in his affairs. On the contrary he was at the very acme of a reputation for liberality and enterprise altogether unexampled and, as some thought, an honor to the country and a credit to mankind. But when the bonanza craze had commenced to decline and the Comstock stock shrank to about one-third of previous quotations, it was suddenly found that the Bank of California as a corporation was insolvent, and that all Ralston's extravagant expenditures had been made, not with his own but with the bank's money. It had been understood that Flood & O'Brien, with the millions made out of the Consolidated Virginia and California mines, intended to start a bank in San Francisco; and it is said they were now invited to take hold of the Bank of California. But either the proposition did not commend itself to their judgment, or terms could not be agreed upon; and on August 26, 1875, to the wonder and surprise of nearly everybody -only a few persons having any idea of the real state of affairs -the bank closed its doors. On the following day, at a meeting of the trustees, Ralston was deposed from his position as president and manager. He had for some time been accustomed to swim in the bay near Black Point. He appears to have proceeded almost directly from the meeting to that place, and as usual plunged into the water. Upon swimming out some distance from shore, he was noticed to be struggling as if suffocated or in convulsions; and a boat going to his relief picked him up. He appeared unconscious and insensible and, notwithstanding long and vigorous efforts, could not be resuscitated.

Ralston's death increased the excitement consequent upon the failure of the bank. Some said he had been driven to suicide; and a very common supposition was that he had taken his own life. He was a proud-spirited man and could ill brook the exposure of what he had done. It was rumored that he had swallowed a deadly drug just before or at the time of entering the water. But if so, there was no proof of it either before the coroner or elsewhere and it was not made public. Whatever the facts were, and probably whatever they might have been, he had a certain class of friends who eulogized and, if they had been able, would have apotheosized him. Not long afterwards, when the facts about his expenditures became known, it was seen that

he had misappropriated between four and five million dollars of the bank's money and that much of it was irretrievably gone. So great was the loss that the trustees at first thought of throwing the institution into bankruptcy; but, on further consideration and especially when they found that as individual stockholders they would under the constitution and laws of California be personally liable for the debts, they determined to rehabilitate the bank; and, by the efforts chiefly of Sharon, they succeeded in doing so. Sharon also took hold of the Palace Hotel and finished it. About the same time, the bonanza firm of Flood & O'Brien opened their projected institution in San Francisco, calling it the Bank of Nevada-which also proved a success though not so completely as to absorb or destroy the Bank of California, as its originators seem to have expected.1

But the most noteworthy in many respects of all the men connected with the Comstock lode was Adolph Sutro. He was born at Aix-la-Chapelle in Rhenish Prussia on April 29, 1830, and came to America in 1850. On November 21 of the same year, he arrived in California and went into business, chiefly in tobacco and cigars, at San Francisco. In 1856 he married and in the course of time raised a family of four daughters and two In 1859, attracted by the discoveries of the Washoe mines and the opportunities presented there for a young man of energy, he proceeded thither; established himself at Virginia City, and in 1861 built a quartz mill on Carson river. As the developments on the flank of Mount Davidson progressed, and more and more difficulty began to be experienced by miners in getting rid of subterranean waters as their shafts penetrated deeper and deeper into the mountain, Sutro conceived the idea of constructing a great tunnel at a low level from the nearest point on Carson river, and thereby not only draining the entire Comstock lode but also furnishing superior ventilation for its under-ground works, and affording a cheaper and more convenient mode of removing ore and débris from the deep drifts than lifting them to the surface with expensive machinery.

The point on Carson river, where he proposed to start his tunnel, was twenty thousand four hundred and eighty-five feet, 'San Francisco newspapers of the period.

or nearly four miles, in a horizontal line from the shaft of the Savage mine, which was centrally located; and from there it was intended to run lateral drifts northerly and southerly so as to tap all the mines on the lode. As designed, and afterwards constructed, the bore was to be ten feet high and twelve feet wide with a drainage trench in the center, and to have two tracks of rails, one on each side, and so constructed as to be suitable for the passage of mules drawing cars. It was to strike the Savage shaft at a depth of sixteen hundred and forty-five feet below its mouth, and to have a sufficient incline or fall towards Carson river to safely and rapidly carry off all the drainage that might flow or be turned into it. Substantially all the details were arranged in advance and were so complete, and everything connected with it appeared so feasible and promising, that the projector had no difficulty in enlisting attention and influence for carrying them out. A company for the purpose was organized in Nevada in 1864; and the first legislature of that state on February 4, 1865, passed an act granting the necessary franchise, right of way and other corporate privileges, on condition that the work should be commenced within one year and completed within eight years from the passage of the act.' Arrangements were soon afterwards made for rights of way with persons owning surface claims; and then formal contracts were entered into with nearly all the mining companies on the Comstock lode, by the terms of which they agreed to pay to the tunnel company two dollars for every ton of ore taken from the mines after the work should be extended so far that it could be made available for drainage purposes. They were also to pay a certain sum per ton for the removal of ore or waste rock and the taking in of supplies, and a price for each and every person in their employ passing through. The rates agreed upon being considered reasonable, everybody appeared favorably disposed. At that time Sharon, Ralston and the Bank of California were dominating almost everything in Nevada; and they were among the foremost advocates and supporters of the enterprise.

Sutro at once began looking around for capital; but at the same time, being anxious to protect himself at every point and 1Stats. of Nevada, 1864-5, 128, 129.

especially against those who had not signed contracts with him, he proceeded to Washington and on July 25, 1866, procured the passage of an act of congress granting him the right of way through any public land crossed by his tunnel; the right to purchase at one dollar and a quarter per acre such public land at or near its mouth as he might require, not exceeding two sections; and the right to purchase at five dollars per acre any public mineral land cut, discovered or developed by the tunnel and within two thousand feet on each side of it, excepting the Comstock mines as then known and all others held in actual bonafide possession. The act-which preceded by one day the first general law of congress for the disposition of mineral lands-provided further in express terms that the owners of Comstock mines drained or benefited should hold subject to the condition, to be expressed in any future grant or patent of the same, that they should pay to the tunnel the same rates as had been, or might be, named in contracts of owners representing a majority of the estimated value of the Comstock lode. Immediately afterwards, Sutro, having thus secured his project from being taken advantage of by those who had refused to contract with him, laid it before capitalists and in a short time obtained many promises and pledges for the purchase of stock; but, as the necessary amount of money was not paid in as rapidly as called for, further time was asked for and given by at least some of the mining companies interested. This was in the early part of 1867—up to which time, except for the delay referred to, the prospects of the enterprise continued bright; and it was almost unanimously advocated and supported by the entire community.

While affairs were in this condition and Sutro was diligently working away in endeavoring to raise money, the Bank of California and those connected with and interested in its Nevada. business suddenly changed their minds and determined to oppose the tunnel. They seem to have found that Sutro was a man of very independent character, who could not be controlled exactly as they desired, and that the new enterprise, if carried out, would be likely to be managed without much reference to their own designs. They thereupon, with the idea and in anticipation of

U. S. Stats. at Large, 1865-6, 242, 243, 251-253.

breaking up the project so far as Sutro was connected with it, made known their opposition and, among other things, requested the representatives of Nevada in congress thenceforth in every possible way to thwart and defeat it. They also induced the Nevada press and many of the people, and especially everybody interested in the Comstock mines whom they could influence, to join in their hostility-pronouncing the tunnel useless and the mere scheme of an adroit and energetic speculator. They called it a "coyote hole" and declared that its projector's purpose was to interfere with and blackmail the honest mine owners who were developing the industries of the country and pouring into the pockets of the people their gracious millions of treasure.

Few men could have resisted, or would have attempted to resist, such a storm of opposition as was thus raised. Almost all those who had previously favored the undertaking now became hostile; most of the Comstock mine owners and manipulators who had been enthusiastic in its recommendation now pretended that it was against their interests, and those who had been inclined to invest and some who had given their names declined to have anything further to do with it. But if it was expected by such tactics to put Sutro down, those who were in the game did not know their adversary. He was not to be put down; his whole soul—and it was a soul of will, daring and persistence that nothing could frighten or tire-was in the project; and all they did or could do was simply to rouse him to greater and greater efforts. Being satisfied with the value, legality and justice of his undertaking, and fully appreciating the character of the opposition that had thus been raised, he made up his mind to lay his cause before the people not only of Nevada but of the United States. If the Bank of California and its adherents would not listen, there were plenty of other people who would, and he was determined that they should have an opportunity. He had never professed to be a public speaker; he was not at that time as fluent in the use of Anglo Saxon as he afterwards became; his pronunciation continually reminded the hearer of the German and French languages, which had been the tongues of his earlier years; but he was thoroughly in earnest. Being full of his subject and having clearly in his mind what he intended to say, he commenced