Highways and byways of the Pacific coast . was the beginning of work here atthe Comstock Lode. The really productive part ofthe lode is only about a mile long, and in thickness itvaries from three or four feet to over a hundred. Howdeep it goes no one can say, but it doesnt pinch outas most lodes do after going down a short distance. At first there was no very great excitement, but by61 people begun to come in pretty rapid on foot, onhorseback, and in teams. That next winter was aterrible hard one. The snow was so drifted wagonscouldnt get in with supplies, and wood was fifty dollarsa cord and
Highways and byways of the Pacific coast . was the beginning of work here atthe Comstock Lode. The really productive part ofthe lode is only about a mile long, and in thickness itvaries from three or four feet to over a hundred. Howdeep it goes no one can say, but it doesnt pinch outas most lodes do after going down a short distance. At first there was no very great excitement, but by61 people begun to come in pretty rapid on foot, onhorseback, and in teams. That next winter was aterrible hard one. The snow was so drifted wagonscouldnt get in with supplies, and wood was fifty dollarsa cord and hay a hundred and fifty dollars a ton, andeverything else equally expensive. But in the springwe had plenty once more. Until the railroad was builtin 1869 our supplies come on ten and twelve-muleteams, and there got to be five lines of six-horse stagesrunning into town. The railroad was a great job; forit wound around the mountains, and over the hills,and through tunnels and all that; but with the wealth fcr* >» r,.- .it. .*.«^ . m:. A Nevada Town with a Past 191 there was here theyd have built a railroad up a treeif necessary. People come faster than ever when the railroad wasdone and we had here the biggest mining camp theworld ever saw. However, it wasnt the prospectorswho staked out the early claims who made the bigfortunes. They sold out and traded off and startedagain. I knew Comstock well. He was a man of someeducation, big-hearted and good-natured—a man whowould never do wrong to anyone except himself. An-other person very much like Comstock was OldVirginia, as we called him, the man this town wasnamed after. Ive seen those two lying on the floorunder the influence of liquor and the twenty dollar goldpieces rolling out of their pockets. In those days everybody had money. I used tomake five hundred dollars a month myself. Part of itI earned as leader of a brass band. There were four ofus, and we got twenty dollars apiece to play at a ball,five dollars apiece at a
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