| Show OVA V S 'S FAMOUS MINING STRIKES DJ By THOMAS E E. E STEWARD I s s. The Com Comstock tack Lode WHEN WIlEN John 0 a afterwards afterwards after- after Y Y wards the first candidate for tor president of ot the youthful party passed overland through the Sierras Sierral to California his phie Tildo was the redoubtable Kit Carson CarBon Carson was one of at the tho most meat famous of or nil ail the theold theold old frontiersmen and anI It was In his honor bonor that the Carson valley of Nevada Nevada Nevada Ne Ne- vada was named In this valley soon Boon after trip trill there came to light one of ot the richest strikes of mm- mm era treasure the world has hall ever eer known It wits the famous Comstock lode winch which produced millions In wealth and established the tho fortune of ot many families still prominent Fremont made his trip In 1844 ISH It was five Q years jears later inter In 1840 18 that the great rush to California's newly ne discovered dis dis- covered gold fields IMd began and It was the tho pull of the limo California gold Jold that caused t the le first discoverer of the great grest Carson valley treasure to leave I It for tor what lie he hoped would je better betterIn In the Golden state tate This man was Will William a n young Mormon who stopped In the Carson valley on his hll way n West lie He used tiled a milk pan to wash out what looked like promising pay puy dirt dirt and the results were were far tar from tram discouraging nut But he gave gae up the reality for tor hopes topes of ot richer strikes farther on on Yet news of oC this strike spread pread Next Nest ext year a 11 party of ot Mexicans Mexicans cans rans put In tn an nn appearance and spent several months washing gold until their supplies gave gove out Hy Ity then the place shad had Iad been named Gold canyon but there was no ration nation that lint It U was to reveal an en almost Incredible wealth partly In to In Ingold gold but chiefly In sliver silver One day a miner by the name of James 1 unco ered n it n more profitable profitable profit profit- able claim than usual Soon after litter a wandering Canadian Can by the name of or Henry Comstock took a claim near neat In May 1350 Patrick and Peter Onney staked a claim near those of ot Finney and C Comstock and Immediately realized that lint they had made their fortunes A black and crumbly kind of ore with which neith neith- er or of ot them was vas familiar crumbled Into gold In their hands hand and their crude type rocker washers ashen showed heavy henvy deposits de des posits of precious preciouS' metal after every load had been washed They TheT had ha made the tile big strike nut Hut no sooner sonner had they gone gOlle to work In dead earnest than Comstock reappeared null nullon on the flimsiest basis demanded a share In their claim on a technicality te having to todo do with the claim he lie had hod staked out This they granted In this way woy It came about that Comstock's name went down Into history as ns that of the famous Comstock lode though he did not discover It and was let Into th the final strike on a n basIs that lint looked p extremely ex films flimsy more because the dis c coverers feared to lose nil all of or such a arIch arich arich rich claim and yielded without argument argument ment When the crumbly black gold goltl was wad taken to San Francisco for tor a scientific analysis It was proved to have a yield of ot 1000 a n ton of ot ore In sliver and In gold something never never matched elsewhere All who staked taked claims along the famous lode became wealthy In time Jig except those who sold out at relatively low prices to pocket a quick profit |
