METALS AND THEIR ORES. 47 



In Littleton and Dalton are two openings, showing the purple and gray ores of cop- 

 per. One is on Wheeler hill, and the other is known as the Dalton mine, where work 

 has been jDerformed under the direction of J. B. Sumner, Esq. The rock of the coun- 

 try is clay slate, but the gangue of the vein is a species of talcose schist, containing a 

 little yellow copper and minute particles of magnetic iron. The walls of the Dalton 

 mine are very distinct, about sixteen feet apart. The gangue is traversed by cross 

 veins of quartz, often carrying fine specimens of the purple ore, or Bornite. A shaft 

 has been sunk about twenty-five feet deep upon the vein, and a few openings have 

 been made as far as 200 or 300 feet north of the shaft-house, sufficiently to prove the 

 continuation of the vein. Similar proof exists of the presence of copper, perhaps the 

 same vein, half a mile in the other direction. This property is upon the top of a hill. 

 It is conveniently situated with reference to water-power, being near the Connecticut 

 and one of its tributaries, so that the ore taken from the mine could very easily be 

 concentrated at slight expense. An average sample of the whole vein sent by Mr. 

 Sumner gave to Pi^of. Seely 5.4 per cent, of metallic copper. 



Copper in Milan. Similar ores to those of Gardner mountain have 

 been discovered lately in Milan. The formation is the same. I have 

 examined several openings. First is that of Nathan Fogg, a short dis- 

 tance east of the Grand Trunk Railway. The vein dips 70° N. W. A 

 pit has been sunk in it about fifteen feet, close by a small brook, and the 

 ore shows well for a width of thirteen feet. It is a massive mixture of 

 copper and iron pyrites, with galena and blende, without much gangue. 

 A fair average gave C. W. Kempton 5.3 per cent, of copper. Immedi- 

 ately adjacent to the foot wall is a pretty string of argentiferous galena, 

 half an inch wide. The upper part of the vein also shows much galena 

 and bright bunches of copper. An assay of the average under my 

 supervision yielded a trace of gold and 2.65 ounces of silver to the ton. 

 Excavations prove the continuation of the vein for at least 200 feet, and 

 in one place there is a width of 40 feet of pyritiferous schists connected 

 with the vein. The situation is very convenient to railroad transporta- 

 tion. 



On the hill west, Mr, Nay has opened a seam running north-west, 

 though tending to take the north-east course of the strata, which con- 

 tains argentiferous galena. Mr. Nay has uncovered the rock in several 

 places, but had not proved the value of the property at the time of my 

 visit in August, 1877. 



On Hodgdon's land, to the north, is the Twitchell and Mason mine. 



