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2025 Feb 02 @ 08:00 (UTC-8 : PST/AKDT)
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Cerro Gordo, Inyo County, Cal. 1881 Mining Letters (13)
Fred Holabird, ©2025
A Series of thirteen letters written to J. L. Holland, a mine superintendent and mine financier by four different mining men: John T. Mitchell, J. H. Holt, J. H. Ely and William Crapo during the period February 13, 1881 to Nov. 15, 1881.
All of the letters except three are datelined Cerro Gordo, Cal. The other three are datelined Lone Pine, a town in central Owens Valley, Inyo County, and a station on the Carson & Colorado Railroad that served Inyo County mines.
The letter group has only just been discovered. They offer a unique insight into mining finance and operations at Cerro Gordo, as well as contain stories of the various personalities involved with mines. The work of John Ely, co-discoverer of the famous Raymond & Ely mine at Pioche in Cerro Gordo was unknown by myself until now.
Holland, as well as several of these other men, were once residents of Nevada City, California in the 1870s. With the success of the mines at Cerro Gordo in the 1870s, these men all struck out for the Inyo mines, where it is clear Holland had strong interests in 1881, after managing the Tippecanoe Mine for the Red Cloud Mining Co. in Bodie in 1880. Holland returned to Nevada City by 1884, where he became Undersheriff.
Each of these men were important in their own right. Perhaps at the top of the list is John H. Ely.
John Ely, aka J.H. Ely, was partners with W.H. Ely who both discovered the very rich Raymond & Ely mine at Pioche in 1864, the largest and highest producing mine in the entire Pioche region, in production through the 1960s. Ely had made a fortune when he sold out to Raymond. He used his fortune to buy and sell other mining properties around the West, and ended up in Cerro Gordo in 1881. Ely was a drinker, noted by Mitchell in one of his letters here: John Ely got $100 sent to him from New York and he went on a drunk and spent all of it and never paid nothing Ö (he was) living down at Swansea in an old cabin." (Feb. 20, 1881 Mitchell to Holland). The tone of the letters from Ely to Holand is very friendly, with Holland referred to as "Jake." There are three signed Ely letters to Mitchell.
John T. Mitchell hailed from Kansas City, Missouri. He traveled back and forth to Missouri from Cerro Gordo to visit his wife, and finally bring her back to California. There are three Mitchell letters to Holland. He was clearly in Cerro Gordo to run mines for Holland and others. But the lack of revenue from them forced mine closure. On Feb. 15th, he notified Holland he had to shut down the mine. "Old Keeler (J. M. Keeler) will not give me anything" Ö "Cant get anything to do from Keeler or John Ely." Ö "I am down here walking all over the country and half starved ñ not even your folks you speak about sending me some rock from the Crescent Ö that quartz in the Crescent now is only a stringer or feeder and I could find specks of metalÖ" Mitchell stated he would go to Darwin if he couldn't raise any money to pay workers.
J.H. Holt wrote an eight page extensive metallurgical report and discussion to Holland in the only letter from him that survives this correspondence group. Holt had built a new mill for Cerro Gordo ores with his own money. My mill is the best new construction on this coast" which was processing ores from the Keeler and Hawley enterprises. It was the only "dry" mill in the region. Holt was proud of his production and reduction of the San Lucas mine ores, which had a 75% recovery with bullion at 982 fine gold. The gold portion of the Cerro Gordo mines can be seen on the way up the road today as the "brown" zone below the lower town.
William Crapo was also a mine foreman at Cerro Gordo. He also suffered from a lack of paying ore, as noted in a Feb. 14, 1881 letter to Holland: "The men have quit until they see Ö something Ö forthcoming Öyou will not be able to get anyone to work until the present indebtedness is paid." Crapo, Mitchell, Ely, Keeler were obviously friends. Holland was the string that attached all these men, possibly as a mine financier. Crapo's Nov. 15, 1881 letter has many quotes about these personalities. Ely has completely fizzled in his mining operations." What has become of Mitchell? He left Inyo County when I was up on Mt. Whitney last summer." Ö He was a "good miner." Crapo was part of a group petitioning the Government for $10,000 to build a stone house on top of Mt. Whitney. Crapo was also postmaster at Cerro Gordo in 1880. Also, unissued 1870's Union Cons. Mining stock.
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Date:
Country (if not USA):
State: California
City: Cerro Gordo
Provenance:
Auction Location:
3555 Airway Drive Suite 308, Reno, Nevada, 89511, United States
Previewing Details:
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Nevada State Sales Tax
Taxes:
| Tax | Rate | Desc. |
| NSST |
8.375% |
Nevada Sales Tax |
| CSST |
8% |
California Sales Tax |
Buyer's Premiums:
| From (Incl.) | To (Excl.) | Premium |
| 0.00 |
Infinite |
25% |
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Live Auction conducted by Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC (HWAC)
1. By participating in the auction, bidders acknowledge and accept the terms and conditions of sale.
2. BUYER’S PREMIUM & INSURANCE: There will be a 25% Buyer’s Premium added to the sale price (hammer) of each lot. We accept cash, checks, money orders, wire transfers, credit cards and PayPal.
3. COINS, CURRENCY AND PRECIOUS METALS, Insurance. The buyer’s commission for this section is 20%. Coins and currency shall be defined as any regular Federal issue circulating coins and currency. Tokens are not considered coins. Precious metals shall be defined as ingots, silver or gold rounds, bullion items and gold nuggets. Mineral specimens are not considered under the precious metals category. Commemorative items such as metals and ribbons are not considered coins of precious metals. However, lots that consist entirely of gold or silver of high purity, including commemorative metals, are considered precious metals. Please contact our office if you need clarification on a specific lot.
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11. FINAL AUCTION RECORD The Auctioneer’s podium notes serve as the final, legally binding record of the auction results, superseding any electronic bidding records.
12. NEW BIDDERS: Bidders unknown to us, who anticipate an expenditure in excess of $20,000, must provide commercial references or a deposit of 25% of the amount to be bid in order for the auction staff to execute bids. Deposits will be credited towards lots won and any balance will be refunded within 10 business days after the auction has concluded. New bidders will be given a spending limit at their initial request to participate. In order to increase this limit, you may be required to provide a letter of authorization from your bank in addition to providing references. Please contact our office at any time if you have questions regarding spending limits or references required to bid.
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BE ADVISED: Auction participation through the live Internet bidding site is not 100% foolproof. The technology for this process is always changing, and the operation of it and the corresponding Internet connectivity issues are far beyond our control. Some folks have attempted to use the live Internet bidding process as their primary method of bidding, and have been quite successful. Others have failed completely. Depending upon your computer, server, host, and other factors, Internet signals may be delayed, such that bids may not be received in time. We cannot be held responsible for these delays, or for the lack of placed bids in a timely manner, or any other factors leading to unaccepted bids that are far beyond our control. Bidders should always have a backup plan for lots they highly desire. Live participation is best, followed by phone participation. We will not reopen lots for missed bids.
14. BIDDING INCREMENTS: All bids must be submitted in U.S. dollars and in whole dollar amounts only in the appropriate increments as outlined below. If you choose to submit bids in an increment not listed below, your bid will be rounded to the nearest increment and you will be expected to pay the amount to which the bid was rounded should your bid be the winning bid. If you have any questions about an appropriate bid amount, please call us.
From: to: Increment:
$1 $95 $5
$100 $190 $10
$200 $475 $25
$500 $1,450 $50
$1,500 $3,400 $100
$3,500 $9,750 $250
$10,000 $30,000 $500
$30,000 up $1000
15. RESERVES: Most of the lots in this auction are unreserved. Precious metals may be reserved at or near or slightly below spot, at the auctioneer's discretion.
16. BID REDUCTION: All winning absentee bids will be reduced, if necessary, to the next bidding increment up from the last competing bid, as long as the minimum bid requirement has been met. For example, if you submit an absentee bid of $1000 and the next highest competing bid is $250, then you will win the lot for $275.
17. BID INFORMATION: Collectors often ask in advance the price level of a particular lot. We will give out the current competitive high absentee bid until we close the day before the live auction. You may also view absentee bids online at www.holabirdamericana.com. While we try to update the absentee bids as often as necessary, bids received close to the bidding deadline might not be reflected online, and we disclaim any responsibility for any bids made in reliance upon inaccuracies on our website, which may be beyond our control. We do not own any of the live Internet bidding platforms, and thus many aspects of the Internet technology are out of our control.
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19. All stock certificates, checks, warrants, and other financial documents sold herein are sold as antiquities, and have no financial, securities, or public trading value whatsoever.
20. We reserve the right to reject any bid we feel is not made in good faith.
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24. NON-PAYMENT: HWAC reserves the right to cancel any invoice not paid in full within 15 days. A cancelled invoice does not relieve the bidder from their obligation to pay seller fees and buyer’s premiums compensating HWAC for its services in conducting the auction. Interest shall run on all outstanding balances at the highest rate permitted by law. HWAC shall have a lien against the merchandise purchased by the bidder, and any other of bidder’s property then held by HWAC or its affiliates, to secure payment of the invoice, and with respect thereto HWAC shall have all the rights of a secured creditor under the Nevada Commercial Code, including but not limited to the right of sale. HWAC may sell the lot(s) securing the invoice to any under bidders in the auction that the lot(s) appeared, or at subsequent private or public sale, or relist the lot(s) in a future auction conducted by HWAC. A defaulting bidder agrees to pay for the reasonable costs of resale (including a 10% seller’s commission, if consigned to an auction conducted by HWAC). The defaulting bidder is liable to pay any difference between his or her total original invoice for the lot(s), plus any applicable interest, and the net proceeds for the lot(s) if sold at private sale or the subsequent hammer price of the lot(s) less the 10% seller’s commissions, if sold at an HWAC auction. If HWAC refers any invoice to an attorney for collection, the bidder agrees to pay attorney’s fees, court costs, and other collection costs incurred by HWAC. Any bidder who fails to follow the terms of payment will be reported to iCollector, Live Auctioneers, Invaluable, or applicable bidding platform, and may be barred from participating in future Holabird Western Americana auctions.
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26. UNCLAIMED MERCHANDISE: In the event that a successful bidder has paid in full for their merchandise but fails to settle outstanding shipping invoices or make arrangements for merchandise pickup within 60 days, HWAC reserves the right to declare the merchandise forfeited. This forfeiture will result in the merchandise becoming the property of HWAC and the successful bidder shall have no claim to or rights over the forfeited merchandise.
27. CONDITION: We strongly recommend that you attend the live preview to see lots in their entirety. Conditions are not always noted, and large lots may not be itemized due to catalog restraints. For questions, detailed information, or additional images of any lot please contact our office at 775-851-1859. Bidders are responsible for understanding the condition of items. Conditions noted are subjective, and may differ person to person. High resolution images of all items are available online for inspection. HWAC is not responsible for condition discrepancies; it is the bidders responsibility to determine condition prior to bidding.
28. RETURN POLICY: All items are guaranteed to be authentic unless otherwise noted. If authenticity is challenged, please call our office for assistance. ALL SALES ARE FINAL. You may only return any piece that was significantly inaccurately described by calling our office within 10 days of receipt of item(s) and notifying us of the error and reason for return. We do not refund postage or insurance. Please call us if you require a more specific condition report. Any items that are returned must be returned in the exact, unaltered condition. When we receive your bids we will assume you have read the description in the catalog, viewed the image of the item, have contacted us regarding any questions you may have on any lot and/or have previewed the lot in person.
29. This sale is being held under the laws of the State of Nevada.
30. HWAC shall not be held responsible for any problem due to the bidder’s failure to follow the rules, terms and conditions of this sale, or any failure to bid due to the loss of the online auction process provided by any of the online auction networks; or missed bids, changed bids or cancelled due the bidder’s failure to follow the proper bidding procedure outlined herein.
31. By placing a bid or otherwise participating in the auction, Bidder accepts these Terms and Conditions, and specifically agrees to the dispute resolution provided herein.
32. HWAC shall not be responsible for consequential damages, incidental damages, compensatory damages, or any other damages arising or claimed to be arising from the auction on any lot. Bidder’s sole remedy for any proven act or omission shall be rescission of sale and refund of the amount paid by Bidder.
33. Any claim, dispute, or controversy in connection with, relating to and/or arising out of the Auction, participation in the Auction, award of lots, damages of claims to lots, descriptions, condition reports, provenance, estimates, return and warranty rights, any interpretation of these Terms and Conditions, any alleged verbal modification of these Terms and Conditions and/or any purported settlement shall be exclusively heard by, and the parties consent to exclusive in personal jurisdiction of, the Superior Court of Washoe County, Nevada. The parties expressly waive any right to trial by jury. Any claim must be brought within one (1) year of the auction from which the claim arose or the claim is waived. In every case, the prevailing party shall be entitled to an award of its attorney’s fees and costs.