that it had on hand a large stock of paints, oils, window-glass, castor oil; also a large assortment of fishing lines and hooks of all kinds.' Another announcement may be repeated for the benefit of future visitors to Elko. In it the keeper of the White Pine Saloon' informs his patrons thatThe most delicate fancy drinks are compounded by skilful mixologists in a style that captivates the public and makes them happy.' Turning from the advertising to the leader columns of the Elko Independent, I find that the Democratic party is honoured with its support, and that the Chinese are the objects of its aversion. A proposition for excluding Chinese labour, without openly persecuting Chinamen, deserves mention on account of the malicious ingenuity which inspired it. The writer points out that it is characteristic of the Chinese to desire that their remains should be interred among the graves of their ancestors, and that to be buried in a foreign land is repugnant alike to their religious sentiments and patriotic feelings. Taking advantage of this, it is proposed to make it a penal offence' to disturb the remains of the dead after burial, and to attempt to carry away from our shores the mortal remains of one of that people, and the good work of excluding them is accomplished.' From conversations with fellow-travellers I learned

that the aversion to the Chinamen is very general on the Pacific slope of the continent. The Chinese I saw along the line appeared to be hard-working and good-tempered beings, ready to interchange words with whoever would converse with them in the broken English which they understand, and delighted when a passenger who had lived in China gave utterance to a word or phrase in their native tongue. One or two Chinamen entered the train here. Among them was a merchant who had amassed a fortune, who spoke English fluently, and who conversed intelligently on most subjects. He was not allowed a seat in the best cars, but was condemned to occupy a place in the emigrants' cars. All his money could not conquer the prejudice against his tribe. Though the negroes have been emancipated, yet the spirit of caste still works mischief in America. Indeed, as an American writer has forcibly remarked: The spirit of "Native Americanism" is but a thinly disguised aristocracy of birth.' Perhaps no two persons in the motley group on the platform at Elko station were more helpless and misplaced than a Frenchman and his wife. They were evidently very poor, were miserably clad and dirty, and downcast in spirit. They hardly knew a word of English, and those about them were ignorant of French. Their desire was to

get to the silver mines in as cheap a way as possible, being under the delusion that if they once reached the mines their fortunes were as good as made. This was the second French couple I met in this far away region. The other wretched pair had taken up their abode in Salt Lake City, with a view to deal in furs. Both had been from ten to fifteen years in America, and the husband alone could make himself imperfectly understood. His wife spoke French only. They uttered warm expressions of satisfaction when they found one with whom they could converse in their own language. Unfortunately the pleasure was not reciprocal, seeing that this unhappy couple took advantage of the opportunity to pour forth a long and by no means interesting account of their sufferings and their disappointments. The couple at Elko thought less about telling their story than about finding a team of mules wherewith to start for the silver yielding region. They were clearly directed whither to go, but when last I saw them as the train moved off, they were walking in the wrong direction in a state of hopeless bewilderment.

What gives importance to this place is the fact that the road to the White Pine mining district branches off at Elko. This district is about 125 miles south of Elko, and is almost due east of

Virginia City, where the excitement with regard to silver mining in Nevada first broke out, and attracted general notice. The reputation of White Pine had been achieved in a very short time. In February, 1869, the population of the district was. reckoned at four hundred people; five months later it had increased to twenty thousand. The dominant topic in every conversation is the silver mines of this State. Let me pause in the description of my journey to furnish a brief account of the silver mines of Nevada.

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XVI.

THE STATE OF NEVADA AND ITS SILVER TREASURES.

PRIOR TO 1861, what is now known as the State of Nevada formed part of the Territory of Utah. The Mormons were in the minority and the Gentiles were dissatisfied with their own condition. Having resolved upon separating themselves from the Mormons, the Gentiles met together, passed resolutions, and formed a territorial organization. Congress approving of their conduct, gave validity to the arrangements they had made. The President appointed a Governor over the new Territory. The numbers of the citizens rapidly increased: their ambition prompted them to desire admission into the Union and, on Congress giving the necessary consent, the semi-independence and the valuable privileges accorded to a State became, in 1864, the portion of Nevada.

As early as 1859 discoveries of silver in Nevada had attracted the notice of adventurous miners in all parts of the West. Ten years had then elapsed since the gold excitement in California startled and fascinated the world. The Californian quartz mines