The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1913-09-06
THE LATE JOHN h. DENNIS
Some "reminiscences and Stories
OF Editing In the Early Days
OF Nevada

A writer in the New York Mining
Age connects up the late John H.
Dennis, a former Eurekan and at
one time interested in the SENTINEL,
with the following stories:
81 notice on your wall the picture
of Major John Dennis, the Nevada
newspaper man and trail blazer who
died about seven years ago in Reno,
remarked a g~rizzled old mining camp
veteran of the early days to the New
York Mining Age. He was certain
w a remarkable man and when he
ran the Tuscarora Times-Review it
was copied all over the Union. He
was the man who got up the hoax
about the discovery of a new plant in
the mountains near Austin called the
Luminous Shrub. 1t was supposed
to emit rays Of phosphorescent light
at night and so ~cleverly was the thing
exploited in the Times-Review that
it was taken as the gospel truth and
discussed all over the world"
The narrator lit a cigar and con
tinued:
81 lived in Austin the time that
Dennis had a street fight over a pri-
mary election. Some one did some
jobbery and Dennis got on the var
path and there was mix-up in front
of the polls. Both men were arrest
ed and taken to the cooler. The
bail was fixed at $40 and Dennis paid
his and got out. The other man was
broke and he called to Dennis from
the bars of his cell that as soon as
he got out he would give him a re-
turn fight.
Dennis agreed to put up his bail
money if he would come out in the
street and finish the bout that day.
He agreed, but the authorities said
the mill must take place outside the
city limits. This was agreed upon,
and Dennis coughing up the $40, the
other mar was liberated.
"Well they went up in the ravine
back of town, followed by a crowd.
ITO make a long story short the
mar Dennis bailed out was in bed a
week.
That reminds me of another time
Dennis got the worst of the game"
remarked one of the loungers.
Il was in Tuscarora the time Har-
rison was elected. Dennis was so
sure that it was a Democratic year
that he got a friend to help him get
an old rancher drunk so as to get a
bet out of him, as he never bet on
even a sure thing when he was sober,
but would bet his head against a
football on any old thing when he
had about five jolts in him.
well, Dennis and his pal got the
old fellow loaded me night. They
spent fully $50 about town before
they tackled the betting end of the
proposition and then got him tied up
with a $500 bet, with which he
backed Harrison. They got his
check deposited with a stakeholder
and felt that they had rounded up q
good nights work.
well he won the bet and Dennis
said he didn't care for the $500,
that was merely a mistake in judg'
ment, but he did always regard that
$50 spent for liquor as thrown away
when he discovered that the town
was full of men who would have
kicked in $500 or more on a bet like
that without having to be liquored
up to any extent.
I'm those days there were three
men shining in Nevada journalism
who attracted attention all over the
Coast. They were Rollin Daggett,
Harry Migels and John Dennis. They
have all passed the border, but the
memory of their jokes, pranks and
experiences still live wherever Ne
vadans gather for an evening chat.
1t is not likely that the State will
soon have three such shining lights
in its midst at one time