The National Intelligencer And Washington Advertiser

WASHINGTON CITY.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1804.

Extract of a letter from a gentleman residing in Concord, N. Carolina, dated Jan. 25, 1804.

"Dear Sir,

Your letter of the 19th ult. came safe to hand and agreeable to your request, will give you such information as I am in possession of, on the subject of the gold mine. Its discovery was made early in the month of July, 1803, by a small son of Mr. Reeds who was diverting himself in shooting small fish with a bow and arrow. He discovered a piece near the size of the one enclosed, at the bottom of the creek, and immediately shewed it to his father. The face of the country in the neighborhood of this place is for the most part very uneven—the soil barren and rocky. The bed of the creek where the gold has as yet been found is composed of perpendicular strata, of rock running N.E. and S.W. in the chinks of which, intermixed with sand, the gold is found. The flint and a blue coloured rock prevail. Another kind is found irregularly interspersed, perfectly black, & incrusted with a substance resembling ochre. Another substance resembling a cement made of tar and sand is found. This, Sir, is as near as I can give a description of the bed of the creek where the gold is found.

The large mass, you mention lost about fifteen per cent. Smaller masses lose from two to five per cent. The enclosed piece will give you a more correct idea of the gold in its natural state, than any description which I can give. The total amount found is estimated to be worth between twelve and fifteen thousand dollars."