The Olneyville tribune. (Providence, R.I.) 1893-189?, 1894-02-24

Sam issues them ~ his own expense,
the yellow metal in them being worth
their face. But the silver dollars and
subsidiary pieces are circulated by the
Government on its own account. the
profit on them being its own advan-
tage. Intrinsically they are not equal
10 their face value; in effect they are
merely tokens, the stamp of the Treas
ury making them current. According
~, the Government feels obliged 10 re-
deem them at any time without deduc-
ton. so long a. they are in condition TO
be identified. In a sense, they r OBJ
legations to pay. II is quite otherwise
with gold. With gold coin there is a
loss of nc small consequence by abra-
sion in the bags at the Treasury,
through rubbing against n another;
but with silver, this damage is not i'm
porSant enough for cor ~sideration. Bars
of pure silver-g-lW ine-are made at
the minis and sold TO jewellers and 9TH
err merchants, not. so much for their
benefit as to ave from destruction the
coins, which would otherwise be melted
for use in the arts. Coin silver is
90-lOO fine; sterling is slightly better,
or 925-1, 900 ine-such being the legal
makeup OF British silver pieces.
Deposits of silver.
Whereas gold is found pretty nearly
everywhere-in sea water, in sand, in
rocks quite generally-silver is an ele-
ment not often come across, compara-
lively speaking. IL readily combines
with all sorts of other elements, and
thus ordinarily occurs in the shape of
c~hlorides, sulphates, and ~carbonates,
being seldom discovered native" or
pure. Produced by nature in such
shapes, il is not pretty to look at, the
richest ore sometimes resembling blue
sand. That is one reason why 1t vas
utilized to only a very small extent by
the American a~borigines up 10 the lime
of Columbus. They knew little of II,
though some Of their ornaments were
covered with plates OF ii, beaten very
thin.
The great deposits of silver in Ne
vada, Colorado, and elsewhere in the
world were made by water. That in
nocent element, percolating through
the earth, picked up out Of the rocks
small particles of the metal and carried
them along IN solution. Passing through
cracks and cavities the subterranean
currents deposited their loads of the
metal and thus, after thousands Of
years, pockets and assures were filled
with it. Sometimes these deposits
were enormous, as in the case of the
big Bonanza. which was a slice of ore
800 feet wide and of unknown depth,
extending across the famous Com
stock lode. 1t yielded 5000 to
81. 900 a ton. This wa pretty rich, con-
sidering the fact that a ton OF ore
equals only thirteen cubic feet, but ore
has been dug in Colorado recently
which produced Sl2, 900 a ton.
The great silver deposits OF the
world have been struck by chance.
The Comstock lode was an accidental
discovery. Peru's famous mines were
found by IA shepherd, who, while climb
ing a slope of the Andes, lighted some
brambles for cooking a frugal repast.
A pebble, heated by the flames, at
tracted his notice by its shining. He
took il to Lima, where il was examined
and declared 10 be- precious ore. The
care-taker of focks became a million
aire. The richest veins of silver in
Chill were found by q mountaineer
named Godoy, who hunted guanacos in
he Andes.
Uncle Sans Cash Box.
In these times when the statement
is made that much money Is hidden in
insecure places like old stockings and
abandoned coffee pots. it may be inter
esting to know how Uncle Sam protects