The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-08-19
CHINA'S YANKEE MINER.
HOW CHURCH DEVELOPED IL
HUNG OBANG'S SILVER MINES.

HUNG Oh ANUS SILVER MINES.
American Machinery Put to Work in
the Neighborhsod of the Great Wall
and the Tombs of the Emperors-
Three Years Of Curious Experience
il Region That Has Never Been De-
scribed.
From the Chicago tribune.
Up in the province OF Mongolia, nearly
$50 miles north OF the great wall OF China.
in the territory of q Monaghan prince. are
the two old silver mines. Yen Tung Shan
and the Ku Shan Tsu, owned by Ii Hung
Chang. viceroy of the imperial province of
Chihil says writer In the New Y ork SIN.
Their shafts have been sunk a dozen miles
apart in the steep mountains that lie mid
Cd the west and the seacosst.
Nomad tribes of Mongolians have
camped around them for many years, and
il you asked a native of Northern China if
be had ever heard Of the Ku Shan Tsu be
would probably tell you of the spirits that
had haunted it in the past. Then he would
protest mildly against the sacrilege Of the
miners. because $50 miles toward the sea in
the same range of mountains are the tombs
of the old emperors, and the dragon that
guards them is disturbed by the miners.
AS producer OF silver the Ku Shan Isl,
never has and probably never will be of
great Importance in calculating the worlds
aggregate supply OF that metal. 1t has
been during the last four years, however,
the scene OF an interesting experiment,
John A. Church, an American 81
gineer, has been teaching 700 Chi
namen at the Ku Shan Tsu the American
methods of mining. Nothing but the fact
that he was under the special protection of
the imperial government enabled him to
live in that country. There were all the
difficulties incident to the peculiarities of
the Chinese methods of work and the local
hostility TO foreigners to be overcome 10
country that is comparatively unexplored.
MIR. Church had a big contract before
him. Accompanied by his wife he went to
Tien Tsin, where the viceroy lived, and
from there he started by cart to the Mon
gOlian silver mine, in a country about which
be could learn nothing from any English
books. 1t was practically unexplored, al
though, like all of China, it was thickiy
populated. Even in the most desol-
ate parts of this country said Mr..
Church, you cannot feel that you are
alone. Somewhere in the distance you will
see lone Chinaman toiling up a hill with a
pack or walking along the plain. What
interested me as much as anything saw In
China was the great wall along its old
northern boundary. From an engineer
ing standpoint it is simply a mar
velous piece of work We passed
through the Itch Men Kuen gate, which
means the great iron gate. The wall was al
that point in a perfect state of preservation.
1t was 80 feet high with width of ~ feet
at the top The foundation was of squared
granite blocks and on them were built
Two brick walls. The space between those
walls was filed in with dirt And, by
the way, it seems to me that the Chinese
bricks furnish just the colors that some
Of our architects are looking for. When
they are baking water is thrown on
them. and they come out of the kiln blu
ish color. The effect of these shades of blue
in Chinese building is pleasing and might
be advantageously tried in some of our
American houses. When you realize that
the foundation for the 1900 miles of this
great wall is built entirely of
squared granite blocks, and that the
wall runs over the crest of some very high
and steep mountains, you can appreciate
the difficulties that must have been over
come in building it. Where did they get
the vast amount of granite, and how many
men did it take TO square the blocks and
put them into the position they now oc-
cupy?
AT every pass there is gate, and at the
one we went through there were some old
Chinese guns made Of wrought-iron and
about Il inches in diameter.
"In the portion of Mongolia where the
Ku Shan Tsu mine was situated l found a
country with climate somewhat like that
of New York. The mountains in their
formation resembled in a general way those
Of West Virginia. They contain silver and
lead in quantities shat made mining them
profitable, but the few attempts at work
ing this ore had not amounted TO much
They smelted it in small furnaces about
two feet high, and they sunk their shafts
by the use of picks and chisels
without the aid of blasting powder. The
Ku Shan Tsu had flooded and the Chinese
miners did not have the proper machinery
for pumping it out. 1t had ceased to be
profitable under their methods of operating
it, and after thorough examination 1 con-
cuded that to operate this mine successfully
American machinery must be introduced
There is no country in the world that can
compete with America in the manufacture
Of this kind of machinery. The viceroy
agreed to this, and our order, together with
the money-for manufacturers in New York
didn't know the viceroy-was placed, and
as soon as it was filed we were ready to
work
With his American machinery were a
few American miners to operate it. The
resident physician at the mine, Dr. ID. ~
Osborn, was also an American. Few China
men are good machinists and the men who
were expected to do the more difficult work
came from Canton and southern China.
Then there were the coolies who did the
heavy work in the shafts under the direction
Of the foremen. The Chinese workmen
need close Watching. The American or
English miner can be sent into tbs
shaft alone and instructed to do certain
work 1t is only necessary for the foremen
to Inspect the results of this work. Give a
Chinese miner the same orders, and unless
there is man to watch him most of the
time he goes to sleep. All told there were
at Ku Span Tsu about 700 men. The sea-
coast was $50 miles away and a courier
service was maintained, SO that mails
were received about every two days. A
house on the American plan was erected
Tor the Americans, and around it were the
nuts Of the miners. American food was
imported in cans, and the viceroy did
what was in his power to make life pleasant
In that country for the American engineers
VINO we're trying to put his mine on pay
ing basis. strong steel vault, similar to
That IN our banks, was constructed to re-
celve the silver that was cast in blocks
snaped like Chinese woman's shoe. Once
a month this silver was sent under guard TO
Jehol. where it was exchanged for notes and