How the West was rerun
The dapper gentleman standing at the bar in the Bucket of Blood Saloon gallantly tilts the tip of his bowler hat. Dressed to the hilt in a black waistcoat, matching dinner jacket with satin lapels, knee-length boots and holster (complete with pistol), Jack Davis looks every inch the 19th-century, gun-slinging stamp-mill owner.
Successful businessman by day and train robber by night, Davis is among the regulars who loiter along the boardwalks and in the saloons of Virginia City. At weekends, residents of this former mining town dress in period clothing and practise their best drawl to bring characters from the Wild West to life. The historical re-enactments make this time-capsule town of about 1,000 people, perched on a mine-riddled ridge in the mountains of Nevada, a drawcard for visitors.
Many of the locals have played the same characters for years and wear their historic personality like a glove. In real life, Davis is retired rancher Ross Mortensen, who - along with his band of merry men, known as the Horse Thief Canyon Desperados - is preparing for this season's mock gunfights and train robberies. 'I'm really enthusiastic about robbing the V&T Railroad,' says Mortensen. The staged raid on the Virginia & Truckee Railroad is a highly successful charity event that raises funds for the railway's restoration. 'People love being robbed at gunpoint. They come back several times a day and donate US$15 to US$20 each time,' he says.
The steam train chugs through Nevada's striking desert landscape, contrasted by brilliant blue skies, as travellers listen to commentary about the discovery of the Comstock Lode. It was a jackpot find that put the town on the map in 1859, attracting prospectors from around the world. In the following 26 years, the Comstock produced about US$700 million worth of gold and silver.
The train stops at Gold Hill, where travellers can disembark and join the festivities at the 19th-century Gold Hill Hotel, a historic building with multiple staircases, sloping floors and resident ghosts. The hotel's bar is quirky and has a ceiling covered in dollar, peso and yen notes left by visitors.
Virginia City's main street, C Street, looks like a set from a Western movie. Shops selling cowboy hats, boots and clothing are interspersed with souvenir stores, museums and saloons. The latter are a quaint feature of the city and each has its own trademark. The Delta Saloon is home to the 'suicide table', where, according to legend, three gamblers took their own lives after losing fortunes. A couple of doors down, the Silver Dollar is known for its floor-to-ceiling painting of a woman whose dress is studded with hundreds of silver dollars, while the town's visitors' centre is home to the Crystal Bar. An underground mine tour starts inside the Ponderosa Saloon, while the Bucket of Blood has old rifles displayed on the walls and antique lamps hanging from its rafters. It is packed when country band David John and the Comstock Cowboys come to town.
The motorised tourist trolley and horse-drawn carriage offer tours of the town's landmarks, stopping at beautifully restored historic places such as St Mary's in the Mountains Catholic church (where 18th-century vestments presented by Queen Isabella II of Spain were discovered in the basement), the antiques-filled Mackay Mansion and the Fourth Ward School museum. There is also the Piper Opera House, with its sloping floors and honky-tonk pianos.
American author Mark Twain features prominently, with a museum, a bookstore and a saloon and casino all named after him. In his first job as a reporter in 1862, Twain wrote for the local newspaper, The Territorial Enterprise. He described Virginia City as the 'liveliest town - for its age and population - that America ever produced'.
Back in its heyday, the population was 25,000, the walkways swarmed with people, the streets were crowded with wagons and money flowed like water. In 1876, Virginia City became the first place in the US with a millionaires' club that had more than 100 members. At one stage, there were 120 saloons, 84 breweries, 50 dry-goods stores, 35 boarding houses and eight dancehalls.
These days, it's the wacky events that draw the crowds. St Patrick's Day and Halloween are popular times to visit. Then there's the Mad Hatter's Easter Party, a civil war re-enactment weekend, a pet parade weekend and the World Cham-pionship Outhouse Race. However, for Bonanza fans, Virginia City may disappoint. Susan Sutton, executive director of the Virginia City Convention and Tourism Authority, says they are plagued by tourists looking for the Ponderosa, the ranch featured in 1960s television show. Set in and around Virginia City, Bonanza was one of the first programmes to be broadcast in colour. While some scenes were shot on a lakeside property that once operated as the Ponderosa Ranch tourist attraction, most of the series was shot in studios.
'We still have loads of tourists inquiring about Ponderosa, Little Joe and Hoss,' says Sutton, referring to characters from the show. 'Telling them there's no Ponderosa is almost like saying there's no Easter bunny!'
