and a halt by the wayside at noon would generally bring us to some
denizen of the neighborhood who would say ‘Good mornin’, gentlemen;
after rocks?’ And then would produce from his pockets some
specimens, which he was ‘mighty certain he did’nt know the name
of.’ Many a farmer had caught the then prevalent mica fever, and
some had really found deposits of that valuable mineral which were
worth thousands of dollars. There is no danger of over-estimating
the mineral wealth of this mountain country; it is unbounded. There
are stores of gold, silver, iron, copper, zinc, corundum, coal,
alum, copperas, barytes, and marl, which seem limitless. There are
fine marble and limestone quarries, whose value was unsuspected,
until the railroad pioneer unearthed it. The limestone belt of
Cherokee county contains stores of marble, iron, and gold; Jackson
county possesses a vast copper belt, and the iron beds of the
Yellow mountains are attracting much notice. The two most
remarkable gold regions are in Cherokee and Jackson counties. The
valley river sands have been made in former times to yield
handsomely, and now and then good washings have been found along
its tributaries. The gold is found in various and superficial
deposits in the same body of slates which carries limestone and
iron. Before the war liberal arrangements had been made for mining
in Cherokee, but since the struggle the works remain incomplete. It
is supposed that the gold belt continues southward across the
country, as other mines are found in the edge of Georgia. The gold
in Jackson county is obtained from washings along the southern
slopes of the Blue Ridge, near the mountains known as ‘Hogback’ and
‘Chimney Top,’ and Georgetown creek, one of the head streams of
Toxaway, yielded several thousand dollars a few years ago. In this
wild country, where the passes of the Blue Ridge rise precipitously
eight hundred and a thousand feet, there lie great stores of gold.
Overman, the metallurgist, unhesitatingly declares that he believes
a second California lies hidden in these rocky walls. The monarch
mountain ‘Whiteside’ is also said to be rich in gold.”
We are of the opinion that Mr. King overestimated the value of the
mineral deposits to which he has here referred, having been somewhat
misled by the prevalent excitement of the time, though of course there
is no telling what may be concealed in the hidden fissures of these
mighty masses of uplifted granite. While it is not probable that a
second California or Colorado exists in this section of the Alleghanies,
there is sufficient evidence in the things seen, and the hope of things
unseen, to stimulate the zeal of explorers and excite the cupidity of
operators. The value of minerals, already taken out, has passed the
enumeration of thousands, and the surface of the jewel-field has not yet
been marked out. About 160 minerals, simple and compound, have been
found within the region of which this volume professes to treat. Many of
them are extremely rare, some of them of great economic value. What we
shall say in this connection, is for the information and interest of the
general reader. The scientist will derive his information from the
technical pages of special publications. But the explorer, who goes
ahead of him, will do better service by opening the great book of
nature, and exposing to the world its unknown treasures.
There is written evidence that the followers of DeSoto made an exploring
expedition into the Cherokee country, in search of gold. Whether or not
they reached the mountains of North Carolina, is unknown. They were
probably led to search for the metal in this locality, by the ornaments
worn by the Indians, or information derived from them. Late in the last
century, the Cherokees had preserved a tradition of a very valuable
silver mine, in the Smoky mountains. They also found stones “of various
colour and beautiful lustre, clear and very hard.”
About 1827, was the date of the gold excitement in Mecklenburg county,
from which it spread to, and both ways along, the Blue Ridge. The
discovery of this metal in Burke county, was an accident. In a little
valley at the foot of the South mountains, about twelve miles from
Morganton, on the way to Rutherfordton, lived an old gentleman named
Brindle. A traveler stopped at his house one night, and told the story
of the discovery of gold in Mecklenburg, astonished the family,
particularly by his account of its great value, and the character of the
metal. Mrs. Brindle, who had, in the meantime, been an attentive
listener, finally interrupted: “I took a stone, powerful like that, from
a chicken’s crop yisterday. I ’lowed it was so curious, I laid it up.”
She thereupon produced a piece, the size of a pea, of pure gold. The
traveler, of course, was quick to see how the precious stone had got
into the chicken’s crop, and reasoned that there must be more where that
one came from.
The Brindletown mines, as the diggings in this locality have since been
known, have yielded many thousands of dollars, obtained merely by
washing the sand and gravel. Quartz, containing a very large percentage
of gold, has been found in these south mountain spurs and valleys. The
practical difficulty experienced by miners, is the incontinuity of
veins, for which even the richness of the gold deposit, where it is
found, does not compensate. Upon the whole, at Brindletown, the best
results have been obtained from washings of the drift deposits. Colonel
Mills is, at present, the largest operator. The region includes a tract
taking in the corners of McDowell, Burke, Rutherford, and Cleveland.
Gold is found in the washings of the First Broad below Shelby; in Polk,
at Sandy Plains, Morrill’s mills, Hungry river, Pacolet river, and other
places. Rutherford county is rich in gold. Along the John’s river, in
Burke, there are prospects which are favorable to an extensive mining
industry. The placers also follow Lower creek into Caldwell county. It
occurs in placers and veins in Catawba, and in placers in Watauga, Ashe,
and Alleghany. It must not be understood that mines are being operated
everywhere gold is found. In fact, there are very few places where
anything is being done, and the work at other places is carried on in a
very primitive fashion.
In the French Broad valley gold exists in placers and veins near the
warm springs; on Cane creek, and elsewhere in Buncombe, and in placers
on Boylston creek, in Transylvania. Further exploration of the upper
French Broad valley will undoubtedly discover other localities. In the
valley of the Little Tennessee, gold has been found near the Ocona Lufta
river, and on Soco creek, in Swain county; at the head of the Tuckasege,
in Jackson; in the vicinity of Highlands, and on Briertown creek, in
Macon; and in Graham. Beyond the water-shed, in Jackson county, is a
region rich in gold. In the Horse cove, or Sequilla valley, a few years
ago, a hand could pan out two to five dollars per day. It has never been
found or even looked for except in placers. The zone runs across
Cashier’s valley into the Georgetown and Fairfield valleys. Its
existence, in quartz veins, near Chimney Top mountain, is well
established. The deposits in Georgetown valley have yielded more largely
than any other locality in this region. The zone seems to pass around
the southern base of Hogback mountain, thence across the Blue Ridge into
Transylvania, making its appearance, as has been noted, on Boylston
creek. We are indebted to the Rev. C. D. Smith, of Franklin, for the
following incident:
Several years ago, in Hogback mountain, deposits of gold were discovered
in a ravine, which were worked up to a spring pouring over the rocks. It
was noticed that gold came up in the sands from the spring. In order to
pan these daily deposits, a basin was formed, and rich yields resulted.
However, the miners became impatient; and, naturally inferring that the
source of the gold was a solid vein, they applied a heavy blast, which
scattered the rocks, and provided an outlet for the water, for the
spring with its gold ceased flowing. No vein was discovered. They “had
killed the goose that laid the golden eggs.”
Mica has yielded more money to this mountain region than any other of
her store of minerals. The zone follows almost the direction of the Blue
Ridge. Productive mica veins are found only in granite dikes, and when
the mica zone is spoken of the zone of these dikes is meant. There are
exposures of mica outside the belt, but no productive mines have yet
been found. Neither can all dikes be relied upon, for they may be filled
with barren matter or the crystals may be too small for use. There seems
to be a law of size which holds good throughout the vein, and by which
proprietors are guided. Other dike deposits, again, are all that could
be desired in respect to size and quality but the mica is worthless,
either because of imperfect crystalization making it gnarled and gummy,
or it is spotted by magnetite, some of it in the form of very beautiful
clusters of vines and ferns. It is a remarkable fact that the mica veins
which have yielded the best returns bear evidences of ancient work. The
Clarissa Buchanan mine, in Mitchell; the Ray mine, in Yancey; and the
Bowers mine, in Macon, were operated by the much-speculated-about
prehistoric race of mound-builders. Other mines, in each of the
localities named, were operated. In some, as in the Ray mine, shafts
were sunk deep into the feld-spar, and in others tunnels were run in,
showing that the miners were men of some advancement in the arts. It is
proved, by an examination of the dump-piles, that mica was the object of
the search, and that only large and clear crystals were taken away. They
worked only in fieldspar, probably having no tools for removing anything
but soft rock. Their work always stops when a granite ledge interferes
with further progress. Little more is known of the use to which these
people put mica, than of the people themselves. Many of the mounds in
the North contain large sheets, over skeletons, from which it is
inferred that it was used to cover the bodies of illustrious personages
after interment, and that use may account for the zeal with which it was
sought. It has been inferred by some archæologists that it was used for
mirrors and windows in their temples, which is not improbable, though
there is little evidence to sustain the theory.
Mica mining in Mitchell county has been attended with better results
than in any other locality. The Sinkhole mine near Bakersville was
nearly half a mile long, the crystals imbedded in kioline (decomposed
feldspar) and the rubbish easily removed. Tons of mica were taken out of
this mine. The Clarissa Buchanan mine has been worked to the depth of
more than 400 feet. In Yancey county the Ray mine, near Burnsville, has
yielded more mica than any other in that locality. The fissure takes a
zigzag course up the face of the mountain. The dike shows no signs of
exhaustion, though for more than a decade of years its annual yield has
been very large. There are deposits of mica in Buncombe county, but all
attempts to open profitable mines have thus far been failures. There are
several prospects in the south part of Haywood county. A promising mine
was opened on Lickstone mountain, from which a large quantity of
merchantable mica of fine quality has been taken. It is a granite dike
about 100 feet wide and 100 yards long. It yielded some crystals which
cut plates nine by twelve inches. It is owned jointly by W. F. Gleason
and the Love estate. No work has been done on this mine for some time
past, though practical miners still consider it a good property.
Dike fissures in Jackson have encouraged explorations in that county.
Several mines have been opened, and some good merchantable mica taken
out. Operations, however, were soon abandoned. This fact is not
conclusive evidence that even some of the openings might not make
profitable mines under the management of a skillful and experienced
operator. “There is nothing certain beneath this sod.”
The zone passes from Jackson into Macon county, which is next to
Mitchell in its wealth of mica. The Brooks mine, at the head of Cowee
creek, was the first opened. It was energetically worked, and for a few
years yielded satisfactory returns. Work has been done on more than a
dozen openings in the county, and a merchantable product obtained from
most of them. As is always to be expected, a very large percentage of
these openings proved failures; others were made failures by incapable
management. Only one mine has stood a prolonged test of energetic
work--the Bowers mill, on Burningtown creek. The proprietor and
superintendent, Charles Bowers, is of the third generation, in direct
line, of mica miners, and consequently has the advantage not only of a
long personal experience, but also the communicated experience of his
father and grandfather in the mines of New Hampshire. Mr. Bowers has
been working on the same dike for about eight years. It is 200 yards
long and 12 feet wide, with a central granite vein about two feet thick.
It cuts an east and west spur of the ridge transversely, and dips at an
angle of ten degrees from a vertical line. It has been worked to the
depth of 250 feet, and a shaft sunk 50 feet deeper. The quantity of mica
and character of crystallization is unchanged at that depth. There are
several good prospects in Macon, which remain untouched, because the
owners, who know nothing about mining, are unwilling to offer
inducements, the prospect being held at a price as high as a workable
mine would command. An incident to the point is told of a Jackson county
man who had found a few crystals of glass, and imagined himself a rich
man. A miner one day examined his prospects, and found every indication
against the probability of it being a workable deposit. He made up his
mind, however, to have some fun for his pains and, very seriously,
without giving an opinion of the prospect, asked the proprietor of the
land, who was happy in the imageined possession of a competency, what
he would sell the mine for. The miner’s manner and question raised the
owner’s confidence still higher. “I jist reckon,” he replied, “I don’t
want ter git shet of thet thar place. There’s a fortune thar fur me an’
my chil’ern arter me, an’ you furners haint goin’ to git hit.”
Corundum is a crystaline mineral of varying color, and next in hardness
to the diamond. It is, consequently, a valuable abrasive, and its use,
in the mechanical arts, for that purpose is increasing. It occurs,
usually, associated with chrysolite. There is a zone of chrysolite dikes
extending from Mitchell county to Union county, Georgia, in which, at
various places, corundum has been struck, but not generally in
sufficient quantity to pay for mining. Specimens have been found in
Mitchell, Yancey, Buncombe, Madison, and Haywood counties. In Jackson
there are several good prospects, but no mines have been opened. The
localities are Scott’s creek, Webster, and Hogback mountain. Macon is
the only county in which this mineral has been practically and
profitably mined. Specimens have been found at various places, but the
largest exposure, and the only mine of importance, is at what is known
as Corundum hill, near the Cullasaja river, about 10 miles from
Franklin. Here was the first discovery of the mineral west of the French
Broad. The mine, which is owned by Dr. Lucas, is not being worked at
present; it is said, on account of inconvenience of transportation. The
outcrop covers 25 acres. The chrysolite zone makes a bend in crossing
the Tennessee valley, and seems to disappear until the Nantihala
mountains have been reached, beyond which, on Buck creek, in Clay
county, it reappears, and forms the largest mass of chrysolite rock in
the United States, the area covered being over 1,400 acres, over all of
which corundum has been found, some masses weighing as much as 600
pounds. There are other outcrops in Clay, which are no doubt very rich
in corundum. Specimens have been obtained in the Hiawassee valley. Some
garnets of very rich color have been found, associated with corundum; a
ruby is said to have been obtained in Madison county, and Mr. Smith
entertains the hope that sapphire may yet be discovered. Specimens of
corundum, associated with amethyst and garnet, have been found in
McDowell, Burke, and Rutherford counties.
Chrome ores are found in several of the counties west of the Blue Ridge
and in the piedmont belt. It probably exists in all of them.
There are large deposits of iron ores in several localities, which will,
when developed, be of great economic value. The prevailing varieties are
magnetite and hematite. The former is the technical name for magnetic
ore, gray ore, and black band; the latter for specular ore, red ore,
etc.
There is a vein of ore, of good quality, stretching from King’s
mountain, on the South Carolina line, to Anderson’s mountain, in Catawba
county. It consists of two parallel veins, of variable width; is of a
shaly character and mostly magnetic. It was reduced in forges and
bloomeries as early as the revolution, and during the late war, forges
were erected and tons of iron manufactured. Southwest of Newton, iron of
a superior quality is found, being remarkable for its malleability and
toughness. During the war it was wrought in bloomeries and manufactured
into spikes, cannon, and shafts for the iron-clads.
There are many valuable beds of limonite or brown ore, extending in a
zone from the northeastern foot-hills of the South mountains, into the
Brushy mountains. A bed near the town of Hickory is reported to be five
or six feet thick; ten miles west are pits from which ore was obtained
during the war, and six miles away ores were smelted thirty years ago.
These pits are now all filled up, but it is hoped that the growth of
manufacturing will stimulate industry in the iron business. There are
large quantities of ore in Caldwell county, and this zone extends into
Alexander. There are several beds along the Yadkin river.
Beds of limonite exist in the Linville range, in workable quantities,
but it makes an inferior metal unless mixed with hematite or magnetite,
which is found not far away. There is an exposure of hematite one mile
west of Swanannoa gap, in Buncombe, which gives to Ore mountain its
name.
The Cranberry ore bank in Mitchell, is pronounced by Professor Kerr “one
of the most remarkable iron deposits in America.” Its location is on the
western slope of Iron mountain, in the northwest part of the county,
about three miles from the Tennessee line. It takes the name Cranberry
from the creek which flows near the outcrop at the foot of the mountain.
The surrounding and associated rocks are gneisses and gneissoids,
hornblende, slate, and syenite. The ore is a pure, massive, and coarse
granular magnetite. The steep slope of the mountain and ridges, which
the bed occupies, are covered with blocks of ore, some weighing hundreds
of pounds, and at places bare, vertical walls of massive ore, 10 to 15
feet thick, are exposed, and over several acres the solid ore is found
everywhere near the surface. The length of the outcrop is 1500 feet, and
the width, 200 to 800 feet. (State Geological Report).
This ore has been quarried and used in country forges for half a
century, which, alone, evidences remarkable purity. Several analyses
have been made by Dr. Genth, which show upwards of 90 per cent. of
magnetic oxide of iron, and about 65 per cent. of metallic iron. There
is not even a piece of sulphur, which is the dread of iron workers. The
completion of branch railroad has brought this ore into the market.
Professor Kerr affirms that it excels in quality the deposits in
Missouri and Michigan.
Outcrops of magnetic ore extend along the Iron mountains as far as Big
Rock creek, at the foot of the Roan. These deposits are now attracting
more attention than ever before, and will, at an early date, become the
basis of a great industry.
There are ore deposits along the North fork of New river, which resemble
those of the Cranberry bank. There are other localities in Ashe, and
also in Watauga, which show outcrops of promise.
Magnetite is found on the head of Ivy, in Madison county. There are
several surface exposures of a good quality of ore. The extent of
present explorations does not justify any predictions with regard to
this deposit. There is also a bed of ore near the public road which
leads from Asheville to Burnsville. It is hard, black, and of resinous
luster. On Bear creek, near Marshall, and on Big Laurel are exposures of
magnetite. There is another exposure about three miles from Alexander’s
station. About five miles west of Asheville is a bed of limonite several
feet thick.
A bold outcrop of magnetic ore is found in the northeastern part of
Haywood county. Surface indications are flattering. The deposits of
Jackson and Macon counties are encouraging explorations, but have never
been developed.
Last, but greatest in importance, are the ores of Cherokee.
The region of the Valley river seems to be the culmination of the
mineral wealth of the Alleghanies. Gold, silver, marble, limestone, and
sandstone are associated with massive beds of brown ore, which yields an
iron already celebrated for its malleability and strength. The breadth
of the iron and marble range is from two to more than three miles, and
occupies the bottom of a trough which has been scooped out by the
streams. The direct valley range is about 24 miles in length, and there
is a branch more than six miles long, which follows Peach Tree and
Brasstown creeks, making the whole iron range upwards of 30 miles. The
ores were used in forges by the Indians, and have always since been
used by the country blacksmiths in preference to the manufactured iron.
Little attention has been given to the copper deposits of Jackson and
Haywood counties since the war though there can be little doubt of the
existence of ores in workable quantities. The copper belt in Jackson
occupies the middle portion of the county, from the head-waters of
Tuckasege river northward to Scott’s creek and Savannah creek. Good
specimens have been found in a great many places, but mines have been
opened only on Waryhut, Cullowhee, and Savannah creeks. At each of these
several mines the vein is about eight feet thick. Its associated rocks
are syenitic. There is a belt running across the north part of Haywood
county with outcrops in the spurs of the Balsam range.
There is in Ashe and Alleghany a copper producing district of
importance. Elk knob and Ore knob, Peach bottom, Gap creek and other
localities contain stores of copper. The works at Ore knob are the
largest in the Alleghanies, and the deposit of ore in quantity and
quality is said to rival the Lake Superior region.
Lead, tin, and silver are found in various localities, but as no mines
have ever been opened, nor satisfactory results obtained from the meager
explorations which have been made up to this time, we leave the subject
without discussion.
The rarest of the rare gems is the diamond, a very few specimens of
which have been found. The first stone identified was discovered at
Brindletown, in Burke county, in 1843. It was an octohedron, valued at
one hundred dollars. A second was soon after found in the same
neighborhood. The third was discovered in Twitty’s mine, in Rutherford
county, in 1846, and was first identified by General Clingman, of
Asheville. Cottage Home, in Lincoln county, and Muddy creek, in
McDowell, have each furnished specimens.