UNDERGROUND BATTLES
In the early days of Washoe, fights between rival claimants of mining
ground were frequent, and often stubbornly contested and bloody. These
fights sometimes occurred upon the surface, sometimes far down in the
bowels of the earth—one company having broken into ground claimed by
another with a drift or a tunnel. On such occasions the rival companies
armed and fortified underground as well as upon the surface.
Sometimes a company tried to smoke their rivals out, and in this they
generally succeeded, but were, in most instances, themselves smoked out
as well, by their own bonfires and stink-pots. Of late years, however,
most difficulties in regard to the ownership of mining property have
been settled in the courts. Men at last began to realize that battles
with guns, pistols, and knives settled nothing; no matter how many lives
were sacrificed, matters had to be brought before the proper tribunal at
last. Yet a little of the old warlike spirit is occasionally manifested
even at the present day.
The last mining fight, of any importance, on the Comstock lode, occurred
at the Justice mine on the evening of Saturday, October 3, 1874, which
resulted in the death of five men in about as many minutes.
[Illustration: MINERS’ BATTLES.]
It may be of interest to give the particulars in regard to the
last-affair, as it will serve to illustrate the manner in which these
battles in the mines are fought, and show in what way they are sometimes
brought on. The fight occurred at about 6 o’clock in the evening, at
what is known as the Waller’s Defeat Shaft of the Justice mine, situated
on Gold Cañon, between Gold Hill and Silver City. The battle was between
two factions of the Justice Mining Company, contending for possession of
the mine. There had for some time been trouble among the trustees of the
company, and on the day of the fight the president of the company
appointed a new superintendent and instructed him to take possession of
the mine.
It was the talk that the old superintendent would not give up the mine,
and there were rumors during the afternoon that a fight might be
expected, and many were talking about going down to the Justice to “see
the fun.” Finally the brother of the newly-appointed superintendent, as
a deputy, and accompanied by a number of men, went down to the mine, and
had a talk with the foreman in charge about taking possession of the
works. The foreman said he was ready to give possession whenever the
other came with proper authority, but as things then stood he would
prefer to hear from his superior, the old superintendent, before doing
anything.
Meantime the newly-appointed superintendent was in Virginia City looking
for the old superintendent, in order to show him the dispatches he had
received from San Francisco, instructing him to take possession of the
mine; but he failed to find him and left the city. About this time the
old superintendent, who was in Virginia City, sent a note to his foreman
at the mine instructing him to give the newly-appointed officer
possession of the works at both shafts—the old Justice and the Waller’s
Defeat Shaft.
Before this note reached its destination and before the two
superintendents—the old and the new—had met, the men themselves had
precipitated the fight. There were with the deputy superintendent twelve
men who were to be used in holding possession of the two shafts in case
of their being given up by the men in charge. All of these men were
armed with pistols, and some of them had been drinking enough to make
them feel inclined to have things go about as they wished. They grew
impatient on account of the delay in giving possession of the works and
presently left the Justice shaft, and started for the Waller’s Defeat,
two or three hundred yards distant.
The deputy superintendent had started to go to Gold Hill, when, looking
back, he saw his men moving in a body toward the Waller’s Defeat Shaft.
Fearing trouble, he turned and hastened after them. When he overtook
them they were close to the building over the shaft and were still
advancing. It was well understood that there were in this building
several armed men, and he ran before his men and tried to induce them to
halt.
At the same time a voice from the hoisting-works over the shaft
commanded them to stop. It was now growing dark, and the persons in the
building could not be seen. As the deputy was still trying to keep his
men back, two of them pushed past him and advanced toward the building.
One of these raised his revolver as he moved forward, and instantly a
volley was fired from the building. Three men fell, two of whom died on
the ground, while the third, who was shot through the spine and abdomen,
lived but a few hours.
A short parley now ensued. The deputy superintendent told those within
the building that he desired to have a talk with them; to tell them what
he wanted to do. He said that such work as they were having must not go
on; that he did not come there to have a battle with those in possession
of the works. He then asked if he might enter the building. A voice said
he might come in, if he came alone; but if another man attempted to
follow him they would fire on the whole party. The deputy then advanced
to the building, and had just raised his foot to step into the door when
those inside fired, and he fell dead in his tracks. One of his men ran
up to bring away his body and received a charge of buckshot in the
breast that laid him dead beside the deputy. During this time several
shots were fired into the building by those on the outside, but without
effect. After these scattering shots there was an entire cessation of
hostilities on both sides, and outside parties—persons not belonging to
either faction—were allowed to approach and carry away the dead.
A gentleman who was on the ground through the whole affair, considered
the advance of the deputy’s party as being very ill-advised, and quite
against the wishes of the deputy himself, as that gentleman did all in
his power to keep his men back. Much rashness and hot-headedness was
exhibited on both sides. It was said that the reason the deputy was
fired on was that as he advanced to the door of the works some of his
men moved forward behind him. The dead were carried to a small cabin
near at hand, and when they had been decently composed, with
handkerchiefs tied over their heads and under their chins, they
presented a ghastly spectacle, as they were still in the clothes in
which they fell, all of which were soaked in blood. Their shirts were
open, and the wounds of those shot in the breast were exposed to sight.
To stand in the little cabin, twelve by fourteen feet in size, and see
the whole floor covered with dead bodies, one seemed to be on the edge
of a field whereon had just been fought some great and bloody battle.
The news of the fight brought not less than a thousand persons to the
spot, but all gave the building over the Waller’s Defeat shaft a wide
berth. All was dark and silent as the grave within the building. This
stillness and darkness seemed ominous. No one wished to venture near it,
as all said it was quite certain that the men within would not be taken
alive. A guard was placed about the works and all night men armed with
muskets patrolled before and around the building.
When daylight came a cautious advance was made, and finally the building
was entered. Not a man was found within it. All had escaped some time
during the previous night, probably immediately after the last shooting,
and long before the guard was set. Though no men were found in the
building, there was found a Henry rifle, a double-barrelled shot-gun,
three revolvers, and a smaller pistol, together with several
powder-flasks and a quantity of ammunition; also, about one hundred
cigars, and two demijohns partly filled with whisky—“fighting whisky,”
no doubt. An inquest was held by the coroner of Storey County, and the
following verdict found:
We the undersigned jurors, summoned by Coroner Homles of Storey County
to make due inquiry into the cause of the deaths of William Kellogg,
Michael Riley, John Brown, Michael Cain, and W. D. Shifiett, on being
duly sworn do find that the true names and ages of deceased were as
follows: Michael Cain, a native of Ireland, aged 35 years; W. D.
Shifiett, a native of Virginia, aged 47 years; W. P. Kellogg, a native
of New York, aged 42 years; Michael Riley, a native of Ireland, aged
37 years, and John Brown, a native of Pennsylvania, aged 37 years: and
we do find that they came to their deaths at Waller Defeat shaft of
the Justice mine in Gold Hill, Storey County, Nevada, on Saturday
October 3, 1874, from gunshot wounds inflicted by the hands of parties
to us unknown.
Four men were arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the shooting,
but these were finally discharged by the grand jury, and so ended the
last mining battle on the Comstock lode.
The men who were in the Waller’s Defeat building, and handled the guns,
were not regular miners such as work in the lower levels, but belonged
to a class that generally toil on the surface at about ten dollars per
day, taking “fighting interests” in mines that are in dispute, or hiring
out keep possession of property that has more than one claimant. In
former times they were a class of laborers that were in brisk demand.
[Illustration]