The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1891-07-25

The explorations that have been made
In this country show that the sandstone
lies under from to 10 feet of soil and
loose rock that Is easily removable. II
is pure sandstone. or that there
cannot be particle OF doubt. It's per-
centage OF silica runs higher than does
tho Portage Entry stone proper, which
is something Of q clay and silicious for
nation. Its gram is fine, and it is sus-
ceptible of the most elaborate carving
and will bear tile finest Innings in
mouldings. For quality It has no sup
erior among the building stones of the
country. Whether its quarrying is
commercially profitable or not is n mat.
ter to be determined in every case for
itself. because the conditions vary so
much. even on properties presenting
exactly similar prospects, that the crop
pings cannot be taken as any index OF
the results to be obtained from the in
vestment of capital. The conditions OF
transportation cannot be excelled. The
lake is either directly in front of most
of the stone belt or readily accessible.
The timber for building cribs is at
hand, while the quarry strippings afford
all the rubble stone neces 'ary to weight
them down. Docks are not built on
the lakes as people along the river are
won't to Imagine them. The bottom of
the lake is too rocky for pile driving,
and cribs weighted with rocks are the
compouents of the landing stages. To
the rear of the whole stone belt run tho
lines of the Duluth, South Shore &
Atlantic road, and the road builds spurs
two or three miles long to accommo-
date any fellow who has some freight
10 haul. In addition to that it carries
away, free, gratis aud for nothing, all
the strippngs it. can get it's hands on.
The strippings are Of q shaling rock and
make bully ballast for the railroad, SO
that It's action in this regard is not so
philanthropic as might be imagined ut
first blush.
The conditions are therefore, the
finest. There is lots of stone and
there are water transportation and rail-
road facilities handy. But people do
not buy stone from Lake Superior for
fun. By the time it is quarried and
laid down in Detroit, Chicago. Minnea-
polls, st. Paul, Cincinnati and the east
ern cities, it is pretty costly luxury,
and it must have the distinct and pc
culiar on LITIGATION which makes Port
age stone popular. That is its color.
Portage stone should he red. From
some OF the quarries it is red. From
some OF the others 1t is variegated, that
is to say, the buff lodges run through the
mass so that 20 inches Of red stone is
the extreme thickness of many of the
beds from which cores are taken by the
drill. 1t docs not pay to strip IL to 20
feet of soil and rock in order to get at a
20 inch bed of red stone. There
shoul I be at least four feet to make the
venture profitable. The red stone,
however, does not run uniformly. In
some places lodges of nine feet of clear
red stone are claimed. Those places
will be as profitable as silver mines.
In other locations there are four foot
lodges, but the stripping will be so
costly that it will take lot of stone to
pay the expense. So far as can be de-
termined by the drill the pure red stone
which is without white spots or streaks,
runs in pockets. and the lucky fellows
will be those that light on the pockets.
But poker isn't o marker as q game of
chance to the choosing of profitable
stone locations.
A good deal of capital has gone in
about the hay already. Near Newton
vile the Michigan red stone company
is stripping the Messner quarry, where
o seven foot ledge of red is being un-
COW red under the direction Of Capt.
Dodge, of Jackson. An extensive plant
will 90 in at that point. Below New
tonville, on the old state road from
Bar ,ga, the Keweenaw stone company
is stripping for seven-foot ledge, Mr..
Loonan, n handsome young English
man who looks abont nine feet high,
bossing the Job. This company has
gone in for large investment OF money
and Mr.. Loonan believes that the pro-
duct will have fair sale 80 far away as
in his native country. On the Pequam-
ing side Of the bay G. H. Little, the De-
troit stone supplvman, has quarry
which has been opened up and shows q
handsome purplish brown stone.
Little has an advantage over most of
the others, in that his strippings are
coed enough stone to be used for curb
ing and sidewalk. tagging, the color
being the only thing Off with them,
while the ledge itself hasn't q flaw.
Meantime other parties are drilling and
blasting, and the drill man seems to be
the only fellow who has sure thing.
He gets 81. so foot for his drilling, stone
or no stone, and he doesn't move about
for small job.
The people who haven't straight red
or straight brownstone like to assure
themselves with the hope that there
will be craze for variegated stone in
time. They forget that about $50, 900
has been dropped within the memory
Of verv young child in q Marquette
quarry OF variegated stone which was
developed on the same theory.
There is lots of stone about Keweenaw
bay, and the area is growing every day,
as the diamond drill gets its good and
perfect s2.50-per-foot work in. Most
Of the land, by the way, is homestead
land, to which title was proved up by
"settlers" at $1.25 per acre from the
government. Most of the settlers"
have already realized $1,000 to $l2, 900
from the timber or stone land, which is
not bad penny to turn out Of an in
yestment OF 5000 on q quarter section.
There would be IN elegant time in this