Misc. Records
Where to Emigrate and Why - Frederick B. Goddard, Peoples Publ. Co., 1869
NEVADA.
THIS State, famed throughout the civilized world for its mines of silver, lies directly east of California, the Sierra Nevada Mountains forming a portion of its western boundary.
The general altitude of Nevada is about 4,000 feet above sea-level, and its general surface characteristics are barren ashy-colored mountains, arid plains and valleys covered only with sand and sage-brush. The compiler of this book has traversed a large portion of this State on horseback, and can speak feelingly of its parched and treeless wastes, its magnificent distances, its mirages, its sinking rivers and alkaline pools, and its wonderful wealth of precious metals.
Agriculture in Nevada has, as yet, received comparatively little attention; but sufficient has been done to demonstrate that where land can be irrigated it will generally produce bountifully; and here, as elsewhere throughout the mining regions of the United States, the farmer finds a ready market for his produce at remunerative prices.
Commissioner WILSON says:—
Irrigation would further render valuable many acres of land in this State now regarded as worthless, and drainage and protection from overflow would reclaim hundreds of thousands of acres more. Were means adopted thus to render available for the purposes of cultivation, all the lands susceptible of such improvement, and within convenient reach of the necessary supply of water for purposes of irrigation, it is believed that the tillable lands would amount in the aggregate to several millions of acres, probably equal to the aggregate of the surfaces of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Delaware.
We are indebted to J. Ross BROWNE'S Report for the following:―
Much of the soil, both in the valleys and upon the mountains, is rich and friable, being easily tilled and abounding in the elements of fruitfulness, but unavailable for agricultural purposes because of its aridity and the lack of means for its irrigation. Both the open plains and the more concentrated valleys are, for the most part, destitute of timber and illy supplied with grass and water, the latter, where it does occur, being often so impregnated with mineral substances, or so warm, as to render it unwholesome. To its system of mountains, valleys, and plains, the latter so spread out and often connected together as to constitute a series of basins, each having a drainage of its own but no outlet to the sea, Nevada is indebted for its singular hydrography, the common receptacle of its gathered waters becoming, according to circumstances, a lake, sink, meadow, alkali flat, or a salt bed.
The only waters of Nevada that are supposed to reach the ocean are a few inconsiderable streams in the northern and southern portions of the State, tributaries respectively of the Owyhee and Colorado rivers. With these exceptions, all the waters of the State collect in lakes or sinks, so named because they sink and disappear. During the dry season the water thus collected frequently evaporates, leaving upon the surface of the ground a variety of alkaline salts which glisten in the sun, whence the name alkali flats."
LAKES.
The only lakes of any considerable size in the State are those formed by the Humboldt, Walker, Carson, and Truckee rivers, and bearing the names of those streams respectively, together with Pyramid Lake, the largest of the group, formed by the waters of Truckee River.
Lake Tahoe, with one-third of its area only within the borders of Nevada, is a beautiful sheet of water, twenty-one miles long and ten miles wide, and though elevated more than six thousand feet above the level of the sea it never freezes over, nor does the temperature of its waters vary much from fifty-seven degrees in summer or winter, owing probably to its being fed by springs. This lake, like Lake Pyramid, abounds in trout of large size and fine flavor, and is surrounded on every side by lofty mountains, which, rising abruptly from its shores, are covered for nearly two-thirds of the year with snow, and are heavily timbered with forests of pine, spruce, and fir. Pyramid Lake, which has a depth of one thousand five hundred feet, is twelve miles wide by thirty in length, and is situated in the western part of the State; its scenery is extremely grand, being walled about with mountains two thousand to three thousand feet high.
Mono Lake is about fourteen miles long and nine wide; it is so acid and nauseating as to render it not only unfit for drinking, but also for bathing. Leather immersed in it is soon destroyed, and no animal, not even a fish or frog, can for more than a short time exist in it. The only thing able to live in or upon the waters of this lake is a species of fly which, springing from a larva bred in its bosom, shortly dies, and, collecting on the surface, drifts in great quantities to the shore, to be gathered and eaten by the Indians. None but the strongest winds can ripple the surface of this desolate lake; it may aptly be called a Dead Sea, its bitter and fatal waters rendering it literally such, while all its surroundings, wild, gloomy, and foreboding, are highly suggestive of sterility and death.
There are many warm and cold springs in the State, some of which are much resorted to for the curative qualities of their waters.
SALT BEDS.
The extensive beds of this mineral are an important item in the economical resources of Nevada. It may be obtained in illimitable quantities of excellent quality in many parts of the State, and must eventually, when railroad facilities shall be extended through the State, be exported in large quantities.
TIMBER.
The only timber in this State suited for making first-class lumber is that found on or near the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains. There are in the central and eastern parts of the State a few groves of spruce and white pine; but the trees are comparatively small, and the wood for the most part soft and brittle. The prevailing tree, where there is any east of the Sierra, is the scrubby pitch pine, having a low bushy trunk, from ten to fifteen inches in diameter, and from twelve to thirty feet high.
MINERAL RESOURCES.
SILVER.
Our space will not permit us to give a detailed account of the various silver mines and mining districts of Nevada. We can only refer particularly to the "Comstock" lode, upon which are the richest and most productive silver mines in the world. We again quote BROWNE :—
THE COMSTOCK LODE runs along the eastern slope of the Washoe mountains, at the foot of Mount Davidson, its loftiest summit. Its outcrop is not by any means continuous, consisting of parallel belts of quartz, extending from east to west, in some places nearly one thousand feet, which show themselves chiefly on the tops of the spurs, running down from the main ridge. The western of these quartz seams, being of a hard crystalline texture, form the most prominent outcrops, but experience has shown them to be of less value than the eastern bodies, which, from their different composition, have been more easily disintegrated, and are often covered up by the debris from the higher and steeper portions of the mountain.
LENGTH OF LODE.—The vein has been more or less thoroughly explored, and its continuity established by underground workings for a length of about three and a half miles, though the productive portion forms but a small proportion of the whole, as barren spots of great extent intervene between the bonanzas or ore bodies.
STRIKE OF LODE.—Its "strike" or course, as shown by the exposure of the west wall, in numerous places, is nearly magnetic north and south (north sixteen degrees east by true meridian).
But little doubt now exists that the Comstock is a true fissure vein, with a width of from 20 feet upward.
The total product of the Comstock lode for the year ending December 31, 1867, is estimated by the most reliable authorities at $17,500,000. It is estimated that other districts in Nevada have yielded during the same period $2,500,000, making the total product of Nevada for the calendar year 1867, $20,000,000. The average percentage of gold and silver is about 66 per cent. silver, and 34 per cent gold. In the outside districts the proportion of gold is considerably less.
AMOUNT OF ORE RAISED FROM THE MINES.—The amount of ore raised from the mines on the Comstock lode may be put down at the present time at about 1,500 tons daily, and the total amount raised since the commencement of operations at about 2,000,000 tons.
YIELD OF ORE PER TON.—From information furnished by the superintendents of the following mines, the yield per, ton appears to be ―
Savage mine―30,250 tons produced in the last six months of 1866, yielded an average of $42.93 per ton.
Hale and. Norcross mine―16,836 tons produced in the same time, yielded an average of $50.33 per ton.
Gould and Curry mine―62,425 tons produced in 1866, yielded an average of $28.64 per ton.
The total yield of precious metals from the "Comstock" lode in five years, or from 1862 to 1866, inclusive was $63,000,000.
COAL.
No heavy deposits of coal have yet been found in the State. Some discoveries have been made of small veins, or strata, of lignite of inferior quality, but nothing yet which seems to warrant the hope of finding it in quantities sufficient to be of much value.
COPPER.
In many localities in different parts of the State, strong and well marked veins of copper ore occur, but so little work has yet been done upon them that no opinion can be expressed of their value or permanency.
The laws and customs of Nevada, which are recognized by the Government of the United States, permit miners, upon the discovery of metal-bearing lodes in an unoccupied locality, to organize a mining district, designate its bounds, pass a code of laws regulating the location and tenure of mining property, and choose a recorder of locations. These districts are usually from 10 to 20 miles square, though governed by the physical features of the country and the contiguity of other districts.
The laws of Congress permit miners to go upon the public lands and take possession of the mines, promising no interference. The ground is public and open to all the world. Any man can go upon it, and by finding a vein of gold, or silver, or any other ore, can make it his own, and is assured and protected in his title. In no other country is such a privilege given. A country stored with wealth invites the people of all the earth to come and take possession, and become independent land-owners and miners.
CLIMATE, ETC.
The climate of Nevada is not unpleasant, and is exceedingly healthful. This region, like California, has its wet and dry seasons. The native plants and flowers are few, and except in insects, the State is barren of animal life, beyond example. With the exception of the pine-nut—the staple diet of the Indians—a few wild currants and gooseberries, there is little in the vegetable world that civilized man considers eatable. There are no wild plums, blackberries, strawberries, or grapes.
There are no beasts of prey, save a few wolves and coyotes, and game is exceedingly scarce. The State has few reptiles, and none of them venomous except the rattlesnake.
SOCIAL, INDUSTRIAL, AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS.
In all these departments, Nevada has made rapid and gratifying progress. Her population is distinguished for industry, order, and a ready obedience to lawful authority. Already nearly 30 church edifices have been erected in the State, at a cost ranging from $2,000 to $40,000 each, and an aggregate expense of about $300,000. These represent the leading Christian denominations, and are in some cases spacious and handsome buildings. Numerous well conducted schools have been established, under an enlightened educational system, for the support of which liberal provision has been made by the State. There is also a number of academies, seminaries, and high-schools sustained by private patronage. Capacious halls for literary, social, and benevolent purposes have been erected in all the large towns, several of which are supplied with gas and water-works, and commodious buildings for municipal uses. Besides many minor industrial establishments, several large founderies and machine shops have been erected in the vicinity of Virginia, and one, also of considerable capacity, at Austin, near the center of the State. A salt mill, an acid factory, and a tannery and pottery speak of the diversified pursuits now obtaining a foothold, and a well patronized press, issuing five daily and as many weekly journals, indicate the intelligence and enlightenment of the people.
Nearly every cereal grown in the most favored regions elsewhere can, with proper care, be successfully grown here. Even the more delicate fruits common in the temperate zones, such as pears, peaches, and grapes, can be raised in Nevada, if the soil and site be judiciously selected and their culture properly attended to, while in the matter of vegetables, except the more tender kind, no country can produce them with greater facility or of better quality, if the requisite attention be paid to their culture. Besides the vegetables and grain raised in this State, large quantities of butter and cheese are annually produced, and these commodities are very justly esteemed for their excellent flavor. Taken in the aggregate, the amount of stock kept in the State is quite large; the neat-cattle number between 11,000 and 12,000, and the horses and mules kept for farming purposes and draft about 6,000, besides between 3,000 and 4,000 sheep and about the same number of swine. The ranges of mountain pasturage found in many parts of the State, with an almost universal absence of weeds, burs, and wild animals to injure the wool and endanger the lives of the flock, should recommend this country to wool growers and sheep herders abroad. The tule lands furnish a good field for raising swine. These animals thrive well on the root of that rush, even without other food. It is estimated that there were 75,000 tons of hay cut and 6,000 tons of grain raised in the State the present year, besides sufficient vegetables for home consumption. There are three flour-mills, one in operation and two in course of erection; 24 saw-mills, driving 35 saws, and having a capacity to cut daily from 5,000 to 20,000 feet of lumber each, or an aggregate of 180,000 feet. The most of these mills are propelled by steam. Their cost ranges from $5,000 to $15,000; total about $175,000. The number of quartz mills and reduction works in this State, including such as are in course of erection, having their machinery and material on the ground, with the prospect of an early completion, may be set down at 160. The most of these mills are driven by steam, the whole carrying an aggregate of about 1,300 stamps. The individual cost of these establishments varies from $3,000 to $950,000, the cost of the greater part ranging from $40,000 to $60,000 each, though quite a number have cost $100,000, and several much larger sums. At the present time nearly all of these establishments are in constant and profitable operation. None of those completed and in condition to do good work are idle. About 60 miles of ditching, the most of it of large capacity, has been constructed in the State for the purpose of conducting water to points where required for the use of mills or for domestic wants, besides a large amount of work expended on other projects of this kind but partially completed, and a multitude of smaller ditches dug for irrigating purposes. Over 1,000 miles of toll-road, some portions of it very costly, has been built, either for subserving local necessities and wholly within the State, or for the purpose of improving thoroughfares over the Sierra, or connecting those with points in the interior. The sums expended on account of these improvements amount in the aggregate to scarcely less than a million of dollars.
PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.
Carson City, the capital of the State, is a flourishing town, with a population of about 3,500. It is situated in a fertile and well-watered district.
Virginia City, the largest in the State, has a population of more than 20,000. It owes its rise and continued prosperity to the "Comstock" lode, which lies partly within the city limits, and extends into the suburbs; Gold Hill and American Flat.
Austin, in Lander County, with a population of 12,000, is a thrifty city, the center of the Reese River mining region. It is well-built, is lighted with gas, and churches and schools are liberally supported.
WAGES, BOARD, ETC.
Miners and ordinary mill hands, receive from $3.50 to $4 per day, in coin. Blacksmiths, carpenters, engineers, &c., from $5 upward, according to skill. Board averages from $8 to $10 per week. Many Chinamen are employed as laborers, upon the railroad, servants, cooks, &c., who receive from $30 to $40 per month.
COUNTIES.
DOUGLASS COUNTY, on the western border of the State, has a population of about 3,000. It contains more valuable timber than any other except Washoe County. About one-third of Carson Valley, in Douglass County, is good farming and meadow land, the remainder consists of gravelly and sandy sage barrens, the most of it incapable of producing good grain crops, even with the aid of careful culture and irrigation. This comprises all the tillable soil in the county, with the exception of 2,000 acres lying in Jack's Valley one mile northwest of Carson. Outside these the country possesses a rugged surface and a barren soil. There are a number of saw-mills on Carson River, which have, together, cut 50,000 feet of lumber per day. There are about 60,000 to 70,000 acres of excellent timber lands in this county on the slopes of the Sierras.
As yet no productive mines have been developed within its boundaries.
Haymaking and stock-raising constitute the principal pursuits of its inhabitants. Much poultry is kept by the farmers, and considerable quantities of butter and cheese are made annually.
ORMSBY COUNTY.—Though of small dimensions, devoid of productive mines, and containing but a small amount of arable land, its central and eligible position, extensive pineries, and ample water-power, have built up within it important industries, rendering the population among the most thrifty in the State. Carson City is the capital of the State, and has been selected for the location of the U. S. Branch Mint. Present population about 2,500, mostly engaged in teaming, lumbering, and cutting firewood. Two-thirds of the inhabitants reside in Carson City, and a sixth in Empire, three miles east of Carson. Three-fourths of the country is covered with mountains. A considerable amount of lumber is made in this county. The forests of pine and fir, with water-power in their midst, and the proximity of the Comstock mines, insure a constant market, and supply many advantages for carrying on the business. The average yield of barley was forty bushels per acre last year. The United States Branch Mint is constructed of sandstone from quarries near by, as also the penitentiary and county buildings.
There are eight quartz mills in this county; five driven by water and three by steam and water, the whole carry 175 stamps and cost $450,000. They are all kept running on ores from the Comstock vein.
WASHOE COUNTY.—This county has no productive mines. Its wealth consists largely of its agricultural resources. It has about 150,000 acres of farming, grass, and timber lands; the remainder is arid and barren waste, unfit for cultivation. Population about 3,000.
Lumbering and quartz milling are extensively engaged in. There are ten quartz mills within the limits of the county, carrying in the aggregate 281 stamps, and costing nearly a million and a half of dollars.
STOREY COUNTY.—This county is not only of limited extent but extremely barren. About 100 tons of hay are cut here yearly, but as yet no grain has been raised. The county contains 63 quartz mills, carrying 665 stamps, nearly all driven by steam.
LYON COUNTY has but little arable land. Some hay is cut, and some vegetables raised. The only mining districts in the county that continue to maintain an organization are the Devil's Gate, Blue Sulphur Springs, Brown's Indian Spring, and Palmyra, in none of which has much active mining been done the past three years. There are 41 quartz mills in the county.
ROOF COUNTY is in the northwestern part of the State; it consists mostly of rough, arid, timberless mountains, and dry and sterile plains. All accounts, however, agree in representing Surprise Valley, 50 miles long, and from 10 to 15 miles wide, as one of the finest districts for stock-raising and grain-growing in the State. The planting of 1866 yielded an average of 50 bushels of wheat and 60 of barley to the acre. Vegetables grow with little care. Climate, mild and healthful. Little snow in winter, and sickness of rare occurrence. Stock requires neither shelter nor fodder in the winter, but are able to keep fat on the native grasses. Population 250 and constantly increasing as they feel secure against the Indians.
HUMBOLDT COUNTY.—This is one of the larger counties of the State. Its western half is covered with sandy deserts, low ranges of mountains, and extensive alkaline flats, converted in the wet season into mud lakes. The northern and eastern portions consist of lofty chains of mountains. Taken as a whole the region is dry, desolate, and but illy supplied with grass, water, and timber. It is estimated that there are 200,000 acres of arable land in the county that can be made available to the farmer, with irrigation. The shipment of bullion from Humboldt County for 1867, was nearly $400,000, with a prospect of a large increase hereafter.
CHURCHILL COUNTY—The entire western half of this county, except near the waters of the Carson, is a sandy, sage barren, the most of it an absolute desert. In proportion to its size the county contains but little good land, the amount fit for hay-cutting or grain-raising not being over 50,000 acres, in an area of 6,000 square miles. Sulphur and the chloride and carbonate of soda are plentiful. Some ten or twelve mining districts have been laid out within the limits of this county. Very little work has been done here for the past three years; and latterly there have been but few inhabitants in this district.
LANDER, NYE, AND LINCOLN COUNTIES constitute what is generally called Eastern Nevada. They embrace, together, considerably more than half the territory of the State. * * * A peculiar feature of this section is, that it has no outlet to the sea, but its streams, which, though generally small, are quite numerous, flow from the mountains to the valleys, sometimes for a considerable distance in the valleys, and then are lost in the sand. The mountains, which rise precipitously, are from a few hundred to 5,000 feet above the subjacent plain; and, as the general elevation of the plains is about 5,000 feet above the sea, the most lofty peaks attain an altitude above tide-water of 10,000 feet. These hills and mountains are usually covered with scanty patches of pine, cedar, and mahogany trees, furnishing excellent fuel, but generally valueless for building material, although there are localities where there are groves of pine, from which a fair quality of lumber is manufactured. These hills and valleys, if forbidding in their general aspect, and apparently barren, produce a most excellent and nutritious species of bunch-grass, and constitute a very superior grazing country; while, in the many cañons of the mountains, and in all the large valleys, are tracts of land of an exceedingly productive character. The lands susceptible of profitable tillage amount in the aggregate to a considerable area, and are capable of furnishing most of the products of the farm grown in temperate climates. The grasses, grain, and vegetables are of good quality. Agriculture and manufactures can be conducted on a limited scale, and will be great assistants to the chief resource of the country—mining. The mineral-bearing veins of Eastern Nevada were first made known in 1862, at the time when attention was called to the subject by the developments made upon the "Comstock ledge," and from which near $75,000,000 of silver have been taken. * *
In Lander and Nye counties a large number of mining districts have been organized, and many excellent mines developed, and costly mills built. The principal pursuit of the inhabitants of both these counties is mining. Salt exists in abundance.
In Lincoln County, many of the mountain ranges are found to contain metalliferous veins of greater or less magnitude and value, but the most valuable, so far as discovered, and the only ones yet at all developed, are situate in the Pahranagat district, in the eastern part of the county.
Pahranagat Valley, which is 35 miles long, north and south, and 10 wide, contains about 20,000 acres of natural meadow land, or of soil that can be rendered arable by irrigation.
The following is a portion of the Report of Commissioner CAPRON respecting Nevada:―
Our only reports from Nevada come from the counties of Washoe and Esmeralda. The agricultural portions of the former were sparsely settled prior to 1860, and but little attention had been paid to raising cereals, or even vegetables, the chief production being hay from the wild grasses bordering the ponds or streams of water; the opinion generally prevailed that the soil beyond these margins named was worthless, but from small experiences made, confidence in the productiveness of the soil in the higher portions of the valley began to increase, and at the present time it is generally conceded that all of the cereals and. more hardy vegetables can be raised with profit. Many tracts of land have been taken up, therefore, and rendered productive and valuable, that have been considered worthless. The grass lands of 1860 are probably worth no more now than then, excluding improvements. Of Esmeralda, also, very little was known prior to 1860, at which time the mines were discovered, bringing in large numbers, and as a consequence, most of the agricultural lands were taken up, and are now under a good state of cultivation, showing an increase in value of not less than 100 per cent.
The average price of wild or unimproved lands in Washoe is $2.50 per acre, being Government as well as railroad company price, there being none held outside. The character of such lands suited to agricultural purposes is upland valley, covered with sage brush; soil sandy, in many places a loam predominating, in others a kind of clay. In Esmeralda the soil on the margin of the rivers, and in the valleys where there is water, is rich and deep; four-fifths of the unimproved land of the county are covered with sage brush, rocks, and a few scrub-trees, and is, consequently, worthless; the wood is pinyon pine, with a small portion of timber.
Washoe County embraces no marked or peculiar resources excepting in minerals, which have not been thoroughly tested to an extent sufficient to demonstrate their value. Peavine Mountain, lying in the western portion of the county, evidently contains large bodies of ore, copper probably predominating, fused with gold and silver, but from the pecuniary inability of the owners of lodes, together with other hindering influences, they have not been developed.
Our Esmeralda reporter writes as follows:―
"Our minerals are principally silver and gold in most of the districts. The ledges are large and the rocks rich, they being the only productive minerals thus far; but we have copper, iron, lead, cinnabar, gypsum, and some large salt beds, some of which are 20 acres in extent, and the salt two to four feet thick. For the great want of capital in this new county the mines are but partially developed, and it is believed that no place offers greater inducements to capitalists than this county."
The hay crop is the specialty in Washoe; the grass of the natural varieties mainly, though considerable attention is now being paid to timothy, and some to the clovers. But little dressing has been put upon these lands as yet, but they would doubtless be improved thereby. In Esmeralda, wheat yields about 30 bushels to the acre; barley about 35 bushels; oats 40; corn 30; and potatoes 150 bushels—the culture and profit of which are satisfactory.
Blue-joint, red-top, clover, peavine, wire-grass, wild rye, &c., are the natural grasses, upon which farm animals frequently graze the entire year, and perhaps 11 months on an average. Our Washoe reporter estimates the cost per head for keeping full-grown stock, $25 to $30 per year, whilst in Esmeralda it is given at $15 per head.
Fruit has been but little tried as yet, but apples, peaches, &c., of the hardier varieties, have done well so far as experiments have been made. The question has not been so fully tested, however, as to warrant an opinion as to capabilities.
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler.