This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Excerpt from A Memoir of the Rev. Elisha Mitchell, D. D., Late Professor of Chemistry, Mineralogy Geology in the University of North Carolina: Together With the Tributes of Respect to His Memory, by Various Public Meetings and Literary Associations, and the Addresses Delivered at the Re-Interment of His Remains Elisha Mitchell D. D., Professor of Chemistry, Mineralogy, and Geology in the University of North Carolina, was born in Washington, Litchfield County, Connecticut, on the 19th of August, 1793. He was the eldest son of Abner Mitchell, a respectable farmer of that township, whose wife, Ph ebe Eliot, was a descendant in the fifth generation of John Eliot, the celebrated "Apostle to the Indians." Dr. Mitchell was thus a member of a family now very widely spread over the United States, and reckoning many who have exercised much influence in Commerce, Politics, Science, and Religion. He possessed many of the characteristics which marked the Eliots, especially of the earlier generations. The Rev. Jared Eliot, M. D. and D. D., minister for many years at Killingworth, Connecticut, was Dr. Mitchell's great-grandfather. He was distinguished in his own times for his knowledge of History, Natural Philosophy, Botany, and Mineralogy, while as a theologian he was sound in the faith and delighted in the doctrines of Gospel Grace. Among his correspondents were Dr. Franklin and Bishop Berkeley, and in 1762 he was honored by the Royal Society of London with a gold medal for a valuable discovery in the manufacture of Iron. This ancestor Dr. Mitchell closely resembled in many peculiarities of body and soul. Both were men of large stature, of great bodily strength, of untiring activity of restless curiosity, of varied and extensive attainments, of a quaint and quiet humor, of persevering generosity, and of a well established piety. This desire for excellence in things pertaining to the mind was a prominent feature in Br. Mitchell's character from early childhood. When only four years old he acted a spirited part in an exhibition of the school he then attended, greatly to his own satisfaction, and to the delight of his friends. As he grew older, he was never so well pleased as when his playmates would gather around him to hear him tell what he had read in his books, and explain the pictures they contained. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."

Each year, thousands of tourists visit Mount Mitchell, the most prominent feature of North Carolina's Black Mountain range and the highest peak in the eastern United States. From Native Americans and early explorers to land speculators and conservationists, people have long been drawn to this rugged region. Timothy Silver explores the long and complicated history of the Black Mountains, drawing on both the historical record and his experience as a backpacker and fly fisherman. He chronicles the geological and environmental forces that created this intriguing landscape, then traces its history of environmental change and human intervention from the days of Indian-European contact to today. Among the many tales Silver recounts is that of Elisha Mitchell, the renowned geologist and University of North Carolina professor for whom Mount Mitchell is named, who fell to his death there in 1857. But nature's stories--of forest fires, chestnut blight, competition among plants and animals, insect invasions, and, most recently, airborne toxins and acid rain--are also part of Silver's narrative, making it the first history of the Appalachians in which the natural world gets equal time with human history. It is only by understanding the dynamic between these two forces, Silver says, that we can begin to protect the Black Mountains for future generations.

The region along Deep River in central North Carolina once boasted a small but significant coal mining industry that from the early 1800s to the end of the 20th century provided fuel for manufacturing and domestic use. Confronted by natural obstacles and other challenges--including a devastating explosion in 1925 that killed 53 men and boys--entrepreneurs made numerous attempts (some successful, some not) to harness the power of coal in a state still defining itself in a modernizing nation. Iron forges and hearths required ample supplies of coal to meet local demand, and the Deep River deposits provided them when no others existed.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.