362 
HUBBARD AND CRONEIS 
This description, even in the light of present knowledge, may 
be regarded as a very good one, and to Boyd must go the credit 
for first mentioning the manganese deposits of Giles County, at 
least, in writing. 
It may be interesting to digress here long enough to mention 
the method of discovery of the value of manganese in the manu- 
facture of heavy ordnance pieces. According to Judge Bernard 
Mason-^ of Pearisburg, many of the large guns used by the 
South, in the Civil War, were made from iron ore obtained from 
Giles County and vicinity. This ore contained some manganese, 
but this fact was either unknown or disregarded by the manu- 
facturers. The fact that the southern canon stood up better 
under heavy service was known, however, and the war being 
over, an investigation was made. The results showed that man- 
ganese had imparted extra strength to the steel. 
The Stange Mine 
The Stange mine has marketed slightly more than 2000 tons 
of ore during the course of its operation. The workings are on 
and near the crest of Flat Top Mountain, and the boundary be- 
tween Giles and Bland counties actually passes through the mine. 
There are three principal cuts : the North cut, which is on the 
north side of the crest, trends east and west, being about 250 
feet long by 60 feet wide and 30 feet deep. The South cut is 
600 feet in length and follows the face of the mountain. The 
Middle cut runs northeast from the South cut about 150 feet and 
is some 40 feet in width by 20 feet in depth. 
The veins and pockets of ore vary greatly in size, the ore 
being distributed through all the sandstone revealed in the 
openings, but very unevenly. One ton of ore of market grade 
can be derived from four to five tons of the ore-bearing sand- 
stone. 
The ore as mined by B. T. Johnson and sons, as well as by Mr. 
Suffern, was either picked up on the surface or mined by hand in 
open cuts and was then hand-picked for marketing. 
Mr. Stange later operated the mine by means of a steam shovel, 
and then hauled the ore more than a mile to the washing plant 
on Ding Branch of No Business Creek. The plant consisted of a 
double log washer and a picking belt. After the ore was run 
Private conversation. 
