The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-02-11

some lucky mortal who one of these
days will accidentally drop upon the
spot, and by his discovery startle the
world How much OF the precious stuff
has gone into the pavements of New
York, just as those pieces, easily worth
three or four dollars, might have done, is
beyond the ken of man, and his day
never see pile of rocks in the street,
waiting to be turned into concrete or
something Of hekind, without regarding
it, as Charles A. Dana says of his con-
temporaries, with the most distinguished
consideration.
So ended the story of the old gentle
man. The mann in which it was
ELECTED is explained by the following in
cident IN the experience of the writer.
Meeting Mr.. Edward I'll. Underhill. the
well known official reporter of the sur
rogate's court, and another friend, a
physician equally distinguished, but who
might not care to have his name men,
toned, the conversation turned upon the
remarke K ~ play Of gold nuggets and
rich pieces OF quartz which the latter
wore in various places. They were of
different sizes and shapes, ranging from
the size of a pea to that of filbert.
They formed long neck chain for his
watch; constituted the row of studs in
his shirt bosom and the buttons on his
sleeves and vest, and several rough but
valuable rings were on his fingers. AL
together the "get up" was unique and
attractive, not the result, however, of
any eccentricity on the part of the physi-
clan, but for the purposes of a visit which
the gentlemen were about to make.
The writer loosely made the remark,
"Why, doctor, you must have been in
California and struck it rich" "No,"he
replied, smilingly, "all this gold that
you see, and more that I have in nv
pocket, I gathered with my own hands
within $50 miles of New York" "Wall
street, or possibly some of the curio
shops, eh?" ''No, sir; am not joking;
it is gold picked up by me in the noun.
tains and along the streams Of the ranges
chiefly on the west side of the Hudson
river. l have long entertained the
theory, verified further south, that th.
Appalachian chain of mountains, extend.
ing from Canada to Alabama, is a gold
region containing the metal in more OF
less paying qualities In North Carolina
there are places where man may fill q
quill in half a days walk along the mar.
gin of stream, and other spots where
search is rewarded by large nuggets.
Before the war branch mint was estab.
lished at Charlotte. In South Carolina
mines are even now worked with more
or less of profit.
'Ten miles from Fredericksburg, Va,
on the Rappahannock river, gold existed
in paying quantities; and coming still fur
Their north, even to Nova Scotia, you fire.
quently find the precious metal in quaint
ties more tangible than q mere trace. You
need not be surprised, therefore, When /
repeat that picked up this gold on my
person with my own hands. Some of il
is in q pure state and remarkably rich;
others of the nuggets were originally in
fakes, or small particles found in bits of
loose quartz, and have since ben fused
Every year for years past have devoted
a part of my summers vacation to
long jaunt through the mountains,
hoping eventually to strike the vein or
veins that have yielded these fragments;
and, mark my prediction, some time the
source will be found 1t may be struck
in New Hampshire, Vermont, Massa-
chusetts OF Connecticut, but believe it
will be first found in the neighborhood
of the Catskills.''
"Why so!' inquired the writer 'Be-
cause it was in that neighborhood I OBJ
tanned the specimens you see. Some of
the richest / found in streams not far
from Peeks1ill There is gold in Put
nam and Duchess counties in what is
known as the Fishkill mountains, and
gold in the range which enters Orange
county from New Jersey. The boy is yet
alive, in my judgment, who will stumble
in his search on the deposit in its native
bed, and we may then be able to trace
its trend from northeast to southwest"
Putting the remarkable statements of
the doctor with the curious experience
of the old gentleman first referred to, is
there not something in the idea that New
York may be "paved with gold?"