THE COMSTOCK MINES. 5 



School statistics, — It would be easy to illustrate the wild life characteristic 

 of the miuiug camps of the far West by citing the liquor consumption of 

 Virginia and Gold Plill, or the statistics of gambling, which is a legal occu- 

 pation in the State of Nevada; but it is pleasanter and, in some respects, more 

 just, to turn to the school statistics of these towns. The methods employed in 

 the primary and grammar schools appeared to me fully equal to those in use 

 in the larger cities of the Union, and the results reached at least as good. The 

 proportion of children attending school is certainly remarkable, when it is 

 considered that of those reported as not attending either public or private 

 schools a very large number must be considered by their parents too young 

 to be sent, while many more have left school after a number of years' 

 instruction. The official figures for Storey County are as follows: 



School attendance. 



Number of children between 6 and 18 yeara not attending school 



Number ofchil.lren between 6 .ind 18 years represented as attending private schools 

 Number of children between 6 and 18 years represented as attending public schools . . 



The number of boys and girls in the schools is very nearly equal. The 

 proportion of children to adults is of course far smaller in these towns than 

 in ordinary settlements, a very large part of the miners being unmarried, and 

 some having families elsewhere. 



Extent of the mines. — The total length of galleries and shafts on the Comstock 

 up to January, 1881, is, as nearly as can be ascertained, between 180 and 

 190 miles. Of this about 154 miles is a matter of record on the official 

 maps, but though all more important galleries are run by survey and plotted 

 on the maps, many drifts of subordinate importance are cut without the help 

 of the surveyor. These are estimated at a total of 30 miles, after consulta- 

 tion with surveyors and superintendents. An immense consumption of tim- 

 ber is a necessit}' of mining on the Comstock. This is due to the shifting 

 character of much of the ground, to the great size of the ore bodies, and to the 

 necessity of keeping a large extent of workings open to secure rapid ventila- 

 tion, and as great a diminution of temperature as practicable. The timbers 

 are all sawn square, the commonest size being 12 by 12 inches. They are cut 

 in lengths and the ends fitted in shops on the surface, and they are placed 

 underground without the use of nails. The system is described in Mr. J. 



