November 15, 2011

Nevada's Online State News Journal

.

Nevada History:

 [Albert S. Evans, Letter from White Pine, Alta California, April 11, 1869]

LETTER FROM WHITE PINE.

__________

[SPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE OF THE ALTA CALIFORNIA.]

__________

The Life of Trade — Tunnelling — Immense Silver Ore — A Hotel at Last — Mixing Things Up — Etc.

__________

TREASURE CITY, April 6th, 1869.

            Editors Alta: Saturday last was the coldest day of the season, or at least since the 1st day of March, the north wind blowing with a savage earnestness which made everything, composed of flesh and blood get under cover as quickly as possible. On Sunday, the weather moderated materially, and on Monday it was so warm as to be really uncomfortable in the sun, while the snow disappeared with wonderful rapidity. To-day it is again cloudy, with a warm south wind, and indications of rain.

            The roads from Elko and Austin are reported drying up rapidly, and the stages are making good time once more.

The Life of Trade.

            Opposition is all the rage, and it makes things lively. The rivalry between the Pacific Union Express Company and Wells, Fargo & Co. is active, and both Companies are preparing for a lively summer campaign. Wells, Fargo & Co. will immediately increase their stock between here and Elko, and the Pacific Union (Wines & Shaw's stages), are putting on a fine lot of American horses to enable them to make the best time possible. For some days past the Pacific Union has beaten Wells, Fargo & Co. by considerable, delivering the San Francisco letters to their customers here some hours in advance of their rivals.

            The wire; for the Western Union Telegraph Company are already stretched from this city to Hamilton, and on Sunday next, we are promised direct communication with San Francisco. Meantime, the other Telegraph Company advertises for proposals for the erection of an opposition line near Elko, and rates will probably come down very soon to the bed-rock basis.

            There is opposition also in the Courts. The old Justice for this part of Lander County, Judge Burns, claims that he, having been elected by the people according to law, cannot be legislated out of office by the creation of a new county; but the Commissioners take a different view of the matter, and have already appointed two new Justices for this place. Both old and new Justices are doing business as usual, and you can get law, plain or fancy style, hot or cold, to your heart's content, by paying for it.

            There is a question, too, as to the location of the new Patterson District. 80 miles east of here, whether it is in White Pine County or Lander County, and the Commissioners have initiated measures to test the question by appointing a Justice and Constable for the place. Lincoln County will contest the appointment, and in time the question will be settled in the Supreme Court. But meantime, White Pine County furnishes the Justices and gets the pay for it.

            Judge Beatty is here, and the question of the validity of the law creating a new county will be tested as soon as possible. If the act is sustained — as there is hardly a doubt that it will be — he will resign his seat on the bench in his old district and assume the duties of his office here at once. Meantime the squatters and jumpers are making the best use of their time, taking out ore and hurrying it away to the mills, by day and night, in anticipation of the time when the Court shall be organized and the law step into settle questions of title, punish theft, etc.

            On Bromide Flat the new claimants are working with all the activity imaginable and turning every pound of rook they can get out into bullion as soon as possible, while the Iceberg Company are drifting further in all directions and preparing to serve them with injunctions as soon as the District Court is ready to attend to such matters, and authoritatively settle questions of law and fact at issue between them.

            The Hidden Treasure Mine was the scene of some little excitement yesterday.  There is a question of title between the Original Hidden Treasure Company and the holders of the Rathburn Claim to a portion of the ground claimed by the Company and now in their possession. Yesterday the Rathburn claimants sent a party to commence work, and they started in right by the dump of the Hidden Treasure Company, whereupon Captain Layne, the Superintendent of the latter Company, appeared on the ground "armed and equipped as the law directs," and the new-comers withdrew in good order. What will be the upshot of the matter this deponent don't pretend to say, not being posted fully on the question of title, but at present the Hidden Treasure people are masters of the position.

Tunnelling.

            Tunnel locations continue to be made, and if Treasure Hill is not bored off at its base, and made to fall down, like a pile out through by the toredo in the bay of San Francisco, it will be because the funds give out before the work is completed. The Great Union Tunnel Company let their contract last week for drifting into the hill 2,000 feet, I believe,  from the east side, below the Hidden Treasure. The bids, forty-eight in number, ranged from $19 50 to $60 per foot, the first figure taking it, of course.

            Not far from this location the Silver Tunnel Company have started in and will soon let a contract in the same manner.

            A little further south the birthday Tunnel and Milling Company have made a first rate location, having commenced work at the start on a promising ledge. The same may be said of the Huacho Tunnel Company. I have already mentioned numerous tunnels started along the eastern face of the hill, to the southwards of those mentioned, and I might go on enumerating them to the end of my letter. The California State Tunnel Company are at work on the southern end of their tunnel, nearly due south of the Eberhardt, and will soon commence on the northern end, running directly in under Pogonip Flat to the northwards.

            There are a number of tunnels being run in under Chloride and Bromide Flats. One of these, at the lower point of the latter flat — I do not remember the name — is already in forty feet of ore and still getting more as they go. I refer to one which passes within a few yards of Pick and Shovel claim.

Immense Ore.

            I have been shown a considerable quantity of immensely rich ore — much of it half silver — from the White Pine Mutual Mining Company, near the Aurora. This Company are taking it out as fast as possible, and from appearances ought to be "coining money" literally.

            The Virginia Company, on the northern slope of the hill, towards Hamilton, have struck it rich within a few days, and their vein of high grade ore has widened out to six or eight feet in as many days. They now have out some 150 tons of rich ore, and are adding to the quantity very rapidly. This is in the open cut between the mouth of the tunnel and the Aladdin Lamp shaft, from which all their pay ore has been taken. The work on the tunnel is being prosecuted still, for the reason that it is now so nearly finished that there is no excuse for not going on with it, however foolish its commencement might have been. The general opinion of the value of this Company's stock has undergone a decided and most agreeable change within the past two weeks.

            On the western edge of the hill, west of the road running from Hamilton to Treasure City, discoveries of rich ore are being made daily. The ground is all claimed, and much of it, too, is three times claimed, but this only shows the general opinion of the wealth of the locality; a mine which has not a few jumpers to contend with is of slight value as a rule. In the Echo and Elmira, very beautiful ore is being found, and as soon as the shafts are fairly put in shape for working to advantage, rich developments may be anticipated. The discoveries in the Phoenix, First Extension of the Phoenix Featherstone and other claims lower down towards Hamilton, I have already alluded to in former letters. Those mines continue to improve daily.

A Hotel at Last.

            At last we have a good hotel in this place. On Saturday evening last Messrs. Cramer, Marble & Co. opened the American Hotel in this city, the first regular hotel here, with a grand dinner, which was discussed with hearty zest by some 300 invited guests. It seemed not a little odd to sit down to a table loaded with oyster patιs and all the farfetched luxuries of the season, claret and champagne of the finest quality ad lib., amid the clouds and pogonip and the snow-drifts of White Pine, while the north wind raged and roared outside, driving the snow with a harsh rattling sound against the window panes incessantly. The house, though small in size, is elegantly furnished, regardless of expense, and judging by what was done last Saturday night, I think it will be well kept and a great accommodation to transient sojourners in the land of the Pogonip.

Mixing Things Up.

            The descriptions given by the uninitiated of points and locations in White Pine District, not unfrequently provoke a smile from the dwellers in the Pogonip. For instance, the Trustees of one Company gravely advertise the location of their claim as follows:

            "This mine in located on Treasure Hill, one mile north of the Eberhardt, and about a mile and a half east of the road leading from the main road to Treasure City. The mine is nearly at the foot of the high bluff to the north of the Eberhardt, and about one mile southeast of the Aurora Mine."

            (I stuck this extract on with plum jam, having no mucilage to do it with. I jammed it on as hard as I could, and hope it will stick.) Now, the Aurora is not over half a mile due north — or very nearly so — from the Eberhardt, and I think that the holders of stock in the above claim would have a good time finding it with that description to guide (?) them, and it would do them good when they found it.

            Another instance. A correspondent writes to a paper in San Francisco: "From my window I can see fires away up on the Diamond Mountain Range — the Base Range — prospectors opening out those immense ledges which traverse the mountains hundreds of feet above us." Now it so happens that the Diamond Range is forty miles from his window aforesaid; and if he can see through the solid substance of the White Pine Mountain, and distinguish the lights on these mountains, he has good eyes indeed. The Base Range is right down at the foot of Treasure Hill, hundreds and hundreds of feet below Treasure City, not above it; the fires he sees are on White Pine Mountain, just beyond, and are kindled by lumber-men engaged in cutting saw-logs away up on the side of the mountain, where there is not a mine of any kind, or even a claim located.

Explanatory.

            Letters come here daily from San Francisco, from parties who complain that they have written to the Recorder of the District, L. P. Tenny, for information as to whether they are located in certain claims or not, etc., etc., and that they have received no answer to their letters. Now, the explanation of this is very simple indeed. The Recorder's office is at all times free to all who wish to examine the records, but if he is called on to search them in person, or by deputy, for parties at a distance, much valuable time is consumed, and if this time is not paid for, he is out and injured; it costs money to live in White Pine. When he receives a batch of letters he opens them and sorts them into two piles, the first contains all the letters which contain money in payment for labor required and the other those which contain nothing but the naked inquiries. The office is very small, and he is compelled to place the two piles of letters on the edge of the window sill while he goes through them in turn. The stove often smokes so that it is necessary to open the window, and the result is that there comes a sudden whiff of wind which blows the lighter package or pile of letters all away, frequently carrying them half way to Salt Lake or beyond. The package of letters containing money being heavier, never blows away, and thus they are sure of being attended to and answered. This, you will perceive, is a very satisfactory explanation, and if people will remember it, they can easily save themselves much vexation and annoyance. I think that I have said about enough on that subject.

Yours,

EVANS.