V

            The First Legislative Assembly of Nevada was in session from October 1 to November 29, 1861. On the second day the governor appeared before the two houses and delivered his address. After remarking that the territorial organization had come into existence "in an hour of national embarrassment and trouble, just as the mutterings now ripened into rebellion began to be heard," he spoke at length on the issues of the war and the necessity of Nevada lining up loyally for the Union. The "Union Joint Resolutions" pledging "Nevada Territory for her full share in the existing struggle for the perpetuity of the Union and integrity of the government" were adopted in both Houses without a dissenting vote, though without doubt there were many citizens of the territory of pro-southern sympathies. In a similar vein was the resolution adopted October 23, 1861, declaring that the message which the Legislative Assembly would send across the continent with the opening of the Overland Telegraph should read :

            Nevada Territory, through her First Legislative Assembly, to the President and people of the United States, greeting :

            Nevada, for the Union ever true and loyal. The last born of the nation will be the last to desert the flag. Our aid, to the extent of our ability, can be relied upon to crush rebellion.

            From his examination of the statutes of Utah Territory, the governor was satisfied that few of the provisions were adapted to the wants or necessities of the people of Nevada. Consequently he recommended the adoption, not only of the code of mining laws developed in California, but also the essential portions of both the civil and criminal codes of that state.

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Revenue.

            The Organic Act provided that the salaries of the Federal officials in the territory and the expenses of the Legislative Assembly should be paid from the Federal treasury. But there remained the problem of providing by taxation for the other expenses of territorial government and county and local government. The principal wealth of the territory at that time, and the source of revenue by taxation, consisted, as the governor said, in "the mines and their appurtenances." There was recognized the very difficult problem of setting a standard of valuation on mines, whose value fluctuated daily. It was Governor Nye's suggestion that the "gross proceeds" of the mines should be taxed. But the House Committee on Mining did not agree with the governor's recommendation for a gross tax, declaring that such a method would work injustice, and recommending instead a tax on the "net profits arising from the working of the mines." As finally adopted, the county and territorial revenue act of November 29, 1861, laid an annual ad valorem tax of forty cents per hundred dollars on the assessed value of all property in the territory for territorial purposes, and authorized each county to levy and collect a tax not exceeding sixty cents on each hundred dollars. The act of December 20, 1862, raised the territorial tax to fifty cents and the county tax to eighty cents on each hundred dollars, while the act of February 20, 1864, reduced the territorial tax to thirty cents. In the list of property exemptions, besides property used for public, educational and benevolent purposes, and all the land belonging to the United States (which, of course, at that time included most of Nevada), exemption was also extended to "mining claims," though machinery and improvements at the mines were subject to taxation. The property of immigrants, not exceeding a thousand dollars in value, belonging to a person who had "arrived across the plains for the first time after the first day of July in any year" was also entitled to exemption. In the law of 1862 the phrase "mining claims" entitled to exemption was changed to "unproductive mining

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claims," and the law of 1864 put mining claims in the same class as other property, providing that the enumerated exemptions should not apply to "possessory claims to the lands or mines." By the act of December 20, 1862, the Legislature reversed the stand taken by the First Legislative Assembly in the matter of a gross proceeds tax. This act imposed an annual tax of thirty cents on each hundred dollars value "of all the gross proceeds or receipts of all mines, mining claims and mining interests in this territory." Besides the ad valorem property taxes additional sources of revenue for county and territorial purposes were in poll taxes of two dollars on each male inhabitant between the ages of twenty-one and fifty, and various license taxes.

            The revenue from these various sources was at no time adequate to meet the expenses of territorial government. A territorial bond issue of $20,000 was authorized by the act of December, 1862, and on February 16, 1864, there was authorized an issue of $150,000 in bonds to be used "in the payment of the existing and current demand upon the treasury of the territory and for the redemption of the territorial warrants now or which in the future may be outstanding." In the statement of the territorial auditor at the close of the territorial period the total receipts from all sources during 1864 up to October 31st of that year was approximately $240,000, and of this sum $150,000 was under the item of the territorial bonds, so that the total receipts otherwise aggregated about $90,000. Of this sum the proportion received from each county was approximately as follows : Storey, $53,000 ; Ormsby, $5,000 ; Washoe, $8,400; Douglas, $2,100; Humboldt, $1,300; Esmeralda, $3,400 ; Lander, $4,600 ; Lyon and Churchill, $6,200. At the close of the territorial period the estimate of taxable property was $25,000,000 for personal and real property, and approximately $10,000,000 for the mining property. Nevada Territory during the three years of its existence derived considerably less than $100,000 annually for its administration. The auditor's statement of the territorial debt of October 30, 1864, (this debt being inherited by the state), was as follows :

            Territorial warrants unpaid                 $ 39,110.47

            Bonds to M. Reese                             15,000.00

            Bonds to Parrott & Company            150,000.00

            Bonds to A. Curry, for prison            60,000.00

County Divisions.

            Governor Nye on October 25, 1861, in a communication to the Legislature said that in order to get the "desirable boundary" provisionally granted in the Organic Act, it would be necessary to "appeal to the magnanimity of the State of California." He recommended the appointment of a commission to confer with the California Legislature, believing that California with all her vast extent would entertain no serious objection to the transfer of a small portion of land along the eastern borders to Nevada. "The mountain summit is the natural boundary between the territory and the state. No communities will be divided, no neighborhoods

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broken up." The act of November 25, 1861, dividing Nevada into counties and establishing their respective boundaries, was based on the assumption that the western line of Nevada would be that granted in the Organic Act. At that time no public land surveys had been made, and in describing the boundaries of the various counties recourse was had, except for the lines that should be conveniently designated by parallels or meridians, to familiar locations such as mountains, rivers, ferries, and even ranch houses or stores.

            The first county to be described was Esmeralda. For this there were two convenient theoretical lines, the 116th meridian on the east, and 37th parallel on the south. This 37th parallel was to be projected "to the California line," but from there on the description is a test of local geography.

            Thence along said line, in a northwesterly direction, to the summit of the divide between the east and west forks of Walker River ; thence, along said divide in a northerly direction, to the headwaters of Desert Creek ; thence, following down the middle of said creek, to a point where it debouches from the mountains ; thence, following the base of the mountains, to the west branch of Walker River ; thence, across said river, to the base of the mountain ; thence, following the base of the mountain in a direct line as near as may be to Mason's ranch ; thence, due east to the 116th meridian.

            Between Esmeralda's western boundary and the California line was placed a small county, Douglas, the northern line of which was defined as : Beginning at Mason's ranch, on Walker River, and running westerly, in a straight line, to the mouth of Clear Creek ; thence, along the middle of said creek to its source; thence due west to the California line.

            Above Douglas and with its back also to the California line was inscribed the small county of Ormsby, containing the territorial capital. Here again the description had to rely on natural objects or familiar points that should be utilized as guides in a definitive survey. With the western boundary on the California line, the north line of Douglas County furnished the southern boundary as far as the El Dorado Canyon.

            Thence, down the center of said canyon, to a point thereon due east of Brown and Company's dam on Carson River ; thence in a westerly direction, crossing Carson River at said dam ; thence to the Half-Way house, between Carson and Silver City ; thence northwesterly, to the summit of the mountain east of Washoe Lake; thence in a westerly course along said summit to the tops of the Sierras ; thence due west to the California line.

            North of Ormsby was to be Washoe County. The boundaries of Washoe County as described in this act were:

            Beginning at the northwest corner of Ormsby County, and running easterly along the northern boundary of said county, to the summit of the mountains east of Washoe Lake; thence in a northerly course, along the summit of said mountains, to the lower end of the Big Meadows, on Truckee River ; thence, down said river, to its lower crossing, thence, east,

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along the Immigrant Road to the summit of the mountains lying east of said river; thence, north, on the main summit of said mountains, to a point from which, running direct west, would intersect the Truckee River at its mouth in Pyramid Lake; thence due west to the California line ; thence south to the place of beginning.

            As thus defined it will be noted that the northern boundary of Washoe ran through the south end of Pyramid Lake. To the north of this boundary and west to the summit of the Sierras lay the district in which Isaac Roop lived and the rich and prosperous section of the Honey Lake region. This district, it was fondly hoped, could be secured from California, and in establishing the boundary lines of Lake County the purpose was to embrace the Susanville country within the boundaries. Lake County as then defined was :

            Beginning at the northwest corner of Washoe County, and running easterly along the northern boundary of said county to the mouth of Truckee River ; thence due east to the summit of the first range mountains east of said river ; thence in a northerly direction along said range, and the main Granite Range of mountains, to the Oregon line ; thence west along said line to the summit of the Sierras ; thence south along said summit to the place of beginning.

            Thus Esmeralda, Douglas, Ormsby, Washoe and Lake were the five counties laid out on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevadas and along the California line. Two other small counties were projected in the region of greatest density of population and mining development. As then bounded, Lyon County was thus described :

            Beginning at the southeast corner of Washoe County ; thence following the north line of Ormsby County in a southeasterly direction, to the Half-Way house between Silver City and Carson City ; thence following the said line of Ormsby County to Douglas County ; thence following the northerly boundary of Douglas County to the 119th meridian of west longitude. Thence north five miles ; thence by direct line northwesterly to a point on Carson River one mile below Reed's Station ; thence north three miles ; thence westerly by a direct line to the southern boundary of the Gold Hill mining district, but running so as to include in this county the Devil's Gate Toll House ; thence continuing westerly in the same course, to the eastern boundary of Washoe County, and thence southerly, along the eastern boundary of said county to the place of beginning.

            Storey County—beginning at the northwestern corner of Lyon County, and running thence in an easterly direction along the northern boundary of Lyon County to the northeastern corner thereof ; thence north in a straight line to the road leading from the lower crossing of the Truckee to the Sink of the Humboldt; thence westerly along said road to the Truckee River ; thence at the middle of said river to the eastern line of Washoe County ; thence southerly along said line to the place of beginning.

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            East of these counties and from the Oregon line on the north to approximately the 39th parallel on the south was an immense area which was cut up into two counties. The northerly one was Humboldt and on the south was Churchill County. The line dividing these two counties began at the northeast corner of Storey County; "thence running easterly along the Immigrant Road leading to the Sink of the Humboldt, to the 40th degree; thence east along said line to the eastern boundary of the territory."

California-Nevada Boundary.

            California showed no willingness to accept the revised eastern boundary proposed in the Nevada Organic Act. The Nevada Legislative Assembly in December, 1862, passed another resolution asking the California Legislature to approve the proposed western boundary. By the act of December 5, 1862, the name of Lake County was changed to Roop County, a special compliment to the enterprising "provisional" governor. Shortly afterward Lake County was organized, Governor Nye issuing commissions to the county officials. There soon ensued a state of war between the Roop County and Plumas County officials in the efforts to assert their jurisdiction over the contested territory. The sheriff of Plumas County with a posse, bringing along a piece of artillery, endeavored to arrest the probate judge and sheriff of Roop County at Susanville, and an actual battle occurred February 15, 1863, in which one of the adherents of the Plumas County forces was wounded. The following day a truce was arranged at Susanville at which it was proposed to refer the controversy to the governors of California and Nevada. Consequently a commissioner appointed by the Governor of California conferred with Acting Governor Clemens, but they could not come to an agreement upon the mutual boundary line. Then on April 27, 1863, the California Legislature passed an act for surveying and establishing the eastern boundary of that state. A surveyor was appointed to represent Nevada Territory in making a report on the survey. Acting Governor Clemens in his message to the Third Legislative Assembly in January, 1864, reported the results of the survey, in which the Nevada boundary commissioner was Butler Ives, who by an act of the same assembly was granted $3,000 for his services : "In conjunction with Mr. Kidder, who was appointed by the surveyor general of California, Mr. Ives ran the line from the initial point in Lake Bigler (Tahoe), north to the southern boundary of Oregon, and south to within about a degree of the southern boundary of the territory, when the severe cold and other difficulties compelled a suspension of the labors of the commission, but the important points were gained, by showing the true location on the boundary line in the Honey Lake region, and thus preventing further difficulties, while, in the south, upon the running of the line under this commission, the State of California immediately yielded a jurisdiction, long maintained, over the rich Esmeralda mining region, and the position of the line and respective jurisdiction of California and Nevada are now clearly known wherever there are settlements along our western borders."

            In the meantime the same confusion as to boundaries and official jurisdiction had occurred in the disputed zone between Esmeralda and Mono counties as had occurred in Roop and Plumas counties. Aurora was made the county seat of Esmeralda County

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when it was established in 1861, and about the same time the California Legislature organized Mono County and also established its county seat at Aurora. At one time two county courts were held simultaneously in Aurora, and from the same community was elected a representative to the California Legislature and another to the Nevada Assembly. As soon as the official line was established showing that Aurora was in Nevada, the records of Mono County were loaded on a wagon and taken across the line to Bodie and subsequently to Bridgeport, the new county seat. For the survey of the line from the point where it was interrupted, in 1863, the Nevada Act of February 7, 1865, provided for the appointment of a commissioner to complete the survey over this distance of thirty miles and otherwise to set up marks and monuments over the entire distance of the boundary between California and Nevada.

Territorial Extension on the East.

            A partial compensation for the loss of the California territory was made through the act of Congress, July 14, 1862, pushing the eastern boundary of Nevada eastward from the 116th meridian to the 115th meridian. The Second Territorial Legislature by the act of December 19, 1862, created the county of Lander, embracing a portion of the newly acquired territory on the east and also from portions of Churchill and Humboldt counties. The boundaries of the new county were defined :

            Beginning at the point of intersection of the 40th (117th) meridian of longitude west from Washington with the 42d degree of north latitude, or northern boundary line of Nevada Territory; thence running south on the line of said 40th meridian of longitude, through the counties of Humboldt and Churchill, to the 39th degree of north latitude, or northern boundary line of Esmeralda County; thence east, along the said northern boundary line of Esmeralda County to the eastern boundary line of the territory ; thence north, following the eastern boundary line of the territory, to the northern boundary line of the territory aforesaid ; thence west along said northern boundary line to the place of beginning.

            The creation of Lander County was in large part due to the mining boom in the Reese River country. The county seat of the new county was temporarily located "at Jacobs' Spring on Reese River." However, most of the Reese River district was not located in Lander County as defined by the act of 1862. The Third Legislature by act of February 20, 1864, revised the Lander County boundaries. By this act the line between the 39th and 40th parallels was pushed westward of the Reese River so as to run "due north and south from the Mount Airy Station," but otherwise the boundaries remained as in the preceding act.

            An act approved February 18, 1864, attached Roop County "to Washoe County for judicial, legislative and revenue purposes," and with that one of the original territorial counties passed out of existence, and today the part of Washoe County north of the south end of Pyramid Lake represents what was left of Roop County after the California boundary had been established.

            The Organic Act placed the responsibility of locating the permanent capital of the territory upon the Legislature and governor. The act of November 5, 1861, declared that Carson City

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should be the permanent seat, while "the Plaza in Carson City, bounded on the north by Musser Street, on the east by Fall Street, on the south by Second Street, and on the west by Carson Street, is hereby dedicated to the use of this territory for the erection of public buildings." While the bill for this act was in the House some effort was made to allow the voters of the territory the privilege of deciding upon the location, but the bill as finally drawn was passed without a dissenting vote. The constitution adopted in 1864 declared that the permanent seat of government of the state should be at Carson City, and there it has remained.

            Before the close of the territorial period one other county was added, that of Nye, established by the act of February 16, 1864. Nye County was set off from the eastern portion of Esmeralda County, the dividing line between the two being the meridian of 40 degree and 30 minutes west from Washington (117 degrees, 30 minutes), the other boundaries being the 39th and 37th parallels and the eastern boundary of the territory. Nye county as originally bounded was the only complete parallelogram in the territory.

Progress of Education in the Territory.

            In his address to the Legislature, Governor Nye said that "one of the most important duties that will devolve upon you is the establishment of a system of common schools," adding that "it is much cheaper to furnish school houses and teachers than prisons and keepers." The Organic Act was silent as to education except for the provision that the sixteenth and thirty-sixth sections in each township, after the territory had been surveyed, should be reserved "for the purpose of being applied to schools in the state hereafter erected out of the same." This land of course could not be sold by the territory and practically no revenue could be expected from its use. Local taxation was the chief source of support for the common school system as provided in the act of November 29, 1861. It was made the duty of the county commissioners of each county to set apart 10 per cent of all monies paid into the county treasury from property taxes, to be used for "the hire of school teachers in the several school districts," and to the same object was to be appropriated the income arising from "all fines for a breach of any of the penal laws in this territory." The act created the office of territorial superintendent of public instruction, the office of county superintendent of county schools, and otherwise provided the administrative machinery for organizing and maintaining schools.

            This act was amended December 20, 1862, the chief feature of the amendment being to except Storey County from its provisions. Storey County was the richest county in the state and at the same date a special act was passed for that county, vesting the control and management of the common schools in a board of education of seven members, four to be chosen from Virginia City, two from Gold Hill, and one from Flowery District. The board of education was directed to raise upon the real estate and personal property of the county a tax not exceeding two-fifths of 1 per cent upon the valuation for the support of free common schools. Another act of the same date was designed to provide the basis for a "general school fund." By that act 2 per cent of the gross proceeds of all toll roads and bridges in the territory were to be paid into the

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territorial treasury and set apart as a school fund, which was to be apportioned among the counties on the basis of the number of children of school age in each county.

            From the third annual report of the territorial superintendent of public instruction, A. F. White, for the year ending October 31, 1864, it is possible to draw a general picture of educational progress made in Nevada during the territorial period. At that time there were ten organized counties in the territory, seven having been organized in 1861, one in 1862, and two in 1864. In 1862 ten school districts reported, and thirty-four in 1864, at which time there were thirty-seven schools in the territory. Only five schools were organized and reported in 1862. In 1862 the school population, children between four and twenty-one years of age, was 1,134, and in 1864 the number was 3,657. Approximately 200 children had attended school in 1862 and the whole number in attendance in 1864 was 1,278. Only two counties, Storey and Lyon, had reported on the financial condition of the schools in 1862. The figures given by the superintendent for that year for the whole amount of receipts and expenditures was $1,944.73. In 1864 the amount reported as received and expended for school purposes in the territory had risen to $71,739.79. Fully two-thirds of this amount was credited to Storey County, with its special organization of schools. The total receipts for school purposes in Storey County in 1864 was approximately $48,000.

            As to the grade of schools the superintendent reported there were just five primary schools in the territory in 1862. One of the most significant features of the superintendent's report is the following :

            From the amount of private contributions reported from year to year, and also from the constant cry from county superintendents, district trustees and the people generally, for larger appropriations of public funds, it is probable that there have been but very few free schools sustained. Rather than have schools closed, trustees have repeatedly resorted to rate bills, subscriptions, and various appeals to the liberality of the public.

            The superintendent called attention to the impossibility of enforcing the law as to uniformity of text books. "But a month or two since, a lady well qualified as a teacher, on taking charge at one of our mixed schools found that there were but two or three of the same kind of books among about thirty pupils." Except in one or two favored localities the school houses were of the type made familiar in many accounts of frontier conditions. "If the houses reared for public school purposes are badly planned and poorly furnished, it is more from the want of sufficient means than from ignorance of the best modes of construction. Our citizens have, unaided by public funds, built a large majority of the houses in which our schools are maintained, and in every instance have provided them with such furniture and conveniences as they could afford. In some districts where there is but little wealth, the people have shown their determination by laying foundations, and by rearing walls, hoping in time to be able to complete the work thus resolutely begun. In Humboldt and Lander counties, where building materials are at fabulous prices, adobe houses are used, with earthen floors, unplastered walls, and in some cases with thatched

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roofs. I once visited a school where some twenty-five or more pupils were seated upon store boxes, without desks, or chairs, or other furniture in the room. The inhabitants of the district have done all they could to provide a comfortable school house for their children. Their money failed them. There were no public funds, and impelled by the conviction of the absolute necessity of instruction for their family, they gathered the boxes, employed a teacher, opened a school and then patronized it."       

            Outside of Storey County the superintendent reported that the salaries paid to teachers averaged about fifty-eight dollars per month "less than one-half the wages received by the laborer who digs the crude ore from our mines." There had been one school library in 1863, but there was none in 1864.

            In another place the superintendent gives abstracts from the reports of the county superintendents. In Ormsby County out of the school population of 512, about 173 attended public schools, and 125 attended private schools, and there were two school houses in the county.

            The most impressive report came, of course, from Storey County, where Judge Frank Tilford was county superintendent. Of a school population of 1,243, the number enrolled in the various schools was 390, and the average daily attendance 275. Virginia District had one grammar school, two first intermediate schools, one second intermediate school, and three primary schools. In Gold Hill District there was one first intermediate and one primary school, and in Flowery District one mixed school.

            Washoe County was divided into seven districts, and there was no private school in the county. All the schools were of the primary grade and of 549 children of school age the average daily attendance was 197. There were eight male and five female teachers. Of the 136 children under four years of age the superintendent reported fifty-five were born in Nevada.

            A similar report was made for Douglas County, the superintendent stating that sixty-six out 117 children under four years of age were native Nevadans. This county had four school districts, and of 328 children, ninety-eight attended school. There were eight teachers, six male and two female.

            Lyon County had three school districts, only two reporting, and all but one of the fifty-three children under four years of age were born in Nevada. Of 281 children of school age, 123 were enrolled in school, and there were five teachers.

            Humboldt County with its seven school districts had 235 of school age, with the number enrolled eighty-four and the average daily attendance fifty-two. Only three schools were taught.

            The report for Lander County stated that the number of children under four years of age was ninety-two, while there were five negro children and 225 Indian children. Of the 308 persons of school age, the number enrolled was 112 and the average daily attendance sixty-three.

            Esmeralda County had only one school district, but the superintendent reported that a commodious brick school house was in process of erection. No reports were received from Nye and Churchill counties, except that in Nye County there were ten children of school age.

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Toll Roads and Railroad and Town Charters.

            The reader of Roughing It gets the impression that the territorial legislatures overlooked no opportunity to confer valuable franchise privileges and provide profitable employment to the recorders and printers of public documents.

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            The Territorial Legislature of 1864 passed twenty-eight toll-road acts. Some of these franchises illustrate the rush of population into the new mining regions in the eastern part of the territory. Several of the grants were for the construction of roads leading into the Reese River district, and there was one authorizing a toll road from Austin or at some eligible point on the overland road, "via the San Antonio mining district" to a point "on the Colorado River at the junction of the Rio Virgin with the same." Embedded in the legal phraseology of these toll-road acts can be found scores of names of "towns," mills, stage stations and other geographical points which were then familiar, but many of which have disappeared from the detailed state maps of the present time.

            The First Legislative Assembly granted no charters for cities or towns, though in other acts it recognized as municipalities such places as Carson City, Virginia City, Gold Hill. In defining the judicial districts of the territory, it located the county seats as follows : Esmeralda County, at Aurora ; Douglas County, at Genoa ; Ormsby County, at Carson City ; Washoe County, at Washoe City ; Storey County, at Virginia City ; Churchill County, at Buckland's ; Humboldt County, at Unionville ; Lyon County, at Dayton ; and Lake County, at such place as should be decided upon by a majority of the voters. In 1862 special charters were granted to Virginia City and Gold Hill. "The corporation and body politic, now known and existing under the title of 'Virginia City,' shall remain and continue to be a body politic and corporate in fact, by the name of 'Virginia.' " Its boundaries were fixed as follows :

            Commencing at a point one mile south of the old site of the Mexican Silver Mining Company's quartz mill ; thence running east one mile ; thence running north two miles ; thence running west two miles ; thence running south two miles ; thence running one mile east to the place of beginning.

            The boundaries of the town of Gold Hill as defined by the Legislature were apparently intended to comprise all the southern end of Storey County :

            The Legislative Assembly of 1864 gave charters to several other towns already in existence. A corporation existing as "the inhabitants of the town of Aurora" were incorporated as the "City of Aurora," with the boundaries as surveyed in 1863. "The City of Star" was incorporated in Humboldt County. The act of February 20, 1864, incorporated the "City of Austin" in Lander County.