Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-09-04
st of Mythical Mine Made Early History for Washington

~ and easily from there to the falls.
At a quarter of a league from them
we got out. the Wallets having Brought
our horses to that place. Neverthe-
less, before mounting our horses we
saw how the Indians carried the boat
upon their shoulders into the forest
to repair 1t. they taking good care not
to tell us that the end was damaged
by striking against rock. 1t was
necessary to shorten the boat by cut
ting off the end.
After having it we'll repaired, the
Indians brought it back to the river
and were rash enough to go down the
rapids or Great Falls Of the Potomac.
They passed down very nicely. accord
ing to their story, but yet they caused
us considerable anxiety, because they
delayed very much before they joined
us at Mr.. Rosters, where we lodged
stayed some time longer with this
gentleman, waiting for my people from
Carolina. The rest of the company
took their way to Pennsylvania, badly
satisfied with the tergiversations and
strange conduct Of Mr.. NJ.
at Is to be remarked here that Mr..
NJ, whom for good reasons I do not
blame, has thoroughly duped people
| by his fine and persuasive accounts
Of having found such rich mines. and
| IL have also gone into the share, it
was easy to entrap me, being a
stranger in these parts"
| After a few more observations on
Mr.. Michel, Won Graffenreid says:
81 return to the little new colony
which we wished to establish. I be-
! lieve that there are scarcely any
places in the world more beautiful
and better situated than this of the
Potomac, and of Canavest, which we
wished to divide into two little colo
MES. the first just below the Falls
(site of Washington. There is a very
pretty island Of very good ground. and
facing 1t an angle between the Poto.
mac River and another little river
named Gold Creek, in French, Ruis-
seau dor, suited to receive everything
which comes up the river, the great
est merchant vessels being able to sail
there, as well as that which comes
down from above the Falls. or from
the surrounding country. The other
colony was to be established near
Canavest."
A marginal note refers to the "fine
situation Of the land above and below
the Falls Of the Potomac, where we
wished also to establish a colony"
! X X
INJURIES or valuable gold and sill
yer mines in the eastern part
Of North America, were quite
frequent in the early colonial
days. The London Co. was more
intent upon having the Jamestown
colony discover gold, apparently, than
anything else. The attitude caused
Capt. John Smith, after the great
suffering of that colony, to write back
to London his self-styled Rude An
swer," in which he said that the Lon
doners had better send out men who
could cut trees, build houses, catch
fish and game, and otherwise wait on
themselves, than to continue send
ing chiefly gentlemen. who knew not
how to do handiwork, and would not,
If they could.
1t was perhaps natural that the
wealthy men of England should have
expected rich returns in gold from
their American colonies; for Spain
had grown rich and powerful that
, way. 1t was a long time before reali-
; zation came that other things were
more valuable than gold, If person
: had nothing to eat, wear or live in.