The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-06-26
ruE wEALTH i of OUR BORDER.
woNpsous WEALTH OF THE LAND-THE 8: MINER
A1s-THE FRUITS ArHE TREEs-THH MARBLES
THE mI,fATE-THE wATER PowER:,

General J. w. Harrison; the Presldent OF the
Blue Ridge Railroad, writes to the Anderson
InteIigencer that interest is increasing IN the
development of the; mineral and agricultural
resources OF the mountain couhlry through
which that railroad passes, and encloses two
letters upon the subject, with the promise that
he viii follow them up with other, short COM
muniicatons on the. climate, mineral, agricul-
tural and manufacturing resources OF Ander-
son and Piekeus Districts, and Rabtn County,
Georgia, demonstrating the grest necessity for
the immediate completion Of tho Blue Ridge
Railroad. These letters, though written by
sober, truthful men, win TO the stranger read
ike tales Of the Arabian Nights rather than
sketch oEs the Carolina border. -;
The first Of the two enclosures is written by
w. ahtmann, Of. .Walhalls, who has be-
slowed much attention uponthe mineral bolts
of His district. Iron and iron ores are abun-
dant, but they cannot be worked advantage
ously unless cheap supply Of coal can be
obtained. Thiscannot be done until carboni-
ferrous formation along the Blue Ridge Road is
reached. The existence of copper in Walhalla
and the adjoining counties OF North Carolina
has, been we'll ascertained. MIR. Kuhtmann
says: =. 1''s s-y; 40
The veins are numerous, we'll defined, and
explored TO the depth Of several hundred feet.
Want Of fuel prevented their beng sctiyely
worked; for the crude ores must be smelteo
ere The reguius can be shipped he trans m
mines TO the railroad aE Walhalls, would prove
more expensive than from, That point to the
smelling works at Baltimore. fhaveno expec-
tation Of finding coslin this, section; but west
of the Blue Ridge have observed that the pri-
mary formation is frequently oyerlaid by the
secondary; and the sindicatons are that the
railroad may be instrumental In opening that
valuable section; Our mining interest won1a Ii
then become paramount toa any other, while
the carrying of ores and coal, in search OF
each other, would be . considerable item
in the feyeiiuA pf AthB road The discoveries
and iiiyentiops OF the day would place another.
very heavy income within reach OF the. ralrofd
company, by their carrying the gold ores, or
the theme new process q desulphufising them, and
thus lberaEng the minute particles Of gold, Is
in operation. This auriferouS quartz along
the line Ut road is ineHhsustible, and much Will
4 find it's way North, iwhenryou consider that:
shipments already made have yielded upward
tof $500 per t0n,l while the reduction ut the
1 mines smounted9to only $40 per ton. Vur
mountain roads are 80 difficult that the trans
Iportation Of engines, stamping works, &c., ls
ALMOST impoBsible; and thus the f1l develop
ment Of ali the mines, in this section OF coun-
ltry. is dependent upon The completion OF the
railroad. .,-,.s,....:..,,
\ Walhalla would be the nearest point from
which to ahip. the quartz from the White Coun-
3ty Geo. Mines, and the same mineral belts
traverse tho counties in three States through
which the Blue Ridge road will pass. There is
the Galena belt which yields, at q depth OF two
hundred feet, an ore of eighty per cent. OF lead
and; one per cent. OF silver. There are i'm
mense beds Of manganese, or. chromium. 30
much more important now that the Pennsyl7,
wanna beds show signs Of exhaustion. There
are immense de posits Of silicate, worth s2oO to
$500 ton al the Sevres Porcelain Works, but
now of no value for want Of transportation.
The second lettsr. is written By Mr.. G. D.
Smith, Of Franklin, N. 20: He says: -. -
To make ANYTHING like fair report Of the
reoiocy of this section would far exceed the
limits of letter, such as this is designed TO be,
and Won must accept OF o mere sectional state
menf of the geology as 1t occurs on the line OF
tho survey OF the railroad. -. ... -,
In the gap of the Blue Ridge we have
granite, and thence northward, and un-
DERIVING the granite: we have, a heavy
belt OF gneiss, out by regular rango 8
ier the gneiss, very heavy beds OF al
luminous. Mica slate. Then we have the Ia
comic series, consisting of drab rotored Talco.
lIicacious slatos, quartzite and :; 1itive lime
stone. which, ,,at this point, consiA ) OF marble
Of superior quality. We then pass INTO clay
slates, conglomerates and sort OF Argilamous
shales, finally reaching the old Silurian lime
Stones at the northern base OF the SMOKY
Mountain chain. Immediately beyond the
boint where the line of survey emerges nom
fhe Smoky Mountains, there is a mass OF sand
atone (the Cheeleehowee Mountain), IN which
there exist strong indications OF hltumnous
coal. ..s aai a1 .-ei
These strata are highly metamorphic, and
heavily charged with metallic sulphurets and
oxides. For example, in this valley there is
magnetic iron ore in workable quantity. Cop
per pyrites, or yellow copper, rich in its per
cent. Of metal which. though not explored in
It's frequent deposits to any great depth, pro-
misses to make valuable mines. Indeed, the
real mining value of this belt ID not
yet understood ,,or appreciated. At Web
ster, in the County OF Jackson, there
is bed of chronic iron, or chrome
ore, and the copper mines OF jackson
County are capable OF yielding large amount
Of metallic copper. On the Nanteyalee, in this
county, and Valley, River, in Cherokee County,
Immediately, west, there is remarkable group
ing Of valuable minerals. In these valleys there
is immense wealth grouped into narrow belt.
We have there inexhsustible beds OF hcamliltic
iron ore for . distance OF thirty miles. These
ore beds are wonderful in their extent, are
generally near good water power, and aocompa-
nied with every facility for fuxing andsmeltine.
There are arc also gray and fesh-colored mar
bles which will compare well with the finest
qualities used at the capitol at Columbia. In
these strata there are veins Of eilver, galens
and gold. There is also the Agalmatolite or
Chinese figure-stone, u material used for fire.
atone and in making porcelain, as we'll as fine
out-crops Of roofing slate, scythe-stone and
erindstone.
| The climate Of the section is salubrious and
bracing, the thermometer ranging between
ninety degrees and zero. There is remark
able elasticity andfreshness in the atmosphere
! amongst these mountains. Add to this the