Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-01-30

were first come across
by an ignorant fellow, who, while leading his
flock to feed on the slopes of ths Andes, lighted
some brambles to prepare frugal repast, A
| pebble, heated by the fame, attracted his
| notice by its shining He carried IT to the
mint at Lima, where II was tested and proved
to be silver. The mine thus struck was worked
and made its discoverer a millionaire.
IN CALIFORNIA.
THE rich gold fields of California were found
by Mormon laborer nahled Marshall. who was
employed at saw mit ON the south fork of
the American river. In January, ls4s this
man was engaged in digging race for mill.
when he came across some small bits of yellow
metal, which he and his fellow workmen sup
posed to be gold. The swift current of the
mill race washed away good deal of earth,
leaving coarse particles of gold behind, and
| soon q considerable quantity was collected.
Pretty soon. having ascer tanned that it in
deed the precious metal that had been found,
the men at the mill abandoned all other
work and took to washing for gold, of which
they could each obtain an ounce or two per
day on an average Runors of the discovery
spread, and during the following year people
hocked to California from all over the world.
1t Is estimated that in six months $4,000 per-
sons arrived there by or across the plains
and that one-fifth Of them persisted by disease
during the following six months; owing to the
subjected.
GOLD IN NORTH CAROLINA.
Toward the close OF the last century
squatter named Reid. who had been soldier,
cleared piece of land in the county OF Cabar-
rus, n. c. He built q hut OF logs but could
hardly lind means OF subsistence. the country
being almost n desert. In 1899 he married and
few years later three OF his children while
playing on the banks of a stream saw a big
who did not imagine that it had any value, and
he placed 1t on the floor near the door of the hut
which 1t served to keep open or closed, these
good people being SO poor that they had no
latch to their dwelling One DAY Reid, at the
suggestion OF a neIghbor, took the stone,
which weighed fifteen pounds. to Fayette.
vile and showed it to a goldsmith,
who pronounced it to be gold The gold
smith asked the old soldier what lie would take
Tor his pebble and the latter said he would ac-
cept 1925 which the dealer readily paid him,
the nugget being actually worth a good deal
more than 1000. The mountain at the foot of
which the yellow stone was found proved to be
enormously rich in gold.
THE DIsCovERER SELDOM PROFITS.
The discoverer of a mine seems seldom to
profit by it. In 1859 Marshall was forgotten in
California and had become poorer than ever
The richest veins o: silver in Chile were found
in 1881 by mountaineer named Godoy, who
hunted guanacos in the Andes. One day being
fatigued he sat down under the shelter of a
huge rock and was struck by the color and
brightness of projecting part. He Clipped
the stone with his knife and finding that he
could cut it like cheese, to use his own express
SION, ne took specimen OF it to Chicago.
Mlneralogists to whom it was submitted at
once perceived it to be chloride Of silver,
known otherwise by the name of horn silver
because it has the texture of horn The mine.
being worked by Godoy and moneyed part
ner. developed silver in masses. Great profits
were made, but the discoverer was SO foolish as
to sell his share, dissipated the money and died
without penny.
THE LUCK OF TWO BROTHERS,.
among the persons employed at the mine
discovered by Godoy were two brothers named
Bolados who gained q miserable livelihood by
carrying wood on the backs of asses to the
smelling house. One day they came across a
crevice in the earth, opened by some earth
quake, in which was an enormous block OF sill
yer ore. From this block more than sixty
quintals of silver were taken by merely remov-
ing the soft crust from the mass 1t was worth
altogether about 500. 600, which the brothers
squandered in gambling and otherwise, being
finally left poorer than they were before the
discovery.
MILLIONS FROM SMALL SECTION LEFT.
"In 1860 two Irish miners named Gould and
Curry went to Carson City, New. They were
working on reef of quartz which gave little
promise. From time to time they journeyed to
San Francisco to procure provisions from a
grocer who trusted them. although they had
no money. Instead of paying cash they made
over to the grocer a foot, then a yard of the
lode, until at last the latter became proprietor
OF two-thirds of the mine. One day Gould and
Curry placed their hands on such "a block of
ore as the brothers Bolados had found in Chile.
Only q small part Of the mine remained to
them; the lucky merchant held nearly all the
shares, and yet the two miners secured millions
FOR their own portion.
IN THE INDIAN OCEAN.
ION certain island in the Indian ocean
volcanic lava, once erupted from beneath the
bed Of the sea, extends along the coast in tho
form of sand and shingle. Among the grains
of sand are numerous gold colored CRYSTALS of
chrysolite or gold stone which glitter i'm the
sun. More than a century ago u French noble
man went mad. Struck with the brilliancy of
these little pebbles, he mistook them for gold,
picked them up on the shore, heated them in
crucible and fancied that he produced inCots
from them His family allowed him to amuse
himself in this manner, even providing him
with a laboratory.
San this was nearly forgotten when, about
| thirty.hve years ago, the experiments OF the
mad alchemist were revived by persons who
| asked the French government for the conces-
sion OF the gold mines on the island referred
| to- Shareholders focked together great pcr-
sonsges interested themselves in the matter
and tons OF sand were carried to France, gold
always being discovered in it. Silver and
| platinum were also found associated with the
| gold. Eyewitness declared that 100. COO men
| working for the same number OF years would
scarcely exhaust even the surface OF the mine
| In spite Of failure, companies interested in tho
development Of this wealth still exist It 10 all
purely imaginary.
sUPERsrrrioNs OF GERMAN MINERS
"0erman miners have many extraordinary
superstitions which are handed down by ira
dition and firmly believed in. They imagine
that the subterranean domains are ruled by
good-natured and benevolent gods. There arc
chiefly two, one being good and the other bad
The former is called Nickel and the other To-
bold. To propitiate them their names have
been given to the metals nickel and cobalt,
which were originally discovered in the mines
OF Saxony. They are the gnomes who all or
empty the lodos, and who reproduce the ore a.
fast e. IL Is removed. They prowl about the
| old galleries and abandoned working places;
they blow upon the lamps in order to put them
out and drag by the nose or hair the miner
whom they encounter alone. When he has
greatly dispieassd them they cast spells upon
him, throw him down the ladders or crush him
under fragment Of rock. Provisions are left
In the mines for these formidable goblins,
bread. cakes and pieces Of money being placed
In inches where they can get them.
| DIAMOND MINING.
THE impoverished placers in California are
1 koSu IaI a.