The evening tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 189?-190?, 1897-07-23
MINE OF MICA FOUND.
SAID BY EXPERTS TO BE AS vALuA-
hlE AS A GOLD MINE.


Deposits OF Garncts and Other Valuable
Minerals Also Expected.
To two young men who live In Bloom
ingdale and who have relatives in New
ark, but whose identity has not yet been
disclosed. belongs the credit of the re-
cent discovery Of rich deposit OF mica
In Passaio county. N. J.
'It's better than gold mine," say
those who know. The reason for that
conclusion Is that, besides the vast
quantities of white mica which are
practically In sight, there are apparently
large deposits Of other minerals of
high commercial value. Then, too, say
the experts, there are great possibilities
of the finding Of deposits Of garnets. the
resting places Of which are generally
beds Of mica.
The exact place where all this treas
ure has been found is Federal hill. one
Of New Jerseys beauty spots, which
dates back to the Revolutionary period
jim history. 1t lies between Blooming
dale, Butler and Pompton and has
hitherto been quiet farming district,
with no greater fame than that given
1t by history and the fact that it is q
favorite hunting ground for sportsmen
Of nearby cities.
Land up that way WASH worth much
more than perhaps $40 an acre until
few weeks ago. but now it can't be
bought at any price, for the natives
somewhere got an inkling of what was
going on. They are watching develop
ments now with no little anxiety and
debating In field and barnyard the pos
sibility Of soon abandoning the plow
handle and IL, scythe to seek for the
earth in their vicinity.
The story of the find and the subse-
quent happenings leading up to the
proposed formation Of the company,
whose members would not exchange
theiro prospects for even q try in the
newly discovered goldfelds in Alaska,
is an interesting one.
The two Bloomingdale lads last
April made one of their frequent trips
along lonely road which runs from
their town to Federal Hill and is used
but little except by farmers drawing
cordwood from the slopes Of the hill.
Not far from the foot Of tM hill,
where the road passes through portion
of the farm lands owned by the estate
Of Martin J. Ryerson, the boys noticed
large bed OF scaly rocks that were
Clipped and broken by the heavy wheels
Of the farmers wagons. They secured
nj al ~ tH,v nd
wondered at the ease with which they
could split and tear of fragments in
thin sheets.
A large piece of the formation was
taken home by the boys as curiosity.
One Of the boys is a grandson Of Huston
Poole Of Arch street, Newark, and he
took the specimen to Newark for his
grandfather's inspection. Mr.. Poole
and his son, j. o. Poole, who is asso.
ciated with him in the carpenter bust
ness, became greatly interested in the
boys find, and at once recognized the
specimen as piece Of white mica.
The fragment was shipped to the ma
tional geological survey Office at Wash
ington, and the opinion Of the govern
ment experts was requested. The chief
of the Washington bureau, William T.
Day, returned answer that the speci-
men submitted for examination was
white, Of good quality, and equal to
the standard commercial white mica
found at the mines of Canada. Investi-
CATION in open market by the Pooles
disclosed the fact that white mica of
best quality was worth at that time at
least SO, 500 per ton.
They kept the fact of the discovery
extremely q>iet, and ]. o. Poole went
to Federal Hill to examine the ground,
and to his great care is due the fact
that he was able to make superficial
but satisfactory examinations without
arousing the suspicion Of any one as to
the real object of his presence in the
vicinity of the Ryerson property.
Small excavations were made in the
hillside on various parts Of the proper
ty, and each time there were found
what seemed to be sand beds of mica
and other rock formations containing
mineral substances with which Mr..
Poole was not familiar. He was, how
ever, thoroughly convinced of the great
value of the find made by his young
relatives.
The manager of the Ryerson estate
was found in New York, and the Pooles
entered at once into negotiations to Sc
cure the property. After some trouble
they obtained a deed for about 20 acres
of the land. The price paid for the land
was high, considering the value of farm
lands in that locality. It is said to have
been less than 1000, though the figure
cannot be definitely learned.
Having secured possession of the prop
erty three excavations, each about 10
feet square and IL feet deep, were made
within radius Of several hundred feet.
each revealing new beds Of mica of OK
cellent quality. J. o. Poole remained
on the ground for some time and used
every means to convince himself that
the discovery was genuine and that the
mica positively existed. Over two tons