Madame Moustache

A noted female gunslinger and gambler was Madame Mustache who followed the railroad across the West operating faro games.  She was known as a quick hand from Nevada to the Dakotas and reportedly a deadly shot with a gun.

When she finally came to the "wicked" town of Bodie, it is legend that anyone who tried to accost her on the street was shot on sight.  In 1879 she killed herself with prussic acid, or  Hydrogen cyanide, quick acting and  usually associated with animals.

Next time we end our pistol packing mamas with the Rose of Cimmaron...

Pioneer Pieces: Greater than the Comstock Really?

Most of those referred to as "Greater than the Comstock" never recovered much of any ore, or even came close to the Comstock.  There were exceptions, however, such as South Dakota's Homestake whose single largest shareholder was George Hearst.  Hearst began in Virginia City.  Homestake out produced and outlived the Comstock.

Bodie, in California Mono County, was one of the earliest and long lasting of all mining camps, and its gold production actually dates back seven years before the Comstock discovery, but was only acknowledged in 1862 after Comstock was going strong.  Waterman Body, "the Dutchman from Poughkeepsie" found substantial deposits - and the rush was on to Bodie.

The wagon road over the Senora Pass was once again filled with miners who brought into Bodie all that made up a mining camp: whiskey, girls, firearms, mining supplies, gambling tables, and shack dwellings.

Was Bodie or Homestake really "Greater than the Comstock"? No.  Bodie kept operating with new discoveries that came along well into the turn of the century.  The "Bad Man of Bodie" is a part of the legend of the Old West.

The end of the phrase "greater than the Comstock" next time...