The Emma mine, in Utah’s Little Cottonwood canyon, startled the mining world with a flood of silver.
The prosperity of the Emma mine brought lawsuits over ownership between various claimants.
When one of the claimants wanted politically powerful counsel in his Emma litigation, he hired U.S. Senator from Nevada William Stewart.
Before his election to the Senate, Stewart had established a reputation as an unscrupulous lawyer in mining litigation at Nevada’s Comstock lode. His high-spending ways in Washington included building “Stewart’s Castle,” and he was eager to find a way to make money in the Emma litigation.
When Stewart and his partners went to London to sell the Emma mine to British investors, they persuaded the U.S. ambassador to Britain, “Poker Bob” Schenck, to serve as a guinea pig director for the Emma company.
The Emma mine has exhausted its silver ore, but Little Cottonwood Canyon is still busy.
The town of Alta, which once housed the Emma miners, now attracts skiers from around the world.
