Persons in California, or tourists bound East, who wish to visit Tahoe
will leave the Central Pacific at Truckee. The distance to the lake is
but fourteen miles, over a good stage-road, which passes along up the
Truckee River, amid grand and beautiful scenery. High, rocky, and
picturesque mountains wall in the gorge through which winds the river
and the road, and on all sides are groves of stately pines. In places
where the walls recede from the stream are charming little nooks,
valleys, and meadows. Indeed, at every turn in road and river new
beauties are disclosed.
There are fresh surprises on every furlong of the road from Truckee to
Tahoe City, which town is situated at the outlet of the lake which forms
the Truckee River. At Tahoe City will be found good hotels and
accommodations of all kinds. Here, too, will be found in waiting a
steamer to carry the visitor round the lake to Glenbrook, passing near
the principal points of interest on the way, or to make the circuit of
the lake. While to follow every projection and indentation of the
shore-line would require a sail of 144 miles, a circuit of about 75
miles carries the visitor sufficiently near for a satisfactory view of
the more charming and picturesque points.
Below are given the distances from Tahoe City to the principal points
around the lake on the route usually taken by the steamers:—
Distances from Tahoe City.
Miles.
Tahoe City to McKinney’s 7
Sugar-Pine Point 9
Emerald Bay 16
Tallac Mountain and Hotel 20
Rowlands 24
Glenbrook _via_ Rowlands 34
Glenbrook, direct 14
Cornelian Bay 7½
Observatory 2½
Hot Springs 10
Round the lake 75
On his arrival at Glenbrook, the tourist that came _via_ Truckee will
find stages in waiting to carry him to Carson City, where he will take
the Virginia and Truckee Railroad to the Central Pacific at Reno.
The Route from Reno.
The traveler from the East who wishes to view the wonders of Tahoe in
passing across the continent, or to see the Comstock Silver Mines, will
leave the Central Pacific at Reno, allowing his baggage to go on to his
point of destination in California. The Virginia and Truckee will then
take him to Carson City, a distance of thirty-one miles to the
southward, passing through an interesting region all the way.
At Carson stages for Lake Tahoe will be found in waiting. The distance
from Carson to Tahoe is fourteen miles. The road is fine, and the
mountain scenery wild and beautiful. In passing up Clear Creek Canyon,
the tourist will travel for a considerable distance alongside the big
lumber flume of the Carson and Tahoe Lumber Company. This flume is in
the shape of the letter V. It has a length of twenty-one miles. Through
it runs a small stream of water, and a stick of timber, billet of wood,
or piece of lumber dropped into the V-shaped trough at the summit at
once darts away at race-horse speed, and very shortly thereafter is
dumped at the wood and lumber yard at Carson. In one day may thus be
sent down the flume 700 cords of wood, or 500,000 feet of mining
timbers. Hank Monk, the famous stage-driver who for a long time drove
over this piece of road, and who once “hurled” Horace Greeley from the
summit of the Sierras down into Placerville, is now dead, and lies
buried at Carson City.
On arriving at Glenbrook, the traveler will find ready a steamer which
will take him round Lake Tahoe to Tahoe City, whence he will take a
stagecoach fourteen miles down the Truckee River to the Central Pacific,
at the town of Truckee.
The Town of Truckee.
Truckee is situated in a heavily-timbered basin, lying between the two
ridges, or summits, of the Sierras. In this basin is contained an area
of over 250 square miles of as fine pine forest as is to be found in the
mountains. The town is the center of a great and flourishing lumbering
industry, and immense quantities of ice are each winter harvested and
stored in the immediate vicinity. In 1883 it was estimated that the
forests of Truckee Basin contained 5,000,000,000 feet of lumber, and
that 50,000,000 feet might be cut every year for 100 years. The town has
an elevation of 5,866 feet, or over a mile above the level of the sea,
yet for eight months of the year the climate is pleasant. Where the town
now stands was formerly “Coburn’s Station,” on the old Dutch Flat
wagon-road. The place was named Truckee, and began to build up in 1865,
with the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad at that point. It
is a brisk and thriving place, and, besides its lumber and ice
industries, has a good trade with an extensive farming and grazing
region. It is wonderful that so large a town exists as is now seen, in
view of the fact that since 1868 it has seven times been swept by
terrible fires, and by two or three of these it was, in different years,
almost wiped out of existence.
Donner Lake.
This beautiful little sheet of water is but three miles from the town of
Truckee, and is reached by a delightful drive over a smooth and level
road. Donner Lake is about three miles long and from a mile to a mile
and a half wide. It is about 200 feet in depth in the deepest place, and
lies at an elevation of 5,938 feet above the level of the sea. It has
for feeders several sparkling trout-brooks, and has an outlet called
Donner Creek, which is an affluent of the Truckee River. The lake is
full of trout of the same species as are found in Lake Tahoe, with
minnows of several kinds, known as “chubs” and “white fish.” It is a
safe and beautiful lake on which to row or sail. As regards the matter
of safety it may be set down as the “family lake” of the mountains—is as
reliable and devoid of tantrums as the old “family mare.” The lake is
surrounded with grand old mountains. Lake Ridge, to the southward, rises
to the height of 8,234 feet, and its lower part is covered with pine and
other evergreen trees. To the west rise huge, bare granite mountains.
The track of the Central Pacific Railroad runs along the side of the
ridge to the southward, and presently disappears in a tunnel under the
bald mountains in the west. Owing to the track being covered with
snow-sheds, passengers get only occasional glimpses of the lake.
At the upper and lower ends of the lake are patches of meadow land,
groves of pine and tamarack, and handsome clumps of willow and quaking
asp. Donner is a favorite place of resort for camping parties from
Nevada and California. There are grand views in all directions. Artists
here find constant use for their sketching tools. A fine picture of the
lake was painted by Bierstadt in 1872. He chose the month of August for
his picture.
The Donner Disaster.
At the foot of the lake is the scene of the sufferings of the Donner
party. The spot is marked by a tall wooden cross. At this little
mountain-begirt lake, in October, 1846, arrived a party of emigrants
(mostly from Illinois), under the leadership of George Donner. There
were with the train seventy-six men, women, and children. That winter
the snow fell a month earlier than usual, and in a single night the
party found themselves overwhelmed, caught in a _cul-de-sac_. It was
impossible to attempt the mountains when the snow in the lower ground
about the lake was so deep that the wagons could not be moved; besides,
it snowed without ceasing. In one night, when their cattle were
scattered about, snow fell to such a depth as to completely cover and
hide them from sight. It was then decided to build cabins and winter on
the spot. Being short of provisions, they at once killed all the cattle
they could find, using the hides to roof the cabins. In December all
provisions were exhausted, and parties were sent out one after another
to reach California and there make known the condition of those left in
the camp. Most of those thus sent out perished, but finally one or two
persons reached Sutter’s Fort, at Sacramento. The first relief parties
failed, and it was not until February that a party reached the starving
people of the camp. These, meantime, had been reduced to such extremity
as to cook and eat the raw hides covering their cabins and the bones
thrown away earlier in the season. Toward the last there was at least
one instance of cannibalism. Of the seventy-six persons but forty
survived, some perishing in the mountains (where the snow was thirty
feet deep) in trying to get through to California, and others dying in
the cabins. Those found in the cabins were mere skeletons. A thick
volume would be required to give a full account of all the sufferings
and trials of the ill-fated Donner party. It was a disaster that shocked
all California for years, and which created a profound sensation of
horror and pity throughout the whole United States. The history of what
occurred at Donner Lake that winter has never been fully written, and
never will be, as there were happenings that the survivors were never
willing to talk about.
Surrounding Points of Interest.
Donner Peak, to the west of the lake, a towering pile of granite, rises
to a height of 8,154 feet above the level of the sea, and Glacial Point,
in the same direction, is 7,708 feet in height. Fremont’s Peak—sometimes
called Castle Peak, or Mount Stanford—towers in the northwest to the
height of 9,237 feet above sea level. It is seen about four miles north
of Summit Station. At this peak heads Pioneer Creek. From its granite
pinnacle, on a clear day may be seen the Downieville Buttes, Marysville
Buttes, the Coast Range, and many mountains and valleys in California;
and looking eastward, Mount Davidson, the sinks of the Carson and
Humboldt, are seen, with many other mountains and deserts. Near Summit
are about a dozen small lakes, some of them charming both in themselves
and in their surroundings of rocks and trees.
Independence Lake.
This beautiful lake is nineteen miles distant from Truckee, and is
reached by stage or carriage. It is three miles long and three-quarters
of a mile wide. The lake was named by Lola Montez (when a resident of
Grass Valley, California) on the occasion of a visit to it on a picnic
excursion, July 4, 1853. It is held up toward the heavens to a height of
7,000 feet by a circle of grand old peaks. It is very deep, and in
places has never been fathomed. Owing to its great depth, the lake is
supposed to occupy an extinct volcanic crater, whereas Donner Lake was
formed by a moraine deposited across the valley by a glacier. The lake
is alive with trout of a peculiar species, a good deal resembling brook
trout, and for which they are often sold. The surrounding scenery is as
wildly beautiful as the imagination can picture. From the peak of Mount
Lola, 4 miles north of the lake and 11,000 feet high, can be seen Mount
Shasta, distant 180 miles to the northward; Mount Diablo, 140 miles
distant; all Sacramento Valley, and scores of peaks of note in all
directions. There is a hotel at the lake and good accommodations of all
kinds. Bear, deer, and grouse are to be found in the chaparral, mountain
glades, and pine forests. The lake has an outlet which is the head of
one of the principal branches of the Little Truckee.
Webber Lake.
This lake lies twenty-five miles north of Truckee, and is reached by
stage over a road bordered with charming scenery. The lake is circular
in form and about a mile in diameter. It is 6,925 feet above sea-level.
It is surrounded with mountains of graceful outline, nearly all of which
are wooded to their tops. The deepest spot to be found measures only 80
feet. The lake is of glacial origin. It abounds in trout—a very game
variety, introduced nearly thirty years ago. About the lake are numerous
attractions. About a mile south from the lake, on a tributary creek, are
falls over 100 feet in height; a mile north is a little gem of a lake,
with an area of 50 acres, which is called the Lake of the Woods, and
which is 7,500 feet (nearly a mile and a half) above the level of the
sea; near at hand is Prospect Peak, from the top of which, in a clear
day, mountain peaks distant 300 miles may be made out, while all about
are other tall peaks and objects of interest. Small mountain game is
plentiful near the lake. Bear may be found by those anxious to see them
by taking a tramp in the chaparral thickets of the higher peaks. There
is a good hotel at the lake, yet it is a great place of resort for
campers. Where the greatest depth of water is only 80 feet, no one is
afraid of drowning. The lake has an outlet, which is one of the
affluents of the Little Truckee.
Pyramid Lake.
We have now to speak of a few Nevada lakes not mentioned in connection
with the rivers of the State. The greatest of these, and the largest
lake between the Sierra Nevada Range and the Rocky Mountains, except
Great Salt Lake, Utah, is Pyramid Lake. It is fed by the Truckee, the
course of which river has already been traced, and the head of which has
been particularly described as the outlet of Lake Tahoe. Pyramid Lake
lies in Washoe County, on the west line of Humboldt County. The lake is
nearly 40 miles long by from 15 to 20 miles in width, and has an
elevation of 4,000 feet above the level of the sea. It has no outlet. It
is the most picturesque sheet of water in all the Great Basin region,
owing to its numerous rocky islands. As it lies off the usual lines of
travel and traffic it is seldom visited, yet it is well worthy of the
attention of the tourist. Pyramid Lake lies about 25 miles north of
Wadsworth, a brisk and thriving town on the Central Pacific Railroad. It
is at Wadsworth that the traveler by rail from the East first reaches
the Truckee River, and is where the traveler from California takes his
leave of the stream. At Wadsworth the river turns abruptly to the north,
which course it holds to the lake.
A vehicle for a trip to the lake can always be found at Wadsworth. The
road lies down along the timbered banks of the river, and here and there
will be seen the cabins of the Indians of the Pyramid Reservation. Most
of the groves seen are of cottonwood and willow trees. The Truckee River
has two mouths, one of which empties into Pyramid Lake and the other
into Winnemucca Lake. The branch which feeds Pyramid Lake is only about
one mile in length, whereas the more meandering branch, which is the
feeder of Winnemucca Lake, has a length of six miles.
Pyramid Lake contains several islands. Some of these, near the middle of
the lake, are pyramidal in shape, and gray in color. They rise to a
height of several hundred feet above the surface of the water, and it is
from these natural pyramids that the lake takes its name. Far away
toward the north end of the lake is seen a tall, slender pyramid that is
perfectly white. Some of the isolated rocks seen are egg-shaped, and 300
to 400 feet high. Fremont’s Pyramid is the name borne by one of the
taller of the pyramidal rocks near the head of the lake. One of the
largest islands contains large flocks of goats, the progeny of a few
pairs of the animals turned loose there many years ago. The island has
an area of about five square miles, and is well covered with vegetation,
being less precipitous and rocky than the others. The only picturesque
addition needed to this island is a “Crusoe” and his hut.
One small, rocky island is wholly given up to rattlesnakes. It is the
home of thousands of the venomous reptiles. They have their dens in the
rocks, and live upon the eggs and young of water-fowl, and such small
fish as are cast ashore.
Pyramid Lake is of immense depth. No one knows its depth in the deepest
part. At the last attempt to sound it, 600 fathoms (3,600 feet) of line
were run out without finding bottom. Where it enters the lake the water
of the Truckee River is as pure and sweet as where it leaves Lake Tahoe,
yet the water of Pyramid Lake is slightly brackish. However, myriads of
trout are found in Pyramid Lake. The Piute Indians of the Reservation
every year catch and sell thousands of tons of trout, deriving a snug
sum from this source. The lake never freezes, and is generally very
rough. The Indian fishermen, however, navigate its waters at all times
quite fearlessly, even when seated astride of a bundle of tules.
Winnemucca Lake.
This lake lies to the east of, and parallel with, Pyramid Lake, from
which it is separated by only a single ridge of gray rock and sand. It
lies principally in Humboldt County, though a part reaches south into
Churchill County. The lake is now about sixty miles long, with an
average width of twelve miles. Of late years it has been rapidly
increasing in size, as more water has been flowing through its feeder
than formerly. It has on the east side a high rocky ridge, like that
which separates it from Pyramid, therefore it lies in a trough between
two ranges of hills. Though so near to each other, the surface of the
water in Winnemucca Lake is forty feet lower than that in Pyramid. The
Piutes remember a time when all was one lake. Were the waters of these
twin lakes now united they would make a lake quite as large as the great
Salt Lake of Utah. The inlet to Winnemucca Lake contains several old
rafts of drift-wood, which prevent a free flow of water through it. Some
years ago a freshet lifted these rafts from the bed of the stream, and
the water found a channel beneath them. Since that occurred Winnemucca
Lake has been steadily increasing in size. There are many Indian
traditions connected with these lakes, one of which is in regard to
immense animals that once herded in the neighborhood. This seems to be a
tradition of the elephant or mastodon. All this region was once covered
by an inland sea of fresh water, over 200 miles in length, and 80 or 90
miles in width.
Washoe Lake.
Washoe Lake is situated in Washoe Valley, and is seen in going by rail
from Reno to Carson. The lake proper is about four miles long, and from
a mile to a mile and a half wide. On the west and north extend large
tule marshes, which at times contain a considerable depth of water. The
lake is fed by small streams from the Sierras, and it has an outlet into
Steamboat Creek. The lake is filled with perch and catfish, planted a
few years ago; also contains swarms of native fish of the “chub”
species. It is a favorite resort for anglers from Carson and the towns
of the Comstock. At certain seasons the lake is visited by great numbers
of ducks, geese, and other water-fowl. It is shallow, and having a muddy
bottom, it is not a suitable sheet of water for either brook or lake
trout. Carp, however, would flourish in its muddy depths and tule
shallows.
Thermal and Medicinal Springs.
The hot springs of Nevada are numbered by thousands and tens of
thousands, and scores of them in all parts of the State possess more or
less medicinal value. Hot springs are found from the Oregon and Idaho
lines southward to the Colorado River, and from the eastern base of the
Sierras across the whole breadth of the State. No one has ever attempted
to number the many warm and hot springs, and they are literally
innumerable. Springs which would attract great attention in the Atlantic
States, and which would be worth fortunes, here pass unknown, unnamed,
“unhonored and unsung.” All the hot springs possess curative properties
in the case of rheumatic and various skin diseases. Not one in a
thousand of the springs on this side of the Sierras has been analyzed,
for which reason the waters of only a few are used internally.
Steamboat Springs.
The most noted hot springs in the western part of Nevada are those known
as the Steamboat Springs. They were so named by the first white men who
visited them, on account of the puffing sound some of them then emitted,
and because of the tall columns of steam they sent up. These springs are
in Steamboat Valley, ten miles south of Reno. The Virginia and Truckee
Railroad passes close alongside the springs. They are situated at the
eastern base of a low range of basaltic hills, and occupy the top of a
flat ridge that is over a mile in length and has a north and south
course. This ridge is about half a mile in width and is composed of a
whitish silicious material evidently deposited by the waters of the many
springs.
The temperature of the principal springs is 204 degrees, which is as hot
as water can be made at that altitude (5,000 feet above the level of the
sea). Some of the springs rise through circular openings from a foot to
three feet in diameter and are surrounded by conical mounds of silicious
matters deposited by the waters, whereas others flow from fissures,
which are evidently rents formed by earthquakes. Out of some of these
fissures rush great volumes of hot gases that have a strong odor of
sulphur. These fissures are perfectly dry, and the jets of hot air are
invisible. From other dry crevices issue great clouds of very hot steam.
Steam rises in great volumes from all the boiling springs, and of
mornings when the air is cool and calm from 60 to 80 tall pillars of
steam may be counted, rising to a height of 100 feet or more above the
low, bare ridge. The air everywhere about the springs is strongly
charged with sulphurous vapors in gases. The crevices have the same
course as the great quartz veins of the country, _i. e._, northeast and
southwest. Here is no doubt a huge metallic vein in process of
formation; indeed, various minerals are deposited by the gases, notably
cinnabar. Some of the fissures may be traced from 1,000 to 3,000 feet,
and have a width of from 16 inches to 3 feet. In places where nothing is
seen to issue from these fissures at the surface, indications of
tremendous subterranean activity are distinctly audible. Far down in
under-ground regions are heard thunderous surgings and lashings as of
huge volumes of water dashed to and fro in vast hollow, resounding
caverns. In other places are heard fearful (dry) thumpings and
poundings, as though at some flaming forge below a band of sweating
Cyclops were at work at hammering out thunder-bolts for old Jove.
Small springs in places send jets of hot water into the air to the
height of two or three feet, with a hissing and sputtering sound, but
for some years past none of them have thrown water to any great distance
above the surface. In 1860, and for a few years thereafter, two or three
of the springs rivaled the geysers of Yellowstone Park, sending columns
of water a yard in diameter to a height of sixty or eighty feet once in
from six to eight hours. Some springs sent columns of water from three
to six inches in diameter to a still greater height. Even now the water
is seen to rise and fall in some of the fissures in a threatening
manner. At the springs is a fine and commodious hotel, bathing-houses
for vapor baths, and every desirable accommodation. The springs are very
beneficial to persons afflicted with rheumatic complaints, and are also
useful in some cases of cutaneous diseases.
Shaw’s Springs.
These springs are situated about a mile west of Carson City. They are
also much frequented by persons afflicted with rheumatism and kindred
complaints, though more well than sick persons use the baths, as
connected with them is a large swimming pool, 60 by 24 feet and from 4½
to 5½ feet deep. One of these springs is what is called a “chicken-soup”
spring. By adding pepper and salt to the water it acquires the taste of
thin chicken soup.
State Prison Warm Springs.
About a mile east of Carson City, at the Nevada State prison, is a warm
spring of great volume. Here Col. Abe Curry, who owned the property
before it was acquired by the State, constructed the first swimming bath
to be found on the Pacific Coast. It is 160 feet long by 38 feet wide,
and is walled up with stone, and over it is erected a building, also of
stone, of which there is a fine quarry on the spot. The water in the
pool is from three to five feet deep, and is of about blood heat. This
bath is not now open to the “world at large,” but is kept for a little
world that is “not at large.”
Walley’s Springs.
There are in hundreds of places along the eastern base of the Sierras
groups of hot springs of more or less celebrity, but none of which are
more highly esteemed for their curative properties, or as a more popular
place of resort for the afflicted, than Walley’s Springs, a mile and a
half south of Genoa. Persons who are troubled with rheumatism, or are
afflicted with scrofula and like disorders, are much benefited by the
baths at these springs. Here are also excellent mud baths, the hot,
mineral-impregnated mud being found very efficacious in many cases of
chronic rheumatic complaints. In the vicinity are many objects of
interest, and near at hand may be found good hunting and fishing. There
is a fine hotel, and the best of accommodations of every kind for both
sound and sick, at the springs. The springs are fourteen and a half
miles south of Carson and may be reached either by stage or private
conveyance. The road lies through Carson Valley, and is fine and smooth.
Other Springs.
Near Elko are several hot springs, with fine springs of cold water in
their immediate vicinity. Here, too, is a “chicken-soup” spring. The
springs are situated to the northwest of the town, and a bathing-house
has been erected for the accommodation of the rheumatic public.
At Golconda are some very large hot springs, near which are others of
ordinary temperature. Some of the hot springs are occasionally utilized
for scalding hogs. In the cool pools connected with the flow from the
hot springs, carp and some other kinds of fish have been planted. It is
said that the carp grown in the ponds often venture upon darting through
places where water almost boiling hot is bubbling up. These springs are
near the Central Pacific Railroad station. Also half a mile south of the
track of the Central Pacific road there are, at Hot Springs Station,
near the sink of the Humboldt, several springs that send up columns of
steam.
There are only a few of the hot springs that are situated near main
lines of travel. In Thousand Spring Valley, on the Upper Humboldt, there
are literally thousands of springs, some of which send out whole brooks
of water. The majority of these, however, are cold. In Churchill County,
north of the Sand Springs salt marsh, are hot springs which are 50, 80,
and even 100 feet in diameter. They are on the edge of a desert at the
foot of a range of rocky hills burnt to a brick-red by volcanic fires.
Here, too, are seen thick veins of pure native sulphur. There are hot
springs and scalding pools and brooks in every county in the State. In
Nye County there are many hot springs in Hot Creek Valley, in Big Smoky
Valley, and Lone Valley. There is also in this county the Cabezon Valley
Hot Spring, which is medicinal. On the Rio Virgin, in Lincoln County, is
one of the finest purgative springs on the Pacific Coast. With other
ingredients amounting to 311 grains of solid matter to the gallon, it
contains 67 grains of sulphate of soda, 54 grains of sulphate of
magnesia, and 3 grains of sulphate of potassa.
Railroads in Nevada.
Although Nevada would appear at a first glance a difficult region in
which to construct railroads, the fact is that it is quite the contrary.
Between the parallel ranges of mountains running north and south, there
are long level valleys, tracts of desert land, requiring very little
grading. These valleys and deserts are linked together and connected by
plains from the northern to the southern boundary of the State. As these
valleys and deserts once formed the beds and connecting channels of
chains of lakes now extinct, it is evident that in following their
course a line of railroad might be very cheaply constructed. In many
places for miles on miles there would be little to do but put down the
ties and rails. In many places, too, there are remarkable passages
leading east and west from valley to valley, called “gates.” There are
clean level east and west cuts through ranges of mountains running north
and south. The only difficulty to be encountered in railroad building in
Nevada is in running roads to special points (as to mines) high above
the general level of the country, as in the case of the Virginia to
Truckee when it leaves the valley region to climb the Mount Davidson
Range to the Comstock Lode. The whole plateau through which was upheaved
the north and south ranges of mountains has a mean elevation of 5,000
feet above the level of the sea in all central Nevada; to the southward
it gradually slopes downward, until at the south line of the State, on
the Colorado River, the altitude above sea-level is only 800 feet.
The Central Pacific.
The largest stretch of railroad in Nevada is the Central Pacific. Its
length within the boundaries of the State, from where it enters, near
Verdi, to where it passes out, near Tecoma, is a little over 450 miles.
Though this is an east and west road (the course across the interior
parallel mountain ranges), yet no great difficulties were encountered in
crossing the State. The road enters Nevada from California along the
course of the Truckee River, which stream it follows as far east as
Wadsworth. Leaving Wadsworth the road traverses a level, sandy plain
till the Humboldt River is reached. The road then follows the course of
the Humboldt to Cedar Pass, not far from the Utah line.
The Virginia and Truckee.
Having already given a description of this road, it will not be
necessary in this place to do more than to mention the distance from
point to point between Reno and Virginia City. Soon after leaving Reno
the dumps of the flumes that bring wood and lumber down from the pine
forests of the Sierras will be seen to the right of the road. The first
of these is four miles from Reno; three miles farther on, near
Huffaker’s Station, is another, and at Brown’s is a third. Others will
be seen about Washoe Valley and Franktown. They are from ten to twenty
miles in length, and of the same V-shape as that at Carson City.
Steamboat Springs Station is eleven miles from Reno; Washoe, sixteen
miles; Franktown, twenty-one miles; Carson City, thirty-one miles;
Carson to Empire, three miles; Mexican Mill, three and one-fourth;
Morgan Mill, four; Brunswick, five; Merrimac, five and one-half; Vivian,
six; Santiago Mill, seven miles; Mound House, ten; Silver Switch, twelve
and three-fourths; Scales, sixteen and one-half; Baltic Switch,
seventeen and one-half; Crown Point, eighteen; Gold Hill, nineteen;
Virginia City, twenty-one miles from Carson and fifty-two from Reno.
Carson and Colorado.
At Mound House, ten miles from Carson City, the Carson and Colorado
Narrow Gauge Railroad connects with the Virginia and Truckee. This road
runs southeasterly through Lyon and Esmeralda Counties, in Nevada, then,
turning more south, passes through a corner of Mono County, California,
and enters Inyo County in the same State. It has a total length of 293
miles, and its present southern terminus is at Keeler, at the south end
of Owen’s Lake, Inyo County. The road passes through regions of very
diverse products and industries. Agricultural and grazing sections
alternate with those in which the ruling pursuit is mining for the
precious metals, and these with others where are immense salt, soda, and
borax marshes.
Six miles from Mound House is Dayton, on the Carson River. It is a
milling town with agricultural surroundings. The road runs eastward near
the course of the Carson River through a fine agricultural and grazing
country, then turns southward through Churchill Canyon to the town of
Wabuska, thirty-eight miles.
Wabuska.
Wabuska is a thriving little place at the edge of Mason Valley, one of
the finest agricultural and grazing regions in the State, the Walker
River affording excellent facilities for irrigation. After leaving
Wabuska, Walker Lake is soon reached. The road passes along the eastern
shore of the lake nearly its whole length, affording many fine and
picturesque views. It is a beautiful sheet of water, but lacks trees and
vegetation, hardly a green thing being seen on its shores, except at the
upper end, at and about the mouth of the Walker River.
Hawthorne.
Hawthorne, 100 miles from Mound House, is situated about 3½ miles beyond
the foot of the lake. Although only a little more than eight years old,
the town is beginning to present a comfortable appearance. It stands on
a plain the soil of which at the time the town was laid out seemed to be
nothing better than pure sand, yet on such a foundation has been
conjured an oasis of shady groves, blooming grounds, and productive
gardens. The town has a population of about 600. There are many small
veins of gold and silver-bearing quartz in the surrounding mountains
that are rich and easily worked. Here stages leave for Aurora, 26, and
Bodie, 37 miles to the southward. Much freight is taken by team from
Hawthorne to the two mining towns named. The Walker Lake _Bulletin_, a
good local paper, is published weekly in the town.
Luning.
Luning, 125 miles from Mound House, is in the midst of a mining region
the veins of which have about the same characteristics as those about
Hawthorne. Stages and teams leave the town for Downieville, Grantsville,
and Belmont.
Belleville.
Belleville, 150 miles from Mound House, is a thriving mining and milling
town.
Candelaria.
Candelaria, 158 miles from Mound House, is a brisk mining town of about
600 inhabitants. It contains several mines of note, and has yielded
great quantities of bullion. The Mt. Diablo Mine is at the present time
the leading bullion producer. The town has several mills, some good
buildings, and a good system of water works. Stages leave the town for
Columbus, Silver Peak, Montezuma, Alida Valley, and Gold Mountain.
Leaving Candelaria, the road soon passes into California, striking down
into Independence Valley near the White Mountains, the highest peak of
which stands 12,000 feet above the level of the sea. The line runs
through a rich agricultural and grazing region, with high mountain
ranges on either hand, in which are found many veins rich in the
precious metals.
Benton.
Benton, in Mono County, California, is 193 miles from Mound House. It is
situated in a rich section of Independence Valley and is a fine
fruit-growing region. In the neighborhood of the town, which contains
about 200 inhabitants, are many good farms, orchards, and vineyards.
Bishop Creek.
Bishop Creek is a flourishing agricultural settlement, 224 miles from
Mound House. It is in Inyo County. The lands and surroundings are much
the same as those of Benton. The hamlet constituting the trading-post at
the railroad, and the farms in the neighborhood, have a population of
about 250.
Independence.
Independence, 267 miles from Mound House, with the farms in its
immediate neighborhood, has a population of about 400. The town stands
in the midst of a fine farming, grazing, and fruit-growing region.
Bordering the valley are mountains in which are many good mines of the
precious metals, though these have been but little worked and many have
not been opened at all, the settlers in the valleys who discovered them
being devoted to agricultural pursuits. Here is published weekly the
_Inyo Independent_, an excellent local paper.
Keeler.
Keeler, the present terminus of the Carson and Colorado Railroad, is 293
miles from Mound House. The town is situated on the east side of Owens
Lake and near its south end. It is a new place and contains only about
200 inhabitants. Stages leave the town for Cerro Gordo, Darwin, and
Panamint.
Owens Lake.
Owens Lake, which is the “sink” of Owens River, has an area of about 110
square miles. Its waters are heavily charged with salt and alkaline
minerals. One United States standard gallon (8⅓ pounds, or 231 cubic
inches) of the lake water contains 4,422.25 grains of solid matter,
sodium carbonate and sodium chloride predominating and aggregating
2,561.83 grains.
The water of the lake contains only a trace of borax. It is evaporated
on a large scale near Keeler, for the valuable alkaline minerals it
holds in solution. The water of Owens Lake contains a much greater
quantity of mineral matter than that of the Dead Sea. In Dead Sea water
there is only 1,680 grains of solid matter to the United States gallon.
Dead Sea water is evidently less salt than that of many of the lakes of
the Great Basin region, as fish are found in it at and near the mouths
of tributary streams, and in places along its shores shell-fish are to
be seen.
Mono Lake.
Mono Lake, about 100 miles north of Owens Lake, in Mono County, has an
area of 85 square miles. Its water is almost precisely similar in every
respect to that of Owens Lake.
Owens River, over 100 miles in length, flows through the valley nearly
its whole course, and, with its many tributary creeks, affords water
sufficient to irrigate a great area of land. The whole region is rapidly
being taken by settlers. The soil is exceedingly fertile and the climate
very fine. To the west of the chain of valleys the snow-clad Sierras
tower to a vast height. Above all surrounding peaks Mount Whitney rises
to a height of 15,000 feet. The Carson and Colorado road will eventually
be extended southward to a connection with the railroad system of
Southern California.
Eureka and Palisade.
This railroad is ninety miles in length. It is a narrow gauge and
connects Eureka with the Central Pacific at Palisade. It was constructed
to transport machinery and supplies to the mines and town of Eureka, and
to carry out the products of the smelting furnaces.
Palisade.
Palisade contains about 250 inhabitants.
Eureka.
Eureka is a town of smelting furnaces. It is situated in the midst of a
region in which very rich smelting ores are mined. The mines at Eureka
were discovered in 1864, but not much was done with them until, two
years later, and in 1869 the place began to boom and the yield of the
mines soon became from one to three millions of dollars annually. Like
other mining towns, Eureka has its ebbs and flows of fortune. For a year
or two it was in “barrasca,” but since the beginning of 1888 it has been
again getting into “bonanza.” It is the county seat of Eureka County,
and has a population of about 2,500. In 1880 it had a population of
4,207, but in 1886-87 it lost inhabitants. Now it is once more gaining.
It is the point from which many interior mining towns and camps receive
their supplies. There are many fine and substantial public and private
buildings in the town, and a good system of water works. In the
_Sentinel_, published weekly, the place has a good local paper. Eureka
is the Pittsburg of Nevada. In all directions its furnace chimneys vomit
volumes of black, sulphurous smoke—when Government officials do not
“pester” the people on account of their cutting scrub timber.
Nevada Central.
This road is a narrow gauge, 93 miles in length, and connects Austin
with the Central Pacific at Battle Mountain. From Battle Mountain the
road runs nearly south up the valley of the Reese River. There are many
good farms in Reese River Valley, and good grazing ranges on the higher
ground.
Battle Mountain.
Battle Mountain is a town of about 500 inhabitants, situated very
pleasantly, and cheaply supplied with water by means of artesian wells
of trifling depth. Its business is derived from the surrounding farming
and grazing regions, from the Central Pacific Railroad, and from the
several mining sections with which it has communication. It contains
many good public and private buildings, and handsome cottages are
numerous. _The Central Nevadan_, a sprightly weekly paper, is published
in the town.
Austin.
Austin is the oldest town in Eastern Nevada, and the mother of mining in
that part of the State. It is the county seat of Lander County. Austin
was laid out in February, 1863. It is situated nearly upon the summit of
the Toyabee Range of mountains, about six miles from Reese River, and is
nearly in the geographical center of the State. It contains many good,
substantial public and private buildings of brick and stone. Before the
completion of the Central Pacific the overland stages passed through the
town, when it had about 5,000 inhabitants, as it was also then the
center of a rich mining region. The mines at and about Austin have
produced many millions in gold and silver bullion. Like all other mining
towns, Austin has had her periods of elevation and depression—her
“streaks of fat and streaks of lean”—and this year (1889) seems to be
getting out of a lean streak into a streak that shows a considerable
amount of “fatty” matter. August 18, 1874, the town was nearly ruined by
a cloud-burst which tore up the roadway and sidewalks of the main
street, flooded buildings, and filled them with mud and sand to the
depth of several feet. The damage done was estimated at $100,000. As the
people had warning of what was coming, no lives were lost. In this the
Austinites were more fortunate than were the people of Eureka in the
month of July, in the same year, as there a cloud-burst not only did
immense damage to the town, but also drowned fifteen persons. An
excellent daily paper, the _Reese River Reveille_, is published at
Austin.
Nevada and California.
This narrow-gauge railroad starts at Reno and runs northward into Lassen
County, California. It has now attained a length of about eighty miles,
and is still in process of construction. It is penetrating a region of
country containing vast forests of pine timber, good mines, and many
fine mountain valleys. Eventually it will be run northward into the
interior of Oregon. It will presently bring to Reno great quantities of
lumber and timber to be shipped eastward into the timberless regions of
the Great Basin country.
Proposed Railroads.
A section of railroad of narrow gauge has been constructed through the
Beckworth Pass westward. It connects with the Nevada and California road
at Moran, and is called the Sierra Valley and Mohawk Railroad. After
rails had been laid through the pass and a short distance down the
western slope of the Sierras, work was discontinued. It is supposed that
the section of road was laid in the interest of some one of the great
Eastern roads now heading toward the Pacific Ocean in order to hold the
pass. The Beckworth Pass is nearly 2,000 feet lower than that through
which the Central Pacific Railroad is laid.
The Salt Lake and Los Angeles.
The Salt Lake and Los Angeles is a proposed railroad on which surveying
parties have been engaged for nearly a year. It is intended to start at
Milford, on the Utah Central, pass through Lincoln County, Nevada, and
connect with the railroad system of Southern California at Barstow. This
road would tap a rich mining and a fine agricultural and grazing region
in Southern Nevada. It would give life to an immense region of country
that has long lain as dead.