The San Francisco call., 1899-07-23
ONE MINERS LUCK.
After Hope Had Left Him He
Stumbled Over a Nugget Worth
About $4,000.

This man had reached the very last of
| his resources without finding a speck OF
! gold and although men in such extremity
| are always kind and helpful to each other,
| he could not expect any one TO snare mis-
fast-dwindling stores with MIN. I'M. AnT.o t,51'5
back on the morrow, while mouth1ul OF
food was still left, and to retrace his steps
as best he might to the nearest port. lie
dWelt with a good deal of rough pathoS
less work. which left him too weak and
axhausted to carry his heavy tools back
to the spot they called camp. SO he
just flung them down and, as he SAID,
of scrub-covered desert, guided by the
smoke of the campfire. Next morning
early, after a great deal Of sleep and very
little food. he braced himself up to go
back and fetch his tools, though ne care
fully explained that he would not have
taken the trouble to do this If he had not
felt that his pick and barrow were about
his only possessions, and might fetch the
price of meal or two when 1t came to
I have often wondered since If the i'm
preston of the Divine mercy and good
ness. which was SO strong IN that man
dwelt with self-accusing horror on how
he had rallied at his luck; at fate. at
everything, as he stumbled back that hot
morning over his tracks of the day be-
fore The way seemed twice as long, for.
as he said, his heart was too heavy TO
carry" At last he saw his barrow and
pick standing up on the fiat plain a little
way off, and was wearily dragging on
toward them, When ne caught MS tOS
against a stone deeply imbedded in ths
sand. and fell down. His voice sank to a
sort of awestruck. whisper, as if he we're
almost at confession, as he said:
well. ma a'hm, if you'd believe me. I
cursed awful 7 felt as if it was too hard
altogether to bear. To think that | should
go and nearly break my toe against the
only stone in the district, and with all
those miles to travel back! So lay there
like Jobs friend and cursed God and
pa ssonate child who kicks and breaks
the thing which has hurt him, and had
to beat that stone before I could feel
quiet But it was too firm in the sand
for my hands to get it up, so in my rage
[ set out briskly with the pick to break
up that stone, if it took all my strength.
1t was pretty deep set in the ground. 1
assure you, ma am, but at last l got 1t
up. and here it is-solid gold and nearly
as big as baby'S head. Now, ma am, I
ask you, did [ deserve this?"
He almost banged the rather dirty-look-
ing lump down on the table before me as
he spoke. and it certainly was wonderful
sight, and a still more wonderful weight.
He told me he had searched about the
nefghborhood of that nugget all day, out
there was not the faintest trace OF any
more gold. So as he had no time to lose
on account of the shortness of the food
and water supply. he Just started back
to the coast, which he reached quite
first steamer The principal bank had
advanced him $500 on his nugget: but it
would probably prove TO be worth twice
as much | asked him what he was going
to do and was sorry to hear that he in
tended to go back to England at once and
set up a shop or a farm-I forget which
among his own people. O1 course: IT was
it was a pity to lose such a good sort of
man out of the colony, for he was not
spending his money in champagne and
"a rd-pla wing as all the very few success
fIl gold finders did in those first days-
Cornhill Magazine.