ELISHA MITCHELL SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 75 



grown up on the debris, and with every appearance of age. The 

 very memory of these old miners had passed away, and nothing 

 was left to them but their pits and trenches here, and pieces of 

 mica found in the Indian mounds in the Ohio valley. Tradi- 

 tion, always busy with the unknown, had determined that these 

 workings had been undertaken for silver. Some specimens of 

 the rock from the Silvers mine were pronounced by the ubiqui- 

 tous practical miner to resemble some rich silver ores from Mexico, 

 but the assay proved them to be worthless. The first work done 

 at the Silvers mine was for silver, and it was not until it was 

 found that there was no silver that attention was turned to the 

 mica. 



One at least of his New York friends had accompanied Cling- 

 man to Yancey county to search for mica, but did nut think well 

 enough of the enterprise to continue in it. Clingman, however, 

 continued the work of mica mining at the Silvers mine, aud ob- 

 tained several hundred pounds of fine mica.* Being called 

 away by more pressing business, he instructed his foreman to 

 collect the mica aud store it away. This, however, was not done, 

 and several large blocks were left on the ground. A stock- 

 drover passing that way with his wagon took one of these blocks 

 to Knoxville, Teun. It was seen by J. G. Heap, of Heap & 

 Clapp, dealers in stoves and tin-ware, who at once recognized its 

 value. He and his partner disposed of their business in Knox- 

 ville and went at once to Mitchell county, N. C, and began mica 

 mining. f This was in 1869. From that time and for several 

 years they conducted a very profitable business, realizing for 

 some of the mica, as Mr. Heap himself assured the writer, as 

 much as SI 1 per pound. 



Heap & Clapp first worked the Silvers mine, and by follow- 

 ing the old leads obtained large quantities of excellent mica. 

 They cut new trenches, ran an adit in and sank several shafts. 

 They also worked the Buchanan or Clarissa mine, by shaft and 



*Th<is. L. Clingman, priv. com., October 25th, 1887. 



fU. H. Wiley, U. S. Treas. expert, Internal Commerce of the U. S., 1886, 



i». 2:;5. 



