Gold was found in moderate quantities among the mountains, and population began to scatter slowly over them about 1850, and soon settlers began to improve the valleys at the foot of the mountains on the east for agricultural purposes. Carson county was organized by the territorial government of Utah in 1854; but in June, 1859, rich deposits of silver were found; and emigration began to pour in rapidly. In March, 1861, the Territory of Nevada was organized, and the same month, three years later, it was admitted into the Union, making the thirty-sixth State.
The history of these States, so rich in precious metals, puts to the blush the fantastic fables of the Arabian Nights. The silver mines of Nevada are believed to be the richest in the world. The celebrated silver mines of Potosi, in South America, never produced over $10,000,000 a year, while in 1867, one mine in Nevada produced $17,500,000, and is thought to be almost, or quite, inexhaustible. The climate, like that of California, is healthy; the seasons are divided into wet and dry, and agriculture is dependent on irrigation. With time and pains its products will be considerable. It has much wild and sublime scenery, and some natural curiosities; as Lake Mono, with its waters so sharply acid as to destroy cloth and leather immersed in it. Its gloomy surroundings, and the great distance from the tops of the precipitous rocks surrounding its shores to the surface of the water lend an impressive and fearful character to its severe desolation. It lies below the reach of the winds, and no living thing can exist in its waters.
It has an area of 63,473 square miles, or 40,622,720 acres. The population in 1860, while yet a Territory, was 6,857. In 1870 it had increased to 42,491. In conformity with the Constitutional provision that every State shall have one Representative in Congress, Nevada has one. This State lies in the ninth judicial circuit, and forms one judicial district, called the district of Nevada.
Carson City is the capital. The State election is held on the first Tuesday in November; and the Legislature meets on the first Monday in January.
The enacting clause of the laws is in the following words: “The people of the State of Nevada, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows.”
UNITED STATES SENATORS.
| James W. Nye, | from | 1865 | to | 1873. | |
| William M. Stewart, | ” | 1865 | ” | 1875. | |
| John P. Jones, | ” | 1873 | ” | 1879. | |
| Wm. Sharon, | ” | 1875 | ” | 1881. |
