Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1895-03-22

"tsH SeNoIM Sluhier uuSSetS WAS
taken from the Boulder Gravel claim
near the Pilot Hill Postoflioe. Several
large and valuable gold nuggets were
discovered in Tuolumne County. In
1853 mass Of gold Weighing $50
ounces was found at Columbus. This
was valued at S5625. AT Gold Hill, in
the same county. Mr.. Virgin found
one weighing $50 ounces and valued
at $1,000. Frenchman in Spring
Gulch, near Columbia, in the same
county, found one of almost pure gold,
which was worth $4,000. Tho rich
mass of gold rendered the miner in
sane on the following day, and he was
sent to the Stockton Asylum. The
nugget was sold and the money for it
was sent to his family in France.
Near. Magalia, in Butte County, on
August ii, 1859, Ira A. Willard found
on the west branch of tho Feather a
nugget that weighed fifty-four pounds
ayoirdupois and was worth $1,000
On finding this tho miners quit work
for the day and celebrated tho event
by n grand Notification.
In the last decade several nuggets
have been found i'll the mining regions
OF California that have brought over
$4,000 each. In October, 1859, two
men who were tramping up the coast,
were put off u Southern Pacific freight
train at the little station of Calicnte,
and started oil TO walk to Bakersfield.
Two days Inter they came back to
Caliente with lump of gold and
crystalized quartz. They were sus-
pectcd OF having robbed mining
camp, and even of having murdered
miner to get their gold. They, how
ever, proved that whilo going about in
tho dry bed of an ancient stream of
water, two miles from the Bealeville
placer mining camp, for faggots for
fire, they Ind stumbled upon their
lucky find. They had offered tho gold
for sale to II railroad man ut Caliente
for SO, but he, suspccting fraud,
would not bargain with the strangers.
Subsequently the nugget was sold in
Los Angeles for S2750. 1t weighed
ZIG ounces. In less than week after
the find there were over 100 men from
oil parts of Southern California hunt
ing daily up and down TINT old river
bed for gold huggets, but beyond IL
few So or 81 finds there was nothing
worthy of search.
In January, 1891, n nugget of pure
gold TINT weighed 140 ounces was
found in drift of coarse gravel in tho
Goler district north of the Mojave Des-
ert. The very next day another mug
got OF puro gold about the size of
goose's egg was found. Both were
bought by manufacturing jeweler in
Pomona. The former brought $1126
and tho latter 1918. Several months
Rgo nugget that sold for about Sl4O0
was brought from San Diego by
poor, weak consumptivo from New
Versoy, who had been roughing it up
in the mountains with some sheep
tanchmon. In his long daily walks
for health aud exercise ho amused
himself looking for Indinn relics in
canon. He found the nugget among
lot OF rocks one day after heavy
rainstorm had washed down immense
misses of gravel and enrth from tho
side of the canon. There was no ono
moro astonished than he Mt the valuo
PLACED upon his find when he offered
it for sale i'll San Diego. Experienced
gold miners visited the locality whore
the chunk was picked up, but not one
of thom has yet found another sign OF
GOLD there. 1t is one of tho porplexi-
tiee,, end aggravations of hunting for
new gold fields.
The largest nugget cvet found in
North Carolina weighed eighty
pounds. The largest ever found in
Siberia weighed ninety-six pounds
four ounces. 1.-The largest pieco OF gold
ever found in Colorado weighed thir-
teen pounds, and this was by no means
pure gold. Tho largest ever found IN
the world was discovered in Australia
in 1852, and was known MS tho King
of tho Water Moon nugget. It
weighed 223 pounds and four ounces,
and was worth about S55, 000.-New
York Sun.