374 OC. L. Hunter on Minerals, etc. in North Carolina. 
account was totally denied, and set down as only a marvellous 
story. By others, it was more charitably pronounced a mistake in 
the discoverer, on the ground that diamonds could be found only 
in South America, or the East Indies. The little gem, however, 
after a time was produced and exhibited to several scientific 
indiyiduals, including Prof. Silliman and Prof. Shepard, who a 
nounced upon its genuineness in accordance with the published 
statement. This first diamond was found, several years since, 
in Rutherford County, N. C., in the gold washings commonly 
known as alluvial deposit. It weighs about one carat and a 
half, is of a yellowish color, and presents one of the elongated 
adamantoid shapes. It may be seen figured in both Dana’s and 
Shepard’s Mineralogy (3d edition). arly in the spring of the 
past year (1852) another diamond was found by the writer of 
this article, in a similar deposit, in Lincoln Co., N. C. It weighs 
about half a carat, is nearly clear, with a delicate greenish tinge, 
and presents the same elongated shape as the Rutherford diamond. 
Tn the summer also of the past year another diamond was fount 
in Mecklenburg County, N.C. "It weighs about three-fourths of 
a carat, is nearly of the first water, and resembles more nearly 
than either of the preceding, a brilliant, just elaborated by the 
artistic skill of the lapidary. It is also reported upon 
authority that several small diamonds have been found in the 
gold washings of Georgia. In every instance, thus far, these 
little gems have been found in alluvial deposit, or drift, in which 
may be seen rounded pebbles. The peculiar conglomerate calie™ 
cascalho, strictly speaking, has not been identified; but in sev 
eral places I have seen a stratum of gravel very compact, and 
agglutinated as it were by a ferruginous sedimentary ~~ 
constituting an aggregate somewhat analogous to this, and per 
haps, the repository of the diamond. Be this as it may, the en 
couraging fact is here presented that in the auriferous region, ox- 
tending from Mecklenburg Co. to Rutherford Co. in North ¢ a 
lina, and thence southerly to Hall Co. in Georgia, embracing * 
section of country at least 75 miles wide by 150 long, — 
mond may be sought for by the gold miner, with every i 20 
of success. It is to be regretted that these recent discoveries © 
not been made previous to the extensive gold mining ee 
Ps Burke, McDowell, Rutherford, Lincoln, and ae el 
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