Full ArticleOriginal Rhyolite Men Swoop Down On Startled Angelenos
Source: Los Angeles Herald - Los Angeles, CADate Published: 1907-01-20
ORIGINAL RHYOLITE MEN SWOOP DOWN ON STARTLED ANGELENOS
COME TO BOOM BULLFROG DISTRICT
Mining Men Whose Names Are Inseparably Linked with Development of Southern Nevada Point Out Great Business Changes for This City if Merchants Will Go After the Trade.
Rhyolite boosters are in the city in numbers.
The lobbies of the Alexandria, Angelus and Hollenbeck swarm with mining men from the Bullfrog district, and the visitors are making a strenuous effort to acquaint everybody in town with the fact that Rhyolite and the Bullfrog district are on the map.
Among the men here are "Shorty" Harris, the man who discovered the district; Len P McGarry, another pioneer who located the West Extension, on which a big strike was made last week; Judge Volney T Hoggart, A G Cushman, T T Collins, Will Murphy, Judge J B Lindsay, J J Taylor, Clarence Lamb, Charles Gorrill, Senator William M Stewart, William Tomney, W H Bishop, Curtis Mann, J H Knowles, William Griffiths, James Dugan, F P Mannix and E R Clemens.
Some of these men were dead broke two years ago; unable to buy a good square meal. Today all of them are abundantly able to stop at the best hotels in the city and many of them have bank accounts that will keep them for life, and they made their money in Nevada.
Bubble with Enthusiasm
The visitors are enthusiastic over the development of their chosen camp, which they claim will be one of the greatest producing gold and silver districts in the desert within a short time. Mr. Clemens, who is editor of the Rhyolite Herald, gave illustrated talks last week at the chamber of commerce, showing a large number of views of southern Nevada, and Mr. Mannix will continue the campaign of education at the same place next week, speaking between 11 and 12 o'clock beginning Monday. The lectures have been largely attended and much interest has been shown.
Yesterday Mr. Clemens said to The Herald:
"In my opinion the people of Los Angeles do not appreciate the possibilities of the southern Nevada mining camps. I take this from two points of view; first, from a mining and second from a commercial standpoint.
Has Commercial Possibilities
"Los Angeles is the natural market for southern Nevada. The Bullfrog district has its first railroad, giving it direct connection with this city, and in a short time the second road will be finished from the south, giving a double connection between Los Angeles and the rapidly advancing mining camps along the Nevada-California border. Los Angeles may do the wholesale and jobbing business of these camps if the jobbers want to do it; Los Angeles may do the mining stock business of the Bullfrog and neighboring districts if the brokers want to do it; in fact, Los Angeles may corral all the business of that country.
"With these magnificent opportunities, right at the very doors of the city, Los Angeles people as a rule take little interest in southern Nevada affairs. I deem it deplorable that Los Angeles business interests are not awake to the situation. I would imagine that with the activity displayed in real estate and farm lands, an interest in mining would follow as a natural result, the opportunities for profit being evident. One thing is sure and that is that Los Angeles is passing up a good thing by not taking a real interest in the new mining camps. If the people here do not make an effort for the business some other town, Salt Lake or San Francisco, will get it. In my opinion it is time for the people of this city to get busy on southern Nevada.
Population Increases Rapidly
"We have 5000 people in the Bullfrog district today, whereas, two years ago there were scarcely twenty-five white people between Goldfield and Manse, a distance of 200 miles. We have millions of dollars in ore blocked out in the mines, plenty of water for milling and domestic purposes, mills in building, one railroad finished and two more in course of construction, electricity promised by March 1 and various other good features that combine to make the situation very promising as a whole. Everything is for the good at Rhyolite, with a steady improvement along all lines.
"If the Bullfrog district, is good enough for Schwab, Clark, Farrell, Rice, Wingfield, Oddie, Newhouse, Gates and a score or more of other operators of national fame it should be good enough for Los Angeles money."
Carry Their Samples
Nearly a dozen of the jubilant Rhyolite miners visited The Herald office yesterday and they brought with them samples of what they are dealing in. These samples are ore taken at random from a mine where the vein is from forty-eight to fifty-four feet in width and which is valued at from $2 to $5 per pound.
When "Shorty" Harris made the original strike at Bullfrog he did not realize what later developed that he had found a veritable mountain of gold and silver ore and which is declared to be the largest body of ore ever located in Nevada.
This ore comes from the Bullfrog West Extension, which is owned outright by L D McGarry, Judge Volney, T Hoggart and a few associates, and none of the stock is on the market. Judge Hoggart a few days ago was offered a round half million dollars in cash for his interest, but he laughingly said yesterday that he still retained his interest in the mine, and that in addition he had just bought an adjoining claim, comprising a fraction over an acre, for $37,500, or the highest price ever paid for a tract of land of the same area in Nevada.
Taking a Long Jaunt
Judge Hoggart, in acquiring this small claim, also secured possession of a lawsuit, and it is this lawsuit which brought him and the others in his party to Los Angeles.
They are making a trip from Rhyolite to Tonopah, which are separated by a distance of ninety miles as the crow flies; but crows are not flying over that trail at present and neither can men get across it. As a result it is necessary for the judge and his party, who are going to Tonopah to attend the trial on which hinges the ownership of the valuable little claim, to come to Los Angeles, go thence to San Francisco and from there to Tonopah, a total distance of 1200 miles, or making in the round trip 2400 miles, compared with 180 miles on the round trip between Rhyolite and Tonopah direct.
They express the belief that the trip will be profitable at that, because the judge is confident of winning the suit against a man who jumped the claim, which action resulted in the suit.
Judge Hoggart said yesterday that the merchants and manufacturers of Los Angeles were losing a golden opportunity in not going after the trade of Southern Nevada and which rightfully belongs to this city.
He said that regardless of the fact that the mining districts of Southern Nevada were almost ignored by Los Angeles merchants, the miners were coming to Los Angeles for a large amount of their supplies and he cited the fact that at Las Vegas thirty-one passengers bound for Los Angeles for the purpose of making purchases boarded the train.
In the party is W F Murphy, one of four brothers who went to the Bullfrog district practically broke less than two years ago, and each of them now can sign his check for not less than $100,000. Mr. Murphy walked into Bullfrog and when he arrived there his capital not only "looked like 30 cents," but it really was just that amount. William J Torney has been foreman of the Original Bullfrog mine for two years, during which time he has not left the diggings until he came to Los Angeles yesterday, and what he does not know about that particular mine and all the others in the Bullfrog district does not seem to be worth knowing.
"Shorty" Harris said that others had profited more than he by his lucky strike, but that he had nailed down a few good things for himself and would hold onto them. The party will leave for the north tomorrow.
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Submitted: 01/26/10
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