[From Myron Angel, History of the State of Nevada, Thompson & West (1881)]

 

648      HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA.

CHAPTER LV.

HISTORY OF WHITE PINE COUNTY.

The Mountains and Valleys—Timber, Mills and Lumber—Wild Game and Fish—The Indian Tribes—Discovery of and Rush to the Mines—Organization and Boundaries—First County Commissioners—Court House and Defalcation—Appointments and Elections —Resources of the County—More Hopeful Prospects—Principal Mining Districts—Pancake Coal Mines—Principal Towns and Cities.

            THE general trend of the mountains of White Pine County is north and south. The Diamond range, in the western part of the county, is high and snowy; the White Pine range, on the west center (known as Ruby or East Humboldt, range in Elko Comity), is bold and high; Treasure Hill is an easterly spur of the White Pine range; ranging down the center of the comity are the Egan Mountains; the Schell Creek range commences near the north line of the county, and runs into Lincoln county, and is there known as the Patterson range; Snake Creek range commences near the southeast corner of the county, and runs north about seventy miles; the Antelope Mountains form a low range extending into Elko County; Wheeler's Peak, formerly called Jeff. Davis Peak, is the loftiest in eastern Nevada, its altitude being 12,980 feet.

            NEWARK VALLEY, Which contains about 100,000 acres of tillable and grazing lands, is near the western limits of the county, and is irrigated by Cole Creek, Newark Creek, and numerous springs. It was first settled in 1S66 by E. Orser and James and Samuel Gilson. Grain was first raised in 1867, since which time grain and vegetables have been produced annually. The valley has a total white population of 150.

            WHITE PINE VALLEY lies between the White Pine and Egan Mountain ranges, and is sixty miles in length and fifteen in width. The northern half of it is in White Pine County, and contains about 2,000 acres of tillable land. Its soil is rich, and it is the best grain growing valley in the county. It is irrigated from White Pine River and front springs. It was first settled in 1869 by J. R. Withington, the Ellison brothers and others. Grain was first raised in 1870. The largest barley crop it ever produced amounted to 300 tons. The white inhabitants of the valley number fifty persons.

            STEPTOE VALLEY is the largest in the county lying between the Egan and Schell Creek ranges, and commences near the southern extremity of the county and runs north to the Humboldt River. Its average width is fifteen miles, and its tillable area is estimated at 70,000 acres. Many creeks flow down from the mountain slopes on either side. The settlement of this valley dates from 1868. Since 1870 considerable grain has been raised annually. The crop of 1875 aggregated 600 tons. The number of ranches is thirty, and the total white population is 200.

            SPRING VALLEY, in the eastern part of the county, is flanked by Schell Creek and Snake Mountains. It commences near the southern boundary line of the county, and ends near the northern boundary line. Its length is about 100 miles, and its width 12. Its northern portion is well watered by numerous small creeks, all of which run long enough for irrigation in the spring, and many of which are living streams. It contains about 25,000 acres of good arable soil that can be irrigated. Its white population numbers about 150 persons.

            SNAKE VALLEY lies east of the Snake range, the State line passing through it. About 350,000 acres of it are in this county, of which 10,000 are tillable. It is chiefly devoted to stock-raising. Its slope being to the south and east, its climate is warmer than that of most portions of the county, and large quantities of tomatoes and other vegetables are successfully cultivated. In numerous small valleys not mentioned, grain and vegetables are raised.

TIMBER, MILLS AND LUMBER.

The Schell Creek, White Pine, Egan, and Snake Mountains were partially covered with pine, originally, which was fit for lumber. Mills are now in operation on all the ranges with the exception of the

HISTORY OF WHITE PINE COUNTY.      649                                                     

White Pine range. On the latter range, in 1869, twelve mills were running, and lumber was worth from $100 to $200 per thousand, and finely dressed lumber from the Sierra Nevada brought $100 per thousand. There is yet a large quantity of sawable timber on the Snake range, and considerable on the Schell Creek range. All of the mountains in the county are well covered with nut pine and mountain mahogany, which are excellent for charcoal and fuel.

WILD GAME AND FISH.

            The larger wild game of White Pine County consists of mountain sheep, deer and antelope; the smaller kinds include the wild cat, lynx, fox, coyote, hare, porcupine, rabbit, badger, duck, goose, sage hen, snipe, curlew, grouse, and prairie chicken. The mountain hare is much larger than the valley hare, and is gray in color in the summer, and snow white in the winter. The ducks, geese, curlew, and snipe, are of several varieties. The sage hen feeds on sage only in the winter, and in the summer and fall makes fine food. Deer are more numerous in the mountains than when the county was first settled. In the month of May they migrate northward, and return southward in October, by regular trails. It was formerly the custom of the Indians to build long brush fences across these trails, in the shape of a letter V, thus forming a corral into which the deer collected, to be slaughtered there by hundreds. Since the Indians have become supplied with firearms, they do their deer slaying in detail, and no longer by wholesale operations; and, as a consequence, that animal is now more numerous than formerly.

            After the settlement of some of the valleys, the coyotes became exceedingly troublesome, and a war was waged against them by the ranchers, that almost resulted in their extermination. Soon afterwards, the hare and rabbit multiplied wonderfully, and became more troublesome than the coyotes had been. A shooting match, that occurred in Steptoe Valley last season, illustrated their multiplicity. The rival parties were organized by Samuel Mosier, and consisted of six hunters each, chosen from among the best shots of Hamilton. After three hours of lively work, the supply of ammunition gave out. The number of hare and rabbit slain were found to number 609, and an even larger number of dead and wounded were found lying about the field the next day. During the present season hare and rabbit have mysteriously disappeared, from the prevalence of some disease among them, no doubt. The same thing has occurred once before, within the memory of the Indians.

            There are only two streams in White Pine County that have fish in them. In 1876 trout were placed in Cleveland Creek, in Spring Valley, and have multiplied rapidly since. Lehman Creek, which flows into Snake Valley and then sinks, also contains trout, and it is supposed that the Mormons, who formerly occupied a portion of the valley, placed them there.      

THE INDIAN TRIBES.

            The Indians of this county are of the Shoshone and Gosh-Ute tribes—about seven Shoshones to every three of the other tribe –and belong to the Duck Valley Reservation. The Indians of White Pine County, however, have never been on a reservation, and have received very little aid from the Government since 1872. The census report places their number at 810, but it is known that many of them were not found by the census agents, and their actual number is probably not less than 1,200. The Shoshones occupy the western part of the county, and the Gosh-Utes the eastern part. Before any white settlements were commenced, the Pah-Utes subjugated the Shoshones, and regularly collected tribute from them, and only permitted them to keep a certain small number of ponies to each band, and if; at any time the number was exceeded, the extra ponies were seized by the Pah-Utes. In this manner the young Shoshones were kept dismounted and at a disadvantage. Attractive Shoshone maidens were also borne away by force to Pah-Ute lodges. The Gosh-Utes took a prominent part in the overland stage troubles of 1863, but have been perfectly quiet since the scare of 1875. A few of them are engaged in farming, and own teams, wagons and implements, but the majority strictly follow the scriptural injunction to take no thought of the morrow. Most of the heavy household drudgery of the white settlements is done by squaws, who work at cheap rates and make docile and industrious domestics.

DISCOVERY OF AND RUSH TO THE MINES.

            The area of White Pine County is 8,200 square miles, and previous to April, 1869, was a part of Lander. The mining district from which it receives its name was organized in the autumn of 1865, and was so called from the predominant forest trees covering a lofty and strong range of mountains, extending 100 miles north and south. A. J. Leathers, Thomas Murphy, Morrill, and others, who were the pioneer prospectors, gave but little attention to the district, until in 1868, following the directions of an Indian, they explored the naked summit of Treasure Hill, and there found that extraordinary body of mineral wealth which soon after led to the concentration of population in that quarter, and the organization of a new county. The news of this wonderful discovery went, as though borne on the wings of the wind, to every city, town and camp in the State. Population gathered in, like the waters from a cloudburst, suddenly and in overwhelming numbers. So great was the excitement during the year 1868, that every man who could get there, went to the White Pine District to examine the Eberhardt Mine, and the vast wealth of the district.

            The White Pine News of March 28, 1874, in a description of this period, said:—

            White Pine, at its birth, six years since, was a prodigy. The chloride ores of the Hidden Treasure and the Eberhardt were unknown to the North

650      HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. 

American continent, and had a parallel only in the Chañarcillo and kindred Chillian mines. Their richness running into the thousands, and their docility extending nearly to assay value, excited the greed or interest of all within hearing. These, together with the misapprehension of their extent, caused by the profuse exhibition on Chloride and Bromide Flats, inflamed the public to a degree unknown since the birth of California. Electrified by the prospect of interminable wealth, multitudes took their line of march for the new Mecca, and so great was the hegira, that, indifferent to sickness or climate, within the first season some 10,000 or 12,000 men had established themselves in huts and caves 9,000 feet above the sea. All locomotives were in requisition, from Shank's mare to the dashing coach, and teams groaned under the burden of subsistence for the pilgrim army. In the midst of the small-pox, with the thermometer at zero, a carnival of riot and speculation was inaugurated. Mines, land, wood and water were claimed: towns were built; lots rose to the thousands; and mining claims, good, bad or indifferent, were bought and sold at unconscionable prices.

            The Mining Recorder in 1869-70 was obliged to keep three assistants, who were busy all the time recording claims, making this the best paying office in the county, recording over 13,000 claims in two years, by far the greater number being recorded within the first six months of the excitement, which was in the fall of 1868 and beginning of 1869, the fee being fifty cents a name, averaging two dollars a claim, giving the Recorder, Mr. L. P. Tenney, a comfortable fortune for his two years of service.

            The first mill was a ten-stamp, erected by Jeremiah Miller, and within ten months thereafter there were 212 stamps ready for operation. The cities of Treasure, Hamilton and Shermantown sprang into existence, and before the close of the year 1868, the population of White Pine District had reached over 10,000. The distance to Austin was 120 miles, and not wishing to go so far to the county seat, and thinking it would be better to have a county of their own, the people of this district made application to the Legislature for a separate county organization.

ORGANIZATION AND BOUNDARIES.

            By an Act of the Legislature, which took effect April 1, 1869, White Pine County was created out of a portion of Lander; the town of Hamilton was made its county- seat; the first officers were named and its boundaries were fixed as follows: "All that portion of the State of Nevada lying east of a line running due north and south through the most westerly part of the house known as Shannon's Station, on the westerly slope of Diamond Mountain, in Lander County, on the row from Austin to Hamilton, in said county; and south of a line running due east and west through the most northerly part of Camp Ruby, and north of the present line between the counties of Nye and Lander, as located by Thomas J. Reed, County Surveyor of Lander County, made in 1868." By an Act approved February 26, 1875, a portion of the territory of Nye was detached and added to White Pine County, thus establishing the boundaries of the latter county as they are at the present time.

FIRST COUNTY COMMISSIONERS,

            Messrs. Drake. Wheeler and Cranky, the Commissioners designated by the Legislative Act, met at Hamilton, the county seat. April 1, 1869, and producing their commissions from the Governor, together with their official oaths, duly subscribed and certified to as required by law, proceeded to organize the first Board of County Commissioners by the election of Frank Wheeler, Chairman. Their official oaths were ordered filed and recorded. The Clerk then qualified, after which the oaths and bonds of the Sheriff, Assessor and District Attorney were approved and filed. Petitions were then presented as follows: from Archie G. Turner, asking that a township be established at Patterson, and that a Justice of the Peace and Constable be appointed; from the citizens of Treasure City, asking that James Steel be appointed Constable for that place; and from the citizens of Hamilton asking that Marshall Atwood be appointed a Justice of the Peace for that place. Atwood was appointed Justice of the Peace, and Robert O. Keefe, Constable for Hamilton, and both presented their official bonds and qualified.

COURT HOUSE AND DEFALCATION.

            The new county being duly organized and the officers properly qualified and installed into their several positions, steps were at once taken to provide the necessary funds to meet current expenses, and furnish suitable buildings. There being no general election till the fall of 1870, the officers first appointed remained in charge of affairs till that election. In the meantime the contract was let for the erection of a fine two-story brick Court House and jail, being 40x60 feet, and containing rooms for all the county officers. The building was completed and accepted in 1870, and cost the round sum of $55,000.

            M. W. Kales, the first appointed County Treasurer, resigned in 1869, before the expiration of his term of office, and Lewis Cook was appointed to fill the balance of the term. At the expiration of Cook's term of office in 1870, an examination of the books showed him to be in debt to the county $24,000. Cook had quietly retired from the country, and an offer of $1,000 reward failed to effect his arrest. A compromise was finally made with his bondsmen by which the county shared in the loss.

APPOINTMENTS AND ELECTIONS.

            The first officers of White Pine County were named in the Act of the Legislature which created the county, and which was approved April 1, 1869. These parties continued in office till their successors were chosen at the general election in November, 1870.

            A full list of all the officers of the county from the date of its organization down to the present time is given below, together with the date of appointment or election of each. The vacancies in office by death, resignation or removal, if any have occurred, are also

HISTORY OF WHITE PINE COUNTY.      651

noted, together with the names of the persons selected to fill the same.

STATE SENATORS.

            A. C. Cleveland and George F. Mills, were elected November 8, 1870; John Wagner and U. E. Allen, were elected November 5, 1872; did not serve, as Cleveland and Mills held over. Robert Robinson and E. B. Dickinson, were elected November 3, 1874; H. A. Comins, was elected November 7, 1876; D. W. Perly, was elected November 5, 1878; Thomas Rockhill, was elected November 2, 1880.

ASSEMBLYMEN.

            John Wagner, Wilmer Brown, P. P. Cannavan, T. J. Tennant and C. Patchin, were elected November 8, 1870; F. W. Cole. E. Matthews, Thos. Robinson. D. C. Vinnedge and O. H. Gray, were elected November 5, 1872; H. A. Comins, Nelson Allen, G. R. A. Bibbins, W. H. Ford and J. M. Gerhardt, were elected November 3, 1874; O. H. Gray. George Coburn, Thomas Rockhill and A. G. Lowery, were elected November 7, 1876; M. R. Lyons, M. S. Sharp, Westly Smith and Charles Green, elected November 5, 1878; Chas. Green, John A. Condon. George F. Parker and George G. Blair, were elected November 2, 1880.

COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.

            Frank Drake, Frank Wheeler and T. R. Cranley were appointed by the Legislature April 1, 1869; A. C. Gordon, Alexander Brown and D. C. Clark were elected November 8, 1870. Gordon resigned January 6, 1874, J. R. Withington appointed. Clark resigned September 18, 1872. Henry Mau and R. Sadler, elected November 5, 1872: Samuel Liddle and Samuel Mosier, elected November 3, 1874: S. S. Woodin and H. L. Fitzhugh elected November 7, 1876: J. H. Lockwood and Ed. Caldwell, elected November 5, 1878. Caldwell resigned in 1880 and Frank Drake appointed. G. W. Halstead and John Flynn were elected November 2, 1880.

DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.

            F. H. Kennedy, appointed by the Legislature April 1, 1869; John R. Kittrell, elected November 8, 1870, re-elected November 5. 1872; J. B. Barker, elected November 3, 1871; B. K. Davis, elected November 7, 1876, re-elected November 5, 1878, died in 1880, and A. B. Freece appointed. C. M. Thackston, elected November 2, 1880.

COUNTY SHERIFFS.

            Edward Irwin, appointed by the Legislature April 1, 1869; J. D. Patterson, elected November 8, 1870, re-elected November 5, 1872; Ed. Raum, elected November 3, 1874, re-elected November 7, 1876, reelected again November 5, 1878, again re-elected November 2, 1880.

COUNTY CLERKS.

            H. M. Eddy was appointed by the Legislature April 1, 1869; B. H. Hereford was elected November 8, 1870; Wm. T. Hanford was elected November 5, 1872, re-elected November 3, 1874, resigned in May, 1875, and was succeeded by W. R. Forrest. Forrest was elected November 7, 1876, re-elected November 5, 1878; John McKernon elected November 2, 1880.

COUNTY TREASURERS.

            M. W. Kales [Kyles] was appointed by the Legislature April 1, 1869, resigned. and Lewis Cook appointed in his place in 1869, W. P. Willard, elected November 8, 1870; Wm. Tinson, elected November 5.1872; Wm. Pardy, elected November 3. 1874; George P. McConkey, elected November 7, 1876, re-elected November 5, 1878, re-elected again. November 2, 1880.

COUNTY ASSESSORS.

            Augustus Ash was appointed by the Legislature, April 1, 1869; T. R. Cranley was elected November 8, 1870, re-elected November 5, 1872; J. B. Williamson, elected November 3, 1874, re-elected November 7, 1876; Wash. Woodberry, elected November 5, 1878, re-elected November 2, 1880.

COUNTY RECORDERS.

            Warren T. Lockhart, appointed by the Legislature April 1, 1869; T. N. Brown. elected November 8, 1870; Wm. C. Love, elected November 5, 1872; Wm. Tinson, elected November 3, 1874, re-elected November 7, 1876, re-elected again November 5, 1878, again re-elected November 2. 1880.

COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.

            H. S. Herrick, appointed by the Legislature April 1, 1869, elected November 8. 1870, re-elected November 5, 1872, re-elected again November 3. 1871; H. Hagar, elected November 7, 1876; H. S. Herrick, elected November 5, 1878: L. O. Benedict, elected November 2, 1880.

COUNTY SURVEYORS.

            E. F. Mitchell was appointed by the Legislature April 1, 1869; F. Tagliabue. elected November 8, 1870; Thomas J. Read, elected November 5, 1872; M. W. Henry, elected November 3, 1874; Wm. M. McGill, elected November 7, 1876; George B. Burbank, elected November 5, 1578; Joseph Grandelmyer, elected November 2, 1880, but did not qualify.

COUNTY PUBLIC ADMINISTRATORS.

            M. J. Henly, appointed by the Legislature April 1, 1869, and was elected November 8, 1870; Wm. H. Taylor, elected November 5, 1872; E. Meyer elected November 3, 1874; J. C. Edwards, elected November 7, 1876; E. X. Willard, elected November 5, 1878, re-elected November 2, 1880, but did not qualify.

RESOURCES OF THE COUNTY.

            The prosperity of White Pine was short, sharp and decisive enough to satisfy the most speculative cast of mind. Those who made the first investments were so dazzled with the splendor and greatness of their prospective wealth that they were never quite able to see how they were despoiled; and those who made the last investments were unable to turn quick

652      HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA.

enough to escape the crash and general ruin that followed the failure of the mines. Still, these mines were exceedingly rich, and, while they lasted, produced bullion in great abundance. The value of the gross product in 1870, the second year after the first discovery of the mines, was $1,590,662.66, and at the close of the year 1873 they had produced $8,767,784.

            This was of incalculable benefit to the new county, for the tax on the bullion product was nearly equal to the tax on all other property of the county combined, and supplied the Treasury with the ready means to pay current expenses and liquidate the bonded debt in the erection of the Court House.

            For a complete statement of the bullion product of the county each year, from 1869 to, and including, 1880, reference is had to the table upon this subject, published in this work.

            The discovery of mineral wealth had the effect to develop the agricultural resources of the county, which were before unknown. The fertile lands of Spring, Steptoe and Snake Valleys were sought out and brought into requisition, and made to supply the mining camps with every cereal, vegetable and fruit which a northern climate can produce. The mountain ranges furnished abundance of wood and timber, and the frequent springs and streams upon their sides and at their base rendered thousands of acres valuable for grazing. The surplus waters of the mountain streams, by means of irrigating ditches, were turned upon the dry and barren fields, which were thereby made to blossom and bear fruit.

            For a full statement of the products of the county, from 1869 to 1880, the number of acres under cultivation, the stock and grain raised and the fruit trees and vines growing, also for the number of irrigating ditches, the reader is referred to pages 135, 136, 139 and 140 of the general history.

MORE HOPEFUL PROSPECTS.

            Notwithstanding the depression in all kinds of business that followed the failure of the mines; and the marked decline in population and wealth which the county experienced at that time, yet there is now and for the past few years there has been, a better feeling and a more hopeful outlook. The ephemeral excitements of former times have passed, and those citizens who have remained have turned their attention to the systematic development and improvement of their properties, both mining and agricultural.

            The apparent success of mining operations in Ward District has had a tendency to encourage miners and to give increased confidence to the public generally in the permanency and wealth of other districts. Treasure Hill. and the towns of White Pine District, whose population, at one time, was reduced nearly to zero, are looking up; and other localities are being actively prospected.

            The introduction of alfalfa into most of the valleys of the county has given a new impetus to the grazing industry. Two crops each year and sometimes three are raised from the same ground. Grasshoppers have not been as troublesome here as they have in other parts of the country, and the grain is rarely affected by smut or rust. Severe frosts, which come in some localities every month in the year, are the only hindrance to abundant crops of fruit and vegetables.

            The population of the county, as given by the census of 1880, was 2,582. The total value of assessable property, real and personal, is $963,541, and the total debt is $139,042. The cash on hand is $21,617.66.

PRINCIPAL MINING DISTRICTS.

            BALD MOUNTAIN DISTRICT is in the Ruby Mountains, about fifty miles north of Hamilton and eight miles south of the old overland stage road. There are two peaks, not widely separated, which are destitute of timber near their summits. The mines are on the south peak and in the saddle between that and the northern peak. Ore was discovered on August 13, 1869, by G. H. Foreman and others, and on August 20th a district ten miles square was organized. The formation is limestone. The Free Metal Belt is about five hundred yards wide, and extends north four miles. It is east of the southern slope. The Base Metal Belt is far up on the eastern slope of the south peak, and is about 500 yards wide, and two miles in length. An outcrop of quartzite rock passes between these belts, nearly due north. Plenty of spring water is to be had near the mines; nut pine, juniper and mountain mahogany cover the low hills, and bunch-grass is abundant, but there are no meadows in the adjacent region. In the Nevada Mine the ore is a chloride, and carries iron, antimony, some carbonate of lead, and a trace of copper. Five tons of it yielded $128. In the Genii Mine the vein matter is much decomposed. The ore shows copper and antimony, and is red with the oxide of iron and carbonate of lead. It yields forty dollars per ton. Ore in the Bismarck Mine shows from forty to eighty dollars in silver, and from twenty-five to forty-five per cent. in copper, with some iron.

            CAVE DISTRICT is on a low hill of the Egan range of mountains, about forty miles south of Ward. Ore was discovered by John Hughes in 1869, and, on the seventeenth of March of that year a district was organized. At the south end of the hill is a cave which has been explored and mapped for a distance of 2,500 feet. The mines are on the hill near the cave. The formation is of limestone. The vein matter is from two to four feet in width, and dips southeast from thirty to forty-five degrees. The ore is found in seams and bunches, and selected specimens assay from $50 to $400 per ton, carrying galena, stromerite and iron. Water is abundant; wood is procured from the range of mountains adjacent. Not much work was done until 1878, since which time some ore has been hauled to Bristol, in Lincoln County.

HISTORY OF WHITE PINE COUNTY.      653

            COOPER DISTRICT is situated on the eastern slope of the Schell Creek Mountains, on the south side of Simpson's Pass and twenty miles cast of Ward. It was organized on May 2, 1869, ore having been discovered the preceding day. A sufficient supply of wood exists. Water, in limited quantities, is fund four miles to the northward, and in abundance at the distance of ten miles. The formation is limestone, dipping ten degrees to the east. Slate is found along the cañons, and granite at the mountain summits. In the California, Blue Lead, Carrick, Potomac and Rappahannock Mines the vein matter varies from four to eight feet. The ore assays from $62 to $192 per ton in silver, and carries galena, antimony, iron and arsenic. In the Fairplay Mine the vein matter is six feet in width, and the ore shows fine chloride of silver. In the Mollie Rutter and Eclipse Mines the vein matter is four feet in width, and specimens of chloride ore assay from forty to several hundred dollars per ton. The vein matter of the Cooper Mine is about five feet in width, and selected specimens of' ore have assayed from $78 to $145 per ton. In the latter mine the ore is generally found in small pockets. Most of the work ever done in the district was in 1869 and 1870. Fifty or sixty locations have been made. The ore is free. No mills have ever been put up in the district, and there are no miners there.

            ENTERPRISE DISTRICT is on the western slope of the Schell Creek Mountains, a little northeast of Piermont. It was organized on July 1, 1869. The ore contains lead and copper, and assays from fifteen to thirty dollars per ton in silver. The mountain slope abounds with fir, yellow pine, nut pine and juniper. In the valley is cedar. The district contains a sufficient supply of water.

            GOLD CAÑON DISTRICT is near Egan Cañon, in the Egan range of mountains, fifty-five miles northeast from Hamilton in a direct line. Ore was first discovered by a company of volunteer soldiers, commanded by Captain Tober, who were on their way to Fort Ruby. A district was organized on the twenty-third of September, 1863, and the first claim recorded was that of Samuel J. Taut. The mountains and the cañon were named after Howard Egan, a Mormon Danite, who, at an early day, discovered the cañon while endeavoring to make his way to California. The geological formation where the mines are, consists of the oldest stratified rocks in alternate zones of schist, quartzite, and slate. The upheaval of the beds is from east to west, their upturned edges forming the entire east face and summit of the Egan range. The west flank of the range, and the high ridges west of the Egan basin, are silurian, devonian, and carboniferous beds, consisting mainly of calcareous shales and limestone peculiar to the geological ages. The principal mines at Egan are owned by the San Jose Mining Company, at the head of which formerly stood General Rosecrans. now a member of Congress from California. These mines, all held by Government patents. are as follows: The Gilligan Mine, 1,600 feet; the Gilligan West, 1,400 feet; the Gilligan East, 800 feet; the Jenny Lind, 1,600 feet; the San Jose, 115 feet; the Centennial, 1,500 feet; the Pine Tree, 1,500 feet; the Eastern, 1,500 feet; the American, 1,500 feet; and the Columbus, 1,500 feet. The Gilligan Ledge, the first of the company's possessions originally worked, cuts obliquely across the country rock from southwest to northeast, and the dip is northwest, at angles varying from fifty to eighty degrees below the horizon, the average dip being about seventy degrees. This description applies to the Gilligan West and East, the Jenny Lind, San Jose, and Centennial, on the same ledge continuously. The Gilligan is pronounced by experts to be a true fissure lode, of great length, and of undoubted persistence in depth. The other mining locations offer advantageous explorations, but have not as yet been sufficiently explored to turn their possessions to account. The Social Company opened the Gilligan Mine in the year 1863, with lucrative returns, under the superintendency of Mr. John O'Dougherty. The Social became united with the Steptoe in 1865. The Social and Steptoe Consolidated extended the works, and built the twenty-stamp mill at Egan.

            The San Jose Mining Company became possessed of' the property in 1871. Its first efforts were to sink the main incline on the Gilligan, some ninety feet deeper, making the depth from the surface about 500 feet. A derangement of the pumping force led to a stoppage of the work, the sinking of the shaft having met with an opposing body of water. The company then determined to run an adit, or tunnel, for the purpose of draining and working the mine more advantageously. This tunnel cuts the ledge at right angles, at a distance of 1,200 feet from its mouth, and extends some 300 feet to 400 feet beyond the ledge, in a northerly direction. It strikes the ledge about 500 feet east of the main incline, and from 450 to 650 feet below the croppings. Levels, to the right and left of the tunnel line, have been driven along the course of the ledge; sometimes on the ledge, and at other times losing it, owing to the intersections of false, or cross-courses The level to the right, or northeast, extends now some 700 feet; that to the left, or southwest, and connecting with the Gilligan, is some 500 feet in length. Work has lately been resumed, after a suspension of three years, but with only a small force of miners. This force is to be augmented as operations progress, and as prospectings and explorations demand. The vein has always yielded gold and silver, in the proportion of one-third gold, to two-thirds silver.

            Freight is brought from Wells, on the Central Pacific Railroad, by a stage, carrying Wells, Fargo Co.'s express. Teamsters with mule teams carry freight from Toano, at one and one-fourth cents per pound. The stage freight varies from ten to fifteen

654      HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA.

cents per pound. The timber supply of the district is nut pine, white or pitch pine, fir, spruce and mahogany, for fuel purposes. The supply is abundant at five dollars per cord. excepting for mahogany, which is seven or eight dollars per cord. The water supply is also abundant, from the springs which form the Egan Cañon Creek, running through the cañon, and into Steptoe Valley. A large body of water is also constantly discharged through the San Jose Company's tunnel, and joins the water of the creek. The ores from above the water line are worked by wet crushing batteries, but, from below that line, are treated with roasting and dry crushing. The nearest post-office to Egan Cañon is that of Cherry Creek, about five miles to the northeast.

            HUNTER DISTRICT is in the Egan Mountains, ten miles south of Egan Cañon, and fifty miles northeast of Hamilton. Ore was discovered December 3, 1871. Limestone and quartzite are the prevailing formations. In the Vulcan Mine the course of the vein is east and west, and the dip is to the south. For a depth of 186 feet ore has been found all the way. An average of 100 assays showed a product of from sixty to eighty dollars per ton. Very little work has been done in the district. Wood and water are plenty.

            KERN DISTRICT is about forty-five miles south of Big Creek, on the south side of a pass through the Snake Mountains known as Pleasant Valley. The district is five miles in width, and covers a section of the mountain about fifteen miles long, southeast and northwest. Ore was discovered in 1859 by the employes of the Overland Mail Company. In June, 1868, the Mammoth Ledge was located. On the seventeenth of April the district of Pleasant Valley was organized. On the third of May following, a party of men from Kern County, California, entered a wide cañon in search of water at a locality about five miles west of the original point of discovery, and there found ore. On the ninth of May they organized Kern District, and included within its limits the section already occupied by Pleasant Valley District. They also laid off the town of Glencoe in the cañon. A friendly adjustment of conflicting claims followed, and the name of Kern was adopted for the doubly organized district. The mineral belt includes the whole southwestern slope of the hill and three or four miles of the northeastern slope. The body of the hill is granite and quartzite, is capped with limestone, which is generally the country rock about the mines. The vein matter of the Mammoth Ledge stood from one to twenty feet above the surface, and contained sulphurets of iron, traces of gold and some copper and silver. A mass of magnetic iron was found in the opening at the depth of six feet.  Below, it diminished, but continued on the foot-wall, the other part of the vein carrying copper. lead and nickel. The foot-wall is well defined and lined with clay, and the country rock is granite. Assays have ranged from $3 to over $100 in silver and gold. About twenty miles southeast of Kern District are three salt beds, connected by a slough and capable of affording an unlimited supply of salt. Warm Creek, which flows into the marsh containing thee beds, has a temperature of eighty degrees. It flows from a boiling spring two or three miles west in the foot-hills, and is eight feet in width and two feet deep. Along the valley to the southward for sixty or seventy miles are several fertile and well-watered sections.

            LINCOLN DISTRICT lies on the western slope of the Snake Mountains, east of Wheeler's Peak. Ore was discovered on July 10, 1869, and two days afterwards the district was organized. Timber is abundant on the eastern side of the mountain, consisting of fir, white and yellow pine, tamarack, juniper, nut pine and mountain mahogany. In some localities the trees are three feet in diameter and 175 feet high. Bunch-grass abounds, and there is plenty of spring-water for mining purposes. Several small streams flow down the eastern slope of the mountain and empty into Snake Creek, which, in turn, flows into a lake of the same name which is two miles long and a quarter of a mile wide, and contains excellent trout. Around the lake are several thousand acres of fine meadow and agricultural lands, beyond which are large groves of red cedar. The mines are in a timbered region in a belt of limestone. The principal ones are the Washington, Ohio, Iowa, Worcester, Buena Vista. Young America, Canaan, Balbec, Cross Lead, Sheffield and Passaic. The mineral belt is four miles long, north and south, and about two miles wide. The mountain is exceedingly broken. The Washington Mine is near the summit, at an altitude of 11,000 feet. Specimens from it have assayed $517 per ton, carrying some copper, lead and antimony. The croppings in it are eight feet in width. The Iowa contains a vein three feet wide, the ore of which shows copper and chloride of silver. Near by are great quantities of black and white spar. Many other claims have been located, but have, as yet, never been developed.

            LAKE DISTRICT is situated in the mountains overlooking Steptoe Valley from the west, and was organized in September, 1871. Ore was first discovered by George B. Taylor. The formations are slate, quartzite and limestone. The principal mines are the Excelsior, Mastodon, Belcher, Lida and El Dorado. The ore is very high grade and has frequently assayed $1,000 to the ton. Wood and water are abundant in the district.

            McDOUGAL DISTRICT lies nearly west of Piermont, on the western slope of the Schell Creek Mountains, and at the head of Duckwater Creek. It was organized on the first of July, 1869. The formation is limestone; the veins are from three to six feet in width, run north and south, and are accompanied by a capping of spar. The ore is in finely crystallized

HISTORY OF WHITE PINE COUNTY.      655

white quartz with deep blue copper stains passing through it and carrying silver. Two fine springs near the mines afford a good supply of water. Cedar, fir, nut and yellow pine and juniper are abundant in the vicinity.     

            NEVADA DISTRICT is on the western slope of the Schell Creek Mountains, thirty miles southeast of Piermont and ten miles east of Robinson. Ore was discovered on the twenty-fifth of April, 1869, by a party of explorers from Reno. A district was organized on the seventh of May following. Wood is found in sufficient quantities in the hills and cañons. Water is obtained from springs near the mines, and from Steptoe Creek, three miles distant, where there is a permanent supply of 400 inches. The country rock is limestone; the ore is principally a rich chloride. In 1873 the claims on Wagner Hill were located, thirty in all, and the town of Tamerlane was laid out. Considerable ore was extracted but the burning of the ten-stamp mill at Robinson put a stop to operations. In Steptoe Valley, a few miles distant, there are several fine stock and agricultural ranches.

            NEWARK DISTRICT was organized in October, 1866, by Stephen and John Beard, and others from Austin, who discovered the mineral-bearing veins. The district is on the eastern slope of the Diamond range of mountains, about twenty miles east of Eureka. The geological formation is slate and limestone, the latter carrying a great abundance of fossil shells. Deep chasms are cut in the mountainside which exhibit the character of the rocks. One of these chasms, or cañons, is called the Minnehaha, and another Chihuahua, and through both run sparkling streams of water. The first is remarkable for the beauty of its scenery, and the latter for its grandeur. The Chihuahua Cañon seems formed by some great convulsion of nature, rending the rocks in twain, leaving them standing in perpendicular walls 1,000 feet in height, almost rivaling the great chasm of the Yo-Semite, in California. This deep fissure exposes veins of silver-bearing quartz varying from two to twenty feet in width, the principal being the Lincoln and the Chihuahua.

            In 1867 the principal mines of this district were purchased by an Eastern company composed chiefly of members of the Methodist Church, and incorporated as the Centenary Company, in honor of the centenary year of that denomination. Through the exertions of Revs. J. L. Trefren and W. G. Blakeley, of Austin, this company was organized, including in its conditions the building of a church at Austin, which was accomplished in 1857 [1867], and is more fully-referred to in the chapter devoted to churches in this work. This company built the Newark Mill, and for some years carried on quite extensive operations. Numerous changes have occurred in ownership and names since that period.

            At one time a large quantity of ore was taken out and much bullion produced, but bad management entailed losses on stockholders, and little more than assessment work is now done. The most prominent mine is that of the Newark Mill and Company, situated on a spur running east from the Diamond range of mountains. It includes the locations known as the Chihuahua, Lincoln and Buckeye State, but no developments have been made below a depth of seventy feet, although $100,000 worth of bullion has been taken out. The croppings of the ledges are traceable for a distance of 4,000 feet, and as far as explored, preserve the character of a true fissure vein, with well marked hanging-walls. From the Battery Mine considerable ore has been taken out and shipped to Eureka, but with present facilities the operation is not profitable. Plenty of wood and water for mill and mining purposes are conveniently situated in the district, and an inexhaustible salt marsh is within three miles of the mill.

            PIEDMONT DISTRICT was discovered and organized in 1869. In the spring of 1871 a San Francisco company purchased a half interest in the chief' locations, opened a mine, erected a ten-stamp mill, and inaugurated active and energetic operations. Wood is delivered at the mines at five dollars per cord, and water is convenient and abundant. Three miles distant is a body of timber, and a good saw-mill fully supplies the local demand for lumber.

            PIERMONT DISTRICT is on the eastern slope of the Schell Creek Mountains, at a point seventy miles northeast of Hamilton, and 180 miles south of the Central Pacific Railroad. It was organized July 5, 1869. Near the mines is a stream containing 100 inches of water at the lowest stage; and nut pine, mountain mahogany, fir and yellow pine, all of large size, are abundant in the vicinity. There is but one mineral-bearing ledge in the district. It crops low down on the foot-hills in places twenty-five feet above the surface, varies in width from five to fifteen feet, and runs northeast, dipping to the cast at an angle of forty-five degrees. The Piermont Mine covers 1,200 feet. It cuts across the vein matter, and a shaft twenty-four feet in depth exposes a large body of ore. Five tons reduced yielded $300 in silver, and $37 in gold. The country rock on the west is quartzite, lined with clay; that on the east is a blue calcareous slate, with clay linings.

            QUEEN SPRINGS DISTRICT is situated on Queen Springs Mountain, eighty miles northeast from Hamilton, on the old overland road. It extends six miles north and six miles south from Queen Springs and is bounded on the cast by Spring Valley and on the west by Steptoe Valley. The mineral belt extends through the entire length of the district, and is from half a mile to two miles in width. The geological formation of the mountain is limestone. To the east there are vertical strata of calcareous shale, and next to this, over the base of the mountain, the formation is trachyte. The metal-bearing

656 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA.      

veins or deposits of ore are found in limestone, and crop out in many places to the surface. The district was organized on the twenty-fourth of June, 1871. A considerable amount of surface work has been done, but no openings to any depth have yet been made. The ore veins are all found in limestone. The district is well supplied with wood and water, and the facilities for mining and milling are favorable. The town of Schellbourne is two miles distant from the mines.

            RUBY HILL DISTRICT, in the Schell Creek range of mountains, was discovered in 1S71, and organized in 1872, by William Adams and Richard Whitworth. This district was taken from the Schell Creek, and the records are kept by A. Tiffney, in Ruby Hill. There have been 150 locations, and there are at present fifteen miners. In 1871 and 1872, when the mines were first taken up, the district contained from 200 to 300 inhabitants, but because so little was done towards opening them the place commenced going down, and it now has but very few residents. The principal claims are Lookout, Silver Wreath, Cow and Calf, Lady Emily, Grizzly, Iowa Chief, and Omega. The Lookout has a shaft 125 feet deep, and the Omega has a tunnel 700 feet long, and reaches a depth of 200 feet below the surface. Freights are brought from Toano by team, a distance of ninety miles, at a cost of thirty dollars per ton. Fir, nut pine and mahogany are found in abundance in the district. The ores are sent to Salt Lake to be worked.

            SAN FRANCISCO DISTRICT is in the foot-hills, on the eastern slope of the Egan Mountains, at Hercules Gate, about fifty miles east of Hamilton. It is ten miles square, and the valleys included in it contain meadow and agricultural lands. Ore was discovered on the twelfth of May, 1869, by a party of men from San Francisco, and on the fifteenth of May a district was organized. The mineral belt extends about four miles north and south, and is from a mile and a-half to two miles in width. Where the principal mines are found, a section of limestone is displaced to the depth of' about fifteen feet, over an area 1,000 feet north and south by 250 or 300 feet east and west, leaving the face of an imperfect white marble exposed. The seams of mineral run north through this formation, and are from a few inches to six or eight feet in width, and dip to the east at an angle of forty-five degrees. The walls are not well defined, there being no partings. The principal claims were located on the twenty-ninth of May, 1869. The ore is found in seams, and while it is generally of a low grade, assaying from $30 to $100 per ton, specimens have been found which assay from $1,200 to $2,000 per ton. It carries gold and silver in nearly equal parts, and contains galena, antimony, copper and iron. East of the district about six miles, is Steptoe Valley, and there are springs in the cañons and wood in the hills. South of Hercules Gate about four miles, is a warm spring. Hercules Gate is a narrow pass into Smith's Valley, formed by some tremendous convulsion of nature. It is an eighth of a mile or more in length, is about sixty feet in width, and on either side perpendicular walls of rock arise to the height of' 300 feet. It contains springs, and a stream of water runs through it to the east and sinks into the adjoining valley. A fine, smooth wagon road runs through it.

            SHOSHONE DISTRICT is in the Snake range of mountains, immediately south of Wheeler's Peak, and thirty miles southeast of Ward, Ore was discovered by an Indian, who, on March 13, 1869, divulged the fact to a party of prospectors, and led them to a ravine where it existed. A district was organized the same day, and ten claims were recorded. A little work was done during that year and the next, but scarcely any has been done since. These claims are situated on a low spur of the mountain called Mineral Hill, and other locations have been made on a spur further north, called Lookout Mountain. The ledges are large and well defined, running north and south, and the ore is free, but it is of low grade. No miners are now in the district. The entire surrounding region is covered with nut pine and mountain mahogany. To the east the mountain rises to the height of 10,000 feet, and is capped with limestone.

            SILVER CAÑON DISTRICT is in the Schell Creek range of mountains, eighty-five miles south of Toano, and was formerly a part of Ruby Hill District. The nearest post-office is Schellbourne. Ore was discovered by W. B. Lawlor, in 1879, and a district was organized in 1880. Twenty locations have been made, and there are forty-five miners in the vicinity. The camp consists of two boarding-houses, a blacksmith shop, and a store. The veins are found in slate, and run north and south with the formation, dipping at an angle of forty-five degrees. The ore is free milling, and contains silver. The principal mines are the Blue Bell, Sadie L., Buck Horn and Copperopolis. The Sadie L. has a tunnel thirty-five feet in length, and a shaft 112 feet in depth. Freight is teamed from Toano at the rate of eighty-five dollars per ton. A scant supply of water is obtained from springs. Nut pine, mahogany, and fir, are abundant. The ores are worked by a mill of ten stamps. An additional mill of twenty stamps is being put up.

            SACRAMENTO DISTRICT is situated on the western slope of the Snake Mountains, about twenty miles west of the State line and a few miles north of the dividing line of Nye and White Pine Counties. The nearest post-office and stage station is Osceola, four miles distant. Ore was discovered by Jack Bastian and others on April 17, 1869.  About forty locations have been made. The formation is quartzite, and runs north and south, the veins running with it, and dipping to the west at an angle of twenty degrees.

HISTORY OF WHITE PINE COUNTY.      657

The ores are base and rebellious. There is a strip of gold-bearing country commencing at a point four miles north of Sacramento District, and running down through it, which is considered very rich. The principal mines in the district are the Independence, the Louisville, Bay State and the Armstrong. Assays have resulted as follows: Ore from the Independence, $12 per ton in silver and from $200 to $400 per ton in gold; ore from the Armstrong, from $100 to $150 per ton in gold; ore from the Gem, Oro Fino and Old Mortality, from $47 to $300 per ton in gold, and from $50 to $112 per ton in silver. In the three last-named mines copper and lead are found in small quantities. The supply of wood and water in the district is ample for all mining purposes. Spruce, fir and yellow pine are found at the heads of the cañons, while Spring Valley, west of the district, is well watered for thirty miles to the southward, and for a long distance to the northward. The water runs in streams, or collects in ponds or pools. Several miles north of the district is a lake, in Spring Valley, which is four miles in length and two in width. This valley contains an extensive strip of meadow land, which reaches northward nearly to the Humboldt River, and numerous groves of beautiful red cedar trees, which attain a height of seventy or eighty feet. In places the Indians have cultivated it, and raised vegetables, wheat and barley. It also forms fine pasturage for herds of stock. Southeast of Sacramento District, along Snake Creek and about its sink, there are several thousand acres of very fine land. It is well watered and capable of high cultivation. The streams are all supplied with the best of trout, and as the canons leave the mountains they widen into little valleys and are exceedingly fertile.

            SILVER PARK DISTRICT is in the southeastern corner of the county. In the limestone formation near the surface some good ore was found, and two mills were at one time erected for working it, but the results were not encouraging.

            SCHELL CREEK DISTRICT is about seventy-five miles northeast of Hamilton. Several mines have been sold to San Francisco capitalists, but at last accounts no very important operations were in progress.

            SNAKE DISTRICT is on the eastern slope of the Snake range of mountains, about twelve miles east of Sacramento, and very near the Utah line. It was organized in February, 1869. The country rock is granite. Specimens of ore have been found which assay finely, but there is not sufficient encouragement to justify the expenditure of' much capital or labor in developments. Wood and water are abundant, and some good stock ranges and ranches are found in the adjoining valley.

            TAYLOR DISTRICT is situated in the foot-hills east of Steptoe Valley, and is about twenty miles south of Robinson. Ore was discovered in July, 1873, by Taylor and John Platt, and a district was soon afterwards organized. Wood and water are abundant. The geological formation is limestone. The ore is very rich, and carries copper and galena. A good deal of it has been sent to Sacramento City. Several claims have been recently purchased by a San Francisco company, and active operations are contemplated.

PRINCIPAL TOWNS AND CITIES.

            CHERRY CREEK is located in the mining district of the same name, at the mouth of Cherry Creek Cañon, near the bottom of the eastern slope of the Egan range. Its elevation is 6,300 feet above the sea, and its location is superb for a town. The discovery of the mines in 1872 and the formation of the district in the fall of that year, led to the organization of the town in the spring of 1873. The growth of the place during the following year was most remarkable. At the election in 1874, over 500 votes were cast. Wells, Fargo & Co.'s express opened an office in 1873. Also a post-office was established, which in 1876 was made a money-order office. In 1875 many people moved from the place, but the town has remained about stationary in population, there being 639 at the last census.

            The nearest railroad stations are Wells and Toano, on the Central Pacific, and each ninety miles distant. A tri-weekly mail is brought by stage from Wells, but the freight is brought mostly from Toano. Cherry Creek has always been a prosperous camp with less disturbances and murders than most other places of its size and age in Nevada.

            Baker Post, No. 13, Grand Army of the Republic, was organized in December, 1879, with seventeen charter members. The first officers were J. F. Sissons, Commander; J. C. Moon and Wilson Carey, Vice-Commanders; J. H. Blethen, Adjutant; J. D. Maxwell, Officer of the Day. The present officers are the same except the Commander, who is R. D. Parker. At present the Post numbers twenty-five members, and has property consisting of hall furniture, uniforms, etc., worth $300.

            The Miners' Union was organized in November, 1879, with seventeen charter members. The first officers were J. C. Moon, President; A. G. Ray, Vice-President; Douglas Brown, Secretary; and Peter McCullough, Treasurer. The present officers are John Curtis, President; Peter McCullough, Vice-President; P. H. Cannon, Recording Secretary; J. H. Lander, Financial Secretary; J. C. Moon, Treasurer. There are now 149 members. The society has on hand $350 in coin, and ball property and regalia worth $300, and has disbursed in benefits and charities $1,000.

            The object of this organization was to counteract the manifest preference given by the mine managers to Cornishmen to the exclusion of other nationalities.

            In the Cherry Creek District there have been 500 locations made, and there are now 300 miners at work. The records are kept at Cherry Creek. The principal mines are the Star, which has a tunnel 400 feet

658      HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA.

long and a shaft 520 feet deep, the Teacup, Exchange, Geneva, Pacific, Pine Nut, Mary Ann, Chance, Flagstaff, Grey Eagle, Bobtail and Boz. Plenty of timber is procured within six miles, and consists of nut pine, cedar and mountain mahogany. The ores are mostly free milling and there are two quartz mills to work them, one twenty-stamp and one six-stamp. The White Pine News was removed here in 1881, and is published weekly.

HISTORY OF WHITE PINE COUNTY.      659

            EBERHARDT is located in what is known as Applegarth's Cañon, at the foot of the southern slope of Treasure Hill, at an altitude of 7,000 feet, and five miles southwest from Hamilton. This town was started in 1869, and its location at this point was in consequence of the erection here of the Stanford, and the Eberhardt and Aurora Mills. The present population is 170, most of whom are employed in the Eberhardt Mill. It contains a store, blacksmith and wagon shop, carpenter's shop, post-office and an active temperance organization. The mail is brought tri-weekly from Hamilton by stage.

            HAMILTON, the county seat of White Fuse, is located on the northern slope, near the foot of Treasure Hill, at an altitude f 7,977 feet, and has a fine location for a town. This site was first used for a camping ground by the miners, then prospecting White Pine Mountain, in the fall of 1867. The town was laid out on the sixteenth day of May, 1868, by Ed. Goben, Henry Kelly and W. H. Hamilton, and given the name of the latter. Previous to this the place had been called Cave City. The first frame house was put up by King & Ivers for a saloon, in June, 1868. The town then contained about thirty people. About this time the rush commenced, and it continued to increase till the fall of 1869, when the town was estimated to contain upwards of 10,000 people. Six lines of daily stages, some of them with six horses, could bring only a part of the pilgrims anxious and eager to come.

            The city was incorporated in 1869, embracing within its limits one mile by two, most of which was laid out in city lots. The city was disincorporated in 1875.

            In its flourishing days Hamilton contained all the organizations usual in a city of its size, among which were Hyman Engine Company, Liberty Hose Company, and Hamilton Hook and Ladder Company (afterwards consolidated into one fire company), the White Pine Guards, Odd Fellows, and Masonic Lodges, Miners' Union, church organizations, etc. For amusements there was a theatre and skating-rink, with the usual number of dance-houses. The post-office and Wells, Fargo & Co.'s office were established in 1868.

            The prospect that the town would soon reach a population of forty or fifty thousand caused the organization, in San Francisco, of a water company to supply the town of Hamilton and the mines of

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA.

Treasure Hill with water. J. D. Fry was President, and Col. C. P. Head, Superintendent. The source of supply chosen was Illapah Springs, three miles east of Hamilton, on the east side of Momomoke Hill, where the water flows out of the rock at the rate of nearly 2,000,000 gallons per day. Steam pumping works, of a capacity of 1,500,000 gallons in twenty-four hours, were erected at a cost of $380,000, by which the water is forced two miles through a twelve-inch pipe, to a reservoir at the summit, an elevation of 1,000 feet. From this point it is distributed through twelve miles of pipe. The original company having failed to make a financial success of the enterprise, in 1878 it passed into the hands of the Eberhardt and Aurora Mining Company, of London, by which it has since been used in supplying their mines, under the management of Capt. Frank Drake. Samuel Liddel, the present engineer in charge of the works, has been the mechanical engineer in charge from the erection of the works to the present time.

            In 1870 the town was ornamented by the erection of a fine brick Court House, containing a jail, at an expense to the county of $50,000.

            Previous to 1873 Hamilton had been visited by small fires, resulting in loss ranging from $200 to $5,000; but on the morning of June 27, 1873, the main portion of the town, including all but two of its business houses, was entirely destroyed by fire, from which it has never entirely recovered. The loss was estimated to be at least $600,000. During the progress of the fire women and children were to be seen in all directions, running excitedly to and fro, in an almost nude condition, having lost their all in the flames. The White Pine News, in an extra at the time, said:—

            The only redeeming circumstances which will give a crumb of comfort amid the surrounding desolation is the spirit displayed by the people of all degrees, expressed in hopeful and assuring words of comfort to each other. There are so many acts of individual sacrifice of their own property, to assist others more in need, that our estimate of human nature has been considerably raised since half past five this morning. On every hand offers of assistance, from one to another, could be heard, and all seemed to vie in offering every comfort to those in need.

            The fire was set by Alexander Cohn to the back part of his tobacco and cigar store on Main Street, near the center of the town, at about five o'clock A. M. His object is supposed to have been to get the small amount for which his store was insured. To make sure that the building would burn he turned the stop cock in the main pipe, near the edge of the town, shutting off nearly all the water. Before it was discovered where the trouble was the town was gone. For this crime he was arraigned, convicted and sentenced, the same year, to seven years in the State Prison.

            The first public school in Hamilton was opened in July, 1869, at which time there were 300 children in the district between the ages of six and eighteen. In the fall of 1869 a good school house was built, at a cost of $4,000. This was not destroyed by the conflagration of 1873, and is still in use. It will accommodate 200 pupils. The present enumeration of the district is thirty-seven, and school is maintained six months in the year.

            The nearest railroad station to Hamilton is Eureka, the southern terminus of the Eureka and Palisade Railroad, distant forty-three miles to the northwest, but the Eureka and Colorado Railroad will pass near it. From this point a tri-weekly mail is brought by stage.

            White Pine District, within which the town of Hamilton is situated, is located in the White Pine Mountain and Treasure Hill range. The mines were discovered October 9, 1865, by A. J. Leathers, Thomas Murphy and others, and the district was organized October 10, 1865. This discovery was on the western slope of the White Pine Mountain. The principal locations of that year were organized as the Monte Christo Mining Company, by Mr. Thomas Murphy, now T. M. Antisell, of San Francisco, and sold to a Philadelphia company, who erected a mill and carried on operations for a few years with unsatisfactory results. The Superintendent was Mr. Edward Marchand, although Mr. Murphy was chiefly in charge, and A. J. Leathers as blacksmith. While engaged here in the fall of 1857 [1867] an incident occurred that led to the great discoveries and mining excitement of the following year.

            One night the blacksmith, Leathers, was sleeping in his shanty, probably not as peacefully as Abou Ben Adhem, when he was awakened by hearing a noise among his culinary utensils, and he observed in the darkness an Indian devouring his beans.

            "Who's there ? " asked Leathers.

            "Jim," replied the savage; and Leathers, whose toils and scanty fare had not made him peaceful or generous, arose, and with kicks and blows drove the dusky forager out into the darkness and the desert.

            A few days after, Jim again appeared, this time to make peace with Leathers, and as an offering gave him a piece of silver ore which the blacksmith melted in his forge, producing a button of silver, through which he punched a hole and made a ring that he wore for many years after. Murphy, learning the facts, engaged the Indian to show them the locality where he found the ore. This was agreed upon, and after preparations were made. Murphy, Leathers, Marchand, and Jim—afterwards called "Napias Jim"—napias being the Indian term for silver—went in search of the locality. Snow had fallen, and the journey was one of great toil, hardship and risk of life. The Indian led them around the southern part of the main White Pine Mountain, via the valley in which Shermantown, was afterwards built, and by a great

HISTORY OF WHITE PINE COUNTY.      661

struggle through the snow to the summit of a bald and wind-driven peak, and there showed them ore in abundance. The mine was located, and named the "Hidden Treasure" ; and surely it was a treasure to the energetic and hardy prospectors. During the winter a little work was done, and within a year the property thus found was sold for $250,000. Rich as this appeared on the surface the ore did not extend 100 feet in depth, and the mine proved of but little value.

            This discovery, however, led to others, and shortly afterwards Eberhardt found the claim hearing his name, which proved the richest mass of silver ore ever found to that date. This fell into the hands of Drake, Applegartb, Crawford, Sproule and Turner, who took several tons of the ore to Austin for reduction, where it produced several thousand dollars per ton, and a great excitement was created. The effects of this excitement and the rush to White Pine have been related. The ore was a pure chloride, cropping on the surface at several points, which were located by different parties, who afterwards contested in the courts for the ownership, one claim under the name of the Richmond, making a suit which is among the causes celebre of Lander County, to which the region then belonged.

            While excavating the almost pure silver from the great mass of ore, it is related that the owners were offered by San Francisco capitalists, $4,000,000 for their mine. The Superintendent, one of the owners, was sitting in a rocking chair in the mine, watching the millers, when the offer was made to him, but indignantly replied, "No! when we have taken out enough to pay the national debt then we will talk about selling."

            The rich body of ore was soon exhausted though not until several millions of dollars had been taken from it. Subsequently, in connection with the Aurora Mine, it was sold to an English company, who have since worked it with varying success, but with continued hope and unwearying energy, under the superintendency of Captain Frank Drake, who possibly still has hopes of paying the national debt. Large bodies of ore have frequently been found in the claims of the company, and much bullion produced, the statistics of which arc unattainable. Of the original owners it is reported that Drake, Crawford and Applegarth, are still in good circumstances, but that the others have experienced the vicissitudes too often recorded of the discoverers of rich mines.

            There are now 250 miners in the district. The principal mines are the Eberhardt, North Aurora, South Aurora, Treasure, Ward Beecher Consolidated, Stafford, Central, Hidden Treasure, Imperial, Mobile, Trench and Jennie A. The quartz veins are in limestone formation, run nearly north and south with the formation, though the ore occurring in " chambers," as locally called, the veins are not easily traced or described. The Eberhardt and Aurora Mine has a shaft or an incline, which is 1,400 feet in extent. In an effort to thoroughly explore the ground, the Company has run a tunnel now reaching 5,760 feet into the mountain, which at the extremity is 1,600 feet beneath the surface.

            Freights are shipped from Eureka at a cost of twenty dollars per ton. The timber is obtained from White Pine Mountains, and is of a poor quality of pine and fir. The ores are worked by milling process, there being one mill in operation at the present time. Only about fifteen mines are now being worked. The mining records of the district are kept by the County Recorder.

            The mines of this district have been peculiar in this, that the richest ore has been found near the surface, the mines nearly all having been abandoned before going to any great depth. In the Eberhardt, over 1,000 tons of ore were taken out of a space 40 x70 feet, none of which was more than twenty-eight feet below the surface. This ore milled $3,200 per ton, seventy-two per cent. being silver. The tunnel now being run on the Eberhardt, will soon be under the apex of Treasure Hill, and will demonstrate whether paying ores are to be found at a greater depth.

            MINERAL CITY, located in the center of Robinson Cañon, about forty-five .miles northeast of Hamilton, was started in 1869, and in 1870 contained a population of 400. In the latter part of 1870 the town was deserted, only two persons remaining. In 1872 it took another start and in the winter of 1872-73 the city contained from 500 to 600 people. There are but two families now in the place.

            The Robinson District in which Mineral City is situated, is located in the Egan range. It was discovered and organized in 1867 by Thomas Robinson. There have been 1,201 locations.  The principal mines were the Altman, Fairview, Sunnyside, Elijah. Miama, Hayes and Sunburst; none of which are now being worked. The quartz veins were found in the limestone formation, and in the Altaman Mine seemed to run across the range east and west. In the other mines it seemed to be in large deposits, and near the surface, without any well-defined ledges. The Altaman was worked for gold only, and has a tunnel 900 feet in length. The Hayes was worked for silver only and has a shaft 325 feet deep. The Elijah and Sunburst contained lead and silver. The other mines contained copper, though all bearing some of the precious metals. The mining records are kept at Mineral City, by A. R. Watson. The post-office is at Ely, though the stage route runs through the district.  Freights are brought from Eureka eighty-five miles, and from Wells 140 miles. Nut pine is procured from the mountains about three miles distant, and springs furnish abundance of water, and Murray Creek, at tine mountain stream, is near by. There are at present only three miners in the district.

662      HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA.

            OSCEOLA was started in 1877, five years after the discovery of the placer mines in that district, and now has a population of seventy-five, though there is a much larger number of miners in the district. The District of Osceola was discovered in August, 1872, by Joseph Watson and Frank Hicks, and was organized in October of the same year. There have been over 400 locations, of which there are sixty quartz and forty placer that are probably good. The principal quartz mines are the Crescent, Osceola Credit Mobilier, Cumberland, Eagle, Exchange and Silver Age. The placer mines are the Wisel, Scofield, Cumberland, Gulch and Day Gulch. The Crescent has a tunnel 500 feet long, which reached a depth of 250 feet below the surface. It also has a shaft 125 feet deep. The nearest railroad station, from which freight is brought, is Deseret, on the Utah Southern Railroad, 100 miles distant. The rate is thirty dollars per ton. Fire-wood is procured in sufficient quantity close at hand, but material for timbering the mines is brought seven or eight miles. The adjacent springs furnish a supply of water sufficient for ninety stamps. Water for hydraulics is being brought from the small streams from Wheeler's Peak, which will furnish about 100 miner's inches per day.

            In Osceola there is one five-stamp mill. The town was first settled by George G. Blair, who now keeps the mining records. It is situated in a cañon, with abrupt mountains on the north and west, a high bluff, called Lookout Mountain, on the south, and Wheeler's Peak on the east, and has an altitude of 7,500 feet. At present the town contains two stores, one hotel, one restaurant, one livery stable, a blacksmith shop, and two other places of industry. Supplies are obtained from San Francisco, by rail, to Eureka, and thence by stage 115 miles; also from Salt Lake City, by rail, to Deseret, and thence by stage 100 miles. The mail is brought from Deseret three times a week. The buildings are constructed mostly of wood. A frame school house, 12x20, has been erected, with seating capacity of thirty. In the vicinity of the town, grazing and agriculture are engaged in with some profit, there being from twelve to fifteen persons engaged in each.

            In July, 1879, Capt. D. B. Aikey shot and killed Joseph Ayers. On the hearing of the case it was shown that Aikey acted in self-defense, and he was acquitted.

            PINTO, a small town in Silverado District, on the eastern slope of the Diamond Mountains, fourteen miles southeast from Eureka, contains two blacksmith shops, a boarding-house, a post-office, and a few dwellings. Twelve miners are in the district, and the total number of claims is 292. The quartz veins are found in a formation of limestone, running north and south with the formation, and dipping to the east at an angle of forty-five degrees. The ores are generally adapted for smelting, and average $300 per ton. The mineral-bearing belt is about eighty feet in width. Freight is teamed from Eureka at a cost of nine dollars per ton. The supply of

HISTORY OF WHITE PINE COUNTY.      663

cedar in the vicinity will last for years. Considerable ore is smelted at the Richmond Works, and more is hauled to Eureka. The principal mines are the Queen, Rescue, and Fair Play. The first named has been worked on a limited scale fear eight years, and has produced $80,000 in silver and gold, chiefly in silver. The main ledge of this mine has not been encountered yet. Its ore, thus far, has come from veins leading from the main body, to strike which, the company is now sinking a shaft. It is hoped that this connection will ensure most encouraging and profitable results. The ore of this mine varies in quality and value, ranging from $300 to $1,200 per ton. One chimney, or nearly perpendicular ore vein, sixty feet from the surface, produced $30,000. Another, at a depth of ninety feet, produced $50,000. The Rescue Mine, immediately adjoining the Queen on the south, has been leased by a party of miners, who are taking out ore daily. Silverado District was organized in 1869. The boundary line, separating Eureka and White Pine Counties, runs through it. Silverado Mountain is a bold, picturesque mass of dolomitic limestone, about two miles in length from northeast to southwest, and, at its highest point, is 2,000 feet above the valley.

            SCHELLBOURNE, a small town in the mining district of the same name, contains two stores, a boarding-house and post-office; being on the stage route between Wells and Hamilton. It is ninety miles northeast of the latter and 120 miles south of the former place. It was formerly called Fort Schellbourne, and was an overland stage station. In the mining excitement of 1872 it grew to a town of 400 or 500 inhabitants, with several stores, blacksmith shops, livery stables, newspaper, etc.

            The district of Schellbourne is in the Schell Creek range, and was discovered in 1871 by James McMahon. It was taken from the McCurdy District, has had 200 locations and now contains thirty miners. WM. Buck, at Schellbourne, keeps the mining records.

            The principal mines are the El Capitan, Nutmeg and McMahon. The quartz veins are found in porphyry, and run north and south with the formation. Freights are brought from Toano, at a cost of twenty-five dollars per ton. Timber is found in abundance all over the district, and consists of nut pine, fir, cedar and mahogany. Schell Creek Spring furnishes plenty of water for the five-stamp mill now in use, as well as the inhabitants of the town, who number now fifty-six, including whites, Chinese and Indians.

            SHERMANTOWN was located near the mouth of the cañon between White Pine Mountain and Treasure Hill, about five miles south of Hamilton. This being a good mill site, five quartz mills and four furnaces were erected here in 1868-69, which caused a lively town to spring up, which in the fall of 1869 contained between four and five thousand inhabitants. Two saw-mills were built here in 1868, which were the first in this part of the district. In 1869, the town was incorporated, and in 1870 had a newspaper. At the present time, one solitary family comprises the entire population.

            SWANSEA was about three-quarters of a mile north of Shermantown. It once had two quartz mills and smelting works. In 1869 it had 500 inhabitants. Nothing now remains to mark the spot or tell the tale of its former greatness.

            TREASURE CITY is located on the western slope of Treasure hill, near the top, at an elevation of 9,700 feet. The first cabin built at this place was put up by Murphy & Marchand, in November, 1867. They were then the owners of the Hidden Treasure Mine. In the spring of 1868 the rush to the place commenced, and in April a town was laid out, and named Treasure City, which in less than a year contained 6,000 inhabitants, polling nearly 3,000 votes at the miners' election. In 1869 the town was incorporated, at which time it had a daily paper, one theater, two bands, a stock board, Masonic, and Odd Fellows organizations, and all the usual city institutions.

            In June, 1874, the main business portion of the town was burned, but little of which was ever rebuilt. In 1878 the principal mine on the hill stopped work, and the town was nearly abandoned. At present it contains but one family and a few miners.

            WARD, situated sixty-two miles southeast of Hamilton, and in the White Pine range, was started in l876, being the best location for the residence and business of the men who followed the discovery of the mines in this district. The town, which was started in the spring, grew rapidly from the commencement, and the next winter contained about 1,500 people. The spring following, however, business drooped and the town commenced going down, falling off nearly two-thirds in population in that year. Since then the place has steadily gone down to the present time, and now has a population of only 300. In 1877 a Hook and Ladder Company was organized, which was disbanded in 1879. The first school in the place was organized in the fall of 1876, with an attendance of fifty scholars. The town now has a good school building that will accommodate eighty scholars.

            In the fall of 1876, when the town was growing rapidly, the usual percentage of the rough and lawless element came also. A citizen by the name of Lightner, having refused to loan money to one of these roughs, who went by the name of Donohue, was shot down while walking along the sidewalk, Donohue having hid behind a wagon-bed for the purpose of shooting him as he passed. The next morning Donohue was discovered hanging from a tree just below the town. This seemed to have a very salutary effect upon the rough element, as there was no more killing, except among themselves, to which the citizens paid no particular attention. This was the only case of lynching in the county.

            In 1877 J. Crawford and John Carlo, both of whom

664      HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA.

had been working in the mines at this place, and were supposed to be good, honest men, attempted to rob the stage as it was coming in about one and a half miles below town. They stepped out from the brush, where they were hid, and fired at the driver and the messenger, missing both of them. The messenger, Eugene Blair, then shot both the robbers, killing Carlo, but only wounding Crawford, who escaped. He was afterwards captured, tried and sent to State Prison. He died of consumption, in prison, January, 1881.

            The Mining District of Ward, in which the town is located, was discovered and organized in 1872, by Thomas F. Ward. The mining records are kept by Louis A. Hauck. There have been 153 locations, and there are now sixty-five miners in the district. The principal mines are the Paymaster, Defiance, Shark, Pleiades, I. X. L., Governor, Jupiter, Grampas, Juno, Mountain Pride, and Silver Cloud.

            The Paymaster has a tunnel 3,000 feet long, and is 750 feet below the surface. It also has a shaft 162 feet deep. This and others are the property of the Martin White Mining Company.

            Freights are brought by team from Eureka, 110 miles, and from Wells, 155 miles. Timber is procured at a distance of eight or ten miles, and consists of pine. A good supply of water is obtained from Willow Creek, and is brought, by a pipe, three miles to the mill. There was a furnace of fifty tons capacity and a twenty-stamp mill belonging to the Martin White Mining Company. The furnace has been idle for two years, and the mill one year.

            In 1876 two smelting furnaces were erected at Ward, but the ore was of a rebellious nature, and the fluxes had to be hauled so far that they were not a financial success. In 1877 a twenty-stamp leaching mill was built at a cost of $85,000, and $25,000 was spent in experimenting, when it was given up as a failure. A very fine double track tunnel, which is now in 3,050 feet, is being run by the Martin White Company, under the Paymaster and Young America. Upon the developments of this tunnel depends the future of this camp. The Ward Reflex, a weekly newspaper, is published here, and maintains its faith in the future prosperity of the district.

PANCAKE COAL MINES.

            Twenty-two miles due cast from Eureka, and fifteen miles distant from Hamilton by the stage road, are some coal veins in the Pancake range of mountains, which have attracted considerable attention. A shaft on being sunk thirty feet, found water, and some seams of coal in a vein four feet thick. Three distinct veins exist in the locality, which can be traced a distance of two miles, and which vary in width from four to six feet. Above the water level the material composing the vein consists of the oxide of iron, mixed with carbonaceous matter of a loose and crumbling nature, but becomes more solidified and partially crystallized as soon as the water level is reached, and seams of coal from one to two inches in thickness are found. The veins dip under the mountains to the west at an angle of forty degrees, and their course is fifteen degrees east of south from the point of discovery. The formation is referred to the carboniferous era, and very much resembles that of the Wyoming coal fields. The first formation below the vein in which the coal is found is siliceous iron ore; then comes a stratum of limestone, and beneath this sandstone and conglomerate. Above it the formation is bituminous and argillaceous shales; next to the shale, calcareous slate, then red sandstone, conglomerate and limestone capping the whole formation. Whether coal exists in sufficient quantities to make it profitable to mine it, remains to be determined.