Diary 63-01: January, 1888 - preliminary transcript

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Virginia City and Reno, Nevada; January, 1888. A typewritten transcription of Doten's handwritten diary by Marianne Jaffe in the 1960s.

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"Happy New Year" Bro Charley 1888 Hat lost Great Snow 2 ft Application of WM [Raileigh?]

Sunday Jan 1, 1888

Cloudy, but moderate & pleasant. PM & evening, about town attending to business -- life insurance, etc, Bed at 1 -- An unusually quiet "New Years" -- Turkey lunch at the the various saloons, but little heavy drinking or boisterous hilarity -- Snow 2 ft deep --

Monday Jan 2

Stormy & thawy -- PM & evening slight drizzly rain, & deep snow -- Fierce winds in evening -- My hat blew off, went 1737 feet high & soared off over the Sugar-Loaf down toward Fort Churchills 20 miles distant -- I had to get a new one -- about town as ususal -- Letter from Bro Charley in letter from wife, Reno -- Bed at 1 -- snowing -- The snow which was three feet deep last Friday has settled to 2 ft or less & melting considerably -- bad tracking for animals or any sort of vehicles -- Rewrote application of Wm [Raileigh?] today & left it with Dr Webber --

Very heavy and deep snow -- "Monte Cristo"

Tuesday Jan 3

Occasional snow squalls -- Over a foot additional snow this morning in addition to what was before, making 3 feet, more or less -- About town, as usual, but not good traveling for man or beast in any direction -- This is as heavy, and I think the heaviest snowstorm I have yet seen on the Pacific coast or state of

Last edit about 4 years ago by Traveler
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Nevada. Evening at Opera House -- "Monte Cristo" by Horace Lewis and company, and a very poor company at that and they deservedly had a very poor house -- This Co is just from the East and a scrubby crowd at best, Bed at 2 --

My Insurance Ad The Boss Snowstorm Old Pike's Cane

Wednesday, Jan 4

Occasional snow squalls during day & evening -- Very slippery -- I was about as usual -- Had a 2 square $5 ad in Enterprise this morning of my insurance agency -- Bed 12 --

Thursday Jan 5

Same -- PM at Gold Hill drumming up insurance -- Evening about town -- Bed 1 -- still lightly snowing -- Probably two or three inches more snow fell today -- Longest, heaviest and most persistant snowstorm I ever saw -- A friend arriving from San Francisco today brought me a cane from George W Allen, "Old Pike", who used to be my next door roomer -- He has nearly or quite recovered from his injury and keeps his promise to give me his cane -- Good stout crook-necked hickory stick --

Campanini Italian Opera Troupe Life Insurance Very Cold

Friday Jan 6

Same, only colder -- Delivered the policies of H Crandell - $2,000 -- receiving $18 therefor, Alex Crane $2,000 -- $18 -- and A McCansland $3,000 -- $24 -- total 60 -- My commission 50% $30 -- Paid my rent $8 and Odd Fellows dues $7.50 -- Evening at

Last edit about 4 years ago by Traveler
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Opera House -- Good House -- Campanini Italian Opera concert -- for this night only -- Very good indeed -- Special train from Carson brought about 60 to attend concert & returned -- Ran with old Deacon Parkinson awhile -- after the show -- Bed 1 -- Thermometer 8 above zero --

Cold Weather $42 "Pogonip" My first Insurance Statement of acct

Saturday Jan 7

Same -- clear -- Below 20 all day -- I was not feeling well from having caught cold in the theater last evening -- PM about town some -- Made up my statement of account with Ins Co, & sent it with check for $42 by mail this evening -- This is my first statement -- Also wrote wife -- Evening about town wearing my big overcoat -- Bed at 12 -- 8 above zero --

Sunday Jan 8

"Pogonip" hazed the air most of the day -- Shoshone Indian word, meanning frozen fog, such as gave the White Pine pioneers so much fatal pneumonia -- air full of fine floating, sleety frost particles, glinting in the sun -- light and collecting on tree twigs, bushes, horse hair and human beard -- coldest fog in the world, and not often found on the Comstock -- The thermometer this morning at 7 oclock stood

Exempt to Install [rest covered by newspaper clippings] Below zero

at or a little above zero, and was not above 10 during the day -- dropping below zero during the evening -- coldest of the season so far -- PM I attended regular

Last edit about 4 years ago by Traveler
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monthly meeting of Exempts, & was installed as 1st Vice President with the rest of officers elect -- Had a very amusing time, collection of sandwiches, beer, whisky, cigars etc -- Evening down town awhile -- Home -- good fire -- Wrote, etc, Bed at 5 -- My thermometer outside of my window showed 2 below zero --

Joe E Eckley Insured $5,000

Monday Jan 9

Clear & cold -- About 10° or 12° above zero all day -- PM I wrote the application for Joe E Eckley for $5,000 insurance in my [B& M MLA?], & he will be examined by Dr Manson tomorrow -- Bed at 1 -- 6° above zero --

Tuesday Jan 10

Same -- Warmer -- About, but effected nothing -- Bed 2 --

Wednesday Jan 11

Clear & considerably warmer -- Thawing but not sloppy -- Joe Eckley's examination concluded today & the document delivered to me -- Evening at home -- Bed 2 -- Eckley passed good --

Thursday Jan 12

Strong, blustering winds -- Sent letter to Allen, enclosing Joe Eckley's application -- Bed 2 -- Very cold --

2° below zero 13 below cold!!! 20° below zero

Friday Jan 13

Cold, snow squally day -- Very slippery & disagreeable & very cold in evening --

Last edit about 4 years ago by Special Collections
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Bed 12 -- 2 below z --

Saturday Jan 14

Clear & very cold -- Below zero all day - I around as usual -- Evening the thermometer kept dropping -- Bed at 12 it was 10 below, by Gilligs thermometer and mine. Down at the Con Va and other outside localities it was as low as 17 - below zero -- average probably about 13, which is as cold as I ever recorded on the Comstock --

Sunday Jan 15

Same -- About 5 deg colder than yesterday -- According to the thermometer at the [blank/erased?] Sierra Nevada Combination & other mines the real temperature, outside of local town influences, was 20 degrees below zero during the last night -- Coldest I have

The coldest snap 20 below - Water shut off My new Insurance Commission cold sleighride

ever see on the Pacific Coast -- Received my new commission as agent for the Bankers & Merchants Mutual Life Ins Co --gives me 60 per cent instead of 50, since Jan 1 -- Bed at 1 -- 3 above zero -- at 6 PM it was 6 below zero -- Quite a difference in temperature -- Water works frozen up somewhere so it was shut off all day -- I saved up a 5 gallon can of water last night, so have a good supply -- About noon today John Henderson, Chief of Police treated me to a nice sleighride along C & D sts in his 1 horse sleigh -- 4 or 5 degrees below zero -- coldest sleighride I have had on this coast -- Most froze our ears off --

John Eckley 20 above zero The Coldest Snap

Last edit about 4 years ago by Traveler
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