The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1891-05-07
GOLD DUG OUT BY HAND.
DISCOVERY OF BREYFoGLE's MINE
BY A PROSPECTOR.

Many Lives Have Been Lost in the Search
for the Historic Treasure-Gold Is Found
There on the Surface in Lumps Like
Plums in Pudding.
There is not a miner or old settler in
the southern part of California who is
not familiar with the story of the famous
Breyfogle mine. 1t ranks with the Gun
sight, the Pegleg and the Lost Cabin
legends. Like them it has cost dozens
of lives, and so unsuccessful and fatal
have been the many expeditions made
in search of the mine that it has come
to be regarded by many as myth.
Briefly, for the information of those
who have never heard the tale, the story
goes that away back in the early fifties
a party, in which was man named
Breyfogle, set out for California by way
of the southern Utah road, route which
lay through the southern portions Of
Utah and Nevada, skirted Death valley,
traversed the Mojave desert and finally
terminated in either the San Bernardin,
or Los Angeles valley.
Breyfogle was something of a miner
in his way, and while prospecting in a
wild and forbidding region he found Il
place where he could literally dig great
nuggets of gold out of the decomposed
quartz or cement, as he called it, with
his knife. AS he described the place,
there was large deposit of an exceed
ingly rich character enough to make
the whole party wealthy. He returned
to camp, but the travellers were short of
provisions and water, the Indians were
troublesome and there was no time to
waste in mining.
They pushed on toward their destina-
ton, but between the Indians and thirst
only few of them ever reached civiliza-
ton. Breyfogle told his story, exhibited
the nuggets he had dug out and careful
ly preserved, and then spent the rest of
his life in fruitless search for the de-
post. Others who heard the story fol-
lowed his example, and for upward of
forty years the Breyfogle mine has been
a veritable will-o' wisp, Turing men
to destruction in the terrible deserts of
southeastern California and southwest
ern Nevada.
A LUCKY STRIKE.
George Montgomery, an experienced
miner well known in the Wood river re-
gion of Idaho, was on prospecting trip
in the region to the southeastward of
Death valley. 1t should be promised
that the old Utah road after leaving San
Bernardino city turns through the Cajon
pass and then strikes off in a northeast
erly direction across the Mojave desert,
passing Resting Springs, the Kingston
mountains and then traversing the Pahr-
imp valley. This valley lies just on the
boundary line between California and
Nevada and has general northwest
erly and southeasterly course. the Kings
ton mountains lying to the west and the
Pahrump range to the east.
While prospecting in the mountains
last named and at the upper end of che
valley Montgomery made a discovery
which bears every indication of being
the long sought Breyfogle mine, or at
least one exactly similar But the loca-
ton answers to that given by Breyfogle,
while the gold has been found just as he
said-so plentiful that it could be dug
out in nuggets with knife.
One ledge located by Montgomery is
eight feet wide, and has been traced by
its outcroppings for distance of 5000
feet In the decomposed surface rock
the gold is found almost like plums in a
pudding. Pieces of quartz picked ont
are from quarter to half bright yellow
gold, while with a hand mortar the
lucky discoverer pounded out in short
time yeast powder can full of nuggets
Of various sizes. All along the ledge
free gold is,found in quantities that as
to9ish the Oldest prospectors and which
seem scarcely credible.
After making several locations Mont
gomery spead the news of his discovery,
the result being that some thirty or forty
miners are at work inthe valley. Mont
gomery himself packed up as large a
quantity of the richest specimens as he
could carry and made his way across the
desert to Daggett, the nearest railroad
point, 100 miles away. From there he
came to San Francisco.
FORTUNES FOR MANY.
To the question whether he was look
ing for capital or purchaser, Mr. Mont
gomery returns an emphatic negative.
The mines, he lays, are the richest he
ever saw, and he is satisfied that he can
realize fortune by working them.
There ought to be plenty of placer gold
in the gulches leading from the lodges
that have been discovered, but no effort
has been made to find any. All the
miners yet in the camp are busy on the
quartz claims they have located. On one
claim taken up by Montgomery cross
cut has been pushed for twenty feet
across the vein without striking the
hanging wall, and it is free milling ore
all the way.
Besides the deposits of gold, some rich
silver veins have been found, assays from
which run over hundred ounces to the
ton. Lead and copper also abound, but
at present gold is the sole object of
search.