This date was the ultimatum date for the survey that would have Orion outmaneuver CA Gov Leland Stanford and his emissary Judge Robinson. Orion has for 3 months avoided more bloodshed and he kept the more valuable properties in the Nevada Territory. MT&OC pg 78 By painting the pro-california elements in Esmeralda County as southern sympathizers Orion gets the border dispute to be a western front of the civil war rhetorically. this becomes a battle that many california papers will have have a hard time remaining vocal in. this is how to win politics in the press. it was masterful.