Los Angeles herald., 1905-05-07

richest cities i'm the world. For years
and years treasure poured into her
vaults from oregon, Utah, Nevada,
Arizona, Montana and Idaho. The pur-
chase of supplies of prodglous expanse
Of treasure territory enriched her
marts. There were, of course. fluctua-
tions and the spirits of her merchants
and manufacturers were often sunk in
the slough of despond but n new dis
covery was always being announced In
the nick of time and the royal march
of progress was again taken up to
carry her forward TO higher fortunes.
The mines were always to be depended
upon. Her people were at very low
ebb, Notwithstanding the completion of
the Union and Central Pacific railway,
when the splendid discovery of the
CQmstock lode came along to recu-
perate her, as had been the case so
often in the past.
Two Famous Mines
Two mines alone at Virginia City dis
bursed dividends monthly of $1,0s0,0 900
each and kept it up for nearly three
years. Those two mines, the Consoli-
dated Virginia and California, paid out
to their stockholders in a very brief
time nearly 5000, 900, 900. At Gold Hill, a
few miles below Virginia City, the
Belcher and Crown Point yielded their
splendid bononzas. All this treasure,
and that from of NnUoda nd
other mines, poured into San Francisco
vitalizing every line of business and
producing a veritable saturnalia of
wealth. Great buildings began to rise
on every hand; and the hastily put to-
gether city of the other day began to
put on genuine metropolitan airs. The
Palace and Baldwin hotels and hun
dreds of other important buildings were
erected by the millions which came
from the Comstock lode, and the i'm
petus thus given, with occasional in
terruptions, has continued ever since.
The Consolidated Virginia and Cali
fornia mines exhibited a solid block of
gold containing $1,0OO,0OO at the Cen
tennial exposition, which excited the
wonder of the people of the east, where
that metal had so long disappeared
from circulation that in any quantity
it was something of curiosity. So
abundant has been the harvest of gold
and silver in San Francisco that if its
millionaires had stayed in the city of
their own creation instead of hiking
away to New York, London, Paris and
ing hundreds and hundreds of millions
with them, San Francisco would be one
of the half dozen weathiest cities in
the world, a wealth drawn mainly from
the mines. There have been single in
dividuals who have taken from $50, ,000,A
900 to $50, 900, 900 from the city-men like
D. o. Mills and c. p. Huntlngton-who
made their money in California to plant
it in New York. 1t is indeed a great
thing to be a mining center.
Effect of Mining on Fortunes
South Africa and the United States
have more than Aladdin-like stories to
tell of sudden fortunes achieved by
miners. There is an attractive gla-
mour about them which probably does
certain amount of good in stimulat-
ing enterprises and prospecting. Be
fore South Africa had her Cecil Rhodes
and other great diamond and gold
kings we of California had our bo-
nanza millionaires and their success
were certainly not only instructive but
intensely interesting as well.
These men, who attained the summit
OF their mining fortunes a generation
ago, were: John W. Mackay, j. C.
Flood, James G. Fair and William
O'Brien, all Irishmen. Among other
things they owned the Consolidated
Virginia and California, which to-
ward the close of 1874 began to as
tcnish the whole world by their in
credible bullion yield. These proper
ties were owned in the proportion of
two-fifths by Mackay to one-fifth by
each of the others. Mackay and Fair
were the miners and prospectors of the
firm and Flood and OBrien were un-
derstood to supply the money used in
their operations. The two latter gen.
tlemen kept saloon on Montgomery
street, near the Exchange, which was
a famous 1.-TWO bit" saloon. Flood and
OBrien were content to supply their
goods at a "bit" and plodded along
with an oblique eye on the mines. The
story runs that the excellent Mrs.
Flood, who was genuine California
helpmate of the older style, was wont
to cook and dispatch daily the tooth
some lunch which figured on the
counters of her husband and his
partner from the Flood mansion on
the hill, and which served to insure
the steady patronage of their Glen
tele. BY all accounts it was good,
home cooked lunch. The partners
were not compelled to follow this hum
BILE occupation for long Soon the
teeming millions began to pour in from
the Consolidated Virginia and Califor-