The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1884-08-07
MACKEY AND HIS CABIN.
How the Bonanza King Roughcd IL
Before Fortune Smiled on Him.

Before Fortune Smiled on Him.
In the first months Of 1860 times were
tough on the Com5tock. The winter of
1890 was terribly severe, as all old
settlers well remember, Supplies could
not be brought over the mountains from
California, and before spring many on
the Comstock went hungryto bed about
three nights in the week. That winter
II Jolly crowd made their headquarters
in n cabin that stood on the hillside
above the Ophir office, near the Cali
fornia shaft The cabin was q sort of
cave. In entering it one went down
two steps. The roof was composed of
q layer of brush, stratum of dirt and
over this q canvas cover to hold it all
in place. The cabin contained four
hunks, two on the South and two on
the north side. John Mackey had tho
bunk on the north side, and Alexander
Kennedy slept in the upper one Pat
5. Corbett-at present United States
Marshal COrbett-and Jack O'Brien
occupied the south hunks.
AT that time Mackey, Kennedy and
others were running the old Union Tun-
mel, and were working every day
As TIMES GREW ROUGH
and grub scarce, the number of dodgers
in the cabin increased Jack McCalIery
was taken in on the understanding that
he was to furnish wood for the house
hold, and Johnnie Walker in considera-
ton of his doing all the cooking. The
newcomers brought their blankets and
slept on the floor. Virginia City was
then town of brush shanties and can
vas tents, and it was good to find
shelter anywhere. Lumber being $500
per 1000 feet, palaces were not to be
expected.
As the winter wore away provisions Of
all kinds became scarce, and famine
prices ruled for time early in the
spring. For few days q square meal
down town. cost 81. Those of the
boys in the cabin who started in with n
little money had either got to the end
of their string in keeping up their part
of the expenses or had gambled of their
coin.
Jack McCaffery, who was to furnish
wood, began to make night raids on
the wood piles of the neighbors in
order to keep up his part of the cabin
supplies, and, the weather being cold.
he was sometimes prowling about half
the night, though
THE oPHR WOOD PILE
was his chief dependence. One stormy
nirht Jack was gone so long that his
cabin mates grew uneasy about him.
johnny Walker, the cook, said Jack
had whispered in his ear as he left
that he was going to the Ophir wood
pile. A search party was sent out, and
to their inquiring whispers they finally
got faint reply. Following up the
sound, they presently came upon poor
Jack. Blinded by the driving snow,
he and big stick from the Ophir had
tumbled together into 4 prospect shaft.
With the stick of wood on end and
standing on top of it, Jacks EXTENDED
hand still failed to reach the top o
the shaft by about two feet. He wa.
hauled out, bruised and nearly frozen
Next morning there was no wood with
which to cook breakfast, but rs there
was not much to cook, board or two
from the hunks furnished sufficient
fuel.
Finally, hunger. got into the cabin,
and not n man except Mackey had n
cent OF money. An attempt to starye
the more shiitless into
'HUsTLING FOR GRUB
had proved failure; they could do
nothing, and, lying back on their
blankets, gave up, like some Of those
of whom we read among the explorers
in arctic regions The cook had an
easy time Of it, and, as Sancho Panza
SAYS, the bellies of all began to think
their throats were cut. BY this time
some provisions were beginning to be
packed in, but prices were fearfully
high. Mackey had just $50 leit-it was
all the money he had in the world.
Here, Pat said he to Corbett, hand
ing him a % and a 10 in gold, go
out and see if you can find sack Of
-four
A man had packed in from Placer
vile that day, and Pat found him near
where the Bank of California now
stands. 1t was ALPACA then-all open
country and sagebush along the present
line OF c street. The packer had just
one pound sack of flour left The
price was $40. Pat handed the Placer
william the gold, got back 81 in silver,
and, shouldering his flour climbed the
hill to the cabin. Mackey took the 81,
and giving it to the cook, sent him in
search Of bacon, tea, and sugar. When
the flapjacks began to brown, and the
SAVIOR OF the bacon peryaded the cabin,
tho spirits of both the regular inmates
and transient boarders went up to the
fair weather notch, and it seemed that
there was nothing moro in the world
to be desired. - ViT0iRiG CUY Enter