In the wild and carefree days of the gold rush, the diggings were abuzz with unusual stories like these: It was rumored in 1849 that a Frenchman on the Tuolumne River found a 34-pound nugget that drove him crazy. Whenever he looked at it, he was overcome with fits of madness. A 49er from Jackass
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Sierra wildlife should play starring roles in stories that recount our foothills’ history, but seldom do we hear about these loveable creatures, these all-but-forgotten creatures, these stage-struck creatures that performed amazing tricks in the diggings and brought smiles to a thousand bearded faces. There comes a legend from old Tuolumne County of a black bear
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