By August, 1860, the easy pickings were over and mining for gold became more difficult. As the depth of the mines increased, extracting gold from the ore became more complex. Due to the primitive technology, as little as 1/3 of the assayed amount of the ore was recovered. Other problems contributed to an economic slow-down in the area, including the Civil War and frequent Indian attacks on wagon trains crossing the Plains. The miners were becoming a rowdy bunch and in 1861, Central City recorded 217 fistfights, 97 revolver fights, 11 Bowie knife fights and 1 Photo by Kathy Alexander.