The Goldfield news. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1904-1911, 1906-01-19

Opening Up Of Old Producers WIN
Beueft Esmeralda County

Beueft Esmeralda Oounty
If it be true, as the news dispatches
assert. that Charles NJ. Schwab has
bouubt the Silver Peak Mines, Nevada
has, indeed, cause for congratuiation.
For years this immense body of ore
has been lying useless, controlled by
silurians who didn't know what to do
with a good thing, or so mean that
they were willing to cut their nose of
to spite their face.
This famous property, which is moth
ing mere or less than a huge mountain
of ore. was first discovered and mined
in the sos. 1t fell into the hands Of
John /. Blair, a New York capitalist
of great wealth, who finding that ne
was being robbed by the superintend-
ent of the mine. instead of hiring a new
one, followed the extremely logical
course of shutting down the mine.
And so it remained for many years.
At different times, would-be purchasers
made offers Cor the property, but for
different lessons the various isals iel
through. he chief reason wss thar
most o. these who made off. $ could
aot m.ct The price set by the BARS.
As recently as 1897, howeve-, ''nr
w. Mackay the bonanza king sent a
famous old expert of ancient comstock
days, George d. ROBBERS to examine AMI
report on the property. Roberts was a
man then in the seventies, anl Gallons
ed by many years of experience. ind
disappointments untold, bnt 1t the
sight of Silver Peak his enthusiasm
fiared up as if he were once again :,
youth, and he made a most g'owing re
port on ..e possibilities of the mine.
Before leaving the place Roberts still
further attested his faith by gathering
up all the wa,er rights for many miles
around, expecting them to come into
play for the generation of electricity
Cor milling purposes.
Upon the return of Roberts to New
York, Nackay sent out another c~xi'eti,
Prof. George Maynard, whose report
was blu. a confederation of thar ',.ready
made by Roberts. A corps of picked
miners, the best on the Comstock, were
selected at Mackay's request, and sent
to Silver Peak to sample the mine.
They spent several months there and
the result of their work was more than
satisfactory. But just as Mackay was
about to conclude the deal for the pur-
chase of the mine, it developed that
outside parties claimed legal rights to
share the purchase money, and Mackay,
with the shrewd inancier' IS aversion to
investing in a lawsuit, refused to con-
summate the deal.
1t is likely that the passage of years
has buried this threat of litigation, and
Mr.. Sehwab is in full, serene, and IN
disputed possession of the property.
We earnestly hope so. The opening up
of Silver Peak by a man like Schwab,
who undoubtedly intends to operate
the mine on the great scale that alone
can do justice to such an immense
property, means the addition of fully
1900 men to the population of Nevada,
with women and children in proportion.
1t means the construction of a good
sized town with prospects of greater
~permanence than ever mining camp in
Nevada had before. 1t means the al
vancement of Esmeralda to the rank
of the foremost county of the state
and she is not far from that place right
now. Nye is formidable in her posses
sion of Tonopah, Bullfrog and Manhat-
tan, but Esmeralda, with her Goldfeld
and Silver Peak will take a back seat
for no county in the state.-Reno Jour
nal.