Mackay as superintendent of, 236–37, 242, 267
mining operations in, 171, 193, 236–37, 329
productivity of, 267
profitability of, 171, 267, 306
cable cars, 322, 399, 429
cable companies. See telegraph networks
Cable Ship Mackay-Bennett, 399, 431
cages
accidents with, 251, 252
description of, 215–17
Hale & Norcross mine with, 215–16
hoisting apparatuses with, 217
mine fires and, 256–57, 258
safety features of, 216–17
Caledonia mine
Mackay as superintendent of, 135
Mackay’s construction of tunnel at, 143–48
Mackay’s ownership of shares in, 125, 148, 149, 158
share price of, 148, 158
Caledonia Tunnel Company, 143–47, 149
California
Civil War and, 123–24, 139
discovery of gold at Sutter’s Fort in, 13–14
economic depression and, 340
Fraser River, Canada, gold rush’s impact on, 36–37
gold coins and gold dust as currency in, 26
gold fever and departure for goldfields from, 15, 22
Gold Rush in. See Gold Rush
lack of mining regulation in, 14–15
majestic grandeur of, 34–35
migration to Washoe Diggings from, 81–84, 159–60, 163
mine stock investment in, 156
proposed ban on mining capital from, 126, 127
railroads’ impact on, 271–72
rumors of gold strike and start of gold fever in, 13
silver fever in, 77–78
smallpox in, 248
Washoe Diggings’ economic impact on, 75, 77–78, 84, 122, 127, 141, 156
California mine, Comstock Lode, 73
main silver lead in, 76
mining operations in, 73, 74, 76
productivity of, 84, 136, 149
value of shares in, 88
Californian (newspaper), 14, 15
Californianos, loss of land rights to gold mining by, 35
California stamp mill mining technique, 108–10, 119
California Trail, 46–47
Canadian Pacific Telegraph Company, 409–10
Carson, Kit, 46
Carter, David, 19
Case, Anna, 431
Catholicism
Mackay family background and, 6
Mackay’s wife and, 423, 431
Yankee Protestants’ view of Irish immigrants and, 7, 12
Catholic Daughters of Charity, 210, 219, 366
caves (collapses in mines)
dangers to miners from, 32, 252, 255–56
inability to predict, 373
loss of work time from, 116, 161–62
in Ophir mine, 161–62
rats’ movement before, 317
timber reinforcement to prevent, 113, 114, 116
use of term, 113n
Cedar Hill mine, 171–72, 173
Centennial Exhibition, Philadelphia, 366, 367
Central mine, Comstock Lode, 73
Gould & Curry claim and, 113
Mackay’s work in, 90, 113–14, 121
mining operations in, 73, 74, 76
productivity of, 107, 135, 149, 291
value of shares in, 84, 88, 115, 305
Central Pacific Railroad, 264, 320, 330
construction of, 247–48, 265
disease spread by, 248
first train to Nevada from, 233
“last spike” ceremony for, 264–65
transportation costs and, 232
Virginia City business opportunities from, 127
Chicago Daily-Tribune, 377
Chicago Tribune, 368–69, 377, 384
Chinatown, Nevada Territory, 49, 126, 160
Chinese Exclusion Act, 382
Chinese immigrants, 200, 382
attacks on, 271–72
at Comstock Lode, 199, 249, 364
as miners, 22, 49, 51, 160
railroad construction and, 232, 266
Virginia City fire relief and, 361
cholera
gold miners and, 32, 248
in New York City, 17–18, 20
spread across United States of, 22
Chollar mine, 125, 136, 143, 148, 149, 158, 169, 176
Chollar-Potosi mine, 190, 202, 223, 251, 252, 272, 274, 289, 296
Civil War, 48, 127, 279
California and Nevada Territory during, 123–24
currency problems during, 134, 187
Emancipation Proclamation during, 140
Fort Sumter attack and beginning of, 123
greenbacks in, 182, 309
mining and economy during, 4
move west during, 151–52
newspaper reporting on, 139–40
rejoicing over end of, 191–92
secession of states before, 122–23
claims. See mining claims
Clemens, Orion, 152
Clemens, Sam. See also Twain, Mark
leg-pulling and hoaxes by, 153–54, 206
Mackay’s offer to switch jobs with, 155–56
meaning of nom de plume used by, 154
as miner, 152–53
newspaper reporting job of, 153–54, 155, 162, 207–8
robbery practical joke pulled on, 207
Coinage Act of 1873, 309, 320
coins
gold and silver for, 367
gold dust for, 31
Cole, A. M., 168
Colonna, Prince Fernando Julien, 404, 405, 421–22
Colorado mines, 189, 325, 378, 399, 416, 426
Colt, Samuel, 101
Commercial Cable Company, 399, 402, 403–4, 405, 408, 409–10, 411, 413, 415, 418, 420, 426, 430, 431
Comstock, Henry, 72
background of, 51
decline in fortunes of, 273–74
Gold Hill claim of, 56, 59–60, 63, 65, 67, 68
Grosh lawsuit against, 175–76
marriage of, 138–39
Oregon mine claims of, 138, 139
quartz prospecting by, 235–36
selling of claims by, 68, 70, 138
suicide of, 274
Virginia City naming and, 71
Comstock & Co.
first mention of, 42
Gold Hill claim of, 56, 62
Comstock Lode (mines), x–xi, 72. See also specific mines
assays proving silver vein in, 63
Bank of California and, 186, 188–89
Civil War end and rejoicing in, 191
claiming frenzy over, 62–63
classes of mine owners in, 87–88
Comstock’s bragging about, 67, 68
Comstock’s claim dispute in, 59–60
Comstock’s selling of claim in, 138
decline of, 423, 428
difficulty of mining at, 62, 66–67
discovery of, 55–56
early success at, 56–57
eastward dip of vein in, 169
fires in, 253–64
floods in, 133, 190, 387
gold and silver sent east from, 187
gold standard and, 309, 310
Grant’s visit to, 379–80
Hayes’s visit to, 382
Lincoln’s assassination reaction in, 192
longitudinal elevation of, 144–45
Mackay’s later memories of, 128
Mackay’s work at, 73–74, 75, 121, 128, 129, 387–88
map of, 64–65
McLaughlin and O’Reilly’s discovery of gold in, 58–59
milling charges at, 224–25
naming of, 67
native Indians impacted by rush to, 91
one-ledge legal theory at, 176
Ophir mine incorporation for, 70
opportunity to work one’s way into mine ownership in, 76–77
ore cars in, 173
&nbs
p; ownership disputes about, 113
productivity of, 74, 107, 177, 200, 272, 281, 381
public loss of confidence in, 174
railroad transportation for, 234, 267
range of miners at, 249–50
rats in, 317–18
San Francisco display of ore from, 122
San Francisco’s economic success and, 428–29
selling frenzy and, 197
share price of, 157, 189, 273, 274
Sharon and, 185–86, 189, 201–3, 223–25, 228, 330
silver for currency from, 309
speculation about locations that might be on main lode in, 88
speculation in mining shares in, 84–86, 188
steady slide of value of, 173–74
Sutro’s tunnel project and, 190, 191, 194, 204–5, 235
timber needed by, 232
transportation costs and, 233, 270
Utah Territory and, 124
Walsh’s push for mining development of, 62–65
water supply and, 227–28
Congress
admission of new states and, 17, 123, 124
banking legislation from, 106n
Coinage Act in, 309
Gould’s testimony on Western Union before, 398
Sutro’s tunnel project and, 204, 234–35
telegraph service and, 132
Consolidated Virginia (Con. Virginia) mine, 291–293, 324–28
clearing title to, 293, 299
hoisting works of, 301
Mackay-Dewey dispute about management of, 372–74
Mackay’s visit to, 423
mills for, 334–35, 343
mining operations in, 292–93, 299, 302–3, 304–6, 310–11, 312–13, 316–17, 320, 324–25, 363–64, 374–75
new equipment in, 325–26
organization of, 291–92
productivity of, 328, 331–32, 364, 381, 386
rats in, 317–18
rebuilding of, after Virginia City fire, 362–63, 372–73
reorganization of, 324
shared-use arrangement for, 299–300
share price and dividends of, 292, 297, 305–7, 311, 312–13, 316, 325, 332, 333, 336, 373
speculation frenzy and, 328–29
Virginia City fire and, 354–55
Cooke & Company, 321
Cradlebaugh, John, 93
Crown Point mine, 194, 254, 274–80
Bank Ring’s takeover of, 219
fires in, 253–64, 296
Jones’s attempt to seize control of, 276–78
Mackay’s missing of opportunity in, 280
mining operations at, 197, 198, 200–201, 212–13, 241, 274–76, 299, 315–16
mules for transportation in, 335, 355, 362
productivity of, 201, 307–8
safety issues at, 252
share price and dividends of, 158, 201, 275, 276, 277–78, 280, 294–95, 315, 332, 337
Sharon’s control of, 189, 202, 203, 213, 223, 276, 278, 280
Sutro’s tunnel project and, 204
currency
Civil War economy and, 187
demand note in Civil War and, 133
gold standard for, 309–10, 320
Curry, Abram, 69
Curtis, Sam, 302, 304, 305, 306, 313, 355, 360
Daily Alta California, 36, 38, 39, 72, 83, 87, 92, 99, 121, 122, 125, 131, 136, 141, 142, 157, 184, 192, 193, 194, 197, 207, 208, 231, 235, 243, 244, 273, 291, 311, 315, 328, 330, 332, 342, 344, 347, 348, 349, 351, 356, 374, 400, 402, 407
Dall, W. L., 115–16
Dashaway Association, 87n, 152
Daughters of Charity, 210, 219, 366
de Groot, Henry, 60
Deidesheimer, Philipp
Con. Virginia ore estimates from, 326, 327, 331–32
square-set timbering system of, 116–18, 119, 120, 133
demand notes, 134
de Quille, Dan, 51, 154, 221, 230, 247, 250, 270, 294, 314, 316–17, 326–28, 334, 352
Dewey, Squire, 372–74, 379
de Young, Charles, 372, 373
de Young, Michael Henry and Katherine, 420
Dick Sides mine, 292
Downey, John G., 99
Downieville mines, California, 42, 101, 129
corporate nature of, 41
declining returns at, 40, 43
Durgan’s Flat claim and, 40–41
gold-rich diggings around, 27–28
Mackay and O’Brien’s decision to leave, 43
Mackay’s experience at, 37, 39–41
as Mackay’s first mining destination, 27
Mackay’s later memories of, 39
vigilante court and lynching incident in, 27
Durgan’s Flat claim, California, 40–41
dynamite, 236, 250, 326, 369
Earl, John, 186
Emancipation Proclamation, 140
Epson, Warren, 83
equine influenza, 311–12
Ericsson, John, 107–8
express companies, 31
Fair, James, 210–12, 380, 387
background of, 210–11
California gold mining by, 211
Con. Virginia mine and, 292, 293, 299, 302–3, 304–6, 310–11, 313, 315, 316, 317, 324, 326, 335, 363
divorce of, 389–90, 407
Grant’s visit to Comstock mine and, 379, 380
Hale & Norcross mine and, 211, 214–15, 219, 221, 242, 243, 244, 245, 267, 268, 283, 289
illness and death of, 422
Mackay’s disagreement with, 367–68, 403
Mackay’s relationship with, 212
mining operations in, 292–93, 299, 302–3, 304–6
Nevada Bank and, 403, 411, 412
newspaper stories about, 388–89
reputation of, 368, 369–70, 371
resignation of, 378
Rising Star mine, Idaho, and, 237, 240
senatorial campaign of, 382
Sierra Nevada mine and, 378
Virginia City fire and, 355, 360
Virginia City move of, 211–12
water supply and, 290
Fair, James, Jr., 389
Fair, Theresa, 210, 211, 212, 219, 220, 276, 389–90, 411, 422
Fair Shaft, 214–15, 219, 220, 228, 230, 231, 232, 268, 283, 292
Feather River diggings, 16, 18, 211, 238
“feet” (shares in a mine)
Clemens’s ownership of, 162
Comstock and, 139
decline in value of, 106, 174
drawback to using, 77
investor appetite for, 157–58
Mackay’s use of, 76–77, 89, 121, 134, 158
raising capital using, 84, 88, 156–57
trading for mine work, 76, 77, 85
Fenimore, James “Old Virginny”
background of, 48
death of, 126
Gold Cañon, Utah, settlement by, 47–48
Gold Hill claim of, 59, 60, 66, 70
naming of camp in honor of, 71
Ophir croppings located by, 141–42
reputation of, 126
search for new diggings in Washoe by, 51–52, 55–56, 58
Field, Cyrus, 37
Fifteenth Amendment, 271
fire companies and firefighters, 260, 262, 282, 319, 352, 356–57
fires
in Crown Point, Kentuck, and Yellow Jacket mines, 253–64
Mackay’s insistence on clean, orderly work zones in mines to prevent, 128
mine firefighting equipment and, 178
miners’ fears of, 252–53
spurious accusations about, 296, 297
in Virginia City, 162, 282, 351–57
Firm, the (Mackay, Fair, Flood, and O’Brien)
Bank of California solvency and, 343
Fair’s withdrawal from, 387
Hale & Norcross mine and, 249, 267–68, 289, 299, 302, 315
monthly income of partners in, 364
nickname of “Bonanza Firm” for, 336
<
br /> Petaluma Mill explosion and, 303–4
water supply project of, 290–91, 313–15
Fisk, Jim, 279
Five Points slum, Manhattan, 5, 8–9, 384, 414
Flood, James C., 290, 344, 387, 389, 403
background and early businesses of, 237–39
Bank of California solvency and, 343, 344, 346, 349
Con. Virginia mine and, 293, 299, 312, 316, 324, 368, 373
Hale & Norcross mine and, 243, 244–45, 249, 267, 268, 289
illness and death of, 410, 417
Kentuck mine and, 214
Mackay and, 214, 417
Nevada Bank and, 341, 410
Petaluma Mill and, 214
reputation of, 368
Rising Star mine, Idaho, and, 237, 240
San Francisco residence of, 368, 429
son’s building in memory of, 429
stock market investments by, 239
water supply and, 290
Flood, James L., 417, 429
Fort Sumter, South Carolina, attack on, 123
Franklin, Stephen, 349
Fraser River, Canada, gold mines, 36–37, 39, 42, 75
Freemasons, 39–40, 137, 170
Frémont, John C., 46
Fry, John D., 184, 185, 186, 189, 308, 338, 343, 348, 349, 407
gambling
gold miners and, 31, 32, 33, 34, 66, 72, 127, 138, 163, 164, 365
gold mining as, 29–30
in San Francisco, 26, 27
Sharon’s reputation for, 186, 188
gambling houses and halls, 33, 72, 163
Garrett, Robert, 403, 405, 412–13
gold dust
as currency in San Francisco, 27
miners’ burying of, 33
transmission of, for striking coins, 31
Gold Cañon mines. See Washoe Diggings
Gold Hill Daily News, 295–96, 304, 305, 307, 316, 325, 326, 330, 357, 382
Gold Hill mines, 131, 254
Alpha Consolidated formed from, 223
equine influenza in, 312
Houseworth’s shares in, 194–95
longitudinal elevation of, 146–47
mills at, 201, 233
miner paydays in, 205
mining operations in, 72–73, 143, 171
naming of, 41, 56
Petaluma Mill at, 208, 214, 249, 303–4
productivity of, 41–42, 107, 143, 149, 201
quartz discovery and claim in, 62–63
quartz ledge in, 136
range of miners at, 259–60
resumption of mining by Comstock with new partners in, 60–62
safety issues in, 250
sell-outs and consolidations of claims in, 67–68, 69–70
square-set timbering system in, 133
transportation costs and, 233
value of shares in, 136, 138, 139, 157n
Yellow Jacket claim boundary in, 57–58
Gold Hill mining camp
bank office in, 186, 188, 189, 346
Crown Point fire and, 259, 260, 262–63
equine influenza in, 312
expansion of, 110, 159
The Bonanza King Page 77