Remarks on the Gold Mines of Virginia. 101 



The nature of this report precludes discussions of geological the- 

 ory, and the omission is of the less importance, because the origin 

 of metallic veins and deposits is still, to a degree, obscure, and the 

 clear light which now illuminates most topics of geology, is here, to 

 a degree, wanting ; nor would it be pertinent or profitable to recite 

 the various hypotheses that have been, or are still entertained. It 

 is however worthy of remark, that whether the quartz veins are, as 

 Prof. Rogers supposes, true veins of injection, or original members 

 of the rock, the probability of their continuance, and of their con- 

 tinuing to be auriferous, is equally great. 



The mines now under consideration, belong to what are called 

 the vein mines, in contradistinction from the deposit mines. The 

 latter contain only alluvial gold, or gold, at least, disengaged from 

 rock or vein stones ; it is obviously not in its original connexion ; it 

 has, doubtless, proceeded from the destruction of regular veins or beds, 

 and of the rocks which contained them ; the gold has either remained 

 mixed with the ruins of the rocks and the veins, or it has been trans- 

 ported and scattered, sometimes far and wide, by the moving power 

 of water, and buried at depths more or less considerable, in loose ma- 

 terials. Sometimes the gold is found immediately under the turf or 

 soil ; this happens, most frequently, on hills, but more commonly it 

 lies in lower situations under several feet, or even yards of soil, clay 

 and gravel, and it is most abundant next to the slate, which underlies 

 the whole of the loose materials, and which slate is sometimes soft, 

 being in a state of decomposition. Where the slate rocks are solid, 

 and their strata stand nearly perpendicular, the gold has been some- 

 times found in the crevices between the natural layers of rock; at the 

 Whitehall mines, in Spotsylvania County, the gold extended down- 

 ward in this manner, sometimes to the depth of three feet. It should 

 be remarked, that in the regular vein mines, the gold is not confined 

 entirely to the solid quartz ; it is sometimes found in the slate, and 

 both the rock itself and the soft matters proceeding from its decom- 

 position, are occasionally washed for gold, with advantage. 



The largest masses of gold have been discovered in or near rivu- 

 lets, or brooks, or runs of water, called in the language of the coun- 

 try, branches. In such situations, pieces have been found weigh- 

 ing several ounces, and in North Carolina several pounds. On a 

 branch at the Whitehall mine, gold of the value of $10,000 was 

 found in the course of a few days, in a space about twenty feet 

 square, and $7,000 value of gold was found at Tinder's mine, in 



