St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-05-10
THE BONANZA KINGS.
How the Famous Millionaires Of the Paci-
flo Coast Made Their MINIS
of Money.
Beginning Life as Day Laborers and Sa-
lOonkeepers-0pportunities
Improved.

Beginning Life as Day Laborers and Sa-
loonkeepers- opportunities
Improved.
Mr.. Fairs Quick Perception of the
Value of New Mechanical
Contrtvances.
The four bonanza kings were Fair, Flood,
Mackay. and O'Brien,- all Irishmen and all
Catholics, -writes Richelieu in the Brook
lyn Eagle. James Graham Fair, United
States senator from Nevada, whose resi-
dence is given as Virginia City, was born
Dec. 5, 1881, at Clogher, in the county of
Tyrone, Ireland, near the birthplace of
Archbishop Hughes. When 10 years of
age he came to this country with his pa
rents. and settled in Illinois, where he re-
ceived his education at Geneva and Chicago.
lie paid attention more particularly to sci
entihc pursuits, which served him we'll in
his after life of mining. He quite
naturally took the gold fever, and in 1S49, at
the age of Is, he went to California, over
land, where he engaged in mining for ten
or eleven years. He went to Nevada in
1860, and has since had his residence there,
engaging in mining and constructing water
works and immense quartz mills. Nevada
was then portion of Utah. and was not
organized as a separate territory till March
2, 1861. 1t then had population of 40, 900,
not one-third of the population of one of
our congressional districts, and had not
perceptibly increased when it was admitted
as state March 25, 1864. James w. Nye
coin governor of the new ter
ritory, and continued as such till
1864. when it was admitted as one of the
states and he became one of its first SEN
ators with William NJ. Stewart as his col
league. John c. Cradlebaugh of Carson
City was its first delegate, whose success
sors were Gordon n. Mott and Henry G.
WOrthington, the latter becoming its first
representative on its admission as state,
Delos r. Ashley succeeding him in that
capacity. In 1867 Mr.. Fair formed part
nership with John w. Mackay. James c.
Flood and William S. OBrien. This firm
purchased the control of the
BoNANZAs AND OTHER MINES
which under the superintendency of Mr..
Fair yielded $500, OOO 900 of gold and sill
yer. He was also largely interested in real
estate and buildings in San Francisco and
in manufactures on the Pacific coast. He
was elected as senator from Nevada for
term OF six years, commencing March 4,
1881, to succeed William Sharon, Republi-
can. He is said to be worth over $40. 0OO,-
600 in personal property. When Mr.. Fair
first arrived in California he went to min
ing with the simplest machinery on Feather
river, and in various parts of California
met such success in moderate way as to
keep him intent on larger projects. Mr..
Flood was his first partner in successful
mining business. tits said he owned about
seventy acres of land in the city of San
Francisco, and has been building in the most
costly part of the city prinoely residence
to cost million dollars. He also had AN
elegant rural residence at Menlo park. Mr..
Fair is quick to perceive the value of new
mechanical appliances, and ingenious in
putting them to their best use. He is skill
full in detecting and following up the indi-
cations of ore. Old miners used to say
Fair had a fine nose for ore." The dark
galleries of the mines are open books to
him. In his superintendency he was in all
parts of the mines day and night, and no
Sinking of labor was possible under him.
He was an autocratic master, and as many
desperate characters as were collected
around him from all parts of the world he
governed with a firm hand and an unrelent-
ing purpose. Many were the fears ex-
pressed for his personal safety, but he was
a just employer, and for honest work
there was prompt and liberal pay
1t was on Jan. II, 1871, that the four kings
mounted the throne of the Big Bonanza.
Mr.. Fair took prominent part in the di-
rection. The work OF sinking prospective
shaft was projected aid rapidly pushed. A
thin seam of ore was detected, and Mr.
Fair Traced it foot by foot through more
than hundred feet, as a thread leading to
clew. Sometimes it narrowed to mere
film of clay, but it never was lost to the
keen eye of Mr.. Fair. Many thought it
will O. the wisp. MI. Fair was taken sick
and retired for month Work was con-
tinued in his absence, but without success
In February, 1878, vein of ore seven feet
in width was cut, widening to twelve feet.
The shaft was then no feet Deep The
air was foul and hot for lack of ventilating
draft. although fresh air was forced in by
powerful blowers. The lid of the Big Be-
nanZa was taken off.
NEVER IN THE HISTORY OF TIME
was such treasure uncovered. The bo-
nanza was cut at point 1,167 feet below
the surface, and pierced again as the shaft
went down at the twelve-hundred- foot
level. Another and another hundred feet
deeper, and at 1.500 feet ore richer than
was ever before discovered was revealed to
view. What the extent of the great bo-
nanza was none could tell. Cross cuts
showed that its width was from $50 to 800
feet. Cribs of timber were constructed
from basement to dome. A writer thus
describes the scene: Everywhere men
were at work in changing shifts, descend
ing and ascending in the crowded cages.
clambering up to their slopes with swinging
lanterns or Pickering candles, picking and
drilling the crumbling ore, OF pushing lines
of loaded cars to the stations at the shafts
Flashes of exploding powder were blazing
from the rent faces of the slopes; blasts of
gas and smoke filled the connecting drifts;
muf1ed oars echoed along the galleries, and
at all hours hail of rock fragments might
be heard rafting on the floor, and massive
Jumps of ore falling heavily on the slanting
pile at the foot of the breast. Half-naked
men could be seen rushing back through
the hanging smoke to the slopes to exam
inc the result of the blast and to shovel the
fallen mass into cars or wheelbarrows.
While some were shoveling ore others
standing on the slippery piles were guiding
the power drills, which churned holes in
the ore with incessant thumps, or cleaving
the softer sulphurets with steel picks swung
lightly by muscular arms. On the 10Th of
March, 1875, 461 tons of ore were hoisted
through the Consolidated Virginia mine
shaft alone, and in March Of the following
year 90S tons were taken through the same
shaft in single day. In November. 1877.
over thousand tons were quarried and
brought up in single day. The miners
were mostly youngme of great vigor,
living on the choicest food and paid the
highest wages given to any miners
in the world-commonly clothed
in rough circular jackets, stained
with clay; loose wooden shirts. blue over
alls, heavy brogans, and coarse felt hats.
through which the hair protruded. In the
hot levels all clothes were laid aside. ex-
cept simple waist cloth, and shoes to pro-
tect their feet against the hot rocks.
Muscles swelling like flesh waves at every
swing of the pck-ridges of sweat on their
broad backs. 1t was circulated that the
bonanza would yield 1874, 600, 900 year for
ten years. A director of the United States
mint calculated that the ore body in sight
in 1875 would yield $500, 900, 900. Other
estimates quintupled that sum. Shares of
the Consolidated Virginia mine that sold
in July. 1870, at 81. RISE in December.