BIGGEST OF GOLD NUGGETS

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 18, Issue 31, 16 April 1907, Page 3

BIGGEST OF GOLD NUGGETS

Accidental Finding of the Rich Tr«»iure in the .Wildo of Australia.

Could even fiction or east side melodrama suggest any situation more romantic? Figure to yourself, as the French say, four men Kinking down exhausted in the arid Australian bush, way back in the "Never-Never" county, where rain docs not fall for years at a ■ stretch, and the only plant that forces its way through the choking sand is the dreaded spinifex, or Australian spear grass, whose points pierce the pedestrian like a lance. They sank down to die, says the New York Herald. Their horses, too, were exhausted, and one of these in stumbling struck its forefoot against a small piece of rock that projected a few inches out of the sandy soil. The eyes of one of the men followed the stumble, and the next moment he had struggled to his feet, shouting: "Gold, gold!" Sure enough, the supposed '''rock" struck by the iron hoof glistened in the pitiless sun, and a moment later all four men were digging eagerly with bleeding fingers around the place. l Almost in less time than it I takes to tell it these unfortunate fellows had unearthed the largest mass of virgin gold that the world has ever seen. This is known as the famous "Welcome Stranger" nugget. It is of the enormous weight of 10,000 ounces, and every ounce of it virgin gold, there being practically no alloy whatever, It is in the shape of a rough cross. . This marvelous find acted as a tonic upon the men and they were enabled to make their way to the nearest township, which chanced to be.Ballarat. Here the "Welcome Stranger" was deposited in the bank, and after it was melted down brought at the rate of |2O an ounce, so fine was the quality of the gold. A full sized model of the "Welcome Stranger" may be seen by American visitors to London in the department of minerals and precious stones in the great Natural History museum in Cromwell road, South Kensington.