LETTER XIV. Cherokee Characters, 106 LETTER XV. Hickory Nut Gap, 115 LETTER XVI. Down the French Broad, 122 LETTER XVII. Trip to Black Mountain, 131 LETTER XVIII. The Catawba Country, 139 LETTER XIX. The Mountains and their People, 151 LETTER XX. The Nameless Valley, 157 LETTER XXI. The Valley of Virginia, 166 ADDENDA. Geology of the Alleghany Mountains, 173 Soil of the Alleghany Mountains, 182 Minerals of the Alleghany Mountains, 186 Miscellaneous Remarks on the Alleghany Mountains, 192 LETTERS FROM THE ALLEGHANY MOUNTAINS. LETTER I. Dahlonega, Georgia, April, 1848. The Cherokee word Dah-lon-e-ga signifies _the place of yellow metal_; and is now applied to a small hamlet at the foot of the Alleghany Mountains, in Lumpkin county, Georgia, which is reputed to be the wealthiest gold region in the United States. It is recorded of De Soto and his followers that, in the sixteenth century, they explored this entire Southern country in search of gold, and unquestionable evidences of their work have been discovered in various sections of the State. Among these testimonials may be mentioned the remains of an old furnace, and other works for mining, which have been brought to light by recent explorations. But the attention of our own people was first directed to this region while yet the Cherokees were in possession of the land, though the digging of gold was not made a regular business until after they had been politely banished by the General Government. As soon as the State of Georgia had become the rightful possessor of the soil (according to _law_), much contention and excitement arose among the people as to who should have the best opportunities for making fortunes; and, to settle all difficulties, it was decided by the State Legislature that the country should be surveyed and divided into lots of forty and one hundred and sixty acres, and distributed to the people by lottery. For several years subsequent to that period, deeds of wrong and outrage were practised to a very great extent by profligate adventurers who flocked to this El Dorado. In the year 1838,