, 1884-08-16
M~ACKEYAND HISGABIN
How the Bonanza King Roughed Il
Before Fortune Smiled p
Rough Times and scarcity of Grub
The OPhir wood Pne-Pat
aud the PlacervfnInn- ~
FIapJaeks. no niI


Virginia C1ty Enterprise
in the first months Of 1880, times were
tough on the Coinstock The winter Of 1859
GO was terribly s-vere. as all old settlers will
remember. Supplies could not be brought
over the mountains from California. and be-
fore spring many on the Comstoek went
hungry to bed about three nights in the
week. That winter u jolly crowd made
their headquarters in II cabin that stood ON
the hillside above the Ophir Office, near tho
California shaft, Tho cabin was u sort Of
cave. In e%nteiin' II Jne went down two
u p The root was ,onposed OF a layer OF
brush, II stratum " dir; and over this "a can
vas cover 10 hold it all IN place. The cabin
contained four bunl.s. two on the south and
two on the north sid. John Maekey had The
lower bnnk Ga .ha nnrthside and Alexander
Kenne'iy slept D. The upler one Pat S. Cor
bett at present. United Stats Marshal Coz
bett-and Jack O'Br.en occupied the south
hunks. I.i M m
At that TINE Maci.ey, Kennedy and others
were running the Union tunnel, and were
working every dny. As times grow rough
and grub scarce. tins numher OF dodgers in tho
cabin increased. Jack SiaCaffery was taken
in ON the understanding that he was 10
furnish wood for the household. and Johnnie
Walker in Confederation of his doing all
the cooking. The new comers brought
I AhtAl bAAnhfs0 ANA Neltl NA Int IlbIs ' II
pinia City was then a town Of shanties aud
canvas tents, and it was good to find shelter
anywhere. Lumber being 400 per GOA
feet, palaces were not to be expected
IA the winter wore away provisions OF all
kinds became searco. and famine prices ruled
Cor u time early in ,e spring. For a few
days IA square meal Ndown town" cost a..
Those OF the boys in the cabin who started
In with a little money lad either got TO the
end Of their string in keepingup their part of
thu expenses or had gambled or their coin.
Jack McCaffray, who was to furnish wood,
began 10 make night raids on the wood-piles
OF the neighbofs IN order to keep up his
part OF the cabin supplies, and, tho weather
being cold, he was sometimes prowling about
half the night, though the Ophir wood-pile
was his chief dependence. One stormy night
Jack was 50 long that his cabin-mntes 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 inquirihg whispers they finally got a
faint reply. Following up the sound, they
presently came upon poor Jack. Blinded by
the driving snow, he and a big stick from
the Ophir had tnmtled together into a pros
pect shaft With the stick OF wood on end
nnd Standing on top Of it. Jacks extended
hnnd sill iailed to reach the top of the shaft
by about two feet. He was hauled out.
bruised Il d nearly frozen. Next morning
there wns 10 wood with which to cook break
fast. int Is there was not much to cook, a
board e .wo from the hunks furnished sufi-
| cien, fici.
t.na;Y hunger got into the cabin. and not
a unn s~-ept Mackcy had a cent of money.
An afteiapt to starve the more shiftless into
.Lusa.ns Tor grub" had proved a failure;
the coild 60 nothing, and, laying back on
their ilal.-nt-, gave up like some OF those of
whom We read among the explorers in Arctic
regions. The cook had an easy time OF 1t.
and, ms Sancho Panza says, the bellies OF all
began to think their threats were cut. BY
this time some provisions were beginning to
be packed in, hut prices were fearfully high.
Mackey had just $40 Ieft-it was all the
money lac had in tho world. Here, Pat"
said he 10 Corbett, handing him a 20 and 10
In gold, Ego out and see II you can find u tack
OF flour"
A man had packed in from flacerylle hat
day, and Pat found him near where the
Bank of California now stands. 1t was all
plaza then-all open country and s~agebrush
along the present line Of c street. The
packer had just one ffty-pound sack OF -four
left. The price was S2G. Pat handed the
Plaeervillian the gold, got back 81 in silver,
and shouldering his Hour climbed the hill to
the canon. Mackey took the 81 and giving it
to the cook. sent him in search Of bacon. tea
and sugar. When the hapjacks began TO
brown, and the SAVIOR OF the bacon pervaded
the cabin, the spirits of both the regular
inmates and transient boarders went up to
the fair weather notch, and it seemed that
there was nothing more in the world 10 be
desired