Pioche daily record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1872-1876, 1875-01-14
THE PIOCHE Hills.
Experiences Of the Pioneers in the
Nevada Timing Regions.
The CO E1ges that q Dozen Years
Have Wrought.

From the St. Louis Republican,
Phoebe, the scene of one of the great.
est mining excitements ever known west
of the Rocky mountains, is situated $50
miles south Of the Central Pacific Rail.
road, in the extreme southeastern part Of
the State OF Nevada, corner Of the
world, it may be remarked, which pre-
SCENTS few attractions to pedestrians and
summer tourists. The surface OF the
surrounding country is diversified with
an ingenious tangle of rugged mountain
spurs, the intervening depressions con-
sisting of alkali deserts which support q
struggling growth of sage-brush, grease
wood and jack rabbits. Through two or
three sinuous valleys freight roads have
been constructed. but with such widely
distant watering places, scant feed and
heavy grades as to work complete dis.
enlargement to the most philosophical
mule that ever carried pack. Though
the hardy prospectors of the Sage
brush State" penetrated this wilderness
and discovered promising surface indica.
tons of "pay rock as early as 1860 or
1861, they encountered unparalleled diff
culties in the way of every effort to
profit by their discoveries. Hostile In.
dian tribes and scarcely less hostile Nor
mons covered the country about, hold
ing every avenue of approach and oppos-
ing the progress OF every pioneer with
such violence that it was long before q
secure Judgment was effected in the
Phoebe hills, and years elapsed before
any considerable Roadway was made to.
ward developing the hidden wealth of
the district.
Rich lodes were at length opened,
however, and it SO happened that the
two best lodges ever discovered in that
district were among the first to he extern
sively worked. They fell into the hands
Of skilful mining operators who were
versed in the ways Of manipulating stock
companies, and soon the praises of
Raymond e. Ety." and Meadow Val.
ley" were on the lips of every miner in
the West, while the voice of Uncle Billy
Raymond was one of the loudest to be
heard in the San Francisco stock board.
The excitement was unprecedented and
drew from every quarter the usual rush
OF Adventures. Through the seasons OF
TO n and 70, Phoebe was admitted to
be the most prosperous of all the Nevada
mining camps. There was work for
every man and wages from 81 to Sc a
day in coin. Everybody had money, and
everybody scattered it about freely. I'm.
mense trains of freight wagons aud long
professions of pack animals were daily
arriving and unloading freight ut the nu.
merous stores, and as soon as they were
paid off the jolly freighters hurried away
to swell the receipts of some saloon with
their hard.earned wages and help to
make things lively. Saloons and gam.
bling houses, built in solid blocks, were
nightly thronged, and the heterogeneous
population waited impatiently for their
turns to swing the bold.eyed hurdy girls
in the dance.houses. From every quar-
ter of the land adventures came. There
were merchants, capitalists, spectators,
stock operators, miners, prospectors,
teamsters, sports, swindlers and desper-
ADDE'S in about equal proportions. The
great Utah mining discoveries, which
became prominent about the same time,
drew large part Of the capital seeking
investment in mines, but the rigid vipi.
lance of the Mormon officers Of justice
extremely distasteful to the rough ele-
ment, which therefore naturally found
its way down to Phoebe. Swarms of no.
t0rious characters for whom the noun.
taineers Of Idaho and Montana had no
further use, and at the mention of whose
names the ranchmen OF California and
Oregon mechanically shook the kinks
out of their riatas, sought the new.found
FL Dorado a. the most congenial field in
which to find excitement and lose their
worthless lives. OF course, in such u
population there was frequent clashipe
of personal interests, usually resulting in
bloody encounters between men who EN-.
braced an opportunity to fight as often
az it offered--much as child drinks