104 Remarks on the Gold Mines of Virginia, 



iron pan, until the quicksilver was all expelled. The gold that re- 

 mained weighed six grains, which is in the proportion of one hun- 

 dred grains to one hundred pounds, or one bushel of the ore. These 

 one hundred grains of gold, at 4yV cents per grain, the price paid 

 at the United States' Mint, amount to ^4.08 for the one hundred 

 pounds of ore. In a second trial, pieces of quartz were taken, 

 which presented some points of metallic gold to the naked eye ; 

 they were not very numerous ; and still, pieces were selected which 

 were about as good in visible metallic gold as could be readily found. 

 Two pounds of the powder of this ore, treated in precisely the same 

 manner, yielded six grains of gold ; this, being exactly three times 

 as much as in the former trial, gave ^'12.25 to one hundred pounds, 

 or one bushel of the ore. Perhaps it is not to be supposed that the 

 mere accident of gold being visible would, of course, indicate so rich 

 a result ; and on \he other hand, the mere fact that the gold is in- 

 visible, does not, of course, imply that the yield will be as low as, or 

 lower, than that obtained in the first trial. The average of these 

 two trials gives ^3.16 for one hundred pounds, or one bushel. It 

 is probable that this result is too high for a general average ; even 

 half this amount would be very rich, and a quarter of it would be 

 very safe, supposing the expenses of working the mines to be no 

 greater than they have been generally stated to be. 



It is worthy of remark, that, by report, the earth around the Busby 

 mine yields, generally, more or less of gold by washing ; and I saw 

 this statement repeatedly confirmed by experiments made under my 

 own eye, upon the loose earth thrown out from the pits ; it was un- 

 derstood to be that in which the quartz veins were imbedded in the 

 ground, and had doubtless proceeded from the decomposition of the 

 slaty rocks. 



Indeed, through the whole of the gold region, I was assured that 

 the loose materials of the surface are generally so far auriferous, that 

 visible gold can, in many cases, perhaps generally, be extracted by 

 simple washing. With a small iron pan, they wash the earth in a 

 tub, or in some brook or branch of water, and many persons in the 

 gold region have acquired the necessary tact. They call the oper- 

 ation panning, and the soil, gravel, &ic. is said to pan well or to pan 

 'poorly, according to the result. 



Moss' Mine. — This mine is three quarters of a mile from Busby's, 

 and both mines are about fifty miles from Richmond and fifty three 

 from Fredericksburg. Moss' mine is situated in decomposed slaty 



