ODDS’N’SODS — From rags to riches to rags

Prospector Samuel Hawkins Napier grew up in Bathurst, N.B., where the Nepisiguit River flows into Chaleur Bay.

Upon leaving public school, he got a job working in a local saw mill. His elder brother, Charles, a seaman, had worked his way to Melbourne, Australia, where he joined a gold rush to the Bendigo Goldfields. He wrote home telling of his exciting, newfound life in Victoria State as a “digger” (as prospectors were known in Australia). It was a life which captured Samuel’s imagination — so much so that he decided to follow in his brother’s footsteps. And so, after making the long sea voyage to Melbourne, he secured employment at Kingover Gold Fields in order to join Charles.

Charles was living in a tent, digging pits on his 36-sq.-ft. mining claim. The two brothers dug together for several months, with very poor results. And then, one day, their fortunes changed. At 12 noon on Aug. 14, 1857, Samuel’s pick struck something solid in the pit. “It’s likely another boulder,” Charles complained. But when they dug it out, they found that it was a nugget rich in visible gold. It was 2 ft., 4 inches long, 10 inches wide and 18 inches thick, and it weighed more than 100 lb. With great difficulty, the brothers managed to contain their enthusiasm and, several hours later, at night, they borrowed a wheelbarrow to haul it to their tent where they buried it once again, under a table.

As nothing else was found in the pit, the Napier brothers folded their tent, wrapped their discovery in the bed roll, and placed everything in a two-wheeled hand cart. They then hurried quietly back to Melbourne Harbour and booked passage to England.

Upon reaching London, they hauled their prize to the Bank of England for testing and evaluation. It weighed exactly 145 lb., 6 oz. and contained 95% native gold. The brothers Napier were instant celebrities and, needless to say, very wealthy. The nugget was named “Blanch Barkly,” after the daughter of the governor of Victoria State, and placed on display in the Crystal Palace Exhibit, where thousands of visitors paid admission to see it. This attraction brought the brothers much additional revenue. When the Crystal Palace exhibit closed, a replica nugget was made and placed in the memorial branch of the British Museum on Cromwell Road in London. It can be seen there still today.

The Bank of England bought the Napier nugget for 10,000 pounds sterling (equivalent to about $50,000 in Canadian funds) and melted it into bars.

Samuel had discovered the nugget with Charles on the latter’s mining claim, so a 50-50 split in proceeds was agreed upon.

Charles returned to Melbourne where he died several years later.

Samuel returned to Bathurst, where he was welcomed as one of that town’s richest and most famous citizens. He married a ship captain’s daughter who bore him a baby daughter. Then he went into business and was elected to the House of Assembly in 1870. However, his fortunes then took another turn — for the worse.

Slowly, Charles’ many business ventures began to fall apart, causing him to resign from public office in 1874. By 1886, he was broke. Penniless, he left the province and eventually resettled in Quebec, where he found work as a timber cruiser and night watchman for a logging company on the Gatineau River. He lived alone in a log cabin in the Gatineau hills where he was found dead in August, 1902, at the age of 65. The only thing with him at the time was his faithful dog.

Perhaps Samuel Napier’s last thoughts were of his lost wealth and of having found it in the far-off goldfields of Australia. He had literally gone from rags to riches and back to rags again. Such are the vicissitudes of the prospector’s life.

— A regular contributor, Donald Parrott is a retired operating engineer who resides in Thunder Bay, Ont.