Grant H. Smith The History of the Comstock Lode 1850-1920, Geology and Mining Series No. 37, University of Nevada Bulletin: Reno, Nevada, vol. XXXVII. 1 July 1943, no. 3, (revised 1966), Ninth printing, 1980. 305 pp., 1870, 1860s
[p. 126] Chapter XV The Gloomy Year of 1870-The Crown Point Revival in 1871-The Boom of 1872-Sharon-Jones Contest for Senate
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[p. 126] "Stockholders were becoming discouraged and allowing their shares to be sold for assessments . . . Stocks had fallen so low that the market value of the mine was less than the cost of the machinery. This was especially true of the Crown Point and the Belcher . . . [p. 127] the Crown Point was about to be closed down when the discovery was made [Footnote: "A year ago the Crown Point Company had concluded to shut down their mine in January, as it could only be kept working by levying assessments and the prospects ahead were decidedly gloomy." Gold Hill News, September 16, 1871] . . . By a freak of fortune three of the most discredited mines on the Comstock-the Belcher, the Crown Point, and the Con. Virginia-were to be its saviors. While the stock market and [p. 128] the assessment system have much to answer for, it should be remembered that neither the Crown Point nor the Con. Virginia bonanza would have been discovered without their aid . . .
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[p. 128] The Crown Point Revival in 1871
"When the black year of 1870 had all but expired, J.P. Jones, superintendent of the Crown Point, reported a discovery on the 1100-foot level. It was neither large nor rich but gave promise of greater things. Raymond, in his 1873 report, says the management "stumbled upon it" south and east of the point where [p. 129] the earlier east ore bodies had died out on the 860-foot level. [Footnote: It was said that credit for the discovery was due W.H. "Hank" Smith, the able and popular foreman of the Crown Point. Smith followed Sharon, became superintendent of the Belcher and other Gold Hill mines, and had a distinguished career on the Comstock and later in Utah.] Sharon and his associates, including Hayward, had been in control of both Crown Point and Belcher for years, although without holding a majority of the stock of either mine after assessments began to be levied. Crown Point stock rose quietly from $3 a share on November 19 to $16 on December 10. The market price of Belcher, meantimes, had increased to $7.50 a share. Development work proceeded slowly for a time and the reports were not very encouraging, due no doubt to the plans of Hayward and Jones who were aiming to secure control.
"Jones' sick baby" was given as one of the excuses, which later became a byword on "The Street" in San Francisco. Jones, who was without means, induced some San Francisco speculators to buy stock for him "upon his agreement to bear all the losses in consideration of one half of the possible profits." Later, he advised these men to sell, "although assuring them of his firm belief in the mine . . . They regarded his story as a lame pretense," and began to sell short, which later cost them dear.
[p.129] "The ore had been found only 200 feet north of the Belcher line, and, as it lay on the footwall of the Lode, there was every probability that it would extend into the Belcher. That stock also began to rise . . .
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