The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-09-21
ONE ABOUT THE SIZE OF. A BIG
cRoQUET BALL FOUND IN
COLORADO
is TAKEN TO BOSTON
AND CAUSES COMMENT
Famous Discoveries and Curious Tales
Connected Herewith = Fortune
Picked Up While Digging Mans
Grave-SmaIl Find in 1848 That
Started the Great Crusade in Cali
fornia.

BOSTON, Mass, Sept. 10.-One of
the largest gold nuggets ever seen in
the city of Boston was received by
Daniel G. Wing, president of the Mas
sachusetts National bank, formerly re-
ceiver of the Globe bank. 1t is solid
two or three weeks ago III the Brock
enridge district of Colorado. Nothing
equal to this specimen was ever found
in Colorado placer mines and Mr.. Wing
very naturally is very proud to be the.
owner of such a valuable souvenir. This
lump of precious metal is worth at the
United States mint S4S9.S2, but as a
matter of fact it is worth somewhat
more than it's weight in gold as GU
riosity.
The nugget escaped the notice of the
man who dug it out OF the soil and
the man who shoyeled the heavy lump
into the sluice was equally ignorant
of the fact that he had handled $500
worth Of gold in one lift of his spade.
The soil clinging to the nugget hid
it's glittering yellow and it went thump
into the swift water Of the f1ume.
A young man who not long ago went
from an eastern farm to try the hard
ships of miners life was working me-
chanically at the flume and thinking
in a homesick way of his former quiet,
rustic life among the green hills Of
old Vermont His reflections !, had
brought the tears to his eyes and he
stumbled along at his work in a half
hearted way when the CLINT of yellow
caught his eye. He thrust his hand
into the water and to his great aston
ishment drew out a Skinner" such as
had never before been seen in those
diggings The old home vanished from
his mind and visions of wealth came
to him in flood that completely OBJ
liberated his dreams Of the old farm.
The excitement of discovering a large
gold nugget is not less than that of
finding a valuable diamond, and it's
effect on the miners is a wonderful ex-
llilaration. Human passion resulting
in a romance,; tragedy or robbery is
not infrequently associated with the
discovery Of famous nuggets, just as
with diamonds.
Find of Grave Digger.
The oliver Martin nugget, the larg.
est ever found in California, was I'M
earthed by a dissipated young man,
little better than tramp, while Dig
ging a grave in which to bury his COM
rade, who had been drowned while ly-
ing drunk in the bottom Of a narrow
canyon Martin had been caught in
the same flood which brought death
to his companion, but escaped. Later,
securing a pick APP shovel, he selected
a sandy spot at the base of a cliff and
started to dig grave. He had not
dug down two feet when he came upon
the nugget. Martin considered that his
find and the peculiar circumstances
attending it was an act of providence
and he never touched liquor afterward.
Later he went to Yucatan, where he
made more than 100000 in quartz
mining. The nugget itself sold for
$22,7OO after it had earned $4,000 from
it's exhibition in various parts of the
country.
A few years ago a consumptive seek
ing health in the mountains of San
Diego, Cal, while hunting for Indian
relics, stumbled over a nugget which
he sold for S1,5S0. Dan Hill, famed as
a finder of nuggets and drinker OF
whisky, was looking for an abandoned
placer mine in Nevada and, seeing
nothing of value, went to a brook to
wash his hands. There in the run
ming water lay a nugget of gold and
quartz nearly as big as his head.
Among the exhibits in the mining
department at the worlds fair was a
nugget found by Mrs. Harry e. Ellis
in the mountains of Alpine county, CAL
ifornia, where she and her husband
lived because the latter suffered from
lung trouble. A miner fell i'll at the
Ellis cabin and was nursed back to
health by the Ellises, and out of graf
itude told them where they could find
gold-bearing gravel. One afternoon as
Mrs. Ellis was driving home the family
COW she was seeking stones to throw
for the amusement of the dog. She
saw in the coarse gravel a dark yellow
stone.
81 knew the moment had picked
it up" she said, "that had found gold,
because it was so heavy, but as 1 had
never seen a real nugget was afraid
my husband would laugh at me-"
The nugget is very clear and about
the size of a croquet ball, but very
rough and battered by rolling and tunl-