Mining History Library

Premium content Audio presentation
For info on audio presentations click here
Show only free content Show only audio content

Letters From California #2 - William Swain (1850)

Letter written by a '49er from California describes life of the miners in detail, and conditions in the gold fields.

Letter From Humboldt County (1867 Newspaper)

Article describes stagecoach travel in Nevada in the 1860s, and the works at Oreana.

The Old-Time Prospector (1889 Chamber's Journal of Popular Literature)

A description of the American Prospector by the Chamber's Journal of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Letters From California #1 (1850 Newspaper)

"Large numbers are coming down daily from the mines, some with a pretty good quantity of “dust,” but the greater number without any. It is very sickly up there, and most of the operatives are coming down to spend the rainy season. The sickness and privation here is appalling, and I have about come to the conclusion that this is the greatest humbug that was ever started."

The Discovery of Silver (Comstock Lode) (1895 New England Magazine)

This incredible story describes the first discovery of the fabulous silver veins of the Comstock Lode by Allen and Hosea Grosh, a tale that ends in tragedy for the brothers. The location of the veins was lost with the brothers, and the Comstock riches would remain hidden for another two years after this initial discovery.

The Prospector and His Burro - Gold is Where You Find It (1906 Salt Lake Mining Review)

"I want to tell you, old long-ears, that the trouble with the majority of prospectors is that they are too set in their ideas. They have formed opinions which they stick to, whether they are right or wrong. They attempt to dictate to nature and refuse to see anything good in the mineral line unless it exists according to their preconceived ideas."

The Prospector and His Burro - Bonanzas of the Early Days (1906 Salt Lake Mining Review)

"In looking at what is left of this old camp the veil of the past seem to be raised for me. To the tenderfoot this discovery would seem to take one back to prehistoric times, and yet it is not more than twenty-five or thirty years ago since these hills were full of life, and since these old mines were actively operated; on a primitive scale, to be sure, and yet with profit."

The Prospector and His Burro - Wrecking a District (1906 Salt Lake Mining Review)

"I want to tell you, old long ears," continued the prospector, "that it is too bad to wreck a promising district in this fashion. One or two things have happened here. The mining men who built the hoist and these mills were either ignorant of actual conditions, and erected reduction works with the expectation that they would have plenty of ore to treat, or they were put up by boomers and fakers for stock-selling purposes. In either event, the district has been given a black eye, and it will be years before it will recover."

The Prospector and His Burro - Grubstake (1907 The Salt Lake Mining Review)

"In mining parlance 'grubstake' means that one man or more has agreed to furnish some other man with provisions and supplies, and a certain amount of money to be used on a prospecting expedition; the man furnishing the 'grubstake' to share with the prospector in anything that the latter may find."

Colorado Gold Regions (1869 Newspaper)

This 1869 article from the Chicago Evening Post describes the mines and communities of Colorado's premier mining district a decade after its initial discovery.

Conditions at White Pine (1869 Newspaper)

Article describes conditions at the 1869 White Pine mining boom in Nevada: "Gambling saloons, hurdy-gurdies and other amusements are in full blast, day and night, recalling the palmy days of ’49, in Frisco"

The Prospector and His Burro - Mine Salting (1906 The Salt Lake Mining Review)

"In our last conversation,” said the prospector to his burro, “I gave you the outline of a case of mine-salting in southern Utah. Even since then, judging from your speaking countenance, it is evident that you have a desire to listen to more yarns on the same subject. Well, if you insist upon another recital along the same lines, I think I can accommodate you."

The Miners Lamentations (ca. 1855)

Poem published circa 1855 in San Francisco laments the lack of available wives in the California gold fields: "we, a select committee, consisting of six bachelor miners.” having consulted together, do, one and all, firmly and solemnly believe that our class and condition can be bettered."

Lead (Black Hills Illustrated)

This article from the 1904 publication Black Hills Illustrated describes the institutions that made Lead one of the nation's premier mining cities in the first decade of the 1900s.

Deadwood (Black Hills Illustrated) (1904)

This article from the 1904 publication Black Hills Illustrated describes the institutions that made Deadwood one of the nation's premier mining cities in the first decade of the 1900s.

How We Get Gold In California (1860 Harper's New Monthly Magazine)

...this substance yielded like clay to a few blows of the pick; and as the slices were turned carefully up, they resembled chunks of plumb-cake, the clay being stuffed in every part with the golden lumps. Upon breaking these pieces in the hand like bread, the interior was still found plugged with pellets of gold, and the whole mass was heavy with it.

Robbing a Mine (1880 Newspaper)

This report details an ore theft ring at Leadville that involved a gang of thieves, a local Teamster, and a crooked assayer.

The City of Gayville Reduced to Ashes (1877 Newspaper)

This description of the 1877 fire that destroyed Gayville, South Dakota includes some interesting details: "The ammunition stored in different buildings could be distinctly heard to explode from time to time, besides which were two distinct explosions, one caused by placing a keg of powder in the residence of A. Hierb at the western end of the town, the other report came from the eastern end, somewhere in the neighborhood of Meyer's store, and it is supposed was caused through a keg of powder being left in the building, which was forgotten in the excitement."

The Black Hills Flood of 1883 (1883 Newspaper)

This article details the extensive flood damage to Deadwood and surrounding communities during the devastating flood of May 1883. The article is long, but provides many interesting details about the citizens, businesses, and buildings present at this early date. Also notable are losses reported by famous characters Al Swearingen and Star & Bullock.

The Reese River Country (1866 Harper's New Monthly Magazine)

This article gives a first-hand account of the rush to the Reese River (Austin) region of Nevada in the early 1860s: "...a sheep corral had to be paid for at the rate of fifty cents per night in advance; when no man could safely undertake to sleep under the lee of a quartz boulder, in consequence of that claim being guarded by a prior occupant armed with a six-shooter; when it was a luxury to sit all night by a stove, or stand against a post behind a six-feet tent."