270 
GEOLOGY OF NORTH CAROLINA. 
Murphy ; but half a mile below, are two tine outcrops, indicating the 
presence of immense quantities of ore. Taking the course of the Kot- 
teley to the southwestward, the two limonite beds, with intervening 
quartzyte, appear near the Ducktown road about 5 miles from Murphy, 
and there is a large outcrop also at the bridge, 6 miles from Murphy. 
There is a large quarry of steatyte within the same distance. Ascending 
the Hiwassee from Murphy, on the south bank, at the distance of about 
2 miles, and after passing a heavy bed of slaty gneissoid quartzyte, is a 
large bed of limonite; and beyond this, other quartzose gneisses, much- 
veined ; then a second bed of the ore, after which come hydro-mica slates, 
and at 3 miles, (Martin’s), white marble. Half a mile beyond is a fine bed 
of limonite 10 to 12 feet thick, which has been worked to some extent, 
and a few hundred yards further, is a bed of blue marble, which is re- 
ported to occur also on Brasstown Creek. The steatyte does not show 
itself in this section, being concealed by superficial deposits, but in 
another section a little north (less than 2 miles,) it comes in as a brown 
spongy decomposed massive talcose rock just west of Garrison’s, the 
marble and iron ore appearing on both sides of it at Garrison’s, and west 
of the ledge ; this last being an ocherous bed, associated with quartzyte. 
Eastward of Garrison’s, on this section, at Williams’, the marble appears, 
and at Southard's, both marble and limonite ; and the marble and iron 
are reported as outcropping again at Coleman’s, on Little Brasstown 
Creek, the marble here having a greater thickness than at any other 
point, many hundreds of feet. The last outcrop in this direction 
of the marble and limonite is near Peachtree Creek, between 7 and S 
miles from Murphy. So that here the beds must have suffered much and 
rapid folding or faulting. 
These beds of ore are traceable northwards to within two miles of the 
Yalley River beds near Mrs. Hayes’. The quantity of ore in this 
county is therefore immense, and very widely distributed, and the forests 
of the mountain slopes furnish unlimited supplies of fuel, while the 
marble is at hand everywhere for fluxing. The quality of the ore may 
be inferred from the following analysis by (Chatard for) Genth, of a 
large mass obtained from the open cut a mile north of Murphy : 
Sesquioxide of Iron, 85.69 
Silica, 1-50 
Water, 12.81 
Metallic Iron 
59.98 
