80  CONTRIBUTIONS    TO    ECONOMIC    GEOLOGY,   1903.  [bull.  225. 
investigation,  was  visited.  The  towns  of  Plymouth  and  Bridgewater, 
like  Readsboro,  are  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Green  Mountain  Range. 
The  ridges  and  foothills  of  this  region  are  deeply  trenched  by  the 
narrow  valleys  of  the  swift  mountain  streams,  and  the  rocks  are  well 
exposed  everywhere.  Schistose  rocks  predominate,  which  were 
mapped  by  the  earlier  Vermont  surveys  as  talcose  schist  and  slate. 
Steatite  and  serpentine,  as  well  as  some  granular  quartz,  also  occur. 
In  the  town  of  Bridgewater  gold  was  discovered  over  fifty  years  | 
ago,  and  within  ten  years  of  this  discovery  at  least  two  quartz  mills 
were  built  to  treat  the  ore  from  the  quartz  veins  in  the  vicinity  of 
Bridgewater  Center/'  The  early  work  was  characterized  by  extrava- 
gant expenditure  and  the  lack  of  reliable  statements.  It  can  safely 
be  stated,  however,  that  more  money  was  expended  in  mill  building 
than  was  secured  from  the  ore  treated.  This  kind  of  work  has  con- 
tinued spasmodically,  and  even  to-day  the  outlay  in  development  work 
in  progress  appears  out  of  proportion  to  the  ore  in  sight. 
The  veins  in  Bridgewater  have  a  north-south  trend,  and  apparently 
all  belong  to  one  general  system  which  extends  across  the  western 
part  of  the  town.  The  southernmost  productive  locality  is  on  Otta 
Queecha  River,  immediately  west  of  Bridgewater  Corners.  On  the 
Otta  Queecha  property  a  small  bunch  of  very  rich  ore  was  uncovered 
nine  years  ago,  which  is  reported  to  have  yielded  between  eight  and 
nine  hundred  dollars  in  gold.  Since  the  discovery  of  this  pocket  the 
property  has  produced  very  little  and  is  not  worked  at  the  present 
time.     This  locality  was  not  examined. 
Next  north  on  this  veined  zone  is  the  Taggart  vein,  on  which  work 
has  been  done  at  various  times,  beginning  with  1859.  Ten  tons  of  the  I 
ore  crushed  and  amalgamated  are  reported  at  one  time  to  have  yielded 
374  pennyweights  of  21^-carat  gold.  The  Taggart  vein  is  located  on 
the  old  Thompson  farm,  1  mile  west  of  Bridgewater  Center.  It  has 
been  opened  at  several  points,  chiefly  in  the  gulch  of  a  small  stream. 
These  openings  were  visited  at  the  upper  exposure  in  the  stream  bed 
itself,  where  the  quartz  vein  has  a  width  varying  from  8  to  18  inches. 
The  strike  of  the  vein  is  5°  to  10°  east  of  north,  and  it  dips  to  the 
east  at  an  angle  of  about  70°,  being  apparently  parallel  with  the  schis- 
tosity  of  the  country  rock.  The  quartz  of  this  vein  is  white  and  com- 
pact, and  barren  in  general  appearance  except  for  the  small  stringers 
of  galena  which  it  contains.  The  quartz  is  well  cemented  to  the  wall 
rock  and  there  is  no  evidence  of  fracturing  of  the  vein.  Below  the 
stream  level  at  this  point  the  vein  thickens  to  nearly  3  feet,  and  here 
the  ore  was  taken  out  that  was  reported  to  yield  $32  in  gold  to  the 
ton.  This  opening  extended  to  a  depth  of  0  feet,  but  is  now  rilled  in. 
From  a  small  pile  of  quartz  and  galena  remaining  at  the  edge  of  this 
a  Information  concerning  this  early  work  is  given  by  A.  D.  Hager,  Vermont  Geological  Survey, 
Final  Report,  vol.  2,  1861,  p.  sit. 
