The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-03-20


Without losing = day In the year once in
tNo We@ks shift would have twenty-four
hours OF UNDER this Arrangement ID
10 seen that 5000 men and more were
released Tor play AZ J in the morning.
an tho afternoon and n az night. AZ
whatever hour they quit work enough
o. them would 60 60 their lodgings. change
TO street clothes. and then promptly
seek gaming table. and thus keep busy
at all times
On the other hand virginia City had a
st o. men lad women whose social ac-
tawitaes were OF as polite and refined a
nature a. one would find i'm New England
town q the same population. There were
the eoocAtod men concerned with the
mines. that u the mining engineers
the lawyers. ministers. brokers and mer-
chants and their wivcs. who had their
dances and teas and cotillona. fairs and
bozaArs. their cAllings. riding and driving
parties. rather more extensively than one
would ind In a village Of that sine In New
England.
And e was curious TO note that on that
deSolAte sagsbrush mountainside these
people Of education and refinement al
most invariably found something At first
attractive. then thoroughly charming.
In the natural surroundings. The view
from any street corner led away through
the steep sides Of seven Mile Canon out
across miles of nAt aAgehrush. then the
sandy sxpanse OF the sink Of the Carson
River-whero the river mysteriously dis
appeared into tho earth and far beyond
TO the snow capped mountains OF the
mighty Humboldt range.
But to $50 the beauty In that sort OF q
scene was an acquired taste. Stranger
refused to Tecognixe it. Charles Good
win. q gentleman and q scholar. was the
s saS e Esy %SnPE Press sss v5
tertained strangera visiting there AID
they sorely tried his good nature and
hospitAble instincts Ivy their failure AZ
once TO rejoice in the grandeur OF the
view. cla.amate of Goodwin's went
up to Virginia City Ia visit him and took
lunch with the editor.
In departing he tarried on the veranda
Of the editors home and looked on
toward the distant Humboldt range and
turned pityingiy and said: Good Lord.
Charley, I should think the dreaTinese
and desolation OG this outlook would
Goodwin had been tried Just once too
often. With q big sweep Of his arm.
comprehsnding all that lay below In the
On 90 the purple mountains. tipped with
white. he replied:
sSir, the good Lord mas made " pos
siblo for q man blind 90 all the oeaslties
OF this earth TO dig hin way through a
colsege. You. air, atanaitng there. are
are within sight Of yet you arc blind 20
the Rrandest, the most ennobiing pan
Drama % nature God has ever spread
upon His beloved footstool.
There nature in her most glorious
mood has painted q canvas for the eyes
! Of the soul-but damn you. Jack. you
never could see anything pretty outside
of Centrnl Park tell you, SIR. that you
are incapable Of distin gushing bstween
sombrens.s and snhlimity in nature;
! Z.
refined above q longing Tor the fron-fro'l
Of silks on Firth avenue cannot without
a trembling at HIS own httleneer and
insignificancs view 80 mighty. 80 glorious
Must you 90. Jack?
Jack was sprinting Il Tor the tram. and
Goodwin pat his views. for which Jack
would not wait 90 listen. into an editorial
that was . proes poem-
One OF Charles 00oduin's reporters
was q clever cub named Sam Clemens.
who was already beginning to .lsn his
one was a man named Wright. known
only 20 the inhR bit ants Of sagebr,lsh land
by his beloved pen name Of Dan
de guile and q third was a rollicking
young Irishman. Denn,a Mccarthy, who
Virginia City CkTORteis. trained many a
newspaper man now writing In shops Tar
removed from the ComMtock.
These four ch,ums on Sundays took Ion z
ramblea over the hills and down through
the ca hons Of the sagebrtlsh. Down IN
Seven Nile 90 ffon German had started
a little brewery An srfe4ian well sup
piled his brewery with water and gave
him an eKce@- which he used tn demon
-trats that thst land. once cleared ~ it,
<agebrush and lrrigated would grow al
mot any vegets bls pf the temperate zone
Wherever they walked on sundays the
four newspa Ter ch Im- would bring M a
this brewery. hot. dusty. tired. thirsty = nd
hungry Mara Twain would jolly the
brewery men into drawing from his
hest ksg foaming wooden beakers oi
lager GOODWIN would Jolly The brewer
wife into getting fresh onions from that
garden surrounded by sAgebr,lnh while
Dan de Q'Iille and Dennis Mccarthy would
construct sandwiches 81 rye bread and
sausagea
And then. - Mark Twain hss often
told since. we would 60 uptown and On u
on our fashionable friends with breaths
smelling like buzza rds. but Oh - happy.
The theatre and an occasional opera
vas not the only polite entertainment
provided for Virginia city Every lec-
iurer who travelled from the Fast to Nan
Francisco stopped at the Comstock
Among such Was Robert InRerSoIl
He came there with his wife and two
daughters. ! was assigned by Dennis
Met arthy 20 interview MT Ingernoll for
the Chp0Riets and after the interview Mr.
InRersoll asked Il Il could lie arranged