Mohave County miner., 1912-03-23
Some History, Some Trag-
 edy and a "Haunt."
By John L. Riggs.


 ed all that extreme lower sharp point of the state of Nevada belonged to her and was organized into county which was called Piute county. The east line of the county parallelled the north part of Mohave county, above the Colo rado rlver, to point above St. Thomas, on the Muddy, the southern terminal of the new Clark branch rail- road: thence westerly the line ran to the east boundary of California.
 When Nevada was admitted as a state in 1864 all Piute county was an nexed to it and became a part of Lincoln county. A representative sat in the Arizona legislature three terms from Piute county. Octave D. Gass was twice a member and man from Callvllle one term.
 Eldorado Canyon, on the Colorado river, was presumed to be in Arizona some time afterward. The Eldorado mines were known of as far back as 1861, it appears by the record of that day, but it's life practically dates from it's discovery by the California volun- teers stationed at Fort Mohave in 1863, the same year that Cerbat and Chlo- ride were discovered.
 There was little mill built at the Canyon as early as 1865. Eldorado Canyon is camp that antedated the Mormon settlement at Callville at least one year, and perhaps two years, as Chloride was established, I think, in 1866. The Canyon enjoyed the unique distinction of never having had Justice's court, constable or deputy sheriff. It was an outlaw land. over two hundred miles from Poche, the county seat of Lincoln county, Nevada, which during the many years of it's life was practically bankrupt, and could scarcely keep up it's county government, aside from running down lawbreakers in the wilds of the state
 Several men were killed at the Can- yon, but never was white man ar rested for murder com mitted there, consequently it became a rendezvous for some of the toughest "hombres" in the west. Now, after all these years have passed, and almost if not all these gentry have gone to their last earthly abode, it may be safe to review some of the crimes and criminals that made history in that land.
 About the latter '6Os John Nash came into possession of the Techatti- cup mine and operated it until sold out to the Southwestern Mining Con- pany, of Minneapolis, in 1879. In 1872 or 1873 he employed three fighting men to jump the Queen City mine, owned by Senator George Hearst. father of William Randolph Hearst, of newspaper fame. The Queen City was vein practically paralleling the Techatticup, junctioning with and di- verging at an acute angle, the ore bodies dipping into each oe the veins. It is now called the Savage mine. 50O0s apiece was the price to be paid these jumpers, for which they were to hold possession stated time, which they accomplished by running the Hearst agent out of the camp.
 James Harrington, one of the fight. CTS was famous gunman and a dangerous character to deal with, hay. ing had about five men to his credit. Nash knew that no funny business went with him, so he paid him the stipulated amount and let him leave camp. In subsequent years he was sentenced to life Imprisonment at Carson for murder, but was in Mohave county about ten or twelve years ago, having been pardoned.
 William Pirtle, half breed Nation Indian, young man then, and pliant in the hands of Nash, was given "paper talk" "pay bye-and-bye," and settled with, and when Nash sold out seven years later he still had this paper "blood money". The South. western company assumed all these old debts and paid them off at fifty cents on the dollar.
 Jim Jones, half breed Cherokee, who had served one term in Carson for horse stealing, Ia comrade of Big Ben", who escaped from Lincoln county at the time) was the third. The paper talk wouldn't go with him.