The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-12-19

five separate bulkheads, and was given am
angle Of 40 degrees on the outer face, the
highest point being eighteen feet above
the water At last a structure had beeu
reared that dehed the strength OF the
waves, but st was not high enough to pre-
vent great volumes of water from rolling
over into the Enclosure. To prevent this
water from pouring into the mine a SYSTEM
Of water-tight tmbering was constructeds
and the space between this timber wcfld
and the coffer-dam was filled with stone
and hydraulic cement
Notwithstanding Interruptions TO minings
nearly SlO1O.l00 worth of ore was taken OUT
in 1871. During the period Of navigation
in 1872 nearly 100000 worth Of ore was
shipped. In 1873 the shipments declined
to $4,000. In the fail of that year the
lake carried away $50 feet of submerged
cribs, 2O.0O0 feet OF timber. 1900 pounds Oh
bolts. and 5000 tons of rock. The black
smith shop was completely demolished,
great stones We're hurled around the island
like beans, ana an accident to the pumps
allowed the mine to begin to fill with wa
ter. But after q continuous fight with
the water in ana out OF the mine the crib
work was restored and the pumps put iu
shape.
Besides the great expense entailed by
the ceaseless combat with the elementss
the company had to build houses on the
mainland for its men. construct docks and
wharyes, harbor breakwaters and lay i'm
large stores Of supplies. Heretofore all the
ore utilized was packing ore"-that Is
the very richest ore to be found in the
vein. In 1874 ana 1875 the company erected
a stamp mill and began the reduction of
the poorer ores. Though the stamp mill
was not SO successful as IT was expected
to be- the mill produced $225 1870 during the
last half Of 1875 The vannsrs introduced
into this mill by Capt. Frue have BEEN
gradually adopted the world over, and
bear his name
The output of silver from the mine In 1878
fell to 1852 ounces, and the total produce
OF the first six years of its operation was
1851 1922 ounces of fine silver. The COM
tinued decline IN the amount of the pro-
duct and the enormous expenses of opera
ton resulted in deficit in 1876, and con-
sequent examination OF the mine by spe>
cial committee. At that time the ninth
level, which was reached by wnze 14S
feet south Of the shaft and directly UNDER
the lake, was 62i feet below the level of
the water. The committee found that ala
the sllyer-bearlng indications kept up as
far as the vein had been followed, buc
that the silver was not as prevalent in the
vein as it had been But as the mine had,
been decidedly 'pockety" from the start
II was felt that the poor quality of the ore
at that time was no reason for discour-l
agement A rich pocket Of fabulous exc
tent might be struck at any time. Be~J
tween the sixth and seventh levels a corner
near the shaft had yielded sixty-iye tons
of ore valued at $4,000. This report req
suited in the reorganization of the com~r
pany under the name Of the Silver Isleu
Consolidated Mining and Lands companys
This was effected in April, 1877. s
The new company soon had It's faith res
warded II had just been decided to un~l
dertake the work Of removing the roof OF
the mine, where 1t was known there was
about 10000 worth of ore, when the works
Of further exploring the different levels
and pushing them in the direction indieats
ed by drill holes resulted in the discovery
of immensely rich deposits. In this year,
with a production Of 72l, 623 ounces of Sill
YER was the high tide of the mines PROS
perlty But 1879 Witnessed a big slump ana
in 1880 the production fell to S6,S74 ounces.
The two following years were even worsesa
and the hunt for new pockets was unsuc~
cessful, though the silver bearing vein
was still as well defined as ever.
In 1888, when the lowest level was 1,260
feet below the surface of the lake. the
directors undertook TO secure some assist
ance from English capitalists, but wera
unsuccessful. Mr. Tretheway, the super-
intendent of the mine. was still exploring
and searching for the bodies of wonder-
fully rich ore always in prospect.
Then it was that the coal boats cap~
tain went on a spree and became ice
bound. Vainly the islet people watched
for his coming. March / drew near, the
engines were reduced 10 the SMALLEST pos
sble ration Of coal, and the water grads
ualy rose In the shaft. The water
came higher and higher against the feeble
pumps, and still no coal steamer Games
Then the pistons OF the last engine made
their last stroke, the waters filled the firsu
level and rose TO the top of the shaft. al
feeling Of despair settled upon the little
community whose world had been CEN
tered in the mine The mine was aband-
oned.
With the opening of navigation all oE
the inhabitants of the town that had been
built upon the main shore moved away.
leaving the streets and the buildings, ths
mills and the boarding houses as silent as
| was the little cemetery.
To-day James w. Cross, caretaker Of
| the property, which long since was fore
! closed, lives there alone. Like the care-
| takers OF all abandoned properties, he be-
! lieves that some day operations will be-
| resumed. There was flutter of hone last
! summer when Henry S. Sibley one of the
trustees, visited the mine and examined
it's condition, with an eye to inducing am
English company to start pumps goina.
| and to undertake the DEMONSTRATING and
expensive search for pockets" But sd
far there is no assurance that the little
island will ever recover from the effect
of the lake captains fateful one drink too
! many.