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CHAPTER XVI
DAHLONEGA—THE CENTER OP GOLD-MINING ACTIVITIES—UNTIL THE DIS
COVERY OF THE YELLOW METAL IN CALIFORNIA, THE RICHEST GOLD
MINES OF THE WORLD WERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF DAHLONEGA—
THE NAME OF INDIAN DERIVATION—WHEN THE CHEROKEES ARE RE
MOVED A MINT Is ESTABLISHED AT DAHLONEGA—JOHN C. CALHOUN,
OF SOUTH CAROLINA, AN OWNER OF GOLD-MINING PROPERTY IN GEOR
GIA—How GOLD WAS FIRST DISCOVERED IN THE NORTH GEORGIA
HILLS—THE STORY TOLD BY BENJAMIN PARKS—ACCORDING TO
PROFESSOR YEATES, AN EXPRESSION IMMORTALIZED BY MARK TWAIN
WAS FIRST USED AT DAHLONEGA—"THERE'S MILLIONS IN IT!"—AN
INCIDENT OF GOLD-MINING DAYS IN GEORGIA.
NOTES •. EARLY GOLD MINING IN GEORGIA.
Though, the first discovery of gold- in Georgia, according to White,
was made on Duke's Creek, in Habersham County, in 1829, it is gen
erally believed in Lumpkin County that the first discovery of gold in.
this state was made some time previous to the above date, on the Calhoun
property, three miles to the south of Dahlonega. Prof. S. W. McCallie,
Georgia's present state geologist, makes this remark in connection with
the claim. Says he: * "This early discovery is substantiated by living
witnesses; but whether it antedates the find at Duke's Creek is an open
question. It appears quite probable that the early discoveries followed
each other, in such rapid succession, that it is now practically impossible
to decide definitely the question of priority. However, at present, the
best information seems to be in favor of Duke's Creek.'' If not the
place where the yellow metal was first discovered in Georgia, it very
soon became the center of the greatest mining operations in Georgia;
and the mines at Dahlonega contained the largest deposits of precious
ore known to the United States.
It cannot be stated with any degree of precision when the Indian
word "Dah-lon-e-ga," was first coined; but the meaning of it is "yel
low money.'' Whether it was first applied by the Indians to the place,
or whether it was used by them merely as an expression which caught
the fancy of the white is equally problematical. The discovery of gold
in North Georgia operated as a spur to hasten the departure of the
Cherokees toward the West. It created an eagerness on the part of
the white population to possess themselves of the red man's home
among the mountains, and they began to call upon the Government, in
the most imperious tones, to redeem the old agreement of 1802. The
* '' Gold Deposits of Georgia,'' 1896, published by the State Geological Depart
ment, Bulletin 4-A, pp. 274-275, Atlanta, 1896.
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