Grand Rapids morning telegram., 1885-01-17
A LOST NINE.
Aus1sfpating a Big Silver sriks IN
the Far North.
TAs story . Milwaukee Man Telis--Untold
Treasures Waiting IA the Bow
els Of the Earth For the
Laeky Finder.



marine interests Is large invester
Ia Lake Superior mining properties.
Ii was his good luck 10 be one or the men
who held Calumet and Hecla stock before
the Agassiz psocess for reducing copper
ore was discovered, which discovery in
creased tho value OF copper mine stocks
five hundred fold, and made Calumet and
Hecla the greatest wealth producing
shafts ever dug into mother earth. Sue
cess In this and like ventures has made
Mr.. Leopold warm, not TO say SAN
guine, believer in the mineral possibilities
Of the Northwest, and there are few pros
pecting schemes on the "North shore" 70
which he has not been a contributor.
In conversation with a reporter day or
two ago. he told the following fascinating
story: cooper Is undoubtedly a 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
q 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 of Lake Su-
perior ever made in America. 1t viii out
do the Rocky Mountain finds, just as our
copper gets away with the Arizona mines.
or course, you know that where copper oc-
ours, silver is likely to be also found, and
that this is more than theory the frequent
discovery of silver in Northern Michigan,
and especially on the north shore, proves.
You know there is an island on Lake
Superior called Silver Island, on which
silver 10 very profitably mhned. Did you
never hear the story of the lost Silver
Minei"
"Never," said the reporter.
"Well, it is good enough to print" said
Mr.. Leopold. at is a current tradition at
Ontonagon, Hancock, Houghton, and espe-
cially at Duluth, and while you can hear
IL good many ways, / have looked into it
very often, and believe you will find this
is about the truth of it. About sixty
years ago all of the country north OF
Dulu nth was a wilderness. There were
few Hudson Bay Company's posts scat
tered about the rivers and lakes up there,
and the rest of that part of British Amer
lea was the home of rowing Indians and
nobody else. The story was current 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 Indians-this is the cold
truth, which you can find on record in
books printed years ago-one day party
OF Indians came into port on Lake. ..Winni
peg 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-
leve this caused a sensation. 1t
proved that the rumors current so
long had some foundation. The Indians
were strangers at the post. They belonged
to a different tribe from any ever seen
there before, and they pointed out vaguely
in a southeasterly 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
whisky and started for home. Two
Frenchmen, who were at the post tracked
them across the wilderness ,sh hadowing them
like pair OF detectives, and after going
about 100 miles further than from st. Louis
10 Chicago-through incredible hardships
and sufferings they at last tracked them 10
earth. According to the story the home OF
these Indians was in tho range Of hills be-
tween 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 it. In a
/ grotto of rotten rock the virgin silver was
| to be seen veining the sides in every direc-
tion. The two men marked down the po-
sltion OF the mine as closely "a could be,
taking a number of land marks, so
that there could be no mistake. The mine
stood at the head of long serpentine
| ravine which trended southeast. Then
they loaded up with all the silver they
could carry and star ted 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. Winter was comm G
on and the remaining explorer struggled
onward after burying his companion, and
now and then stopping and cacheing some
Of the silver, until at last he got back "a
the post. The work and the exposure
were too much for him, however, and In q
couple of days he, too. sickened end died
He gave the most explicit instructions tc
his companions at the post as to how tn,
I mine was TO be reached, and YOU may be-
heve that the search made the next sum.
mer was an exhaustive one. The body o
the other explorer was found. as was alsC
the silver hidden on the road. but the mine
itself was not come upon. There is an ole
Canadian that everybody calls Leon. whC
is occasionally TO be seen in Duluth. wher'
he comes to buy stores, who is the son o
one of the men that were at ths
post when the survivor OF the tw,
first finders got back This
Leon has done nothing all his life but hun'
for that mine He has got old papers de
scribing its location "a closely "a possible
but he has never found il, although there
IL not rsvine in those hills that hs hs,
not examined. He will keep up the hunt
until be dies. Of course, and he may asd II
stranger things have happened"
$40 you believe the story2f'
Certainly Do. Il NAV - exaerer
sted, but that The Ind sns knew 81 som.
great silver depesis aob,iv vao hss fre.
qseut~s the porth shore Sc any d8aht
1 4 \ -