266 



THE AUEIFEKOUS GRAVELS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA. 



Shaw's Flat, Tuolumne County, California, May 23, 1870. 



This is to certify that I, the undersigned, did about the year 1853, visit the Sonora Tunnel, situated 

 at and in Table Mountain, about one half a mile north and west of Shaw's Flat, and at that time there 

 was a car-load of auriferous gravel coming out of said Sonora Tunnel. And I, the undersigned, did pick 

 out of said gravel (which came from under the basalt and out of the tunnel about two hundred feet in, at 

 the depth of about one hundred and twenty-five feet) a mastodon tooth in a good state of preservation, 

 which afterwards was partly broken, in the hollow of which was sulphuret of iron. And at the same time 

 I found with it some relic that resembled a large stone bead, made perhaps of alabaster, about one and a half 

 inches long, and about one and one fourth inches in diameter, with a hole through it one fourth of an inch 

 in size, which no doubt had been used, some time, to put a string through. I also certify that I gave the 

 above specimens to C. D. Voy, about the year 1864, to put in his collection of some similar fossils, which 



had been found in this county at various depths and in various localities. 



[Signed] Oliver W. Stevens. 



Here follows the affidavit : 



State of California, County of Tuolumne, ss. 



On this twenty-third day of May, A. D. 1870, personally appeared before me, A. Bullerdieck, a No- 

 tary Public, the within named Oliver W. Stevens ; who, being duly sworn, deposes and says, that the 



within statement is true and correct. 



In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my official seal the day and year last above 



W r TM ti Oil 



jj. s. [Signed] A. Bullerdieck, Notary Public. 



Mr. Voy adds to the affidavit the statement, that he visited the locality, in company with Mr. 

 Stevens, and found it to have the geological position indicated in the affidavit. 



The bead was carefully examined by the writer. It is correctly described above, except that the 

 material of which it is made is white marble, not alabaster. It had evidently been much handled, 

 and unfortunately cleaned of the incrusting material; but quite distinct traces of a former filling 

 of the hole with sulphuret of iron were still visible. The mastodon tooth bore, also, as stated 

 by Mr. Stevens, evident marks of an incrustation of the same mineral ; and it may be added that 

 several of the bones, which are said to have come from under Table Mountain, have been found to 

 have more or less abundant crystallizations of pyrites in the cellular portions. There can be no 

 question as to the artificial character of the so-called bead. It is regularly and symmetrically 



shaped, and looks as if intended for an ornament. 



In the Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, Vol. XV. p. 257, under date of 

 January 1, 1873, will be found a communication of Dr. Winslow's relating to another discovery of 

 human remains in Tuolumne County. Captain David 13. Akey is the authority for the statement 

 that a complete human skeleton was found in a tunnel under Table Mountain ; the name of the 

 tunnel, however, he did not remember. He saw the bones after they had been brought out from 

 the excavation by the miners. This occurrence the writer has had no opportunity to inquire into 

 or verify, as it did not come to his notice until after he had left California. The date of this find 



seems to have been 1855 or 1856. 



We pass to another occurrence of a similar character vouched for by Mr. Llewellyn Pierce, in 



the form of a written statement which is given here in full as furnished to Mr. Voy : 



Sonora, Tuolumne County, California, December 28, 1870. 



This is to certify that I, the undersigned, have this day given to Mr. C. D. Voy, to be preserved in his 

 collection of ancient stone relics, a certain stone mortar, which has evidently been made by human hands, 

 which was dug up by me, about the year 1862, under Table Mountain, in gravel, at a depth of about 200 

 feet from the surface, under the basalt, which was over sixty feet deep, and about 1,800 feet in from the 

 mouth of the tunnel. Found in the claim known as the Boston Tunnel Company. In these claims, at 

 various times, there have also been found numerous bones of different animals. 



[Signed] Llewellyn Pierce. (L. S.) 



The mortar is two feet seven and a half inches in circumference. 



