Virginia Daily Union

August, 1863 - September, 1864
After moving to the very small mining town of Como, Nevada, in the summer of 1863, Alf Doten signed on with the Virginia Daily Union newspaper as a correspondent, writing a regular column in the form of letters to the newspaper. As a leading figure in the town, he was in a good position to chronicle the boom times of Como. As an officer in several mining companies and the superintendent of a small mine, Doten used his journalism to to promote the emerging mining industry in his new community. This series of articles provide a personalized insider’s view of history of an important settlement in Nevada Territory. When the mines didn’t live up to their promise and the local economy began to fall apart, Doten accepted a job as a reporter for the Virginia Daily Union and moved to Virginia City where he had been making new friends, including Mark Twain.

DU01 DANCING AND POLITICS IN COMO. COMO, Palmyra District, N.T. } August 18, 1863 } VIRGINIA DAILY UNION:—Yesterday was a jolly day for our thriving young city, and our streets were paraded by an extra supply of crinoline. The morning coaches brought us from Dayton a delegation of some twenty of the fair sex, who were out on a pleasure excursion to this place, and bent on having a good time generally. Of course their advent here was hailed with joy by all the masculines, for— "Lives there a man with soul so dead, Who never to himself hath said," Naught can the human heart beguile Like the...
DU02 UNION MEETING AT COMO. COMO (Palmyra District) Aug. 23, 1863. VIRGINIA DAILY UNION: —Last evening we had a political meeting, which was quite a spirited affair for Como, or any other place. The unconditional Union forces were assembled—ladies and all—to hear the grand principles of true, loyal Democracy expounded, and to see the various Union candidates "trotted out" before them. F. H. Kennedy, of Dayton, candidate for the Constitutional Convention, first took the stand, and addressed the meeting in a speech of some length; he explained to us what a "copperhead" is, ripped up the platform of...
DU03 UNION MEETING AT COMO. COMO, Sept. 1st, 1863. VIRGINIA DAILY UNION:—Last evening the quiet of our little city was broken by the sound of a hand-bell of the Como House traveling up and down street, and calling a meeting at Sacramento Hall. Of course your correspondent joined in the rush, and managed to squeeze in without any difficulty, for there was plenty of room. Mounted on the rostrum, and pouring forth his eloquence, was J. Blackford of Dayton, candidate for the assembly, who came up here this evening to demolish the Union party and its nominees, and to stop everybody from voting for any...
DU04 COMO CORRESPONDENCE. COMO, Sept 15th, 1863. VIRGINIA DAILY UNION: The clouds of war have now blown over; the forces have retired from the field, and a calm succeeds the political tempest. Secesh and Copperheads were very few in your neighborhood compared with what they were here, therefore you were all right. They were very plenty here, and on election day ran us pretty sharp, as you saw by the returns, but it was a "draw game" between us, we electing some of their candidates and they electing some of theirs. The thing will never happen again, however; for, although this district has been...
DU05 COMO CORRESPONDENCE. COMO, September 29, 1863. VIRGINIA DAILY UNION: Still boldly striding onward in the march of improvement, Como maintains her place in the front rank, and notwithstanding the great and increasing rush towards the barren regions of Reese River, whose thin, rich ledges, in the far distance, glow with the brightness of enchantment, our promising district receives a fair share of attention from the emigrating crowd, and every day brings us fresh accessions to our lively community. The greatest drawback we have to contend with, in the way of building up our town, is the...
DU06 COMO CORRESPONDENCE. COMO, Oct. 6th, 1863. VIRGINIA DAILY UNION:--Prominent among the notabilities of Como, is the Stone Saloon, kept by that great disciple and expounder of the black art known throughout the Pacific portion of Uncle Sam's dominion as "Martin the Wizard." This fine saloon is the place where Como-ites congregate together, and spend their leisure time smoking, playing cards, or reading the latest news and discussing the most important topics of public interest. Dealers in mining stocks here meet each other, and many is the big trade in "feet" consummated over a glass or so of...
DU07 THE DAILY UNION. COMO CORRESPONDENCE—THE INDIAN TROUBLES IN PALMYRA DISTRICT. COMO, Oct. 18th, 1863. VIRGINIA DAILY UNION: —At the present writing Como is in a state of war, and the men of Como are out with rifle in hand, ready to do battle against the common enemy—the confounded Pi-Utes. Palmyra District, as you know, comprises quite a large portion of the pine timber land of the Pi-Ute nation, and as at present the pine nuts are ripe the harvest of them by the Indians is the order of the day—they depending upon them as one of their chief sources of food. But the encroachments of the white...
DU08 OCTOBER 30, 1863. THE DAILY UNION. COMO CORRESPONDENCE. Como, Oct.27, 1863. VIRGINIA DAILY UNION: The world still rolls on, and, as a general thing, Como still rolls with it. THE BIG MILL which is being erected here is now fast approaching completion; in a few days the whistle will be sounded and even as the trumpet of Gabriel will summon the grave to give up its dead, even so shall the shrill whistle of this mill summon the various ledges to give up those hidden treasures of silver and gold. The big boiler is set in its place, the smoke stack rears its black form high above the broad roof,...
DU09 [November 12, 1863] Our Como Correspondence. Como, Nov. 9, 1863. VIRGINIA DAILY UNION:—Night has spread her sable mantle over Como, but although it is ten o'clock in the evening one could hardly say that the citizens of our usually quiet town were all abed, to judge from the noise in certain quarters. SOCIAL LIFE IN COMO—MUSIC AND LAGER. Music fills the balmy air, and loud is the merry song, and full the chorus borne to our ears, from the "Como Brewery." A lot of "gay and festive cusses" are there congregated together testing the quality of that lager. The grand chief violinist of Como is...
DU10 THE DAILY UNION. COMO CORRESPONDENCE. COMO, N. T. Nov. 16th, 1863. GENERALITIES. VIRGINIA DAILY UNION: —At the present writing, things here have a decidedly wintry appearance, but we have the consolation of being able to look across the valley at your elevated locality, and see that you also are enjoying the same snowy surroundings. I should rather say that we look down upon you, for Como is elevated many feet higher than Virginia, which may account for the fluctuating vagaries of the present "spell of weather." We have it in all sorts of variety. In the language of the poet, "first it blew,...

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