The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1876-10-05
Discovery OF Gold i'm America.

In speech delivered in the House of
Representatives, II. b. Vance member
of Congress from North Carolina, said
that the first discovery of gold in the
United States was made in Mecklen-
spoudent of North Carolina newspaper
corrects this statement, saying that the
first gold was found in Cabarrus, in
1899, and refers to Wheeler's " History
of North Carolina for evidence.
Old chroniclers give an account of a
province called Cofachiqui, which was
visited by De Soto's gold hunting expe-
dition in 153S-40, and which was en-
braced in what afterward became the
States of Florida, Georgia, Alabama
and Mississippi, and, according to
Logan, in his history OF " Upper CARO-
lina," had its center on the west
ern limits of South Carolina. Its
capital and chief town stood
upon the tongue of land between the
Broad river, of Georgia, and the Savan-
nah, just opposite the modern district of
Abbeville. The Spaniards entered this
capital after two months march, and
found the country ruled by beautiful
Indian queen, Adalla, who entertained
the Spanish governor ard army with
much ceremony. Here thsy found
hatchets formed from an alloy of gold
and copper. By this their cupidity was
greatly excited, and they concluded that
they had found country abounding in
the long coveted precious deposits of
gold, And SO indeed they had, says
Logan (whom we quote freely, but it
xu,u ,,aifhar fba,r rYoaI fori,,pa ,,ox I,
desert to find out the precise spot where
gold could be obtained. In less than
fifteen miles southeast of the town, on
the opposite or Carolina side of the
river, lay one of the most extraordinary
gold deposits in the world. The Chero-
KEGS were we'll acquainted with the Dorm
mine. This is shown by the numerous
relics of their handiwork scattered
around it, and there can be little doubt
that the massive nuggets of its outcrop-
ing gold supplied them abundantly with
the finer metal of the alloy that so at
tracted the eyes of the Spaniards. 1t is
no less known, to q few who have in
quired into the traditions of the abofigi-
nes, that the gold and copper, found in
their possession, in the form of solid
masses or curious trinkets, by the first
white men who visited the country, were
obtained from these sources.
Tho Indian method of smelling these
metals was one of the most remarkable
devices of savage ingenuity; in practical
efficiency the famous blowpipe of DR..
Haro was scarcely superior. Logan tells
us that, having first followed out fiat
stone in the form of basin, til filed
it with charcoal, and upon this laid the
nuggets of metals. A number of In
around the basin, each having in his
hand a long reed pi reed through its
entire length and a,r5sfs Mt one erd with
a clay tube or pipe. Everything being
ready, fire was applied to the charcoal,
and the whole mass instantly blown into
4 powerful heat through the reeds, the
clay extremities of which were inserted
in the basin, while the Indians blew
through them upon the charcoal with
all their might, and with protracted ex-
piration. No ordinary lump of either
gold or copper could long maintain its
solidity in such crucible. With this
process the Indians could easily pro-
duce any variety of ornament from
those metals, using them either alone or
in alloy. This method was known TO
have been in use among the Indians who
lived upon the gold producing lands OF
North Carolina, and the same process
must have been known to the Chero-
KEGS.
These chronicles and traditions go to
confirm what Lawson says, that the In
dians, from time immemorial, were ac-
quainted with valuable mines of gold
and silver in Upper Carolina.