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<h2> CHAPTER XXV. </h2>
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<p>Originally, Nevada was a part of Utah and was called Carson county; and a
pretty large county it was, too. Certain of its valleys produced no end of
hay, and this attracted small colonies of Mormon stock-raisers and farmers
to them. A few orthodox Americans straggled in from California, but no
love was lost between the two classes of colonists. There was little or no
friendly intercourse; each party staid to itself. The Mormons were largely
in the majority, and had the additional advantage of being peculiarly
under the protection of the Mormon government of the Territory. Therefore
they could afford to be distant, and even peremptory toward their
neighbors. One of the traditions of Carson Valley illustrates the
condition of things that prevailed at the time I speak of. The hired girl
of one of the American families was Irish, and a Catholic; yet it was
noted with surprise that she was the only person outside of the Mormon
ring who could get favors from the Mormons. She asked kindnesses of them
often, and always got them. It was a mystery to everybody. But one day as
she was passing out at the door, a large bowie knife dropped from under
her apron, and when her mistress asked for an explanation she observed
that she was going out to "borry a wash-tub from the Mormons!"</p>
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<p>In 1858 silver lodes were discovered in "Carson County," and then the
aspect of things changed. Californians began to flock in, and the American
element was soon in the majority. Allegiance to Brigham Young and Utah was
renounced, and a temporary territorial government for "Washoe" was
instituted by the citizens. Governor Roop was the first and only chief
magistrate of it. In due course of time Congress passed a bill to organize
"Nevada Territory," and President Lincoln sent out Governor Nye to
supplant Roop.</p>
<p>At this time the population of the Territory was about twelve or fifteen
thousand, and rapidly increasing. Silver mines were being vigorously
developed and silver mills erected. Business of all kinds was active and
prosperous and growing more so day by day.</p>
<p>The people were glad to have a legitimately constituted government, but
did not particularly enjoy having strangers from distant States put in
authority over them—a sentiment that was natural enough. They
thought the officials should have been chosen from among themselves from
among prominent citizens who had earned a right to such promotion, and who
would be in sympathy with the populace and likewise thoroughly acquainted
with the needs of the Territory. They were right in viewing the matter
thus, without doubt. The new officers were "emigrants," and that was no
title to anybody's affection or admiration either.</p>
<p>The new government was received with considerable coolness. It was not
only a foreign intruder, but a poor one. It was not even worth plucking—except
by the smallest of small fry office-seekers and such. Everybody knew that
Congress had appropriated only twenty thousand dollars a year in
greenbacks for its support—about money enough to run a quartz mill a
month. And everybody knew, also, that the first year's money was still in
Washington, and that the getting hold of it would be a tedious and
difficult process. Carson City was too wary and too wise to open up a
credit account with the imported bantling with anything like indecent
haste.</p>
<p>There is something solemnly funny about the struggles of a new-born
Territorial government to get a start in this world. Ours had a trying
time of it. The Organic Act and the "instructions" from the State
Department commanded that a legislature should be elected at such-and-
such a time, and its sittings inaugurated at such-and-such a date. It was
easy to get legislators, even at three dollars a day, although board was
four dollars and fifty cents, for distinction has its charm in Nevada as
well as elsewhere, and there were plenty of patriotic souls out of
employment; but to get a legislative hall for them to meet in was another
matter altogether. Carson blandly declined to give a room rent-free, or
let one to the government on credit.</p>
<p>But when Curry heard of the difficulty, he came forward, solitary and
alone, and shouldered the Ship of State over the bar and got her afloat
again. I refer to "Curry—Old Curry—Old Abe Curry." But for him
the legislature would have been obliged to sit in the desert. He offered
his large stone building just outside the capital limits, rent-free, and
it was gladly accepted. Then he built a horse-railroad from town to the
capitol, and carried the legislators gratis.</p>
<p>He also furnished pine benches and chairs for the legislature, and covered
the floors with clean saw-dust by way of carpet and spittoon combined. But
for Curry the government would have died in its tender infancy. A canvas
partition to separate the Senate from the House of Representatives was put
up by the Secretary, at a cost of three dollars and forty cents, but the
United States declined to pay for it. Upon being reminded that the
"instructions" permitted the payment of a liberal rent for a legislative
hall, and that that money was saved to the country by Mr. Curry's
generosity, the United States said that did not alter the matter, and the
three dollars and forty cents would be subtracted from the Secretary's
eighteen hundred dollar salary—and it was!</p>
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<p>The matter of printing was from the beginning an interesting feature of
the new government's difficulties. The Secretary was sworn to obey his
volume of written "instructions," and these commanded him to do two
certain things without fail, viz.:</p>
<p>1. Get the House and Senate journals printed; and, 2. For this work, pay
one dollar and fifty cents per "thousand" for composition, and one dollar
and fifty cents per "token" for press-work, in greenbacks.</p>
<p>It was easy to swear to do these two things, but it was entirely
impossible to do more than one of them. When greenbacks had gone down to
forty cents on the dollar, the prices regularly charged everybody by
printing establishments were one dollar and fifty cents per "thousand" and
one dollar and fifty cents per "token," in gold. The "instructions"
commanded that the Secretary regard a paper dollar issued by the
government as equal to any other dollar issued by the government. Hence
the printing of the journals was discontinued. Then the United States
sternly rebuked the Secretary for disregarding the "instructions," and
warned him to correct his ways. Wherefore he got some printing done,
forwarded the bill to Washington with full exhibits of the high prices of
things in the Territory, and called attention to a printed market report
wherein it would be observed that even hay was two hundred and fifty
dollars a ton. The United States responded by subtracting the printing-
bill from the Secretary's suffering salary—and moreover remarked
with dense gravity that he would find nothing in his "instructions"
requiring him to purchase hay!</p>
<p>Nothing in this world is palled in such impenetrable obscurity as a U.S.
Treasury Comptroller's understanding. The very fires of the hereafter
could get up nothing more than a fitful glimmer in it. In the days I speak
of he never could be made to comprehend why it was that twenty thousand
dollars would not go as far in Nevada, where all commodities ranged at an
enormous figure, as it would in the other Territories, where exceeding
cheapness was the rule. He was an officer who looked out for the little
expenses all the time. The Secretary of the Territory kept his office in
his bedroom, as I before remarked; and he charged the United States no
rent, although his "instructions" provided for that item and he could have
justly taken advantage of it (a thing which I would have done with more
than lightning promptness if I had been Secretary myself). But the United
States never applauded this devotion. Indeed, I think my country was
ashamed to have so improvident a person in its employ.</p>
<p>Those "instructions" (we used to read a chapter from them every morning,
as intellectual gymnastics, and a couple of chapters in Sunday school
every Sabbath, for they treated of all subjects under the sun and had much
valuable religious matter in them along with the other statistics) those
"instructions" commanded that pen-knives, envelopes, pens and
writing-paper be furnished the members of the legislature. So the
Secretary made the purchase and the distribution. The knives cost three
dollars apiece. There was one too many, and the Secretary gave it to the
Clerk of the House of Representatives. The United States said the Clerk of
the House was not a "member" of the legislature, and took that three
dollars out of the Secretary's salary, as usual.</p>
<p>White men charged three or four dollars a "load" for sawing up stove-
wood. The Secretary was sagacious enough to know that the United States
would never pay any such price as that; so he got an Indian to saw up a
load of office wood at one dollar and a half. He made out the usual
voucher, but signed no name to it—simply appended a note explaining
that an Indian had done the work, and had done it in a very capable and
satisfactory way, but could not sign the voucher owing to lack of ability
in the necessary direction. The Secretary had to pay that dollar and a
half. He thought the United States would admire both his economy and his
honesty in getting the work done at half price and not putting a pretended
Indian's signature to the voucher, but the United States did not see it in
that light.</p>
<p>The United States was too much accustomed to employing dollar-and-a-half
thieves in all manner of official capacities to regard his explanation of
the voucher as having any foundation in fact.</p>
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<p>But the next time the Indian sawed wood for us I taught him to make a
cross at the bottom of the voucher—it looked like a cross that had
been drunk a year—and then I "witnessed" it and it went through all
right. The United States never said a word. I was sorry I had not made the
voucher for a thousand loads of wood instead of one.</p>
<p>The government of my country snubs honest simplicity but fondles artistic
villainy, and I think I might have developed into a very capable
pickpocket if I had remained in the public service a year or two.</p>
<p>That was a fine collection of sovereigns, that first Nevada legislature.
They levied taxes to the amount of thirty or forty thousand dollars and
ordered expenditures to the extent of about a million. Yet they had their
little periodical explosions of economy like all other bodies of the kind.
A member proposed to save three dollars a day to the nation by dispensing
with the Chaplain. And yet that short-sighted man needed the Chaplain more
than any other member, perhaps, for he generally sat with his feet on his
desk, eating raw turnips, during the morning prayer.</p>
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<p>The legislature sat sixty days, and passed private tollroad franchises all
the time. When they adjourned it was estimated that every citizen owned
about three franchises, and it was believed that unless Congress gave the
Territory another degree of longitude there would not be room enough to
accommodate the toll-roads. The ends of them were hanging over the
boundary line everywhere like a fringe.</p>
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<p>The fact is, the freighting business had grown to such important
proportions that there was nearly as much excitement over suddenly
acquired toll-road fortunes as over the wonderful silver mines.</p>
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