associated
with precious stones in other countries, impressed me with the idea
that by ... . systematic search, valuable gems would be found here, but
want of time and opportunity delayed the search until 1874.
I
selected this section as the most convenient for my work. But the same
indications cross the State from northeast to southeast. In fact, to
draw a line .... from Paris, Maine, to Gainesville, Ga., it is
surprising to me how near it passes all the gem localities east of the
Mississippi River.
My
plan .... was to go among the people of the country, and endeavor to
interest them in collecting the different crystals found in their
respective sections; this I found an easy matter, especially with the
children, as they took hold of the idea readily and many of them soon
became familiar with the work, and not only did good service in
developing the mineral resources of the State, but many of them have
acquired a good knowledge of mineralogy and general natural history.
Mr.
Stephenson's discoveries form almost the only exception to the general
statement made at the outset, that the discoveries of gems and
gem-minerals in North Carolina arose incidentally in the search or
mining for gold, corundum, mica, or the rare earths. Mr. Stephenson
had described how he set about the search for gems directly, in the
assurance that they must exist and could be traced by sufficient
endeavor. In almost all other cases, the discoveries have been made
accidentally in the course of other mining operations.
A recent letter to the writer from Mr. D. A. Bowman, of Bakersville, for example, states the usual facts as follows:
As
to the discovery of beryl, and other gems, this was invariably by mica
mining, for outside of a mica vein, I have never known a beryl to be
found. In working for black mica, the beautiful beryl at Buchanan Mine
was found. It was the same at Grassy Creek, where Wiseman and McKinney
found the deep green aquamarines, and then sold to the " American Gem
Company."
I identified the beryl found by Wiseman and McKinney and shipped it to Tiffany & Company.
It was Mr. Rorison and myself that first discovered the emerald matrix
at Brush Creek Mountain, in 1894 or 1895.....For 35 years I have
worked
hard to bring to light the various minerals and gems, and through your
kind assistance I feel I have not worked in vain, and have been of some
little service to my country.
In
the same letter, Mr. Bowman gives an interesting account of the first
opening of a mica mine, shortly before the war. In 1858, General
Clingman, while traveling in the western part of the State, stopped
over night with a Mr. Silver, near Bakersville, and was interested to
find a window filled with 8 by 10 inch panes cut from sheets of mica,
or as it was generally called, isinglass. The very next day, having
been shown the spot where this novel material was found, General
Clingman hired workmen and began sinking a shaft. Mica was taken out in
magnificent
