The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1881-11-17
North Carolina Gems.

RALEIGH. y. e., Nov. North
Carolina l. winning all the honors 10 the
mlneralOglcal world at present. Mr..
W llliam Earle Hidden, not content with
merely discovering the gem which Tr.
>. Lawrence Smith has called hidden
tie, has unearthed enough Of them to
pay for the land where the find was
made and all the expenses Of last year
work. The last tino l. by all odds the
most extraordinary that has rewarded
his pluck and patience. Ii was learned
10 day from a private source that IN
dropping the mine a cavity sixteen feet,
i've feet wide and seven long. was bored
into what proved a very treasure house.
! he walls were frosted with brilliant
crystals. Some of them that studded
the surface weighed as much a. twenty
odd pounds, and decreased in size To
minute crystals not larger than hazel
nuts. In the gem nest We're found nine
Of the finest emeralds ever discovered in
the United States. In color they are a
clear graS>-green in form doiccaheiral
or - sided. with Smoth fat terminals.
The largest Of these emerals were :.
inches long, and had an average diane
ter of | inch others were 8 inches long.
The largest emerald found in the niue
previous to this discovery wa les than
two inches In length aud was no quite
three quarters of an inch in diameter.
The color Of the cmeralds found so far
has not been quite satisfactory. They
are clear, but more or les flawed and
pItted, and have a succession OF parallel
lines drawn across the prismatic faces
close together, and the basal plane Is
also often pitted with minute depres
sions. But crystals are rarely found
pure with perfectly smooth and brilll
ant faces. The emerald color Is often
strongest on the surface, and fades
gradually to a coloriess central core.
1t is the belief, based upon experience
of the output Of the mine, that the
color OF the cmeralds will improve a.
the mine Is sunk deeper and deeper,
aud the results OF the deep rock mining
and looked forward to with interest and
high hopes by those interested in min
e~ralogy.
The home Of these newly discovered
gems lies 1tn Alexan Ter, one of the
| northwestern counties of North Carroll
ma. 1t is about thirty-five miles, as the
the crow flies, southeast Of the Blue
Ridge mountains, and in the midst Of a
low rolling country of red ~gravelly, fair
" fertile soil, on a plateau 900 feet
above sea-level. Mr.. Hidden had bis
attention directed to it about two years
ago, when, in the interest of Edison,
the electrician, he visited North Caro-
lima in search of platinum in sufficient
80. -, .. H. 9 r.,
exhaustless inventor. He did not fine
platinum. DR.. Kerr, the State Geolo
gist, and Gen. Clingman, who is a prac
tical g~eologist. told him that he woulC
not. MIR. Hidden persisted, however
and in his skirmishes around the min
eral lines Of the State first heard of tn,
pale emerald stones of Alexander coun
ty. Mr. j.. Adlai Stephenson, a me
I chanic, had preceded him. His low
of minerals and Indian relics hac
led him to get IN his service the interes
Of all the woodsmen and rock hunter
in the country round. They brough
him many a quaint and curious ant
sometimes valuable relic of the ancien
tribes, and sometimes valuable minerals
When successful he paid them. Tn,
mOney-fOck nc lolu IlcH, was d uaIi
green, clear and perfect stone. Thi
they sought diligently but eve found
They found light green beryls ant
brought them to him, and on thes'
first specimens of emeradls he claim
to be the discoverer Of the spodumel
emerald called hiddenite. A number o
good people, no doubt, think that Mr.
Stephenson is a much-wronged man
Mr.. hidden bought the land where tn
light-solored emeralds were found, ant
went to work upon the common-senst
principle that the deeper down he wen
aud the nearer the matrix he found tn,
emeralds the better gems they woul,
be -NetU York Times.