Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1870-11-17
AcmarkabIc Discovery on the North
Shore of Lake Superior.
[From the Duinth Minnesorian, Oct, 29l

From the Duinth Minnesotian, Oct, 29]
| We have before alluded to the silver
islana Of the north shore of Lake Supe-
rior,, in the British POSSESSIONS, just below
! Thunder Cape, and some fifteen miles be-
yond Fort William. Il The Island is quite
small in dimensions one hundred
feet by forty-and the most of it is sub
merged at high water; small part at
one end is abouc eight feet above the lake
level. The island was entered by the
Montreal Mining company asa part of ia
tract embracing 100000 acres; and the
island was subsequently purchased of
them by Captain William B. Frew (for-
merly of Portage Lake, and saperinten-
dent of the South Pewabic copper mines)
for himself and associates, including
among them Major Sibley, ofNew York,
brother, we think, of General Sibley,'..o
ST. Paul
The Montreal Mining Company first
made the discovery that the island con-
tanned silver, and by their agents sunk
shaft on the island; but these knew lit
tie or nothing about mining, and the wa
ter coming in upon them. further working
of their miues was abandoned as useless.
1t was only this last summer that Capt.
Frew and his company completed their
bargain With the Montreal Company for
the island, and secured it By. paying, Or
agreeing to pay, $3.50, 600 for tie entire
l0S 600 acres. They went immediately
to work at improving the mines in a
''worklike manner"
Their first step was to surround the
island with cribs of timber filed with
stone, TO serve as break alter and lee
breaker; and within these cribs Golfer
dam was built aud puddled with clay
having the effect OF making the whole IL
terror of the island nearly wasor-tight, at
least from the intrusion of the Lake.
The next step was to set up a large sy-
phon pump, worked by steam, by which
the inside was pumped dry, or nearly so,
and it has since been found that very
little working Of the pumps daily keeps
the island vicar Of sier entirely. They
then went to work la wing bare the vein
and BOW have exposed seventy feet in
length, and find it to be a true assure
vein with perpendicular wsils-the vein
of silver matrix being cAlcareous spar
with some little quartz iutermixed.
The vein is eight fest wide, an eve
! witness from there state that for one
quarter of this width it will average 70
per cent. of pure silver. On the first tr
al, after water was first gotten out, six
men took over $35 600 in four day; and
/ up to the latest accounts the working has
been continued at about this rate. AL
ready 1913 barrels of native silver, estima-
ted to be worth $3.50 to $1,000 900,
have been shipped. The yield of the
mine, computed by the ton, is not less
than u dollar to the pound The mine
employs now about forty meu, and vill
increase their force Immediately.
The royalty" paid on this to the Eng
!isb government is quite small-nos ex-
ceedipg one-twentieth. Eyewitness of
intelligence, judgement and experience
report that Captain Frew will probably
take cut of silver, up to the opening of
nav igatlop nexs spring, from $1,000, eco
TO So, 900 600 in money vaIae. The
steamer Meteor conveyed down tae lakes
on her trip before last si1ty-two barrels
| of silver.
The silver island is no humbug. but an
actual bona fde affair, in which the most
wonderful results have already been ob
tainrd, and all bids fair to make in yiel-
and riches the most remarkable minind
discovery in this country for many yearsg
Some masses ofsilver weat down on the
Meteor larger and heavier than q man
could lift. A part of the island vein.
say two feet of the eight feet in width, is
wonderfully rich. an it is from this portion
that the large silver masses are extracted.
Other rich mines of silver are reported
as having been found on the msin north
shore in the range Of the silver island
and Captain Hodson, of Portage Lake,
has gone East to organize company to
work them.