brothers. Jim Mathewson, until his death in 1876 or 1877, ranked as one of Nevada's most successful business men.

            Mr. Everts, after quitting the merchandise business, assumed the management and general superintendency of the Eureka & Palisade railway, a position which he filled with great credit for many years.

            C. A. Mathewson, better known as Arthur, after closing out his business interests in Nevada, emigrated to Mexico, where he amassed a comfortable fortune during the presidency of Porfirio Diaz. When the revolution against Diaz broke out he moved to California, making his home in Hollywood, a suburb of Los Angeles.

            Jerome B. Mathewson, like many of the old-timers, remained at Hamilton, backing his faith in the camp with his money and spending thousands of dollars in unsuccessful pursuit of new ore veins. He left Hamilton after suffering a breakdown in health and spent his last days in Ely. The writer was well acquainted with Jerome Mathewson during twenty-eight years of his business career and can conscientiously say that in all that time Jerome never knowingly wronged a single man. He was a citizen of whom Hamilton may well be proud.

            Hamilton, during its checkered career, has met with a number of financial disasters which were staggering and hard to overcome, but the city managed to pull through all of them due to the steadfast faith in the city held by the old-timers. Early in the '70s after the city had been incor-

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Business receipts of Evert and Company, 1869. [click on image to enlarge]

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porated, a Mr. Harper, I believe, was elected mayor. He later defaulted and about the same time the peculations of Treasurer Lewis Cook were discovered. These two disasters completely bankrupted the city, as well as crippling the county to a marked degree.

            The city was just struggling back to normal conditions when it received another crushing blow in the fire of 1872. The next decade proved a hard, uphill struggle and the city and county were again beginning to see the light when, in 1882, the embezzlement of over eighteen thousand dollars by George P. McConkey, county treasurer from 1874 to 1882, was discovered. Auditors found that the money had been taken ten years before, being skillfully covered up, and for this reason the county was unable to recover from his bondsmen.

            Only a few years later the courthouse was destroyed by fire, and at this time Hamilton passed through her darkest days. The total gross revenue of the county at that time was from thirty-one thousand dollars to thirty-three thousand dollars, seldom exceeding thirty-five thousand dollars, but her citizens, with undiminished confidence in the future of the city and county, put their shoulders to the wheel and succeeded in weathering the storm.

            With the passing of years one's perspective naturally changes, and in chronicling early White Pine county days memory recalls first of all the number of unique characters gathered in Hamilton over forty years ago. These men, who at that time seemed a natural part of their environment, glimpsed back through the passage of years, are now recalled as of a type that made the West famous and, having tamed the wilderness and accomplished its purpose in life, is now almost extinct.

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Everts and Company receipt for special tax. [click on image to enlarge]

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            To every early-day resident of the White Pine district the name of Colonel Joseph Grandelmyer is familiar. This colonel stood out as a real character in those times, when to be merely unique was no distinction. Colonel Grandelmyer, who posed as an authority on metallurgy and lexicography, was always on hand when the stages arrived to explain to newcomers the unparalleled advantages of the district.

            The colonel for many years was employed as a watchman of all the old mills in the district, abandoned for years but on which taxes and insurance were kept up by their San Francisco owners. At the time the great fire was raging the colonel sent a rush message to San Francisco informing the mill owners that he was saving the mills but losing his wardrobe, of which he was inordinately proud. Promptly came an answer back asking the colonel to save his wardrobe if possible, but by all means to let the mills burn.

            Though scarcely to be classed as a resident of Hamilton, Mrs. Alice Shekel, owner of Shekel's ranch, at Shekel's station, twelve miles east of Hamilton and who for years conducted a hotel at that point, is closely bound up with the history of the district. She was one of the earliest settlers in the White Pine country and for a score of years every stage coming into the district passed her door. Her hospitality was universally known throughout the district, and stage drivers made it a rule to stop in order to enjoy a meal and comfortable bed at Shekel's station. Mrs. Shekel was never known to let a hungry man pass her door. She spent most of her four-score years in Nevada and only recently was laid to rest in the Sacramento cemetery.

            James R. Withington was another settler who was a familiar figure in the early history of Hamilton and to whom the camp owes much. Mr.

Map of the White Pine Mining District, 1869, now in the possession of the Nevada State Historical Society. [click on image to enlarge]

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Withington erected the Withington hotel in Hamilton, at that time by far the most expensive structure of the kind in the State. He at one time had extensive land holdings and stock interests in the White River valley until along in the '70s, when he opened up a wholesale meat supply business in San Francisco in competition with Lux & Miller, shipping thousands of cattle from Nevada to the bay city. However, the California cattle kings made short work of "Jeems," as he was familiarly known.

            In a condensed account of early Hamilton. days space forbids the mention of hundreds of well-known characters who have left their imprint on the city's history, but mention of a few may be permissible. Among these were A. Skillman who, after selling the White Pine News in the latter '70s, moved to Eureka, where he edited the Sentinel for many years ; Mr. W. R. Forrest, onetime owner of the News and county clerk in the latter '70s; Sam Woodin, one-time county commissioner of White Pine county ; J. H. Lockwood, for years county commissioner and also county treasurer; B. K. Davis and Charles Thackston, both of whom served as district attorney ; William Timson, county recorder, and Samuel Liddle, county treasurer and who also served in the state assembly.

            Other men who stood out in early-day history include R. Sadler, who moved to Eureka in 1874, was elected lieutenant-governor in 1894 and succeeded to the governorship in 1895 on the death of Governor Jones, being elected governor in 1898 ; Eugene Robinson, founder and builder of the mill and town of Seligman, on the west side of White Pine mountain, in 1886 ; W. A. Kendall, who operated the Jennie A. Mine, thirteen thousand feet above sea level, on White Pine mountain, in the '70s ; John McKernan, county

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clerk ; William Pardy, cashier and manager of the White Pine County bank ; Thomas Rockhill, who served in the state senate in 1880 ; Dennis and Ed McEllen, who owned and operated the McEllen mine, which produced thousands of dollars; Thomas Cornell, locator and owner of the Cornell mine on the western slope of White Pine mountain ; Robert Meyerhoff (Toll House Bob), who operated the toll road between Eberhardt and Hamilton ; H. A. Comins, state senator; Thomas Robinson, one of the original locators and operators of the old Trench mine, on the southern end of White Pine mountain, and who for years was superintendent and general manager of the old Bay State mine and mill, in the Newark district, just west of Hamilton ; Major Henry, who surveyed, financed and operated the Henry tunnel under the east side of Treasure hill, and Uncle Tom Starr, who carried mail on snowshoes between Hamilton, Treasure City and Eberhardt during the winter season.

CHAPTER IV.

RICH MINES OF EBERHARDT.

            While Captain Frank Drake can scarcely be called the "father" of Eberhardt, that camp being a thriving community in the early '70s when he went to work there as a machinist for the North Aurora Mining Company at Treasure City, he should at least go down in history as its fairy godfather, for due solely to his initiative and ability the camp was saved from being entirely deserted when the North Aurora Company decided to suspend operations.

            To begin at the beginning, as all proper stories should, one must first introduce the character of an Indian, Napias Jim, as he was later known,

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Reinhold Sadler, who succeeded to the governorship in 1895 on the death of Governor Jones, being elected governor in 1898. [click on image to enlarge]

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whose lucky find of a valuable ore outcrop first set the feet of Captain Drake toward fortune and incidentally insured freedom from want for the redskin for the balance of his life.

            It was just after the completion of a wonderful and costly tramway built by the North Aurora to connect its mine on Treasure Hill with the big mill at Eberhardt that the ore vein pinched out and the mill burned almost at the same time, making a total loss of three hundred thousand dollars. The North Aurora Company, owned by British capitalists, was discouraged and ordered all work stopped.

            Just before the order was received from London by Mr. Filpotts, manager for the English interests, Napias Jim (napias being the Indian word for money) brought a sample of ore to Frank Drake with the remark, "Mebbe so napias." Drake at once realized the value of the ore and took the matter up with Ed Applegarth, his partner, who was a teamster engaged in hauling freight to the mines.

            Taken by the Indian to the place where he had found the ore, the men filed on the claim, which was south of the property of the North Aurora and was first called the South Aurora but later incorporated with the former company as the Eberhardt and Aurora Mining Company, Limited.

            Applegarth left at once for London with a view to consolidating the new mines with the North Aurora property and had little difficulty in effecting the combination, but the English owners, having pocketed one big loss, were adamant when it came to advancing a nickel for development of the new property. Applegarth, however, gained their consent to sell stock in the new corporation, provided the original owners were not levied on or held liable in any way.

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Hamilton ruins. [click on image to enlarge]

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            While Applegarth was in London shaping plans to sell stock Drake was no less busy at Eberhardt. On the strength of his known honesty he was able to keep up a little development work, and it was at this time he uncovered the largest and richest body of free milling ore ever discovered in the district. Needless to say, with this showing he was soon able to secure ample capital to finance a new thirty-stamp mill on the site of the burned structure at Eberhardt. The result was unparalleled prosperity for the entire White Pine district, which was rapidly being depopulated. The strike gave a new lease of life to Hamilton, the large monthly payrolls helping to keep that town on the map.

            In less than five years from the time that Drake assumed charge of affairs he had repaid to the English stockholders of the original North Aurora company the three hundred thousand dollars they had lost through the destruction of the mill and had paid to himself and Applegarth thirty thousand dollars in dividends. In addition to this he had in the company's treasury one million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars when the ore vein pinched out in the spring of 1876.

            Being then of the opinion that the mine's resources were exhausted, Drake cabled to London saying that he did not feel justified in doing further development work and asking what disposal should be made of the money in the treasury as well as the company's other interests. In reply came a cable summoning Drake to London, where company officials proposed to him that he expend the money in exploration work on Treasure Hill. Drake replied that he did not feel like assuming this responsibility unless the company sent one of its own engineers to make a report on the property and to advise the work.

            The London stockholders of the North Aurora

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Hauling ore from Treasure Hill to Smoky Mill, Hamilton. [click on image to enl;arge]

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at this time were the largest mine operators on the European and Asiatic continents. The board had no difficulty in selecting an engineer, a man of many years experience who later submitted a report favoring the development work outlined by the board of directors.

            These details come vividly to mind from the fact that at this time the writer was supplying wood and coal to the Eberhardt and Aurora company and, like everyone else, was on the qui vive to learn the latest news from London and to know if he would have to hunt new fields. This period of uncertainty preceded the bright days that were to follow.

            The first news that development would probably be pushed came when Captain Drake reached New York late in June, 1876 and on July 4 following, when the anniversary of the country's natal day and the rebirth of Eberhardt were fittingly celebrated, honors were equally divided by George Washington and Captain Frank Drake—and many would have mentioned Drake first.

            Captain Drake not only expended the one million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in exploring Treasure Hill in accordance with the engineer's plans and recommendations, but many more thousands in addition without finding a single pound of pay ore and old Eberhardt was finally abandoned in 1886.

            Drake's mining fame rests not alone on his accomplishments at Eberhardt, and though it is scarcely a part of this story brief mention might be made of it. It was in the winter of 1882-3 that Drake was called upon by the London directors to go to Montana and examine and report on the Drum Lummon mine, for the purchase of which the English interests were negotiating with Thomas Cruse. Within twenty-four hours after Drake had made a favorable report on the

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property a first payment of five hundred thousand dollars on the purchase price of one million five hundred thousand dollars was cabled from London to the account of Mr. Cruse in New York. It was this property that for a time gave Lombard street, London, a corner on the silver market of the world, stock being sold on a fifty million dollar basis within three years of the time the property was acquired. Drake was later sent to Mexico in the late '80s to erect a stamp mill for the London interests. While he was in the south his health failed and he later died in California.

            While Frank Drake was undoubtedly the guiding genius whose name for many years spelled prosperity for Eberhardt, credit must also be given to his partner, Ed Applegarth. Applegarth, as has been previously mentioned, was a teamster at the time he formed his partnership with Drake. It was he, by the way, who brought the first load of hay ever hauled to Treasure Hill, bringing it from the Reese River valley south of Austin. Applegarth brought six two-hundred pound bales and before it was unloaded from his six-horse wagon he disposed of it all to eager buyers at one hundred dollars a bale. It might be interesting to note that at this time, in the latest '60s, flour was selling at fifty dollars for a forty-eight-pound sack, with everything else in proportion.

            Other friends of Captain Drake who stood by him in the dark days before the finding of ore and while Drake and Applegarth were trying to finance their new company were : Perley Rowell, mill foreman ; Henry Randall, head amalgamtor ; P. M. Reisch, chief carpenter during the construction of the new Eberhardt mill in 1873-4 ; and John Raum, for many years watchman of the mill and town of Eberhardt. These men, with unbounded faith in the ability and integrity of

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Drake, worked for months without pay and willingly paid their expenses out of their own pockets until such time as Drake could make good his belief in the future of the camp.

            In May 1875, when the writer first visited Eberhardt, he found it a thriving little town. Few of the residents of that day, however, are now living. Alex Muir, then as now, was a highly respected citizen and was engaged in hauling ore from Treasure Hill to the Eberhardt mill. Jacob Lewis and O. M. Converse were similarly employed.

            Pat Casey in those days was a political personage to be reckoned with Pat, who for fifteen years was custodian of the old Sanford mill, one of the old landmarks of Eberhardt, will be long remembered by his political opponents. He moved to California along in the '80s and was one of the prominent leaders in the management of the O'Donnell mayoralty campaign in San Francisco during the late '80s.

            Adam Johnson, postmaster of Eberhardt for many years, will be easily recalled by old-timers owing to the fact that he was the first man to introduce the ten-cent piece into the camp, the quarter dollar previously being the smallest coin used. The dime was unpopular and the author of the innovation was promptly dubbed "Ten-Cent Johnson," a nickname which stuck to him while he remained in the camp.

            One of the tragedies of the camp was the murder of Jim Beck, a popular resident, who was stabbed to death by a newcomer named Jackson, a bad man from Arizona. Beck, though mortally wounded, succeeded in wresting the knife from his assailant and inflicting fatal wounds. Beck died within a few minutes while Jackson succumbed the following day in the county hospital at Hamilton.

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            Frank Dana, another old-time business man of Eberhardt, was killed in a team accident on the grade between Hamilton and Eberhardt while returning from the Fourth of July celebration at Hamilton on July 4, 1875. It was about this time that the writer first met W. C. Gallagher, who was a brother-in-law of Mr. Dana and came west to wind up his affairs.

            Other Eberhardt pioneers of whom brief mention may be made were Colonel Thomas Spikens, locator of the Tin Pot mine ; Frank Enos, who was interested in the hotel and boarding house business with Norah Ahearn ; William Hawkins, who owned and operated the toll road between Eberhardt and Hamilton until he disposed of it in 1874 to Bob Meyerhoff ; and Oliver Drake, who leased and worked over the old Eberhardt tailings dump in the latter part of the '70s.

CHAPTER V.

EARLY PIONEERS OF ROBINSON.

            The Robinson district in the early '70s comprised what was known as Ely, Lane City, Keystone, Ruth, Copper Flat, Reipe Town and Pilot Knob, all of these camps receiving their supplies from Mineral City, a town of perhaps three hundred people, situated about the center of the district. While the writer found the camp rather quiet in the fall of 1874, the previous summer and winter had seen considerable excitement owing to the discovery of mineral at Lake district, a few miles south, at Hercules Gap, a few miles north, and at Tamerlane, about the same distance east of Mineral City.

            All these camps, then in their infancy, secured their supplies from Mineral City, the nearest dis-

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tributing point. The neXt nearest supply stations were Hamilton, fifty miles west; Cherry Creek, sixty miles north ; Pioche, one hundred and twenty miles south, and Desert, Utah, one hundred and twenty-five miles east. Freight for Cherry Creek, Mineral City and Pioche was hauled from Toano (now Cobre) by mule and ox teams.

            The business of Mineral City in 1874 was controlled by a few men. The largest mercantile establishment was that of Henry and Fred Hilp, operating under the firm name of Hilp Brothers, Henry Hilp being postmaster. In addition there was a men's furnishing store operated by a Mr. Swartz, a saloon run by Sam Jones, another by Billy Moss and Jack Irvine, and a saloon and gambling house by Mose Storer. Faro was a popular pastime, and in Storer's place there was always a "bank" of five thousand dollars in gold twenties for the wayfarer who wished to try his luck, Frank Bacon being the dealer and George Tyler the lookout.

            Joseph S. Carothers, then engaged in mining and assaying was a candidate for sheriff in 1878 but, like three other good democrats who had previously made the race, was defeated by Ed Raum, republican, who held the office for four consecutive terms. Judge Walsh, a well known pioneer, at this time was operating the little smelter in the canyon just below town, having leased the furnace and mine from the Canton Mining Company and let a contract to George Knox to mine the ore. Ben Snell, well known to all early-day residents, was head man at the smelter, his stepson, Joe Peroult, and Charlie Beckwith being the engineers.

            Tom Hannigan, Abe Travis, Billy Boyce and the writer during the winter of 1874-75 took from a pocket in the old Elijah mine on the hill just

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A pioneer house at Lane City near Ely. [click on image to enlarge]

Old gold mill, Ely. [click on image to enlarge]

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north of town twenty tons of ore per day for Mr. Knox, the ore averaging something like eighty ounces in silver and from sixty to seventy per cent lead. This ore was hauled off the hill to the smelter by Thomas Sillyman, who recently was laid to rest in the Ely cemetery.

            The Canton Mining Company, which built the little smelter in the canyon below town, was an Ohio concern, the leading stockholders being Mr. Aultman of the Aultman Manufacturing Company of Canton ; a Mr. Saxton, also a Canton capitalist and the late President William McKinley, who invested eighty thousand dollars in the Robinson district, the greater part of this money being borrowed from the Aultman and Saxton interests. As security for his money McKinley pledged his interest in twenty-nine patented claims in the Robinson canyon. At the time McKinley made the race for president his friend Mark Hanna paid off the indebtedness in order to leave McKinley free and unfettered in the race. While many people were doubtless aware that Hanna had come to the relief of McKinley in 1896 they were probably unaware that the money was advanced for expenditures made by McKinley in the Robinson district twenty years before. During the time Mr. McKinley served in congress he was a free-silver advocate, but changed over to the gold standard when he was nominated for the presidency.

            The leading hotel and restaurant in the camp was owned and operated by Mrs. Fanny Yates, who was one of the earliest settlers in the Robinson district and who for many years ranked as one of the most progressive and farseeing citizens of the country. A leader in both business and social life, Mrs. Yates was the first to build in and start the town of Ward in 1875, erecting what

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was the leading hotel during the palmy and thriving days of that camp.

            When Ward began to decline in the early '80s the mines of Taylor were uncovered and, as in the Ward and Robinson districts, Mrs. Yates was the first on the ground and erected the first and finest hotel in the camp. Mrs. Yates was a firm believer in spending her money in the district where she made it and this progressive spirit won her the lasting friendship of all the old-timers and insured her great success in all her business ventures. Her activities were not confined solely to her hotel business, as she had the reputation of staking more prospectors and giving financial assistance to more needy miners than any other person in the entire district.

            While helping in the upbuilding of the district, Mrs. Yates did not neglect her family but educated her two daughters, Mollie and Julia Fouts, in Mills seminary, California, the girls returning to the Robinson district after completing their college and musical education.

            Dr. Brooks, who for many years was the only physician in, the district, with the aid of Boston capital built the stamp mill and started the town of Silver Canyon (Aurum) along in the latter '70s. Mat Gleason was also a leader in Mineral City affairs at this time, operating a hotel.

            "Doc" Bell drove the stage when the writer travelled from Cherry Creek to Mineral City in November 1874. The stage left Cherry Creek at one a. m., taking breakfast at the Nat Luce ranch, thirty miles distant, and reaching Mineral City in time for lunch. Change of stages was made at Mineral City, John Condon taking charge, reaching Shekel's Station for dinner and arriving at Hamilton at seven p. m.

            Condon, who, by the way, was somewhat of a character in the district, mounted the Fair band-

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wagon and rode to Carson as a legislator, serving in the lower house from 1880 to 1882. Condon established the unique record of introducing only one bill, which was to make an appropriation for stationery for members of the house. The Condon bill provided three hundred dollars for this purpose, but his fellow members amended the measure to appropriate only sixty dollars, and in this form it was passed.

            Sam Mosier, another of the old-timers, served as county commissioner along in the '70s. Mr. Mosier owned a ranch near the sink of Steptoe Creek and was a great lover of fast horses, being the breeder and owner of the two noted racers, Harry and Sooner, which repeatedly captured the biggest purses offered at the state fair at Reno and also made new records in races on the Bay State track in California. While the horses were full brothers, Harry's records were made for the half-mile while Sooner proved better in the mile events. At Mr. Mosier's death the ranch was sold to Henry Hilp and later was purchased by Mart Guptil.

            A. T. Lowery, another of Mineral City's respected citizens, owned the next ranch above Mr. Mosier's and sold it to Jake Shallenberger along in the '70s. Mr. Lowery ran for assessor in 1874 but was defeated by John Williamson of Hamilton.

            In the early '80s Robinson canyon was virtually a deserted camp, about the only inhabitants of the district at that time being "Uncle" John Ragsdale, who was totally blind, a one-eyed man named Cox, and A. R. ("Buckskin") Watson, who was also blind in one eye. These three men, however, never lost their confidence in the future of the district, and the writer has often recalled a prediction made by Mr. Watson.

            "Robinson canyon will be flourishing when

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grass is growing in the streets of Ward and Taylor," said Mr. Watson. "The public must not think because we three men have only two good eyes between us we cannot see good prospects ahead for our camp." That this prediction has been amply fulfilled is easily seen, yet at the time the prophecy was made earlier residents, who had left for more prosperous camps, would have scoffed at it. While Mr. Watson and Mr. Ragsdale did not live to see the prosperous days return, both died firmly believing in the future greatness of the district.

            "Uncle" John Ragsdale, one of the oldest pioneers of the state and who numbered his friends by thousands, was engaged in freighting at Toano in the spring of '74, when the writer first visited that town. Mr. Ragsdale at that time was hauling freight between Toano and Mineral City perhaps making an occasional trip to Pioche. He later quit freighting to engage in the hotel business and mining at Mineral City. It was while working one of his mining claims along in the late '70s that Mr. Ragsdale was injured, finally losing the sight of both eyes in spite of efforts of specialists to save his sight.

            It was at Toano at the same time the writer met Dave Snooks, commonly known as "Shotgun Dave" from the fact that he could work smaller mules and more of them to one string of wagons than any other freighter on the road. Dave on this trip was loading out for Deep Creek, Utah, and took along the writer and his traveling partner, Al Forrest. Freight teams from Toano for Deep Creek at this time went south through Steptoe valley to old Silver Zone pass, east through the mountains, and thence south through Salt or Fish Lake valley to Deep Creek.

            It was while camped in this valley the second night out from Toano that a number of team-

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sters, as well as the writer and his partner, had a narrow escape from death. To avoid the cold night air the entire party had camped in a narrow ravine, the banks rising steeply on both sides. The moon was shining brightly when we went to sleep, but during the night, preceded only by a roaring sound, a great wall of water swept down the canyon, and the members of the party had just time to climb the steep banks to safety when the flood arrived. An early daylight inventory showed no damage beyond the loss of a set of Arthur Moore's harness, Al Forrest's hat and Dave Snooks' pants, which diligent search failed to locate. The deluge was caused, we learned later, by a cloud-burst during the afternoon in the mountains many miles west of us.

            Even the briefest history of the Robinson district would be incomplete without mention of at least a few of the early-day settlers who were prominent in the camp. Among these were William Crary, one of the discoveries of Lake district in the early '70s, and Joseph Thompson (Tamerlane Joe), one of the locators of Tamerlane townsite in '72 or '73. Mr. Thompson held down Tamerlane for years, locating and relocating old claims of the district until along in 1886 or 1887, when he sold all the timber rights from his mining claims to the writer, who cut and delivered the wood to the Argus mill for fuel.

            John Bonnifield, for years a prospector in the district, was also constable and night watchman at Mineral City. Mr. Bonnifield was the first to start placer mining in the district. Having obtained permission to work over some of the old dumps in the canyon below the furnace, in the winter of '74-5 he extracted between three thousand and four thousand dollars through what was known as the dry-wash process.

            Jakie Henderson was another of the old-time

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prospectors who stayed with the district for years, but he was finally forced to hunt new fields. Other well-known business men of the early days included Sam Roach and Dick Fossett, who ran the livery stable and a blacksmithing and wagon-making shop, and W. R. Bassett, saloonkeeper. Harry Featherstone, who located the Keystone mine, kept the station, postoffice and a little eating house down on the creek where Ely is now located. The postoffice and station were called Murray Creek until the legislature in 1885 made the appropriation to build the courthouse, with the name of Ely for the townsite.

            Other settlers along Steptoe valley included C. F. Goodrich and Victor Shepard, who had

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settled at the Hotsprings, eighteen miles south of Cherry Creek. D. W. Perley, who served in the state senate at Carson in the late '70s, owned what is now the D. W. Campbell ranch and had stocked it with California horses and cattle. Nat Luce also owned a ranch in the same section, and a Mr. Green in 1874 lived on what was later known as the Nat Luce ranch. Mitchell and Lyons lived at this time at what was later known as the Ole Hanson ranch. H. P. Mollison was one of the earliest settlers of Steptoe valley and was one of our best citizens.

            Mr. Ogden and many others at that time were engaged in raising barley, in fact the five miles between the Gallagher and Cowger ranches, now McGill, was almost a continuous field of grain. Whole barley met ready sale at one hundred dollars a ton on the ranch and hay also commanded a fancy price owing to the fact that the valley was lined with freight teams running between Toano, Mineral City and Pioche. Farmers in the valley were prosperous until 1876, when the Utah Southern railroad, built by the Mormon church, was extended from Springville to Juab, Utah, after which time all Pioche freight was diverted to Juab.

            Probably the leading freighters in the early days of Pioche, Mineral City and Cherry Creek was a firm composed of a Mr. Moffatt and Perry

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Gossett, familiarly known as "Moff and Goss," who operated both ox and mule teams, oxen being used only during the summer grazing period. Freight hauled by oxen cost fifty dollars a ton, while that brought by mules cost seventy-five dollars to one hundred dollars. When the Utah Southern was extended to Juab, Moffatt and Gossett moved to the Cornucopia mining district, north of Tuscarora, in northern Elko county, where Mr. Gossett died in the late '80s.