THE OVEELAND ROUTE — OGr»EN TO SAN FRANCISCO, 



175 



but high on th6 terraces along its south side. Grass Valley, an exten- 

 sive depression between the Sonoma Range on the east and the East 

 Range on the west; opens on the Humboldt Valley from the south 

 just west of Winnemuccai 



tform 



brush 



from the mountains on the east to the river channel at the very foot 

 of Winnemucca Mountain. The river bottom lands are but narrow 

 strips, where wild grass is cut for hay. 



Bej^ond Rose Creek (elevation 4,324 feet) the two railroad lines 



diverge, 



Western 



o 



Humboldt 



River. 



om ^lill City, which was for a long time an important supply 



Mill City. 



Elevation 4,2i3 feet 

 Population 153.* 



Omaha 1,393 miles. 



and shipping station, roads lead to Bloody Canyon, 

 Star City, Unionville, Chafey (formerly Dun Cden), and 

 other camps that were of note in early days.^ Most 

 of these camps are south of the railroad. . 



The valley of Humboldt River in its course through 

 the old Lake Lahontan sediments takes on a more desolate aspect as 

 the river becomes more deeply intrenched in these barren clays. Ap- 

 parently no utilization of the narrow river bottoms is attempted here, 



mo^m 



ilroad 



^ The discovery of a rich body of silver 

 ore close to the surface in the Sheba mine, 

 on the east side of the West Humboldt 

 Range, due south of Mill City, led to the 

 rapid growth of Star City from 1861 to 

 1865. The town had two hotels, express 

 and telegraph offices, daily mails, and a 

 population estimated at about 1,000. 

 This was before the building of the rail- 

 road, and all suppUea were hauled by 

 wagon from Marysville or Sacramento, 

 Cal. In 1871 the town was reported as 

 nearly abandoned. At Unionville there 

 are extensive mine workings dating back 

 to about the same time. Mills were built 

 here at an early date, and from 1860 to 

 ISSO Unionville, although perhaps rivaled 

 or surpassed for a short time by Star City, 

 was on the whole the most important 

 town in the region, as it was the local sup- 

 ply point for many smaller communities 

 in neighboring mining districts. There 

 was considerable activity during the same 

 period near Dun Glen (now known as 

 Chafey). 



The Kennedy district, 50 miles south 

 of Winnemucca and about 45 miles by 

 road from Mill City, lies on the east side 

 of the Stillwater RangCj and first attracted 

 attention in ISOO. Kennedy soon became 

 a flourishing town, mills were built, and 

 considerable work was done in several 

 mines. After the oxidized pay shoots 

 were exhausted the amalgamation mills 

 proved unfit for coping with the complex 

 gold -silver-lead ores, and since 1904 the 

 district has sunk into obscurity. The 

 total output has been estimated at 



20,000. 



The mines in the 



um 



Range have yielded far more silver than 

 gold, ilost of them were opened and 

 were worked extensively before the com- 

 pletion of the railroad. The great im- 

 provement in mining facilities brought 

 about by railroad communication was not 

 sufficient to offset the diminution in tenor 

 of the ore bodies below their enriched 

 portions and the decline in the price of 

 silver. 



