Los Angeles Herald from Los Angeles, California • Page 21

Part 111 MINING DISTRICT SHOWS GREAT RICHES GOLDEN HARVEST IS REAPED BY TOILERS IN. NEVADA DESERT WOMAN ADVENTUKES IN CAMPS Tells Story of. Eabuloiis Wealth in the Mines of Beatty, filiyolitp, Goldfield and Tonopah Has Wild All-Night Ride in an Automobile BESSIE BEATTY Oh, for Harte to picture the marvels of the Nevada -degertr A second edition the days of '49 is being written out there, and it is a bigger and better edition than the pioneers of that olden day ever dreamed. For a week I have been living in a. different world, a world bounded on four sides by hills of gold, carpeted with sand and sage brush, canopied with the clearest of blue- skies.

and peopled with real men. Yin that week I huve been whirled in an automobile over 300 miles of desert road, have gone into the richest of the world's treasure and beneath khaki shirts caught glimpses of hearts that are stalwart and true; seen of the bad and -much of. the- good of dozen' of Nevada's moat'Camed VIEW SHOWING MAIN STREET AT BEATTY, NEVADA mmmg 1 camps, and last but worst of all have caught the gold fever. 4 There only one possible means of from this fever stay away from a mining- camp. It is a mad disease.

The insidious "germ creeps upon its the dark -and clutches him when he is not looking. It Is more persistent and all-pervading than any microbe known to medical science. a The people of Nevada are gamblers. play for high stakes and they win or lose, as the case may be, with a Money comes easily and it goes easily. Gold has a different standard in the mining camp than in any other part of the world.

It will procure few comforts, for. there are few to had. People do not go there to enjoy life; 'go there to make money. When the day's gamble in the mines or in broker's office is done there is little to turn to 'but the roulette wheel, the faro bank or the crap game. The -who wins wants to win more, and the man who loses wants to try once more juat to break even.

The dealer rich. Meets Bad Man of 5 The 'man ''who. comes early to watch Few if any are 1 One night I. stood by the roulette stable and I saw Jack Kane lose I J2COO a pne whirl. He drew- a roll of bills fr, (in his pocket, and when those -were- gone" had a checkbook at hand.

Iln Is known as one of the typical "bad men. the desert, Is' now mi bond charged with killing- a man and maiming two others In a shooting scrape afew. weeks ago. big man with a round, red face, the typical miner's dress, a' big sombroro and a bright green ribbon knotted around- his -neck. vEJarller in the day I had been talking to him, little suspecting the reputation he "Come on over -to Rbyoltte with, me.

There's more doing over there than at When 1 1 declined his lnvlta. tlon he pressed the question. come along." and as he Bpoke ho pulled a roll of bills from his pocket, them, for' a few minutes and then put them back. Someone else came up at that moment and he walked off Three hours later, he came back from Rhyolite flourishing his "gun and threatening to kill' three men. lie calmed down with a little persuasion, and no one, heard.

from him until lie appeared at the roulette wheel. Killing, Narrowly. Averted lost the money ihere was an angry. scowl on his' and he pulled out a check for $11,000. The banker refused to take jso much, and while the two were 'arguing.

Tom who lives tt- the Montgomery hotel and In one of the Influential residents of 'the wag holding, the' lie Is a small' man," and -one blow from the lint of the big fellow. would have been sufficient to lay hlnv fiat, but -the miner not dealing -In blows. Knraged because his money was not accepted, he turned Mr. Smith, pressed a gun ugalnst his breast and was ready to fire i when another 'man: standing near grabbed thu arm mid wreMted tho gun from.hlm.; There were two other men Los Angeles Sunday Herald. whom -wanted to kill, but he was persuaded to go away.

When he tnlked to me In the. afternoon he spoku of seeing his lawyer and saia he had a breach of promise on, but did not intimate that hn was about to be on a' more serious offense than that of wounding the af fectlons of a woman. I saw two Mexican girls who had caught the gambling 1 fever go Into one" of the grumbling sheds, place their money and then run out again. A remaining semblance of modesty drove. them out as the gambling spirit had driven them in.

They paused outside the door for a few minutes, waited for the wheel to stop and then rushed In again the gambling spirit- had the upper' hand. The turn was against them. They had lost. With a laugh I wonder if it wns tt they rushed off down tho. street and were swallowed up in' the swallowed for the time as completely as their hard earned money had First Glimpse by Night To the woman who has never seen a mining camp and to the tenderfoot tha life of the people is a Constant round of surprises.

There were several women In the Salt Lake party, including Mrs. Jack Keith, Mrs. Tom H. Blyth of Evanston, and Mrs. Curtis Mann.

Mann. The first glimpse of desert life was at Beatty, the camp celebrating the advent of the Las Vegas Tonopah railway Into the Bullfrog territory. We arrived at camp Monday after dark when the kindly night had fallen upon the row, of tents and frame buildings and changed them into so many palaces of mystery. From every dwelling, whether saloon or general merchandise store, or a combination of both, lights "blazed, fickle wavering lights that fascinated. I Great bonfires burned brightly in the center of the main use cautiously, for the thoroughfare is neither of gravel or asphalt but genuine sand that forms a velvety carpet considerably more than six Inches deep.

Colored powder, red and green, heaped on the hills surrounding the camp, illuminated the whole couptryslde for a moment and then- died only the blackness- relieved ley the brave bonfires and the house lamps; Finds the Montgomery. The first rush was ifor the telegraph office, a structure composed: of canvas and air holes, with -the air I holes, predominating. The telegraph, had Just been and the operator had been sent from Las Vegas. On a rough board placed on top of a box he installed his instrument and began sending to the outside world the reports of the first invasion of a passenger special to the desert camp. We followed the" crowd to the hotel, a brass band leading the -By the hotel of course we mean the- Montgomery.

Everybody knows the Montgomery. It Is the finest caravansary on the southern Nevada. desert, and i Mr, Hoyt has conceived a deserk trl- umph with many of the city comtorts, and yet with' desert written all over It. The gay colored papers that adorn the walls make a brave effort, and. the house was further decorated In- honor of the visitors with hundreds of carnations and festoons of smilax ordered from Los Angeles for the The room and the bar were crowded with miners who had dropped their picks and shovels and come from miles around the district for; the great jollification.

In that crowd were; miners of every, kind. The grizzled old prospector with hands that have become knotted with years of toll and constant exposure, and eyes that are -not quite as Irlght as they pnee were, rubbed shoulders and qimked glasses the husky lad who has the trademark of the wind and the sun upon his face and the gleam of determination in his All Sing "Old Kentucky Home" They all wanted a good time andiwere there to get it their own way. There was no disorder, only a feeling of good fellowship. Women are not plentiful in a mining canip and there no man in the world who hiia more reverence for a good woman than a In most cases SUNDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 28, 1906. he has lived the outdoor life, fought the (Momenta and learned of the beauties, of nature In his own rugged way.

If you accused him of thinking a sunset beautiful he would scoff at the ldea'and probably tell you that he had better business to hn thinking about, but that Is only the outside. His life has taught him the -silent appreciation of which Is good. It has to feel without knowing that -he Is'doing, It does not take many hours in a mireing camp to flnd'out the truth of the old proverb, "Clothes do not make the man," they do not even help, in camp. Only the smallest part of the man of the desert appears on. the surface.

For a few minutes I stood apart from the crowd, i watching the faces. Then one of the women crossed over to a piano which stood in one corner of the room and began' to play one of the old favorites. A couple of miners hummed the tune and soon others took up refrain, "My Old Kentucky. Home." Every sound in the. room ceased and the men who.

were shouting and clink- ing glasses In the bar beyond paused to -'One 'by they took up the notes, until the entire crowd had joined song. 'The cracked treble of a- voice that might once have, been a fine tenor arrived in time, for the finish, now and then with a rasping sound "too weak to disturb trend of the. mule. boy's' baritone, rich and untrained, arose I above the treble and' the chorus went on its way. rejoicing.

Three Cheers for a Bride There were. a few, men in the room who had overestimated their capacity for the fire water, but they were miners' In presence of two sure guarantees that no word should' pass: their lips: that- their, mothers or daughters might not have One man, more pleased with himself than others, walked about slapping his fellows on. the should re and Inquiring I for his "old pal." The men took him good naturedly. Perhaps it was the Instinctive feeling that makes every man protect his drinking the feeling that no man can. explain and few women can understand; In the dining room of, the hotel there a merry party gathered around atablo drinking the health of a bride.

A bride Isnot-. an every, day affair in a mining camp and this one chanced to the wife of Tom Murphy, one of the most popular of the Rhyolite boys. He had been married' twelve days before, and returned from his honeymoon on the special. Everybody knew him all tooka part In. the congratulations and the rich shower' which followed.

Tom and -his bride wanted to stay in Beatty that night, -but his Rhyolite friends, would not hear, of it, and a big automobile was at the. door waiting to them to the Jollification prepared for them coming at the camp five miles To prove that they were" "game" for anything, Mr. Murphy linked his wife's arm in his, sang "Come Away With Me; and they were In 'the "merry Oldsmoblle." "They were 'gamo, all right, all right!" shouted some onei and then there were three' cheers for the crowd, three cheers for I ourselves and three I cheers for'any old stranger who was I not lucky enough to be one us. From the hotel I wandered down that one main street of Beatty past the row of saloons," gambling houses, bunk houses and general stores which are the all of a "mining camp. Tho doors were all open 'and in one place I caught a glimpse of a crowd of dark' figures with heads just rising 'above a sea of I miioke, You could have cut that smoke i up in blocks and Bhipped-.

It to Los Angeles, it was- so thick; I paused in front of a little shop that attracted because of its neatness. It was the office, store and home of the camp physician. There are two of a man and his and they went to Beatty from, Chicago with tho first rush about nineteen months ago. On the shelves was an assortment medicines and everything imaginable In the way of notions and small merchandise. The woman behind the counter had a bright face with a determined chin, and a pair of piercing brown eyes.

She wuh tha doctor. rVMy husband Is off In the mines most THE FAR FAMED MONTGOMERY! HOTEL NEVADA of the time', and 1 have take care the. sick people," said. "No, I don't like it, but there Is money to.be made here and that's what we came to the desert very 'quiet though. Why, until a couple of days we had no officers.

Once In a while. 4a4 a man knocks another one out; and then he him over here to get fixed up, and pays the bills. The man who does the knocking 'out usually looks as if ho felt ashamed of It, but that is all (there Is to vi- Camp Has a. Graveyard "There are only seven graves im Beatty, and only one of these Is the esult of a shooting scrape. One is a baby's- grave.

They raised It, or. tried to, on condensed milk, "and 'of course it did not live. Cows are not plentiful in the desert and the only, milk which can be secured comes" from a little ranch twelve miles up the Amargosa valley." It costs 25 cents a. quart after going through the watering "Sometimes we say we -won't go- to people when they get when that time comes we always go, Just the same." Out of place in this desert town was the doctor, and yet she seemed the kind of woman for. which there is a great need in a mining It hard to tear away from this side street, i There is a fascination about mining; camp at night that seems to grip one.

I went to bed, but long, into the of us were making a pretense of sleeping in the Pullmans, cheers came to our ears "from the' camp, miners were making merry. 'Party Goes to Si Early In the'mornlng of next day, after watching two giants drill through two Bolid pieces of rock for a cash -went to Rhyolite. With J. Ross Clark's party were some. of the Lmost- prominent of Salt Lake railway from Los -Angeles and there was an 'equal number of prominent men from Salt Lake City.

We got I Into one of the huge automobiles the "desert greyhounds," some one called that "are the; chief, vehicles' of i transportation on the desert. Strangely 1 out of place seem these most modern of inventions In the midst of all the crudet ness of the desert, andyet they have played a more important part in the- I development of the mining properties than any "other one factor. They are made for desert use, and the one in which we rode was made by the chauffeur who drove A magnificent It' There were none of the fine trappings of the city machines, such as would be out of place on the desert, but they climb over those hills and plow through the sand with an ease that, is almost Most of them, are gray, the color of the desert sand, and of ter a trip it is hard to find the paint, 1 there Is so sand. There were sixteen of us, in the car and before we got to the great Montgomery-Shoshono mine the cap blew off the water tank and we on the front seat had a shower bath. Nobody one of the desert what- comes as part of the game and soon moved on again.

Shows Treasures In Ore That' wonderful treasure vault which has made Bob Montgomery a bids fair to become the creator of many other was our first Intentional stop. With lighted candles we went through the tunnels of this wonderful mountain -and the superintendent explained the workings of the various parts and broke off pieces of the ore for our inspection. Who would not get the gold fever at the thought that hundreds of other hills Just as barren looking as this one may contain Just as much of the yellow dust for which the world seeks? From the Shoshone we went down Into Rhyolite, a thriving: little mining town, surrounded on every side by rich properties. Business is rapid in Rhyolite and. the board of trade was out that day I with rigs and Invitations to view the mining properties.

It -is -the first time that visitors have been given free access to every rich property In Nevada. A fine collection of ore was exhibited and the rock was crushed and the gold panned at the board of trade headquarters. There is considerable jealousy between'the. towns In the district, though every resident will flatly deny the charge." In the case of Beatty and Rhyolite there should be none, for they are far. enough apart both exist in a flourishing jstate.

Though Beatty will be railroad! it 1 Is." hot the district; "for more of i the! properties upon -which development has been are grouped aroun4 Rhyolite. I- both Jhe growth town cannot fall to help the.others.-i/i' 'j 'i 1 Bottle 'House bne'v rops't. unique in Is couple of bottle the and Interior of which are of beer and wine bottleu, of naturally there are a great manyUn. the camps. Fifty thou- I aaiulljottlfs were used in the construction of tho larger house and they, are planted- in 'adobo and a 'kind of cement which i in abundance in that There are and the houaa rents for 150 month.

The roof and floor are of wood and the lumber was hauled into camp over one hundred miles. Living in this house was young man and his wife and a 6-months-old baby. Babies are a luxury In Southern Nevada. This one is being raised on malted milk. It costs $1.25 for a bottle, which lasts three days.

The mother 'brought the little one. out and exhibited her with great come but we. would not be without them," she said. Baby had cvldorttly thrived well 1 on her malted milk for she- was- as pretty and healthy a specimen of babyhood as could be found In any state. Her cradle was made of a dry goods box raised on two saw-horses made of pieces of boxes, and she seemed quite as well satisfied as If it had been the finest In the land.

their beautiful bungalow In.Rhyolite Mr. and Mrs. Curtis Mann entertained ten members of the party at luncheon Tuesday. The home is the most attractive for miles around and Mrs. Mann, the charming hostess who presides over- It, Is the pioneer woman of Rhyollle.

She went: over the. desert In a stage long before the automobile route was discovered and before the railroad was ever dreamed of. The house Is a sixroom structure, provided with. all the modern 'conveniences of a city bungalow' and fitted as artistically as if it were built in the heart of a city, where lumber and labor are cheap. Mr.

and Mrs. Mann divided, their tlme between this desert I home and Los Angelos, though, bulk 'of Mr. Mann's business Is done in Rhyolite. He is one of the most' prominent, young men of ICE MANUFACTURING PLANT AT BEAT.TV,, NEVADA the district and has the. mining situation at his I fingers', tips.

Miners Give Ball The wind-up of Tuesday night was A miners' ball, at the Hotel Montgomery in Beatty. It waa hardly I expected. The women donned ball gowns and took as much pains In their costumes as if they were living In a big city. From Rhyolite and other surrounding towns the elite of desert democracy came, and the band from Los Angeles played until the wee sma' hours. The next day there were more trips to the mines, -and' I went over the road to Rhyolite in a two-seated cart.

We. had to make the trip in an almost impossibly short and there was no time to bother, about the bumps in the road. The: horse trotted. along regardless, and somehow, the cart managed to follow with Its two wheels on the ground' at half That night Malcolm Mac Donald, who is one of Nevada's big men and one of the best liked of all. the mine owners in the territory.

north or south, came In from rGreenwater with, a party of New York capitalists who had been viewing some properties in that newest and most famed- district. There was another dance in their honor. Loyal to Nevada On the day following an automobile party to Goldfield and TonoDah. Twenty of us the trip in automobiles over 103 miles. We.

left Beatty shortly before 10 o'clock in the morning and arrived at Goldfield about 2:30 o'clock. Far out' on the road we came across the remains of; an automobile, one wheel gone' 1 and the hopelessly broken. It was a silent of a long trudge which some one must have been compelled to take. Just one -of vicissitudes of travel desert. Over miles of with not a touch of animal life-, in either direction as far as the eye could see.

We passed the mud springs, which many, believe will be one of the most famous health resorts in the world, when the railroad finds its way there. Now' only a group of tents marks the. place. where the hot water -gushes forth from, the ground. It is in the Amargoea valley that this road -lies, and, now.

and them we came upon a tiny. ranch nestling at the foot of a hill. There Is plenty of water In the valley and it is hoped that some day, the whole stretch, of barrenness will be made bloom with green gardens. It was like a perfect Southern California day. vl remarked this to one of the of the party, but was Informed that It was not a typical California day, but a typical Nevada day.

The people of that section of the country have learned loyalty, to the land, even if they are there only to make money. Coming from the southern camps, Qoldfleld and Tonopah seemed like real cities, and the bustle and business, on the streets were surprising. We visited the Montecuma'club, the finest organization of its kind in the state. The large club rooms are handsomely fitted and tho most influential men of the district are Included among Its There champagne wns opened and the toast to the visitors and: the town' was propc Nobody ever orders anything to drink but champagne, and I began to wonder if there was anything but fine wine and money in Nevada. It costs a' and 'nobody drinks It.

The men and women touch the. glasses to their, lips, and they are taken away. A few. minutes later someone else orders another: round, -which Is poured out and taken away -by the waiter again. It seems there has to be something on which to spend money, and wine comes in for a large share of the miner's gold.

I Luncheon 'was -served at the Palms! the far famed Goldfleid cafe, and about 5 o'clock the party moved, on to Tonopah, thirty-three miles from Goldfleid. Find a Wide Open Camp We. passed the great Mohawk, mine, working day and night to extract the ore fro-ilhe ground before the lease runs out at the beginning of the year, and then went on past sonic of the smaller mining towns that have sprung up not far from Goldfield. We- arrived at Tonopah "after dark. It is situated as is Goldfleid, at the foot of a range of hills, and burst upon rTTTTTTTTITVT 1 'I l' 'I 1 VV V' our view suddenly as we reached the summit of the hill.

Electric lights lined the streets and from every, building: there was a blaze of light. In both Goldfield' and 'Tonopah there are many flue buildings, but there are also many 'gambling houses. and dance halls, and as the night grows older the noises become worse. The I towns are wide 7 open, and' there Is no known gambling game that is not played "We went into one. of these gambling houses and to one 4ance hall, "the best in the city," we were told, but there was a unanimous agreement that not see.

the worst. The place was a large one, and a man with a heavy voice called out the dance and invited. everyone to "whoop 'er up and have a good The poor painted creatures who had found their way there, lured by the desire for the miners' gold; resented our intrusion. We were Intruders, we had noright to be and we left. "We had supper at the bachelor quarters of Malcolm arid a royal desert home.

he has, furnished in the best possible taste and fitted with beautiful things from all parts of the world. I had to catch a train' -from Beatty at 9 o'clock the next morning," and the chauffeurs went on strike. They had driven all day and were tired out. Finally some lof the men of." the I party; princes of the desert who have learned that there is a way to surmount every difficulty, secured one driver who would go back, and three of us. made the.return We left Tonopah at 11 30 o'clock." arriving at Goldfleld at o'clock in the morning.

We stopped there for lunch, and found the town just as lively as when we had left it in the afternoon. Soon after 2 o'clock we pushed on and arrived, at Beutty at ten to 6 In the morning. That was a wonderful ride the desert. Rushing along- In tho'dirrk; with only the streak, of light from the auto lamp- gleaming' In front of us, and the stars above. Now and then a Jack rabbit' ran into the streak of light and as quickly hurried away.

coyotes crossed the path, but they too more quickly than they had come. The 'utr was clear and cold, and we were bundled to our ears, In fur coats. There, was no sleep for anyone. There was too much of uncertainty about It, the. intoxicating uncertainty that the American man and woman loves.

Another form of gambling. The sun was Just breaking. the valley as, we drew up In front of the- Montgomery hotel. And that desert. sunrise Clod pity.

the man who can' see nothing but sand, sage brush and and let his fellow man offer condolence. That man has never seen the desert at' sunrise us. we saw It Friday He has never sun. come slowly, over a. grotesquely shaped range of sharp craggy hills and throw a fairy mantle over the Bund, Bage brush and cactus.

A cloth of gold with all the colors of the rainbow into It, and nome others that the rainbow has never known. Purples and violets, old grays and tuns that blend Into one glorious harmony. In one week we saw a great deal 'of desert, but the name picture was never City News mirrored twice. The master. painter of the desert has made no duplicates.

BEATTY HAS SOLVED PROBLEM OF HOTELS IN THE MONTGOMERY The hotel problem Is one of the worst In Nevada and -few (if the campe have' I Solved II ns well as Beatty. The Montgomery hoiel, of which Kb Hoyt Is proprietor, i-dld rushing business Ing the railroad day celebration. 1 On Mondny and Tuesday nights six- 1 ty-seven people were lodged, and many times -that number were served' with meali In the The houM was built at a cost of $36,000, niirl since Its I opening Its fame hns gone through the state. There are In rnotns and bathii connected with 1 some, mid numerous other conveniences 1 that would seem hardly possible when one. considered the miles that every hit of wood had to be hauled.

Mr. Hoyt pays his French chef 13600 a year and his board and room, and his ers iind laundry woman receive a'' day; The hotel Is tho gathering, plare for the mining rnen of the district. Mrs. Iloyt, who Is one of the most beautiful women In the district, helps "mlno In presiding, and there Ih hardly. minute that, a merry crowd of miners Is not gathered around the piano IllR- songs.

Hae Faith In Future Tom 8. Smith, who Is one of the rich men of tho makes his headquar; ters at the hotel, and with him Is a. young brldo, formerly Carrie Munroe, a New York actress. Mr. Smith has unlimited faith In the future of the Nevada mining and says that Beatty, Rhyollte and the other camps of the Bullfrog district have a bright future.

"We are young yet, but we are Is Mr. Smith's way of putting it. "We feel that our resources are limit-'' 'less and that before many years have i passed all former mining records of I the world will I be I broken by Nevada, and especially the district. "We have the one great necessary. thing, in this 'section.

of the country to successfully develop the field, and that is i water. Before long the I Amargosa I should furnish for I thou- 1 sands. Wherever anything, has planted It. has been proved that vegeta- tion thrives there, and I believe before long the valley will Ibe dotted with "beautiful little ranches. 'Before 1 therallroad came we had a i but everything should be plain sailing now.

Around us are hills filled with ore of great value, and it can.bese- cured with less i effort than ever before. The world is beginning to realize I that mining Is something more than a gamble. Practically ail the wealth of the world has come out of the mountains, and there is much more in than has ever come out." Mr. Smith was Interested In properties in various parts of Nevada and was for two years at Tonopah. Has Fountain of Youth To Judge Sexton, the president of the Beatty-Bullfrog Commercial olub, and C.

E. the secretary of the organization, much of the credit for the success of. Railroad day Is due. Mr. Southworth is one of the pioneers of He went- Into camp there'? two yers agro from Reno, Nev.

At that time there, were, only: three tents in. and the railroad was a long way" off. He interested In: the 'Annex the Banner I Extension mine," one of the. new prop- ertles: Skldoo- mining and some properties at as well as many other claims and pror- pectS; that -appear promising. He Is a young man, aa are a great many of the prominent.

men ofNeva'da. It has been 8 often a young and I could not help i wondering If the fountain not located somewhere in. the J. P. Branley, a well known lainingman of the; Bullfrog Bayn that: Los Angeles people do not know nearly as much about Nevada and the gold.

to. be found there as they should know, and he has a plan by, which he Intends to show them. Mr. Branley is coming to Los Angeles a short time and with him will come also a hundred pounds of ore: from various mines in the district. He is going to exhibit the ore and crusVand pan It so that the people may see for themselves how It is done.

'He is interested In properties In' the Transvaal district, about fourteen miles from Beatty, and' ls general manager of the Death Valley Wonder Mining and Mill- Ing "I am going to toot my horn where pedple will hear It," said Mr. "I think that Los Angeles people' are missing some of their chances and I think the reason must be that. they, do not know what there is. It they, would come to Nevada and see for themselves they would realize; "On many of our properties little development work has been done and only a small quantity. of gold has been shipped out, but the advent of the railroad will change all 1 have 'great faith In the future of the Valley Wonder i in which.

am and also in many other mining, properties of this district." At immigrant Springs and in the Wild Uose lli-anley also has large and he cannot say, too much for the future of Nevada. were some people who saw tha Suit. hukii excursion askeil If It wuh a Beatty; excursion or a.