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Show GREAT SILVER CAMP HAS A SAD ENDING Incongruous Are the Reminders ot Brilliant Past of Virginia Vir-ginia City. i one time In the early '7is Virginia City, Nev., was the leading mining town of the West Tlie Itig Honnn7.il had recently re-cently been found and WSS being de-veloped de-veloped AS rapidly as money and skill COttld accomplish so large u insk under tho most adverse conditions high temperature tem-perature and Hoods of scalding hot water. Never In the history of the W. si were sc ries enacted In connection with mines BUCh as were witnessed In Virginia City During the 70s this great activity continued, con-tinued, but the tremendous energy resultant re-sultant upon tho discovery, development and extraction of that phenomenal ore body known as the Big Bonanza, found in the Consolidated Virginia and I'nii- fornla mlm . began to spend itself and the early 'xs saw Virginia it on the wane. Fall of Silver the Cause. It continued lo attract less and less attention, as the fall In the price of sller sent the miners Into other regions, until th.- lower lex r Is were abandoned, the pumps were withdrawn, and for years Virginia City was almost deserted. Only a few- mines In the town and at Gold Hill, joining It on the goUth, making any pretense of working. lit ISM, how-ev.-r. It was decided to attempt the nn- waterlng of the long Hooded levels by Improved methods, The attempt was a success, and since then a vast amount of work has been accomplished, and. although al-though it has created comparatively little lit-tle stir, several millions have been produced pro-duced by tlie Corns to ck mines within the past five years Different City Today. Virginia t'tty of today i.s a very different differ-ent city from that of the 'Tks. notwithstanding notwith-standing thai th.-re is at present more activity on the lode than nt any time since the decadence Of mining after the exhaustion of the bonanzas, which made the lode and the r-lty world-famous. On every side may be seen the e -dencei of former greatness. One of the Interesting things which attracts the attention at-tention of ft stranger Is the huge . ast-lron ast-lron shells formerly used in retorting the bullion from the mills, which, having outlived their usefulness, are now found half buried, and standing erect on the street comers, as fenders to protect sidewalks side-walks and other structures from th too close encroachment of careless teamsters who were Inclined to make short turns. Another Int. resting and perhaps more impressive feature is round in the huge walls of masonry and the ponderous pumping machinery of the early das oti the lode The early engineers certainly built for endurance and regardless of expense ex-pense Mining and SolsntlnC Press. |