502 
GEOLOGY OF THE FIRST DISTRICT. 
mining enterprise. Superstition, as in many other instances which have come under my ob¬ 
servation, has been busy. This mine is stated to have been discovered in a dream, by an 
apparition pointing out this as the locality of a rich silver and lead mine, to a Mr. Holmes, 
the father of one of the lessees, about thirty or forty years ago. He sold the farm many 
years since, went to the west, and after an absence of more than twenty years, returned, took 
a lease of the lot, and opened the place where he had dreamed a rich lead and silver mine 
had been indicated to him. He gave one half his interest in the mine to his son, and sold 
the other half. It was worked some in 1837. 
Mr. Calvin Prescott of Hillsdale, who has long been a close observer of the minerals of . 
that region, imparted to me the following localities where small quantities of galena have 
been found. Several of them were examined by Prof. Cassels and Mr. Merrick, in company 
with Mr. P., but there are no indications supposed to be worth pursuing for mining purposes. 
Fine grained galena is found in Dover, in a small vein in dolomite, near John Preston’s 
inn. Galena has been found in Hillsdale, on land of Uriah Sornberger, Andrew Shortis, 
David Collins, Richard A. Wheeler, Sylvester Williams, and JohnF. Collins. These are all 
situated in quartz veins which traverse the limestone, and the ore is disseminated in small 
grains and bunches. 
On the road from New-Lebanon to Stephentown, a lead mine is said to exist; but Prof. 
Briggs, who examined the locality, could trace no appearance of lead ore. 
Lead ore is said to occur in Amenia,* but I could learn nothing in relation to it from the 
inhabitants. A vein of galena is also said to have been found in Claverack,t and at Rhine- 
beck.J Another was reported to occur in Ghent, where lumps of the size of a person’s head 
were easily obtained, but I could not ascertain its exact locality, Mr. Staats, of Hudson, 
informed me of another locality in Ghent, on the farm of Martin Harder. 
A small string of galena is stated to have been found in digging a vault on the east side of 
Indian pond, in limestone. The vein traversed the rock from east to west. 
In Stanford, lead ore is said to occur on the land of Asa Thorne, and also on that of Asa 
Thompson, 
Copper ore in small quantity was observed on Gen. Brush’s farm, in Amenia. This loca¬ 
lity was worked for copper ore some twenty years ago. It is about one hundred rods west of 
the City meeting-house. 
Copper ore, principally of the black sulphuret, has been mentioned in Judge Bockee’s lead 
veins, in Northeast. It also occurs in New-Canaan, Columbia county, on land of Daniel 
Pease. Mr. Prescott, who mentioned this locality to me, states that it contains copper, lead, 
and silver. Mr. P. also observed a small vein of pyritous copper on the farm of John F. 
Catlin of Austerlitz, in veins of white quartz, traversing limestone ; also on the mountain 
east of Green river, about a quarter of a mile from the inn formerly kept by Hatch. Mr. 
Prescott says this is the blue copper ore, in a narrow vein; and that a similar one occurs in 
* Cleaveland’s Mineralogy, p. 633; and Robinson’s Catalogue of Minerals, t Ibid. % Ibid. 
