The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-01-21
THE STORY OF
THE TINY NUGGET.
From the Philadelphia Times.


A noted western financier wears on his
watch chain tiny nugget of gold, set
about with small, but exceeding fine,
diamonds, and if you should chance to
strike this money king when he is in one
of his rare communicative moods, he will
tell you, if you ask, the following story of
how, from the nettle danger, he plucked,
not only the flower of safety, but of for
tune, too
ut was when the gold fever in Califor-
MIA was at its height that sold out all l
had at home and went to join the throngs
streaming to the FL Dorado. 1t was what
you might call grounding case with me,
for If did not strike 1t rich l was ruined,
as had nothing in the world except the
little pile l took with me to the mining
country.
81 fell in with fellow calling himself
Pete Sharp, and sharp he was, too. l
afterward learned that he was a fugitive
from Justice in England, and heaven alone
knows what his real name was, as he had
as many aliases as a leopard has spots.
But he was good Judge of ground where
gold would be likely hidden, and was
above all a very amusing, agreeable COM
panion, so ! was very glad on the whole
OF his company We decided TO make for
the extreme corner of the gold-bearing
region, and to do our own prospecting, so
that if we found the precious metal none
could benefit by it but ourselves.
''Sharp was pretty nearly broke, and
had to pay for both our outfits, but did
not mind this, as his knowledge of geol-
ogy- which, while limited in extent,
could be depended on as far as it went,
Offset this. Well,w kept on edging away
from the overswarmed districts toward
the north, until we should find a spot
where Sharp saw indications of the thing
we were after. Finally we fell in with a
man going to Sacramento, but, on stop
ping to talk with US, this fellow soon
guessed at what we were wanting, and at
last volunteered to go back with us.
SHARP took TO the man, who gave his
name as Harold, but | did not somehow
fancy him from the first, and my instinct
was not at fault. The fellow was an es-
capped convict from the east, aud had been
put in for life for the murder of his
father-in-law to secure that relative S
money. But Sharp caught so eagerly at
his offer to go with us that the whole
thing was settled before / could have
taken my companion TO one side TO have
demonstrated. We journeyed on for sew
eral days, at last reaching little dip be-
tween two great, almost perpendicular
rocks where Sharp said river had once
trickled down from the mountains, wash
ing down ore with it.
"He was right as TO that, though we
found far less than we had hoped for, and
after month or six weeks there we had
exhausted the resources of the place. We
each had about a $1,000 in nuggets and
nearly as much in dust. Harold then
proposed our going down to Sacramento
TO bank it, so we set out. But, not having
noticed the way we came, on going back
we lost our bearing for day, and at last
came upon a shaft like a big well cut
square down into the earth about 300 feet
or more.
That place was sunk by miners said
Sharp, examining the sides carefully.
But Harold laughed and asked What
minersl Gold was only found in this
state IN 40, and thar warn't no mining
4 done here before then, for thar warnt
much sides Iniuns about