Precious Gem stones production in 1911 Page 78



	GEMS AND PRECIOUS STONES.	1051

	EMERALD. NORTH CAROLINA. Emerald is ranked among the few really precious stones and by some people is considered the most valuable. It has been prized from early times because of its beauty and rarity. The number of localities where good gems have been found is few, and some of those once known have been forgotten. The following notes on foreign localities are taken from a book by Max Bauer.¹ Emeralds found with the mummies of Egypt probably came from the mountains along the west coast of the Red Sea in Upper Egypt, where ancient workings were discovered during the nineteenth century. Mines in the Salzburg Alps are said to have been worked intermittently for emeralds since the time of the Romans to the present. The world's principal supply of emeralds has come from South America. They were first brought to Europe from Peru by the Spaniards in the sixteenth century. None are now found in that country, and it is thought that the Peruvians obtained them from Colombia. Three mines were worked by the Spaniards in Colombia. Later two of these were lost, and for many years the only mines worked were those near Muzo. Recently the lost mines of Somondoco were found on the east side of the Andes Mountains at an elevation of about 9,000 feet above sea level. Fine emeralds have been found in the Ural Mountains about 60 miles east of Ekaterinburg. This locality was discovered in 1830 by a peasant, who noticed the stones among the roots of a tree torn up by the wind. A few other European localities are known. Emeralds have been found at two localities in Australia. The most promising one is near the township of Emmaville in New South Wales. Several localities in the United States have yielded emeralds, but the best specimens have come from North Carolina. In Maine a few stones have been found at Topsham and a pale-colored stone at Newry. A few crystals are reported to have been found at Haddam, Conn. In North Carolina three localities are now known where good emeralds occur. The first of these to be discovered was in Alexander County in 1875 by J. A. D. Stephenson, of Statesville, N. C. This locality was later developed into the emerald-hiddenite mine near the present railroad station, Hiddenite. The second locality was discovered in 1894 by J. L. Eorison and D. A. Bowman on Crabtree Mountain in Mitchell County. Both of these deposits were developed on a fairly large scale and a few fine gems were obtained from each. Progress at the third emerald locality described below has been given in these reports for 1909 and 1910. The deposit is on the land of W. B. Turner, 4-3/4 miles S. 30° W. of Shelby, near the east bank of First Broad River, in Cleveland County. Some 15 years ago two emeralds were found loose in the soil on the Borders farm about 1 mile east of Mr. Turner's. Further search failed to discover more gems and prospecting was given up. Subsequent jjivestigation indicates that these stones were transported by residents or farm hands on the Turner plantation to the adjoining place during friendly intercourse of long standing. • Precious stones [translation by L. J. Spencer]; Charles Griffin & Co., Ltd., London, 1904, pp. 309 et seq.