Mining on the Comstock This photo of a miner at work shows the dangers faced on the Comstock Lode. Without a hard hat or miner’s light, he is working with timbers to shore up the mine shaft. After the discovery of the “Big Bonanza” in 1873, eight years after this picture was taken, silver mines honeycombed the hills of Nevada.
National Archives, photo no. 77- S- 1-