MIDLAND, N.C. — Long before California's forty-niners and before Olympic gold medals became the ultimate prize, the pursuit of the precious metal started at Reed Gold Mine in Cabarrus County. The story began on a Sunday morning in 1799, when 12-year-old Conrad Reed was bow fishing with his siblings in Little Meadow Creek. He spotted something shiny in the water. "He misses his fish, goes to retrieve his arrow," explained Amanda Brantley, site manager at Reed Gold Mine.