Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1875-07-15
Mistprp ut 8. Garnlima,
Written for the Yorkville Enquirer.
HISTORICAL SKETCHES
OF THE
Early Settlement of South Carolina.
BY REv.iRoBERT LATHAM.
CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK.

fourth of all the gold and silver which might,
at any time, be found in the territory, to be
given to the King, "his heirs and successors. !"
At an early period in the history Of the State
long before the granting of the charter-sone
attempts had been made to discover gold and
silver mines. On the Savannah, some dig.
eing had been done; but little if any of these
precious metals had been discovered. After
the settlement of the State, there was mani
tested some interest in the mineral resources
of the country, but the various troubles
through which the people had to pass, and the
many difficulties by which they were sur
rounded, prevented them from devoting much
attention to the subject. The people were
generally so engaged that they had no time
to make any extended search, yet the opinion
prevailed that in some places in the territory
there was gold. The Spaniards, in their
march through corner of the State in 1888,
reported that they saw gold, and it is thought
that, Notwithstanding the hurried character
of their march, they actually dug for gold.
1t is probable they found little, if any gold or
silver in South Carolina. They may have
been more successful in Georgia, and the ter
rtory west of the Savannah river.
During the administration of Joseph Blake,
an effort was made, rather in a clandestine or
secret way, to search for mines of the precious
metals. Edward Loughton and David May
bank, carpenters, who came into the colony
about 1852, went over to England some time
during the time that Joseph Blake was Gov
ernor, and made an impression on the minds
of their relations by the name of Green and
Cutler. All the information Loughton and
Maybank seem to have possessed respecting
the existence of gold or silver mines in Caro-
lima, they obtained from the Indian traders.
Cutler and bis wife came to Charles Town in
January, 1893. They brought with them
stock of goods, and Mrs. Cutler opened a mil
liners shop in the town. In this gold-hunt-
ing enterprise the Earl of Bridgewater, the
Earl of Pembroke, Edward Randolph and
the Chancellor of the Excheauer, and many
other individuals of position in the English
government, became intensely interested. A
correspondence was begun between Randolph,
who was in Charles Town at the time, and
the Earl of Bridgewater. James Moore, who
was afterward Governor, took an active part
in this enterprise. The facts in the case are
few and of but little Importance, but the cir,
cumsrances cUHueCUeu With the undertaking,
are very significant.
Edward Randolph had been sent out early
in the administration of Joseph Blake, by
the English Board of Trade, for the purpose
of supervising the commerce of the English
colonies in North America and the West In.
dies. He administered the oath of office to
Joseph Blake, and remained for several years
in South Carolina. He seems to have been
especially anxious to promote the interests OF
the king. The correspondence between him
and the Earl of Bridgewater, and also his con-
ference with Cutler, were kept profound Sc
cret, so far as the lords proprietors OF the
province were concerned. So soon as James
Moore heard of the plans for searching tor
gold, he wrote to Thomas Cutler. In this
transaction, Moore, as will be clearly seen in
the sequel, betrayed the trust that was reposed
in him by the proprietors, and showed that he
was capable of double dealing. He was Sec
retary of the province and deputy Of Sir John
Colleton. Yet he hesitated not to join hearth
ly in conference, the avowed object of which
was to put the mineral resources of the terri
tory, whatever they might be, under the con-
troll of the King. We have little doubt but
the real object of the whole combination, was
to cheat and swindle both king and proprie'
tors, out of any gold and silver that might be
discovered in the province Clearly, it was
the purpose of Green, Cutler, Moore, and, in
one word, of all the company, to make the
King Of England pay all the expenses the
company might be at in searching for gold.
The King seems to have gone into the enter
prise with considerable z,al. He advanced
to some of the party two thousand dollars,
and promised another thousand. The facts
which gave rise to the enterprise were OBJ
tanned by Loughton and Maybank from
Richard Tranter. James Moore also fur
nished some facts, but not of much impor'
tance. The gold region was, according to
current reports, about one hundred and seven
ty miles distant from Charles Town, in the
regions of the Appalachian Mountains Moore,
in his letter to Cutler, says that in the year
1891, he made journey to these mountains,
and whilst on the journey, he found gold ore
at seven different places. These specimens
he numbered and sent to England to be tested.
Two of the specimens proved to be very rich,
one Indifferent, and the other four of no
value.
Moore informed Cutler that he could, with
the aid of the journal which he kept while on
the journey referred to, find each of the To-
calities from which the specimens were taken.
Moore seems to have been very sanguine in
his expectations. 81 think says he, the
working of these mines will be of vast ad'
vantage to the crown of England, and the oc.
casion of enriching and strengthening this his
majesty's weak plantation" This is strange
language for a deputy of one of the lords pro-
prietors to use 1t plainly shows that Moore
had some sinister end in view. 1t is, as we
shall see, in keeping with his future history.
Richard Tranter was very extensive ira.
der amongst the Indians. He could speak
the language of several tribes, and acted as a
kind of factor to the Indians. Another indi.
vidual, by the name of Jean Courture, who al
so had made himself thoroughly acquainted