Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1889-11-07
THE DEVILS GOLD.
THE STORY OF THE BIGGEST NUGGET
EVER FOUND IN AMERICA.

I
EVER FOUND IN AMERICA.
From the Washington Post.
How many know where the larges
single lump of native gold ever seen il
America was found? In California
No. In Colorado? No. In the Blacl
Hills, Ceur d Alene, Nevada, New
Mexico? No. In old Mexico, Peru
Bolivia, in Potosi, the Caliao of Venezu
ella? No. Where then? InNorth Car
olina. And its story is as weird and
fateful as the Rhinegold's.
A poor and ignorant Irishman, living
in the mountain solitary and lonely,
propped open the door of his cabin with
a lump of metal. He had found il
sticking out from water washed gully,
and carried it home as curiosity
Though no larger than small cymling,
it was weighty lug for mile. 1t was
a dull yellow, irregular in shape, and
pieces of stone were imbedded in it,
For over two years fortune lay upon
the floor of his hOvel while he toiled ear
ly and late, making little whisky and
digging ginseng root to earn scanty
living. A companion mountaineer, who
had known more of the outside world,
thought this strange stone might be
sold at Asheville as curiosity for a
lot of money-S10 perhaps. This was
in the flush days before the war. He had
seen quartz crystal from Roam Mountain
bring that much. A third mountaineer
was called into consultation. Ten dol
lars was lot of money. The third man
had been a traveller, a regular globe
trotter He went to Ashville four times
a year, and he had been clear to Wash
ington.
Walking around the lump he gazed on
it from every side, touched it with his
toe, spat on it, and breathed heavily.
"Hit air wuth notin', or hit air wuth a
pile" said ne. "Hit air nothin' but brass,
or hit air. He looked around on
the other two with a queer expression
-"goold."
"If hit air brass"-he drew clasp
knife and scraped the dull metal till a
new surface glittered- -"vinegar'n rust
it. Eff hit air goold hit won't"
He poured some vinegar from jug
which was brought him upon the fresh
facing of the lump. The three men hung
over it intently. Five, ten, fifteen min
utes passed, and still the metal shone
clear and untarnished.
"Hit's gooldl''
'sAnd I've heerd gold was wuth more'n
5000 pound" said the second.
"What - fool I've been," groaned
tine owner of the cabin. 'For two years
I've worked, an wealth 1 never dream
ed of kickin' under my feet"
81 claims third" broke in the as
sayer. "Ye'd never a knowed what it
was but for me-"
can third for me-" said the other.
The owner of the gold gave spllen
assent. They obtained pair of steel
yards and weighed the gold. 1t turned
the scale at over one hundred pounds
avoirdupois, and they roughly estimated
it to be worth S25,000-over $4,000
apiece. That night all three sat up and
watched the treasure, unable to sleep
from excitement, and thorougly suspi-
cious of each other. The next day they
rolled it securely in cloth and started
for Asheville afoot, with the gold slung
to pole, and carried between two.
1t was the Devils gold. At the first
halting place the Irishman and the sec
ond mountaineer conspired to kill the
third, and he was shot dead from be-
hind. Hastily throwing his body into
clump of bushes the murderers faced
each other in the road. Suspicion reused
in each breast saw treachery in each
others glance.
"Here," said one, forcing an uneasy
laugh, ''there's only one way to settle
this. Let's divide the gold and each go
his way"
agreed" said the other.
The lump was laid in the roadway and
chopped in two with hatchet.
'Take your choice" said one. AS the
other bent to lift his half his compan-
ion split the head of the STOPPING man
with his hatchet. The gold was his.
With blind faulty he dragged the sec
ond victim to the side of the road, lifted
the blood-stained treasure and went on.
At Ashville he took it to the bank and
had it shipped to the United States
mint. In less than week and before
any return could be made from the
mint, the bodies of the murdered men
had been discovered and the crime
traced directly home. The miserable
wretch was placed in jail, and there he
died within year. The witch gold for
tune never crossed his hands, remaining,
1 believe, in the Federal Treasury for
lack of ownership.
The region where the lump was found
has been secured foot by foot, but not
another lump like that has ever been
discovered in that or any other section
of America 1t is said that a few weeks
ago an English company, which is work
ing the Nacoochee mine in Georgia.
took outa nugget weighing 1900 pen
nyweights, yet the North Carolina lump
weighed over 1,500 ounces.