IN the ordinary mineral productions, such as brick-earth, stone adapted to building, as well as for any kind of workmanship, and in sand of all qualities, the resources of the United States are inexhaustible. The same may be said of many minerals of less universal occurrence, that may seem to merit a more particular description. To begin with the precious metals. The gold region commences in Virginia, and extends south-west through North Carolina, along the northern part of South Carolina, thence north-westwardly into Alabama, and to its termination in Tennessee. In 1825, Professor Olmsted published a particular account of the gold region of North Carolina, as it was then explored; it has since been found to be vastly more extensive, but the richest mines are still worked in the region which he described, in the counties of Mecklenburg, Rowan, Cabarras, Anson, and Davidson. This account, which is quite minute and interesting, we present slightly abridged in the following pages:
A geographical description of the gold country, would present little that is interesting. The soil is, for the most part, barren, and the inhabitants generally poor and ignorant. The traveller passes a day without seeing a single striking or beautiful object, either of nature or of art, to vary the tiresome monotony of forest and sand-hills, and ridges of gravelly quartz, either strewed coarsely over the ground, or so comminuted as to form gravel. These ridges have an appearance of great natural sterility, which is, moreover, greatly aggravated by the ruinous practice of frequently burning over the forests, so as to consume all the leaves and undergrowth. The principal mines are three—the Anson mine, Reed’s mine, and Parker’s mine.
The Anson Mine is situated in the county of the same name, on the waters of Richardson’s creek, a branch of Rocky river. This locality was discovered by a ‘gold hunter,’ one of an order of people, that begin already to be accounted a distinct race. A rivulet winds from north to south between two gently sloping hills that emerge towards the south. The bed of the stream, entirely covered with gravel, is left almost naked during the dry season; the period which is usually selected by the miners for their operations. On digging from three to six feet into this bed, the workman comes to that peculiar stratum of gravel and tenacious blue clay, which is at once recognised as the repository of the gold. The stream itself usually gives the first indications of the richness of the bed through which it passes, by disclosing large pieces of the precious metal shining among its pebbles and sands. Pieces unusually large were found by those who first examined Anson’s mine, and the highest hopes were inspired. On inquiry, it was ascertained that part of the land was not held by a good title, and parcels of it were immediately entered; it has since been the subject of a constant litigation, which has retarded the working of the mine.
Reed’s Mine, in Cabarras, is the one which was first wrought; and at this place, indeed, were obtained the first specimens of gold that werefound in the formation. A large piece was found in the bed of a small creek, which attracted attention by its lustre and specific gravity; but it was long retained in the hands of the proprietor, through ignorance whether or not it was gold. This mine occupies the bed of a branch of Rocky river, and exhibits a level between two hillocks, which rise on either side of the creek, affording a space between from fifty to an hundred yards in breadth. This space has been thoroughly dug over, and exhibits at present numerous small pits, for a distance of about one fourth of a mile on both sides of the stream. The surface of the ground, and the bed of the creek, are occupied by quartz, and by sharp angular rocks of the greenstone family. The first glance is sufficient to convince the spectator, that the business of searching for gold is conducted under numerous disadvantages, without the least regard to system, and with very little aid from mechanical contrivances.
Large pieces of gold are found in this region, although their occurrence is somewhat rare. Masses weighing four, five, and sometimes six hundred pennyweights are occasionally met with, and one mass was found that weighed in its crude state twenty-eight pounds avoirdupois. This was dug up by a negro at Reed’s mine, within a few inches of the surface of the ground. Marvellous stories are told respecting this rich mass; as that it had been seen by gold hunters at night reflecting so brilliant a light, when they drew near to it with torches, as to make them believe it was some supernatural appearance, and to deter them from further examination. No unusual circumstances, however, were really connected with its discovery, except its being found unusually near the surface. It was melted down and cast into bars soon after its discovery. The spot where it was found has been since subject to the severest scrutiny, but without any similar harvest.
Another mass, weighing six hundred pennyweights was found on the surface of a ploughed field in the vicinity of the Yadkin, twenty miles or more north of Reed’s mine. Specimens of great beauty are occasionally found, but, for want of mineralogists to reserve them for cabinets, they have always been melted into bars. Mr. Reed found a mass of quartz, having a projecting point of gold, of the size of a large pin’s head. On breaking it open, a brilliant display of green and yellow colors was presented. The gold weighed twelve pennyweights. Mineralogists may perhaps recognise, in this description, a congeries of fine crystals, but on that point the proprietor was uninformed. Although fragments of greenstone, and of several argillaceous minerals, occur among the gravel of the gold stratum yet, in the opinion of the miners, it is never found attached to any other mineral than quartz. Indeed, it is seldom attached to any substance, but is commonly scattered promiscuously among the gravel. Its color is generally yellow, with a reddish tinge, though the surface is not unfrequently obscured by a partial incrustation of iron or manganese, or adhering particles of sand. The masses are flattened and vascular, having angles rounded with evident marks of attrition.
Parker’s Mine is situated on a small stream, four miles south of the river Yadkin. As in the instance already mentioned, excavations were numerous in the low grounds adjacent to the stream; but the earth for washing, which was of a snuff color, was transported from a ploughed field in the neighborhood, elevated about fifty or sixty feet above the stream. Theearth at this place, which contained the gold, was of a deeper red than that of either the other mines. The gold found here is chiefly in flakes and grains. Occasionally, however, pieces are met with that weigh one hundred pennyweights, and upwards; and one mass has been discovered that weighed four pounds and eleven ounces. This is said to have been found at the depth of ten feet.
The mines have given some peculiarities to the state of society in the neighboring country. The precious metal is a most favorite acquisition, and constitutes the common currency. Almost every man carries about with him a goose quill or two of it, and a small pair of scales in a box like a spectacle case. The value, as in patriarchal times, is ascertained by weight, which, from the dexterity acquired by practice, is a less troublesome mode of counting money than one would imagine.
The greatest part of the gold collected at these mines is bought up, by country merchants, at ninety or ninety-one cents a pennyweight. They carry it to market-towns, as Fayetteville, Cheraw, Charleston, and New York. Much of this is bought up by jewellers; some remains in the banks; and a considerable quantity has been received at the Mint of the United States. Hence it is not easy to ascertain the precise amount which the mines have afforded. The value of that portion received at the mint, before the year 1820, was forty-three thousand six hundred and eighty-nine dollars. It is alloyed with a small portion of silver and copper, but is still purer than standard gold, being twenty-three carats fine.
Since the year 1827, the gold mines of Virginia have attracted considerable attention. The belt of country in which they are found extends through Spotsylvania and some neighboring counties. The gold region abounds in quartz, which contains cubes of sulphuret of iron. These cubes are often partly or totally decomposed; and the cells thus created are sometimes filled with gold. The gold is found on the surface and in the structure of quartz; but in the greatest abundance resting upon slate and in its fissures. It is diffused over a large extent, and has not yet been found sufficiently in mass, except in a few places, to make mining profitable. The method of obtaining the metal is by filtration, or washing the earth, and by an amalgam of quicksilver. The average value of the earth yielding gold, is stated at twenty cents a bushel.