New-York daily tribune., 1854-08-28
THE LAKE SUPERIOR MINES.
c,r-.r- ---dsnes % The y Y. TEit1ne.
WITT ONToy ,Goy Thursday Aug ~, 1854.

large porto of its main shore, md also some Of It's
isiauds bot the Trap Range, formerly heweena Point
tud running in = southwesterly direction lH'o tle
interior is the most important locality !e; discovered
beirg remarkable for the number aai variety oil rs
veins and the vast amount of native copper they pro-
duce. .i,
Native silver associated with copper is occasionally
met with in the veins on th- heweena Range, but the
amount has been small that the expense ot sePala
ING il would be greater than the profit and Mite
rrobaby exists that il VII ever attract attention as
q aseparate product. Ores OF copper and some Othes
minerals exist in many places, but in THIS region "ith
tie exception of Iron they are OF Little reIa1'e In
portance.
Leaving the new and hourshng village Of OGtona-
aon in bark canoe padded by Indians, We proceeded
slowly up tie rapid current of the romantic Ontona-
Ron River Several rapids occur during is course ss
one of which all except the ladies dsembarhed aai
walked over a difficult portage Of and three quar-
ter miles while our Indians poled the canoe up the
rapid One of the ladies was the widow of Dr. Pratt,
lately drowned with two Others by the swsmping OF
canoe in the breakers the coast near ratIot hver
She had received the news OF his sudden death ou'
few moments before starting and her grief was truly
heartrending Dsembarking after seven hours Voy age
at landing eighteen miles from the mouth, we WALK
ed two miles over hily road 10 the Minnesota Nine,
situated the summit Of the Ontonagon mineral range
This il a continuation Of the Keweens range AMI ranks
hch among the richest localities OF the country IL
differs in some respects from the latter being higher,
further from the coast and bearing veins running par
alle with the of the range and dipping ~ an
ples from fortyhve to sixty degrees whereas IN the
latter they cross the range at right angles in an almost
vertical position.
The veins are fssures with well-deined, nearly par
fIel walls separated from mere line IN width to ten
or fifteen feet generally ranging from eighteen inches
10 four feet These assures are hed with hight sParry
rorous trap rock in which small particles oil copper
re distributed 10 greater or less degree, many veins
Icing too poor to pay working expenses Inc copper
particles sometimes attain considerable Sizes IoIh'ns
Il nd No
masses of pure metal weighing many tuns, are found
in these veins. The Minnesota Company commenced
operations In l-4 and declared their hrst as'
wear They own fourteen hundred acres oi and on the
range one hundred and fifty OF which are cleared me
mining village contains thirty thrtyhye houses, IN
/ bsbited by nearly three hundred men, and some OF
item having families, the whole population Is ABOUT
f,ur hundred The buildings are yet OF rather tenn
rOra character but will soon give place To more per
uAuent structures. The VEINS run n0rtn %, east
along the bus their course being marked out by pits
and excavations, the work OF ancient miners. lhese
are now almost filled with earth, and trees three and
four hundred years Old are growing dlrect! over tneh
hen the earth is cleared out, cartloads OF st0oe-
hammers and beds of charcoal are found at the bottom
OF the excavations Copper tools principally axes aud
cisels are also occasionally found IN ana around theu
The hammers simply oblong rolled trap or green
| stones brought from the lake shore win groove
neatly worked round them, in which wlthe was eFl'
IDENTITY fastened Their mode Of operation was to heat
tie rock by fires built the vein, and then peat the
ctcnod rock and spar from around the masses Oh cop
per and hoist the whole to the surface An immense
amount OF work has thus been done Tor miles aohg the
veins by race evidently superior to the present ln
dians in intelligence and industry. The Chlppe"as,
who have resided here from the earliest discovery of
the country have not the slightest tradition OF these
ancient miners who with the exception OF these sgh
marks have passed away, and left no trace behind
| them.
/ Having suitably prepared ourselves for an under
ground urson-and more picturesque crowd never
before gathered tOgether--we followed the gentleman
/ " Superintendent OF the nine, captain iiarIs' VINO
Kindly volunteered as our guide into the yawnlng guf
at our e, l. and for the ensuing five hours were bus
ily emlOyed in climbing and descending cold slippery
ladders creeping through long low drifts over pies OF
rough rock walking into slopes through miniature Nj
sCaras listening digquis ODs on inning, LOOKING at
/ in me &C. masses of native cOpper-wlshng that we
| owned them-gszing down black uniithomable shafts
| ard being shed by powder smoke and repeatedly
stunned by heavy reports from blasts III the mhe ana
LOtwtL standing the novelty and interest OF the scene
We were clad to escape to the pure air ana blue SKY
above There are eight shafts OF various depths, aud
four or FIVE levels the deepest shaft being )out three
hundred and fifty feet, and the Onges level tWentyone
huLdred The shafts are about ten feet IN diameter
and incline ith the vein at an angle OF oU' Al regu
lar distances Of about 20 feet down the shalls drifts or
levels arc blasted one below another, horizontally
along the line of the yein forming as il We're stories
in which the miners work These drifts are not less
than four feet wide and six feet high, admitting Tree
!
taking out the vein from drt to the next one, o0
/ feet above it, and this is the proper rork'Hg OF the
NINE Sinking shafts and driving Levels merely open
ing mine so that il may be easily worked aud no mine
is completely opened where a sufficient amount oil ths
work has not been done. The broken veinstone Is
taken through the drift TO the nearest shaft h0ted up
in large iron vessels and thrown in large plle over
logs which have been placed as to burn easily ana
/ the pile il then fired.
l. After cslcining. it is taken to the stamp works
thrown into large hoppers slides where its weight
forces il under the stamps which are tlmoers elgh,
inches square and fifteen feet long, heavily heAeed
With iron and weighing hye or slx hundred PounAsi
these lifted by cOgs cylinder worked cy steam
POWER; the cOgs catch under teeth projecting from
the stamp tmbers and lift the stamp about loot hiSh
when the cog moving from under the tooth the stamp
falls with Great force crushing the calcned rock 10
powder and releasing the PARTICLES of copper. The
mixed sand and copper il carried by strong current
of water to the washing floors, where by series 1f
washing the copper is finally separated from the sand
and is put into barrels, weighed, MARKED ana sent
below to be smelted This is in brief the process Of
mining ard preparing stamp copper Tor the furnace
When large masses are found and this Is pr!nclpaIy
the case this mine they are cut up, atediou' and
lsborous operation and transported IN heavy masses
10 the furnace The Minnesota is a mass mine,
masses be ing principally found. The yeinstone is com
parstyey POOR sns the stamps have but little to do;
tut in masses and barrel work il is amazingly rleh
In this resIect il s perhaps, the leading mine IN tins
region. Tie Company has erred in selling Oh MS
lands snd forming other companies around H. and Ia
stoppg cut too rapidly after drifting The latter can
be Itmedied under the efficient superintendency oil
Capt. Harris, whose obliging attentions TO the party
reIGer,d cur visit both profitable and agreeable.
Leaving the Minnesota rough and fatguing walk Oi
four niles up ard down large hills brought Us TO the
Forest Nine under charge Of K. x. Livingston ESD
whose kLd reception - oEce mace Us feel al nome
We passed the National Mine on the way. fhisls
rev uine located in the side OF PERCEPTIONS blum
but our time being limited We passed by IT, The same
! tod nur a number