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portance. It is largely engaged in the sale and transportation of goods to the mines, plains, and frontier forts. Many of the emigrants going westward obtain their outfits here. Omaha was founded in 1854. In 1860, it contained but 1883 inhabitants. It derives its name from a tribe of Indians.

NEBRASKA CITY,

The second city of the State, is situated in Otoc county, on the right or western bank of the Missouri River, 28 miles below the mouth of the Platte River, 50 miles east of Lincoln, and 96 miles, by water, south of Omaha. It is built on ground which rises as it recedes from the river. The buildings are mostly of wood, but the town has a bright and pleasing appearance. It contains the county buildings, 7 or 8 churches, 2 public halls, 4 public schools, and 3 newspaper offices. It is governed by a Mayor and Council. In 1870, the population was 6050.

The city conducts a large river trade, and is actively engaged in fitting out emigrants for the plains and in sending supplies to the frontier towns. The Pacific Railway has taken away a great share of this business. There are valuable salt springs in the western part of the county.

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THE State of Nevada is situated between 37° and 42° N. latitude, and between 115° and 120° W. longitude. It is bounded on the north by Oregon and Idaho Territory, on the east by Utah and Arizona Territories, and on the south and west by California. Its extreme length, from north to south, is about 348 miles, and its extreme width, from east to west, about 265 miles.

TOPOGRAPHY.

The surface of the State is generally mountainous, and much of it is a barren desert. The Sierra Nevada range forms the western boundary, and the Humboldt Mountains occupy the centre. The East Humboldt Mountains extend north and south through the upper eastern part of the State. A large part of Fremont's Basin lies in Nevada, at an elevation of 4000 feet above the sea. Two-thirds. of the State is a bleak desert, which can neither be inhabited nor cultivated.

There are no large rivers in Nevada, and the soil is only supplied with the necessary amount of water by artificial means. The Humboldt River rises in the northeast of the State, and flowing westward, empties into Humboldt Lake. A small stream, called Walker River, flows through the southwest and empties into Walker Lake. Carson River rises in the south west and flows east into Carson Lake.

"The only lakes of any considerable size in the State are those formed by the Humboldt, Walker, Carson, and Truckee rivers, and

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PALISADES-HUMBOLDT RIVER: SCENE ON THE CENTRAL PACIFIC

RAILROAD.

bearing the names of those streams respectively, together with Pyramid Lake, the largest of the group, formed by the waters of the Truckee River. Lake Tahoe, with one-third of its area only within. the borders of Nevada, is a beautiful sheet of water, 21 miles long and 10 wide, and though elevated more than 6000 feet above the level of the sea it never freezes over, nor does the temperature of its waters vary much from 57 degrees in summer or winter, owing probably to its being fed by springs. This lake, like Lake Pyramid, abounds in trout of large size and fine flavor, and is surrounded on every side by lofty mountains, which, rising abruptly from its shores, are covered for nearly two-thirds of the year with snow, and are heavily timbered with forests of pine, spruce, and fir. Pyramid Lake, which has a depth of 1500 feet, is 12 miles wide by 30 in length, and is situated in the western part of the State; its scenery is extremely grand, being walled about with mountains 2000 to 3000 feet high. Mono Lake is about 14 miles long and 9 wide; it is so acid and nauseating as to render it not only unfit for drinking, but also for bathing. Leather immersed in it is soon destroyed, and no animal, not even a fish or frog, can for more than a short time exist in it. The only thing able to live in or upon the waters of this lake is a species of fly which,

springing from a larva bred in its bosom, shortly dies, and, collecting on the surface, drifts in great quantities to the shore, to be gathered and eaten by the Indians. None but the strongest winds can ripple the surface of this desolate lake; it may aptly be called a Dead Sea, its bitter and fatal waters rendering it literally such, while all its surroundings, wild, gloomy, and foreboding, are highly suggestive of sterility and death. There are many warm and cold springs in the State, some of which are much resorted to for the curative qualities of their waters.'

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MINERALS.

Nevada is especially rich in minerals. Gold, silver, quicksilver, copper, lead, and iron are found in great abundance. The silver mines of this State, however, are the principal source of her wealth. They yield immense sums annually. The Comstock lode produces about $16,500,000 worth of silver every year. It furnishes the principal portion of the metal produced in the State, and is thus described by Ross Browne:

"The Comstock lode runs along the eastern slope of the Washoe Mountains, at the foot of Mount Davidson, its loftiest summit. Its outcrop is not by any means continuous, consisting of parallel belts of quartz, extending from east to west, in some places nearly 1000 feet, which show themselves chiefly on the tops of the spurs, running down from the main ridge. The western of these quartz seams, being of a hard crystalline texture, form the most prominent outcrops, but experience has shown them to be of less value than the eastern bodies, which, from their different composition, have been more easily disentegrated, and are often covered up by the debris from the higher and steeper portions of the mountain. The vein has been more or less thoroughly explored, and its continuity established by underground workings for a length of about 31⁄2 miles, though the productive portion forms but a small proportion of the whole, as barren spots of great extent intervene between the bonanzas or ore bodies. Its 'strike' Its 'strike' or course, as shown by the exposure of the west wall, in numerous places, is nearly magnetic north and south (north 16 degrees east by true meridian). But little doubt now exists that the Comstock is a true fissure vein, with a width of from 20 feet upward. The total product of the Comstock lode, for the year ending December 31st, 1867, is estimated by the most reliable authorities at $17,500,000. It is estimated that other

* Ross Browne's Report.

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districts in Nevada have yielded during the same period $2,500,000, making the total product of Nevada for the calendar year, 1867, $20,000,000. The average percentage of gold and silver is about 66 per cent. silver, and 34 per cent. gold. In the outside districts the proportion of gold is considerably less. The amount of ore raised from the mines on the Comstock lode may be put down at the present time at about 1500 tons daily, and the total amount raised since the commencement of operations at about 2,000,000 tons. From information furnished by the superintendents of the following mines, the yield per ton appears to be: Savage Mine-30,250 tons produced in the last six months of 1866, yielded an average of $42.93 per ton. Hale and Norcross Mine-16,836 tons produced in the same time, yielded an average of $50.33 per ton. Gould and Curry Mine-62,425 tons produced in 1866, yielded an average of $28.64 per ton. The total yield of precious metals from the 'Comstock' lode in 5 years, or from 1862 to 1866, inclusive, was $63,000,000.”

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