The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1882-09-30
NORTH CAROLINA.
From an Occasional Correspondent


MEssRs. ED1ToRs:-I wrote you few brief
letters from Western North Carolina, and
| fully intended to write Immediately on my re-
turn home, but my time has been too much
occupied with other duties until now. BY your
permission | will try to answer some OF the
many questions my friends so frequently pro-
mound to me respecting the South. On the
| 18th of August Mr.. j. L. Grimes, with whom
I was stopping, proposed that take a ride
with him IL miles out from Townsville, to
see the works of the Baltimore Gold and
Silver Mining Company" for which company
he is clerk and paymaster. After pleasant
ride of about two hours, we pulled up IN a
little village, where the thrift and hustle that
surrounded us indicated business. We rested
! few minutes, ate some delicious peaches, and
then, at the suggestion of our guide, we went
out ito see what we could see.' At John
sons Shaft we found six miners IN the main
shaft. They have well defined vein 1O2 feet
deep, and are driving two levels. They are
jubilant over the prospect for rich VEIN OF
gold. Next we visited, only short distance
away, the puddle house of the ''Silver Valley
Company They have two lO-stamp bate
ries at work, and are concentrating large guam
titles of satend ore. Next we went to 'Santh
Hill'' (Silver Valley Shaft where, exchanging
my plug for a miners hat, and my SUNDAY
coat for one that was none the better TOR having
been frequently under ground, we proceeded
to descend 155 feet under ground, and then
followed the different levels 200 feet. Here we
saw large quantities of ore, rich in silver, gold
lead and zinc. This is the same vein that has
been worked so successfully for many years,
at Silver Hill, about miles south west OF TINS
place. | also visited Conrad Hill, where the
present company is working about 100 hands.
Thirty years ago this mine was worked ex-
clusively for gold at present they have hne
prospect for copper. The machinery In oper-
alton here cost about $4,000. John ID. Wei
harm, of Lexington, owns mine near LIN
wood on the North Carolina Railroad, which
is producing large quantities of gold and sill
yer. The Eureka at Thomasville, is rich
and is payingwell. There are quite number
of other mines in this (Davidson) county
which, if the owners had the capital to operate
them, would pay well. Roman county has
mines that are rich in gold and silver Gull
ford produces considerable quantities OF iron,
gold, copper and mica. Coal has been mined
in Rockingham county, but timber is still SO
plentiful that there is not much demand tor
coal. Alexander county is rich in iron, gold,
mica, copper and plumbago. The ores in
Catawba county are native gold, sulphurets OF
gold, limonite and hematite iron, the sulphu-
rets (iron), the sulphurets of copper: The
minerals are-mica, in abundance; asbestos,
beryl (green, blue and Yellow, tourmallne
black, quartz crystals of every variety, rem
form, nudalar, hotryoidal, mamillary, globu.
lar, amygdaloidale, dendritie, dursey and
acicular, titanite, rutile, garnets (lron) hquld
bearing quartz crystals, amethyst, smokeyore,
eairngown. feldspar, siderite and graphite.
A thorough geological survey of this county
would add largely to its wealth. Ore Knob,
in Ashe county, contains one of the most val
liable and extensive veins of copper ever dis
covered in America The vein of copper is a
true fissure, and has been traced quite dis
lance. The depth of the vein is not known.
Fissure veins have rarely been worked down
to any bottom. This vein will average 10 or
II feet in width. The ore yields an average
of twelve to twenty per cent. copper. The
company has erected extensive works for the
extraction of metal at its mines. The process
is as follows The ore is crushed and then
ground to an impalpable powder; then roast
ed;H then it is put in a bath OF chloride OF
lime; this is thoroughly stirred and the copper
dissolved. After the copper is dissolved the
liquor is allowed to stand for some hours, in
order to permit the heavier particles to sub
side; then the liquor with the copper in solu-
ton is drawn off into tanks filled with scrap
iron. The result is the precipitate of the cop
per and the iron in the shape of cement or
sponge copper; this is refined and shipped to
market in ingots. | sometimes meet with
persons who express themselves as being sur
prised to learn that North Carolina should
produce anything but ''tar, pitch and turpen.
tine" lived in the state forty years and
never saw either produced, except by the far
mers on a very small scale. The staple
crops of western North Carolina are wheat,
corn, oats, cotton, tobacco, rye, Irish and
sweet potatoes. They weigh at the Salem Hay
Scales annually about $4,000 tons of hay.
There was shipped from Salem depot, in 1877,
1,64O 900 pounds of dried fruit. The amount
of tobacco shipped from this depot during 8
months, commencing August l, 1877, amount
ed to 1,7O4,S77 pounds. In answer to an
other question so frequently asked me re-
speeding the timber of North Carolina, | wish
to say that large area of the country is COW
cred with rich growth of timber. To realize
the extent of this richness of forest develop
ment it is only necessary to state that, of spe-
cies found in the United States least of the
Poolu Mountoipcl tbaro ara-