The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1885-03-26
MINERALS IN Tkx2s.

THE STATESMAN Is in receipt of a
communication from Edgar Everhart,
Ph. D.. Professor of Chemistry in the
University OF Texas, Offering bis ser
vices to the Texas public ~ assay
ist. He says:
The mineral resources OF az State,
having been suffered 50 lorg 10 remain
uninveStigated ami uadeYeloped, and
believing that llf=e" resources will
amply repay lo)<it; ilGo, desire to
offer the use of iir University labora-
tory and my OWE services, for the pur-
pose of fnaIgurating such inyestiga-
tions. 1t is highly Improbable that in
State of such nyt@nt and of such di-
versity of surface. II valuable natural
products exiS. From the limited
amount of in!uGm = II published on
the subject, tll2r- app AS 10 be evil
dence OF the XXI 20! ( u c-pper,
iron, lead, silver, geld ard other
minerals in many g Unties,
while in other parts Of the State coal
has been found and even petroleum.
But little has been done towards the
utilization Of these deposits, compare
lively few people know of them, and
no knowledge has ever been published
on any of them. The development of |
these resources must lead to the |
greater advancement of the state and |
to the accomplishment of Ii result, |
the University offers the facilities |
and appliances of its laboratories.
| The object of this communication is |
to call the attention the people of the |
State to the Importance of the subject |
and to let them know that if any
minerals or other natural products be
sent to the laboratory here, the pro-
I fessor in charge will examine them,
and If his judgment be that they are
! valuable, he will submit them to a
! thorough chemical analysis which
will be published in the newspapers
and in scientific journals.
| The only expense to be incurred by
the senders will be the pre- payment
of express charges on the samples.
No doubt Prof. Everhart will be
called upon to give such investigation
and information as he proposes. There
Is no question as to the presence OF
much valuable mineral in Texas.
There are vast quantities of coal and
iron; copper abounds in several sec
lions Of the West and North west. and
leadsroe scattered from the porth-
eastern boundary line of Travis Coun-
, ty to the Staked Plains; and beyond
these it crops out ia immense
quantities IN the mountainous
regions of Western Texas. IN
, the upper Colorado region
, there is much evidence of silver, and
it is believed by many good miners
that gold and silver are both to be
: found in this region in paying quaint.
, ties. west Of the Pecos River there
: are believed to be large deposits of
. oliver ore. 1t has been found IN many
? places, and the surface indication are
] splendid, La the Cnenati Mountains,
!. in Preside County, silver is said
, to abound, and one mine OF
| remarkable richness, about fifteen OF
D twenty miles northeast of the town
3 Of Preside and sixty miles west of
9 the Southern Pacific Railway, is
q now being worked. 1t is sale
3 this company has lately taken
OuU OlC GI1oO luuo Als IL dS
q $1,000 per ton, Kao!in is fou nd il
+ Texas, and so IS the sand from " I4ich
q the finest plate gle IS is maaufactu:-
: ed. There is much in our code il
1 the way of developing mineral
4 lands, to which THE STATESMAN has
: often referred; land titles are sc
I indefinite as TO prevent them from
f being developed. But our people
should not be deferred from making
, any move possible in the direction of
, proving what minerals there are in
: the State. THE STATESMAN hopes
: with this object in view, that Pro
f. fessor EVerhart will be freely called
upon to scientifically demonstrate
4 what the mysterious rocks and soils
4 of Texas are prepared to produce.