Chapter VII: My Washoe Agency

The courteous reader who has followed me so far will doubtless be disappointed that I have given so little practical information about the mines. Touching that I can only say, as Macaulay said of Sir Horace Walpole, the constitution of my mind is such that whatever is great appears to me little, and whatever is little seems great. The serious pursuits of life I regard as a monstrous absurdity on the part of mankind, especially rooting in the ground for money. The Washoe mines are nothing more than squirrel-holes on a large scale, the difference being that squirrels burrow in the ground because they live there, and men because they want to live somewhere else. I deny and repudiate the idea that any man really has any necessity for money. He only thinks he does--which is a most unaccountable error.

But then you may have some notion of going to Washoe yourself, just to try your luck. Good friend, let me advise you--don't go. Stay where you are. Devote the remainder of your life to your legitimate business, your wife, and your baby. Don't go to Washoe. If you have no money, or but little, you had better go to--any other place. It is no retreat for a poor man. The working of silver mines requires capital. A poor man can not make wages in Washoe. If you are rich and wish to speculate--a word in your ear.

"The undersigned is prepared to sell at reasonable prices"
[this I quote from one of my advertisements] "valuable
claims in the following companies:

The Dead Broke,
The Rip Snorter,
The Love's Despair,
The Ragged End,
The Fool Hardy,
The Ousel Owl,
The Grab Game,
The Riff-Raff.

"The titles to all these claims are perfect, and the
purchaser of any claim will have no difficulty whatever in
holding on to it."

I hope it will not be inferred from the desponding tone of my narrative that I deny the existence of silver in Washoe, for certainly nothing is farther from my intention. That there is silver in the Comstock Lead, and in great quantities, is a well-established fact. How many thousands of tons may be there it is impossible for me to say, but there must be an immense quantity--beyond all calculation in fact, as the ore is scattered all around the mines in great heaps, and every heap is said to be worth a fortune if it would only bear transportation to San Francisco at an expense of $600 per ton. The best of it is sorted out and packed off on mules every day or two, partly to get the silver out of it, and partly to show the speculators in San Francisco that the mines have not yet given out. The yield per ton is estimated at from $1200 to $2500. During the time of my visit to the mines but little work could be done on account of the number of speculators who were engaged in trying to sell out, few of them being disposed to engage in the slow operation of mining. Some said it was on account of the weather, but I suspect the weather had very little to do with it. The following is a rough estimate of the companies who claim to hold in the Comstock vein:

Billy Choller 1820 feet.
Hill and Norcross 250 "
Goold and Curry 300 "
Savage 800 "
Washoe 1200 "
Belcher and Best 223 "
Sides Ground 500 "
Murphy 100 "
Kinney 60 "
Central 100 "
California 250 "
Welch and Bryan 50 "
Central (again) 150 "
Ophir 200 "
Mexican 10 "
Continuation of Ophir 1200 "
Newman, Scott, & Co. 300 "
Miller Co. 3000 "
Bob Allen and others 900 "

Besides about forty miles of outside claims, said to be on a direct line with the Comstock, and to be richer, if any thing, than the original vein.

When I left, the prices asked for a share in any of the above companies ranged from $200 to $2000 per running foot, and it was alleged that the purchaser could follow his running foot through all its dips, spurs, and angles. Some of these companies numbered as high as two or three hundred. I know a gentleman who sold out all his assets and invested the proceeds, $800, in 8 inches of the Central, and another who mortgaged his property to secure five feet in the Billy Choller. These gentlemen are, in all probability, at this moment worth a million of dollars each.

In short, the whole country looks black, blue, and white with silver, and where there is no silver there are croppings which indicate sulphurets or copperas.

The Flowery Diggings were in full flower; and if they have since failed to realize the expectations that were then formed of them, it must be because the Mammoth lead gave out, or Lady Bryant did not sustain her reputation.

To the honest miner I have a word to say. You are a free-born American citizen--that is, unless you were born in Ireland, which is so much the better, or in Germany, which is better still. You live by the sweat of your brow. You are God's noblest work--an honest man. The free exercise of the right of suffrage is guaranteed to you by the glorious Constitution of our common country. Upon your vote may depend the fate of millions of American freemen, nay, fate of Freedom itself, and the ultimate destiny of mankind. I do not appeal to you on the present occasion for any personal favor. Thank Fortune, I am beyond that. But in the name of common sense, in the name of our beloved state, in the name of the great Continental Congress, I do appeal to you, if you have a claim in California, HOLD ON TO IT! Don't go pirouetting about the country in search of better claims, abandoning ills that you are well acquainted with, and flying to others that you know nothing about. If you do, you may find it "a gloomy prospect."

I was now, so to say, permanently established at Carson City. In other words, it was questionable whether I should ever be able to get away without resorting to the intervention of friends, which was an alternative too revolting for human nature to bear. The only resource left was "The Agency." I had forgotten all about it hitherto, and now resolved to call at the Express office, and see what fortune might be in store for me. Surely the advertisement must have elicited various orders of a lucrative nature. Nor was I disappointed. A package of letters awaited me. Without violating any confidential obligations, I may say, in general terms, that the contents and my answers were pretty much as follows:

_A._ Wishes to know what the prospect would be in Washoe
for a young man of the medical profession. Has a small
stock of drugs, and proposes to engage in the practice of
medicine, and at the same time keep a drug store.

_Ans._ Doctors are already a drug in Washoe. Brandy,
whisky, and gin are the only medicines taken. Bring over a
lot of good liquors, prescribe them at two bits a dose,
and you will do well. Charge, $10--please remit.

_B._ Has about twenty head of fine American cows. Would
like to sell them, and wishes a contract made in advance.

_Ans._ Could find nobody who wanted to pay cash for cows.
Money is scarce and cows are plenty. Have sold your cows,
however, for the following valuable claims: 25 feet in the
Root-Hog-or-Die; 40 feet in the Let-her-Rip; 50 feet in
the Gone Case; and 100 feet in the You Bet. Charge, $25,
which please remit by Express.

_C._ Would like to know if a school could be established
in Washoe with any reasonable prospect of success. Has
been engaged in the business for some years, and is
qualified to teach the ordinary branches of a good English
education, or, if desired, Greek and Latin.

_Ans._ No time to waste in learning here, and no use for
the English language, much less Greek or Latin. A pious
missionary might find occupation. One accustomed to mining
could develop what indications there are of a spiritual
nature among the honest miners. No charge.

_D._ Wishes to invest about $1500 in some good claims. Has
three or four friends who will go in with him. Is willing
to honor a draft for that amount. Hopes I will strike
something rich.

_Ans._ Have bought a thousand feet for you in the very
best silver mines yet discovered. They are all in and
about the Devil's Gate. Several of them are supposed to
be in the Comstock Ledge. They are worth $50,000 this
moment; but if you can sell them in S. F. for an advance
of $2000, do so by all means, as the silver may give out.
Charge, $400 or nothing.

_E._ Has been in bad health for some time, and thinks a
trip across the mountains would do him good. Please give
him some information about the road and manner of living.
How about lodgings and fare? Is troubled with the
bronchitis, and wishes to know how the climate would be
likely to affect it.

_Ans._ Hire a mule at Placerville, and if you are not too
far gone the trip may benefit your bronchial tubes. The
road is five feet deep by 130 miles long, and is composed
chiefly of mountains, snow, and mud. Lodgings--from one to
two hundred lodgers in each room, and from two to four
bedfellows in each bed. Will not be troubled long with the
bronchitis. The water will probably make an end of you in
about two weeks. Charge--nothing.

_F._ Is a lawyer by profession, and desires to establish a
business in some new country. Thinks there will be some
litigation at Washoe in connection with the mines. Wishes
to be informed on that point, and would be obliged for any
general information.

_Ans._ About every tenth man in Washoe is a lawyer. There
will doubtless be abundance of litigation there before
long. Would advise you to go to some other new country,
say Pike's Peak, for instance. Respecting things
generally, Miller and Rodgers are going up and whisky
down. Charge, 50 cents. Please remit.

_G._ Thinks of taking his family over to Washoe. How are
the accommodations for women and children? And can
servants be had?

_Ans._ Keep on thinking about that or something else, but
don't attempt to carry your thoughts into effect. If you
do, your wife must wear the--excuse me--she must wear male
apparel. For accommodations, yourself and family might
possibly be able to hire one bunk two feet by six; and you
might seduce a Digger Indian to remain in your domestic
employ by giving him $2 in cash and a gallon of whisky per
day. Charge--nothing.

_H._ Has a house and lot worth about $10,000. Would like
to trade it for some good mining claims. Can not sell the
property for cash on account of a difficulty about the
title; but this you need not mention, as it can probably
be adjusted for a reasonable consideration.

_Ans._ Have traded your house and lot for 100 feet in the
Pine Nut, 50 do. in the Ousel Owl, 50 do. in the Salmon
Tail, 25 in the Roaring Jack, and 25 in the Amador. These
are all good claims, and it will make no difference about
the title to your house and lot, as each claim in the
above-mentioned companies has also several titles to it.
Charge, $500. Please remit.

_I._ Is in the stove business, and understands that
cast-iron stoves bring a high price in Washoe. Has some
notion of sending over a consignment. Please state
expenses and prospect of success.

_Ans._ Stoves are very valuable in Washoe, especially
cooking-stoves. It costs from 25 to 50 cents per pound to
get them over on mule-back, at which prices they can be
sold for claims, but not for money. If you have any very
young stoves that can be planted, as the Schildbergers
planted the salt, a good crop of them can be sold.
Charge--nothing.

_J._ Is inventor of a process for extracting silver out of
the crude ore without smelting. The machinery is simple,
and would easily bear transportation. Could the patent
right be sold in Washoe?

_Ans._ Nothing is more needed here than just such an
invention as yours. Bring it over by all means. If you can
extract silver out of the general average of the ore found
here, either by smelting or otherwise, you will do a
splendid business. Charge, $50. Please remit.

_K._ Understands that lumber is $300 a thousand in
Virginia City. Can be delivered at the wharf in San
Francisco from the Mendocino Mills for about $20 a
thousand. Would it be practicable to get any quantity of
it over, so as to make the speculation profitable?

_Ans._ You are correctly informed as to the value of
lumber in Washoe. A balloon might be constructed to carry
over a small lot; but, in case you found that mode of
transportation too expensive, I know of no other way than
to remove a portion of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the
rear of Placerville, or run a tunnel through underneath.
It is possible that the price of labor might be an
obstacle to the success of either of these plans, in which
event, if you can contract to put one board on the back of
each man leaving San Francisco, he may be able to earn his
board, and you may be able to get your lumber over cheap.
Charge, $25. Please remit.

I have thus given an average specimen of the letters that came pouring in upon me by every mail. It kept me busy, as may well be supposed, to attend to the numerous requests made by my correspondents; but the trouble was, no money came. There was a great deal, to be sure, for future collection, and as long as that was due it could not be lost by any injudicious speculation. It was some consolation, therefore, to reflect upon the large amount of capital that had accrued in the various operations of the Agency.

At this crisis, when fortune had fairly begun to smile, the weather changed again, and for days it stormed and snowed incessantly, covering up the whole valley, and blocking up every trail. A relapse of rheumatism and my poison-malady now seized me with renewed virulence. I had scarcely any rest by night or day, and soon saw that to remain would be a sure way of securing a claim to at least six feet of ground in the vicinity of Carson. The extraordinary number of persons who had invested in silver mines, and who were anxious to sell out in San Francisco, suggested the idea of changing my Agency to that locality. I therefore notified the public that there was a rare opportunity of selling out their claims to the best advantage, and it was not long before I was freighted down with "indications," powers of attorney, deeds, and bills of sale.