Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1888-11-08

i<OhuoH NudIbcIcu DUNN WHcIc ~ Nuo
weighed and found TO contain 2,26S}
ounces of gold, The bank purchased
the nugget for f9,53l, 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
handsome present out OF the pro-
ceeds of the "Welcome Stranger !"
The WELCOME" nugget, found at
Bakery Hill, Ballaiat in Victoria, on
June Is, 1858, was nearly as large as
the one just described, its weight be-
Ing 2,217 ounces, 16 pennyw9ights. 1t
was found at a depth of 1870 feet in
claim belonging to party of twenty
four men, who disposed of it for f10,-
800. A smaller nugget, weighing 571
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 1t con-
tanned 90. 20 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 ~, 1851 at
Kingower, Victoria, just thirteen feet
beneath the surface. II was twenty
eight inches long, ten inches broad in
Its widest part, and weighed 1,743
ounces, 10 pennyweights. 1t realized
E6,905 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 number of miners,
judging the place to be "likely" To-
eality, had sunk holes within Il few feet
of the spot where this golden mass
was reposing, and yet they were not
lucky enough TO strike it. What u
tantaliaing 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! Hangover, like Dunoly,
from which it is only few miles dis
tant, is locality FUNGUS for its mug
gets. One weighing $50 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 Hangover district
in 1860 found very fine nugget,
weighing 800 ounces, within Il foot
of the surface, and one of 7l5 ounces
was unearthed at Daisy Hill at depth
of only three and half feet.
A notable instance of rapid fortune
was that of party of four who, hav-
ing been but few months In the col
ony of Victoria, were lucky enough to
alight on u nugget weighing 1,615
ounces. They Immediately returned
to England with their prize and sold it
for 1852 rs. 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.
TENDER 8, 1854, at a depth of 1876 feet.
Its weight was LIZ ounces, and neal
it was found number of smaller mug.
gets of the aggregate weight of 2,60C
ounces, so that the total value of the
gold extracted from this one claim
was no less than f13,000. AS showing
the phenomenal richness of this To-
cality. it may be added that on Jan
uary 20, 1858, party of three brought
to the surface solid mass of golt
weighing LILY ounces; and two days
afterward, in the same tunnel, splen
did pyramidal-shaped nugget weighing
1,0l1 ounces was discovered. the con
joint value of the two being f7,500.
A case somewhat similar to one al
ready described was that of tn,
Heron nugget, solid mass of golt
to the amount of 1,00S ounces, which
was found at Flyers Creek, Victoria
by two young men who had been onl!
three months in the colony. The,
were offered $4,000 for it in Victoria
but they preferred to bring it to En-
gland as a trophy, and there they solC
it for f4,0 $50.
The Victoria" nugget, as its nam,
suggests, was purchased by the Vic
torian Government for presentation {,
Her Majesty. 1t was very. prett,
specimen of $40 ounces. worth FL, $50
and was discovered at White Hors
Gully, Sandhurst. Quite close to il
and within foot of the surface, wa
found the "Descombe" nugget weigh
ing $50 ounces, which was also brough
to London and sold for f1.500.
just as book should never b
judged by its cover, so mineral sub
stances should not be estimated by su
perfcial indications. A neglect of thi
salutary precept was once very nearl
resulting in the loss of valuable Vic
torian nugget. A big lump of quart
was brought to the surface. and, as il
exterior aspect presented only Sigh
indications of the existence of gold,
was at first believed to be valueless
but as soon as the mass was broken up
there. imbedded in the quartz, was
beautiful nugget of an oval shape