#499 That first winter on the Comstock of 1859-60

C. L. Yearzago, November 2024

 

“The first winter after the discovery of silver, 1859-60, was one of the severest the country has known.  As was previously stated, there were very few buildings in Virginia City that were worthy of the name.  The majority of the inhabitants lived in mere shanties and in underground caves and dens being described as a tribe of troglodytes. (look it up)”   Many of the men who had  left California before the winter were unprepared for a strong winter in Nevada. They were under the impression there were placer mines in the area.  “Many left the area yet many remained at Virginia City, Gold Hill and Silver City and Dayton and a rough time they all had of it before spring.  The first snow fell on the the 22^nd of November, 1859.  It snowed all day, and four days later again set in, when snow fell to the depth of five or six feet, cutting off all communication between gold Hill and Virginia, though the two towns were but a mile apart.  The worst of the winter was between this time and the 1^st of February.  In December many cattle were dying of cold and hunger about Chinatown (Dayton), where they had been sent to find a living in the valley along the Carson River.  Not only , but also horses, donkey, and animals of all kinds died of cold and hunger.  Most of them starved to death.  It was impossible to procure food for them.”

 

“By March 1860 hay was selling, at fifty cents per pound and barley at forty cents.  Men could not afford to keep horses and therefore shot them or let them wander away into the valleys and flats and take their own time about dying.  Food for man was about as dear as that for beast.  Flour sold for seventy-five dollars per hundred pounds in Virginia XCity;  coffee at fifty cents per pound, and bacon at forty cents.  Lumber was worth a hundred and fifty dollars per thousand feet, and all else in proportion. None of the settlers starved but the stomachs of many of them had frequent holidays.  Fuel was scarce, it being necessary to pack it through the deep snow from the surrounding hills, where, at that time, was to be found a sparse growth of stunted pines and cedars.  The stoves of the saloons and lodging-houses were well patronized.  Bean-poker and old sledge were the principal amusements, aside from talking over the great esxpectations that all cherished.  Every man who had a claim expected to sell it for a a fortune when spring came.  Little work could be done in the mines.  The Indians that remained in the area were equally hard up as the whites.  They frequently went begging to the miners for food.

By February it finally began to grow warm during the days but nights continued to have strong freezes.”

Imagine living in those conditions  today.

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C. L. Yearzago,    “See ya on the hill”       Nov. 2024