Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1886-09-10
GOLD IN MISSOURI.
Strange Traces OF Precious Metals
In the Northern Counties
Eome inisrestInE Facts by n Gentleman
Who Evidently Believes In BOoming
lfis Native state-Ihs Hidden
Wealth OF Macon and Adair.
fst I.onI. Rannhllcan 1

Among those who have faith In the mag
ninccnt possibilities OF Missouri IL Judge
y. W. Knott, deputy superintendent OF
the insurance department. He was for
many years res dent Of Nor: h Missouri
nud de- lnres with pride that the State
contains every thing 10 make IL the
vealthicst nnd most attractive In the
Uitr. When this declaration was re-
tri ed with an expression OF doubt by a
reporter, who referred TO the bleak anil
muddy sections OF the northern part OF
the State, the Judge said:
"1hers IL gold up there nnd precious
stones, aud fifty years hence Missouri will
rank Nth Geo gia as n gold aud mineral
produ ing State. In 1874 or 1S5j was up
In Mac,n County, emil spent about a week
nl,ng the banks Of the Charlton river
Ruullng AMI fishing. I met d.. Lille,
enc da", who had spent about six
teen yenrs II his life in California.
We were talking OF that coun-
try. aud told him ] never
had formed an IDEA Of how California
loolel We were standing on q piece
uf hill rrounl, where we could look of
svcr quite fno stretch Of country. The
doctor waved his hand aud said: That
h'NNiNN ih'Nf tAAiiil HAH COUNTY wv
seen IN California. I've often noticed 10,
md have been struck by the similarity
told him that had a good deal Of con-
filoucc In the mineral wealth Of this part
81 Missouri, and wondered why gold
soulln't be founi here 'I've often
thou hit saii I, that n know any thing
about getting out gold III get pan and
do some washing in this part OF the State
end ses " couldn't hni something The
4 ctor said no knew all about that sort OF
ihiur, AMI " we had a pan he'd try the
tSp riment right then. So role OF 10 a
farm-houso about bali mile away, aud
III 10 l Used " th, only thing the woman
had In the shape OF a pan wasn't one OF
these liy wooden chopping bowls. She
seemed TO 10 little reluctant about leni-
ing ,his, Tut I told her that DR.. Lille
wanted to use II little while and she
rather hesitatinsly let me have u.
well, I took the howl, went back 20 the
doctor and We went down into one OF the
gulches whore there was the dry bed Of a
small stream. Tho doctor took his hand
anl scraped away about six OF ssvon
iuchts ot the gravel aud flied the bowel
with the sand and gravel below. Then wo
vent 10 the water aud washed il until he
had about \ spoonful Of black sand.
'Wrll,' slid he, ~ wehainl got gold wo've
Eot the ncxt thing 10 it--wo'vs got black
sand, anil you never find gold without
finding this ~ ok sand. too He ex-
amined tho sand for some time nni said
his oyesight was poor aud he couldn't see
any gold. / had small mngnifying glass
In my pocket, which handed 20 him, tell
Ing him TO look thr, uch IL at the sand. lie
I'D so and la moment he dropped tho
glass aud fairly yelled; by George, I've
got i,Y" There VIC had found gold. When
j went home took with mo about Ave
dollars' worth Il gcld-dust. Otcourse the
news spread rapidly anil the people began
90 notk the.e, md when went up there
about week aitcrward there were about
hundred peoi 10 cemped in the woods
digging for gol l."
"why were not tho sulches worked sue
ccs .;ully"
"Thtro was a scarcity OF waior. There
was no water, except in the Charlton,
which IL n email sluggish stream, and it
would not pay any enc TO dig there for
gold until they Invented something tcsidcs
nature TO get u out with. But tie col Is
there In Macon, Adair aud adjoining
counties, end II will be taken out vet i'm
paying qucnti les. The sand we took out
1ssayed at the rate Of eightcon dollars 10
tho ton. And there's not only gold up
there, lut I an Satisfied that there are
'iimouds and other gems there, too. One
day while one OF the men was digging for
gold In the gravel On the Charlton he
throw up a stone which attracted my at
trntion. IL was about as zig as a small
lird's eg-, and saw rleam
Of rci light in II. picket II
mp and asked the man u no wanted A..
nnd no said no. so took 70.
cent u down 90 Sc. Louis, had il cut, and II
- now in the confer OF n breast min my
wife wears. took IL to Jaccar,l's. asd
Mr.. Jaccard t,ld me that Il was flpe
oriental opal lie was very much sur
pri'ed when toll him that I found Il in
Missouri, Tut l told him there WINS no
doubt about a., Is picked IL up mys,ls.
lie said ho knew Of only one other stone
! ko q m this country.
There arc three strata In the eartb
there snd one o. them contains gold. You
can see the formation distinctly In the
s'de II the hills and wherever that gravel
stratum IL ytu'll end gold. There is no
ate In the Union that has mineral re-
sources superior 10 Missouri, end boror,
mary years this " III | o shown to be liter.
ally true"
But the diamonds and o.her prec,ou,
stoncslr ~'
They are there. In the guile hes OF Ma.
con and Adnir counties there nre som. q,
the finest gems in the world. One dav
picked up in the road a peculiar-looKino
stone and II at cncc attracted nv at,eps
ton by its extraordinary weight Itwas
80 large as birds egg, and proved 10 IL
n conundrum. II IL in my cabiret nov
with numerous other specimens Of rich
minerals found Ia that part OF tho s,oto
Embedded in the earth and rock ut n
considerable distance below tho surfae,
are fossils q the most curious description.
have seen ledge Of rock on the Char
hon that you could split IN almost anv
thickness and and perfect fern leaves.
An ell man was digging
wen on his farm up there, and after
he had got down quite distance he slruch
a stratum OF soap-stone, and In this was
imbedded a crinoid stem. He broke OF \
piece Of the sione and out dropped a sec
tiSn Of the crinoid stem. which looked IKE
luton. The old fellow came into NV
once with Il and told me how he found n.
He couldn't understand how a 'gailus,
button, as be called "a, could have found
i,s way into that soap-stono way down
under the earth. I explained 10 him wha,
"a was, and he was more astonished than
ever. There IL a great deal under the sur
face OF the earth in North Miss ,ari that Il
valuable ar4 intsr~-si--u
Portsmouth ~. NJ specIaLt
Yesterday afternoon David Stevens and
fiaorua MnrrflI 49,. o.hf~,- "a VN..-A-.-- =