WINNEMUCCA - This is George Austin himself with his pack horses about 1936. He's on his way to the Jumbo Mine in the Slumbering Hills. The Slumbering Hills are on the east side of Jungo Flat about 30 miles, or so, by road from Winnemucca.
After he bought out the claims in 1935, he dug out three sacks of ore, brought it down the hill with pack horses and sent it to the San Francisco Mint. It was rich.
The Austin family continued working the mine the hard way, mostly by hand and packing the necessary supplies in by pack horse for several years. This is one of those resupply trips. Those horses are loaded with all the mining necessities - dynamite, blasting caps and fuses. Also, tucked in wherever it would fit, food, clothing, and tools.
Even as late as the mid-1930s, horses were the answer when supplies had to be moved over difficult terrain. Bad or non-existent roads, expensive machinery, and the high price of gasoline made those pack horses a bargain.
They were cheaper to feed and maintain than a truck would have been!
- Compiled by Barbara Powell
nevadasdesertlegends.com
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