Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1890-02-01
GOLD IN PAVING STONES
yneRe MAY De LOTS or THE
: METAL IN NEW YORK sTREEra s

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Especial co~vspoudence.l
NEW YoRK, Jan. S0.--"DO you seri-
ously mean that valuable specimens a
gold have been picked from piles Of rocks
lying around looss In the streets Of New
YorEr~
II do most seriously, and II could
have found the source from which they
came, / would today be twenty times .
millionaire." "A
The speaker was an old and well known
resident Of the city, and the facts men.
toned by him in the following narrative
are familiar to . number Of persons.
"Fivs oe ak years ago." he continued,
II lived on one Of the up town streets
near Central park, between Fifth and
Sixth avenues Repairs to the roadway
being necessary, portion Of u had been
removed preparatory to laying . new
foundation, the base Of which was to
consist Of pebbles and crushed stones
mixed with o species Of composition.
Day after day carloads OF this material
were brought there and dumped In piles
while the process Of improvement went
ON.
zone morning young son coming in
from play his mother discovered that his
pockets were filled with these pebbles,
which, boy like, he had gathered because,
% he said. they were pretty You
must throw those things away instantly
che exclaimed, because I don't want
the house numbered up with such trash,
and besides, Il will ruin your trousers
The lad obeyed, but obtained permission
from his mother to reserve few that he
particularly fancied by reason Of their
shape and attractiveness. Among the
latter were bits Of quartz containing
crystals, number of small round stones
that evidently had been subjected to the
action Of running water, and o,her speci-
mems such as . 10-year-old geologist
would naturally select for place In his
cabinet. On returning from business
that evening, my attention was called by
the boy to his 'flnd,' and particularly
totwo or three irregular fragments about
the size Of Brazil nuts, because, as he
said, they were 30 bright and yellow and
looked just like gold.' To me, however,
they were only bits Of quartz containing
iron pyrites presenting the usual yellow
ish metallic luster, and read to him
from an encyclopedia . description OF
the manner in which they are employed
IN the manufacture Of sulphurous acid.
'In order to satisfy him still further
cracked specimen in numDer OF
pieces, but rlch, glistening flakes fa', In
such abundance upon the hearthstone
where the demonstration had taken place
that even my own curiosity was now
aroused, and determined the next morn.
ing to investigate further. On going
down town showed the fragments to Q
number Of friends, among others the late
F. B. Wallace, the Broad street banker,
and explained the circumstances under
which they had been found. All agreed
that they presented such o remarkable
appearance as to warrant an examination
by an expert, and they were accordingly
carried to the United States assay Office
In Wall ctreet To the official there,
however, nothing was said as to the To-
cality from which they had 20 recently
been taken. Glancing at them for mo-
ment, be said: 1T isn't necessary to test
these specimens; they are simply samples
OF California ore. very rich In gold.
have handled thousands Of pounds, but
very rarely ore 30 valuable as this
"'If this Is gold, It never saw Califor-
nia.' was the reply. 1T was picked up
in Q pile Of paving stones in the upper
part Of New York city by boy 10 years
old only yesterday morning.
"'If that Is true, II is either an accident
or q revelation returned the official;
but in order to be sure I'll make q test,
and thereupon he retired to q rear room.
When he came back it was with look
Of surprise ON his face and the remark;
Just as told you, sir; that Is free bear.
ing gold quartz Of the richest quality.
As nearly as can calculate from cur.
sorry examination, it would assay from
dollars ton. Under the microscope,
however, the quartz presents different
| appearance from that which Is most
common In California. II more closely
resembles that which has been found In
Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia.
II such specimen is q native Of this
neighborhood, it will be q marvel. Yet
the discoveries OF gold in Califor.
MIA and Australia were also marvels
We come upon it when 1t Is least ex.
pected. Marshall found 1t originally
while digging in mill race on the estate
Of Capt. Suter, on tho Sacramento river.
It was found in digging well at Sar
Francisco, and then again q hundred
miles of, where it was dropping from
cliffs into the sea and slowly settling
through the sands OF the shore. Sever
Mexicans discovered gold in soft clay
and slate that could be crushed between
the fingers, and keeping their secret
eight days. made in that short time S917,
600. The Plue Ridge region has yielded
Q solid specimen weighing twenty -eigh
pounds. II we could easily lay our hand
upon gold, we might all be rich, but 1t Il
fact well known among miners that til,
hoble metal is not generally found in th'
position In which it was originally de
posted. For these reasons, say agaiI
that the finding OF these specimens Is ,
revelation IL not an accident, for they in
dicate not distant source of supply. !
that can be discovered you may max
yourself rich man in forty eight hours.
"These suggestions by an expert wer'
naturally exciting" continued the mar
rator, "nDl to none more than to Mr.. +
u Voc, who promptly declared h
would invest million Of dollars in tn,
event Of the discovery ID. begin with, ant
as much more as might be necessary
No grass grew under my feet while hur
rying home after that interview at tn
assay Office for the purpose Of further in
yestipatinp the pebble niles in the street