Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1883-11-23
Avalley Tin Mine.
VALUABLE DISCOvERY-ITs LOCATION
STORY OF THE FIND.

we now invite the whole world TO VlSlC
our mines"
do you wish to sell, and what is your
price2" asked.
''We will cell, and our price is ten mil
lions of dollars.''
This was part of a conversation your
correspondent held with Capt. Henley,
one of the joint owners of one-half of the
tin mines lately discovered on the head
waters of Irish Creek in Rockbridge coun-
ty; the other associates in the half owner
shid of the mine being Messrs. Whitehead
and Masse of Amherst county, Va. The
remaining half of the mines being held by
Robert Cash, upon whose land the mines
are located.
Occasional brief notices OF the discovery
of tin in large quantities in Rockbridge
county, have been seen in various neWspa-
pers, but as yet no detailed description of
the same noticed. will in AN imperfect
manner furnish the VINDICAToR with a
short description of this important "find. "
I will first locate the mines, then the
discovery with some other points concern
ing the subj ct.
The nearest station on any railroad to
these mines is Vesuvius. on the s. V. r.
R the distance about seven miles; from
the railroad we take the Tye River Turn
Pike and follow it to the top Of the Blue
Ridge, to where the road branches off to
the right leading down Irish Creek. This
creek rises up in the mountain and wends
its way through little valley or rather
canyon, for twelve or fifteen miles, until
it empties into South River near River
side. The rich, steep mountain sides.
when not clothed with virgin forests of
pine. poplar and oak. are titled to the very
tops with crops of tobacco, corn and. rye.
1t is a thickly inhabited portion of the Blue
Ridge, and more than one comfortable
home is found along its banks. On the
south fork of Irish Greek, whose local
name is Painter creek; about $50 yards
from where it emptles into the main
stream, these deposits of tin are located.
THE DISCOVERY.
About 10 months ago Mrs. Martha
Cash had her attention attracted to some
specimens Of ore upon the surface of the
ground near the creek. which she picked
up and showed to her friends, who knew
no more about the nature of the ore than
herself. At last the attention of Mr.. Thes.
M AISLE of Amherst county. was called to
these specimens, and satisfied that they
were not iron ores, as generally supposed.
he procured some of them and had them
tested by Prof. MaIlett of the University
of Virginia, who pronounced it tin ore OF
rich quality. Mr.. Massie, associating
Capt. Henley and Mr.. Whitehead with
himself. bargalned with Robert Cash, the
owner OF the land. getting the half of the
mineral that they shoHld find.
They commenced work last June with 6
or hands and with results far beyond
their expectations; have struck the ore
in several veins, one 40 feet wide, one 10
feet, another 16 feet and others making
IN the aggre gate veins of ore so feet wide,
of depth unknown, but from the fact
that they strike the vein near the bank of
the creek and the same veins on the noun
tain sides 800 feet higher, proves the in
exhaustible nature of the deposit.
This disclosure of the ore has been made
at the ridiculously small expense of $2O0.
ANALYSIS.
These ores have been analysed by a half
dozen or more analy tical chemists in diff
erent parts of the country and all agree as
to the richness of the ore. Prof. Harry
Campbell, Washington & Lee University,
think. reports 81 per cent. Of the me Va
tin, (uide report in late number of The
Virginias'') and all the other analyses cor
respond as to the percentage of the metal.
The scarceness of this useful metal on
the earth makes this one of the most i'm
portant finds" of the day. Only very
few tin mines are worked in the world
one to limited extent in Java, by the
Dutch Government, but the principal one
being in Cornwall. ENGLAND. which has
been worked from the remotest ages. SO
carefully has this been guarded to keep
from exhausting its deposits that only a
certain number of thousand tons are taken
out annually.
I remember after long, tempestuous
voyage across the Atlantic. few years
since, in vessel bound for one of the
ports of Northern Europe, that after the
Scilly Islands. the first sight of land upon
which my eager eyes fell, was the Cornish
Coast, bleak, rugged and dleary, so differ
ent from what the Imagination had pictur-
ed old England. and this extreme South
western point is the famous mining district
of Cornwall. So valuable are it's tin depos-
its, that the chambers of the mine extend
out under the sea, and the miners can
hear, as they dig out the ore, the beating
of the waves Of the Atlantic above their
heads.
This aggression by way of illustrating
the difference of location of these famous
mines of Cornwall and the mines here.
Should the deposits BIZ 80 immense as the
sanguine owners believe, if the syndicates
with their ten millions do not come on
they propose working them, having every
thing at hand, wood in abundance for
charcoal. water, and easy access to rail-
roads. Already the capitalists of the
country have their attention attracted
and their experts are daily visiting the
mines which are testifying for themselves.
A. II. w.
---Sc-S
COULDN'T LET WELL ENOUGH ALONE.