Remarks on the Gold Mines of Virginia. 119 
working the mines in other respects. There are various shafts for- 
merly excavated by Hempstead and others—most of which, being 
neglected, have fallen in, or are in a state of dilapidation, so that 
they require no particular notice. 
A capacious shaft is now in the course of being excavated, in the 
highest part of the hill nearest to the river. Its dimensions are ten 
feet by four, and its depth is, at present, fifty seven feet: it is sink- 
ing, at the rate of two feet a day, and it will continue to descend, 
until it meets the adits from the opposite sides of the hill entering at 
its base. The shaft will probably be one hundred and twenty feet 
deep. Atthe depth of forty feet, there is a tunnel, branching off on 
both sides, from the shaft; it is in the whole thirty five feet long, 
pursuing the course of the vein, which is from eight inches to twenty 
four, and even to thirty inches wide : the tunnel is timbered, as far 
as is necessary, and is six feet by two and a half in the clear. The 
shaft also is thoroughly timbered and planked, and furnished with a 
good ladder and a strong windlass, rope, and buckets, so as to afford 
all necessary security. The passage-way, in which the ladder is 
suspended, is partitioned off from the rest of the shaft. At the bot- 
tom of the shaft, the vein is from six to fifteen inches wide. In each 
of the two hills in which the mining operations are carried on, there 
are two adits. Beginning with the hill nearest to the river—at or 
near its base, and about twenty or twenty five feet above the level of 
the river, an adit has been opened into the hill, with the intention of 
communicating with the shaft already described. This adit is well 
timbered and planked, so as to be perfectly secure: the planks are 
two inches thick and the dimensions in the clear are six feet by two 
and a half; its length at present is one hundred and twenty three 
feet, and it is increasing at the rate of three feet per day—varying 
however with the hardness of the rock. There are two cross-cuts 
in the adit intended for exploration, and they serve also as a refuge 
for the miners, from the fragments thrown off in blasting: their 
length is fourteen feet for the one, and twenty eight for the other. 
The adit is floored with timber and plank, and there is a free pas- 
sage under it of six inches deep or more, for the discharge of water 
and for ventilation: this purpose it answers extremely well—the 
current of air being so strong beneath the floor as to blow out a light- 
ed candle, when placed at its mouth. This mode of ventilation j is 
so effectual, that an adit can (in the opinion of Mr. Hitz,) be driven 
one thousand feet into a hill, without sinking a shaft to meet the 
