Gems and Precious Stones of North America - Forgotten Books

O RTH AM E R IC A P O PU LA R D E S C R IP T IO N OF

TH E I R

O CC U R R E N C E ,

A RC H ZEO L O GY , A N D O F

HI H TH E Y EAR LS N

W P

C

GE M S

HIST OR Y

VA L U E ,

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TH E C O L L E C TI O N S I N

EX IST A LS O A C H A P T ER O N A D ON R E M AR K A B L E F ORE IG N O W NED I N TH E U N IT ED ST A T E S ,

I L L U ST RA T E D W IT H

E I G HT C O LO R E D P L AT E S AN D N

U

ME RO

U

S

M INO R E NG R AV INGS

NY L N UN L L U Y L NN LUN L N U Y NY LN U L N LN L N L n

GE M A GE

T

OF

T HE

A N D O F T HE

BE R

W ITH M E S SR S

E X PE R T

OF

ITE D

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MI

T HE

B R IT AI

AN D IRE

S OC IE T

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DE

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A

TH

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T I FF A

STATE S C E

E R A O G IC A D . THE

P ET E RS B

M I ERA O G I E , E TC

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G E O OG IC A

ST AT E S IT E D

CO

SO C I E T

IM PE R IA

RG , THE

NE W YO R K

M D CC CX C

S

S

OF

RV E

S, M E M

G R E AT

M I E RA OG IC A

SO C I ET E

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S PE C IA

F R A CA I SE

COP B Y TH E

S C IE

N

Y I

R G H T,

I

T IF C PU B

1 8 90

I L L U S T R AT I O NS

L I ST O F

CO L O RE D P LAT E

I

P L AT E S P

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A D ,

Cut Sapphire E l D orado Bar near H elena Mont ; B D ewey D iamond fou nd in 1 8 5 5 near Manchester V a ; C N atural C rystal of Sapphire E l D orado Bar M ont ; E Section o f Sapphire C rystal banded blue and yellow J enks M ine Macon County N C ( A merican M useum o f N atural H istory N ew York C ity) ; F A steriated Sapphire J ackson C ounty N C ; G R uby J enks M ine Macon County N C ; H First Sap phire found in the U n ited States from C orundum H ill Macon C ounty N C R estored to matrix after being cut ( A merican Museum o f N atural H is tory N ew York C ity) ,

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P LA T E

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A

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H oly Toad o f the Zuni I ndians C lam shell i n crusted with turquoise and shell ( H emenway E x di t i o n e C ollection B Turquoise in rock L o s ; p ) C errillos N M ; C Turquo ise in rock H umboldt -

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AG E

ii

LIST

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PL A T E

2

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N ev ; D

Cyanite Seven M ile R idge M itchell County N C ; E Shell R ing inlaid with tur u o is e and S hell H emenway E xpedition o l l ec C q ( tion) .

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P LAT E

ILLUST RA TI ON S

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A N atural Garnet Pebble found near Fort D fi ance A riz ; B Garnet fou nd near Gallup N M ; C Peridot Fort D e fi an c e A riz ; D E N atu ral e

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Pebbles o f Peridot called J ob s Tears found near Gallup N M F Spessartite Garnet A me l ia C ourt H ouse V a ( A m erican M useum o f N at A rrow u ral H istory N ew York C ity ; G H I ) j points o f chalcedony carnelian obsidian and jas r C olumbia R iver O re K C rystal o f Topaz e ; p C heyenne M ountain Colorado ( A merican Museum L A lmandite o f N atural H istory N ew York City ) Garnet C rystal Fort Wrangel S t ic k e e n R iver A laska ; M C t ra s t ro l i t e I sle R oyale Lake S u perior ( Lynde Collection) N To p a z Cheyenne M ountain C o l ’

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P LAT E

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Blue Tourmaline ( indi c olite) M ount M ica M e Wh ite Tou rma N e w York State Cabinet ; B ( ) l ine (ac hroite) D e Kalb St Lawrence C ounty N Y ; C White Tourmaline (achroite) M ou nt M ica Paris Me D R ed Tourmaline ( rubellite) M ount M ica Paris M e ; E Green Tourmaline M ount M ica Paris M e ; F C rystal o f Tou rma line M ount M ica Paris M e ( H amlin C o ll e c tion ) ; G Section o f a C rystal of Tourmaline from Mount M ica Paris M e showing a red and white centre with green exterior ; H Section of C rystal o f Tourmaline from M ou nt M ica Paris M e showing dark blue and pink centre with wh ite exterior ,

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LIST P LAT E

5

ILLUST RA TI ON S

OF

iii P

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A

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E merald

Stony Point A lexander C ounty N C ; B Golden c olored Beryl L itch fi el d County C onn ; C C rystal Of A quamarine M ount A ntero C haffee C ounty C O L; D A z urite and Malachite in concentric bands Moren c i A riz ( A merican M useum o f N atural H isto ry N ew York C ity) ; E H C rystals o f E merald Stony Point A lex a nder C ount N C Bement C ollection F ; y ( ) A maz onstone (microcline) Pike s Peak C ol o ne fi fth natural si z e ( N ew York State Cabinet) G C ut A quamarine Stoneham O xford C ounty M e D exter C lle c tion o ( ) Lithia .

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P LA T E

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C ut A methyst D eer H ill Stow Me ; C Group f A methyst C rystals U pper Providence Town ship D elaware C ounty P ( A merican M useum f N atural H istory N ew York C ity) B

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A R utile ,

in Quartz cut heart shape ( V enus hair stone Fl eche d A m o u r Sagen ite ) A lexander C ounty N C ; B Smo ky Quartz (cairngorm stone) A lexander C ounty N C ( A merican M u seum o f N atural H istory N ew York C ity) ; C R utile in Quart z West H artford V t ( H ubbard C ollection) ’

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P LA T E

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Pearl from common cla m ( V enus M erc enaria) “ Long I sland Sound twice natural si z e ; B Queen Pearl natu ral size fou nd in 1 8 5 7 near Paterson N J C R ight V alve o f M other o f Pearl Shell in c losin g p arasiti c fish (O l ig o c o t t u s) coast o f west ern Mexico ; D C urious Pearl from U nio from Cumberland R iver Tenn ; E Pearl showing con centric rin g s mag nified four diameters fromL i ttle M iami R i ver O hio ,

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AGE

LIS T

OE

U L L PAGE

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ILLUST RA TI O NS I L L U ST RA T I O NS P

SA P P HI RE wei ght pounds in the Shepard C ollect i on

G RE AT C R YSTAL S

OF

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T U RQ U O IS E M I NE

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Lo s

C e rrillos N ,

T U R Q U O IS E CH AR MS Beads and I ndi ans ,

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I and I 3 4 3 A m hers t C olleg e

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M

O rnaments made by N avaj o

H UM AN S KULL i n c rusted with T urquo i se and with eye s of iron pyrites from the Christy C ollection British M useum White Marble Prairie D o g with eyes o f turquoise used by medi c ine men to indu c e rain ,

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TO P A Z from Stoneham M e ; Mam m ot h weight two tons from Grafton N H

C R STA L O Y

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C R ST A L ALM AND IT E

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GARNE T weight 9 2 3 pounds found in 3 st h Street near Broadway N ew York C ity No

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v e mb e r ,

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T RAN S P AREN T Q U AR TZ half natural size M ou ntain Garland C ounty A rk ,

from

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Park and

AGA TIZ ED T REE Fallen Chief Chalcedony V iew in Chalcedony Park A riz “

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B RI D G E O F AG A TIZ ED T REE Park A ri z

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C rystal

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feet in length

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C hal c edony

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S Ix

B eryl

F RE SH WA T ER PEAR LS natural si z e from rivers Of O hio -

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Ten nessee and Texas magni fi ed six diameters ,

S H E LL

OF of

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Pearl with clay

c entre

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PEA RL O Y ST ER W ITH A D H ER I N G PEAR L from Bay Guaymas Lower California ,

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on A ltar V alley O hio

P E A R LS fo u nd ’

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M arriott M ound Little M iami ,

AG E

LIST

ILLUST RA TI ON S

OF

V

S H E LL ( H aliotis splendens) from Seal San D iego County Cal

Rock

J A D E IT E A gate J asper Serpentine an d C rystal Valley o f Mexico

R ock

A A LONE B

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BEAD S

OF

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AGE

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PO LISH ED F IGU RE S O F O B SI D I AN from Mexico half natu ral S i z e ( U nited States N ational Museu m) ,

O SI D I AN B

KN IF E from Tepoxtlan M exico length 1 8 inches Blake C ollection ( U nited States N ational M useum) ,

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I L L U ST RA T I O N S I N T E X T F IGU RE 1 Pseudomorph o f Turquoise after R anch F resno C ounty C al .

F IGU RE

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A patite

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Beryl ( shifted crystal) Monroe F IGU RE 3 Chrysoberyl

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N orway

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F IGU RE 4 Twinned C rystals

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F IGU RE 5 C rystal

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Chrysoberyl Greenfield ,

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F IGU RE

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Phenacite C rystal Peak Col ,

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V inaigrette made from R ock C rystal found County N C Paris E xposition 8 8 9 ,

F IGU RE

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D issected C rystal M ass

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of Chiastolite ( macle) Lancaster

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97

Vl

LIST O F ILLUST RA TI ON S

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PA G E F IGU RE 8 Section o f round and pear S haped Pearl showing internal structure .

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F IGU RE 9 I nsect (wal k ing stick) imbedded in shell from Long I sland .

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U nio

F IGU RE I o M ethod of Openin g mussels in Saxony without kill in g U nio .

F IGU RE

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I nstruments used in Saxony to open mussels without killing them

F IGU RE

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Curiously shaped Pearl from common oyster

F IGU RE

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J adeite Mask M exico ,

F IGU RE

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R oc k C rystal

Skull Museum Paris

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inches in width Trocad ero ,

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F IGU RE 1 5 C rescent of R oc k C rystal from Tro c ad ero M useum Paris .

V alley

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M exico

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F IGU RE

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O bsidian le c tion

M irror from O axaca M exico Pinard C ol Tro c ad ero Museum Paris ,

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F IGU RE 1 8 Primitive M ethod reed and sand .

F IGU RE

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drillin g a hard stone with a

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Banner stone Of N C -

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F erruginous Quart z I redell C ou nty

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F IGU RE 2 0 Primitive method of chip p in g fl int .

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CO NT E NT S P

I N T ROD U C TI ON

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C H A P T ER I D iamonds .

CH A P T ER I I

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C oru ndum Sapphire R uby O riental Topaz t al E merald D iaspore and Spinel ,

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C H A P T ER I I I Turquoise

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C H A P T ER I V Topa z and Tou rmaline ( R u bellite I ndicolite and A chroite) .

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C H A P T ER V Garnet Group E ssonite Spessartite Pyrope O uvarovite Schorlomite .

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A lmandite

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C H A P T ER V I Beryl ( E merald A quamarine) Chrysoberyl cite E uclase Peridot Zircon .

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Ph e na

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AG E

4

C

ON T EN TS

C H A P T ER V I I PAG E The Quart z Group z—R ock C rystal Transp arent Quartz A methyst Smoky Quartz Cairngorm Stone Gold Quartz R ose Quartz N ovaculite Sil i c ifi e d C oral Quartzite Quartz I nclusions Thetis H airstone A gate J asper Sil ic ifi e d Wood O pal H ydrophane .

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CH A T ER V I I I P

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Spodumene ( H iddenite) Smaragdite D iopside R hodonite E nstatite and Bronzite Wollastonite C rocidolite Willemite V esuvianite A llanite Gadolinite E pidote Zoisite A xinite D anburite I olite Lepidolite Scapolite C a nc rinl te Sodalite E l ae olite Lapis Lazuli ,

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CH A T ER I X

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—Lennilite

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Feldspar Group z C as s init e E l ae olite M oonstone A lbite O ligo c lase Su n stone Labradorite A ma z onstone Perthite Peris t e r it e L e o p ar i t e O bsidian Pitchstone ; A lso C h ro nd ro d it e A ndalusite

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CH A T E R X C hiastolite

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Cyanite D atolite Staurolite I sopyre Pectolite D ioptase Prehn i te Zonochlorite C hlor a s t r o l it e Thomsonite Lintonite N atrolite Fluorite ,

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CH A T ER X I P

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Serpentine Bowenite Williamsite M icrolite M eer schaum A patite Beryllonite Lazulite C assiterite H ematite Lodestone R utile O ctahedrite Brook ite A rkansite Titanic I ron Titanite M alachite Chrysocolla A z urite A rragonite Fossil Coral Pyrite A mber J et A nthracite Cat s E ye M iner als C atlinite ,

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CON

C H A P TE R X I I Pearls

T EN TS

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C H A P T ER X I I I I n the D ominion .

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Canada

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C H A P T ER X I V I n Mexico and Central

A merica

C H A P T ER X V A boriginal

Work in

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L apidarian

N orth

A merica

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C H A P T ER X V I D efin itions I mports and Production V alues Cutting of D iamonds and other Stones Watch J ewels C ollections of Gems M inerals and J ade U ses of Precious and O rnamental S tones for the O rnamentation of Silver and Furnitu re and for I nterior D ecoration Trilobite O rnaments .

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AGE

E RRA T A e lin lin f S nte S nt t inn t f % lin S i S i nS oot i f lin A / A ik l i to p y ite / f e lili n i t l i f T nb ll i f ee lin tfo fo in n o o nte in f lin po po l f e lin t i k f i k of l in i of t llite f foot not i o i t i loni t f l nit lin Ol nt n y f l in J f line i i e A he i oclin f e foo t n l to n le ton f J f ie Je f i lin f e li Ante o f titi lin f o otto T T e f line e f lin In i f e lin lin f o o p nt t i on in h in h f f l i e f o onl y f o o t to lin f f e n oisit o tin t o p i lin f lin f o ot t o o ks o k S n fopl o oiS fo f lin ll ll f t t e lin f i oi l f .

w ed c ar a 2 1 8 r ea d 1 r ea d U ak a h ng g r ea d r ea d

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r ea d

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Pag 1 68 , e 2 0 , or r ea d a a a or s p e ro l I te r ea d s h e r o l i t i c Pa g e 1 68 , e 22, p or P a g e 1 69 , e 1 6, q u re r ea d qu e r Pa g e 1 7 3 , or l e 8 r ea d B h im e 5 , or 1 0 P ag e 1 76 , ne 3 6 r ea d 1 0 b y 6 P ag 1 7 9 , e 9 , f or b re cc il at e d r ea d b re cc a e d P ag e 1 8 2 , ne s 1 a nd 1 1 , o r Ma r as r ea d Ma ra Is P ag 1 8 7 , r d r ea d H a r e 2 0 , o r H ar rd or P ag 1 93 , e 1 1 , p u l a r r ea d p ar P ag 1 98 , e 20 , or a s h e s r e a d O x Id e P a g e 2 0 1 , k m 6 , f or C r e s s w n c k s r ea d C r o ss w c s e 1 1 , a t er s p e c e s i ns e r t Pa g e 20 3 , I nsec s P ag e 2 06 , e 4, or M ss u r r ea d M i s s m n P ag e 2 3 0 , e 2 6, or O l e nta u gg f ea d e a g P ag e 2 4 8 e 2 6, or e fi e r i es r ea d J e fi ri e s 19, P ag e 2 5 0 or C a c q u e s r ea d C a c qu e w or C h a r e s o te 1 r ea d C h a r s P ag 2 5 0 , P ag e 2 5 3 , e 9, or J e fi e r i e s r ea d ef r s Pa g 2 5 4 , ne 1 7 o r cos ta l u s r ea d co st a t u s m , or ec h P a g e 2 54 , e 8 r m b e c h a r ea d o r w as r ea d w e r P ag e 2 r 9 , 15, P ag e 2 66 , e 23 o r a nd r e a d a s or g oed e s r e a d e 8 P ag 2 7 6 , r ea d 3 - 5 c P ag e 2 7 9 e 9 fr m b o tt o m , or 1 -5 c P a g e 2 8 0 , n 6 be o r e a n i ns er t a s e 7 r m b m , or m at am o rp h i c r ea d P a g e 2 8 4, m e am r h c P ag e 2 88 , e 5 or qu i nz i t e r ea d q u i nc i t e r ea d r c m , or r c P ag e 2 88 , e 1 1 r m b o r w a s r ea d w e s Pag e 2 9 8 , e 8, da P a g 30 6 , o r d i sc o r d a l r ea d d sc e 1, .

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i ns e r t c a i sh g r e gs r Z O i z i t e r ea d Z e rd a d rd r ea d an or sm e ch r sm r ea d o r B th u r s t r ea d Ba h urs y

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I NT RO D U C T I O N

EAR LY

all the known varieties o f precious stones are found in the U nited States but there is very little sys t e m a t ic exploration for them as the indications seldom j ustify the investment o f much cap ital in such search The daily yield from the coal and iron mines or from the S outh A frican diamond mines o r a week s yield o f the gran ite quarries would exceed in value the entire output o f precious stones found in the U nited States during a year Systematic search for gems and precious stones has been carried o n in only two States Maine and N orth Carolina O therwise the gems are found accidentally in connection with other substances that are being mined o r in small veins which are only occasionally met with as the turquoise in M exico They are often gathered on the surface as is the case with garnet o r olivine from A rizona and N ew M exico ; or in sluic ing for gold as the sapphires from M ontana ; or in connection with mica mining as the beryl from C onnecticut and N ort h Carolina ; or from the beds of streams and decomposing rocks as the moss agate from Wyoming ; o r o n the beaches as the agate chlorastrolite and thomsonite from the shores of L ake Superior N early all the gems found in these various ways are sent to the large cities in small parcels o r sold in the neighborhood to tourists or sent to other places to be disposed o f as having been found in their vicinity M any of them are only known locally some to mineralogists while others mentioned in the following ,

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I N T ROD TI ON

8

UC

pages are accepted by the few gem col l ectors of the U nited States whose only obj ect is to fi nd something possessing the qualities o f a gem o r precious stone wherewit h t o enrich their cabinets A list of su ch gem stones will be o f interest to many who have not known of their existence in this country and to others this knowledge may have a commercial value shoul d some of these minerals be met with in su fficient quantities a n d o f good quality ; and in directing attention to valuable de p osits where a small amount has already been realized it may stimulate the interest in and search for gems and aid in develop ing what may become an important industry I t is known that the I ndians worked the turquoise mines of N ew Mexico more than two centuries ago that they made arrow and spear points o f rock c rystal smoky quartz ag atized and opalized woods agates j aspers and Obsidian and buried crystals that the richly colored fluorite o f o f quartz with their dead ; H ardin C ou nty I ll was worked by them into ornaments Some of the most beautiful of their arrow points are now used for decoration by the white man paralleling the prover bial conversion o f swords into plowshares Mention will be made o f a few localities where gem specimens have been fou nd which are remarkable as such and which have a special claim o n th e collector ; some notes will also be given concern ing specimens that have been of value to the finder such for example as the Pike s Peak amazonstone or the sp inels found at M onroe N Y whic h have little o r no gem value M any of these stones are as beautiful in their native form as they are after having u n The cutting of such material d e rg o ne the grinding process therefore for its money value is really vandalism and sh ould be discou raged by all scientists although we may not all be “ willing to accept more broadly R uskin s opinion that gems ” should no t be cut but worn in the natural state I n 1 8 8 2 the writer was invited to prepare a paper on precious stones O f the U nited States for the first annual report Of the D ivision o f M ining Statistics and since then has prepared similar annual reports From that beginn ing the pres ent work has grown and it contains much additional information obtained from studying the collections of the U nited States as ,

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IO

I N T ROD U TI ON C

The Blue R idge sapphire o r Georgia marvel as it was called in the reports was found in 1 8 8 3 in a brook in the Blu e R idge M ountains in Georgia I t was estimated to be worth about by the owner he having been assured o f its genu ine ness as a sapphire by two Southern j ewelers who had arrived at its valuation by computing its weight A nyth ing scratched by a file is su re to be pronounced glass whether it is glass topaz o r some other equally hard stone ; while o n the other hand the common fallacy prevails that anything that a file cannot scratch is a genu ine stone even though it may be only glass I n this i n stance the gem proved to be a piece o f rolled blue bottle glass o f which fact its owner could be convinc ed only when h e saw a platinum wire coated with a melted fragment A nother wonder was a stone weighing 9 ounces plowed up near Gibsonville Guilford C ou nty N C which was pro no u nc e d a genuine emerald by some local expert who tested it and with the microscope showed that it contained various smal l diamonds I ts value was estimated up in the thousands and $ 1 ooo w as reported to have been refused for it by i t s owner who as it was believed to be the largest known emerald expected that it would bring him a fortune Being therefore too valuable to be entrusted to an express company he pu t himself to the ex pense o f a trip to N ew York where his prize proved o n examina tion to be a green ish quartz crystal filled with long hair like crys tals o f green byssolite or actinolite o n which were Series and strings o f small liqu id cavities that glisten ing In the sun had led to the included diamond theory The best O ffer that he received for the stone was $ 5 “ The Wetumpka R uby from E lmore County A la was su p posed to be a ruby o f six ou n ces weight after cutting away ” all the roughness O wing to its assume d value it was deposited in the Wetu m pka bank vault and o n no consideration would be sent to any o ne on approbation A small fragment sent to N ew York C ity proved the stone to be o nl y a garnet and from its quality of no gem value even if a ruby A nother is a crystal foun d near D anbury N C which was examined and pronounced to be a genuine diamond by the local j ewelers and valued at ,

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I N T ROD U TI ON

II

C

A

number o f the supposed diamond discoveries will be found at the end o f the first chapter I t is not intended to make this volume either a complete treatise on precious stones o r o n the science o f mineralog y but to confine it more particularly to the occurrence of precious stones in N orth A merica and for comparison occasional reference is made to foreign sources and authorities The beautiful colored plates contained in this volume are the work o f the eminent art lithographers Messrs L Prang C o o f Boston M ass and are unquestionably the finest work o f the kind ever published The writer s thanks are extended to M essrs Ti ffany C o for the facilities afforded by their corps in the preparation o f the original designs used in o f artists the production O f these plates D uring the preparation of this work much valuable assist ance has been received from the following gentlemen to whom the author begs to tender his most sincere thanks Maj J ohn W Powell William H H olmes Prof Frank W Clarke J oseph S D iller and D r D avid T D ay of the U nited States Geological Su rvey Lester F Ward Frank H K nowlton W illiam H D all George H M errill D r Thomas Wilson and D r R obert E C Stearns o f the U nited States N ational M u seum Prof E dward S D ana D r S amuel L Pe nfi e l d and M r O H D rake of Yale U niversity ; D r A ugustus C H amlin Bangor M e ; D r R obert Lilley D r M arcus Benjamin Prof D aniel S Martin M r J ames D Y e rr ing t o n Prof O liver P H ubbard C ottier o f N ew York City also D r E H amy of a nd M r C J Paris France .

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C H A PT E R I

D i m o ds a

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H E diamond crystall izes in the isometric system and is usually found as an octahedron o r as some m o difi c a tion of that form I t is 1 0 in the scale o f hardness and the hardest o f all known substances I ts composition is pure carbon I t has a greater refractive and dispersive power on light than any other gem and is the only one that is c o m b u s tible I ts specific gravity is about 3 5 2 5 I n color its range is extensive and it is found in almost all the shades o f the spectrum more commonly however wh ite yellow brown rarely rose red red blue and green N inety fi ve per cent o f the diamonds at present Obtained are from the Kimberley M ines Griqua Land West South A frica The remainder come from Brazil I ndia and Borneo A few have been found recently in N ew South Wales and they are known to exist in the U ral M ountains S ince the disco very o f South A frican mines in 1 8 6 7 and the opening a short time afterward o f claims that are now consolidated into a small number of large companies all within a radius o f a mile and a half more diamonds have been found than during the two preceding centuries throughout the W hole world O ver 9 tons carats) o f diamonds valued in the rough at and after cutting at over have been $2 taken from these mines D iamonds are sold by the carat The ,

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I nternational carat w e ig h s 2 o 5 grams equ ivalent to 3 1 6 8 grains troy The proportions according to quality o f the entire S outh A frican yield are as follows First quality eight per cent second quality twenty fi v e per cent third quality twenty per cent and the balance bort wh ich is used for slitting gems p olishin g diamonds more recently for saws and ground into powder for use in the arts A n im p ression seems to prevail that a diamond will no t break if struck with a hammer o n an anvil and several that were supposed to be good specimens were broken in this way While the diamond is hard it is also very brittl e and can be easily broken and although every substance from the hardness o f feldspar up including a C leavage or cut dia mond will scratch glass nothin g but the natural edge o f a diamond crystal will cut it ITO determine whether a given specimen is a diamond the best test is to try if it will scratch c orundum I f n o mark is p roduced and if the specimen cannot be scratched by a diamond it is safe to assume that it is a diamond I t is well to make the trial on a smooth or p olished s u rfa c e o t h e r wise the scratch will not b_e perceptible The occurrence o f diamonds in the U nited States is chiefly confined to two regions geographically very remote and geo logically qu ite dissimilar The first is a belt of country l y ing along the eastern base o f the southern A ll e g h a nie s from V irginia to Georgia while the other extends along the west ern base of the Sierra N evada and Cascade ranges i n n orthern C al ifornia and southern O regon I n both cases the m ode marked resemblances The dia o f occ u rrence has several monds are fou nd in loose material among deposits o f gravel and earth and are associated with garnets zircons iron sands mona z ite anatase and particularly with gold in the search fo r which they have usually been discovered This resemblance is due al together to the fact that these loose deposits in both regions are merely the débris o f the crystalline rocks o f the adj acent moun tains and therefore present a general similarity while the ages I n the case o f the o f the rocks themselves are widely different South A tlantic States the rocks o f the Blue R idge and eastern Al l eg h anie s are o f ancient A rc h ae n and Cambrian ages while in the western belt the S ierra N evada was not elevated and meta .

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U N IT ED STA T E S

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M EX I

ANADA AND

m o rp h o s e d

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until the middle o r later Mesozoic From the general resemblance o f conditions above referred to the details o f d is c o v ery in the two regions are remarkably similar and in both occas i o nal diamond crystals are found accidentally p icked up o n the surface o r more frequently encountered in the search for gold sometimes in placer min ing and sometimes in the flumes and sluices of hydraulic workings They have sometimes been over looked u nre c ognized o r destroyed by rude and ignorant meth o ds of testing and at other times have been made the basis o f fabulous estimates and exaggerated tales but they have not as yet been found i n su fficient quantities to j ustify an attempt at diamond mining nor have the specimens obtained been o f more than local interest and moderate value With regard to the fi nding of diamonds in other parts o f the cou ntry there have been various reports but little o r n o positive evidence The supposed diamond field of central Kentucky has been the subject o f much interesting study and discussion o n ac count o f the striking resemblance o f the rock to that o f the diam a nt i fe ro u s region o f South A frica ; but the conditions are found upon closer examination to present important di fferences and the diamonds are yet to be discovered The formations in the eastern r t i oh s of the U nited States where diamonds have been found o p are entirely different from those o f South A frica They resemble more nearly those o f the diamond fields o f Brazil and o f parts o f I ndia The diamonds found in the U nited States are much Older than those of South A frica and if they have ever occurred in rock similar to that in K imberley there is nothing to indicate it now since the rocks in A merican diamond bearing localities are mainly granitic I t may be sa id that wh ile diamonds are found to some extent within the limits o f the U nited States there is no reason as yet to believe that they will ever be numbered among o u r important mineral products Their local and scientific inter est is of course very great ; and this fact will justify the some what detailed account o f their occurrence given in this volume as an important part of a work on precious stones in the U nited States Prof H Carvill Lewis paid much attention to this subject visiting many o f the localities where diamonds had been found in the eastern part o f the U nited States and personally i n .

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AN D

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I N TH E

at i n

the history o f such stones as he could trace H is con g g c l u s i o ns are to be published in a final memoir o n the Genesis of ” the D iamond the c ompletion and editing of which has been u ndertaken S Inc e his death by his friend and associate Prof George H Williams o f the J ohns H opkins U n iversity A moderate number o f well authenticated diamonds have been found in Georgia and in N orth Carolina a very few are reported from South Carolina and one or two are known from southern V ir gin ia These are all apparently derived from the detritus o f the c rystalline metamorphic rocks that extend through these States as the eastern ranges o f the A ppalachian system O f these the great continuous Blue R idge is o f course the leading member ; eastward o f it lies the s o called A tlanti c o r Tidewater gneiss by many regarded o f later age ; and another belt perhaps distinct extends from R ichmond V a to the vicinity of R aleigh N C I t is much to be regretted that the geology o f these crystalline belts is thus far so little known A t some points they ap ear to p be well distingu ished while at others they merge into o ne another and have n ot been clearly defined The names Laurentian H ur onian M ontalban and Cambrian are variously applied to di ffer ent portions o f them by di fferent geologists The Blue R idge proper is generally admitted to b e chiefly tru e L aurentian and it is certain that C ambrian beds appear at some points in the area The remarkable itacolumite rock popularly associated with the occurrence o f diamonds is fou nd at many p oints o n the flanks of the Blue R idge but its geological age is not yet clearly estab .

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B eginning with the account o f the o ne well known V irginia diamond we S hall pass o n southward taking up the States in o r der The D ewey d iamond (see C olored Plate N o I ) was found at M anchester V a i n 1 8 5 5 and J ohn H Tyler, Sr o f R ichmond This diamond was found V a who was the first to see it says j ust opposite R ichmond by a laborer engaged in grading o ne o f the streets I t was brought to me to ascertain its character and value I p ronou nced it at once a valuable diamond and r e c o m mended the finder to keep it carefully and to see me about it again I did no t kn ow his name and have not seen him since but after ” wards learned that he sold it The first record that we have o f -

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U N IT ED STA T E S

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M EX I

ANADA AN D

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7

it is from the N ew York E vening Post o f A pril 2 8 1 8 5 5 We were shown yesterday o n b oard t h e steam W here it says ship J amestown what is said to be the largest diamond ever discovered in N orth A merica I t was found several months ago by a laboring man at Manchester Va in some earth which he was digging up I t was put into a furnace fo r melting iron at R ichmond where it remai ned at red heat for two hours and twenty minutes I t was then taken o u t and found to be uninjured and brighter than ever I t was valued in R ichmond at This stone next passed into the possession of Samuel W D ewey of J ackson no w o f Philadelphia and by him was named the ” “ O nino o r o r Sun o f Light though it has more generally been known as the D ewey diamond I t was for a time o n exhibition in Ne w York at the store o f Ball Black C o and was cut at an expense of by H enry D M orse o f Boston H aving p assed o u t o f M r D ewey s hands through his failure to redeem it o n a loan it was then sold to J A nglist who rece ived from J ohn A M orrissey a loan o f o n it and as he failed to redeem it it became part o f the Morrissey estate and was known as the M orrissey diamond I t had a larg e flaw o n o ne side ( see C olored Plate No and was an octahedron with slightly rounded faces I ts original we ight was 2 3 % carats and after cutting it weighed 1 I H carats A s it is o ff color and imperfect it is to day worth not more than from $ 3 00 to $ 400 E xact C opies Of it in glass as well as copper electrotypes o f it as it was found and as cut were deposite d by M r D ewey in the U nited S tates M int at Philadelphia and also at the Peabody M useu m in N e w H aven and in a number o f cabinets N orth Carolina so rich an d varied in mineral resources has long been known to yield a certain amount o f gold and in the same region have been found some diamonds either loose in the soil or taken from the washings o f auriferous gravel The por tion Of the State which has yielded these valuable substances — is that known as the Piedmont region a belt o f country lying as its name indicates at the foot o f the mountains along the eastern base o f the Blue R idge The rocks here are metamorphic and crystalline with some Cambrian beds a little farther west There runs throughout much o f this region a belt o r belts o f itacolumite “

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G E MS

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AND

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REC I O US

ST ON E S

I N TH E

the s o called flexible sandstone which is sometimes found in Brazil and in the U ral M ou ntains and is generally supposed to be the matrix o f diamond crystals The presence o f this peculiar rock and the occasional discovery o f diamonds in adj acent dis t r i c t s have led to the idea that the itacolumite belt of N orth Caro lina might p rove to be a valuable diamantiferous region but as yet no diamonds have actually been discovered there and but few have been found in the loose débris o f the c rystalline beds Prof Frederick A G e nt h of the U n iversity o f Pennsylvania 1 describes the occurrence o f the two crystalline varieties of car bon in that State — the graph ite in beds i nt e rs t rat ifi e d with mica schist or gneiss the diam o nd i n the débris o f such rocks asso zircon garnet monazite and other minerals c i a t e d with gold and after speaking of this occurrence in c onnection with rocks o f identical age as a very interesting circumstan ce he says The diamond has not been observed in N orth Carolina in any mor e recent strata and in the itacolumite regions n o diamonds h ave ever been found as in Brazil ; from which it appears that the itacolumite of Brazil is either simply a quartzose mica slate Of similar ag e with the N orth C arolina gneissoid rocks o r if it be contemporary with the N orth Carolina itacolumite the diamonds were not produced i n the same but came from the older rocks and were redeposited with the sands resulting from the reduction to p owder of these and are n ow fou nd imbedded in the same their hardness having prevented their destruction Seven o r eight diamonds have thus far been fou nd Th ey occur distributed over a wide area o f surface in th e counties o f Burke R utherford Lincoln M ecklenburg and Franklin and I have no doubt if a re gular search were to be made for them they would be more ” frequently found To the counties named by Professor G e nt h must now be added M c D o w e l l and these all form with the e x c e p tion o f Franklin a group lying together i n the line o f the general d rainage o f the country southeast o f the Blue R idge Franklin C ounty is far to the northeast of the others an d any diamonds occurring there must be derived from the disintegration o f another belt of crystalline rocks that traverses the eastern portion o f the State near Weldon in H alifax C ounty o r else have been Mine l R eso c s of No th C olin p 8 Phil del phi 87 -

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U N IT ED ST A T E S

C

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M EX I

ANADA AND

C

O

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9

transp orted to a grea t distance by rivers The same is doubtless t rue of the diamond found at M anchester Chesterfield C ounty Va H istorically the N orth Carolina diamonds are reported as fol lows The first specimen was p icked up at the ford of Brindletown C reek Burke C ounty in 1 8 4 3 by D r F M Stephenson I t was an octahedral c rystal and was estimated to be worth $ 1 00 A nother was found in the same neighborhood by Prof George W F e at h e rs t o nh au g h ; but there seems to be no account o f its characters The third found but the first to attract much atten tion was obtained in 1 8 4 5 from the gold washings of D J I t was owned by Gen Tw it t y s mine in R utherford C ounty Thomas L Clingman of A sheville and was described by Prof Charles U Shepard I t was a curved and remarkably distorted octahedron clear almost flawless and faintly tinged with yellow The weight was about 1 } carats grains) Professor Shepard had announced the existence of itacolumite in the gold bearing region of N orth Carolina at the meeting o f the A merican A sso c i at i o n of Geologists and N aturalists in 1 8 4 5 and u nder the i m pression that the itacolumite is their matrix had predicted the further discovery o f diamonds in that region as i n Brazil For this reason diamonds when found were naturally submitted to him C L e ve nt h o rp e of Patterson Caldwell County N C reports a small and p oor specimen fou nd in a placer mine o n his p roperty in R utherford C ounty and states that he presented it to Professor Shepard who retained it in his cabinet The fou rth important specimen was found in gold washings in 1 8 5 2 by D r C L H u nter near C ottage H ome Lincoln County I t is said to have been an elongated octahedron o f a delicate greenish tint transparent and about half a carat in weight A nother said to be a very handsome white crystal o f 1 carat was Obtained in the summer o f the same year at Todd s Branch M ecklenburg C ounty ; and a beautiful black ” stone as large as a chinquapin was afterwards fou nd by some gold washers in the same locality This specimen u nfortunately was crushed with a hammer S haring the fate of Several A meri can diamonds when submitted to the mistaken test which con p 5 3 Sep t 846 Am J Sci II Vol .

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G E MS

20

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RE C I O US

ST ON E S I N TH E

fou nds hardness with strength The fragments of the black d iamond scratched corundum wi th ease thereby proving its genuineness The next discovery reported is that mentioned by Professor G e nt h — two diamonds o ne a beautiful octahedron from the Portis M ine in Franklin C ounty These specimens as b e fore remarked came from localities remote from all the others a nd must have been either transported a long distance by river action o r else derived from the belt o f gneissic rocks that extends from R ichmond to R aleigh M c D o w e ll C ounty has yielded two sp ecimens o ne a small crystal found some years ago o n t h e h e ad waters o f M uddy C reek and a much larger o ne picked up o n the surface in 1 8 8 6 at D ys o rt v ill e This is a somewhat dis to rted and t w in d hex octahedron o f 4} carats weight 1 0 millimeters in ? height and 7 millimeters in diameter transparent but with a gray ish green tinge o f color a nd is valued for ge m purpose s alone at from $ 1 00 to $ 1 5 0 The circumstances o f its discovery are thus related : Willie C h rys t ie the twelve year o l d s o n o f Grayson C h rys t ie was sent fo r a pail o f water to a spring o n the A lfred B right farm in D ys o rt v ill e While sitting at the sp ring he saw a glisten i ng object among the gravel and p icking it up as a ” “ pretty trick brought it home I t lay o n a shelf almost u n noticed for a fortnight and was then shown at the store o f the vil lage g rocer H ere it became an obj ect o f general curiosity and elicited various Opin ions until the idea grew that it was probably a diamond I t was sent to Ti ffany 8: C o o f N ew York and its real character at once determined A year later the present writer visited the spot and fully authenticated all the facts of the discovery The sediment in the bed of the spring was taken o u t and examined and also the small hollows o n t h e adj acent hillside N one o f the ordinary associations o f the dia mond were observed and hence it is probable that the c rystal was washed down with decomposing rock soil from higher ground perhaps during some freshet ; o r possibly it may have been carried to the spring by miners and left u nobserved o r u n recognized among the wash u p o f the gold bearing sand from some neighboring placer There are gold mines in M c D o w e l l C ounty worked chiefly by hydraulic sluicing but as a rule the stones that remain in the slu ices are carefully examined as the .

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Bartow Carroll and H aralson D awson Cherokee M ilton and Paulding lying i n the same line an d very possibly other coun ties adjacent to the metamorphic belt should perhaps be i n cluded in the list The mode o f occurrence is similar t o that o f N orth Carolina as previously described a few real diamonds and many supp osed ones having been fou nd in connection with min ing fo r gold in the detritus o f the crystalline rocks spread along streams and placers From time to time glowing accou nts have been published i n which Georgi a is announced as the future dia mond fi e l d Of the continent ; but u p to the present the specimens actually obtained have been few and small and it has no t been considered worth while to mine for them O f these diamonds interesting stories are told A n A tlanta lady wears in a ring o ne o f the best s pecimens ever found in Georgia A nother Georgia lady would n ot marry u ntil her prospective husband gave her a ring with a Georgia diamond for an engagement ring S ev eral stones have been lost and it has been found that they were destroyed by ignorant people who attempted to test them The earliest discoveries reported were by gold washers i n H all C ounty over forty years ago and later in White C ounty M ost o f the specimens were found near Gainesville in the troughs an d slui c es o f the H all County placers Two small c rystals less than %Carat ea ch are i n the cabinet o f Samuel R Carter o f Paris M e They are Opaque and without definite form They were fo u nd i n 1 8 6 6 in the R a c o o c h e e V alley White C ounty at the H o r s h aw placer gold mine O ne was discovered by D r A ugustus C H amlin o f Bangor M e and the other by H A shbu ry A n other specimen from the same region is thus described by C L e ve nt h o rp e o f Patterson Caldwell C ou nty N C in a letter to “ the N ew York A ugust 1 8 8 3 H e says N umerous diamonds have been discovered in Georgia A fter the war dur ing the prevalence o f a m i n i ng fever a company was formed I believe for exploring and diamond washings I heard nothing further o f th is enterprise and if dividends were declared the a n no u nc e m e nt escaped my notice There is in the writer s posses ” “ sion a rough diamond taken from a Long To m in White C ounty Ga I t is o f very perfect water and crystallization ” “ and weighs almost a carat The Long To m is a narrow t o n,

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plank trough set with a steep pitch A n iron grating at its lower end closes it so as to form an obtuse angle The detritus from the g old bearing streams is shovelled into this b o x and a second operator stirs it with a shovel under a s m a l l stream o f water The co arser gravel is thrown o u t and the gold and such small gravel as may possess a superior gravity do not pass o ff with the cur rent I t was thus that this diamond was detained I n A pril 1 8 8 7 L ewis M Parker a tenant o f D aniel Light found a dia mond o n his farm situated three quarters of a mile northeast o f M orrow s Station Clayton C ounty The stone afterwards came into the possession of W W Scott of A tlanta who sent it to me fo r examination I t proved to be an octahedral c rys 1 tal weighing 41 ; carats of an inch long and i o f an inch wide (9 x 1 0 x 7 millimeters) is slightly yellow and has o ne small black inclusion I t would aff ord a stone from I é to 2 carats in weight I ts specific gravity is I ts surface is curiously marked with long shallow pittings L O Stevens o f A tlanta G a has communicated to the writer that a negro called on him during the past year with a 2 carat diamond defe c tive and o f very poor color which he had found in his garden a few miles from A tlanta H e showed no desire to sell the s t o ne o r loan it for examination 1 A book by D r M F Stephenson records some of the e x ag gerated accounts o f Georgia diamonds that have been given in good faith but upon mere hearsay evidence and often after years have passed A lthough diamonds have been found in G e o r gia and the smaller ones mentioned are doubtless genuine yet it is certain that in some instances D r S tephe n son was unable to discriminate between a paste imitation and a genuine stone and his enthusiasm may have overreached his j udgment in other cases The large specimens described were evidently quartz crystals and not diamonds This is almost certain as to the one mentioned which was used for a marker in a game of marbles and bore con s i d e r ab l e concussion as a diamond could not withstand this con c u s s io n without cleaving whereas a rolled quartz pebble would bear a good deal o f such treatment I t is possible that quartz crystals without any prismatic faces like those found in A rizona ( h e x ag Geology nd Mine l ogy of Geo gi Atl nt 87 .

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dodecahedrons)

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Many n otices have from time to time appeared both in local newspapers and in scientific j ournals of the occurrence of dia monds in California A fter making due allowance fo r errors and unfounded rumors th e fact of such occurrence in certain localities is well established ; but the number and size of the diamonds found have not b een such as to render the search for them p r o fi t able The fact o f their discovery is highly interesting and some o f the specimens p ossess both elegance and value ; but as a rule they are small and rare The mode of their occurrence seems to be i n all cases that they are imbedded in the au riferous gravels and thence washed out in the search for gold These gold bear ing gravels o f C ali fornia present two types o f distribution firs t as loose material in the valleys and bars of the modern streams and second as great accumulations of gravel occupying the valleys of much larger ancient streams and now covered with masses O f lava o r compact volcanic tufa The sides of the Sierra N evada are trenched with cross valleys running down into the great trough like valley of California Which lies be tween th e Sierras on the east and the C oast R ange on the west A long this great d e p r e s sion the drainage from the mountains o n both sides finds its way to the sea through the Sacramento and San J oaquin rivers the former fl owin g from the north and the latter from the south into the Bay of San Francisco where a break in th e Coast R ange at Golden Gate allows a passage between the ocean and the bay I n the northern part of the State where the streams from the Sierras run down to the Sacramento this remarkable system of buried river gravels is found I n and before the tertiary period o f geology these streams had worn valleys on the sl opes o f the Sierras and made extensive deposits o f gravel by the ero sion O f the mou ntain sides Then came a period or a succession of volcanic disturban ces and outfl ows which made the great lava beds o f n orthern C aliforn ia and O regon I n many cases the lavas flowed down and filled up the river beds from side to S ide covering th e gravel deposits and in some instances hard The rivers have since then worn e ni ng and compacting them down a new series o f channels between these hard lava streams ,

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and the O l d river gravels with their protecting caps of volcanic rock are now seen ru nning out as spurs from the Sierras and forming the divides between the modern streams The latter have formed their own more recent g ravels from the wear partly o f th e o ld deposits and partly o f the mountai n sides as at first The su rface diggings and placers of the early prospecting days o f California were of course in these modern gravels and bars The older gravels equally rich are worked either by the hydraulic ” p rocess or when compacted into what are called cement beds by stamp mills I t is in these dep osits that the diamonds have been found picked from the sluices and flumes I n the case o f the cement beds only fragments are obtained as the diamond c rystals have been cru shed under the stamps There is much in the mode o f their occurrence that recalls at first sight the diamond mines o f Brazil and South A frica I n Brazil the matrix is also a gravel and is frequently cemented into a conglomerate cascalho by oxide of iron I n A frica the dia mond gravels contain associated mi nerals similar to those found in some o f the California placers notably in those o f Butte C ounty where z ir cons garnets and rutile are met with But these are not impor tant relations and afford no ground for assuming either a similar richness o f yield or an identity of geological origin The first recognition of diamonds in the State goes back to the early gold seeking days of 1 8 5 0 I n that year M r Lyman a clergyman from N ew E ngland was S hown a c rystal about the size o f a small pea with convex faces and of a straw colored tint He saw it for a moment only yet its general aspect was enough to identify it as a true diamond and the interesting fact was pub l is h e d The first diamond from the Cherokee district Butte C ounty was obtai ned in 1 8 5 3 This has since proved one of the principal localities in the State I n 1 8 5 4 Melville A ttwood called attention in a newspaper article to the general similarity o f the Cal ifornia deposits to the diamantiferous gravel and con glomerate of Brazil with which he had become familiar by a res idence there of some years H e advised that search be made and care exercised lest diamo nds should pass u nheeded in the gold washings S ince then diamonds have been reported from Am J Sci II Vol 8 p 8 49 94 Sept ,

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a number of p oints and at present according t o H enry G H anks the State M ineralogist five cou nties A mador Butte E l D orado N evada an d Trin ity are known to have yielded them O ther localities and larger numbers are yet in his judgment to be discovered The hydraulic min ing is in some respects a wasteful and u nfortu nate process as the force o f the cu rrent sweeps away the greater part o f any material that does n ot amalgam ate with the mercury ; and thu s many valuable sub stances are probably lost such as iridosmine platinum and dia monds M oreover whatever diamonds occu r in the hard cement are crushed into fragments by the stamps and such frag ments an d particles are not infrequent in the tailings and slu ices The following is a brief summary o f the principal diamon d discoveries in California up to the presen t time arranged by local ities A t I ndian Gulch near F iddletown and J ackass Gulch n ear V olcano A mador C ou nty numerous diamonds have been found I n 1 8 6 7 the younger S illiman o f Yale College ex h ibit e d several specimens before the California A cademy of Sci e nc e s a little over 1 carat in weight ( 3 6 o ne o f these grains) was from ne ar F id d l e t o w n ; and fou r others from the same region were at that time known These sto nes occu rred in ” a compact volcanic ash o r tufa forming a gray cement gravel A t V olcano the rock is similar and some sixty o r seventy dia monds have been reported thus far This is o ne o f the places where the cement rock is worked by stamping and the tailings show pulverized diamonds The crushed gravel pays well in gold and it has no t been thought desirable to change the pres ent method and break up the rock in other ways more costly and troub lesome in order to save the diamonds that it may contain I n A ugust 1 8 8 7 M r H anks exhibited before the S an Francisco M icroscopical Society a beautiful stone o f I 5 7 carat weight grains) fou nd at V olcano in 1 8 8 2 and belonging to J Z D avis a member o f the society I t is a modified octahedron about fi ) inch in diameter transparent and nearly colorless though sl ightly flawed The curvatu re o f the faces gives the cry stal a subspherical form but the edges of the pyramids are channels i n stead O f planes Closer examination shows that the channeled S P oc C l A c d Sci Vol 3 p 3 5 4 ,

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edges the convex faces and the solid angles are caused by an apparently secondary bu ilding up of the faces of a perfect octahedron and for the same reason the girdle is not a perfect square but has a somewhat C ircular form These observations were well S hown by enlarged drawings The faces seem to be composed o f thin plates overlying each other each slightly smal ler than the last These plates are triangular but the lines form ing the triangles are cu rved and the edges o f the plates are beveled M r H anks remarked that it could be seen by the e n l a rg e d c rystals shown u nder the microscope an d by drawings ex h ibit e d that each triangular plate was composed o f t hree smaller triangles and that all the lines were slightly cu rved The bu ild ing up o f plate upon plate caused the channeled edges and the somewhat globular form o f th is exqu isite c rystal A close examination o f the crystal revealed tetrahedral impressions as if the corners of the minute cubes had been imprinted o n the surface of the crystal while in a plastic state These are the r e sult o f the law o f crystallography as was shown by the faint lines forming a lace work o f tiny triangles o n the faces when the stone was placed in a proper light M r H anks concluded with the remark that it would be an act o f vandalism to cut this beau tiful crystal which is doubly a gem and he protested against its bein g d e fi l e d by contact with the lapidary s wheel The C herokee district in Butte C ou nty has been from as early as one o f the most prolific diamond local ities in the State 1 85 3 Cherokee is near the N orth Fork o f Feather R iver and the geological relations o f the diamonds and gold are essentially the same as those in A mado r C ou nty a hu ndred miles to the northwest both districts lying among the western foot hills Of the S ierras as previously described M r H anks calls attention to included leaf impressions in the volcanic beds as proving them to be tufas and not lavas I n number the C herokee diamonds obtained are about equal to those from V olcano O ne was shown by Professor S illiman on the occasion already mentioned in 1 8 6 7 ; and others were then known to be from that locality W illiam Bra d re t h obtained a crystal in the same year which he afterward had cu t into a fine white stone o f I fi ; carats In 1 8 7 3 several were obtained from the ground o f the Spring V al ,

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ley and Cherokee M ining C ompany in cleaning u p the slu ices O ne of these was described as large and straw colored while o thers were smaller but very pu re V arious stones wh ite ellow and pink have from time to time been reported and y s ome have been cut and set A fine c rystal was presented to t h e State M useum by M r Williams Superintendent of the Spring V alley M in ing C ompany Two others fou nd at the same place i n the su mmer o f 1 88 1 by Lu cinda V oght were shown by the p resent writer before the N ew York A cademy of Sciences in 1 8 8 6 Professor Silliman made the concentrations from the slu ices o f t hese Cherokee mines the subject of a minute investigation the 1 results of which were publ ished in two papers I n the first he d escribes his treatmen t of the material both chemical and me c h a nic al ; and in the second he g i ves additional particulars with results H e finds here the following association of interesting m inerals ; light colored zircons crystals o f topaz fragments o f quartz rutile epidote pyrite and limo nite with some platinum i ridium iridosmine and gold and a large quantity of black grains w hich are proved by the magnet to co nsist abou t equally of c h r o A t fi rst he could find but little of the platinu m m ite and titanite and iridosmine but this was due as above stated to the force o f the hydraulic streams which sweep away all small particles that do not amalgamate M r H anks adds that platinu m minerals have A t St Clair b een fou nd rather abu ndantly in Butte C ounty Flat near Pentz they were fou nd in quantity i n the early days o f lacer m ining They are fou nd also at the C orbier M ine near M a p galia ( D ogtown) I n 1 8 6 1 a diamond was foun d one and a half miles northwest of Yankee H ill Butte C ou nty in C leaning up a placer mine The stone was taken from th e slu ice with the gold and sold to M H Wells to w h o m I am indebted for this i n M r Wells presented the gem to J ohn B idwell o f f o rmation C hico who had it cut in Boston I t weighed I i carats grains) M r B idwell gave the diamond to his wife who now wears This was the only diamond fou nd in this locality I n i t in a ring all the n orthern cou nties of C alifornia drained by the Trinity R iver in the vicinity o f C oos Bay in O regon and o n the banks ,

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See Mine lo ic l Notes on Ut h ifo i Nev d p M ch 87 the Am J Sci III Vol p 1

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okee C ounty and o f O regon is described in a letter to D r Charles F Chandler o f the C olumbia C ollege School o f 1 M ines Prof Fredrich W ohler o f G ottingen mentions having observed in the native platinum sands o f the Trinity R iver O regon transparen t z ircons associated with lau rite sulphide o f ruthenium and osmium iridosmine chromic iron et c and m icroscopic rou nded crystals which he supposed were diamonds I n a subsequent communication dated G ottingen A ugust 8 “ 1 86 O n examination u nder the 9 Professor W ohler continues : microscope the mineral powder which had been freed from platinum gold chromic iron ( in part) silica iron and tin and from wh ich the ruthen ium etc had been removed by aqua regia besides many grains o f chromic iron and beautiful hyacinth crystals colorless and transparent grains resemblin g quartz were observed ; but besides these grains resembling ” rou nded diamond crystals were detected H e then describes in full his methods o f testing these grains and expresses his conviction that they were true diamonds A few small diam o nds have been found in the placer diggings Of I daho o f about the same qual ity and occu rring u nder the same conditions as those in Californ ia I n neither region have they been made the obj ect o f special search those fou nd having been picked up by miners while washing the gravel for gold F ragments o f diamonds have been noticed in the tailings from the quartz mills being the remains O f stones broken u nder the stamp A bout twenty years ago qu ite an excitement prevailed for a time over I daho diamonds Local and mining papers during the latter part o f 1 8 6 5 and the spring Of 1 8 6 6 had many references to the reported or anticipated diamond yield o f that territory S mall crystals answering to all the usual tests were said to be abundant i n a tract of cou ntry some forty miles square between B oise C ity an d O wyhee A fter a few months the excitement subsided and the ordinary quartz crushing industry resumed its sway over the attention o f the people and the press I n the latter part o f 1 8 8 3 an octahedral diamond is said to have been taken from a placer claim c alled N elson H ill near C hemic l N ews Am Ed Nov 8 69 869 nd Am J Sci II Vol 48 p 44 Nov ,

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Blackfoot D eer Lodge C ounty M ont I t was panned o u t by a Chinaman who handed it to E dward M ason o ne o f the owners o f the claim The latter did not regard it as o f any particular value and left it lying about his cabin A fterward while on a visit to H elena he showed the stone to a j eweler who examined it and made several o ffers to purchase it These M r M as o n declined suspecting that the stone was of greater value than he had imagined H e subsequently came t o N ew York and submitted it to a diamond broker who p ronounced it a tru e diamond A ccording to a recent article in the Butte I nter M ou ntain the stone is retained in its natural state by M r M ason A few years ago rep orts were started of the finding o f dia monds in central K entucky Prof E dward O rton the S tate Geologist o f O hio made a visit to that district and found that it presented certain resemblances to the diamond bearing region H e found dykes of trap rock (peridotite) break o f South A frica ing through fissu res in shale and spreading to some extent over the adjacent country Garnets and other associated minerals derived from the decomposition o f the peridotite were found suggesting the possibility o f a diamond yield from the similarity S imilar investigations and o f the conditions to those o f A frica 1 results were reported by A R C randall I t had been previ D unn E Cohen H H uddleston and o u s l y suggested by E J R upert J ones that the South A frican diamonds were formed in a sort o f volcanic mud M r H uddleston thought that the ac tion was hydrothermal rather than igneous the diamonds result ing from the action o f steam in contact with magnesian mud u nder pressure upon carbonaceous shales and compared the rock to bo iled plum pudding A t a meeting of the M anchester Literary and Philosoph ic Society held in O ctober 1 8 8 4 S ir H en ry E R oscoe presented a paper o n the diamond bearing rocks o f South A frica in which he said that he had noticed a peculiar odor somewhat like that o f ” camphor which was evolved o n treating the soft blue diamond earth with hot water H e powdered a quantity o f this earth and digested it with ether and after filtering and evaporating he o b Note on the Pe idotite of Elliott C o nty Ky Am J Sci III Vol 3 p A g 8 86 ,

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a small quanti ty o f strongly aromatic crystalline body volatile burning easily with a smoky flame and melting at about U nfortunately the quantity obtained was too small to 50 C admit o f a full investigation o f its composition and properties H e suggested that perhaps the diamond was formed from hydro carbo n simultaneously with this aromatic body Prof H C a rvill Lewis at the meeting Of th e B ritish A ssociation at B irmingham September 1 8 8 6 in a paper O n the Genesis o f th e D ia mond stated that from the D e Beers M ine i n South A frica at a depth O f 600 feet there had been sent h im S pecimens o f u nal t e r e d roc k which p roved to be peridotite contain ing carbonaceous shale H e added that information received fro m N ew S outh Wales B orneo and Brazil led h im to believe to be the result o f the intrusion o f a peridotite t h ac e o u s rocks an d coal seams The similarity o f the S outh A frican 1 peridotite to t hat described by J oseph S D iller in K entu cky led Professo r Lewis to suggest interesting possibilities as to the occu rrence o f diamonds there ; and o n the invitation o f Prof J ohn R Proctor State Geologist o f Kentucky in the su mmer o f 1 88 7 M r Diller and the writer were sent by Maj o r J ohn W Powell the D irector o f the U n ited States Geological Su rvey to make an investigation The locality is easily reached by way o f the E ast Kentucky R ailroad which e nds i n Carter C ou nty at W illard where conveyances may be Obtained of the farmers fo r the remaining ten miles The best exposures of the peridotite occu r along Is o n s C reek in E lliott County The peridotite alters an d disintegrates readily but because the declivity o f the surface here is considerable the transportation of material almost keeps pace with disintegration and there is n o great accu mulation The o f residua r y deposits upo n the narrow divides and hillsides specific gravity and durability o f the gems fou nd i n con nection with peridotite are generally greater than o f serpentine and other products o f its alteration O n this accou nt they accumulate upon the surface and in favorable positions along adjacent lines o f drainage The plan followed was to search by sifting an d care fully panning the beds receiving the drainage directly fro mthe su rface o f the p eridotite and to enlist the services o f the p eople p A g 886 Am J Sci III Vol 3 ,

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in the neighborhood to examine the steep slopes where gems that had weathered o u t o f the peridotite might be exposed Par t ic u l ar attention was directed also to the study o f the solid rock an d residuary deposits which so closely resemble the diaman Till this time the actual c o n t ife r o u s material o f S outh A frica tact o f the peridotite and shale had not been observed I t is exposed in the bed o f a branch of Iso n s C reek within 1 00 yards o f Charles Is o n s house The intrusion o f the peridotite has displaced an d greatly fractured the shale besides locally indu rating it and enveloping a m ultitude o f its fragments The latter are dark colored like the peridotite and a r e strongly contrasted with the light colored dolomite nodules of secondary origin Besides pyrope garnets a few o f which are su itable fo r cutting several fairly good specimens o f pyroxene were found here resembling the same transparent mineral from A ri zona The South A frican mineral is a little more opaque but of a richer green color When su itably prepared they will make worthy additions to the gem collection o f the U nited States N ational Museum A n altered biotite also occu rs identical with the South A frican vaalite D uring a careful search over a small area for nearly two days no diamonds were fou nd but this by no means demonstrates that they are not there The similarity between the peridotite here and that o f the K imberley and other diamond mines o f South A frica is very striking ; and when this fact alone is considered the probability o f fi nding diamonds in Kentucky seems correspondingly great ; but when it is noted that the carbonaceous shale and not the peridotite itself is the sou rce of the carbon from which the diamond is formed and that the shale in Kentucky is much poorer in carbon than that o f South A frica the probability is proportionally dimin ished R ecent excavations have shown that large quantities of this shale surrou nd the S outh A fri can mines and that they are so highly carbonaceou s as to be combu stible smouldering during long periods o f time when accidentally fired I n the chemical laboratory O f the U nited S tates Geological Su rvey J E dward Whitfield fou nd per cent o f carbon in the shale from near the K imberley M ine while in the blackest shale adjoin ing the peridotite o f Ken .

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tucky he found only 6 8 per cent o f carbon The peridotite at the time o f its intrusion must have been forced up through a number o f coal beds and at a greater depth it penetrated the D evon ian black S hale which is considerably richer in carbon than the shale now exp osed at the surface I t is qu ite possible if the theory o f the origin o f diamonds proposed by Pro fe s sor R oscoe and ind ependently advanced by Professor Lewis be true that a number Of diamonds may have been formed in the Kentucky peridotite ; but the general p aucity o f carbon i n the adjacent rock is certainly discou raging to the pros e ctor The best time to search r gems in that locality f o p is immediately after a heavy rain when they are most l ikely t o be exposed upon the surface I t is proposed to continu e the search economically by furn ishing to responsible persons living in the vicin ity a nu mber o f rough diamonds mounted in rings for comparison that they may know what to loo k for u nder the most favorable circumstances “ The J ewelers R eview for J u ne 1 8 8 8 gave an account of a diamond from R ussell C ounty I t is described as a small octahedron with curved faces lustrous and nearly white though 7 with a yellow t inge and weighing 1 3 of a carat I t was found in a gravelly field o n the top o f a hill some 3 00 feet above C abi n Fork C reek The country rock is said to be composed o f gran ite dykes slates and some floating rocks such as quartz feldspar magnetic iron o r e fl int garnet etc mingl ed in clayey hills The rocks near M ontpelier A dair C ounty Ky belong either to Keokuk o r to the St Louis group probably to the former From the absence o f any direct geological informa tion concern ing the two counties they have been referred to these groups by Professor Proctor V arious reports o f the discovery of diamonds in di fferent parts o f the country are from time to time published by local pap ers ; but they generally prove to have been written withou t exact inform ation as to the character o f the stone o r for s p e c u lative purposes A few o f these reported diamonds will be referred to o f wh ich only the following are known to be gen Two diamonds have been o n exhibition for several u ine years at the store of F rederick N H erron I ndianapolis and ,

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are reported by him to have been found at some locality i n I ndiana They are perfect elongated h e x o c tah e d ro ns o f 2 carats each The stones are genu ine diamonds but the p art icu lars o f t heir occurrence and discovery have not been Obtained and therefore nothing definite can be stated regardin g them D Y e rr i n t o n o f N ew York city has h ad a brown diamond g J weighin g 1 carat that will yield when c ut a gem weighin g } carat which was found n ear Ph il a d e l p h o s A riz Two p ieces all form o f blue bottle glass that had been rolled so as to lose were natu rally supposed by the fi nder to be sapphires being in the same locality with the diamond I t is stated that three diamon d crystals were obtained many years ago o n Koko C reek at the headwaters o f the Tellico R iver i n E ast Tennessee o n ” “ the bench lands of the Smoky o r Unaka M ountains I f this statement be correct it probably points to a western extensio n o f the diamond belt o f N orth Carolina or to the transportation o f the stones thence by streams I n 1 8 8 4 qu ite an excitement was aroused in Wisconsin by a reported diamond discovery at Waukesha in that State A M il waukee j e weler pu rchased for $ 1 from a lady a stone which he I t was said to have been fou nd at a consider s tated was a topaz able depth i n digging a well on the property o f the lady s hus band at Waukesha some years before Subsequently it was thought to be a diamond and as the first ever found in Wisconsin was valued at a high price a nd made the basis o f much local ex The land where it was fou nd was pur c it e m e nt and speculation chased at an increased price and two other small diamonds were produced as from the same locality The grave" in which they were claimed to occu r was simply the ordinary glacial drift of the whole region and the diamonds have the aspect o f being A frican I n 1 8 8 8 it was announced that a fine and large dia s tones mond O f over 8 0 carats had been found by a laborer while attending a bowlder crushing machine in C incinnati The theo ry was advanced that it might be the stone los t in 1 8 0 6 at Blen Clark and described by A aron ne rh as se tt I sland by M rs B urr in a letter to his daughter The sto ry lacks foundation A n other instance is that o f a stone supposed to be a dia m ond found in working for coal a few year s since at Ponca .

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Neb Great excitement was aroused but the stone proved no t to be a diamond “ The well known A rizona diamond swindle was a cleve r o ne and its locality could hardly have been better selected bu t it should not have received so much credence since gem mineral s are so readily recognized through their local characteristics by all collecting mineralogists A few words in regard to this cele b r at e d swindle may not be amiss Twenty years ago fabulou s stories were circulated about the richness of N ew M exico an d A rizona Companies with high sou nding titles were organized t o collect n ot only the diamonds but the rubies sapphires emeralds and other gems which were said to abound there I n 1 8 70 a large scheme for this pu rpose was originated I t was represented in San Francisco that Philip A rnold and J ohn B Slack had foun d diamonds and other precious stones in great quantities in a cer tain Territo ry o f the U n ited States A mong some o f the o b e c t s shown in confirmatio n were carats o f s o called rubie s j and a large number Of diamonds o ne o f 1 0 8 carats weight These gems w e r e all displayed fo r the inspectio n of those inter e s t e d in the scheme and were deposited with the Bank o f Cali fo r nia for safe keeping Subsequently the same parties agai n visited the fields which were reported to lie Somewhere in N ew M exico and retu rned with another lot o f stones no t so l arge as the fo rmer ones however I t was remarked at the time that o ne could scarcely expect to p ick them up by the bushel H eavy cap i t al is t s o n both coasts soon became deeply interested and o n M ay 10 1 8 7 2 a bill was passed by C ongress i n the interests o f the dia mond miner F inally a party composed o f representatives o f both the E ast and the West with a min ing expert a graduate o f the R oyal School o f M ines Freiberg Saxony chosen by the in v e s t o r s started o u t prospecting equipped fo r a sixty days e x p e dition They left R awlins Wyo May 2 8 t h first taking a south western course then a northwestern course u ntil some o f t h e t arty thou ht that they had missed their way and began to doub p g t h e tru th of the discove r y But when the mountain was reached the promised Golconda every o ne p icked up gems and hope ros e to corresp ondingly I n a week carats o f diamonds and carats o f rubies were gathered and the party returned wel l .

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with we o w e to the industry and sharp sight o f these children I t would aid much in the development o f new min e r al o g ic al fields if this plan o f M r Stephenson s could be widely introduced O ne o f the minerals most likely to be m istaken for the diamond is a form o f small quartz crystal found princip ally at Santa Fé and Gallup N M ; Fo rt D efiance A riz ; D eadwood D ak and Shell C reek N ev These crystals range in size from I to 5 millimeters and the prism is nearly or entirely obliterated I n additio n to this as a rule the surface is slightly roughened a nd by an inexperienced person such a crystal is easily mistaken for an octahedron which is almost u niversally considered to be the o nly diamond shap e ,

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C H A PT E R I I C

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is nearly pure alumina (A I2 and is found in almost all colors o f the rainbow The trans parent varieties rank amon g the most valuable o f gems The names ruby sapphire oriental amethyst oriental emerald and oriental topaz are given to the transparent red blue purple green and yellow varieties o f the mineral These colors are due to the addition o f minute quantities of metallic oxides to the alumina I ts specific gravity varies from to and its hardness is 9 ; that o f the ruby is generally about 88 The finest pigeon s blood colored rubies are found at M an dalay in Burmah where mines have recently been leased by a London syndicate Fin e rubies which are generally small sometimes o f a p ink color and often with a currant wine o r pur l s h tint are found at R a t na o o ra in Ceylon likewise in Siam i p p where however the color is most commonly a dark red almost that o f a garnet often with a tinge o f brown The finest sap h i re s are found in Bu rmah o r Ceylon Some the finest corn o f p fl ower blue varieties are from C eylon Many o f the rich velvety blu e as well as the lighter colored stones a re from the S imla Pass in the H imalayas Fine sapphires have recently been foun d in S iam and in A ustralia the latter generally o f an o p aque milky blue color .

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Corundum is a mineral o f great importance though not o f frequent occurrence ; in combination however especially with silica alumina enters into a vast number o f mineral species and varieties I ts great hardness gives it value as a polishing mate rial and as such it has n o substitute I t is fou nd in the U n ited States chiefly in the crystalline rocks along the A ppalachian M ou ntains from Chester Mass to n orthern Georgia and also in M ontana A t Chester where the deposits have long been known and worked the mineral consists chiefly o f emery which is corundum mixed with magnetite and somewhat softer than c oru ndum alone N o gems have been fou nd here , A t Pelham M ass coru n dum in small quantities has been recogn ized and 1 Prof C harles U Shepard fou nd asteriated crystals in nodules o f cyanite at Li t c h fi e ld C onn also at N orwich C onn where he found small blue crystals enclosed i n fi b r o l it e I t is likewise fou nd in the metamorphic rocks o f the H ighlands o f N ew York and northern N ew J ersey A t V ernon N J forty years ago crystals o f sapphire and ruby coru ndu m were found but always Opaque so that while many specimens were obtained from this locality some o f which have been cut it is probable that non e o f them has furn ished a transparent gem I t is o f interest to know that rubies from M andalay B urmah occur in similar association with limestone ; hence they are generally found detached and separated from their original matrix Some handsome cabinet specimens showin g asterism have been obtained from D elaware Chester and Lancaster C ounties Pa ; f ew however were su itable for cutting Crystals have been found in V irgin ia in Louisa C ou nty and n ear Staun ton A ugusta C ou nty The great coru ndu m region is in the crystalline rocks o f N orth C arolina where in M adison Bu ncombe H aywood J ack son M acon and Clay C ou nties numerous localities are known A second and a third line o f localities are recognized but they 2 are o f slight importance A ccording to Thomas M C hatard o f the U nited States Geological Survey the corundum region extends from the V irginia l in e through the western p art o f R epo t on the Geol gic l S ey of C onnectic t p 64 N w H ven 83 7 ” Mine l R eso ces of the United St t s p 7 4 883—884 ,

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South C arolina and across Georgia as far as D udleyville A la It s greatest width is estimated to be about o ne hundred miles This belt is frequently referred to as the chrysolite o r c h ro m ife r o u s series owing to the p resence of chrysolite and C hromium from which corundum is believed by certain authorities to have 1 been derived by alteration I n this decomposed and altered chrysolite throughout the Southern States corundum is found “ in place D r J Lawrence Smith says that outside of s e rp e n tin e it has not been found while Professor Shepard says that it occurs only in a single formation which may be designated as ch rysolite rock though from its color and some other pecul i Charles a r i t i e s it has often been confounded with serpentine W J enks gives the following account of the C u l s ag e e locality “ which is typ ical o f most Southern deposits H e says : The aspect o f the ridge is somewhat barren like that o f all the coru ndum and emery localities with which I am acquainted in any part o f the world The gran ite rocks which make up the p rin cipal masses o f t he mountains have been fi ss u re d with a large dyke o f chrysolite and serpentine in which the corundum carry in g veins are found These veins traverse the dyke and are mainly composed o f chlorite and chloritic minerals carrying with them coru ndum in massive and c rystal forms The veins are five in number dip t o the nort hwest at an angle o f and contain the mineral in size from microscopic crystals to those o f from The two varieties o f chlorite known as ripido I t o 5 00 pou nds lite and j efferisite form the usual vein gangue o r matrix o f the mineral S ome gem masses were in their native matrix o f ripidolite between hanging walls and foot walls o f serpentine ; others from the size o f a hen s egg to a fi fty pound shot were fou nd locked up in geodes of chlorite others still in pockets o f ” 2 partially changed o r decaying schists of mica o r talc I t is believed by some that corundu m is derived from the breaking up o f alumina compou nds especially hydrates like the minerals diaspore and bauxite Professor G e nt h in his monograph on corundum refers to a locality near Friendship in Gu ilford .

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See o nd m Its Alte tions Associ ted M ne ls by F ede ick A ont ib tions f om the L bo to y of the Unive si y of ennsylv ni No h l delphi o nd m Its Gem s A Lec e befo e the Socie y of A ts oston 87 1

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C ou nty where corundum is found associated with titaniferous iron ore I n other localities in Gaston and R utherford Coun ties the coru ndum was found in a series o f slates and was regarded by Prof E benezer E mmons Chief o f the N orth Carolina Geological Su rvey as belonging to the Taconic system A t these places it is found associated with pyro phyllite rutile damourite and lazulite Professor G e nt h says : There are reasons to believe that the pyrophyllite beds i n O range Chatham M oore and M ontgomery C ou nties are analogous to the c o ru nd ife ro u s strata o f Gaston C ou nty an d the same appears to be true fo r those at Graves M ountain Lincoln C ounty Ga A t this locality there is also to be found lazulite with rutile as well as at C rowder s M ou ntain in Gaston C ounty N C The earliest reference to corundum in this cou ntry is found in S il l im an s J ou rnal fo r in an article o n the mineralo gy and geology o f parts o f South and N orth Carolina by J ohn D ickson who sen t a number of specimens to illustrate the p ap e iz A mong these was o ne nearly an inch in l e ng th and very like the E ast I ndian specimens which Prof Benj amin S illiman S r o f Yale C ollege recognized as a very perfect hexagonal crystal of blu e corundum The locality from which it came was subsequently fou n d to be near A ndersonville Lau rens D istrict S C and it has lately yielded a large amou nt o f coru ndum mingled with z ircon The M assachusetts emery deposits near Chester were first described 3 2 by D r Charles T J ackson and later by Professor Shepard and 4 D r Smith The Connecticut localities were described by Pro fe s s o r Shepard and that at Pelham M ass by J H A dams a few years later ; meanwhile the Pennsylvania coru ndum and that o f been fou nd D r V ernon N J and O range County 5 Smith writes that this mineral was first discovered in N orth Car olina in 1 8 46 but does not specify where o r by whom Professo r 6 Shepard in 1 8 7 2 states that he had received an hexagonal pris m ,

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J Si I Am J Sci II A J Sci II O ct 8 8 Am J Sci II A J Sci l

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Vol 3 p 4 8 9 Vol 3 9 p 88 Feb Vol 4 p A g .

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ruby red color upwards o f twenty years ag o from a gentle man o f Macon G a who said that it came from a gold mine in H abersham C ounty o f that State The specimen was apparently a loose crystal that had been washed down to the placers east o f the Blue R idge A bout the same time Gen Thomas L Cling man sent him several pou nds o f a coarse blue sapphire broken from a large crystal p icked up at the base o f a mountain o n the ” French Broad R iver in Madison C ou nty N C This is probably the same discovery a s that in 1 8 46 o r 1 8 4 7 fo r at that time Madison C ounty was part o f Buncombe Cou nty D r C L H u nter discovered the Gaston County corundum and Professo r E mmons refers to it in his report o n the midland cou n ties o f N o rth Carolina in 1 8 5 The civil war began soo n after putting a stop to fu rther research and it was no t until its close that investigations were resumed R ev C D Smith o f Franklin N C who had served as an assistant to Professor E mmons o n the State Geological Survey discovered most o f the important localities in N orth Carolina I n 1 8 6 5 a specimen was brought to him from a point west o f the B lue R idge which he recognized as coru ndum ; he visited the 10 c al i ty found the mineral collected specimens and announced the occurrence This was the origin o f the mining industry now so valuable These discoveries led to further exploration and many localities were found in the same region which have since been more o r less developed The principal deposits that are no w worked are the J enks Lucas o r C u l sag e e M ine ; C orundum H ill M ine near Franklin Macon County N C ; the Buck Creek o r C u l l ak e ne e M ine in Clay County also at Lau rel Creek in R abun Cou nty G a and near Gainesville H all County Ga The J enks M ine is o n the C u l s ag e e o r Sugartown fork o f the Ten ne s se e R iver It s two names are derived from the locality and from the name of its first operator Charles W J enks of Boston Mass Prof Washington C Kerr State Geologist of N orth Carolina placed the mica bearing rocks in the upper part o f the Laurentian series identifying them provisionally with those called by D r T Sterry H u nt M ontalban Thomas M Chatard o f the U n ited States Geological Survey has described qu ite fully the occu r Am J Sci II Vol 5 p 3 73 M y 8 5 3 of

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rence o f coru ndum at the C u l sag e e and Lau rel C ree k lo c al ities both of which are now operated by the H ampden E mery C om p any o f C hester M ass The C u l s ag e e Outcrop covering some thirty acres consists of chrysolite (dun ite) mingled with horn blende The coru ndum is enclosed among various hydromica c e o u s minerals commonly grouped u nder the term chl orite b e tween the gneiss and the du nite from the alteration o f which they have evidently been formed I t occu rs chiefly in crystalline masses often o f considerable S ize and sometimes su itable for gems A t other parts o f the mine I t is found in small crystals and grains “ m ingled with scales o f chlorite forming what is called the sand ” vein This is so loose and incoherent that it is worked by the hydraulic process ; and the small size o f such corundum is the saving o f much labor in the next process o f pulverizing The Lau rel C reek M ine is similar in character A t Buck C reek the ch rysolite rocks cover an area o f over 3 00 acres and from that point southward the hornblende rocks assume greater proportions b e ing associated with albite instead of the ordinary feldspar and form ing an albitic cyanite rock There is also fou nd here the beautiful green smaragdite called by Professor Shepard chrome a rfve d s o nit e which w ith red o r p ink corundum forms a beautiful and peculiar rock curiously resembling the eclogite o r omphacite in Bavaria Germany A t Shorting C reek in C lay o f H o ff C ou nty and in Towns C ounty G a there are also coru ndu m localities The resemblance in the occurrence o f the N orth Car olina coru ndums to that o f M ramorsk in the U ral M ou ntains as described by Prof Gustav R ose o f the U n iversity o f B erlin has 2 been shown by Professor G e nth There the associated species are serpentine and chlorite schist sometimes with emery dia spore and zoisite very similar to the chrome serpentin e coru ndum belt o f the Southern States The emery deposits o f A sia M inor and the Grecian A rchipelago according to D r J Lawrence 3 S mith yield that substance in marble o r limestone overlying gneissic rocks ; while with it are associated many o f the sam e hydromicaceous and chloritic species that accompany both the N ew E ngland emery and the Southern coru ndum 88 4 883 — M ine l R so ces of the United St tes p 7 4 8 73 No C ont ib tions to the L bo to y of the Unive sity of P ennsylv ni Am J Sci IL V ol p 3 5 5 Nov 85 ; nd V l p 5 3 J n 85 1

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I N TH E

tion there This crystal weighs 3 1 2 pounds is perfectly termin ated partly red and partly blue in color but opaque ( See I llus A nother large crystal also obtained by M r J enks and t ra t io n) pu rchased by Professor Shepard weighed 1 1 % pounds These two specimens are more fully described as follows : The largest is red at the su rface but of a bluish gray color within The gene ral figu re is pyramidal showin g however more than a single six sided pyramid whose su mmit is terminated by a rather u neven and somewhat u ndefined hexagonal plane The smaller crys t al is a regular hexagonal prism well terminated at o ne of its e x t r e m i ties the other being drusy and incomplete The general color is a grayish blue though there are spots particularly near the angles I ts greatest breadth is 6 inches and its o f a pale sapph ire tint length over 5 Some o f the lateral planes are coated in patches w ith a wh ite pearly margarite Only the smaller crystals fou nd at Franklin fu rn ish material su itable for use in j ewel ry They are frequently transparent near their extremities so that small gems can be cut from them ; but scarcely any o f those thus far obtaine d are worth $ 1 00 and not 1 00 have been fou nd in all I n variety of color the N orth Carolina corundum excels ; it is gray green rose ruby red emerald green sapph ire blue dark blue violet b rown yellow o f all interven ing shades and colorless M any specimens have been cut and mounted especially o f the blue and r e d shades and make good g e m s t h o u g h no t o f the choicest quality The tw o fi nest rubies are in the collection o f Clar ence S Bement O f Philadelphia in a suite o f the choicest crys tals foun d at the C u l sag e e M ine A mong these is probably the fi n est known specimen o f emerald green sapphire ( oriental emerald) I t is the transparent part o f a crystal o f coru ndum 4 x 2 x 1 } inches from wh ich could be cut several pieces that would together furnish from 8 0 to 1 00 carats of very fine almost emerald green gems ( not too dark as in the S iamese) the largest p ossibly 2 0 carats o r more in weight A s i ts c olor i s o ne o f the rarest kn own it makes this specimen a very valuable o ne There is in this col lection a beautiful crystal o f yellow and blue in consecutive bands see C olored Plate from which it is estimated that at N I o ( ) least worth o f gems could be cut A dark blue stone o f .

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G R E AT C R

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carat weight is in the U n ited S tates N ational M useum at Wash i ng t o n and a series o f fine red and blue crystals have been deposited there by S F Lucas I n the collection disposed o f by Prof J oseph Leidy o f Philadelphia a few years ago were sev e ral gems from the s ame mine including a wine yellow sapphire o f 3 } carats ( 6 60 milligrams) ; a violet blue stone o f a little over and three dark blue ones weighing r e 1 carat ( 2 1 5 milligrams) and 1 % 2 5 0 milligrams s p ec t iv e l y abou t 1 5 ( 3 2 0 m illigrams) ) ( carats each I n Professor G e nt h s su ite o f c o 1 4 5 m illigra m s ( ) ru nd u m s are some f rom N orth Carolina and Pennsylvan ia that would afford opalescen t s tones with fixed stars and other inter esting forni s M any fine examples o f corundu m from Pennsylvania are in the cabinets o f W W J e fferis now o f Philadelphia Lewis W Palmer o f M edia and D r C ard e s a of Claymont Specimens from Pen nsylva n ia and N orth Carolina are also to be found in the cabinets o f J oseph Wilcox and D r I saac L e a and i n the William S V aux cabinet at the Philadelphia A cademy of N atu ral Sciences N ear the Franklin N C locality there has been obtained a con 1 which shows s id e ra b l e amount o f a brown variety of co ru ndum distinct asterism both by artificial light and in the sunlight when the s tone is cut en cabochon A similar variety though o f darker brown with a bronze like reflection has also been found some twelve miles from Franklin by M r C hatard These all show a slight bronze play o f light o n the dome o f the cabochon in o rdinary light and u nder artificial light they show well d e fi ne d stars being really asterias o r star sapphires and not cat s eyes as might seem at first sight to be the case Similar light brown coru ndums S howing ast e riat io n and cleavage faces o f the crystals are found in D elaware C ounty Pa A fine opalescen t variety o f deep indigo color is reported by E A H utchins as obtained by him from n ear R ed and pink c o ru n F ranklin and elsewhere in Macon C ou nty dum is fou nd at the C u ll ak e ne e M ine in Buck C ou nty and also at Penland s on Shooting C reek in Clay C ounty Fro m the for mer locality there is a fine ruby colored specimen in the cabinet o f the Philadelphia A cademy o f N atural Sciences and in the V aux C ollection a remarkable black crystal the locality given for wh i c h i s Buncombe County 7 T ns ctions N w Yo k Ac demy of Sciences p 5 J n 884 1

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A mong other varieties

found at various points in N orth Car olina the following may be noted : Tw o miles northeast o f Pigeon R iver near the crossing of the A sheville road in H aywood C ounty and two miles north o f this on the west fork o f Pigeon R iver at Presley M ine are fou nd some o f the finest colored spec i m e ns o f blue and grayish blue coru ndum Twenty m iles n orth eas t o f this at the Carter M ine fine white and pink coru ndum occurs in c rystals and in a laminated form Blue blu ish white and reddish varieties occu r at Swan nanoa Gap Bu ncombe C oun ty J A D Stephenson fou nd fine hexagonal prisms o f a pale brown ish corun dum at Belt s R idge and more recently some very fine fair colors from several n ew localities near Statesville Fine crys tals have also bee n fou nd in the H ogback M ine J ackson C ounty The chief locality fo r gem sapphires in the U n ited States is near H elena M ont where they occu r as loose crystals usually small but often transparent and o f good colors They are found o n bars in the U pper M issouri R iver more o r less rolled among gravel and in the r iffl e s an d slu ices o f the gold washers with the gold g arnets an d other heavy minerals o f the placer mines D r J Lawrence Smith was the fi rst to “ describe these M ontana sapphires as follows : These pebbles are fou nd o n the M issou ri R iver near its source about s ix t yfo ne miles above B enton ; they are obtained from bars on the river o f whi ch there are some four o r five within a few miles o f each other I n the min ing region o f t h is territory considerable gold is found o n these bars it having been brought down the river an d lodged there and the bars are now being worked fo r gold The corundu m is scattered through the gravel (which is about 5 feet deep ) upo n the rock bed O ccasionally it is fou nd in the gravel an d upon the rock bed in the gulches from s to feet below the surface but it is very rare in uch 0 0 4 5 ” 1 localities I t is most abu ndant upon the E ldorado bar S ituated o n the M issou ri R iver about 2 0 miles from H elena where at o ne time a man could collect from I t o 2 pounds a day Some o f these have been cut and o ne very perfect stone of 3 5 carats and o f g ood green color almost equal to the best oriental emerald h as 8 73 Am J Sci III V ol 6 p 8 5 Sep t ,

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been obtained The M ontana specimens rarely exceed inch See C olored Plate N o They are to i inch in length I ( ) brilliant but usually o f pale tints Two gems are in the A mherst College C ollection which weigh about i carat each O ne is a true ruby red and the other a sapphire blue colors rarely met with here The gems are usual ly of a light green green ish blue light blue bluish red light red and red and the intermediate shades They are usually dichro itic and Often blue in o ne direction and red in another or when viewed through the length o f the crystal and frequently all the colors mentioned will assu me a red or reddish tinge by artificial light A fine o ne o f carats was fou nd o f a rich steel blue A very beautiful piece 9 o f j ewelry in the form o f a crescent was made of these stones by T i ffany 81 C o in 1 8 8 3 ; at o ne end the stones were red shaded to bluish red in the center and blue at the other end ; by artificial light the color of all tu rned red Perfect gems of from 4 to 6 carats each are frequently met with O ccasionally crystals are fou nd which would afford ruby and sapphire asterias The value of the gems cut from material o f a poor quality fou nd in this district amounted at o ne time to fully a year Many are fou nd that are never cut fo r it requ ires greater skill involving much higher cost to cut sapph ire than gems which are less hard I n the latter part o f 1 8 8 9 specimens were shown to the writer o f a trachyte rock imbedded in which were well d e fi ne d crystals o f sapphire similar to those found on the E ldorado bar from a dyke o n the M issou ri R iver near and above that locality The sapph ire on E ldorado bar evidently came from this rock a n d o n its disintegration was washed down the river .

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Sapphires are obtained to a lim ited extent in C olorado “ W illiam B Smith states in the Proceedings of the C olorado ” Scientific Society that near Calumet about twelve o r fou rteen m iles from Salida corundum is fou nd in what has proved to be a corundum schist The crystals are in flat hexagonal plates Am C he m J Vol 5 p 7 .

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have a bluish tinge in some cases qu ite deep and are from 1 to millimeters to 1 6 ff 0 inch in thickness H o man men 3 5 9 ( 9 ) tions co ru ndum occurring in fragments near Silver Peak N ev R ubies and sapphires have been erroneously reported to be fou nd in the surface sands and gravels of A ri z ona and N ew M exi c o associated with the pyro p e garnet ,

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crystallizes in the isometric system and is generally found in the form o f octahedrons I ts hardness is 8 and its specific gravity about Following the order o f the rainbow it exists in all S hades of red orange green blue and indigo as well as white and black The crimson and fl am e red colored varieties are ex c e e di n l y beau tiful The red is called ruby spine " and fine stones g command high prices Sp inel is fou nd associated with ruby in Burmah C eylon and S iam I ts composition consists o f o ne m o l e c u l e each o f alumina and magnesia equ ivalent to 7 2 per cent o f alumina and 2 8 o f magnesia Spinel fine enough to cut into gems has been only occasion ally met with i n the U nited States The R ev A lfred Free o f Tom s R iver N J had i n his possession at one time cut gems o f a smoky blue or velvety green and a dark tinted claret color from the locality near H ambu rgh Sussex County N J They were all good specimens weighing abou t 2 carats each Some half dozen from San Lu is O bispo Cal of ve ry good quality and weighing about 2 carat s each were brought to the notice o f the writer by J ames W Beath o f Philadelphia Pa Silas C You ng who for over twenty years has collected m ine ral s i n O range C ou nty N Y writes that in his extensive working for m inerals he has found small ruby spinels also others o f a smoky and pu rple tint su fficiently clear to cut The local ity at H am burgh N J was discovered by h is father over fift y years ago The region of granular limestone and serpentine in which spinels abou nd extends from A mity N Y to A ndover N J a distance o f thirty miles M onroe N orwich and Cornwall N Y are well known localities The finest crystals from the l ocality known as M onroe N Y are in the V aux and Bement Colle e Mi ne logy of Nev d ,

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inclining to a topaz yellow while some are o f a S lightly brownish tint They closely approach topaz in ap pearan c e and would afford gems as fine as any yet obtained The best o f these specimens are in the cabinets o f D r I saac Lea and J oseph Wilcox o f Philadelphia Pa A t the emery m ines o f Chester Mass have been fou nd masses o f small crystals which might be Cu t into minute cabinet gems J oseph C Trau tw ine o f Phila delphia obtained some minute aci c ular c rystals in a cavity o f massive co ru ndum at the C u l s ag e e M ine in N orth C arolina Gen Thomas L Clingman also observed the mineral associate d with blue c orundum near M arshall M ad i son C ounty -

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is a hydrated phosphate o f alumina some times contain ing small quantities of copper iron o r manganese I ts hardness is 6 and specific gravity The finest varieties which generally do not lose their color easily have been fo r centu ries fou nd in small veins i n a clay slate in the vicinity o f Nis h ap o o r Persia Large quanti ties are brought from E gypt but this variety although dark blue when found ofte n changes in a short time to a verdigris green This m ineral is foun d at Los Cerrillos N M ; Turquoise M ou ntain C ochise C ounty A riz M ineral Park M ohave C ounty A riz near Columbus N ev ; H oly C ross M ount ain C ol ; and Taylor s R anch Fresno C ou nty Cal The fi rs t named locality is part o f a group o f conical mountains situated about twenty two m iles southeast of Santa Fé N M and north o f the Placer o r G old M ou ntains from which they are separated by the valley o f the Galisteo R iver The rocks o f which they are composed are yellow and gray quartzite sandstones and porphyry dykes Prob ably the sandstones are o f the Carboniferous period and they are s o much uplifted and metamorphosed that the sedimentary char acter is partly obliterated William P Blake describes the local ity as being an immense pit with precipitous sides o f angular rock proj ecting in crags sustaining in the fissures a growth o f ,

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pines and shrubs O n one side the rocks tower into a precipi c e and so overhang as to form a cave at another place the side is low and formed by the broken rocks that were removed from the top o f the cli ff The excavations which appear t o be about 2 00 feet in depth and 3 00 o r more in width were made in the solid rock and thousands of ton s of rock have been broken o u t The lower part of the working is funnel shaped and is formed by the slop ing banks of the débris or fragments o f the side walls On the débris at the bottom o f the pit and o n the bank Of the refuse rock pine trees are now growing There are several other pits in the vicinity more limited in extent and some of them apparently more recently excavated Prof Benj amin Silliman Jr who visited this locality in 1 8 8 0 states : The age o f eruption o f these volcanic rocks is probably tertiary T h e rocks which form M ount Chalchihuitl are at once distinguished from those o f the surrounding and associated ranges of the C errillos by their white color and decomposed appearance closely resembling tufa and kaolin and giving evidence o f extensive alteration due probably to the escape through them at this point of heated vapors o f water and perhaps o f other vapors or gases by the actio n o f which the original c rystalline structure o f the mass has been com l e t e l y decomposed or metamorphosed with the production o f p new chemical compounds A mong these the turquoise is the most conspicuous and important I n this yellowish white and kaolin like tufaceous rock the turquoise is found in thin veinlets an d little balls o r concretions called nuggets covered with a crust o f the nearly white tu ff which within consists generally as shown l on a cross fracture of the less valued varieties o f this gem h ut occasionally affords fine sky blue stones o f higher value for orna mental purposes Blue green stains are seen in every direction among the decomposed rocks but the turquoise in mass is ex t r e m e l y rare and many tons o f the rocks may be broken without finding a single stone that a j eweler or collector would value as a gem The waste o r débris excavated in the forme r workings covers an area which extends over twenty acres at least O n the l p e S and sides o f these great piles are large cedars and pines ’

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The h lc ih itl of the Ancient Me ic ns Its Loc lity T q oi e A J Sci II Vol 5 p 7 M ch 5 C

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the ag e o f which j udging from their size and the slowness o f ” growth in this very dry region must be rec k oned by centuries I t is well known that in 1 6 80 a large section o f the mou n tains suddenly fell in from the underm inin g o f the mass by the I ndian miners killin g a number o f them and that this accident was the immediate cause of the uprisin g o f the Pueblos wh ich re s u l t e d in the expulsion o f the Spaniards O n both the east and west S ide Of the mountain S hafts have been sunk which were i n tended to be connected at their base by a subterranean tunnel The entrance to the main mining shafts o n the west side is 1 9 4 feet below the spot where the I ndians originally began their ex c avat i o ns See I llustration R ecently several caves have been ( ) u nearthed extend i ng from the level o f the long abandoned mine S ome o f the most curious o f these openings named the W o n der C aves are about 7 5 feet northwest o f Shaft N o I o n the east side of the mountain and appear to have been herm et i c al l y sealed by the I ndian peons o n abandoning the mine ; their discovery was purely accidental The Wonder Caves are almost 2 5 feet from t h e s u rfa c e and ru n 1 00 feet from the apex o f the mou ntain bein g about 3 0 by 2 5 feet in width and from 6 to 8 feet in height above the débris The group resembles i n shap e the five fingers with the hand H ere were fou nd numerous veins o f turquoise from inch to 2 inches in thickness and strips o f gold bearing quartz cover the walls o f the central cave The bottom is composed o f loose rock almost 2 0 feet deep which is supposed to have been thrown there by the I ndians when the m ine was sealed The roof is supported by pillars from 1 0 to 2 0 feet thick I t I s presumed that further explorations would bring to light openings through these walls showin g that the e n tire mountain was honeycombed by th e ancients and the pillars left by the m to support the roof This information was obtained in 1 8 8 0 by the e fforts o f the mining company u nd er J B H yde who supposed that the mine could be worked for gold and tur o f dol u o is e f but e fort after the expenditure thousands h f o t e q lars proved u nsu c cessful The only work th at is carried o n at present at the Los C errillos M ines is done in a very desultory It m anne r b y either the local lapidaries poor whites o r I ndians p 69 Sept 88 E ng nd Min J Vol 3 ,

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T U R QU O ISE C H A R M S , M AD E

BY

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hands of Professor Clarke chief chemist o f the U nited States Geological Survey and are now deposited in the U nited States N ational Museum C ollection This mineral varies in color from a fine sky blue through many shades o f bluish green and apple green to dark green showing no blue whatever The dark green nodules pass to white at the center sometimes resembling in structure certain varieties o f malachite Many of the specimens obtained by M aj or Powell which are seamed o r streaked by limon ite Professor C larke suggests have been derived from the a c c o m panying pyrite ; and the latter mineral is occasionally fou nd bright and u naltered enclosed c ompletely in masses o f clear blue turquoise Three samples selected as representing as nearly as possible the most definite types o f the mineral may be briefly described as A Bright blue faintly translucent in thin splinters B Pale blue with a slight greenish cast opaque and earthy in lustre and having a specific gravity o f 2 8 0 5 C D ark green in color and opaque These were analyzed with the fol lowing results ,

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in F e ic O xide Ph osp h s P ent xide C p p e M n ide Lim e Silic W te um

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I n Professor S il l im a n s paper there is reported of cop p er which corresp onds to o f copper monoxide On account o f the value o f this gem attempts have been made to color it by artificial means The d is c o ve ry o f this deception was made by the writer who saw nu merous parcels o f turquoise sent to N ew York from N ew M exico and among them several small lots with an exceptionally fine color fo r A merican specimens This color did not appear to be natural although the stones An lysi s A w not completed m te i l eno g h co ld not be obt ined witho t the ’

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dest ction of v l ble speci e s The i c in it to t ces of mixed ock o hich the m co ld not be pe fectly f ee ho e e f ee f om ock the si ic in it m st be othe ise cco nted tw o

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U N IT ED ST A T E S

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ANA D A AND

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59

were found to have the same specific gravity as others from New M exico and when tried with a knife cut with the characteristic soapy ivory feel I t was only after the back had been scrap ed o ff to some depth that the fact was revealed that they were artificially stained The coloring matter used was the same as that employed in Germany to make the breccia agate that — resembles lapis lazuli and is often Sold as such to tourists I n this case however the Prussian blue is only a superfi cial stain and the intensity o f the blue is modified by the green I t can readily be removed without inj ury to the stone by scrap ing the back with a knife Prussian blue dissolves readily in ammonium hydroxide so that the simplest test is to wash the stone in alcohol and after wiping it to remove any grease and lay it in the ammonia solution for a moment when the blue color will partially o r wholly disappear and the gem resume its natural greenish hue I f it is desired to examine the stone without destroying the color the face should be covered with wax which S hould be allowed to p roj ect ab o ve t h e back and a little strong ammon ium hydroxide poured into this groove I f artificial the di fference o f the S hades o f the two sides will be a p parent at once I f stones thus stained are worn in rings their color is soon a ffected by the water used i n washing the hands A mmonia does not a ffect the color o f true Persian turquoises although washing the hands with them o n usually does By artificial light the color of this stained turquoise is rather gray blue and appears duller instead o f lighter as is the case with the genu ine turquoise A stone c osting $ 1 00 t o $ 2 00 if found t o be stained would depreciate to only a hu ndredth part of its original cost The deception is to be regretted since it will cast suspicion on any fine turquo ise that may be found in this country hereafter ; but the test is so simple that any one can satisfy himself a s to the genu ineness o f the specimen A few stones cut from N ew Mexico turquoise which had at the time o f cutting a very good color changed to the characteristic green within a few days William P Blake also describes a second locality in Cochise Cou nty A riz about twenty miles from Tombstone and not far ,

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Loc li y of the G een T q oise kno n II Vol 5 p 7 M ch 5 New

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from the stronghold o f the A pache chief C o ch i se This locality likewise work ed by the an c ients is now known as Turquoise M ountain and as there are several deposits o f silver ores in the vicinity a mining district h as been formed k nown as the Turquoise D istrict A t the place itself there are two o r more ancient ex c avations upon the south face o f the mou ntain and large p iles o f waste o r débris thrown o u t are overgrown with vegetation The place has been worked only for a short time and p robably never by the A paches The excavations are not so extensive as those at Los Cerrillos and the mineral is m ore di fficult to fi nd ; but though it is less abu ndant here its identity with the N ew M exican chalchihu itl has been satisfactorily estab l is h e d The rock is all similar and the turqu oise occurs in seams and veinlets rarely more than i o r inch in thic k ness I n color it is light apple green o r pea green rather than blue The specific gravity of two di ff erent fragments gave 2 7 1 0 and 2 8 2 8 o f which the first was slightly porous an d earthy and the second dense hard and homogeneous I n 1 8 8 3 the author saw a series o f finely colored specimens wh ich had been obtained at M ineral Park A riz and brought to N ew York c ity They had been taken from three veins varying in thickness from I to 4 inches about 1 00 yards apart ru nning almost parallel and traceable for nearly half a mile Th is de p osit showed evidences o f having been mined by the Spaniards and a large number o f stone hammers was found indicating that it had also been worked by the I ndians H o fi m ann in the M in ” states that turquoise is also found i n a local e ral o gy o f N evada ity situated in the Sierra N evada M ountains five miles north o f C olumbus This locality was visited by J E Clayton who re ports that o n a sharp ridge about half a mile southwest o f the N orthern Bell M ine i n the C olumbus D istrict o f southern Ne vada he fou nd turqu oise in seams and bunche s in a metamorphic sandstone o f a brownish color not vitreous enough to be classed as a quartzite The best specimens were in small roundish p e h bles in clusters imbedded in the brown sandstone in size from Some t hat o f a d u c k s h o t up to a third o f an inch in diameter fi ne ones have been obtained equal in color and hardness to the best standard Those which occurred in seams were higher .

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colored and softer The principal sale is in San Francisco where the sandstone is cut W ith the turquoise in it making a rich mottled stone for jewelry A lthough the nodules are small this is the finest turquoise for color and quality found on the conti nent A t Taylor s R anch Chowchillas R iver Fresno C ounty Cal several hexagonal c rystals o f bluish green turquoise have been found each about 1 inch in length They were identified as turquoise by D r Gideo n E M oore and are o f great interest as to the origi n o f turquoise The c rystalline characters were such that V v o n Z e p h aro v ic h believed them to be pseudomorph See Fig I after crystals o f apatite ( ) That the ancient M exicans held the turquoise in high esteem is well known and that the Los Cerrillos M ines were exten worked p rior to the discovery of A merica s iv e l y is proved by fragments o f A z tec p ottery—vases ; drinking eating and coo k ing utensils ; stone ham mers wedges mauls and idols—d iscovered in the débris found everywhere While M aj or H yde was exploring this neighborhood in 1 8 8 0 he was visited by several Pueblo I ndians from San D omingo who stated that the turquoise he was taking from the o l d mine was sacred and must no t go into the hands o f those whose saviour was no t M ontezuma o ffering at the same time to purc hase all that might come from th e mine i n the future I n the Mystery Cave there was found a stone h am mer ‘ weighing I 3T% p ounds with its handle attached A dd itional evidence o f the antiquity o f the turquoise workings of N ew Mexico and A rizona h as been gathered by the H emenway E xpedition sent out by M rs H emenway u nder the direction o f Lieut F rank H C ushing There was found a prairie do g cut o u t of white marble with turquo ises for eyes ( see I llustration) also about ten miles from Tempe A riz enclosed i n asbestos in a decorated Zuni jar a Se a shell coated with black p itch in which were incrusted turquoises and garnets in the form o f a toad the sacred emblem o f the Zu ni ( See Colored Plate N o The Christy Collection in London contains two human skulls which ,

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are inlaid with turqu oise and have eyes made of iron pyrites ( see I llustration) and a fi ng e r ring made of the central whorl o f a c one like shell (see C olored Plate N o in which triangular shaped p ieces of turquoise and red spondylus shell were inlaid P ieces of dark wood were also inlaid with turquoise Bernal D iaz who came over with C orte z mentions that o n the landing o f the explorers at San J uan de U lloa the ambassa d o r from M ontezuma brought various rich presents including four c h al c h i h u it l s each o f w h ic h t h e ambassador claimed was worth more than a load o f gold D iaz states that the c h al ch i h u itl s were green stones o f u ncommon value and held in higher estimation amon g the I ndians than the smaragdus o r emerald was amon g the S p aniards Torquemada who regarded chal c h ih u i t l as a species o f emerald states that the M exicans gave ” “ the name Chalchihu itl to C orte z intending thus to S how “ their respect for h im as a captain of great valor for c h al c h i h u it l is of the color o f the emerald and emeralds were held in ” great esteem O fferings o f th is stone were made by the I ndians in the temple o f the goddess M at l al c u e y e and it was their custom to place a fragment i n the mouths o f distinguished chiefs when buried Torquemada in recording this fact says that these stones were emeralds but that they were called c h al c h i h u it l by t he I ndians When Al varad a and M ontezuma played together at games o f c h a nc e A l vara d a paid if h e lost in C hal c h ih u it l stones but received o l d i f he won g The I ndians claimed th at the art o f cutting and polishing c halchihu itl was taught them by the Ber o d Qu e t z al c o h va t l g nardin o de Sahagun considered chalchihu itl to be a j asper o f a very green color o r a common smaragdus H e states that they are green and Opaque and are much worn by the chiefs s trung on a thread around their wrist s being regarded as a badge o f distinction ( See I llustration ) Friar M arco de N ica i n I 5 3 9 made a j ou rney among the I ndians of N ew M exico and in h is narrative frequently mentions g reen and blu ish stones which were worn as ornaments by them pendant from the ears “ a nd nose H e also mentions seeing many t u rqu e s e s which there is little doubt he considered the green stones to be These turquoises were worn not only in the ears and nose but as neck -

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laces and girdles They were called Cacona by the I ndians and were obtained from the kingdom O n arriving at this place “ D e N ica observes that the people have emeralds and other j ewels although they esteem none so much as turquoises where with they adorn the walls o f the porches of their houses and apparel and vessels and they use them instead o f money through ” all the country C oronado who visited C iv o l a in 1 5 40 denies D e N ica s statement resp ecting the turquoises upon the porches of the houses but he Obtained turquoise ear rings and tablets set with the stones The turqu oise has always been the favorite j ewel of the western tribes o f I ndians and was extensively in use at the time of the Conquest by C oronado in 1 5 4 1 Fra Saverio C l ave r ig o alluding to the minor kingdom states tributary to the “ main kingdom says : A mong articles Of tribute annually required from these natives mention is made of ten small measures of fine turquoises and one carga o f ordinary tur ” u o ise s and elsewhere the first present from M ontezuma to q Charles V o f Spain through Cortez is thus referred to The present of the Catholic king consisted o f various works o f gold ten bales o f most curious rolls of feathers and fair gems so highly valued by the M exicans that as Te h u it l il e himself the ambassador o f M ontezuma to Corte z affirmed each gem was ” worth a load of gold A ccording to the M exican system of weights 2 40 pounds constituted a load o f gold E sti mating gold at $ 2 0 an ounce the value o f these gems was over I t is a well authenticated fact that these gems referred to were turquoises and it is believed that they are now among the crown j ewels of Spain I n the memoir o n ancient turquoise mosaics recently published by Luigi Pig o ni ” director o f the E thnographic Museum in R ome it is stated that the objects of this kind known as M exican are distributed as follows : five in the M useum in R ome ; seven in the Christy C ollection in London ; one in a private collection in E ngland ; two in the E thnographic M useum in Berlin ; and o ne in Gotha Those in the Christy C ollection have been described by E B ,

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Histo y of Me ico ese 7 — Antich Messic ni Inc ost ti Ro Ro 5 r

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Tylor in his A nahuac ; o r Mexico and the M exicans A ncient and M odern p 3 3 7 ; also in the British Museum Gu ide to the C hristy C ollection p 2 0 ; and by B rasseur de Bourbourg in his R echerches su r les ruines de Palenque e t su r les origines de la civilization d u M exique with drawings by M de Waldeck Paris The specimens in the Copenhagen Museum have ( “ been described in C ongr es I nternational d a nt h r o p o l o g ie pré historique C ompte R endu de la 4 me Session ( Copenhagen “ p 46 2 and by Steinhauer in D as k onigliche E th no ” graphische M useum z u Copenhagen p 1 9 The three in Berli n have been described in a lectu re before th e A nthro l i o o c a l Society o f B erlin A dolph Bastian claimed that o n e p g had originally been the pro p erty o f A lexander vo n H u mboldt ,

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LO C A IT Los C e rr ll os ,

LOC A IT Los C e rr l l os N e w M ex c o

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while the other two were from the D ucal Museum o f Brunswic k “ See V erhandlu ngen der Berliner Gesellschaft ftIr A nthropol p 2 0 1 The exact ownersh ip o f the o ne in o g ie Gotha does not appear to be known I llustrations o f these objects are to be found in the works o f E B Tylor and B rasseur de B ou rbou rg and n otices o f them appear in various books of “ the seventeenth centu ry among which are Pyra na rc h a sive ” de fu l m inu m natura by Lic e t i ( Padua p 1 4 3 and M u s ae u m M e t al l ic u m by Al d ro va nd i ( Bologna p 5 50 ; ” M useo C o s p ia no by Legati ( Bologna p 4 7 7 ; and in ” “ C l av ig e r o Storia antica del Messico ( V ol I I Book 7 C hap These mosaics are made with pieces o f broken .

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shells The art is still practised in Guatemala Pig o ni s pamphlet is specially devoted to a description o f the masks o f the M useum in R ome O f these three are mentioned i n the books o f the seventeenth centu ry the first having been the property o f A l d r o v a nd i while the other two are fro m the M useo The mask shown in the plate o f the pamphlet as C o s p ia no “ N o 4 is the o ne mentioned by Al d r o v a nd i in his M u saeu m ” I t is m ade of wood one side o f which is left M e t al l ic u m natu ral and carved o u t so as to fit the human face while parts o f the front side are painted and these are incrusted in mosaic A mong the materials composing the incrustations are turquoise white pearly red and black sea shells also small garnets with several minute square pieces o f met al This mask was in the A r c h mo l o g ic al M useu m o f Bologna u ntil 1 8 7 8 and its histo ry is well known as it originally belon g ed to the A l d ro va ndi C o l l e c tion The mask designated o n the plate as N o 5 is well pre served and was acqu ired in 1 8 8 0 from Florence The mosaic is formed o f red shell and turquo ise I n the ethnograph ic collection of the College of the Propaganda in R ome there are also two masks di ffering from the others in no t being i n c rusted with mosaic but tinted red and engraved with lines that are filled in with white material These have been described “ Bu l l e t i no and illustrated by D r Gu iseppe A Colin i in the ” della So c ieta g e og rafi c a I taliana V ol 1 9 p 3 2 4 3 2 5 ’

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IV

C H A PT E R z

Top a

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O PA Z

crystallizes in the orthorhombic system and o c curs in prisms with one end regularly terminated and has a very perfect cleavage transverse to the prism I ts hardness is 8 and specifi c gravity I t is a A blu e crystal weighin g s i l i cate o f alumina containin g fluorine Petersbu rg 2 0 pou nds is in the I mperial M ining S chool at St R ussia Fine blu e and sherry colored crystals have been found i n Siberia blue ones in Scotland and I reland yellow I n M inas Geraes Brazil white in V illa R ica Brazil and blu e and white in Ceylon and A ustralia Brazilian or true m ineralogical topaz is often confou nded with two other minerals namely citrine and S p anish or Saxon topaz the color o f which is made by heating and so decolorizing smoky quart z to various shades o f yellow o r brown Yellow sapphire is called O riental topaz The s p e c ific gravities o f the three varieties are given fo r comparison ,

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The gem topaz has been found in H untington and M iddle town C onn ; Stoneham M e ; N orth Chatham N H Sevier Lake U tah ; at N athrop C halk M ountain Crystal Park Floris sant and D evil s H ead M ountain C ol ; and at R uby M ountain N ev The first discovery of topaz in the U nited States was that Specimens o f it found there in a vein o f o f Trumbull C onn fl u orite associated with a chlorophane variety o f fl u orite were sent to Prof Benjamin S illiman wh o determined it to be topaz S ix di fferent determinations o f its specific gravity gave results I n their modi varying from to 3 4 7 with a mean o f fi c at io n and colo r the crystals a fforded by this locality very strik i ng l y resemble those from Saxony but are generally o f larger dimensions and scarcely any o f them would a fford a gem since they are nearly all Opaque This same authority in 1 8 3 8 in a N otice o f a Second Locality of Topaz in C onnecticut says A mong specimens which I obtained at China Stone Q uarry in M iddletown two years ago I find o ne that contains above fifty c rystals o f topaz They measu re from g, to 1; of an inch in length are very slender and perfectly transparent being attached by a ” lateral p lane to crystals of albite Probably the most beautiful and brilliant crystals of topaz known in the U nited States are those found forty miles north o f Sevier Lake U tah and the same distance north of the town of D eseret on the Sevier R iv er This locality known as Thomas M ountain is an isolated and arid elevation about six miles long and is described by H enry E ngel man geologist o f the expedition that u nder Capt J ames S imp son crossed U tah in 1 8 5 9 H e found crystals loose o n the sur face J ames E Clayton o f Salt Lake C i ty visited the place in J une 1 8 8 4 and Obtained a large number O f beautiful crystals larger than those from N athrop C ol and equally as brilliant as those from San L u is Potosi M exico which they closely resemble M r Clayton states that still larger crystals are found and he says They are evidently no t secondary products like zeolites bu t primary and produced by sublimation o r crystallization from presumably heated solutions contemporaneous o r nearly so with “ the final consolidation o f the rocks Prof J A lden Smith refers Am J Sci I Vol 3 4 p 3 9 O ct 83 8 p 43 J ne 886 Am J Sci III Vol 3 ,

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to be aut i ful topazes occurring in the lithophyses o f rhyolite which is the first noted occu rrence o f this g em i n an eruptive rock This roc k was however first identified b y W h it m a n C ross and its exact local i ty is directly opposite N at h ro p C ol o n a ridge a quarter o f a mile in length and about 2 00 feet in height H ere the topaz is found in more or less rou nded cavities partially filled by its cu rved walls which by concentric arrangement and an over lapping ofte n produce a roselike form These cavities are often lined with minute glassy quartz crystals and o n them are foun d the topazes which are p rismatic in form and being attached t o ,

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the sides o f the cavities in all positions are often found doubl y terminated The crystals are from } to ( rarely) 1 inch in lengt h and i, to 1 inch across the prism I n color they are generally transparent and flawless and are ei ther colorless pale blue A similar occurrence is o r distinctly sherry colored M r C ross in the nevadite o f Chalk M ountain but th are somewhat smaller C halk Mo hnt a in is situated at the junc tu re o f Lake E agle and Sum mit C o u nties in C olorado M any fi ne large topaz crystals have been fou nd at C rystal Park near P ike s Peak E l Paso C ounty C ol Three crystals from this 10 R epo t on the Development of the R so ces of C olo do p 3 6 88 88 8 84 Am J Sci III V ol 7 p 94 Feb ,

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all of which are remarkable for their size and C learness were very fully described by Whitman C ross and William F H illebrand under title o f M inerals from the N eighborhood o f Pike s Peak O ne o f these a fragment o f a c rystal was fou nd near Florissant with amazon stone ; it is remarkable on account o f the probable size o f the original c rystal which when complete must have been nearly a foot in diameter I t was clear in parts and had a decided greenish tinge The specific gravity o f a fragm ent was 7 8 and its chemical composition was entirely normal A nother locality o f importance i n the vicinity is D evil s H ead M ou ntain in the C olorado range some thirty miles north o f Pike s Peak The pocket i n which the topaz was fou nd at this place is o f irregular shape being about 5 0 feet long from 2 to 1 5 feet wide and averaging 4 feet in depth O wing to the dis integration o i the rock at the surface many o f the crystals had been carried in the débris to a considerable distance down the mou ntain S ide and were badly worn and broken The topaz is fou nd here in isolated and usually loose crystals surrounded by distorted quartz crystals o f smoky reddish shades frequently th e exact color of the topaz The principal color o f the latter was reddish although wine yellow milky blue and colorless crystals “ were fou nd These C olorado localities have p roved qu ite valu able Within a year after their discovery it was estimated that over 1 00 crystals had been sold for nearly at p rices varying from 5 0 cents to $ 1 00 each A topaz crystal weigh ing 1 8 % ou nces ( 5 8 7 grams) was found at Cheyenne M o u nt a infl C ol during 1 8 8 6 ; but although very perfect it had little gem value There is in the U nited States N ational Museu m i n Washington a cinnamon tinted cut stone from Pike s Peak weigh ing 1 5 carats that is superior in beauty to the brilliant W h ite topazes from Brazil S everal o f the sherry colored C olorado crystals have been cut in stones two of the larger ones weighing 1 2 5 to 1 9 3 carats each See C olored Plate N o D uring 1 882 ( crystals from H a r nd o n H ill in the vicinity o f Stoneham M e were determined by the writer to be topazes and further research 8 Am J Sci III Vol 4 p C ont ib tions to the Mine lo gy of the R ocky Mo nt ins p 7 of t seq B lletin No ca

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resulted in the finding o f large quantities of fragments This locality furnished good clear and distinct crystals o f topaz and has yielded the best crystals fou nd in the E ast The specimens are either colorless o r faintly tinted with green o r blue The finest crystals were from i inch to 2 1 inches ( 1 0 to 6 5 millimeters) across perfect and in part transparent Several perfect gems have been cu t from some O f the fragments They had the characteristic flu id cavities and in hardness were the same as the B raz ilian Some white opaque crystals a foot in diameter were blasted out by the writer The finest crystal fou nd at th i s locality is in the cabinet o f Clarence S Bement ( See illustration ) D uring 1 8 88 nearly 1 00 crystals associated with phenacite were fou nd o n Bald M ou ntain N orth Chatham N H which is only a few miles from the Stoneham locality both places being near the State l ine They were colorless light green o r c he r ry colored o n the outer sides and colorless in the center The largest c rystal measured I i inches i n height and the same in thickness A lmost all the crystals contained irregular hollow spaces from Tfi to 137, inch ( 1 to 1 0 millimeters) across I n habit the crystals close l y resemble those fro m Cheyenne M ountain C ol Some o f these crystals are equal in point of quality to any fou nd in C olorado although they are not as large A t Stoneham M e gree n an d red damou rite altered from topaz has been cut into di fferent odd form s and charms by the local collectors .

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belongs to the rhombohedral system and occurs in prisms the sides o f which are generally striated and channeled Th e hardness o f the transparent variety is 7 5 and its specific gravity ranges from 3 0 to I ts composition is very complex as is S hown in the table o f analysis The question o f colo r is an interesting o ne particularly w hen the varying colors o f the lithia tourmaline are concerned T he color o f the iron and magnesian varieties depends o n the amount o f iron present and passes from the colorless specimens See Top z nd Associ ted Mine ls f om Stoneh m O fo d C o nty Me Am J Sci III 8 8 3 ; nd Vol M h 884 V l 5 p 6 Feb 7 p Sep t 88 8 Am J Sci III Vol 3 6 p Am J Sci III Vol 78 M y 885 9 p ,

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from D e Kal b through all the shades o f brown to the black variety found in Pierrepont O n the other hand the lithia tourmaline containing more o r less manganese gives us the red green blue and colorless varieties The shades of color do no t appear to depend on the absolute amount o f manganese present but rather o n the ratios existing between that element and iron When the ratio o f manganese is to iron as one is to o ne there is produced the colorless pink o r very pale green tourmaline A n excess of manganese produces the red varieties while if the iron be in excess the result is various shades o f green and blue The finest green and red specimens are fou nd in the province o f M inas Geraes B razil the deep red rubellite in S iberia the yellow and brown in C eylon and Carinthia A ustria and pink o n the island o f E lba The hardness o f the flawless variety is about and the specific gravity varies from 3 0 to 3 2 5 I t is very electric The colorless variety is called achroite the red rubel l ite the blue indicolite the green Brazilian emerald and the black schorl Tourmaline is o ne o f the most dichroitic of all gems When a crystal is viewed through the side it is transparent green bu t when viewed through the end o f the prism it is either opaqu e o r yellow green F o r instance in tou rmaline from Paris M e if two gems are taken from a green crystal o ne with the top cut from the S ide o f the prism and the other from the pyramid side o ne will be bright green and the other yellow green I t has frequently happened with specimens from Brazil that o ne would be green and the other opaque Specimens that rival any found in the world have been obtained in Maine The localities that have fu rnished fine o nes are M ou nt M ica near Paris A ubu rn H ebron N orway M ou nt Black i n A ndover R umford and Stan dish I n the two latter places however they do not count as gems The famou s tou rmaline locality at Paris M e is situated o n M ount M ica a spur of Streaked M ou ntain about one mile east of Paris C ourt H ouse I t was discovered in 1 8 2 0 by E lijah L H amlin and E zekiel H olmes while they were on a mineralogical and geological trip M r H amlin found a fragment o f a transparent crystal lying loose upon some earth wh ich still clung to the foot of a fallen tree and procu red about thirty beautiful crystals ,

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These were entrusted to Governor Lincoln of M aine to tak e to N ew H aven and all but o ne were at this time lost I t is believed that t he se tourmalines are at present in the I mperial M ineralogical Cabinet at V ienna since there were some fin e specimens of tourmalines pu rchased with the collection o f th e well known antiquarian V a nd e rv u l l in 1 8 3 0 These were recog niz e d as being from Paris M e by Baron Lederer the A u strian C onsul in Ne w York C ity who was familiar with the crystals havin g made collections in that locality I n 1 8 2 5 Prof Charles U Shepard visited the locality and after considerable work obtained some of the best crystals ever fou nd which are now in the Shepard C ollection at A mherst C ollege having escaped the disastrous fire o f 1 88 2 Prof J ohn W Webst e r o f H arvard C ollege found a large red crystal and some beautiful grass green ones I n 1 8 6 5 the locality was supposed to be exhausted but excavations which have been made there since from time to time through the perseverance o f D r A ugustu s C H amlin have brought to light m any fine c rystals I n 1 8 8 1 the M ou nt M ica T in and M ica C ompany began Operations with D octor H amlin as president and work has been carried o n at intervals S ince Some hu ndreds o f tourmalines are the result o f this min ing among them a blu e indicolite crystal 9 inches long somewhat shattered by blasting ( See Colored Plate N o I t is light blue at o ne end shading gradually into dark blue and deep blue black This would have been the finest c rystal known and would have fu rn ished several hundred carats o f fine stones had it not been so broken I t is n ow in the State Museum at A lbany N Y The next summer s work brought to light material that cut into two of the finest gems o f a grass green hue weighing abou t 3 0 carats which su rpass in beauty anything hitherto fou nd ( See C olored Plate N o The gems and crystals obtained by this company have been valued at over and the value o f all that have been taken from this local ity and sold at the highest rate asked for them as native gems p robably amounts to The crystals o f green tourmaline inclosing red c rystals o f rubellite found at M ou nt M ica when properly cut across the prism form obj ects o f g reat beauty The centers have often furnished mag n ificent ,

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U N IT ED ST A T E S

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transparent gems scarcely distinguishable by the eye from the true ruby I t would be di fficult to find a more wonderful mineral t han that composing these c rystals from Paris which are white at the termination then almost emerald green light green pink then colorless as water and when broken are dark blue o r red in the center this center in turn being coated white pink and green The green tou rmaline wh ich has been called Brazilian emerald is used by the Brazilian C lergy as their emblem Fin e tou rmalines have a greater brilliancy than the emerald when seen by artificial light bu t have not the rich deep light of the latter Some of the finest cut rubellites and green tourmalines are in the possession o f members of the family Of Professo r Shepard O ne o f the finest known which is 1 inch long inch broad and 1 inch thick was described by Professor Shepard as o f a chrysolite green with a blue tinge bu t less yellow and more green than chrysolite This on comparison he found to be finer than any o f the gems in the H ope C o l l e c tion that was sold at auction in 1 8 8 1 I t now belongs to h is daughter M rs J ames wife o f J udge J ames o f Washington ( See Plate N o O ne fine achroite two th irds this size and o ne remarkable rubellite the size of the largest tourmaline are in the possess ion of L E D e F o re s t of N ew H aven Conn ( See C olored Plate N o The H amlin cabinet the first crystal red o f which was found in 1 8 2 0 contains many fine rubellites ( tourmalines) indicolites (blue tourmalin es) and ac h ro it e s (wh ite tou rmalines) as well as good examples of pink yellow green and other colors all from Paris M e This is the best tourmaline collection in the world and would furnish full su ites for a dozen cabinets The crystals used by D r H amlin to illustrate his treatise on the tou rmaline are in this cabinet as well as many other fine stones o f nearly every known shade o f the gem i n cluding a wonderful dark gem of 2 8 carats ( see Colored Plate 1 in ch in diameter and an achroite of 2 No carats O ne the 3 fi nest tourmaline of this collection is shown as it now is ( See Colored Plate N o I n the Peabody M useum at N ew H aven are some crystals collected by D r S anborn Tenney o f Williams See The To m line by D A g t s C H mlin Boston 873 ,

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C ollege A light green crystal about 2 inches lon g has at o ne end a transparent kernel like n odule that would a fford a gem o f over 1 0 carats weight The center o f a section of green and red tourmalin e would cu t o ne o f the finest magenta colo red rubellites ever seen The next important tou rmaline locality in M aine is M ount A patite in A ubu rn A ndroscoggin C ounty I t was first worked in 1 8 8 2 and since then fully c rystals have been found They were colorless light p ink light blue blu ish pink and light golden the sections showing the character i s t ic variety o f color such as blue and p ink green and p ink etc when viewed through the en d o f the crystal Some o f the faintly colored c rystals a fforded gems that were considerably darker after the cutting bu t n o gems over 6 o r 8 carats were obtained here Fu rther working in 1 8 8 3 o r 1 8 8 4 brought darker material to light especially the green colors some o f which equal those fou nd at M ount M ica R ude black c rys tals 8 inches in diameter and 1 2 feet long ( at times enclosing quartz ite) were observed here This like the M ount M ica local ity gives p romise o f fine g ems for some time to come The c o ll e c tion in the U n ited State s N ational Mu seum contains a I carat blue indicolite two lavender colored sto nes of 1 carat each a light emerald green stone o f carat as handsome as an emerald viewed by artificial light and also a suite o f several dozen loose c rystals o f variou s colors The tourmaline locality of R umford is situated in the northeast part of the town in O xford C ou nty M e o n the northwest slope of M o u feet above sea level The vein which a length u i t e irregular varying o f about 2 5 0 feet has been foun d to b e q Tfi l from 3 0 to 1 00 feet In W i dth and fli p s northeast and southwest at an angle of about The rock is a c oarse gran ite with m ica sch ist overlying The M ou nt M ica C ompany did some work here and since they stopped E M Bailey has worked the solid ledge to a depth o f from 3 to 1 0 feet N o gems have been found tho ugh some interesting mineralogical specimens have been secured among them specimens of lepidolite which is fou nd here o f finer grain than that from any other M ain e locality O n e form is in scales no t over 1 1 111 inc h ( 1 millimeter) across qu ite compact and in large masses of a beautiful lilac color closely -

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the composite crystals of which the latter is made u p o r the twinn ing o f the crystal ; o r when certain minerals have been de p osited between the layers during crystallization the stone being cut e n cabochon across these lines exhibits the phenomen on The stellat eeffect frequently produced by the twinning o f chryso b eryl is shown in Fig 4 A lexandrite was named after A lex ander I Czar o f R ussia o n whose birthday it was discovered Large crystals that occasionally furnish gems are found in Fine gems up to 6 7 carats each have been Tak o w aja Siberia fou nd during the last ten years in the kingdom o f K andy Ceylon associated with the tru e cat s eye and the yellow brown and green chrysoberyl This is also found in the alexandrite variety but it is extremely rare Beautiful light golden chrysoberyls (the c hrysolite o f the jeweler valued at nearly as high a rate as the

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diamond in the time of Louis X IV ) have been fou nd in B ra z il also fine light yellow cat s eyes Chrysoberyl o f su fficient transparency to be of gem value is no t found in N orth A merica I t has been found at Stoneham also at Canton Peru N orway and Stow Me but thus far not in fine specimens Some of the small yellow crystals occurring in the fi b r o l it e at Stoneham are however quite perfect in form Small crystals occur at Canton and Stow M e together with large coarse c rystals A t Stow it has been found in masses weighing about 5 pounds each A single distorted crystal 1 inches opaque and o f a dull yellow gray color by by has 3 5 also been found which may in part furnish very poor chryso beryl cat s eye N athaniel H Perry found one small very perfect crystal at Tubb s Ledge M e and i t has also been observed at p 64 J n 883 T n N Y A c d Sci V l .

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Speckled M ountain N orway M e by Prof A ddisonE Verrill A c rystal 3 } inches long by 1 inch wide from Topsham M e and one 1 } inches long by 1 inch wide from are in the collection of Prof George J Brush o f N ew H av e n C o nn R ev Frederick M errick stated that he had collected fifty years ago some crystals that he believed would furnish gems but p erhaps not o f the finest quality at H addam C onn the o l d and well known locality no w exhau sted A t Greenfield o ne mile north o f Saratoga Springs N Y now also exhausted were f ou nd many beautiful crystals ; also i n N ew H ampshire in gra n i te at the deep cut o f the N orthern R ailroad at O range Summit N one o f these localities however has furn ished a fine gem The most promising local i ties are those i n M aine and gems if fou nd at all will be likely to occur there H addam C onn has f urn i shed ,

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fine twin c rystals A mong some rolled quartz pebbles sent from N orth Carolina for exami nation a transparent yellow chrysoberyl was observed which would afford a i carat stone The alexandrite variety o f ch rysoberyl has not been O bserved Phenacite crystallizes in the rhombohedral system I ts hard ness is about 8 and its specific gravity about 3 0 I t i s a silicate The colorless transparent variety is o ne o f the o f glucinum most brilliant stones known occasionally showing prismatic colors ( or fire) , by candle o r artificial light The finest large specimens known are found at Tak o w aja fi ft y six miles east o f E katerinburg in Siberia Phenacite was first identified in the U nited States in 1 8 8 2 when it was discovered in the Pike s Peak and more recently o n Bald M ountain N orth .

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about feet in a region o f almost perp etual snow which is accessible for only a short period during the summer H un dreds o f crystals have been found attached to a n d i mplanted o n quartz crystals transparent beryl and Baven o twin crystals of orthoclase feldspar The largest crystal fou nd measu red over 1 i nch across and was nearly 1 inch long The crystals are nearly all qu a rt z o id s or simple rhombohedrons ( See F ig Some have a faint win e color and others a smoky blu ish tinge Some smoky quartz c rystals with crystals o f phenacite i n the center were O bserved I n M ay 1 8 88 E A A ndrews O f Stow M e discovered some crystals o f phenacite o n Bald M ou ntain N o rth C hatham N H near the State line betwee n M aine and New H ampshire and in the neighborhood o f Stoneham M e They were fou nd i n a vei n o f coarse albitic granite associated w i th crystals o f smoky quartz topaz and muscovite s ome im planted o n smoky quartz a few attached so loosely to the m atrix by o ne o f the rhombohedral faces that they could be re moved without being broken They were abo ut fifty in n u mber lent i cular i n shape and m easu red from 1; inch to f inch ( 3 mill i meters to 1 2 milli m eters) across and from 915 inch to 1; inch 1 millimeter to 3 millimeters in thickness They were all wh ite ( ) o r colorless with polished faces and fo r the most part very sim ple in form The series from Pike s Peak C o l has been described by Prof Samuel L Pe nfi e l d Few o f the p henacites found i n the U nited States have been cut into gems but several thousand dollars worth have been sold as m iner alogical specimens and now adorn the cabinets o f the world M ention i s made o f euclase i n the U n i te d States as follows Several crystals were reported as having been found at M il l s s Spr i ng Polk C ounty N C by Gen Thomas L Clingma n in washing the gold sand at this locality bu t Prof Frederick A I t was also mentioned G e nt h says that they were not euclase as having been found i n connection with topaz at Tru m b u l l C onn but this report p roved incorrect W ith the full series of glu c inu m fou nd i n th i s cou n try it is not u nlikely that euclase of

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M ch 884 J Sci III V l 7 p Am J Sci III V l 33 p 88 7 F b 3 Mine ls nd Mi e l L c lities f N h C lin p Am J S i I V l 43 p 3 66 J ul y 84

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will soon be reported I t has been found in magnificent crys tals at V illa R ica Brazil S A but it is of extremely rare occu r rence is highly cleavable and is scarcely known except to m ineralogists The peridot o f the j eweler which is the chrysolite o r ol ivine o f the mineralogist is found in abundance and O f a good quality in the form o f small olive green pitted grains or pebbles associ ated with garnet in the sands of A rizona and N ew M exico Locally they are called J ob s tears o n accou nt o f their p itted ap This material a f fords smaller gems than those coming a r a nc e e p from the Levant and as the demand seems to be fo r the large p eridots of the richer olive green color which is n ot possessed by those from the U nited States only a small n umber o f the peri .

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dots found in the West have been cut into gems Many of the ” s o called emeralds in E uropean church treasuries notably ” “ those of the Three Magi in the Cathedral of C ologne are peridots and not emeralds but the locality whence they were taken is now unknown A ll the peridots that are sold in modern times are taken out of jewel ry which is often two centuries o l d The chrysolite o f the French j ewelers is chrysoberyl From the m eteoric iron that was found on Glorietta M ountain Santa F é C ou nty N M in 1 8 8 5 the writer obtained some peridots o f 1 carat in weight that were transparent and yellowish green i n color The meteorite that was fou nd on Glorietta M ou ntain Santa F é C ounty N M and the o ne found at E agle Station Carroll County Ky is believed to be identical with the pi ece Am J Sci III V l 3 p 3 O ct 886 .

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