The Pacific tourist:

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abandoned shafts, puffing engines, smoke issuing from gigantic sft cks, huge mounds of earth
dumped from the end of high trestle-work, the
capacious buildings and the posts and stones that
mark the undeveloped claims, or the loaded ore,
need no explanation as to their origin or purpose.
Gold Hill follows the ravine of the same name,
and the street is both steep and crooked. It has
a population of 6,000 and is, in all respects, like
Virginia City. The two are built up so as to be
without marked separation. Gold Hill has a
vigorous daily paper, the "Gold( Hill News," a
Catholic, a Methodist, and an Episcopal Church.
plans creditable to the city and the land of silver. Its narrow streets show with what difficulty sites are obtained for buildings, whether
anchored to the rocks or perched in mid-air, and,
while in the city but little of it is visible at a
time, the dwellings are mostly low, and, therefore, unstable roofs do less damage when the
Washoe zephyrs blow. It appears small, but is
the most densely packed of all American cities.
One-third its people are underground, where
lighted candles glimmer faintly in subterranean
passages, by day and by night. Bedrooms do
double duty for hundreds or thousands, whose
work never ceases. Miners are shifted every eight
STREET' SCENE IN VIRGINIA CITY, NEVADA.
hours, and the men of two shifts may occupy the
same couch.
On many levels, down 1,500 feet, are thousands
of busy, bustling, narrow streets, over which is
the city proper. Tide-water is 6,205 feet below
the banks, and perhaps it is best that it is no
nearer, for now pumps are constructed to raise
the water to the surface from 3,000 to 5,000 feet
below, only seven of which are capable of raising
4,000 gallons every minute.
Dwellings on the side-lill overlook one another
without any appearance of aristocratic pretensions, and steps and foot-ladders are continually
at hand.
Virg'inia City and Gold Hill are connected by a
Iine of omiibusses, making four trips every hour
durling the day, while the frequent trainis of the
rai l road carry also may passengers. By rail
the distance to Virginia City is two miles, in
which several tunnels are passed through.
VTirg inia Cityj-is one of the most interesting
towns on the coast. One expects streets of gold
and silver, and finds dust or mud. On October
26, 1875, it was almost wholly destroyed by fire,
but the disaster has shown what energy there is
in the people and it is nearly rebuilt. The completion of a first-class hotel has been delayed,
but this will sooii be accomplished, according to
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