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 were
found 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. The earth 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.
Habersham and Hall counties are the chief seat of the gold mines of
Georgia, and its discovery there has been very recent. The search was
commenced by a gentleman of the name of Wilhero, and proved eminently
successful; deposits of gold were found in the counties mentioned,
and discovery followed discovery. In the Cherokee nation, which was
separated by the Chestetee river, the indications of gold were not
strong, but report exaggerated them, and this unfortunate nation was
intruded upon as a common; at one time, about five thousand adventurers
were engaged in digging up the face of the country. The owners of the
gold lands in Habersham and Hall counties were many of them poor and
destitute, and, with the exception of a few deposits, the most valuable
tracts were sold to speculators. Many of these have frequently changed
owners at increased prices, and four companies have regularly commenced
mining operations.[40]
Silver and its ores are not of frequent or extensive occurrence
in the United States. Doctor Dana states the curious fact, that a
mass three or four inches in diameter, composed principally of native
silver in filaments, was found on the top of a wall near Portsmouth,
New Hampshire; the surrounding hills are chiefly greenstone. Mercury,
which has been found native in Kentucky, occurs more plentifully as
a sulphuret in Ohio and the Michigan territory, more particularly on
the shores of lakes Michigan, Huron, St. Clair, Detroit river, and Lake
Erie, to the mouth of Vermilion river. It occurs in the soil in the
form of a black and red sand, but is usually more abundant in banks of
fine ferruginous clay. Near the mouth of Vermilion river, it is in the
form of a very fine powder, or in grains and small masses, disseminated
in clay. It yields by distillation about sixty per cent. of mercury.
Copper, in various forms, is found in the United States, but the ores
do not appear to be brought into use. It is not found on the shores
of Lake Superior so abundantly as was anticipated; but many specimens
of copper ore have been found at different points in the Mississippi
valley. Specimens of pure and malleable copper have been obtained; one
of which, said to have been found in Illinois, weighed three pounds.
Iron ores are abundant in the United States. Those hitherto worked are
chiefly the magnetic oxide, brown hematite, and the argillaceous oxide,
particularly bog ore. The more important ores are the following, viz.:
in New Hampshire, the magnetic oxide; in Vermont, brown hematite and
bog ore; in Massachusetts, bog ore; in Rhode Island, brown hematite;
in Connecticut, brown hematite and bog ore; in New York, the magnetic,
specular, and argillaceous oxides; in New Jersey, the magnetic and
argillaceous oxides; in Pennsylvania, and the states south and west,
the magnetic oxide, brown hematite, and the argillaceous oxide.
To these may now be added the carbonate of iron, which has
recently been successfully smelted, and which produces iron having the
carbonaceous impregnation of steel, whence it has been called steel
ore. In New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the ore is found in
abundance, and of a quality not exceeded in Sweden. The Connecticut
and Virginia iron is highly esteemed.
Ores of lead are extensively found in the territories; and in Ohio
it is said to have been met with native, forming slips, or slender
prismatic masses, in crystallized galena. This mineral is found in
various places, from the Arkansas river to the North-West territory,
the precise line of the Ozark and Shawnee Mountains, a tract which
seems to constitute one of the most important and extensive deposits of
lead hitherto known. On the Arkansas, the ore is smelted by the Osage
Indians for bullets. To the northward, some valuable mines at Prairie
du Chien are imperfectly worked by the proprietors of the soil. But
the most important mines are those of Cape Girardeau district, commonly
known as the lead mines of Missouri. The mining district is situated
between two prominent ridges of sandstone which bound the valley of
Grand river, or the basin of Potosi. These ridges diverge in their
course northward, and are intercepted by the Merameg, which receives
the waters of Grand river, and forms a boundary to the mining district
in that direction.
In Illinois are the richest lead mines in the world. The district
which furnishes the ore, lies in the north-west part, and extends
beyond the limits of the state. It comprises a tract of above two
hundred miles in extent. The ore is inexhaustible. It lies in beds
or horizontal strata, varying in thickness from one inch to several
feet. It yields seventy-five per cent. of pure lead. For many years
the Indians and hunters were accustomed to dig for the metal; they
never penetrated much below the surface, but obtained great quantities
of the ore, which they sold to the traders. The public attention was
drawn to this quarter, and, from 1826 to 1828, the country was filled
with miners, smelters, merchants, speculators, and adventurers. Vast
quantities of lead were manufactured; the business was overdone, and
the markets nearly destroyed. At present, the business is reviving,
and in 1830, there were eight million three hundred and twenty-three
thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight pounds of lead made at the mines.
The whole quantity obtained, from 1821 to 1830, was forty million
eighty-eight thousand eight hundred and sixty pounds. The principal
mines are in the neighborhood of Galena.
Coal is found in the United States in great quantities, though the
abundance of wood has hitherto impeded the working of the mines to
their full capability. The coal found at different localities has
been classed by Professor Eaton under the following heads: first, the
genuine anthracite, or glance coal, found in the transition argillite,
as at Worcester in Massachusetts, and Newport in Rhode Island; also in
small quantities in the north and south range of argillites along the
bed and banks of the river Hudson. Second, coal destitute of bitumen,
usually called anthracite, but differing greatly in its character from
the anthracite found in argillite. It may be called anasphaltic coal.
This is embraced in slate rock, being the lowest of the lower series
of secondary rocks. This coal formation is equivalent to the great
coal measures of Europe. The principal localities of this coal are
in the state of Pennsylvania; as at Carbondale, Lehigh, Lackawanna,
and Wilkesbarre. Third, the proper bituminous coal, as at Tioga and
Lyocoming. This coal is embraced in a slate rock, which is the lowest
of the series of upper secondary rocks. The fourth formation is the
lignite coal, which is found in a very extensive stratum in the state
of New Jersey, along the south shore of the Bay of Amboy.
The anthracite of Pennsylvania is found in the Wyoming and
Lackawanna valley, situated between the Blue Ridge and the Susquehanna.
The coal district is chiefly occupied by mountains which run parallel
to the Blue Ridge, and are fifteen hundred feet high. But little of
this surface, with the exception of a few narrow valleys, invites
cultivation. These mountains are mostly in a wild state, and offer a
secure retreat to cougars, wolves, bears, and other animals.
The rocks of the above described region are of a transition class,
and present little diversity. Gray wacke slate occurs in abundance,
loose on the surface and in ledges. It is sometimes based on old red
sand-stone, and surmounted by unstratified rock, and aggregate of
quartz, pebbles of various dimensions, with a cement principally
silicious. In the Blue Ridge, in addition to the above described rock,
a silicious gray wacke, resembling fine grained granular quartz, is
common. It appears in some places massive, but is often slaty. Its
cement is chiefly silicious; some alumine, however, is indicated in
its composition.
The beds and veins of anthracite range from north-east to south-west,
and may often be traced for a considerable distance by the compass.
The veins have the inclination of the adjacent strata of gray wacke,
with which they often alternate, usually between twenty and forty-five
degrees. In a few places they are horizontal and vertical. The beds and
veins of anthracite have narrow strata of dark colored, fine grained,
argillaceous schist, for the roof and floor. This slate generally
contains sulphuret of iron, and disintegrates on exposure to the air.
The sulphates of iron and alumine are often observed in the schist, and
it frequently presents impressions of plants and sometimes of marine
shells. Impure pulverulent coal is usually connected with this slate,
and is said to be a good material for printers’ ink.
Anthracite has been found in the greatest quantity in sections of
coal regions most accessible by water. Extensive beds and veins range
from the Lehigh to the Susquehanna, crossing the head-waters of the
Schuylkill and Swatara, about ten miles north-west of Blue Ridge, and
it abounds contiguous to the Susquehanna and Lackawanna. But in no part
of the district does anthracite occur in such apparently inexhaustible
beds, or is so abundantly raised, as in the vicinity of Mauch Chunk, a
village situated on the Lehigh, thirty-five miles from Easton, and one
hundred and eight by water from Philadelphia.
The coal is there excavated on the flat summit of a mountain that rises
nearly fifteen hundred feet above the ocean. It is of good quality, and
presents beds of unparalleled extent; is disclosed for several miles on
the summit, wherever excavations have been made, and is indicated in
many places by coal slate in a pulverulent state, on the surface. The
mountain rises with a steep acclivity, particularly on the north-west
side, and when penetrated at various altitudes, discloses coal at
about the same distance from the surface. Strata of grey wacke slate,
containing mica, sometimes rest on the coal, parallel with the mountain
side. In the deep excavations made on the summit, no termination of the
coal bed has been found, and it is not improbable that the anthracite
forms the nucleus of the mountain for a considerable distance.
This coal mountain range is described as extending in a south-west
direction to the Susquehanna. To the north-east, beyond the Lehigh, it
is connected with the Broad Mountain, the first considerable elevation
west of the Blue Ridge. The Lehigh from Mauch Chunk to the water gap,
eleven miles, winds between rocky mountains, with a brisk current, but
presents no falls. The road usually runs near the stream, and sometimes
at a considerable elevation above, on the side of the steep mountain.
In its passage through the Kittetany, or Blue Ridge, the river has
a tranquil but slightly inclined course. On the adjacent elevation,
yellow pine, hemlock, and spruce, are interspersed with deciduous
trees. From the water gap to the Delaware, the river pursues its course
in a deep ravine, seldom with alluvial borders of much extent. In
this district of country, the soil generally rests on limestone sinks,
indicating caves; and fissures in the rocks are often observed, that
must, in some places, render canalling difficult. From the confluence
of the Lehigh with the Delaware to tide-water, the descent is one
hundred and fifty feet.
The village of Mauch Chunk is situated on the western bank of the
Lehigh, in a deep romantic ravine, between rocky mountains that rise
in some parts precipitously to eight hundred or one thousand feet
above the stream. Space was procured for dwellings, by breaking down
the adjacent rocks and filling up a part of the ravine of Mauch Chunk
Creek. A portion of this stream has been transferred to an elevated
railway, and is used to propel a grist-mill. Within a few years the
Lehigh Company have erected, and are proprietors of, a large number
of dwellings and buildings of every description, including a spacious
hotel, a store, furnaces, grist-mills, and several saw-mills: about
eight hundred men are employed by the company.[41]
Next to Mauch Chunk, Mount Carbon, or Pottsville, as it is now called,
situated at the head of the Schuylkill canal, has been the principal
source of the supply of anthracite. Many large veins are worked within
three miles of the landing; and some have been opened seven miles to
the north-east; in the direction of the Lehigh beds.
On almost every eminence adjacent to Pottsville, indications of coal
are disclosed. The veins generally run in a north-east direction, with
an inclination of about forty-five degrees, and are from three to nine
feet in thickness; commencing at or near the surface they penetrate to
an unknown depth, and can often be traced on hills for a considerable
distance, by sounding in a north-east or south-west direction. Some
veins have been wrought to the depth of two hundred feet without the
necessity of draining; the inclined slate roof shielding them from
water.
Where the ground admits, it is considered the best mode of working
veins, to commence at the back of a coal eminence, or as low as
possible, and work up, filling the excavation with slate and fine coal,
leaving a horizontal passage for the coal barrows. A section of a wide
vein near Pottsville, has been wrought by this mode several hundred
feet into the hill. The same vein is explored from parts of the summit
by vertical and inclined shafts. The coal and slate handled, are raised
by horse-power, in wagons by a rail-way that has the inclination of
the vein. Veins of coal alternate with gray wacke slate in the hill.
Vegetable impression sometimes occur in the argillaceous schist that
forms the roof of the Pottsville coal veins.
The western part of Pennsylvania is abundantly supplied with bituminous
coal, as the eastern is with anthracite. It is found on the rivers
Conemaugh, Alleghany, and Monongahela, and in numerous places to the
west of the Alleghany ridge, which is generally its eastern boundary;
it occurs on this mountain at a considerable elevation, and elsewhere,
in nearly a horizontal position, alternating with gray sand-stone
that is often micaceous and bordered by argillaceous schist. The veins
are generally narrow, rarely over six feet in width. This mineral is
abundant and of good quality near Pittsburg, where it is valuable for
their extensive manufactures. Beds of bituminous coal are reported as
occurring in Bedford county, in the north-west part of Luzerne, and in
Bradford county. In the last county, nine miles from the Susquehanna,
there is an extensive bed of coal, regarded as bituminous. It has been
penetrated thirty feet without fathoming the depth of the strata.
Bituminous coal is abundant in Tioga county, state of New York. The
summit level is forty-four feet above the river, and upwards of four
hundred above the lake. It occurs on the Tioga, and on the Chemung, a
branch of that river. Bituminous coal exists on the numerous streams
that descend the western side of the extensive peninsula, situated
between the north and west branches of the Susquehanna.
The appearance of the Tioga, or bituminous coal, differs but little
from the best Liverpool or Newcastle coal. Its color is velvet black,
with a slight resinous lustre, its structure is slaty or foliated, and
its layers as in the best English coal, divided in prismatic solids,
with bases slightly rhomboidal; it is easily frangible, and slightly
soils the finger. It burns with a bright flame and considerable smoke,
with a slight bituminous smell, a sort of ebullition taking place, and,
as the heat increases, an appearance of semi-fusion leaving a slight
residue or scoria.
Graphite or plumbago, commonly but improperly called black lead, occurs
extensively in primitive and transition rocks; from that which is
obtained in New York, excellent pencils have been made. There are also
numerous localities of petroleum, or mineral oil. It usually floats
on the surface of springs, which in many cases are known to be in the
vicinity of coal. It is sometimes called Seneca or Gennessee oil. In
Kentucky, it occurs on a spring of water in a state sufficiently liquid
to burn in a lamp; it is collected in considerable quantities.
Salt appears to be abundant in the United States, but it has not been
found in the mass. It is principally obtained from the springs which
have been noticed in another part of the work. Professor Eaton has
suggested doubts whether masses of salt really exist. He conceives
that an apparatus for the spontaneous manufacture of salt may be
found within the bosom of the earth, in those rocks which contain the
necessary elements, and in this opinion he is supported by experiment.
Subsequently, however, Mr. Eaton had reason to think that salt has
existed in a solid state in cubical crystals, the hollow forms of which
he discovered abundantly in the lias and saline rocks of the west,
and it seems still to be highly probable that masses of salt exist
in the neighborhood of the salt springs. The brine contains, besides
the muriate of soda, a considerable proportion of muriate of lime and
magnesia. Recently, also, bromine has been detected in the brine of
salina, by Dr. Silliman. Saltpetre is abundant in the west, being found
in numberless caves along the Missouri; and the shores of the Arkansas
are almost covered with nitre. The testimony of Mr. Schoolcraft, in
relation to the recent formation of quartz crystals, is very striking.
They have been found, it appears, upon the handle of a spade, and
the edge of some old shoes, which had been left for some years in
an abandoned lead mine of the Shawnee Mountains. Crystals of great
beauty and dimensions have been found in numerous localities. Many
minerals which are rare in Europe, are found abundantly, and often in
finer forms, in the United States; some, which have subsequently been
detected elsewhere, were first discovered here, and not a few may still
be claimed as the peculiar treasure of our country.
GENERAL REMARKS ON MINERALS.
It is observed by Dr. Mead, that a general resemblance can be
traced between the minerals of North America, and those which
have been found in the north of Europe, particularly in Norway
and Sweden. This resemblance is stated to exist, not merely in
the properties of the minerals themselves, but in the geological
character, and geognostic situation throughout the whole series.
It is observed more particularly in those specimens which are
found to accompany the primitive formation at Arendal, in Norway;
it is not confined, however, to the primitive range of mountains
alone, as the same resemblance can be frequently traced, on
comparing American minerals with those of Piedmont, and even of
the Hartz Mountains. Among the principal minerals of the north of
Europe, there are none of more importance than the ores of iron
for which Norway and Sweden are so remarkable; and every variety
of this mineral which has been met with there, has been found in
the same class of rocks in America in the greatest abundance,
and of equally good quality. Titanium is one of those metals
which have been found more particularly in the north of Europe.
It is said to occur frequently in those primitive aggregates
which contain beds of magnetic iron ore, associated with augite,
scapolite, epidote and hornblende, precisely the same rocks in
which we find it in this country. There is scarcely any part of
Europe where a greater variety of augites are found than in Norway
and Sweden; nor can there be any class of minerals in which the
similitude between the specimens from those countries and America
is more striking.
Mineralogy, considered as a pure science, is of very recent date.
Early observations related merely to the usefulness of minerals
to the purposes of society, and it was not before the lapse of
many ages that they came to be investigated on account of their
great variety, and the beautiful arrangements of which they
are susceptible. No attempt was made to classify them before
the introduction of alchemy into Europe by the Arabians; and to
Avicenna belongs the merit of the first arrangement. He divided
minerals into stones, metals, sulphurous fossils, and salts. In
1774, Werner published his great work on the External Properties
of Minerals, which was of eminent service in first calling the
attention of naturalists to the only correct method of arriving
at a knowledge of this department of nature. The study of minerals
has received considerable attention during the last twenty years
in the United States.