Nov 30 2010
A Great Story About The Great Silver Rush In American History
With silver and gold making new highs today, now seemed like a good time to write an article about another fascinating time in the history of silver in the American west. Back in 1858, much like in 2010 the country had silver fever. That was the year the Comstock Lode was discovered.
It has been disputed for decades, who discovered the claim and when. Most say it was discovered, in 1857, by Ethan Allen Grosh and Hosea Ballou Grosh, sons of a Pennsylvania clergyman, trained mineralogists and veterans of the California gold fields. In 1857 Hosea died and his brother Ethan and a business associate, Richard Maurice Buck set out to California with ore samples and maps to raise money to begin mining. Ethan left his cabin in the hands of a friend named Henry Comstock.
Ethan and Richard suffered had plenty of trouble on their trek to California. Inclement weather and difficult terrain caused both men to suffer frostbite and loose limbs. Ethan died as a result of his injuries and Richard decided to leave his dreams behind and returned to his home in Canada. After hearing of the death of Ethan Comstock claimed the land and the cabin as his own. He also claimed another large section of land for grazing his livestock.
In the spring of 1859 two gold prospectors named Peter O’Riley and Patrick McLaughlin were digging for water and made a discovery that would change Nevada forever. They took the odd blue material to be tested and found it to be almost pure silver. They also discovered that this land was previously claimed by Henry Comstock for grazing his livestock. The men worked out an agreement that they would share the claim.
Henry Comstock would eventually trade his stake for a bottle of whiskey, a blind horse and $11,000. He took his new found fortune and opened a general store in Carson Nevada which would soon go bankrupt. He then returned to prospecting and in September of 1870 took his Colt six shooter and ended his own life penniless and alone.
Between 1860 and 1880 the Comstock Lode produced 7,000,000 tons of silver ore. In 1877 alone the mine yielded $14,000,000 in gold and $21,000,000 in silver. That is over $700,000,000 in today’s dollars in that year alone.
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