The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-06
GOLD IN CITY'S ROCK FLOOR
STRUCK AT 176 BROADWAY IA
FEET UNDER THE SURFACE.
Mine VIII Not he Worked by Title Guaran.
tee n Trust Co.. Which VIII Run It's
Own Gold Mine AbOye-sienltic Gnelss
scooped Out by III Drill Held the Gold.

tee and Trust Co., Which VIII Run It's
Own Gold Min A~boye-sienltic Gneiss
scOoped Out by the Drill Held the C old.
The bedrock foundations OF the islam d OF
Manhattan, at least in spots, according to
the discovery Of an amateur assayer, Samuel
G. Pyle, under foreman Of bricklayers mot
gold brick layers, ether IN the new build
ing Of the Title Guarantee and Trust Com
pany, at 176 Broadway, are made up in part
OF fine gold bearing quartz. The company,
when informed Of the discovery which is
only a few days old, declared through Hor-
ace Anderson, who has charge Of the con-
struction Of the building, that the company
would not work the lead, on the ground
that the company itself was a gold mine
enough in itselft o satisfy allits stockholders.
Nevertheless, Mr.. Anderson said he was
glad that the building was on a gold basis.
Charles Neal, the young and clear headed
foreman Of construction at the new build
ing, vouches for the integrity Of the under
foreman, who never had anything to do
with a gold cure in all his adventurous life.
And II there were any doubt about the
authenticity Of the discovery it would be
dispelled by al examination Of three little
phials containing nearly 81 worth Of fine
gold, another filed with silver in solution
and the other with probably twenty cents
worth OF metallic silver. All this came out
of a few pounds Of sienitic gneiss, which
is unlike the ordinary gneiss on which the
city rests in that 1t contains hornblende
instead Of mica.
Mr.. Pyle knows something about geology
mipind and ohapnictrxy md uyhon ha oana
anything hauled from the depths Of any
building he may happen to be working on
that looks different from what's drilled from
other subterranean places he samples it.
The work necessary for the sinking of the
casing to be use d for the plunger elevators in
the building involved boring through about
ia feet Of gneiss and granite and the exc
~cavation Of about sixty feet of earth and
oand and gravel above it.
The a~nnullar pipe drill used in the boring
makes a hole the core of which Is nearly
ten inches in diameter. There are only
a few buildings in town that have the plunger
elevator, including the Trinity Building and
Wanamaker's. The shaft, or plunger, or
piston rod, which is attached to the floor Of
the elevator, fits into casing lining the
hole through the rock, and Is worked
by hydraulic power. The force Of the
water descending through the piping
into the casing from the roof raises
the elevator. When the water is out the
elevator goes down. The depth Of the hole
for the casing must be about the height of
the top floor of the building, and that Is
why the big %annullar drill must go so far into
hardpan. There will be sever elevators in
ho hiNildinD nrlft hara n IN ara IaIo. r;ara
ing the rock, the bottoms of which holes
are LA feet from the surface Of Broadway.
big drill when in commission drags out
short length cores of gneiss and granite and
not designated. Some of the cores
are hard as flint, and some break up readily.
Pyle noticed the other day a little column
of rock that he thought worth inspecting.
a superficial examination showed him,
says, that the big drill had sawed through
d vein of gold. He had been attracted
10 the rock by a beam from an electric
light that revealed the glimmer Of metal.
He took a few pieces of the rock home to
mis- laboratory, and two days later he came
down and proudly showed Foreman Neal
bits of treasure in the phials that later
turned over to President Kelsey of
he Title Guarantee and Trust Company.
Mr.. Kelsey also received from Foreman
Neal a jagged piece Of the auriferous rock
weighing several pounds. Mr.. Kelsey sub
nitted 1t to an expert, who declared that
t contained gold in small quantities, and
'ome silver, aluminium and iron.
Mr.. Pyle apparently has the impression
there is a good deal of gold, not only
n the unavoidable mines far under Broad
way, but that it is also in the air. He has
lever been in any company that has prom
sed to extract gold from sea salt, but he
3 confident that there is gold in the atmos-
His theory is that gold forms an
part Of most things. He said
yesterday that he had gone up on the build
ngs next door to the Title Guarantee Com
new one, raked up dust and put
through a crucible, with the result that
le got enough of the precious metal to
make a little button.
William Walter Hobbs. Of the Geological
who recently published a pamphlet |
N the ]Configuration of the Rock Floor Of
New York." makes no mention
f any gold bearing rock ever discovered
ar below the surface. He refers to borines
the engineers of many big buildings
long Broadway and other parts Of the town,
nj tells Of the finding Of marble, limestone,
ana gneiss in abundance.
There was no decline in the price OF gold
'ecause Of Mr.. Pyle's discovery and no
umors Of the formation Of a syndicate to
'ore along the line Of the location of the
cad Harlemward. An enthusiast who
aught Mr.. Pyle's spirit Of optimism de-
Jared that the quartz, as found by Mr..
'yle, assayed about 81 900 a ton, and that
: the vein averaged that it would be one
+ the richest mines in America. Still the
title Qua Company is not going to
down its new million dollar building to