School History of North Carolina (From 1584 to the Present Time) | Page 6

made dry land. Sandy soils predominate somewhat in this section,
though there are tracts in which clay is in great excess, and other tracts
in which vegetable matter is in great excess. Between these extremes
there exist, also, the usual mixtures in various proportions.
5. Geology also affords a key to the mineral resources of a State. Those
of the Tidewater section are summed up in its marls. That whole
section is underlaid with marl at a depth of a few feet, and in quantity
sufficient to raise and keep it, when regularly applied to the surface, for
all time to come at the highest point of productiveness. Of all resources
for wealth this is the most durable; and, on account of the industry to
which it is subservient--the agricultural--is best calculated to promote
the happiness of man.
6. It is in the primitive rocks, however, that minerals abound. Those of
North Carolina surpass any in the Union. In the last Report on the
Geology of the State one hundred and seventy-eight are numbered and
described. Among these are gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, mica,
corundum, graphite, manganese, kaolin, mill-stone grits, marble,
barytes, oil shale, buhrstones, roofing slate, etc. The most of these are
the subjects of great mining industries, which are daily developing to
greater proportions.
7. Of some of these minerals, as corundum and mica, North Carolina
has already become the chief source of supply. Among the principal
sources of the future mineral wealth of the State, copper, gold and iron
are clearly indicated. The ores of these metals are found in abundance

over extensive tracts of country. Lastly, in North Carolina many
beautiful specimens of the precious stones have been found, and a large
capital has been raised to carry on mining as a regular business for one
of these-- the hiddenite gem.
8. North Carolina will thus be seen to be a State of vast resources,
whether we regard the variety and value of her natural or cultivated
productions, the immense range of her minerals or her facilities for
manufacturing industries. It would, perhaps, be safe to say that no equal
portion of the earth's surface will, in half a century, be the scene of
industries so various and of such value.
QUESTIONS.
1. Of what does this chapter treat? What does the knowledge of the
geology of a State afford? Mention the variety of soils found in North
Carolina.
2. Where are the primitive rocks found? Describe them. How are they
chiefly represented? What are the soils of this division?
3. Where do the rocks of the secondary formation appear? Describe this
formation. What is said of the soils of the secondary formation?
4. To what class do the rocks of the Eastern section belong? What is
said of this section? Describe the quaternary formation. What is said of
the soil?
5. What else is afforded by geology? Where is marl found and what is
said of it?
6. Where do the minerals abound? How many kinds of minerals are
located in this State? Can you name the principal ones? What is said of
mining?
7. What is said of corundum and mica? Of gold and iron? Of precious
gems?
8. What great resources does North Carolina possess?

CHAPTER IV
.
THE INDIANS.
That portion of America now known as the State of North Carolina was
once inhabited by Indians. For many ages before Columbus came
across the seas in the year 1492, they had held undisputed possession of

all the Western Continent, except those Arctic regions where the
Esquimaux dwelt.
2. Nearly a century had gone by since the Spaniards had begun their
settlements, and yet, north of St. Augustine, in Florida, not a white man
was to be found. Cortez and Pizarro had founded great states in Mexico
and Peru, but the vast region stretching from the Rio Grande to the St.
Lawrence was still the home of only red men and the wild beasts of the
forest.
3. There were many different tribes and languages to be found among
the Indians. In North Carolina, the Tuscaroras lived in the east, the
Catawbas in the middle, and the Cherokees in the western portion of
the territory as now defined. There were Corees, Meherrins,
Chowanokes, and other small tribes in the east, but they were weak in
numbers and occupied but a small portion of our present State limits.
4. The treacherous Tuscaroras were a portion of a powerful race known
as the Iroquois. The other five nations of this family dwelt in the lake
country of New York, and were the most daring and dangerous
confederation among all Indians then known to the white people. These
Iroquois of the North were generally friendly to the English, but waged
almost ceaseless war upon the French