| Show I i1iE STORY OF PIOHE ffSPASTl BY MURRAY SCHICK Ii you have Ju your pocket a silver IF coin beirlrfr the I Pun Francisco mint murk nml Intod Inter than 1S70 yon nmy be 1 tho poarcbsor of a iouvo nlr of IMocho Ploehe the Ilrllllanl Plpchc the Rich Ploohe the vWicked I For a long time it I was a neck ami nock moo between the wealth andtho wickedness hut the wealth Is still I I Riving the L of jug vitality to HIP commerce o world while the wickedness is a fast fading mommy None Other Lllie It toll the oldlime icsl It is useless to dent of Lincoln county Nov that there IUCO Floche That was over a town Dip l 1 he will there imve been othnn ns > concede hut none so lively readily rea bu so iMtehlfull rich none t none HO 3 Jnlurestuii Ho and none HO Inlcniely > City was a Dodge will toil 1 YOU ilmt SiuiaiiyHchool Cheyenno n 1 canipmeel liiK and lulesburp a graveyard In coiii I tlw he xnsBcnuhis nnrlsan IK may > QII vIrtues J uf his favmlto onmp 111 1 I uic nevertheless iiJcnty of outsiders arc Hear the history of the who when they r Nevada great boii in h1 crimp of southern vada will ndmll Hint 11 Is one of the most Interesting places In Aineilca The Treasure Forming If lhnt bit of metul In your pocket could talk what a I GLorY It might unfold un-fold of toll privation dark tragedies tremendous lawsuits deeplaid plots ami clever sfrJilcixems A alory that begins in the misty uses of the past when nftluiv amid convulsions that t TiMktt tile einplicSn of re loo like unto an explosion of n ylaitt firecracker compounded com-pounded In 11111 Kieat laboratory certain cer-tain unknown Icinents In solution poured the I liqUId drop by drop Into the measureless abysses of tlu earth and left It to harden Into mighty scams of inlnorillieirliiK quartz that carrls us through centuries and epochs In which the heaving IUaS of jock settled set-tled to repose cooled and burdened coveted Itself with a thin sheet of soil and awaited the on ml UK of man1 During other centuries and epochs the secret of the hidden wealth was close hidden in the heart of the hills while the race of veil meu built thsir villages fought their sivnge battles lived loved and died hecdlnsr not the telltale oiopplnrcs uncovered by summer sum-mer cloudhurotn t and apilny rains that Invited their attention and hinted at the treasure caverns below The White Irians Coming AL last comes the Inquisitive white man with pick and shovel a keen eye and a keener thirst for silver and Inn In-n moment the sterile hills heroine the home of thousands The vigils I of the peaceful stnis I are eclipsed by the glare of a thousand glowing lamps > the cry of the coyote Is I drowned by the roar of mine vhlstlesthe note or the wild bird Is lost In the lively tune of the ilddle the jingle of the piano and the bnechannlian shunts of tin revelers in dance hall and saloon Then the I restless thousands move on churches point their spires heavenward ami the few who linger I find themselves In the I midst of dccnylntr shafthouses empty residences 1 Idle mills and 1 abandoned aban-doned railroads I I Discovery of Mineral The first discovery of the ramp must be vied Itcil I to I ho unwelcome activity of the Wnshoe and Snake Indlaius III 1SG4 The IIveii and piopcity < u the sntleis In southeastern Nevada worn thought to t be h endangered and On Connor sent a company of soldiers on a scout 10 sle m tIle situation This force wintered In a little Mormon ngrl culliunl settlement called Panama At Panaca was a peculiar character named Bill llamblln who was gcncially considered con-sidered to havi > a streak of country lock II1hl gray matter I Bill In wm deilng over the country had stumbled upon some cropping of mineral a doen miles north of Panaca Durlnb tlu long Inler nights he got confidential ulth the Foldlers and confided to them the secret of his llnd I Marched Away Prom Millions The toldiers became interested In the matter and when spring opened persuaded per-suaded Hamblln to guide them to the lodge Almost every soldier in the tiuop located a claim 200x200 feet as VUi allowed by the mining laws of those days and dug an assessment hole After piovldlng for themselves I they proceeded to taUc out claims for their sisters 1 and their cousins and their annts Thou they matched away to ticrve Uucle Sam for ii 1 p ° r month I leaving property W ltli millions to later comets who found the claims subject lo relocation because the assessment work liad not been kept up I Made Bullets of It Tho Indians who had been watching the soldiers moie closely than I the sil < Her6 had l been watching I them I observed ob-served what was going on and vhin thn bine I coat1 had faded from view I carried the Informntlon I I lo Panaca Impelled Im-pelled more bv cniloslty than anything else some of the Panaca farmers went oxer the giound where the soldIers had boon digglm i and found some high grade mlmial at the apex of what was afterward called the Meadow Valley flssuie Thev made good nie of the mateilal for they roasted out the gold and silver In a blacksmiths forge and molded builds of It 1 Burke Claim Located It I I was in the year 1SCD the I discovery was first turned to practical account The Burke brothers two young Irish lads weni piospectlug and fc1 In with our old friend Hill I i llamblln who steered them lo the site of Phoebe They due around In the assessment hojes left by the soldiers and selecting the most piomlblng piospcets relocated a claim which they named the Burke Still It takes something more tangible than prospects lo develop a mine as the I Burke bpys found out They were along a-long way from the railroad provisions N 3D 4i ZJu I 4 4j 4ii Tioclie In 1890 I and powder wcie dear and they had no means of gelling the ore that they t gouged out to market In such stialts they bethought thomselves of some men they formerly worked for Raymonds and Ely In lleiirv Raymond AVIIllam Raymond and John Ely had had a checks cd ca icer In the Nevada mining camps Fortunes For-tunes wheel never stood still for them and at 1 the time mentioned they were running a small livestamp mill at Pah ranagat 01 hike as It Is I now culled 1 The business war not particularly prof I liable and the proprietor were thinking think-ing sorlouBly of folding their ted IS and l seeking new fields when tile Burke brothets walked III with a few burro loads of quart which was ground up and put thiough he smelter It tan between 700 and son In silver and gave small leluins In gold There was gicaf rejoicing In lllko over this result and when the I3nrkes pioposcd to the Kuy mon s and Ely that they take charge of the properly and work It for what they coulil get out of It the I discouraged mill men lost no time In accepting Ihe proposition They did not have much I v O B5TSJ X G Wwam fsff f > jj + JJT rr v > rTrrr T rT rTIZ l l j U 4 V1 dt iri 4 P Iglp f i Wfe M i r 4i It OIP y p r n i r c V5rafe fcs1 t > fr sci 1i Vi1 fJb r 4 1 I4 y l cl 1 2 HWfc SSVy liHffiBaH IM R SPJ j i < fc < M MJ B fit l ri I 1 > A l2 t J v cMd gpf yjt I 1 fc 4 kaiBBPF u tf < I K > 4 r 1 1 I > jZf 1 1 i t fcvCvvl i fl i 1 Ii r I i Gocllc Leaching Plant Enst ofPioche money but they I had cieOit and friends and I here was aomelhlng doing at the Uurke mine when they look hold The shaft was put I down ISO feet and at that depth Ihe I inlneib found the t lead In place It wan between and fl f feet wide and HO rich that the native silver could be hewed out hi chunks with an ax I A Tremendous Producer Within the next sevn years the mine produced In the neighborhood of 2IOOOUOO and altogether It has given up 17000000 II way too great a piop osition for a few Individuals I lo handle han-dle ro a stock company was organized other claims were staked out along the I line I of the t old soldier locations and the I group was called the Raymond Si Ely News of the gient stiike Hew all over the country Is I I A Ploclu a French banker of San Francisco sent C E Hoffman a mining expert to spy out the land and give his verdict ver-dict He came In 1SC9 and approved the property Ploche then purchased a number of claimson I an extension of the RaymondISly lead and the Meadow Valley company waa organ iKed I It I I was I be name of lie old banker bank-er that I t was bestowed on the I town 31 Huch Begun The great rush begui t early In the spilng of 1S70 and iu one who took part In It will eer forget the stampede stam-pede On fool and on horseback In inde conveyances and well equipped wagons came lie t weak hiseekeiu from every direction Hundreds hurried over from the Comslock other hundreds poured In from Montana the placer Melds of California I contributed I n large pioportlon and every older mining I camp of the Slate did I something to swell the tide I of travel 1 A pair of blankets a sack of tluir a side of bacon IL shovol and a pick vwe the essential equipment of prospector InC thopo In-C days As many olh r arllclcs could by 1 added u as lie mean intl the I tastes of lhi t Individual would allow but elaborate outfits usually stamped a man as a tenderfoot I and Impaired his sorlal standing Attached the Conch The fliBt stage line wai established by llalch > c Kepphnger who inn a Hxhoise coach frrjin 1Jinii toll lo Pl i ocljp Among the I < paasopgeia on one of the I cat Her trips wa an allorney go17 I In on impoilant business for C oe of the big nilnhijry > iypaiics Atone At-one of the stations half vav to camp the rOlh rtoppcd foil the night and was attached by Ihe sheriff Whim this hard luck war ectitliul unlca ted to the attorney I he was wild I muRl get to Ploche1 lit exclaimed with a liberal I gainlsh of piofamly I am sorry repi lOll Hatch who was chiving1 but what the Ii vii canT can-T 10 The sheriff has taken I all the horses and wont lei i me touch a thing on the coach Canl you sneak out a horse for me pleaded the allorn < v will visIons vis-Ions of important cases going by de fTXlU 1 Tf r do will you rideto I Ploche You bi > i I will wm1 till I ready response re-sponse You may bring l my trunk when you got out I of thfc t diflieuliy but If you will sneak out thp horse John J will rIdet ricloLived Informally The bprfln was snook1 and the lawyer law-yer Iode Ihc t remainder of the distance on horseback lie founda few lenls n hllOC 01 four wooden buildlngH 1 a HI IhoiiMindfi I ofpeople Iilkevrhe rest he picked out aplacr under a cedar tree on the hillside spread oul his blankets blank-ets hung his hal on a branch and i was at > hoinc to 1 Ills friends That was the manner of living J all thai Kurnmer Everybody slept III ihe open air between be-tween his Inxaluablc I blankets i10111 1 Ing ammunition and oilier belonglnga vote left In a heal on the ground 1 and notJting was ever stolen 1L would not have boon healthy I to I steal I In Plocho In I those I days and people who hal the kleptomania ficling restrained 1 their Impulses IA A Surcruough Camp During the summei the population of the new camp giew to 10000 souls assuming as-suming I for the I sake 0 f symmetry that theic were enough souls to go round Two thousand men lodged throughout the I reason under the pines and cedais The largest and most popular Institution i i Institu-tion lit the newborn city vt a canvas covered saloon as big as a circus toni Two bits was the I smallest price for which any kind of a drink could be purchased I hut nobody wont dry on that account A good or ratlfr a bad portion of tho I ranvnscovcicd onclos uric was given over ID ihc gamblers who operated every kind of device known 1111 to that day for sepaiallng a man from lila money In order lo rconomlae in the I 1ISC of trees many of tiic men In the II1Inp slept In shlftH wlirn they I slept at all both In the daytime and at nlghL Tl did not make much difference which although the days wie quieter I and not tulle so light After sunset thousands thou-sands of koropene lamps relnfoiced by t aliong relleoiors I blazed along the streets giving ludescilbable brilliancy to the scene As Cy Wnrman subsequently subse-quently s lnlllllr Cicfde It l as day all day In the daytime and there was no night In PInche Nearly All Men In the first year the population was almost exclualvoly masculine A few wotiHMi came hut i hey were not of the kind a man IniroiltlceM I to his family although tinder certain cIrcumstances lie will kill iomcbidy or be klJIed himself I him-self over themThe Influence of hllI > women of the camp hlskx of tile eambllng games togethi wili the wild rind woolly chnracter of the Inhabitants In-habitants were responsible for the free use of guns and knives that guxv th ramp its reputation I and peop > d the I grit voyttidi The duels th 1 < i aaaas sinai bits and the I plain mnidern that took place In llmse l days woilldNfurnlah material for a large library The treat Mines I In ho I fall of 1870 a brickyard 1 wrip established and lumber began to come Into the camp Hullrllng I weni nntia rand r-and by winter I there t were roofx onough to cover the mitliltudf I At 1 Ihe ime Li Iii < development I york In i he I mines progiessed with I grea t iiplcllly lhsf along the I great mother lodr wa the Meadow Valley ttniip inunrpniatid by Banker Ploche and t aflcrwaid scUrl tn Bob Morrow later a mining broker In I San Franclroo then Die 1 Kaymond I luly I cnnsolldallon 1111111 inn I the Ilermej group The location r > f the hotter aiul the litigation that wiu carried on to establish UK validity are among the I most imporlnnt t historical events of the dlslilci Foxy Foreman The Raymond Pihy company In following fol-lowing Its rich load 1 ran Into a ht > all of country lock The ore craned an I nbruplly as though It had been cutoff I cut-off with a I knife Notwithstanding the mysterious lsa ppema lice of the lend Ihe drift was liven on thiough the barton rock along the line of the old soldier locations for several I hundred font without results and the management manage-ment was foicfd i lo I the conclusion that It had seen the last of thie great ore bodies A different Idea was inter talned by the foreman of the company who started 1 a crosscut at a tangent from the photo where the ore had vanished His I I theory I was that ho 1 vein had faulted and that Its onlltm ation would be found down the bin The theory was verified after cross cutting for n short dlntnnce hut In stead of dlviilRlm ih rediscovery oC the I vein to hit employers the foreman concealed the evIdoncoK of ore and 1 quietly had his friends ntnke out com choice loculloim along the now ntrlkf fit the vein Those claims were consolidated con-solidated HIllier the name of the Hcr met Stock won hsued and floated In Sian FranIsco h l r by IL Himnta and senalor HeaniL In a short urn the Tlevmoa luck Into a rcmatkably line I boly of mi and bcirftii to hoist It The RaymondJiy ciowd Immediately laid claim lo thA I discovery asi an extension of Its vein atlrnl Nalurahy the hermes rt > fusod to give up alleging that the vein iis a new and separate one Some Money in Sighr SVhen It bccamo apparent that the mat tr would be fought out in tho courts the Hermes contingent employed the attorney of the RaymondLily o foring J him a lump sum of Slf000 ort three or-t times the t annual salary lie una receiving from the other company It wan a great lIUI jo In every uapecl t At 11 least SlOOOOOO oith of ore WIB In vojvod and the lorluneii of many oaltln men IUIIIK In the balance No one vcr knew I Jm > t hou much It tOniC t LO convince the Juiy thai the I Ilcrmrn I had right and Jtil I le on Its side it was loporied however that SIFOOOO wan 1 1Ilrd in I he company bookn I for legal 1 1 t expense beslder the Horns for attnrneys1 I r r foi H and expert teitlmony The ver dlcl svas known lo certain people on the I 1ltJrp1tJi sIde threr I houis before It wai announced In count Tipped OfT < the Verdict q One of the jurors was n Hebrew For 1 J some iofson he hod a warm feeling to wird the defcndaxiH In the case and ho > d hat decision kindly promised as noon as a I cision as ngioed upon lie would If It r was lavoralilp to thc Hoimea display n red ollk hundkirchlef in bin liiBldr I pocket The argument was flnlKhed In tin I evening I and the juiymen vnro locked up on the second Moor of the courthouse Atiix oclock the noxl morning a watcher on the street saw the Hebrew it the window After moment of sus 1IIHe tin handkerchief was drawn forth and waved backwaid and forward behind I lie glass The lookoyt could harnly supi rcsts a nhoiit of triumph 11 lie hastened to the telegraphoJHce and 2ltt IL long cipher message to Situ Fianclaco III lens than an hour a halt dozen biokei1 at the Golden Gate uro quietly gathering In all The Uermen lock they could llnd at the market quotations i ThicD holt IS later the whole world knew lhal r t the I Hermes had been given the I decision In the famous suit In later years the chief stockholders In the victorious company admitted that their contention had hen en one oils and turned the property Into the Kaymondniy coifhllJallon but that I wns after the great ole bodies had beta > stripped and no longer paid for work ll Fighting Contract I Another neighbor who caused tin i 4Fc J J i 4 Wji i l I 4 i jZ41 I I L y ri4 I r t I Dlendow Valley No3 Over Originnl Soldier Location 1 |
