- Gold Region of North Carolina. 7 
auriferous stratum, brought no one knows from whence, was 
spread by the deluge over hill and valley, through an extent 
of one thousand square miles, so that gold may ound in 
greater or smaller mente in any part of this area, the pre- 
cious metal should b accumulated on some points as to 
orm a scot shacoularietall: for ase Kee for a quarter of a 
mile along the bed of Meadow Creek in Cabarrus, in masses 
weighing from twenty-seven bende to the fraction of a 
grain, in such quantity as to be worked to advantage, after 
having been already explored for a term of twenty-eight 
years here is no conceivable mode of diluvial action that 
would produce this combination of appearances. A gradu- 
al rise of the waters is inconsistent with the transportation of 
such masses of gold—a rapid current with its general distri- 
bution over the whole eine of the country. 
Mr. Rothe refers the gold, in part,to veins sof quartz travers- 
ing ranges of secondary greenstone and greenstone slate, and 
in “part to an alluvial stratum created by a flood of waters 
which broke over the Blue Ridge; spread itself over the dis- 
trict lying below ; tearing up and dispersing over the face of 
the country the veins of quartz containing the precious met- 
al; and finally forced for itself a passage —— the moun- 
tains that form the Narrows, and so passed off to the sea. 
With regard to the existence of this alluvial sia a and 
the hypotheses co to account for it, the es re- 
ma por may be 
. Of f all th shins causes that have been called in to explain 
pe yagi aaa presented by the surface of the globe, 
there is perhaps none that has been more abused, than 
this of currents ana inundations. ‘That me agents have 
changed the surface of some countries, by covering them eit 
a stratum of foreign matter, there is sufficient evidence. But 
before we assume the existence of a current, coming ‘no one 
knows whence, going no one knows whither, and urged | on- 
ward by a force as unaccountable as its origin and d 
tion, we must be able to point out: the traces of its ravages 
along the whole line of its route. And what kind of appear- 
ances may be expected where itis bro ep, it is ea- 
sy for any one to conceive whe has-read Mr. Dwight’s well 
written description of the effects produced by the eruption of 
two small lakes in Vermont, The crests. of hilis will be — 
found torn off and transported into the neighboring vallies— 
rocks dislodged from their native beds and dleposiied over 
