Interesting Facts about Nevada

• In order to meet a deadline for statehood, the entire constitution of Nevada was sent to Washington by telegram at a cost of $3,400.
• Virginia City was named for James Fenimore, whose nickname was "Old Virginy." He celebrated too much one night, fell, and broke a bottle of whisky. Not wishing to waste the liquid, he called out, "I baptize thee Virginia Town," and the name stuck.
• Mark Twain offended a local newspaper writer, who challenged him to a duel. The challenger backed out, but not before Twain had been charged with breaking the law and had to flee from Virginia City on his way to fame elsewhere.
• Many of the horses of Virginia City sported multicolored polka dots. Chemicals from the mineral crushing mills where they worked caused the unusual decorations.
• Once when Nevada Senator William Stewart asked to meet with President Lincoln, the president sent a note saying he would see him the next morning. Lincoln was assassinated that night, and the note probably contained Lincoln's last written words.
• The discovery of moccasins a foot and a half long caused archaeologists to consider that Nevada might at one time have been inhabited by a race of giants.