The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1868-06-24
THE-BLUE RIDGE RAILROAD.

~
Mr.. .ED1ToR: Your usual- Kindness in
publishing whatever .willsforward the in
terests of the Blue Ridge Railroad, in
duess me again to call your attention to
this subject, Heretofore, the friends of
this enterpriseshavel looked mainly toits
great Nestsrn conn nectlons for its ,princi-
pie business and income not relying, to
any great extent,,sapon' local population
oripcaltrade. the increasing inter-
essnow felt and manifestedinl the devel-
opmNent Of the mineral and agricultural
resources of our mountain country, is in
dicati7te Of what the future Of this part Of
our country will be. X 80, 49,, 5.s
i send you two: notwithstanding letters
on this subject, and will follow itup, with
other short communications on the eli
mate, mineral, agricultural and manufs.c-
tusinee I e resources ,s,a of,Anderson and Pick,
e6sDistricts; and Rabun County Georgia,
demnl,onstr:ating the great necessity for the
;mmediate completion of this Railroad.
s.'-.. ,5.'s'si>;.a' J. W. HARRISON, ..
.:-i..el x:,Pres,t Blue Ridge Railroad. u
:1nasrson,, June 17th, 1868. 4.aa
SGD WALHA1IA, S. c., May 12, 1868.
..Gen.sJ. W.2 Harrison, President4o Of the
Rlas Ridge Rdi1r0adz 4 z = ':3 ...5 ~ =. -. - =. :. :.
sDExR S,ps-Wbile advocating the com-
pletion Of s6s Railroad hence to Knoxville,
Eennag drfeel assured you will not lose
sight Of the value Of the different metallic
belts, thatrWill be traversed in its North
west course. Having bestowed much ra1lein.at at
teasioa ld upon the neral belts of this
county, the practical developments made
althiocTrize hicTize meto offer to you the assurance
tiiss they are both rich andtextcnsve.
Ifsoin Ifsi sai saaibd Iron ores are. abundant but,
unless as cheap supply of coal can be ob.
taihsd along the line of road, '; cannot be be
worked adyantageously. Hence, we"ro
not able, to reap any; benefit from these these.
wat beds, although. lime abonnds=in their
vicinity, until a carboniferous formation
along the. Blue Rid dge Road can be reached.
The,existence of copper in thisrart ofthe
State, as we'll as in the adjoining counties
of Moth Carolina. has been well aseer-,
tanned. The veins are numerous, well
defined, and explored to sdeptlrof several
hundred=fest-Wau of fuei;Prurensed
their being actively worked f3rthe ernds
ores.pust, be smclted; ere thercgulns. can
be,siiipped. Tire transportation overthe
mountain roads, from the mines to 4he
Railroad at Walhalla, would prove more
expensive than from, that point to the
smel,ing works ,at Baltimore. have no
expectation of finding coal in this section,
but West of the Blue Ridge l have OBJ.
served that the primary formiatioais fre-
qnentsya orcrlatd by tito secondary; and
Che iudicationsare, that che Railroad may
be instrument in opening that valuable
system. Our mining interest would then
become paramount to any other; while
the carrying of ores and coal, in search OF
each other, would be considerable item
in the revenue of the Road. Tho discov-
erios and inventions of. the day: would
aceanother very, heavy income within
rissaich, Of the Railroad Company, by their
carrying ri the gold ores, Of rather the au-
riforons quartz, to points at which the he
new process of desulphurising. them, and
thua libsrating' the:minuto particles OF
gold, sis in operation. This auriferous
quartz, along the line Of Road, is mex
haustible; and much will find its way
Nortb,. " hen you consider that shipments
already made have yielded upward OF
$500 per ton, while the reduction at the
mines amounted toonly SIS per ton. Our
mountain roads are 80 difficult that the
transportation ofengines, stamping works,
&c, 1 is almost impossible; and, thus, the
full development of all the mines, in
this section of country, is dependent upon
the completion of the Railroad. In White
County, Georgia, Mining Company are
now preparing shipment Of ten tons OF
this quartz for New York, whence they
will receive some twenty tons Of machine
ny. Walhalla is. their nearest point Of
Railroad; and i am convinced that the
same belts, whence that quartz is obtain
ed, abound in the Counties of the three
States, through which this road will pass.
have made free to invite your attention
briefly to few of the minerals which,
s.vith Railroad passing through their