The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1883-03-23
Tombstoue, Arizona.

!
At the begin ming of the year 1877
there was not SO much as tent a
tombstone. ED Schieffelin ans
brother started thther prospecting. 1
was supposed to be an adventure full Of
dangers. At the Santa Rita silver mines
in the Santa Cruz Valley, for instance
by no means SO far away, three superin
tendents had been murdered BY Indians
IN rapid successiop. Friends therefore
said: ''Better take your coffin with you
Ed; you will find your tombstone. and
nothing else" But Ed Schieifelin-s
young man yet, who has not discarded a
picturesque way of dressing of which hi
was fond, nor greatly altered his habits
otherwise-found instead the Tough Nut
and Contention mines. made a great
fortune out Of them, and was so pleased
with the difference between what had
really happened and the prediction tina,
he conferred the name of Tombstone
upon the place itself.
One of the two well-printed d very
creditable daily papers now existing has
assumed the correspondingly dismal title
Of the Epi aph. The unreliability Of ep.
itaphs-if the remark may be safely ven.
tured at this distances proverbial.
Nevertheless, they may occasionally tell
the truth; and from appearance it would
seem that this was one OF those occasions,
and that almost any laudation of its sub.
iect by this particular Epiaph was JUST.
fable. The small city. two years old nj
the date of this journey. had attained tc
population of 1000. and property
valuation. apart from the mines, OF
Sl,050,9S0. A desirable lot of thirty by
eighty feet, on Allen Street, between
Fourth and Sixth -,such was the bust.
ness-like nomenclature already used in
this settlement recently-was worth
$4,000. A shanty that cost fifty dollars
to build rented for fifteen dollars 9
month. A nucleus of many blocks at
the center consisted of substantial, large
sized buildings hotels. banks. Schieife-
lin Hall for meetings and amusements.
and stores stocked with goods of more
than the average excellence for even
older towns.
The mining claims run under the CITY
itself. From the roof of the Grand Hotel
you looked down at the shafts. the hoist
works, and heaps of extracted ore of the
Wilma, the Gilded Age (close by the
Palace Lodging House), the Mountain
Maid, and other mines opening strangely
N the midst of the buildings. This cir
,umstsnce has given rise to disputes of
ownership. so that whoever would be
safe purchases all the conflicting titles
both above ground and below. On a
commanding hill close by, to the south
ward, were the Tough Nut and Conten-
ton, with above them many others dis
covered later. The larger mines have
extensive buildings of wood, painted
Indian red. with handsome draughting
and assay rooms within, and regularly
educated scientists, ex-college professors
and the like, in charge. The lesser are
fain to put up in the beginning with
common sheds and poorer appliances of
every kind. About them all lie heaps of
a blackish material. resembling inferior
coal mixed with slate, which is the silver
ore in its native condition. A laborer
abOve-grounde earned $3.50. and b low
ground four dollars, for u "shift'' OF
eight hours work; and the work went
Oh night and day. Sundays and all.
The outskirts consisted still of huts
and tents. A burly miner could be seen
upon his cot i'm his windowless
cabin barely large enough to contain it.
There were small tents provided with
wooden doors and Adobe chimneys.
New as it was. the business portion of
the place had been swept out of exist
ence at one time. A devastating fire
had originated from a characteristic
incident-the explosion of a whisky
barrel at the Oriental Saloon. But
in fourteen DAYS all had been rebuilt
much better than before. took the
pains to remark the number of establish
ments in single short block of Allen
Street at which intoxicating beverages
could be had. There were the bar
rooms of two principal hotels, the Eagle
Brewery, Cancan Chop House, French
Rotisserie, Alhambra, MaisOn Dore, City
Of Paris, Browns Saloon, Miners:
Home. Keliy's Wine House, the Grotto,
the Tivoli and two saloons besides ap-
parently unnamed. At all these places
goes on without let or hinder
Rnce. The absence of savings banks or
Df other opportunities for depO~itiDg
money in these wild new communities,
and the consequent temptation of having
It always under the eve. no doubt has
to do with the general passion
for gambling. From the hygienic point
Of view, whisky and cold lead are mem
Toned as the leading diseases at Tomb
stone. What with the leisure that seems
% prevail, the constant drinking and gam
bling at the saloons. ID the universal
practice of carrying deadly weapons,
here is but one source of astonishment,
md that is that the cold-lead disease
should claim so few victims. Casualties
IRE very infrequent considering the
amount of vaporish talk INDUCED in. and
he imminent risks that are constantly |
.un; and the small cemetery over to-
ward Contention Hill is still compare
lively virgin ground. Wiiiiam Henry
Risbo,, IN Hrruerss Mfo0zi%,>