amount found upon the surface is not at all probable. In the depths of the earth are probably hundreds of thousands of cubic miles of gold. An eruption from so great a depth as to throw up a few hundred cubic feet of gold in a single mass would be by no means a marvel; and a few hundred cubic feet of gold, although of almost incalculable value, would be of trifling bulk compared with the mass of lighter materials thrown out at every volcanic eruption.
The region in which this narrative locates the mine contains numerous quartz dikes in which some gold has been found.
The world has had many men with even greater virtues, clearer foresight, and more entire devotion to the good of humanity than have been ascribed to Ralph Morton. That the opportunity of a new continent on which a new civilization could be wrought out existed three hundred years ago is a matter of history. Given then, the man, the means, and the opportunity, the natural result would be as follows:
