The age-herald., 1897-10-24
THE FORTUNE THEY LOST Luck of DiScoverers of the Rich
 0phir Mine. JIM COMSTOCK AND WIFE First Gold Taken From the Ophr-row the Original Owners Were Trcked
 Out of the Property.
JIM C0MSTOCK AND WIFI
From the New York Sun.

mine was found" said Col James Dixon as he sat in a circle of mining r1 n from Randsburg at tine PaIomalres the other evening. The conversation, had turned on the possibility of finding in Alaska the golden ledge from which the marvel fougly rich placers along the klord--.e creeks have been fed. Dixon is known all over this region as one of the half dozen psrsons now alive who we're on the scene at the discovery of the richest body of gold ore yet found in the vicin- ity of Gold Hill and Virginia City, Ney., where the bonanza gold miners, Flood, Fair, Mackay, OBrien and sharon got their immsnse fortunes few v ars later.
 II was young man just out from En- gland when the Ophir was found" con- tinued Col. Dixon, "and had been work ing as a day 1aborsr for a mining con- pany in 'Placerville, Cal. I had cousin who Was running a saloon at Forest ,t-bl pofi osbdi ntdbsh hJluZ shrdl eta line In June, 1S59 I welat over to see my cousin and get job in the new dig gings in Nevada It was a long. hard journey over the mountains. past Don ner Lake, and for two days | hid in canon on the east slope of the Sferras for fear of death at the hands of Pltle Indians, who were the Grost murderous of any savages we knew In the west in those days. I got my job and went to work for a company in which William sharon, afterWard a millionaire Unlteo States senator, was pIt isent. knew ln- timately old Comstock, after whom the wonderful Comstock lode was named, and I was a witness to the dnst diggingS that led to finds of gold and silver which have adde some SITS ,000,0 900 to the wsalth of the United States l rememb5r J+m Comstock as a peculiar rough, plains- Cnan and miner of about fifty years of age. He was known as old Comstock. I never knew a man who could -SWenr with the facility of Comstock. JIe was d genius at ing strings of pictur- esque oaths, and the ease with which Inc could roll them off his tongue at the least provocaltion was surprising, even among the proficient borderiand swear CTS.
 "Comstock and six semi-partners, Joe Winters, John P. Clark, Patrick Me- Loughln, Peter Reilly. Emaruel Penrod and 'Kentuck Osborne, were washing gold dust along with about forty other men, from a dry wash known aS Man sanita Creek, four miles from Forest City. when I went over to Nevada. They were making money, and felt like kings. livery one envied them, when they would each get an ounce or two of dusi1 in a day. At the time I went to Forest City it was reported that Comstock and his three associates had taken out of their claim @ two-gallon can of gold dust in a month, and we sat up nights discuss ing the mine, which we thought was bout the( richest sort of diggingS to be had since the fonty- nine days in EldoIa- do county. Old Comstock was immense Iy tfckled at his rapid fortune making. little dreaming that that very locality would in a decade more yield the great est individual fOIl.uneS 5n gold and sl- yer mining known in the history of the world. l remember hearing Joe Winters say in my brothers saloon one night:
 Boys, we cleaned up ten pounds of gold in our camp in the last two days. Tt won't be long before we can buy all the mines in America at tha,. rate.'
 "On his sTay back from the saloon to alis camp that night he walked oven ore that five years later was worth ST. 900 a ton, and in which he made his for. tune.
 q remember well the day in than sum- mer of 1859 when old Comstock felt so rich that he bought Geo. Carter's wife I happened to be taking a lay-off from work that day and was over at Com-- stocks camp. Among his workmem was young George Carter, who had just come across lthe plains from Missouri with his wife in an OK teara. Garter was blue and discouraged at the hard life he had to lead away from his old home He had been married only two years and his wife was buXom brunette of about 25 years. She was the only white woman tn all that region, and lots of men used to come over to the camp on Sundays to have look at a white woman.
 well, the day was loafing about the Comstock camp old Comstock and Carr ter had had row about wages that were paid Carter. Conls tock sat smok- mg by his rerit looking idly over across the guloh at Carters prainle schooner. where carter and his wife lived. Sud denly he looked up and said
 George, you are blankety- blan nlSed hard up. Now. what will you take for your wife, cash down?'
 " T don'e know; whatN you eivep' an swered Carter
 don't know; I've never had deal :ngs With no woman for years and you have replied con1stock, putting thought ! fully ait his pipe.
 .' We'll, elow abolp s1 .C00p.
 Oh, that's too blankety -Iblank much 10 any wonran.' said ComstocIt
 I've ben thinking it over, and I'll give you $500 spot gold.'
 All right said Garter getting up. but you've got to throw in shat mule diamess and your shot gum
 The argumeni was made then ana thsre Comstock went over to see Mrs Carter. and she, knowing that old Com. stock had a good s2o.ooc ahead fell in
 
 Cry, who was the best- t-educated man there at that time, and he dr=w up the terms of the sale of Mrs Carrier alnng with the harness and shotgun. Georee Carter got his money and went back fo. work as mining laborer, and Mrs. Car ter went to live in Comstock's camp. Garter staysd about Forest City for a few months, spent all the money he got from the sale of his wife and wandered off to Sacramento. Comstock married Mrs. Carter four or five years later, and the last heard of her she had an awful row with Comstock and they were di- vorced. That was fin 1868, when Com stock was living in Grass Valley, Cal. and was fairly we'll to do.
 "Comstock and Joe Winters and Many Penrod's dry washings began to peter out in October, 1895. The miners, just as restless then as they are now, one by one pulled up stakes and struck out over the mountains. looking for color in oth- CT localities. One day Comstock was go- ing. back to camp from Forest City with 'Kentuck Osborne. He was a very ob- serving man and a natural born pros pector.
 'Kaintuck, this here sand looks
 |