“Like most mining towns, Austin struggles for two or three miles down a deep crooked canyon… Hundreds and hundreds of apertures surrounded by piles of reddish earth attest to the industry of searchers for silver ore… Far down the hillside little dwellings of stone, brick, wood, and adobe are curiously niched and scattered . . . At night the brilliantly lighted drinking and gambling saloons, with open fronts, are filled with a motley crowd, Women conduct the games at several monte tables, shuffling the cards and handing the piles of silver coin with the unruffled serenity of professional gamblers.” Reese River Reveille, September 5, 1865. Read More
