The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1905-04-26

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The production of gold in North Car
olina is an old story, Long before Cal
ifornia had become a factor in the
worlds mineral yield the government
was taking its bullion stock from the
Atlantic coast states. At Dahlonega,
in Georgia, a mint was established, and
an assay Office at Charlotte, N. C.-the
same Charlotte that declared indepen-
dence of England a year before a sim
liar declaration was adopted in Phila'
delphia.
An old history of North Carolina
notes that in 1S40 the state yielded over
quarter of million dollars in gold,
with 96S tons of iron, little lead, a
million gallons of whiskey and other
things. Before the war gold mining
was an industry of considerable I'M
portance. After that date, with every
thing demoralized, and California show
ing such tremendous competition, it
was bold man who spent time or
money seeking gold in this state.
One day P. H. Laufman, the pioneer
tinplate man of the Kiskiminetas Val
ley, came into my office in Pittsburg
and told me of his gold operations in
North Carolina, not far from Southern
Pines. He was enlisting Pittsburg
capital in the development and think
considerable work has been done. Some
other Western Pennsylvania people are
doing something farther west. With
this in my mind, I was interested the
other day when w. f. Junge, a hustling
Yankee from Potter Co., Pa, held me
up and wanted me to go over to the
west side of the county with him to see
a North Carolina gold mine.
A crowd of about seventy formed the
gang that set out for down here when
a man finds something of interest to
look at, he does not look at it alone un-
less he keeps his affairs to himself. So
many people are ready to be entertained
that the crowd follows the bell cow
without asking question, Going to
gold field in North Carolina is different
| from going to one on the Comstock, in
Nevada, or in the forbidding regions of
Idaho. Here from the car windows the
delicate pink of the peach trees colored
the landscape the plow mule toiled
slowly down the rows that are to be
planted in cotton the mocking bird
whistled in the swinging tops OF the
black jacks.
Then the train stopped and we took
path close to a primitive cabin bursting
with a pack of children that would have
made Roosevelt's heart joyous. Down
a little ravine and mill was in sight,
the battery of stamps playing merry
tattoo on the rock, from which amalgam-
ated plates pick up real yellow gold
while you stand and wait. Only you
cannot tell that it is gold, for until it
goes to the assay Office and has the mer-
curry roasted out, it looks like the stuff
the tinker man uses to solder up the
wash boiler.
The mine we went to see was located
in the Candor region, the group con-
tanning three or four developments.
OF these the lola is the oldest and is
said to be cleaning up $500 a day. 1t
was interesting to watch the unroman-
tic stamps hammering away at the
equally unromantlc looking rock, and
to be told that the stuff was dropping
enough money every day to keep fam
lily bigger than Brigham Young's.
Three mines are working in the Can
dor district-the lola, the Montgomery
and the Golconda 1t was the Golconda
that my Potter county friend was in
terested in, and the Golconda received
the most of our attention. 1t reminded
me of the old days in California, when
every man you met had both coat
pockets filled with chunks of rock, until
you would suppose he had gone out to
look for dogs. But think OF throwing a
stone at dog when you can take an
iroi. pan, pound the rock to fine sand,
and with the pan wash out enough gold