1876 Smith 1943

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., 1876

[p. 197] Chapter XX 1876: High-Water Mark on the Comstock-A Troublous Year for The Bonanza Firm-The Market Revives and the Bears Threaten-Fair Claims Mackay Gutted the Con. Virginia-Keene Leads a Smashing Bear Attack on Bonanza Stocks-Mackay, Fair, and Flood in 1876-A Lively Con. Virginia Meeting-The Bullion Tax Fought by the Bonanza Firm.

     [p. 197] "The year 1876 was high-water mark in the history of the Comstock. Virginia City was rebuilding feverishly after the fire; more mines were in operation and more men employed than ever before . . .

     ". . . Most of the mills in the region were busy. The Bonanza Firm had twelve in operation; the largest being [p. 198] the new Con. Virginia and California mills, which reduced 630 tons every 24 hours.

     [p. 198] "The control of the leading mines was no longer held by individuals or by a few men as in earlier days, but had passed into the hands of three groups: The Bonanza Crowd, the Bank Crowd, and J.P. Jones.

     ". . .

[p. 207] Chapter XXI 1877: The Bonanza Terminates on the 1550 Level-Warring Brokers and Speculators-Hard Times in 1877-The Decline Begins

     " . . .

[p. 208] Warring Brokers and Speculators

     [p. 208] "There were three active stock exchanges in San Francisco during the flush '70s, each with a large membership. Able and daring men gravitated to them by instinct. They were the liveliest places on the Coast and the focus of public attention.

     "The big speculators, like Sharon, Flood, Hayward, Jones and Skae had their favorite brokers, who in turn usually employed other brokers to buy and sell on the exchanges. These groups were almost constantly at war with one another. Other large dealers, "Lucky" Baldwin for example, played a lone hand against everybody.

     " . . .

[p. 232] Chapter XXIII Life on the Comstock in the '70s-Comstock Millionaires-Notable Comstock Mine Superintendents.

     [p. 232] "Life on the Comstock had always been full of interest and enjoyment, but the '70s overtopped all that had gone before. People were not only comfortably housed, a bountiful supply of water had been brought in from the tops of the Sierras, the streets were macadamized with refuse from the old mine dumps and lighted with gas, the city had railroad connections both east and west, people traveled far more than in earlier years, social life took on wider aspects, the Opera House presented a constant stream of dramatic productions . . .

     " . . .

     [p. 234] "The Comstock continued to be Mid-Victorian in dress and manners. To be a gentleman or a lady was the ideal. The good women were held in highest esteem, although more prominently in the life of the community than in earlier years. They even took a hand in politics when striving to bring about social reforms. Upon their insistence State laws were enacted prohibiiting minors in saloons, and requiring gambling to be carried on behind closed doors. They labored for years to make gambling unlawful, without success.

     "The men foregathered in the clubs and in the halls of the many fraternal and other organizations. Every military and volunteer fire company had its headquarters, the German their Turn Verein, and the Miners' Union its own hall and library. The various races had their gathering places.

     [p. 234] "But it was the saloon that contributed most to the good fellowship of the camp. Nothing puts men upon a friendly footing more quickly than to drink together. Views were exchanged and not a little important business transacted at the bar. The reverse of that picture is the fact that heavy drinking was the curse of the Comstock. Some men drank as much as a quart of hard liquor a day, in many small drinks, and carried it off for years. The saloons were of all grades, like the population; from first-class places where the price of a drink or a cigar was a quarter, to the lowest dives. As a rule the various elements sought their own kind. Virginia City was the "good-time town" [p. 235] of the region. Men came from miles around after payday and contributed not a little to the sporting life-to which the many visitors from San Francisco added their share.

     [p. 235] "The stock market was the nerve center of the region, and the reports from the San Francisco exchanges, which came morning and afternoon, invariably gathered crowds in front of the brokers' offices. Nearly everybody had stocks and all wanted to know how the market was going. Copies of the reports were posted at the heads of the shafts in the principal mines for the information of men coming off shift. . . .

     " . . .

     [p. 236] "The Comstock lived well. one looks back upon the '70s with some surprise at the time and thought given to food. Those who could afford it, and especially the men about town, lived on the fat of the land. The markets were well supplied as those in San Francisco, and the restaurants equally as good. Thick, juicy steaks and roast beef headed the list in popularity; men often ate steaks for breakfast. Oysters, Eastern and California, were almost a staple. Fish and game were abundant; trout from the Truckee and Lake Tahoe, caught by the Indians.

     "All kinds of fish came from the Coast. Sagehens and ducks and grouse were Nevada products in season. California provided the quail, chickens, and turkeys. The restaurants often featured a large live sea turtle. Fruits of all kinds from California were items of daily fare, as well as an abundance of fresh vegetables. There was hardly any kind of food that could not be obtained, even to foreign delicacies. The bakeries were first class; only a few of the housewives baked their own bread. Milk from the insanitary dairies perhaps helped spread typhoid fever.

     " . . .

[p. 249] Chapter XXV Fire in the Stopes-Low-Grade Operations in the Bonanza Mines-The Comstock Milling Monopoly-The Last Washoe Process Mill-Losses in Tailings-Tailings Reworked

[p. 256] Losses in Tailings and Quicksilver

     [p. 257] "The total loss in quicksilver is startling. On an average it needed one pound for each ton of ore milled up to the present time, or about 14,000,000 pounds. At an average of 60 cents a pound the monetary loss was $8,400,000. Dan DeQuille estimated the loss at 7,344,000 pounds up to 1876, by assuming too large an average in the earlier years. When he was writing his Big Bonanza in 1875 he stated that the loss of quicksilver in milling the rich ores from the Con. Virginia bonanza "amounted to $60,000 and $70,000 per month"-a loss of over three pounds for each ton milled. The price at that time exceeded $1 a pound, the ore averaged $100 a ton, and they were charging each pan, holding 3,000 pounds of crushed ore, with 300 to 500 pounds of quicksilver. Necessarily, the loss in slimes and quicksilver was heavy. Practically all of this lost silver and gold and quicksilver ran down the cañons into the Carson River, which many have dreamed of another Pactolus from which great fortunes were to be won. Such an attempt was made many years ago, which resulted in failure. If the material were light enough to be carried down to the river in small streams, the major portion would be carried on indefinitely, particularly by the spring floods." . . .

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 Kelyn Roberts 2017