The Virginia City and Gold Hill Water Works.
When silver was first discovered on the Comstock, the flow of water from
natural springs was sufficient to supply all the wants of the small
communities then constituting the towns of Gold Hill and Virginia City.
As the population increased, wells were dug in many places (distant from
springs), and the domestic needs of many families were for a long time
supplied by water-carts that peddled the water of both wells and
springs. Presently the water of several tunnels added to the available
stock, but as mills and hoisting works multiplied, the demand for water
for use in steam boilers became so great that it was impossible to
supply it without creating a water famine among the people of the two
towns, now thousands in number, with hundreds of new arrivals every
week. In this emergency the Virginia City and Gold Hill Water Company
was formed. Outside of mining companies it is the oldest incorporation
on the Comstock Lode. The only available supply of water at that time
was that flowing from a few tunnels that had been run into the mountain
above the city for mining purposes. This was collected by means of
ditches and wooden flumes, and stored in large wooden tanks, whence it
was distributed about the city through iron pipes. When this supply
became insufficient, as it soon did, tunnels were run for the express
purpose of tapping water. As these drained out the hills and failed, new
ones were run in the range both north and south of the city for a
distance of several miles.
Finally every device was exhausted, and the hills above the level of the
city were thoroughly drained. It then became necessary to look to the
main range of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In those mountains was an
inexhaustible supply of the purest and best water to be found in the
whole world, but between the lakes, creeks, and sparkling fountains of
the Sierras and the range on which stood Virginia City, lay Washoe
Valley, an immense trough nearly 2,000 feet in depth. How to get water
over such a depression was the question. Mr. H. Schussler, an engineer
of great repute, and who had planned the Spring Valley Water Works of
San Francisco, was brought to Nevada to view the situation. He said the
deep valley could be crossed, and in the spring of 1872 surveys were
made and an order given Eastern manufacturers for the construction of a
large wrought-iron pipe. The first section of the big pipe was laid June
11, 1873, and the last on the twenty-fifth day of July of the same year.
The Big Water Pipe.
The total length of the pipe is 7 miles and 134 feet. The pipe has an
interior diameter of 12 inches, and is capable of delivering 2,200,000
gallons of water in twenty-four hours. The inlet of the pipe is on a
spur from the main Sierra Nevada Range, and the outlet is on the crest
of the Virginia Range of mountains. The pipe lies across the valley in
the form of an inverted siphon. At the lowest point, the perpendicular
pressure on the pipe is 1,720 feet, or about 800 pounds to the square
inch. The inlet being 465 feet higher than the outlet, the water is
forced through the pipe under tremendous pressure. The water is brought
to the inlet from the sources of supply in two large covered flumes, and
at the outlet end of the pipe is delivered into two large flumes, which
carry it to Virginia City, a distance of twelve miles.
This pipe was constructed of sheets of wrought iron riveted together.
Each section was fastened with three rows of rivets. At the point of
greatest pressure the iron was five-sixteenths of an inch in thickness,
but near the ends, upon the sides of the two opposite mountains, it
tapered down to one-sixteenth of an inch. In the construction of the
pipe there were used 1,150,000 pounds of rolled iron and 1,000,000
rivets, while 52,000 pounds of lead were used in securing the joints of
the sections. At each joint the sections were inserted into cast iron
sleeves, and it was within these sleeves that the lead was used. The
total weight of the sleeves was 442,500 pounds.
The first flow of water through this pipe reached Gold Hill and Virginia
City on the evening of August 1, 1873, amid the greatest rejoicings of
the people of both towns. Cannons were fired, rockets sent up, and bands
of music paraded the streets. Never before in any part of the world had
water been conveyed under a pressure so great; and it still remains the
greatest. Previous to this, 910 feet was the greatest perpendicular
pressure under which water had ever been carried through an iron pipe.
This had been accomplished by Mr. Schussler, at Cherokee Flat,
California.
Additional Great Pipes.
In 1875 the water company laid alongside the first pipe a second having
an inside diameter of ten inches. This pipe is lap-welded, and, there
being no friction of rivet heads upon the water, the flow through it is
equal to that through the twelve-inch pipe,—2,200,000 gallons every
twenty-four hours.
Before 1875 the supply of water was obtained from creeks on the eastern
slope of the mountains lying east of Lake Tahoe, but in the year named,
the water company pushed their main supply flumes through to Marlette
Lake, which lies inside of the Tahoe basin. To do this it was necessary
to run a tunnel 3,000 feet in length through the dividing ridge, or rim,
of the Tahoe basin. The sheet of water known as Marlette Lake is almost
entirely artificial, and owes its existence to a big dam—is in reality a
large reservoir. The water covers an area of over 300 acres, and in the
middle is about 40 feet deep. The reservoir holds 16,000,000,000 gallons
of water.
The second pipe was laid under the supervision of Capt. J. B. Overton,
Superintendent of the works of the water company, who also extended the
flumes, constructed the tunnel through the mountain ridge, and made all
the other improvements. In 1887 a third iron pipe of twelve inches
inside diameter was laid across the valley alongside the first two. It
was also a welded pipe and delivers much more water than either of the
others. The inlet pressure has been raised on all three pipes, and they
now deliver a total flow of about 10,000,000 gallons in twenty-four
hours. In 1887, also, a branch flume was run to the northward (Marlette
Lake lying to the southward) a distance of nine miles, which taps a
number of creeks tributary to Lake Tahoe on the east and northeast
sides. In the same year a reservoir capable of holding 20,000,000
gallons was constructed on Hobart Creek, on the east side of the
dividing ridge. In and near the city are reservoirs holding from
3,000,000 to 10,000,000 gallons, and a number of tanks along the side of
Mount Davidson of from 60,000 to 80,000 gallons, capacity. The water is
brought a distance of from twenty-five to thirty-seven miles, and the
supply (aided by the several storage reservoirs) is ample for all
present uses. The total cost of the works of the company has been about
$2,500,000. Each of the three pipes has its separate inlet and outlet,
from two flumes and into two flumes. Between the outlet and the city the
water passes through a large storage reservoir.
The Sutro Tunnel.
While there was a scarcity of water on the surface at Virginia City,
there was a superabundance of it, both hot and cold, under-ground in all
the mines. Levels were flooded so suddenly that oftentimes the miners
narrowly escaped being drowned by the vast subterranean reservoirs that
were unexpectedly tapped. Great delays in mining were caused by these
floods, and to pump out the water that filled the lower levels cost
immense amounts of money. Several tunnels from 1,000 to 5,000 feet in
length were run into the mountain, but they were of only temporary
utility, as the shafts of the mines were soon below their level. In
order to overcome these water troubles, Adolph Sutro early conceived the
idea of running an immense drain tunnel under the Comstock Lode from the
lowest possible point. A survey was made by Mr. H. Schussler, and work
was commenced on the great drain tunnel (since known as the Sutro
Tunnel) October 19, 1869. It starts at the edge of the valley of the
Carson River, at a point nearly east of Virginia City, and has a length
of 20,145 feet—nearly 4 miles. It taps the central parts of the Comstock
Lode at a depth of about 1,650 feet. The tunnel is 16 feet wide and 12
feet high. Drain flumes are sunk in the floor and over these are two
tracks for horse-cars. It required nearly eight years to construct the
tunnel, and the total cost was about $4,500,000. Although the leading
mines had their shafts down nearly 3,000 feet before the tunnel was
finished, yet it was of great use, as it saved 1,600 feet of pumping.
From the main tunnel branches were run north and south along the east
side of the vein for a distance of over two miles, with which the
several companies connected by drain drifts from their mines. The flow
of water through the tunnel has at times been over 10,000,000 gallons in
twenty-four hours. Between the mouth of the tunnel and the Carson River
there are 155 feet of fall, but it has never been utilized for driving
reduction works. New connections are still being made with the tunnel
for drainage. Though it never paid anything near what was anticipated by
Mr. Sutro, the tunnel still brings in a snug sum annually. Last year
(the fiscal year that ended February 29, 1888) the receipts for
royalties amounted to $237,258.33. It costs a considerable amount
annually to keep the main tunnel and branches in repair. This great
drain at a depth of 1,600 feet below the surface allows of Pelton water
wheels being set up in the shafts of the several mines and worked under
immense pressure, there being a free discharge from the wheels. At the C
and C shaft of the Consolidated California and Virginia, such wheels
have been put in every 500 feet from the surface down to the Sutro
Tunnel level. The water used on the first wheel on the surface, in the
stamp-mill, is caught up, led to the shaft, and used on the second 500
feet below, and so on down to the tunnel level, the power being brought
from wheel to wheel to the surface by means of a system of steel wire
cables. Thus is transmitted to the surface the power developed by the
whole series of wheels.
The Reduction Works of the Early Days.
In the early days the building of quartz-mills kept pace with the
building up of the towns. As early as October, 1859, Logan & Holmes had
a four-stamp horse-power mill in operation at Dayton, and Hastings &
Woodworth had two water-power arastras at work, which reduced six tons
of ore a day. This ore was not worked as silver ore. It was from the
surface of the Comstock Lode, at Gold Hill, and was worked for gold
only. In the spring of 1860 many mills for working silver ore began to
be erected.
The First Silver Mill.
The first silver-mill that went into operation was the “Pioneer,”
erected by Almarin B. Paul, on Gold Canyon, at the north end of Silver
City, just below the Devil’s Gate. It was a steam mill and contained
twenty-four Howland rotary stamps and twenty-four amalgamating pans. The
work of erecting the mill was commenced May 24, 1860, and it began work
August 13, the same year. Some others have claimed the honor of starting
the first quartz-mill in Nevada, but this was undoubtedly the first
silver-mill. In it were operated the first silver amalgamating pans ever
seen anywhere. The iron amalgamating pans were the result of experiments
made by Almarin B. Paul before he began the erection of his mill. He
thought the German barrel process and Mexican patio too slow, and began
to make experiments with some small iron pans that had been in use at
some of the quartz-mills in California for grinding and working the
sulphurets saved by concentrating machines in working the quartz of the
gold mines. The best of these was found to be the “Knox Improved Pan,”
in which was a false bottom that formed beneath the pan a steam-tight
heating chamber. By the use of this kind of pan, and by treating the
heated pulp with certain quantities of salt, sulphate of copper, and
some other chemicals, before adding quicksilver, it was found that a
charge (whatever amount of crushed silver ore the pan would hold) could
be amalgamated in about three hours. The results obtained with Knox’s
Improved Pan were so satisfactory that Mr. Paul placed pans of that
pattern in his new mill. Soon after a score of pans of different styles
were invented, and to this day pans of new patterns are still being
invented and patented.
The Coover & Harris Mill, Gold Hill, was the first mill in the country
to start up with steam. It blew its steam whistle a day before that of
Paul’s “Pioneer” was heard, but it could not then be called a
silver-mill as it was working gold quartz, the same as was worked, in
October the year before, at Dayton, by Logan & Holmes and Hastings &
Woodworth. The mill had a fifteen horse-power engine that drove an
eight-stamp Howland rotary battery and crushed six tons of ore a day. At
first it was a dry crusher, but soon Paul’s Concentrators and Knox’ pans
were used. The Harris of the firm was Dr. E. B. Harris, now a resident
of Virginia City.
The Many Mills of the Early Days.
Very soon after these first mills went into operation several others
started up. By the spring of 1862 no fewer than eighty-one quartz-mills
were at work, the majority of them on ore from mines situated on the
Comstock Lode. These mills were located in Virginia City, on Six and
Seven-mile Canyons, at Gold Hill, Silver City, Dayton, at Empire City,
and all along the Carson River below that town; two or three near Carson
City (on Clear Creek and Mill Creek), and a dozen or more about Washoe
Valley and down toward Steamboat Valley. Many of these mills were of
small capacity, having only from two to ten stamps, but there were
already a few first-class reduction works, as regards capacity, though
their methods and processes were defective. The reduction works of the
Ophir Company, in Washoe Valley, cost $500,000, contained thirty-six
stamps, were driven by an engine of 100 horse-power, and was capable of
working 100 tons of ore a day. The Gould & Curry Mill then building on
Six-mile Canyon was of still greater capacity, and the Land, Bassett,
Winfield, Empire State, Central, Marysville, Trench, Swansea, Phœnix,
Succor, Rock Point, Merrimac, Vivian, and several other mills, contained
from fifteen to twenty-five stamps each. After the completion of the
Virginia and Truckee Railroad the majority of the outside mills (mills
to which it was necessary to transport ore, wood, and other supplies by
wagon) were pulled down and removed to new mining camps in various parts
of the State. The greater part of the ores of the Comstock were then
reduced in steam mills near the mines or in water mills on the Carson
River on the line of the railroad; and this is still the case.
We now have fewer mills than in the early days, but they are of greater
average capacity, and are in every respect more effective than were
those first erected. More ore is crushed to the stamp, and the time
required for the amalgamation of the pulp has been very materially
reduced. All the present mills are so constructed that there is very
little handling of the ores operated upon, and labor-saving apparatus
has been introduced into nearly every department. Even the old oil lamps
are being thrown out of the mills and the electric light introduced.