48 JOURNAL OF THE 



the past six years, and it must suffice to mentioi) only tlie more 

 important ''finds/' 



In October, 1882, twentv-two ounces of emei-ald were found 



7 7^ 



in one " pocket," one crystal of which was sold in its natural 

 condition for $800. (It weit]^hed nine ounces and was eight and 

 a half inches long and only partially suitable for jewelry).* 

 » Many "pockets" were found in the succeeding four years yield- 

 ing crystals which sold for from §25 to §200 each. 



On the ninth of August, 1886, a "pocket'' was unexpectedly 

 discovered which yielded another uine-ounce emerald ; this crvs- 

 tal was one and one-quarter inches thick and three inches long, 

 and is the lart^est of the three emeralds fio^ured in Plate 1. 



Nine crystals were taken out of this })ocket at a depth of not 

 over twenty feet. Three of them brought Si ,000 and are yet 

 retained in their natural condition as when found. 



In July (1886), at a depth of forty-three feet, in the hard 

 rock, a small "pocket" was found and an emerald was taken 

 therefrom which, upon being cut by a lapidary, yielded a 

 beautiful gem of 4f carats weight and was worth §200. It has 

 the distinction of being the finest gem emerald yet discovered in 

 the United States. This niine is owned by several Northern 

 gentlemen and is incorporated under the title of "The Enierald 

 and Hiddenite Mining Company," with a nominal ca})ital of 

 $200,000. The locality is situated sixteen miles north-west of 

 Statesville and directly on the line of the Taylorsville extension 

 of the Western North Carolina Railroad. A station near the 

 mine has been formally named " Hiddenite," and a new j)ost- 

 office has been established there, bearing the same narne. 



The photo-engraved Plate No. 1 exhibits well the natural form 

 of three of the l)est crystals of the "find " of Auojust, 1886. and 

 also the shape of the cut emerald, all of natural size The two 

 crystals in the middle foreground are hiddenites, and will be 

 noted under that head. 



One-third of a mile due west a new discovery was tiiade, in 



"See Harper's Monthly Magaxine, December, 1887, for colored illnstratiou. 



