The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-08-05
SOME NATIVE GEMS.
STONES FOUND IN The
UNITED STATS.

world Exist in This Countrywide
o,lv trouble is That They Are Not
Riq and Plentiful Enough TO Pay for
Mining.
From the Washington Star.
mining for precious stones will never
hocome a profitable industry in the United
Ststas. says Mr. Kunz, the celebrated gem
expert.
svstematic search for such mineral trsas-
was accori ling to his averment. is carried
=, nowhere in this country save in Maine
and North Carolina. Elsewhere they turn
nm accidentally, or while search is being
made for other valuable substances. Sap
,hires are often discovered in Montana gold
sl,ices: the berYl from Con necticut is
obtained in connection with mica min
inc. from the beds of streams and decom-
losing rocks of Wyoming moss agate is
Gathered and on the beaches of the lakes
cblor astrolioe and other beautiful jewels at
tract the eve of the collector. Nearly all
II the gems secured in such ways are either
sold 10 tourists or are sent In small parcels
N the big cities for sale. Nevertheless, it
i trne that nearly all of the known varities
If precious stones are produced in this
country.
More than two centuries ago the tur-
ouoise mines of New Mexico were industri~
duslv worked by the Indians. There and
elsewhere the unturtored aborigines made
arrow and spear points of rock crystal.
smoky quarts, agate. jasper. obsidian and
onalized wood. Some of the most beauti-
fiji of these implements of warfare aud the
chase are now used for ornaments by white
people A few gems of really great price
have been found from time to time in
various parts of the union, although most
Newspaper reports of such discoveries have
been mistaken or much exaggerated. The
blue Ridge sapphire" or Georgia mar
be-" as it was called, found in 1888 in
mountain brook, was estimated to be worth
$4,000 by two jewellers who examined it.
Unfortunately it proved subsequently to be
merely piece of rolled blue bottling glass,
Of which fact its owner could be con-
WINGED only when he saw a platinum wire
coated with a portion of it melted.
Another wonder was nine-ounce eme-
raid, plowed up near Gibsonville, N. c. +,
which was shown by a magnifYing glass to
contain many small diamonds. Its value
was supposed to be enormous, SO that its
finder, believing that he possessed the larg-
est gem of the kind in the world, carried it
to New York, being afraid to intrust SO
great fortune to an express company.
His prize proved to be a greenish quartz
crystal with small liquid cavities in it.
Five dollars was about its worth. The
"Wetumpka ruby" from Elmore county,
Alabama, weighed six ounces, and was APP
praised at a vast sum. However, a small
fragment sent to New York proved it 10 be
only garnet A quartz crystal picked up
near Danbury, n. c., was believed at first
to be q genuine diamond, its value being
estimated by local jewellers at $1,000.
WHERE DIAMONDS ARE FOUND.
Diamonds are found along the eastern
slope of the Alleghanies from Virginia to
ami in Southern Oregon, but there are not
enough OF them Of sizs to pay for mining.
The most valuable stone of this description
ever discovered in this country was the
well-known Dewey diamond" which was
first seen glistening in a shovelful of earth
dug by a laborer engaged in grading
street at Manchester, Va. 1t
weighed nearly "a carats in the
rough, but had large flaw
frauds ever conceived and executed was
the famous Arizona diamond swindle of
twenty years ago. About that time fab
ulous stories were circulated regarding
the mineral richness of New Mexico and
Arizona, and many companies were organ
lied to collect the diamonds, rubies, sap
phires emeralds and other gems which
were said to abound there. In 1870 it was
represented in San Francisco that two men
named Arnold and Slack had found dia-
monds and other precious stones in great
quantities in Arizona. Among some Of
the objects shown in confirmation
were $1,000 carats of so-called rubies and
large number Of diamonds, one of 1903 carats
weight. The gems were displayed to in
vestors in a scheme for exploiting the region
and we're deposited in the Bank of Califor-
MIA for safe keeping. Heavy capitalists
became deeply interested, and finally
party representing the investors and accom-
panied by experts of their own selection
started out prospecting. Upon reaching
the mountain to which they were guided
every one picked up gems. and enthusiasm
arose to pitch corresponding. In a week
1000 carats of diamonds and 5000
carats of rubies were gathered.
Luckily Clarence King, director
Of the geological survey, there
upon made an expedition to the fields, the
result Of which was an exposure of the
affair. His Investigations proved that the
whole business was a humbug, that the
mines had been "salted" beforehand, that
the supposed rubies were ordinary garnets,
and that the 108-carat diamond was piece
Of quartz 1t was ascertained that the
swindlers had purchased large quantities Of
rough diamonds of small value IN London
for the purpose of scattering them about.
So well was the fraud planned that its pro-
moters realized $3.50, 900. At present IS per
cent. Of all the diamonds produced in the
world are obtained from the Kimberly
mines in South Africa.
TURQUOISE IN LARGE QUANTITIES.
Turquoise is found in large quantities in
New Mexico. and also in Arizona, Nevada
and Colorado. 1t is quarried out OF the
rocks, through which it runs in blue veins,
with now and then concretions called mug
gets, which sometimes afford stones Of
value. Mount Chalchihuitl, twenty miles
from Santa Fe, is largely undermined with
ancient Indian workings for this mineral.
In the so-called Wonder Caves" recently
discovered there, which were exosvated by
the natives of old. are to be seen many veins
OF turquoise two inches in thickness running
through the gold-bearing quartz which
forms the walls. The deposits are only
worked in desultory way at present by resi-
cents IN that vicinity, chiefly Indians, who
grind such specimens as they obtain into
rude shapes and sell them at the rate of %
cents for the contents OF a mouth, where
they usually carry them. Skulls encrusted
WIFE torQuolseS are sometimes found in that
part of the country, such objects having
5een Eeld sacred by the Mexicans of former
days;
Inc finest garnets In the United States
are found in New Mexico, Arizona and
southern Colorado, where they are often
called r1bies. Such of them as are discov-
eTed In New Mexico are picked up on the
NAVAJO reservation, where the Indians col
iect them on ant hills and near the excava-
.iols made by scorpions. Both scorpions