The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1879-12-10
7HB AURIFERoUs REGION.

4 LIZ - 0A~@A. ~3AeOOAO -s~@0AO~
We are permitted to make the fol-
lowing extract from q letter lately
received by Col. o. c. King, of this
place. one of the proprietors Of the
property upon which the satisfacto-
nv explorations and developments
spoken of were made. That this
land is rich in gold we think has
been sufficiently developed to show
for itself:
NEWPORT, Tenn, Nov. II, 1879.
o. G. KING, Esq: Dear Sir-Your
several communications have been re-
ceived, and, as / have not replied to
them, you doubtless think me at least
a tardy fellow. As you know, / am
man of not many words generally, and
| do not like to either talk or write I'M
til have something to talk or write
about that is calculated to interest the
listener or reader So you will under
stand that heretofore have had nothing
to write that would interest you much.
Now, feel that / am prepared to make
a report from the gold diggins" that
Will be of some interest to you. l have
made two visits there since my Hast let
| ter and each time made additional eX-
| plOrations in that rich and highly prom
| ising region. My first stay was neces-
| sarily limited, having but two days in
which l could make examinations. Last
week / went back and spent most of the
week in an effort to get down to the bed
rock in a shaft that l had begun to sink
| previously and which appeared very
promising. l am sorry to say, however,
that did not succeed to my satisfac-
ton, owing t. the fact that the slate or
bed rock upon which is deposited the
most of the gold was found to be at a
| greater depth than was anticipated, and
to have reached it would have required
| the removal of a greater amount of earth
| and gravel than / had arranged for.
/ found, in going down in this shaft, q
; deposit of gold more thick and weighty
: than at any other point thus far eXamin
t ed on our land. In opening ditch &c
convey the water from this shaft
3 struck a vein of quartz that seemed
. clearly to be, as biologists term 1t I'll
r place" that contains a something that
q believe to be silver. | first discovers
= the silver IF it be it) in my pan Will
+ washing for gold, and upon searching
into the quartz vein l found it in tia
n quartz itself. did not get this vel
. ! sufficiently uncovered to form any ide
. of its width or extent. regard this a
a very interesting discovery and worth
: of further investigation. II is near a
old shaft, where made this discovery
. that was sunk by some one many year
ago, but not sufficiently deep to deve
. ope any thing satisfactory. There is
tradition among some of the inhabitan
out there that the work was undertake
by three men who were searching K
q silver, and was abandoned in cons
y quence of one of them getting seriOusI
3 hurt l found gold at two other place
g say one quarter to one halt mile mort
II of this shaft, and on the opposite side
IS d high ridge, which runs north east al
le southwest and which divides the water
'r My examinations have been directed
e. the special object of discovering, if pc
It, sible, the vein from which the go
TX comes and which | confidently belize
Id exists somewhere close by. Wheth
the vein is in this dividing ridge, an
us from which the gold flows down in
u the streams on each side of it and ru
be ming in parallel direction, or wheth
n" there is a vein there and another in Il
ed Brusley mountain which lies west
a this ridge, is yet to be determined. .
he thing is clearly scttled-that is, the 60
ID, has been found on each side of Il
ar ridge. Running along the north-wt
lie side of this ridge is spring branch th
yields gold at several points that ha
he been examined and / am satisfied I'll
nv its bed rock is sprinkled over with &C
W. for probably its entire length-near
od quite one mile A man who has be
in engaged for years in exploring for mi
10 erals and in mining discovered dcpO
- of gold some where on this branch
80. rich that he remarked that If he II
:, four or five acres of our land and t
90 acres of the adjoining land he would
- as rich as he desired to be. l have 7
yet seen him to learn the particular sp
90 but will try to'dO so. On the oppos
o. or southeast side of the ridge mentit
'u' ed and which is on Mr.. HulT's land thu
3ep is very rich deposit of gold. 1t v
IN first discovered in spring which
was been cleaned out and the bed rock ski
en- med number of times, yet it still f
lcn nishes gold in paying quantities.
Is of opinion that the gold is cuntiDua
the flowing in and lodging on the bed ro
Inc But TO shorten long story, will J
e state that each additional Investigate
of this section only strengthens my C
Viction that it is rich in mineral wea
,on beyond what any one has conceived
l@D to be.
re- Yours truly, W. X. SMITH