Amador ledger., 1900-05-25
Citizen, San Andreas, May 10, 1850

The Stockton Mail OF last Saturday
says: John Bronson. living at No. t15
E. Acacia street. has just brought news
to this city OF tho striking Of oil in the
McSorley gold mine at Camanche, just
over the San Joaquin county line in
. Calavsras county last week. The mine
is owned by an English syndicate, and
shaft was down nearly 200 feet in the
blue gravel when the oil was struck.
Its presence was first made known by
the pronounced smell OF petroleum,
and small flow was encountered later.
H. J. McSorley, foreman of the mine,
instructed the men to continue TO sink
to a depth OF 300 feet with all possible
speed, giving special attention to oil
indications. Operations had progressed
SO far at last accounts that good flow
of oil seemed assured. There is con-
siderable excitement in that part of
the country over the find.
This is not the first time oil has been
encountered in Calaveras county. For
some time spring at Mrs. Haddock g
place near Wallace has been giving
forth oil in such quantities that Mrs.
HaddOck has been skimming it off
the surface OF the water and using it
for fuel.
Joe Foster of Camanche went up into
the higher mountains with another
party whose name we did not learn to
spend few days outing, hunting, ETC.,
last week. They made their camp in
an abandoned cattle cabin above Blue
Mountain, and on Thursday Joe
thought he would take his gun and GO
out for little small game. leaving his
partner at the cabin. He travelled
around through the snow for few
hours with little success and finally
concluded to return to his partner. He
started for home, supposing he was
but short distance away, but after
wandering around till about dusk and
being no nearer home than when he
started, he shot passing deer for
food, as he was by this time getting
very hungry. He started fire and
cooked his meat, after which he made
preparations to spend the night in the
forest. Next morning he filed his
stomach and pockets with venison and
started out to find his temporary home
or civilization of some sort, but he had
no better success than on the day
previous, and again prepared for the
night near an old log, but discovered
, that he had no more matches with
which to make fire, and was compell-
ed to eat raw venison for his supper.
The weather was very cold and as he
had no fire this night, he had to Danish
the idea of sleep in order to use his
energies in other ways to keep from
freezing to death. He passed the Sec
ond night without anything serious
occurring, although bear some time
In the night gave him quite scare by
approaching within a few feet of him
and critically surveying him and snuff
ing the air for moment, but finally
walked away. On Saturday morning
he again made the attempt to get out
OF his predicament, and along in the
afternoon he turned up at Woodcock' s
sawmill near West Point, and was in
most exhausted and broken down con-
dition. Fosters partner had be-
come alarmed and had started out for
help.
The corner stone for the new Catho-
lie church to be erected at Mokelumne
Hill was laid on Thursday forenoon by
Bishop Grace, with appropriate cere-
monies. The new church will be
erected on the corner of La Fayette
and Marlette streets. 1t is the inten-
tion to tear down the old church on
the Brewery Hill and rebuild it on the
new site.