76 [APPENDIX 



valuable deposits of metal which has taken place in this mine in several 

 instances, and it serves for an illustration of the principle advanced in 

 the preceeding pages, that the recent veins were equally metalliferous 

 with those of the primitive series, wherever and whenever found in this 

 State. 



From the facts thus far presented to your consideration respecting the 

 known position of these rocks in the .northern part of the State, some 

 evidence at least exists, that those veins thus far opened^are now proved 

 to have cut through that suite of igneous rocks which heretofore have 

 been supposed would destroy their continuity to any considerable depth 

 below the surface. Already has the establishment of this point exerted 

 an influence which is beginning to be strongly felt, and is restoring that 

 confidence in gold mining which it long since lost. More capital has 

 been invested within the preceding four months in this branch of em 

 ployment, than*in the entire time which has elapsed since the general 

 suspension of these operations. From the developments which have 

 been made relating to the permanency of their character within the past 

 year, individuals are fast becoming satisfied that the metallic veins of 

 this State merit that confidence which is fast returning. If other testi 

 mony is required than that already cited of the almost certainty of their 

 continuation to unlimited depths, it will become necessary to search out 

 some other formations than those acknowledged to be the foundation on 

 which rest the superstructure of this teraqueous sphere, for it is evi 

 dent if facts have any weight, that they have disturbed the lowest of all 

 known rocks. 



It may be argued that the shallow depth, fifty feet into the greenstone, 

 is not positive, but that these veins may be faulted by more recent vol 

 canic intrusions below this point. This is possibly true, but at the same 

 time, is there any good reason for such a supposition when no evidence 

 of such disturbances are observable above the surface in their vicinity, 

 and when those intrusive rocks are not to be found to depths of two or 

 three thousand feet below the summits of those ridges on which these 

 mines are located in many instances. There are many deep gorges 

 among our mountains which exhibit the character of the rocks compos 

 ing them to the depths above named, and on examination of their struc 

 ture will convince an unbiassed observer of their primitive character. 

 Among these gorges it is not unfrequent to find the quartz veins ex 

 tending from their bottom to various hights, ranging as high as six 

 hundred feet in every instance in which these veins are met among the 

 rocks in situ. They possess their greatest power at their lowest point In 

 one instance I well remember having traced a dike of this rock from 

 the river to the highth of thirteen hundred feet, a drawing of which is 

 still in my possession; the u sitt" thinned out to small threads at this 

 hight, with a diminishing power from the base of the hill to, the sum 

 mit; this vein passes through greenstone and porphyry, granite and 

 slate, successively, until it finally spent itself among the latter. If 

 intrusive dikes are found to increase in power as their distance below 

 the surface increases, we may reasonably conclude that they may con 

 tinue to a depth below, equal to that which may be found above, in a 

 case like the last one cited, provided the rocks beneath the lowest point 

 at which it is observable continue of the same, character. 



