4 
Geology of Massachusetts. 69 
the use of certain incantations, while digging for the treasure, it may 
be wrested out of his hands; for instance, perfect silence must reign 
during the operation, unless it be broken by the reading of the Bible, 
and all must be done in the night. The Jast instance of tbe practice 
of this mummery, which I have heard of, occurred a few years since 
on one of the branches of Westfield river. A hundred days’ works 
were expended upon the enterprise before it was abandoned. At 
one time those employed in this work were greatly discouraged, by 
the intrusion of my informant, who, in spite of all they could do by 
gestures, broke silence, and thus dissolved the charm. At another 
time, courage was revived by finding an iron pot, containing some 
bits of copper, deposited there, the day previous, by some boys who 
had learned what was going forward. 
I have given these rather mortifying details, partly because J doubt 
whether nine tenths of our population are aware of the existence of 
such opinions and practices among us; and partly in the hope that 
the exposition may be instrumental in entirely eradicating them from 
the minds of those who have been thus deluded. For, like night 
fogs, they need only to be brought into the light of day to be dissipated. 
Concluding Remarks. 
In concluding this summary of the economical geology of Massa- 
chusetts, I cannot but allude to the very imperfect development which 
has hitherto been made of our mineral resources. Judging from 
what we know at present, our granites, marbles, and other rocks, use- 
ful in architecture, are undoubtedly the richest of these resources. 
Yet it is only a few years, since these rocks (with the exception of 
some quarries of marble,) have been employed at all for building ; 
and even now, only a few beds, and these very possibly not the best, 
have been opened. In the vicinity of Connecticut river, the imhabi- 
tants are just beginning to learn that they have beautiful granite in 
their own hills and mountains. ‘The Berkshire marbles are wrought 
on a stinted scale, compared with what they might be, were a rail- 
road to furnish the means of an easy transportation to the Hudson. 
And as to our porphyries and serpentines, various and abundant as they 
are, it is rare to meet with a single polished specimen. Our mineral 
veins and beds, with the exception of a few mines of iron, and one 
of lead, lie as yet almost untouched, and probably many of them 
undiscovered. 
