8 



Gold Mines of Georgia. 



ed, particularly to ascertain that no such deposits as d e /exist on the 

 sides of the ridges. The working of the rich Shelton Mine, in Haber- 

 sham, was suspended during the inclement winter of 1831, while on 

 a second deposit as g which yielded large particle of gold weighing 

 20 dwts. or more. 



The surface mines are considered to be disintegrated veins, scarcely 

 removed from their original position, and are not included in the list of 

 deposits. They may be known by the quartz having very sharp angles. 



The vein or ridge mines, now claim our attention. The veins 

 traverse the original strata in various directions, and the phenomena 

 attending them, do not clearly indicate the origin of their formation. 

 It is remarked, that the general direction of the strata, is a little to 

 the east and west of north and south, say nne. n. and ssw. s ; and as 

 these strata are confusedly or rather imperfectly crystalline, it follows, 

 that besides the direction already given, the veins may take another 

 depending on the angle peculiar to the crystalline structure of the 

 rock. The crystals appear to be rhomboids, but are only distinctly so 

 in the neighborhood of veins. 



Fig. 11, is the plan of a vein traversing the strata, as h h, and a vein 

 in the direction of the strata, as dd; cc are called leaders. These 

 veins are formed of quartz of different characters, varying generally 

 with the original rock in which it is found ; it is sometimes crystallized 

 in beautiful transparent six sided prisms, terminated by a pyramid at 

 one end and attached at the other to other crystals, or more frequently 

 to a nucleus of felspar, &ic. In some of the veins, the quartz is com- 

 pact, with a slightly conchoidal fracture, and an appearance which at 



