Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1872-07-27
Letter from Nevada.

from the great mineral producing section of
our country may be acceptable | will endeavor
to make page or so Of matter to show your
people the progress Of enterprise in this part
of the United States.
The town of Eureka, Lauder county, Nevada,
is rapidly becoming OF great Importance aud II
is IN fact, the now leading mining town III the
State: its rapid growth during the last Two
wears has been owing to the camp itself, and
not to out side capital alone, as Is and has been
the case with nearly all mining camps OH the
Pacific Coast, and also on this side OF the
Scrras. Instead OF being under the necessity
of drawing in capital from other sources, to Gu
able its own support, aud prosperity the
camp has been constantly sending Oft hundreds
of thousands of dollars in the shape of Base Bull
lion, from which it draws self earned revcnu:;
it produces its own capital which is the great
secret of its rapid success. The mines vi the
District have been worked since November
1869, and many Of them have reached consd
cradle depth with ore running all the way FROM
the surface The mineral belt extends for
distance of ten miles aud 1t will require years
| TO develop the immruse deposits ct metals con
tanned within its rauge There are at present
about one thousand good mines which have
been opened, aud the yield Ut ores is constantly
increasing az the mines are developed. The
Richmond consolidated Mining Co., ilimitedl,
the Eureka Miuing Co., the Phenlx Mluiug
Co., the Lemon Mill Co., the Pinto Mill Co.,
the Adams Hill Manufacturing Co., the Star
Consolidated Mining Co. and the Eureka Mining
and Smelling Co., are among the lcadIug Cor.
porations doing business here. The production
of Bullion from the furnaces that have been IN
operation during the past two years has
amounted to about eight or niue thousand tons,
at an average value OF $500, to the ton, OF near
ly three millions of money all told. The year
1872 will give an Increased yield, at the lowest
Gale ulaton, of TWO mllllouS OF dollars. New
claims are constantly bciug discovered and
Lcated, and rich strikes 10 the old mines are OF
every day occurrence The distance to this
camp from the Central Pacific Railroad is ninety
miles over good stage road; daily coach
runs from PaliSade aud the road Is stocked
with fine horses, fifteen hours being the time
made between the two places. The Nevada
TRANSFORMATION Co.'S, and ". i Pritchald' ;
fast freight teams carry nearly all the freight
inland from the Raj road, and the quantty OF
material shipped TO our mining towns Is So
great that Que thousand large teams are cUu
stantIy on the go; this road is the direct route
10 Phoebe, a Furnishing mining town one hun
dred and eighty miles south from Eureka, aud
Hamilton in White Pine county is forty miles
distant; Austin the county scat OF Lauder Is
eighty luiles from Us. We have daily stages
between all these places. Our town Is at pres
ent crowded with strangers, aud business IS very
lively. The political cauldron has already be-
gun to boil, aud Greeley aud Brown seem to be
the most popular candidates. Uucle Horace
will doubtless poll a large vote 10 this section;
| think Greeley would get some votes from the
20 IL. I,,.l ,rh,t rad r
DAYS since when gentleman in our camp in.
tcrviewcd one of the tribe, and asked him if he
understood what the excitement Was which now
stirred the political world, and the Indian re-
pIed 'Oh yes, me heap see him, me heap
understand htap Greeley, heap big lnjln.
The mines Of Nevada are drawing attention
from all quarters OF the globe, and the mining
towns of eastern Nevada are destined, at no
distant day, to be the great centre Of Il larger
trade, and OF more importance to merchants,
aud other business men, than of any other pOr
ton of the United States. Mining is a business
that when conducted in a proper manner, Is less
risky than any other OF great national Industries;
the product of the mines Is less liable to hlctua-
ton in value than that ofother branches of indus
try. Our metals are always welcome in the worlds
markcts at standard value. ard are not affect
ed by supply and demand as are the products
hard experience, our furnace and milling men
have learned the best uiude Of treating the
raw material as it is taken ont OF the earth, and
the process of smelling and crushing ores has
Teen brought to such nice point aud Is So
quickly gone through with, that the profits OF
a mining business have wonderfully Increased in
comparison with past times. Mining camps
are fast losing the reputation of being rough
aud unpleasant places Of residence, as has for
mer!y been the case; we are drawing a better
class of people around US. Eureka. although
containing fur or five thousand inhabitants, is
noted for the orderly behavior of its cllz"ns
generally; il is true that the boys sometimes take
aboard a little too much of the Sheep hcrderS
delight" aud occasionally come To blows and
some of the sporting community Will now ami
then quarrel over a horse-race, or prize hight.
frequently ending their disputes by making a
deposit of buckshot or bullets in each other $
bodies but beyond this the quiet AMI peace OF
our town is not disturbed. We buried man
to-day who was killed on the street the other
morning while carrying breakfast to wounded
companion who was shot day or two before.
But such occurrences are looked upon as mat
tiers Of course in mining camp, and create but
little surprise The Press publishes the par
ticulars, the subject is discussed for day or
two on the streets, then the act is allowed to
Drop and is only revived when similar occur
renee takes place.
We have one Episcopal and one Catholic
Church; the former is we'll attended and has
lately added a good many to its congrega-
ton Our Bishop REV 0. ". Whitaker)
paid US a short visit on Wednesday OF last
week, and delivered most eloquent sermon TO
one Of the largest congregations we have ever
gotten together, and after his OBSCURE, admin,
issered the rite of confirmation to thirteen
persons.
Having written more than at first intended,
I will close and perhaps you may hear from
me again, at time when shall be able to
give you more interesting letter.
Yours truly, SAGE BRUSH