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Slag dump of Osceola smelter. [click on image to enlarge]

CHAPTER XV.

OSCEOLA, GOLD-HUNTERS' MECCA.

            Osceola, probably the longest-lived placer min-

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ing camp in Nevada, was located, I believe, about 1872 by Joseph Watson and Frank Hicks, but virtually nothing was done in the way of development until about five years later. The Osceola placer fields were first discovered about 1877, or at least work of any considerable scale was first undertaken about that time, the writer going to the camp shortly after the first news of the gold discovery became known.

            Probably the earliest placer mining done in Nevada was at Gold Canyon, in the Washoe country placer fields, about 1856, but the gold was of a poor quality and the Canyon was abandoned about the time of the discovery of the Comstock in 1859 or 1860.

            Another placer camp which was worked for a number of years was Mountain City, near the Nevada-Idaho line in the extreme northern end of Elko county. The first placer mining done there was by Chinese, who operated during the construction of the Central Pacific railroad and who sluiced thousands of dollars from the ravines and hillsides. From along in the '60s to the latter '70s the Mountain City country was quite lively, but when the writer passed through the camp during the early '90s on his way to the Duck Valley Indian reservation there was only one lone Chinaman holding down the camp, which from a mining standpoint had been virtually deserted for years. Many stockmen, however, had located on the streams in the vicinity of the camp, so that the country was fairly well settled.

            When the writer reached Osceola during the time of the first excitement he found only a few people on the ground before him. One of these was A. J. Millick, who had just opened the first restaurant and was starting to build a feed corral and stockade stable. There was no great rush to the camp, but it grew steadily and was always a

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good, steady town. While other camps in the county were having their lean and fat years, Osceola was always producing gold, and even before there was any water brought into the town the dry-wash boys always had plenty of coin.

            While Osceola was considered a placer camp, there were at least two or three quartz mills erected in the district, one just east of Sacramento summit, which, I believe, was operated for only a short time. Another was located just a little way east of town, and it is my impression that Jack Gilmer of stage fame built and operated a quartz mill in Osceola along in the '80s. The writer's memory is not quite clear as to the period of operations prior to 1889 or 1890, when Ben Hampton began the construction of a hydraulic plant. Mr. Hampton, who spent two hundred and fifty thousand dollars before he shipped an ounce of gold dust, brought water from the mountains fifteen or eighteen miles south of town and built a big hydraulic plant for the Osceola Gravel Mining Company just below town, the water also being used to develop other placer properties financed by eastern capitalists.

            The construction of this big hydraulic plant, incidentally, was used as a lever by Mr. Hampton and the writer to secure more advantageous freight rates and to establish Wells as a distributing point for White Pine county, Mr. Hampton as a result of the deal getting a special blanket rate for Osceola. The writer's freight teams hauled from Wells several cars of building material, including a carload of finishing lumber, one of shingles, one of doors and windows and another of kerosene and lubricating oil. This tonnage being new business, of course, would naturally attract the attention of railroad officials, which was the object aimed at. Hampton was shrewd and keen and just the man to show the

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Oregon Short Line people that it was not only the haul from Salt Lake to Frisco, Utah, they were losing by the Wells route, but they were also losing this Wells business from the Oregon mills to Salt Lake. Hampton saw to it that none of the freight ever touched the Oregon Short Line during our negotiations, and the result was a traffic agreement whereby everything consigned to the Osceola Gravel Mining Company thereafter had a flat rate of forty cents a hundred from Salt Lake to either Oasis or Frisco, irrespective of classification. The same articles consigned to Glascock & Marriott, Scott and other merchants of Osceola carried a rate of sixty-two to eighty cents a hundred and all freight bills would show the same rate, but Hampton's company was taken care of by a refund made at the Salt Lake office of the railroad company.

            Osceola was for many years an excellent little business town and its merchants enjoyed a good standing in the commercial world, always being able to discount their bills regularly. A good volume of the trade of the town came from the ranchers and stockmen for many miles around in the Spring and Snake valleys.

            Snake valley was one of the most productive valleys in the State, and its earliest settlers represented the highest type of citizens in the county. One of the first of these settlers was George W. Baker and his family, including his charming wife, his daughter, who married Dan Simonson, and his four sons, Martin, P. M. (Doc) and the twins, Howard and Harry. Mr. Baker and his wife, who were engaged in farming and stock-raising, came from the south and were highly cultured. Martin, while an invalid, was one of the best read and best posted men in the state. Mrs. Simonson, who was a school teacher, was also well educated. Mr. Baker, Sr., was a candi-

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Geo. W. Baker, Geo. P. Blair. [click on image to enlarge]

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date for the state assembly on the democratic ticket in 1886 but was defeated by W. G. Lyons. The Bakers, who lived for many years in the valley, by shrewd management and hard work amassed a comfortable fortune.

            Calvin Warlick, a North Carolina "tarheel," owned a sawmill in Snake valley close to the Baker ranch. Mr. Warlick was popular in the county and was elected a county commissioner from Snake valley in the latter '80s on the democratic ticket.

            Mr. Dearden, who for years was one of Snake valley's most prominent and successful merchants, owned a general store near the Baker ranch and, I believe, later was successful in having a post-office established there, which was called Baker. While Mr. Dearden was unable to either read or write he attended to his store business without help for many years until the business grew to such volume that he had to employ help. Mr. Dearden's system of keeping his own books always remained a dark secret, but it is a fact that he was seldom known to make a mistake in the accounts of his many charge customers.

            In this connection the writer is reminded of a story told of Mr. Dearden by Cal Warwick, who purchased at Dearden's store all the supplies for himself and his sawmill force, paying his bills monthly. Mr. Dearden, of course, did not render any statements, but always called off the items to his customers when they came to pay their bills. In calling off this particular month's purchases to Cal the conversation went something like this :

            "Dollar's worth of Arbuckle's coffee," said Mr. Dearden.

            "Correct," replied Cal.

            "Dollar's worth of sugar."

            "Yes."

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            "Gallon of whisky, $7."

            "That's right."

            "Flour, $2.25."

            "Correct."

            "Tea, 50 cents."

            "Yes."

            "Gallon of whisky, $7."

            "Correct."

            "Baking powder, $1."

            "Right."

            "Pair of overalls, $1.25."

            "Yes."

            "Cheese, $4."

            "No, Mr. Dearden, none of us use cheese."

            "You must have got it," replied Dearden.

            "No," answered Cal, "you have no doubt charged me up with a sale made to someone else. Better look over your accounts and maybe you will find who bought it."

            A few days later Cal dropped into the store and inquired if Mr. Dearden had found the mistake about the cheese.

            "No, Cal, it was not a mistake," said Dearden, "only it was not a cheese but a grindstone. I merely forgot to put the hole in the center."

            William Gregory and his partner, Alex Gonder, were also old-time settlers in Snake valley, but later dissolved partnership, Mr. Gonder taking the Corn creek property while Mr. Gregory took the upper ranch, some twelve miles east of Osceola.

            Johnny Smithson, another early settler in the valley, was one of White Pine county's loyal and industrious citizens. Other stockmen of early days were Ed and Jim Robinson and Ike Gandy, who were located in the north end of the valley. Abner Lehman, who died in the early '90s, also owned stock and a small ranch on the west side of the valley. Mr. Lehman was the discoverer of

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            J. H. Marriott was one of the earliest comers to Osceola, arriving from California shortly after the fame of the town began to spread. Mr. Marriott and a Mr. Glascock were partners for years in a general mercantile store, Mr. Glascock devoting most of his time to the business while Mr. Marriott looked after mining and the other business interests for outside concerns and finally, I believe, assumed full charge of the hydraulic works. Mr. Marriott acquired a small fortune in Osceola, at one time owning nearly every building in the town. Mr. Marriott and his wife were noted for their hospitality and the latchstring at their home, a mile below town at the hydraulic plant, was always out. If by chance they learned that a friend of theirs had visited the town without coming to spend a night at their home, or at least to have dinner with them, that friend when next seen had to be provided with a mighty good excuse.

            Mr. Scott was another pioneer merchant of Osceola who enjoyed the friendship and respect of every resident of the county for years. George G. Blair, another Osceola pioneer, was elected to the assembly on the democratic ticket in 1880. Boone Tilford at intervals during the life of the camp was engaged in mining and operating a restaurant and rooming house.

            W. H. Buntin and Mr. Gaby, his partner, were engaged in placer mining. Mr. Buntin, I think, was the discoverer of the tungsten district several miles south of Osceola. Mr. Buntin, with Mr. Marriott, I believe, operated at Tungsten until he located at Ely along in the late '90s. Mr.

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Buntin was popular throughout the county and was often suggested by his friends for public offices, but preferred private life and refused to enter the political field.

            George Doyle, another of Osceola's prominent and successful business men, entered into partner ship with Mr. Marriott along in the '90s and later married the latter's daughter. Mose Woodman, another of the old-timers, came to White Pine county in 1869 with A. C. Cleveland and the two men always remained bosom friends. Outside of his wife, no other was as close to the heart of Cleveland as Mose Woodman. Mr. Woodman was one of the first locators of the mines near Sacramento pass and for years held the water rights at Sacramento springs, even before the placer discovery at Osceola. Between the pass and Cleveland's ranch, with prospecting at intervals, Mose Woodman spent half a century in White Pine county. For the last forty-five years the writer has been personally acquainted with Mr. Woodman and has never met a man who knew him who was not his friend.

            An eventful tragedy which stirred Snake Valley in the early '80s was the murder of Johnnie Green by Ketchum, who owned a ranch in Snake valley just across the Nevada line in Utah, and the killing of Mr. Ketchum by his son. Ketchum had a reputation for years as a game sport and was known to wager one thousand dollars on the result of a cock fight, thinking no more of this than the ordinary man would of a two-fifty bet. It was not unusual for Ketchum to go over into Utah and lose ten thousand dollars on a horse race or to win and drive home five hundred or one thousand head of stock. Liquor, however, finally got the best of Ketchum and he ran through his own fortune and was in a fair way to do the same with the money his wife had at the time of their mar-

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riage. Mr. and Mrs. Ketchum had some trouble and I believe had separated.

            Ketchum, when drinking through the valley, had made threats against the lives of his wife and family and had also threatened to kill Johnnie Green, who was employed by Mr. Ketchum. Green, who for years was a stage driver for Gilmer & Salisbury and later for Jot Travis, was an excellent horseman and was looking after horses and cattle for Mrs. Ketchum. Green had paid no attention to the threats of Ketchum, believing that it was only drunken talk. However, one night Ketchum sneaked home and hid himself in the barn and when Green went to feed the stock early the next morning Ketchum shot him through the heart.

            The slayer, rifle in hand, started for the house. His 16-year-old son, hearing the shot which killed Green, seized his rifle and as his father came toward the house fired through the window, killing Ketchum instantly, and thereby probably saving the lives of the entire family.

            Another tragedy which marked the early history of Osceola was the killing of Joseph Ayres in 1879 by D. B. Akey. Captain Akey, as he was best known, was a quiet and unassuming man. While arrested for the killing, he was able to clearly show that it was done in self-defense and was promptly acquitted.

CHAPTER XVI.

WHEN TAYLOR WAS A BOOM CAMP.

            White Pine county has been fortunate in that as one mining camp played out and was deserted, another ore discovery opened up new territory, so that many of the residents of the county migrated from one camp to another, always keeping within

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Western Union telegram from Sherman. [click on image to enlarge]

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the county limits, and their names are linked with the history of a number of camps. Among these is the name of Joseph Carothers, one of the earliest comers to the county who located at Shermantown in 1868. Mr. Carothers' chief distinction, however, probably rests in the fact that he may well be called the father of Taylor. Along in the early '80s, when Ward began to decline, Taylor first came into prominence. The Monitor, Argus and Hixon mines were all discovered and located about the same time. These three properties, I believe, were the only ones of prominence in the district, but their output was sufficient to establish Taylor as a steady camp for a number of years. The writer's memory is not clear regarding the first locators of the camp, but I believe that the first prospecting was done by representatives of the Martin White company, sent by Superintendent Sweetapple of that concern. The name of one of these locators was probably Taylor, who gave his name to the camp. However, beyond making some locations which never panned out, nothing further was done by the Martin White interests.

            W. G. Lyons, representing himself, Robert Briggs and W. N. McGill located the Monitor mine. The three partners uncovered a body of exceedingly high grade ore, and while none of the men had much money the excellent showing of the mine was all that was needed and they had no difficulty in raising capital to finance the construction of a mill. Hilp Brothers advanced needed supplies and in a short time after they had made their first location they had constructed a small quartz mill, run by water from Steptoe creek, nine miles from Taylor, and the stamps were busy pounding out the silver metal. The three partners operated the Monitor mine and mill at a good profit and had acquired, for those

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Shermantown license. [click on image to enlarge]

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days, comfortable fortunes before they disposed of their interests to Frank Drake, acting for an English syndicate, at a figure reported around one hundred and eighty-five thousand dollars. The English company had operated the property for only a short time when the high-grade ore pinched out and this, coupled with the big decline in the price of silver, forced a suspension of operations.

            The Hixon mine, owned by Jim Hixon, made several shipments of high-grade ore, but the vein pinched out and the mine never reached the stage of a producer and its life was of short duration.

            The Argus mine, while its ore was not as rich as that of the Monitor, was in reality a more valuable property, as the tonnage mined was many times that of the Monitor. It was in connection with the financing of the Argus property that Mr. Carothers came into prominence and earned his title to being the father of the town. Mr. Carothers, who was one of the first real mining men to come to the camp, was beyond a doubt one of the greatest mining and milling experts in the State. He made several trips east to secure outside capital for the development of the Argus property and was instrumental in interesting the heirs of the Aultman estate of Canton, Ohio, who for an interest in the mine advanced the money for the development of the mine and for the construction of a large mill on Steptoe lake, nine miles from the mine. A. J. Underhill of Canton was sent to represent the Ohio interests in Nevada and had charge of the finances of the property for a number of years.

            The ores of the Taylor district were entirely of a free-milling silver variety, with a negligible amount of gold, and on this account the camp gave employment to a large number of men. In less than eighteen months from the time of the

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location of the Argus and Monitor mines the camp had attracted a population of one thousand five hundred, its growth being phenomenal even in those days of quickly upspringing mining communities. However rapid was the rise of Taylor, its decline was scarcely less rapid. It was estimated that one thousand five hundred people, mostly inhabitants of Taylor, attended the camp's Fourth of July celebration in 1888. All were prosperous and busy, silver then being quoted at one dollar and twenty-two cents. A little over two years later, in November, 1890, when the writer passed through Taylor enroute to the A. C. Cleveland ranch, the only inhabitants of the camp were James Sillyman and his family and John Verzan. Silver at that time was quoted at sixty-two cents.

            While the name of Joseph Carothers is indelibly linked with that of Taylor, he had for many years previous been one of the prominent men of the county. From the time he first located at Shermantown in 1868 he was actively identified with the camp and was engaged in the mining and smelting business there, enjoying the implicit confidence of the people and many investors who sought and followed his advice regarding the reduction of ores and other mining and milling problems. Mr. Carothers saw the rise of Shermantown from a small camp to a town, of over four thousand inhabitants and boasting five quartz mills and two smelters, together with a mill in Swansea canyon, three-quarters of a mile west, with a population of three hundred.

            Mr. and Mrs. Carothers had four children, all of whom in later years were actively identified with the upbuilding of White Pine county. Miss Alice, the oldest daughter, was born in Sherman-town. After imbibing all the knowledge afforded by, the schools in the camps she went to Salt Lake

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City, where she was graduated from the high school at the age of sixteen, and there she received a teacher's certificate a year later but could not be employed as a teacher on account of her youth, the law requiring that a teacher be at least eighteen years of age. While still young Miss Carothers was accounted the brightest student in the State and she later gained similar recognition as an educator from such well-known men as A. T. Stearns, at one time principal of the state university ; Orvis Ring, for years state superintendent of public instructions ; and H. C. Cutting, who succeeded Mr. Ring. Mr. Stearns, who was superintendent of White Pine county's school for years, aptly characterized her as a walking encyclopedia. Miss Carothers married W. H. Buntin, one of White Pine county's popular young men, along in the latter '90s and died in Ely in 1918.

            Ida and Virginia, the other two daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Carothers, were born in Ward and given every educational advantage and, like their oldest sister, in later life became school teachers. Miss Ida Carothers married Mr. Gray, an enterprising young man of Ely, in the '90s. Mrs. Gray died in Salt Lake City in 1910. William J. Carothers, the only son, was born in Mineral City during the '70s and followed mining during his later years up to the time of his death in Ely in 1911. Miss Virginia Carothers, the only one of the four children left, has always been engaged in educational work or in some other position of public trust and, I understand, is now a member of the board of education in Ely, where she is making her residence with her widowed mother, Mr. Carothers having died in the early '90s. The writer has known Mr. and Mrs. Carothers for over forty-five years and their children from their earliest childhood and feels that no histori-

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cal tribute can do too much honor to their memory.

            When the writer visited Shermantown in 1875 Dr. E. X. Willard and his family were the only residents of the camp. The doctor was looking after the mills and a few other buildings still standing in the town, most of the houses having been moved to Hamilton to aid in the restoration of the town after the disastrous fire in 1873. Many of the buildings were also moved to Eberhardt, and in fact all of the camps throughout the county levied on Shermantown and Swansea for houses, mill buildings and machinery for years.

            Dr. Willard raised a large family in Shermantown. Treasure, his oldest daughter, was born on Treasure hill, taking her name from her birthplace. Incidentally Treasure Robinson, daughter of Johnnie Robinson, a machinist who was well and favorably known throughout the county, received her name in the same way. Miss Katherine McElroy, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Pat McElroy, was also born on Treasure Hill. The writer was well acquainted with all three of these girls, who in later years all became school teachers whose kindly dispositions made them popular with all classes.

CHAPTER XVII.

EARLY DAYS OF TAYLOR CAMP.

            During the entire operations of the Argus mill on Steptoe lake nine miles from the mine, there were only five families making their homes at the mill. These were the families of Jesse Peaslee, J. S. Carothers, Biago Luchisi, A. J. Underhill and B. F. Miller. Mr. Peaslee was an old-time resident of the county, having for years made his

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home at Taylor, Cherry Creek, Ward and Ely. Altogether he was engaged in the teaming business for over thirty years in White Pine county. He first came to Hamilton in 1869 and worked in a pan room as an amalgamator and while living at the Argus mill was engaged in hauling Argus ore from the mine to the mill. Mr. Peaslee and Mr. Luchisi moved to Ely, while Mr. Carothers made his home at the mill up to the time of his death in the early '90s, when the largest funeral procession ever assembled in White Pine county followed his body to its burial place in the Ely cemetery.

            B. F. Miller Jr. was the first child born at the Argus mill, his natal day being January 11, 1887, a short time after the Miller family had located at the mill. A little over two years previously B. F. Miller Sr., who had been living at Cherry Creek, make a trip to Idaho and while he was away the democrats of White Pine county held their convention and, being short of candidates, had nominated him for county treasurer, his opponent on the republican ticket being J. H. Lockwood of Hamilton, who had previously made the race twice for treasurer and three times for county commissioner and had never been defeated. At the 1884 national election James G. Blaine, republican, defeated Grover Cleveland, democrat, by a majority of one hundred and seventy-five out of four hundred and eighty votes cast in the county, so Mr. Miller's chances appeared slim.

            However, on his return from Idaho, October 20, 1886, the writer decided he would not meet defeat tamely and made a ten days' campaign, two days being spent at the Cleveland ranch. In spite of the fact that he was the better qualified man for the place, the writer was defeated by thirty-three votes, clearing proving his right in his contention that all republicans should be shot at sun-

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rise without benefit of clergy. "Cleve" added the last touch of bitterness to the defeat by suggesting that if the writer had only stayed at home, where he would not be seen by the voters, he might have been elected.

            After this reversal of fortune the writer decided to go to work and put in sixty-eight shifts at the Argus mine, the only time he had ever worked for another man in forty-five years, waiting for spring to open up, as he had meanwhile secured a contract at Taylor to furnish the Argus company with wood and coal for its mill and coal for the mine. In the fall of 1887 the writer went to Spruce mountain, Elko county, where his daughter Minnie was born, but shortly afterward returned to Ely and later went to the Argus mill, where the family remained until the mine and mill closed down in 1889, when they moved to Wells for the winter.

            When the two children grew to school age they went with Mrs. Miller in 1896 to Salt Lake City, where they lived for four years until they completed their high school education. The writer in 1890 entered the mercantile business at Cherry Creek and Mrs. Miller came there with her daughter to make their home for several years before going to Searchlight, Nevada, in 1905.

            B. F. Miller Jr. had meanwhile graduated from Harvard and engaged in the mercantile business at Searchlight. He later entered into partnership with Charles H. Jonas, a mining engineer of the Quartette Mining Company of Searchlight during the operations of that company, which two years previously had paid dividends on a four million dollar valuation basis and was considered the largest mine in the state.

            The Quartette property from the nine hundred to the one thousand two hundred foot levels had shown steadily decreasing values and at the one

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thousand three hundred foot level work was abandoned. Mr. Jonas at this time secured a lease on the entire abandoned property, including mills, mines and dwellings. He later subleased workings in the mine and the leasers made such good profits that Mr. Jonas in a short time had sufficient capital to warrant trading a half interest in the lease for a half interest in the Miller store. Mr. Jonas later married Miss Minnie Miller, a sister of his partner. The partnership proved a success, the only quarrel between the two being over the respective merits of Yale, of which Mr. Jonas was a graduate, and Harvard, Mr. Miller's alma mater, as seats of learning. These quarrels were generally ended by Mrs. Jonas, who claimed that both were cow country schools compared with Stanford, of which she was a graduate.

            After two years the partners bought the entire Quartette property and uncovered several pockets of rich ore. Mr. Jonas later sold his interest to Mr. Miller and moved to Los Angeles, where he is now vice-president and general manager of the S. & S. Shock Absorber Company, having a working field of twelve western states. The company has proved a success and Mr. Jonas asserts that his only worry comes from fear of damage suits due to the fact that the shock absorber so effectually kills the jar of machines that drivers never notice punctures or blowouts until the casing, and often the rim of the wheel are completely ruined.

            B. F. Miller Jr. was married to Miss Gertrude Hansen of Salt Lake City in 1915. He later moved to Los Angeles, where he is now engaged in the banking business.

            From the latter '80s until 1905, when the family moved to Searchlight, the writer had been engaged in the star route mail and stage business, maintaining his postoffice address at Ely for a

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The Quartette Mine at Searchlight. [click on image to enlarge]

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continuous period of twenty years. Mrs. Miller died in Los Angeles in 1915, the family having made its home in that city for several years previously.

            Arthur J. Underhill, Jr. was the second child born at the Argus mill. After the Argus property ceased operations Mr. and Mrs. Underhill moved to Ely, where they, made their home until Mr. Underhill was called east to assist in winding up the business of the heirs of the Aultman estate, he having looked after their financial affairs for several years in connection with the Argus property.

            During its entire life Taylor was singularly free from the early tragedies which marked many of the other camps. To the writer's knowledge there was no serious crime committed during the town's existence, in spite of the fact that its population was greater than that of many other camps.

            Harry and Fred Hilp were the pioneer merchants of Taylor, having started the first store, built of dry good boxes, with the first bar built under a cedar tree on Monitor hill, half way between what was later known as New Town and Old Town. The Hilp brothers came to Taylor after previously having sold their store at Ward to their brother Sol, who later also purchased the business at Taylor and erected the large store building in South Town.

            The first eating house in Taylor, a tent affair, was built and operated by Charlie Lee, better known as Chiney Charlie.

            John Quinn, Billy Bassett, Boss Weber, Johnnie Weber, Robert Martin, Jim McOmie and Bob McKercher were all engaged for a time in the saloon business at Taylor, most of them coming from other camps in the county.

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CHAPTER XVIII.

TAYLOR AND THE OLD-TIMERS.

            Robert Briggs, who was a partner of W. G. Lyons and W. N. McGill in the Monitor mine, ranked not only as an early settler in the White Pine district but was also recognized as one of the State's prominent men. Mr. Briggs left Missouri in his youth and located in California before deciding that Nevada offered more opportunities than any other state in the Union. He was elected to the Nevada senate in 1884 and while a member of that body won a place as one of its leaders. Mr. Briggs was married at Ward in 1876 to Miss Julia Fouts, the accomplished daughter of Mrs. Fannie Yates of that town. Through the early operations of the Monitor property at Taylor Mr. Briggs acquired a life competence, but the loss of their little son Yatsie, who died at the age of four years in 1897, broke the hearts of the parents and both lived but a few years, Mr. Briggs dying in California during the latter '90s, while Mrs. Briggs passed away at Ely shortly afterwards.

            W. G. Lyons, associated with Mr. Briggs and Mr. McGill in the Monitor and himself the locator of that property, was actively identified with the business life of Taylor until the time the property was sold to Frank Drake, who purchased on behalf of an English syndicate. Mr. Lyons was elected to the state assembly in 1886 on the republican ticket. However, from the vote he received in his home town of Taylor it would be difficult for a stranger to guess his political affiliations, as he received nearly every one of the two hundred and thirty-four votes cast in the precinct. Mr. Lyons, always haying himself been a working man, received the solid support of the workers, with whom he was always popular. The writer

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has known Mr. Lyons since 1874, at which time he was engaged in burning, hauling and selling coal to the furnace at Mineral City, being in partnership with Ike Lennox under the firm name of Lyons & Lennox.

            Johnnie Cupid was one of Taylor's popular business men, being the owner of a general merchandise store. Mr. Cupid made a great deal of money in his business but gave it away almost as soon as he received it, being unable to turn a deaf ear to any plea made by a needy man for food or clothing. Mr. Cupid made the race for county recorder in 1888 and again in 1890 and was overwhelmingly elected both times, an inevitable result in view of his wide-spread friendship and popularity. He later moved to Sumpter, Oregon, during the '90s and, I understand, died there.

            Dave Felsenthal, who purchased the business of Mr. Cupid, operated the store for some time until forced to abandon the town when Taylor was entirely deserted. Mr. Felsenthal was well known and popular throughout the county and made the race for county commissioner in 1888, but was defeated by Mike Boyle by the narrow margin of nine votes.

            Tom Edwards was another Taylor merchant who enjoyed wide popularity. Mr. Edwards, having himself polished a drill, had a large following among the miners and, working class of people generally. However, with the big decline in silver Mr. Edwards was no more fortunate than the others and went down in the crash with them. Mr. Edwards, who had previously married Mrs. Roberts, the charming daughter of Mrs. McFadden of Pioche, after the shutdown of Taylor went to Delamar. He made his home there, engaging in the saloon business until the boom started at Rhyolite, being one of the first to reach

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the new district and establishing the first lumber yard in the Bullfrog district, being associated with Charles Schwab, the steel magnate. Mr. Edwards cleaned up a comfortable fortune in the district and later settled in California, where he died. The writer's first acquaintance with Mr. Edwards dated back to the old days in Eberhardt when Tom, a beardless boy of about eighteen years, was acting as assistant chief engineer for one of Sam King's bull teams, hauling wood for Frank Drake.

            Jack Wheatley was another popular Taylor resident, being the owner of a restaurant, which was managed by Mrs. Wheatley, while he worked in the mine most of the time. Mr. Wheatley had served as secretary of the Miners' Union at Cherry Creek and at Ward before coming to Taylor and also held the same position in the last named camp, being always liked by his fellow workers. At the time the writer worked for about two months at the Argus mine he had Mr. Wheatley for a partner, and it was during this time that the latter almost lost his life, his escape from death being little short of miraculous.

            While sinking the shaft where the hoist was later installed Mr. Wheatley and the writer had just put in two holes. Having finished loading, the writer went to the top, Jack remaining to fire the blast. Big Tony, an Italian, was our windlass man and was needed to help the writer, Wheatley being a man who weighed over two hundred pounds. Receiving the signal that the fuse had been lighted and to haul away, we started the windlass and had hauled Jack up about twenty feet in the eighty foot shaft when in some manner his foot slipped and he fell to the bottom. Realizing his danger, we at. once dropped the rope to the bottom, but about this time the first

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shot went off, followed a few seconds later by the second shot.

            Believing that Wheatley must certainly have been killed, the writer at once shouted down the shaft, "Are you alive, Jack ?"

            "Yes," came the angry retort, "but for hivins sake get me out of here. This shmoke is killin' me."

            Pat Bonner and John Baird, who happened to be near by, were attracted by our shouts and immediately went down the shaft and placed a rope around Jack, who was promptly hauled to the surface. With the exception of a sprained ankle and a bruised spot on the fleshy part of the back Jack was all right, but the effect of the concussion injured his hearing later on.

            Hundreds of people at the time wondered how the escape of Wheatley was possible, and yet, in a way, the explanation was simple, for his life was saved partly by good luck and partly by quick thinking on the part of the miner. It so happened that the first shot was what is known as a "lifter," directed from one side at the bottom of the shaft. The second shot was used to widen or straighten the wall of the shaft, perhaps three feet above the bottom. Wheatley had presence of mind enough to lie down in the side of the shaft opposite the lifting blast and almost directly under the second shot which would explode directly outward. The first lifting shot sent a shower of rocks into the air and the second blast, immediately following, made a cross-current which broke the fall of the rocks. While the time between the two shots was only a matter of seconds, Wheatley said afterward that the time seemed an eternity to him, as a delay in the second explosion meant to him the difference between life and death. However, within a week he was

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up and around, apparently none the worse for his adventure.

            Another accident, the second and only one of importance in the history of the camp, occurred in the big open chamber of the Argus mine in the fall of 1886. Pat Duff and Charlie Cameron were working together, just starting a drift from the big chamber. While drilling out a missed hole, Cameron acting as striker while Duff held the drill, the drill struck an unsuspected charge of dynamite and the resulting explosion instantly killed Duff, who was leaning over the hole, and blew out the eyes of Cameron, incidentally tearing the soles from his nailed shoes. Parts of Duff's body were picked up for a radius of several hundred yards, so great was the force of the explosion. Strange as it may seem, none of the other miners in the open chamber were injured. Duff was considered one of the most experienced miners in the district and how he came to be drilling out an unexploded hole has always remained a mystery.

            Taylor throughout its entire history was a quiet camp. The greatest excitement in its history, in the memory of the writer, was when Ed Watkins, a fire-eating one hundred and thirty-five pounds of bone and muscle, knocked big Doc Gibson, a two hundred pounder, off the sidewalk in 1887. Ed's ire was roused when Doc called President Cleveland some uncomplimentary names. The strange part of the trouble was that Ed was a strongly partisan republican and a delegate to the party's county convention, while Doc Gibson, who strongly criticised the then democratic president, was himself a democrat and a delegate to that party's county gathering.

            "He may be a democrat, but at least he's my president and entitled to respect," was the ex-

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cuse of Watkins in explaining the cause of the trouble.

CHAPTER XIV.

NEWARK VALLEY IN OLDEN TIMES.

            Newark valley, situated between Huntington valley on the north and Fish Creek valley on the south, and bounded on the east by the Pancake and Mokomoke mountains and on the west by the Diamond range, was one of the first settled valleys in White Pine county. The valley, about sixty-five or seventy miles in length and varying in width from ten to fifteen miles, is fairly well watered and quite fertile, so that it was a natural magnet to attract stockraisers and farmers.

            When the writer first visited the valley in 1875 he found that a number of settlers had already made their homes here. On the west side of the valley near its northern end was the ranch of Allen A. Conover, who had located at Cole creek and was engaged in ranching and stock-raising. Mr. Conover was a staunch democrat and for years represented Cole Creek precinct in the democratic county conventions. Adjoining the Conover ranch was that of Nick Simonson, who was a stalwart republican and represented the precinct in the conventions of that party.

            On the east side of the valley, near the north end, were some warm springs which were located by the Hankins boys, who were engaged in stock-raising and dairying, finding a ready market for their products at Eureka and Hamilton.

            Adjoining the Hankins ranch was that of a woman who was, I believe, called Aunt Martha, who had built up a prosperous horse and cattle ranch. She had purchased the old Mormon church "71" brand, the first iron ever used by white men

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in what is now the state of Nevada and which was the property of the Mormon church when Nevada was still a part of Utah. She was one of the best judges in the State of both horses and cattle and in 1875 imported two blooded stallions from France, one being the famous Percheron Leo, which was purchased for three thousand two hundred dollars, at that time considered an exceptionally high price, and the other a dapple gray Norman stallion. Aunt Martha's and the Hankins ranches were the only ones on the east side of the valley at this time.

            Farther south of Simon's place on the west side of the valley were ranches owned by Billy Smith, Chris Beck, Mr. McDougall and Herman Sadler, who owned the Do Drop In station.

            Thomas Robinson, William Curren and John H. Daly were engaged in mining and milling, operating the Bay State properties for many years at Newark. Mr. Robinson and Mr. Daly were married to sisters of Mr. Curren, and the three families for years enjoyed an enviable reputation for hospitality. Roger McMinomy was another highly respected citizen who at this time resided just north of the Newark mill. The writer was personally acquainted with everyone in the valley except Martha, and knew her only by reputation.

            A coal discovery along in the '70s, just east of the Newark mill, on Pancake mountain, created considerable stir at the time and a great deal of development work was done, the property being most promising, but owing to inadequate transportation facilities operations were abandoned after a year or so.

            Just east of Newark valley was Long valley, bounded on the west by the Huntington and Pancake ranges of mountains, on the east by the Egan range, on the north by Ruby valley and on

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the south by the north end of Mokomoke mountain, about twelve miles north of the Shekel's ranch, in Illipah canyon.

            While Long valley is about fifty miles in length and from six to twenty miles wide, it was not settled owing to the fact that the only water of any consequence throughout its entire length was a stagnant slough located about the center of the valley and some twenty-five or thirty miles in length. Long valley was situated at a higher altitude than the rest of the surrounding country, and in the winter was usually covered with such deep snow as to make it an unsafe range for stock. The only sign of civilization was an occasional branding or stock corral. The valley was noted chiefly for two things—snow in the winter and mosquitoes and horse flies in the summer.

            The Hunter mining district was situated due east of Long valley, on the west side of Egan range, about fifteen or eighteen miles south of Cherry Creek. The district was located in the early '70s, was noted for its output of lead and silver and produced considerable wealth at intervals for some years. George Kennedy of Cherry Creek erected a furnace in the district and at one time shipped large quantities of high-grade bullion. After Mr. Kennedy's death the district was virtually abandoned.

            During the late '70s and '80s considerable free gold was mined in Telegraph canyon, about ten or twelve miles south of Cherry Creek, on the western slope of the Egan range. A mill was erected by Fred Gutchet and George Judson, and this mill, together with their gold claims, I believe, was later sold to Dick and Hugh Frank. Virtually no mining operations were being carried on in Telegraph canyon at the time the writer left the county.

            Cocumonga district, between Telegraph and

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Egan canyons, at one time gave promise of rivaling the famous Cripple Creek district. W. A. Watson was the discoverer of Cocumonga and through his efforts considerable money was expended there, but he was unsuccessful in locating a paying property at the time the writer left the county. For thirty years Mr. Watson worked hard and faithfully to upbuild White Pine county. Several times he located and sold paying properties, but invariably spent his money in trying to develop other mines. Mr. Watson is deserving of great credit for his faith in the county and his hard work in trying to develop its natural resources.

CHAPTER XX.

WHITE RIVER'S EARLY ACTIVITIES.

            White River valley, first settled in the late '60s and early '70s, is one of the best watered and most fertile spots in the State. On the south the valley is bounded by the White River wash, which extends into the north end of Death valley. To the east are the Lake, Patterson and Hiko ranges, while on the west are Currant Creek, Blue Eagle and Troy mountains and the White River range, more commonly known in early days as the Sawmill mountains owing to the fact that from their slopes came most of the lumber which built Shermantown, Hamilton and Eberhardt. The mills in which this lumber was cut were owned by H. A. Comins, John B. Williamson and W. S. McCornick, later a prominent Salt Lake banker, whose death occurred a short time ago.

            At the south end of the valley Michael and Jim Riordan had located at Emigrant springs, now Sunnyside, having moved from Hamilton, where they had lived during the halcyon days of

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that camp. The Riordan brothers prospered in the stock business and both raised large families, who were a credit to their parents and the State. Just south of the Riordan ranches was the home of Mrs. Tucker, also engaged in cattle raising and who, with her family, amassed a comfortable fortune in the valley.

            Farther north in the valley were the ranches of Bill Campbell and Jim Withington, mentioned previously. Withington at one time was accounted the only millionaire in the valley, but during his later years he encountered bad luck and died working as camp cook for a California cow outfit.

            Still farther north lived D. C. McQuitty, who was also an early settler in the valley and who was engaged in grain growing.

            Captain W. M. Moorman, who earned his title through having served as an officer in the Confederate army and who for many years was one of the notable figures in White Pine county, settled in White River valley in the '80s, having moved from Willow Creek, where he had been engaged in dairying and keeping the stage station.

            At White River Captain Moorman and his three sons, Will, Clarence and Paul engaged in stock raising and built up a pro[fi]table business. The Moormans were a cultured southern family whose name for hospitality was known throughout the county and beyond. Besides the three boys there were two pretty daughters, Pearl and Maude, and all five of the children received every educational advantage the state could provide. The Moormans moved from White River to Illipah in the late '80s, buying what was known as the Dutch Jake ranch and engaging in stock raising.

            Captain Moorman has the unique distinction of casting the only democratic vote in Hamilton in

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1900. Jerome B. Mathewson, A. L. Parker and a sheepherder employed by the latter were the only men to cast republican ballots, everybody else supporting the silver ticket. At this election one hundred and four votes were cast and Hamilton was awarded a large silk flag, the state prize for the largest percentage of votes cast for the silver party.

            The writer was in Hamilton the day after the election and still remembers the forlorn look of Captain Moorman, who had ridden in fourteen miles from his ranch to get the election returns, only to learn that his own was the only democratic vote cast. Seeing the captain ready to start for home after being in town only a short time, the writer asked him what was his rush and if he had sickness in the family. "No," was the reply, "but I have lost my party ; the whole democratic party has quit me." The captain was certainly loyal to every man who ran on the democratic ticket.

            George Ellison and Robert Lanter lived toward the northern end of White River valley, while at the extreme north end, on the Pioche and Hamilton stage road, were the homes of John, Tom and Doc Ellison. Doc was elected to the state legislature in 1874 on the democratic ticket and while in Carson he married Miss Eva Roberts, a charming young lady who was popular in the valley. The four Ellison boys and Bob Lanter were all tarheels, having emigrated from North Carolina when they were young boys, journeying to Missouri by ox team and later crossing the plains and settling in Carson valley in the early '60s. Most people believed the Ellisons were Missourians, but John explained that they had only stopped in the "show-me" state for thirteen years to let the cattle rest, but that they were called

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Missourians as soon as they landed there and had been handicapped by the name ever since. Lanter and the Ellison boys were fond of all kinds of sports and were particularly strong for horse racing and dancing. John Ellison was a fiddler and a singer, while Lanter "called" all the dances in the district. There were hardly enough men in White River to get up a dance, but the residents of the valley would all band together and go for miles to attend horse races, which were always followed by a dance at night.

            The one particular affair of this kind which stands our clearly in the mind of the writer was given by Uncle Dick and Aunt Sarah Barnes at Currant Creek in 1877. Horse racing was popular in those days and the meetings as a general rule lasted for several days. Farmers and stockmen were prosperous and all were anxious to back their favorite ponies. At this meet there was an unusually large number of good horses entered. Among those present were Bill Sweeney of Eureka with his mare, Emma Skaggs, Mike Welch of Newark with Cheyenne, Jim Johnson of Duckwater with Wake Up Jake, Tom Stewart of Pioche with Mark More, Senator Joe Williams of Hot Creek with Dan Rice, Dutch Henry of Tybo with Indian, O. M. Converse of Bull Creek with Red Jacket, Bob Lanter with Sooner and Dandy, Lou Carpenter with Selkirk, George Freeland of Green Springs with Dave, and Gassy Lewis with a horse called Frenchy.

            Dutch Henry's Indian had never been beaten at six hundred yards and had an impressive string of victories to his credit at that distance, being extremely fast. When the six hundred-yard race was called there was only one entry against Indian, all of the other owners being afraid of the pony. It took three horses to start, and just about this time Jot Travis and Johnny Green, who was

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working for Travis at the time, drove up. Jot finally offered to enter one of his buggy horses to fill out the required number for the race and the pool selling began.

            The odds were two to one on Indian against the field and Johnny Green took the short end of this bet as often as he could find a better. When the riders were up Travis told Dutch Henry he didn't think Indian could run a little bit. Henry came back with a flat offer to bet one thousand dollars that Indian would win the race. This was just what Jot had come for, so he called Henry's bet. The Travis entry easily defeated the field and enriched its owner to the extent of about one thousand five hundred dollars, while Dutch Henry dropped one thousand two hundred dollars on the race. Henry, who had a big gambling house at Tybo, was a good loser and told Jot to be sure and call on him when he next paid a visit to Tybo.

            Harvey Carpenter of Hamilton handled the pools at all the races and his percentage at this meet—ten per cent of all pool sales—netted him over two thousand dollars. Tybo, Eureka, Eberhardt, Pioche and Ward were all booming at this time and furnished ready markets for the farmers, so that everybody was enjoying a goodly measure of prosperity.

            The grand dance was held the second night of the race meet, with John Ellison playing the fiddle and Bob Lanter calling the dances and acting as floor manager. Harvey Carpenter before leaving Hamilton, while having the pools printed by the White Pine News, also had a hundred programs for the dance struck off, thinking that the occasion would warrant it. Lanter, however, who could neither read nor write, promptly vetoed any "sich doin's" saying, "Whar I came from a

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man didn't have to know reedin or pen writin to call a dance."

            Doc Ellison's wife Eva had sent to Montgomery Ward & Co. and purchased a white shirt for Lanter to wear in honor of the occasion. To her great surprise, just as the dance was about to begin, Eva noticed that Lanter was wearing his shirt with the back part in front. She made her way to his side as soon as possible and whispered the news to him, asking him to change it. "Be gad, Lanter changes nothin'. Grab yo partners for the Virginia reel," replied Bob, and the dancing started. The waltz, polka, varsouvian, schottische, quadrille, Virginia reel and cotillion were the dances in those days. None of the terpsichorean interpretations such as shimmy-she-wabble, buzzard lope, chicken switch, rabbit hop, cheek-to-cheek, Philadelphia twist or turntable gallop were practiced in Bob Lanter's day.

            Just after supper Lanter made the announcement that the ladies and gentlemen would be favored with a "good ol' Nauf Carolina" song by Mr. "Jawn" Ellison, entitled "When the Boys and Gals Went Sailing on Tar River, With Sails All Made of a Wagon Kivver."

            Tom Ellison was a candidate for sheriff in 1886 on the democratic ticket but was defeated by Ross Humphrey of Taylor. The Ellisons and Lanter moved to Idaho along in the '80s and I understand later went from there to Oklahoma.

CHAPTER XXI.

ELY, CAPITAL OF WHITE PINE.

            In the early days of White Pine county the water rights on Murray creek were controlled by J. R. Withington, an extensive cattle raiser who at one time was the owner of water rights on

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virtually every important stream in the county, including a great part of White river as well as Steptoe creek, Duck creek, Axhandle springs and other waters throughout the county.

            Axhandle springs was located about the southeast corner of what later became the farm of William McGill and which, I believe, is now the site of the town of McGill. The springs were first filed on either by Mr. Withington or by John Cowger, acting for the former, it being the custom of Mr. Withington, and one which was generally in vogue throughout the West at the time, to have his employes file on water rights and to purchase from them when title was finally secured.

            These filings were generally made in strings of forty acres each and usually from the head to the sink of the different streams. This was particularly true of all the streams above mentioned with the exception of Murray creek, where Mr. Withington secured the water rights only at the mouth of the canyon and around Georgetown with the good land in that section, the district farther up being poorly adapted to farming purposes.

            Axhandle springs took their name from the fact that Mr. Withington and Mr. Cowger had a fight there, in the course of which Mr. Cowger wielded an ax handle with great effect and administered a sound thrashing to his opponent.

            Mr. Withington, during the last days he resided in the State and after he had begun to lose the greater part of his wealth, had the reputation of indulging in sharp practices in his business dealings, and after he had left for California he was indicted by the grand jury in connection with a deal whereby he is alleged to have refused to have his wife sign the deeds after he had disposed of certain water privilges to the Monitor

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people, but since Mr. Withington never returned to the State the matter was dropped. Before leaving the State Mr. Withington sold the water rights on Murray creek, together with all lands in his possession, including the ranches below town and his White River valley holdings, to Nichols and Parsons of Salt Lake.

            The half-section of land in which was included the present townsite of Ely was first located by George Lamb, I believe, in 1869 or 1870. Mr. Lamb held the land until about 1875 or 1876, when he sold it to the late Senator H. A. Comins, who later sold it to the Aultman estate. The Aultman people at once purchased an additional half-section for the purpose of protecting their extensive mining interests in the district. When the estate was divided among the heirs of Mr. Aultman the holdings in Robinson and Taylor mining districts were given to Mrs. George D. Harter, one of the heirs, who later, acting through A. J. Underhill, deeded to White Pine county sixteen acres as a site for the county courthouse provided the county would move the county seat from Hamilton to Ely and erect a courthouse on the deeded land.

            This was done under the Robert Briggs appropriation act of 1885, in which five thousand dollars was provided for the construction of the courthouse. Upon the passage of this measure H. A. Comins and Sol Hilp were appointed by the legislature to assist the county commissioners in the construction of the new building. Mr. Comins a short time later went to San Francisco to negotiate the sale of the bonds, but he was unsuccessful in his mission, as the financiers of the Bay city were not anxious to invest in White Pine county bonds. The citizens of Ely then got together to finance the building and most of the bond issue

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was taken by W. G. Lyons, other citizens subscribing for the small balance.

            The writer hauled the material from the railroad to build the courthouse in 1886. As soon as the state and county had accepted the offer of Mrs. Harter for the site of sixteen acres, which was situated just a mile and a quarter west of the center of the county line of White Pine county, Mr. Underhill at once laid out and staked off a small townsite, naming the town Ely.

            As far as the writer knows the reason for thus naming the town has never been definitely known, there being several conflicting rumors concerning it. One of these is to the effect that John Ely, a partner of William Raymond, owners of the famous Raymond and Ely mine at Pioche, had assisted Mr. Underhill with a loan along in the early '70s and that in appreciation of this favor Mr. Underhill had named the town after his friend. Another version is that the town took its name from Smith Ely, who financed a man by the name of Long in the construction in the early '80s of the little copper furnace just at the west side of the old town of Ely. The writer is inclined to the latter story as giving the more probable origin of the name of the town.

            This copper furnace was operated by water power taken from Murray creek and Mr. Long shipped considerable crude copper in matte or slag form to Deseret, Utah, using Mormon teams to freight the mine's output. The writer visited Murray creek, as the town was called at the time this little furnace was in operation, for the purpose of securing, if possible, a contract for hauling wood, ore and supplies, as it appeared at that time that Mr. Long would make a success of his operations, which were still largely in an experimental stage. So encouraging were the operations that Smith Ely sent for Mr. Long to come east

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for the purpose of arranging to finance operations on a large scale, but Mr. Long died before he reached the East and for a long time thereafter nothing was done with the property. The small furnace erected by Mr. Long remained idle until 1888 or 1889, when it was taken over by the Chainman Mining Company.

            A. J. Underhill sold the Ely townsite to A. D. Campton for three thousand five hundred dollars, taking one thousand two hundred dollars cash and a mortgage for the balance. The understanding in the sale was that whenever Mr. Campton had been reimbursed for his entire three thousand five hundred dollar investment through the sale of lots one-half of the remainder should revert to Mr. Underhill, who later disposed of this interest to W. G. Lyons, who jointly with Mr. Campton was still the owner of the townsite at the time the writer left the county.

            A. R. Watson, to whom rightfully belongs the honor of being father of the camp and who for a score of years labored unceasingly and with unbounded faith for its upbuilding, shipped the first gold ore from Robinson canyon. This shipment, consisting of five tons of high-grade ore, was hauled by the writer's teams from the Joanna mine in 1889 and netted Mr. Watson over nine hundred dollars a ton. Mr. Watson leased the Chainman mill at Ely from the Chainman company and operated it more or less successfully for some time, but as the gold values were only about fifty per cent free and the richer orebodies became exhausted he suspended operations.

            Mr. Watson pursued a system entirely new in the district in paying off his men, perhaps a dozen in number, by carrying a sack of silver and the payroll about town and paying his employes wherever he happened to find them on the streets, this plan attracting a great deal of attention.

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            Only a few houses had been erected in the camp up to this time, but the operations of Mr. Watson soon attracted the attention of a number of outside mining men.

            Marcus Daly, noted Montana mine operator, was, I believe, the first big man attracted to the district. Through D. H. Jackson he expended about ten thousand dollars in making an examination of the Joanna, bonding the property and doing considerable exploration work prior to his contemplated purchase of the property. So sure was Mr. Jackson that the deal for the Joanna would go through that he bought the John Ragsdale property at Mineral City, including the hotel and stables, for about one thousand six hundred dollars.

            Shortly after the real merit of the Joanna as a producing mine became known litigation was started against Mr. Watson, and these cases dragged through the courts for a number of years, though the title of Mr. Watson to the property was ultimately upheld. However, pending a decision of the case by the courts the mine was forced to lie idle. During this period of idleness a number of prominent mining men examined the property and all were wonderfully impressed with its possibilities, but every deal for a sale was blocked by the cloud on the title. Any of these deals, had it been possible to complete them, would have netted the faithful prospector a sum sufficient to have maintained him in comfort for the balance of his life.

            The long drawn out litigation severely taxed the resources of Mr. Watson, and eventually the mine fell into the hands of his attorneys and Mr. Watson, comparatively a poor man, died in the early '90s near the spot where he had spent the last active years of his life in his unavailing fight for his rights. Mr. and Mrs. Watson raised

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a family of five children, Sadie, William, Katie, Wesley and Joe, all of whom proved a credit to their parents. Though possessed of little of this world's goods at the time of his death, A. R. Watson left a name which is to be preferred to great riches.

            The Chainman mine, which was jointly owned by J. P. McOmie, W. N. McGill, A. J. Underhill and W. G. Lyons, attained considerable prominence during the early '90s. The owners built the little mill which was erected on the site of the old Long smelter. After several years of experimenting, however, the owners of the Chainman found they could not save the gold from the ore by the methods then in use and operation of the mine not proving a success financially it was finally closed down.

            After the suspension of operations at the Chainman mine the camp of Ely was quiet for several years, until the Chainman property was bonded in 1897 by Charles D. Lane, who turned over the management of his interests to his son, Thomas T. Lane, who expended about one hundred and seventy thousand dollars in the construction of a mill, water ditches and power plant. Mr. Lane was the first to place Ely in communication with the outside world by building the Ely and Eureka telephone line. However, the Lane operations, which had been expected to restore the old-time prosperity and mark a new era of development in the history of the camp, were far from successful and were finally abandoned.

            The Ely Mining and Milling Company, financed by a group of Salt Lake City capitalists, purchased the Robust group of mines from Dick Reipe, his brother Henry and General Thomas, paying ten thousand dollars for the property. The company erected a cyanide plant but the ores were not susceptible to the treatment provided and the mill

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closed after a brief run, which proved a failure. The excitement incident to the Lane operations had by this time subsided and for the next three years the camp was virtually dead.

            In 1900 another attempt was made to operate the Chainman, which was taken over by a number of capitalists from New York and Pennsylvania for a cash price of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, I believe. About one hundred thousand dollars more was expended in new mill construction, but the plant was found to be useless owing to the fact that when a little depth had been reached copper values were encountered, which interfered with the cyanide process used. While the camp was dull during these years claims were located and abandoned many times.

            The first attempt to prospect for copper, which was made after the unsuccessful smelting experience of Mr. Long in the early '80s was by Joe Brey, samples of ore having been sent to him by D. C. McDonald from the Star of the West claim, where the steam shovel pit is now located. After examination of the copper mines he purchased a group of claims from Newt Boyd, Thomas Rockhill and Thomas Johnson. This purchase was made in 1899 and was on behalf of a New York capitalist named Martin. The venture, however, like many others, failed of success.

            About this time Frank Paul had induced Joseph L. Giroux to invest at Pilot Knob, and the entire subsequent Giroux operations were due to the untiring efforts of Mr. Paul.

            The first actual development of a copper property on an extensive scale was performed by Edward Gray and David P. Bartley on the Ruth claims, which they had purchased from D. C. McDonald and Walter Rynearson for approximately five thousand dollars. Mark Requa was also interested in the Ruth operations at the

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time the writer left the county, and I understand that it was through the efforts of Mr. Requa that the consolidation of the New York and Nevada Copper Company was effected.

            Successive mining failures, which left the town dull and spelled ruin for many of the business men, dampened but could not quench the fires of hope that burned in the breasts of the old-timers. Seeing success in each mine which opened, they refused to be cast down when operations were halted, but always held to the belief that the camp would ultimately prove its worth. These intermittent spells of prosperity and poverty continued up until 1904, when the writer left, and at that time there were lying idle a number of properties which had at one time been promising, among these being the Chainman mill, the Robust property, the Rob Roy, the Keystone mill, the old McKinley furnace and the old Chainman mill just west of town.

            How the faith of the old-timers was justified is better known to the present Ely residents than to the writer, who has learned only part of the story as told in the columns of the White Pine News during the last seventeen years. However, the success of the hopeful old-timers has been well deserved, as they passed through many dark years before the dawn of prosperity. The lean years of Ely were many, and after the closing of the mines many of the residents were left fighting hard for a mere existence.

            It is doubtful if any other Nevada mining camp has experienced the vicissitudes which fell to the lot of Ely. In these lean years often a dollar looked as big as the moon—and about as far out of reach. However, gloom was not allowed to settle for long within the limits of the camp, as the open-hearted pioneers who had anything were always more than willing to share with their

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Mining with steam shovel at Ely. [click on image to enlarge]

Ely after the boom. [click on image to enlarge]

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less fortunate neighbors, and unselfish acts of charity were the common currency of the country.

            Ely's place as a town was more or less precarious until 1885, when the courthouse at Hamilton burned and two years later the county seat was moved to Ely; which thereafter was assured of a permanent place on the map. The history of the old town would, however, be incomplete without a mention of at least a few of the early-day residents whose faith in its future survived all disappointments and who were largely responsible for its upbuilding.

            The first house built on the present site of Ely was erected by Harry Featherstone in the latter '70s. Mr. Featherstone, who married Mrs. Rutledge of Mineral City, settled at Murray Creek and was in charge of the stage station and postoffice, also keeping a restaurant and a hotel with a few beds after the Ragsdale hotel at Mineral City was closed. Mr. Featherstone and his partner, Mr. Reynolds, located and operated the Keystone mine in Robinson canyon and built the Keystone mill, making considerable money before they sold out their interests to A. Jackson and Henry Kind of Eureka.

            Mr. Featherstone sold his buildings at Murray Creek to R. A. Reipe, who rebuilt, enlarged and painted the hotel, which was later known as the Reipe hotel or Ely hotel. This was the first painted building in Ely. Most of the houses erected in Ely in 1886 were rebuilt from lumber salvaged from homes in Ward and Taylor, new doors, windows and roofs being used.

            Sol Hilp started the first store in Ely in 1886, having erected a building with lumber from stores which he formerly owned at Ward and Taylor. Mr. Hi1p was at one time considered one of the best business men in the county, but his election to the assembly on the silver ticket in the

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Sol Hilp, who started first store in ely. [click on image to enlarge]

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late '90s without opposition proved a great handicap, as he later neglected business for politics and his fortune rapidly dwindled. Mr. Hilp died in Reno in 1918 or 1919.

            The first new building to be erected in Ely was constructed by Fred M. Clark for a drug store. This was, as far as the writer knows, the first building in the county to be built of all California lumber. Most of the material used in those days was an inferior grade of native timber from the local mills and which cost about forty dollars a thousand, the better grade of California lumber, which cost from sixty-five dollars to one hundred and twenty-five dollars a thousand, being used for finishing, doors, windows and shingles. The writer's teams hauled the material from Wells to build the Clark drug store.

            Dave Felsenthal was originally in partnership with Mr. Clark at Ely but sold out his interests to his partner, when he left the State, in the late '80s. Mr. Clark, who was a native of Maine, came to Taylor from Frisco, Utah, and engaged in the drug business with King & Company. Clark & Felsenthal bought out King & Company and moved the stock to their new quarters at Ely. Mr. Clark was still successfully engaged in business at Ely at the time the writer moved from the state.

            Even at the risk of causing a blush of modesty to mantle the cheek of Mr. Clark, the writer cannot forego a slight tribute to a man whose entire record as a citizen has been one of self-sacrificing service to his fellowmen. For more years than I like to count the Clark drug store was kept open early and late and used as a popular meeting place not only by Ely residents but also by the cowboys, ranchers and miners from the surrounding country. Whether the visitor desired to make a purchase or not was immaterial to the genial

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proprietor, and the drug store was looked upon largely as a public convenience. Mr. Clark was always popular with his fellow townsmen and was always elected as Ely's representative to attend state conventions or fraternal organizations, national expositions and similar gatherings which required a man of pleasing personality. Mr. Clark ran for the assembly in 1903 on the republican ticket and was overwhelmingly elected. I understand that he is still being drafted for public service and being regularly honored by election whenever his name appears on a ballot.

            Richard A. Reipe, who purchased the hotel business of Mr. Featherstone, was one of the first settlers in Ely and conducted a restaurant, feed stable and bar in connection with his hotel. Mr. Reipe was never known to turn an indigent man away. He was nominated for the assembly in the late '90s on the democratic ticket and was easily elected by the votes of the woodchoppers, coalburners and miners whom he had befriended. Mr. Reipe, I understand, was also extensively interested in mining and made a considerable sum when the final boom came to Ely, but he died a few years later.

            William Laurenson, another self-made man, was for many years county clerk of White Pine county. Mr. Laurenson while employed at the mill at Cherry Creek was nominated on the republican ticket and was easily elected, a republican nomination in those days generally being equivalent to an election, as the county was about two to one republican. Mr. Laurenson was never what is generally known as a "good mixer," but once he was elected no one could ever defeat him, so satisfactory was the administration of his office. Mr. Laurenson was of a studious nature and for many years prior to his death was considered one of the best posted men on law in the

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county. He was a great reader, an independent thinker and was never known to be wrong when he gave facts in an argument.

            Mr. Laurenson's disposition can best be judged by an answer he made to the United States census bureau in reply to a request for statistics as to the amount of liquor used in the county hospital in 1889. The reply was brief and to the point, being about as follows :

            "Hospital bought five gallons of mighty common whisky in 1889. This was used by patients who died the same year. Hospital closed in December. No patients left. When a county hospital is deserted you can bet that chill penury has the county on the hip."