Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1871-09-14
CHARLEsTowN, n. H, Sept. ?, 1871

| FERTILIZER.
CHARLEsTowE, n. H, Sept. ?, 1871.
Mr. Editor Probably few If your
readers are aware that more copper is no W
produced at the Vershire mines, Vermont.
than ut any other mine in the country,
not even excepting the noted Lake 81
perior region Though the ore was dis
covered at Fershire in the form of copper
pyrites, some thirty years ago, it was
never systematically worked until 1853,
when a charter was obtained and the
property purchased by the "Vermont Cop
per Mining Company with tPital of
| five hundred thousand dollars.
Under the management of Prerideui
Smith Ely of New York, who owns about
one half the stock, and has therefore com
plete control, the company Il 5 been
steadily increasing its facilities, 20 that
it now employs three hundred men and
boys, running night and day, and turns
out on the average fifty tons Of the metal
per month.
Owing to the peculiar n4turo Of the
business and the necessity of providing
visitors with lamps and guides. these
mines have never been open to the pub
lic permission to enter being granted by
the superintendent only as a special favor
to friends, or to students of geology aud
minerology. This accounts fer the mine
being so little known, although within a
few miles of the Connecticut River rail
road, one of the principal routes to the
White Mountains.
We leave the cars at Thetford, fifteen
miles above White River Junction, and
take the stage for the village of West
Fairlee, nine miles distant. The road
winds over hills, from which we have some
of the finest views in New England. We
look below upon the quiet Connecticut
river und trace its course as far as the eye
can reach, through valley of smooth,
green meadows, spotted with neat, thrift
ty looking farm houses, with here and
points to heaven" Looking up from this
range, embracing Moose Hillock, with the
Franconia in the distance, still further
Mount Lafayette and dimly the gray top
of Mount Washington. But without
stopping to describe all that may be seen
on the way, nor mentioning the charms
of Lake Fairlee, lying upon our right as
we enter the village we dine at the Ea-
gle Hotel, which, Notwithstanding its
soaring and doubtful name, is we'll
kept house, with bountiful tables of good
country fare. After continuing two miles
further along the bed of mountain
stream we at length reach the mines.
It seemed at first as if the greater part
of Washburn's foundry, with all it's chin
neys in full blast, hsd been dropped
by chance at the foot of a hill on one of
the widest and most barren of spots
The first large building, however, is only
the smelling furnace, where the ore il
melted and the Stag drawn off, while the
copper sinking by its own weight to a
lower aperture, slowly runs into molds
and is cast into oblong blocks with the
stamp of the company on one side. There
are so many of these blocks piled around
to cool, that the air about this building i
very oppressive.
From the upper part of the furnace a
double track extends up the hill, connect
ing with various buildings and side tracks
by self-working switches. The cars are
fastened to a wire rope, which passes
around wheel, so that loaded car pulls
up an empty one. The furnace cars run
only to the roasting beds, where the ore
which has been brought down from above
has been roasted and burned for about
four months, like charcoal pit, to expel
the sulphur; which forms so large pro.