The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-04-19
PICTURESQUE HISTORY
OF MARVELLOUS PI0CHE
Town Twice Had Suffered Apparent Death and Now
For Third Time BuStIeS With Life.
Past Vcsstudss Due to Struggles of Mine Owners Trouble With
Water and the 1893 Slump in Silver

monds ana Ely had practically no
money. they had credit, while the
Burkes had neither. Ii takes money
10 open a mine. Realizing this. the
Burke brothers proposed that the trio
of millmen handle the property for an
interest This suggestion was accepted
with alaCTity A shaft was put down,
and before the miners had reached a
depth Of 200 feet they found that the
ledge had opened 90 a width of five 10
six feet with the native silver in some
places in chunks More claims were
staked out, and the group was called
the Raymond & Ely. on which a COM
pany was later Incorporated. Ihis
became the greatest mine in the camp
producing Sl,100000 a year for several
, years.
In 1863 the news of the new bonanza
reached san Francisco. II. j.. A.
Phoebe. a French banker in that place,
heard of the discovery and sent q. II.
| Hoffman, a mining expert to investl-
gate. The result was that Phoebe par
chased a number of claims ON the eX-
tension of the Raymond & Ely lode
and organized on it the Meadow Val
. ley company. The town was given his
name, and the Meadow Valley became
| a producer ranking close to the Ray
mond & Ely.
The rush began in 1870. Across the
/ deserts on foot rushed hordes from the
! COmstOck They came from Calif0r-
mia, from Idaho, from Montana and
( from all over the country, travelling on
/ foot. on horseback, rocking little OF
/ hunger. leaving behind the sick OF the
/ dying, and pressing on in a mad STAN
/ pede for this new vortex of fortune.
I Then followed the great days OF
/ Phoebe. The hills and gullies where a
short time before occasional coyotes
| constituted the only signs Of life,
. tecned with 10000 persons. There We're
only a few buildings and many tents
/ but even the tents were not sufficient
TO so around that summer. Nearly ev-
erybOdy who couldn't find a cedar for
/ a rOof-tr5e, had the dome of heaven
above him-and heaven was long way
| fram Phoebe Clothing and supplies
were left In heaps OF the ground. There
was no law except that OF the six
shooter. which put an effective restraint
on petty thefts. A special plot of
ground was set aside for bad men, 4"
and this city of the dead soon became
well populated.
A huge canvas-covered enclosure the
size of a circus tent was occupied as
am immense saloon, with a considerable
portion reserved for the gentry with
faro layouts, roulette wheels red. white
and blue discs and cards carrying spots
and pictures. No drinks were sold for
less than % cents. but that deferred not
the thirsty.
Dance halls sprang up. Kerosene
lamps blazed everywhere at night. and
the entire camp became a scene of Bac-
chanalian revelry. Gun plays were
of daily occurrence and death was an
habitue.
Buildings were erected as rapidly as
: possible. and by the time winter came
the multitude could De housed.
Great Mine Struggle.
The mines were opened up and con-
p ditions became slightly more settled
but there was still turbulence and com
: bat of various kinds-struggles for for
) tune and for life-wEich would in them.
selves an an entire volume.
/ The struggles between the great min.
ing corporations form many interesting
chapters The fight between the Ray.
mOnd & Ely and the Hermes is one OF
I THESE. The Raymond & Ely encOun
: tered a fault in its big vein. The drift
was pushed on, but without result Tn,
3 foreman believed the missing vein cOuiJ
be found by prosecuting at a tangent
He kept his theory to himself and start
ed the work. IN a short time he re
. discovered the missing vein, Instead o
telling his employers. through friends
he rounded up a group of claims OF
the strike az the vein. j. B. Haggin an,
Senator George Hearst, who We're ais
o. interested in the Ontario at Park Cit,
, and other mines Of the west, took holt
of the proposition and nOated tn
D Hermes company on this group. Tn
q Hermes IN IL short time reached tn
; ore bodies and became a big producer
= The Raymond q Ely claimed IT TO b
b an extension Of their vein, and brough
p suit About S30O0.000 worth Of ore wa
- involved HaggiE and Hearst Offere,
% the RaymOnd-Ely attorney $4,000 casl
- 10 come over To their side and th
B offer was accepted. II is said that IN
b Hermes company paid out $4,000 70
D., illegal expenses" during that suit Thi
l may explain how nen identified wit
b that side knew the verdict three hour
before 10 was announced, which is
s story In itself
Insiders Knew the Verdict.
- One of the jurors had agreed that
q the verdict was for the Hermes d
e would display a red silk handkerchie
r. in his breast pocket About o'cloc
- the morning after the jury retired
man who was eagerly scanning tn
window of the jury room saw the hand
kerchief A cipher message was fashe
% to san Francisco. and brokers for th
s "Hermes crowd" had been buying u
: the stock for hours before the news O
" the verdict was officially released, an
i the men with the inside inf0rmatio
began taking their profits. After On
/, Hermes had been practically worke
: out the chief stockholders admitted tina
d. the ore rigEtfully belonged 90 the Ray
7 mond & Ely and turned the groun
a. over to that corporation
= The Raymond & Ely was PERENNIAL
/, iu some kind of a fight. There was IN
4 trouble with the Kentucky. for Instance
B This claim was owned by j. B. y. Chey
n aier. who thought he had the apex {
e the Raymond q Ely vein. He hire
% David Magic who. later as Unite
E. States marshal killed judge Terry j
p Lathrop. to sink an incline shaft, con
b. meet with the fourth level OF the Ray
q mond q Ely. drive out the miners an
d take possession. The Raymond g. El
p attorney. who is now is a salt Lak
b lawyer. learned Of this plot He had
De- large timbered chamber cut out abOJ
b. where the Kentucky workers wOul
20 break in. When the latter We're With
Do "a short distance of this chamber he In
e formed Nagle conddentialiy that
was CON-" and that the invading fore
would be blown up by giant powder
they persisted.
re What shall / do2" asked Nagle. "Tl
.n to- get $1,000 for this job and is bac
% down now I wont get anything.
10 A BIoodless Battle.
- Ii was finally agreed that Nag
" should go ahead and break into %
"a chamber and that there a few volley
. of shots should be exchange, with a
4 the combatants safely protected. tn
- was done. AT given signal Nag