Sullivan republican. [volume] (Laporte, Pa.) 1883-1896, 1889-12-13
A LUMP OF GOLD.
The Largest Piece of Auriferous
Metal Ever Found.
Its Discovery Cost Three Men
Their Lives.

America was found9 In California;
No. In Colorado2 No. In the Black
Hills, Ceur d Alene, Nevada, New
Mexico2 No. In Old Mexico, Peru,
Bolivia, in Potosi, in the Callao of
Venzuela2 No. Where then2 In North
Carolina. And its story is as weird and
fateful as the Rhinegold's.
A poor and ignorant Irishman, living
in the mountains, solitary and lonely,
propped open the door of his cabin
with a lump of metal. He had found
it sticking out from water washed
gully and carried it home as curiosity.
Though no larger than a small cy mling,
it was weighty lug for mile. 1t was
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,
early and late, making little whiskey
and digging ginseng root to earn a
scanty living. A companion mountain
eer, who had known more of the out
side world, thought this strange stone
might be sold at Asheville as a curiosi-
ty for q lot of money-ten dollars per-
haps. This was in the flush days be-
fore the war. He had seen quartz crys-
tails from Roam Mountain bring that
much. A third mountaineer was called
in consultation. Ten dollars was lot
of money. The third man had been
traveller, a regular globe trotter. He
went to Asheville four times year, and
had been clear to Wilmington.
Walking around the dump he gazed
at it from every side, touched it with
his toe, spat upon it, and breathed
heavily.
"Hit air with nuthin', er hit air a
pile," said he. "IIit air nothin' but
brass, er hit air. He looked around
on the other two with queer express
sion-'' ''goold."
.Ef hit air brass"-he drew clasp
knife and scraped the dull metal till a
new surface glittered- 'vinegar'll rust
hit. Eff hit air goold, hit won't"
He poured some vinegar from jug
which was brought to HIM, upon the
fresh facing of the lump. The three
men hung over it intently. Five, ten,
fifteen minutes passed and still the metal
shone clear and untarnished.
"Hlt's gooldW
"And I've heerd goold was wuth
more'n two hundred dollars poundl"
said the second.
What id fool l have been!"
groaned the owner of the cabin. 'sFor
two years I've worked, an wealth
never dreamed of kickin' undher my
feet"
'I claims third" broke in the as =
sayer. eyed never a knowed what hit
war but fer me"
''An' third for me, said the other.
The owner of the gold gave a sullen
assent. They obtained pair of steel :
yards and weighed the gold 1t turned
the scales at over hundred poun ds
avoirdupois and they roughly estimated
it to be worth $25, 600, over $4,000
apiece. That night all three sat up and
watched the treasure, unable to sleep
from excitement and thoroughly sus-
picious 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
a clump of bushes, the murderers faced |
each other in the road. Suspicion
reused in each guilty breast saw treach- |
cry in each others glance.
"Here," said one, forcing an uneasy
laugh. There's only one way to set
tie 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 a hatchet.
"Take your choice, said one. AS
The other bent to lift his half his COM
panion split the head of the STOPPING
man with his hatchet. The gold was
his. With bind fatuity he dragged
,he second victim to the side of the
road, lifted the bloodstained treasure
and went on At Ashevlle he took it
70 the bank and had it shipped to the
United States mint. In less than a
IL