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.

DU21 PALMYRA CORRESPONDENCE. COMO, March 23, 1864. Arrival of the "Como Sentinel" Material, etc. VIRGINIA DAILY UNION:--Yesterday, us Comoites made merry, and waxed exceedingly glad. Yea, verily, we were particularly jolly. And why shouldn't we feel jubilant? Mr. Abraham, editor of the coming paper, the Como Sentinel, arrived the evening before, and brought us the good news that the press, printing materials, and all the little details necessary for the establishment, was then in Dayton, and would be here on the morrow. At 8 o'clock next morning a telegram announced that the teams had left for...
DU22 PALMYRA CORRESPONDENCE. COMO, March 31, 1864. The First Clean-up from Whitman Rock. VIRGINIA DAILY UNION: The last clean-up of our mill was made apparent yesterday, in the shape of a comfortable sack full on crude bullion, weighing, in all, 1,068 ounces. Mr. Solomon being sick, it was not melted and assayed here, but sent per Langton's express to the headquarters of the Whitman Company, at San Francisco, for further doings thereon. This splendid yield of bullion proves beyond a doubt the immense richness of the Whitman mine, and places it side by side at once with your far-famed Comstock. It...
DU23 LETTER FROM PALMYRA. COMO, April 5th, 1864. Our Mill Resting. VIRGINIA DAILY UNION:--Our mill is at present resting for a few days, until a goodly quantity of ore shall be transported hither from the Whitman mine, sufficient to give it a good start, and keep the stamps busy for a long time to come. In the last long run which this mall had, nothing could surpass the perfection of its working. J. B. Winters, Esq., the superintendent thereof, pronounces it a perfect gem of a mill, not to be beat by anything of its size, and he being a miller of long experience and good repute, his opinion is...
DU24 LETTER FROM PALMYRA. Como, April 13, 1864. A.D. Growls. Time rolls on apace, and so does Como. But as we thus roll on in the course of human events the thought sometimes suggests itself to me that we do not roll ahead fast enough. Perhaps I am too impatient and unwilling to await the slow but sure developments that Time brings about, and therefore am inclined to think that our mines here are not being developed fast enough. And in many instances I know I am correct, for although, to be sure, we have the Whitman and the Rappahannock, both of which are proven to be rich paying mines, yet we...
DU25 LETTER FROM PALMYRA. Como, July 17, 1864 VIRGINA DAILY UNION: Thinking perhaps a letter from your old correspondent would be acceptable, I write you the little news within my reach. Within the last three months, times here in common with all the rest of the Territory, have changed, and Como has had to share in the general depression. Stocks in the rich claims on your far-famed Comstock have gone down way below zero, and just in the same ratio have all the other good "feet" gone down. Perhaps the end is not yet, but it certainly can't be far off, there being little room for any further...
DU26 LETTER FROM PALMYRA. Como, July 28, 1864 VIRGINA DAILY UNION:--You are not to suppose that because times are a little hard with us, and greenbacks scarce, that the people of Como have given up to the general spirit of depression, and settled themselves into a fit of the blues. That's not the case by any means, but, on the contrary, we endeavor to "keep a stiff upper lip," and smiling countenance, gathering numerous crumbs of comfort from the fact that we are no worse off than our neighbors. C. A. Witherell, Esq., who has just returned from a trip to the Silver Mountain country, whither he...
DU27 PALMYRA CORRESPONDENCE. COMO, Sept 3, 1864. Things in General. VIRGINIA DAILY UNION: Summer having passed on in its usual course to join with the numerous bright summers of the past, and the chilly blasts and snows of next winter being only a few weeks in perspective, we are naturally inclined at this time to take a cursory view of our prospects, and endeavor to judge, from the experience of the past, what the future may be. A year ago all was life and animation here. Prospecting for rich silver mines in the numerous fine ledges was everywhere being vigorously carried on, and every day some...
DU28 PALMYRA CORRESPONDENCE. COMO, Sept 21, 1864. Times in Como. VIRGINIA DAILY UNION: Notwithstanding the pressure of hard times consequent upon the lamentable stringency of the circulating medium, we Comoites manage to retain our usual salubrity of spirits, and when occasions requires wax jolly and even festive over our present and future prospects; empty pockets not preventing our having dances, musical soirees and little social evening parties as usual, the cares of wealth troubling us but little. In regard to grub we are all right, for we have three butcher institutions all in full blast, and...

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