USA > Colorado > Gilpin County > Early Records of Gilpin County, Colorado, 1859-1861 > Part 11
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John Jones P R. D. Darlington Sect.
Nevada District Saturday May 26th 1860
Pursuant to a call of the President with the usual notice the miners met at the house of B. Burroughs in Nevada District I. H. Morton President and the following resolutions were offered.
1. Resolved. That to rule is a right exercised by all Free American Citizens, and in the absence of Civil Law, it is their Sovereign Authority to select men for, and adopt all needful and salutary rules for their Government.
2d Resolved. That all claims for mining purposes and building lots, taken in good faith or acquired by purchase under the prevailing laws of Nevada District, when not conflicting with prior claims, shall be taken and held valid, according to the Code of Laws prevailing at the time acquired, either by pre- emption of purchase.
3d Resolved. That in all Elections to be had, and deci- sions to be made, touching interests involved in Nevada District, the votes to be given or decisions made shall be by the actual resi-
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dents or aetive operators of the district and that the laws of the district, be so amended as to aceord with this resolution.
4th Resolved On motion of Mr. Giddings, that a com- mittee of five be appointed to collate & bring together all Laws now in force in this distriet both old and new and submit the same to the next regular meeting for approval.
I. H. Morton S. Link John Jones Committee
R. D. Darlington S. M. Link
5th Resolved. That all claims made by purchase in good faith, shall be held as real estate till the 1st of June 1861.
6th Resolved. That all dry claims shall be securely held, until water can be procured so that they may be worked with profit and advantage.
7th Resolved. That the judgement of the Miners Court in favor of Thos. C. Giddings against A. J. Edwards and others, heretofore rendered by said Court, be & the same is hereby de- clared to be confirmed and ratified by this meeting and is hereby declared to be final between the said parties.
8th Resolved. That whereas it has come to the knowledge of the miners of this district that a certain Mrs Shields has been forcibly driven from a claim which she held and worked last ยท summer, therefore we the miners of this Nevada District award the claim to Mrs. Shields and deprecate all such foreable means of taking possession of claims.
9th Resolved. That all roads and streets now laid off and worked by the people of this district and that may be hereafter laid off and worked by said people shall be recognized as legal highways for public travel.
The above resolutions being adopted the meeting was ad- journed to meet on the last Saturday in June 1860.
I. H. Morton, Presd, R. D. Darlington, Secy.
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Nevada District.
Saturday July 14th 1860 at a Call meeting of the miners of Nevada District July 14th 1860 Ira. H. Morton President of said District Presiding. S. M. Link offered the following Resilution.
Resolved That while we Recognize the Settled principals of Law as a Rule By which Americans Should be governed we deprecate all attempts that has a tendency to create discord Contentions or litigations unnecessarily and in the future we the miners of Nevada District declare that all attempts to cut down or take the Legal and Equitable Rights of Miners or Claim Holders when Clearley secured by previous Existing Law Shall be Considered incendiary and Revolutionary and all persons so offending shall be considered as ineligible to any of the Rights and privelages Secured to Miners and Claim holders by the Laws of this District. An amendment to the above resolution was offered by Mr. Burris. The President declared the first Clause of said Amendment out of order An appeal was taken to the miners upon decission of the President, and the discision of President in declairing first Clause of said Amendment out of order sustained. The Amendment was then withdrawn by Mr. Burris. S. M. Link then moved the adoption his resolution which was carried Mr. Bowles then offered a resolution which was lost and withdrawn There being no further business before the meeting on motion it adjourned to the next regular meeting.
R. D. Darlington Secy By G. W. Hart, Deputy.
Nevada District, Saturday July 28 1860.
At a regular meeting of the Miners of Nevada District held July 28 1860 Ira H. Morton President Presiding.
John Jones as one of the Committee appointed to compile the Laws of Nevada District asked for further instructions. On motion the said Committee was granted until the next regular meeting in which to make a report. On motion a Practice Act for New Nevada District was offered read and refered to codi- fying Committee with instruction to revise and report at next
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meeting. Mr. Miner [ ?] then offered the following Resolution, "Resolved by the Miners of Nevada Distriet in Council as- sembled, that in all cases when the president or Justice are in- terested parties in any suit or cause of action, or where an affi- davit shall be filed before any officer of this District, setting forth that the party applying cannot in his opinion obtain a fair and impartial trial of any cause in which he may be interested The said party may bring lis action before the Judge or Presi- dent of the other District the papers certified to and sent out of the District and the judgement rendered therein shall be as final and conclusive as if rendered by any competent officer of this District" On mnotion the above resolution was laid on the table on motion of Mr. Bowles the meeting adjourned.
A. D. Darlington Secy By G. W. Hart, Deputy.
Nevada District Aug 25/60
At a regular meeting of the miners of Nevada District held at the Recorders office in said District on Saturday Aug 25 1860 Dr. Mann Prest in the chair the following resolutions were handed in
Whereas greater security should and ought to be given to miners and claim holders in Nevada District touching the right and tenure of mining claims. Therefore Resolved. That all claims preempted in good faith and all discovery and purchased claims of every description held in Nevada District shall be taken and held as real estate but all claims declared real estate by this resolution shall at least be represented by the claim holder or his agent and on a failure to represent a claim taken and recorded according to the laws and regulations of the Dis- trict for the duration of one year at any time shall work a for- feiture to the title and the same may be preempted and worked as though no previous right had existed-Carried.
Mr. Link offerred the following:
Whereas, the Lode claim miners and owners of the same have been very seriously damaged by the water brought on Quartz Mountain by the Consolidated Ditch Company and
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whereas the great interest of Nevada depends on her facilities for working her gold bearing claims- Therefore Resolved That we the mine and lode claim holders of Nevada District having been greatly damaged & the heaviest interests of the District sacrificed on account of the seapage and flow of water proceed- ing from the water ditch of the Consolidated Ditch Company and that the damage is so great that forbearance will prostrate our best mining interests and reduce to the necessity of stopping mining operations or abandoning the best of claims.
2nd. Resolved-That the Secretary respectfully inform the Consolidated Ditch Company that Nevada District desires to cultivate amicable relations with said Company and to pro- mote the best interests of the Miners generally but that the griev- ance above referred to is prostrating and sacrificing the heavi- est interests of Nevada and that they be requested to cause the same to abate.
Resolved-That in case the Consolidated Ditch Co. fail to remove the nuisance complained of in the first resolution that a committee of 10 persons be appointed by the President to abate the nuisance and that we pledge our aid if necessary in the exe- cution of the same. (Carried) Meeting adjournd to Sept. 1.
R D Darlington Secy
Nevada District Sept 1st 1860
At a meeting of the Miners of Nevada District held at the office of the Recorder of said District Saturday Sept 1 1860 the following report was presented and adopted
To the miners of Nevada District in Mass Meeting assembled
Your committee to whom the resolution on the subject of making claims of discovery of purchase or by preemption in Ne- vada District Real Estate would report the following in lieu of the original to wit
Resolved that all claims preempted in good faith and all discovery and purchase claims of every description held in Ne- vada District shall be taken and held as Real Estate in fce simple from and after the passage of this Resolution provided
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that all claims before they shall be considered as Real Estate shall if not already recorded, be recorded in the Recording Of- fice of Nevada District which Record shall clearly define the position and location of the claim and the person holding such claim shall set up stakes or mounds at each corner of his elaim if a building or mill claim and a post or stone defining the cen- ter at the ends of each claim defined as lead claims also a stone or stake well driven in the ground at the corners of all ptch or surface claims and Gulch claims.
Amended in so far as relates to preemption claims by re- quiring that they be dug into to the erevice (Carried)
It was moved and seconded that The President and judge of the miners Court be the authorized officers to take the ac- knowledgements of deeds for Real Estate in this District. Re- solved that for taking all acknowledgements of deeds the fee shall be 25 cents (Carried)
It was moved and seconded that the laws of Nevada be so amended as to read. That the regular meetings of the District be two each year-viz on the last Saturday in October and May (Carried)
R D Darlington Secy
Nevada District Sept 28 1860
At a special meeting of the miners of Nevada District held at the office of the Reeorder of said District Sept 28 1860 Dr. Mann Prest in the chair, the following resolution was presented to the meeting-
Whereas we are informed that certain interested persons of Spring Gulch are desirous of obtaining a portion of this Ne- vada District it is therefore Resolved-That the setting off of the portion of our District claimed by Spring Gulch would de- prive us of one of the best portions of our District embarras our records oppress our miners by new records and laws and dimin- ish our prosperity by losing control of the Gulch Stream on which we as miners depend for success
Resolved that we as miners and citizens of Nevada Distriet will resist such invasion in any manner to the extreme of oppo- sition (Carried)
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The following Preamble and resolution was then intro- duced by Mr. Morse & then acceptance moved and seconded
whereas a call for a meeting of Districts and an Election is published to be held in Spring Gulch on Saturday 29th in- stant to form a new District thereby cutting the territory mainly from Nevada District much against the will of a ma- jority of the Miners therein and detrimental to their interests therefore
Resolved That we deprecate & condemn any attempt to change or restrict the present line of any District as established by the convention of Districts held at Gregory in March 1860 further
Resolved that a committee of 12 be appointed to attend said meeting in Spring Gulch to represent the will of the Min- ers of this District by opposing all measures tending to a change of any boundary as established of Nevada District or cutting off of any portion of the Territory thereof-(Carried)
The following named gentlemen were then appointed on said Committee
E. M. McCook
T. C. Giddings
R. D. Darlington
John Jones
J D Wood
J. W. Hamilton
E. D. Thompson
C. Newcomer
Dr. Mann
Col Gest
H. A. Johnson
H. B. Morse
On motion the meeting then adjourned.
R D Darlington Sec
Adjourned from Septr to Oct
At a regular meeting of the miners and citizens of Nevada District held at the Recorders Office, the following resolutions were offered and carried.
1st. Whereas greater security should and ought to be given to miners and claim holders in Nevada District touching the right and tenure of mining claims. Therefore Resolved that all claims preempted in good faith and all discovery and pur- chased claims of every description shall be taken and held as
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Real Estate, but all claims declared Real Estate by this resolu- tion shall at least be represented by the claim holder or his agent, and on a failure to represent a claim taken and Recorded according to the laws and regulations of the District for the duration of one year at any time shall work a forfeiture to the title and the same may be preempted and worked as though no previous right had existed.
2nd. Resolved, that all claims preempted in good faith and all discovery and purchased claims of every description held in Nevada District shall be taken and held as Real Estate in fee simple from and after the passage of this Provided that all claims before they shall be considered as Real Estate shall be opened to the crevice and Recorded in the Recorders office of Nevada District which record shall clearly define the position and location of the claim, and the person holding such claim shall set up stakes or mounds at each corner of his claim if a building or mill claim and a post or stone defining the center of the ends of each claim defined as lead claims, also a stone or stake well driven in the ground at the corner of all patch or sur- face claims and gulch claims.
3rd That the equity of redemption on all mortgaged prop- erty shall extend sixty days from the time sale under foreclosure and that the mortgagor may retain the possession of such prop- erty after the sale by executing to the purchaser a good and suffi- cient bond to be approved by the court under whose decree the property is sold in double the amount of the purchase money, conditioned that he will redeem the property within sixty days and pay interest on the same at the rate of twenty five per cent per annum.
4th That no person shall be allowed to slaughter an ox, sheep or other animal within the bounds of the City of Nevada or nearer than 1/4 of a mile from the Gulch Stream and any per- son violating this law shall be fined $50.00 for each offence.
5 That the several Butchers of Nevada be notified by the Sheriff to bury or remove to the distance of 1/4 of a mile from the Gulch Stream the offal accumulated by them within 6 days from notification under penalty of $50.00
.
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6 That the President and Judge of the Miners' Court be the authorized officers to take the acknowledgement of deeds for real Estate in this district. For all acknowledgements the fee shall be 25 cents
7 That hereafter, parties to a suit shall not be competent to testify in their own behalf unless the[y] first file an affidavit with the Court, stating the facts they expect to prove, and that they cannot be proven by any other person within the jurisdic- tion of this District, as of their knowledge.
8
That the laws of Nevada be so amended as to read, that
the regular meetings of this district be two each year viz, the last Saturday in May and October.
R. D. Darlington Secy.
NEVADA GULCH.1
Nevada, Nov. 16, 1860.
Editors News :- For ten days past the utmost effort has been made by the mill-owners of this gulch to obtain a supply of water from the Consolidated Ditch, which, I am sorry to say, has not been crowned with the success it so well deserved. Par- ties of ten, twenty and thirty men have gone out along the ditch almost every day for a week past, to clear the bed of the ditch, and have frequently stopped over night amid the snows of the mountains ; and, at one time, while the weather was so genial in the early part of the week, our hearts were gladdened with the report that the water would soon be in the ditch; but I regret to say we are all again disappointed. An icy hand is laid upon us, and I think we will now have to give it up for the win- ter.
A few of our mills are running from water from the gulch, and their own wells, and such as are running are doing well; but the majority are not running, having to depend on the ditch for their water.
An association of mill owners in this gulch is about to be
1 Rocky Mountain News, November 21, 1860, p. 2. Unless designated by the word daily, the reference is to the weekly paper.
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formed, for the purpose of mutual counsel and advice. I am told it will also have a sort of literary tendency, as a large sup- ply of papers will be received weekly. Last night, while in Van- deren's Express Office, I noticed a large package of exchanges, which, on inquiry, I learned was a donation from the News office, to the prospective institution. Good for you.
Last Saturday our last miner's meeting for the season was held here. A codified copy of the laws of the district was read and adopted, and ordered to be printed. A law was passed al- lowing the equity of redemption on all mortgaged property for six months after sale, upon certain restrictive conditions. Of course this does not apply to mortgages heretofore given. A resolution was almost unanimously passed, declaring against the Appellate Court as recommended by the Central City con- vention, and that it was inexpedient to hold any election for the officers therein recommended, on the 20th inst. A few minor resolutions, relating to sanatory regulations, were then passed, and the meeting adjourned until the last Saturday in May, 1861.
A fine Opening Ball was given in Squire Morton's new Hall here on Wednesday evening, which was numerously at- tended by the young and gay of our little city, and all passed off very pleasantly. I am told it is the intention of some of our prominent citizens to have such festive occasions every two weeks, where they may for a while forget that our mills are stopped, and our treasury about empty, and enjoy for a brief period the social amenities of life.
The Sons of Malta, under the able generalship of Horatio B. Bearce, Esq., are doing a flourishing business in initiating the miners into the Arcana of the Order; and they are rapidly rising to that importance which they have everywhere attained. Being as yet uninitiated into their mysterious rites, I can only judge of what they do at nights, by the sounds of martial train- ing I often hear while going by their Hall, and a loud and vehe- ment request, oft times repeated, to have something or other "recorded," Dick Darlington, our able recorder, had better look out, or the Sons will do all the recording in the gulch.
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Within the past two months a good deal of improvement has been going on in this gulch. New Stores have been erected, and are now filled with stocks of goods. Conspicuous among the rest is the branch house of Hawk & Nuckolls, whose stock is ample and constantly replenishing, and whose business here is transacted by that affable, obliging and gentlemanly fellow, E. Shelden, to the satisfaction of all who deal with the firm.
During the few days of mild and genial weather we had this week President Mann rallied his forces and went at the roads with hearty good will, and his efforts in that way have resulted in great and much needed improvement.
Several of the mills have changed hands within the past month, and many shares are being sold out, generally at an advance, I hear. I will have particulars next week.
The Miner's Court is doing a big business at present, as might be expected in times of such financial depression. Four or five suits a day are about the ordinary number on the docket. There is now pending some difficulty between the officers of this district and those of a district known as Spring Gulch the lat- ter having claimed jurisdiction over part of the territory allotted to Nevada, in the convention of districts last March. I have just been told that a writ of arrest has issued out of our court for the officers of Spring Gulch, for contempt of court; so we may expect lively times among the lawyers, of which more anon.
Gambling, which for a while prevailed in this place, has now almost entirely ceased. The gamblers could not live as we have to-on hope -- and so have cleared out to a man.
The weather is tolerably pleasant. Snow lies upon the mountains, but we have had some beautiful days during the week, which have been to us like the smile of an angel breaking through the dark clouds which overhang our business prospects.
Your "Daily" is a great institution to us, away up here in the mountains, especially in these election times.
Yours truly, Spectator.
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NEVADA DISTRICT
FROM NEVADA.1
Nevada, Nov. 20, 1860.
Editors News :- The result of the difficulty between the officers of this and Spring Gulch, which I mentioned in my last letter, was that Judge Bond was arrested and brought up here, for contempt of Court; and after a lengthy trial, which lasted till three o'clock in the morning, the jury brought in a verdict of $50 damages and costs. After a series of windy speeches from the gentlemen of the law, the Court remitted the fine and costs, and Judge Bond, I understand, went off, promising to let Nevada alone for the future. This was, in my humble opin- ion, a very farcial termination to a trial for a very aggravated offence.
On Friday last there was a Masonic funeral in Central City-that of Mr. Berry, brother-in-law of Mr. Haman, of the Haman House. The ceremonies were admirably conducted by Mr. Andrew Mason from Chicago. A Masonic Lodge will be formed in this place as soon as a Dispensation can be obtained from Kansas; Mr. Andrew Mason to be the Master.
F. M. Rublee, a prominent citizen of this district, died here last night. He was from La Crosse, Wis., and was much respected by the citizens of the gulch.
To-day we are having a sort of election here, to determine whether there shall be a new Judiciary system and an Appellate Court, &c. There has been comparatively little excitement, the majority of the people regarding the election as a sort of pleasant pastime, got up to beguile the weary hours of a winter's day. The judges of election are now engaged counting the ballots, and I may be able to annex the result to this letter. A great many have acted upon the decision of the miner's meeting last Satur- day, and regarding the election as illegal, have not voted at all.
Yesterday snow fell all over the mountains, to the depth of about ten inches. The weather to-day was warm and pleas- ant. To-night the thermometer is 10 degrees below zero, but it don't feel near as cold as it would in the States at that figure.
1 Daily Rocky Mountain News, November 26, 1860, p. 2.
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Some of the mills are running from gulch and well water, and are doing well. Great numbers of miners are at work upon their claims, and will continue to get out quartz nearly all through the winter. Provisions being plenty, and compara- tively cheap, the miners will make good headway, those who have good claims, this winter. The supply of good paying quartz is not equal to the demand for the mills, but a large quantity will be accumulated during the winter months.
The following is the result of the election in Nevada :
At Upper Polls
Against Jud. 264
For Jud. 79
At Lower majority 32 . .
Majority against Judicial 217
It is reported here that the other districts have voted against the system.
Spectator.
FROM NEVADA GULCH1
Nevada City, Jan. 15th, 1861.
Editors News :- At present business is rather dull, in con- sequence of cold weather, which I hope will not last long. There is considerable interest manifested at present in regard to the coming election, as it is a very important one. Among the most prominent candidates are James Castello, for Judge; J. Bowls, for Sheriff, and J. L. Prichard, for Recorder, all of whom are well qualified to fill their respective offices if they are elected.
I have just returned from a visit to Union District, which has recently been organized, it is situated about sixteen miles South-west of Nevada, in a direct line with the Kansas and Burroughs' leads. The beautiful stream of Clear Creek courses its way through the center of the district, and on either side is a beautiful plain, on which is laid out the town of Empire City, which promises to be one of the best mountain towns in our Territory. The code of laws adopted by the miners of the dis-
1 Daily Rocky Mountain News, January 19, 1861, p. 2.
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trict, speaks well for their intelligence. Mr. Coles-lately elected Judge of the Miners Court-is a man of sterling worth, and has been a successful prospector in that vicinity. He is the discoverer of the famous Empire lead. Mr. Ball, the re- corder, is a man "after my own heart," and is calculated to make the stranger, who visits that district, feel at home.
More anon.
Tuscarawas.
FROM NEVADA1
Nevada City, Jan. 22, 1861.
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