Comstock Lode - Fate of The Discoverers

Fate of The Discoverers

The miners who discovered the mines, and the investors who bought their claims, did not know whether they had made a small, or large strike. The size, richness and cost of exploiting a buried ore body is very hard to estimate even today. Most of them assumed they had made a small to modest strike like nearly all other gold strikes. All of them knew they did not have the money or expertise to investigate the strike thoroughly. The size of the strike and its potential value would take many years of extensive work by thousands of miners and the investments of millions of dollars—which none of them had.

Patrick McLaughlin sold his interest in the Ophir claim for $3,500 which he soon lost. He then worked as a cook at the Green mine in California. He died working odd jobs.

Emanuel Penrod, partner to Henry Comstock, sold his 1/6 share of the interest in what would become the Ophir mine for $8,500.

Peter O'Riley held on to his interests collecting dividends, until selling for about $40,000. He erected a stone hotel on B Street in Virginia City called the Virginia House, and became a dealer of mining stocks. He began having visions and began a tunnel into the Sierras near Genoa, Nevada (an area of no known mineralization), expecting to strike a richer vein than the Comstock. He eventually lost everything, was declared insane and died in a private asylum in Woodbridge, California.

Henry Comstock traded an old blind horse and a bottle of whiskey for a one-tenth share formerly owned by James Fennimore ("Old Virginny"), but later sold all of his holdings to Judge James Walsh for $11,000. He opened trade good stores in Carson City and Silver City. Being reportedly slow mentally, having no education and no business experience, he went broke. After losing nearly all his property and possessions in Nevada, Comstock prospected for some years in Idaho and Montana without success. In September 1870, while prospecting in Big Horn country, near Bozeman, Montana, he committed suicide with his revolver.