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Subject: [CA-GOLDRUSH-L] "The Sonorian Lump of Gold"- Stockton Times - March 15, 1850
Date: Wed, 15 Jul 1998 20:43:44 EDT

Howdy,
Sorry, another Inter-liberry loan birthed today:-)): "Three Years in
California - William PERKINS' Journal of Life at Sonora, 1849-1852" - Dale L.
Morgan & James R. Scobie, editors, U of CA Press: Berkeley and LA - 1964.
Just scanning and found in a footnote this account of "The Sonorian Lump of
Gold" from the first issue, March 15, 1850, ot the "Stockton Times":
"We have seen the eighth wonder of the world! We have held in our hands
the Sonorian lump of gold, weighing 22 lbs, 6 oz...During the month of
January[1850?]..., three Sonorian Mexicans were following their mining
pursuits in the arroyo of the town of Sonora, and discovered this 'pile'; but
they (possessing rather erratic tempers, being flushed with their wonderful
success, and stout devotees of the rosy God) in a few days had squandered the
whole amount in 'riotous living.'
" The piece afterwards fell into the hands of our worthy friends, the
firm of LINOBERG & CO., of Sonora, who sold it again for a considerable amount
to Messrs. Alonzo GREEN and Joshua HOLDING[HOLDEN], Merchants, of the same
place, for a very high premiums. To our own knowledge, these gentlemen have
again been offered $2,000 for it above its intrinsic value. It is estimated
that there are about 4 lbs. of common quartz mixed up with with the precious
metal, as is generally the case in large specimens."
As a followup 49er William "Leo" PERKINS wrote a letter on March 25,
1850, to the Editor of the Stockton Times, which they published on March 30.
Here's a portion:
"....The famous Sonora lump of twenty-two pounds was found in a shallow
gully, about three hundred yards from, and 25 feet above, the town of Sonora.
This gully had been superficially worked before, and it was at the second
digging that this piece was taken out. A day or two ago another piece of pure
solid gold weighing 51 ounces was taken out by a party of Americans,(W.G.
STERLING & Co.) from the same locality; and the diggings of last year are now
being worked over, and with eminent success."(This March 25, 1850 letter
appears in the Appendix of Perkins' Journal).

I keep thinking about the poor guy that first mined the gully:-)
Bob Norris in Dallas
<BNorris166aol.com>

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