The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-07-12

G iron round shot, but when
the old man lifted it he was
struck with its immense weight. He car
ried it home and found. on scratching it.
that it was lump of solid gold. 1t
weighed eight pounds and it's sale made
the finder rich for life, says a writer in
Tit-Bits.
There are many more of these cannon
balls each worth a small fortune. lying
hid or buried in the recesses of this jun
gle, and their story is curious one. At
the end of the sixteenth century Akbar,
the greatest emperor Hindustan ever
saw, was at the hight of his glory. At
the head of his conquer:ng army he sum-
moned Ahmadnagar to surrender. The
city and its rich treasure were then I'M
der the rule of the Princess Cande.
Knowing that resistance could be but
short, and in bitter rage against the op-
pressor. she caused all the treasure of
gold and silver to be melted down. Then
she cast the metal into cannon balls and
engraved upon each maledictions against
the conqueror. These were fired into the
jungle, and when Akbar entered the city.
instead of the rich hoard he had hoped to
win, he found a treasury absolutely
empty.
which cannon balls of gold have been
cast is proved by the fact that in the
treasury Of the shah of Persia there may
be seen, In the same room where stands
the famous peacock throne, two small
globular projectiles of gold. They were
estimated by a recent visitor to weigh
about three pounds each, and are very
roughly made. Their origin or purpose is.
however totally forgotten. 1t is only
known that they are very old.
The gaekwar of Baroda, not content
with merely cannon balls OF gold. pos
sesses two cannon cast of the precious
metal They are the only ones of their
kind in the world. They We're begun in
1863 by an artisan of Lakha, who worked
upon them for five years before they were
finished. They weigh 400 pounds each.
and, except for a steel lining, are of solid
gold throughout. They are mounted on
gun carriages of carved wood, overlaid
with silver.
The gaekwar also possesses two beauti-
full guns made of silver. They are used
merely for saluting purposes, and the
only time they ever left the state of Ba-
roda was in 1876 when the then prince Of
Wales made his tour through the East
Their owner then took them down to
Bombay to salute the distinguished Wis
itor.
No farther from London than Woolwich
there may be seen in the rotunda a can
non which Is even more valuable than
those just mentioned. 1t is a Japanese
weapon. which stands near the center of
this wonderful museum Of military curl.
osities, and its chief ingredient is plati-
mum. a metal worth actually more than
gold.
During the advance on Ladysmith an
English soldier found a leather bag con-
tanning ESQ in gold which some Boer had
dropped in his flight. Unable to carry It,
and yet unwilling to lose it. he stuffed it
into the first available hiding place,
which happened to be the muzzle of a
gun. The gun was at the time standing
loaded. but there seemed no probability
of its immediate use and the finder of the
gold hoped to get back to his treasure in
very short time. Unfortunately for
him, occasion arose soon afterward for
the gun to be fired, and, as may be mag
ined no trace of the $50 was ever after
ward obtained.