Dan DeQuille - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

William Wright better known by the pen name

Pen name

A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...

Dan DeQuille or Dan De Quille, was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

, journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

, and humorist. He was best known for his written accounts of the people, events, and silver mining operations on the Comstock Lode

Comstock Lode

The Comstock Lode was the first major U.S. discovery of silver ore, located under what is now Virginia City, Nevada, on the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range. After the discovery was made public in 1859, prospectors rushed to the area and scrambled to stake their claims...

at Virginia City, Nevada

Virginia City, Nevada

Virginia City is a census-designated place that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada. It is part of the Reno–Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 855 at the 2010 Census.- History :...

, including his non-fiction

Non-fiction

Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...

book History of the Big Bonanza (American Publishing Company, 1876). DeQuille was on the staff of the (Virginia City) Enterprise for over thirty years, and his writings were also printed in other publications throughout the country and abroad. Highly regarded for his knowledge of silver mining techniques and his ability to explain them in simple terms, he was also appreciated for his humor, similar in style to that of his associate and friend Mark Twain

Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...

, and of a type very popular in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

at that time. He was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame in 1994.

Early life

William Wright was born in Knox County, Ohio

Knox County, Ohio

Knox County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of 2010, the population was 60,921. Its county seat is Mount Vernon and is named for Henry Knox, an officer in the American Revolutionary War who was later the first Secretary of War....

, in 1829, the oldest of nine children. In 1849 he moved west with his family to West Liberty, Iowa

West Liberty, Iowa

West Liberty is a city in Muscatine County, Iowa, United States. The population was 3,332 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Muscatine Micropolitan Statistical Area....

, where in 1853 he married Caroline Coleman. Their union produced five children, two of which died in infancy.

In 1857, leaving his family behind, he traveled to California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

in search of gold. While living as a nomadic prospector in the Sierra foothills and Mono Lake

Mono Lake

Mono Lake is a large, shallow saline lake in Mono County, California, formed at least 760,000 years ago as a terminal lake in a basin that has no outlet to the ocean...

region, he heard of the discovery of silver on the other side of the Sierras and ventured to Virginia City, Nevada

Virginia City, Nevada

in 1859. With no success at prospecting there and in need of funds to send his wife and children in Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

, Wright applied for regular employment in Virginia City

Virginia City, Nevada

at the (Territorial) Enterprise
Territorial Enterprise
The Territorial Enterprise, founded by William Jernegan and Alfred James on December 18, 1858, was a newspaper published in Virginia City, Nevada. The paper was published for its first two years in Genoa and moved to Virginia City in 1860....

, a newspaper that had recently relocated there from Carson City, Nevada

Carson City, Nevada

The Consolidated Municipality of Carson City is the capital of the state of Nevada. The words Consolidated Municipality refer to a series of changes in 1969 which abolished Ormsby County and merged all the settlements contained within its borders into Carson City. Since that time Carson City has...

. He was hired in 1862 and soon adopted the pen name

Pen name

Dan DeQuille.

Writing career

William Wright was interested as a young adult in a career as a writer. After his move to Iowa

Iowa

he wrote and submitted manuscripts to popular magazines in the East Coast

East Coast of the United States

The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...

. While prospecting for gold in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

he wrote articles on prospector mining that were published in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

newspapers. Long letters to his family helped to develop his skills at humorous exaggeration and detailed description. Following his move to Virginia City

Virginia City, Nevada

, he wrote articles that were printed in San Francisco's The Golden Era.

Soon after he became known as Dan DeQuille at the Enterprise, another unsuccessful miner named Sam Clemens

Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...

was hired to work under him in August 1863. Clemens adopted the pen name

Pen name

Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...

. The two of them reported on local events and wrote columns for the newspaper. Under DeQuille's editorial supervision, Twain

Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...

established his reputation as a humorous writer. Twain

Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...

would later describe this period in his book Roughing It
Roughing It
Roughing It is a book of semi-autobiographical travel literature written by American humorist Mark Twain. It was written during 1870–71 and published in 1872 as a prequel to his first book Innocents Abroad...

. Twain

Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...

left Virginia City

Virginia City, Nevada

in May 1864 and after brief stays in San Francisco

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

and Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

he toured as a lecturer, which brought him back for visits to Virginia City

Virginia City, Nevada

and DeQuille in 1866 and 1868.

In 1874 mine operators John W. Mackay

John William Mackay

John William Mackay was an American capitalist, born in Dublin, Ireland.-Early years:His parents brought him in 1840 to New York City, where he worked in a shipyard.-Gold and silver mining:...

, James G. Fair

James Graham Fair

James Graham Fair was the overnight millionaire part-owner of the Comstock Lode, a United States Senator and a colorful real estate and railroad speculator.-Early life:...

, Sen. John P. Jones

John P. Jones

John Percival Jones was an American politician who served for 30 years as a Republican United States Senator from Nevada. He made a fortune in silver mining and was a co-founder of the town of Santa Monica, California....

, and William Ralston decided that a book should be written about the history of the Comstock

Comstock Lode

. They approached DeQuille as the preferred author and he accepted the task. His original intent was to write a small book which could be sold to overland train passengers and to continue expanding it with new information and additional sketches until it eventually became a volume which could be published for a broader audience.

DeQuille set to work on the book, collecting data, illustrations, and sketches to be included. In March 1875 he sent a letter to Mark Twain

Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...

, then residing in Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...

, to seek his advise on having the book published. Concurrently Twain

Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...

had himself seen a need for such a book and, seeing DeQuille as the one to write it, wrote him a letter to that effect. In response to DeQuille's letter, Twain

Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...

responded with a 19-page letter enthusiastically providing advice and an invitation for DeQuille to gather up all the material he might need and join him in Hartford

Hartford, Connecticut

where they could each work on their respective projects in close proximity and mutual support.

Under Twain

Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...

's mentorship during the summer of 1875, DeQuille pieced together a sizable volume which contained a mixture of technical chapters on silver mining interspersed with lighter accounts of Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

events and individuals, including the Northern Paiute group of Native Americans

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

living in the vicinity. DeQuille and Twain believed the book would have wide appeal and sell well. Twain

Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...

helped DeQuille negotiate a favorable contract with his own publisher and DeQuille returned to Virginia City

Virginia City, Nevada

late that summer. In October a fire destroyed much of the city and his account of this tragedy would become the last chapter of his book.

A History of the Big Bonanza was published by the American Publishing Company of Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford, Connecticut

, in 1876. They also published A History of the Comstock Silver Lode Mines, a smaller version as a paper-bound guide-book to be sold on overland trains. The main book was eagerly anticipated in Virginia City

Virginia City, Nevada

and sold well on the Pacific Coast

West Coast of the United States

West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...

, but sales in the East

East Coast of the United States

were disappointing. DeQuille did not achieve the financial independence he had anticipated and would continue in his position at the Enterprise for another seventeen years.

At the beginning of the 1880s the major silver mining operations at the Comstock Lode

Comstock Lode

were coming to an end and the population of Virginia City

Virginia City, Nevada

was rapidly declining. DeQuille remained a prolific writer, however, providing articles for publication on both coasts, contributing a portion to Myron Angel's History of Nevada (Thompson & West, 1881), and writing the article on Nevada

Nevada

for the 10th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica
Encyclopædia Britannica
The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...

in 1884.

In 1893 the Enterprise ended publication. DeQuille remained in Virginia City

Virginia City, Nevada

for a few more years working as a correspondent for a newspaper in Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

and as a contributor to publications on both coasts. In the late 1890s he returned in poor health to West Liberty, Iowa

West Liberty, Iowa

West Liberty is a city in Muscatine County, Iowa, United States. The population was 3,332 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Muscatine Micropolitan Statistical Area....

where he resided with his daughter until his death on 16 March 1898.

Legacy

As a journalist

Journalist

and author

Author

Dan DeQuille contributed significantly to Americans'

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

understanding of the events in Nevada

Nevada

and the procurement of vast fortunes from the Comstock Lode

Comstock Lode

in the late 19th century. As a humorist he also made a significant contribution the lore of the Wild West

American Old West

The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...

. During Virginia City's

Virginia City, Nevada

heyday, DeQuille was one of the most widely-read journalist

Journalist

s on the Pacific Coast

West Coast of the United States

because of his wit coupled with his ability to explain in non-technical terms the significance of events on the Comstock Lode

Comstock Lode

.

The style of humor that flourished in the in United States during the latter half of the 19th century was shared by DeQuille, Artemus Ward, Orpheus C. Ker, Petroleum V. Nasby, Major Jack Downing, and most notably Mark Twain

Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...

. It has since been theorized that America's hunger for this type of humor sprang from a sort of national psychic need from the aftermath of the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, the grief over the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

, and the hardships of industrial pioneering in the West

American Old West

.

Historical interest in Virginia City's

Virginia City, Nevada

past has continued throughout the 20th century. The town has become a popular tourist attraction with one of its features being the building which housed the Enterprise and on display therein the desk once used by DeQuille, Mark Twain

Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...

, Bret Harte, and other frontier journalists.

In 1946 publishing house Alfred A. Knopf

Alfred A. Knopf

Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. is a New York publishing house, founded by Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. in 1915. It was acquired by Random House in 1960 and is now part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at Random House. The publishing house is known for its borzoi trademark , which was designed by co-founder...

announced that in conjunction with the upcoming California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

centenary, it would reprint a series of five books that were historically significant in portraying the early days of California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

statehood, but which were difficult to find. The first book on their list was DeQuille's History of the Big Bonanza. Editor Oscar Lewis wrote a biography of DeQuille as the "Introduction" to The Big Bonanza, published in 1947.

In 1950 DeQuille was represented in an anthology of Western Americana entitled Comstock Bonanza, collected and edited by Duncan Emrich and published by Vanguard. More recently Richard A. Dwyer and Richard E. Lingenfelter published Dan De Quille, The Washoe Giant. A Biography and Anthology, featuring the fullest collection of his journalism and a checklist of all his writings (University of Nevada Press, 1990). English professor Lawrence I. Berkove collected the best of DeQuille's works and published them in 1990 as The Fighting Horse of the Stanislaus: Stories and Essays (University of Iowa Press).

In 2005, DeQuille's The Big Bonanza was used as the basis for a new American opera entitled The Big Bonanza, with music by Monica Houghton and libretto by Jon Christensen.

Published works

History of the Big Bonanza with an introduction by Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...

(Hartford, American Publishing Company, 1876)
The Big Bonanza with an introduction by Oscar Lewis (New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1947)
Snowshoe Thompson, preface by Carrol D. Hall (Los Angeles, Glen Dawson, 1954)
Washoe Rambles, edited by Richard E. Lingenfelter (Los Angeles, Westernlore Press, 1963)
Dan De Quille, The Washoe Giant. A Biography and Anthology, prepared by Richard A. Dwyer and Richard E. Lingenfelter (Reno & Las Vegas, University of Nevada Press, 1990)
The Fighting Horse of the Stanislaus: Stories and essays, edited by Lawrence I. Berkove (Iowa City, University of Iowa Press, 1990)

Research resources

Guide to the Dan DeQuille Papers at The Bancroft Library

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