Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1890-08-14
GOLD In NUGGETS.
A RECORD OF CONCENTRATED
WEALTH.

The Precious Lumps" From Cali
fornia-Instances of Compact
Riches Found in the Worlds
Great Gold DiGgings.
One of the curious things about the
present methods and condition of gold
mining on the coast is that, while the ag-
gregate output is larger than it ever was,
the day of big nuggets seems to be over
Occasionally the local columns of the
papers published in the mining districts
contain an item concerning the digging
out of chiefly lump" of the precious
metal, but the examples of concentrated
wealth are not what they used to be. One
of the last discovered nuggets was dug
out few weeks ago in the Spring Gulch
creek, above Redding, in Shasta county,
by two men while washing gravel. The
lump was irregular in shape, being about
four inches long by two in diameter and
yielded trife over $500 worth of pure
metal.
The Prescott Courier of recent date
presented its readers with cut of a
pretty, well-developed lump of gold that
had been found in Big Bug district by
Mexican named Jesus Sazueta. When
taken to the Bank of Arizona the cashier
informed Jesus Sazueta that its weight
was just thirty-seven ounces and that its
value was $670. 1t was five inches long
and three and one-half inches in its
widest part. A number of Mexicans
were working at Big Bug and one of them
named Tic Cafias, an old Gambussino,
told Sazueta to try a certain spot
Sazueta, in climbing to the place, placed
his foot on projecting rock, it broke
away with him and when he picked him
self up he was worth more than half a
thousand dollars.
According to the Spokane Falls Review
mysterious prospector returned very
quietly few days ago from the C@ur
d'Alene reservation with an odd-shaped
bag of bacon, which, however, broke
while being moved around and disclosed
nugget of gold, extremely heavy and
nearly six inches in diameter. 1t was
calculated to be worth about $780,
Compared with some of the nuggets found
in California in the early days, however,
these nuggets are but as pebbles to
bowlder. According to writer in the
Virginia New Chronicle, the largest
piece of gold ever found in this State
was taken out of Carson hill, Calaveras
county, in November, 1854. 1t weighed
1876 pounds troy, or 2340 ounces.
Several other nuggets, weighing from
six to seven pounds-that is, from
seventy-two to eighty-four ounces-were
found in the same locality.
The next largest was taken from the
Monumental quartz mine, Sierra county,
August IS, 1860. 1t weighed 1890
ounces troy, and was purchased by r. b.
Woodward for $21, 636. 52 He exhibited
it for long time and then had it melted
down, realizing however, only ST., 1884,
"a from the bullion.
The third largest nugget was found by
Ira A. Willard on the west branch of the
Feather river, August 4, 1858. 1t
weighed fifty-four pounds avoirdupois,
that is 1874 ounces before and forty-nine
and one half pounds after melting.
Fourth in size, though not in value,
was large, slab-sided quartz nugget
found by Mr.. Strain near Knapp ranch,
Toulumne county, which weighed fifty
pounds avoirdupois, and which after
crushing and melting yielded $500
worth Of gold. This was in 1851, and in
the same year a nugget was found at
French ravine, Sierra county, the gold
from which was valued at $4,000. Five
years after another nugget was found in
the same place which had considerable
quartz in it, but which yielded $40, 900.
The first nugget of any great import
ance was found by young soldier of
Stevenson's regiment in the Mokelumme
river, while drinking from that stream.
He fastened to San Francisco and placed
his prize in the hands of Colonel Mason
for safety, after which it found its way
to New York, where it famed the
smoldering flame and caused the nations
to realize the importance of California
as gold-producing territory. The mug
get was of pure gold and weighed be-
tween twenty and twenty-five pounds.
Another nugget about which there is
good deal of romance was found by
Frenchman in Spring Gulch, near Co
lumbia, Tuolumne County. 1t was of
nearly pure gold and was worth more
than $4,000. The finder became insane
over his good fortune and was the next
day sent to Stockton. The French Con-
sui at San Francisco recovered the mug
get, realized the value, and sent tie
money to the finders family in France.
California, however, cannot claim the
honor of having produced the largest
nugget in the world. That, according
to Phillips, was the great Australian
lump, known as the tSarah Sands 1t
weighed 233 pounds ounces troy, or
2,797 ounces, as against the 2, $40 ounces
of that taken out of Carson hill, Calaveras
county, in November, 1854. Another
mass, according to the same authority, was
exhibited in London in 1871 as the pro-
duct of one of the Victoria mines, which
weighed 146 pounds, or 1, 752 troy ounces
while still larger but not so valuable
mass was found at Ballarat in the same
year which weighed 2.217 ounces. Ac-
cording to the Annual Statistician, how
ever, the largest solid nugget ever found
was discovered in Australia, in 1869, |
which weighed 1880 ounces and was
valued at S45. GOO: while the LARGEST |