^> A^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) V / {/ /. O U.s & %' 1.0 I.I 1.25 12 6" 25 2.0 1.8 1.4 IIIIII.6 ^^ (meaning "CON- TINUED "), or the symbol V (meaning "END "), whichever applies. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le ess: le symbole -^ signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbole V signifie "FIN". Maps, r*ates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre fiimds A des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clichd, il est fiimd & partir de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m6thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 NOTES ON THE GOLD OF EASTERN CANADA: BEINQ A REPRINT OF PORTIONS OF VARIOUS REPORTS OF THB GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA FROM 1848 TO 1863. MONTREAL: DAWSON BROTHERS, 186^ 1 f PREFACE. Public attention having lately been called to the deposits of gold in south-eastern Canada, it has been thought advisable to reprint from the various lleports of Progress of the Geological Survey, the observations made and published by its officers at different times from 184S to 1863, and chiefly during the first five years of this period. These earlier Reports, although published at the time of their several dates, by order of the Government, have now become so rare and diffi- cult of access that many persons now interested in the gold of Canada do not appear to be aware of their exist- ence, and take for novelties the facts long ago made known to the public by the Geological Survey. The extracts from the several Reports are arranged in chron- ological order, and a few notes have been added. W. E. LOGAN. Office of the Geological Survey, Montreal, Canada, January 18G4. CONTENTS. Paqk Preface Extract from the Report of 1848 5 '« " " " "1850 12 Gold at the Exhibition of 1851 14 Extract from the Report of 1851 15 u II u It II 1852 It 20 27 1853 ." 28 1853-56 29 1863 31 NOTES ON THS GOLD OF EASTERN CANADA Paqk 3 5 12 14 15 20 27 28 29 31 FROM THE REPORT OF MAY 1, 1848. Paoe3 73—80. It appears from the Reports of some of the State Geolof;;ical Surveys of the American Union, from various papers which have come before the pubUc in SilUman's Journal of Science and Art, and from the statements of Mr. James D. Dana and Professor Charles Upham Shepard in their works on Mineralogy, that the existence of gold in North America, occuring in more or less quan- tity in veins and alluvial deposits, has been traced at intervals, some of which are considerable, from Georgia, the Carolinas, Vir- ginia and other Southern States, and even from Mexico to the Chaudiere in Lower Canada. It is not improbable it may follow the run of one and the same geological formation through the whole distance, and will ultimately be tracr < to Gasp6. Along the whole line it seems to be associated with, or lo the vicinity of rocks strongly characterised by magnesia, such as dolomite, serpentine, talc and chlorite slates, and at the same time marked by the presence of chromic iron, titaniferous iron and rutile. It is found in similar asso- ciation in other countries ; and the description of the Ural Moun- tains, for which we are indebted to Sir R. I. Murchison and his companions, shews that these characteristics are conspicuously dis- played in that auriferous region of Russia, where the gold is accom- panied also by platinum ; which is stated in Silliman's Journal for September last, to have been observed very recently in one of the gold mines of North Carolina. 6 (JOLD OF CANADA. Wliat has already been saiil of the rocks of the Ea>*torn Town- ships* is sullicient t(,) show that the general types above alhuled to are legibly im[)rinted on the Canadian prolon;i;ation of the Orecn Moutitains ; and the ;^eolo^ieal analo;^jr between the Canadian strata, and those of the more Southern States is drawn still closer by the discovery of <^(»ld in the district under description, not only in allu- vial deposits, but also (in mere traces however,) in a vein. In the different localities in which vein ^old has been found in the South- cm States, the metal ai)p('ars in most instances to be in a matrix of white (juartz, as a vein-stone, sometimes associated \vitli either iron or copper pyrites, or with galena or blende ; and it is remarked that the pyrites is often found decomposed and converted into hydrated peroxyd of iron, strongly marking the outcrop of the vein. The metal however is not in all cases confined to the (piartz veins ; sometimes it extends into the rock bounding the (juartz on each side. But the gold, whether in the (juartz, in the metallic sulphurets, in the hydrated peroxyd of iron, or in the rock of the country, is always native, ant • In a previous part of this Report, pages 30— r)8. IfTTKriflKwrivi.-^vLj.-a.V'^w.wi^---^:,.' ,;.«^.«-^*-,.,-,-«wa,<, , REPORT OF 1848. f of 100 Ihs., leavin;:; out fractions .ind extraordinary rcsultv<«, from $\ and *J2 to jlO in value, the gold being estimated at 4/j cents per grain ; wliich in round numbers may be said to equal from 25 to 250 grains of goM to 100 Uh. of tbc vein-Htone. In Somerset County in Vermont, gold lias been met witb in a quartz vein with liydrated peroxyd of iron, coinciding with the stratification, in talcose slates ; but it is not stated by Professor Hitchcock, who has given an account of it in his Report on the Geology of the ►State of Massachusetts, that the quantity is of economic value. The only locality of a vein with tracers of gold, yet determined in the Eastern Townsliips, is in the vicinity of Sherbrooke, the metal being found associated with the copper pyrites in the vein which has already ))een noticed* for the latter ore, on the seventeenth lot of the seventh range of Ascot, in the quartz ganguc, the hydrated peroxyd of iron, the quality of the rock to which it belongs, and its conformity with the stratification, it agrees with the southern loca- lities already mentioned. The (quantity of the precious metal how- ever appears to be insignificant. But it is to be remarked, that the gold in tbe matrix being invisible to the eye, even assisted by a magnifying glass, the examination of the vein was not made with a knowledge of its presence ; and it was only in assaying the copper obtained by smelting a washed sample of copper-pyrites resulting from 74 lbs. of the vein taken indiscriminately, that the existence of the gold was ascertained. According to this trial, 100 lbs. of the vein would AHcld 12| ounces of copper; 180 grains of which copper yielded O.Ool of a grain of gold. The 100 lbs. of the vein would thus give 1.03 grain of gold ; and the value of the metal in a ton of the rock would be about $1. The 180 grains of copper yielded also 0.162 of a grain of silver; so that 100 lbs. of the vein, in addition to the gold, contains 5.40 grains of silver. It is unnecessary to montion that thes3 results are valueless in an economic point of view, and no allusion to them would have been made beyond a passing notice in stating the produce of the copper, did not the presence of the precious metal in a vein come in aid to illustrate the general character of the region, and in particular of • Page 72 of this Report. g GOLD OF CANADA. an alluvial doposit, where the (lUiviitity may proh.-ihly prove of more importance. This deposit is in the Sei;;niory of Rij^aud-Vaiidrcuil,* the property of tlie heirs of tlie late Charles Etiiiuno Chausse;;i'os do L6ry, Es([. The spot is on a small stream called the ToufTe des Pins,t a tributary, falling in on the ri^^ht hank of the Chaudiere, about fifty-eight miles from (2\iebee. Mr. 0. de Ldry, one of the present proprietors, who six years ago exhibited to me the specimens of gold he had obtained, has informed me that the first piece of the metal was discovered about thirteen years ago by a daughter of one of the (U'lmta'm'H, and the fact coming to his knowledge, he himself made search, and found another piece in the bed of the stream. The discovery was commimicated to the public, through Silliman's Journal, vol. 28, p. 112, in April, 18^5, by Capt. F. II. Badde- ley, of the Royal Engineers, whose zeal in Canadian geology is well known in the Province and elsewhere. The weiglit of the piece is stated in the Journal to have been 10.08 grains, but this was only a fragment separated from one of the pieces, the remainder of which now weighs 1056 grains. Subse(iuently to this, Mr. de L^ry from time to time continued to meet with small lumps and grains, in and about the same spot in the channel of the brook, and up to the autumn of 1 81G, the value of the whole he had collected by hand, without any process whatever of washing, may have amounted to $130. The largest three pieces liave been weighed by Mr. Hunt, and their weights are 10lJ8 grains, 105(3 grains, and 741 grains, Since that period, a slight examination has been made of the depo- sit, and last season, previous to my visit to the locality, which was late in the autumn, the alluvium had been washed experimentally in small quantities in several places along the banks of the stream, with more or less success. But owing to freshets and other circum- • Some confusion may arise on account of tha various names which in these pages and elsewhere, are applied to this seigniory. It is designated on some of the seigniory maps as Rigaud-Vaudreuil, apparently to distinguish it from another seigniory of Vaudreuil, on the Ottawa. For a similar reason it is often designated Vaudreuil, Beauce; the latter name being that of the county. This seigniory constitutes the parish of St. Francis ; and this is sometimes called St. Francis, Beauce, and St. Francis, Vaudreuil, to distinguish it from other parishes bearing the same saint's name. t Since sometimes called the Gilbert. ^immmm'mmmrmmf RKP0I5T OF 1848. 9 stAnr^GS, tho amount of work done was iiiMi;^nificaiit. One was^l>inf» (tho only iv;^uhir day's work) of sixty bushels, l>y means of a rocker, or species of shakin;:;-tal>le, in conunon use in tiie Southern States, produced 440 ^;ruins of^^old ; which would he e(|ual to aliout 7J^ ;^rains to a bushel, the wei^^ht of which bushel wouM be about 100 lbs. About 75 lbs. of ^^ravel, washed in my presence by one of my own men, produced a (juantity eipial to al)out '1 ;^rains to a bushel. Tho miital however is so uno(pially distributed, and so little has been done, that it would be prein:itiu'(.' to consider the above an avera^o return, I am informed by Mr. d(i Lory that it has been ascer- tained by the examination, that the deposit, in parts close upon tho brook, presents indications of bein;:; auriferous for nearly two miles up the valley, which for that distance has a boarin;^ to tho north- east, coincident with the general strike of the stratification ; and that in one place near the spot where tlu; fu'st discoveries were made, a few particles of gold were found, on the south side of the valley, about fifty feet above tho bed of the stream, and about 100 yards removed from it. He informs me, also, that a few particles wero met with near the road wliich is on the v\'z\\t bank of the Ciiaudiere, on a small tributary brook, called the Ruisseau Lessard, also run- ning with the stratiHcation, about two miles below tlie TouHe des Pins ; and one piece is reported to have been found higher up on the Cliaudiei-e, beyond the Seigniory. The total ([uantity obtained from the first discovery up to the end of October last year, e(iuals a valuo of about '^300. In an assay of a small piece of the gold ol)taiued from Mr. C. de Lery, Mr. Hunt finds it to contahi 18.27 per cent, of silver, so that the fineness of the gold would be 'J.Oyi carats. Distinguishing between the vein-mines and deposit-mines of Vir- ginia, Professor Silliman remarks : — " The latter contain only alluvial gold, or gold at least disen- " gaged from rock or vein-stones ; it is obviously not in its original " connection, and has doubtless proceeded from the destruction of " regular veins or beds, and of tlie rocks which contained them ; *' the gold has either remained mixed with the ruins of the rocks " and of the veins, or has been transported and scattered, some- *' times far and wide, by the moving power of water, and buried at " depths more or less considerable, in loose materials. Sometimes 10 GOLD OF CANADA. a a li a a ii a a a a a li a ii a a a the gold is found immediately under the turf or sod ; this hap- pens most frequently on hills, but more commonly it is in lower situations, under several feet, or even yards, of soil, clay and gravel, and it is most abundant next the slate which underlies the whole of the loose materials, and which slate is sometimes soft, being in the state of decomposition. When the slate rocks are solid, and their strata stand nearly perpendicular, the gold has been sometimes found in the crevices between natural layers of the rock ; at the Whitehall mines, in Spotsylvania County, the gold extended downwards in this manner, sometimes to the depth of three feet." " The largest masses of gold have been dis- covered near rivulets, brooks, or runs of water, called in the language of the country, branches. In such situations, pieces have been found weighing several ounces, and in North Carolina, several pounds. On a branch at the Whitehall mines, gold to the value of 1*10,000 Avas found in the course of a few days, in a space of twenty feet square ; and $7,000 value of gold was found in Tinder's mine, in Louisa County, in the course of one week. It happens not unfrcquently that the vein mines are discovered in consequence of washing the earth, particularly in the branches ar gil )) The deposit on the Seigniory of Rigaud-Vaudreuil is of the char- acter aboveus vein, 3. One ; of Ri- )r other e found, pecially Toufte ritioned udreuil n over might und in lantity money ock3 at r-slrttes :e been than the funds devoted to the Survey would permit, no such result £,8 might have been considered a just criterion could possiblj- have been arrived at. We were satisfied to establish the fact of its pre- sence merely, and the smallest particle of the metal was deemed suflficient for the purpose ; two of the spots were indicated to us by Mr. Angers as localities in which he had himself met with traces ; one of them was on a small brook, tributary to the Riviere a la Famine, entering it on the south side about four or five miles from its mouth. About a mile and a-half above the fall on the Famine, there commences an extensive deposit of clay, sand and gravel ; we followed the section made through it by the river for about a mile and a-half, and constantly found the clay beneath and the gravel resting on it ; towards the top of the gravel, the bank often pre- sented a horizontal deposit of the mingled oxyds of iron and manganese, in some parts from six to eight inches thick, filling the interstices among pebbles of various kinds, many of them being clay and talcose slate, quartz rock, chloritic sandstone, and some of them of white vitreous quartz, with grains of black magnetic iron sand in the finer parts. The same deposit, with the same arrangement, exists on a small brook, which gives a section through it at right angles to the main stream, on the S. E. side , ascending this about the third of a mile, and trying a few pounds of the gravel at the top, which had not previously been moved, a small particle of the metal was immediately met with. Another locality was about a mile up the stream which discharges into the Chaudiere, opposite the Famine, on the Seiginory of Aubert-Gallion, being on the twenty-second lot of the domain, where the metal was first observ- ed by Mr. Fortier, one of the censitaires, in a narrow ravine with steep precipices of clay slate on each side ; it occurs in the clefts of the slate constituting the bed of the stream, and in the clay and gravel immediately on the top of the rock, mingled with magnetic and chromic iron ; the quantity of gravel at the spot is but small, in consequence of the narrowness of the ravine, through which the water rushes with great violence during the freshets of spring ; about a grain weight of gold was here obtained. I have since been informed by Mr. Fortier that he has traced it two miles farther up the stream. The metal was also met with close by the ,j 14 GOLD OF CANADA. side of the river-road, where it is crossed by the brook next below the previous stream. Mr. Hunt found traces of it in the gravel at the foot of the precipice of serpentine, just below the fall of the Guillaume River, where it was associated with grains of magnetic and chromic iron, as well as of rutile and ilraenite. He also disco- vered it about a mile below the great Fall on the Bras, in similar gravel lying close on clay slate, where it could not be far removed from the band of serpentine constituting the rock of the fall. These five locahties, as well as that of the Touffe des Pins above mentioned, the Ruisseau Lessard, and the Ruisseau du Lac (or du Moulin), in both of which particles have been met with, are all in- cluded in an area of about sixty or eighty s(|uare miles, with a breadth of about ten miles across the stratification, and I have been informed that traces of the metal have been found on the River Metgermet, flowing into the Riviere du Loup about fifteen miles still farther to the south-east than the Riviere a la Famine. Without a much more detailed and expensive examination than can be given to any one locality, on a Survey that is expected to embrace within a reasonable period an inspection of the whole Province, it w^ould be premature either to assert or deny, that the precious metal may be held in sufficient quantities to yield a profitable return. N^ Appended to the Report for May 1, 1850, from which we have just (juoted, was given a Cataloifm of some of the Economic Min- erals of Canada, prepared to serve as a guide for those Avho wished t;) collect specimens to be sent to the Great Exhibition held in London in 1851. The following localities of Native Gold are there mentioned (page 101)) : . Gold in Gravel. Gold in Vein .VaudreiiilSoigjnijry, Beauce ; Riviere Guillaume; Riviere Bras; Ruisseau Lessiird; Riviere Toutfe des Pins for three miles up ; Ruisseau du Lac. Aiibert de I'lsle Seigniory, Riviere Famine. Aubert-Gallion Seigniory, Ruisseau , Pozer's River fur 3 miles up. Riviere Metgermet opposite Jersey. .Lake Superior, Prince's location, (traces). Ascot, range 7, lot 17, (with copper &ud silver; value of p;otd $1 per Ion of rock.) REPORT OP 1851. 15 3xt below gravel at tU of the magnetic Iso disco- 1 similar removed II. IS above 3 (or du e all in- , "with a ve been ) River n miles \^ithout e given within would il may In a subsequent Report, tliat of May 14, 1852, there is given a list of the mineral products of Canada shown at the Crystal Palace in 1851, among which arc (page 40) : Native Gold Specimens from washings on the ToufFe des Ping, Vau- dreuil, Beauce. Exhibited by the Ckaudiire Mining Company, Quebec. Native Gold vSpecimens from Lake Etchemin, Rivers Chaudiere, Du lioup, Famine, Pozer's Stream, Bras, Guillaume, Des Plantes, Metgermet, St. Francis, &c. &c. Ex- hibited by the Geological Survey. It is further added, on page 47 : " The specimens of gold from the Chaudiere Mining Company's washings on the Touffe de Pins were not er^uallcd by any in the Exhibition (with the exception of a mass weighing eighteen pounds from California) ; and with other pejntes less in size and fewer in number from several of the locali- ties which were cited in last year's Report as aftbrding indications of gold, were eagerly insi)ected by the public. As already stated, honorable mention is made of the specimens of gold exhibited by the Chaudiere Mining Company." have 3Im- nshed M in ^ are iviere Pins River ue of FROM THE REPORT OF AUGUST 20, 1831. PACiES 0—11. In the Report of Progress preceding this, mention is made of a partial examination of the gold-bearing drift of the Chaudiere. This examination was continued last season, and the facts resulting from it constitute the only additional topic to which I have to invite your Excellency's attention. The auriferous district was found to spread over an area probably comprising between 8000 and 4000 square miles. It appears to occuj)y nearly the whole of that part of the Province which lies on the south-east side of the prolongation of the Green Mountains into Canada, and extends to the boundary be- tween the province and the United States. Two general lines of exploration were followed, ^le of them up the Chaudiere and Riviere du Loup from the seigniory of St. Mary to the Province 16 GOLD OF CANADA. Line, and the othe'* from Lake Etchemin to Shcrhrooke on the St. Francis. Tlie former, running tranverse to the rock -ranges, meas- ured ahout forty-five miles, and the Latter with them, ahout ninety miles. The transverse line was more closely examined than the other, and traces of the precious metal were met with at moderate intervals throughout the whole distance. They were not confined to the channels of the main streams merely, but those of various tributaries furnished indications sometimes for a considerable dis- tance up. The lowest point in the valley of the Chaudiere, at which the drift yielded traces of gold, was on a small stream falling in on the left side of the river, not far within the south-eastern boundary of the seigniory of St. Mary. They were found to occur on four tributaries in the seigniory of St. Joseph, for distances of one and two miles from their mouths. One of these joins the main stream on the left bank, about a quarter of a mile below the parish churcht and the other three are on the right. The lowest of them is abou, two miles below the church, the next about the same distance above it, and the fourth is the Riviere des Plantes, about half a mile farther up, and near the south-eastern boundary of the seigniory. In Vaudreuil, ]>Gauce, they were discovered on the Guillaumc much farther up tiian previously stated, and on the Bras opposite to it ; on this and some of its tributaries tne metal was traced to the centre of the township of Trin;j;, a distance of about twelve miles. Three other streams which yield it in Vaudreuil, Beauce,have heretofore been mentioned ; they are the Ruisseau Lcssard, Ruisscau du Moulin, and the Touffe des Pins, on which it was first discovered. In Aubert d'lsle it was found on the Famine, and traced to liar- bottle's Settlement, and beyond the seigniory into Waterford, a distance altogether of about ten miles. Some [articles were ob- tained on the Ruisscau dWrdoisc, about a mile above the Famine, and it was followed about three miles up the brook commonly called Pozer's Stream, in Aubert-Gallion. On the Riviere dn Loup, in addition to its occurrence in a multitude of spots, in fact almost continuously from its mouth across Jersey and Marlow, it was found in nearly all its tributary brooks, siicK*a3 the Ladyfair, the Grande Coude, the Metgermet for four miles up, the Traveller's Rest, the P.) an| AM val bo raj dV! thl I 3 REPORT OF 1851. 17 n the St. es, mcas- it ninety than the moderate confined r various ■able dis- hich the 1 on the ndarj of on four one and I stream churcht IS abou, e above a mile orj. In e much to it ; centre Three itofore an du ered. Ilar- brd, a re ob- imine, called np, in \lmost found ande t, the IV Portage, Kempt's Stream, Oliver's Stream for four miles up, and another stream bet\Yeen it and the boundary of tlic Province. Above the Loup, on the Chaudiere, it occurred at successive inter- vals in twenty places in sixteen miles, as far as the south-western boundary of Dorset Township. The localities of its observed presence on the other line of explo- ration were ou Lake Etchemin, and along the Faniiue in Aubert d'lsle, and Pozer's Stream in Aubert-Gallion, towards Tring ; and again on the St. Francis, in Dudswell, in Westbury, and near the joint corners of Westbury, Stoke, Eaton and Ascot, as well as in this last township near Sherbrooke. It is not supposed that the limits of the auriferous district have been ascertained, but that it very probal)ly extends nnich farther to the north-east, and attains the valley of the river St. John ; while to the south-west it is known to reach Vermont, and to be traceable at intervals through the United States, even, it is said, as far as Mexico.* In its breadth however, it does not a})pear to cross the range of mountains with which it runs parallel, and no traces of it have been met with on their north-western flank. The deposit in which the gold occurs is part of an ancient drift, probably marine : and supposed to be of higher antiquity than that which, from the extent to which it occupies the valley of the St. Lawrence and some of its tributaries, Mr. Desor, who has recently bestowed much attention on the detrital de})0sits of North America, is disposed to give the name of Lawrentian.f In this, alluded to in various Re- ports as tertiary and post-tertiary, the remains of whales, seals, and two species of fish, the capelhig and the lump-sucker, and many marine shells of those species still inhabiting the Gulf of St.,Law- * Although gold occurs on the western coast of this continent in rocks simi- lar to those of the Appahichian chain, and probably belonging to the same geological formation, the continuous outcrop of these rocks to the south-west is traced no farther than Georgia, where they disappear beneath newer strata ; so that it is not at present possible to define the connection between the gold- bearing rocks of the two sides of the continent. t This designation, which has not been generally adopted, is not to be con- founded with the term Laureutian, applied to the oldest rocks of Canada and other parts of the world. B 18 GOLD OF CAXADA. It \ rcnce, arc found. Those shells on the Mountain of Montreal attain a hoiglit of ahout 470 foot al)ovo tide-level in Lake St. Peter, Avhicli is their greatest altitude known to me ; none of the remains have yet l»een found in tlie Canadian j:;old drift, and a« this appears in its lowest uncliin(l in v^ it have lis ()[)iuiou eins ; but and Aus- ascortfiin »g now in ^nsc from a correct liopes by ill afford •ound for advanta- ;ribution in range anted a 3sion to first put deptb, it ie strati- collect the metal over a strip of five miles on tlio Hivcrs Chaudiorc and du Lou|>, at their junction, with a )irearoduce. The working had been confined to a spot in the bed of tho Riviere du Lou)), al)out ten acres from its junction with the Chandiere. The stream is here about forty or fifty yards Avide, and like the rest of the country for a considerable breadth in tliis ])art, it is un- derlaid by clay slates, interstratified with occasional beds of more or less calcareous sandstone, varying in thickness from a few inches to a foot. The slates at the s|)ot cleave in the direction of the bedding, and the dip is about S. S. E., with a slope of from sixty to seventy degrees. The ravine in which the river runs is generally narrow and deep, with some few open spaces, ami the innnediate banks often constitute precipices of 100 or 150 feet. At the spot chosen for working, the higher banks recede a little as they turn towards those of the Chaudiere, and a flat extends between them and the edge of the stream. The chief part of the work had been limited to a space in the bed of the stream, extending from the left bank to a distance of about twenty yards towards the middle, witli a length of about a hundred and twenty yards along it. Here the slates crossed the channel obli(|uely, and the river-drift was accu- mulated upon the uneven surface formed })y them, to various de- grees of depth. In some parts the rock was bare, and in others covered to the depth of a few inches, and in no part did the deposit exceed three feet, the average being about two feet. The ^vhole of this loose material was removed, particular care being taken to scrape it from all crevices and deep holes ; but of the rock itself, in the cleavage joints of which scales of the metal sometimes descend two or three feet, little more than one fifth had been taken from its place, and none of it during my presence ; an intention being entertained, as I understood, to work the top of the slate, when a convenient (juantity of it had been cleared. The detritus consisted largely of coarse materials, with which sand and clay were \M % oo GOLD OK CANADA. ^? mixed in various proportions in difforcMit parts. Many vast houldci'S lay on the rock, or protruded fV<»in ani(»n;^ the detritus, wliieh were too heavy to ))0 removed ; snialK'r ones were still hirj^o enou^ih to be removed with dilHeulty, and others of all sizes occurrin.i; auKm;^ the drift, wlien they Avere seven or i'i.ii;ht pounds in wei;^)it, the finer material hoin,i» shaken fntm them, were thrown aside; but all of a smaller si/e were letl in the detritus, to ])e washed with it. As shown after wasliin.u:;, the coarser material consisted ehictly of pebbles and fra,i:;ments of slate and sandstone exactly resemblin;j; those on whicli the <^ravel rested ; many both ra^'^ed and rounded, consist(>d of white (|uart7!, such as composes vei)is that are met with in tlie clay slates, and in the more talcose slates of the mountahi ran.2;e to the north ; not a few were of serpentine, and some were of red slate, and of the peculiar mixture of «'pidote and jasper, de- scribed in a former Report as existing on the Riviere des IMantes in St. Joseph Sei,j;niory, and other places ; Avhile many were identical Avith the various other kinds of rock, such as corneous (piartz,* talcose quartz rock, and diallage rock, also described as ])resent in the momitain ran^c ; several were of a line (juartzose con,ii|;lomerate, similar to beds which occur north of the serpentine of Vaudreuil Bcauce, and some few of <^neiss similar to that met with to the north of the St. Lawrence. (.)f the heavier comjionent parts of the detritus, pebbles of ma,i2;netic iron occiuTcd of twcnty-iive pounds wei^^ht, chromic iron of one or two pounds, and iron pyrites of four poinuls ; and of these in smaller pebbles and in ^Jiirains, witli titaniferous iron and rutilo of the like smaller sizes, there was a considerable ([uan- tity, though I cannot pretend to estimate the per centage. Among the fine materials that could be examined after tiie Avashing, (the finest of all, such as the clay, having been carried aAvay down the stream by the Avater,) silicious sand was in the greatest abundance, and among the heavier fine materials C(jidd be seen a considerable amount of very small red, pink, and lighter colored grains, Avhich so far as their nature could bo determined by microscopic exa- mination, Avere chiefly garnets, a fcAv of them zircons, and somo were supposed to be spinels. • See the note on page 11. s HliroUT OF 1853. 23 1st I»«)lll(l('i-s >vliich ncrv * en()u;i;li to fill,!,' anioji" voi^lit, the 1«' ; Init all vitli it. As t'liicfly of i'osonifdiii"' I roundoij, [) mot with mountain iomo wore Ji^pcr, flc- IMantos in ■ identical quai'tz,* •resent in omcrato, uudrcuil he north doti'itn.s, woi«^dit, pounds ; ous iron 3 cpian- (Vniong .ir, (the wn the lance, Icrahio wliich ' cxa- somo i( In wasliin;; tlic detritus, tl>o Cornish fj/r was used, wliich con.xi.stf* of a rectauL'iilar box ahout twelve feet lon;^, two feet hrond. and from ei;;lit in ten inches hi;i;h,open ah(ive,ttnd supplied a fess inches from the ui)por end with a divisioji frmiuii; a well for tin; contri- vance of a small side '^luice to let off the stream of water when necessary: and at the otlu'r with a ;^roove in which couhl he h't down a numi-u of succes:*ive fer bottom. 'Wa copper bottom consists of a small two-eared or 24 GOLD OF CANADA. handled tub about fifteen inches in diameter, and six inches deep, the bottom of which is a finely perforated sheet of copper, with the burr inside, the holes being sufficiently large to allow the point of a pin to go through, but not the head. The pile of the crops from the third running being placed by portions in this tub or sieve, the sieve is forced down into water held in a keeve^ a large tub or species of vat ; in this it is by a jerking motion raised and depress- ed, and turned partially round ; the water driving up through the holes of the sieve has a tendency to push up the material lying on the bottom, the lightest the farthest up, and the jerking movement assists this. The gold being the heaviest substance, soon gets to the bottom, and whatever is lightest to the top ; the top is every now and then scraped off and thrown aside, to be sent to the tye ; more stufl:' is added to tliat in the sieve, and the operation con- tinued until all the material from the third running is exhausted, or mitil it becomes necessary to empty the sieve. The reduced material taken from the sieve, among which the gold is now very per- ceptible, is subsequently placed on a shovel, and vanned, or separated by means of a little Avater and a peculiar motion given to the shovel, which only a person dexterous from long practice knows how to wield. Through the small holes of the copper bottom a large quantity of fine black iron-sand escapes into the vat or keeve over which the instrument is used, and a quantity of fine gold escapes with it, which must be subsequently separated by another process. The whole quantity of gold obtained during the season was about 1900 penny-weights, and fifteen men were employed in the work, but it is not easy to state the exact time devoted to streaming. The full period of work was five months ; but a considerable deduction must be made for accidents. The whole gang was for some time employed in constructing a dam, which when it was nearly com- plete, was carried away by a freshet, and many difficulties were experienced when the river was lowest, (which should have been the best period for working,) through the want of a proper supply of water at the height rc({uirod to keep tlie tycs in full action. Something is to be allowed for broken time occasioned by rahiy days, and much more for all those difficulties which are unavoidable^ ) I REPORT OF 1852. 25 n i in starting a new work in a new place, where a knowledge of the natural local impediments is only to be gained by experience, and where none of those conveniences exist, which rise up only after operations have been carried on regularly for some time. My visit lasted a week, during one day of which a heavy fall of rain prevented work ; but for the remainder of the time a regular account was kept by me of the gold collected and the wages paid. The quantity of gold amounted to 143i| penny-weights, the price of which, stated to me subsequently by dealers in London, to whom a sample was submitted, was .£3 10s. 6d. sterling per ounce, or about four shilUngs and fourpence currency per penny-weight. This would give a total value of X31 3s.; the wages paid were £15, leaving a margin for profit of £1Q 3s. ; by which it would appear that the deposit was yielding about double wages. Resulting from the season's work on the Riviere du Loup there was about a ton of fine black iron-sand in the keeve or vat, over which the copper bottom was used. The unseparated quantity of gold in this, after repeated trials, was ascertained to be 1.77 grains per pound avoirdupois ; this would give lG5/o penny-weights to the ton, the gross value of which would be about ,£36. From among a few ounces of fine gold obtained from the sand, there Avere collected some small grains both of platinum and iridosmine, the value of the former being below, and of the latter double that of gold. Almost all of this fine gold was at first of so white a color that it was considered probable the circumstance might be owing to the presence of a very large proportion of silver; some of the larger pieces also obtained from the copper bottom were spotted white from the same supposed cause ; but Mr. Hunt, on heating this white gold, found that it quickly turned to a good golden yel- low, and that the discoloration was occasioned by a thin coating of mercurial amalgam. As the spots were perceived on some of the larger pieces immediately on their being first obtained by vanning on the shovel, it is supposed they must have been spotted Avith the mercury while still undisturbed in the drift ; and as no mercury had been used on the ground, it leads to the supposition that some ore of mercury may possibly be one of the mineral products of the country ; though not a grain of cinnabar, the commonest form of 26 GOLD OP CANADA. 1 , u the ores of mercury, has been observed in the gravel. Among the substances obtained in separating the gold, lead shot of various sizes, from partridge to swan shot, has been nearly as abundant as the gold. Not a vanning was made of the concentrated material without obtaining some of it ; its presence is no doubt due to the operations of those who have followed the chase ; and to judge from the fpiantity of the shot the place must have been one of favorite resort. "Whether the hunters may at any time have brought quick- silver Avith them and spilt it, is a question that cannot be deter- mined. It is impossible to say, without more widely distributed effective trials, whether tliis place is better or worse than others in regard to the (piantity of gold. Several prosjjectors, as they are called, both Canadian and iVmerican, traversed the country during the season, but I have not heard of any that paid their expenses, though of many that met Avith the precious metal. Their modes of Avashing however, were of the rudest description, and Avere scarcely con- tinued long enough and Avith sufficient regularity in any one place, to give fair results ; but it appears evident that Avhat is knoAvn of the deposit is sufficient to authorise the opinion that it Avill not, iu general, remunerate unshilled labor ; and that agriculturists, and others engaged in the ordinary occupations of the country, Avould only lose their time by turning gold hunters. Some regular Avork has been tried on the Touffe des Pins, in the Seigniory of Vaudreuil, Beauce, but I am not aAvare of the quantity of gold obtained or the cost paid. I have hoAvever seen many pieces of the metal from the locality ; and it appears to me there is a greater number of large pieces procured there than on the Riviere du Loup ; the largest I have seen from tlie Touffe des Pins lacks tAvo penny-weights of four ounces. The largest piece obtained on the Riviere du Loup Aveighed under tAVO ounces. \ REPORT OF 1852. 27 FROM THE REPORT OF MAY 16, 1852. Page 121. The specific gravity of several worn fragments of the gold from the Riviere dii Loup, was fomid to be as follows :— 1.5-7 01-- 16.490— 16-654— 17-60— 17-77. The third specimen (1) after being hammered out to a thin plate and twice annealed, had a spe- cific'gravity of 17*024, and the fifth (II) after the same process, 17-848. These two were analysed by solution in aqua-regia and determining the amount of chlorid of silver. The gold was calcu- lated from the loss ; the solutions containing besides only traces of iron and copper. A third specimen of gold in fine scales (III) had a specific gravity of 16-57. The results of the three analyses are as folloAvs : — I. II. III. Gold.. Silver. ..8G-40. . .13G0. 100-00 .81-11 89-24 12-23 10-7G 100-00 100-00 In these specimens there does not appear any proportion be- tween the specific gravity and the amount of alloy. The conden- sation on hammering seems to be by no means alike in the two specimens. Perhaps the previous fusion of the gold Avould render more evident the relation between its purity and specific gravity. A fragment of 7*5 grammes weight, which appeared to be free from cavities or foreign impurities, had a specific gravity of 15-761, and by a prolonged fusion with nitre and carbonate of soda, lost 1.76 per cent of its weight, and acquired a specific gravity of 17-48. The pure gold from the previous assays, precipitated from its solution by oxalic acid, and fused with nitre, had a specific gravity of 18-685. 28 GOLD OF CANADA. FROM THE REPORT OF MAY 1, 1853. Pages 10—13. In the month of December,* a foAv days were devoted to a farther examination of the distribution of this metal in the Eastern Town- ships, and particles of it were fovmd in the valley of the St. Francis, at various intervals from Richmond to Hunting's mills on the Salmon river flowing into the Massawippi a little above Lennoxville. Though the Aveather was rather adverse to the examination, on account of cold and frost, yet the results were much the same as those of similar previous explorations farther to the east. One of the positions examined was on the road passing to the north of the mill-pond on the Magog river above Sherbrooke, where particles were met with in an ancient hard-bound gravel, which probably has never been disturbed since the time when the surface arose from beneath a tertiary sea. The position is about 156 feet above the level of the St. Francis at Sherbrooke, and would probably be over 600 feet above the St. Lawrence in Lake St. Peter ; this fact serves to shew that the metal is not confined to the lowest parts of the valleys, but will have a distribution co-extensive with the original drift of the district.f It may be considered that the auriferous drift has now been shown to exist over 10,000 square miles on the south side of the St. Lawrence, comprehending the prolongation of the Green Mountains into Canada, and the country on the south-east side of them. In following the range of this drift north-eastwardly, the researches of the Survey have not extended beyond Etchemin Lake ; but the general similarity of the rocks beyond, renders it probable that little change will be found for a distance extending much farther, perhaps to the extremity of Gasp6. It may be proper to remark that though the ascertained auriferous area is thus so much increased beyond the measure given to it in a previous Report, no fact has come to my knowledge of sufficient importance to authorise any change in the opinion that has already been expressed, that the * Of the preceding year, 1852. f See page 17. I '4 I REPORT OF 1853—56. 29 on as le of the icles has from the deposit will not in general remunerate unskilled labor ; and that agriculturists, artisans, and others engaged in theo rdinary occu- pations of the country, would only lose their labor by turning gold hunters. In the examination of the valley of the St. Francis, one of the spots tried tyas in the immediate vicinity of the quartz vein holding copper pyrites, mentioned in the Report for 1847-48, as occurring in the seventeenth lot of the seventh range of Ascot, belonmno; to Mr. Moes. In that Report it was stated that the copper pyrites was auriferous, and in corroboration of the fact, a small unworn but loose octohedral crystal of gold was on this occasion, obtained from a crevice, in a two-inch string of quartz spotted with copper pyrites, which appears to be subordinate to the principal vein. This vein occurs in a mass of talcose slate, supposed to belong to the Lower Silurian series ; but from a vein on the river Du Loup, specimens of quartz and iron pyrites have lately been brought me derived from the clay slates of the Upper Silurian series, and in some of these, traces of gold have been met with. The metal thus appears to belong to the veins of both the lower and upper series. FROM THE REPORT OF 1853—56. Pages 370, 371. A vein which occurs at the rapids of the Chaudiere, in the parish of St. Franqois (Beauce), contains in a gangue of quartz, galena, blende, arsenical sulphuret of iron often well crystaUized, besides cubic and magnetic iron pyrites, and native gold in minute grains. A portion of galena from the assorted and washed ore, still containing a mixture of blende and pyrites, gave by assay 69'0 p. c. of lead, and thirty-two ounces of silver to the ton (2240 pounds) of ore. Another sample of the galena more carefully dressed, gave at the rate of thirty-seven ounces of silver. The button of silver obtained by cupellation from this lead, contained a small but appreciable quantity of gold. The assay of a second portion of the sample of ore which gave 69*0 per cent, of lead, afforded by cupellation a quantity of silver equal to not less than 30 GOLD OF CANADA. V 2')0 ounces of silver to the ton. This amount of silver was pro]»ahljr (hie to the presence of a fra;^ment of some silver ore, perhaps a sulphuret, in the mixture of crushed and dressed galena. These assays were cacli made upon 500 grains. 1000 grains of the pyrites from this vein, mixed with a little blende, galena, and arsenical ore, were roasted ; and then being mingled with litharge, borax and salt of tartar, were fused with the addition of fragments of iron, and a button of lead obtained ; which left by cupcllation a globule of 0"15 grains of an alloy of gold and silver. 700 grains of the impure blende were then roasted and treated in a similar manner, and gave by cu])ellation 0.19 grains of a pale yellow alloy ; the buttons thus obtained contained a large proportion of gold, especially that from the ])lende, which retained its form and assumed a deep yellow color, when after having been beaten out, it was boiled with nitric acid, which dissolved a portion of silver. A (juantity of gold dust from the washing of the sands of the Riviere du Loup, was submitted to amalgamation, and left one-third of its weight of black ferruginous sand, of which eighteen per cent, were scjmrablo by the magnet; the non-magnetic portion Avas dis- solved by the successive action of hydrochloric acid and bisulphatc of potasli, leaving 4*8 per cent, of silicious residue. The solutions contained iron and chromium, and gave by prolonged ebullition, 2-Mr) per cent, of titanic aeiil. The mingled solutions afforded no trace of tin by hydrosul})huriG acid, and were examined without success for uranium, cerium and the rarer l)ases. The frefjuent presence of tin ore in the auriferous gravel of different countries, should enemirage us to search for that valuable metal in our own irold-bearini: region. Samarskite, monazitc, and other minerals containing uranium, cerium, etc., arc also sometimes met with in this asso(Mation, and hence these bases were sought for in the above examination. The gold obtained by the distillation of the amalgam, lost 4.27 per cent, by fusion with borax, and the assay of the resulting ingot gave 12.87 percent, of silver. Thirty grammes of this alloy were dissolved in aqua regia, and the solution examined without success for copper and palladium : a minute portion of platinaia, amount- uig to -0012 por cent., was however obtained. The remaining por- tion of the alloy was pure gold. REPORT OF 18C3. 31 FROM THE GENKRAL REPORT, 18C3. Pages 518—520. The existence of gold in the sands of the Chaudiore valley was first made known by Lieutenant, now General Baddeley, U. E., in 1885 [Am. Jour. Sci. (1), xxviii, p. 112] ; and within the last twelve years repeated examinations have shown that the precious metal is not confined to that region, but exists in the su})erficial deposits of a wide region on the south side of the St. Lawrence extending from the St. Francis to the Etchcniin River, and from the first line of hills on the north-west to the province line on the south-cast. The source of the gold appears to be the crystalline schists of the Notre Dame range ; and the materials derived from their disintegration, not only constitute the superficial matei'ial among the hills of this range, but are spread over a considerable area to the south of them. These same gold-bearing rocks may be traced south-westwardly, along the great Appalachian chain to the southern United States, and are supposed to belong for the most part to the Quebec group. Native gold has however been found in small grains Avith galena, blende, and pyrites, in a well defined cpiartz vein, cutting slates which arc supposed to be of Upper Silurian age, at the rapids of St. Francis, on the Chau- diore.* In Leeds, at Nutbrown's shaft, masses of native gold of several pennyweights are found with copper-glance and specular iron ore, in a vein of bitter-spar ; and small grains of the metal have also been found imbedded in the white garnet-rock described * In 1862, finother quartz vein was opened about 100 yards from tlie last, and has yielded fine specimens of native gold, associated with arsenical pyrites. In 1863, native gold was discovered in a quartz vein Avith vitreous copper ore, at what is called the Chaudiere copper mine, in the rear part of tlie seigniory of St. Giles. An assay of this quartz by Dr. Hayes of Boston yielded only 6J penny- weights of gold to the ton. Gold lias also recently been found in a vein at the Halifax copper mines, by George Pierce, Esq., and an assay of the vein- stone from this place gave about the same proportion of the precious metal as the quartz from St. Giles. Traces of gold have also been found in a decom- posing pyrites from Moulton Eill in Ascot, and it has recently been met with in Dittou. 'i! 32 GOLD OF CANADA. on page 496.* These latter localities belong to the rocks of the Quchcc group ; but the precious metal has rarely been found in place, and the Avorking of it in Canada has been confined to the superficial deposits of clay, sand, and gravel already mentioned. The occasional occin-rence in these of pieces of gold partially im- bedded in (juartz, shows that it was derived, in part at least, from beds or veins of this mineral, which are common among the tal- coid slates of the region. The observations among the gold-bearing rocks of the Southern States seem to show that the precious metal was originally deposited in the beds of various sedimentary rocks, such as slates, quartzites, and limestones, .ind that by a subsecjuent process it has been, in some instances, accumulated in the veins which intersect these rocks. ' The formation of these veins would seem, from the one above described at St. Francis, to be subsequent to the Silurian period. The same considerations apply to the copper and lead ores of the Eastern Townships. The gold is found very generally disseminated throughout the diluvial deposits over the region already designated in Canada, and is not confined to the river-beds ; the action which distributed the gravel over the surface being anterior to the formation of the present water-courses. When, by the process of washing, the heavier portions of the auriferous gravel have been brought to- gether, they are found to contain abundance of black ferruginous ores, consisting of magnetic iron, hematite, both specular and com- pact, chromic iron and ilmenite ; with occasional grains of garnet, rutile, and more rarely zircon and corundum. The gold is in gi'ains, sometimes angular, but more often rounded, and varying in size from masses of half a pound weight to a fine dust, which last is separated by amalgamation from the black iron-sand. [Here follow the chemical examinations, which have already been given on pages 27, 29, and 30.] * This rock occurs with serpentine on the river Guillaume, the moit north- ern tributary of the right bank of the Chaudiere in Vaudreuil. The next one, being in the southern part of St. Joseph, is named on Bouchetta'a map the Riviere des Plantes. i of abi flat I] R PORT OF 1803. FROM TJIE GENERAL REPORT, 1863. Pages 739-745. . The principal fiicts known with regard to the geological distribu- tion of gold in Canada will be found on pages 518-520.* Mention is there made of a quartz vein at St. Francis, on the Chaudiere ; where small grains of native gold have been found imbedded in quartz, together with argentiferous galena, and sulpliurcts of zinc and iron, both containing gold, and witli arsenical pyrites. Since writing tha above pages, much larger specimens of gold have l)een found in (juartz, about one hundred yards from the locality just mentioned. It is probable that this, and similar quartz veins, may be wrought with profit ; but the gold hitherto obtained from this region has been from the superficial deposits of clay, sand, and gravel, which aboimd there, and appear to be derived from the l)reaking up of the rocks that contain the gold-bearing veins. These deposits pro- bably belong, in part to the ancient glacial drift, or boulder forma- tion, and in part to newer stratified clays and gravels, which consist of the materials of this, modified and arranged by the subsequent action of water. On the Magog River, above Sherbrooke, particles of gold occur in a hard-bound gravel, 15G feet above the level of St. Francis, near by. On the Famine River, there is met with an extensive deposit of clay, every Avhere overlaid by sand and gravel. Along the banks of the river, a stratum of the oxyds of iron and manganese, in some parts six or eight inches thick, is seen near the top of the gravel, filling interstices among pebbles of the rocks of the region. Gold is found in this overlying gravel, as well as in the clay beneath ; both of which deposits appear to belong to the modified drift. It is met with in similar condition? throughout the banks of stratified material on the Metgermet, which attain a height of fifty feet above the bed of the river. Gold also occurs still more abundantly in the recent alluvions found in the beds and along the flats of the streams which traverse this region, and in time of floods wash down the clay and sand from their banks, depositing the heavier • See pages 31 and 32 of this pamphlet. 84 GOLD OF CANADA. portions ulon;^; tliolr course. In this Avay tlie , ' ; \<-m ^ a profit of $182. In this account is however included .i{i,')O0 v ^i by a flood, which swept away an unfinished dam ; so that tlu ml difference between the amount of the wa<^es and the value of tho gold obtained should be stated at .f 082. The avcra;^e price of the labor employed was sixty cents a day. In 1852 about five eighths of an acre of gravel were washed at this place, and the total amount cf gold obtained was 2,880 pcntiyweights, valueital. 'riicro is no reason iW supposing that tho proportion of the precious metal to f • foiuid alon;; the St. Francis, tho Etcheniin, and their varicMia trihutaries, is less eonsiderahle than tliat of tlie Chaudiero. What is called the hydraulic method of washiji;:; such dej»osits is adopted on a <:;reat scale in (California, and to some extent in tho stat(>s of (jrcor;^ia and North Carolina. " In this method, the force of a jet of water, with great pressure, is made availahle hotli for excavating and washing the auriferous earth. The water, issuing in a continu- ous stream, with great force, from a largo hose-pipe, like that of a fire-engine, is directed against tho haso of a hank of earth and gravel, and tears it away. Tho hank is rapidly undermined, the gravel is loosened, violently rolled together, and cleansed from any adhering particles of gold ; while the fine satid and clay are carried oft' hy the water. In this manner Innidreds of tons of earth and gravel may ho removed, ami all tho gohl whicli they contain lihoral ted .and secured, with greater ease and expedition than ten tons could ho excavated and washed in the old way. All tho earth and gravel of a deposit is moved, washed, and carried off through long sluices hy tho water, leaving tho gold behind. Scjuare acres of earth on tho hill-sides may thus ho swept away into tho hollows, without tho aid of a pick or a shovel in excavation. Water performs all the labor, moving and washing the earth in one operation ; ■while in excavating by Tiand, the two processes are of necessity entirely distinct. The value of this method, and tho yield of gold by it, as compared with the older one, can hardly be estimated. The water acts constantly, with uniform effect, and can be brought to bear upon almost any point, whore it would be difficult for men to work. It is especially effective in a region covered by trees, where the tangled roots would greatly regard tho labor of workmen. In such places, the stream of water washes out the earth from below, and tree after tree fiills before the current, any 38 GOLD OF CANADA. golfl wlilch may havo adhered to the roots ])cing washed away. With a pressure of sixty feet, and a pipe from one and a half to two inclies aperture, over a thousand bushels of earth can be washed out from a bank in a day. Earth which contains only one twenty-fifth part of a grain of gold, e([ual to one fifth of a cent in value to the bushel, may bo profitably washed by this method ; and any earth or gravel which will pay the expense of washing in the old way, gives enormous profits by the new process. To wash successfully in tliis way requires a plentiful supply of water, at an elevation of fifty to ninety feet above the bed-rock, and a rapid slope or descent from the base of the bank of earth to be washed, so that the waste water Avill run off through the sluices, bearing with it gravel, sand, and the suspended clay." The above description has been copied from a report on the gold mines of Georgia, by Mr. William P. Blake, who has carefully studied this method of mining in California, and by whose recom- mendation it has been introduced into the Southern States. He tells us that in the case of a deposit in North Carolina, where ten men were required, for thirty-five days, to dig the earth with pick and shovel, and Avash it in sluices, two men, with a single jet of water, would accomplish the same Avork in a week. The great economy of this method is manifest from the fact that many old deposits in the river-beds, the gravel of which had been already Avashed l)y hand, have been again Avashed AA'ith profit hj the hydraulic method. He tells us that in California the Avhole art of working the diluvial gold-deposits Avas revolutionized by this new method. The auriferous earth, lying on liills,and at some distance above the level of the Avater-courses, would, in the ordinary methods, be excaA^ated by hand, and brought to the Avater ; but by the present system, the water is brouglit by aqueducts to the gold-deposits, and Avhole square miles, Avhlcli Avere before inacces- sible, have yielded up their precious metal. It sometimes happens, from the irregular distribution of the gold in the diluvium in California, that the upper portions of a deposit do not contain gold enoui'h to be Avashed by the ordinary methods ; and Avould thus have to be removed, at a considerable expense, in order to reach the richer portions l)eloAv. By the hydraulic method hoAvever, the h REPORT OF 1803. 39 cost of cutting away and excavating is so trifling, that tliore is scarcely any ])ank of earth which will not pay the expense of washing down, in order to reach the richer deposits of gold beneath. The aqueducts or canals for the mining districts of California are seldom constructed by the gold-workers themselves, but by capitalists, who rent the water to the miners. The cost of one of these canals, carrying the waters of a branch of the Yuba River to Nevada County, was estimated at a million of dollars ; and another one, thirty miles in length, running to the same district, cost f 500,000. The assessed value of these various canals in 1857, was stated to be over four millions of dollars, of which value one half was in the single county of Eldorado. The Bear River and Auburn Canal is sixty miles in length, three feet deep, and four wide at the top, and cost in all #1,600,000 ; notwithstanding Avhieh, the water.rents were so great that it is stated to have paid a yearly dividend of twenty per cent. ; while other similar canals paid from three to five and six per cent., and even more, monthly. The price of the water was fixed at so much the inch, for each day of eight or ten hours. This price was at first about three dollars, but by competition it has now been greatly reduced. From these statements, it wiW be seen that the great riches which have of late years been drawn from the gold mines of California, have not been obtained Avithout the expenditure of large amounts of money and engineering skill. This last is especially exhibited in the construction of these great canals, and the application of the hydraulic method to the washing of auriferous deposits which were unavailable by the ordinary modes of working, on account of their distance from water-courses, or by reason of the small quantity of gold which they contain. In order to judge of the applicability of this method of washing to our own auriferous deposits, a simple calculation based u})on the experiments upon the Riviere du Loup will be of use. It has been shown that the washing of the ground over an area of one acre, and with an average depth of two feet, equal to 87,120 cubic feet, gave in round numbers, about 5000 pennyweights of gold, or one and thirty-eight hundredths grahis to the cubic foot ; Avhich is equal 40 GOLD OF CANADA. m to one and tlirec-qnarters grains of gold to the bushel. Now, according to Mr. Blako, earth containing one fortj-fburth part of this amount, or one twentj-fifth of a grain of gold, can be profitably ■washed by the hydraulic method ; while the labor of two men, Avith a proper jet of water, suffices to wash one thousand bushels in a day ; which, in a deposit like that of llivierc du Loup, would contain about seventy-three pennyweights of goid. It is probable however that a certain porticm of the finer gold dust, which is collected in the ordinary process, would be lost in working on the larger scale. It has already been shown that the gold in Canada is not confined to the grave) of the river channels, and the alluvial flats ; but it is found on the Metgermet and St. Francis llivers, at from fifty to •1 uundred and fifty feet above their beds ; and although its propor- tion were to be many times less than in the gravel of the Riviere du Loup, these thick deposits, which extend over great areas, might be profitably worked by the hydraulic method. The fall in most of the ti'ibutaries of the Chaudiere and of the St. Francis, throughout the auriferous region, is such that it would not be difficult to secure a sui)})ly of water with a sufficient head, without a very great expenditure in the construction of canals ; and it may reasonably be ex})ected that before long the de])osits of gold-bearing earth, which are so widely spread over south-eastern Canada, Avill be made economically available. ^ ' PUINTED BY JOHN LOVEl.L, ST. NICHOLAS STUKKT. tof h]j nth. 11 a ;