SIERRA SACRAMENTO VALLEY |
PIONEER PHYSICIANS
William W. Light , MD (1819-1895)
Additional Information*
Dr. Light proceeded to Sacramento where he found employment at a local mint for $50 a day. Soon he was lured into the gold fields, first at Weaverville and then at Shingle Springs where he met a Spaniard who was telling about gold nuggets all over the ground at Dark Gulch near Sonora. Upon arriving there he and others found that they had fallen for the Dark Gulch Hoax, a ploy by a storekeeper to sell goods to those flocking to the area.
Upon returning to Sacramento in 1851 Dr. Light entered a medical partnership with Drs. Ames and McKenzie at which time he prepared his popular Light’s Cholera Remedy. He married Mrs. C. M. Weber who was an artist, writer and botanist. Unfortunately he and his wife lost all of their property in the fire of 1852. From 1852 to 1861 he returned to dentistry in partnership with Dr. Pearson.
In about 1860 Dr. Light became interested in mining properties in Sonora, Mexico, where a relative owned a mine in which Dr. Light invested. Upon traveling to Mexico to appraise the mine he found it worthless, but the owners went ahead with its development anyway. When it became apparent that Dr. Light was right, the investors decided to recover their losses by unloading the mine in San Francisco. They asked Dr. Light to prepare bogus assays which the good doctor refused. The mine was eventually sold to unwary investors. Dr. Light’s share was $55.000. Unfortunately the broker absconded with the money from the sale and made a quick trip to Germany.
While in Mexico Dr. Light was caught up in the revolt against Maximilian and volunteered as surgeon for the Mexican Army. In gratitude a soldier brought him a rock which Dr. Light determined to be rich in gold beyond his wildest dreams. A claim was filed in Sonora where the rock was found and the mine was called Dos Hermanos. Smelting equipment was installed, living quarters were erected and the doctor’s brother and nephew joined him in a very profitable operation. There was one problem. The mine was in lawless territory with bandits and hostile Yaqui Indians.
One day a band of Yaqui Indians rode up to the mine cabin where Dr. Light and his nephew were seated on the porch. They did not know that their brother/father had been killed by the marauders as he was bathing in a nearby stream. Inside were two deserters from the American Army which Dr. Light had befriended. Before the good doctor could reach his rifles just inside the door, he was seized from behind by the deserters as he felt the sting of multiple bullets. His nephew was fatally wounded. Dr. Light fought off the deserters as he managed to enter the cabin, seize a rifle, and kill them both. (The Mexican Army had done a good job teaching him how to shoot). The Yaquis who were in league with the deserters set fire to the cabin from which Dr. Light emerged wiping blood from his eyes as he took aim at the Yaquis killing five and sending the rest scattering. The cabin with all of the mine valuables burned to the ground. Despite many bullet wounds the doctor was able to recover with the help of an Indian boy he hired. He left the mine in the hands of the local Mexicans and returned to Sacramento where he tried unsuccessfully to form a company to take over the mine.
Dr. Light spent the rest of his life practicing dentistry. He was noted for his charity for poor dental patients and for his skill as a story teller. He had pronounced views against alcohol and tobacco and was a free thinker. He is buried in the Pioneer Section of Sacramento’s Old City Cemetery. His wife died while in Mexico.
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*Physician information research provided by Dr. Irma West