population. In the foreground of the picture seen from the top of Elliott's Knob is the Little North Mountain, cut in two by Buffalo Creek, along which the great stage-road from Staunton to Parkersburg finds a passage through the mountain. Higher up, on the other side of the stream, the rails of the Chesapeake and Ohio cling to the face of the slope. Near the Gap the huge smoke-stack of a furnace reminds us that we are in the iron region, which stretches away to the south and west. Goshen is twenty miles off. From this depôt stage-roads diverge to Lexington, the Baths, Rockbridge Alum and other springs. The rugged country which meets the eye turned southwest, seemingly so barren save of timber, is perhaps the greatest iron region in America, and is likely to prove a Cleveland to Virginia. Already the timber, furnished a market by the railroad, is putting many a dollar in the pockets of the owners, and for years past the narrow but rich pastures have fattened bullocks for epicures in Baltimore and Richmond. It will be observed that the mountains in general run northeast and southwest. This is the direction of the great Valley, to which all the mineral veins in the State conform. Looking from the top of Elliott along the railroad in the direction of Goshen, the traveller sees the great Valley on his left, bounded on the west by the Little North Mountain. In front three smaller valleys lie between ranges, which in the main are parallel to each other and to the general direction indicated. Mill Mountain, a high range on the right, does indeed incline a little more to the south, and beyond Goshen is united with the North Mountain. The valley on the left, lying next to the great Valley, is watered by Little Calf Pasture River, a stream that has its source in the mountain on which we stand. It is bounded on the west by a series of hills, which pass under various local names, Brown and Black Oak Hills in Augusta, and the Knob in Rockbridge. The railroad passes through the central valley; this is narrower and much less fertile than the other. The valley on the right is formed by the Great North Mountain, of which Elliott's Knob is the highest point, and Mill Mountain. Through it flows the Big Calf Pasture River. This stream, taking its rise north of the western slopes of Elliott, passes by the village of Deerfield, skirts in a southwesterly direction Mill Mountain until it reaches the neighborhood of Goshen. Here it bends to the left. Meeting first with Mill Creek, then with its little namesake, it gathers force enough to penetrate Little North Mountain at Strickler's Gap, where it reveals scenery unsurpassed for wild and -picturesque beauty. Through the mountain it rushes on by Lexington to join James River at Balcony Falls. At Goshen the valley of the "Big River" heads off the central valley. Further down in the same manner it heads off the valley of the Little Calf Pasture. These two river valleys, very narrow in places, occasionally widen out into broad and fertile meadows. They are occupied by an industrious and thrifty people. Contiguous to, but not immediately on the railroad, they offer most delightful spots for summer residences or country-seats, where ease and quiet may be secured, together with all the charms which a delicious climate and wild, picturesque scenery can afford.

In the mountains and hills separating these valleys are found the veins of iron ore, in that half of the section which lies east of Goshen and nearest Richmond. Beyond Goshen the same ranges continue, passing under various local names, separated by narrow and often very fertile valleys. The western half of the section now under review extends as far out as the Clifton Forge, at which place Jackson's river, the south fork of the James, pierces Rich Patch Mountain.

It is not proposed to enter into a detailed account of the geological formations. While this is unnecessary, a word or two must be inserted in regard to the general features. Underlying the limestone is a hard flinty sandstone; above the limestone, which contains numerous fossils, is a soft red sandstone, also fossiliferous; above all is a slate formation, which constantly appears on the surface. It is seen everywhere along the railroad valley, and forms a bed for hard and smooth wagon-roads. It is supposed that in the convulsions which upheaved the mountains, the slate, soft sandstone, and limestone were shattered in pieces and mixed together in considerable confusion. Often the slate is found at the bottom of the mountain sides, mingled with the sand and limestone, while the summits are crowned with the hard and flinty sandstone. These results are found on the North Mountain, Mill Mountain, the intervening hills, and the ranges to the south and west. Wherever this formation occurs, iron ore is to be expected, lying usually between the limestone and upper crusts of sandstone, slate and shales. Like the rocks, the ore was doubtless originally in planes or horizontal strata. These planes by the action of the force which broke up the surface of the earth have been tossed into waves, the crests of which "crop out " on the surface at various places. The surface appearance, it must be remarked, is not uniform across the section. On the western slope of the hills, lying west of and next to the Little North Mountain, there is a "dip" of the lime and upper sandstone waves, which do not reappear until Mill Mountain is reached. The intermediate range is a continuation of Elliott's Knob, and "runs out" near Goshen. Its sides exhibit only slate, and thus far no ore has been discovered upon them. This significant fact seems to warrant the conclusion that whenever the limestone is found with the sandstone and slate, iron ore may be expected.

From Goshen towards Elliott's Knob there is an excellent road passing over the "dip" mentioned in the last paragraph. The range of hills to the east contains numerous indications of ore. Four miles from Goshen veins have been opened in a gap made by Cove Run, a stream which after skirting the railroad turns to the left and empties into the Little Calf Pasture. Here, within a mile of Bell's Valley Depôt, it is believed that ore in large quantities and of excellent quality may be found. Further on above Craigsville, a depôt nine. miles from Goshen, surface indications are numerous. Near Pond Gap, a few miles above, the Little North Mountain unites with its great namesake. Here ore abounds and has been profitably mined for years. Indeed in various places in these mountains, even previous to the Revolution, furnaces were "in blast." Sometimes, as at the Elizabeth and Estaline furnaces, the ore appears in immense quantities near the surface, and is obtained at trifling cost; sometimes it is

found in small veins beneath the surface. In other States these smaller veins are considered more reliable than the larger; they often extend continuously for miles, and by means of shafts and tunnels are worked at a moderate cost. The larger deposits in other localities often "run out," the "pockets" in which they are found being cut off by the sandstone. These remarks apply also to some other portions of the iron field in Virginia, but it is a distinguishing characteristic of the bluff ore, as it is called, of the "Land of Goshen,' that, as far as experiments have been made and tests applied, it is persistent for a number of miles along the western slopes of the Little North Mountain. It is this feature, this peculiarity, hitherto but little remarked on, which renders this section so valuable. Near the Elizabeth is the old Estaline furnace, which has been for some years inoperative. A company of Pennsylvanians have recently bought the property, and propose, it is stated, to erect at Pond Gap Depôt furnaces on an extensive scale. On the Estaline tract the bluff ore is known to be continuous for six or seven miles. On the next estate below (in the direction of Goshen) the same vein, equal in extent, has been exposed. It can be seen on the high slopes overlooking the mouth of the Little Calf Pasture, on both sides of the "Big" river at Strickler's Gap; still further on, as we shall presently notice, it has been discovered twenty miles distant from Pond Gap. Thus there is reason to believe that this bluff ore, described years ago by Prof. Rogers, considered unreliable in other sections, is here persistent for a distance of twenty miles or more. As the veins are usually from twenty to fifty feet in depth, sometimes as much as one hundred, the value of this deposit is incalculable.

A considerable deposit, called "bog" ore, has been found in the alluvial fields along the banks of the Little River near Craigsville. This "bog" ore is found in marshy places, and is doubtless the sediment left by the water which has flowed through the rich veins above; its presence therefore indicates the extent and richness of the deposits under the mountain slopes. This is confirmed by the surface indications all along the mountain to the mouth of the river. Here actual explorations evince the presence of bluff ore of the same quality and extent as was seen twelve miles above. The iron-master at this point would stop a moment to catch a glimpse of the romantic sides of "Goshen Pass," (the traveller's name for Strickler's Gap); but his attention would soon be called to the other direction, where, at the mouth of the beautiful gap through which the "Big River pierces the knob, on the road and river side, he sees an old furnace stack and several dilapidated shanties. These are the remains of Bath Furnace. It stood upon an extensive tract, lately purchased by a wealthy gentleman of New York. This estate embraces several thousand acres, and contains immense deposits of ore. The road upon which the old stack stands is the stage-road from Goshen to Lexington. Near the furnace Guy's Run flows into the river. Veins of great value have been opened along this stream at points within a few miles of the railroad, and accessible by a branch road of comparatively easy grades. Preliminary surveys for such a road have already been made, and the enterprising owner expects to establish furnaces at no distant day.

The road from Goshen to the Rockbridge Alum Springs diverges from the road to Lexington at a point about one mile south of Goshen, and about two from the old Bath furnace. Near the "Alum," which is nine miles from the railroad, on the Goshen side, is the California, and beyond, six or seven miles distant from the Springs, are the Australia and Lucy Salina furnaces. It is in this vicinity that the range known as Mill Mountain becomes intermingled with other series. Here, too, the great bluff ore veins, which we have followed for more than twenty miles, are approached by those which we shall notice in Mill Mountain. The last named furnaces stand near the apex of a V of ore, one, the heavy side, formed by the bluff ore of the Little North Mountain, the other by the vein which permeates Mill Mountain. Near these furnaces are immense deposits, from which must annually be turned out vast quantities of pig iron of fine quality. Returning towards our centre, we keep along the left limb of the V, and notice the surface indications on Mill Mountain. At Panther Gap we have Goshen two miles on the right; at that depôt the railroad turns to the west, and after ascending Mill Creek for two miles penetrates the mountain at the gap last named. Here ore in quantities has been found. West of the gap for many miles the railroad continues to pass along the iron belt. At Clifton Forge a stratum of great extent is found. The ore here is fossiliferous and very similar to that found in the vicinity of Danville, Pa. Jackson's River, within a few miles, on either side as many as thirty deposits of ore are found, none of which are more than twenty-five miles from the forge, all easily accessible to the main highway by short branch-roads.

Down

Such is a hasty sketch of the ore-banks and veins in the "Land of Goshen." It is confidently believed that within a circle of twenty miles, having Goshen for its centre, there is ore sufficient to keep constantly in blast as many as fifty first-class furnaces. That this estimate may not appear extravagant, it must be remembered that the mountains in which these deposits occur are in the same general range as the Kitatinny in South Pennsylvania, as the Blue Mountains in East Pennsylvania, as the Shawangunk of New Jersey and New York. Prof. Rogers in his report on the geology of Virginia for 1837, speaking of the formation in this range, says, page 18: "This rock is chiefly interesting from being the repository of beds of iron ore of great extent and value, and of large deposits of the oxide of manganese. In regard to the former, incalculably the more important of the two, the extraordinary productiveness of this rock has already been illustrated in sketching some of the results of our explorations in the Big and Little Fort Valleys of the Massanutten; but I may be allowed again to call attention to the rich abundance and excellent qualities of the iron ores appertaining to this member of our series, as forming a part of the structure of those mountains, as well as to the ample deposits exhibited in numerous other localities in connection with the same rock. Though not unfrequently impregnated with manganese, these ores are for the most part well adapted to the furnace, and yield a metal of excellent quality."

The extent and richness of the deposits are clearly evinced by the

numerous chalybeate springs which are found within the belt. Many of these, the Rawley and Variety for example, are already well-known to the public; hundreds of others, perhaps not less valuable, exist throughout the entire section. According to Prof. Rogers, the springs at Rawley contain a half-ounce of the purest iron ore to every gallon of water. The evidence presented by the "bog" ore deposits has already been remarked.

In regard to the character and quality of the ores in this section, it may be said these differ in different localities; they often vary considerably in the same immediate vicinity. Thus at Elizabeth Furnace above the richer deposits lying eight or ten feet below the surface there is a conglomerated ore from three to four feet in thickness, much less valuable than the more extensive veins below. On the other hand, but a few hundred yards away, an immense boulder of the purest iron ore juts twenty feet above the surface. The writer was informed that this boulder was originally much larger; during the late war large quantities were taken off to the furnace. Reduced to its present size, it is proposed to leave it as a curiosity. In general the ore here as elsewhere in this region is brown hematite or hydrous peroxide of iron. It contains from fifty to sixty parts of metallic iron in one hundred. It is generally intermixed with alumina, silica and other foreign bodies, and therefore is found in various degrees of purity. The following are analyses of two samples taken from the banks on the estate upon which Elizabeth Furnace stands. The assays were made by Mr. O. J. Heinrich, M. E., of Freiberg, Germany, who says: "By carefully selecting a sufficient amount of samples from various points indiscriminately, two assays have been made. The first series of samples, taken from the bank which now supplies the furnaces, yielded in 100 parts —

"The second series of samples, selected from the ore at the 'Bluff,' yielded

"The purity of the ore, especially the absence of sulphur and phosphoric acid, for which careful tests have been made, speaks favorably of it for the manufacture of a good gray metal."

See Report by Major Jed. Hotchkiss and Com. M. L. Maury in regard to this property, 1869, p. 13.

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