Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1874-10-04
MINING REMINIsCENCE.
From the Idaho World |

cence of early times in Idaho, clip
ped from the columns of the St.
Louis Globe. The Globes informa-
ton upon Idaho subjects is none of
the best, and Its reminiscence will
not, therefore, be valuable to Idaho
ans for its instructiveness; and will
be read by the survivors of the
grim years of '63 and ga and '65,
more for the sake of smile at it's
historic blunders than for its historic
value. 1t is quite true that the pop
ulation OF Boise county at that time
was made up of about as lawless a
collection of the genus homo as has
ever been attracted to any single
locality. They reverenced nothing,
feared nothing, not even the vigil
antes, and murder, instead of being
of rare occurrence, was favorite
pastime. Loon Creek had not been
discovered; Whites Exchange was
chief of hundred saloons in the
city, and an outlaw known as
:" Judge" May was Prosecuting
Attorney. But there was still in
the great mass of folly and wicked
ness and crime working, leaven of
goodness and purity, which remain
ed throughout all uncontaminated,
untarnishea, and has brought social
order and lOveliness out of disor-
der and devilishness which was in
.describable, and which cannot be
recalled to mind without shudder.
The summer OF '65 was lively up
in the Idaho gold diggings, and
many are the tales still told of events
which transpired at that time. As
soon as the water began to fail the
miners commenced to knock off
work and gather into town, and by
the first of August Idaho City was
filled with as rough and restless a
class of men as it is possible to
gather in any part of the world. In
blissful ignorance of Sunday laws
or other artificial regulations insti-
tuted for the purpose of prescribing
the natural freedom of man, this
motley population followed each the
bent of his own inclination. They
reverenced nothing, and they feared
nothing, except the vigilantes, but
rough as were the elements compos-
ing the community, a downright
murder or robbery was rare oc-
currence.
The season had been an unusually
prosperous one, and the number of
big runs made was the subject of
general oongratulation among the
fortunate owners of hydraulic
claims. A party of miners had just
come in from Loon Creek, where |
they. had been taking out some |
"right good sacks of coarse gold,
and their nuggets were the admira-
ton of everybody. The boys on
Ophir Greek had realized handsome
ly in "rocker ground" and and
we're, to a man, as full of sport and
money as could be desired by the
urbane proprietors of the
NUMEROUS LITTLE GAMES.
p That were in operation about town.
The men who had quit work gen.
orally provided themselves with
new store suits and fine boots imme-
diately on their arrival in town, and
after a pilgrimage to the hot springs
for a bath, and short interview
with the barber they were considered
to be dressed for any company they
were likely to fall in with. Every
night they visited the dance-houses
and took spin around the floor
with the girls and every night they
changed in an ounce or two at the
faro or monte tables, generally fill
ing out the evening with short ses-
sion of seven-up or old bluff, just to
thoroughly test the luck of the day.
Verify, times were good that sum
mer, for everybody had plenty of
money, and no one was afraid to
spend it. All were intent on the
endowment of the hour, in genuine
mountain style, and held themselves
ready for a game, a frolic, or hight,
on any and all occasions. Shooting
affairs were frequent, and although
each man was supposed to go always
"heeled," there were occasional IN
stances which couldn't be healed.
Under these enlivening influences
Idaho City was thriving town, and
even the little graveyard on the bar
enlarged its limits, and disposed OF
vacant lots with great rapidlty for
time.
OF the noted institutions of the
place Rube Peyton's saloon was the
crowning glory. 1t was long, spa
cious establishment, provided with
billiard table,
FARO AND MONTE BANKS,
And all the modern improvements.
The bar was marvel of backwoods
art, was bullet proof, and was stock.
ed with the choicest and rarest, not
to say the finest, brands Of liquors
which could be found in Frisco. In
the centre of the room stood an I'M
mense box-stove, surrounded by an
iron rail for the loafers to rest their
feet on, and all around were ranged
side-tables for the convenience OF
card parties. A young darkey was
continually flying around, straight
ening up the chairs and running on
errands from one point to another,
while Rube stalked placedly about
smoking black navy plug In .
gold-mounted meerschaum, en-
iovipu fboso ,,;piuU tiu1aS of peace,