Legacy Of John Chisholm Smyles - Edward L. Dybowski

Legacy Of John Chisholm Smyles (eBook)

Nevada's Forgotten Man

Edward L. Dybowski (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2020 | 1. Auflage
126 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
978-1-0983-1144-5 (ISBN)

Nevada History: The true story of John Chisholm Smyles. With John's experiences beginning in the Nevada Territory in 1862. It tells of the life he led and the hardships of the mining towns of Brooklyn and Peavine City. It includes his involvement with gold fever and the effect that railroads had on the State of Nevada, and the 601. John became a prominent citizen of the Reno area. It involves the effect that alcohol and depression had on his life. This is the legacy that John Chisholm Smyles left behind, as a surveyor and recorder.

This is the true history of a man named John Chisholm Smyles. He was a surveyor and recorder. As a young man, he ventures out and settles in the town of DeWitt in the frontier state of Iowa. He marries the girl of his dreams. Then John works his way out west to Nevada Territory, in 1862. John becomes a respected citizen in the prominent town of Reno, Nevada. This story tells about the life John lived and the legacy he left behind as a surveyor. You will read about the hardships of the mining towns of Brooklyn and Peavine City. The story includes John's struggle with gold fever, the importance of railroads, and the 601. The background of John's life includes the effect that alcohol had on him and the tragic ending of his life in the Nevada's hospital for the insane.

NEVADA TERRITORY AND THE RAILS RACE

Prospectors of the 1849 Gold Rush who didn’t find the big one in California began traveling eastward. The country was untamed, and the Paiutes and Shoshones were hostile, but belief in rich mineral wealth brought the second wave of fortune seekers. With the discovery of the Comstock Load, which was part of the Utah Territory in 1859, the landscape became dotted with mining claims and camps. By July 11, 1861, the appointed governor James W. Nye was proud to announce that the new territory of Nevada was properly organized and established.

Having no one to look after but himself, John could travel freely. He felt that his best opportunity for a new successful future was in the recently organized territory of Nevada. John would escape the past and commit his time to pursuing a new occupation. In essence, John would be starting his life over again. So by September 1862, at the age of 26, he had established himself in Humboldt City, Nevada Territory. The population of that little town was somewhere around 200. The population was growing with men of very little education, and John became a man that the locals could confide in.

This was the era of the Great Rebellion. This war had been raging for about a year and a half in the East. The populous of Nevada Territory was on the side of the Union and petitioned it for statehood. It was at this stage in John’s life that he began to invest in mining claims. Along with seven other men, a claim was made near the “Big Bend” of the Humboldt River; it was called the Excelsior Mill and Mining Company. It consisted of 614 acres. They would also use the land for agriculture when possible. The same men had also filed another claim to provide water from the Humboldt River through a trench to their property.

The ore looked encouraging, and the owners were eager to work the claim, but the cost of hauling it was too high. The mine could not be worked profitably at that time. Their efforts were put on hold; the claim would have to wait. This was a major disappointment to John, but this was the new gold rush, and he would not give up seeking his fortune in mining. Like so many others before him, John was captivated.

Nevada Territory became the 36th state of the Union on October 31, 1864. A means of steady employment was needed, so John moved to the larger population centers of the state. In late 1864, John settled in Washoe City, the seat of Washoe County. This city was important as a support town for Virginia City. Washoe City provided some mills for processing ore and lumber from the mountains to the west. At that time, it may have had a stable population of about 2,500 people, with an estimated floating population of 4,000.

John Smyles found employment as a Notary Public and Deputy County Clerk. While preforming these duties in the newly constructed brick courthouse, John heard of the growing interest in the Peavine Mining District. In late 1865, while attending many of the miners meetings, John’s advice was sought to help with introducing articles in the bylaws of the new Peavine Mining District.

July 3, 1866, John was 30 years old when he took up residence in Peavine City, better know as Poeville, a little mining town half way up on the northeast side of Peavine Mountain, and about seven miles north west of Lakes Crossing. Within one month after coming to this mining town, John was named Peavine Mining District Recorder. Another title bestowed upon him was Inspector of Elections at the Polls for the Peavine Voting District number 12. His responsibilities were to register voters, identify them as such, and later make the official tally of the election. These were the years of new beginnings and healing, for both John and the nation. The Union was secure again; the war that had torn the country apart had finally ended April of 1865.

While recording mining claims all day, John would get inside information. Prospectors would bring in ore samples that looked very favorable. Along with this kind of information and a few well-chosen friends, investing in some of these claims became almost a daily activity. Buying and selling mining claims was exciting for John, speculating that when a big company would want to invest in any of his mining claims, he would certainly be on the ground floor to make a large profit.

Living conditions in mining towns were generally difficult. Poeville, at an altitude of 6,200 feet, was no exception; the winters here were very hard to endure. During these times, most of the work on the claims was shut down, and the men would travel to the lower elevations to weather the storms. The rent in the boarding houses in Poeville varied from eight to ten dollars per week, and John managed to stick it out in Poeville. From a letter John had written to his mother from the Peavine Mines on October 17, 1866, his family learned that he was lucky to be in a good boarding house, where it was warm and comfortable.

Cooped up during the off season, he had plenty of time to think of things back home, and John made it a priority to write to his mother once a month. He missed his mother and the old homestead, but getting back home was a long way in the future. At this stage of his life, travel was impossible because investments were not paying off as he had hoped.

In his letter, he made it clear that Nevada was not a place he wanted to stay for the rest of his life; it was just a temporary place for him to make his fortune. He also wrote that he was anxiously waiting for a job with the Central Pacific Railroad. The railroad was in need of surveyors and John applied for that position. John was somewhat depending on his connections back home and that the railroad management would be influenced in hiring him. He went on to say that he never drank anymore, and if there was an opening with the railroad he would be able to make good money and start saving. John was looking to find a stable career with a dependable income.

It was John’s honest conviction that fortune from mining was over, except in isolated cases. He wrote that he would often meet with 49’ers, and almost invariably they were poor and constantly wondering the mountains, still seeking new and richer goldfields. They still had hope that the early days of California would come again. John went on to say that fortunes could only be accumulated here, as in the Eastern States, by work and perseverance. This year crops had been very abundant. Hay and barley are two staples of Nevada. Although the crops here are often very uncertain, this year was an exception.

In closing, John mentioned that the citizens of Crystal Peak had a positive outlook about the future, and that five new stores had opened. All that was needed now was the support of the railroad. Crystal Peak was a lumber and mining company town that was located mostly in California and partly in Nevada.

Although John told his mother that he had quit drinking, he was haunted by his lack of fortune, and he continued to drink. During the long winters with less activity, his drinking became more frequent; it also helped to ease the pain of his achy teeth. John didn’t believe that alcohol could hurt him; he was 30 years old and in the prime of his life.

The winter weather of 1866-67 in the High Sierra was very severe. The railroad progress became painfully slow. The only work that could be accomplished was in the tunnels, and that was measured in inches per day. Time was of the essence for the Central Pacific Railroad Company, as they were in a race to extend their rails as far eastward as needed, before they met up with the Union Pacific Railroad. The Central Pacific management decided to work on two sides of the Sierra at the same time. From the town of Cisco, California, three locomotives were loaded on sleds along with 20 flat cars containing 40 miles of rail Iron. All this equipment was hauled over the Sierra Nevada Mountains to where the town of Truckee, California would be established. By the time the tunnels were finished, the Central Pacific Railroad would have laid all 40 miles of rail and completed the roadbed to where the town of Wadsworth, Nevada would be established.

Wadsworth would become the Central Pacific’s important Western Division Point. The company would build a large switching yard equipped with a passenger and a freight depot. This facility would also include a twenty-one-stall roundhouse, along with a machine shop for locomotive repairs. This location provided a good supply of wood for fuel, along with plenty of water for trains that would be heading east through the Nevada wilderness. Wadsworth would become a thriving railroad town.

In another letter to his mother from the Peavine Mines dated June 28, 1867, John talked about a Judge Coulter from Humboldt, Nevada, who had invested $11,000 in the mines, but he could go no further until the railroad was completed to that point. John mentioned that none of his old claims in Humboldt had been jumped since he left that area in 1864. He thought that some day his interests might turn out to be worth something when the railroad came through. He assured his mother once again that he had no great undying love for these sterile rocks and sagebrush of Nevada; the weather was hot and dry. He closes his letter with this last bit of information, “We are to have a grand celebration over at Crystal Peak on the 4th of July.”

The leading citizens of sparsely populated small communities would often have a meeting at the beginning of each year, and then decide which town would be designated to host a party for each annual special occasion. This method insured a more successful celebration for any yearly event...

Erscheint lt. Verlag	27.4.2020
Sprache	englisch
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
ISBN-10	1-0983-1144-2 / 1098311442
ISBN-13	978-1-0983-1144-5 / 9781098311445

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