Newspapers / The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, … / Jan. 27, 1878, edition 1 / Page 2
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DULY OBSERVER, j u r;S- -- K i ,f -W.M c .5: r v.'Sv CfllS. E. J0SES,; rditoT and Proprieton T (Fre from the doting scruples that fetter oar free-born reason." MEMORIAL TO THE SS OF THE UNITED STATES, The Charlotte North Carolina, cham ber of commerce, speaking for the business men of Western North Caro Una, the business interests .of a large flection of both North and South Caro liriarespectfully call your attentiento the following preamble and resolutions adopted at a regular meeting, of : the 'Charlotte Chamber of-Commerce, on the 3d day of January, 1878 : Whereas, The State of North Caro lina, as exhibited by official statistics, has paid into the Treasury of the United States since the 30th June, 1866, ..r a surn of money exceeding twenty '-millions of( dollars, and f -V, r r? ; V" Whereas, The insignificant compar ative sum of only $1,124,500 of the vast amount paid intajheFederaVTreaeury, "has been appropriated by Congress for publio works of internal improvement - ur North Carolina. and j ? f t T Whereas,The ksity 'of Charlotte, the third in the State of North Carolina in poidtof population and the jBrst in its actual purchase and sale of -merchandise, and the most important railroad rCentrpSn the, Southern States, next to 'Atlanta; Georgia, demands some con sideration at the hands of the govern- i ment? therefore, s ; . , f , . f 1 ; ' 'Resolved, 1st; That the people of Char' lotte, through the chamber of com merce, ( do . petition Congress for an appropriation' of 1 - dollars, for the purpose of erecting a postoffice building, which .shall be more in accordance with the demands of our present mail business. Resolved, 2d, That we petition Con gress for the passage of tbe bill recently introduced into that body by the Hon. Bobt. B. Vance, re-establishing the United States mint in this city as a mint of coinage, and for such an appropriation as frill enable the f mint here to be put oh an equal footing with Other United States mints under the direction of the general govern ment. -Resolved, ,Z&. That a committee of tbree "members of this Chamber be appointed for the purpose of presenting the?e matters to our members of Con gress, and of urging upon them the fairness and justice of our demands. Corroborating the. first item in the preamble, it ri learned ifrom official sources, on filairabe Tasury Depart ment at Washington City, that from the 80th of June, 1865, to the 30th day of June, v 1876, North Carolina 'hid paid -into the Federal Treasury, from direct internal revenue collections alone, $15,490,726.33, and that during the same period there had been collected through the Federal custom houses in the State , th sum jof $729,155,63, , We have no figures afi command which will officially give us the amount which the people of North Carolina have paid directly from the 30th day of Jnne, 1876, to the 31st day of December, 1877 eighteen months but we Assume for he pur- poses ; off this m$3iofia1, and the; esti mate is not far from correct,' that the total amount exceeds twenty millions i of dollars which have." been paid into the Treasury of the United States directly, since the ,30th day of June, 7l665rbv:the people of North Carolina. in return for this heavy burden of taxation , the Congress of the United Stat- s has seta fit to return, to us ohly: 1st. Appropriations for Improvements p f .at,7 the t- Mouth 1 of the ? Gape i Fear July 11," 1870.. . $100,000 Jdne 10. 1872:., .... loo.ooo June 23, 1874 . 150,000 Mm$ 3,;1875..(4..f I..,... f 150,Q0i Augost 14A876.,...r..t..V..::..... J 132,500 -:rrrTotelfor,this world.. 1732.50a fci f c. j Mf & x v - -1 A - J V xT i 2d. Appropriation for Improvements on the Koanoke Eiver. below Wel don: . YVJl March 3, 1873....;. $10,000 January 23, 1874..,.. 5,000 sTfthiwrk.jfi.. $itmw. 8d. Appropriation for the Improvement . of - tbe Pamlico River, Eemoval of Obstructions below Washington, N C; August 14, 1876...:....;..:.. $10,000 '4th. -Appropriation for the Improve ment of the French Broad Kiver: August 14, 1876...... ..... . . -$10,000 5th. Appropriation for the Erection: if the United ' States Court House and Postoffice, Raleigh: IDifierenC dates;. ;.;:;jRSl.i.. ( $35CQ0oa fi Making d tdtaf tslrecited inlf the ' second' iteni of the preamble above Uof.R.5...X4..4.k4 .JtlZl2iJ5Q0 Or, in round numbers very little more than; one-twentieth of the amount w have paid idirectlyifor' the support of tne common government. - ;Tbis, being a matter of public record, 3 ybur, memonalists ; would respectfully r, submit that the present session of Con i' cress Will but acknowledge the fairheas and justice of our claim by erantine f the: prayer of ; the Charlotte chamber rbfcommefceV" referredf6, ia the' Ut Una 2d resolutions ' of. tbe m iseries' as . adtedftboveVwp f fen h -i' ' i Ab to the necessity of- the appropria uon'asicea ior ior ino Duuamg of federal ; court nouse and- government postoffice, your, memorialists submit that the present postoffice' is ' totally ' inadequate to the wants of our oeoDle. itfix: Jrailroads centre in'Charlotte,3and p. oa all of. tiienr postal ronte agents are mnloved to distribute the' maiW.'bui tated by having such accommodations for the mails tfter" they 'arrive asTout -bnainccs ceceEsitiea derr.rnd Charlotte i now the distributing point for a laree area of country, and in asking addi tional accom modations for ; our mail nusmess. we sneaii ior m uwuum v thU larsre section of country as much wa do for ourselves. . r f' V' Charlotte being the centre of !a large J cr.I Courishing trade,' the importance r rf havimr tbe sessions of the . eaera conrta held - here, in Addition to Asteville, s Statesville- and ..Greens hnro. is arjnarent. and your mem rfjilists a.r of the . ODinion that this is only a question of time, bhould this become an accomplished fact, thfr proposed building couki be, so constructed as to jaccomoodate both tbe postoffice; and the Federal courts. In ' th e second resolution;-your me. morialista respectfully askr that the bill' recently introduced in Congress by the Hon. K. B. Vance, legalizing the re establishment of the United - States mint, in the city of Charlotte, aisamint of nageilobe put on an equal foot ing' Srith other United States mints under, the direction of a theg general, government, the necessity "for which would seem to be apparent, now that gold and silver are once more aboutlo take their places in the currency of the country, j " ' M:t This mint was established by. act1 of Congress on the 3d day of Marchil835. It was conducted successfully with tbe approval of the officers of the govern" ment uatif in July, 1814, when it was destroyed by fire. So important had its operations become that Congress almost immediately . passed A bill for rebuilding it. It is situated in the centre of the mining districts in the South Atlantio 'gold field, which comprises parts of North and South Carolina and Georgia, and which is said, up to the year 1840, to have produced one-third of the gold ever produced in the United States up to that date,- and the present prospective yield of the precious metals withiim proved . methods, ,of managing refractory oresj and "the more ystem atic development of the wealth of our mines, is -even more promising than evr;-"r-4 'i . ' siV'HJri . Iu order to show that the establish ment of the mint was a necessity in the first instance, and that the necessity exists to-day with . even greater." force, we propose to review in a short, com prehensive manner, some facts in re gard to the mining interests of North Carolina, in thei past & short state ment of the present condition of the mines, and osometbing pi what imay be 5 expected i i them in the future, if an impetus caa be given to this branch of our wealth by the re-establiehmeht of ourimintd , In the early history of the country the South Atlantic gold field was known and recognized byitbe jgeolo gists and mineralogists of that era. It included a large area of North Caroli na, South! Carolina ahd Georgia, find while gold was predominant, in many sections of this area, silver, copper, iron and mother! metals wemfpund in abun dance, but so little ' attention was paid to the keeping of records of mining operations, that little besides tradition has been preserved. The country known as the piedmont section of North Carolina is the best known of the area of which we speak because of its great er extent and of the great number and relative richness of its mines. From statistics deemed entirely reliable, it is learned that gold is found here and there in at least one-half of the ' State, but the portion productive on a work ing scale, is considerably less, embrac ing, according to tbe fairest estimates, about one-fourth of tbe entire area 12,000 square miles. It extendi from Moore and Franklin counties, on the east, nearly to the Tennessee line, on the west Within these limits inayifce found illustrations of every mode of occurrence of gold, placers, gravel; wasipgs, beds, veins,, nd bottoms of streams. Within thisarea,$oo, are to be foUnd,viacCording to the reports of oiuf State Geologist, at least three different geological formations, each furnishing ores with peculiar; 'characters, The best known and most profitable mines which have been developed are upon the central belt1 of .granite, stretching across the State of North Carolina, in a north-east and south-west direction, with. width of ten 4o forty miles, the towns of Greensboro ahd Charlotte be ing nearly on its axis. In this connec; tion it may be - mentioned! that this area is regarded bgebldgi&s'iBte among the oldest on the North American Con j To the east some mines of value, but they have been practically unexplored Sucbu as have been' developed, aref Toniid to abound in argillaceous slates, and are generally onremunerative. To the est is a still larger field,' made up for the moat part of srneissoid and scnistose ibrmations", and .extending nearly rir quite to the' Terinessee border, but "it is of toe gold belt proper or JMorin In this belt it is hiehlv nrobable thai gold was mined to considerable ex tent prior to me xveyoiutiouary war, but the records have been so lmperf ectlyf keot.as to be of little) use- Jtoi be preaenVgeneration) andTor our'presi ent purposes. It was in the year 1799", thatr ithe? mowr rfadcshitwerfteight pound; nugget at "the Reed 'mihe in Mecklenburcr countv was discovered and gave anhnpetus to the. mining in1 terest of thissectiOn of the eddnfry but regular operations were not conduct ted until some years afterward. By the year 1825 the wealth of this beltbecomt ing known, regular mining operations were commenced, ana vn ioou iyegis lative report puts down the officialasj certained production at half a million! of Jdollars per annum, and thus fa comparatively little ..work had ; been done, except on placer mines, but tne needy exhaustion of these- compelled he miners to explore the veins which had been the source of so much riches and the large number of veins discov ered and worked put entirely new con ditions to this,nowimportant industry m b wauuiaturu;ai jjiabsiuaij cmuc. theJbirVnlmstahcelsnoi ther kfiole()g norstui of that period were xavprapr orith aims such as we nbw witness i4 the States of the far West, but we be lip.vfi had thfiv hpfin an. the entire' in dustrial condition of theiState would have been changed, for, to the present time,- notwithstanding tne incontro vertible mineral wealth which' thfe crold belt is known to possess nearly all the mining wbtkflias ben xf thtfnrdst de sultory character.: In rmostnasea ,th e veins r were, workedt,by tarmers.T who mate, Oh soil-thai Hva -highly3brci- ductiye'did not hye : that.fincentive to increase tneir weaitn dv mmme mat is dw1 ka6wri; 4W -exist,-spen todd times; in th'ee enterprise?iUsing thir slave Jabbr (otherwise nnempiQy ed) ai Wia- . Thnr mii.fA- j ujiucioa v RMW BVWUUIUK UUU randpm or desu.lt9ry.w0rk was enorf ixiuusj uufc a ores jwere uuauaniL an rich, and cheaply treated, there, was a incentive conomy. ExnertS andhistc runs leu us that when the 'permanent water-line was reached generally at the denth of 40to60 feetthe orodactiv ores changed to sulphereta, and as ext peuaive . noisting anu pumping mat chinery was necessary, and as all opf erations neeoen to do conunuous, tne work; asthen conducted ceased to bk - j a - a 9 1 prontaoie; 'and mim arter mine ' was discontinued, and. .the larger number 01 tnenx remain. aoanuonea- even this dayf4oaifl" sve-yiKnnd .The -history of the; minme . ooera- tions in North' Carolina proves it' to have been neriodical. c and ithe five years immediatelirtirecedinff the late war, witnessed a revival of the mining Industry, and a real progress was msde towards a mastery of the? rtethods of dealing with eulpherlts', inaa eebnom-isal,-2ectiv&; and tVorongh jmonner, bat frith all the absorbing Issues pf that peiio-'nrtloepnter'est in mining operations practically died, and at its close, every mine in North Carolina, t with if one fitful exception , was -suspended. -4- - - if The south end "of-" the centraT belt has been the m ostexploreoy aritf tiif larger number of known niine are within ,sa j:adiu4 tO 50, milear Charlotte.,;, ,;T..; . ' t :: For a more-' comprehensive states ment ol the various mines and their localities included .within this gold;belt of North Carolina, we refer to the fol lowing extract taken from a letter re 1 cently published by Prof G B Hanna assistant Tassayerf of 'metals at -thee United States mint in Charlotte : f i ' 'TheBOuth'end bf the central belt has been most explored,45 and ' the 5 larger number of known mines are within a; radius of 20 or 30f miles of Charlotte, j The most prominent mine hitherto, has been the Rudisill; it comprises two parallel "yeinsksily operated by tha same ; shafts which : have ' an aver4 age combined width tof 8 feet. Tb is mine,' after standing Some yearsj hs recently been re-bpened and new lev-i els driven from. the bottom Of the old pump shaft; at a 'depth of nearly 200 feet. From personal "inspection If think the vein at this depth is of some-i what greater width wthan 'usual;5 it carries a considerable amount of sul-f phuret, apparently of good grade. A small percentage" of copper is found In the ore. The records of the past yield, of the mine are defeetive, but is is ere-1 dited by persons familiar with its his tory, with a productions of $1,000,000. f The old Charlotte jmine, to the north of the above, has been worked to, the same depth; the production was large. , The. Carson mine, to the , Bouthwtst br the Rudisill , has a wide vein and superior; ore., Near- by are the Sam Taylor and the Icehour mines. . f The extension Of the Rudisill mine to the south is met with on the plan tation of Mr Howell;' it has given some fine specimens. 4 On B F Wilson's plantation, to the southeast, is an! unusually promising yein unworked as yet ; it extends to R McDonald's plantation. The" lark-mine-is- about-on m Ue west-oft the Rudisill. This mine has borne a good reputation; v. ;l-T The v Davidson) . mine ' or group of minoa one and a half miles west of Charlotte, furnished an abundance of ore down to the water line; when abandoned the ore was said to have been of good grade, but.toa refractory to be profitably worked with the ap pliances of 20 years ago. Similar statements may be made of the Trotter mine, to the southwest ot the Clark jThis mine is cut by the Atlanta? Railroad. The Capns mine, five miles west of Charlotte, is another of the great mines of this i section, and has yielded even more liberally than the Rudisill. The greatest depth reached, is 200 feet. There are twp converging veins, one Of whichf at its north end passes into an other jproperty and is known as the lfoQiin&QTS':ein8 are wide and strong, and have given superior ore. f Jt is not worked at present. xne jncuinn mine is one oi tne lew mines! of mslsection now in .opera tion land u at present in s ;bbnanza'r! The north end of the yein has yielded a high; grade of copper, ore.f while the south end?irfor thef most part surifer- present, are of unusual width and of good grade! jfbil f aaeayof it have been Tbe Dunn mihe.-mne miles 'W.est: of Charlotte, has three, veins, one carry ing copper. 1 -ai-M. i ; The StephenrWitson mine; is nearly nine miles west of Charlotte ; it is on a property of 340 acres ; there are 10 well; denned' eJns ;i Une only veui worked runs in an east and west direc tion (the tins ffjpf his;country Oburse N"j "R and S. Wf naimll vVjinrl haa viftld- ed a large amount, of good ore, 'some of It of exceptionally high grade. . .mi n - r . . i . rr . . . : ; . j. i n p razRr.'i' nmn . nnn i innn.'h una some other mines are near by.. The iodd w now actively at work! and as is f reported, j with good results, thefe being ja large amount of valuable ore on the dump. T lJ " " ; ; OTeKerns :1br -Hopewell niine; U miles . north weist of Charlotte, . bears reand,';feopper. .? py ritjed (?. containing gold i' the: copper is frequently present m uch' proportion as1 to make it a east pf Charlotte, is . another example; of the! copper. bjeanEinl oCthis sec-f tionf.'IU.peeh worked to a depth; of 90iJeet:theio ialargely brown; oxid, with . iron pyrites andequent mtoe8Toffopper,pyritefl'; the l&ttex, is ajrawy moaptecLW pijeiig; many? samples of its s6res4iav assay edveryl The sffehiaeraonthe Mc4 pbaueual0n&i8fSid uuuo: are, the Hendersoit'aird the Cbappf u (are xne Hunter, tne urosoy, ine Aogers and thetPionjeerJliU are from 13,0 47: miles nearly east of i Charlotte the; last three carry coppsi pyrites in ioonsideri able quantl ty; Th s -debris i about th e Irioneer Mills is everywhere 'opperi bearing and points to the probability; that the ore was bf eood erade as to copper coiitentsk ' i 't&)iwn ThAy th'f R,haheLthfe Sdnson Maxwell; 'Johnson and the Harris: WT0 xmGpm Charlottejiihutjuifieastexlys direetibiai Tlk.tt'b14(di into iByckfirtuiui :UuuBMuy,-riw pockets havefrecently bdndiscoveredi The;rCaidwelir and ...thevr Frederick min ea s li avey ielded' 4arge bod ies a i imAnMJ iMsfJBJ Jit j J2'raj!Ki l-f j .Th Jinott i ittotnersr nare reeenuy bothbrowttrttbd((Wirjftrttef hot yet-been dona taaac&tamjfc&3iil value of thdiseovery'Shbtrid "pVesientl anticipations jreaiiaeu,, tne .mpper pyritesi wiUlfbe Zifalti prbiB table coantT.Kdistahtre(ik,firoaiiChari mine8.i Among theuvwith1 iepntjLtKi aTJfpj?ettof;2P05 fcerfesy tftp iyhteht-M ootapeafc'ioinKhisvrteidii the- veiisf "pnf the 1 above1 property ek tendio th&JajQd&fpjfo the jyanderfewg 11'!-. m . . .... . iningf w.? ine roTO "are rsimiiar,r toi those ofvthe above mine..;.:, V; ; . - q ? - The North ; Barrier. ithe- South and the Middle ESrrier are in xlbis'e'rbii mity to the Phoenix, 'and adoinihg.lis the California Coa: property The Reed Mine, On Rockjr-River, about 25- miles northeas of Charlotte, is chiefly pf historin importance, Gold was foundefe, inl799, and for a pe rioof nxori than ft years it continued tobe prolific oft l.rge nuggets, of ms. tivgld, veigtiog from 1 lb. to 28 IU. ; the vein fws jitorked td the depth jof soet: -v ,vX- About Salisbury, 40 miles"' Porth ' of Charlotte;; are groups of mines, ; but none of them have attracted - the' at- lentioniwhich-theT'-'deserve; The Z . I . 1-4.1 Stilk farther norths on ihe eranite belt, from. Lexington to. Greensboro, theraremanjr' mines Tbe McCul loch; -Jack's Hill an4 the Lindsay; make up a Veid about orie sniile 'Iong.' The McCulloch gave'bbtb' gold: and copper Ore of a' very high-grade. - ' The, Fisher eHill . mine;? about five miles south, of Greensboro; has a very flat' vein, but the" ores are reputed good, f fceHdg&'Hai'mineiri this vicinity, Carrief .Copper pyrites. ; u - Ten 'mi lea 1 kmitli - nf VOrfienshhrn ' ia tnfef, Gardner Hill I Gold - Mining Co. i nere are several veins on this proper ty with ores of gold and copper, the latter, of high" grade. ; .. , l On' fhe'siat belt the . more f impor tant mines are : " - . . . The Howie " or " Cdreton, in Union county,' and 22 miles southeast of Char lotte. This mine has, with two excep tions, been more, extensively worked than any mine in North Carolina ; the greatest depth reached having been 300 leet nearly: No record of the amount extracted is now known. TV fT A. A .. ? . . . 1 ' A ' f ,j j.ce yyy ait mine is two miies east oi yie. Howie,., and, tbev Washington a little to the, north, and near by is the Smart mine. . . . s j ft s 5 Fifteen miles ; nearly southeast , of Charlotte occurs n interesting group the Lemmonds, Folger; Hill, Davis, Lewis and Fhifi'er, the latter . having yielded enormonsly rich pockets. .Fifteen miles east of Charlotte is the Stewart mine, which hasf given rich ore ; galena and blende is frequently found with the ore: " v ;, Long and CrowcU .mines, in Cabar rus and Union counties, , have,, more tbafn, 2Q yeins, some y of , which . carry copperand;lead as well ai goldn Gold -Hill mine, in Rowan f county, 15 m ilea from Salisbury .was discovered in 1842, and b&a been, more extensive ly worked, than any mine. in the. State ; only two of its veins have, proved of workable value the Earnhardt and the Barnhardt, the former ., being ex ploited to a depth of more than 700 feet, and ore, of fair .quality has , been found to its very lowest point ; a sm all per cent of copper is an almost in variable constituent. The large bodies of ore have allowed this mine more than 20 years of continuous and, for the most part, profitable work. During tbe war work was suspended, and since the surrender the operations have, from lack of capital, been too desultory to do justice to this fine property. The production of Gold Hill h as been at least $2,000,000.. Ten miles nortbof Gold Hill is Sil ver Hill, notable as being the only lead mine in North Carolina thus far deem ed workable ; the. lowest workings are more than 600 feet in depth. 1 The ore is argentiferous galena, with a large fer cent, of blende. . There . are other, ocalities near Silver Hill which pro mise to yield ore of a similar charac ter. The counties of Montgomery! and Stanley are known to f abound in the precious,, metals, but being remote from. the highways of comfm erce, little has been done in. the way of; explora tion. The Steel and the. Russet mines are the only ones of more., than f, local importance ; the latjterf yields an enor mous body of Jbw grade ore, 1 . ; ' ' Jhe gravel mipea.;b Montgomery are attracting, deserved attention ; the' Christian: mine is the best .known ex ample of theni; only a. small .excava tion has been made in the bank, but even this, with an adequate supply, of water, afforded j large, and gratifying results. Ib Moore county only a few mines aire in operation, the most important being the Eagle imne , and the Chick mine ; the latter also carries copper. r On the third belt, alluded to at the beginnhig of this article, the most noted mine is the King's Mountain, situated about 40 miles southwest of Charlotte, and hear f-the Atlanta Rail road11 The cbdfetry rock is limestone. ahd the 6re body is itself largely 1 made up of inrpur limestone, with' about 3 Eerxept of 8uiphueta, tc. The ore od' varies from 6 to 30 feet in thick ness, and is for the most part milling "ore';, the' ' greatest depth reached - is nearly 250 feet The-ore is low grade, btitrthd large amount available, and the facility wjtnwnicn n j is treated, has enabled the mine to make a more steadir return for vears'than anV other inthisectidhf. The 'product of thef mine is! established at 9750000, : "v '; TheC&owtie' MburitairJ - minei about toarhoiles distant has also large bodies oi ore, du ioey uare ueenv iw . iit,ue worked to justify any assertion of their ff On the High Shoals property (to the tibrthweit?'for thr King's Mountaih iriwV fim ibi-AA !,mthea -ijOfic 'Crftftlr ASbury and urxonfor lxiign -ssnoais. Trpm all of these, J in past yearsAhe production has been large Recently they nave beenireOpened;'1 and?i pre paratiOns ' for re-working1 haver been vigorously pushed, and good bodies of; millihg:ore have bieen uncovered. f ' xne xugnjonoais pTopertyvonuwnicn these iaines we sithated; is worthy of a passing notice on other- grounds.' St is a tract of 14,000 acres, . is n tra versed by two irailroadsi and -is quite near a third, nit comprises several iron mines, and haa upon it a blast furnace and rolling mill.1iIts sh ief f ..value, however; lies iin its uniivalled. water p'weyKthat; of the south-forkxbf: the Catawabii riverJthefaU is 123 .feet, and the discharge 200,000 gallons per minute. sRarelynloes one tract con bind sb many 'advantages. ?iA Other mines in Gaston county are the Oliver, the Rhodes, ! the Rhyne, Dufilft and; the Burrell wells . . , ; birrwjCansle6andhufordit piines are pi Vein mining in the mountains 'has been little followed the veins, .rarely being of any size&tbat'I would; yield J a profitable etuHiv .The Baker mine, on John's riveri'in Caldweld county, isan exception, and the ;Nich try.mine near has? acquired some vf epntatiotrfeX I nAlVLL-J.-l. 1 1 vrravetuna piacer mmra, vnoweTrr, have been worked more j extensively. herethanm! any it other ipartofjthe 8tate.f The most noted- localities are inCrindletownrr Brackettown,) Wbite-i sides and Jamestown, in McDowell and Kutherfdrdi icounties p' Baody.i-Plains and?Pacolet.? River,- fPolk tounty j Fairfield - Valley. Jabbsonr couhty i iValleytowniand tnTVengeancei Creek; Cherokee county.. u ;; a.; if! ; :The Gap Creek; mine, in Ashe coun if. has giveni somereanarkably. beauti ful ores, rioh in: copper," gold and silver. oJlt haa reached the depth of 40 vt It one of a group of mines, but the others hate never been explored.-. ; . t Prior to the war the old 'fashioned writer has little personal acquaintance jjifttSemjjind Ss Obliged - to dWmiss them with a bare allusion.' " A - Carolina gold mill was the! chief . ma- ! Chinery relied on for milling, and with attention to the details of; its work drd well; nothing equal to! it has since tfen (introduced. After the war the Plifi?rr44 stamp :battery was gener ally shbsti tnted, but with an.exception here and there it has- proved lament ably inefficient: Hereafter I the pros perity of bur mines will largely depend on metallurgical establishments; wheth er - th ese will em ploy : .""mechanical; chemical or t smelting methods, or a combination of them, is.as yeLa matter ot corjea!Bi4Q4rpointaif Charlotte, -Salisbury and Greensboro areconveniently situated to accom -modate their respective sections, and tbe railroad system of the State is now sutficiently ?exteridbd 4 tor afford fair facilities for shipping, etc. Charlotte, N. -C Dec 27X1877, Further testimony as to tbe charac ter and value of pur mining interests is added to. what has been already said In the following extract from a report of the Hon J Ross Snowden, who was sent out last March, by the Director of the Mint, to examine into this very subject. It is as follows : To the Director of the Mint: a In accordance with your instructions. I investigated tbe condition of . the m ines in-the f neighborhood of Char lotte,, with a view to give some estimate of their capabilities to supply gold bul lion to the mint in the eveut of coin age operations being resumed. , come of tre, mines near Charlotte, I personally viaited.andsome at more dis tant pointsfor example the mines at King's Mountain and others. ' As my time would not permit a more extended examination. I obtained from Gen T P Drayton, who has a real estate office and mining agency at Cnailotte, a state ment of the production of gold from the mines in , . question. . From these statements it appears that these mines in JMortb (Jaroiina have hitherto pro duced about $12,000,000 in gold. I incline to the opinion that this amount is understated. Mr Cowles. the officer in charce of assay oflice. in his communications to me, puts the production at : $20,000,000. . ; At all events, the statistics show that large amounts of gold have been produced from these mines under the imperfect system then in use for the exploitation and reduction of these ores.. It is now well known that the mode of reduction of these ores does not usually produce more rthan 25 or 30 per ct nt of the gold they contain. xne tailings irom the . stack oeiow the stamp mill at Kink's Mountain. Gaston county, on an, accurate assay, showed a gold value per ton of $41.91, and silver contained therein of the value of $1.44; total per ton $43.35: Assays of some other tailings show a value per ton of $57.96. rrof Kaymond, United States com missioner of mining statistics, speak ing generally of the operations of stamp mills, which is the chief mode of re duction used in North Carolina, says : "it is impossible to state accurately what per centage of gold is lost in mill ing, as few assays are made either of the crude ore' or the tailings,. but that a very large amount is lost cannot be : doubted, and this loss probably varies j troni dOto 70 per cent, according to the nature of the ore." , Prof Gent, of the University of Penn sylvania, after a careful examination, reports in 1871, that down to this year, only 20 per cent, of the gold in the ore treated was obtained by the Chillian ot Other processes used from the begin nings. The mines are so numerous in North Carolina, that it is desirable that the production and exploitation of the ores should be separated from f. their, reduc tion, that is to say,-the present plan of imperfectly opening the. mines and having at each mine imperfect and sometimes expensive reduotion works put up, produce unsatisfactory "results. . The establishment of reduction works at or near Charlotte, .near; wbich are many valuable mines, and the opening of .six railroads .which center ,in that city, would give great facilities for Jhe supply of ores to such works and would kenable the proprietors to, realize good prpnts irom tne works and anord an excellent market for the owner's and producers of the ores.; . , Whatever modes may be adopted hereafter, and even with the. present manner of opening the mines and re ducing the ores there will be large amounts of gold annually produced. Prof Gent says that if properly, operat ed he thinks $200,000 per annum is a iair esumate. King's Mountain or Gaston mine should produce not less than $500,000 if the deposits hold out, of which there seems to be ho doubt from,; personal examination of the mines, and if it is worked to , its full capacity. If the placers were nronerlv worked the. North Carolina gold production should be, what it was beft re the gold deposits in California were discovered between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000 per annum.. - ... , ; V .... , .. . Some of the South Carolina mines. such, as, the Brewer,' Hale and others, would senu tneir bullion to Uharlotte, but none of these mines are in opera tion a,t present. ,The amount of gold and silver deposited at the mints and assay offices to the close of the ff fiscal year ending June 30, 1876,;, from . the South Atlantic gold field is- according to the report of the .Director ot the Mint for 1876, page 31, as follows' : , North Carol iua,... ...... ... ..$10,335 09.31 Georgia,.:.....,......... 7,379,495.91 South Carolina,. ...1,38121.06 Total.......... ....$19,09628 It thus appears that the mines of this region have heretofore contributed a considerable amount of the precious metals to the minting institutions of our country, and it further abundantly anoears that these mines are rich in gold-producing ores and that many of them are ' yet undeveloped, and thus are capable of yielding a-large increase to tne annual nsupplyof gold in our country." 1 Very Respectfully, . i(,"gned r" J Koss Snowden. . ,jWith this exhibition of the mineral wealth of the gold belt of North Caro-' lipa, your memorialists are of the opin-r ion that to re establish the . mint in Charlotte would give f mining, opera tions an impetus c that in time jwould return a hundred fold to the , govern ment, in the increased .wealth of its citizen the availibility of jits resources, and the employment of the labor, which asks for work at tbe hands of the guar dians of their interests, and whose voices are to be heard in the tails of Congress : Comipg back to , questions . bearing Charlotte, i as conducted. : successfully frpm 1838 to 1861, we submit that its total coinage wa $5,068,57514. . , , ' .' v The total production of gold as offi cially recorded in the books of the in stitution up the ,30th June. 1877 in eluding two years when thamint- was being ,. rebuilt 1844-184..Jsnd four years when its business was suspended during the war, was : f- North Carolina,......,...., $10.41 5,235.61 South Carolina,.... 2,453.67 ueorgia, yiot reported) r : , ::- . This 8dmls evidently far below ; ihe actual production, for it is certain that a very large part; of the Jrield.i qt the Carnlinaa. never found I iw "rav tn th j , . ? ; limints, but was used inthrarts, and jnucn tnat aid reacn tne mints was not properly credited on account of the er roneous and -CareIe58.reports on the part of depositorsr"y--A-flihgle calcnfa tion will show thathU stement is highly probable, aecordingto The re port of the director of the mmt, gold bullion was depbsitedTromortnand to te 30th June. 77..t:..$l0, ,4l5,Z3o.51 Ded t am't to June 80,71 9,150,389 76 l:fXt:f'4JM J IIS .IIU? Which added together, shows ri rcbrcTed villa Ml $6a .2671 . L.f ujii P' Dj yr Yuuufc yo -PW nuum,wui5qi8j certainjiyr jipt moi than two thirds ot the-nroducfipns .UUU AW VUC IJIUI.llunulllUll.UBItff fore be an exa?ireratinn tn nut t.h ar. tuai yiem oi tne nrecious meta s oi the T1 f4,45.75 XL : u w k ,. m S.458 67 Carolinas at from fifteen to twentvBbem) and the sum fixed Ann-r;iL. i uuciuyu. . A t$ ;t , Should the mint be now re establish- a ,j u iu vici a.uuua. wuu iu uut ue conunea to the; bullion prod need' in 1 the ' CaroK imas. l ne m as mtroduced into Coto gress py ,en Vance tpd the mten ti ona of if a' n rom diari J lAnlra in tit a I vuw i , f. ivwuiugt .T Ul Q VlJy COUIl sendmgofaUver.iUWlJulli9ns tolnotte in ore desirable than at Char this nmnt inal M it. ia nnnr cont v'lkl01nl'IZrTri-- - this DOint lust as it is nnwumit to Phil. adelphia, and other United States mints and the amount coined therefore ia fu ture, would be limited only by the ca Dacitv of the buildin?. which ia enna.1 to to the mint at Philadelphia, and the The statement. Is I oftAn.hrnaflA tih&l this mint could not be made to pay ex penses, while other- mints and assay offices pay a profit. This statement is untrue, because if the profits properly belonging to the commercial opera uvuD wi luo a rvixoury, xuparmieii 6, viz: the gain from minor coin, and seicm- orage, be credited tb this I mfint, if put in operation, just as it is now done to other mints, the. business here would undoubtedly show the same orv?nTi of profit. As a complete answer to this statement, Dr Linderman, director of the mint of the United States (annual report for 1877, page 60) shows that the mints haye been a perpetual expense to the government for twenty-seven; years, not including the: Grains from minor coin and seigniorage. If, how ever, these gains be put to the credit of the mints, there is no reason .why the mint at Charlotte should nnt tmv equal per centum of profits, thus makt uigwie oaiaace largely tne1 otner way. isunngi tne greenback era through which the country has passed, say 1869, our mint has been, dismantled by authority of Ihe officer nf . th ernmenLand the toaehififlrvi wiui cat. ried to Philadelphia,' where yoar'Ttt MISCELANJtTS NOTICE TO . No. 1 Parks Building, East Tryon Street, Now offers to the trade an unusually large and well selected OILS, DYE STUFFS and mWotFGiSS. We have just receivecUt4arge stock oGoods-for the Whole sale Trade, and wifh " fViTPft Rtnripa uroll TinrlrAf!. w arp now prep&edltolfill eJsfcfi&ofife yayiE for all goods and can selFcheaper than any house in fform Caroli 15 TDE SOCTDEOW2 tIGAK MNBFACTOttY, vwaBHjr iir uiuiiwbecrdebiaalft& THE EIENA VIOTOEIA Havana filled TBE REFRESHER Havana filled eight for 25 cents. THE mDlAPEmCiiSiarCTg C We will also sell twelve Cigarl for2S ceits, AB-goodkaftmj Stent cf2Wvv i All the finest brands of CHE WING an(T SMOKINCTTOfX CCO ket on hand. Oar motto is ''Qaick 8ales and Small Profits." Cash for a Goods on delivery. Orders mpttyjfiUjq,; rijod. .VtUriA mrL CiVJ&i if &Jxi k Ot AnOTIER CLADGnTEEIIIG OF PRICES . Having purchaseoJtfA eGr5inqsTcpharles'Kaufo n the firm of Kaf&4 tWlieielniined not to be un- dersold in this market. a , rnr V -iii.n i Ca a, Ka.4 1 SS) J H H At A' .Ysxmirseirax a ereatsai at tUferQld simdf bpringsf Anxepr. j j xw&L V.Jl a Dine swu w isurr ffor. oniy,!i.v ad oramary f iu.uu suit tor only . . . Qood all-wool Cass rm ere Pants for $2 Also a large stock -of single Pants, and Vsta ta b$.sol4 regard ess oi.co8 olose out and imake room for Sptinir Stock ! Give us k cn; M ' V ' to jaaqsiTu t .' if I moriafiBteare in formed it wejthe at .nr!6. 10 the I . "J wuerieci Tm. . in its nrMi r5,5 S U&S ment which pl ipplude V"Z' zPg machlherrredibvea. cnnTiaJ fWyflniitfed nrirrthtf fiapacUv Z it has. Wn d uiii l Py iWHaafc were re-equipp lu goia , onl v a t-uBo would be aji lire Jinm nhgftrlsent-tVbftr iTSt-0 mapynew presses, and other machin ( engnia is iireadra that hrriMJt i nuiuuuii t j mil. mum . mBrnitiAn - . " . . . . mmm . . . , - - J was found to be no leesihah t3f200 a irI Careful P8timatA' WM ntan .. " ffpame time of the pfesenj "vanie of k I UKiUD. UlKUUUIBrV. HflSLTr.H Drdnl.n f norta. Aro nn in th Kniiri;n .l . k tne amount it would nnt in : i . ai vuiiirress Qnas inn nppnoif r. Tm ore mints of eninntm,. wnnln l . - - - v : ' " 14 ea O , ..w..v. ,K 11 Ud D( more matter ;0f economy to spend afPW "h.muimb nuer. me government already has so touch invfiatfid ik.. appropriate moneys for the, building 0f mints in localities- where they could loiter In behalo the Charlotte chamber of commerce," and the people of North and South Carolina, we are, Very respectfully, Your obedient servants, Chas R Jokes, ) Charlotte, N. C., January 26 1878. Ovtttnf the Energies. It is DQt advfeable for any of ob to oyer task our energies, Corporeal or mental but in the eager pursuit, of wealth or fame or knowledge, how many "transgress this sala. tary rulei? It iuat be a matter of great im portance in all who do so to know how they can regain the vigor so recklessly ex pendedk, Ihe remedy isfndther costly or difficult, to. obtain. .Hostetter's 8tomach Bitters Is ocurabit m every city, town and settlement in America,, and it cfompenBatea tor a drainof bodily or mental energy more efTestnally. than any lBviorant ever pre scribed or advertised. Laboring men. ath letesi s udeiitirjmrnaust8, lawyers, clergy, naen physiclana, bear' testimony to iu wondroaslyrenovatiPgpowert. It increases the capatulilMSbfndes'golng fatigue, and wunteractfj&ejarioas effects upon the system of-expoerarev sedentary habits, un healthy Or wearying" avocations, or an in salabrions climate, and is a prime alterative diuretic and blood depurent. mO-DAY, yen can spend most profitable A, at the sales rooms of., -'!' i ''.t:,mhA&P LATTAf,. BE0., ' r sv- i ::- f ..y i ' : Oloeing oot utock. . ADVERTISEMENTS. MERCHANTS. ina. e mad rdiarj seyen for 25 cents. AND n2Mi-'MViJtl. f f-' .ystock of ).O0 100 . 6.00 . 00 and $2 50.' corplanaUon The cmt f Jr:.l.T.f h.' crifice;m . p a, 1" 17. KfiUFnAII & CO.
The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 27, 1878, edition 1
2
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