The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1906-04-10
THE WEIGHT OF GOLD
HOW MUCH OF THE PRECIOUS METAL
CAN A MAN CARRYf
Strange FaIIRctes of Many Of the Fa.
nous Wrtters-Odd Errors About the
Handling of Coin That Are Perpe-
trated In Works of Fiction.

n
nous Writers-Odd Errors About the
Handling of Coin That Are PeTpe-
trated In Works of Fiction.
One Of the peculiarities Of civilization
fs that by the use of new methods we
lose sight of well known facts that
were once as familiar In mems minds
as household words Money Is now
represented universally by bank notes
and checks, but the majority of living
Californians remember the days be-
fore the resumption Of specie pay
rent money on the Pacific slope and
nothing went save gold eagles, double
eagles and half eagles. When the Bank
Of California opened its doors Of a
morning there was always the sight Of
the officials bringing trays of gold coin
from the safe to tables in the rear Of
the counter. Each tray held $4,000,
and the weight of the gold was thirty
one pounds four ounces. Sometimes
an official would carry two trays, and
there were strong clerks who could
carry three trays, but on their heads,
not in their arms Californians, there
fore, are exceptions to the curious fact
that the world at large has begun to
confound gold and money, and this
confusion of ideas comes out curiously
In modern fiction. Writers either
make men unable to carry large sums
Of gold or they make them carry enor-
nous amounts as If gold weighed NO
more than greenbacks.
A conspicuous error of this kind will
be found in Marion Crawford's story,
"The Heart Of Rome" where two
workmen propose to blackmail a Ro-
man princess. They demand 100000
lire about 100000, which she is to
bring in her carriage and deliver to
two men who will be walking steadily
along the Appian way, and who viii
wear certain sign giving things supple
mentary to the usual best clothes Of
Roman artisans. Crawford makes the
curious reflection that these men did
not know the weight of gold coin and
did not realize the impossibility Of
their carrying of their respective
shares in their pockets. Yet each
man would have had to carry thirty
one pounds four ounces, and this could
have been done with ease.
Now, this is only a reflection and
does not In the least mar the story,
which is unusually interesting, even
for Marion Crawford. But far other is
the case with Balzac's lie Cure du
Village" where the whole plot hinges
upon the supposed weight of 100000
francs in gold. This would be only
sixty-two pounds eight ounces, yet Bal
FAC imagined that strong young man
required assistance to carry it in four
trips to the river, about a mile dis
lance, where he hid 1t close to a small
wooded island in the center Of the
stream
1t is quite possible that the hardy
miners who go to the Klondike do not
read either Balzac or Marion Craw!
ford, but If they did they would be as
tonished at the curious ignorance dis
played. We may take it for granted
that the weight of gold and provisions
carried by the most successful miners
ranges from 70 to 100 pounds avoirdu,
pois We know from Gibbons de-
scription of the Roman soldier that
each man carried, In addition to his
defensive armor and his sword and
plum, or pike, sixty pounds weight Of
various things needed for the FORTH
cation of the temporary camp at the
end OF the days march. This was six
teen miles, but when the Theban le-
gion, composed entirely Of Christians,
were sent from Egypt to REINFORCE
the army Of Maximian, the colleague
Of Diacletian, in his campaign against
the revolted peasants of France, they
made a double march of thirty-two
miles to avoid burning incense before
the figure of Victory, located In front
of the emperor's tent. Next day they
were all massacred Their exploit,
however, which is historical, shows
clearly that sixty pounds is not an in
cumbrance to an active man and can
be carried for long time.
The blunder of Balzac is the more
inexcusable because his story was
written as a sort Of challenge to the
fantasies, headed by Charles Nodier,
and the romantics, under the leadership
of Victor Hugo and Theophile eau
thier.
Let us now examine the other side OF
the question, the writer's who have
made men carry insupportable loads
of gold. In the first rank of these is
Prescott in bis History Of the Con
quest of Mexico" in his splendid de-
scription Of the noche triste, when the
Spaniards, besieged In the palace Of
Axayacatl, endeavored to escape. Their
quarters were upon the broad boule-
ward that ran from the northeast to
the southwest, dividing the. city OF
Tenochtitlan from the other quarters
of Mexico-viz, the city Of the priests,
the City Of Mexico Tenuchea, the city
and bazaar of Tlatilolco and the two
quarters inhabited by the serfs. Close
to the palace Of Axayacatl was the
great canal which cut the boulevard
exactly at that point. This was bridg
ed ordinarily by huge beams that were
squared so as to fit evenly, which they
must have done, for the Spanish cav
airy and artillery crossed other bridges
of the same description. The Mexieans
had removed the beams, and Cortes
ordered his carpenters to make porta-
BILE bridge. Before the Spaniards
the gold and emeralds Of the emperors
fifth and babe the soldiers take what
they would Old Bernal Diaz relates
that he took beautiful emerald, which
annoyed the treasurer very much
"No. no." he cried; take gold! We
can manage to save the emeraldw
go to thunderr said stout old Cap
tain Diaz. And he marched OF and
saved his life and afterward sold the
emerald for big sum when the con-
quest was achieved. But, as he relates
and as Prescott writes, there was
man who actually took 5000 ounces.
weighing 1877 pounds ounces, and
carried 1t through the terrible hurry
burly of the sorrowful night and then
the next day said to Cortes: General,
what shall do with this gold? l can
not carry 1t any farther" Filing 1t to
the DEVIL" said Cortes. IF you like
you may get more gold but If you love
your life you will not get another one"
So he threw it down and marched with
the rest from Tlucopan NOW Tacuba)
all around the Lake to the friendly
Tlascalans.
1t is certain that the man could not
have carried more than a thousand
ounces. weighing So pounds 8 ounces,
through the stress and storm Of that
nights fighting. The old captain wrote
his book long afterward, but his mind
was clear and his memory excellent.
and the fault must have been with the
proofreaders, who have always made
mistakes But that does not In the
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