Year: 1877

A POOR MANS BIG BONANZA.


The Extraordinary Good Fortune of n


Poverty-Stricken Miner-How the sum


Of Fifty Thousand Dollars was Melted


in Three Days.


The following gold discovery took
place in California within the last eight
weeks. 1t is q specimen of the ut-
recorded "strikes occurring from time
time in country sometimes supposed
to be "worked out" Had the incident
happened in the Black Hills, it would
by this time have been told in ten thou
sand papers. This story relating how
fortune was made in three days near
Auburn, Placer county, is from the
Placer Herald:


The richest strike made in this coun-
try for many years, and as rich perhaps
as was ever made, we here have the
pleasure of recording. A. O. Bell, COM
monty called Pike Bell, who, with his
family, has resided for many years on
Bald Hill, few miles north of Auburn,
as many know, is dauntless prospector.
Though occasionally making strike OF
some considerable importance in the
past, he has managed, like most modern
prospectors, to keep poor. Last winter
in particular he was in very Strengthened
circumstances, and having no money
and the merchants refusing to credit
him, he offered his only horse, worth
about $50, for $40, that he might buy
bread for his children, and failing in his
effort to sacrifice his horse, he pawnel
the ring off, his wife's finger to obtain
the necessaries of life. Day by day he
continued his searches for the glittering
treasure, and whether the passing day
had revealed color or not his spirits
were always jubilant, apparently kept
up by the hope that seemed never to
desert him of doing better on the NOR
row. At last the lucky day came. 1t
was about three weeks ago, when hunt
ing over the hills he struck his pick into
q little mound waich resembled some
what in appearance an ant hill, and to
his delight he unearthed some pieces of
decomposed quartz, attached to which
were some colors of gold. Encouraged
at this prospect he began to sink on his
new lead, and was rewarded by finding
more or less gold at every stage of
descent. Last Saturday he had reached
depth of about thirty feet, and had taken
out in sinking that far rock estimated to
be worth about 81, 800. The rock being
extremely rotten, or what is called 10y
quartz miners decomposed, he had with
little effort pounded out in mortar
enough to pay expenses as he progressed
He had hired men to assist him in work
ing the mine, and on last Monday morn
ing they went to work as usual.


The gouge, as we would call it, as it IS
too rotten to be properly called ledge,
was discovered by noon to have become
suddenly richer. In the afternoon
chunks of almost pure gold were taken
out, and the decomposed stuff that filed
the interstices between the rocks was so
rich in gold that Pike began to wash it
out with pan. From three pans full
washed Monday afternoon he obtained
gold estimated to he worth between
81, 900 and $4,000. That evening he
came into town, and giving us hint OF
what he had got, invited us to 60 out
and see it. On Tuesday afternoon, IN
company with Sheriff Mccormick, we
visited the mine. We found Bell with a
pan of gold in his hands worth from one
thousand to fifteen hundred dollars,
which he assured us, all came from one
pan of dirt. "But," said he, "if you
don't believe it, I will wash another pan
and show you" We told him to wash.
The pan was sent down in the shaft and
soon returned filled with a mass of mud
DIV, rocky stuff that sparkled all over with
pieces Of gold. This was washed out
and found to contain fully as much of
the precious metal, if not more, than
the one he had just finished panning
when we arrived. It was really the
greatest sight we ever saw, and McCor-
mick who had mined in California In Its
palmiest DAYS, says it knocked the spots
off anything he ever saw except on one
particular occasion. Bell having con-
vinced us of the richness of his mine,
he took us to his house to show us the
proceeds of the previous days panning
CnaG we mlSuG Do COHfluCou VI "h"o ao
had told us. The sight was more easily
imagined than realized. AS we looked
upon the pans of gold before us we
thought of Aladdin and his magic lamp,
and wondered whether the story had not
been suggested by some such reality as
was before us. On Wednesday evening
Mr.. Bell Git is Mr." now since he has
lots of gold-it was Pike before) was in
town again and he informed us that what
we saw was nothing; that he had taken
out $4,000 in three pans that day; that
he had taken out, all told, up to that
time, between $50, 600 and $35, 900, and
that he had an offer and was about to
sell for $4,000. When asked his notion
for selling, he said he would get away
with about $50, 900 and that was money
enough for him. To be sure it is a good
stake, and when we consider that it was
made in three days, it must be con-
fessed that the chances for making a
sudden fortune in California are not all
oona