Henry Comstock, also known as “Old Pancake,” began prospecting for gold and silver in Nevada in the early 1850s. It was dangerous, exhausting work with deadly cave-ins, floods, and “boomtown violence” driven by greed. In 1858, he took possession of the cabin of his friends Ethan and Hosea Grosh, who had both died in 1857 and laid claim to several sections of land in 1859. It was called the Comstock Lode. Two other miners, Peter O’Riley and Patrick McLaughlin, hit “pay-dirt” nearby, but Comstock disputed their find and said it was his claim.

Finally, Comstock agreed to sell out for $11,000. Comstock continued to prospect but in 1862 left the area and drifted to Oregon and later Montana. The Comstock Lode he sold would produce $340,000,000 in gold and silver. Penniless and despondent, on September 27, 1870, Henry Comstock put a gun to his head and killed himself.

Proverbs 16:16 “How much better to get wisdom than gold, and good judgment than silver!” (NLT)