Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1877-02-23
BONANZA.

VI {" 'bi1'dN II ldtCiICSS " Tilt
hour, and the short duration of the
tremor caused the event to hardly he
noticed, except by the few whom
chance or business found abroad at
that time. To these few the phenom.
enon was of a totally different charac-
ter. An immense body, glowing with
intense brilliancy, came rushing across
the face of heaven, illuminating the
earth with the light Of day. 1t trav-
eled in an obIique direction, from the
southwe to the northeast and
in~stantaneously a shock was felt that
almost threw the spectators from their
feet. 1t all occurred in an unappreci-
able space of time, and gave rise to
quite "a discussion as to the different
phenomena attending meteoric bodies.
Exchanges of that date, afterwards
received at this office, noted the occur
renee, and tailed with the observa-
tons at this point in all respects ex-
cept the shock. This fact led to some
speculations at the time among the
scientifically inclined, and it Vas the
general opinion that the body had
fallen to the earth somewhere in this
vicinity. We congratulate u readers
on being able to verify these facts, and
also to present some remarkable data
connected with it.
About ten days ago, Mr.. Wheeler,
a gentleman who c%ultivates a ranch in
Diamond valley, and is also engaged
in the stock business, came into town
and left a most remarkable substance
with M OF our prominent assayers.
Mr.. Wheeler is a gentleman that has
devoted "a portion of his time to a
course of reading, and, in consequences,
had a smattering OF metallurgical lore,
and it seems had tested the compound
with a blow pipe and other means
within his reach. and detected the
presence of the precious metals, but
was unable to determine its value. and
so brought it to Eureka to find the
worth of his discovery. The piece
submitted to the assayer was about
as large as a common hens egg and
Immediately attracted that gentleman's
attention by its unusual weight and
peculiar color, the latter being of pur-
plish black shade, and where it had
been broken off the main body pre-.
senting a laminated stratitication hat
he failed to recognize. Mr.. Wack Is
no only a most competent assayer,
bul dsSO d lcdTllGu anu tI1lHuSldSllC Ut
voice of the science OF mineralogy, as
is attested by his scientific work on
feldspathic fossils, a standard authori-
ty on that subject; but lie found him
self at fault in his attempted analysis
of the specimen. Mr.. Wheeler waited
the result of the assay with great i'm
patience, bat was compelled to stop in
Eureka until the next day before any
results could be arrived at. Mr.. Wacke
expended the whole night in a
series of experiments, applying every
known test to the article, and
detecting the presence of iron, nickle,
cadmium, lead, silver, gold, zinc, CO.
bait, silica, and phosphorus. There
was also a residuum to each assay. of
which Professor Wacke was unable to
determine the properties, but he hopes
by the use of the spectroscope To- class
ify it. A surprising feature OF the ore
Is its excessive malleabillty and due
fifty, a small portion OF it being re-
duced by hammering to a film, not
exceeding one hundredth of an inch in
thickness. He has sent a portion of it
to the San Francisco Academy of Sci
ence, and also To Professor Silliman,
of New Haven, and in the meantime
is prosecuting his researches. Mr..
Wheeler il very much gratitied over
n portion OF the assay, for Professor
Wacke has found the substance will
reach 1887 in silver, and $42 in gold
per ton.
The strangest part of the story re-
mains to he told, and now that Mr..
Wheeler las duly recorded his lain
and perfected the title, we feel at lib
erty To disclose the facts. On the
.-..A- Af tIa -ft nf rnrr Ar
Wheeler was almost thrown from his
bed by a violent shock. Getting up
and looking of the window he OBJ
served at the foot of the mountain an
immense mass glowing at a white
heat, and of intense brightness. Hast
lily dressing, he approached as near as
possible and found that the object lay
Just at the foot of the Diamond Mount
ain range, but the heat was so
great that he could not approach
within a thousand yards of the spot.
He kept his w counsel and made re-
peated attempts to reach it, but did not
succeed until the nth inst, when 1t
had cooled sufficiently TO allow hum to
break off the portion brought to town.
The main body will measure about 90
feet in height, 81 feet in width, and Is
3l3 feet in length. These are the pro-
portions ot the body visible, and 1t Is
probable that as much more is imbed'
ded in the earth. Mr.. Wheeler calcu-
lates that there are at least 1000, 900
tons in sight, and if it will work any
where near the assay he will extract an
immense sun from the mass. IL VIII
undoubtedly have to be worked by
the smelling process, and he is already
negotiating for the erection OF a furnace
in the vicinity. Fortunately wood n
water both abound, and the distance
necessary to haul the ore will not ex-
coed one mile.
Since these facts have become gen.
orally known, there have been many
doubts expressed as to whether Mr..
Wheeler can hold his discovery q
the United states mineral land law, as
many contend that it is neither u iSsure
contact, pipe or bedded vein, but
merely a dispensation of Providence,
and coming under the head Of no
known law or precedent, but Won
Gotta terms these masses se~gregations.
Its dip and course can not be taken, as
it affects the magnetic needle to such
Nan extent as To render the compass
useless. We think, however, that the