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The Spanish term "bonanza" means prosperity and also a rich
vein of ore. Mines or communities were
said to be in bonanza when profits ran high.
The contrasting Spanish word "borrasca" refers to times of
depression. Together, bonanza and
borrasca hint at the importance of Spanish speakers to western mining history.
The "Big Bonanza" was an enormous gold and silver ore body
discovered beneath Virginia City. James Fair, working with John Mackay,
followed a narrow vein of low-grade ore in the Consolidated Virginia and
California Mine. Although many might
have lost hope following the meandering, often diminishing trail, Fair
persisted, and in February 1873, he found the Big Bonanza. It took several years to exhaust the gigantic
ore body, which yielded more than $60 million or the equivalent of over a
billion dollars today.
The Comstock Lode yielded
many pockets of concentrated ore. These
bonanzas sustained the mining district's reputation for wealth throughout the
1860s, but the Big Bonanza exceeded all others.
The discovery was so large it remains legendary.
The Big Bonanza was also William Wright's title of his 1876
book about the Comstock Lode. In 1959, Bonanza became a television hit about
Virginia City.
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Suggested Reading:
William Wright (Dan De Quille), The Big Bonanza: An Authentic Account of the Discovery, History, and working of the World-Renowned Comstock lode of Nevada (Hartford: American Publishing Company, 1876).
Ronald M. James, The Roar and the Silence: A History of Virginia City and the Comstock Lode (Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1998). Ronald James Last Updated: 2007-03-20 10:34:49
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