16 Tons and What Do You Get?

One of the earliest to arrive at the Comstock diggings in Nevada was George Hearst, California entrepreneur and father of the future newspaper tycoon.  George paid $3500 for the original miner's, McLaughlin's,  share of the mine and it was returned to him thousands of times over.  Henry Comstock sold out for $10,000 while the other original miner, O'Riley,  was a better businessman who held out for $40,000. 

Most of those who came to Virginia City did very little mining, but rather bought and sold claims instead.  The quartz and silver deeply embedded in the mines took machinery to extract and miners for the most part lacked the equipment.  One prospector said, "Nobody had any money, yet everybody was a millionaire in silver claims.  Nobody had any credit, yet everybody bought thousands of feet of glittering ore."  Occasionally someone made a real killing in the speculation - one easterner turned a $1000 investment into $20,000 in just a few months without ever lifting a pick and shovel.

Gradually the fever subsided and the smart money from San Francisco arrived, claims were bought, consolidated and the heavy mining machinery moved in.  By 1870, shafts had been dug thousands of feet into the mountains.  Deep underground, in only shoes and breechclouts, miners labored in 120 degree temperatures while steamy water bubbled up around their feet from thermal springs.  There were occasional deaths, but the men came through for the most part. 

The cost of labor was high, but the profits for the mine owners were even higher.  Gold and silver from the Nevada mines helped finance the Union army during the Civil War.  Before it gave out, the Comstock had given over $300 million in precious metals.

Next time...A couple of Virginia City characters...
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On this Day in Pioneer History:  "On August 7, 1869, George Davidson, a prominent astronomer and explorer, impresses Alaskan Native Americans with his ability to predict a total solar eclipse.