Show I 1 DEATH OF SINATOR EX MIB james G fair as he was known on the comstock I 1 HIS SUDDEN DEATH A SHOCK A rower power on the comstock comstoch A good commander of men man ca caro for alia e lives of nines mines fair a public spirited xan man wot not a stock peddler over a P quarter of a century of toll in the comstock Coc istock minos mines I 1 Correspond enco tribune virginia city nev january 3 1833 when news was received last si ur day morning of the deatle ot of ex sena tor james G fair tile iho night before at his homo home in sun stin francisco express loni on sorro son ow T and regret were heard en crt every hand band in this city among all pur our people ot of the old bonanza days ills his death was so sudden and that it camo came las as a shock a WaLh warning Iliff shook to the tha veteran miners ut the Coms comstock cock wel we here had not lot heard or 0 his illness and knowing him to ha be of rather a robust con had thought ills life likely to be spa spar spared red ed lor for many years yet notwithstanding the 1113 and infirmities that steal upon upa n us u 9 ass as we approach the allotted ahr throe ce score acore and ten the news spread rapidly through the town and on every hand were heard expressions of sincere regret that mat durold our old had n not been spared at t least another hall score of oc years those who know knew fair longest and were most anost with him most deeply felt his death tor for they best knew his worth and god goodness ness of heart ills ilia helping land hand lifted many an old timer out of his bis slough of despond to the army ot of veteran miners of the comstock who under the command ot of fair as dent rave gave millions and millions in silver and gold to the country and the world the news ot or his death came as a warning and almost a startling knell now only mackay Is left of 0 the old bonanza firm said they those who were commanders in ill the old bon bonanza LIza days are taking their departure tor for it ll 11 unknown regions beyond the dark river and the privates must soon follow folio iv james 0 fair was sio BO long and to eo prominently Iden lined with the mining an and other dother leading interests ot of the coin stock s ock lode and the city of virginia that his death seems like the loss ot of a page pace in our bi history story or the removal forever or of one ot of the best known landmarks of the old flush days lie and his partners were a power in the land when the leading mines ot of the tha comstock were being opened up and worked nothing seemed impossible to them they risked their money in the development of oc mines and the erection ot of great and costly works in a manner that seen deomid ivil almost reckless and caused many an onlooker on looker to shake his licad lead yet their courage was richly rewarded and they reaped a thousand fold on all they ventured on the lode from the time when they made their first money by good finds of ore in the hale norcross all I 1 their ventures were crowned with success tho the money they mado made was risked in the development ot of mines adjoining the hale norcross they moved northward obtaining control ot of the gould curry and finally the mines in which was found the big bonanza and there came upon the vast store storehouse ot of treasure that made them all multi millionaires I 1 A POWER ON THE COMSTOCK I 1 in the development it bluhe toile lode from the hale norcross to the utah the firm gave employment to thousands ot of men miners me mechanics deebanks common laborers and workers ot of every grade and expended millions in machinery and supplies they also erected huge reduction works in the city on the neighboring canyons and on oil the carson river brought to tile the city a supply of water from the elcira nevadia mountains thirty miles away avay and in the pine forests ot of the same mountains erected sawmills constructed flames flumes and put an army ot of lumbermen to work at getting out mining timbers wood for fuel and all kinds ot of lumber required in and about their mines and mills 11 in all the departments of their business they had men who were with them for years and many that were tn in their employ from the first the old nale hale norcross days to the last when the firm withdrew as a firm from the lode any man who was at steady ea ay industrious and reliable had a place with them as long as there was any work to do and was always well and considerately treated the men ot of the bonanza mines minel were alwaes treated its as men were never driven like mules or kicked about as though they wore were doss dogs both mackay and fair were careful f 1 ot of their men and had oftener to hold them back than to ask them to push ahead there were always men imen who were leady to risk their lives by volunteering to undertake desperate jobs in the lower levels but no was permitted to go eo into a place that had been pronounced dangerous the foreman and shift bosses all had instructions in III regard to sending men into places pi docs where there was danger of their losing lives I 1 never lever risk a vite life was the older 01 to all the bosses 1117 NERS OF TIM THE CIO BONANZA both mackay and fair baving themselves wielded pick anil and shovel in th early days ot of their mining P experience they well knew the amount of oc that a man ought to do land all shift ins soldiering fellows were soon weeded out or their mines A word ot of praise from mackay would make one of his veterans happy for a month in speaking of 0 this one day the lato late ilu hugh h lamb then foreman in the big bonanza said most of the men you see diore would break their for a 0 rood frood word from effiner c pair fair or kukay mackay ay had under him in his mines quite a number of 0 oils his old california friends and bards 11 several of these have crossed the iho oark dark river buta few still remain thosa grizzled veterans aro are now too old to work in ill the lower levels but they have been given places as watchmen about the works and other othar easy jobs for mackay to lose one of its ills old hands was like the loss of some favorite soldier to a 0 good general c val I 1 have seen him terr terribly ably shocked and grieved when whan news newl was brought him of the accidental killing 0 of one 0 of Ms ills old miners fair was also much upset by the killing of any of ills his men lie he hw however vever took some desperate chances him self in old drifts and cross cuts and made several narrow escapes SQUARE AND HONORABLE james G fair was always square and honorable in his deall wings with his men and with the hundreds of others with whom lie he had business relations no man on the comston k ever lost a cent honestly duo due hitoi airn through throng it fajr fair the bouw boys wore were fond of discoursing of pairs fairs mo methodia and had many stories of uncle JImI jimmys nys smooth ways yet no man ever claimed to have bave been wronged by hi him to the extent of a aein eln klo gle ton cent piece the me tact fact latis that fair was exceedingly sharp in finding out all that was going on in his mines and in takane ill the irva ot or the moil under him ite he was liard hard to beat rs ls more L one minor miner boon discovered also lie wad very reticent I 1 I 1 in regard to lit hla underground 1 un a work and J ills I 1 plans 1 for or tho the development ot or mines I 1 thu the iian were vert wont to sly you see I 1 tile I 1 atole to 1 a b ho 0 goes in at but you never I 1 know he file Is drilling or what I 1 ho he ls dolne down in the lower levels 11 I 1 when he had carried out hla bis plaris plans and made his development he be was ready rc idy to I 1 tk talk t k and to throw open hla his mine for inspection spec tion by the experts As aa mining reporter tor for tile alio daily en I 1 MW vair almost every day while chilli he was waa supe superintendent 1 nten dent of the mine comstock ml ea eind and in all the years of our acquAint aric I 1 never had bad to take back a single MIMI item ot of mining news given me by him lie would le ther r tell me mc the truth in 1 regard to the situation in hla his alnea or he be would not talk at nil all often in regard to a cortan certain level in a mine in which I 1 he ae was pushing explorations and per nipa finding some bome ore lie he would say well v ell as to that part of the mine I 1 am not mot yet ready to talk I 1 haw nothing to say eay about it at present pre ent 11 some su au wore were given to falso al alarms irmi 11 and tal kol ot of ore before they had it but pair always had iland often a big biff lot ot of it before he talked TRUE TRUB TO TI THEIR EMPLOYERS it might be that in regard to rich strikes in the lower levels would leak out through the miners working in the deposits discovered but they wore as closemouthed as clams alami as so many mutes 9 shifts of veterans 4 old and tried miners were put on in places where oro ore bodies were being developed and ahil questioned they were as aa go dead men inedea in III the old bonanza days when stocks blocks were booming along the whole comstock lode nil all miners were very clo cloie e they their would not talk about any part parl pa rl of 0 a mine in which they were employed tho the exports experts and curbstone curb stone br broketa brok okera cra who were barial ng about the town in the old booming days were always biri hinting tIng about having baving men in the mines OIL vie the secret shifts who posted them lut but none of them over ever got rich ahr through information furnished them by vie the old miners they got more bogus than genuine news there wore were always pretended miners ready to furnish information in regard to tiny any mine on the lode the men of tho the secret shifts did not need to go fio to tile the curbstone dealers stocks were I 1 bought for such among them as had money which they wished to invest anti and for such as had no money a few shares were carried these stocks were generally bought for the men in san francisco As the veterans of the secret shifts were well known and closely watched it would have bave been a dead giveaway give ulve away for thern them to have been se seen an buying the stock stack of the mine in which they their were employed at me alio of any broker on the comstock WERE NOT STOCK PED PEDDLERS neither fair nor backay ever peddled any ruining mining shares among the p people co ot of the comstock Coi astock they doubtless bought end and sold old stocks at times but always III irl the san sam francisco board taking thair thuir chances with others in their citizens dealing and dabbling in III stocks bought and eold in the board in the same way this being the case people could not complain of having been wronged by fair or mackay in stock transactions they would not even advise people in legard to speculations i in stocks they sald said they looked to the mines for the money moner they made and could not tell what turns the manipulators in san francisco might give 10 to lo stocks in this they were wise for haj baj they undertaken to advise people in biard to the purchase or of stocks they would at times ha haie e had halt half the men and vo i 0 men of the comstock howling and vail nall v n all ail ing about thern them fains YEARS OF HARD WORK WORIC fa fair gave the pest years of his life to the comstock Coms lode lie was only IS 19 years of age when lie he reached california in 1813 1849 ills his first mining was done on thu the feather river at longs bar in the spring of he went to rich bar on the north fork of the feather after working at placer mining fur for two or three years he went to an angels vols camp Cala Calavera veras 3 county and tried his hand at quartz mining early in 0 lie he came to the comstock lie ile was for a time superintendent I 1 il J of the ophir then in BUT k harge r e 0 of uie the raja hale norcross Nor crosa godo go made do his first woney money jollin it eky then apon became bis is partner and boor soona aller after the pair took in as partners james C flood and ana IV S obrien and that year they abt wilned I 1 control of the he rate norcross nine m ns thus was established whit what was afler wards known as the bonanza firm phool and obrien attended to the he business ot of the firm in san francisco belille fair and mackay remil ned on the comstock anil and looked after the mines fair worked early and late ile he was vas always busy either on the surface or in the lower levels ile he inspected every drift crosscut jinye and other opening III where work nas n as 16 in pro progress gresa 6 in n the mines of which he had charge which as development progressed involved avast deal ot of climbing and exhausting work in places often IOor poorly lir ventilated wid and exceedingly hocq hot this was killing w wark rk with all the worrying connected wi witult with tivit lt but both pair fair and mackay kept ly at ll it tor for more than a quarter of 0 a century A charitable MAN when fortune began to smile on him pair became a liberal contributor to all worthy charities and to all public enterprises in the ComstO comstock CIC towns besides lie he aided hundreds of people who ran to alra tor for assistance in some work supposed to be for the good go oil ot of the community also many people ran to him for assistance in their own private troubles fair often relieved e ol 01 persons who were in distressed circum Stance sIf he believed them worthy ot of being helped lie he did not KO go in person parson to tender his assistance on oll some occasions bocc a sl on s he sent his private watchman to leave money with families who were in distress at other times and to other p he sent some other factotum little johnny hereford ills 1115 private for a long time was waa often sent on oil these missions mrs mr fair was also vety char charitable hable and she was always alow allowed d to give liberally to any object or any person worthy of being assisted there are co to coday day on the comston Com stok kundratis hund raJa who owe the tribute of a lear fear to the memory of james G fair DAN T dr DC me president grows forider fonder of gray cray gables ev every ery year they rh ey u use so D dr r pric prices e 6 baking cowder there them |