45 



PIOCHE, 



tlie name of the principal ininiug town in the Ely District, where are found what are known 

 as the Meadow Valley mines, amony which tlie one called the " Pioche " seems to be the mother 

 vein. 



The fjroat richness of this district since the summer of ISO!) has caused to grow here a town of 

 considerable size. The mill of the Meadow Valley Company is situate in a little valley to the east- 

 ward, called Dry Valley, around which has sprung up a small settlement called Lyonsville, after 

 the present president of the company. 



LAS VEGAS EAUCn. 



This is situated on a little oasis in the desert of Vegas Valley, and consists of about three or 

 four hundred acres of arable laud that can be irrigated from the Vegas Springs. An area of a 

 radius of fifty miles, having this point as a center, embraces nothing but desert; consequently, this 

 is a haven for all travelers, north and south, through this section of country. Tlie old emigrant- 

 road to Salt Lake, and the one lately traveled from White Pine to Arizona, here cross each other. 



EL DORADO CANON. 



By this, reference is made to the property of the mining company of this district, who have a 

 ten-stamp mill on the river at the mouth of the canon, and the necessary dwellings and store-houses 

 for their milling operations. This section is a desert and sterile one. Small patches of bunch- 

 grass arc found in the mountains ; hay in large quantities has to be obtained at Cottonwood Ishmd, 

 some forty-five miles below, and such barley as cannot be obtained at Vegas ranch must come via 

 the river. Wood in small quantities can be obtained from the drift-wood along the river. 



All these difficulties have tended to retard the development of these mines, one of which, the 

 Techatticup, having been opened, proves to be a regular fissure-vein. 



CALLVILLE. 



This was originally started as a little Mormon landing, from whence stores, coming via the 

 river, were to be shipi)ed in among the settlements of Southern Utah. Quite a large store-house 

 and several shanties that had been erected were all abandoned at the date of our arrival, making 

 the place look, if possible, more desolate than nature had intended. 



There can be no possible reason in the future for reviving this place, since it cannot be a point 

 of dei)arture or supply for any back country, neither can a crossing to the southward bematle; 

 therefore, whenever a stray traveler, by accident, shall reach these solitudes, his inquiry for inhab- 

 itants will be answered by echoes from the deserted store-house and its surrounding shanties. 



MOEMON SETTLEMENTS. 



nOMEE. 



This is one of the later and more outer settlements, of only about two years' standing, consist- 

 ng of twenty to twenty-five families, and from one hundred to one hundred and twenty-five per- 

 sons, all told. 



This, being a small settlement, had for its ruler a functionary known as a superintendent, who 

 acts as judge and managing-man. The larger settlements have a bishop, while in addition, at 

 county-seats, are found other bishops, higher in church authority, who are associate elders, and 

 have a voice in the high council at Salt Lake City. 



The scheme seems to be to manage the minds of the many by having some one in their midst 

 of sufficient intellect to control, while the others are rude, untaught, with but little prospective 

 hope of improvement. I understand, however, that schools are introduced at the more prominent 

 settlements. 



The dwellings at Homer all stand upon one wide street, closed at the ends, making a rectan- 

 gular-shaped fort, so built for protection against the Indians. The amount of land is parceled out 

 to the families in lots from 7J to 25 acres, the latter amount being considered quite excessive. 



