The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1894-07-23

l could find gold his place if he would
give me a lease of it, He laughed as
though he did not believe me, and con-
sented. So a lease for forty years was
written out, the consideration Of which was
that 1 was to give him one-fourth of the
gold mined. | took into partnership
friend in whom l had confidence. l went
out to the spot with pan, and, turning
over some earth, it looked like the yellow
OF an egg. 1t was more than my eyes could
believe.
The News Abroad.
""The news got abroad said Uncle Ben
n.y. land such excitement you never saw.
1t seemed within a few days as IL the
whole world must have heard 1t, Tor men
came from every state / had ever heaTd OIL
They came afOot, on horseback anu III
wagons, acting more like crazy men IMAM
anything else. All the way from Whele
Dahlonega now stands to Nuckellsvllle tnele
were men panning out OF the prahCile0
and making holes in the hlisldes. Dos-
my-cats if it not an exciting tlihe''
1.-The maddest man in the country, COLI
tinued Uncle Benny, was Preacher " oeal
from whom [ had leased, the lana. ne
thought the lease was joke but now ne
found out that 1t was in earnest. one Gay
he came to and said:
"'Mr. Parks, [ want your lease.
"'But l will not sell it to you, replleo
"'Why not? he asked.
"'Wel' | answered, even if / were will
ling, it is now out of my power, 1or
have taken in partner, and know ne
would never consent to it. / have given
him my word, and L Will keep it.
You will suffer for this yet salo
O. Bear, menacingly. as he went away.
."TWo weeks later | saw a party OF two
women and two men approaching. knew
it was O. Bears family. intent upon troupie
knowing OBear's fondness for htlSatiol'
warned my men to hold their own, but 10
take no offensive step.
=" MIR. Parks was O'Bears 1lrSt Woro0'
Il want that mine.
If YOU were to pay me ten FlmeS us
value L replied, 4 would not sell 1t 10
you &c
"'Well, the longest pole will knock OIL
the persimmon,' he said, threatenngy.
"At this moment Mrs. O. Bear broke the
sluice gates to let out the water. a laborer
was in the ditch, and the woman threw
rocks in the water in order to Splash hilii'
Failing to make him aggressive, she puis
into tears when her son advanced TO attach
him. | caught him by the collar ana hung
him back Then the party went Or sWore
out warrants against us and had us all
arrested. All this was done 1or liltliliiod-
tion but # failed to work, and the next
thing | heard was that O Bear had sofa
the place to Judge underwood VINO III
turn sold it to Senator John Z. Calhouh'
of South Carolina, and then lo9' L" Aol
tune"
How was that"
senator Calhoun wanted to buy my
lease and | sold it for what L thought
was a good price. The very nrst Wohth
after the sale he took out Zt'ooo penny
weights of gold and then was inchhed 10
be as mad with him as . Bear hau peel
with me- But that is the pecuiiarlty Oh
gold mining. You will go day after daJ
exhaustng your means ana your sfehSlh'
until Won give it up. Then the hrst man
who touches the spot finds the gold the
first opening he makes. 1t IS just like
gambling-au luck. a.
but the gold fever was in my ploou
and soon got into anothtr mining specu-
lation. on Garvin branch, where L took out
as much as 1000 pennyWelghts per lhohth'
eft is strange" said Uncle Bennle chahs-
ing the conversation, chow men Will forget
themselves when they get away from Ihe
influence of home. one day III 1901 "0i'
out deer hunting with Lewis Ilaistoli' "
white man who had married an 1huiah
wife We ranged down toward NuchaiS
vile In crossing the field on which stooo
the house of a Mr.. Ellison we We're at
tractad bv a woman's screams. we ao-
vanced and saw a man i'll the yaro CAR
ing in his hand a flowing hanuhei 0iii0A
Upon hearing the womans tefrlple SUI u
abuse at the hands of the stranger au-
vanced toward him, when ne .tsd
hondxarchief a huge knife. We closed H.
,d crashed his wrist as the KNIFE ue-
eranGad and wrenched the knife hoi1
hin, then lifted him up and thre" MN
over the fence. He arose ana Saiu'
.stranger. YOU are a better man than
am. You have pulled my thumo out 20
Mace. and l wish you would pun 1t IN
again 4,a That
, ,,,bo had lent himself to this unpar-
dCnable crime, was wealthy, the 1ather VI
q -esnected family in another county, ana
was never even suspected OF the CRIME he
had committed.
Strange story OF Superstition
The SUBSEQUENT history of this mine which
Uncle Benny discovered reveals a strange
story of superstition In men VINO "o'tiu
MOI have been suspected OF 1t. IL renlallieu
IN the calhoun estate until &, few years
ago when 1t passed into the halluS Oh Mr.
J. A. Bcstwick, a we'll known New YORK
canitalist now dead He expended over
g., 600 in the necessary machinery to open
the property. He placed in charge OF IL
as superintendent Colonel John CohSuoh'
of New York city, and Mr.. a. j. Reese
of pahlonega. The latter died soon after,
Wher Colonel CongdOn's strange Illusion OF
astrology became known. He once bought
a ticket to Europe, and forfeited the money
because ne had aScertained that the snip
would sail under an unlucl<y star. To con-
fin m his belief the vessel went to the bot
tom and all the passengers We're lost. one
day he received a telegram from a Cal-
fc1 MIA town, telling him that his brother
was on his death bed and desired to see
him. The colonel started at once,
tooh sick on the way, o,,x ('''u
died in one or the t'1iio'
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