Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-11-15

and 50 heavy That tnoor Joint strength
could scarcely move It A dray hav-
ing been procured. the monster mug
get was escorted by an admiring pro-
oession into the town Of Dunolly. and
carried into the local branch of the
London Chartered Bank, where it was
weighed and found to contain 1854
ounces of gold. The bank purchased
the nugget for f9, 534, which the erst-
while so unlucky (but now so fortu-
nate) pair of Cornish miners divided
equally between them. Whether the
storekeeper who refused them the ma
terials for a breakfast that morning
apologized for his harsh behavior his
tory relates not, but the probability
is that he was paid the precise
amount of his debt and no more;
whereas. had he acted in a more gen.
erous spirit toward the two brothers
in distress. he might have come in for
a handsome present out OF the pro-
ceeds of the welcome Stranger"
The Welcome nugget. found at
Bakery Hill, Ballarat, in Victoria, OH
June Is, 1853, was nearly as large as
the one just described, its weight be-
ing 2,217 ounces. Is pennyweights. 1t
was found at depth of $50 feet in a
claim belonging to a party of twenty
four men, who disposed of it for f1O,-
500. A smaller nugget, weighing 81
ounces, was found in proximity to it.
After being exhibited in Melbourne,
| the Welcome nugget was brought
to London and smelted in November,
1859. The assay showed that it con-
tanned 1920 per cent of gold.
Another valuable nugget, which was
brought to London and exhibited at
the Crystal Palace. Sydenham. was the
Blanche Barkly," found by party
of four diggers on August n. 1857, at
Kingower, Victoria. just thirteen feet
beneath tho surface. 1t was twenty
eight inches long. ten inches broad in
its widest part, and weighed 1.743
ounces, Is pennyweights. 1t realized
f6.9O5 12s cd. A popularity about
this nugget was the manner in which
it had eluded the efforts of previous
parties to capture it. Three years be-
fore its discovery a number of miners,
Judging the place to be "likely'' To-
cality, had sunk holes within a few feet
of the spot where this golden mass
was reposing, and yet they were not
| 70 o<y,i1yn - What
tantalizing thought it must have been
in after years, when they reflected on
the fact that they were once within an
arms length of $1,000 without being
fortunate enough to grasp the hidden
treasure! Kingower, like Dunolly.
from which it is only few miles dis
tant, is locality famous for its mug
gets. One weighing go ounces was
actually found on the surface covered
with green moss, and pieces of gold
have frequently been picked up there
after heavy rains, the water washing
away the thin coating of earth that
had previously concealed them. Two
men working in the Kingower district
in 1860 found a very fine nugget,
weighing SO5 ounces, within a foot
of the surface, and one of 715 ounces
was unearthed at Daisy Hill at depth
of only three and half feet.
A notable instance of rapid fortune
was that of a party of four who, hav-
ing been but few months in the col
ony of Victoria, were lucky enough to
alight on nugget weighing 1,615
ounces. They Immediately returned
to England with their prize and sold it
for 1852 Is. I'D. The place where
they thus quickly made their "pile,"
to use an expressive colonialism, was
Canadian Gully at Ballarat, very
prolific nugget ground. There was
also found the LADY Hotham" mug
get. called after the wife of Charles
Hotham, one of the early Governors of
Victoria. 1t was discovered on Sep
tember 8, 1854. at depth of 1876 feet.
Its weight was LIZ ounces, and near
it was found number of smaller mug
gets of the aggregate weight Of 1900
ounces, so that the total value of the
gold extracted from this one claim
was no less than f1S,OO0. As showing
the phenomenal richness of this To-
cality. it may be added that on JAN
uary 20. 1853, party Of three brought
to the surface solid mass of gold
weighing LILY ounces; and two days
afterward. in the same tunnel, a splen-
did pyramidal-shaped nugget weighing
1.011 ounces was discovered. the con-
joint value of the two being FL, 800.
A case somewhat similar to one al
ready described was that of the
Heron" nugget, a solid mass Of gold
to the amount of 1.OOS ounces, which
was found at Flyers Creek, Victoria,
by two young men who had been only
three months in the colony. They
were offered $4,000 for it in Victoria,
but they preferred to bring it to En-
gland as a trophy, and there they sold
it for f4.OSO.
The Victoria nugget. as its name
suggests, was purchased by the Vic