Therefore it is no wonder, when injudicious Miners work away the footstool of a Horse, that they should pay for their temerity, by the forfeit of their lives; yet fuch has been the cafe, and the adventurers have been often put to unneceffary expence in ftemples and lock-pieces to fecure the Mine from falling in.

It is obfervable in driving, or ftopeing upon the course of a Lode, that when it changes from its ufual underlie to nearly perpendicular, and then the lower wall starts off from its common underlie, to that which is contrary, and the Lode or Fiffure widens pretty much; in such case the Miners expect to meet with what they call a Horse: but unless they come down in finking upon the back or top of it, they feldom call it by that name; and when met with in ftopeing, or driving as aforefaid, they commonly fay, " It is a ftope of dead ground."

CHA P. III.

How Mines are diforded, interrupted, fractured, elevated, and depreffed, by the Intervention of Crofs-Goffans, Flookans, Slides, Contras, &c.

L

ODES are not interrupted, fractured, heaved, or otherwife difordered, by the intervention of Flookans, CrofsGoffans, Slides, or the like: it has ever been the mistake in this cafe, to fubftitute the effect for the caufe. I have already fhewn, that the fracture and heave of a Lode, is produced by a fubfidence of the ftrata, from their primary pofitions; fo that what we call a heave, is a falfe term, and altogether contrary to the idea I conceive of the matter; for, instead thereof, it is a finking of the ftrata, and ipfo facto occafions a depreffion, fubfidence, or finking of a Lode, inftead of an elevation or heave. Nevertheless, in compliance with the phraseology of our Miners, I am obliged to use that dialect which is commonly known and received among us. It will be difficult, nay almost impoffible, to perfuade thirty thousand illiterate perfons, that their notions are wrong, and their expreffions inaccurate. muft, therefore, proceed in the usual style of the Tinners, and write as they converfe upon thofe fubjects.

C c

I

We

We have already obferved, that our veins generally run east and weft; but this must be understood of the metallick veins; for there are fome, which run quite across them, that is, north and fouth, or obliquely fo, with fome fmall deviations from thofe cardinal points: these are called Cross-Lodes, CrossCourfes, Crofs-Flookans, Crofs-Goffans, and Contras or Caunters. They are generally quite barren for Tin or Copper; but we have fome few inftances of Crofs-Goffans being wrought for Lead, though not to any great profit. Some antimonial veins run alfo north and fouth.

The Cross-Goffan runs ftraight on, without any interruption from other Lodes; for it seems to be irresistible in its ftretch through the earth, breaking through and interfecting all metallick veins it meets with, feparating and throwing afide the correfpondent ends of thofe veins from each other, perhaps twelve inches or twenty fathoms. The underlie of thofe CrofsGoffans are either east or weft, little or much, like other veins. Thefe Crofs-Lodes are not without their ufe; for in bringing home adits, they afford an easier paffage, than perhaps the folid ftrata would have permitted, especially if a ftratum of Ire-ftone lies in the way: furthermore, by carrying one of the walls of the Cross-Course in the level or adit, you are almost certain of cutting all metallick veins in your way to the Mine.

When the Miners are working upon a metallick Lode, and are driving from caft to weft, or from weft to eaft, they often meet with a Cross-Goffan, which, as before obferved, unheads and breaks off the continuity of the Lode they work upon, by running across through it and causing a schifm or rent; fo that if they work ever fo far in the fame line or direction through the Cross-Course, they never will meet with the loft vein, because its corresponding part is removed from its true fite and position by the intervention of the Cross-Course which throws it off further north or fouth. The Cross-Goffan interfects the Lode fometimes at right angles, and fometimes obliquely, and diforders it more or less in proportion to the bignefs of the CrossGoffan, and also of the underlie both of that and of the true course; and it is often fo very intricate, that the most expert Miners are at a lofs to find and difcover the fevered part of the true vein.

If the metallick Lode is intercepted at right angles, it is moved to the right hand a very little way, perhaps not more

than

Thus, if they are

than one fathom, as in figure 2. plate 1. working or driving from eaft to weft, or contrary from weft to eaft, and perceive the Lode is gone and the Cross-Course fully apparent, then they cut through the Cross-Course, and fo turn house as they call it, or, in other words, they drive north or fouth, making a right angle almost with their former drift or working on the metallick Lode; and thus they work till they find the loft or adverse part again, or till they think they are gone too far, and that the Lode is thrown the other way; then they face about and drive the other way, which feldom disappoints their expectation of cutting the true Lode again. By certain experience this is the only method of difcovering the metallick Lode, provided it is only removed at the fame depth in which lofe it. This will best appear by confidering figure 1. plate 1. Let the Lode E and W represent a vein intersected and thrown out of its true plane of direction by the Cross-Goffan N S, fuppofing the Miners are working from E to W; then, when they come from E to B, they will lofe their Lode, and meet with the Cross-Course; in cutting of which quite through, and then driving to C, they will meet with their metallick Lode afresh to the right hand. The converse of this propofition is easily demonftrated; for if we suppose they are driving from W to E, then, when they come from W to C, they will lose the Lode, and meet with the Cross-Goffan; but in cutting through it, and fo driving to B, they will find the metallick Lode again, to the right hand as before.

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The pointing also of a rib or string of the true Lode, if carefully observed, will inform them to which fide or hand the other part is removed; as will alfo what they call a Scrowl of the true Lode in the Cross-Goffan therefore none but wary cautious Miners fhould be fuffered to work in an end or ftool of Ore, when it is thought to be near a Cross-Course, who by observing every ftring or branch of the metallick Lode, at the place of incidence, may judge which way it is thrown, and feek for the loft part of the Lode accordingly. This interruption by a Cross-Goffan at right angles, is most common, and attended with least difficulty; but when the interruption happens at oblique angles, the Lode is not easily recovered. The general rule, however, stands thus; when the Cross-Course runs obliquely NE and SW (north east and south west) it moves the metallick Lode to the right hand, as in figure 3. plate 1. on the other fide of the Cross-Goffan; but if it runs very obliquely SE and

NW,

NW, it fometimes removes to the left hand on the opposite fide of the Crofs-Goffan, as in figure 4. plate 1.

An explanation of the first figure in plate 1, is fufficient to convey an idea of the horizontal diforder or interruption of Tin and Copper Lodes, by the intervention of Cross-Goffans. The diforder imputed to real crofs unmetallick Lodes, is folely horizontal, either rectangular, or oblique, and the true Lode is never elevated or depreffed thereby thereby as in Courfe-Flookans or Slides and parallel Lodes of a contrary inclination.

Crofs-Goffans not only move Lodes out of their places, and true point of direction, but they diforder them fometimes fo as to break and divide them into leffer ribs or branches; fo that Miners often follow the wrong branch to their great detriment and difappointment: thefe alfo, or rather the hardness of the adjoining ground, fometimes occafion a deflexion or turning in the Lode, which we call an Elbow, whereby it deviates more or lefs from its true direction.

In the center, or on either of the walls of thefe Cross-Goffans, there is always a clayey fubftance, called the Flookan of the Course, not unlike the pith of vegetables; which, though it be no more than a finger's breadth, effectually dams up the water from circulating from one part of the metallick Lode, to the other that is fevered by the Cross-Course; infomuch, that the two parts of the fame vein may be worked to any different depth, without being at all annoyed by the water thus feparated by the fmallest Flookan: or however quick the water may be on one fide, the other may be fafely worked without fear of interruption from the water of the other fide; which is a great advantage in Mining, and therefore, under certain circumftances in fome Mines, they are very careful not to penetrate through this natural dam, left they lofe their Mine by an inundation of water. We may venture to add our opinion, that we owe many of our fountains and fprings on the furface of the earth, to these cross veins; for the circulation of the water brought by innumerable fprings into the larger veins being ftopt by these cross Lodes, it bubbles up when favoured with a fuitable fituation in the furface.

Near to a Cross-Courfe, the true Lode, or the diverged branches thereof, are generally rich for Metal; because the water, whether impregnated little or much with Mineral or

metallick

metallick particles, meeting with an obftruction at that place, if the nidus is at all difpofed for the decompofition of the fufpended Mineral, it will confequently be depofited immediately there, by means of its obftruction, reft, and continuance in that particular place. In fome inftances, however, one part of the Lode may be rich home to the Cross-Course, and its correfponding segment poor and barren: the one part will be tender and feeding for Ore, and its adverse will be hard and unpromifing.

It would be difficult to conceive, how the broken parts of a vein, which in all probability were once united, fhould be of fuch different qualities at the point of interfection, except for the reafon before given why they should be rich at such places; for it is easy to imagine, that water may be ftrongly or weakly impregnated with mineral particles on either fide of the obftruction through which it has no intercourfe, and therefore must be differently faturated, according as the neighbouring strata by their fterility or copioufness of mineral principles may improlificate that element. I beg leave to observe, that these facts, and my theory in confequence of them, are to me coincident proofs in fupport of my opinion of the origin of Metals and Minerals.

Because the Cross-Goffans, or Cross-Flookans, run through all veins of oppofite directions, without the leaft interruption from them, but, on the contrary, do apparently disjoint, and diflocate all of them; it seems reafonable to conclude, that the eaft and weft veins were antecedent to crofs veins; and that fome great event, long after the creation, occafioned those tranfverfe clefts and openings. But how, or when, this should come to pafs, we cannot prefume to form any adequate idea ; unlefs the reader will admit the following fcriptural and philofophical account of the deluge, as a probable folution.

The inftrumental caufes of the deluge, were "the broken "fountains of the great deep, and the rain which poured from "the windows of heaven. Now Mr. Whifton fhews from feveral remarkable coincidencies, that a comet defcending in the plane of the ecliptick towards its perihelion, paffed just before the earth on the first day of the deluge; the confequences whereof would be, firft, that this comet, when it came below the moon, would raise a prodigious, vaft, and strong tide, both in the fmall feas, (which, according to his hypothefis, were in the antediluvian earth, for he allows of no great ocean there, as