The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1892-03-03
a Search for Gold.
For cold the merchant ploFs the main,

The farmer plows the manor.
Tie gold fever chat is the disease
now prevalent. It has been prevailing
more or less in different forms ever since
the time when under its fatal spell fell
low whose name I do not at this moment
recall was induced to hide wedge of
the precious metal, for which he was
stoned to death.
Some how there is fascination about
gold no matter in what shape 1t exists,
but If men toll and strive and fight and
oven swlndle for that which is but a
faint representation when they strike
what is supposed to be hot trail for
the precious dust in its native element, it
makes them wild.
For the past few weeks We have heard
much of the gold mines of Spartangurg
County, and some extraordinry speci-
mems have been exhibited. Tie fever
has spread until in certain localities it is
looked upon as solution to tho reduc-
ton Of the cotton acreage. If the fever
should break in time to prepare for cot
ton, it is thought so much ofthe land
will have been cut in pits and bitches as
to accomplish the same result.
TBe that as it may, the fever is raging
with no signs of weakening. In fact, it
is spreading at an alarming rate and it is
hard not to find a man nowadays who
hasn't gold mine. ~
Without disparaging the claims Of
others we msy say that the Wolfe and
Tiger is just now most talked Of.
Something has already been said Of this
company and their prospects, but there
is nothing like going on the ground to
see for yourself. This the writer did a
few days ago. Before going further it
may be well to state that this was volun-
tary on our part, The Herald is not
employed to boom the Wolfe and Tiger
property, nor does the paper nor any
man connected with it expect to realize a
dollar from the niue in any shape. Our
visit was voluntary, and hence while
Messrs. Jordon and Sullivan certainly
made the party feel at home and provi-
ded dinner which needed not the
tramp over some six miles of hills to
make it enjoyable, still we are not there
by "tamed so to speak," so that we are
still able to adhere to tho notions which
Dronnte7 the excursion
at Griers station we landed about day
break. It was ride of an hour and
half, nine miles to the mines. Notwith-
standing the fact that this county COM
prises an exceptional territory looking
in every direction, we do not believe that
any portion of it shows to better advan-
tago than that by the way to the mine,
mountainous as it is, but the land is
very productive, half on each aill and
often in the intervening valleys may be
found farm houses that bear every indi-
cation of progress and prosperity. The
country is thickly settled, many of the
places are new, make considerable preten-
sions.
But to the mines. The Wolfe and
Tiger Company is managed by men
whose business capacity and financial
standing are known. They have bought
outright something like 400 acres of land.
Here they have their office, superinten-
danrs house and mill. They have bought
numerous options, water rights and other
property.
It has been said that on the entire 500
acres of land controlled there is not
square foot that does not show gold.
Neither of the two prospectors were
miners, and my friend was certainly not
a miner, but we struck ont and "panned"
promiscuously. Taking dirt hero and
there, sometimes in cotton row, then in
the branch and again in a public road, or
wherever we happened to 60 over dis
tance of about three miles, not g pan of
dirt ever showed less than twenty good
particles of gold, ranging half the size of
a pea down. In many places it was the
exception if you picked up even on the
surface piece Of ore that did not show
gold.
In pit that cut the vein about ten
feet below the surface, we extracted ore
by digging it out of the bank, and every
rock showed gold. The veins nearly all
show on the surface, and frequently one
shaft, though not over six feet wide, cut
two veins.
Several weeks ago some Of the ore was
crushed and tested at the mines, realizing
about $500. 1t was found that by dig
ging a canal and turning on the water the