The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1916-04-27
STORY OF TONOPAH MINING IN WHICH A BIG
ASSESSMENT AND FRIENDSHIP ARE FEATURED
H G. Baker in Copper Curb and Mining outlook)

the Comstock, when directors wer
reviled for freezing out stockhold
ers through abuse of their preroga
tive, but Tonopah seldom refers t
the one big assessment levied in tina
camp, where one-cent leyies are tn
accepted order
The story carries in its train quar-
tet of attachments that have rarely
IL ever been duplicated.
While the devotion Of Lockhart AM
Parker, after the location Of the Ton
opah Extension, was lauded, another
friendship was weaving its silken mesf
to bind others in the bonds of brotherlS
love at the opposite end of the camp
This was in the infancy Of Tonopah
when the fame Of the Mizpah was
aronsng Wanderlust of adventures
throughout the country and every min
ing camp from Nome to Nova Scotia
thrilled with unrest engendered by the
fact that every day tens Of thousands
of dollars were picked right off the
surface of the Tonopah mountains
Then the mountaineers of California
came dawdling along in wagons, but
the miners, promoters and capitalists
OF Utah came charging in like a reg
iment of Rough riders, sweeping
everything before them.
This brings the dramatic principals
on the scene.
]. +. Bradley, afterWard for many
terms sherix of Esmeralda county,
who drilled his way to political prom
inence from the mines of Mercur,
played the stellar role He located
the famous Halifax group of four
claims. Very few old timers know
that, but it is a fact, and Brad was
entitled to handsome stake for his
foresight. AS a matter of fact, he
never received a cent. But that's
where the friendship story comes in.
Ike Mckay, the whole-souled,
ruddy faced Boniface of Goldfield, was
"Brad's" fidus Aehates, his ace in the
hole, and a right bower that was al
ways ready to spring forth at his com
mand Ike and Brad became inspar-
able and for the last 13 years they have
toiled and moiled, each sharing with
the other while drinking to the dregs
bitter adversely or indulging in the
opulence of prosperity.
Blended so intimately with the ex-
perience of these two hardy prospec-
tors Is the story of another comaradie
that carries one away from the bleak,
grey barrens of southern Nevada to
the sybarite existence of two Salt
Lake places where David Keith and
Thomas Kearns enjoy their millions
in marble-llned magnIficence Keith
and Kearns worked side by side with
Bradley and Mckay but fate crossed
their paths with dvergng lines leaving
for two only the bitterness of disap-
pointed hopes and thwarted ambition,
but never impairng the happiness of
the pair of miners who linger on the
desert for the last cali to ashen their
features and lay their worn out bodies
at rest in the soil which denied them
the millions which 1t showered so Law
ishly on others.
Captain" Bradley floated in from
Utah in the fall Of 1901 and took a
job on the Lynch O'Meara lease on
the Mizpah, which was yielding boun-
tifully. Bradley lost no time in study
ing the formation and quickly decided
that the strike of the Mizpah carried
the ore through the mountain under
the rhyolite Gaping. The whole east
ern side of the district was open
ground, and Bradley could just as
well have monumented the Mizpah
the Buckeye Rescue or any
other territory over there, but the
Halifax location looked good, and he
laid out four claims accordingly.
He had completed the work on two
claims and was stepping off the east
ern side lines Of Halifax No. when
accosted by sturdy looking chap
with merry CLEAN in his scotch blue
eyes and the merest suggestion of
bur in his voice. The strange intro |
duced himself as Ike Mckay from
Park City, Utah, and soon learned that I
the locator also hailed from the Nor
mon commonwealth. A spontaneous !
friendship was generated. Like at
tracts like, Each man took the others
measure at first glance, and each .
Town in his inner conscience decided
hat the other had all the makeup of
real man and reliable partner.
I'm looking for some likely ground"
'egan Ike, "and this strikes me about
Is good as anything in camp. If we
AN get together on the price | reckon
We can do business. You know Keith
nd Kearns. Well, they are backing
ne. but they are not going to pay any
ancy price for naked prospect" I
Bradley knew Keith and Kearns,
nd also knew they had money to
urn, but he was no hog, and all he
'oked for was a chance for the Hall
TX to make good. He was willing
, let his money stay in the ground
NTH the millioLaires took it out. and
lid so.
He was willing, and a crude form of 5
)ntraet was outlined. A company I
it'll q Capitalization Of Shnn 0nn ,rnn {