Diamonds In California?? YOU BETCHA!!
I’ve been asked to tell about a diamond I found, so, I’ve spent the last couple of days attempting to find a way to tell about it in such a way that it not only makes sense, but would also be interesting. I thought I was all ready to start putting it into a story format, but you know the old saying; The best laid plans of mice and men………..!!
First, I have had a book titled: Hunting Diamonds in California. I’ve searched everywhere I can think of but cannot find said book. (I wonder where I can buy a Gremlin trap??) I had intended to use a couple of excerpts
from the book, about some of the diamonds that were found during the 1849 “Gold Rush” days. But now, you’ll just have to take my word for it.
Actually, there quite a few “top quality” diamonds found in sluice boxes back then. And I’m talking about the ones that were verified. (Quite a few were sent to Tiffany’s in New York for grading. The diamonds were returned with a grade of “Top Quality”, Clear, and Yellow, (Canary.) And, that’s about the extent of what I remember. Doggone it, where’s my book!!!
In any case, this wasn’t one of those earth shattering incidents in my life, so I’m a little hazy on the date. I remember that there had been torrential rains in Northern California, and that, combined with the rain melting the snow packs, ……well,……you can imagine the problems around Sacramento and the surrounding areas.
I was watching the news and they were showing parts of a hiway that had been washed out and some slides that covered the hiways for days. Since I had some claims up that way, I watched the news almost daily to see what progress CalTrans was making on clearing and repairing.
Anyway, it was several days later when I heard on the news, that someone had been looking around where part of the slide had been cleaned up and had found a nugget that was (don’t hold me to this,) about 2 oz.
O.K., that did it!! Now I was ready to go somewhere. (lol)
Of course, prudence won out over avarice this time. So, I decided to wait for spring to roll around. I knew I could count on THAT happening every year. It had happened so many times it was almost a tradition. (lol)
Then, spring came around, just as it had every year of my life, and I started preparing to head up North. It was actually late spring or early summer before I had the time to take off on my little sojourn. Before leaving, I checked the road conditions and found that I still couldn’t get to the claims, unless I wanted to drive about 300 miles out of my way. Which I didn’t.
A friend had told me of an area up near (at that time) the little town of Jackson, where I could walk around and find small quartz crystals, so I decided to head up that way. I figured I would be in “Mother Lode” country, and would have a chance to find a nugget or two while I was collecting the crystals.
I am a Medicine Man, and I needed the crystals as I would make Medicine Bags for young Brothers and I liked to put a small “Earth Stone” in each of the bags I made. I believe the crystals have more “power” if they are given to you by Mother Earth, rather than buying some that comes from wherever.
Anyway, I arrived in Jackson around 11 am and stopped at the only small market that I saw and while paying for some chips and a Pepsi, I got directions to an area near a small hill that had large patches of bare clay here and there throughout about 20 acres of treeless land. All in all, it turned out to be a worthwhile trip. I guess I picked up around 20 or 25 small crystals. All beautifully faceted and very clear. Most were around one half of an inch long and perhaps ¼ inch thick. Perfect size for the small personal Medicine Bags.
Before I left, I poured them out in my hand to take a closer look at them, and noticed one that was only about a quarter inch long and about the same thickness. I remembered that it was the first one I found and I had held on to it as I didn’t know how many more I would find, or what size they would be.
I was looking at it and wondering at its peculiar shape, when the sun came out from behind a cloud and fell directly on the little crystal. Wow, I saw a flash of red, then as my hand moved, there was another flash, but this time, it was blue. I thought that perhaps there were fractures in the crystal that were causing a prism effect. But, I remember thinking; “Why, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were a diamond”, while I mentally chuckled at my strange thought. I decided I liked it, and since it was a gift from Mother Earth, I put it back in the bag with the other crystals and went back to my truck to begin my return trip back home.
It must have been 2 years after this, when I was in a rock shop in Mariposa, that I spotted a book in the rack that was titled “Hunting Diamonds in California”. Naturally, I couldn’t leave without purchasing it.
When I got home, I sat down and started reading. In the course of reading, I found that Amador County was one of the areas where diamonds had been found.
At that point, I put the book down and went to my desk. I opened the drawer and took my stone pouch out and dumped the crystals out on the desk blotter. Uh Oh!! there were only about a half dozen crystals left. I had put the rest in Medicine Bags plus, I had given some away to friends that wanted to add one to their Medicine Bag.
But, look as I might, the one I suspected of being a diamond, was not there.
I imagine that somewhere, there’s a Brother walking around with a Medicine Bag hanging from a leather thong around his neck, and he has no idea that the crystal I put in the bag is in reality, a diamond. (lol)
I had never really been interested in searching for diamonds before that time, but since then, I’ve done a bit of reading about diamonds that have been found in California and even Nevada. One thing I discovered is; many of the CA diamonds have something in or on them that causes them to fluoresce’ a “silvery blue” while under a short-wave ultra-violet light.
Geologists are still not in agreement about how the diamonds ended up in California, but the general consensus is that they probably were pushed down from (perhaps) Alaska, through Canada by glaciers.
Something to think about.
Eagle
http://www.galleries.com/minerals/property/fluotabl.htm
