A History of the Comstock Silver Lode & Mines: the first major discovery of silver ore in the United States

by Dan De Quille

The Comstock Lode is a lode of silver ore located under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range in Virginia City, Nevada (then western Utah Territory), which was the first major discovery of silver ore in the United States and named after American miner Henry Comstock.After the discovery was made public in 1859, it sparked a silver rush of prospectors to the area, scrambling to stake their claims. The discovery caused considerable excitement in California and throughout the United States, the greatest since the California Gold Rush in 1849. Mining camps soon thrived in the vicinity, which became bustling commercial centers, including Virginia City and Gold Hill.The central idea in the preparation of this little book has been to give, as concisely as possible, such information in regard to the silver mines of the Comstock as the visiting tourist is likely to require. In doing this it was thought best to begin by briefly introducing the whole State of Nevada. When shown a portion of a thing we generally have some curiosity in regard to the appearance of the whole. Though much more space has been given to the mines, mining works, towns, and industries of the Comstock Lode than to anything else, yet it has been found necessary to the plan of the work to include much of surrounding regions, both in Nevada and California. However, we have endeavored to keep on the “Eastern slope” of the Sierras—have poached very little on the California side. The Sierra Nevada Mountains are a towering, rocky range, which constitutes a natural dividing line between the regions of country on either side. All on the east side of the Sierras partakes more of the general character of Nevada ivthan of California—is characteristic of the Great Basin region. Although Owens River, Independence and Owens Valleys, Owens Lake and Mono Lake, are within the boundaries of California, yet they are essentially parts of that region the whole of which is known as the Great Basin.

129 pages, Paperback

Published March 7, 2021

About the author

William Wright (1829–1898), better known by the pen name Dan De Quille, was an American author, journalist, and humorist. He was best known for his written accounts of the people, events, and silver mining operations on the Comstock Lode at Virginia City, Nevada, including his non-fiction book History of the Big Bonanza (American Publishing Company, 1876).

De Quille was on the staff of the (Virginia City) Territorial Enterprise for over thirty years, and his writings were also printed in other publications throughout the country and abroad. Highly regarded for his knowledge of silver mining techniques and his ability to explain them in simple terms, he was also appreciated for his humor, similar in style to that of his associate and friend Mark Twain, and of a type very popular in the United States at that time, now referred to as the Sagebrush School literary genre.

(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org)