| Show I The Old Comstock Days ays an anBY and the e Milli Millions ions They ey Made e BY my SAM P DAVIS r ITH the great mining In during Iho X t four hus W eu a III In many to belittle that mining 1 giant i 4 1 tm olt M Com ComItO tb hf cl v 1111 omo to Its K j ItO producer of oL tho precious ad W combined product of some cf I h I camps may In III if It output no single Jd I Is likely to prove proe as all iJ n romance and national fr rr ij ii 11 tint that thic vein ilia tl j r f 1 i 11 tU tilt ea f t slope of Jit III David 1 1 tl c 11 iv i lulf Ii It u le II 1 ago ngo I i 1 i iri Ir had Passed the ur urr 1 0 r f 49 stumbled on tho thoi Li i of or California Here lIero the tho theP i i I I 1 n rich they hud carved P i 1 of a 1 new litH stale and fh rut I r if their th ll labors labor H I th i i glow of romance and poetry r At i roW mellow Jn with time and andr r K t Ih h h language III i t and where drouth Vel u W H anil sandstorms maJo mallo up lip the measure m suro of existence Jho fhe Main Finally 11 nfl II In III working up liP the tho of Is III now arid hyon coun ties tics the of at Mt Davidson was reached the true of ot the tho ons OUy treasures they th y were handling lI tre wan waa the tho main ledge they won began taking out gold In tits tI and ancl when some of thu rough sold reached California the of that state no longer I n er able to tem tho nini rush ru h that set s t In III U It was wall everywhere Ho for or as liS tho country continued to lo culled Thu lw excitement was IaK of oC Im for the tho Harpers magazine m to 10 send Mild 1 no Its bent be t t and correspondent curre to tho thu spot and his letters describing the scenes In Incidental to fortune hunting by b far tho most vivid Interesting por 1101 of oC the extant Hut the men who were growing rich with the gold product of oC th the I c in Im I countered ont one notable drawback It Jt I WIlli the tho presence pr of a I pestiferous p black deposit which terl In clogging their and was continually Adventurers Ade and gamblers and soldiers 0 o o of fortune crowded to tho front and an out ot of tho hurl of the gam gambio gamble bio ble for wealth u 1 few and calculating men mell came tu tl tilt furo foro Tho big fortuno was made malle by John Juhn I 1 Jones In Crown lie III oer oHr with the rest 1 t lifter after being defeated for sheriff In some obscure county in Call smarting under U fl Af After After ter goo fortune pouted millions Into hit his lap ho h went Into tace fur lor th United States senate and ret Elt a pico for fOI campaign which no ono one has over l I tn ell lo duplicate lu He 11 threw money Into his hl light with thO prodigality of u drunken sailor Hallor Il lie did not lut need to spend u II dollar lollar but JUl ho had u II lot ot or friends uniting tile voters and to show shuw them that he ap appreciated 11 the honor hOllor and was pleased to tu todo do the right tiling thing Sharon was rent cent there by b of the Dank Blink of California and UlI acted ns the HIe hanks Virginia City Ul caught ht tile the fever of speculation and a advanced lIh motley mOlleY ly upon any uny hole holo In III th ground that seemed likely I II As I security ho took the ord of ot tho thu miner who the tho loan sent for him und when ho hu reached tho banks private In San Francisco l i iX X J d i I 1 a f I d I iiI l t I 1 r 1 J 1 IV 1 t W i J J 1 t Ii j r r r IEk 1 t A H n r I AI oj UJ J lJ v I Jo io 7 10 t lil J t If Of 1 r I 1 Io f 1 k t 16 c 1 x I Y I I HH n r BIRDSEYE VIEW OF VIRGINIA CITY In 9 amo tho th rush llie 1110 r of California for forr r t r wandered tI tho thoI I 1 md begun be pro the tho i IW 51 h I 1 of fhe u hunters welt laughed nt at for Cor forit it r PJ drs S the n ws Ipen unfed tc I and dl them The publishers of these thelia ed seemed to think It Il rank milk tr a o to tu admit that t there was WM all t 1 ing ln t mineral minerai value nille tho Mite It Il was regarded us IS a IL of ot Insanity In to hunt for It nut But the tM men who braved ve the snows tt the mountains to push h Into Nevada IT i o of ot tho stuff that was easily CIlI KOJ 1 reached l what was wall hn 1 n us nil ragged and 1 1 hut but game gumo as ns a IL fiRM fight bird birJ and Wint w nt resolutely to tu work Tho 1110 Colors 1 Into the of the tho t 1 11 river found colors and tho spot near neill where now stands got ot some Home good 1 results was las a n point I her I m washings of or Mr lIt Davidson found t WIlY way down don tho s to lo lothe the ru Ill r I and the tho miners began vork ilk their vay IY up this gulch They J u el goo t wage their toll and 1111 1 cro i to stay with It They 11 Is to tl California that w e Rod 00 1 In Nevada but ut f fw w p ople believed them and the news to mak light of oC the theMi Mi td i h wan WILli worth prospect hI I all The Sacramento Union then thenh h iP jr of n guest In nearly every miners Nevada t ns tho no plus iri of or desolation and barrenness lI lIO O deserts were covered with the tho tones bones of prospectors tho waters netting whelo It Il could do the most It was not until the of oC reached tho assayed ll l the stuff that they reil Ired that It H Will was almost t Poll r I They fhe were Hud and 1111 went there with proper n apparatus They hall had a roustabout In cabin who kept them thern In wood and There arc many man versions of tho affair II r Home Koine tny EAY It was fomo that thul It Will was and somo ROlli Insist Itt that tt It wan Willi who was WUI awak awakened ened by hy their whisperings In tho night In the ruddy glow of tho cupel saw sW them holding up liP a n glass Int tubo tulo to tho light while their eyes wet bulging with astonishment This was wall tho assay ever made on tho Com and what It showed In III figures no noone one olle will ever er know an as man lIIn mailo mallo It H left lell his bones In III the of or the tho Sierras somewhere near l Taho In ti 1 foolhardy attempt to cross to California In III the winter Keeping their counsel to themselves they next to leave for California There were three or In the party Two perished p 1 In tho thu storm torm tho two who reached f nearly Insane from flom the they ther encountered Hut But tilt reached with somo or 1 It was not long before the tho news of the richness of the tho Washoe was spreading over California as such Information oly 01 spreads as fast almost ax telegrams travel now no When the tho fortune hunters reached Mt Ill Davidson they found a man Comstock on tho thu ground claiming RV nV In sight Might and so tho old olt ledge took Its Ita name from this circumstances Coming of nC A city began to take shape shupe there then III found v that p awaiting him Then It fl was aH hU hll turn to 10 talk ami do tho situation In III such enticing ing In A that Ahen he demanded j more to do business i with Ital ton Mon gasped for f J breath him tilt the money Kins HIliA of oC tho watt pet lI l stock mid the thu big oil market went up UI and nil II down doll II with tt It U Il mm soon SOOIl us AS the bell weather of the Comstock Tho prospect holts holes In III ih th ground went rapidly r Sharon sot liot back with the when they the struck the mineral belt helt Ills his millions cam aIM rolling back with big bl and by J common consent he was waa crowned King of or the tho Then followed u a scene cene of or reckless speculation In Comstock such as ilK America never before b witnessed IlI Sharon juggled juggle with the market and could In III n CI single Hingle day n ml III up or down a 11 hundred n II share biily ludy went into the swirl and the ot California become little better than thana thann a n big bucket shop of Jut Hut while fortunes were being accumulated 1 and a beggars being and being b Impoverished the most practical cal miner mineI of o them nil all James Pall fair was burrowing a 1 mole mol In the tho ground on the track of or the greatest bonanza of or which mining gives s any record He lie was superintendent of ut the Could and Curry Curr and with n man named Fred Smith he hI ran a secret drift In through Jest and Belcher Into Con COli Virginia deeper than the tho owners were Here he hp tapped the vast t helU O that afterwards s made the fortunes s of or Tho VIK Kour John Jam William and tl himself clr Tha stock tok was us kicking about n non f on 01 not even OPI n California to do llo K 1 Mackay was already worth a 0 few thousands 1 by bonu mining mini 11 In III Th two tO run rn u I bli bl whisky mill n near 1111 thi Ih city front In took tot t lie m in III iy J thet thI WM I II 1 I a 1 in II th t h heon eon Con Tho rho stock toek Unit Ihal a I Itlen been 1 for 15 U cents never leer v ji pct until It h had d Ia hod no a u sharo sha The he mine began to yield 31 m i 1 month In dividends One Ole 1111 II there In 11 thc e old bOllma day pui c cand and 11 1 the cobwebs colw t ini his b memory Ve We all thought It would I 11 til 1 forever and No one had any Il y uso fur for m nty except to scatter It It I was n 1 when h n tho tramp of today t might bo bp khi king of ot th tho ore another moon wane Sharon was WIS Irritated that thal In 10 tl rare raC for tor prominence someone threatened u to pass him Ho He of oC und and said Mic he ho make John pack hl blankets over r the thc unIt and sent bark tho r ro tort I 1 can car pack a I pair pall of blanket over any aly graiX Ira which Is a dd more than Shan can do du Physically lh his astir rival ulu ot to the tx tWI I ns lS bit whisky whisk when he hI hei her rn It I AIo that thai lie be would sell ea bit whisky hl ly im OI i counter of tile the bank blk of Things were coming to 10 U It wac waH Night on the Ih desert und ani all al UI lions up U and Death firm Irm cloned In III mi ii r pl pI when hen thoy tho wrecked the ol or olti orI ti I They slowly loI uther In lt I i tho n and aU culled on 01 thi Ill bank to 11 It I wa ft a Wild wid day liu n I I 1 street when wh n tin th run began A JIM the Montgomery lol ller to 81 n e tUII rne distracted women wOlen and f t thu battling hu t with tho mob TV I 11 was 11 unable to strain the lilt ml II t It wj J Its Is doors Ioor The nim hid what wa a un UI Impregnable n ble d dIt II It 1 und and captured 11 It I 1001 rUled a at his hla capur attempted to t tell ell k ov 01 r I th counter r to make good bin hl t lt lint hit ilm Mackay with a right anil good oot horin hiI Hense len l lI I grubbed him by tw tho tha collar und cd ed him by b main force I Kalston WOH UI unable to survive blow and hi II u 1 few days the waters tho bay bA clo oil over him hl Sharon brought to tl compelled out of ot othIl hit hIl fortune to stem the tide tae of llio batiks Indebtedness He did hi It with le 1 his usual of and got In II to I the lime light when hel he made good gool hut but U It was the law that made mado him hil do It no nn Impulse of his own Of or tho two to men r n was WIH the lion the tho tiger off the tho partner hll mid fair were ell th two t pythons that colled mound them th 1 In Il the tho thoI of the stock Il mid flushed them to tt death Th hi j Nevada I bank thru became the strong II of or the coast COI t It I was Wil erect erected ed ns n one NUl might say upon the ruins ot If tho of California Tho To latter Inter bank Mas 18 but Lut It I had hn to take second luc The Tho Ills I Four the th Bonanza the lords IC if lauded a al the frt It In the world This WIM a quarter of ur u I century ago ntO tt It brings a u to tu the faces act of the I 11 no 1 11 of the pre ent tl to te think of or such a 1 combination as lS l oln regarded as nl heavy henY weights Ire Pair gut got In uch ball bad odor that No 0 bank ank to get rid of him hll Rr ly I svery II crime In II th catalogue was Wil laid at lt his hl door Fred Smith the miner who help d him run the tho OI t drift I from frol the Curry to tl the Con Cun Virginia was Wil killed hied by II a 1 man lal named nurell Kosser a 1 prize e Fair wag s openly char with bollix holn l the killing to get Hel him out of the way WI and there tle hun hundreds of lIl l t who had been be betrayed o by Jy and unc done up to the ns taste ns they the put It lie I was false to everything Ind everybody and delighted In III duplicity until ulI ho h Wil al always II ways to an n Slippery Jim Im He got cot out of ot the Irr and sold his with wih the th suppo tion that Mackay Wil buying Floods and When ho he that thit he had hod been se Po selected ns os the solitary Individual to tu he ousted Duat In hi plotted his and It came when tho wheat corner I c It I was by h bunk Mrs Irs Mackay was In Paris Parl and dIp h oot lot a tip tl from Irom Gel i I ger Or that ho he was about to plunge l i Into Int war On 01 thu ot oC this tip tl tl I i to develop th the bank atti d to cor I nr the worlds wheat supply and Ind Iler did not lot maU good and the bank w WIH s temporarily crippled with a I lots of oe not nt l 1411 i than thal 1111 lel Fair wore a IL fare the were ere known H Ut met let on Ut the Ihl und hl Il lelu llo John 1 I hear that your 1 distress dl II pal with to r rH H Hit nt the taunt hut but he hp thought of Dm tho thoI I stockholder and d ie t I you Yu Jim whit you ou heur Is IA true How HI much dy I yo 0 lark Irk John I 1 Il n I little loose money I r dont dUIt n led ed for a aspell L spell millions Jim JimOh Oh Ol Is that all ni 1 I thought at first fir t It might be bl Ill II 51 my check for Cl the They Th 1 walked Into u I rK and Fair attaching his hl nam to a he mil million mi lion lon check handed It to Ma kay with wih u 11 0 1 f f Y V j 1 1 I In X 1 n 1 t I 4 if ri 1 r I I I 1 11 1 r J J l j 1 I I IJ 1 I 1 1 I Y 1 1 1 I 1 If I I I 1 l 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 I u l I f if 1 1 1 I j I I I 1 i ij 1 I II 5 j I I I 1 1 I V 1 I I Ij 4 j I V r 1 rI I I I t Y 1 I IY I I 1 1 I I I N X X X X M 0 N r rN FAMOUS HALE AND MINE AT VIRGINIA CITY i chuckle No O Interest Inter l John for the UI first 5 car Thanks Jim Ill Il Rive you ou a 1 Oh noor mind me boy lo words good 00 for a 0 Irle like Hut th t The Interest Fair pot was the th right rl h to saunter lunter along the street and tall tel how hOlY John out of hole hn h pulled poor 00 Olt a I The h loan 1011 however was repaid within W days After tha tho decline In the stocks the of the th grand old 01 began to fado fido rind there la Is now nol hut but one mine the paying dividends however new blood came In Cn has ha tethered th the waters of oC the und enter NI men are going deeper In 11 a hunt for bonanzas below tho 30 level I el I lie ramous Sutro Tunnel Electricity li Is now handling tho floods foods of the tho levels leel and It out through the Sutro tunnel This tunnel derided anil on 01 during KH IK In Inception Is now acknowledged to bo the tho salvation of oC the tho Una WM al nl almost most IOSI penniless 1 when ho h conceived tho Idea of sending a 1 tunnel eight mile mie long Ion Into tho ledge to tap tal It 1100 feet the tho month ot or tho thu shaft shut Tho companies signed his hl cast Iron to pay him n I royalty ro I on onni nil ni ore oro taken out of oC any mint mile on 01 U i I gl after ater tho tunnel reached tho Sav Sn ng He le raised the money mone from the tho Hros Bros of Scotland on al his contracts when ho l red tho goal 1011 of 0 his hie ambition Il with wih his liH work Sharon ond Ind the Hank Bank of at Califor California nia began to light him and later Inter the Bonanza firm joined la III tho battle Jato against t him It I carried to Con Congress COl gress and alli Sutro who never gave ground to any al living man and who never an encounter went tu to close with lh Mt hll antagonist and tt It was n I beautiful battle Nearly every ner In Nevada 1 Shar ons control and the tho abuse ahu e that Sutro rec received would hae driven H 1 le I e game ramI I man to suicide 11 was Wll there nt t the I however und at lt the und end he lie WUI the Ictor He 11 was IU u IL strange man with witha a I rough side d of or hard hl Ho le guve aik d quarter and ther thu lust luH of In him lie liew was savagery hll 11 w welt nt to the tho front rolt with R broad axe and ant |
