Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1885-01-28
TINES IN NEVADA.
ANOTHER SILVER STRIKE NEEDED
TO BOLSTER UP THE STATE.
The Population Dimin.shin. and Costly
Mining Machinery Standing Lido
II the Old Constock Lode DE-
fnitively Played Out:
Virginia City Ger. New York SUM-

Virginia City Ger. New YORK sun
Nevada is deserted mining camp which
has two United States senators and one con-
gresham. Its ups and downs have coin
cided with the ups AMI downs OF its mines
When they yielded well its towns have been
full, its business houses prosperous and its
people cJmparatively numerous. When
they have produced little or nothing 1t has
gone into the dumps, rs /. now Is, and
everything that has pertained to 1t has put
on s1ckclo.h and ashes, and awaited the
next strike
II Nevada is ever called upon - decide
presidential election for this country, the
beauty Of the creation Of SUCH states will be
apparent 10 the dullest observer. In the
last campaign, If Indiana and Connecticut
had voted For Blaine, AMI if Cleveland had
carried the southern states and New Jersey
and New York, Nevada would have hsd the
deciding vote. I: could have naned the
president. The people here expect some day
that such q situation will arise, that IT will
be discounted before election, and that the
struggle which will take place for the
supremacy here will pay bctt'-- than
bonanza There are now only E.-o voters
in the state. a decrease Of 5000 since the
last presidential election. II M more big
silver discoveries are made, lSoS viii find 1t
with population still further roIuc,i.
The conditions which obtain in Nevada are
such as cannot be found elsewhere in Amer
lea. Everything depends upon the mining
industry. One of the largest states in the
Union in a territorial sense. the few people
who live in it ara gathered together in the
mining camps and save for one or two fer
tile valleys, the entire state is wilderness,
dest ned TO remain such forever Silver
must be fouJ I'd here or nobody will live here.
As IT IS lille to expect that the precious
metal will always b, produced in paying
quantities, it is plain that the time must
some time come when Nevada, as a state,
will be even more Of whitei sepulcher than
1t now Is 1t maintains its present pre:el-
sions only because the various mining COM
ranies are continually prospecting, and there
is bare chance that some Of them may
make strike of sufficient magnitude to put
things on their feet once again
This is not the frat time that Nevada has
been in the slough of despond, or that it
has been predicted that the Comstock was
played out. During the Hale & Norcross
and Gould & Curry excitements, from 1868
TO 1865, the state filed up with miners and
adventures TO the number OF 10, 90 or more.
As the mines showed signs OF exhaustion.
there was q stampede, and not more than
e.G9 people remained Houses were moved
away or burned down, and men sold wat
they could not move for a SOM. The next
great boom occurred vixen Jones, the pres
emit senator, unear;hed tho Crown Point
mine Jones was foreman Of the Goul; &
Curry mine. AMI considering the prospects
good below that property, toward Coll Hill.
no located cain which liz called the
Crow Point. lie got capital only with the
greatest difficulty, ami from the first lie
met and overcame financial obstacles whici.
seemed almost insuporable. Early in
1871, while Jones was drawing sal
airy of $3.50 q month from the dis.
heartened holders OF the n, 900 shares Of
Crown Point, and the stock was selling at Is
to 80 cents, an as essment Of 50 cents a share
was levied. There was general refusal T.
pay on the part Of III, stockholders aDi
when the sixty days went by the grea, bulk
of the stock was defauitei on
In the mean tina rich Ledge had be.:i
struck at the mine, and when the announ O.
ment was made public soms days after the
default, the stock jumped 10 81 ,oo0 share.
Enormous masses of ore were taken out and
dividends of $40 were pail This mine finally
ran into the Belcher, III which Sharon. Mil.
AMI tie Bank OF California made great
fortunes, but when that was exhaus t.,i
paralysis again seized upon the state AMI the
depre sion became universal. Towns Of 10
900 to 5000 people diel away into mere
hamlets and people became convinced
once more that the C,'nlStock was exhausted
they turned toward more promising fields
In 1913 James G.. Fair, who was superin-
tendent of the Gould Il Curry, fornleti al al
lance with Mackry and Flood and secured
control of solGe abandoned claims north OF
the Gould & Curry embracing about 2.Uo
feet Of ground Fair conceived the idea az
running drift north from the Gould q
Curry into these claim, at depth Of I,j1o
feet. No compan es Were organizei at first,
but eventually they formed the Consolidated
Virginia ami tae California Without max
ing any shaft from the surface they rag
their drift north, as originally intend d. AMI
came upon the biz BONANZA, a deposit G;
silver OF uneXsmplcd richness, from which.
more than 5000, 000, 900 was taken
Tie excitement caused by ills discovery
was prodigious. Mining properties of every
kind went ballooning. A,ses3Inent. were
levied and paid vita promptnhss and the
various camps fll.eI up once more with
miners, prospectors, spectators, gamblers
and all manner Of tradesmen Virginia
Ci.y became a town Of 3o,O0J people.
vita many Of the advantages of a me-
tropolis. Every body hal money. The sutro
tunnel was built. Mining machinery Of the
most expensive kind was put in and appear
ances indicated that the state had entered on
a permanent prosperity. Then the bonanzas
died out. For long time hope was kept
4, ILL,
nels, shafts, sni drifts were dug. Lower AMI
lower the miners descended until they ha
gone 3, 90 below the earth's surface but moth
ing was found In the meantime the other
mines had not been yielding much, and an
other siege OF hard times began to stare the
people in The face Orc by one they drew
out. First the big''capitAii,ts, then the gam
blers and sports. and last the workinsmea
AMI women and tradesmen vanished, until
now Virginia City does NOT boast more than
5000 people, all told, and the entire state has
not more than 81, 90 white inhabitants
Once again the impression is general that
the Comstock is played out There must to
another strike soon, or the suspicion VIII be-
come conviction.
Just now the prospecting is going oa
everywhere, on the surface, and deeper ani
INTO Ils ppNciS az tue tdrlH. vi tnt
forty mines in the state, only few ars max
ing any pretence Of working Hunlre = 81
thousands O; dollars worth OF machinery
Is standing idle. The various Companies
continue their assessment on Stockholders
OF a few cents a share 10 keep UP son. APP
pearance OF activity and prevent outsider
from coming in and jumping their claims.
II one mine st,euli make lucky strike every
other one wo-lld Immediately levy heavy
assessment il would ts paid without grliIn-
bling. and money would once again be tres
as water. On such slenier thrsa Is a thee
doe tts future of Nevada as state depend
Unfair Photography.
IChrouicle 'CntertoneS''
! think bill ought 10 te passed limiting
the applications of science The fact Is that
all our most cherished ideas are purely i'm
aginetive, AMI hard facts IN every depart
ment OF life are either annoying or danger
GUS Here, Photography going il nov.
This instantaneous picture business i uri just.
unfair and entirely destructive Of every
rhiur tat s,f,r. cod and 81 q ari-fy-