Daily camera., 1897-07-06
GEORGIA'S GOLD CLEANER.
An Old Woman Who Hunts for
the Precious Metal
Report Says She Has n Rich Hoard
as the Result Of Many Years
of Hard Work and
Frugal Living.

Mary Odom, gold hunter, lives in lit
tie cabin on the mountain side, about
mile from Auraria, the ancient mining
town of north Georgia, whose best days
were those prior to the discovery of
gold in California in 1S49. The cabin
was built by a miner named Odom, and
when the excitement in California be-
gan he bade his wife and daughter Mary,
then girl IL years old, farewell, and
started west. His family never heard
from him again.
His wife managed to support herself,
and, having some knowledge Of gold
mining, taught Mary how to wash the
golden grains from the sand in the beds
of the mountain streams. The two were
quite successful and gathered a great
deal of gold dust. When Mary was 16
years old her mother died. That was in
1852, and the United States mint was
still in operation at Dahlonega. Mary
soon grew expert in finding gold, and
many pennyweight did she carry to
the mint. Having disposed of it, she
secreted, invariably, half her profits in
the cabin at the mouth of the gulch
above Auraria.
The war came on and the mint was
broken mp and for four years Mary
Odom had hard time of it. The con-
federate government needed all the
money it could get and the tithe gather
ers made frequent visits to her cabin
in search of gold; but she was able to
keep her hoard hidden. After the war
matters settled down little, and when
she was assured of the protection Of the
civil authorities she went about her
work boldly and devoted all the time
that she could spare from the cultiva-
ton of her little patch of cleared land
to the business of gold hunting. The
richest deposits had been worked over
so much that they were not so profit
able as they had been when she first be-
gan to wash gold in the mountain
streams. She lived very frugally and
raised her own crops of corn, cabbage
and potatoes, and spun and wove her own
clothing. She has always kept up the
habit of putting aside half her findings,
whether they were large or small.
Sometimes her washings would not
amount to much during the week, but
if she secured only so cents she would
put aside a quarter and spend the rest,
piecing out her wants by going into
debt. She is now in her sixty first year,
and she has boarded away a sock filled
with gold dust, which she has shown to
some of her most trusted friends, and
is worth several thousand dollars. Still
she keeps at work, and on any fair day,
when not busy about her cabin, she
may be seen tramping over the hills in
search of gold. She will tuck up her
homespun skirt and stand knee-deep
in the chill waters of the mountain
streams all day long washing the sand
and gathering up the shining particles.
"It amt so easy as it wer' 40 year
ago." she said, as she smoothed back
her fron-gray locks from her forehead,
"but | kin make a purity good livin
out'n it yit. I've seed the day when I
could wash out f'om four to five penny
weights week, but hardly ever strike
sich a streak as that nowadays. I 'spect-
ed pap to come home old an po' fur
years alter he lef' fur California, but
done gin up all hopes now. I seed so
many O. them po' OF fellers come back
broke down 'thout noth'n to live on at
thought I'd save up part of all I foun'
SOS to hep i'm out wen he come back,
an that's how / come to save up my
little pile. The Lord knows hits little
'nough, in spite O. what folks says bout
my bein' rich oman an all sich as
that."-N. Y. Sun.