Diary 66-05: May, 1891 - preliminary transcript

report Production of Gold & Silver in the US 1890 containing my Comstock report and tables in full - Bed 12 -

1891 Newspaper Express From Reno A Vision of Cornelia's Death

Friday May 1, 1891

Clear but very blustering & dusty - Nasty May day - Yesterdays SF Examiner & the Chronicle brought up from Reno over the Grade by single horse east this morning arriving at 3 AM - came from SF by train arriving at Reno about 10 oclock last evening - Got here before the Enterprise was out - New fast enterprise between Reno & here -I was about town as usual - Bed 1, cloudy

Saturday May 2

Same - About town as usual - Leg getting strong and good, thought still limping considerably - About 6:30 AM I dreamed I was asleep in the old house at home, 2 persons, one of them tallish young lady & a relative came in from another room weeping and she said to me: "She has just died" - I understood this to be my sister Cornelia, who was sick, I awoke feeling very sad - The letter I wrote to my old friend Mrs MN Morton March 28, directed to San F, returned to me today marked

Mrs MN Morton Letter returned Con Va $19 Centenial Meeting

officially "Unclaimed" etc - Guess she must be dead. It was from the SF Postoffice and unopened as I had market on the envelope. "Return to Alf Doten, Virginia City Nevada." Stocks stronger today on the new boom, Con Va being $19 - higher than

for years - Bed 1 - clear & moderate -

Sunday May 3

Same - dusty cold & disagreeable - PM & evening about town - Bed 1 -

Monday May 4

Clear & fine - but windy - Sprinkling cart started in throughout Va & GH - Laid the dust pretty well, but some little still flew - Con Va got up to $21 - PM I bussed to GH & attended annual meeting of Centennial at GH Assay office - Old Board re-elected - Stock divident declared - Rode back on 'bus at 3:30 - Evan Williams presided at meeting - Kinzle, & I & Bill James only others present* -

$20 from Lodge (Street Fakers) Con Va $20 Highest point of the deal

Evening attended my lodge - My case was called up & I made a statement as to my standing at time of accident - was $3 behind on dues then - Voted to donate me $20 - Wrote up the Centennial meeting for Enterprise, etc - Bed at 2 -

Tuesday May 5

Same - About as usual - Received that $20 from Treasurer of the lodge - Bed 1 Con Va struck $20 today - Highest point of the deal -

Wednesday May 6

Same - Evening listed with crowd on the street to 3 (fakers) in a wagon - Had banjo & organ & singing etc - One a great talker and characterist - selling (Franklin oil), a wonderful pain killer & other medical notions - front of

Post office - "Petrified woman" also on exhibition in a room across the street from Douglass building- Purported to havebeen found on Jan 7, last in (Inolumne) County, California. White woman good ordinary size & shape, naked - light stone

The "Petrified Woman" - Rain Thatcher's Minstrels

color - entire - Found by 2 miner 5 or 6 ft beneath surface - Very interesting - But I think she is artificial and made of some sort of stony composition - Very neat fraud - Whole surface of body rough and seamy, like confluent small-pox -

Thursday May 7

Rained good for a couple of hours early this morning - Laid dust & made streets muddy - Day principally cloudy - About as usual - Bed 11:30 -

Friday May 8

Cloudy & cold - About as usual - Bed 12 - clear & freezing -

Saturday May 9

Clear & very fine - Evening attended Thatcher's Minstrels at the Opera House - Dickie Jose with them, crowded house - Splendid performance - Bed 1 1/2 -

Sunday May 10

Same - AM I walked out & visited Charley Ziegler, on the Divide, as member of Visiting Comm of the Exempts - got his left leg broke a week ago last Wednesday

Exempts $12 more Big rain & worms Comstock Millinaires*, and Nevada trade

by his horse falling with him - small shin bone - PM monthly meeting of Exempts -

I got 2 wks more benefits -- makes 8 weeks in all -- total $48 -- Whole lot better than nothing -- Evening about town -- Bed at 1

Monday May 11

Clear warm & pleasant -- As usual -- Evening, lodge -- Bed 1 --

Tuesday May 12

AM cloudy -- PM a copious rain pervailed for some hours washing off the dirt, flushing out the sewers, etc -- lots of angle worms made their appearance crawling on the streets and sidewalks -- evidently rained down -- clouds must be wormy -- I have been engaged the last 3 or 4 days getting material and information for F C Robins, Pres't & Genl Manager of the Golden West Investment Company -- headquarters at Winnemucca, as to how many millionaires the Comstock has produced, their names,

1/2 fare pass -- Stox* break -- April showers

amount of millions of each, present whereabouts and commercial doings, etc -- Also the amount and variety of Nevada's traffic with the East for general merchandise, supplies etc -- Quite a job -- Wrote it up today and this evening in pencil -- 24 pages -- Bed 2 -- Rec'd letter from D A Bender, Genl Freight & Passenger Agt V & T RR Carson, in response to one I sent to Yerington last Saturday applying for 1/2 fare pass over the road -- Enclosed 1/2 fare pass for Alf Doten & wife, good until Dec 31 1891. Stox* broke some today -- Con Va down to 15 3/4 -- but rallied to 16 1/4 after the PM board --

Wednesday May 13

Cloudy -- Some light showers -- very muddy & sloppy -- PM & evening finished up my Winnemucca job, ready for copying -- Bed 1 --

Greasewood cane presented to me -- I shed a tooth

Thursday May 14

Same -- Several light rain & hail squalls -- I copied most of my Winnemucca article -- G W Pease, clerk at the Walker Lake Indian Agency was in town & presented me with a very nice greasewood cane from that locality -- made item of it for Enterprise -- About 1 PM while writing at my desk a very loose double tooth, right corner upper jaw felt so loose that I easily pulled it out with thumb & finger -- Evening about town short time -- Bed 1 --

Friday May 15

Cloudy and variable -- PM I wrote copying my Winnemucca article, but failed to finish in time for mail -- Evening about town -- Bed 12 --

Saturday May 16

Cloudy, with one or 2 light showers -- finished my Winnemucca job in good style, but just too late for mail -- Evening about town -- room at 10 -- wrote 4 page

Winnemucca job forwarded -- Wife -- S C Wright O H Grey -- A C Pratt -- Dined at Zimmer's -- Rain -- Stox*break bad

letter to wife -- Bed 1 --

Sunday May 17

Cloudy -- PM 1 or 2 good showers of rain -- Wrote 4 page letter to wife, also S C Wright Supt Carson Mint for copy of Leech's gold & silver report; O H Grey for copy