Year: 1878

Cold Mine in New York--The


Strange Sight on Bond street.


New York. June "a. 1873.


TO the Editor Of The 06sesref


Although the sad event has
been postponed longer than was
/ generally expected, Mr.. VIII
liam Cullen Bryants death ear
! Iy on the morning of Wednes-


day, the 18th, has justified The


brief obituary contained in my


letter of two weeks since. The


decease of hardly any public
man in this country could have
ELECTED such a unanimous and
spontaneous trI5ute to his mcm-
ory and achievement as that
which has. filled the press since
the news ef the aged poets de-
parture. The city flags were
even half-masted and the whole
city seemed TO unite in testify
ing to the universal respect felt
for one of the most upright and
bIameless of men.


Mr.. Bryant's career was an
exceptional one. A precious
genius, famous when he entered
his teens, and doing his best
work before he was out Of them,
be still preserved his high fame
through nearly two-thirds of a
century thereafter. Although
as his partners confess, he was
not a business man, still he ac-
cumulated Il large fortune and
maintained it 10 the end with
great frugality. Although slight
and rather delicate OF frame, his
abundant exercise and regular
habits kept him in the condition
and health Of an athlete, and
this almost up the week Of his
death. At seventy-fve he as
tonished a friend while walking
with him in the grounds of his
country residence on Long Is
land, by running a short dis
tance in advance, jumping ca
silly into the branches OF an
overhanging tree and swinging
for some time by one hand.
When in the city he walked up
and down town every day, rain
or shine, and was always one Of
the most conspicuous figures
on the street. The last time [
saw Mr.. Bryant was one morn
ing not many weeks ago as he
was coming down Broadway TO
his Office as usual. HIS pace
was of course not rapid, but in
his step were much of the firm
ness and agility of youth. His
sharp blue eyes looked out un-
dimmed from beneath a pair Of
bushy brows, as snow white as
the long full beard and silky
hair framing the strong features
with which his portraits have
familiarized us, and his whole
aspect was so strikingly and at
tractively venerable that most
of the passers-by involuntarily
turned to look after him as he
went.


Your readers are probably a.
ware that pretty nearly every
thing is to be found in one shape
or another in this City Of New
York; but | venture to say that
Il majority Of them would real
ly be surprised to hear that there
is a regular gold mine in opera
ton in the very heMt of town.
Such, however, is the fact, and
any one curious to inspect the
modes and processes by which a
great proportion Of the precious
metal has been got out Of the
soil of the Pacific slope, can
have this curiosity gratifed
without going further West
than the corner of Broadway
and Bond street. Here, a year
and a half ago, occurred the
great fire in which a cluster ot


jewelry and silver manufacto-
ries were burned. In these
buildings at the time Of the fire
there must have been, outside
of the dozen safes which were
afterwards recovered, nearly
two hundred thousand dollars
worth Of the precious metals,
only a small portion Of which
wasimmediately recovered. The
remainder was scattered, in bro
ken and blackened Fragments,
through the eighteen h1ndrel
tons Of charred rubbish which
lay piled in the cellars OF the
burned buildings when shc
smouldering fires were al iastex-
tinguishcd. During the iiIst few
months after the catastrophe the


surface of the rubbish was a
good deal picked over by the
street urchins and quite a good
deal taken out. Recently; two


experienced miners obtained
the necessary permission from
Mcssrs. Robbins and Appleton,
the owners of the building, to


work the great ash heap system


aticalIy. They put IN q thou


sand dohs4., worth of machine


ry and have now been delving,


sluicing and cradiing in true