Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1848-11-18
COMMUNICATIONS.


Ia of letters in relation that portion of the Allegheny
,apge which is situated North Carolina you may perhaps
rd matter Of interest in the subject Of this communication.
Nv purpose in making only to present TO the consi-
Iteration Of those learned curious in geology facts singular
and interesting in themselves but also by OF your
widely disseminated paper, stimulate inquiry as TO
be,her similar phenomena have been observed in any other
parts Of the Allegheny range
number OF persons had stated TO that at different Pc
yols within the recollection OF persons now living pooh
of a certain mountain in Haywood county had been Violently
ae,ated and broken pieces The " oil these shocks re-
membertd BY any person whom have seen occurred J"
prior 10 tie last with England in the year 1911 or 1917
Since then half dozen or more have been noneea
The occurred something more than thee years ago. on
clear morning. These shocks have usually occur
red or least been frequently Observed ~ calm "eahe
Thew have generally been heard distinctly by persons in the
,oun Of Wavnesyie some twenty miles of The sound is
described as resembling the rumbng OF distant thunder, but
no shaking of the earth is felt At that distance In The I'M
mediate vicinity of the mountain and for four or i've miles
around this sound accompanied by slight trembling Of me
EARTH which continues long The sound lass-tha Is or
one or two After each OF these shocks the noun
rain was found 10 he freshly rent and broken various places
Having an opportunity afforded me lew days since PAID
visit 10 the locality and devoted few hours to hurried
IL
HAYWOOD county, near the head OF Fines creek The bed
Of the little creek the mountain Is probably elevated some
m or seven hundred above the level Of the ocean
The valley Of The hundred eet cwsT they are
separated however, by mountain ridge Of than four
thousand feet elevation above the sea, and there high
mountains in all directions around The locality question.
The immediate object Of interest the termination Of
a ridge nearly half mile the of the house
OF Mr. Matthew Rogers The top Of this RIDGE the place
where has been recently convused is three four
hundred feet above the creek its extremity, but
Gpdy for distance goes off the eastward
towards the higher mountain range The northern side OF this
rdge had not tns TO examine, but the marks of violence
are observable at the top OF the ridge and extend in dec
ton nearly due south, down the side of the mountain four
five hundred yas, 10 little branch thence it,
fiat or gentle SLOPE and the side of the ridge far
went heng for three -four hundred yards The Of
ground examined ~ me was perhaps half mile in length,
from north TO SOUTH The breadth of the surface sui
violence nowhere than hundred yards and gen
orally rather less than hundred Along this space the ground
has been in various places The .sures cracks
frequently in northern and southern direction, and
wards the tops Of the mountains but they often right
angles TO these, and in fact may be found all dec
tons. While some of them as to be barely
visible others three four feet in width. The annual
falling Of the leaves and the washing Of the has filled
them that place they than five six feet in
depth Along this all the large have been thrown
down, and are lying in various direcons some them six
feet in diameter One large poplar, which stood directly
OF the assures, cleft open and of the trunk
TO the height OF than twenty feet, il still standing
Though the ssure which passed directly under It's CENTRE is
not than inch in width, may be observed for nearly
hundred yards All the Of which crossed the
by
lines The top Of the ridge, which originally have
been entire Of granite, broken in places Not
only have those Of rock, which chiefly under
ground been cleft open, but fragments lying the surface
have been shattered All those persons who have visited
Immediately ale convulsion saying that every
fallen tree and rock has been moved. The smallest fragments
have been thrown from their beds though they had been lifted
up In confirmation Of this statement observed that large
block Of granc, Of oblong form, which, from it, size
mast have weighed less than thousand tons had been
broken INTO three pieces Of nearly equal This
wa lying loosely the top Of the ground place nearly
level and there signs II lis having rolled or Sudden
The fagmc separated only few inches rendering il
alHo certain that had been broken by a sudden shock or
aT, Which DID not continue long enough throw the pieces
far apart.
Some parts Of the surface Of the earth have sunk down IT.
regularly es feet, other portions have been raised There
are number o little elevations or hlocks, some OF few
feet only extent and others twenty and thirty yards
The lages; rise al the centre 10 the height Of eight
ee and slope gradually down Of these have been
rounded all sides by ssurc, which We, entirely
filed up Ia instances the on their sdes none Il
them large, bent considerably from the perpendicular
showing thai they hal size before the change OF
level took place the surface where they grow.
The sides Of the mountain generally covered by good
vegetable mould. no; particularly rocky and sustaining trees
Of large sze. Bot along the belt conyoon the rocks are
much abundant, and there only young trees grow
ing the elasticity Of which enabled them 10 stand during he
shocks
With reference 10 the mineral structure Of the locality il
may be remarked that that entire section seems 10 con-
suie bypogene formation. Il consists Of GRANTEES gDes
sometimes porphyr hornblsnje rock, schsts
clay SLATE spd various other meismorphc The
aqueous rocks that know Of he copglomerate abd-
stone and ssdsnay limestone, in the vicinity Of the Warm
Springs fifteen miles distant in direct line II volcanic
rock has been found hundreds Of miles aware Of
it, The mountain Iolf bears the indubttsbe marks Of
pu;onlc origin l. consists mainly Of gsysh white gran.
e, in which tho iespar greatly pedomInaies, bu, il is
tunes rendered dark BY Of mica in minute black
scales. This latter mineral also there in small rather
irregular crystals Some portions Of the rock contained
however, It's three Ingredients, in nearly equal proportions
the quartz, in color, frequently approaching ash gray In Sc
vera iccs observed that the granite vertically by
veins Of gray Translucent quartz Of from SIX in
thickness There also lying in pllces on the ground