Morning journal and courier., 1883-05-18
The History of Gold.

| A Sketch of Its Discoveries and Vast | Production-Whnt the Various Nations Have Put i'm CtrcuIatiOn-Its Use as | Money at Different Periods.
 [From the Boston Evening Transcript.l | Gold, from the earliest times to the pres
 ent day, has been regarded ss one of the 1 most precious of metals. Next to osmium, l, \ iridium and platinum, it is the heaviest of
 metals, being nineteen times heavier than | water. Next to iron, it is the most exten-
 sively diffused metal upon our planet. It I occurs in granite, the oldest rock known to | us and in all the rocks derived from it. It l is, however, much more common in alluvial 1 grounds than among primitive and pyrogen- ous rocks. Nine tenths of the gold which has been produced has been obtained from 1 alluvial beds. Gold mines are generally situ- | ated at the extreme limits of civilization. Herodotus notes the fact and he is confirmed | by Humboldt. It is first mentioned in Gene | sis ii, H.. It was found in the country of Havilah, where the rivers Euphrates and Iii gris unite and discharge their waters into the Persian Gulf. Gold is never found in mass, in veins or lodes; it is interspersed, in
 threads or flakes, throughout quartz or other rocks It is the only metal of yellow col or it is readily crystallizable. and always as-
 sumes one more of the symmetrical shapes such as the cube or octahedron. It affords resplendent polish and may be exposed fer any length of time to the atmosphere with
 
 its beauty. It's malleability is such that cubic inch will cover a surface of eighteen hundred square feet, and its ductility is such that cube of four inches could be drawn into a wire which would extend around the earth.
 Gold was extremely abundant in ancient times. It was plenteously furnished by the rivers of Asia. The sands at PactoIus, the golden fleece conquered by the Argonauts, the gold of Ophir, the fable of King Midas, all tend to show the eastern origin of gold. It was abundant in Cabul and Little Thibet. It abounded in the empire of the Pheraohs, as is attested by the traces of mining opera tions now exhausted, and by the multitude of objects of gold contained in their tombs. Gold abounded in the Levant, and it was obtained in considerable quantity in the is land of Siphnos, and also from Pangaeus. It was found in abundance in Tardeltania in Spain, Douro and was plenty in Dacia, Pennsylvania and the Austrias. Caligula caused his guests to be helped with gold (which they carried away), instead of bread and meat. The dresses of Nero were stiff with embroidery and gold he fished with hooks of gold, and his attendants wore neck laces and bracelets of gold. The Egyptians obtained large quantities of gold from the upper Nile and from Ethiopia. In the cen ter of the continent, upon which so much light has been recently thrown by the labors and sacrifices of Stanley, Livingstone and others, rocks are to be met, with quartz veins containing gold, and thus auriferous alluvium has been formed. Western Africa was the first field which supplied gold to me- diseval Europe. It's whole seaboard, from Morocco to the Equator. produces moro or less gold. This small section of the conti- nent poured flood of gold into Europe and, until the mineral discoveries of Califor- mia and Australia, it continued to be the prin- | cipal supply to the civilized world. The l French claim that they imported gold from Elmina in 1882. The Portuguese discovered | gold in 1442 upon the borders of Rio de | Ouro. The inhabitants of western Africa have worked their gold fields for centuries to very little purpose. Their want Of pumps, of quartz crushing machinery and or sclen tific appliance has limited their labors to scratching the top soil and nibbling at the | reef. walls. A large proportion of the coun- try.is practically virgin ground and rich | harvest has been left for Occidental science, 1 energy and enterprise. It is fast becoming | evident that Africa will one day equal half | a. dozen Californias. The annual product of gold in Africa declined from Sir, ,000,- GOO in 1471 to $3, 900 in 1916. Since 1 the latter date it has gradually declined to | S2, 900. 0OO The total product of Africa since 1471 is estimated to have been $3, 500, COG, ,O00.
 Gold, after the discovery of America, was produced in large quantities, principal y in the Antilles, and chiefly in Hispaniela and the western coast of the Gulf of Mex leo. America is pre- enninently the land of metals. Gold is found in greater or less