The Centre reporter. [volume] (Centre Hall, Pa.) 1871-1940, 1878-04-04
Romantic Accidental DIscoreries.

Many Of our most important inven.
tons and discoveries owe their origin 4
the most trivial circumstances from the
simplest causes the most important
effects have ensued. The trial OF tw,
robbers before the court Of assizes o
the Basses- Pyrennes accidentally led &
a most important archaeological discov
cry. The accused, Rivas, a shoemaker
and Bellier, weaver. by armed attacks
on the highways and frequent burglar
les, had spread terror around the neigh
borhood Of Sisteron. The eyidenc,
against them was clear but no trace,
could be obtained of the plumber. unit
one of the men gave clue to the mys
terry. Bivas, in his youth. had been q
shepherd boy near that place, and knew
the legend of the Trou d'Argent, 4
cavern on one Of the mountains Will
sides so precipitous as % be almost in
ACCESSIBLE, and which no one was ever
known to have reached. The commits.
sary Of police, Of Sisteron, after extra.
ordinary labor, succeeded in scaling the
mountain, and penetrated 90 the mys,
terious grotto, where he discovered an
enormous amount O. plumber of every
description. The way having been
once found, the vast cavern WAS after,
wards explored hy savanS and their
researches brought 70 light number OF
Roman medals OF the third century
flint hatchetS, oruamented pottery, and
the remains of ruminants of enormous
size. These interesting discoveries,
however, obtained no Indulgence for the
accused (nadvertentl pioneers uf science.
who were sentenced 10 twenty wears
hard labor. The discovery oi gold in
Nevada was made by Mormon immI-
grants in 1850. Adventures crossed
the Slerras and set up their sluice boxes
IN the canyons hut il was gold they
were after, and they never suspected
the existence Of silver, nor knew il when
they saw it. The BLUSH stuff which was
50 abundant, and which was silver ore,
lnterfered with their operations aud gave
them the greatest annoyance. Two
brothers named GroSch possessed more
intelligence than their Iellow-vOrkers,
and were the real discoyerers Of the
ComStock lode but one of them died
from a pick-ax wound in the foot, and
the other was frozen 20 death IN the
mountains. Their secret died with
them. When, at last, IN the early part
of 1857. the surface Groupings Of the
lode were fonni, they were worked for
the gold they contained. and the silver
was thrown out rs being worthless. Yet
this lode since 1860 has yielded large
proportion of all the silver produced
throughout the world. The silver mines
of PotoSi were discovered through the
trivial circumstance OF an Indian accl-
dentally pulling mp shrub, TO the roots
of which were attached some PARTICLES Of
the precious metal. During the Thirty
Years war in Germany, the little village
uf CoSerow, in the Island of Csedom, on
the Prussian border Of the Baltic, was
sacked by the contending armies, the
villagers escaping 10 the hills 20 save
their lives. Among them was u simple
pastor named Schweriler, and his pretty
daughter Mary. when the danger WAS
over the villagers found themselves with
ont houses, food, or money. One day,
We are told, Mary went mp tie Streck-
elberg 70 gather blackberries but soon
afterwards she ran back Joyous and
breathless 10 her father, with two SHIN
ing pieces of amber, each of very great
size. She told her father that near the
shore the wind had blown away the
sands from vein of amber that she
straightway broke off these pieces with
a stick that there was an ample store
OF the precious substance and that she
had covered It over 10 conceal her secret.
The amber brought money, food, cloth
ing and comfort but those were super
stitious times, and a legend goes that
poor Mary Was burned for witcherait.
At the village of Stumeu, amber was
accidentally found by rustic who was
fortunate enough TO turn up some with
his Chambers Journal.