The herald. (Big Stone City, Dak. [S.D.]) 1883-1890, 1889-08-09
OUVOLL'S LUCKY STRIKE
lie Made and Lost n Million Bo,r,rs yu,,
in Six Months

| in six Months.
sonora, Iuolnmne county, Cal. wa.
al one time the liveliost and riches,
mining camp IN the Golden state SAYS
the New York Herald Gold was found
IN the very streets and the SUNNY
| seemed inexhaustible. For the nast
1e" 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 a door nail
One OF the beSt-known characters
OF The town, and WHO may be seen any
| Gay leaning up against some post and
! gazing into space, as if he had nc
further use for the scenes about him. is
Frenchman by the name of Duyon,
DuyoIi IS about 56 years cid and is q
Fery fair specimen of the busted
miner" type so prevalent among the
| mining districts OF the Pacific slope
NO one would suppose by looking al
<hlm that only II few years since he
counted his gold by tie hundred, OF
thousands, yet such is really the case.
Duvoll sprang into wealth and
prominence in the fall and winter OF
lo84-5. He made in those few months
something like 81, $50, 900 To-day he
has not cen! to his name. 1t hap,
pened this way:
About four miles from Sonora some
men were sinking q 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.
Duyoll had been ospcctine 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 Duvol
anY, for he went TO work steadily, and
day after day for about a month he
welded his pick and shovel at the
bottom Of the shaft, until (thc 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 Duyoll procured some
heavy timber and some lumber and
built a 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 a 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 gwen space
that ever was discovered
The GOLD was taken out Ia bucket
fGls. At every stroke of the pick
great Chunks Of quartz that we're al
most solid masses OF gold would bo
looseued, and this was kept up until
they had taken out altogether some -
600 pounds, which yielded upward Of
81. .0u0 GOO.
This sort Of thing. Of course, could
not last always, and So when the
find petered out Dnvoll and his |
nephew went down 70 san Francisco /,
to invest their money and enjoy them I
selves The nephew had. believe, /
tenth interest il the pocket.
"A IlllilibH ibiitlo W ISL y 'ziio1 IA ANa
Duyon and in order to increase his I
pile he took ''ilier" at stock specula-
ton. lie took several .tllers, III fact.
and so did the nephew. In about |
sixty days the nephew was busted,
and Duvoll's pile had been diminished i
to about 100000
Duyolrs next step was to invest
about $l5o,0o0 in dwelling property on /
Haight street, San Francisco. lie then
returned to Sonora. After several dis
astrous mining speculahons.. he vas
induced to 90 into i bic irrigation
scheme which almost broke him and .
compelled him to mortgage his San
Francisco property
After i number Of other adventures
the Haight street property went by the
board, and Duvoll, without even his
original Sloo. found himself sklrmlsh-
NJ about Sonora for job at IS day.