NEVADA IN THE MAKING             301

CHAPTER VI.

SCHELLBOURNE'S EARLY GLORY.

            Schellbourne, just across the valley eighteen miles east of Cherry Creek, in the early '70s was a prosperous camp but by the summer of 1874, when the writer first dropped into the town after crossing the Schell Creek range at an altitude of eight thousand five hundred feet and down the western slope through a beautifully watered canyon, the camp appeared somewhat deserted. Signs were not lacking, however, of considerable recent mining activity, at least two or three idle quartz mills bearing mute testimony to the rush of a few years previous. The population at this time was about one hundred and fifty, probably less than a fourth of what it had been two years before, a great part of the people having moved to Egan, Eureka and Cherry Creek. The latter town, in fact, was largely built of houses which had been moved from Schellbourne by their owners.

            Of all the Schellbourne old-timers none was more steadfast to the camp than William Burke, who stayed on after the glory of the town had departed. With no prospect in sight for the resumption of mining activity, Mr. Burke took up a

302 NEVADA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS

farm, which embraced the valley and townsite, and engaged in the farming and cattle business of which he made a marked success. Uncle Billy, as he was familiarly called, was a resident of the state for many years and at one time was quite a political factor in state politics. In 1882 he ran for lieutenant governor on the democratic ticket, his running mate for governor being Jewett W. Adams, but was defeated by Charley Laughton, the fiddler from Carson. After his defeat Mr. Burke retired from politics, devoting all his time to his farming and cattle interests. Mr. and Mrs. Burke raised a large family of children, who proved a credit to their parents and to White Pine county.

            In 1880, when the writer passed through Schellbourne on his return to Cherry Creek from the White Pine district, only the old El Capitan mill was left standing. This mill was operated with a run of custom ores at different periods over a number of years by a Mr. Dickinson, better known as "Big Dick," who was elected to the state senate in 1874. Subsequently Mr. Dickinson played a prominent part in the old camps of Ruby and Centerville, where he had done considerable mining, finding pockets of high-grade ore in the Schell Creek range. He succeeded in interesting Boston capital for the development of this district but both Ruby, which took its name from the fact that large pockets of ruby silver were uncovered there, and Centerville were short lived.

            Tom Andrews was one of the original locators of the Ruby Hill district, while W. B. Lawler also owned some of the richest and best claims in the district. Mr. Lawler and his wife were the only people left in 1886 when the writer passed through the deserted camp, which at one time promised to be the greatest find in the county. Mr. Lawyer was acknowledged to be one of the

NEVADA IN THE MAKING             303

best judges of ore in the State and he sold his holdings at Ruby Hill for a large sum to Boston interests, I think, which at that time were operating at Aurum. Most of the ores from Ruby Hill were milled, I believe, by Mr. Brooks at the Aurum mill, which was located near the mouth of Silver canyon, on the eastern slope of the Schell Creek range.

            Mr. Lawler's eyes became affected through climbing the glittering snow-covered mountains of the Schell Creek range and, accompanied by Mrs. Lawler, he travelled throughout the United States, France and Germany seeking the aid of specialists, but without securing any relief, and he finally lost the sight of both eyes almost entirely. But even after Mr. Lawler had lost his eyesight and the greater part of his fortune trying to prevent blindness he could not abandon the mining game. After an absence of several years, at the time when Cherry Creek was undergoing her darkest days, Mr. Lawler returned with capital advanced him by a lifelong friend in Portland, Oregon, to again try his luck with W. A. Watson at his Cocomungo mines in the Egan range, south of Egan canyon. The money expended in this development work proved a great boon to the writer, then engaged in the mercantile business at Cherry Creek, as well as all other residents of the district. Mr. Lawler's friends were legion and his memory will always be held in the highest regard by the pioneers of the district.

            Muncy Creek, ten miles south of Aurum, during the latter '70s and early '80s gave promise of being a great copper camp, but like many other camps the promise was never fulfilled. Although virtually abandoned, the camp was held down for years by Frank Bassett and N. C. Noe, the latter for a score of years a familiar figure at every

304 NEVADA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS  

democratic county convention held in White Pine county.

            Aurum, like Muncy Creek, Ruby Hill and Centerville, was a short-lived camp. Jim McNulty, engaged in the hotel and mercantile business, was one of the last men to leave the town. Another firm which remained in Aurum after the place was virtually deserted was that of Simon Davis and Ben Sanford, known as Sanford and Davis, who were able to stay in the district owing to the fact that they secured a great deal of trade from stockmen throughout the county. The two men also prospected the hills for minerals and met with much success in the '80s. The writer has good reason to remember a contract he secured from Sanford & Davis in 1889 to haul three hundred tons of high-grade silver ore by freight team to Wells, from which point it was consigned over the Southern Pacific and Oregon Short Line to Salt Lake.

            It was this contract for ore tonnage, together with a contract to haul one hundred tons of wool for Jim Sampson of Spring Valley, that enabled the writer to establish a connection with the Southern Pacific which made Wells a forwarding and distributing point for all southeastern Nevada. This ore and wool traffic had previously been hauled by Utah teams and routed over the Southern Utah railroad from Desert (Oasis) to Salt Lake City. Through the joint traffic arrangement made by the Southern Pacific with the writer's freight lines, Cherry Creek, Aurum, Duck Creek, McGill, Ward and Taylor were enabled to secure a freight rate from points east of the Missouri river lower than any other point west of the river at that time enjoyed.

            For instance, a shipment of hams and bacon consigned from Omaha, Nebraska, to Dave Felsenthal at Taylor, Nevada, billed by way of Wells,

NEVADA IN THE MAKING             305

Transportation on the desert. [click on image to enlarge]

306 NEVADA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS

would cost for transportation forty per cent less than the same shipment would cost if consigned to M. Badt & Company, at Wells. A threshing machine delivered to W. N. McGill at McGill, Nevada, from Chicago would cost forty per cent less for freight than it would the farmer at Elko. Similarly, a thousand pounds of drugs from Baltimore would cost Fred Clark of Ely forty per cent less for freight than the Reno or Elko druggist. The freight on a barrel of whisky from Covington, Kentucky, delivered on John Weber's sidewalk in Ely was two dollars and seventy-four a hundred, whereas the same shipment unloaded at Ogden would cost three dollars and eighty a hundred delivered at Elko three dollars and forty a hundred and at Palisade three dollars and twenty-two a hundred.

            These low freight rates were due to keen competition which followed the extension of the Utah Southern into Frisco, Utah. To avail themselves of the low rate it was only necessary for business men to order their goods shipped in care of the writer at Wells, Nevada. While it was only natural for residents of the interior towns to look forward eagerly to the advent of rail transportation, the writer often wonders if White Pine county business men today are receiving freight from points east of the Missouri river at a lower rate than was made by the old prairie schooners by way of Wells.

CHAPTER VII.

PIONEERS OF SPRING VALLEY.

            Spring Valley, which has played an important part in Nevada history, in the early '70s was considered by far the best watered grazing land in the state. In the valley north of the Cleveland

NEVADA IN THE MAKING             307

ranch the chief settlers were Thomas and Charles Odgers, Manton Bassett, R. C. O'Neill, Jake Cameron, James McCurdy and Pat Flanagan and Michael Keelan, who had what was known as the Keelan and Flanagan ranch. South of Cleveland's ranch were Lou Olmstead, a Mr. Rutherford and George Swallow. These men were the earliest settlers in Spring Valley and engaged in raising horses and cattle, cutting sufficient hay in the summer to tide them over the winter.

            The constant increase in stock, coupled with several consecutive dry seasons, finally reduced the valley to a state bordering on barrenness, and only those who could afford to fence in their ranges were able to stay, finally only Cleveland, Olmstead and Swallow remaining. While the valley afforded poor grazing for cattle the range proved sufficient for sheep and soon it was invaded by the sheepmen, the first to locate in the valley being Jim Sampson, Josh Yelland, Pat Keegan, Doutre Brothers, Pierce and Quick, the Bews Brothers, (Jim, Tom and Harry), Mr. Tippett and Bill McCurdy, all of whom grew rich in the sheep business.

            Before going in for sheep in the valley Jim Sampson and the three Bews boys were employed in the Star mine at Cherry Creek in the late seventies and early eighties. Jim Sampson was the first to engage in the business. While he was working in the mine he acquired a few sheep and his wife herded them around Star Hill (Cherry Creek). Starting in with less than fifty head, by 1889 Sampson's holdings had increased so that in the latter year he shipped two hundred thousand pounds of wool to the Boston market as his season's clip. Jim Bews was a close second, while Harry Bews and Pierce & Quick all made large shipments. The taxes in those days from

308 NEVADA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS

the sheep industry proved a godsend to the county treasury, which was sadly depleted.

            In the well-watered canyon leading from Spring Valley to Centerville, about midway between the valley and the beautiful little cove near the top of the Schell Creek range, was a ranch owned by Dan Simonson, another of the old-time settlers of the northern part of the valley. This spot is of historical importance owing to its connection with the celebrated government star route mail fraud cases of early days, for it was here that U. S. Senator Spencer of Alabama sought refuge in 1882 when he was eluding federal agents who sought him as a witness against Senator Dorsey.

            After giving the government the first accurate information concerning the mail frauds which had been in progress for years, Senator Spencer experienced a change of heart and, not wishing to appear as a witness for the prosecution, disappeared. Accompanied by his wife, he went into hiding at Centerville, where he felt certain of a safe asylum. It was while camped in this lonely place that Mrs. Spencer, who was a southern authoress, contributed a great deal of the literary effort which went into the book called "Ann Eliza," written by one of Brigham Young's ex-wives and which purported to be an expose of Mormonism.

            While many people doubtless know that the ramifications of the star route mail frauds were widespread, few perhaps know that these frauds were practiced as boldly in White Pine county as in any other section of the country. It is an undisputed fact that Gilmer and Salisbury under the Dorsey regime for years collected forty-eight thousand dollars a year for carrying the mail six times a week between Hamilton and Pioche. George Washburn and George Ellison were what is known as straw bondsmen, each being on the

NEVADA IN THE MAKING             309

Gilmer and Salisbury bond for sixty thousand dollars. Washburn's total assets at that time consisted of two yoke of oxen and a small vegetable garden in the north end of White River valley, while George Ellison, who was holding down a squatter's homestead, had not a dollar's worth of tangible property.

            In the extreme southern part of Nevada there were several dummy routes which never had an actual existence but which were paid for during a period of years, the statement of arrival and departure of imaginary mails being certified by the duly commissioned postmasters. These frauds were, however, scarcely less bold than those perpetrated at Hamilton where Jim Riley was postmaster.

            Harvey Carpenter and Riley, who was his brother-in-law, I believe, were in business at Hamilton when the writer arrived there in 1875, operating under the firm name of Carpenter and Riley. The Western Union telegraph office was located in their store and they handled stock reports in connection with Homer King and Company, a San Francisco brokerage house, during the Comstock boom. During the exciting days of '69-70 Hamilton was made a second class post-office, the salary being fixed at three thousand two hundred dollars a year, but the greatest surprise in years to the writer, as well as to all other residents of the district, was to learn that Riley had kept the office in the second class until 1884, when the democrats went into power.

            Salaries in those days were computed on the basis of stamps sold and when the government in 1885 started its investigation it was found that Riley had purchased the required amount to keep the second class status of the office. This he was able to do by buying goods for his store from San Francisco and persuading the wholesale houses

310 NEVADA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS  

to accept payment in stamps. It was later found that one Bay City firm had for years been selling about two thousand two hundred dollars worth of goods a month to Riley and accepting stamps in payment.

            Cancellation of stamps at the Hamilton post-office during this time probably would not average over fifty letters a day but Riley, by collecting one thousand two hundred dollars a year from the Western Union and three thousand two hundred dollars a year from Uncle Sam, certainly was making a showing to keep Hamilton in the forefront of Nevada business centers. Riley was arrested and taken to San Francisco for trial but the government failed to show that he had ever acknowledged their notices of a change in the system of computing the salary basis, and so Riley was acquitted. Shortly after his return to Hamilton the writer met Riley and he praised the government highly for its treatment of him before and during the trial, saying that he had been given excellent quarters at the Palace hotel. After his acquittal, however, Riley complained that the federal officers refused to be any longer responsible for his hotel bills and refused to pay his fare back to Hamilton.

            E. J. (Jot) Travis succeeded Gilmer and Salisbury in the operation of stage lines along in the '80s. While it was reported that Travis was the brains of the mail fraud operations in southern Nevada the writer, who had business dealings with him for years, always found him square and honorable, his word being as good as his bond. However, in those days to steal from the government was considered praiseworthy rather than criminal.

            Dorsey's operations ranged from White Pine county through southern Nevada, southern Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. It is said that just

NEVADA IN THE MAKING    311

previous to his arrest Dorsey sold one of his Arizona ranches, together with the stock, for four hundred and fifty thousand dollars, the report being generally credited that he had acquired these holdings through money obtained in the mail fraud.

            That the men behind these frauds were well entrenched is shown by-the fact that Jack Gilmer was stationed at Salt Lake City, where he was backed by one of the leading bankers ; Salisbury was in Washington, D. C., to watch the interests there ; Jot Travis acted as director of operations in the field, with a close friend as postmaster at Pioche ; Wes Travis, brother of Jot, was a deputy United States marshal as well as sheriff of Lincoln county ; Jim Riley was postmaster at Hamilton and Senator Spencer, relied on by the government as its chief witness to prove the frauds, was safely hidden near Centerville. Combatting these well entrenched interests it is small wonder that Uncle Sam's chances of success were about as good as those of a German trying to sell pretzels in London during the late world war.

CHAPTER VIII.

EARLY DAYS OF CHERRY CREEK.

            In 1874, shortly after the Star mine began operations on a fairly large scale, Cherry Creek was a thriving mining village, but had not attained the growth which it reached about six years later, when the Exchequer and Tea Cup mines were added to the camp's list of producers. The early-day business men were progressive and loyal to the camp and no story of Cherry Creek, be it ever so sketchily brief, would be complete without mention of at least a few of the men who were largely responsible for the growth and progress of the community.

312 NEVADA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS

            One of the first general merchandise stores to open business in the early '70s was that of F. A. McDermid and Gilbert Darling, operating under the firm name of McDermid & Company. Both men were of the rugged and honest pioneer type and their business grew with the camp until along in the latter '70s, when they sold out to A. J. Spencer and R. A. Frank, who conducted the store under the name of Spencer & Frank.

            One of the earliest and best known restaurants in the camp was that of Mrs. Homison, who was for years successfully engaged in the business.

            George Thatcher & Company, the firm being composed of Ed Raum, A. M. Vanderlip and Mr. Thatcher, owned and operated a large general mercantile business for years. Ed Raum, who was one of the most popular men in White Pine county, was elected sheriff in 1874 on the republican ticket and held the office for four successive terms. A. M. Vanderlip was also an excellent business man and an expert accountant. After the firm disposed of its business in 1884 Mr. Vanderlip moved to Ventura county, California, where he soon made a host of new friends, who, realizing his ability as an accountant, prevailed upon him to make the race for county auditor. The election resulted in a tie and Mr. Vanderlip, anxious to avoid the expense of a special election, offered to shake the dice with his opponent to decide the honor. This, however, the other candidate was unwilling to do, and in the resulting special election Mr. Vanderlip won by an overwhelming majority.

            George Kennedy was another of the old-timers who operated a grocery store from the early '70s up until the time of his death some time in the '90s. 0. H. Gray was associated with Daniel R. Collins in the mercantile business, the postoffice being located in their store. Both were well and

NEVADA IN THE MAKING             313

"Cherry Creek was a thriving mining village." [click on image to enlarge]

Cherry Creek in 1912. [click on image to enlarge]

314 NEVADA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS

favorably known, Mr. Gray having represented White Pine county in the lower branch of the legislature in 1877 and again in 1883. He was elected secretary of state on the republican ticket in 1890, serving with credit to the county and state during the eight years of his public life. Along in the '90s he accepted a place in the patent office in Washington, D. C., and I understand, died quite recently in that city. Uncle Dan Collins held the postoffice in Cherry Creek almost continuously from 1874 until the time of his death only a few years ago.

            The lean years just preceding 1880 had proven a hard strain on the business men of the camp, but when the writer visited Cherry in the latter year he found many of the old business men and a considerable number of new ones who had come with the gradual growth of the town following the discovery and opening of new mines. Among the old-timers who had stayed with the camp was John Wearne, who had a feed stable and who was engaged in supplying the mines and mills during the quiet days of the camp.

            George F. Parker, another old-time resident, for years owned the waterworks which supplied the town. Mr. Parker was elected to the lower house of the legislature in 1880 and, I understand, died quite recently. Pete Weber, another of the early-day business men, owned more business and residence property than any other man in the town. When the crash of 1883 came Mr. Weber moved to Idaho.

            "Uncle Jake" Weber and his two sons, P. C. (Boss) and Johnnie, were for years successful business men of .the community and numbered their friends by the hundred. "Boss" Weber was for years one of the leaders of the democratic party in the county and his name carried more

NEVADA IN THE MAKING             315

H. A. Comins, George F. Parker, O. H. Grey. [click on image to enlarge]

316 NEVADA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS

weight with the voters than that of any other man, with the possible exception of A. C. Cleveland. While "Boss" Weber played the political game shrewdly at all times, he had the reputation of never having double-crossed or betrayed a friend, and every man who ran on the democratic ticket was at all times ready to swear by "Boss" Weber, whose public services entitle him to a high place in the history of White Pine county and of the State.

            The public services of Johnnie Weber also speak for his rugged honesty and the writer, who has known him well for the span of an ordinary man's lifetime, can honestly say that if Johnnie Weber ever makes a mistake in public or private life his error will be one of the head and not of the heart.

            The two Weber boys are fit sons of their father, old "Uncle Jake," who ranged with the cleanest, most honest and upright citizens of Cherry Creek. Uncle Jake was, of course, an extremely partisan democrat and the writer remembers one instance which showed how Mr. Weber believed in purity in politics. At the primary election in 1882 a man named Hancock, a republican from Aurum, attempted to vote at the democratic primary and so aroused the wrath of Uncle Jake that he drove away the visitor with a cane, registering his displeasure against such tactics by several good blows before Hancock was able to make his escape.

            J. F. Sisson in the early days was engaged in the blacksmithing and wagon business and was very successful until the crash of 1883, when he left for Chamberlain, S. D., where he engaged in the flour milling business for many years. William Fillmore, another of the old-timers, was also engaged in the same business and after making his "pile" went to San Francisco to make his

NEVADA IN THE MAKING 317

future home. Alex McDonald (Little Alex) was also engaged in the blacksmithing business in early days. After making a stake Mr. McDonald returned to his old home in Nova Scotia.

            James Henry, another of the town's earliest settlers, was town officer for years during the early days. Mr. Henry also owned and ran a saloon in Cherry Creek for many years. Michael Corcoran owned the only brewery in the town, which he operated in connection with his saloon business. James Stewart, another popular saloonkeeper of the early days, had a host of friends due to his reputation of being the best and most courteous saloonman in the county.

            Uncle Joe Taylor, universally popular owing to his jovial humor, did a sort of brokerage and check-cashing business in connection with his saloon, there being no bank in the town and the business men being depended on to provide cash to handle all mine checks. The customary rate of discount at this time was two per cent on all checks drawn on San Francisco banks and four per cent on checks drawn on New York banks. The Star company, with main offices in the Bay city, drew on a San Francisco bank, while the Tea Cup and Exchequer, financed by New York capital, drew on banks in Gotham. At the time that the Star company's checks were dishonored in 1883 the checks of the Tea Cup and Exchequer also went to protest, and finally Uncle Joe Taylor posted up a sign over his bar : "Discounts on checks will hereafter be four per cent on San Francisco and two per cent on New York exchange." The notice, of course, attracted a great deal of attention, and immediately other men who also were engaged in cashing checks rushed to Mr. Taylor for an explanation of the reversal in the rates of discount. "Well, you see," explained Uncle George, "it only costs two dollars for pro-

318 NEVADA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS

test fees in New York, while it costs six dollars to protest a San Francisco check."

            From the early '70s until about 1878 Cherry Creek made little growth, but new impetus was given the camp about the latter named year through the finding of new ore-bodies in the Exchequer and Tea Cup mines, and when the writer returned to Cherry Creek in 1880 the Tea Cup was building a new mill. From a camp of several hundred, Cherry Creek had by this time grown to be a town of about one thousand five hundred prosperous people. J. H. Roberts at this time was superintendent and general manager of the Exchequer, while Ed Smith held the same position at the Tea Cup.

            The starting up of the Egan properties, together with the operations of the mines and three mills at Cherry Creek, created great activity. To supply these four mining companies with wood, coal and mining timbers necessitated the employment of between seventy and eighty men by the writer, who had the contract to supply them all, it being necessary to lay in supplies during the summer to last through the winter. The Star mine at this time was employing one hundred and forty to one hundred and fifty men in the mine, with thirty or forty more working in the mill. During 1881-82 the Tea Cup and Exchequer combined were working about as many men as the Star, while the Egan mine and mill employed forty or fifty. These years, immediately preceding the crash of 1883, rank as the brightest days of the camp. When the crash came in the latter year many of the business men were forced to leave and seek new fields, while a few weathered the storm and stuck with the town.

            The Exchequer and Tea Cup having been closed by attachments about the time of the Star mine fiasco, the exodus from the camp began. Taylor

NEVADA IN THE MAKING             319

The Star Mine at Cherry Creek. [click on image to enlarge]

320 NEVADA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS

at this time was just beginning to loom up and many went there. Pete Weber, Ed Crowley and a dozen others went to the Coeur d'Alenes, in Idaho. John Quinn went to Needles, California, while Ward, who was a partner of Wilson Brougher in business, went to Salt Lake City. Mr. Brougher went to Belmont, where he later was elected county clerk and subsequently county recorder. The latter office he held until the discovery of Tonopah, where he went with his brother during the first excitement and managed to amass a comfortable fortune. After leaving Tonopah he purchased the Arlington hotel at Carson City, which was then, as now, the chief hotel in the state capital.

            A. M. MacAuley, another of Cherry Creek's old-time business men, bought out the business of George Kennedy in the early '90s and, like many others, weathered the storms of the town's later days. The writer had Mr. MacAuley as a business rival for many years and can truthfully say that never did he have a better friend or a more honest competitor in business. Mr. MacAuley is a citizen of whom Cherry Creek may justly feel proud. Rufus Fillmore, another of the old settlers, has been a resident of Cherry Creek for over forty years and has always ranked as one of White Pine county's best and most honored citizens.

            Hughie Frank, A. R. Nuckels and Wren Pierce are other old-timers who, with the exception of a few years spent by Mr. Nuckels as deputy warden at Carson, stayed continuously with the old camp until the death of Mr. Pierce several years ago. Pete Cannon, one of the town's earliest settlers, was engaged in business for many years and was postmaster for awhile during Grover Cleveland's administrations. Adolph Sunberg, another popular business man having once been a

NEVADA IN THE MAKING             321

miner, possessed many friends and always had a large business following.

            Joseph L. Moore was one of the earliest settlers and best known residents of Cherry Creek and Egan canyon, having been engaged in business in Egan as early as 1874. When Egan slumped and the camp was almost deserted he moved to Cherry Creek and engaged in the butcher business, always making friends who stayed with him. The writer knew Mr. Moore from 1874 until he left the State in 1904 and during these thirty years never heard an ill word spoken of Mr. Moore.

            Timothy Shine came to Cherry Creek with the writer in 1880 and immediately engaged in the saloon business. Tim Shine had a large following and was a factor to be reckoned with in politics. The Egan canyon boys made Shine's saloon their headquarters while in Cherry, and the late A. C. Cleveland used to say that the hardest factions he had to contend with in county politics were the Boss Weber corner and Tim Shine's Irish reservation at Cherry Creek.

            Michael F. Boyle came to Cherry Creek in the early '80s from Eberhardt, being for years engaged in the dairy business and owning a ranch in the foothills south of Schellbourne until along in the '90s. Mr. Boyle served two terms as county commissioner and worked hand in hand with Crane Gallagher, M. B. Garaghan and John B. Williams for many years in the interest of the taxpayers. His health broke down in the latter '90s and he moved to Salt Lake City, where he died.

            John A. Carlson, then a beardless boy of 18, reached Cherry Creek in 1881 or 1882, coming direct from Sweden with John Magnuson. Neither could speak a word of English but they had an old country friend named Johnson, who owned an ox team and who was engaged in hauling wood.

322 NEVADA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS

            The two boys secured employment driving the oxen, and as soon as the animals learned Swedish cusswords the country looked brighter to Mr. Carlson, who decided Cherry Creek was the best town in America and who later came to be one of the foremost citizens of the county.

            John Yelland, also a beardless boy, came to Cherry in 1880. Josh, as he was best known, like Mr. Carlson, started out with the belief that there was just one thing lacking in America, and that was the presence of the girl he had left in England. This defect Mr. Yelland remedied by sending for the girl and they were married in Salt Lake City. Mr. and Mrs. Yelland then moved to Spring Valley, where their perseverance and pluck won them success in ranching and stock raising. Mr. and Mrs. Yelland raised a family of four children, two boys and two girls, who proved a credit to their parents and the community. When the world war broke out one of the Yelland boys left the State with the first soldier contingent and was the first Nevada boy to give his life for his country.

            A. Foppiano is another early resident who came to Cherry Creek in 1880, first being employed in the wood business by the writer. Tony, like Carlson and Yelland, soon sent back to his native land for his sweetheart, who joined him at Cherry Creek in the early '80s. Mr. Foppiano became an American citizen as soon as possible after his arrival and has raised a family who, like himself, are hundred per cent Americans.

            A. McDonald began business in Cherry Creek in the early '80s when he bought out the blacksmith shop of J. F. Sisson. Mr. McDonald, like the others previously mentioned, soon sent back to Nova Scotia for his sweetheart and they were married at Cherry Creek.

            Charles Wah was one of the first men to settle

NEVADA IN THE MAKING             323

in Cherry Creek, starting the first eatinghouse, and for fifty years has been actively identified with the community. In addition to running his restaurant Charlie has engaged in the Chinese merchandise business and been actively interested in the mining game. During the last half century he has grubstaked more prospectors, fed more penniless men, given more for charity and done as much or more to build up Cherry Creek than any other man in the district. The writer has had business dealings with Charlie Wah for over thirty years and is proud to call the well-known Chinaman his friend.

            Ed Crowley and Jim Cunningham, known by the firm name of Cunningham & Crowley, were engaged in the contracting, livery stable and teaming business in the early '70s until the early '80s when they dissolved partnership. Mr. Cunningham took the freight teams to Mountain Home, Idaho, during the Wood river excitement, while Mr. Crowley kept the livery stable and business at Cherry Creek. Mr. Crowley ran for county commissioner in 1882, defeating John Henry of Ward for the long term.

            In 1882 Cherry Creek, Egan, Schellbourne, Centerville, Ruby Hill and Aurum had more votes than all the rest of the county combined. It was at this time that Cherry Creek, together with the adjoining camps in northeast White Pine county, combined with a view to moving the county seat from Hamilton to Cherry Creek. A petition calling for a change in the site of the county seat, without specifying to what town it should be moved, was quickly signed by the required number of taxpayers to secure legislative action on the question. So far as is known to the writer, only two taxpayers in the entire northeast section refused to sign for the change, these being himself and the late Hon. Charles Green. The

324 NEVADA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS

writer and Mr. Green, perhaps two of the oldest taxpayers in the district, had seen the birth and death of so many mining camps that they were opposed to the expense of moving the county seat, with the consequent construction of a courthouse, to a town only sixteen miles from the county line and to a section depending almost entirely on the mines for its prosperity.

            Taylor, Ward, Hamilton and Newark, in the southwest part of the county, stood together in the fight against removal, and for years thereafter combined politically against anything desired by the northeast section. However, before the legislature met in 1884 to pass on the removal question the crash of Cherry Creek came in 1883, effectually killing any ambition the town had toward securing the county seat.

CHAPTER IX.

AMUSEMENTS IN CHERRY CREEK.

            From its earliest days as a struggling camp through its later growth and prosperity and even after most of its population had departed, Cherry Creek had a wide reputation as being a town where entertainment was always to be had and where the visitor could always be assured a cordial welcome and a good time. It is a well-established fact that Cherry Creek during her darkest days has drawn more people to her entertainments than any other town or city in the State, the Williamson hall being widely known. It was a common occurrence for people to come from Ely, fifty-five miles away, Steptoe Butte and Clover valleys, thirty to sixty miles, and even from Wells, one hundred miles distant, to attend dances at Cherry, frequently stopping over for a day and dancing both nights.

NEVADA IN THE MAKING             325

            Many of these social functions were featured by negro cakewalks, about that time at the height of their popularity, and it was not uncommon for Tom Davis, Dolph Sunberg, A. MacAuley and Pete Cannon to get one hundred and fifty people to attend these dances. The last cakewalk the writer attended at Cherry Creek was on St. Valentine's Day, February 14, 1899, and the occasion will long be remembered by him. The prize at this dance was a cake several feet in diameter and several feet high which had come by express from Salt Lake City. The competition was entered by about thirty couples, blackened and masked, so that their identity was a "dark" secret.

            In capturing this prize the writer, who had for a partner Miss Lucy Corcoran, now Mrs. John H. Eager of Ely, earned his only claim to fame as a resident of White Pine county. Miss Corcoran, who at the time was making her home with the family of the writer, was rather tall and quite slender and as graceful a dancer as ever entered Cherry's famous dancing hall. However, when trimmed up with cotton batting by Mrs. Miller she looked as if she would easily tip the scales at two hundred pounds, while the writer, stuffed with pillows, appeared like a hefty two hundred and fifty-pounder. As Dinah, leaning back on the arm of Rastus, cam sweeping gracefully down the hall her impersonation was so natural and lifelike that the musicians, Bill Campbell, Nora Stratton and Mike Boyle, must have felt as if they were doing the honors at the golden wedding of Booker T. Washington. Let other old-timers claim what niche in the hall of fame they will, the writer feels that in winning this cakewalk his place has been fairly fixed.

            Ely was always well represented at Cherry Creek social affairs, from six to a dozen people

326 NEVADA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS

always coming with Fred Clark, who was always loyal to Cherry in her darkest days. W. D. Campbell, living thirty miles south, Mike Boyle, residing twenty miles east, and Miss Nora Stratton of Butte valley, eighteen miles west, furnished music for most of these entertainments. Mr. Campbell, who resided in Steptoe valley, always brought his family -and friends and was claimed by Cherry as one of its townsmen,

            Mr. Campbell, who was one of the earliest comers to White Pine county, first located, I believe, about four miles south of Jim Withington's home ranch in White River valley, engaging in grain raising in the '70s. The writer first met Mr. Campbell at this ranch, stopping over night in 1876 with him, and his men, all bachelors at the time. Bill, as he was generally known, later married Miss Laura Miles, one of Steptoe valley's favorite society girls. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell then bought and located at the Perley ranch, where they raised a family of which they may well be proud.

            Mr. Campbell was not only a successful rancher but generally kept one eye on the mining game. He located some mining claims a mile or so west of his home ranch, and one of them gave promise of being extremely valuable. Mr. Campbell sold or bonded the claims to parties who erected a mill, run by water power at the large spring near the Campbell residence. These parties, after a few trial runs at the mill, got into financial difficulties and the property reverted to Mr. Campbell. To the writer's surprise when he happened along some time later he found Mr. Campbell operating his own mine and mill, meeting with considerable success on a small scale. By this time, through their untiring efforts, Mr. and Mrs. Campbell had accumulated considerable property. Taxes were very high, but all Bill had to do in the fall

NEVADA IN THE MAKING             327

was to make a mill run to get sufficient money to meet his taxes. Until 1904, when the writer left the county, Mr. Campbell was still running the little mill at intervals, and in addition was tending to his grain harvesting, hay cutting and stock raising. With it all Bill was never too busy to hitch up his team to take his family and neighbors to a dance at Cherry, which, having the only hall of consequence in the county, was a favorite spot for meetings of the Masons, Odd Fellows and Miners' Unions, these gatherings helping to break the monotony of Cherry's quiet days.

            Thomas Davis, well known and popular throughout the county, arrived in Cherry Creek in the latter '90s when the Star mine went into the hands of the Exploration company. Mr. and Mrs. Davis were for years leaders in Cherry Creek's entertainments and ranked as one of the best liked and most popular couples in the community.

            While dancing was a popular diversion during Cherry Creek's early days, it was not the only one, for in 1874 it was not an unusual sight to see a horse race on the principal street of the town for five hundred dollars a side, with supporters of the animals liberally backing their favorites with side bets. Pete Weber was one of the leading spirits in promoting these sporting events and he had a large following, particularly among the miners, who always backed Pete's judgment on any game, horse race or cock fight.

            Generally opposed to Pete Weber and his crowd in these sporting events were the Keogh brothers, Pat, Steve, Tom and Jack, who owned a ranch in Butte valley, twelve miles west of Cherry Creek, which was later known as the Keogh ranch. These boys were engaged in stock raising but made their principal headquarters in Cherry, and when it came to a trial of strength or wits in any

328 NEVADA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS

game could come as close as anybody to a standoff with Pete Weber and his crowd.

            One example of how Pat Keogh neatly turned the tables on Weber's crowd along in the early '80s sticks out in the writer's memory. The miners on Star hill owned a little saddle horse that had never been beaten. Pat Keogh knew of the speed of the Star hill pony and was also well aware of the miners' anxiety to back him in a race, so he arranged with Dan Morrison of Hamilton to send him on the quiet a horse which he knew could outrun the Star hill horse. This racer, called Muggins, came to Cherry disguised as a pack animal and carrying a camp outfit, and Keogh soon had it matched with the Star hill pony for a small bet, expecting to clean up by betting heavily on the side the next day, when the race was to be held.

            Pete Weber and his crowd, in order to play safe, arranged to steal Pat's horse at midnight of the night preceding the race and to take him out to the track for a trial against their own. Pat, however, earlier in the evening got wind of this trick and determined to trump it, so at ten o'clock he took Muggins from his corral, nailed a four-pound shoe on one of his feet, left the other shoeless and slipped the horse back in the corral to await the arrival of the tricksters. Then, with Bob Martin and Jim Henry, he slipped down to the track and the three hid in the sagebrush to watch the result of the trial race.

            The Star hill pony, of course, won in a walk, and as none of the tricksters became wise to Keogh's ruse they started out the next morning with offers to take all bets in sight. When the ponies left the wire about seven thousand dollars had been wagered on the result of the race. Keogh's horse loped in an easy winner and the

NEVADA IN THE MAKING             329

Star hill boys were sent home poorer but none the wiser, wondering how it had happened.

            Pat later started a drug store, which he operated for several years, finally selling out to Billy Gordon. Keogh then went to New York, where he entered Bellevue and studied medicine. After his graduation he returned to Salt Lake City, where he engaged in practice and formed a partnership with Dr. Hosmer and the two physicians established and successfully operated the Keogh-Hosmer hospital. Dr. Keogh, by the way, was a brother-in-law of W. S. McCornick, one of Utah's leading bankers.

CHAPTER X.

SOME SHOOTING AND GUN PRACTICE IN CHERRY CREEK.

            While Cherry Creekers were as a rule peaceable and law abiding people, tragedy at times intruded to mar the quiet of the usually tranquil community. One of the most noteworthy of these tragedies was the killing of Johnnie Howlett by Ed Crutchley, who owned a claim about twelve miles south of Egan Canyon, where he had stored considerable water which he had piped down from the mountain to where he had installed water troughs and built stock corrals for the use of the stockmen during the roundups. Howlett had cattle and horses on the range, using Crutchley's watering and corral privileges until they had some trouble in Cherry Creek. In this fight Howlett, who was young and muscular, got the best of Crutchley, who was around three-score years, before friends separated the two men. Bad blood resulted and Crutchley forbade Howlett further use of the corrals. Howlett, however, disregarded this warning and Crutchley was unable to keep

330 NEVADA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS  

him out without closing the corral to other stockmen.

            Finally feeling between the two men became so bitter that Crutchley warned Howlett that if he ever drove his stock into the corrals again he would kill him. Only a few days later he saw Howlett driving his stock in, so Crutchley loaded his shotgun with heavy slugs and when Howlett entered the corral with his herd Crutchley shot him, killing him instantly.

            Evidence at the coroner's inquest tended to show that the two men had some words before the killing from the fact that Howlett, who was shot through the breast, had his coat off as if in preparation for a fight. Crutchley, who came into town immediately after the shooting, at first claimed that Howlett had been killed by other stockmen, but suspicion pointed so strongly to him that he was arrested. He immediately retained W. C. Love as his attorney and told Love the facts of the killing.

            Love demanded the release of the prisoner on the ground that the killing was done in self-defense, but feeling ran so high among the friends of Howlett that Crutchley was held to appear before the grand jury at Hamilton. This was, I believe, in the summer of 1883, and by the time court met in the fall Crutchley had apparently partially lost his mind and while on the stand wandered from the story previously told his attorney and again claimed that Howlett had been killed by other stockmen. Attorney Love made a strong plea to save the prisoner's life and to have him sent to the asylum, but failed to convince the jury, which found Crutchley guilty of murder in the first degree. Having no money and few friends, Crutchley went to the gallows for what many people believed was murder done in self-defense.

NEVADA IN THE MAKING             331

            Crutchley was, I believe, the first man legally hanged in White Pine county. The second, and the last to the writer's knowledge, was Hank Parish, convicted of killing a man named Thompson, I believe, in Pioche in 1890. Parish secured a change of venue from Lincoln county to White Pine county, but was convicted of first degree murder and hanged at Ely, Billy Bassett being sheriff at that time.

            Perhaps one of the saddest tragedies in the history of Cherry Creek occurred the day after election in 1894, I believe, when Patrick Dolan shot and killed Pat Green. The men were close neighbors, engaged in farming and stockraising in Steptoe valley north of Cherry Creek, Mr. Dolan living twelve miles from town, while the Green ranch was about two miles farther north. While the two men had not been on friendly terms for some time prior to the shooting none of the townspeople had suspected that their enmity was so deep rooted that it would lead to murder.

            The original cause of the trouble, it was reported, was a disagreement over school matters, one district being set aside for the two farms and the school building being located midway between the homes of the men. The day of the shooting both men were in town and both supposedly under the influence of liquor when the longstanding quarrel was renewed, but without attracting any particular attention from the town residents. Dolan, however, suddenly left Cherry, went to his ranch, secured a shotgun and returned to town. He found Green, with a number of other people, standing on the sidewalk and without getting out of his wagon or giving warning of any kind, he raised his gun and shot Green through the head, killing him instantly.

            Green, a small man weighing about one hundred and thirty pounds, was of a quiet and peace-

332 NEVADA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS

able disposition, while Dolan, who weighed about two hundred and forty, was of powerful build. Prior to the murder both men were popular and both had families, which were highly thought of in the community. The killing excited a great deal of feeling, however, and Dolan, who was tried at Ely, was convicted of first degree murder, the jury recommending life imprisonment. Dolan's wife and small children were present at the trial and excited a great deal of sympathy for the defendant, and this, together with a strong plea made by his attorney, Henry Rives, saved him from the gallows.

            While there were many Cherry Creekers "quick on the Draw," most of them were peaceably inclined and the town was rather above the usual average in the West, and the "spat" of a bullet or the whine of a rifle usually meant that another hotly contested target shooting match was in progress. Target shooting was a prime sport, the chief participants in the matches being R. A. (Dick) Frank, A. M. Vanderlip, O. H. Grey, Henry Griswold, L. C. Raper, Cris Ostergard and Will Fillmore. Honors were pretty evenly divided between Dick Frank and Vanderlip, both usually scoring twenty-three out of a possible twenty-five bullseyes, shooting offhand at two hundred yards. Cris Ostergard was generally a close second and it was conceded that if he could quit a poker game twelve hours before a shoot, in order to rest his nerves up, he was sure to score twenty-three, and he had been known to make twenty-four bullseyes.

            Target shooting, however, was not confined solely to the grownups, as a number of boys who had not yet reached their teens had 22-calibre rifles and were just as keen at the sport as their elders. These young lads, too, aped their elders in other things, for, in spite of their age, their gath-

NEVADA IN THE MAKING             333

erings were never complete without a flask of Old Crow, McBrayer or Maryland Club. Where the boys got the liquor always remained an unsolved mystery, but in spite of all efforts to prevent it they usually managed to have a supply on hand.

            Harvey Riley, Max Frank, Austin Cannon and Clarence Fillmore, all ranging in age from ten to twelve years, were leaders of the boys and their escapades at times were the talk of the town. The writer remembers when young Riley made a bet with Austin Cannon, I believe, that the latter could not shoot a hole through Riley's hat at a distance of thirty yards, Riley to hold the hat in his hand while Cannon performed the feat. Cannon won the bet, putting a bullet through the crown of the hat and incidentally tearing off one of young Riley's fingers with the bullet. The wounded boy was taken by the writer on his stage to Ely, where medical aid was given and the boy's wound, which was later tended to by his sister, Mrs. Joe Callahan, soon healed.

            This accident came near being the cause of a tragedy, as young Riley, as soon as he was able to be about tried to duplicate the feat after making a bet with Max Frank. Riley offered to put a bullet through young Frank's hat at a distance of thirty yards, but unfortunately his aim was poor and the bullet went clear through the body of the Frank boy, taking a piece of lung with it. A special messenger was immediately sent to Ely for Dr. M. J. Davis, the only doctor in the county at this time, who responded promptly and by good work was able to save the boy's life. After spending a day with his patient the doctor returned to Ely and thereafter sent instructions as to the lad's care by the stage, which was operated three times a week between the two towns. Had the bullet passed a fraction of an inch either way from the course it took it would have meant

334 NEVADA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS

instant death for the boy, according to the doctor's statement. However, with excellent care the lad was able to be around in two weeks, apparently none the worse for the accident.

            The lack of churches at Cherry Creek was not generally felt, in spite of the fact that young boys seemed wild, but at least one old-timer was forced to leave the country because his wife wanted better religious environment for her rather numerous offspring. This resident was T. N. Crosthwaite, who came with his family from Texas in the early '90s, at first engaging in the furniture business but later, with D. C. Kennedy, another old-timer, buying from the writer the stage line operating between Cherry Creek and Wells. Mr. Crosthwaite drove the stage as far as Deep Wells, in the valley opposite Spruce mountain, while Kennedy handled it between that point and Wells. Both Dan and Newt, as they were popularly known, had many friends along the line as well as in the towns where they made their homes. Mr. Kennedy later settled at Cherry and engaged in the saloon business, while Mr. Crosthwaite returned to Texas and later moved to Oklahoma.

            "Newt" certainly hated to leave Nevada, but Mrs. Crosthwaite, who was a niece of the writer, was a devout Methodist and could not reconcile herself to the idea of having her children miss Sunday school or having to send them to Salt Lake City, four hundred miles away, the nearest point of worship. On this account the family moved south and Mr. Crosthwaite is now operating a shoe repair factory at Ardmore, Okla., a town which has been much in the public print of late owing to the rotten-egging of United States Senator Jim Read while he was attacking the Wilson Peace league, and more lately noted as the scene of the Hamon murder trial.

            The fact that Mr. Crosthwaite has had his ups

NEVADA IN THE MAKING             335

and downs is patent from an advertisement recently appearing in an Oklahoma paper and reading as follows :

            "I have been bawled out, balled up, held up and held down ; have been bulldozed, blackjacked, walked on, cheated, squeezed and mooched ; stuck for war tax, excess profits tax, per capita tax, state tax, dog tax and syntax ; stuck for Liberty bonds, baby bonds, bonds of matrimony, Red Cross, Green Cross and double cross ; asked to help the Society of St. John the Baptist, C. W. A., Woman's Relief corps, men's relief and stomach relief.

            "I have worked like hell and been worked like hell ; have been drunk and gotten others drunk, lost all I had and part of my furniture, and because I won't spend or lend all of the little I earn and go beg, borrow and steal I have been cussed and discussed, boycotted, talked to and talked about, tantalized, criticised and hooverized until nearly paralyzed ; lied to and lied about ; held up, hung up, robbed and damn near ruined, and the only reason I am sticking around now is to see what in the hell is coming next.

            "If you feel that I am entitled to your patronage call at T. N. Crosthwaite's Electric Shoe Shop, 33 Caddo Street, Ardmore."

CHAPTER XI.

THE PRACTICE OF DENTISTRY AND LAW IN CHERRY CREEK.

            For many years residents of Cherry Creek had to be satisfied with the crudest sort of surgery and medical attention, the nearest doctor being located at Ely, while dental work had to await the arrival of traveling dentists who made periodical visits to the camp. In case of a violent toothache, however, Pete Cannon, who ran the drug-

336 NEVADA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS

store and had a pair of pliers in lieu of forceps, gave heroic emergency relief. In fact Pete Cannon and an old man by the name of Leonard were the only toothpullers in the county for years.

            Leonard had no home in particular, traveling over the country in a house built on four wheels and drawn by a span of small mules. Leonard, a well-known character in his day, was an atheist and in his wagon home carried a lot of snakes, lizards, scorpions, tarantulas and similar things as companions on his wanderings.

            Along in the early '90s the Nevada legislature passed what was known as the dental law, whereby all new-comers to the State who wished to practice dentistry were compelled to go to Carson and undergo an examination as to their fitness and in addition had to pay a ten dollar license fee before starting to practice in the State. By the terms of the law residents of the State who had been pulling teeth, whether or not they were graduates of a recognized dental college, were exempt from the examination and license fee, but in lieu of this were compelled to file an application to practice with the county recorder of the county in which they resided and to pay a one dollar fee for filing a certificate entitling them to practice. This law, coupled with the monopoly of dental work enjoyed for years at Cherry Creek by Pete Cannon and Leonard, was responsible for a queer trial which later furnished a great deal of fun for the entire camp.

            Shortly after the enactment of the state dental law a young man by the name of McCaffery, a graduate of a California dental college, who had the finest team, rig and dental equipment ever seen in the State, arrived at Carson to take the required examination. The new dental board was not in session, but the secretary, who was busily engaged in playing poker, told the young student

NEVADA IN THE MAKING             337

that it would be all right for him to go ahead and practice. The young dentist remained in Carson ten days but was unable to get the dental board together to give him an examination, though he meanwhile had engaged in practice. Despairing of ever getting a chance to take the examination, the young dentist drove to Elko, continuing to practice all the time.

            While at Elko Mr. McCaffery met Leonard, who asked him if he had a license to practice. McCaffery replied in the negative and then, becoming suspicious of Leonard, he sent a ten dollar money order to the state board at Carson retaining the stub as proof. Leaving Elko he struck out through the valleys, visiting Lamoille, Huntington, Butte valley and then on to Cherry Creek. A few days after he reached Cherry Creek Leonard arrived and at once swore out a warrant for the arrest of McCaffery on a charge of practicing dentistry without a license.

            Pete Cannon, the other official toothpuller, was also justice of the peace and he at once appointed John Wearne to prosecute the case, the trial being fixed for the second day following the arrest. Mr. Wearne at once visited the prisoner and advised him to settle the case, explaining that the penalty on conviction was a two hundred and fifty dollar fine or six months in prison or both at the discretion of the court, but that they were not disposed to be severe and he would be released if he agreed to pay the two hundred and fifty dollar fine.

            McCaffery had plenty of money and could easily have paid, but he realized that if he admitted his guilt the same thing would happen again and again, as Leonard had then trailed him for 300 miles. There was no lawyer in the county at the time except the district attorney at Ely, so McCaffery wired Attorney Ed Farrington at

338 NEVADA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS

Elko, now federal judge at Carson. Farrington replied that he could not afford to come for less than six hundred dollars and advised McCaffery to pay the fine, as the case against him seemed clear.

            McCaffery, who was unwilling to admit himself beaten and was determined to fight the case, had become quite friendly with Ira J. McKnight, and when the writer came in on the stage from Wells at 10 o'clock on the night preceding the trial he was met by the two men. McKnight, a close friend of the writer, at once proposed that I try to help McCaffery out of his troubles. While having had considerable experience in civil court procedure, the writer was unversed in criminal law, but Ira, being a county commissioner at the time, had all the statutes and the three of us at once began to study up every aspect of the case and by 4 o'clock the next morning when we parted were agreed that we had learned enough law to make Hearne, who was not a lawyer, sit up and take notice. At ten o'clock the next morning, when the case was set for trial, we appeared in Justice Cannon's court and moved for a postponement for four days. The motion was promptly overruled by his honor, whereupon the writer, having been selected as chief counsel for the defense, produced the necessary affidavit and cited the law in the case, proving to the justice that it was mandatory on his part to give the defense a continuance of two days at a time for three consecutive times if necessary to secure counsel. We agreed, however, that if he would grant us four days we would then be ready to proceed with the trial.

            The continuance was granted by the justice, and the doctor was then advised to at once get busy among the boys about town, making acquaintances and setting up the drinks occasionally,

NEVADA IN THE MAKING             339

while the writer went to Ely to gather further legal ammunition. This trip proved fruitful, for an examination of the county records showed that neither Justice Cannon nor Leonard, the prosecuting witness, had filed the required certificates to entitle them to practice dentistry. While the writer knew that a simple affidavit from the clerk or recorder was inadmissible if objected to by the State, he believed that he could at least get the facts before the jury.

            For three days the writer diligently studied the statutes and discovered a number of laws that few people knew about and which had never been enforced. One of these provided that a wood hauler or woodchopper was subject to a fine of from two hundred and fifty to five hundred dollars for cutting or hauling wood on the hills without first buying the land on which the wood grew. Another provided that no saloon-keeper could keep his bar open after noon on Sunday or after midnight at any time under heavy penalties ; further, no married man was allowed to play cards in a saloon provided his wife or dependents filed an objection. Likewise, under the Hamill anti-treating law no man was allowed to treat another over the bar. Violation of these statutes carried fines of two hundred and fifty to five hundred dollars with imprisonment of six months.

            Armed with all this legal lore the writer returned to Cherry Creek and demanded a jury trial for the defendant, passing every wood hauler, married man and saloonkeeper as jurors. The jury box was soon filled and the veniremen ready for peremptory challenges, but the defense regularly passed its peremptories. The prosecution, ignorant of the number allowed the State, had soon exhausted its quota, and then, falling into the trap as the defense had hoped for, attempted to challenge one more juror. This venire-

340 NEVADA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS  

man was Charles Phalan, and when defense counsel explained that the State had no right to challenge Counsel Wearne at once apologized to the juror. The defense was well satisfied, however, that Mr. Phalan, who had just become of age, would feel resentful toward the prosecution for challenging him on account of his youth, and that the worst that could be expected was a hung jury.

            When the jury was sworn in the defense counsel at once began to read the old statutes which proved that three-fourths of the jurors were lawbreakers and that both the judge and the prosecuting witness, who had been practicing dentistry without filing the necessary certificates, had violated the very law for which they were prosecuting McCaffery. Counsel also proved that the prosecuting attorney, who had been cutting wood and hauling timber for years, was criminally liable under the statutes. After stressing the penalties provided for violations of these laws counsel for the defense insisted that not only should the jury find the defendant not guilty but that it should also find the dental law of the state unconstitutional and authorize the defendant to practice his profession without further molestation.

            So strongly was the jury impressed that the first ballot was eleven for acquittal and for declaring the law invalid. W. A. Watson, while strong for acquittal, somewhat doubted the jurisdiction of the talesmen in declaring the law unconstitutional. However, after considering the matter Mr. Watson, who was a true son of his father and strongly opposed to seeing the under dog get the worst of it, decided that he would take a chance and the second ballot was unanimous for declaring the law invalid.

            The verdict of the jury was returned at seven

NEVADA IN THE MAKING             341

thirty p. m. and thereafter began a celebration which was noteworthy in the annals of Cherry Creek. So pleased was McCaffery that he spent the two hundred and fifty dollars which he would have been fined in entertaining the town and every man in camp got drunk except the judge and the prosecuting attorney. Even Leonard, the prosecuting witness, who had passed his allotted three-score years and ten, in the midst of the celebration jumped on a billiard table and offered to bet Billy Bassett his favorite rattlesnake against a round of drinks for the town that McCaffery could put a better polish on a set of teeth than any other dentist in the State. McCaffery was a great mixer and could play any kind of a musical instrument, could sing and call out dances and was popular in any company in which he found himself. He was still making his annual visits to White Pine county when the writer left the county in 1904.

CHAPTER XII.

HOW WARD WAS DISCOVERED.

            Freighting between Toano and Pioche was a considerable industry from 1870 to 1873, both oxen and mule teams being used to haul the heavy traffic between the two towns. Willow Creek and Water Canyon, just south of Ward, furnished good grazing for the oxen, commonly called bull teams, during these years. The ox drivers were generally known as bullwhackers or bullpunchers, while the drivers of horse and mule teams were called muleskinners.

            All freighters in these days made it a point to lay over for a day or two at Willow Creek to rest up their teams, and where an ox showed signs of being played out it was customary to

342 NEVADA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS

turn it loose at the springs to rest up until the return trip. Oxen turned loose to graze and rest up in this way were known as "sleepers." These sleepers were, in a measure, almost common property, and it was not unusual for a driver who was heavily loaded to pick up a rested sleeper and work it for a trip, no objection being made by the owner as long as the animal was left at the place it was found when the driver made the return trip.

            The chief freighting outfits at this time were those of Charlie Coates, William Ballinger, John Henry, Jacob Schallenberger and Mr. Carnahan, the last two named being in partnership for a number of years, finally dissolving their partnership in 1873, I believe, when Mr. Schallenberger took over the teams, while Mr. Carnahan as his share retained a ranch in which the two were interested. Schallenberger and Coates about this time pulled off the Toano-Pioche line and moved to Eureka.

            When he disposed of his interest in the ranch to Mr. Carnahan, Mr. Schallenberger immediately bought the Lowrey ranch, adjoining on the north, but did not move on it until the '80s, after which time he made it his home. The writer was well acquainted with Mr. Schallenberger, who was for years one of White Pine county's most respected citizens both being for a time engaged in the same business, that of ox team freighting, hauling timbers from White Pine Mountain to Eureka for use in timbering the Eureka mine in the latter '70s. Mr. Schallenberger at one time owned more bull teams than any other man in the state. While he could neither read nor write, he was considered one of the shrewdest and safest business men in the county and held more mortgages on ranches in Steptoe valley and Duckwater, in Nye county, than any other money lender in the

NEVADA IN THE MAKING             343

county. With it all Jake, as he was best known, was a "square shooter" and deservedly well liked and popular.

            In addition to Schallenberger and Coates at this time Sam King, Jerry Ahern, Fred Hayes and a man by the nickname of "Multitude" were all engaged in bull team freighting. Jerry Ahern gained considerable wealth in the business and later opened up a merchandise store in Eureka and later engaged in the same business at Tonopah, where his health failed. He then moved to Los Angeles and now, having rounded out his four-score years, is spending his last days happily with his daughter, Mrs. Lee, at Ocean Park, California.

            "Multitude" earned his name from his use of the word on every possible occasion. Instead of saying "a large number of bulls," he always said "multitudes of them," and this, together with the fact that he could drive "multitudes" to one string, soon earned him his nickname. Multitude drove the longest string of cattle on the road, fourteen yoke of oxen and five wagons, and was considered the greatest puncher in the business. Multitude had the reputation of being able to make a louder noise with his bull whip than any other puncher on the road, with Jake Schallenberger a close second. It was commonly said that when Multitude laid over for a day at Diamond Springs to repair his "town whip," which was only used on state occasions, he was sure on his next trip to rattle the window panes in Eureka with reports from his whip.

            Freight traffic in and around Hamilton and Eureka was unusually heavy from 1872 to 1876, and during these years about a thousand oxen and probably three times as many horses and mules were used in the freighting. Oxen at this time were usually branded on the horn with the

344 NEVADA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS

initials of the owner, "J. S." for Jake Schallenberger, "J. A." for Jerry Ahern, "F. H." for Fred Hayes, "W. B." for William Ballinger, "J. H." for John Henry, "B. M." for the writer and "C. C. C." for Charles Chesterfield Coates, commonly known as the three C outfit.

            Coates was a well-known character and mention of his name reminds the writer of a story told of him and another old-time freighter named Baker, who was best known as "Humpy," owing to the fact that he was very stoop-shouldered. Baker, who at this time was engaged in hauling lumber from the Hendrie sawmill, in the Snake range east of Jeff Davis peak, had six yoke of oxen and two wagons. He was generally believed to be over fond of gathering up and using the sleepers, or oxen left at the various camping grounds to recuperate.

            Coates, in pulling out for Eureka, had left a number of sleepers behind at the different watering places, and it was while searching for these that he met Humpy Baker in Sacramento pass bound for Ward with a load of building lumber. Noticing two of his sleepers in Baker's team, Coates, pulling his six-shooter from its holster, commanded Baker to "unyoke those sleepers damn quick." Baker, who was not acquainted with Coates and who did not know which of the sleepers belonged to him, at once stripped the yokes from all of the oxen except one, his off leader, which was the only animal of his own in the entire outfit.

            Coates, then realizing the predicament he would leave Baker in if he insisted on freeing all of the sleepers, asked Humpy if he had a file in his tool kit. Upon receiving an affirmative answer Coates then replied, "then file the three Cs from the horns of those two bulls and keep them, but if I ever again catch you west of White

NEVADA IN THE MAKING             345

Pine mountain I will kill you on the spot." Humpy, thoroughly alarmed, heeded the warning and died east of the mountains in the early '90s. This tale fitly explains the big-heartedness of Coates, who always had a sympathetic feeling for any man engaged in the same line of business, while his threat, taken so seriously by Baker, was never meant to be carried out.

            The discovery of ore at Ward and the development of the camp was due directly to the freighting business, as it was while hunting "sleeper" bulls one summer day in 1872 that William Ballinger and John Henry made the first ore discovery in what later came to be known as the Ward district. Henry and Ballinger took samples of the likely-looking outcrop they discovered through to Cherry Creek, where assays brought them such good returns that they brought several men, with grub, tools, ammunition and camp outfit back to the scene of their discovery on their return trip from Toano to Pioche.

            Camp was made at Willow Creek and Ballinger and Henry proceeded to file on a number of claims covering their new discovery. The one known as the Paymaster proved, I believe, to be the most valuable. Ballinger and Henry put two men to work sinking a shaft and when they had reached a depth of about forty-five feet, with a great deal of promising ore in sight, they sold out to Judge Frizell, who made the purchase either for himself or on behalf of his San Francisco associates. This, I believe, was in the fall of 1873.

            Henry, who continued his freighting business until 1874, then pulled off the road and settled in Ward, where he was for years one of the leading citizens of the camp. In 1882 he made the race for county commissioner but was defeated by Ed Crowley of Cherry Creek. Ballinger after selling

346 NEVADA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS

out his mining interests to Frizell, bought and settled on what was later known as the Currie ranch, thirty miles north of Cherry Creek. This ranch he later sold to Mr. Currie and then moved to Toano.

            Immediately after Henry and Ballinger had sold to Judge Frizell, B. F. Ward, George Tyler and Ben Mitten, all from Mineral City, located the new townsite, which was named Ward in honor of one of the locators. The writer was well acquainted with Mr. Ward, Mr. Tyler and Mr. Mitten, as well as with Judge Frizell, and the facts as set forth here are as given to him at the time he located in Mineral City in 1874. The writer's partner, Allen Forrest, went to Ward to work for Judge Frizell in the fall of 1874, while the writer, after spending November 6 to November 15 in Eureka, returned to the Robinson district.

CHAPTER XIII.

WARD WAS FLOURISHING CAMP.

            To Andrew Jackson Millick belongs the honor of building the first house in Ward, Mr. and Mrs. Millick boarding the Frizell miners, but a few in number, when the camp was first opened up. Mr. and Mrs. Millick had several children at this time, Frank, I believe, being about nineteen, while Miss Alice was about seventeen and Dick (A. R.) about thirteen. Miss Millick later married Theodore Matson and their first child, a boy, was named Forrest in honor of Allen Forrest, a prince of a fellow who was admired by all who knew him.

            Being well acquainted with the Millick family, the writer spent Christmas day of 1874 with them at their home in Ward. At this time Judge Frizell

NEVADA IN THE MAKING             347

was working only a small force of men on the Paymaster, sinking a shaft and finding good pay ore with depth. His force at this time consisted of A. J. Millick, Frank Millick, Bob Hughes (One-Eyed Bob), Lou Carpenter, Allen Forrest, a Mr. Weaver and the latter's partner, Alex McKenzie, who sharpened the tools for the miners. Shortly after the holidays Judge Frizell began to increase his force and early in 1875 the mines were examined by a corps of experts, whose report resulted in the sale of the property in April of the same year to Martin White. It was at this time that the real rush for Ward began.

            On April 15, 1875, or shortly prior to the first real rush of immigrants into the Ward district, the writer migrated from Mineral City to the Carnahan ranch, where he assisted Tom Grant and Dave Thompson to plant for Mr. Carnahan one hundred and five acres of barley, this acreage embracing all of the tillable land from the Carnahan residence to where the Monitor mill was later erected on Steptoe Creek. Carnahan at this time had the only hay and barley on hand in the valley and it met with ready sale on the ranch at forty dollars a ton for the hay and five dollars a hundred for the whole barley.

            During the early development of his mining property Judge Frizell did not have a dollar to pay for the work but was backed by Henry and Fred Hi1p, merchants of Mineral City, who furnished him all the supplies needed for his mine and the men. The workmen agreed to wait for their pay until such time as the mine was sold or returns from the ore were received.

            Among the men employed at the mine during this time was Al Forrest, who had been the writer's partner for several years, their friendship dating back to Bingham canyon, Utah, where Forrest had been employed as a smelterer.

348 NEVADA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS

or furnaceman, while the writer was his helper at the Winnamuck smelting works. Al was very bashful while in the company of women unless he was well acquainted. While in Bingham canyon a handsome widow, a Mrs. Duff, who had seven children, did washing and laundry work for Forrest, the writer and other men employed about the smelter. The writer thought he detected a growing degree of admiration between Al and the widow and not wishing to lose his partner, finally persuaded Forrest to leave Bingham with him and come to Nevada. After a slow journey we finally reached Deep Creek, Utah, in the spring of 1874 and from that point the overland trip to Egan canyon was made with Liberty Millet, a brother-in-law of A. J. Millick of Ward.

            Al Forrest, like the other miners employed by Judge Frizell, did not receive any pay until the summer of 1875, when the property was paid for by the Martin White interests, after the writer had left for Eberhardt. During his visit to Ward from May 20 to May 25, 1875, the writer and Forrest thought they might as well locate a claim and try their luck at the mining game, so filed on a claim just north of the canyon and above the boarding house. The prospect was named the Tennessee Forrest, a combination of the writer's nickname, he having come to the west from Tennessee, and that of Mr. Forrest.

            At the time the claim was filed on the understanding was that Al was to begin work as soon as he was paid off by Frizell, which was expected to be in time to permit us to do the necessary location work within the specified sixty-day period. With this understanding the writer bought the powder, caps, fuse, tools and other needed mining supplies from Hilp Brothers at Mineral City and stored them with McKenzie and Weaver in their cabin at Ward so that Al

NEVADA IN THE MAKING 349

would have everything needed to start work as soon as he was paid off by Frizell.

            The writer's surprise can well be imagined when, not having heard from Al for several months and believing he was working on their claim, he received a letter from Bingham canyon, Utah, saying : "Dearest Tennessee : Arrived here O. K. Have gone and done it. Married Duffy and the seven kids. All is well. Al."

            With the acquisition of the Paymaster mine from Judge Frizell by the Martin White interests, the real growth of Ward began. Robert Briggs, one of the earliest corners to Ward, was employed as foreman of the Martin White properties, a Mr. Sweetapple being the general superintendent. The force at the Paymaster was increased as fast as possible, miners, carpenters, machinists and mechanics of all kinds being given employment as fast as they came to town. Work of erecting a hoist was started at once and new roads were constructed. When the writer visited Ward in May he helped A. J. Millick cut and snake logs down the mountain to build an extension to his boarding house, which was the only accommodation furnished the miners until Mrs. Yates built her hotel and restaurant. At Christmas, 1874, there were perhaps twelve or fifteen people in Ward, including the Millick family of several children. By May of the following year the population had increased to perhaps one hundred and fifty, and when the writer passed through the camp in the summer of 1877 it had grown to a thriving town of about two thousand people, with over six hundred men employed in the camp. It was at this time that the writer learned that the claim located by himself and Al Forrest had been relocated by Ben Mitten and his brother Granville and that two years before it had been sold for eight thousand dollars as a tunnel site for the Martin White interests.

350 NEVADA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS  

            By 1878 Ward had grown to such proportions that it controlled the county elections, casting more votes than were ever polled by any other precinct in the county during the thirty years spent by the writer in the State, there being six hundred and eighty qualified voters registered in the town. At this time the big smelter was running full blast and the camp supported a wide-awake newspaper, the Reflex, edited by Robert Simpson. The first issue of the Reflex went to press in April, 1877. Mr. Simpson, who was later associated with the White Pine News, edited the Reflex for several years, finally turning it over to Louis Hauck. Keen rivalry existed for some years between the Reflex and the News, which at that time was being published at Taylor. Editorial quarrels were frequent, and while the enmity never reached the shooting point, language in the two papers was not always of the choicest. The Reflex plant was finally sold to the News, at that time owned by W. L. Davis. The Ward Miner was published at Ward from October, 1876, until April, 1877, by Mark W. Musgrove, who moved to Battle Mountain, Nevada, and started the Battle Mountain Messenger in May, 1877.

            The surface minerals of the mines in Ward carried a heavy percentage of lead. The first reduction plant erected was the big smelter, which operated for perhaps a couple of years, but as depth was reached the lead and basic minerals to a large degree disappeared. This, with the scarcity of fluxing ore, together with the scarcity of wood for charcoal as well as fuel, necessitated a change in the reduction works, and the furnaces were changed into a mill. The mill was successfully operated for several years, up until along in the early '80s when the ore began to pinch out. Mr. Sweetapple continued in charge as general superintendent of the Martin White interests,

NEVADA IN THE MAKING             351

The Martin White Mines at Ward. [click on image to enlarge]

352 NEVADA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS

which was the only company of importance in the camp, until relieved by a Mr. Clements, I believe, who assumed charge of mill operations.

CHAPTER XIV.

EARLY-DAY TRAGEDIES IN WARD AND THE BRIGHTER SIDE OF LIFE.

            While the camp of Ward produced many hundreds of thousands of dollars it mostly came from the Martin White holdings, with perhaps the Pleiades mine second in the value of its output. In fact, the writer cannot recall any other important discovery in the district. The Pleiades was discovered and located by Matt Gleason and Jack Roach of Mineral City and its discovery led to one of the earliest tragedies of Ward. The mine was located shortly after the discovery of the Paymaster and gave promise of a great future when Roach, in a dispute over a mine deal, killed Gleason. Roach was tried for the murder, convicted and given a life sentence, but later was transferred to the insane asylum, where he died shortl