Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1872-01-31
A CITY.

Our readers all remember the great
Excelsior or Meadow Lake excitement
OF some halfa dozen years ago, when
ambitious crowds of fortune hunters
went rushing with bag and baggage
over the Hcnuess Pass route, among
the tall pines, tamaracks and perpetual
SHOWS of the Sierra Nevada. Summit
City, on the borders Of the pretty little
Meadow Lake, sprang up from amid
fresh pine stumps, developed into a
big itown with broad streets, big ho-
tells, fine drinking saloons and two
hurdy houses, all in the space Of six
weeks. Gold Hill and Virginia were
both plentifully represented, not only
in the town but throughout the Dis
trict. Everybody made plenty Of To-
cations, and nobody felt sure Of his
fortune unless he had fleet In EX-
celsIor. where the lodges were all rich.
We know how It was ourself, for we
saw the elephant, from stem to stern,
and invested all on reportorlal earn
ings therein, forthwith, and suose-
uuent assessments kept us continually
broke for three years afterward, till
we got s'froze out" entirely. The
Grass Valley Union OF January 18TH,
thus tells the present status Of things
" over In Excelsior
Meadow Lake city, which was c
called Summit city, boosted In the
DAYS gone by, Of q population OF $4,000
or 1000 souls. In its day Of prosperity
II had fine stores, good hotels, thea
ters. aloons in number, and an Ex-
change at which mining stocks were
sold. Meadow Lake city was 4 second
Virginia City. and attempted TO revive
the good days Of WaShoe, the nush
times of the Comstock lead. In 1865,
We think it was, some persons found
collaborating rock In some lodges near
Meadow Lake, and these being as
saved and the assays being talked
about, the city Of Summit or Meadow
Lake was born. 1t sprung up, ike
Jonah's gourd, in n night, and 1t has
withered. In the excitement which
followed the discovery Of quartz spect-
mems around Meadow Lake, line
houses were erected. and business
promised to DO brisk. The lodges,
however, failed to yield up their
treasures "by mill process n
neople became dlsheartened. The
sancuiue held on In hopes that chem
istry would get the gold out OF tne
rock where mechanism had JAILED:
The ores were rebellious, 1t is said, and
the ordinary appliances Of stamps and
quicksilver would not ave the gold OF
those rich lodges. Chemistry would
find a way to get the richness out OF
the rock. "Old people saw signs and
Young people dreamed dreams In ef-
forts to save that gold. The Burns
process was invented In n dream to
save gold, and for n time Meadow
Lake City continued to hold Its W In
the hone of tho success Of the Burns
dream. 1t failed, and the doubterS be-
can to intimate that the gold was mo-
in the rock, and the aSsayers were
wrong or had been imposed upon.
Mills, chemicals, and even dreams
failed to make mining there q success.
Science, mechanics and the black art
had each failed In its turn to turn the
rock into gold. SO the city went down
and il nov deserted. a few days ago
4 friend of ours visited Meadow Lake
city. He went up on snow shoes and
took a look at the deserted and nov
covered place. The houses, which
were only one story in height, were
covered to their roofs with snow. Inc
two-story houses were surrounded with
snow to the second story. Not n liv-
ing being was seen by him: he was
monarch of that snowy desolation.
Signs swung in the cold wind, and Just
grazed in their swinging II surface OF
the snow. Prominent among the signs
was that Of brokers' office, just oppo-
site the old hall Of the Board OF Bro
kers. The large hotel there was yet
furnished, and beds and bedding re-
mained there. Our friend standing IN
his snow shoes gazed into the hotel
while he stood on the snow surface,
level with the second story, and he saw
clean linen on the deserted beds. He
wanted to take 4 rest In tho comforta-
bic looking quarters, but there was no
fuel or food in sight, and he had to go
down lower to n ditch tenders cabin
to Get fire and appeass his hunger.
Many of the houses have this Winter
been broken down by the weight Of
snow on their roof, but many moro
remain lust as they were when their
II left. The property deserted Is
safe, rs cold and snow have locked all
against the depreciation Of burglars.
Meadow Lake is n Winter residence no
more.