History of Western Maryland. J. Thomas Scharf
mouth. It is a moderately sluggish stream in its lower divisions, but rapid and full near its sources. In the great springs near Gettysburg, Pa., are its principal heads, and from thence it bends among the rocks and hills in perpetual windings, until it finally has cut a more decided channel out of the red sandstones of Frederick County. After entering fully into that system of rocks, it spreads out in frequent alluvial basins, into which it has poured the sediments appropriated throughout its upper course. After receiving the waters of Double Pipe Creek it becomes much wider, and passes through a wide channel, bordered by thick bushes, scattered trees, and thickets of greenbrier. It receives a greater number of tributaries than any of the smaller rivers of Maryland, and thus contributes an endless supply of moisture to the whole valley through which it runs. Some of these creeks are of large size and drain wide areas of country.
The principal ones on the east are Piney, Little and Big Pipe, Israel's, Linganore, and Rennet's; and on the west Tom's, Owen's, Hunting, Fishing, Big and Little Tuscarora, Carroll's, and Ballenger's Creeks. Those of the latter division are chiefly rapid mountain streams of great beauty and clearness. Most of the northeasterly tributaries pass through the new red sandstone soils, and carry down large quantities of red sediment, which discolors their waters and stains the country through which they flow. In the northern part of the valley the red sandstone stretches across its whole width, and on the east passes over into Carroll County. But after reaching the vicinity of Frederick City it lies to the westward, becomes narrowed to a width of about two miles, and finally thins out as the Point of Rocks is approached. One of the principal factors in producing the fertility and capabilities of this charming valley is the boundless store of limestone which rests beneath so much of its surface. On the west side of the Monocacy a strip of blue, with some white limestone begins near the Potomac River (having a general breadth of two miles), and runs north by a little east several miles, crossing the Monocacy at the mouth of Israel's Creek, and tapering to a point in the vicinity of Woodsboro'. Besides this, the beautiful breccia, or calico-marble, starts at Mechanicstown, in the midst of the red sandstone, runs south for more than three miles, disappears, then reappears in a new guise southwest of Frederick City, and spreads out in a broad area reaching to the banks of the Potomac River. In this southern end of the valley it has become more siliceous, includes larger fragments of coarser rocks, and is not so homogeneous in texture, and not always having the pebbles so firmly cemented together as in that from the upper end. East of the river Frederick County shares with Carroll in the beds of fine marble which pass southwest across Sam's Creek to the vicinity of Union Bridge. These form quarries of all possible dimensions, are abundantly supplied with marbles which take a fine polish, and which can be taken out in monoliths of large dimensions. Only a few of them have been opened deep and far enough to show their capabilities, but such as have had enough of the surface mass removed show bodies of generally solid, broad, and long blocks in even strata. These are often of marvelously beautiful colors and combinations of patterns. Bright reds occur almost plain, and often veined or variegated with black, brown, and white.
Salmon-colored or orange-yellow marbles also occur of similar patterns, likewise the varieties commonly known as Tennessee and Vermont marbles, and others, such as the clear black veined with white, lead color or mauve traced with black, and mottled, spotted, and , waved with brown, purple, liver-color, etc. Besides these, there is a pure white statuary marble of fine grain, massive and free from grit. Near Emmittsburg a green variety, resembling verd-antique, occurs in large quantities; while in and below Mechanicstown a bewildering range of varieties of breccia, composed of deep and clear-colored fragments of purple, yellow, drab, brown, white, etc., and of all sizes, are easily obtainable. These can be selected in pieces of almost any useful size, and the supply seems to be practically inexhaustible.
For many years these choice marbles have been broken to fragments for burning in the lime-kilns. Fashion has not yet called them into her celestial train amidst the favored beauties of the decorative arts. Builders send abroad for the blocks and slabs which are to adorn palatial mansions, while these elegant objects, so cheap and easily obtained, are made to do the service of coarse limestones in supplying nourishment to the soil.
Iron, Copper, and Other Metals. — Iron ore is found in large quantities in many parts of the valley. It is chiefly some form of brown haematite or limonite which overlies the limestone and is imbedded in the clay or in the ochreous soil. About three miles south of Mechanicstown, near the foot of the Catoctin Mountain, the fibrous and chambered variety occurs in beds and deposits of vast extent. This has been dug and smelted for a period of more than eighty years, and still sustains a good reputation for quality and for tractability in the furnace. The crude much resembles that found in the limestone regions of Washington County. It has the same flaky layers, twisted and rolled back in every direction, and a purplish tinge to the fracture of the more solid parts. A rusty powder rests between the layers or fills the cavities of the cellular portion. It is also accompanied in the beds by nodules of phosphate of iron associated with brown ochre. In this region particularly the ore is characterized by being mixed with an appreciable amount of the carbonate of zinc, which melts when the metal is being fused, and forms a coating on the inside of the furnace. This makes an available form of the oxide of zinc, but it becomes a serious obstacle in the manufacture of the iron unless removed from the walls of the stack. The close proximity of limestone for the flux, and of large bodies of wood for the charcoal, make this deposit of ore immediately available for smelting. A similar deposit of brown haematite is found under almost equally propitious circumstances near the base of the same ridge of mountains, not far from the Point of Rocks. The primitive forests no longer remain, but ample supplies of the ore might still be obtained from the same set of beds. Much of this latter is of the variety known as " pipe ore," the cavities of which are more or less occupied by the earthy phosphate of iron. A very compact and rich brown hematite is found in quantities near the Monocacy, about four miles northeast of Frederick City. It has a more metallic aspect than those previously mentioned, is very heavy and dense, and often encloses small crystals of opaque white quartz.
Specular oxide of iron also occurs east of the Monocacy River, in the metalliferous belt passing through the country from Middleburg, in Carroll County, to New Market. Very rich specimens of this beautiful ore have been extracted from pockets in the talcose slates in the neighborhood of Liberty and New London. These have not yet, however, been fully opened, nor sufficiently laid bare to determine the amount of ore possibly present. The absence of large tracts of woodland from this section seems to prevent iron manufacturers from erecting furnaces on the spot, and a lack of active local interest hinders the developing of the mines, and so no attempt is made to transport the ore to localities favorable for smelting. A similar specular oxide has likewise been found along the summit of the Catoctin ridge. These ores are rich in iron, and would form important additions to the resources of the county if they were shown to be present in large quantities. The magnetic oxides of iron have also been found in the copper-bearing belt which passes to the south of New Market. These also occur in pockets or masses in the talcose and slaty rocks, and in the joints of the limestone. Some of the varieties are very rich in metal, and might prove very profitable if discovered in large quantities. Copper is very widely distributed through the quartz and next the limestone beds in the talcose slates and new red sandstone formations east of the Monocacy and south of Little Pipe Creek. It sometimes accompanies the magnetic oxide of iron which enters with steatite into the masses of mica-slate. The silicates and carbonates of copper are found near Middleburg, New London, Liberty, etc., and between the two branches of Pipe Creek. But the most promising region for this metal is that drained by the Linganore Creek. The principal rock there is the talcose slate, embracing numerous detached beds and ledges of limestone set into the strata. The latter are always associated with the ore, and wherever they are found stains of copper appear on their surface or in the cracks. Good ore generally has a position between these two kinds of rocks, but is commonly most abundant near the outer limits of the limestone. Rich ores have been extracted from the Dolohyde mine, near Liberty, and at other points in this vicinity, also near New London, in the same formation. The oldest of these workings was begun as early as the time of the Revolution, and has been continued at intervals ever since. A lack of minute information with regard to the relations and form of the masses or pockets has proved an obstacle in the successful development of these mines. New and particular experiences with this class of deposits will alone determine how far these formations will prove profitable, and to what extent