Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser., 1889-07-05
DUVOLL'S LUCKY STRIKE.
He Made and Lost II Million Dollars With.
in Six Months.

Sonora, Tuolumne county. Cal, was
at one time the liveliest and richest
mining camp in the Golden state, saws
the New York Herald. Gold was found
in the very streets and the supply
seemed inexhaustible. For the past
few years, however, Sonora has been
on the down grade. A few mines are
worked in the vicinity, but the town
itself is about as dead as door nail.
One of the best-known characters
of the town, and who may be seen any
day leaning up against some post and
gazing into space, as if he had no
further use for the scenes about him, is
Frenchman by the name of Duvoll.
Duvoll is about sc years old and is a
very fair specimen of the 'busted
miner" type 50 prevalent among the
mining districts of the Pacific slope.
No one would suppose by looking at
him that only a few years since he
counted his gold by the hundreds Of
thousands, yet such is really the case.
Duvoll sprang into wealth and
prominence in the fall and winter of
lSS4-5. He made in those few months
something like $4,000 To-day he
has not cent to his name. 1t hap
pened this way:
men were sinking prospect shaft
when they struck a rick "pocket, yield
ing some $4,000 or more in gold.
They .'drifted" about after that in the
hope of finding more. but concluded
finally that there WAS no more in it.
Duvoll had been prospecting around
and working in the mines. and had
saved about 800. He had heard of
this pocket, and thinking it good
"spec." offered the men his $500 for
their claim. which offer they jumped
at. thinking Duvoll crazy to want to
work the claim any further.
This didn't seem to phase" Duvoll
any. for he went to work steadily. aud
day after day for about a month he
welded his pick and shovel at the
bottom of the shaft, until (the ground
he was working in was soft, decom-
posed quartZ) he found narrow
thread OF quartz showing consider
able quantity Of free gold.
That night Duvoll procured some
heavy timber and some lumber and
built n cabin over the shaft. A nephew
of his was called to his assistance. and
one of them was always at the cabin
after that for period of six months.
That narrow streak OF quartz soon
began to widen and the gold became
plentiful. until an ore chamber was
reached. containing perhaps the great
est amount Of gold in given space
that ever was discovered.
The gold was taken out in bucket
fuls. At every stroSe OF the pick
great cnunks of quartz that were al
most solid masses of gold would be
loosened. and this was kept up until
they had taken out altogether some o.
600 pousds, which yielded upward of
81 900. 900.
This sort of thing, of course, could
not last always, and So when the
find" petered out Duvoll and his
nephew went down TO San Francisco
TO invest their money and enjoy them
selves. The nephew had. | believe, .
tenth interest in the pocket.
A million dollars WASH enough for
Duvoll, and in order TO increase his
pile he took a 'tlier" at stock specula-
ton. He took several filters" in fact.
and SO did the nephew. In about
sixty DAYS the nephew was busted
and Duvoll's pile" had been diminished
to about $3O0.O00
Duvolrs next step was to invest
about $l50. 900 in dwelling property on
Haight street, San Francisco. He then
returned To Sonora. After several dis
astrous mining speculations. he WAS
induced 10 60 into big irrigation
scheme which almost broke him and
compelled him To mortgage his San
Francisco property.
After number of other adventures
the Haight street property went by the
board. and Duvoll. without even his
original $40O. found himself skirnish-
my about Sonora for Il job at IS day.