Reese River takes its rise in the Toyabee Range of mountains, in Nye County, near the center of the State. It runs through Lander County, near Austin, and continues its course northward (under-ground and on the surface) to near the Humboldt River, where it disappears in the tule marsh. Strictly speaking, it “empties” nowhere in particular. It has a channel that leads into the Humboldt a short distance below Argenta, but in summer its waters fall short of reaching that stream by twenty miles. Although Reese River is a narrow and shallow stream, it has a length of about 150 miles. There are many fine valleys and much excellent grazing land on the bordering benches and hills.
OTHER RIVERS.
Other so-called rivers in Nevada are Quin River, a large creek which rises in Idaho and runs south in Humboldt County to a small terminal “sink” situated at the north end of a great range of mud flats and marshes that lie to the northward of Pyramid Lake. There are good stock ranges in the Quin River country. The Rio Virgin is a small stream about eighty miles in length situated in Lincoln County, in the extreme southeastern part of the State. It takes its rise in Utah and empties into the Colorado River. It has a tributary of considerable rise called Muddy Creek, or the “Big Muddy,” on and about which is much excellent land and several deserted Mormon villages. At one time there were 500 Mormon families settled in this part of Nevada, but they were called back to Salt Lake by Brigham Young, and abandoned their comfortable homes and fine and fertile farms. The mouth of the Rio Virgin is but 800 feet above the level of the sea, all this region being in what is known as the “Colorado Basin.” The climate is much the same as that of Los Angeles, California. Oranges, figs, lemons, almonds, olives, pomegranates, and all other semi-tropical fruits grow to perfection; also cotton and tobacco. All the grains, vegetables, and fruits of the temperate zone flourish finely. This spot is the Eden of the great basin region.
The Colorado River forms the southeastern boundary of Nevada. Although it is not one of the rivers of the State system, yet it is one to which Nevada has some claim. Where it sweeps along the southern border of the State the stream is half a mile wide and has a depth of from ten to twenty feet. The river is navigable for steamboats from Callville, a short distance between the mouth of the Rio Virgin, to Port Isabel, on the Gulf of California, a distance of 600 miles. Callville is one of the towns (now almost deserted) founded by the Mormons during their occupation of that region of the country. The proposed railroad from Salt Lake City would cause this region to again become populous and prosperous.
Mineral Treasures of Nevada.
There are mines of the precious metals in every county in the State. There are mines of gold, silver, lead, copper, and other valuable metals in all the rugged, parallel ranges of mountains running through the great central plateau. Mining and agriculture are thus pursued side by side. Lying between the mountain ranges and running in the same direction are valleys containing arable land, while on the benches and lower hills are excellent grazing lands, on which grow nutritious bunch-grass and other valuable native grasses. In all parts of the State mining is being profitably pursued, and almost weekly new and valuable discoveries of the precious metals are somewhere being made. Although the country has been walked and ridden over in various directions for the past twenty-five years, there are still hundreds of sections where no real prospecting has ever been done. Even in the oldest and best-known mining camps, many discoveries yet remain to be made. Although explorations were made in the southern half of the State in the early days, and thousands of mining locations made, little real mining has been done on any of the hundreds of large and promising veins discovered. The work done has been mere surface scratching, and the majority of the claims have long since been abandoned by their locators. Lack of facilities for the transportation of ores and supplies made it impracticable to work mines situated at a great distance from lines of railroad. The men who prospected and made locations in wild and distant regions were men of little means, and when their small stocks of money and provisions were exhausted, they were obliged to abandon their claims and return to the settlements, as men of capital could not be induced to invest their money in mines out in the wilderness far from any means of transportation. Thus it happens that there are many sections of the country the mines of which are the same as unprospected—mines which will produce millions when lines of railroad shall furnish facilities for the transportation of ore, machinery, and supplies. In Lincoln, Nye, White Pine, Lander, Elko, and Humboldt Counties, there are hundreds of mining districts in which this is the case, and in these hundreds of districts are lying unworked thousands of quartz veins, all showing more or less of the precious metals at the very surface, and even in the croppings above the surface.
A thousand years of mining will not exhaust the mineral treasures of the mountains of Nevada. Cheaper and cheaper means of mining and reducing ores will continue to be found, and presently it will be possible to work the mines of common metals which cannot now be touched. Besides gold and silver the mountains of Nevada contain veins of copper, lead, iron, antimony, nickel, zinc, and many others, as cobalt, graphite, and the like. Not only are the mountains of the State rich in all kinds of metals, but the lower lands are also filled with valuable mineral treasures. In the basins of extinct lakes in all parts of the State, and aggregating hundreds of square miles, are inexhaustible deposits of borax, soda, salt, gypsum, glaubers, alum, sulphur, and many other mineral products of a similar character, which are only now beginning to be utilized at points near lines of railway.
Agricultural Resources.
In the limited space at command in a small book such as this it is not possible to more than give to the agricultural and horticultural resources of the State a passing glance, as has been done in the case of the mining and mineral products and resources. Although until within a very few years past Nevada has never been thought of outside of the State as being anything else than a region of mines, of metals, and beds of minerals, it is now evident that she has agricultural advantages and resources long unsuspected. Nevada is well calculated to become a great stock-growing State. Already she has her “cattle kings,” and they are not as the roving cattle kings of other lands. They have struck their roots deep in the soil and are permanent residents. While the tillage of the soil alone will be found as profitable here as elsewhere for the small farmer whose ranch is within reach of a ready market, the real and great business of the Nevada land owner must be stock-growing. This is not a matter of choice or taste, but is a thing demanded by the configuration of the country, the climate, and the nature of the soil. In order that the natural resources of the country may be properly utilized the greater part of the valley regions (nearly all at a distance from towns) must be given up to the stock-grower. He must have valley lands on which to raise sufficient hay and other feed to tide his live-stock through any severe spells of cold weather or big snow-storms that may occur during the winter months. In order to utilize the vast surrounding grazing ranges the cattle king must have a “center stake” driven in some good, productive valley. This is required as a magazine of supplies for the winter season. While cattle, horses, and sheep will find a living on the ranges during the greater part of the winter, still the stock-grower who would not suffer occasional disaster must be provided against the accident of possible cold “snaps” and unusually heavy snow-falls. A glance over the physical features of the country shows that the proportion of arable to grazing land is very well balanced. When proper attention shall be given to the storage of water for irrigation it will be found that each valley will have sufficient capacity to produce hay, grain, and root crops adequate to the requirements of the flocks and herds that can find pasturage on the surrounding range.
On the ranges are found several valuable native grasses, some of which are cut for hay. Those most valuable for hay are the blue-joint, red-top, one variety of bunch-grass, and several varieties of clover. All these grasses grow in the moist lands of the valleys and natural meadows, but some varieties of bunch-grass flourish on the hills and elevated benches. Among the native grasses of the country could no doubt be found one valuable variety at least that would grow without irrigation and that could be greatly improved by cultivation. Such a grass is probably that called “sand-grass,” of which large fields are frequently seen in dry, sandy, and apparently utterly barren plains. It grows to a height of about fifteen inches and has many spreading branches on each stalk, which branches are loaded with a large black seed, that is very fattening, and of which all kinds of grazing animals are very fond. It would be well to sow the seed of this grass, which is a species of bunch-grass, on properly plowed and prepared ground in order to ascertain its capability of cultivation. There are not fewer than forty varieties of native grasses found in Nevada and eight or ten kinds of clover. Alfalfa is the forage plant most cultivated for hay, and on a suitable soil has no superior. Timothy, red and white clover, and other tame grasses, do well. A very valuable native forage plant, for the reason that it flourishes in even the most arid and sterile localities, is that commonly called “white sage.” It is a plant of a whitish-ash color and does not belong to the “artemesia,” or sagebrush, family. This hardy plant furnishes good winter feed for cattle. It is resinous and bitter until after the heavy frosts of early winter. Freezing renders it tender, sweet, and nutritious. Even human beings may support life on the white sage. In hard winters, before the whites came into the country, at times when no game could be found, the Piutes were occasionally obliged to subsist for weeks at a time wholly on white sage cooked by boiling it in baskets by means of hot stones.