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Story
March 31, 1868
Gold Hill Daily News
Gold Hill, Storey County, Nevada
What is this article about?
On March 31, 1868, a reporter and Superintendent Colcord visit the new 900-foot level of the Imperial-Empire mine on the Comstock, describing spacious gangways and drifts where development work is advancing rapidly, with expectations of rich ore discoveries boosting stock prices.
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Full Text
THE EVENING NEWS
Tuesday Evening........March 31, 1868.
The Imperial-Empire.—In company with Superintendent Colcord this morning, we made a descent into the depths of the new subterranean workings at the Imperial-Empire new works. Stepping upon the cage, we were quickly lowered to the 900-foot level, opened not long ago from near the bottom of the shaft—a sump of twenty feet in depth being left below the 900-foot level, for pumping purposes. In opening this new level, a large and roomy gangway—the most spacious we have seen in any of the mines on the Comstock—has been made, extending from the shaft forty-one feet west. This gangway is about seven feet high in the clear, fifteen feet wide next the shaft, and is drawn in to a width of nine feet at the west end, where it branches into two drifts, which were commenced last evening, diverging a little to the right and left from the gangway in the direction of the respective mines of the Imperial and Empire companies. These drifts are each six and a half feet high, by four and a half feet wide in the clear. Each company assumed command of their respective drifts last evening, and in each, three shifts of hands are employed—eight hour shifts, three men on a shift—independent of the car men and other employes. The work is being very energetically prosecuted, and the east wall of the ledge will probably be cut inside of thirty days, when new and rich developments may reasonably be expected at so great a depth. The gangway is floored with boiler iron, allowing of the cars, loaded or otherwise, to be slid about in turning them towards any requisite direction. The sides and roof are very strongly supported by immense timbers, the caps overhead being two feet thick, and evidently strong enough for all that is required of them. The progress of development in the drifts of which we speak will be watched with a vast degree of interest during the next thirty days, and already, in anticipation, the prices of stocks in all the mines in that vicinity are materially advancing.
Tuesday Evening........March 31, 1868.
The Imperial-Empire.—In company with Superintendent Colcord this morning, we made a descent into the depths of the new subterranean workings at the Imperial-Empire new works. Stepping upon the cage, we were quickly lowered to the 900-foot level, opened not long ago from near the bottom of the shaft—a sump of twenty feet in depth being left below the 900-foot level, for pumping purposes. In opening this new level, a large and roomy gangway—the most spacious we have seen in any of the mines on the Comstock—has been made, extending from the shaft forty-one feet west. This gangway is about seven feet high in the clear, fifteen feet wide next the shaft, and is drawn in to a width of nine feet at the west end, where it branches into two drifts, which were commenced last evening, diverging a little to the right and left from the gangway in the direction of the respective mines of the Imperial and Empire companies. These drifts are each six and a half feet high, by four and a half feet wide in the clear. Each company assumed command of their respective drifts last evening, and in each, three shifts of hands are employed—eight hour shifts, three men on a shift—independent of the car men and other employes. The work is being very energetically prosecuted, and the east wall of the ledge will probably be cut inside of thirty days, when new and rich developments may reasonably be expected at so great a depth. The gangway is floored with boiler iron, allowing of the cars, loaded or otherwise, to be slid about in turning them towards any requisite direction. The sides and roof are very strongly supported by immense timbers, the caps overhead being two feet thick, and evidently strong enough for all that is required of them. The progress of development in the drifts of which we speak will be watched with a vast degree of interest during the next thirty days, and already, in anticipation, the prices of stocks in all the mines in that vicinity are materially advancing.
What sub-type of article is it?
Historical Event
Journey
Curiosity
What themes does it cover?
Exploration
Triumph
What keywords are associated?
Mining Development
Comstock Lode
Imperial Empire
Underground Workings
Stock Prices
What entities or persons were involved?
Superintendent Colcord
Where did it happen?
Imperial Empire New Works, Comstock
Story Details
Key Persons
Superintendent Colcord
Location
Imperial Empire New Works, Comstock
Event Date
March 31, 1868
Story Details
Reporter and Superintendent Colcord descend to the 900-foot level of the Imperial-Empire mine, describing new spacious gangway and branching drifts where Imperial and Empire companies are energetically developing, expecting rich ore within 30 days, leading to advancing stock prices.