FORTUNES OUT OE MISFORTUNES.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 190, 29 July 1911, Page 3 (Supplement)

FORTUNES OUT OE MISFORTUNES.

When the partner of Oliver Martin died of hardship and semi-starvation at the newly-discovered goldfields of California, the survivor set about burying his comrade, with the intention of packing up his traps and making his way back_ to civilisation as best he could. Whilst digging his partner’s grave his pick-axe struck what Martin thought to ho a big stone. As it was in his way. ho worked around it till ho had loosened it, and then saw that the marks made by his pick were the colour of virgin gold. The “big stone” was a nuggest of solid gold -the famous £5.500 nugget, called by bis name. Oliver Martin—-the largest ever found in California.

Ono of the richest silver mines in the world was discovered by a dynamite explosion. A conn]" of cowboys iu Arizona were handling some dynamite which find boon temporarily left in their neighbourhood, on account of smno breakdown in the transport nri ancenients. A terrific explosion was the result, which caused the d"ith of the tiro enwbovs ami incidentally ploughed tin the irronm! and revelled th" presocco of a deposit of silver which proved of fabulous vain". It was the burning of a starch factory on the banks of the Liffev which first roiealed the adhesive qualities of scorched star"h mixed with water, and introduced to the world a new and cheap gum. To the upsetting, by William Murdoch, of a tool-chest, wo are indebted for cast-iron cement ; and the accident of a. child Having with a bottomless oil-flask, which his brother, a Swiss mechanic, named Argand. idly placed over the flame of his rude oillamp. gave birth to the lamp-chimney.

John Magee, who dii-d recently one of the largest landowners in San Francisco. owed his whole fortune to a flogging ho received from the commandant at San Jos'. A dav or two afterwards, however, a British mano -war steamed into the harbour, and the commander, hen ring of Magee's flegging, ordered his immediate release. threatmiing to blow up the town if this demand w-'re not comxh'ed with at once. Magee was release-1, the Govornnmn- of Guatemala nnnlogised. and M.-we" 5 0f)0 dollars for every iash he had re-eived The En-dishnum preferred "crt.nin eonee-sions Im wishe.l to obtain in San Jos", and ultimately the Government gave him permission to build a bank and certain v harvos in the tow” from which lie si <--tlv became a millionaire. A voting man who bad berni redim-v) ■oerillv to h’s last 'hillmg. and who did not know -w imr" to turn for th" next, was wand'-rimr n iml-’sdv about thr' dovs's at Livernool v Imn Im was i-fliart.--! bv a omnn+-+v ot lon"--flhroH f ■"’•.'•'•-looking stuff +lm lilm of which Im h-v! never seen Imfor-'. and th" U«" of wh>cb no one see-med to know. It bad eonm from South Anmrica. tbikm h indir-rl bales of ii and had lie"n Iving i-boiit for n-nnths without finding a purchaser. The next dav the v-">ng man r-'tnnmi' and offcn-d on-> shilling rwl • ivpt-nce a noiind for th" whol" lai. an offer whic’» was poronted without .inv demur. Tim 'tuff was alnacn. and the young nine who brmght it afioruards became Sir Titus Salt. Nicholas Creede. an American millie nairo inim r, owes his fortune to an accident. He was down on his luck when onn afternoon he was toiling up a steen slope, and th" mule Im was riding slipped, and, in a desperate effort to recover it-elf. overtii'med a piece of ro<-k. Creede was astonished to find that the under side of the rock glistened with specks or metal, which he at or.ce recognised as silver Ho ti-need the lode, pegged out a claim, and in r. few months had placed a million dollars to his credit.

An artist was making a sketching tour among the mountains of Spain, rnd. coming to a lonelv village, he put lip at ’ho poor, dilapidated inn. Something ho had said had aroused the cupidity of some of the v Ib'g rs. and Im was attacked in ihe night, and only sucocded in searing away his assailants bv firing .several shots from his revolver. In tin- morning he found that Ono of the <evolver bullets had cut through the string of a dirty old painting that hrng upon the n;dl of his bedroom. Taking the begrimed canvas to the window amt carefully examining it he found that it was a genuine Vel.i.-q.’cz,. He offered the inkeeper iifh-e!i shillings for the canvas, and si bseipiently sold it for several thousand pounds.