"GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



2$ 



Vel. The mine situated in Georgia had three distinct 

 strata of gravel ; one at six feet, then five feet of blue 

 clay, with vegetable remains contained in it; then a 

 Stratum of gravel two feet thick in which were found 

 the Indian arrow and spearhead of a siliceous mineral ; 

 then about six feet of the blue clay, as above ; and fi- 

 nally, the gravel in which was found the gold ; as much 

 as 1000 dwts. of gold having been obtained at this depth 

 from a trench forty feet in length by ten in breadth.* 



In the Creek nation, as also on the borders of the 

 Cherokee nation, remains are to be met with which 

 clearly indicate that gold mines were known to exist in 

 those regions, and that they had been partially worked 

 long prior to the present epoch. The traditions of the 



* Whilst this essay was yet in press, we observed the following notice of a sub^ 

 merged Indian village, in one of our daily Gazettes, which, from its connexion 

 with the subject before us, is deemed worthy of an insertion here : 



A letter to the editor of the Southern Banner states, that a subterranean In- 

 dian village has lately been discovered in Nacoochee valley, Georgia, by gold 

 miners, in excavating a canal for the purpose of washing gold. The depth to 

 which it is covered, varies from seven to nine feet ; some of the houses are em- 

 bedded in a stratum of rich auriferous gravel. They are 34 in number, built of 

 logs from six to ten inches in diameter, and from ten to twelve feet in length* 

 The walls are from three to six feet in height, forming a continuous line or 

 street of 300 feet. The logs are hewed and notched as at the present day. The 

 land beneath which they were found was covered, on its first settlements by the 

 whites, with a heavy growth of timber. 



The houses are situated from 50 to 100 yards from the principal channel of 

 the creek ; and as no further excavations have been made, it is more than pro- 

 bable that new and more interesting developments will be made, when the land 

 is worked for gold. 



During my mining operations last year, I found at one time, about one half of 

 a crucible of the capacity of near a gallon. It was ten feet below the surface^ 

 Vol. I— D 



