The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1895-08-23
AMERICAN GEMS.
MANY PRECIOUS STONES FOUND
IN THIS COUNTRY.
1Iines Recently Opened-Digging for
EmeraldS and Turquoises in Va
rious LocaIities-ken-
lucky GarnetS.

found lii this country, an(
G the mining of them is rap
idly growing industry. In 1889 min
ing for precious stones was carried OF
In two States. In 1898 the industry
had widened to embrace the mining O
tourmallne in Maine, emeralds il
North Carolina, turquoises in New
Mexico, sapphires in Montana and
opals in Washington, Idaho and Ore
gon. Otherwise gems are found acct
dentally in connection with other sub.
stances that are being mined. They
are often gathered on the surface, as i:
the case with garnet and Divine in
Arizona and New Mexico or in sluic
ing for gold, as with the sapphires OF
Montana; or in connection with mica
mining, as the beryl of Connecticut
and North Carolina.
Diamonds, whenever found in the
United States, have always been come
upon by accident. All the gems OF
this variety thus far discovered here
would not fill the bottom of coffee
cup, and their aggregate value would
not be more than $4,000. Two of the
largest diamonds found in the United
States are in this city, one from Ore
gon, Wis, which weighs 81 carats, the
other from North Carolina.
Some of the American precious
stones are of fine quality, the tourma-
line of Maine, for instance.
Many diamonds have been found in
cidentally to the search for gold in
California. They occur there not un-
commonly IN the auriferous graveIs.
Doubtless many thousands of them
have been destroyed unintentionally
IN the stamp mills. These gems have
often been picked from the sluices
and fiSmes. The first discovery of
diamonds in that State goes back to
the early gold seeking days of 1850.
As far back as 1854 attention was
called to the similarity of the Califor-
MIA gravels to the diamond bearing
gravels Of Brazil. A few small stones
have been picked up in Idaho, in
placer diggings, but the excitement
awakened by them has been followed
by no substantial results. A small
diamond field has lately been found in
Pierce County, Wis. It has yielded
one gem weighing three-fourths of
car.t, as well as many little ones.
Mining for sapphires was begun in
1870 at Franklin, N. G. Quitea num-
Der of fine stones weighing over one
carat each, true blue and violet blue,
were taken out, as well as several ex-
-cellent rubies. The work was stopped
by the panic of 1873, but has been
resumed recently. In Montana these
stones are found along the Missouri
River on several bars, the richness of
which has given them the names of
Emerald bar, French bar, Eldorado
bar and Ruby bar. These bars were
worked for gold many yea1s ago, but
the gem material was not sought to
any extent, because of the cost of cut
ting chiefly. Two years ago these
bars were bought up by an English
company calling itself the Ruby and
Sapphire Mining Company, which has
since obtained a large number of
stones. Some of them have been cut
and exhibited in London.
The turquoise mines of Mexico,
worked apciently by the Indians of
that region, are now operated scien-
tlfcally by two companies and are
yielding material equal to the finest
Persian turquoise. 1t retains its color
quite as well, not changing within a
short time, as does the Egyptian tur-
quoise. Stones have been found
weighing up to sixty carats each, one
of which was sold for $4,000. It is
now possible for the first time in the
last fifty years to match a perfect tur-
quoise necklace.
Topaz occurs in many of the
States. The most brilliant and beauti-
full crystals are from Thomas Noun
tain, Utah-an isolated and arid ele-
walton about six miles long. These
are always white. all color having
been removed from them by exposure
to sunlight. They are also very
brilliant. At Devils Head Mountain,
thirty miles north of Pixies Peak.
topaz is found in loose crystals among
smoky quartz. 1t is mostly cherry
color, though some of the crystals are
wine yellow and milky blue. From
this locality about $4,000 worth of this
kind of precious stone has been OBJ
tanned and sold. Among the crystals
secured were two cherry colored gems
weighing 125 and 1913 carats.
Many beautiful crystals of emerald
have been found at Stony Point, n. C.
They are dug out Of pockets in the
rock at considerable distance be-
meath the surface of the ground The
output of that locality up to date has
amounted to about SIS, 0co. No gem
obtained has been sold for over 800.
but some of the crystals secured have
measured as much rs eight inches III
length and have weighed ter ounces.
The emerald of course, is a kind of
beryl. Crystals of beryl weighing up
to 1900 pounds have been dug up in
New Hampshire. They were value
less as gems. At a mica mine near
Litchfeld, Conn, about SIT, eco worth
beryls have been obtained and sold
during the last seven years, being cut
into green, white and yellow gems.
The last are terme3 golden beryls "
Precious garnets are found in New
Mexico, Arizona, Southern Colorado
and Utah. They are often miscalled
"rubies." On the Navajo Reserva-
ton, New Mexico, the Indians collect
them IL great numbers from ant hills
and scorpion holes. The insects and
arachnids bring them out of their
burrows to the surface
In Arizona they occur in loose sand,
having been brought thither in all
probability by streams from point
fifty miles to the north. where they
exist in the rocks of their original