The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1891-05-31

and Monument.
Mr.. IL. Ross Perry, member and legal ada
wiser of the Rock Creek Park Commission,
was asked by a HERALD reporter if it was true
that he had assented to the order presented
by Mr.. Coleman, attorney for Mrs. Truesdell,
one of the owners of the land embraced within
the park, granting permission for the contin-
uance of the steps taken to develop the gold
quartz veins lately found on her farm.
Said Mr.. Perry: 'tThere has been no such
assent by me and no such order as has been
represented. was Informed that vein of
gold-bearing quartz bad been discovered on
the land of Mrs Truesdell by two mining ex-
perts who had been heretofore employed in
examining the quartz veins of Montgomery
County, Md, where Senator Sawyer's syndi-
cate are operating. 1t was represented to me
that the land was Of greater value than was
assessed by the commission. By virtue of this
statement, by consent of counsel the matter
was held up, and an investigation will be
made of the premises within the next ten
days. That is all.''
The reporter next saw Lawyer Woodbury.
Wheeler, and asked him if gold-bearing
quartz ledges had not been discovered beyond
the Anacostia River, and as far down as MARI
borop
''Oh, yes," said he, ''but have not heard of
anybody making fortune out of it. / sup
pose there is a trace of gold in all the earth
about here, but the trouble is it EtakesSmore
money to extract it than the result amounts
to- There is plenty of free gold about if we
could only gather it into heap at paying
rraten
An old California Forty miner, now employed
the District Building, when shown the above,
said in effect: ~ have always believed that
this region was good one for gold prospect
ing, and if my joints were not so stiff would
strike out with pick and shovel even now. 1t
is certain that gold in paying quantities ex-
lists in Montgomery County, Nd, where
Senator Sawyer's syndicate is operating along
through Spottsylvania County, Va, thence
into North Carolina and Georgia, and, perhaps,
further South. Large quantities of gold are an
nually taken out in the mines along this route,
although they are operated in the crudest
manner Placer mining is a mere flash in the
pan, (not to make a pun but deep mining
with adequate machinery is what pays. In
the old days when gold was discovered in
California placer mining by pan and rocker
was all the go. 1t was only when the crush
ing of gold-bearing quartz came into vogue
that the output Of gold became of magnitude.
And | may say, for example, that at the 1000
feet level of the Comstock mine the ore
was found to be ten-fold richer than when
the vein was discovered cropping out at the
surface. So it may be with the outcrop of
gold-bearing quartz discovered in Montgom-
cry County and on the hills beyond the Ana
costa. Why, I have known well-diggers and
,diggers of the deep foundations of the Gov
ernment buildings here to strike ledges of
quartz that had to be blasted out and were
carted away as useless Perhaps those lodges
would have paid for the buildings if scientif-
cally treated for the gold they contained. 1t
would be funny, wouldn't it, if at some future
day some of the big breweries, say, while bor-
ing an artesian well should discover vein of
rich gold-bearing quartz hundreds of feet be-
meath the surface showing that the National
Capital was situated upon rich gold mine.
The consequences would be awful. The city
would be honeycombed underneath by mines
and shafts and galleries. The foundations of
the stately Capitol and the towering Washing
ton Monument would have to be supported on
massive pillars, and that busy industrial activ-
ity which is denied to the upper air of the
Capital would be carried ON under the earth's
surface, two or three thousand feet under
ground You say the idea is fantastic, doyou?
Well, perhaps so, but it is surely in the line of
modern progress in mechanism and discovery.
And in this connection / refer you to the nat
ural gas producing cities of Pennsylvania
Pittsburg, for example. believe there is pay
ing gold ore beneath this entire city, if you
only sink shafts deep enough to find it.'
~~-S--~
n Block OF Five New Dwellings.
Architect A. P. Clark, Jr, has prepared the
plans and is now erecting block of five
dwellings for Mr. Morgan Thomas at the
northwest corner of Seventh and | streets
northeast. They will be three-story and cellar
high, with pressed brick and brownstone
fronts also square, octagon, and circular bay
windows and copper corniees. The corner
house will have circular and octagon pro-
jections, copper oriel and tiled mansard roof
The interior will be trimmed in Georgia white
pine, with cabinet mantels, open fire. places,