At New Milford, Connecticut, a property was extensively worked from
October, 1885, to May, 1886, for mica and beryl. The beryls were
yellow, green, blue, and white in color, the former being sold under
the name of "golden beryl." No work has been done at the mine since
then. In 1886 and 1887 there were about four thousand stones cut and
sold for some $15,000, the cutting of which cost about $3,000.

_Turquoise._--This mineral, which was worked by the Aztecs before the
advent of the Spaniards, and since then by the Pueblo Indians, and
largely used by them for ornament and as an article of exchange, is
now systematically mined near Los Cerrillos, New Mexico. Its color is
blue, and its hardness is fully equal to that of the Persian, or
slightly greater, owing to impurities, but it lacks the softness of
color belonging to the Persian turquoise.

From time immemorial this material has been rudely mined by the
Indians. Their method is to pour cold water on the rocks after
previously heating them by fires built against them. This process
generally deteriorates the color of the stone to some extent, tending
to change it to a green. The Indians barter turquoise with the Navajo,
Apache, Zuni, San Felipe, and other New Mexican tribes for their
baskets, blankets, silver ornaments, and ponies.

_Garnet and Olivine (Peridot)._--The finest garnets and nearly all the
peridots found in the United States are obtained in the Navajo Nation,
in the northwestern part of New Mexico and the northeastern part of
Arizona, where they are collected from ant hills and scorpion nests by
Indians and by the soldiers stationed at adjacent forts. Generally
these gems are traded for stores to the Indians at Gallup, Fort