622 



FARMERS' REGISTER— MINERALS OF VIRGINIA. 



bly conclude then, that other coal fields, now hid- 

 den, but lying contiguous to the navigdl)lc waters 

 of Virginia, exist? Certainly, as far as my obser- 

 vations have gone, there are many encouraging in- 

 dications of such deposits. And what is here said 

 of coal, may be said of salt and other valuable mi- 

 neral substances on both sides of the mountains. 

 How are any of them to be tbund out, if they 

 are not looked for, and by persons trained and ac- 

 customed to investigations of that kind ? 



The cultivation of the science of geology has 

 produced this immutable truth, that all the mineral 

 and metallic substances in the earth, are not acci- 

 dentally and irregularly distributed where they are 

 found, but that they have been Ijrought into their 

 places by laws as unchangeable as any other natu- 

 ral laws. Hence, the practical geologist, familiar 

 with the structure of the crust of the earth, is able 

 to say, from the inspection of any one of its nume- 

 rous beds, what its relation is to any of the other 

 beds: whether, for instance, it is above, or whe- 

 ther it is below the coal, and this with as much ac- 

 curacy as he can tell, whether any particular letter 

 of the alphabetical column is, when in its proper 

 place, above any other given letter, or below it. 

 Without this knowledge, he might dig for coal, for 

 salt, or any other substance, through rocks lying 

 far beneath the proper ])lace belonging to those 

 minerals in the crust of the earth. And this has 

 often been done, to the great loss and disapjwint- 

 ment of the undertakers. It is thus that geology 

 enables us to apply our acquaintance with the laws 

 of nature, to purposes intended to be conducive to 

 the prosperity of the human race. 



Since then, unquestioned indications exist in va- 

 rious partsof V^irginia, of coal, of iron, of gold and 

 silver, of copper, of salt, of lead, and of other mi- 

 neral and metallic substances, can any satisfactory 

 reason be given, why the state should not engage 

 in the execution of a project of such incalculable 

 importance to her prosperity, as a detailed geolo- 

 gical investigation of her whole territory, and the 

 subsequent construction of a geological map, upon 

 which, of a commensurate scale, the exact locali- 

 ties of all her metals and fossil manures, should be 

 accurately laid down, with their geographical ele- 

 vation, their direction and bearing, their extent 

 and qualities.' Will it be disputed, that a ma]) of 

 this character, accompanied with a lucid detailed 

 report, constructed by competent {>ersons from 

 personal investigation, would be invaluable, and 

 do honor to the period when its construction was 

 authorized .'' Never can such a project be su0icient- 

 ly appreciated until it is executed; then only 

 would men unite in expressing their astonish- 

 ment that it had been neglected so long. Is it not 

 manifest, that in the natural progress of things, 

 such a project should pi-ecede, and not folloAv, a 

 general system of internal improvements; it be- 

 ing of the last importance, that the direction given 

 to the routes of canals and roads of every descrip- 

 tion, should be much influenced by the local posi- 

 tion of mineral and metallic beds, and that they 

 should not be influenced altogether, as they still 

 continue to be, by the physical geography of par- 

 ticular lines of direction .' 



But I am conscious, it is unnecessary for me fur- 

 ther to urge these considerations upon your en- 

 lightened mind. I have been insensibly drawn 

 into an unwonted length on an important subject, 

 and have but very little room to advert to a most 



interesting locality of the metallic resources of 

 V irginia, now known as the gold region, 1 im- 

 iignie a great misconception exists in the public 

 mind in relation to this subject, and I am happy 

 that the information it is in my power briefly to 

 communicate, is founded upon repeated i)ersonaI 

 investigation. I had conceived, some years ago, 

 (he plan of executing a sketch of a genera! g^- 

 logical map of the United States; but, after great 

 devotion to the pursuit, by preparatory studies in 

 Europe and this country, and a great expenditure 

 of lime and money, I have given it up, satisfied 

 that it is a task fixr beyond the powers of an unas- 

 sisled individual. The last two years, my inves- 

 tigations have been principally limited to V irginia, 

 and unconnected with any individuals whatever, as 

 [ always have been, and still am. I have, during 

 this period, made myself familiarly acquainted with 

 every gold vein that has been worked in the state. 

 To this {period of my life, I shall always look back 

 with pleasure; every facility has been extended to 

 me by the most grateful hospitality from every 

 quarter. If language were not inadequate to ex- 

 press w hat I must always feel on this subject,, a 

 delicate respect for the generous minds to whom i 

 feel under such deep obligations, would at any rate 

 impose silence upon me. 



Interesting as the study of these veins has pro- 

 ved to me, and full of instruction, it is not upon 

 this occasion I can enter into a scientific relation of 

 their structure, and mineralogical characters. It 

 must suffice me to say, that some of them present 

 occasionally, the most surprisingly beautiful and 

 rich specimens of ore ; where the quartz contains 

 from ten to forty per cent, in weight of native gold, 

 so pure, as to rise as high as twenty three to twen- 

 ty three and a half carats. In some instances the 

 gold is found alloyed with silver, and in others I 

 have found not inconsiderable quantifies of a varie- 

 ty of red sulphuret of silver. Tellurium also is 

 not uncommon ; to these may be added sidphuret 

 of lead, pyritous copper, and, though rarely, beau- 

 tiful crystals of fibrous malachite. The sulphu- 

 rets of iron are extremely abundant. In the most 

 celebrated national collections of Europe, most of 

 which I have visited, I have never seen ores more 

 remarkable for richness and beauty. The rarest 

 are from Orange, Spottsylvania and Culpeper, 

 where considerable developements have been made, 

 and I am sure that no mioeralogisl wJio could have 

 an opportunity of examining those I have seen, 

 woulil hesitate to agree in the admiration I freely 

 bestow upon them. It is true, they are notof very 

 frequent occurrence, but still they are met with 

 under circumstances, which hold out great encou- 

 ragement to pursue the veins, far beneath the su- 

 perficial depths that have been yet attempted. 



The nature, too, of the alluvial deposits of gold, 

 strengthens, in a remarkable manner, the encou- 

 ragement given by these indications. Nothing can 

 be more certain, than that the precious metal found 

 in these, is derived from broken down quartz 

 veins, and slate veins containing seams of gold, ly- 

 ing in the vicinity of tlie deposites. I can give you 

 a recent gratifying instance of this. The proprie- 

 tors of a deposit in the county of Louisa, which 

 had been for some time productive, came unex- 

 pectedly upon a very rich bed of gravel, which 

 yieldedthem in six days, near ten thousand dol- 

 lars in fine gold. And this is no illusion : for I 

 have had an opportunity of seeing the gold, and of 



