The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-02-27
BIG CHUNKS OF GOLD.

BIG CHUNKS OF GOLD.
SINGLE NUGGETS THAT WE'RE
WORTH A FORTUNE.
Biggest One on Record Is the "Oliver
Martin Chunk" Which Weighed
151 Pounds Ounces and Brought
$32,27O-FOund by II Poor Miner in
the Roots of an Upturned Tree Nov.
IS, 1S54-Other Valuable Finds.
THAT story about the finding of a gold
nugget in the mining regions of Patagonia
worth $780, said Col. T. B. Brooks, who
has been a gold miner in California and
Arizona for 45 years, seems to have made
a great commotion among those miners
down in South America, but that was only
a boy of a nugget by the side OF many
that have been taken out of the earth and
rocks in California. Daniel Hill, who died
of delirium tremens in a Jail in Los An
geles several years ago, was the lucklest
man 1 ever knew or heard of in getting
suddenly rich twice. He dug two chunks
of gold out of the gravel as simply and
easily as man roll stone out of hill
side. The first nugget vas found in June,
1866, in the Ruby Belle claim north of
1luIndS. II was as large as u IIldI 5 Hedu,
and was combined with Water-Stalned
quartz c. P. Huntington's brother in
Sacramento bought 1t for ST., 900 cash down.
In the fall of 1871 Hill was placer mining
on his own account in Dutch Flats and,
by hunky, he washed out another nugget
of gold and quartz about the size and
shape of horses hoof. He quit work and
went right down to Frisco, where he got
$4,000 for his lucky find. He had spent
every dime of his little fortune in six
months, and went back to hard work in
the mountains again. But that ended his
streak of luck. He never made more than
$40 in any day after that; more often
81 or 50 g day, and sometimes not d1me.'
The Miners Association of California has
among it's great mass of literature con-
nected with the gold industry and the de-
velopment of mining operations in this
state many interesting facts concerning
big nuggets of gold. The largest nugget
ever found in this state was that known
the Oliver Martin chunk. 1t weighed
Isl pounds, six ounces. The precious ore
mixed with white quartz, and it was
| sold, after having been converted into bull
| lion, for 1920 Hundreds of pictures have
been made of the golden mass, and all the
| schoolboys in California are expected to
| know the weight, size and value of the
| SMILES of the chunk in many mineral col
| lections in museums in Europe and Amer
| lea. The nugget was found near Camp
| Corona in Tuolumne county, in central
| OdllIOrnld me Odle Ol the uAOlAS was
| Nov. IS. 1854. Martin, a poor miner. who
had not even the proverbial dollar to his
| name, and a companion named John FoW-
| Ter, were tramping on their way up coun-
| try to new diggings They camped one
| might in a mountain canon when sud
| den and terrific rain storm came up in the
| darkness The water in the canon stream
| suddenly rose. The miners attempted to
| climb the hill, but the flood overlook them,
| and both were carried down the stream.
mod h1If
| severely injured, escaped While trying to
| bury his companions body by the roots of
an upturned tree, Martin discovered the
| rich nugget which bears his name. He was
| too weak to move it. He attempted to
reach some neighboring miners, but tainted
| from exhaustion, and was found on the
| trail by them. When able to walk, some
weeks later, Martin took them to the spot
and the nugget was removed. Martin
made the nugget the basis Of large for
| decades.
| OVER 1900 OUNCES IN ONE NUGGET.
In August, 1869, w. A. Parish, A. Wood,
J. Winstead, F. N. L. Cleverng and Harry
Warner were partners in the Monumental
claim near Sierra Buttes in Sierra county.
In the last week of that month they dis
covered a gold nugget which weighed 1888
ounces troy. 1t was sold to r. B. Wood
ward, of San Francisco, who paid for it
50, 1852 for exhibition purposes 1t was
| afterward melted and $17,654.94 was realized
| from it.
The biggest nugget of gold ever found in
| Shasta county was discovered in the spring
| of 1870 One day three Frenchmen, two of
| whom were named Oliver Longchamp and
| Fred Rochon, drove into the old town of
| Shasta in search of a spot to mine. They
| happened to have some business with A.
| Coleman, a dealer in hardware and notions
The three asked him where was good
place to mine. He carelessly pointed in a
| northery direction and said, Go over to
Spring creek" They took his advice To-
Gated claim on the creek some eight miles
north of Redding, and few days later one
of the Frenchmen picked up a nugget OF
gold valued at $500. Ten years later q
miner named Dent Young found $500 mug
| get on Flat creek, near where the French
men found their famous chunk.
Plumas, though one of the richest mining
counties in California, has yielded few val
liable nuggets The largest was found by
a Chinaman near the mouth or Nelson
| creek and was worth $500. A miner a
Elizabethtown, named Archie Little, dis
covered $1,000 nugget, and Messrs. Hays
) and Steadman found one above Mohawk
valley, near the county line, that weighed
400 ounces and was worth $500.
Sierra is justly famed for it's valuabl,
| masses of gold. found both pure and mixed
. | with quartz George H. Norman and Franz
| Aman found near Gibsonvile in 1867 mug
| get that weighed over 100 ounces and wa
| worth $1,70O. In 1851 at French ravine,
8 | lump of quartz and gold together was dis
. | covered from which $4,000 in gold was TAX
| en-. In 1855, from the same ravine still
: more valuable nugget of gold and quart
/ was found and from it $4,000 was obtained
: | At Minnesota, in the same county, nugge
that weighed 266 ounces was found. Thi
!! was valued at $1,000 At French ravine, il
t 1850, mass of gold and quartz was picke
S up that weighed 263 ounces and was wort
, | $4,S93 In 1870 splendid nugget of gol
e | was discovered in the Rainbow NINE a
y Allegheny, which was Immediately shippe
o to London, and was there sold for $23 00t
d In 1860 a chunk of gold that weighed
:, pounds and six ounces was discovered i
II the same county.
5 FAMOUS FINDS IN PLACER COUNTY
II In Placer county in 1859 Edward Gilbert
in his drift mine near Butcher ranch,
!. miles from Auburn, found a nugget Q
u gold and quartz that weighed 20 pounds
: Eight pounds of this he sold at SIG a
? ounce or 81, $685. while the remaining
u pounds were sold for $12 an ounce, or 81, ~
; making $3264 for the nugget. The sam
= man, many years later, discovered in tn
'. | same mine another very valuable nugge
It was 10 inches long, from three to seve
- | inches wide, and over an inch thick. TIL
y | gold was embedded in a mass of crystalize
- ! quartz with clear-cut corners, the side
a | of which shone with great brilliancy. Whe
Il | thoroughly cleaned 1t weighed 147 ounce
a ! and was sent to the San Francisco min
n | where it brought $2,S52. In 1864, nes
20 | Michigan Bluff, a nugget of pure go
a weighing 223 ounces, and valued at "a %
,r | was found. In July, 1876, ]. B. Colgrov
70 | of Dutch Flat found q white quartz houl,