Olmsted on the Gold Mines oj Korih Carolina. 1 3 



goose quill or two of it, and a small pair of scales in a 

 box like a spectacle case. The value as in patriarchal 

 times, is ascertained by weight, which, from the dexterity 

 acquired by practice, is a less troublesome mode of count- 

 ing money than one would imagine. I saw a pint of whis- 

 key paid for by weighing off three and a half grains of gold. 



The greatest part of the gold collected at these mines 

 is bought up by the country merchants at 90 or 91 cents a 

 pennyweight. They carry it to the market towns, asFay- 

 etteville, Cheraw, Charleston, and New-York. Much of 

 this is bought up by jewellers; some remains in the 

 banks; and a considerable quantity has been received at 

 the mint of the United States. Hence it is not easy to 

 ascertain the precise amount which the mines have afford-, 

 ed. The value of that portion received at the mint before 

 the year 1820, was 43,689 dollars. It is alloyed with a 

 small portion of silver and copper, but is still purer than 

 standard gold, being 23 carats fine. (Bruce, Mineral, 

 Jour. 1—125.) 



It will probably appear evident to geologists, from the 

 foregoing statements, that the gold of N. Carolina occurs 

 in a diluvial formation. Suth indeed seems to be its usual 

 bed ; and, in this respect, it resembles the gold countries 

 of South America, of England, of Scotland, of Ireland, 

 and of Africa. (Buckland, Rel. Diluv. 218—20.) 



I have already adverted to an impression entertained by 

 the inhabitants of our gold country, that the precious metal 

 exists somewhere in the vicinity in an ample bed or vein, 

 from which the pieces found are derived. It may not be 

 uninteresting to inquire, whether we can obtain any light 

 respecting its origin. 



1. Is it brought down from the sources of the rivers ? 



That this is not the case is evident, because it is not 

 found merely in the beds of the rivers, but also in the neigh- 

 bouring grounds, and that too whether the ground be plain 

 or hilly. The formation in fact, crosses over hill and dale, 

 and frequently the earth which is obtained on the hill side, 

 or on the summits of an elevation of one or two hundred 

 feet above the beds of the streams, is rich in metal. It is 

 found on both sides of the Yadkin, and in the bed and 



