Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1870-11-18
Remarkable Discovery ON the
Shore of Lake SUPERIOR.

We have before alluded to the silver is.
land of the north shore of Lake Superior, in
the British possessions, just below Thunder
Cape, and some fifteen miles beyond Fort
William. The island is quite small in d.
menslons-say one hundred feet by forty
and the most of it is submerged at high
water small part at one end is about eight
feet above the lake level This island was
entered by the Montreal Mining Company
as part of a tract embracing 108, 200 acres,
and the island was subsequently purchased
of them by Captain William B. Frew (form-
erly of Portage Lake. and Superintendent
Of the South Pewaubic copper mine for
himself and associates, including amongst
them Major Sibley, of New Y rk, brother,
we think, of General Sibley, at St. Paul.
The Montreal Mining Company first made
the discovery that the island contained silver,
and by their agents sunk q shaft on the is
land ; but these knew little or nothing about
mining, and the water coming in upon them,
further working Of their mine was aban-
doned as useless. It was only this last
summer that Captain +. and his company
completed their bargain with the Montreal
company for the island, and sccuredit by
paying, or agreeing to pay, S250,00O for
the entire 100000 acres. They went i'm
mediately to work at improving the mine in
a workman like manner Their first step
was to surround the island with cribs Of
timber, filed with stone, to serve as a break
water and ice-breaker and within these
cribs coaer-dam was built AMI puddled
with clay, having the effect of making the
whole interior Of the island nearly water
tight. at least from the iutrusions of the
lake. The next step was to set up large
syphon pump Wort ed 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
clear of water entirely They then went
to work laying bare the vein and now have
exposed seventy feet in length and find it to
be true assure vein with perpendicular
walls-the vein OF silver matrix being CAL
careous spar with some little quartz inter
mixed. The vein is eight feet wide, and
eye witnesses from there state that for one
quarter Of this width it will average 70 per
cent. of pure silver. On the first trial after
the water was first gotten out six men took
over $35, 900 in four days and up to the
latest accounts the working has been contin-
ued at about this rate. Already 1913 bar
rels Of native silver, estimated to be worth
$4,000 to 100000 have been shipped.
The yield Of the mine computed by the ton
is not less than dollar to the pound ! The
mine employs pow about forty men, and they
will increase their force Immediately. The
royalty" paid on this to the English Gov
eminent is quite small-not exceeding one
twentieth. Eye witnesses Of intelligence,
judgment and experience report that Cap
tain Frsw will probably take out of silver,
up to the opening Of navigation next spring,
from one million to three million dollars in
money value The steamer Meteor con-
veyed down the lakes on her trip before last
sixty-two barrels Of silver. This silver is
land is no humbug, but an actual bona 1ide
affair, in which the most wonderful results
have already been obtained, and all bids
fair to make in yield and richness the most
remarkable mining discovery in this coun-
try for many years Some masses of silver
went down On the Meteor larger and heavier
than a man could lift. 4 part Of the is
land vein. say two feet of the eight feet in
width, is wonderfully rich, and 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 main
north shore in the range of the silver island;
and Captain Hodson, Of Portage Lake, has
gone East to organize company to work
them.