The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1910-01-31
VIRGIN GOLD FOUND
Starving Miner Discovers Ore
That Is Almost Pure.
Poor cornishman Picks UP Nugget
Weighing 200 Pounds, Worth Near
Iy o,oo0--some Strange Tales
from Australia.

Spokane. wash.-Among the thou
sands who focked to the Victorian
gold fields In the early sos were two
Cornish miners, John Deason and Rich
ard Oates. who staked out claim near
the village Of Moliaque. They set tC
work with vigor, confident that within
few months they would be able tc
retire TO their native Cornwall rich
mem but their expectations were
doomed to cruel disappointment Not
only months, but many years passed
and found them still as far removed
from fortune as at the beginning, and
by 1869, IS years after they began
their search for gold. they we're re-
duced to the last straits Starvation
stared them In the face, and the
crowning misfortune came when a 10.
cal storekeeper refused to supply Dea-
son with lisde -four until he pro
duced the money for IL
In despair the miner seized his pick
and wandered away to the outskirts
Of the gold field. and as he wandered,
downcast and heavy.hearted, lie no
Iiced a CLEAN Of yellow in rut made
by peddleg's cart Lifting his pick.
With a few frantic blows he brought
70 light an enormous nugget. which,
with all his strength. he could barely
raise an inch from the ground The
nugget which was soon known the
whole world over as the Welcome
Stranger, actually weighed nearly two
hundredwelght. and ii was sold for
nearly $4,000
few years later another monster
nusget made Its appearance al Ballar-
a. A party OF miners had worked 4
claim to depth Of go yards when one
OF them struck with his pickax hard.
irregularly shaped mass, which on
being unearthed. proved TO be a block
Of almost pure gold 20 inches long. IL
inches wide and inches deep. its
weight was almost a hundredwelght
and a quarter and ITS value was close
TO $4,000
Il was the periodical discovery at
Ballarat OF these monster nuggets
which first fired the blood of the en-
tire world in the far away sos and
made even prosaic Yorkshire farmers
dream nightly OF gold. But even Bal
larat has no other romance to rival
that OF the discovery Of two huge mug
gets within few days in the same
claim. The story runs that four mi.
ners had worked their claims down 10
a depth OF about sixty feet when one
OF them brought 10 light nugget
weighing nearly hundredweight, and
worth $27500 IN their JOY at such
rich treasure trove the men abandoned
the diggings and took their nugget
with them to England. They had
scarcely left Ballarat when their sue.
cessors TO the claim. with almost the
first stroke Of pick. turned over an.
other nugget. heavier than the first,
and valued az more than $4,000.
or all the romantic stories told Of
gold discoveries in California, not one
is more remarkable than that Of which
Oliver Martin and a companion named
Fowler had been prospecting for gold
to no purpose. Worn out By hard
ships and half dead from starvation.
they were on the point OF abandoning
the quest in despair when fate admin
istered her last crushing blow.
They were overtaken BY a terrible
storm. in which Fowler was drowned.
Martin weak though he was. set to
work to dig his fallen comrades grave
at the foot Of tree. and had dug
down barely two feet when his spade
struck a hard, unyielding substance,
which. 70 his amazement and delight,
proved to be an enormous nugget me
largest ever found on the American
continent. The ~Ollver Martin chunk.
as II came to be known the world
over, weighed 151 pounds ounces
realized something over $35, 900. ana
was the nucleus OF fortune OF a NH.
ion dollars which Martin accumulated
n later years
II is impossible "a read far in the
story Of mining without being amazed
At the large part luck has played in n
There is scarcely gold field il the
world some Of the CHIEF treasures of
which have not been revealed by
rival accident The famous Pilbarra
ield in West Australia might sull hold
is riches in concealment il il had not
been for such an accident A boy one
lay picked up stone to hurl at
row. and was SO struck by its weight
hat. instead Of throwing II. he exam.
ned it and found il covered with vel
ow specks. which, even to his inex
'erienced eye. suggested gold. He took
he stone home, his father submitted
[ to a miner and thus was discovered