Potato Creek Johnny

John Eli Perrett Accounts disagree whether the year of his birth was 1866 or 1868, but his birthday was reported as February 9. he started panning for gold with other prospectors in streams and rivers. He settled a claim on Potato Creek, a tributary of Spearfish Creek, from which he gained his nickname. Potato Creek Johnny later began working in the pumphouse of the local tin mine but became unemployed after the mine closed in January 1929; following this, he resumed prospecting in Potato Creek. ==Gold nugget==

While panning on May 27, 1929, Potato Creek Johnny uncovered a gold nugget, one of the largest ever discovered in the Black Hills. In 1934, local businessman W.E. Adams bought the nugget from Johnny for $250 and put it on display in the Adams Museum. The authenticity of Potato Creek Johnny's gold nugget has been the subject of debate. Several local residents suspected that Johnny had created the nugget by melting down smaller quantities of gold into one piece; some accused him of having stolen the gold to do so. Analysis of the nugget by various gold experts have determined the nugget is likely to be authentic, due to the presence of natural quartz crystals inside. and became a feature of Deadwood's Days of '76 celebrations in subsequent years. In 1939, he was pictured in Life magazine. ==Personal life==

On March 13, 1907, Johnny married Molly Hamilton of Belle Fourche, South Dakota. They had no children and divorced in September 1928. Johnny was 4'3" tall. ==Death and legacy==

Potato Creek Johnny died on February 26, 1943, at the age of about 77, after a two-week illness. His funeral procession on March 3 passed by the Adams Museum, and a bell tolled 77 years, once for each year of his life. He is buried next to Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane in Mount Moriah Cemetery in Deadwood. ==Notes==