Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-12-24
ALoST NINE.
unssld Treasures waitinz In ths Bowels II
the Earth for are Lucky Finder.

Ir.,sld Treasures WaitinR In ths Bowels NJ
the Earth for are Lucky Finder.
milwaukee wisconsin,
Aaron Leopold. the senior member Of the
firm OF Leopold Il Austrian. owners OF the
steamer lines plying between milwaukee,,
Chicago. and Lake Superior ports. be-
sides bis marine interests. is large
investor In Lake Superior mining pro-
nertles. 1t was his good luck 20
he one OF the men who held Calumet
and Hecla stock before the Agassiz process
for reducing copper-ore was discovered,
which discovery increased the value OF cop.
pcr.mine stocks five hundredfold. and
made Calumet aud Hecla the greatest
wealth. producing shafts ever dug into
mother earth. success In this and like
ventures has made Mr.. Leopold warm,
not to say sanguine. believer In the mineral
possibilities OF the Northwest and there are
few prospecting schemes on the "North
shore" to which he has not been con-
tfibutor.
In conversation with reporter day or
two ago, he told the following fascinating
story: cooper Is undoubtedly good
thing. No man who was lucky enough to
get into some OF the Michigan mines on the
ground floor can gaInsay that. but silver Is
4 better thing, for all that, and as sure as
my name Is Leopold some time or other
there will be one OF the biggest strikes
Of silver made on the north shore on
Lake Superior ever heard OF In Ameri-
ca. II will Guido the Rocky-Mountain
finds, Just as our copper gets away with the
Arizona mines. OF course YOU know that
where copper occurs silver Is likely TO be
also found, and that this is more than the.
DRY the frequent discovery OF silver In
Northern Michigan, and especially on the
north shore, proves. You know there Is
an island en- Lake Superior, called Silver
Island, on which silver Is very probably
mined. Did you never hear tue story OF
the lost silyermine?"
"Never," said the reporter.
"Well. II is good enough n print" said
Mr.. Leopold. at Is a current tradition at
Opionagon, Hancock. Houghion, and espe-
cially ut Duluth, and while you can hear 1t
a good many ways, l have looked into II
very often, and believe YOU will lind this
is about the truth Of 1t: About sixty years
ago all Of the country north OF Duluth was
n wilderness. There were few Hud.
son-Bay Company's ports scattered
about the lakes and rivers up there, aud
the rest OF that part OF British
America was the home OF rowing In
dams and nobody else. The story was cur
rent then that somewhere down along the
northern shore Of the lake there was mine
where virgin silver was to be found in
Jumps. One day party OF lndians-this
is the cold truth, which you can fad on
record In books printed years ago
came into port on Lake Winnipeg to
trade, but. instead OF furs, they had
solid ingots OF silver. Every one Of
the party were provided with bricks
worth hundreds Of dollars. You may be-
lieve this caused sensation. II proved th 1t
the rumors current so long had some
foundation. The Indians were strangers
at the post. They belonged to different
Tribe from any ever seen there before. and
they pointed out vaguely, In south
easterly direction. when asked whence they
had come. OF course they had the usual
carouse, and at last they loaded up with
guns, calicoes, beads. and whiskey, and
started for home. Two freucbmen, who
were at the post, tracked them across the
wilderness, shadowiDg them like pair OF
detectives, and after about 100 miles fur
ther than from st. Louis 10 Chicago.
through incredible bardships and suffer-
ings they at last tracked them TO earth. Ac-
cording to the story, the home OF these In
dians was in the range OF hills between
Crooked lake and Superior. south OF
Pigeon river, in what is now the State
Of Minnesota. They did more than
this, they found the Indian mine,
and its wealth was beyond all the
stories told OF il. In grotto OF rotten rock
the virgin silver was to be seen yeining the
sides ~ every direction. The two men
marked down the position OF the mine rs
closely as could be. taking number OF land
marks, so that there could be no mistake.
The mine stood at the head Of n long scrpen-
tine ravine which trended southeast. Then
they loaded up with all the silver they
could carry and started back. All this
time the Indians knew nothing OF their
visits. Well, they toiled along for
days and DAYS, borne down By the
weight OF metal. and at last one OF them
sickened and died on the road. VIM
ter was coming on and the remaining ex-
plorer struggled onward after burying his
companion. and now and then stopping and
cacheiDg some OF the silver. until ut last he
got back to the post. The work and the eX-
posture were too much for him. however.
and in couple OF days he, too, sickened
and died. He gave the most explicit in
siructlors 10 his companions at the post as
TO how the mine was TO be reached, aud you
may believe that the search made the next
summer was an exhaustive one. The BODY
of the other explorer was found, "a was
also the silver hidden on the road, but the
nine itself was not come upon. There Is
an old Canadian that everybody calls Leon
who is occasionally to be seen in Duluth.
where he comes TO buy stores, who L. the
son Of one OF the men that were ut the post
when the survivor OF the two first finders
got back. This Leon has done nothing all
his life but hunt for that mine. He has got
old papers describing ITS location as closely
as possible. but he has never found 1t. al
though there is not rayine in those hills
that lac has not examined. He will keep
up The hunt until he dies. OF coutse, and
he may find it-stranger things have hap
pened."
"Do you believe the story"
"Certainly ! do. IL may be exaggerated,
but that the Indians know OF some great
silver deposit nobody who has frequented
the north shore has anv doubt | suppose
one thousand men have at one time or an
Other been at work looking for that mine.
You can't help believing story that
brings along as evidence the actual ingotS
OF silver, and Of these iugots the records are
too PLAIN and sure 10 leave any doubt"
at seems as though these Indisus would
hardly be satisfied with taking one 10. OF
silver out OF the nine ?"
"1hey are not satisfied. There are hum
drods OF stories a1oat of trades made by the
Indians wherein solid lngots OF silver were
battered OF for couple Of yaris OF calico.
Some OF them, i suppose, are false and
others true; but as to their appearing al
Winnipeg with the silver, nobody who viii
take record evidence for any fact can doubt.