The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1873-03-13


month, or d year at most. He spends
his lump Of gold in heavy and costly
machinery, goes to work with a large
debt awaiting his profits, and-finds no
more gold. Thus he breaks, and curses
his folly, and, perhaps, the d~iscoverer OF
the treasure. Now, if an experienced
Mineralogist had been ut his side to tell
him: "Sir, this lucky nugget may, or
may not have any companion in n thous-
and yards Of this spot. You must not
listen to your craving for immediate
wealth. Look around you. The soil
that produced this valuable specimen
should be examined the rocks should
be tested, and it may be that you have
Il Surer treasure, = more ccftdtn source
OF wealth than You suppose. But do
not be extrayagaut. Don't expect to
make 800 per day to the hand. Come
down TO two, three or five dollars per
day profit, and measure your outlay and
your income accordingly"
l have been forcibly impressed with
these facts, on making II brief cxamina-
ton and test oithe earth thrown out Of
mines in this State, which have been
crha"8tcd, according TO popular belief,
more than twenty years ago, / have
found, in this soil, more gold to the ton
Of earth, than was originally taken from
the nine, This precious treasure has
been basking in the sunlight, and when
some mtntorcd eye discovers it, he is at
once confirmed in the astOunding theory
that the gold ia actually growing in the
soil ~Eagcrncss for large returns /;
defective machinery, and Ignorance Of
proper methods Of extracting the lust
p0rttcle Of metal, have combined to
produce these results. Now, I have
long believed, and am sanguine of Il
speedy demonstration of my opinion,
that the time is coming, when the Weld
OF gold III the mineral region of Georgia
and Alabama, will be II more rckiuLlc.
and II more Tcnluncr0tiUe crop than that
OF cotton ever has been in this country,
or ever can be. | am acquainted with IL
locality IN II nciGlboring State, where a
ledge OF goId-bearing quartz extends
Tor nearly II mile in length, varying in
width from seven to fourteen feet. This
rock IL permeated by aurifcrous pyrites,
winch, ON the s%uriuce, in the process of
ages, has shared the fate of the cnGoldino
rock-decompositior. The quartz has
become quito soft, and the pyrites
aSs'Ilns the greenish color from oxyda-
ton.
Now, by II very simple process
merely grinding the rock, washing,
nmnlgamatIng with quicksilver, and
the submitting the mercury in Il bent
glass tube, | found II residue of cold.
amounting to about 80 cents TO tba
bNSlel Of rock. Now this rock formo-
ton IS not II scattered, casual heap, but
!" 'lle oat-crop Of II vein, pyramidal in
form, with the base extending into fine
eaftl to n unknown depth. The owner
OF Tins property delvcs away on u few
poor hill, making IL scanty subsistence,
when almost IN sight Of hia log hut is IA
treasure that would buy the largest
cotton crop his State ever has made
Now here is room for enterprise and
Industrious application, with the posi-
tive certainty Of results, for it is well
Known to practical miners that this
species of rock is 50 regular, that II few
samples collected from various points IN
the vein, will yield an average which
can be more certainly predicted than
the outcome of amy field of matr,rcd
grain. Given product of II dozen
bushels and you know the product Of all
that rs TO come.
In the same State there is II region
nearly twenty miles square, whose soil
IS pormcated with fine gold in almost
every foot. True, we have to invent
means to mako these disseminated
treasures available, but in particular
locations in this tract Of country there
are evidences OF special lodes, and
aurlierons rocks, which would richly
repay careful working and INTELLIGENT
management.
am no enthusiast, uorwould Itcmpt
any man to expect IL return of five
hundred per cent. per month, or per
mnum, for his money invested. But
cannot but lament the supincncss Of
our people, who suifcrour righteousness
to he waste until the eyes Of ]strnnpcrs
eagerly discover them, the hands of
strangers gather them, and the pockets
OF strangers receive them, whilst
our Ignorance Of their existence and of
their vatue, renders us Justly subject TO
the jccrs and radicule of those who love
us not. Shall we ever wake I'D from
this slumber of ages?
Seven years ago, | cndeavorcd to
enlist the attention of Il few capitalists
II Alabama to the fact that there were
unmistaknble evidences of PcfrOIeuu
in the coal region Of that State. They
thought my reasoning very plausible,
but they did nothing. There were
points mt which there was mOral certainty
of success rowarding the outlay of n
few weeks experiment. Recently, some
of these gentlemen have invested in
5000, 900 companies now diligently