Geology of Massachusetts. 67 
possession of the prize himself. He resolves to begin an excavation. 
And he sees enough, in the shining particles of mica and feldspar 
that are thrown out, to buoy up his hopes, until his purse is well nigh 
drained. 
It was probably in some such way, that the excavations were made 
in Worcester and Sterling, at the mines of arsenical iron and carbon- 
ate of iron; although, in these cases, there would be sufficient ground 
for obtaining some of these ores, since they do sometimes contain 
silver. But I cannot conceive why such extensive excavations were 
made, when a chemist might have easily settled the question as to 
their nature, by analyzing 100 grains of the ore, unless it was on the 
erroneous supposition, which I find to be common, that metallic veins 
generally become much richer and larger, and even change their con- 
tents, as they descend into the earth. 
The decomposition of iron pyrites, producing heat and sometimes 
explosion, is supposed by some to be a strong indication of mineral 
riches in the earth beneath. ‘The man of the witch hazel rod is 
called, and if he confirms the suspicion, as he usually will, the ex- 
cavation is commenced ; nor is it suspended until a heavy draft has 
been made upon the man’s pecuniary resources. An extensive ex- 
cavation was made, many years ago, I am told, in Hubbardston, and 
from the character of the rock there, I suspect that iron pyrites gave 
the first impulse to the undertaking. In Pepperell, an individual has 
been engaged for several years, in pushing a drift into the rocks, 
which he has penetrated eight or ten rods; although individuals who 
have visited the spot, (I have not,) can discover nothing but iron 
pyrites. 
In the year 1815, an individual succeeded in getting a company 
formed and incorporated, with a capital of eighty thousand dollars, 
called the Easton lead and silver minmg Company. The fruits of 
their labor may be seen in an excavation, in red granite, nearly one 
hundred feet deep, at present nearly filled with water. I could not 
find a particle of ore, of any kind, in the fragments blasted out. A 
final stop was put to the work, by the killing of two men in blasting. 
Forty years since, a shaft was sunk in Mendon, in search of the 
precious metals. A little specular oxide of iron occurs at the place. 
Not many months since, an individual called upon me, with speci- 
mens of black blende or sulphuret of zinc, found in a neighboring 
town, and which he strongly suspected to be silver. I informed 
him of its true nature, and seeing that the vision had got strong hold 
