New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-01-30
For the Crescent,]
Mineral Riches Of Louisiana.

Are any gold or silver mines in Louisiana? To
answer this question we ought to have before us
the Reports which, some years ago, were made by
a Commission of appointed scientific geologists
but we have never been able to get sight of them,
nor do we remember to have seen any extracts Of
those no doubt, very scientific investigations, for
it is still in our knowledge that the cost of the
public exploration amounted to quite considers
| BILE pecuniary sum. In the absence, then, of any
such modern assistance, we have lately fallen in
with some ancient descriptions of Louisiana and
its early discoveries, and of which we shall give
our readers a few interesting extracts. Hernandez
DeSoto, the first actual explorer of our Southern
country from Florida to the mountains of Arkan-
sas, in 1888 to 1910, met a number of Indian
squaWs that possessed golden and silver trinkets,
ear and nose rings arm or wrist bands of these
metals; and he was told, upon inquiry, that these
shining toys were procured from tribes dwelling
on the west side of the Great River (the Misss-
sippi) hence he directed his researches
mostly in that direction, though we do not find
that he was able actually to come to the source
from whence these valuables had proceeded.
After his death, in 1910, these mining expeditions
were abandoned, and we find no other traces of
renewed explorations till a much later period, that
is to say, to the time of the famous Law system,
about 1920 when again it was announced all over
Europe that immense riches of the precious metals
had been discovered upon the Mississippi in the
vast country denominated Louisiana, Under these
expectations several companies of explorers were
sent into the Red River country, the 0uachita and
the Arkansas but all these undertakings failed of
success, because no perseyering efforts could be
made for the want of proper organization. Hence
no result arrived at, and all these expeditions
either dispersed after awhile or returned disap-
pointed to their starting place. the early estab-
lishments upon the Mississippi at New Orleans and
Biloxi After enumerating these several essays at
discoveries of mineral riches, our authority, how
ever, says: There is testimony prove that silver
so pure as to be malleable has been found on the
Arkansas Silver mines, it is said, exist about the
| head waters of the Ouachita, more particularly
about some of the head branches of Red River.
| Some French hunters and traders procured from
that quarter specimens of this metal, and
old French author and traveller declares that he
gathered quantity of gold dust at the mouth of a
riyulet on the Arkansas Again, it is men
! toned On the borders of the Ouachita River
| are found beds of martial pyrites. large
bodies of chrystaized spar, and heSagonal
| prsms, which are known to contain no small por-
! ton of the precious metals. Also a metal exists
on the west side of Red River, which exhibits the
| appearance, and seems to contain some of the
properties of platina this metal possesses shin
| ing appearance-it is known toreceive polish al
most equal to that Of mirror, and vegetable and
other acids will not corrode it. Now these are SO
far, all the positive notions or information which
we have been able to collect from the ancient
sources of historical traditions in country; but
whilst these are, indeed, very scanty and meager,