Nevada; or, The Lost Mine, A Drama in Three Acts

"Nevada; or, The Lost Mine, A Drama in Three Acts" by George M. Baker is a theatrical play written in the late 19th century. This drama revolves around themes of mining, friendship, and the complexities of human relationships in a rugged frontier setting. The main characters include Nevada, a wandering miner obsessed with a lost gold mine, and various miners and townspeople that interact with him, including Vermont, an old miner with a fatherly bond to a young girl named Moselle. At the start of the play, we are introduced to a cast of colorful characters in a mining camp. The scene opens with Silas Steele, a self-proclaimed "missionary of health," humorously detailing his struggle to promote a miracle cure called Busted's Balm while also coming into contact with Mother Merton, a motherly figure in the camp. As the plot unfolds, we learn about Nevada, a man driven mad by the loss of a rich gold mine he once discovered. The various miners converse about their lives and relationships, setting the stage for a narrative that explores themes of love, betrayal, and redemption against the backdrop of the fierce setting of a gold mining town. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

George Melville Baker (1832–1890) was a playwright and publisher in Boston, Massachusetts, in the 19th century. He worked for Lee & Shepard publishers, then opened his own imprint. "George M. Baker & Co." issued works by authors such as Henry M. Baker, F.E. Chase, and Herbert Pelham Curtis. Baker's company ceased in 1885, succeeded by his brother's "Walter H. Baker & Co." George Baker also performed with comedian Henry C. Barnabee, appearing in "lyceum entertainments" in New England. He belonged to the Mercantile Library Association. He married Emily Bowles in 1858; children included novelist Emilie Loring, playwright Rachel Baker Gale, and screenwriter Robert Melville Baker.