The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1889-06-26

urco' upon WHICH d CrOSS-mdrk laQ
been made with an axe. The en-
gineer ran his line to an old beech
tree, and, concluding that this was
the point in question, looked for the
mark, but, of course. could not find
1t. Taking an axe, he cut into the
tree, and, to his surprise, almost the
first block Clipped out revealed the
Identical mark referred to in the
ancient document. The mark was
still perfect. but had long been COW
cred up. having been made some
years before the revolutionary war.
The date of the deed was 1859.
A very interesting archaeological
discovery was made some years ago in
Norway. From burial mound,
nearly $50 feet in diameter, was dug a
'well-preserved viking ship, in which
some chieftain had been entombed
centuries ago. The craft is the largest
ancient vessel now known to exist. it
being "a feet long and l6 feet wide,
with twenty ribs. Along its sides a
row Of circular shields extends COM
pletely around it. The mound is now
nearly a mile from tho sea, but 1t is
evident that in olden times the waves
washed its base, and the vessel was
drawn out of the water and buried at
its edge.
A curious relic Of one Of the expedi-
tions which sailed to the West Indies
under the command of Columbus was
discovered some twelve years ago. On
the 4th OF August, 1893, a small squad
ron of three vessels, under the orders
of Christopher Columbus, was an
chored off the southwestern extremity
OF the Island Of Trinidad. Late at
night Columbus. it is related by Wash
ington Irving, suddenly saw wall Of
water approaching toward the feet
from the south. His own vessel was
lifted so high by the incoming wave
that he feared it would be either sub
merged or, dashed on shore, while
the cable Of one of the other ships
parted under the strain to which it
was subjected. The crews of the
vessels gave themselves up for
lost, but after time the wave, which
must have been caused by an ex-
ceptionally large body Of water COM
ing suddenly down one of the rivers
flowing into the Gulf of Haria, ebbod
back. This sudden rise of the waters
is mentioned by Columbus son, Ferdi-
nand, who adds that the fleet suffered
no damage save the loss of one anchor.
1t was this anchor that was found,
and, strangely enough, it was dug up
from depth Of six feet below the
surface of the ground at q spot
three hundred and seventy-two feet
from the nearest point of the coast
line The land, it is we'll known, has
gained considerably upon the sea
along the shores of Venezuela, so that,
where once ships rode at anchor
gardens are now planted. The anchor
itself was of simple form and COM
,paratively rude manufacture, the
stock being eight feet long and round.
with a ring at one end foot in diam.
eter to which to make fast the cable,
and with fiukes five feet long, the whole
weighing eleven hundred pounds.
The story Of the discovery OF gold in
North Carolina is somewhat curious.
Near the close of the last century the
child of poor settler, while roaming
along the banks of small stream,
discovered bright yellow stone,
which, with the assistance of his play
mates, he picked up and carried home
to his father The old man, who had
evidently no knowledge of the appear.
ance of gold in its native state, saw
nothing particularly remarkable in the
stone, but not to disappoint the child,
bade him place 1t near the cabin door,
which it would serve to keep open or
shut at pleasure. As the stone was
quite heavy, weighing nearly fifteen
pounds, it was found of considerable
use for that purpose
Several years elapsed before any
one thought of the stones being posi-.
bly, mineral of value, although Its
owner often showed it to his neigh
bors, bidding them mark its unusual
weight. Finally he was induced by
some one to take it to goldsmith in
the neighboring town Of Fayetteville,
who, upon testing it, at once pro.
nounced it to be gold. So simple,
however, and so ign GRANT of the value
of the precious metal was the OLD
farmer that he even then allowed the
dishonest goldsmith to buy tho nugget
of him for the paltry sum of four dol.
lars. Its true value was ascertained
to be not less than four thousand dol.
lars. and the locality in which it was
found soon became a rich field for gold
hunters. This is claimed to have beer
the first discovery Of gold ever made in
the United States
The history Of the finding of enor
nous nuggets Of gold in Australis
reads almost like q romance. The
earliest discovery Of this kind was II
1851. but a few months after the open
ing OF the mines near Bathurst This
was the celebrated ''one-hundred
pound lump" which owed its disoov
cry to the following curious circum'
stances: A native in the employ Of on,
DIR. Kerr was lounging along, hatche
in hand, through q sheep run where