The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1879-09-25
IN. Y. Tribune.l
Silver in Maine.
Sullivan and Goldsborough Mines.

Of the village editor are embarrassed with
relics Of this sort to the exclusion of half his
exchanges. Yet the toWnspeople are divided
into two parties, the believers and the unbe-
LEVERS A few of the believers have carried
their faith so far as to buy moderately of the
stock of one or two companies, '.iust to help
develop the country" they say, "and test tn
question whether there is anything to be made
out of the thing or not, The unbelievers
scoff at these venturesome citizens and talk
knowingly of salted mines and paper compa-
MES. The fact is, they have been so accus-
toned to look upon the rocks as a curse to
their country, that they cannot believe there is
any good in them. l was induced to go and
see the mines by learning that over 100000
has been spent ON them already. The Judge
of the County Court kindly offered to be my
guide, and we set off yesterday morning, de-
termined to see as much as possible in day,
and return to town the same evening.
After rapid drive of nine miles we passed
a little hamlet called Hancock, and came to
the Sullivan river, broad tide-water estuary,
across which we were ferried in primitive
scow propelled by two stalwart. weather-beaten
oarsmen. Hard by the water side on the east
ern bank are the Sullivan Mines, skirting the
shore for the distance of a mile, and on the
western bank, out of sight from the ferry and
some two miles away, is the Hancock Mine.
The Judge suggested that we push on to Colds
borough, ten miles further, look first at the
most interesting mine in the region, and then
return to inspect the Sullivan group. So we
procured fresh horse and boWled rapidly
along the smooth road past staring new Sum-
mer hotel whose piazza command lovely out
look over Frenchman's Bay, clear across to
the Porcupines and Bar Harbor and out to the
open sea; past an old tavern i'll valley, to
which it is said Hawthorne used to resort;
past church, school house and country store;
past old brown form houses and hay fields
where the big gray powders cheat the farmer
out of a third of his acreage, to a wayside inn
where we stopped to dine. The landlady's
daughter waited at table The only guests be-
sides the Judge and myself were the superin-
tendent of the neighboring mine and aswarthy
man who, with reticence unusual in the
country, let fall no hint of his occupation.
Half a mile away on the crest OF hill we saw
the Goldsborough Mine, opened last May,
which has yielded Imore good ore than any
other mine in the region except the pioneer
mine at Sullivan. As we trudged up the hill
the superintendent pointed out on the side OF o
bare rock by the roadside an unmistakable
vein of argentiferous quartz. 1t was only four
inches thick however. "There are plenty of
these streaks showing above the ground" said
the superintendent ''but the thing is to find
vein thick enough to pay for working" The
vein being worked by the Goldsborough Com
pany showed eighteen inches width on the
surface as soon as the dirt was scraped off, and
soon developed an average width OF four feet.
1t is of the lens or kidney variety, tilted up to
an!almost perpendicular position. The silver
is mixed with galena and carbonate OF copper.
The ore varies greatly in richness but from
numerous assays of the poorer as well as the
richer specimens, it is believed that the aver
age Weld of silver will be at least $40 per ton.
A Shaft six by twelve feet is down to depth
of twenty-six feet, and drift has been cut in
the side of the hill from the valley of little
stream, and follows the vein for distance of
about 100 feet Here the ore is quarried out
at very small expense. l went into both the
cutting and the shaft, and by little vigorous
exercise with big sledge Clipped off some
dent an experienced Western miner, said
would assay $75 to the ton. A ship loaded
with 11O tons of the ore from this mine lay in
sight out in the bay, ready to sail for Blue
Hill, where are copper crushing and consoh-
dated works which will take the silver out OF
the quartz, and demonstrate exactly what tho
mine will yield. To all appearances it is rich
er than many mines in Colorado and Utah
which are famous in the stock exchanges, and
have made fortunes for their owners. The
president of the Goldsborough Silver Mining
Company is A. P. Wiswell, of Ellsworth, and
its capital stock is 100000. The company has
spent only about $4, 900 on the mine thus far,
and expects to get 5000 net out Of the ore it
has just shipped. The cost of mining the ore
is less than S5 per ton.
About two miles from the Goldsborough is
the Home Mine, owned in Boston. 1t began
work last January. A shaft is down fifty feet,
and as soon as it is ten feet deeper drifting will
be commenced. The vein is eighteen inches
thick, and is said to yield S22 of silver to the
ton and 20 per cent. of lead. 1 found nobody
bnt workmen at the mines, and could get no
further information.
Driving back to Sullivan we had the good
luck to find Mr. Francis Worcester in his office
"a little building full of MAPS diagrams and
samples of ore-and to impress him into our
service as guide to the mines in the vicinity.
Mr.. Worcester is the king of the whole region.
He first brought its mineral resources to the
attention of the capitalists, and organized the
first mining company. He has leases on 80, 900
acres of land, and all new companies must
make terms with him. The first discovery OF
silver was made in 1877 by Mr. A. A. Messer,
in the rocks ON the river bank below low-water
mark, aIittle above the ferry landing, at the
site now occupied by the shaft of the Sullivan
Mine. Mr.. Worcester had speculated in almost
everything with varying success. He was tat
on his back financially at the time OF Messer's
discovery but in spite of his embarrassments
and the difficulty he experienced in making
anybody believe there was silver in Maine, he
raised money enough to sink shaft and open
a good four foot vein. The developments
made by this pioneer shaft stimulated all the
recent prospecting and mining in the vicinity.
The Sullivan's shaft is now down 40 feet and
there is a drift southeast from 70 feet level and
northeast from So feet level. The width of the
vein at the surface is 0 inches, and at the bot
tom of the shaft 9 feet. Mr.. Worcester claims
that the thousand tons of ore taken out and
housed in shed will average $50 worth of sill
yer to ton. The company is constructing q
wharf and putting in expensive pumping and
hoisting machinery. Its president is George
B. Brown, of Boston.
A few rods above the Sullivan is the Wau-
keag Mine president, George ?. Clapp of Bos-
tom, which has shaft down forty feet on the
river bank. This company will spend $25, 900
ON its shaft and cross cut before it strikes the
vein, and will get its ore from under the river
at depth of 100 feet. 1t has erected sub
stantial building over its shaft and very large
one for housing its ore. A little beyond the
Sullivan is the Pine Tree, Boston company
not vet incorporated. Its shaft is down 100
feet, and has struck the same vein as the Sulli-
van. A quarter of a mile distant are the two
shafts of the Milton Mining and Milling Com
pany (president j. ID. Trescott of BoSton.)
This company is spending $4,000 on quartz
mill, for which the foundations are now up,
and q part of the machinery on the ground.
Besides mining ore ITSELF it expects to reduce
all the ore from the other mines. The superin-
tendent is veteran miner from Colorado and
Nevada. He says the ores he is taking out are
free from milling ores, containing no galena,
and will yield $50 to the ton. His estimate is
more moderate than those given at the other
mines, and L am inclined to think, more trust
worthy. Next below tho Milton is the Milton
Brook, owned by Mr.. Worcester, and not in-
corporated. Its shaft is down about fifty feet
Beautiful outcroppings are visible in the bed Of
a stream close by the shaft. Still further ON
is the Ashley president, j. r. Grose, of Bos-
toni which has sunk shaft sixty-three feet,
and is now putting in hoisting and pumping
machinery About two miles from Sullivan,
east of the river, the same vein crops out.
Here is the Hancock Mine, principally owned
in New York. Its shaft is down 100 feet, and
it is stocking up ore said to be worth $40 ton.
did not visit this mine.
At Cherryfeld twenty-five miles southeast of
Sullivan, Mr.. Worcester has discovered vein
of galena silver ore, sixteen inches thick, which
assays 800 to the ton. 1t therefore appears
that the silver deposits extend from Hancock
to Cherryfeld at least, distance of twenty
four miles. Mr.. Worcester thinks the mineral
belt will ultimately be found to run from Deer
Isle to Lubec. stretch of 100 miles, following
the coast pretty closely the whole way. In
some parts of it copper predominates, and in
others lead. At Deer Island some gold is
found Goldsborough, he thinks, is the centre
of the true silver belt, but on this belt it is
possible that few veins exist thick enough to
be worked. A working vein is sought by
tracing the feeders to a head'-that is, follow