Reprinted with permission by the Sierra County Historical Society from The Sierran of August 1970, Vol 2., No.2

Last week's column ended with the miner's of Poorman's Creek creating laws against highway robbery and those who dealt any gambling game.

About this time an attempt was gotten up to create an excitement about the mines in Dixon Creek; but it did not amount to much.

Great falls of snow continued to fall in Onion Valley until the town could only be discovered at a distance from the numerous smoke holes in the snow; presenting a very curious appearance.

On New Year’s morning 1851, our company struck a stratum of gold, and in an hour and a half took rising $6,000; one piece being $1800 in gold weight, besides two others, weighing the one, two pounds 12 dollars, and the other, two pounds; and numerous smaller slugs, besides the small gold. This was the largest strike made up to that time on the creek; but a few days afterwards, the Butte company turned over a large quartz boulder, and took from under it, half a man’s hat full. If we had known how to work sluices at this time, we could have it made, at the least calculation, one hundred thousand dollars apiece. As it was, the writer went out of this creek with over two hundred pounds troy of gold. Charles Beard, of the New Jersey claim bought an $1,800 piece, for which he paid company $1,875.

Early in the spring of 1851, the great rush came; and the place was called, ironically, POOR MAN’S CREEK NORTH, to distinguish it from Poorman’s creek on the south fork of the Yuba, discovered by Richard Poorman. Poorman, however, laid claim to have discovered this creek also; and as this soon became the most celebrated, the name has ever remained unaltered. The name proposed for the first settlement was Jamestown; there being a majority of the miners named James on the creek; but the name never came much into use, and soon was dropped. During the big rush, another and larger settlement was located in the big bend above the Falls.

In April 1851, a man was murdered in his tent, and suspicion rested on his partner, who was arrested on a Sunday; but they could not prove anything against him, and he was eventually liberated, with a polite request that his room was more acceptable than his presence. He accordingly left. Itker was never known certainly, whether he committed the act or not; but public opinion was against him.

In the last Chapter, the Annalist told of the early events in Onion Valley, Poor Man’s Creek, and other localities in that region. He fills us in, now, on what went on in the Slate Creek and Canyon Creek areas, also north of the North Yuba. The next two chapters will recount in detail the opening up of the mines on Pliocene Ridge, south of DownieVille.

After reading these first four installments of the Annals, I am sure you will agree that our "Earliest Settler” created a remarkable historical document of gold rush days in the Downieville area. —Wm. Pickiepocke

Sear’s Ridge

During the spring of 1850, when every person was on the "qui vive" to find new and rich diggings, an old sea captain of the name of Sears, started out prospecting on his own account. Getting belated one night on one of the spurs on the north side of the North Yuba, leading up to the dividing ridge between the waters of the Yuba and Feather rivers, he concluded to stop and camp on a kind of a flat, through which ran a ravine. On noticing, next morning, that where he had staked his mule, what appeared to be a few speks of gold, he filled his pan and tried it; the result was so satisfactory, he concluded to stop and prospect further. Accordingly, he sunk quite a number of shallow holes, in all of which he got good prospects. After prospecting a few days and obtaining quite a large amount of gold, he returned to his camp on the Yuba and told his partners of his success. He and his party then packed up, about the last of May, or beginning of June, 1850; but not so secretly, but what word got out that “old Cap. Sears” had struck diggings, the amount or extent of which was not known, yet up to the very grass roots and rotten leaves, gold was found.” Rumor, which ever makes the most of a story, reported that he had found diggings that would pay a pound to the man per diem. His neighbors seeing him depart, determined to follow him. This they accordingly did; when Sears and his party turned on them and forbid them further progress.

Editor's Note: "Wm. Pickiepocke" was a pen name. Fortunately, we received the following information about his identity.

Sierra County Historical Society newsletter contributor “William Pickiepoche” was none other than Bill Fuller who worked as a geologist at both the Sixteen to One and Oriental Mines in Alleghany in the 1950s. From his 2010 Obituary:

Bill Fuller worked at the Sixteen to One Mine between 1951 and 1953 and served on the mine’s Board of Directors from 1987 to 1992. From 1953 to 1954 he worked at other mines in the Alleghany District including the Oriental Mine.

The work for his Master’s Thesis was completed at the Sixteen to One Mine prior to World War II. He attended Harvard College receiving a B.A. (Magna Cum Laude) in Geology in 1940. In 1942, he received his M.S.C. in Economic Geology from the California Institute of Technology.

I once asked Bill if he was related to the famous Buckminster Fuller. His reply was, "Yes, Buck was my uncle."

Rae Bell, Alleghany