The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-08-04
NINE OF MICA FOUND.
SAID BY EXPERTS TO BE AS VALuA-
BILE AS A GOLD NINE.
The Bulk of Mica Has Come Heretofore
From Canada and the Southern States.
Deposits of Garnets and Other vaiuabie
Minerals Also Expected,

To two young men VINO 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 Passaic 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 "a
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
in history. 1t lies between Blooming
dale, Butler and Pompton and has
hitherto been quiet farming district,
with no greater fame than that given
it by history and the fact that it is a
favorite hunting ground for sportsmen
of nearby cities,
Land up that way wasn't worth much
more than perhaps $50 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 the scythe to seek for the
suddenly discovered richness of 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
their prospects for even try in the
newly discovered goldfelds in Alaska,
is all interesting one.
The two Bloomingdale lads last
April made one of their frequent trips
along a 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 the hill,
where the road passes through portion
of the farm lands owned by the estate
of Martin j. Ryerson, the boys noticed
q large bed of scaly rocks that were
Clipped and broken by the heavy wheels
of the farmers wagons They secured
a good sized specimen of the rock and
wondered at the ease with which they
could split and tear off fragments IN
thin sheets.
A large piece of the formation was
taken home by the boys as curiosity.
One of the boys is 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
, bows find, and at once recognized the
! specimen as q 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 che
. of the Washington bureau, William L
: Day, returned answer that the speci
n men submitted for examination wa
IL white, of good quality, and equal Il
e the standard commercial white mics
found at the mines of Canada lnvesti
CATION in open market by the Poole
disclosed the fact that white mica o
best quality was worth at that time
lie least So, 500 per ton.
j. They kept the fact of the discover
= extremely quiet, and j. o. Poole wen
~ TO Federal Hill to examine the ground
Is and to his great care is due the lac
2; that he was able to make superficial
9; but satisfactory examinations withou
1. arousing the suspicion OF any one as I
d the real object of his presence IN tn
vicinity of the Ryerson property.
Small excavations were made III I'll
b hillside Oh various parts of the proper
= ty, and each time there were foun
c; what seemed to be sand beds OF mic
r. and other rock formations contalnln
t. mineral substances with which MI
A. Poole was not familiar, He was, how
ever, thoroughly convinced of the gref
value of the find made by his youn
Y, relatives.
or The manager of the Ryerson esta'
or was found in New York, and the Poole
~ entered at once into negotiations to s.
or cure the property. After some trouol
at they obtained deed for about 20 acre
2agS of the land The price paid for the Ian
~ was high, considering the value or iari
rs, lands in that locality. Ii is said to nay
rs been less than 81, 900, though the hgui
,w cannot be definitely learned.
s. Having secured possession OF the pro-
". erty three excavations, each about
rs feet square and 2 feet leep, were mat
az within radius of several hundred fee
each revealing new beds of mica OF e
cellent quality J. . Poole RENAME
ON the ground for some time and us'
v every means TO convince himself tn
2 the discovery was genuine and that u
sh mica positively existed Over two to-
a. of mica, all of good commercial vain
ed were taken FROM the excavations ma
30; while examining the ground IL W
ns' then decided to organize company
~, IL is the intention of the company