APPENDIX. 
99 
the rocks and the mineral deposits found in them. Begining upon the 
north and coming in regular order towards the Blue Ridge, we have first 
the Taconic or oldest sedimentary beds. This series enters the State 
from Georgia and Tennessee, striking through the northwestern part of 
Clay county, and the central part of Cherokee, continuing through Swain, 
the northern parts of Jackson and Haywood counties. 
The members of this series are quartzite, Limestone (marble) clay 
slate, and drab colored Talco-micacious slates, with occasionally a solid 
conglomerate. There is a central belt or zone in this series extending 
from the Georgia State line through Cherokee county, that has a wonder- 
ful grouping of minerals iti it. This zone passes from beyond the aSTotley 
river in a north-east direction, crossing the Hiwassee at Murphy, and 
passing up Valley river to its head, and thence through the corner ot 
Macon and into Swain. There is nearly thirty miles along this zone 
that abounds in Iron beds. The ore is a brown hydrated oxide. It ex- 
its in great abundance. The beds are numerous, and the out-crops indi- 
cate exhaustless quantities. The ore is rich in metalic iron, and the 
metal has proved to be of superior quality, well adapted to the manufac- 
ture of car wheels, &c. In immediate proximity to the iron ore are beds 
of Agalnratolite — a superior soapstone for lining blast furnances. It also 
makes a good lubricator for heav} 7 machinery, as well as superior tips for 
gass burners. Associated with the iron and soapstone, are numerous 
and continuous beds of marble. This marble will be valuable as a flux 
in the reduction of the iron ores. It possesses one advantage as a flux. 
It is almost pure Lime, being destitute of magnesia. While this is true 
of the Cherokee marble, the Limestones generally that occur with iron 
ores in the Silurian and Carboniferous periods are more or less dolomitic, 
and are therefore more or less refractory in the fire. Hence, in the re- 
duction of the Cherokee ores, with wood coal as fuel and the marble as a 
flux, the best results must be obtained in the production of pure iron. 
The marble, besides its value as a flux, cannot fail to be valuable as an 
ornamental stone. It occurs of great beauty and excellence. The quality, 
at the respective localities where it crops out, differs materially. At 
number six, near Murphy, there is a grey marble, susceptible of a high 
finish. At Marble branch, three miles from Murphy, there is white mar- 
ble of good quality from which tombstones havtfbeen manufactured. At 
David Taylor’s, some twelve miles up the Valley river from Murphy, 
there was some beautiful white marble raised several years ago by parties 
who were searching for metalic veins. The other out-crops along the 
river have not been specially examined, until reaching Mr. J. T. Young’s 
two miles above Valley Town, where there is an out-crop yielding a 
