Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1860-11-03
From the Charleston Mercury.
The Blue Ridge Railroad.

several years he has applied himself to explo
ring the mineral resources of Western North
Carolina, and has discovered and drawn atten-
tion to the mineral wealth of that section of
country. If these mines were made accessible
by Il railroad, they would attract large invest
mcnts6f capital. They arc said not to be in
fenor in the quantity aud quality of the ores
to the Ducktown mines in Tennessee. in
which several millions of Northern and En-
glish capital are invested The trade which
tho working of these mines must create,
would contribute large freight to the Blue
Ridge Railroad.
Franklin, N. c., October ., 1860
My Dear Sir Yours, of the 10Th ult was
received in due time but reply has been
delayed on account Of previous engagemcnts
checrEuIly comply with your request and
furnish the information you desire This I
must, however, do in as few words Il, ossiblc,
and IN plain way | cannot designate spc-
clal properties, and discuss their respective
merits. For information of this character, |
must refer you to my report to the Legislature
OF North Carolina, when it shall be printed
The coppcr.bcaring belt passes through the
counties OF Macon, Jackson and Haywood -
1T consists of belt of alternating gneiss, tai
cosc and hornbcnd states and sycnite On
tins belt there are numerous out-crops of cop
pcr-vcns, scmc of which have been tested
The greatest amount OF work has been done
upon the veins in Jackson. In that county
eight or ten veins have been cut and partially
opened. Copper has been cut, in some Of
these veins, at depth of twenty feet, and
the ores raised arc rich and valuable. They
are mostly, what sstyled yellow copper (cop-
| per pyrites), though some green carbonate
and red oxide occur in some of the veins
These ores weld from twenty to thirty per
cent Of metallic copper. Thcmining grounds
arc extensive, and admirably adapted to sue
ccsstuI operations. The country is mountain
Gus, with valleys stretching out, in every di-
! rcctlon, between the mountains and, when
the business Of legitimate mining is commen-
ced, many OF these veins eau be drained to a
| great depth by adt levels The mines in
jackson arc situated from twelve to thirty
miles from this place. They are capable of
yielding an immense amount of ore; and
when a railroad shall be constructed through
this valley, will yield no small amount of
freight.
In this, the Tennessee Valley there arc
four veins in which copper has been cut But
here the veins do not crop out so conspicu-
ly as they do in jackson; yet they are easily
recognized and traceabc by one familiar with
them. [ have no hesitation in saying that
this country is a valuable mining district
and so soon as the means of transportation are
furnished, capital and enterprise will be en-
ployed in ITS development, and much freight
will be produced
The veins on this copper bearing belt are
what arc called true veins. They are seldom
! found as intcrfoliations with the strata, but
are evidently 6ssurc veins, and have, so far as
explored, the marks of great depth These
assures have been produced by "A disturbing
cause, af which it is not now pertinent to
speak.
There are also, in the Tennessee Valley,
several localities of magnetic iron ore Some
Of these are within few miles of this place.
From this character of iron ore an excellent
quality of iron is manufactured You, per
haps, arc familiar with the fact that the
much-csteemed 'Swede Iron -" is made from
this style of ore. There is one vein in
this valley. already opened and in the
ncghborhood there is an excellent WATERPROOF
er, and forests of superior timber for coaling
purposes abound. Below this village, and
near the Tennessee River there exists a local
ity of manganese, which promises to yield a
superior ore. This, in connection with the
magnetic ores, is suggestive Of an economical
branch of business, not yet carried on to any
| RTcaI eAIeuC In the United States II mean
the manufacture of steel If this should be
successful, it suggests shc establishment of
other manufacturing interests especially So
when we consider the immense water-powcr
which our mountain streams afford, and the
healthfulpess o' our climate
On the west Of the Blue Ridge survey, in
Cherokee county. anu immediately on the line
OF the Western North Carolina Railroad sur
yey, there Is an immense amount Of hematite
iron ore, enough to supply any demand
From the head of Valley River to the Gcor-
gia State line there are continuous aDd success
siye ore banks. Ind d,ed, there is sufficient
iron there to keep thirty furnaces in constant
operation. Then passing to the Nantihala, in
the direction of the Blue Ridge Road, there is,
for twelve or thirteen miles on that stream,
unsurpassed water-power Here immense
manufacturing establishments could be erect
ed. And why not have the material manufac-
tured here | have known great quantities
of pig iron shipped from East Tennessee to
Cincinnati and sold at profit and perhaps
the people of East Tennessee bought the
same iron in manufactured articles returned
| from Cincinnati.
There is also lead of marble, of different
shades and colors, accompanying this belt
of iron through the entire breadth of Cherokee
county. There is superior snow white marble
cropping out in some places; at others, beauti-
fully variegated marble; and at others, blue
and banded marbles. On the Nantihala river,
about ainbI or ,,;no ,,,;Ioo f,o,, -