Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1877-01-14
THE RAILROAD TEAMS.
DREAM CHARCOAL HAULING.
Where the Freight Goes to.
EUREKA AS A TERMINUS.
Capital In vested and Men Employed.
INTERESTING STATISTICS.

We hto hCCuStOiiicu, Wucu TeieTTlDE
to the u of Eureka, to base our
ideas Of business and wealth exclu-
sively on the mining interest; and we
are in a measure right in SO doing, for
without that to lean upon, we should
cut but a sorry figure. There are
other elements that enter largely into
our daily interests, and are respectable
factors in the sum total of the future.
The principal of these, and the one we
propose to refer to in this article, is the
freight business-the capital invested,
supplies used and labor employed, and
the statistics will prove that they are
by no means inconsiderable, but
amount to more than one who only
casually notices the huge teams on our
streets would credit. The completi on
this place made Eureka the point of
departure TOR all merchandise, mining
supplies, ETC., consumed in the south
ern portion Of the State. with the ex-
ception Of Austin, which latter town
transships from Battle Mountain.
When Phoebe was at the height of her
prosperity the bulk OF f~reighting was
done to that place, but since the de-
cline Of that once prosperous mining
camp the trade has been diverted 10
other and younger communities, and
at the present wiring Ward City,
Typo, Belmont and Hamilton share
the business.
In the early days of California moth
ing excited the
auriosity of the E~mlgrant.
Accustomed to the two and four.horse
teams of his native village, sc mnch as
the huge teams that loaded at Sacra.
mento and Stockton for the mines, and
on his return to his home his state
ments in regard to the prairie schoon-
ers and their outfits were received IA
grdno sails, and set down as a travel
er's yarn. To think of the feat Of
coupling three wagons together, and
hitching twelve or fourteen mules to
them a. - motive power, was prepos-
ferrous, but they were mere pleasure
teams compared to the outfits that roll
out OF Eureka to-day-snd our char.
coal teainsters would look OH them
with contempt.
The outfit of one Of our freight
teams are four ponderous wagons, the
largest weighing eighteen hundred
pounds, and the back actions las thos @
coupled in the rear are technically
termed) twelve hundred each. The
motive power consists of from sixteen
To twenty mules, animals selected for
their size and proportions, and an ex-
fVx AN lad In tho raar in naSo nf uRei-
dent or casualty to the cam, aud two
men todrive and take care OF the outfit
at the various stations. The wagons
are supplied with tools of all kinds,
extra harness, pole, etc, and eight
casks OF a capacity of forty gallons
each, to carry a supply OF water over
the arid deserts which are traversed
en- route; add to this a cooking appa-
ratus, and provisions for man and
beast, and 1t will be seen that the nee
sssary outfit for n journey that often
consumes n month are respectable in
quantity.
The Forwarding Of Freight
Is principally in the hands of the Rail
road Company-although there are
other parties in the business-it having
bought Pritchand's teams and interest
and operate In connection with the
railroad. The number Of teams kept
on The road varies with the amount of
freight offered; but it has a cap
ital of $4,000 invested, owns 1870 wag-
ous $50 horses and mules, and employs
over 100 men in that particular branch
Of its business. The teamsters are paid
81 60 per day, and hostlers and labor
ers from 50 to 50 30. Tho stables, cor
rails, wagon and blacksmith shops are
situated in close proximity to the
freight depot, north of town. The COM
pany provides a clearinghouse for
The accommodation OF its employees.
There are others who share the trade,
among whom Is MIR, Garrison, who
employs seven wagons and thirty-two
mules. The other teams engaged will
amount to at least twenty wagons and
one hundred animals, besides
Tho mormon stragglcrs.
Who bring in a load Of truck, garden
sass, chickens, etc., to Eureka, and
pick up q load of freight back to holp
pay expenses. Turning from the
freighting business proper to our local
traf1c, we ma the same nuse ou,h,s
engaged in hauling ore from the mines
to the furnaces and delivering char
coal from the mountains. The first has
received a serious blow by the extension
Of railroad facilities, but there are
many mines situated so that even a
narrow gauge railroad cannot climb to
them and teams will always be re-
quired. The largest operator in THU
line has been w. b. Harrub, who
owned about thirty wagons and one
hundred and twenty animals, EN-,
ployed twenty mon and had invested
from $4,000 to $4,000. There are
about the same number owned by
different individuals, each team repre-
senting an investment of from $4,000 t
$1,000. Wepass from this to the teams
, engaged in
Hauling Charcoal Exclusively,
And here we find that the business il
carried on the same large scale ant
the outfits of a like proportion
II has been almost impossible
to co,late statistics on this subject, bu