To
many of us, "The Comstock" brings immediate visions
of sudden wealth, gold, silver and all that goes with becoming
a man of substance. The dance halls and saloons were a welcome
haven to the hardy breed of miners who labored day and night and
were often discouraged. But, when they did find gold, and later,
vast amounts of silver, they headed for town to tell of their
successes. They shared their good fortune with the dance hall
girls and courtesans who appeared almost miraculously shortly
after any report of a big strike. Many fortunes were attained
in one day, only to be lost that same night over a poker table.
The women, who were readily available whenever lucky miners came
to town, took a fair share of the wealth in return for their favors.
Some of the courtesans became wealthy women as a result of being
"camp followers". A favored few were the cause of many
brawls and even murders because they were thought to "belong
to" this man or that, usually the one who bought her favors
with the most gold or silver. That was all part of the "Old
West", the good old days. Yes, they were exciting, often
very rewarding, but it didn't come easy to most, and not at all
to some. This is the story of some of those brave souls.
In
the spring of 1850, a party headed for the California Gold Fields,
stopped to camp one night close to the Carson River near what
is now Dayton, Nevada. Later, they named their encampment Gold
Canyon. Will Prouse, one of the party, panned a little gold that
night, but apparently not enough to cool his enthusiasm for his
quest for riches in California. After the discovery of gold in
California in '49, men hurried from all over the country to seek
their fortunes in what was to be known as the Gold Rush. Will
Prouse was one of them, along with John Orr and Nick Kelly, who
also unearthed small amounts of gold in Gold Canyon. However,
they had "gold fever" and left their camp and resumed
their trek to California. Almost a decade later, in 1859, some
of these same men came back over the High Sierras to get in on
the newest bonanza, this time in silver.
Several
years earlier, two brothers, Ethan and Hosea Grosch had uncovered
a rich vein of silver on the eastern slopes of Mt. Davidson (later
to be known as Sun Mountain). Both brothers died before any real
mining was begun and their secret died with them. In the fall
of 1859, two prospectors searching for gold uncovered the first
significant deposits of silver. Peter O'Riley and Pat McLaughlin
were more annoyed with it than pleased, for it was in the form
of heavy blue clay, which made getting the gold separated very
difficult. Some of the heavy blue stuff was still clinging to
the gold that they sent to be assayed and an alert assayer in
Grass Valley, California realized this was an extremely rich silver
find in an unfamiliar form. Almost immediately, a blustery character
named Henry Comstock appeared on the scene, stating the O'Riley
and McLaughlin had jumped a claim on which he held title. Claim
jumping was not taken lightly in those days, so the unfortunate
two were satisfied with Comstock's agreement to let them work
the claim. He was the con man of his day, and fast talked himself
into being co-discoverer of many diggings in that area. That first
big silver strike was called the Ophir. These men were not aware
of the vast amounts of silver that would someday be brought to
the surface and gave a third of it to a couple of fellows who
supplied some crude equipment to separate the precious metal from
the sand and dirt. The Ophir was divided into sixths with Comstock's
"partner", Emanual Penrod making up the sixth person
involved in the original claim. Because of his glib tongue and
blustery persuasive says, Henry Comstock became co-owner of almost
every mine in sight, and the whole area came to be known as the
"Comstock Lode".
Almost
simultaneously, James Finney (called Old Virginny) and his partners
dug into a rich deposit where some years later the Gold Hill mines
would be located. It is Finney who is credited with giving Virginia
City her name in honor of his home state. They had it made - they
lived only for the day and what it would take to buy entertainment
and the good things in life. Their shortsightedness didn't bring
comfort for the rest of their days. Comstock sold his sixth of
the Ophir for a mere $11,000, and a few short years later ended
his life with a revolver. O'Riley and McLaughlin fared little
better. O'Riley, after selling his sixth for $40,000 died some
time later in an insane asylum. Pat McLaughlin worked for $40.00
a month as a ranch cook and died without enough for a decent burial,
and was laid to rest in a pauper's grave. His share of the Ophir
was sold to a then little-known family. George Hearst paid $3,000
for it, and is rumored to have been the beginning of the fabulous
Hearst fortune. James Finney is rumored to have sold his share
of the Ophir for a bottle of whiskey and a blind horse, and was
also buried in a pauper's grave.
Of
the prospectors who was there in 1859, Sandy Bowers was the most
fortunate. More conservative than his fellow miners, he didn't
throw his findings away on passing fancies, but kept his small
claim intact with dogged determination. He lived at a respectable
boarding house run by Eilley Orrum, who also did the laundry for
the more prosperous of the early miners. With her earnings from
the rooms, meals and chores, she managed to buy a section of a
claim right next to Bowers'. It seemed rather natural that Sandy
and Eilly would get together. She was the best cook in the area,
a good homemaker and knew a good catch when she saw one. They
were soon married and consolidated their claims, taking $100,000
a month from them. They traveled widely, spent years in Europe
and the mansion he built for Eilley between Virginia City and
Lake Tahoe still stands as a monument to those splendid days.
One
man's misfortune is often anothers gain, as was the case with
four capable and intelligent mine operators. In the heart of the
Comstock Lode two mines seemed to be played out and the owners
were unloading stock on the San Francisco Stock Exchange. These
four men played a cagey game and bought up the stock whenever
it appeared on the market. In 1873, they sank an exploratory shaft
into the Consolidated Virginia with the fervent belief there was
more to be had from the claims. After several false leads, they
hit a vein of unbelievable proportions, fully fifty four feet
wide and undetermined height and depth. They were rich beyond
their wildest dreams, and with careful management, the value of
their holdings soared from $40 million to $160 million. The four
men who were to go down in history as Kings of the Comstock were
James Fair, James Flood, John Mackay and William S. O'Brien.
William
Sharon arrived in 1864 and loaned money to mill owners on their
holdings. When hard times came, Sharon and his associates controlled
all of the leading mines and mills in the area. He could foresee
the need for an efficient and economical means of moving the ore
from nines to mills, and urged two of his associates, Darius Mills
and William Ralston, to join him in building the Virginia and
Truckee Railroad. The V.&T.R.R. served the miners and mill
owners for over eighty years. It was both a workhorse and the
conveyor of some of the most luxurious private railroad cars in
the world. Sharon and his partners shared $100,000 a month from
the profits of this brainchild and their other holdings.
William
Wright, who took the pen name of Dan DeQuille, was the journalist
of his day, and much of the credit is due to his mining reports
that had worldwide circulation in the Territorial enterprise.
He was quite a storyteller, and had as his apprentice, a young
man named Samuel Clemens. We know him as the beloved Mark Twain.
These two made their mark in the literary world, and both had
their start in the "Queen of the Comstock Lode".
It
wasn't only men who made their mark in the history of this area.
Julia Bulette was the "talk of the town" in Virginia
City. Men showered her with gifts - jewels, furs, champagne and
fresh flowers, which were a tribute unheard of in the Comstock.
Julia's Palace brought what little culture was to be had in those
early days. Her lavish dinners featured fine wines and French
cuisine. A "Madame" with a bevy of beauties on hand
to entertain her gentlemen clientele, she prospered and enjoyed
the favors of only the wealthiest and most charming customers.
Julia's story came to a sad end when she was found strangled to
death in her bed by a maid.
With
the newly affluent came the desire for more cultural pastimes,
and John Piper soon took his place as King of the entertainment
world, bringing world famous stars of the theater and opera to
Piper's Opera House. Box seats were reserved for such notables
as John Mackay and Adolph Sutro on opening nights. They were entertained
by Maude Adams, Edwin Booth, the Georgia Minstrels, Lillie Langtry,
Adah Isaacs Menken, Madame Helen Majeska and Emma Nevada, to name
just a few.
The
"Queen" remains today a nostalgic reminder of what used
to be, still with traces of grandeur on her weathered and wrinkled
face. Although there are many charts and figures, it is estimated
that from 1850 to 1920, the Comstock Lode yielded nearly a billion
dollars in gold and silver, and a history that is priceless.
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