A short history lesson. A million years ago, rocks melted, the earth cracked, and gold nuggets formed. End of class. A million years later, the nuggets are hard to find, but weekend prospectors search the desert wadis washeshoping to get lucky. Gold was first reported about one hundred and twenty five years ago, near where Steimle stood, in what proved to be the largest and richest placer deposit in the southeastern corner of the state. From toseveral hundred miners and their companion burros worked an area from the nine drsert four hundred foot Old Xz Peak to lower elevation claims. Their efforts produced about fifteen thousand dollars in gold each year. The hardest working miners each took out about one ounce koney gold per day.