Birmingham age-herald., 1895-08-30
THE LATEST GOLD CRAZE.

Editors Journal: The placer gold field of Aracoochee, lying in Cleburne county Ala, eight miles south of Hefiin and twenty-four miles southwest of Tal- lapoosa, was one of the most remarkable ever discovered in the Appalachian min eraI belt. The cream of it's riches, amounting to a million dollars or more, was gathered long before the war At one time 1000 men were at work with their primitive tools and appliances util- izing to the utmost the meager supply of water afforded by a single small creek and it's branches. Their operations cov- cred an area of 1500 acres the greater portion of which was flat bottom land, having only moderate fall for drainage, the remainder running along the slopes of the hills and ridges.
 Only the surface deposits Of gold were looked for and, worked. Although the appearance of the gold indicated local origin no effort was made to locate and work the veins which produced 1t. Slight efforts in this direction have been made since the war with sufficient success to Indicate that the theory of local origin is correct. but without the thoroughness resulting from the combination Of ener- By and capital In one instance a shaft was sunk to a moderate depth on ore lying in regular vein which averaged 20 inches in thickness and carrying gold
  ore milled $25 per ton in free gold, but heavy flow of water and the absence of operating capital caused suspension of operations. With the present low rates of transportation and smelting charges, such ore if found in fair quan- tity, would warrant the outlay of suffi- cient capital to furnish a pumping and hoisting plant of the capacity necessary for efficient mining.
 The recent strike of extremely rich sore apparently lying in place, in the heart of the placer bottom land, close to the main creek and in the midst of old surface workings, derives its greatest importance from the additional evidence it affords of the existence of rich quartz in places in the veins which underlie a large portion at least of the placer gravel While practically all this gravel carried gold the distribution was yet very un- even, and it is fair to presume that nearly fixed relation existed between the richest deposits of the placer and the lore shutes" or channels of the veins from which they were produced. It will be the province of the miner to discover this relation and thereby secure the key which will unlock the rich channels whose outcrops only were d1strlbuted over the surface. This work could be the most quickly and surely accom- plished through such combination Of the owners of the several properties as would place the whole territory under the control of a single organization whose operations could be made thor ough and comprehensive. superficial study of fraction of the territory might fail utterly to reveal the hidden key. There is little hope, however, for united action while the present excitement lasts. Development work is likely to drag.
 During a recent brief study of the field I came to the conclusion that it will some day become the most important camp in the Appalachian mineral belt
 Very extravagant reports of the recent strike have gone abroad. Beyond ques- ton a rich body of gold ore has been un- covered, but it's extent is wholly unde- termined. It has been exposed for a few feet only. Ore to the amount of 200 or 30G pounds has been taken out and locked up. One block, weighing about thirty pounds is a marvellous specimen, showing on one side to the depth of ? inches so much gold as to give color to the whole mass. A ton of such ore would be worth many thousands of dollars. It is not claimed that the whole mass of ore uncovered is of such value. The quartz gangue has it's lean as well as it's fat streaks. The actual cash value of this ore body is now an unknown quantity, but if it's discovery should lead to the efficient exploration of the whole terri tory it may justly be regarded as find of the utmost importance.-J. l.. Loomis in Tallapoosa (Ga) Journal.