She won't try to hide it

The diamonds on the soles of her shoes. ..

Well, this is a way to lose these

—Paul Simon, "Diamonds on the Sole" (1986)

Although Paul Simon's wealthy female friend "has diamonds on the soles", you and I may have to make do with mica. We can do worse. On sunny days, millions of mica flakes gleamed on the stones we walked on, helping us to get rid of "the melancholy of walking".

The word "mica" comes from the Latin "micare", which means "to shine or sparkle".

In 2000 BC, when tissue paper was used as a surface for depicting mythological scenes, people believed that mica represented a form of preservation of lightning.

It is a general term for a group of complex minerals with flake or plate structure. All mica forms flat six-sided crystals with cleavage parallel to the direction of the large surface, which allows them to split into optically flat films.

Muscovite is colorless to light green, and it is easier to split than other mica. The name "Muscovite" originated from the Moskovia region of Russia, where the mineral was discovered and identified in the early 17th century. "Flake" mica refers to books (or lenses) mined from hard rock or loosely consolidated clay materials. These can be easily divided into specific thicknesses.

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The use of mica as a cemetery decoration by American Indians in the South Appalachian region can be traced back many centuries. The Cherokee also used this material as a medium of exchange, so mica from this region was found throughout eastern North America. In return, the Cherokees received shells, copper, stones suitable as spear tips, and many other commodities.

The Peabody Museum at Harvard University has a beautiful snake carved from trade mica. The surface is marked with a shallow decorative incision on the head of the snake. These may represent an image of a horned snake similar to the Uktenas in the Cherokee legend. The cut is assembled from a total of twelve mica fragments.

In other words, Native Americans were meticulous in making mica decorations. For centuries, it has been the material of choice for artwork throughout eastern North America-the Cherokees have prospecting rights. . 

Before mica mining became a multi-million dollar industrial enterprise in the spruce pine region of northern Asheville, it was a cottage industry. In one of my favorite books, The French Broad (1965), Wilma Dykeman, one of my favorite people, describes those days:

"A large part of this mining is done in small operations-locals call it a'groundhog hole', which runs on the slopes of these counties (parts of Mitchell, Yancey and Avery). Across the hillside, many people’s original wounds have an abandoned excavation gap on the mountainside, which makes the appearance of this country different from other parts of the Broad Divide in France."

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She also pointed out that it was in the post-civil war era-"when a northern traveler happened to see a large piece of'fishtail' in one of the huts, and he spent the night there"-the flake mica business started, and thus Supply "almost all isinglass used in old-fashioned stove windows in this country or Canada". Large patches of mica used for windows in huts or shops are called isinglass. Smaller fragments were also made into kerosene lamp chimneys.

The mica production center is traditionally located in the Spruce Pine area, but there are also extensive mines in Jackson and Macon counties. In "History of Jackson Country" (1987), John L. Bell pointed out that mica deposits were first discovered "on the road between Webster and Franklin" in 1858. These deposits were exhibited at the South Carolina State Fair in 1866. As recently as the early 1940s, "the demand for national defense in World War II caused the prosperity of mica". At that time, "mica was very important in the production of electronic vacuum tubes. In 1942, 94 mines were opened, but in 1943, only 30 were in short supply. "

Mica, mainly muscovite, is now widely used in industrial and other applications due to its different physical, chemical, electrical, thermal and mechanical properties. It is made into tubes and rings for insulation of transformers, armatures and motor starters. The wait is almost endless.

But the important thing to remember is that no matter you walk on these mountains, no matter where you go, there will always be mica flashing like diamonds on the soles of your shoes.

George Ellison is an award-winning naturalist and writer. His wife Elizabeth Ellison is a watercolor painter and papermaker who owns a gallery studio in Bryson City. Contact them at info@georgeellison.com or info@elizabethellisongallery.com, or write to PO Box 1262, Bryson City, NC 28713.