Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1895-02-26

NJ -
ROCK HOUSE, NO. SHAFT, TAMARAcK
MINE.
indeed, one has been written-of it
alone, it is surpassed in one respect, the
depth of its openings, by it's neighbor,
the Tamarack copper mine. The his
tory of the Tamarack reads like a ro-
nance. 1t was, strange to say, a made
to-order mine. The trend and pitch of
the Calumet & Hecla copper lode,
probably the strongest and most persis-
tent mineral body ever opened, is al
most uniform. 1t pitches to the north
west at an angle of 37j1 degrees, vary
ing scarcely a degree in this slant from
the initial openings, made on surface
outcroppings, to the great depth of
nearly mile which has been attained.
Capt. John Daniel, Cornish miner in
charge of the Osceola mine, was much
struck by the uniformity of this pitch,
and instead of simply wondering at it,
as others had done, set to work to plan
some way in which to profit by this
knowledge which he in common with
/ others possessed.
Adjoining the holdings of the Calu-
met e. Hecla company were several
tracts of land, of forty acres each. 1t
was supposed that the Calumet g.
Hecla conglomerato copper lode un-
derlaid these tracts, but if the angle of
3711 degrees was maintained, the lode
would be found only at an enormous
depth. Quietly securing these tracts,
| ,a11 ,,,4o l.;
eral Boston capitalists IN the venture.
At first the latter were appalled, by the
enormous cost of the projected work,
but Daniell's quiet persistency, the ease
with which he demonstrated the pres
ence of the lode under the lands at a
depth ranging from 1900 to 6,O00 feet,
was finally rewarded, the capitalists
! put in their money, and decided by a
! single bold stroke to risk several hun
bred thousands of dollars on the chance
of winning millions.
The TamaracS company was organ
lied, the shares being taken by the
few who had faith in Daniels ability
to make a mine. Work was begun and
shaft was sunk. Instead of sinking
a small shaft, the dimensions of the
first opening were 8X24 feet inside of
timbers. A heavy plant Of machinery
was placed on the ground, and night
and day for three years the miners
hammered, drilled and blasted and the
big shaft went slowly down. Miners
laughed at the folly of sinking a shaft
of three compartments on such slender
chance of winning a mine, capitalists
sarcastica!ly inquired when dividends
would be paid, and the men behind the
venture kept putting two or three hun
dred dollars day into the hole.
Capt. Daniel had figured that the
copper lode would be cut at depth of
1880 feet. At that depth nothing but
the barren trap rock was found. Work
was kept on, and only twenty feet
further down, the great vein of the
Calumet q Hecla, sparkling with cop
per, worth more than gold mine to
the owners, was struck. From crank
Capt Daniel became an authority on
mining, and those who had furnished
money for the working out of his plans
were speedily rewarded. The Tama-
rack mine, when the first CARLOAD of
copper bearing rock was hoisted to
surface from the big vein, was worth
more than it had cost, several times
over. Although less than ten years old,
the Tamarack has paid over four mil
lions of dollars in dividends, and is
good for many millions more. 1t grows
bigger daily, and its future no man can
predict. But it's shares no longer sell
for few dollars, and, like the other
big copper mines, the value of it's stock
is proportional upon the anticipated
ability of the mine to earn dividends.
With the completion of the first shaft,
a second was started, then third, and
soon after fourth. Shaft No. 3 reached
the copper lode on August 4, 1894,
striking the conglomerate at depth of
4,1S5 feet from the collar of the shaft,
which is flush with the surface of the
ground. At the time this shaft was
successful in reaching the lode it was
the deepest in the world, but it must
now yield the palm Ito No. shaft,
which is said to have struck copper in
the middle of January, 1895, at depth
approximating 4,450 feet. 1t is now
the deepest shaft in the world, being
$50 feet deeper than No. 8. Shaft No.
8 will be begun as soon as No. reaches
the vein. ~ ,lat ..s...3sss
The equipment Of the shaft-houses
which receive the rock brought from
the bowels Of the earth Is most COM
IL - Al