Table of Contents

Preface ix

Introduction 1

1 Learning the Ropes 11

2 Watching and Waiting 34

3 Deadwood Begins 60

4 Hard Times and Hope 84

5 Peak of the Rush 107

6 From Stability to Disaster 130

7 Struggling to Survive 154

8 Opportunities and Obstacles 184

9 Progress and Setbacks 210

10 Prosperity and Permanence 238

Epilogue: The Price of Prosperity 262

Appendix A Mining Camp Deaths, 1876-1879 273

Appendix B Members of James K. P. Miller's Syndicate 277

Notes 283

Bibliography 343

Index 353