Kemarks on the Gold Mines of Virginia. 119 



working the mines in other respects. There are various shafts for- 

 merly excavated by Hempstead and others — most of which, being 

 neglected, have fallen in, or are in a state of dilapidation, so that 

 they require no particular notice. 



A capacious shaft is now in the course of being excavated, in the 

 highest part of the hill nearest to the river. Its dimensions are ten 

 feet by four, and its depth is, at present, fifty seven feet : it is sink- 

 ing, at the rate of two feet a day, and it will continue to descend, 

 until it meets the adits from the opposite sides of the hill entering at 

 its base. The shaft will probably be one hundred and twenty feet 

 deep. At the depth of forty feet, there is a tunnel, branching off on 

 both sideS; from the shaft; it is in the whole thirty five feet long, 

 pursuing the course of the vein, which is from eight inches to twenty 

 four, and even to thirty inches wide : the tunnel is timbered, as far 

 as is necessary, and is six feet by two and a half in the clear. The 

 shaft also is thoroughly timbered and planked, and furnished with a 

 good ladder and a strong windlass, rope, and buckets, so as to afford 

 all necessary security. The passage-way, in which the ladder is 

 suspended, is partitioned off from the rest of the shaft. At the bot- 

 tom of the shaft, the vein is from six to fifteen inches wide. In each 

 of the two hills in which the mining operations are carried on, there 

 are two adits. Beginning with the hill nearest to the river — at or 

 near its base, and about twenty or twenty five feet above the level of 

 the river, an adit has been opened into the hill, with the intention of 

 communicating with the shaft already described. This adit is well 

 timbered and planked, so as to be perfectly secure : the planks are 

 two inches thick and the dimensions in the clear are six feet by two 

 and a half; its length at present is one hundred and twenty three 

 feet, and it is increasing at the rate of three feet per day — varying 

 however with the hardness of the rock. There are two cross-cuts 

 in the adit intended for exploration-, and they serve also as a refuo-e 

 for the miners, from the fragments thrown off in blasting : their 

 length is fourteen feet for the one, and twenty eight for the other. 

 The adit is floored with timber and plank, and there is a free pas- 

 sage under it of six inches deep or more, for the discharge of water 

 and for ventilation : this purpose it ariswers extremely well — the 

 current of air being so strong beneath the floor as to blow out a light- 

 ed candle, when placed at its mouth. This mode of ventilation is 

 so effectual, that an adit can (in the opinion of Mr. Hiiz,) be driven 

 one thousand feet into a hill, without sinking a shaft to meet the 



