The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1934-01-25

Lode Was Named
cook at $40 month and died pauper 0'Riley
lost his entire $4,000 In stock speculation and
died In an insane asylum. Penrod and Osborne
died poor. "Old Virginia." while on long SPREE
was thrown from his h1,se and killed. Com
stock squandered all OF his $1,000 In short
time, drifted to Montana and there. penness
and almost starving, committed suicide In Boze-
man September u, 1870.
But to return to the genesis OF Virginia City
Casual placer mining In Nevada gave way to
something far greater upon the da, when word
reached the WAshne district that the black stuff
which the ignorant miners had been throwing
away for weeks WIS In reality silver which
assayed as high $4T0l In silver to the ton
With that word caiue the vanguard OF such 4
motley arniy OF rich men, poor men, beggar men,
thieves, merchants miners and barrovm chiefs
as the world has seldom seen"
TO 1t came young Sam Clemens to work as
reporter the Territorial Enterprise the lend
Ing newspaper OF the region, and nut of his ex-
perence there to write .Roughing It. as one
Of the books which have made the name OF
Mark Twain famous. To 1t came Two sturdy
young Irlshnen John w. Mackay and james g.
Fair. and from the fortunes which they made
there were financed great telegraph and cable
lines Other names which link Virginia tiiy's
historic past with the present and with several
great American fortunes were those OF Darius
Ogden Mills James r.. keene .Jnmes G. Flood
and John T. Bradley Nor should there be neg
lected that most spectacular figure In NIL the
bizarre scramble for riches. the Huuser who
never shoveled pound Of ore, yet made millions
from the Comstock Lode""Lucky" Baldwin
AS the great mines which tipped the riches
OF the Comstock Lode 1.-The uphir. the Crown
Point the Belcher the Yellow Jacket the I'M
perial, the Kentucky. the Empire. the Gould and
Curry. the California and the Consolidated
VirgInia-came into being, Virginia City grew
and fourished
More substantial houses replaced the rude
shacks that were thrown up at first theater
was built and on Its stage appeared such world
known figures MS Modjeska Booth. Barrett and
Mccullough There era Of extrayagant
living and extravagant spending. for the citizens
OF Virginia City believed that the wealth OF the
Comstock Lode was inexhaustihle.
They were confirmed In that belief by the
repeated discoveries of "bonanzas." great peck
cts OF rich ore 10 In number the last and great
est Of which provides the title for the latest
Glasscock book-"The Big Bonanza" 1t was dis
covered In the Consolidated Virginia In 1873
mighty treasure vault containing the greatest
mass of precious ore ever uncovered In single
spot From II was taken more than S1nOOnO ono
worth Of gold and silver during the six years
that the Rig Tseh9nza lasted No wonder there
was wild orgy Or speculDtion In mining stocks
hut like all such orgies It came to an end at
last.
BY 1879 the treasure chest OF the Big bonanza
had been cleaned out. There had been panic
In San Francisco whore nine out OF ten people
had invested In ramstock securities and fhnns-
ands who we're rich week were poor the
next Stock that had been selling for $500
share dropped to 81 % and thousands on specu-
ators were ruined.
In the years that followed Virginia CIty's
fortunes steadily waned Occasionally there have
been fare-ups Of hope that the "ghost town"
which II had become might be resuscItated but
few OF these hopes ever maerazed to any ex-
tent. Under the New Dear 1t may have a re-
turn to measure Of prosperity but II Will prob
ably never again a return to those dazzling
days OF three-quarters of century ago when
the discovery of the Comstnck Lode made min
lug history for all time to come.
cby Western Newspaper Union