Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1900-12-05
YORK coUHTYs GOLD NINE.
1T May Prove To Be- . VerltabIe Klondike
of Wealth.

to find my section of this state a verit-
able Klondike," said York county
man, who was in the lobby Of the
Charleston hotel last night. II know
gold mining in the northern part Of the
state Is an old story, and that people
have grown to think and speak Of 1t
with a smile; but there Is revival Of
interest in the matter in York county
Just now that has plenty Of facts be-
hind it to justify serious consideration.
This is no placer scheme, with men
panning out a few dollars Of the shin
ling metal in creek bottoms here and
there; but real vein Of gold bearing
flint rock, that Is returning SIS per ton
right along. The miners have gone
down on the vein to the water level,
some 80 feet or so, and they have tun-
neled for a quarter Of a mile or so,
without the least indication that the
paying rock is running out. Without
modern machinery they are making a
good thing out Of their mine; and that
is the reason say we are liable to
have a Klondike craze up our way
most any time. .-
1T was two years or more ago that a
Colorado miner by the name Of Frank,
camped In our county, and started to
wander over the hills out about Hick-
ory Grove. He did not talk much about
himself or his business. He was a
good fiddler, a pleasant fellow and
made himself popular with the farmers.
Little by little 1t leaked out that he
was a gold hunter, and while 1t had
been said for time out Of mind that
there was a rich vein of ore somewhere
in that vicinity, the people were little
inclined to smile at Mr.. Frank and his
scheme. But after month or 80 he
went to the Brown Brothers and told
them he wanted to dig a bit on their
land down on a wooded ridge, which
rose above the Broad river. He made
some sort of an arrangement with them
and went to work. Month after month
went by and Mr.. Frank was still hoist
ing great chunks Of rock out Of the
hole in the ground, which he had made
down on the Brown place. When peo-
pie asked him how he was getting
along, he told them he was doing as
we'll as could be expected. He
played the fiddle just as sweetly and
lindefatigably at night, and he joked
Just as pleasantly with the people he
met in his wanderings about the red
hills. Every once in While Mr.. Frank
would take some chunks Of his rock
and go over to Charlotte for day or
so: and once he sent some Of 1t to
Washington to some Of the government
authorities. After this kind of thing
had been going on for something like
year he went over to the Browns one
afternoon and offered them a good
round sum for the mineral rights on
their farm. The Browns had developed
very keen interest in Mr.. Frank and
his mining operations by this time, and
they said they would rather have a roy
atty than to sell outright. After some
trading over the matter 1t was agreed
that the Browns were to get so cents
per ton for every ton of ore taken
out of the mine until the first
of next June After that date Mr..
Frank has the right to buy the mine at
a given figure, if he sees fit to do so.
Now, Of course, I do not know just
how much Mr.. Frank is making out of
the scheme; but all Of Us know that he
| is shipping carload after carload Of ore
to Charlotte every week. 1t is said that
the ore is paying SIS per ton gross, and
that there seems to be no end Of the
amount that Is available. Now, every
body Is aware of the fact that a mine
such as that is a veritable bonanza.
With modern machinery put on the
ground and a company formed with
capttal enough to handle the stuff to
advantage, there are fortunes of six
or seven figures to be made out of 1t.
That is the reason I said just now that
the people of South Carolina should
not be surprised If York county became
a Klondike in the next year or so. 9th
er men have found ore on their farms
as rich as that which Mi. Frank Is TAX
| ing out of the Brown farm, and there
seems to be no end of the possibilities
| of the thing.
Unlike some of the North Carolina
gold this metal is found in soft flint
rock, which can be mined with great
ease. You can see the metal in nearly
every chunk you pick up, and some
blocks of it that Mr.. Frank has on eX-
bibition are fabulously rich in the
metal.
LAS I said before, I know all about
the South Carolina gold mines that
have started out we'll and then dwindled
down to nothing in a few years. I am
perfectly we'll aware that this one may
do likewise; but you must not forget