Where Our Gold Comes From.
Gold is found in Vermont, Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, and California. Maryland shows but $108 for her total, Vermont $5,615, and Kansas $1,000, California has contributed in 24 years $643,121,499; North Carolina's total is $9,865,263, and Georgia, $7,250,000. Virginia and South Carolina have each over a million. In addition to the thirteen gold-bearing States are the ten Territories, from Arizona to far-off Sitka, and from Dakota on the eastern side of the Rocky mountains to Washington Territory on the Pacific. The smallest quantity is from Sitka, $397, the largest from Montana, $30,648,265, and Montana is one of the newest of the Territories. Colorado shows $20,333,421, and Idaho $17,141,523. With two, or perhaps three, exceptions, all of these Territories, bear silver also. The largest product of silver is from Nevada, which, since its first settlement,—say 20 years ago—has furnished the Mint and branches with $8,539,868 in silver. The next largest production is $1,114,543, from Colorado, and the next from the copper and lead mining region of Lake Superior, $1,062,541. Utah, although the mines are only just opened, prior to June 30, had sent to the Mint $251,305 in silver, and $146,147 in gold. The aggregate value of the gold and silver bullion deposited in the Mint and its branches since the date of their establishment, is $836,205,463, and of this enormous amount more than $730,000,000, have been the domestic product of our own gold and silver bearing States and Territories within the last twenty-four years. Whatever other commodity we may need from other countries, we certainly stand in but little want of their bullion, if our other commercial affairs are managed upon a sound basis. But are they? That is the question of questions.