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That was the exclamation when a large vein of valuable ore was discovered. Thousands of optimistic Americans and even a few foreigners dreamed of finding a bonanza and retiring at a very young age.
Ten years after the 1849 CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH, new deposits were gradually found throughout the West. Colorado yielded gold and silver at PIKES PEAK in 1859 and LEADVILLE IN 1873. NEVADA claimed COMSTOCK LODE, the largest of American silver strikes.
From COEUR D'ALENE in Idaho to TOMBSTONE in Arizona, BOOM TOWNS flowered across the American West. They produced not only gold and silver, but zinc, copper, and lead, all essential for the eastern Industrial Revolution. Soon the West was filled with ne'er-do-wells hoping to strike it rich.
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