NOT SOLD (BIDDING OVER)
0.00USD+ applicable fees & taxes.
This item WAS NOT SOLD. Auction date was 2018 Jun 23 @ 08:00UTC-7 : PDT/MST
SHIPPING & HANDLING: Shipping and Handling cannot be estimated prior to invoicing, based on the size and weight of your purchase. All shipping is subject to a minimum charge of $19.00. If additional shipping and handling costs are required, the buyer will be reinvoiced for the balance due. Items are not shipped until the invoice is completely paid. Many buyers purchase a number of lots. Every effort will be made to include all lots in a single shipping charge calculated to cover the weight and size of the package(s). NOTE: Some shipments (of unusual size, dimension, or weight) may require sp...
The Gottschalk Aurora Collection
Sam Clemens (Mark Twain) Worked on Many of These Mines!
Fred N. Holabird
Overview
The Gottschalk Aurora Collection comes to us from the same geologist as the major part of this collection that we sold a number of years ago. At the time, the geologist thought he had the Aurora and Bodie sections of the collection put away in storage. Years later, we have here the Aurora collection, and regret the majority of the Bodie specimens may have been inadvertently discarded over time.
Additional items from the Gottschalk Collection have come to our attention over the past few years as well. Gottschalk, a University of Nevada Professor in the 1930’s, collected and assembled an important massive collection of ore specimens from Nevada, California and the West. A number of specimens have been found in western collections from collectors who may have traded with the owner of the Gottschalk Collection in the 1970’s.
I had opined in the initial Gottschalk offering that the collection itself must have been collected by professional mining geologists or mining engineers through history, particularly by those who worked for the USGS, or mine owners themselves. This portion of the Gottschalk Collection offered yet a new opportunity to test the provenance thesis. In this case, there is only one published paper on Aurora, that of James Hill in 1915 in USGS Bulletin 594, “Some Mining Districts of Northwestern California and Northwestern Nevada.” Hill published a paper with an illustration of a crystalline adularia specimen that is so close in appearance to one of the two in the Gottschalk Collection, that significant time was spent to determine if it was, in fact, the very same specimen. It is not, but it does lead us to the conclusion that Hill himself may have collected the adularia in the Gottschalk Collection, as this mineral, a key to modern-day ore deposit exploration geologists, was generally not recognized by the early miners and engineers of the 1860’s. Thus the conclusion today that some of the specimens in the Aurora Gottschalk Collection are from Hill himself.
Introduction
The Aurora mines produced in excess of $29 million in the first ten years. Sam Clemens himself worked and prospected many of the mines at Aurora in 1861-1862, working on many of the mines whose specimens are found here in the Gottschalk Collection. Under his pen name Mark Twain he wrote about many of his mining adventures in “Roughing It” (1872).
The Aurora, Nevada mines have a fairly unique distinction. Discovered in late summer, 1860 on the heels of the great Comstock discoveries, there was a flurry of discovery and production that lasted about four years. The Esmeralda District had the distinction of being part of Mono County until the re-survey of the Nevada Territorial-California state line “moved” the district from California to Nevada starting just before 1863. As such, early production is reported in California – the productive years. After that, there was only a small amount of production, often unreported, until the Aurora Consolidated took control of the district after 1900. A small open pit was put into production in modern times, hampered by a faulted off ore body extension.
Technical literature on the district is exceptionally limited. Though the district was a significant producer from 1860-1863, there is only one technical report by the USGS (James Hill, 1915, as noted above). The reporting was limited to reports of the (Nevada) State Mineralogist (1866-1878), US Mineral Commissioner reports (J. Ross Browne and Ross Raymond, 1866-1877), reports of the Director of the US Mint (Burchard, 1880-1885), and a few scattered news articles (See references published in Lincoln, 1923). The Nevada Bureau of Mines only has a short report, mostly reciting Hill of the USGS 1915 report.
The Discovery Period
According to Hill, the first vein discovered in the district was called the Old Esmerelda staked on August 22, 1860 “at the south end of the productive area”. The discovery itself was well documented by Kelley in the First Directory of Nevada Territory in 1862. Three prospectors found rich silver ore and staked four claims. They then took off to Monoville, 25 miles distant, where they shared their excitement, and 5 days later, brought 25 of their new best friends to stake more claims.
A rush ensued. The town of Esmerelda sprang up immediately in the gulch next to the discovery, only to be moved a mile and a half north shortly after to accommodate more people.
Hittell in 1861 noted: “the main lode, called the Esmeralda, runs north and south, with the width 30-60 feet of quartz running through porphyritic greenstone…the town of Esmeralda is at the base of the hill, on the side of which is the claim of the same name now lies….two miles further north…is the town of Aurora.
The first mill was built in 1861 by Edmund Green. By 1864 there were 17 amalgamation mills, the largest of which was the 30 stamp Real Del Monte Mill. That year, all hell broke loose in the district. Several of the key mines were thought to have been exhausted, and massive litigation took place regarding ownership, such that most production started to come to a standstill.
Clemens himself had a lot to say about the mills (in 1862): “mills not worth a Damn except Clayton’s” which was the only mill equipped to handle silver ores, while the others were amalgamation mills better equipped to extract free gold. . Clayton’s mill, built by Joshua Clayton, was on Martinez Hill and ran the Esmeralda and Real del Monte ores in 1860. Clayton was a co-locator with A.D. Allen, one of Bodie discoverers and early Comstock claimants.
By 1864, the population had doubled or more to about 5000 people, and activity was everywhere. There were a reported 40 brick buildings, several of which were three stories. Nine quartz mills were active, with three more under construction. This significant activity, and that of the prior few years were reported in the main western press and the mining press. Like the Comstock, prospecting and mine development of silver-gold deposits were in their infancy in the West. We had no official gold and silver production reporting mechanisms, either State or Federal. In 1865, the young state of Nevada appointed a State Mineralogist, Richard Stretch, whose first report published in 1866 began to expose more information on Aurora.
A year later, the federal Government created the office of US Mineral Commissioner, and former San Francisco Customs Revenue Officer J. Ross Browne filled the bill. His first published report in 1867 contained important notes, which were an important revelation to America’s lay population and investment community: “Large masses of rich ore were found at the Wide West and Real del Monte.” He also noted that the mills couldn’t get enough “pay ore” to keep the mills running – a sure fire indication that there was a strong silver-gold association, not just free gold. He also made a comment that the geologists all thought the deposits were all shallow. Nonetheless, Browne followed up the next year, published in 1868, with a bit more thorough report. In this report, Browne was opinionated. He stated that he believed the mining crash at Aurora was because of the lack of proper exploration and development. He called it a disorganized mining free-for-all in which pillars were mined, pockets mined, and little attention paid to mineralized trends. A later author of a paper on Aurora from 1880, Wasson, appeared to paraphrase Browne’s comments.
Regardless of Browne’s comments on the lackadaisical nature of the mining business at Aurora, Browne noted that there was still some growth, with 10 mills, most with just two stamps. Perhaps the most interesting statement he made was about the boulders of quartz with silver sulfides (and native gold) “laying loose on the surface of the ground”.
Browne left his job as Mineral Commissioner when the Fed didn’t pay him. A bright new mining engineer took his place. Rossiter Raymond, later long term president of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, published reports for the next decade, until he too was left unpaid. Of significance, Raymond’s first report of Aurora (1869) stated: “there is nothing of importance to report from this county.”
By the end of 1869, it had been reported that total production for the district was nearly $30 million, with $27 million shipped by Wells, Fargo & Co. All other authors claimed the production over the next ten years was nothing (zero), basically indirectly refuted by Hill and common sense.
All sources except Hill state that the camp became inactive after 1869 until 1882. Hill maintained the camp remained in steady production, though there are no production records. I believe Hill must be correct, as the population in 1880 alone was 500 people, according to Angel (1882), far too many for a deserted, unproductive mining camp. English interests later acquired and consolidated properties on Last Chance Hill and actively mined from 1887-1892, mining to a depth of 800 feet. The post-1900 boom resulted in a consolidation of properties by the Cain Consolidated Co., the Aurora Mines Co., and Aurora Consolidated. By 1915, most of the ground had been acquired by Goldfield Consolidated (owned 87% of Aurora Consolidated, purchased in 1914), who built a 500 ton cyanide mill. In 1916, the mill treated 173,270 tons, with 337,000 tons of proven reserves.
Francis Church Lincoln, who published the first statewide report of Nevada mining districts, reported that: the best mines were the Wide West, Real del Monte, Antelope, Pond, Young America. “Much of the work done in the district strikes a stranger as badly planned, if indeed any system can be detected in it”.
The district saw a resurgence of activity in the 1990’s, with the construction of an open pit operation and heap leach.
Notes on some of the mines
The largest and richest veins were the Antelope, Lady Jane, Eureka, Cortez, Utah, Spotted Tiger, Bald Eagle, Old Esmeralda (60’) and Radical. The veins are generally 18” to 4’ wide, traceable for hundreds of feet. The early discoveries appear to have been along exposed walls of creek beds and on the ridge tops, both two places where natural erosion shows off the underlying geology.
Sam Clemens to Aurora
The first mill was built in June 1861, the population was 2000 by August, and a young Sam Clemens showed up in September, lending historians one of the few first hand accounts from prospecting men, rather than social historians. He left in fall to return the following year. During his absence from Aurora, he went to Unionville, where he and his partners staked claims there in the fall-winter of 1861.
Clemens returned somewhere between April 3 and 9, 1862 (big snow). He was there on Sept. 9 1862 when the post office opened as “Esmeralda, Mono Count Cal.” Clemens stayed in Aurora prospecting to mid September 1862, then went to Virginia City and accepted the job at the Territorial Enterprise.
Clemens and his brother Orion were excited about their prospects. Orion was sure they “will strike the ledge in July” after the snow melts. Orion claimed the ground was worth $30-50/ft. This excitement could easily have been the foundation of the Clemens Gold & Silver MC.
Clemens was so enamored with prospecting, that he readily shared his excitement with his family and friends in his letters: “I am on my way now with picks, & etc, to work on my pet claim. If it proves good, you will know all about it someday, if it don’t you will never even learn its name. So wait, and banish hope – for I have resolved that it is like most Esmeralda ledges, viz:worthless.”
A “Blind lead” was what Clemens was always looking for near the Antelope and Wide West. The concept is simple- since most of the major ore veins at Aurora were visible at the surface, traceable for hundreds of feet. Clemens, and others, assumed that there were just as many “blind leads” that could be found only by prospecting, so Clemens and partners spent much time digging trenches and pits to look for the elusive smaller gold-silver veins that could not be found by looking at outcrops at the surface.
Living in Aurora was not cheap. It cost Clemens $8-10/week to live in Aurora, so he roomed with another prospector, Horatio Phillips. Clemens lived the life of a young prospector, getting worn out each day. “The pick and the shovel are the only claims I have confidence in now. My back is sore and my hands blistered…”
Sam Clemens Mining Claims
Clemens was exceptionally active in prospecting, staking, buying and trading local mining claims, as would be any eager prospector looking to discover a new “lead” or vein. This was especially true because the Aurora discovery came right on the heels of the Comstock, and no one knew if Aurora would become another Virginia City. That is the essence of the chase for the “El Dorado.”
The editor of Mark Twain’s Letters claimed in a footnote that the Clemens (and his brother) owned parts or all of thirty different ledges (claims) (or stock in them), 28 are listed here:
Anapolitan Spur; Antelope Spur; Black Warrior; Clemens G & SMC, 1862, started by the Clemens brothers; Dashaway; Dimes Blind; Douglass; Farnum (possibly named for the first assayer at the Dahlonega Mint); First NE Ext Fresno; First North Ext Antelope; First West Ext Flyaway; Flyaway; Fresno; Gov Nye, Named for James Nye, the Nevada Territorial Governor; Horatio & Dashaway Tunnel; Horatio, Named for Clemen’s roommate, Horatio Phillips; Johnson Ledge (this is the blind lead of SLC and Higbie, who were “millionaires for 10 day”, it was supposedly right next to, or intersecting with the wide west; La Plata; Live Yankee; Monitor, Named for the Union warship 1862, Clemens owned 50’; Mountain Flower; Mountain House; National; North Ext of Anapolitan; Pugh; Red Bird; Second East Ext Antelope, of which Clemens remarked in a letter: “if we find it, our fortunes are made- if we don’t – they ain’t.” (P202, letters, V1.); Second East Ext Flyaway.
There are many letters know of social history importance, but few of mining history and economic history. These include the Crittenden correspondence, the Caughlin correspondence, Howland and others.
Auction Location:
3555 Airway Drive Suite 309, Reno, Nevada, 89511, United States
Previewing Details:
Preview will be at our Auction Location,
3555 Airway Drive Suite 309
Reno, NV 89511
on Thursday, June 21st, from 9:00 am to 5:00pm or by appointment.
Please call 775-851-1859
Nevada State Sales Tax
Taxes:
| Tax | Rate | Desc. |
| NSST |
8.265% |
Nevada Sales Tax |
Buyer's Premiums:
| From (Incl.) | To (Excl.) | Premium |
| 0.00 |
Infinite |
25% |
Additional Fees:
| Fee | Amount | Applicable Locations | Applied To |
| Handling |
5.00
|
Not Applicable
|
This fee applies to the total of the invoice
|
Shipping Details:
SHIPPING & HANDLING: Shipping and Handling cannot be estimated prior to invoicing, based on the size and weight of your purchase. All shipping is subject to a minimum charge of $19.00. If additional shipping and handling costs are required, the buyer will be reinvoiced for the balance due. Items are not shipped until the invoice is completely paid. Many buyers purchase a number of lots. Every effort will be made to include all lots in a single shipping charge calculated to cover the weight and size of the package(s). NOTE: Some shipments (of unusual size, dimension, or weight) may require special handling for which individual costs will be calculated and applied to the shipping charge on the invoice. The buyer is responsible for arranging and paying for shipment of large or special items. The customer is responsible for all shipping charges. Purchases will be shipped via our approved, insured carriers: Federal Express or the US Postal Service. All items shipped Federal Express or USPS will be insured for the full value determined at auction by HWAC, which is included in our buyer’s premium. Pick up is available from our Reno office the next business day after the auction.
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This is a Live Auction conducted by Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC (HWAC).
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