November 15, 2011

Nevada's Online State News Journal

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Nevada History:

["A Prospector," Letter from White Pine, Sacramento Union, June 30, 1870]

LETTER FROM WHITE PINE.

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[CORRESPONDENCE OF THE UNION.]

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HAMILTON (Nev.), June 22, 1870.

The Mines and Business In Nevada.

            I promised, on my departure from California, I would write to various friends and give them the prospects of Nevada, as far as I could ascertain in my travels. I purpose to give my views through your valuable paper, which will answer for all.

            I have visited Virginia and found it a dull place. The mines are doing fairly, but are wholly at the mercy of a heartless monopoly. I think Virginia will not show much improvement for some time to come. The Sutro tunnel is the only thing I can see will fetch it out.

            The next place I struck was Austin, which is dead at present. In merchandising there is not half enough business for one house. The prospects for the future are somewhat flattering. The mines, they say, prospect as well as ever. All are in hopes that when the new furnace is completed in the Manhattan Mill all will have money again.

            The next place I stopped at was Eureka. I found quite a crowd in this place. All are owners of mines and all want to sell. The mines that are well developed show good indications. I don't question that money can be made in Eureka by expending capital judiciously. This place, like all other silver mines, needs money to make money.

            From Eureka I left for Pinto. I examined some of the best mines. The indications are quite flattering, but, like all the rest, "money ' is the great cry.

            Hamilton came next in my tramp. I found it the liveliest place outside of Sacramento city. The old inhabitants tell me it is comparatively dull to former times. Treasure City and Shermantown will rank in the same list as to dullness. The people seem to be at a loss to know or determine what this country will amount to in future. I have visited over fifty of the principal mines, and I confess that if White Pine fails in the mining business, every other country might as well throw up the sponge. In the first place, this is no place for laboring men. The country is already filled to repletion. What While Pine needs is capital, expended judiciously. Thousands of dollars have been thrown away by bad management, as in many other places this side of the Sierras. Three-fourths of the mines have proved failures by having men to superintend who knew but little or nothing about mining. Every mine, let it pay ever so largely, wants none on pay unless their work is to advantage. Many companies have a Superintendent General, then an agent, half dozen foremen, one or two bookkeepers ; all non-laborers, but under the highest pay. Yet, because the mine cannot support all these gentlemen and pay miners for work, it is called a poor mine. I contend that every good mine in the State of Nevada will never be a paying concern unless by the best of management and closest economy. And to do this, there must not be any under pay unless they are of benefit to the working of the mine. But the worst impediment and drawback to White Pine is the litigation of claims. Let a company buy a claim, and if worked and it develops favorably, the first is known a suit is brought on the ground of an older title. There are men here who have hundreds of locations recorded, which they can float around just where they please, and by paying men a few dollars can have them to swear to what they wish. Perjury is no crime in White Pine — plenty will let themselves at any price.

            Again, under the present regime of mining laws, there is no chance of prospecting to success any kind of a claim. The laws are that two days work on any claim will hold a year, and as long as such laws exist it will be a long time before White Pine is any more developed than at the present. The existing mining laws are cutting the miners' own throats; yet they won't see it. I can't see the policy of a miner holding a dozen claims, and not worth a dollar. Under the present system, it comes fairly under the old adage of "the dog in the manger." I question not that at this very date, if there was any scarcity in buying claims by capitalists, but what there would be one hundred times the work going on. It is a well known fact that all men of means hate and detest litigation, because no man outside of a lawyer ever makes any money by law; but, on the contrary, thousands have spent their whole fortunes. I am bound to say that of all the litigation during the last two years, the parties interested have not made any money, even those who won the case, while the lawyers got rich. In reference to White Pine climate, I would say to all that for health, it can't be surpassed anywhere — I judge from the appearance of the doctors, who look more dilapidated than any of their patients. One physician told me that there was not business enough in all the country of White Pine for one.

            In conclusion, I would say to workingmen who can get a living in California, and have families, stay there for the present ; Nevada is not the place; it is overrun now. To men of means, it is the place, provided you can secure good titles ; but look well before you purchase any mining claims — representations on paper won't do.

            There has been an injunction suit in Court this week. The plaintiff claims to have located in 1868, and done the necessary work. The defendant has been in possession of said claim eighteen months, continually working and developing the claim, and has brought out one of the richest mines in all White Pine, Defendant proved that no work had ever been done on the mine before he commenced. Yet the injunction was sustained. The finale is a long tedious lawsuit, which will eat up all the mine is worth. The probability is that if defendant had not developed the mine nothing would have been done up to the present hour, and nothing known about the mine or its vast richness. There are probably hundreds of mines as good as this if developed, but what man of sufficient pluck can be found to expend time, labor and money, and just as he strikes it to have it taken from him? What I have recapitulated is an example of this country. Then I would say to laborers and capitalists, beware how you expend labor and money in White Pine ; for if you do not, you may be assured that, first you know, some heartless wretches will come around, and, by every foul means that the devil can invent, will steal you out of your rights. It is evident that this rich and wonderful country will never be developed until more wholesome, safer and better mining laws are framed, both for the protection of miners and capitalists, When the day arrives that proper mining laws are framed to properly protect all interested, then we may expect to see this rich country rise in prosperity and give employment to thousands of men.

A PROSPECTOR.