The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1870-02-10
Ja!rs, skettbes, 3netOotrs, Nt.
DISCOVERY OF MINES.

The richest and most valuable mines
have in almost all instances been discover
&c by accident often by ignorant persons,
who knew not the value of their own dis
covery and by children To an Indian
hunter Is owed the knowledge of the chief
American mines. and to a shepherd the
silver mines Of Peru. This latter, leading
lis hocks TO feed on the slopes of the An
des, lighted fire to cook his meal, when
a p' bible, heated by the fame, attracted his
attention by shining like silver He found
the stone massive and weightv, and finally
carried it TO the mint at Lima, where it
was tested, and proved TO be good ore
As the Spanish laws, with "A view to en-
corage mine-discovery. make it the prop
erty of the finder this lucky shepherd be-
came millionaire.
The Sacramento gold fields were dis
covered by Mormon laborer, who orked
in saw mill. Again, in North Carolina,
in 1899, a child picked up yellow stone,
of which its father, a rude settler, thought
nothing but because it weighed fifteen
pounds, used it for door fastener for his
cabin, for he was so poor that the door had
no latch. lie showed this stone to one of
his few visitors, and he opined it to be a
metal Of some sort, after which verdict the
owner used to exibit it as a curious rock
specimen. Three years afierward on 90
ing TO The market at Lafayette, he took the
thing to "a goldsmith, and asked fifteen
shiilines for it, which was willingly paid
1t was in reality a nugget worth fS75.
Thus it took four years 10 find out that the
yellow stones in the streams of California
were gold.
Ii is fair to state, however, that science
has OCCASIONALLY predicted where the pre-
cious metals have afterwards been found.
Sir Roderick Muchison, for instance, after
a visit TO the auriterious tracts of the Urai
Mountains, was struck by their great sim
ilarity to some rock from East Australia
and in his address to the Geogra phica
Society in 1914, prophes:ed that gold
would be found in the latter region. Led
by his observation, one Smith, engaged in
the Iron worF S at Berrima, searched for
gold, and found it. He camn to the gov
ernor of the colony with a nugget in his
hand. See what have found, " said he,
''giye me five hundred pounds, and will
show you the place )" which the governor
declined to do. Again Macgregor,
Scotch shepherd, used to sell grains and
nuggets of gold to the goIdsmiths of sgd
ney, but would never reveal whence he got
them.
1t is not usual, however, for discoverers
of the precious metals to be prudent they
consider themselves ''lucky'' in this parlic-
uIar line. and will leave or sell good
This is what the Spaniards call 'the mi
ners' frenzy" Thus, the richest vein of
silver in Chill was discovered by Gudoy,
a hunter in the Andes. Fatigued by the
chase, he seated himself, on one occasion,
under the shelter of great rock, and was
struck by the bright color of pro-
jecting part He Clipped the stone with
knife, and finding he could cut it Ito use
his own expression) like cheese, be took
specimen of it to Copiapo. 1t was found
to be chloride of silver. He agreed to
share the profits of his discovery with
rich man, who engaged to work the mine;
they came at once TO masses of silver but
Godoy sold his interest in it for two thou
sand eight hundred pounds, and started to
find more mines and having wandered
about The Andes for some years, died
having met with no m re '.luck," ard
without penny.
Two brothers, named Bolados, discov-
cred near Copiapo, in a crevice opened by
some earthquake, an enormous block of
silver ore, the cutting, transport. and fu>
sion of which was so easy, that these g-
norant men effected it without assistance
and 10 less than two years realized Que